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When the weird fragment dissolves into white light, Akito thinks that he'll finally get to breathe out in relief. He lands on familiar, cobbled ground and sighs.
His well deserved, exasperated sigh isn't what he wanted. It's not at all satisfying.
Worryingly, it's far smaller than it should be. He's well aware of his lung capacity, and he knows he heaves a sigh like no other. A shiver of trepidation runs though him, and he opens his eyes.
He blinks, once, twice.
Why is the SEKAI suddenly bigger?
“Akito-kun~!” There's a melodic, excited drawl above him, and it can only mean one thing.
He doesn’t have time to worry about his suddenly short legs, because he has to run.
“Absolutely the hell not!” He yells out, higher pitched than he's used to. Luka is a right menace and he's not in the mood for cuddles and poking.
Why is he still child sized?
He knows he used to be a little piece of shit, but the small bastard must've done something to cause this just to piss him off. If he could, he'd get back into the fragment just to give that tiny asshole a piece of his mind. But for now, he has to run away from the coddling demons, because unlike those two MEIKO has a shred of sense, and will actually help him, and do so soon. Luka would eventually help him, but not without getting her fill of his current tiny form, and he's not sure he would ever trust KAITO with a child.
He sprints down familiar alleys, ignoring the footsteps trailing behind him and the pouty shouts that bounce around the streets. He needs to get to crase cafe, fast, and lock the door behind him.
Of course, nothing can go well today, as if that version of him learned wizardry just to cast a curse on his person.
His team is here.
They're chatting with Miku and the others, and that includes MEIKO, which ruins his plans just a little.
He has a decision to make: does he pivot and go through back alleys, or will the shock be enough to barrel through them right into the cafe? He can barricade himself and let just MEIKO in, like some sort of fucked up hostage situation.
Before he can make that decision, however, the commotion caused by those two behind him is heard. Heads snap towards him, and for a moment, the group falls silent.
Then, of course, An bursts out laughing.
“Oh my God!” She breathes out between laughs, “What happened to you?”
“Shut the fuck up,” He pants out, then makes a turn to hide behind MEIKO. Damn it, his lungs really are small. How did he survive like this?
“What happened, Akito?” Toya asks, with at least a sliver of concern for him. It's not much, and Toya sounds mostly amused, but he'll take anything that's not just outright mockery or babying.
“Some fragment bullshit.” He finally makes it to the group, and he stands in the gap between MEIKO and Miku. This should be the safest spot to protect him from the two demons.
“Wow, you sure have a foul mouth for a ten year old.” An grins, “Don't naughty kids get punished?”
“I don't wanna fuckin’ hear it, An. MEIKO-san, Miku, please help.” He looks up (and wow, that sure feels weird when he's normally taller than the two of them) and hopes that they have a simple and speedy solution for him.
“Were you alone in the fragment?” Miku asks, and it’s the best thing he heard so far. She does want to help him, and she does want to work on a solution. He’s so relieved, he doesn't even complain when MEIKO's hand lands in his hair.
“Those two were there with me.” He points to Luka, leaning against a wall, and KAITO, leaning so hard on his knees he looks like he might topple over.
“You can really tell—” Luka pauses to take in a breath, “—that he used to play soccer. He’s so small, but so fast.” A soft, proud tone creeps into Luka's voice, not unlike a mother gloating about her child. Akito winces in disgust.
“Hmm.” MEIKO's absentmindedly petting through his hair, and he hates that it feels really good. “What happened in the fragment?”
“I'm sorry, Shinonome-kun,” Kohane butts in, and Akito braces for whatever comes next, “You were, or are, a cute kid.” She's smiling, and she crouches down to be level with him, and if he doesn't turn normal within the next five minutes he might start praying for a deity to strike him down.
“Thanks, I guess?” He responds, because at the very least Kohane is nice. “‘N I met my child self there, swapped bodies with him, then swapped back. I don't get why the hell I'm like this again.” He waves his now small hands for emphasis.
“Akito-kun~, why did you run?” It seems like Luka regained her composure, and he ducks under her outstretched hands when she tries to grab him. He moves to stand behind Toya, because he's the tallest obstacle present, and his partner wouldn't betray him.
Toya moves to the right, and Akito's about to call betrayal, when Toya tentatively hugs him to his side.
It's careful and awkward and so Toya, Akito can't help the small laugh that escapes him.
A rough hand in his hair ruins the moment.
“Fuck off, An!” There's a smug giggle above him, and he moves to Toya's other side instead. Kohane is nice and respectful and not an annoyance.
“Miku, is there a chance KAITO's and Luka's feelings influenced the SEKAI?” MEIKO asks, and Akito sends a warning glance at the aforementioned two. If their sudden baby fever made him stuck like this, he might not be able to hold himself back.
“Awwww, Akito-kun, it's so cute when you try to glare at us. It's not scary at all,” KAITO coos, and Akito wonders if his feelings can make the ground open up and swallow either both KAITO and Luka or himself.
“Looking at them, it's possible.” Miku sounds amused as her gaze drifts between the culprits, who don't seem the tiniest bit guilty. At least they stopped trying to grab him. “You should go back to normal by the end of the day, though. Their feelings can't make long-lasting changes in the SEKAI.”
“‘M stuck like this ‘till the end of the day,” He repeats, furious, though that doesn’t show much in his voice, annoyingly.
“Can we babysit?” Luka pipes up, making grabby hands towards him, and Akito steps back behind Toya.
“No,” He protests at the same time as MEIKO. “I think you two have done enough,” MEIKO continues, her tone harsh and strict like a mother’s, and seeing KAITO and Luka cower at the sound fills him with satisfaction. “Why don’t you two go back to that street where you saw the fragment? Maybe there’s something there that could help Akito-kun return to normal sooner.” MEIKO finishes, with all the might of a pissed off parent, and the subjects of her wrath scurry away.
