Yumi didn't want to get out of bed that morning.
As soon as her eyes opened, she was painfully aware that something was terribly wrong.
Her pajamas were sticky against her skin and she soon realized it was because of the thin layer of sweat that coated every inch of her body. Her muscles ached, but it was a different kind of pain than she usually felt from practicing Pencak Silat with Ulrich or getting devirtualized on Lyoko. It was dull and ever present, even as she lay there unmoving. Her stomach was doing flips and she could practically feel her dinner crawling up her throat. She swallowed hard to keep it down.
In her sleepy haze, she nearly ignored the most urgent call.
She was freezing cold.
Yumi, born in Japan and now living in France, was shivering in her room in the middle of summer.
She hesitantly put her palm to her forehead, recoiling at the heat that simmered off of it.
"Damn it." She hissed, forcing herself to toss her blanket from her body and climb out of bed. She immediately found that her limbs wanted none of that, because her hands and knees met the ground instantly. She groaned, making her numb arms push her up. She succeeded for the most part, using her bed to give her some leverage.
"Are you okay, Yumi? Did you drop something?" A high pitched voice called to her from right outside her door.
She looked over at the door lazily, still dazed by the fall. "Leave me alone, Hiroki…" Yumi's voice tickled her throat and she coughed chaotically after speaking. She managed to get herself to her feet and was very careful with her steps this time, making her way across the hallway to get to the shower. She found that her uncontrollable shaking was hindering her progress, but damn it, if she could fight off Xana and keep her grades up in school simultaneously, she sure as hell could handle some cold.
She made it to the shower after a few minutes of slow scuffling, mentally congratulating herself when hot water slid down her body. It felt so nice and comfortable, something that had been lacking this morning.
"How am I gonna explain to the others…?" She whispered, bringing her hands to her face in frustration. Going to school didn't sound appealing considering her current condition.
She closed her eyes, focusing on the task at hand. When she opened them again, things seemed a little clearer, at least for the time being. Her vision seemed to be adjusting, but her body felt as if it were on the brink of freezing.
She found it weird, being cold and all. She loved the chill and whenever it was brisk at night she would take walks around the neighborhood. However, this cold was distressing and unrelenting. It made her feel like setting herself on fire just to make the pain go away.
She shook her head and switched off the water, regretting it almost instantly when the tremors returned abruptly. She knew Xana would be attacking later today as usual, which meant a trip to Lyoko. Just how was she supposed to ignore the pulsing aches the sickness was causing her and help the Lyoko Warriors pull out another win? It sounded impossible.
She supposed she should skip breakfast today, not wanting to lose it in one of the scanners. Her parents would understand, but she couldn't let them know the real extent of her little cold.
Yumi knew her parents meant well, but she couldn't let them know at all costs. While Jeremie and Aelita tried not to let it show, the fight against Xana was beginning to falter. They were fighting a losing battle. She knew that they should be trying desperately to save the world of Xana's evil schemes, but there is a fine line between believing they could win and actually doing it. Now that Xana has escaped the supercomputer, things seem more pressing than ever. If Xana won just because of Yumi being unable to attend due to a silly cold, she would never forgive herself.
She had only known her friends for awhile and she really didn't want to lose their strong relationship.
Especially Ulrich's. Even though she had convinced him that they were just friends, she still had feelings for him.
She coughed again, getting choked up by the thought of that boy. She shuffled back to her room, wrapped in a fluffy white towel.
Well, here's to hoping for the best.
Yumi squeezed her eyes shut as another laser beam struck her, this time in the stomach. She felt vomit lurch up her throat as she met the ground. This sickness was really taking its toll. She sat up slowly, stumbling forward.
In her dazed state, she could vaguely make out Jeremie's voice:
"Yumi, you've lost twenty life points! You better get your head in the game because the next time you take a hit like that, you're done for!"
The sound was distorted, but she heard it somehow. It took awhile for her scattered thoughts to come together and remind her where she was and what she was supposed to be doing.
Lyoko, Xana attack, deactivate tower…
She regained her balance as quickly as she could manage, finally registering the searing pain in her abdomen. Slowly, she staggered in the direction of the nearest blur, which she assumed to be a block. She reached for her fans, but ended up tripping on air.
Yumi wondered how her parents had let her out of the house without a hitch. She was a total wreck.
Though, she guessed that they did know. Her parents seemed to know everything, after all. They had gone a bit easy on her today as well, even though she had forgotten to do some of her homework. She should've noticed sooner.
