Master of the Moon 2: Reed's Rival

By realixweatherfairy

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captors or Winx Club

Chapter 3: Mixed Feelings

The next morning at breakfast, everyone was cheerful, except for Tsukiko. She was tired and grumpy, and was giving her grandfather, Kero, and Yue the cold shoulder; they could all tell that she was angry. Yue, for his part, could not understand what he had done to raise her ire. He knew that she was upset with his disguised form, but he, personally, had done nothing to make her angry with him. However, Kero and Li knew too well what was making her upset. She had obviously overheard their conversation from the night before. Once she was finished eating, Tsukiko excused herself and left the room without a word to anyone.

Yue just stared after her, trying to figure out what he had done. He had waited nine years to be reunited with Tsukiko, his self appointed charge; he had always been fond of the girl and her spirited personality. He had missed her greatly when she had gone to live with her grandmother on Realix; it wasn't just him either, Keroberos and Sakura had missed her as well; Li Mansion was never the same during her absence. When Tsukiko was at school on Earth, she was an outcast; she had absolutely no friends. The children had all thought her weird and kept their distance from her; Yue and Keroberos had been her only friends; the only ones besides Sakura and Li who did not think her weird and actually enjoyed her company and idle chit chat.

A few days after Tsukiko had left for Realix, Yue had realized that though he acted like the girl was nuisance, he had really enjoyed her presence; it calmed and soothed his soul like no other's would. Her aura was always bright and sparkly, unlike her grandfather Li's, whose was dim and soft spoken. She was the light in the dark dreary place known as his heart. Though when he had met the girl, Yue had vowed to never get too close to her, to protect her and nothing else, but that vow had been broken, as he couldn't resist her; he had forgotten at the time that the little girl that was Sakura's granddaughter was also the young woman he had met all those years ago at Clow Reed's mansion, the one whose gaze made him feel things he shouldn't. It wasn't until Tsukiko had returned nine years later that he had recognized her as the same young woman, though she looked a little younger.

At first Yue was appalled that he could have those kinds of feelings for the one he was supposed to protect and refused to admit that he had them. There was that, and Julian's so obvious dislike of Yue would have made it nearly impossible for him to even get close to the girl, but it happened anyway. She became important to him, and Julian had used that against him; used Tsukiko's own emotions in his scheme to hurt Yue, though she had no idea what he was doing. Yue remembered how he could feel Tsukiko's pain as his own, and right now her pain was great; Julian knew that and also knew that Yue had feelings for Tsukiko. So he made Tsukiko fall in love with him and used that to taunt Yue and hurt her.

Yue mentally scowled; every time he thought of what Julian had done to Tsukiko without her knowing; it made him want to hit something. Though he knew that if Julian was his own person, right now he wouldn't be standing. Because he was the Moon Guardian, Yue could sense people's emotions and other things about them, and he knew that Sky, Brandon, Timmy, Riven, and Helia all thought of Tsukiko as their sister, and the feelings were mutual on her part. Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa, Layla, and Tecna also thought her as their sister, and those feelings were also mutual. If Julian were his own person, they would be sure to punish him for his disrespect to their sister.

Keroberos watched Yue closely as Tsukiko left the room. The pained look on his face confirmed Kero's belief that Yue already loved Tsukiko, only he would never admit it, to himself or anyone else, least of all Tsukiko herself. It was a long time after Tsukiko had left the room before anyone spoke until Sky broke the silence.

"Does anyone know why Tsuki is so mad?" he asked, shivering, "I don't think I've ever seen her that mad, and I've known her for years."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen her that mad either," Stella said quietly, but no one answered the question, either they didn't know, or they weren't willing to say.

"What could have made her so angry?" Yue thought.

"Could it be that every time she looks at you she knows that I'm somewhere in your head?" Julian sneered, making Yue angrier than he already was.

"I'm not talking to you," Yue growled at him, "Do you hate me that much that you have to hurt an innocent person?"

