[Log] Cub in a Tree [KTwins, Kin-chan]

[gontakure]

Characters: Kisarazu Ryou, Kisarazu Atsushi, Tooyama Kintarou
Location: Kitchen, Kin-chan-cub’s room
Time: October 10th
Rating: PG
Summary: In order to make it easier for Kin-chan to get used to sleeping indoors, the Kisarazu twins fix his side of the room. (Pics of his new pajamas and the bed are available on one of the Ktwin’s journals.)


Ryou looked down at his skinned knuckle. “That actually went better than I thought it would. The paint splatters are annoying though,” he said with a sigh. He picked up a piece of takoyaki and popped it whole into his mouth.

“That’s why we wore old clothes,” Atsushi reminded him. He patted the wrapped package absently as he also ate some of the takoyaki. “When do you think Kin-chan will get here? I do hope he took our advice and showered first. Or he won’t get his present!” he added.

Kintarou shivered as he stepped out of the bathroom. Even if the bath was as cold as the water in the pool, it was really needed. After all that sorting he did with the trash, he felt really annoyed and filthy.

He was fully dressed - he never really liked the feel of terry cloth on his skin; said towel was unceremoniously dumped into the laundry chute. Besides, his shirt (one of the many) with the tiger prints was the awesomest in the world. And he was meeting with Atsushi-nii and Ryou-nii. He should look his best!

Bouncing down the stairs, he headed straight to the kitchen where the twins said they’d meet him.

“I’m here!” He declared as he entered the room.

Damp hair, fresh scent; the twins smiled at their cub. He had done well. Ryou pushed over a large helping of takoyaki to him as Atsushi pushed over the wrapped package.

“We know it is a little early for birthday gifts,” Atsushi said. “But we saw this when we were in town the other day and felt it was perfect for you.”

“After all, the nights are going to start getting colder and we don’t want you and the boys to freeze,” Ryou said, alluding to Kin-chan’s clones. “Open it up,” he invited.

Kintarou’s breath caught at the sight of the gift. For a second he thought his birthday had come early but it couldn’t have - it was October. He’d just had his birthday a few months ago - and the gift he’d gotten was more than he could want and ask for. He realised that Atsushi-nii was right when he said that because he could replicate himself, he would never be alone. Again.

Besides, Atsushi-nii did say something like that.

“What’s the occasion?” Kintarou asked as he peeled the wrapper from whatever treat he was getting from the twins. “Oh, and thanks for the takoyaki. It’s been hours since I last ate.”

“The occasion is, we want you sleeping indoors now that it’s getting colder,” Atsushi said, tapping him gently on top of the head with a finger. “This is to keep you warm while doing so.”

“The second half of your gift is upstairs,” Ryou added, eating another piece of his own takoyaki. “We hope that you and the boys will like it.”

What. Is. This.

Kintarou couldn’t believe his eyes when his gift was unraveled. It had the exact same prints on the shirt he was wearing - only this wasn’t a shirt. He didn’t even know what to call it. No, he knows what to call it. “This is awesome!”

He held the attire by the ends of what he supposed were sleeves only there weren’t holes for his arms to get through. The same was for the legs. Wow, it has a hoodie with tiger ears! This wasn’t just awesome, it was perfect!

His eyes widened at the realisation. “Is this... Is this a pyjama?”

“Yes,” Ryou said, smiling at him. “Footie pyjamas, meant to keep your feet warm in the winter. We got you two sets, so that you can wear one while the other is in the wash,” he said, giving their cub a significant look.

“The boys,” the nickname the twins used for the clones, “wear what you do, correct?” Atsushi asked. “That’s why we didn’t get them each their own set. But this is a gift for all of you.”

The twins looked at each other and grinned. “So, cub, want to go try them on?” they asked. That would involve going up to Kin-chan’s room where their other surprise awaited.

Overlord! Five exclaimed, surprising Kintarou and the other clones with the nickname. Wear it now! Then summon me!

You wish!Two inserted. You’re the last of us that Kintarou’s gonna let out. You’ve never done anything good for him.

That’s not true! I fetch him takoyaki more than any of you.

Even Eight joined in the conversation in his head. But you got tired of it and pranked him and Akaya.

A couple more back and forth banters were all it took to make Kintarou’s head reel. “Shut up!” He accidentally said out loud so he shot an apologetic look at the twins. “Sorry, they’re noisier than the usual. Just shows how much we love what you gave us. They’re all excited to wear the... footie pyjamas.”

I will let you all out. You know I can’t do that at once but I’ll make sure everybody gets a chance, okay? Gods, was he really this annoying?

