Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

45

Good news! I have winter assessments next week, which means studying all weekend! Woo!

Yeah, this isn't a very 'woo' moment.

Kanagawa General Hospital

Yukimura sat up in his hospital bed with a garden catalogue in front of him, reading out the newest selections they had available for flowers and cacti. It occurred to Yukimura earlier that morning that though he knew little about Echizen, he did know one thing, he liked blue. Whilst that wasn't much to go on, Yukimura was the type of person who preferred to add his own personal touch to his gifts to others, and so he was browsing the catalogue in hopes of finding the perfect kind of plant, one that didn't require constant attention, not too tall, not too short, could survive for a long time, and was blue.

Most people would find this idea totally ridiculous, but to Yukimura it made perfect sense. He liked to give his gifts some sort of signature - a personal stamp that verified that it was really from him, and Yukimura loved gardening above a lot of things, so a potted plant made sense to him.

He browsed through the catalogue animatedly in the hopes of finding a gift, whilst occasionally glancing at the sign language book he had on the table next to him. He desperately wanted Echizen to visit him soon, since he wanted to practice his sign language with him, and since he had never been able to talk with him about the video of his cello solo that Marui sent. To say Yukimura was impressed was an understatement, but he supposed he'd only truly known Echizen for half a day, so he shouldn't have felt guilty over it. But he was, because he felt like he barely knew Echizen, which was true. He didn't know much, if anything, about his freshman prodigy, and it bothered him that he knew so little.

So in a way this was Yukimura's method of making up to Echizen for his lack of knowledge on him. It wasn't intentional, and frankly it was rather irrational that he was doing this, but at the same time Yukimura felt like he needed to in order to gain Echizen's friendship, because his teammates were his friends, even if tennis was all about winning to him.

Yukimura stopped when he noticed a cactus on the page of the catalogue, and he looked at it for a moment. It was a picture of a sky blue cactus in a small plant pot with quite large brown spines protruding out from it. It was a blue cactus. Yukimura smiled widely as he scanned the information of the plant below.

Pilosocereus Pachycladus.

Grows up to 6-40 feet

Only needs to be watered every 3-4 weeks, and when the soil is dry

Prefers temperatures over 45F and average humidity

Originates from North-East Brazil

Flower is a white and green funnel-shape

Commonly referred to as the 'Blue Candle'

Yukimura hummed thoughtfully. Whilst the part about it growing to 6-40 feet would be troublesome, it would take years before it reached that height if it was small enough. The ones in the catalogue were advertised to only be one foot tall, so they were likely fresh, and the judging by the picture Yukimura would say it was one foot, and it looked a vibrant sky blue.

This will be perfect, he thought as he scanned the picture of the blue cactus on last time, and then nodded to himself.

Definitely, he decided, and scanned the order number on the bottom before picking up his phone and calling the gardening store. There was an answer after two rings.

"Hello?" came a young woman's voice.

"Hello" Yukimura replied, "I would like to place an order under 'Yukimura'". The woman on the phone hummed in acknowledgement and she paused, probably writing down the name.

"And what would you like to order?" she asked when she was finished.

"Number 0175" Yukimura replied, and the woman paused again, and Yukimura heard the flipping of a book through the phone.

"Here it is" she said after a while, "Pilosocereus Pachycladus"

"That's right" Yukimura said.

"In that case we can have your order ready to pick up by five in the afternoon" the woman replied, and Yukimura smiled widely.

"Thank you" he replied, "I'll send someone to pick it up"

"Thank you for doing business" the woman replied, and then she hung up, and Yukimura smiled excitedly as he put his phone down. He could send his parents or sister to pick it up later, and Yukimura could have it ready by the evening.

Kuwahara Ramen Shop

So what is it like in Brazil?

From: Echizen Roko

Jackal smiled softly at Echizen's question. They had a nice conversation going, since Echizen had texted him just as he returned from the shoe store with Echizen's gift. They started talking about general things, plans for holidays, stuff like that, and then they got onto the topic of their family and Echizen developed an interest in Jackal's home country. His Brazilian father had met his Japanese mother when she came to Brazil on a university exchange trip, and his mother ended up staying in Brazil with his father, and Jackal lived in Brazil with them for ten years before they moved to Japan.

Brazil was a nice place, though sometimes it could be too hot even for him, so moving to Japan was a nice change, but the winters like this one were just unbearable for him and his family, who had adapted to hot climates. Jackal rarely left the house because of it, and made sure to drink plenty of tea and hot drink when it was offered. It wasn't that he disliked Japan, but he'd much rather spend the winter in Brazil rather than in his room with a thick sheet of snow outside.

It's hot, very hot. This snow makes me miss Brazil so much

From: Jackal Kuwahara

If it wasn't for the fact that Jackal's dad owned a ramen shop now he'd have probably begged to leave this forsaken white-coated country and return to Brazil forever, but his father had started up a business several months after they arrived in Japan to get a better idea of the culture, with help from his mother, so Jackal was now stranded here. He sighed in exasperation, wondering how much colder it would get before his parents would change their minds.

