Deafening Silence ( prince of tennis) (#wattys2016)

64

Roko mentally shuddered at the thought.

And that reminded him. He still had that scholarship offer for Hyotei on his desk.

Roko frowned. It wasn't that he didn't want to go to Hyotei - after all, it was very prestigious - but he just didn't want to make the decision. It was clear what Ryoma wanted him to do, but his opinion didn't really matter. Roko loved composing music and playing his cello, and when he actually had a proper look at the letter he realised it was an offer for next year, which meant the narcissist Atobe would be gone. That subtracted a huge problem with him going to Hyotei, and suddenly the idea didn't seem so bad.

He didn't want to leave Rikkaidai, after all he liked the regulars there, and they didn't pester him over his muteness like most people did. They were his friends - though not so much Sanada, he wasn't sure if anyone was really a 'friend' of Sanada - and he didn't want to go, but at the same time the offer of Hyotei was very tempting. If Roko got to play tennis without the narcissist, and play music at a top school, then there wasn't a downside, really.

Except at some point he'd have to tell them about the offer, soon. The letter stated that a reply must be handed in by the end of April, which a few days after the end of the Regionals. Which meant Roko had about a week and a half before he had to make a decision.

Roko didn't like the fact he had to decide, and frankly he was damning Yamura-sensei for choosing him to try for the offer, but at the same time he was thanking her because he just didn't know what he would do. He wouldn't flatly turn down the offer to such a prestigious school, anyone with common sense wouldn't, but at the same time he wanted to. It was like he was trying to tear the letter in half, but every time he told himself he'd do it, he'd hesitate, and it was back to square one.

Ugh.

Roko stood up from the bench, scowling deeply at nothing in particular. He needed to get his mind off things. True, he wasn't playing today, but maybe he could warm up, running around the tennis gardens sounded like a great idea right now.

Roko peeled off his jersey, throwing it onto the bench along with his tennis bag. The Rikkai tennis uniform made him look like a giant bumblebee, with the yellow and black-striped t-shirt and long black jogging trousers, with Kirihara's blue ankle weights underneath, which Roko found himself using more and more often. Roko was also wearing Jackal's shoes that he had gotten him, yellow and black like the Rikkaidai uniform with a black lightning bolt pattern on the side. Roko glanced at the jersey and bag once more, as an afterthought taking out his iPod and earphones and putting them in the pocket of his jogging trousers. He wouldn't let anyone steal his precious iPod.

Roko took off at a sprint, instantly zooming down the pathway he came from and turning a corner instantly. The pathway was long and wide, bustling with people, but Roko didn't hesitate as he turned the corner to dash forward, running with a happy smile on his face as he zigzagged in and out of the people, noting the many different colours of jerseys. It was the semi-finals, meaning four teams were playing, so why were so many teams here to watch?

Data was the obvious answer, and Roko mentally sighed as he slalomed in and out of them at a blurring speed, leaving them in his wake as he sprinted forward. Running took his mind off a lot of things, and it was a lot of fun. He did it a lot when he was younger just because he was that bored, especially so after his accident, when there wasn't much you could do when you were mute.

The next corner came up, and Roko turned, pivoting off his left foot as he dashed forward down the new path. The tennis gardens were huge, accommodating twelve tennis courts all spread out in one large area, which gave Roko lots of long, open roads for him to run on.