Disclaimer: Magic Knight Rayearth belongs to CLAMP, not me. The poem does, though.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Untitled
Everybody wants to define me
As if that's an important need
They want to see who I am
To see the person they can
But I won't let them find out
Who I'm really about
Who I really am inside
All the secrets that I hide
I'll tell them when I want to
But right now's too soon
I'll tell them when it's right
When I'm sure I can fight the fight
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Three: Increase of Secrecy
That night, the three girls went back into their own rooms. The mess in Fuu's room was cleaned up. Umi's room was the one next to Hikaru's, which was next to Fuu's.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Umi was standing near a cliff again, right above the deadly roaring ocean.
"Please..." the voice whispered. "Free... me..."
Umi turned around. It was the same lady.
"Free me..."
"I don't know how to..." Umi said.
"Cephiro... is a land... where will is power..." she whispered.
"Yes. I KNOW that. But I don't see how it can help."
"Will is power."
"That isn't helping me."
"You need to bring me back to my love... Please..." she whispered. "It's been so long since I've tried to contact somebody..."
"But... who IS he?!"
"He lives in Cephiro."
"That does not help me much. I need to know who he is. And... who you are..."
"I... I can not tell you," she said, shifting around a bit.
"Then I won't know if you are telling the truth."
"I am! Please... Free me... I need to see my love once more..."
"Why do I have to free you? Who's chaining you down?!"
The girl shifted her eyes away, as if reminiscing of something back then that she regretted doing. Then, she spoke. "I am," she whispered.
"What?! HOW?!"
She then fell to the floor, crying. "I... didn't want to love him..." Suddenly, the lady held her hand in the air.
A gust of wind started to blow.
"What's going on?!" Umi whispered. "What are you doing?!?!" she yelled.
"I shall talk with you later," she said. "Just... right now... leave..."
"No! Tell me who he is!!!"
"I... can't..."
"TELL ME!!!" Umi shouted against the wind.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!" she yelled.
The wind picked up even more, and Umi felt herself back up. All of a sudden, she couldn't feel the ground anymore. Umi looked up, to find herself falling down from the cliff. She had been blown off.
"Oh..." Umi cried. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
*~*~*~*~*~*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The scream was heard.
"Umi!" Hikaru and Fuu yelled.
"UMI!!!" Hikaru yelled, banging the door open.
"*gasp!*" Umi woke up with a jerk. "Oh, my God..." she whispered, almost crying. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God..." It was so... realistic!!!
"Umi!" Hikaru yelled, running up to her. "What happened?! What's wrong?!"
"Did somebody attack her?!" Fuu yelled, rushing in.
Umi held her face in her hands. She wasn't crying.
Yet.
There was actually no reason to cry, because...
"I only had a nightmare, Hikaru," she said behind her hands. Then, she faced Hikaru and Fuu. "I guess that I freaked out a bit. I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Umi!" Ascot yelled, rushing in. "What happened?!"
Fuu turned around. "Nothing. It was a nightmare. Don't worry."
Suddenly, Clef appeared, holding his staff as usual. "I heard the scream. I assume that it was from here," he said calmly. "Since everybody is gathered around here anyway." Clef stared around, and his eyes landed on Umi. "So... what is wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, Clef," Umi said.
"It was a VERY LOUD scream!" Hikaru argued.
"Are you SURE that it was nothing? Was it a burglar or something?" Fuu asked, worried. "Somebody tried to attack you?"
"It was only a nightmare!" Umi argued, getting a bit embarrassed about it. One that I had for two times already... she said secretly to herself.
"Do you want me to see what it is, Umi?" Clef asked.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ascot asked.
Umi nodded. "I am fine, Ascot. And I don't need to have it seen, Clef, but thank you anyway."
Clef then suggested something to her. "I think that I will go make you a potion. Is that okay?"
Umi nodded, and smiled uncertainly. "Yes. That would be great."
Clef then walked out. "I will be back in a minute."
"We'll stay until he brings the potion up," Hikaru said, and Fuu nodded.
Fuu turned to Ascot. "You should go get some sleep, Ascot," she told him.
Ascot took one last look at Umi, and nodded hesitantly. "Okay... But call me if there's trouble," he told them, and left.
Hikaru stared at Umi. She kneeled on the floor next to Umi's bed. "What was your dream about?" she asked.