"Maybe," Julian retorted, "It's not my fault she's so gullible."

"Ugh! I wish we could just separate and be our own people, maybe then you could get the punishment you so deserve," Yue growled in response.

"Hear, hear," Julian scowled. Suddenly, Yue felt a sharp pain that went through his entire body; it felt as if his body was being split open. Everyone else just watched in horror as Yue's body separated, and became two different bodies, one was Yue himself, the other Julian. Both of them fell to the floor, gasping for air, as a spiritual version of Clow Reed appeared before them.

Having heard Yue's cries of pain, and fearing that something bad was happening, Tsukiko quickly returned to the dining room and gasped. Tsukiko's eyes widened, no believing what she was seeing; where Yue had been sitting when she left sat both Julian and Yue, who now looked more like a human as his wings had disappeared and was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Slowly and cautiously, Tsukiko walked towards what she assumed was Yue, laid her hand on his arm, and said in a shaky voice, "Yue?" when he nodded she asked, "Are you alright?" and was answered with a nod.

After assuring herself that he was indeed alright, Tsukiko turned the spirit of Clow Reed and demanded, "What is going on here?"

"Though they shared one body, both Yue and Julian had separate conscious minds of their own," Clow Reed explained, though Tsukiko knew this; it was why she never saw Julian when she looked at Yue, "Both of their conscious minds wished to separate and become their own people," making Tsukiko's eyes widen once again.

"They could have separated long ago, if they had truly wanted to," Clow Reed continued, "Tsukiko, I know that you have been hurt by Julian's actions, but please understand that he is not who you think he is. Everyone he meets is immediately charmed by his sweet and kind personality, but that is what he wants them to think. He is truly a cunning and deceptive person and he absolutely hated the fact that he was Yue's disguised form, and that the only reason that he existed was Yue. Because of his hate for Yue, Julian has actively made Yue's existence miserable, by hurting the people he cares about most. Julian played with your emotions in order cause Yue pain."

"Why would that hurt Yue? It would hurt me more than Yue," Tsukiko asked, her bangs hiding her eyes as Yue shot her a hurt look.

"I told you, little one, he loves you as he loved your grandmother before you," Clow Reed replied, "He may even love you more than he ever loved me. Haven't you ever noticed that Yue is very protective of you, Chosen One? Yue is your protector; he doesn't like seeing you hurt in any way, shape, or form: physically, mentally, or emotionally. He, like Keroberos, can sense when you are in pain, my dear, but for him it is more pronounced. For Yue, your pain is his pain."

"Why?"

"I would have thought the answer obvious, little one," Clow Reed replied with a knowing look on his face.

"Because I'm the Moon," she breathed.

"Yes, because you are the Moon's Master, essentially the Moon itself," Clow Reed said, making everyone in the room, except for Yue, Kero, Julian, Li, and Tsukiko, gasp, "And he is the Moon Guardian, your true protector. You both complete the other; you share a bond deeper than time itself." Tsukiko refused to look at Yue, though he was looking at her as if asking if she knew what Clow Reed was referring to; she knew of what he spoke, all too well. Her mind was telling her not to let some written words decide the path she walked, though her heart was telling her that her path was laid before her feet.

Patting Tsukiko's head, Clow Reed said, "You cannot fight fate, dear one. Your destiny is right before you." Looking up into Clow Reed's eyes, Tsukiko replied, "I write my own destiny," making Clow Reed chuckle as he said, "I know, I know," before disappearing.

No one said or did anything for the longest time, until Sky and Brandon finally snapped and beat up Julian, and continued to beat him up until Riven and Helia got up and pulled them away from him.

"Come on, man," Riven groaned as both Sky and Brandon fought against him and Helia to get back at Julian until Tsukiko said, "Enough! He's not worth it!" making them look at her. Her expression was unreadable, so it was impossible to know what she was thinking. She quietly walked up to Julian and stood in front of him for a moment before smacking him across the face as hard as she could. Then she grabbed his forearm and dragged him out of the dining room and to the front door while saying, "You are no longer welcome in this house. Get. Out," and she threw him out of the door before returning to the dining room.