She stood up again, this time without too much trouble, and focused on destroying that block. Also, she didn't want to show weakness, not in front of Xana and definitely not in front of her friends. With a trembling flick of the wrist, her fan managed to be on target, slashing the block's weak spot.
She could hear Jeremie demanding for them to hurry up and she could barely make out the faint blurs of what she thought to be Ulrich, Odd and Aelita. They were fighting at the base of the tower, fending off some crabs. She struggled to make her way toward them, feeling her limbs protest. She had enough adrenaline to last her this fight and that's really all she needed.
As she stumbled towards her friends, she felt all eyes on her. She didn't need to look up to know that the group was scowling at her. Still, she didn't bother to glance at them, knowing that doing so would only make her frustrated and she was much too tired to put up an even decent argument at the moment.
Odd's devirtualization caused Yumi to hone in whatever senses she had left. She knew from the increasing difficulty she was having controlling her body that she wouldn't last if Ulrich gets devirtualized as well. They would have to end this now.
She continued sidestepping and throwing very precisely placed fan attacks towards their opponents. She felt her teammates' eyes burning into her back and she suppressed the urge to groan. She knew she wasn't always the most careful Lyoko Warrior, but right now she needed to be or she wouldn't have the energy to assist in this battle.
They succeeded in destroying two crabs, leaving only two left.
Now, Yumi launched a full out attack. She knew this would be her last push, one way or another. If they didn't end it right here, she would faint and she could just imagine the lecture she'd get from the rest of the group.
She hurled a fan and was a bit alarmed when it completely missed its target (though, again, her vision was being a little uncooperative). Ulrich seemed to notice this too, because he began to shuffle towards her while deflecting some heavy fire gracefully.
Yumi didn't even bother to counter attack when laser beams came her way. She only clumsily stepped to the side, fighting to refocus her blurring eyesight and stop missing her targets. Her hold on reality was slipping faster than ever before as the dizziness corrupted her mind. She closed her eyes for only a moment, absently hoping that nothing would hit her, and focused on getting her mind to work properly. She took a deep breath and prepared her fans.
This was her last shot.
Aelita neared the tower and Ulrich was about to put an end to the other crab. All she had to do was get in a clear hit and it would all be over.
Mustering the remainder of her energy, she gathered her fans and snapped her wrist swiftly. The impact was enough to cause the crab to explode. By the time Yumi had the chance to sigh in relief; Aelita had already deactivated the tower.
"Good job guys! Luckily, Xana hasn't done enough damage so a return to the past won't be necessary." Jeremie spoke. Yumi could just barely understand. "I'll devirtualize you in a second."
Yumi gave a breathless little laugh, telling her body that it would have to cooperate with her until she got home. She slowly put away her fans just moments before getting devirtualized.
Thank goodness it's over.
Yumi almost cost us that mission.
Odd and Ulrich shared the same thought, but refrained from saying anything. They would wait for Jeremie and Aelita to leave and force an explanation out of her. If she didn't give one, there would be hell to pay considering the conditions.
She had to understand that the days of messing around on Lyoko was over and it was time to take things seriously. It wasn't like her to act like this, which makes matters worse.
The three walked side by side to the gate of the campus, Yumi uncharacteristically so and Odd and Ulrich holding their tongues.
"So…That was an interesting mission, don't you think?" Odd pointed out nervously, attempting to lighten the situation. Yeah…That was smooth.
Ulrich sighed in irritation. Obviously, Yumi wasn't going to speak up, so it was their turn.
"It was." He replied simply. "But it would've been even better if a certain someone wasn't stumbling around like a drunkard."
There was an awkward silence when Yumi didn't snap back.
The friends looked at each other in complete disbelief; normally Yumi would immediately jump on the opportunity to defend herself, especially when it's Odd and Ulrich confronting her.
Just what the hell was happening?
"Y-Yumi?" Odd asked hesitantly, cautiously nudging the girl with his shoulder. She blinked at him in surprise, as if she hadn't noticed him right next to her.
"Eh?" She tilted her head to the side slightly, as if genuinely confused.
Odd was obviously unnerved by the strange attitude. "Um, Ulrich just said it was your fault we almost lost! Are you even Yumi or is this some Xana trick again?!" He blurted.
Ulrich shoved Odd over, growling in frustration. There was a chance that she hadn't heard him and Odd just had to go and ruin it.
"Oh." Yumi peeked at Ulrich from around Odd. Her eyebrows didn't furrow and she didn't look at all annoyed. Ulrich did notice that her cheeks were flushed an adorable pink color, but he brushed it off as side effects from their mission. "I guess you're right…"
"What?!" Both boys couldn't contain their puzzled yell. Yumi never ever admitted defeat.
