Note: Eight years ago today I started this fic. Then took a massive seven-year break. Now, I'm one chapter away from the end. Quite a bittersweet feeling as we round the corner into the finish line.
24. She moved to Paris and enrolled at Sciences Po. She lived in a tiny studio and went to class (she stopped taking sleep aids) and X.A.N.A. became a nightmare, Lyoko a dream (she smiled).
"I did not!" Hiroki protests, setting aside the memory book from Aelita.
"You did too!" Yumi laughs. "You must have been two? You were so upset that you couldn't wear the sparkly tutu that you threw a massive fit until Mom got you your own."
"Lies!" Hiroki protests. He pounces on her, knocks her onto the bed and hits her in the face with a pillow. She can't stop laughing. "I would never wear a tutu."
A throat clears and they look up to find Aelita and the boys hovering in the doorway. Jeremie is eyeing the stacks of boxes towering along the side of the room. "A tutu?" Aelita asks, eyes bright.
Hiroki's face is scarlet. "Yumi's lying!"
Yumi sits up, pushes her hair behind her ears. "Hey guys, what's up?"
"It's your last night," Jeremie says, "we thought we'd give you a proper send-off."
Odd's eyes are as bright as his grin. "Don't worry, kiddo," he says to Hiroki. "I have more sisters than I care to remember-"
"Or count," Ulrich mutters.
Odd elbows him. "If the worst Yumi has on you is a sparkly tutu, then that's nothing." He claps his hands together. "I brought pizza and I'm starving."
"You said you were done packing," Ulrich adds.
Yumi smiles, slings an arm around Hiroki's shoulders and pulls him to his feet. "Definitely. Come on, runt."
Downstairs, six large pizza boxes sit in the middle of the table her mother is setting and her father pops the cork on a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. He catches her eye and smiles. "It is a special occasion," he says.
"Awesome," Hiroki chirps.
"You are still too young." Hiroki scowls as their mother looks at their guests. "Wine?" she asks.
"Well, if you insist," Odd replies, grinning widely. "Let me help you, Mrs. Ishiyama." He takes the wine glasses she hands him, meeting Ulrich's eyes over her shoulder. "Do you guys want any?"
Jeremie glances at Aelita, eyebrows raised and she nods. "Aelita and I will have some."
"Me too," Yumi agrees.
"I'll pass," Ulrich says with a shrug. He ruffles Hiroki's hair, ignoring the younger boy's scowl. "Can't have Hiroki drinking by himself."
/
After they've consumed the bottle of wine and boxes of pizza, Aelita disappears into the kitchen and bounces back out with a box of pink frosted cupcakes. She beams as she places them down in front of Yumi. "Strawberry and chocolate," she announces.
Hiroki reaches for a cupcake and their mother slaps his hand away. "Yumi first," their father says.
Yumi flushes and shrugs, grabbing the cupcake closest. "You guys didn't have to do this," she protests. Hiroki sneaks a cupcake while their parents are distracted clearing the dishes and empty pizza boxes.
"Sure we did," Ulrich replies. "I brought some movies too."
"And Einstein brought the cool sound system he got for Christmas," Odd adds, bouncing on his toes. Jeremie shrugs and nods toward the bag by the sofa.
She glances at her parents and her mother gives her a warm smile. "Have fun with your friends, Yumi. We can clean up."
"Hiroki will help," her father adds.
/
They spend the night watching terrible horror movies and laughing at the effects or stupid choices the characters make. Aelita covers her face each time someone gets killed and Jeremie critiques the science behind the scenarios. She's curled up on the couch, Ulrich and Odd to her right. She glances over to see Ulrich with his arm resting across Odd's shoulders. She isn't sure if it's supposed to be romantic or a way to keep Odd seated and not bouncing from the sugar he's ingested.
"I'm going to miss this," she says, surprising herself. She hadn't thought she was going to say anything at all.
Ulrich glances at her, eyebrows raised curiously. "Horror movies?"
"No," she replies and kicks him. He winces. "This." She gestures widely, hoping to encompass all of them.
Before she can react, Aelita has thrown herself onto the couch and pulled her into a tight hug. "I am going to miss you so much," she says. "But I am so excited for you too!"
Ulrich shrugs, eyes bright. "Just means we have an excuse to go to Paris now."
