#have a bit of rena sharing Personal Thoughts and Feelings about the situation

[lucentaire]

resolvebound​ --- gray fullbuster.

     A hug? His face scrunched at the very thought, aiming a look her way that said he didn’t think she was all that funny this time. They may not have been close, but he was sure she could guess he was hardly the hugging type. It was all part of the teasing, he knew, but still…even the mention of his so-called teammates was a little unpleasant. Sure, together as a team, they had achieved some incredible feats, but that didn’t mean he always wanted to be lumped in with them. But in any case…

     “I don’t do hugs,” he said, but even as he spoke them, the words sounded strange to his ears (and a smidge petulant, or defensive). Perhaps they sounded strange because they weren’t entirely true, or maybe he just wished they weren’t, and that in some version of the world, the idea of anyone getting close to him in any way wasn’t uncomfortable. Sure, the urge to give physical affection was not one that often came to him, the urge to receive it was likewise rare, but there were a select few people who were exceptions (so he wasn’t…broken, right?). But, joke or not, needing a hug badly…would he even recognise such a need?

     He sighed, choosing to focus his gaze on the words Evergreen was writing. The note about cereal and juice brought him a faint, momentary smile, it was so…normal. There would be things like that everywhere, he thought, frowning, people’s intentions frozen in place. A person could go from having their biggest concern being the lack of their favourite breakfast foods, to the lack of a roof over their head, or a missing loved one, or worse. He could still recall the destruction of his village, homes scattered in pieces, fractured belongings strewn in the rubble, and among it all…the evidence of lives suddenly halted. A child’s half completed drawing, an unwrapped but crushed gift, an unfinished letter.

     It was highly unlikely many areas would be spared from the ruination to come, but minimizing the severity of it (and the lives lost), was all they could try to do for now. The thought pulled him back to the present, and he watched as Evergreen moved about the kitchen. Her question prompted a small laugh and shake of his head, “Nah, no allergies, can’t get rid of me that easily.”

     His attention shifted to the fruit as she mentioned it, despite the fact he wasn’t all that hungry, given the situation looming over them. An apple tarte? He wondered about her baking skill, tempted to ask about it, yet deciding to add it to his list of things to bring up with her after they all survived what was to come. They would have time to talk after, he had to believe that.

     The foreboding pressure of what they needed to overcome first, it pushed around him and had him absently rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to alleviate it. His eyes wandered the room, catching for a moment on a piece of art hanging on one of the walls. Once again, he found himself curious about Evergreen and her team, and thinking about his own place. There wasn’t any art up in his cabin yet, but he had a room full of his unfinished works (not that he would ever put up his own art anyway).

     Evergreen’s movement brought his eyes back to her, a frown settling in. He stared at her hands for a moment before her words raised his gaze to her own, eyes intently studying her. He found himself moving towards her, stopping just a step or two away with an urge to…he wasn’t sure exactly. Communicate something, somehow. Reassure perhaps.

     His breath then left him in a tired exhale as he settled with a small nod. Furious. Yeah, he could understand that sentiment, even if, for the moment, his own feelings on the matter leant towards disappointment in how everything had come about, and sadness for all the pointless destruction and death that was to come.

     “Well,” he said, after a moment, a slight smile cracking, “I’m glad you’re furious and on my side at least.”

     There was no telling, of course, how the fighting would all play out and if the two of them would be anywhere near each other during it, but he found himself wondering if they would work well together in a battle situation. Almost as soon as the thoughts began, however, he found himself glad their proximity would be unlikely. The enemy coming to them would no doubt require him to pull out the demonic magic within himself, and he’d rather not have her or any of their other guildmates around for that. Because he might not come back from it.

     He moved away, towards the painting he’d noticed earlier (was it an Icebergian landscape? Something about it seemed familiar), but glanced back to her with a slight grin, “Don’t worry, I plan on coming back for the silver later.”

     It was just a joke of course, and yet the ‘later’…it was more of a promise, that there would indeed be a later for all of them.  A ‘later’ that they needed to work on securing in the here and now.

     “So…should we check out those maps now?”

everyone in the guild knew---evergreen was not someone who talked much to others. and when she did, people probably thought, it was to establish her superiority. the truth was that she did not talk much because she watched more. she paid attention, she took note of things---and then, often filed them away for later. also: those who did not talk much rarely drew much attention to themselves, could choose to stay back and take their time. and even after years, she still thought the notion that most people did not know her well comfortable.

she was not the best at reading body language, but she could read some tells easily enough. she did not know gray well enough to read him like an open book, but she could spot tension as well as stress. but well. who would not be tense and stressed in a situation like this? 

‘‘ give me a warning so i can hide all the valuables, ’’ she quipped with a possibly ill-advised wink as she grabbed two empty glasses, placing them on a tray before grabbing a water bottle, too.  she was---what was it called again?---compartmentalising. reality was almost unbearable, if she looked at the full picture. she had to make it smaller, cut it into pieces that were almost digestible. there was no other way through this. still, a quip here and a sarcastic remark there might just help her to carry on.

she just had to get through another dangerous situation with questionable odds. lovely.

she grabbed the tray from the counter and moved, leaving behind the kitchen and the living room. they kept their maps in the study. well, in one of the studies. they had two. once upon a time, the house they inhabited had been meant for a more . . . traditional family. more two parents, two point five children and a dog, less four adults and a dog and as many ‘babies’ as bixlow deemed necessary at any given point of time.

she smiled briefly at that thought, then her face grew serious again as she left her tray on an empty desk and unlocked the cabinet that held their maps, dark eyes scanning the shelves for anything that might be of use, finally settling on some city maps as well as maps of the larger area. ‘‘ i was briefly wondering if the cathedral would have a sufficient amount of structural stability to withstand some magical damage to serve as some kind of shelter, but then i recalled that it took damage when. well. when laxus fought natsu and gajeel. which means it’s probably not in the best condition---unless you think that someone paid enough money to get a full repair done while we were all . . . absent, ’’ she pondered out loud as she placed some of the maps on the table before turning back to the cabinet to look for older, historical maps. 

they should have some of those---maybe because freed had bought them, maybe because they had gotten them as a reward at some point. and they might be helpful if they showed any old underground tunnels.

‘‘ i do wonder, ’’ she said as she placed the stack of historical maps on the table, ‘‘ if master bob saw something like this coming. blue pegasus does have a flying warship. ’’

there had been a time when she had written the existence of the christina off as an eccentricity of an eccentric man. but that had been before she had been in his guild and had seen him operate. there was little, it seemed, that got past master bob. he was dangerous in a way she could appreciate as it was so easily overlooked. but---it was as her team said: if you don’t think master bob is dangerous, you aren’t paying attention.

she grimaced---just a little!---as she continued, her voice softer and quieter than usually. ‘‘ it was strange, being in a guild where the person in charge cares about all his mages. ’’ she rubbed her wrist. makarov had paid attention to her team. but that had been mostly, she knew, because they were close with laxus. ‘‘ before we were told ‘hey, a war’s gonna happen’, i was thinking about how many of our colleagues had, y’know, financial troubles this last year. and it feels so unfair. a lot of those that have struggled were also the ones who kept fairy tail going while we were all asleep for seven years. i obviously want to stay alive in what’s to come, but---i really want them all to stay alive because after all their struggles, they deserve some . . . i don’t know. they deserve to catch a break, i guess. ’’

[morvaris-archive]

more zarra content!! 9 12 21 23 and 26 (needed after i read your wip 👁️)

chanting MORE ZARRA MORE ZARRA MORE ZARRA !! ty rena <333

9. What are your oc’s goals for the future? Relationship-wise, career-wise, or other?

one and only, revenge. they don't really think past that for they're not sure if there's even after. it what drives them, and what helpes them get up in the morning.

they're not interested in anything else, and even the thought of having a relationship with someone freaks them out because of how vulnerable they'll have to be for it to work.

12. How does your oc handle talking to somebody they can’t stand? What if it’s a situation where they’re forced to work with this person?

omg you know they end up punching them in the face, you just know it. they'd be so angry and rude that the conversation just won't flow, becuase they would constantly interrupt the person on purpose 😭

if they're forced to work with them, they would probably sabotage the mission or the job on purpose JUST SO THE PERSON THEY CAN'T STAND WON'T PROFIT FROM IT. they're this level of petty. now, if it's smth to do with the traitor then they will sensible abt it, but they would still look for a way to fuck the other person up.

21. What’s a fact you haven’t shared about this oc?

DO I SPOIL YOU THEIR WHOLE BACKTORY? if you take a look at my oc page, and sae the "mara" as a love interest for velyn....... it might've been zarra once 👀

ZARRA AND MARA I KNOW OKAY I KNOW

23. Who would this oc consider their family? What is their relationship with these people?

at the moment? no one. they don't get close to people, partly because they're scared and partly because they don't want to open up and even try.

their story is a bit shaky at the momen, but i do plan for them to eventually have at least one person they could consider a family!

26. How does your oc handle anger?

HANDLE? THEY DON'T OMG THEY DON'T

they don't even try okay, they let it explode and drive them, they use it as a fuel to kill and destroy. they're a violent person, and they enjoy it, because it makes them feel stronger than others.

[kasienda]

The Five Minute Adventures of Snake Noir: Chapter 2 - Best Friends

Chapter 1: I Want it to be You

Chapter 2: Best Friends

Free running across rooftops as Snake Noir wasn’t as effective in easing the heaviness on his mind as he had hoped. And the more time that passed, the more Adrien realized that he was getting worse - not better. He came to a stop on a rooftop, and huddled against a chimney, clutching his head in both hands. His akumatized self had destroyed the world .

The whole world. He was capable of that.

He fought for air in shallow rapid breaths, but it didn’t work. The needed oxygen continued to elude him.

He needed help, and he needed it five minutes ago. He forced himself into a standing position, even as his limbs began shaking. He glanced around the skyline trying to triangulate his own position from landmarks. The mansion was too far away - he’d never make it in time. So it was either Nino or Marinette.

Nino was closer.

He called for his second chance right outside his best friend’s window without slowing down or coming to a stop. He jumped through the thankfully open window. Nino was sitting with his back to Adrien with his headphones snug over his ears clearly lost in a world of music. Adrien wasted no time in pouncing across the room and seizing Nino in a hug.

Adrien had never clung to anyone so hard. He was shaking like a leaf in an autumn storm, and salty tears came down over his mask in torrents.

Nino stiffened, turned around within Adrien’s embrace, and dropped the headphones around his neck. “C-c-chat Noir?”

“A-Adrien,” he choked out.

Nino’s arms immediately tightened around him. He asked no questions, he didn’t react at all except to hold him tighter as Adrien let out violent sobs. Nino just held him until the snake miraculous signaled Snake Noir was out of time.

Read on Ao3

“Second chance,” Adrien whispered. And he was outside the window once again, but he doesn’t do anything different in the next loop. He just throws himself into Nino’s startled embrace, tells him he’s Adrien, and every time, Nino’s arms tighten around him. And it got worse before it got better. Adrien would have lost track of how many loops he had gone through if the snake didn’t magically make it impossible to forget. But after twenty-six loops of Nino’s solid consistent response Adrien’s panic finally subsided a bit and he was eventually able to gain control of both his breathing and his tears.

“Dude, are you okay?” Nino asked. He pulled back a little, but his arms were still on Snake Noir’s shoulders.

“No,” Adrien said. Even that one word was hard to get out. His voice sounded shaky to his own ears.

“What happened?” Nino asked, and Adrien is grateful that Nino isn’t asking a million questions about his being Chat Noir.

“Today Ladybug told me why she’s never been able to tell me her identity or let me tell her mine.”

Nino nodded.

Adrien spoke rapidly, knowing he was on a time limit. “Apparently, our knowing each other leads to my akumatization. And as an akuma,” his voice broke as sobs choked off his air supply once again.

“It’s okay, dude. Take your time.”

Adrien sucked in a shuddering breath, and tried again. “As an akuma, I destroyed the world.”

Nino blinked at him. “W-what?”

”The whole freaking world, Nino.” Adrien rocked himself back and forth until Nino pulled him into another hug and took over the soothing motion. “I’m so scared, Nino,” Adrien cried into Nino’s shoulder, his whole body shaking like an earthquake. “I don’t want to be capable of that. That I could be responsible for the destruction of the whole world?!”

“You’re not responsible for your akuma,” Nino objected harshly.

Adrien tore away from Nino’s embrace, though he immediately regretted it. His transformed claws tried to tear through his hair, but were met only with the smooth cap of the snake half of his transformation. “But like, it makes me afraid of my feelings, which then just sends me into more of a panic and probably more likely to get akumatized! Nino, I don’t know what to do!”

His breathing sped up again. It was too fast - like a car headed for a tight corner on a cliff when the brakes were out. Adrien being aware of it did nothing to help slow his breathing back down. He was going to pass out and then he wouldn’t be able to reset the timer, and Nino would know everything. And even though Ladybug had granted permission, if someone knowing his identity could bring on the apocalypse, how could he ever risk it?

And did that mean he would never be able to share his identity with anyone ? Not Ladybug? Not his friends? Not even a future partner?

“Dude! Breathe!”

Adrien tried, but he just kept hyperventilating.

Then the snake bracelet started beeping again, and his panic sky-rocketed. It was too soon. Five minutes just wasn’t enough time.

Nino glanced at it, and then gripped Adrien’s hand firmly. “Dude, breathe in with me okay?” Adrien locked onto Nino’s golden eyes and nodded. Nino took in a deep slow breath and Adrien followed suit. “And out.”

And they did this for three more breaths.

“I’m not going to remember this, am I?” Nino said.

“I’m sorry, Nino,” Adrien cried. “Can I have your permission to erase your memory all the time? I know it’s not a fair thing to ask.”

Nino tightened his grip. “As often and as many times as you need, dude. Don’t ever hesitate. And don’t leave here tonight until you’re okay, okay?”

Adrien cried harder. “You trust me that much?” He could almost understand it with Ladybug. They trusted each other in life and death situations on the regular, but Nino too?! Adrien didn’t know what he had done to earn such friends.

“Yeah, man. Of course.”

Chat clung to Nino harder. He had some amazing people in his life. “Second chance.”

And this time when Snake Noir is outside Nino’s window for the 28th time, he doesn’t go in. He lets himself just sit on the window sill focusing on getting his breathing under control while Nino stays lost in his music. Just being able to see him, calmed Adrien down.

By the 31st loop, Adrien is able to swing himself into the room without immediately tackling his friend from behind. But he makes a point of landing with a loud thump.

Nino jumped ten centimeters out of his chair. Adrien almost laughed. Almost.

“Chat Noir! Is there an akuma? Do you guys need Carapace?”

Every muscle in his body tensed. Shit . “You’re a temporary hero?”

Nino paled. “Oh no! I thought that was why you were here. It meant that you already knew! Ladybug is going to kill me!”

“Nino, it’s fine.” And he was confident that it was. His lady trusted him as much as Nino did. It was only her identity he couldn’t know. He knew most of them at this point. Now, it was just hers, the new Queen Bee, and Rena Rouge that he didn’t know. “I actually came for a different reason. A personal reason.”

“A�� uh… personal reason?” his friend stuttered, his golden gaze glancing nervously towards the cat themed hero who had landed unexpectedly in Nino’s bedroom. “I don’t know how to say this, man, but I have a girlfriend. And yeah, you’re hot as hell-”

Adrien’s cheeks were on fire.

“-but I love her and I won’t cheat on her. Not even… with a superhero.”

Adrien shook his head rapidly with his hands up echoing the gesture. “I’m super flattered, Nino, but I was not here for a hookup either.”

“Oh… umm…” And now it was Nino who was super embarrassed, his hands fiddling with his headphones at his neck. “Then, how can I help you?”

“I… uh… just came to talk.”

“Talk,” Nino repeated flatly. “With me?”

“Well, you are my best friend,” Adrien said, and then just waited.

Nino’s face went through a comical flash of expressions so fast that Adrien couldn't identify any of them. “A-Adrien?!”

“Hi?”

Nino buried his face into his hands.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine, dude,” he mumbled. “Just embarrassed.”

“I said I was flattered.”

“I can’t believe I thought you were here to proposition me.”

“I mean, you do look pretty amazing in green,” Adrien teased, pulling out his most charming Chat Noir smile.

“Dude!” Nino objected, burying his face in his hands. “Please erase the last three minutes of my life.”

Adrien took pity on him. “That can be arranged.” He held up the bracelet on his wrist.

Nino wilted at the sight. “I’m not going to remember this?”

Adrien barked a genuine laugh. It felt good. “So you do want to remember, then?”

“Dumb shit should definitely be remembered,” Nino told him, but then turned serious. “So, if we’re on a timer, did you have something specific you wanted to talk about?”

Adrien shrugged and took a seat on Nino’s bed. “Ladybug told someone her identity when she was having a personal crisis. She suggested I do the same.”

“But then why don’t you want me to remember?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, looking for the words to explain. He didn’t have time for the whole Chat Blanc explanation and he definitely didn’t want to start crying and undo all the work Nino had managed to pull off in just a few hours even if he didn’t remember any of it. “I guess the identity rule has been drilled into my head so severely that it’s hard for me to break it?”

Nino grinned. “So you’re taking, like, baby steps!”

Adrien grinned. “Yes! Exactly! Testing it out.”

“It’s super cool that you’re Chat Noir! You have no idea how happy it makes me that you can escape your golden prison if you need to.”

The bracelet started beeping. “Whelp! It looks like my carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin! Thank you, Nino.”

Nino smiled, and gave Adrien the head nod. “Anytime, mec. Anytime.”

“Second chance.”

Then Chat Noir was outside the open window again and Nino was once again lost in his world of music.

“One more time,” he told himself, launching himself over the window sill and into the room with the same loud thud.

“Chat Noir! Is there an akuma? Do you guys need Carapace?”

Snake Noir shook his head. “Not this time, Donashello. But your best bro needs ordinary Nino.”

Nino paled. “Did something happen to Adrien? Did his father hurt him? Does he need a place to stay? He can totally room with me if needed. I’ve already discussed it with my parents. They’re cool with it.”

“Y-you have?” Adrien stuttered, taken aback by how much Nino worried about him, but also apparently planned for him. And now Adrien’s eyes were burning once again underneath his mask, but for an entirely different reason.

Nino stood up and hovered awkwardly. “You okay, dude?”

“I’m fine, Nino.” Adrien managed a huge smile, and yanked Nino into a hug. Nino remained awkwardly limp in his arms. “I just didn’t realize you worried about me like this. You have it worked out with your parents that I can just... stay here? Like whenever?”

“A-Adrien?!”

“In the flesh!”

Nino finally enthusiastically returned his hug. “Dude! No way! You’re Chat Noir?!”  

“The one and only!”

“This is so cool! And then Nino paled and pulled away. “Why are you telling me this now? I thought secret identities had to remain secret. Are you okay?”

“I’m doing a lot better thanks to you and the snake.”

Nino glanced at his altered transformation. “Oh. I’m not going to remember?”

Adrien wilted. “I wish I could tell you. Turns out knowing my identity specifically might be really dangerous.”

“I get it, dude. I’m a target of Hawkmoth, too.”

Chat frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Hawkmoth has made a copy of me twice now. Once as Nino and another as Bubbler.”

Chat Noir winced. Right, the Carapace sentimonster was Nino. “I hadn’t even thought about how you might feel about that. I’m sorry. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own head. What does it feel like to be impersonated?”

“It sucks. I worry that he’ll do it again. And that my friends and family will trust the imposter. And then become hostages or worse!”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know what I’d do if Hawkmoth used my family against me like that.” And it felt good to be the one listening and supporting for once, even if Nino wouldn’t remember. “What can we do?”

Nino shrugged. “I don’t know man. Ladybug was able to catch my imposter because he didn’t interact with Alya the way I normally do.”

Adrien’s brain was whirling. He could definitely fix this - or at least mitigate it. He just needed to talk to Alya and she would get Nino set up with everyone in his life with some kind of password or something.

His bracelet beeped it’s first warning.

“Thank you, Nino.”

Nino’s eyebrows scrunched together in bafflement. “What for?”

“For tonight. We’ve actually gone through this same five minutes 32 times now.”

“Thirty-two?!” Nino repeated. “Dude! That’s like… what?”

“Almost three hours,” Adrien filled in. “I wasn’t in a great space when I got here the first time. That’s what I’m saying. You told me not to leave until I felt okay.”

Nino hugged him again. “I take it you’re doing better now?”

“Much better now. You talked me through the worst panic attack I’ve ever had, and then you made me laugh when you thought I was here to proposition you.”

“I did what ?”

“You thought I was here to sweep you off your feet!” Adrien teased.

Nino buried his face in his hands. “Please never tell me that I did that again.”

Chat barked a laugh. “Apparently, you think I’m hot as hell.”

“But you already knew that,” Nino argued.

“I didn’t, actually. But if it makes you feel better, I’m apparently no competition for one Alya Césaire. You would have turned me down cold.”

Nino laughed. “Oh man, I would get so many brownie points for turning down a superhero for her.”

“Either that, or she’d hit you upside the head for being an idiot.” The miraculous was now rapidly beeping. “I'm out of time. Thanks Nino, for talking me down tonight.”

Nino grinned. “Anytime, bro. Come by anytime. I mean it. Even if I won’t remember. Any time. ”

“Thanks man. I’ll totally take you up on that.”

...

Read Chapter Three

[rosesgonerogue]

How to be a Dad 101

Chapter 2 - Villain Attack

Jasonette July Day 3

Masterlist

Marinette had thought that her years of being Rena Rogue would have improved Alya’s need for documenting dangerous situations, or at the very least her impulse control. As much as she loved her best friend, she was beginning to sincerely regret being cajoled into going to Gotham, of all places. A part of her couldn’t help but speculate whether of not Alya had been hoping that they’d end up in Crime Alley.

Jason was an unexpected bonus to their trip, though. None of them were quite sure what to think of the native Gothamite, but he did make an excellent tour guide. He was attentive, and surprisingly knowledgeable about the city’s history. Although he initially came off as angry and intimidating, he was also witty and attentive, especially to Marinette.

Okay, he was also hot. Like, absurdly hot. While Adrien was attractive, Jason was… Marinette didn’t know what words she could possibly use to describe just how broad his shoulders were, or how defined those muscles seemed. At one point he hugged her into his (very firm) chest so an inattentive biker didn’t hit her while they were crossing the street. She was grateful that he took the time to cuss them out, or he would have seen her face as red as her Ladybug suit. At another point when he took off his jacket and she saw his arms, she nearly choked on her spit.

She was dangerously close to relapsing into the Marinette of her teenage years, and that was the singularly worst outcome she could picture. Something about Jason made her feel… safe, protected.

The first day of their acquaintance with Jason was blessedly uneventful. Marinette was a little sad to bid him goodbye for good, but when he dropped them off at their hotel, he asked, “So what time should I be here tomorrow?”

A blush crept up Marinette’s face. “You don’t have to do that, really. We don’t want to bore you–“

He met her eyes, his own piercing. He was evaluating her, and based on his smirk, he liked what he saw. “I’ll be here at ten.” Jason raised a massive, strong hand to brush an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. “Gotham would eat you up, and we can’t have that.”

When he stepped away, Marinette almost collapsed on the spot. She knew her face was flaming red, but she managed to stammer, “W-Well, we’re going to have breakfast at the bakery just down the block at seven, but we’ll definitely be back by ten.”

“I guess that’s safe enough,” Jason said with that same smirk. “But no more wandering around Gotham, you got it?”

“S-Sure.”

Even though he had just vacated her personal space just a second ago, he leaned in close enough that his breath tickled her ear. “Sleep well, sweetcheeks.”

He left them standing in the hotel lobby, Marinette completely frozen. Before the boys could do or say anything, Alya grabbed her hand in an iron grip and hauled her up two flights of stairs to the room the two of them were sharing.

“What was that?” Alya demanded, closing the door with a bang.

Still dazed, Marinette collapsed onto the bed. “What was that?”

“Do you suddenly have a thing for bad boys now? I just… and how did we bump into him? He’s like the buffest man on the planet.”

“He called me sweetcheeks. Is that a good thing?” Marinette mumbled.

“Marinette, focus,” Alya said, shaking her best friend. “I’m worried.”

Finally Marinette made eye contact. “But he’s safe. He protected us.”

Emerging from her purse, Tikki settled on Alya’s head. “Marinette, I don’t think that’s what Alya is talking about.”

Sitting up, infinitely more level-headed than moments earlier, Marinette smiled softly, eyes holding a depth of sadness that should have been unfair for a twenty-year-old. “I know that nothing will happen between the two of us, we fly back to Paris in five days. But I just… I just want to be a normal girl for a week. I was fine with coming to Gotham because it meant I had a week to just be Marinette, not Ladybug, not MDC. For once I just want to let myself get caught up in my emotions – and if I end up hurt, that’s fine, because it means I’m allowed to feel again.”

Tikki and Alya shared glances with each other before Tikki spoke. “I guess I can understand that. But are you sure you can handle whatever happens, Marinette?”

“I’m a big girl, Tikki.”

“Besides, did you see those biceps? That alone almost makes up for anything he might do,” Alya said, fanning herself.

********

When morning rolled around, Marinette was the only one awake. Even Tikki was worn out from staying up entirely too late giggling about Jason and embarrassing Marinette with Alya’s help. Used to helping in the bakery every morning since she’d graduated, the lack of sleep was nothing to Marinette when she rolled out of bed and tied her hair up as per usual.

She was a little nervous about walking around Gotham alone, but Jason had dubbed this a safe part of town, and it was just at the end of the block. Her phone and her wallet were safely secured to her person, so she couldn’t be pick-pocketed either. Besides, even if something did happen, she had been Ladybug for years. Even without being transformed, Marinette had developed a number of self-defense skills on her own. It would be fine.

Getting to the bakery was no problem because, as previously stated, it was only a block away. The streets were fairly empty, and the weather was pleasant. She’d heard that Gotham was almost always storming, but she had yet to see any of that.

The bread was still warm in the bakery. Marinette was mostly curious about the differences between French and American bakeries, and she knew her parents were expecting a full report of any special items.

It didn’t seem like there was anything too different about the bakery except the various vigilante inspired pastries, and Marinette refused to bring that up – she didn’t need to see Ladybug bread everywhere she went. They actually had a far smaller selection than she was used to, but she’d heard that that was to be expected in America.

She ordered a bit of everything, and after deliberating a bit, she ordered a few extra Red Hood donuts. They were vaguely gun-shaped and filled with raspberry jelly. It seemed like the sort of thing that Jason would find amusing, and if not, there were plenty of other things for him to choose from and Adrien and Nino wouldn’t complain.

Piled high with pastries and breads, Marinette left the bakery humming to herself. Bags swung f rom her arms as she skipped a few feet until she froze, an ominous feeling creeping up her spine.

Crouching in a nearby alley, Marinette looked out at the street for a sign of what had her on edge like this. Sure enough, only seconds later a roar shook the streets, and a villain she recognized as Killer Croc barrelled his way through, jaws snapping.

Marinette’s eyes widened when she noticed he was clearly heading straight for the alley she’d ducked into. Too late she noticed the open manhole cover just a few feet behind her. The telltale sound of vigilantes pursuing the mutant were enough to spur her into action.

Unwilling to put down the food, Marinette kicked the manhole cover back in place – it would slow Croc down for a few seconds. He was still about fifty meters away, causing mass panic on the street. Desperately hoping that the wheels were unlocked – and surprisingly gratified, Marinette body checked the nearby dumpster, shoving it right on top of the manhole. Without her Ladybug suit, this was the most she could safely do. Bolting to the nearest building’s fire escape, Marinette hauled herself up the ladder as quickly as she could without smashing the bags of food.

Killer Croc wasn’t far behind her, and when he saw the covered manhole, he bellowed. Marinette started moving more haphazardly as she clambered up, desperate to reach safety. It was only a metal ladder within a foot of most windows, and it was only anchored by a handful of bolts every few feet of the ladder.

Her hand slipped when Killer Croc roared beneath her, catching sight of her handiwork. A neatly wrapped pastry fell out of one of the violently swinging bags, bopping the reptile on the head.

“This was you!” he growled. “If the Bats are going to catch me then I may as well take you with me.”

Scaled hands grasped one of the bottom rungs. Marinette did all she could to haul herself up the ladder faster, but it was a thirteen-story building – making it to the top was sounding less likely by the minute. She would have leapt into one of the nearby windows if she weren’t convinced that it would end in a paranoid Gothamite taking her out before Killer Croc could do the job.

Metal groaned as the reptilian man wrenched the bolts out of the very brick they’d been anchored in. The ladder shook, and Marinette screamed as the section she clung to was ripped from the wall, leaving her stuck between a structurally questionable ladder, and a very pissed off crocodile.

“Going so soon? Our playdate was just getting fun.”

Marinette could have sobbed when she saw Nightwing enter the alleyway, flanked by Red Robin and Red Hood. In a deep voice, Red Hood said, “You two take down Croc, I’ve got the girl.”

The other two looked surprised, but conceded easily enough. While Killer Croc was distracted by the vigilantes, Marinette moved even faster up the ladder – she only had three flights to go before she was at the roof, but the ladder was shaking like it would fall at any second, and she really didn’t want to find out what that would do to her and the pastries.

She vaguely registered that Red Hood was demanding someone’s something hook, but Marinette’s sheer panic was lessening her grasp on the English language by the second. With his loudest growl yet, Killer Croc wrenched the ladder free of the building. Marinette screamed, her stomach clenching with dread as she released the ladder, trying to curl her body in a way that she hopefully wouldn’t break anything upon impact.

Something whistled through the air, and before Marinette could hit the ground she collided with something – a man, who wrapped an arm around her. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes, but Marinette opened them to find herself face-to-face with the abomination that was Red Hood’s mask, but for the moment she could forgive the fashion crime.

He kicked off of the brick wall, giving them some distance from the ladder before it fell with a glorious clang. Marinette’s heart finally started beating, hammering in her chest as the vigilante slowly lowered them down to the ground.

When she finally forced herself to look, the other two had Killer Croc pinned and trussed up like a pig. Nightwing waved, smiling brighter than Marinette thought was allowed from someone who lived in Gotham. “The manhole cover and the dumpster? Brilliant move, we never would have caught him if he’d been able to get into the sewers. You made some risky moves, but I can tell they were calculated. Nicely done!”

Safely on the ground, Red Hood was examining her for any injuries. Clearly irked, he growled, “Since when are we encouraging civilians to jump into the middle of this sh-“

“Hood, she would have been involved one way or another just because of where she was standing,” Nightwing interrupted. “She saw us coming, and she just did a few things to slow him down while doing her best to keep herself safe. What’s up with you? Normally you’d be high-fiving a civilian for something like that.”

“Whatever,” Red Hood mumbled. “I’m escorting her to make sure she gets to wherever she’s going safely. Make sure the lizard doesn’t get away.”

Taglist:

@jasonette-july-2k20 @ira-sairain @myazael @pawsitivelymiraculous @nik-nak-3

Note:

I got a couple questions about this being a Mominette fic - it is, just not yet. This one is going to be a lot different from I didn’t so much fall in love - It kicked me in the face and I am stoked to see how you guys like it! If you want to be tagged in future chapters, just leave a comment, and once again, blow up Jasonette July! I’m super excited to see what everyone else has to say and write! 

[2manyfandoms2count]

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

Penultimate chapter, here we go! Discoveries are made, and they’re not for the best. Hope you enjoy!

Special thanks to the lovely @theanxiouscupcake for helping me figure out the ending :) 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | AO3

---

Chapter 8

Ladybug helplessly watches Chat sink out of sight, and she knows he won’t find anything good, wherever he’s headed. It’s less of a gut feeling (what honest person has secret mechanisms lying around their house in fiction, not to mention real life?) than an informed guess based on what she’s holding.

She’d hit the jackpot in Nathalie’s room. The envelopes she found weren’t empty, but they didn’t contain blackmail destined to Ladybug; it was clearly targeted at Hawkmoth and Mayura. Given that they’d all been opened with a paper knife, she doubted that Nathalie had been on the sending end.

