Aishuu Offers:
Nyctalopia
A Card Captor Sakura Fanfiction
Sequel to "Alter Egos"
Disclaimer: All hail CLAMP. Enough said.

Three weeks into class, Yukito still wasn't speaking to me. Not that I wanted him to or anything, but it was getting annoying how he could just block me out like that whenever I asked for a pencil. He would dig through his bag and hand over a mechanical pencil without even looking at me. If he hadn't had such nice pencils, I wouldn't have bothered asking him, but I'd managed to collect four without him demanding they be returned.

The class was interesting, though. I knew a lot about astrology, and by extension astronomy, but I had never really considered how much history and thought had gone into it. Every culture had their own legends written in the skies.

"Ancient cultures sought to explain their universe, and what could be more noticeable than the heavens above them?" Hatanaka-sensei said. He had a dry, insulting wit to him, but sometimes his face would soften as he would paint a picture with words so colorful and wonderful that I could almost image it had been created on canvas. He loved his work, but hated having to share it with students who couldn't understand his passion.

He was a jerk, but I liked him. It almost made up for having to sit next to the stupid rabbit three times a week. It was at our tenth class - and wouldn't you know, it would have to be a Monday? - when things finally came to a head.

I should have known it was coming, but I hadn't really paid much attention to the course syllabus. It was something Hatanaka-sensei just ignored, so why should I waste time on it?

This class, he was covering some basic Chinese astrology, which I already knew from watching Fushigi Yuugi enough times so I could recite all of Nuriko's dialogue with him. I also had a pretty firm basis in my head from Eriol. Clow had always considered the stars important symbols of our reality and Eriol had inherited that.

"...project in your syllabus. I don't want to waste my time, so you're going to do it in pairs. You can select your topic, and I suggest you think carefully on it. I require a computer display, 20 page essay and a class presentation on your topic. Fifty percent of your grade rests on this project, so don't screw it up."

As soon as the project was announced, I felt it. It's hard to describe what the feeling was... well, not hard, just weird. It was like a itching sensation on the bottoms of my feet. I didn't shift in my chair, though I really, really wanted to scratch even though I knew it was on the magical plane, and nothing physical. I noticed Yukito shiver a bit, and knew he was feeling the same premonition.

"So, Tsukishiro-kun, what do you want to do?" I hissed to him out of the corner of my mouth as Hatanaka began to recite a list. "Go the easy route, something Greek?"

I noticed the way his hands fluttered around his notes, pale and pristine. Despite the manual labor I knew he did regularly, they were still unmarred, delicate as a lady's. Yue, of course, wouldn't stand for a false form that looked common., I thought a bit spitefully.

He blinked at me slowly. "Who says I'm working with-"

"Tsukishiro, you're with Akizuki..." I heard the professor read off. I tried very hard not to smirk - okay, I'm lying, I smirked like the Cheshire Cat - as Yukito paled a bit before color flooded his cheeks.

"You were saying?" I asked smugly.

"You're just lucky," he murmured. He shifted in his seat slightly, leaning away from me.

"There is no such thing as luck. There's only the inevitable," I told Yukito softly, striving for the suave sophistication the Eriol had used while telling me that. It was one of his strongest beliefs, the belief we were all bound to a complex Web which some called fate, but he called the inevitable. It was a subtle difference, but an important one.

Those gold eyes flashed with restrained temper, and I wondered if anyone else could feel the seductive flare of moon magic as it flared around him. I found myself staring at him, wondering what had caused him to become so frayed. Yukito was barely keeping it together.

It wasn't the place for a long, drawn out discussion on magical control, so I dismissed what little concern I might have had for him, though I made a mental note to talk to Eriol. I'm not completely heartless - just mostly.

"How about studying lunar mythology?" I suggested, hoping to distract him. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end, and I had to rein myself in tightly to keep from becoming Ruby Moon.

"Are you joking?" he asked.

"It seems practical," I replied. "Besides, aren't you for self-knowledge?"

He looked like he had swallowed something that went down the wrong way. "Akizuki-san..."

"I think you might like it!" I said positively. I offered him the wide grin that so many people found enchanting.

He stared at me for a second, before sighing and shaking his head. Then he smiled back at me, and I was surprised that I was pleased that the smile seemed genuine. "You're not going to let me win this, are you?" he asked, lifting his left eyebrow slightly.

"Of course not, so it's better to concede with grace!" I assured him. "It'll be fun - and easy! Easy is a good thing."

"Do you know how many lunar legends there are?" he asked me.

"Dozens, but we'll just cover some of the main ones or more unique ones," I said positively, smiling at him. I waved my hand at the professor so I could announce we'd made our decision. "You won't regret it!" I promised Yukito.

I already did, though.

That night, I broached the topic of Yukito to Eriol over dinner. We were having spaghetti and meatballs, and I was happily twirling the long strands of angel hair around my fork. It was nice to not be eating Japanese food. As much as I liked it, there's only so much seafood a sane person can take before going stark raving mad. My key exhibit is Suppi's reaction to takoyaki.

