Chapter 7: Chapter 4: Mother And Daughter

Gazing into the bright blue skies with clouds above me while the wind blew my 'ears', a dry leaf flew across my view.

"...Hn?"

Laying down, I realized I lost my sense of touch, I attempt to move but only to fail. I did the same for my eyes, but got the same results.

"... What?"

In a blank state were reality hasn't kicked in yet, I dove deep into my memories.

- - - - -

From the city I reside in, it was bustling under the clear blue sky. The towering buildings on both sides, and automated cars speeding up on the highway. With crowds around me minding their own business, I rushed towards my workplace just around the block.

"Ah- Excuse me! —Sorry! —"

Occasionally bumping into others, I apologized for the inconvenience I caused. I was already running late for my work as it took quite a long time to print out the results of my research proposal.

"Uuu... I hope she hasn't arrived yet."

Casually walking inside the entrance after a body scan, I walked towards the elevator until someone suddenly grabbed on my shoulders.

"Miss Frolique... Why are you late?"

With an intimidating aura emanating behind me, I reluctantly turned around.

"Uuhh... Lizzy! I can expla—ack!"

Before I could finish, she karate chopped me on my head and I immediately held on it tightly as I can feel some steam coming out of it.

"Haven't I told you to address me as 'Ms. Fransche' during work. Look, we're not kids anymore so act professional."

The person scolding me is Eliza Fransche, a childhood friend of mine, and also my supervisor. She's strict and uptight whenever we're at work. But when she's outside, she's really kind and a caring person despite looking 15 years older—

"Oi..."

"W-what is it?"

"Haah... No matter how much I scold you. You don't really change, do you?"

"What do you m-mean?"

"Nevermind. If you weren't so capable, you would've been fired right of the bat for 'disrespecting' a superior."

"Uhh... My bad..." Scratching the back of my head, guilty of my 'crimes', she was about to say something but then points towards a corner.

"Anyways... There's someone waiting for you."

Looking over to where my friend is pointing at. Hiding behind the flower vase by the wall was a small child in a frilly white one-piece dress looking over the both of us. She had white hair with some strawberry red strands on her back but her most noticeable feature were a pair of animal ears attached to the side of her head and a white bushy tail at behind her back.

"Masako! Did you miss me?"

"..."

Turning her head to the side, I can see her pouting, her tail dropped low enough to touch the floor, which is expected since we haven't seen each other for a week.

Despite the lack of light in her eyes, those soft puffy cheeks made me want to poke them along with the soft sensation of stroking her tail. Cheering her up, I immediately grabbed something from my bag.

"Uhh... Here! Look I brought something for you!"

"❔"

As her ears twitched in curiosity, those pair deep blue eyes locked on to the meat bun I'm holding. Signaling her to come over, she trotted towards me before hugging my leg.

[This was supposed to be my breakfast. Well, who cares as long as she's happy.]

"✨! " 

Raising her head with shiny eyes, I unwrapped the wrapping from the meat bun as she wagged her tail in excitement. I wanted to give her something better but the surprise should have to wait for a little bit later.

"???? ~"

Stuffing it in her cheek like a hamster, I ruffled her hair while I blissfully enjoyed its soft texture. After all, she deserved it for behaving while I'm gone. However, Lizzy on the other hand, was also expecting something from me.

"Oh right! I almost forgot!"

Grabbing something else from my bag, I hand over a thick folder with all the needed documents inside.

"Here's the result."

"Okay, I'll take a look if there's any errors so you are free to go to your personal lab for the meantime. I'll just call for you if there's something important."

"Okay~ Bye Lizzy!"

Carrying Masako, who is still savoring the meat bun, in my arms. We both waved goodbye to her.

"R-right..."

Arriving at the front of the elevator, we wait for it to reach the ground floor. As the door opened, I was stopped again by someone grabbing my shoulder.

"Frolique!" Surprised by this notion, Masako's tail expanded while I looked behind me confused.

"H-huh? Wait! there's an error already?!"

"No... Just making sure... Is this part true?"

Ignoring her previous tidy appearance looking a little messy, she points her finger over the stem cell production rate results, which I nervously nod.