"Good job, Tsuki," Bloom said, anger apparent in her voice. Nodding to Bloom, Tsukiko finally made eye contact with Yue for the first time that day. Sky may have known Tsukiko for years, but that didn't mean he knew her; in just one look Yue felt like he knew everything there ever was to know about Tsukiko, just like he was the only one who could predict her actions when she was younger, and hated it when she was away from him for any period of time. In just one look from her, his entire world would stop spinning, and his heart would stop beating. For them it was as if time had stopped and they were the only two people in the entire world.

Tsukiko couldn't understand why whenever she made eye contact with Yue that her heart would start pounding and she would have trouble breathing. She knew too well what Clow Reed had meant when he asked her if she had ever noticed how protective Yue was of her; of course she did. He and Kero had been her only friends when she was little, all the other children she had gone to school with had thought her too weird for their groups, leaving her alone, misunderstood, and lonely. It was then she met Keroberos, who she had thought just a character in her grandmother's bedtime stories. She had been so happy that day; she and Keroberos had become friends automatically and he would visit her room everyday after she got home from school.

Then Kero had sensed some very strong powers radiating off in Tsukiko's aura, and reported it to Sakura. He had automatically volunteered to keep an eye on her, and though she never understood why he did it, so did Yue. It was probably more to keep Kero out of trouble than Tsukiko herself, but from the moment she met him, Tsukiko felt some sort of connection with him and would try to get to know him better, though he would always ignore her until one day he just answered her questions; they were never too personal, just like how was your day?, or what kind of books do you like to read?, those kind of questions.

After that it was like Yue was her shadow, wherever Tsukiko went, he would follow, except for when she went outside, or to school, then Keroberos went with her instead, though she suspected he was watching her from a window to make sure she was safe. Tsukiko could never explain it, but she felt safer with Yue than she had ever felt with Kero, though Kero was very protective of her as well, but it was as if Yue actually cared. He would be the first one of the guardians to ask her how school went that day, or when she had a test of some sort, and would be the first person she would report to if she needed help with something, or be the first one to commend her for getting a good grade on her school work.

By the summer she turned six, Tsukiko was no longer lonely, how could she be when she had her grandparents, Yue, and Kero to support her. It was as if everything was perfect; Tsukiko was happy. She could even remember when Yue first smiled because of something she said and how it made her happy that she could make him happy. But soon the other children at school began to pick on and bully her, treating her as if she was some alien from another planet; not only that but every time she would say something, everyone in her class would begin laughing, even if she wasn't trying to be funny and because of it she withdrew into herself and stopped talking.

Not even Yue could get her to tell him what was wrong, making her grandmother worry. Kero who was hiding in her book bag when all this began was the only one who knew what was going on and when she refused to say what was happening, he told her grandparents and Yue what had happened. At first it looked like Yue was angry, and she could tell by his aura that he was, but he controlled it and just pulled her into a hug and held her close, told her that it was okay and that she wasn't weak, which made her cry and hug him back.

Two years later, Amelia had sent a note saying that she would like to have Tsukiko come live with her for awhile. When first informed that she was moving, Tsukiko refused to go; she hadn't wanted to leave her grandparents and Yue and Kero, until her grandmother had been forced to say that she had no choice. She had then locked herself in her room, not even Kero could convince her to come out and the only one she talked to was Yue, who, by his aura, she could tell didn't like the idea as much as she did, but didn't do anything stop it, probably thinking that he couldn't do anything if he tried.

After that, Tsukiko tried to act like herself, but it was hard. She missed everyone back home; Realix just didn't feel like home to her. Her grandmother Sakura had once told her that home was where the heart is, and it was true. She missed Sakura, Li, Kero; but she especially missed Yue. It was almost as if she had left a part of herself with them. She tried to forget them, and move on with her life when she grew her fairy wings and found out that she was the Daughter of the Moon, but she still felt as if a piece of her was missing. But it still didn't explain why she felt that way whenever she looked at Yue? It wasn't like she loved the guy, he was her protector. Her eyes widened when she realized something.

