Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

37

Echizen Household

Ryoma was unsurprised to find Roko downstairs dressed and eating his breakfast already. It was the day of his concert and Ryoma could tell he was nervous, since he spent more time than usual practicing his cello and he had almost no appetite yesterday, even when he was offered cake.

When Roko turns down a slice of cake, you know things just got serious.

Ryoma opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly Nanjiroh appeared next to him, already striding into the kitchen and taking a bowl and cereal box out of the cupboard.

"Oi, seishounen, it's your birthday next week" he claimed, and Ryoma frowned, completely forgetting about that. Roko didn't even look up to acknowledge them, too interested in his food.

"Do you think your friends will do something for ya?" he asked, grabbing the milk out of the fridge.

"Not sure" Ryoma replied honestly, "They probably don't even know when it is". Nanjiroh poured the milk into the cereal bowl and stirred it with his spoon.

"What about you, Roko?" he asked, looking up to him, "Do your team know when your birthday is?". Roko shrugged unknowingly in response, and Nanjiroh smiled widely.

"Well make sure they know, since you would get a bunch of more gifts" he claimed, before leaving the room with his cereal. Ryoma rolled his eyes and moved to the kitchen to make some toast. Though they were twins and shared the same birthday, Nanjiroh had made a weird tradition where they weren't allowed to celebrate their birthday together. According to him a birthday should be your special day, and sharing it with someone else ruins it. Their real birthday was December 24th, but Ryoma celebrated his birthday on the actual day, whilst Roko celebrated his a week later on December 31st. Roko didn't seem to mind it, and Ryoma knew it was because he wasn't a huge fan of parties anyway.

"Ne, Roko" Ryoma called, while he was waiting for the bread to pop out of the toaster. Roko looked up from his empty cereal bowl, and Ryoma could tell he was tired.

"You're letting this get to you too much" he stated bluntly, and Roko frowned, tightening his lips and standing up from his seat, picking up his bowl and placing it next to the sink.

"It's just a three minute piece" he pointed out, "You're not going to be sat there forever". Roko's attitude didn't change, and Ryoma just sighed loudly. Roko wouldn't change his mind, so he supposed he'd just have to wait until it was over to cheer him up.

Their mother appeared around the corner, dressed in a wool jacket and long, thick trousers, and Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were at work" he stated, and his mother frowned.

"The buses have stopped because of all the snow, so it's my day-off today" she explained, and Ryoma frowned, remembering the thick layer of white he saw from his window. He liked snow, it was fun to play in, but it was also annoying since you couldn't play tennis outside in that weather. His mother took a step forward, and smiled softly at the Ryoma and Roko.

"Good luck in your concert, Roko" she said with a smile, and Roko nodded his head in acknowledgement, and Ryoma could tell that he did not want to be reminded of it. Ryoma sighed as his toast popped up, and he took it and quickly buttered it while Roko left the room and went back upstairs. Since he was up early he didn't need to leave for twenty minutes, so he'd probably listen to some music until then.

Ryoma sighed again, eating his toast with little enthusiasm. He hoped Roko would feel better after the concert was over.

Tokyo Train Station

Roko had seriously considered texting Sanada telling him he couldn't make it to school because the trains were all cancelled, but he knew that if he didn't get the concert out of the way it would haunt him. He sat on the benches in the station, listening to his rock music with his cello case next to him, considering his father's words.

"Do your team know when your birthday is?"

Did they? Roko had no clue. While it did explain the stares he'd received yesterday, it didn't mean that it was true. If they did know, Roko would have to wonder how they knew, and whether they thought it was the 24th or 31st of December. He didn't want them celebrating his birthday when it was supposed to be Ryoma's day. The family tradition they had was a really odd one, and Roko could think of many reasons why it was a stupid tradition, but at the same time he agreed that a birthday should be something that is about you and no one else, despite how much Roko would prefer if the attention was split between him and Ryoma. Roko didn't really mind that Ryoma was celebrating his birthday on his actual birthday, because in his mind-set, as long as he got gifts and cake, he didn't care what day it was. The cake was more important though.

He glanced up at the hanging electric sign, saying that the train to Kanagawa would arrive at 7:50. It was now 7:56. Roko mentally sighed in annoyance, digging out his phone, sending a message to Sanada.

The train to Kanagawa is delayed, I don't know how late I will be

From: Echizen Roko

He put his phone down and stared up at the ceiling. He distantly hoped the train had got stuck in the snow or something so he didn't have to turn up, but he knew he couldn't just avoid his problems either. It was an annoying realisation, but Roko grudgingly decided that he had to deal with it.

The train arrived eventually, and Roko glanced at his watch and practically hissed at the time. It was 8:25, he'd be late by 35 minutes. He hated being late and so this only dampened his already grim mood further. He stepped onto the train quickly with his cello case and bag, and quickly took a seat. The train would take twenty minutes to get to Kanagawa, and then it would take five minutes to get to school, so he'd arrive at 8:50, when tennis practice starts at 8:15.

