Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to the wonderful CLAMP, not me.

Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 3

Sakura's grip on the metal gates tightened and it was amazing that it had not splintered into dust. She glared at the retreating form of Tanaka and willed herself not to cry in front of Syaoran. It was humiliating for somebody else to witness her tears. For now, she would trap them within her and unleashed the dam when she was alone.

"Is he always like this?" Syaoran asked quietly. "He sounds like an ass."

Sakura snorted and forced herself to move away from the gate before she broke into the house. "I assure you that he is. His son is even worse than him. Thank goodness for that angelic wife of his otherwise I don't think I can manage to survive under one roof with a bunch of sick retards. Somehow, I'm relieved to be out of that house even if it meant I have to sleep on the streets." She sighed upon remembering that she had no place to call her home. It was time to look for a new job and to do that; she would have to look for her classmate in school for some job opening.

"Better not let me see him," Syaoran said. "Or I'll rip all his teeth out."

Sakura's eyes widened at him for a second before she burst out laughing. If he was trying to cheer her up, it was working really well. Who would have guessed her idiot of a homeroom teacher would be this sweet. If only she could find some guy as good as him to be her boyfriend. Sakura paused on that thought and frowned. Why was she thinking about that? She must be getting tired.

"There's no need for violence." She had to resist the urge to giggle when she imagined the scene that Syaoran had just laid out. "That guy didn't do much. He stayed out of my way most of the time after that incident."

"That incident?"

Sakura scratched her head sheepishly. "Well, I must have used to much force to kick him when he tried to take advantage of me when his parents were not at home."

Syaoran paled immediately, his eyes growing wide. "Please tell me you aimed between his legs. That's the worst pain ever for guys." She nodded her head slowly and her cheeks turning even redder. Syaoran let out a loud cheer and pulled Sakura into his arms for a quick hug. "I'm so glad you did it!"

"Li-sensei!" Sakura gasped in protest as she pushed away from Syaoran. She certainly did not expect her teacher to hug her. Weren't students and teachers supposed to keep a respectful distance? Realizing that she had just created an awkward situation, she tried to resolve it by mentioning how tired she was which was the truth since she had worked from early morning without taking a break.

"You know… That's actually your fault for running out of the house like nobody's business," Syaoran admonished softly. "And you shouldn't work yourself too hard. You deserve to have a rest."

Sakura's ears perked out at the last sentence. "So does it mean that I can skip school for a few more days?"

"And work yourself to death for the next few days?" Syaoran asked. "Don't even think about it."

"Li-sensei!" Sakura whined and changed her tactics. She pouted at Syaoran and blinked up innocently at him. "Didn't you say that I deserve a break?"

"You know exactly what I meant. Shall I rephrase my sentence for you? You deserve a break from work." He smirked at her disappointed expression, making Sakura feel like kicking him and derive satisfaction from watching him writhe in pain.

"Whatever you say," Sakura waved him off and started walking towards his house. She had no intention of following his orders, whatever they may be. The only thing she knew was that she needed money fast to reclaim what was hers. "Which is the way to your house again? I wasn't paying much attention earlier when you brought me over."

Sakura had a good night's sleep at Syaoran's house. He had pushed her into one of the guestrooms at the second storey of the house. Her initial reaction was to stare at the elegant and spacious room in awe. She almost fainted when she saw the bed. It was easily twice the size of the one she used to sleep on over at Tanaka's place. This room was definitely fit for a princess to live in and she suddenly wished she could stay here forever. Sakura shook her head and pushed the thoughts away—of course she couldn't stay here! Which student ever stayed over at their teacher's place and a single unattached teacher at that?

It was still early and she had some time to spare before she had to head off to work. Sakura prayed that Syaoran was still sleeping so that she could sneak out of his house with all her belongings. Then she will go for her morning shift at the convenient store before looking for a place for rent. Hopefully she could get one by the end of the day so she won't have to end up homeless again.

Sakura was delighted to find an adjoined bathroom in the room. This made things even easier for her. She bathed and changed into a clean set of clothes before poking her head out of the door. There was silence in the house. It seemed to her that Syaoran was still sleeping and she relaxed. She couldn't believe her good luck. She tip-toed out of her room and gently shut the door behind her to minimize any disturbance. She cringed at the resulting loud click and hoped Syaoran didn't get to hear it.

"Going somewhere?"

"Oh my gosh!" Sakura gasped in fright, obviously not expecting him to creep up behind her. She whirled around to face him, trying to look angry and secretly pushing her bags behind her even though she knew he already saw them. "Sensei! Are you trying to scare me to death?" She put her hand over where her heart was and struggled to control her spiked heartbeat.

Syaoran merely raised a brow at her and eyed the bags calmly. "Didn't I say that you will be taking a break from work? Obviously you are a naughty student. Are you trying to sneak away when I'm not looking?"

"Of course not!" Sakura laughed it off but it sounded forced. She hung her head in defeat knowing that Syaoran could look past her lie. She released her hold on her bags and they slumped onto the floor with a loud thump. "Well… I needed to work for the money."

"I'm telling you now that you don't have to worry about that," Syaoran said sternly, causing Sakura to shrink away from him from the authority in his voice. He sounded very much like a teacher disciplining a mischievous student who had done something wrong. Sakura opened her mouth to argue about her family photograph but before she could get any words out, she was interrupted. "I want you to quit all your jobs since the school's policy doesn't allow students to work."

