The Sky, his Sun, his Moon
------------------------------------------
~ A fanfiction dedicated
to my favorite bish ~
------------------------------------------
The Sun – Kero’s perspective
------------------------------------------
“Hi, my name is
Kero-chan.”
Those were the first words
he taught me to say.
Clow Read was our father,
our master and our creator.
I, Keroboes, represent the
sun, the “yang” element and western magic.
My counterpart Yue represents the moon, the “yin” and Chinese
magic. Many believe that we were
created to be guardians for the Clow cards, Clow’s masterpieces. In truth, we were not created to protect the
cards. No, we were created following a
teenage contest between Clow and his cousin.
I still remember being summoned in existence only to see 16-year-old
Clow smirk at a defeated cousin who now had to fulfill his bargain of yelling
over the hills for an hour that half Brit wizards were not inferior to pure
English ones. It was a clear victory -
Clow had created 2 magical beings, his cousin had to be content with calling up
a slug or two.
We only became guardians
for the cards much later after Clow had begun summoning them. They were his pride and joy after Yue and
myself. As eccentric his reasons for
our creation, Clow was a good father and master to us. As for Yue, despite his professed appall at
my enjoyment of all things sweet, he adores me as I do him. I put up with his sulkiness. After all, one must forgive him for being
sore that Clow made me the better looking of us both.
Yue constantly berated me
for my addiction to all things sweet.
He used to grumble that I lived to eat.
True, I did not need to eat to live, but it was not like I deprived Clow
of his food. Yue’s just jealous Clow
let me lick the bowls after he was done cooking. Clow was a great magician but more so where food was concerned. His cooking was unparalleled but despite the
aromas that would arise during mealtimes, Yue would never take a bite.
“We’re magician guardians,
we don’t go eating Master out of house and home,” he used to say while frowning
at the same time. This inevitably
prompted Clow to tease him to lighten up but even the greatest magician in the
world couldn’t get sourpuss to smile.
Despite his sulky exterior, Yue was and is a great guy – but keep it to
yourself, I’ll rather skip dessert than to admit that in front of him.
Life with Clow? Normal is hardly the word. For one, we used to live with his parents
until they had passed on, so half the year we would be in Hong Kong China, the
other half in Essex England. Like the
brand of magic he invented, Clow was a mix of East and West. His mother was one of the Li-s, a powerful
family of Chinese magicians. His father
was a famous English wizard himself, reputed to be related to Merlin, the
legendary wizard in King Arthur’s court - Merlin’s mother’s side of course,
since Merlin was the son of the devil himself.
There are times however, I wonder if my master is not the devil
himself. His parents had parted ways
shortly after Clow celebrated his 7th birthday. They remained friendly but the family was split over 2 continents. He was evasive every time someone broached
the subject and while I was curious about the whole matter myself, I did not
press him.
While I enjoyed both stays equally; the ship travels in
between Hong Kong and Essex were murder.
Clow never consented to flying or appariation for such occasions. “You never known what happens on a ship,” he
used to say when I whined that it was much faster and more comfortable to
travel by air. It was only after his
father and mother passed on that we settled in Japan. Clow had fallen for the sakura it would seem. His chief pleasure on setting up permanent
residence in Japan was the growing of the most beautiful sakura trees in his
orchard. It was also then he made his
own brand of magic and created his masterpiece, the Clow cards.
------------------------------------------
I suspect Madam Li was
fonder of Yue. They used to totter in
the kitchen for hours, chatting as they prepared the meals. Clow studied hard at the Chinese arts when
we were with Madam Li. While the smell
of sandalwood which was everywhere in Madam Li’s house was a pleasant one, I
preferred the smell of fragrant rice.
Of course, I had to promise that I would not try to steal food while
they were cooking but a lion cub can always look cute and get away with murder.
Yue was chattier when
Madam Li was alive or did he get grouchier as he got older? Hmmm, I think deep down, under his icy
facade, the old bag misses her.
I do too. She was beautiful and graceful if a bit
strict. Clow definitely got her looks
although he was more like his father in his temperament. Her raven black hair was impeccable at all
times, even when she developed a strip of gray in her fringe when she was
older.
She would feed me bits of
dumplings or whatever she was cooking as she told Yue and myself stories of
Clow’s childhood. The stories only
confirmed what I had been suspecting all along, that my master was hell of a
prankster.
Clow was a troublemaker
from young. He would terrorize the
other unwary village kids with his tricks.
Fish would appear from nowhere down someone’s pants. Girls would find their candy transformed
into beautiful peonies.
