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The sun had already set by the time the Iwatobi team arrived at the festival. Large paper lanterns strung up overhead cast a yellow glow over the crowded street, and Makoto, Haru, Nagisa, Rei and Gou were eagerly anticipating the first real event of their summer break. Within minutes of arriving, Nagisa had an armload of festival food and was alternating stuffing his face and force feeding Rei. It didn’t take them long to reach the place where they were to meet Rin and Sousuke, who had caught the train from Samezuka to attend.
“Onii-chan! Sousuke-kun!” Gou chirped, waving when she spotted them, “I’m so glad you could come!” The two boys turned at the sound of her voice and walked over to where the others were.
“You kind of forced us, Gou,” Rin said, just as Sousuke mumbled, “We didn’t have much of a choice.”
Gou slapped their arms, “Well you needed get out a bit! You would never leave the pool if someone didn’t make you.”
“Ne, that’s more Haru isn’t it?” Nagisa piped up through a mouthful of food. Everyone except Sousuke laughed while the water-loving boy in question huffed and turned away. No one noticed the slight glare Sousuke directed at Haru, since no one knew of the confrontation the two of them had, or of Sousuke’s threat to stay out of Rin’s way. It had been sensed by the group, however, that something was tense between the two swimmers, especially by Gou ever since Haru had asked her about Rin and Sousuke’s history.
“We should get going if we want to see everything,” Makoto suggested, “There are so many booths!”
“That one.” Haru spoke up for the first time, pointing to a spooky looking booth that seemed to be attached to a house.
“What? Why that one?” Makoto asked, “Just because it’s called ‘The Ocean Mist’?”
“It looks cool!” Nagisa cried, “I think it’s some sort of magic shop. Like a place where they tell your fortunes and cast spells and stuff!” he made a sweeping gesture with his hands, “Maybe they can turn Haru-chan into a mermaid!” Makoto could practically see the fireworks going off in Haru’s head, as the black-haired boy walked straight into the shop without a word.
“Nagisa-kun!” Rei was scolding, exasperated, “That is absolutely impossible. This is a completely illogical choice of a booth to visit, as it is all speculation and nothing of real interest is provided!”
“Aw, c’mon Rei-chan, you’re no fun! I’m going without you then, hold my food.” Nagisa unloaded his goods on Rei and hopped through the door.
“I want to go too, Onii-chan!” Gou said excitedly, tugging on her brother’s hand.
“No way. It’s creepy.”
Crowding around the entrance and peering inside, the remaining five had to agree that Rin was right. The entryway was very dark and adorned with all sorts of mystical charms and paintings. Some sort of smoke drifted over the floor and the wooden walls creaked in the wind.
“Ah…count me out guys,” Makoto stammered, “I’ll wait outside.”
“Same here,” Sousuke agreed, stepping away and leaning against the wall.
“This is ridiculous and I refuse to take part,” Rei declared, pushing his glasses up and joining Makoto and Sousuke against the building.
“You wouldn’t let me go in there by myself would you?” Gou pleaded to Rin, “Besides, you never do anything with me anymore!”
Rin groaned and yanked his fingers through his long hair. “Fine,” He snapped, “But only for a few minutes.” Gou cheered and pulled him inside, their footsteps fading away along with the sound of Rin’s complaints. The other three passed the time with a bit of small talk, catching up on what was going on with their respective teams. After a while, Makoto looked at his watch.
“They’ve been in there for a while,” he stated, “and I haven’t really heard any noises. Not even Nagisa.”
A worried look crossed Rei’s face at the mention of the smaller boy and he glanced nervously at the doorway. Just then, from inside the house came the sound of a child crying. Makoto felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, and he scooted closer to Sousuke. Rei unconsciously did the same, but if Sousuke noticed he didn’t comment, just frowned and looked back at the door.
“This is seriously creepy,” he grumbled, “When are they coming out?”
“Maybe it’s supposed to be a haunted house?” Makoto wondered. Sousuke finally shoved himself off the wall and stuck his head in the doorway.
“HEY GUYS!” He called out, “YOU’VE BEEN IN THERE LONG ENOUGH, LET’S GO!” When there was no response, he looked around and called louder, “RIN?...GOU?” Suddenly they heard several pairs of running feet and four children tumbled out of the doorway and stopped in a heap in front of the startled boys. They all looked to be about four or five years old, and quite shaken from whatever they had seen inside. Makoto opened his mouth to talk to them but was interrupted by a little voice crying, “Sousuke!” as one of the kids threw himself at Sousuke, wrapping his little arms tightly around the tall boy’s neck.