Odd shifts, craning around Ulrich to see her. He reaches over and squeezes her foot where it's still resting against Ulrich's leg from when she'd kicked him. "Hey, no tears. It's university not the end of the world. We'll still keep in touch, yeah?"
"Of course," Jeremie adds. He reaches over from the armchair and she squeezes his hand, still being hugged by Aelita. "We're a team."
. . … . .
Yumi had spent three weekends traveling back-and-forth to Paris with her parents to find an apartment she wanted to rent. Something affordable, close-ish to campus, and yet in a decent area as well. Now, as she climbs the stairs to the second floor lugging the bag of groceries for the week she wonders if she shouldn't have looked for something on the ground floor after all.
Cursing under her breath, she balances the grocery sack on her bent knee and fumbles her way into the apartment. Objectively, it isn't anything to write home about. There's a small sitting room to her left that on a clear day you can see a bit of Notre Dame from, a tiny kitchen in front of her, and a surprisingly decent-sized bathroom and small bedroom to her right. But, it's hers and it's home.
She locks the door and carries her groceries into the kitchen, sets a pot of water to boil on the stove while she puts the groceries away.
Twenty minutes later, she sits on the windowsill in the living room, staring out toward the Seine. She has a bowl of hot noodles in her hands and her phone held between her shoulder and ear. "How are classes?" Ulrich asks.
"Honestly? Not that different than Kadic, except they move faster." She twirls a noodle around her chopstick. "How's the new school year?"
"Eh," Ulrich replies. "Same as every other year. Well, not every year, I guess," he amends.
"What, no rampant computer viruses causing mayhem?" she asks, voice dry.
Ulrich snorts into the phone and she grins. "No, thank God," he replies.
Part of her wants to press, wants to ask what scars he carries from Lyoko. She takes a breath, lets it go. She remembers the look on his face in the hospital waiting room, waiting to hear about his sister. There are some wounds too deep and she doesn't want to push, doesn't want to dig into wounds not yet healed. She wonders if they ever will fade.
"I'm applying to school in Edinburgh."
She sits up and has to fumble not to drop the phone in her surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah." He's quiet for a moment and she blinks, processing the news. She isn't sure what she expected Ulrich to do after school ended, but moving to Scotland hadn't even been a possibility in her mind. "If I get accepted Odd says he'll come with me. After training."
"Right, that's good," she replies. She takes another bite of her dinner. "I'm just surprised," she says. "This is really good, Ulrich. I'm happy for you guys."
Ulrich makes a scoffing sound, changes the subject to the upcoming game and Aelita's newest dye job. Yumi lets his voice wash over her, relaxing against the window casing and enjoying the view from her window.
. . … . .
Yumi is wandering through Paris, taking in the less tourist-y aspects. There's a street near her apartment that bends and curves, and the buildings follow suit. There's a vine-covered house converted into apartments and a small grocer and café. Yumi wanders the street, smells the sweet smell of cooking pastries from the bakery up ahead. She turns the corner and stops.
A girl is crouching there, tucked in where the street bends. She recognizes the pink hair immediately and frowns. "Aelita?" she asks. She doesn't remember Aelita saying that she'll be visiting today. She can't see what Aelita is looking at. "Aelita?" she repeats.
She steps closer, her foot connects with a loose can, sends it skittering. She looks down and it isn't a can, but a pair of eye glasses. She frowns, turns back to Aelita. There's a body half-hidden by the ivy trailing from the building.
"Aelita!" she exclaims. She pushes her out of the way, bends to check Jeremie's breathing. "What happened? Did you call for help? Aelita?"
She looks up and the street has shifted. No longer Paris, but the familiar paths of the forest sector of Lyoko. Aelita leans against the wall of a tower, smirk firmly in place. "What's going on?"
"Yumi, Yumi, Yumi," she sighs. "Did you really think any of us would escape?"
"What are you talking about?"
Aelita pushes off from the wall, crouches down in front of her. She reaches out, fingers wrap around Yumi's chin and tilt her head down. It isn't Jeremie, but Odd lying there. He's still, sprawled as if he'd been mid-jump when he'd fallen. It isn't right. He should have deactivated.
"What's going on?" She raises her eyes, meets Aelita's steady gaze. Her eyes aren't the spring green she's used to, instead they pulse black with X.A.N.A.'s symbol. "What did you do?"
"It was fun while it lasted," Aelita replies, mouth twisting into another smirk. "But it's time to stop playing games."
