Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue.

*cough* I know... gomen, gomen, gomen... I know I took WAY too long and this chapter is WAY too short, but I updated, right? ^^;; Sorry for taking so long, Gackt-sama is very distracting... _

On to Chapter 7!

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Clef's chest heaved up and down as he breathed raggedly. It had been a great number of hours since his collapse, and his condition had not improved. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and Presea wiped the drops of perspiration away with a damp cloth. She knelt by Clef's bedside, Umi beside her. Umi held Clef's hand as he tossed restlessly in feverish sleep.

Suddenly, the door clicked open and Lantis rushed inside. He approached Clef's bed and placed a hand to the mage's forehead before pulling away when his hand came in contact with hot skin. He quickly checked Clef's pulse and sighed.

"It's poison," he muttered in disbelief.

"Poison?" Presea repeated. "But how did poison find its way into the castle?"

Lantis only shrugged, but turned when he heard the door open again—it was Eagle.

"Is he alright?" Eagle asked.

"He's been poisoned," Lantis replied, and his tone turned harsh. "I want the castle to be searched immediately. Surely there is a traitor in our midst—the culprit! I want him found... and killed."

Eagle nodded firmly, and swiftly exited the room. Lantis turned back to Umi and Presea.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Umi asked, motioning to Clef.

Lantis sighed. "I can purge the poison from his blood, but it is a long and strenuous process."

"As long as you can cure him..." Umi whispered. Lantis nodded.

For a moment, there was silence. Umi sniffled once and Presea laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Lantis stared at Clef solemnly, his dark eyes shining hesitantly. Finally, he let out a deep sigh a spoke in his deep, baritone voice, "I—" he paused. "—I don't think you should stay to watch."

Umi's eyes widened, and she finally caught the hint, seeing it as a suggestion that she make her leave. Grabbing Umi's hand, Presea gently led her out of the room. After she got Umi safely away, she turned back and glanced at Lantis, "I hope you know what you're doing..."

Lantis nodded as if to say, 'Of course.'

Sighing again, Presea turned and left, closing the door behind her. Lantis looked back down at Clef and placed a shaking hand over his body. Exhaling slowly, he mentally stabled himself. As he began to focus his powers on the mage, he closed his eyes and whispered, "Forgive me, Clef."

He suddenly focused all his magic, aiming it directly at the poison circulating through Clef's veins and began to purge the poison from the man's system. At that moment, Clef's pained cry echoed through the entire castle.

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Hours later, Lantis emerged from Clef's chambers, sweaty and tired. Presea, who had been standing nearby for the past half-hour while waiting for Lantis, ran to the swordsman and supported him.

"How is he?" Presea asked gently.

"He's fine," Lantis breathed. "Recovery will take a while, but... in the long run, he'll be fine."

Presea nodded and showed Lantis to a chair. Eagle approached from behind them, and Lantis looked up at Eagle, awaiting a report, "Did you find anything."

Eagle shook his head, "Nothing. I have placed guards at every end of the castle. If anything unusual happens, we will know immediately."

Lantis nodded and was about to say something more when he heard footsteps coming towards them quickly. He looked past Eagle to see Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu racing towards them. The three girls skidded past Presea and right into Clef's room.

Presea laughed lightly and gestured to the rushed ex-demon slayers, "They wouldn't sit still, they were so worried about Clef."

Eagle smiled, but Lantis stayed solemn. Presea went to the doorframe and watched as Hikaru and Umi hovered over Clef's sleeping form while Fuu looked back at Presea.

"Will he be alright?" Fuu inquired.

Presea nodded, "Yes."

Fuu smiled, "Good."

By Clef's bed, Umi was trying to control her tears. Presea approached behind her and assured her of Clef's recovery.

"Don't worry, Umi!" Hikaru said, feeling the overwhelming urge to give her friend a big, comforting hug. "He'll be fine, we just have to be patient."

After a while, Lantis entered and explained that Clef's road to recovery would be long, and they shouldn't disturb him. Although Clef was sleeping soundly and unlikely to wake for a few days, he not-so-subtly suggested they leave. After much protest, everyone left the room, and Clef was alone with only his dreams and the sound of his even breathing for company.

However, no one took notice to the small sparrow sitting on the window sill. Its cold black eyes glinted evilly and thin scars covered its small body. Ozumo, although he couldn't frown in the feathered form, inwardly glowered. He failed to kill the mage—Shimizu would be upset with him. However, with Clef temporarily out of action, it left the opportunity to attack Umi wide open. If Ozumo could smirk, he would—this time, when he attacked the girl, there would be no one there to save her.

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Here's chapter 7! I'm sorry it's so short after you guys waited so long, but hey! Now you know Clef's gonna live, right? ANYWAYS, review responses are below:

hyper-health-critic: No! He didn't dieee! . I, myself, would probably cry if I killed of Clef-kun!! *cough* Anyways, thank you so much for reviewing!

inu87yasha: Merry (belated) Christmas to you, too! LOL Thanks for reviewing!

Yun Fei: *brings out her shield to deflect flying food objects* Nope, I wouldn't let Clef die! I would cry... ;_; (And that rhymed... wow, I am sadly pathetic.)

Kawaii Spinel Queen of Evil: Yay!! Your complement means a lot to me! ^^ Thank you~!

Sab- Clef Lover: I haven't -forgotten- exactly... I'm just a lazy ass... Sorry for taking so long. Thanks for reviewing!

hikaru_29: I honestly wasn't quite sure whether your review was a flame or not... It's rather hard to tell. Thank you for reviewing, though! About Ozumo's perseverance, it's kinda sorta meant to annoy people slightly. ^^;; Arigatou!

shazzam: Here's your chapter! Sorry it took so long and is so short. ;-; Thanks you reviewing!

Hyper-Citrus: LOL I think I might be back for good now... But I'm not making any promises, considering last time I said I was back I took a four month hiatus... Thank you for reviewing!

CrazyIceTenshi: I'm glad you liked the part of Shimizu! It took a long time to write... I'll put some more Shimizu moments in the next chappie just for you! ^_~ Thank you for reviewing!

Shy-Lil-Dreamer and hyper*italian*gurl: Yes, poor Clef. ;_; I hope you enjoyed the chapter (in all it's terrible shortness...). Thank you for reviewing!

Wow... review responses take up a lot of space... . Well, please review everyone!! Thank you for sticking with me for so long!

~Yume no Kokoro

Next chapter: Ozumo attacks Umi when she is alone. With Clef unable to save her, will Umi be rescued, or will Ozumo be rid of her once and for all?