His phone chimed in his hand, and Jackal looked at his new message.

I take it you don't like the snow?

From: Echizen Roko

That was definitely an understatement, and Jackal replied with a frown.

You're lucky, since you're used to this kind of weather. Meanwhile I'm sat here wrapped in a sweater and a scarf in my own house because in Brazil we never had weather below fifteen degrees

From: Jackal Kuwahara

Jackal sighed as he put his phone down and leaned into the comforting feeling of his woollen scarf, since he was actually wearing a sweater and scarf in his own house. He honestly hated this weather with a passion, and Jackal couldn't wait for spring to come so he could stop looking so ridiculous with this thick woollen sweater.

His phone chimed again, and Jackal picked it up.

I'll be sure to bring a blanket the next time I see you, you might need it

From: Echizen Roko

Jackal chuckled amusedly at Echizen's statement.

Yes, please bring one, I need all the warmth I can get

From: Jackal Kuwahara

Jackal liked it when Echizen was texting him. He was talkative, and Jackal could actually hold a decent conversation with him. He was at first surprised how talkative Echizen was, but then he reasoned that he probably had a lot on his mind since he couldn't speak, so it was fair that he was more talkative than most people over text, though Jackal still couldn't quite get his head around the fact that he wasn't having a one-sided conversation with the freshman, since that was all he ever had with him. He was glad Echizen had texted him.

His phone chimed again, and Jackal scanned the message.

I will, I'll make sure of it. You know how entertaining it is to imagine you curled up in a ball in a sweater and scarf?

From: Echizen Roko

Jackal snorted as he replied.

Believe me, it's far more pathetic in person

From: Jackal Kuwahara

His phone chimed a moment later.

You're quite self-critical

From: Echizen Roko

Jackal just rolled his eyes.

If you looked in the mirror and realised you were drinking a cup of steaming tea wearing a woollen sweater and scarf in your own house, and you were still shivering, you'd feel quite pathetic too

From: Jackal Kuwahara

His phone chimed almost immediately.

I'll bring two blankets

From: Echizen Roko

Jackal chuckled amusedly. It seemed Echizen was feeling sorry for him, not that he cared, if it meant he got extra blankets.

Sanada Residence

When the delivery man had knocked on his front door with Sanada's parcel in hand, he was there and opened the door in an instant, doing his best to contain his eagerness as the delivery man jumped back in fright. Sanada pointedly ignored his sudden fright and signed the paperwork quickly, taking the parcel and closing the door, moving into his room in an instant. Normally he would be scolded for running in the house, but his grandfather was meditating at the moment, so Sanada couldn't care less.

He moved into his room and placed the cardboard box on his bed, moving back out of his room to the kitchen quickly, and retrieved a decent-sized knife and returned to his room. He quickly inserted the knife and cut away at the tape, careful not to damage the object within, slitting around the edges, and then opening the box carefully and checking that the object within was exactly what he ordered. He nodded to himself in confirmation, and then moved back into the kitchen and put the knife away, before moving back to his room.

He stopped when he realised his mother was standing in his room examining the box curiously, and she turned to Sanada when he entered.

"Ah, Genichiro" she said, her eyes softening, "What was all that running around about?" she asked, and Sanada blushed involuntarily. It occurred to him that maybe he was a bit too excited about his package, and so Sanada looked at his wall with sudden interest.

"Nothing" he replied awkwardly, still focusing on the wall, and his mother smiled amusedly.

"Oh? Then what's this?" she asked, pointing to the half-opened box on Sanada's bed, and Sanada coughed awkwardly.

"A package" he replied bluntly, still not looking at his mother. Dammit, why did she have to walk in?

"I can see that" his mother replied amusedly, "But what's in it?". Sanada paused.

"Echizen's gift" he said awkwardly, and his mother smiled wider.

"Oh?" she asked, "Genichiro, I've never known you to care about someone so much before, not even Yukimura-san" she stated.

"Mother" Sanada coughed awkwardly, and he could see her chuckle slightly.

"What's in the box?" she asked lightly, and Sanada continued to stare at the wall. His mother took that as a sign and ignored him and opened the box herself, and Sanada moved to stop her. Sanada's mother's eyes widened when she saw what was inside, and she smiled softly as she looked up to Sanada, who was frozen to the spot in embarrassment. Was his gift too bland? Boring?

"Genichiro, how much did this cost you?" she asked softly, and Sanada blushed and looked away again.

"Quite a lot" he replied, not wanting to tell her exactly how much it had cost. Sanada's mother smiled at his reaction.

"Well, it must be more than you're letting on" she stated, and Sanada did not reply.

"I think this is wonderful, Echizen-kun will love this" she said with a wide smile, and Sanada looked up to her unbelieving.

"Really?" he asked tightly, still feeling rather embarrassed. Sanada's mother nodded her head softly in response, and Sanada felt the worry lift off his shoulders.

