The last thing Makoto remembered before everything went blank was jumping in front of a blow for his sister. While he didn't want to make a habit of getting knocked out by a shadow, he was glad that he spared Kotone the blow.
Or so he thought.
Makoto stirred awake and felt an odd sluggishness to his movements. It wasn't that he was groggy from sleep or anything. It was more like as if he had less control of his motor skills. It took more effort to push himself up to a sit, and his arms seemed to sway more than his usual command, often overshooting his movements. He checked his hands, expecting to find the beginnings of some bruising to explain his sluggishness. Instead, he found his hands were small, pudgy.
He scanned the immediate area, it was dark, but he could tell he was back in the Iwatodai dorms. Whose room was still a mystery, it feeling unfamiliar aside from the same architecture shared between rooms. He noticed a familiar patch of reddish-brown hair peeking out from under the sheets, and Makoto nudged himself over, pulling himself with his forearms and not quite a crawl.
"Koto...ne," his voice was higher and his words were slurred like a very young child's. Had to have been younger than Maiko. He gripped the sheets as best he could, revealing his twin sister, fast asleep. Her cheeks were rounded, and her nose a small button. She couldn't have been older than three.
Makoto nudged her until she woke, slower than him to rise. She wiped the sleep from her own eyes with hands small and stubby like his own but didn't seem to think anything was off until she saw him. "Koto...kun?"
It's been a long time since she's called me that, Makoto thought, the use of his childhood nickname bringing memories flooding back in. "Koto-chan..." he said back. "Something wrong..."
A gentle clearing of a throat caught their attention, and the twins turned to the source of the noise: their senpai Mitsuru Kirijo, sitting off on the bed, having been watching the both of them for some time now.
"I'm glad to see you're both awake," Mitsuru said, offering the pair a smile. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the way their big eyes focused on her was all too adorable. "Do you remember what happened...?"
"Senpai..." Kotone said with a light gasp.
"A shadow hit us," Makoto answered plainly.
Mitsuru could feel herself relax. They were still themselves, albeit in a much smaller body. However, she could tell that their communication skills were that of a toddler's, sentences short, very direct, and pronunciations imperfect. A part of her was curious to how much this status affliction affected them both. "Good."
A quiet grumble interrupted the conversation, and Kotone looked expectantly over to Mitsuru. "Hungie..."
Mitsuru hummed in agreement. "I suppose breakfast is in order."
Delighted, Kotone raised her arms up, signaling that she wanted to be carried. Meanwhile, Makoto made his way over to the edge of the makeshift crib. In a show of stubborn independence, he tried to climb over it and let himself down. If it wasn't for Mitsuru lunging in and stopping him, Makoto would have fell face-first into the ground. Kotone, still holding out her arms, let out an impatient whine, seemingly upset that Mitsuru tended to her brother first and not recognizing the urgency behind the choice.
Mitsuru set the boy down and realized they were both going to be a handful as Makoto immediately toddled off to the door in the brief seconds she took to pick up Kotone. With the girl secured, Mitsuru hurried over to catch up to Makoto before he threw himself down the stairs. If she could hazard a guess, while they maintained their memories and personalities, their impulses, emotions, and decision-making were ruled by having the mind of a young child.
The rest of SEES tried to temper their amusement as they were treated with the sight of Mitsuru holding one of the Yuki twins over her shoulder and holding the other's hand as she gently let him down the stairs.
"Good morning, Mitsuru-senpai," Fuuka greeted, looking up from her own breakfast. "And you two as well, Kotone-chan and Makoto-kun."
Kotone beamed at the call of her name, waving her free hand over at the breakfast table. Yukari and Fuuka seemed to brighten at her. Junpei, meanwhile, hid an amused smirk behind his hand.
As breakfast went on...
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