Disclaimer: Diamond no Ace does not belong to me. I am in no way associated with the characters, settings, etc.
A/N- So this was for geekinthepink23's The Writing Game, Challenge 2. I wish the other participants good luck! Possibly OOC Kominatos, probably rushed, and I'm not quite sure what this is...
Kuramochi and Miyuki had just been walking back to their living quarters when they heard the crash from the distant corner of one of the rooms. They peered inside curiously, to what was Maezono and Haruichi's dorm.
It seemed Haruichi was the cause of the noise: he was scrambling to gather up his things, which had apparently fallen off the shelf.
He was just picking up the last item, a composition notebook, when a thin plastic square slipped between the pages and settled a few inches from the door.
Kuramochi and Miyuki looked at it quizzically, and the latter stooped down to pick it up.
It was a picture of the Kominato brothers, from some time ago, dressed in pastels for what looked to be the flower viewing celebration-
Haruichi quickly plucked the photo from Miyuki's hands, hurriedly stuffing it into the notebook as he tried to store it away once more.
But the damage had been done.
"Kominato," Kuramochi chirped. "Mind telling us what that was?"
Haruichi didn't have much choice. Even if he put this off, they would just keep pestering them until he caved. So he reluctantly handed them the marble-speckled notebook. It was taped with pictures of various childhood memories from what must've been ten years ago.
After a few minutes, the second-years spoke up.
"So, Kominato. This is," Miyuki said as he thumbed through the pages, "...interesting. Most of all, it's hard to picture Ryou-san as such a sporadic child. Mind getting us some perspective on...this one?" He tapped one of the photos with his nail.
Haruichi chuckled dryly as he ran a hand through his hair, leaning over the photo.
It was him shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryousuke, when they were probably four and six. Haruichi had on a white hood complete with rabbit ears, looking bashful as he clamped his hands together and attempted to smile at the camera. Ryousuke was decidedly less cooperative, expression set in a frown as he fidgeted with the forest green hem of his matching dragon hoodie. Short boots had made tracks on the frost-covered ground, and the last few autumn leaves were scattered afoot.
Haruichi smiled wistfully. "Ah, our mother used to dress us up in these animal hoods-she insisted on it. If you were ever wondering where aniki's stubbornness came from, well...," he trailed off. "Anyway, she thought that a dragon suited aniki well. "They breathe fire, after all."
Miyuki and Kuramochi held back their grins as they looked at each other and nodded. "Kominato, do you mind if we borrow this? We promise we'll return it in good condition."
Haruichi bit his lip. "From the looks in your eyes, I don't like the looks of that, senpai. Maybe not." Haruichi was cautious on this, and no amount of weaseling and negotiating would make him change his mind. The two second-years eventually cut their losses and left him alone.
But let it be known that Miyuki and Kuramochi were notorious for getting away with things they shouldn't. So when Miyuki knocked on Kuramochi's dorm bright and early the next day with the album in hand, Kuramochi wasn't too surprised.
"How'd you get a hold of it?"
"Oh, you know. Ways."
There was no further discussion, as their reign of shenanigans against Ryousuke's reputation commenced.
They approached their captain first. "Tetsu-san," Miyuki announced gravely during practice one afternoon.
Yuuki turned, shrugging off his helmet and easing the grip on his bat. "Did you need something?"
"Do you remember your elementary school play," Miyuki suddenly asked.
Yuuki paused for a moment. "Yes."
"What role did you play?"
At this, Yuuki looked to the sky fondly. "A tree."
Miyuki raised an eyebrow, but opened the composition notebook, pointing. "Well, Kuramochi and I found this, and it seems that in Ryou-san's school play...he was an elf."
Yuuki's expression remained stoic as he scrutinized the picture. He looked at the brightly lit stage, the hand-painted cardboard backgrounds that highlighted the mass of children grinning exuberantly on the stage. All but one, that is.
"Well," Yuuki reasoned, a smile making his way across his face, "I wouldn't say he has the right attitude for the part." The object of his criticism, donned in a red kilt complete with bells, did not look in the least bit amused.
Kuramochi was all too delighted to show his senpai the picture set in what he was sure was Kanagawa. "Jun-san," he chirped, lingering in the doorway of the indoor gym.
Isashiki, who had been weight-lifting, let out a disgruntled sound of annoyance. "What," he ground out, wiping a sheen of sweat off his forehead.
"I want you to look at something." Kuramochi passed the notebook to him gleefully.
Isashiki squinted at the offering.
"Hey! That's Kanagawa harbor! I used to live five blocks away from there!"
"Exactly." Kuramochi flipped the page.
This page had two pictures. One had the Kominatos, swinging their legs off the edge of the wooden pier. Haruichi was pointing at something, probably the seagulls overhead; Ryousuke had one hand on his shoulder, one on a fishing pole.
Isashiki snorted good-naturedly at this, and made a passing comment about sappy brother complexes, before eyeing the second photo.
The setting was the same, but the Kominatos were in a predicament. Ryousuke was dripping wet, clothes soaked through. He seemed to be plucking algae from his equally drenched brother's hair, who was shivering. Their fishing supplies were scattered across the wooden planks, unkempt and forgotten.
Jun clapped a hand over his mouth, guffawing. "Don't tell me...they fell into the harbor?!" His chest racked with mirth.