"The prophecy!" she thought as she quickly left the room, never noticing that Yue was following her, and headed to the library. Pulling out the scroll with the prophecy written on it, Tsukiko sat down and read it again.

Yue followed Tsukiko to the library; he was determined to talk to her, corner her if he had to, and find out what he had done to make her so angry. When he entered the library, Yue found her sitting at the desk in the back, bent over an old scroll; she didn't even notice his entrance. Quickly, but quietly he moved to stand behind her and saw that she was reading the Prophecy of the Daughters of the Sun and the Moon.

"Why would she be reading that?" Yue thought as he read a part that he hadn't noticed before.

"The Moon's heart shall be torn apart by heartache, only to be healed by the Moon Guardian, whose heart belongs to another, She will heal his wounds as he heals hers, he will feel her pain as his own and know her better than she knows herself.

Their love shall be overshadowed by evil as an age old enemy will make himself known, together only by the power that the Moon and her Guardian possess shall they rise to fell the Era of Darkness."

Yue's eyes widened; his creator had prophesized that he, the Moon Guardian, and his second successor would fall in love with each other. His mind, which was now free of Julian and his cursed thoughts, was in a whirlwind, though a part of him had always loved the girl who was his creator's descendant, his third master, a fairy, a princess, and the master of the moon itself. Snapping out of his thoughts, Yue noticed that Tsukiko now knew that he was behind her and was looking at him with wide eyes filled with horror.

Once she had finished reading the prophecy and turned around, Tsukiko came face to face with Yue. Her eyes widened; she hadn't realized that he had been right behind her and was horrified and embarrassed that Yue now knew what the prophecy had said about the two of them. Looking into her eyes accusingly, Yue said, "Why didn't you tell me?" indicating the prophecy.

Tsukiko sighed dejectedly and said, "I just found out myself. I only knew about the first part of it. I never knew there was more to it." Yue's eyes widened; he had only known about the first part as well. His creator always wrote his prophecies alone while sitting under a cherry blossom tree and wouldn't share most of them. He only shared that part of it with Keroberos and himself, because he had wanted them to find the girls meant by the prophecy and to protect the Moon from her sister, the Sun.

"Why does your sister want you dead?" Yue asked quietly.

Sighing, Tsukiko replied, "Solara has always thought that our parents played favorites when they decided to send one of us away; that because Realix is the Realm of the Moon, that they decided that I, the Moon, would be a better princess, which is, of course, ridiculous. They loved us both equally, but Solara made an attempt on my life before we were a year old, so they decided to send her away rather than have her try again when we were older. She blames me for it."

Yue looked at her in wonder. When Clow Reed had told them the first part of the prophecy, he not only told them that the sisters meant by the prophecy would be recognizable by the sun and moon symbols on their necks, but also that the Sun would have a vendetta against the Moon and that she, the Moon, was important to their future. He had never understood what Clow Reed had meant by that until right now.

"Shortly after he made the prophecy," Yue said, "Clow Reed told Keroberos and myself the first part, as well as how to find the girls meant by the prophecy and to protect the Moon from her sister; that the Moon was important to our future. I never understood what he meant until right now."

Swinging the desk chair to face him, Tsukiko said, "And what did he mean?"

"He wanted my to protect the one that I'd eventually fall in love with," Yue whispered as he took Tsukiko into his arms and held her like he used to when she was a child, making her eyes go wide.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from Julian," he whispered into her ear, making Tsukiko smile.

"Don't worry about it," Tsukiko replied as she smiled and hugged Yue back, "I'm a lot stronger than either you or I give myself credit for," making Yue smile as well before they headed back to where everyone else was waiting for them.