Malfunction [fairly mad short fic...]

[Down]

Well, as two people appreciated it, I might as well put it here? ^^   *not procrastinating, nope...*

gen, Clef, Umi.

notes: Anime based, for once... This snippet assumes that the knights got back to Cephiro by some different route, Clef didn't transport Umi and Fuu back, and knock himself out in the process. Set the moment Umi gets back to the castle. XD  This is so not what I meant to write for this idea. ^^;

/.../ = italics (for emphasis) because I can't be bothered to recode them for this, not today. XD;;;





"CLEF! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The sound of Umi storming through the castle was nearly drowned out by the sudden rainstorm that broke against the castle windows, water sheeting down from the previously clear sky to assault the corridor Clef was walking along. Umi was still, however, making enough noise to be heard over it. He blinked up at the now-translucent windows for a moment, then turned to the direction of her voice.

His first thought was simple relief she was back, safe, and (from the lively volume of her voice) not badly hurt.

...Then he thought to wonder why she was yelling at him. But the chance to disappear from the corridor was gone by then; the water knight rounded the corner.

Umi was striding out without any hint of stiffness or pain, there was no bruising he could see - she looked untouched, despite the fact that she was raging mad, and his hand finally released its white-knuckled grip on his staff. He'd been tense ever since the knights were taken, and would pay for it now: his hand was beginning to ache and tremble from the abused tendons, and his neck and shoulders weren't much better. Not that he would let anyone see that.

Clef stood up straight, and found himself smiling at Umi. "I'm glad to see that you have returned safely."

"Never mind /that/, I need to speak with you about THIS!" Umi thrust her gloved hand before his face.

Clef blinked. "About what?"

"THIS!" She waved her hand violently, and he had to lean back a little before she clipped his nose. "And clothes that VANISH when you take it off!"

"...What?" How could she take her hand off? There was something Clef wasn't tracking right here, he knew, and he frowned a little in confusion as Umi started waving both her hands at him.

"The /sword/ I could understand, even the armour - but NOT my CLOTHES! This thing is broken! I want a new one! It didn't do that the /last/ time you gave us one - has your magic gone wonky? Because /something's/ not right..."

"...Are you saying" Clef began, slowly, "that when you took the glove off, your armour disappeared?" Because the dawning suspicion that made more sense of her words /couldn't/ be right. It just... it /couldn't/, why would it have... "because that is what's meant to happen - the glove is a part of the armour, so..."

"/No/. I am SAYING that when the glove was taken off, /all my clothes/ vanished! Not JUST my armour. Everything I had on!"

Clef stared, feeling his face beginning to turn crimson. ??Um. That?s not supposed to happen??

?I KNOW!?

She snapped at him, glaring, and Clef glared back. ??Though why you felt the need to take off the glove in the middle of enemy territory and find out is beyond me.?

?I did not /take it off/, Clef.? She hissed, through bared teeth. ?I was a /prisoner/, remember? It was /taken from me/.?

??Ah.? Clef was back to staring, but his face was rather more white than red now. ?Um? are you alright? You?re not ? you weren?t ??

?I?m fine. I even got a new outfit from it, I didn?t have time to stop and return the clothes the Princesses leant me when I was escaping.?

?Thank the spirits?? Clef jerked his free hand through the air and collapsed down into the chair he summoned before it even finished forming, letting the staff stand free so he could rub over his face with both hands. He needed more sleep to cope with things like this.

A moment later, he pulled himself together and let his hands drop, to discover the mistake he?d made.

Umi leant forwards, one hand braced on the chair either side of his shoulders, clearly still very angry. ?What I do /not/ know is what happened to Fuu. Or to /Hikaru/. And if something happened to either of them??

Clef squeaked (in a terribly undignified manner. Not that you /can/ squeak in a dignified manner).

?So you?d better /fix this/. Soon.? She stood up, then grinned, suddenly. ?Besides, if something /did/ happen to either of them, I?m not the only one who?ll be out for your blood. You might even be better off if I found you first ? Presea?s got all sorts of weapons in that storeroom of hers? and I think Caldina has a key to it, even.?


end

[suzanami]

I can't stop laughing.

<3

[Sidherequiem]

I cant believe I missed reading this somehow! Wonderful!

Which reminds me about the challenge fic group that seems to have died....
humm...

[Down]

Glad I could amuse people. XD

I'd be up for a fic challenge group (I could do with people guilting me into writing more again, honestly. ^^;) How about reviving it?

[Sidherequiem]

sounds good. lol. If I can ever guilt myself into finishing anything myself. >.>