The next morning, Yumi sets her tray down at the table and flashes Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita a smile.
"Good morning, guys. How's it going?" She carves out a chunk of pancake with the side of her fork as she talks, taking the bite only when she's finished speaking.
Odd and Ulrich return her greeting just as cheerfully before Odd returns to voraciously devouring his portion.
"Did you study for that history test you were talking about?" Yumi asks Ulrich, curiosity bright in her eyes.
Ulrich shrugs. "I'll just wing it. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Yumi has a scolding prepared on her tongue when Odd speaks up abruptly, crumbs showering down from his full mouth, "Where's Einstein?"
Aelita, who had been silent since Yumi had seated herself, glowers up at the wild-haired boy. Her knuckles whiten around her fork, which was currently stabbing her otherwise-untouched pancakes.
"He's in a bad mood. We... had a fight, earlier."
The pleasant atmosphere ebbs. Yumi blinks at Aelita in surprise.
"Really?" Ulrich sounds just as startled. "You two never fight- you're like two peas in a pod."
"Well, we did today, okay?" snaps Aelita, her green eyes flashing with agitation, "He was being ridiculous. I don't know what his deal is lately."
"Who knows?" Odd chirps after chugging a decent amount of his hot chocolate. "Einstein's always been a little high-strung."
"Yeah, but he's been worse than ever lately," Ulrich huffs, "He barely even sees us other than when XANA attacks."
Yumi feels her jaw tighten. Were they really this oblivious? Jeez... she'd simply figured she'd been the first one willing to take action on the matter, not the first one to figure it out.
"Well, maybe he's worried," she begins delicately. She swallows the chunk on her fork before continuing. "You've noticed what XANA's been doing lately, haven't you?"
The three stare at her blankly. Aelita arches a pink eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Yumi's brow furrows. "He's been targeting Jeremie like crazy. C'mon, you really haven't seen that?"
"...Now that you mention it..." Ulrich exchanges a look with Odd, nodding along.
Aelita's eyes widen with realization- and perhaps regret, as well. "No wonder he's been so miserable the past few days!" She lowers her fork and ducks her head into her hands. "Oh no... I said some really bad stuff to him."
Suddenly, the tinny noise of a ringtone cuts through the conversation, and Yumi's phone buzzes in her back pocket. Swiftly snatching it from her pants, she accepts the call and draws it to her ear.
"Yumi!" Jeremie's voice is high and frantic. "Activated tower, Ice Sector. Are the others with you?"
"Yeah, we're all here," she confirms, blatantly disregarding the apprehensive looks the other Lyoko warriors cast her way. "We'll head over to the factory right away. Any signs of the attack?"
"No, not yet. I'll set up your virtualizations." Of course he's already there. She wouldn't expect anything less of him. "Hurry!"
Yumi clicks off her phone as Jeremie hangs up, her dark-brown gaze falling on the three. They had already begun cleaning off their trays. "Alright, let's head out."
There isn't a word of disagreement. Aelita's movements in particular are choppy and fast, and tension ripples through her body even through her clothing.
She's worried. Yumi would be lying if she said she wasn't, either.