Chapter three: Tomorrow
Slowly Yue's eyes flickered open, he winced at the sunlight. Someone pulled the curtain shut, he felt a small hand holding his tightly, he focused his attention on its owner. Sakura smiled at Yue: she had positioned herself in the chair by his bed earlier that morning so as not to scare the moon guardian if he woke up and found himself holding her.
He smiled gently at Sakura, and she blushed a little. "How do you feel, Yue- chan?"
Yue touched her cheek with his other hand. "Much better, thank you. Why are you blushing, Sakura-chan?"
Her blush increased. "You look very handsome without your braid. I mean, I thought you looked handsome before. . . but this is amazing . ."
"Before?" Yue looked at her, very confused as to what she was referring.
"Yes, when we talked about what Yukito remembers and what you remember?" (Book 1 of the Second Manga Arc.)
Yue thought for a moment. "Oh yes: what of it?"
Sakura grinned at him. "I ended up thinking you were handsome then. . . well I would have if I hadn't been interrupted in my thoughts."
Yue had the grace to blush. "Thank you, no one has ever thought of me like that."
Sakura smiled at him. "Well, now you know someone who does."
There came a knock on the door and Eriol entered. He studied Yue for a moment, then asked, "How do you feel?"
"Like a fully fit male moon angel should," Yue said, smiling.
Eriol nodded, smiling at him gently. "I'm glad to hear it. Do you feel well enough to dress, come down and eat something?"
Yue thought for a moment. Sakura found this odd: Yue never ate, why should he start now? "Yes, I'll dress and join you in the dinning room for something to eat, I don't know what it will be though, I've never really enjoyed this eating thing."
Eriol escorted Sakura to the dining room; as they walked, Sakura ventured a question. "Why is Yue-chan going to start eating?"
"He won't most of the time, just in company, and what he eats will always be savoury, the opposite of Kero. If what my past life tells me is correct, his favourite breakfast is porridge, with salt." Sakura cringed at the thought of *that* for breakfast: Eriol looked at her face and smiled at the expression.
"I know, Clow always used to wonder how he could eat that first thing in the morning, too."
The two of them laughed together as they sat down at the table and awaited the arrival of breakfast Nakuru style. Soon, breakfast was before them, it looked wonderful and smelt it too. The door opened and Yue walked in, Sakura's eyes went huge. He wore his mass of white hair in a ponytail, which made her frown, a sky blue shirt and grey trousers, and there were grey house slippers on his feet. He gracefully walked over to the table and sat down.
"You look good dressed like that," said Eriol.
"Thank-you, Eriol-kun."
Eriol looked at the moon guardian and asked gently, "So what's your cover story going to be?"
"I'm an old friend of Sakura-chan's father, an artist and writer. I've come over from England to stay with them."
Eriol nodded. "Sounds good to me, was that why it took you so long to get down to breakfast?"
"Yes, I was confirming if this story would be alright with Sakura-chan's father, and he happily agreed."
Nakuru put a bowl of porridge in front of Yue, who reached out and, taking the salt pot, put salt on it. He ate his breakfast with relish, as far as Sakura could see. His fringe hid his eyes from her, and she ached to push it away so she could see what he was thinking.
Yue was worried: Sakura had said nothing, maybe she didn't like him dressed like this, or maybe she didn't care as much for him now Yukito was no longer part of him. Yue's heart constricted painfully at this thought.
Sakura finished her food, again her gaze was drawn to the moon guardian beside her: he was looking down at the table.
"Yue-chan, is something wrong?"
"No, Sakura-chan." His voice was soft, even, with a slight touch of pain. "Have you seen Yukito-kun yet today?"
"No, he went home last night," Eriol told them both. He felt like groaning: why didn't she tell him what she thought of him dressed normally? Well, this was Sakura: as Tomoyo would say, sometimes she needed a little help. And today, that little help would have to come from him.
"Sakura-chan, what do you think of Yue-san now he is dressed in normal clothes?"
Sakura flushed, Yue noticed and he smiled gently.
"I think he looks really, really amazing."
Yue took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Thank-you, Sakura-chan, I am glad you feel so."
Sakura's blush deepened, Yue flicked his lavender eyes up and locked his gaze with hers. Sakura smiled at him softly, he was so handsome and even when dressed more like a normal person there was still an unearthly quality about him. Her smile reminded him of the sun's rays: soft and comforting, shedding light on all those who needed them.
Nakuru had been watching this with a slight smile on her face. Eriol saw her open her mouth, but he was too late to stop the comment.
"Wow, I didn't know you could be so old-fashioned, Yue-san," she said teasingly.
It was almost like a light going out: Yue's eyes went from lavender to purple and he looked at her coldly. Sakura grabbed his arm before Yue totally shut down on her. "I think it's very nice," she said valiantly.
Yue looked at her, and his gaze softened slightly. "I'm glad that *you* liked it," he said, deliberately ignoring Nakuru.
Eriol rescued the situation before it went too far.
"How was the porridge, Yue-san?"
Yue blinked at the change of topic, but responded politely. "It wasn't burnt, so it was edible."
Sakura sweat dropped massively, but was saved by the entrance of Supi, who floated in yawning, and covering his mouth with one tiny black paw.
"Good morning, mina-san," he murmured, gradually losing height until he found Eriol's shoulder and dropped gratefully upon it.
"Good morning, Supi," Eriol greeted. "Would you care for some breakfast?"
"Tea would be nice," said Supi faintly.
