After The End

Chapter two

Disclaimer: I don't own PoT.
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By the time the rest of the student body caught on, a week had passed, and the two in question were poised in the eye of the storm.

But no matter how well Sakura schooled her features, she often found herself teetering on the brink of snapping.

Whispers followed her everywhere. She could feel the predatory gaze of the multitude boring into her back as she walked the corridors, or as she took her seat in the cafeteria.

"Do you mind?" She ground out at a couple of second-years who had been alternately whispering and staring.

Alarmed, they scampered off. Sumiko grimaced. "You'd think they had nothing better to talk about." She said.

"It's worse than when we got together." Sakura muttered, slumping in her seat.

Sumiko snorted with laughter, remembering.

"They're DATING."

"NO WAY."

"Yeah, I know, I thought he was gay too!"

"Imagine how poor Yukimura-senpai must feel!"

Sanada twitched, clearly having caught that. Sakura giggled and patted his hand. "I had no idea I was breaking something up, I'm sorry."

He turned the slightest amount to look at her; behind his back, Kirihara mimed vomiting into his lunch at the look in fukubuchou's eyes.

"You destroyed the yaoi fantasy, Sakura, how could you?" Sumiko waggled a finger at her. Sanada gave her a disturbed look. "What fantasies?" He asked, not sure he'd like the answer.

"Oh, you know," Sakura pretended to think, taking the moment to weave her fingers into his. Jackal kicked an increasingly 'nauseous' Kirihara under the table, and the latter yelped. "The ones about your torrid on-court /off-court affair with your gorgeous captain?"

Sumiko laughed loudly. "Come on Sanada, you haven't heard of them?"

"Some are pretty popular, aren't they?" Yukimura offered. Sanada's eyes almost bugged out. "There was one I heard in middle school; I believe it involved a rather creative method of using the tennis net… that was by far the most popular. There were even illustrations, I've heard, but I've never seen them."

While the rest of the team tried to process-

"Oh, that one! Yeah, those were great pictures."

"What?"

Sakura couldn't contain her laughter any longer; she threw her head back and peals burst from her throat.

Kirihara couldn't help being violently 'sick' again, even if he got the shit kicked out of his ankle by Jackal. The way Sanada-fukubuchou drew Kagawa-senpai's hand up to his lips was just... ugh.

The whispers sounded like a million hissing snakes around them, and Sakura flushed at the sound.

Sakura's smile died slowly from her face. "Let's go to class, Sumi." She suggested in the quietest voice Sumiko had ever heard her use.

Her friend said nothing, only linked arms with her as they left the café as quickly as they could.

She wasn't going to ask; she didn't need to. Sumiko had had a front-row seat to the entire freaking opera that Sakura's relationship with Sanada had been. The girl was almost obsessively private, but she'd opened up in fits and starts to Sumiko, over the course of two years, and considering that she'd known Sanada since middle school, she'd been uniquely placed to offer advice and a window into his world at times.

Sumiko wasn't exactly surprised per se, but she was upset. She liked Sanada, poker-faced stickler that he was, and even without his revolting habit of staring at his (now-ex) girlfriend, it was pathetic how obvious his feelings were. He wasn't as concerned with hiding PDA as Sakura was either; he never cared who was around when he kissed her, or held her hand, or whatever. It had thrown Sakura a little bit, at first- "It's so embarrassing!" she'd squeaked to Sumiko at one point- but then, she'd planted a big one on him after the district finals, so that'd grown on her too.

So Sumiko felt kinda bad for him, yeah. He'd be devastated- she was a little impressed he'd come to school at all today. But if she were to be utterly truthful, she'd been expecting it for a while now.

Kind of like waiting for the clouds to burst and that horrendous downpour to soak you through before you can get home.

"Do you think I should've been a bit more patient with him?" Sakura suddenly asked her.

Sumiko took a second to swallow her surprise at Sakura asking her such a self-examinatory question, then to swallow her rice ball.

"I think you were plenty patient." She replied.

