CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Well here u go..anotha chapter in the SAME DAY!!!

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

The Ice-cream Parlour: Challenge Accepted

Penguin Park

"Why are we here?" Tomoyo asked Sakura nervously.

"It's a duel, okay? It's going to be fine," replied Sakura boldly.

"But what if accidents happen?"

"You know they won't."

"But what if you 'accidently' kill each other? We still have to get back by recess you know, preferably as a whole."

"Come on, Tomoyo, how many times have we done this?

Tomoyo shrugged uneasily. "...A lot of times?"

"See? It's not like it's your first duel anyway." Sakura felt restless. Tomoyo frets every time Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons have a duel. Which was often.

Sakura started charging her energy, which was going to be used for the magic.

"And Tomoyo, you're not the one fighting anyway. You're going to be the healer 'cause it's probably two on two." said Meimi, tying her long hair in a high ponytail.

"Exactly. If anything happens, you can heal us. Remember? Remember? REMEMBER?" Sakura could be a bit impatient at times. She was charging her energy and it was hard to control her hyperness at the moment.

"And we're not really going to hurt each other Tomo. It's called um, a 'friendly' battle," concluded Meimi.

"FRIENDLY? NOT likely. I'm going to SHRED that Li bastard into PIECES..." There goes Sakura again. She was still charging and her eyes glowed an awesome green.

"Friendly? You call that FRIENDLY?"

At the other side of the park

Syaoran watched the three girls while he was charging his energy. Asuka was sitting on top of the monkey bars, doing sit-ups by hooking his feet under one of the bars. (Only Sakura and Syaoran charges energy because they are the only ones who control card magic)

"Are you sure you want to do this?" a troubled voice belonging to Eriol asked. Like Tomoyo, he was kind of against the idea of fighting almost every time the Dragoons and Blood Phoenix met.

"I'm sure." answered Syaoran with confidence.

"What about you Asuka?"

"Eriol, you know there's no need to be like this. In fact, you should be proud to be part of it."

Eriol sighed. "I know your parents aren't going to be happy about disfigured and mutilated sons."

"You're here to save us, right?"

"What happens if I can't? Remember you nearly fainted last time you fought from lost of blood, Asuka."

Asuka loosened his tie and took it off. "Well, that's not going to happen again, is it?"

"Accidents do happen, you know. Especially when you're playing with magic deliberately."

"ERIOL IT'S GOING TO BE JUST PEACHY. IF WE DIE, WE DIE IN THE DRAGOONS' HONOUR." Syaoran could also be hyperactive when it comes to charging energy.

Eriol's eyes were still clouded with worry. "You know, I can sense their auras. Kinomoto is getting much stronger and I can feel that Haneoka has improved a lot. You can sense it Syao, can't you?"

"Of COURSE I can. And don't you DARE mention Kinomoto AGAIN. I'll POKE THOSE GREEN EYES OUT..."

"And they call it a 'friendly' battle..." muttered Eriol.

Two from each gang stepped up forward into the middle of the playground. Around them were swing sets, slides, seesaws...It was the best place for a duel: objects to jump on, objects to hide behind, and objects to control and toss around. But after the duel, Syaoran and Sakura would use the Create card to replace the things that were damaged.

"Rules are: 1. Only allowed to use magic

2. Only allowed to fight within the boundaries, which is, this playground

3. Only allowed two contestants from each team or gang

4. Only allowed to be healed by a team's healer

5. Only allowed to finish when someone signals for surrender.

6. Not allowed to use magic before or after the duel at each other.

If any of these rules are broken the offending team or gang is immediately disqualified." read Tomoyo from a scroll of paper which had all their signatures on it.

"Get on with it Daidouji." drawled Syaoran in a bored tone. "It's not like we haven't heard of them anyway."

Tomoyo pressed her lips into a thin line. "Don't be so cocky, Li. Don't you remember you were disqualified last week for intentionally punching Sakura in the face?"

"Sure I remember. Who would forget that?" Syaoran sneered.

Sakura dug her nails into the palm of her hand and bit her lip. He could make her SO mad! 'Just you wait Li,' she thought. 'I've got something special for you today...'

"Alright, you have two minutes to get ready! Separate and then come back here!" said Tomoyo. She joined her gang, finding Sakura and Meimi in deep discussion.

"This time we'll attack from the top, okay? Remember they won last Tuesday because our magic kept missing them?" said Sakura with a fanatic gleam in her eye, which was probably from all her unused energy.

"How we gonna do that?" Meimi played with her earring, a bit edgy.

"Jump on the slides, the climbing tower, the monkey bars...I don't know...just get above them! Don't worry...I'll use the Jump card, okay? OKAY?"

Meimi blocked her ears hastily. Tomoyo sighed, seeing her best friend like this all the time was definitely unnerving. "Sakura calm down! Meimi isn't deaf you know! And besides, if you shout your plan out the Dragoons might hear you!"

