[Log] Tigers Like Water [Hanamura, Kisarazu Twins]

[kisarazur]

Characters: Kisarazu Ryou, Kisarazu Atsushi, Hanamura Aoi
Location: Hanamura-sensei’s bathroom
Time: Tuesday, October 23rd
Rating: PG (for pretty gooey, but nothing sexy!)
Summary: The Kisarazu twins come to try out the Honey and Whipped Cream treatment that Hanamura recommends.

Note: Yeah...I messed up on the poker rules, so this is a Chiba variant of Texas Hold’em. Sorry! -Perky

Promptly at 7pm, the twins knocked on Hanamura-sensei’s door. They had their robes and a few other grooming items in their bags. Trying a new hair treatment plan... they were practically giggly with excitement as they waited for their teacher to answer the door.

Hanamura was settling the almond tea on the table when she heard the rap on the door. Peeking at her wristwatch, she smiled at the punctuality of the twins.

Well, she hoped it was the twins...

She checked the basket that held the jars of honey and cans of whipped cream they needed for their project one last time then headed for the door. She held her breath and mentally crossed fingers as she twisted the knob.

“Hello, Hanamura-sensei!” The two young men said as they stood at her door. Dressed identically except for a red tie around one bicep, they smiled at her.

“I’m Kisarazu Ryou,” the one on the left said. “This is my twin brother Kisarazu Atsushi,” he indicated the one with the red tie. They held up their bags. “We brought our robes and a couple of items, brushes and the like, so we could do this right,” Ryou said with a grin.

Atsushi nodded. Hanamura-sensei had a very nice smile, though it did not completely reach her eyes. Hopefully they could provide a bit of distraction for her; while at the same time improving their hair and fur. “May we come in?” he asked.

This was the first time that she was actually seeing the twins. Sure, they’ve been in her class but Hanamura has always avoided looking at her students directly, especially these two in particular. Mutants who disguise themselves were really tough on her eyes. The last time she met another therianthrope, she’d gone blind for twenty minutes. She was fifteen then. Hopefully with the constant exposure to mutants back in the lab and now here at the academy, her eyes have adjusted to this kind of ability.

And then there was the curious case of Niou.

“Of course, Ryou, Atsushi,” she stepped back and let the twins in.

She took a deep breath then she let her eyes fall on the boys. Almost instantly, everything went black.

They smiled at her as they stepped into her apartment, noticing immediately that she also seemed to have a taste for dark wood and antique furniture. The loveseat near a large vase holding flowers, one of the paintings on the wall, there was a lot that was eerily familiar about it. Either she had very similar taste to Sakaki, or she’d let him decorate her rooms. The twins turned to Hanamura to make a polite comment about how nice her place was, but were brought up short by her suddenly vacant smile and widely dilated eyes.

“Sensei!” Both boys moved forward, each gently taking her by the elbow and guiding her to sit on her loveseat. “Are...you okay?” Ryou asked as they moved back to give her some space, sitting seiza on the floor in front of her.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she said as she slowly settled down. Being robbed of her sight was not something she personally relished but it was a skill she wouldn’t give up for anything. She liked interesting things - mutants, especially - and if temporary blindness was the cost to see them undisguised, she was only willing to pay it. “I have this ability to see... someone’s actual mutation - that means their true form or the full extent of their abilities. My vision gets affected, anywhere from getting blurry to actual blindness. Right now, since you’re...” she weighed her words so as not to offend the twins, “in your alternate forms... my eyes have to work extra hard to sift through the layers of... your image.”

Although she couldn’t see anything in real time, after a few more seconds, an image of fully grown tigers flashed in her head, not unlike a silent movie, but with colour. The two didn’t seem to notice her - they were nudging each other in a naughty way, and for brief moments, were floating midair. Interestingly, the ‘real’ twins’ touch earlier felt the same as the big cats paws’ swiping playfully at her ‘vision self.’

What magnificent beings these two were.

“Ah!” they both said. That was fascinating. They exchanged a look, then Ryou leaned forward a bit. “Would you have had the same reaction if you first saw us in our full tiger forms?”

“What if you had seen us in our catboy forms?” Atsushi asked. He set his and Ryou’s bags aside to wait with Hanamura-sensei until her vision returned. “Can we get you anything while we wait, sensei?”

“It... varies but I think the effect on my eyes would still have been the same - that is, I’d still have gone blind. I still haven’t pinpointed the exact correlation between the length and extent of my visual impairment with the type of mutation since this only ever happens the first time I look at people but it’s always the longest with those who have the ability to manipulate how others see them such as metamorphs.”

