[Log] Tempting Fate [Twins, Dan]

[kisarazur]

Characters: Kisarazu Ryou, Kisarazu Atsushi, Dan Tachi
Location: Games Room, School grounds, Atsushi's room
Time: December 1st
Rating: PG
Summary: The Kisarazu Twins get Dan’d.

Atsushi sat back in his comfortable chair and opened his book up again, moving his tail, which he was using as a temporary bookmark, out of the way. His twin brother Ryou looked at the game board and sighed. “Why can’t we just play Wii Bowling?” he asked.

“Because you lost the toss and it is harder to read between turns on the Wii games,” Atsushi told him. “While you are up, would you get me a drink as well,” he asked, not looking up.

Ryou was halfway out of his chair, but paused to give his brother a wry look. “This being twins thing is working for you, I see?” he teased Atsushi.

Now Atsushi did look up, flashing a smile at his brother. “Yup! When it works in my favor, that is!” There were a few other people in the room, so they kept their voices down as they bantered.

Dan was carrying a deck of cards, planning on taking a sempai's suggestion on a possible way to train himself and his powers. The sempai had suggested Solitare as a way to try and clear his mind. To focus and train to work on getting Dan's odd and uncooperative power under his own control for once. It seemed silly to the first year but at this point, after all the recent incidents that had happened, Dan figured it couldn't hurt.

Spying an open table off near a couple of matching sempai, Dan headed towards it. His foot hit a slightly uneven spot on the floor and the first year, already a clumsy kid, stumbled. He didn't fall but he dropped the cards. Bending down to get them, he was hidden by a chair.

Ryou grinned again at his twin, then turned to head over to the snack area for a couple of bottles of water. He didn’t see the first year until it was too late. It was only his cat-like reflexes that saved him from tripping over the boy and flattening him. Instead, he grabbed Atsushi’s chair and spun it, landing on his lap. Startled, Atsushi dropped his book next to Dan. After a moment of startled silence, Ryou reached over to tip the boy’s head back. “Are you okay?” he asked Dan.

Nothing happened. Thankfully nothing was happening. This twin, because it was obvious that's what the two were, must not have a dangerous power. Or Dan's own power wasn't working. That was good, very good. Just to be safe, he ducked away from the touch. "I'm fine. The better question is, well, are you okay?" Noticing the book, he picked it up and handed it to the other twin. "Nothing feels weird or wrong, does it?"

“No,” Atsushi said. “Why? Should there be?” He pushed Ryou off his lap, causing the other to brush against Dan again. “Careful, Ryou, don’t break the first year,” he said with a smile. He reached out to steady Dan, his ears perking up at the younger boy. “Don’t worry, we don’t...” he paused, feeling a bit odd. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open. “Ryou!”

"Because of that," Dan squeaked out, eyes wide as he stared at Ryou. Dan wasn't the one who ended up getting broken. No, that's what he did to everyone else. He scooted closer to the human twin, careful not to touch him though in the back of Dan's head, a little voice was saying it was already too late.

Ryou looked at Atsushi closely. His eyes had changed. And he had fangs...he was changing! He could see that his brother was fighting it with everything he had, but it wasn’t working. Ryou looked around frantically before tearing a tablecloth off the table, sending the pieces flying. He wrapped it around Atsushi before the change became obvious to anyone but himself...and possibly to Dan. He turned and smiled at the first year, noticing for the first time that his own ears and tail had disappeared. “No worries! What...exactly...is your power, Dan-kun?” he asked, feigning nonchalance.

Floating. That's what Ryou was doing and floating was good. Dan was scared to see what the other twin was doing with the reaction his brother was having but the first year had to look. He wished he hadn't. "Maybe we should go somewhere else?" Dan suggested, giving the room a nervous look. "Because my power...it makes other peoples powers stronger or weaker." And whatever was happening to Atsushi was obviously not good. Ryou looked okay other than the floating at least.

Nodding, Ryou tried to speak to Atsushi in cat, but was unable to. He frowned, then spoke in English, softly. “Let’s get you back to the senior dorms and up to your room, shall we?” he said to his twin. The tablecloth fortunately covered the other completely, but had no eye holes for Atsushi to look out of. Ryou stood right next to his brother to guide him, careful not to step on the cloth and dislodge it. Considering how tall they were transformed like that, Atsushi made a very large and noticeable object. “Dan-kun, could you open the side door over there and make sure no one is coming? I’m afraid your power has had a most unfortunate effect on my brother.” He was not going to panic. At all. No.

Atsushi agreed, but didn’t dare make a noise. They were much louder in this form and there were a couple of people still in the room. He couldn’t see them, but he could hear them and smell them. He could feel his brother’s concern and felt it matched his own quite nicely. But this was not the time or place to panic. Later, sure, but not now. Hearing Ryou speak in English however, made him wonder if Dan had completely turned off his brother’s ability to transform. If need be, though, Echizen could be brought in as a translator, thank Konomi. Not that this should last that long...right?

Dan did as he was told. Peeking into the hallway, he waved the twins over. No one was coming. "Maybe my room might be better," he suggested. "The junior dorms are closer and this is my fault and I'm sure that if Ryoma-kun's around, he'll be okay with it." He wasn't sure what was going on with Atsushi. The guy looked more kitty than normal. The twins were well known for being cat-like but this looked different from the other times he'd seen the two sempai around school. The sheet hid most of what was happening to Atsushi, leaving Dan with just the little glimpses he was able to get. There was just one thing that stuck out to the first year. "Ano, Ryou-sempai," he hoped he wouldn't get scolded for using the older boy's name, "you do realize you're kind of just floating, right?"

Ryou considered Dan’s suggestion. Ryoma could act as a translator for them, but really it would only create more questions than it would solve problems at this point. What he needed was to distract Dan so that the other didn’t notice that Atsushi was quite a bit larger than normal. Or that he was walking around on all fours. “Once we get outside, we should be able to get back to the senior...wait, what?” He looked down at the ground, then picked up one foot at a time to try to determine if Dan was right. “I am?”

It was hard not to notice that there was something very different with Atsushi now. He was not just bigger than normal but on all fours. Dan looked over, curious as to just what this change of Atsushi's was. The tablecloth hid most of him but that almost looked like a paw peeking out. And was that a tail? He'd seen the twins with their ears and tails before--just about everyone in the school had at some point.

