Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Also, you might want to go on Youtube and search for the soundtrack for the famous umbrella scene… hehehe ;)

Hushed whispers could be heard as a girl stepped in her class, head lowered.

"Have you heard about her?"

"Yeah, she got akumatized. Can you believe it?"

"Wow, losing control of herself so easily."

Kunigigaoka Middle School prided itself on its strong students, and to them, being akumatized was not a sign of being strong. In fact, it was a sign of being weak.

Kurahashi shuffled to her seat and sat down gingerly, as her classmates' gaze turned towards her. She avoided their eyes and stared at the table.

Last time somebody from their school got akumatized, Okano was looked on with judging stares too. But, Okano treated it as if was nothing, and after Maehara apologized to Okano for partly causing the akuma, the fuss died down. Besides, Okano was in the school gymnastics team, and was notorious for kicking people (read: Maehara) when she got mad.

Kurahashi was different. She was more gentle and harmless, and that made her an easy target for bullies. She didn't know how to stand up for herself, and could just helplessly stand there as the negative comments stabbed her in the back.

Chiba had been in his seat when this all happened. He felt a fury rise inside him (he felt oddly protective of people these days), and wanted to say something to defend Kurahashi, but he couldn't find the words to do so. Everytime he wanted to make a comeback, his lack of confidence always pulled him down.

You're so useless in this form, he said to himself. If you were transformed, you would not have hesitated to help her.

However, a few more insults later (and Kurahashi looking like she was about to burst into tears), Chiba decided he had enough. He stood up abruptly, chair making a loud creaking noise as it was pulled back.

"You all should stop saying that. Being akumatized doesn't mean you're weak." Chiba began in a clear voice. Immediately, everybody, and I mean everybody, whipped their heads to him, surprised that the quiet kid in class was talking. Even Kurahashi stopped staring at her table to look at him.

Chiba felt awkward with so many people's eyes on him, and almost sat back down due to pressure. But he made himself continue.

"Everyone has their bad days. It's just a matter of luck if Kochou decides he wanted to akumatize you. So it's not her fault." Chiba said in a steely voice.

His classmates began to murmur, which made Chiba feel uneasy and his confidence began to plummet.

"So says the emo," somebody said. The people around them nodded in agreement.

Chiba was frustrated. When he was young, he didn't have long bangs and showed his eyes, but his classmates bullied him because his eyes scared them. Upset, Chiba grew out his bangs to cover his eyes, but now they didn't like his hairstyle.

It was then he realized no matter what he did, his classmates would still think of him as weird and unapproachable. Chiba resigned himself to that sad fact. He had been lucky that Okajima and Sugaya didn't think of him as a peculiar person, although they (especially Sugaya) still took a great interest in his eyes.

"He's right," another sharp voice rang in the classroom. As if controlled by some external force, everybody spun to the origin of the voice, which was by the door. To their shock, it was Hayami.

Neither Chiba or Hayami spoke much in class, and everybody thought of them as mutes. The classmates began to feel a slight dread settle inside them. If even the two quietest people in the class started to talk, something was up.

Hayami entered, cold green eyes sweeping over the room. "People can't control themselves from being akumatized. If you want to blame someone, blame Kochou, not the victim."

Hayami walked to a surprised Kurahashi and stood by her side, sending her classmates with a challenging look, daring them to talk back. Knowing the girl was serious, the class gradually fell back into their usual chattering.

How… cool… Chiba thought, respect for Hayami rising. The girl turned to him and nodded slightly in gratitude. Chiba gave a small smile, glad that he and Hayami had successfully defended Kurahashi.

Both Hayami and Chiba kept a lookout for people who might be depressed to stop them from being akumatized. Sometimes, their more confident, superhero self would come out, but other times, they would be scared of talking. Their kwamis often chatted about that while their holders were in lesson.

Tikki took a bite of a cookie and said, "I think our holders are becoming less insecure and braver."

"We did make the right decision after all," Plagg mused, lazing on an upturned bucket.

"It's really nice to see them changing for good!" Tikki smiled. "Anyways Plagg, how's the love square going on your part?"

Plagg snorted. "I think he doesn't believe that he actually has a crush at first. Now, he's acting like a bumbling lovesick fool. I prefer the old one."

