Ah, forgot to put this in……

If I said I owned Yue and Touya and Yukito, would anybody here believe me? No? Oh, well. I guess it's a good thing I don't, hmm?

Chapter two: Stretching my wings

Ruling Card: Return

I watched the two Cards watch me, taking in my human form. They weren't really here, of course; only their……spirits, so to speak. All the moon-ruled Cards shared that empathy with me. I could talk to them at any time, wherever they were, and them to me.

'Yue,' Mirror said a second after Windy, her soft mind-voice a welcome thing. Ever the shy one, Mirror. She had 'chosen' me right after she had been created, sticking to me like a limpet. Maybe it was because I was the first being she had seen. Even Clow had had to coax her to speak with gentle care. It had taken months before she would do more than hide behind my robes, giggle shyly and imitate others' words.

'Are you well?' I asked gently. She smiled in agreement. Mirror was special to me; no matter how we behaved in front of others, we had a special bond that went beyond the other Cards', even those ruled by the moon. The only other who came close was Windy, who stepped up to me and laid a delighted, delicate touch on my cheek.

'Yue,' she said again in her whispery windlike mind-voice. 'It is good to see you like this again. But what is this strange form you bear?'

Self-consciously, I fingered my clothing, ran my hands through my short gray hair. 'A false form. My true form is too strange for this place. Did you both escape the book? Have you found a safe hiding-place?'

Mirror nodded again, but Windy shook her head. 'I was held by the Cardcaptor, and thus could not escape.' She looked thoughtful for a second. 'Is it true, then, that Clow has gone from us forever?' My thoughts must have shown on my face, for she dropped her hand immediately, shocked. 'Oh, Yue. I am truly sorry for you.'

'It doesn't matter,' I said, averting my eyes. 'Were any of the other Cards held by the Cardcaptor?'

'None,' she replied immediately. 'Wood and Rain are still in her house, but they have not been discovered yet. Keroberos has not detected their presence, and the Cardcaptor is still unfamiliar with the feel of a Clow Card.'

'I'm not surprised. He's barely capable of finding a book in a library.'

Mirror giggled. I knelt down and held my arms out to her and she ran into them. I hugged her tightly, and she wrapped her arms around me in return. I had missed her. I had missed them all. Windy came up to us and threaded her fingers through my hair, and I pulled her into the hug as well. The need for contact was not normal for me, but I didn't care. Two hundred years and more without any physical touch would affect anyone.

After a few seconds, I regained myself and stood, drawing the identity of the Guardian about me like the cloak I no longer wore. Mirror clung to my leg.

'I presume you're here on behalf of all the moon-ruled Cards?' I addressed Windy. She and Watery, as the elementals, were usually the ones who spoke for the moon-ruled. Fiery and Earthy performed a similar function for the sun-ruled Cards. 'So would your sisters have spoken to Keroberos yet?'

A shadow passed over Windy's face. 'Yes, I represent the moon-ruled. We couldn't all come; there would be too much power about and those with magic would notice. Yue, there is a problem. The Sun Guardian has openly declared support for the Cardcaptor. He was only required to elect her, not to aid her in captures or inform her about the nature of different Cards.'

'He did what?' I said, surprised.

Clow's terms had been clear.

The Guardian of the Book will appoint the person who opens the book the Cardcaptor if he or she should have the magical power necessary to perform such a task. The elected candidate must capture the Cards without assistance from either of the Guardians, and the candidate may not know the identity of the Judgment Maker until the last Card is captured and signed. Should the Cardcaptor fail to capture all the Cards and fail to turn any of them to transfer allegiance to him or her, the Judgment will be of defeat. Should they be unable to defeat the Judgment Maker, the candidate will have lost and the Cards will be freed again until another Cardcaptor is appointed.

Keroberos rarely went against Clow's instructions, for all his whining, complaining, wheedling and temper tantrums. That had been my job.

Windy nodded, her robes rustling. 'He told her about Fly. She captured it a few hours ago. I am worried by this. Some of my sisters are not as………rationally driven as I am. I fear that some of the sun-ruled Cards may bear real hostility to the Cardcaptor due to their anger at Keroberos.'

'Then that will be a proper test of her abilities,' I said indifferently. I had no emotions towards the Cardcaptor, and that was as it should be. Only when all the Cards were sealed could I make a decision.

'She is not a bad child, this new Cardcaptor,' Windy mused. 'She was terrified, the entire time she was chasing Fly, but she didn't back down. Well, not much. She has power, and stubbornness, and a good heart. With time and training she might be……'

'Were you going to end that sentence with "better than Clow," Windy?' I asked with ice in my voice.

'With all due respect, Yue, the endings of my sentences are my business, not yours. Reserve your judgements for the Cardcaptor.'

