Yumi felt herself shaking as silence settled over the apartment. Ulrich shifted slightly on top of her. It occurred to Yumi that if it wasn't such a dire situation that she would have been really embarrassed to have Ulrich lying on top of her. As it was, he had shielded her with his body, and she was grateful.
"You okay?" His voice was a soft, barely audible whisper next to her ear.
"Yeah, I think so. No bullet holes anyway." She waited with a mix of relief and disappointment as Ulrich lifted himself off of her. 'Stop that,' she chided herself mentally. 'He's just a bounty hunter, a stupid government-employed bounty hunter who's job is to bring you in, remember?'
Yumi pushed herself up and gazed around the room, assessing the damaged. The window was shattered, with glass scattered over the carpeted floor. The bullets had lodged themselves in the wall over the couch, leaving four holes to mark the entry points.
"We'd better clean this up," she said after a long moment of eerie calm, like after a storm.
"You're sure you're okay? Not too many people can handle getting shot at like that and just get up and walk away" His voice was concerned, but Yumi brushed it off.
"I'm fine, Ulrich! I'm not some frail little teenager who needs to be protected, okay?" Yumi's eyes were an angry storm.
"You were never frail, and I never said that you were. You've always been just as tough as I am. I was just worried about you. You act like you've never been shot at before."
She froze in place. Ulrich laughed. "Is that it? You've never been shot at before? The big international thief has never stared down the barrel of someone else's gun?"
Yumi jumped to defend herself. "So what? It's different when someone has a gun to your head verses being sniped at in an apartment. Besides, I've never been caught, so it's not like I've even been shot at."
"You make a good point," Ulrich admitted lightly. "In any case, why not make yourself some hot chocolate to calm your nerves? It's in the third cabinet on the left."
Yumi nodded wordlessly and exited to the kitchen to do as Ulrich had suggested. He got out the vacuum and began to sweep up the shattered glass. He was attaching a piece of clear tarp to the window to cover it when Yumi popped her head in the kitchen doorway.
"Hey, why hasn't anybody come by at ask about the gunshots? Neighbors, the superintendent? Doesn't anybody care?"
Ulrich made a scoffing noise and stood up to admire his handiwork. "It's not that they don't care, it's just that everyone in this apartment complex are too concerned with their own lives to care whether I live or die. And I tend to keep a low profile, so no one here would mourn my loss. The super keeps his nose out of his tenant's business unless they ask him for something, such as my heading down now to ask him to replace this missing window in here."
"That's rather depressing," Yumi mused.
"It's the sorry truth."
They lapsed into silence as Yumi digested that information. "So no one would care if you died? You don't have any friends at all?"
Ulrich paused. He wasn't facing her, but Yumi could almost see the thoughtful expression on his face. "I guess not. I have employees and flunkies, but not any true friends. How about you? If that bullet would have hit you, would there be anyone crying for you?"
Yumi walked back into the living room, swirling the hot chocolate around in the large mug. She sat down on the couch and pondered for a moment.
"I guess....No. I'm on the move too much to make any real friends. My building is about the same as yours, everyone is too concern with themselves to notice anybody else."
"Well, I take that back," she said after a moment. "P-chan would miss me!"
Ulrich flashed her a smile. "Two peas in a pod, that's us."
Yumi smiled back, albeit ruefully. "Two friendless tabigarasu on opposite sides of the law."
Ulrich laughed, though he hadn't understood the Japanese word. "At least we have each other," he lamented.
Yumi froze with the mug halfway to her mouth. What did that mean? She gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I guess we do,
don't we?"
Ulrich's response was cut off by a single sharp rap at the door. His face clouded slightly and he rose wordlessly to answer the beckoning knock. Yumi followed him to the door curiously.
Ulrich looked through the small peephole and then opened the door, to reveal Shadow standing there and holding a young woman by the arm. She was struggling, but seemed to be no match for the hooded man.
"A friend of yours," he inquired of Ulrich. "I found her trying to escape your parking lot with a rifle in her car. But I don't suppose you would know anything about that." It seemed to Yumi that Shadow must have been grinning in a mad fashion under the hood, but she couldn't tell. The mysterious man had a way of staying in the shadows.
Ulrich himself grinned wickedly. "Actually, tht's quite the coincidence, because Miss Ishiyama and myself were just shot at." Ulrich was focused on his flunkie, but Yumi was watching the girl. Had she reacted when Ulrich had said Yumi's last name?
"Well, it is fortunate that I happened along then, isn't it? I trust you will be able to deal with her then."
Ulrich nodded. "Of course. Thank you, Shadow." He grabbed the girl's other arm and Shadow back away, leaving Yumi to shut the door.
Ulrich guided the woman to a chair in the kitchen and stood over her. Yumi took in her apearance. Black hair, dark eyes. She seemed familiar somehow.
"Alrighty," Ulrich said lightly. "Why don't you tell us who you are and why you shot at us?" His tone was light, but Yumi could tell that he was deathly serious.
The girl tossed her hair over her shoulder, the picture of cool and collected. "And why should I tell you that?"
"Because you have been captured," Ulrich said in a more serious tone. "Now unless you want me to turn you back over to Shadow, I suggest you start talking."
She shrugged, obviously unconcerned. "Fine then. But first, I have to ask you a question." She pointed at Yumi.
"Are you Yumi Ishiyama? Born in Japan, raised in France and attended Kadic Jr. High until moving to America?"
Yumi smirked, realizing who they were dealing with. "That would be me. And I suppose, since you know that much about me and you look exactly like her, that you are Sissy Delmas, the principle's daughter who never liked me very much because I was your main rival for Ulrich. Am I correct?"
The woman nodded. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
Ulrich smacked himself in the forehead. "Did everyone who went to Kadic go into something involving the law? I mean for heaven's sake, I'm a bounty hunter," he pointed at Yumi, "You're a thief, and Sissy's a hit-man! Not to mention Herb and Nicolas driving a blue and white!"
Sissy looked at him for the first time. "I don't believe it! Is that you, Ulrich?"
"The one and only," Ulrich confirmed dryly. "Boy, this little adventure is turning out to be some kind of Kadic reunion, isn't it?"
"No kidding," Yumi agreed. "But you still haven't answered our question, Sissy. Why did you attack us?"
