I have about three minutes to update this before I get kicked off the computer. Feel lucky that I decide to use my last couple minutes to do this

(Ulrich P.O.V.)

Yumi and I dashed out of the house, headed for the forest.

"Yumi, if you find him, don't try to make him angry or upset. It might provoke him to do something irrational." She nods and we head out on separate paths looking for him. After ten minutes of fruitless searching, I hear someone yelling on the path next to mine. I dash through the trees in time to see Hiroki run off into the forest, with Yumi standing there shocked and looking like she's about to cry.

"Yumi, are you okay?" I walk slowly toward her, she didn't seem to hear me. I notice her legs buckle underneath her and catch her just before she hits the ground.

"Yumi!" She's crying uncontrollably. She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me tight. I walk her over to the side and set her down on the grass.

"Yumi, what did he say to you?" I look her sternly in the eyes.

"He said I was one of the reasons he wanted to die. He-he said I was being a bitch…." She cries some more.

"Yumi, I would love to sit here and comfort you, but your brother is contemplating suicide. I need to go and help him now." She nods.

"Go." I stand up and run off following the trail Hiroki took. I run for about five minutes until I hear crying. I walk up and look toward the source of the sound. It's Hiroki, he's leaning up against a tree. Tears are rolling down his face, he looks ashamed that they are.

"Hiroki?" He looks up at me and feverishly wipes his eyes.

"Ulrich? I knew Yumi would drag you into this somehow."

"Yumi didn't drag me into this. I came because I wanted to."

"Whatever. I don't want to talk to you either, so just go away."

"Hiroki, I'm not going to stop you."

"What?"

"I'm not going to stop you from committing suicide."

"And why not?" I sit down next to him and he scoots away.

"I want you to realize and stop for yourself. First, can you tell me why you want to die?"

"No."

"Can you tell me anything?"

"No." Hiroki is being very stubborn, but I'm being persistent. As long as I don't feel like a threat to him, he shouldn't try to do anything drastic.

"If I were to ask you a question, could you answer me truthfully?"

"That depends on the question."

"Okay then… let's start of with something simple. How are you going to kill yourself?" He looks at me for a second then nods his head slightly. He pulls a small pocketknife out of his pocket and shows it to me.

"I got this from a friend. Mom doesn't know I have it."

"What were you going to do with it?"

"I was going to stab myself."

"Okay, here's another question. Why did you call your sister a bitch?"

"Because she was neglecting me. She was spending more and more time with her friends, and none with me…." Tears start falling again. He wipes them away.

"Are you ashamed of your tears?"

"Real men don't cry."

"Why not?"

"Because they're tough."

"And tough men aren't afraid of anything?"

"No."

"Then they wouldn't be afraid to show their tears. It may seem like real men don't cry, but in fact they do. Real men aren't afraid to show their tears."

"I guess that makes sense."

Simple logic is working…

"Do you know what your sister is doing right now?"

"Probably celebrating that I'm going to kill myself."

"She is back there crying. Because of you." Hiroki's eyes widen, then narrow.

"Just because I hurt her pride and called her a bitch."

"She was on the verge of tears when she first read your note. Do you know what your mother is doing right now?"

"No."

"I don't know either, but I'll bet that she is sitting at the kitchen table where we left her, crying."

"Why would she be crying?"

"Because she already lost her husband. Now she thinks she's going to lose her only son too."

"Really?"

"Yes. So by deciding to be selfish and end your own life because you're fed up with it, you made your sister and mother cry."

"I'm not selfish…."

"Really? Because it's pretty selfish to not want to make your mom and sister happy. To stop living because you can't take it."

"I… guess… you're right…."

"See? If you had thought it through, you wouldn't have ever even considered doing this."

"Can I ask you a question?" I stare at him in amazement.

"Sure, fire away."

"Why did you come? Why not Yumi?"

"Yumi can't take it. She lost her dad, now she thinks she's going to lose you as well. She couldn't even walk, so I sat her down on the grass. Let's go talk to her."

"No. I don't want to talk to Yumi." He puts on a stern face. "I have another question."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Have you ever cried?" I'm taken aback, but after a moment, I respond.

"Yes, I have."
"What about?"

"You're going to think this is really stupid, but when you get into high school, you'll understand. I have loved Yumi for a long time. But I didn't think she loved me back. When I saw her hanging out with William more and more, I went to my room and cried." I think I surprised Hiroki with that. I think he might have looked up to me as a hero, and it surprised him to know that his hero is just as vulnerable as he is.

