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[log] Looking at me looking at you (Niou and Yagyuu)
Who: Yagyuu and Niou
When: January 7th - evening
Where: Music Room III
Rating: PG13
What: Yagyuu and Niou share a secret
Niou was pretty early as he slid inside the music room but he didn’t mind waiting. There was something about Yagyuu that while still setting him on edge also intrigued him. And so whatever it is that Yagyuu wanted to tell or show him, Niou would wait for since he imagined it would be good. He pulled a couple chairs together and after kicking off his indoor shoes, sat on one and propped his feet up on the other. He took off his new messenger bag, courtesy of Fuji, and dug out his new PS Vita to play with until Yagyuu showed up. Just because he was willing to wait didn’t mean he was willing to do so in some patient and boring manner.
Yagyuu entered the room and carefully adjusted his tie. He wasn’t doing it to make sure he looked attractive, he was doing it because it helped him keep up appearances. Though he was already terribly aware of the other’s knowledge of him he did like to keep up a good front. Besides, he had no reason to relax that much in front of Niou. Not when he wasn’t quite sure where he stood with the other or where the other stood with him.
He chuckled a little when he noted the other’s supine position and he walked over with a small, mild little smile. “Look who made himself comfortable. I certainly hope that I didn’t make you wait too long.” They had been made to wait long enough with the strange happenings earlier in the same month. But instead of pushing the feet away he just found himself another chair. “May I have a seat?” And course, that overabundance of politeness.
Niou spared Yagyuu a quick glance before returning to his game. “Free room, go for it,” Niou said vaguely gesturing towards the chair. He was determined to finish this level before he gave Yagyuu any proper attention. Yes, he was curious but if he had to wait then he was sure Yagyuu could spare a minute or two.
Yagyuu seated himself lightly reaching over to lightly pat Niou’s leg. It was a friendly pat. “Take your time.” He stated. He then crossed his arms and waited, aware that all of this was because of that silly internet questionnaire he had done and the fact that Niou had called him out on his avoidance of the full truth. He hadn’t been surprised that the other had called him on it, nor that he hadn’t volunteered information back.
Niou just nodded. He didn’t bother reacting to the touch as it didn’t really bug him and he rather thought that Yagyuu might be like Fuji in that if you showed him a weakness, he’d probably take advantage of it.
After a few more minutes he finished the level and was able to save his game. He flicked off the system and slid it into one of the many pockets in his messenger bag before finally looking over at Yagyuu. He gave the other teen a thorough once over and thought that purple didn’t look so bad on him, certainly better than some of their classmates. “So what can I do for you today, Yagyuu~?” He didn’t think the other had invited him here to add to his naked people count but one never knew.
He remained quiet, thinking for a moment of how he could go about this as best as possible. “Before break, we were playing a game of sorts, I believe. A version of 20 questions. I’d like to continue that game and also perhaps let you in on a small secret.” He paused. “As you seem to be the sort of person who actually will keep one of those when it suits you.” Because this was the sort of secret that he didn’t let many people know.
“And you think it will suit me?” Niou asked. He moved his feet to the ground so he could turn and look more closely at Yagyuu. He could keep secrets when it suited him, quite well in fact. But there were very few of them that were worth keeping and not sharing in a bit of gossip time with friends. “But I’m up for 20 questions.” He always was though the validity of his answers varied from person to person and day to day.
Leaning back, he tapped his chin for a moment in thought, thinking of the first question. Though his answers were what was really under question. The envy question. What was it that he wanted that someone else had? But now the game was his. “I think I can amaze you in three questions. Question one: are you game for it?” He paused. “Followed by question two: Have you ever wondered what happens to your reflection when you step away from the mirror? And question three: Would you like to find out?” He posed them all as if this was a normal part of a normal game.
Those were not questions that Niou had been expecting but then that’s what made hanging out with Yagyuu so fun, even if he still wasn’t sure what to think about the other student. He looked around the room and then shrugged. “We don’t seem to have a mirror.” Not that he was sure they needed one for what Yagyuu was proposing. His mind was whirring away with possibilities but he wasn’t sure if any of them was what Yagyuu had up his sleeve. When dealing with mutants, the possibilities tended to be endless.
He chuckled softly and reached up to take his glasses off. He was aware that without them, he was obviously almost blind, those pinpoint pupils the price he paid for the control he had over his light. Quietly, he folded them and tucked them into his uniform breast pocket for safekeeping. “We don’t?” He asked. “I think we do. We have two...what happens when a mirror reflects a mirror. And I lose, because...” He let himself shift, taking on that form. The one of the last person he had touched. Of Niou. A perfect copy of the last person he touched. Niou looking at Niou and speaking in Niou’s voice. “That was question number four.”
Niou startled a bit as Yagyuu shifted. He’d never seen anyone take on his form before and it was a bit disconcerting, especially since Yagyuu had captured his glowing blue eyes. Seeing them from this angle, he could understand why others might think them alien or scary but he could also easily see the appeal in them that Fuji and some others did. But Yagyuu had never seen his eyes looking like that, and he certainly hadn’t shown Yagyuu that love bite that was creeping up from his shirt collar on the side of his neck. So either Yagyuu could see Niou’s true form even through the guises or his shifting powers worked in a different way. “Impressive. You look good like that. But your mirror’s a bit flawed,” Niou said poking at Yagyuu’s cheek.
He had noted the shock. He chuckled a little and reached up to play with the rattail he now possessed. Like this, he was allowed to show his own face a little more, in the face of the other teen. “I could make a comment about narcissism but right now, I think that’s not what needs to be stated. Especially since you’re the first to see this. I do more than play with light.”
He frowned and his (Niou’s) face took on a slightly confused look. “What do you mean? I should look exactly like you. That’s how it’s always worked.” He didn’t mind the poke and wondered how long he was able to hold onto this form. Niou was rather close to him in size and build as well as gender. He should hold it for awhile at least. Since he couldn’t see himself, he was unaware that he had become Niou. Niou as he really was.
