Title: Chapter I: We Have a Tiny Problem

Writer: Madame aZure

Fandom: Noblesse;

Pairing: None

Genre: Family;

Rating: K;

Warnings: there are no warnings for this chapter. Read at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I do not own Noblesse or any of the characters. No trademark infringement or profit is meant from the writing of this fanfiction.

Author's note: This fanfic is just my excuse to write something light in hopes that I will be able to break my annoying writer's block - it will contain several short chapters of mostly fluff and crack.

"He is so cute!" Tao squealed in delight, leaning over the bed to take a better look at the sleeping child.

"Shhh, you'll wake him!" Takeo shushed him, bringing a finger to his lips to further suggest that they needed to be quiet. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at M-21, a gentle smile softening his sharp features. He hesitantly reached for the child with a hand, carefully running his fingers through his soft, silver locks, making the little werewolf sigh in content. The sniper always had a soft spot for children, and although he knew that the current situation was rather problematic, M-21's predicament was melting his heart into a puddle of adorableness.

A day ago, they had to fight yet another Union agent, who had nothing better to do than attack them and disturb their peaceful life. The battle had been challenging, but all their training had finally paid off and they managed to defeat him. Before they could finish him off, the enemy gathered all his remaining energy into one final attack, targeting Tao and Takeo, since they were the most wounded. M-21 stepped in to deflect it, but much to everyone's dismay, the agent caught him and used the energy to kill himself and the werewolf. A flash of white engulfed them both, the explosion's shockwave preventing anyone from going to their comrade's side to help him.

After the explosion had passed and the dust cloud had finally settled, just a crater was left where the enemy stood and their comrade was nowhere to be found. Despair never tasted bitterer, the thought that their comrade had sacrificed his life for them gripping their hearts into a vice-like claw.

By chance, Takeo caught a flash of silver in the debris, alerting everyone else of what he had spotted. They rushed to where the sniper had showed them, ignoring their own wounds that protested at the movement, because no physical pain was remotely close to how much it hurt to think that their comrade was gone.

Bewilderment stopped them in their tracks when they got there, because although they had found their comrade and he was alive, he had… shrunk? Short, silver hair, scar over his lips – that was M alright, but he didn't seem more than five or six years old.

They took him straight home, so Frankenstein could examine him: the scientist had found that M-21 was in a coma-like state – his brain had temporarily shut down while his body was intensively working to accommodate the sudden change. His pulse rate and breathing were normal, his wounds long since healed. The only things out of the ordinary were his energy levels as well as his energy consumption rate, which were sky high.

Considering the results of his analyzes, Frankenstein theorized that M-21's current state was due to a defense mechanism. Instead of being destroyed by the explosion, his body absorbed the energy, which triggered as a side effect, the reversal of his biological age, since the energy consumption rate of a growing child was higher than that of an adult. This way, he could metabolize the energy without triggering the body's disintegration.

Given that M-21 had already healed and that it was better for him not to wake up in a lab or hospital environment, they took him to his room, keeping a careful watch on him to make sure there weren't any dangerous changes in his health condition.

Right now Tao and Takeo were checking on him, and although it wasn't something time consuming or difficult to do, they lingered in the room just a little more, attracted by the child's sleeping form.

"It's fine. Boss said he'll be out like a light for the next couple of days," the hacker dismissed his comment with a wave of hand. "Besides, just look at him! We have a mini M-21, the pocket version, a travel-sized werewolf," he giggled cheerfully.

The little werewolf was in a deep sleep, undisturbed by the two people in his room. He was curled up under the covers, grasping tightly a corner of the blanket, clutching it to his chest, his breathing steady and his expression relaxed. While Frankenstein was examining him, Seira went out and bought him clothes that would fit him, so he was currently wearing a cute pair of pajamas with a bunny pattern.

"Tao, this is not a laughing matter," the sniper said in a serious voice, but his gentle smile said otherwise.

"You're right," the hacker stated seriously. "It's more like an 'aww' matter. Look, he even has a tiny scar," and his seriousness dissolved into another giggling fit.

"If you've finished checking on him, you should leave," Regis advised them in a quiet voice, peeking in the room through the open door, but not entering as if he was afraid not to wake the child. "You will disturb his sleep," he continued softly, looking at the werewolf with a curious, yet wary expression. He was thankful that his comrade was still alive, but he wasn't sure how to handle the current situation, since M-21 was also …well, small.

"He's right. Let's go, Tao," the sniper said dragging the hacker after him.

"What? No, I wanna play with him! He's adorable!" he protested, not wanting to leave.

TO BE CONTINUED… :)