“Wha-what?” Stammered Sousuke, as he, Rei, and Makoto took a closer look at the kids. The one attached to Sou had red hair the same shade as the little girl who was holding his shirt. There was also a little blond boy with wide watery eyes and a black-haired boy with bright blue eyes that was staring straight ahead, arms wrapped around his middle.
“No, no, no, no, this can’t be,” Makoto gasped, just as Rei jumped up and shouted back into the doorway.
“NAGISA! HARUKA-SENPAI! WHERE ARE YOU?” A little sniff came from below and a hand tugged at Rei’s pant leg.
“We’re right here, Rei-chan,” the little blond said timidly, “and Haru-chan, and Rin-chan and Gou-chan too,” he pointed to the others. Now that they looked closer, the toddlers did strongly resemble their lost friends, and little Haru was exactly as Makoto remembered him.
“Nagisa?” Rei whispered, white as a sheet.
Apparently-Nagisa nodded and snuggled tightly to Rei, “It’s scary here,” he whined, “Can we go home?”
Rei looked terrified as we wrapped his arms tight around the little Nagisa. “What is going on?” he asked desperately, looking back and forth between Makoto and Sousuke.
Sousuke growled as he swept up both Rin and Gou and barged into the house. Makoto grabbed him before he could get far.
“What are you doing?!” Makoto cried.
“Finding whoever did this so they fix their mess and then pay for it!” Sousuke thundered.
“You can’t go in there! Something could happen to you too and these guys need us right now! We can come back tomorrow,” Makoto reasoned.
Sousuke sighed and shifted his grip on the two toddlers. “Fine,” he said. He was obviously stressed and worried, but they couldn’t afford to do something rash. Carefully, Makoto knelt in front of little Haru, and reached out to touch the small shoulder.
“Haru-chan?” he said softly. Haru looked up quickly and reached out with one hand, grabbing a small fistful of Makoto’s shirt. Haru’s own shirt hung loose off of him, as their clothes had not shrunk with them. It seemed each child had only managed to keep their shirt on, dragging across the ground, as shoes and all other clothing seemed to be gone.
“Makoto,” Haru said, so quietly it wouldn’t have been noticed if Makoto hadn’t seen his mouth move. Relief crashed through him when he realized Haru knew who he was. He turned to Rei who was now carrying Nagisa.
“At least they remember us,” he said, “Even those they’ve only recently met. How does that work?”
“Nothing about this is logical,” Rei said in a stiff voice, “but if they still have recent memories, they should be able to tell us what happened.”
“Rin?” Sousuke asked the boy on his hip, “Do you know what happened in there?”
Little Rin shook his head, hair flapping in Sousuke’s face. “It was just scary,” he said, in a high childlike voice so strange to their ears. “There was smokey stuff and it was dark. We started running when we heard you call us.”
“Do you remember how you got here?” Rei asked. All the children shook their heads. “Do you know where you go to school?” They knew the answer to this.
“We don’t go to school yet!” Gou said, “We don’t go ‘till we’re six!”
“Ok so they’ve only retained the memories of who we are, and to some extent, our relationship with them, but have somehow regressed to their younger selves in all other ways,” Rei muttered to himself.
“Let’s get them home,” Makoto said. “We can’t tell their parents about this yet. Let’s take them to Haru’s house and stay there till we can figure out how to change them back.”
“They were planning on a sleepover anyway, so we don’t have to call any families tonight,” Rei said.
“Good, let’s go then.” Makoto picked up Haru and quickly began walking back, Rei following with Nagisa, and Sousuke with Rin and Gou.
..............
The evening quickly became a nightmare. Only Haru showed any indication of being familiar with the house, but the other three immediately jumped down and began exploring, running here and there while shouting in glee. Haru stayed attached to Makoto, who tried to prepare some sort of supper for them, while Rei and Sousuke attempted to contain the madness. Little Rin was the ringleader and thought of all the grand schemes they should try, such as seeing if the curtains would hold their weight. Nagisa and Gou were more than happy to go along, and chattered nonstop about everything. These two would often get into fights, and no sooner had Rei and Sousuke broken up one argument, then another one would start. Gou was the tough one and got her way by force, shoving or yanking hair when she deemed necessary. By the time Makoto had managed to put together a simple dinner, Sousuke and Rei were exhausted, but the kids seemed to have even more energy.