“Definitely more than play with light,” Niou said as he tugged on Yagyuu’s hair. He was certainly impressed by this secondary power of Yagyuu’s. “And you do look exactly like me. I’m that one that doesn’t.” He slid his hand down to poke at the love bite on Yagyuu’s neck, courtesy of one cat boy named Atsushi and smiled. Would it go beyond narcissism if he admitted to wanting to kiss himself just to see what it was like?
He blinked those shining eyes at Niou. “When moving the light to be invisible just doesn’t cut it...I can be someone else. There are reasons why I usually don’t get caught unless I want to be.” He informed and then smiled a little at the other’s own admittance.
“So I’m not the only one here that wears a mask. Perhaps I’m more a mirror than previously thought.” He didn’t feel the bruise because it was just a veneer though the other messing with his neck felt odd. Just like the much longer hair did. “But now you have an answer as to why I don’t envy anyone else’s appearance. So long as I can touch them...I can be them.” He didn’t want to state his time limit.
“Masks can be convenient,” Niou said wondering if Yagyuu knew just what was different between them. The music room was quite well lit so it made it harder to spot the blue light coming from Yagyuu’s eyes so it was possible that Yagyuu hadn’t spotted it. “How long can you hold the form?” There were disadvantages to Yagyuu’s powers if he was just able to exactly copy someone but also quite an advantage since he could do it with just a touch. Niou could alter anything on his body but to exactly copy someone required some studying of the subject.
He honestly didn’t know. And being a light user, he was used to bright lights though it was nice to be able to sit without the protective shelter of his special glasses. He supposed the question was a fair one though. “It depends actually. A form that is vastly different than mine, I can only hold it a few minutes at most. So old men, fat ladies, extreme mutations, I can’t really hold those long. Ones close to myself...I’ve yet to really time myself. I’ve always dropped them before 15 minutes was up. I use it to get away from trouble. Once I don’t need it anymore, I lose it.”
Yagyuu shrugged. “I’d like to be able to do it longer of course. In case I need to sneak around a little longer.” He looked at the other. “How long can you go? After all, you can become a queen. If I touched you as her, I’d still become you..” He wondered if he had much he could learn from Niou. It was something he curious about.
“You can do extreme mutations? Could you do Kite’s?” Niou asked feeling a little envious over that if it were true. He’d still prefer his powers as they were more versatile and seemed to last longer but creating new and complicated things took time and practice and could be frustrating. “And mine are sort of the same. The more different they are from my own shape the more effort it takes. But the most power is used in changing, unless I’m under stress, it’s pretty easy to hold the shape. Like the queen, I can hold her for hours with no problem.” People who were closer to his own build he could probably hold nearly indefinitely if he wasn’t put under any strain or surprised but through his practice with Sakaki he was chipping away at those weaknesses, too.
He shook his head. “Yes and no. I’m just a reflection of the outside form. If I did it, I wouldn’t be able to fly. Nor would it be for long at all. For him...3 or 4 seconds at best. And I would probably end up sleeping for the next three or four days afterwards.” Because Kite was a terribly complex form. Just holding it for seconds was a drain on him to the point of passing out. Face first on the ground was not something he wanted to be, regardless of being able to be that complex. “Plus, if I touched someone else I would immediately lose him. Mostly, forms like that just aren’t worth the added stress to my body or the embarrassment.” He leaned a little closer to Niou. “That...and being you doesn’t change the fact that I can’t see well. I’m not as reliant on my glasses, but I’m still pretty blind. If I was to do this sort of thing more often, I’d have to get contacts.” Because eyes were always the first things that reverted back. Even if they still looked like Niou’s, his vision was starting to blur.
“Still more than I can do. I might be able to do his wings one day... but who knows,” Niou gave a shrug. It was something he was studying and practicing to do but he knew it would be some time before he could attempt it and even then it could end in disaster. “Not sure I’d be able to fly with them either.” He was able to make cat ears and a tail move naturally but even if he could move his wings it didn’t mean he would be able to get them to take his weight in flight or even figure out how to work that.
Leaning in close to Yagyuu, he looked at his own glowing blue eyes and smiled, “You really should get contacts if you’re gonna be running around as other people. Don’t need you falling down the stair or something. Talk about embarrassing.”
So, like Taki, similar yet completely different. He was actually a bit envious that Niou didn’t need the touch. One day, he would love to do that. Just look at someone. But he knew he would probably be stuck with the touch limitation for the rest of his life. Because his light would always be more powerful and more useful and what he would concentrate perfecting before he ever considered playing with shifting.
He laughed though. A part of him couldn’t help but smile and quip. “Embarrassing for who? I wouldn’t be the one falling down the stairs. And who knows, you might get sympathy for it. And imagine, you can be two places at once. You doing devious things elsewhere all the while, you are also sitting in your classes doing your homework for all to see.” He paused and pulled his glasses back out of his pocket. “Or maybe...you could just claim you want to see how you look as a megane.” He teased. “I hear that glasses make a person look smarter.”
“Point,” Niou said and then chuckled as Yagyuu pulled out his glasses. “And it would be nice to have someone else cover for me for a change.” He had of course covered for plenty of others over his years here either for fun or for bribes but nobody had ever been able to repay the favour in quite the same way. “But I’d much rather claim a kiss than a sight of me in glasses.” He’d seen himself in glasses, had the icons to prove it. But he’d never kissed himself and the thought hadn’t left his mind since he first saw Yagyuu turn into himself. It might be vain but it was also fun. He slid his hand around the back of Yagyuu’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
He was sure they could come to some sort of mutual arrangement where his being Niou was necessary. In fact, he was sure they could be quite beneficial to each other. However, the one benefit he had not counted on was that. His glasses remained in one hand and the renewed touch meant that he could keep the form when the shock registered. It was quite a shock indeed. Not because he didn’t kiss. He’d changed his mind about that. Something Niou had helpfully pointed out in one of their first meetings.
