NOTE: I know I stated that the next Spotlight would probably be one that builds upon the RWBY related scene in Dark Phoenix, but my collaborator ended up finishing this before I had finished that, so I opted to upload it first. The one I'm working on should be done soon though. I'd say it's about 80%-85% done at the moment, so hopefully it won't be much longer.
DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Infinity Verse Spotlight
Odd Della Robbia: Nine Lives, One Heart
Miracle City was, by no stretch of the imagination, not exactly a tourist spot in Mexico. The spicy cesspool of crime and villainy was home to some of the most dangerous villains in the world. From Dr. Chipolte Jr. and his father and grandfather to the feared Sartana of The Dead, every evil-doer in the city struck fear into the hearts of those who lived in the city. One such villain was El Oso, who was currently in the middle of carrying his daily routine of robbing banks. While White Pantera and his sometimes heroic son, El Tigre, were the protectors of the city, they would be often called away for a mission by the team they were a part of, allowing El Oso and the other villains of Miracle City to go about their evil business without fear of getting stopped. However, just because Miracle didn't have its heroes at the moment didn't mean that it was without protection.
"You better not call the cops, mans!" El Oso warned the bank teller as he hefted the sack of money over his shoulder before addressing the rest of hostages. "And that goes for the rest of you!"
The hostages he had taken during his heist let whimpers and cries in response, a clear sign that no one was going to oppose him. El Oso let out a hearty laugh as h made his way toward the hole he made in the wall when he first attacked the bank. But just before he could step out into the world, a small silver dart struck the ground in front of him that made the bear-themed villain halt in his tracks before a laser struck his hand, making him drop the money in the process. Furious at this surprise attack, El Oso spun around, thinking that one of his hostages was trying to play the hero.
"Who did that shit, mans?!" the bear-man demanded. "Which one of you just signed his own death warrant?!"
Just then, El Oso heard the sound of someone whistling to him from the rafters of the bank. Confused and still full of anger, the bear-themed villain looked up just in time to see a yellow boot strike him dead in the face. As El Oso stumbled back, the person who had kicked him did a backflip off his face before dramatically landing on the bank counter. The surprise hero was cat-themed costume wise, but this wasn't El Tigre. The hero's costume was dark purple with a black and yellow trim and highlights with armored shoulder pads and yellow knee pads. He had a pair of cat-like pawed gloves and had what looked like the emblem of a dog on his chest. To add to the hero's bizarre costume, his blond hair stuck up in a cone-shape and had a purple dot in the center of it. A purple mask covered his mouth, but his cheeks and forehead had streaks of purple on them.
This was Wild Katt, a member of the Infinity League and the Lyoko Warriors of France. Outside of his superhero identity, his real name was Odd Della Robbia. A carefree, joke-spinning teen who was among the first wave of heroes who were recruited into the team. When the Lyoko warriors were recruited into the League by the Ninja of Norrisville, Odd was ecstatic of being a hero in the eyes of the public instead of hiding the shadows. However, his friends were less than thrilled at first since they had been discovered. As it turns out, the GJN had been keeping tabs on them from the get-go ever since the Supercomputer was brought back online. Rather than try to try to shut them down, the League wanted to have them among their ranks, and Odd was the first to jump at the chance to join them.
"Looks like you've been denied a loan, Oso," Odd quipped before noting "Hey, by the way, can you speak English? I know you don't know French, so I'm using this instead. I'd hate to waste all my jokes and quips on you if you don't understand what I'm saying."
"Hey, you ain't Tigre!" Oso stated angrily. "Who the hell are you, mans?!"
"Why, I'm the Amazing Wild Katt of course!" Odd announced, striking another pose as he did. "Feline hero of France!"
"I thought that was Cat Noir, mans," the bear-man said, making Odd grimace under his face-mask as he did.
"Okay, just for that, I'm gonna punch you extra hard," Wild Katt stated.
El Oso let out a rage-filled cry as he lunged at Odd, who backflipped over him as he swung a fist at him. Once behind him, he delivered a double-kick to the bear-man's back, making him stumble forward. Oso spun around and tried to strike him again, only for Odd to jump up to evade the offensive and punch Oso across the face before doing several flips backward. Blinded by his anger, Oso charged at the french hero, who smirked under his mask as he took a fighting stance. Once he was close enough, Oso brought both his fists into the air before bringing them down on the cat-themed hero, who jumped out of the way as he fired two more laser arrows at the crook's face. While they weren't lethal to him, they did inflict enough pain to at least temporarily blind him long enough to allow Odd enough time to punch to the man-bear's face before finishing with a roundhouse kick that knocked Oso flat on his back.
