ETERNITY

If you could spend an eternity living, who would you spend it with?

Ruby Moon narrowed her eyes at the scene before her. He was here. Again. Chatting so nonchalantly with her master. What the hell did they both talk about anyway? The first visit was odd enough; but back then it could still pass as a singular occurrence. Then the next five came and those were just downright unnerving. The most annoying part of it all was that Suppi didn't even acknowledge that there was something amiss about the entire situation. Even her master just gave her a smirk when she inquired about the nature of his frequent visits over at the manor.

Ruby Moon took a sharp intake of breath before marching out to the Victorian-themed garden, bringing with her a tray of English tea and biscuits. "Master! I brought you some refreshments!" Ruby Moon maintained a blissful expression on her face, completely ignoring the guest of the hour.

"Thank you Ruby Moon." Eriol smiled knowingly as he glanced up at his moon guardian's true form.

"Master, you've been out for a while now. Do you wish for me to bring you anything?" Ruby Moon continued, ignoring the penetrating gaze from the seemingly forgotten third party.

Eriol resisted the urge to chuckle. Trust Ruby Moon to convert into her true form and overuse the word 'master' whenever he was around. "I'm quite alright Ruby Moon. But I was wondering if you could maybe prepare dinner a little bit early?"

Still maintaining the smile on her face, Ruby Moon cocked her head to the side and gave the century-old magician a confused look. "Why is that master?"

"Yue will be dining with us tonight." Eriol replied matter-of-factly. He watched with amusement as Ruby Moon's smile weaned down by a fragment before coming back full force.

"That isn't necessary." Yue interjected with poorly concealed exasperation.

"Ok master!" Ruby replied a little too enthusiastically. "Is there anything you would want to request for your meal tonight?"

"Hm…" Eriol paused in deep thought. "Let's see…"

Yue felt a vein throb on his forehead for being brushed off. "Dining isn't-"

"Surprise me." Eriol replied as he intertwined his fingers and leaned in forward for more effect. "I find your original recipes quite endearing."

Ruby Moon beamed, her eyes shining under the light of the warm afternoon sun. "I won't disappoint you master!"

Yue was murderous at this point but was still being ignored by the two idiots who were too engrossed with the dinner menu. He sighed to calm his nerves. It's not like he or his counterpart even needed to eat.

Eriol watched fondly as Ruby Moon bowed enthusiastically before skipping back to the mansion. Shifting his attention to the exhausted form of his predecessor's moon guardian, Eriol couldn't help but smirk.

"Something the matter?"

Yue shook his head, his attention still at his counterpart's retreating back, her blood red hair swaying vibrantly under the sunlight. "I will never understand." He whispered as a familiar set of emotions began to resurface. Confusion. Betrayal. Loneliness. Jealousy.

"Never understand what?" Eriol inquired, trying his best to look innocent as he watched Ruby Moon's figure disappear into the manor. This got him a knowing look from the silver-haired guardian.

"Why?" Yue casted his eyes down. He didn't even need to finish the question. He was sure Clow Reed's reincarnation already knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

Eriol simply sipped his tea in silence. It was the first time Yue allowed himself to ask that question since their confrontation after the ordeal of the cards. "There are many things I do not know about Yue. I only know what he wants me to know. Nothing more."

Yue stayed silent, unsure how else to respond. His eyes remained down casted on the garden grass.

Eriol glanced at the moon guardian staring at the ground still deep in thought. His eyes softened. No matter how much Yue would insist that he should have been his rightful master, he was not Clow Reed. He may have been born with his magic, his memories, even his… strange customs. But he will never be purely, and entirely Clow Reed himself.

"Were we…" Yue began, his eyes shifted in uncertainty before he cut himself off.

"Were you what?" Eriol urged on, used to the way Yue would express so very little about himself and his thoughts. It was amusing how they would sometimes spend his visits in complete silence, just uttering a sentence or two every few minutes or so.

Yue shook his head.

Eriol sighed deciding to complete the thought himself. "Were you insufficient?"

Yue looked at him with surprise before shifting his gaze back to the dewy grass. It was unfair. Eriol could read him so easily, yet he was incapable of comprehending anything about the magician; unlike the way he used to be able to understand Clow Reed.