"Yes," Dan nodded. He led the way down the hallway, watching for people. This area of the school was fairly deserted right now. "You didn't notice?"

“No.” Ryou frowned as he looked down at his feet. “I shouldn’t be able to. We can fly, yes, but we have to do a run and jump to get airborne. This...is this your doing? But, that doesn’t make sense! If I’m up off the ground...then our flight powers work a lot different from...we’re going to have to think about this later.” The very idea of his powers working different was bending his brain in an almost painful fashion and he needed to concentrate on Atsushi right now. “How...how long does this effect of yours generally last?” he asked, following close behind Dan with one hand on Atushi’s shoulder. He wished that he didn’t have to put a cloth over his brother, their tiger form was so beautiful, after all.

Dan gave a soft sigh as he heard that. Glancing back, he gave them a sorry, guilty look. "I don't know," he admitted. The only data he had was from previous encounters and that data varied from encounter to encounter. Things could go back to normal in five minutes or...who knew? Dan didn't know. "It changes from time to time," he explained. "Do you think we could walk faster without the tablecloth?" There was nothing strange or unusual at this school. And after seeing those freaky blue eyes on Niou and that army of Angels thanks to Fuji, there wasn't much that Dan felt like could freak him out at this point.

“Uhm,” Ryou looked around carefully, “let’s wait until we get outside. He can make his way to the dorm and hide and wait for us to catch up.” Unless this unusual floating allowed Ryou to go faster than normal too? In which case...no, no, he was just going to wait and see and not think about it. Focus on Atsushi. He swore under his breath however that his hearing and sense of smell was suddenly so curtailed. He couldn’t tell if anyone was coming.

There wasn't much Dan could say about that. If anyone knew what to do with Atsushi, it'd be his twin. Students had all kinds of strange mutations here and obviously Atsushi's was something physical while Ryou's was some kind of floating-flying one. Actually, looking over at them, Dan gave the twins a curious look. "Do you need any help? Is the floating making it harder to walk?" There was no one around in the immediate area but Dan could hear footsteps from somewhere nearby.

At the question, Ryou immediately stumbled, falling against Atsushi and making the cloth ride up, exposing four paws. Four very large paws. “I was fine until you asked!” he said a little sharply. Instantly he shook himself and straightened up, fixing the cloth over Atsushi. “I apologize for that, Dan-kun. You are as much a victim of your powers as we are, aren’t you? It must be difficult having no control over your powers. As I and Atsushi are currently learning,” he said ruefully. “It is odd that we were effected in different ways. My flight powers are enhanced, but my cat features are currently non-functioning and Atsushi is the opposite.”

"Maybe it means your powers are different?" Dan had never heard of two people having the exact same power. sure, plenty of people had powers that were similar but these twins were the first ones that seemed to have the same power set. "Maybe your flight abilities and his cat ones are your stronger powers." It was the only explanation he could come up with. The first year kept his eyes peeled for anyone. Those footsteps he'd heard a few moments ago had faded; whoever it was had walked away from them. "It's definitely frustrating," he admitted. "Since everyone else can work on theirs but mine...mine doesn't seem to be controllable at all."

“Have you tried using them in a controlled environment?” Ryou asked, continuing down the hall, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone coming. “Or do you run into people by accident and then panic when their powers react oddly? You might want to get together in one of the practice rooms with someone whose powers you know and test yourself.” He took a deep breath considering Dan’s other suggestion. “No, we’re identical. Every test we’ve done indicates that our powers are the same. If anything, Atsushi loves finding excuses to fly, so you would think that would be his stronger power.” He glanced over at Dan. “I am almost certain that if we had touched you at the same time we would have been affected the same. It’s almost as if your powers swing back and forth between Enhance and Stop. We just got you at two different ends of the spectrum. Plus, I touched you twice.” He frowned. “That would suggest that Atsushi could still fly, wouldn’t it? Except we’ve never tried when...I mean, this is....” He sighed heavily. He was trying very hard not to say outright that they could transform into tigers but it was rather obvious. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked as they finally made it to an outside door.

Dan thought about that for a moment. He'd tried to practice in safe rooms but it was hard to find people to help out. Because of that, he'd never really had any chances to mess with his power and just see how it worked. But the enhance and stop thing that'd just been pointed out...it might be true. He was starting to pay more attention to what was happening with each incident.

"I can keep it, whatever it is," Dan promised. He could keep a secret. "He might be able to fly. But if he could, don't you think he would have tried already?" He tried thinking about what had happened. "You touched me twice and he did once. So...the first time, it was your flying, the second was turning off your cat-like stuff, and the third was his..." Dan waved towards the sheet. This was good data. He wasn't obsessed with it like some people but it was still good to know and keep track of just what happened each time. Keeping track seemed to be the closest Dan was coming to controlling his power.

Stepping outside into the cool fall air, Ryou didn’t answer until they reached the tree line. “We haven’t actually tried to fly when fully transformed,” he said quietly. He slowly pulled the sheet off of Atsushi, so that Dan would hopefully not freak out. Especially since Atsushi had exhibited that he was still in control of his human intelligence by walking calmly out with them and wasn’t just a wild beast. “This is our true cat form,” he said, watching Dan closely.

Atsushi sat quietly, listening for anyone’s approach as Ryou slid the sheet off of him. One he was free of it, he looked calmly, as calmly as he could that is, over at Dan. He did his best to look as harmless as...a 430 lb. tiger could.

The first year's eyes widened in shock. It wasn't entirely a surprise. He'd gotten glimpses of the paws and he knew there was something huge underneath the tablecloth but it was still a surprise. He gave a soft gasp, freezing in place. His instincts were yelling at him to run for safety but sheer fear had him frozen there.

Taking a deep, nervous breath, Dan kept his eyes locked on the tiger. "You two are tigers?" The question squeaked out in a higher pitched voice than he'd intended.

“No, we’re human mutants who can transform into tigers, Dan-kun,” Ryou said gently. He reached over and pet his brother’s ears. “It’s still Atsushi, I assure you,” he said as his brother started to purr.

