Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

55

Echizen Household

Roko was frowning, not that Ryoma was surprised, considering he was being forced to go to Hyotei for a day. Apparently it was part of some Music Transfer Programme that Ryoma couldn't really care less about, but there was a problem, and that problem was the Monkey King. Ryoma had common sense, and that meant he knew for a fact that Roko would not go the whole day without the Monkey King butting into his business. Especially so if he found out that Roko was a Rikkaidai regular, which he most likely would.

Ryoma didn't really have a problem with the programme itself, but more the school it was located at. At least it was in Tokyo, meaning Roko only had to take the bus rather than the train, since Roko had apparently got permission from the Headmaster to take the public bus rather than supervised transport. Ryoma simply scoffed, since he would never bother getting permission to take the bus.

"Ne, Roko" Ryoma began, and Roko looked up from his breakfast, "When are you going to be back?". Roko paused, putting down his fork and making signs with his hands.

"Earlier than usual" Roko replied, and Ryoma nodded.

"You'll meet the Monkey King today" he declared, and Roko just frowned.

"Just try to avoid him" Ryoma advised, and Roko made signs with his hands.

"How do I know what he looks like?" his hands asked, and Ryoma snorted.

"You'll know him when you see him" he said bluntly, and Roko nodded diligently. Oh, if only he knew Hyotei like he did. Roko had no idea what he was getting himself into.

When it was clear the conversation wouldn't continue Roko picked up his plate and carried it to the counter, placing it next to the sink and leaving the room. He was already dressed and prepared, his cello case by the door, and so he had some time to kill before he had to leave. Ryoma then suddenly remembered what day it was, and he looked up to his brother.

"Roko" Ryoma called, and Roko stopped before he left the room, "You need to water Blue-chan". Roko's eye widened in slight realisation before he nodded and left the room and Ryoma smirked as he picked at his own food.

Ever since Roko's birthday they practically had a new pet in their house, by the name of 'Blue-chan'. It wasn't a living animal or anything, though it was technically alive, but couldn't be counted as a pet. After all, Blue-chan was a cactus.

Apparently Roko had received Blue-chan from his captain on his birthday, and he took uttermost care of it, and not just watering it every 3-4 weeks, but also checking the surrounding temperature was perfect for Blue-chan and measuring the soil PH, even though it was a tiny cactus in a pot. Except Roko loved the thing like a pet, and took care of it religiously. Ryoma was infinitely amused by it, but at the same time he could see the devotion Roko had for it, and he guessed the devotion he had for Blue-chan was linked to his captain. Perhaps he didn't want to let his captain down, but whatever reason Roko loved Blue-chan like a pet and it amused everyone else in the house.

Karupin was rather curious of the new blue object in their house at first, and despite the fact he was a cat, he had the common sense to realise that an object with pointy spines on it should not be touched, and so he just stared at it from afar. It was interesting how Karupin stared at it like a predator, as if he was waiting for it to move so he could pounce, but Ryoma was pretty sure a plant didn't move much, other than growing.

And to why Blue-chan was called Blue-chan, that was because when Roko had brought his gifts home and showed them the blue cactus, which he still remembered surprised everyone including him, their mother had called it adorable and decided it needed a name. Why she decided that, no one knows, but Roko had decided on the simple name of 'Blue-chan'. Blue-chan lived in their shared room next to the radiator, which was adjusted to exactly 46F, which was about 7 degrees.

Ryoma simply smirked again, eating the last of his food in amused thought before picking up his plate, carrying it to the counter and placing it by the sink just as Roko came downstairs, and he nodded to Ryoma, picking up his cello case and heading out the door. Ryoma rolled his eyes, picking up his school bag also by the door and following him out.

Hyotei Gakuen School Grounds

The gates of Hyotei Gakuen were impressive, large and over-bearing, giving off a large sense of wealth and hospitality. Students filtered in through the gates in their brown blazers and black ties, looking at Roko suspiciously and whispering to one another, but Roko had expected that, since he showed up in his Rikkaidai uniform.

Yamura-sensei had told him to meet Sakaki-sensei, the music teacher of Hyotei at the tennis courts. Why the tennis courts Roko wasn't sure, but he couldn't exactly ask for directions without stirring up a meaningless conversation he was in no mood to have, and so he simply walked off in a random direction, moving into the gates and deciding to turn right and go around the main building, since Hyotei had three separate buildings apparently, one for sciences, mathematics and English, and another building for the other subjects. The last building was the dormitories for the students whose parents were busy with work, which Roko imagined in this rich-kid school was quite a lot.

