Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to the ever wonderful CLAMP. I have no claim on the title and its characters.
Sensei, I Love You
Chapter 26
"You should just answer the phone," Sakura commented when Syaoran's phone rang again for the tenth time within half an hour.
Syaoran glanced at the caller display before silencing his phone and chucking it to the foot of the bed. "There's no way that I'm leaving my bed when you're in it."
"The movie can wait," Sakura said, rolling her eyes at him. However, she couldn't help but feel elated at his words.
Syaoran scooted nearer to her on the bed. If he was any closer, she would be literally sitting on his lap. The phone stopped vibrating and Syaoran used his toe to push the cursed thing farther away from him.
"I'd rather stay with you then listen to Eriol nag. That guy is just like any other old hag who wouldn't stop harping."
Sakura choked on a laugh. "That's a mean thing to say about your cousin!"
Syaoran shrugged as if he wouldn't care less. "I couldn't just let him boss me around you know?"
"Aren't you his boss?"
"Of course I am! But that doesn't mean that Eriol would just shut up and do his work quietly!"
"You should have just gone back to being a CEO," Sakura commented, passing him the bowl of popcorn in her lap. "That way, there's a higher chance that he'll stop pestering you."
"Well, he's the acting CEO now and has the same rights as me. Besides, I enjoy teaching more than anything in this world."
"You really do enjoy yourself," Sakura said, remembering all the weird and silly things Syaoran did in school. "There's no other teacher who's crazier than you."
"I hope not! I aim to be the one-of-a-kind teacher!"
"And get kicked out of the school for being so crazy."
Syaoran pouted. "That's mean."
"Aww... Sensei is sad..." Sakura cooed, patting his puffy cheeks.
He caught the hands on his cheeks and stared at her for a short while before removing the bowl from her lap and setting it on the small bedside table. Before she could realize what was happening, she was already pinned down on the bed, with Syaoran hovering over her.
"W-what?"
"You never learn, do you?"
"Learn?" She squeaked and tried to shrink into the bed when he leaned slightly forward.
"Must I kiss you to get you to remember?"
"No!" Since her hands were free, she tried to push Syaoran off her but he just won't budge. "I remember!" She cried out in desperation.
"And then?"
"I remember, S-Syaoran!" This time, she forced herself not to add the suffix to her boyfriend's name but her efforts caused her cheeks to turn red.
"Thats more like it," Syaoran complimented but leaned down for a quick peck anyway. He grinned at Sakura's surprised expression. "Oh! Look! Someone's turning red! How cute!"
"You are so mean!" Sakura exclaimed, thumping her fists onto Syaoran's chest in a fit of embarrassment. "I already called you by your name!"
"I don't care," he said. "I just feel like kissing you all the time." He leaned down again for a second kiss but his phone interrupted them, vibrating incessantly on the bed. He groaned in frustration and pulled away from Sakura to glare at the offending phone. "I swear I'll kill him!"
"No violence!" Sakura reminded.
"I'll get back to you in a while. Just let me murder this irritating guy over the phone."
Sakura scrambled to a sitting position the moment Syaoran made a grab for his phone. His frown was fierce as he read the number on the display. This guy sure had a hidden temper. His expression wiped clean when the number registered in his mind and he wasn't frowning anymore. Sakura wondered if it was Eriol who called.
"I'll... I'll be back in a while. J-just continue with your movie," he said and rushed out of his room, closing his door behind him and leaving a confused Sakura alone.
Syaoran didn't take long to finish the call. He was brooding when he strode into the room.
"What's wrong?"
His head snapped to her when she spoke. It was as if he had forgotten that she was in his room. "Something urgent came up and I need to make a trip to the office. Will you be all right on your own?"
"I'm sure I can manage it. I'll just hide in your room until you come home. Will your cousin just pop into your room without warning?"
"She wouldn't dare."
"Great! You better hurry," she said. "Whatever's worrying you seems pretty urgent."
"Yeah..." Syaoran scratched the back of his head and smiled at her apologetically. "I'll probably take an hour or two. You can use my laptop if you are bored. It's in the study."
Sakura nodded absently. It didn't come across her before that she didn't know where his study room was but he was pressed for time and she didn't want to detain him. "I'll keep myself entertained. Meanwhile, I'm quite content to surf through your TV channels."
"Okay. See you later."
Sakura thought he would try something funny like kissing her for no apparent reason but he just grabbed his stuff from the bedside table and went out without another word.
"That's weird..." Sakura mused. She shrugged off her questions and turned her attention to back to her show.
An hour later, she was totally bored with nothing much to do. The ongoing show did not capture her interest and she turned the TV off with a sigh.
She stumbled out of Syaoran's room in search of the study room with the promised laptop. She could use some time to do some research and read up. The house was quiet, which was fine to Sakura since she rather welcomed the silence than face Meiling's wrath. Her fists clenched in annoyance when she recalled the way the other lady behaved around Syaoran when they first met.