Dinner itself was an adventure. Rin, Gou, Nagisa, and Haru got more food on their faces, hands, and shirts then in their mouths, but as long as they ate something, Makoto counted it a success. After wiping the sticky faces and hands, the boys sent them into the living room to watch a movie. That is how the four murderers of sanity were currently piled on the couch, safely distracted watching My Neighbor Totoro. Makoto, Sousuke, and Rei were just inside the kitchen trying to catch their breath, huddled by the door so they could spy on the kids and not be seen.
“What do we do now?” whispered Sousuke.
“One of us should go to the store,” Rei suggested, “they’ll need clothes, food, and toys or something.”
“I should go then,” Makoto said, “I have little siblings and would be the best choice to find what they need.”
“Hey wait, you should be the one staying here,” argued Sousuke, “Since you’re the one that knows how to handle them.”
“Makoto-senpai is right, though,” Rei reasoned, still whispering, “They will be distracted for a while with the film, and should not be too much trouble for the two of us. Makoto will be fast since he knows what to get and should return before the film is over. It’s the perfect plan.”
“Can’t we just take them with us to the store?” asked Sousuke
Makoto chucked softly, “You’ve never shopped with toddlers, have you?” he said, “And anyway, everyone here knows us, it would cause too much trouble if they were to be seen in public.”
“Alright, fine, go. But make it quick.”
Makoto barely managed to sneak out without the kids noticing, and returned an hour later loaded down with shopping bags.
“Geez, Makoto, did you buy the whole store?” Sousuke asked.
Makoto blushed and began unpacking. “Well, no, just what I thought we’d need.” He pulled out small sets of clothes that even Sousuke had to admit were adorable. “It’s late, we need to get them bathed and in bed.”
Rei finished unpacking the food and looked over warily, “How are we supposed to do that?” he asked. Before anyone could answer, they heard the credits song coming from the living room.
“Time for action!” Makoto said grabbing the other two by the wrist and dragging them along. Together they managed to fill the bathtub and wrestle the children into it.
“But I don’t want to take a bath!” Nagisa wailed, even as Haru was the first one in the water, glaring at Nagisa for making so much noise and disturbing his bath experience. With much cajoling and splashing everyone was finally in the bath and scrubbed down, Sousuke, Makoto, and Rei getting just as drenched as the toddlers themselves. Finally, Rin, Nagisa, and Gou jumped out of the tub and dashed away squealing, giggling when they were caught and wrapped in towels. Haru, of course, remained in the bath as long as possible, only leaving when Makoto physically picked him up out of it. Eventually everyone was dried and dressed in the fuzzy pajamas Makoto bought, and the three exhausted caregivers were nearly asleep on their feet. They tried putting the now-drowsy children to sleep in the bedrooms, but after much protesting and clinging, they decided to put out sleeping mats in the living room where they could all sleep together.
“This will have to do,” Rei said wearily, inspecting the huge pile of blankets and pillows, “We should all fit, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” said Makoto, “but honestly I’m so tired I don’t even care.”
Rei flopped down on the bed beside Nagisa, who instantly cuddled up to him and fell asleep. Makoto started to arrange the pillows a bit better, while Sousuke reached for Haru to put him on the bed. In a flash Haru’s eyes grew wide and he scrambled away from Sousuke, not stopping till his back hit the side of the couch. Surprised, Sousuke retracted his hands and simply studied the little boy, who was gazing back at him with large, fearful eyes.
“Huh, it’s seems Haruka is afraid of you,” Rei mused, having seen the commotion, “Well I suppose that’s understandable. You are a bit intimidating, Yamazaki-senpai, what with you being so big and all.”
“It’s alright Haru,” Makoto reassured, ruffling Haru’s hair, “Sousuke won’t hurt you. Rin is happy to be with him, see?” He pointed to Rin who was passed out and drooling on Sousuke’s shirt. Haru did not respond, but just kept staring, blue eyes piercing into Sousuke’s own. A little bit of guilt crawled into Sousuke’s chest, but he pushed it away in favor of getting Rin situated next to his sister. When everyone was settled, Makoto turned out the light and bid everyone goodnight, and they all were asleep before they could fully ponder what a bizarre day it had been.
