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

Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 19

"Sakura-chan, there you are!" Tomoyo chimed, weaving through the crowd to get to Sakura. "I've been looking for you for the whole day!"

Sakura smiled apologetically at her friend. "Sorry. I was out of the classroom during lunch break."

"What's wrong?" The dejected look on Sakura's face was worrying Tomoyo. Sakura was always cheerful and it was rare to see her feel so down.

"I don't know… It just feels so weird… Why didn't he come to school lately?"

Understanding lit up Tomoyo's eyes. "You're talking about Li-sensei?"

Sakura nodded and turned her grave eyes on Tomoyo. "He wasn't feeling sick today and there's something that he's hiding from me."

Tomoyo looked around nervously. "This isn't the place to discuss this. Shall we go to my house?"

"I promised sensei I will go back straight after school."

"A few hours won't hurt you if he doesn't know about it," Tomoyo said. When Sakura remained uncertain, Tomoyo just grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the school gates, where her family car was waiting. The guards who stood at attention bowed when they spotted them and even opened the passenger door. "Thank you," Tomoyo murmured to them and granted them a brilliant smile.

"Maybe he regretted his decision and decided to switch schools just to get away from me." Sakura chuckled and leaned against the glass window. "Ah… I probably shouldn't think too much."

"You're so silly!" Tomoyo exclaimed before digging the something from a small pile of magazine in the car. She threw one onto Sakura's lap. "I always thought Li-sensei was familiar and found my answer when I randomly flipped through this pile the other day."

"Top CEO?" Sakura stared at the cover, not knowing what Tomoyo wanted her to see. An article? "I didn't know you are into such magazines, Tomoyo-chan."

"It wasn't as if I had any choice in this." Tomoyo snatched the magazine away. She flipped the pages rigorously until she reached a page and then pushed the magazine back into Sakura's hands. "Here! Read this!"

"I'm not into reading business magazines," Sakura grumbled but she looked at it as instructed. Her eyes almost popped out at the picture and the name in the magazine. She turned her incredulous gaze to Tomoyo. "Tell me this isn't true. Sensei... This CEO here..."

Tomoyo looked apologetically at Sakura and that was all the answer that she needed. Sakura would have bolted out of the car if it wasn't moving. She took in a few calming breaths before she started to read the long article on Syaoran. Her trembling hands made the process difficult, coupled with the motion of the car they were in. By the time she finished the entire article, she was nearing tears.

"Sakura-chan, don't get so worked up," Tomoyo said when she saw the expression on her friend's face. Sakura looked ready to break into tears. "I know you're thinking why he kept something so important from you. I mean... he probably isn't really a teacher but think this way—why did he come to this school to teach? Why was he so interested in knowing you and caring about you. You have to hear the truth from him and not form accusations based on what you read from the article."

"Well-known," Sakura muttered. "Widely sought after rich bachelor..."

"It's a wonder how he managed to conceal his identity," Tomoyo remarked. "And he was using his real name all these times. If my family isn't in this big industry, I would never have come across his name."

The car was turning into the street where Tomoyo's house was located. It was only a short ride from the school to Tomoyo's place. Sakura returned the magazine to Tomoyo with a smile but the crumpled pages betrayed her inner emotions. "I know that we are nearing your place, but can you drop me off at sensei's?"

"You're going to talk to him?"

Sakura nodded but her face was devoid of expression.

"Like a sensible adult?"

Sakura snorted. "I'm not about to scream at him, if that is what you are asking."

"Right, that's good to hear," Tomoyo said with a grin. She instructed her chauffer to turn back and head to Syaoran's house at the other street.

Sakura was quiet throughout the remaining journey, staring out of the window with a brooding expression. Conflicting emotions and thoughts were waging a war within her and causing her a mild headache. She didn't want to think too much. All she wanted was the truth and she hoped Syaoran was ready to give them to her.

xxx

"Are you sure you don't want me to follow you in?" Tomoyo asked for the third time, stopping Sakura from stepping through the gates of Syaoran's front yard. "I can give you mental and moral support by going with you."

Sakura threw her a grateful smile. "I can handle this on my own, Tomoyo-chan. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

"But..."

Sakura pushed Tomoyo back into the car. "You have to get back before Aunt Sonomi does. I wouldn't want her to be worried about you for staying out late."

"Are you really going to be all right?"

"Yes!" Sakura said with a sigh. Tomoyo could be a worry wart sometimes to the point of exasperation. "If you are not convinced, I can give you a call after I talked to sensei."

"I'll hold you to your words then," Tomoyo said. "But if you need me..."

"I'll call you immediately if I need your help." Sakura nodded to emphasize that she meant what she said. Tomoyo seemed to be satisfied by that because she smiled and instructed her chauffer to bring her back.

Sakura waited until the car disappeared from her view at the end of the street. Her cheerful expression dropped the moment Tomoyo left. She only appeared to be fine with everything for Tomoyo's benefit. Sakura knew her friend would go to great lengths just to help her and she didn't want to trouble her.