"I already answered that question before. Ruby and Spinel were created to aid me in helping Sakura transform all the cards. If it had not been for them, it would have been more difficult for me to keep you, Cerberus and Sakura at bay." Eriol paused to take another sip from his tea. Yue was looking defiantly at him now, not believing a word he was saying.

Eriol sighed. "Yue, you and I both know that Clow loved you and Cerberus very much. His memories are a testament of that. He planned for Sakura to become your master, just as he planned for me to create my own guardians." Eriol paused to give the silver-haired moon guardian a knowing look. "I am not Clow, Yue. I never was, and I never will be."

Eriol felt saddened at the broken look the moon guardian gave him. It reverted him back to the days where he truly believed in his heart that he really was Clow. Before his obligation ended. Before he realized he could no longer feel Clow Reed within him.

"There was a time…" Eriol paused, his eyes seemed distant, full of pain and confusion. "When I really believed I was him. But…"

Yue remained silent and unmoving.

"I am not Clow Reed." Eriol added with an emphasis. "I am Eriol Hiiragizawa. I am fifteen years old. I am a magician, but will never be at the level of Clow. I am English but I have this inherent, indescribable love for Japan. My wisdom may be beyond my age, but physically I am still a child, thus my heart remains that of one. I make a lot of mistakes, but I try my best to make up for them. I also like making up stories." He paused to smile fondly at the memory of him and Yamazaki. "I actually wish to become a novelist one day. I love baking as much as I love sweet things – cakes, biscuits, scones, waffles, ice cream – anything with sugar in it, really. The subject I enjoy the most is history. Different cultures and traditions fascinate me very much."

"Clow loved studying about ancient philosophies and nations as well." Yue added quietly, as an afterthought.

Eriol nodded. "I know. It's one of the few things we have in common."

Yue simple nodded. Both were plunged into another moment of silence.

"Even now, you still miss him a lot." Eriol stated straightforwardly, leaving no further room for argument. "More that you ever did."

Yue gave no reply. He didn't need to. The blue-haired magician already knew the answer to that.

"But Sakura is your master now." Eriol added. "Are you not happy with your current-?"

"I am." Yue interrupted briskly; insulted that Eriol would even dare to think he was disloyal to his new master.

Eriol smirked and Yue grunted. He set him up for that one and he fell for it so easily. He hated how much that aspect of Clow was rooted deeply in his teenage reincarnation. Why couldn't he have gotten some of Clow's other attributes aside from his dreadful manipulation skills?

"So why is it that you visit me here, talking only about Clow Reed?"

Yue was silent for a moment.

"I wanted…" He paused, a melancholic aura shrouded him. "I wanted to know for sure if he really isn't you."

"And what have you decided?" Glancing at the moon guardian, Eriol already knew the answer to that question.

"You… are not Clow." Yue stated with finality as he stared Eriol in the eye. "But…" The moon guardian's voice grew quiet, reminiscing. "You are a lot like him, in small ways." Yue paused, a small sad smile on his face as his eyes lowered. "But still, a lot like him."

Eriol could only nod at the seemingly defeated look his predecessor's guardian gave him.

A few minutes passed and the two sat in silence once again.

Eriol raised an eyebrow at the sudden look of uncertainty from Yue. "Is there still something else bothering you?"

Yue looked down at the grass once again. "Ruby Moon and Spinel." He began.

Eriol rested his chin on the top of his fisted hand. "What about them?"

"Why are they really here?" Yue added before looking Eriol straight in the eye with new-found determination. This earned him an amused chuckle.

"Did my explanation not satisfy you?"

Yue was silent yet again, but his calculating gaze never left Eriol. "Perhaps you were asked by Clow not to say a word about it."

Eriol simply sipped his tea, his eyes still on Yue.

Yue grew more suspicious. "Is helping you transform the cards all they were created for?"

Eriol smiled, not giving any tangible answer.

Yue glared at Eriol, annoyed by the lack of response. But before he could voice his protest, a loud blast was heard from within the mansion.

"SUPPI-CHAN JUST TASTE THIS! I NEED TO KNOW IF IT'S SWEET ENOUGH FOR DESSERT LATER!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP WOMAN AND GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! MASTER ERIOL!"