The onlookers of the fight let out a cheer as Odd stood over the toppled villain. Distracted by the cheers, Wild Katt took a bow before his audience, taking in the admiration of the crowd as he always did. However, because of his need to showboat, Odd failed to notice that Oso had recovered for his attack and was currently reaching out to take hold of the cat-themed hero. As Odd continued to bow to the onlookers, he felt something grabbed onto his tail. Odd turned his head around to see Oso holding onto his appendage with a wicked grin on his face. The next thing Wild Katt knew, he was flung into the floor and nearby the walls, all the while Oso laughed at the young hero's pain. Once he was finished having his fun, the bear-themed villain hurled Odd out of the bank through the hole he made earlier out into the street where the french hero rolled across the road before hitting a nearby parked car.
"...Ow..." Odd muttered as he laid face down on the pavement.
Oso let out a deep laugh as he approached the fallen hero, cracking his knuckles as he did. But before he could lay another claw on the french hero, a fan came flying out seemingly nowhere before striking Oso in the face before returning to its owner's hand. The newcomer in question was a young Japanese girl dressed in a black and maroon suit with white face paint. She also wore a face mask like Wild Katt, only her's was looked more like the masks worn the samurai warriors of old. This was Yumi Ishiyama, or as the world knew her, the Geisha. Yumi was a Lyoko warrior and one of Odd's closest's friends, and right now, his guardian angel.
"Where were you when we was tossing me around like a ragdoll?" the cat-themed hero asked as he got back to his feet.
"What? And get in the way of the 'Amazing' Wild Katt?" his friend teased.
Odd rolled his eyes but was smiling under his mask. Next to Ulrich, Yumi was one of Odd's closest friends who always had his back. The two had fought together both on Lyoko and alongside the League and were completely in sync with one another's moves to the point that could fight flawlessly on the battlefield. Oso let out another roar of anger before charging at the teen heroes. They dodged in separate directions when the man-bear threw a punch that broke the car Odd hit in half before circling him from opposite sides. Odd fired his laser arrows while Yumi threw her fans at the villain, confusing and agitating him even further. Odd then threw a flying kick to Oso's stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Yumi kept up the attack with a kick of her own to Oso's back that made him fall on his stomach that was still in pain from Wild Katt's blow.
At this point, Oso was blinded by white-hot rage. He shot up with the speed of a lunging cobra and knocked Geisha away with a powerful backhand that sent her flying backward into the side of a nearby building, knocking her out upon impact. Before Odd could react to what he just saw, Oso grabbed him again, only this time by the chest. He then slammed him into a car that had been abandoned by its owner during the fight. Fighting through the pain, Odd raised his arm to try to fire another laser arrow, only to have Oso slam his fist into Odd's chest, shattering several ribs as he did. The bear-themed villain continued to slam his fists into the young hero's person, laughing the whole time.
"Still think you hot shit, huh?" he mocked as he punched Odd deeper into the wrecked car. "You ain't nothing, mans! You hear me, puta?! You ain't nothing!"
Every blow from El Oso felt like Odd was having a wrecking ball dropped on his chest over and over again. Tigre warned him not to fight the man-bear head-on, for while Oso was, by all means, a moron, his physical strength was devastating to go up against. As a member of the Infinity League, Odd had gone up against some serious villains, but he usually had a team backing him up allowing him to hang back and fire from afar. But this was different. This time he was taking the brunt of the blows. With every punch, the french hero could almost feel another bone break or another organ rupture. At this point, Odd would love nothing more than to be fighting one of XANA's monsters on Lyoko right about now. At least then the pain was quick, as opposed to the agony that he was in right now. Just then, Oso stopped his assault, though it was only for a brief moment, for he then replaced his fist with his foot and stomped him through the car he was being pummeled into, causing Odd's mouth to erupt with a volley of blood in doing so.
