As Yumi settled down to bed, loud bangs could be heared from outside near the harbor. Yumi jumped up and ran down stairs to see her mom, dad, and little brother were on the porch.

"Yumi, come here." Her mom said in a soft voice. Yumi obayed.

"Our kind has been found." Her father said. He looks over at Yumi, who looked suprised and scaried at the same time. "We need to keep in on the down low for a while. Be home on time from now on, call if you'll be late, and if one of the them finds you and knows who you are, do not hold back. I don't care if you have to kill them, just come home at a sprint, or fight your way out. That goes for you two, Hiroki."

"Your father's right." Her mom said. Yumi and Hiroki nod.

"They wont beat up on OUR turf." Hiroki said. Yumi noded and headed back to bed. now there was two things wanting to kill her.

***

Yumi met up with the rest of the gang after school. Hoping to get her mind off things for a while.

"Did you guys hear about the Japanese attack?" Jeremie said.

"Yeah, they say only a cirtain group of the Japanese attacked. They say that rejects had come to France, they just figued that out, now they say think the French helped them escape." Ulrich said.

"We know someone who might know something." Odd said turning to Yumi.

"Shut you trap." Yumi said coldly.

"Well, the French agreed to help put these rejects back in their place. They are said to be theifs and criminals, people that think trust is a joke. They could start a nasty war." Jeremie said. Yumi wanted to kill whoever said that.

"Half of Japan doesn't agree with the half that attacked." Aelita said.

"They must be real stupid to think they could use us as push overs. Any part of Japan should know that." Odd said laughing. Yumi growled at him.

"Sorry Yumi, were we insulting your backround?" Aelita asked. "I mean with Odd's little comment there."

"Yeah, you are." Yumi said. She really wanted to change the subject. "Can you change the subject before I punch Odd in the face?"

"Well, we could talk about the few soldiers that are going to talk about these rejects." Aelita said.

"That's NOT about the attack!" Yumi yelled.

"Easy, Yumi, The attack is the only thing on everyones mind." Jeremie said. Yumi glared at him.

"That and my dad had to move closer to the school." Ulrich said.

"Why is he doing that?" Yumi asked.

"My grades." Ulrich said. "I'm still bording at the school, only my dad will always be there. Watching me and forcing me to do what he sees as 'on the way to an A'" Ulrich said. Yumi could tell he didn't want to talk about it, but Ulrich knew the other subject didn't go over well with Yumi.

"I'm going to head home." Yumi said as she walked away. She had left past the gate and started through town.

"Well?" Odd asked.

"Well what?" Ulrich asked confused.

"Go walk her home, and while your at it ask her out." Odd said.

"I'll do the 'walk her home' part. The 'ask her out' part might not happen." Ulrich said as he ran off toward Yumi.

"Yumi!" Ulrich called. Yumi turned around and waited for Ulrich to cautch up.

"Anything up, Ulrich?" Yumi asked.

"No, I, uh, just wanted to walk you home." Ulrich said. Yumi smiled and started walking again now that Ulrich caught up.

"Why were you so jumpy about the attack when Jeremie brought it up?" Ulrich asked.

"I can't tell you." Yumi said.

"Why not?" Ulrich asked.

"Coz" Yumi said trying not to let her anger tell him for her.

"Coz why?" Ulrich asked.

"Your not going to leave me alone untill I tell you right?" Yumi asked.

"Yup." Ulrich said.

"Then you can wait all night." Yumi said.

"I will." Ulrich said smiling. Yumi walked up the front steps to the door. As she turned back Ulrich was still there.

"I told you, not moveing without an explanation." Ulrich said. Yumi walked in and up to her room.

If she thinks I'm going back to the dorms, she's wrong. Ulrich thought as he waited hour after hour sitting near the gate so Yumi could see him. Later that night it begain to snow. Ulrich didn't care, Yumi was going to explain to him. As the snow continued to fall, Ulrich grew colder and colder. He thought he was going to freeze. untill somthing warm covered his shoulders. He looked up to see Yumi had thrown a blanket over his shoulders. Yumi kneeled down next to him in the snow.

"Are you going to explain?" Ulrich asked shivering.

"Yeah, only if you promise not to tell anyone. Not even the rest of the group." Yumi said.

"OK, I promise." Ulrich shivered. Yumi leaned closer and gave him a warm hug.

"The rejects that the wanted by the Japanese." Yumi whispered in his ear.

"Yes." Ulrich said.

"Are just Japanese with a different religion. Nothing has to do with crimes or anything like that. The religion is different then most other religions. But they are also called rejects because their religion makes them spiritually unclean." Yumi stopped for a minute.