He scowled in annoyance, trying to let the music in his ears calm him down, but to no avail.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall

Sanada tried to not sigh loudly as he took his place in the main hall with the other third-years, since the hall was divided by year. Rather than go to tennis practice last period, they had to come here to watch the Music Club perform their concert. It was a pointless waste of time, since in his opinion tennis was far more enjoyable. If it were at any other time of the day Sanada would have accepted it, but since it overlapped with his tennis practice, he was decidedly annoyed.

It also didn't help that he hadn't seen Echizen all day. He'd received his message that he was going to be late, but he missed the whole of tennis practice this morning, which did not help at all, since the other regulars decided to use this time to discuss ideas for what to buy to Echizen's birthday. Sanada had tried to get them to return to practice, but even while they were playing they were discussing ideas, and so Sanada just gave up and let them do as they pleased. Sanada had decided a while ago what he would get Echizen, since he knew the freshman very well, and so he had not involved himself in the conversation.

The principal and a tall brunette woman, who Sanada assumed was the coach of the Music Club, stepped onto the stage and did a brief announcement that he paid little attention to, before the large curtain behind them opened, and the Music Club were in their seats, and they began their first piece. Sanada was actually rather impressed with how good they were, since it sounded like a proper classical orchestra, but the annoyance in his gut did not go away.

"Ugh" he heard Marui groan next to him, who folded his arms behind his head, "This is so boring".

"Bunta!" Jackal scolded quietly next to him, and Sanada mentally sighed. The first piece ended, and everyone clapped mechanically, and Sanada's scowl deepened as they started their second piece.

"What's wrong, Genichiro?" Yanagi asked, who was sat next to him, and Sanada grunted.

"There are better things we could be doing than watching the Music Club perform" he stated, and Marui nodded in agreement. Yanagi paused for a moment.

"So you haven't noticed yet" he noted, and Sanada frowned and turned to him.

"I have noticed" Yagyuu claimed, who was next to Yanagi.

"Me too, puri~" Niou added from behind Yagyuu.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Marui asked curiously, and Yanagi turned back to the stage.

"Look at the back-right corner of the stage, the person playing the cello" he ordered, and Sanada, Marui and Jackal all turned to the corner, scanning the stage for the cello. Sanada noticed it, and his eyes widened when he realised who exactly was playing it.

"Echizen!?" Jackal asked shocked, and Yanagi nodded.

"It seems Echizen is a part of the Music Club" he stated.

"Seriously?" Marui asked exasperated, "How could we not know that?"

"Well" Yanagi began, "He probably carries that cello to and from school every day. Echizen takes the train, so we don't see him walk to school, since he is always the last to arrive to tennis practice. The train station is located in the city where there is little housing, so none of us ever walk home in the same direction as him, so it's fair to say that we have not once seen Echzien walk to or from school. If we did, we probably would have seen the cello case"

Sanada watched Echizen for a long time, frowning at this new piece of information.

Why did you never tell me about this?

'Because you never asked' was the obvious reply, and Sanada scowled. He thought he knew Echizen quite well, but this sudden change of events made Sanada realise that actually he did not know Echizen that well after all.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall

Roko felt his mind wander off as he mechanically played the repetitive background notes of the first ten pieces, his fingers aching. He didn't really know how long he was playing for, or what was going on around him, but he just let his consciousness drift away with the melodic sounds around him.

He distantly wondered what the regulars thought; since Roko knew that they didn't know he was part of the Music Club. They probably wouldn't care that much, Marui may ask questions, but overall they wouldn't care. It made him mentally smirk to imagine their shocked faces, and that gave him a sort of uplift from his growing nerves.

Though at the same time he was dreading his solo, which was growing nearer and nearer. The music practically felt like a countdown to his final piece for the school, but in all honesty it felt like a countdown to his own death. He knew that he was over exaggerating things, but he just couldn't calm down no matter what he tried to do.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that Roko didn't even notice that the tenth piece was nearly over and suddenly his heart was in his throat. He was actually rather amazed at how he'd managed to play every piece successfully while not really paying attention at all, but he supposed the pieces were so repetitive he could do it in his sleep.

The tenth piece ended, and the audience clapped again, though Roko felt the praise was unnecessary. As practiced the curtain fell back over the stage, and Yamura-sensei moved towards it and slipped through to address the audience. The rest of the Music Club picked up their chairs and carried them away, whispering 'good luck' to him as they walked past. Roko mentally sighed in exasperation, putting down his bow and cello, picking up his chair and moving it to the centre of the stage, quickly moving back and picking the objects up again and taking his seat. There was a stand placed in front of him already, and Roko unfolded his own composed piece from his pocket and placed it on the stand.

"And now for our final piece of the afternoon" Yamura-sensei began at the opposite side of the curtain, and Roko had the sudden urge to run.

Get it over with, his consciousness ordered, and he mentally sighed in exasperation.

"Our soloist for this concert will be a student with a lot of talent and potential, who I believe will go very far in the world of music" she stated, and Roko mentally shuddered.