Oso then took hold of Odd by the head and proceeded to slam him into the pavement before ramming him through the wall of another building where he dropped him at his feet. Wild Katt could barely see out of his left eye, for a blood vessel had popped within it, which added to his already blurred vision that was no doubt the result of a concussion. There wasn't a part of Odd's body that didn't hurt. It was a miracle, or perhaps a curse, that he still hadn't blacked out yet. He attempted to stand, only for Oso to kick him in the side, knocking him back to the ground in a broken heap. Odd hadn't thought much bout dying, but being here in this position made him realize that this may very well be where he falls. What would become of his family? His friends? The thoughts of those he would be leaving behind ran through his mind as Oso pinned him to the ground.
"Say goodnight, mans!" the bear-man proclaimed as he raised his fist to bring down the final blow.
Wild Katt closed his eyes, not wanting to see the end. But rather than feel the fist that would have surely killed him, he felt nothing. Confused by this, Odd opened his eyes to see Oso frozen in pace, though it seemed that he struggling against some unseen force that was holding him in place. The cat-themed hero then noticed Yumi standing at the entrance hole Oso made when he smashed through the building. To add to the Geisha being deadly with her fans and an expert in hand to hand combat, she also had a telekinetic ability. One that, while powerful, put a massive strain on her mind. Despite his distorted vision from the injuries he had taken, Odd could clearly see that that his friend was enraged by what had happened to him. Yumi then reached out with her powers and yanked Oso backward and back out into the street, where she began to fling him around like he had done to her comrade not too long ago. She then mentally slammed Oso into the ground, but she was far from done with him.
While telekinetically holding the man-bear down, Yumi raised an empty car off the streets high into the air before repeatedly pounding it into Oso as an act of revenge for her fallen friend. Once the car was shattered from the constant smashing, Yumi then reached out with her mind to take hold of a lamp post. The Geisha began to pull it out of the ground before wrapping it around a now very beaten and bloodied El Oso to hold him for the GJN to collect. Once she had detained her enemy, Yumi clutched her head in pain. She had exerted so much power that the mental backlash was giving her a massive migraine, hence why she never used her telekinesis that often, but for Odd, she'd take the headache.
With Oso down, Yumi turned her attention back to Odd, who had finally blacked out from the pain he was. She ran to his side and held him in her arms, checking her pulse as she did. Thankfully, Odd was still alive, but his breathing was shallow, and if he was to survive, then he needed medical attention at once. Acting quickly, Yumi switched on her COMM to make an emergency call to Skyward Tower.
"This is Geisha, I need an emergency teleport to the infirmary now!" she practically shouted into her COMM.
"We're on it, Yumi!" Wheeljack assured on the other end of the COMM.
With that, the two young heroes were transported back to the orbital base, all the while Yumi prayed that it wasn't too late.
"Multiple spinal fractures, three broken ribs with four more cracked, broken pelvis, a ruptured kidney, collapsed lung, internal bleeding, and a mild concussion," a female voice listed off. "To say that it's a miracle that he's still alive is nothing short of an understatement. He still needs to go through another surgery before he can be released from here."
Odd slowly opened his eyes to see that he hadn't arrived in heaven but the medical wing of Skyward Tower. He then noticed that the voice he heard was that of Dr. Ann Possible, Kim's mother and one of the medical experts for the Infinity League. Standing beside her was Doc, the field medic of G.I. Joe. Odd then saw that were talking to Yumi, who was now with Ulrich and Jeremy, who was holding Kiwi in his arms, all of whom were taking in all the wounds their friend had suffered from the beating he took from El Oso. Doc then noticed that the injured hero had finally awoken and gasped in shock.
"Jesus Christ..." he said, clearly stunned. "It shouldn't be possible!"
Curious what Doc was looking at, the other Lyoko Warriors turned to see that their cat-themed friend was awake. The young heroes rushed to Odd's side and hugged him, laughing and crying tears of joy as they embraced him. While the blonde-haired boy felt the love emotionally, psychically was a different story.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Still in pain here guys!" Odd reminded them, making them all back off.
"We're just glad you're not dead, you jerk!" Ulrich said happily
"Not as happy as this little guy here," Jeremy said as he held Kiwi up to allow him to lick his master's face.
"Oh, you all worry too much," Odd shrugged off. "I'm out for a few hours and you act as if I came back from the dead!"
Everyone's face grew grim upon hearing that assumption, which, of course, perplexed the cat-themed hero.
