Ulrich and Odd stepped off the bus that had dropped them off at their college campus. After receiving the legion d'honneur, Lieutenant Calvin gave them both an honorable discharge. Ulrich ran as fast as he could, to see the girl he had been wanting to see for months. However, Odd noticed something that caught his eye.

"Hey, Ulrich?" he said "You might want to save the reunion."

"What do you...?" Ulrich said, but stopped when he noticed what Odd was noticing; he couldn't believe his eyes: Yumi was hanging out with and kissing another boy, William Dunbar to be precise. Ulrich just stood there shocked; his girlfriend had cheated on him while he was gone. Ulrich didn't see anymore, he just ran away. Yumi happened to catch Odd's eye though.

"Hey, Odd." she said "You're back already."

Odd just sneered and walked away

"Well, what was that all about?" she said as she walked away with William.

Things didn't go well with Ulrich for the next month. He was behind in his classes, he stopped talking to his friends, and his parent's were threatening him to send him back to the army if he didn't shape up. Ulrich didn't care, Yumi was gone to him, and he had lost all hope. One day, Ulrich was moping in his room when Odd, his roomate once again, came barging in.

"Hey, Ulrich!" he shouted

"What is it?" Ulrich asked annoyed

"You remember that Pop-Rock Progressives thing we did back at Kadic? Well, I talked with Jeremie, Aelita, Nicholas, and Yumi, and they said they'd be happy to do a reunion concert at the stadium. I also talked to the dean, and he said it was okay with him."

"Really?" Ulrich asked

"Yeah, now all we need is a keyboardist, besides, it'll give you a chance to talk to Yumi without William around." Odd said "So what do you say, are you in?"

"Alright, I'll do it." He said with confidence

Later at night, the band was getting prepared to perform, Ulrich noticed Yumi walking by and he went up to her.

"Hey, Yumi." Ulrich said

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm...?" She turned around and stopped talking when she saw who she was talking to.

"Ulrich?" she said shocked "Is it really you?"

"What are you talking about?" Ulrich said angrily "Of course it's me!"

"Ulrich, I..."

"Why did you leave me, Yumi?" He said still angry

"Ulrich, you don't understand." She said

"Alright, tell me! What don't I understand?" He shouted

"William told me you were dead!" She shouted back

Ulrich was stunned "What?" he said quietly

Yumi was in tears this time.

"A month after you and Odd left, William came to my dorm, he gave me a letter supposedly written by the government saying that you died in action. Do you know how distraught I was when I read that letter? I would never, ever cheat on you. I love you."

Ulrich was silent

"That bastard." Ulrich said

"But, Ulrich?" She asked "Is it okay if we don't see each other for another month?"

"But, why?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when I no longer have to deal with William again."

"Fair enough." Ulrich said "Now dry your eyes, you've got a performance to start."

The band opened with their hit song, "Mystery Girl". Everyone who was in the original band was there, even Jim on slide trombone, along with Aelita on the turntables, who at the age of 18, recorded her first number 1 hit with the Subdigitals. The performance was a success, everyone went back to their dorms, feeling elated. even Ulrich was happy for the first time in a month.

Needless to say thing have gotten a lot better for Ulrich, he got straight As in all his classes, he joined the college's soccer team, where he was the team's star athlete, he even led his team to their first national championship in 10 years. But before then, a month had passed. He was on his way to see Yumi to reconcile with her, when he heard shouting coming from the other side of her door.

"You're not leaving me that easily, Yumi!" he heard a male voice shout, Ulrich immediately recognized it as William's voice.

'He must have been out drinking.' Ulrich thought 'He sure sounds like it'

"We had a deal, William! Now let me go!" He heard her shout

"You obviously prefer me over him, otherwise you wouldn't had cheated on him."

Ulrich opened the door a tiny crack

"I 'cheated on him' because you told me he was dead!" Yumi shouted

"And you believed me. It's not my fault you're such a gullible idiot."

"Shut up!" she screamed as she punched him square in the jaw.

"Alright, now you've done it." He said as he jumped towards Yumi trying to hit her back. However Ulrich jumped in front of her and shielded her from the blows.

