Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

63

"Sorry" the person apologized, and Roko's eye widened in dim surprise, the person mirroring him.

"Echizen?" Ann asked surprised, and Roko nodded in response. What was Ann doing here? Shouldn't she be going to school right now? Why was she on the train to Kanagawa?

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously, and Roko put his iPod back into his blazer.

"I take this train to school" Roko's hands responded, and Ann's eyes lit in dim recognition.

"That's right, you did say that didn't you?" she asked, and Roko nodded in response.

"How've you been?" she asked, "I haven't seen you in a while"

Roko noted that 'in a while' probably wasn't the right term. The last time he'd seen her was several months ago.

"Fine" Roko's hands responded, "I've been busy with school and club practice". Ann's eyes wandered down to the cello case, and they widened in mild surprise as they moved back up to Echizen.

"I didn't know you played the cello, Echizen" she declared, and Roko just nodded in response. He cocked his head at Ann, a question nagging at him, and so he raised his hands and made more signs.

"Why are you on this train?" his hands asked, and Ann nodded in understanding.

"Fudomine have a game coming up in four days" Ann explained, "So I'm going to scout data on our opponents for the match". Roko raised an eyebrow curiously, making more signs.

"Who are you playing?" his hands asked.

"Rikkaidai Fuzoku" she answered.

Roko's eyebrow disappeared into his hair, but Ann didn't even notice.

"But" she continued, her voice lowering in annoyance, "I've been scouting the school for the past few days, and I haven't seen their mystery player, the Speed Demon of Rikkaidai even once".

Roko supressed the surprised reaction on his face, keeping his blank expression as he listened to Ann ramble.

"It's so annoying" she moaned, "Is he sick? Or does he just not show up for tennis practice? He must be some sort of air-headed jerk to think he can just skip practice like it's nothing. It's like he's underestimating us"

Well. This was awkward.

"Do you know what I mean?" Ann asked, turning to Roko, and Roko nodded in response, because, what else could he do?

She's stupider than I thought, his consciousness cut in.

Shut up, was Roko's blunt response.

Not only, his consciousness continued like he hadn't spoken, does she know that you play tennis, but she knows you go to school in a different district, that you take the same train as her to the school, and the fact you haven't been on the same train the last few days

Ann seemed to calm down, deflating slightly and sighing.

"It doesn't matter" she muttered, "I'll get the best data I can on him today. There's no way they'd let him skip two days of practice"

Except the courts are being cleaned today, his consciousness pointed out.

Roko nodded blankly, making signs to Ann.

"Do you think you can win?" his hands asked, and Ann frowned deeply.

"I don't know" she answered after a while, "At first I thought we'd definitely win, but Rikkaidai's players are really good"

That was certainly an understatement, but Roko said nothing.

"Which is why we need the best data possible" Ann continued, "So today I'm going to make sure I get everything I can"