"Definitely a weird cousin." Sakura muttered. "It's as if she has a freaking crush on her own cousin."
She stood in the middle of the wide corridor, looking at the doors lining both sides of the wall. She'd have to comb the room one by one if she ever wanted to find the study. It was a good thing that there was only ten rooms in the house but that was enough to make her feel like she was invading Syaoran's privacy.
Deducing that the study room was actually Syaoran's home office, it shouldn't be far away from his room. Sakura tried the door directly opposite of Syaoran's room and jumped up with joy when she guessed correctly.
"I'd make a good sleuth," Sakura complimented herself as she strode into the room, slightly amazed by thr grand furnishings. "Wow..."
A big oak table sat in the middle of the room, though much closer to the wide expanse of the window at the back. Tall bookshelves lined all sides of the walls and no inch was uncovered. This made the inner portion of the room slightly darker where direct sunlight couldn't reach.
Sakura touched the books in the closest shelf fondly, suddenly remembering that her father loved books too and that he bought more books than he could ever read. When she was younger, she would pop into her father's mini library and pick up some books she didn't even know how to read but it felt good to just flip through the book and enjoy the musty smell. She remembered complaining to her father that she didn't have books that she could read in the library. The next day, there was a miniature shelf filled with fairytale books sitting in the library. Her father even made sure that he read her a story everyday despite how busy he was. The memory put a wistful smile on her face.
Sakura scanned through the books, curious about what kind of books Syaoran would read. Her brow crinkled when she saw that most were management books like "How to Lead", "Ways to Manage Your Staff" and "Strategic Thinking". How boring.
She was nearing the big bookshelves near the office table when something caught her attention-something familiar...
"Sleeping Beauty?" Sakura mused aloud and couldn't stop giggling. Syaoran read fairytales? This was totally unexpected!
It was the exact book that she used to have, until she had to sell of the house and the Tanaka gleefully threw all the books away. There wasn't anything that she could do about that since there wasn't any storage place in her miserable room. It still made her heart ache a little when she thought about her books.
Sakura fingered the book cover lovingly, enjoying the feel of the rough surface. She flipped to the first page of the book and froze, a look of disbelief crossed her face-right there in the middle of the page were her father's handwriting. It was a note written that he wrote when he bought the book for her.
To my dearest daughter, Kinomoto Sakura, with love.
Sakura's hands trembled as she flipped to the last page. What were the chances that this book, which happened to be in Syaoran's library, actually belonged to her? For all she knew, it could be for another Kinomoto Sakura. The book almost dropped onto the carpeted floor of the library when she saw the childish scribbles throughout the pages-she recognized her own handwriting.
The door to the library burst open and the door bang onto the cupboards by the door with such a force that it was surprising it didn't splintered. Meiling was panting at the doorway with wide eyes. Sakura turned to Meiling, clutching the book tightly as if it was her only lifeline.
"Why?" Sakura uttered the only word that came to her mind.
"Why what?" Meiling approached her cautiously.
"Why is my book here?" Sakura asked as she stared at the book ans then at the shelf where there were more familiar titles. She removed another book and flipped through the pages. "Why?"
"You need to calm down."
"I am calm. I'm just... confused. Sensei is obviously keeping things from me even though we promised to be truthful. I guess those were just words. Empty promises..."
Meiling pried the books away from Sakura to put it back to the shelf. The latter cringed as though she was about to receive a tongue lashing from Meiling.
"Syaoran has his difficulties and I only realize some of them now even though we are close cousins. I guess this is part of the reason why he took up teaching."
Sakura let her hands fall to her sides. Her mind whirled and she was totally confused.
"I don't understand... And why are you being so nice to me out of a sudden?"
Meiling led Sakura out of the library with gentle hands. "It's because we owe it to you... and your family."
"But my family is dead..."
Meiling looked away, unable to bear Sakura's scrutiny. "That's why we owe it to the both of you."
Sakura's blood chilled instantly. "W-what's the meaning of this? Owe it to us? Owe what? What exactly happened?"
"I can't explain fully to you right now," Meiling said and continued to steer Sakura out of the house. "Syaoran is the best person to explain everything. In fact, he was the one who called me to bring you to the hospital."
"Do me a favor-don't ask anymore questions until we get there. There are some things which Syaoran can explain better than me."
Sakura nodded. "Is he hurt?"
Meiling sighed in exasperation. "No. That idiot is perfectly fine."
"Then why is he at the hospital? He rushed out of the house after picking up a call..."
Meiling shot her a pointed look. "No more questions. Remember?"
Knowing Meiling would not yield to her incessant questioning, Sakura willed herself to remain quiet throughout the car ride to the hospital where Syaoran currently was.
"I'll drop you off at the lobby before finding a parking place," Meiling announced as their car maneuvered into the hospital driveway. "You just head up to fifth floor and turn right. You should be able find Syaoran there."
"Okay," Sakura uttered while keeping her trained on the imposing white building looming ahead of them.
"Right... Here we are and off you go."