"600% more than what we can currently produce max... What the hell did you make?!" She yelled at me looking like she lost a few strands of hair.

"Umm... J-just a modified version of those Cell Slimes I previously made?" I couldn't see what's wrong so I just answered honestly.

"You..."

After the amount of scolding about crashing the market price of Bioartificial Organs, we went towards the tenth floor with more paperwork for the day.

...

"Haaa... Lizzy is so mean... Dumping all these papers on me..."

Glancing over my desk, there were 6 stacks of documents that needs to be taken care of. While I'm doing paperwork, I could hear wet bouncing noises behind me. I already knew what it was, as it was Masako playing with the pet slime I made for her.

Turning my chair around, I saw Masako playing with the blob of gelatine the size of her fist. It was small but that should keep her from being lonely. Though, seeing her hug that slime, I felt a bit jealous as she's more attached to it than me.

"Masako... Can you let mommy hug you too?" Although we're not related by blood, I already considered her as my daughter a long time ago.

Upon hearing my call, she happily ran towards me while carrying the clear white transparent slime in her arms. Stopping right beside me while swaying her tail from left to right, she raised her arms waiting for me to pick her up.

"✨!"

With how cute she's acting, I immediately picked her up and had her sit on my lap.

"Hwaa~ I could do this all day~"

"???? ~ "

Wrapping my arms around her, I rub my cheek to hers. As her soft skin touches to mine, her warmth was enough to sooth tired soul. Although Masako felt a little uncomfortable about her position, so she repositioned herself facing me with her head resting on my breast while her tiny arms hugging my waist.

"I hope I could at least hear your voice..."

"❔"

As I pat her head, she slowly dozed off with a faint smile forming from her cheek. While her soft breaths brushed over my chest, I looked over at the pile of documents in front of me. Sighing, I grabbed my pen and I continued my work without disturbing her sleep.

"Well, no need to rush. We've got all the in the world so I'll just wait patiently until you're ready."

...

With the slime rolling around the table, I still managed to finish most of the paperwork laid in front of me without getting bored. As the sound of scratching paper stopped for a while, I decided to take a break.

Pyon~

Poking the slime with my pen, it's main body jiggled inside the jelly membrane.

"Maybe I should make more of this."

Pyon~

Dropping the pen on my desk, I then inserted my finger into it. It's pretty harmless though a bit cold, but that's all it's there for. I made it durable as well, just in case Masako might be a little rough to this little fella.

Feeling a little hungry, and with perfect timing, the alarm on my phone vibrated, indicating that it's time for lunch.

"Masako~ It's time for lunch~"

"..."

Gently nudging her head, I could see her drool sticking to my lab coat. With a lint stuck in her mouth, I couldn't help but giggle at the sight. After a few attempts, she slowly opened her droopy eyes then yawned while rubbing her hand against it.

"❔~"

"Hold on tight, Okay ~"

Getting up from my seat, she tightly gripped her hands to my coat while I carried her in my arms. Leaving the slime on her head, it balanced itself without falling on our way to the Cafeteria.

...

Upon arriving, we ordered some food, with mine being fried chicken and Masako's favorite being Cornbeef. I think she liked it because it was the first thing I fed her, aside from those I opt to have a balance diet so I also order some fruit salad as a desert. Seeing Masako's eager smile, it made me remember how much she changed when we first met.

- - - - -

"I advise you to not make any sudden movements or noises." Was my superior told me before opening a door in the corner.

Behind the door was a young girl wearing a hospital gown laying on the bed lifelessly. She didn't have any visible injuries nor scars yet the darkness her eyes told me otherwise. Her condition took most of my attention until I noticed her animalistic features attached to her body.

'Is she a hybrid?' was my first thought then followed by 'What happened to her?'

My superior, Mouzei Nakita, went towards her slowly and as quietly as possibly can before whispering to her ears.

"Hello Masako~ You have a visitor~"

"..."

Her eyes made eye contact with him, but she remained silent. With him pointing where to look, her eyes landed towards mine.

"Uhh... N-nice to meet you Masako~" I whispered.

