Chapter Three

Ruby was waiting for him in his room when he returned later that night. Had he been more awake, he would have turned and flew away as soon as he'd seen her. Instead, he just stared.

"You jerk!" Ruby started. "I can't believe you would do that and then just run off! Did you never consider my feelings at all?"

He sighed. He was tired and all he wanted to do was rest. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? Now can I go to sleep?"

She glared. "Yue, don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

Grr…Men. Ruby thought. She stood on tiptoes and kissed him.

---

"Mm…" Ruby snuggled closer to Yue. "Five more minutes." Her brain processed that. It was Saturday; she had nothing to do, why would she want five more minutes? Her eyes widened. That's why she'd been waiting for Yue! They were supposed to meet Clow in half an hour.

"Yue!" she whispered. "Wake up!"

"Hnn?" he muttered incoherently, peering at her through sleepy eyes. Ruby resisted the urge to giggle. He looked so cute half asleep!

"We have to meet Clow in half an hour!" she told him.

"We still have twenty minutes. Let me sleep." He said, closing his eyes.

"And how do you figure that?" Ruby demanded. Yue grinned and waved his hand, saying a spell under his breath. The two of them were dressed and cleaned up in a flash of a light.

"How'd you do that?" she asked him, poking him when she noticed Yue had fallen asleep again.

"Tell you when you're older." He replied. "Come on, we should go meet Clow."

He set off down the hall and Ruby grumbled about "stuck-up moon guardians who think they're all that" as she followed. Entering the library, they noticed Clow sitting in his high-backed chair and Kero and Suppi asleep at his feet.

"Master…?" Yue asked, felling something amiss. He didn't notice the fairy above him that sprinkled dust over him and Ruby. The only thing he noticed was a comforting blackness wrap around him.

I'm sorry, my dear friends. Clow's voice echoed in their heads as he placed them in the books in front of him. I did not want to do this, but I have no choice. I will die soon, and already my magic is weakening. Someone must guard the cards, and that is your job, Keroberos, Yue. Ruby, Spinnel Sun, you are to guard the other book, which contains spells and potions that will be helpful to my reincarnation. Accept your new masters as if it were I. I do not know when you shall be released, but you shall all meet again someday. Goodbye, my creations- my friends. We shall not meet again except in dreams.

---

Ruby sighed as Hoshi dodged the brush again. "Hoshi! If you want to grow your hair that long, you're going to have to brush it everyday! Do you remember what happened last time?" The eight-year-old boy winced. Did he ever! He'd spent the entire day sitting in front of his mom and Spinnel as they'd removed the hundreds of snarls from his hair. He walked back towards his mother and sat down. She smiled and began gently brushing his hair. "It's really too bad your father never taught me that spell." She told him. "Then it would just take a second."

"Where is dad?" Hoshi asked her.

"Hard question." She told him. "But a good one none the less. Your dad-well, here, take a look." She handed him the mirror she was never without. Soon after Hoshi was born, she and Spinnel had combined their magic (plus some of Hoshi's) and managed to spell it so she could watch Yue. Hoshi took the mirror carefully, as his mother had never before let him touch it. Ruby wandered off as he watched the man with silvery wings.

"Hey Suppi?" Ruby asked, sitting beside him. "How long have we been in here?"

"According to my calculations" he told her "we've been in here for five hundred outside years, but Clow spelled them so 62.5 outside years would equal one year in here for us ageing."

"Which explains why Hoshi looks eight." Ruby said. "Thanks Suppi." She ruffled his fur and walked away. Spinnel quickly fixed it and stared after her.

"You're welcome." He replied quietly.

Hoshi turned to his mom when she returned. "Thanks." He told her. "He's pretty cool."

Ruby smirked. "Glad you think so." She told him. "Can I have it back?" Hoshi carefully handed the mirror over but it broke as soon as Ruby touched it.

"What the-" Ruby started, before noticing a crack of light. "Finally! We're getting out of here!"

---

Their new master was named Eriol, and they were heading to Japan, where the new Clow mistress resided. Ruby was a little surprised at that fact, but shrugged it off. Clow knew who to pick, after all. She pulled Hoshi aside before they left.

"Remember sweetie, you're my nephew, and your parents died a few years ago." Hoshi nodded.

"Yes auntie." He replied with a grin. Ruby giggled and ruffled his hair.

"Mou! I'm too old for you to do that! I'm five hundred!" he told her.

"I'm older than you no matter what, so there!" Ruby replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

---

"Oh no!" Ruby moaned. "What am I going to do?"

"What's wrong Akizuki-san?" Yukito asked her.

"Tsukishiro-san! My nephew- he's only eight- I have to stay late tonight and there's no one to watch him- it's really important that I stay and I don't know what to do!"

"No problem."

"Touya?" Ruby asked.

"I'll watch the kid for you." He told her.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried, hugging him. "Here's the address." She rattled it off. Touya waved and headed off on his bike. "By the way" he called over his shoulder "I'll get my pay tomorrow!"

---

Ruby was just packing up the last box of props when she realised something. Touya could sense magic! Panicky, she hurriedly threw the last box in the cupboard and rushed back to Eriol's house.

---

"So, you're Ruby's nephew, Hoshi?" Touya asked, Hoshi nodded.

"Are you the babysitter?"

"Yeah." Touya said. "So what do you normally do?"

"Snacks!" Hoshi yelled running into the kitchen.

"Hoshi means star, and Yue means moon." Touya said out loud, thinking. There was something different about this kid. Almost like what he felt around Yuki, but different at the same time.

"You know my dad?" Hoshi asked, sticking his head out of the kitchen. "Well, I guess you would, since you're magic too. Hey, do you want Goldfish or Pocky?"

"Uh…" Touya said, in shock.

"I'll just grab both." Hoshi said, grinning.

Touya went over to the phone.

"Hey, kaijuu?…Sorry…Yeah,yeah. Any ways, can you come over here?…Yeah, that's the address. Oh, and bring Yuki and the plushie too. And the gaki too, I guess…What do I need you here for? Just come, okay?…Yeah, see you later." He hung up.

"So Hoshi, do you watch TV or do your homework?"

"I don't get homework. Who were you calling?"

"Ah- I was talking to my sister. You don't mind if she brings something over here for me, do you?"

"Nope!" Hoshi said happily, engrossed in some anime show.

---

Mom? The thought was scared.

Hoshi? What's wrong?

Can you come home quick? There are these weird people here- and this one guys keeps glaring at me!

I'll be right there honey. She transformed and barged into the house. "Hoshi? Hoshi, where are you?" she called. She heard voices down the hall and went in that direction. Hoshi was in the room with Touya, Yukito, the girl she recognised as Touya's sister and the Card Mistress, and her- well, she wasn't sure what the relationship was, but the boy that was always with her- Li? Something like that. She shrugged.

"Leave him alone! Can't you see you're scaring him? Who do you think you are?" she bent down next to Hoshi. "What happened? You can tell me sweetie."

"He mentioned daddy's name so I thought he knew him, and he is magic, so I asked him. And then these guys showed up and started asking me about some old guy named-Reed? Something Reed."

"Clow." Ruby supplied.

"Yeah, that's him! Clow Reed! How do you know him mom?" Ruby winced. Here it comes…

"Mom?" a voice queried. "And who are you, exactly?"