The Peacock brooch she’d found in her nightstand, along with Duusuu, had done nothing to help Marinette in her quest for an explanation that could disculpate her.

She knows she's found what she needed, but it really feels like a Pyrrhic victory.

“Chat Noir? Is everything alright?” Max’s voice over the comms snaps her out of her thoughts.

There’s a tense silence as they wait for an answer, which she decides to break after a couple of minutes, for her own sanity.

“So, what did you find?” She asks, eyeing Markov. The robot is holding a USB key, which is unusual, since Max generally uses him directly as a memory source when needed. She doesn’t doubt that he also carries a copy of the data they’ve found, meaning that the information must be very important.

“An annotated digital copy of a Miraculous book, very expensive and regular butterfly orders, Hawkmoth redesign costumes, and elaborate plans to defeat you and Chat Noir.” Her friend enumerates. It all checks out. “Oh, and some music videos starring Hawkmoth.”

“What?” She frowns.

“It’s very disturbing.” Max grimaces.

Her next question is barely formulated in her head when Chat Noir’s voice reaches them. “Guys?”

“Chaton!” She refocuses on him immediately. “Are you alright?”

“I’ve found something.” His voice is strained.

“Don’t move, we’re coming.” She runs towards where the platform had been mere minutes ago, looking around frantically for the trigger mechanism.

Max puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. “Could you just tell us how to join you?” He asks.

Chat explains the steps in a monotonous voice that worries Max and Ladybug enough that they decide to ride the elevator together. It’s a little cramped, but the quicker they get to him, the better.

The tube quickly opens and they step out into what looks like an attic in a flutter of white butterfly wings.

Chat Noir has his back to them, his suit looking darker than usual in the backlight. He turns around from the truly impressive window he was looking out from when he hears them, a sad smile pulling at his lips.

“This doesn’t really look like a good guy’s den, does it?” He tries to joke.

“It does look a little suspicious,” she concedes.

“Did Adrien ever tell you his Dad was a lepidopterologist?” Max asks, a butterfly landing on his outstretched hand, as if he’s still trying to find a rational explanation for the situation that doesn't involve Gabriel Agreste being Hawkmoth.

“A what?” Chat looks at him, perplexed.

“A lepidopterologist,” his friend repeats. “Someone who studies butterflies.”

“Nope, I don’t think he has a clue.” He shakes his head and clears his throat. “But anyway, what did you guys find? Anything interesting?”

Ladybug hands him the envelopes and the brooch. His eyes fly over the letters’ contents, his expression indescifrable, while Max repeats his own findings.

“Max, what is the probability that Gabriel and Nathalie are just storing stuff for Hawkmoth and Mayura?” Chat asks gently, folding the letters again and giving them back to her. She sticks them in her yoyo for safe-keeping.

“I’d say about 0,0152%.” Max announces after a couple of seconds.

“That’s not very much.” He grimaces.

“Good thing Adrien didn’t come with us.” Ladybug whispers. “It’s… a lot to take in.”

“Sure is.” He sighs.

“Everyone, there seems to be another shaft here.” Markov interrupts them, flashing a red light to indicate his position in one of the dark corners of the room.

They walk towards him and study their surroundings, Max spotting the associated buttons first. Chat figures that it can’t bring them back to the study; it’s too far away from the first one.

“Multiple levels? What kind of evil lair is this?” Ladybug mutters.

“A professional one, that’s for sure.” Max replies. “Should we check it out?”

Ladybug looks at the time on her bug phone. They’re still doing okay, having been particularly efficient with their search. Or just very lucky that Hawkmoth and Mayura are bad at hiding compromising evidence.

She activates her microphone. “Nino, Kagami?”

“Yes, Marinette?” Kagami’s voice is prompt to reply.

“How are things going?”

“Not too bad, I think. Nino’s keeping Gabriel occupied, and I’m keeping an eye on Nathalie. They don’t seem to be in any rush to leave.”

“That’s good to hear.” She sighs in relief.

“How about you guys? Is Chat okay?”

“Right as rain.” Chat Noir chimes in. “We just have one more thing to investigate and we’ll be back.”

“Okay, cool. Keep us posted!” Kagami replies.

“You too.”

There’s a little static as Chat releases his microphone button.

“Right, so that’s sorted. I’ll go first.” Ladybug states more than she volunteers, calling the lift. She suspects Chat Noir would have liked to lead the way, but he’s a little pale for her liking, and Kwami knows what they’ll find on the other end.

“Are you sure?” He looks at her, contrasting emotions flickering in his eyes. On the one hand, he seems to be relieved that she’s taking charge of the exploration, but on the other hand, she knows he must be worried about her going first.

"You guys will be right down, it’s fine.” She smiles and squeezes his arm lightly, before entering the elevator capsule.

She’s surrounded by darkness for the first part of the journey, but the dim lighting of the lift is oddly comforting; she finds herself thinking that it might relieve Chat Noir’s claustrophobia.

The tube then transitions to transparency, and she’s suddenly looking out onto one of the largest and oddest rooms she’s ever seen, if ‘room’ is even the right word for it. The space looks like some kind of underground church, with its metal nave extending above a body of water and leading to a little garden, centred around a large tubular object. The latter is overseen by a large window that reminds her of the one up in the attic, except the panes are blocked off. It isn’t dark, though; a ray of light shines from above, and dim lights are regularly spaced along the sides of the room.

The elevator doors open and Ladybug steps out unsurely, not daring to venture too far. She feels very small as she waits for Chat Noir and Max, and a little uncomfortable, like she just broke into a sacred place. She untenses a little when they join her.

“What is this place?” Chat Noir lets out a low whistle as he takes in the grandeur of the space.

“It looks like some kind of underground crypt.” Max pushes his glasses back up on his nose. “We’re really not far from the Marais, maybe this was a church that sunk at some stage and was built over?”

Ladybug nods. It seems like a decent explanation.

Chat’s gut twists as he takes a couple of steps forward. He has an awful feeling about what lays at the end of the bridge, yet he’s inexplicably drawn to it. Ladybug and Max follow him carefully as he makes his way towards it.

The tube at the end of the way looks a lot like a coffin, they realise, and as they approach it, they must have triggered some motion detector, for its cover recedes, revealing a seemingly sleeping woman.

And not just any woman.

Emilie Agreste.

She’s dressed in a white suit, a slight smile on her lips, and holds a large bouquet of white and red flowers. She looks so peaceful, so beautiful. So like her portraits. Ladybug half expects her to wake up, green eyes twinkling as she welcomes them.

Next to her, Chat Noir’s breath hitches and his hand extends to touch the glass, a tear rolling down his cheek. It shatters as it lands on the coffin.

“You’re here.” He whispers.

Ladybug shares a look with Max, who encourages her to step forward with a nod. She does, lacing her fingers through Chat’s free hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I didn’t realise you were this close.” Her voice is barely above a murmur as another tear hits the coffin. Anything louder would feel disrespectful. Chat just nods in reply.

From this angle, she realises, Emilie looks just like Adrien; same fine features, same kind smile, same blond hair. She can’t help but understand why it must have been hard for Gabriel Agreste to look his son in the eye, at first.

“Um, guys?” Nino’s voice breaks the silence, making them jump. “I think we’ve maxed out the small talk. Kagami’s trying to hold off Nathalie but Gabe is just openly avoiding me now. Can we give them a bit of a breather?”

“Absolutely not.” Chat’s reply is icy as he angrily wipes his tears with the heel of his hand. “We’ll be right back, just need to call the police. Do not let them out of your sight, especially Gabriel. He might have his Miraculous on him.”

“Oh dude, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He takes a shaky breath. Marinette gives his hand another squeeze and takes her yoyo out. She spots Max taking out his phone out of the corner of her eye and turns towards him slightly, blinking gratefully at him. Chat doesn’t seem to be in the right frame of mind to call the police himself. She calls Rena Rouge.

“LB?” Her friend answers immediately.

“Alya? Are you in my room?”

“Yes, need anything?”

“Could you get the Bee Miraculous in my sewing box, please? I’ll send you the code.”

“Sure. Do you want me to go downstairs and give it to Chloé? Or should I stay put?”

“We’re going to need you downstairs, but make sure no one sees you yet. We need all hands on deck for this.” She takes a deep breath. “And make sure Adrien’s safe for me?”

“Will do.”

She hangs up just as Max calls his transformation.

“There’s a unit on its way here, and another heading for the Château. They’re warning the police officers who are already on site, they’re going to start closing off the exits. They said they’d take the evidence from us over there.” Her friend reports.

“Good.” She says, and she sees Chat Noir nod next to her, eyes still aimed at the coffin. “Let’s go, then.”

Pegasus invokes his powers and jumps through the portal. Chat Noir tears his gaze from Emilie and goes to follow him.

Ladybug holds him back before he can step through. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Chaton?”

“I just need to end this once and for all.” He smiles sadly and kisses her forehead tenderly, before taking her hand and helping her through.

He turns around and blows Emilie a last kiss before joining his wife.

[currentfandomkick]

Marinette did not sign up for this pt2

forgot to post this before i passed out last night. part one here ao3 here

It was almost four years into being Ladybug when the Justice League made contact.

In that time, she and Chat had built the miraculous team and they both knew each members identities, but swore them all to not seek out one another’s identity. (Though Alya was Alya and had Carapaced figured out on his first outing… convincing her not to reveal that to him took a bit. The girl was determined, but Marinette follows Fu’s rules to the letter (as much as she can) and that meant Secrets Stay Secret damnit.)

Not contacting the JL themselves was partially due to some fallout the Mayor and Parisian government with a (dissolved) Justice League’s branch. It was well before her team’s time. Something about collateral damage and if her miraculous could fix damage dealt by JL members or not playing some role in that too.

She decided it was a good thing when two years later she found a fucking dagger with a large bouquet on her balcony. It became a regular occurrence for special occasions—birthday, winter holidays and on Easter (she didn’t even know why on that one. Her parents aren’t Catholic. Maybe Murder Robin was, or thought she was?). She would just find some weapon with flowers somewhere in her room. She had no fucking clue what Murder Robin (Alya found articles where the ‘new’ Robin was cited as likely having killed multiple people in Gotham and just, yikes) or his friends or even her father (Fucking Batman, the Ghost of Gotham) might have meant by leaving it, but it was clear they had her address, knew which room was hers, and could do a lot of damage if she toed the line. She wasn’t testing any of those ‘no contact rules’ after that.

Hiding a dagger and various other weapons (so many knives and throwing stars) from Maman by giving it to Fu and later passing it off as an eccentric gift from him to her for always helping him out was… an adventure when Fu was still Master Fu. She hopes Murder Robin doesn’t find out about that bit. She has no clue how he or his family (not hers, hers are in Paris with her. Hers at least tried to talk to her, tried to listen and did make time for her. His family? Complete strangers she may share DNA with.)

She (logically) should be terrified that Murder Robin knows her alias and secret identity are the same person; if he’s really one of the world’s greatest detectives’ kids, why wouldn’t he know? Batman must have known for years—why else would Murder Robin be able to find her? the DNA scan was in a closed match system to just Paris. And she knew there was no way Goddamn Batman, Ghost of Gotham, would hang around Paris long enough to get dragged into the system for him to have a ping.

He just did not want anything to do with her or her city’s trouble since it wasn’t his. She wasn’t his. Wasn’t wanted by him. That was fine—he has enough to worry about in his hell city.

Sending Murder Robin out to do his dirty work?

Not fine.

Her team and her were… managing the Hawkmoth situation. Keeping it from spilling out of Paris since Startrain. Goo-guy managed to give them a break—people can grab akuma that aren’t meant for them and become much weaker akuma than if the akuma reached its target. Same with the few that could grab an akuma in the air. It meant when akuma went out, some citizens were willing to bear Hawkmoth’s wrath for a bit—even groups taking turns sometimes—to prevent someone from getting akumatized until Ladybug could purify the akuma or Chat Noir could destroy it.

And for akuma battles, well, she has more than just her and Chat, Luck (Creation) and Destruction. Viperion gave them multiple chances to change costly choices in battle. Bunnix fixed the ones that Viperion couldn’t. All oversized opponents fell to Ryuko and her mastery of the elements, even if she can’t always make it thanks to different schools and tight schedules. Miss Sting was chosen by Marinette—Aurore was easy to lean on for news team reports and media appearances that Ladybug and Chat Noir don’t have the time or energy for. Plus, Aurored needed the anger management, so win-win. Don’t even get her started on Pegasus or King Monkey always being ready at a moment’s notice and how they both started joining Nino and Alya’s parkour dates that have morphed into group hangouts in last two years. Seriously—if she knew where she needed to be, Max was ready to answer her call. If she knew more chaos would work as a distraction, long live King Monkey, the Great Distractor.

Then there’s her emotional support in the field (besides her chaton), Carapace. He’s a great shield in battle, good with civilians and quick to defend. He’s also big on mental health (something their team sorely needed). How Nino managed to get turtle headphones, Marinette doesn’t know. She does know she nicks them from him regularly as Ladybug for team hangouts and when she needs to clam down on patrol.

Then there is her civilian bestie, the one who convinced her to stay as Ladybug, Alya Cesaire, aka Rena Rogue and the Ladyblogger. Rena Rouge is by and far one of her favorites to talk about potential Hawkmoths with, and work out akuma prevention techniques with. In the battlefield she was one of the first to strike (even if that’s not how she should be using the flute, Marinette has no room for judgment given how she uses all of her Lucky Charms.) Alya always posted and circulated anti-akuma tips and altered the Ladyblog to have each icon for known miraculous mean something.

Marinette was nothing but supportive of her friend, even if the blog is a behemoth to maintain and resulted in Alya retiring as her Deputy (Rose took over gleefully as Deputy). She liked that the Ladybug was for news, and the Cat for if an attack is ongoing. The Butterfly tracks akuma sightings before an attack, and was a bit on the nose in her opinion, but it’s effectively mapped out areas where Hawkmoth’s lair is or has an opening, giving them an area to investigate and patrol more heavily. The Turtle offered guided meditation videos and yoga sessions (somehow always on-going), while the Fox was for group chats and various akuma-related support groups. The Peacock offered mental health resources, and was constantly growing. The Bee was for self defense videos and sat next to Dragon for akuma survival tips. The Snake was one of her personal favorites, advice on calming down with guided breathing if someone feels close to being akumatized, and she’d used it herself more than once. The Horse was the one she’s the least familiar with, for shelter routes that she never used. The Monkey held a number of fun distractions, videos and memes uploaded by her followers with art and songs, and was overall very light hearted.

Marinette is proud of her team.

Though it doesn’t mean there aren’t days she’s waiting for it all to unravel, or for an Older Bunnix to appear again and tell her they have to undo the day Marinette’s identities were compromised. But that is a always an apocalypse event option only. Chat Blanc still haunts Marinette’s nightmares, and Alix’s too. the Princess Justice timeline haunts Alix since she lived it in real time, but it’s Adiren’s nightmare come to life in multiple other akuma attacks. Apparently if Marinette is akumatized, she brings about a second Reign of Terror so encompassing, it made Robespierre’s look like a child’s drawing of what a reign 

It was during another Syren event when things went from workable to a slow boiling unbearable. All but Alix were transformed and fighting minions to clear a path for Ladybug to get to the main akuma.

Imagine her frustration when Aquaman and Aqualad appeared behind her while she was scouting on the outskirts, and both refused to make any eye contact, practically kneeling in water to her and making themselves a target. When they should be able to read the room and see that the battlefield isn’t the place for this.

“Oh Great Paschalítsa” Aquaman began, “I understand your hesitance in this matter, given the Miraculous and Atlantis’ history,” Aquaman continued as she dodged yet another minion further ahead and kept working her way to where the akuma was, ignoring his speech. “But I ask that you do not sink—”

Marinette gave up on her current task to ensure there wasn’t some international incident of Ladybug letting Aquaman be captured by akumas or something. She’d never head the end of it if she didn’t.

But now they were surrounded. Aqualad at least kept his attention on the task at hand (re: keeping minions from spotting her) as they all worked out a way to escape, even if he wasn’t looking anywhere near her. Apparently Aquaman got the message (finally) and did the same as his sidekick(?) after Aqualad made a few gestures she wasn’t paying attention to. She does have an akuma item to break and akuma to catch and purify.

The pair did manage to act as decent bodyguards and distractions while she worked out the kid’s item and how it connected to their fixation—no swimming until their grades up meant all of their gear but a whistle was taken away. One Lucky Charm and convoluted plot that merged fighting in 3-D, a pair of scissors and a lot off kicking off underwater buildings later, and Paris was back to normal.

She managed it without talking to Aquaman once. She could give quick directions to Aqualad without toeing the line—he wasn’t part of the Justice League and was known to operate in the ocean alone when Aquaman wasn’t there.

“Great Paschalítsa,” Aquaman began and Marinette wanted him to go off and leave her alone. Him and Aqualad. “As king of Atalntis, I humbly offer my aide in whatever has caused you and the great Mávri Gáta to show yourselves to the world.”

What was with all this formal speech? Marinette thought they knew French, or well, Alya mentioned it said they did in their bio, but it clearly wasn’t the kind her class used for projects. And Marinette was exhausted, frustrated, and now did not have a good and convenient target for her rage (re: akuma that drowned Paris) and well…

Well, she blew up. A bit. But can you blame her?

They wouldn’t take the hint. (Silence means Fuck Off).

“Look,” Marinette whirled on them, ignoring her team’s shock and not even going in for the celebratory ‘Pound it’.  “I told Murder Robin—“ the pair winces at the that wording. Good. They knew who she meant then.

“—that I won’t get involved with anything involving our dad.”

She didn’t miss the sharp intakes from her team. Chat knew, only due to a freak out over being left a freaking sword one time and she panicked, okay?

“And I meant it. Just because Batman felt guilty or something,” She doubted it. Ghost of Gotham doesn’t feel anything and can apparently take out entire buildings on occasion. (Even if she was pretty sure that was someone filling in for him, she wouldn’t discount it either.) “That Doesn’t mean I’m going to change my mind on the matter—My team has got this. And we don’t need a handout four years too late.”

They had to. Fu was gone (For three months now. Three months Marinette held the weight of being The Guardian on her shoulders alone. She had to have this. She wouldn’t trust random elements sent by Mr. ‘I accept my murderous son and ignore the one in constant peril that blew herself up twice to save Paris.’  

“Bug out.”

She knew her team would have questions, but Chat could answer them for now and Miss Sting would be able to handle any questions if any the media tried anything. Bright side of having the main Miraculous Team journalist as Rena with a determined hacker Pegasus; if it was personal to the team, the pair made sure it was never there.

--

Later at JL HQ

Aquaman walked up to Batman once the meeting was over. Batman knew the man had something on his mind and that it was related to himself—why else would he keep looking at him during the meeting? Whatever was troubling the Atlantian, Bruce could only hope it wasn’t emotions. That was really, really not his department… Jonn was much better with issues like that.

“Batman, may I have a word?”

Batman nodded, quick to follow the other out into a more private room.

“It has come to my attention that your daughter and you have a, uh, tricky relationship.”

Batman raised an eyebrow, as his relationship with Cass was doing well… he thought. Maybe he should visit her more? She was doing fine on her own and was always warm to him when he visited her in China on her missions against the Triad. Perhaps he should see if she was open to working with him on a case on that, or see if she wanted to come to Gotham again.

“And I don’t mean to judge here,” Aqua man continued, obviously nervous. “But uh, apparently your current Robin is well aware of her existence.”

Batman raised an eyebrow under the cowl. “Black Bat and Robin are close.”

The way Aquaman’s face contorted indicated nothing good. “Your other daughter.” The man paused, waiting for Batman to understand. “Ladybug.”

Bruce… Bruce froze. “I don’t have another daughter.” Not to his knowledge.

Aquaman ran a hand through his hair. “Well apparently ‘Murder Robin’ has met her,” Aquaman said with air quotes of all things. “Years ago.”

Bruce felt his heart stop. Damian’s… adjustment into the family had not been easy. And a few years ago Damian was much more… willing to do things against the Batcode, things that had him thriving in the League of Assassins. Things that changed a person. Things he’d need to ask this Ladybug—his daughter, another surprise child—about.

“And given that a Ladybug being active has always been a sign of a potential apocalypse—“

Batman’s red flags began flashing. Hard. His child was in danger and fighting a potential apocalypse event. Without his help. Without Batman’s resources.

“I assume Ladybug is a mantel.” Bruce hoped she had a mentor, someone to ease her into hero-work.

“Yes.” Aquaman looked… hesitant then. “Were it not for one Ladybug’s mercy, my people would have died when Atlantis was sunk by her equal, the Black Cat’s user. It seems this time they’re allies this time, against the Butterfly—I, Batman, are you alright?”

Bruce was not okay, at all. There is an ongoing apocalypse event, a daughter he never met stopping it (how old was she? Was she Damian’s age or older? Younger? He didn’t want her to have to live with this life, but she was and was doing so without him, without his help, without someone he knew she could lean on for support) and apparently his youngest son was well aware of this and did nothing to help. Did not even tell him.

He was going to have words with Damian.

“Excuse me.” Batman turned to leave. He has a son to interrogate, research to do, and a daughter to find (beg forgiveness for not getting to her sooner, and help her) on top of the usual workload. A Bat’s work is never done.

Wonder Woman who stopped him while he was reeling with this information, her grip too solid on his arm, and unlikely to break.

“It is not wise to rush in.” She began, appealing to reason in the hopes of keeping a panicked “Batdad” from making the situation worse. “From what Aquaman has told us, she does not welcome your involvement,” she said slowly, hoping it would sink in. “The Ladybug Miraculous has always been an agent of creation, of healing.” Diana hoped that would set her friend’s mind at ease. Ladybugs were notorious for their battle prowess and strategies, yes, but first and foremost their duty was to undo damage. “Ladybug herself will have much on her shoulders if her role is anything like my mother’s when she was among the Chosen, and adding yourself to the equation before her adversary is defeated will only serve to distract her from her goal.”

Batman remained tense, but didn’t struggle against Wonder Woman’s grasp. Good.

Green Lantern was the next to approach, as planned. “So why don’t you focus on your family in Gotham before rushing into meeting this kid,” Green Lantern—no, Hal suggested. “We’ll work on finding out what’s causing this possible apocalypse. You get your house in order.”

Bruce heard the words that weren’t said. Find out what your ex-assassin son did your demi-god daughter and make sure he doesn’t screw up anything further.

“That is not—“

“Batman.” Wonder Woman squeezed his arm. “This is not a suggestion.”

Cold curled in Bruce's stomach. His daughter was in danger, fighting against a potential apocalypse, and he was told to sit this one out. When it was personal. (His daughter who he needed to meet, to learn about, to see what made her tick and work out how to help her wherever she might need it. His daughter who he had lost years with.)

(They were ordering him to lose more time with her.)

“You are benched from League activities until this is sorted out.” Wonder Woman continued, as though she hadn’t just gutted Bruce. “I will take lead on Ladybug’s case. My people have much experience with her and the Black Cat as allies.” It was Diana that was smiling then. “Perhaps Mother’s connection will convince her to allow our aide.”

Green Lantern nodded along. “And when I’m not with you guys, well, GL core is in charge of keeping things not-apocalypse-y across the universe and keeping it from spiraling. And Miraculous tend to like the whole Balance thing, so it shouldn’t be too much for me to help out every now and then with them too.”

Bruce twitched where he was. He wasn’t going to win this. Not by a long shot.

But they were taking Aquaman and a Green Lantern. Granted, at least it wasn’t Guy. But a Lantern. Over him. When it involves his family.

He had to get his house in order quickly.

--

Damian would say he was quite pleased with himself that day. He managed to decide the type of weapon that would help his sister defend herself against others best, given her profession as a seamstress, he was annoyed he hadn’t thought of it sooner. Selecting the type of needle to give her, and to ensure they could be used for fabrics to give her a reason to carry them on her person, was crucial however.

She had rejected his other offerings thus far, though he could hardly blame her. This would be his seventh attempt. He did hear it was a lucky number from somewhere… and he had gotten better since his last attempts at understanding the type of person she showed herself to be and the type of person she wished to be seen as.

The Swiss dagger on his first attempt was too bulky and not hidden enough for a style of fighting she should strive to cultivate. His second attempt was an ear dagger which were easier to use and she could add additional force with her thumb. He thought it was better protection for her, and it was small enough this time to be kept in her purse. Much better than his first attempt. Only from her pictures he knew it wasn’t ever in her purse.

He had failed to find her an acceptable apology gift that offered her the protection she needed. The third was when he moved to a larger blade, hoping the thin rapier could be hidden well enough as decorative or as a fancier fencing tool than standard. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility given her closeness to an Olympic level fencer and this ‘Adrien Agreste’ who often partnered with Tsurugi. He was glad she had taken to displaying it at the least, though Adrien claiming to have given it to her left a bad taste in his mouth.

His sister wished to not have it known she had her own weapons then, he could handle that. His fourth attempt was  going to be a butterfly knife but given legal restrictions that he had come to realize she would follow (as idiotic as they were) he changed it to a classic Swiss knife. He did see this carried on her person on occasion, but not often. He looked into more easily concealed knives and gifted her a ballpoint pen knife—it looked like a pen and he made sure to customize it to resemble the pens in her room (he took a sample for reference) and did see her often carrying that one, though by active attempt or chance he couldn’t gather. He decided she would need a long range item next, and gifted her a small variety of throwing stars (and a knife or two, she seemed to favor possible close combat weapons of those he gave her). He noticed that none of these were carried on her person (he may have bugged them with trackers to figure out her preference) and they rarely left her room.

That was why he concluded that this time needles that she could use for sewing or battle were his best bet. Finding a way to walk that line was proving challenging.

Father came in while he was making his selection. He did find it odd Father hadn’t mentioned her to the rest of the family, but it could be that he wished her a more peaceful life. Damian would not disrespect his father’s wishes by bringing her up.

“Damian, we need to talk.”

Damian furrowed his brow, running over what could warrant that tone. He came up empty.

Father did move closer and see he was looking at needles this time. And showed surprised.

“For Okhti Al Kobra,” Damian stated, hoping his father wouldn’t be upset at him recognizing her. He knew now it was better for her to be apart from them, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do what he could to help her protect herself. His older sister deserved better.

Father did freeze at that.

Had Damian displeased him? (He wouldn’t… wouldn’t send him to back. Damian knew that. But that look… it brought back the boy that wondered when he’d be tossed aside by the Great Batman for no longer being a good solider.)

“Father? I know you don’t like to speak of her but.”

“You, you’re getting her needles?” it was a question. He didn’t get why.

“Yes, my last presents seemed inadequate. She has taken to the penknife, but only sometimes. She keeps the Swiss on her sometimes too—haven’t you been keeping an eye on her social media? She posts a disgusting amount. I figured given the boutique it wouldn’t be unacceptable for her to carry needles on her as a weapon and tool in the future, should anyone else discover our connection.”

Bruce stared Damian, waiting for him to finish.

“She does keep the flowers I left her, though she does react oddly. The first time she was very pale.” Looking back, it was likely fear. She was a civilian after all… “However I believe she has come to accept that even with distance, she is still a Bat by blood and as such, should remain vigilant.” Damian hoped his report was adequate.

“She… how old is she?” Father’s tone was softer then. but the question didn’t make any sense.

“Father, you should know how old she is.” Damian waited for the man to respond.

He didn’t.

Damian furrowed his brow. “Father, you do know who she is, right?”

“Ladybug.”

Damian blinked at that. He had no idea who that was, but he knew an alias when he heard one. “She’s a civilian—when did she—”

“Damian.” He stilled at that. “How old is she?”

Damian straightened then. “She was twelve and a half when we first met. She will be sixteen in two weeks.” Damian glanced at his abandoned screen. “She enjoys design.”

“Her, her name.” His father looked… lost.

“I, we don’t revel secret identities?” Damian was a bit lost. Father should know of his sister. They were only two years apart. She was from before his father’s training became serious. He should know of her, at least. And if he didn’t, wasn’t it a betrayal to her if he revealed who she was without her permission? Whenever he tried to visit, she was always elsewhere, and he couldn’t very well show up as Damian Wayne. That would reveal the family and she didn’t need to know that. Didn’t need that burden.

“She knows she’s my daughter.” Father sounded…desperate.

“She knows she is Batman’s. I didn’t reveal your identity, or the family’s.”

“I…”

Damian took a deep breath. He didn’t want to betray his family. Or further hurt his older sister. “I believe that we should speak to her before discussing her identity. It… it should be her choice.”

Father looked pained at that.

“I assume you don’t…” No, father would not know how the first meeting went… right?

Father said nothing before leaving.

Damian wondered if he should visit her sooner. He eyed his cart and got her a set of weaponry needles, knitting, and a set made for seamstresses with small hands. He hoped these were to her liking. Perhaps he should add white heather (Protection) and purple hyacinth (I’m sorry) in addition to the zinnias…. Or just give her two with the zinnias mixed between them, as Damian reasoned the heather and hyacinth wouldn’t looks the best together. Yellow (daily remembrance) and scarlet (constancy) zinnias with heather (protection) and some greenery should be fine, and purple hyacinth (I’m sorry) mixed with magenta (lasting affection) white (goodness) and perhaps a white daffodil (stay as sweet as you are) with a filler of some sort would work well. She accepted his apologies (albeit in flowers) before, and he hoped he had proven he was paying enough attention to her for her to see that he meant it.

He was glad he hadn’t killed her that day.

Now he had research to do to help his sister.

He missed Brown as she slipped out. And completely missed finding out she was messaging Todd, Drake and Cassandra the news: there was a missing Bat into design, goes by Ladybug, and Bruce has no clue what her identity is.

Cass didn’t send anything in response.

Jason stated he would find her before Tim.

Stephanie was just excited for another girl in the group. Little sister in need of help? Count her in—being Spoiler versus being Batgirl was a world of difference. Having a team made it easier, and it shouldn’t be too hard to convince the girl to give it a shot, right?

--

Thanks for waiting. part three here

tags: @heldtogetherbysafetypins @laurcad123 @raisuke06

debating which bat will find her first (in person), so feel free to state any preferences, and thanks for the comments and kudos--it really does help with working this idea out.

[galahadwilder]

Unwise

Ch. 2: In Which Too Many People Turn Patrols Into Dates

Happy birthday @alexseanchai! You wanted more Unwise? Here you go!

*

Convincing Fu to let her bring out the other Miraculi on a semi-permanent basis had been a chore in and of itself. Feast had proven the depth of his paranoia—though, to be fair, it’s not technically paranoia if people are actually out to get you—and she wasn’t prepared to lose Tikki a second time. He’d refused to allow her to bring out more Miraculi, until she’d forcefully reminded him that A. she is a full-fledged Guardian now, he’d said that himself, and B. She, a child, is the one on the front lines while he hides. (She hates bringing that up, because she knows why he’s doing it, but it was that or go insane.)

Eventually, he’d relented, though he’d let her take only the ones who’d already proven themselves. Which was fine, it wasn’t like she was planning on doing any recruiting anytime soon.

She’d been planning to hand out all of the Miraculi herself, as usual, but as soon as she’d had them in her hands she’d paused, reconsidered. Chat was right—trying to do everything herself has been driving her insane. She already knows that, if she goes down, Chat can take the earrings and Mister Bug it up—or, in an emergency situation, just Cataclysm a butterfly and wait for her to get back up—so there’s a little bit of the weight off there. But the fact is, he was originally never supposed to know the identities of any of the backup, and if she were to have gone down in that situation he’d have been left to continue the fight alone in a way that she never would. The thought makes her want to vomit.

And she can’t deny that the way Chat’s face lit up when she asked him to help her distribute the Miraculi had done something funny in her tummy. Not love, of course, nor attraction—absolutely not that, stop laughing Tikki—but something. She’d laid out all of the Miraculi Fu had let her take on their favorite rooftop, then, after a moment’s consideration, handed him the Horse, the Bee, and the Dragon (she’d briefly passed her hand over the snake, but she saw the way he tried to suppress a shudder; curious as his reaction made her, she knew she couldn’t let herself think about what that was about, lest she learn something she shouldn’t).