It took a while, but after some aimless wandering he finally heard the familiar sound of a racket making contact with a ball, and Roko instantly changed direction and moved towards the sound. Roko turned a corner and was instantly greeted by the sight of tennis courts all together in a row with no mesh fence between, and large bleachers on all sides of the courts for spectators to watch. Roko scanned the area looking for someone who might resemble a music teacher - in hindsight he probably should have asked what he looked like - and eventually his eyes landed on the only adult he could see in the area. He was sat on a bench on the courts watching the players with his arms folded and his legs crossed, he wore a full brown suit like the blazers of Hyotei students, had short light brown curly hair and a thin moustache. His expression reminded Roko of Sanada, but since he couldn't see anyone else in the area that looked like a teacher he shrugged, shifting his cello case on his shoulder and walked towards him.

He walked around the back of the bleachers, making sure no one spotted him and started a pointless conversation, and noticed the gap in the bleachers in front of him that acted as a doorway in an out of the courts, and so Roko turned and walked into the tennis courts.

Only to almost collide head-on with someone in front of him, but thanks to Sanada's rigorous training Roko was fast enough to stop before he ran right into this person.

"Ahn?~" the person asked, "Who are you?". Roko looked up at the person, and immediately noted the fact that his hair was grey, and styled to look something akin to a bad moustache on his head. He had deep blue eyes, a sharp nose, thin lips and a spot on his right cheek, which was kind of distracting. The person in front of him frowned.

"Oi, Ore-sama was talking to you" he declared, and Roko frowned. Did he really just call himself 'Ore-sama'? Roko mentally sighed, and rather than trying to explain to this guy he couldn't talk, Roko simply stepped around him, continuing on like nothing had happened. Almost immediately he felt a tight grip on his shoulder, and Roko glanced over his shoulder at the annoyed guy with grey hair behind him.

"You're not from this school" he stated, "Who are you? Are you a spy? You must be here to watch Ore-sama's brilliance"

If Roko could laugh he probably would have laughed in this idiot narcissist's face, but unfortunately he could only mentally cackle at him and smile in slight amusement. 'Ore-sama', as Roko decided to call him, scowled in annoyance at him.

"What is it that you find so funny?" he demanded, and Roko rolled his eye, shrugging his shoulder, throwing off his hand and continuing on.

"Oi!" he heard Ore-sama shout, but Roko just continued on like he hadn't spoken. He immediately entered the tennis courts, noting the amount of players dressed in grey and white tennis uniforms playing games. Roko scanned the area and spotted the man in the brown suit on the bench, and he moved towards him, and suddenly another person was in front of him.

"Heh?" the guy asked confusedly, "Who are you?". This guy was shorter than Ore-sama, he looked quite thin, had red-brown hair that was cut in a bowl-style shape and trimmed at the front, deep brown eyes and a pointed noise.

"Oh? Who is this, Gakuto?" another voice asked, which Roko noted sounded disturbingly calm, quite like Yanagi's, and he turned to note another guy who was taller with deep blue hair, had thin glasses balanced on his dainty nose and had paler brown eyes.

"I have no idea, Yuushi" the guy in front of Roko responded, and Roko frowned.

"Ahn~ Mukahi, I see you've met our guest" came the voice of Ore-sama, and Roko half-glanced over his shoulder to see him standing there with his arms folded. So he was surrounded by three idiots now, when his destination was literally fifteen feet away. Roko mentally sighed in annoyance, keeping a calm expression. The guy with red hair frowned and leaned forward.

"So who are you?" he asked intrudingly, and Roko mentally rolled his eyes. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

"He doesn't seem like the social type" the taller guy, who Roko noted was named 'Yuushi', observed. Roko then felt an already familiar grip on his shoulder, the grip of Ore-sama.

"Ore-sama demands you talk to him!" Ore-sama declared, and Roko frowned at him over his shoulder.

"You'll know the Monkey King when you see him" Ryoma had said. This guy, Ore-sama, was definitely the so-called Monkey King, the Captain of the Hyotei Gakuen Regulars. Roko only noticed now that the three people surrounding him were wearing similar grey and white jerseys, meaning they were all regulars.

Roko simply sighed mentally, wondering how exactly he could get out of this situation.

"Eh? Who's that, Atobe-buchou?" came a soft voice, and suddenly a tall guy with silver hair, pale blue eyes and soft features appeared next to the red-head, wearing the exact same regulars jersey. Before Roko could even respond another voice came.

"Oi Choutarou, who's that?" came a deeper voice, and suddenly a shorter guy with very short black hair and a cap on his head backwards appeared next to the tall guy, again, with the exact same jersey.

