The Silence In The Dark (Prince of Tennis) ||REWRITE||

Chapter 3

Reichi made his way down the hallway evenly, blending in with the crowd of students making their way to their next classes. Reichi himself was on his way to his English placement test that would be held in the principal's office. So, for the second time that day, Reichi knocked on the office door, receiving the go-ahead to enter, and he did so. Settling into the chair he had occupied just an hour and some ago. Fingers gently tapped out a small beat as he watched the principal gather the needed papers up, setting the packet in front of the first-year. "Take your time on this, you have until lunch to complete it" Reichi nodded his head once, hair shifting ever so slightly with the motion. And once he was given a pencil he started working, eyes not once leaving his packet. His legs shifted and adjusted every so often, shoulder rolling ever so slightly as he took his time and focused. And once he was done he pushed the papers forward. The principal looked up from his own paperwork and smiled slightly. "Thank you, Echizen. I'll have these reviewed today and your placement should be decided by tomorrow, come see me before you go to tennis tomorrow morning, and I'll give you a revised version of your schedule." He nodded again, standing and leaving to go find a silent area to eat his lunch. Heading to the courtyard and found a small area that looked just like what he was hoping for.

He settled down on a bench, hidden behind bushes and trees before pulling his bento out of his bag. Hearing the lunch bell ring just as he started eating. He has to admit, that today feels weird. He has had so much downtime today, it's odd to him. He also wasn't the biggest fan of having nothing to do. Just as he was finishing his bento and slipping it away he heard a rustling of leaves and pounding feet of, what sounded like, two or three people rushing toward where he was sitting. His head lifted from his lap, staring at where the footsteps were quickly approaching before two people, who he recognized from tennis, tumbling over each other sloppily and yelling.

"Bakaya!! Get out of my way!" The white-haired boy yelled, seething toward the black-haired if Reichi remembers right, second-year. And Reichi, in all his intelligence, stared, not knowing what exactly to do as the two went back and forth in front of him, spitting insults and petty stuff at each other every few seconds. Following their yells of insults more rustling startled Reichi, making his eyes move from the two, past them, and back toward the small path leading to the clearing. Seeing most, if not all of, the regulars making their way toward the section. That was his queue. He slowly, and silently gathered his things and stood, starting to walk the other way before he heard a voice say his name.

"Echizen?" His whole body tensed up, a sharp, silent exhale leaving his lips as he slowly turned and raised a hand in greeting. Noting that the tall, tanned boy was the one who had spoken. "Hello, Echizen," Yukimura said softly, sitting down on the bench that Reichi had previously been on. His hands raised absentmindedly, not really realizing that he was signing to the group. He didn't know if any of them knew sign- but here he was signing out a greeting to the group and a brief explanation that he had just finished his own lunch, so he'd be taking his leave now. But it was nice to see them all and to have a good afternoon.

Reichi knew they didn't have a tennis meet that afternoon, as the courts were getting cleaned that afternnon. That being said the group watched him silently, the four who now know he's mute weren't as shocked, and- surprisingly- it was Sanada who translated what he had signed. Gained a slightly wide-eyed expression from Reichi before nodding once and waving again before leaving as quickly as he could. Just as he was leaving he heard the beginnings of what the tanned boy started saying.

"He doesn't like us too much, does he?" Seiichi hummed under his breath, watching their underclassmen speed off. "Mm. He's interesting." He proclaimed with a smile. The rest of the team stared at him silently before they all decided to occupy themselves with lunch. 

The rest of the boy's day sped by without any other interruptions. Went through his classes, then went home, took his usual train, and sat down, playing around on his phone easily for the 30-minute train ride to his station.