Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

13

So I've started sixth form. It's really uninteresting :P and I pretty much get no homework, which means I have more time to write chapters! yay!

And I apologize for my recent chapters, because I've noticed that they're steadily getting worse, and I'm honestly wondering if I should stop with this.

It's also kind of depressing that I'm 13 chapters in and I haven't even wrote about the District Tournament, and then I need to write about Regionals, and then Nationals, and all the stuff in between. D: HELP MEH!

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts

Roko ran alongside the other regulars, including Sanada himself, in an endless course of laps and laps and laps. The District Tournament would begin next week, which meant that the regulars had four days remaining until the tournament, and Sanada being the taskmaster that he is, decided it was appropriate to double their training menu. They were currently on their 192nd lap, nearly finished with their 200 laps, and Roko and the rest of the regulars felt exhausted.

It didn't help that Yanagi had said that the man who comes in last place would have to drink his newest concoction, but while this didn't really bother Roko - it was just a drink - the rest of the regulars except Sanada paled. Roko had come to the conclusion that this drink was either poisoned or just disgusting, but knowing Yanagi, it could be either.

Roko had enjoyed the practice today immensely. The first thing was that all the regulars were given power wrists and ankles that would build up their stamina and power, followed by simple rallying with the power weights. The point of this was that you would aim at the corners and the player would run back and forth, and that sounded pretty good to Roko, but the rest of the regulars seemed to disagree, especially Kirihara - who Roko discovered, was the team complainer.

The laps were nearly done now, and Roko's mind drifted back to Yanagi's 'concoction'. He had to wonder what exactly it was, what it tasted like, what the ingredients were... The way the other regulars turned white at the suggestion made Roko very curious.

So on the last lap, he pretended to stumble and drop his speed, and while everyone else crossed the finish line, Roko just watched them.

Yanagi materialized out of thin air behind him.

"Ah, I see you'll be my latest victim, Echizen" he said sweetly, in a voice that reminded Roko of Yukimura. Yanagi held in his hand a tall glass of something that looked akin to green sludge, with a little mint leaf on the top for added presentation. He held the glass toward Roko, and he took it gladly.

Roko looked at the green sludge for a while, and he noticed that all of the regulars who didn't collapse on the finish line had returned to watch Roko drink it. It was clear they'd get some amusement out of it, and that only made Roko more curious as to how it tasted.

Roko put the glass to his lips, and he noticed Niou's mouth curve into a huge grin. Roko tipped the glass vertically until he had downed the whole glass in one gulp.

And suddenly he stumbled slightly. Woah, that drink had a hell of a kick to it. Suddenly Kirihara spoke up.

"Echizen! Are you alright?" he called. Roko paused, and then looked up at Kirihara to see him and the rest of the team looking at him in fear, like they were expecting him to die on the spot.

Roko looked back at Yanagi, who still had an amused smirk on his face. He didn't seem disappointed at all that Roko wasn't gagging, he was still smiling... Roko suddenly felt an extremely sharp tang on his tongue.

He stopped. He frowned, and licked his lips to try and recreate the taste. It tasted familiar, it tasted of...

Wait, why am I falling? He realised, as he noticed the world tilting quickly. He could hear blurred voices of alarm in the background, but he couldn't make out the words. He didn't feel himself hit the ground either, but he could tell he had when the world bounced slightly, which was probably his head bouncing off the ground.