14 July 2018: Not quite two months! That's something, right?
So, this chapter has and hasn't been finished for a while. Basically, when Down did the first read through edit on it back in June, she suggested it needed a little bit of something else. Also, I originally had this and chapter 14 as one single chapter 13, but I think they work better separately. They are two separate weeks, and a bit more setup happens.
Anyway... there is a chance there may be another update this month. Down and I are off on holiday to Wales starting Monday, and we won't be back for over a week. There is an embroidery project that needs working on, but the new draft of 14 is also finished, so just needs a polishing.
Content Note: Thich chapter has been edited for language use. Only one word, so it reads more or less the same.
Chapter 13
In which Umi bakes a cake… and eats it.
Despite her protests, Umi knew she was more than just a little tired. Resting most of Sunday afternoon in Cephiro would have been more sensible than running around with her friends - but charging about had been a lot more fun. She still wasn't going to admit Clef had a point, even if ever since she'd come home from her week at Clef's she'd been crawling into bed a little earlier than usual.
Perhaps more than a little. The past fortnight had seen her bedtime creeping progressively forward until she was having a bath after dinner and going to bed almost immediately, but she couldn't shake the lingering exhaustion no matter how much she slept. If this was something like Eagle had felt when he was invading, she wondered how he'd managed to not fall asleep at the helm of the NSX all the time.
The extra sleep wasn't entirely a bad thing. With it came intensely vivid dreams that left her out of breath, trembling, and wanting more. Dreams that made her wish she already lived in Cephiro, so she could roll over and wake Clef up to do something about it. Instead, she lay there thinking about his touch and did something about it herself.
It wasn't as satisfying.
After school on Saturday, she'd dragged herself through the city and into her house only so far as the nearest sofa. Slumping into the cushions, she drifted off in an attempt to sleep off a little of the lethargy before Hikaru came round, supposedly for fencing practice.
Umi only managed to doze for about half an hour before the doorbell rang, but it didn't take much talking to convince Hikaru that baking Ascot's belated birthday cake would be more fun than athletics. Hikaru was never one to turn down an opportunity for cake. Umi set her up to mix the ingredients for that and got down another bowl.
"I thought you were just doing one?" Hikaru asked, gesturing with her whisk and splattering batter on the floor. "What's that cake for?"
"Clef," Umi laughed, whisking the smaller bowl of chocolate batter.
"It's not his birthday too, is it?" Hikaru asked.
"No. That's in… Cephiro's Second-month. Which starts about the end of December, right?" Umi asked and Hikaru nodded. "This - this is bribery."
"For what? More lessons?"
"I wish. He's refusing to teach me anymore until I can officially be his partner, otherwise, it looks like I'm his apprentice - or I become his apprentice - something like that. Then we couldn't date." She poured her batter into the smaller set of cake pans. "Can't a girl bake her boyfriend a cake without people asking questions?"
Papa chose that moment to appear in the doorway, startling Umi when he said, "Questions like 'When are we going to meet him?' because it's been two weeks, and you still haven't said."
"I didn't remember to ask last weekend," Umi complained. Papa raised an eyebrow and Umi flushed. He thankfully didn't comment on that admission that she'd not been with a school friend all last weekend and just walked over to the kettle.
"Remember you only have until the end of the month before Mama will start trying to hunt this Clef down." Papa turned to Hikaru and smiled. "Are you staying for dinner?"
"No. Thank you, Mr. Ryuuzaki." Hikaru shook her head. "My family is expecting me home for dinner."
"I'll ask him at the picnic tomorrow," Umi muttered and shoved the chocolate cake into the oven. "As long as he's not too busy to show up."
When Papa took his mug of tea out into the garden, Hikaru thumped the bowl down on the counter and stared at Umi. "Have you actually told your parents about Cephiro?"
"No, I told them Clef's name when Mama worked out that I have a boyfriend." Umi picked up the bowl and poured the batter for Ascot's cake into the second, larger set of cake pans. "The problem is, they want to meet him, soon. You haven't got any bright ideas about how to do that, do you?"
"Not any new ones," Hikaru answered. "We could ask Fuu tomorrow, I know she's been thinking about it too."
"I suppose there's always the option of just convincing them to go with us to Tokyo Tower one weekend and just seeing if the spell will work." Umi sighed. "I'm not sure 'Hey, we're going to take you to a magical world to meet my ancient corpse of a boyfriend,' is exactly the easiest thing to explain, but I don't know how else to warn them about that jump."
