T.Anjel: C-Mage-chan and Tiny Anjel here with another fic! Before any of you decide to turn your heels and speed away to read other fics, hear us out! It's interesting, I swear!

C-Mage: Konnichiwa, minna! Now, for all of you who've heard about this before, I'm really sorry... -.-' I kind of took forever writing. Now, you'd better all read this, because it's really quite interesting, if I do say so myself. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to us. No surprise.

Summary: Shy, stubborn Kinomoto Sakura becomes a student teacher for the grouchy Mr. Li Syaoran, a history teacher in an everyday American high school. The adventure goes on from there.

Learn to Love Me - Chapter 1 - Sakura's First Day

Once upon a time, I was in love. I still am, by the way, but that would be getting a little ahead of myself. You could say my story starts when I was born and learned to speak and walk, but I'll fast forward a bit until I was nineteen and went to college. It was a college in America, to be precise. It was the land of the free and home of the brave.

I loved children since way back, and I wanted to become a teacher. Everyone back at home thought that studying in America would be more educational and beneficial than learning whatever was possible in Japan. I agreed, and, after a little bit of convincing for my older brother, he finally let me go.

I was lucky to have a second cousin who lived in America, and it was all coincidental that she was a full-time teacher. I knew I could learn a lot from her, and she wasn't even all that much older than I was.

I graduated college with new friends and an education, and I was finally heading to get my master degree. It seemed to be a little far-fetched, but with a few motivational words from everyone I knew, it didn't seem to be all that bad of an idea. And, of course, to get the degree I had to study teaching and such by being a student teacher. How hard could that be?

And this is where I begin the story of my lover and me:

"Sakura-chan! Get up! You're going to be late on the first day of school."

"Already?"

"Hai, now get up."

"What time is it?" I grumbled, pulling the thin, pink sheets over my head to block out the sudden blinding light. It couldn't be more than six o'clock or so.

"It's seven-thirty."

That struck me pretty hard. "HOE!" I yelled automatically, springing up from my bed. I really shouldn't have done that. The bedroom light was so bright it took a whole minute just to adjust to it. I squinted up from my bed to see my cousin staring at me as if asking, 'Well?'

"I'm going. I'm going," I said, pacing myself and tumbling from bed. Even in the summer, the mornings were cold, and I shivered at the sudden nakedness I felt without my blanket. I quickly got myself ready. My hair was tied in a messy sort of ponytail, and I got dressed in a dark navy suit, complete with knee-length skirt and jacket.

I was assigned a student teacher job at the same school Tomoyo-san taught at. She's an art teacher, by the way. Anyway, I only met the teacher I was supposed to hang around with once. His name was Li Syaoran, and the few words he said to me the day he met me was for me not to get in his way. Did I do something wrong?

"Coffee?" Tomoyo-san offered, sliding over a large mug full of the dark liquid.

"Arigatou," I thanked, taking a seat at the kitchen table and sipping cautiously at the scalding fluid. "I'm so nervous," I said as Tomoyo-san took a seat in front of me.

"You'll be fine," she assured me. "Even though Li-san may be a little hard to get through, this year will go by in a breeze."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

I really was nervous. It was obvious enough that Li-san didn't really like me all that well, and what if the kids didn't like me, either? I only managed to drink half of my mug of coffee. Tomoyo-san and I rushed off into her black Lexus and sped away from her suburban home.

We arrived thirty minutes before class started, and Tomoyo-san had to get her art lessons for the day ready, so we parted once we got into the large high school. Now I had to find Li-san, but I had no idea where he was. The teachers' lounge? Maybe.

I scuttled off with my backpack slung over my shoulder, feeling like I was back at high school as a student. I actually was, in a way.

In a matter of minutes, I was lost and had no sense of direction. I even forgot what floor I was on. Eto, let me see here... I couldn't find any maps of the school anywhere, and barely any students were around at this time of day, which I found to be quite surprising.

"Kinomoto-san?"

I turned around and saw none other than Eriol-kun. He actually insisted I call him that. "Eriol-kun!" I cried in relief. Being lost was really taking its toll on me.

"Lost?" he asked.

If I were any smarter, I would have caught a strange shininess in his eyes. And even if I had caught it, I wouldn't have thought much of it. "Hai," I answered honestly.