“I’ll try it on when we get to my room,” Kintarou said enthusiastically. Then he remembered something. “You said... that this is... part one?”

Another gift!

“Second part is up in your room,” Atsushi said, smiling at their cub. His enthusiasm was so enjoyable to watch. “We’re glad that the boys like the gift too.”

“Come on,” Ryou said, picking up the takoyaki and holding out his hand for Kin-chan to take. “We can finish eating up there. We can’t wait for you to see it.”

In his delight, he forgot his earlier decision to wait until they got to his room to put the pyjamas on. Good thing he didn’t wear any shoes and went down with just his socks on. He quickly unzipped it and jumped inside. It fit perfectly. The clones all but screamed at him to let them out. He just put on a smug smirk and ignored them.

He grabbed the takoyaki from Ryou-nii and bounded ahead of the twins up the stairs, popping a piece into his mouth every few steps.

It was all he could to to turn the knob of the makeshift door little by little and not shatter it into bits. He recently found out that reining in amusement was easier than bad feelings but he was facing a real challenge now.

The room was dark. Fleetingly he hoped that no one would suddenly jump at him - he can’t promise they won’t be hurt if they surprised Kintarou. He waited a second before flicking the light on. When he did, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

It had taken a bit of doing, but the twins had gotten a loft style bed and installed it in place of the usual single on Kin-chan’s side of the room. They had put a simple green rug under it as the jungle “floor,” then, with some help from friends, had taken wood and cut it into the shape of a tree. The trunk ran up the freestanding leg, then the branches stretched along the foot and side of the bed. Brown and green paint made it look vaguely tree colored. A small staircase ran up to where the head of the bed usually was and was securely attached to both bed and wall. It also contained storage, which there was invariably too little of in a dorm room. Along the walls above and below, the twins had attached jungle print to the walls as well. Hopefully it brought enough of the outdoors in to make it more comfortable for their cub to sleep indoors once it got cold. The bed itself was big enough that Kin-chan could share it with a friend or a clone if he were in the mood for a sleepover. And underneath on the rug, with the tiger-striped body pillow, it was an excellent place to lay and study, with shelves built in against the shorter wall.

They held their breath as their cub looked at what they’d made him, hoping he’d like it.

He didn’t have a bed any more. His side of the room was taken up by a tree.

Or something that was supposed to be a tree.

As if in a daze, Kintarou sluggishly approached the unfamiliar fixture where his bed used to be. It was obviously handmade and not something created by someone’s mutant ability but the handiwork was excellent. When he was close enough, he ran his hands over the finish half-expecting to feel bark instead of sleek wood and smelling damp earth instead of the sharp scent of paint wafted into his nostrils. Peeking through the holes in the part that was supposed to be the bunch of leaves, he saw beddings. Luckily, realisation hit him faster than the thrill could build up so the hug he inflicted on the twins should only have robbed them of air for a second and not broken any of their bones.

Noticing that his energy was starting to tremble, he immediately let go of Atsushi-nii and Ryou-nii. He blurted, “thank you,” a little too loud. His neighbours would probably complain about the noise in his room. Again.

He didn’t care, though. He was as happy as a clam. Eh? Was that right? Are clams really very happy?

“I think he likes it,” Ryou said, a hand up covering one of his ears. He was very glad they were not partially kittified right then.

“I agree,” Atsushi said, doing the same. They both grinned at their cub. “This means sleeping inside from now on, right?” he prompted their kouhai. They’d put a lot of time and work into this project and were very glad he seemed to like it so much.

“Like it?” Calm down, calm down, Eight cautioned. Think of... I dunno, dammit, just calm down! Eight’s soothing tone didn’t affect him one bit but his panic did. They all knew that they were just a few moments from bursting out of Kin-chan and the terror Eight unusually felt eased Kintarou. He laughed out loud, the tension he was holding in deflating like a balloon. “I love it!”

He glanced at the tree loft bed and the twins’ hands and something clicked. “Did you... did you make it?”

“Well, the wood part,” Atsushi said, looking at it ruefully. “We got some help with it too, or it would look worse. We bought the frame and just reused your mattress, though.” He rubbed the back of his hand where Ryou’s was skinned.

“After you caught that cold the other day, we worried about you,” Ryou added. “This also gives you some more space.” He nodded at the rug and pillow. “You can even get comfortable when studying,” he said. “Plus there is storage in the steps.”

