Freya: hello, first expedition into the Rikkai-side of PoT… do be kind to this newbie wanderer…

20 Tricks & Schemes

1. Kirihara has always believed that Santa really did come down the chimney to deliver presents on Christmas Eve-- until a certain silver haired senpai did the exact same thing and warped his view of the holiday completely.

Santa didn't give handcuffs for Christmas, did he?

2. Yukimura actually approves of their relationship, and so does Sanada-- Niou is a bit wary of this fact, because ever since they started dating, both Emperors had been shamelessly watching his every move...

3. Niou liked it when the little devil attempted to glare at him. It was, if nothing else, amusingly useless-- and downright adorable, too.

4. Contrary to popular belief, Kirihara is not too much of an ill-mannered brat. Niou knows how well the boy can say 'please'.

5. The day after Kirihara was defeated by Echizen, he found a box of new crayons in his locker, to which was attached a simple note: What now, bratling? Don't tell me you're gonna give up.

And he had to admit, though it stung, that note was the one thing that did cheer him up.

6. Since Jackal was the little devil's official baby sitter, Niou had to put up with his presence the first few times he went out with Kirihara-- he found a solution to this pretty quickly though.

It was extremely funny, the way the guy blushed when he saw them making out.

7. Kirihara isn't afraid of thunder, he's not, he's the little devil for chrissake!-- these are the thoughts that chase each other around the Trickster's head as he searched for said devil all over the school, as lightning continued to pelt the sky, as thunder continued to blast through the heavens.

8. He knew that closing your eyes and covering your ears until you couldn't hear anything anymore was one of the most effective ways to not lose your mind during a thunder storm, but Kirihara wishes that he had his senpai with him instead.

9. Niou envied Yukimura-buchou for one thing, and that was the way he could tell Kirihara that everything was alright and mean it.

10. A sugar-high Kirihara wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Niou decided, as the bratling continued to pull the zipper of his pants down with his teeth, as those talented tennis trained-hands ran down his torso, as another mewl escaped those smirking bruised lips, as a devilish gleam appeared in his eyes,-- and then he decided that it wasn't bad at all.

11. Yanagi knew that going after the Trickster and his bratling when they went off together was a bad idea, but that didn't mean he'd remind Jackal of that fact.

He has yet to see for himself the 'interesting shade of red' that would be present on the other player's face when he'd found them.

12. Niou knew perfectly well that Kirihara and Marui had a plainly platonic relationship with each other, by virtue of their twisted family tree (see author's notes), but he couldn't help but feel more than a little insanely jealous when he saw both boys curled up side by side on the bleachers, with contented and peaceful looks on their faces.

13. Kirihara did not know how it came to this (it was Sanada's fault), but he decided it was worth it if Niou actually appreciated it and went back to the club. No matter if everyone else had to bite their tongues to keep themselves from laughing behind his back.

(three hours later) ...why are the kitty ears still on his head?

14. Yagyuu thinks that he should tell Yanagi that Jackal not only lost Kirihara but Niou as well, and that he was walking to a scene that would most likely give him nightmares for a week-- but fifty thousand yen was fifty thousand yen, and Kirihara was admittably cute when he begged.

15. After the incident with Yanagi (which resulted in a hundred laps for both the Trickster and the Devil), Niou decided that he would never let Kirihara use his Puppy Dog Pout of Doom™ (complete with the Puppy Eyes™ and The Whimpery Puppy Sound™) on anyone else ever again (for fear and hate of competition).

And that Yagyuu owed him a hundred thousand yen.

16. It was generally known at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku that Niou Masaharu was not only a Trickster but a Playboy as well-- what everyone else didn't know is that Kirihara has a three-foot long chain in his locker and that he is not afraid to use it.

17. During one Valentine's Day, the rest of the team managed to make Niou's day, week, year and lifetime with one gift.

Honestly, who knew he had a maid fetish? (or that Kirihara had a very girly waist, for that matter)

18. Kirihara hardly ever cried, to anyone that wasn't Yanagi anyway, so Niou was in a state of near panic when the boy suddenly threw himself at him, body shaking with heart-wrenching sobs, arms tight and uncompromising around him--

--what scared him was not the fact that he did not know what to do, but the fact that he might be the reason the bratling was crying.

19. There was a time when they fought, and that was a bloody, prank-filled time that would be etched forever into the memories of the regulars and the entirety of the Rikkai Dai Fuzoku student body.

Let it be said that Yagyuu was never allowed to 'cuddle' with Kirihara ever again.

20. Everyone knew that they were together, and everyone believed they had the sort of relationship that tough love was built on--

--but no one knew that when they walked home together, when no one was around, their hands would automatically reach for the others, and then everything became a hell of a lot easier.

(most notably, scheming and coming up with pranks)

Author's Notes:

The Rikkai Family Tree!!

Mom & Dad Sanada & Yukimura (I actually think that Sanada's the dad, but feel free to interpret this in any way)

Babysitter Jackal XD

Childhood Friend AKA Kid Down The Block Marui

Oldest Brother Yagyuu

Older Brother come Lover Niou

Youngest Child Kirihara

Did I forget anyone??

Hope you enjoyed that! Puuuriiii….