Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko and I make no profit from this fan work. I'm just a geek, with a tad too much spare time, having a little fun. Like playing with action figures.

(Continued from chapter 4. Make sure you read that. I added both 4 and 5 at the same time.)

Chapter 5: Yumi’s Story (part II)

If Yumi’s mother saw that test, she would just about have a heart attack. And, the rest of the night would consist of her parents interrogating her harshly about her possible sex life. It’s not like telling the truth, that Hiroki tricked her into buying it as a practical joke, would help. Even if Hiroki admitted to the prank, nobody would believe him.

Because, frankly that’s ridiculous. Seriously, it just doesn’t make sense.

Thinking very quickly, the two siblings rushed into the kitchen before their mother took any groceries out of the bag.

“Hey Mom, I just remembered this great trick you gotta see!” announced Hiroki.

“Huh? Uh, not now, Hiroki. I need to put these groceries away” replied his mother.

“Oh don’t worry, Mom. I’ll put them away” said Yumi practically snatching the bag away from her mother.

“Um, all right Hiroki, show me your trick” responded a very confused mother.

Unable to think of anything better, Hiroki entertained his mother by turning his eyelids inside-out while Yumi hurriedly put away the groceries, careful to conceal the “deadly item” in her purse.

“Hiroki, that’s disgusting!”, Mrs. Ishiyama reacted, “Now, let me get back to…”.

“All done” interrupted Yumi having finished putting the groceries away.

“Well anyway, like Yumi said, let us know if you need any help” offered Hiroki as he and Yumi left the kitchen.

“Yeah, like I’m letting either of you in here again, with both of you acting so weird” their mother mumbled to herself as she got a pan out of the cabinet.

--

That night, dinner at the Ishiyama residence went peacefully, which was quite unusual considering how it usually goes manically. But, for some reason a certain brother and sister, who are normally at each other’s throats, were actually getting along, quite nicely in fact. Both parents were quite baffled at seeing their children actually being nice to one another for a change, but decided not to “look a gift-horse in the mouth” as they say, and simply enjoyed the family harmony they had yearned so long for.

Over hot bowls of curry and rice, the family began to converse, “So, Yumi”, the mother asked, “what happened with you and your friends?”.

Yumi was startled by the question at first but then calmed down and answered “I kinda don’t feel like talking about it”.

“Oh, come on Yumi. We’re your family. You can talk to us about anything” her mother persisted.

Hiroki nodded in agreement. Her father turned her attention toward her.

Yumi sighed. She remembered her promise to Hiroki to be more involved with the family. It was time to make good on that.

“It’s like this. Ulrich and Aelita think that there’s something going on between me and Jeremie, and there isn’t, but they think there is, and they’re acting all upset and jealous” explained Yumi.

“Ok, now isn’t Jeremie the weird kid with the munchkin hair, the annoying one?” Yumi’s father asked.

“No, I think Jeremie’s the nerdy boy with the glasses” Yumi’s mother corrected.

“Oh, that’s right! Now I remember, and Aelita’s his girlfriend with the pink hair, right?” Yumi’s father realized.

“Yes, that’s right” answered Yumi, rolling her eyes at her father’s apparent inability to tell her friends apart.

Then she chalked it all up to her father being traumatized by the time she had all her friends over for a day and, for still unknown reasons, Odd decided to cling to Yumi’s father the entire time. He followed him around everywhere asking him really asinine questions (like “Who’d win a fight between the Cream of Wheat guy and the Quaker Oats guy?”), singing annoying songs (like The Song That Never Ends and 600 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall), and looking over his shoulder whenever he tried to read or watch anything.

The others just left Odd to his own devices and hung out together while Odd tormented Yumi’s father. The fun day ended when Mr. Ishiyama whispered in his daughter’s ear “get your friends out of here, or I’m killing the weird one!”, which prompted Yumi to ask everyone to call it a day and head home.

Yumi’s father still has nightmares about Odd, by the way.

“So, why do they think you’re cheating on Ulrich with Jeremie?” asked Yumi’s mother, snapping Yumi out of her memories.

“Well, in my case, I doubt it would really be ‘cheating’ since Ulrich and I aren’t technically together” clarified Yumi.

Yumi’s parents and brother rolled their eyes at Yumi’s denial. They considered Ulrich and Yumi a couple. Yumi’s friends considered Ulrich and Yumi a couple. Friggin’ everyone that knew them (except Sissi) considered the two a couple. And really, Ulrich and Yumi considered themselves a couple as well; they just refused to admit it.

Yumi sighed. She couldn’t very well tell her parents what happened with her falling on Jeremie half-way through changing her shirt. “It’s a long stupid story, and it’s best not to get into it. The real problem is, now that they think we’re cheating on them, they’re completely freaking out about it!” Yumi explained.

“Well, did you try to explain it to them?” Yumi’s mother asked.

“They just wouldn’t listen. We’re going to try again tomorrow” replied Yumi.

“Well, I’m sure once you explain everything to them, they’ll understand. Your friends seem like pretty reasonable kids” Yumi’s mother reassured.

“Except that weird one. What’s his name, again?” asked Yumi’s Dad.