"..."

Staring back at me with those empty eyes, I felt a bit uncomfortable with the deafening silence between us. I knew how to handle children but clueless if they were in some special circumstances, especially more so when it is as severe as this one. Noticing my discomfort, Mr. Mouzei stepped in.

"You and mommy are—"

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"Mo—" Surprised about his statement, I was shushed the moment I rose my voice. Making eye contact, I can tell he's saying 'Just go with the flow.'

"G-going to have lots of fun together, right?"

"That's r-right."

I was tasked to take care of the subject since I'm the only one qualified, also the pay is good, so being her mother isn't would make sense in a way.

Satisfied with my answer, Mr. Mouzei sighed in relief and telling 'Thanks'. Since he told me to be her mother, maybe he also wanted me to do the same follow up.

"And with your Papa Mouzei with us, everyday will be so much of fun!"

"..."

Looking back at him if I did it right, he looked rather sad for a moment before smiling and continued our 'conversation'.

- - - - -

Going back to where we were, sitting beside me was Masako happily eating her fill while the small slime sat there beside her. She can be a messy eater sometimes, but it's not like I can't tolerate it. I couldn't scold her either as she she cutely flapped her ears and tail.

As I bit down into mine, we can hear the place getting more and more crowded. There were some gazes directed towards us but none of them were malicious so we both ignored them. 

"???? ~ " Although she lacked variety of emotions, all of them were rather positive. Comparing how she was before, it's still better than not having any.

Grabbing a napkin, I wiped off the rice and gravy on her cheek. Cornbeef and gravy may be a weird mix made by her but who am I to judge. After all, she just copied me pouring gravy on my fried chicken.

"We still have dessert so wait here for a while while I get it."

"✨!" 

Upon hearing the word dessert, I can see her tail rubbed the back seat in excitement. Within a few moments, I came back and saw her playing with her pet slime. As I came near, I suddenly felt an uncomfortable gaze towards us. I turned around to just to see nothing unusual.

[Must be my imagination...]

Sensing my presence, Masako looked at me with anticipation.

"Here's desert~"

After placing the plate in front of her, I can see her digging straight through it. 

"???? ~"

"Leave some for mommy too~"

"..." After hearing that, her hand stopped and looked at me.

With her head going back and forth between me and the dessert, she dug up a spoon of bite sized fruits and extended her arms towards me with a cheeky smile on her face. Feeling proud about her learning how to share, I pat her head and returned the smile she gave me.

"Hehe, That's my daughter — Nom~"

"???? ~ "

After the spoon feeding session, we went to my room beside my personal lab while carrying Masako in my arms. Upon having my face scanned, the door opened revealing a room with minimum furniture: a wardrobe, a bed, a desk and a chair. Being less decorated compared to my personal lab, this room's purpose is more like a hotel room rather than an apartment room.

"There it is~"

With a cup on my desk held a pair of toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste, I took both of them and had Masako hold them for me. Leaving the room, we passed by my co-workers doing their own jobs.

"Good work—"

"You too senpai!"

"See you later Masako!"

"... "

Masako gave then her usual bright smile but then hid her face from one of them.

[I guess she can be pretty shy from time to time. That person must be new so it'll take a bit more time for Masako to get used to her.]

While we head towards the decontamination room, or more like a very large bathroom, I put down Masako and grabbed the stepping stool nearby for her to use.

"Here you go Masako, make sure you properly brush your teeth." Nodding to my statement, I gave Masako her toothbrush ready to use and started brushing our teeth.

...

As our mundane life came to an end, she felt sleepy so I had to carry her back to our room which doesn't really change the usual. After tucking her into our bed, she then hugged her tail like body pillow. Kissing her goodnight on her forehead, I set out once again to give my monthly report to my superior.

Going to the other side of the building, the corridors were busy even at this time of night. I passed by a person in a hazmat suit before ringing the bell beside the metallic door waiting for his response.

"Come in." With his clear deep voice from the telegram, the door slid open telling me to enter.

"Freezing the atmosphere as usual, sweetie~"

"Oh, It's you... My bad, I barely managed to sleep this week... Huah..."

