Spirit Of Ryuu- Sorry, but I have very strong opinions about staying true to the storyline, and Yumi is included with that, as well as Yumi and Ulrich and whatever chemistry they have. Thank you for reviewing!

ON WITH THE STORY!

Look Before You Seek

Chapter 9

Later, that very same day, Jeremie was in his dorm, typing furiously into his computer, trying to find cure for the virus that X.A.N.A. had given Aelita. Aelita was in her own dorm, studying. Odd was in his dorm, doing whatever Odd does, and Minnie was out in the wood, reading the final chapters of 'Inkheart' for the umpteenth time.

Yumi was with Ulrich in the gym, watching as others tried to learn the fighting skills the Jim was poorly teaching them. Ulrich was trying to talk to Yumi, but he could tell she wasn't listening. He was just making awkward small talk, but he might as well have been talking to the wall, for all the reaction he was getting out of her.

"Ishiyama!" Barked Jim. "Stern! Your up. Show the rest of these pansies how to fight!" Annoyed at the insensitivity the coach had shown, Ulrich got into position.

He must have been quite annoyed, because when Yumi attacked, he hesitated. The first blow knocked him to the ground. He sat, stunned for a few moments, before jumping back to his feet and concentrated. He had to forget about his problems, or he would lose concentration. But this was easier said than done. He received several blows and many knocks to the ground.

Yumi, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself. After all, she was still angry at him, and beating him at this made her feel slightly better about herself.

After the fighting session in the gym, Yumi and Ulrich would usually join the others in Jeremie's dorm for a while. But today, Yumi didn't really feel like seeing them, so she headed straight home. Unfortunately for her, Ulrich caught her before she reached the school gates.

"Yumi," he called when he was close enough. "We need to talk." he was saying words between puffs.

"No, Ulrich. I'm just going to go straight home," she said, trying to get around him when she could only see his shoes.

"Yumi, please come. We all have to talk to you. To apologize."He smiled at her, but she didn't see. She only saw his shoes.

"Will Minnie be there?" Yumi finally asked.

"No," Ulrich said, although he wasn't really sure whether she was or not.

Luckily for Ulrich, Minnie wasn't there. She had gone to her extra lesson of French tutoring, although she didn't need it.

When Ulrich opened the door to Jeremie's dorm, there was an eerie silence, as though they had all stopped talking all at once.

"Hi Ulrich," Yumi heard Aelita say to Ulrich as he walked in. He mumbled a reply, and Yumi didn't hear what he said.

Aelita seemed shocked when Yumi followed Ulrich into the room. "Yumi, I didn't know you were coming!"

"Yeah, hello to you to," Yumi said, trying to hide her hurt feelings with sarcasm.

"Yumi, I didn't mean it like that," Aelita said apologetically. "But I thought you were angry at us."

"I am," Yumi replied bluntly.

Ulrich walked over to Jeremie, who was at his computer, as usual. "Anything new happening?" He asked, trying to break the tension in the group.

"No. No activated towers, nothing." Jeremie sounded strangely disappointed, as though he had nothing to do when the world was safe from X.A.N.A.

"And that's a good thing, right?" Odd asked, giving Jeremie a strange look.

"Yes, it is. I never said it wasn't." Jeremie's lack of sleep was starting to show through his emotions. Also, he was yawning quiet a bit.

"How's the anti-virus for Aelita coming along?" Ulrich asked, trying to sway the conversation away from a topic that could end badly.

"I'm making progress, but I still can't be sure of anything until it's tested, and right now, it's to risky to take that chance." Jeremie said all this, still staring at his computer, typing codes madly into his keyboard. The only other person in that room who might have been able to understand the codes was Aelita, as the rest of them knew almost nothing about working codes into computers. Unless control-alt-delete was considered a code, they were clueless at how to work it.

Minutes past, and the group was mostly silent, except Ulrich, who was circulating, trying to start a conversation with small talk. It wasn't a horrible, awkward silence, just a silence. Yumi checked the time.

"Okay guys. Well, this has been great, but I've got to get going now. Bye!"

"Bye Yumi," Called the rest of the group as she walked out. She was surprised to see Ulrich follow her out.

"Can I walk you to the gates?" He asked, slightly embarrassed about the situation.

"I'll be fine," Yumi said to him, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. She started to walk away, but Ulrich followed her. She went a few steps, before spinning around to face him, looking him in the eyes.

"Why are you following me?" She asked, as though he was a complete stranger. Ulrich's eyes kept moving from one of her eyes to the other, as though he couldn't decided which to focus on.

"Yumi," he said pleadingly. "What will it take for you to forgive me?"

"I don't know, Ulrich. I don't know if I can." At that, Yumi walked away slowly.

"Yumi," he called after her, but she didn't turn around. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he wasn't even sure of what he felt. He wanted Yumi to understand how he felt about her, but he didn't understand himself.

So, he sighed, he bit his tongue, and he went back to Jeremie's dorm where the others were.

Soz, another short chapter. Oh well. Please Review.

Thanx!

OcyTaviAh