Eriol poured a few drops into a saucer (unsweetened of course) and Supi lapped them up.
"You seem tired, Supi-san," Sakura remarked, concerned for the little black panther.
"I had very strange dreams last night: about a man with golden-black hair, who turned into Kero," Supi said, frowning slightly. "They quite disturbed me, I was unable to get any rest after I woke up. I only managed to doze at dawn. And of course, Yue-san was in great distress. Perhaps that was what caused the dreams. . ."
At the mention of the man with golden-black hair, Eriol set down his teacup sharply. Yue's eyes widened. They looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating. Sakura looked from one to the other, wondering what was going on.
"Nakuru, would you get us some more tea, please?" Eriol asked quietly, as Supi slept on his shoulder.
"Hai!" Nakuru saluted him and then marched off to the kitchen.
"What is it?" Sakura asked immediately. "What's wrong? Is this man an enemy?"
"No, quite the contrary, Sakura-chan," Eriol answered, tapping his fingers on the table. "That man is Keroberos."
"NANI?!"
The word echoed around the dining room, which was rather large. Yue sweat dropped slightly at the complete shock on his mistress's face. Sakura blinked several times and tried to calm herself down. "Did you say. that man is Keroberos?" she asked.
Eriol nodded. "Yes: it's his ultimate form. Because he is the Sun, he had three forms: the rising sun, the midday sun, and the setting sun. The form you know as Kero is the setting sun, the one known as Keroberos is the rising sun. Clow was never powerful enough to let him transform into the midday sun. It seems that your power has developed enough for him to manage the transformation, at least briefly."
Sakura gasped and glanced down at herself, as if expecting to see something different. Eriol looked at Yue. He had a suspicion that Yue also had a third form, for the moon also had three phases: waxing, full and waning. He had never counted the 'new' moon as one full phase, he always thought of it as part of the waning period. As he continued to look at the moon guardian, Yue's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. Eriol nodded to himself, satisfied. However, he was also concerned: Yue was not drawing on Sakura's power to transform himself into his ultimate form. He was probably too worried about Keroberos' drain on Sakura's power to allow himself to progress, Eriol thought. That was like Yue, always thinking of others, never himself, though he'd be loath to admit it to anyone.
"Yue-chan, do you have an ultimate form as well?"
Eriol almost jumped: Sakura had taken the words straight out of his mind. The Mistress of the Star Cards was staring innocently at Yue, who shifted in his chair, unable to lie and look into those pure eyes. Finally, unable to remain silent under her direct gaze, he whispered, "Hai." Then he shot the chair back, leapt up and ran outside. The sound of wings beating the air told them both that he had fled.
"Yue-!"
Sakura jumped up and ran after him. Eriol didn't say a word to stop her. He sighed, leaned back in the chair, and templed his hands, resting his forehead on them. 'Damn you, Clow,' he thought, 'damn you for not telling me. Damn *me* for not remembering and warning her.'
Meanwhile, Yue was flying through the air above the clouds, trying to keep an eye on where he was in the town. As soon as he saw the roofs of the Tsukimine Shrine, he dived and landed in the forest. Then he hurried towards the buildings.
Sakura was easily keeping track of him, since Yue was too distressed to hide his signal. She wasn't even surprised when she realised where he was going. Over the past few years, she had discovered that the shrine was a favourite place for Yue (and Yukito) whenever he felt distressed or wanted to be alone. Something about it seemed to soothe the moon guardian as no other building could . . with the possible exception of Sakura's house. She had never asked him what attraction the shrine held for him, wisely assuming that Yue would tell her when he was ready. Maybe he was ready to tell her now.
When she found Yue, he was sitting on a bench under a cherry tree, leaning his head against the trunk. His wings were gone, and he looked almost human again. She smiled when she saw that he'd kicked off the slippers somewhere over the town and was wriggling his white toes in the green grass. He was like a school child on an outing. There was a peaceful smile on his face. She wondered if she ought to bother him, but she had forgotten how sensitive Yue's sense of hearing was: at the first rustle of her wings, his eyes opened and he saw her. Sakura stiffened, ready for another chase, but he didn't move. He didn't even seem tense.
She took off her own house slippers and walked towards him, holding them with one hand. He held out a hand as she drew nearer.
"Do you wish to sit down, Sakura-chan?"
She nodded. "Hai."
He moved along the bench and gestured at the place beside him. Sakura sat down lightly and looked around. "It's certainly beautiful here," she observed. "Is that why you like this place so much?"
He cleared his throat, gazing around as if seeing the beauty of the grounds for the first time, so utterly absorbed had he been in the fair maiden at his side. "The beauty of this place is indeed . . soothing, but there is something else that draws me here."
Sakura tipped her head to one side, inviting more information with a sweet smile. Yue looked down, unable to meet her gaze, and continued.
"This is . . was . . my shrine in times past, when I was first here on this earth. The people saw me as a god, and worshipped me. The same happened to Keroberos, though I believe some people still worship him, whereas my religion has disappeared."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," said Sakura shyly, picking a starflower from around Yue's feet and slowly tugging off the petals. There was a trail of starflowers to the tree: Yue always left them when he walked on grass, though nobody had been able to work out why, least of all Yue.
"What do you mean?" Yue asked her softly.
"Well. . . there are plenty of people who still worship the moon!"
"Yes, as a woman," he replied, the bitterness of this decision still reflected in his voice. "All because I had long hair. Didn't they realise I was lacking certain things? Mind you, according to Nakuru-san, even they don't make a woman," he added, frowning slightly.
