Persona 4 Regression Ultimax! Part 11

Frustration bubbled within Chie—she’d failed to use the potty, and it was all Yukiko’s fault! It had apparently become her new signature move to stamp her foot and play the brat when things started going wrong because that's exactly what Chie did. What else could she do? The world was being completely unfair to her.

“Yukiko you dummy! You didn’t even pull down your diaper and now I went peepee! I could have made it if you weren’t being stupid!”

Chie was practically shouting, yet again making a scene in the middle of the nursery. Beneath her, still sitting on the potty, Yukiko shrank back from her words, feeling more bite to them than their blunted, childish nature would suggest they deserved.

“I-I’m not stupid.”Yukiko sniffled, fighting back tears because of her best friend’s outburst.

Chie softened a little at the sight. While she was still angry she wasn’t looking to hurt her friend’s feelings, so seeing her on the brink of crying was too much.

Physically she was still annoyed though and the spreading warmth as her urine saturated the core of her diaper didn’t help. She kept her arms crossed obstinately, glaring at all three of her nursery mates.

Ms. Nami was already coming toward her, a sour look of disapproval across her face. Corner time had been bad enough, but surely two temper tantrums in the span of a few hours would earn Chie a harsher punishment.

Without understanding why she placed her hands behind her back with her palms out and guarding her rear.

Rise so kindly shared her thoughts. “Oooh Chie-chan is going to get spanked!”

Chie’s tough facade disappeared quickly as she snapped her eyes shut, preparing for her punishment.

*Click*

Everything stopped as the doorknob of the nursery twisted, clicking before the door swung inward. Silence prevailed and the punishment Chie so terribly feared didn’t come. It was a stay of execution, albeit only temporary.

She opened her eyes tentatively. Rise was still behind her and Yukiko was still on the toilet but both turned their attention to the figure standing in the doorway.

Ms. Nami was already moving toward them at a brisk pace. “Hello dear! Who might you be?” she asked with intense excitement, “Did an adult drop you off?”

There stood Naoto, her short blue hair having been pulled into two tiny pigtails sticking off the top of her head. Like the rest of the girls she was dressed like a toddler instead of her usual outfit.

A brief thought passed through Chie. “Where are these clothes coming from?” She made a mental note to ask her mom when she got picked up.

Naoto’s outfit was just as, if not more, cutesy than the other girls' clothes. It had a onesie bottom like Chie’s but a stiff ruffly skirt that flared out around her waist in a tutu-style like Rise’s outfit. The distinguishing detail on it was the design, the upper portion of the onesie was white but a hard line at about mid-stomach segmented the top, shifting to a dark blue beneath the white top. Faux buttons decorated the blue bottom while white suspenders outlined with similarly colored ruffles creating the illusion of a held-up skirt. Little cuffed sleeves and a blue and white kerchief completed the illusion of a babyish sailor suit.

Under her leotard bottom padding puffed out, thicker than all the others by a good half an inch all the way around despite its lack of a weighted sag.

“I-I was directed here. Someone said you might be able to help…” Naoto said meekly.

Chie’s face fell. She’d never imagined seeing such uncharacteristic timidness from their detective friend, already missing her calm stoicism. Whatever was affecting everybody else had gotten to her too.

“Well of course we can help you dear!” Ms. Nami chirped, offering her hand out to Naoto.

She accepted it, allowing herself to be led into the room, the door to freedom closing behind her.

“We’re just in the middle of potty time,” Ms. Nami explained, “I think Yukiko is about finished up. Do you want to try using the potty?”

Naoto again nodded. “I need help with my snaps.” she mumbled, shifting from one foot to another. Ms. Nami was all too happy to oblige, popping the snaps on her onesie with a few quick twists of her wrist. She gestured for Yukiko to get up, leaving the seat open for the new nursery mate.

Naoto pulled down her extra-fluffy diaper, lowering herself down delicately onto the training potty. The gentle pattering of pee adding to the puddle within soon filled the air.

“Very good!” Ms. Nami congratulated, clapping her hands. “Yukiko, why don’t we get you changed?First though: Chie, did you have something you wanted to say to Yuki-chan?”

Chie dropped her eyes to the floor. “No.” she muttered.

Ms. Nami glared daggers at her, “Chie, you need to apologize.” she chastised.

Chie’s cheeks burned red, she wanted to cry from the embarrassment, to express her frustrations with their situation, but she had a feeling it would only lead to greater consequences. “I’m sorry Yuki-chan, you’re not dumb. I just got mad.” she said.

Yukiko’s face jumped back to a smile as if those simple words changed anything. It was likely that, for her, it did.

“It’s okay Chie, I forgive you!”

Ms. Nami chimed in next to her. “As punishment, you’ll have to stay in that diaper till you make a mess again.”

There wasn’t a chance to rebuff the punishment, their caretaker moving away with Yukiko before Chie got a chance. Naoto finished up on the training potty, calling over Ms. Nami for help wiping after she finished. This earned her a smiley face on the last unoccupied potty chart on the wall while Chie got another rain cloud and Yukiko a thunderstorm.

Meanwhile Chie sulked the entire way to one corner of the room, glowering at her treatment. Ms. Nami started some games with the other three, trying to keep the atmosphere in the space happy, though eventually Naoto wandered away from the rest. She toddled aimlessly around the room, idly exploring her new surroundings as she grew closer to Chie’s corner.

If only she wasn’t looking around so much she might have seen the toy before her foot caught on it. She ended up lying across Chie’s lap, neither of the girls saying anything for a few moments. Ms Nami, having seen the flurry of motion, was already making her way across the room as Naoto began giggling uncontrollably, apparently finding humor in her fall. Seeing that there was nothing to be worried about Ms. Nami returned to her seat, continuing her watch over her adorable charges.

The wait for Naoto’s giggling fit to end was incredibly awkward for Chie, who could hardly believe this silliness was coming from the same cool-headed detective she knew. To her relief Naoto picked herself up from her lap, turning to face Chie with a mischievous glint in her eye before throwing her arms around her in a hug.

“Sto—!”

“Don’t react. It seems like you still have some awareness and control over yourself,” Naoto whispered. “We need to figure out what’s going on here.”