As the twins told him of the features of the bed, his eyes followed what they indicated. Pfft, studying? Maybe. Kidding aside, somehow knowing how much effort the twins put to work on this project made Kintarou... sad. He knew it was too much. They were really spoiling him and he saw no apparent reason for their concern. Aside from his parents, no one really paid much attention to him and even went to great lengths to give him presents.

This was really too much. But it wasn’t like something he can easily return like takoyaki or an article of clothing because he can’t accept the gesture. This was something more than a memento. It was tangible and solid but very much fragile considering who would be sleeping in it.

This could go wrong in a lot of ways. And fast. He supposed it was up to him and his other versions to make this gift last to show his sempais how much he appreciates being looked after this far away from home.

It has been a while since he smiled without any hint of mischief or playfulness. He almost forgot - it was right before he passed out when he first ‘met’ his clones, the same clones who were now screaming curses at him, begging to let them out. Wanting to say so much (while not taking notice to the nagging in his head) but not knowing what to actually say was never good especially with him, so he settled for a sincere thank you and a promise to not sleep in the trees anymore.

“I really love it, the bed and the pyjamas - we all do. But right now I can’t... get on it.” Kintarou’s eyes was drawn toward the loft bed again and he cringed at the thought of destroying what the twins worked hard on. “I might step too hard and everything would collapse in a second.” Like the pool’s diving board...

The twins put a hand each on Kin-chan’s shoulders. “We got a solid steel bed frame, Kin-chan,” Ryou said. “We know you have...control issues at times. If the wood gets broken, it can be fixed, have no worries about that. We want you to have a safe place to sleep, a haven where you can relax.”

Atsushi smiled at him. “You aren’t as super strong when you have the boys out, though, right? Maybe, this once, you should let them all out and that way you can all enjoy checking it out with less fear of breaking something?” he suggested. They didn’t know exactly how Kin-chan’s powers worked, of course, but that’s what it seemed like when they’d tried teaching him to cook. When he was all together he had the strength of eight, but fragmented his strength was reduced.

The scowl on Kintarou’s face deepened as he realised what Atsushi-nii deduced was right. He should have thought of it sooner but he was feeling extra selfish today that he didn’t even bother thinking of a way to let the others out. A collective uproar echoed in his head along with a few chosen expletives he found amusing instead of offensive.

He shrugged then concentrated on that particular sensation that indicated the appearance of all the clones. This was only the third time he would let all clones out. Hopefully he could stay awake longer than that time when the twins taught them how to cook takoyaki.

Just like that, the small room became overcrowded with Kintarou’s wearing identical tiger pyjamas. If he was being honest with himself, it was kind of entertaining to see copies of him braggin to each other how cool their attire was. Heh. These idiots.

“Oi, before you get too excited -.”

“Thank you, Atsushi-nii, Ryou-nii,” the clones chorused.

“You are welcome, boys,” the twins chorused back. Ryou opened the pack he was carrying and revealed the rest of the takoyaki they’d made. After all, why make 18, when you can make so much more?

“Those who sit quietly, get some,” Atsushi said, sternly, giving them all the papa tiger look.

The clones quickly dropped on their knees and sat in seiza. It was such a sight. Kintarou never imagined he’d see the day when he would voluntarily sit that way. It was disconcerting, to say the least, and he’d have to have a word with his clones - they made it seem like this was a normal way to do things.

The seven copies held out their hands. No sound may have been heard from any of them but if thought bubbles were ever real, Kintarou was sure he’d see “Takoyaki please~” written in those clouds.

“Oh, very nice. What good boys you all are,” Atsushi said, tousling each one’s hair as he handed them their share of the tasty food.

Ryou came over and handed Kin-chan some more as well, doing the same to his hair with a grin. “Now, do you want to go look at the bed while they’re distracted?” he asked.

“Definitely!” Kintarou softly exclaimed. Subtlety has never been one of his better skills but if he were to be sneaky around himself, distracted by takoyaki and flashy clothing, it was easy as pie.

Lightly ascending on the ladder as if it was made of glass, he carefully crawled onto the beddings. He tested the strength of the frame by tentatively wobbling until he got to the center of the bed. It does seem like it’ll hold even if he got a little carried away.

Already tired even if it’s just been a couple of minutes since the clones were summoned, Kintarou shifted so he flopped onto his back with a bounce before sinking into the covers. Stifling a yawn, he moved closer to the edge of the bed.

“There’s room in here but only for two,” Kintarou declared as he rolled over to peek at his copies who were still busy eating takoyaki and examining the others’ clothes. At his words, all of them raised their hands to volunteer. “Wasn’t thinking of asking any of you.” He shot an inquiring look at the twins.

