Hisao and the chocolate factory Ch 7: A fresh perspective

Chapter 7: A Fresh Perspective

	"Come, come. We must roll along." Hisao said as the group headed through a set of double doors.

	"I'd rather not be rolled anywhere." Emi joked, unraveling another bar of chocolate.

	"Better than having to be rolled everywhere." Rin replied.

	"Hisao?" Hanako asked. "Why didn't they take Lilly out this way? Instead of the tight hallway back there?"

	"Well, Hanako," he replied, "this way leads deeper into the factory, and given Ms. Satou's obvious lack of restraint it would assuredly be better for her to return a more efficient way."

	"Are they gonna roll her up the river?" Emi asked.

	"Heavens no." He shook his head. "Imagine. Blueberry Chocolate... you know..." Hisao broke off. "Ah, here we are! Something I'm quite proud of right here."

	He led the group over to a wall. Hanako looked from him to the wall and back again. He stood there patiently looking at the girls. The only sound came from Emi's munching of chocolate.

	"Well?" He asked.

	"Ish ah wal...?" Emi replied.

	Hanako looked back to Hisao. He waggled his eyebrows. "Yes, but what's on the wall?"

	Hanako looked back. It was certainly colorful. Depictions of sweet treats covered the wall in all variety of colors, but that would be normal for a candy factory... but this wasn't a normal candy factory.

	"It's... it's lickable. Isn't it?" Hanako asked, thinking she understood.

	Hisao nodded. "All the sweet taste at less than a tenth of the calories. At least, that's the goal." He said, patting the wall. "Right now, we've got it to double the calories, but who am I to judge wallpaper. I'm a candy maker, not an interior decorator.

	"So, you lick wallpaper... and get double the calories of each product?" Rin asked.

	Hisao nodded. "Per lick."

	Emi walked up to the wall and lightly licked a bar of chocolate. "Mhmmm," She moaned. "Chocolate." She took a bite of her bar and then licked the wallpaper again. An act that seemed... pointless to Hanako.

	Hanako approached the wall and picked something a bit different. A lollipop. When her tongue touched the spot, she could actually swear that she was licking a lollipop. The texture was right, the taste was right, it was so weird.

	"Were trying to market these in America, but they have issues with the whole calories thing." Hisao said. "There's plenty of healthy things on there, so it's not like we're forcing people into picking."

	Emi kept licking at the chocolate, her tongue flicking in and out rapidly.

	"You don't actually eat anything. You can't possibly get calories." Rin said.

	"Oh, I assure you, you do. Mikasa gained 15 pounds when she started here, though Rai had given her a..." his head tilted towards Emi. "Anyways, how are you enjoying it?"

	Emi backed away from the wall. Hanako blinked at her. She couldn't be imagining it, the girl had definitely looked fitter coming into the factory. Her thighs were now visible between her stockings and her tank-top seemed to curve ever so slightly more over her chest.

	"It's really chocolate!" She exclaimed. "It tastes exactly like it!"

	Hisao nodded with pride. "Lick an apple, it tastes like an apple. Lick a peach, it tastes just like a peach. Lick a blueberry-"

	Emi leapt backwards from the wall as if it had stung her. Both Rin and Hanako looked over towards Hisao, whose face was frozen as if in mid speech, his hand still extended towards the wall.

	They stood like that for a moment before the candy man reanimated. "Let’s continue on with the tour."

	Nobody seemed to be feeling too hungry after that, Hanako noticed, her own stomach feeling a bit sickened.

	And then she heard the crinkling of another unwrapping chocolate bar and sighed.

	Hisao led the girls into a large circular room with chrome and black interior. "Now this is something extremely neat." He said. He motioned over to a table like object that seemed to be shooting bubbles into the air from its center. The bubbles happily danced throughout the room, filling it with gentle movements as they rose high into the air.

	"These here are fizzy lifting drinks." Hisao said, holding up a bottle. "They're terrifically fizzing, they'll simply fill you with bubbling gas that'll lift you right off the ground!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

	He lowered them, thumping his cane to the ground, then extended a bottle to Rin.

	"Wanna try one?" He asked.

	"No." She replied simply.

	Hisao frowned. "Why not?"

	"I'm avoiding blowing up like a balloon. I'm avoiding most things about this place, if you haven't noticed." Rin said.

	"Oh, you're no fun." Hisao tutted. He then held the bottle out to Emi.

	"Uhmm," her eyes whipped wildly from side to side. She opened her mouth and stuck the entire chocolate bar into her mouth, wrapper and all. "Ahi shoodn dwwenk wif mah mouf ull" she spoke with her mouth full.

	Hisao rolled his eyes. And then, Hisao hesitated for a moment before he offered the bottle to Hanako. Hanako looked at the bottle with wide eyes.

	'What do I say,' she thought to herself. 'Oh god, will he be mad if I don't take it? Am I supposed to take it? He's going to hate me if I don't take it.'

	Hanako opened her mouth to speak when a floating bubble popped against her nose.