Tikki giggled, which sounded like music to Plagg (not that he would ever say it). "They're always like that! Ah, young love."

"Yeah yeah, you take amusement in that," Plagg waved a hand and closed his eyes.

"It's entertaining, watching them fall in love with each other without knowing it!" Tikki insisted, blue eyes wide with excitement.

"It's funny, I can say."

"This time's going to be a slow burn romance," Tikki predicted, gobbling up the last bit of her cookie.

"Very very slow burn, considering their personalities," Plagg agreed. He gave a yawn, and said, "I'm gonna sleep."

"The bell's going to go in ten minutes," Tikki reminded him, and flew by his side.

"Actually… do you wonder what Nooroo's going through?" Tikki asked, her sunny expression fading as she thought about her fellow kwami.

Plagg sighed. "Sucks to be him. We're lucky, I suppose, despite the lack of quality Camembert."

"We'll defeat Kochou soon," Tikki said optimistically. "Nooroo will come back to us!"

"Without casualties, I hope," Plagg added darkly. Tikki knew that was a sore spot of his, so she didn't try to rub it in further. The two kwamis shared a quiet moment together, lying side by side.

"We've got to go!" Tikki said suddenly when she remembered the time. "Rinka-chi's gonna worry!"

"Mmm," Plagg muttered, annoyed because he had almost fallen asleep, but he had to wake up. Curse his bad luck.

Speaking of his luck, it had probably rubbed onto Chiba too. One time an akuma appeared while Chiba was bathing, and he had rush out suddenly, his hair still a sopping mess (fortunately, Ladybug didn't mind). Another time, Black Cat had wanted to visit Hayami's house to properly thank her for helping him when he was a cat (Plagg thought Chiba just wanted to see her), but Ladybug caught him. Black Cat had been very embarrassed, because his actions made him seem like one of those weirdo stalkers.

Plagg and Tikki also realized that their holders' workload had increased significantly, mainly because they had decided to take other people's loads on their shoulders, and because of the upcoming exams. This, coupled with their superhero duties, had lead to pressure and stress. Tikki had to remind Hayami again to again to take things easy, while Plagg just told Chiba to play video games like normal boys his age. Plus, those two were so determined to protect people from akumas even in civilian form, and that only burdened them more.

During lunch break, Hayami walked to seat and sat down. She had successfully chased away some of Kurahashi's bullies, plus somehow managed to comfort a student who had been crying by the vending machines. Apparently, Black Cat was also being nice to people at his school in an effort to reduce akumas, but no major changes happened.

Chiba had his book propped up, as his sleepy eyes peered at the lines of text on it. He was feeling tired these days, and Plagg told him that he thought he might be coming down with something. Being a stubborn person, Chiba refused to take sick leave, and instead worked even more furiously as if that would erase his light-headedness. Ladybug was aware of her partner's condition, but he only answered "I'm okay" whenever she asked him about it. Ladybug didn't want to seem too pushy, so she let him be, although she kept a close eye on him and unconsciously took damage for him.

As the days passed, even Chiba could not hide his sickness from himself. His headache worsened, and his body felt weak. He secretly took medicine (Chiba was determined to not let his family know), but because he didn't have enough rest, his sickness didn't go away.

Ladybug's concern only raised with time as she saw Black Cat wasn't getting better. She had a sinking suspicion that he was under a lot of stress. So one day, she approached him cautiously and talked to him.

"Hey… you can rest if you want. I can patrol on my own."

Black Cat didn't reply at first, and there was silence, the only sound being their footsteps on the rooftops. He was annoyed, mostly annoyed at himself for being unable to get better, so he was in quite a bad mood.

"I'm okay," Black Cat repeated the words he had countlessly said to himself and his kwami. He used his baton to push himself but almost lost his balance, landing awkwardly. Ladybug frowned as she swung herself forward using her yoyo.

"You sure?"

Black Cat was so tired; physically tired and mentally tired. He honestly wanted a break, but he knew if he rested, the workload would be even heavier than before. He was tired, so tired of his kwami's reminders to rest, so tired of Ladybug looking after him because he could take care of himself, so tired of everything. And something snapped inside Black Cat.

