A/N: Thank you to Moonlitxangel for beta reading and my two reviewers.
Kadic Academy, Gym building, Sunday 11:30 AM: Ulrich dropped the last mat into place and glanced over to Yumi as she stretched out in preparation. For the first time in weeks they were going to have a sparring session and... Her look suggested, in no uncertain way, that he should be warming up as well. Reluctantly turning away from watching her, he began his own series of warm ups.
After five minutes of warming up and stretching Yumi looked over to Ulrich, "you ready?"
Looking up and smiling back at her, Ulrich stood straight and nodded his head, "Yup, you?"
"Of course." Yumi answered as she walked to the center of the mats they had spread out. Taking up a good fighting stance she watched as Ulrich took his own then opened with a punch. Neither had fought in a couple of weeks and she decided to start off a little more slowly than normal just to be safe. Ulrich dodged the first punch and answered with a light one of his own, which Yumi twisted away from just in time to avoid. She stepped back and eyed Ulrich, wondering why it only took a few weeks to be this out of practice. Starting again, they took a good ten minutes to get back to the fast tempo that they were accustomed to having when they sparred.
About twenty minutes after Yumi and Ulrich had started warming up, Odd ducked into the gym to avoid a few students that wouldn't be sympathetic to Kiwi's presence. He heard the sound of fighting and walked in further, admonishing Kiwi to remain quiet as he snuck in to see what was going on. What he saw was the tail end of a match as Yumi flipped Ulrich unto his back and put her foot to his throat to claim victory. Afterwards she extended her hand and helped pull him unto his feet. Both of them took a few minutes to rest then Yumi went to her bag and pulled out two bottles of water and a candy bar. Ulrich refused the offer of a second candy bar and Yumi proceeded to open hers.
Kiwi jumped out of Odd's arms and ran for the food, yanking the leash from his hand. Looking up at the distinct sound of claws on the floor, Yumi saw Odd chasing after his dog as it ran towards her. She couldn't help but laugh as Kiwi stopped at her feet and started to beg, lifting up to stand on his back paws and wave his front ones at her. He was rewarded with a piece of candy and she watched the little dog snap it up, swallow it and immediately ask for more. Ulrich reached down and picked up the dog, handing him back to Odd who offered his apology and explanation for the intrusion then asked, "so why were you two fighting?" Odd asked.
"Sparring." Yumi corrected, "Ulrich needed the practice."
"Wait, I needed the practice!" Ulrich responded in a slightly raised but not angry voice. "You were the one who suggested it."
"I wanted to blow off some steam and have some fun." Yumi paused for a second then continued sounding playful, "and you were the one who lost."
"Says the girl who couldn't throw a decent kick when we started." Ulrich said with a laugh.
"Or the boy that couldn't defend a simple punch?" Yumi retaliated.
"Don't tell me you two are going to fight?" Odd interjected.
"Weren't we doing that already?" Both Yumi and Ulrich answered in near unison. They looked at each other and blushed. Odd couldn't help himself and laughed at the two blushing lovebirds. While the pair looked down at him in annoyance, Odd managed to contain his laughter and recover his composure. Mumbling a quick apology he reached for Kiwi's leash and put the strap around his wrist to prevent a repeat of what happened earlier then turned and headed for the exit. But as he walked his mind ran circles around itself trying to think of ways to both help Yumi and Ulrich along while possibly getting a picture perfect and embarrassing moment to share with the school's newspaper. He reached the exit then turned around quickly and called back to Ulrich, "so Ulrich, are you ever gonna beat Yumi in a fair fight?"
"What! I can take Yumi... I'm just... going easy on her." Ulrich called back. He realized the mistake he made even as he was speaking but by that time it was too late. He looked back sheepishly at Yumi, hoping to apologize. However, it took Yumi only a second to sweep Ulrich's feet out from under him and send him down to the mat. "What were you saying?" She asked as she again offered her hand to Ulrich.