"What?" Sakura couldn't believe what she had heard. He wanted her to quit all her jobs? She would go hungry without the money to feed herself. She started imaging herself dying of hunger and her poor rotting body went undiscovered in some deserted location for years. She shuddered in response and hurriedly pushed the horrendous thoughts away. "No way! Where am I going to stay and what am I going to eat without the money? This is crazy, sensei!"

Syaoran shook his head. "You're wrong. You'll be crazy to be working when I can provide you a place to stay and food for you until you graduate."

OK, now she needed to sit down because all his words were confusing her. "Wait… What are you saying?"

"As your homeroom teacher, I grant you permission to stay at my place without having to pay rent and being the good teacher that I am, I will throw in meals as well. I doubt you eat much, right?"

"I don't eat a lot. I only have 2 small meals a day and totally skipped breakfast," she told him. That was the truth. By the time she woke up, she had to rush to get ready for her work at the convenient store. When her morning shift ended, she had to dash across the street to help out with another store before heading to the café in the evening. She barely had time in between her jobs to have her meals. Fortunately, the café provided dinner so she could save a little on the costs.

Syaoran picked up her wrist and examined it closely. He wrapped his hand around her wrist and frowned at how thin it was. "You probably have to eat more. Don't worry, you'll be well-fed here."

"I didn't say I'm going to stay here," Sakura said, a little irritated with him for making decisions for her. "I can't stay here, Sensei."

"Why not?"

Sakura sighed. Why was the man so dense? She examined him closely at such a close distance. Thick brows, clear amber eyes which could suck you in them, a perfect nose and a totally kissable mouth—wait… where did that adjective come from? She couldn't entertain such indecent thoughts! He was her teacher and moreover, he was much more older than her. On further thought, he didn't seem to be too old. "How old are you?" she blurted out the question before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened in surprise by her own audacity.

He answered without skipping a beat. "I'm twenty-five. What has this got to do with anything?"

"You are too young to be a teacher!"

"Oh please spare me that long speech but thanks for considering me to be still young." Syaoran grinned widely and winked at her causing her to lapse into another stunned silence. "Seriously, what has age got to do with the teaching profession? All the teachers did went through rigorous training before they are sent to school for teaching position. I can prove to you that I'm fully trained."

"But still…"

"You haven't answered me yet," Syaoran interrupted. "What has my age got to do with you staying here?"

Sakura frowned at him and tried to fight the blush that she knew would be visible on her face. "I'm a girl and you are a man."

"And?" Syaoran prompted. Drat the man! Couldn't he get what she was trying to say?

"I'm a student and you are my teacher?"

"So?"

Sakura felt like smacking herself on her forehead. How could she put her words in such a way that he can understand? This was so difficult indeed! "I cannot be here. What if you girlfriend drops by and wanted some time with you?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," he said, grinning at her. He slung an arm over her shoulder and guided her downstairs to the dining area next to the living room. "You don't have to worry about anything. That room is yours until you graduate or until you are capable of finding a place to stay on your own."

This was definitely a good offer. She could save on the rental and meals! This also meant that she did not have to work as much as before. Probably an evening part-time job would suffice. Wait; was she feeling relieved about the no girlfriend part?

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because you are my precious student?"

Sakura eyed him skeptically. "I don't see you adopting any other students."

Syaoran guffawed. "Adopting? What a crude term. I'm not old enough to be your parent, muffin."

"I can't imagine you being the parent of any child, seeing the way you are behaving like a child yourself." Sakura scrunched up her nose in disgust. "And don't call me muffin. I'm not some food."

"Muffin seems to be an appropriate nickname for you." He grinned and showed her the breakfast spread that he had prepared for them. It consisted of delicious looking French toast, poached eggs and orange juice. "A healthy meal to start your day. I hope it suits your taste buds."

"You made them?" Sakura asked and took a seat. She waited for Syaoran to sit down before starting with her meal. Her mouth watered as the aroma wafted into her nose. "Smells good."

"Of course! I pride myself in everything I do," he said and threw her another wink.

Sakura rolled her eyes and began stuffing her mouth with eggs. "Wow! This is surprisingly good. What a wasted talent; you should have applied to be a chef in top restaurants!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, young girl, but I'll accept your compliment." He grinned and scooped some eggs from his own plate to hers, seeing how she gobbled up her food in record time. "Here, eat more."

"You don't want them?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Nah, watching you enjoy my breakfast filled with my love is sufficient enough for me."

Sakura's cheeks turned into a rosy hue. "No flirting! I'm your student, remember?"

Syaoran feigned surprise. "Oh! You are? I didn't know that. My bad. Hey, wait a moment… Can I have your number, muffin?"

"I told you my name is not muffin," Sakura argued and continued munching on her French toast.

"After what happened yesterday, I refused to call you Kinomoto and calling you Sakura would be too normal," Syaoran announced. Sakura choked on her food when she heard her first name. She hurriedly grabbed her cup of orange juice and gulp down half of it.

"Just be normal!" she screeched. "And don't you dare to call on me when we are in school! I don't want anyone to find out that I'm living with you. My goodness. This is so indecent! I'm actually living in a guy's house unchaperoned. At this rate, I don't think I can get myself a boyfriend before I graduate from high school.

"Well, you can treat me as your boyfriend if you want. It could help to balance your social life," he suggested teasingly.

"Thanks but no thanks. I rather sulk alone in my room."

"Spoilt sport."

Sakura stuck out her tongue at him and they resumed their breakfast with smiles on their faces.

To be continued

My inner editor is acting up again and I have the urge to rewrite. That happens every time I write and it's kind of hindering my progress. *sigh* I'll just have to work harder to keep my inner editor at bay! Anyway, do let me know what you think of this chapter! :) Thank you so much for reading!