"They….might die?" Odd said slowly as Aelita paced the floor of the factory. Jeremy nodded grimily as he watched the stage. The pair on the opposite end had been quite for quite some time now. Odd sat on the floor, running his hands through his hair. Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore.
"Find a way to get them home, before they get hurt. My fathers bunker is not so important that they need risk their real lives for it. If they were still a virtual program it would be different. But they may never come back. You need to fix the program before the go get hurt." Aelita insisted.
"Not a chance, Aelita. We're all the way over here. We might as well get what we came for. We have our weapons, we can fight. We aren't incompetent." Ulrich insisted.
"Uh, YOU have your weapons, Ulrich. My fan's danger was just part of the program. Here, they're regular fans..." Yumi trailed off. Ulrich looked at her in shock, and carefully drew one of the blades. He made an arch, swiftly swinging the blade down on a slender tree branch, assuring his sabers were still sharp. The branch cut like butter, and the boy offered the handle to Yumi.
"Well, you'll need protection, won't you?" he prompted. She shook here head.
"I have you, I'll be safe," She blushed slightly and turned away. "But I'm no good with a sword anyways." Ulrich nodded blankly and sheathed the sword.
"You can't go home tonight even if you wanted to…You're nowhere near an airport. The closest one is Manchester, which is too far walking distance for a day…" they both exchanged a grim look.
"G…get some sleep Jeremy. I'm exhausted now, which can only mean it's bed time there. Yumi and I will do our best to survive until you get back," Ulrich said, his voice dull.
"Leave you alone?!" Jeremy said in shock. Ulrich seethed quietly under his breath.
"We ARE alone. We're stranded, okay? And as much as I appreciate hearing you three talking about how bleak this situation is I assure you we already know, and hearing the superbrain who got us here, and was supposed to get us out, admit he can't save us, it really outs a damper on our moral. We're best on our own. I trust Yumi and I will not let her get hurt. Now go, rest. All of you. And come back when you're capable of anything more than just pity and misery. The two of us have a copious amount of that." Ulrich spat. Yumi placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, and felt the tense muscle beneath his uniform.
"I'll work on a solution guys…I swear." Jeremy murmured. They heard the soft click of the microphone shutting off. Ulrich and Yumi exchanged empty looks. Neither knew exactly how to feel. Yumi moved forward and hugged Ulrich, taking in a shuttering breath. Ulrich wrapped his arms around her, unsure of what to do. He pulled away abruptly, his thoughts scattered. Yumi dropped her arms, slightly hurt. Ulrich began walking forward, unaware that he had wounded the girl. He crouched beside a stream several feet away and drew a sword again, slashing the water furiously for several seconds before stabbing it deep into the rich earth beside the stream, and laying on the ground, fists clenched over his eyes. Yumi bit her lip and turned away from him, willing the tears not to fall.
Stupid, stupid. Don't cry. What are you crying over? The fact that you're going to die, or that you're going to die with an unrequited love? Don't freaking cry. That gets you no where…He's the strong one, and he's so lost. What do I do? If he can't lead, what, then? No, you're strong, too. He's younger than you. Less wise. But he has gotten his act together, and pulled his grades up. Book smarts won't help you here…but he's always been strategic in battle. Always. Whatever, so have you. But how can I fight with paper fans? Ugh.
Yumi's thoughts raged in her head as she stared blankly ahead. She turned her gaze tiredly to the frustrated boy on the ground…no, he wasn't a boy now. He had grown dramatically over the months, now significantly taller than her, his face harder and more solid than the child she had first befriended. She sat down next to him, not sure if she should attempt to comfort her. He abruptly sat up, and looked at the time on his watch.
"I'm still on France time." He said shortly. He glanced at her wrist. "As are you. Time difference is approximately six hours…" He fiddled with his watch. "Okay, it's four P.M. here…darkness is coming soon, you keep your watch on France time, so we know when they'll be awake or sleeping. We need to…" he stood, eyes focused on nothing in particular, and strode forward.
"Come on," he called as he left. Yumi strode after him quickly. They were walking for about 15 minutes when they came across a delapitated stone building. Ulrich looked at Yumi, his eyes soft again. "Shelter…for the night. You look tired, and I know I am. We can worry about food tomorrow. It's almost dark now. We have to get some sleep." He said, shoving open the door. The dim, remaining daylight filtered through the window. The floor was empty apart from a large, old mattress. There was a cabinet one wall, and a fireplace next to the mattress with a large pile of wood. Ulrich strode to the hearth and threw kindling on. Yumi had been unaware that he had left to gather some. He glanced around and found a box of matches on top of the hearth and attempted to strike them. Three broke before the fourth finally lit. As the kindling burned he placed two logs over it, and stood, looking at her.
"Come here…" he pleaded softly. Yumi walked slowly towards him. He had been on edge and intense all day, enough to make her a little afraid. She stood in front of him and he looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then brushed a clump of hair gingerly behind her ear, then looked away towards the mattress. "It isn't much…but, you lay here. I'll look around this shack for a bit then build the fire. I'll sleep on the floor." He added. Yumi had sat on the dust mattress, and looked at him in alarm.
"The floor? No! Ulrich this mattress is big enough for the both of us." She insisted. He looked at her for a moment then smirked playfully.
"You just want to share a bed with me," He joked, walking to the opposite end of the cabin, match box in hand. Despite his joking, he was right. Yumi wanted to sleep in the same bed as him, and every implication that came with it.
Suddenly a beam of light crossed her face and she squinted.
"Flashlights!" Ulrich called. She smiled, it was a small, yet significant find. She laid back, and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of him moving around.
She was just dozing off as she felt the heat from the fire grow, the mattress shift, and Ulrich's presence beside her. She kept her eyes shut but could feel his gaze on her. Suddenly she felt his breath on her face, and his lips hardly brushed hers. Perhaps it was only his breath she felt, but his mouth was incredibly close. She struggled to stay still.
"Good night, Yumi…" he murmured. She could feel each word as the breath came from his mouth against her lips. She felt him pull away and lay down. He was perhaps a foot away at the most, but yet any distance away from what had just been, and he may as well have been in France. Not even the fire made her feel warmer than his breath had.