"Probably not." Hikaru agreed, grinning. "Clef's not that old."
"Seven-hundred and fifty! That's like buried-in-the-ground-centuries old. Compared to that, we're still babies," Umi leaned back against the counter and sighed.
Hikaru was giggling by now. "He's only seven-hundred and forty-nine, you shouldn't exaggerate like that," she teased, drawing a laugh from Umi.
They spent the next hour melting chocolate and making fancy little lacework designs that would go on the cakes once they were frosted, which would be after they were cool - well after Hikaru had to leave, though she did stay until the cakes were baked and made off with the piece Umi cut off to flatten the one chocolate layer which had decided to balloon up out of the pan.
When they turned them out of their trays onto the cooling racks Umi's mouth had watered. The cakes smelled so good she was tempted to pick a little off the trimmed bit of the chocolate cake for herself. Normally sweet things weren't her cup of tea, she just liked furiously whisking away the frustrations of the day and getting something out of it that her family and friends enjoyed. Plus, she was good at it, which was always nice.
Umi just dismissed it as being hungry. Especially when, after Hikaru had left, her father started cooking dinner for the both of them, as her mother was out - and Umi's actual cooking ability hadn't improved all that much without someone else making the important decisions like 'how much miso do you really need in this'. Her father, however, had the knack of it just as well as her mother did, as the smells emanating from the stove proved. By the time it was ready, she was ravenous.
After dinner, the cakes were cool enough to decorate; she got on with it even though part of her would rather go take a nine-hour nap. When she had finished whipping the icing, Umi dipped her little finger in to check the taste. Usually, she took the barest taste of it; today, she licked her finger clean, then blinked at it. Well, it hadn't been that much.
Once both cakes were frosted and decorated, Umi set about tidying up. She gathered up the bowl, whisk, and spatula, and carried them over to the sink. Somewhere between the worktop and the sink, she'd lifted the spatula out of the second bowl and had begun licking the leftover icing off. When she noticed, Umi let go of everything, the bowl shattering at her feet.
Papa called to see if she was alright, and she didn't know how to answer.
Biting her lip, she shook her head and pushed the unwanted thoughts fiercely out of her head, because it most certainly couldn't be true. It was impossible. She was just letting the stress of school get to her; she was so tired her body was just craving any energy it could get.
.*.*.*.
Umi was surprised when Fuu turned up with Hikaru the next afternoon. She only needed one extra set of hands to get both cakes across to Cephiro, and Fuu was supposed to be busy until later, yet she walked in with Hikaru like she was expected. Fuu and Hikaru took a cake each, leaving Umi with nothing to carry but her handbag as they headed for the train.
"Hikaru called last night about your… predicament," Fuu said, as they neared the station.
"Yeah," Umi sighed. "Have you come up with any brilliant solutions?"
Fuu shook her head. "We were unable to discuss the logistics for very long last night."
"Kakeru wanted the phone to call his girlfriend," Hikaru laughed.
"If we can manage it, I would imagine it would be easier to bring someone from Tokyo with us to Cephiro than bringing someone from Cephiro here," Fuu said.
"So I'm stuck trying to convince my parents to come to Tokyo Tower," Umi sighed. "But even if I do, how are we supposed to get them to Cephiro? No, how am I even supposed to explain my parents wanting to meet Clef? He's not meant to be in a relationship at all, certainly not one that's reached 'meeting the family'!"
"We could introduce them to everyone," Hikaru suggested.
Fuu nodded in agreement. "Showing them Cephiro would probably also distract your parents from asking any … awkward questions."
Umi rolled her eyes. "Mama's already certain that I'm sleeping with Clef. I don't think it can get more awkward than that."
"How did your parents find out about Master Clef, anyway?"
"Because my mother notices things." Umi rubbed her hands over her burning face as she tried to force the memory of the box of condoms in her desk drawer out of her head. "But that still doesn't solve the weirdness of talking them into coming to Tokyo Tower."
"We may be able to take them from elsewhere," Fuu said. "Do you want to try getting to Cephiro from outside Tokyo Tower today?"
"How is that going help?" Umi asked, in a burst of desperation. "My parents are expecting to meet a normal man, not a literal wizard who lives in an alternate dimension! How do I explain any of this!"
The other two went quiet for the next few minutes before Hikaru spoke again. "We don't know that we can't bring Clef from Cephiro."
"We've never managed to bring anything back with us," Umi declared with a frustrated flail of her hands. "And that's certainly not for a lack of trying."