Both twins raised their eyebrows at him, but accepted the look as an invitation and stepped confidently up the stairs to the loft bed. It was solid steel construction and was more than capable of supporting even two four hundred pound tigers. Not that any had tried it personally. Much.

They sat, one to either side of Kin-chan, backs to the lattice work of the tree branches that made the head of the bed. “If you are getting tired, why don’t you start summoning back your boys?” Atsushi asked, brushing Kin-chan’s bangs out of his eyes. “Four and Six are done eating, you could start with them,” he suggested.

Ryou pulled the striped blanket over their cub. It was lightweight, but warm, perfect for Kin-chan, they felt. “The others won’t be much longer, I’m sure. They want to eat up before you pass out, after all.”

“Look at their eyes, Atsushi-nii.” He nodded in his clone’s direction. Five and Eight were also done with their share of takoyaki and were comparing their pyjamas again. “You think they won’t put up a fight if I call them back?” Kintarou let out a weak laugh as he snuggled closer to the twins. “I can still stay up for a few more minutes.”

“That’s fine, Kintarou.” Four climbed up the ladder to sneak a peek at the loft. He addressed their original but his gaze swept around the bed, approval and excitement evident his eyes. “The four of us are ready to come back.”

Kintarou was surprised at how... docile all his clones have become that he briefly considered being in a dream already. He supposed he was really a simple person - just a cute pyjama and a cool bed already did wonders to his manners. He’s even being polite to his stupid clones! “If you’re sure. Come back, then.”

One by one, the clones who’d finished eating disappeared but not before flashing a grateful smile to the twins. Soon, the others followed suit. It was just in time, too.

Guess it was time for bed.

The twins smiled back at each one of the boys as they reintegrated with their cub. They continued petting his hair even after all of them had disappeared again. “They’re good boys, on the whole,” Ryou said. “Just rambunctious and full of energy, like you,” he said to the cub laying on the bed they’d made for him.

“And we like that about you,” Atsushi said, gently tapping the end of Kin-chan’s nose. “So, you like it, huh?” he asked again, looking around at their handiwork. “It turned out somewhat better than we were expecting, to be honest.”

Losing a fight with a massive yawn, his words became somewhat garbled. “‘S the best, ‘Sushi-nii, ‘You-nii. I think I don’t ever want to leave here. Maybe I’ll just stay here and never go to my classes.”

“You’ll feel differently in the morning when you have all your energy back,” Atsushi said quietly.

“But this will always be your refuge,” Ryou added, “when you are tired or run down.” They smiled down at their cub. He was so cute and sweet, how could you not love him?

“I’d like that,” Kintarou mumbled as he yawned again. “Eight says he thanks you both for taking care of me. And them. They know,” another, longer yawn, “I only had one friend since I became a mutant and now I have,” his eyes fluttered close, “brothers. Haha, brothers that don’t look exactly like me, anyways.”

“Even with eight of you, you are one of a kind, Kin-chan,” Atsushi said, brushing his tail along the younger boy’s arm. “We are happy to call you our little brother.”

“You’re our little cub,” Ryou said, smiling. He gently stroked Kin-chan’s hair. “All of you. And we appreciate Eight and the others for taking such good care of you as well,” he added.

“Cub... I really like that. Haha, Two, too...” He slightly frowned when he visualized the blasted tutu he had to make with Yukimura-sempai; he then had to continue when another clone butted in. “And Four, Six... and... shut up!” He said when every one of his clones started piping up at once. “Sorry, they’re noisy again.”

“Are you gonna stay until I fall asleep?” He hoped they would say yes but he didn’t want to impose on them. “I won’t be long but if you hafta go...”

“Of course,” they both said softly. They would gladly stay with him until he fell asleep, petting his hair and smiling at him. Of course, they also intended to get new phone wallpaper pictures before they left. He was so cute in his tiger jammies and his tiger blanket and his tree bed and they wanted to capture the moment to keep with them.

“I’m not scared or anything, okay?” He really wasn’t but back home when he was younger, he used to fall asleep while his mother sang to him or told him a story. He missed that but he can’t have one of his clones stay up for him. It wouldn’t be the same and the moment he loses consciousness, the clone would vanish. “Just,” he let out a big yawn as he wiggled even closer to the twins, his eyes finally closing, “thanks.”

“We know you aren’t, cub,” Ryou said, cuddling Kin-chan as the boy fell asleep. “Sleep well.”

“Dream well,” Atsushi added. They continued to pet his hair until he was fast asleep.