She picked up the Fox, the Snake, the Turtle, and the Mouse, then paused, thought, made a decision. “You already know who the mouse is,” she said. “If you ever need an illusionist, and I’m not there to help you...” She held up the foxtail necklace. “This one goes to the Ladyblogger.”

Chat froze. “My Lady,” he said, the Dragon choker dangling between his claws, “are you... sure I should know this?”

She nodded. “You said yourself, I can’t keep doing this alone,” she said. “You’re my partner.”

There’d been no big meeting; someone might’ve noticed that Multimouse wasn’t there, and that would lead to questions she doesn’t want to answer. She’d made a list of reasons why, but surprisingly, Chat had asked for none of them, simply agreeing with her out of hand.

The whole thing is going swimmingly, and yet she can’t help feeling guilty about how she’d arranged the patrols. She’d insisted on not letting Rena Rouge and Carapace patrol together, since there was no way either of them could tear away from each other in a non-emergency situation, so for the first two few nights she’d rotated them through everyone but each other, just to keep from ill-advised makeouts. And yet, here she is, having intentionally arranged herself on patrol with Adrien...

God, she’s a hypocrite.

She can honestly say that after a week of letting other holders cover patrols, she’s more rested than she’s been in a while. But she’s done so many stupid things to spend time with Adrien, it’s not like one more will make a difference at this point, right? And at least this way she’s doing something productive with it. She hopes. If she can, you know, actually hold it together around him to do anything.

“Tikki,” she groans into her hands, her elbows propped on her desk. “Tell me I’m doing the right thing.” The cursor blinks on the anonymous Google schedule she’s been sharing with the team, waiting for her to confirm the time of her first patrol as Multimouse. Her first patrol with Adrien. She wonders, idly, what he’ll choose for his name.

Tikki sighs from her spot on Marinette’s pincushion, rolling a chocolate chip between her paws. “I don’t know,” she says. “Master Fu had very good reasons not to let the rest of us out of the box, but you also have very good reasons.” She looks up at Marinette, her blue eyes shining with compassion. “I do worry about you.”

“I’m just happy to be out and about,” Mullo says, climbing onto Marinette’s phone and poking the screen with delight. “So much new technology! I didn’t get to see this last time you wore me.”

“Not that,” Marinette says, dropping her hands onto the desk—then she tilts her head. “Well, yes that, but not what I’m asking about right now.” She sighs, staring at the calendar block. “Am I being... selfish, with this schedule?”

Tikki purses her lips, then turns the chocolate chip on its side and starts rolling it back and forth on the desk beneath one paw, staring at it pensively.

“Tikki?” Marinette whispers.

Tikki grimaces. “You know you’re not supposed to use your powers for personal gain,” she says. “I’ve told you before.”

Marinette swallows. “I remember,” she whispers.

Tikki tilts her head. “On the other hand,” she says, “this might be more practical than you think.”

Marinette blinks. “What?”

“If he is going to be a full-time member of the team, it might help to acclimate yourself to his presence?” Tikki says, a small smile spreading across her face. “We wouldn’t want you to start tripping over your words in the middle of combat.” She flings the chocolate chip straight up, then launches her tiny body from the desk, swallowing it in a single gulp in a manner reminiscent of the poster for Jaws.

“Hey!” Marinette protests. “I did fine last time!”

“You said one sentence and you had to use Sass to practice it eight times first,” Tikki says with a smug grin, crossing her arms.

Marinette bites her lip, then rolls her eyes. “You see how mean she is to me?” she says to Mullo.

“Hm? What?” the rat says, her head perking up and twisting back and forth. “I’m sorry, I was distracted by this...” Her turns back to the phone, where she’s been swiping between app pages with wide eyes. “Um, magic screen thing.”

Tikki giggles. “Not everything humans do is magic, Mullo.” She flits around to Marinette’s eye level. “Marinette. The day I told you not to use your powers for personal gain? That was our third time out. I didn’t know you then. I do now.” She reaches out, laying her palm on Marinette’s cheek. “You’ve grown into a responsible and professional young woman, and Master Fu has selected you to be the next Guardian.” She floats back. “I trust your judgment. And besides, you deserve a break.” She gestures to the computer screen, where the calendar is still waiting, unfinished. “If this is what you want to do? Then you should do it.”

Marinette swallows as tears brim in her eyes. “I—thank you, Tikki,” she whispers.

“Of course,” Tikki says, zipping forward to hug Marinette’s cheek again. “I love you so much, Marinette.”

“I love you too,” Marinette says, cupping her Kwami to her cheek with her palm.

“Oh my Guardians!” Mullo sobs. “You—you two— you are...” She rolls over onto her back, letting out a tiny melodramatic wail. “Your friendship is so perfect!”

Tikki snorts, backing away from Marinette’s cheek. “Okay. Back down there, Squeakers.”

Marinette sets her jaw, looking at the screen. “So,” she says, “I’m doing this?”

Tikki nods. Mullo rolls back onto her stomach, looking back at her expectantly.

Marinette nods back. “I’m doing this,” she says, and presses her finger down on Enter.

*

This was a mistake this was a mistake this was a mistake this was a mistake—

Sapis (who looks amazing in his costume, his gossamer half-cape floating off his back, furry cuffs on his wrists, black streaks in his carefully styled hair to resemble antennae—oh, she’s going to be gushing about this to Tikki later) is looking at her with eyes like the night sky, golden irises inset on black sclera, and she feels all the breath leave her body. She’s seen enough of Adrien’s patented “Soft Eyes” in candid shots from Alya that she thought she’d be immune, but nope, photographs have in no way prepared her for the real thing. Sweet Kwamis, she’s going to die and she hasn’t even said a word to him yet.

Say something, Ladybug, she tells herself. But under Sapis’ gaze, in Multimouse’s suit that she’s suddenly aware came out far more cute than her usual reassuringly minimalist design, she doesn’t feel like Ladybug, so when she opens her mouth, she only manages to squeak.

Nice, she thinks, mentally kicking herself. Well done. Very professional.

“H-hi!” she yelps. “Are you, um...” She grips her elbow, her free hand playing with the tail of the jump rope tied around her waist. “Queen Bee’s replacement?”

“Yep,” he says in an exaggeratedly deep voice. He takes a Superman stance, pressing his fists to his hips, and turns his eyes dramatically to look somewhere slightly behind her. It looks generally ridiculous, and he clearly knows it. “Sapis, at your service.”

“Sapis?” she says, squinting one eye, trying to remember if she knows what that means in Latin. Sagesse... that’s the same root, right? “Wisdom?”

His whole face lights up, and her heart leaps in her chest. “Old Latin pun,” he says. “Si sapis, sis apis.” He steps forward, holding out a hand. “If you’re wise? Be a bee.”

She stares at him, looking at his hand, then his face, then his hand, then his face. She has—she knows what she’s supposed to do here, but this is Adrien trying to introduce himself, and she knows it’s him, and he doesn’t know it’s her, and she has to get this impression exactly right. The joke is stupid, silly, it’s so very Chat Noir that she’s caught off guard and suddenly her chest is bubbling, she’s laughing, and oh god is he going to think that she’s laughing at him? Is he going to be disappointed? Is he going to be crushed? Oh Kwamis, is he going to hate her forever?

And then his eyes shut, and he giggles, pure and clear, and it’s just like that moment after the umbrella closed on her head. Lightning strikes in her heart all over again, and it’s everything she can do not to fall on her steadily reddening face.

Finally, he calms down, but when his golden-black eyes turn back to her he’s still beaming. “So,” he says, gesturing to her necklace, “Chat Noir tells me you’re really good with that thing.”

She reaches up, fingers it nervously. “I—pretty good, yeah.”

Sapis grins, hoisting his trompo. “Wanna show me what you’ve got?”

A slow, sly grin spreads across her face in answer as she reaches for her jump rope, the confidence building in her chest. This is familiar territory. This, she can handle. “You’re on, bee boy.”

Adrien wants to see what she can do? He won’t even know what hit him.

[flightfoot]

Justice for Alya (And Adrien. And The Rest Of The Class): enigmaticEditor's "Outfoxed"

AO3

(Spoilers for Chapter 1 of “Outfoxed”)

“Outfoxed” by enigmaticEditor (@captorations) stands out among “Lila Exposed” fics as being one of the few of that genre that douses Alya and Adrien in sugar while refraining from salting the class or anyone besides Lila and Gabriel.

It starts when the glamour around Lila breaks, when Lila makes a claim - or at least IMPLIES a claim - that Alya knows for a fact cannot be true. Lila ‘accidentally’ exposing a necklace that looks an awful lot like the Fox Miraculous and implying that SHE’S Rena Rouge.

And everything comes tumbling down. All the lies, all the deceptions, they all shatter like glass.

This isn’t an unusual way for Alya to discover Lila was lying. It’s everything that happens afterwards that make this fic stand out.

Immediately her mind starts racing, trying to figure out what magic was at work and how to break it, thinking of who she needs to recruit… and she remembers Marinette.

Alya both feels a little guilty because she didn’t believe Marinette and Marinette HAD tried to tell her the truth - again, not unusual - but she’s also a bit angry and upset at her which is particularly interesting.

Marinette had tried to tell Alya the truth about Lila, that was true - but she had better means at her disposal to force Alya to see that Lila was lying, to possibly break past her glamour. She’s well-connected and could’ve gotten, say, Jagged Stone himself to refute Lila’s lies. She had the power to bring all that crashing down and yet allowed the rest of the class to continue being duped by Lila.

Normally this accusation is leveled at Adrien in Chameleon saltfics - and that comes up in Outfoxed as well, but I’ll get to that later - not at Marinette, though it holds true for her as well (and moreso than Alya even knows, considering she’s Ladybug and one of Lila’s favorite lies is how close she is to Ladybug). It’s always been something that bugged me with saltfics - and heck, even with canon - so I loved seeing it addressed here.

Her reasoning made sense, especially considering the stress Marinette’s been under this whole time. She was terrified that Lila would become akumatized again and hurt people, hurt her, hurt Chat, hurt Adrien, hurt random civilians. 

Hurting Adrien was ESPECIALLY prevalent in her mind since Volpina had already fooled her into thinking she was gonna let Adrien fall before. And just… while Marinette agreed with Alya afterwards that it would’ve been better to try to do something about Lila, she was just too scared before, with having experienced Volpina going after someone she loved.

I really appreciate when authors have the characters maybe not make the absolute best, most ideal choice in a circumstance, not acting in the most ideal way when viewed as an impassive outsider, but for those characters to act and react in ways that make sense when taking into account their mindset and emotions at the time. Because that’s how people actually operate. 

And Alya just… she UNDERSTANDS! I especially like even before she finds out why Marinette hasn’t tried hard to expose Lila, when she still doesn’t know, and comes across Marinette curled into a ball crying. 

She knows what to do. Has done it before. Knows how to read Marinette and just focuses on calming her down first, prioritizes getting her to a better state before broaching the subject of Lila. With all the salt about Alya supposedly not being a good friend, it was nice to see displayed just why she’s an AWESOME friend to Marinette.

But what really gets to me is the sort-of pep talk Alya gave Marinette after finding out she was reluctant to try harder to expose her, but before she found out more details on WHY. Because while the speech she gave was good Marinette sugar, for the reader, it’s great Alya sugar as well.

The reason why it stung that Marinette was willing to just let Lila continue lying? Why it hurt Alya to see Marinette seemingly just… give up like that? Came down to the philosophy Alya first tried to impart to Marinette when she first met her, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing”, something which it seems like Marinette can’t make herself believe anymore. But Alya’s there to boost her up, to remind her of how far she’s come and what she’s capable of.

Alya’s hand moved to find Marinette’s. Once she did, she gave it a squeeze and didn’t let go. “You mean so much to me, girl, you know that? I was new here, that first day. I had no one, and not only were you willing to befriend the weirdo who wouldn’t shut up about superheroes, you believed in what I said. You let me inspire you, and you inspire me too. You always have. I know you’re scared of akumas. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you running to hide whenever one shows up, even if it’s nowhere near us. But you’ve been working past it, even taking charge sometimes in your own way! Darkblade, Syren, Captain Hardrock. I remember those too. I liked to think I was part of the reason for that. A part of you, as much as you’re a part of me.” (Chapter 1)

This was just… this was so good! Alya gives some of her fears and insecurities, with being the new girl and considering herself to be a weirdo, while also boosting herself up by being proud of her effect on Marinette. It gives off a sort of “teacher is proud of their student” vibe, since Alya helped start Marinette on the path to standing up for herself.

She also notes Marinette’s own insecurities here with her apparently being afraid of akumas, while using her growth past that to boost her up, much like she boosted herself earlier. Her glowing review of both herself and Marinette weaving together to make both more meaningful and influential than they would be in isolation.

On a personal note, I’ve always thought Alya’s role in Origins with her helping to defend Marinette, encourage her, and Marinette’s deep appreciation and respect for Alya because of that has been massively overlooked, with very few fics acknowledging how meaningful that was to Marinette, to the point that she pushed Tikki to go to Alya instead (though admittedly a lot of that was her own insecurities talking). Heck, both times she transformed in Origins were because Alya was in danger, and Alya’s encouragement helped persuade her to actually jump into the fight with Stoneheart! 

Alya continues encouraging Marinette by giving her own mindset as part of an inspiration.

Tears were beginning to streak down her best friend’s face again. Alya plowed ahead. “I can’t do much to help Ladybug-” God, she wanted so badly to tell Marinette about Rena Rouge, but she couldn’t endanger her. Not now, not ever. “-but I can’t do nothing. The Ladyblog lets me show people, more directly than any news channel ever will, that Ladybug and Chat Noir and everyone else are fighting for us. That they’re real people, brave and determined and wonderful, but in need of our support and understanding, too. Of course akuma-chasing is scary, I’ve probably died more times than anyone else in Paris, but I. Can’t. Do. Nothing.” (Chapter 1)

She’s leading by example, trying to show Marinette how and why she can and should stand up for what’s right. Acknowledging how scared she can be, that there’s a limit to what she can do, but still doing what she can to help. 

If Alya wasn’t scared at all and WAS able to do everything she wanted to do to help Ladybug the speech wouldn’t have been as effective. By showing how she tries anyway even though it’s difficult because the cause is so important to her, she shows Marinette how and why she should do the same. 

After Marinette agrees with Alya about trying to stop Lila they start going over what they know in order to come up with a plan to stop her, Marinette’s newfound determination shining through. She can have some major insecurities, as would be expected of anyone, especially a kid, but what makes her interesting and inspiring is how she works past it, compensates, or how other people help her if she can’t do something herself. 

And then Marinette tells Alya that she wasn’t the only one who knew - Adrien did too.

And that sets Alya storming off to find Adrien before Marinette can explain further.

Remember that Adrien salt I mentioned earlier? This is where it comes into play.

It starts with her thoughts on the situation before even meeting up with Adrien:

How dare Agreste leave his “friend” out to dry like that? It didn’t even make sense. She could understand Adrien wanting to avoid conflict. Nino had shared bits and pieces of Adrien’s home life, and it didn’t seem like the boy had ever had much success standing up for himself. Appeasement must be all he knew how to do. But this? This was something else entirely. He could have at least been there for Marinette. (Chapter 1)

The anger over Adrien supposedly leaving Marinette high and dry while Lila continued lying (and even targeting) Marinette is common in Chameleon-related Adrien salt. But even at this stage, even while angry at Adrien, she still acknowledges his perspective and why he might not do so.

Alya’s FURIOUS right now and it shows, not only in her actions (demanding Adrien follow her and slamming him against a wall) but even in the word choices of her thoughts, with her thinking he has “a backbone made of rubber” and commenting on his “stupid designer shirt”. That anger’s just generally clouding her thoughts right then, which is realistic even if it’s not entirely fair to Adrien; emotions are like that, they’re NOT always fair.

Luckily, Adrien DOES have an explanation.

“You knew what Lila was doing. This whole goddamn time. And you did nothing. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Lila wasn’t hurting anyone-”

“She was hurting Marinette,” snarled Alya. Some rational part of her was surprised she hadn’t been akumatized. Right now, she wasn’t sure who she’d go for first as a supervillain; the liar herself, or her pet enabler.

“-at first! At first, Alya! You didn’t let me finish! I know, okay? Why do you think Lila got Marinette expelled, and then immediately turned around and got her back in? I made her!” (Chapter 1)

I really like this. Adrien has a point - Lila WASN’T hurting anyone, not as far as he knew (and as far as Alya knows for that matter). There was speculation among the fanbase that Lila might promise things she couldn’t deliver on, depriving the class of legit opportunities in favor of made-up ones, but that doesn’t appear to have actually happened. It could be argued that her using her brainwashing magic is inherently harmful, but it’s not like anyone knew that’s what it was; he and Marinette just knew she was lying, and while that’s generally not something to approve of, it’s not the end of the world either. He and Marinette have done it quite a bit themselves, albeit for better reasons than Lila was (usually).

Something I like even better though? This takes into account Adrien’s actions AFTER Chameleon, him finding out that Lila was actively dangerous and malicious and protecting Marinette as best he knew how.

Meekly, Adrien explained the deal he’d made. Implicitly, before that horrible day, and explicitly, after it. He’d been using himself as a distraction almost since the beginning. Drawing fire for Marinette, sacrificing himself, like Chat Noir did so often for Ladybug. And he hadn’t said anything, not wanting anyone to worry about him.

Marinette’s words ran through Alya’s mind, and she checked them against her memories. While she hadn’t paid nearly as much attention to either Lila or Adrien… that bitch really had been all over him for months now. Alya knew Adrien didn’t like being touched unless he completely trusted the other person. The first time Nino had clapped him on the back unexpectedly, he’d nearly fled the room. Chloé was one thing; as despicable as she could be, she had been Adrien’s only friend for a long time. But Lila? Adrien clearly disliked Lila, but had let her do that to him, just to keep her from bothering his friend, and now had signed up to deal with an even worse version of it at his goddamn job to protect Marinette.

Alya was getting a headache. If in the next hour Nino did something to give her this kind of emotional whiplash, she’d shatter on the spot. Her heart was already in pieces, for Adrien as well as Marinette now. These idiots. (Chapter 1)

This whole thing is a really good response to all the “Adrien left Marinette to rot and even discouraged her from defending herself!” salt. Because no. He didn’t. Once he saw that Marinette was in danger he did everything in his power, everything he knew how to do to protect her, even though it meant enduring Lila’s harassment, having to deal with her when he wanted nothing to do with her. Most Chameleon-inspired Adrien salt conveniently ignores that. 

And Alya recognizes and appreciates it, can see what he’s been going through, and just wants to hug and protect her friends who’ve been through so much. 

There’s one last bit of this encounter I want to emphasize, something that Alya needs to knock into Adrien’s skull, something that he needed to hear and understand.

Then she pulled away and slapped him in the face. Not hard, but enough to get her point across. “You were still wrong, Adrien. Lila was harming someone right from the beginning. She was harming you. And you matter too.” (Chapter 1)

This is an important point. She WAS harming him from the beginning. Heck, her introduction, the very first glimpse of her we ever got, was her stroking her finger down Adrien’s chest while he looked VERY freaked out, then her dragging him away and lying to him, and she didn’t exactly improve in subsequent appearances.

She may have deliberately tried to hurt Marinette (as both Marinette and Ladybug, though she didn’t know that) the most, but she’s harmed Adrien a lot too, even though that was not her end goal - she was still fine with that outcome.

But Alya’s on the case. She’ll protect her friends.

I don’t want to go TOO in-depth on the rest of the story - I figure this’ll be more of a rec and review, so I don’t want to spoiler it a lot - but I will say this.

The romance here may not be the main point, but it helps to develop the characters a bit, and the Alyanette in particular serves to show off what an awesome person Alya is by letting Marinette show her faith in her, show why she loves, cares, and respects Alya so much, all while letting Alya demonstrate why that faith is well-placed and just letting Alya have a good time and have nice things.

And the Lila exposure? Puts Alya front and center, letting her do most of it (most of what we the reader see anyway), and letting her have fun along the way.

I’ve seen many Lila exposure fics. But none that shine the spotlight on Alya quite as well as this one does.

[tsuki-chibi]

Marinette March Day 26: Comfort

Behind? Catch up on AO3: Under My Umbrella

-------

"It's time," Plagg announced.

Marinette's heart turned over. "Is it really?"

"It's 1:45am," Plagg replied, glancing from her to her computer. Adrien turned around, looking pale. He'd been officially working on homework, but Marinette suspected that he had gotten as far on his homework as she had on her design for Jagged. Which was to say, they had made no progress at all.

After she'd talked to Chloé, she'd realized that going back to Alya's was pointless. Her parents and sisters would be home soon, which meant that Nino, Adrien and Marinette couldn't hang around for long without some uncomfortable questions being asked. So Marinette had gone home, figuring that it couldn't hurt for her parents to see her face for a bit. She’d pretended that she’d slipped out early that morning to meet Alya before school before rushing up to her room.

Because Adrien couldn't go home, of course - even if he'd wanted to, none of them would've felt comfortable with Adrien or the Black Cat miracuous being under the same roof as Hawkmoth. So Chat had been waiting for her on her balcony, and she'd slipped him into her room with her parents none the wiser. They had shared Marinette’s supper, and otherwise wiled away the time as best they could.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Marinette asked, twisting to get a better look at her partner. He looked as tired as she felt, but sleep had been out of the question for both of them.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Adrien said, very quietly. Plagg and Tikki exchanged worried looks, and Marinette bit her lip. Chat had always been much better at words than she was. Whereas her tongue twisted and stumbled around, he seemed to know what to say to make every situation better. It was frustrating to know that she couldn't comfort him the way he deserved. Then again, was there anything anyone could say that would make this situation better? Probably not.

"Okay," she said finally, deciding that now wasn't the time. "Tikki, spots on!"

"Plagg, claws out!"

It was very strange to see Chat standing in her bedroom and know that Adrien lay beneath the familiar mask. Ladybug held her hand out to him. Chat closed the distance between them without hesitation and took her hand. Rather than leave, she took a moment to pull him into a hug. Remembering her earlier desire to give him more hugs made her feel both sad and determined, because it turned out that Chat got even less hugs than she could have ever imagined. She hugged him tightly for as long as she dared before reluctantly letting go.

"You get the miracle box. I'll get everyone organized?" she said, touching his cheek.

"Right. I'll meet you at the school," Chat said, and she nodded and stepped back, searching his eyes. Transforming and the hug seemed to have calmed him down a little, which was good. She wished she could say the same for herself.

They went their separate ways once they were outside. She, Nino, Adrien and Alya had talked it over and ultimately decided against inviting the police along. Adrien had pointed out that it was dangerous to have what were essentially civilians along when dealing with Hawkmoth and Mayura; if something went wrong, the battle could turn nasty very quickly and the Agreste mansion, while not small, would still be a confining space. Alya had promised to bring her phone along so that she could take some incriminating pictures just in case the word of Paris's superheroes wasn't enough.

Ladybug landed just inside of the gates of the school a couple minutes later. Alya and Nino were already there, and so were Kim and Max. Seeing them helped to ease Ladybug's nerves and she smiled as she walked over. Before she could say anything though, Luka and Kagami emerged out of the shadows and came over. Right on their heels was Chloé, who crossed her arms as she approached and looked like she was trying very hard to pretend that she had accidentally stumbled upon their meeting as opposed to having received a direct invitation. Everyone looked expectantly at Ladybug, who swallowed.

"Thank you for coming. I appreciate it more than you know," she said softly. "We're just waiting for two more people."

"Wait, two?" Alya said, looking confused. "I know we're waiting for Chat, but all of the other miraculous holders are here."

"Uh, I've only used my miraculous like once," Kim said, half-raising his hand.

"Me too," Max admitted, straightening his glasses. "I don't know how helpful we'll be."

"Hopefully, everything will go smoothly and Chat and I will do the bulk of the work. You're all here for back-up," Ladybug reassured them. "And if you don't want to be here, I understand. None of you are under any obligation to stay."

Chloé scoffed. "I want my miraculous. I'm not going anywhere."

"Of course we're going to help," Luka said, giving her a gentle smile. "Hawkmoth has put everyone in this city in danger. The least we can do is support you and Chat Noir now that you're finally getting the chance to take him down!"

Kagami nodded her agreement. "I would be honored to help," she said quietly.

"That's great and all, but who else are we waiting for?" Nino said.

"Uh... me?"

Several people jumped, which had Ladybug biting back an amused smile. Alix, for all that she was loud and sassy, was very good at sneaking up on people. Judging by the smirk on her face, she had done it on purpose. Alya looked utterly baffled by the sight of her, and Ladybug could tell that Alya was running every akuma battle through her head in an effort to figure out where Alix had come into the picture. Of course, that was something Alya wouldn't be able to figure out no matter how much she thought about it: the future Bunnix had, for the most part, only interacted with Ladybug, Chat, and Alix.

"Alix? Wait, what?" Alya said finally.

"Dude, you never told me you had a miraculous!" Kim exclaimed.

Alix rolled her eyes at him. "That's because I technically didn't. My future self has one."

"Your... future self?" Max repeated, eyebrows furrowing.

"Alix is, or will be, the holder of the Rabbit miraculous. Much like the Snake miraculous, it deals with time," Ladybug said, figuring that she'd better explain before everyone got even more confused. Luka suddenly looked very interested in the conversation.

"The Rabbit miraculous, huh? I haven't heard of that one," Alya said, frowning.

Alix shrugged. "Like I said, I've technically never held it. I always knew that I would someday, but I didn't think it would happen so soon."

"From what I can tell, Bunnix is usually our last line of defence," Ladybug said. "I asked her to come here tonight as a precautionary measure. If something goes wrong, then Bunnix can go back in time to tell us not to do whatever we did that made things go wrong."

Nino squinted. "I hope that sentence made sense to you, because it didn't to me."

"I get it," Luka said, and of course he did. Ladybug shot him a smile.

"I get it too," Alix said. "And I can definitely do that." She looked small but determined, standing there with her hands shoved in her pockets.

"That's good, because we're going to need all hands on deck," Chat said as he dropped down next to Ladybug. He had a bunch of miraculous in his hands, which he quickly passed out: the Snake to Luka, the Dragon to Kagami, the Monkey to Kim, the Horse to Max, the Fox to Alya, the Turtle to Nino, the Rabbit to Alix, and lastly, the Bee to Chloé. Ladybug watched closely as Chloé affixed the Bee miraculous into her hair.

The street lit up with an array of brightly colored lights as the kwamis appeared. Over the general murmur, Ladybug couldn't hear what Chloé said to Pollen. But whatever it was made Pollen smile, and then Pollen flew up and kissed Chloé's cheek. Ladybug didn't think it was her imagination that Chloé's eyes looked a little shiny as Chloé brought her hands up and hugged Pollen close.

“Okay, everyone. You know what to do,” Ladybug said.

“Trixx, let’s pounce!”

“Waayz, shell on!”

“Sass, scales slither!”

“Longg, bring the storm!”

“Xuppu, showtime!”

“Pollen, buzz on!”

“Kaalki, full gallop!”

“Fluff, clockwise!”

Alix was last, her voice uncertain, but she was swallowed up in the same light as the rest. When the light faded, Ladybug was left looking at several different superheroes. Seeing them all in one place was a little overwhelming. She had never given out so many miraculous before, and suddenly she understood why Master Fu had always been apprehensive about letting too many miraculous be active at once.

But then Chat’s hand settled on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze like he could sense exactly what was going through her head. He smiled at her and she smiled back, reminding herself that there were their friends. She trusted every single person here – even, she realized, Queen Bee. They were all united over a common goal, and they wouldn’t let her or Chat down.

“Okay,” she said. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Pegasus, you’re going to create a portal into the Agreste mansion.”

“The Agreste mansion? Wait, is Hawkmoth –” Ryuko’s eyes went wide.

“Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste,” Ladybug confirmed grimly. “And Mayura is Nathalie Sancoeur.”

“Oh my god,” Queen Bee said quietly, and Ladybug knew she was thinking of Adrien. She thought, glancing sideways at her partner, that it probably wouldn’t be long before Chat told Queen Bee the truth about his identity.

“Focus,” Ladybug said, clapping her hands lightly. “Queen Bee, Ryuko, Viperion, you’re with me to go after Hawkmoth. Rena Rouge, King Monkey and Carapace, you’re with Chat Noir and you’re going after Mayura. Bunnix and Pegasus, the two of you are going to wait in the hall. If something goes wrong, you’re our back-up. So Pegasus, make sure you feed up your kwami if you have to.”

“Right,” Pegasus said.

“Everyone ready?” Chat said. His grip on her shoulder now was tight; he didn’t like the idea of them splitting up, but it made the most sense. And there was no way in hell she was letting him go after Hawkmoth. Not after what had happened in the alternate timeline.

Hearing the agreeing rumbles, Ladybug took a deep breath. “Then Pegasus… do your thing.”

“Voyage!”

[sophcaro]

Back in Time | WMatsui - Chapter 15

 Two months later.

Rena walked into the entrance vestibule and retrieved her coat from the hanger, dressing up and slipping into her shoes. She shut her eyes close, as if to mentally prepare for what was to come. She felt a sudden shiver of apprehension. For the past two months, those visits had turned into a routine. Nevermind how fragile and shattered they always left her, for nothing in the world she would put an end to them. Rena was extracted from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching. She took time to recompose herself and slowly glanced over her shoulder, making eye contact with Akane.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Akane offered, conflicted. “I could come with you.”

“Thank you, but I already called a taxi,” Rena said, reminding her. “And you have to be at work in half an hour, remember?”

“I can afford to arrive a bit late,” Akane said, with gentle insistence. “I don’t have any important meeting this morning.”

“Arrive late? What would the CEO think of her chief operating officer behaving in such a way?” Rena said, attempting a light, joking tone. Her friend didn’t seem fooled by it. “Thank you, but...” she added in a weak murmur, a forced smile curving her mouth but not reaching her eyes. “I prefer to go alone.”

Rena saw her hesitating, her mouth opening and closing as if she wished to add something, but she didn’t say anything. Yes, she preferred being alone during those visits. Tears always fell with great ease, too hard to contain, and she refused to offer such a sight to her friends again. They had already witnessed her sorrow far too often for her liking. She wanted to retrieve a semblance of dignity.

When did she come out of her state of torpor and inactivity? It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment. At first, she went downstairs to share meals in common, returning to the darkness of her bedroom straight after. Progressively, she went out an hour, and two, slowly back to interacting with the other members of the household.

Alice, the family’s domestic robot, had been the easiest to start with. Rena didn’t feel ashamed to look like a mess in front of her. She patiently listened as Rena spoke. Her replies were always tainted with a certain innocence and naivety, characteristic of her robotic conception, but she never asked questions more than necessary. Rena felt comfortable in her presence; Alice was a simple but easy company.

Gaining confidence, Rena allowed herself to engage in conversations with Akane and Airi. A few minutes at first. As the weeks went on, it turned into an hour, then two. Conversations were light and trivial. Mostly non-important. But the renewed socialization enabled her to slowly come out of her shell. Shizuru, Akane and Airi’s quiet and good-mannered daughter, occasionally took the initiative to engage a conversation with her, mostly to share her everyday life at school.

The only person Rena hadn’t managed to interact with was her own distant daughter. During meals, Natsuki focused on her plate and barely said a word. When they found themselves in the same room, Rena sometimes caught her daughter staring at her. As soon as their eyes met, Natsuki looked away hastily.

Right now, as Rena finished preparing herself for her departure, and she observed the two children playing in the living room, her eyes suddenly locked with Natsuki’s. Rena distinguished a flicker of hesitation in her expression. These last few weeks, it wasn’t the first time she witnessed it. Her attitude had changed ever so slightly. She refused to talk to her, but the visual exchanges lingered, as if she was… torn? Yet, this time once more, the brief visual interaction ended as every previous one. Her daughter’s reproachful and upset look: Rena would never get used to it. And it made her heart clench in pain every single time.

“You should tell her the truth,” Akane said tentatively. “It’s not right… It’s not right to make her hate you for this.”

