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

Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 29

Sakura did not know what possessed her to bring Syaoran back to Yukito's place. She knew Touya would be angry if he saw Syaoran. She should have the foresight to keep the two men as far away from each other as possible. Putting the two of them in the same room meant trouble and she was right in the middle of it.

"Looks like you are much better than the last time I saw you," Syaoran commented in a grin, feeling at ease in the tense situation. It was as if Touya's glare meant nothing to him. "It's good to see you walking about for a change."

Sakura noticed Touya's clenched fists and felt cold sweat pour from her forehead. Touya arrived at Yukito's place just minutes ago and the hardened expression on his face when he saw Syaoran didn't bode well. At least he wasn't strangling Syaoran. That was the only source for comfort.

"What are you doing here?"

Syaoran's eyes widened dramatically as he turned to face Sakura. "So he finally speaks!"

"Really, can we stop with all these nonsense?" Touya said, crossing his arms and frowning at Syaoran. Sakura gulped. That didn't look so good at all.

"Just visiting."

Touya tapped his feet for several seconds before he realized Syaoran wasn't going to elaborate on his answer. "We are not that close to warrant your kind presence here."

Syaoran shrugged. "Well, I'm closer to Sakura," he said and wound his arm around Sakura's shoulders. He grinned at her shocked expression and held on a little tighter when she tried to shake him off. "Don't be embarrassed now!"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Sakura hissed as she pinched on the back of his hand. He only winced in pain but refused to let go. "You are deliberately goading my brother! I'm not going to care if he kills you!"

Sakura gasped when Touya lurched from the sofa opposite them to grab the front of Syaoran's shirt. Syaoran seemed unfazed by the sudden spurt of action and had the audacity to grin at Touya. "Finally! There is some response from you. I was wondering how long it will take for you to be really angry."

"I want you to stay away from my sister."

"I can't do that," Syaoran said, almost on a whine. "I'm too in love with her to be apart from her. You see—it'll kill me to stay away from her. Tried that and done that. It didn't work out very well."

Touya's eyes narrowed and he released Syaoran with a not-so-gentle shove. "I can't believe this… I thought it was just a passing crush at that point in time… You really…" he muttered softly.

"Stop right there!" Syaoran exclaimed with wide eyes. When he had Touya's attention, he shook his head slowly. "Don't continue…"

Sakura looked from one guy to another with growing interest. "What's going on? Why didn't you let onii-chan continue what he was going to say?"

"It's nothing. Really…" The pinkish hue on Syaoran's cheeks piqued Sakura's interest.

"Oh really?" Sakura drawled out with deliberately slowness. "Then it shouldn't matter if onii-chan continues right?"

Touya was enjoying Syaoran's discomfort. Yukito was chuckling and shaking his head on the sofa beside Touya. The men in the room definitely knew what was going on and that irked Sakura, who still remained clueless.

"It's really nothing worth mentioning."

"I think Sakura is really interested to know," Touya said with a slanted grin. "It's kind of rude to keep the lady in the dark eh?"

Sakura was slightly relieved that Touya seemed to be a little less angry. He was even trying to tease and embarrass Syaoran! However, she still didn't quite understand what brought about the change in his attitudes but she wasn't complaining about it at all.

"Can we please come back to the issue at hand?" Syaoran asked, trying to change the subject. Sakura groaned at his attempt because that would mean that Touya would be angry again. "What were we talking about again? Right… You want me to stay away from Sakura, and I told you I can't."

Touya nodded and signaled for Syaoran to continue with what he was saying. It was Yukito who saved the day. "We are really concerned about Sakura-san. She'll end up getting hurt if you continue to stay with her."

"Getting hurt? By who?" Syaoran asked. Touya threw a cushion at Syaoran, who managed to catch it mid-air. "Me? I'd never hurt her!"

"Maybe not intentionally," Yukito added. "But there is still a high chance that she might end up getting hurt because she's with you. You know who you are and what you represent. Can she still be with you and live in your world without getting a single hit by the people surrounding you?"

Sakura couldn't agree more. That was part of the reason why she wanted to stay away from Syaoran—because the two of them didn't belong to the same world.

Syaoran sighed and took Sakura's hands in his. "I know. I know all these worries that you have. I promise it won't be a problem anymore because I will be speaking to my mother and make her understand. She's the only person who is standing between us right now."

"Did you forget about me?" Touya interrupted.

"Oh, right. You're not counted."

"Huh? Why? I thought I have every reason to stop the two of you together?"

"Not when we belong to each other," Syaoran said and brought Sakura's hands to his lips, causing Sakura to blush. "And you know I'll make her happy, or die trying."

Touya muttered something under his breath but was too soft for either Sakura or Syaoran to hear. "Then I hope you'll die and spare me all the headaches," he grounded out when prompted by Syaoran.

"Onii-chan!"

"I'm not going to apologize."

"It's okay. I'm not going to die so easily and make you unhappy. I'll make sure I live longer than you, so that you will be spared the loneliness of having your loved one taken away from you again. I promise."

Sakura was struck speechless by Syaoran's words. Her mouth opened but no words came out, so she shut it quickly before she looked like an idiotic goldfish. Her eyes welled up without warning and her bottom lips began to quiver. Syaoran stared on in horror as a lone tear slipped from the corner of Sakura's eyes. She gave him a shaky smile to assure him that she was not upset.

Syaoran traced the path of her tears with his thumbs as he cupped her face. He returned her smile with one of his own before pulling her into the circle of his arms. He didn't care that Touya and Yukito were there to witness it—he just wanted to stop her tears.