"Odd...you haven't been out for a few hours," Yumi corrected. "You've been in a coma for five days."
That made Odd's blood run cold. It was a horrifying thing for him to hear that he was on death's door. If Yumi hadn't been there to save him, then his friends and family would be burying him right about now. He then felt the Japanese girl's hand being placed on his shoulder to comfort him. Odd looked up at the Geisha and saw the lights of the Medical center seemingly dance off her skin. The very sight of her made the cat-themed hero's heart nearly skip a beat, though that could be from one of his many injuries.
"You scared the shit out of us," she said gently. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"Looks like I got me a guardian angel" Odd replied with a smirk. "One who can throw people around with her mind."
Yumi laughed at that, making Odd in turn blush at the gesture for a few seconds. He never blushed like that around Yumi. What was wrong with him? He blamed the painkillers he was no doubt on that were making him this loopy around Yumi.
"It might've been a lot a worse if you didn't have that suit protecting you," Dr. Possible mentioned. "You should thank the Rangers for allowing you to share their power."
When the Lyoko Warriors first became members of the Infinity League, the biggest hurdle was using their powers outside of the digital world. True, they could harness their abilities in the outside world, but that was through teleporting from their digital ship, the Skid, and even then it was only two at a time. So, to counter this problem, Jeremy figured out a solution. One that was outlandish and improbable...In other words: the type of problems Jeremy could easily figure out. With the help of the Blue Ranger, Trini, and Alpha 5, and under the guidance of Zordon, the child genius tapped into the Morphing Grid via the Supercomputer. With his friends all within the scanners, he supercharged them with the ancient power of the Morphing Grid and transferred it to the four warriors. When the procedure was complete, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and Odd were all granted the ability to morph into their Lyoko personas at will. The upgrade also enhanced their suits' durability, which allowed them to sustain more damage in a combat situation, which today, proved to be fortunate in Odd's case.
"We've been keeping Aelita up to date on how you've been doing," Ulrich mentioned. "She wants to tell you that she hopes that you get well soon."
"Which, unfortunately, won't be for a while, I'm afraid," Dr. Possible added. "The injuries that you sustained were pretty severe. You're going to have to stay here for at least the next two days, and even after that, you're on medical leave for the next six weeks."
"You mean we get to play doctor a little longer?" Odd asked in a flirty tone as he gave her a grin. "Well, I hope you take my temperature soon, cause I'm feeling pretty hot right now, though not as hot as you."
Everyone groaned at that. Odd had a reputation of being something of a playboy among the rest of the team. If it had two legs and was a woman, Odd was going to try to get its pants. Superheroes, Joes, and even the female Autobots were all at the mercy of the cat-boy's pick-up lines. Even though Odd was relentless when he liked someone, he knew his boundaries. He never went after someone who was already with someone else, though he claimed he could sway the girls away from their lovers if he so chose to, and he never forced himself on any of the girls. Usually, he'd flirt with one girl for a little bit and then move onto the next one when he got enough no's from the previous girl. The young hero also tended to occasionally pick-up so-called 'super groupies' and sneak them up to the Tower for a one-night stand before sending them back the next day, which was recently put a stop to by the League Leaders when they caught him trying to sneak the entire Dallas Cowboys cheerleader squad into the Tower. This especially infuriated for the Dragon, who was a stalwart Giants fan. During one session at Sanctuary, Jazz noted Odd to be a textbook nymphomaniac for his constant desire for a sexual partner.
"To bad his libido wasn't broken too," Doc said
"Any chance you can neuter him during the next surgery, ma'am?" Ulrich asked Kim's mother.
"I'm almost tempted to do so," Ann replied.
"Hey, don't hate the playa', hate the game, son!" Odd defended.
"Oh, come on guys, he's been through enough as it," Yumi told the others. "Odd's just being...well, himself."
Again, Odd's heart skipped another beat as he watched Yumi defend him. Normally, she'd be right there with the rest of them teasing him, but yet here she was, standing up for him. The cat-themed hero's pulse quickened at the gesture his friend had made for him. This was so strange for him, feeling this way around one of his closest friends. He couldn't be attracted to Yumi...right?
"Alright, I think Odd needs some rest," the Joe Medic said. "We'll keep you updated on his progress."
