(no subject)

[axeboyfriend]

WHO: Denizens and friends of Heropa 15
WHERE: Heropa 15
WHEN: Throughout the month of July
WHAT: SHENANIGANS
WARNINGS: None yet! Will edit as necessary


A. When We Were Young.

[ Shinjiro has been doing his best to make himself scarce for at least a month now. It's partly moping, partly trying to keep himself busy so he can't mope too much, and partly just being an antisocial weirdo. At least he still shows up for cooking show marathons sometimes? Even if he's been quieter during them.

None of that is the point right now. The point is this— Shinjiro seems to be missing. Or is he? Koromaru's still there, in the kitchen.... He's curiously sniffling what appears to be a small child of around seven or eight. The child, for his part, is staring with wide-eyed fascination at the shiba inu as he pets him very carefully. When someone walks into the kitchen, he jerks his head over. ]

It's not my fault this time!

[ He seems very insistent about this. ]

B. But We All Have To Grow Up

[ At some time afterwards, when he's back to normal.... Well. Shinjiro's trying to act normal, anyway. Which means he's back in the kitchen, cooking up something that smells as delicious and enticing as possible, the better to encourage starving artists to drift out of their room for a meal perhaps. Or to give overactive superheros a meal. Regardless, it's delicious and you should totally come have some.

For his part, Shinjiro is bustling busily around the kitchen. He's ditched the beanie for at least the moment, his hair held back in a small ponytail as he moves around. ]

C. Wildcard.

[ Do you have a prompt of your own? Do you want to use this post as a basic catch-all for Heropa 15 for July? Feel free to use this post! ]

Comments

yusuke!!

[lempereur]

1; day one!

[ Yusuke Kitagawa, age five, wakes up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar house, and because he's five, this is quite distressing. Although this bedroom is full of fancy paints that Sensei won't let him touch yet, he'd really, honestly, like to just go home. So, time to find an escape.

As he wanders around the house in his precious lobster pajamas and fat, pinchable cheeks, he only gets more and more upset. His tummy is gurgling. He can't find his stuffed fox. He's lost. This is the worst. The poor kid is on the verge of tears by the time he makes it to the bottom of the stairs, but then...

!!! ]

Dog!!

2; and uhhh other stuff!!

[ Yusuke is a sweet kid. Not as confrontational as he'll grow to be, but very curious, the kind of child that says please and thank you while bugging you every minute of the day to explain what you're doing. Who are you and where are we? What's ice skating? Where are we going now? What's for lunch? That one's especially important. ]

1

[axeboyfriend]

[ Koromaru barks at the new small child, walking over to Yusuke with his tail wagging. He's smaller, but he smells familiar...?! Yes, this smells like the painting roommate. Koromaru plants himself in front of Yusuke. Pet me???

Meanwhile, little Shinjiro follows behind the dog. ]

Hey, don't go...!

Re: 1

[lempereur]

[ Yes, pets! Gentler, and more tentative than Koro's used to from him, because he's a tiny boy with tiny hands. As he quickly gains trust that the dog isn't going to bite, the ear scratches get better. Good puppy.

Shinji, on the other hand? He's not sure about. He shyly hides his face behind Koromaru's. ]

Re: 1

[axeboyfriend]

[ Koromaru would never bite Yusuke! He doesn't even bite Shadows— He attacks them with a knife. Regardless, he's happily wagging his tail as he gets petted.

Shinjiro, for his part, looks at the new kid with curiosity. ]

Who are you?

[lempereur]

I'm Yusuke.

[ He bows, lower than he probably needs to. ]

Who are you? Is this your house?

[ Shinji seems like a big kid to little Yusuke, but he's not an adult. Where's Madarame? ]

[axeboyfriend]

[ Shinjiro shakes his head, his hands closing in until he's petting Koromaru again. ]

'Snot mine either, I don't got one. It's not the orphanage either.

[ He's doing his best to look calm and composed in front of the smaller kid. ]

'M Shinjiro. You lost too?

1.

[pale_blue_arrow]

[Brendan was coming over today, originally, to try to do something nice in return for Yusuke bringing him clothes and leftovers. He's not great at figuring out how to be social, but he knows he wants to try to return the kindness Yusuke inexplicably keeps showing him.

