(If you can't beat them, join them)
Shizuke
Cuff Links? Check.
Cookies? Check.
Phone? Check.
Teaching materials? Check.
I sat on the side of my bed with my backpack open as I tallied everything I'm going to need for the day.
"Are you sure you're not forgetting something?" said Tikki.
"Huh?" I scrunched my nose in concentration. I'm pretty sure I double checked everything…
Tikki flew over to my nightstand and put my glasses on my face.
"Oh. Right," I fixed my fake glasses on my face and smiled at my kwami. "Thanks, Tikki. It's been almost five months and I still keep forgetting about that."
Ever since I got my miraculous, my eyesight was fixed and I no longer need my glasses. But since I've been wearing them for so long and my eyesight used to be so bad I was practically blind without them, people will surely ask questions if I suddenly stopped wearing them. I've learned that it's best that the less there is to question, the less I have to lie.
"You're welcome," Tikki said with mild amusement.
I lifted up my bag, feeling its weight for a bit to get used to it. I paced around my room, going through everything I might have missed.
"I'm sure you'll do fine. You've been planning this lesson for a week," Tikki encouraged.
"I know. It's just this is my first time teaching a bunch of kids, and my groupmates aren't… ideal."
"It'll work out. You said so yourself, Damien and Natalia are good at Art, so it might not be so bad."
"It's not their skills I'm worried about. Out of everyone in our year level, I'd say they're among the most talented. It's just that we don't get along."
And that's an understatement.
"You and Chat Noire didn't get along at first, but now you're-"
I felt my heart beat rise at Tikki's analogy. "It's not the same!"
"Yeah right," Tikki giggled as I tried to push Chat Noire out of my head and control the redness of my face. I've never told Tikki about my past. It's not something I like to think about, much less talk about.
"My situation with Chat Noire was nowhere near as bad as Damien and Natalia. At least Chat Noire was always willing to cooperate."
"It is if you have the perspectives switched. Why not take a page out of Chat Noire's book and be the first to give the others a chance?"
"It's not that easy, Tikki. Unlike with Chat Noire, we have a bad history together. With Natalia, I don't know what her problem is. We just never got along and she always hated me. With Damien… I don't think I can just forgive him and act as if none of it happened…"
Third grade was a horrible time for me. I was a new kid at a new country where I can barely speak the native language. No one wanted to talk to me except Damien. I thought he was my friend but I was actually more of a servant to him. He always made me doubt myself, my worth, told me I should be grateful to be his friend because no one else would want to be friends with me...
I clenched my fists to calm myself down. Fuyu already got me out of that toxic friendship. There's no need for me to keep thinking back to those days. While he never apologized, he hasn't bothered me in years, and we've never been in the same class since third grade. I have better friends now, even if one of them is crazy enough to jump at akumas whenever he gets the chance.
"I'm not saying you have to forgive them," Tikki gently said. "Forgiving isn't easy. Just don't close off all chances for it, if only for your own sake. Holding on to grudges isn't good for anyone."
"That's something to consider. But maybe in the distant future when they're not actively trying to be difficult around me."
"I'm sure the three of you could reach a truce, if only for this task."
"… Okay. Even if we never truly get along, I'll try to get a decent working relationship with them."
"SHIZUKE! BREAKFAST IS READY!" my grandmother yelled from the kitchen.
My stomach growled at the smell of grandmother's omelets wafting through the door.
"COMING GRANDMA!" I yelled back.
"No time to waste worrying about the rest of the day. Just go out there and do it," Tikki said before zooming into my bag.
"I've got a busy day ahead of me. I'll do my best!" I muttered to get myself pumped up before leaving my room.
0-0-0-0-0
Xyril Tech is a prestigious school in Helios. It has an elementary, a junior high school, and a senior high school department that holds two to three hundred students in each year level divided into six classes. The funding put into it allowed it to have several great facilities: state of the art equipment, laboratories, a theatre building, libraries, gymnasiums, swimming pools, various fields dedicated to sports, and even its very own clock tower at the very center of the school grounds.
The school's founder who values bonds and education started a tradition called Education Week. Every year in the first week of February, students from the more advanced department get to teach students from the lower years for a day. Just yesterday, students from the senior high school department taught us students from the junior high school department. Today, it's us from the junior high school department teacher students from the elementary department. The founder believed it to be conducive to learning if the students get to be in the teachers' shoes – at least, that's what Kaji told me when I asked the reasoning behind this school's tradition.
All the student teachers are volunteers and are often grouped by threes for each class they're assigned to. As this activity gives extra credits for the participants, I had to volunteer. With all the absences I had to take because of hero work, I'm going to need to stock up on all the extra credits I can get if I want to keep my scholarship. I just have to brave through the day with two of my least favorite people in school.
"You don't have to come, Fuyu. I'll be fine," I insisted, but the petite pink haired girl stubbornly walked by my side and refused to let go of my teaching materials.
