Title: Runs in the Family
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: Teen
Length: ~1350 words
Content notes: unplanned pregnancy
Author notes: This is a bit of nonsense that happened with down and I were discussing a current fic of mine and if the 'family tradition' would continue.

Summary: By all rights, it could have been expected, but it was still surprising, nonetheless.



"Just remember it runs in the family," Umi's mother had laughed while making Clef a cup of tea one sleep-deprived night that first week they'd brought the baby home. "Don't be surprised if you also become a grandparent sooner than you expected."

Clef had stared down at the tiny child in his arms and shook his head. It was too early to think about that. That was too many years off. There were far more important things to worry about.

It would be over forty years before he thought of his mother-in-law's words again.

.*.*.*.

It was a beautiful day, and Clef was taking full advantage of it. Now that Umi had taken on the role of Guru, he found himself with a lot more free time. Well, as much free time as one got with a baby who was just beginning to walk.

If anyone had told him that he would be a father of four by the time he had retired as Guru he would have laughed in their face. Let alone having a fifth within the first year of his retirement. (Someone should probably make a note that magic-based contraceptives were not effective during the period of power exchange required for transferring such a powerful role to another. Trading Guru for Warden, probably didn't help any. That much magic was bound to overwhelm any sort of spell.)

Clef was watching his youngest child toddle over to the edge of the blanket, offering the crust of bread in her hands to a small flock of curious birds, when a set of very loud feet crunched along the gravel path.

He turned to see Minaha, his second oldest, storming toward him in a cloud of exasperation.

Flinging her bag to the ground, she dropped down beside him on the blanket. She picked up a piece of bread from the basket in front of them and ripped it in half before shoving the impossibly large piece into her mouth.

It was still far too early for her to have finished her shift at the apothecary where she'd been doing work experience, and she wasn't normally the one to lose her temper for no reason.

Something had happened.

She scrubbed angrily at her eyes as she chewed the second half of the bread, and Clef cast a glance as Saki - who was now watching cheerfully as the birds were pecking at the bit of bread she'd thrown at them - then reached over and poured more tea into his cup before offering it to Minaha.

"Bad day?" he asked.

"Definitely not good," she agreed, taking the cup from him.

"Anything I can do?"

Minaha let out a bitter laugh. Clef took another good look at her, unsure if that meant he couldn't or that he shouldn't try to help. She had a fierce independent streak that had reared its head rather violently when she thought she'd gotten her preferred work experience placement based on who her parents were, and not on her own merit. It was finally Aveo and Getz who made her see reason when neither Umi or Clef could.

"That a no, then?" he ventured, and Minaha harrumphed at him. "Want to tell me about it?"

Face wrinkling up in disgust as she downed the tea in one go and slammed the cup down on the ground before turning to face Clef, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'd been having such a good week, you know? I was getting things right on the first go, and Master Balilla even said I was doing really well." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes again. "But today, I walk in and I barely finish saying good morning before she takes one look at me and tells - no shouts at me to get out of her workroom. And you know me, I shouted right back, and she accused me of being obstinate when I demanded an explanation."

Clef shifted and took a deep breath, waiting for the explanation, because he'd be stalking down to the village to give Balilla a piece of his mind for treating his daughter poorly.

"Then she had the nerve to send me to the Healers without telling me why." She flailed out her hands in exasperation. "It's not like I knew!"

The pieces slowly clicked into place and Clef let out sigh. "Oh, Mina."

"I'm old enough," she huffed, sounding far too much like her mother. "So don't go getting all protective on me."

"I'll be protective if I want to," Clef said, ruffling her hair. Minaha swatted his hand away, and he sighed again. "So, is there a partner we're going to meet or was this a solo venture?"

"More like a group project, I guess." She picked a bit of fluff off the end of her robes. "It wasn't - it wasn't supposed to be - serious, you know. We were just messing around, and I thought - obviously, I was wrong, or we messed something up."

Clef handed over a handkerchief as her tears started again. "It would be polite to let them know, whether or not you see this through to the end."

"What am I going to say?" she wailed. "Oops, we made a baby?"

"That's always a good start." Clef smiled. "At least it's not treason."

Minaha blinked at him, but anything she may have said was cut off by a loud squeal as Saki came running back over to them with her hand closed tightly about something. She crawled into Clef's lap and held out her hand, uncurling her fingers to reveal a little green beetle that was looking a little worse for the wear.

"Oh, poor thing," Clef said, cupping his hands under Saki's little one. "We mustn't hold it so tightly."

He cast a simple healing spell that either fixed any injury or simply disturbed it because the little insect opened it's wings a moment later and flew off. Saki clapped her hands with glee as it disappeared from sight, but her face fell when she looked over at her sister. She crawled off Clef's knee and over to Minaha, giving her a much-needed hug.

Minaha pulled Saki close as she looked up at Clef. "I don't know what I want to do, Baba."

"It's okay. You don't have to decide today." Clef reached over and wrapped his arms around her.

.*.*.*.

Umi's reaction to the news was to burst out laughing. She laughed until she was crying and could hardly breathe. Minaha probably hadn't expected her mother to crack up, which was probably why she'd gone from apologetic to glaring before Umi pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh, baby, how did this happen?" Umi was trying her best to sound more reassuring than amused. She knew perfectly well how terrifying it could be, but she was having a hard time not finding it funny.

"Well, obviously I had sex," Minaha bit out.

"You don't say," Umi laughed. "With anyone I know?"

"Just Demio and Kuga," Minaha muttered. "I'm not - We're not together."

Umi ruffled her hair. "Just Demio and Kuga, huh?" Of course her child wouldn't do anything halfway. Why have one lover, when you can have two? "I'm guessing it was close together or both together, so we don't know which of them -" She waved a hand at Minaha and bit her lip.

"It's not like I meant for this to happen."

"I know. Trust me, I know." Umi patted her on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go have something to eat, and then you can go to bed. We can talk about this more after you've had some sleep. No big decisions need to be made tonight. These things don't have to be rushed."

Guiding her daughter down the corridor toward the kitchen, Umi shook her head. Only last week they'd been over at Mama and Papa's house, and Mama had pulled her aside to say she 'ought to keep an eye' on Minaha.

Umi didn't know how her mother knew, but she always did.