	She froze.

	Hisao nodded his head, turning from the girls and placing the bottle back on the shelf.

	"I can understand that some of you may have some slight misunderstanding about the events that have so far occurred upon our tour." Hisao spoke, as if he were a school master speaking to young students. "I assure you, none of your companions have been harmed due to their own ill-advised decisions, and you'll remember that I myself have attempted to dissuade any rash actions. Such as drinking from a rushing river of chocolate."

	Hanako noticed as Emi's eyes glazed over. A small trickle of drool dribbled over her face and a drop fell onto her rounded belly.

	Rounded belly?

	Hanako did a double take looking at Emi's figure. Her stomach looked as the girl had eaten a feast, which she likely had, of chocolates. She seemed packed full, but her drool only indicated the desire for more.

	Hisao noticed her look and then sighed. "Perhaps we could use a fresh start."

	He snapped his fingers and looked up. "Fresh start! Of course! I've just the idea. Come along now, come along."

	The girls followed him from the bubbling room, bustling along to keep up with his quickened pace.

	Hisao walked along a lengthy hallway before stopping at a red and white stripped door. "Come along, come along, one at a time at least, three at a time at most." He rambled.

	He tapped his cane against the striped door in a precise pattern and the door sprang open. He walked inside with the girls right behind.

	The room itself was massive, with the interior being a treasure trove of clothing. Pile upon pile upon pile of clothes littered the floor, some in strewn high piles, other on racks, and more still in glass cases that sat high on the walls.

	"Isn't it marvelous?" Hisao asked.

	"What are... but why... clothes in a candy factory?" Emi asked.

	"Hmm? Oh, no no no, these aren't edible. Well, maybe the leather, if you like really dead cow," Hisao spoke. "This my dear is merely a preparation! There lies our end goal." He said, stabbing at a door on the far side of the room. A red and white neon sign above the door read 'Mint Room'.

	"Unfortunately, the Mint Room has a certain requirement. All who enter must be dressed minty fresh, so we here will provide you with fresh new clothing! Consider it a thank you and special reward for being so well behaved on this lovely tour." He said, bowing his head to the girls.

	"What if we don't want to change clothes?" Rin asked.

	"Well I'm afraid you'll be disqualified from the tour. I'd send Rai or Mikasa to come and pick you up and take you out, but they still might be busy playing Sisyphus."

	"They're what?" Emi asked, patting herself over. Hanako thought that she might be noticing that she looked like she was about to burst from her shorts, but she withdrew another chocolate bar that'd been tucked into her pants. She had to tug it a little hard, and Hanako noticed it was cracked in half, but the girl's expression turned positively giddy as chocolate crumbles fell when she tore into the bar.

	Hisao sighed, his head hanging limply. "I am so underappreciated in my time." He rose up, waving to the room. "Please, feel free, take your picks of the lot. I'm gonna go douse my face in some candy water or something."

	He walked off to the side and behind one of the piles of clothing.

	Rin looked over to Hanako and shrugged in a distinctly odd gesture. "I'm not too interested in getting syphilis."

	She then walked forwards and into the wasteland of clothing.

	Hanako and Emi followed after her, each with eyes searching through the piles. At one point the girls separated, each taking their own path, much to Hanako's relief. She felt too exposed in her current outfit... how was she supposed to change in front of these other girls She didn't even know them.

	'I'd be comfortable changing if it was just me and Lilly,' she thought to herself. Then she thought it again, realizing how silly that sounded. She wouldn't mind if Lilly could see her, but of course she couldn't... especially now.

	Hanako was alone on the tour. Alone with two strange girls who seemed to be both too aware and not aware enough. They complimented each other well that way. But Hanako had made a promise. She'd promised her friend that she'd win whatever this grand prize was. Not for herself, but because Lilly couldn't. And that meant... that meant changing clothes.

	Hanako looked around again to confirm she was all by herself before looking back to the piles.

	The first outfit she spotted was a grey coat and shirt with brown trousers. 'That looks too big,' she figured.

	Next, she spotted an extremely small t-shirt with a skull on it over a long sleeved red shirt and some fittingly tiny black pants. 'That looks like it's been shrunk,' she thought, looking over the toddler sized items.

	She then found what looked like a blue tracksuit with matching sweatpants. 'If only Lilly had worn something stretchy,' she thought to herself, before tossing the garments back into the pile.

	And then she saw it. It was perfect, the colors of purple and black complimenting each other so well, it was if someone had left the outfit out just for Hanako.

	She felt her eyes raise and looked back and forth. It was a little... too perfect. The outfit called to her, and that made Hanako afraid. 'But...' She imagined Hisao seeking her like that. Hisao, who was trying so hard to make things right after some, admittedly, unfortunate accidents. 'It wasn't his fault that Lilly hadn't listened. She had ignored me, after all. Her best friend. '

	'Maybe what had happened wasn't such a bad thing,' Hanako thought. 'Maybe next time, Lilly will listen to me. Hisao is probably proud of me for trying to help her. Maybe it's what Lilly deserved.'

