Disclaimer: I don't own Rayearth.
Notes: Eat Snackey Smores
Chapter Seven: Students Again
"It is said that water is a natural conductor of electricity. The two become as one when they meet."
Umi found herself standing in a plane of nothingness. Blackness all around. A strange place. Where was she, she wondered? What kind of place was she in? And why could she see her body but nothing else?
She stared blinkingly down at her hands. They seemed to be glowing a pale ivory color. She soon realized that this was true about her whole body. Even her clothing glowed. When she looked down at herself she gasped, realizing that she was dressed in the robes of a Palu. She was clad in green, white and gold robes. A frown of distaste crossed her lips.
Green was so not her color.
When she looked up, her spirits were dampened when she found that she still could see nothing around her. Everything was just a great big blank nothing. It was wide and dark and never-ending, but it was not oppressive, and Umi was not afraid of the dark. She was merely confused. It was kind of like…a blank page.
It was something like a blank canvas. A clean slate. A drawing board. Something just waiting to display an image or memory, anything.
Yes, that is what this place is. A drawing room. And… I am the artist.
Umi knew this, and suddenly memories flew past her eyes like images in a fast rolling picture-reel. She saw herself as a child, wearing her father's enormous yellow rubber boots, jumping in a puddle and giggling happily. Her mother and father were standing nearby, watching their daughter play with smiles on their faces…
Suddenly that image flew away and was replaced by another; herself at her eighth birthday party. She wore a tall pointed hat and red icing was smeared across her cheeks. Someone took her picture, and she complained that she was not ready.
Just as quickly as the image came, it left, and was immediately replaced by the memory of her first solo ballet dance. She was eleven then, and she was wearing that pink leotard and tutu and had her hair done in that bun her mother fixed for her with all the ribbons and flowers and pearls stuck in… Umi was a pointe dancer and her slippers had made her toes bleed that night…she hated her feet ever since then, her toes grown crookedly inward, long and spindly…
And next Umi saw the hallways of her old middle school…yes, it was her first day of middle school, and it was the first time she realized that she longed to go to a school with boys …her hair was curly then….
The reel was moving more swiftly now, but it stayed longer on each memory. Umi was sitting in her Social Studies class, bored as always, pretending to listen to her teacher's dry, droning lecture. She had been staring at her fingernails, noting that they were chipped and needed polishing. Then, the teacher said something out of the ordinary. He'd said that they'd be taking a field trip. Yes, a field trip, to Tokyo Tower…
Umi found herself reaching out to the memory, wanting to touch it with her fingers, feel it. It was the beginning of it all, of everything that had led to the present… but as the memory zoomed away she found herself wondering what the present actually was. How old was she? What was she doing in the Dark Place? Why was she seeing her life flashing before her eyes? Oh dear, people always say that you see your life flash before you eyes when you're dying. When you're close to death.
Am I dying?
She was in the Tokyo Tower now. She was walking onto the Observation Deck with her class, and she was bored. Of all places to go, they had to go to the Tower. Honestly, grade schoolers went to the Tokyo Tower for field trips.
Yes, she remembered hating going there, remembered that she almost stayed home from school that day, faking sick. But she didn't… Gods, what would she be like right now if she hadn't stepped into the Tower on that fateful day?
She was standing amongst her classmates, staring boredly around at the windows. She flipped her long, silky hair over her shoulders (long hair that she had just paid a fortune to have straightened). Suddenly, her eyes fell on a girl with blonde hair, staring fixedly at her with wide, green eyes. Umi remembered thinking that she'd never seen a mousier looking girl. And then, right in front of her, was a small red-headed little girl, trying frantically to get through her group. Umi was about to step aside when she saw the light…
And then I fell…
That memory was soon replaced by a series of small, fleeting images, all small and insignificant but etched deep into her mind. The first view of Cephiro from the sky, her thoughts on Clef and how he looked like a seven-year old boy… seeing Hikaru cast her first spell, meeting Mokona for the first time. Then, seeing that short but meaningful episode between Fuu and Ferio, when that mysterious swordsmen gave Fuu that pretty little trinket… then, the feeling of her heart being awakened to her magic and that wonderful feeling of first casting a spell. Finding the Escudo after fighting the phantom parents (and oh that had been so terrifying) the death of Presea and her first real glimpse of Ascot…
That memory zoomed away and was replaced by the terribly uncomfortable feeling of being very hot and very nauseated at the same time. Umi clutched at her Palu-dressed stomach. Oh… it was awful…but…
Yes… this was how I felt outside of the Water Temple. Right outside in that weird water capsule Mokona summoned for us. I was hot and sick… my body was reacting to the immense power of Selece, adjusting to his presence was hard on my body, just like adjusting to my pregnancy…
MY BABY!
