A/N: It's time. Welcome to chapter 53. It's been so gray these days, which is a real bore. So, this should be pure fun. There is some yoga terminology in this chapter, but you can look them all up if you're interested. I used simplified English terms in comparison to the more difficult Sanskrit terms. I've tried yoga a few times, but I'm no expert. I'm not even flexible, so it was really hard on me :'). Anyway, thanks a lot for the reviews. See you next time!
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination :)!
"I wonder if Aelita and Jeremie have come up with their business proposal yet," Yumi wondered. She was organizing and reviewing the monthly reports that had been handed in. A few of them were delayed, but she didn't consider it too much trouble as long as Ulrich had them by the end of the week. Ulrich could hear her talk from his spot in the office. "Who knows?" He vaguely replied. Yumi sighed. "We have been through quite a lot these past few weeks. Maybe we should take a mini break?" She suggested. "No, I don't want to give anyone the opportunity to point that out to us. Especially, since we're carrying out multiple plans in a row," Ulrich said. Yumi shook her head. "Exactly. You're too tense. That way, you'll be too nervous to follow through," she argued.
Ulrich walked over to the door opening. "And," she emphasized, "I said mini break. We can do that here." She got up and started shoving the desk further back until there was enough space between the door and where she usually sat behind her desk. "Let's do something to soothe the mind and body," Yumi announced. "Now?!" Ulrich rose an eyebrow. "Yeah, now," she simply answered. "We're almost done with work anyway, because some people are behind. Besides, it's not like we can get off work early." Yumi took out her phone and looked something up.
He saw her put it down. "Okay, we'll be doing some yoga." Yumi put her hands on her hips. "But normal yoga will be boring. Let's make it a game," Yumi said. Ulrich crossed his arms. "You have more experience doing this. Doesn't seem fair," he said. "You can always try to beat me at it," she stated, then shrugged. Ulrich looked amused. "Well, I wouldn't say no to that. What do we do?" She laughed. In the meantime, he walked to the other door and turned the lock.
"Ah." Yumi ran a hand through her hair. "Didn't think of that," she said. "We don't want a repeat of the past few times it did happen," Ulrich reminded her of the times they were almost caught in awkward situations. She watched him return to his previous position. "Any rules?" He asked.
She focused again. "Yes. First one that fails to hold his or her pose for thirty seconds is out. We'll increase the difficulty as we go along. Let's do about ten of them, three easy, three intermediate and four advanced." Ulrich nodded. "Deal. Any punishments?" He asked. Yumi shook her head. "No, that's not necessary, since you'll most likely lose."
"Tsk, watch me," he said. Yumi chuckled. "Okay so first, let's try the chair pose." She demonstrated to him. She bent her knees and made sure her thighs were parallel to the floor. Her arms were outstretched along the sides of her head as she leaned forward a little with a straight back. "That's easy," Ulrich claimed. "It's supposed to be," Yumi countered. Ulrich assumed the pose. They waited until the alloted time had passed. "Next, the half Lord of the fishes pose." Yumi got to it, but Ulrich looked confused. "The what?" She laughed. "That's what it's called.. in English. But I guess simply seated twist pose will do as well." He watched her get into the pose and wondered when she had learned to do yoga. Ulrich didn't have time to question her, since he was busy trying to copy her. "Why do people do this?" He asked aloud as seconds ticked by.
"It's relaxing," Yumi said. "The easy ones, at least," she whispered. "I heard you," Ulrich said.
However, he was starting to have fun, which Yumi noticed. She smiled. "Next?" She asked. He nodded. "Actually, your supposed to put your legs against a wall for this. But we don't really have the space to do that," she pointed out. "Let's switch to the cobra pose," Yumi said as she assumed the pose. Ulrich smirked. He copied her again, quickly positioning himself in front of her. "Thirty seconds huh," he checked again. Yumi somehow saw this one coming and wanted to move away, but getting out of the pose wasn't as easy as it seemed. Ulrich put his hands on top of hers. "Too late," he said and closed the distance between their faces. Yumi's heart skipped a beat when the kiss started. She was shocked for a few seconds, but gave in and returned it. There had been enough time to think about how she should have seen it coming or how she should have picked another pose. Not that it mattered anymore.
Ulrich pulled back first, in order to free Yumi's hands.
"That's not the purpose of this game," she said with a blush on her face. He merely grinned at her. "The pose was too easy. Time for a more difficult one," Yumi announced. He shrugged and turned around, a little embarassed as well. "Thirty seconds is a long time," they thought at the same time. Ulrich poured them cups of water and handed one to her. Yumi saw his cheeks had some red in them and smiled, then silently drank her water.