.............
Rei woke up with a crick in his neck and a damp spot on his shirt. Nagisa was laying completely on top of him, snoring softly and making a puddle of drool on Rei’s chest. He looked over to see all the others still asleep and smiled at the scene. Makoto was on his side, Haru curled up in his arms, tuft of black hair barely visible under Makoto’s chin. On the other side of him Sousuke was sprawled on his stomach, Rin and Gou a pile of tangled limbs on his back. Rei quietly reached for his phone and snapped a picture of them, as well as one of him and Nagisa. As sweet as it was, Rei’s heart was full of dread. He had to find a way to return his friends back to their normal selves, but where to start? Everything about the situation was scientifically impossible so he had no theories to work with. Finding out how something like this could have happened seemed a daunting task, and thinking about all the variables made his head hurt. He shook off his despairing feelings, however, and determined that he would accept the challenge and not give up until he had the answers.
Carefully he rolled Nagisa off and tucked the blankets around him. Quickly and quietly, he changed his clothes and grabbed a notepad, pen, and camera from his bag. After leaving a note for Makoto and Sousuke, he put on his shoes and slipped out the door. He was going to solve this. He had to. It didn’t take Rei long to get back to the street where they were the previous night. All traces of the festival had been cleaned up, and there was no one around in the early morning quiet. When Rei finally spotted the house where all this had happened, he threw caution to the wind and ran to it, bursting through the door without a second thought.
At first he thought he had made a mistake. The house was completely empty, with none of the magic amulets and other clutter they had seen the night before. The house was clean and there was no sign of anyone.
“Hello,” Rei called out as he wandered through the rooms, “Is anyone there?” Only the sound of his own footsteps answered him, and he stopped when he entered the final room. Looking around one last time, he spied something brightly colored in the corner. Looking closer, he gasped when he realized it was a pile of clothes. His friends’ clothes, to be specific. All their shoes and clothing items besides their shirts, which they had managed to keep on, were dumped together on the floor. Rei gathered them up, tears stinging his eyes and his breath coming in short puffs. He pressed the bundle of fabric to his face and inhaled the comforting scent of his best friends. The possibility that they were gone forever filled him with fury at whoever had done this.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” He screamed into the empty room, “WHAT HAVE TO DONE TO THEM?” There was no answer, and Rei turned and dashed out, not stopping till he was back at Haru’s house.
“Rei!” Makoto exclaimed as he entered the house, “Where were you? Did you find anything out?”
“The house was empty,” Rei said lowly, “except for these.” He placed the clothes down on a chair and heard the other two gasp when they realized what it was. “No one was there, even the decorations and magic charms were gone.”
Makoto sunk onto a kitchen chair and put his head in his hands. “So what do we do?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know yet,” Rei replied, “But I will figure it out if it’s the last thing I do.” He turned and headed for the hallway. “I’m going to my room to do research and I’m not coming out till I have some sort of solution!”
“Do you think he’ll find one?” Sousuke’s deep voice echoed in the kitchen.
“If anyone can, it would be him.”
“What if he can’t?” Sousuke asked as he picked up Gou who was begging for attention. “What if they’re like this forever?”
Makoto stood and left the room without replying.
...............
Rei was furiously typing on his computer when he heard a faint knock on the door and the soft click of it being opened. He didn’t look up from his work, however, and a few seconds later a tiny hand was tugging his sleeve. Rei stopped and turned to find Nagisa’s face beaming up at him.
“Play with me, Rei-chan!” Nagisa pleaded, giggling, “We can be penguins!”
Rei sighed and went back to his research, “Not now Nagisa, I need to work.”
“Pleeease!”
“No! This is very important, I need to find a cure for you and the others.”
“But we’re not sick, Rei-chan,” Nagisa looked confused and tried to climb on Rei’s lap.
“Well, no, but there’s something else wrong. You’re not supposed to be like this and we have to fix it!” Rei took the blond boy off his lap and pushed him towards the door. “Now go play with the Rin and the others.”
“But I want to be with you,” Nagisa whimpered.