Hanamura shifted in her seat and blinked a few times but there still was no improvement. “Right now I’m seeing your tiger forms playing with each other. If I’d seen you in your tiger forms, my vision would have been of you as humans - preferably still playing.” She said with an awkward smile. “It might take a few more minutes. Do you mind setting up in the bathroom while we wait? The towels are already there but the honey and whipped cream are over there by the table.” She hoped she pointed in the right direction.

They both bowed, even though she couldn’t see them. “Of course, sensei!” They got up, Atsushi grabbing their bags and Ryou going for the honey and whipped cream.

“We’ll go and get ready, sensei. I hope you enjoy the vision of us playing while you wait,” Ryou said politely as they stepped out of the front room.

In the bathroom, Atsushi set down their bags and pulled out their robes. “Shall we strip down and get ready?” he asked. “That is a fascinating power of sensei’s. I wonder how long she was blind when she first met Niou.”

“Probably even longer than for us. Ours is a full body change, but only one,” Ryou pointed out, stripping out of his uniform down to his swim trunks. After sprouting ears and tail, he slid into his robe, then helped Atsushi into his. “I am quite looking forward to this,” he said, looking at the containers he’d set on the side of the small, deep, rectangular pool masquerading as a bathtub that dominated the bathroom.

She could faintly make out the clinking sounds against the porcelain countertops and tub carrying from her bathroom to where she was slumped. She swung her legs up onto the couch and pulled them close to her as she shut her eyes - they weren’t doing her any good by staying open anyway - and rested her forehead on her knees. She leaned on her side onto the the backrest and sighed heavily. Being blinded, considering her current state of mind, made her feel something close to panic.

She went through the periodic table of elements to make her feel calm. When she reached Krypton, she stopped - her mind immediately jumped to the weakness of Superman and then Sakaki’s face popped in her head, her very own Kryptonite. Annoyed at her confusion and confused at her annoyance, she tightly shut her eyes then raised her head to call to her students, “Are you all right in there?”

“Absolutely!” they called out together. “Just going through your stuff,” Atsushi said with a giggle, “don’t mind us!” They both laughed, because of course, they weren’t, they were simply sitting inside the empty tub, playing ‘box.’

“Okay. I shouldn’t be long.” She called back. There was a certain note of amusement in their tones that Hanamura couldn’t help but smile to herself. Growing up, she hadn’t needed to take care of anyone, only herself, and mostly she had been fine with it. But times like this made her wish she’d had a sibling.

Hanamura only got past a couple more elements before a sensation behind her eyes told her she was just a few seconds from recovering her sight. She sat up and set her feet on the floor again. Slowly, the lines and colours of her room sharpened and became clearer.

Kisarazu twins, complete blindness, duration: seven minutes.

Blinking a few times to adjust to the lighting, she stood and made her way to the bathroom. She had the urge to sneak up on the two but knew that it would be pointless - they would have heard every little noise she’d made even before getting off the couch.

“Are you ready?” She said as she entered the bathroom.

Twin heads, complete with tiger striped cat ears, peeked up from inside her tub. “Sure are!” they said together.

“Are we going to do it in here to keep down the mess, or out there where we’d have slightly more space?” Atsushi asked.

“Your tub is really nice,” Ryou added, running his hands over the porcelain. “This is big enough for both Atsushi and I, even in...uhm, well, it’s a very nice sized tub!” he finished, blushing a little. He knew the teachers knew about their other form, but it wasn’t something he was used to being able to talk to people about.

Hanamura laughed at the comment about her tub. “I agree with you. The contractors outdid themselves -- it’s even better than what I initially wanted.” She went to the counter and took a container each of honey and whipped cream. “I think you’ll be more comfortable if you stayed there.” When she returned, she sat on the edge of the tub and showed them to the twins. “So, either or combined?”

“Is it better combined? Or should we layer it? Do the honey then add the whipped cream?” asked Ryou. They were lounging at the bottom of the rather deep, empty tub, which felt a little chilly against their skin.

“Are we just trying hair today, or do we want to go for it and do our tails and ears too?” Atsushi added.

The twins considered one another for a moment, then gave their opinions. “Let’s go for it, the whole enchilada,” Ryou suggested, “tails, ears and hair. Give this mixture a real test.”

Atsushi nodded. “If you would open the jar for us, sensei? We’ll start with the honey!” They both held their cupped hands up to Hanamura.

