The return to the past reversed time back to earlier that day and all five of them were standing together near the bench. Jeremie, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd quickly turned toward Yumi, all wanting to ask the same question; "You ok Yumi?"

Yumi opened her eyes and immediately pain shot through her head. She let out a small yelp of unexpected pain.

"Yumi!" Ulrich exclaimed as she again clutched at her face.

"Th-the return to the past….didn’t work." she replied through clenched teeth. "It st-still hurts."

"Are there still pieces of glass in your eyes?" Jeremie asked, concerned. Yumi slowly shook her head.

"What else happened?" Aelita asked, feeling that there was more to the story than they knew.

Yumi’s head began to spin, and she felt as though she was beginning to detach from her body. "Yumi?" she heard Odd ask, but his voice sound distant.

"Lights…all exploded…into my eyes…so bright…" she could not come to finish her thought. Her legs felt like gelatin and her knees buckled. The last thing she remember was hearing Ulrich call out her name before she fell into complete darkness.

Ulrich was able to stop Yumi from falling completely to the ground. "Yumi?!" he called again to her as her body hung limp in his arms. He looked up at his friends to see that they all wore the same shocked expression on their faces. "What happened?"

"I don’t know." Jeremie replied.

"Help me get her into the infirmary." Ulrich said to the others. They complied and helped him carry her limp form toward the infirmary.

*~*~*~*

"Alright, what happened to her?" the nurse asked as they brought Yumi inside and laid her down on one of the beds.

"Uh…" the others stuttered.

"She fainted." Ulrich replied quickly as the nurse glanced over Yumi, checking her pulse and breathing.

Aelita suddenly saw her eyelids begin to flutter. "Look!"

Ulrich and the others glanced down as Yumi’s eyelids slowly lifted.

"Are you alright?" the nurse asked upon seeing Yumi come to. Yumi, however, didn’t answer the question. She seemed as though she wasn’t listening to anyone. She shook her head a few times and blinked her eyes rapidly. Her breathing became rapid as she furiously began to rub her eyes.

"Stop that." the nurse scolded as she moved Yumi’s hands away from her eyes. "Is something the matter?"

"Why is it so dark in here?" Yumi’s voice asked shakily. "Where is everyone?"
Shocked looks crossed each of the others faces. They were all too stunned to say anything…they all had a good idea what the injury caused.

Yumi moved her head from side to side as if trying to find anything that she could see, but couldn’t find anything.

"I’ll be right back. I need to go get something to check out your eyes." the nurse replied as she turned and walked out of the room. Once she was gone, Jeremie glanced quickly at Aelita before looking at everyone else.

"Can you see anything Yumi?" he asked.

Yumi replied with a shake of her head. "No. Nothing!"

"Do you think its from XANA’s attack?" Odd asked.

"I have no doubt." Jeremie replied, rubbing his head in confusion. "What I don’t get is why the return to the past didn’t fix her eyes. I mean after all, it fixed Ulrich’s broken arm when XANA trapped us in the factory."

Yumi’s head drooped lower. Her hair hung in her face, covering her sightless eyes. "What am I going to tell my parents?" she asked, almost inaudibly.

"Don’t worry…we’ll think of something." Jeremie assured her. Before anyone could say anything more, the nurse walked back in and made her way toward Yumi.

"Hold still." she instructed as she gently opened Yumi’s eyes wider. "Alright, I’m going to shine this light in your eyes…if it’s too bright, look off to the side."

However, Yumi’s eyes never moved. Instead she kept them looking straight ahead of her. "Hmm…it seems like you’ve scratched them…" she turned off the small light. "Alright, I want you to follow my finger."

"I can’t even see it. How am I supposed to follow it?" Yumi asked, but not bitterly. The nurse immediately put her finger down.

"Did you get something in your eyes…dirt or glass or something?

"Uh…" Yumi stuttered. "Well…I did get a few pieces of glass in my eyes." She shifted uncomfortably, hoping that the nurse wouldn’t ask how she got it in her eyes. To Yumi’s relief, she didn’t. Instead, she took a few steps away from the bed. Turning back around, she glanced at each one of them before saying: "I’m going to have to contact your parents and then the hospital."

"The hospital?" Yumi replied incredulously. She knew something was wrong, but the doctors there asked many, many questions…she couldn’t tell them that the pieces of glass came from the lights in the girls bathrooms when the lights themselves weren’t even broken anymore.

"Of course! What did you think, that I’d just send you home?"

"No…but…"

"I’ll be right back."

Odd, Ulrich, Aelita, and Jeremie watched the nurse walk from the room before again turning attention back to their friend. Ulrich was surprised to note that her eyes were cold and dark…they no longer held the shine that they had before.

Before anyone could even open their mouths to say anything, the door was flung open, causing Yumi to jump. They all turned to see William there who quickly strode over to the bedside.

"Yumi, what happened? Are you alright? I heard you fainted and -"

"William! Slow down." Yumi scolded him.

Ulrich watched the boy who had stolen his heart and soul away take her hand. Angrily he glared toward him, but the other didn’t see…he was too deep in concern to notice anything other than Yumi.

"What happened?" he repeated.

Yumi’s eyes remained unfocused and continued to look out in front of her. "I got some glass into my eyes and - and it scratched them…I c-can’t see."

"What?! How did that happen?" William exclaimed.

"Stop bothering her, William!" Ulrich spat out, glad to have a reason to yell at him.

William turned and glared at him but a moment later turned back to Yumi who looked as though she was distant and far away.

The door again opened, this time the nurse walked back into the doorway. "I’ve contacted your parents and the hospital." she informed as she gently grabbed Yumi’s arm. "Come with me."

*~*~*~*

"Ulrich, will you please sit down! You’re making me nervous."

"Sorry Odd, but I’m too nervous to sit. What if she’s permanently blind?"
"Don’t worry…everything will turn out, eventually." Aelita comforted. "So please, come and sit down."

With a frustrated, but helpless sigh, Ulrich plopped down on the bench next to Odd. He glanced around the hospital’s hall and saw many different things, however none of them registered with him. Moments later he was back on his feet pacing again, much to the dismay of Odd.

Jeremie, meanwhile, turned to Aelita with a puzzled look on his face. "You know, I’m really clueless as to why the return to the past didn’t solve Yumi’s problem. Normally it would have."

"Something has to be corrupted in the return’s program files." Aelita replied. "That or XANA has found a new way to attack us."

"Great," Odd commented sarcastically. "So instead of just outright killing us, he’s going to maim us?! Nice XANA."

Ulrich felt like cheering when he heard the news. So Yumi wasn’t permanently blind? Great!

"That does not mean, however, that she will regain her eyesight. And if she does, it may occur many months from now."

Of course he add to add that little bit of information. Ulrich glanced around at the others before again turning his attention back to the doctor. A million questions came to his mind, but none more prominent than: "Will she still be able to attend Kadic Academy, or will she have to go to a special school?"

The doctor looked directly at Ulrich, and his face softened. "It all depends on what her parents decide on."

"But, what I mean is, is it still possible for her to stay?"

"I don’t see why not, as long as the principle is willing to hire someone to become her aid and perhaps teach her brail."

"Can you talk to him?" Ulrich asked, hopefully.

The doctor smiled and nodded. "Yes, I’ll do my best just as long as her parents decide to allow her to stay at the Academy."

*~*~*~*~*