Gah! I'm so terribly sorry it's taken so long for this frickin' update, and I'm sure you don't wanna hear my long list of excuses. (it grows at an alarming rate) But first, I would like to thank aZn dReAmEr xD for being my beta! So without further ado…..

Chapter 6 – Homebound

Within the week, Yumi had learned to walk, eat, and shower by herself without the aid of her nurse. Her condition had improved greatly, and doctors said she should be out of the hospital within a day or so.

That Friday afternoon, Ulrich and Odd had agreed to take Yumi outside around the hospital campus to get her some fresh air. Aelita had volunteered to go as well, but Jeremie reminded her that they both had classes to get to. (since they're in college now) Sissy was in modeling school, so she was unavailable for the entire day. That left the two boys to look after Yumi.

"So, are you looking forward to coming home Yumi?" Odd inquired, once they had reached the pathway leading to the garden behind the hospital.

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty anxious to get back to my home, even though I have no idea what it's like." she sniggered.

"Well, you don't know what a relief it was just to see your eyes open. We all thought we'd lost you for sure." He replied. Ulrich just nodded in unity.

"I guess I can understand, since I was in my coma for three years. That's a long time," she noted.

"Yeah, it's too long if ya ask me." Said Ulrich, slowly shaking his head back and forth. "We didn't think we'd ever see you again."

"Yeah. You can see why we came every day to see you. It was the same schedule every day. Wake up, get ready, get to classes, finish classes, come home, drop off stuff, meet at park, walk to hospital to see Yumi. I called it our 'wake up, sleep, and visit' routine." Odd smiled when he saw Yumi laugh as they all sat down on one of the benches.

"Sounds fun." She teased. "I guess you guys will have to find something else to do, now that the last part of your 'wake up, sleep, and visit' routine is being canceled."

"Maybe so, but I think we can all say that we're happy for this change, don't you agree?" Odd grinned widely.

"I know I'm with you one-hundred percent there, Odd." Ulrich answered, raising his hand.

"Oh don't worry pally, I knew you were with me." he put his hand on Ulrich's shoulder, and snickered behind his back.

"Mhmm, right Odd." Ulrich joked back. "But basically Yumi, we're just saying that we're really, really glad you're back."

She smiled. "It's good to be back." She responded, leaning her head on Ulrich's shoulder who was sitting to her left. He in turn wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned his head on top of hers. Odd shot him a knowing glance, which he countered with a glare.

Hours of talking and a few games of tag and hide and seek occupied their day, being extra careful since Yumi was still in a fragile state. The doctors had specifically mentioned to the boys that Yumi should not climb to high places where she could fall, or run long distances resulting in dizziness. So, they kept a watchful eye –or two- out for their friend. Afterward, they returned Yumi back to her hospital room, and the duo turned in for the day.

-----

The following day, Yumi was declared healthy enough to leave the hospital. Once they filled out all of the necessary paperwork, she and her parents were ready to go.

"You have everything you need, right Yumi?" Mr. Ishiyama asked, as he and his family walked out the front doors of the hospital.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I have everything." She said, sorting through her bag of candy and cards she had received as gifts.

"I wasn't talking about your candy, Yumi." Her father said, rolling his eyes, "I meant, did the nurses of doctors give you anything you need to take with you?"

"Um……." Yumi pondered as the placed her index finger on her chin, "one of the nurses gave me some Aspirin incase I had a headache. She said that sometimes when people come out of comas they have headaches periodically, but other that that I don't think there was anything."

"Well then, let's go home." Mrs. Ishiyama declared, climbing into their car.

Yumi helped her father pack her things in the trunk, and they drove off.

On their way back, they passed a large, worn down factory that looked like it hadn't been used in years. As Yumi leaned forward in her seat to get a better look at it through her window, and she couldn't help but sense a feeling of familiar-ness. But before she had time to think twice about it, the complex disappeared as they rounded the corner.

Yumi leaned back in her seat, and tried to remember. Her memory –or lack thereof- was starting to become a problem. She decided to let the subject drop for the time being; she had more important things to think about.

In a matter of minutes, they arrived at their house. Yumi let her eyes glide over its features. It was a two-story home with several beautiful gardens lining the edges of the house and walkway. A black metal fence beginning to be covered in vines, lined the property borders.

