*Okay okay okay…I got a request, Hikaru is now taller in your mind, Kojishi is a bit shorter, okay? Okay. Good. Now onto the next chapter. Oh by the way! What do you think of the plot so far? Not much to go on I know, but soon I'm going to have stuff happening, really soon. ^.^*

Chapter 2 Amended Promises

"Umi why have you not told her of your past?" he stepped from the shadows, surrounded in white light, and tears welled in her eyes, "Are you ashamed of your past? Are you afraid to tell her you loved another?"

"Never," she whispered, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Then why?" he took her hands.

"Dammit Yukito!" she pulled away, "She's my daughter! You have no say in what I will or will not tell her! You will not tell her about my past do you understand me?!"

He looked deeply hurt, "You are part of me whether you remember it or not. I don't think it's fair for you to keep something this important from her. Tell Clef to stop meddling."

"Do you want to see her go back there?! To that war-torn country where they starved my mother and I to death, shot Hikaru's brothers, burned Hikaru and her parents alive, and blew Fuu and her sister up?!"  Tears poured down her cheeks at her memories, "If this is some kind of vengeance trip than take it out on me, not my daughter."

"Do you really think that little of me?" he glared at her, "That I would seek revenge on who? Certainly not you. Clef? He was my best friend; I gave you my best wishes."

"If not vengeance than what? Why didn't you go to Kojishi or Fuuchou?" she demanded.

"Because I didn't love Hikaru or Fuu!" he shouted, and she was taken back. He was just as she remembered him.

"Gomen," she muttered, and he came near.

He brushed a strand of long blue hair from her eyes, "It's been many years, and you're still beautiful," he whispered and reached in and kissed her. His taste mixed with tears, and she looked deep into his eyes when they pulled away.

"She will know," she said quietly, "Because I never could deny you anything."

He smiled and responded, "Nor could I you; I will not come to her anymore. I'll leave telling her up to you."

"Ashiteru," she whispered as he faded, "Arigato."

"Ashiteru, forever."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she was met with a pool of blue, "Clef…"

"Yukito was in your dreams," he said quietly but not at all hostilely; he couldn't pretend she didn't still love him.

"Hai," she closed her eyes, "Parenting advice," she propped herself up on one arm and faced him.

"Ah, let me guess, he thinks it's wrong that we keep secrets, and she should know?"

"Precisely, how'd you guess?" she laughed.

"Sounds like something he'd say," he responded simply.

"We came to a compromise. I said we'd tell her…" his eyes widened, "If he didn't."

"But…" he began to protest.

"You said it yourself; she'll find out eventually. I'd rather her hear it from us."

"Can it at least wait until she asks the right questions?" he wasn't afraid to show his fear.

"Of course," she closed her eyes with his kiss, and they fell asleep in each other's arms, not knowing that the right questions would be asked much sooner than they expected.

§§§~~~

The three exchanged nervous glances with one another before walking into the dining hall and meeting all the palace inhabitants.

They were abnormally silent at breakfast that morning, until seemingly out of nowhere Fuuchou turned to her mother and tried to ask casually, "What are the Magic Knights?"

Fuu's fork clattered to the table, and everyone tensed.

"They're…" Umi began, sighing heavily.

"A legend," Clef interrupted, and Umi turned and looked at him, shaking her head.

"We know that," Fuuchou sighed, "Why can't we know more?"

"We?" Umi raised her eyebrows.

"Well what more do we want to know?" Hikaru asked.

"Like what were their names?" Kojishi inquired, hinting.

"They were the Magic Knights, legends don't have names," Emeraude told her as the all let out an inward sigh.

"Well what could they do?" Mizuuma persisted.

"They could cast spells and fight with swords and don the Legendary Rune-Gods," Clef answered.

"Excuse me," Umi stood and left the table.

"Mom?" Mizuuma watched and remembered times when she would find her mother crumpled on the ground, sobbing, with her father trying to console her. She would be ushered from the room by Fuu and Hikaru and they would reenter. The door would be locked and sealed for at least an hour while she waited outside, deathly worried.

"I better go after her," Clef stood.

"Clef what happened?" Fuu looked at him, and he thought for a moment before he answered.

"The sun has risen over Cephiro," he responded, and Fuu's eyes widened. He walked after Umi, and everyone was deathly silent.

"What was that about?" Fuuchou inquired.

"Umi-chan has a lot of stuff happening right now," Hikaru said softly.

"Like what?" Mizuuma's voice was weak.

"Nothing for you to be worried about," Fuu assured her.

"She's my mother! I have every right to worry!" Mizuuma shouted.

