A/N:

Another early update because this Sunday will be The Worst™

Ruumiinmultaa – Korpiklaani (if you ever want some Finnish folk metal, check Korpiklaani out.)

Although Umi did have her driver's licence, it didn't mean she liked to pursue the activity. It made her nervous, and Eli had a vivid memory of Umi having a near panic attack a few years ago when they were stuck in traffic on a road trip from Tokyo to Nagoya.

Needless to say that Eli was slightly fearing for her life as Umi dashed zoomed through the traffic to get to Lily White.

"So are you going to tell me what happened, or will I die in a car crash not knowing?" Eli gripped onto the handle above the door for dear life as Umi narrowly missed a red light.

"A legal matter."

"A what?"

Umi karate-chopped the indicator down and swerved violently into the right-hand lane.

"So, you know how Hanayo got that tattoo, and how Rin was the one who actually did it? For an apprentice to do a tattoo on a real client, there's a few forms that have to be signed by the tattoo master."

Umi chewed on her snakebite again as she revved through another yellow light.

"Nozomi…didn't sign the forms."

Eli's heart dropped into her stomach, just as Umi nearly rolled the car into a parking spot outside of the studio. The two got out of the car and headed to the glass doors of the shop, a pit of anxiety swirling in both of their stomachs.

When Eli pushed the studio's door open, a wave of despair crashed over her. The entire interior of the place looked completely normal, but there was an aura of despair that seeped through. Rin was leaning against the corner, her head in her hands.

"Oh no," Umi walked right up to the apprentice and placed a hand on her shoulder. Eli could practically feel the girl's sorrow radiating throughout the studio, that seemed darker for some reason. The florist noticed that none of the stations were set up, and the lilies on the counter were on the verge of death. It was taking all of her self-restraint to not tend to them. There were more important things than looking after flowers at the current time.

"Rin, calm down. This is all fixable, I hope," the final part of Umi's sentence wavered as the ginger's head snapped up. Her eyes were bloodshot red, and there was snot trickling out of her nostril like a broken tap.

"How could I be so stupid?! I fucked up!" Her normally energetic yet smooth voice was shaking furiously, and her knuckles turned white against the counter. Umi continued to rub the apprentice's back as she softly spoke over the wailing that had started up again.

"We're going to sort this out, maybe you'll just get a warning or something, but we will deal with this mess, just stay calm,"

"Rin, it was a really good tattoo," Eli offered, but that swirling black hole of anxiety was something she couldn't shake. Rin's hysterics continued as Eli's eyes lingered on the breakroom door, that was currently shut.

"You better go see her," Umi followed Eli's gaze and urged her on.

"I'll take care of Rin."

The blonde nodded, and strode off towards the door.

The break room door was actually hand painted by Nozomi herself: it features a renaissance-style piece of blue skies with clouds, and an angel holding a telescope of some kind. The expression on the angel's face was as though she was swooning over something.

'It's a pure love lens,' Nozomi had told Eli, as she sat cross-legged on the ground with her acrylic paints in hand two years ago, painting at a leisurely pace.

Sure enough, that was not the feeling Eli was getting from the door today.

She knocked lightly on the angel's wing, calling out her girlfriend's name as she did so.

When there was no response, the florist lightly pushed on the door, causing it to open. Eli took a deep breath, and entered.

There, sitting at the desk with stacks of papers, was Nozomi. She looked a real mess: Her eyes were also red and irritated, and her hands were shaking as she rearranged the stack on her left.

Eli ran forward and grabbed Nozomi's hands.

"We messed up, Elichi," was the croak of a response to the action. Eli sighed and tried to force Nozomi to look at her. She wasn't even going to snap at her for the real cigarette that was in the corner of her mouth.

"It was one form?" Eli perched herself on the edge of the desk, staring at the flowers on Nozomi's left arm.

"One. Normally, this wouldn't be too much of an issue, but he's taking this to court." Nozomi practically spat out the last part as she took out a small lot of papers and threw them down onto her desk. She began sifting through with a heavy frown on her face. Eli hated seeing Nozomi angry. It was incredibly rare and disturbing.

"How did he even find out?!" Eli instantly knew who he was.

"The daily reports, Elichi. We send them off to the business management to show proof of our sales," Nozomi answered almost instantly, skimming the papers so quickly and shoving them aside.

"But surely they'd overlook this!" Eli's voice rose in panic, and she jumped back when Nozomi slammed her fists onto the table. Papers went flying.

"It's Rin's first tattoo! How could they overlook this mistake?! It's like selling alcohol to a minor!" She looked her girlfriend dead in the eye and grit her teeth. It was such a simple mistake, such an easy screw up, and she was getting the cane for it.