"Hiroki, why do you want to kill yourself?" He looks at me and sighs.

"Because when my dad left, I was the only guy. I was the man of the house. I'm only ten so I can't do very much. So I feel like I'm useless, just a burden."

"Hiroki, no matter what anyone says, no matter what anyone does, you are not a burden. You are a member of your family, and they love you."

"No… I'm just a pathetic little weakling. I'm useless, I don't even deserve to live." Hiroki flips open the blade and puts it to his throat. "I'm sorry Ulrich, this is the only way." I grab his arm.

"Hiroki, please. I'm asking you to stop because I care about you. Don't do this."

"Give me one reason why not."

"Do you hate your father now?"

"Yes, I hate him. He left me and my family."

"And what would you be doing if you died?"

"I don't care, I would be dead."

"You would be leaving your family." His eyes widen as he makes the connection. "You become like your father, you would become that which you hate." The knife falls limp from his hand and he hugs me, tears rolling unrestrained down his cheeks. I grab the knife and put it away in my pocket.

"I'm so stupid."

"You are not stupid. Just wait until you become a teenager and your hormones kick in. You think you make stupid choices now, just wait."

"Would I be like Yumi? Obsessed with some girl that I hang out with?" I laugh.

"You just might." He laughs and we stand up. He's not steady on his feet, so I help him a little along the way, until we reach Yumi. Yumi is sitting down looking at her hands, which are stained red.

"Yumi?" Yumi looks up at me, tears rolling down her cheeks too. Lying down in the grass in front of her is a knife, covered with red just like her hands.

"Yumi!" I run to her and kneel down. "Yumi, what are you doing?" She pulls her arms away from me, but I grab them and look at them. They have fresh bleeding cuts circling her wrists and hands.

"U-Ulrich, I'm so s-sorry." She sobs. "I couldn't help myself… it j-just seemed like the right thing to d-do!"

"Yumi, look at me." She looks up into my eyes. "It is never, I mean never, the right thing to hurt yourself. Do you understand me?" She nods and cries in my chest again.

"Yumi? Yumi… I'm sorry." Hiroki says. Yumi doesn't say anything, but nods and waves for him to give her a hug, which they do.

"Come on, let's go back to your house." I say. I give them both a hand up and we walk back to the Ishiyama residence. Seeing as Yumi was bleeding, I rip off the sleeves of my shirt and wrap them around her arms. When we arrive I'm exhausted, so I go and sit down on the couch while everyone else is talking and mostly crying. I didn't think Mrs. Ishiyama would ever let go of Hiroki or Yumi. Yumi notices I'm on the couch and sits by me.

"Hey beautiful." I say and put my arm around her.

"Hi handsome." She lays her head on my shoulder.

"Come on Yumi, let's go take care of your arms." I lead her to the bathroom and help her wash off all the blood. Getting some real bandages, I put them on carefully.

"Wow Ulrich, you're pretty good at this stuff." She says as we walk back to the living room.

"I've had lots of practice because I've had lots of injuries." I say and sit down. She snuggles in close to me. "Yumi, please promise me you will never do that again."

"I promise." She lays her head on my shoulder and I put my arm around her waist. As we sit there, I can feel my eyelids start to droop, and it's hard to stay awake. Before I know it, I'm fast asleep on Yumi's couch.

I wake up in the morning to the smell of pancakes. I don't open my eyes, I just savor the sweet smell.

Mmm, pancakes… the school hasn't served pancakes in a while, I'd better go and get some.

Then I realize something.

I couldn't smell the pancakes if I was at school!

My eyes fly open, and I'm not where I'm supposed to be. I'm at Yumi's house, in her living room. I look to the side and see Yumi sitting next to me and smiling.

"Good morning sleepy. Did you sleep okay?" I stand up, a blanket falls off of me.

I was underneath a blanket sleeping next to Yumi?

I back away from the couch and rub the sleep from my eyes.

"What am I doing here?"

"You fell asleep last night and I didn't want to wake you up. So my mom grabbed a blanket and we slept on the couch together."

"Um, isn't that kind of a bad thing? I mean, we just slept together!" Yumi just laughs.

"Are you saying you don't want to sleep with me?"

"No! Uh, I mean… um yah, but uh…." Yumi starts laughing again.

"You're cute when you stutter like that." She walks up to me and kisses me. Immediately, I feel my thoughts clear. Everything is right in the world of Ulrich Stern once again.

