SERIES: In the Dark (3.)
Title: In the DarkPair: Ohmiya
Genre: Slice of life/drama/high school au
Rated: PG
Summary: On assignment for the school paper, an apathetic photographer follows a delinquent baseball player and gets caught.
“Here.” Sho handed Ohno a thick manila file-folder.
“You’ve already printed them?” Ohno asked, flipping through the contents. He recognized the pictures as the ones he had taken outside the gate of Nino’s school, but there were also pictures he’d never seen before, and newspaper clippings.
“You might need them for your next assignment.”
Matsujun’s voice from the night before echoed in his mind as he looked down at Nino’s face. ‘Well you two are going out now…’ Ohno rubbed his mouth with his fingers.
“I checked out the pictures you took previously. Turns out this kid is the ace of their team.” Sho explained, tucking his red pen behind his ear. “If we can get him on something-“
“Ni…This guy? Is an ace? But he’s so…uh…tiny.”
“Ninomiya Kazunari. Apparently his size is his weapon. He’s fast like bullet, and can throw balls better than a pitching machine. He’s good at catching as well. One article said he hasn’t dropped a ball in a game since elementary school.”
“That’s amazing.” Ohno swallowed. Hard. Now he understood why Nino would have his own fanclub.
“It’s amazing yeah, in an impending doom kind of way.”
“What? Where do you see impending doom on that cute face?”
“What does his cute face have to do with it? He’s the opponent! He’ll rip our team apart! It’s up to us, Ohno. If we can take him down, our school has a chance.”
“What if…what if it doesn’t just get him off the team. What if they…I don’t know… expel him or something?”
Sho shrugged. “He’d only get expelled if he were doing something worth being expelled for, in which case he’d deserve it. All’s fair in love and journalism.”
“Don’t you think you’re taking this a bit too seriously? It’s just a stupid high school baseball game.”
Sho looked scandalized. He opened his mouth and closed it a couple times, before managing to gather his thoughts. “It’s a stupid baseball game, yeah. But if our team wins the national championship, our school becomes instantly famous. And we’ll be the journalist and photographer who covered it all! Think of how it will look on our college applications! Our job applications!”
The glowing passion in Sho’s eyes was the signal to Ohno to drop the fight. Sometimes arguing with Sho was a lot like arguing with the tv. It wouldn’t hear your counter argument, but on the plus side, it could just be tuned out.
So Ohno looked at the folder full of Nino clippings and pictures, and casually flipped through them as Sho ranted on.
He smiled. It was funny to see yankee blonde Nino had shaved his hair off completely once before.
“I didn’t shower after practice, so don’t mind if I smell funky.” Nino said, with a baseball glove on his head, and a big bag hanging on a long strap off his shoulder when he appeared at the gate.
“I’ll stand over here then.” Ohno took two steps away.
“If you want to.” Nino grinned. “Carry this for me?” It was the big gym bag.
“…does it also smell like jock?” Ohno scrunched his nose.
“Carry it.” Nino ordered, and Ohno sighed, taking the bag.
“I feel like I won a punishment game.” Ohno grumbled, slinging it on his shoulder. It was heavy but it didn’t smell too terrible.
“That’s because you did.” Nino said, brightly, taking Ohno’s hand in his squishy calloused one and leading him down the sidewalk.
“It didn’t feel like a punishment game at the time.” Ohno mumbled.
“Not many people think going out with me is a punishment right away though. Usually it’s a reward for being a fan. It becomes punishment after the first half of the week or so when your wallet is empty.”
“So really you’re just going to use me and then throw me away?”
Something changed in Nino’s eyes, and he quirked an eyebrow. “Yes. What did you think you signed up for?”
“I have no idea.” Ohno said, honestly.
They walked and held hands as they did so. Nino took them to a park that was a large un-mowed grassy plot of land with a broken swing set and an off balance merry-go-round.
“Give me that.” Nino said, taking his bag from Ohno’s shoulder. He let it drop to the ground, crouching to retrieve a bat and a grass-stained baseball.
Ohno didn’t like where this was going. “Um, I suck you know. At baseball. Any sport involving balls actually.”
Nino, who was still crouching looked up, and then at eye level to Ohno’s crotch, smirking. “Ok, that’s good to know.”
“I don’t call that a sport.” He blushed.
“Then you’ve been doing it wrong.” Nino stood up. And handed Ohno a baseball and the glove that had been on his head the whole time.
“I haven’t been doing it wrong.” Ohno pouted, working his fingers into the cracking leather glove.
“Uh-huh.” Nino smirked, walking a few paces away with the bat on his shoulder.
“Didn’t you just finish practice? Don’t you want to rest?” Ohno called, really really not wanting to embarrass himself.
“Pitch it.” Nino shouted back, in perfect batting stance.
Ohno sighed. Took a deep breath. Threw with all his might.
The ball landed half way between them.
Nino laughed so hard he dropped to his knees on the grass.
After a few more tries and Ohno was thoroughly embarrassed, Nino called it quits, claiming he couldn’t laugh any more anyway.
They packed up. The heavy bag again was given to Ohno, and Nino took his hand again. Only this time, he laced their fingers. Nino led them to a ramen place and Ohno paid for their meal tickets.
They sat opposite each other at a table for two by the window.
Nino had only let go of his hand long enough for Ohno to pay, and for him to slip the bag off. They were still holding hands under the table. It made Ohno feel a little uncomfortable, but Nino acted as normally as if they weren’t holding hands. As if it were a subconscious habit.
Nino talked a lot, and a lot about nothing. Ohno listened attentively, hoping to learn something about Nino, but instead he learned about how Aiba stepped in dog crap on the way to school today, and how Matsujun was acting more and more like Nino’s body guard to the point Nino wasn’t allowed to pee by himself at school and it was getting annoying. After a while Ohno wondered if Nino was naturally talkative or if Nino kept talking because he had sensed that Ohno himself didn’t like to talk, and that Nino was working to make the atmosphere more comfortable.
When the ramen arrived, Nino began to pick through it, transferring all strips of seaweed to Ohno’s bowl.
Ohno observed but didn’t comment. The more little weird things Ohno noticed about Nino, the fonder he became of him.
They finished eating and left the shop. Nino took his bag back.
“I’m not walking you home?” Ohno asked in surprise.
“It’s not much farther.” Nino replied, turning and starting on his way. “See you tomorrow.”
“Bye…” Ohno watched him go, until the little frame hunched under the weight of the heavy bag turned a corner and couldn’t be seen anymore.
Ohno felt cheated. He had expected at least a little making out. He didn’t even get a goodbye kiss. He hauled around Nino’s heavy baseball gear and made a fool of himself for nothing.
And yet, as he walked home he couldn’t help smiling and looking forward to picking Nino up after practice again tomorrow.