Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Ruler of the Moon ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

The sunlight poured through the window and the man in the bed began to stir to wakefulness. He groggily opened his eyes and quickly shut them as the bright light and warmth assaulted his senses. He felt a pain in his ankle as his body began to respond to his mind. Again, this time slowly, he opened his eyes. As they adjusted to the light, he looked around him. He was in a large bedroom with three doors in the walls. There was a chest of drawers along one wall and a chair next to it. One of the doors looked like it opened out upon a balcony. The second door was slightly ajar and he could tell it led to a bathroom. By elimination the third door must lead out into a hallway. The question was whom did this room belong to?

After adjusting his leg, so as not to wrench his ankle, he sat up in the large bed. Throwing off the blankets, he noticed that his ankle had been bandaged and his bruises tended to.

Just then there was a slight knock on the door. Not knowing what else to do he said, "Yes? Who is it?"

The door opened slightly to reveal the same tall dark man he remembered from the night before. "Ah, you're awake. I suppose you are wondering exactly where you are and who I am?" the man said, as if reading his mind.

"I was kind of curious."

"My name is Clow Reed." The man's eyes widened slightly at this as he had heard of one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. "I see my reputation precedes me."

"I am in your house, Master Reed?"

"Please, call me Clow. I do not believe I caught your name, though."

"My name is Rakesh Kershanka, but most of my friends just call me K."

Clow got a thoughtful look on his face as he said "Hmm . . . if I remember my Indian correctly, Rakesh means ruler of the moon. But, if I may say so, you don't appear to be from India."

"I'm not. My parents traveled a lot. My father was killed before I was born and my mother died giving birth. An Indian family adopted me for a while and they gave me my name. I was then taken to my father's family and stayed with my aunt until she passed on."

"Well, K, you are welcome to stay in my home until you are completely healed and able to travel again. I can sense that you have a good deal of magic in you."

"My father was a magician and my mother's family had some magic as well. My Aunt was a great sorceress and taught me how to use my magic. If I may ask, how did I get here? What happened?"

"My guardians and I were on our way home when we happened upon those three men and yourself. They felt of bad magic and you looked like you needed help so we took care of them. My guardian, Yue, flew you here and I called upon the doctor in the town to patch you up. Those men seemed to know you, what did they want?"

"My magic, they work for an evil sorcerer that wants more power and will stop at nothing to get it. I must thank you and your guardians for saving my life and for your hospitality in allowing me to remain in your home."

"Think nothing of it, I enjoy having the company of another sorcerer. Where are my manners, you must be hungry after your ordeal."

"I could use a little something. I actually can't think of the last time I had a truly decent meal."

"Well, we'll just have to remedy that. You have to stay off of that ankle for at least two more days, so I will have something brought to you."

"I don't wish to be a nuisance. I'm sure I can move around with the help of my staff." Rakesh said as he started to get up.

Clow just put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "No worries of making yourself a nuisance. My guardians and I will enjoy a respite from our everyday activities. And speaking of guardians, I wish to make you known to them."

Clow rose from his chair and walked over to the door leading to the hallway. "You stay put and I will return shortly with some lunch." Clow said before he opened the door and slipped from the room.

Rakesh simply stared after him and his thoughts wandered to his present predicament. What was he going to do if they came back for him? He only just escaped them this last time. If Clow hadn't stepped in he would've been . . .can't think of that now. They were getting better at their traps and he didn't think he was going to be able to avoid them forever.

A few minutes later the door opened up and Clow once again entered the room. This time he was carrying a tray with what Rakesh assumed was his lunch. There was a bowl of some kind of soup, two goblets, and a bottle on the tray.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you for a glass of wine while you eat." Clow said as he set the tray on Rakesh's lap and picked up a goblet and the bottle of wine.

"Not at all. I would enjoy the company. I have not had many people to really talk to in quite a while."

Rakesh lifted the spoon and sampled some of the delicious smelling soup. It had many vegetables and some meat chunks in it and looked absolutely mouth-watering to Rakesh. It took a very short amount of time for him to polish off the soup and he even amazed himself by how hungry he actually was. All this time Clow had just sat and watched him while sipping his goblet of wine.

"You must have either been starving or my cooking is a lot better than I thought."

"Hehe . . . I guess I didn't realize just how hungry I was. It's been longer than I thought since my last true meal." Rakesh said as he sampled the wine from his own goblet.

Rakesh then caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to the door. Clow had left it ajar when he had entered and there now appeared to be a lion-like creature peaking around the corner. Clow saw this and turned to look himself. He then smiled and gestured for the creature to come forward.

"K, this is my Guardian of the Sun, Keroberos. Keroberos, this is Rakesh." Clow introduced the two as Keroberos stepped into the room.

"Hello Keroberos, it is a pleasure to meet you. I would like to thank you for helping me in the alley." Rakesh stated as he bowed his head slightly in respect of the guardian.

"It was nothing. Those guys never stood a chance." Keroberos bragged as he puffed up his chest at the respect he was shown. "I could've taken them all on, all by myself."

"You barely handled the one, Keroberos. You were just lucky he got knocked out as he hit the ground," Yue stated as he followed Keroberos into the room.

Not wanting a fight to break out, Clow went immediately to introductions. "K, this is my Guardian of the Moon, Yue. Yue, this is Rakesh."

"I would like to extend my thanks to you, Yue, for saving me." Rakesh said as he watched the moon guardian step into the room.

"No thanks is needed," Yue said. He then picked up the tray with the empty bowl, goblet, and halfway empty bottle on it and said, "I will take this to the kitchen," and left the room. Keroberos simply rolled his eyes at the retreating form of his brother and turned back to Rakesh.

Clow watched all of this with an amused smile on his face and then remembered something the doctor had said. "K, the doctor has asked that you take this medicine to help you heal better," Clow said as he reached for a bottle on the bedside table. He opened the bottle and dumped two little, white pills onto his hand.

"Alright, although I hate taking drugs of any kind, I don't like to be muddle-headed." Rakesh said as he took the two pills and popped them into his mouth. He swallowed them quickly and settled back onto his pillows.

"Can I come talk to you again tomorrow?" Keroberos asked in a wistful sort of voice. "The only other people I ever get to talk to are Clow and Yue, and Yue isn't much of a conversationalist."

"What about me Keroberos?" Clow asked, looking as amused as before.

"Oh, you're alright to talk to, I guess."

At his response Clow put a little pout on his face. Once Keroberos saw this he quickly amended his response. "I mean I like talking to you, but after a while we just argue about the same old things and it might be nice to get someone else's opinion of things."

Clow smiled a little at how easy it was to tease Keroberos sometimes, and stepped towards the door. "We should let K get some rest now Keroberos. He needs to rest to heal."

Before Keroberos stepped out the door, Rakesh said, "I would very much enjoy your company tomorrow Keroberos. You may come again."

With this Keroberos left and Clow shut the door behind him. Rakesh settled into the bed and the drugs quickly took effect as he fell asleep within only moments.