"Are you ready for this?"

"You're on."

Ulrich tossed the ball up lightly, then slammed it straight down the center, barely passing over the minuscule net. Odd jumped up, turned a somersault, and smacked it back, the ball deforming against the racket and bouncing on the table once before being sent sky high... Yes, it was another boring game of ping pong.

"So how do you play?" asked Pico to Yumi, who was her opponent in the next game.

"Have you ever played tennis? No, of course not... Well, you basically hit the ball over the--"

"Nevermind, I got it. Thanks, though." Pico smiled and turned back to frenetic game.

"What?"

"I just downloaded all the information from Wikipedia."

"Then why ask me in the first place?" Yumi demanded.

"I didn't know I could do that until I realized I understood the game. Then, I looked at my logs and saw that i made an HTTP GET request to the--"

"Never mind. I don't get all that mumbo-jumbo computer crap."

"Well, sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off through your explanation."

"Whatever." Yumi shrugged and turned back towards Ulrich and Odd. The two were already at deuce 9ten and ten), and the game was really picking up now. Odd pulled a topspin off the ball, and Ulrich anticipated it. What he didn't see was the flick Odd imperceptibly placed at the end of his lob. So, while Ulrich made to snap it back with the hard side of his paddle, the ball merely hopped the net and bounced twice, and Ulrich stayed suspended in the air.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" cried Ulrich, and Odd laughed at his face.

"How do you like the Sneak?"

"It's friggin' sneaky. Come on, this game isn't over yet."

Pico turned to Yumi. "I thought you needed eleven points to win?"

"You do, but--"

"Oh, I figured it out. Thanks Yumi!"

"What the--! Odd could you make her stop?"

"Pico..." Odd lowly growled, and tossed the ball to Ulrich.

"Yes," replied the girl.

"Piiiicooo...."

"Yes?"

"Are you bothering Yumi."

"...No?"

"Apologize." Ulrich casualy served the ball, hoping to catch Odd off guard.

"But Odd..."

"Apologize this instant!" Odd spun and smacked the ball across the net, the end of his paddle quivering in excitement. I'm not kidding you. It just... sorta like, quivered. You had to be there, man.

"Sorry, Yumi. I don't mean to ask you for stuff i can figure out on my own, and cut you off mid-sentence."

"I know, I know..." Yumi smiled faintly and socked Pico in the arm. "I hope this isn't your way of being nice. It's dang annoying."

"It's not; don't worry." The girl smiled, and the two friends turned back to the game.

"HOLY FISHPASTE!" shouted Odd. "How the heck did you do that?!"

"Do what?" asked Yumi.

"Ulrich just broke the ball."

"What?" Pico and Yumi got up and walked to the table, where the ball lay crumpled in a smoldering mess.

"Oh wow..." whispered Pico.

"Ditto. Ulrich, do you know what it takes to crumple a ball like that?"

"A wicked fast arm." Ulrich smiled smugly at Odd, who just looked back and forth between the scorch marks on the paddle and the still collapsing pile of plastic on the table. "Well, it looks like we're even again."

"I am not about to let this go unnoticed," said Odd, and he procured another ball from his pocket. "I'm going to beat you this time, Ulrich Stern!"

"Oh, Odd is serious," said Yumi as she and Pico sat back down on the floor.

"How do you know?"

"Odd normally never calls anyone by their full name. I think the last time he called Ulrich that was when we went on a class trip to the pool, and Ulrich pushed him in the deep end."

"Ah, I remember that mission. Good times..."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, I was just remembering how I attacked the bus the class was riding. That was pretty good management, Yumi. Telling everyone to get on one side of the bus as it turned one way, and rounding all the younger ones together..."

"But I didn't do all that. Ulrich did." Yumi turned to her sweaty boyfriend, still smacking the ball with Odd.

"Oh. Right. Still, you did amazingly well."

"Whatever." Yumi brushed off the praise and watched the white smear of the ball as it flashed between opposing sides. "But why did you say that it was a good time?"

"Well, it was. I used to like that sort of thing -- causing havoc, stirring up people, creating chaos. It was like going skydiving. You know that it might cause some heartache if you die, but that's why it's so amazing. You're controlling your life, and with the bus, many lives. Of course, I don't feel that way anymore." Pico noticed all eyes on her. Even the table tennis matched had paused, the ball still hovering in the air like a streak of white as the boys hung on her words.

They all unspokenly reached a verdict. "You're sick." And then the match went on, and Pico was bewildered.

"Sick?"

"Yes. That's very psychologically sick," replied Yumi.

"But I don't feel that way anymore."

The game came to a pause when Odd missed the next bounce; Ulrich pulled a side driver and Odd epicly missed. "Blast you, Ulrich!!!"

Yumi looked into Pico's eyes, trying to see what she was thinking. "Sure. Sure, Pico." Yumi moved to move, but Pico grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Yumi. I mean it. That was a part of me that I'm leaving behind. I'm not like that."

"And how am I supposed to believe that?"

Pico sighed. "Just think of that time when I made you guys trust me. There is no way that I'm against you all. Honestly." Pico stared back at Yumi, and tried to send a mental message; I'm not like that. And then, in a surprising and deft maneuver, she pulled Yumi's face close to her own, and kissed her.