Kuramochi's reaction was the same. "Well, that certainly explains why Kominato doesn't like fishing..."
It hadn't really worked when they tried to ask Furuya.
"I mean," Miyuki jested, trying to lighten the mood. "Have you ever heard of someone causing trouble at a public library, of all places?"
Furuya looked passively at the picture, at a young Ryousuke engaged in a stubborn debate with the librarian, crossing his arms as he stood defiantly on a bookstool. He was likely trying to correct her on something, as he always did. The irritation in the librarian's eyes showed that she probably would've liked nothing more than to wring the child's neck.
Furuya nodded in solemn reverence, going back to juggling the rosin bag. "What an achievement."
Miyuki gave up.
Kuramochi had retreated to the comfort of his dorm for a brief interlude. He found his older roommate already there, and grinned at the opportune time. He knew just the picture.
"Oi, Masuko-san."
His roommate sitting on his bed instantly responded with a grunt.
"Have you ever thought of running those lemonade stands?"
Masuko looked confused. "No...why?"
"Apparently Ryou-san did." Kuramochi smugly passed the evidence to his roommate.
Masuko's eyes widened at the sight: a fake-smiling Ryousuke selling drinks on the curb of his front yard, ushering people over.
"That's unnatural," Masuko decided, nodding. "Him trying to look nice."
"I bet he's one of those vendors who charge extra if you even look at him the wrong way."
Masuko snorted in agreement.
Ryousuke had been mostly unsuspecting of the composition notebook lying neatly on Kuramochi's lunch table, its typical marble speckled pattern belying the content inside.
"So," he began, casually rapping his knuckles on the cover of the notebook in question. "Don't tell me you were actually studying. Late at night too. How unusual."
Kuramochi jumped a bit at Ryousuke's sudden presence. He quickly recovered, huffing defensively. "What, you don't think that I can crack open a book every once in a while too?"
"No-" Kuramochi slumped- "you don't need to. School rank shows that maybe you do have something in that thick skull."
Kuramochi was taken aback at the sudden compliment, but it seemed Ryousuke had only meant to exploit the moment.
"Which can only mean you're hiding something."
Kuramochi stiffened, but attempted to brush off the comment as he laughed.
"You really are becoming too paranoid, Ryou-san."
"Is that so," he mused, an unreadable expression crossing his face.
Ryousuke took care to casually eavesdrop on people's conversations during the rest of the day. Whatever Kuramochi had been hiding, he wasn't going to have it: for some reason, he had a feeling that it involved him. He resolved to figure this out, one way or another.
So when a particularly animated exchange took place between Miyuki and Sawamura, Ryousuke was intrigued to see the composition notebook there. He listened closer: it seemed that Sawamura was looking at something on one of the pages. A picture. A childhood picture, in fact...of Ryousuke.
Sometimes he really hated when his intuition was correct.
Ryousuke was livid. Kuramochi and Miyuki were the only ones who caused this kind of trouble, so they were probably the only culprits. How they hands on one of his childhood pictures, much less an entire album, was beyond him. Haruichi was the only feasible source. As for the reason...he could only guess that the second-years were taking advantage of their seniority to bully the first-years: again.
Ryousuke pondered the amount of blackmail they had with this, the incriminating photos they were no doubt showing off to the rest of the team...
Well, those two would pay for it thricefold when he shut down their operation.
Kuramochi had been a little jumpy after the confrontation with Ryousuke, but when he was still intact after an hour, he figured that Ryousuke hadn't suspected anything. But he started seeing a shadow at the edge of his peripheral vision, and felt an ominous presence nearby, he knew something was wrong.
"Miyuki," he called casually, clapping the catcher on the shoulder. "Break with me?"
"Sure," he responded just as smoothly.
When they were behind the safety of the storage shed, Miyuki let out a long exhale. "So what's the problem?"
Kuramochi massaged his temples. "I have a feeling that he found us out. Ryou-san, that is."
That explained the tension that foreboded the air, the prickling on the backs of their necks as if someone was watching them...
"...That's pretty relevant, Kuramochi."
He sighed. "I know."
After a few moments Miyuki burst into laughter. "We're screwed."
Ryousuke waited to approach them until after practice. He materialized behind them just as they had begun to head back to the dorms.
"You two," he called silkily, shoving their backs suddenly.
The second years faced him reluctantly.
Ryousuke paced a few steps, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"I take it you two have had quite the eventful day. Got your hands on a...photo album, did you?"
Kuramochi and Miyuki stiffened. "We can explain. You see-"
"You don't have to," he said evenly, casually delivering swift kicks to their shins. By now they'd dropped down to kneel, more formal than as if at a tea ceremony. "This is the brand of mischief that could only come from you two. So when I heard mentions of 'baby pictures' and myself, not to mention the odd stares I've gotten from everyone on the team... you two really should've been more discreet."
"In our defense...your brother lent it to us."
"I did not," said Haruichi indignantly, suddenly stepping out of the shadows. He nodded to Ryousuke. "Sorry, aniki. I was going to retrieve it myself, but I thought you'd like to deal with them."
Ryousuke chuckled. "Oh, I will," he murmured, a malicious aura beginning to materialize.
Kuramochi and Miyuki could only hope that they weren't completely doomed.