Set after the manga. Very mild spoilers for the very end of the manga. Rating for mild sexual references. I don't own Magic Knight Rayearth—but if CLAMP ever decides to sell Ascot, I'll be first in line!

The Talk

Sunlight streamed in through the window of the large room, sparkling on the polished floor.

The glow fell across the table where three of Cephiro's palace residents were enjoying the morning. Everyone else had left to engage in chores or other activities, leaving Ascot, Caldina, and Guru Clef alone at the table. The three were quite happy to just relax and talk. There wasn't much to worry about, with the Pillar crisis over and everything.

"It's a nice day," Ascot pointed out. "I mean, it's always a nice day, but today seems…I don't know, nicer?" He paused. "That doesn't make any sense. Gomen ne."

"It does seem more pleasant," Clef agreed.

"It's 'cause the girls're visitin' again!" Caldina squealed happily in her ever present drawl. "I swear, those three jus' brighten this place, ya know?"

Two nods met her statement.

"They do have something about them, don't they?" Clef commented.

They heard voices approaching, and turned as the door opened.

"Speak of the devils," Clef murmured with a slight chuckle.

Ascot just took one look at Umi and went straight to the verge of spontaneous combustion.

The three Legendary Magic Knights of Cephiro strolled in, chatting amiably amongst themselves. Well, perhaps it wasn't right to call them the Magic Knights anymore. The mashin were gone, along with Mokona. So basically, the trio was just your average three girls from another world. Nothing major.

Fuu seemed to be in the middle of telling a story, and the conversation around the table died to listen to the second half of her tale—which, judging by the way she was telling it, was quite interesting.

"…and then his mother turns to me and asks me to explain it to him!" she said with a sigh. "I mean, I love my little cousin to death and everything. He's a sweet kid. But I don't think it's my job to be explaining that to him. That's a parent's job."

"Did you tell him, though?" Umi asked, grinning.

"Yes, I gave him The Talk," Fuu replied with a sigh. She put a slight emphasis on the last two words to mark their importance. "And then I went and told my parents about it. They thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard."

Hikaru giggled. "You gave a five year old The Talk?"

"Regretfully," Fuu said mournfully, then turned to acknowledge the others in the room. "Konnichiwa, everyone! Did we interrupt something?"

"Not at all," Clef shook his head, making the jewels on his headpiece fly a little.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Caldina bubbled, ever cheerful.

Umi laughed and tossed her hair absently with one hand; Ascot went even a little redder. "Fuu was just telling us how she was visiting her aunt and uncle and her cousins, and she ended up having to give her five year old cousin The Talk, and—"

Clef cut in at that moment. "The Talk?"

All conversation in the room came to a screeching halt, and a very heavy silence descended on the room with an audible thunk.

"The Talk," Umi repeated, as Fuu and Hikaru suddenly looked a little uncomfortable.

"What's The Talk?" the Master Mage persisted.

Umi's eyes darted back and forth nervously. "You don't know what The Talk is."

"No…"

"The Birds and the Bees?" Hikaru suggested.

He shook his head, as did Caldina behind him. Ascot just sat there, blushing and looking blank.

"The Facts of Life?" Fuu chimed.

Negative.

Umi sighed; apparently, she had already had enough. "The Talk. The Sex Talk." She ignored the fact that comprehension had dawned on Clef's face, and that he had gone a shade paler. "You know, the thing you say when little kids ask where babies come from. When a man and woman fall in love, and they want to have a baby, they do this? That talk." She paused, then, a little nervously, added, "You do know where babies come from, right?"

The Master Mage looked a little irritated at that question. "Yes, Umi. I do."

Caldina giggled. "Well, it's not that big a mystery!"

"On Earth, that little speech is commonly known as The Talk," Fuu explained. "Or the birds and the bees speech. Or the facts of life. All children ask about it, all parents dread explaining it."

"But Fuu's already had practice!" Hikaru started laughing, and the others smiled and laughed.

Well, all the others except one.

Umi noticed it first. "Ascot, you look a little blank."

He started. "Well…ano…" He seemed to shrink into himself a little as everyone looked at him. He had never been very comfortable as the complete center of attention.

Umi stared at him for a long moment before it clicked in her head, like a light bulb turning on. "You never had this discussion, did you?" He shook his head. "You don't know where babies come from, do you?" Another negative response. "Do you know what sex is?"

He shook his head again, not taking his gaze from the tabletop. At least, that's where she guessed he was looking. His bangs were happily obscuring his eyes.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became not only dead quiet, but also extremely uncomfortable. Fuu coughed delicately.

Umi looked around at each of the others in the room, but no one seemed very forthcoming. Finally, she threw her hands up in the air and sighed. "Fine. I'll do it!"

Everyone shifted their stares away from Ascot to look at her. The way they were gawking at her, one would have thought she had just grown horns and a tail. "U-Umi…" Caldina actually stammered, momentarily losing that energetic confidence of hers. "Are you sure? I can do it, if—"

"Relax. It's okay," the Water Knight nodded confidently. "He's in good hands."

She strolled over to Ascot's chair and looped her arm through his, using that as leverage to hoist him to his feet. "Okay, Ascot, you and I are going to have a little chat." Keeping her elbow linked with his, she half-led, half-dragged him towards the door. "Why don't you go out in the hallway? We'll talk out there. I'll be out in just a second."

He obeyed without a word, glowing a shade of crimson that would have made Rayearth himself jealous. Umi had touched his arm. Actual physical contact. It was a miracle his nose wasn't bleeding waterfalls. And it was moments like those that made him feel pretty darn pathetic.

Once he had stepped out, Umi darted over and leaned across the table to whisper to Caldina. "You might want to ask Lafarga or Lantis to come down here. I have a feeling we might have to pick Ascot up off the floor once this is over."

She finished that statement with a conspiratorial wink, earning a laugh and a nod from the Chizetan dancer. That done, Umi turned and strolled casually out into the hall where Ascot was waiting; she pulled the heavy door closed behind her before looking up at the tall young Palu.

"So what is it you want to tell me?" he said, inordinately proud that he managed to put an entire coherent sentence together and then say it without stuttering like a moron. "What's this Talk?"

Umi smile was calm, even though her insides had suddenly done a backflip. Okay, I can do this… She put on her best smile and started talking in her best 'explaining things to a confused child' voice. "Well, Ascot, let's start this off with the classic parental line. When a man and a woman fall in love, and they want to have a baby, they have sex."