Don't look up, look at your piece and at nothing else

"So without further ado, our soloist for this concert will be Echizen Roko" she finished, and Roko tried not to flinch at how there was barely an applause in the audience, the rest of them probably too shocked, only making it worse for him. The curtain opened slowly, and Roko focused on his piece suddenly like it was the centre of the universe. Yamura-sensei moved to the piano at the side of the stage and played a slow melody to accompany the piece, and after the introduction Roko placed the bow on the strings and began to play, forgetting about everything in the world except the paper before him and the music in his ears.

He imagined the looks of shock the third-years had, the looks of amazement from the regulars, and everything else in between, and mentally exhaled as he played, banishing all thoughts from his mind.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall

"So without further ado, our soloist for this concert will be Echizen Roko"

Sanada was stunned, as were the rest of the regulars and most of the hall. He suddenly felt guilt wrack his guts as he noticed how miniscule the applause was, and the curtain opened, revealing Echizen sat alone on the stage with his cello and a piece of paper on the stand in front of him.

What was it that woman said? A student with a lot of talent and potential? Echizen?

Sanada suddenly felt like he was looking at a completely different person. Was Echizen really that good? Had he been part of the Music Club this whole time and no one ever knew? He couldn't understand why, but in that moment he felt so guilty for not knowing, even when he wasn't to blame.

The coach of the Music Club moved to the piano on the stage and began a slow melodic introduction to the piece. Sanada noticed that Marui had dug out his phone and was holding it up to record, but he said nothing.

Echizen placed the bow on the strings and began a series of long, powerful notes that accompanied the piano perfectly. As the piece continued the notes got shorter and louder, and there was not a single pause, with constant changes in the tone and pitch that amazed Sanada. Had Echizen always been this good?

Echizen did not pause for a moment, continuing on with dramatic changes in depth and sound, his hands moving like a blur throughout the whole thing. He somehow looked completely different to the Echizen that Sanada knew, this was a loud, powerful Echizen who did not stop or pause for a moment, the music he played conveying thoughts and feelings Sanada couldn't begin to understand.

It went on for a while, and Sanada somehow felt enrapt in the music, and when the piece finally finished there was a rather shocked silence before a deafening round of applause, and even from the back of the hall Sanada could see Echizen exhale heavily, picking up his cello, bow and paper and walking off the stage.

"Impressive" he heard Yanagi say next to him, and Sanada could only grunt in agreement.

After the concert ended the team decided that they all wanted to talk to Echizen, and so they regrouped with Kirihara in the second-year section of the hall and moved to the stage. The whole way there Kirihara raved about how great Echizen was, and no one disagreed.

They found the coach of the Music Club standing by the curtain watching her club pack up their instruments, and she noticed them and moved towards them.

"May I help you?" she asked. Sanada nodded his head in response.

"We wanted to speak to Echizen" he replied, and the woman smiled.

"Ah, so you must be the Tennis Club regulars" she stated, and Sanada nodded.

"How long has Echizen been a member of the Music Club for?" Yanagi asked, stepping towards her.

"About three or four weeks" she replied casually, and the team spluttered.

"Eh!?" Kirihara cried, "You mean he got that good in four weeks?"

"That's right" she responded calmly, "He's very talented with the cello". The team all paused for a moment.

"I didn't think that Echizen would play a cello" Marui stated after a while, "It doesn't suit him very well". The coach turned to Marui.

"Really?" she asked, "I think it suits him perfectly".

"How so?" Yanagi asked with a raised eyebrow. The coach smiled softly.

"I don't need to know Echizen very well to know he's got a lot bottled up inside of him" she began, and Sanada frowned. Yes, he knew what she meant, remembering his match against Yakuta Ippei.

"I can tell that Echizen wants to speak, he wants to voice his own opinions and say what he wants to. The cello is a large instrument that produces loud, resounding notes, and I think it's perfect for Echizen for that reason. Echizen cannot speak, so he communicates with people through music". She paused.

"Did you know that Echizen never uses pieces from other musicians? He always composes his own. He has a natural talent for it" she stated, and the team stared at her wide-eyed.

"I think Echizen does this so he can personalize his message to people through his music. His music is always loud, powerful, never pausing and always changing. I think Echizen does this because he wants to say exactly what's on his mind, and he does this through the music he composes. He wants all the attention on him when he speaks, and he does not hesitate in what he says. That's why his music is resounding, loud and does not stop. And what better instrument for that kind of music than the cello?"

Sanada didn't know what to say. Everything that the Music Club coach said made perfect sense to him, and once again it felt like they weren't even discussing Echizen anymore. It felt like this entire time he'd never really knew Echizen, and he felt that familiar wracking of his guts again.

At that moment Echizen appeared around the corner with his cello case on his back, and before anyone could say a word Marui moved like a blur, diving straight at him with his arms open.

"Echizzeeennn~" he called as he flew through the air. Sanada's eyes widened as he imagined Marui embracing him in a romantic scene of some sort, or maybe Marui would crush him under his weight.

But rather than Marui hugging Echizen tightly, Echizen quickly took a step to the right, and Marui sailed past him and face planted the ground.

"Bunta!" Jackal called in exasperation, already at his doubles partner's side, helping him up. Echizen looked at the sprawled out Marui with a raised eyebrow, before turning to Sanada confusedly.

"What was that about?"his hands asked, and Sanada smirked despite himself.

"Nothing"