"Yes, I'm fine," the boy exclaimed with more emotion than he usually did. He became agitated and the words fell out of his mouth before he could think, "Are you saying I'm useless?"

"No!" Ladybug replied, getting anxious because of Black Cat's touchy behavior. "I'm just worried!"

"You're saying I can't handle things on my own," Black Cat muttered, walking ahead. "You don't trust me."

Ladybug winced when she heard his words. She knew both of them valued trust and respect greatly, and losing trust was an immense sore spot. The girl wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained quiet.

And not another word was passed between the two as the night stretched on.

"I might have been a bit too harsh with Ladybug," Chiba said to Plagg sometime later.

Plagg gave a "hmph" and didn't even turn his head to acknowledge his holder. Chiba translated that "hmph" as "you know you've done something wrong and I'm still mad at you so I'm ignoring you".

As they approached Kunigigaoka Middle School, Plagg zoomed inside Chiba's bag. The clouds above them were grey and the sunlight faintly shone through them. It feels like it's going to rain, Chiba thought. Suddenly struck by a thought, the boy opened his bag and rummaged through it.

"Hmm? Wassup?" Plagg asked sleepily.

Chiba sighed. "I forgot my umbrella," he said dejectedly after he had gone through every corner of his bag.

"Run home to get it?" Plagg suggested.

"No, I'm going to be late if I go back," Chiba replied, internally cursing his bad luck. He had never been late, and he was rather proud of that, so he didn't want to break his streak.

"I'm hoping it doesn't rain a lot," Chiba muttered half to himself, half to Plagg as he closed his bag and continued walking. He took a quick look at the time displayed on his phone screen, and walked even more briskly.

Meanwhile, Hayami was already at school, facing three people who were looking disapprovingly at her.

"I can't believe you can't finish it," the first girl declared, waving a piece of paper in the air. "It's not that hard."

"And you didn't do my part, too," the second girl said, arms crossed as she frowned. "I trusted you!"

"I thought you could help me. But I was wrong," the final girl said coldly.

Hayami bit her lip and endured all of their comments silently. She was so worried about Black Cat, she kept thinking about him and couldn't focus on her work the others gave her. Besides, Tikki had managed to convince her holder to sleep earlier, so she didn't stay up at night concentrating on work.

It's my fault, Hayami thought. It's all my bad.

"We're not going to ask you for favours again. It's clear that you're not trustable."

Hayami felt her heart go numb. "I'm sorry," she choked out. It felt automatic, yet unnatural at the same time.

"I'm sorry," she said to her mother when she got 60% on a test.

"I'm sorry," she said to Black Cat when she came to an akuma fight late.

"I'm sorry," she said to herself when she failed to do a task she set for herself.

But Hayami always did her best. She tried so very hard to make others happy. She couldn't exactly say "I'll do it better next time" when she had gave it all her might.

The girls ignored her, and with a toss of their heads, they went away. Hayami could gradually feel cold, hard disappointment settling inside her. Remembering the incident with Black Cat last night made her feel worse.

I just want to help. I just want to make things better.

And I failed.

Another thought appeared in her mind.

I'm a failure.

The girl stood up abruptly, pushing her chair backwards.

I'm talking to Tikki. She'll cheer me up.

As Hayami walked out of the room, Chiba entered. His eyes lit up when he saw Hayami. Her arm lightly brushed past his, and his heart skipped a beat.

Chiba tilted his head slightly until Hayami disappeared from view.

Focus! He scolded himself. This is not the time to be ogling after a girl!

He was thankful that Plagg was in his bag and missed the scene. He wasn't sure if he could bear with his kwami's annoying teasing.

Hayami made her way to the toilets and locked herself in a cubicle. Tikki immediately flew out, knowing exactly what her holder wanted, as she had overheard the conversation.

"It's okay, Rinka-chi," Tikki comforted Hayami. "You can't always succeed in life. There's got to be bumps and problems."

"I know," Hayami said. "I'm just… sad that lately, everything I do just doesn't work out."

"You don't have to try to solve everything on your own!" Tikki smiled in hopes to bring Hayami's mood up. "We'll all help you!"