Umi shook her head. "It was nothing. I'm fine, Hikaru. Just need to get some rest, that's all. Besides, we shouldn't let a nightmare get the best of our vacation! We've only been here one day!"
"But Umi," Fuu said. "You have been acting really weird. Is something wrong?"
Umi took in a breath. "I... I'm kind of confused about something..." she finally admitted.
"What is it? You can tell us."
Umi was silent for a while.
"Why won't you tell us, Umi? We're your friends. We're here for you. And you know that. Whatever it is, we can help you get through it," Hikaru said.
Finally, Umi nodded. "There's something wrong with me," she said in a low voice. "There... There's this weird feeling... It came to me during our time here in Cephiro. And as the time passed, it stayed with me, and grew. Only now it's been affecting me a little bit more."
"What kind of a feeling?" Hikaru asked.
Umi shook her head. "That's the problem. I don't know what this feeling is. It's just here in me, and it's been affecting me a bit."
"Then you should let me examine it," said a voice.
Umi looked up, and Hikaru and Fuu turned around. Clef was standing there, holding a goblet, most likely the potion.
"No," Umi shook her head. "I'll be fine."
"You two should sleep. I need to wait for Umi to finish the potion," Clef told them. Fuu and Hikaru nodded.
"Please be careful..." Hikaru whispered.
Umi smiled and nodded. "When am I not?"
After they left, Clef entered the room, and handed the goblet to Umi. "You shouldn't keep things to yourself, Umi," he said, sitting down next to her.
Umi took a sip of the potion. "I wasn't keeping it to myself, per say," she said. "I... just didn't think that it was really that important."
"It is important. At least, Fuu and Hikaru think it is when their friend is not exactly acting like her usual... happy self," he hinted.
"I didn't mean to..." she whispered.
Clef stared at her. "I know you didn't. Are you sure that you do not want me to look into it?"
Umi drank some more of her potion. She then nodded. "I'm sure."
"Okay then," he said. "But Hikaru is right. Be careful. We don't want any harm to come to you, Umi."
Umi nodded again. "Thanks, Clef," she said, giving him back the goblet. "I'm..." she then yawned. "Thanks again, Clef," she mumbled, turning in.
Clef nodded, and got up. "Sleep well, Umi," he whispered, and left, closing the door after him.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Umi woke up, and saw that the sun was shining from her large window. She smiled and got up. The potion that Clef gave her caused her to have a dreamless sleep afterwards, which was lovely, of course.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door, and went to open it.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Good morning!" yelled Presea. "You hungry?! Let's go eat! Come on! What are you waiting for?!" she said in one breath.
Umi laughed. "Cause I just got up. And need to put some proper clothes on." Umi said, and Presea looked at the long t-shirt and shorts she wore to sleep.
"Oh, yeah!" Presea said, as if noticing for the first time. "Okay, then. We'll be waiting for you to come down. Very peculiar clothes from your world, Umi," she said as an afterthought. Umi nodded and closed her door.
She then looked through her clothes, and came up with a nice pair of jeans and another t-shirt. She then ran downstairs to where everybody was gathered, around a long, oval table, eating breakfast. "Good morning," she said happily.
"Hey! You're here!" Hikaru said happily.
"Yes, I am." "Are you hungry?" Fuu asked, smiling.
Umi nodded, walking to the big table. "Well, I had a better sleep than I thought that I-" Suddenly, Umi felt a sharp pain shoot through her head. "AH!" she yelled, and clutched her head and fell to the floor. "AHHH!!!" NO! she gasped. Not now!!! Not so quickly!!!
"Umi?!" Fuu asked, getting up. "Umi, are you okay?!"
"UMI!!!" Hikaru yelled.
"What happened..."
"...saw her..."
"...holding onto her head..."
"Is she okay..."
"...something..."
"AAHHH!!!" Umi yelled, as the clutter of words increased her pain. "I... I... AH!!!" Umi then collapsed onto the floor, blacking out.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm sorry..."
Umi turned around. "What?!"
"I didn't mean to yell for you to go away..." she said. It was the same girl again.
"It's you again..." she muttered. Then, she stared at the scenery around her, and realized that she was back on the cliff. Then, she remembered her previous dream. "You... You blew me off this cliff!!"
The girl winced at Umi's loud and powerful voice. "I'm sorry," she said. "That reaction was unnecessary, I know."