Odd shook his head, "letting her win huh? I would think you know better than that." Odd teased. Kiwi put his ears down as if he knew what was coming. But rather than immediately fight with Ulrich, Yumi glared intensely at Odd, silently telling him to leave. Deciding that Yumi was serious he did walk out, he just didn't leave the gym building and hoped he wouldn't have to break up a fight.
With a low growl let out the second Odd was out of eyeshot she asked, "you really weren't giving me your best?" The idea that she would need him to go easy on her was, quite simply, insulting and her tone of voice made that crystal clear.
"Um, well..."
Yumi gave him a disgusted shake of her head, "Ulrich..." she growled but didn't get to finish.
"Ok you two don't fight, forgive and forget. Right?" Odd said as he ducked his head through the doorway. Having too really good martial artists mad at you wasn't, as he had learned firsthand, good for one's health. However he just couldn't leave the couple alone. Both Yumi and Ulrich glared at him so he quickly came up with another Idea. "Ok why don't you two fight again, loser has to grant the winner's wish. That way both of you will try as hard as you can." Odd couldn't hide his relief as Yumi and Ulrich turned their attention towards one another.
Yumi and Ulrich regarded each other for a moment then took a menacing step towards Odd who pulled his head out of the doorway and bolted away. Neither cared to listen to see how far away he got though and they turned back towards one another. Though the time had dissipated most of their anger, Ulrich found himself feeling suddenly competitive. With a slight smirk he challenged "so what do you want IF you win."
Yumi thought for a second, "You'll be taking me to that new Japanese restaurant when I win. I'll warn you that you had better start saving, it's supposed to be expensive in addition to having really good food."
Ulrich stared at Yumi dumbstruck. She had never demanded anything expensive or flashy before. Yumi looked him in the eye, "what? I can't want a nice date every once in a while." When Ulrich blinked and nodded in response she asked "so what about you?"
Ulrich gulped, not everything he wanted was as innocent. For instance he wanted to spend a night in the same bed with Yumi even if nothing further happened. But that wasn't the end of it, after feeling Sissy's belly he wanted to do that and more with Yumi. He was under the impression that it would feel much better than it had with Sissy because his feelings for Yumi were different and so much stronger. But he had never shared even a proper french kiss with her, which was another thing he wanted to do. His problem was that he and Yumi weren't really the type to go for large displays of affection. Nor was he really sure if he should ask for anything like what he really wanted.
But Yumi could appreciate him being forthright about his desire for a little physical affection. It may be far easier to handle than having awkward near kisses or trying to figure out if the moment was just right to move in for one. He looked up at Yumi, seeing her growing a little impatient as he considered. On the other hand she may want their first experiences with such gestures of affection to be done on impulse. She may not appreciate being forced into kissing him just because she lost a bet.
Odd poked his head back into the gymnasium to see Yumi looking impatiently at Ulrich and wondered what was going on. Or rather, what Ulrich was stuck thinking so hard about. His money would be on the stakes of the next sparring round between Ulrich and Yumi though. And since it was Ulrich who was struggling, he decided to come to the rescue of his best friend. "How about if Ulrich wins you two kiss, and I mean a real first kiss and not just a peck on the cheek or lips."
Yumi considered the suggestion, not seeming nearly as angry as she herself might have expected. The prospect of sharing a kiss was tantalizing, maybe even enough to warrant the somewhat despicable nature of how it would happen. Then again, it wasn't like Ulrich was going to win this fight anyway. With a predatory smile she looked over Ulrich, "If that's what you want, it's fine with me." Since you won't be winning anyway, she added to herself.
Ulrich looked up, surprised. She actually had sounded interested, and that sparked his own interest. "Really?"
"Yeah, really." Yumi replied with the same smile. She turned to Odd, "You can go now, if you're lucky maybe we'll tell you who won."
"Wait, you mean I don't get to watch?" Odd whined.
"NO" Yumi and Ulrich replied in unison, blushing slightly.
