January 2, Winter, year 36

Still haven't been able to get the boys alone. I'll have to harass them into listening soon. Skye just drops when he gets in…

Hmm…

It just didn't feel right to bring it up during the past two days either… they're supposed to be happy times at festivals after all.

I'll leave it for a few more days, but I should hurry. The longer I delay, the more likely it becomes that Toshi may actually attempt to kill Dai.

-Year's End festival-

"We're going to see fireworks?" Alan's yip was a gleeful one, and it was echoed by his twin.

"Indeed," Skye's smile was tired, but warm. "Though they're not going to be quite the same as the ones made by Patrick and Kassey."

Claire giggled slightly.

"The zombie twins!" she joked, as she brushed Meri's hair into the customary pigtails.

"They never die!" the rest of the family chorused.

It was an amusing truth, Patrick and Kassey, along with Takakura, were the oldest human residents in the Valley. And they were still making the best fireworks around.

"Do we have to be around people?" Lauren asked, a touch plaintively as she tied her hair back.

"Only for a short while. And it shouldn't be too bad, this night and tomorrow morning are one of the rare times no one wears their robes," Skye smiled at the startled expressions.

"No one at all?" Jamie blinked. "So does that mean Grandma will be nicer?"

Claire snickered at Skye's expression. He seemed to be torn between play-acting annoyance, or laughing. Lauren giggled.

"Somehow, I don't think anything will make her lighten up," she said dryly.

~~

It was crowded, and noisy in the pavilions, even those separated by walls instead of gauze. But there was a feeling of general cheer pervading over the celebrations. Some of the People were obviously drunk, even though it was still almost two hours til midnight. The sky overhead was a dark velvety blue, but lacked the stars of the real night sky.

Still, it was better than nothing, and the darkness would better show of the brilliant splashes of color that the fireworks would cast.

Children ran here and there, with sparklers trailing flickers of light behind them, carrying sugary sweets, or just generally running around and having fun.

Booths were set up, there was a fish-scooping game, a ring toss, a dart game, a fishing game… everywhere that Claire and her family looked, there was something to do that caused bright laughter and activity.

Almost immediately, everyone scattered, promising to meet back at the water's edge for the fireworks at midnight. Alan and Mirei ran to find Yue, Jamie wanted a closer look at some of the food stands—Lauren teased him about being a bottomless pit—and Lauren herself went to find where the music was coming from, hoping to join in. After a few minutes, Hoshiko and Hotaru spotted Meri. After several minutes of Hoshi's pleading Meredith had reluctantly agreed to separate from her mother and go play, Hotaru promising to keep an eye on her as they walked away.

Claire let off a quiet, relieved sigh. Skye, hearing it, chuckled softly. He understood, she got testy and mopey in turns when she was carrying children, and she was always worried about taking those feelings out on the children.

Then there was the fact that because she was pregnant everyone was crowding her, in the most familial way possible.

He gently tucked an arm around her waist, and pulled her in a quieter direction. Claire followed quite readily, leaning her head against his shoulder comfortably. Her eyes flicked in as many directions as possible, taking in a sight that she would likely never see again… by choice, for that matter. Once they were quit of the place, she wanted nothing more than to keep her feet planted firmly on the Earth.

They walked quietly for a short while, a small piece of silence in a sea of noise, light and sound. Claire just savored his arm around her, putting all thoughts of plans to draw Toshi out and get him caught red-handed. There would be time later to speak of it.

Skye rested his cheek lightly against the top of her blonde hair, glad for the release in his own way. Toshi's idiocy of killing Hikari had put not two, but four different palaces up in arms. Promising them the killer would be found had been the easy part, but telling them that they couldn't have him had brought problems to even more dangerous heights.

It made him wish that Kaemon and Daisuke hadn't told Tsukiko… She was being difficult about letting them decide Toshihiro's eventual punishment, and impeding the process every step of the way.

Not to mention they had no idea how to effectively catch Toshi. Hikari's recorded testimony would certainly help in implicating him, but proving he'd done everything would be what the Council wanted.

