Disclaimer: KnB is still not mine.
Chapter 2: Mission
"Quit squirming, will ya?"
"Lemme go then!" Aomine thrashes against being carried under one arm.
"How many times have you been told it's dangerous to go up the roof?" The helper sighs while struggling to keep hold of the boy, "You can play later, right now there's an important announcement you have to hear." They pass another helper who is busy putting away the pieces of a chess board on top of a table.
"Okay just put me down! I can walk by myself." When his feet reach the ground, he crosses his arms and glares. It might have been intimidating had he been conscious that he was pouting.
The helper attempts to placate him, gesturing with open palms, "Hey now, no need for that. You're still in trouble for climbing up the roof again, ya know."
Knowing that he is in trouble again, Aomine reluctantly relents. "Fine..."
"Good, now let's go. My partner here would clean up and make sure you and your friend stay out of this room for good. This place is no good for kids, what with all the dust and stuff lying around."
Aomine perks up. "Oh yeah, Tetsu! Make sure you get him too!" Remembering the difficulty the smaller boy had moving about the roof.
"Yeah, yeah." The one that carried him like a sack says absently, guiding him to the door. "Your friend's already being taken care of." He recalls the red haired boy being led out of the room by another helper. If the boy hadn't said something about a blue haired boy going out the window, he wouldn't have thought to check the roof. He gives a long sigh. The rumors about the rainbow brats being the hardest to deal with turned out to be true; he's thankful they only have to handle them one at a time and shudders at the thought of them ever joining forces.
After meticulously bandaging his injured hand for the third time (A helper offered to do it for him but Midorima wouldn't let him unless he showed some first-aid certification that would prove him more qualified to give treatment, to which the helper just rolled his eyes mumbling what suspiciously sounded like 'It's just a scratch, not even a real wound'), Midorima notes his hand would not have needed bandaging had he bandaged it beforehand and decides that he'll do just that from now on. Of course, he'll only need to do it on his left since that's the one he uses most and would thus need more protection. This opinion has absolutely nothing to do with the limited roll of bandages the helper gave him and the strange boy from today's encounter needing them. He keeps the bandages and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol in the front of his overalls but it's only in case he gets scratched again, of course.
His gaze scans the room once again but he still does not see the boy who he is not looking for. Perhaps, he's just a visitor's son, then.
The helper all but dragged him to one of the playrooms—the largest—stopping him from his pursuit, something about an important announcement. He's not entirely sure why they wouldn't just announce whatever it is and let them go but he does note the absence of some other children. The playroom is wide enough for the helpers to let the children mingle and play while keeping watch from a distance—Midorima does not think they do a good job at it, watching Haizaki take one of the other children's toys.
He is seated by a corner near a closed window, purposely ignoring how the other children are whispering, trying not to get caught staring at him. He, unconsciously, holds his turnip closer opting to glance outside the window, drowning out the voices (though, he can still hear Haizaki grumbling while being reprimanded.)
The door opens and a familiar red haired boy is ushered inside. Midorima only looks because of the momentary hush accompanying the boy's entrance.
Akashi's eyes sweep across the room taking in the toys and the children scattered on the floor, a frown set on his face. He does not think there would be anything interesting here and he is upset that he did not get to finish his game. The helpers did not seem to believe he even knew how to play the game. Hopefully, they at least listened to him about the peculiar boy who climbed out the window.
He sees a rocking horse and makes his way towards it, curious. Hm... This is new. When he does reach it, he studies the wooden carvings and gives it an experimental push. Fascinated by the tilting motion, he nods to himself and mounts, content with rocking back and forth, uncaring towards the bemused glances directed at him.
He finds the tilting very relaxing and resolves to own a real horse when he grows up. Slowly, his thoughts drift to wooden kings, knights, and helpful, but unusual, boys climbing out windows.
The next time the door is opened a wriggling mass rolled in a blanket is shoved inside. On one end of the roll, blond tufts can be seen. Some muffling can be heard but everyone gives it some distance and promptly ignores it—apparently used to the antics.
A head peeks out and the blond boy attempts to move. The result is a very impressive imitation of a caterpillar and the other children look on, amused.
Again, the door is opened and Kise does his best to turn his body so he could see if they finally caught Aominecchi. He is disappointed that it is only the tall purple haired kid who eats a lot.
Murasakibara lazily looks at the children gathered. There isn't really a lot of them and most of the other children stay together all the time. He's not good at recalling faces (partly because he never pays attention and thinks it's too troublesome to remember) but he's sure he has never seen the boy from earlier.
They took away his snacks again and he wonders if the strange boy has any more.
When Aomine finally enters, he takes one glance at the room then gives the helper accompanying him a look that spoke 'Are you serious?'. The helper has been nagging at him about just playing with the other children instead of running off on his own to which he reasons that most of them treat him like a brat because his younger.
"Nonsense! You have other kids your age there as well..." says the helper, almost regretting it knowing that if even two of the rainbow brats got together it will be chaos.