"What does this have to do with you?" Ulrich asked.

"The name of the group is called Burakumin." Yumi said.

"And?" Ulrich asked.

"I'm a Burakumin. My dad is Burakumin and he never told my mom untill after they were married. My relitives on my mom's side wanted a divorce. But instead we ran and moved to France." Yumi said.

"What does this have to do with you anyway?" Ulrich asked. Yumi ended the hug and looked up at him.

"You don't get it, do you? I'm a Burakumin! Spiritually unclean! You should know that now the solidiers are looking for my family and I along with others that are spiritually unclean and put us back in our place! Only half really believe that we need to be put back in our place, and another half think if we leave Japan there's no reason to come for us." Yumi said. Ulrich was getting cold again. Yumi leaned down and hugged him again.

"What's going to happen if your caught?" Ulrich asked tightening the hug.

"I don't know." Yumi said.

"I need to get back to the dorms. Jim might find out I'm not there." Ulrich said ending the hug. Yumi smiled and headed back inside. Ulrich ran toward back to Kadic.

***

The next day Yumi never come to school. Ulrich was a little worried. What is they got her and her family? What would they want with them? These questions hunted Ulrich untill the final bell rang. He ran out of Kadic, down the street toward Yumi's house. As soon as he saw the house he knew what happened. The door was forced open, windows were broken, pieces of couches and tables were in the front yard, blood was stained in a few places, It looked like war broke out. Ulrich climbed over the gate and into the house. Everything was a mess. It looked like some parts were set on fire, others looked like someone took a hammer to it. The floors where covered with broken glass, pieces of wood, and broken armer. Ulrich traveled upstairs to Yumi's room. The bed was thrown against the wall, dresser was ripped apart, closet fallen over, window smashed, everything broken. Ulrich sat on the floor. His attendion was on a family picture with a crack going through the glass of the picture frame. He looked at the bed to see blood on the covers. Ulrich was worried about Yumi.

"How did this happen?" Ulrich asked himself.

"We were wondering the same." A voice said. Ulrich turned to see Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita in the doorway.

"Who did this?" Aelita asked.

"Why would anyone do this?" Odd asked.

"Ulrich?" Jeremie said. Ulrich looked up at his friends.

"Yumi made me promise not to tell." Ulrich said as he stood up.

"That was before this happened." Jeremie pointed out.

"I know." Ulrich said.

"Ulrich, buddy, do you think Yumi's still" Odd paused. "alive?"

"Yes, I do. Look around. They must have fought back." Ulrich said.

"At least tell us who did it Ulrich. You can leave everything else out." Aelita said.

"The soldiers." Ulrich said.

"Their coming to give us a tour of one of their prison bases for the rejects that they catch." Jeremie said. "Mabe Yumi's there."

"OK, but it kills me to wait." Ulrich said.

"We know." Aelita said.

***

Ulrich didn't eat that night instead he was thinking about Yumi. As they rode up to the base Ulrich's heart ptarted pounding. Aelita and Jeremie were looking out the window while Odd was next to Ulrich. The bus stopped and everyong got out.

"Now I will show you around. You all can call me Sir. Solo." Solo said as the class followed him. "These are the younger kids that are too young to work."

Ulrich and Odd looked around at the Japanese kids. They had to be from babies to 12 year olds. One caught Ulrich's eye, Hiroki. He was cut up bad and th cuts didn't look treated at all. Hiroki saw Ulrich and tried to smile.

"Do you know him?" Solo asked as he caught Ulrich looking at him.

"Mabe, why aren't the cuts treated or at least washed out?" Ulrich asked.

"They need to be put to good use." Solo said. Hiroki stood up and walked over to the rest of the Japanese kids. Hiroki looked back at Ulrich when Solo wasn't paying attendion. He pointed over to a big building. Was he trying to lead Ulrich to Yumi?

"All you kids get to work on the fields!" Solo commanded. "Now you will split up in groups of two or three and as soon as we get to the working site, you are free to rome. If any of the Japs hurt you, come to one of us."

"Come on, Odd, we're going to look for Yumi." Ulrich said as he pulled Odd as soon as Solo returned to his work. They looked around but no sight of Yumi yet. Ulrich saw her and her dad working on moving the wood to the site.

"YUMI!" Ulrich called. Yumi looks over to him, her dad too. Ulrich and Odd run across to them. Yumi had cuts and wounds all over. Her black sweater was ripped in the sleaves. Her jeans weren't as bad. Her dad was limping badly on his leg.

"Are you OK?" Odd asked.

