oOoOo

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Forget me not (because I will)

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oOoOo

("For I can never forgive myself.")

Kagami's training proceeded nicely. The Japanese girl had been trained all her life – and becoming a superhero was no different. Marinette would pick her up at an agreed upon time, they'd teleport onto the abandoned factory grounds and Marinette would hand Tikki over to Kagami.

They'd talk about anything important. Went through all the footage there had been. Marinette explained the inside jokes she had with Chat and the routes they took to patrol and which routes to use during which occasion and for what reason.

"Sometimes, when there was an Akuma, we take the scenic one – you hardly get anything done, but it's relaxing and you can talk about whatever comes to mind."

"Wouldn't it be easier then to simply sit and talk?"

"We like to be seen by Parisians, to reaffirm them – the more positivism in this city, the easier for both of us."

She explained what to look out for – which kinds of roofs were the best and which spots were the best to transform – "You can easily slip on that one, so always be careful! I did once – but I found this great place for picnics! Chat and I have sometimes – feel free to stop by my parent's bakery for free pastries! Chat, that mangy cat, always does!".

She explained the games Chat and her had come up with – "And show-off is the most fun – it trains you best and we sometimes get people watching us. I – Chat's really good at it too." – the scores they kept –"And you can't let him win too often! You have to defend the honor of the Ladybug Miraculous against that mangy alley cat!" "Don't you mean yours?" "I'm only Ladybug as long as I have the Miraculous – and I won't for much longer. Just don't let Chat get the better of you...I think he enjoys it when he can let off steam without needing to hold back.".

Anything there was, really – sometimes, Marinette would get lost in memories she had made on top of Parisian rooftops and lost in thought, Kagami had a hard time to get her to concentrate.

She explained the way the other Miraculous were handed out, what to look for, what were red flags.

"And I have been thinking to let Chat hand them out, too – you can always share the identities of the supporting heroes, if you want to. And if he ever wants to lend a Miraculous, you can give it to him – I trust Chat. I completely trust him and his judgment."

She explained the rules – and all that, eventually, led to one, big looming question Marinette had avoided to talk about all this time.

She didn't know why, either. It had never seemed to be a big deal before – it had never had this looming of a shadow.

And yet, here it was.

"Am I allowed to reveal my identity to Chat Noir?"

Marinette stiffened upon being asked. Here it was indeed. Slowly, she turned to face Kagami. Did she know? Did she not?

Would she mind if Marinette broke down crying in front of hers for reasons she didn't understand herself?

"It is my understanding that Chat Noir was not aware of your identity prior to...the incident..." Marinette winced, but didn't interrupt Kagami. "...and you do not seem to know his. Are we not allowed to tell each other?"
It was a tricky question. That was why she didn't want to talk about it.

(And because Marinette felt like – if she had told him, if they had known, none of this would have happened and she-she'd be able to write down one more name into her diary that would help her keep it together, once her memory was gone.)

"It's...up to you?", Marinette settled on saying, creasing her eyebrows. It was up to Kagami. It may be up to Marinette right now – but her opinion would be irrelevant once Kagami took over. She'd be the guardian, she'd make the rules.

"Are there no rules?"

"You make the rules. I preferred to keep our identities secret for safety reasons, but that doesn't matter. You're the guardian. You're the one who makes the rules."

"Very well. I shall do as you did then."

Marinette's brows furrowed even deeper.

"You really don't have to. If you think it's better to reveal yourself to each other, that's okay. You just have to ask Chat first. I-You're the guardian and technically speaking his superior but...I like to think of us as equals."

Marinette didn't say that he didn't know about what they were doing here right now. That he had protested when she had asked him to take over the guardianship. It ate away at her at night and Tikki's reproachful glances didn't make it better.

She didn't want to go behind Chat's back. He was her best friend, her partner and this-this was worse than the time before "Siren".

"I will keep that in mind. But I will not reveal our identities. I would never insult your legacy like that."

Unlike the way she was going behind Chat's back, Marinette did not know how she was supposed to feel about that.

.O.

Kagami got better, eventually. Soon enough, she knew the contents of the old tome by heart and could read the codes and language even better than Marinette could.

"This is a treasure. I thank you for sharing this knowledge with me", Kagami said, as the last page fell closed.