As she gathered her bag, she ambled up the pathway to the house. She stood patiently on the front porch, waiting for her father to come unlock the door.

Once he did so, she stepped inside the dark entryway, placing her bag next to the stairs that sat right in front of the door. She ran her hand along the wall, searching for a light switch. "Aha!" she alleged, as she found the knob. She squinted, as light flooded through the room.

It was just as she remembered –surprisingly- since she didn't think she remembered anything except her relatives. She supposed it was because she lived in this house for a very long time. But she then questioned the reasons to why she hadn't remembered her friends. She had probably known them for about the same amount of time she had lived here, right? She'd have to ask someone later.

As she surveyed the area, she noticed a kitchen to her right. As she walked into it, the first thing she observed was how tidy it was. Probably because there was only one teen here to mess it all up. She thought, and smiled knowing that she would definitely be the cause of the messiness later on.

She made her way through another doorway to the dining room. A small table sat in the center of the room. It was black with a glass top on it. (A/N: sorry, best description I can get) There were matching chairs that were black, and a light fixture hung just above the table. It looked like an upside-down mushroom, but it was black as well, with pink carnations painted on it. Sequins were scattered across it, and it twinkled in the sunlight. Several plants were arranged around the room also, and she was about to go back to the stairs when she heard her mother calling her. "Yumi, would you come here please?"

Yumi followed her mother's voice to the upstairs hallway where she stood waiting.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Telephone." She said, handing her the phone.

"Ok. Thanks." She replied, taking the phone and heading for her room.

"Hello?" she said, lying down on her bed.

"Hey Yumi, it's Aelita!"

"Hi!…you're my sister right?"

"Yup, that's me. I was wondering how you're doing? Dad told me that you were coming home today. I'm on my way right now to see you."

"Really? That's great! And I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm good. It's great to know you're home now. The house was pretty empty all by myself."

"Yeah. Everything is just I remember it too."

"Really? You mean you remember the house?" Aelita asked incredulously. "I thought you said you didn't remember anything?"

"I did, but I guess for some weird reason, my mind wanted to remember the house. Weird huh?"

Aelita giggled. "Yeah, I guess so. So, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Ok. See ya then."

"Bye."

"Bye" Yumi hung up the phone and, for the first time, looked around her room. It had a desk in the far corner, a dresser in the opposite corner, a radio, a bed –that she was lying on- and a mobile of colorful origami cranes that hung from the ceiling (1). 'I'm gonna go out on limb and guess that my relatives made that for me' she thought. She got up and looked at the pictures hanging on her wall. The first one was a picture of her relatives, presumably at a family reunion. The next, a simple portrait of her and her friends sitting on a bench. Yumi smiled at the thought of her friends, and she moved onto the next picture, which was resting on her dresser. She carefully picked it up. This particular picture had the greatest effect on her.

It was of her and Ulrich. There were at a party, and streamers, balloons, and confetti could be seen in the background. They were standing with her arms around his neck, one of his around her waste, and they were grinning like maniacs. She had to smile at this picture. Even though it didn't bring back memories, she was grateful. She set it back on her dresser, and looked around her room once more. It was plain, but that was just how she liked it.

Yumi turned and was on her way to hang up the phone in the hallway, when she heard her father talking to someone at the front door.

"Yes, she's here. I think she's in her room. You can go on up if you want."

"Ok. Thanks Mr. Ishiyama."

She could hear footsteps on the stairs -a sign that someone was on their way up. She hastily hung up the phone, and set off to meet whomever it was.

As she rounded the corner however, she bumped into them. The sudden push caused her to fall off balance and onto the floor. 'Ouch.' She thought, rubbing her backside.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yumi. I didn't mean to knock you off your feet like that." A hand suddenly appeared in front of her, and she gratefully took it and regained her balance back on her feet to see who was there.

Ulrich.

"That's ok. It wasn't your fault. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She replied. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were doing, since it's your first time home." He explained, "And I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the park with everyone."

"Thanks, and I'd love to go, but Aelita was on her way home and I was going to wait for her."

"She can come too, if you want. We were just about to ask her when she got back." He answered.

