Ruby Moon narrowed her eyes at the scene before her. He was here. Again. Chatting so nonchalantly with her master. What the hell did they both talk about anyway? The first visit was odd enough but back then it could still pass as a singular occurrence. Then the next five came and those were just downright unnerving. The most annoying part of it was Suppi didn't even act as if there was something amiss about the entire situation. Even her master just gave her a smirk when she inquired about the nature of his frequent visits over at the manor. She had the right to know just as much as anyone. She was living in this house too in case her beloved master forgot.

Ruby Moon took a sharp intake of breath before marching out of the Victorian themed garden, bringing with her a tray of English tea and biscuits.

"Master! I brought you some refreshments!" Ruby Moon uttered jovially, completely ignoring to acknowledge the guest of the hour. With the blissful expression on her face, no one would be able to guess the nature of her earlier musings.

"Thank you Ruby Moon." Eriol smiled knowingly as he glanced up at his moon guardian's true form. Ruby Moon wanted to roll her eyes and groan but fought against it.

"Master, you've been out for a while now. Do you wish for me to bring you anything?" Ruby Moon continued, still ignoring the other presence residing alongside them. His penetrating gaze was on her, but she was determined to ignore him.

Eriol resisted the urge to chuckle. Trust Ruby Moon to convert into her true form and overuse the word 'master' whenever he was around. "I'm quite alright Ruby Moon. But I was wondering if you could maybe prepare dinner a little bit early?" Eriol requested ever so politely.

Still maintaining the smile on her face, Ruby Moon cocked her head to the side and gave the century old magician a confused but inquiring look. "Why is that master?"

"Yue will be dining with us tonight." Eriol replied matter-of-factly. He watched with amusement as Ruby Moon's smile weaned down by a fragment before coming back full force.

"That isn't necessary." Yue interjected but was ignored.

"Ok master!" She replied a little too enthusiastically. "Is there anything you would want to request for your meal tonight?"

Yue felt a vein throb on his forehead. "Dining isn't necessary-"

"Surprise me." Eriol replied as he intertwined his fingers and leaned in forward for more effect. "I find your original recipes quite endearing."

Ruby Moon beamed, her eyes shining brighter with each word Eriol uttered. "I won't disappoint you master!"

Yue was murderous at this point, but was still ignored by the two idiots who were too engrossed with their discussion regarding the dinner menu. It's not like he or his counterpart even needed to eat.

Eriol watched fondly as Ruby Moon bowed enthusiastically before skipping back to the mansion. An annoyed sigh was heard from his seemingly forgotten companion. Shifting his attention to the exhausted form of his predecessor's moon guardian, Eriol couldn't help but smirk.

"Something the matter?"

Yue shook his head, his attention still at his counterpart's retreating back, her blood red hair swaying vibrantly under the sunlight. "I will never understand." He whispered as a familiar set of emotions began to resurface. Confusion. Betrayal. Loneliness. Jealousy.

"Never understand what?" Eriol inquired trying his best to look innocent as he watched Ruby Moon's figure disappear into the manor.

Yue glanced at Eriol momentarily before shifting his attention back to the expanse of the beautifully maintained Victorian garden. "Why?"

Eriol continued to smile. It was the first time Yue allowed himself to ask that question since their confrontation after the ordeal of the cards. "There are many things I do not know about, Yue. I only know what he wants me to know. Nothing more."

No matter how much Yue would insist that he should have been his rightful master, he was not Clow Reed. He may have been born with his magic and memories, but he will never be purely and entirely Clow Reed himself.

"Were we…" Yue began uncertain before cutting himself off.

"Were you what?" Eriol urged on. He was getting used to the way the moon guardian would express so very little, requiring him to probe and encourage him to speak. It was amusing how they would sometimes spend his visits shrouded in complete silence.

Yue shook his head.

Eriol sighed deciding to complete the thought himself. "Were you insufficient?"

Yue looked back at him with surprise before shifting his gaze back to the dewy grass. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. It was unfair that Eriol could read him so easily but he could never even begin to comprehend a single aspect of him, unlike the way he used to be able to understand Clow Reed.

"I already answered that question before. Ruby and Spinel were created to aid me in helping Sakura transform all the cards. If it had not been for them, it would have been more difficult for me to keep you, Cerberus and Sakura at bay." Eriol paused. Yue was looking very intently at him, as if not believing a word he was saying. "Yue, you and I both know that Clow loved you and Cerberus very much. His memories are a testament of that. He planned for Sakura to become your master, just as he planned for me to create my own guardians." He paused once more to emphasize his next statement. "I am not Clow, Yue. I never was, and I never will be."

Eriol felt saddened at the broken look the moon guardian had given him. It reverted him back to the days where he believed in his heart that he really was Clow. That was until his obligation ended, and he realized he could no longer feel the magician within him.

"I'll admit. There was a time…" Eriol paused, his eyes were distant and glazed. "When I really thought I was him."