Rena took a deep, shaky breath. It wasn’t the first time she brought up this topic. “It would only make her suffer.”

“Because it’s best to let her believe her mama abandoned her? Don’t you think she could believe it’s her fault if she left?”

Rena’s eyes widened. “No, she wouldn’t…” she stammered, words failing her. “She believes it’s my fault. She wouldn’t think…” At Akane’s serious expression, the realization hit her. A pang of shame swept through her. Her wish was to protect Natsuki from the harsh truth, and she had been more than willing to put all the blame on herself. All this time, this eventuality hadn’t crossed her mind.  

Rena turned away, not wanting her friend to witness the indignant tears that threatened to come suddenly to her eyes. “I know I have to tell her the truth. Trust me, I do.” Her voice was husky with despair. Deep down, Rena was aware she couldn’t lie to Natsuki eternally. But how could she consider having this conversation when she felt herself breaking at the simple idea? “I just don’t know how…” With an effort, she lifted her eyes and gave Akane a pleading look. “I need a little more time. Please. I promise I’ll tell her.”

“Alright,” Akane said, offering her a sad but friendly smile. She wrapped her fingers around Rena’s palm and, feeling it shaking, gave it a light squeeze. “It’s fine. On your own terms. When you’re ready.”

Rena was secretly relieved when she didn’t insist, and turned on her heels. “Ah, wait!” Akane sounded urgent behind her back. “Before you leave, could you sign this? It completely slipped my mind.” Akane retrieved a digital tablet from her briefcase. “It’s for the launching of the new project. The board of directors approved it; it only requires your signature.”

Rena’s gaze dropped to the tablet Akane was handling her. She skimmed through the text and, without second thoughts, added her signature at the bottom of the page.

“By the way….” After a moment’s hesitation, Akane continued. “When are you planning on coming back to the office?”

Rena tried to hide her unease with a fake smile. “From what I’ve seen, you’re managing the company very well without me.”

“I’m doing my best to run it in your absence and I’ll gladly continue as long as needed,” Akane said, trying to sound reassuring. “But the board of directors have raised concerns. They are understanding of the situation, but they fear an impact on our partners and investors on the long-term.” She swallowed, and her expression turned apprehensive. “The last thing I want is to rush you into going back to work if you’re not ready. I hesitated a lot to mention this, but I can’t keep it to myself any longer. The board needs to be reassured, and my words have limited effect. I’m afraid only the CEO’s presence will manage to put them at ease.”

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to…” Rena’s voice trailed off weakly.

On a few occasions, Akane and Airi had suggested her to consider going back to work. They seemed inclined to believe that, the slow and progressive regain of an activity would do her some good. She had difficulty sharing their view on the subject. It already caused her great effort to leave the confinement of her bedroom. Even more to interact with others. She hadn’t hesitated to delegate the reins of the company to Akane, having no doubt it would be in good hands. Hearing the issues Akane was going through made her feel slightly guilty, fearing to have placed a heavy burden on her shoulders.

At the sound of her watch beeping, she read the message she had received. “The taxi is here. I should be back in an hour or two.”

“Take all the time you need,” Akane assured her. “I’ll drop Natsuki and Shizuru at school on my way to work. Airi has an appointment at the office this morning, but she’ll work from home in the afternoon. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to ask Alice if you need anything.”

Rena nodded silently and opened the front door, but couldn’t help stealing one last glance in the direction of the living room. She lingered on her daughter, attentive to her every move, watching her play with Shizuru. Pain tore at her heart at the deterioration of their relationship. When would she be able to be a real mother to her? When would she find the strength to confess the truth about her mother’s death? Despite the uncertainties placating her, Rena felt a twinge of reassurance. Natsuki wasn’t alone. In this household, she was surrounded by people who had undivided affection for her, especially an adorable friend by her side.

 **********

Matsui family vault.

Rena’s footsteps came to a halt, and she read the golden inscription carved into the black marble façade. Despite its majestic, imposing stature, the grand funeral building was located in a quiet, isolated area of the cemetery, preserving it from needless attention. Its Roman architecture, sharp contrast with the modern technology of Tokyo, was a direct influence from her great-grandfather’s legacy. Rena wasn’t a capricious child. She didn’t raise her voice in presence of adults. She always obeyed her father, following his instructions to the letter. At her great-grandfather’s passing, and her father suggested to reduce his body to ashes and place him into a cremation site, she refused to stay silent.

Her father and her great-grandfather didn’t get along. Their conflictual relationship went back to the time when she was a young child. Rena never got to learn the official reason behind their dispute, but as the years went by, and she became more attentive of her environment, she figured her father’s frequent infidelities, added to his lack of paternal love, were not innocent to it. In the professional field, no one could match Akihide Matsui’s pioneering spirit and talented skills as a business man. It had propelled Matsui Corporation in the top 10 companies of the country after one year of existence.

But not the same could be said of the father figure he represented. Rena had learned to grow up without a mother, and with limited contact with her grandparents. Raised by nannies, her education taken care of by knowledgeable but dull private tutors. Ignored by an absent father who gave more attention to his work and fleeting conquests, Rena was a smart but lonely child. Her only sources of happiness resulted from the times when her father, in his rare moments of leniency, allowed her to visit her great-grandfather on one of his archeologist’s sites.

Consigning her great-grandfather to oblivion in one of the dozens cold and soulless cremation buildings that abounded around the city was out of the question. She had spoken up, staking her claim, refusing to give up until he accepted to erect a site worthy of his heritage. To her surprise, the conversation didn’t turn as heated as she feared. Maybe her father had been caught off guard by the unexpected moment of rebellion. After a long silence, during which his expression proved unreadable, he had calmly stated it was a waste of money but agreed to her request, under the strict condition that she took care of all dispositions.

Rena didn’t let herself get discouraged by the challenge.

At the age of 15, Rena surrounded herself with the best in their field of expertise. She brought her input into the elaboration of the construction plans, and undertook the building of the family’s vault.

For a little while, Rena stayed in front of the entrance, feeling a sense of pride at what she had accomplished. After 15 years of existence, the vault still stood proudly, preserving the remains of the members of the Matsui family.

Extending her hand, Rena placed her palm flat on the rectangular panel located on the left side of the door. A light scanned her hand, and Rena saw her picture and name pop up on the screen. “Matsui Rena-san,” announced a robotic voice. “Authorization granted.” The door opened up, and Rena walked inside.

Over the years and the evolution of society in terms of robotics, Rena had taken the liberty to make a few changes to the original building. Securing the main access had been her main concern, followed by the customization of the interior’s design. The vault was divided into separate rooms, one for every family member, each space arranged carefully to allow visitors a proper time of reflection.

Rena had stopped counting how often she came to visit Jurina. Her knees weakened and her chin trembled at the sight of the coffin positioned in the middle of the room. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and progressed further inside. The walls were decorated on all sides with the virtual projection of a forest landscape, accompanied by the light rustle of wind in the branches, and the melodic chirping of birds.  

Rena wasn’t an adept of excessive technology, but she didn’t regret implementing those modifications. They contributed to create a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere to the sad and cold place. Separating her from the white coffin, was a transparent glass window, secured by another control panel. Rena repeated the process and placed her hand on it, the quick scan confirming her identity, and allowing her to enter.

“Hello, my love.” Rena slid her fingers along the polished surface of the white wooden coffin. “I miss you. I miss you so much.” Her voice cracked; her eyes grew large and liquid. “But I guess you’re tired of hearing that week after week? You probably prefer if I tell you about my day? I’m afraid it will lack originality.”

Rena staggered a few steps away from the coffin and glass window, the door closing automatically at her passage. Feebly, she sat down in the chair behind her. Not taking her eyes from the coffin, she wondered when those conversations became a habit. The first time she passed that door in Akane’s presence, her insides had exploded into pieces, a wail of excruciating sorrow bursting from her throat at the sight of what remained of her wife. As seconds transformed into minutes, and her pain showed no sign of diminishing, her best friend hadn’t waited any longer to pull her out of the place.

The second visit hadn’t gone any better. Rena had taken the initiative to flee the room as soon as tears rolled down her cheeks. Airi, who had accompanied her, hadn’t said a word and drove her back home, but the renewed failed experience had left Rena devastated. A few weeks went by before she gathered the courage to make a new attempt. She could literally feel the anticipation emanating from Akane when the door slid open, almost as if she was ready to drag her out at any instant.

To Rena’s relief, she managed to stand on her feet without breaking down. With unsteady steps, she had approached the glass window, holding her tears as best as she could. She hadn’t been able to stay long, overwhelmed by emotions, but when she left, Rena realized the important step she had achieved. The following visits marked a further progress. Not only was she capable of going alone without Akane or Airi’s assistance, she had formed a sort of routine. Talking to Jurina for an hour about everything and anything. Somehow, those visits became less painful, even bringing her some comfort, almost as if Jurina was still present and hadn’t completely left her side.

Rena’s gaze drifted to the picture frame of her smiling wife and the digital tablet disposed on a small rounded table. The tablet contained a list of files, pictures and videos, memories uploaded by visitors. It was a way of honoring the deceased, transmit the memory of the one who had left this earth but remained in people’s hearts and minds. Friends, co-workers… So many had contributed to preserve Jurina’s memory, and Rena was almost sure to have viewed all of them.

During her visits, Rena often watched at least one video. The painful and complex nature of her relationship with her daughter pushed her to play one in particular. One of the videos that Rena had herself uploaded. “Play memory n°11.”

“Playing memory n°11.” A robotic voice repeated. The forest background dissipated on the opposite wall, giving way to the video’s projection.

“Come on, blow your candles!” Jurina, who was wearing a silly blue birthday hat, could hardly contain her enthusiasm, clapping in her hands. On the opposite side of the table was seated Rena, who was doing her best not to laugh at her wife’s childish behavior. As of Natsuki, she was positioned between them, staring with envy at the chocolate cake. Four white lit candles were disposed as a circle and surrounded a larger one in the middle, representing the letter 4.

As if preparing for a complex challenge, Natsuki’s expression grew serious. Leaning over the table, she inflated her lungs and exhaled, blowing out the candles. All white candles extinguished, but not the one in the middle. The flame wavered left and right, but didn’t go out.

“Ah, Natsuki didn’t blow hard enough,” Jurina said. Her teasing tone didn’t escape Rena’s attention. She exchanged a look with her, and understanding crossed her face at the mischievous wink she received.

“I did!” Natsuki glared at the rebellious candle. With a great gasp, she filled her lungs afresh and blew with all her might. The candle flame flickered, a smile of victory already playing on Natsuki’s lips, only to vanish when the flame didn’t falter. The candle flame stood proudly in the middle, unaffected by Natsuki’s second powerful but failing attempt. “No!! It’s not… It’s not possible!”

Natsuki stared at the cake with anger and frustration, and Rena decided to put an end to her misery. “It appears your mama played a trick on you and bought one of those old vintage candles, didn’t she?”

Natsuki’s eyes widened and she looked at Jurina in shock. “W-What does it mean! How do I blow it?!”

“You can’t.” Jurina’s face split into a wide grin. She reached for a secret switch behind the candle. The flame, that had given Natsuki such a hard time, extinguished by magic.

Natsuki’s mouth dropped open.

“Taste your birthday cake.” Jurina cut the cake and put a slice on Natsuki’s plate. “Your mommy baked it especially for you.”

“Y-You did?” Natsuki tilted her head in Rena’s direction, incredulous.

“Yes, I did,” Rena replied, finding her reaction entertaining. “Why do you look so surprised?”

Natsuki could not hide her embarrassment. “It’s just that mommy is always so busy.” She lowered her voice, fumbling for words. “I didn’t think she had time to…”

Rena didn’t feel offended. Her daughter was only stating the truth. As CEO of a major company, her high position required a lot of personal investment and charged her with great responsibilities. However, this job she loved also had its disadvantages. Amongst them, enough free time to spend with her family. “Yes, mommy works a lot.” Rena drew her chair closer and reached for Natsuki’s face, stroking her left cheek gently. “But Natsuki must never forget how much I love her.”

Natsuki blushed and nodded, smiling shyly.

“And I love you too!” Jurina exclaimed, and kissed Natsuki’s other cheek. “In an hour, aunty Airi and Akane will be coming over with Shizuru. I’ve been told your girlfriend has a special present for you.”

Rena shot her wife a slight disapproving look.

Natsuki went scarlet. “S-Shizuru is not my girlfriend!” Her gaze quickly dropped to her plate and she took a piece, lifting her fork to her mouth. She opened her mouth and tasted it, her whole face beaming with the liveliest, happiest smile.

Rena watched her eat her cake, the way she gulped it down in barely three bites, soon requesting another slice. Rena looked over the other side of the table, and exchanged a subtle look of amusement with Jurina. Rena didn’t hesitate to comply to her daughter’s wishes, cutting another slice for her. Natsuki ate the second slice almost as fast as the previous one, emptying her plate in no time. Natsuki turned in her direction and placed a spontaneous kiss on her cheek, and Rena felt the warmth of pleasure fill her chest. Each day that passed, she realized how fortunate she was to have such a wonderful family.

The video had some footage left, but Rena wasn’t paying attention to it anymore, tears blinding her vision. Those precious family moments reminded her of what she had lost, and how strongly she wished she could go back in the past. She got extracted from her thoughts by the sound of the front door beeping. Caught off guard, she swung around, a robotic voice refusing the entrance to the new visitor. A second attempt was made, only for the control panel to deny access.

Rena heard footsteps receding, and she hesitated. The fact that the visitor wasn’t granted access only meant one thing: their identity wasn’t recognized by the system. Curiosity getting the best of her, Rena stood up from the chair and moved towards the entrance. As she slid it open, the stranger faced her back. It was a long, dark-haired slender woman, dressed in a long brown coat and a matching pair of boots. She wore light makeup, and her lips were slightly red. Her whole appearance was quite elegant and graceful, and Rena figured she had to be in her late twenties.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance,” the woman said, bowing respectfully. “I hope it’s not inappropriate, but I was wondering if I could pay my respect to Jurina-san.”

Rena studied her, and tried to figure out who she was. One thing was certain: she wasn’t part of Jurina’s close friends and colleagues. Otherwise, she would have recognized her immediately. The woman didn’t give her a bad impression, and struck her as sincere in her intentions. After a short moment’s reflection, Rena gave her a nod of consent. “Yes, of course. Please come in.”

Rena lead the way, the woman’s hesitant steps following her. Rena entered and realized the video was still playing. She switched it off hastily. The frozen image of the happy family faded on the wall at once, replaced by the peaceful forest scenery. Rena stood at the back of the room, using the opportunity that the woman was approaching the glass window to observe her attentively. A multitude of questions piled up in her head, one more pressing in particular. Who was that woman?

“Where are my manners. I didn’t introduce myself.” The woman turned around, and gave her a half-embarrassed smile. “I’m Iriyama-san.”

“Matsui-san. A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Rena replied politely.

“Yes, I know who you are,” the woman said and, witnessing Rena’s confusion, added. “It would be hard not to recognize the face of the CEO of one of the top 10 companies in the country.”

“Right…” Rena murmured, feeling a little silly. “Sometimes, I forget anonymity is a luxury I can’t afford.”

The woman’s face became sober, and somewhat uneasy. “I want to express my sincere apologies for your loss.”

Rena’s features darkened. “Thank you, I appreciate your kind words.” She recovered quickly and smiled, but it just barely made it to her eyes. “Forgive me, but I don’t think we’ve ever met?”

“No, we haven’t. I lived abroad for many years, and came back to Japan recently. When I heard about this tragedy on the news… I could hardly believe it. Jurina-san and I didn’t part on good terms, but I knew I had to come and visit her. My eternal regret is that I’ll never have the opportunity to tell her how sorry I am for the pain I caused her.”

Rena was destabilized, unsure how to react to the confession. And what about the strange familiarity she had used to call her wife? For a while, they didn’t speak, and the woman redirected her attention to the casket visible through the glass window. “How… did you know Jurina?”

“We met in college. For two years, we studied in the same class. Until my actions caused our paths to drift apart,” Iriyama-san replied, with a sad undertone in her voice. “I was young and foolish, and hurt someone I truly cared about. It took me too long to realize my mistake and, once I did, Jurina and I had already lost contact. And now… Now I’ll never be able to ask for her forgiveness...”

She trailed off, and silence stretched between them for an eternity, before she added with a twinge of embarrassment. “I’m sorry for interrupting your moment of reflection. Once more, I want to express how deeply sorry I am for your loss. I couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of the video, and I can see you formed a beautiful family. I can’t even imagine the degree of your pain.”

Rena stayed quiet, noticing from her peripheral vision the other woman walking towards the exit. That’s when it clicked. “I know who you are.”

Iriyama-san tilted her head back. The look in her eyes betrayed her surprise.

“Jurina spoke about you,” Rena started, putting pieces of the puzzle together. “The way your relationship ended hurt her a lot, but…” Rena was a bit ill-at-ease broaching this particular subject, but kept on, wishing to convey as much honesty as possible in her words. “Eventually, she managed to move on and forgave you. She found happiness again.” Rena offered her a small, tentative smile. “She wouldn’t have wanted you to live the rest of your life with regrets, so I hope you’ll be able to forgive yourself and put the past behind.”

It was a long while before Iriyama-san summoned the composure to speak.

“Thank you. Thank you for saying that,” Iriyama-san replied, with a flare of emotion in her voice. “And yes, I can tell she was truthfully happy with you.” Her face softened slightly. “It might be difficult to hear such a thing during those times of hardship you’re going through, but once your sorrow will have decreased enough, I hope you’ll find a way to move forward and rediscover a taste for life.”

Those were the last words they exchanged.

Iriyama-san offered her a polite bow and withdrew from the room, her last words lingering in Rena’s mind.

 **********

 It was 6 in the morning when Rena tiptoed out of her bedroom, careful to make as little noise as possible. The house was plunged in darkness when she walked down the stairs, and settled down in the kitchen for a light breakfast. The moment of quiet and solitude was the occasion to contemplate her decision. Fear and uncertainty crossed her features. What if she was going too fast and making a huge mistake?

The sound of feet clattering on the tile floor caught her attention and she looked up from her bowl of cereals. A pair of blue eyes were shining through the kitchen’s dim light and approaching her position. Rena lowered her gaze to the ground. Alice, the family’s domestic robot, was staring fixedly at her.

“You’re up early, Miss Rena-san. Is something wrong? Do I need to warn the mistresses of your presence?”

“No, it won’t be necessary,” Rena said, whispering back. “I have to go somewhere, but Airi and Akane don’t need to know about it yet.”

The female robot looked confused. “Mistress Airi and Mistress Akane need to be aware of everything that happens in the house. Not to mention, my role is to look over you. My mistresses were very explicit on that. I cannot disobey a direct order.”

Rena couldn’t help but flash a nostalgic smile. Alice’s sense of dedication and stubbornness reminded her of a special robot who used to share her daily life. It had taken her a little while to adapt to Alfred’s presence. Now that he was gone, Rena realized how much he had come to mean to her. Almost effortlessly, the adorable, helpful little robot had left his imprint in her heart.

“I thank you for taking good care of me.” At the memory of Alfred’s absence, Rena’s faint smile contained a note of sadness. “And you’re not disobeying any order. I was planning on leaving a note. Your mistresses will find it on the living room table as soon as they wake up and come downstairs.”

“Oh, alright.” Alice bobbed her head in agreement. “Thank you for this information. In that case, I can allow you to leave the house.”

Rena followed Alice’s retreating form as she retraced her steps back to her favorite stance by the sofa, the blue glow of her eyes slowly diminishing. Rena redirected her attention to her unfinished breakfast, and brought a spoonful of cereals to her mouth. Putting aside her brief encounter with her morning visitor, a knot formed in Rena’s stomach. She didn’t know if she was ready, but she had to see for herself.

 **********

 It was raining. Of course, it had to be, Rena cursed the droplets of water hitting her face when she stepped out of the taxi and arrived at her final destination. The weather was fine when she left her friends’ house, but it appeared misfortune decided to strike her. A few months ago, she would never have trusted the weather forecast, and systematically brought her mini collapsible umbrella each time she left home. Her carelessness left her both bewildered and slightly ashamed.  

“Matsui-san, please take shelter.”

Rena’s heart skipped a beat when she heard a male voice addressing her from behind, soon seeing an umbrella above her head. She spun around to look at him, her features slowly relaxing when she recognized the male guard. “N-Nakamura-san. I didn’t expect to see you. What are you doing here so early?”

“I always start work at 6 am, Matsui-san,” the guard replied, in a tone of mingled calm and politeness.  

“Oh, that’s right...” Rena showed some uneasiness and hesitation. Was her brain so muddled from being cooped up at home that she couldn’t remember the work schedule of one of her employees? “Tell me. Has… anyone arrived at floor 22?”

“Fuji-san, Minamoto-san and Tamura-san have arrived at floor 7. Mori-san and Haradara-san at floor 2. And a few other employees at floor 5 and 9. But no one from floor 22. You’re the first, Matsui-san.”

A wave of relief washed over her. It was the answer she hoped for. “Thank you, Nakamura-san. I won’t delay you any longer.”

The male guard opened the door for her, and stepped aside. “You’re welcome, Matsui-san. It’s a pleasure to see you back.”

Rena entered the building and didn’t dwell upon the receptionist’s surprised look, getting in the first elevator. Pressing the button 22, she tried to keep her focus on the change of floors numbers as she felt a shiver of unease stir deep down inside her. The feeling was strong, oppressing her chest, and she had to hold onto the handrail to brace herself for fear of losing her balance. Nevermind how hard she tried not to think about it, this place unleashed a stream of memories.  

It was the place where she and Jurina had first met, the latter soaked from head to toe in search of a new job opportunity. It was the place where, as soon as the elevator emptied and they found themselves alone, they had exchanged so many kisses and words of affection. It was the place where Jurina had asked for her hand in marriage, and she had immediately said yes. It was also the place where Jurina had showed her proudly an ultrasound, revealing the arrival of their first child.

The changes of floors felt interminable. 7, 8, 9. Rena panted, every breath burning through her throat. 11, 12, 13. It felt as though this nightmare would never end. 16, 17, 18. The idea of pressing the emergency button crossed her thoughts. Her hand clutched more tightly the railing, so hard her fingers hurt. 20, 21, 22. At last. The opening of the doors felt like a deliverance.

Her feet inched forward and she stepped outside, feeling herself tremble as she heard the doors closing behind her. She marked a long pause and tried to recollect herself, steadying her breathing. When she felt calm enough, she forced her legs to move. She walked forward, her movements stiff and awkward, until she stopped in front of the door leading towards the large office of floor 22.

As she entered, her first instinct was to sweep the place. She was grateful for the emptiness of the floor, mentally thanking Nakamura-san for his reliable memory. If she had opted for coming to the office at such an early time of the day, it was for a good reason. She wanted to avoid meeting people, fearing she wasn’t ready for any further social interaction. Making small chats at home with close friends, was one thing. Being able to hold a proper, civilized discussion with employees was a whole different matter.

She crossed the room, taking time to look around. The location of the desks. The decoration. The names of each employee, that she read and recognized, indicated on the upper right side of the window panel of every desk. Nothing seemed to have changed a bit since the last time she set foot in floor 22. Her path led her to her own private office, only to reach the same observation.

Here and there, there were some subtle signs that her office had been occupied by someone else. Rena recognized a few of Akane’s belongings, from a picture frame of her family, to her own computer. Some files were properly piled up on the left side of the desk. The place hadn’t been rearranged or redecorated, and was as tidied as she left it. Rena stood at the back of the office, feeling a warm, nostalgic feeling fill her chest.

Against all odds, her previous, almost traumatizing, experience in the elevator had vanished from her mind to give way to a more calm, peaceful sensation. When, a little while later, she left her private office and floor 22, Rena found herself conflicted. She thought it wiser to use the staircase, and the long, slow descent gave her plenty of opportunity to reflect on her next course of action.

She had felt at ease within the space of her office, surprising herself in missing her job and responsibilities, but returning to work implied more than sitting behind a desk. She would be required to attend meetings and conferences. Interact on a daily basis with employees, work partners and associates. Today, she had taken an important step forward. But was she ready to return to public life for all that?

I hope you’ll find a way to move forward and rediscover a taste for life.

The words Iriyama-san had pronounced replayed in her mind. These past two months, she had slowly emerged from her torpor. She had learned to appreciate again some aspects of daily life. Her palate became sensitive again; the food didn’t taste bitter anymore. She was capable of holding, as small and trivial they remained, bits of conversations with Airi and Akane. She didn’t feel a mere shadow of her former self anymore, and the light and outside world didn’t frighten her as much.

But she couldn’t get the picture of her wife’s body lying at the morgue out of her mind. Her chest was tight with emotion each time the memory resurfaced. She had to swallow hard to bit back tears and keep control over her feelings. Jurina’s face haunted her thoughts. She wanted to make her smile and hear her laugh. Embrace her and kiss her again. How could she move forward, when her brain refused to accept that Jurina had passed away?

Rena’s feet slowed down, and she halted in front of floor 11. It was one of the offices invested by the Research and Development Department. The department Jurina had managed, and developed so many groundbreaking projects for the past five years. All nervousness and apprehension slipped back to grip her. Every fiber in her body warned her against the idea of entering that floor.

Rena closed her eyes, trying to steady the sudden wave of fear that filled her. She had gathered so much courage to come all this way. She couldn’t turn back. She needed to overcome this new challenge. All her senses were in alert when she stepped inside the office grounds of floor 11, attentive to any noise, any sign that someone might be present. Just as Nakamura-san had stated, this floor was thankfully also void of employees. Rena’s heart was beating with an uneasy, irregular rhythm and she didn’t dwell in the main open space, taking it straight to Jurina’s private office.

Rena stood in front of the entrance, unmoving, and took a deep breath, summoning the last vestiges of her strength. Her hand tremored as she placed it onto the scan, a robotic voice granting her access. She stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind her, and she leaned heavily against it. Her gaze wandered around the room, in search of something out of the ordinary, but everything was the way it should be. Jurina’s office remained untouched, as if frozen in time.

Her black leather office chair. Her desk, with her computer and digital tablets. The square table in a corner of the room, with maps and files and other documents scattered over it. The walls decorated with a blue ocean scenery. At last, the large picture frame hanging on the wall opposite the desk, and representing Jurina’s family. Rena forbade herself to tremble and pushed herself away from the door, stepping closer to the middle of the room. Pulling the office chair, she sat down gingerly, fighting to keep her fragile control.

She tried to ignore the tightening of her stomach muscles, and let her fingers ran across the surface of the desk. She did not actually touch, merely passed the flat of her palm over her wife’s possessions, one after the other, slowly, carefully. When she felt her hand shaking, she withdrew it, and clutched her hands together in her lap. She dragged her eyes away and attempted to stand up, but her whole body felt heavy, refusing to respond, as if it no longer belonged to her.

Rena raised her hand and passed it over her face, closing her eyes, growing despondent as she could feel the tears wet on her cheek. Why on earth did she decide to come back to the office? Airi and Akane only meant well, but she remained too emotionally fragile. She wasn’t in physical and mental capacity to resume work, and this place brought back too many memories.

Absentmindedly, Rena pulled a drawer open, discovering a number of documents stuffed inside. A faint smile crossed her lips at her wife’s slight disordered desk. Jurina’s work was always so perfect and meticulous, that Rena wondered how she achieved such a miracle with her own personal conception of organization. She opened a second drawer, finding another stack of pages. Her attention was grabbed by a white envelope laying on the top of the pile. Blinking in confusion, she retrieved the mysterious envelope, and her body grew rigid as she read the inscription.

Rena.

She almost dropped the envelope; her fingers shook so. She ran her fingertips across the smooth edges and, for a long moment, stared at her name penned in Jurina’s handwriting. What words could be within? Why did she feel so afraid of opening it? She pulled out a letter, carefully unfolding it. It was an old-fashioned style of paper, slightly browned with age, crackling to the touch, just like an ancient parchment. The letter was bordered with a pattern of delicate flowers, that Rena recognized as pink freesias.

Happy 30th anniversary.

Yes, I know. You said you didn’t want to receive anything special. But did you truly expect me to listen? Today is the 30th anniversary of my beautiful wife. And nothing could have stopped me from making this moment unforgettable. For months, I thought a lot about what kind of present to give you. The idea of writing you a letter, and using an old style of paper from this vintage shop you love so much, was the first that came to my mind. I can even imagine your smile right now as you read this letter.

I knew I had to do something significant to mark the occasion. I’m sorry for hiding you the truth for so long. All those evenings, when you kept asking me what was delaying me at work, I had a difficult time to not revealing everything. You are so smart and persuasive. It’s a hard task to conceal anything from you. To be honest, I didn’t even know if I would achieve my objective. During months, I worked relentlessly on this project, as discreetly as possible to not alert anyone.

I did it, Rena.

I finished the plans of the time machine.

Right now, as I’m writing those words, I’m not sure how you will receive the news. I hope you won’t be mad at me for doing it behind your back. I know you said you had put that dream behind, but certain dreams are too meaningful to give up on. I want you to go back in time. Revisit all those wonderful, ancient civilizations you so often speak about. Please accept my gift. Please build the time machine. No one should live their life with regrets, and I never want to see that fire of passion extinguish from your eyes.

With love,

Jurina.

Rena could hardly breathe.

She held the letter between her shaking hands, her eyes transfixed on the words. Over and over, she ran her gaze across them. She had a hard time believing what she was reading. Adrenaline suddenly shot through her as she realized what Jurina had accomplished. A miracle. There was no other way to name it. Rena straightened her shoulders and, tilting her chin up, wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Her eyes gleamed with a newfound determination.

[the-delta-42]

Champion

Based on @lenoreofraven‘s ask response

Ladybug groaned as Rena and Carapace hit the side of a building. Roi Singe, Pegase and Viperion were all nursing similar wounds. Bunnix was clutching her arm and Chat had gone to recharge and bring Queen Bee out of retirement. Ryuuko landed beside Ladybug.

“Any ideas on where the Akuma is?” Ryuuko asked, noticing the stressed look on Ladybug’s face.

“No, and I hope Chat is fast, because I doubt that we can hold on for much longer.” Said Ladybug, rubbing her face, “I know you and Chloe don’t see eye-to-eye, but we are literally pulling as many assets as we can.”

“You were off by two letters.” Said Kagami, frowning, “Do you think it might be in their helmet?”

“Which one?” Came the sarcastic response.

Ladybug could feel her headache getting worse, a couple of thuds behind her and Empress allowed Ladybug to know Chat and Queen Bee had arrived.

“So, what did I miss?” Queen Bee asked, as the Akuma took a swipe at Chat.

“Akuma showed up, we showed up, wiped the floor with us for a bit, Mayura showed up, Mayura left, Senti-monster appeared, Chat went to get you, I have a migraine and it’s not even lunch.” Said Ladybug, unaware of how the spots on the back of her hands started glowing.

“Akuma vanished.” Said Chat, as the Akuma disappeared.

Ladybug snapped.

“OH, FOR FUCKS SAKE!” Ladybug yelled, “I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! WE OUT NUMBER THEM AND SOMEHOW WE’RE LOSING!”

Ladybug didn’t see the looks of fear and horror on her teammates faces, or the camera that was recording her live, or the Akuma, who’d hidden underground, wet themselves in fear. She also didn’t see one of the spots on her suit fly off and into the city.

Nadja could only blink as The Heroes of Paris slowly picked themselves up, as their Leader put the fear of god into everyone in a three-mile radius of her. Ladybug then pitched forwards, being caught by Chat Noir.

“And this, Ladies and Gentlemen,” Said Nadja’s co-host, “is why sleep is important.”

There was a nervous chuckle, as the camera caught Ladybug coming too, Ladybug’s head shot up with a light blue mask around it.

“What the hell?” Said Ladybug, as the thoughts of another filled her head.

“I could ask you the same.” Came a voice from the other end, “I wasn’t expecting any visitors.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t intending on intruding.” Said Ladybug, as her teammates watched her exchange with slight concern.

“It’s fine.” Said the person, “Is everything alright?”

