"Ren is sick? I know he can be stubborn, but wouldn't it be better to clear his schedule completely?" Yashiro reasoned. Kyoko gazed up at the man with worry filling her wide eyes. Tsuruga-san was sick? Could the timing of this curse be any worse?! She looked down at her hands, feeling so helpless… incapable… weak. She clutched her little purse tighter to herself, desperately calling out to Corn. She was a child again, so the magic should react to her more easily or something, right?

'Please… Please help me, Corn.' She thinks desperately, squeezing her eyes shut as she begged whatever magical forces to make things right again.

"-That is to say… I'll need to clear Kyoko-chan's schedule as well." Yashiro said with a heavy sigh, looking down at her. Kyoko peeked up at him at the mention of her name. "No, she's… I don't think I can call it being sick. Right now, I'm looking at a little child Kyoko." There was a pause before Yashiro frowned lightly and knelt onto the floor in front of her. "Kyoko-chan, would you like to help me send a photo to the president?" he coaxed. She felt a little peeved at being talked to in that soft tone reserved for children, even if she was one at the moment. It was only her physical appearance, though! She still had her memories and her older mind! Maybe… that was why the magic wasn't working for her? Well... she supposed there was no way of helping how she was viewed as a child for the time being. She looked down at her Corn stone purse, nodding quietly before coming over and taking a quick selfie with Yashiro-san. The manager quickly sent it to the president, a beeping noise coming from the speaker followed by a deep hum.

"It looks like we have a very strange couple of situations on our hands, Yashiro. I'm preparing something already, but this is quite perplexing. Can I speak to her?"

"I… I'm here, president." Kyoko spoke up nervously, gently accepting the phone as it was held out for her.

"Good, good, I just need to ask you a couple questions, seeing as Ren has been entirely unhelpful."

"Hey! I told you what I knew!" a young boy called in the background, sounding a bit insulted. Kyoko's eyes bugged as things started to come together in her mind. The president ignored the protests and continued.

"Kyoko, have you and Ren drank or anything out of the ordinary as of late? Any… pain medication or perhaps used a new perfume? It would most likely be something while you two were together."

"No, I… I don't believe so. Tsuruga-san and I have hardly had much time around one another for the past several days. It's mostly just been passing greetings and such." With Yashiro being able to drive her now, she hadn't even had to ask for rides, and he hadn't needed to offer.

"I see, so it doesn't seem to be something done physically. Maybe a spell?" Yashiro gaped at the muttered musings of the president. Was this man seriously suspecting magic? Wait… no, how else would you explain someone turning into a child overnight… and from the sounds of it, Ren was in a similar predicament. Was this perhaps divine intervention? He was brought out of his excited mental state by the president's voice calling him. "In any case, the best course right now would be for you to bring Kyoko here. I doubt she has clothes fitting for her current state, and we'll have better chances of figuring this out if we gather everyone together." The call was soon ended and Yashiro went to explain to the landlords that he would be taking Kyoko to get help and sorted out at her agency. They seemed a bit reluctant, but ultimately agreed that it was best, if nothing else than to get some proper clothes until this whole thing blew over.

Outside, Kyoko determinedly marched to the car, all the while processing all that was happening. Tsuruga was also reverted to a child? Just like her? Was this not really the curse backlashing at her? Or… Corn had so simply stated that he loved her; was this him getting back at her for not believing her? No… Corn wasn't such a spiteful person. He wouldn't do that. Did the curse seek out Tsuruga, then? Or was this unrelated to Corn at all?

"Uh, Kyoko-can… I think you should maybe sit in the back seat, where it's safer." Yashiro suggested, pulling her out of her reverie. She paused, looking up from where she had pulled open the front passenger door before pushing it shut again. Too soft, it didn't shut all the way. A bit annoyed at how different everything felt and looked, she yanked the door open and shut it with a bit more force than needed this time. Yashiro looked at her with pity as he opened the door to the back seat for her. She glared at the ground as she crawled in and buckled up, huffing and crossing her arms. Being half her usual size was frustrating and annoying.

The ride to the LME building was quiet, Yashiro unsure of what he could say to comfort the child, and Kyoko having her mind too mixed up to worry about conversation at the moment. Tsuruga-san was also a child. He would be small like her, so at least she had a companion in this. And… she would get to see what he looked like when he was a child! The though made her just a little excited about the predicament. This was definitely throwing a curveball into their daily lives, as well as their careers, but they had the president helping. Things would surely work out with him on their side, right?

Yashiro snuck Kyoko in by parking on the top floor of the garage, then carrying her up the stairs so as to avoid high traffic areas. He needed to figure out the cover story from the president before anyone saw his charges, especially while Kyoko was still wearing a shirt as a makeshift night gown. Ruto (dubbed Sebastion-san by Kyoko) was already at the door and opening it upon their arrival, following them in and shutting it securely once everyone was inside the office. The president was dressed in large draping robes today, the sleeves tied up with silk ropes as he poured over several books and documents, a chemistry lab laid out behind him with kami-knows what kind of concoctions. He looked up at the sound of the door shutting, his eyes instantly falling on the small girl at Yashiro's side. She had been insistent on not being held unless absolutely necessary.