It was a comfortable family meal - no long table, no candlelight. Kaho was holding a discussion with Suppi over plans for tomorrow, while Eriol was watching them with a content smile on his face. When Kaho mused the virtues of a new detergent for laundry, Suppi volunteered to help hang them. It was not exactly the sort of thing most people would associate with magical beings, but we needed clean clothes, too, and it was easier to do things the normal way.

It was as good a time as any to broach the subject. "I have a special project for astronomy class," I told him.

He tilted his head in that inquiring fashion that meant he knew what I was going to say, but he was going to humor me anyway. "Oh?" his voice was pleasantly neutral.

"I'm doing a partner project with Tsukishiro on moon mythology," I said, feeling a bit annoyed about the whole mess. "It's a cool project, but I'm going to have to work with him, and he's such a stick in the mud..."

"Really." Eriol wasn't giving an inch.

Okay, time for the direct approach. "Is there some reason he's like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like... that! He used to be every mother's ideal son, but now he's sulky and has no sense of humor!" I nearly shouted, slamming my fork down. It wasn't real mature, but right now I wanted to throw a fit about how unfair my life was. Suppi glared at me, annoyed that I was interrupting his conversation on properly separating the whites from the coloreds.

Eriol and Kaho exchanged significant looks. "Nakaru, have you thought about talking to him?"

"He never listens," I replied before grabbing a piece of garlic bread and chomping down on it hard as my fork idled in my other hand.

Eriol put his hand on my wrist, the way he did whenever he was going to say something profound that would go right over my head. "I think you two have a lot in common," he said.

"Well, duh." Of course we shared things. We were both magical moon guardians, the only ones in the world. I glared at him for bothering to state the obvious.

Kaho chimed in. "It wouldn't hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt. Tsukishiro-kun could use you as a friend - and I'm sure you would benefit as well." They were hinting again, and I felt a bit abused. I hated it when they got all I know the future, now just be a good minion and listen to me because I know what's best.

"He's... so..." I tried to find the right words to express my dislike.

"Nakuru, you have to come to terms with your jealousy," Kaho said quietly.

"I... am... not... jealous," I ground out. The fork I was holding bent in my hand as I forgot to control my strength.

"Oh?" Eriol gave a placid smile as he quirked his eyebrow at me, making his point as he studied the fork. "That's going to be expensive to replace."

I bent the fork back into shape, annoyed he was worried about his set of silverware. "I'm not," I said, and my chin jutted out stubbornly. "I can easily see why you'd replace him with a superior model."

That was a really big slip, and silence hung heavily in the air. "Ruby Moon, are you afraid I'll do the same to you?" he asked softly. It wasn't the obvious question, but it was something that had been nagging at the back of my mind.

If it can happen to Yue, it can happen to me.

The secret was out, and I tried to smile through it. "Of course not! I'm absolutely perfect, so you'll never need to get rid of me!" Even to my ears, I sounded false.

Eriol and Kaho exchanged one of those long, meaningful looks that was meant to go over my head. I decided to ignore it in favor of the spaghetti, since I really didn't feel like picking a fight I would inevitably lose. You just can't win against Eriol.

"Ruby Moon, you know I love you," he said, evidently not taking the hint and letting the subject drop.

"You loved him, too," I said, feeling my fears brim to the surface like cream on unpasteurized milk. "Can you promise you'll never give me to someone else, that I'll be with you forever?" It was an unfair question, and we both knew it. Their inherent honesty prevented them from answering with reassuring platitudes.

Kaho bit her lip before replying. "Humans are mortal, Ruby Moon, even ones like Eriol. There may come a time when you have a new master."

"I am not Clow Reed," Eriol said. "I do not know my future."

The fork I had been playing with found its way into the plaster of the wall. I felt that simmering insecurity boil over, and then I was on my feet, yelling. "You don't have to die like he did, but you're going to because you believe you have to! You could just stay with us forever, but you're going to die, and Spinel Sun and I will be left alone! And then you'll be reborn, and I'll become obsolete!" I was so upset I was shaking, long, jagged tremors that rocked my body on its heels. I hated Yue, but there was nothing I feared more than meeting his fate. There was nothing worse than becoming a masterless servant, unloved and abandoned.

Eriol's hand on my shoulder wasn't as reassuring as it usually was. "Nakuru, my Ruby Moon, I promise you this: everything will be alright."

"Those are Sakura's words," I snapped back. "They don't suit you!"

"But they're the truth. Nothing happens without purpose; we all follow the course fate has set before us."

"I don't want to be alone," I whispered.

"Sometimes there is nothing wrong with it," Eriol replied. "We all touch each other's lives in unique ways, treading the paths of destiny together. Somewhere along the way, we may lose touch with people we love, but there will always be a new companion."