Something clicked at that. "Then the tigers on Halloween?" Dan asked, managing to take his eyes off Atsushi for a few moments to look at Ryou. That didn't last long though and his eyes were back on the tiger-sempai.

“That was us,” Ryou confirmed. “Sakaki-sensei, all the instructors, actually, are aware of our true powers. We just...don’t tell people because we don’t want to alarm anyone. Tigers, really ones, are a lot bigger than they look in the pictures.” He held out his free hand to Dan. “But it’s really Atsushi. Would you like to pet him?”

Now things made more sense. Dan gave a little smile at the offer but shook his head. "That might not be a good idea," he pointed out. "Petting Atsushi-sempai. Who knows what might happen? He could go back to normal or end up being...being an even bigger tiger." Dan could see just how people might be scared of the twins' true power. It was one thing to see them as humans with cat ears and tails. But a tiger? That was another thing entirely.

Ryou frowned again. “That isn’t any fun,” he said. “People need contact, to touch one another, even if it is only occasional or casual.” He looked down at his brother who looked up at him. “I think...I think we will take that chance,” he said, speaking for them both. Atsushi nodded once. “Besides, you’ve already affected each of my powers once today. Can you affect me again until what you’ve already done wears off? Wouldn’t that be handy to know?” he asked.

"Not everyone," Dan said, giving them a smile. "Contact is nice but not when it ends up being a danger to someone. Though," he thought about past encounters, "you two are probably safe until it wears off. Usually nothing else happens whenever I end up running into someone." Not right away at least. "Besides, we wouldn't Atsushi-sempai to end up flying to the moon by accident."

Ryou smiled. “If that was the effect, then I would be shouting to you from the moon right now,” he pointed out. Was Dan truly going to forgo any contact? That sounded like a living nightmare to him, and likely to Atsushi as well. Their mutation’s effect on their hormones made that an impossibility for them. Plus, it just felt nice to have one’s ears petted, even casually. “If we are safe until it wears off, are you sure you don’t want a hug?” he asked, double checking.

Dan didn't see what the big deal was. He had realized just what his power had meant when it was discovered. "It's completely safe to be around normal people," he pointed out. "It's only here that things are kind of dangerous." But his parents wanted him at the school to try and figure out a way to control his power. "Besides, I'd rather be safe about this than have something even worse happen to either of you. And you two were already affected in different ways..."

“All right, I can respect your decision, Dan-kun,” Ryou said. “Although I will point out that nowadays there are enough latent mutants and mutants that are pretending to be normal that you might be careful around them as well.” Looking around he told Atsushi, “Why don’t we meet you at the dorm? You can get there unseen from here.” He would go up to his brother’s room and open the window. Tigers were quite good at climbing, it wouldn’t take Atsushi long to get up the tree and inside where discovery was less likely. With another nod and a quick lick to his brother’s hand, Atsushi moved off into the brush, disappearing almost instantly.

It was almost spooky how fast the giant Atsushi-tiger had vanished. "I've met a few," he answered, "ones that didn't know they had powers until me. That's another reason why I guess I'm here." He gave an embarrassed laugh. "After all, it's one thing if someone here gets a boost. It's another when it's someone who doesn't even know they've got powers."

“Have you had much luck in controlling your powers? Or at least identifying the length of cycle between Off and On?” Ryou asked. He folded up the tablecloth as they followed behind Atsushi, going at a much slower rate. “Is there anything you can do to insulate yourself, perhaps?”

Dan shrugged. "Right now, we've been working on figuring out a way to suppress my power. I've got a pair of leather gloves I usually wear but they ended up getting wet earlier." The gloves were currently just off in his room, sitting in the windowsill to dry if Karupin hadn't messed with them. "They kind of work but they only cover my hands." Unfortunately, his power was not just limited to his hands though. As for the length of cycles, that was something Dan really didn't have an answer to. It seemed to vary though the more powerful the effect was, either boosting or draining, the longer it seemed to take to return to normal.

“Hygiene is important,” Ryou said, “but do remove your gloves before washing your hands next time.” He grinned at Dan and started to reach forward to ruffle his hair, but then stopped. “I keep forgetting. It’s hard not to touch someone.” He ran his hand through his own hair instead. “So the leather works? Well, you wouldn’t be the first student to require a special version of the uniform. And with the coming revamp, this is the best time to get one. Of course, that wouldn’t have helped Atsushi; he touched you on the face, didn’t he?”

"But..wh..." Dan was flustered by the teasing. "It wasn't that. I was getting my roommate's cat water because her bowl was empty," he explained after a moment when he realized that it was just teasing. He nodded. "It gets harder and easier. I'm more careful about bumping into people but it's hard..." Dan gave a little shrug. "When I'm around normal people, nothing happens. Atsushi-sempai touched a spot that wouldn't be covered by any uniform. Once we find something that really works, I'm getting one made out of that."

“Taking care of Karu-chan is good,” Ryou said approvingly. “She is a good cat. One of the very rare ones that isn’t afraid of us. Of course, Echizen was there when we met and was able to act as an intermediary and calm her down. Atsushi and I maybe spoil her just a little,” he said, holding up his hand, fingers about an inch apart. He gave Dan a considering look. “Perhaps it is time to tell people outright: ‘Look, these are my powers, please do not touch me if you don’t want to be affected.’ Once you do that, then you only have to worry about accidents. Well, and idiots, but then it is their own fault.”

Dan just nodded. He liked Karupin and having a fluffy pet around made things better but he still missed his family's dog. Cats were nice but Dan far preferred dogs. They were just friendlier and wanted to do more with you than cats. Still, having Karupin around helped. "I try to warn people but sometimes it slips my mind or it's too late. Do you think I should wear a sign? Maybe that would help..." He was serious about the question.

“A sign is a bit bulky,” Ryou said, feeling serious about it as well. “Perhaps a sash that says, ‘Caution, Touch Activated Powers’ on it? It’s easier to wear, you can switch it from outfit to outfit easily, and if you make it in a bright color, it would be hard to miss from either front or back.” It was a shame that Dan didn’t have a pet of his own that was safe for him to touch. Aside from Karupin there was Haku, but he was tied in with Yuuta’s mutation and probably not safe therefore. Maybe they could get him one after the Christmas break. Karupin could help as it would be her new roommate as well.