Yagyuu had no idea how Niou kissed. He didn’t watch him snogging. He only knew how he kissed. But if Niou wanted to be a first class narcissist, who was Yagyuu to argue. It was probably just curiosity. Attempts to mirror lasted only a few moments before Yagyuu decided to show Niou how the French properly kissed someone, his hand resting upon Niou’s leg for more added contact, aware that he might slip and lose the form at any time without it.
Niou had never been on the receiving end of his kisses so couldn’t tell if Yagyuu was doing a good job imitating him at the start but when Yagyuu switched styles and deepened the kiss, Niou found himself not caring if it was a kiss like his or not. Yagyuu was a pretty good kisser and this was much more enjoyable than tea.
But since the point of this wasn’t to arouse and he didn’t really mean to flirt too much with Yagyuu, he slowly pulled back from the kiss and grinned at him. “I’m not too bad. Wanna try yourself?” Niou asked as he changed into Yagyuu.
The other pulled back and he was sure that that was going to be the end of it. He even thought to let his body return to normal but he waited. His wait was rewarded when he was suddenly staring at himself. He blinked and reached up to lightly push his own hair back. It was strange. It was...so very strange but also terribly intriguing. Quietly, he put his glasses over the other’s eyes to complete the look. He was just careful to keep it low so that Niou wouldn’t get a headache.
“I must say, Masaharu, I look good today.” He wondered if the Yagyuu before him would have the same erogenous zones. Lightly, he let his fingertip play just at the back of Niou’s ear, tucking a brown strand away. On himself, such a gesture would give him a shiver. “I think I might want to try myself. Though first some mental gymnastics. Is it me kissing you, or are you kissing me?” He shifted forward to attempt to kiss the other man as Niou had first kissed him.
Niou stayed still as Yagyuu assessed his living reflection and adjusted his appearance by adding glasses and fixing his hair. He couldn’t copy erogenous zones and couldn’t even fake ones that he didn’t know about, but the gentle touch to the back of his ear did cause him to suck in his breath a little sharply. He didn’t bother trying to answer Yagyuu’s riddle about who was kissing whom. It didn’t really matter anyway, not when Yagyuu was just as intrigued and vain as he had been moments ago and pressing his lips to his.
This kiss felt different than the previous one. Yagyuu was definitely doing an imitation of Niou’s own kiss and so after a few moments of that, Niou did what Yagyuu had done and switched it to a deeper and fuller French Kiss, his glasses bumped further up his nose at the action. He may wear glasses from time to time for style or other reasons but he wasn’t used to kissing in them but he wasn’t going to stop a bit of awkwardness stop the kiss. So he moved his arms around Yagyuu to pull him a little closer to him, Yagyuu was enjoying the novelty of kissing himself as much as he was.
Oh and it was novel. He was sure that not everyone got the chance to kiss themselves. It was nice. More than nice. His voice, in Niou’s tone groaned. A skillful passionate kiss, with tongues entwined and his hand upon the back of his reflection’s neck. A part of him was amused by this. Him being far more forward than he usually was. He wondered if he should be more forceful as well.
He pulled away and lightly nipped his ‘twin’s’ lower lip. He then chuckled and reached to adjust the other’s glasses again. “I’ve been wearing them for a while. It’s something you get used to over time. Though after looking through them, you might need to let your eyes adjust back to the light.” Because they might look like glasses but they acted quite a bit like shades, dampening the light so as to keep him from blinding himself.
Niou grinned at Yagyuu as he adjusted the glasses and then looked around the room. The other was right, things were a bit dimmer and a bit out of focus. He supposed if he could change his gender he could change his eyesight but the fact that they also acted like some sort of sunglasses told him that Yagyuu’s eyes definitely didn’t suffer just the normal eye problems. It seemed he wasn’t the only one with some sort of glowing eye problem. It was strange how similar but how different their powers really were.
Niou took off the glasses and blinked his eyes several times to adjust to the room looking like it should before offering the glasses back to Yagyuu. “Thanks for the warning.... and the kisses. I told ya kissing was fun.” And while he wasn’t sure enough about Yagyuu’s character or motivations to want to do anything more with him, he could admit the other had kissed well. Especially for a guy who had once told him he didn’t do kissing.
He huffed playfully and the smirked just a little. The smirk seemed to be so natural for him and easier to do now that he was Niou. “loathe to admit when others are right, however, in this case....” He glanced at himself. “I was right.” Since at the moment Niou was himself.
Yagyuu reached for his glasses again. “Thing is, I don’t know if the two abilities are mutually exclusive. I usually use the one or the other. However, if I can learn about this one. I think I can maybe handle both at the same time.” He mused. It would be interesting to know if he could use both powers at once. “I become you...and then you could watch yourself disappear. Or at least distract a few cats.” He paused. “And maybe also a fellow shifter.” Not that he was sure he would make that good of a distraction....once the novelty wore off.
Niou frowned a little at the mention of distracting cats. He supposed it would be okay, good even, if Yagyuu wanted to distract and play with Ryou as he felt Ryou could still use some extra attention from his break up. But Niou definitely wasn’t willing to share Atsushi with Yagyuu. And he also wasn’t willing to think too much on those types of possessive thoughts so he decided he would leave it for now and focus on the power thing instead. “Why don’t you try doing something small now,” Niou suggested as he considered the man who still looked like him.
Something small. He was unsure but...it could be fun, in more than one way. ‘Niou’ suddenly got a terribly devious smile upon his face. “I might need contact. Or well, more than I’m getting right now.” He lightly patted the other’s leg. Damn...he had some nice legs didn’t he. He really did have to look for a place to golf before he lost what little sporty definition he might actually have. “So, I know I’ll forgive me for this.” Boldly, he slid his hand under the other’s shirt to touch actual flesh. In a way, he was certain the continuing touch was what was keeping him as Niou as this had been the longest he had ever attempted this.