Odd left the Gym for the third time and figured that if he'd gotten away with staying around the last two times he could manage it again. Checking his phone once he was out of site, he made sure the camera was working. Having settled the argument and possibly gotten Ulrich his first kiss with Yumi, he decided he really did deserve a little reward.
Yumi watched Odd leave then turned to her boyfriend and regarded him with a mixture of emotions. She wanted Ulrich to fight her without holding back, not for his prize but out of respect for both her and her abilities. Some part of her wanted to lose just to kiss the boy. Some of her still wanted to thrash him for daring to think she needed him to go easy. As she took her spot in front of Ulrich she forced it all from her mind and concentrated on the upcoming battle. Gritting her teeth slightly, she decided that she was going to make him earn that kiss... She bowed to him with a slightly confused expression that she didn't have time to consider.
Ulrich bowed to Yumi, her expression giving him a split seconds pause before he decided to take advantage of whatever she was feeling. If she didn't want him to go easy on her then she needed to be fully present. Seizing the initiative, he made the first attack once Yumi signaled she was ready by lunging forward and lashing out with a powerful kick. Yumi ducked under his kick and sprung up, punching at his exposed chest and knocking him back. "Not a good start if you want your first real kiss," she teased. They both looked away briefly, each wondering where that had come from, before returning to the issue at hand: winning the fight.
Surging forward again, Ulrich tried a flurry of quick punches which Yumi deftly avoided or blocked. Spinning out of the way of his last punch, she reached out and grabbed his shoulder to haul him down. Sensing his fall however, Ulrich was quick enough to grab her waist and pull her down as well. Both teens hit the mat with a mildly painful omph and pushed into one another in an effort to pin the other on the ground.
When his feet started to slip however, Ulrich gave up and let Yumi push him over unto his back then exerted his muscles to send Yumi over the top of himself and then off to the side. Realizing the vulnerability of what had just happened, she let momentum carry her and rolled clear of Ulrich before shoving herself up and getting quickly back unto her feet.
Executing a quick jump up himself, Ulrich faced off against Yumi once again, circling her slowly while she turned to keep him in front of her. After Ulrich had traced a 45 degree arc Yumi decided that it was time to attack and rushed forward to feign a kick to the stomach. She continued the effort until she was certain her opponent had bought the act then dropped into a crouch to sweep Ulrich's legs out from under him. She didn't see Ulrich's expression as he awkwardly went from a position to catch her foot to jumping to avoid her sweep kick.
While Yumi sprung up from her failed attack and Ulrich landed from his successful dodge they both plotted their next more. Leading forward with a chop aimed at her collar, Ulrich was just a split second too slow and Yumi blocked it aside. She thrust her hand at Ulrich and knocked him back again. Failing to press the advantage she waited for him to attack.
Attack he did, launching a flurry quick kicks at Yumi's side that she struggled to block as she slowly backed up. Just as Ulrich started to feel like he could claim victory he felt his foot stop in mid air and then be roughly shoved away, knocking him off balance and nearly toppling him to the ground.
Pushed back on his heels, Yumi counter-attacked with a series of punches that required him to back pedal as he fought to block them all. With a short yell, she suddenly stopped punching and twirled around to bring a round house kick with surprising speed. Ulrich jumped out of the way and got up just in time throw a punch in counter to Yumi's. Both twisted out of the way and retreated from one another for a moment.
The effort felt good, their muscles starting to burn while the gulped air in a light pant. Light glistened off their foreheads, their hair was starting to get slick and matted with perspiration. A slight nod to each other and Ulrich charged at Yumi.
Odd watched the pair with interest, he'd never actually stopped to appreciate just how skilled they were with martial arts and quite frankly it was much more interesting than watching Jeremy and Aelita work on Lyoko. While everything between them happened in the limited confines of their minds and computer screens, the fight between Ulrich and Yumi was visceral. Arms and legs moving almost quickly enough to blur as they yelled to distract their opponent then jumped, rolled and did anything else to avoid the other's attacks. Yumi fought with fluid grace while Ulrich countered with power.