Sakura blushed and touched his arm. "Yue-chan. . . I don't think you're a woman. I've never thought that. Even before I let the Clow Cards go . . I thought the moon was male. My father told me so."
He smiled at her. "Then your father is even wiser than I thought he was. I must remember to repay him for that act of kindness."
"Oh no, don't: he'll be so embarrassed. Has the shrine changed much from what it was when you were first here?"
Yue shook his head. "Hardly. I could close my eyes and walk this place without any accidents."
Sakura smiled at her moon guardian. "Yue-chan, why did you run away from me just now?"
Yue smiled a little and then said. "Because I have never changed into my full form, but I do know what it looks like, and it made me a bit shy."
"Yue-chan shy, this makes me curious as to what you look like transformed." Sakura's eyes burned into him. Yue backed away from her, Sakura reached out with her small hand. "Please?"
Yue looked into her eyes and instantly regretted that decision: he felt his defences dropping. Sakura saw the resistance fading. "Please?"
Yue nodded. "Alright, just this once."
Sakura gifted the relenting moon angel with a beautiful smile, he felt a smile form on his own lips in return. Her confidence in him always made him overcome his own shyness.
Yue's long hands went down either side of him and he pushed himself up from the bench, he stood before Sakura, his lilac eyes penetrating. "You sure on this?"
Dumbly, Sakura nodded.
"Alright. Is now alright with you?"
Sakura nodded again, unable to believe that Yue was allowing her to see his most deeply held secret. Her moon guardian's wings came forth and when they moved back Sakura felt her mouth open slightly. Yue's hair was not in its usual braid but loose and flowing. He wore the same uniform except the yellow in it had been replaced with dark blue. He wore a sword at his left hip in a silver scabbard and his face had a silver and purple domino mask round it. "Yue. . ." she whispered in awe.
His eyes settled on her. "Sakura-chan?"
"You look . . there isn't a word for the way you look right now, it's just so . . . amazing."
Yue's eyes sought the floor and he blushed. "Thank you, Sakura-chan." He then transformed back to his disguise. "I'm glad you like it."
Sakura smiled gently. "I like it very much."
Yue held out a hand to her. "Let's get you home."
Sakura took his hand: unlike her feelings with other men, Sakura didn't feel embarrassed holding Yue's hand, she felt wonderfully happy. Yue held out an arm for her and Sakura put her arm through it. Yue escorted Sakura home, when they got there they found Fujitaka and Keroberos waiting for them Fujitaka was pleased to see them both safe and sound. Keroberos gave Sakura a big friendly lick and then proceeded to give one to Yue for good measure. Sakura awaited Yue's response in terrified horror and then to her surprise, Yue laughed at his counterpart. Sakura had never heard him laugh before, it was a deep musical sound, and Sakura found her own lips curling as she listened. Keroberos was staring at Yue wide eyed. "You haven't laughed like that for a long time."
"I should laugh more often, Keroberos, it's good for the soul." Yue replied smiling gently at his fellow guardian.
"Okay, where is the real Yue, and who made this false one?" asked Keroberos in mock panic. Yue laughed again, Sakura watched him beaming openly, she hadn't felt this happy for a long time.
Fujitaka spoke. "Yue-kun, you haven't tied back your hair."
Yue put his hand to the back of his hair. "You're right, I haven't. Thank you for reminding me, Fujitaka-san."
Fujitaka bowed politely. "You're welcome."
Yue pulled out a hair band from his back pocket, Sakura's hand shot out and grabbed Yue's hand as it moved towards his hair.
"No!" she said very strongly
Yue's face was covered by an expression of shock. Keroberos and Fujitaka quietly exited the room, this was obviously a private discussion. Yue's eyes settled on Sakura, she had a very determined expression on her face. "Sakura-chan?"
Sakura's emerald green eyes met Yue's lilac ones. "I don't want you to tie your hair up."
"Why not, Sakura-chan?" Yue asked gently, not daring to hope that she cared about him as more than a guardian.
"I like your hair free and flowing it makes you look wonderful." Sakura said her voice soft, she brought up her other hand and placed her fingers into his cool white hair.
"But people will think it's strange they stare at me badly enough with ankle length white hair in a pony tail let alone if it were like this." Yue said trying to sound reasonable, but Sakura's grip on the hand only tightened, and her anger that people could think Yue odd shone in her eyes..
"I don't want it tied up!" She yelled at him very determined. Yue had never seen Sakura this emotional about some thing so small before. Sakura was determined to keep his hair free, if she won this small battle maybe she could bring herself to tell him of the strange feelings that he stirred in her, feelings that had nothing to do with his power coming from the moon.
His voice penetrated her thoughts as he softly said "Alright, how about a compromise? Whenever we are at home, alone together or with others who know about the cards, I will wear it loose, and whenever we are in public or around people who do not know who I really am, I will wear it up. How does that sound?"
Sakura realised his hand. "Yue-chan . . . Thank you."
Yue turned to face Sakura, and holding out the purple band in front of her face, he let it drop to the ground. Sakura followed it as it fell and then looked up at him smiling, this was the first time Yue had done something for her so willingly it was a small step but one in the right direction Sakura felt. Yue watched her smile and smiled back, Yue watched his eyes soft as Sakura's smile grew in response to his own.