“Akuma attack, this one is a bit more trouble than we first thought.” Said Ladybug, her mind then freezing, “Wait, guy did I make an Akuma?”

“Yeah,” Said Bunnix, “Could’ve used it earlier actually.”

“Do you need some help?” Asked the voice.

“Yeah,” Said Ladybug, the blue mask was shaped like the shell of a Ladybug, it glowed, “I’m sorry to bother you with this, but would you be willing to help. I mean, it’s perfectly fine if you don’t, I’ve never actually given people powers before and-”

“Paris is my home, despite my situation,” Said the Voice, “The Akuma is fire themed right?”

“Yeah, a Fire Chief got angry because no one listened to his safety drills.” Said Ladybug, thinking on the Akuma.

“So, grant powers that will counteract or help counteract his.” Said the Voice.

Ladybug thought on the powers that would counteract fire, before smiling.

“Alright, I believe having power over foam, water and CO2 would work best,” Said Ladybug, “Would you like to choose your name, or shall I give you one?”

“I think you should come up with that one.” Said the Voice, a humorous tilt to it.

“Alright, Extinguisher.” Said Ladybug, before the Akuma reappeared.

“I think I know where to find you.” Said Extinguisher, as Ladybug and the rest of the team turned back to the Akuma.

Ladybug and her team jumped into action, Pegase opening a portal behind the Akuma, allowing a jet of foam cover them up to their neck.

“Amazing how simple things are when you have the right tools.” Said Ladybug, walking up to the Akuma, grabbing the badge on his jacket and passing it off to Chat.

Extinguisher waited for Chat to Destroy the Akumatized object and Ladybug to Purify the Akuma before handing over a slip of paper to Ladybug, allowing her to remove her spot from it. Ladybug walked away and picked up the Lucky Charm, a bucket, and threw it into the air, casting the cure.

“I think we should head home.” Said Ladybug, turning back to the man that was Extinguisher, “Do you need a lift?”

The man shook his head, “No, I think I make my way back to my doorway from here.”

Ladybug froze, “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by that?”

“I’m homeless.” Said the man, “There’s a reason I was so ready to help, since I’m going to be sleeping out here tonight.”

The man started walking away, a slight limp in his step. Everyone slowly turned and looked at Chloe, who looked at the others.

“What’s your name?” Chloe yelled, making the man stop.

“Phil Marks.” Said the man, before he started walking away again.

Chloe jogged after him, “What job did you have before you were homeless?”

“I was a safeguarding officer at a school, before it was shut down.” Said Phil, a slight wince.

“I think my school is looking for a safeguarding officer.” Said Chloe, making Phil stop, “I’m sure they’d be more than willing to help you get back on your feet.”

Phil turned and faced Chloe, “What’s the schools name?”

“College Francis Dupont.” Said Chloe, making Phil laugh.

“I doubt they’d accept my application.” Said Phil, “Considering the Paedophile ring that was busted at my last workplace.”

Chat’s eyes lit up, “That’s who you are, you’re the guy that tipped the police off.”

“I suppose.” Said Phil, as a small dog ran up to him, “Hey Chester, let’s get you some grub, eh?”

Chloe was quiet, before she cancelled her transformation and pulled her phone out of her pocket. The team slowly dispersed, Ladybug being the last one to leave. The last Ladybug saw of the two, Chloe was having a conversation with someone on her phone and Phil was fishing change out of his pocket to get Chester some food.

/*/

Marinette yawned as she took her seat next to Alya, with her best friend pushing a cup of coffee towards her. Marinette took the cup in her hands, before Ms. Bustier walked into the class, with a tearful Lila behind her.

“This is going to be good.” Marinette sarcastically muttered, before she started to drink her coffee.

“Good morning, Class.” Said Ms. Bustier, tersely, “Lila has something she has to share with us.”

The class focused on Lila, who looked like she didn’t want to be there.

“I-I’ve been lying.” Said Lila, making Marinette spit her coffee out.

“The new safeguarding officer contacted Lila’s parents,” Said Ms. Bustier, stiffly, “and apparently Lila had been telling them the school had been closed.”

“Ouch.” Said Marinette, before looking down at her coffee, “I need a bigger cup.”

The rest of Marinette’s day was filled with her Classmate apologising to her and how they were going to make it up to her.

A week later, Marinette and a couple other Class Representatives were called to the Safeguarding office. They had been trying to get a trip to the catacombs of Paris, followed by a tour of Notre Dame. Marinette knocked on the office door and a familiar voice said come in.

Marinette opened the door and found Phil Marks shuffling through a wad of papers, while Chester lay at his feet.

“Ah, Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Said Mr. Marks, “I assume you’re here about the Notre Dame trip.”

Marinette’s heart swelled, now knowing that her team helped someone outside of being Akumatised.

[imaginemae]

Adrien Agreste’s Inferiority Complex - SPOILER ALERT

This has been a long time coming:

-Telling Theo that he’s actually “the one in charge anyway” when Ladybug doesn’t show up (Copycat)

-Attempting to defeat an akumatized victim without Ladybug’s help, knowing damn well that he can’t capture akumas or fix everything (Copycat)

-”Why do I have to deal with these freaks, while you get to slip calmy ‘round back?” (The Pharaoh) 

-”You know sometimes I do have ideas” (Reflekta)

-Being expected to believe that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth without being given any evidence or explanation. “I’m supposed to just accept that? (The Collector) 

-Ladybug being able to know Rena Rouge’s identity (Sapotis, Syren)

-Being kept in the dark about Master Fu from Ladybug and his own kwami (Syren)

Where am I going with this?

Adrien has exhibited thoughts of inadequacy in/out of his suit. 

I think this is worth examining a little bit more.

In the episode “Syren” Adrien gets irritated by Ladybug’s lack of communication with him. 

She knows Rena Rouge’s identity, she has access to Master Fu, and she “can’t tell” him about any of it. 

Ladybug took the grimoire, Ladybug suspected Gabriel, Ladybug often knows where akumas are hidden, and Chaton has been left in the dark about how she knows so much.

Because these instances have to do with her identity Marinette is stuck in a situation where she can’t tell Chat Noir. She can’t tell Chaton how she got the book because she stole it from Adrien which equals: Ladybug knows Adrien IRL.

She can’t tell Chat Noir about Master Fu because Chat Noir knowing could then equal him going to meet Master Fu himself which then equals Marinette and Adrien possibly running into each other.

Ladybug could tell Chat Noir that Rena Rouge is actually Alya Cesaire because Alya has helped them out before, but Alya being chosen as Rena Rouge could also arouse suspicion that Ladybug knows her IRL. 

The danger of having Chat Noir in the know is also amplified because Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth. One little slip up on Adrien’s part can/will be a huge problem (though the characters are unaware of this).

I have always been against Chat Noir not knowing as much, not because of their identities, but because they stressed so often in season one that they are a team. It’s not like Batman and Robin, it’s closer to Cloak and Dagger. One cannot do everything without the other - they are equals - yin and yang. 

So Adrien being upset about this and getting fed up is incredibly justified. Why is he the only one who has to fight for information? Why does he have to bribe his own kwami (granted Tikki wouldn’t tell Marinette anything until they got the book)? Why does he have to get left behind while Ladybug does not? 

A negative reaction from Adrien has been a long time coming, and the way his civilian life is does not help, but we’ll talk about that soon.

What ultimately bothers me is this: Adrien was willing to blackmail Plagg by threatening to take off his miraculous and leave it idling unless Plagg gave him information.

Let’s all think about that for a second.

Adrien Agreste, whose only source of freedom is through that ring, was willing to give up being Chat Noir because he wasn’t being treated as an equal. Even more so than that, he felt like he was being treated as if he was less significant than Ladybug. Adrien doesn’t feel like he is important. 

He explains in “Syren” that “no one will care” if he’s gone or that he’s “no one”, as if he, Adrien Agreste, is not needed as Chat Noir. Even though he’s proven again

(Taking the hit for Ladybug in “Timebreaker”)

(Taking the hit for Ladybug in “Dark Cupid”)

and again 

(Holding off an army while Ladybug was busy Marinette-ing in “Darkblade”)

(Scoping out the land for the Mime in “The Mime”)

(Catching that Ladybug’s miraculous was about to get stolen in “Antibug”)

and again

(Helping a struggling Ladybug take down Kagami in “Riposte”)

(Handling another army while Ladybug was busy Marinette-ing in “Befana”)

(Moving Ladybug away from danger while she was distracted in “Gigantitan”)

(Being the key component in taking down Gorizilla literally as Adrien and Chat Noir in “Gorizilla”)

(Sacrificing himself so Ladybug has a chance to fix everything in “Zombizou”)

that Ladybug clearly cannot do everything without him. He is needed. Just like Ladybug could not be just anyone, neither could Chat Noir.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just about Ladybug withholding information. 

No, this issue stems from Adrien’s civilian life as well. It’s not that he believes that nobody needs Chat Noir, it’s that he believes no one needs Adrien.

Inferiority Complex:  “an unrealistic feeling of general inadequacy caused by actual or supposed inferiority in one sphere”

Does everyone remember in “The Gamer” how Marinette breezily beat the video game and Adrien was struggling? Does everyone remember that little conversation they had??

That was a direct look into Adrien’s mindset. He actually believes he is "lame”. 

Let’s examine a few facts about Adrien’s life that we know:

1. He had one friend (Chloe) as a child, even when his Mother was around

2. He is not allowed to go outside without an entourage

3. He adored his kind, “overly dramatic”, and maybe controlling Mother (that’s another theory) who is now gone

4. His Father won’t tell him shit about Emilie’s disappearance and he knows for a fact that Gabriel hides stuff from him because he saw the safe behind the painting of Emilie

5. Gabriel shuns friendship like it’s the plague (”We Agrestes are solo artists”, Captain Hardrock) and won’t let Adrien hang out with his friends. He didn’t even want Adrien to go to school

6. Gabriel almost never eats dinner with Adrien, but won’t let Adrien make other plans

7. Even though he’s usually vibrant and outspoken as Chat Noir, he’s very careful about what he says to Gabriel whenever they have a conversation by being overly polite and kind

8. Adrien does piano, fencing, kung fu, Chinese (and apparently other languages) to never be shared or used with anyone else because GABRIEL WON’T LET HIM.

Notice the pattern? 

In Adrien’s little bubble his purpose is to...sit still and look pretty? Do everything Daddy says? Have things decided for him? And anything he wants is consistently put aside?

So in the actual world - where Ladybug is curing akumas and coming up with brilliant plans - what is his purpose? 

To the audience he is incredibly well-loved and important (I’d even go as far as to say he is the fandom’s favorite character), but to Adrien it feels like he believes that he is just another accessory, and the fact that Ladybug knows more about what’s going on adds to his feelings of insecurity.

The people who love him for modeling, his friends who love him for being kind - Adrien doesn’t see that as being needed or noticed because that’s not his true self. Chat Noir is closer to his true self, and Chat Noir gets overshadowed by Ladybug ALL THE TIME.

But then what about Ladybug herself? Ladybug who has always put her trust in Chat Noir? Ladybug who was willing to give up her miraculous to save him? Ladybug who found out Chaton was in love with her and then immediately gave him closure? Ladybug who convinced Master Fu to start including Chat Noir?

This is where I get pissed off. 

Ladybug does see Chaton as someone important and she has proven it even as Marinette.

-She has expressed how irreplaceable he is to her (”Anansi”)

-She has expressed she cares about and respects his feelings (”Glaciator”, “Frozer”)

-Tells him that Ladybug is lucky to have him (”Weredad”)

-Is never afraid to show how much she depends on him (”Antibug”, “Gorizilla”)

It’s because Adrien has been cut-off from the world all his life that he is so

O B LI V I O U S to it. 

In any other show, Adrien would be/become a villain. 

I got nervous in “Glaciator” and I got anxious in “Syren”. 

Adrien is a wonderful character because he is a good person despite all the misfortune in his life, but he has a breaking point.

The most recent episode “Chris Master” has led me to believe that we will see the crux of Adrien’s inferiority complex as there is a single moment where he seems genuinely taken aback that Ladybug is considered the most well-behaved kid in the world.

Despite the fact that he also made a similar comment in “Puppeteer” (”There’s only one goody-two-shoes around here, and I’m not her”).

The fact that Ladybug joked about it is worrisome because she did not catch the serious tone behind Chat Noir’s comment which could fuel Adrien’s inferiority complex. He may start believing that even Ladybug believes she is superior.

My theory is that this will blow up in everyone’s face this season. Chat Noir may turn into a villain, or be manipulated if someone else catches on to his insecurity (i/e Lila/Gabriel).

Next topics of discussion:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Guilt Complex

Marinette’s Dupain-Cheng’s Major Character Flaw

Adrien Agreste’s Major Character Flaw

[thegospelofnagisa]

Magia Record Anime: Final Episode and Overall Thoughts of the Final Arc.

Ok… Sorry for the delay but I really really needed to fully structure my thoughts regarding the final episode of Magia Record and this whole final arch as a whole because...I am gonna be straight to the bullshit...I did not like this ending very much, as the episode itself I have to say it is my least favorite in the anime and I personally consider it the worst in the entire anime, right from the start I want you to know that, and with that being said, lets get into the reasons why.

First of all, while it is not a defining factor, it’s not the fault of SHAFT or bothers me a lot, it has to be said simply for the sake of completion, the quality of the episodes has been reduced dramatically, and that can be bothersome to some people, I understand that given the situation with the Coroner, this was expected, everyone knew it was going to happen, and again let me say, it doesn’t bother me, I can stand an anime that looks like blurry blob of shit, AS LONG AS THE STORY IS good, unfortunately for Magia Record I cannot shake the feeling in my head that the lack of resources might have had a hand in how things played out beyond a graphical downgrade...what things? That’s our next point.

Second, I have a big problem with this massive cliffhanger ending,I feel it was widely open, we are left with an ending that does not follow the story of the game in the slightest so NO ONE has any idea what the hell is going to happen and the story of this final arc is left inconclusive, we don’t know what will happen with Momoko and Rena, we don’t know if Iroha is going to be ok, we don’t know what happened to Mami...there is so much we aren’t aware of.

This is in itself is not a big issue because we know that there is going to be a second season, they’ve confirmed it….but here’s the thing, even so, you can’t just play with fire like that, leaving a massive cliffhanger like that is basically just begging the audience to continue to watch the series in the hopes that they’ll want to come and see what will happen, I feel that weights on the story because it doesn’t allow you to fully closure a story and like I said, a lot of things can change from here to then, sure Magia Record is popular, sure the anime is getting good ratings and it is selling well despite the pandemic, but that can change very quickly, what if the game messes something up and it puts a massive negative mark on the game that will affect its popularity? What if something happens with SHAFT and the anime gets delayed or worst, canceled? What if things get worst from here and now (I am very optimistic they won’t and we will all pull through with it but, it would be naive to discard a bad case scenario) you will ultimately disappoint your audiences when said continuation never comes, and it will be a huge disservice to the story you worked so much in.

G.R Martin can get away with it because that is the tone he has set for A Song of Ice and Fire, one of absolute uncertainty where you don’t know what will happen and things can change in an instant, so the audience is used to that dynamic, Magia Record IS NOT A Song of Ice and Fire, doing this is not good.

They should have finished episode 6 properly and then follow on with episode 7 and beyond in the second season...that is what I think.

The story itself is not that good because even in the game, it’s not very well written, it relies too much on backstory telling and trippy psychedelic antics, to the anime’s credit they summarized it very well, but still, it was not a good place to end the anime on, let alone finish it up with a fucking cliffhanger, so there is that.

And let’s not even get into what I perceive as contradictions with the original anime, for starters Kyubey saying in episode 12 that the witches are beneficial for humanity, I am sorry...I am sorry but...the Incubators don’t give two shits about humanity, Kyubey says it so in the original anime, he doesn’t care if we die or survive, he sees us meerly as resources and once our usefulness expires, he doesn’t care about us, they have the energy they want to stop entropy, it makes the implication that it isn’t just humans but other species across the universe that get milked by Incubators, but in Magia Record this is overly simplified by both Kyubey and Touka through the final arc, it’s not just about humans, that’s what gives magnificence to the story and to Madoka’s wish, for the people who wonder why we glorify Gen Urobuchi so much, is because of this, he crafted a truly expansive concept with Madoka Magica, and then this dumb brat comes and bawls for the plight of Puella Magi….girl….NO ONE KNOWS PUELLA MAGI EXISTS! OF COURSE NO ONE IS GOING TO CARE ABOUT YOU! OMG for someone who harbors the superiority of Puella Magi, you sure make them look stupid Touka.

Then again, for those who played the game and know its story, they know the Magius ideology is bullshit and hypocritical anyway, but I won’t get much into that due to spoilers, for further in the story, needless to say, there is a bit of irony in Touka’s speech about resources management.

And finally my fourth negative point, which are mostly nitpicks but I’ll mention them, if you want me to address them individually I gladly will, but to summarize as much as possible, I do not like the way they handled Mami’s working with the Magius in the anime and the fact that they made Kaede join the fucking Magius...these two share the same problem for me and I’ll explain why, I feel the anime people don’t understand the basics of Mami and Kaede, see, joining the Magius is an act of weakness, because while the Magius system cleanses the soul gems of dispair, it doesn’t solve the problem, Puella Magia always get despair, so releasing a doppel becomes a necesity for them, a drug to put it in more comprehensible terms, one they grow dependant on, one they take they take it for relief at first, but later they’ll take it because they don’t want to feel bad. Really Momoko, Yachiyo, Yuma, Madokami’s approach is the correct one here, instead of worrying about the coming despair, you grow strong and don’t let it destroy you, that way you overcome it and grow stronger as a Puella Magi.

But then there are weak willed Puella Magi who form the Magius (Mifuyu for example, she might not be a “clingy jealous ex girlfriend” but she is a complete weakling and a coward, the perfect candidate for the Magius cult), that being said, the fact that you tell me Kaede is going to join the Magius, an organization she knows very well what it is, bugs me, Kaede is very fragile, introvert and easy to push around, but she is not a weakling, her main problem is that she is on a team with Rena, anyone is going to be a nervous wreck on a team with Rena, now replace Rena with...Kanagi, Oriko, or even the Pleiades Saints, now Kaede will grow, and even on the team she is, she grows quite a lot, so I feel making her go the Magius route is an insult to her character, cimenting her as a “Weakling” (Granted there is the possibility this is temporary and she will be snappend out of her stuppers by the other 2 and the three will perform an audacious escape from the Magius Rally at the beginning of the second season, but until then, I am going to take it as as I explained it.).

The same thing applies to Mami, and this bugs me because there is a lot of people who don’t understand Mami DOESN’T BREAK DOWN BECAUSE SHE IS WEAK, she breaks down because she realizes her fight it’s POINTLESS, HOWEVER, if Mami has the support of a team with her, she can usually survive the shock, as Oriko Magica and The Different Story show, I am tired of people perpetuating the idea of Mami being a crazy nut job about to explode, that is a gross misunderstanding of her character.

But well….those are all my negatives, I’ll go back to the positives of the episodes, I like how they’ve developed the relationship between Iroha and Yachiyo, I still don’t fee the love tonight but, I do feel they’re really close together in a way Yachiyo has never had, so the anime did a good job with that.

I did like the Naziesque imagery with Touka’s speech, sure it can hit a nerve on some people, I completely understand it, but then again...she IS the villain, of course you expect her to hit you bad, and Touka is an excellent villain like Alina, she really really makes you hate her guts, and the Magius ARE a cult so they’re supposed to evoke this inhuman and fascist vibe on people because that’s what they are, they believe in the supremacy of a group over the other, isn’t that what a Nazi is? Assholes who think their misconceptions of how race works grant them a superiority over the rest of humanity, that’s what the Magius are, two fart sniffing brats who think their erroneous misconceptions of their status as a Puella Magi grants them the right over the rest of humanity.

Perfect casting I’d say.

And finally, Sayaka! Omg Sayaka really shined this episode, and this is a version of Sayaka we don’t often see, a mature baddass Sayaka, sure she’s still a rookie compared to Mami, but she performs with a lot more confidence and skill than she ever did in the main anime, you can tell she knows how to use her skills and she’s not afraid to use them, allowing her arm to get blown off to save Iroha and Yachiyo and later healing herself ring on the spots she was hurt, all through visual details, Inu Curry’s expertise, really if you’re a fan of Sayaka, THIS is the brightest moment in her life, this episode will make you love Sayaka Miki a lot.

Overall...I have to say, despite all my complains up there, I generally enjoyed Magia Record a lot and I am anxious for the next season, here’s hoping all will go well, and the Coroner won’t stop anyone, sure the world will change, but in some ways, I feel it will be a change for the best, and I hope these changes don’t halt the production of Magia Record, the franchise has managed to resurect from the grave Shinbo buried it with Rebellion many years ago, it would be a tragedy if it were to die here, but just like humanity, I am sure this new team heading the franchise can overcome all those odds….sorry that was fucking cheese XD

I give this final arch a 7, originally I was going to give it 6 but Sayaka was so fantastic that it pushed it to a 7 for sure...as to the entire series, I give it an 9, very good series, and a must if you watched Madoka Magica, skip Rebellion, let it rot on the ground and embrace the new path of the franchise with Magia Record.

[2manyfandoms2count]

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

Is this plot I see appearing this week? 👀 There’s a hint of a plan, at least... And the return of “Marichat”

Hope you enjoy!

Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3

---

Chapter 3

There’s a definite pause after her question, during which Adrien leans in, as if he expects her to elaborate. His expression is indecipherable, although it seems like there’s something akin to glee in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien, I really would love to share this information with you.” She bites her lower lip and clutches the skirt of her dress. “But… you’re already doing so much for me, I don’t want to put you in any more danger than you might already be in, now that you’re married to me. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Her words seem to jolt him. His hand flies to hers and stops it from wrinkling her dress.

“Oh. Right, of course. It’s okay, I understand.” He smiles gently and gets up, brushing invisible dust from his trousers. “I’ll find him, don’t worry.”

He holds out a hand and Marinette looks at it in confusion.

“I’d feel better if you waited for him inside, with people around. I’ll tell Chat Noir to knock on the window.”

“You’re right, that would make more sense.” She appreciates the fact that he’s so level-headed. He would be, not having been hit with what she knows. It’s good, she supposes. It compensates for her own muddled mind.

Adrien helps her up, and together they head back inside.

He insists on getting her a drink (apple juice - he says it would keep her hydrated, and provide some well-needed sugar, had she even eaten anything since breakfast?) before heading off, and Marinette is grateful she has something in her hands as she wraps her head around the new information.

Firstly, Gabriel Agreste had been carrying a butterfly envelope in his pocket. Which means that he is very probably involved in the letters she has been receiving.

Secondly, Nathalie was all too quick to dispose of it when it fell out. Meaning that she must have known what it contains, too. Which means they must both be behind the letters.

What have I married into? Marinette thinks, swirling her drink absentmindedly. Did we really send me straight into the lion’s den?  

She’s about to wonder whether Adrien knows about it all when there’s a knock on the window behind her. She unties the heavy curtains from their decorative knobs to allow them to fall in front of the panes and conceal the balcony. The press is here, she wouldn’t want to spring a scandal on Adrien by having herself seen with another man barely an hour after the ceremony.

“You know, Bug, this is technically the second balcony meeting we’ve had today, and despite the whole staged aspect of this wedding, I’d think that would be a little much if we were in a play.” Her partner smirks as she closes the window behind her.

“Good thing we’re not, then.” Her reply comes out a little more bitter than she’d anticipated.

Chat Noir tilts his head inquisitively at her tone, but doesn’t comment on it. “I have to say, I didn’t think you’d need my assistance so soon. Is there trouble in Paradise, already?”

“Apparently the mystery butterfly letter person is here today.” She cuts to the chase as she starts pacing. “And I think they’re actually two people.”

Chat Noir tenses. “Why didn’t you tell Adrien? He wouldn’t have left you all alone while he came to get me.”

“First of all, I wasn’t ‘all alone’,” she air-quotes, “I was inside. Second of all, you know very well I can’t tell him exactly what’s going on.” She sighs. “Especially not now, when I suspect the people who are after me are his father and Nathalie.”

“What?” Chat Noir’s legs buckle under him and he props down on the bannister, all colour draining from his face.

So it really is bad luck to see your bride before the wedding, he thinks bitterly as he tries to steady his breathing.

“Chaton, are you alright?” Marinette rushes to his side and takes his hands in hers.

“Yeah, don’t worry.” He smiles up at her weakly. “I haven’t had much to eat, and, well… That’s quite the suspicion.”

“I know.” Much to his disappointment, she lets go of his hands to hide her face in hers. “Which is why I really can’t tell Adrien about it until I’ve gotten more information. It would crush him.”

“That’s very considerate of you.” There’s a certain dryness in his voice, which Marinette interprets as judgement for not sharing what she knows with her new husband.

In fact, Chat Noir is thinking that he actually wouldn’t be that surprised if his father was involved in something fishy; he’s miffed that it targeted Ladybug, but it did enable him to marry her in the end, so… Oh father, why must you always make things so complicated?

“We can’t just go dumping stuff like that on him! Hey, remember how I married you for security? Well turns out the threat was your dad and his assistant all along!” Marinette interrupts his thoughts, gesturing sarcastically.

“Yes, I see how that would be problematic.” He replies calmly. His mind races as he tries to grasp at any retrospective sign of his father’s activities, but it keeps drawing blanks. “Are you absolutely sure of what you’re claiming? Not that I don’t trust you or your instincts, just, you know…” He adds quickly when he sees her slightly offended frown.

“Well, he had the exact same envelope as the ones I’ve been receiving in his coat pocket.” She starts counting on her fingers.

“A white one?” Chat Noir probes, frowning as he recalls the envelope his father had given Marinette earlier. That can’t be it, he thinks, they’re too common. And why would he give the envelope directly to his target? Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of blackmail?

“No, the purple butterflies one.” Marinette ploughs on, oblivious to Chat Noir’s apparent excellent knowledge of the scene that had unfolded earlier. She’d kept him in the dark when it came to the details of her correspondence, thinking they would be able to look at it later, but the plan, and then the wedding preparations, had taken over all of their time. “It could be a coincidence, but, really, he and Nathalie seemed quite spooked that I’d seen it.”

“Yeah, that was a little suspicious.” Chat Noir strokes his chin pensively. “So, we think my fa- I mean, my fur-iend!” he catches himself before he can say too much, and Marinette rolls her eyes at the pun, “Gabriel Agreste is the one behind the letters. What do we do next?”

“Investigate?” Marinette suggests after a slight pause, that has them both looking at the ground as they think. “I have the Miraculous box with me, we could get Max to open a portal to the Agreste Mansion for us and...”

“Today?” Chat interrupts her.

“I mean… The sooner we take care of it, the sooner I’ll be able to tell Adrien about it, and the better I’ll sleep.” She gets up and leans against the bannister, arms crossed over her chest.

“That makes sense.” Chat says, mirroring her. He would have preferred his wedding day to go differently, but he supposes there is something quite exciting about making progress on the blackmail case with a wedding going on in the background. “I can go and get the box for you. Is it still in your sewing box?” He whispers, taking out his baton and getting ready to vault up to Marinette’s temporary room.

Marinette grabs him by the tail to hold him back.

“What about Adrien, though?”

“What about him?” He is confused. Why would she mention him now?

“Well, wouldn’t we need him to give us directions at the Mansion? To make our search more efficient?”

Shoot, he thinks. She would have a point, if he and Adrien were two different people. “Er…” He trails off, trying to find a good excuse as to why Adrien should definitely not come with them to the Mansion. That would unnecessarily overcomplicate the situation. “Well, it’s best if he doesn’t know about the specifics of where we’re going. Unless you want to tell him all about your suspicions?” He raises his eyebrows.

“You’re right, I’d rather not.” Marinette ponders. “He can’t stay here all alone though. People would probably talk about my absence.”

“Which is where Rena Rouge can step in?” Chat Noir ventures. “She can set up an illusion of you.” And me, by the same occasion - I'll just need to get to her before you can, he adds silently.

“Oh yes, of course! You genius.” She stands on her tiptoes and plants a kiss on his cheek. He blushes in response. “Okay, what it doesn’t solve, though, is us not having directions in the Mansion.”

“Relax, Bugaboo.” She shoots him a stern look. “Hey, I agreed my Lady wasn’t appropriate anymore, but you never said anything about Bugaboo." He raises his hands defensively. "Anyway, fear not, I’m Adrien’s friend in real life, remember? I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time at his place, we snuck around a lot as kids.”

Marinette looks at him a little weirdly. Of all the years she’s known Adrien, he has never mentioned a childhood friend, apart from Chloé.

“Really?”

“Yep.” He says, popping the p sound.

She pouts as she thinks. “So Adrien stays here with Alya, and you play tour guide.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay.” She nods, but she continues before Chat can think the plan will be straightforward. “I’d still like to talk to Adrien and explain that we need to go somewhere, though. And I’d like for you to be there, too. We owe that to him, at least.”

Well, this is becoming tricky. Guess I’ll need Rena sooner than anticipated. “Fair enough. Let me go and get the Miraculous box first, and I’ll grab him on my way back. Meet you back here after the toasts?”

“Oh. The toasts.” Marinette facepalms. Just when things were becoming interesting, the wedding just had to get in the way. There was still a bit of time before the toasts, but clearly not enough to put the whole plan into motion. “Sounds good. See you in a bit, then.”

Chat Noir salutes her and jumps off the balcony. A thought crosses her mind as she watches him vault away and she opens the door to get back to the reception area. Maybe Chat Noir is Félix. He is here today, after all, and was involved in quite a lot of shenanigans with Adrien as children. She supposes he might bear some kind of resemblance to Chat Noir, if you squint. And if you remember that someone can be very different in public and in private. She almost gags at the thought, though, before remembering that she can’t judge the person behind the mask. She loves him no matter who he is.

Please don’t be Félix, though, she prays as she comes back inside the room.

[connan-l]

Cleavered

Fandom: The House in Fata Morgana & Higurashi: When They Cry

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Relationship: Rena Ryuuguu & Morgana (The House in Fata Morgana)

Summary: Rena was lost, all alone and far away from her village and country. But while trying to find her way back, she gets herself involved into a sordid story of blood and witch…

Content Warnings: A few graphic depictions of violence, including slashing, blood, blood draining, attempted murders. Panic attacks and vomiting towards the end. Briefs kidnapping and slavery mentions.

________________________________________________________________

Link on Archive of Our Own

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Notes: I promise this initially started as a silly joke. I only wanted to write a ridiculous crack one-shot with ‘what if Rena Ryuuguu saved Morgana’ as a premise, and for some reason it ended up as this giant taken-too-seriously mess. It was actually pretty hard to write though — took me months before finishing it, and it was a real challenge to find a way to fit Higurashi’s plot in FataMoru’s setting. Rena was also pretty difficult to write, and I wish I would’ve been able to reread Tsumihoroboshi before that, but oh well.

Again though, it’s principally just a self-indulgent crack fic, so don’t try to think too much about it if there are some details that don’t makes sense and roll with it haha.

I’m thanking Ried (@kosongnonsens) too given I started writing this after we joked around about this idea.

Spoilers for the entirety of The House in Fata Morgana and A Requiem for Innocence, and for Higurashi: When They Cry’s sixth arc Tsumihoroboshi-hen/Atonement Chapter.

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She was definitely lost by now.

Whether she looked right or left, behind or in front of her, none of the landscapes and surroundings had one once of familiarity. She had been walking for hours now, at least — but she was pretty sure she had just managed to get even more lost than she initially had been.

Disheartened, she let out a long, heavy sigh, and sat down on a rock in the shade of a tree. Her big satchel that she’s been dragging around since she first came into this country was starting to really hurt her shoulder and back, so she also put it down on the ground. The soil was probably going to tarnish it, but it didn’t bother her much. It already was an old, deteriorated bag anyway, and there wasn’t anything of value in it — just a few clothes, some fruits and bread, and her cleaver.