Yue remained silent and unmoving.

"However, I am not Clow Reed." He added with an emphasis. "I am Eriol Hiiragizawa. Fifteen years old. Also a magician, but will never be at the level of Clow. My wisdom may be beyond my age, but physically I am still a child, thus my heart remains that of one. My dream is to become a novelist one day, and become the most famous mystery writer of my generation! I love baking as much as I love sweet things – cakes, biscuits, scones, waffles, ice cream – anything with sugar in it, really. The subject I enjoy the most is history. Different cultures and traditions fascinate me very much."

"Clow loved studying about ancient philosophies and nations as well." Yue added quietly, as an afterthought.

"I know. It's one of the few things we have in common." Eriol nodded, eying the silver-haired guardian knowingly. " Even now, you still miss him a lot. More that you ever did."

Yue gave no reply. He didn't need to. The blue-haired magician already knew the answer to that.

"But Sakura is your master now." Eriol added. "Are you not happy with your current-?"

"I am." Yue interrupted briskly; insulted that Eriol would even dare to think he was disloyal to his new master.

Eriol smirked and Yue grunted. He set him up for that one and he fell for it so easily. He hated how much that aspect of Clow was rooted deeply in his teenage reincarnation. Why couldn't he have gotten some of Clow's other attributes aside from his dreadful manipulation skills?

"So why is it that you visit me here, talking only about Clow Reed?"

Yue was silent for a moment.

"I wanted…" He paused, a melancholic aura shrouded him. "I wanted to know for sure that he really isn't you."

"And what have you decided?"

"You are not him. But you're a lot like him." Yue's voice became quiet, reminiscing. "In small ways." He added as an afterthought.

Eriol could only nod at the tender look the moon guardian sent his way.

They stayed in silence once again, but Eriol could tell his predecessor's guardian had more to say. "Is there something else bothering you?"

Yue looked down at the grass. "Ruby Moon and Spinel." He began. This definitely got Eriol's full attention.

"What about them?"

"Why are they really here?" Yue added before looking Eriol straight in the eye again.

Eriol chuckled at this. "Did my explanation not satisfy you?"

Yue was silent yet again, but his calculating gaze never left Eriol. "Perhaps you were asked by Clow not to say a word about it."

Eriol simply shrugged as he sipped his tea.

Yue grew more exasperated. "Is helping you transform the cards all they were created for?"

"SUPPI-CHAN JUST TASTE THIS! I NEED TO KNOW IF IT'S SWEET ENOUGH FOR DESSERT LATER!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP WOMAN AND GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! MASTER ERIOL!"

Eriol chuckled at commotion happening in his manor. He watched with amusement as the walls began to shake and several loud explosions resonated all the way up to the garden. "Looks like I am needed by my adorable Spinel Sun. Shall we head on inside for-"

Glancing at the empty seat where Yue once was, Eriol let out a sigh.

Nakuru narrowed her eyes, feeling a vein throb at her temple when she felt a familiar presence within the manor. Why the hell was he here? Again. Irritated, Nakuru stomped her way to the unwanted visitor, glad that the absence of her master was to her advantage. He was out with a certain plum blossom on what he referred to as a 'research assignment'. Nakuru scoffed. Who did Eriol think he was fooling?

Transforming into her true form, Ruby Moon pushed through the door of the patio. Running her eyes up and down her counterpart's turned back, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Here to try and court my master again, Yue?"

Tilting his head to one side for a moment to show acknowledgement, Yue simply folded his arms providing no answer.

Ruby Moon felt a slow simmer build in her chest at being brushed off so nonchalantly. "What's the matter? Your own master not satisfying you?"

Yue turned around abruptly, a dark threatening expression on his face.

"I guess I could understand." Ruby Moon egged on, feigning interest towards her nails, completely uncaring that she was only adding more fuel to the fire. "I mean, Eriol is Clow's reincarnation. And Clow did use to be your master." She paused to give Yue a mocking look. "Does it still hurt?"

Yue said nothing but his gaze offered a silent threat.

"Does it still hurt that Clow chose me instead of-"

A flash of light, a cloud of white feathers, a strong gust of wind.

Ruby Moon found herself crushed by the neck on rubbles of stone that once formed the reinforcement of the manor's wall. She laughed hysterically despite being choked to near death by the vengeful angel.

"Not another word." Came Yue's silent but livid tone.

In a split second, blazing blood red eyes met his icy ones and he was thrown forcefully up in the air.

Struggling to gain a semblance of his balance midair, Yue raised his head only to be met by a glowing red hand. An explosion at point blank. He fell to the ground; a large portion of the beautiful patio crumbled under his weight.

Ruby Moon looked down at him from under her nose. The movement of her wings keeping her in midair surrounded by glittering gold dust. "The old can never replace the new."

