NOTE: Welcome back to another filler chapter.

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Chapter 15: Hugs

Yukiko sighed dejectedly as she chopped the onions in front of her, the heiress' hands absentmindedly dropped the slices into the pot next to her. The substance inside of the pot began to groan in pain, emitting a disturbing aura as some liquid was spat out of the pot.

Gwen shivered as she heard the noise coming from the pot, her stomach dreading the eventual lunch to come. She looked over to Ben to see the boy playing his video game, not even caring for the substance that'll have to enter his system. "Uh, Yukiko?"

The teen made no movement to show that she had heard Gwen, she just kept stirring the pot in front of her.

Gwen found it weird that Yukiko hadn't immediately responded to her, so she decided to try again. "Uh, Yukiko?"

The heiress perked up that time. "Oh...Gwen, don't worry. The food will be done in a bit," Yukiko answered.

"No, I prefer it if the food never finishes," She thought. "I was going to ask if everything was alright. You seem...uh…"

"Depressed," Ben cut-in. His eyes took a quick glance away from his game for a moment. Both he and Gwen noticed how Yukiko flinched after Ben spoke.

Yukiko turned off the stove and turned to her cousins. A fake smile was plastered all over her face, the heiress clapped her hands together. "I-I'm fine, you two. I've never felt better! Just give me a moment to fix your plates!" She quickly turned back around to place the food(?) on two separate plates. Yukiko quickly placed both plates in front of Ben and Gwen.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'll just go outside for a bit," Yukiko said.

"You're not gonna eat with us?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"N-Not today, I just need to get some fresh air. I'll be back," Yukiko exited the RV before the two could question her any further.

The two children glanced at each other before looking down at their plates. "Well, I'm not eating this," Ben said. He carefully lifted the plate and walked over to the trash can. He tossed the Mystery Food X inside of it and walked back over to his game system.

Gwen sighed at how carelessly he just threw away the food, but she couldn't exactly blame him. She was pretty sure Mystery Food X didn't classify as food.

The two had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

"What are we gonna do, Ben?" Gwen asked.

"Do what?" He asked back, confused.

The girl rolled her eyes at his cluelessness. "About Yukiko, doofus! You've seen how she's been the last couple of days. She's rarely smiled or laughed at anything since the whole Zombozo fight. She's way more quiet than usual!" Gwen explained.

Ben resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her, of course he had noticed Yukiko's behavior. He just didn't really know why she was acting all depressed. If anything she should be happy that they've been kicking butt. "What do you want us to do about it? Ask her about it?"

"We've already just tried that and obviously she'll just dodge the question. We need to do something to cheer her up," Gwen suggested.

"I could throw food at you. That should make her laugh," Ben smirked.

Gwen glared at the boy. She stepped on his foot, causing him to scream. She took that opportunity to shove the Mystery Food X on her plate into his mouth.

Ben dropped to the floor gagging on the disgusting substance that had entered his system and Gwen broke into a laughing fit of her own, clutching her stomach.

Ben spat the food(?) out of his mouth and glared at his dweebazoid cousin. "You think you're so funny, huh!?" He activated the Omnitrix and slammed down the dial.

Gwen's laughter ceased when a green slimy goo had smacked her right in the face. The multi-talented girl began screaming in pure disgust and tried to tear the slime off of her.

Stinkfly laughed hysterically at her as Gwen managed to pull the gunk off of her face. The girl's face was hot red with anger and embarrassment. "You are so dead, dweeb!" She pounced on the bug with full intention to hurt him. Stinkfly cried out in surprise at the sudden attack from Gwen.

The two continued to trash around the RV, completely forgetting their original objective.

Yukiko sat down on a bench in a park that they had parked nearby. She needed some time away from her cousins, while she loved them, they could be a bit too nosey. The heiress released a sigh as she reflected on everything that's happened to her since the summer had started. The craziness that somehow managed to match the insaneness of last year for her. Evil scientist, murder robots, aliens, evil clown, lake monster, a family of monsters, crazy cyborg lady, and a kid with mutant powers. "And to think it all started with an alien watch doing what it did, sticking itself to the wrist of a 10-year kid. And I thought Personas and a TV world would be the craziest things to happen to me," Yukiko laughed, humorlessly.