Sakura's movements were jerky as she tried to release her seatbelt. "Um... Li-san?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Meiling choked back on a laugh. "Don't thank me yet. Just wait till you hear the truth-you won't even want to see our faces after that."
Sakura gave Meiling a wry smile. "Still, thank you for bringing me here. You don't have the obligation to do that."
"Considering what happened in the past, I'd still say that the Lis owe it to the Kinomotos." Meiling's eyes fluttered close and she let out a soft sigh. "If only we were told earlier about you... Perhaps things would be slightly different."
Not knowing how to respond to Meiling's statement, Sakura just bobbed her head before entering the hospital.
True to Meiling's words, Sakura spotted Syaoran immediately after she took a right turn at the fifth floor. He was leaning against the plain white walls with his hands folded on his chest and a slight frown on his face.
A doctor stood a feet or two away and was talking animatedly with his hands gestering wildly. She was still a distance to be able to hear them clearly. A nurse approached the doctor and he politely excused himself. Syaoran sighed before pushing away from the wall. He was about to open the door to the private room when he paused by the door as if to collect himself and prepare for whatever was inside.
"You!" A guy bellowed from within the room. Sakura jumped in surprise. "Let me out!"
Sakura couldn't hear Syaoran's reply above the ruckus but the man continued shouting. The voice seemed familiar to her and she couldn't identify it on the spot.
"Let me out! I need to find my sister! She must be in the hospital! She must be!"
It suddenly clicked. Sakura staggered towards the wall so that she could support herself. He was...
"I said let me out!"
The same doctor from earlier dashed into the room with his white coat fluttering behind him in his wake. The shouting continued in greater intensity and a few precious seconds later, everything was blissfully quiet.
Sakura managed to walk towards the room without falling flat on her face. She slid the door open to jerky hands and gasped in surprise at the scene before here and more importantly at the person lying on the bed.
"You're here," Syaoran spoke. He moved towards Sakura but the pained expression on her face stopped him mid-stride. "Sakura?"
"How could you?" Sakura hissed, tears welling in her eyes from his betrayal. "You promised to be truthful to me!"
"Sakura, please, let me explain."
"Sakura?" The guy on the bed murmured and tried to push himself up. "Sakura? My sister?"
The doctor forced the guy back onto the bed with a gentle but firm push on his shoulders. "You need to rest, Kinomoto-san. You just woke up from your coma."
"I want to see my sister. Let me see my sister."
With a final glare at Syaoran, Sakura flew to her brother's side and cradled his large hand in hers. "Touya-nii, I'm here. Sakura's here."
Touya blinked and appraised Sakura with narrowed eyes. "Sakura?"
Tears leaked from the corner of Sakura's eyes. "Touya-nii!" She pulled him into a tight hug, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck.
"You look... different... You no longer look small." He ruffled the top of her head and chuckled at her indignant gasp.
"I'm not even big now!" She smacked his shoulder in retaliation and brought forth another round of rusty chuckles from him.
"You're Sakura-my sister..." His hand on her head went slack and flopped onto the bed. Sakura lurched back in alarm.
"Um... Miss, don't worry. He was injected with sedatives as he was very agitated before you came in. The medication just set in and he was knocked out," the doctor explained with a gentle smile. "He should be feeling normal the next time he wakes up."
"T-thank you." Sakura sniffed loudly. She didn't know how she would react if anything were to happen to her last relative-probably a total breakdown would ensue. She pulled the covers up over Touya, making sure he was totally blanketed from neck down.
"Please be rest assured that Kinomoto-san will be well taken care of," the doctor said and bowed slightly. "I'll take my leave now. Good day."
Syaoran stepped beside her. "Sakura, we need to talk."
Sakura did not bother looking at him as she replied. "I'd like to be left alone for a while. My mind is all jumbled up."
Syaoran sighed, clearly not wanting to leave her alone but Sakura did not give him a choice. "All right... But please come back home tonight. I don't want you to loiter outside."
Sakura hesitated but nodded her head in the end. A sad smile touched Syaoran's lips as he kissed the top of Sakura's head. Then he left the hospital.
Sakura released the breath that she was holding when she heard the door slid shut. She needed to think clearly. Will she be able to forgive Syaoran no matter what reasons he would have for hiding Touya from her all these years?
To be continued
Wow! It has been a month since I last update. Why do time passes so fast? I'm thinking that 24 hours a day is not enough for me to do sooooo many things! (Work, study, write, read, play, family, friends etc) Any of you feeling the same as me? I've been taking online writing classes but can't seem to complete the assignments on time. *laughs* I'm terrible... I'm keeping the writing momentum going for Sensei, I Love You. Feel free to tweet/PM to push me to write more! I welcome all sorts of messages, good or bad. :) They keep me motivated, as always. Thanks to those who have been reviewing! I really appreciate your feedback and I'm working hard to write even better stories as my thanks to you. Thank you so much!
P.S. Anyone shocked by Touya's appearance? :D