Sakura darted her eyes everywhere, her fingers trembling with anticipation. "Yes, yes, Tomoyo, you're right, right, r-right..." She could feel the energy soaring through her body and waiting, at the tips of her fingers...maybe...maybe if she set something on fire...it would be better...

"Sakura, don't even think about it!" said Tomoyo as if reading her mind. "You know you're not allowed to use magic before the duel...you'll be disqualified!"

"Aw but Tomoyo..." Sakura whined. "It's like warming up or stretching before a tennis match...I need to...or else I'll injure myself or something."

"No. Magic. Un. Der. Stand?" repeated Tomoyo.

"Hey they're returning to the middle already...let's get moving!" said Meimi.

Tomoyo tensed up. 'Here we go again...'

The two gangs met in the middle of the playground, but leaving Tomoyo and Eriol at the boundaries because they weren't going to fight; they were the healers.

"So Kinomoto...waiting to get whipped?" scoffed Syaoran as they came face to face.

"You wish." she snarled in response.

"Start in THREE..." yelled Tomoyo.

"Don't cry for your daddy Kinomoto," mocked Syaoran.

"I won't."

"TWO..." continued Tomoyo.

"I'll always remember you after you die."

"Likewise."

"ONE...GO!" shouted Tomoyo at the top of her lungs.

Sakura immediately dashed on top on the monkey bars. Behind her, Meimi had leapt on to the tallest slide. Sakura grinned. Below her, Syaoran and Asuka were still in the middle of the battle-playground, and had a look of bewilderment as the girls towered over them.

'Now for a bit of fun...' Sakura thought. She signaled Meimi, who had the same mischievous look plastered on her face. Sakura aimed at Syaoran's with her finger like a gun, and a stream of fire escaped through the tip. Syaoran, sensing danger, leapt aside just in time. Sakura giggled. She shot another torrent of fire at his direction but Syaoran dodged quickly. She frowned a bit. 'Hmm...I need to practice my accuracy...'

Opposite Sakura, Meimi was also enjoying this new 'sport'. Every time she pointed at Asuka, a flash of lightning would come flying from her fingertips to her target. But she always seemed to just miss him. He was darting around the whole playground with electricity chasing his heels...Flash, flash, flash. Miss, miss, miss. 'Argh...he's too fast!' her mind yelled. 'Hopefully he will tire out soon...'

Meanwhile, Tomoyo looked on from the sidelines anxiously. Sure, her friends were currently 'winning', but it was hard to keep the fight up. She could feel her friends' energy draining rapidly, especially Meimi, who wasn't as strong as Sakura. 'And the Dragoons haven't even used a single ounce of energy yet...' she sighed, digging her fingernails into her face as she watched her friends.

Tearing her eyes away from the battle for a single moment, Tomoyo gazed at a certain cobalt-eyed boy who was also looking lost and worried. Eriol Hiiragizawa was wringing his hands constantly, and every once in a while, wrenching one of them up to ruffle his hair. A soft pink tint, barely visible, appeared on Tomoyo's cheeks for a split second, then vanished. 'Of all the boys...it had to be you...' she murmured sadly. She found herself staring at him, and was about to look away...but he suddenly turned his head around and saw her longing eyes...

Eriol had felt uncomfortable...he knew someone was watching him. He also knew who it was...it was Daidouji...who else would it be? Everyone else was busy! 'Why would she be staring at me?' he thought nervously. 'Do I have something on my face? God I hope not...' He quickly turned his head to see her perfect, purple eyes, and the sadness in them. They widened when she noticed him staring at back at her. Her own eyes held fear...she was caught! Yet those intense blue eyes never broke away from hers...

Tomoyo panicked. 'Oh my God...what should I do? What now? He's still looking at me...but he doesn't seem annoyed...is that a good sign?'

While Tomoyo was mentally battling with herself, Eriol was still observing her. 'Why did she seem sad when she looked at me? Did I do something? But that can't be...I haven't even talked to her before...And why is she still mumbling to herself? She looks so sad...should I do something? But why should I do something...it's not like I care...do I care?' he asked, making himself even more confused. And like Tomoyo, he was arguing with himself. (Have you noticed that they are rather alike? )

'Oh why didn't I look away? Stupid Tomoyo...he saw you...your eyes...your -' Tomoyo was cut off momentarily when she saw something that made her heart stop beating.

A smile. Eriol's smile. He was smiling...at her

Yes, it was true. Eriol had chosen to smile at this girl. Even though it would be against the Dragoons' rules. And what for? Just for her happiness' sake. Just for some encouragement. Just for...ahhh...who was he kidding? Because she looked sad. Because he cared. A teeny, weensy bit. Okay...Because he cared a lot. For some unknown reason.

And guess what?

She smiled back. A small, secret smile, as delicate as a flower, a true, genuine smile. Like the start of their delicate, genuine, but secret relationship.

"Asuka!" yelled Syaoran as the concrete dome next to him exploded. "We need a plan!"

