Author's note: The world has ended! After about 1 year and four months, Artemis is updating!

…yes, well. Real life, you know. I apologize.

With the advent of Season Two, Every Step I Willed is officially a full-fledged Alternate Universe story. That is, it has nothing to do with Season Two, since it picks up off of where season one left off. So, say nothing of inconsistency!

I apologize again because nothing particularly interesting happens in this chapter in the way of action or…well, anything, but it has to be done. Enjoy.

----------

Chapter 4

Yumi lowered herself to the ground gracefully, and let out a small sigh herself. "I'm waiting."

Feeling that he was decidedly not in control of the situation although he was now standing above her, Ulrich scowled. "For what?"

She rolled her eyes, favoring him with an exasperated look. "For you to talk, genius."

"About…what? About the fact that you're acting like someone we don't know? About what you're hiding from us? About that if not for the fact that I do have fighting experience, I'd be bleeding right now?"

Unfazed by the harried outburst, she spread her hands out in an all-encompassing gesture. "Pick one. Any one. All of the above, maybe. But-"

He interrupted testily. "Then answer, already!"

"-I never said anything about giving answers immediately," she finished, with an air of superior patience. It was quite clear who was in control of the conversation. With slow, deliberate movements, she unhurriedly leaned across the grass between them and reached for the bow she had dropped during the previous few moments. Pausing as if to contemplate something, she slowly panned her eyes over the gleaming wood, checking for blemishes in the finish idly. Noting a smudge, she lifted one finger languidly and rubbed the offending spot.

Needless to say, this was doing wonders for her companion's sense of calm. The delay only served to make him fidget more, but in spite of his state, even he could tell that she was less likely than him to give in first. With not a small grain of salt, he slumped against the selfsame tree that had been sporting a stab wound only minutes prior. "Great."

Sensing his defeat, her eyes momentarily flickered to his visage, then back to the bow. "Archery lessons. Lovely stress reliever, don't you agree?" As it became obvious that no reply was forthcoming, she shrugged, and put the curved weapon down. "It looks like we'll do this quid pro quo, Ulrich. You ask, I'll answer- only if I get mine answered in turn. Got it?"

"Fine." The unenthusiastic reply floated in the air for a moment, then settled. The silence returned briefly as they sorted through their respective thoughts, then Yumi shifted where she sat and broke the still air.

"Question one," she intoned. "What kind of situation do we have here with Sissy? It's not like you to…" she trailed off, tilting her head to one side, then continued, "…change your opinions like so. Frankly, my dear—" she said this with a cynical twist- "you're stubborn."

Ulrich raised his head, mentally cursing the powers that be for having her choose that question. Still, then again, he would have thought it unusual if she hadn't chosen that question to ask. As one Odd so aptly put it, months ago, "Yumi's what you might call intuitive…"

And, he added, no girl who has a crush on me can be considered completely normal. Studying the girl in front of him, who was returning his gaze unflinchingly, it was safe to say that (at least on the outside) it certainly appeared that she was no longer crushing nor blushing.

Not to say that she was completely normal, of course.

Still, was he so sure that his own feelings were so gone? Perhaps it was some wretched side effect of puberty- he was pushing fourteen years old- but something inside of him was still churning when he saw her.

"Well?" Her voice- neither comforting nor threatening- interjected into his reverie and effectively derailed that train of thought. I'm a teenager who's not getting married 'til well after age twenty, he berated himself. No use in going mad about this. He realized that he had been staring at her the entire time, but she had borne it patiently, so it seemed, and was merely twirling an arrow between her fingers.

That was unnerving.

"She and I get along," he shrugged. "She's hiding a lot of insecurity with how she used to act, you know. She needs someone to understand her, and I feel comfortable with her."

Yumi mulled this over for a second. "So," she asked, "could I ask why you're with her?"

The downturn of his lips told her what he thought of that. "I thought I just said—"

"You didn't tell me why," she interrupted, "you gave me a list of reasons why she's good with you. You're not stupid—so answer me, why?"

"No need to be so pushy about it." His returning glance was affronted. "Because—" he stopped short. What was he going to say? Out of pity, obligation, out of the inability to ignore the hole in his heart that nagged for the attention of another? Any of those would be a discredit both to him and Sissy.

"Because I want to be," he said at last, "and that's—it." Ulrich ignored how close he'd been to saying that's all you can ask of me now.

She tried to catch his eyes again but they were firmly fixed on a particularly intriguing tuft of grass two meters off to the left somewhere. He wasn't about to let her stare him down with that…eerily wizened look of hers again. (Intimidated? Of course not! Out of the question! It was just, uh, uncomfortable.)