"But a person's not a thing," Hikaru said. "A person would have a will of their own."
"You may be correct," Fuu said. "Master Clef is very powerful, so if anyone could make it, he probably could."
"Even if he could, what happens when he's cut off from Cephiro? He's so old he might -"
"But we're not cut off from Cephiro," Hikaru cut in. "Our connection is always there. The magic may be stretched and pulled tight, so it can't do - some things, but it's still there."
"If anything happened to him…" Umi sighed, and Fuu patted her gently on the shoulder. "But what could it do to Cephiro, bringing Clef here? Isn't he still connected more tightly than anyone else?"
"We'll just have to keep thinking about it," Hikaru said. "There must be some way to make it work."
Fuu nodded in agreement. "Maybe you could talk to Master Clef about it?" she suggested. "Perhaps he might have some ideas."
"You're probably right." Umi knew she was going to have to tell Clef about her parent's request to meet him soon, so she may as well use his knowledge of magic while she was at it. She rubbed her hands over her face again. Why couldn't she have fallen for someone normal, someone who didn't live in some weirdo other world?
"Though…" Fuu said slowly, with a strange tone to her voice. Umi and Hikaru both looked at her. "Master Clef may be able to bring himself, but - what about his clothing?"
The three of them stared at each other for a long moment, then burst into laughter.
.*.*.*.
Clef had done his best to rearrange his afternoon schedule so he had a reasonable amount of free time that overlapped with Umi's visit. The Academy committee meeting still ran over time, but he wasn't too upset. They'd finally settled on a location and were finalising the proposal to go before the Council at the end of the week - and he could hardly wait to tell Umi that Livina had used her drawings from the ball to argue for the location they'd settled on. Umi would be pleased to know she'd had a real impact on things.
He couldn't shake the fond smile for the rest of the meeting, and there was a certain lightness to his step when he made his way back to his office to drop off paperwork. He shuffled through one of the drawers and pulled out the little book he'd picked out for Ascot. Clef was moderately terrible at remembering birthdays unless reminded, and Aveo didn't know Ascot, so that hadn't happened. But better late than never, and the text - a pretty rare treatise on summoning theory that would tie in nicely with what Ascot had been practicing recently - was educational enough no one should argue about that expense. (He'd got as far as the title before Aveo rolled her eyes and dug out a credit note for him.)
The sunlight was warm on his face as he strode out into the garden Caldina had chosen for the occasion. Most of their friends were already there on the large rug that covered the grass, passing food and drink between them. Umi looked up at him and smiled brightly, and he crossed the grass to drop down beside her, his robes fluttering about him.
Umi laughed and picked up a paper box from her other side and passed it over with a grin. "Chocolate, as requested."
Inside was one of the prettiest cakes Clef had ever seen her bring. It was all decorative swirls with webs of the hard chocolate stuff stuck about them. In the centre was one of those tiny puragu-like fruits - he was pretty sure she called it 'strawberry' - sliced and fanned out. Unlike the large cake that sat in the middle of the small feast before them, this one was barely wider than the length of his hand - sized for him alone.
"Is that adequate payment for services rendered?" Umi asked, voice low. She bit her lip, holding back the laughter that made her eyes sparkle merrily as she waited for his answer.
Clef really wanted to kiss her, right then. Not just as a thank you for the cake, but - he'd missed her company this past week. He swallowed back the urge and closed the lid on the box, only to notice their audience - several people had stopped to watch them with raised eyebrows. Caldina's judgemental expression was expected, but not Ascot's quiet regard. When Clef caught his eye, Ascot dropped his gaze, a flush colouring his cheeks. Ascot hadn't been flustered last week when he'd come to Clef's office and asked to be of assistance. He'd even asked if Clef was looking forward to seeing Umi again, with a shy smile on his lips.
Perhaps seeing them together was - different? Or he was wondering, as any reasonable person might at their own birthday party, whether Clef had gotten him a present. It wasn't until Clef looked down to his pocket for the book that he realised how close he was to Umi. Any closer and he'd be on top of her. He dug out the book he'd brought and leaned across to hand it to Ascot, making sure to sit back down with a little more space between himself and Umi.
Hikaru was smiling at them. "Do you want some cake?" she asked, cutting a slice of Ascot's birthday cake and passing it over to Clef before he got a chance to answer. "Umi outdid herself on the decorating, don't you think?" There was more of the chocolate webbing and sliced fruit stuck decoratively into the elegantly applied white coating on this cake.
