Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

4

Hey guys, I just wanted to make a brief announcement kinda thing.

I'm sure by now you've noticed how quickly I've been posting new chapters. That's because I'm reaching the end of my school holidays and I'm pretty much bored all the time with nothing to do. *sweat drop*

But in about a week, the chapters will be coming out slower as I officially start my new school! Hooray!

Oh, and thank you, one guy who reviewed my fic. Your comment means alot :)

Class 3A - English

Sanada Genichiro was NOT having a good day.

For starters, he never liked the first day of school. It meant that he was forced to work with the freshmen, watching them fail to swing a racket over and over and over again for a full thirty minutes, each swing more agonising than the next. Then when he would stop them and show them how to hold it properly, and they would nod and hold their rackets in the exact same way as before! He could barely stand how talentless they all were.

But today... today Sanada had nearly killed him.

That freshman - the one who had disrespected Yukimura!

That kid was so frustrating he couldn't stand it. The way he looked at Yukimura like he was nothing, the way he so casually accepted his punishment and completed it with ease, the way he never spoke a word and yet spoke a thousand words with his stare!

AGH!

Sanada made sure that he was punished by forcing him to collect those tennis balls, but he realised that it was not enough. He was not satisfied. That freshman must pay.

All of his anger and frustration was building up and up and doubling in on itself until he couldn't take it anymore. He was so glad that he had the entire day until last period free of that freshman. He never wanted to see his face again.

So when the exact same freshman walked into his English classroom ten minutes later, Sanada wondered what he had done to offend God that he was punishing him in such a way.

He didn't care that he was mute, he was too angry to care. If he truly was mute then he could have at least told him.

How? He's mute you idiot. Sanada scowled even deeper.

Sign language then. But he knew that Roko knew that using sign language would be pointless considering no one would understand him, but at least they would have assumed he was deaf.

And I would have been able to understand him, he thought. Sanada was actually fluent in sign language, and had been since he was seven, since he had a deaf cousin that his grandfather adored to the extent of forcing Sanada to learn sign language. He wanted to make sure that his cousin had someone to communicate with.

Sanada never enjoyed sign language lessons - talking with your hands was far more complicated than it sounded. All your fingers had to be bent at the right angle to get across one word. It took years to gain the skills needed to quickly make the complex symbols with your hands, one after the other.

And his cousin had moved to Tokyo anyway, so Sanada almost never saw him, so had no use for the language.

The freshman - identified as Echizen Roko, was sent to an empty desk near the back of the classroom and walked slowly to it.

Good, I won't be able to see him if he sits behind me.

"Sensei" he heard Yukimura say, who had abruptly stood up. Sanada turned towards Yukimura.

"Y-yes?" the teacher asked dumbfounded, Yukimura never spoke outside of being asked questions.

"I believe Sanada is fluent in sign language, wouldn't it be better for Echizen-kun to sit next to him?" he asked coyly.

What!? No! NO!

NNOOO! His mind screamed at Yukimura.

Sanada felt his sanity slowly crumbling as the teacher turned shocked to him, nodded once, and allowed Echizen to sit next to him.

He turned back to Yukimura, and sent him the most terrifying death glare he had ever given.

Yukimura smiled radiantly in response.

Class 3A - English

Roko wasn't remotely surprised to see Sanada in his English class. He knew from the moment he saw him that he would end up in his third-year English class. Unfortunately, the world just worked like that.

He wasn't even concerned at how horrified he looked when he walked in, contrasting greatly with Yukimura in the middle row, who smiled as if he had just won the lottery.

He wasn't even bothered by the stares that the other third years gave him. He hoped that they would oversee his muteness and focus on the fact he was smart enough to get into third-year English, but expectantly, they did not, and suddenly whispers of 'mute boy' were heard around the classroom.

Roko had learnt from a young age that being mute came with a few benefits, but a lot of cons as a result. Being the 'mute boy' was one of them.

So he embraced the annoyance that was building up in him, and walked slowly to the back of the classroom where there was a free desk.

And then Yukimura spoke up.

"Sensei" he said, standing quickly. Roko turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yes?" the teacher replied hesitantly.