I smiled briefly at my closest friend. 'It's good to talk to you, Windy,' I said fondly.

'And you, Yue,' she said. 'If you will excuse me, I must return to my Card form. Any longer and even Keroberos will become suspicious.' She dipped her head at me formally, her long hair floating about her, and then dissolved as she returned her mind to her Card.

'Yu?' Mirror said, looking up at me. I softened at the pet name. 'Slee'ere?'

'Use full sentences, you little brat,' I said with no real sting to my tone.

'May I sleep here tonight, Yu?'

'Oh, all right,' I said in mock annoyance as I settled back onto the bed. It was an old routine of ours. 'Just go away before my false form wakes up, all right? I don't want him to know just yet.'

She nodded happily and snuggled under the covers with me. Her long green hair tickled my nose.

'I don't want to be sealed,' she said quietly.

'Being captured isn't like being sealed.'

'I'll have to go back into the book, right?'

'Well, unless the Cardcaptor wants you for something, yes you will.'

'I don't like the book, Yu. It's cold and dark.'

'I don't like it in there either,' I confessed truthfully.

'But if the Cardcaptor loses the Final Judgment……'

I had no answer.

It wasn't until the next morning that I realised that Windy hadn't answered my question.

And so began our rift.

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When Yukito woke up, Mirror was thankfully gone. He didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, though the entire feel of the house screamed that magic had been there. He dressed and hummed and ate – heavens, how he ate – before leaving for school as usual. I sighed and settled in for a long, boring day.

That night, Shadow came to me to inform me that he had been captured. Shadow was one of the Cards who couldn't speak, so he had brought Windy along for interpretation. How she understood him was beyond me. Must be one of those messenger Card benefits. Occasionally, Clow surprised even himself.

I was startled by the news. Three Cards in two days, the girl was doing much better than I had expected.

Of course, she had Keroberos' help, and though the brat was forgetful, lazy, food-obsessed and irritating he was the Sun Guardian, and once he got his head out of the nearest plate of food he was quite knowledgeable about the Cards. His, at least. I snorted – I had always made efforts to talk to the sun-ruled Cards, but he had rarely bothered to talk to mine. I sighed. The Cards were scattered now; they did not dare contact me except one or two at a time. The sun-ruled were mutinying against Keroberos, and the moon-ruled were waiting for me to take sides on the issue. Well, they could wait until the Final Judgment. Just because the brat was taking sides and discarding his objectivity didn't mean that I was going to do the same.

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A few days later. 'These pancakes look delicious!' Yukito exclaimed. Food-obsessed, I said to myself.

'Oh, it's nothing,' Sakura said.

'Yeah, really,' Touya contributed as he munched. He shot Yukito an amused look over her fuming head. I could feel my false form smile – I was too close to the surface. I retreated immediately. There was no point in being found out at this stage.

'You can have some pancakes if you want,' Sakura said to Yukito. I watched her closely from behind his eyes. She seemed just the same as before. There was no change in her eyes, no power lust or arrogance. This girl was an interesting creature.

'Didn't you buy these with your allowance?' Yukito said.

She blushed and said it didn't matter before offering to bring it up later. Yukito and Touya moved to his room to study.

'So have you heard what the class play is this year?' Touya said, giving Yukito one of his unreadable looks as he leaned against the wall, hands tucked behind his head.

'Yeah, I heard. They're doing Cinderella, but all the male parts are going to be played by women and vice versa. I truly pity the poor idiot who's going to play Cinderella.'

'Yeah, that party dress they stitched for 'her' has about fifty frills.' I frowned within Yukito, feeling Sakura coming up the stairs. She was carrying something. Instinctively, I opened the door, just in time to take the tray from Sakura.

'How did you know I was here?' she said, puzzled.

'I just knew you were there,' Yukito said. There was a flare of bewilderment from the false form. It was the first time I had felt any emotion from him. It was as strong as my own. I could hear his thought clearly. How did I know? Hastily, I convinced his impressionable mind that he had heard footsteps, though there had been nothing of the sort. He relaxed and shut the door, turning around only to see Touya looking at him intensely. No, I corrected. He was looking for me. I buried myself deep.

'I'm starting to wonder which one of us is the psychic,' Touya grumbled, and I was relieved.

So, Cinderella, hmm?

Wait. There was a faint magical signature on him. Watery! Why had he been touching Watery?

'So what really happened at the aquarium today?' Yukito said, and I sighed gratefully. 'Everybody's talking about it.'

'Oh, nothing,' Touya shrugged. 'I saved a penguin from drowning in some freak accident and suddenly I'm some sort of hero for it.'