"It's only a little fancy frosting," Umi argued, plucking one of the bits of chocolate off the edge of Clef's cake and popping it into her mouth. "It's not that hard."
"Hey!" Clef pulled a face at her and held his plate closer. He managed a few bites before Hikaru, prompted by Ascot's investigation of his new book, started asking questions about the finer points of summoning. Clef was mid-explanation, gesturing his fork in the air when Umi reached back over and stole the fruit off the top of his slice of cake. He stopped mid-sentence and watched her eat it in two slow bites.
Ascot picked up the explanation where Clef left off, leaving him free to roll his eyes at Umi. He ate the second piece of chocolate off the side so she wouldn't steal that too, and turned his attention to Ferio. His cake should be safe with only actual cake and icing.
Umi had joined the summoning conversation with a laughing comment about how summoning the Mashin should count, complete with an enthusiastically sweeping gesture that nearly collided with Clef's plate. She paused, wetting her lips as she watched his fork travel from the plate to his lips.
The happiness from seeing her sank like a heavy stone in Clef's stomach. Umi didn't eat sweet things. She'd eat desserts that were tart but not sweet. Not like the frilly white confection he held in his hand. And yet, she was watching him eat intensely.
Clef let out a heavy sigh and passed his plate over. "Have it. Turns out I'm not that hungry."
Umi blinked at him but didn't argue. She just stared down at the dish in her hands. Only Clef watched when Umi lifted the fork to her mouth. No one else seemed to have noticed anything unusual in that. Caldina was discussing something work related with Ferio; they'd pull in almost everyone else except Hikaru and Ascot who were still talking about Cephiran creatures.
Closing her lips over the cake, Umi shut her eyes and let out a happy sigh.
The group slowly stuttered to silence with the third bite and the soft hum of pleasure that accompanied it. Clef glanced at the others and for the briefest of moments, Ascot was watching him, not Umi. But as soon as Clef turned, Ascot looked away.
.*.*.*.
From the moment the fork touched her lips, Umi didn't care about anything but the slice of cake in her hands. It was just so good. The frosting was silky sweet and the strawberries perfectly ripe between the two layers of soft, fluffy sponge. It was the best thing she'd eaten in days - weeks even - and she was going to make every bite count, catching the last of the crumbs with her fork and savouring that final taste.
Everyone was staring at her when she finally remembered the world beyond the edge of her plate.
"Umi?" Hikaru stared at her with disbelieving eyes.
The startled confusion of what she'd just done seeped slowly deeper under Umi's skin as she stared down at the empty plate. That hadn't been chocolate or Clef's confection that had tasted spiced and tangy, like a fluffy pastry with fruit sauce. It has been a large slice of nothing but sugary birthday cake, and she'd eaten the entire thing.
Setting the plate aside, as if that might somehow make what she'd done less confusing, Umi turned to Clef. "I just - What?"
"How many times do I have to tell you to take your fatigue seriously," Clef said, not quite looking at her. His voice was irritated and loud enough everyone else must be able to hear him just as clearly as Umi. "A slice of cake isn't going to replace your need to rest."
She stared at the plate. "But it would be so much quicker," she muttered, and at least one person laughed before the other drifted back into conversation.
Clef busied himself pouring a cup of tea. Umi picked up her own drink and hoped Clef wasn't going to be too stubborn about her need to 'rest'. She'd rather planned on doing something more strenuous at some point this afternoon. Sure, she was a little tired, but she'd been drained for weeks, so that wasn't new. As loathe as she was to admit it, travelling with the others had helped, even if she did still make a stop by Clef's rooms for more of that headache tea before the picnic.
But Clef was in an almost tangible mood by the time they walked back into the central tower after the picnic, his face tight and the air around him just a fraction heavy. Umi headed off with him without bothering with much of an excuse. He didn't send her away, but he didn't seem that welcoming either. Once they were through the archway and more-or-less alone, Umi spun about the confront him. "Why are you being so weird about a slice of cake?"
Grabbing her hand, Clef pulled her into an alcove a few paces down the corridor. He flicked his free hand, and Umi felt the magic settle around them like a heavy blanket, which meant no one else was about to hear what he had to say. "Because it isn't normal," he said, "Not for you."
Umi shook her hand free. "I'm staying the night next weekend, okay. I'll feel better after that."
"Magic fatigue can make someone crave high energy foods, but -" Clef shook his head. "Umi, this didn't start when you wiped yourself out last month."
