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Lanzhu was having a sleepover at Shioriko's.
The next morning, Shioriko awoke to find Lanzhu having turned back into a six-year-old. She called Mia. "Uh...Mia-san, we have a problem....."
Mia groaned as she rolled over in bed, blinking sleep from her eyes as she fumbled for her phone. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Shioriko, play with me!" Lanzhu whined.
Mia's sleep-muddled brain finally registered the high-pitched voice in the background—a voice that shouldn't belong to a 17-year-old. "What the hell was that?"
"Shioriko, who are you talking to?" Lanzhu pouted. "You know you're not supposed to talk to strangers."
Mia's groan turned into a sharp inhale as she sat bolt upright. "No fucking way. Tell me that's not Lanzhu."
Shioriko sighed, watching as Lanzhu tugged at her sleeve. "I have no idea how she got like this."
Mia exhaled sharply through her nose. "Great. Just fucking great. Okay, stay there. I'm on my way."
"Why are you so big?" Lanzhu demanded. "You're supposed to be small, like me." She began to panic. "Wait, if you're big, can I not take care of you anymore?"
Shioriko paused. Lanzhu must only remember what she was like from their childhood.
"I'm still me," Shioriko said softly, kneeling to Lanzhu's eye level. "Just grown up."
Mia burst in.
Lanzhu hid behind Shioriko. "Who's that.....? Shioriko, do you know her?"
"Yes. She's a very nice person," Shioriko explained. How was she supposed to explain everything to Lanzhu when all she remembered was their childhood? She gestured to Mia, begging for her to play along.
Lanzhu peaked out from behind Shioriko's leg. "If you're Shioriko's friend, I guess I can trust you."
Mia crossed her arms, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I'm her friend." Her voice was flat. She glanced at Shioriko. "You've got to be kidding me."
Lanzhu hugged Shioriko's leg. "It's so weird. You're like a giant."
Shioriko froze. "I-Is that bad?"
Lanzhu shook her head. "It just hurts because I have to lift my head to look at you."
Shioriko knelt down again, brushing a stray strand of pink hair behind Lanzhu's ear. "Better?"
Lanzhu giggled. "You're still a giant, hehe." She hugged Shioriko. "Take that!" She pulled back. "Wait a minute, are you really Shioriko? You're not clinging to me like usual." Lanzhu stared at her. "That's suspicious...."
Mia groaned. "She's suspicious? Really?" She rubbed her temples. "This is so goddamn ridiculous."
Lanzhu glared at her. "Hey, I take care of Shioriko a lot, so don't you go doubting me."
Shioriko winced. "She's just joking, Lanzhu."
Lanzhu crossed her arms, pouting. "Do you not believe me?" She began listing things off on her fingers. "I would wash her hair, tie her shoes, share my snacks. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Shioriko!"
"We should...bring her to the others," Mia suggested.
And they did just that, taking the tiny Lanzhu to the club room.
Ayumu dropped her book. "Is that....Lanzhu-chan....?"
"Ahhh, she's so cute!" Emma squealed. "She reminds me of my siblings back in Switzerland."
Kasumi gave a defeated look. "She's....cuter than me...."
Yuu sank to her knees. "You broke her!!!!!"
Shioriko sighed. "Calm down, everyone. Lanzhu, can you-" She looked down, Lanzhu gone. The first-year began to panic. "Where's Lanzhu!?"
Shizuku was sitting on the floor with Lanzhu, showing her her phone. "And this is Ophelia. She's my Golden Retriever."
Lanzhu's eyes lit up.
Shizuku giggled. "Do you like dogs, Lanzhu-san?"
Shioriko let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."
"I have a German Sheppard back home," Lanzhu replied. "His name is Kai."
Kasumi, still sulking over Lanzhu's accidental cuteness supremacy, suddenly perked up. "Wait, if she's six, does that mean she doesn't remember being evil yet?"
Mia pinched the bridge of her nose, her usual exasperation bubbling back up. "Oh my god, Kasumi. She wasn't evil."
Ai crouched down. "Psst, mini-Lanzhu. Wanna hear a joke about paper? Never mind, it's tearable!"
Yuu burst into laughter. "Terrible! But tearable because it's paper! Hahahaha!!!"
Lanzhu tilted her head at Ai's joke, utterly unimpressed. "That was bad," she declared.
"They always are," Setsuna groaned.
"Setsu!" Ai scolded.
Shioriko was the only one who was panicking. "How the heck do we fix her?"
Emma took over. "First, stop panicking. "She knelt in front of Lanzhu. "Lanzhu-chan, do you like to play? I have lots of games I played with my own siblings."
Lanzhu's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Ayumu sighed. "Thank goodness we have Emma-chan on our side."
"Have you ever played hide and seek before?"
Lanzhu nodded.
Emma grabbed Kasumi's hand. "You can be the one who finds us, then."
"Why do I have to play!?" Kasumi snapped.
"You'll be fine." Emma led the two out of the room.
Yuu was very upset. "Lanzhu-chan was so cool and confident and prideful. And now she's like this!"
"You're way too upset about this, Yuu-chan," Ayumu said.
"Because it's Lanzhu-chan!" Yuu cried out. "She's like our ace card! She's the freaking best! This can't just happen!"
"Maybe she needs to take a nap to go back to normal?" Kanata suggested. "That's what I do."
Shioriko grabbed Mia by the shoulders, shaking her. "Mia-san, tell me everything's gonna be okay! Tell me she's gonna be fine!"
"How the hell are there 10 of us in this room right now, yet we're only sharing one brain cell?" Karin sighed.
"Are you calling us stupid?" Yuu pouted.
Rina held up a shocked face. "Rina-chan Board says shocked."
Shioriko ended up taking Lanzhu home, having gotten nowhere. She sat on her bed.
Lanzhu climbed up onto the bed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm thinking," Shioriko murmured.
Lanzhu fell onto her lap. "Let me think with you."
Shioriko sighed.
Lanzhu began to fall asleep.
Shioriko allowed herself to fall asleep, as well. She woke up the next morning to find a normal sized Lanzhu on her lap. Thank God it was over.