Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Rayearth... just the plot to this story.
Here's chappie 4!! ^^ I guess I don't really have much to say... well, on to the story!
Oh, but if anyone could be so kind as to check out my fanart at home.comcast.net/~familydaniell/enter.html I'd really appreciate it! ^^ OK, NOW on to the story!
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Clef groggily pushed open the door to his study and stepped inside, quietly shutting the door behind him. A forlorn sigh escaped his lips, and his azure eyes fluttered closed for a moment—it had been a long day. He turned his head downward momentarily, his lavender hair brushing against his face. He opened his eyes again, and walked slowly over to his desk. He flopped down in a worn, brown, leather chair and leaned his head back against the chair. He glanced to a large book on his desk with a red ribbon sticking out from the pages of the book. He sat up and opened the book to where the ribbon lay and glanced at the text on the pages. Illusion spells. His eyes skimmed over the words in the book. He found illusion spells incredibly fascinating.
He continued to read, trying to digest the information, but his mind drifted elsewhere. As he continued to take in the words upon the pages, he recounted the events of that day . . .
It had been a day since Ascot had showed up in front of the castle gates. Umi had fussed over him all day, desperately trying to relieve herself of the heavy guilt that hung in her heart. As every hour passed, Clef's suspicions grew. Ferio and Lantis had been watching Ascot shiftily all day as well, due to Clef's warnings. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu seemed quite ecstatic to have the summoner back, despite the close gaze the other men held on Ascot.
However, that afternoon, Clef had walked into the kitchen, hungry because he had skipped lunch. Ascot was in there, drifting around the cutlery. Clef had cleared his throat loudly for attention, and Ascot nearly jumped a foot in the air. Clef shot him a suspicious glance, and Ascot had darted away from Clef's cold gaze quickly. (However, Clef didn't know that Ascot had slipped a knife under his robes before he had dashed from the kitchen.)
Clef sighed again and pulled himself from his thoughts. He picked up the book after shutting in loudly. Then, he stood from his chair and began to walk slowly to his room, the book under his arm—he was interesting in doing some research on illusory spells.
. . . Little did he know that he would soon come closer to an illusory spell than he would have ever believed.
~*~*~*~*~
Ozumo walked down the moonlit corridors slowly. It had definitely been a good day. He had been completely pampered by that blue-haired demon slayer. He grinned maliciously—she didn't have a clue. But that mage . . .
Ozumo frowned. The mage was definitely on to him, but no matter. By the end of the night, he would be taken care of.
Ozumo's spirits lifted again and he brushed Ascot's thick brown bangs out of his eyes. He could barely see anything behind those blasted bangs. If he could only... Ozumo sighed and shook his head, his mind was drifted off his target again. He couldn't wait to get to Umi... he had such things planned for her...
He turned a corner and found the door to Umi's room. He smiled slightly and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Umi's voice came.
"A-Ascot," he said, fumbling with his host form's name.
"Ascot?" Umi opened the door, dressed only in a nightgown.
"May I come in?"
Umi blinked. "Of-of course," she stepped aside, and Ozumo stepped inside her room. Umi shut the door before going to sit on the edge of her bed.
"Umi..." Ozumo began, reciting the words in his mind. "I have something to confess to you."
"What?" Umi seemed confused.
Ozumo came closer to her crouched down to meet her at eyelevel. "I'm in love with you..."
Umi's eyes grew cold. "That's... what got you killed."
Ozumo flinched inwardly. He should have thought up another line. "But I..." he breathed. He came closer to Umi so his face was right beside hers. "I..."
Umi backed away, trying to get away from his uncomfortable closeness. She was sprawled on her back on the bed. "What?"
"Shh..." he whispered as gently as he could manage. He came towards her across the bed until he was practically on top of her. He grabbed her wrist tightly and her eyes widened in fright.
"Ascot!" she gasped, trying to pull away from his grip. "You're hurting me! What are you doing?!"
~*~*~*~*~
Clef stepped into his room quietly. The lights were incredibly dim, but he didn't really mind. Suddenly, a metallic shining on a table across the room caught his eye. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity and approached the object. He was surprised to see a large knife against the wood surface.
"What the...?" Clef breathed and he picked up the knife.
Suddenly, he heard a voice. It was alien and eerie, a harsh whisper just floating in the air. "She deceived you... she betrayed you..."
Clef froze and spun around to find nothing. "Where are you?"
"She never loved you..."
Clef's eyes grew wide. "What are you talking about?! Show yourself!"
Suddenly, he cried out loudly. Clutching his forehead with one hand, he dropped to his knees. His fist slammed against the table, and the knife in his hand dug into the mahogany wood of the table. It felt like something was trying to penetrate his skull . . .
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Back in Umi's room, Ozumo grinned fiercely as he looked down upon Umi. She tried desperately to pry her wrist away from his grip. Suddenly, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in shock and she struggled to pull away. She finally did so, gasping for breath. Ascot's form was still in front of her, but his head was down-turned.