A bright and colorful sash. That was a possibility Dan hadn't thought about. It would get the message across loud and clear. "Do you think the teachers would allow the sash? Or would it be something that they'd say is disruptive to class?" Granted, it wasn't hard for things to be disruptive anyway around the school. He looked around, curious to see if Atsushi was still somewhere nearby. Dan didn't see the tiger anywhere but that wasn't exactly a surprise.

“I think the teachers would welcome the idea, actually,” Ryou said. He looked around too, but didn’t see anything. With his senses foreshortened as they were, he wasn’t surprised. As tigers both he and Atsushi were quite good at hiding and camouflage. “Quite frankly, a sash is far less disruptive than your powers have the potential to be. Especially if it is one of the teachers that is affected accidentally. I’d say ask Ryuuzaki about it. If she agrees, you’re golden,” he pointed out. The dorm was just ahead now. “Would you like to come in and see the place? I know you first years are always looking for excuses to come over,” he said with a grin.

Putting it that way, it actually made more sense to wear the proposed sash. "One of them has been already. I know Sakaki-sensei has been hit by my power more than once..." Usually as backlash from affecting someone else's power. Dan swore he had nothing out for the teacher. Bad things just kept happening to him because of Dan, that was all. He turned to the twin, eyes wide. "In the senior dorm? But I thought juniors weren't allowed in there...." Something about a couple of juniors causing some kind of mess a year or two ago.

Sakaki was a magnet for a lot of things, so Ryou was not surprised that he’d been affected by Dan’s powers. “More than once, huh? I’m sure he’d be in complete favor of the sash, even if...or perhaps, especially if, it clashes with the rest of your ensemble,” Ryou said with a smile. “And yes, juniors are allowed, especially if they are coming over to join a social event such as one of our movie nights or to visit a specific senior. They just frown on loitering.” He laughed a little. “Not like last year. That’s when Atsushi and I were forbidden access no matter what. It wasn’t our fault, however,” he said in their defense, raising a finger to point at the sky. “We were under the influence of catnip. Not as much fun as it looks on television to be honest.”

The twins were influenced by catnip. "Maybe it was a good thing we didn't go to my room..." Dan murmured. There was a small stash of the stuff in his room for Karupin. He was curious to know just what the twins had done to get banned from the dorm. "I've never had a reason to come over," he admitted. "But I like the idea of a sash. It'd catch peoples attention so they'd know to stay away. At least it'd be easier than having to go through the whole spiel each time. I feel like I'm always messing it up and make things worse."

“You could always get business cards that say, ‘Agent of Chaos,’” Ryou suggested, half serious. “You are still young and new to your powers, these things are going to happen. Man, I remember when we first got here two years ago. There was another student who just could not control his powers no matter what. Projective empath. And of course, he had nightmares. Nothing like waking out of a sound sleep, out of a good dream to the feeling of complete terror.” He shook his head. “You aren’t doing that bad, Dan-kun. You just need to stay on your toes and see if you can find your pattern.”

Those didn't seem like business cards to hand out and brag about. Maybe to some people but not to Dan. Agent of Chaos sounded like something bad, not good. Still, hearing that other students had troubles with their powers, it helped. More than he wanted to admit but it still helped. "I'm trying. I've only really started recently, trying to figure out what will help. It just never seemed like that big of a problem until all my recent incidents." He looked around again, wondering if Atsushi was somewhere nearby now that they were closer to the senior dorm. It was imposing to look at and felt a little like he was entering a new world.

Opening the door, Ryou pointed out where the guest shoes were. He changed his own and retrieved Atsushi’s as well. He slid his brother’s shoes into the locker and closed it. The clothes were a complete loss, of course, but at least Atsushi had managed to get his shoes off before changing. As he did so, he noted that he was still not touching the ground. Suddenly, he wanted to experiment...but he had a responsibility to his brother, who was outside. If Atsushi could change back, his naked brother who was outside. “Come on, let’s go open the window in my room,” Ryou said quietly to Dan. “We’ll help, by the way, if you need it. Once we figure out how long the effects last and if we’re ready for it. Atsushi and my powers aren’t as splashy and destructive as some, should be safer to practice with.”

Dan looked around, eyes wide as he took in everything. This was the first time he'd entered the senior dorm and he didn't hold any illusions that he'd be back anytime soon. He wasn't close friends with any of the seniors and given his particular power and reputation, Dan figured he wouldn't be invited again for a long time.

"That's a generous offer," the first year said after he realized what Ryou had offered. He didn't quite know what to say. It wasn't every day someone was offering that kind of help. He just nodded and followed Ryou.

“Come on in. That’s the Senior Lounge over there. You should watch the journals for when we have movie nights. Everyone is invited, provided your homework is done. We’ll put up a little pillow barricade around you so you’ll not be a danger to anyone,” Ryou said with a smile. He liked having people to watch movies with him and Dan needed to socialize more. “Kitchen is through there. We also have a quiet reading nook for people who want to read quietly in the company of others. Which is a surprisingly large number,” he said with a shake of his head and a smile. “Up the stairs we go. Atsushi’s room is on the first floor, but...hm, actually mine is two up. Perhaps we should go to his room. Hopefully his roommate is out. Although, Tezuka does know. About...you know,” he said, leading the way.

"Do you think he'll know where to go?" Dan asked. He stopped, looking around in awe. It looked similar to the junior dorm but he knew it was different. This was the senior dorm, a place he hadn't expected to see until he himself was a senior in a few years. Knowing that this place housed the school's seniors made him slightly wary. Dan had had a few bad run-ins with a few of the third years and he was worried about what their reactions might be if they saw him. Noticing that Ryou was getting away from him, Dan hurried after the twin. "We could make a pillow fort around me for it. That might keep people safe."

“True, but we might need more pillows then, because everyone will want one. Still, it’s a good plan,” Ryou said. At the top of the first set of stairs, he turned right and went to the first door, pulling out a key and unlocking it after a brief knock. “If we open a window, he’ll figure it out,” he said with regards to Dan’s other question. “He’s pretty bright. We don’t lose any of our intelligence when we’re transformed,” he explained. He stepped inside and looked around. Tezuka was out, good. Time to open a window. “Here, help me move Atsushi’s desk. Four hundred some odd pounds of tiger landing on his desk will not do it any good.”