Yue stepped over the now discarded band and took hold of Sakura's shoulders. He pressed her to him gently. Sakura was surprised at such an intimate gesture from her reserved moon guardian, but she liked it. So that Yue did not think he had displeased her, Sakura put her arms round his back. To Sakura's delight Yue had obviously not been expecting her to do anything, since he took a sharp breath as she embraced him. Sakura turned her head to the left and rested it against him. She felt Yue look down at her and his hair brushed her shoulder as it fell round them. Sakura looked up to find Yue's face inches from her own.
"Yue-chan?" she asked gently.
"Yes, Sakura-chan, what?" His voice was just as gentle.
"You do know that . . I care about you . . as a friend."
His eyes closed briefly. "Yes, I know you do."
"I'm very lucky to have such a good friend and adviser in you, Yue."
Yue opened his eyes and gifted her with a wonderful smile. "Thank you. Just as I am lucky to have you as my friend."
The doorbell rang, Sakura and Yue jumped, they heard Fujitaka answer the door and them come into the living room. His face was angry but he said with courtesy, "Li Shaolan and his mother are here to see you, Sakura."
Sakura looked up at Yue. He removed himself from her instantly and stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder. Li walked into the room, his eyes widened as he saw Sakura and Yue together, his mother entered and her own eyes went wide. Keroberos padded past them and sat in front of his mistress. Sakura took strength from her guardians' presence. "Yes what do you want Shaolan-kun?"
"I've come to see you in order to apologise for breaking my promise and to beg your forgiveness," Shaolan said, sinking down on his knees before Sakura.
Sakura moved away from Yue, letting his hand drop to his side, and went over to Shaolan. She held out her hands to help him up. A memory flashed in her mind of long white hair and lilac eyes: Yue had been like this before her too; Windy had deliberately placed him before her in this position. The message was not lost on Sakura and she let her hands drop.
Shaolan stared up at her, confused. He had been so sure of her forgiveness, there was no one who could have replaced him in Sakura's heart in such a short time, was there?
Shaolan's gaze fell on Yue. Yue, who was wearing normal clothes. Shaolan rose and walked up to the moon guardian. Holding out his sword arm, Shaolan bid his sword appear. Yue's wings shot forward, and then moved back to reveal his highest form. Keroberos also transformed into his higher self. They watched Shaolan, waiting for his move. Shaolan gawped: the third forms of each guardian were a myth in his family, they weren't supposed to exist, but here they stood.
Shaking with anger, Shaolan charged at Yue, sword held up and pointed straight at Yue's chest. Sakura, refusing to let Shaolan hurt Yue, ran between them. Shaolan's sword pierced her skin and she gasped. Realising what he had done, Shaolan blanched.
"SAKURA!" yelled Yue, catching Sakura as she fell.
Sakura smiled up at Yue and gently touched his face. "I. . couldn't let him hurt you . . . I love you, Yue-chan."
Sakura's eyes closed and her chest stopped moving. Yue's eyes shone with tears. Keroberos stared at them: Yue was holding Sakura as if he would never let her go. Yue's tears glowed white like moonlight and cascaded down onto Sakura's wound, which healed and vanished. Yue laid her down gently on the floor and kissed her softly. Yue's eyes were closed, so he did not see the huge white light that surrounded them when he did this. "I love you, Sakura, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, I failed you and Touya-kun. I'm better off dead."
Yue ran out of the house, Keroberos went to chase him but Shaolan's mother stopped him. Keroberos growled, but she pointed over to Sakura, who had just sat up and slapped Shaolan right across the face.
"That's for deserting me."
Sakura then slapped him again.
"And that is for trying to kill the man I love."
Sakura looked around the room and when she couldn't see Yue, she looked at Keroberos.
"Where is Yue, Kero-chan?"
Keroberos concentrated and then said, "The river: he went to kill himself."
Sakura turned white: she called the Fly card and left in pursuit of her moon guardian. Whilst she did that Keroberos turned Li Shaolan and his mother from Sakura's house, with strict instructions never to bother Sakura again.
When Sakura got to the river she couldn't see Yue and her heart constricted painfully, she then felt Yue's magic glowing weakly below the water. Sakura called up the Water card and had Yue on the bank of the river in no time.
Sakura landed next to Yue, praying that she wasn't too late. She put her head on his chest - he was breathing, just. Yue coughed suddenly. Sakura moved aside as he began to cough up water. She had never been so happy to see someone cough before; she gently stroked his hair to calm him down. Yue looked up at her touch, when he saw Sakura there, Yue's eyes lit up with joy. He reached out and grabbed her, pulling against him in a tight hug. Then he remembered he was soaking wet.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling back, "I've made you wet."
Sakura laughed at him and threw herself back against her guardian. "You're alright, Yue." His heart jumped when once again she didn't use the 'chan'.
"I'm fine, Sakura." Her head came up sharply and her eyes looked into his filled with questions, but before Sakura could ask any of them, Yue asked one of his own. "And so are you. . . how?"
Sakura smiled up at him and wordlessly touched Yue's lips. Yue looked down at the floor. Sakura put a finger beneath his chin and tilted his head up. "Thank you for saving me, Yue."
"You're welcome, Sakura."
Sakura ached to feel Yue's lips on hers again. She felt stupid for not realising that she loved Yue sooner. Yue rose and said with a smile, "I think we had better get back home and change into dry clothes."
Sakura nodded. "I agree."
Yue held out a hand for her. When she took it, Yue swung Sakura up into his arms without a second thought. Sakura squealed with delight and surprise. She put her arms round Yue's neck and he flew them home.