"There's no reason to worry; she's just having rough times with things that happened in her past. She'll tell you when she's ready," her grandmother assured her.

She sighed and looked down at her food but couldn't eat it, so she sat there and listened to their talk but for once, didn't contribute.

§§§~~~

"Sh…Umi," he held her in the gardens while she sobbed.

"Clef why didn't you let me tell her?! They deserve to know; they asked the right questions! I want it out; I want it gone!" she struggled from his grasps and moved away, "Stop fighting him, just let me tell her."

"So suddenly now that he's somehow back in the picture we should listen to him tell us how to raise our daughter?" Clef demanded.

"Ye…no, I mean, I promised and…"

"You don't need to feel obligated to him," he wasn't void of all emotions, as much as everyone thought he was; his true emotions came out around her and only her, and now she could sense this one.

"Jesus Clef you're jealous!" she turned from him, "I thought you were better than that!"

He recoiled and didn't know what to say; he couldn't deny the truth, that would get him in more trouble with her, "I…"

"All these years! Have you been harboring this for all these years?!" she looked at him with fury and anger in her eyes.

"I…no…" he pleaded with her, feeling weak compared to the storming ocean in her eyes, "Umi I never thought like this before. I mean, I know what you felt, feel for him, but I never cared, until now, and only because I'm worried for our daughter. I don't want your love for him to blind you. This is Mizuuma, the girl that we brought into the world together and raised; I don't want to see her hurt, or you," he put his hand on her cheek, "You know I could never see that happen."

She sat on a nearby bench and put her head in her hands, brushing her bangs up and covering her eyes with her fingers, "God Clef I don't know what to do," she mumbled, "I love her, and I want her to know about me, about her heritage, about what she will someday inherit, and I want her to know of the wonderful people that will always be watching over her. I don't know what to do though; I don't want to see her angry with me for hiding it, and I don't want to see her leave Cephiro to look for something on earth because there's nothing there. I don't want her to see me weak; I've always been strong, only with you I haven't been. I don't want her to see me like that."

"Gomen nasai," he whispered, "I should have let you have some say in it before I jumped, but I'm worried too. I remember you when you got back. Umi, it killed to see you hurt like that, to see the passion in your gorgeous eyes die. I don't want that for anyone especially not our daughter."

"I know," she muttered and closed her eyes, "Gomen, I need to be alone right now."

He nodded and left, knowing precisely what she was going to do.

§§§~~~

"Wow did you see our parents freak out?" Fuuchou muttered as they walked from breakfast, "Mizuuma, it was like your mother had seen a ghost, and she just left and… wow…"

"It's got to be the Magic Knights," Kojishi sounded excited.

"Yeah," Mizuuma mumbled and looked down at her feet as she walked.

"What's wrong?" Fuuchou asked, and Mizuuma looked up into dazzling golden eyes.

"I don't know; it's just this weird feeling that your mother isn't the only one hiding something."

"Well isn't it pretty obvious that yours is?" Kojishi blurted out, "Gomen," she added quickly, and Mizuuma smiled.

"No, you're right; I know she's hiding something. But it's not just that, it's like everyone around us knows something we don't. I mean even Kuu and Ascot tensed up, and they're most easy-going people in Cephiro. Caldina was at a loss for words. I could swear your father, Kojishi, put his hand on his sword hilt when my father spoke of the sun rising over Cephiro."

"Yeah that was definitely code for something," Fuuchou had the look her mother got when she was thinking extremely hard, "But what…?"

"I don't know, but it's probably something involving the Magic Knights," Mizuuma put in, and Kojishi nodded.

"We should look into this."

"But how? I mean it's as if every book, scroll or written legend of them was forever erased from the library, from all Cephiro, trust me I've tried," Fuuchou told them, and they were surprised by this, "The Legend interested me; the Magic Knight of Wind was so mysterious and beautiful. I just thought that I'd find out more about her, about them, but there's nothing."

"Why does it seem as if our parents are the only ones who know anything about this whole legend thing?" Kojishi spoke what was on the other two's minds.

"I don't know, but I think the only way we're going to get anything from anyone is through them. I think it's worth a shot at least," Fuuchou told them, and they nodded.

"Hai."

§§§~~~

'Selece,' she whispered in her mind, and there was a light chuckle in her mind.

'Water Knight.'

She winced at the name but forged on, 'I know that you've heard what's going on; I need your advice.'

Another light laugh, 'Water Knight,' here was a sigh, 'Only thee can do what's right, thine heart should tell thou. But as to what I think is right, I think thou should tell thy daughter about me, about the legend.'

'You're telling me you're agreeing with Yukito?' she laughed slightly, at the slight growl.