"Yeah, it did."
"No, it didn't. Getz still complains about you throwing biscuits at him."
"I didn't throw it; I dropped it," Umi argued, and when Clef opened his mouth to protest, Umi waved him off. "What else could it be?"
Clef's eyes dropped down to her stomach - no, lower, and a shiver ran down Umi's spine.
"No, she snapped. "Not that again. Clef, it's literally impossible."
Clef caught her hand again. "Come with me to the Healers to be sure."
"No!" Umi glared at him. "I'm not wasting people's time because you're paranoid, okay? I felt better today because I had help with the spell - It's fatigue!"
"Umi, even if you're not pregnant, I'm still concerned about how drained you are. Please, just come with me -"
"No." Umi yanked her hand out of his and took a few steps back. The silencing spell raised goosebumps on her skin as she walked back out of it.
"Can't you be reasonable," Clef complained, following her out. "If we just -"
"I said no. I'm not going, and you can't make me." Umi snapped. She was fine, just worn out - and she lived somewhere without magic; it made perfect sense she'd still be feeling it. She moved the entire ocean!
An arm wrapped around Umi from behind, as Caldina's voice rang beside her ear. "She said she doesn't want to. If someone says no, they get to mean no." She drew Umi back protectively, and Umi was irritated enough to appreciate the frustration on Clef's face.
"You know what - fine. Be that way." Clef shook his head and walked past them.
Umi let out a heavy sigh as she turned to watch him disappear through the archway. "I don't know why he's being so persistent about this," she muttered.
Caldina let her go. "What does that sleazy old geezer want you to do?" She turned Umi to face her. "Does he think he can drag you off into a corner anytime he wants to, just because you slept with him once or twice?"
Staring at Caldina, Umi shook her head. "It's not like that at all."
Caldina put her hands on her hips and Umi a look. "Are you still sleeping with him?"
"That's none of your business."
"Girlie, someone in his position is nothing but trouble."
Umi rolled her eyes and walked away. She wasn't about to start an argument with Caldina when she was already. Turning that on Caldina would only end in a shouting match. She was pissed off with Clef, but she was still tempted to challenge Caldina to a duel for his honour - which probably wasn't even a thing here.
"Hey!" Caldina grabbed her hand and Umi ripped free with an aggravated growl. "Don't you be grumbling at me about that old pervert. It's not my fault you got yourself tangled up with him when your brain got stuck down there."
"Would you shut up about that!" Umi spat. "I don't need your advice. He's just being a prat today." She stomped off after Clef. Whether she wanted to shout at him or sleep with him, she was still undecided, but whichever it was - probably both - she didn't get to do either, because Caldina caught her before she got much further than the archway of the spiral.
"Shout all you want, you still need to come with me. Fuu leaves in an hour, and she's threatening to not be back until Festival." Caldina said. "You're not getting out of preparations this year."
"What, I get to say no unless you're the one telling me what to do?" Umi snorted.
"We aren't sleeping together or in a relationship, and also, I'm right," Caldina shot right back.
"It's not like you actually need me to pick out cloth. I don't see why we need new dresses again. Don't we have enough stuff from the last few years?"
"New clothes for a new year." Caldina took her hand again and pulled her toward the spiral. "I'm not letting any of you three look unloved."
Umi thought of the wardrobe of dresses at Clef's house, and the irritation faded under a wave of laughter she suppressed before she had to explain herself.
This time, she let herself be led away.
.*.*.*.
Clef stormed up to his rooms, needing a few minutes to compose himself before anyone wanted him in an official capacity.
He didn't know why he kept trying to argue reason or sense with Umi. He might as well slam his head into the castle wall for all the good that would do - Umi did what she cursed well pleased, and nothing or nobody could stop her once she'd set her mind to something. Just why that something had to be a complete disregard of her questionable health and an utter refusal to be seen by any of the healers, Clef had no idea. He wasn't sure he wanted to know why she thought it was better to ignore him about this.
Practically slamming open his door, Clef stomped two steps into the room and stopped dead.
Sitting out on the kitchenette counter was the tin of headache tea, and beside it, a teapot and cup. His stomach tightened. That was three weeks in a row. She hadn't even travelled alone this time, so the spell shouldn't have been as strong. Yet, she still -
"Reckless girl," Clef fumed as he slammed the tin back into the cupboard. "Headstrong and infuriating girl." He thumped the teapot and cup into the sink so hard he heard one of them crack. Taking a deep breath he braced himself on the counter and let it out slowly. This wasn't helping anything.