"You know, you didn't have to stay with me. You could have slept in your bed, it would have been more comfortable." I say, but Yumi just laughs.

"I tried, but you had me in a death grip." Yumi grabs me by the hand and leads me into the kitchen where Mrs. Ishiyama is, of course, making pancakes.

"Good morning sleepy. Have a seat, they'll be ready in a minute." She says pointing at the table.

"Thanks Mrs. Ishiyama." She turns around and looks at me sternly.

"I don't want to hear anymore of that. After what you did last night, I want you to call me Mom. I fully consider you to be a part of the family now, even if it's not by blood." I smile sheepishly.

"Okay then…."

"Besides, being called Mrs. Ishiyama makes me feel old." She grabs a plate of pancakes and puts them on the table. "Eat up."

"Thanks." I start eating, they are delicious. After a minute, Hiroki walks in, rubbing his eyes.

"Mmm, smells good." He sits down and starts eating. Breakfast is great, we talk and laugh together. At 7:00, Yumi and I get ready for school, and by 7:30, we are ready to leave.

"Here Ulrich. If the principal asks where you were, just give him this." Mrs. Ishiyama hands me a folded note. I open it and it reads:

Please excuse Ulrich for being absent.

He was helping with family business.

S. Ishiyama

"Thanks Mrs.- I mean Mom." I smile.

I am never going to get used to calling her Mom….

"It's no problem. Now get off to school before you're late." She gives us a hug and waves us out the door. Yumi and I walk off to school together, hand in hand. We enter the school and walk over to the usual bench, where everyone is sitting. Well, everyone except Macas and Jeremie.

"Hey guys, how's Macas doing?" I say as we walk up. Odd gives me a questioning look, something like 'where were you?' but I shrug it off.

I'll tell him later, now it's not important.

"He's the same as yesterday. Except XANA's symbol has appeared on his chest, which is making Dorothy totally wig out. She's thinking about transferring him to the hospital." Odd says.

"Odd, did you just say transferring correctly in a sentence?" Yumi asks.

"Uh, yah. I think I did." He replies.

"You should do it more often. It makes you sound smarter." Odd gives us a signature grin.

"Come on, let's get to class." Aelita says. Odd stands up and gives her a hand up too. We walk to our classes, I give Yumi a quick kiss goodbye. Odd and I head for first period together with Aelita behind us.

"Okay Ulrich, spill it. What happened when you took Yumi home last night?" Aelita says.

"What are you talking about?" I say innocently.

"Oh you know. Just the fact that you never came back, your sleeves are torn, and Yumi has bandages on her arms." Odd says.

"Oh. That."

"So?" Odd sounds impatient.

"Okay, I hung out at Yumi's house for a while. Then we went looking for Hiroki because he went missing. And I uh, I found a note on his bed."

"What did it say?" I sigh.

"He wanted to kill himself." Odd goes bug-eyed, Aelita gasps.

"Why?" They ask at the same time.

"His dad left, he felt he had too much responsibility he wasn't living up to as the only male in the house."

"So what did you do?"

"Yumi and I ran off into the woods after him. We split up and Yumi found him first. Hiroki said some harsh things and ran off again. After comforting Yumi, I ran off after Hiroki."

"Keep going!"

"I found him and managed to talk some sense into him. After that, we went home." I decided to leave out the part about Yumi hurting herself.

"So Yumi just magically got hurt?"

"What do you mean?"

"She had bandages on."

"Oh, that." I sigh. "After I talked to Hiroki, we walked back to Yumi. She was in shock, she started cutting herself with a knife." Neither Odd nor Aelita says anything, we just walk in silence.

"Please don't say anything to her, she might go into emotional breakdown." They nod. Odd is the first to break the silence.

"So, your shirt?"

"Oh, that's nothing. I just used my shirt to bandage up Yumi before we got back. Then we put some real bandages on."

"So, why didn't you come back last night after that?" Aelita asks.

"Well, I uh…." I smile. "I slept with Yumi." Odd does a triple take, but Aelita doesn't seem to understand.

"You did WHAT?" Odd yells for the whole school to hear. I just laugh.

"No Odd, it's not what you think. I was holding Yumi on the couch and I fell asleep. Nothing happened."

"Odd, what's so bad about sleeping next to Yumi? Is it against the law?" Aelita asks.

"Uh… um, no, not exactly… I'll tell you later, okay?" Odd is blushing.

"Oh, okay."

R&R please! I will update tomorrow if I get five or more! I promise!