Slowly Yue's eyes flickered open, he winced at the sunlight. Someone pulled the curtain shut, he felt a small hand holding his tightly, he focused his attention on its owner. Sakura smiled at Yue: she had positioned herself in the chair by his bed earlier that morning so as not to scare the moon guardian if he woke up and found himself holding her.
He smiled gently at Sakura, and she blushed a little. "How do you feel, Yue- chan?"
Yue touched her cheek with his other hand. "Much better, thank you. Why are you blushing, Sakura-chan?"
Her blush increased. "You look very handsome without your braid. I mean, I thought you looked handsome before. . . but this is amazing . ."
"Before?" Yue looked at her, very confused as to what she was referring.
"Yes, when we talked about what Yukito remembers and what you remember?" (Book 1 of the Second Manga Arc.)
Yue thought for a moment. "Oh yes: what of it?"
Sakura grinned at him. "I ended up thinking you were handsome then. . . well I would have if I hadn't been interrupted in my thoughts."
Yue had the grace to blush. "Thank you, no one has ever thought of me like that."
Sakura smiled at him. "Well, now you know someone who does."
There came a knock on the door and Eriol entered. He studied Yue for a moment, then asked, "How do you feel?"
"Like a fully fit male moon angel should," Yue said, smiling.
Eriol nodded, smiling at him gently. "I'm glad to hear it. Do you feel well enough to dress, come down and eat something?"
Yue thought for a moment. Sakura found this odd: Yue never ate, why should he start now? "Yes, I'll dress and join you in the dinning room for something to eat, I don't know what it will be though, I've never really enjoyed this eating thing."
Eriol escorted Sakura to the dining room; as they walked, Sakura ventured a question. "Why is Yue-chan going to start eating?"
"He won't most of the time, just in company, and what he eats will always be savoury, the opposite of Kero. If what my past life tells me is correct, his favourite breakfast is porridge, with salt." Sakura cringed at the thought of *that* for breakfast: Eriol looked at her face and smiled at the expression.
"I know, Clow always used to wonder how he could eat that first thing in the morning, too."
The two of them laughed together as they sat down at the table and awaited the arrival of breakfast Nakuru style. Soon, breakfast was before them, it looked wonderful and smelt it too. The door opened and Yue walked in, Sakura's eyes went huge. He wore his mass of white hair in a ponytail, which made her frown, a sky blue shirt and grey trousers, and there were grey house slippers on his feet. He gracefully walked over to the table and sat down.
"You look good dressed like that," said Eriol.
"Thank-you, Eriol-kun."
Eriol looked at the moon guardian and asked gently, "So what's your cover story going to be?"
"I'm an old friend of Sakura-chan's father, an artist and writer. I've come over from England to stay with them."
Eriol nodded. "Sounds good to me, was that why it took you so long to get down to breakfast?"
"Yes, I was confirming if this story would be alright with Sakura-chan's father, and he happily agreed."
Nakuru put a bowl of porridge in front of Yue, who reached out and, taking the salt pot, put salt on it. He ate his breakfast with relish, as far as Sakura could see. His fringe hid his eyes from her, and she ached to push it away so she could see what he was thinking.
Yue was worried: Sakura had said nothing, maybe she didn't like him dressed like this, or maybe she didn't care as much for him now Yukito was no longer part of him. Yue's heart constricted painfully at this thought.
Sakura finished her food, again her gaze was drawn to the moon guardian beside her: he was looking down at the table.
"Yue-chan, is something wrong?"
"No, Sakura-chan." His voice was soft, even, with a slight touch of pain. "Have you seen Yukito-kun yet today?"
"No, he went home last night," Eriol told them both. He felt like groaning: why didn't she tell him what she thought of him dressed normally? Well, this was Sakura: as Tomoyo would say, sometimes she needed a little help. And today, that little help would have to come from him.
"Sakura-chan, what do you think of Yue-san now he is dressed in normal clothes?"
Sakura flushed, Yue noticed and he smiled gently.
"I think he looks really, really amazing."
Yue took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Thank-you, Sakura-chan, I am glad you feel so."
Sakura's blush deepened, Yue flicked his lavender eyes up and locked his gaze with hers. Sakura smiled at him softly, he was so handsome and even when dressed more like a normal person there was still an unearthly quality about him. Her smile reminded him of the sun's rays: soft and comforting, shedding light on all those who needed them.
Nakuru had been watching this with a slight smile on her face. Eriol saw her open her mouth, but he was too late to stop the comment.
"Wow, I didn't know you could be so old-fashioned, Yue-san," she said teasingly.
It was almost like a light going out: Yue's eyes went from lavender to purple and he looked at her coldly. Sakura grabbed his arm before Yue totally shut down on her. "I think it's very nice," she said valiantly.
Yue looked at her, and his gaze softened slightly. "I'm glad that *you* liked it," he said, deliberately ignoring Nakuru.
Eriol rescued the situation before it went too far.
"How was the porridge, Yue-san?"
Yue blinked at the change of topic, but responded politely. "It wasn't burnt, so it was edible."
Sakura sweat dropped massively, but was saved by the entrance of Supi, who floated in yawning, and covering his mouth with one tiny black paw.
"Good morning, mina-san," he murmured, gradually losing height until he found Eriol's shoulder and dropped gratefully upon it.
"Good morning, Supi," Eriol greeted. "Would you care for some breakfast?"
"Tea would be nice," said Supi faintly.
