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To say, Denji was panicked ... was an understatement.
"Stop screaming, Denji!"
Surprisingly, Power handled the situation way, way much better.
She squatted to the pile of clothes on the floor, and carefully removed the layer one by one.
"How can this be real!?"
Power didn't answer. She lifted the last sweater to reveal a black-haired baby, looking up at them, with his extremely judgmental stare.
"I don't know either," Power shrugged, patting the boy's head. The boy seemed to enjoy the gesture. "You know what, Topknot, you're not so bad when you're just a baby."
Denji stifled another groan, but it didn't go unnoticed by the infant. The baby tried to make a grabby motion with his little hand as if he wanted Denji to come closer to him.
"Denji, come down here!" Power pulled his shirt. "Aki wants to talk to you!"
How? Aki is just a baby! Denji wanted to say, but glancing through the corner of his eyes, little Aki did seem like he had something to tell him.
Or maybe he was just acting like a normal baby who wanted some attention.
"This is creepy," he whispered discreetly to Power. But the Blood Fiend was smiling the whole time, either too amused with the whole situation or because she had never met a real human baby before.
"Hey, Aki," Denji waved his hand and immediately felt stupid.
The little Aki was watching him with the same gaze he always had when he was in his adult form: scrutinizing, unapproving, and very judgmental. As if he knew that Denji had to make trouble somehow even if Denji didn't do any shit. Like Aki was expecting that Denji would screw up and mess things up, whether unintentionally or on purpose.
He chose to give the baby the benefit of doubt though, since Aki was, y'know, a literal baby right now.
"You're so small," he opted to comment. Denji swore the little Aki gave him his regular 'har-har-this-is-not-funny' bitchface.
Aki cooed in return, fisting his tiny hands on his winter coat.
It was so strange, and it said something since Denji had known, seen, and even experienced pretty much questionable things throughout his life.
Several hours ago, Aki was a full-grown ass man who spent his morning, chastising him and Power for not doing the house chores.
Denji had seen him standing behind the kitchen counter and cooking them a delicious meal. Now, this Aki couldn't even stand on his own feet. Long gone, his trademarked topknot, now, it was just a thin layer of black hair on his soft head. Denji was pretty sure Pochita was even bigger than him.
"Maybe we gotta report this," Power spoke hesitantly.
The most surprising thing among the various events that happened, was probably Power being such a reasonable person. She was calm and collected. There was even no slight panic. After her initial shock of her caretaker mysteriously getting de-aged into a freaking infant, she just carried on and treated it like it was a normal situation.
Denji scoffed. "You're crazy. What would we say to the authority, huh?" Baby Aki had to have some intelligence left because he nodded along. "What are we gonna say? 'Hello, sorry, good Sirs, we have turned our brother into a baby, do you have any idea how to reverse this?' You can say bye to Meowy, now, because we're definitely gonna be arrested."
Power pouted at his words, but her pouting didn't last long. She clicked her fingers. "Maybe this was like one of those fairy tales when the curse will only last for like one night? Topknot will be normal after we let it sit for one night!"
While it was a plausible idea, Denji couldn't help himself to turn down her thought.
"What is he, a dough? We're gonna let him sit for one night, and he will wake up as a grown-up?" Power gave him face, what's wrong with that? Denji rolled his eyes before he stood up and walked towards the telephone. "We should give him to Kishibe. He must know what to—"
"NO!"
Power caught his legs.
"What the fu—"
"We can't do that!" Power scrambled to hug Denji's calf. "It's our fault that Aki went out to the blister only to fetch us something to eat. It's our fault that he turns like this."
Denji looked down at Power, who didn't even raise her head as she circled her arms around his leg, keeping him in confinement. He thought about what she said.
It was true, he and Power had been against Aki over what to eat for dinner (or more accurately, Power had been adamant to reject every meal idea from Aki, Denji was on her side to spite him). Aki usually didn't indulge them, he would ignore their protest, cook whatever he wanted, and they could eat them or starve. Yet, Aki changed into his sweater, and put on his winter coat. Without saying a word, he went for quick grocery shopping to prepare for what Power and Denji might enjoy.
"Please, Denji, can we not give him away?"
If you told Denji, that Power—the very self-centered, awfully egoistic Power would offer herself to take care of a baby, in a specific scenario where Aki magically transformed into a baby, Denji would laugh so hard.
Or maybe he would give you, a 'what-the-fuck-are-you-smoking' for asking such an absurd question.
Yet, it was happening before him.
Aki was de-aged.
And it left Power and Denji, the two most irresponsible people in this household to handle the situation.
Either Aki had to sense his confusion and doubts, or because he was naked because his clothes were too big for him, he sneezed so loud, it echoed in their small apartment.
That got their attention, and it gotta be what Aki wanted because the moment they turned their head toward his direction, he fisted the coat again and babbled in his baby language.
"Sorry, Topknot, you must be cold," Denji didn't even realize that Power had released his leg and now she was trying to put an overly large sweater over his tiny figure.
Baby Aki was quite cooperative with her initiative. He laughed when the fabric finally covered up his body, and the sound almost caused him to jump, but Power went to scoop the baby and chatted nonsense with him.
"You're like Tiny Meowy!" She giggled before Aki tried to grab her hair. The glee turned into an irritated hiss very quickly. "Bad Topknot!"
And yet, Power didn't put him down. Denji wouldn't have thought he would say this, but Power was right.
Aki had been taking care of them and it was their turn to do so to him.
What could be so bad by having baby Aki for one night? Denji and Power had been through worse, Aki had probably too.
The whole event was weird, but it couldn't be worse right?
"Hey, Aki? You're hungry, buddy?"
Let's just hope it won't be, Denji thought.