A Prince of Tennis fanfic.
Alpha Pair a.k.a. SanaYuki

Story: Milky Tea (Sequel to Sugary Coffee) - Chapter.9

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

Author's note: Finished it last week, but was waiting for my beta... sigh. I'm dying from work-overload. Dying, dying, dead. Anyway, 4 days until holidays... Wait for the update! I'm so excited about the next chapter...

Please review!

9. Petit Noir

The pain was no longer a sharp, stinging pain. Instead, it was a nauseating, expanding suffocation – the feeling of unable to breathe underwater and the feeling of choking on one's own breath. The pain, for Sanada, was unceasing – a stream of endless sufferance day and night. Tears could not wash away his sorrows and sleep could only lead him to nightmares, never dreams.

From the moment Yukimura said goodbye, Sanada could feel nothing but pain.

Without Yukimura, Sanada could no longer see the purpose of living. He wished to relieve his burdens forever, but he could not bring himself to down a bottle of tablets or jump out of the window. It was frightening – the prospect of death. Perhaps it was because he had seen how hard Yukimura had fought to cling onto life seven years ago.

Or perhaps, he was just too scared.

"Koesaki-san and I are not going out," Yukimura announced to the press calmly, ignoring the camera flashes around him. "We have never gone out before and to me, she is a colleague and friend and nothing more." Yukimura smiled once more at the cameras, fully aware of how tense Koesaki was beside him. But he didn't care anymore; it was simply out of courtesy – and the demand of his manager – that he called Koesaki a friend.

In reality, Koesaki Tsukimoya would never be his friend. She, the bitch who took Sanada from him, would never be anything but a colleague.

The interview ended and together with Koesaki, whose smile seemed more forced every moment they remained in front of the cameras, they thanked the interviewer and the press. When they finally exited backstage, her smile was wiped away completely, replaced by a horrible snarl. She snatched a bottle of water from a staff before storming into her dressing room. Someone asked Yukimura what the matter was, but he simply shrugged and with a quiet chuckle, said she was having a crazy fit.

It was certainly a relief to stop his pretence.

Yukimura ran a hand through his soft, wavy hair and took out his phone, beginning to write a text message.

I'll be home in---

Suddenly remembering that Sanada would not be waiting for his texts anymore, Yukimura sighed miserably and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He walked back to his dressing room, saying "good work" to the staff he passed by. Quietly, he shut the door before leaning on it, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor, his arms hanging limply by his side.

He felt truly alone.

He had never realised how much he loved hearing Sanada say "welcome home" every night. It was something he looked forward to after a long day of hard work. That deep, soothing voice... that voice that belonged to Sanada...

No one would be waiting for him to go home anymore.

Sanada sat in front of the computer, typing out notes as he scanned through a 526-page textbook. He wanted desperately to forget his pain by distracting himself with anything that could pull his thoughts away from Yu--- no, he could no longer bear the name anymore. It was too painful. The thought of him, even for a moment, was enough to break his bruised and battered heart.

When would his heart be beyond repair?

The clock struck seven and Sanada checked his mobile phone for messages. There was none. A little surprise overcame him before he remembered that Yukimura was already disconnected to him. They were separated, their path turning away from each other's.

Sanada placed the phone on the dining table and took the lasagne out from the oven. It was baked just like Yu--- he liked it. Absent-mindedly, Sanada cut two small pieces and placed them on separate plates. He took out two wine glasses from the cupboard and set up a dining set on both ends of the table.

He sat down and sighed sadly. A silent tear slid off his cheek and dripped into the wine glass.

Yu--- Yukimura would be in his heart forever.

Yukimura sipped his red wine slowly, deep in thoughts. Beethoven was playing in the background, calming him as he looked out of the large window and onto the view of night Tokyo. This was his favourite restaurant – une restaurant française, of course – and his favourite spot for quiet thinking. He knew he probably would be enjoying his time now if it was not for the girl sitting opposite him – Koesaki Tsukimoya.

He displayed – without restraint – his detest for her manners when she gulped the expensive wine down as if it was a can of cheap beer. She took no notice of him, wiping her mouth with the napkin. Crème brulée was served as dessert and when they finished, Yukimura finally spoke for the first time of the night.

It was a harsh and crude demand. "What do you want?"

Koesaki formulated her answer slowly, playing with her crimson red fingernails as she articulated each word with sarcasm and irritation. "What do I want?" she repeated the question, now playing with a strand of artificially curled and artificially dyed-brown hair. "I want you to explain why you denied our relationship at the press conference this morning."

Yukimura looked into her cold, hard eyes. He shook his head; this girl was truly hopeless, devoid of any compassion, intoxicated by selfish desires and the will to destroy others. "I just didn't want to pretend anymore," Yukimura gave her the most basic reason. As if she doesn't know why, he thought and took another sip of wine. He choked on it slightly when Koesaki jabbed his arm with her sharp fingernail.

He placed the glass down and covered his arm with his hand, glaring at her with the infamous stare he had been renowned for in high school. She flinched and sank back onto her seat. But that glimmer of anger and craving for manipulation in her eyes did not disappear. "I told you not to end our relationship until I say so, didn't I?"

"Sorry, princess," Yukimura scoffed, placing a spoon of crème brulée into his mouth, "the world isn't as easy as you think it is."

"I didn't think you were so cold."

Yukimura lifted his eyebrows and looked at her, confused by her statement.

With a smug smirk, she answered, "I was referring to your darling lover."

Yukimura stabbed his spoon into his dessert and stared at her, enraged and frustrated. What did she want to do? Was ruining his life not enough?

"Oh yes," Koesaki said with a horrible grin, "you miss your lover, don't you? So beautiful, so caring towards you..."

"Stop it," Yukimura hissed, narrowing his eyes. Never in his life had he wanted to hit someone so badly, especially a woman, but he knew if she continued on, he would not – could not – hold back anymore.

"Such a shame..."

"Shut up." He lifted his fist.

"You don't deserve someone like that."

At that jeering comment, a wave of calmness suddenly swept over Yukimura. The corner of his lips lifted in a wistful smile before parting to say, "I know. I don't deserve someone who's so good to me. You didn't have to tell me that." He relaxed, taking a deep breath, and buried his hands in his jacket pockets again.

Taken back by Yukimura's sudden cease of anger, she frowned and glared at him with emotionless eyes. "You'll regret it when she gets hurt," she finally said.

Yukimura, his anger returning in three fold as abruptly as a roar of thunder, slammed his fist on the table and rose from his seat. "Thanks to you, I've separated from the one I love the most... we've broken up, so what more do you WANT?!"

"LIAR!" Koesaki hissed, slamming her fist on the table as well. "I saw you with her the other day. Don't try and deny it."

Yukimura sat down again, now puzzled and confused. He gazed at her emptily, blurry memories rushing through his mind at light speed. When he finally managed to untangle his mangled web of thoughts, only two questions remained:

When was I with Sanada?

And more importantly... why did she say "her" and not "him"?

Yukimura looked into the dark, cold eyes of Koesaki Tsukimoya and felt a chill of confusion and terror running up his spine.

Please review!