Summary: Mariam is considered 'rebellious' but Mariam herself considers it thinking for herself, which everyone says otherwise. What'll happen when someone finally takes her side?

Disclaimer: I only said it once; see previous.

Kai held an arm out, to stop the bluenette from coming any closer. When Tyson stopped, the Russian lowered his arm. "Don't you ever compare me to him." He warned Mariam icily.

"I'm not comparing," she shot smugly; "I'm pointing out facts." She said no more and walked away.

Kai clenched a fist. Damn girl. Who did she think she was, talking to him like that? He was Voltaire's grandson, dammit. So, she thinks she's so bad, eh? He'd show her bad and rebellious…

Kai, growling inwardly, watched Mariam walk away.

"Why would you say that, Kai?" Max spoke up.

The slate-haired Russian turned to the voice of the sound. "Why wouldn't I?"

Max rubbed the back of his neck worriedly. "Well, she was just being truthful, Kai, and sometimes the truth hurts, y'know."

"Watch it, Max." Tyson warned in a harsh whisper.

Kai walked up to the blond. "So, since you're saying that, I guess you understand what she was talking about?"

"Well, no, but…" Max struggled. Kai merely raised an amused brow.

"Exactly. I wouldn't expect you to anyways; you're one of the people who always follow orders, not questioning why you're doing it." Kai concluded, trying to be as least offensive as possible.

"What are you talking about, Kai?" Hilary cut in.

He took a glance at the brunette. "And this one's always giving the orders." He jerked a head at Hilary, "And I suppose I understand what Mariam meant, but I don't see how it affects me."

Everyone just stared at him. "Right…"

"Stupid rich, conceded little asshole!" Mariam yelled, picking up and rock and skipping it along the pond.

"I take it that you don't like being kicked off the team?" Ozuma asked, walking up from behind her.

"Ozuma!" Mariam exclaimed in a shocked tone, turning her head to see him. She quickly turned her head back around, away from him. "What do you want?"

"I just," he began, peering over to see her face, "wanted to see if you were alright."

"What does it matter to you?" her voice sounded exasperated.

"I'm your friend." Ozuma hated saying those words.

Mariam scoffed silently. "And as my friend, you've got to let me do this…on my own."

"But---!"

"Don't even, Ozuma." Mariam warned.

"Mariam, if you'll just---"

She whipped around to face him. "Ozuma, that was years ago…it was a mistake and I'm sorry for it. I tried to tell you but…I didn't wanna hurt you then, okay?"

"It was only two months ago." Her former leader said flatly.

"Same thing!" Mariam grunted, annoyed. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"For you, maybe. But it's still there for me." Ozuma sighed, turning away.

Mariam stared at her reflection for a while before breaking the silence again. "Ozuma, I…" she turned around, finding the red and black hair-colored boy was gone. "Never mind."

"Tyson!"

The boy turned around to see the olive-haired kid running up to him.

"Yeah," Tyson asked, when the boy stopped in front of him, "er…Jake?"

"It's Joseph, Tyson, and thanks for remembering." He said flatly.

"Oh," Tyson flushed slightly, "sorry."

Joseph rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Look, have you guys seen my sister around?"

Max came over. "Mariam?"

"Yeah, her," the sea green-haired boy crossed his arms and sighed, "it's not like I have any other sisters…"

"Right…" Max bit his lip.

"So, have you seen her or not?" Joseph started yelling.

"Yeah, we have." Rei walked to them, crossing his arms. "She came over here and battled alongside Kai."

"Against these two?" Joseph asked, waving a finger at Tyson and Max.

"Yeah." Rei nodded.

Joseph started to look happier. "Okay, so where'd she go?"

Rei opened his mouth to speak, but he shut it. "Actually, I don't know. Kai was the one who saw her last." The neko-jin jerked a finger behind him to where the Russian was leisurely lying in the grass with a grass blade on a stem in his mouth.

"Kai!" Joseph exclaimed, running over to him.

"Hn?" Kai cracked an eye open, seeing the brother of the girl who just humiliated him. "What?"

"You've seen my sister around, didn't you? Please say you did." Joseph pleaded.