He then leaned forward and stole a small kiss...for extra contact. “Here goes.” Just a small thing... Just a little...there was no glow. No spark. No nothing. He frowned and attempted it again. His form wavered slightly, slipping into a weird Yagyuu/Niou hybrid. Niou’s hair, Yagyuu’s face, Niou’s eyes...Still nothing. He heaved a disappointed sigh but didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he just gave up and slipped back into the other’s visage.
“Something to work on, I think.” he decided, “If...” He leaned close, lips barely brushing Niou’s as he spoke. “You are willing to help me learn more about this thing we do.”
Niou raised an eyebrow at the amount of touching Yagyuu was doing to stay in his form, but didn’t pull away from it. It wasn’t like it was unpleasant. Besides, he got to see someone else stretching the boundaries of their powers and trying something new and Niou thought that was always an interesting sight. Especially when the person in question was wavering between his and his own facade. “I’m sure we can work something out,” Niou said and closed the small gap to give Yagyuu a quick kiss. “Besides, if your shifting powers are new, it makes sense that you’d need to build up some stamina for it first.” Niou had his all his life and he still struggled with maintaining certain forms under intense situations, though with Sakaki’s help he was improving.
He honestly didn’t know if he needed to keep touching. He supposed he liked touching, even if he was touching himself in a strange way. However, he pulled his hand away to once more rest upon Niou’s thigh. He knew eventually he would have to return to himself. He could feel the strain, especially after trying to use his other ability. “I certainly do need to work on my stamina.” He admitted and finally let the image he held fade away to leave him himself once more. He hoped Niou wouldn’t be too disappointed.
Niou chuckled at the stamina remark and wondered if it could be apply to all areas of Yagyuu’s life or just his powers. Seeing Yagyuu become Yagyuu again, Niou decided to once more be Niou, too. “Well, like I said. I’m sure we can work out something.” He gave a smirk and leaned back in his chair. Yagyuu may still be a bit dubious but Niou found the man and especially his powers interesting enough to offer a helping hand. Besides, working with Yagyuu’s powers might even help him understand something more about his own.
He heard the chuckle and decided not to tell Niou that he had no trouble with stamina in other parts of his life. It seemed not to matter at the moment. Instead, he mirrored the other, though now that he was himself again, he made sure to do it in an elegant manner. He leaned back, regarding the other with a gentlemanly glance. He knew he didn’t have to, but since he had dropped the mask for another he had to reconstruct the one he had lost.
“So, Masaharu.” He started playfully. “Was this worth your time?”
“Oh I think you kept me suitably entertained this time, Hiroshi-kun,” Niou said a smirk tugging at his lips. How could he have not been entertained when seeing Yagyuu turn into himself? A power like his own wasn’t one he encountered often and it was interesting to see someone else use it. Still, he didn’t need Yagyuu getting a big head about it. “But if you’re ever worried about your skills, you can always bribe me.” Niou was always happy to accept a good bribe.
He chuckled a little and adjusted his glasses. “A bribe hm? Well, I’ve been told that a gentleman would never resort to a bribe.” He then leaned in enough to murmur in the other’s ear. “It’s a good thing I’m not really one, now isn’t it?” He blew into the ear before leaning back again. “I’ll have to find things to make it worth your while since now that you know and I know you know...well, I might be looking you up more often.” Because he wasn’t going to leave this ability alone. He would want to get it to the point of his other ability. If Niou could help, so be it, if not, he would continue to play with it on his own.
“Very good. But the act’s sort of fun,” Niou said. It was also fun to see who actually believed the act. Probably not as many as Yagyuu hoped since a fair number of them were cynical mutants but that didn’t mean they knew what was going on behind the gentlemanly mask. “You can always come visit me in my office. Poking at your powers could be a fun distraction from TA duties for Sakaki-sensei.” And if they were just working on testing limits, it’d be easy enough to do in his office while he was working on other things. Or maybe even do while dragging Yagyuu into helping him with the boring stuff he had to do.
He laughed. The act was very fun indeed. He wondered if one day, what would happen if he just dropped the act completely and acted like he truly was. Perhaps some day, right after he was sure he had almost everyone fooled. “Feel free to borrow the act if you want.” he said, almost dismissively. “I’m sure even you can have some use for “good boy”.” He had his of course.
Yagyuu raised an eyebrow and then shook his head a little. “Visit your office, so you can order me around like you did while I was hanging mistletoe everywhere.” He hadn’t minded of course. He had thought it amusing actually, to have the secretary to try and boss him around. “I will make sure to come visit you then. And of course, you can always come and find me. I’m not too hard to locate. This room has become quite a favorite of mine.”
“What? You don’t like being ordered around?” Niou asked with a chuckle. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to con Yagyuu into helping him collate and staple papers together after all. Pity that. “This place has more space but my office can be more private.”
“Only in certain situations.” he countered. Besides, it was hard to con a con. If he did anything, it would be because he wanted to. “I suppose that is true. Privacy might be for the best with this.” As Yagyuu wanted as few people knowing he could do this as possible. Niou was actually the first and he wanted to keep it as the only.
“I look forward to finding out what those are,” Niou said and gave Yagyuu a wink. He then stood from the chair and grabbed his messenger bag. “Just send me a message before you drop by so I can make sure I’m completely available to you.” He gave Yagyuu a cheery wave and then headed to the door. He already knew what the first challenge he’d give Yagyuu when it came to their lessons and had quite a list about questions and things to explore with their powers. It would be fun.
He stood when the other did, as that was what a gentleman was supposed to do. He however did not follow. Instead he just stood there and gave the other boy a small wave of his own. “I’ll be sure to give you a call.” He answered back and then sat back down so that he could take stock of just what had happened here.
