Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

33

He coughed lowly despite himself, but thankfully no one noticed.

"I am going to skin that cat alive" Niou claimed, the anger in his face suddenly back.

"That cat. Attacked. My. Rat Tail" he spat, clenching his fists, and Yagyuu was now using all of his willpower to hold back his amusement.

"That's enough Niou" Sanada ordered, "You can chase after the cat later, we have to go to class". Niou scowled at him but nodded in acceptance, and Yagyuu thankfully felt some of the laughter he was containing drift away. Niou stormed out of the room, leaving the stunned regulars in his wake, and suddenly Marui and Kirihara burst into laughter. Yagyuu couldn't help it, and chuckled lowly into his hand.

"Yagyuu, I've never seen you laugh before" Yanagi noted, watching Yagyuu's chuckle curiously, and Yagyuu abruptly stopped.

"I have never seen you laugh either, Yanagi" he replied softly, his voice cracking ever so slightly from supressed laughter. Yanagi seemed to notice this and the corners of his lips curved into a small smile.

Yagyuu quickly decided that being the gentleman that he was, it would improper to leave his best friend in the rage he was in, and so he quickly left in search of him, half because he cared for Niou and half because that smile of Yanagi's was rather creepy.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts

Sanada watched his team play with a growing headache. It seemed that that cat was all anyone could talk about. Yanagi had done his research, and had somehow concluded that the owner of the cat was a member of the tennis club. Apparently it was because, according to Yanagi, the first thing a lost cat does is try to find its owner by smell, and the first person who spotted it was Kirihara in the regulars clubroom, so he concluded the owner was part of the club.

Sanada honestly couldn't care less about this cat, but it was interfering with his team, which was unacceptable. Echizen seemed to be the only person who could focus, but that was probably because he couldn't engage in conversation even if he wanted to, so Sanada left it.

He was sat on a bench by the forest-area next to the tennis courts, watching the regulars play when an abrupt meow cut in. He turned sharply to the sound, and was very surprised to see the very same cat staring at him with curious eyes. Sanada froze for a moment, and the cat took that opportunity to jump onto the bench Sanada was sat on and rub his head on him.

Sanada suddenly felt extremely awkward, with the furry purring cat affectionately rubbing his head on his arm, when Sanada did not own the cat or know its owner. He wasn't sure what to do, and so he awkwardly reached for the cat with his other hand and started to pet the soft fur on its head, which the cat purred louder at and leaned into Sanada's touch. For some reason Sanada blushed, and he continued to awkwardly pet the cat.

"Oy, it's that cat!"

Sanada looked up sharply to see his team watching him with large eyes, and Yanagi moved forward immediately, the cat ignoring his presence and continuing to rub his head on Sanada's arm.

"Genichiro, you never told me you had a cat" he noted, watching the cat quizzically, and Sanada coughed into his free hand awkwardly.

"I don't" he replied curtly, and Yanagi frowned at his response.

"Then whose is it?" he wondered out loud, and Sanada couldn't help but share his thoughts.

The cat suddenly looked up sharply, which attracted the two's attention, and in an instant the cat shot away like a rocket, much to their surprise.

"Oy, you're not getting away!" Niou cried, suddenly chasing after the cat, which turned around the corner of the regular's clubhouse, Niou following behind by several seconds. Yanagi and Sanada watched for a moment longer before they turned to each other, sharing looks of confusion.

"Tarundarou..." he unconsciously muttered.

Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts

Roko was stuck between being relieved and being annoyed that he found his cat rubbing his head on Sanada so affectionately. It seemed Karupin had taken a new liking to Sanada, and Roko suddenly felt like a third wheel, even if there was no real justification behind it.

He could tell by Niou's shout that he was angry, for what reason, Roko wasn't sure, but he decided he needed to take Karupin back before anything else happened.

Unnoticed by everyone including Karupin, Roko slipped carefully towards the regular clubhouse, moving around the corner and looking back, making sure no one saw him. He then snapped his fingers once, and then disappeared around the corner. As expected, Karupin had heard with his large ears, and in an instant he was at the corner, staring up at Roko with large eyes before he jumped at him. Roko allowed him to, and quickly stuffed Karupin up his regulars jacket, not for one moment thinking he might suffocate the cat, before pretending to walk towards the water fountain nearby.

Niou appeared in front of him a moment later, and Roko hoped he didn't notice the slight bulge in his jacket.

"Oy, Echizen, did you see that cat?" he demanded, and Roko put on his best fake frown before shaking his head. Niou scowled before running off in search of Karupin, and when Niou was gone, Roko unzipped the top of his jacket, allowing Karupin's head to pop out, and Roko couldn't help but mentally 'awww' at how cute he looked with his head sticking out of his jacket.

"Ahem"

Roko froze, and then slowly turned to face every one of the regulars, all looking at him with either a scowl or an amused smirk. Karupin was of no help, meowing loudly at the sight of them, particularly Sanada.

"So this is your cat, Echizen" Yanagi stated, and Roko nodded once in defeat. Yanagi pursed his lips.

"Ah, that explains why he likes Genichiro so much" he noted, and Roko raised an eyebrow, as did the rest of the team.

"What do you mean, Yanagi?" Marui asked, popping his apple bubble-gum loudly.

"Remember how I said that cats look for their owners by smell?" Yanagi asked, and the team nodded confusedly.

"Well" Yanagi continued, "Since Genichiro spends a lot of time with Echizen, it's fair to say he picked up some of Echizen's scent, yes?" he asked, and the entire team's eyes widened in realisation, and they all looked at Karupin in shock.

"So since Sanada spends so much time with Echizen, the cat decided it liked him?" Jackal asked from the background, and Yanagi nodded.

"So it seems"

Roko, for one, was rather shocked himself. It seemed Karupin was pretty smart after all, but not smart enough to distinguish Sanada's scent from his, which made him scowl in annoyance.

"Ne, Echizen, what's its name?" Kirihara asked, stepping forward, and Roko spelt out Karupin's name with his hands, adding something on the end.

"Karupin" Sanada translated, "And he's a boy". The team nodded and smiled softly at the cat.

"That's a cute name" Marui added, and Karupin meowed loudly as a sort of thanks.

"Echizen" Sanada said bluntly, his voice sounding annoyed, and the cute atmosphere suddenly evaporated, "You can leave practice early, just get rid of that cat". Roko didn't hesitate to nod, and then made signs with his hands.

"Can you take care of him while I gather my things?" his hands asked, and the team frowned, whilst Sanada scowled in annoyance.

"Fine" he stated, and Roko handed Karupin back to him, who meowed loudly in approval and rubbed his head on Sanada's arms again, much to the team's amusement and Sanada's embarrassment.

Betrayer, Roko thought acidly as he left his team to ogle over his cat.