"Who ARE you?!"
"I... I can't tell you..."
"And why not?"
"If you free me, then I can tell you."
"But... do you want me to WILL you back to life?!"
"..."
"I can't do that! You can't bring somebody back to life!"
After a short period of time, the girl whispered, "I'm not dead..."
"WHAT?!" Umi yelled. "But..."
"I'm not dead."
"I heard you. Then... what do you want me to do?"
"You have strong feelings. Almost as strong as the new pillar..."
Umi backed up a bit. "How... how do you know about the new pillar?! How did you hear about it?!"
"I heard about it from you."
Umi pointed to herself. "Me...?" she whispered.
"You have told me much. About your adventures. Emeraude. Zagato. And your will to not love anybody here in Cephiro, for fear that you might get hurt from it."
"I... I never told you ANYTHING!" Umi yelled frantically. "Get away from my THOUGHTS!!! It's not right to read one's mind!"
The girl winced once more. "I... I'm sorry..."
Umi had a hard time breathing. "If I free you and let you go back to your love, then will you stay away from my thoughts?"
The girl nodded. "Your secrets are your own."
"Stay away from them from now on."
"I apologize."
Umi nodded. "I wish you'd tell me who you are. And who your love is."
"I... I can't..."
"I know. Do you think that he still loves you? Even after all these centuries?"
The girl's eyes flashed wildly. "What are you trying to say?" she whispered deadly. "Is there something you are trying to say?!"
Umi shook her head hastily. "No! I mean... I meant... I..."
Suddenly, the girl's expression turned tragic again. "Can you leave me be for a while once more?" she whispered. "Come back to me later, and we shall talk again."
"But... wait!" Umi yelled, running to the girl. But all of a sudden, her images started to melt. The cliff was melting, leaving an empty and dark view in its place. Soon, Umi was standing all alone in total darkness.
"I... please... It's too dark..." Umi cried softly. "Let me go! Let me out of here!!!!" she yelled. "HELLLP!!!!"
"Umi..." whispered a voice.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oh!" Umi gasped, and her eyes widened in realization. Day two... same dream three times... she thought to herself. "What's happening to me?!" she whispered.
"Umi..." said a soft voice.
Umi looked around. She was back in her room, and in her bed. She shifted to see who the voice belonged to, and saw Clef sitting down next to her. And standing behind him were Hikaru, Fuu, Ferio, and Ascot.
"Hi... everybody..." she whispered.
"Umi... You better tell us what's going on..." Fuu said, staring intensely at her. "I think it's time that you stopped keeping everything inside of you."
"But..."
"Umi..." Hikaru said, and looked as if she was on the verge of tears. "What's going on?"
Umi buried herself back into her blanket, and shifted her head away, not wanting to see their worried and hurt faces.
"I think maybe I should talk to her again," Clef said, turning to look at them. "You all should go have fun. That is why you came back to Cephiro, isn't it?"
Fuu and Hikaru shifted around a bit. "Umi is our friend, and we will stay next to her," Fuu then said.
Clef smiled. "I will not hurt her, and she will be safe here."
Umi still didn't turn back around, but she heard the shuffling of feet walking away from the bed.
"Come on, Umi," she finally heard Clef say. "Turn around. They've all left."
Umi stayed where she was.
"Do you want me to force you to open your mind for me to see?" he asked, inquiring. "Cause I can."
Umi shook her head. "You said that if we use our magic in unnecessary times, then it'll bounce right back at us," she said, opening her mouth for the first time. "And I don't think that this is really a necessary thing."
"You know, Umi..." he said, now ignoring their previous topic. "You are even harder to deal with right now than the first time I met you," he smiled, exasperated, with an amused tone mixed in. "Do you remember when we first met? You kept jumping to conclusions, picking on me about my... height, and then would even argue BACK to me, which was something nobody really DARED to do to me. But you did. You were impatient. You had no respect for me at all. You got injured so EASILY in your first battle. You were impulsive. You-"
Umi turned around, and sat up. "NOW THAT'S ENOUGH!" she yelled, glaring at him. "MAYBE I HAVE REASONS FOR DOING THAT! GEEZ!!! YOU MAY HAVE GROWN TO LOOK OLDER, BUT YOU OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T HAVE YOUR PERSONALITY GROW WITH IT! I-" Umi gasped, and covered her mouth with her hands. She stared at Clef, who had an eyebrow raised, and a smile on his face. She then glared at him some more. "Oh, shut up."