Unfortunately for him however, Yumi seemed to be winning. At least from the perspective of an untrained observer. She was the one countering most effectively and, it seemed, she had let Ulrich go a few times when she could have ended the match. But as Odd watched, he had to wonder just how much longer this could go on. Both combatants were now, after almost 15 minutes of continuous fighting, looking like they needed a break. Sweat dripped freely from both of them and at each reset they seemed to pant more heavily to recover. There was a bit of disappointment as they separated again, the most recent clash having ended in a draw. It wasn't looking good for getting a picture of them kissing.
Ulrich backed away from Yumi, panting heavily as he set himself up in a defensive posture. His last three attacks hadn't gone well and Yumi had either blocked or resisted each until she found a vulnerability and pushed him back. If she were in a bad mood she could have easily claimed victory on a few occasions. But each time she had allowed him to recover and attack again. The possibility that she wanted to kiss him did little to sooth his now seething ego. Forget the kiss, he needed to win this fight just to prove he could. It felt like Yumi was toying with him and that simply didn't sit well at all.
Yumi took Ulrich's moment of hesitation as an invitation and charged forward, forcing Ulrich back with another series of punches and kicks that he struggled to block aside. But rather than back pedal he relied on brute strength and put some real force into his blocks. The effect was instant and slowly Yumi started to lose ground as he managed to force openings in her attacks. There was more than a little satisfaction as he landed a blow and Yumi staggered back. But rather than stand and gloat, he pressed his advantage and forced Yumi back with his own combination kicks that she struggled to dodge.
Yumi however simply smirked as she leapt clear of Ulrich's barrage before she reached the edge of the mat, rolled once and sprung to her feet. "Is that all you've got?" She taunted.
Ulrich growled, spun to face her and charged at her again. She laughed a little as she dodged the attack and hit Ulrich on his back to send him stumbling forward a few steps. He turned to face her again and surprised her by feigning a chop at her neck and then landing a punch to her stomach. But he didn't get everything he wanted as she rolled to the side to lessen the blow. She landed her own chop to his upper back then dropped in another attempt to sweep Ulrich's feet out from under him.
Ulrich tried to turn as his opponent dropped and realized too late what he should have already known. He landed on his butt and Yumi pounced on him, knocking him over and pinning him down. Trying to struggle against the determined young woman proved futile as she put herself into the perfect position to hold him down. Unable to escape, Ulrich grudgingly conceded the match and stopped struggling.
Yumi rolled herself off and just lie at his side for a few minutes to catch her breath. She looked beside her to see Ulrich doing the same and couldn't help but gloat a little. "So were you still taking it easy on me?" Granted she wasn't and didn't sound mad any more since it was obvious that he was giving her an honest fight towards the end.
"No... But you were."
Yumi turned unto her side to face Ulrich, her head propped up on her hand. "Maddening isn't it?"
Ulrich rolled unto his side to face her. Pride said he shouldn't admit she was right, his conscience said he was supposed to. "Yeah."
"Good." Yumi snapped lightly as she got up. "Now help me get the mats put away so I can go to Aelita's room and grab a change of clothes and shower before we meet the rest of the group." She extended her hand and helped Ulrich up, blushing slightly. "And you'd better take one too." She turned around and headed to the corner of one of the mats. "I'm holding you to our wager."
Odd snickered, knowing that in a way it wasn't fair to Ulrich since very few people would have a shot at beating Yumi when she was mad or determined to teach a lesson. Finding them cleaning up to be a little boring he looked down at his phone, regretting that he didn't get a good, embarrassing picture of them. But his disappointment lightened somewhat as he considered that the only thing he'd get was trouble that he didn't need. It lightened more as he considered that it felt good to actually consider someone else's feelings once in a while.