“I think we should layer,” Hanamura replied, not entirely sure what to do. In truth, she hasn’t tried this combination before and had only used them separately or for... other reasons... and those she didn’t need to remember now so she gave herself a mental headshake.

“Okay, so honey first,” she said and tipped the jar so the liquid poured onto the hands of the twins. “Just work the honey in your hair. I think you should do your brother’s and vice versa.” She felt silly at her last line and laughed -- she didn’t know who she was talking to for certain so she tried to be vague. “Once you’re satisfied, we can add the whipped cream.”

“Oh, I don’t know, it takes an awful lot to satisfy us, sometimes,” Ryou said with a wicked grin. He leaned forward and let the honey drizzle into his brother’s hair. Sitting hip to hip, turned toward each other at the waist, they were quite close, allowing them to work on their brother’s hair without having to strain.

Atsushi did the same for Ryou, then slowly started to work the honey into his brother’s long, beautiful hair. “Aren’t you going to join us, sensei?” he asked. “There is room next to Ryou, if you’d like.”

There was this sensual way about them that couldn’t have been normal however close siblings might be but she found herself being okay with. “Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Hanamura muttered to herself and she gave them a wink. She then fetched a new jar of honey and returned to where she had been sitting.

“I’d like to jump in but I’d rather not. I won’t be any use to you if I get wet and sprout a tail.” Hanamura doesn’t normally tell people what her mutation was but she never really hid it, too. Usually, like this time, once she knows that someone is a mutant, as if a show of faith, she discloses her abilities, too, so the other person wouldn’t feel cheated that she found out about their mutant skills. And, generally, she was more open to shifters like her.

“We promise we won’t turn the water on,” Atsushi said, smiling up at her, his eyes half lidded from the pleasure of having his brother’s hands in his sticky hair. “Although later, when we’re rinsing this all out, then we will.”

Ryou purred loudly as Atsushi worked the honey through his hair. “Plus we can’t help you with yours if you are way up there when we’re way down here,” he pointed out.

“But tonight’s about you two.” She said, smiling at them fondly. She wasn’t sure but she supposed that because of knowing they were cats, albeit really big ones, she was somehow treating them as... pets? No, something more familiar... Maybe like nephews, which she doesn’t have. “But maybe after the session, when rinsing, I’ll join you in the tub.” She said then gave them a wink.

“Sounds good, it’s quite roomy in here,” Ryou said. “You have very good taste. Wish the bath in the senior dorm was as nice. It’s okay, mind you, but it could be a bit deeper.”

“Except then Gakuto might drown, he is rather petite,” Atushi pointed out with a grin. “Have you met him yet? He’s very hyper and wishes he could still be in the junior dorms. I think because it is closer to the tower he enjoys jumping from so much,” he added. “Is it time for the whipped cream yet?”

“Well, you’re free to come here anytime you wish. And we still haven’t set that visit to the onsen -- I wish things would settle down as soon as possible so we can have our little trip to town.” She said then became silent for one moment as she tried to sift through the student information in her head. “Gakuto... Mukahi-kun?” Yes, of course, a redhead. He was one of the few students she’d first ‘seen’ because he had straightforward and non-offensive abilities. She wouldn’t have put being adventurous past him since it was innate with redheads but she wouldn’t have pegged him as a daredevil. “I just hope he doesn’t get too excited and hurt himself.” She then fetched the whipped cream cans and handed one to each of them. “Just like the honey but this time only mid-length to the tips of your hair. This should prevent you from having split ends.”

While the two applied the whipped cream, she had the sink filled with warm water and soaked two huge towels, taking care not to get herself wet by stepping back and using hydrokinesis instead of wearing gloves and handling the slightly steaming towels. “Once you’re done with that, we’ll wrap your hair with those.”

Wide-eyed, the twins admired the way Hanamura handled the towels. “That is a pretty cool power, sensei!” they both said. “Should we wash our hands off first?” Atsushi asked as one of the towels neared him.

“And yes, Mukahi-kun. Sorry, just used to calling him Gakuto. He’s a little high-strung,” Ryou said. The way he said it implied that he was not using the word little correctly.

“How about for your birthday, sensei?” Atsushi asked, regarding the onsen trip. “Either just before or just after. It would be a lovely treat.” He grinned. “And the fact that it is around our birthday as well is just fortuitous for us!”

Hanamura laughed at how impressionable the two were, eyes lit up because of a floating cloth. “You think so? Even before my abilities manifested, I already had a connection with water. I suppose that’s the reason for my mutation... or I liked water because of my then still latent mutation.” She shrugged -- even she didn’t have definite answers. “It’s more difficult than if I were to control just liquid or if the quantity of liquid is greater than the mass of the other material.”