She wished her father was here. And her friends. She wished she could just go back to her village, which she hadn’t seen in months now. What was she even doing out there in this foreign land she knew nothing about? People only looked at her weirdly, as if she was some sort of exotic animal, and she felt terribly uncomfortable and unwelcome.

(But maybe this was part of the curse of Oyashiro, too…)

As she unconsciously sighed again, she suddenly heard something. It sounded like footsteps. Then, after a while, she was sure she could feel a presence — a human presence. She always had a good instinct for stuff like that. She instantly grabbed her satchel, ready to welcome anything, but the person who showed up in front of her emanated absolutely no danger or suspicion whatsoever.

“Ah, as I thought! I truly had seen someone coming here!”

It was a girl, a bit younger than her, with long wavy blonde hair and sparkling sunny eyes. Her first thought was that she looked really cute, and she if wasn’t feeling so tired she probably would’ve loved to try squishing her round cheeks. Her second thought was that on the other hand, her pale face, chapped blue lips and dark circles told her she wasn’t in the best of health. Still, the girl bounced towards the newcomer like a rabbit, smiling from ear to ear.

“That’s so rare to see people!” She exclaimed. “No one ever come around here.”

“Really?” A part of her still felt suspicious, but the girl’s smile was contagious so she couldn’t help but mimic her friendly tone. “I got lost in the forest… I’ve been walking for hours trying to find my way back. Do you think you could help me?”

Th blonde girl grimaced. “Well… I can try, but… Honestly, I don’t really know my way around here either…”

“Oh… I see…”

Well, of course, that would’ve been too easy. At least she wasn’t lost in the middle of the woods anymore, she supposed. She had never been afraid of forests or dark, isolated places, but those were still tricky areas when you knew nothing of the surroundings.

“Um…”

The girl cleared her throat, getting her attention back to her, before smiling shyly with a hopeful gaze.

“Uh, well, I don’t think I can help you find your way back, but… you said you’ve been walking for hours, right? So you must be tired. If you want, I can invite you at my home!”

“Y-You would? I-I mean… it’d be very kind, but I don’t want to bother,” she stuttered.

“It’s okay! I’m all alone right now, and I’m sure the Saintess wouldn’t mind either!”

“The Saintess…?”

“I know how to make excellent tea, with rose petals! I promise you won’t regret it if you come!”

The blonde girl took her hand and begins to pull on it excitedly. She seemed oddly happy at the idea of sharing her afternoon with this stranger she knew nothing about. Maybe it wasn’t a really prudent decision to follow her, but honestly, at this point she felt too tired to refuse such an alluring invitation. Plus, she felt pretty charmed by that girl, and she didn’t think she was dangerous.

“Okay!” She replied. “You lead the way then.”

The girl’s face instantly lit up and her smile got even wider as she saw the stranger rose up from the rock and grab her satchel.

“Aahh, that’s so great! We could bake together too! Ohh, and chat about all sorts of things! Ah, by the way, I’m Nellie. What’s your name?”

She smiled at her new acquaintance, her hand still intertwined with hers.

“I’m Rena! Nice to meet you.”

________________________________________________________________

Nellie hurriedly guided her to her home all while making little mindless talks (“You’re ‘Rena’? It’s the first time I hear that name! It sounds so weird!”), and it only took them five minutes to reach it. The place where she lived looked more like a little cabin than an actual house, to be honest, but Rena thought it’d be rude to say so she kept quiet. The interior was fairly cozy, and with all the adorable, tiny decorations put all around the walls it wasn’t hard to guess that Nellie was the one who was spending most of her time here.

“Do you live here all alone? Do you?” Rena asked tentatively.

“No, I live with the Saintess… Ah, the Saintess is a nun who works at the church up there! Before that, I lived with my brother in another house, but we moved here a few months ago.”

Rena nodded while the younger girl ran up to the kitchen. She had spent enough time in this country to know that ‘saint’ and ‘nun’ were religious figures here, though she wasn’t sure what were their roles exactly. She sat at the table and waited patiently for Nellie to reappears a few minutes later with a plate in her hands.

“Haoo, those teacups are so kyute!”

“Hehe, I know, right? They’re ones of the only things I was able to bring back from home.”

“From where you lived with your brother?”

“Yes— Ah, I mean, no, even before that. Initially, we didn’t even live in the same country. We used to be rich, you know? Living in a huge mansion and all.”

“Ohh, it sounds nice! I’ve never been in a mansion.”

Well, she supposed her friend Mion’s big house could count as one, but from what Rena had seen it was still very different from what Western people called ‘mansions.’

“Well, if you want, there’s a mansion not far from here, so I could show you. I mean, it’s technically a church, but it still looks more like a mansion than a church.”

“Aw, really? I’d love to see that!”

Nellie giggled. “You’re funny. I like you. I wish I could show you my own manor too back in my country, but… I probably will never be able to go home…”

The blonde girl sighed, and a sad expression spread on her face. Rena guessed it was a touchy subject and that it was better to just change the topic rather than push the issue, but at this moment Nellie stared straight into her eyes, her smile back in place, as if it had never disappeared.

“What about you?”

“H-Huh?”

“You’re a foreigner too, aren’t you?”

“Oh… yes, that’s true… I come from the Far East. Um, well… I came to this country some months ago because of my father’s work. He’s a trader and came here for a new business opportunity… but then we got separated, and I got lost, and so here I am.”

It was a pretty simple summary of her situation and she left out a lot of complicated factors, though. No matter how cute Nellie was, she still didn’t felt like telling her whole life story out of the blue like that.

“You speak the language really well for someone who only came here months ago,” she noticed.

“O-Oh… thanks… I still don’t know how to write it though…”

Nellie seemed to ponder her words for a moment in silence, and Rena thought she was going to keep questioning but instead she just grinned and rose up from the table.

“Well, whatever! It doesn’t matter where you come from if I like you. Hey, what do you think about baking with me? I feel like eating sweets!”

Rena didn’t get the time to reply that Nellie grabbed her hand and dragged her in the kitchen, but she didn’t try to complain and instead just let herself be subjugated by the other girl’s cheerfulness.

“I love cooking, actually!” She only added. “What do you want to bake?”

“Hmm…” Nellie crossed her arms and frowned. “I dunno… Something with sugar. Lots of sugar.”

Rena giggled, then looked around the room to quickly catalog the ingredients at her disposition. “All right, then I have a proposition: how about I try to make some sweets from my country?”

As she had expected, Nellie’s eyes brightened with enthusiasm and curiosity. “Yeah! You do that! I’ll help out too.”

And thus they started to bake together, spreading flour and butter and sugar all around the house. Rena thought she felt a little bad about the so-called ‘Saintess’ if she were to come back home and see all this mess, plus all the food they squandered. But to be honest, she was having so much fun right now that she didn’t even care.

Nellie reminded her a little bit of her friends, and especially of Satoko. Maybe it had to do with the way she spoke about her big brother with so much love and admiration. Either way, it had been a long time she hadn’t had so much fun. For a moment, if she closed her eyes, she could even pretend she was back home in Hinamizawa…

The sun was starting to set and they were almost done with their cooking when the door from the house suddenly opened. Nellie seemed surprised — she apparently wasn’t expecting anyone to come home so early. When they both went to look, Rena saw a young man with the same blonde hair as Nellie standing in the room.

“Dearest Mell!” The younger girl exclaimed, and all of a sudden it was as if Rena’s existence had been completely erased from her mind.

She ran in the room and jumped in the boy’s arms, who caught her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Hello, Nellie,” he said gently.

“What are you doing here? I thought I wouldn’t see you at all today!”

“Yeah, I, uh… I forgot my bag here, and I felt the need to check on you. But, I won’t be able to stay long… maybe half an hour, at most…”

Nellie’s happy face instantly fell upon hearing that. “Are you sure? We were baking some sweets together, stay at least to taste them!”

“‘We’?”

At this moment, the boy ‘Mell’ finally noticed the other person at the end of the room. Rena smiled in a friendly way and waved at him, hoping to make him understand she wasn’t anyone suspicious, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on him as he instantly tensed and glared at her.

“Nellie, who’s that?” He asked in a stiff voice while grabbing Nellie’s arms in a protective manner.

His sister didn’t seem to notice his unease, though, because she just replied happily: “Oh, it’s Rena! Rena, it’s my big brother, dearest Mell!”

“R-Rena…?”

“Yeaaah, that’s a weird name, right?” Nellie added.

“No, that’s— I mean, who on earth is that girl, Nellie? What is she doing here?”

“She’s a foreigner I found outside. She told me she got lost, so I invited her here to play together.”

“Nellie!” Mell exclaimed, his voice firmer and almost panicked. “You cannot do that! Didn’t I tell you a lot of times to never let inside any strangers and to open the door to no one?”

“But… she’s not dangerous. I like her, she’s really nice. We baked toge—”

“It doesn’t matter how nice she is, you just can’t do that!”

Rena listened to the siblings’ argument from afar, and the more she observed the more… off, it seemed. Of course Mell had every reason to not want his little sister to interact with a stranger, but his reaction still felt wrong, somehow. He looked almost desperate, and Rena clearly wasn’t the only one to think he was acting weird.

“Dearest Mell,” Nellie said in a softer voice. “It’s fine. She really didn’t do anything but bake with me…”

Maybe his sister’s calmness and reassurance managed to cool him down a little bit somehow, because he blinked, looked at Rena, and took a deep breath.

“Yeah… uh, sorry. I’m just… a bit tired. That’s all.”

“Oh, it’s okay!” Rena replied. “I understand being tired.”

She also understood what it was like to feel paranoiac as if the entire world was against you, and to lash out at anyone as a result. And maybe that was why she couldn’t help but find Mell’s behavior more than suspicious.

“I… I need to get back my bag,” the boy blurted out, before heading towards the end of the cabin.

As soon as he had turned their back to them, Nellie’s expression darkened, and she looked down. Her eyes were shining so much Rena thought she might start crying. She didn’t, though.

“Could it be that… you two are not getting along well?”

Nellie shook her head. “We get along fine, usually. But these last months, Mell has been… so distant. First, he’s wanted to move here all of a sudden, and then he spent all of his time at that mansion… I know it was because I got sick, but…”

“Because you got sick?”

Rena didn’t need to read mind to guess the girl wasn’t healthy. She saw her cough quite a few times during their afternoon together, and there were moments where she even had to sit down because she felt dizzy. But she wasn’t sure how that was related to them moving. Nellie looked up and stared at Rena for a while. She seemed to hesitate, then nodded.

“Not long ago, the church up there started giving out a miraculous medicine that can heal everything, called ‘Saint’s Blood’.”

“Everything…?”

“Yes, and it really works! I was extremely ill, but after I started drinking it, I started to feel better. It’s temporary, though, so Mell has to get me some of it every once in a while. But…” Nellie bit her lip. “Well… you probably won’t believe me if I tell you…”

“Try me. You’d be surprised.”

Nellie looked at her once more, then finally made up her mind. “This medicine — it’s actually real blood from a real saint.”

“You’re drinking real blood?”

“Yeah, from the nun who lives with me. But it’s not like my blood or yours! It’s special, because she’s a saint. The real deal.”

Rena tried to register everything Nellie had told her with the little of what she knew of this country’s culture and religion. ‘Saints’ were some sort of divine figures here, weren’t they? Were they similar to the priests and shrine maiden serving the gods, like Rika? Maybe Rika would be considered a ‘saint’ here too then. So it wasn’t surprising that the blood of such a being could realize ‘miracles.’ She wondered if Nellie would believe her if she were to tell she also probably knew a ‘saint’ of her own…

“It’s good that I was able to get better… But if it comes at the cost of my brother… then it’s not worth it…”

Nellie’s small voice sounded so defeated and sorrowful. Rena looked at her with sympathy. She might not have known her for long, but seeing her like this was still painful. She wanted to try to say something to comfort her, but couldn’t find the words, and at this moment footsteps got her out of her thoughts.

“All right, I have it,” Mell declared.

Nellie’s sad expression disappeared, and a wide smile replaced it. For some reason, seeing this made Rena even sadder for her.

“Does that mean you’ll stay here then?”

“Just for half an hour,” Mell reminded her strictly. “But yes. I will.”

“Aha, yay! Thank you, dearest Mell!”

The girl jumped at her brother’s neck. Mell patted her head, then turned around towards Rena, his suspicious look back on.

“Do you… intend to sleep here?”

“Oh, no! Don’t worry, I will not bother you like that! Actually, I was just going to leave.”

“Eh? Already?” Nellie exclaimed disappointedly. “That wouldn’t have bothered me for you to stay sleep here…”

“No, it’s okay! I’ll find another place to stay the night. But thank you.”

Mell kept staring at Rena with distrust, but hearing her affirm she was leaving now seemed to put him a bit more at ease.

“Plus, I need to do my best to find my way back.”

“But…”

“Thank you for helping me, Nellie. But I can’t abuse of your kindness any longer. Oh, and of course I’ll leave you the sweets! I hope they’ll be good.”

All while talking, Rena took her satchel. She gave a tight hug to Nellie, smiled at Mell who just stayed quiet, then headed towards the door.

“Bye!”

The last thing she saw before closing the door was Nellie waving her hand sluggishly at her. Once outside, Rena sighed. The sky was orange, and it wouldn’t be long before the night fell. The smartest thing to do would be to try to find a place where she could sleep. She actually came around a small abandoned ranch earlier in the woods, so if she finds nothing else that would be her last resort, but it was a few hours away from here and far from being ideal.

But apparently today Rena didn’t feel like being smart. Instead, she thought about Nellie’s sad face, about the shady story of saints and blood she had just heard, and about the growing, insatiable curiosity that was starting to form inside her. And so, after a few moments of hesitation… she decided to hide in a bush next to the cabin, and wait here.

As Mell had said, it was about half an hour later when he finally went out. She looked at him say good bye to his sister, and when Nellie went back inside the cabin, he finally started to walk off.

Rena hesitated. She had a bad feeling. She knew she shouldn’t meddle. But her curiosity was stronger than any common sense she might have right now.

So, she tightened her grip on her satchel inside which resided her cleaver, and as discreet as a cat, she started following Mell.

________________________________________________________________

The house started to get into sight a few minutes later. It was a huge, intimidating building — and just like Nellie had told her earlier, this looked more like a mansion than a church. Mell stopped for a few seconds in front of the door, manifestly hesitating to go inside. He sighed, shook his head, then pushed the door and disappeared behind it. Rena waited a few seconds, then followed him.

The interior made her stop and gasp. She had arrived inside a giant room, with two rows of benches and a big, beautiful stained-glass at the end of it. Was that what the natives called an angel? She heard about this, too, but the one on the stained-glass looked so beautiful and dignified. The entire place seemed magical, and she couldn’t help but stop to admire it. She had already visited a ‘church’ once since she arrived in this country, but it was far from being as grand and pretty as this one. It’s only after some time gawking at the architecture that she heard the sound of a door opening, which brought her back to reality and reminded her of her original goal for coming here. Obviously, the boy hadn’t waited for her, and so she hurried to run in the direction of the noise. She arrived just in time to see Mell’s flaxen hair, then instantly hid behind the wall and froze in place when she heard a grave, severe voice roars.

“You’re late.”

“I-I’m sorry… I had to get back home because—”

“I don’t give a damn about your reason. Next time you are late, I’ll order the dog here to cut off your head.”

With all the precaution she could muster, Rena leaned very slightly from behind the wall and took a glance of what was going on. Mell was there in front of another closed door, looking like a lamb that had just been cornered by a pack of wolves, and she distinguished two adult men with him. Both of them had peculiar appearances that made them stand out from the majority of the people of this country, and Rena wondered if maybe they were foreigners — the first one because of his dark skin, and the second one because of his unusual features. She also was quick to notice the threatening long sword hanging at his belt. Was that man from the Far East like her? Maybe in other circumstances she would’ve felt a sense of kinship with him, but right now she could only feel suspicion and confusion.

“Then let’s go now, we’re not going to spend the night here,” the man with the wavy hair ordered, while the other one silently stood behind him like a shadow.

All three of them then took out a key from under their clothes and inserted it in the heavy lock that hanged in the middle of the door. After a loud click resonated, the man with the most expansive-looking outfit removed the lock, opened the door and started to climb the stairs, swiftly followed by the other two.

Rena frowned, and hesitated once again. She felt that keeping on trailing them would be making a mistake, and she still had time to go back. She could just leave the mansion right now, and forget about everything. She knew it was the most logical, safest course of actions. But for some reason, her body refused to listen. With uncertain and quiet steps, she opened the door which they thankfully had not locked behind them, and started climbing the stairs.

The circular area seemed infinite, as if this tower leaded directly to heaven. Each of her steps resounded abundantly inside the staircase, no matter how quiet she tried to be, which made her feel anxious Mell or anyone would spot her presence at any seconds. Yet, she managed to reach the top without anyone stopping her, to her surprise.

“Hurry up and go feed her,” was the first thing she heard upon arriving.

“Y-Yes,” Mell squeaked, before quickly hobbling towards the door.

His hands were shaking and he struggled a bit to open the door, which only served to aggravate the annoyance of the disgruntled wavy-haired man. When finally the door opened, Mell reached to take a tray on the ground, then penetrated inside. At this moment, Rena tried her best to get a glance of what was in there without getting noticed. At first, she couldn’t see anything — then she caught sight of a chain on the soil… and she gasped.

At the very bottom of the small room, shackled and curled up on herself, was a girl. Rena couldn’t really tell much from how far she was, but she seemed young, clothed in a dark robe and with long, braided red hair. Her head was bent and hidden in her knees, dissimulating her face. The most noticeable thing was the way her right sleeve was sloppily hanging to her side, completely empty, indicating her missing arm. Rena’s brain shut down, as she felt unable to comprehend the situation that was happening in front of her eyes.

What? What? Why is there a girl chained up at the top of this tower? Why are those three men bringing her food? What on earth is going on here?

Mell approached the girl with shaking steps, and kneeled in front of her.

“It’s… uh, it’s time to eat,” he muttered weakly.

The girl didn’t react. In fact, she didn’t even seem to calculate his presence at all. Mell sighed.

“Come on… You almost didn’t eat anything yesterday either…”

He took a piece of bread and handed it to the girl. As she seemed decided to ignore his very presence, the boy awkwardly tried to push the bread on her mouth, which finally managed to get a reaction out of her. She raised her head and turned it towards him, before glaring at him. Her eyes were so full of hatred that it made even Rena want to step back, but it wasn’t the thing that was the most surprising. The girl’s face… was covered in some weird scars. It looked as if her whole face had been burned, the only exception being her pale golden eyes. Rena felt unable to stop staring at her, as if hypnotized.

Hao… She’s… She’s so kyute! I wanna take her home!

“If she really insist for not eating, then leave her be,” the wavy-haired man said, getting Rena out of her daydream.

“B-But…”

“If she doesn’t eat, she’ll die though,” the swordsman replied, but there was no hint of sympathy in his voice.

“She’ll eat tomorrow. For now, we need to take care of the blood.”

Rena didn’t understand what he meant by that, but judging by Mell’s livid face, it wasn’t anything good.

“I… I can’t—”

“Hmph. You have a lot of demands for someone in your position. But be reassured, I had no intention of asking you to do such a task.”

Instead, he looked at the other man, and made a sharp chin movement.

“As you wish, lord.”

And with this, the swordsman entered the room, while Mell hurried to get up and go away. Just like the boy earlier, he kneeled down next to the girl — but it was not to give her food. Instead, he took out a knife in one hand, and a bowl in the other. Seeing this, the girl had this time an extremely intense reaction. She shrieked and tried to get away as much as she could from the man, almost crushing her body against the wall.

“No! No! Go away!” She screamed, almost hysterically. “S-Stay away from me!”

But the yells didn’t seem to faze the man one bit. He continued to approach her and firmly grabbed her shoulders. The girl started to struggle and scream and scratches at him like an insect caught in a spider’s web. Despite this, the swordsman had no problem immobilizing her, as if he was made of stone, and then plunged the knife in her arm. As red, shiny blood started to flow, he quickly put the bowl under her wound and simply waited. The girl kept on screaming and twitching, but no one reacted to her cries. The swordsman simply drained her blood in silence, the wavy-haired man looked at the scenery with arms crossed and a frown, and the boy seemed to want to run away from the place and forget about all of this. But none of expressed any guilt or sympathy for the girl that was being tortured under their eyes.

Rena also watched in silence, her whole body frozen by the surreal experience that was happening in front of her. Her eyes just couldn’t register what was going on. Or rather, she could understand, but her mind had way too many questions about it. Why were they doing this? Who was that girl? Who were the other men? But the questions felt minimal compared to the screams that were lacerating her ears. Her first reflex was to come in and put a stop to this, but she was well aware that it would be suicidal. Mell probably wouldn’t be too much of a trouble, but the other two were well-built adult men, one of them holding a sword at his waist. No way a lone young girl like her could just overthrow the three of them all at once… not like this, and not right now, at least.

As she was still lost in thoughts, she suddenly felt a gaze pressed on her and her blood froze in her veins. Slowly, she turned her head, and her eyes suddenly crossed the ones of the wavy-haired man. Her body reacted by reflex, and she instantly turned around and ran down the stairs as quickly as she could. Once she reached the chapel, she hurried to join a corridor and hid in the first room she saw. She stayed there in the dark a few minutes, to calm herself down. Then, she slowly opened the door, and glanced outside.

Nothing. There was nothing. No voice, no footsteps, no sounds. That was… odd. She was sure that for a brief instant, that man had seen her. That their gazes had crossed. Rena remembered how the swordsman had called him ‘lord,’ and it indeed had seemed that he was the mastermind behind this whole mess. If this man had noticed a stranger spying on them, surely he would have instantly ordered someone to go take care of her. She couldn’t believe that them draining the blood of a girl was public knowledge, so it certainly must’ve been a secret they didn’t want anyone to know. So why…? Did she just imagine him staring at her, after all?

Voices and footsteps reverberated from the chapel, and she instantly tensed up again. She tried to hear what was being said, but she was too far away to manage to grasp anything. After a while, the silence returned, so she glanced once again from behind the door. Upon looking at the end of the corridor, she noticed someone walking. The place was dark, but the fluffy blonde hair that shined in the obscurity made no doubt that it must’ve been Mell. She saw him stop in front of a door and enter a room. Rena returned inside the chamber she had taken shelter in, and collapsed on the bed.

She had two options. She could just sneak out of the mansion in silence, forget everything she had just saw, and move on with her life. Or… Or what? Infiltrating herself in the tower and save that girl she knew nothing about? That sounded like some silly fairy tale. To begin with, the door was locked. She had seen earlier the men use three keys to open the lock, which each had one. That meant she would need to steal their keys to open the door, gets the girl, and ran away with her, all of that without getting caught. That sounded… pretty much impossible.

She knew what the logical decision should be. This whole thing was none of her business. She knew nothing about this girl, about these men, about this entire affair. For all she knew, maybe they were even doing a good thing! Putting her nose into this would only mean trouble for her; and she was a lone foreigner who barely knew anything about the country. But…

But when she started to think that way, the girl’s screams resonated inside her head. The oppressive atmosphere of the room, the heavy scent of blood. Nellie’s sad face… Did Nellie even know about this? No, probably not. Rena might barely know her, but she couldn’t imagine that girl would agree to keep silent about such an inhuman thing. Once again, those scars-covered face and shining golden eyes flashed into her mind. Rena sighed, and smiled very briefly against the pillow.

“I can never abandon a kyute thing, after all.”

She stood up, grabbed her cleaver with her two hands, then got out of the room.

________________________________________________________________

With all the delicacy of a feline, Rena approached the door behind which she had seen Mell disappears. Nellie had told her that her brother didn’t sleep in the cabin with her, so she guessed it must’ve been his room in them mansion. The lights were turned off. Best case scenario, he would be asleep. Otherwise, well… She tightened her grip on her cleaver, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

The room was dark, but thanks to the light from the corridor she had no troubles to distinguish the bed, nor the boy who suddenly sat up on the mattress. So, he was not asleep. Well, it wasn’t a big deal. Unlike the other two, the boy looked quite spineless, so she shouldn’t struggle too much with him.

“Y-You…!” He exclaimed, recognizing the strange orange-haired foreigner. “Wh-What are you—”

But Rena didn’t let him the time to make any more noise. She didn’t want him to alert the other two right now, if they were still around. So she instantly brandished her cleaver and put it just under Mell’s neck. As soon as he saw the blade, the boy paled and stared at it with wide eyes.

“Keep quiet, and you’ll keep your head,” Rena ordered in a firm voice.

It took a few seconds for Mell to regain his spirits, and when he did, he raised his eyes towards Rena and glared at her.

Oh? Then maybe he’s not as spineless as I thought… Unless he underestimates me?

Well, it didn’t matter what he thought of her. She still objectively had the upper hand here.

“I knew it, you’re trouble after all,” he said, but he was pretty bad at hiding the tremor in his voice. “What did you do to Nellie?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t play innocent! You couldn’t have gotten close to her by coincidence!”

“It was absolutely by coincidence,” she replied genuinely. “And it’s also completely by coincidence I found you three draining this girl’s blood at the top of the tower. What would you little sister thinks of that, I wonder…?”

“You… You don’t intend to tell Nellie—”

“I saw you enter the tower by using three keys. I want the one you have.”

Rena’s tone didn’t vacillate in the slightest and her voice was as threatening as she could, but Mell was completely bewildered. He looked at her as if she had just told him she was a ghost or something.

“You… want to go save her…? Th-That’s impossible!”

“I don’t care what you think. Give me the key.”

“You don’t understand! You can’t open the door without the two other keys that the lord and the swordsman have! M-Maybe you can get the key from me, but those other two, they definitely won’t let you do! They’ll kill you without hesitation, and me too—”

“The. Key.”

She took a step further, putting more pressure on the cleaver’s blade. Mell gasped.

“You… You wouldn’t do that… I did nothing wrong, I’m innocent…”

Rena snorted. “I don’t care. I’m not afraid of killing.”

All while speaking, she gently slashed the blade against the white neck of the boy, and a thin trail of blood trickled on his skin. He shrieked, then instantly reached in one of his cloth’s pocket, before taking out a pretty, golden key.

“I-It’s there! It’s there…”

“Thanks!”

Rena smiled at Mell, her threatening aura instantly vanishing while the boy still stared at her with an astonished face.

“Y-You’re still making a mistake,” he added shakily. “You don’t stand a chance against—”

But he didn’t had the time to finish his sentence that Rena swinged her cleaver and hit him on the head. It was only with the back of the blade, so there was no way it was a fatal hit, just hard enough to knock him out. She still checked just to be sure, and while his forehead was bleeding a bit, he would survive.

“Sorry, I just don’t want to take the risk of you getting in my way…”

All while talking she took the key and put it in her satchel. She’d probably usually think it is a kyute thing she could bring back home, but she wasn’t in the mood for that. After she saves the girl, maybe.

Before stepping out of the room, she glanced one last time at the boy. She didn’t have strong feelings towards him, but she still hoped he’d be able to get out of here alive, if just for Nellie’s sake.

“‘I’m innocent,’ huh…”

She chuckled, then got out and closed the door behind her.

No matter how pitiful Mell’s claims had been, he had actually been right about one thing: it would be a lot harder to obtain the keys from the two other men than from the boy. She had guessed just upon seeing them that threatening their lives wouldn’t be enough — and her instinct was telling her that the swordsman was a lot more skilled as a fighter than she was. She would need to think about a plan to get them, then. The question was what plan. Hopefully they still mustn’t be very far from the house yet, maybe were they even still inside, so she shouldn’t have troubles finding them. She tried to think about the possibility of other people being here too — the ‘Saintess’ came to her mind, but from what she had understood she lived with Nellie so she probably wouldn’t be here this late at night. Unless she was also involved, which made things more complicated. She also remembered the third man was supposedly a ‘lord,’ so shouldn’t he have some guards posted around? But she couldn’t recall seeing any on her way here…

Once again, she really wished her friends were with her right now. Together, they would certainly have come up with a good plan in just a few minutes… But, no, maybe that was too naïve of her. She shouldn’t rely like that on people. She was all alone now, and even if she wasn’t, it was more certain to take of serious matter by yourself. Not even ‘friends’ were always reliable and trustworthy allies, and they could just as much become betrayers who stab you in the back, after all.

“Hey, you there!”

Rena froze. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with the swordsman. Apparently, fate refused to give her a chance to elaborate a plan before having a confrontation. She thought about acting innocent for a moment, but with her cleaver in her right hand, it would be difficult to swallow.

The man narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re… a foreigner, aren’t you?”

His expression told her he mustn’t have seen someone akin to him since a long time. Which wasn’t surprising; in the ten months or so since she’d arrived in this country, she didn’t think she had come cross anyone from the Far East like her.

“I am,” Rena simply answer, seeing no reason to lie here.

The swordsman contemplated her for a moment, then his gaze slid towards the cleaver in her hand.

“What were you doing here?”

Rena tried to think up something to get her out of this situation. But no matter how much she ransacked her brain, nothing came to her. So in the end, she just sighed, and smiled at the man.

“I’m here to save the kyute girl in the tower.”

The swordsman had no reaction at all to her arrogant nonchalance. He just stared at her coldly, before an odd, distorted smirk slowly stretched his lips.

“I see. Then I’m sure the lord won’t mind if I kill you in that case.”

And then, before Rena could retort anything, he drew his sword and ran up towards her. Rena’s body reacted instinctively, and when he raised his weapon to cut her she instantly managed to parry it with her cleaver. The two blades clashed in a metallic ringing, but she didn’t have the time to catch her breath that the man went on with his next attack. He assaulted her with a strong rain of hits, one after another, so swift and sharp that the girl could barely see them at all. She greeted her teeth and glared at him, but the man didn’t seem unsettled in the least.

Rena gave the sword a hit more forceful than previously, and managed to get away momentarily before starting running in the mansion’s corridors. The man instantly chased her down, of course.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He shouted at her from behind. “Are you really running away after talking so big? Let me hear you beg for your life and maybe I’ll consider letting you live!”

Rena stayed quiet, not falling for the preposterous provocations. She wasn’t trying to escape, just to buy some time. She knew that man was stronger physically and more skilled than her, by a large margin. There was no way she could beat him in a face-to-face fight. So she had to find another solution, somehow.

In her dash, she inadvertently ended up finding herself in the chapel again. The stained-glass angel was shining of an ominous light thanks to the moon behind it. However, Rena didn’t have the time to admire it this time, as the swordsman quickly caught up to her, chasing her down like a beast towards his prey. Finding herself cornered, she had no other choice but to yet again fend off his sword in the middle of the bench rows. Right under the angel’s impassive gaze, they kept on exchanging hits after hits.

The girl was defending herself quite well, but there was no doubt as to who had the advantage in this fight. In fact, Rena was pretty sure the man was holding himself back against her, maybe just for his own amusement. She groaned, trying to find the slightest opening she could use… but in her impatience, she let her guard down, which the swordsman didn’t hesitate to profit off. He swung down his sword, and the blade mercilessly cut through the girl’s shoulder. She screamed in pain, then lost her balance and fell down on the ground, letting go of her cleaver at the same time.

Despite the vivid pain and the blood already soaking her clothes, she still had the reflex to rush towards her weapon, but at the last moment the man crushed her hand with his heel. She moaned then threw a glare at him. The only change in his expression was now the clear sick pleasure he had to have the girl at his mercy.

“You run quickly and you do know how to use that weapon, I will give you that,” he said, his voice vibrating with sadism, and Rena was pretty sure it was the first emotion she had felt coming from him since earlier. “But it stops here now.”

She said nothing; not letting an ounce of fear transpiring through her blue eyes, not a single hesitation shaking her body. Just anger. The man narrowed his eyes at her curiously; maybe was it because he had expected her to beg and cry for her life. But Rena would never give him the satisfaction.

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t play much more with you sadly, otherwise I could in troubles. Well then—”

He raised his sword, his eyes shining like a predator’s, while the girl was still lying on the ground, bleeding and gasping painfully. And then he struck it down—

“Wait.”

—but stopped at the last moment. Both he and Rena turned around in surprise, to see the shadow of a man drawing near them — the last one of the three, of course.

