Sanada Residence
Sanada Gen'emon knelt before the altar in his family's dojo in silent meditation, incense sticks burning and filling his nostrils with the calming scent of jasmine. The room was bare, wood walls, ceiling and floor, with sheathed katanas hanging on the walls and several paintings. Gen'emon liked it that way; barebones, only what was necessary, and nothing more.
He was an old man, nearing his seventies, with a thick white beard and moustache, white eyebrows, sharp brown eyes and aging features, completely bald, wearing the black robes befitting a proper Japanese monk. He knelt in complete silence contemplating his day.
His day had been very simplistic. He had risen early to meditate, practice kendo, feed his koi and then prepare his traditional Japanese breakfast with a cup of green tea. Gen'emon did not allow his daughter Masaki to make breakfast or any meal for him, because while he was bordering on seventy, he could still move and breathe without problem, and if there was no problem he saw no reason to be treated like there was. The rest of his day and been playing shogi, reading and then practicing his calligraphy before returning to the dojo for further practice and meditation.
It was during his meditation that he heard footsteps, and Gen'emon did not need to open his eyes to know that it was Genichiro returning from school. But there was also softer footsteps mixed into the sounds of Genichiro's own, and Gen'emon realised that his grandson had a guest with him. He supposed that was a good thing, since the only people that visited were his friends Yukimura and Yanagi, but this person's footsteps belonged to neither, so he assumed his grandson had made a friend.
He is getting too soft, he told himself.
He finished his meditation shortly afterwards, and stood up from his cushion before the altar and turned quickly to the door towards the house. If his grandson was home that meant it was time to feed the koi, and so Gen'emon entered the house to take the food he had stored in the kitchen cupboards.
He entered the living room, unsurprised to see his grandson knelt on a cushion before the dining table with a poster of some sort in front of him, probably completing homework. What he was surprised at however, was the deep sky blue hair of a small child, probably several years younger than Genichiro, knelt on a cushion next to him, writing in a notebook in what appeared to be English. Gen'emon had never seen this boy before and quickly came to the conclusion that he was here for reasons other than a friendly visit, because he had taught his grandson to never associate with people who had such a ridiculous hair colour.
Genichiro looked up and noticed him watching the two, and nodded his head politely.
"Grandfather" he greeted formally, and the other boy looked up, and Gen'emon noticed with distaste at how his hair was styled across his left eye, making him look even more ridiculous.
"I see you have brought a friend" he noted, and his grandson nodded once in response.
"Echizen is here to complete our group English project" he stated formally, with no unnecessary introductions or topics, just like Gen'emon had taught him. He turned to the blue-haired boy, faintly remembering the name 'Echizen'.
"Ah, Echizen. You are the mute child and Genichiro's English tutor, correct?" he asked, and despite his old eyes, he could detect the slightest irritation in his expression before it was gone, and Echizen nodded once. It was clear he did not like being labelled 'mute child', which Gen'emon understood, remembering his other grandchild who was deaf, and was referred to as 'the deaf kid' at his school before he moved away.
"In that case you may continue with your work" he said politely, before walking through the room and towards the door.
"Grandfather" came his grandson's voice again, and Gen'emon turned back to him.
"Mother says that Echizen is staying for dinner" he said flatly, and Gen'emon mentally sighed, not wanting to be associated with the blue-haired child.
"Very well then" he said flatly, before continuing on like nothing had happened.
He quickly entered the kitchen, and opened the top cupboard and pulled out the box of koi food he kept there, and shook it, noting it was rather light. He would have to buy more later.
Gen'emon then quickly strode back through the living room, noticing how the two did not even acknowledge his presence, too busy with their English work. That was good, he supposed, that they were so focused, but Gen'emon could not help but allow his eyes to drift to the child's blue hair, and he mentally scowled as he entered the garden.
What kind of fool dyes their hair blue? Gen'emon had always taught his grandson the traditional ways of Japan, immersing him in culture and tradition, and yet his grandson shows up at his house with this delinquent? It went against everything Gen'emon had ever taught him, and he sighed as he dropped the flakes of koi food into his pond, his koi snapping ravenously at the flakes. After precisely nine pinches of koi food, he stopped and returned back to the house, moving again through the living room and into the kitchen where he put the food back.
"Father" he heard, and he turned to the smiling face of his daughter Masaki, who was wearing a loose blue t-shirt and a long grey skirt. Gen'emon had never successfully managed to drill his ideas of proper Japanese culture into his daughter's head, constantly smiling and being unnecessarily talkative, and dressing in an uncultured style. He mentally sighed.
"Have you met Echizen?" she asked, and Gen'emon grimaced at the memory of a deep sky blue.
"Yes, I have" he said, masking his distaste with perfect pacifism.
"He's a nice boy, don't you think?" she asked with a large smile.
"His hair is blue" Gen'emon replied bluntly.
"Your hair is white, Father" she returned calmly.
"My hair colour is natural" he argued, his face still perfectly passive, because people with proper manners did not raise their voice or express anger.
"But blue is a much nicer colour, and anyway he's staying for dinner, so I trust you'll behave yourself" she said flatly, the smile still on her face but not in her eyes. Gen'emon sighed, not bothering to protest at his daughter's command. He nodded once and walked away, back to the dojo for his kendo practice. Hopefully that would give him some time to clear his mind.
Sanada Residence
Dinner was an awkward affair, not quite as awkward as Roko had imagined, but still awkward. He could tell that Sanada's grandfather did not like him, and he had to admit to himself that he probably wouldn't like someone who walked into his home with blue hair either. Sanada's mother cooked the meal, which was Japanese ramen noodles with meat and vegetables, with a side of miso soup and some green tea, and Roko tried not to smile too widely at the sight of some proper Japanese food, compared to the American meals that were usually cooked at his home.
