Almost immediately when the trio reached the mall did Kadota regret it. Izaya had ran off to God-knows-where and Kadota went to chase him, not only to lose sight of the informant, but also to realize that Shizuo was not with him either. Either Shizuo had just remained where the adult had left him, or he had chased after him but lost sight of him. Knowing Shizuo, it was probably the latter. But either way, the two boys were now lost. How parents took care of their children without going insane, Kadota would never know. Groaning in frustration, the beanie-wearing man began searching for the boys.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the mall, Shizuo was standing still, frantically looking around for his high school friend. Knowing that by shouting, he would only draw attention. So, for the sake of protecting his own pride, the bodyguard started running around the mall, searching high and low for Kadota. Having one arm broken was not very inconvenient since the boy was really strong.
The mall was really huge so finally running out of breath, the brown-haired child leaned against a wall, slowly sinking lower and lower until he was in a sitting position. He was panting and could feel his heart pumping faster. He tried calming himself down by telling himself that it was alright and that he could just return to Izaya's apartment. Then he realized that the mall they were in was in Shinjuku and he did not know how to return from there. The only way he knew to go to the informant's apartment was from Ikebukuro straight to there.
Growling in frustration, the brown-haired boy used his hand that was not broken to push himself up before he walked off, resuming his search for Kadota.
On the top floor of the mall, Izaya was sitting on the railings, observing his precious humans. He ignored the fact that if he fell, he could die, judging from the height from where he was sitting to the floor. Of course, the auburn-eyed child was not surprised when no one told him to come down. After all, nowadays, people do not really care about others. Izaya smirked; humans were so predictable... And amusing!
He then continued to watch the humans below him and laughed when he saw Kadota running around, searching for the boys. Then he saw Shizuo, and burst out, laughing.
Upon hearing the familiar laughter, Kadota looked up and saw the information broker waving at him enthusiastically, screaming a loud "Hi, Dotachin!"
Ignoring the nickname, the brown-haired beanie-wearing man ran up to the informant. He panted and gasped for air the moment he reached the top, making Izaya clap his hands, joyfully laughing.
"Ne~! Dotachin's one of my favourite humans!"
"Don't... Call me that!" the man stated, panting. Izaya continued observing the humans until the Strongest Man... Uh... Child of Ikebukuro came. Immediately, Shizuo started complaining before he finally kept quiet and hugged Kadota's legs. Children do that when they missed someone or when they were scared so Shizuo assumed he was doing that because of child instincts.
When they finally left the mall, after shopping, of course, they immediately headed back to the apartment. Namie had already left.
"Ne! Ne! Mommy Dotachiiiiin~!" Izaya whined as he squeezed the adult's leg. Before Kadota could say anything, the black-haired boy continued, "I'm hungryyyy!"
"What? But-"
"Dotachiiiiiiiin~!"
And, again, before the brown-haired man could say anything, Shizuo entered, pouting, and stated, "I'm hungry..."
"Please, Dotachiiiiin? Shizu-chan's hungry tooooooo~!"
"Fine! Fine!" Now Kadota finally knew how parents gave in to their children so easily. Izaya cheered before he ran off to the living room, with Shizuo following behind him. Kadota only hoped that the living room would not be destroyed when he was done.
He began to search around for an apron as he did not want to get his clothes dirty. It was as if the Gods hated him or something though... Because all he could find was a pink-coloured and frilly apron with the picture of "Hello Kitty" on it. No way in Hell was he wearing that! But then his clothes would get dirty and he would have to wash more clothes that night since Namie had left so... Oh, how he wished Izaya told Namie to stay in the apartment while this went on!
Looking around to ensure no one was around, he slipped the apron on and sighed. He swore mentally; if anyone saw him, his pride would be ruined. But yes, it would appear that the Gods hated him that day.
"Haha! Mommy Dotachin looks so cute!" the auburn-eyed boy's voice came and Kadota turned around, pointing a finger at the boys, mouth opened wide in shock. Shizuo was standing with Izaya, laughing to himself.
"Well, I'd hate to agree with the flea, but you seriously look great in that!" Shizuo commented, grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, finally we agree on something, Shizu-chan!"
"GET OUT!" the man who was no longer wearing his beanie exclaimed, pushing the boys out of the kitchen and slamming the door, face completely red with embarrassment.
Meanwhile in Ikebukuro, Shinra was studying on the remainders of the mysterious chemical or liquid thing he had accidentally poured on the two dangerous men... I mean, children of Ikebukuro. Where the hell did he get that anyway?