“Odd” replied Yumi.

“He sure is! But, what’s his name?” again asked Yumi’s father.

Yumi started to snicker. “His name is Odd, Odd Della Robia” Yumi explained.

“Good name” remarked her father as shuddered at the memory of what Odd put him through.

“So, you’ll have things sorted out with Ulrich tomorrow, right?” asked Hiroki in a very worried tone.

“Hopefully. I think he just needs to cool-off for a day. Jeremie and I are going to explain everything to him and Aelita tomorrow, and everything should be fine” Yumi explained.

Hiroki looked relieved. It was no secret that he idolized Ulrich. And, he certainly didn’t want to see Ulrich’s relationship with Yumi disband as it would separate him from his hero. Hiroki’s hero-worship of Ulrich is often joked about by both the Ishiyama family and Yumi’s circle of friends.

And so, the conversation continued, switching topics away from Yumi to many other things. Yumi enjoyed a peaceful meal at home with her family. It was the first enjoyable part of her entire day.

--

Later that night, Yumi was in her room getting ready for bed, when she heard a knock on the door.

“Hey Sis, it’s me. Can I come in?” asked Hiroki.

“Um…Ok I guess” answered Yumi.

Hiroki entered the room.

“So, what do you need?” asked Yumi.

“Well, you never told us just why they think you’re cheating on Ulrich with Jeremie” Hiroki explained.

“Is it any of your business?” asked Yumi as polite as she could.

“I guess not. But, if something’s bothering you and you don’t want to talk to Mom and Dad about it, I’m here too” offered Hiroki.

Yumi sighed. Her brother (who she had just started to get along with) was reaching out to her.

Yumi tried to stall “It’s kind of private…”.

“It’s a sex thing, isn’t it?” interrupted Hiroki.

“Yes, sort of” answered Yumi, hoping to never hear her little brother mention sex ever again.

“So, why do they think you had sex with Jeremie?” innocently asked Hiroki.

Yumi decided to get the explanation over with. “Jeremie was drinking prune juice because he has a low potassium level, or something. Anyway, he accidentally spilled it all over my shirt. We were in a hurry so we went to his room so he could lend me a shirt. He had his back turned while I changed, but then his leg muscles jammed up and he fell over in pain. I ran to see what was wrong and tripped on some stupid wire and landed on top of him” Yumi recalled.

“So?” inquired Hiroki.

“So, I hadn’t put on the other shirt yet, and we landed on his bed. And, that’s when Ulrich and Aelita came in and saw us like that” continued Yumi.

Hiroki’s eyes grew big with shock.

“Yeah” nodded Yumi. “So, basically Ulrich and Aelita saw me lying on top of Jeremie, without a top on, and thought well…you know” clarified Yumi.

Hiroki tried hard not to giggle, but it came out anyway.

“Oh, and what is so funny about this?!” asked Yumi in an annoyed tone.

“I’m sorry. It’s just how unlikely it all seems. All the accidents leading up to it, it’s kinda funny” apologized Hiroki between giggling.

Yumi crossed her arms, and gave Hiroki an angry look.

“But, wait. I think this is a good thing. If I think it’s funny, maybe Ulrich and Aelita will think so too. You explain what happened, you all share a good laugh, and things go back to normal between all of you” expressed Hiroki.

“Actually, you might be right. As dumb as that sounded, that was actually reassuring” replied Yumi, somewhat surprised.

Hiroki grinned. “Anytime Sis. By the way, you ought a let Jeremie know that black molasses has more potassium than prune juice” informed Hiroki.

“How would you know that?” asked Yumi.

“Someone in my class has the same problem. Anyway, let me know how everything goes. Good night” replied Hiroki as he left Yumi’s room.

Yumi was surprised. ‘Who knew that Hiroki knows things?’ she asked herself.

--

Yumi crawled into her bed feeling quite refreshed. Spending some time with her parents and brother had put things into perspective for her, and made her feel much better. But, she remembered that her friends didn’t have such easy access to their families. And, realized Jeremie, in particular, would probably be quite lonely at the time.

She picked up her cell-phone, and called Jeremie. “Jeremie, are you still up? This is Yumi” she said.

“Yeah, I’m still up, I suppose. What’s the matter?” answered Jeremie.

“Well, I kind of just wanted to check on you” Yumi explained.

“That’s kind of what Odd’s been doing” informed Jeremie.

“Odd? Wouldn’t Ulrich complain?” asked Yumi.

“Well, he’s not staying in his and Ulrich’s room. I guess that Ulrich needed to be alone tonight. So he’s staying at Sam’s” clarified Jeremie.

“Ok, I see. So, are you alright?” asked Yumi.

“Yeah, I’m alright. What about you?” Jeremie responded.

“A lot better! It helped to talk to my parents and brother for a bit” replied Yumi.

“Yumi, are you sure you’re alright?” asked Jeremie upon noticing her saying she enjoyed talking to her brother.

“Yeah, I know that sounded weird. But, I kind of had a talk with Hiroki, and I think we’ll be getting along much better now” explained Yumi.

