A Secret Desire

In her room, Yumi watched the recording of the fight on the Royal Knight's Temple. She had watched it so many times in the past few days that she had it memorized. It had become an obsession to her to find the identity of the warrior. She'd followed up on every possible clue that the video had to offer.

She'd searched the Internet for hour for recent katana sales. During that search she looked for the particular hilt design and color of the sword. Then she searched for a fighting style that matched the boy's movements. And finally, she searched for any further news of that individual appearing again. All her searches proved fruitless. Now she left with only the video to search for answers or clues that weren't forthcoming.

The harsh ringing of her phone pulled Yumi out of her reverie. Pausing the video, she answered it. The caller ID had the phrase Unknown illuminated brightly.

"Hello?"

"Yumi?" asked a deep voice.

"Yes?" she said as suspicions flew through her head.

"Stop trying to learn who I am," the voice said darkly.

A shadow appeared on her floor. Turning, Yumi saw the boy that she'd been searching for. He was dressed in the same outfit as before and held a black phone to his ear. But the strange thing was that he seemed to be floating in the air.

"Who are you?" Yumi demanded. "What do you want from me?"

The boy didn't respond immediately. But when he did, his voice wasn't as deep and was subdued. Barely above a whisper, he said, "I'm not of any importance to you. You won't ever learn who I am."

Suddenly he dropped out her sight. As she rushed to her window and opened it, there came a click on her phone. Peering through her window, Yumi spotted the boy. He was sprinting across the empty street. Then he disappeared into the shadows of the homes on the opposite side of the road.

Smiling slightly to herself, Yumi turned back to her television. If the warrior-boy had intended to scare or talk her out of giving up her search, he failed miserably. Instead, she felt even more inspired to learn his identity.

It was as she was preparing to continue her video that she saw it. It was such a minor detail and the image was slightly distorted. But now, as she studied it from a slightly greater distance than she had been, she realized how she'd missed it earlier. The boy had just arrived on the scene and threw his weapons at the monsters. There on his arms was the clue: blood! His arms were bleeding before he'd even started fighting!

A memory leapt to her mind instantly. The three werewolves thrashing around, slashing at Ulrich as he strangled the big one. His arms received long cuts that were still no doubt wrapped in their bandages. And he's released from the hospital today, she thought as her mind put the pieces of this puzzle together.

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He was with Odd as dusk's last light was fading from the walls of their dorm room. Sitting at his desk, Ulrich was hunched over a notebook as he drew. Though the sketch was very poor, Ulrich smiled faintly at his picture of Yumi. Odd was lying on his back, playing his gameboy and petted Kiwi absentmindedly.

Then Odd's phone rang next to Ulrich and sent Kiwi into a string of barks. Looking up at Ulrich, Odd paused his game and waited. Rolling his eyes slightly, Ulrich tossed the phone to his friend.

"Hello?" Odd said. "…Who? …Oh, yeah he's here."

This caught Ulrich's attention. Watching Odd, he waited patiently for him to finish. Odd grew oddly serious as he listened to whoever called. Then a grin spread on his face abruptly.

"Yeah, sure!" Odd said with laughter. "As if that would ever happen! Oh! And how did you get my cell phone number anyway, Sissi?"

Odd flinched and jerked his phone from his ear. A stream of loud curses and screams erupted form the phone before Odd could hang up. Odd had a triumphant smile on his face as he stuffed his phone into his pocket.

"Guess I struck a nerve," Odd said as he returned to his game.

Nodding, Ulrich returned to his picture. This was the only way he could admire her anymore, he realized. Her face caused that horrible knot in his stomach to tighten again. Then that terrible memory of Yumi kissing Theo made itself known. The knot tightened its grip dramatically. Though it wasn't physically painful, it was excruciating for his heart and soul.

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Crickets sang loudly in the moonlight. The cloudless night allowed the full moon's light to flood into the room unhindered. The window was slightly ajar and a warm breeze seeped in. All was calm, quiet, and natural.

Then Odd's phone rang from his dresser. Kiwi, sleeping on the pillow with his master, woke and began barking loudly. Groaning but awake, Odd climbed out his bed and quickly answered his phone.

"Hello?"

"Justin?" asked a feminine voice. "I was just sitting around with nothing to do. So, I know it's late, but do you want to come over and do something?"

Odd's face burned hotly for a moment. Then a devilish smile crept up his face. "Sure," he said. "I'd love to except one minor detail…"

"What's that, my Love?"

"My name isn't Justin," Odd said. Picking up Kiwi, he continued speaking. "He's around here somewhere, though. Hang on a moment… Ah, here he is."

Holding the phone to Kiwi, he let the little dog sniff it. When the woman began speaking, Kiwi began barking fiercely. Taking the phone back to his ear, Odd said, "I think he said he'll be right over."

"You immature, little son of a bitch!" screamed the woman. "If I ever get my hands on you—"

"Maybe you should pay more attention to who you're calling," Odd snapped and hung up.

Putting his phone back on the dresser, he glanced over at Ulrich. But he was gone. The bed was clearly illuminated in the moonlight and the sheets were thrown back. Doubling back, Odd took his phone and dialed Yumi's number.

"Hello?" asked a sleepy voice.

"Hey, Yumi," Odd said. "Remember you wanted me to tell you if Ulrich did anything strange?"

"Yeah," she said, sounding more awake.

"Well, does disappearing in the middle of the night count as strange?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes, it does. Thanks, Odd. You should get back to sleep."

Yawning, Odd didn't bother fighting. As soon as he lied back down, he was asleep. In his dreams was a young woman screaming at him as he barked like dog and juggled phones.

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At Yumi's house a quiet figure crept out of the front door. Running to the street, the person stopped and hid in the shadows. Sure that no one was following, Yumi walked to the factory.

Knowing Jeremy, she thought, he'll still be there.

Then her thoughts turned to Theo. That kiss on the bus had been her first. Theo had told her that she was free to do what she wanted. Ulrich wasn't the one she loved anymore; it was Theo. It was then that she'd decided to show them both whom she cared for. Though she hadn't seen his, Yumi felt that she could've guessed what his expression was with a reasonable degree of confidence.

Ulrich's face rose into her mind as memories flashed through her mind, old and new. Even though her mind wanted to forget him, her heart had different ideas. She relived again those moment in Lyoko when he saved her. Then she remembered him racing down the highway, jumping cars, and climbing on the hood of the bus. Why?

Bumping into something Yumi recoiled. Getting her bearings, she realized that she was standing at the entrance to the factory. As she entered the clash of steel on steel and the sound of running footsteps could be heard.