Eriol poured a few drops into a saucer (unsweetened of course) and Supi lapped them up.
"You seem tired, Supi-san," Sakura remarked, concerned for the little black panther.
"I had very strange dreams last night: about a man with golden-black hair, who turned into Kero," Supi said, frowning slightly. "They quite disturbed me, I was unable to get any rest after I woke up. I only managed to doze at dawn. And of course, Yue-san was in great distress. Perhaps that was what caused the dreams. . ."
At the mention of the man with golden-black hair, Eriol set down his teacup sharply. Yue's eyes widened. They looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating. Sakura looked from one to the other, wondering what was going on.
"Nakuru, would you get us some more tea, please?" Eriol asked quietly, as Supi slept on his shoulder.
"Hai!" Nakuru saluted him and then marched off to the kitchen.
"What is it?" Sakura asked immediately. "What's wrong? Is this man an enemy?"
"No, quite the contrary, Sakura-chan," Eriol answered, tapping his fingers on the table. "That man is Keroberos."
"NANI?!"
The word echoed around the dining room, which was rather large. Yue sweat dropped slightly at the complete shock on his mistress's face. Sakura blinked several times and tried to calm herself down. "Did you say. that man is Keroberos?" she asked.
Eriol nodded. "Yes: it's his ultimate form. Because he is the Sun, he had three forms: the rising sun, the midday sun, and the setting sun. The form you know as Kero is the setting sun, the one known as Keroberos is the rising sun. Clow was never powerful enough to let him transform into the midday sun. It seems that your power has developed enough for him to manage the transformation, at least briefly."
Sakura gasped and glanced down at herself, as if expecting to see something different. Eriol looked at Yue. He had a suspicion that Yue also had a third form, for the moon also had three phases: waxing, full and waning. He had never counted the 'new' moon as one full phase, he always thought of it as part of the waning period. As he continued to look at the moon guardian, Yue's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. Eriol nodded to himself, satisfied. However, he was also concerned: Yue was not drawing on Sakura's power to transform himself into his ultimate form. He was probably too worried about Keroberos' drain on Sakura's power to allow himself to progress, Eriol thought. That was like Yue, always thinking of others, never himself, though he'd be loath to admit it to anyone.
"Yue-chan, do you have an ultimate form as well?"
Eriol almost jumped: Sakura had taken the words straight out of his mind. The Mistress of the Star Cards was staring innocently at Yue, who shifted in his chair, unable to lie and look into those pure eyes. Finally, unable to remain silent under her direct gaze, he whispered, "Hai." Then he shot the chair back, leapt up and ran outside. The sound of wings beating the air told them both that he had fled.
"Yue-!"
Sakura jumped up and ran after him. Eriol didn't say a word to stop her. He sighed, leaned back in the chair, and templed his hands, resting his forehead on them. 'Damn you, Clow,' he thought, 'damn you for not telling me. Damn *me* for not remembering and warning her.'
Meanwhile, Yue was flying through the air above the clouds, trying to keep an eye on where he was in the town. As soon as he saw the roofs of the Tsukimine Shrine, he dived and landed in the forest. Then he hurried towards the buildings.
Sakura was easily keeping track of him, since Yue was too distressed to hide his signal. She wasn't even surprised when she realised where he was going. Over the past few years, she had discovered that the shrine was a favourite place for Yue (and Yukito) whenever he felt distressed or wanted to be alone. Something about it seemed to soothe the moon guardian as no other building could . . with the possible exception of Sakura's house. She had never asked him what attraction the shrine held for him, wisely assuming that Yue would tell her when he was ready. Maybe he was ready to tell her now.
When she found Yue, he was sitting on a bench under a cherry tree, leaning his head against the trunk. His wings were gone, and he looked almost human again. She smiled when she saw that he'd kicked off the slippers somewhere over the town and was wriggling his white toes in the green grass. He was like a school child on an outing. There was a peaceful smile on his face. She wondered if she ought to bother him, but she had forgotten how sensitive Yue's sense of hearing was: at the first rustle of her wings, his eyes opened and he saw her. Sakura stiffened, ready for another chase, but he didn't move. He didn't even seem tense.
She took off her own house slippers and walked towards him, holding them with one hand. He held out a hand as she drew nearer.
"Do you wish to sit down, Sakura-chan?"
She nodded. "Hai."
He moved along the bench and gestured at the place beside him. Sakura sat down lightly and looked around. "It's certainly beautiful here," she observed. "Is that why you like this place so much?"
He cleared his throat, gazing around as if seeing the beauty of the grounds for the first time, so utterly absorbed had he been in the fair maiden at his side. "The beauty of this place is indeed . . soothing, but there is something else that draws me here."
Sakura tipped her head to one side, inviting more information with a sweet smile. Yue looked down, unable to meet her gaze, and continued.
"This is . . was . . my shrine in times past, when I was first here on this earth. The people saw me as a god, and worshipped me. The same happened to Keroberos, though I believe some people still worship him, whereas my religion has disappeared."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," said Sakura shyly, picking a starflower from around Yue's feet and slowly tugging off the petals. There was a trail of starflowers to the tree: Yue always left them when he walked on grass, though nobody had been able to work out why, least of all Yue.
"What do you mean?" Yue asked her softly.
"Well. . . there are plenty of people who still worship the moon!"
"Yes, as a woman," he replied, the bitterness of this decision still reflected in his voice. "All because I had long hair. Didn't they realise I was lacking certain things? Mind you, according to Nakuru-san, even they don't make a woman," he added, frowning slightly.