Kai sat up, spitting his grass blade out. "Look, kid, I don't know what you want me to say, but I refuse to do anything that'll help your sister."

"I just asked if you knew where she was." The boy said utterly.

"Ugh…" Kai groaned, lying back down. "No, I don't know." The slate-haired boy closed his eyes, hoping that Joseph wouldn't see what he was hiding.

"You sure?" Joseph's voice seemed to be lowering sadly.

Kai grunted. "Meh." He pretended the olive-haired boy wasn't there. She's at the pond, nitwit.

"Okay." Joseph nodded. "Well, if you see her, can you tell her that the elders have reconsidered her removal from the team?"

The last five words got Kai back up. "Wait, wait, wait…she was removed from the Saint Shields?"

Joseph nodded. "Yeah…for being too rebellious."

"Why? What'd she do that was so rebellious?" Kai seemed amused and concerned at the same time.

His nervous lime eyes darted around in fear. "She didn't work with us and she didn't listen to what we were saying to her. She kept walking off on her own, and she didn't care about what happened to us…" Joseph's eyes looked like they were ready to cry sometime soon. "Not even me…"

Kai stared at him. "She didn't even care about what happened to you?"

"And I'm her brother!" Joseph cried out. The boy couldn't take any more; he turned away, wiping his eyes.

Kai presumed that the boy had indeed started crying. "Joseph, what happened?"

Joseph had stopped mumbling about his mother and looked at the slate-haired boy. "Huh?"

"What…happened?" Kai asked again, firmly.

Joseph wiped his eyes again. "Ever since she and Ozuma… and she's been meaner, even to me… and she hit me."

Ozuma was watching Joseph spill everything out to Kai. Ozuma knew Mariam had hit Joseph, and the way Ozuma saw it, it was basically Joseph's fault.

Flashback

"Joseph, what the hell was that? If another one of your teachers yells at me because of you, Joseph, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but you're not gonna like it." Mariam scolded her brother.

Joseph just glared at her. "Why are you being so mean now?"

Mariam gave him a sidelong glance. "I can be what I want."

Dunga had warned Joseph earlier not to mention that thing between her and Ozuma, since he knew it would upset her, but Joseph said it anyways. "Is this because of Ozuma?"

Mariam bit down hard on her lip. "Joseph…" she started with a weary sigh.

"NO!" Joseph yelled back. "You're only acting this way because that stupid thing you had with Ozuma! Ever since that thing, you just don't care anymore! And you're blaming everyone for it! If you're so mad, why don't you blame Ozuma! You're a bitch!"

And Mariam lost it; she hit him. Not the way other girls would by just slapping across the cheek; she actually punched him.

Mariam just stared at her brother who fell over and her rage faded when she saw the hurt in his eyes.

"Joseph, I'm…" she couldn't finish. What was she supposed to say to him? 'You called me a bitch so I hit you; you asked for it.'? 'You think you understand but you don't, and I don't like cockiness'?

Wait, that wouldn't make sense; she, herself, was cocky at times…at least before that thing with Ozuma.

Joseph just stared back at her; she hit him…her own brother… and it wasn't the impact of the punch that hurt him (although it did hurt), but it was the fact that she'd even go so far as to hit her younger brother.

The boy began to cry. Mariam looked down at him, then picked him up and sat down, putting him in her lap.

"Joseph, I'm sorry." she said softly.

Joseph couldn't hear her; his mind was still clouded with the thought of what just happened. He couldn't bring himself to say that he felt so alone, because he couldn't trust her anymore; he couldn't trust anyone.

Mariam rocked back and forth, then brushed some of his olive bangs out of his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Ozuma watched from the window with a piercing glare and his arms folded over his chest. As far as he saw, Joseph did bring it on himself.

End of Flashback

Ozuma looked back down at Joseph, still talking to Kai.

"…she hurt me." Joseph shook his head.

Kai raised a brow. "Then why were you so happy when Rei said that she fought with me against those two?" he nodded his head at Tyson and Max.

Joseph rubbed his elbow shyly. "Because I thought, that maybe she learned to work with people again, then she could come back."

"Why do you want her back?" Kai asked as gently as he could.