“Lord…”

The swordsman seemed almost irritated to have the other man barge in, but he still managed to stay courteous enough. The ‘lord’ didn’t seem to notice or maybe care about it though, he just stared down at the teenage girl on the floor.

“Who is she?” He finally asked. “What is going on here?”

“She is an intruder who knows about the witch,” the swordsman replied, his monotonous, indifferent face back in place.

The witch…? Rena repeated in her head, but didn’t have time to ponder much more about it.

“She knows?”

“She told me she was here to save her. This is why I decided to take care of the problem before it could reach you.”

“And since when a dog acts without his master’s orders? The least you could have done is consulting me about it before making that decision.”

“You’re right… I apologize, lord.”

The swordsman politely inclined himself in front of the lord as a sign of excuse, as Rena watched the scene in silence. The wavy-haired man then eyed her with disdain, and crossed his arms.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much either way. We can’t keep her alive if she knows. So just get rid of her.”

Right at the moment he finished his sentence, Rena seized her chance. With the arrival of the lord, the swordsman had stopped paying so much attention to her, which meant it was the only opening she could have. As quickly as she could, she grabbed her cleaver, got back on her feet and almost jumped on the lord. Before the two men even had the time to react, she was already tightly holding the lord’s arms and had her cleaver’s blade under his neck.

“Don’t move!” She yelled, as the swordsman was reaching for his own weapon. “Don’t move or I cut off his head!”

As if to show she was not kidding, she pressed the blade against the skin of the lord even more. The swordsman frowned. He didn’t try to reach for his sword anymore, but he didn’t seem particularly distraught either.

“Do you think I care even slightly about what might happen to this man?” He asked.

Rena smiled. “Probably not,” she admitted. “But he is your boss, isn’t he? You must be working under him because only he can offer you something. So his death would be pretty inconvenient to you. Am I wrong?”

She certainly wasn’t, because a slight annoyed scowl formed on the swordsman’s face.

“I want you to put your sword on the ground, and make it slide towards me,” Rena ordered. “Or else…”

“Don’t listen to her,” the lord finally spoke. “I doubt a girl like her actually could kill anyone. She’s just playing tough.”

However, the swordsman seemed less certain than his employer. He eyed the girl suspiciously, deliberating her order while staring at her in the eyes. Rena sustained it with determination.

“I don’t want to offend you, lord,” he finally said. “But I think I disagree on that one.”

And then, just as he had been told, he put the weapon on the ground and slides it towards Rena, while the lord sighed heavily. She quickly retrieved it, then threw it as far away as she could without letting go of her hostage.

“Now I want you to come towards us.”

They were about three meters away from each others. The swordsman looked at her once again, then stepped forward. Two meters. One meter. And before he could get even closer, Rena suddenly slashed the lord at the waist, and then with a slick movement of the wrist, she cut the swordsman’s throat with great precision.

Blood splattered. She heard the lord groan in pain and fell on his knees, while the swordsman put both of his hands on his neck in an instinctive attempt to block out the blood. But it was fairly vain, as only a few seconds after he collapsed on the ground. Before it, he glared at the girl, an inhuman shine lurking in his eyes, and she thought his lips parted to say something, but she couldn’t tell what.

She looked at his agonizing body drenched in blood on the floor with an emotionless gaze, then she turned around towards the last man, her cleaver still in hand. He was still on his knees, breathing heavily and holding his wound. Rena stared at him in silence for a long time, before finally speaking out.

“You saw me earlier, didn’t you?”

The man only lifted his head towards her.

“When I was in the tower. You clearly looked at me in the eyes.”

“That… must’ve been your imagination…”

“No, I know you did. You saw me. And yet, you said nothing. It would’ve been easy to chase me down and kill me at that moment. In fact…”

She took a step forward, her gaze not letting go of his.

“It would’ve been easier to just let him kill me earlier too, instead of stopping him. Or to try to disarm me when I was holding you. Even with my cleaver at your neck, you’re still stronger than me physically.”

The man sustained her stare, but he said nothing back.

“Could it be… that you did that on purpose?”

His expression didn’t change at her accusation, as if his face had reverted to a mask of stone. But no matter behind which kind of layers and facets he would hide, Rena was still exceptionally good at reading other people.

“Did you want me to do this? To get the keys and free that girl?”

Finally, a haughty grin formed on the man’s lips.

“Hmph. Don’t be ridiculous. I am the lord. There’s no way on earth I’d ever want to do something as ludicrous as this.”

Rena kept on staring at the lord in silence, her eyes as cold as ice. She knew he was lying. But she also wasn’t exactly interested in getting him to say the truth. Her only goal was to free that girl. The rest didn’t matter.

“Well, I suppose so. Either way, it is none of my business.”

And so, she raised her cleaver once again, and gave the man one final blow. He didn’t try to protest or resist, and just collapsed on the ground like his subordinate. Rena then quickly kneeled besides the two bodies, searching them, and finally retrieved the two last keys, as well as another one which she guessed was for the chains.

The young girl was standing here in the chapel in front of the angel, her white dress all drenched in red, with two barely-alive bodies at her feet.

If she were from this country, she would probably find this to be quite the profane picture.

But she wasn’t, and there was only one thing she was interested in.

________________________________________________________________

She took out the three keys one by one, and slowly inserted them. Her hands were greasy because of the blood — both her own and others’ — but she still delicately handled them. The lock opened right away, she barely had to force at all, and then she pushed the door.

Climbing the circular stairs almost felt ceremonious, and the steps seemed a lot longer than the first time she had came here, as if they had suddenly grown infinite during the instant she was dealing with the three men. It took a few minutes for her to reach the top, and when she did she stopped in front of the closed door. As if nervous, she grabbed her satchel in which she had put away her bloody weapon. Her cleaver wasn’t the only thing covered in blood — her dress, her hair, her entire body were completely dark scarlet, and even if she had managed to stop the bleeding, her wound was still hurting quite a bit. She looked as if she had just been out of a war battlefield. She definitely was far from looking like a brave knight rescuing the princess.

But well, she wasn’t a knight, and that girl wasn’t a princess.

With hesitation, she grabbed the handle and stopped. For some reason, she felt… anxious. Why, she had no idea. She had done all of this just to save this stranger, and now that she was so close to her goal, it felt wrong, somehow. She knew she had to hurry before anyone notice something was off inside that mansion, but her feet refused to move. She didn’t even know how she should greet that girl or what to tell her. What if freeing her was a mistake, after all? What if the best choice was to just run away right now?

Rena shook her head, then breathed in forcefully. That wasn’t the time to hesitate. She couldn’t go back now. So she opened the door.

The dim luminosity hurt her eyes, and it took a few seconds for her to adapt to it. Once she did, the familiar, pitiful scenery she had seen earlier appeared yet again before her, in the exact same state, as if nothing that had just happened had been real. The girl was still there, chained, slumped against the wall. Her eyes were closed. Was she asleep? She seemed to be barely alive, to be honest. She looked more… like a corpse.

Wouldn’t that be funny if Rena had done all of that just for the girl to die at the least moment? But she pushed that thought away and took a step further. At this moment, and to her relief, the girl twitched. She suddenly opened her golden eyes and stared straight through her, making Rena almost jump out of surprise. But with the shook cooling off, she was just glad the girl was definitely still alive.

“Hi,” she said in a friendly tone, smiling gently. “I’m Rena.”

The girl replied nothing. She just kept staring at her vacantly, as if she wasn’t really seeing her.

“Ah, d-don’t worry! I’m not here to hurt you, or— or anything like that,” Rena added hurriedly, waving her hands in front of her. “I’m here to save you!”

But her reassuring words seemed to do nothing for the captive. Rena quickly started to grow uncomfortable, and she tilted her head.

“Can you… hear me? Can you?”

No answer. Rena sighed. Well, she seemed to be really out of it. It probably shouldn’t be surprising given what she’s been through until now. Rena didn’t know since when she had been detained here, but she guessed it must’ve been quite some time. Well, it didn’t matter much if she could speak or understand her or not. She just needed to get her out of here as soon as possible. First, she needed to—

“—el…”

Rena suddenly stopped when a hoarse, barely audible voice resounded inside the dark tower. It took some time for her brain to understand that it was coming from the girl.

“—gel…”

“Huh?”

Her murmurs didn’t even sounds like words, more like some background noises that struggled to get out of her mouth. Rena slowly approached the girl, and kneeled in front of her, putting herself down to her height and staring at her in the eyes. But the girl acted as if she didn’t even see her.

“—angel…”

“Angel…?”

“Are you… angel…?”

Rena blinked with surprise when she realized the question. She wasn’t sure if this was addressed to her exactly. Maybe it was addressed to no one. Even so, she slowly took her hand in hers — a tattered, dirty, covered in scratches small hand.

“I’m sorry… I’m not an angel. I’m just some foreign girl who got lost and wandered around here by mistake.”

The girl became silent again, her golden eyes empty.

“But I’m still going to save you.”

And with that, she searched for the keys she had retrieved on the lord’s body, and freed the girl from the chains. As she expected, this got no reaction out of her, so she then grabbed the only remaining arm, and then, after struggling for a bit, she managed to hoist her on her back. It wasn’t easy to carry another girl of the same age while wounded, even if she was extremely light, but Rena could handle it. She had no other choice.

With fumbling steps, she hurriedly get down the steps, walked through the chapel without doing so much as glancing at the men’s bodies spread there, and finally got out of the mansion, not even the stained-glass angel daring to stop her.

________________________________________________________________

She was bleeding.

Red liquid poured out from her wounds, trickling on her bare skin, sullying her body and the ground. It seemed as if the flow was endless. She felt no pain, though — the throbbing and aching had left her a long time ago, and in its stead there was only numbness and emptiness. Her vision was a blur, her mind a haze. She could only perceive shadows moving in front of her, vague laughing and chuckles, joyful voices rejoicing in her torment, like demons dancing in front of her. If someone had told her she was in Hell, she would have believed them.

But she wasn’t in Hell — this was earth, and those were humans, and maybe this was the most disgusting of truth to face for her. The chains around her wrists bounded her to the altar, preventing any escapes she could have.

Suddenly, the shadows stopped moving, and her surrounding began to scramble. Before her mind could understand what was going on, vivid pain reached her arm, lacerating and pitiless. All sorts of landscapes scrolled in front of her eyes — a carriage full of bloody corpses, a cottage in front of a lake, a mansion, a tower.

And finally, the figure of the lord, always standing in her way.

Despair, agony, betrayal, anguish all agglutinated inside her heart at the same time — but the most powerful of all, the one that overwhelmed everything else—

—was hatred.

She rose up, clutching sorely at the sheets as her eyes darted right and left around her. She felt like she was lost inside a fog, the walls around her waltzing and shrieking as if they had a will of their own. As she painfully tried to regain possession of her broken five senses, yet another shadow took shape to her side, producing sounds.

“—ke… —p…”

But she didn’t even try to decipher what it was saying. There was only one and unique shadow that appeared both in her dreams and reality, after all. The lord.

So she pushed him with all of her forces, making him fall on the ground, and then, desperately groping blindly around her, she was able to feel the cold touch of a blade brush her fingers. Without waiting, she grabbed the handle of what looked like a cleaver and jumped on the silhouette before it could move again. She wasn’t strong enough to actually stand up, but she could still hold a weapon. Or stab someone with it.

“Die!”

That was the first word that escaped her mouth. The most precious wish she had cherished during all these months, the only thing that had kept her alive all this time — her voracious hatred.

“Die! Die…! I’ll— make you pay…! You… You—!”

The lord she was straddling caught the blade with his bare hand, unbothered by the blood that soon trickled down his hand. She tried to get back the cleaver, but his grip was too strong.

“Let… go! I will— I’ll kill you!”

“Given how weak you are, I doubt you’ll be able to even kill a fly like this.”

The voice made her stop instantly. Because this… this wasn’t the lord’s voice.

That person didn’t sound like the cruel man who had haunted her nightmares since she was a child… but like a young girl she didn’t know. No, that wasn’t true, she had heard that voice before—  

“—I’m still going to save you.”

She felt completely lost, and the shadow took the occasion to push her away and get back the cleaver. She collapsed on the ground, and all of a sudden it was as if she was a puppet whose strings had been cut off. She had no strength anymore, and just lay there on the floor, her whole body hot and aching. She heard a few slow steps coming towards her, and soon a face came into her view.

Blue eyes like the sky, and orange hair like the sunset. A sweet smile.

“I’m glad you’re awake! Please wait here, I’ll bring you back something to drink.”

________________________________________________________________

The girl came back in the room a few minutes afterwards with water and bread, and helped Morgana get back into the bed. Well, it wasn’t actually a bed, more like something that looked like an old mattress with some blankets thrown on it. As the other sat next to her, she took the glass of water and stared at it absentmindedly.

“I promise it’s not poisoned,” the girl said in a joyful voice. “It’s just water.”

There was a part of Morgana that felt silly of being suspicious of a simple glass of water… but then she remembered that given she had no idea where she even was, it was only natural. So she still didn’t try to drink it.

“I’m really relieved you woke up and seem well! You slept for almost two days, you know? So I was worried. So, um, well, anyway, I already introduced myself before but you probably don’t remember so… I’m Rena! Hey, what is your na—”

“What happened?”

“Wh-What? What? About what…?”

Morgana let out a big sigh and looked away. She could already tell that girl was going to be hard to deal with.

“About everything.”

“Oh… um, um…”

The girl, Rena, fidgeted with a flustered face, as if she was about to tell a very embarrassing story. After a while, she finally managed a small friendly smile.

“Well, it’s a bit, uh, messy, but I’m a foreigner who got lost, and I found out this church by coincidence. I saw you and those… men in the tower, and so… so… I thought I should do something, you know? You know?”

Morgana stared blankly at her, somehow expecting more. But there was nothing else.

“You make absolutely no sense,” she finally declared. “Why would you randomly decide to help out a complete stranger at the risk of your own life?”

“I-I know it’s not very logical! But, well, I just…” Rena closed her mouth. Looked down. “I just couldn’t do nothing.”

“Yes, you could have. That wouldn’t have been very difficult.”

“Are… Are you actually angry at me for saving you…? Are you?”

“So how did you do it? How did you manage to get past the lock and get me out of the tower? I can’t believe these men cooperated willingly.”

“Oh, that. Well, I just cut them with my cleaver, retrieved the keys and got out of here with you as soon as I could.”

She said all of this with a wide smile, as if it was no big deal at all. Morgana stared at her, expecting her to tell her she was kidding, but nothing came afterwards.

“And?”

“Th-That’s all…?”

“That can’t be all. There’s no way a single girl could overpower three men with just a cleaver.”

“Well, it wasn’t easy, it’s true, but it’s possible. As proof, you wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Morgana felt the urges to yell at her, but managed to stay calm. She didn’t believe her, but she had the sensation that even if she kept asking questions she wouldn’t get another answer. So she breathed in deeply, and tried to gain the most knowledge possible.

“Where are we?”

“Oh… um, I’m not really sure to be honest. I think it must’ve been an old ranch to keep cattle or something, but it seems to have been abandoned for a while. It’s in the middle of the forest, about an hour away from the city. It’s not ideal to hide in, but for now we’ll have to content ourselves with that.”

“What happened to them?”

“The men? Oh… I just knocked out the flaxen-haired boy, so he should be fine, but I dunno what must’ve happened to him afterwards. As for the other two…”

Rena grimaced and looked away. She seemed hesitant to continue speaking, so Morgana had to push her.

“Are they dead?”

“I, uh, I’m not sure? I cut them pretty badly and they were bleeding a lot when I left, but I didn’t actually, um, checked if they were still alive or not…”

“So there’s a chance they’re still alive?”

“Yes… I think.”

“I see… Good.”

“Are you… relieved they’re possibly still alive?”

Morgana snorted at this, which quickly morphed into full on chuckles.

“I suppose you could say that,” she finally blurted out. “Yes… these men, they can’t just die like that… Not after what they did to me…”

She clutched the blanket and her long hair fell in front of her face, darkening her usually pales eyes.

“Dying would be a way too easy fate for them… They need to suffer… Suffer just as much— no, even more than me…”

A fate worse than death. A fate worse than being locked up in a tower and having their blood drained.

A curse — she wanted— needed to inflict a curse upon them, watch their lives slowly get torn apart, one by one—

“Do you intend to take revenge on them?”

Morgana turned her head towards Rena at the sound of her question, and their eyes met. The orange-haired girl was staring at her without saying anything, her face unreadable. She didn’t appear disturbed by Morgana’s grudgeful words in the least, and her question had a surprising innocuous tone to it, as if she had just asked her what was her favorite food.

“Aren’t you… scared of me?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Because of… my scars.”

“Oh, those!” Rena chuckled. “Not at all! In fact, I think they are really kyute! That was why I wanted to take you home, you know?”

Morgana felt as if she had just been hit with a rock. ‘Cute’…? Did she just call her scars ‘cute’? Was that girl completely insane? Maybe it should’ve made her feel happy, to hear someone call her hideous face ‘cute’ for the first time, but it actually ended up have the opposite effect.

Instead, she felt angry. Like that girl was mocking her. Mocking her suffering, her struggles, and entire life.

She tensed up and grinded her teeth.

“What are you going to do with me now?”

Rena blinked ingenuously and tilted her head. “What?”

“I’m not an idiot. If you saved me, it must’ve been because of personal interest. So what do you want of me?”

“Wh-What? No! Did you think I was lying earlier?”

“Of course. Who would believe such an inane story? I’m betting you must’ve heard about my blood and came here to profit off it.”

Rena frowned, and she seemed to think for a while before replying:

“Your blood… I saw the men drain it from you in the tower. It’s what the church is giving out as medicine, isn’t it? I heard it was called ‘Saint’s Blood,’ but… it’s actual, real blood. Yours.”

Morgana narrowed her eyes, but stayed quiet.

“Did these men kidnap you? I mean, I can’t believe you would’ve ended up in this tower willingly…”

“This is none of your business.”

“I wasn’t lying earlier. I told you the truth, I promise. So the least you could do is told me your story as well, right?”

“Please. Do you honestly want me to believe you just randomly decided to save me, out of the kindness of your heart? What a generous person you are.”

“Is that something that sounds really so impossible to you? That people just do kind things sometimes?”

Of course that was impossible to her. Everyone in her life had only thought of her as a tool and acted kind as a way to profit off her, even her own mother.

And the only people who hadn’t… well, they were dead now. She had absolutely zero reasons to trust this suspicious foreign girl. For all she knew, she wasn’t even the one who had saved her.

And then, suddenly, Rena started to giggle, which made Morgana even tenser.

“You know what? You’re not wrong, actually. I didn’t save you just out of kindness. I’m not a kind person at all, really.”

Her voice sounded a little off, and Morgana felt a chill goes up her chine. Rena stared at her, but there was an odd shine in her blue eyes, something unwell.

“I just thought you looked kyute and wanted to take you home. So I did. That’s all.”

“What… What are you…?”

“But for now, I don’t intend to do anything with you.”

She suddenly stood up, her smile not leaving her face. “After all, you can barely get out of the bed yet, right? I am also wounded, to tell you the truth, so for now we’ll have to stay here for at least a few days. We won’t be able to stay too long, though, because I can’t believe people won’t do anything after what happened to their lord, so afterwards it’d be safer to just leave the region…”

Morgana couldn’t bring herself to say anything as that girl seemed to plan her next few weeks all by herself. She definitely felt irritated and wanted to shut her up and tell to stop taking all these decisions by herself… but the fact was that, she wasn’t wrong.

Morgana could barely walk, she had one arm missing and had lost a huge quantity of blood during the past few months. There was no way she could just go off on her own.

As if she was reading her thoughts, the girl smiled again and told her in a light voice:

“So in any case, it seems we’re stuck together for now, that you like it or not.”

And then she left the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Morgana all alone in the dim room.

________________________________________________________________

It took Morgana at least three days before starting to feel like she was regaining some strength. She still almost couldn’t get out of bed though, so she was spending most of her time in the arranged room, in that bed that wasn’t one, staring at the ceiling and counting the spider webs while she was lost in thought.

Her thoughts, of course, usually came back to what had happened to her. A lot of her memories felt fuzzy, and trying to think too much about it would give her a headache, but she still had managed to retrace the events she had been through in the last few months. Her encounter with the flaxen-haired boy. His betrayal. The beast cutting off her arm and kidnapping her. And finally, discovering it was the lord, out of everyone, that had been behind all of this, for some disgusting greedy plan of using her blood yet again.

Just recounting all of this made her hatred feel stronger than ever, but at the same time, it all felt surreal, as if she had dreamed everything up. As if it was a story she had read somewhere and not something that had actually happened to her. But her missing arm was a sore reminder that all of this was true.

She wanted revenge. That was the thing that had been on her mind all these long, insufferable days inside that tower. She wanted to kill them. Tear out their eyes. Stab their stomachs and watch them bleed to death. Just made them suffer, as much as possible, and by her own hands.

But despite how overwhelming her anger and hatred was… she still felt that slight pang of guilt at this. Not because she pitied the men, but because wishing harm upon others would just go against her very identity as a saint. Saints were martyrs. It didn’t matter how much humans could hurt them, they had no right to retaliate in any way, because they were pure and selfless.

But could she really call herself a saint, after how much she had been mutilated and tainted and mangled?

(Had she ever been a saint to begin with, though?)

“Hey! Lunch’s ready!”

Her door brusquely opened, and a smiling young girl burst into the room with a tray full of food.

“I tried to make something new today, I hope you like it! Sorry, I’m not too used to the food of this country yet, so hopefully it’s not so bad…”

The girl kept babbling happily while sitting next to Morgana, not seeming bothered in the least by her glare. She had acted like that for the past few days, as if the two of them were friends and not strangers clearly suspicious of each others.

Rena was a weird girl. She was a cheerful, friendly person, and despite how coldly Morgana treated her or how much she tried to ignore her she kept talking and taking care of her with a sweet smile on her face. From time to time, she’d have odd reactions like getting flustered about the most ridiculous of things or getting lost in thought and fawning about things that escaped common sense. She wasn’t afraid or disgusted by her scars, either. She loved cooking and pampering her and ran around the abandoned ranch energetically despite her own wound.

She had told her some vague information about her, how she came from a country in the Far East and had been here for business with her father and how they got separated, but she never gave any details about it.

In a way, Rena reminded Morgana a little of her time at the brothel, as a weird mix of the blonde woman who acted as a big sister to everyone and the exhaustingly cheerful dark-skinned girl. (But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t remember their names, or even their faces.)

And all of this, actually, made Morgana more uncomfortable than anything. She actually would’ve preferred that Rena treat her coldly rather than that, it would’ve been less tiring and unpredictable. Because she was sure these acts of kindness and friendliness would end soon enough, at any moments.

There was something… dark lurking in Rena’s shadows, in the deepness of her blue eyes, and that darkness couldn’t help but make Morgana suspicious of her whenever she’d smiles at her.

“You don’t eat?”

Rena asked her with a worried look, as she was biting into her own piece of bread.

“I’m not hungry.”

“No, that’s not good! You have to eat, otherwise you won’t get better.”

“Maybe I don’t want to get better. Maybe I just want to stay here and wither away all alone.”

Rena’s happy smile fell from her lips, and instead a frown darkened her face. This was a serious expression she would take sometimes, when Morgana acted a bit too cold towards her.

“No, you won’t,” she said, and it almost sounded like an order. “You will eat now. I didn’t prepare all of that for you to waste it, and I didn’t save your life for you die now.”

“I never asked you to prepare this, or to save my life, for that matter.”

“So you would’ve preferred to stay in that tower and die all alone there?”

Of course not, who would want that? Morgana almost spat out, but she restrained her tongue.

Certainly, she wasn’t content with her situation right now and it was more than frustrating to be at the mercy of this weird, suspicious stranger… but she knew there were still worse fates. Like being chained up on that altar under the cruel mad eyes of a lord. Or dying little by little in a tower without anyone even knowing about it.

She sighed, then after a few moments, finally grasped the fork Rena was holding out to her and piqued inside her plate. She made a point to not look at the other girl, but she could still guess her satisfied smile on her face, which pissed her off. She had the reflex to want to use her second arm, before having the painful realization she could never do so ever again. She still wasn’t used to this, and with the pain having fading away, she sometimes had the sensation to still have it.

Her life would never be like before ever again. She already knew that of course, and it wasn’t the first time she had experienced that feeling, but right now she felt even more lost and disoriented.

She had her hypothetic revenge to keep her alive, sure. But then what? What was she supposed to do after that? She couldn’t go back to being the witch of the lake selling herbs to whoever would dare to come. She just…

“Do you want me to help you eat?”

Morgana glared at Rena. “I am not a child,” she dryly replied. “Don’t treat me like one.”

“A-Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just, uh…”

Morgana angrily started eating her food while Rena fell quiet, her cheeks as red as a tomato. Their meals were generally just a handful of vegetables and bread, or sometimes potages. Which was comprehensible given they were technically in hiding, so Rena couldn’t go in town often to buy supplies. Furthermore, they had no money.

Well… I don’t have money. I actually don’t know about her… That’s right, how did she even get the flour for the bread? And the dishes?

“So, um, don’t you think it’s time for you to tell me now?”

Morgana stopped eating, and looked up at Rena strangely.

“What?”

“I want to know your name,” Rena specified gently. “And, well… I’d like you to tell me a bit more about you, too. Like, what were you doing before getting… in that tower? Don’t you have any family?”

“You don’t need to know my name.”

“But I told you mine. You can’t risk much by telling me your name, right?”

Well, she had a point. But the last person she had trust with her name had betrayed her and she found herself with one arm missing locked up in a mansion.

“I… don’t have any family,” she finally decided to say. “Before that, I lived by myself in a small cottage near a lake.”

“Oh. That sounds… lonely.”

Rena grimaced while saying this, and the idea of being pitied by that girl felt incredibly insulting for some reason.

“And then those men kidnapped you?”

“Yes… Well the beas— the swordsman did. The flaxen-haired boy lured me in so he could have my arm. It was all under the lord’s orders.”

“Hmm…”

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell her all of that, but those were all things she could’ve guessed by herself anyway. More than anything, Morgana still expected her to ask her information about her blood, and then to give some to her… But apparently that wasn’t even something that crossed Rena’s mind.

“Don’t you have any friends either?”

“What? No… Why would you demand that?”

“Well, for nothing? I did have a nice group of friends back in my village, you know. We were pretty close, I think… I think.”

For some reason, her gaze became a bit vacant, as if she was doubting her own words.

“Then what happened to them?”

“Nothing… They’re still back in my village.”

And then she stayed unusually quiet. Not like Morgana was all that interested in knowing more about this girl or her so-called friends, anyway.

“So, so! You finished eating, right? Let me bring all that back, then!”

“Ah— Wait—”

Morgana tried to grab Rena to stop her, but she missed her and instead fell on the ground. She heard Rena gasp loudly and run towards her instantly.

“A-Are you okay? Are you? O-Oh, wait, I’ll help you get up, I’ll—”

“I’m okay! I’m okay…”

Morgana raised herself up with her only elbow, and grinded her teeth at how difficult it was without her other one. Rena stared at her worryingly.

“How did you fall so bad…?”

“It’s… my arm, I think…”

“Huh?”

“I’m… still not used to it, so I lost balance… It’s nothing.”

“Oh…”

Morgana instinctively brought a hand to her shoulder, where the rest of the arm should have been. It felt so off. So wrong, to have just an empty space here, and it made her stomach turn. They both sat on the ground face to face, without saying anything for a moment. It felt too awkward, for some reason. Then, suddenly, Rena broke the silence:

“You want me to bring it back to you?”

Morgana almost strangled herself.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You said the one who took it was that boy Mell, right? Then I could go ask him to give it back.”

“Y-You want to bring me back my arm?”

“Yes? That’s a bad idea?”

“D-Do you even hear yourself? That’s insane. Even if you were to get it back somehow, what would I do with it now?”

Rena put a finger on her lip, and tilted her head innocently. “Sew it back?”

“You’re completely crazy!”

Morgana shouted at her, and the process made her whole body hurts. She coughed a little, and then heard a giggle. When she raised her head, the other girl was laughing softly.

“It’s the first time I see you getting angry like that,” she simply said, smiling. “Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I see you having any kind of emotion at all… Well, except for glaring at me. Does that count as an ‘emotion’? Does it…?”

Wait. Could it be… that she said all those inane things on purpose? To makes me react?

Morgana stared at Rena blankly for a moment… then she snorted.

“You are really weird,” she mumbled.

“Hmhmm, I know.”

Maybe… being at the mercy of this strange girl wasn’t the worst of fate. Maybe it was something she could actually survive, this time. She sighed, then looked up at Rena.

“I… am Morgana,” she said softly.

Rena blinked at her in astonishment, her mouth opening so wide an entire apple could fit in it.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t trust you in the slightest. But like you said, it would be pretty awkward if I was the only one knowing your name…”

A big, silly smile brightened Rena’s face. She giggled yet again and nodded happily.

“Your name ends just like mine,” was the only comment she made.

________________________________________________________________

“—ou think?”

“Huh…?”

Morgana gasped, and looked around her with agitation. Rena was in front of her, looking strangely at her.

“Morgana? A-Are you okay…?” She asked warily.

“I-I… ah…”

The first thing she saw was a blinding light. There was a soft wind brushing her skin. Her eyes stung and it took her a few long seconds to make sense of her surroundings. She was outside, in front of the ranch. The entire area was covered by enormous trees, so the place felt fairly dark, but some sunlight still managed to pierce the foliage. In a way, it gave her a sense of security, as if no one would ever be able to find them here.

Morgana was drowsy and numb, her mind a mess, as if she had just wake up from a particularly deep slumber. The sudden light made her feel a bit dizzy and she quickly sat on a rock nearby to not stumble, under Rena’s worried gaze. What was she doing here…? She remembered waking up this morning, eating lunch, and then… then nothing came to her mind, like she had just blanked out.

“Hey, what’s going on…?” Rena asked again.

“I’m… fine,” Morgana blurted out, massaging her temples. “What… uh, what are we doing here?”

Rena blinked, a clear confusing sprouting on her face. “What? What do you mean?”

“I… mean what I mean. Why are we outside?”

But her precision only seemed to worsen the situation. Rena looked at her as if she had told her the world was going to get destroyed.

���We… um, u-um, th-that’s… I mean, well, uh, you— you don’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

“Ah, a-after lunch I proposed we go outside for a bit, and you accepted, and we were just talking about what we would do if it started raining…”

This time, it was Morgana who was confused. She stared at Rena as if expecting her to explain the situation, but manifestly the other girl didn’t understand any more than her.

“You… really forget?” Rena asked again. “Y-You were talking with me normally up until now though…”

“I… was?”

She had no recollections of such a thing, though. After lunch, she had no recollections at all. What had happened? Had she really just… blanked out? She breathed in, trying to regain her calm and reflect about this logically. Now that she was thinking about it… this wasn’t really the first time this happened. She had vague memories of experiencing something similar as a child during her time at the brothel, but she was pretty sure it had stopped after she started living at the cottage. Or, well, maybe it did happen again, but given most of the time she was alone it was hard to tell…

“Morgana…?”

But in any case, it wasn’t something she needed to tell Rena about.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing important.”

“Are you sure…?”

“Yes. Forget about it.”

Rena stared at her for a while. It was obvious she wasn’t convinced at all, but still one of her usual smile blossomed on her face and she nodded.

“All right! Well, I’m just glad you’re able to walk and go out by yourself now. I’m sure you’ll be full of energy in no time!”

“I have… never been ‘full of energy’…”

Rena laughed light-heartedly and started to spun and bounces on her legs, as if practicing some sort of weird dance. Morgana sighed. Just watching her move like that was tiring to her. But… in the last few days, she had managed to get used to it. Sort of.

“What about you?”

Rena stopped moving and looked at Morgana interrogatively.

“What?”

“You were wounded too, right? At the shoulder, if I recall.”

“Ooh! That! Haha, I’m okay, I’m okay!”

“It seemed like it was a pretty severe injury, though…”

“It did hurt quite badly, but I’ve always recovered very quickly! I’m tougher than I look, you know? You know?”