	Hanako reassured herself that this was all worth it. She forced herself to remember the golden ticket that he'd given to her to start this all. "He relies on me," she whispered to herself. She withdrew the purple pen from the pocket she’d stored it in, looking at it hard. She took in a deep breath, and let it out very slowly.

	And so, Hanako removed her hat. And then, Hanako removed her jacket. Hanako removed her shirt and then her pants, until she stood there in her bare underwear, holding the garment that was meant for her.

	The purple and black sweater stripped horizontally, and ended in a black skirt. Hanako stared at the matching colors, at how they complimented one another and seemed to absorb the light from around them.

	She wanted that to be her. She wanted to be like that, to be so attractive to the eye that you couldn't look away. She wanted to look like that for Hisao.

	And so, Hanako slipped the dress over her head, the skirt falling to just above her knees. The fabric of the sweater felt perfect and soft, while the skirt shimmered like satin and swayed as she turned her hips. She looked round at herself. She liked the dress. She loved it. She felt happy.

	Hisao had done this for her. He had given this wonderful dress to her because he was kind and caring and believed in her.

	She looked down at the purple pen she gipped like a vice in her hand before shoving it into her pocket.

	Her Hisao.

	And with those thoughts, Hanako began her look for the rest of the group, her old clothes left in a pile on the floor.

	She didn't have to search long before finding them.

	"Where are you!?" Emi shouted in fury. "I can smell you!"

	Hanako watched as the girl, dressed in her bra, underwear, and thigh high socks. It was evident that not only the girls stomach had grown, as her chest had much filled out her bra, and her underwear looked far too tight.

	"She's looking for Chocolate."

	Hanako nearly jumped out of her skin. Rin had suddenly appeared right behind her. She wore a yellow shirt that was tied in a knot at one sleeve with tanned pants. Loose around her knees was a belt that had fallen, but looked as if she'd had it halfway on. Rin held out the untied sleeve. "Do you mind? She's not exactly..."

	"I'll find you!"

	"Being very helpful."

	Hanako nodded her head to Rin. She reached out and began to tie her the knot around her sleeve.

	"A little higher up." Rin instructed.

	Hanako nodded and undid her loose knot, her fingers redoing it higher.

	"Tighter, please."

	Again, Hanako nodded. She untied the knot, but then stopped. She squeezed her hands shut, then opened them again, then closed again. Rin bent an eyebrow at her.

	"Were you the one," Hanako asked, "that started up that machine."

	Rin looked at Hanako. She looked Hanako straight in the eyes, and Hanako had to fight herself to keep looking back.

	"Yes." Rin said.

	Hanako nodded. Then she reached out and began to tie the knot again. She tied it tightly. Her fingers gripped the shirt and pulled it till the seams nearly popped. Rin didn't say a word.

	Hanako felt like throwing up. 'Maybe Lilly deserved it. How could you. How could I even think... oh my god.' A tear welled up in Hanako's eye and fell to the floor, as the weight of the pen in her pocket seemed to double and redouble with guilt and shame at her own selfish thoughts.

	"If she is hurt because of you..." Hanako whispered with a dangerous frost, her voice slightly shaking. Rin said nothing.

	Hanako walked around Rin and pulled the belt up. She pulled it through the loop. She tied it tightly. Then she tied the loose bit of blue ascot around Rin's throat. Finally, she reached down to the ground and placed the hat onto Rin's head roughly. The two girls looked into one another's eyes again, and this time, Hanako felt herself steady.

	"Mhmphf!" Came a muffled shout. Emi breached the pile of clothing right next to the girls, causing each to flinch to the side as pants and shirts rained down.

	Emi emerged from the pile of clothing, covered in some massive fur coat. Beads of sweat dripped down her face as she huffed. She ripped the wrappings off of the Nakai Bar she held in her hands and took an enormous bite. One hand cupped her jaw as she chewed, moaning with pleasure. "Show gooodd."

	"Ah, I see were all ready to head into the mint room?" Hisao said, approaching the group. "Oh, Rin, very nice hat."

	"I know." She replied.

	Hisao stood there for a moment, apparently expecting more.

	"Riigght." He said after an awkward pause. He clapped his hands.

	"Well then, off we go, yes?"

	"How come you don't have to change?" Emi asked. She withdrew another chocolate bar from the fur coat. Whoever had owned it last had apparently stuffed it full.

	'That must have been a very greedy girl.' Hanako thought.

	Hisao put a finger on his chin, tapping it thoughtfully. "Honestly, I seem to be excerpt from that rule." He said with a shrug. "I've tried changing outfits twice, but everyone always hates it. 'The original is better,' they cry. 'The animation makes their faces terrifying.' Don't ask about that last one, we had to ban pets because of that whole debacle."

	"You don't spend a lot of time making sense, do you?" Rin asked.

	"Of course not, I make candy. Now, if you'll all follow me." And with that Hisao led the girls past the remaining piles of clothes, through the doors, and into the Mint Room.