Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

30

This is dedicated to alljas and mikaelanag

I'm sorry that this chapter isn't particularly special. It was supposed to be 6k words or something ridiculous like that but I got majorly bored half way through. So chap 31 will be part 2 of chap 30. And we finally get onto the obvious plot point of Yukimura's illness.

Finally.

Oh, and by the way, when I'm done with chap 31 I will probably do a time skip to the end of the District Tournament because I really don't want to write about every single match.

And thanks to Mist455, my number one fan (apparently)

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts

Sanada was sick today.

That's what Roko had heard from Yanagi, who had become the temporary captain. Apparently he'd woke up with a fever but still got ready for school, despite the protests of his mother and grandfather. It wasn't until Yanagi was waiting outside the gate for him and saw how pale he was, that he ordered him to go back and get some rest or he would suffer the consequences.

One does not question Yanagi Renji, a man who probably knows all of your deepest darkest secrets, not even Sanada.

So today Yanagi was the co-captain, and while Roko was curious about the training methods they would undergo, it probably involved a lot of power juice. He shuddered as he recalled the memory of the green sludge that practically gave him a concussion.

He had to admit to himself that he was worried. It wasn't like he hadn't had many school days in America where there was no one who could understand sign language, but it felt kind of lonely without his interpreter by his side. It also meant that there would be zero communication from him, unless he had a pen and paper. So basically tennis practice was simple orders and no small talk, which Roko supposed was fine, he'd never liked meaningless conversations anyway, and Yanagi wasn't one for them either.

Yanagi, of course, took full advantage of his position of power to test his newest juice.

"Yanagi-senpai..." Kirihara began hesitantly, "what is that thing?", gesturing to a tall glass of pale green liquid in Yanagi's hand. Yanagi smirked deviously.

"This is my ultimate power juice, Penal Tea #2" he replied triumphantly, and everyone collectively paled.

"We will run twenty laps, and last place gets to test the Penal Tea #2" he stated, and Roko tried not to smirk. Twenty laps weren't very long, which meant this would be a speed test rather than endurance. He could practically sense the shudders from Jackal and Yagyuu, whose weaknesses were speed.

The regulars moved to the starting line, excluding Yanagi, and he smirked widely.

"Go" he uttered calmly, and Roko blinked as every other regular took off like they were possessed. He stood there for a moment, rather stunned and confused, before Yanagi spoke up.

"Aren't you going?" he asked slowly, holding up the pale green liquid for emphasis. Roko frowned but nodded, jogging after the regulars who were half way through their first lap. True, it was a test of speed, but at the speed they were running at they would be dead by the last lap, maybe less for others, so Roko didn't worry, taking his time with his laps.

Just as expected most of the regulars in their terror of the Penal Tea #2 were slowing by the tenth lap, though Marui was slowed on the seventh. Roko casually overtook them at his jogging pace, and he could hear Niou mumble something incoherent. He quickly passed Marui, and then later Jackal, Niou, Yagyuu and Kirihara, getting into first place. It didn't really matter whether you won or not, but what was important was that the loser would drink the tea, which was looking to be Marui, who was walking and breathing heavily.