"I believe Sanada is fluent in sign language, wouldn't it be better for Echizen-kun to sit next to him?" he asked politely.

NO! his mind screamed before he could think.

Oh, of course! HE has to be the one fluent in sign language! He thought. Roko had already seen enough of him today, and now Yukimura had just put them together for EVERY. SINGLE. ENGLISH. CLASS.

Why is this happening? Why do I have to be with him again? For THREE PERIODS A DAY!

Roko swallowed everything he wanted to say, keeping his passive mask firmly in place, and at the teacher's nod, walked towards Sanada's desk.

While walking the short distance, Sanada shot him a death glare that would have sent chills down his spine had he cared.

But Roko was in no mood, so he pulled up the chair next to his new fukubuchou and sat down.

Calm down, he thought, as long as he doesn't say anything it'll be fine.

Which thankfully, he didn't, Sanada kept staring ahead at the board, completely focused on everything on the board as if looking at Roko would cost him his life.

He doesn't like me, Roko concluded.

After a while the teacher seemed done explaining whatever he was explaining, and handed out work sheets for the class to complete.

As he passed Roko's desk he said quietly to him: "If you need any help with what's on the board, ask Sanada, ok?"

There it was.

That look of pity on his face. The look that meant he was judging Roko as too inadequate to understand simple English verbs and adjectives, even when he had lived in America for most of his life.

Roko had seen that face far too often in his life. Everyone gave him that same look and said the same thing over and over again, because they failed to understand that being mute does not mean you're too incompetent to speak. Roko had grown tired of that face, he wanted to silence everyone who judged him as stupid because he could not speak. He mentally sighed loudly and quickly tore a page out of his notebook, and scribbled on it, which earned a raised eyebrow from the teacher.

Roko then held up what he wrote, written in perfect English.

MUTE, NOT DEAF, BLIND OR STUPID

The teacher seemed taken aback by this, taking an actual step back as if Roko had stung him with his words.

"I... I see" he said slowly, "I understand", his voice sympathetic as he turned back to his desk.

Roko couldn't help but grind his teeth in anger.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Rooftop Garden

Roko ate his bento alone, surrounded by flowers and herbs of all kinds. Lines and lines of colourful flowers were arranged neatly, each labelled specifically with a brief summary on each.

At first Roko had wondered why on earth a school like Rikkaidai - so focused on achieving the best - would boast a rooftop garden like it did. But all doubts were immediately washed away when Roko stepped into the garden, his eye widening at the beauty of it all. He wasn't particularly interested in plants, but he couldn't help feel taken by the place, it was beautiful and quiet.

This was partly the reason Roko has chosen to go to Rikkaidai, because of the beautiful garden that was located at the top of the school to catch the most sunlight possible. As a result, all the flowers bloomed here, creating a beautiful, relaxing scene that helped Roko calm his nerves.

It had been the same for the two lessons afterward. Since all freshmen were new Roko didn't get an introduction like he did in English, but the teachers still announced to the entire class that he was mute, and suddenly everyone stared at him with that pitiful, judgemental look that he despised so much. He wanted to scream in frustration.

He thought it would be different here. He thought that in Japan maybe people would have more respect because of their culture or something. But no, they still pitied him.

His previous school in America was no better, everyone still whispering as he passed, hearing 'mute boy' over and over again.

His father had told him that eventually they would leave him alone and focus on better things, and maybe Roko himself would stop caring. In a way, he had stopped caring, but he couldn't deny that it still hurt deep inside him when someone would look at him like he was a ghost.

Roko finished his bento box, realising that he was so distracted by his own brooding he didn't even notice how it tasted.

He mentally sighed and put his box back into his bag.

Suddenly the door at the stairs swung open, and Roko looked up to see two very familiar third-years.

Without warning, the white-haired freak and Marui Bunta attacked, quickly snatching Roko into their arms and dragging him away against Roko's mad struggles.

What the hell!? What are they doing? He thought as he tried to pry the white-haired freak's arm loose.

"Come on" Marui chirped, "You're going to eat lunch with the regulars"

Wait what? The regulars? These guys are regulars? Roko thought as he was dragged away by the two freaks, leaving his bag behind.