"You guys couldn't have done Halloween if you didn't keep yourselves," Dan pointed out. It had been an impressive feat of Sakaki-sensei's to have the tigers and knowing that those same tigers were students at the school made it even more impressive in his eyes. "I guess it's a good thing I didn't pet either of you. It was kind of tempting but I was afraid of getting bitten..." He closed the door and went over to the desk to help move it. This was a secret so it wouldn't do to have just anyone walk by and see a tiger in the room with them.

“Thank you,” Ryou said with a nod to the door. “On three, one, two, three!” They shifted the desk so that it temporarily sat in front of Tezuka’s, then Ryou opened the window as wide as he could. Now the question was, could Atsushi get up here? The question was answered moments later when four hundred and thirty pounds of tiger flowed through the window and into the room with the two of them.

Even though Dan had been expecting the tiger, it was still a shock when Atsushi physically came into the room. He'd forgotten just how big the tiger was. "Can you turn back, Atsushi-sempai or are you still...?" Dan didn't know how to put it politely. It seemed rude to imply that the older students couldn't control themselves and their powers but Dan knew that's exactly what he did to people.

Atsushi sat down in front of Tezuka’s bed, as out of the way as he could get and concentrated. Nope, nothing yet. He shook his head to let the other two know he’d tried. With a sigh he laid down, his head on his front paws.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Ryou said. He closed the window and maneuvered the desk back under it. With a little apologetic bow, he removed Atsushi’s house shoes from the bed and placed them under his chair. “Do you know how long it has taken others to recover, Dan-kun?” he asked. “A few minutes? Couple of hours? ...Overnight?”

"It varies," Dan answered, keeping his eyes on Atsushi. It was really tempting to pet the older student. That, however, seemed like an intrusion. If Atsushi were in his normal form, Dan wouldn't exactly be petting him. There were a few reasons why not, mostly because of Dan's power, but also because it was rude. "It used to last only as long as I was touching someone but lately it's been sticking longer." That's why there were the experiments, to try and figure out any patterns and commonalities. Knowledge was turning into the best way to combat and control his unpredictable power.

“Tell you what,” Ryou said, bouncing in place a bit. “I want to play with this enhanced flight thing. Why don’t you sit next to Atsushi and maybe pet his ears and the two of you can focus on figuring out if there is any indicator or feeling you have when you are touching him as to what your powers are doing. Sort of, meditate on them. I understand that can help,” he offered. He bounced a little higher and didn’t come back down. “Okay, that’s just cool.”

"Is that okay?" Dan asked Atsushi. He wasn't sure how the older student would indicate if it was but it would be obvious if it wasn't. He was curious to know how a tiger felt but he wasn't going to pet Atsushi until there was some sort of yes from the tiger himself. Dan watched Ryou nervously. "Just...don't go outside and start flying around really high, okay?" He was afraid for when his power wore off and would hate for Ryou to come crashing down and get hurt. The twin had been so nice to Dan already which was more than the first year felt like he deserved after this entire mess.

Atsushi nodded at Dan. He was more than fine with getting pets. He laid down on the floor, taking up a large chunk of space and looked up at Dan expectantly.

Ryou nodded. “Oh, I’m staying in here, no worries there. Which is really cool as I didn’t know I could fly in such a small enclosed space!” He held himself off the ceiling with one hand and tried to concentrate on going down again. This was fascinating. He and Atsushi had never even considered that it was mental, rather than a physical power. But here he was sinking now, slowly. Knowing this...they were going to have to step up their power practice for certain!

Sitting down on the floor near the tiger-twin, Dan hesitantly reached over. He hoped that had been a yes. It wasn't exactly easy to tell what a tiger wanted. "I'm sorry if I end up doing anything else to you," Dan whispered to Atsushi as he pet the older boy's ears.

Dan was relieved to hear that Ryou was planning on staying in the room. "You've never tried to just float before?" It just sounded so handy to be able to float in the room though not as handy as being able to make other things float.

Ryou did a small flip in mid-air. “Ooo, no, never was able to. Well, not without jumping, but we can float for small periods of time, but this is way cool. Now that we know we have the potential...well, I think we’ll be practicing harder!”

Atsushi watched his brother’s aerial acrobatics and purred, rubbing his head against Dan’s hand. Dan had said he couldn’t affect someone until the effect of his previous touch had worn off, so he wasn’t particularly worried. He wished he could try flying like that though. They would definitely have to come down and help Dan with his power practices.

"Maybe you could try hopping?" Dan suggested. "Not a full jump but just a little something that could activate your floating ability." It looked like fun, to be able to float and flip in the air. He wouldn't get to try it ever but at least someone was making good use of a bad situation. Scratching Atsushi's ears in the same way that Karupin liked, Dan turned his attention back towards the tiger next to him. It was hard to believe that this tiger was one of the sempai but it was true. Dan had seen the change himself even if it had mostly been covered up by the tablecloth. He was also starting to wonder when his power would wear off. It would be absolutely terrible to have it wear off and then immediately reactivate due to the petting.

Halting suddenly mid-flip, Ryou gave Dan a look. “We aren’t keeping you from something, are we?” he asked. “You were doing something when we bumped into one another. We’re fine if you have something else you need to do. We’d be poor excuses for sempai if we kept you from something important.” He concentrated and came almost all the way down to the ground, then did another flip. “Amazing. I am totally controlling my flight with my mind right now. We always thought it was muscle controlled.” Atsushi purred in agreement.

Dan shook his head. "It wasn't anything important. Another sempai just suggested I play Solitare to try and clear my mind and to work on my concentration as a way to work on my control." The suggestion hadn't sounded half bad at the time though actually saying it out loud to others made Dan question it some. He knew he shouldn't be embarrassed by his lack of control over his power. Everyone in the school probably knew about how Dan failed at his power. Forgetting for a moment that the tiger was actually another student, Dan gave Atsushi a strong hug. He knew he shouldn't be getting upset about it but it was just so frustrating to him at times.