When: January 7th - evening
Where: Music Room III
Rating: PG13
What: Yagyuu and Niou share a secret
Niou was pretty early as he slid inside the music room but he didn’t mind waiting. There was something about Yagyuu that while still setting him on edge also intrigued him. And so whatever it is that Yagyuu wanted to tell or show him, Niou would wait for since he imagined it would be good. He pulled a couple chairs together and after kicking off his indoor shoes, sat on one and propped his feet up on the other. He took off his new messenger bag, courtesy of Fuji, and dug out his new PS Vita to play with until Yagyuu showed up. Just because he was willing to wait didn’t mean he was willing to do so in some patient and boring manner.
Yagyuu entered the room and carefully adjusted his tie. He wasn’t doing it to make sure he looked attractive, he was doing it because it helped him keep up appearances. Though he was already terribly aware of the other’s knowledge of him he did like to keep up a good front. Besides, he had no reason to relax that much in front of Niou. Not when he wasn’t quite sure where he stood with the other or where the other stood with him.
He chuckled a little when he noted the other’s supine position and he walked over with a small, mild little smile. “Look who made himself comfortable. I certainly hope that I didn’t make you wait too long.” They had been made to wait long enough with the strange happenings earlier in the same month. But instead of pushing the feet away he just found himself another chair. “May I have a seat?” And course, that overabundance of politeness.
Niou spared Yagyuu a quick glance before returning to his game. “Free room, go for it,” Niou said vaguely gesturing towards the chair. He was determined to finish this level before he gave Yagyuu any proper attention. Yes, he was curious but if he had to wait then he was sure Yagyuu could spare a minute or two.
Yagyuu seated himself lightly reaching over to lightly pat Niou’s leg. It was a friendly pat. “Take your time.” He stated. He then crossed his arms and waited, aware that all of this was because of that silly internet questionnaire he had done and the fact that Niou had called him out on his avoidance of the full truth. He hadn’t been surprised that the other had called him on it, nor that he hadn’t volunteered information back.
Niou just nodded. He didn’t bother reacting to the touch as it didn’t really bug him and he rather thought that Yagyuu might be like Fuji in that if you showed him a weakness, he’d probably take advantage of it.
After a few more minutes he finished the level and was able to save his game. He flicked off the system and slid it into one of the many pockets in his messenger bag before finally looking over at Yagyuu. He gave the other teen a thorough once over and thought that purple didn’t look so bad on him, certainly better than some of their classmates. “So what can I do for you today, Yagyuu~?” He didn’t think the other had invited him here to add to his naked people count but one never knew.
He remained quiet, thinking for a moment of how he could go about this as best as possible. “Before break, we were playing a game of sorts, I believe. A version of 20 questions. I’d like to continue that game and also perhaps let you in on a small secret.” He paused. “As you seem to be the sort of person who actually will keep one of those when it suits you.” Because this was the sort of secret that he didn’t let many people know.
“And you think it will suit me?” Niou asked. He moved his feet to the ground so he could turn and look more closely at Yagyuu. He could keep secrets when it suited him, quite well in fact. But there were very few of them that were worth keeping and not sharing in a bit of gossip time with friends. “But I’m up for 20 questions.” He always was though the validity of his answers varied from person to person and day to day.
Leaning back, he tapped his chin for a moment in thought, thinking of the first question. Though his answers were what was really under question. The envy question. What was it that he wanted that someone else had? But now the game was his. “I think I can amaze you in three questions. Question one: are you game for it?” He paused. “Followed by question two: Have you ever wondered what happens to your reflection when you step away from the mirror? And question three: Would you like to find out?” He posed them all as if this was a normal part of a normal game.
Those were not questions that Niou had been expecting but then that’s what made hanging out with Yagyuu so fun, even if he still wasn’t sure what to think about the other student. He looked around the room and then shrugged. “We don’t seem to have a mirror.” Not that he was sure they needed one for what Yagyuu was proposing. His mind was whirring away with possibilities but he wasn’t sure if any of them was what Yagyuu had up his sleeve. When dealing with mutants, the possibilities tended to be endless.
He chuckled softly and reached up to take his glasses off. He was aware that without them, he was obviously almost blind, those pinpoint pupils the price he paid for the control he had over his light. Quietly, he folded them and tucked them into his uniform breast pocket for safekeeping. “We don’t?” He asked. “I think we do. We have two...what happens when a mirror reflects a mirror. And I lose, because...” He let himself shift, taking on that form. The one of the last person he had touched. Of Niou. A perfect copy of the last person he touched. Niou looking at Niou and speaking in Niou’s voice. “That was question number four.”
Niou startled a bit as Yagyuu shifted. He’d never seen anyone take on his form before and it was a bit disconcerting, especially since Yagyuu had captured his glowing blue eyes. Seeing them from this angle, he could understand why others might think them alien or scary but he could also easily see the appeal in them that Fuji and some others did. But Yagyuu had never seen his eyes looking like that, and he certainly hadn’t shown Yagyuu that love bite that was creeping up from his shirt collar on the side of his neck. So either Yagyuu could see Niou’s true form even through the guises or his shifting powers worked in a different way. “Impressive. You look good like that. But your mirror’s a bit flawed,” Niou said poking at Yagyuu’s cheek.
He had noted the shock. He chuckled a little and reached up to play with the rattail he now possessed. Like this, he was allowed to show his own face a little more, in the face of the other teen. “I could make a comment about narcissism but right now, I think that’s not what needs to be stated. Especially since you’re the first to see this. I do more than play with light.”
He frowned and his (Niou’s) face took on a slightly confused look. “What do you mean? I should look exactly like you. That’s how it’s always worked.” He didn’t mind the poke and wondered how long he was able to hold onto this form. Niou was rather close to him in size and build as well as gender. He should hold it for awhile at least. Since he couldn’t see himself, he was unaware that he had become Niou. Niou as he really was.