…the feel of his cold, scaly nose… hearing his voice for the first time, feeling him enter my heart where he lay sleeping for days while Fuu, Hikaru and I ran around in that terrible fated country of love and hate…
And then that memory zoomed away the fastest and was followed by another long series of short, fleeting images… being in and out of Cephiro, making new friends, defeating Debonair, feeling the joy of returning for the third time… And then she remembered how wonderful it was to receive news that she, Hikaru and Fuu were to continue their training as Magic Knights, taught and disciplined by Guru Clef himself. And that was definitely a bonus, as her crush on Clef had been slowly, yet steadily developing into something more than a crush…
And then suddenly the reel stopped on one memory, one memory that stood out most in her mind. A memory that was powerful enough to reveal itself in her sleeping mind and play continually as if she were watching a movie from the beginning with no bathroom breaks or anything.
Umi felt her body falling away from her.
It was… she and Clef's… first kiss…
initiate pause. rewind. stop.
PLAY MEMORY
….. memory playing… ….
"If you hold your arm steady and concentrate with all your might, then you will perform the correct spell, Umi."
The blue-haired girl of eighteen held her shaking arm before her and bit her lip, fighting back tears of pain. "It-it hurts!" she gasped.
Clef held his staff before him on the ready. "That's because you've never channeled your power through your own body. Up until now Selece has borne the weight of your magic." He waved pointed fingers at the walls, circling the perimeter of the room with a protective barrier spell. The large, bare, high-ceilinged room was ideal for sparring and training, but with a student as powerful as a Magic Knight, such spells were necessary. It was just a normal day, a day not any different from any preceding it. Just a normal private lesson with his prized student…
Umi was beginning to sweat with the effort of holding her magic back. Her face was screwed up in a mixture of determination and pain. She was only barely able to keep the power leashed. The air around her was very rapidly dropping in temperature. Electricity was crackling in a swirling blue and white sphere around her body. Clef had been teaching her to summon her magic at will and not just when she called on Selece, and she'd been doing fine up until that point, but… Any break in her concentration and…
The girl cried out: "I can't hold it for much longer!"
"You're not supposed to be holding it back, Umi!" Clef shouted in exasperation. "Concentrate harder! You're to focus your energy into a single blast and release it in my direction!"
"But I can't!" Umi shrieked. "It's too much, too much magic! I-If I let it go, it'll…it'll… blow up or something!"
The Master Mage continued to be patient with his student. He spoke to her calmly. "Just focus the energy onto me, Umi. Concentrate the energy through your arms and into your hands."
He kept his eyes on her face, watching her closely. She was completely still, as he had taught her to be. Stillness and concentration were vital to casting magic. Her arm was shaking pretty badly though. But Clef had complete confidence in her abilities. She was, after all, the strongest of the three Magic Knights.
He held his staff before him, readying himself for either an unexpected explosion or a sharp-point ice blast. "Attack me," he commanded.
Umi groaned. It had never been so hard. Her power was on the verge of exploding violently out of her body. Her insides felt as if they were frozen. She began to scream. The glowing sphere of power surrounding her started whirling around her at such high speeds that it was starting to liquefy, crackling with bright white electricity. Her hair whipped around her face and things outside of her vortex were starting to freeze. Except for Clef who, upon seeing the approaching wave of cold, readied himself. Here it comes.
Focusing with every last fiber of her being, Umi forced herself to concentrate all of her energy on Clef. Hitting Clef. Hit Clef. Hit Clef. Hit Clef! Hit Clef! HIT CLEF!
A pair of pale, dainty hands was thrust into the air, and suddenly a sharp point of white light sliced through the water sphere and pierced the frozen air, shooting straight at Clef. He reacted instantly.
"Inazumashourai!"
A maelstrom of white erupted from the end of his staff. The two hexes collided with one another in a violent explosion of bright blue and white energy. The spacious training room was filled to its tall ceilings with icy torrents or water and shards of lightning.
Umi's body remained unharmed by the magic, as it was only a spell of dissipation.
Umi closed her eyes, allowing the feel of Water flowing through her flesh and soul to carry her away into heaven. Releasing her power was just that—a release. It was cold, so cold, but it felt wonderful, cool and smooth. It was snowing. She raised her arms to the heavens, causing the snow to travel upwards in a great funnel.