/
Yumi wakes with the memory of Aelita's hands around her throat, the weightless feel of the digital sea washing over her. That free-floating nothingness where her anything physical ceases to exist. She gasps and stumbles out of bed and into the bathroom. Her hand slams against the light switch, temporarily blinding her as the room is bathed in warm yellow light. She makes it to the toilet in time to vomit, wipes her mouth with toilet paper, and flushes.
She splashes cool water from the faucet on to her face and then brushes her teeth until her gums bleed. When she finally meets her reflection, she looks haunted. Her face is pale, her eyes shadowed. She fumbles her way to the kitchen and stares at the empty kitchen table. The clock reads 4:10.
She grabs the loaf of bread, cuts two slices and sticks them in the toaster. She pulls out the butter and jam, puts the kettle on and makes herself tea. At 4:25 she sits down at the table, slathers her toast in butter and jam, and picks up the phone she hadn't realized she'd brought with her from the bedroom.
It rings twice before it connects. "Yumi?"
"Hi Dad," she says, voice hoarse. She clears her throat. "I have an early start today and hoped I'd catch you at breakfast. I know it isn't the same as being there…but do you mind?"
"Of course not," he says. She can hear the pleased note to his voice and she sighs and settles back in the chair. "I have missed our morning chats. What are you eating this morning?"
. . … . .
Mom's birthday is Saturday. Do NOT forget!
How can i with u always reminding me?
Don't be a brat. And type properly.
Class is starting
And chill. Already got her a gift
See u Sat
/
Their schedules don't always align, but most Fridays they're able to squeeze in some video calling. Usually she has to rush home from work and Ulrich's late from practice or a game, or Aelita's scheduled to DJ an event and Jeremie might have a robotics meeting. The main constant is Odd though.
"Yumers!" he chirps when she signs into the call.
"Don't call me that," she replies automatically. She sinks into her couch, places the laptop on the coffee table. "Anyone else joining the call tonight?"
"Ulrich's in the showers." She raises her eyebrows and he grins. "I offered to help him get all the mud off – it started pouring during practice apparently. He came back completely covered. But, well, you know Ulrich." He shrugs and toys with the tag hanging around his neck.
"And the lovebirds?" she asks.
"Working on a robot for Einstein's competition. Apparently it must beat Herve's." Odd shrugs. "I think it's just nerd-code for them making out."
"I really don't want to picture them making out," Yumi says, pulling a face at the mental image.
Odd looks unapologetic as he pops candy into his mouth. "Well, you didn't have to actually see it in person, so sorry-not-sorry." He leans in and adjusts the camera. "Speaking of lovebirds, have you started seeing that guy officially? Sam says you two hang out all the time."
Yumi rolls her eyes and stretches out on the sofa. She tucks a throw pillow under her head. "No," she replies. "I know it's a hard concept for you sometimes, but we're friends. We just hang out."
"Uh huh," Odd replies. He looks up as a door opens. She sees him talking but he must have muted himself because there's no sound. She yawns and waits until Ulrich appears in frame next to Odd.
"Hey, Yumi," he says. "How's it going?"
She shrugs. "Odd's interrogating me on my love life. Again."
"I just want you to be happy, Yumers. You're at university, you should be get-" Ulrich rolls his eyes and covers Odd's mouth with a hand.
"Ignore him, he's been bored." He looks at Odd. "If I move my hand are you going to behave?"
The blonde nods and Ulrich slowly removes his hand. Odd sticks his tongue out at first Ulrich, then Yumi. He shifts, head resting against Ulrich's shoulder. "Fine, since we can't talk about Yumi and the guy-she-isn't-but-totally-is-dating, how about food? Make anything new?"
Yumi grins, grabs her phone. "I made a croquembouche at work today. I'm texting you photos now."
A moment later, Odd groans. "It's not fair that you're in Paris and not making these here. For everyone, but mostly me."
/
It takes seven months, but eventually the sleep-aids find their way to the back of the medicine cabinet. They're hidden behind an extra tube of toothpaste, a bottle of aspirin, and a bottle of hand lotion she hid because she can't stand the smell.
It takes ten months before she notices.
/
Sean comes over to watch films after he gets off work most Wednesday nights. She isn't sure what they are, exactly. There's a casual interest there, but no moves have been made. She finds that she enjoys just having a friend in a new city. Sometimes she cooks and other times he brings over take-out. It's nice.