Marinette forced herself to smile, even though she didn't want to.

.O.

There was yet another Akuma attack targeted at her family. This one had the added bonus of Chat Noir having to give up his life and when Ladybug turned to Alya to help – she was gone.

.O.

Kagami stopped crashing into walls after a month and a half of training. Kagami stopped thinking about the lucky charm for too long. Kagami had finally figured out how to properly make Tikki smile.

She was ready.

And Marinette hated it.

.o.O.o.

Saying good-bye wasn't an easy task. And the closer the day of her giving up the guardianship came, the more painful it got.

She'd never see these people again. Because the Marinette, the way she existed right now, wouldn't exist anymore. She'd be gone – and nothing could ever bring her back. She just hoped her friends wouldn't mind having to watch her go through two years of character development all over again.

But Marinette was nothing if not an optimist and a girl with a penchant for solving things. And thus, she found herself sitting in front of a stack of white flashcards, holding her trustworthy pen in her hand.

She may vanish, but her knowledge didn't have to. She may be shaking while writing down her notes, may have told Tikki to watch out for any Akuma, but she didn't have to helplessly wait for the day to come that Kagami was finally ready.

Alya
Your bestie. She stood up for you on the first day of school (maybe you still remember) and you've been inseparable ever since. She is dating Nino and they are totally adorable together. She is the editor of the Ladyblog, so you can always ask her questions about your old life.

It barely covered the necessities, but she wrote down important facts like birthdays and hobbies on the other side of the flashcard. She left out that Alya used to be Rena Rouge though. The less she knew after handing over the Miraculous box the safer Kagami would be.

Next up was Nino.

Nino
Alya's boyfriend. You're still friends and have only grown over throughout the past year. He...

Then Rose...

Rose
She's dating Juleka now…

...Chloé

Chloé
She has been through a lot lately. You should be careful around her. According to Adrien, she's trying and…

...and plenty of others. She made cards for Ondine and Lila and Alix and Kim and Sabrina and even the new school nurse.

She scratched the one meant for Tikki, Master Fu and Marianne.

And she hesitated when it came to the last three cards.

Luka
The lead guitarist of Kitty Section. Juleka's older brother.

What else should she add? How much did she want to remember? How much did she want to forget?

Die she really want to forget?

Marinette averted her gaze, biting her lip. She had promised herself this. When she had first decided to make flashcards, she had promised herself to do this. Promised!

So why was it so difficult now to follow through with it now?

He's one of the…

Marinette stopped. Then she crumpled the flash card into a ball and began anew.

Luka
The lead guitarist of Kitty section and Juleka's older brother. He's the sincerest person you know and you like each other, and have been on a few dates (you're not official yet). You should ask about it out though! He's really romantic too and a great guy.

Marinette let out a wistful sigh. All of what she had written down was right and still, it felt like she was lying to herself.

It didn't matter. She wouldn't be feeling like this for long anyway.

Marinette picked up the next card and tried to keep her hand from shaking.

Adrien.

It didn't work. She had to stop for a minute to calm down. But she was going to do this. She had promised herself.

A nice boy in your class who sits in front of you. He apologized for the gum incident – it wasn't him who put it there, but Chloé and he was just trying to get it off and he's...

Marinette faltered, but only for a second. Her mind was made up.

...been a very good friend of yours ever since.

She put the card away without as much as glancing at it another time and took the last one. By now, it had gotten considerably easier.

Kagami
She's from a sheltered home and can misunderstand social cues. But she's really nice and a great friend. You have bi-weekly juice meetings with her.

Easier didn't make it easy though and Marinette could fell her hand shaking once more when she wrote down the last bit of information. A sob escaped her throat because she didn't want this but it was the right thing to do. They were dating already anyway. She had Luka. She-She had to do this. It was the right thing and she'd never get this chance ever again.

Another sob. This time, it was followed by a tear and smeared the piece of paper beneath her, but Marinette knew, if she scrunched up this note, she would have missed her chance.

She likes Adrien and he likes her. You really want them to get together because they're two of your best friends.

And then, Marinette dropped her pencil, before getting up and fleeing her room.

If she was to forget the last two year of her life, she might as well use it to make getting over someone easier.

But easier didn't make it easy.

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