Hayami exhaled, looking at the red kwami on her lap. A small grin made its way to her face. "I can't afford to be sad. I'm Ladybug. I have to stay optimistic."

"That's the spirit!" Tikki encouraged. "And don't forget, I'm always here for you!"

Tikki zoomed back to her hiding spot and Hayami went back to the classroom. She knew it was a stressful week and she wanted to see which people were more depressed, to hopefully prevent them from being akumatized.

A lone boy caught her eye. His eyes were covered by his bangs, which gave off a mysterious aura. He was silently reviewing materials, and, although it wasn't very noticeable, Hayami could see that his cheeks were redder than usual, which meant he was sick.

Hayami hadn't talked to Chiba a lot. She could only remember he was one of the people she had saved during the first akuma attack. But she observed that he had been ill for the past week and he was very quiet, so Hayami thought he might need some concern. Who knew what sort of emotions he could hide behind his long fringe. She certainly didn't want him akumatized.

Loud whispers caught her attention. Hayami turned and saw the same girls she had talked to that morning. When they saw Hayami, they immediately silenced and acted like they weren't talking in the first place.

Hayami had a sinking suspicion that they were talking about her, and not in a good way. The girl tried to shrug it off, but the nasty feeling remained. Don't let it get to you.

A bitter feeling rose in her chest, and she bit her lip. Hayami sat back down, fingers absentmindedly searching for a textbook in her bag. It had became a practice; to work whenever something bothered her.

Unlike a lot of people, Hayami actually liked working. She felt productive and useful, and she could become a mindless working machine at times.

Just revise. Just read. Just work.

Wash those bad feelings away.

"Another group project," Sugaya muttered under his breath. Nonetheless, he put his pen down to listen to further details.

"Divide yourselves into groups of four. The project shall be submitted after the winter holidays, and the marking scheme is…" the teacher droned on and on.

Sugaya poked Chiba's back and leaned forward. "Hey, we're forming a group with Okajima, okay?"

Chiba gave a nod. "We need one more person," he said.

Hayami sighed internally. She wasn't a fan of group projects, and liked to work on her own. She supposed she would join Yada and Kurahashi's group, seeing she was comparatively close to them.

The class began to form groups of their own. Hayami stood up and made her way to Yada's, but to her slight confusion and fear, she had already formed a group with Kurahashi and two other girls.

Yada was trying to talk to the girls beside her. Obviously, Yada wanted Hayami to join their group, but it looked like her negotiations weren't successful. She gave Hayami an apologetic look.

Hayami felt numb, but that disappeared in an instant. She caught a smirk on a girl's face, and she immediately realized what was happening.

So that's their plan, huh? To isolate me? As some sort of twisted revenge?

Hayami couldn't afford to feel sad, betrayed, whatever. A sudden surge of determination rose inside her, and she strode to where a trio of boys were standing awkwardly.

"Can I join your group?"

Her words were short and direct, and Hayami could hardly believe what she was saying. She supposed she was being blinded by her damn emotions from being let alone.

Sugaya blinked, surprised by Hayami's bluntness. He and Okajima shared a look, before turning to Chiba, who probably looked as confused as they were (the boys could not tell).

"You're missing one person, right?" Hayami prompted.

"Yeah… well, you can join our group," Sugaya said, and suddenly felt like he was being unwelcoming and hesitant. Hayami felt the reality of her actions sink in, and the only thing she could think of was, well.

With Hayami joining, the awkward trio became an even more awkward quartet. Sugaya and Okajima felt really weird that some girl was joining their previously exclusively male group.

Chiba, however, was thinking of something else.

His sharp eyes had caught the fact that some girls had been trying to isolate Hayami on purpose, immediately sticking close to her friends. Chiba couldn't see Hayami's reaction, but he thought she must have felt bad and alone. He knew Hayami was a silent person, perhaps even more than he was, so maybe she just wanted a few friends she could talk with. And then, of course, some annoying girls had to ruin them all.

He had to give credit to Hayami for not running off to the bathroom to cry or something, which would mark the beginning of a typical akumatization happening in school.

Akumatization.