She's lost interest in the movie they're currently watching. It's some kind of action film and she finds that after a while they all blend into one. She pulls over her notebook, deciding that she'll skim her notes for the biology test coming up.
Instead, she finds that she's sketching out the mountain sector of Lyoko. It takes her a moment to realize that Sean is watching her work. She flushes and moves to flip the page. He catches her hand. "Can I?" he asks.
"It's just some doodles," she says. He moves closer, tattooed fingers release her wrist and instead begin tracing her line-work. "They're nothing."
"They're pretty cool," he disagrees. "The way the tree roots trail over the floating rocks adds some interesting movement to the piece. If you add some shadows here," he moves his finger across the page, "and here, it'll really bring it to life. Some work and this could be a cool tattoo, if you're looking to get a new one."
She laughs, shakes her head. "No, just doodling instead of studying." She flips the notebook closed and looks at the film. It looks like there's a man following a woman on screen, but she doesn't remember either character. "I have no idea what's going on."
He laughs, long and hard, and reaches for the bag of crisps. "I switched movies since you didn't seem interested in the first one. Wondered when you'd notice."
/
"You look…happier."
"What do you mean?" Yumi asks. She looks over from where she's window shopping outside a small boutique she'll never be able to afford.
Jeremie shrugs and pushes up his glasses. "You just do. At Kadic you were always so serious. I've seen you smile more today than a week back home."
Yumi shrugs and plays with the fringe on the end of her scarf. It looks like it will be an early winter, with temperatures already dropping in October. Jeremie took the train in from l'X for the weekend and they spent the morning wandering around the Ile de la Cite, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Sainte Chappelle. They'd even gotten a picture together at Point Zero in front of Notre Dame for kicks.
"It's been a good day," she replies. They're heading back to the apartment, pausing to browse street vendors or glance in shop windows as the fancy hits them. "I didn't have to work and I get to hang out with a friend."
Jeremie shakes his head and tugs his knit hat more securely onto his head. "It's not a bad thing if you're happy."
She looks at Jeremie and nudges him with her elbow. "How about you, huh? You sounded pretty excited about your classes this semester."
"They're more challenging than the ones Kadic offered. I'm still not sold on the weekly sport though."
Yumi laughs as they approach her apartment. "Ulrich said you tried to bribe him to take your place."
"The jerk refused, said he had an exam," Jeremie groans. They fall into idle chatter as they climb the three flights of stairs to her apartment. Because she is a good friend she doesn't comment on how out of breath he is when they reach her floor. "Do you miss Kadic?" he asks as they enter her apartment.
Yumi unwinds her scarf and shrugs out of her coat. "Sometimes," she states. "I miss you and the rest of the gang. The video chats are nice, but…" she shrugs. "Sometimes I even miss Odd's music. Do you remember that one song he did?"
"Yes," Jeremie replies, smiling. "Don't even remind me or it'll be stuck in my head forever."
Yumi flops onto the sofa and Jeremie joins her, their bags left by the coat rack. "Do you ever think about Lyoko?" she asks.
Jeremie tilts his head, peering at her from over his glasses. "Sometimes, it's hard not to. It was such a large part of our lives for so long." He shrugs. "But it's in the past now. Why?"
Yumi lets her head fall back against the sofa cushion and stares up at the ceiling. "Just wondering. Like you said, it was a big part of our lives. And with Aelita…"
Jeremie mirrors her position, stares up at the ceiling. "I was upset at first," he says slowly. "I didn't understand why she'd squander so many opportunities…but I get it. She spent so much of her life confined to Lyoko, then to Kadic, that of course she wants to go out and see the world."
"That's a very mature opinion."
"The whole point of everything we did with Lyoko was to free Aelita. It would be hypocritical if she was just stuck in another type of cage."
Yumi turns her head to study Jeremie. He's still staring up at the cracked plaster above them. She reaches over and squeezes his shoulder. "Aelita loves you, you know? She won't be gone forever."
"I know," he replies, voice quiet. "What about you?" he asks. "Do you think about Lyoko?"
She twists back around and resumes her previous position. "I tried not to for a long time, but…when everything is said and done, it wasn't a bad time." She rubs at the black marks etched into her wrist. "I got some really great friends out of it."
"Indeed," Jeremie agrees.