Yumi walked towards Ulrich's room after showering and changing, feeling guilty about their wager. Not that she didn't want to go out somewhere really nice, just this once, but she knew Ulrich didn't need to spend the money on her. The answer was immediately obvious, cancel the extravagant date and accept something a lot more practical. And it wasn't the place that would make the night good anyway, it would be the company. She knocked on Ulrich's open door since he was on the phone and entered after he waved her in.
"Ok great, thanks." Ulrich hung up and put the pad of paper into his desk after circling a date on his calendar. "Hi Yumi."
"Hey Ulrich... You know I've been thinking and you don't have to take me anywhere as extravagant as the restaurant I suggested. I wasn't really being practical and I'll understand if you don't want to bug your parents for extra money to spend on me."
Ulrich shook his head, "Yumi the money isn't a problem. I've been saving and well, you know Jeremy wouldn't mind loaning me money and neither would Aelita if it came to that, but I've already got the reservation and..." Ulrich trailed off and cursed his nervousness before swallowing and forcing himself to continue. "I was actually looking forward to having a really nice date with you, away from everything and just..." Come on Ulrich, spit it out. "Just treating you the way I should have from the beginning."
Yumi beamed and let her first and somewhat uncharacteristic impulse carry her. She moved forward and grabbed Ulrich into a hug, relishing the feeling of her arms around him and his body heat washing over her. His freshly washed body still smelled slightly of soap as she brushed her lips against Ulrich's cheek after he returned the hug. "You know, I think maybe you could make an excellent boyfriend after all."
"CLICK!" The hug, though not as good as catching the couple kissing, would still do nicely when published in Kadic's newspaper.
Ulrich had a hard time finding any sort of insult in the statement. Holding Yumi tightly against himself was a dream come true. That she kissed his cheek rendered him thoughtless for a moment and all too soon it was over. The fading sent of her shampoo and warmth left behind on his clothes a subtle reminder of the joyous closeness they had just shared. He looked to Yumi, her slightly awkward smile was just too perfect and he wished he had a picture of it. The young couple let their gazes linger on one another for a little while longer, each considering the possibility of hugging once again. But the impulsive moment was over and each teen had regained their aversion to outward displays of affection.
"CLICK" Grinning with excitement, he noticed the end of the romantic moment and moved as quietly as possible to pick up and get away. Unfortunately, he bumped the door and it swung open a little more. Without running, as that would be a dead giveaway, he quickly walked down the hall and hoped to either disappear into the next convenient room or, failing that, look like he was just walking around bored instead of spying.
Yumi heard the bump on the door and watched it swing open a little wider with growing curiosity. Ulrich followed her gaze and then followed her as she walked out of the room and into the hallway. Looking to the right, there was no one there and the same was true for the left side. Shrugging and scratching her head, Yumi turned back into the room and helped Ulrich gather anything they thought might be needed at the factory and started talking with him.
As the pair left Kadic, they spied Milly and Tamia offering a special, hot off the press, issue to celebrate Kadic's newest couple. Curious again and feeling worried about the door from 15 minutes earlier she walked up to the young reporters and noticed that they eyed her with fear. The reason why was immediately obvious as the front page had a large picture of her and Ulrich in the tender hug. She glared at Odd and he took off running the second she shouted at him, confirming his guilt.
(())
Odd cursed his luck, having run into Sissi and William as they walked to the factory trapped him and subjected him to an interrogation that only their arrival at the computer lab stopped. The glare from Yumi and Ulrich left no doubt that he'd be given the third degree later. Unless by some miracle Yumi and Ulrich forgot about it. But that was as unlikely as convincing them that he really was innocent. With a resigned sigh, he walked up to the computer terminal and noticed that both Jeremy and Aelita were already on the screen and both wore a frown. Biting back his first comment about how whatever Aelita's surprise went he waved at the couple and forced a thin smile.
Aelita spoke softly, her voice coming over the lab's speaker system. "Odd, what did you do?"
"Nothing," Odd answered defensively. "I swear to you."