"These will be of intermediate difficulty," Yumi explained after having had time to cool down. "Time to turn into a boat," she said. Ulrich watched her and easily turned into a boat. "And now? Sailing the sea?" Ulrich's joke earned him a kick to his back. "Hey, ouch!" He rubbed the violated spot on his back. "This one is called the plow pose," Yumi explained. Ulrich's expression became one of dread. "I remember someone complaining about how they thought they weren't flexible anymore. You liar," he told her. "Ha, well, I regained my confidence," she managed to talk.
Ulrich also sounded weird. "Great," he grunted.
They lay down flat afterwards to rest. "Actually, this has a name too," Yumi said. "Enlighten me," Ulrich remarked. Yumi was amused. "It's the corpse." Ulrich snorted. "So now I'm dead? Thanks Yumi," he joked. "That would make me a ghostly secretary then," she added. They both laughed at their silliness.
Yumi got up. "I'm sure you'll fail this one," she challenged him by performing a perfect handstand. Ulrich looked visibly nervous. "If I can do that on the bar in playground, I can do that on the floor as well," he claimed. "Thirty seconds straight?" She asked, rather relaxed. "Yep!" Ulrich tried and succeeded. Barely.
"You're tough," she admitted. Ulrich was proud. "But, let's not get ahead of ourselves" she said, scrolling through her list. He stood next to her. They did the lotus pose next.
"Hmm, I didn't think this would be one of the advanced ones," Ulrich said upon sitting comfortably on the floor. Yumi had more trouble. She would not have been able to hold out for minutes, but half a minute was doable. "Most people aren't too flexible. It's actually a hard one to complete," she informed him. "When did you learn all of this?" He finally asked her. "Oh, uhm, it hasn't been that long. About one and a half years ago? Because, uh, I wanted to distract myself." She avoided making eye contact. Ulrich fell silent. Then, time was up. "It's a great workout, so you told a really big lie at the playground," Ulrich accused her. Yumi giggled. "No, it was a moment of self-doubt," she tried to convince him. "Must have been quite the rarity," Ulrich said. "I guess so," Yumi head-shakingly replied.
The second advanced pose was the Lord of the dance pose. After another suprised look from Ulrich, who was once again 'impressed' by its name, they completed it and went on to the next one. "I believe this will be a cinch for you, since you have more arm strength. I see this as a challenge for myself. It's called, the peacock pose." Ulrich saw her balancing on her hands and noticed her struggling to maintain it. He got down and inched close enough for their heads to touch if he leaned forward a little more. After twenty seconds Yumi started to fall down, but her head hit Ulrich's head. "Are you cheating?" Ulrich asked. "No," she lied and composed herself for the last eight seconds. "Okay, done!" She rested first, Ulrich followed. He stared at her. "What?" She innocently said. "You lost balance," he pointed out. "A little, but I was still in the pose thanks to your head," she admitted and knocked on his head. "I know," he said and kissed her cheek. Yumi was flustered again. Then, she realized he had done it on purpose. Yumi eyed the last pose for the day. "Let's call it a draw for today," she suggested.
Ulrich had refilled their cups. "Sure," he coolly accepted as he drank his water. Yumi did the same. After that, they returned Yumi's desk to its original place within the office. "I might have some muscle aches tomorrow. It feels like I have used muscles that haven't moved before," he said as he stretched himself. Yumi also stretched herself. "I know you will. I had them every time in the beginning," she revealed. Ulrich unlocked the door as he counted in his head. "Wait, we only did nine. Or are you counting the corpse?" He asked. She nodded. "I am. We should get used to it first, so this was plenty for today," she lied. "Ah, well, playing a corpse was really hard." He laughed. "Thanks, Yumi. This was suprisingly helpful."
"You're welcome," she said and smiled at him.
A knock on the door startled them back into their work mode. "Hi guys," Kelly popped inside. "Did you have fun?" She questioned them. Both of them were confused by her choice of words. "The cobra pose seemed really intense," she said as she shrugged. She watched Yumi and Ulrich turn bright red. "Next time, you guys should not only lock the door," she whispered, "I would also close the shutters." Yumi and Ulrich looked at each other, then back to Kelly. She burst out laughing. "Don't worry, I was kind enough to look away before Ulrich did the deed," she carried on and laughed again when her friends were fidgeting with their sleeves and watch respectively. "D-did anyone s-see us?" Yumi stumbled over her words. "No, just me. I told a passerby you weren't in, which is why I'm here now," she explained. Kelly giggled and handed a post-it note to Yumi, who took it and looked it over before sticking it on her desk.
"I'm glad you guys are trying to stay calm and positive. Odd filled me in on your plans. If I can be of any help, please let me know," she offered.
Yumi nodded. "We certainly will," she said. Ulrich nodded as well.
Kelly beckoned for her to come closer. Yumi complied. "I'm really happy for you. You really deserve to be loved like this and so does Ulrich," Kelly told her. Yumi smiled. "Thanks."