Sakura blushed and touched his arm. "Yue-chan. . . I don't think you're a woman. I've never thought that. Even before I let the Clow Cards go . . I thought the moon was male. My father told me so."
He smiled at her. "Then your father is even wiser than I thought he was. I must remember to repay him for that act of kindness."
"Oh no, don't: he'll be so embarrassed. Has the shrine changed much from what it was when you were first here?"
Yue shook his head. "Hardly. I could close my eyes and walk this place without any accidents."
Sakura smiled at her moon guardian. "Yue-chan, why did you run away from me just now?"
Yue smiled a little and then said. "Because I have never changed into my full form, but I do know what it looks like, and it made me a bit shy."
"Yue-chan shy, this makes me curious as to what you look like transformed." Sakura's eyes burned into him. Yue backed away from her, Sakura reached out with her small hand. "Please?"
Yue looked into her eyes and instantly regretted that decision: he felt his defences dropping. Sakura saw the resistance fading. "Please?"
Yue nodded. "Alright, just this once."
Sakura gifted the relenting moon angel with a beautiful smile, he felt a smile form on his own lips in return. Her confidence in him always made him overcome his own shyness.
Yue's long hands went down either side of him and he pushed himself up from the bench, he stood before Sakura, his lilac eyes penetrating. "You sure on this?"
Dumbly, Sakura nodded.
"Alright. Is now alright with you?"
Sakura nodded again, unable to believe that Yue was allowing her to see his most deeply held secret. Her moon guardian's wings came forth and when they moved back Sakura felt her mouth open slightly. Yue's hair was not in its usual braid but loose and flowing. He wore the same uniform except the yellow in it had been replaced with dark blue. He wore a sword at his left hip in a silver scabbard and his face had a silver and purple domino mask round it. "Yue. . ." she whispered in awe.
His eyes settled on her. "Sakura-chan?"
"You look . . there isn't a word for the way you look right now, it's just so . . . amazing."
Yue's eyes sought the floor and he blushed. "Thank you, Sakura-chan." He then transformed back to his disguise. "I'm glad you like it."
Sakura smiled gently. "I like it very much."
Yue held out a hand to her. "Let's get you home."
Sakura took his hand: unlike her feelings with other men, Sakura didn't feel embarrassed holding Yue's hand, she felt wonderfully happy. Yue held out an arm for her and Sakura put her arm through it. Yue escorted Sakura home, when they got there they found Fujitaka and Keroberos waiting for them Fujitaka was pleased to see them both safe and sound. Keroberos gave Sakura a big friendly lick and then proceeded to give one to Yue for good measure. Sakura awaited Yue's response in terrified horror and then to her surprise, Yue laughed at his counterpart. Sakura had never heard him laugh before, it was a deep musical sound, and Sakura found her own lips curling as she listened. Keroberos was staring at Yue wide eyed. "You haven't laughed like that for a long time."
"I should laugh more often, Keroberos, it's good for the soul." Yue replied smiling gently at his fellow guardian.
"Okay, where is the real Yue, and who made this false one?" asked Keroberos in mock panic. Yue laughed again, Sakura watched him beaming openly, she hadn't felt this happy for a long time.
Fujitaka spoke. "Yue-kun, you haven't tied back your hair."
Yue put his hand to the back of his hair. "You're right, I haven't. Thank you for reminding me, Fujitaka-san."
Fujitaka bowed politely. "You're welcome."
Yue pulled out a hair band from his back pocket, Sakura's hand shot out and grabbed Yue's hand as it moved towards his hair.
"No!" she said very strongly
Yue's face was covered by an expression of shock. Keroberos and Fujitaka quietly exited the room, this was obviously a private discussion. Yue's eyes settled on Sakura, she had a very determined expression on her face. "Sakura-chan?"
Sakura's emerald green eyes met Yue's lilac ones. "I don't want you to tie your hair up."
"Why not, Sakura-chan?" Yue asked gently, not daring to hope that she cared about him as more than a guardian.
"I like your hair free and flowing it makes you look wonderful." Sakura said her voice soft, she brought up her other hand and placed her fingers into his cool white hair.
"But people will think it's strange they stare at me badly enough with ankle length white hair in a pony tail let alone if it were like this." Yue said trying to sound reasonable, but Sakura's grip on the hand only tightened, and her anger that people could think Yue odd shone in her eyes..
"I don't want it tied up!" She yelled at him very determined. Yue had never seen Sakura this emotional about some thing so small before. Sakura was determined to keep his hair free, if she won this small battle maybe she could bring herself to tell him of the strange feelings that he stirred in her, feelings that had nothing to do with his power coming from the moon.
His voice penetrated her thoughts as he softly said "Alright, how about a compromise? Whenever we are at home, alone together or with others who know about the cards, I will wear it loose, and whenever we are in public or around people who do not know who I really am, I will wear it up. How does that sound?"
Sakura realised his hand. "Yue-chan . . . Thank you."
Yue turned to face Sakura, and holding out the purple band in front of her face, he let it drop to the ground. Sakura followed it as it fell and then looked up at him smiling, this was the first time Yue had done something for her so willingly it was a small step but one in the right direction Sakura felt. Yue watched her smile and smiled back, Yue watched his eyes soft as Sakura's smile grew in response to his own.