"My turn," he said, keeping them from sliding into another clichéd silence. "Why didn't you tell us you were going to be gone this summer? Something could've happened while you were gone. And what were you talking about today?"

"That's two questions."

"Oh, answer one."

Yumi shrugged. "Because I didn't want to, and that's it," she replied, twisting his words and sending them back in his direction. As he opened his mouth to protest, she raised a finger. "With Jeremie in that worry-wart state in the last week before the holidays, do you think he'd've let me get up and say, 'oh, I'm going to be Japan and probably can't exactly pop up whenever you need me'? I felt bad to not be around for him and Aelita, but family takes priority." She stopped abruptly, and suddenly Ulrich nearly felt her cave in, felt as if they were once again on the same level.

He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"My cousin needed some help with something," she said slowly. Her stiffened posture challenged him silently, almost daring him to ask further.

Not being mindless, he didn't. "Okay, I understand that."

She blew out a sigh, and nearly visibly reverted back to being a teenager. "Let's put off question-answer for another time, Ulrich. I think we're both tired. It's been a long day."

Knowing her well enough to pick up the faintly pleading note in her otherwise neutral voice, he nodded in acquiescence. But his curiosity couldn't help but make him ask one more question. "Do you mind if I ask—what kind of bird was that?"

He didn't have to elaborate as her eyes lit up. "Oh, sure," she said, voice full of pride. "Her name's Mirai, and she's a red-tailed hawk from America. There's a group of falconers up in Paris who have contacts in Kyoto; my uncle's one of them. Normally, those birds are rare or illegal, what-have-you. But Mirai was the only surviving offspring of a nest of hawks that'd gotten sick, and she's too small for any other use, so they let me take care of her."

Ulrich watched her gesture enthusiastically while she spoke, in a way that made him believe for an instant that nothing had changed between them. He knew, though, that her fervor wasn't the result of being comfortable around him—it was just that she was on a topic that she was passionate about. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. Putting a hand on the tree trunk behind him, he hoisted himself off of the bark, and did his best to brush splinters from his shirt. "Well."

"Well," she echoed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" he said, more a statement than a question.

Yumi nodded. She watched him turn and begin to walk away, and called him to a stop. "Hey, uh?"

He looked up.

"Don't get caught when you sneak back into the dorms," she said good-naturedly.

A half-smile appeared on his face, lifting one corner of his mouth, and he started walking again.

She groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. What was she doing looking out for his well-being, anyway? She looked up into the branches of the tree that, a few moments ago, he'd been leaning on. "I've got issues, eh?"

The bird tilted its head to one side and fluttered down to perch on her shoulder. Stroking Mirai's head with one finger, Yumi stood, and walked in the opposite direction he'd gone in, toward her home.

-----

Omake moment (that is, an outtake, that is, completely lacking seriousness): Aelita and Yumi being, uh, girls. Might want to reread past chapters to understand this.

-----

It was far past their bedtime, but the new housemates didn't care, and the room was charged with all the atmosphere of a slumber party.

"He kissed you?"

"Yep."

"So," Yumi leaned over with a conspiratorial grin, "where would you go to do research about kissing, on the Internet?"

Aelita smirked. "Fanfiction."

----------

-cough- Right! All reviews are welcome, granted that they're not completely thickheaded.

Palantiri: To be honest, I'm still waffling on all of this. But you'll find out! Er, eventually! And I am sorry for not updating.

Insomnia's Phone Number: Your screenname is brill. And don't worry, writers adore long reviews. Also, if this were a crossover with Inuyasha, I'd commit seppuku—or, that is, stab m'self to death. You're unnervingly insightful—and yay, Chinese!

The green rose: No, I don't, but those words can be commonly used. (:

Thank you also to:
Scorpio Serpent, Teresina Dragonwagon, Yumigirl06, Dry Tears, vampirehunterD-lover, Siberian-Tigress, Ruth, Wind Rider 12, Uniasus, Neptune47 (same to you!), angelfromhell29, Kay, azn sister 92, Fwoggie, Doggiegal, Nblkolt, lotie, and devilofheaven

---for reviewing.

I swear upon my keyboard that it won't take so long until the next chapter, though truly—real life is amazingly brutal. Also, I'm not very satisfied with my past quality of writing or that of my current writing. Picky writer -- more revisions …ehehe. I do wish to finish this fic; it's just taking a while.

Just to let you know, if you'd like to be notified when I update, you can go to the drop-down menu where you review and either click "Story Alert" or "Author Alert". Also, you're free to contact me whenever—my information is in my author profile.

If you would like to read extra randomness, I might be updating my other CL fic, Color Wheel. The link can be found in my profile.

Happy New Year, everyone!

.--Artemis