After saying their quick goodbyes, Ulrich and Jeremie left. However, Yumi stayed behind for a moment to speak to him privately.
"I'm glad that you're alright, Odd," she told him softly. "Get well soon, ok?"
With that, the Geisha did something that Odd wasn't prepared for: she kissed his forehead. Before he could even mentally register what had just happened, she left, leaving Odd in a downward spiral of emotions. To make matters worse, Doc mentioned something that further added fuel to the fire.
"Your friend's a special girl," the Joe noted. "She stayed with you the entire time you were in a coma. The others visited a lot too, but she stayed with you the most."
'Thanks, I totally didn't need to hear that right now,' Odd mentally chastised the medic.
Odd was flustered. Why was he flustered at all? This was Yumi! His friend and only his friend! Out of the women he knew in his life, there were only three women he was never attracted to: Aelita, Sissi, and above all else, Yumi. Hell, whenever he was attracted to a girl, he never felt this way before. He was weak in the knees and his heart was racing a mile a minute. His mind was running wild with everything that had just transpired and could only come to one conclusion.
'I think...I like Yumi,' he thought to himself before saying out loud "Shit."
It had been three weeks since his time in the infirmary, and Odd had since been given clearance to leave, though he was still on medical leave and couldn't be allowed to go on missions. Since then, he had been staying on the Tower, or more accurately, his room on the Tower, only coming out for food and physical therapy, as well as mental therapy at Sanctuary. In his private quarters, Odd kept to himself as his thoughts ran wild with that of Yumi. At first, he chalked it up just being grateful for her saving his life during the fight, but the more he thought about it, the more he considered that perhaps that there was more to it than that. Yumi may have teased him for being a playboy, but she never condemned him for it. She cared about him and often supported him in even in his most insane plans to get famous, even if she was just the voice of reason.
But this wasn't right. Yumi was his friend, and Odd made it a rule never to date friends, knowing it would complicate things for everyone. Furthermore, the goth was going through enough as it was already. A few months ago, Ulrich had decided to end things between them after returning from a time-traveling adventure [1], which in retrospect was probably for the best since things had become so toxic between them that it was bringing down everyone else in the group. While Yumi accepted it, Odd knew that it hurt her a lot more than she let on. Furthermore, Ulrich was like his brother. How could he just ask Yumi out when there was so much history between the two already? It'd be like a slap in the face against his best friend. Not only that, what if things ended badly between him and Yumi? It'd only further cause a rift among the Lyoko Warriors.
As Odd laid on his bed in the darkness of his room, music playing loudly to try and calm him down, a knock was heard at his door, thankfully derailing his train of thought. Kiwi, who was lying beside his master on the bed, barked at the intruder to try to ward them away until the cat-boy ordered him to be quiet. Wincing in pain as he sat up, Odd acknowledged whoever was knocking, though he hoped that it wasn't the subject of his desire.
"Yeah?" he called out to his unknown visitors.
"Yo, man, it's Manny," Tigre answered from the other side of the door. "I'm with Ron. We wanted to see how you were feeling. Can we come in?"
"Sure, come on in," Odd replied.
The door slid open automatically to allow the sometimes hero of Miracle City and Kim's sidekick/boyfriend to step inside. Odd attempted to get out of bed to properly greet them, but Manny put a stop to that.
"Whoa, easy, dude. You don't gotta get up," Tigre advised. "Just sit there, okay?"
It was then that the fellow young hero noted the type of music that was playing in Odd's room.
"Uh oh, he's listening to The Weeknd."
"Uh, meaning?" Ron asked, confused.
"He only listens to The Weeknd when he's really got the hots for a girl," Manny explained before looking back slyly to Odd. "If he was listening to the Bee Gee's, then he'd be crazy about the girl. You can't help yourself, can you?"
"I don't wanna talk it right now, man," the french teen brushed off.
"Oh come on, you gotta tell us who-"
"I said I don't wanna talk about it!"
"Okay dude, Jesus, I'm just playing with you," Manny relented.
Not wanting to push him any further, Manny and Ron instead pulled up some chairs and sat beside the bed to talk to their wounded friend.
"So, how are you feeling?" Ron inquired.
"Oh, you know, besides the six metal bolts that are holding my spine together, the constant pain I'm in, and that I'm pissing blood, I feel like a million bucks," Odd sarcastically answered, then noticed Manny about to say something. "If you're thinking about saying 'I told you so about Oso,' don't."