"I…I don't feel safe without her."

Kai stared at the boy; he had some insecurity problems, Kai could clearly see that. But a few minutes ago, Joseph was crying because Mariam had hit him. Now, he was worrying that he'd never see her again.

He began to see Mariam's point of view on the whole thing, all except the part about Ozuma, of course. But he understood enough.

She'd been hurt, so now, she felt that everyone else in the world would hurt her, so she kept away from them. That didn't explain the rebellious part.

"Kai?"

The Russian looked back at Joseph, who was staring at him with curiosity. "She's at the pond, Joseph."

"How do you know?" Joseph asked.

"I just do."

The olive-haired boy nodded.

Kai stood up. "If you're going to find her, I'm going with you."

"Why?"

"I just…" Kai kept the uncaring look on his face, but his eyes projected much more than that, "have to settle some things."

Again, Joseph nodded. "Alright."

"Mariam, what're you doing!" Kai said a bit loudly.

The violet-haired girl glanced over at him. "Oh, it's you…" she then looked at Joseph standing beside the slate-haired Russian. "What do you mean, what am I doing? What are you doing with Joseph? Kidnapping?"

Kai just stared at her as she pulled Joseph away from him. "He came to me."

Mariam put Joseph behind her, to protect him. "What do you want, Kai?"

"To settle things."

"What, have you come to ramble on about how you're superior to me?" Mariam spat.

Kai smirked. "Ramble, no. Talk about superiority, maybe. Help, also a possibility."

"Get to the bloody point."

"Okay, you say that you call it 'thinking for yourself', but by what Joseph told me, it sounds like 'doing things for the sake of pain'." Kai crossed his arms.

"Joseph told you…?" she looked at her brother behind her and sent him a hard glare.

"You have a soft side." Kai taunted.

Mariam narrowed her eyes firmly and glared at the smirking Russian for a while. After a few seconds of that, she felt something stinging her eyes and turned away, trying to run again.

"Mare!"

"Mariam!"

Mariam felt a warm hand pulling on her wrist, finding Kai preventing her from running. Joseph was standing nearby, glaring up at her.

"Let me go!" Mariam ordered harshly. As much as she pulled against him, Kai didn't budge; he was smirking, making it look like her attempts were pointless. Her eyes shut tight as she continued to struggle.

"Mariam, remember what Ozuma said?" Joseph asked, trying to help her.

Mariam's eyes opened, staring at her brother. "Huh?"

"What'dya mean 'huh?'? Don't you remember?" Joseph asked, irritated.

She shook her head numbly. "No…what?"

"Well, I dunno, I thought you knew."

"Idiots," Kai scoffed. "Both of you."

"Thanks, really." Mariam said dully.

"You're welcome." Kai smirked.

Mariam rolled her eyes. "What'dya want, Kai?"

"I don't think you're rebellious, Mariam."

"Then what do you think? I am just dying to know."

Kai let out a sigh. "I think…you're just like me."

Mariam's eyes widened and raised her other arm to hit him, but he grabbed that one, holding both of her arms in front of her.

"That wasn't smart." Kai retorted, smirking. She started struggling against him again, but like last time, no good result…for her at least.

Mariam stopped struggling and looked up at him. "What do you want from me?"

Kai noticed that although her face was stern, with a look projecting only sullen hate, her eyes were quivering, with fear or hurt.

"Look, you may not understand what's going on, but I do. Ozuma hurt you, so what? I…" Kai began, I can't believe I'm saying this but… "I'll help you."

Mariam gave him another hard look. "Why should I trust you?"

(blink blink) Don't look at me; I didn't do a thing. I think they're OOC… but what do I know? I haven't seen the show in a while. And the way I put Mariam's character is confusing even me… Oh well… I got the cookies from the cookie jar back :D I think some parts don't make sense, but we don't have to mind them, do we? Watch, in the next chapter, Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary are possibly not gonna be there. Not sure about Dunga and Rei, 'cause they could be useful...hm...

But I got some Kai/Mariam in there…at least I hope I did.

You can still review! (Because I don't know what I'm trying to do with this story anymore! And this is only the second chapter…boy, I'm sad…)