Where are all these people coming from!? Were Roko's only thoughts, as he was now surrounded by the curious stares of five Hyotei regulars.

"Eh?" the tallest one noted with his soft voice, "He has a cello case on his back" he observed, and Roko was dimly surprised that he could tell what instrument it was.

"He's probably here to see the coach" the blue-haired guy stated, and Roko felt a dim glimmer of hope for a moment that he might escape.

"Oi!" came Ore-sama's voice, "Do not ignore Ore-sama!" he ordered, and Roko half-glanced at him from over his shoulder, and Ore-sama scowled in annoyance.

"Who are you and what school do you go to?" he demanded. Roko mentally sighed, noting the curious and annoyed glances of the rest of the regulars watching him, and rather than answering Roko decided to simply step forward, and on instinct the red-head and the silver-haired guy moved out the way, and Roko continued on his destination to the brown-suited man.

"Kabaji" came Ore-sama's voice, and Roko took half a step more before he was lifted into the air suddenly, and Roko felt a warm breath on his neck, and he turned his neck to look into the lifeless deep brown eyes of a giant.

"Now" Ore-sama continued, his voice laced with annoyance, though Roko didn't so much as glance at him, "Tell us your name"

How can I when this guy is holding me in the air? Roko thought irritably. He continued to stare into the eyes of the giant holding him in the air, and Roko was rather surprised at how empty his eyes were. There was nothing in his eyes, happiness, sadness, obedience, it was just void. Roko cocked his head almost curiously, staring intently into his eyes, matching his statue-like expression with his own hollow mask.

"Atobe, what are you doing?" came a final voice, much deeper, and Roko turned around in hope, almost smiling in joy that the brown-suited man had noticed them and had stood up, watching them inquisitively.

"Coach!" Ore-sama - or Atobe, as he was apparently called - exclaimed, "We caught this spy and he refuses to speak to us!". The apparent coach glanced at Atobe for a moment, his arms folded, and then looked back at Roko, staring at him for a moment, and Roko returned the flat stare.

"Kabaji, put him down" he ordered, and almost instantly Roko was back on the ground and he frowned, readjusting the strap of his cello case on his shoulder. The brown-suited man took a step forward, and Roko noted how the regulars who had surrounded him before were watching like an audience.

"You must be here for the Music Transfer Programme" the brown-suited man observed, and Roko nodded. He dimly remembered a slip he had received from Yamura-sensei, and he reached into his pocket and took out the folded slip, handing it to the man, who took it and scanned it quickly before nodding to himself and looking back at Roko.

"Welcome to Hyotei Gakuen, Echizen Roko" he said.

Hyotei Gakuen Tennis Courts

Atobe froze.

Echizen?

Echizen Roko?

That brat freshman prodigy of Seigaku had a brother?

Atobe quickly regained his composure, putting on his cocky mask, noting how the rest of the team were looking at the back of the freshman wide-eyed, even Oshitari looked dimly surprised.

"Echizen?" Ootori gasped, and the brat half-turned to him and rose an eyebrow.

"You're that brat's brother?" Mukahi demanded, taking a step forward and leaning forward to him, and the brat simply stared at him, not responding at all, much to Atobe's annoyance. That boy was just like his brother, being such an ignorant brat to Ore-sama, of all people! The brat simply turned back to Sakaki-kantoku, and he paused and then frowned at Echizen.

"Ah yes, Yamura-sensei informed me of your condition" he stated, and Atobe blinked. Condition?

"Excuse me, Sakaki-sensei" Ootori interrupted, taking a step forward, "What did you mean by the Music Transfer Programme?". Atobe frowned, since he was also curious about that, and Sakaki-kantoku cleared his throat.

"It's a system where talented music students are sent to various schools with better music programmes for the chance of getting a scholarship. Echizen-san has come here today from Rikkaidai Fuzoku in Kanagawa" he explained bluntly, and everyone stopped, even Atobe, as he just stared.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku?

This brat goes to Rikkaidai Fuzoku?

And then it clicked.

"You" Atobe stated, and the brat turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"You're the Speed Demon of Rikkaidai" he declared, and the brat frowned. Atobe smiled in amusement; since it was clear the brat had no idea what he was talking about.

"There are rumours circulating around Tokyo of a new freshman regular in Rikkaidai" Atobe explained, "They say he can move impossibly fast, and is the fastest regular in Rikkaidai, and so they dubbed him the Speed Demon of Rikkaidai. Judging by the fact that you're an Echizen, I'd say that was you, am I wrong?"

The brat before him did not even blink at his statement, looking at Atobe for a brief moment before nodding once, and Atobe scowled despite how the brat answered him.

