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“Shuichi is a little!”
That was Miu’s discovery that she announced smugly over the breakfast table, and there was immediate silence.
“He is?”
“Really?”
“How old are you really, then, Shuichi?”
Everyone started talking and Shuichi froze, swallowing hard, tears coming to his eyes. How did Miu know that? Distantly, he was aware of a slim hand pressing to his back and a larger hand gently guiding him to set his fork down and stand up.
“Maybe it’s because he’s a little that he’s such a-“
“Miu,” Kaito’s voice interrupted, already in his protective caregiver mode. “If you speak any further of Shuichi in a bad manner I will happily see to your death. I don’t care what consequences it will have on me.”
There was a stunned silence, and Kaito led Shuichi out of the room, holding the little’s hand and murmuring to him reassuringly.
Maki’s voice snapped at Miu distantly, causing an uproar and Shuichi flinched, cowering closer to Kaito. Thankfully, Kaito didn’t mind, and just kept walking him down the path, likely back to their dorms.
Indeed, they ended up at their dorms. Shuichi was crying silently by now, and allowed Kaito to walk him to his room, taking the keycard from the crying boy and unlocking the door, opening it and guiding Shuichi inside. The door was shut behind the two of them quickly, and Kaito sat Shuichi down on his bed, gathering the crying little into his arms, which only made him cry more.
But Kaito didn’t flinch, just holding Shuichi through it, even starting to sing softly to reassure the little that clung to him.
And that had quite the effect. It seemed almost as if it was a switch that was flipped in Shuichi - he immediately settled down, curling into Kaito more and his cries started to ease up.
They sat together in relative silence, the only sound in the room being Shuichi’s sobs and shaky breaths, and Kaito’s soft singing and humming, which he alternated between.
Once Shuichi was mostly quiet, Kaito nosed against his temple, mumbling quietly to him. “Are you okay, kiddo?”
Shuichi nodded, tugging on Kaito’s jacket and starting to squirm in his lap. Taking the hint, Kaito released him, moving aside while Shuichi made himself comfortable up by his pillows, before reaching for Kaito expectantly.
Kaito hummed, moving over to Shuichi’s side, wrapping him up in his arms and nuzzling against his head gently. Shuichi snuggled into him, rather eagerly, making a soft noise of what just had to be contentment while he nudged his head against Kaito’s chin, nuzzling against his neck.
Smiling, the caregiver rubbed Shuichi’s back softly, holding him a little closer. Shuichi seemed to be regressed pretty far, if how clingy he was being was any indication. The careful but strong grip on his shirt really said enough.
“How old are you, buddy?” Kaito asked gently, pulling away to look at Shuichi.
Shuichi blinked, then frowned, almost like he was pouting for a moment before he spoke in a soft voice.
“Fwee.”
Three, then. Pretty small. Nothing Kaito couldn’t handle, though.
“Alright, that’s all good. Can I call you pet names?” He knew Shuichi would say yes, but it was always good to ask. Shuichi nodded, and Kaito smiled, kissing Shuichi’s forehead, changing his tone of voice to be a little softer.
“Okay, little one. Do you have a pacifier I can grab for you?” He hoped Monokuma had supplied Shuichi with little gear, and with the cheerful little nod Shuichi gave him, he seemed to have done just that.
Shuichi mumbled the pacifier’s location, and Kaito went to grab it, returning to Shuichi once he had it, handing it over. The little immediately popped it into his mouth, squeaking happily.
The pacifier was just a simple black one, but Shuichi seemed totally content with it, shifting to hug a small black cat stuffie that had been on one of his pillows, nudging into Kaito’s hand as it ran over the top of his head.
It was probably from crying, but Shuichi seemed pretty sleepy, considering how he cuddled into his bed, curling around his stuffie and squeaking quietly, making little happy noises as Kaito’s fingers carded through Shuichi’s hair, the caregiver internally gushing over how soft Shuichi’s hair was and how nice it felt to play with.
But externally, Kaito just hummed and kissed Shuichi’s temple.
“Sleep, little buddy. I gotcha.”
Shuichi yawned, holding his pacifier in place, and nodded, cuddling back into Kaito’s chest once his yawn ended.
He mumbled a sleepy love you to Kaito, and was promptly out like a light a minute or two later.
Regardless of if the others knew that Shuichi was a little or not, Kaito would always be there for him to lean on. And that was a fact.