Yumi and Ulrich looked at one another and decided to just say it after a moment's hesitation, the two geniuses were going to find out when they saw the picture anyway. "Odd took pictures of us sharing a hug and published them." William and Sissi looked briefly at one another, seeming to share just a little bit of comfort because they both felt a little hurt by the news.
Wondering if this was how Aelita felt when she was trapped in the supercomputer, Jeremy put aside that question and stared into Odd's eyes as best he could. "Odd, did you take the pictures?"
"No! I watched Yumi and Ulrich spar in the gym and if I'd really wanted pictures I could have snapped any number of them." He smiled and decided that it wasn't worth mentioning that getting pictures of Yumi and Ulrich kissing was his whole reason for staying to watch. After all, he did ultimately decide that it was best he didn't take that kind of picture.
"And what were you doing spying on us?" Yumi questioned.
"Well..." Thinking fast he continued, "I had to wait for an opportunity to smuggle Kiwi out undetected since I had to rush into the gym to avoid getting caught with him. Then I got caught up in how impressive it was to see the two of them in action and stayed to watch."
Sissi shook her head, not believing Odd but also not sure who's side to come down on. What Odd was being accused of really did fit into his personality but at the same time there were times when he was really nice to her. A look at William suggested that he was going to stay out of this. Ulrich looked like he was struggling with wanting to believe Odd and knowing that it was well in Odd's character to embarrass a friend for a laugh. "Odd? Did you really..."
"No!" Odd growled, "why won't any of you believe me!"
"It's something you would do?" Sissi ventured hesitantly. "I mean speaking strictly from past experience."
Odd's shoulders slumped and he knew he had to admit that. With a resigned sigh he answered, "I know I would have done it... I just... I didn't, not this time."
Aelita nodded, "I believe you Odd." Everyone looked at Aelita, Odd smiled brightly while Yumi and Ulrich frowned. She continued "Yumi, there is someone else at school that would do that, Hiroki."
With a cross between astonishment and embarrassment she turned away from the computer monitor and her two genius friends. It was definitely a possibility and the only reason she assumed that Odd had taken the pictures was because he had run when they saw him. She had no idea where her little brother was at the moment though she knew he was at the school with Johnny.
Jeremy looked away while Yumi debated her rush to judgment on Odd. As he concentrated he could feel the power of the supercomputer and the flood of data that represented a network connection. Hoping that the perpetrator had sent pictures wirelessly, he hacked the phone company and checked Johnny's phone. Sure enough Hiroki transferred pictures from his phone to Milly's. Closing the links and backtracking he opened his eyes to see Aelita frown with disapproval. Though it wasn't as bad as he might have expected. "It was Hiroki." He gestured and on the screen came up the phone company log of that data transfer.
Now looking sheepish, Yumi, Ulrich, and even Sissi apologized to Odd for assuming that he had taken the pictures and had them published. "Ok," Jeremy announced, hopping to get away from the drama, "now let's get you all to Lyoko so Odd and I can begin his tutoring session and Sissi can explore." Happy to be past this incident, he watched them all go down to the scanner room and virtualized Ulrich, Odd and Yumi.
William flashed Sissi a reassuring smile before he stepped into his scanner. Nodding gratefully at him, she stepped into her designated scanner and waited as the doors closed, plunging her into darkness. Muffled a little by the metal container, she heard Jeremy call out "Transfer William, transfer Sissi" over the intercom. She braced herself and heard, "scanner William, scanner Sissi." Losing her sense of gravity as a burst of air helped her levitate, she felt the tingling of the scanner ring as it traversed up and down her body.
As she waited for the final word, her mind flashed to the reality that there were no bodies left. Terror filled her as she hung helplessly in the scanner, hoping that whatever happened to her body wasn't going to be painful. "Virtualization!" She shut her eyes tightly as a strong gust of wind flowed into the chamber. A pulse of energy rendered her unconsciousness and her body was vaporized in what would have been a blinding flash of light. Sissi awoke to a weird noise and opened her eyes to a strange new world. Lyoko.