It was an unusual and rare occasion for Mr. and Mrs. Stern to allow their son's friends to join Ulrich on his trip home to Germany during the extended weekend. However, this was the weekend Ulrich would play with Germany's best club soccer team in their annual recruiting tournament. Recruiters would be at every game throughout the weekend, and if Ulrich was good enough, he could even go straight to the professional league. Ulrich had begged his parents to allow his friends to see him play, too. Finally, after what seemed like thousands of phone calls later, Mr. and Mrs. Stern agreed.

They were all nervous to make this trip for their own reasons. Ulrich wasn't as nervous for the upcoming games as he was for his family and friends to mix. His father promised to kind and welcoming, despite what he truly felt about Ulrich's "unworthy" group of friends, but Ulrich was always skeptical about his father.

Jeremie was nervous to be away from the factory. Even though the gang had defeated XANA months ago, he could never feel at ease being so far from the only thing that had saved them so many times before. Odd was nervous about leaving Kiwi in Hiroki's hands for the weekend. He hated leaving his little pal behind. However, he knew that he shouldn't dare intrude on the Stern's friendly invitation.

Aelita had never been on a train before and was more nervously excited for the overall experience. She was overwhelmed by the bustling and excitement that filled the French train station. She observed her friends, wanting to soak in every memory she could. Ulrich and Odd joked around, playfully using Odd's travel pillow as a football to play catch with. Jeremie was posted up against the wall, keeping an eye out for when the train would be coming. Aelita turned around slightly to see Yumi sitting on one of the benches, nervously toying with her hair. With a warm smile, Aelita skipped over to her best friend.

"You okay, Yumi?"

"Y-yeah, of course!" Yumi's response seemed forced, and Aelita could see right through her act.

"You know you can tell me what's wrong."

Yumi knew how pointless it was to keep things from Aelita. With a small, defeated sigh, Yumi patted the space next to her, motioning for Aelita to sit down.

"Just nervous about Ulrich's dad, that's all."

"Why? What's there to be nervous about?"

"Well, you know, things have been going pretty well for me and Ulrich lately. If we were to become, you know, something more than friends, I wouldn't want to be a burden on his family life."

"Why would you be a burden?"

Yumi gave her friend a sad glance. Aelita was naive to most of the troubles in the world, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Her innocence made her the amazing person she was.

"Ulrich's dad doesn't like my people." Yumi stated it as plainly as she could.

There was a moment of silence as Aelita gave her friend a sympathetic look. A hopeful smile spread across her face as she spoke.

"Yumi you are one of the most amazing people I have ever met. You're beautiful on the inside and out. You're tough when you need to be, and a loving and caring person all the same. Anyone can see that. Anyone. Even Ulrich's father. Now that he has the chance to actually meet you, I'm sure you'll change his opinions entirely."

Yumi gave her pink haired friend a brief, warm smile. It soon faded as she began to speak, "I don't know, Aelita. He has enough trouble with his father already. And with the importance of this weekend weighing in on his future, I couldn't stand to cause any more trouble for him. Maybe it was a mistake for me to come."

"Yumi, Ulrich wouldn't of invited any of us if he thought it was a mistake. If you and Ulrich are meant to be something more than friends, you will be. And you will be." Aelita grinned from ear to ear. "Just be yourself and you won't even need to worry about Ulrich's father."

Yumi wrapped her arms around her friend and mumbled a thank you behind a rising blush.

"Yumi! Aelita! C'mon, the train's here!" Jeremie called out to the girls.

Aelita and Yumi giggled, grabbed their bags, and embraced the adventure yet to come.