"Oi, answer Ore-sama when he is talking to you!" he demanded.

"Enough Atobe, Echizen-san is mute" Sakaki-kantoku stated bluntly, and for the third time in the past minute Atobe's eyes widened. He heard a slight gasp from Ootori, and he could see even Oshitari was surprised by this. Atobe quickly regained his composure, smiling cockily and in interest.

"Ahn~ so you can't speak" he observed, but the brat didn't even turn to acknowledge him.

"Enough, I'm taking Echizen-san to the music room. Atobe, take over for now" Sakaki-kantoku ordered, and before Atobe could even respond he was walking away, the brat in tow with his cello case on his back. Atobe scowled at his back, and suddenly Oshitari was next to him.

"That was an interesting event" he observed, pushing his fake glasses up his face.

"It was" Atobe agreed, "To think the Speed Demon of Rikkaidai is here, and not only is he mute but he is also an Echizen"

"You're going to play him, aren't you?" Oshitari asked.

"Of course Ore-sama will" Atobe replied as if it was obvious.

"But Atobe-buchou" Ootori added, "Echizen is here for the music programme, not tennis"

"Ore-sama does not care" Atobe dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Ore-sama will play Echizen Roko"

"You're such an idiot" Shishido muttered, shaking his head in disapproval, but Atobe didn't even glance at him.

"Kabaji" he called, and suddenly his giant companion was next to him, "Find Hiyoshi and Jirou. We're going to play practice matches"

"Usu" was Kabaji's only reply, and he simply walked away.

"Mou, things are about to get interesting" Mukahi stated with a wide smile, and Atobe nodded.

"They will, but until then, everyone five laps around the court!"

Hyotei Gakuen Music Hall

Sakaki Taro had been dimly surprised when he had turned, hearing the sound of Atobe's annoyed voice, only to find Kabaji holding the transfer student he had been expecting in the air while Atobe demanded for him to speak. He mentally sighed, ordering Kabaji to release the boy, and the boy handed him the slip of paper, with his name, date of birth and current school.

Of course Sakaki was even more shocked by the name, since his team had lost because of Echizen Ryoma just yesterday in the Regionals. However in a few moments he decided that relation did not matter, since it was not Echizen Ryoma in front of him, and so he had no quarrel, and he kept his face perfectly blank as he greeted Echizen Roko, unsurprised at the expected gasps from his regulars. Deciding to lead the boy away, he left Atobe in charge and led the second Echizen away.

He had received a recommendation from Yamura-sensei of Rikkaidai Fuzoku just several days ago, and Yamura-sensei fed what he needed to know about Echizen Roko's musical talent. Apparently he had only started playing an instrument several months ago and was already playing at the level of members in her club who had been playing for years. He played the cello, and his special talent was for composing music. Sakaki simply digested the information and nodded to himself once, his face not changing a millimetre. He did not decide anything, because a person's talent could not truly be testified by him until he had seen it himself. It was his personal philosophy: I'll believe it when I see it. The fact that he was also a regular for Rikkaidai Fuzoku was also surprising, but Sakaki wasn't overly surprised, since Ootori was exactly the same: talented in music and tennis. But again, Sakaki did not show his surprise at this boy.

Talented in music, a regular of Rikkaidai Fuzoku, mute, the brother of Echizen Ryoma and the apparent Speed Demon of Rikkaidai. Echizen Roko appeared to be full of surprises.

But what mattered right now was his musical talent, and Sakaki looked down at the boy in front of him with a passive but silently critical glance, and the boy just matched his gaze passively.

"I have been told you have a talent for composing music" he declared, and the boy in front of him simply nodded.

"Do you have any pieces with you?" he asked, and the boy nodded, slipping an arm out of his cello case strap quickly and placing the case on the floor, undoing the clasps and opening the case, and Sakaki noted how the cello inside was polished and shining. Interesting. The boy reached into a pocket inside the case and withdrew sheets of paper, standing up and handing them to Sakaki. Sakaki took them without a word and scanned them, reading the notes and decoding them in his head, playing the piece in his mind. After a while he nodded to himself and handed it back to the boy.

"Play it for me" he ordered, and the boy did not hesitate to pull up a stool and reach for his cello case.

Sakaki just watched, interested in this boy's talent. This programme was all about finding the best students for Hyotei Gakuen, and while in most areas they were looking for skill, in music they were looking for potential. While they sounded similar, the difference between skill and potential was great. Sakaki was looking for the best potential; skill was not so much required since they would obviously be taught by him, and so the skill could be cultivated lately. The entire focus of this was finding the students with the most potential. Echizen Roko was untapped potential, but how far he could go Sakaki wasn't sure. It was clear he had it, but whether he had enough for the high standards of Hyotei was debatable.