“Is that so…”

“Were you worried about me?”

“Don’t be stupid.”

Rena laughed yet again, and Morgana rolled her eyes, and it seemed it had pretty much been their relationships since at least their first conversation.

“And…” Morgana started again, a bit hesitantly. “What do you intend to do now? Didn’t you want to find you way back? To search your father?”

“Hmm…” Rena crossed her arms, a pensive look on her face. “I guess so. Yeah, that’s probably what I’ll do, once you’re completely fine again.”

“You don’t seem convinced… Aren’t you worried about your father?”

“I think he’s fine… He’s a bit clumsy, but he’s still a grown up, you know.”

Even so, Morgana thought she was talking about him in a weird detached way, like he was some random neighbor or distant relative she didn’t know well.

“Aren’t you very close?”

“We are! Of course I’m worried. I’m just… I dunno. Maybe it’s just better that way, because I can’t really go back to him, or to my village…”

“Why? What about your mother?”

“My mother’s gone.”

A smile was still on her face, but it was a cold one. It made Morgana uncomfortable, and she understood she wouldn’t be able to get anything more out of her about this. The more she tried to learn about Rena, and the more mysterious she felt. It was almost frustrating…

“Anyway, how about we play a game?”

Morgana felt startled at Rena’s sudden change of mood and proposition. At the very least, she couldn’t say she was bored with that girl…

“A game?”

“Yeah! Look, I have this with me…” All while talking, she began to look through her satchel and pulled out what looked like a deck of cards. “One of my friends, you see, is a big game collector, and she gave this to me before we come here. The rules are really easy! Wanna try?”

“I don’t like games.”

Rena looked suddenly horrified, as if Morgana had given her a death sentence.

“You’re kidding, right? Right? There’s no way anyone dislike games!”

“Well, I do,” Morgana added. “I never even played one.”

Back in her village, the other kids would never approach her. At the brothel, maybe some of the prostitutes had proposed her to play some simple games with them at times, or the slave man had tried to get her to play with other children her age, but she had always refused. As the daughter of God, she couldn’t let herself be associated with such baseless entertainments.

“N-Never?” Rena sounded even more shocked. “Not even when you were a child?”

“No, I never had any interest in that. It is just meaningless.”

At this moment, Rena’s expression changed. Her face grew serious, and she frowned, as if Morgana had said something particularly offensive.

“It is not meaningless,” she declared, in a tone so serious Morgana wasn’t even able to retort anything. “Games are so important. They can bring so many things to people. So many things! If you have never even played one once, then there’s no way you could be able to understand that.”

Morgana felt bewildered. Why did she seem so angry about something ridiculous like that? Wasn’t that just a game? But before she could say anything, Rena fiercely grabbed her hand, forcing her to stand up, and dragged her inside the ranch.

“I’ll show you!” She said with determination.

“Wh-What?”

“We’ll play together! Whether you want it or not!”

Morgana felt like yelling at her, but for some reason the strength of Rena’s hand holding hers and the firmness of her steps felt undefeatable. So she let herself got dragged inside, sat on a bench and watched the other spread the cards in front of her without saying a word.

Rena explained the rules to her in a confident voice, as if she had done this her entire life (maybe she had, after all). The rules were, indeed, fairly simple: the cards had all different colors with some cute animals drawn on them. There was also a few characters on them which Morgana guessed were in Rena’s country language, but she told her it was just the names of the animals and not necessary to the game. To win you had to get rid of all the cards.

She was given one mercy round to get used to the game, but when things actually started Morgana quickly realized behind her sweet façade, Rena was extremely ruthless. She may be an airhead, slow girl in appearance, but she was in reality pretty shrewd.

“You have to cheat,” Morgana suddenly said after losing for the eighth time. “It’s not possible to win so many times.”

“I did not! I’m just really good at this game, and you’re not.”

“You liar. I refuse to play against you again until you tell me your trick!”

At this moment, Rena smiled maliciously, and looked at her with a mix between amusement and endearment, which felt incredibly condescending.

“Wh-What?”

“You know, despite the fact you act so composed and mature most of the time, you’re actually a really sore loser.”

Morgana felt her cheeks flare up, and never did she felt as glad that her hideous scars were there as now to cover up that fact.

“That’s quite the accusation, I am certainly not a sore loser. I think this is fair of me to ask for a proof that you are not cheating.”

But Rena simply starting laughing and Morgana suddenly felt like a flustered child trying to deal with a bully.

“S-Stop making fun of me!”

“Haooo, you’re so kyute! I wanna take you home! Ah, but I guess we’re already home, huh… Then can I hug you? Can I?”

“No. Stop that, you are grossing me out.”

“H-Hao… How mean…”

“I already told you to stop treating me like a child.”

“S-Sorry! You’re just… really making me think of one of my friends right now. She was also quite the sore loser.”

“Like I said, I am not—”

Morgana stopped, and let out a deep sigh. Evidently, Rena would not listen to her no matter what she said. The other girl giggled a little, and then an odd, nostalgic smile stretched her lips.

“My friends and I, we used to play these games all the time. We would gather everyday and play together like that… It was fun.”

For a few seconds, she seemed lost in thought, as if thinking back about her hometown. Then she looked up at Morgana, this time with a gentle smile directed at her.

“It felt a little like when I played with them right now,” she admitted. “It was fun too. Thank you.”

Morgana only looked away while restraining another sigh. She couldn’t say she had ‘fun,’ — she even felt quite annoyed she hadn’t been able to win even once — but… it had not been a bad experience. She would never bring herself to say this to Rena, though. Or to anyone, for that matter.

“You sounded close,” she suddenly blurted out, without looking at Rena in the eyes. “With your friends.”

“Yeah… I guess…”

“You ‘guess’?”

This time, it was Rena who looked away — not out of embarrass or shame, but in a contemplative way. Her face was neutral, as if all emotions had left her.

“I think… other people are quite weird, you see. I like my friends, but we were only just playing around together. We were close while laughing, joking, messing around… But…” She stopped. “When things actually started to get rough, I still was unable to believe in them and ask for their help. I couldn’t help feeling they’d betray me anyway. I was stabbed in the back like that in the past, you see.”

Morgana almost felt like Rena was more talking to herself than anyone else, so she simply listened to her in silence.

“I wanted to be… happy. And I thought I was happy, in my village. I was around people I loved and who loved me. But sometimes I just wonder if it all wasn’t just some façade. A factice happiness, maybe. Or maybe it’s just all part of Oyashiro’s curse too…”

She turned her head towards Morgana, and smiled at her in an odd self-deprecating manner.

“What is happiness, though? How do you know when you are truly happy?”

Morgana was unable to answer to that.

________________________________________________________________

The lord was laughing.

His voice was strident and raucous, rasping her ears, piercing her mind. But she couldn’t do anything, couldn’t stop listening to it. The ground seemed to get loose with each chuckles, and the walls appeared to want to swallow her alive. Everything was hurting, aching, crashing. She wanted to scream, but her throat didn’t even allow her that.

“No tears — now that’s a good girl. Dignified and saintly — that’s what I need you to be.”

Mangled words resounded in her head, but she couldn’t make any sense of them. The only thing she could feel were the chains around her ankle, and the vivid, unbearable pain in her arm.

It hurts, it hurts, it all hurts so much — and it was all their fault — those three disgusting men. The lord.

That’s right, she had swore to get her revenge against them, to get their heads, for what they had dared to do to her. They locked her up — she who was a saint, the daughter of God — and treated her even worse than cattle — made her a witch, draining her blood day after day until nothing was left of her…

Everything was hurting her, this whole world was worse than Hell itself — and the only way for it to end was to finally kill her torturers.

I wasn’t born to spend my whole life suffering—

She woke up with a start, gasping for air and feeling nauseous. Her entire body was trembling and she couldn’t breathe. She felt like a fish out of water and her mind, still trapped inside that tower, could see nothing but blood and chains and death. Her surroundings was spinning around her, but in a desperate attempt to make a term to her suffering, she jumped out of bed and ran outside the ranch.

It was pitch dark outside, even barely any stars shined in the sky, and the giant trees in front of her looked more like demons ready to tear out her soul at any moment. Yet, she kept running into the woods, bare feet, not caring about the way her long red hair got caught in the branches or how her skin got scratched. The feeling felt familiar, like an odd sensation of déjà-vu, and for a moment she thought she was back to being eleven years old in the slums, running without any goal in the middle of the narrow streets.

(Except this time, no kind young man would come calm her down and carry her on his back to show her the sunrise—)

She only managed to stop when her legs stopped supporting her and she collapsed on the ground. Leaning on the trunk of a tree, she kneeled down, coughed, and finally threw up everything she had in her stomach. It was as if she was trying to evacuate all the horrifying events she had gone through, trying to purify herself from all the pain and suffering and hatred. When she finally stopped, she felt empty — both in her stomach and in her heart. With no strength, she simply lay down against the trunk and stopped moving, before slowly closing her eyes.

Suicide was a sin and she would never even consider this an option, no matter how tainted she was, but in this very instant… she honestly wished she could just die. Just slowly fall asleep here, and never open her eyes again…

Unfortunately, fate wasn’t on her side, as instead she heard noise that instantly got her out of her slumber. She immediately turned around, and in the horizon, she saw some vague small lights. There were footsteps, too. And voices.

Who on earth could be out there in the woods this late at night? The will to know the answer to this question was stronger than her exhaustion and numbness, and she gathered all of her strength left to stand up and slowly approach the lights. After a few moment, she noticed apparently a group of men — at least four of them, on horses, with torches.

Actually, those weren’t simple men. They were wearing heavy armors, and swords — which meant they were likely knights or guards. At first, she didn’t think much of it. These men were working for the Church generally after all, weren’t they? Anyone serving God was deserving of respect. But then she suddenly remembered that actually, there was another authority they listened under other than the Church: the lord.

At this moment, a chill ran down her spine and she instantly backed away. A part of her wanted to believe it was only a coincidence. But it would be too naïve a way of thinking. Why would a group of guards wander in the middle of the woods at night? If the lord had survived, then there was only one answer…

They were searching for the witch that had escaped the lord’s clutches.

Panic grasping her, she started to run yet again despite how much pain her legs was in, but this time in the inverse direction. She traversed the forest with even more speed than earlier while her heart was beating so strong in her chest she thought it was about to explode and that her mind was only focused on one thing: that she didn’t want to go back there. She didn’t want to go back in the tower, not back to being chained and getting her blood drained. She’d rather get killed horribly than this.

The ranch appeared in sight rather quickly, but it was barely a relief at all, and she entered it before slamming the door behind her. There, she had only the strength to fall on the floor, gasping painfully.

Why was this happening? How did these men manage to arrive there? It had been about two weeks since her escape, but still, it felt too early. How were they able to find them in the middle of these lost woods? Had someone told them? Had someone—

“Morgana?”

A sweet voice got her out of her thoughts, and when she raised her head, Rena was here, in a pink nightgown, holding a candle.

Rena.

“Is everything okay? I heard noise…”

There were only the two of them here, after all.

“Morgana…?”

With some strength she didn’t know she still possessed, Morgana stood up, grabbed the cleaver that rested against the wall, and jumped on Rena. The candle crashed onto the floor, plunging them in darkness — only the dim moon through the window lightened the room. It was like a reenactment of their first meeting, except this time Morgana was fully aware who she was threatening with the blade.

“What are—”

“Shut up! You’re the one who warned them, right?”

Rena’s blue eyes, shining like jewels under the moon, widened like saucers.

“Them?”

“I knew it! You were suspicious from the start! Of course you’d do something like that!”

“I have no idea what you—”

“Stop lying now! I knew you’d betray me!”

An odd expression spread across Rena’s face that Morgana couldn’t exactly identify, but she had no intention to anyway. Anger and panic and fear all overwhelmed her mind and reason, and flashes of the flaxen-haired boy and of his kind smile and sweet words turned in a circle inside her head.

This girl was just like him, after all. Her smile was only there to trick her, and all of her words were honeyed poison.

“Calm down, you don’t make any sense,” Rena talked again. “Think about it, why would I—”

“I told you to stop lying!”

Morgana raised the cleaver and lowered it towards the other girl’s neck, but she managed to block out the blade and kick her in the stomach with her knee. Morgana momentarily coughed and lost balance, giving Rena enough time to got away from her and stood back up, but she didn’t let this rattle her. Quickly getting back on her knees, she yet again swung the cleaver at Rena, who avoided it by only a few margins.

“Stop that! You might be better now, but there’s no way you can win against me with my own cleaver!”

But Morgana couldn’t care less about Rena’s words. That girl was just like the three men. No, maybe she was worse — because she had actually tried to save her and gain her esteem before throwing her back into hell.

She wouldn’t forgive her. Not Rena, not the lord, not the three men, not anyone—

She kept swinging the cleaver at Rena, again and again, destroying quite a few of the woodwork in the process, but the girl was as agile as a cat and managed to get away from her hits with only a few cuts.

She couldn’t forgive, because that was all she had left now.

Everything else had been taken from her.

Her identity, her life, her possible happiness and future… everything had been crushed at the hands of humans.

Everything was just unfair and cruel and disgusting.

“Just… disappears!”

For some unfathomable reason, her Father had just abandoned her.

No… maybe he had never been at her side from the beginning.

Maybe her mother had been right. Maybe she was not the child of God, but of some devil.

Maybe she truly was a witch, after all—

“Die!”

Finally, blood splashed onto her face and dress. It looked black under the moon. She had hit Rena on her left hip, which made her let out a constricted moan while glaring at Morgana, before putting her back against the wall and letting herself fall on the ground. Morgana looked down at her coldly, taking slow steps towards her.

The girl was completely at her mercy. There was no way she could defend herself with such a wound. She would probably bleed to death if she left her like that too. Yet, Rena’s eyes showed no fear. It was as if death wasn’t something that even crossed her mind… or maybe it did, but it wasn’t something she cared about. Well, it was fine either way.

She raised the cleaver one last time, her eyes glaring down at the gasping girl.

She saw the flaxen-haired boy figure in her stead. The beast’s. The lord’s.

Her hands tightened around the handle, and she lowered it.

But the blade didn’t hit Rena at all.

Instead, it planted itself inside the wooden ground next to her.

Morgana was shaking. Her trembling hands let go of the cleaver, and she fell on her knees, her long hair scattering around her like a veil. A long silence swallowed the room, where even barely their breathing could be heard.

“What are you doing?” Rena suddenly asked softly.

Morgana shook her head.

“I have… no idea…”

She plunged her face in her hands.

“I have… honestly no idea at all. I don’t know what I should be doing anymore… I lived all my life being so sure of who I was and what I should be doing, but now… I have nothing of that anymore… The only thing I desire is revenge, but I don’t even think I have the strength to get it…”

She didn’t know why she suddenly bared her heart like that. Maybe she wasn’t really talking to Rena. Maybe she was just letting out feelings that had been swarming inside her head for the past days… no, maybe even for the past months and years.

“I really… don’t know what I should be doing from now on anymore… I feel—”

—like the entire hate me. Like God Himself hates me. Like fate and the universe have just decided to make me miserable for the rest of my pitiful life.

‘I wasn’t born to spend my whole life suffering,’ she had yelled in her heart, as hatred and anger and despair boiled inside her…

But what was she born for exactly?

“I feel… cursed.”

Another silence — no sounds, no noise to disturb her intimate monologue. Until a giggle break the moment. Morgana lifted her head slowly, and stared with confusion at the girl who was chuckling heartily as if she had just said the funniest joke ever.

“What a coincidence,” she finally said. “I am cursed too.”

Morgana blinked, her eyes stinging. She wasn’t crying, though — she felt as if all of her tears had left her a long time ago already, maybe when she had been brought inside that tower — and now she was just completely empty.

But in this moment, the girl in front of her looked just as empty and lost as her.

“I might… have lied to you a little,” Rena suddenly admitted. “I didn’t actually come here with my father.”

Her gaze lifted up towards the moon behind Morgana, as if to help her focus.

“There’s a deity called Oyashiro in my village, you see. She protects it and its inhabitants, and prevents any strangers to come in. But, on the other hand, there is also an unspoken rule you are not allowed to leave the village or you’d trigger her wrath.”

“A… deity?”

“I know in your country there is only one God who rules everything, but in mine, we have different faiths. Our ‘deities’ are not really the same as yours, but at least I know Oyashiro is real. She spoke to me, quite a few times. And she also cursed me.”

Morgana restrained her instinctive envy to say this was nonsense and that there was only one God in this universe, as stating the contrary felt like a personal insult to her. But she felt too exhausted to fight Rena on this, and just wanted to keep hearing the rest of the story. Maybe Rena guessed her train of thoughts, and Morgana wondered if maybe denying her village’s ‘deity’ would feel like an insult to her too, but she made no comments about it.

“Why did she curse you? Oh… Because you left.”

“Yes, though I was cursed before that. As a child, my family left the village to find jobs in a bigger city. I’ve lived there a few years, but then my mother… left,” she said, spiting the word, and Morgana felt there was a lot of grudge in that sentence, but she didn’t ask about it. “So my father and I came back. And then I thought it would be okay. It was, for some time. I met my friends. I thought I’d be happy again. But… Dad was still jobless, and in the end, he attracted the attention of some bad people.”

Her eyes darkened, and she clenched her jaw.

“These people wanted to use him. They wanted to take away my happiness. So I had to do everything I could to prevent this. I had to.”

“What did you do?”

Rena stared straight into Morgana’s eyes, her gaze resolute.

“I killed them.”

This should’ve come off as a surprised. This should’ve shocked Morgana to her core. But for some reason, it didn’t. Maybe she had already understood, somewhere deep inside, that this girl was a killer.

“But… I suppose I made a mistake. Or maybe that was just the curse. I think, some people related to the two I killed discovered it, and tried to come after me. I was knocked out, and when I came back to myself I was inside a boat’s hold, chained up, with a lot of other people.”

The blurry image of the aftermath of the brothel’s raid flashed through Morgana’s mind, as she was tied up inside that carriage with all those other strangers… just before the beast slaughtered all of them.

“Slave traders?” She asked.

“I’m not sure,” Rena added. “I was dragged around for quite some time, in boat and carriage, and thankfully none of them thought of checking my satchel. So when I got the occasion, I slashed them up and escaped. And that’s how I ended up here.”

Morgana sighed. She could understand why Rena would make up that lie, it certainly wasn’t a story she could to tell to everybody.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get back to my village, and even if I do… with what I did, I don’t know if I’ll be able to ever gain my happy life back anyway.” She chuckled. “Well, that’s something I’ve always known. Happy days never last.”

That was something Morgana could relate to all too well, and she hated how much similarities she could find in Rena’s words. The girl in front of her had just admitted to her she was a killer, a sinner of the worst category. It was disgusting and almost above salvation. And yet… she felt no disgust towards her at all. Only…

Maybe only something akin to sympathy.

That just illustrated how far she had fallen. But right now, she didn’t care all that much about it.

Without saying a word, she rose up, disappeared in the other room and came back her hands full of bandages. Rena watched her kneel besides her and starting to clean up her wound.

“What are you doing…?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I’m treating you. We can’t stay here any longer. I spotted some guards afar from here, and I bet they’re working for the lord. We need to get out of here before that.”

“Oh… so that’s why you suddenly panicked.” Rena chuckled. “Do you not think I betrayed you anymore?”

Morgana stopped her treatment, her eyes staring fixedly at the ground.

“I don’t know,” Morgana admitted. “You’re a killer and a sinner. I cannot trust you.”

“I bet,” Rena said, and there was clear amusement in her voice.

Morgana wondered how she managed to use a joking tone with such a heavy wound, but then again, she had been able to narrate her entire life story without so much as flinching despite it.

“But,” she added, still without looking at the other girl in the eyes. “I… can’t let you die here.”

“Really?”

“Take this as thanks for you saving me from the tower.”

“It’s you who inflicted this wound on me, though…”

“I won’t apologize for that, if that’s what you’re expecting. I still think my suspicions were fair enough.”

Rena opened her mouth to reply, but instead she just let out a moan as Morgana started to apply the bandage.

“You’re really rough,” she complained.

“I’m more used to handle dead bodies.”

“You what?”

“It’s nothing… For now, this should okay. We can’t spend any more time here anyway.”

All while talking, she helped Rena to stand up by handing her a shoulder and letting her lean on her body. Morgana was far from being a strong girl, so supporting the other weight of another human was quite the struggle for her. She thought about how Rena must have carried her all by herself from the tower to here, and wondered how on earth she managed to accomplish such a prowess. She certainly didn’t look any physically stronger than her.

Am I really starting to trust her words now? Stop being silly, Morgana.

But despite lecturing herself, she still gathered all of her strength to help out support the other girl as best as she could. As they slowly passed by the window, they could see a few lights twinkling in the distance. The guards had probably noticed the ranch by now, and were starting to approach dangerously close to it.

“They seem to be quite a few…”

“I’ve seen at least four of them earlier. Let’s hurry.”

In spite of these words, they couldn’t exactly run with Rena in this condition, and Morgana could hear her hiss and groan with each steps they took. She knew her wound was still bleeding too, but now was too late to regret her hysterical episode from earlier. She still thanked God that the ranch had a back door, and they managed to reach it after a few minutes of hobbling, finally leaving behind the dilapidated habitation they had occupied for the last weeks.

Once outside, they staggered a little in the middle of the forest, then took a pause against a large trunk. Rena was already gasping heavily, and they hadn’t even been walking for five minutes.

“How’s your wound?”

“Pretty bad,” she groaned. “I… doubt I’ll be able to run away from them like that.”

“We don’t have a choice, though.”

“You have a choice, however. You could just leave me here.”

“Not interested.”

Rena chuckled. “You really are a sore loser.”

“Shut up.”

Morgana sighed and sat down next to Rena, and the two of them stayed quiet for quite some time.

“You’re really okay with taking the risk to get back inside that tower because of me?”

“Then what about you? I just tried to kill you, and you seem completely fine with putting your life in my hands.”

“That’s right. That’s really weird, huh.”

“It truly is.”

Rena giggled yet again, and if Morgana didn’t felt so exhausted, maybe she would’ve let herself laugh with her.

“If we do manage to get out of these woods…”

Rena started talking again, her voice a whisper.

“What do you want to do?”

That was a question Morgana had asked herself ever since she had been out of that tower. How ridiculous that she’d spent the last few months wish for any kind of miracle to free her, and now that she was free, she was even more lost than she’d ever been in her life.

“Do you still intend to take your revenge?”

“Probably…” She hesitated a little, trying to search for the stars behind the heavy foliage of the trees. She found none.

“That’s the only thing I have left.”

“I see…”

“And you?”

“I still have no idea either. Healing that wound would be a start. And then maybe I’ll be able to find another kyute thing to take home.”

“We really won’t have much to look forward to then, huh.”

“I guess.”

They shared another moment of silence. Behind them, the sounds of the guards breaking open the door resounded brutally, but this put neither of them into a panic.

They just kept staring at the sky, entirely camouflaged by the trees.

Until, Morgana finally stood up again, and handed her hand to Rena. The girl smiled, neither a gentle or cruel one, before grabbing it.

Morgana had no idea where they could go, and they had very little chance to be able to run away from the guards.

But, in this instant, putting aside all of her complicated and complex feelings, she swore to herself they’ll manage to escape this place no matter what.

This was her gratitude for the lost girl who had saved her from the tower.

A mean for both of them to find their ways back.

[miracutrashcan]

Only the irredeemable should tremble (Part 1)

After being out of the fandom for so long, I was not expecting to write FanFiction so shortly after returning after the premiere of “Ladybug. So I am apologizing in advance for any character inconsistencies. Please enjoy! 

Spoilers for: Basically every single episode but primarily Ladybug

Part: [HERE] [2] [3]

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“So it was worth the wait, I can feel all of these negative emotions! Betrayal, hurt, rage, injustice, such a sweet taste! Not to mention packaged up nicely in one location for my Akuma to-” The sound of coughing caused Hawk Moth to stop speaking, attention is drawn to the source of the noise. Moving away from his window, he walked towards Nathalie, a concerned look on his face. She was on the ground kneeling, desperate to grab a breath. He needed her to be well enough to withstand being Akumatized so he could become  Scarlet Moth. However, given her current condition, it was clear her body couldn’t handle the stress. Even if they continued with the plan, he could tell that they would not have enough time to retrieve the Miraculous before the Akuma became too much for Nathalie to endure. Gently guiding Nathalie to her back, he laid her down on the floor. He could see the protest in her eyes as he gently shook his head. “The plan will not work with your health in such a fragile state. Scarlet Moth will not be making an appearance today.”

Another cough came from Nathalie’s lips as it was her turn to shake her head once the coughing subsided. She understood how much getting the Miraculous meant to Gabriel. She swore to herself that she would not let her failing health get in the way of helping him achieve his goals. Besides, if he got both Miraculous, then he could use the power to restore her health anyways. So in the long term, there indeed were no risks involved assuming that they can successfully retrieve the Miraculous. “I’ll be fine. We should not let this opportunity go to waste. Who knows when she’ll be able to drum up such a strong reaction again?”

A frustrated sigh came from the Butterfly holder. She was a stubborn one, and he would give her that much. However, this particular issue was not one he would budge on.  Moving his hands away from her, he made sure that she was as comfortable as she could be on the cold floor of the lair. Turning his back to her, he made his way back to the window. The negative emotions remained within the school. She was right, though, it would be a waste to spoil this opportunity. However, he was not going to implement the original plan either. He could sense one person's emotions growing stronger, a smile coming to his face. These emotions were oh so familiar, it was one of the few people he's been wanting to Akumatize for some time now. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the one person who has managed to evade his Akumas not just once, but twice now. Going based on the emotions he was feeling, it was clear to see that Marinette will be one of his strongest Akumas by far. There was a small concern he had over being able to control someone who has such a firm will though Hawk Moth had confidence in his ability to keep her subdued. A few reminders of what caused her to be in such pain should be more than enough to keep her in line. "You are right, and we shouldn't waste this opportunity. However, things will go a bit different than planned."

With an outstretched hand, Hawk Moth beckoned one of his butterflies to come to him. Once the butterfly landed with his hand, he gently covered the butterfly up and infused it with his twisted energy. "Fly away my little Akuma and evilize that wronged heart!" The once pristine white butterfly was now a dark shade of purple with corrupted energy coursing through it and effortlessly flying through the glass window of the lair and towards its new host. Once the Akuma left the building, Hawk Moth turned his attention back to Nathalie. Based on the emotions he could sense coming from Marinette, he had full confidence that she would not escape his grasp this time. Once Marinette was under his control, not only would he be able to judge for himself what Lila said about Marinette. But also gain possession of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous.  A small chuckle escaped his lips as he moved to tend to Nathalie while he waited.

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Marinette was furious. There was absolutely no way any of this would have happened unless Lila spent hours planning this day out. Everything was set up correctly if the goal was to get her expelled. Like usual, most people were quick to accept Lila's lies as the truth and to place the blame onto Marinette. They did not even bother to check the facts first, like with the test answers! The crime would have made more sense if the test answers were reported after the test was turned in, not when the test was being given back. If she had taken the answers after the test was completed, what good would that do her?

No one knew the sacrifices she's made for Paris, and to be fair, she did not want them to know. If push came to shove, yes, she would even give up her life to keep Paris safe. At the same time, she felt like she should be given some slack for all of her hard work. She's gone out of her way for just about everyone in this school. So what motives does she have for cheating on a test? If anything, that should be one of the first indications that something foul was at play here. Too absorbed within her thoughts, she was focused on getting out of this room so she could calm down away from these traitors and re-gather herself.

However, the moment she opened the door, the Akuma arrived just in time to slip into Marinette's purse before she had a chance to react. In that exact moment, Marinette felt an intense burning sensation where her Miraculous rested, and a quiet hiss of pain could be heard somewhere else in the room. As quickly as the pain came, soon afterward, a dark and familiar voice slipped into Marinette's mind. "Princess Justice. You were wronged not only by your peers but also by those in power. They were tricked by a devious fox and blinded to the truth. I am giving you the power to pass judgment and reveal the hidden lies of this world. All I ask for in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Do we have a deal?"

"How about you Hawk Moth? Do you understand how many people you have hurt since you first started tormenting Paris? Are you offering me the chance to judge your sins as well?" Marinette spoke to the unseen voice. The entire room went silent the moment that they realized what was going on. Uneasy glances were shared among Marinette's classmates as they were debating on what to do. Marinette was currently blocking the primary exit and one of the other hallways.

Off to the side, Lila was smiling to herself. Maybe now that Adrien can see Marinette at her lowest, he might lose interest with that idiot. Then again, Lila knew that she'd been  Akumatized a few times now so this situation may not work out as much in her favor as she would like. Though regardless, her classmates will see that Marinette is not that special anymore.

Alya was the first to move as she rushed to her best friend's side. Alya understood the pain of being Akumatized and would not want to see Marinette suffer the same way she did. "Come on, girl! I know that you are better than this! Focus on my voice and not his!" Was it risky getting close to someone this close to becoming Akumatized? Probably. Especially when Alya knew that Ladybug could be counting on her to become Rena Rouge. Though if she managed to get Marinette to calm down enough, Ladybug would not need her in the first place. She dropped her tone lower, so that way, only Marinette could hear her next words. "I believe you Mari, and I know that Adrien and Nino do too. I'm sure we can find a way to prove your innocence and get you back."

Hawk Moth swore under his breath. He could feel the negative emotions starting to waver and dissipate. He was so close to getting his newest villain, and he was not prepared to let this one slip through his fingers. He dug through the limited memories he could access, trying to find something that would back up his proposition and add fuel to the injustice fueled fire. Most of Marinette's negative emotions involved liars and himself. Of course, this girl would hate him. There was not a single person in Paris who loved the fact that he attacked the city regularly.  Though maybe this case just required a little bit more poking to get that obnoxiously strong will to buckle a bit more. "You are right. I have done countless things to this city that caused pain and suffering. Though they say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, once I retrieve the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous and achieve my wish, I shall face my punishment then."

"You never answered my question, Hawk Moth. Are you offering me the chance to judge your sins as well?" Marinette pushed the question again, the memories of seeing those she cared about changed into monsters wallowing in pain and anguish. It sparked a fit of repressed anger through her, and she remembers the nightmares that Alya occasionally share with her about being Lady Wifi. She's overheard her father talking to her mother about what terrible things he did while he was Akumatized, to name a few. She knew that there was no valid reason for Paris to have support groups for Akumatized villains!

A smile came onto the Butterfly holder's face, and he could feel her anger start to grow the longer he kept her talking. Maybe dragging out this conversation will give him the closure he needs to corrupt her heart. "I will let you judge my sins once my ultimate wish is granted." He lied, knowing very well that he can recall the Akuma once he has the Miraculous in hand. "Then again, how many other people have wronged or lied to you? Maybe to a loved one or a friend?" Now that he had greater access to Marinette's memories, he found out the truth about the Miraculous book. So she lied to him about who took the book to get Adrien back to school, interesting.

The memories of when Lila first came to school, and no one recognized the lies she was spewing came to the forefront of Marinette's mind. Then came the situation where she was almost arrested for being accused of stealing. Another memory came to mind, only this time of her uncle when Chloe sabotaged his food during the cooking competition. This caused Marinette to dig her nails into the palms of her hands. All those times, people she cared about was getting hurt by the actions of others. "It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? People doing bad things to others and usually being powerless to stop it? I'm giving you a chance to break the cycle Marinette. Become Princess  Justice and not only can you break the cycle of Akuma attacks but help protect those who cannot protect themselves. What do you say?" He could feel her reasoning and logic give away to the anger and desire to punish those who are irredeemable in her eyes.

She could protect the innocent and punish those who take advantage of others and not learn from their mistakes. Finally registering how tightly someone was holding her hand, Marinette pushed the hand away from her. "You are right Hawk Moth, I accept on one condition. You uphold your end of the deal, I get to personally judge you for your sins once I retrieve the Miraculous." After her last word is said a dark miasma covered the broken hero, a pained cry could be heard in the distance, then a solid thud, and finally silence.