A/N: Hello! It's been a very long time since my last update. Sorry for the long wait. I lost my previously written chapter, but wasn't happy with it anyway. And my plans weren't matching up either. Besides writer's block, other things also happened. But the next chapter is finally here. I'll be back on the usual schedule after this. Enjoy the read!

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination :)!

Today was ELITA's first anniversary. Yumi and Ulrich were on their way to their friends' company. She eyed Ulrich, who seemed very focused on the traffic in front of them. "Something on your mind?" Yumi asked him.

"Well, I was just thinking whether it won't be bothersome for them to help us with my dad." He looked at her for a second, then paid attention to the road again. "I'm sure they're willing to give us a hand. Aelita is very supportive and you know Jeremie and Odd are too," she told him. "I know, I know, but it's still… hard."

She noticed his fierce grip on the steering wheel. "You don't like discussing your family matters in front of others. Those about your dad in particular. But none of us do. We all had some difficult times with our own families. We understand and really wish to help you get through this," she gently touched his shoulder. "Okay?" He gave a slight nod. She smiled.

Ulrich changed the topic after a minute filled with silence. "When are your next exams? You haven't added them to the agenda yet." Yumi retracted her hand. "Somewhere next month, I believe. I'll add them to the agenda before the end of the week," she promised.

"How's Hiroki?" Ulrich asked. "Thankfully he is too busy with school to pester me about you. He wouldn't stop asking questions after the day we told him. I almost kicked him out," she exaggerated. Ulrich laughed. "At least you have a supporter in the house," he joked. Yumi stilled. He quickly continued, "I have Odd. I don't know who's worse." She laughed at that.

Once they arrived at ELITA, Ulrich called Jeremie. "He said he'll be down in ten minutes," Ulrich told her. "Okay, but we don't really have anything work related to discuss with him, right?" Yumi remarked. "No, we don't, but I heard our Einsteins do," Ulrich replied. Yumi wondered what it could be about.

They took a seat in the corner of the busy lobby. Not long after they heard a high pitched voice. "I'm telling you, Jonathan left the files on your desk. Argh, so you're saying he gave them to me? No, I never saw them. I'm here now, bye." The person seemed to abruptly end her phone conversation, whilst making the entire lobby aware of that. "There is only one person with such a voice," Yumi whispered to herself. The clicking sound of her heels came closer.

"Oh no," Yumi thought.

"Ulrich, dear, it's been so long!" Sissi exclaimed. "Hello to you too, Yumi," she greeted the Japanese woman with an equal amount of energy. Yumi was stunned. Ulrich was as well. "Can I sit here?" Sissi pointed to a chair across from them. She didn't wait for an answer and sat down. "What brings you here?" Ulrich asked her. Yumi was still too shocked to speak up.

"I'm only running an errand for my mother. I'm telling you, that secretary of hers is getting on my nerves. He's constantly trying to frame me. It's so annoying. But I think my mother's aware of it now, so it won't be long until he's fired," she blabbed on. Yumi couldn't believe she was talking to them, as if they were friends.

"Ah, okay." Ulrich dryly commented. "And why are you two here?" Ulrich explained why they were there. "Oh! Please congratulate him for me as well," Sissi requested. "Sure," Ulrich said. Shortly afterwards, his phone rang. "Excuse me," he said and got up. Yumi gave him a pleading look, but got an apologetic one from Ulrich in return. She watched him walk away to take the call.

"You're probably confused," Sissi spoke again. Yumi turned to her. "You could say I am," she replied. "I ran into William last weekend," Sissi revealed. "He informed me about you and Ulrich." Yumi frowned. "Of course, I'm not going to congratulate you. But I won't interfere either. It's been many years Yumi," Sissi looked saddened. "I seriously hoped he would one day be able to see me in a new light."

Yumi didn't know how to respond. She hadn't expected this at all. "I'm also not going to ask you to forgive me or anything like that," Sissi continued. "I just want to say, I'm trying to move on now."

"Ulrich did see you change," Yumi opted to cheer her up slightly. "He told me you were still you, but you had matured a bit. If I'm not wrong, you were able to have normal conversations. I guess, he's always been the one who saw your good points as well. That got me frustrated, but in the end you're a person too. Instead of feeling jealous, I should have tried to change my perspective."

"Nothing good ever comes out of falling in love with the same guy as someone else who is as close, if not closer, to him as you are." Sissi shrugged.

"I'm sor-," Yumi was cut off. "No, keep that to yourself. You're not sorry and you shouldn't be. You might even love him more than I did. Ulrich deserves that much," Sissi told her. Yumi smiled. It was refreshing to see this side of her now ex-rival. She appreciated Sissi's effort in having this small talk with her.

"Yes, he does." She softly agreed.

"And if I had been nicer from the start, maybe I would have gotten somewhere too," Sissi admitted. "Let's just blame it on puberty," Yumi said. Sissi laughed genuinely. "I guess William was right." Yumi was confused. "About what?" Sissi shook her head. "Nothing, I have to go." She got up.

"The next time we meet, I hope I will be able to wish you happiness with Ulrich," Sissi said.

Yumi got up as well. "I look forward to that."

Sissi went on her way.

Yumi was deep in thought, as she sat down once more. She was well aware that Sissi was strong and admired her way of trying to move on. Yumi could tell Sissi was being sincere and had therefore heard her out. She understood it must have taken a lot of courage to speak her mind like that.

Yumi's thoughts swerved to William and she felt guilt well up within herself. She knew there was nothing she could have done for him. She also didn't expect him to do what Sissi did, despite having been the one that stimulated Sissi to do so. William would deal with it in his own way. She recalled their previous encounters. Yes, William was already dealing with it in his own way.

Ulrich returned. He saw Yumi was lost in her thoughts. "Hey," he nudged her. "What's wrong?" Yumi looked up. "Sissi and I had a talk," she disclosed. "A talk?" He said. His gaze fell on the vacant chair across Yumi for a second. "Yeah. Apparently William told her about us," she began. "What did she say?" Ulrich seated himself next to her. Yumi relayed Sissi's words.

He stared at her. "What?" She asked. "Well, I did not see that coming. But she's strong, so she'll definitely succeed." Yumi nodded. "I believe so too."

Ulrich held her hand and interlaced their fingers. "Sorry in advance." Yumi frowned. "For what?" He checked their surroundings. Nobody paid them any attention. He quickly kissed her on her lips. Yumi's face turned bright red. "It's a reward," he patted her head. "You're always considerate of others. I'm sure you must have held back when you saw her. I know, I always do." He chuckled. "I guess it will be easier to act normally around her now," Ulrich said. Yumi hummed in affirmation.

Yumi looked around to check whether Sissi had left the lobby and noticed her standing in front of the elevators with someone else. Would Sissi have witnessed them? Said person glanced sideways and their eyes met. Sissi smiled ruefully at her. Yumi watched her enter the elevator, then heard a notification sound that drew her attention back to Ulrich. "Oh, Jeremie is coming down now," Ulrich read the message on his phone. Yumi squeezed his hand as she looked at the closed doors of the elevator. "Good luck to all of us." She hoped they would be able to stay strong both in the present and in the future.

A/N: See you next time :)!