“Later,” Rei said without looking up, “I have to focus on this.” Nagisa’s eyes watered and his bottom lip wobbled, but he dutifully left and closed the door behind him. If anyone wondered why he spent the rest of the day with his face buried in Haru’s side, they didn’t ask.
............
“..ma?”
This hour of the morning could die in a hole as far as Sousuke was concerned. But It had been three days since the ‘incident,’ and he was beginning to get used to the new responsibility, so he dragged himself out of bed when awakened by the patter of feet down the hall, and a little voice repeatedly calling something. Sliding open the door, he stepped into the hallway to see the retreating figure of little Haru, dragging the dolphin blanket they had gotten him. Makoto’s head appeared out of the next doorway, bleary-eyed and messy-haired.
“Haru,” Sousuke explained, jerking his chin in the direction Haru disappeared, just as they heard a little voice call again.
“Mama? Papa?”
A strange expression crossed Makoto’s face as he emerged from his room and headed down the hall, Sousuke following. Haru was in the living room, thumb in his mouth and wandering around as if looking for something. Not finding what he was looking for, he darted out of the room and toward the front door.
“H-Haru!” Makoto called, jerking to action and dashing around the corner after him. Puzzled by Haru’s strange behavior, Sousuke immediately followed. They found Haru standing by the front door and looking up at it quietly. “Haru! What are you doing? It’s too early for you to be up.” Makoto crouched down and grasped Haru’s arms, turning the little boy to face him.
“Mama,” Haru said softly, with no expression on his small face.
Makoto sighed, “Mama’s not here, Haru-chan.”
“Papa.”
“Not Papa either,” Makoto responded.
“Obaa-san.”
Sousuke saw Makoto’s shoulders sag as he brushed Haru’s hair out of his eyes. “Grandma…is not here either.” There was a pause from Haru, then,
“Makoto.”
Makoto gave the soft-eyed smile and gripped Haru a little tighter. “Of course I’m here, Haruka. I’m not going anywhere.” Haru said nothing but stared at the floor and began fiddling with the blanket. “Hey how about this?” Makoto said brightly, “Since you’re already up, you can help me make breakfast!” Haru looked up and nodded, wrapping his arms around Makoto’s neck to be picked up. Makoto scooped him up and went into the kitchen, placing a chair next to the sink and telling Haru to wash the fruit. Haru began to pout until he was promised mackerel, then returned to his job, happily splashing in the water.
“What was that about?” Sousuke asked as Makoto turned on the stove.
Makoto glanced at him, then back at the food he was preparing. “Haru’s parents left when he was young to work in the city,” he murmured quietly so Haru wouldn’t hear, “They came to visit once in a while, but never showed interest in having him with them. Said he would just be in the way.” Makoto had a dark look in his eyes and Sousuke felt his heart drop to his stomach, his mind playing back vividly his own words to Haru. Makoto took no notice of Sousuke’s mood change and kept talking. “Haru used to cry for them a lot, but after a while he just stopped. His grandmother raised him until she died two years ago. This is her house.” It looked as if he might say more, but was interrupted by the entrance of Rei, who looked much more tired than the three toddlers wrapped around his legs, giggling they moved with each step.
“Good morning, Makoto-senpai, Yamazaki-senpai,” Rei said, yawning widely and trying to straighten his hair.
“Morning, Rei,” the other two responded.
“I’ve made this dietary chart specifying how many calories and what specific nutrients they will need at this age,” Rei said, holding up a chart, “They will also need about 10-12 hours of sleep per day, preferably going to bed around 8pm and waking up about 7am. If they’re going to be like this for a while, we’ll need all the knowledge we can get.”
“Ah this is just what we need, thank you Rei!” Makoto gasped in relief. Even Sousuke had to admit the chart was well done, and took it from Rei to put it on the refrigerator.
“So did you find anything about a cure?” Makoto asked as they sat down at the table.
“Sadly, not much,” Rei replied, pushing up his glasses. “It still seems our only hope is to find whoever did this and get them to reverse it. But they seemed to have vanished without a trace. Though it does make sense that they would be close by if they did this for a reason and wanted to see the results.”
“Like some experiment?” Sousuke mumbled.
“More like a moral reason,” Rei replied, “such as issues between us that would not have been solved without this happening.” Sousuke did not look reassured by this, but continued his meal without further comment.
...........