Aomine takes notice of the other kids his age: there's the one with gray hair arguing with some other kid; there's the one stroking the giant turnip like a cat, sitting by the window; the kid on the rocking horse ignoring everyone else; another one at the back chewing on his knuckes; and finally the blond on the floor, who is attempting to imitate a clock hand by rolling on one end. "Aominecchi! I've found you! Let's play together!"
"You're not serious, are you?"
The helper shrugs.
"But they're weird." He says, whiningly. The helper studies him, a disbelieving look on his face.
"Say, weren't you the one that took the live crayfish the chef was going to cook for dinner, that one night, only to release it in the garden ponds, the school fountain, and the guest room aquarium so you could try your hand at catching them with a butterfly net?"
"Yep! It's more fun in real ponds and rivers though, but they don't let me out and it's pretty hard to es—" Aomine bites his lip. He can't let them know about his little trips outside school grounds; He's already in a lot of trouble. Instead, he grumbles, "What's your point?"
The helper gives him a pitying look, "I hate to break it to ya..." One hand is used to push Aomine forward "You're definitely one of them."
Generally, it has been accepted that putting the rainbow brats in one room is not a good idea. It's like keeping volatile substances near each other; they don't react, having no reason to, but it would only take that one trigger to make them spontaneously combust—the ensuing chain reaction would not be pretty.
Fortunately, this has never happened before, partly because it is a rare occurence to get them into one room together, mostly because they're all detached from other children, for whatever reason. Still, this does not stop the helpers from feeling uneasy and wary. It's also accepted that the rainbow brats don't get along with the other children or, to be more precise, the others don't really like the colorful children.
The other orphans, unused to seeing them, exchange curious whispers occassionally but, for the most part, try to pay them no attention—not even attempting to approach any of them or asking them to play. They dislike the special treatment given to the younger children.
Or how the purple one is taller and stronger than some of them (he should be fat and weak) despite doing nothing but eat, how the red one makes them feel bad about themselves by pointing out the obvious and using big confusing words, how the green one is so uptight and demanding for someone so weird, how the blue one beats them effortlessly at their games, how the yellow one is easily liked by adults even though he's so annoying, how the gray one can get away with anything with just a light scolding.
What they dislike most of all, however, is that would-be parents always chose one of them. Other children only get chosen because they, for some reason, drive the parents away forcing them to settle for less (no one actually says this but it is how they feel). Surely every orphan dreams of belonging to a family and those who don't obviously has something wrong with them.
When the caretaker opens the door and sees all the children in the room, he gives a sigh of relief, mumbling, "At least they're all here," to himself.
Before he could convene with the helpers, a loud whine interrupts him.
"Hey! What gives!? How long are you gonna keep us here? I wanna play outside." While it is Shougo who spoke, the other children assent, albeit more reservedly. He has to stop from smiling at how the boy is unabashed and uncaring of getting disciplined, despite getting into trouble frequently.
Speaking of stubborn, troublesome children, the five previously missing ones are looking at him expectantly and unlike the other children's curious looks, theirs seem to suggest that whatever reason he gives would determine whether they would stay put or not.
"Well, seeing as we are all here," except for the topic of his announcement, he grimaces, "I would all like you to welcome our newest addition." Again, whispers break out and the five still, actually looking interested.
"That's what you said earlier! Ow—" Shougo is cut off when a helper pinches his ear and tells him to be more polite.
"Yes, but unfortunately, Tetsuya is still missing. This mansion is quite big so he may have gotten lost." Poor child. He is so much more behaved and reserved than the rest that it's hard to even remember his presence. It's a good thing the mansion has the gates guarded 24/7, limiting the search. The mansion is also subjected to checks to ensure child safety so the only cause for concern is if Tetsuya is scared and hungry, further reassuring the caretaker. "Not to worry, though, the helpers are looking for him. I expect you all to wait here until they find him." Most of the children resume what they were doing.
"Tetsu? You're looking for a kid with light blue hair, right?"
He looks down at the curious face of Aomine Daiki. "Why, yes. Tell me, have you seen him?"
Daiki hesitates for only a moment. "Yeah, we were together at the roof."
The caretaker's brows shoot up, "The roof? What were you doing on the roof?" Furrows them, "What was he doing on the roof?" Sighs, "And I thought he was well behaved—"
"Hey! Tetsu only woke me up because I was gonna fall. He wasn't even any good at keeping his balance so I don't think he went there to cause any trouble. I was the one who was stupid enough to sleep there in the first place, so there you can punish me!"
The caretaker blinks at the boy. To say he was shocked by the earnest defense is an understatement, Daiki not only admitted his wrong to defend another but also showed enough concern to willingly take whatever punishment.
"I understand. He is a good kid after all then," He almost chuckles at Daiki's interjection of 'That's right!' but knows he has to be stern. "We can deal with you later. Right now, though, we have to find Tetsuya first. When did you last see him?"
Daiki tells him about the helper who brought him down. "He said Tetsu's been taken care of. Maybe they lost him then."
