CCS-2: Card creators Sakura & Syaoran:

Episode 10:

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura is property of CLAMP I claim no rights to any of the original characters, only the idea for this storyline and any new characters I may have introduced for the purpose of building and continuing the storyline. ARIGATO!! (Thank the gods for copy & paste...)

This chapter is a little shorter then the others. It's really more of an introduction into the next phase of the story. It's also my attempt to bring this fic and my Tomoyo's Desire fic together. I have had a few readers curious as to if I'm a T/E fan and if they are suppose to be or end up together in this fic. Please allow me to clairify my idea on that concept. No, No, and No. They are acquaintances, and maybe even close friends. One of Eriol's jobs in this fic is to keep Tomoyo occupied, though as nothing remotely relating to a romantic relationship.

Well, here's a small taste of what's to come in future chapter. I hope you enjoy. So sorry it took so long to update. As I explained in Tomoyo's Desire, I had finals and my internet was temporarily down. Please don't forget to review.

Summer vacation would be starting in a few days. The group of friends was studying at Syaoran and Eriol's apartment. Eriol and Tomoyo were working on their English homework. Eriol found it strange studying English in a "foreign language" type of environment, but was impressed with the system. "How are you doing over there?" He asked Tomoyo, looking up from the paragraph he had just written in response to their reading assignment. Tomoyo didn't respond, she seemed to be staring blankly at her paper. Thinking that she might be stumped on a question, Eriol stood from his chair to inspect her work. Kneeling beside her at the coffee table he discovered that it wasn't her homework sitting on the table in front of her.

"Ahem," Eriol cleared his throat with the attempt to pull Tomoyo out of what he now realized to be a daydream. Tomoyo didn't respond. "That seems to be a very interesting answer, but I fail to see how it relates to the story," Eriol said, snatching the tablet from in front of her.

Tomoyo blinked out of her thoughts when the object of her attention was removed from her view. "Eriol!" She gasped and attempted to grab her sketchbook back from his grasp.

"Shame on you, Tomoyo-chan," he taunted while studying the sketch. "We're supposed to be doing homework."

"I've already finished my homework, Hiiragizawa-kun!" she stated, successfully retrieving her sketchbook.

"You've finished already?" Eriol questioned skeptically, eying her suspiciously.

"Hai, Hiiragizawa-kun," she stated matter-of-factly and pulled her book and assignment out of her school bag for his inspection.

Eriol quickly looked over her work and was impressed. She had even made a few points that he hadn't thought about. "Well then, what is that for?" he asked, returning his attention to the sketch that she was now adding some finishing touches to.

"It is a new outfit that I plan to make for Sakura-chan," she answered in a softer tone of voice.

"You're always doting on her," Eriol observed, bending for a closer look at the sketch again. To him it looked like nothing more than a summer dress.

Tomoyo smiled and went starry eyed before she spoke. "It is my way of loving her," she explained. "I pour all of my feelings into the clothes that she will wear with the hope that my love will always be with her."

"You are truly very selfless," Eriol complemented with friendly admiration.

Across the room, out of hearing range, Sakura and Syaoran sat at the table in the dining area of the main room. Syaoran was attempting to explain their math assignment to Sakura. Sakura felt as though her eyes had crossed after working with the numbers for so long.

"Why don't we take a small break," Syaoran suggested, sensing her frustration. Sakura nodded and stretched back in her chair. Syaoran stood to stretch as well. "How about something to drink," he recommended and started to head towards the kitchen.

Wei was busy preparing dinner when Syaoran stepped into the kitchen. As Syaoran headed to the refrigerator the phone rang. "I'll get it," he told Wei and picked up the receiver from the phone on the wall in the kitchen. "Moshi moshi," he answered. "Mother!" he spoke instantly in Chinese.

Back in the dining area of the main room, Sakura slid the screen door open and stepped out onto the veranda over looking the courtyard of the apartment complex. The light summer breeze rustled through her hair. The late afternoon sun wasn't as hot as it had been earlier in the day. Sakura watched a couple stroll on the path down in the courtyard. Her gaze then wandered across the variety of flowers planted in the beds below her. She did a double take at the tree in the center of the courtyard where she could swear she had seen someone sitting on one of the branches watching her. Could it have been Kuen-Jie, or was it Syaoran's ancestor spirit? Either way, she shivered visibly despite the warmth of the summer afternoon. After all, one guy wanted her dead and the other already WAS dead. Somebody's arms wrapping around her shoulder's caused her to jump.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran's concerned voice blew past her ear.

Sakura raised her hands up to his arms with a nod. "I…I just thought that I saw someone watching from that tree over there," she explained, with her gaze still upon the tree.

With her back to him, Sakura missed his look of concern. "Well, why don't you come back inside? I have something to talk to everyone about," he said, letting his arms drop from her shoulders and taking up one of her hands to gently pull her back into the apartment.

Tomoyo and Eriol were both sitting at the dining table with a glass of iced green tea. Syaoran lead Sakura to her chair, where her own glass of tea awaited her, and then returned to his seat beside her. After taking a drink from his glass he began to speak. "Mother called. She has invited everyone to stay at our home in Hong Kong over summer vacation," he explained.

"Really!?" Sakura exclaimed. "That's great! I had wanted to visit in Hong Kong again! We can see Meilin again, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura grabbed Tomoyo's hand in excitement and smiled brightly at her.

Tomoyo squeezed Sakura's hand and returned the smile. "I can't go, but you'll tell her hello for me, wont you?"

"WHAT!? You can't go!?" Sakura instantly pouted.

"Gomen, gomen. Mom made plans to vacation in Paris, where she set up to take me to a live fashion show and to even interview some of the designers so that I can get an idea about the industry," Tomoyo explained.

"Really?" Sakura asked. Then seeing her friend's excitement about this opportunity to learn more about her dream career she smiled cheerfully. "That's great! You'll have so much fun! Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Because we always spend our summer vacation together and I was thinking of not going…"

"You better go! This will be a great opportunity for you! Besides, I want souvenirs from Paris!" Sakura cut her off to say.

"Well, since you'll be going with Li-kun to China, I wont have to worry about you being alone," Tomoyo concluded, masking her disappointment of not being able to ask Sakura to go with her to Paris as she had originally hoped.

Eriol eyed Tomoyo suspiciously, remembering that she had mentioned the fashion show in Paris months ago, and her hope that Sakura might go with her. Obviously Sakura had forgotten about it, with everything that had been happening with Kuen-Jie. Tomoyo, however, wasn't making a fuss about it, which lead him to stay silent. Again, Tomoyo was being very selfless. The human heart was certainly a mystery.