"Uh, forget I asked," the sidekick meekly said.
"Ah, I'm sorry, guys," Odd apologized. "The truth is...I am thinking about a girl."
"Knew it," Tigre said with a grin. "So, who is this time? I'm betting Sailor Venus."
"It's Yumi."
Manny and Ron's eyes widen in shocked unison at that.
"Boy, have you lost your mind? 'Cause I'll help you find it!" Stoppable shouted in bewilderment.
"Bad move, bro," Manny added.
"Oh, you two don't get to point fingers at me!" the cat-boy snapped "you both dated your best friends too!"
"Yeah, and it didn't turn out well for me," Manny corrected. "Or did you forget that Frida and I broke up?"
"And KP and I are still together, but I didn't try to date her for a long time," Ron informed him. "I didn't try to ask her out right after a breakup!"
"It's been like three months since she and Ulrich broke up," Odd reasoned.
"Yeah, and she might not be over it," Tigre pointed. "Not everyone bounces back as fast as you, Odd."
"I'm not saying that I'm trying to date her at all!" Odd shot back "I'm confused by this too, dude!"
"When did you start feeling this way toward her?" Ron asked.
"Shortly after I woke up from my coma," the french teen explained. "But I think...I might've had these feelings for her all this time and just now realized it."
"You need to be careful, Odd. This is a tightrope you're walking on right now," Tigre replied. "If you're not careful, you could hurt everyone around you."
"You think I don't know that?!" Odd shouted back. "This is Yumi. One my of best friends! This isn't like me having a crush one some superhero or sleeping some floozy who wants to have bragging rights about fucking a superhero, this is someone I've bleed with on Lyoko! Who always had my back from day one! And I can't stand the thought of hurting her, but at the same time, I'm gonna drive myself crazy if I don't do something soon!"
Odd buried his face in his hands and he tried to hold back the tears he was fighting off.
"I can't keep doing this..." he breathed out in a low. "I'm confused over all this, but I can't bring myself to tell her how I feel."
"Look, Odd, we can't help with you this. There's nothing that we can say that's gonna make this go away," Ron told him slowly. "But you need to talk to Yumi as soon as you can. Because if you don't, then it's just gonna keep eating away at you."
After giving that least piece of advice, Ron and Manny departed from Odd's quarters, letting him contemplate what his next move was going to be.
When Odd was released from the infirmary, he was given a crutch to help him walk, but he refused to use it, saying that he didn't a pity party everywhere he went. Because of his prideful choice, he now shuffled across the hallways of the orbital base, trying his best to look as though he was okay, even though he was still in horrendous pain. However, if Odd was being honest with himself, the mental anguish that he was in hurt far worse than his physical pain. He had heeded Ron's words and decided that he needed to speak with Yumi about how he felt about her rather than try to hide it any longer. There was just one problem: What was he going to say to her? It had two weeks since his talk with his fellow heroes and he still couldn't find the right words to say.
Every scenario in his head seemed to lead to the two of them having a major falling out. Anything he could think of saying was the wrong thing and would only damage his friendship with Yumi. What was he supposed to do? While Ron and Manny had said for him to talk to Yumi, he couldn't bring himself to face her, lest he have his heart broken. Odd wasn't the type of person to cry over a broken heart, he'd normally just move onto the next girl, but this time he knew that wouldn't be the case. Honestly, he didn't even know why he left his room at this point. A part of him wanted to turn back around and limp back to his room, but he was far too gone for that and was in too much pain to double-back. He also considered visiting Jazz at Sanctuary to get her two cents on this matter, but decided against it, lest he run the risk being suspended from the League like Aelita was. [2]
As Odd continued to head toward Yumi's room to do...whatever it was that he was planning to do, he passed by the Rec Room, which was having another karaoke night hosted by the Autobot DJ, Blaster. Thankfully, Bebop and Rocksteady had been banned from singing after nearly making everyone deaf one too many times [2], but even without the two mutants not being allowed to participate, the cat-themed hero wasn't in the mood to sing, for he had too much on his mind as it was. However while he was lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice Sakura stepping out of the Rec Room to find more singers for tonight's festivities, and, unfortunately for Odd, he fell right into her line of sight.