"If you're looking for Mr. Li, he should be in his first period room," Eriol informed me. "You have his schedule?"

I nodded and took it out from the front pocket of my backpack. I just realized what a weird combination my suit and book bag made, but it's not as if I really minded. First period was in room 147.

Eriol peered over my shoulder and told me to go down the first stairs on my left and just head straight down the hallway 'til I found '147' written in large numbers on a door. I nodded in thanks and followed his precise instructions. Did I forget to mention that he's the principal of school and Tomoyo-san's long-term boyfriend? He really is a sweet man, but I'll have to admit he's a little strange.

I found the room with barely any difficulty and saw Li-san arranging his things for his first class. I gently knocked on the door to inform him of my presence.

"Mr. Li?" I asked timidly. That stare of his always seemed to pierce right through me. It was almost as if no matter how hard I tried hiding something, he would be able to see it without a problem. What an enigmatic man.

He looked up from his desk and did his usual glare thing. He must be doing it out of habit. I shrugged the glare off and gave the man a large smile. "I hope I'm not late, Mr. Li."

He gave me no reply and resumed his work. I determined myself not to get fazed by his cruel actions and made myself comfortable in the back corner of the room. I took out a notebook and pen, ready to examine Li-san's teaching style and so forth.

The silence was chilly and full of tension. I was hoping that Li-san would warm up to me sooner or later. He really didn't seem that bad of a man.

I heard the hallways slowly fill up with noise and screaming students. They all must have been excited to see each other again after so many weeks. The bell rang shrilly, demanding the students hustle and go to their first-period class. Students occupied nearly every seat in the room.

I couldn't help hearing small snippets of conversations, which happened so close to my ears. I tried not to, but those kids were so loud. Someone said something about how Mr. Li was supposed to be a real mean teacher; another girl said he was extremely good-looking and was wondering if he would wait 'til she graduated so he could marry her. I smiled at that.

The late bell rang, signaling for classes to begin. I watched Li-san intently as he finally lifted his head from staring at his notes or whatever was written in his notebook. He looked lazily at all the still students. He opened his mouth to say something, but the door banged open, interrupting the man from making his speech. A young boy barged into the room, his mouth running twice as quickly than what could possibly be imaginable, saying something about being really sorry for being late.

Amazingly enough, I think Li-san understood every word the boy said. "I don't expect you to ever be late to this class again," Li-san said, his voice low and menacing.

"I won't," the boy squeaked, definitely intimidated by the man's threat. He frantically looked around the room for a seat, only to find them all occupied. "There aren't anymore seats left, Mr. Li," he mumbled out, knowing all too well about the evil rumors spreading about Li-san and his short temper. I only heard these a little later.

"I guess you'll come earlier next time and get a seat," Li-san growled, looking down at the boy. "You'll have to sit on the floor in the back."

The boy would have protested but couldn't find the courage to defy Li-san's stare. He dragged his bag up an aisle, displaying to the class the humiliation he was faced with that morning.

"Take this seat," I immediately offered as he made his way to the back of the classroom. I slung my bag over my shoulder and tucked my notebook under my arm, grabbing my lucky pen as I did so.

The boy shook his head in alarm. "I can't! Where would you sit?"

"I'll be fine," I replied reassuringly and ushered him to the vacant seat.

He shook his head again.

"Fine," I said, and plopped myself on the floor, knowing I would have dust all over my skirt. "If you don't sit there, neither will I."

The boy stood next to the chair, his mouth open and not knowing how to react to what I had just done. The whole class was silent and turned their gaze over from the boy to Li-san, who was standing silently throughout my whole act. Everyone seemed to be holding his or her breath, and I also held mine.

"Ms. Kinomoto, I suggest you take your seat back and have the boy sit on the floor. He was the one being late," Li-san said.

"There is no reason for him to be sitting on the floor, Mr. Li," I shot back. I usually don't argue with people, but this was totally ridiculous. "He comes to school to learn, and no matter how late he is, he should not be treated any differently from the other students. If anything, you should have taken the small trouble to borrow another desk from another class."