Well, he certainly had courage if he could take on Watery, knowing what she was. To survive was even more impressive. She had one of the worst tempers in the deck.

'Oh?' Yukito said lightly, and the conversation moved on to other topics.

I was lost in thought. Why had Watery shown herself? What was she intending?

Windy visited me that night. We sat up late, talking quietly. By unspoken agreement, we stayed away from Clow. And Sakura. It was comforting, and I felt better than I ever had since waking up.

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The next day, we wound up in the aquarium again, my false form, Sakura and I. Yukito led her straight to where I could sense Watery, and I wondered once again whether he was sensitive to magic at all, or whether he functioned on pure instinct.

I could feel Watery manipulating magic and was amazed that neither Sakura nor Touya reacted to it. The tank cracked and then broke, and water and Watery surged out, wrapping around Sakura's leg and trapping her under the water. I could go hours without breathing, and Watery wouldn't touch me unless I gave her permission. At no personal threat, I watched to see what my false form would do.

To my surprise, he acted quickly and decisively, chopping a door down to let some water drain away. Sakura's head came up out of the water, and she choked and gasped.

'Are you all right?' Touya demanded as he cradled Sakura protectively. Yukito didn't respond. Instead, he made some inane comment about shaved ice.

'Shaved…...ice……' Sakura said thoughtfully, and I winced. Without intending to, Yukito had told her the only way to defeat Watery.

Sure enough, two nights later Watery came to visit. The water Card was much less formal than Windy, but we weren't nearly as close. Strange, that.

'Yue,' she acknowledged, as they all did, plonking herself down on my bed. Except for Song and Voice, who could copy other people's voices, she had the most beautiful voice of the Cards, soothing and gentle, startlingly unlike her short-tempered, loud and brassy temperament. 'So, you pick sides yet in this upcoming rumpus?'

'Rumpus?' I said, considering the unfamiliar word. The little mental dictionary I had copied from Yukito's brain told me that it meant brawl, fracas or fight.

Oh.

'I don't see any rumpus,' I said.

'Oh, there'll be one, all right,' she chuckled. 'Fiery's about ready to deep-fry the m-Cardcaptor, and Snow's mad as hell too.'

Hmm. Snow was a moon-ruled Card, but Fiery was sun-ruled. And I had picked up on the change of word. 'So they're angry with Keroberos, then, just as Windy said?'

'Angry would be an understatement.' Watery crossed her legs and leaned back, looking at me sideways. 'They're royally ticked.'

'Where are you picking up all this slang?' I asked, amused.

'The kids at the aquarium, Tomoeda's water supply, the pond, random people's bathrooms. I've been doing a lot of learning. I'm not exactly dumb, unlike some people,' she added pointedly to Mirror, who was cuddled up with me as usual. The Card spent almost every night with me. Mirror contented herself with turning into a copy of Watery and sticking out her tongue. 'So?'

'So what?'

'Are you with the Cardcaptor or against her?'

'Neither, Watery. I am the Judgment Maker, after all. If I picked sides, I would be violating the terms of my instructions from Clow.'

'Hah. This objectivity of yours, it'll only last as long as you don't have any personal stake in the matter.' She shot me a piercing look.

'She'll be my mistress as much as yours,' I retorted.

'That's not personal, Yue,' she said indulgently before she stood up. 'You'll know it when it happens to you.'

'Waaterryy,' Mirror complained. 'You wetted the bed!'

'At this late age?' I said, playing off the Card's unintentional pun. Watery glowered at both of us for a second before she streaked off.

'Yu?' Mirror said, back in her original form. I made a noise of enquiry. 'The Cardcaptor's brother is cute, isn't he?'

Having no idea where she was going, I spluttered mentally for a second. The oblivious Card rescued me. 'I think he looks just fine.'

'It's just his power,' I said. 'You're moon-ruled, you're bound to be attracted to inward-directed magic, just like the sun-ruled like outward magic. Now go to sleep, brat.'

She obeyed, and I lay back, relishing the quiet and the warmth of the Card next to me. I waited for the other Cards to come if they wanted, but they weren't in the mood, it seemed. Several had arrived for a few brief seconds, just to tell me that they were all right (and though none mentioned it, I knew they were worried for me too). Time, and Dash, and Illusion. Maze had dragged Through with it to translate – most of the earlier Cards couldn't talk. Create, Fly, Return, Sword, Fight, Freeze, Erase, Libra, Storm, Twin, Cloud, Rain, Wood, Dark, Silent, Dream. By the end of the second week, all of them had reported to me. I had no idea where they were, but I could feel faint pinpricks of their presence in my mind and that reassured me. I wrapped an arm around Mirror – hopefully Yukito would think she was a pillow or something – and closed my eyes.