"Normally you'd just get a fine for that sort of thing, wouldn't you?!" Eli could feel all humanity leave the room. Normally, if one of them was in a panic, the other would calm them down: they worked together like that. They were both riddled with anxiety at that present moment, there was no proper support, and they were going to snap.

"You're correct on that one, but-"

Nozomi didn't have time to finish her sentence, because Umi came into the break room with store phone in her hand.

"Nozomi, I know this is a really bad time to ask, but can you do any tattoos today?"

The look the artist gave the piercer could've killed her three times over.

"No."

"What?!" Umi nearly dropped the phone as Nozomi stood up from her desk. Her twin-tails sparked upwards with the motion.

"Umi, we're shutting the store for today. Neither me or Rin will be doing any tattoos until this mess is sorted out."

"But-"

"No buts, Umi," Nozomi snapped, staring daggers at the blue-haired girl.

"My father is trying to take this matter to court for illegal activity within the workforce. His witness is Mrs. Minami: our new landlord."

Umi and Eli looked at each other with gaping mouths. Nozomi hung her head and let out a shaky sigh.

"I know it's what he wants. He wants me to stop, and this issue will get worse if I tattoo anyone while it unfolds. You can still pierce if you want, though, just double – no – triple check the forms you give your clients."

"Bu-"

"UMI!" Nozomi slammed her hands down on the desk, making the wooden structure shake uneasily. Eli and Umi both jumped, and the latter even took a step back, raising her hands in a manner of self defence.

"For once in your life, please know when to stop talking," Nozomi's voice was now dangerously soft. Her breathing was becoming heavier by the second as she let her head fall into her chest again.

"I'm closing for today, everyone needs to leave."

"What about your client for 1pm?"

Nozomi lifted her head and extended a hand.

"Please give me the phone."

Umi looked down at the phone, noticing the caller on the other end had hung up, probably due to the fiasco happening inside the store, and passed it over to the owner.

"I'm going to post-pone it."

The door to Lily White was shut half an hour later. Nozomi locked it with her keys, then leaned her head against the door, letting out another sigh.

"How could I be so stupid," she muttered, closing her eyes and letting her breath fog up the glass door. Eli, who was standing next to her, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you're not stupid," her voice was soft, but wavered as she was trying her best to not let that familiar black pit of anxiety engulf her again. Nozomi was broken, it was evident everywhere, and Eli had to do her best to shake her own worries away to help her soulmate. The temperature must have dropped even more as they turned around to face the street. Some people in the shop opposite them were staring intently at the eclectic group: three pierced women and a blonde.

"Rin, is Hanayo working today?" Umi had her arm around the apprentice's shoulder. She had not stopped crying at all, and was only able to nod.

"Did you want a lift anywhere?"

Another nod, and Umi gave a small smile and unlocked the Fiat again.

"Eli, Nozomi, would you like a lift home too?"

"No, it's fine. I'll walk home," Nozomi's monotone mumble came with a weak wave. Eli looked sadly at the broken woman next to her, and Umi let out a sigh.

"Eli, are you heading back to work?"

"No, I'll stay with Nozo-"

"Go to work, Elichi."

"Excuse me?!" Eli took a step back to look at Nozomi. She clenched her fists and scowled.

"You are in no state to be by yourself! Nico can handle the store by herself,"

"Elichi, just…leave me be, please," Nozomi turned to face the blonde with a sad smile twitching at her lips.

"Is Maki-chan working today?"

"No, it's her day off – why would you go talk to Maki instead of me?!" Eli's fists started shaking, but Nozomi shook her head.

"It's not that, I just need her to recommend me a lawyer…" Nozomi's emerald gaze turned to the ground as her own fists clenched.

"I need to be prepared. Who knows what he'll try to do."

Umi nodded.

"Maki's family owns a large business themselves, so they must have a rather large legal team, perhaps they could help us out?"

"I doubt she'd say no," Eli tucked a loose stray of blonde hair behind her ear, and bit her lip.

"I'll call mum to let her know that I'll won't be taking Alisa to ballet…I'll come straight home," Eli took out her phone and tapped at the screen quickly.

"Here, I texted you Maki's number. Give her a call, and let me know when you come home, okay?" The blonde then put her phone back in her pocket, and cupped Nozomi's cheek lightly.

"Just please take care of yourself, and don't try to kill anyone with your tattoo gun," She placed a kiss on the other cheek, and drew back to walk down the road, pulling out her phone again and placing it to her ear.

Nozomi dipped her head.

"It's a tattoo machine, not a gun."

Someone give Nozomi a snickers and let's all #Pray4Umi

*NEVER call a tattoo machine a 'tattoo gun.' You'll get the dirtiest look from the artist.