[Any luck?] the familiar PDA screen appeared in front of the doctor's face. Shinra tiredly shook his head before he continued thinking.
Suddenly, Celty slammed her palms on the table before she shoved the device into Shinra's face again. [Oh! I remember something! Izaya had a client who wanted me to deliver something to someone else! I think it was that chemical thing that turned Izaya and Shizuo into children!]
"What? How did it end up in the apartment?" Shinra asked, forgetting about the fact he was tired just now.
[I came back home with it because the bag it was in was tearing. I took it out and placed it on the table beside one of your medicine things! I think it was because the containers were the same that I got it mixed up!] Celty typed and passed the PDA to her lover before she buried her helmet into her palms, as if saying "This is all my fault!"
A comforting hand was placed on her shoulder as Shinra tried to console his girlfriend. In his mind, he was thinking. So someone actually made a chemical... Well, more of potion, that can turn one into a child? Is this an act of witchcraft? Impossible! Witches do not exist! But then again, Celty was a dullahan and she existed so...
Well, it was not like thinking about it would help! Shinra had to find a way to get them back into adults! After all, what would happen if the two men... Uh, children's enemies were to find out they were kids? Shinra could only hope Kadota understood what he meant when he said "Be careful"...
Meanwhile in Shinjuku, Kadota was finally done with the boys' dinner. Wow! Time sure had passed! Forgetting to remove the apron, the temporary parent carried the two bowls of ramen and brought it to the living room.
"Say 'Cheese', Dotachin!"
"Wha-?"
And a flash temporarily blinded his eyes. Luckily, Shizuo took the bowls before Kadota accidentally spilled them.
"Damn it, flea! Don't do that!" the brown-haired child exclaimed. Grinning, Izaya kept the camera in his drawer and then, he went to grab his bowl from Shizuo.
"Argh! Guys!" the brown-haired man who was not wearing his beanie exclaimed the moment the blindness faded, "I told you no destroying the house!"
Indeed, the living room looked as if a tornado had passed by. Immediately, he went to check the appliances and furniture before heaving a sigh of relief. The damages were not too bad and he could fix them, but it would take all night.
Frowning and glaring at the boys, he said, trying to hide the anger in his voice, "After you're done, clean your own bowls. That's your punishment." He would have gotten them to stay awake and help him repair the living room, but how could he? That would be too cruel, and Kyohei Kadota was definitely not cruel.
So listening to what the man said, the boys did as they were told before they returned back. Kadota, at first, wondered why. But when he saw the clock, he immediately knew. It was already an average kid's bedtime.
Sighing, he got up from the floor and walked the boys to their rooms. Shizuo was first since his room was the closest. Kadota tucked him in and made sure he was warm.
"Night..." the child yawned before he immediately dozed off.
Then Kadota walked the raven-haired child to his room and did the same. But then Izaya childishly whined, "I want a kiss on my heaaaaad!"
"Um... What?"
"You heard me, Dotachin~!"
Silence filled the room before Kadota turned to leave. Izaya whined some more, "Please, Dotachiiiiin! My mother used to do that when I was little!" And then, the little informant stretched out his arms, opening and closing his hands.
If Kadota could resist such adorable eyes staring right at him, he would be unstoppable! But he could not. Sighing in defeat, he bent down and gave the child's head a small peck before he tucked him back in.
"Ne~! Mommy Dotachin's really a good... Mommy..." As the words grew softer, the black-haired child slowly drifted off. Children were really adorable, Kadota admitted.
He then remembered he still had the apron on. Sighing once again, he removed it and put it back in the kitchen before heading to the destroyed living room.
Well, goodbye, sleep! Kadota was staying up tonight! Rolling up his sleeves, the ex-Blue Squares member began the very long night.
Very early the next morning, Izaya and Shizuo met each other in the hallway and before Shizuo could even flare up, Izaya shushed him, signalling for him to follow him. They tip-toed to the living room and found that it was back to normal. Then they found their temporary parent sitting on the floor, one arm on the couch's armrest with his head leaning against it.
"Shhh..." Izaya placed a finger to his lips as he hurriedly, but quietly, went to his bedroom and brought a blanket to the living room. Then he carefully covered the brown-haired man with it up to his shoulders.
Checking the time, Shizuo realized it was still very early as it was only three in the morning. The curtains had covered the window so it was hard to tell. Quietly, the two boys went back to their rooms.
A/N: Guess who got blisters all over her fingers? I blame school.