“That’s great. It always bothered us all to see you treat him like crap. He’s a nice kid” said Jeremie.

“Geez, I didn’t realize I was such a monster” Yumi reacted.

“Uh, sorry. But, I’m glad you’ve finally cast your sibling rivalry aside. Good for you” Jeremie explicated.

“Yeah, it feels weird though. So, what have you been doing since I left?” inquired Yumi.

Jeremie sighed. “Just dreaming about happier times, I guess” he answered.

“Shame on you! You wish Aelita was still on Lyoko, don’t you?” Yumi teased.

Jeremie blushed. “Well, it was nice getting to talk to her every night. I don’t know. I just want things back to normal, I guess” he elaborated.

“Back to you two having all kinds of fun in your room at night, right?” insinuated Yumi in a teasing manner.

Jeremie blushed even deeper. “Well, we haven’t really been doing that” he explained.

“And, the bra under your bed?” jabbed Yumi.

“Well, we haven’t done that, per sé. But, we’ve um…gotten ‘close’ to it a few times” clarified Jeremie.

“Gotten ‘close’, huh? You mean like…‘orally’ close?” asked Yumi having way too much fun at Jeremie’s expense.

“Maybe, once or twice if you must know. What’s with you tonight? Your mind is in the gutter! I’d expect this from Odd, but not you!” replied Jeremie, slightly annoyed.

Yumi laughed. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry Jeremie. I just think it’s really funny. I mean, you and Aelita were always the most straight-laced people in our group, but now you’ve been fooling around like this, and I think it’s really funny. I mean, after what you just admitted to, I think everyone that knows you two would think so” explained Yumi.

“You’re embarrassing me” Jeremie complained.

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop” apologized Yumi.

“It’s Ok” accepted Jeremie. He thought back to the time that evil clone of Yumi was acting seductive towards him. And, how when he mentioned it, the real Yumi thought it would be funny to start flirting with him (until Ulrich started to protest). ‘I guess she always had that teasing-side to her’ thought Jeremie to himself.

“Let’s just change the subject. So, what brought on the ‘sibling harmony’ at the Ishiyama house?” he asked.

“We were just kind of arguing about the way we’ve been acting towards each other, until now” Yumi corrected.

“What started it?” asked Jeremie.

“Hiroki played a prank on me. He tricked me into buying a pregnancy test by telling me it was for Mom?” Yumi explained.

“And, you fell for that?” asked Jeremie, slightly confused.

“I was still pretty stressed out about what happened today” Yumi admitted.

“I understand” said Jeremie.

“Well, anyway that just kind of sparked this whole big squabble, and eventually some things just came out that we’ve been holding back for awhile” Yumi explained.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite a day” commented Jeremie.

“You can say that again. So, are you sure you’ll be okay?” asked Yumi in a concerned voice.

“Yes, yes I’ll be fine!” Jeremie maintained. “But, thank you” he added in a gentler voice, the voice he usually saved for Aelita.

“Ok, then bye” bid Yumi as she hung up the phone. Then, looking at the clock she exclaimed “Dammit! I better get some sleep!” and promptly went to bed. She dreamt pleasant dreams about spending time with her friends and family.

Jeremie too, went to sleep shortly after the conversation. He was feeling much better, and had an easier time getting to sleep that time.

--

Meanwhile in Sissi’s room, the principal’s spoiled daughter was having a little trouble getting to sleep.

‘Ew! I can’t believe she’s been doing that with him! I don’t want to picture those two doing anything like that. But, I can’t get the image out of my head!’ Sissi thought to herself.

She thought ignoring the fact that Aelita had told her about that, and instead bringing up the considerably more innocent act of merely sharing a bed, would prevent the mental image from creeping up on her at night. But, it simply didn’t work out that way.

So, despite what Yumi believes, apparently not quite “everyone” who knows them would find it funny.

‘Maybe if I just picture myself doing the same thing with Ulrich, it’ll help. Ah, much better’ thought Sissi. And, she finally fell asleep with a lecherous smile on her face.

--

The only person at Kadic boarding school still awake at that time was Millie. She was still typing away at her article trying to find some way to stretch the few scraps of information about their “big scoop”. She looked over at Tamiya who had long since gone to bed, and smiled at her sleeping friend.

“I guess I should get to bed too” she yawned.

She was had just crawled into her bed, when she looked at the bed next to her, and saw that Tamiya was shivering.

“Tamiya, are you okay?” whispered Millie.

“Millie, I’m cold. Do you think you could warm me up?” replied Tamiya.

“Ok” said Millie with a smile as she left her own bed and settled in next to her best friend.

Tamiya held close to Millie, and soon felt much warmer and more comfortable. And, so the two girls drifted off to sleep knowing they had a big day of snooping ahead of them tomorrow.

…TO BE CONTINUED!

Next Chapter: the focus returns to the main story (and the conversations get less long and monotonous), as we finally enter DAY 2 of our story (can you believe this all took place in one day?). Yumi and Jeremie try to explain what happened, but will it work out? Or, will things get worse before they get better? Find out in Chapter 6: Falling Cards whenever the hell I find the time to write it!