Clef stared at her. He waved his hands in the air, as if saying, 'I didn't say anything!'
"I said shut up!" she argued.
Then, the smile on Clef's face grew, and he started to laugh.
Umi sulked, sitting back a bit, still glaring at the laughing guru. She then crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph!" she huffed.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Hikaru blinked. She was walking to her room when she heard a funny noise come from Umi's room. What she saw was not exactly something she'd ever picture. Umi was sitting on her bed, arms crossed, grumbling to herself and glaring at Clef. And no wonder, too. Clef was laughing. Not the loud, hyper laugh, but just... laughing.
Umm... okay. THAT'S interesting... she thought to herself.
"I said shut up!" Umi whined at him, thought she didn't look that serious, either. And when she yelled, it seemed as if the guru did not even hear her, because he just continued to laugh.
Hikaru's eyes widened. And Umi! She had YELLED at Clef! She had never shown that personality since she got back here... And now she was acting a bit like her old self again!
"HIYAA!" Umi yelled.
Hikaru gasped. Umi had just thrown a pillow at Clef, straight at his face. Oh... my God...
*~*~*~*~*~*
Clef had stopped laughing, and he just stared straight at Umi with a shocked look on his face.
Now, it was Umi would smiled. "I told you to be quiet," she finally said, trying to stifle a giggle from coming out of her.
"You did not just do that," Clef whispered.
Umi nodded. "I did! Do you have a problem with that?"
Clef picked up the pillow. Umi braced herself. But to her surprise, Clef gently put the pillow down onto her bed, and slowly left the room.
"C... Clef?" Umi whispered. What happened?! I thought we were joking around!
*~*~*~*~*~*
Hikaru quickly ducked away from Clef, making sure that he couldn't see her or hear her.
After making sure that Clef was far enough away, Hikaru peeked into Umi's room, and saw that she was still staring at the door.
"Um... Umi?" Hikaru asked, and stood in front of the door.
Umi snapped out of her troubled thoughts, seeing that Hikaru was there. "Oh! Hi, Hikaru. Umm... sorry that I didn't want to talk at first..."
Hikaru shook her head. "It's okay," she told her. "I saw Clef leave. Did he do anything to you? Did he help you with what's going on? Or did you not let him help you at all?"
Umi looked at Hikaru with a worried face. "I think Clef is mad at me," she said.
"Why?" Hikaru didn't want to let her friend know that she saw what happened, in case she'd get angry.
"I threw a pillow at him," she laughed nervously.
"You... did what?"
"I thought that he was joking around. Guess he's too old to fool around..." Umi sighed. "Old geezer..." she muttered.
Hikaru smiled at Umi. "He'll be okay. He's probably just a bit shocked."
Umi nodded. "I can get up now. I think I've slept enough. I'm sorry again, Hikaru. Our vacation's getting off onto a bad start..."
Hikaru shook her head. "It's okay, Umi. Come on. Let's go play. But... are you sure you should call Clef an old geezer?"
Umi smiled at her. "If he's going to act like one, might as well call him one," she told Hikaru, and got off her bed. "But besides that... I'm kind of hungry! Let's go get me something to eat!"
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ferio was walking around the halls of the castle. Suddenly, he saw Clef staggering along.
"Guru?" he asked.
Clef turned around. "Oh! Ferio. I didn't see you."
"What's wrong, Guru Clef?" Ferio asked.
"N-nothing. I am a bit shocked, though..." he laughed nervously.
"About what?"
Clef shook his head. "Never mind. What are you doing wandering around, Ferio?" he asked instead. "Where is Fuu?"
"Caldina asked for her to go to her room and help her choose an outfit," Ferio smiled. "You know, playing dress-up and all that."
"Shall we go see them?" Clef asked.
Ferio nodded. "I'd like to do that."
The two silently walked down the hall to Caldina's room, where the door was locked. Ferio knocked on it, and Fuu opened the door, peeking out. "Yes?" she asked.
"How is Caldina doing?"
"Well... we're still helping her choose," Fuu said apologetically.
" 'We?' Who else?"
"Presea."
"Ooohh... so you are going to take longer?" Ferio asked. Fuu nodded.
"Oh!" she suddenly said. "If you see Hikaru, tell her to come here. And... how is Umi doing?" Fuu asked, looking worried.