They knelt at the table, quietly enjoying their food before Sanada's mother spoke up.
"Echizen, if I may ask, how did you get into third-year English with Genichiro?" she asked politely, and Roko mentally smiled at the conversation starter. Sanada replied before Roko could raise his hands.
"He's fluent in English, since he lived in America for most of his life" he replied coolly.
"Let the boy talk, Genichiro" his grandfather cut in, and Sanada immediately bowed his head.
"I apologize, Grandfather" he said formally, and Roko was rather surprised. It seemed the Sanada family were very well disciplined, and Roko had very rarely seen Sanada apologize.
"Tarundarou..." the elder Sanada muttered under his breath, and Roko mentally laughed at the realisation of where Sanada's famous catchphrase came from. He then noticed Sanada's grandfather looking at him sharply.
"Echizen Roko, was it?" he asked bluntly, and Echizen nodded his head once, to which the elder Sanada frowned.
"I understand that you are mute, but that doesn't give you the excuse to simply nod your head whenever I ask a question. You must display proper manners and answer properly" he scolded, and Roko mentally sighed. It was clear where Sanada got his strict personality from. Sanada didn't seem to be of any help, eating his food like nothing was going on.
"Father!" Sanada's mother said harshly, but the elder Sanada didn't turn to her.
"Why is your hair blue? It's unfitting of a man to have such ridiculous hair" he stated, and Roko could see Sanada twitch slightly. He probably would have been offended by his statement if he didn't totally agree that his hair was ridiculous. He raised his hands and made signs.
"It was the practical joke of one of my teammates" his hands stated, and the elder Sanada's gaze snapped to the younger Sanada. Roko mentally smirked as he noticed he'd categorized his captain as 'the younger Sanada'.
"Genichiro, you allowed this to happen to your own teammate?" he asked harshly, and Roko couldn't help but pity the younger Sanada, even if his face was perfectly passive.
"It was not under my control, Grandfather" he explained, "I was not-"
"Not under your control?" the elder Sanada cut in, "Genichiro, you are the captain of your tennis team. Even if it is a ridiculous sport, it is unacceptable that you are allowing these kinds of actions" he scolded, and the younger Sanada bowed his head respectively.
"I apologize, Grandfather" he said passively.
Roko held his rising anger firmly in place under his mask. A ridiculous sport? Sanada's grandfather thought that tennis was a ridiculous sport? What kind of supportive family member was he? And there was nothing Sanada could have done to stop it happening, and yet his grandfather was under the delusion that he allowed it? Did he know Sanada at all? Roko raised his hands, catching the elder Sanada's attention.
"My captain allowed nothing of the sort. The culprit was punished for it, and it will not happen again" his hands stated. The elder Sanada frowned in response.
"And how can you be sure that it will never happen again?" he asked bluntly, without a trace of anger in his voice.
"Because I punished him greatly" was all Roko said, allowing some of the building malice to show through in his mask, before he quickly removed it and his expression returned to neutrality, but Sanada's grandfather grunted, getting the point.
"Very well then" was all he said as a reply, before continuing to eat his food.
Roko looked around the table quickly. Sanada Masaki was also quietly eating her food, whilst the Sanada he knew was looking at him thoughtfully, and Roko could tell from his expression that he was thankful. He mentally smiled and returned to his own food. The rest of the dinner proceeded as normal, the four sharing a very familiar comfortable silence, and Roko realised that the silence was a family thing, rather than just Sanada.
After dinner Roko picked up his bag after the plates were cleared, the younger Sanada walking him to the door.
"I apologize for my grandfather's behaviour" he said quietly, and Roko blinked at Sanada's third apology of the day. Would wonders never cease?
"You're getting too soft, captain" his hands replied, and Sanada scowled. Roko would probably get laps for that, but using his catchphrase was so worth it.
Echizen Residence
It was really stupid, because after the second attempt on Niou's life, the scolding of Sanada's grandfather and the hysterical laughter of his father and brother, Roko decided he actually rather liked his new hair colour. True, he would have made it a darker shade of blue, but he still liked it.
He'd bought black hair dye on his way back home, and had the box placed in front of him in the bathroom while he stared at it in contemplation. He could keep the colour, that would be a nice reminder to Niou to never prank him ever again, but he was pretty sure he had already received the message loud and clear. But he did like the colour, maybe if he bought some darker blue dye he could...
Don't, his consciousness interrupted, you're already the mute boy, don't make it worse
Roko paused. It was true; he was already the mute boy, so becoming the 'blue-haired mute boy' would be even worse. Maybe he could try a different colour. It wasn't until Roko had looked through the selection of dyes at the grocery store did he realise how many different colours were on offer. He could try something different, he could be blonde, or brunette, or-
No
He mentally sighed in defeat, taking the black hair dye in front of him and opening the box. He quickly read the instructions briefly before tossing them aside and beginning.
When his hair was back to its original colour, though it would forever have a thin layer of deep sky blue underneath, Roko proceeded to his room where Ryoma was busy at his desk with a homework sheet. He turned to him with a large smile on his face, but it disappeared when he noticed Roko's hair was no longer blue.
"Damn" he moaned, "Why'd you dye your hair back already? I wanted to take some photos first". Roko tried not to think of the horrors that would unfold if Ryoma had pictures of him with blue hair, and made signs with his hands.
"At least I don't have a fan club" his hands replied curtly, effectively shutting Ryoma up, and Roko proceeded to his bed, pulling out his iPod and earphones to have a moment of peace.
"How was your captain's house by the way?" Ryoma asked, not looking up from his work, but looking at him from the corner of his eye.
"Way too Japanese for anyone" his hands replied, and Ryoma snorted before returning to his work.
By the way 'Tarundarou' means 'you're getting too soft'. Just so you know.