A/N: So, here's the first bonus chapter. Not much to say.. Enjoy the read.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination :)!
"Hiroki", there was a knock on the door to his room, "I'm home!" It was Friday evening and Yumi had arrived a few minutes ago. She was going to stay over for the weekend. "Hey sis," Hiroki greeted her after having stepped out of his room.
He had become quite tall over the years, but was still lacking a few centimetres to reach his sister's height. That did frustrate him to a certain extent. For example, when Yumi felt the need to rub his head with that deadly fist of hers. At least she wouldn't have been able to do that easily if they were the same height.
Yumi had walked off to her own room to put away her stuff. Hiroki followed her. "So how's the new job?" He asked her while standing in her room's doorway. "Great. Of course the pay is better than before, but I really enjoy the work. At first it was slightly challenging, because of the team not cooperating. However, I believe we have worked through that. So now it's challenging for different reasons, the good ones," she replied while unpacking her bag.
"We?" Hiroki picked up the word. Yumi was confused for a few seconds, until she recalled all the messaging they did. She had never mentioned Ulrich was her new boss, not even to her parents. But she figured that it could wait another day. They were about to find it all out anyway. So she started the mind games. "Huh? Yeah, my boss and me," she purposefully built up the story. "I actually invited him over. He is going to come tomorrow. Just for a few hours though," she continued. "He?! Since when do people invite their bosses to their houses?!" Hiroki was a little shocked. "Well, it's only a visit Hiroki. He wants to meet my family," Yumi revealed. The answer left out so much information, that Yumi had to hold in her laughter.
"Meet the family, you say," Hiroki juggled around the words to find a hidden meaning. Yumi didn't grant him time. "Yes, you'll like him too. My boss is pretty awesome. He is even one year younger than me!" Yumi stated. "Ehhhh? But you're not that old!" Hiroki claimed. She didn't know if that was meant as a compliment or not. "Uhm, yeah, seems like he received some killer training after something didn't entirely go his way," she said rather dismissively. Hiroki just stared at her, full of disbelief. So it was no big deal to be a boss at twenty years of age?
"Anyway, you'll see him tomorrow, so behave if you'd please," she ordered. Hiroki shrugged. Together with a look that screamed "who knows if I will" he tried to rile up his sister. But she smirked right back at him. "She's hiding something," he thought to himself.
"Dinner is ready!" They heard their mother call out. "Coming!" Both of them said simultaneously. They grinned at each other.
During dinner everyone caught up on each other's lives. Hiroki explained what courses he was currently following and nuanced on parts that stressed him out. He was in his sophomore year of high school, which is said to be the most annoying one of all. Yumi and their father laughed about similar struggles they had both undergone and kindly advised Hiroki on how to deal with it.
Hiroki claimed the present generation was a lot more different than his father's and pointed out that Yumi still wasn't done with her studies herself. In return their mother cut into the conversation by telling him that it didn't matter when or where someone had experienced things. The base for all of it was one and the same, which is why he should take their advice into consideration. Hiroki softly nodded, admitting that she was right. Their mother then turned her attention to her husband.
"Dear, I know you will visit a friend tomorrow. But can you wait until Yumi's boss is here before you go out?" Their father looked at Yumi. "Are you that close to your boss?" He asked. Yumi was startled for a moment. "No, well, we're good friends if I may say so," she answered. Yumi was fidgeting and Hiroki found it suspicious. "Good friends? You did tell me he wanted to meet the family," he cornered her. "Are you marrying him or something?" He started to snicker. "Hiroki!" Their mother reprimanded.
"No," Yumi quirked brow at him. "He wants to catch up with someone. He's visiting here too because it's in the same neighbourhood. I don't think it'll do us – or me – any harm to meet him," she positively told them a white lie.
"Ah well, I guess that's fine then. I will make sure to greet him before I go out," their father agreed to the earlier request.
"Want to play games sis? I have the latest version of Zombies in the Wild," Hiroki suggested. "Heh, why not. It's been a while since I played anything though," Yumi said. "Scared to lose, I see," Hiroki provoked her. "Not to you." They had a stare down before they went upstairs.
"They will never stop being such children huh." Their parents thought it was hopeless.
In the early afternoon on Saturday the doorbell rang. "Hiroki, could you get it? I'm going to make the tea," Yumi told him. "Why me?" He grumbled. "Thanks," he heard her say as he went to the front door. "Hello," he greeted, having yet to look at the guests face. "Hey, Hiroki. It's been a while," he heard a very familiar voice. And when he looked up, there was a face he hadn't seen in almost three years.
"May I come in?" Ulrich asked. Hiroki was gaping at him, but quickly shook his head to focus. "Y-yeah, sure," he told him. "Thanks," Ulrich entered and took off his shoes. "How have you been Hiroki?" For some reason, he wasn't able to make eye contact with Ulrich. Was it because he was actually pissed off that Ulrich had let his sister go? Or could he simply not find a way to face the one he had been admiring for years?
"I've been doing fine," Hiroki answered. "Good," Ulrich said, before he noticed Yumi in the living room. "Hey," he casually greeted his sister. "So you still know your way around huh," she remarked, while putting down the last cup of tea on the small table in front of the TV. The siblings' parents entered the living room shortly after, a look of surprise on their faces. "Hello sir, ma'am," Ulrich said. They returned the greeting, thinking of it merely as a visit by an old friend.
"Yumi, is your boss coming soon? Your father will be going soon," their mother asked. "He's already here," Yumi informed everyone.