"You're right." Yumi stated again. They reached the campus gate. The boys stopped while Yumi turned down the street she lived on. "I screwed up really bad out there. Sorry about that."
Ulrich and Odd gaped at each other as Yumi waved and began to walk away a bit unsteadily. After a few seconds to recover, they turned and made their way to their dorm.
"That was so…Weird, for the lack of a better word." Odd muttered, still unable to process what he had just witnessed.
"That's the understatement of the year." Ulrich whispered, still a bit shocked himself. He had expected Yumi to be mad at them, threatening to- Wait a damn minute…They were the ones that were supposed to be angry! Was this some form of reverse psychology or something?
They made it to the courtyard before it happened.
Odd reacted first because his hearing had improved during the course of visiting Lyoko, considering that he was a giant purple cat. Ulrich whirled around right after, trying to find the thing that had made the loud noise.
What they found was Yumi, collapsed beside the gate of the academy.
"Yumi!" Odd sprinted over to the girl, Ulrich following closely behind. When they reached her, Odd turned her over and the two found that their friend was unconscious. Her breaths were labored and she was trembling violently. The pinkness of her cheeks was now identified as the flush of the flu, and the sweat on her brow was clearly not from the latest mission.
Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle all came together. It made sense.
"She's sick." Ulrich stated bluntly.
Odd continued to check Yumi's vitals, pressing a finger to her wrist with great care.
"She's sick." Ulrich repeated, unable to believe it. "She, the fearless Lyoko Warrior, is sick…"
"Yeah, I get it, Ulrich." Odd rolled his eyes. "She's sick." He put his hand to her forehead, gasping and jumping back. "What the-?"
"What?" Ulrich leaned over Odd and stretched his own hand to Yumi's head. It was as if his fingers had grazed a stove top. She was burning up and things were obviously pretty bad. "Crap."
"Was she really fighting like this?" Odd wondered aloud and Ulrich finally considered it. He felt a wave of guilt wash over him, knowing he pointed out her mistakes because of the fact that she only wanted to be just friends with him. Now, he stared at the shuddering girl with newfound respect. He had thought she was simply being careless, but really she was working her very hardest to even stand up correctly.
Ulrich gently pushed his friend aside, scooping up the snoozing Lyoko Warrior in his arms and making his way to the dorm. She was incredibly light for her age. Oh, there was no doubt that Odd would bring this up later, teasing him relentlessly for days without mercy. However, right now, none of that seemed to matter.
The blonde followed the dark haired boy to their room, and Ulrich could practically feel the goofy grin that was no doubt stretched across Odd's face at that moment.
Yumi groaned in Ulrich's arms, shifting slightly as Odd opened the door that led to their room. Ulrich frowned at her in concern when she continued to shake and huff. He made his way over to his bed and set Yumi down slowly, pulling his blanket over her quivering form.
Ulrich noticed Odd stopped in the doorway, still sporting a dashing smirk.
"What?" The boy sighed, annoyed. He was still feeling a bit guilty and Odd's irritating smiles were doing nothing to improve his mood. Besides, he was struggling to keep the blush from creeping up into his cheeks.
"Oh." Odd attempted to rearrange his features into something more innocent, but failed miserably. "I was just going to tell you to keep an eye on Yumi, because I'm going out to get her some medicine from the infirmary."
"Wait-" Ulrich opened his mouth to protest, but Odd had already rushed out of the room and closed the door behind him.
He glared at the place his friend had left vacant for a few moments. Then, once he finally processed that Odd had once again slipped out of immediate responsibility, Ulrich exhaled and turned his attention back to the ill girl currently residing on his mattress.
She was still trembling, even under the large blanket. Ulrich's blanket was exceptionally thick, so he was a bit troubled when she continued to tremor under it. He gathered up a few stray sheets around the room and piled them together. He placed the heap on top of Yumi, hoping that she would be alright until Odd returned with her medication.
An hour had passed when Yumi opened her eyes.
Odd still hadn't returned, the blonde was probably wooing some girl somewhere again, and Ulrich sat next to his bed, cursing his stupid friend. He was muttering a few choice words to the ground when a moan alerted him to another conscious presence in the room.
"Yumi?" He asked quietly, being mindful of any hearing sensitivity the girl may be experiencing.
"Ugh." She grumbled huskily, turning her head towards him tiredly. "I feel terrible…What happened?"
"You passed out after our mission." Ulrich explained. "You have a really high fever."
"I do?" She rasped, teeth chattering. "Oh, right…Since this morning."