.*.*.*.
The last time they'd been out shopping with Caldina - over the summer holiday - it had been out to the closest town. This was the first time Umi had been to the commercial wing of the Castle, instead, where the inhabitants had set up their own shopping area. It felt like some marketplace crossed with a shopping mall; a central garden room held a large fruit tree that reached up past three levels of assorted shops, some run by individuals, others by several Guilds for apprentices practicing selling their wares or skills and the masters keeping their hand in.
Hikaru and Fuu did less gawking than Umi. Then, they'd been in here last year, when it was newer. "Are all the shops full now?" Fuu asked.
Caldina nodded. She led them through the garden and up the ramp to the next level before swinging around to the other side and the large warehouse-like shop which sat over the main entrance. It stretched up to the next floor, a staircase in the shop itself connecting the two levels.
There were stacks and shelves bowing under bolts of fabric of every possible description. Umi recognised a couple as the ones Clef had explained to her. There was a large display of the beautiful iridescent indigos and pinks that featured in her wardrobes at Clef's house; she stopped to touch a soft pink with a similar woven pattern to the dress she'd worn to the ball.
"Oh, that's pretty," Hikaru exclaimed.
"You are most certainly not having any of that," Caldina said, appearing beside them.
Umi didn't let go. "But I like it?"
"And I would be happy to tell you that's a mark of good taste if you weren't infatuated with the old man whose lands grow the stuff that dyes it. I doubt you like it for the quality of the fabric."
"So, why can't I have it?" Umi unfolded the display bolt's edge to find the label, which had a long string of Cephiran numbers that didn't mean anything to her.
"Let's just say that if I use all the money I have for the three of you, I could possibly get enough for a headband."
"Huh…" Umi stared. She had an entire dress of that. More than one. "So a couple of dresses would cost…"
"A couple?"
Turning away from Caldina to ignore the expression on her face, Umi ran her hands over the silken fabric one more time before she let herself be led to a selection of fabrics that was more in keeping with their budget. "I don't know why I need to be here anyway," Umi complained. "I already have a new dress I could wear."
"You are not wearing anything that man gave you to greet the new year."
"Oh, come on!"
"No! People pay attention at Festival. You really want them thinking he's bought you for the year?"
Hikaru bounced further into the shop and found something else in the same colour. "Hey, Umi! What about this?"
The fabric wasn't nearly as fine as the first, but it was still pretty, with a gentle pearlescent sheen when it caught the light. It was soft to the touch, sliding through Umi's fingers.
"What's wrong with blue? You like blue!" Caldina asked. "Fuu, talk some sense into your friend before she causes a scandal!"
At the sound of her name, Fuu reappeared from behind another tall stack of fabric and walked over to where the others were. "Oh! That is pretty," she said, reaching out to touch the cloth herself.
"See. Fuu likes it too." Umi felt smug. "It's a more acceptable price, isn't it?"
"What part of wearing that colour will look like he bought you are you failing to comprehend?"
"What, people think Clef's sleeping with everyone wearing cloth dyed in Mazda?" Umi raised an eyebrow.
Caldina glared back. "No, just the ones he publicly ended his celibacy with."
"We didn't do that publically! Anyway, if it's going to look like he paid me, then let me wear one of my other dresses. At least then they'd know how much my company's worth," Umi grinned. She doubted he'd bought anything 'reasonably priced', given he'd gotten himself cut off.
Fuu snickered and Hikaru stifled her own giggle as Caldina hissed in frustration.
"Blue! What exactly is wrong with blue? Blue looks good on you."
"Why do you always want to put me in blue? Why can't I wear green or grey, if we're going for the element theme?" Umi asked. "Fuu looks good in blue. Why can't she be the one in blue this time? The sky's blue too, so that means air can be blue, right?"
"There is a very nice blue overlay I was looking at over there." Fuu pointed back behind the stack she'd been lurking behind. "It would look well layered over part of my dress from last year."
"It needs to be entirely new," Caldina flailed he hands with an exasperated sigh.
"If I wore something I already have," Umi started again. Really, she had enough dresses. Caldina didn't need to spend anything on her. "It would give Hikaru and Fuu more -"
"You are not wearing a stitch that man gave you," Caldina snapped, cutting Umi off. "You will start this year properly, so help me." She turned to Fuu. "Show me this overlay, then."