The man sitting in front of piles of documents turned around showing me his bags forming on his eyes.

"Must be hard despite having your promotion, more so when taking care of our child this past week."

"Nah... I gotta do my part also being her 'Father' and all."

Opening his laptop, he dragged his mouse towards the company software that records audio that will be converted into text files to be stored in the server. There waa a built-in lie detector so chances of getting away giving false information is very slim.

"Here, let me help you sort out the documents while I give you my report."

"Oh right, I just remembered."

"Remember what?"

"Tomorrow should've been our 10 year anniversary, Am I right?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?~"

With the role of husband and wife being reversed, I couldn't help but laugh a bit from his uncharacteristic behavior.

[Ten years...] We started off as a fake family, so that Masako could live a happy life. In the end, we did become the real deal given the time we spent together.

"Okay, It should be ready. Ready when you are."

With his cue, I began my report.

- - - - -

"—For the last week, I modified the Cell Slime I developed five years ago and improved its production rate—"

...

"—That is all I've discovered during my time on the Northern Region."

"Impressive as always." Checking if there's any abnormalities, which there were none, he complimented my work.

"Just doing my job... Though, I did kind of went over the top with this one as I only wanted to come back as soon as possible just to see Masako again."

"Understandable."

After the report, I also finished organizing the document based on the priority levels. As he saved the recording before turning the laptop off, he laid down his reading glasses on top of his desk.

"Say... Do you have plans tomorrow?"

"Didn't you say tomorrow is our ten year anniversary? Then, I'll just do what I can to make myself free."

"How about we eat out for the first time in a while."

"Sure! It would also be a great surprise for Masako since it's also her birthday."

"Oh right, I forgot about that."

"I still can't believe that you're the type of a loving husband yet a terrible father~"

"Yeah, you're right about that. Haha... "

"Jeez! I'm just joking with you, no need to take it seriously. Anyways I'm going back, see you tomorrow!"

"See you." Closing the door behind me, I head towards our room.

- - - - -

Walking in a slightly desolate corridor, I thought to myself that the others had already left home. Turning to my left, I bumbed into a person in a hazmat suit. They were covered in blood which scared me a bit.

"Hey... That blood..."

"My apologies, and no need to concern yourself since this came from a dangerous specimen that needed to be taken down."

"And that..." Pointing over her hand gripping the object that looked like a tail soaked in blood gave me a sense of dread that I hope I'm wrong about.

"Ah... I needed a sample to get more accurate data about the specimen since all that we've received are false reports."

"I see... T-then good luck!"

Seeing her off to the decontamination room, I started to have a bad feeling. After I immediately messaged Mouzei about my premonition, I quickly rushed towards our room. As I made my way through the bloodied steps of that person kept leading me to our room.

I bit my lip, praying I'm misunderstanding something. Turning my way to the end of the hallway, our room entered my view. Upon getting closer, I saw the door was left open.

"T-there no way someone broke in... Maybe M-masako just needed to go to—"

My body came into a complete halt the moment the scene unfolded in front of my eyes.

"N-no..."

As the scent of iron invaded my nose, my stomach churn wanting vomit. My hands shook in disbelief while my mind tried to deny the reality I was in. I felt so lightheaded hoping this was some sort of nightmare I would soon wake up from.

"M-ma... sa-ako..."

Staggering inside the bloodied room, where dismembered limbs scattered and signs of struggle left behind. Tears kept flowing as I crawled my way to the mutilated corpse of my daughter.

With her face barely even recognizable, blood trickled down from her eyes that had long lost its light. I hugged her tight as I could no longer feel her pulse. Her head limped lifelessly to my breast as I can feel the burning rage swelling from my chest.

"My, my... It seems she was quite too confident in me to handle the mess she left behind. No hard feelings okay."

"Wha—"

With a sharp pain piercing through my chest, I looked down and saw my clothes began to dye in red. I wanted to turn around to see which bastard did this but before I could do that, everything went dark.

"If you're willing to draw that hatred in your heart, blame the ones that started all this." Was the last words I heard before I float around into nothingness.

---