"Wait…You knew you were sick?" Ulrich's brows knitted together with slight irritation. He was still troubled for her, but now he was learning that she had willingly put herself in harm's way.
"Uh…Yeah." Her response was slow, as if she was fading into sleep again. Ulrich reminded himself to be patient with her, she was extremely unwell and it wouldn't be fair to explode on her now.
"Why did you come if you knew you were sick, Yumi?" He questioned calmly. He mentally congratulated himself on keeping his stoically passive expression. It was quite the achievement, especially since this was Yumi he was dealing with.
"I couldn't just…You know…Bail on you guys." Her voice shook with her body. "We're…A team, now more than ever. Without all of us, I'm scared we'll fail to defeat Xana."
Ulrich was touched that she had put the team first, even if that meant her suffering. However, this whole self sacrifice thing was a bit extreme. If she had been sick, they would've managed without her. So, he spoke his mind.
"Don't give me that, Ulrich." Yumi replied, giving a sickly cough and curling up to reduce the shivering. "You guys would've handled it, I get that. But feeling that useless is just unacceptable to me, okay? I can't just stand by while I watch my best friends put their lives at risk to save the world. I have to be there, either we win as a team or die as a team."
That was totally true, but Ulrich wasn't about to admit that. This fever of hers was already a bad situation, getting her angry would make it nightmarish. But, her martyr like instincts bothered him so much; he was willing to take the chance. What if a more drastic set of circumstances arose and she sacrificed herself to save the team?
No, Ulrich would never let that happen. He was frustrated with her actions and the fact that she considered him just a friend, but that didn't change the fact that he was still madly in love with her.
"J-Just tell me next time." Ulrich consented calmly. "We could've at least covered for you more. That was just really reckless and you scared me."
"…Sorry." She whispered. Ulrich knew she would never apologize unless she was extremely ill or genuinely sorry, so he was saving these few moments in the back of his head to remind himself that Yumi was capable of these feelings after all. Most the time, she could barely emote anything, especially if it came to touchier topics like regret and sorrow. It was nice to know she had a conscience.
Suddenly, she whimpered and he was pulled from his thoughts.
"Yumi?" Ulrich got to his knees and hovered over her protectively. "Are you okay?"
She was silent for a few long moments. Her eyes were shut tightly and she brought a shaking hand up to her forehead gingerly. "I think so." She responded softly. Ulrich was still getting used to the complete change in personality. Yumi was never weak, or rather, never showed it. Her eyelids fluttered open again and she rubbed her temple absentmindedly. "It's just my head…Hey, where did Odd go?"
"He's suppose to be getting you medication." Ulrich's scowl returned when he remembered his friend sneaking his way out of the dorm and leaving Ulrich to deal with Yumi and his mixed feelings. He didn't necessarily mind caring for the girl, actually he kinda liked it, but his emotions seemed to be getting the better of him. Odd had known that Yumi and Ulrich's relationship was…Complicated, to say the least. Also, Yumi really needed that medicine and Odd was no doubt fooling around with a girl on campus.
"Let me guess…" She shot him a feeble grin. "He's been gone for…A while now."
"We have a winner." Ulrich grumbled sarcastically, crossing his arms.
"Typical…Odd…" Her eyelids slide close once again. "Wow, I'm freezing…"
"Is it really that bad?" Ulrich asked nervously, putting his hand to her forehead gently. The fever was still the same as before, if not worse.
"…In all my years…I've never been…This cold…" She managed, biting her lip to steady the shakiness of her voice. "Ugh…My head is killing me…"
"The almighty Lyoko Warrior's never been sick before?" Ulrich teased, but when Yumi didn't respond he knew it was the truth. In fact, before this, he didn't think it was possible for Yumi to even get sick, especially when she'd refuse to wear a jacket during the winter. It was a miracle that she hasn't died of hypothermia. Yet there she was, lying in his bed and looking like she wanted nothing more than to throw up all over his sheets.
Yumi gagged and Ulrich was afraid she would do just that.
"Hey!" He jumped forward. His cheeks flushed red at the outburst, but right now there was a more pressing matter to be dealt with. He did not want vomit on his bedspread. How in the world could he explain that to Jim or worse, the principal? "Do you need help getting to the bathroom? Because I could pick you up if you want, it's right down the-"
He stopped babbling when Yumi laughed, or attempted to anyway.
"Got you…" She giggled. Ulrich blinked for a few moments before examining the sickly young woman half heartedly. She always knew how to lighten the mood, feverish or not.
"Haha." He remarked dryly, though his eyes held a spark of amusement. The, another violent shudder shook her body and he was worried again. "Yumi?"
