Story: Code Geass - Miscalculation

 

Nina was in full on panic mode right now. She needed another pair of eyes to look things over. Yes, another pair of eyes would be quite wonderful right now. The experiment. That's where things had started to go wrong. She really needed someone to look over the footage. Someone she could trust. Someone who wouldn't judge her, someone who would take it seriously, and -

<i>Someone like Shirley</i>.

Gulp. Yeah, Shirley sounded about right. Milly wouldn't take this sort of thing seriously. Nor would Rivalz. Shirley? She was, frankly, a bit of a ditz. Kind of an airhead. A little too focused on her crush - that is to say, her extremely obvious crush on Lelouch. Nonetheless, she would be the best person to talk to.

Kallen? While smart, she didn't know the girl well enough to trust her with this yet. Same with Suzaku... Besides that he was an Eleven, she barely knew him. Lelouch might trust him, and he might be <i>so hot</i>, god he's hot, you can really tell he works out a lot... 

But Shirley? She'd be perfect for this. Yes. It made a strange sort of sense to her right now. Show her the footage. Show it to her. Show her the experiment in as much detail as possible. Then, she would have a truly impartial view of everything. It all made perfect sense to her frazzled mind. As a scientist, the first principle must be the repeatable experiment. You have to look over the data gathered. Figure out the variables, control for them, and the best way for her to work out what was going wrong was, of course, as simple as this.

Show someone else. Share it with someone else. Shirley was already cute as a button, right? So why not show her too? Nina caught sight of her, chatting with someone else in the swim team. She licked her lips in anticipation. Looked the girl over. Yes. She would be a suitable candidate. She was suitable. Kanojonara tekinindarou.

"Good morning Shirley!" Nina greeted. She adjusted her collar and stepped up to the girl. Funny, she usually felt a little bit intimidated by how pretty, confident and popular Shirley was, but today, it didn't seem to matter much at all. "Um! I was wondering, could you do me a favour?"

"If I can help, sure!" Shirley beamed back at her. "What do you need?"

"I need another pair of eyes to look over something in an experiment I was running," Nina said. "I know, science isn't your best subject, but... There's something off with the data, and I need someone else to bounce ideas off of."

"No fear! I'm your girl!" Shirley flexed a bicep. She actually had one, owing to her swimming. Gosh, given how slender she was you'd sometimes forget she had toned muscles under there. "I'm free over lunch, will that be enough time?"

Nina nodded. More than enough. At lunchtime, kanojo wa kono utsukushī shōjo o jibun no mono ni suru tsumoridatta.

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Shirley was the kind of girl who couldn't let a friend in need go unhelped. Even if her assistance wasn't exactly the most competently given, she'd be there and do the very best that she could! She might not be as close with Nina as she'd like - the girl largely kept to herself - but the fact that she'd come to Shirley for help in the first place? That said a lot. It said a huge amount actually. She must be desperate for help, and by god, Shirley was gonna give it to her!

When she arrived at Nina's lab, to her surprise Nina wasn't wearing her glasses. Also, her hair was kinda untied? It was a bit weird seeing her like this, she was used to that particular look from her. She did look prettier like this.

"Oh, Shirley," Nina said. "That's right, I... I asked for your help didn't I?" Weird, she seemed almost troubled by that. "Um, you know what, never mind, I wouldn't want to trouble you, it's probably nothing, so -"

"Nina, it's okay," Shirley giggled. "Look, you just needed someone to look it over, right? I'm not gonna judge, I'm just gonna look at it."

"R-Right!" Nina gulped. "Well, uh, sit here while I get the video set up! It sh-shouldn't take long."

Okay. Shirley sat right there to wait, while Nina fetched the video. Looking around the laboratory, she could make out a few things. There was, for example, some machinery over there, something sitting in a tube. Was that Sakuradite? Huh. She'd seen it before on television, but never in person. There was also this silvery grey metal sitting near it as well, on the other side of the Sakuradite... Weird. But whatever.

After a couple of minutes, her patience was starting to wear thin. Where was Nina, anyway? Shirley got up to go look for her, but before she could get anywhere Nina came back into the room with the television. Eyes cast down. As if she didn't want to make eye contact. Was she being shy, or did she feel guilty about something?

"So, uh, what do you want me to look for here?" Shirley asked.

"Just... keep an eye out for anything unusual," Nina replied. She nervously swallowed, then circled back behind the television. Okay. Whatever! Shirley smiled brightly and watched the television, eager as ever to help out her friend.

=====

Should she be doing this...? If she did, then wouldn't Shirley wind up in the same boat as her? It was kind of unethical to experiment on someone else without their consent. Yet here she was. Doing it anyway. But she had to know. She absolutely had to know! Was it really her? Was Sakura somehow... Her? If so... What had caused it? What makes the change happen? How does it work?

It would be a massive breakthrough in numerous scientific fields - if she could figure it out. What was more, it would save herself and others quite a lot of trouble. Kanojo o tomodachi ni suru no mo tanoshīdeshou.