The two of them disappeared around the pile of fabric and Hikaru turned to Umi. "I forgot to ask. What did Clef think of his cake?"
Umi huffed. "He's being all paranoid about me feeling under the weather. We didn't even talk about the cake - not his cake, anyway."
Hikaru snorted back a laugh. "Does that mean you didn't ask him about meeting your parents?"
"No. I'll do it later," Umi sighed. "Sometimes I don't know why I even like him."
The solemness of Hikaru's nod of understanding was undermined by barely concealed laughter as she pat Umi reassuringly on the shoulder.
.*.*.*.
To say Clef's mind wasn't on his work that afternoon would have been a bit of an understatement. While he may have been physically present for the committee meeting to finalise the remaining members of Honda's Circle, he wasn't paying much attention to the debate. And a debate it was; Murano had something to say about nearly everyone on the lists put forward by the remaining four guilds.
Clef paid him little mind and absently shuffled through his papers. His eyes skimmed over the words, but he really wasn't taking anything in. No matter how he tried to bring himself back to what he should be doing, he just kept thinking about Umi.
He was allowed to be concerned about her. She was first and foremost his friend.
"But she's pregnant!" Murano's shrill complaint rang through the room, startling Clef back to the present.
"What?" Clef snapped his head up.
"I forget you don't pay attention to gossip." Dokker huffed out a laugh beside him and leaned over to murmur. "Apparently Presea's preferred smith, Jetta, is pregnant, and Murano seems to think that matters for some reason." He propped his chin on his hands and watched Murano's wild gestures with amusement.
"You should concern yourself less with idle gossip and focus on the task at hand," Sylphy, Nissan's Warden, replied testily. "I would like to get this Circle sorted so I can stop being subjected to so many of your pointless diatribes."
"Jetta's pregnancy is part of the task at hand," Murano said.
"No, it is not," Sylphy snarled. "That fact has absolutely no bearing on her ability to act as Chief Smith of Honda."
Murano shook his handful of papers at her. "It does if the cursed province falls into the sea once and for all."
"If the rest of the Circle can't hold it steady when one of their members is indisposed, then they were not good appointments," Cervo, the head of the eastern sea spirits, said calmly. "Toyota came through unscathed during it's Warden's pregnancy, and the birth this past month. A smith would cause even less trouble, I imagine."
"It would cause all sorts of trouble for a region attached to a ward with an absentee Warden." Murano shot Clef a hateful look.
"An entire Circle could be pregnant at once without the slightest hint of instability! Sylphy snapped. "Do we need to find a replacement for you should you catch a mild virus? A fever would, by your logic, be far more unstable."
"Whether or not someone is growing a new person in their womb is not a reason for disqualification. From the information we have been given, Jetta is perfectly capable of holding the position of Chief Smith," Auris said, with an air of annoyance. "If you are so inclined to see procreation as a failing, perhaps it is time we reassess your suitability for the role of Warden for Arnage. I cannot imagine what you would say to a student who wished to keep up their studies while also waiting on a child."
"Perhaps the Guru's post as Warden of Mazda should also be put under equal scrutiny," Murano said, slapping his hand down on the table, and a mutter of 'Here we go again' came from the far side of the room. "Anyone who manages to get not one, but three nieces appointed to their Circle has far too much influence over their region."
"We are already aware of Guru Clef's relationship to his Seneschal and Chief Priest - and Chief Judge, for that matter." Avenir looked beyond bored. "The committee was aware when they appointed them. It is neither new nor relevant information."
"And I don't think the Guru is currently pregnant," Dokker added, with a grin.
"That would be rather fast," someone down the room muttered, sounding amused. Clef tried not to flinch.
"If you have complaints about Eiru Kalos's appointment," Torneo said, folding his arms in front of him. "You may speak to me about it, as I am the one who assigned her to Mazda."
"Does anyone else have any arguments against Jetta's appointment that are actually relevant?" Presea said, looking around at the rest of them. Many shook their heads. "Then I would like to propose a vote, so we can move on."
Clef raised his hand to be counted in approval, and took a deep breath, sinking back in his seat. That left… another three appointments to go today. If they were all likely to take this long, there went his chance of seeing Umi again before she left. Which might be for the best, if they were just going to argue today, but he didn't like it.
.*.*.*.
After Umi finally escaped from Caldina, she went in search of Clef. She tried his rooms first, in the vain hope that he might be waiting for her, but found them empty.