Eriol chuckled at this before glancing back at his manor. He watched with amusement as the walls began to shake and several loud explosions and breaking glass resonated all the way up to the garden. "Looks like I am needed by my adorable Spinel Sun. Shall we head on inside for-"

Glancing at the empty seat where Yue once was, Eriol let out a sigh before smiling knowingly.

Nakuru narrowed her eyes, feeling a vein throb at her temple. Why the hell was he here? Again.

Irritated, Nakuru stomped her way to the unwanted visitor, glad that the absence of her master was to her advantage. He was out with a certain plum blossom on what he referred to as a 'research assignment'. Nakuru scoffed. How naïve did Eriol think she was?

Transforming into her true form, Ruby Moon pushed through the door of the patio before gracefully folding both arms on her chest. Putting one leg out, tilting her hips to one side, and her head to another, she allowed a sultry smirk to grace her features. Running her eyes up and down her counterpart's turned back, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Here to try and court my master again, Yue?"

Tilting his head to one side for a moment to show acknowledgement, Yue simply folded his arms providing no answer.

Ruby Moon felt a slow simmer build in her chest at being brushed off so nonchalantly. Donning another smirk, Ruby Moon pretended to inspect her nails. "What's the matter? Your own master not satisfyingyou?"

This caused Yue to turn around abruptly, a dark threatening expression on his face.

"I guess I could understand." Ruby Moon continued, her tone disinterested and tired. "I mean, Eriol is Clow's reincarnation. And Clow did use to be your master." Ruby paused to give Yue a mocking look. "Does it still hurt?"

Ruby Moon smirked when she saw Yue clench his fists so hard they began to shake. "Does it still hurt that Clow chose me instead of -"

A flash of light, a cloud of white feathers, a strong gust of wind.

Ruby Moon found herself crushed by the neck on rubbles of stone that once formed the reinforcement of the manor's wall. Ruby Moon laughed hysterically despite being choked to near death by the vengeful angel.

"How dare you." Came Yue's silent but livid tone. His glare promised pain as his grip grew more punishing.

Ruby Moon finally stopped laughing. Her eyes were closed, and her face expressionless. Yue narrowed his eyes unsure of what to expect. In a split second, blazing blood red orbs were revealed and he was thrown a good few meters up in the air.

Gaining his balance midair with the help of his wings, Yue raised his head only to be met by a glowing red hand. An explosion at point blank. Yue was thrown a few hundred meters away. The beautiful patio crumbled in just one single blow.

"You can never defeat me." Came Ruby Moon's haughty tone. She was in midair surrounded by glittering gold dust with every stroke of her spellbinding wings.

Standing up slowly, Yue clenched his fists as he remembered the similar sentence she once told his other self. "Older models can never compete with the new."

In a split second, Yue was behind Ruby Moon, his trademark arrow at hand. Firing multiple shots at once, Yue watched as Ruby Moon flipped gracefully in the air, avoiding his attacks with ease.

"Is that the best you can do?" She taunted.

Yue clenched his jaw as memories of his first battle with her resurfaced – how she taunted him about Clow Reed, about being cast aside, forgotten, and no longer wanted. Yue was beyond murderous now. He wanted to destroy her. She was a living, breathing reminder of his insufficiency. That she was made because he wasn't strong enough, good enough, for Clow Reed.

Red ice crystals came in contact with blue ones. The battle continued long distance.

"No matter how much you try to beg Master Eriol to take you under his wing, you will never be able to live up to me!" Ruby Moon dashed forward, her arm crystalizing to form a blood red rapier. Forming his own, Yue countered fire with ice. One strong blow threw them both back a good few meters away from each other.

"You keep telling me I am not good enough. That I was cast aside, forgotten." Yue began, his tone silent, his emotions struggling to be kept at bay. He cast aside his stance and stood up tall. "But who are you really trying to convince?"

Ruby Moon's eyes failed to conceal her surprise.

"Me?" Yue's cold merciless eyes continued to stare Ruby Moon down. "Or you?"

Feeling her anger reach pass the boiling point, Ruby Moon's hands began to glow vibrant red. The punishing light grew larger, stronger as Ruby Moon aimed right at Yue's form, who didn't even show signs of dodging.