I was walking towards the elementary department when Fuyu snatched my bag and insisted she came along 'just in case'. So now we're here, making our way down to my class on this bright, almost-Spring day, walking down an old cobblestone path surrounded by a lush garden partially covered with snow.
"You'll be alone with your childhood bully and his sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don't know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen."
That's exactly how I saw it this morning too. But Tikki's optimism is contagious and I won't get anywhere if I keep letting my doubts bring me down.
"I'm sure we can set aside our differences for the task ahead."
Fuyu eyed me with her critical icy blue gaze. "Huh. You're handling this better than I thought you would."
"So would you please let me handle this on my own?"
"I'm still not fully convinced."
"Fuuuyuuu."
Fuyu shuffled my bag so she can punch me in the arm, making me wince in mild pain. To her, this is a 'gentle nudge'. "I'm just looking out for you, stupid nerd."
She can be such a tsundere sometimes.
"But what about Kaji? He's grouped with…" I looked around our surroundings; nothing but trees and an empty stone pathway towards the elementary department's playground. All clear. But I still lowered my voice just in case someone overhears. "He's grouped with Hawkmoth."
Kaji also volunteered, but sadly he wasn't assigned as my groupmate. He's with the twins. Why couldn't I trade one of my groupmates for Kaji? It's because the teachers said so and not even Kaji's 'Mayor's Son' powers could persuade them to change it.
"Shizu, I've been considering that for a while now, but I'm starting to agree with Kaji. Blair's probably not Hawkmoth."
"Wha- I thought you were on MY side on this!"
"I was, but then I thought: What kind of supervillain would sabotage her own akuma? You saw the Stud Muffin incident. She even had the perfect chance to snatch Ladybug's Miraculous but she took the first chance she could to get away from him. She seemed awfully proud of herself for that, nothing like a villain who once again failed to get the Miraculous."
"It could all be a manipulation tactic to get us to trust her!"
"Why would she need to get our trust?"
"Because of the Ladyblog? Kaji does get to interview the heroes a lot. She's just waiting for an opportunity to tag along with Kaji the next time he interviews the heroes."
"Then why is she flirting with you and not Kaji?"
"Uhm…" I looked around the area before whispering in an even lower voice, "Because of my akuma chart?"
If Blair is Hawkmoth, she might very well be suspecting me to be Ladybug. Times like these, I find it really frustrating that I can't just tell Fuyu who I am. But I know the risks and it's not worth it so I'll keep hiding the fact that I'm Ladybug for now.
"Now why would she need a list of the villains she supposedly made herself?"
"To uh… See if I might figure out her secret identity with it? Or if I could map out her evil lair? Maybe she's trying to-"
"If that's the case, then she wouldn't need to see your chart to know she has to shake up her attack pattern to throw you off. Face it Shizu, the girl just has a weird crush on you."
"But Fuyu!" I bit my tongue when I realized I was yelling. Again. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and managed to keep my voice just low enough to count as a whisper. "It can't be a coincidence! Akumas appear where she's supposed to be almost all the time, and yet she's almost always never found!"
Fuyu let out a ragged sigh. "We've been over this. She's probably doing the smart thing during the akuma attacks and hid like a normal powerless civilian. Just like you always do."
"Y-yes. I hide well. That's what I do. Staying away from danger. That's me."
Fuyu's piercing gaze narrowed at me with suspicion. "Or were you?"
"Civilians should not get themselves involved when it comes to akuma! It's not safe! It's common sense!" I yelled at the top of my lungs to push my point.
Fuyu's gaze softened, "… I wish Kaji had common sense."
"Same," I said in a much quieter voice. I don't have to lie for this one.
Up ahead was the elementary department's playground. The snow-covered shrubs surrounding it, the creaky swing set, the rusty seesaw, the monkey bars, the stone elephant slide – it's just as I remembered it, but it seems smaller. The cobblestone path feels much shorter than I remember… Everything doesn't look as big as it used to. It's been a while since I've been here.
I thought we'd have more time, but we're almost there. There's no getting rid of Fuyu now. It's actually a small comfort to have her around. With Tikki in my sweater vest pocket and Fuyu standing nearby, I'm surer than ever that I'll get through this!
0-0-0-0-0
Approaching my assigned classroom, I spotted a teacher talking to a blonde girl dressed in a short black-striped white sundress and a knitted yellow cardigan. Standing quietly next to her was a large brown skinned boy with spiky black hair wearing a black band shirt and a pair of khaki cargo pants. My groupmates.
I shuddered in place. Fuyu nudged me at my side, reminding me of her presence. I ignored the smug look on her face and powerwalked towards my group.
"Just stick to the lesson plan I left you, okay?"
Damien curtly nodded, his spiky black hair swaying a bit with his head. "Yes, sir."
"You can count on us," Natalia flashed a smile as sweet as honey, looking like the nicest girl in the world. I'm not fooled. I knew better.
