Code Lyoko: Dark Ambitions

Chapter 3

Ulrich sat down on the bench next to Yumi. He looked at her with interest as she blushed. The Japanese girl's feelings had been hidden to him. Were they friends? More than friends? Today would finally answer these questions, and hopefully put to rest any anxiety the two friends had developed over the years. Ulrich leaned closer to Yumi, "So, Yumi... I have a question." He started, not stuttering for even a moment. "You want to go catch a movie, or maybe go camping over a long weekend?" Ulrich asked, slyly placing his right hand over her shoulder, Yumi not taking notice.

Yumi smiled brightly. Those were the questions that she had been wanting to hear since she had met Ulrich. "Of course I will you dummy. What took you so long?!" She smacked his cheek playfully, eliciting a chuckle from him. "What shall we do though? If you want to go camping, I think we have a long weekend coming up tomorrow after class." She thought of the calendar her parents had given her, hoping that she would be free for the trip if Ulrich had decided to take it.

"Camping it is then. I'll make sure I have my gear packed. Though I do hope we can... share a tent..." He winked at his now girlfriend. Smirking seemed to become his trademark, as he felt confidence enter his system like it had never done before. He then took a breath of fresh air, hoping this was real life and not just a terrible dream that had come over him. Yumi pinched him to get his attention, yelping at the response.

"Yoo-hoo? Anyone home?" Yumi asked, waving her hand around his face. She flinched at how quickly his hand snapped up and caught hers. "Okay... I'll stop doing that." She said, sounding annoyed at the movement Ulrich had given her. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting strange since our mission to Lyoko." She looked at him, noticing his head turning to look away.

Ulrich sighed at this. Couldn't she see that he was alright? "Yumi... if any of you ask me that one more time, I will get up and walk away. I am just fine." Ulrich started to sound more annoyed than he had been previously. "I'm just excited that you actually said yes to my request of asking you out. Now can you please drop it?" His eyes grew wide further emphasizing how he felt about being worried over.

Yumi shrugged her shoulders. "Alright fine, I was just wanting to make sure is all." She put her hand over his as they rested against the bench. "What are we gonna tell the others? I mean, Odd has been pooling this for months now. Aelita isn't going to have any idea what this is, and Jeremie... well he'll just be Jeremie." She leaned her head against his shoulder. I can't believe this is happening! I finally have a date with the boy of my dreams!

Ulrich wrapped his arm around her, joining his head against hers. "We'll worry about that when it comes to it. For now, all I can think about is how much I'm gonna need to pack for our camping trip, assuming XANA doesn't try anything foolish." He looked down at his shoes, kicking a rock to the side of the road. "Damn AI nearly kills us all and he thinks he deserves to rule the world..." Ulrich started to seethe and grind his teeth. "News flash for him, Stalin and Hitler already tried, and failed. He'll fall just as hard if not harder."

Yumi noticed his expression change from one of happiness to pure anger in a matter of seconds. "Ulrich, what brought this on?" She asked as she sat up from his embrace.

"Don't tell me you're not sick of everything we're doing. All this work for only getting one step closer?" He looked at her with a confused face. "You mean to tell me that after everything we've been through, you aren't even the least bit tired of 'going to Lyoko, coming back to school, going to Lyoko, and then coming back to school'. I'm starting to get really tired of this routine we have going." He stopped to gather his thoughts. "Don't get me wrong, all of this brought me to you, but I wish that all our efforts actually lead to something." He didn't notice how hard his grip had become until Yumi winced in pain.