A shiver ran down Chiba's spine. Like Ladybug, he really didn't like fighting akumas, because they knew deep down they were all just innocent civilians. He would hate fighting people he knew, especially (god forbid) his family, but he would also find it difficult to fight an akumatized Hayami.

He knew it would hurt him to see her hurt, because apparently, according to Plagg, he "loves her like he (Plagg) loves cheese". Plagg had stupid cheese analogies sometimes.

He wanted to stand up for Hayami, but he knew it would only make things worse, because a) a girl joining an all-boys-group voluntarily will surely arouse rumours, and b) if he stood up for her, people might think there was something special between him and Hayami. And he didn't want Hayami to feel bad with more rumours.

"Hey! Chiba!" Sugaya nudged him, breaking him out of his thoughts. "You listening?"

"We should be talking about the work distribution," Hayami said coolly, taking Chiba's dazed look as a sign that he was indeed sick.

"Ah… yes," Chiba said, being tongue-twisted because of Hayami's presence. You idiot, being lovesick when the one you like is feeling down… you're a terrible person.

Chiba couldn't say a word as Hayami assumed the post of the leader, assigning work to them. Normally, as the most organized person out of the original trio, he would have been doing Hayami's job, but Chiba was a bit stupefied and feeling under the weather. Both Sugaya and Okajima were shocked by Hayami's boldness, but not in a bad way.

That almost reminds me of how Ladybug works, Okajima thought about his celebrity crush dreamily.

Sugaya, however, quickly discovered the similarities between Chiba and Hayami. Their personalities were very much alike, and so were their working styles. Oh my gosh, we've found Chiba's soulmate.

Chiba's heart skipped a beat when he remembered the cool Hayami he was seeing right now was the same one who had picked him up when he was turned into a cat. Her sweet smile could melt his heart. Although Chiba liked both sides of Hayami, he wanted to keep the cute side of Hayami to himself.

He was being rather selfish, but he wanted to be the only one that could see the soft part of Hayami. Besides, it looked like Hayami could need some support right now, so Chiba wanted to get closer to that girl classmate of his.

It could be worse.

Hayami was pretty thankful she had chosen to go to another group immediately. Yada and Kurahashi had spoken to her afterwards, and both of them were sorry that they couldn't be in a group with her. Hayami had waved it off, as she didn't want her friends to worry.

A chilly breeze blew past her in the corridor, and Hayami shivered. Winter would come soon, and so would exams, snow, and Christmas. But for now, it was raining heavily, with occasional flashes of lightning. Perhaps it could be a foreshadow of worse weather?

Hayami walked to front door, and identified Chiba standing there. In her opinion, he looked rather lost and disoriented, as he hovered around the door, yet never going out. The realization struck her. He didn't have an umbrella.

Hayami immediately felt concerned for the boy. He was sick, and it would be too risky for him to run home in the pouring rain. She didn't want his sickness to worsen. Thunder rumbled in the sky above them, and Hayami knew the rain wouldn't let up soon.

The girl sped back to her locker and fetched a spare umbrella she had at school. She cautiously made her way to the boy, who was still standing there. He stared forlornly at the rain outside.

Seeing the boy didn't notice her, Hayami decided to speak. She cleared her throat and said, "Umm, Chiba-kun?"

He spun to look towards her, bangs moving slightly but not enough to show his eyes. "Hayami-san?" he asked.

He's not scary at all, contrary to the popular saying, Hayami thought privately, but said, "... You don't have an umbrella, right?"

Chiba shifted on his feet. "Yeah. But I'll just run home and-"

"Take it."

"Huh?"

Chiba looked at Hayami's outstretched hand, an umbrella in it. She was facing him, yet her eyes were looking elsewhere. She must be embarrassed.

Chiba's heart beat loudly and a blush rose on his cheeks. "I- I don't need it. I'll be okay."

"I have another umbrella. J-just take it," Hayami muttered.

Lighting illuminated the darkening school briefly, before a huge clap of thunder sounded.

"Okay," Chiba said and quickly took the umbrella, his fingers brushing past hers as he did so. His blush deepened, and an incredibly warm feeling flowed through him. After the exchange, the duo immediately turned to face the front again, but neither moved a step, as if they were waiting for something.