Sakura took a hesitant step into the house. It was quiet inside and the drawn curtains cast shadows throughout the spacious room. "Sensei? Li-sensei?" she called out, fervently hoping that he would be at home. The padding of footsteps from the second floor alerted her that he was actually at home and eager to see her. She stood patiently at the entranceway and waited for him to come down.

"Who's there?" A shrill female voice rang as the thudding of feet got even louder. The smile froze on Sakura's face as her heart plummeted. "Oh! Hi there!" The woman with cat-like eyes exclaimed once she saw Sakura.

Sakura remembered her manners and bowed stiffly. Her thoughts were warring within her mind, making her even more confused than before. Was this why Syaoran wanted her to stay in the hotel? Just because this woman was to stay in this house?

'Who are you' was the question Sakura wanted to ask but she couldn't form the words. It was as if her throat wasn't cooperating with her; afraid that the answer she received would ultimately cause her harm. "I think I got the wrong house," Sakura said, wincing slightly at the lie she made to escape from the situation.

The woman tilted her head slightly to the side as she appraised Sakura before tapping a finger to her lips. A grin slowly spread across her face, sending shudders up Sakura's spine. "I don't think so." Sakura gasped in surprise. The woman covered her mouth and giggled elegantly. "I always keep a tab on what my Syaoran is doing. This time he has really overstepped his bounds. What is he thinking to seduce a young girl such as you? Oh, I'm so disappointed in him. Shame on him."

Sakura gritted her teeth—as much as she wanted to protest, she knew she should feign ignorance and let the accusation slide. After all, this woman here may just be testing her. She forced the smile back into the face even though it took her a lot of effort to do so.

"I definitely got the wrong house," Sakura said apologetically and made a move to the exit. "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

She turned and fled the house with haste, only to stop at the top of the steps to stare at the sleek car approaching the gates. The chauffer with a cap hurried out from the car to open the back passenger door and bowed respectfully at the figure. Sakura almost couldn't recognize him with his hair gelled up neatly like that of a high position business man.

"Please have a good day, sir!" the chauffer greeted enthusiastically, still bowed at the waist.

Syaoran glanced at him and sighed. "That's all for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir!" He bowed even deeper, if possible, and drove the car off. Syaoran stood a moment longer at the gate, staring at the empty street before walking towards his house. His eyes widened when he spotted Sakura, and narrowed when the unknown woman skipped lightly to the steps just outside the door.

"You're back, darling!" Her voice was cheerful and sweet. Sakura's nails dug into her palms, hardly feeling the damage she was doing to herself. "You made me wait too long today!"

"I was caught up in a meeting," he replied and entered the house without even bothering to greet Sakura. This came as a shock to Sakura, who remained motionless outside.

"Aren't you going to greet you little friend here?"

Sakura waited for a response, hoping that Syaoran would just tell that woman to shut her mouth or to tell her who she was.

"I don't know her," his reply came instantly.

"Are you sure you don't know her?" The woman asked as she shut the door. She didn't even spare Sakura another glance.

Sakura was glad that her back for facing the door, so no one could see how her tears spilled onto her cheeks. She was even gladder that the door was closed, so no one could hear her sniffles as she cried. So that was it—the teacher-student relationship has officially ended. Syaoran would rather that she slept at the hotel than letting this woman find out about her.

The blow was too heavy for Sakura to handle. She has to get out of the place before she flooded the entire front yard. It was still a blur how she made it to her hotel room. Before she knew it, she was back on the streets with all her belongings in tow and with nowhere to go. She didn't want to stay in the hotel room anymore since Syaoran didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Rather than sticking to him like a leech, Sakura thought it would be better if she looked for some other places to stay.

Her cell phone vibrated in her uniform skirt again for the nth time. She just let it continue to vibrate because she knew who the caller was. Did he call to break up with her officially? If so, she didn't want to hear his voice at all. She didn't want to see him anymore. Forever.

With another sniffle, she dragged herself to the place she knew would accommodate her. The cosplay café was already closed for the night, but Sakura spied the kitchen lights from the front doors and she dragged her feet to the back door. Junko answered on the third knock on the door and wordlessly let the distraught Sakura into the café.

"You don't look good," Junko said after putting Sakura on a chair. "I'll make you some warm drink."

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Junko interrupted and looked pointedly at the bags beside Sakura. "I've got a spare room upstairs which nobody is using. If you need a place to stay, you can stay there."

Sakura was gaping at Junko. "Can I?"

Junko knelt in front of Sakura and patted her hands in assurance. "Yes you can. Everyone listens to what Junko says and I say you can stay here."

Sakura's lips trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut to keep her emotions under control. It all went berserk when Junko pulled Sakura into a comforting hug and Sakura cried for all it's really worth.

To be continued

New character in the chapter! Does anyone feel like bashing her up? ^^"