“Definitely more than play with light,” Niou said as he tugged on Yagyuu’s hair. He was certainly impressed by this secondary power of Yagyuu’s. “And you do look exactly like me. I’m that one that doesn’t.” He slid his hand down to poke at the love bite on Yagyuu’s neck, courtesy of one cat boy named Atsushi and smiled. Would it go beyond narcissism if he admitted to wanting to kiss himself just to see what it was like?
He blinked those shining eyes at Niou. “When moving the light to be invisible just doesn’t cut it...I can be someone else. There are reasons why I usually don’t get caught unless I want to be.” He informed and then smiled a little at the other’s own admittance.
“So I’m not the only one here that wears a mask. Perhaps I’m more a mirror than previously thought.” He didn’t feel the bruise because it was just a veneer though the other messing with his neck felt odd. Just like the much longer hair did. “But now you have an answer as to why I don’t envy anyone else’s appearance. So long as I can touch them...I can be them.” He didn’t want to state his time limit.
“Masks can be convenient,” Niou said wondering if Yagyuu knew just what was different between them. The music room was quite well lit so it made it harder to spot the blue light coming from Yagyuu’s eyes so it was possible that Yagyuu hadn’t spotted it. “How long can you hold the form?” There were disadvantages to Yagyuu’s powers if he was just able to exactly copy someone but also quite an advantage since he could do it with just a touch. Niou could alter anything on his body but to exactly copy someone required some studying of the subject.
He honestly didn’t know. And being a light user, he was used to bright lights though it was nice to be able to sit without the protective shelter of his special glasses. He supposed the question was a fair one though. “It depends actually. A form that is vastly different than mine, I can only hold it a few minutes at most. So old men, fat ladies, extreme mutations, I can’t really hold those long. Ones close to myself...I’ve yet to really time myself. I’ve always dropped them before 15 minutes was up. I use it to get away from trouble. Once I don’t need it anymore, I lose it.”
Yagyuu shrugged. “I’d like to be able to do it longer of course. In case I need to sneak around a little longer.” He looked at the other. “How long can you go? After all, you can become a queen. If I touched you as her, I’d still become you..” He wondered if he had much he could learn from Niou. It was something he curious about.
“You can do extreme mutations? Could you do Kite’s?” Niou asked feeling a little envious over that if it were true. He’d still prefer his powers as they were more versatile and seemed to last longer but creating new and complicated things took time and practice and could be frustrating. “And mine are sort of the same. The more different they are from my own shape the more effort it takes. But the most power is used in changing, unless I’m under stress, it’s pretty easy to hold the shape. Like the queen, I can hold her for hours with no problem.” People who were closer to his own build he could probably hold nearly indefinitely if he wasn’t put under any strain or surprised but through his practice with Sakaki he was chipping away at those weaknesses, too.
He shook his head. “Yes and no. I’m just a reflection of the outside form. If I did it, I wouldn’t be able to fly. Nor would it be for long at all. For him...3 or 4 seconds at best. And I would probably end up sleeping for the next three or four days afterwards.” Because Kite was a terribly complex form. Just holding it for seconds was a drain on him to the point of passing out. Face first on the ground was not something he wanted to be, regardless of being able to be that complex. “Plus, if I touched someone else I would immediately lose him. Mostly, forms like that just aren’t worth the added stress to my body or the embarrassment.” He leaned a little closer to Niou. “That...and being you doesn’t change the fact that I can’t see well. I’m not as reliant on my glasses, but I’m still pretty blind. If I was to do this sort of thing more often, I’d have to get contacts.” Because eyes were always the first things that reverted back. Even if they still looked like Niou’s, his vision was starting to blur.
“Still more than I can do. I might be able to do his wings one day... but who knows,” Niou gave a shrug. It was something he was studying and practicing to do but he knew it would be some time before he could attempt it and even then it could end in disaster. “Not sure I’d be able to fly with them either.” He was able to make cat ears and a tail move naturally but even if he could move his wings it didn’t mean he would be able to get them to take his weight in flight or even figure out how to work that.
Leaning in close to Yagyuu, he looked at his own glowing blue eyes and smiled, “You really should get contacts if you’re gonna be running around as other people. Don’t need you falling down the stair or something. Talk about embarrassing.”
So, like Taki, similar yet completely different. He was actually a bit envious that Niou didn’t need the touch. One day, he would love to do that. Just look at someone. But he knew he would probably be stuck with the touch limitation for the rest of his life. Because his light would always be more powerful and more useful and what he would concentrate perfecting before he ever considered playing with shifting.
He laughed though. A part of him couldn’t help but smile and quip. “Embarrassing for who? I wouldn’t be the one falling down the stairs. And who knows, you might get sympathy for it. And imagine, you can be two places at once. You doing devious things elsewhere all the while, you are also sitting in your classes doing your homework for all to see.” He paused and pulled his glasses back out of his pocket. “Or maybe...you could just claim you want to see how you look as a megane.” He teased. “I hear that glasses make a person look smarter.”
“Point,” Niou said and then chuckled as Yagyuu pulled out his glasses. “And it would be nice to have someone else cover for me for a change.” He had of course covered for plenty of others over his years here either for fun or for bribes but nobody had ever been able to repay the favour in quite the same way. “But I’d much rather claim a kiss than a sight of me in glasses.” He’d seen himself in glasses, had the icons to prove it. But he’d never kissed himself and the thought hadn’t left his mind since he first saw Yagyuu turn into himself. It might be vain but it was also fun. He slid his hand around the back of Yagyuu’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
He was sure they could come to some sort of mutual arrangement where his being Niou was necessary. In fact, he was sure they could be quite beneficial to each other. However, the one benefit he had not counted on was that. His glasses remained in one hand and the renewed touch meant that he could keep the form when the shock registered. It was quite a shock indeed. Not because he didn’t kiss. He’d changed his mind about that. Something Niou had helpfully pointed out in one of their first meetings.