So he shows up with a blueberry pie en tow, hears a shout from inside the house, cracks open the door to take a peek, and then... then his brain has to reboot from cuteness, but also, what the fuck it's a tiny Yusuke.]

...hey there, little man. You okay?

[lempereur]

[ Now there's a strange man walking into this strange house. There's a shiba with a red bandana around his neck keeping calm, but still, little Yusuke has some idea of what stranger danger is.

The guy has pie, though. ]

I don't live here.

[pale_blue_arrow]

Oh. Um, okay. Well, I was jut going to drop this off for a friend of mine, but since he's not here, do you want some? And then maybe we can figure out where you're supposed to be and call someone to come get you. How's that sound?

[Tiny Yusuke looks remarkably serious for a small child. Brendan's kind of impressed. He's also keeping his distance so as not to freak the kid out. If his knowledge of bad sci-fi literature serves him right, this will wear off soon, and in the meantime, the best thing to do is to keep calm and wait.]

We should probably feed the dog, too, while we're here. Unless you're scared of dogs, then I can put some food in another room for him and keep him distracted. But he seems nice enough.

[Don't be frightened, Tinysuke, he can't deal with that. That'd melt his heart.]

[lempereur]

I like him.

[ The dog, he means. Koromaru is a good boy with soft fur and excited barks. He didn't have any pets back at Madarame's house, so the excitement of getting to play with a dog balances the anxiety of being lost. Yusuke is...alright. ]

My dad is Madarame-sensei. He's not here, I looked.

[ The man at the door seems...nice. Okay, he can come in. Yusuke climbs on the couch, still wide eyed at the paintings all over the wall done by his eighteen-year-old self. A lot of them are portraits...hey, there's one of Brendan! A little abstract, like it's been out together from memory, but if you look back and forth between the portrait and the man... ]

Hey! [ He points at it. What's going on here? ]

[pale_blue_arrow]

I do, to. Never got to have a pet, myself, but I like dogs. And cats, but I'm a little allergic to them.

[He remembers Emily telling him once that kids needed to have the sense adults were actually talking to them, not talking over them. Given she was studying to be a teacher, he believed her, and it's halfway decent advice for talking to tiny Yusuke. He nods seriously at Yusuke. He's very certain the guy's dad isn't here, but he's not about to say that to him.]

We'll go look for him later, then. Maybe after you've had breakfast; it's not healthy to skip that, you know.

[D'aww, lookit little Yusuke scrabbling up onto the couch so cute- he shuts his eyes for a second, trying very hard not to think about Emily and her pocket notebook full of baby names. Quietly breathing in slowly, he opens his eyes to see what Yusuke's pointing at and does a double take.]

...huh. Never knew anybody painted me. Ever.

[He resolves not to mention this to adult!Yusuke. It's too familiar, too close-feeling, and they're still too new to each other.]

day one!!

[khajidont]

[ Jaime had gone out before Yusuke had even woken up, off to an early shift at work when he arrived and found out that the plumbing was broken. Bad for the garage, bad for his boss, but great for Jaime. He's in a decidedly good mood when he swings the door open, singing out, ] Yusuke, I'm home! I got the day off, let's go do something!

[ No work, no school, no promised patrol tonight... he's ready to have a good time. Maybe they can go out somewhere fun! Or catch a movie! Or take Malina out to creep out bystanders! The world is their oyster.

Or at least it was until he comes face to face with the little kid at the foot of the stairs with decidedly familiar features. ]

...oh my god.

[lempereur]

[ Little Yusuke might not have any idea what's going on, but he knows the voice calling for him in the doorway isn't Madarame's. He called for him, but now he's surprised to see him? What a weird guy.

He's cautious as he approaches Jaime, his little fingers fiddling with the sleeves of his pajama top. On one hand, he's a stranger, on the other...they're going out? ]

Where are we going?

[khajidont]

Um - nowhere, for now. [ Geez. He's so tiny! This has happened to Jaime before so he's not terribly concerned about whether or not Yusuke will turn back - he's here, he's obviously all right, and that means that this probably isn't just some sort of weird Porter snafu - but he is concerned about what's going to happen from here on out. He walks a little closer, staring down at Yusuke.