"You'll be safe with me," Syaoran said, keeping her in place by holding the back of her head. Besides, she didn't put up as much struggle as he expected. "But only after your graduation."

Hearing what Syaoran said, Touya sat up straighter in his seat as he narrowed his eyes at him. Syaoran spared him a single gaze before pulling away from Sakura and keeping her at arm's length. "W-what do you mean?"

Sakura hated the uncertainty in her voice. Syaoran had a determined look on his face even though he was still smiling at her. "I have to leave the school, muffin. You still have about three months to go before graduation and I can't put you at a risk."

"But you said you'll keep me safe?"

Syaoran nodded. "By staying away for the next few months."

"No." Sakura shook her head. Three months of not seeing Syaoran would be an agony after what they had been through.

"It's not as if we will not be seeing each other," Syaoran said with a chuckle. "If you miss me, let me know and I'll be with you in an instant."

"But… Where will you go?"

Syaoran reached out to tuck a lose strand of hair behind her ear, an action with prompted another round on blushing on Sakura's cheeks with her brother watching on.

"I'll go back to being a CEO. I guess Hiiragizawa will be most happy to hear know this. That way, I can be with you with no prying eyes."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Touya interrupted. "There'll be two pair of eyes here to watch you."

"Right." Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I'm not a danger to Sakura."

Sakura held her breath and waited for Touya's outburst. It never came.

"Make her cry again, for whatever reason, and you'll face my wrath. I won't go easy on you just because my sister fancies you."

Syaoran gave him a mock salute in reply. Touya seemed satisfied with the response because his stance relaxed substantially and the hard lines on his face relaxed. "It seems like we have your brother's blessings!"

"No, I did not," Touya said, sounding a little annoyed. "I just said that if you make Sakura cry again, I'll make sure you suffer."

"And I said I will not make her unhappy, didn't I?" Syaoran countered.

"The time will come." Touya chuckled as he shared a knowing look with Yukito. "I'm sure of that."

"Stop finding fault with Sensei!" Sakura throw a cushion at Touya and was satisfied when it hit its mark. "I'll make you suffer if you hurt Sensei."

"Stay for dinner." With that Touya heaved himself off the sofa and slowly stumbled his way to his room, leaving three people shocked into silence in the living room.

"Did I hear that correctly?" Syaoran asked

"That's good news," Yukito replied.

"This is definitely an improvement." Sakura beamed at Syaoran as she leapt into his arms, catching him by surprise but not unwelcomed.

"Together, we are a force to be reckoned with."

"At least this is one worry off your shoulders," Yukito said. "I told you, didn't I? Touya will have no choice but to accept you because he didn't want his sister to be unhappy. I think he's busy bashing his head against the wall right now."

Syaoran chuckled and Sakura felt the vibration against his chest. She grinned as Syaoran continued to converse with Yukito but made no move to be apart from Syaoran. She would probably fall asleep if she closed her eyes.

"So you'll be going back to your office?" Sakura heard Yukito ask. "It's a pity since you just joined the school not long ago."

Syaoran shrugged and almost dislodged Sakura from her perch on his shoulder. "It's probably for the best. Besides, I can't really concentrate on my teaching with Sakura staring at me all the time. I'll get really distracted."

"I did not stare at you all the time!" Sakura protested immediately. "I was looking at the blackboard!"

"You were definitely staring at me."

"All right! I'll leave the two of you to have some alone time."

"Huh? You don't have to leave us alone, Yukito-san."

"I'll get diabetic with the two of you together. Besides, I need to prepare dinner for us." Yukito said with a rueful smile. "Our Sakura-chan is finally growing up."

"Hey! You sound like you are marrying me off! I will be sticking to onii-chan's side for a very long time!"

"What? Why would you stick with that guy? I'm a much better choice!"

Sakura gave him a dubious look. "I never peg you for an egoistic guy, Sensei."

"And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Sensei anymore?"

"Um… Many times?"

"Not good enough." Syaoran leaned towards Sakura's ears and whispered so that she was the only one who could hear him. "I'll have to give you some punishments later."

Sakura's eyes widened immediately as she reared away and darted a glance at Yukito. He was looking at them with an amused expression on his face, as if he was taking great pleasure in watching Syaoran tease her. "I guess that's my cue to leave," he said with a laugh and left before Sakura could stop him.

Syaoran inched closer to Sakura and grinned as she darted away. "I won't allow you to run away anymore, muffin. Not when it hurts both of us when you do so."

"I'm not going to run away." Sakura insisted. He cocked an eyebrow at her in challenge. "Well, I just don't want to cause any fist fights between you and onii-chan."

"He's not going to hurt me, muffin. Because when he hurts me, he hurts you as well. Now stop running away and come here." He patted the recently vacated space beside him.

Sakura eyed the spot and bit on her bottom lip. "I can sit beside you only if you promise not to kiss me."

"You know I can't promise you that?" Syaoran pouted.

"Okay, if you promise not to kiss me in Yukito-san's house?"

He grinned that boyish grin of his. "Deal!"

Well, he lied.

To be continued

Was really busy since November after I joined my new company. Now that I have more time to write, it takes a lot more effort to get back to the story and continue writing. One chapter closer to the end of the whole fic! I'm still thinking of how to write the next chapter. Initially I thought I could finish it by end of February but it's going to take slightly longer time. Should I write another chapter or an epilogue next. Hmm...