Yagyuu had no idea how Niou kissed. He didn’t watch him snogging. He only knew how he kissed. But if Niou wanted to be a first class narcissist, who was Yagyuu to argue. It was probably just curiosity. Attempts to mirror lasted only a few moments before Yagyuu decided to show Niou how the French properly kissed someone, his hand resting upon Niou’s leg for more added contact, aware that he might slip and lose the form at any time without it.
Niou had never been on the receiving end of his kisses so couldn’t tell if Yagyuu was doing a good job imitating him at the start but when Yagyuu switched styles and deepened the kiss, Niou found himself not caring if it was a kiss like his or not. Yagyuu was a pretty good kisser and this was much more enjoyable than tea.
But since the point of this wasn’t to arouse and he didn’t really mean to flirt too much with Yagyuu, he slowly pulled back from the kiss and grinned at him. “I’m not too bad. Wanna try yourself?” Niou asked as he changed into Yagyuu.
The other pulled back and he was sure that that was going to be the end of it. He even thought to let his body return to normal but he waited. His wait was rewarded when he was suddenly staring at himself. He blinked and reached up to lightly push his own hair back. It was strange. It was...so very strange but also terribly intriguing. Quietly, he put his glasses over the other’s eyes to complete the look. He was just careful to keep it low so that Niou wouldn’t get a headache.
“I must say, Masaharu, I look good today.” He wondered if the Yagyuu before him would have the same erogenous zones. Lightly, he let his fingertip play just at the back of Niou’s ear, tucking a brown strand away. On himself, such a gesture would give him a shiver. “I think I might want to try myself. Though first some mental gymnastics. Is it me kissing you, or are you kissing me?” He shifted forward to attempt to kiss the other man as Niou had first kissed him.
Niou stayed still as Yagyuu assessed his living reflection and adjusted his appearance by adding glasses and fixing his hair. He couldn’t copy erogenous zones and couldn’t even fake ones that he didn’t know about, but the gentle touch to the back of his ear did cause him to suck in his breath a little sharply. He didn’t bother trying to answer Yagyuu’s riddle about who was kissing whom. It didn’t really matter anyway, not when Yagyuu was just as intrigued and vain as he had been moments ago and pressing his lips to his.
This kiss felt different than the previous one. Yagyuu was definitely doing an imitation of Niou’s own kiss and so after a few moments of that, Niou did what Yagyuu had done and switched it to a deeper and fuller French Kiss, his glasses bumped further up his nose at the action. He may wear glasses from time to time for style or other reasons but he wasn’t used to kissing in them but he wasn’t going to stop a bit of awkwardness stop the kiss. So he moved his arms around Yagyuu to pull him a little closer to him, Yagyuu was enjoying the novelty of kissing himself as much as he was.
Oh and it was novel. He was sure that not everyone got the chance to kiss themselves. It was nice. More than nice. His voice, in Niou’s tone groaned. A skillful passionate kiss, with tongues entwined and his hand upon the back of his reflection’s neck. A part of him was amused by this. Him being far more forward than he usually was. He wondered if he should be more forceful as well.
He pulled away and lightly nipped his ‘twin’s’ lower lip. He then chuckled and reached to adjust the other’s glasses again. “I’ve been wearing them for a while. It’s something you get used to over time. Though after looking through them, you might need to let your eyes adjust back to the light.” Because they might look like glasses but they acted quite a bit like shades, dampening the light so as to keep him from blinding himself.
Niou grinned at Yagyuu as he adjusted the glasses and then looked around the room. The other was right, things were a bit dimmer and a bit out of focus. He supposed if he could change his gender he could change his eyesight but the fact that they also acted like some sort of sunglasses told him that Yagyuu’s eyes definitely didn’t suffer just the normal eye problems. It seemed he wasn’t the only one with some sort of glowing eye problem. It was strange how similar but how different their powers really were.
Niou took off the glasses and blinked his eyes several times to adjust to the room looking like it should before offering the glasses back to Yagyuu. “Thanks for the warning.... and the kisses. I told ya kissing was fun.” And while he wasn’t sure enough about Yagyuu’s character or motivations to want to do anything more with him, he could admit the other had kissed well. Especially for a guy who had once told him he didn’t do kissing.
He huffed playfully and the smirked just a little. The smirk seemed to be so natural for him and easier to do now that he was Niou. “loathe to admit when others are right, however, in this case....” He glanced at himself. “I was right.” Since at the moment Niou was himself.
Yagyuu reached for his glasses again. “Thing is, I don’t know if the two abilities are mutually exclusive. I usually use the one or the other. However, if I can learn about this one. I think I can maybe handle both at the same time.” He mused. It would be interesting to know if he could use both powers at once. “I become you...and then you could watch yourself disappear. Or at least distract a few cats.” He paused. “And maybe also a fellow shifter.” Not that he was sure he would make that good of a distraction....once the novelty wore off.
Niou frowned a little at the mention of distracting cats. He supposed it would be okay, good even, if Yagyuu wanted to distract and play with Ryou as he felt Ryou could still use some extra attention from his break up. But Niou definitely wasn’t willing to share Atsushi with Yagyuu. And he also wasn’t willing to think too much on those types of possessive thoughts so he decided he would leave it for now and focus on the power thing instead. “Why don’t you try doing something small now,” Niou suggested as he considered the man who still looked like him.
Something small. He was unsure but...it could be fun, in more than one way. ‘Niou’ suddenly got a terribly devious smile upon his face. “I might need contact. Or well, more than I’m getting right now.” He lightly patted the other’s leg. Damn...he had some nice legs didn’t he. He really did have to look for a place to golf before he lost what little sporty definition he might actually have. “So, I know I’ll forgive me for this.” Boldly, he slid his hand under the other’s shirt to touch actual flesh. In a way, he was certain the continuing touch was what was keeping him as Niou as this had been the longest he had ever attempted this.