"Hey, Odd!" she greeted him as she approached him. "Wanna join in for a couples song?"
"Nah, I'm not feeling like singing today," the cat-boy brushed off as he continued to walk away.
"Oh, come on, Odd, it'll be fun!" the young fighter persisted. "Yumi's about to sing."
The very mention of the object of his infatuation made Odd stop dead in his tracks. He headed over to the doorway of the Rec Room and sure enough, there was Yumi, standing on the stage and trying to select a song to sing to the crowd of heroes. Maybe it was the stage lights or just Odd's wild imagination, but his best friend seemed to glow with a certain light to her. Again. Odd's heart seemed to skip at the sight of his friend. A part of him was mentally screaming at him to turn around right now and leave, not wanting to face his crush in public at the moment. Unfortunately, the cat-themed hero never paid much attention to that part of his brain. So, throwing caution to the wind, he made his way into the Rec Room. As he entered the room, Yumi spotted her friend.
"Odd, over here!" she called out to him. "Come do a song with me!"
A cheer from the other heroes further egged Odd on with his choice to go along with this obviously bad idea. So, with a little help from Sakura, who helped him get on the stage, he found himself standing next to the woman of both his dreams and his dismay. Odd was sweating bullets at this point, though that could be due to the bright lights that were shining down on him at the moment. Yumi flipped through the songs until she found one that she and Odd knew before handing her friend a mic and let the cat-boy start first. Steadying his nerves, Odd took in a breath before he began his song.
She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don't mind, but what do you mean, I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one, who will dance on the floor in the round
With Odd starting off the song, Yumi jumped in with the next verse.
She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
Odd watched with silent admiration of his friend as she sang. Ever since they had started a short-lived band together, Odd had always enjoyed the Japanese girl singing voice. It almost made him forget the pain he was at the moment at just the sight of her singing along to the music.
People always told me be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth
Realizing that he was still on stage, Odd quickly brought himself back to reality and joined Yumi in the chorus part of the song.
Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
This was heaven for the cat-boy. Here he was, singing side by side with the girl of his affection. It was at that moment that he came to a conclusion: this wasn't some small infatuation he had for his friend, but actual love. For Odd, this seemed like a logical choice for him. Yumi was kind, strong, smart and loyal. She was the best friend anyone could ask for and Odd was lucky to have her in his life. So, without giving it another thought, the cat-themed hero leaned up to reach the taller girl's lips with her own and kissed his obviously surprised friend. The music and the crowd stopped dead as Yumi dropped her mic in shock at what Odd had just done. She shoved her friend off her person before quickly getting off stage and storming out of the Rec Room. Realizing what he had just done, Odd moved as fast as his still-healing body would allow him to get off the stage as he followed after Yumi, whom he found fuming in the hallway.
"Yumi, I'm so sor-" he tried to say.
"How many pain killers have you taken today?" the Geisha demanded.
"Just the regular amount the medics, why?" Odd answered, confused by the question.
"In that case what the hell were you thinking?!" Yumi exclaimed. "I wanted to believe that you were just high off your pain meds, but no, it's just you being you!"
"I know, it was dumb Yumi, but I can explain!" Odd replied. "I...I love you!"
Yumi's eyes widened at that declaration from her friend before her scowl returned.
"Are you serious right now, Odd?" she questioned sharply. "I broke up with Ulrich like three months ago and you just decided to move in like I was one your fangirls?!"
"Your not a fangirl, Yumi, your one of my best friends!" he cat-boy offered. "Your smart, strong, and-"
"Odd, no, stop, just...stop," Yumi cut him off in an angered, yet defeated voice "this...this isn't going to work out. After Ulrich and I broke up, I decided to focus on myself for a while, and what I've learned about myself isn't pretty. I'm trying to figure shit out and what you just did wasn't okay. We may be friends, but that doesn't mean that we're meant to be together. I can get jealous easily and shut off from people when I'm angry and you're a nymphomaniac who can't help himself when he's around a woman. I mean, what's going to happen if we were together and I walked in on you having sex with Chloe, or did you not think about that?"
"Well, if that's the case, then why did you stay with me that whole time while in a coma?" he shot back. "Or kiss my forehead for that matter?"
"Because I was scared that you were going to die, you dumbass!" Yumi shouted. "And I kissed your forehead because I was happy that you were still alive! that's all it was, a sign of our friendship and that's it, but clearly, that was a bad idea!"