“Yes, please,” she nodded at Atsushi’s question about washing their hands first. At the comment about the other student, she laughed. “High strung? I think it’s something to do with the hair colour.”

She watched as they finished cleaning their hands and wrapping their head with the warm towel. “My birthday is a school night.” She declared, as if that was explanation enough. “How about Sunday after? We should invite everyone especially those celebrating their birthday this month.”

“Most of the redheads we know are high-spirited,” Atsushi said. “That’s not the same thing at all. Gakuto has a unique way of looking at the world that involves capslock for things he does not understand or that he fears. Which means he uses it quite often.” He touched the towel and looked at her. “And whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first, it is still quite cool!”

Ryou nodded in agreement, although he did it carefully so he did not dislodge his towel. “And your birthday is the same day as our good friend Davide’s. Sunday at the onsen, especially for us birthday peeps sounds like a great deal of fun. What a wonderful idea, sensei!” He smiled up at her. “Are you sure you don’t want help with your hair?” he asked.

“Don’t mind me, Ryou. I’ll get to use this combination but I want to focus on you two tonight.” About this Mukahi... “Oh... This place and the other mutants can’t be helping his case...” She had taken psychology in college but she didn’t have a degree in it so she didn’t know how exactly to help this special student. He was a redhead and she was predisposed to taking more interest in them but she didn’t know what she could do so she just shrugged. She will have to think of a way to help Mukahi but since she had no idea right now, she just added it to her to-do list.

“I’ll have to get in touch with the onsen. We’ll rent the whole place for the day. What else do you think we’ll need?” She said, sitting on the edge of the tub again after piling the empty jars and canisters on the counter and draining the sink. “Davide?”

“Davide, Amane Hikaru. A redhead, so you will like him, sensei,” teased Ryou. “He has curly red hair, is tall and really nice to look at, and is one of the most unrepentant punners ever born. He’d rather pun that breathe, I think.” He leaned back against the side of the tub, resting his now heavy head on the rim.

“Mm, if he is silent when you think he should be responding, odds are he’s trying to work out the multiple puns in his head first,” Atsushi added, leaning back himself. “Sometimes he’ll break himself up before he’s done, which is simply adorable. He has no idea why his nickname is Davide, but most everyone else figures it out easy enough once they see him. He’s a classic beautiful man.”

“We’ve known him since we were kids, back in Chiba. KenKen, uhm, Aoi Kentarou, also,” Ryou said. “As kouhai go, both of them are excellent, we think.”

“Oh, Amane-kun.” The nickname made sense to Hanamura now -- the second year did have striking similarities with Michelangelo’s David, which she was ninety-five per cent sure was his namesake. And she had to agree with… Ryou? Amane was rather nice to look at, although she had only seen his profile picture. “I admit I usually steer away from puns, but I do enjoy them when they’re delivered at the right time and situation.” Mention of another name got her attention. “You know Aoi-kun, too? Since coming across his records, I’ve been wanting to… see him.”

Loud and persistent knocks on her door interrupted her. “I’ll be a minute; I’ll just see who that is. In the meantime, you may stay here and wait or you could follow me so we can have tea? That would have to sit for thirty to forty-five minutes before we rinse them off.”

“Oh, yes, KenKen is definitely someone who needs to be experienced in person,” Atsushi said with a hissing laugh. “Just don’t touch him, he has a...well, most girls have an allergic reaction to him. It’s very sad, he so much wants to be their friends...and perhaps more, but they break out in hives if he gets too close.” He shook his head carefully. “He’d have to wear like, a full body condom just to date one.”

Ryou joined in the laugh, “Kss, kss, kss. He’s a great person though. We adore his enthusiasm for, well, everything.” He stood up carefully and held his hand out to Atsushi. “Go on ahead, we’ll be along in a moment,” he said. He got out of the deep tub and slipped on his robe, then helped Atsushi with his, then the two of them followed Hanamura into the sitting room.

“Poor Aoi-kun. That’s awful especially if he’s as great as you make him sound.” She felt sorry for what the boy must have gone through growing up; even though she never had that problem (she never really gave a damn about what other people thought of her), she knew too well from recounts of their various subjects in the lab that being cast off, intentionally or not, from the normal humans was never easy. However, when Atsushi (this time she was ninety per cent sure it was that twin) mentioned the younger boy needing to wear a full body condom, she laughed out loud before she could turn it into muffled snicker by biting her lower lip. “Oh, that’s just...” she left it at that, not even knowing what to make of the suggestion and pushing the image of the boy all wrapped up in rubber from her mind.