Yue stepped over the now discarded band and took hold of Sakura's shoulders. He pressed her to him gently. Sakura was surprised at such an intimate gesture from her reserved moon guardian, but she liked it. So that Yue did not think he had displeased her, Sakura put her arms round his back. To Sakura's delight Yue had obviously not been expecting her to do anything, since he took a sharp breath as she embraced him. Sakura turned her head to the left and rested it against him. She felt Yue look down at her and his hair brushed her shoulder as it fell round them. Sakura looked up to find Yue's face inches from her own.
"Yue-chan?" she asked gently.
"Yes, Sakura-chan, what?" His voice was just as gentle.
"You do know that . . I care about you . . as a friend."
His eyes closed briefly. "Yes, I know you do."
"I'm very lucky to have such a good friend and adviser in you, Yue."
Yue opened his eyes and gifted her with a wonderful smile. "Thank you. Just as I am lucky to have you as my friend."
The doorbell rang, Sakura and Yue jumped, they heard Fujitaka answer the door and them come into the living room. His face was angry but he said with courtesy, "Li Shaolan and his mother are here to see you, Sakura."
Sakura looked up at Yue. He removed himself from her instantly and stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder. Li walked into the room, his eyes widened as he saw Sakura and Yue together, his mother entered and her own eyes went wide. Keroberos padded past them and sat in front of his mistress. Sakura took strength from her guardians' presence. "Yes what do you want Shaolan-kun?"
"I've come to see you in order to apologise for breaking my promise and to beg your forgiveness," Shaolan said, sinking down on his knees before Sakura.
Sakura moved away from Yue, letting his hand drop to his side, and went over to Shaolan. She held out her hands to help him up. A memory flashed in her mind of long white hair and lilac eyes: Yue had been like this before her too; Windy had deliberately placed him before her in this position. The message was not lost on Sakura and she let her hands drop.
Shaolan stared up at her, confused. He had been so sure of her forgiveness, there was no one who could have replaced him in Sakura's heart in such a short time, was there?
Shaolan's gaze fell on Yue. Yue, who was wearing normal clothes. Shaolan rose and walked up to the moon guardian. Holding out his sword arm, Shaolan bid his sword appear. Yue's wings shot forward, and then moved back to reveal his highest form. Keroberos also transformed into his higher self. They watched Shaolan, waiting for his move. Shaolan gawped: the third forms of each guardian were a myth in his family, they weren't supposed to exist, but here they stood.
Shaking with anger, Shaolan charged at Yue, sword held up and pointed straight at Yue's chest. Sakura, refusing to let Shaolan hurt Yue, ran between them. Shaolan's sword pierced her skin and she gasped. Realising what he had done, Shaolan blanched.
"SAKURA!" yelled Yue, catching Sakura as she fell.
Sakura smiled up at Yue and gently touched his face. "I. . couldn't let him hurt you . . . I love you, Yue-chan."
Sakura's eyes closed and her chest stopped moving. Yue's eyes shone with tears. Keroberos stared at them: Yue was holding Sakura as if he would never let her go. Yue's tears glowed white like moonlight and cascaded down onto Sakura's wound, which healed and vanished. Yue laid her down gently on the floor and kissed her softly. Yue's eyes were closed, so he did not see the huge white light that surrounded them when he did this. "I love you, Sakura, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, I failed you and Touya-kun. I'm better off dead."
Yue ran out of the house, Keroberos went to chase him but Shaolan's mother stopped him. Keroberos growled, but she pointed over to Sakura, who had just sat up and slapped Shaolan right across the face.
"That's for deserting me."
Sakura then slapped him again.
"And that is for trying to kill the man I love."
Sakura looked around the room and when she couldn't see Yue, she looked at Keroberos.
"Where is Yue, Kero-chan?"
Keroberos concentrated and then said, "The river: he went to kill himself."
Sakura turned white: she called the Fly card and left in pursuit of her moon guardian. Whilst she did that Keroberos turned Li Shaolan and his mother from Sakura's house, with strict instructions never to bother Sakura again.
When Sakura got to the river she couldn't see Yue and her heart constricted painfully, she then felt Yue's magic glowing weakly below the water. Sakura called up the Water card and had Yue on the bank of the river in no time.
Sakura landed next to Yue, praying that she wasn't too late. She put her head on his chest - he was breathing, just. Yue coughed suddenly. Sakura moved aside as he began to cough up water. She had never been so happy to see someone cough before; she gently stroked his hair to calm him down. Yue looked up at her touch, when he saw Sakura there, Yue's eyes lit up with joy. He reached out and grabbed her, pulling against him in a tight hug. Then he remembered he was soaking wet.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling back, "I've made you wet."
Sakura laughed at him and threw herself back against her guardian. "You're alright, Yue." His heart jumped when once again she didn't use the 'chan'.
"I'm fine, Sakura." Her head came up sharply and her eyes looked into his filled with questions, but before Sakura could ask any of them, Yue asked one of his own. "And so are you. . . how?"
Sakura smiled up at him and wordlessly touched Yue's lips. Yue looked down at the floor. Sakura put a finger beneath his chin and tilted his head up. "Thank you for saving me, Yue."
"You're welcome, Sakura."
Sakura ached to feel Yue's lips on hers again. She felt stupid for not realising that she loved Yue sooner. Yue rose and said with a smile, "I think we had better get back home and change into dry clothes."
Sakura nodded. "I agree."
Yue held out a hand for her. When she took it, Yue swung Sakura up into his arms without a second thought. Sakura squealed with delight and surprise. She put her arms round Yue's neck and he flew them home.