"I do" she replied, "But you might not want to let your grandfather know exactly how much this cost, so you might want to hide it" she advised, the warm smile never leaving her face. Sanada nodded in acknowledgement, and Sanada's mother nodded to herself.

"Just be careful, you don't want to damage it" she advised before she left the room, and Sanada waited until the door closed before sighing loudly in relief and moving toward the box. Thankfully the objects were coated in styrofoam pellets, so none of them were damaged, and Sanada lifted the box carefully and placed it under his bed, sliding it towards the back, and he mentally sighed in relief. He was worried that with the snow his package may never have arrived on time, but it had, despite this bad weather, and so Sanada felt far happier than usual. He was now really looking forward to Echizen's birthday.

Downtown Kanagawa

Kirihara smiled widely as he browsed through the various kinds of gear on offer at the tennis store. Thankfully because Christmas had just passed most stores still had their Christmas sales going, which made what Kirihara was looking for within his budget. Though he was here for Echizen's gift, he couldn't help but browse the various tennis rackets and shoes they had, and he smiled widely at the thought of owning them himself.

Stop it, you're here for Echizen, his mind reminded him, and Kirihara frowned but nodded to himself, moving away from the tennis rackets and toward the section where the store sold grip tape and power weights.

He moved to the section, and almost instantly saw what he was looking for. On the shelf were two power wrists and two power ankles on half-price, deep blue and white striped, and with a total of ten pockets on each to occupy 1kg iron bars for weight training, which meant the wearer could have a total of 40kg on them. Kirihara was pretty sure Echizen wouldn't go that far, but he supposed it helped for building up stamina, since he could increase the number of weights when he wanted.

Kirihara smiled widely, picking up the box that contained the four blue power bands and the forty iron bars that came in the box, and moved to the counter to pay when he noticed a sign.

Buy one item; get another free, the sign said, and Kirihara smiled as he turned back to the shelves. He immediately noticed the types of grip tape that were available, but Kirihara decided he wouldn't buy blue, since a blue racket would clash with the regulars' uniform. He decided to buy a durable black grip tape, and he picked it up, moving to the counter happily with his two new objects.

Downtown Kanagawa

Meanwhile down the street Niou was busy scrolling through the various posters in the music store. He didn't know much about English music, but one thing he did know was that this store was the only place that sold English music in the area, so hopefully they had what he was looking for. He was looking for a poster of the bird-man on the album cover that Echizen showed him last week, and he would find it.

He distantly wondered how the rest of the team were doing with their gift-hunting. He knew that most of the team definitely had gifts, the only people he wasn't sure about were Yukimura and Yanagi, but they probably both had their gifts planned too. Sanada he was also sure of, but he had never once mentioned what his gift was; just continually saying 'I already decided what to get him'. Niou smirked at the thought, since he could never imagine Sanada buying any sort of thoughtful gift, since he was the mean taskmaster of a temporary captain of the tennis team.

Niou stopped when he recognized an image he had unconsciously scrolled through, and he quickly turned back to it, his grin almost reaching his ears when he recognized the man-bird he saw last week. He checked the name at the top to make sure, and even though it was in English, Niou recognized the name. This was what he was looking for.

Niou scanned the number at the bottom, and nodded to himself, moving to the stacks of rolled-up paper behind him and pulling out the correct numbered poster, checking the poster inside to make sure they matched, before moving to the counter to pay for it.

Downtown Kanagawa

Yagyuu scanned the bookstore sharply, searching for an appropriate book for Echizen. After their conversation took a rather dramatic turn they had settled into a comfortable talk about their reading interests, and whilst Yagyuu preferred classical literature, Echizen liked more modern authors; trilogies, series of books, stories that constantly continued and had you on the edge awaiting the next. Yagyuu came to the conclusion from that that Echizen was a fan of suspense-kind of novels, and so he decided he would find a suspense-style book.

He sort of knew what he was looking for, since he wanted the book to be in Japanese and to preferably be something Yagyuu had already read, to make the task easier. He knew of several very interesting books he had read that fit that description, and so he was in search of one of those.

He scanned the shelves back and forth, looking for the 'R' section, since the store had its books in alphabetical order, before he finally found the section and quickly searched for what he was looking for.

Yagyuu saw it, and almost immediately snatched it away and held it in his hands, scanning the cover and blurb to be certain. This was it, the book that he decided Echizen would like. It was a book called 'Red Lilies', based in the time of the Japanese Samurai Wars. It is told from the perspective of an emperor's beautiful young daughter whose empire is taken over by a rebel clan, and the daughter escapes as her father is murdered in front of her. The story is based around her falling unconscious and waking up in an unknown village where no one knows who she is, and she must train to fight in order to take back her empire with the help of her father's neighbouring empire against the rebels.

Yagyuu smiled widely. This would be perfect for Echizen, and he unconsciously pushed his glasses up his face as he moved to the counter to pay for it.