"Just beat up........but other then that......great." Yumi's voice was hard to hear. Like her voice was beat right out of her.

"I wish I could get to a doctor. My leg's probally broken, Hiroki's cut up badly, and Yumi has a cut on her neck that's making it hard for her to talk." Mr. Ishiyama explained.

"What about you mom?" Ulrich asked.

"Dead." Yumi's weak voice said.

"What? How?" Odd asked.

"She couldn't work. So they killed her." Mr. Ishiyama said.

"I wish we could get you guys out of here." Ulrich said.

"We are getting out. Well at leat half of us." Mr. Ishiyama said.

"How?" Ulrich asked.

"The French really know what attacked, and are going to pretect us if we can get out. But that wont happen untill to night, and we might be stuck here. If you want to help, go to the parking lot across the street from the base. Look for a guy named Rusty, he's on of my good friends, and tell him you want to help." Mr. Ishiyama explained.

"We can't wait till then." Odd said.

"Then...sneak Hiroki out after.....school. He's....Easy." Yumi said.

"HEY! Get back to work!" A soldier called.

"Drop dead." Yumi murmered.

"What was that?" He yelled walking closer.

"She said nothing." Mr. Ishiyama said.

"I heared her." The guy said as he whipped her in the face with the whip in his hand leaving a cut on her cheek. Ulrich and Odd couldn't believe it. Blood dripped down Yumi's face. They had no choise but to obay. Odd started back pulling Ulrich with him.

***

That afternoon they had gotten Hiroki out no problem. Now they had to go back for the others.

"Ulrich, Odd, ready?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah." Odd and Ulrich said at once.

It was a long night but now there was only Yumi and her dad to save. They wanted everyone else to go before them as a way to get babies and the weaker out first. No Ulrich and Odd looked for Yumi and her dad. They caught sight of them, but somthing wasn't right. Yumi looked like she was in great pain. Her dad was next to her. She was on the ground.

"Yumi." Ulrich called as he kneeled next to her.

"Ulrich, we need to hurry, the night guard might came." Odd said as Mr. Ishiyama got up on his bad leg. Ulrich helped Yumi up.

"Come on." Ulrich said as they started to run. Yumi's dad couldn't keep up because of his leg. Yumi was in pain and couldn't keep up. As soon as they jumped the fence, They run back to Kadic where they would be safe. There were ambulences and doctors there.

"YUMI!" Hiroki came and hugged his older sister. Hiroki was bandaged up and looking better. The doctor did a few tests on Yumi and her dad.

"That cut on the side of her neck needs to be looked at." Mr. Ishiyama told them. They found out that it was a fairly deep cut and Yumi would need to go to the hospital.

"Thanks Odd." Ulrich said

"For what?" Odd asked confused.

"You helped me save Yumi and her dad's life." Ulrich said.

"And I'm still single." Odd complained. Ulrich laughed.

***

The next day Ulrich stopped by Yumi's house. Most of it was fixed. Ulrich knocked on the door after a few minutes, Mr. Ishiyama awnsered it with a cast on his leg.

"Hello Ulrich. I'll call Yumi to come down. By the way the doctors said that the cut on her neck will heal, but it will be hard for her to talk, or she cann't talk at all." Mr. Ishiyama explained. "YUMI" Yumi came down the stairs. The cut on her face healed a little but it was going to leave a scar.

"Hey, Yumi." Ulrich said as Yumi came out, closing the door behind her. They started to walk down the street toward Kadic.

"How do you feel Yumi?" Ulrich asked forgeting Yumi couldn't talk with out feeling pain in her neck and throut. Ulrich handed her a notepad and pen so he could understand her.

"I guess I should have remembered that you couldn't talk." Ulrich said. "How do you think you'll last a school day without talking?" Yumi scribbled something down and handed it to Ulrich. Ulrich reads:

As long as I cann't talk I mind as well take a nap during class.

"Yumi, I never told anyone you were a Burakumin." Ulrich said. Yumi hands him the notepad:

Don't you think they would have put 2 and 2 together by now?

"Yeah, but I still kept a promise." Ulrich points out. Yumi hands him the notepad:

Thanks

Ulrich smiled to Yumi, who smiled back.

"Yumi, I need to tell you something." Ulrich begain. "I really like you, a lot." Yumi blushed red when he said it. She wrote on the notepad and handed it to him:

I really like you too.

Ulrich turned to face Yumi. When he turned, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ulrich was shocked at frist but then kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her. After they pull apart, they walk to Kadic, hand in hand.

This took me half the night to write.

The Burakumin facts are true, I did my research.

Please Review!