Hellooo! I'm back again! Teehee! Okay, here's chapter nine of CLWL! I don't own code Lyoko or anything… unfortunately… but I do own this story and if you steal it, you DIE! –innocent little girl look— okay, let's get the show on the road. Oh, and just so you know: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST! Have fun reading!
Yumi stepped out of the Jeremy's and closed it with a soft click. She looked up and saw Ulrich walking toward her through the darkness. He lifted his head and their eyes caught each other's. They both stopped where they were, the moonlight falling on them and casting their features into shadow. He turned his head away.
"Hey," he mumbled.
"Hey."
"Look, I'm sorry I walked out on you guys, but my past isn't something I'm going to reveal to everyone over the intercom. It's confusing…"
"We're all confused at the moment," she pointed out, "And you're not really helping much with all your secret-keeping."
He smiled softly and took a few cautious steps forward, "Yeah, I know. But Yumi?"
"Yes?" she breathed, her starting to beat faster with each inch he moved toward her. He stopped a foot away from her and looked audaciously into her eyes.
"It'll all get clearer soon, I promise," he said confidently.
She craned her neck to get a good look at his face, "But how do you know that?"
He looked at the ground, her, then back at the ground again. "I'm leaving Kadic."
She stared at him with wide eyes.
"What?" she whispered as anger rose within her, "WHAT?! Ulrich why? How could you leave only me, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita to fight XANA?! What's with you all of a sudden? Can't you see we need you?"
"You guys are strong, you don't need me."
"I'm not just talking about Lyoko, Ulrich!"
"Huh?"
She slapped a hand to her mouth, but she knew the words were already out. he towered over her. "What do you mean, Yumi?"
"Nothing," she hissed, looking at the wall. He pushed her against the wall.
"What did you MEAN, Yumi?!"
"Nothing! I told you, now leave me alone!" she cried, though in her heart, that was the last thing she wanted him to do.
"Tell me, Yumi!"
"No!"
"Yumi-"
"I LOVE YOU, OKAY?!"
As soon as the words escaped her lips, he pulled away and pressed his back to the opposite wall.
"You-" he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence and darted away. On sudden impulse, she raced after him.
"Ulrich!"
"What the heck—Don't chase after me!"
"I will if I want to!"
All of a sudden he stopped and turned, causing her to slam into him. He was knocked back a few steps, but otherwise still standing. He took her wrists and forced her to look him in the eye. "Yumi, please say you didn't say that."
"What? 'I will if I—'"
"Not that!" he cut her off, squeezing his eyes shut as if to prepare for the worst, "Please tell me you didn't say… 'I love you'…"
She felt her eyes fill with tears, "But…"
He let her go without warning and shot across the courtyard and into the forest.
"Hey Yumi!" she turned as her name rang out from behind.
"Richard?" she whispered fearfully. (a/n: I failed to mention that they had a return to the past in the last chapter, so the building isn't crushed and Richard is still alive… unfortunately XD)
"You know, it's not fair to keep a guy waiting Yumi," he said, showing her his watch, which read 8:52, "I was waiting fifty minutes to have some fun with you. Come on, I've prepared my room!"
"No!" she yelled, startling him. She pulled her hand from his grasp and tugged at the ring on her finger. Once it was off, she threw it. He stood in shock as it bounced off his head and rolled away. "We're through, Richard, THROUGH! And I'm going to wait until I'm married to do what you were going to have me do tonight with you! CREEP!" She uttered some unfriendly names under her breath and ran away.
Suddenly, she ran into something hard. Figuring it was a tree, she dodged it the second time and kept on running. Someone grabbed her hand and she twisted around, assuming it was Richard.