“Increasing your mental control is not a bad idea,” Ryou said, thinking about it. “Even if it doesn’t help with your powers, it will help you just in general,” he said with a smile. He noted the hug and shared a glance with his brother. They might not be able to speak right now, but that didn’t mean their communication was completely shut off. “Like I said, we’ll help you practice. Heck, even if you figure out which way your power is flowing when you are accidentally touched would be a step in the right direction. Perhaps building up your concentration and meditating on your body’s rhythms will help with that. I mean, you’ll still be unable to not affect someone, but at least then you can choose to affect someone as well. Like if someone got hurt, boosting Ohtori’s ability to heal or if we need to rescue someone from the lake or there’s a fire or something. Knowing that you can turn off Akaya’s power when he has a severe cold...these are good things, Dan-kun,” Ryou said. Atsushi simply leaned into the hug and nuzzled the first year.

Dan nodded. That had been the general idea from the way it had been explained, to help train his mind. The practice offer was nice too. "That's what I'd like to be able to do, to use my power to help people." He peeked up from where he'd been half hiding behind Atsushi. "I'm a little jealous of Ohtori-sempai. He's got such a nice, useful power that can help people," the first year confided. That's the kind of power Dan wished he had. A power that could only help people, not something like his own which only seemed to cause hurt and destruction.

“All powers have their drawbacks,” Ryou said. “I bet that if you sat down and talked to Ohtori-kun that he would have stories of his. And what if...what if Kite got air-sick? Or Yukimura got hay-fever? We don’t know what all the drawbacks of others’ powers are. We only see the cool stuff. Well, except for Tezuka and Echizen. Unfortunately their current inabilities are well-known. But if they keep at it, and find what works for them, eventually they’ll make it, I’m sure,” he said with a smile and another lazy flip. “This is really fun, by the way, thank you.”

"I guess," Dan drew out. Other people had good thing and bad things about their powers. Except for Dan. He could only focus on the bad things since that seemed to be the only thing he ever seemed to experience. At the mention of Echizen's powers, Dan gave a little smile. He knew there was more to his roommate than the eye could see but out of respect, the first year kept quiet about what that might be. "I'm glad someone's enjoying the after-effect for once. Most don't."

“Yes, well, several people have powers that they barely understand and control as it is,” Ryou pointed out. “Although, I thought we had a pretty good handle on ours, and apparently we were wrong! We will have to work harder,” he told his brother.

Atsushi purred under Dan. Being stuck as a cat for a few hours wasn’t terribly bad. He was a bit jealous of the cool things Ryou was able to do, but as his brother said, knowing now that they were capable of it, they would work harder and someday he too would be able to do it. Plus, the effects were only temporary and soon Ryou would be limited again. But not for long, they both vowed.

“We should set up a practice schedule,” Ryou suggested to Dan. “Couple of times a week. You need more, but unfortunately that’s all we can spare right now. Hopefully you will find others you can work with too. We can make a few suggestions if you like. Or you can talk to one of the teachers. Hanamura has the ability to see what a person’s mutation is. She might be the best one to approach about finding other mutants who are safe to work with.”

Scratching Atsushi's ears, Dan had to admit it was nice to be around people who actually liked his power. Then again, the twins had gotten a good effect. Others hadn't been so lucky. His mind flashed to Niou in particular. Of all the people Dan wished he could have changed an encounter with, it would probably be him followed closely by Fuji. Niou had only been trying to help. Fuji, at least, had brought it upon himself to try and scare Dan so he'd kind of asked for it though what had happened was still terrifying.

"I've gone to Sakaki-sensei for help. He's the one who suggested the gloves," Dan admitted. Though maybe Hanamura wouldn't be a bad idea. She could offer a new perspective at least. "Any help at all is appreciated. I'm not exactly popular when it comes to power practices..."

“From what I’ve heard, she used to be a mutant research scientist,” Ryou said. “So maybe she’ll have the clue you need or at least help you figure out which one is the yellow brick so you can get started down the right road.” He smiled at Dan and did another slow rotation. “Do you ever notice anything when you touch people that says, ‘hey, my powers just activated?’”

"I don't but other people seem to notice something," Dan answered. It would be handy if he felt some sort of signal that alerted him to powers activating. It used to be that his power didn't work all that often but now...practically every other encounter was something. In truth, it wasn't that frequent. That's just what it felt like to the first year. He looked between each twin, a curious look on his face. "What about you two? Did you guys feel anything when you touched me? A few people mentioned it feels like a static electric shock."

“Hm, now that you mention it, yes,” Ryou said. “Although, at the time I put that down to, well, static electricity.” He looked a little disappointed. “Nothing on your end, huh? Darn, that will make it harder for you to tell when your powers are working. But there has to be a way to tell. We just have to figure it back out. Right?” he said to the other two. Atsushi nodded back, continuing to purr against Dan.

Dan gave Atsushi another hug. "Most people do. The only explanation I can think of why I don't feel any spark is that maybe I'm just used to it so that when it happens I don't notice because it's happened so many times before." Dan felt like he was rambling at this point. But it was either being able to feel it but being desensitized or just not being able to feel anything. He wasn't sure which reason he liked better as they were both fairly crummy on his eyes. "Usually I'm able to tell when, um, peoples' powers go haywire."

“Haywire is likely pretty obvious,” Ryou said with a nod to his twin. “Can you tell when they simply shut off? Or is it more that you read the person’s body language, knowing by how they react that something has happened? How can we resensitize you to the feel?” he wondered out loud. “If you’ve become desensitized, we should be able to fix that. It would be a good first step,” he said with a firm nod.

"Generally," Dan agreed, giving a little laugh. "Sometimes it's not but most the time it's obvious. It definitely is when people go to use their powers anytime soon after." As for the other questions, Dan had to stop and think. "It depends on how well I know the person, on how I can read their body language. But, um, a lot of people tend to want to get away from me after an incident."

Wondering if he he'd accidentally activated Atsushi's tiger power again, Dan scooted away. "The hard part is knowing just how long I've had this power. It took my family and myself to even figure out what it was. So I probably became desensitized a long time ago."