Setting out at a jog, she headed for his office ten floors down. Taking the spiral down at a run was enough to make anyone dizzy, and would probably explain why she was unsteady enough on her feet that, when she slammed head-long into Ascot, she tumbled over straight onto her backside with a yelp.
"Are you alright?" Everything that had been in Ascot's arms was littered about the floor, but he dropped down beside her and helped her up without paying any attention to that. His face was the picture of worry. "Do you - should you go to the Healers?"
"For a bruise on my butt?" Umi asked, rubbing her hip. "No, I'll be fine. I went down on the rounder bit, not the bone - that would hurt. I should have looked where I was going, sorry. I'm trying to find Clef. You don't know where he is, do you?"
"Master Clef has meetings which will probably run until dinner."
"Oh." Umi deflated.
"Um… It's not my place to ask…" Ascot rubbed the back of his neck. "But… Is everything … okay? You know, between you two?"
"Yeah, of course. We had an argument and I kinda want to yell at him some more, but that's normal for us." Umi blinked at him, then she pulled a face. "Don't tell me that Caldina's finally gotten to you. You shouldn't listen to her nonsense!" She tapped him on the nose with a finger. "Clef isn't the creepy old pervert she makes him out to be."
"I know," Ascot said, his voice even softer as he looked down at the ground.
Umi followed his gaze to all the papers scattered about the floor around them. "Shit! I'm sorry." She dropped down and started gathering things up. "I really should know better than to run in the corridors. At least not going down."
"It's fine," Ascot said kneeling beside her and neatly piling papers into his lap. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Of course," Umi said. "It's just a little bump, I'm fine. I do worse in fencing practice most weeks."
"You're still fencing?" Ascot asked, pausing to look at her. "Didn't you - I thought you said you had stopped?"
"I'm not competing, I just drop in sometimes. Hikaru's going to get far too much ahead of me if I drop it completely. I'm not letting her become a magic swordsperson before me." Picking up a few more papers, Umi paused staring at the handwriting on the note in her hand. She knew that messy scrawl. "When did you start helping Clef?"
"Er… recently?"
"Good. He works too hard."
"Yeah." Ascot blushed. "It just seemed like he could use some help, and there's so much he's going to need to be doing soon…"
"More than he'll admit, I'm sure." Umi smiled at him, passing over the papers and letting her hand linger over his. "Thank you, Ascot."
Ducking his head as his cheeks flared an even brighter red, Ascot nodded. "I should -"
"Yes. Sorry, go finish what you were doing." Umi waved him off as she climbed to her feet, brushing off her skirt. She continued on to Clef's office at a more sedate pace, as Ascot disappeared up the spiral in the other direction
Walking into Clef's empty office, his wards brushing over her skin, Umi was struck by a wave of disappointment. She'd been looking forward to seeing him all week. Now she wasn't going to see him properly until next week. All because she'd been annoyed.
Yes, she was a little off, but she was fine, just a little tired, and a bit more hungry than usual. Maybe the whole cake thing was a bit strange, but it made sense. It would pass, once she was able to stay in Cephiro longer than a few hours at a time. Another long weekend would probably do it. A nap might help too.
Now she couldn't even ask him if he was submitting the next bill this week. She couldn't ask him anything.
Her eyes burned as she dropped into her favourite seat and stared across the piles of paper on Clef's desk at his empty chair. She'd missed out on spending time with him because she was annoyed with him. Like that was a new thing. They'd barely even spoken.
It was an upsetting thought, but it shouldn't have been enough for her to be crying about it. She'd gone months without seeing him last year! This was just a week - six days, even. And next time, she'd be spending the night.
But she missed him now.
Wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve, Umi reached into her pocket for her handkerchief. This was so silly, and yet she was struggling to stop the flood of tears. They kept on trickling over her cheeks.
Her handkerchief was thoroughly and unpleasantly damp when she finally shoved it back in her pocket and picked up a pen off the desk. At the very least, she could leave him an apology - even if he couldn't read it. It took a bit of rooting about to find a blank sheet of paper.
I'm sorry
Umi tapped the pen lightly on the edge of the paper, leaving a blotch of ink under the nib. Tears were welling back up in her eyes. She angrily blinked them away and finished writing in a rush.
I'm sorry.
You're still a prat, but I miss you.
~Umi
.*.*.*.
To be continued...
In the next chapter: In which Clef confronts Umi about her health... again.
Also, natto is awful, tights are terrible, and - as always - Umi is more powerful than she realises.
Note: I hope you enjoyed reading this addition. All feedback is loved and appreciated.