Ozumo struggled to penetrate the mage's mental wall, and he hung his head as Umi screamed. He was so close . . .
"Who are you?!" Umi screamed.
Ozumo's eyes widened as he suddenly penetrated Clef's mind. He lifted his head to meet Umi's gaze and she screeched piercingly . . .
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"She never loved you... you were only comfort after her true love died... you were only a distraction!..." the cold voice whispered. The voice echoed in Clef's mind.
"You speak lies...!" Clef gasped through clenched teeth. He clutched his head tightly, gritting his teeth through the pain that shot through his skull. "Your words are poison!"
"You're a fool!" the voice whispered fiercely. "She used you!"
"Shut up!" Clef yelled as he bent over, trying to fight against the force that was pressing against his mind.
"She never loved you!!"
Suddenly, Clef cried out loudly and his eyes closed tightly as the force infiltrated his mind. He stopped struggling, and his body grew calm.
"Kill her..." the voice whispered cruelly.
Clef's eyes slowly opened—his azure eyes were dark, empty pools of blue. "Yes..." He rose to his feet and pulled the knife from the table in had been imbedded in. His expression was completely blank. Slowly, he left his room . . .
~*~*~*~*~
Umi screamed as Ozumo lifted his head. Ascot's eyes were no longer the bright, emerald green she knew—they were now mixed with a cold, onyx black. His eyes were a swirl of green and black, and Ozumo grinned madly as the black in his eyes overpowered the green.
"Ascot...?!" she gasped.
"Stupid girl..." Ozumo grinned insanely. "I'm not Ascot!"
Suddenly, Ascot's form shuddered, and his body slowly transformed back into Ozumo's form. The green of Ascot's robes seemed to melt into Ozumo's body, and scars magically formed all over his body. Ascot's brown hair darkened before it shortened drastically and forming a long, thin ponytail. It seemed like ages before the transformation stopped.
"Nice to finally meet you face to face!" Ozumo whispered cruelly.
Umi screamed loudly and scrambled off the bed. Ozumo began laughing insanely as she ran, terrified, out of her bedroom.
She ran down the corridors, towards Clef's room. Suddenly, she saw Clef leaning against a wall a few yards away. He was staring at a dagger with what seemed like an aching desire.
"Clef!" she screamed as she ran towards him. She threw herself at him and clutched at his robes. "Ascot! He's... an imposter!"
Clef's head lifted towards her. Her eyes widened when she saw his blank eyes.
"Clef...?" she whispered as she backed away. He turned and raised the dagger, slowly coming towards her.
"Clef?" she breathed. "What... what are you doing?"
Clef didn't respond, but continued coming closer.
"Clef!" Umi screamed. She staggered backwards, but tripped and fell flat on her back. She struggled up on her elbows, cowering on the floor as he kept coming towards her. Suddenly, she heard cold laughter behind her. She turned her head to see Ozumo standing behind her, his eyes blazing.
"You have no idea how much joy it shall give me to watch two lovers kill each other!" Ozumo laughed.
"What did you do to him?!" Umi screamed, but she turned back to Clef before getting an answer. Clef was over her, dagger raised.
"Clef!" Umi sobbed, hot tears running down her cheeks. "Clef! It's me, Umi! Don't you recognize me?"
Again, Clef's cold eyes were her only response.
"Why are you doing this?" she screamed again. "Snap out of it! I love you, Clef!"
"Umi..." Clef whispered. He suddenly cried out and dropped to his knees, one hand pressed against his forehead. Suddenly, all his memories came rushing back to him at once. He remembered his love for Umi almost instantly and his eyes returned to their normal azure sheen. But, he still couldn't control his body! His arm raised up again, the dagger still in his fist.
"Clef...?" Umi whispered.
"I... won't... hurt her!" Clef yelled as he tried to fight against the mind control that had taken control of his body. He slowly pulled his arms back towards himself, teeth clenched through the strain. Suddenly, he cut the knife through his own arm. He cried out, but the self-inflicted injury had cut through the trance.
"What?!" Ozumo yelled angrily.
Umi ran to Clef's side as he clutched his arm and stood.
"I knew there was something not right about you...!" Clef growled.
Ozumo's eyes suddenly grew frightened. He spun around wildly as shouts came from down the hall—the other occupants of the castle had obviously heard all the commotion and run to help them.
Clef raised his staff threateningly. "You dared to deceive us!" Clef hissed as Lantis, and Hikaru came up from behind him, swords ready to kill the imposter. Fuu, Ferio, Presea, and Eagle appeared behind Ozumo, ready to fight as well.
"You dared to try to turn us against each other!" Clef continued. "You're finished!"
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Yay! Chapter 4 is up! I'm trying to make this fic a little darker than the original. I hope it's working...
To all of you who... don't really like Shimizu much ^^;;... All I can really say is that I'm glad you can hate my villains so much! That's a good thing, right?
Anyways, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot to me! ^^ I promise to have Chapter 5 up by Halloween. As for now, PLEASE REVIEW!!