She quickly went out of the bathroom and her room, crossed the hallway and sauntered toward the door as the knocks got louder and the boy even called out. Smiling as she opened the door, she said, “Where’s the fire, Tooyama-kun?” Her grin widened when her eyes landed on the box he was carrying effortlessly, her vision becoming unfocused for a moment as she saw images of his clones all looking up at her surrounding the original.

“Oh, good. I thought I got the wrong door. This came for you.” Tooyama said, his face lighting up, as he raised the box and peeked around her elbows as if to get a glimpse of the inside of her apartment. “The delivery guy saw me at the gates and asked if I could give you this.” He glanced at the name on the package and looked back up at her, “You’re Aoi-chan right?”

After the initial shock and the accompanying bitter memories associated with the nickname, Hanamura smiled at the casual way her student addressed her. “Sure am, Tooyama-kun. You mean to tell me you never took note of my name? I’m crushed.”

“I’m bad with names.” The first year just shrugged and the bottles clanked inside the box, getting the boy’s attention again. He gingerly raised it higher and examined the box. “This aren’t materials for chemistry, right?”

“It’s not for chemistry, no, but it’s a solution I need so I can focus.” Of course, she left out the fact that she needed the contents to make her forget of her worries, too. She gave the boy a wink that got her another shrug from him. “You remember what solutions are, Tooyama-kun?”

The expression of revulsion on the boy’s face was all the answer she got. She shook the box once. “You taking this or do you want me to put this somewhere? It might be a bit heavy for you.”

Hanamura just shook her head and stepped back. “If you don’t mind, please place that box on that table.”

Tooyama gave her a little bow as he passed, muttering something, the word ‘bother’ carried to her ears. The boy then marched toward the coffee table to carefully put the package on top.

Before coming into the living room wearing their robes and with towels wrapped around their hair, Ryou and Atsushi listened to see who Hanamura’s guest was. Hearing that it was their cub, they stepped in and greeted him. “Hi, cub!” they said together, smiling at him.

After settling the box on the table Hanamura indicated, Tooyama dashed toward his surrogate brothers, and almost jumped them, too, but since there were a lot of things in the sitting room that looked either too fragile and or too expensive, the redhead boy tried very hard to rein in his excitement in. “Ryou-nii! Atsushi-nii!” He bobbed up and down in front of them. Eh? “Sweet...” He took a couple of sniffs in the air around them. “Honey!”

Hanamura laughed at the sight of the rambunctious boy as she walked over to them. “Indeed.” She placed a hand on the Tooyama’s shoulder. “Cub, huh?” She commented, directing her statement to the twins. “That’s a cute nickname.”

“Yes, we are sweet, but you don’t have to call us honey,” Ryou said with a grin. He looked at Hanamura. “He got it because he loves tigers so much. Since we also have a certain affinity, being cat boys and all, we sort of took him under our wing. Him and his brothers,” he added, smiling at Kin-chan.

“Have you met the rest of the posse?” Atsushi asked her. He ruffled Kin-chan’s hair. “Are you changing the sheets regularly on your bed, cub? Keeps it looking and smelling better, you know.”

Kintarou made a face of embarrassment and muttered. “Eh... that’s not... I meant I can smell honey on you, Ryou-nii.”

“That’s a very commendable thing to do, taking care of your kouhai.” Certain affinity? It must mean that Tooyama didn’t know about their real mutation. It amused Hanamura to imagine the look on the freshman’s face if and when he finds out about his brothers’ alternate forms. “As for the ‘posse,’ I have seen them, but not outside.” She crouched forward a little to level her eyes with the redhead boy, then smiled, “I look forward to meeting your brothers, Tooyama-kun.”

Kintarou instinctively took a step back when his teacher moved closer. He didn’t understand what she and the Kisarazu twins were saying but he somehow knew it was about him. “My brothers?” He glanced at Ryou and Atsushi, thinking first about them but they’d already met, so he realised what she must have meant. Maybe the twins told her about them? “Oh, my clones? They’re excited to meet you in person, too, Aoi-chan.” Excited was an understatement. It wasn’t everyday that an adult looked at them other than the usual condescending manner so they’re pretty hyped up about it. He turned to the twins, “We’ve been taking care of the bed!”

“Glad to hear it, cub,” Atsushi said. “We did our best to make the frame as strong as we could. We know you are super strong, after all,” he said with a fond smile at his adopted younger brother.