'I guess…'

'Arigato Selece, I'll think about it.'

'I don't think the Son of Cephiro is going to give thou much of a choice,' and he was gone from her mind.

"Mom?" a voice from the shadows called, and Umi snapped from her daze. She looked up as her daughter came and sat near her.

"Hai?"

"What was just going on? You were really spaced out," she asked, and Umi smiled warmly.

"Just thinking."

"That's way different from thinking; you were completely not here. Almost like you were having a conversation in your head or something; it was kind of scary," she admitted, and Umi covered the grimace with a smile.

"I guess I was in deep conversation with myself. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to know why you left breakfast," she said bluntly, maybe the direct route would have more effect.

"Just wasn't hungry," Umi wasn't going to give in this easily.

"I don't think that's the reason."

"It wasn't, but I'm not about to tell you what the reason was. Up for a sword match in the practice rooms?" she offered instead, and Mizuuma sighed and nodded. They walked down to the fencing room and bowed to one another.

After a long while Umi threw the sword from her daughter's hands, and they turned and realized they had attracted somewhat of a crowd. Clef, Fuu and Hikaru were standing at the door, watching.

"No one has ever beaten Umi-chan that I can remember," Hikaru tried to console the girl, who wasn't the least bit upset. She had never won a match with her mother, and her mother had never tried to let her win.

"You fight hard though, just like your mother," Clef grinned at Umi, who bowed slightly and thanked him.

"Where did you learn to fence mom?" Mizuuma went back to the indirect route.

Umi turned and looked away, "I grew up in a small village not far from here; I picked up sticks along the path and played with them. My father noticed I was good and handed me a real sword. Ever since then I've fenced," she answered, and it wasn't entirely false. She had lived in Tokyo, but she had played with sticks like swords as a child, and it was her father who had bought and placed in her hands, her first fencing sword, before he was killed he was her fencing coach. It was like having a private instructor at your disposal twenty-four-seven.

"Oh," that was the most Mizuuma had ever heard her mother say about her childhood, and it looked like that little bit had hurt.

"Why haven't I ever met grandfather?" Mizuuma persisted almost ruthlessly.

"Because he died when I was very young, way before you were born, before even I came to…" she stopped herself with Clef's eyes widening in fear, "To the palace."

"Ah," and the conversation ended.

§§§~~~

Mizuuma tossed and turned in her sleep, crying out, then the man came to her again.

"Isn't it amazing how your parents can keep their love alive?" he asked, almost cruelly.

"It is," she sighed; she thought her parents love was romantic, even if she didn't know how it began, or how they met.

"It's almost as if there was never anyone else for them," he hinted, and she got defensive.

"There never was!"

He looked away, deeply hurt, "Is that what they said?"

"Of course, they were meant to be together, and they knew it. There were boyfriends, but no other love," she didn't understand what this was about.

He clenched his fists, and the sword began to shake. He controlled himself and looked down at her, "There is much about your parents that you don't know, much that you should know, and they failed to tell you."

"I know," she looked down, then back up, "Who are you? Are you going to tell me?"

"Yes, I am…" but then it was gone, and she was awake.

"What is wrong?" she muttered, "Why can't he ever tell me?"

§§§~~~

"Umi why did Clef interfere yet again, and why did you not tell her?" he muttered, agitated, in her sleep, "I thought we had an agreement."

"One which you broke," she said curtly.

"Not before you," he answered.

"Clef interfered because he thought he had to; none of us want any of them having to go back to earth to find roots that aren't there. It would lead to pain and heartbreak. Yukito you have to understand, she and Clef are all I have. If I loose her like I lost you it will be the end for me," she looked at him, tears in her eyes.

"Why is it that every time I see you your beauty is scarred by tears?" he asked and touched her face, brushing away her tears, "Umi, you have to tell her, and I swear by the Sword of Cephiro and the names of the Magic Knights that I will tell her if you do not, tomorrow Umi, tomorrow."

She nodded, "Tomorrow," she answered and woke, "Clef," she whispered, but he was already awake.

"What was it this time?" he tried to keep the anger from his voice.

"Tomorrow, or he will do it. You can't keep meddling in his dreams; he will sooner or later prevail because being dead he has more power than you."

"I know that," Clef turned and touched her face, "I know that, tomorrow then, we'll tell them all tomorrow. Now try and get some sleep," he instructed, and she nodded and closed her eyes, but sleep would not come.

Tori:

"Blood Roses

Blood Roses

Back on the street now

Can't forget the things you never said

On days like these starts me thinking"

~Tori Amos, Blood Roses, Boys for Pele