"I wonder how the others would react to all of this?" Yukiko asked herself. She hadn't revealed anything about how the summer had been going to any of her friends. The heiress had thought about it earlier on near the start, but decided against it. This wasn't her secret to tell and the point isn't for anyone other than the four of them to know about.

"Yukiko?"

The heiress perked up at the familiar voice of her Grandfather. She saw him standing there with a few bags in his hand. The old man walked over to her. "Grandpa? You're back already?" She asked.

"Yeah, it didn't take long to handle all of my errands this time. What are you doing out here?" He asked, noticing her distress.

Yukiko hesitated to speak, not sure if she should tell him the truth. But she could see his desire for help, much like how Yu would look at her when she needed advice. "I...I just don't think I'm strong enough to protect them."

"Protect them? You mean Ben and Gwen," He figured out.

Yukiko nodded her head. "Yeah, I just feel like I'm not strong enough. Every time we've gotten into a life-or-death battle, I couldn't always keep you guys safe. Rojo's group almost killed you, those bounty hunters almost killed us, and Zombozo would've won if Ben hadn't beaten him. I allowed Zombozo to get into my head and Gwen almost paid the price for it," Tears started building up in her eyes as she remembered Gwen's shriveled body. Since that night Yukiko had a few nightmares about it, about what if the watch timed out at the wrong moment. If Ben was left helpless at the hands of Zombozo while she was unconscious, the horrible things that could've happened to him and the rest of them.

Yukiko felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her smaller frame. She looked to see that her Grandfather was hugging her. "You're wrong, Yukiko, you are stronger than you think," He said.

"But, I can't protect-"

"Your presence has helped them both out more than you think. Gwen has started being more social than I could remember her being before this summer started, having you as a role model has begun to change her for the better. And Ben has begun to realize that there's more to life than just himself. To trust his own family and to keep them safe should be his biggest priority. The fact that he could even confide in you with his own fears is proof enough, Yukiko," Max spoke softly. He rubbed the center of her back as the heiress cried softly.

"You're helping these kids a lot more than I could, you've given them someone to turn to whenever they're uncertain about something. You're their big sister, Yukiko. You're strong and you always have been."

She nodded her head as she soaked in his words. The tears continued to fall down her face as the two sat there for a few more moments. Yukiko felt like she grew a bit closer to her Grandfather today.

The two walked back to the RV, Yukiko helping her Grandfather carry some of the bags that he brought.

A bright red flash from inside the RV caught their attention. Giving each other a quick glance, the two raced to the RV to see what happened. However, what they were met with completely went against whatever thoughts that had been going through their heads.

The inside of the Rustbucket was completely trashed with whatever was left of Mystery Food X and Stinkfly's goop splashed all over the interior. The pots and pans were discarded all over the place and the refrigerator's door was torn off.

Ben and Gwen were laying on the floor, completely covered in discarded food and green gunk. The two looked at the very pissed off look of their Grandfather before scrambling to their feet and pointing at each other.

"HE/SHE DID IT!"

Before Max could scold the two beyond belief, a soft giggling could be heard. Everyone turned to Yukiko who was trying to hold herself back. The heiress' face was bright red as she attempted to keep her laughter in, but she failed miserably.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yukiko fell onto the RV's floor, cackling at the top of her lungs.

Everyone could only sweat drop as they stared at the hyena sounding teenager on the floor. But, small smiles graced their lips as they heard the familiar laughter of Yukiko.

Chapter End

NOTE: We all love hearing the beautiful sounds of Yukiko's laughter. For most of this fic, Yukiko has been giving encouraging talks to Ben and Gwen (Mostly Ben). So, this talk was something she's been needing for a while. I wanted Yukiko to have a moment with Max, so Ben and Gwen were busy fighting each other.

I also wanted a moment that will lead to Yukiko taking up the big sister role more than she already has, and that will be a lot more noticeable in the next chapter.

Next chapter is Lucky Girl!