Odd hung his head low in shame. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. As much as he cared for her, or how much he thought he cared about her, Yumi had a valid point, but he was too stupid to try and do this anyway, and because of that, he may have just destroyed his friendship with Yumi.
"I understand that you're going through a lot right now, so I'm going to chalk this up as you not thinking straight and leave it at that," his friend stated. "But don't you, ever, and I mean ever, pull that stunt again."
"So...are we still friends?" Odd meekly asked.
"Yes, but I think you should stay away from me for a while," Yumi said firmly. "Just...go back to your room and heal, okay? I'm going to the mess hall, I need to process all this."
Odd gave a small nod in understanding before turning away and slowly heading back to his quarters, all the while feeling worse than the beating he took from El Oso.
Silence. That was all there was in Odd's room as he laid on his bed. Kiwi whimpered as he cuddled closer to his master, knowing that something was troubling him. The dog's intuition was correct, for the boy was indeed plagued with the thoughts of his poor decision to start a relationship with Yumi. How could he have been so stupid? In one fell swoop, he nearly destroyed his friendship with someone he had cared for. In hindsight, he knew that Yumi as right. He couldn't control himself around women. Every time he was around one, he'd have an urge to try and sleep with them. But his friend had a point. He was too impulsive and let his urges take control of his actions. Was this all it was? Just another of those said urges? He refused to believe that, for Yumi wasn't like the other women in his life. This was someone he knew personally. Someone he'd even die for if the situation called for it.
As he sat in his shame, he heard a knock at his door. At first, the cat-themed hero was going to ignore them, but his good nature refused him to do so. Odd climbed out of bed and hobbled to the door where he opened to reveal a very panicked Jeremy and, more importantly, Yumi, standing before him.
"Something's happened to Aelita!" Jeremy began. "Ulrich said that she had some kind of seizure at school!"
"Sailor Mars had the same thing happen to her too!" Yumi added. "They're both being taken the infirmary. We have to go!" [3]
In that instant, Odd put his inner conflict aside from the moment, knowing that his friend needed him more than his own wants and desires.
"Well, what are we standing around here?" he asked the others. "Let's go already!"
With that, the trio quickly headed toward the infirmary, though they had to walk due to Odd's inability to run at the moment. As they walked, Odd kept some distance from Yumi and Jeremy, respecting his friend's wish to be away from him. Yumi, of course, noticed this and decided to do something about it.
"Go ahead Jeremy, we'll catch up," she informed the boy genius.
"Thanks, Yumi," the boy thanked before going into a full sprint toward the medical wing.
With Jeremy gone, Yumi approached Odd, who backed away as he looked down again.
"I know what you're going to say, Yumi, but we've got bigger things to worry about right now," he began. "I don't blame you by the way, about what you said earlier I mean."
"I know, and I stand by what I said," Yumi replied 'but, the thing is...it's not like I haven't thought about it before."
"Y-you have?" Odd said, stunned.
"Yeah, I mean despite being an absolute ass hat sometimes, your one of the sweetest guys I know," the Geisha confirmed. "I'm not saying that we should jump into being a couple, I'm saying that we need to work on ourselves first before we even consider going any further. I need to work on controlling my emotions and you need to work on having some self-control. So, for now, please respect my boundaries, and whenever the time comes, I'll come to and talk about the possibility of us being more than friends."
Odd was amazed by this statement, but he didn't get his hopes right then and there. Yumi was right about both his need to keep himself under control around and that he shouldn't pressure her into this. It wouldn't be easy for the playboy, but for Yumi, he'd put in the effort.
"But we can't focus on this now. Aelita needs us now and we can't be distracted by all this," she continued.
"Right," Odd agreed. "But, uh, can I lean on you for a bit? I didn't take my pain meds before we left."
Yumi nodded before pulled her shorter friend close to so he could lean on her as they walked toward the infirmary. Like Manny and Cat Noir, Odd would often be told that, because of his cat-like persona, that he had nine lives, and while that may or may not be true, what was true was that he had one heart, and right now it felt like it was soaring in his chest.
[1] - These events will be explained in Infinity League: No Road Home
[2] - As seen in Ch 3 of The Dark Phoenix
[3] - As seen in Ch 4 of The Dark Phoenix