The boy sat down on the stool, carefully placing the cello in front of him and drawing his bow, placing it on the strings and half-glancing at Sakaki as permission to begin. Sakaki simply nodded, and the boy placing the bow on the strings and began to play.

His music, as Sakaki had already discovered, was rather interesting. The traditional pieces of the cello were slow and contained low notes, but Echizen's music - as Yamura-sensei had said - was very unorthodox, in the sense that his music was fast-paced for such a large instrument, and his notes were a range of high and low, loud and powerful at the same time. It was rather interesting also how Echizen's expression changed when he played. From what Sakaki could tell the normally passive mask he had had suddenly dropped, and he looked calm and at peace, rather than passive and blank. The music continued for a while, and Sakaki did not move a millimetre in muscle or expression, watching the boy play, until it finally stopped, and the boy simply regained his passive mask and half-glanced at Sakaki.

"I will have several more tests for you to perform, including a duet with Ootori" Sakaki stated bluntly, not giving the vaguest idea of his own thoughts, and the boy simply nodded.

"Good" he said, "I have several pieces with me, and I want you to try playing them"

The boy simply nodded passively again, neither of them letting their masks drop or let the other know what they were thinking.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Library

It was almost funny how bored Sanada was. Echizen had told him that he would be missing school today because of his dedication to Music Club, saying no more and not answering any of his questions, and so Sanada had no idea where he was. It was almost alien to have his free period back, and for a short while Sanada completely forgot what exactly he used to do in his free period, and then he remembered he had homework, and homework used to come first in his free periods before they were taken away.

Except this homework was English homework and though Sanada had plenty of Echizen's tutelage he was still unsure of some of the vocabulary, since they had begun a new topic in English class. It made him frown in annoyance, and he tried to wrap his head around the words but to no avail.

It then occurred to Sanada that he was in a library, a place where they had English dictionaries, and suddenly he felt like an idiot. He had been relying on Echizen too much for his English grades, and this new revelation confirmed it, since he never once considered using a dictionary when Echizen was around, since he probably knew as much as the dictionary anyway.

And so he was scowling at this annoying tiny book in front of him, trying to find the correct words in the alphabetically ordered pages. It was so stupid that he was scowling because he was being independent for once, but he couldn't deny the fact that Echizen would be far more useful in this situation, and technically he wasn't being 'independent' with a dictionary in front of him.

"You seem bothered, Genichiro" came Yanagi's familiar voice, and Sanada looked up and made sort-of eye contact with Yanagi's closed eyes, and he scowled at him.

"I am fine, Yanagi" he deadpanned, and Yanagi's gaze didn't falter for a second.

"You're concerned for Echizen" he stated more than asked, and Sanada frowned.

"I am not concerned for him, Yanagi. He can do as he pleases" he stated bluntly.

"Is that why you want him back here rather than doing whatever he is doing?" Yanagi asked, and Sanada fought to keep a glare from his eyes.

"Do you want something?" he asked in annoyance.

"Can I not be concerned for you as a friend, Genichiro?" Yanagi returned calmly, cocking his head at an angle. Sanada simply frowned deeper.

"What do you want Yanagi?" he asked, and Yanagi simply sighed.

"Seiichi's operation will be in less than three weeks" he stated after a while, and Sanada narrowed his eyes.

"I am aware" he deadpanned.

"Then you should also be aware that when Seiichi returns we will have a problem" Yanagi stated, and Sanada paused.

"What is it? He asked curiously.

"People still believe that Echizen is the cause of Seiichi's disorder" Yanagi declared, and Sanada frowned. He understood immediately what Yanagi meant by that.

"They will do everything in their power to protect Seiichi, and probably the rest of us, from Echizen" he said.

"Yukimura can simply convince them that it wasn't Echizen's fault" Sanada stated.

"We have been trying that for the past few months, Genichiro, do you honestly believe that they will believe Seiichi after one attempt?" Yanagi asked.

"He is the Child of God" Sanada stated.

"You are the Emperor, Genichiro" Yanagi returned, "I am the Data Master, Jackal is the Iron Wall of Defense, Marui is the Genius, Niou is the Trickster, Yagyuu is the Gentleman, Akaya is the Devil and Echizen is just the mute boy".

They shared a long period of silence, in which they simply matched blank gazes, before Sanada finally sighed, ignoring his English homework entirely.

"We'll figure something out" he muttered.

"I hope we do" Yanagi said before walking out of the library like nothing had happened.

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