"JUST DIE!" Ruby Moon shouted in a mixture of fury, confusion, hurt and uncertainty. She just wanted him to disappear. He was too much of a reminder – a reminder that she too could be cast aside, forgotten, unwanted. Insufficient. But before she could seal the death of the bane of her existence, her head suddenly felt light.

Watching the world swirl around her, everything slowly faded into darkness. The last thing she saw was Yue's expressionless face watching her as she fell ungracefully on the ground. His ice cold eyes stared down at her, making him seem like the victor of the match.

In that moment, she couldn't hate him even more.

Ruby Moon slowly opened her eyes, struggling to piece together bits and pieces of memories.

"I see you're awake now."

Sitting up, Ruby Moon turned her attention towards the owner of the voice.

"Care to explain to me what happened while I was away?"

Ruby Moon glanced at Spinel sitting comfortably on Eriol's lap, avoiding all eye contact with her master. She remained silent, unable to process herself why she had done what she had.

"I'm sorry. I…" Ruby Moon whispered in reply. "I didn't know what came over me."

Spinel flew out of his master's comfortable lap before heading to the door. "Perhaps it would be better if I would leave both of you alone."

Eriol simply nodded.

With Spinel out of the room, Eriol directed his full attention back to his moon guardian. "Ruby Moon."

At the tone of his voice, Ruby Moon couldn't help but look. He appeared years younger than her but that tone of his always reminded her that she was his child, and that he was her father.

"Tell me." Eriol's voice was softer now, more understanding. "What happened?"

Ruby Moon looked down on her lap. "You already know what happened master."

Eriol shook his head. "I didn't mean about the battle."

Ruby Moon sighed. "Master… These past few days, I've been feeling…" She paused letting out a sigh, not entirely sure how to start. She was never one to be eloquent when it came to expressing herself.

Eriol remained silent, allowing her enough time to gather her courage and thoughts.

"What is Yue to you?" Ruby Moon blurted out.

Eriol looked at her quizzically. "He is my former self's guardian."

"That's not what I meant." Ruby replied exasperatedly.

"Then what do you mean?"

"Why do you keep seeing him? Why do you keep talking to him?" Ruby Moon looked Eriol in the eyes, her gaze desperate and confused.

Eriol chuckled at the childlike way his moon guardian was behaving. "He comes here to talk about Clow Reed."

"And yet you…" Ruby Moon paused. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she felt she had every right to. "You indulge him every time he's here. You just… stay with him. Talk with him. For hours on end!" She paused again to bring her eyes down to her hands. "It's… unnerving."

Eriol's mouth fell open slightly at the sudden realization. He stopped himself from chuckling in disbelief. "And why is it unnerving?"

"Is it not obvious why?!" Ruby Moon almost screamed as she got out of bed to avoid her master's eyes. Making her way to the window, Ruby Moon gazed out onto the beautiful Victorian gardens relaxing a bit.

Eriol was taken aback by the sudden unexpected outburst. "Ruby Moon, what is bothering you?" He was still seated comfortably on the black velvet chair beside his moon guardian's bed, but his form tilted slightly to face her turned back.

Watching Ruby Moon fold her arms in front of her chest, hugging the edge of her elbows with her hands, Eriol realized it was the first time he'd ever seen her look vulnerable.

"Am I…" Ruby Moon began, her voice silent, her emotions in turmoil. She couldn't bring herself to ask. She was afraid she'd hear exactly what she wished she wouldn't.

"Are you what Ruby Moon?" Eriol couldn't help but smile sadly at the familiar wave of emotions. "Are you insufficient?"

Ruby Moon simply nodded her head, still refusing to face her creator.

Eriol sighed. "It wounds me that you would ask such a question." His voice grew silent, almost melancholic. "Why would you ask that?"

Ruby Moon remained unmoving, still in the same helpless position she was in.

"You know…" Eriol sighed as he stood up from his seat and headed to the door. "Someone once asked me the exact same thing a few days ago."

Ruby Moon's eyes widened at Eriol's reply. Turning around, she saw her master standing by the door with one hand on the handle. "You both have a lot more in common that you actually let on."

With that, Eriol gave Ruby Moon a final smile as he opened the door. "You are more than enough for me Ruby Moon. So please. Don't ever ask me that question again."

Ruby Moon nodded wordlessly as she watched her master close the door. Raising a hand up to her eyes, she hadn't even realized she'd been crying.