“You come from a line of mutants, then?” Ryou asked. He drifted to a stop near the light fixture and thought for a moment. “Do any of them feel as though their powers are stronger or weaker than they were when you were younger? As if repeated exposure has permanently affected them? Personally, knowing that I am capable of more than I have previously evidenced will drive me and Atsushi to improving our control and realizing that potential. But then, we know what has happened.” He scratched his head a little. “I might be trying to describe this weird. But if say, your brother, not that I know if you have one, mind you, who normally could pick up a recliner with one hand, was one day able to do the same to the sofa, then couldn’t again...he would likely think, ‘hey, I did it once through some fluke, I’m going to keep trying until I can.’ So he practices and improves until he can, because he doesn’t know it was an outside force.” He frowned down at Dan. “Does that make sense?”

Dan gave a little nod. "My mom's a telekinetic. My dad and little sister are normal as far as we can tell but she's a few years younger than me so she might still have something." As for any permanent changes, Dan wasn't sure. His mother had always had her power and usually it was under control. "It actually took us a long time to realize that I was the one causing any of her weird power fluctuations since it didn't always happen at first." He really wasn't even sure if his power had come all of a sudden or if it had grown gradually. There were just lots of little incidents, usually ones his mom blamed on her mood or being distracted. It had taken almost getting scalded with boiling water for them to realize that Dan was the one behind the weird fluctuations.

“Hm. And are they frightened of you? Wanting your powers ‘contained’ and ‘controlled’?” Ryou asked. “Have they made you afraid of your own powers?” he added gently. He levitated to hover in a seated position two feet above the bed. “Maybe not consciously, because after all, if you don’t touch anyone you are safe...but should you need to feel safe from your own powers? Atsushi and I...yes, at first we were terrified when we sprouted ears and tails. Would we turn into cats? Would we have these obvious mutations all the time? Then we relaxed when we realized that while there were a few things we had to get used to, we were still us and we had some ability to control our appearance. Of course, when we actually shifted into tigers, then we felt quite panicked again. We didn’t even know at first if we could shift back!” Ryou told him.

Dan didn't think his family was afraid of him. If they were, why would they always welcome him back for term breaks? Of course, it had been for safety reasons that his parents suggested Dan look at schools far away, where he wouldn't have to live with them. "I want to keep it contained and try to control it," Dan answered. If he could figure out how to do that, it would make his life so much simpler. He wasn't so much afraid of his power but afraid of the potential fall-out that seemed to end in disaster most the time.

"I think it's a little different for me," he continued, thinking about it. "Because mine isn't obvious at all. Without others around, I can't do anything." Dan gave a little nervous laugh and added, "which kind of makes being here odd but normal schools haven't exactly worked for me either."

Atsushi purred and gently butted his head against Dan’s chest. Ryou picked up on what his brother was likely wanting to say. “How so? Because of mutants who are trying to pass as nons or something else?” he asked gently. Dan was so earnest and tried so hard, surely he didn’t get bullied. If he had, well...it was a good thing he was here now so his real sempai could keep a close eye on him.

Dan gave a little nod, reaching over to pet Atsushi's head. "People who don't know they've got powers or those who have their powers under control." At least, that was part of it. "It's not too bad when I'd run into people with powers and they knew about them but the people that didn't know they had powers..." There had been more than a few disasters because of that one. Luckily nothing too major had happened, mostly because his power had had further limits on it than it did now.

Scratching a tiger ear since it didn't seem his power was wearing off any time soon (which was interesting and he'd have to write down just how long this lasted and maybe try talking to a few others to see if they knew how long his power had affected them), Dan added, "or I'd have people who'd find out and then try to use me to get control over others. That's what happened at my last school. It was full of normal kids but there were a few powered students who kept trying to use me to take over the school." It hadn't worked out for them though, much to Dan's relief. They hadn't exactly been the nicest of students.

Ryou exchanged a frown with his brother. “Definitely better for you here, yes,” he said. “If anyone here tries anything like that, or if anyone from the town figures out your powers and tries that, you let Atsushi and I know, okay? We have...ways of dealing with them.” Not just the four hundred pounds of muscle, claws and teeth, either. You take two boys who can fly and have them drop in on you, it can cause a fair amount of consternation. Add in their secret weapon and well, they were pretty sure that if they managed to get the drop on them, there were very few people here at least that they couldn’t neutralize. Of course, that did involve them not having been neutralized first, but surprise wasn’t something you could really plan for.

Staying in his cat form, Atsushi realized that Dan wasn’t aware that the effects had worn off. But then, Ryou was still hovering over the bed and he hadn’t changed back. But Dan’s powers had not reemerged. He purred at the ear scratch as he asked his brother, ”We’ll do our best to protect him. And teach him to protect himself as much as possible. Do you think that there is a certain period of immunity after first being touched or that his powers are recharging or that they’re just not on right now?”

Dan nodded. "That's what my family and I thought too. Every place has it's ups and downs but at least this school is used to and built for powers that go out of control." That had been one of the main things he'd seriously considered about the place before deciding to go. After all, a normal school full of normal people would have been dangerous but at the same time, quite safer in certain aspects. Hearing Atsushi making noises, Dan gave the older student a curious look. "I kind of wish I had Echizen-kun's ability to speak feline. It feels like it'd be more useful." For a moment, Dan wondered if one could actually learn to speak the language like one would learn other human languages. He shook his head and grinned at the idea, knowing it was almost certainly impossible but something to keep in mind.

“It is quite useful,” Ryou agreed, not mentioning that his own ability had returned. “So, what happens if you touch someone again after you’ve already affected their powers? Is there a recharge period? Well, obviously not or you wouldn’t have been able to get both of us,” Ryou corrected himself. “Do you think there is a period of immunity after being touched or something?” He was definitely going to talk to Tezuka about teaching Dan judo. The boy needed a way to defend himself against non-powered attacks. Not everyone would be coming after him with flaming fists. Ordinary fists could do a significant amount of damage as well.

"I'm not really sure. People don't tend to stick around," Dan admitted. He was still focused on the idea of learning to speak feline. He might mention the idea to his roommate. Or not. People would look at him strangely if he mentioned he wanted to learn to speak an animal language but it was still an odd little idea that wouldn't leave him alone. A period of immunity to Dan's power would explain why he couldn't just turn Niou's power back on right away. Somehow that did not make Dan feel any better. He gave the twins curious looks. "You guys still seem to be affected though so it must take a long time to wear off."