"Hm?" She hummed feebly, coughing once more.
Later on, Ulrich will question why he did it. After all, his reasoning was scattered when it came to this girl…But it did make sense at the time.
She's cold, sick and Odd still hasn't brought the medicine.
Then, something Herve had said suddenly leapt out from the back of his mind.
It's a proven fact that if you huddle together with another person, it will keep you warmer.
"Move over." He nudged her with his palm gently, pulling the blankets up. He was surprised by how excessively hot it was under there. Was it even possible to be cold with that kind of heat surrounding you?
"Ul…rich." Yumi protested weakly. "C-Cold…"
Ignoring her, he crawled into bed next to her, which forced her to be between the young man and the wall. She obviously wasn't expecting that, because she stared at him in complete disbelief. He didn't look at her; he tucked in the edge of the blanket under him and began examining the imperfections on the wall across from him trying to conceal his blush.
There was silence.
"…Wha…?" Yumi murmured in confusion, looking at Ulrich through cloudy eyes.
"You were cold." He answered bashfully, the words falling clumsily from his mouth. "You know…If we're closer, then you get some of my body heat, so…" He trailed off, not exactly sure how to complete his thought process. Climbing in with her was already beginning to seem like a terrible idea.
He was about to climb out when Yumi responded. "Oh…" She voiced quietly. "Okay…" Ulrich turned towards her in surprise, and then she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him flush against her. Ulrich was frozen for a few seconds before sputtering uncontrollably, the blush heating up his cheeks.
"W-W-What are you doing?" He muttered, his voice obviously shaky. He really wasn't good with these kinds of situations, especially if it's with the girl he's had a crush on for the longest time. He had only picked her up earlier because she was unconscious and in need. What was he even thinking when he got into bed with her?
"Like…You said…I'm cold…" She whispered. "You're really warm." Yumi buried her face into the crook of Ulrich's neck, pressed up against him.
Before Ulrich could say anything else, another tremor passed and she gave him a small squeeze. He turned his head towards her slowly and found her eyes shut and her grip around him tightened. Sighing, he took her into his arms.
"Are you okay, Yumi?" He held her to his chest gently. Her head felt comfortable in the crook of his neck and her hot breath tickled his skin. She sighed in relief.
"Mhm…" She adjusted herself against him, her body fitting against his. That was when he remembered that she was sick and now he was probably going to be too in a few days. However, with these current circumstances, he couldn't bring himself to care. "Tired…"
"You can sleep." He whispered into her hair.
And she did just that. The shaking slowed and soft snores escaped her lips. He chuckled lightly, not wanting to stir the snoozing girl.
He stayed there like that for a while, listening to her breathing as she slept. He absently wondered where Odd was, no doubt flirting with some girl, and he noticed that Yumi's shivering had come to a stop. He realized that if he wanted to, he could have just left at that moment, but the warmth was lulling him into slumber and his limbs were weighed with fatigue.
It occurred to him that he was holding the girl he always wanted in his arms, the single person who made him weak in the knees when she smiled or feel butterflies in his stomach whenever she came near. This whole time, he hadn't been thinking of her as the girl who wanted to push him away or the girl who only wanted him as a friend.
He had only been thinking of her a simple, beautiful…Yumi.
Quiet, thoughtful, always-brightens-your-day-up Yumi. The exact thing he needed in his insane, let's-shake-things-up life. The kind of anchor that will alert him when he's gone too far or when to focus on certain things. He was sleeping next to the kind of his person he could only dream of meeting.
And,
he decided as he closed his eyes, I am enjoying every second of it.
"I'm back!" Odd announced two hours later as he tossed a bottle of pulls up into the air and caught them absently. He scanned the hallway, perplexed when he didn't see Ulrich hanging around outside their room. He had been sure that he would find his friend out there, not wanting to catch whatever it was that Yumi had. Also, to lecture him on his lateness.
"Ulrich? I've got Yumi's medicine." Odd's voice echoed through the empty hallways of the school. "Look, I'm sorry about being late. There was a really pretty girl in the courtyard and I'm pretty sure she's new. I had to show her around and I used my charms to get her number-"
Odd opened the door to their room and stopped. There, next to each other in bed, were Ulrich and Yumi, who was looking remarkable better since Odd had gone, hugging each other.
Odd didn't know weather to squeal or laugh uncontrollably.
Instead, he slowly back out of the room and shut the door soundlessly. He sprinted as quickly down the hallway as his body could manage and once he got to Jeremie's room, he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Hey, Jeremie! Do you still have that camera? I need to borrow it; I've got a great idea for a prank!"