“Kin-chan’s brothers are as delightful as he is,” Ryou assured Hanamura. “How could they not be when they are a part of him?” He smiled at the younger boy as well. He and Atsushi really were quite fond of him. And his brothers.

“I’m sure they are,” they were redheads after all. Hanamura smiled and removed her hand from the boy’s shoulder to walk toward the kitchen. “Are you staying, Tooyama-kun?” She asked while she bustled about, preparing cups of tea. She reappeared and with her was a tray with cups of tea and chocolate cake. “We still have honey and whipped cream left. We can treat your hair, too, like what we did with Ryou and Atsushi.”

Kintarou frowned. Treat hair? His eyes trailed toward the bundled up hair of the twins. So that was what the honey was for. “Eh, I’m good.” Unconsciously, he ran his fingers through his hair and the idea seemed more appealing but he was manly and manly boys like him don’t need hair treatments not that his brothers weren’t, they just... like their hair, he supposed. “I have homework to do. Chemistry’s one of them, y’know.” He gave a sour face at his teacher.

“That’s due tomorrow, Tooyama-kun,” Hanamura scowled. “Have you even started doing it?” She passed the cake to the twins but she didn’t give Tooyama’s his slice. “Well?”

Kintarou just shrugged. “Course I have.” Not! His clones chorused inside his head, laughing but they were all worried about that look Aoi-chan was giving them.

“Kin-chan,” Ryou said, holding his slice of cake up so that he could eat it without tipping his head too much. “Do you need help with your Chemistry? All you need to do is ask, Atsushi or I would be glad to help you, you know!”

“It’s not our strongest subject, but that means we’re all the better as tutors, since we get our grades through hard work and not genius, like say, Inui-kun,” Atsushi said after savoring a bite of his own cake. “This is really good, by the way, Hanamura-sensei.” He smiled at her and took another bite.

“Thank you, Atsushi. I just had...” too much time and too many things I do not wish to think about “...some extra time so I baked.” She turned her attention to the freshman, who she couldn’t tell was lying or not but because of the hair colour, she was predisposed to be suspicious. “I expect to receive your homework tomorrow, on time, no excuses.”

“Yeah, ‘kay.” Kintarou shrugged again but he and the clones were already devising a plan to finish a homework given days ago in the next two hours. Maybe his roommate could help? “I better go then.” To the Kisarazu twins he said, with a reluctant smile. “I... we need help in everything but we’re okay for now.“ NOT! The clones roared again but this time, he joined them, all of them laughing inside his head.

“All right then. Go ahead and finish your work.” Hanamura was about to hand Kintarou the slice of cake but changed her mind. She made for the kitchen and returned with the box of the remaining cake. “Take this with you. Ask when you need help.”

Kintarou visibly cheered up at what he received. He came here with a box of whatevers and left with a box of cake. A good deal! “Ah, thanks.” His gaze flitted from her to the twins, grinning broadly. “See yah.”

“We’ll be by before we go back to our dorm later,” Ryou said, both twins smiling at their adopted younger brother. “So work hard and if you need any help, we’ll see what we can do, cub.” They couldn’t give the other boy a hug without making a mess of everything, but they would be sure to do so later when they checked up on him.

Hanamura watched the boy as he left, glad that at least what she made had put a smile on someone’s face; that made her feel lighter and she thought that the day has not largely gone to waste after all. Besides, she had two lovely guests to keep her company even for just a little while, guests who had nothing much to do while waiting for the sweet treatment to take effect.

“So,” Hanamura checked her wristwatch as smiled fondly when she faced the twins. “How do you propose we pass the time? We still have about fifteen minutes or so before we rinse your hair.”

“We could gossip,” Ryou suggested. “Or we could play cards.”

“Or we could gossip while playing cards,” Atsushi said with a wink, finishing up his cake. “Mm, this was really good. You bake, you teach, you are awesome at hair care...is there anything you cannot do, Hanamura-sensei?”

“Gossip?” Hanamura laughed; this wasn’t something she was used to. Although she has had a number of good friends while still studying, she has always focused on getting her degree and all distractions -- except for one that she didn’t want to think about for more than a second -- she mainly ignored. At her old (and only) workplace, all she ever did was clock in, focus on her work, and at the end of the day, clock out and head straight home. However, Yamazaki (her old assistant that had replaced her vacated position) had always purposely ignored her subtle and unsubtle requests to keep conversations work-related and still filled her in on the goings on at the lab. She only hoped that time that she hadn’t been a topic of their colleagues’ chats. “How about we do, play cards and talk, but we call it... keeping ourselves informed? Oh, but I haven’t got playing cards, though.” At the compliments, she lightly flushed, a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes spread across her face. There was certainly one thing she couldn’t do, and that was keeping people important to her close. “Everything can be learned. Just takes practice and dedication.”

