Warning: Rated for language, some violence and adult behavior.
The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
In her dreams, she was standing on a gangplank, preparing to board a ship. She was sailing away to fulfill her dreams, her karma.
He stood on the dock, watching her. His eyes were full of tears because of her leaving. She stood there, on the gangplank, torn between her desire and excitement to pursue her dreams, her goals, and her desire to lose herself in him forever.
"You made this choice a long time ago," whispered the Voice of Comfort, "when you looked down that long road and saw what was coming, you knew this would be part of the journey. You could have spent the time preparing both him and you for this parting, but you allowed him to remain blind. Now the parting is here, and he must be wounded."
Tears burned in her eyes as the Voice of Comfort softly blasted the accusation into her soul. She could have told him sooner, much sooner. But she didn't, preferring instead to feel his touch, to quench his desire, and take her own selfish pleasure from it. Now, that time was done.
Yumi turned and walked up the gangplank, boarding the ship. As the ship left the dock, she saw Ulrich still standing there, in his uniform, watching her sail away.
The week after they defeated XANA was a roller coaster ride. They spent the next two days celebrating, even though it earned them all detentions for skipping class. Things finally settled down on the third day.
This morning, Ulrich was sitting alone at a bench on the campus of Kadic Academy, where he and his friends went to school. He was waiting for the others to show up so they could talk and steel themselves for the day. He looked up and smiled when he saw Yumi approaching him.
"Hi, Yu," he said as she sat next to him. He put his arm around her, then gave her a kiss on the cheek, "how are you doing this morning, beautiful."
Yumi blushed and smiled a small smile, which quickly disappeared.
"I'm okay," she told him, "listen, I have to go on to class. But we need to talk later on. Bye."
She quickly got up and ran off to class, leaving Ulrich confused.
Odd and Jeremie walked up, passing by Yumi as she ran by.
"What's going on, trouble in paradise?" Odd said.
Ulrich said, "I don't know. She said we needed to talk, then ran off."
"Hm, maybe she wanted to call you," Odd said after a moment.
Jeremie said nothing. He knew exactly what Yumi wanted to talk to Ulrich about.
Yumi didn't join the gang for lunch that day, much to Ulrich's sadness. It wasn't until the end of the school day that Yumi appeared, as if out of thin air.
"Hi, guys," she said, nervously, "uh, Ulrich, would you walk me home? We need to talk."
Ulrich smiled and the couple left. They didn't walk directly to Yumi's house; instead, they walked into the woods close to the campus. They walked until they came to the manhole cover they used to duck into the sewers whenever they needed to run to the factory. There, Yumi sat down under a tree. Ulrich joined her.
"Ulrich, I've got something to tell you, and you won't like it," the girl began, "you know that this is my senior year, and I'll be graduating in a few weeks."
"Yeah, I know. I hear your family's going to throw a blowout of a party for you," Ulrich replied. Yumi smiled at that.
"Well, after graduation, I'll be going to college," she said.
"I know. Did you ever decide where you're going?" Ulrich asked.
"American University," she replied.
"Great! I didn't know that they had a school here in Paris," Ulrich exclaimed.
"They don't, Ulrich. American University is located in Washington, DC. I'm going to school in America."
Yumi had gotten the idea of attending American University early in her junior year. Like all of her classmates, she was starting the arduous task of figuring out where she was going to college. That fall, there were many representatives of schools from all over the world visiting the school, touting their programs, their campuses, their lifestyle.
She was primarily looking at schools in France, not wanting to be too far away from her family and friends, when she came across the American University table. There, was a brochure on their International Studies curriculum. She picked it up and looked at it for a moment. The school was located in America, in the capital of the United States no less. Something made her hang on the the pamphlet.
A few days later, she was sitting on a bench at school, idly looking at the brochures she picked up. She had just opened the American University one again when someone spoke.
"American University? Good school."
Yumi looked up to see Ann Thompson standing there. Ann was an American, the head of the Protective Detail of the US Ambassador's daughter, Jeanie Wilkerson. Jeanie must have been around someplace close by for the red headed woman to be standing there.
"Oh, hi Mrs. Thompson," Yumi said in acknowledgment, "how do you know about it?"
"Because it's my alma mater," the woman replied, "I graduated from the International Studies program years ago, back when I was a young skull full of mush."
"I wish I could, but I can't afford to go," the girl said, "I'm not even sure my parents can afford to send me to a school here in France. I may just have to settle for night school."
"I don't know about that," Ann replied, "why don't you have a talk with Desmond Hopper? I'm not sure, but I think something might be arranged through the Kadic Group."
Yumi stared at Ann for a moment. She had never considered that possibility.
The Kadic Group was an organization that Jeremie, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, Jeremie's dad and Desmond Hopper set up during her sophomore year to disseminate information about XANA to intelligence agencies throughout the world. It also coordinated efforts by the various world governments in destroying XANA's minions where ever they popped up. Yumi's mother actually worked for the Kadic Group, helping direct information and resources worldwide.
Somehow, Jeremie managed to get millions of euros for the organization, and he and the adults were very careful how they spent it. Jeremie said once he would have rather be tortured and killed by XANA than have to find out what would happen if the world found out that it gave that much money to kids. Being one of those kids, Yumi agreed with his sentiment.
But once again, something prompted Yumi, and she had a long conversation with Desmond Hopper.
"You are a part of the Kadic Group," Desmond said, "and the Kadic Group has, as its policy, a vital interest in the education of its employees. International Studies is an excellent fit with what this organization does. Unless there is an issue with you getting a Student Visa, or you have your heart set on studying somewhere else, I don't see why we can't do something for you."
When Mr. Hopper said that, it was like the Heavens opened up and the Choir began singing.
She didn't tell anyone other than her parents at first. Even then, the only other person she told was Jeremie, who probably would have found out anyway.
"It'll be great for you if it works out," he told her, "and I'm happy for you. But, what about Ulrich?"
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," she told her friend. She made it a point not to come to it.
When Spring Break came, she lied to Ulrich and said she was going to visit her cousin Kichi Sato in Tokyo. Instead, she flew to Washington, DC with the Thompsons to tour the American University campus. And she fell in love.
Washington was, in some ways, even more cosmopolitan than Paris was. This was a Seat Of Power, and one could almost feel that power radiate out from the Washington Monument. She toured the campus, and Ann Thompson introduced her to the Dean of International Studies, her counselor when she was in college there.
After that visit, she knew that America was where she needed to be. All she needed to do was make the arrangements.
And tell Ulrich.
No one could find Ulrich after Yumi told him about her leaving. When she asked her father that afternoon, Sissi Delmas found out that he had received a phone call from Mr. Stern earlier in the afternoon. The Sterns came by the school, picked Ulrich up and left.
Two days later, Ulrich just showed up like nothing had happened. He was sullen, more than usual, but he immediately apologized to Yumi when he saw her. He also told her that he had news.
"My parents called the day before yesterday, and they came by to pick me up. My father told me that after the school year is over, I'm being transferred to another school, a military school."