In a split second, Yue was behind her, his trademark arrow at hand firing multiple shots all at once.

Ruby Moon laughed as she flipped gracefully in the air, avoiding his attacks with ease. "Is that the best you can do?" She taunted.

Yue was seething as memories of his first battle with her were resurfacing – how she had prevented him to protect Sakura, how she taunted him about Clow Reed, about being cast aside and no longer wanted. He wanted to destroy her. She was a living breathing reminder that he was insufficient. That she was made because he wasn't strong enough, good enough, for Clow Reed.

Red ice crystals came in contact with blue ones. The battle continued long distance.

"No matter how much you try to beg Master Eriol to take you under his wing, you will never be able to live up to me!" Ruby Moon dashed forward, her arm crystalizing to form a blood red rapier. Forming his own, Yue countered red with blue. One strong blow from both guardians threw them both back a good few meters.

"You keep telling me I am not good enough. That I was cast aside, forgotten." Yue began, his tone silent, his emotions struggling to be kept at bay. He cast aside his stance and stood up tall. "But who are you really trying to convince? Me? Or you?"

Ruby Moon's eyes failed to conceal her shock at the audacity of his statement. Concentrating majority of her powers on both hands, aiming the blow right on Yue." Just die!"

She just wanted him to disappear. He was too much of a reminder. A reminder that she too could be cast aside and forgotten, that she too could be unwanted. Insufficient. But before she could seal the death of the bane of her existence, her head suddenly felt light.

Watching the world swirl around her, everything slowly faded into darkness. The last thing she saw was Yue's expressionless face, watching her as she fell ungracefully on the ground. Those ice cold eyes, superior air, and majestic demeanor – they all made him seem like the victor of the match.

In that moment, she couldn't hate him even more.

Ruby Moon slowly opened her eyes, as she struggled to piece together bits and pieces of memories.

"I see you're awake now."

Sitting up, Ruby Moon turned her attention towards the owner of the voice.

"Care to explain to me what happened while I was away?"

Ruby Moon glanced at Spinel sitting comfortably on Eriol's lap, avoiding all eye contact with her master. She remained silent, unable to process herself why she had done what she had.

"I'm sorry." Ruby Moon said silently. The weight of her guilt and regret could be felt in her voice. "I didn't know what came over me."

Spinel flew out of his master's comfortable lap before heading to the door. "Perhaps it would be better if I would leave both of you alone."

Eriol simply nodded.

With Spinel out of the room, Eriol directed his full attention back to his moon guardian. "Ruby Moon."

At the tone of his voice, Ruby Moon couldn't help but look. He appeared years younger than her but that tone of his always reminded her that she was his child and that he was her father.

"Tell me." Eriol's voice was softer, more understanding. "What happened?"

Ruby Moon looked down on her lap. "You already know what happened master."

Eriol shook his head. "I didn't mean about the battle."

Ruby Moon sighed. "Master, these past few days, I've been feeling…"

Eriol remained silent, allowing her enough time to gather her courage and thoughts.

"What is Yue to you?" She added.

Eriol looked at her quizzically. "He is my former self's guardian."

"That's not what I meant." She countered exasperatedly.

"Then what do you mean?"

"Why do you keep seeing him? Why do you keep talking to him?"

Eriol chuckled. "He comes here to talk about Clow Reed. But most of the time he just comes here for no apparent reason at all."

"And yet you…" Ruby sighed in frustration. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she had every right to. "You indulge him every time he's here. You stay with him. Talk with him. For hours on end!" She paused. "It's unnerving." She added quietly.

Eriol fought a chuckle. Who knew Ruby Moon was the jealous type? "And why is it unnerving?"

"Is it not obvious why?" She almost screamed.

Getting out of bed, Ruby Moon made her way to the window; the sight of the garden calmed her down a bit.

"What is bothering you, Ruby Moon?" Came Eriol's curious tone. He was still seated comfortably on the black velvet chair beside her bed. He watched her fold her arms in front of her chest, hugging the edge of her elbows with her hands. He realized it was the first time he'd ever seen her look vulnerable.

"Am I…" She began, her voice silent but heavy with emotion. She couldn't bring herself to ask. She was afraid of the answer.

Eriol couldn't help but smile sadly at the familiar wave of emotions. "Are you what Ruby Moon? Are you insufficient?"

She nodded her head, refusing to turn around to face her creator.

"It wounds me that you would ask such a question." Eriol kept his gaze on her back. "Why would you ask that?"

Her silence was all he got as a reply. He could tell that she wanted to be left alone.

Eriol headed for the door, pausing momentarily as he held the knob. "You know, someone asked me the same question a few days ago."

Ruby Moon's eyes widened at her master's words but she still couldn't bring herself to look back at him.

"You both have a lot more in common that you actually let on."

Eriol smiled at his moon guardian's back as he left the room. "You are more than enough for me Ruby Moon. So please. Don't ever ask me that question again."