“That’s okay,” Ryou said, reaching for his bag. “We brought some just in case. We like playing cards, it’s a good way to keep your fingers and mind nimble.”

“And uses less battery power than a DS does,” Atsushi added, clearing some space on the table. “What is your poker of choice? 5 card draw? 7? Stud? Chiba-style Hold ‘em? Do you have something we can use as chips?” Two pairs of eyes twinkled up at her.

Hanamura grinned when Ryou took out a deck of cards. “Well, aren’t you well prepared.” She walked over to a cupboard and extracted a sturdy box where she kept decorative stones she sometimes used for some of her floral arrangements. “Will these do?” She removed the lid as she returned, tipping the box a little to show the contents, the red, green and yellow coloured stones clunking against each other. “How about Hold ‘em. It’s been a while but I think I’ll fare well.” She placed the box on the table. “What are the stakes?”

“Stakes?” Two innocent pairs of eyes blinked at her. “We thought we’d just play for fun,” Ryou assured her as his fingers started shuffling the cards without him needing to look.

“That would be unethical, sensei,” Atsushi pointed out, most virtuously. “I’m sure there are rules against that sort of thing, here at school,” he added. Butter would not melt in his mouth, his expression said.

Hanamura pouted, shaking her head. She found herself an old scarf, spread it on the table and placed the stones on it, making sure that they had equal numbers of each colour. This was quite the turn of events. A game of any kind always cheered her up. “And here I was hoping you’d be up for some strip poker.” She laughed lightly as she took a seat at the head of the table.

The twins both laughed. “We would be at a bit of a disadvantage,” Ryou pointed out. “We’re only wearing three items each, if you include the towels.” He shuffled the cards expertly then dealt out two cards to each of them. “Ante up.”

Atsushi looked down at his pile of stones. “Green, yellow, red?” he asked, indicating their possible levels of worth. He put two green stones into the middle of the table. “One green, please, sensei. You’re the little blind this hand.”

“Ah, but that was why I was hoping you’d be up for it.” Hanamura giggled, and nodded, agreeing to the assigning of values, even as she placed a green stone in the pot. A good enough hand, Jack of hearts and nine of spades. Thinking briefly of x-ray vision, she rolled her eyes at herself. Now where was the fun in knowing the hand of an opponent?

She waited for the twins’ next moves.

Ryou looked at his cards, considered them a moment, then called, putting two green into the pot. “I call.” It wasn’t anything interesting yet, but he was willing to pay to see the flop before making a decision.

An ace and a six, both diamonds. Atsushi shrugged; as the big blind it cost him nothing to stay in. “I call. One green to stay in, sensei,” he said, smiling at her.

Hanamura nodded and smiled confidently. “Of course,” she said, and then tossed another green stone into the pile. She grinned at the other twin. “Ryou?”

Turning up the next five cards, Ryou revealed an Ace of clubs, 6 of clubs, queen of hearts, five of clubs and a six of spades. At first he considered folding because of his 2 of clubs and 7 of hearts weren’t very good here. But then he realized he had 4/5th of a flush going. Mind you, so did anyone else with a club and his would be lowest, but, he was willing to gamble. “I’ll raise a blue,” he said with a small smile.

Atsushi looked at the flop with a small frown then down at his cards. He had a full house. That was a pretty darn good hand. “Mm, okay, I’ll call,” he said, tossing in a blue as well. He was sure he couldn’t fool his brother, but he was also certain he could beat Ryou’s hand. “Sensei?”

Taking a peek at her cards again, Hanamura made a face as she shuffled a couple of stones between her fingers. Well, this was a game, might as well play. “I’ll see your blue and raise you another one.” She internally laughed at the thought of the twins actually taking the stones with them should they win the whole game.

“Oo, raising, huh?” Ryou said. He looked at his hand again. “Mm, too rich for my blood, I’m out.” He tossed his two cards face down next to the deck. “How about you, nii-san?”

A full house was pretty good. Atsushi tossed in another blue, then added a second. “See and raise you again, sensei.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, Ryou.” It might have been a poor decision, going against the twins who probably knew all the tells of each other. No matter, it wasn’t like this was a real game. The only things she was in a risk of losing were her decorative stones. And maybe a tiny bit of pride for losing to her students. “A few more stones I wouldn’t win. Let’s see... I’ll call then.”