I really didn't mean to humiliate Li-san, but it just happened too fast. He flushed a light shade of pink before barking at the boy to take a seat at the desk. Just before I thought he was going to take the attendance or something, he took the chair from his desk and smoothly slid it down the aisle. I stared at the chair in surprise and stared up at the teacher, questioning his actions.

"Take the damn chair," he said. I blinked before rising from the floor and dusting myself off. I took the red chair and pulled it to the space I had been sitting in before. I sat down, crossed my legs, and opened my notebook on my lap. Li-san sure was a strange man.

The class went by quickly as Li-san briefly went over what he expected of the students throughout the whole year and what they would be learning. He even went over how he was going to grade them and such, but I doubted any of the students would remember once they were out the door.

"Ms. Kinomoto, I would like a word," Li-san said after the last student hustled out the door into the bustling hallway.

I silently put down my notebook and strolled to the front desk. I felt like I was in high school again.

"I don't want that kind of attitude displayed here again, do you understand?" Li-san asked in a demanding tone.

I nodded in comprehension. "But, if a student has no seat, it is your job as the teacher to provide him or her with one," I argued back logically.

He mumbled something under his breath and gave me a sarcastic smile. "I just hope we have our standards set straight, Ms. Kinomoto."

I nodded again. That man was as hard as rock! I took my seat again in the back as another batch of students slowly rolled in.

Li-san repeated his whole lecture; I could've sworn - and still would - that he was repeating the speech word for word. Did he practice at home, by any chance?

I really didn't have much to write down, as it was only the first day and Li-san was just going over the same exact things such as grading procedures, etc. I observed the students for a while as they secretly exchanged notes and clumsily left them in the desks, forgotten after a few minutes. Some stared dully out the window, while others sat in rapt attention, much to my surprise.

Second period was over in a snap, and Li-san grouchily informed me that the next two periods were free. I shrugged off his snappy manner and packed my bag. Li-san sat at his desk, scribbling something ferociously in his notebook. I headed down an aisle where I knew a forgotten note lay. I found the small scrap of paper and pocketed it. It would be fun to read later on. Tomoyo-san had this period off, too, and she had promised to meet me in her room.

I left the room silently and headed down an empty hallway. From the best of my memory, the art rooms were located at the south end of the building. And, much to my relief and surprise, I was correct. I perused the note I found in the room on my way to Tomoyo-san's room and read:

I'm so scared! I heard Mr. Li's class is as hard as hell.

So did I...but he's so hot!

Haha! Yeah, I know. But still, that doesn't change the fact that I'll probably fail his freakin' class.

And the letter ended there. I chucked it in a nearby garbage can at the corner of the hallway and found Tomoyo-san in her room, arranging a beautiful still life of plastic flowers.

I knocked softly on the door.

"Ah! Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo-san greeted.

I gave her a smile and plopped myself in one of the seats.

"How's Li-san's class?" Tomoyo-san asked.

I shrugged and rolled my eyes. "He's nice, but is a little bit on the stubborn side."

Tomoyo-san gave a chuckle. "Sure, he's nice, Sakura-chan," she said. "Has he discussed the year's curriculum with you yet?"

I shook my head. "He just gave me a book and told me everything I want to know about the class would be in there," I replied truthfully.

Tomoyo-san shook her head in disapproval. "What a frustrating person he is," she said.

"He may just be going through rough times," I said.

"You're such an accepting person, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo-san said with a smile. "I admire you."

"Iie, I'm not!" I argued.

"Don't deny it," she said. "Oh! And did I tell you yet? Touya-san and Fujitaka-san are planning to come by here soon."

"Honto?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Tomoyo-san nodded. "They miss you so much."

"Me, too," I said with a sigh. "It's been ages since I've last seen them." I paused. "Do you think I should have a talk with Li-san?" I asked doubtfully.

"About the curriculum and everything?"

I nodded.

Tomoyo-san thought for a second before answering. "You should, Sakura-chan," she said. "Even though it'll take more than a sweet smile to get him talking, you should try. Your degree depends on it."

I nodded again. "I'm going to do just that."

TBC.

T.Anjel: What'dya think? Why don't you click on that little review button down there to share your thoughts? Thanks for reading!

C-Mage: So...? We really do appreciate reviews. Oh! For those of you who haven't read Hooded, go read it! We almost have 200 reviews! Yay! does a dance for joy Arigatou!