Man. He's a really adorable kid. Jaime's not going to have to deal with him for long, which means that there's no trouble in spoiling him, right...? ]

You... have no idea who I am, do you.

A!

[khajidont]

[ When Jaime wanders into the kitchen, it's fresh off of waking up. He stumbles in with a yawn, scratching a little at his side and nudging Koromaru out of the way as he reaches for some cereal. ]

Everything's your fault, Milagro, [ he says. He pours himself a bowl of cereal, starts to pour the milk... and keeps on pouring the milk until it overflows as he realizes that he's not at home, and that's not a young version of Milagro or whatever the heck was going on in that groggy brain of his. ]

...you're not Milagro.

[axeboyfriend]

[ Shinjiro shakes his head, staring up at Jaime as he continues to pet Koromaru. ]

I dunno any Milagro. Is she new?

[ Or maybe he's new. This doesn't look like his orphanage... It's possible that someone moved him and forgot to tell him. Probably because Aki and Miki would've kicked up a fuss, he thinks. ]

[khajidont]

...not quite.

[ Jaime bends down to scratch at Koromaru's ears, quietly glad that he's not a puppy too. He doesn't think he'd be able to deal with that. ]

Shinji, can you tell me what the last thing you remember is?

[axeboyfriend]

[ Koromaru's tail thumps gently as Jaime scratches him. Jaime might get the impression that Koromaru's just as happy Jaime isn't suddenly little, too. Shinjiro, for his part, doesn't seem particularly phased by some stranger knowing his name. ]

What I remember? I dunno, I was playing with Aki and Miki last night before we went to bed. Why?

[khajidont]

Just trying to figure some things out.

[ Akihiko and... Miki. So he's from before the fire. This version of Shinji isn't one he'd call without his own problems - where he lives poses one for starters - but he's still free of the greater traumas that have yet to come. It twists at his gut a little but he doesn't let it show on his face. He just keeps on petting Koromaru. ]

Which means the last thing you remember is being at the orphanage, right?

[axeboyfriend]

Yeah....

[ The much-younger Shinjiro tilts his head as he considers that. ]

Did... they move me and forget to say?

[ Because he genuinely doesn't believe he was kidnapped— there's no point in it. ]

C, Jaime and company

[andtherevolution]

[Alright. Alright. Futaba is apparently a tiny, itty bitty child now. This is fine. Well, not fine, but they can handle it! Utena just needs some help, is all. She'll just take her to Yusuke's place. He'll know what to do, right? Utena walks over with Futaba in tow and knocks on the door, and Jaime will come face to face with a completely normal Utena. That is, if Utena's normally a grown woman with a freshly trimmed bobcut. And why would that be unusual? She's lived in this place for over ten years now.]

[khajidont]

...Whoa.

[ Whatever Jaime was expecting when he opened the door, it wasn't this. He takes a moment to gape before backing up a step, glancing between Utena and Futaba in bemusement. ]

You two got hit too, huh? Shinji and Yusuke did too. [ Did just her body get older? Or did her mind get older too?

Probably just her body. Why would she have sought out him and the boys otherwise? ]

I'm the resident adult around here.

[andtherevolution]

[Utena blinks, confused. What the hell happened to Jaime? And what on earth is he talking about]

Whoa whoa whoa, hold up. First off, that's pretty big talk from a guy who's barely legal now. And second, you're not exactly-

[Wait, hold up. Small child here. Their first priority is the small child. She sighs, and straightens herself up]

...we can talk about this later. Where's everyone else?

[khajidont]

Wait, your mind aged up too? That's not how it happened last --

[ Utena's right. She must be here for a reason to do with the fact that they're now tasked with taking care of a veritable litter of children. ]

Okay, okay, you're right. They should be in the living room, watching TV.

[codeoracle]

[Futaba was more than happy to let the "adults" talk. She could understand most of it, her own mind mostly spared from the whole "age down" process. But there was something about being physically younger that had her not wanting to stray too far from Utena, made her cling to her hand and tuck herself shyly behind her legs.

At the mention of the others, however, Futaba glanced up at Jaime with an air of curiosity.]

Who's here?? [Because it would be a lie to say that this house hadn't become as much of a hub for activity as the skater's house had. The other people here could be any number and combination of their friends, really.]