Sousuke’s patience was wearing thin, not with the kids, but with whoever had cast the stupid spell or whatever it was, and for what reason? To prove a point? To fix whatever problems they supposedly had? His malice with Haru and the shoulder injury he had kept from Rin nagged at the back of his mind, but surely that wasn’t important enough to call for such drastic measures. Speaking of shoulder injury, it was feeling much worse these days, probably aggravated by carrying kids around all day. He reached up to massage it a bit when it happened. Rin, who was chasing Gou, slipped on the wooden floor and fell straight towards the sharp corner of the table. Quick as a flash, Sousuke reached out and snatched Rin up before he could hit it, realizing too late that he had used his bad arm. He felt something give in his shoulder and white-hot pain tore through his body. He gasped and managed to transfer Rin to the other arm and put him down safely before collapsing on the couch. He took deep, gulping breaths as he gripped the painful shoulder helplessly. He saw stars as he squeezed his eyes shut, small sounds of pain escaping him with every gasp. In this state, he didn’t see a horrified Rin hovering by the doorway, sobbing quietly, or a wide-eyed Haru slip away into the kitchen. When the pain was a bit more manageable and he did open his eyes, he saw Rin and his expression softened.
“It’s ok, Rin. C’mere,” he said gently, and the red-haired boy dashed over and buried his face in Sousuke’s neck. “I hurt my shoulder a while ago and it started hurting again. It’s not your fault.” He stroked Rin’s hair as he spoke. The boys seemed to calm down at this, but tilted his chin up to look at Sousuke.
“You should rest it,” little Rin said forcefully, “and don’t try to do things you can’t.”
Sousuke gulped, “But what if it’s so hurt I can’t swim with you?” he asked timidly.
Rin shrugged his small shoulders, “We can still be together,” he said casually, “We’re not swimming now, are we?”
Sousuke smiled and ruffled Rin’s hair. “No, we’re not,” he said. Just then a movement from the doorway caught their attention. There stood Haru with a concerned look on his face and something in his hands. Silently he walked over and climbed on the couch next to Sousuke’s hurt side. It was now clear that his burden was a bag of frozen soybeans wrapped in a dishcloth. Carefully Haru arranged it on Sousuke’s shoulder, taking care not to bump him. The cold was a huge relief to Sousuke’s burning shoulder, and he immediately felt himself relax. After making sure it wouldn’t fall, little Haru moved away and watched Sousuke.
“That’s a good idea, Haru!” said Rin, scooting down to snuggle into Sousuke’s side, “You were so smart to think of that!”
Sousuke looked over at Haru, and their eyes met. Even as a little child, Haru still had that same defiant-but-vulnerable gaze Sousuke had seen that day by the vending machine. Now there was concern there as well, and traces of fear. Sousuke swallowed and took a deep breath.
“Thanks…Haru-chan?” It came out louder than he intended, and he tried to force his voice to work softer, “I don’t want you to be scared of me. I’m sorry for what I said before, I know you don’t remember but, I didn’t realize…” Haru was still watching him carefully, knees tucked up to his chin. “I mean, you’re good for Rin, I get that now. You’re his friend and he needs you.” Haru said nothing, but when he rearranged the pack on Sousuke’s shoulder, he stayed a little closer to his side.
................
By that night Rei thought he might have a lead on where to find the culprit, and agreeing that Sousuke would be the one to go this time, they all went to bed. The next morning Makoto got up before anyone else to run back to his own house for some more clothes. When the others woke up, they found Makoto’s note, and Sousuke began to prepare breakfast while Rei got the toddlers dressed.
Sousuke was dishing out the rice when he heard running feet dash down the hall and into the living room, then pause and run into the kitchen. Sousuke barely had time to look up before Haru flew in the room, breathing heavily and frantically looking around.
“What’s the matter, Haru?” asked Sousuke.
“Makoto,” Haru gasped, looking around again as if saying the name would make the sandy-haired boy appear.
“Ah, Makoto went home for a bit, he’ll be back soon.” This knowledge did not seem to help, as Haru turned pale and began to tremble. Sousuke crouched down in front of him just as Rei came around the corner.
“I think Haru is scared because he can’t find Makoto,” Rei spoke up. “Is this usually what he does?”
Sousuke didn’t know, but based on his conversation with Makoto the other morning about Haru’s past, he could make a pretty good guess.
