AN: I'm back again with a chapter fresh out of my notebook! I bet you guys didn't expect another chapter so soon! Before I get started, I need to apologize to you all. In earlier ANs, I said that there would be more action in Lyoko later on. I no longer know if that's true. It's possible, but not likely or I would never finish this fic and you guys wouldn't find out what happens in the end! It might make a small appearance, but I don't know yet. Sorry about that! We'll just have to see what happens as it goes. This chapter is an early Christmas present for you all! I now it's only the 23rd, but I'll be busy all day tomorrow and I didn't think you'd object to having it a little early. So, Merry Christmas! Read, review, and enjoy!

As Yumi headed to breakfast, she walked past Odd and Jeremie, so lost in her thoughts that she did not see them.

"Uh... Hi?" Odd said as she walked by.

"Oh, hi Odd, Jeremie." Yumi said, startled.

"Are you alright?" Jeremie studied her for a few moments before she turned away from them.

"I'm fine," she lied. "Have any of you seen Ulrich today?"

"Yeah, I saw him this morning," Odd said. "He was on his way to his cabin. It looked like he'd been napping out in the forest." His joking tone did nothing to cheer Yumi, instead it caused a small frown.

Maybe that's why Ulrich didn't switch off his shift with me last night, Yumi thought.

"Anyway... time for breakfast, race you there!" Odd took off for the mess hall, leaving Yumi and Jeremie standing in his dust.

"I don't see how anyone could get that excited about food," Jeremie said, shaking his head. "Odd is definitely unique."

Yumi nodded in agreement, turning her head slightly to look for Ulrich. "I need to talk to Ulrich, Jeremie. We'll be at breakfast in a little bit, save us seats!"

"Should I save a seat for Theo, too?" Jeremie tried to conceal his disgust at the thought, but wasn't very successful.

"T-Theo? No. Jeremie... I need to talk to you and Odd about something today, ok? At lunch, alright?" Yumi's heart raced as she thought of talking to the two boys who were the most brotherly toward her. How will they take it? Will they be mad at me? Ignore me? Will they even believe me? Yumi pushed these thoughts out of her mind as she walked away, waving at the blond genius. "See you then, Jer."

Steeling herself to face Ulrich, she walked toward the cabin he was supervising. Just as she was stepping forward to open the door, it swung open, revealing Ulrich.

"Good morning, Yumi," he said, looking at the ground.

"Good morning." she replied softly. "Can we go inside for a few minutes? I need to talk to you."

Ulrich nodded and held the door open for her. He then led her to his bed, where they both sat down.

"I have something of yours, and I think you have something of mine," she said quietly as she reached into her backpack and pulled out the blue-green notebook. Ulrich's eyes widened slightly before he nodded. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to, but I read part of your journal," she admitted.

"I read yours, too," Ulrich said, reaching under his pillow for the matching notebook. After they exchanged books, he said, "I wasn't going to, but then I saw my name and was curious. I read all of it from the beginning of March until now. I'm sorry, Yumi."

"So you know, then..." Yumi couldn't meet his eyes. Instead, she traced her finger over the cover of her journal.

"Yeah, I do."

Both of the teens sat in an awkward silence until Ulrich reached over slowly and took her hand gently in his own.

"Yumi, why didn't you tell me? What Theo is doing is wrong. I could help you. I don't want you to be hurting like this - and not just the physical pain. I mean the mental stuff, too. You've changed, Yumi. You used to be the bravest person I knew. Now I'm so afraid that I'll scare you or hurt you accidentally that I don't know what to do. I'll fight him for you, if that's what you need. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

While he was speaking, tears welled up in Yumi's eyes as she heard the earnestness in his voice.

"He'll hurt you, Ulrich. I couldn't live with myself if that happened. He already attacked Jeremie. Who's next, Odd... you?" The anguish was clear in her voice as the tears started falling.

"It'll be alright, Yumi. If we can defeat X.A.N.A., we can beat Theo, but we need to work together. We need to trust each other again. Can you trust me, even though I read your diary?" Ulrich's voice was hopeful as he used his free hand to tilt her face up gently so he could look into her eyes.

Yumi nodded. "It's kind of good that you read it. I kept trying to tell you, but I couldn't. I was too scared."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore," Ulrich said gently, letting go of her hand so he could wipe the tears from her face. "I'll be here for you, I promise." Giving her a quick hug, he tried to change the mood. "We'd better get to breakfast before Odd eats everything in sight," he said lightly, standing up and helping her to her feet. His hand found hers as they walked out of the cabin and toward the mess hall. Yumi squeezed it once, feeling safer already.

Unbeknownst to the two, a pair of narrowed eyes watched from the trees and followed them silently.

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I have the next one written up, but I don't have time to type it, too. So, hopefully sometime this month I'll get that one up, too. Things are heating up! Happy Holidays, everyone!