Aomine wouldn't blame Tetsu for it, it's pretty boring here.
The caretaker proceeds to ask the specified helper who is on the other side of the room together with the other helpers.
"I was surprised that there was someone on the roof, all right. But there was only one when I got there. My partner, Ken, made sure everything was in order. Isn't that right, Ken?" He gestures to the one beside him.
"Yep, I even glanced out the window to recheck the roof before locking it, you know, just in case they left something behind."
The caretaker frowns. Daiki could be lying but he has no reason to considering he all but volunteered to be punished. "Daiki mentioned that he has been taken cared of."
"Hm... Oh yeah, Teri got there before us. He was with another boy but his volunteer shift is already over and no one really has his number."
"No, it's fine." Daiki is right then, they did lose him track of him after all. The mansion has many rooms and corridors, it might be a while before Tetsuya is found. He decides to allow the children to go outside and play, thinking that perhaps it will be faster to find the boy this way.
"Aominecchi, let's play! And get off me!" The blond whined.
Aomine is using him as a cushion, preventing him from moving.
"Quit it Kise! I'm thinking!" This, for whatever reason, works in making the blond stop squirming. Instead, Kise tries to crane his neck, as if what Aomine just said was the most fascinating thing.
"Oi! Do you wanna say something?" Aomine stands, leaving one foot still on the blanket roll and rolling it back and forth.
"Waaah~! Aominecchi so mean! I just wanted to see what it looks like when you think!" When Aomine stops prodding him, he asks, "So whatcha thinking about anyway?"
Aomine plops back down on him, making him squeak in protest. "It's just something's bugging me about Tetsu."
"You mean the kid they're looking for? Were you really on the roof all this time? I was looking for you!"
Before he could answer, someone unexpected approaches them. "That boy is still on the roof."
Aomine and Kise both stare at the red head. Again, before either of them can answer the caretaker draws their attention and says, "You can now play outside. May I request though that you keep an eye out for Tetsuya. He's lost somewhere in either the grounds or inside one of the rooms." A description of the boy is made. "Stay away from dangerous places like the roof, though." The last bit is directed at Aomine and he scratches his head sheepishly.
The children and everyone else leave the room. Only five children remain.
Aomine regards the red haired boy. "What makes you think Tetsu's still on the roof?"
For a moment, Akashi looks from the green haired boy by the window—who was doing a poor job at pretending not to listen—then to the purple haired boy staring lazily at them before turning back to Aomine.
"The volunteer that brought you here, I told him to check the roof for a blue haired boy who climbed out. He came back with you instead."
No wonder they were able to find him, Aomine thinks. But he never went out using the window, he climbed the trees and pipes. Does that mean they mistook him for Tetsu?
"But they said they took care of him... Ah! It was you! They thought I was with you!" Aomine palm hits his forehead. Determinedly he declares, "I have to go check."
"Ah, I'm gonna go with you!" Kise redoubles his squirming.
"I would also like to go." Akashi says.
"Wha—? I don't think you guys can climb, though. And it will be faster with just me." Aomine scratches the back of his head.
"If this boy is still there, will you be able to climb back down while carrying him?"
Aomine winces in realization, the thought never occuring to him. "Ah, but they locked that room already."
"Ah, That is a problem."
A cough has them turning to the boy with the turnip. "I may know where they hide the keys to the rooms" Midorima pauses to adjust his glasses, "I guess I have no choice but to partake in this rescue mission."
Aomine has an incredulous look on his face. "What?"
Amusement fill Akashi's features. "Then we can go for snacks afterwards." He smiles when Murasakibara says, "Eh, then I guess I'll go too."
Kise is beside himself with joy. "Yay! Mission! We need a cool team name. How do you guy's feel about 'Kise Squad'?"
Aomine rolls him on the floor, ignoring his protests. He looks at the others like he thought they were crazy—which he does. Since when were they all chummy?
Midorima beats him to it. "Just so we're clear. I think you are all weird and I'm only doing this because I think the adults here can't do anything right."
"Incompetent." Akashi supplies, remembering the word his late father used a lot when the servants messed up.
"Incompy— Ne, Aominecchi what's incompiten?" Kise attempts.
"Ah, it doesn't sound tasty... Can we go now?" Murasakibara looks between them.
"Huh? How are we wei—" Aomine looks at the others, amends. "How am I weird? You're the weirdest one here. You're the one holding a radish!"
"I believe it's a turnip," Akashi supplies.
Aomine glares at him.
"I believe we have a missing boy to find." Midorima starts heading out.
"Tsk. Ah, whatever! Wait for me Tetsu!" Aomine follows.
"Aominecchi!" Kise does his caterpillar impersonation and attempts to catch up. Murasakibara steps on him on the way out. "Hey!"
Akashi thinks this is the most interesting thing to happen here. Unconsciously a small smile forms as he moves to follow.
Chapter end.
AN: And Kuroko is still alone on the roof. -facepalms- Why won't words just type themselves from my thought like magic?