“Don’t worry, Haru,” he said, “Makoto will be back.” Tears spilled down Haru’s cheeks and he began to sob, blue eyes filled with raw terror that haunted Sousuke to the core. Abruptly, Haru turned and ran out of the room and towards the front door.
“MAKOTO!” Haru screamed, throwing himself at the door and opening it just as Sousuke caught him to keep him from running outside. “NO! NO! MAKOTO!” Haru shrieked, thrashing in Sousuke’s grip, sobs and harsh breaths tearing from his throat. Even when normal size, Sousuke had never heard Haru be this loud, and judging from the worried look on Rei’s face, he hadn’t either. Haru continued to struggle, crying and screaming for Makoto with a desperation that pained Sousuke. He was afraid Haru would pass out with his irregular breathing, but had no idea how to calm him. Then, Haru stretched a little hand towards the door and changed his tune.
“I’M SORRY!” he cried, “I’M SORRY MAKOTO…PLEASE! NO, NO…MAK…” his voice gave out as he continued to scream, no longer words but some portion of Makoto’s name. Sousuke was wondering how much more of this he could take when suddenly the door flew open and a distraught-looking Makoto dropped to his knees in front of them. Sousuke nearly shoved Haru at him as Makoto reached out and dragged the small boy to his chest. He wrapped his arms around Haru as tight as he could and began rocking him gently.
“It alright, Haru, I’m here. I’m here. I would never leave you. It’s ok,” Makoto murmured soothingly as Haru clung to him and soaked Makoto’s orange shirt with his tears. Makoto held him and gently rubbed his back, whispering reassurances and humming what Sousuke recognized as a lullaby. There were tears on Makoto’s cheeks as well, and he looked over Haru’s head at the other two with a helpless expression. Sousuke tightened his fists and glanced over at Rei who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a tear-streaked face and three sniffling toddlers huddled in his lap. They had all obviously been affected by Haru’s reaction. Sousuke sighed heavily and rubbed his hand down his face, surprised to find it wet. He looked at his tear-covered hand, the piece of paper with the address Rei had given him burning a hole in his pocket. He stood up and stepped around the others on the floor.
“I’m going now,” he said quietly. Makoto and Rei looked up at him and nodded.
“Be careful,” Rei said, as Sousuke ducked out the door, heading down the path with more urgency than he had felt in a very long time.
The address Rei gave him turned out to be a small café on a back street of Iwatobi. There were only a few customers there, none of whom even glanced at Sousuke when he entered and walked up to the counter. He rang the small bell and a very old woman emerged from the back, took one look at Sousuke and motioned for him to follow her. Sousuke refused to admit he was nervous and steeled himself into the fierce expression Rin always teased him about. Thinking about his friend gave him new courage. He was here to save them; Rin, Gou, Nagisa, and Haru.
The old woman led him to a small back room with a few chairs and floor-to-ceiling shelves of tea. Sitting down in one of the chairs, she gestured for Sousuke to do the same. After a moment of torturous silence for Sousuke, she spoke.
“You’re doing better than I thought you would.”
Sousuke snarled, “You did this to them and you will change them back.”
She hummed thoughtfully and leaned back, “Yes, I can do that. But I’m not sure I will.”
“What!” Sousuke jumped up and towered over her, shaking with anger, “Just how evil do you have to be do something like that to them, to all of us!”
Her eyes hardened and she met Sousuke’s glare, “Sometimes pain must be caused to fix a greater ill. Just as a painful surgery corrects what was broken in the body, a painful lesson will correct what is wrong between people.”
“I don’t care what you think! They didn’t do anything wrong, change them back!” Sousuke’s voice shook and he clenched his fists at his side. The woman looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then reached to a shelf and took off a small box of tea.
“Give this to them,” she said, “It will change them back to their previous selves, but with no memory of what happened while they were again children.” Sousuke took the box quickly, and, not sure what to say to her, simply met her gaze again and left. He ran all the way home and burst through the door out of breath. Instantly everyone surrounded him, even the little ones who had no idea what the excitement was.
“I found her,” Sousuke huffed, “She gave me this tea. Said to have them drink it and it will turn them back, but they won’t remember what happened since they were turned little.” Rei took the box and ran to kitchen, setting on the tea kettle.