"Get out of the way, Stern!" He shouted

"Make me, you sick bastard!" Ulrich shouted back

William then, in a drunken rage, grabbed Ulrich by the collar of his shirt and started landing blows on his face, just then one of the security guards showed up.

"What the heck is going on here!" He shouted "Dunbar, get over here!"

"It's not what it looks like." William said

"Then what is it?" the guard shouted

"He tried to assault me." Yumi said "Then Ulrich here came and saved me, but William grabbed Ulrich and started assaulting him."

"Is this true, Ulrich?" the guard asked

"Yessir." he said

"Very well. William, you are hereby expelled from these premises at once!"

"You'll pay for this, Stern." He said as the guard dragged him out "YOU'LL PAY!"

Ulrich walked over to Yumi.

"I'm sorry about this, Yumi." Ulrich said

"No, I'm sorry Ulrich." she said "It was wrong of me to leave you like that."

"You didn't know, Yumi, and besides, you had your reasons, right?"

"Well, yes." she said "Do you want me to tell you?"

"Are you comfortable telling me?" He asked

"Well, no. Not really." Yumi said

"Then you don't have to tell me." Ulrich said "However, there is something I've always wanted to ask you since the day we first met."

"Ulrich, are you saying...?"

"Shhhh." he interrupted as he pulled a small box from his pocket "Yumi, will you marry me?" He said opening the box, revealing a small, silver ring with a bit of onyx in the center.

Yumi didn't say anything, she just leaped up to him and kissed him straight on the lips; Ulrich returned the kiss.

"Yes." she said happily "Yes I'll marry you."

They then walked down the hallway and down to Ulrich's dorm, there they heard cheers from the other boys who had heard the whole thing (A/N: It's not a sex-segregated dorm like Kadic, so the boys could have heard it even from Yumi's room).

"Way to go, Ulrich!" they heard them shout as they walked down

"I can't wait to tell my parents." Ulrich said

"I don't think that's such a good idea, knowing your parents."

"Don't worry." he assured her "It'll be fine."

"An arranged marriage?" Ulrich said to his father when he went to his house

"That's right." Ulrich's father said "She's a real nice girl, too."

"Yumi is a nice girl." Ulrich said "And I'm marrying her!"

"No, Ulrich!" he said "You're marrying Ms. Delmas tonight!"

"Delmas?" Ulrich asked "Sissi Delmas?"

"Of course." Ulrich's father said "You've known her since grade school, she comes from a wealthy family. She's a perfect match."

"But I don't like Sissi." Ulrich shouted "I love Yumi, and whether you like it or not, I'm marrying her!"

"Ulrich, as your father, I order you to go on with this arranged marriage!"

"Dad, I'm an adult! I'll make my own choices now!"

"No matter how old you get, you'll always be my son! Or did your rotten, good for nothing friends make you forget that. It's no wonder you distant yourself from the family."

"That doesn't mean I have to put up with everything you say!" Ulrich shouted "And the real reason I 'distant myself from the family' is because the only thing you ever cared about was either my grades or my soccer! You never loved me just as a person!"

"Ulrich Johannes Stern!" his mother shouted as she slapped him across the face. "Your father has always loved you for who you are, and he always will! He just wants what's best for you."

"Then why is he forcing me to marry a girl I've despised all my life over a girl who actually listens to me, who actually cares for me? I'm going with Yumi and nothing you can do can stop me!" He said as he walked out the door

"You walk away from this marriage, you walk away from this family." Ulrich's father said "You walk away from this family, and I'll treat you like you're not part of this family. If you walk out on us. You can kiss your trust fund and inheritance goodbye."

"You actually think I want to live your austere ways? I've hated this lifestyle all my life. I'm glad you're cutting me off!" Ulrich shouted as he slammed the door and walked away. His parent just stood there stunned. Sissi, who had been in the other room the entire time, then walked in to see what the commotion was about.

"I take it the marriage is off?"

Early update I know. But my sister's visiting for the weekend and my dad's probably going to want me to spend time with her than go on the computer. So don't expect any updates this weekend. Thank you for your time. And please, don't be shy about reviewing. As long as you have something constructive to say, I don't care what you say.