He then leaned forward and stole a small kiss...for extra contact. “Here goes.” Just a small thing... Just a little...there was no glow. No spark. No nothing. He frowned and attempted it again. His form wavered slightly, slipping into a weird Yagyuu/Niou hybrid. Niou’s hair, Yagyuu’s face, Niou’s eyes...Still nothing. He heaved a disappointed sigh but didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he just gave up and slipped back into the other’s visage.
“Something to work on, I think.” he decided, “If...” He leaned close, lips barely brushing Niou’s as he spoke. “You are willing to help me learn more about this thing we do.”
Niou raised an eyebrow at the amount of touching Yagyuu was doing to stay in his form, but didn’t pull away from it. It wasn’t like it was unpleasant. Besides, he got to see someone else stretching the boundaries of their powers and trying something new and Niou thought that was always an interesting sight. Especially when the person in question was wavering between his and his own facade. “I’m sure we can work something out,” Niou said and closed the small gap to give Yagyuu a quick kiss. “Besides, if your shifting powers are new, it makes sense that you’d need to build up some stamina for it first.” Niou had his all his life and he still struggled with maintaining certain forms under intense situations, though with Sakaki’s help he was improving.
He honestly didn’t know if he needed to keep touching. He supposed he liked touching, even if he was touching himself in a strange way. However, he pulled his hand away to once more rest upon Niou’s thigh. He knew eventually he would have to return to himself. He could feel the strain, especially after trying to use his other ability. “I certainly do need to work on my stamina.” He admitted and finally let the image he held fade away to leave him himself once more. He hoped Niou wouldn’t be too disappointed.
Niou chuckled at the stamina remark and wondered if it could be apply to all areas of Yagyuu’s life or just his powers. Seeing Yagyuu become Yagyuu again, Niou decided to once more be Niou, too. “Well, like I said. I’m sure we can work out something.” He gave a smirk and leaned back in his chair. Yagyuu may still be a bit dubious but Niou found the man and especially his powers interesting enough to offer a helping hand. Besides, working with Yagyuu’s powers might even help him understand something more about his own.
He heard the chuckle and decided not to tell Niou that he had no trouble with stamina in other parts of his life. It seemed not to matter at the moment. Instead, he mirrored the other, though now that he was himself again, he made sure to do it in an elegant manner. He leaned back, regarding the other with a gentlemanly glance. He knew he didn’t have to, but since he had dropped the mask for another he had to reconstruct the one he had lost.
“So, Masaharu.” He started playfully. “Was this worth your time?”
“Oh I think you kept me suitably entertained this time, Hiroshi-kun,” Niou said a smirk tugging at his lips. How could he have not been entertained when seeing Yagyuu turn into himself? A power like his own wasn’t one he encountered often and it was interesting to see someone else use it. Still, he didn’t need Yagyuu getting a big head about it. “But if you’re ever worried about your skills, you can always bribe me.” Niou was always happy to accept a good bribe.
He chuckled a little and adjusted his glasses. “A bribe hm? Well, I’ve been told that a gentleman would never resort to a bribe.” He then leaned in enough to murmur in the other’s ear. “It’s a good thing I’m not really one, now isn’t it?” He blew into the ear before leaning back again. “I’ll have to find things to make it worth your while since now that you know and I know you know...well, I might be looking you up more often.” Because he wasn’t going to leave this ability alone. He would want to get it to the point of his other ability. If Niou could help, so be it, if not, he would continue to play with it on his own.
“Very good. But the act’s sort of fun,” Niou said. It was also fun to see who actually believed the act. Probably not as many as Yagyuu hoped since a fair number of them were cynical mutants but that didn’t mean they knew what was going on behind the gentlemanly mask. “You can always come visit me in my office. Poking at your powers could be a fun distraction from TA duties for Sakaki-sensei.” And if they were just working on testing limits, it’d be easy enough to do in his office while he was working on other things. Or maybe even do while dragging Yagyuu into helping him with the boring stuff he had to do.
He laughed. The act was very fun indeed. He wondered if one day, what would happen if he just dropped the act completely and acted like he truly was. Perhaps some day, right after he was sure he had almost everyone fooled. “Feel free to borrow the act if you want.” he said, almost dismissively. “I’m sure even you can have some use for “good boy”.” He had his of course.
Yagyuu raised an eyebrow and then shook his head a little. “Visit your office, so you can order me around like you did while I was hanging mistletoe everywhere.” He hadn’t minded of course. He had thought it amusing actually, to have the secretary to try and boss him around. “I will make sure to come visit you then. And of course, you can always come and find me. I’m not too hard to locate. This room has become quite a favorite of mine.”
“What? You don’t like being ordered around?” Niou asked with a chuckle. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to con Yagyuu into helping him collate and staple papers together after all. Pity that. “This place has more space but my office can be more private.”
“Only in certain situations.” he countered. Besides, it was hard to con a con. If he did anything, it would be because he wanted to. “I suppose that is true. Privacy might be for the best with this.” As Yagyuu wanted as few people knowing he could do this as possible. Niou was actually the first and he wanted to keep it as the only.
“I look forward to finding out what those are,” Niou said and gave Yagyuu a wink. He then stood from the chair and grabbed his messenger bag. “Just send me a message before you drop by so I can make sure I’m completely available to you.” He gave Yagyuu a cheery wave and then headed to the door. He already knew what the first challenge he’d give Yagyuu when it came to their lessons and had quite a list about questions and things to explore with their powers. It would be fun.
He stood when the other did, as that was what a gentleman was supposed to do. He however did not follow. Instead he just stood there and gave the other boy a small wave of his own. “I’ll be sure to give you a call.” He answered back and then sat back down so that he could take stock of just what had happened here.