"I-' she froze as Ulrich's stern gaze caught her eye. Time froze and all she could do was stare at him and him at her. He let go and moved his gaze to something behind her. She turned around to see the building he built. Or what was left of it. He looked back at her before walking into the demolished structure and pulling out a few things. A basket, three bottles, a portable stove, blankets, and a large jar of white powder appeared at her feet. She crouched down and lifted a corner of the blanket that covered the basket. Three furry lumps sat in it—only one moving. Two of Ulrich's pets had been killed, she realized with a jolt. She picked up the one living and cradled it.
"I found Tut and Kiki dead at the base of the creek. Sora was still here; being blind she couldn't have gone anywhere. The current was too much for them and they drowned, eventually being washed up on shore," he said solemnly. He walked around for a while, then pulled out a shovel from the rubble and moved over to a patch of land beneath a tree. After about an hour, with Yumi exploring the destroyed building—Sora in her arms—he stepped back and she wandered over. Two deep holes had been dug at the base of Ulrich's favorite tree. She stared down at them as he retrieved the basket and softly placed Tut and Kiki each in one of the graves. He said a soft prayer in German before taking up the shovel and covering their motionless bodies. Yumi had curled a hand around a fistful of his jacket as he wrote the names of the dead mountain lions in the hard earth. "I'm sorry," he whispered to the ground. He knelt down and stared and clasped his hands, "So, so sorry."
Yumi bent down next to him and put Sora in his arms. She then wrapped her own around him from behind and swayed, humming an old Japanese lullaby in his ear.
"It's not your fault," she whispered to him soothingly, "You couldn't have prevented death. It's unnatural."
"But Lyeah and Fritzi-"
"Are both in a better place now," she cut in firmly, "And don't need you to put yourself down over what couldn't be helped." He nodded obediently; like a little kid. She ran her finger along the bridge of Sora's nose. "But I'm sorry."
"What for?" he asked weakly. She rested her chin on his shoulder and stared at Sora, who had just fallen asleep.
"For saying what I did," she answered levelly.
"And that would be…?"
"I love you."
He stopped in mid-pet and looked out of the corner of his eye at her. She moved to sit beside him and stroked Sora's fur as he stared at her. After a while, he looked back at Sora.
"Yumi, I have a question for you."
"Hmmm?"
"Did… did you mean it?"
"Well, yeah. I obviously don't go yelling at Odd and Jeremy and screaming 'I love you' at the top of my lungs. Why?" She grew cautious as he started grinning from ear-to-ear and didn't answer. "Why?" she asked again, dragging out the word just the slightest bit. He turned his head and, out of the blue, he pressed his mouth to hers while she was speaking. His tongue slipped into her open mouth, surprising her to say the least. As unexpectedly as he did it, he stopped and went back to petting Sora as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't been kissing her the most romantically she'd ever been kissed in her life. She lifted a hand to her lips and blushed furiously. He saw this and smirked. After about a moment's hesitation, she pulled Sora out of his arms and put her in the discarded basket. She then whipped around, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yelled in his face while he smiled calmly.
"What was that for?! A simple 'I love you too' would have been enough! You should've asked before just-" She never got to finish her shout, because he kissed her again, though not as passionately as before. He pulled away again abruptly and padded over to part of the building that was standing, tearing it apart quickly. You couldn't miss the taunting smile on his face as she turned a dark purple. She put her hands on her cheeks as if the blush would rub off on them and leave her face its normal color again. Behind her, she heard a soft hum and the tune of the old Japanese lullaby soon filled her ears. A cheesy grin crept onto her face and she walked up behind him, careful to not make a sound. She tapped him on the shoulder and as soon as he turned around, she threw her arms around his neck and their lips connected for the third time.
Nope, no cliffie this time… OMG! Only ONE. MORE. CHAPTER! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! –runs around in circles— teehee… please review this fluffy chapter. Oh, and I'll explain more about Ulrich's visit to the principal in the next chappie, but remember, since they did a RTTP, he hasn't gone yet. Yup, yup, yup! See you next time, and be prepared because next time will be the end! Lol, bye!
-Mi ChIbO-
beep…