“Thanks, MEIKO-san,” He breathes out in relief.
“It’s no problem, Akito-kun. Feel free to pass the time in the cafe,” MEIKO offers, “I should have some board games I can bring out, or we could watch a movie or two.”
“Oh, let’s play some games!” An rushes over to the cafe entrance. Akito can smell her ulterior motive, but follows behind her regardless. It’s not like he wants to risk going home right now.
“That makes a pair.” Akito places down two sevens, then casts a triumphant look at An, left with a lone queen in her hand. “You just lost Old Maid to a ten year old, again.”
“Shut uppppppp,” An groans, sliding forward on the table, the queen still in her hand. “We’re playing another, and I’m beating you this time!”
“Isn’t that the fourth time you’ve said that, Shiraishi?” Toya asks, his head tilted in confusion.
“Argh, this time I’ll win for real!” She proclaims, then picks up the cards to shuffle them for another round of Old Maid.
“We’re not playing Old Maid anymore,” An declares, angrily slamming the queen on the table.
Akito picks the card up, then flicks it at An’s head, smiling when it hits her square in the forehead. “You handle losing worse than a ten year old.”
“Yeah, because you haven’t actually lost!” She picks up the deck again, roughly shuffling the cards. “We’re playing Beggar-My-Neighbour, and if I lose again you’re getting put in timeout.”
“Don’t put him in timeout, An-chan.” Kohane pouts before he can get a word in. “He’s too cute to be punished.” Kohane lightly pokes his cheek, and he feels his eyelid twitch. If he hears one more word that reduces him to his current form, he might snap.
“I agree. We have to make the most of this occasion.” The only thing that saves everyone from his anger is the fact that Toya’s the one speaking, and he can’t be mad at Toya. “Seeing my partner like this is a special experience that I will forever treasure.”
“Dude,” Akito sighs despite his embarrassment, “You’re blowin’ this way out of proportion.”
“Toya’s right,” An comments as she deals the cards, “This is kinda a big deal. I can finally look down on you.”
“‘M gonna make sure you never win a game again,” He promises, eyebrows knitting together in focus. He’s not physically capable of beating the shit out of An right now, but at the very least he can demolish her at card games.
“Oh, you’re so on.” An finishes dealing, then cracks her knuckles.
Akito has never been so focused on a game of Beggar before.
The first one to go out is Kohane, who had to deal with an unfortunate streak of penalties from An. It means that one, An has a lot of cards, and two, most of her penalties are at the very bottom of the stack. Any time Toya places a penalty card, Akito has to hold back a grin as An’s forced to discard more and more cards. He had to discard a few cards from some stray penalties from An, but he also threw out a few of his own.
For a minute, they’re just discarding one card at a time. After that, all hell breaks loose.
Toya rips an ace out of pretty much nowhere, much to the dismay of An; unlucklily for him, the third card she places down is a king, which makes a smug grin appear on her face. The first card he places down is a queen, saving his ass and passing the penalty to Toya. Then, the guy somehow pulls out another ace. An’s forced up to give up four cards, leaving her with barely anything and Toya with most of the penalty cards in his pile.
An loses soon after that, and Akito is more than happy to accept second. Toya’s luck is too powerful for him to defeat, even if he’d like to win. Above all else, he needs An to lose, because she’s sick in the head and wants to kick him when he’s down.
“You’re cheating.” An points an accusing finger at him, despite the fact that Toya somehow had all of the aces in his hand.
“You’re jus’ shit at cards,” He protests, “‘Sides, Toya had four aces in his hand. Why’re you not accusin’ him?”
“He’s nice, unlike you.” As An speaks, Kohane silently gathers the cards into her hands, then places them away in the box. It’s probably for the best.
“Akito is very kind,” Toya states, and Akito has to look to the side for a moment to hide his blush. He can never understand how Toya can so casually say things like that, and it always catches him off guard.
“How about we watch a movie?” Kohane offers, the pack of cards passed to the responsible hands of MEIKO.
“Fine.” An hurries away from the table to snatch the remote.
Akito rolls his eyes, but follows her to sit down, with Toya and Kohane right behind him. He ends up sandwiched between the two of them, with Toya once again awkwardly hugging him to his side. An picks some movie she wanted to watch for a while, and Akito doesn’t argue with her choice because at least it distracts her from poking fun at him. The movie’s painfully mediocre, but snacking on MEIKO’s pastries, surrounded by his team isn’t the worst way to pass the time.
He heads to the bathroom sometime near the ending, since the plot becomes unbearable to look at. He doesn’t curse out the bathroom layout when he realizes that he’s too short to reach some things, because he’s more mature than that.
He takes a moment to collect himself. This day has been insane, from everything that happened in the fragment, to now being stuck in the body of his younger self. Not only was his child self a brat, he couldn’t even catch a break once he got out of the fragment, because everyone wanted to either baby him or mock him. What a disaster of a day.
He’s about to open the door, when a shower of triangles falls over him. It makes him dizzy, similar to how first entering SEKAI felt, and he closes his eyes against the sensation. He reopens his eyes once the feeling passes, and nearly collapses to his knees with the sheer force of the relief that floods his body.
He’s back to normal.
He double checks himself in the mirror, and he looks seventeen again. He walks out of the bathroom with a grin.
“‘M back to normal,” He announces, voice filled with relief.
“Welcome back, Akito. I’m glad it wore off, though it’s a little sad, too.” Toya pats the space next to him, and Akito sits down in the spot.
“‘M jus’ glad it’s over,” Akito sighs.
Though, he has to admit, hanging out like this wasn’t so bad. If he ignores being stuck in his past self’s body, spending the afternoon with his team was fun.