Clef stood, gripping his staff in an effort to stand, watching the dissipating power flowing around his student, and the small flakes of snow whirling about in white clouds. His own spell was merging with hers, making it one; white glowing ice and water filled the air in the room, making it difficult to even see the girl though she stood glowing beautifully inside of her own magic.
As her aquamarine eyes opened, Clef suddenly became aware of the frost growing on his lips and eyelashes. He raised his hand to look at his fingers, exhaling a white breath. So his spell hadn't completely diminished hers. A small feeling of pride caused his lips to curl into a smile. That meant that she was getting more powerful. Much more powerful.
Umi watched with morbid satisfaction as Clef gripped his staff in an effort to stand. It was getting much colder. Frost began collecting on his eyebrows, making him look more and more like his 700 years. His eyes were fixed on hers, not moving, and the girl found herself transfixed as she watched him watching her, exhaling white puffs of breath and shivering pleasurably. She was vaguely aware of Hikaru and Fuu phasing out of the room through the wall, apparently unable to handle the intense onslaught of ice and snow that was currently blowing throughout the room.
Clef felt his fingers quickly losing feeling and pursed his freezing lips. "Stop it!" His words came out choked and raspy, and he soon realized that his lungs were close to freezing.
Umi looked down her nose at the Mage lying shivering on the freezing marble. She allowed her arms to dangle limply at her side, and as she did so, the speeding clouds of ice and water and snow seemed to calm. The water and ice vanished, replaced by idly floating snowflakes. It was still frighteningly cold.
Clef managed to push himself off of the floor, coughing dryly. His lips, too frozen to move, struggled to form words. "Just… focus… and… make it… stop!"
Umi pouted her lip, upset that Clef was ruining her fun, and closed her eyes. She willed her magic to just… go away… she wasn't sure at all how to properly calm her powers; she'd never really unleashed them like that before.
Clef watched her movements, smiling knowingly to himself. She was doing it wrong; doing it too fast… it would backfire…it would turn on her…
Suddenly, Umi's eyes went wide. Her skin paled as a rash of frost spread over her body, starting from her fingers. It traveled up her arms, to her chest, down to her legs and over her feet, making her fall to the ground screaming.
"What's happening! Oh god, it hurts! It's so cold! Clef, make it STOP!"
It was pain unlike anything he had ever felt. The dragon within her was eating her alive. She was freezing to death and couldn't do a damned thing about it. "Help me!" she shrieked.
Clef shakily rose to his feet, brushing snow off of his robes and rubbing the frost out of his eyebrows. His fingers were still cold and stiff but warmth was starting to return to his face. He walked unsteadily over to the place where Umi lay, shrieking and screaming.
He looked down at her and smiled. "You don't know how to properly quell your magic, do you Umi?"
Umi answered with a hoarse scream.
Clef sighed lazily as he crouched to his knees beside the screaming girl. Her arms lashed out at him, and he moved back to avoid her overly sharp fingernails. He stared down at her over his laced fingers and smiled. "I guess you don't know how, then."
He reached out a finger to touch her forehead. Frost began to slowly creep from her flesh onto his own, and he pulled away to stare at his hand. It was amazing just how virulent Umi's magic could be, even when her body was undergoing an extreme amount of stress.
"Open you eyes," he said.
Umi continued to writhe and moan on the floor. Clef watched as ice began to collect in her hair. "Open your eyes," he repeated.
The girl only screeched as the frost began to creep onto her face.
Clef frowned. "Then listen. Your power cannot simply be 'turned off' as you just tried to do. You're at a point now where your magic is stronger than your body. So, we must train your body to control the power within you. If you don't will your power to calm then it will overflow your barriers and start to attack your body."
Umi released another piecing scream. Clef continued.
"If you want to learn how to properly still your magic, you have to listen to me very carefully." He reached for his staff and placed his fingers on the purple gem situated on the tip. It glowed faintly as he spoke. "This may not help. If you cannot control your magic then I certainly cannot. But I'm attempting to calm your body. As I do this, listen to me."
A faint purple glow fell upon Umi's body, and suddenly the frost stopped advancing. Umi's screams quieted, and she squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing piteously and shaking with the after-shocks of pain.
Clef observed the magic's retreat. "There, outside force," he said, observing the shaking, sobbing girl. "Magic must be controlled. Left on its own, it will exploit any weaknesses it finds. It will take over, as it has tried to do to your body. You magic does not wish to harm you, so don't think of it that way, but magic has a natural instinct to thrive where it takes the most power. You must direct it to thrive where you want it to. So, when you still your magic, do not simply dismiss it from your mind, consciously put it to sleep, allow it to hibernate until you need it again. Do you understand?"
