Yumi heard hushed voices around her. She slightly opened half an eye but closed it straight due to the light that emerged through as soon as Yumi's eyelid was slightly open. Yumi's thoughts were all of confusion. Surely she should have been dead? Had she not dived into the water? Had she not allowed toxic water to enter into her body through her mouth? Why was it then that she could hear people talking quietly around her? And, even with her eyes closed see bright light?

She knew this wasn't heaven. She just knew that it wasn't. She could still feel the weight of her body. Still feel her soft hair tickling over her face.

Yumi opened her eyes fully this time and allowed the dreaded light to fill her eyes.

Yumi could now see that she was in a bed. And from her surroundings she figured that she was in a hospital.

"Ah, Miss Ishiyama. You're awake at last. Well I'm sure you'll want to know what's been done to you?" the doctor asked her loudly as though Yumi was now deaf which she certainly wasn't but still Yumi nodded weakly.

"Well when you were admitted here. You were rushed into intensive care and the remaining water that hadn't been already been flushed out thanks to a certain young man who rescued you. We then took you to surgery to remove the toxins that had flooded into your system, and now we're here"

Yumi only nodded and heard the doctor leave the room.

'Who saved me?'

'You could have possible cared enough to save the dirty slag I've had become?'

Yumi heard the door open and figuring it was the doctor again closed her eyes in an attempt to not hear anymore of his obnoxious voice.

Yumi felt a pair of hands hold hers and she opened her eyes to find who was indeed there.

Yumi gasped. There in a fully solid form, no transparency, no heavenly glow, no aspects of being a part of the dead. Instead he was there looking more human to Yumi than it was ever possible.

"I'm dreaming" Yumi concluded but still stared at him.

"It's ok, I'm here. It was a trick of Sissy's. I've told you that I'm not leaving you and I thought you told me the same" he whispered.

Yumi took a moment to register what he had said and when it had finally clicked in place that it was a Sissy set-up, Yumi felt foolish.

As much as she tried to stop it happening, she couldn't. Hot stings of tears flowed down her cheeks as she reached up to hug Ulrich. She felt him hold her with all his might.

"You scared me, you really did" Ulrich croaked.

They released one another and Yumi discovered the source of the croakiness in his voice- he was crying.

"How did you realise what had happened?" Yumi asked

"Aelita rang me telling me about your text to her" he whispered and sat down next to her on the bed and he kissed her gently savouring the kiss that he feared he would never again receive when he felt Yumi kiss him back.

An hour later, the door opened once more and Yumi got the shock of her life.

Aelita, Jeremie and Odd entered into the room.

No-one spoke for a couple of minutes. Yumi seemed incapable of speaking through shock of seeing her old friends who dumped her. Ulrich remained quiet, he wanted them to make the first step and then would he decide whether he wanted to be friends with them again.

"Hi Yumi" Odd stuttered in an attempt to break the most awkward tension and silence between them

"Hi" she simply replied.

"How are you feeling?" he asked

Yumi shrugged. She was incapable of answering that.

"Yumi I was so scared when I received that text message, I'm so relieved to see you alive now" Aelita said still sounding a bit frightened now.

Ulrich lost his temper at that:

"Oh really? Well you never seemed to care over the last two years when you disowned us!"

"Ulrich, it's not like" Jeremie started but was cut off by Ulrich

"You never cared when you passed us in college and saw Yumi crying, did you? You weren't there for her when the entire world seemed to be crashing in around her. All she had was me and because I stuck up for her, you disowned me too"

"Ulrich please"

"No, if you hadn't turned against her for no reason, she wouldn't be in here. We would have been all together and Yumi soon would have known that I wasn't dead."

"Ul"

"Remember that night when you gave that ultimatum, Odd?" Ulrich asked

Odd shamefully nodded his head.

"Yumi's parents had just thrown her out of her home and disowned her, just like you had"

Ulrich took a sip of his water and looked up expectantly at the trio.

"Your turn" was Ulrich's only words.

Aelita took a step forward towards both Ulrich and Yumi but faced Yumi.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't really know what I was doing. You just had changed so suddenly and I didn't seem to like the new you. And when Jer and Odd disowned you I just thought that that was what happened, y'know"

Yumi smiled sweetly yet sadly at Aelita but gave her a hug nonetheless.

"Ulrich, I'm sorry, I really am I didn't mean to cause all this sadness and pain, I really didn't"

Ulrich nodded and returned the hug that Aelita was giving him.

"Yumi, I should have known not to do that to you. I should have known that the old you were still in there and even not stick by you. I'm sorry. Please believe me when I say that, when I saw that text on Aelita's phone, I freaked, I really did."

Yumi looked at Odd. They smiled at one another and returned hugs.

"Ulrich, I was wrong in giving you that ultimatum. I got really wound-up that night and I was wrong to take it out on you and Yumi. Please forgive me"

Ulrich smiled allowing Odd to know that they were ok again.

Odd gave Ulrich a one-armed hug and sat down next to Aelita on the visitors seats next to Yumi's bed.

Silence encased the room. Everyone's eyes were on Jeremie.

"I didn't know what I was doing or thinking. It was just after Aelita was materialised for good when things started to go wrong in the group. I suppose I thought that getting rid of the main cause would stop it all then another problem arose but it sort of cleared itself. After you guys left the group, well after we, as Ulrich says, disowned you, things never felt the same after"

Jeremie took a pause and continued

"I am very sorry for what has happened and also for what could have been"

Yumi simply stared at Jeremie. She didn't know what to say to it but knew that it had come from the heart like the others so she raised her arms to allow him to hug her.

Jeremie looked at Ulrich who sighed but nodded all the same. Jeremie smiled a smile of relief and one-arm hugged Ulrich.

Yumi shook her head in disbelief but was soon followed by a yawn.

Jeremie, Aelita and Odd said goodnight and left the room.

"Well that was certainly interesting wasn't it?" Yumi laughed slightly "Quite a speech you gave"

Ulrich laughed with Yumi at that one.

Ulrich sat down next to Yumi and placed his head fondly atop of Yumi's head.

"I love you Yumi, don't ever forget that. And I'm always here for you and I always will be"

"I love you too Ulrich I really do and just so you know that you are and always have been my lifeline"