Yue jumped only slightly at the sudden outburst.  "Please don't shout.  Not only is it unnecessary, it is unbecoming a Guardian of the Cards."

"No, you don't get it," Kero continued, again ignoring Yue's passive-aggressive lecturing.  After so many centuries of the same lecture, neither of them had made any attempt to change.  "I know something you'll find fun.  Video games!"  The answer had been sitting right in front of them all this time.

A pair of bored, silver cat's eyes rolled as far back as their owner would allow.  "Video games?"  Yue's tone was unconvinced, and he was wearing an "oh, please" expression.

"Come on," his sibling goaded, hovering in the air and fluttering his wings like a coquettish girl would flutter her eyelashes.  "No one ever plays with me."  His round face showed his best "poor, poor, pitiful me" expression.  Yue was not moved in the slightest.  Kero exaggerated his pout and said in a small, sad voice, "Clow would have played with me."

That was true.  Clow had always equally divided his time and interests between his Guardians.  He would engage in frivolous playtime with Kero, and share his quiet, reflective moments with Yue.  Yue had never had to find Kero's type of fun, because that was not his purpose.  Each of them had fulfilled their master's need for companionship in their own way.  But now, Clow was gone.

"Show me this game thing of yours," Yue said in the same bored tone he used for everything else.  But he'd suddenly realized that Kero must miss Clow just as much as he did.  And if no one would play these games with him, then it was up to Yue to fill the void left by their master.  He supposed it was his duty as the older sibling.

How much of that is Touya's influence? he wondered silently.  Had he picked up a big-brother complex from his false form's companion?

Kero's mouth split in a wide grin.  "All right!"  He punched a few buttons on the game console, his little plush paws moving faster than Yue had ever seen when food was not around.  There was a great fanfare signaling the restart of the game.  "This is called Ultimate Fighting Super Take-Down Action Championship!" Kero exclaimed proudly.

"That is a ridiculously long name for a video game."

"That's part of the fun," Kero explained.  "Can you loosen up for five seconds and find the humor in something, please?"

Yue sighed and took the game controller from his brother.  "What is the point of this Ultimate Action... whatever?"

Kero pressed a few more buttons, calling up the game character menu on the screen.  "You choose a fighter, and then we fight."

"And then what?"

"And then someone wins."

"I still don't see the point."

Now Kero sighed.  "There is no point," he said slowly, drawing out each word as if he were explaining this to a small child.  "That's why it's fun."

Yue examined the controller in his hand.  "This device seems very inefficient.  Wouldn't magic work better?"

"It would, but that's not the point."

"You said there was no point."

If Kero had hair, he would be pulling it out by the roots by now.  He had a strong urge to grasp a pawful of Yue's silver locks and give them a right tug.  "Anyway, before we can start, you have to choose a character."  He punched the buttons on his controller and selected a tall, brawny man with wild dark hair and shredded black clothing.  His weapon of choice was a gnarly club, and his character statistics showed high rankings in strength and attack force.

"There.  Is that right?"  Yue had selected a slim woman with flowing white hair and a revealing red sarong.  Her weapon was an ancient-looking scythe, and she ranked high in speed and defensive blocking.

"That's a girl."

"So?"

"Never mind."  There was no use explaining what choosing a female character said about the player.  "Okay, look.  See this button?  That's to attack.  And this one?  That's to jump.  These buttons move you left and right.  Now, if you press this one and this one at the same time...."

Kero demonstrated the intricacies of combining the buttons for stronger attacks until Yue's eyes almost glazed over.  "So, basically, this is an exercise in hand-eye coordination."

"No, it's fun!" Kero wanted to shout.  But he thought better of it.  The first step was just getting Yue to play.  "Yes.  If that's how you want to think of it, then that's exactly what it is.  It's like training.  This will help us protect Sakura and the Cards."

Now Yue looked sincerely interested for the first time.  "Why didn't you say so?  Let's begin the first scenario."

It lasted all of eight seconds.  The woman in the red sarong was lying on the ground, and the brawny man raised his club in triumph as the music of victory swelled.

"What happened?" Yue asked.

"I kicked your ass," Kero said, but he sounded disappointed.  "Not as satisfying as I always imagined it would be.  Let's play again."

This time, it took thirteen seconds for the woman to hit the ground in a lifeless slump.  The man was just as excited as before, not at all ashamed of beating up on a girl.

"Dude, you suck at this game."

Violet fire flashed in Yue's silver eyes.  He would not be defeated by Kerberos.  He would not be taunted.  "I dare you to say that again."

A manic grin crossed Kero's face.  "You suck."

Yue gripped the game controller in his hands.  "I warned you."  He pushed the appropriate buttons and focused his eyes on the television screen.  "Prepare to meet your doom."

***

"No, no, no!"

Sakura giggled as she stepped out of her shoes.  Kero had been playing that video game all afternoon, and it didn't sound like he'd made any progress.  She shifted the grocery sack in her arms and looked for the pudding she'd bought for him.  Maybe that would cheer him up.  She found the chocolate treats at the bottom of the bag, but her hand froze when she heard another familiar voice.

"Aw, yeah!  I own you!"

It couldn't be.  There was no way on earth....

She peered warily into the living room.  Kero was sitting on the back of the sofa, his paws over his face as he shook his head sadly.  Next to him, Yue looked as if he were just barely restraining himself from flying around the room in a victory lap.

"Who sucks at this game, Kerberos?" Yue asked, something very close to gloating in his voice.  "Who?"

"I do."

"What?"  Yue cupped a pale hand around his ear.  "Can't hear you, little brother."

"I do!  I do!" Kero said loudly.  "Geez, it's just a game."

"Having fun?"

The Guardians turned around sheepishly and faced their mistress.  Yue stiffened at her indulgent expression, embarrassed to be caught acting in such an undignified manner.  Kero, on the other hand, used this opportunity to get all the sympathy he could.

"Sakura!"  His little plush body flew over to where she was standing.  "I just wanted to play my game, but then Yue came over, and I thought I'd show him how to play, but—"

Sakura's green eyes panned over to Yue, who gave her a look so innocent that she saw right through it.  "That's all right, Kero-chan," she said soothingly, cutting off her small Guardian in mid-rant.  She knew he could work himself up into quite a state if she let him go on too long.  "Let's get you a treat, and you can tell me all about mean old Yue-san."

Yue's mouth opened in shock.  He was not going to be the villain in all this.  He wanted to protest, but no sound came out.  All those years of self-control and respecting the owner of the Cards would not let him speak out of turn.  That was something Kero had never learned.

"You, too, Yue-san."  He looked at his mistress with confusion, and she smiled at him.  "I know I won't get the real story from Kero-chan.  You can tell me what really happened."  Then she gave him a little wink as Kero sputtered about how unfair that was and how Yue was always the favorite.  Yue felt one corner of his mouth twitch, and it took every bit of determination he had to keep it from turning into a full smile.  His stoic image had suffered enough damage for one day.