"HOLY CRAP!" shouted Odd, who happened to catch the motion in the corner of his eye. He turned to say something, and Ulrich took advantage of the distraction to send the ball bouncing on Odd's side, then to the ground.

"Okay, so what were you looking-- HOLY CRAP!" echoed Ulrich. Like Odd, he stood there transfixed by the sight of Pico stealing a kiss from Yumi. Yumi was paralyzed in shock. Pico had her face in a death grip, and her kiss was so tender...

"Okay, okay, break it up, you two," said Jim, barging his way from nowhere between the two girls. "Now, far from me to get involved in personal matters, but Pico, what is the matter with you? Last time I saw a girl kiss another girl was the year this school opened!"

"You saw a girl kiss another girl, Jim?" asked Odd.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Still, Pico, are you feeling okay?"

"I... I'm fine. I don't know why I did that. Sorry, everyone." She wheeled back around to the still shocked Yumi, her lips still parted from the kiss. "Sorry, Yumi. Wait... Yumi? Heelllooo?"

She waved her hand back and forth in front of Yumi's eyes until Yumi snapped to attention. "She turned slowly to Pico, and as deftly as Pico had kissed her, she tackled her to the ground.

"Ah! Yumi!"

"Pico, I don't even let Ulrich kiss me. How dare you make a move when it's obvious that I love this boy over there?!" A wicked blush rose raced across Yumi's cheeks as she thought of how embarrassing this situation was.

"Yumi! Unhand Miss Rousseau right now!" Jim pulled the older girl from the girl with exceptionally long hair. "what are you thinking?"

"Sorry Jim. Pico is killing me right now." Yumi shot a look that writhed with evil in Pico's direction.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to make you angry. I just meant to make you see, and then my body moved on it's own. I'm sorry." Pico covered her face with her hands, obviously as humiliated as Yumi about the whole thing. "It won't happen again, I promise."

And then, Yumi felt sorry for the girl, who was in all effects, a child. She still hadn't grasped how the world worked. Fresh from the scanners, she was trying to belong somewhere. All she needed was a little guidance.

"Pico, do you know why I'm so upset?"

"Because in Reality, girls don't kiss girls?"

Yumi threw out everything she had just assumed. "You knew!" she cried.

"No; I just assumed that when you tackled me."

"Oh. I see." Yumi then realized how Pico was a fast learner. "I... I'm sorry. Look, unless you've got some serious issues up here," Yumi tapped her temple, "you don't kiss girls, only guys."

"Why not?" asked the innocent Pico.

"It's just... it's just not right. I can't explain why, but you'll understand as you get older."

"Well, what about all the people on the Internet who say it's fine?"

"Are you downloading again? Never mind. They have their opinions, we," she motioned to the people around her, "have ours. It's a hard life if you want to be a lesbian, is all I have to say."

Pico remained silent for an unusually long time, presumably researching more baout the subject at an alarming rate. "I... I see. Sorry, Yumi."

"No, it's fine. You're learning, that's all."

"Yeah, but... I'm not a lesbian. I like Odd. And I'm not bisexual, either. I know I don't like you like I like him. No offense meant."

"None taken." As always, Yumi shrugged, and socked Pico lightly in the arm. "I;m just glad I'm not going to lose you like I lost another of my friends."

"You lost one of your friends?" asked Pico.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you some other time."

Jim stretched and yawned loudly. "Well, I've got more work to do. Pico, control yourself. Yumi, control yourself. Ulrich, don't beat Odd too badly. Odd... Odd... whatever." Jim dashed off through the gymnasium doors.

"Wait, what?! Come back here Jim!" Odd seethed at the closing doors and turned to Ulrich. "How dare he patronize me!"

"Big word."

"Whatever. Who was winning, anyway?"

"I did."

"Wait? You won?" Odd looked at the table tennis table, as if there were some sort of clue to his defeat scrawled upon it.

"Yep. It's not my fault if you like to look at random directions while a ball is hurtling toward your face."

"FYI, Ulrich, Pico kissed Yumi. That should get anyone's attention."

"Sorry for not caring." Ulrich grinned good naturedly, and stretched. "AAAaaannyway, got time for another match?"

"Nope, sadly. I have to go meet Sam."

"Who's Sam?" asked Pico. "Someone I should know about?"

"Actually, yes. You should come, Pico. You'll love her." Odd smiled and moved to help Ulrich put the ping-pong equipment away.

"Okay. I'll come. What are you going to do, Yumi?"

"Probably gargle some bleach and spend the rest of the day asleep."

Pico put two and two together and got five. "Again, I'm sooo sorry, Yumi."

"Call me Yumes. And I forgive you. You're brand new to Earth, so why should I fault you for being ignorant? No offense."

"None taken."

With that at that, our heroes set off to the next town, to pursue their goals of becoming Pokemon masters. Of course, that's what you're expecting... right?

__________

Whoooo, it's been forever since I updated. But updated it is now. And if I offended anyone with the PicoxYumi, bit, sorry. I knew that Pico's orientation would have to come up sooner or later, seeing as she wasn't raised like everyone else.

Obligatory asking for reviews: REVIEW, FOO'!