He let out a faint, tired sigh, and forced the subject from his mind. It was a festival for the next two days, better to linger on that instead of the insurmountable problems facing him.

And he wasn't even King-elect anymore…

Claire poked him lightly in the ribs, and pointed across the grounds, laughter dancing in her eyes. He followed her finger, then snorted himself to see the people playing "Dunk the King."

Daisuke was sitting on a platform suspended above a tank of water, and had clearly already taken a trip or two into it.

"Should we?" a mischievous grin curled Claire's lips, and was quickly matched by Skye's.

Without another word they meandered over, and joined in the fun.

~~

Skye had insisted she sit while he ran for something to eat, and Claire had been all too ready to comply. After dunking Daisuke three times in five, the new king had laughingly called it quits and handed the dunking seat off to another volunteer. He and Tsuyu had stuck around them for a while, laughing and chattering before Dai had been pulled away by someone else to discuss… something, Claire hadn't been sure what. Tsuyu had followed him after a few minutes.

After that they had run into Kaemon and Hari, who was showing their three-year-old around the festival. Claire had gone gooey over the child and had gotten into a conversation with Akahari about the difficulties of child-bearing, and multiple child-bearing—though it had always been worth it—while the boys discussed something in low tones. Kimiko had poked at Claire's stomach in awe when she was told that her Aunty was going to have not one, but three babies.

This had been followed by the revelation that Akahari herself was pregnant, which had naturally led to complaining about the teleportation system. Kaemon and Skye had literally had to pull the women out of their conversations, towing them in opposite directions. Claire proceeded to tease him mercilessly about it for the next hour.

At which point she was tiring quickly, and it had led to the rest she was currently taking. She leaned back on the bench, a fond smile crossing her lips as she watched the crowds coming and going antics.

Children ran here and there, making the pinwheels they held rattle and whirl in a mix of confusing colors. Well, most of the runners were kids, but there was more than a few adults mixed in.

It was still a sea of silver though, and it made her long for the brown of her little sister's hair, the dark black of Marlin's, the bright red of Nami's, and even the pink of Popuri, though she wouldn't have been at the Valley or the town this time of the year… Homesickness hit her in a sudden wave and she closed her blue eyes tightly, swallowing back the sudden lump in her throat.

Several minutes passed in which she allowed the sounds of the festival to just wash over her. It wasn't a balm, but it was a distraction, and allowed her to pull herself back into control.

This was followed by Skye's return with roasted corn, and something he called 'takoyaki.' Which actually wasn't half bad. And soda, of a type she didn't quite know of. But it was delicious, and after several minutes, she felt her energy returning, enough so that she was able to watch the fireworks with her family.

~~
-New Year's Day-

"Sleep more today love," Skye chuckled, tucking the blankets more firmly around his wife. "You're not going to be missing much, and an over-abundance of wine wouldn't be good for you."

The look she gave him was only mildly annoyed, since the children would be staying with her. Unlike the festival at home, there were no sticky rice cakes for the children to eat, this was strictly an adults only festival.

Skye himself would only be in attendance for a short while; the only way he liked wine was in his cooking, and the only reason he was going was because he was still a Prince—at least as far as blood ties were concerned.

Miharu and Tenshi had both promised to stop by, Miharu to give Claire a check-up, and Tenshi to share gossip. Both had been scarce lately, busy with other things, mostly connected to the murders of Suiren and Hikari, so it was to be the first chat with them in almost a month.

Claire was quite looking forward to it. She needed to talk to someone, and until she could pin down her two brother-in-laws and her husband to discuss her plan…

The blonde blew her husband a kiss as he left, and settled in to wait.

~~~

Had a nice long talk with Miharu about the babies, and names I'm trying to decide on, and I was able to talk to Ten-chan about the idea. She actually suggested a few modifications to it, which I like. Sorta.

And I made Skye promise to take me along with him when he, Kaemon and Daisuke gather in the library. He's a bit miffed that I won't tell him why, but I really don't have the energy to repeat myself…