"Well DUR!" shouted Asuka as the tree next to him got blackened by lightning.

"Go behind the blue pipe things!"

"WHAT pipe things?"

"THE DAMN CONCRETE TUNNELS YOU IDIOT" Syaoran shrieked when a litterbin beside him burst into a ball of flames. (hehe can you imagine Syaoran shrieking?)

"Oh..." The two boys quickly scrambled to the tunnels, hiding behind the three huge concrete pipes.

Asuka was all edgy and was panting heavily. "Wh-what now?"

"Well...it's just going to go on forever, until we get tired and they hit us. Or maybe they will use up their energy. Either way, it's going to last a long time."

Asuka groaned. "Long battles aren't fun...they take hours to recover from!"

"I know...that's why there's only one thing we can do...and it's only because of extreme circumstances" replied Syaoran grimly.

"Sakura dear...what do you think they're doing behind the tunnels?" Meimi said to Sakura in an old English accent, with a sly expression on her face.

Sakura cocked her head to one side and responded with the same accent. "Well, I. don't. know. Should we find out, dear Meimi?"

"I think that would be very good idea, my dear Sakura."

"Well well well....so many tunnels to choose from...which one should I pick?" Sakura pointed her finger in a gun-like position.

"Inee...minee...mynee...mo..." sang Meimi softly. BANG. They both destroyed the middle pipe with fire and electricity bolts.

"Oh dear! They weren't behind that one!" Sakura said in a fake hysterical voice, still in an English accent.

"Now, now...mustn't worry, Sakura dear, there are still so many to choose from..."

Sakura sniffed loudly. "I suppose you're right, Meimi dear."

"There there...you see? There are still two pipes left...you can still find them...all in good time." Meimi patted Sakura's back in an oh-so-dramatic way.

Sakura fake-brightened up. "Ready Meimi?" she called. "Inee...minee...mynee...MO!!" They blasted the left tunnel into pieces. And the boys weren't there.

"NOOOO!" wailed Sakura. "I can't believe I chose the wrong one!"

"Shh...don't cry, my dear. That only means there's one tunnel left."

Sakura grinned evilly. "You can run but you can't hide Li! Surrender you idiot! You know this duel is lost!" she yelled. "I'll give you THREE seconds to come out and surrender!"

"Crap!" cursed Syaoran under his breath. He and Asuka were still hiding behind the last tunnel.

"Don't worry...it'll work out fine." reassured Asuka, although he looked doubtful himself.

"THREE!" Sakura hollered, already dancing around in victory.

"Ready Asuka?" said Syaoran.

"TWO!"

"You bet Syao."

"ONE!"

"RUN!" BANG. The two boys ran out from the tunnels in the last second, with the concrete crashing down behind down in smithereens. They ran to the two ends of the playground, opposite each other. Then, each produced a large orb in their hands, transferring all their energy into it, which made it bigger. Syaoran's was an orb of fire; Asuka's was an orb of lightning. Sakura and Meimi were frozen on the monkey bars and the slide, apparently in shock because they thought they've already won.

"Finished Syao!" shouted Asuka from one end of the playground, his orb now the size of a beachball.

"Same here! Fire in 3, 2, 1...NOW!"

They both fired their orbs directly at each other towards the middle of the playground. Only then did Sakura realize what was happening. "Meimi! Get off the slide!"

"What?! Why?"

"No time to explain! Just get off!" But it was already too late. Another BANG. When the orbs reached each other at exactly the middle, they burst like bubbles, causing a huge explosion. Sakura, Meimi, Syaoran and Asuka were all blown back from the blast. Actually, all of the playground equipment surrounding the middle was blown away. The only figures that stood undamaged and unscratched were Eriol and Tomoyo. They knew what was happening and had used Shield.

So, the result of today's duel? Sakura and Meimi and Syaoran and Asuka were physically and magically tired, wrecked, drained, screwed-up...whatever you want to call it, because they had all used up their energy.

Tomoyo rushed over to her friends who were lying on the ground; Sakura with a large graze on her face; Meimi with a gash on her forehead. "Wow...this is a first..." mused Tomoyo as she kneeled, "this is your first draw against the Dragoons!"

"Tomoyo would you mind start healing?" groaned Sakura.

"Yeah...it's starting to sting," said Meimi with her eyes closed.

Tomoyo rubbed her own fingernail marks on her face, caused by her apparent fear when watching them. "Talk about inconsiderate..."

Eriol looked down on his friends, whose limbs were positioned in awkward angles. "You know...there should be a new rule about a draw..."

"Just shut up and heal Eriol," growled Syaoran, who also had a deep cut on his leg.

"I think I broke my arm...it hurts like hell..." moaned Asuka.

Eriol blew his hair upwards and muttered, "Selfish, self-centered humans I call my friends..."

But...before him or Tomoyo could start healing...everyone felt a chill down their spine when they sensed about thirty dark auras surrounding the playground. It was suddenly cold.