“He was always a very
talented boy, awfully wild though,” she used to say.
“The worst was at Chinese
New Year when he was 10. The village
(they used to stay in a village in Canton until Clow was 10) was gearing for
celebrations with roast pigs and chicken at the ancestor worship. Imagine the chaos that broke out when the
villagers found the roasted chickens and roasted pigs offerings replaced with
live chickens and pigs,” she grimaced as she recalled the reaction of the
villagers. “He scarred even the village
chieftain witless.”
“How did you know it was
master Clow?”
“Kero, no prizes for
guessing who I found hiding behind the ancestral altar grinning away. I had to box his ears quite a bit to have
him appear suitably repentant before the chieftain.”
Yue stifled a giggle.
“You find that funny
Yue? Imagine the spells I had to cast
to restore order. A tonne of sleep
spells, forgetting spells and the cleaning up …” she admonished her favorite
moon guardian lightly.
“I concur madam, what a
waste of good food.”
“Kero, is food all you can
think of?” she frowned as she fed me a grape.
Yue stifled another.
“But mother, the
firecrackers display was so boring …” Clow entered the kitchen just then, “can I
get a drink?”
He wore a most unrepentant
smile as she patted his head affectionately before shooing him with a pot of
her specially brewed tea back into the study.
------------------------------------------
Life at the castle with
Read Senior was exciting, even if the food was not as good as with Madam
Li’s. Yue used to either holster
himself up in the library or skull the walkways. Read Senior used to joke that with Yue’s visit, the castle ghosts
would be able to take a well-deserved vacation on the coasts of England.
The endless corridors in
the castle amazed me. Unlike Madam Li,
Read Senior was not uncomfortable with flaunting his magical prowess. The castle was larger than its exterior suggested
and the garden was an endless maze although it looked like a simple formation
of rose hedges. One of Yue’s other past
times when he consented to not moping around the castle was to challenge the
maze. The roses were beautiful, mocking
the obviously winter landscape outside the castle compounds.
Me? I much preferred the fireplace. I would plonk myself by Read Senior’s
favorite armchair as he read. The
sausages roasting at the fireplace was a most lovely sight.
Clow and his father would
sit together after dinner when Clow had finished his lessons for the day and
Read Senior delighted in recounting all the pranks he and Clow had played.
“Father, why do parents
delight in embarrassing their children in front of their magical guardians?”
Clow would grumble good-naturedly.
Even Yue who was more
aloof at the visits in Essex couldn’t stay away at those times. Sitting on the stairs nearby, he would
pretend to read – except if one looked at him closely, one would realize he
hadn’t turned the page for hours.
“Ho, that was because you
were such a handful as a child.
Goodness, if we had twins, I’m not so sure the world would have survived
the horror.”
“Father.”
“Kero, let me tell you
about the time he was 11. You know boys
his age are usually in boarding school until they hit college at 17? Well guess why he only attended boarding
school until he was 15?”
“That was because they
didn’t have the subjects I wanted.”
“That was because you
nearly destroyed the castle.”
“Did not.”
“I had to apologize to
Albus about a million times. You do
remember you were only allowed to finish the course by correspondence, under
your mother’s and my guidance.”
“I was innocent.”
“Master Read, what did
master do?” Yue asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“He was at potions class
and well, yes, the potions master is a bit of a sourpuss.”
I shot an amused glance at
Yue. If looks could kill, that would
have been the end of me then.
“Anyhow, this gentleman
here decided that a potion to cause the sample pebble to crack was too simple
for him and ended up brewing up something that effectively devastated the
dungeon and half the school’s structure.
But mind you, before then I had received a thousand owls from the
potions master complaining that Clow here would always mess with his potions
and not obey instructions.”
“Father … there was never
ever any proof …”
“Heh heh, between us, I
think that was a colossally good prank to play on old greasy hair, but not a
word to your mother, she thinks he’s cute.” Read Senior nudged Clow playfully.
“No one can prove I did
it,” sulked Clow.
------------------------------------------
Life continued to be a
string of pranks for master. The Clow
cards were an extension of his fun loving personality and morbid sense of
humor. The Bubble was summoned because he
thought it would be funny to see my expression on being soaped when I least
expected it. Yue commented wryly that
at least the house would stop smelling like a wet dog on the occasions I did
not adhere strictly to my bathe schedules.
I didn’t mind the Bubble that much except that she would always tickle
me whenever she was called. Trust Clow
to instruct her to do that. He would
grin as I protested, “but Kero, tickling builds character,” he would say. Hah, that never did work with Yue. I would rather fight a bull than try to
tickle that grouch.