Though he was out, he was still the dealer, so Ryou turned over the next card. “Nine of clubs, possible flush for someone,” he said. If he hadn’t folded, it would have been him, but he had a two of clubs and that just sucked.

Atsushi considered the new card and tossed in a blue. “I’ll just keep it going, how about you, sensei?” he asked.

“Why, hello there, nine of clubs.” Hanamura said when Ryou revealed the card. She then turned to the other Kisarazu. “I wouldn’t think any less of you should you fold, you know.” She smiled teasingly at Atsushi as she put another stone into the pot. “Sometimes, there is honour in admitting defeat.”

“As is in simply calling when you are bluffing, sensei,” Atsushi said, teasing her back. “Or did you mean to raise right then, if you are so confident?”

“Why, yes, thank you for reminding me, Atsushi.” Hanamura smiled assuredly as she tossed two more blue stones. “There you go. Do you think I’m still bluffing?”

“Mm, maybe,” Atsushi said. He made a pretence of considering his cards again. Finally, he called.

“Well, we’ll see, won’t we?” Hanamura shrugged at Atsushi then tapped her cards on the table. “Ryou?”

“You raised, he called, show’em,” Ryou said.

Atsushi flipped over his cards. “Full house, aces and sixes,” he said. He grinned at her and looked expectantly at her cards, wondering if he’d actually won or not.

“How am I supposed to win against that?” Hanamura made a face -- she would deny whining a bit if someone dared ask -- and laughed at herself. She placed her cards near the board cards. “Well played.”

“Thank you for playing,” Atsushi said with a smile. He collected his little pile of rocks. “Shall we play another round?” Ryou handed him the deck and he started shuffling it.

“If so, then you are the big blind and I am the small and Atsushi is the dealer,” Ryou said.

“Ah, I’m free all night.” It was not as if there was anything to do in the place aside from planning her lessons (which she had already done). She could hardly stroll around. What if she bumped into him? Hanamura took her glasses off, letting it dangle by its pearl cord like a long necklace, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think we could rinse your hair before the next round.”

“That is probably a good idea,” Ryou said. “The smell is starting to make me really hungry. I wouldn’t want to pounce on Atsushi unexpectedly!”

Atsushi gave his brother an assessing look. “Normally I don’t mind, but if you are hungry I suggest we head to the kitchen. Then you can pounce me after we eat,” he said with a wink.

“I wouldn’t mind watching.” Hanamura grinned at the twins and yet again she felt a longing for a sibling. She laughed lightly and stood to lead them back to the bathroom. She was excited to see the results as well as the chance to play a little with water. “If you’re hungry, I have more cake or I can fix something up for you.”

“We have meat back in our rooms,” Atsushi said. “We need a lot of protein, you understand.” He undid his robe and slipped it off to lay it down carefully on a handy surface.

“We wouldn’t want you to have to feed us,” Ryou added. “That seems rather unfair.” He slipped out of his robe too and went to lean against the bathtub, all lean lines and large towel on his head.

Hanamura nodded in agreement. It wasn’t surprising that aside from the physical characteristics of the big cat they transform into, they also got its appetite. “I assure you, it wouldn’t be unfair. I’m only happy to have guests.” Those she was glad to see anyway. “Cooking for you is the least I could do for your keeping me company.”

Turning on the faucet to a good temperature, Hanamura made the water run through the twins’ hair, making sure she got every last bit of cream and honey and that nothing got in their eyes. “I hope we get good results.”

Purring at the delightful scalp massage, the twins both laid back and let their teacher take care of them. “Mm, okay,” Ryou said, “since you put it that way, how could we say no?” Atsushi smiled up at her as well. “Here’s hoping,” he said.

Once their hair was rinsed clean, both boys ran their fingers through it. “Feels nice,” Atsushi said. “Soft,” Ryou agreed. Then they ran their hands through each other’s hair as well. “Very nice,” Ryou said, smiling at his brother.

“Excellent!” After making sure that the twins’ hair had been rinsed thoroughly and Hanamura took her chance to play with water for a bit, she handed them new towels to dry their hair. Tonight’s experiment seemed to be a success and her having them over temporarily distracted her from her worries, as well. It was a good night.

The rest of the evening was spent on good food and bad poker hands and in the end, the twins were sad to have to leave. But, curfew was curfew and they didn’t want to get Hanamura into any trouble for keeping them out late, either. “Thank you so much for this evening!” they chorused after picking up their things later. “Any time you want to do this again, just let us know,” Ryou said as they went out the door. It had been a very good night indeed.