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

Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 20

The delicious smell of pancakes woke Sakura and she remained smiling on the bed for a few moments until she remembered where she was. A pang of sadness filled her as she blinked at the unfamiliar surroundings. The room Junko offered her was small but it was better than having no place to stay. She'd have to make do with that.

She quickly changed into her school uniform and headed down to the first floor, which was where the cosplay café operated. Sakura didn't know Junko stayed above the café until yesterday. Junko smiled at her when she came down from the stairs leading straight to the kitchen. It was still a wonder that Sakura didn't stop to think what the stairs was for when she worked here.

"Good morning!" Junko greeted cheerfully. "How are you today?"

Sakura nodded. "Better. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Junko replied and flipped the pancake in the pan skillfully. Sakura watched as the pancake sizzled on the pan before Junko slid it onto the pile on a plate. "Help yourself to the breakfast. You need something in your stomach to last you throughout the lesson."

"Thank you," Sakura said. "Junko-san, I'm really grateful that you are allowing me to stay here."

"You are always welcome!" Junko placed the used pan in the kitchen sink and took out a pitcher of fresh milk from the refrigerator. "I'm indebted to Daidouji-san and it is my pleasure to be able to help any friends of hers."

"How long have you known Tomoyo-chan, if I may ask?"

Junko sat down by the table and passed an empty plate to Sakura for her pancakes. "You can say that I've known her since she was born. I was initially a servant at the Daidouji mansion but due to some unfortunate circumstances, I was told to leave a few years ago. Daidouji-san was close to almost everyone in the mansion because of her friendly and cheerful nature. When she heard about me, she offered to help immediately. This was how I manage to get this restaurant. She helped to pull some strings for me and for that, I'm ever grateful to her."

"That's great! I mean… you are very successful in managing this café and Tomoyo-chan is really happy for you!"

"I know," Junko replied. "Our young mistress really has a kind heart. You too."

"Me?"

Junko chuckled. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

Sakura was spared from answering when her cell phone vibrated in her pockets. She turned sullen when she saw the caller's name on the screen but made no move to answer her phone. She just put her cell phone back into her pocket and resumed her breakfast in silence. A few seconds later, her cell phone vibrated again and she stiffened in response. Feeling Junko's gaze on her, Sakura refused to check the caller's name again.

"Aren't you going to pick up that call?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Sakura pushed the small pieces of pancake around on her plate. Her appetite was apparently gone. "It's not important."

"You wouldn't be brooding this much if it isn't important," Junko said. "Just so that you know, once you missed something, it will be gone for good. I'm telling you this from my own experience."

"You don't understand…"

Junko sighed. "You're right—I don't understand. But you do!"

"I…"

"Just think about what I said," Junko said. She gasped in dismay at the time on the clock. "You better hurry! It's almost time for school!"

Sakura cleared the dishes and dumped the leftovers on her plate into the bin. Even though she rested enough, she still felt tired. "Thanks for the food," Sakura told Junko before she rushed to school.

xxx

She hardly paid any attention to the lesson throughout the day. She didn't even realize that it was lunch break until the period has ended. It didn't matter anyway because she didn't get any food. Besides, she wasn't even hungry.

The classroom door slid open with a loud bang and everyone jumped in their seats, including Sakura. Her wide eyes turned to the angry teacher standing by the door and groaned inwardly when she saw who it was. Why did it have to be English class? Why did he have to turn up for work today of all days. Didn't he have some important CEO related meetings to attend?

He stomped over to the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. No one dared to utter even a single sound as Syaoran's loud footsteps echoed throughout the room. Sakura pulled a long face and stared out of the window, determined to ignore her homeroom teacher and English teacher combined.

"Kinomoto Sakura!" Syaoran roared from the front of the classroom and Sakura jerked her gaze back to him. "Would you care to explain why you didn't answer my calls?"

Did he just say what she thought he did? Was he insane? Her classmates turned to her in mild curiosity and were whispering among themselves.

"My battery went flat," she simply said.

"Bullshit," Syaoran spat and the whole class gasped in shock. This was the first time they ever see their teacher this angry. Even the male students' faces paled at their teacher's unusual outburst. "Hand over your phone right now."

"W-what?" Sakura exclaimed. "Why do you need my phone?"

"To check if you are lying."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did he just accuse her of not answering his calls publicly in class, with all her classmates as witnesses? Did he want to get her expelled?

"You have no right!"

"I have absolute right as your homeroom teacher. Now give me your phone."

Sakura wondered why he was the one who's angry. Shouldn't she be the one feeling that way? After all, she did witness another woman together with him in the same house just a few days after he declared his intentions to her. Anger flared within her at that thought.

"I can't believe this," Sakura spat. She grabbed her belongings and without left the classroom without permission. She knew she was getting herself into deep trouble for open defiance but she had enough of all his pointless accusation.

He caught up to her at the locker area and attempted to drag her back to class. "Do you know how childish you are acting right now?" he asked, hauling her by her waist. Sakura pinched, smack and slapped his hands to get him to let go of her.

"Childish?" Sakura almost screamed at him. "Exactly who's the one acting childish right now, Li-sensei?"

"How about the one who didn't pick up my calls for the entire night yesterday and the whole of today?"