"You're sick too, right?" Hayami commented softly after a pause. The corners of her lips quirked up to form a faint smile. "Take care of yourself."

"T-thanks, Hayami-san," Chiba said.

Hayami looked like she was in thought for a while, but then she mentioned, "We're going to work with each other a lot in the future."

"Yeah, because of that important project," Chiba confirmed. There was a break of two seconds before they both said in unision, "Drop the honorifics?"

The two turned to each other in mild surprise. "So… I look forward to working with you, Hayami," Chiba said quickly in an effort to keep the conversation with his crush running.

"Ah. I look forward to working with you too, Chiba." Hayami opened her umbrella, and turned her head slightly to say a short "bye" before she walked away.

In a daze, Chiba stared at her. He couldn't move nor think properly for quite a few seconds. When the word "bye" finally stuttered out of his mouth, Hayami was already out of earshot.

He looked down at the umbrella in his hand, and with a smile, he opened it. He then stepped out of the door, the rain pattering furiously against the umbrella. After hearing a rumble of thunder, Chiba quickened his pace, but still, the only thing on his mind was the umbrella he was holding, and the girl who had given him that.

An akuma attack happened at night. Hayami immediately transformed and leapt out of the window. She ran nimbly across the streets, and people jumped out of the way, knowing the authority the girl had.

I wonder how Black Cat's doing, Ladybug mused. Her thoughts often drifted to her partner, but even more now ever since he became sick. His tired green eyes popped up in her mind, and Ladybug became tenser. Knowing him, he was probably trying to hide the fact that he was unwell from everyone, and convincing himself he could fight it on his own. That made her even more anxious.

After their exchange last night, Ladybug kept thinking about the boy. She kept wishing that she knew him in real life (that was impossible, right?) so she could go up to him and offer a helping hand. But for now, she had to settle with calming her distressed schoolmates.

A sudden, awful thought struck her mind. What if Chiba had been akumatized? It was horrible enough to fight Kurahashi; she honestly did not want to be against her classmates, especially after she had felt closer to them after watching out for them. She flung her yoyo out and it caught on a lamppost as she swung herself forward. Ladybug rounded a corner, and-

Thank goodness the akuma didn't resemble any person she knew. It was a typical one, and they were wrecking buildings and creating damage, the usual akuma stuff. However, there was no sign of her cat partner. Ladybug bit her lip, but she still attacked the akuma, trying to find the akumatized item.

Thankfully, Black Cat arrived moments later. At that moment, they let go what they had discussing last night, as to cooperate and finish off the akuma. With their unique skills of "somehow reading the other's mind" and "moving in sync", they managed to defeat the akuma. Black Cat broke the akumatized item and Ladybug cleansed the butterfly, before releasing it and restoring the area.

Black Cat almost automatically raised his hand for a fistbump, but he put it down, hesitating. Ladybug did the same thing, and as she sneaked a look at Black Cat, she realized they were going through identical feelings.

Black Cat raised his hand anyway, and turned to Ladybug. He gave a small, apologetic smile and whispered, "Sorry."

Ladybug gently hit his hand with her fist. "Apology accepted." She was about to speak more when a beep from her earrings interrupted her.

"Three dots," Black Cat informed his partner.

Ladybug gave him a look. "We'll talk tonight on patrol."

Black Cat knew Ladybug had mostly forgiven him, but still, they needed to lay out their thoughts and feelings. They still had that kind of invisible barrier around them, although that had decreased during the months they had spent together. Black Cat couldn't deny the fact that Ladybug had became his closest friend, although he didn't know her identity.

If I know you in real life, I'm sure we'll get along.

A/N: Wow. More follows and favourites! Love ya all! Thanks for taking time to read my fanfic, which admittedly has a lot of clichés (I'm a huge sucker for some of them). And yeah… can't forget that umbrella scene.

BY THE WAY THAT DARK OWL EPISODE WAS A BOMBSHELL LIKE MOST S2 EPISODES SO FAR. My heart… and it's only the eighth episode.

If you have the time, please consider to write a review! :D

I'll try my best to come up with a Christmas chapter, but no promises, as I know I'll be busy.

Thanks for reading! :)