Umi had curled her body into a fetal position and continued to cry quietly.
Clef smiled. "Did it hurt?"
The girl nodded.
"I thought as much." He rose from the icy floor, staff in hand. "Stand," he said.
Umi only whimpered and curled into herself.
"I said stand, girl!" the mage repeated. "Are you really so weak? Stand up, you child!"
Stand up, you child!
Through the haze of pain, nausea and confusion, a white-hot dagger of rage pierced Umi's mind. It was the part of her that was never defeated, the part that made her so wild.
Her eyes flew open, dilated and glowing white. "What?!" she snarled.
Clef simpered. So even in this broken state, her pride never left her. "A weak child such as yourself has no right to such a spiteful tongue, Umi-chan."
Such words were sure to provoke her, and indeed they did, for Umi suddenly stopped shaking and crying. Her eyes were staring, wild and icy, through Clef's soul. She was definitely getting angry.
"I, I'm not a-a child," she answered weakly. She was now struggling to push herself from the floor.
The Master Mage rolled his eyes dramatically to the ceiling. "So the hatchling witch finally speaks. Can't you even get up, little girl?"
Umi hissed as she struggled to stand on shaking legs. "You'd better shut your mouth, Clef," she whispered dangerously. Her arms and legs were shaking violently, but she held her ground. Her poisonous gaze never faltered. She itched to pull it out, itched to slice the skin of his neck with it…
"Your friends never had so much trouble controlling their power," Clef said, gaining satisfaction from the look of outrage paling on his student's face. "Perhaps you aren't as advanced as I thought."
The natural reflexes of a fencer had never left Umi in her long years gone from Tokyo. So when she withdrew her sword and brandished it before her with a deadly swiftness, Clef did not bat an eye. But he did wince when the sharp edge of the blade pressed into his throat.
Umi smiled wickedly as she stared down the blade at her Master. "I am the deadliest swordswoman in Cephiro," she said poisonously. "I could bleed you to your last drop. Do you have anything else to say?"
Clef answered with an equally nasty glare. "I am the most powerful sorcerer in Cephiro. I could choke your heart inside your chest." He smirked. "Have you anything else to say?"
Umi did not answer and did not lower her blade. Clef held her gaze. True, she could kill him in a heartbeat. He could also kill her just by crooking his little finger. So there they were, locked together in a death trap, staring each other down, unflinching.
Water and Lightning. Two opposing forces that become as one when they met. Always during a storm.
Clef only just realized this.
"You're getting much better, Umi-chan," he said calmly. All of the assets of father and teacher returned to his eyes. "I'm proud."
Umi blinked. Her sword shook against his throat. Slowly, she lowered it, her eyes wild and wide. Her lower lip trembled. "I'll learn to restrain my magic, Clef, make no mistake about that."
The old mage smiled serenely. "I know you will, Umi, you're my best student."
"Of course I am," she replied.
Clef's hand reached forward to gently caress the girl's flushing cheek. "Does it still hurt?" he asked. Umi nodded. His thumb brushed the smooth layer of frost gathering on her cheeks. "It will melt, and then the pain will stop."
Umi looked down at herself. "It's all over me," she said bitterly. "I can't believe I was that stupid… that weak…" She began to brush the frost off of her arms and shoulders. It fell to the ground like snow.
"It's on your lips," he said suddenly, pausing with his hand over her mouth.
The girl froze. Her eyes locked onto his.
A thumb gently wiped away crystals of ice that had clung to her lips. There it remained.
Suddenly, the world seemed to fall away from them. The room vanished into the small circle of light surrounding the two. Their eyes, matching in color almost to the exact pigment, remained locked.
A pleasurable shiver flew through Umi. Whether it was because of Clef or the cold, she could not tell, nor did she care. Her eyes slipped closed.
Clef's face drew ever closer to hers… his hand moved to gently cup her cheek. Their lips, both cold and colorless, would meet any moment…Umi could feel the heat of his face…He could feel her hitched breath, her heart speeding up…finally, their lips met…
… end memory …
Umi awoke with a gasp.
She turned her head, stared at the wall, and swore that she was eighteen again.
The wall was wide and white. It was dark in the room.
She turned her head again to stare at the ceiling. It, too, was plain and white. Trees outside of her window cast long shadows across the ceiling. Umi watched their mysterious dance with wide eyes. Her mind was yet unaware that it had just awoken from long, troubled sleep. Her body had not yet registered the fact that it was still very, very weak. But her brain had healed, and now it was time for her to go back to the world.
"Here I am," she whispered.