"I don't even understand why you tried to call me," Sakura retorted, struggling in Syaoran's arms. He stopped moving but pinned her against the lockers. "And you need to stop this madness, Li-sensei! After what you did in class, everyone will be wondering what is going on between us."

"I don't care!"

"Sure you don't." Sakura sucked in a breath and prayed for control over her emotions. She wouldn't want to cry in front of her homeroom teacher. "You are just toying with my feelings."

Syaoran jerked back in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Isn't that right? You suddenly wanted me to get out of the house to stay in the hotel while you bring another woman to your house. Isn't that very obvious?"

"What?"

Sakura looked down, hoping her bangs would hide her eyes. "I know some things are just hard to say aloud so I can understand why you want to keep it away from me. You can just take it that everything is one-sided on my part while you continue your whatever with her. From today onwards, we have nothing to do with each other. You don't have to feel guilty because we all knew how this will end from the beginning."

"Muffin, you aren't making any sense!"

"I'm not making any sense?" She chuckled humourlessly. "Let me make this clearer to you—it's over between us. Nothing happened and nothing will ever happen." She gathered enough strength to push away from Syaoran. That caught him by surprise but he recovered quickly, making a grab for her. She sidestepped him and dashed out of the school in record speed.

Her mind was empty as she ran across the street aimlessly. Her lungs burned for air as she pushed herself even harder to get far away from the source of her sadness. Her bag slid from her shoulder to the ground with a loud thump. She squatted down and pressed her face against her bent knees, choking on a sob. No one was at the park at this hour so there was no one there who would think that it was weird for a student to cry there.

It wasn't long till Sakura felt numbness in her leg. She winced at the unpleasant sensation and shifted to a sitting position on the floor. Her runny nose was starting to irritate her as well so she dug for tissues in her bag only to find that there wasn't any. She sniffed again and felt that her nose was all clogged up. She was sorely tempted to blow her nose on the sleeves on her uniform but the thought of a soggy uniform disgusted her.

A packet of tissue appeared in her line of vision, startling her—she didn't hear anyone approach. The slim silver haired man towered over her but had a kind smile on his face. He looked oddly familiar.

"Are you Kinomoto Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and gaped. How did he know her name? Psychic?

"You and your teacher really created an uproar in school," he continued when Sakura didn't reply. He shook his head and pressed the packet of tissue into Sakura's hands before sitting down on the ground in front of her. "The principal called Li-sensei for investigation earlier."

Sakura blew her nose—loud—into the tissue, grateful to relieve her blocked nose. "You looked really familiar… Are you a teacher from my school?"

The man lifted a brow. "You didn't hear about me? Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

He sighed deeply. "I'm the newly appointed school nurse reporting for duty today. Imagine my surprise to be called upon to hunt down truants, only to find that it's you. I guess you didn't pay much attention to whatever is going around in school, did you?"

Something was definitely different about this 'school nurse'. He was talking to her as if he knew her. "Who are you?"

"The school nurse?"

Sakura glared at him. "Name?"

"Oh my... How can you be so rude to your school nurse?" he asked, feigning shock. He chuckled at her pissed off expression, despite her red nose and puffy eyes. "I'm Tsukishiro Yukito. Does the name ring a bell?"

It definitely did. "Yukito-san?" Sakura exclaimed. She appraised the man in front of her, looking for similarities between him and the boy who always stayed over at their house. It has been years since she saw him. She remembered she was about ten years old when Yukito left Japan to pursue his studies overseas. It has been really long. "You looked very different!"

"More handsome, I hope."

"Hmm… Perhaps?" Sakura laughed at the offended looked Yukito was giving her. She reached over and gave him a quick hug to soothe his tender feelings.

"So… I have been trying to contact your family for quite a while now. I even went to your house but there's a new family there…"

Sakura stiffened immediately. How was she going to explain everything to him without breaking down? How was she going to tell him that she was all alone now without a place to stay after selling off their family's house to provide for herself? Yukito noticed the change in her demeanor immediately and knew something was wrong. She shook her head sadly. "They are all gone. Accident… A year ago…"

"G-gone?"

Sakura nodded through the onslaught of tears. "Car accident. I'm the only survivor…"

Yukito leaned forward and hauled Sakura into his arms, pressing her face against his chest. "Goodness… I can't even imagine what you've gone through!"

"Just… lots of jobs and lack of sleep."

He released her, setting her back on the ground. "You sold the house? Then where are you staying now?"

"Um… Above the cosplay café I'm working at?"

Yukito shook his head disapprovingly. "I can't have Touya's sister living like this and tiring herself out. No way! He'd have my hide if he knew about this. I've decided—you are going to stay with me."

Sakura's eyes turned as round as saucers at the declaration.

"But first, we have to settle the principal."

Oh great—now she had two new problems to handle.

To be continued

Finally got a break from work! This week is a 3-day weekend due to one public holiday. Been busy everyday with work and things will definitely be getting crazy next week! Thanks for all your lovely reviews! Love receiving them. Also, thanks for the favorites and follows! Really appreciate them. :) Then, I shall peel myself away from my seat and head off to bed... Looking forward to a good night's sleep. Till next week!