"Ok. She should be here in a few minutes though, so while we're waiting would you like anything to drink?" she asked, heading down the stairs, Ulrich in tow.

"Sure. Water's fine, thanks."

As she headed into the kitchen, Yumi halted. "Um…..do you know where we keep the cups?" she asked.

Ulrich just laughed. He walked over to the far cabinet and pulled out a glass.

"Heh, sorry about that." She apologized. "I guess I don't really remember where anything is anymore."

"That's ok. I've been over to your house so many times, I know where everything is by heart. Don't worry about it." He said as he filled the glass with water.

"Thanks," She said. "So, where is the park?"

"Well, it's not the park near the school incase you're wondering, but it's a little farther away, still within walking distance though." He explained. "They have a really big field where people can go and run around and stuff, and there are a lot of good climbing trees and some benches too. There's more, but it'll be easier if you just see everything rather than me telling you," he finished.

"Great. So, should I pack anything to eat?" Yumi asked.

"Don't worry. Odd's got that covered. And believe me, there'll be more than enough food to go around," Ulrich snickered.

"That's good, because I'm hungry. All I had for breakfast was a glass of milk at the hospital." Yumi replied. "Hospital food didn't taste too good, as I found out the hard way several days ago. Lucky for me, Christy bought some stuff from the store so I wouldn't have to eat the hospital gunk."

"Well, that's good. She seemed really nice when we met her, so I guess you were really fortunate to have her as your nurse huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's really nice to be home though. No more tubes or needles or nurses constantly following you wherever you go," She joked, and then added, "If you don't count my mom."

Ulrich just chuckled. "I see your point."

Yumi smiled and sat on the counter's edge. She sighed. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

Ulrich shrugged. "I dunno. What do you wanna do?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second." He countered, and smiled.

"So?"

"SOoooo, that means you havta answer me first."

Yumi looked at him, baffled. "That doesn't even make sense."

He shrugged again. "So? Does it have to?"

"Yes, it does." She answered, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Why?"

"How should I know?" she asked, befuddled.

"You were the one who said it," He replied.

"So?"

Ulrich, who was just as bewildered as Yumi, shrugged not knowing what to say. They both sighed heavily in harmony.

"How about TV?"

"Good idea."

-----

After forty-five minutes of Scooby-Doo, Aelita finally came through the door.

"Gosh, what took so long?" Yumi asked.

"Ugh, traffic was horrible. You'd think the morning would be less busy than usual, wouldn't you?" she inquired, taking off her shoes at the front door.

"I guess." Her ebony-haired sister replied, meeting her at the doorway. "So, you up for a walk to the park?"

"Sure. But…" Aelita tilted her head to the side, so her pink hair fell onto her left shoulder, and peered around Yumi. "…what's that gigantic lump on the couch?"

Yumi turned around. "Oh, that's just Ulrich."

Upon hearing his name, Ulrich twirled his head around. "Huh? Who's talking about me?"

"Me." Yumi responded. "Aelita was just wondering what the giant lump on the couch was."

"Oooooooh." The brunette comprehended, and then resumed watching cartoons.

Both girls rolled their eyes, and resumed their conversation.

"Well anyways, you said 'yes' right?" Yumi asked.

"For the park? Yup. Just let me change into something more casual. I'll be back down in a few, okay?" Aelita replied, starting up the stairs.

"Sure thing." Yumi turned and joined Ulrich back on the couch.

"Aelita's going to go change, and then we'll be ready to go, okay?" Yumi asked.

"Ok. I'll just call up Odd and tell him we're ready." He responded, and pulled out his cell phone.

……"Hey Odd…………Yeah……Uh, in a few minutes. Aelita's changing……..ok, see ya then…..bye." with a beep Ulrich hung up, and turned to Yumi. "We can meet then at the corner of your street as soon as Aelita gets done. Sound good?"

"Sounds good." she said, recommencing her attention back to watching the marathon of Scooby-Doo.

(1) A mobile of 1,000 paper cranes is a common way to 'give luck' to a loved one or friend. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! I do apologize again for the long delay. --" This chapter was a good 8 pages long, so I hope that filled you up.

Since we can't respond to review, I'd just like to thank everyone who is reading this. I'd love for you to review, but if you don't, that's ok. I hope you enjoyed what you've read.

-miyuki