"Kyoko!" he called happily, his face instantly brightening upon seeing her, "Oh, you're so cute and small now!" the gleeful look on his face slid to his sitting area, shifting into a smirk as a young boy peaked from behind the couch back. Miss Jelly Woods clicked her tongue and placed her hands on her hips next to the couch, apparently halted in her attempt at styling the thick blown locks.

"Ren-san, you should know better than to move by now!" she scolded, but he was too focused on staring at the little eight-year-old Kyoko looking back at him with those big amber eyes.

"Leave him be for now," Lory stated, waving away the petite woman's frustration, "We should get Kyoko-chan some proper clothes." Jelly's eyes riveted onto Kyoko before a gleam sparked in her eyes. Kyoko hardly had a chance to let out a surprised squeal before she was being rushed into a large room full of costumes and clothes, many of them familiar from the president's antics.

XoX XoX XoX XoX

Left in the main office, Ren found himself peering up unhappily at a grinning Yashiro Yukihito.

"So it's true, Ren is reduced to being a little child just like Kyoko-chan." he teased. Ren frowned lightly before pulling up the script he had been reading while waiting for a solution to this problem.

"I'm not really in the mood to play with you, Yukihito-san." he states with a cute pout on his face. Yashiro feigned hurt.

"How rude, and here I was thinking that you were actually quite cute as a kid!" he claims. Ren sighed and tried to bury himself in the script again.

XoX XoX XoX XoX

The witch quickly lead Kyoko to a section with little girl's clothes, holding up this and that and asking Kyoko about her preferences, giving input of her own, then continuing the cycle until there was a case full of things Kyoko could wear.

"Darling said you probably won't be needing to worry about a lot of options, but I say to always be prepared!"

"Does the president already know how to reverse this?" Kyoko asked with surprise and hope… though she was a little sad she hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time with a child Tsuruga-san. It was for the best, though. Their careers were at stake, after all. Jelly shook her head as she smoothed out the dress Kyoko was currently wearing and began pulling her hair up in a cute little ponytail with a bow. It was clear that the woman was enjoying dressing her up like this.

"I have confidence that he'll find a solution, though. He's probably a bit rusty in these things, but he does know a thing or two about spells, magic, and curses." She says. Kyoko could hardly believe her ears. The president was well-versed in magic? All this time?... Was that where his eccentric nature came from? She was pretty sure there were stories of how magic made humans lose their minds or something.
Kyoko pondered about this as she was lead back into the main room of the office and guided to sit on one of the chairs. Looking up, she saw young Ren Tsuruga lounging on the couch across from her, staring from over what looked to be a script. Kyoko giggled at how much it was just like him to keep working even in this state. His brown eyes widened and he quickly pulled the script up again, burring his face in it a bit more than needed. Was he shy? Kyoko tilted her head curiously and kicked her legs out idly to let them swing off the edge of her chair.

"Tsuruga-san?" She called out to him timidly. He peaked out again, but he didn't really answer her. Why was he being so quiet? She worried momentarily that he already suspected this was her fault. As far as they knew, they were the only two people in this predicament. She bit her lip and looked down and her hands. It probably was her fault. Tsuruga-san seemed to steer clear of magic for the most part, but she immersed herself in it completely and continuously. Should she apologize? But then if would definitely confirm that this was her fault and he might hate her for messing things up in his career. Her vision swam at the thought and she realized that she was getting emotional easier than usual. Even with that awareness, she couldn't bring her body to stop making her eyes so wet. There was rustling and quick footsteps before smooth hands clasped her own almost urgently.

"Ky… M-Mogami-san, wha-…. What's wrong?" the boy asked nervously, his voice shaky at first and then oddly changing octave midway through his sentence. Was his voice cracking? But… that didn't start until boys were older… right? Kyoko shook away the thoughts and wiped an arm over her eyes in an attempt to dry them.

"I… I think this is because of Corn." She whimpered out. Ren stared at her, baffled at first, but slowly coming up with what he thought her thought process might be. He cleared his throat and tried to reassure her while maintaining the deeper voice he was trying to use in this situation. He didn't know for sure if she would recognize Corn's voice, but he wasn't really willing to take that risk at the moment.

"Corn… wouldn't do something like that, right? Fairies are mischievous, but Corn isn't the kind to cause you distress like this, right? And besides, what would be the purpose of also putting me in this state?" he tried to reassure her, but for some reason the tears started to well up in her eyes again. Ren didn't know what to say anymore, so he hugged her. They were kids right now, so it was fine to do these things, right? He felt like his problem solving and story-making had been shrunk a bit with his body. He felt so unsure when he was small like this.


Alright, I think I'm getting the hang of this system, but i'll still be keeping an eye on it. It's a bit finicky for my taste, but I suppose it's alright. AO3 has spoiled me, it seemed.

I hope people don't mind my extreme love for magical elements. Maria could very well have gotten her love for magic and such from her grandfather, right? I think so. The man's eccentric enough to have dabbled in all kinds of things. Oh, how i wish I could have his costume closet...