"Umm... I have no clue." Ferio turned to Clef. "How is Umi doing?" he asked.
Clef shifted around a bit. "She... should be okay..."
"Well, if she's awake," Fuu said. "Tell her to come here. We should try to relieve some stress from her. Is that okay?"
Ferio nodded.
"Is there anything happening today?" Fuu asked. "Like any events or anything?"
"I doubt it," Ferio said.
"Okay then. I'll see you later Ferio, Clef."
The two nodded, and Fuu closed the door.
"Well, then... what shall we do now?" Clef asked.
"Let's go find Hikaru," Ferio suggested.
"Okay then."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Umi then slapped her head in frustration. "I had food in my suitcase! Let's go back up!" Umi said, and dragged Hikaru back up to her room.
She then rummaged through her stuff and Hikaru waited. "Here! Catch!" Umi said.
Hikaru looked at what she caught in her hand. "EEee!!! A rice cake!" she smiled happily.
Umi took out a cupcake, and bit into it. "I should give some of these to people," she said as she ate. "That's why I brought them."
"I'm sure Presea would love it!" Hikaru said happily. "She liked the candy that I gave her. She'll love these treats for sure."
Umi laughed along with Hikaru. "Hey! Later, why don't we go check out the ocean? The beach?" Hikaru asked. "I never got to see it, really."
Umi nodded. "I know where the beach is. I LOVE it here. We'll go later. And if we can't do it today, we'll do it tomorrow!"
Hikaru finished her rice cake, and then sat down on Umi's bed. "Umi?" she then asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you think we'll be friends forever?"
Umi turned around, and smiled at Hikaru. "Yes. We'll always be friends."
"And keep coming back to Cephiro?"
Umi's smile wavered a bit at that question. Cephiro... Come back... forever? Keep coming back? What about when I grow older? Will I be able to? To come and see Presea again? Caldina? La Farga? Ascot? Ferio? Everybody...? Clef?
"Umi?"
Hikaru's voice snapped Umi out of her thoughts.
"Will we?" she asked earnestly.
Umi smiled and sat down next to Hikaru and hugged her close. "Of course we will. You are the pillar, Hikaru. And Fuu and I find comfort here. We'll keep coming back, of course."
Hikaru smiled. "That's good."
Umi sighed. Hikaru... she acts as if she doesn't want to think about the future, and is looking for comfort from me. I can't look weak. I'll stay strong... for me. And mostly for my friends. If I go weak, then they can't depend on me. And... I won't be able to stand that. I'll be strong. I have to be.
"Now... where's Fuu?" Umi asked.
"She went to Caldina's room. They're just trying out outfits. You wanna come with me to see them?"
"Of course."
"Hikaru! Hikaru!" yelled a voice outside.
"That sounds like Ferio..." Umi said, and got up. And sure enough, there was Ferio. And with him... was Clef. Oh no... he must really still be mad at me...
"I think Hikaru might be in her room..." Ferio was saying.
"Ferio!" Umi yelled. Ferio stared ahead, and saw that Umi was standing outside of her room.
"Umi! Are you better?" he asked, worried. "Fuu is anxious about you. Are you well?" he kept asking.
Umi nodded. "Yes. And Hikaru's in my room. We were just eating some stuff. Why are you looking for her?"
Ferio smiled. "Actually, I was looking for you and Hikaru. Fuu wants you two to go to Caldina's room."
"How funny," Umi laughed. "We were just going to go down there." Then, Umi turned to Clef.
"..." Clef was silent.
Umi walked to him, and, surprisingly, bowed. "I'm sorry for throwing the pillow at you, Clef. I thought we were just joking around."
Clef stared at Umi, his eyes widening. "What..."
"Look," she glared at him, standing straight back up. "You BETTER accept my apology, because I ain't making another one! YOU were the one who started laughing! I threw a pillow at you to shut you up! NOW ACCEPT IT!!!" she said.
Ferio sweatdropped. That doesn't really sound like an apology to me... ^_^U
Clef continued to stare at Umi, and then, he smiled softly. "I accept it, Umi," he finally said.
"Good," Umi sniffed. "Cause I don't like it when people are mad at me."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Yeah... Hi. Please review? Reviews will make me very happy! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!! OH! And if you want me to keep you all updated, tell me! Jaa!