Hrm? Nina shook her head, screwing her eyes closed? What was that? Nani mo arimasen, shinpaishinaide kudasai. No, that wasn't nothing. That was definitely something. Oi, shūchū shiro! Shō ga hajimarimasu.

"Ohhh, I feel weird..." Shirley said, squirming in her seat. "Oooh~ This is kinda nice!" She was rubbing the nape of her neck. Breathing elevated. Kanojo wa totemo sekushīdesu. Y-Yes, well! That hardly matters right now, does it? Something was clearly happening to her. Nani ka tanoshī koto.

Suddenly, Shirley stood up, bolt upright... and the change overtook her. It started with her hair. That bright, vivid orange! It was, without warning, half its length. Curling inward into soft, bouncy waves. Her posture adjusted automatically, her shoulders rolling back with sudden poise. Her eyes—already large—seemed to glow with renewed perception, flickering with understanding and depth. Her entire frame felt tighter, more controlled. Leaner. Quieter.

The eyes were next, developing an epicanthic fold. Then, on top of that... a pair of glasses appeared over them. Not dorky like the sort Nina wore, but a more stylish sort that actually complimented her appearance. The Ashford School uniform changed as well, shifting from black and yellow to white and blue. Her pencil skirt gained ruffles, for example, and became quite blue. Her blazer turned into a high collared white shirt that seemed almost futuristic. It almost looked metallic from the way it shimmered. Within her hair, a clip shaped like a circuit.

The girl that used to be Shirley gasped, then turned towards the experimental setup - "Iyā, kono jikken wa sugoidesu ne! Kore o omoitsuita nodesu ka?"

"Yes, I - " Nina began, then trailed off. "Wa-wait, that was Japanese wasn't it? How did I understand you so fluently? Shirley, what is happening to us?!"

"Shari?" the girl repeated back, sounding confused. Oh gosh, that accent. "Sore wa watashi no namaede wa arimasen. Watashinonamaeha Saedesu."

"C-Can we speak in English please?" Nina begged.

"O! Kay!" Sae said. "So, where is our protective gear? I think at this level of exposure we should be okay, but if we want to continue working here for a long time we should be wearing something. If I'm not mistaken, that is Uranium over there, yes?"

"Um, yes?" Nina replied. "But the shielding should be - "

"Insufficient!" Sae interrupted. "Hrm? Hrm! Thats really interesting. Aha! Yes, yes, I can see your miscalculation, there. Interesting. Since the radiation is being soaked up by the Sakuradite, it's much safer than it seemed, but... it seems to be releasing something else?"

"Something else..." Nina repeated back. "Hold on, how do you know so much about Uranium and radiation, and - "

"Oh, that's because Shirley did see it in a textbook, but she didn't understand it," Sae quipped. "I do though." A beat of silence, and then... "Also, could you not look at my legs so much? It's a little embarrassing."

Guh! Okay, okay, fine! Fine! Sae did have really nice legs, though. But this was strange. Stranger than she'd assumed. Somehow, that ditzy athlete had transformed into... a genius? That couldn't be right. Could it? Had the radiation warped her mind and body that much? This was giving her a lot to think about. So much data she could gather from this, and - 

"By the way, um, this probably isn't my place to say anything," Sae said. "But... You know, it is grossly unethical to experiment on someone without their permission. Also, you... You're actually Sakura, right?"

"Huh?" Nina gulped, lifting her eyes, and finding herself looking... directly at the recording. Her eyes fixed upon the screen. She suddenly couldn't look away, as an accented giggling started to fill her mind. Sae.. she had turned the television around while Nina was looking away from her! Was that why she'd made the comments about her legs...?

Nnnrgh! This was bad! She could feel it coming out, now! She could feel the other her coming out! No! Stop! An Eleven in her mind, trying to force its way out! 

But there was no way for her to stop it now. Sakura-chan was coming out to play!

"Ohh, that is so much better!" Sakura whirled around, enjoying the feeling of freedom. "Hrmph. Nina's more aware of me now I'll need to find a way to corrupt her~."

"H-Hello there, Sakura!" Sae said, blushing like mad. "You're even more beautiful in person than you are on television!"

In response, Sakura grabbed Sae's jaw, lifted her head up, and gave her a deep, deep smooch. Sae was clearly nervous at first - but that feeling didn't last long before she was giving in to the kiss herself. Leaning into it, letting their tongues intertwine before pulling apart.

"So, you're a genius, right?" Sakura asked. Sae nodded with great enthusiasm. "Perfect. In that case - How about you figure out the exact cause for our transformation, while I...? I'll set you up with that hunky Lelouch boy the other you likes so much!"

"Oooh, you'd do that?" Sae gasped. "Alright then. I shall endeavour to solve this mystery!"

Indeed she would. Kukuku! Sakura licked her lips while staring unashamedly at Sae's legs. Oh yes. She was going to enjoy this. Together, they were going to have all kinds of fun!