“Sousuke-kun brought a special tea for you!” Makoto told the children, “Go play until I say it’s ready.” They cheered and scampered to their toys, while Sousuke and Makoto rushed to the kitchen to help prepare the tea. It seemed like years before the water boiled and the tea was steeped enough to drink. Calling the children, Rei gave them each a cup and told them to drink all of it. It took a while for them to get used to the new taste, but once they did, each cup was drained dry and the children thanked Sousuke before running off to play again. The three older boys watched impatiently from to doorway to see if the tea would take effect.
“I don’t see any change!” Rei whispered frantically.
“How long is it supposed to take?” Makoto asked, wringing his hands.
“I don’t know,” Sousuke mumbled, “She didn’t say. It better work or I will burn that teahouse to the ground.”
Rei looked at his watch, “Well it’s almost time for their nap,” he said. “Let’s let them sleep and see what happens.”
With a bit of persuading and building of blanket forts, the children were soon asleep, and the three somber boys sat in a row on the couch, watching them. When an hour went by and nothing happened, they moved to more comfortable positions and went to sleep, steadfastly ignoring the tears on each other’s faces.
They awoke to a pile of pillows being dumped on them.
“It’s the middle of the day, guys! Why are you sleeping?” came a loud familiar voice too close to their ears. At once Rei, Sousuke and Makoto jumped up to see their friends around them, all the right ages. The three boys, too overwhelmed to speak, threw themselves at Rin, Gou, Nagisa, and Haru, crushing them into one giant group hug.
“What’s going on guys?” Gou asked.
“Yeah, are you ok?” Nagisa wondered as he saw their relieved, tear-stained faces.
“Why the hell am I wearing a giant onesie with pink sharks on it?” demanded Rin.
It took several hours to explain what had happened, even with Makoto, Rei, and Sousuke leaving out certain parts that would probably just stress the other four. No one believed it until Rei showed them the photos of them sleeping as toddlers that he had on his phone. They had a good laugh from the fact that their kid pajamas had grown with them when they returned to normal, resulting in some very amusing outfits.
“So it was a magic spell shop!” Nagisa said excitedly, “but we don’t remember anything.”
“But why would someone pull a crazy stunt like that?” Rin demanded.
“You seem different,” Haru mused.
“Huh?” asked Makoto.
“We weren’t the ones who changed, we feel the same. But you three have definitely changed somehow.”
“You’re right, Haru,” Sousuke replied first, surprising everyone, “I think I know why this happened, and it has to do with what the old lady that changed you said to me.” Sousuke then recounted to all of them the story of his confrontation with Haru, his shoulder injury he had been hiding, and the mysterious words of the tea lady. He then apologized to Haru and Rin, after which they all sat for a bit in their own thoughts.
“It wasn’t just you, Sousuke,” Rei finally spoke up, “During this time I also realized how I have taken you all for granted, especially you, Nagisa-kun. Valuing time with someone and seeing things from their point of view has become important to me, and I have changed because of it.”
“Me too,” Makoto agreed quietly, “These past few days have been really hard on me, on all of us, and I’ve learned things the hard way. Haru…” Makoto scooted closer to the black-haired boy and cradled his face gently, “You have to know that I’m never leaving you. You are my Haru-chan and I’m never giving you up.” A tear slipped down Haru’s face and Makoto quickly wiped it away with his thumb. “Are you alright with me going to my own house tonight?”
Haru’s eyes cleared and he spoke up confidently, “You’ll be here tomorrow, won’t you.” It was more of a statement than a question, a signature ‘don’t be silly Makoto’ Haru response. Makoto smiled and ruffled his hair.
“Of course, Haru-chan!”
“Drop the chan.” Haru mumbled, but with an amused undertone. The others laughed.
“Thanks for telling me, Sousuke,” Rin said, looking at his friend with sad eyes. “I’m sorry you’re hurt, I wish could do something!”
“It’s not your fault,” Sousuke said, remembering the similar conversation he had with little Rin.
“You should rest it, though” Rin insisted, “and don’t try to do things you can’t.” Sousuke’s eyes burned as he repeated his line from the day before, the one that revealed his greatest fear.
”But what if it’s so hurt I can’t swim with you?”
Rin shrugged, “We can still be together,” he said, “We’re not swimming now, are we?”
Sousuke smiled and pulled Rin to his side. “No,” he said, “No we’re not.”