"But I could've waited- maybe taken the time to see-" Sakura was clearly going through that post-breakup phase where she questioned everything. Sumiko took her hands and squeezed them. "Maybe. But if we're talking 'could-haves', there's never going to be an end to those." She said, her low voice gentle. "Personally, I think you took a decision based on what you want from a boyfriend, naturally. That's why it's your decision. There's no good or bad or wrong decision, because it's a choice you make based on certain data and criteria that you have."

"It's the effects of the decision that make people think it was right or wrong, and the thing about a breakup is that everyone's gonna be miserable for a while, so it's gonna look like a bad decision. You feel like shit, so you're wondering if you could've done this in a way to make you feel less like shit. Or maybe you could've not done it, that way you wouldn't have felt shitty at all. But you never know the effects of a decision until you take it, so there's no point going there."

Sakura was gazing at her without saying a word, and Sumiko ploughed on. "The thing is, you took that decision for a reason. A set of reasons, whatever. And those are valid, s'long as they're yours, which they were. Now remember that, and stick your decision. You took that decision knowing it would hurt you; don't start questioning yourself because of it. You could be happy later, and you wanted to be, so stick to it now."

Her words hung in the air, Sakura not speaking, and Sumiko quickly grew uncomfortable. "Yeah, that's… yeah. What I think."

Sakura bowed her head, and Sumiko's heart stopped, oh shit she's crying- but then she looked up again, and her eyes were bright with humour.

"Did you grow up when I was off making out with Genichirou behind the clubhouses?" She snorted, and something in Sumiko's chest loosened.

Her parents' old room was locked, as per usual. Sakura turned her face away and marched on to her room.

Yusuke was there, as expected, and the sight of her baby brother brought a helpless smile to her face. She tossed her bag onto the bed and crouched down by him. The boy sagged back against her bent knees without moving his eyes from the Rubik's cube in his hands.

Pride burgeoned in Sakura's heart. She'd never been able to solve that, but here was her brother, all of five, and he could. Any big sister would be proud.

"Oh, Sakura-san!" The babysitter, Ayumi, had been in the kitchen when Sakura had gotten home. "I didn't hear you come in!"

Sakura gave her a wink. "No worries, Ayumi, I'm practising my cat-steps." She winked. Ayumi rolled her eyes and sat down with two cups of cocoa. "I saw you in the kitchen, anyway."

"Would you like some cocoa? I made extra."

"Nah, just had practice. Water's what I need." She indicated the bottle on her bed. "Has my baby been good?" She ran a hand through his black hair.

Ayumi beamed. "He's been absolutely no trouble at all! Really, I've never had such an easy time babysitting a five year old!" She took a sip of cocoa. Sakura grinned. "I'm glad, but I'd also advise you to wait till he gets used to you. Regular nightmare, he is." That earned her a reproachful look from the boy- but he cuddled closer to her at the same time. She slung an arm round him.

Ayumi watched them, a wistful little smile. "If you don't mind my saying, Sakura-san, I think it's great how you manage to juggle school and tennis, and still make time for Yusuke-kun. Not many could manage it."

A bittersweet bubble rose in Sakura's throat. "My mother taught me how to manage my time." She murmured, looking away. "After she– well, she taught me pretty well, anyway. And Yu-chan's very co-operative– most of the time, hmm?" She ruffled his black hair. He twitched his head in annoyance, and she chuckled, stopping. The expression on Ayumi's face gave her pause. "Everything okay, Ayumi?"

The other girl might be in college, but she seemed a little on the young side. Now she shook her head with an embarrassed laugh. "Nothing, really. It's stupid– I just- I miss my family when I see you two."

"That's not stupid." Sakura replied, placing a hand on Ayumi's gingerly. "I miss my father, even though he's done this job for years. I miss my mother- god, I miss her so much, and I wish Yusuke could have known her. I miss–" My ex-boyfriend, even though I didn't love him and I was the one dumped him.

She cleared her throat. "Everyone misses their family."

I miss Genichirou, but I don't regret it. I can't.

So! Chapter two is d-o-n-e! Reviews are welcomed and cherished!

Cheers,
Chilli.