“Actually, it wore off a few minutes ago,” Ryou admitted. “But Atsushi likes ear scratches, plus he’s naked under that fur, so he chose not to change back.” He however was starting to shake from the mental effort of holding himself even a short distance off the bed. He relaxed and allowed himself to fall the few inches, bouncing a tiny bit as he landed. “Fortunately our powers, while they can go out or out of control, don’t do much damage. Even when tigers we’re still us. Now if we lost control when we shifted...that would have been a much different story!”

Oh. Dan felt like that little tidbit, that his power had worn off, shouldn't have affected him but it did. He wished he had known. He wanted there to be some sort of signal his body gave him when his power wore off. It'd make life easier and make things easier to track. Though having a naked person essentially just lounging next to him and petting said person would definitely be more than a little embarrassing. Dan was grateful that Atsushi had chosen to stay as a tiger because of that. "If you want me to leave so you can change back and go about the rest of your day, just let me know," Dan told the older boy. He wasn't entirely sure how Atsushi would let him know but Dan figured that if a tiger wanted you gone, he'd figure it out. And that was without even counting in Ryou as a translator.

Atsushi purred and leaned a little against Dan. He didn’t mind staying like this a little longer. Dan was a nice boy, after all. All the two twins had planned for the day was to play some Go and then make dinner later. They stayed on top of their homework so they could have nice days in which they could indulge their cat side love for lounging about doing nothing.

“I think he’s good,” Ryou said with a little laugh. “But if you have homework or something that you need to get back to, we won’t keep you. Will we?” he asked his twin pointedly. At Atsushi’s sigh, he smiled at Dan. “Up to you. You could stay for dinner, if you like.”

Dan gave Atsushi a surprised look. He didn't know that tigers could purr. He found himself oddly thinking about his family's dog. It was probably because of the comforting warmth and presence that Atsushi was providing. "I didn't have any real plans for tonight," he admitted. His only plans had been to maybe try that card meditation/focusing thing. He was really starting to feel like he was imposing on the twins though, especially now that his power was done affecting Atsushi and it was Dan's fault the guy hadn't turned back to human yet. "Though I'm going to end up baking tonight." He was going to make his customary 'I'm sorry' treats.

“You like to bake?” Ryou asked. If Dan really wanted to leave, they wouldn’t try to keep him...but if he were to stay, they would do their best to spoil him with loves. With his powers, he probably didn’t get enough of that these days. “What are your other hobbies?” he asked curiously.

"Well, cooking in general but baking is fun because usually I make sweets and everyone likes those." Dan's logic was perfectly sound. "Painting's nice. It's less hectic." He didn't know what else to say. Those were his two things he liked to do. There were others, like his mediocre tennis skills (which were getting better thanks to his roommate). "What about sempai-tachi?"

“Hm, aside from flying and pouncing things?” Ryou asked with a grin. “Let’s see. We like playing tennis and playing guitar. We had a band with Zaizen, but he’s not at school right now. So currently we have a band with Ohtori and Irie. It’s kind of odd without a drummer, but interesting. Ohtori writes beautiful music, you know,” he said. He listened as Atsushi added something in cat, then translated. “Right. Ambushing friends for ear scratches probably does qualify as a hobby! Plus we’ve learned to cook meat in a wide variety of ways.” He reached over and gave his brother a pat on the head. “So, for you painting is a way to relax and unwind? You could incorporate that into your meditation, perhaps,” he suggested.

Oh! They played tennis too. Dan couldn't help but smile. "My roommate's been helping me get better at tennis. I'm still kind of bad but I've definitely improved." Dan didn't know what to say about the music. It was cool that the twins could play instruments but Dan was terrible at playing anything. Sheet music made no sense to him and he felt silly to play without any. "You think I could? It's an idea..." Dan tended to use painting as a way to clear his mind but trying to apply his power to it seemed like a strange idea. But maybe trying to reach that place his mind went when he painted, when his mind was clear...that might not be a bad idea at all. He found himself eager to try this out.

“Ryoma is a good tennis player, but he definitely does not go easy on people,” Ryou said. “Have you managed to get any points off of him yet? He beat both Atsushi and I shortly after the four of us met. The fourth being Karupin, of course,” he clarified. “And why not? If it works, then that’s what matters, right?” He smiled at Dan again. “We’ll definitely have to play tennis one of these days, once the snow melts from the court.”

"I've gotten a few points off him." Dan wasn't the best but having Echizen as his practice partner definitely pushed Dan to get better. "That sounds like fun, playing together. The last time I managed to play was right before the snow really hit." It'd been cold but that was the kind of night he needed too. It hadn't been the best of days and just hanging out with his roommate had made things better. Dan just wondered how exactly he was going to achieve that mental state when not painting.

“You know,” Ryou said, after listening to a suggestion from Atsushi, “we could ask for permission to turn one of the practice rooms into an indoor tennis court. At least for a day. Maybe do some practice in the morning, then perhaps have a little mini-tournament in the afternoon?” he suggested. Waiting until spring to play again just didn’t sound like much fun, to be honest. “We can even invite Ryoma,” he added with a grin.

Dan doubted they could keep his roommate away from an indoor court in the middle of a Hokkaido winter if they tried. "It's an idea. We can always suggest it to Ryuuzaki-sensei. The worst we can be told is no after all and then we're back to what we've already got." He gave the twins a cheery smile. "Though, um, I should probably head back." He was feeling like he was taking up all their time and being a bother. They'd said, or at least Ryou had, that Dan was fine and welcome but they were probably just being polite.

“If you must,” Ryou said with a sigh. It was nice visiting with their kouhai. He stood up and stepped over to where Dan and Atsushi were sitting. He held out his hand to the younger boy to help him to his feet. “When do you want to start getting together for practice? Tomorrow? Day after? Next Saturday? Just let us know, okay?” He smiled. “We’re both looking forward to this. Right, Atsushi?” The tiger nodded and chuffed, disturbing the hair on the back of Dan’s neck.

It had become ingrained in Dan to give wary looks at anyone who offered a hand to him. That usually meant disaster lurked somewhere nearby. It didn't matter that apparently the twins seemed immune to him right now. "How about the day after?" That would give them time to find a practice room and for Dan to prepare for any potential disasters. "It was nice meeting you both."

“You too, Dan-kun,” Ryou said, smiling at the other boy. “Anytime you need our help, let us know. We do try to be good sempai, you know!”