It took all of them one second to digest the news.
"Y-you?! You are my sister's boss now?!" Hiroki found it incredible.
"Be sure to fill me in later honey. I've got to get going," their father said, walking away after having firmly shaken Ulrich's hand.
"Honey, at least take your coat with you," their mother followed him, "Ulrich, make yourself at home."
Hiroki's mouth fell open. That was their reaction? In his opinion, his own reaction was the only normal one.
Ulrich turned towards the remaining siblings who stood around the table that was filled with some snacks and cups of tea. He then sat on the floor, taking a cup for himself.
"Uhm sis," he waved her over and whispered, "was it really necessary to hide this?" Yumi shrugged. "No," she grinned. Hiroki narrowed his gaze at her. He had been totally caught off guard. Thoughts of how to interact with Ulrich went through his head, but he was speechless. He eyed his sister.
Yumi seemed to act entirely relaxed around Ulrich. That confused Hiroki. His sister had told him that she hadn't been in contact with Ulrich for years. He could say with certainty that she also hadn't spoken him before finding out that Ulrich was going to be her new boss. With William being her boyfriend that probably wasn't the best anyway. Speaking of William, did he know?
He had so many questions for his sister, but would save them for later. "I'll go see where mum went, be right back," Yumi announced and left the room. "So, Ulrich, how come you suddenly decided to visit?" Hiroki bluntly asked him, thinking he wouldn't have the chance if his sister was in the room. He wanted to get out the most troublesome question first. "I figured it was time to show my face again. Especially with the current circumstances," Ulrich honestly answered, not in the slightest taken aback by the younger brother's words. "You know, I think my sister is stupid, but she was really sad when she left." Hiroki still wasn't making any eye contact. "I know," was the direct answer. "This might come out of the blue, but I really thought you liked my sister," he carefully stated. "I do," was the reply.
That got Hiroki to lift his head. Ulrich had a serious air around him. How was he supposed to continue the conversation now? "If you want to know what happened, I can tell you anytime you want," Ulrich gently told him. "You're worried about that stupid sister of yours, right?" Hiroki looked away, embarrassed. "Me too," Ulrich admitted.
"How is it? Being my sister's boss?" Hiroki asked him. "Beyond strange, I guess," Ulrich revealed. "I spent a large part of my life always being one year behind in everything and now I'm suddenly her boss." He took a sip of his tea. "It was a huge coincidence though. I switched companies at the last moment. I was actually accepted for another job as well, but I wanted the more challenging one," he said.
"What is it with you guys and challenges? Is it worth the effort?" Hiroki questioned. Ulrich laughed. He recalled all the fights on Lyoko. If he had to compare the effort and level of difficulty of that to his office job, Lyoko would win. "It is," he said. Hiroki leaned back on his hands. "Hmm, so has my sister done any crazy stuff at work?" The seventeen-year-old was digging for things to make fun of his sister. "Not anything in particular. She's doing great in fact. Better than me. At least, that's what I think." Ulrich took a few crackers to eat.
"Too bad," Hiroki said. "Don't bother your sister too much. I reckon she still helps you out with your homework. I would be nice to her if I were you. You know how she is when she is annoyed," Ulrich snickered. Hiroki suddenly froze. "Uhm," he pointed behind Ulrich, who wanted to turn around. But it was too late. Yumi had returned and she had overheard the last part. She whacked him on the head. "Really, do tell me. I'm all ears," she urged him on.
Ulrich just laughed again. "Awh, come on Yumi. It isn't necessarily bad. You're cute when you're like that," he kept on laughing. The siblings stilled however. Hiroki caught the blush on Yumi's face and smirked when she looked at him. "Don't you dare say a thing," she hissed, while Ulrich wasn't paying attention. "About what?" Hiroki whistled.
He hadn't expected himself to be so welcoming of this present comfortable feeling. The three of them hanging out together at their house was something that he thought would never happen again. And here they were.
"Hiroki, how's school?" Ulrich asked him. "Eh," he was startled out of his thoughts "I'm doing fine." Yumi hit him lightly on his shoulder. "Well, mostly," he corrected himself and began to tell his story. After that they spent the next couple of hours casually talking about their lives until it was time for Ulrich to leave again.
Yumi made her way to the front door first, followed by Ulrich who was simply staring after her. Hiroki had noticed all the side glances he had stolen at Yumi. He was convinced that Ulrich's feelings ran deeper than what he originally thought. "How on Earth have you held back knowing that William is her boyfriend?" He whispered to himself.
Ulrich looked at Hiroki and back to Yumi who was fumbling with the keys. He ruffled Hiroki's hair. "It was really nice to see you again. I'll stop by when you have a break. Call me if you want to talk," he said, handing him a piece of paper with his number on it. Hiroki brightened up. "Thanks. Next time, let's play some video games. I have the latest edition of Zombies in the Wild," he offered. "Sure, see you later then," Ulrich smiled and turned to his sister, "Yumi, see you on Monday," he said as he left the house.
Hiroki watched his sister once more. He was sure Ulrich's reappearance in her life made her feel conflicted, but she didn't let it show. He sighed. Time sure changed a lot, but some things were left untouched.
He just hoped both of his sister and Ulrich would be okay in the end.
A/N: This one was just something light I wanted to get in the story. It's might feel incomplete. But Hiroki will reappear, so no worries. This was written because it was done off screen in the main story :)! Next up, the second bonus chapter.