Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Shinku no Tsuki ❯ Beginning ( Chapter 1 )

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Part One
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In a large mansion within Tomoeda, Japan, a fire was burning quietly within a fireplace inside a large living room. The fire threw shadows over the walls of the room and its only occupant. Spinel fluttered further into the room and landed on the arm of the large red chair that sat facing away from the fire. The firelight behind him flickered occasionally off of the glasses worn by the young man sitting in the chair. The small feline sighed and finally tilted his head to glance at his creator. "You've been quiet for a while. Is there something wrong?" he asked softly.

A pair of dark blue eyes, almost appearing black in the dim light opened and focused on the small butterfly-winged animal sitting beside him. Eriol nodded and silently continued to lightly finger the key hanging from the chain around his neck. After a moment, he lowered his hand and sighed softly. "Spinel Sun, do you know where Ruby Moon is?" he asked quietly.

Spinel blinked at the use of his full name, before fluttering off of the arm to shift to his true form beside the chair. "As far as I know, Master, he is at school." he responded as he watched Eriol lean back further into the chair closing his eyes again.

One of Eriol's hands lifted from the arms of the chair to rest against Spinel Sun's head just between his ears, the fingers slowly combing through the ebony fur. Spinel Sun laid his head down in Eriol's lap in response and purred softly as he listened to him. "Ah, yes.. school. I had forgotten briefly that he had enrolled again. Will you inform me when he has returned home?" The hand lifted away from the panther's head and went back to slowly fingering the key on the chain again.

Spinel Sun lifted his head and nodded once. "Of course, Master. May I ask what is troubling you? You said earlier that something was wrong."

Eriol opened his eyes again to look at Spinel Sun again. "There is an imbalance. Something has happened, that should not have happened and it is making waves that will have a number of negative effects on the future." He sighed softly again and lowered his hand once more from the key to rest in his lap. "Ruby Moon forgets why I moved back here. He seems to think of only himself and not of the effects his actions may have on the overall fates of the people he interacts with. I need to remind him of our reason for being here."

A log cracked and popped once causing the flames to rise briefly and light up Eriol's features for a moment, revealing the anger that had remained hidden until then. Spinel Sun shivered for a moment at the fury with those dark eyes, before glancing away as he heard faintly the sound of a door opening. He stood and glanced over at the large double doors that led to the hallway. "I think he is home now, Master. Shall I go and bring him here?"

"Yes, please."

Spinel Sun glanced briefly back towards Eriol, the young sorcerer's features were once more covered by shadows. He nodded once before turning away from the chair and crossing the room by foot, pushing the door open with his head. After he left the room, he shuddered once before loping down the hall towards the cross-dressed moon guardian. He found him.. or rather her.. he could never really decide why Ruby had to dress as a woman, when Eriol always referred to Ruby as a man. Shrugging that convoluted line of thought off, he sighed and spoke up to catch Nakuru's attention. "Excuse me, but Eriol wants to see you now. I don't know what you've been up too, but something upset him."

Akizuki Nakuru glanced down at him and sighed rolling her eyes. " Lately, everything I do upsets him, but I'll go and see what has his ire flared now." she said walking towards the large living room.

Spinel Sun walked along behind her. "Actually, I think it's serious this time. He told me something has upset the balance of things.. and apparently you caused it."

She stopped just outside the door and snorted faintly. "Ever since Kaho left him and we returned here, he's been moody. I don't see why I have to suffer just because he wants to play hermit here in this place."

Spinel Sun shook his head in response and pushed the door open, walking into the room and towards the sofa that faced the side of the chair. He jumped up into it and stretched out over it. "I brought her, Master." he said quietly glancing from the chair towards Nakuru and back again.

Eriol glanced over at Spinel for a moment before looking at Nakuru standing just inside the doorway. "Return to your true form Ruby Moon." he said quietly before looking away from him.

Nakuru started and walked a couple more steps into the room. "What?! What do you-" she began. Eriol cut her off sharply with a gesture and stood up, dark robes sliding down around his tall frame. She kept herself still and waited, she didn't want to shift to Ruby unless he had a damn good reason. Besides, with that other girl as the Mistress of the Cards, there wasn't anything really urgent anymore to warrant their attention like before.