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
“Hmm I’m sick of washing
the dishes. And the rooms are a
mess. Oh dear grand-aunt will be here
tomorrow, she will grumble about the mess.”
“Maybe we can keep her in
the garden the whole of her visit?”
“Master, let me take over
the chores. It’s late and you should
rest.”
“Bootlicker.”
“What did you say you poor
excuse of a lion?”
“Nothing … “
“Nah, we need something to
make these dirty dishes and mess go away like right now. Oh, I know.”
And that was how Clow was
inspired to call upon the Erase and the Create.
------------------------------------------
The Moon – Yue’s perspective
------------------------------------------
My name is Yue. I am the guardian of the moon, of the yin
and the embodiment of Chinese magic. My
counterpart is Kero. A lion in form,
his stomach is bigger than his roar.
My creator and master is
Clow Read. He is the greatest magician
that ever lived and I am proud to have been called to be his guardian.
Life with my master is
never predictable. He loves a good
laugh now and then. Sometimes I envy
Kero - good-natured, and able to catch the joke much quicker than I am able to. At other times I feel like strangling that
silly neck of his when he plays the fool.
We are the guardians and servants of Clow Read. We exist to serve him, not to eat him out of
house and home. That being said, I’m
grudgingly fond of him, but I’ll prefer to keep that to myself. He would tease to no end if he knew.
Just the other day, master
created the Sweet. I had barely
finished cleaning the kitchen and had gone for a quick dusting of master’s
study when Kero decided to raid the kitchen.
I suppose master’s freshly baked cakes had drawn the greedy lion like
bees to honey.
About to admonish him,
master had appeared behind me with a playful smile. Motioning for me to keep quiet, he summoned the Sweet to dust the
cake with an overdose of sugar.
The sight of Kero choking
on the over-sweetened cake nearly made me laugh aloud.
------------------------------------------
Kero and I once had quite
a bad fight about why he could not behave like any other normal sun
guardian. I do not appreciate being
treated like a cat toy, nor is my hair meant for his pawing amusement.*
I felt bad
thereafter. The lion was badly behaved
but that did not excuse my behavior either.
The awkwardness btween us the next day was dreadfully tense. I had glanced at the lion sulking in the
corner of the hall. Neither of us
wanted to be the first to admit that we were sorry.
All of a suddenly, a flash
appeared past us and ran up towards Master’s study. Anxious for his safety, we both chased after the bolt. In our worry, we had nearly broken down the
door.
“Isn’t it time you both
said sorry?” Clow smiled as he petted a
little furry rabbit like animal in his arms.
“Oh and say hello to the Dash.
Isn’t he cute?”
Kero and I looked at each
other before bursting into grins. We
could hide nothing from him.
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
“Yue look …”
“Yes I wonder if it will
bloom soon?”
…
“Master, you are too nosy
aren’t you?”
Clow released the Flower
from her duties and sat down under the sakura tree contented. The two guardians smiled and settled down
under their favorite tree with their beloved master between them. They did not notice the little girl hiding
behind the wall, peering at them with large green eyes.
------------------------------------------
The Sky – Clow’s perspective
------------------------------------------
Clow closed his eyes. He felt weary. His guardians would sleep until their new master was ready. It was time for his eternal rest. He looked 30 but he was in reality a
190-year-old man after all. He smiled
as he saw the vision of a young Sakura releasing the Clow cards by
mistake. The look of surprise on her
face as she summoned Windy was amusing.
“They will love her, maybe
more than they loved me. She will be a good
master for them. Ah, well and now for
my last trick.”
Casting his last spell, he
divided his spent soul into 2. Fujitaka
would be the father of Sakura, and Eriol the one to ensure that the Clow cards
would survive as the Sakura cards.
“It’s going to be fun …”
as he thought about the looks on Yue’s and Kero’s faces when they would finally
meet Fujitaka and Eriol.
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
Kero yawned. There was something familiar about the
little girl standing before him. She
was clutching Windy as she had the most perplexed look in her green eyes.
Kero did what most magical
guardians of magical cards would do; he held out a paw, “Hi, my name is
Kero-chan.”
------------------------------------------
THE END
------------------------------------------
usual disclaimers apply, no copyright etc. etc. in
characters which belong to Clamp and JKR, not responsible for trauma suffered
if you choke after reading this fic etc. etc.
* see
Leareth’s masterpiece, “Shadows of the Moon” at Echoes of the Void at
http://doki3.net/void
** The timelines are a bit out of whack with the HP world but I beseech your
forgiveness in this.