Eriol spoke again, his voice cold and commanding. "Return to thy true form, Ruby Moon." Apparently, he wasn't giving her any choice. She allowed the change and then stood in front of him dressed in red and black, her black and red wings spreading out behind her. Eriol turned away from her to walk towards the fire, staring into it. When he spoke again, his voice while still cold, had lost the commanding edge it had held for the last sentence. "I will only ask you once, and I expect a straightforward and honest answer." he said glancing once back at her before continuing. "Why did you attack Yue-san?" Ruby stared at his back in surprise.

"Attack Yue? I haven't even seen Yue since we had that little tea party, back when we were getting ready to go back to England." She heard Eriol sigh and shake his head before turning around to face her, the fire backlighting his figure.

"Very well, let me put it this way. Why did you attack Yukito-san?"

She blinked and it took her a moment to realize what he was speaking of. "I didn't do anything of lasting harm to him, and besides I just did it so I would finally get Touya-kun."

"Nothing of lasting harm?" The question was almost a hiss and she was silently glad that the wood in the fireplace popped loudly right after it, so she could blame the little shudder she gave on it and not the vehemence she could of sworn she heard in that hiss. She nodded in answer to it, becoming slightly scared and a little angry about this conversation. Eriol turned away from her and walked back towards the chair, sitting back down in it silently. She waited for him to continue crossing her arms behind her.

Spinel Sun lowered his head down on his paws and shivered. He had a gut feeling nothing good would come of this and he almost jumped out of his fur when Eriol finally broke the silence that had settled on the room since his last question. "Tell me, was Kinomoto Touya or Tsukishiro Yukito in any classes today?"

"No."

Eriol nodded slightly as if that proved his point.

"But that doesn't mean anything. To-ya-kun could of been sick and unable to come."

Eriol shifted slightly in this chair, and half of his face came into the light. The one visible eye was narrowed behind the glasses. "Touya-san was sick, but not of any flu or cold. But sick with grief. You killed Yukito-san, and thus harmed Yue-san."

Ruby Moon's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing. "I did not! I didn't even touch either of them.. and the drug wasn't *that* lethal.. it wouldn't of caused the Snow bunny any lasting harm. Besides, Yukito and Yue are not the same person."

The air stilled for a moment after that, and Spinel Sun suddenly raised his head when it was once more broken by Eriol, but this time by his laughter. He blinked startled. "Master?" he asked softly.

Eriol stood again, turning to walk towards the sofa, there was a small smirk now gracing his lips as he came to a halt beside it. "Tell me Ruby Moon, do you mean to say that if you attack or mess with Yue-san's false form, Yukito-san, that it doesn't count as actually attacking Yue-san?" Spinel Sun looked up at Eriol, and then suddenly realized what was running through his mind. He shot a look over at Ruby Moon in warning, but it went unheeded as she firmly crossed her gloved arms over her chest and nodded.

"Exactly."

Eriol nodded then and looked down at Spinel Sun, the anger gone from his features, if not from his eyes. "Then I have a task for you, Spinel Sun."

Spinel Sun sat up on the sofa, watching Eriol for a moment before responding quietly. "What is it, Master?"

Eriol smirked again faintly, glancing over at Ruby once before he spoke. "Deliver this message to Yue-san. He is now allowed to do anything within his power or knowledge to retaliate against Akizuki Nakuru, due to what she caused to happen, such as the death of his other self, Tsukishiro Yukito." Spinel watched Ruby's eyes widen as Eriol spoke, and her mouth opened in protest, but Eriol cut her off as he continued.

"However, he is *not* allowed to harm Ruby Moon. If any of his attacks harm Ruby Moon directly, I shall step into this and put an end to it. Guardians do *not* attack each other.. without just cause and reason. But, the false forms of the Guardians are not actually a *part* of the Guardian it seems.. he is allowed to go so far as to visit such a judgment as he sees fit upon Akizuki Nakuru, including death, if he can find such a way to destroy her without destroying Ruby Moon. That is all. Now go and deliver the message and tell him his allowance begins tomorrow at dawn." Spinel Sun shifted into his false form and then fluttered quickly out of the room and towards the kitchen where he knew there was an open window he could fly out of.