"Good. Now, where is your groupmate?"
"I'm here!" I announced my presence. "I brought all the materials for the lesson."
Fuyu, knowing her cue, presented the bag bursting with an assortment of different colored yarns and beads for everyone to see. Damien took the bag from her and he and Natalia discussed the lesson plan.
The teacher looked skeptical at her presence. "Who's this?"
Oh right, I haven't told the teacher about Fuyu joining us. "This is my friend, Fiona Kuznetsov. She's just here to-"
"Ah!" the teacher's eyes brightened with recognition. He bounced over to her and vigorously shook her hand. "You're the daughter of the famous jewelry designer! I'm a huge fan of your father's work! What's it like having him for a father? I taught your older brother a few years back and he was the best student I've ever had. Surely some of their talents rubbed off on you. Are you here to help them teach art?"
"Uh…" Fuyu took a step away from the excited teacher, wrung her hand out of his grip, and tried her best to avoid his gaze without looking rude. His onslaught of questions could leave anyone in a daze, but that's not what's making her skittish.
Fuyu is the daughter of Feodor Kuznetsov, the top jewelry designer of the internationally famous formal wear company, Hera. He's also married to a talented tattoo artist who runs a successful tattoo and piercings shop. With those kinds of parents, people tend to assume both of their kids are gifted in arts and crafts. Too bad her older brother took all of the artistic genes and didn't leave a drop for poor Fuyu.
Fuyu tried to correct him on her reason for staying here, but the teacher is too happy with the assumption to hear her protests.
"Great! I'll go tell the kids they're getting an extra special teacher today! Be right back!"
The teacher disappeared behind the door, excitedly muttering something about shaking hands with the Jewelry Princess, leaving the four of us to ourselves.
Natalia dropped her sweet smile in favor of a venomous scowl. What a two-face. "Great. Just what we need. Another art flunky."
Before I can say anything in our defense, Fuyu strode forward with a low growl. I grabbed her arm to prevent her from getting any closer to the annoying blonde. As much as I dislike Natalia, she probably doesn't deserve a punch to the face for that jab- even if it's a personal jab. A very personal jab that hurt my best friend's feelings. I shook my head to stop thinking of reasons to sic Fuyu on the blonde jerk and pulled Fuyu back.
Fuyu shot an icy cold glare at me, but I stood firm.
"Fuyu, she's not worth it. Calm down."
Fuyu ignored me and redirected her icy glare towards Natalia.
"You stupid blonde bimbo…" Fuyu glowered. "At least I'm not dumb enough to mix yellow with white. What an eyesore!"
"Why you little punk midget-"
"Say that again and I'll tear you a new one!" Fuyu growled, the jab on her height taking her anger to a new level. I'm barely holding her back at this point.
Natalia's eyes glinted in challenge and slowly said, "Why you TINY ITTY BITTY LITTLE PUNK MIDGET!"
Fuyu broke free of my hold with a roar and charged towards Natalia. To Natalia's credit, she didn't even flinch even though we all knew she had no fighting skills whatsoever.
"Enough!" Damien got between the two girls, preventing Fuyu from taking another step. The boy is a mountain of bulk that blocked Natalia from our view. While Damien may be almost half a meter taller than Fuyu, that doesn't scare her. Her icy glare met his steady gaze, neither backing off.
"Students, it's time!" the teacher chimed. He was all smiles until he saw the four of us. "Is everything alright…?"
Natalia instantly reapplies her good girl act and smiles at the teacher. "Everything's alright sir, we were just discussing the lesson plan to the new addition as Shizuke neglected to inform her."
"Oh," that simple remark is dripping with disappointment.
This time, it was Fuyu who's stopping me from lunging at the obnoxious blonde. The teacher didn't notice our struggle because Damien's stocky build is conveniently blocking the view.
"Alright then. When you get everything settled, you can begin the lesson. Good luck!"
And the teacher left us with his class.
"We're not actually going to let her teach, are we?" Natalia pointed at Fuyu with a tone of disgust, not even looking at us.
"If you have something to say, tell it straight to our faces!" I scolded, but they acted like they didn't hear us.
Damien shrugged. "If she doesn't at least try, the students will surely talk."
"So what? She's not even a volunteer," Natalia continued talking to Damien as if Fuyu and I aren't here.
"Stop ignoring us! That's rude!" I yelled.
"Then what if the kids force her to teach them? The teacher already gave her some hype," Damien said as he continued to ignore my existence as usual.
"Then we stop her from punching the little twerps out of annoyance," Natalia swept her long blonde hair behind an ear. "We shouldn't let her throw our extra credits out the window."
"We can still hear you, you jerks!" Fuyu said, glaring at them.
"Good point," Damien said.
"It's bad enough we've got Shizu-can't-keep-my-mouth-shut Midorikawa on our team. What does he know about art? The only art he can do are those numbered coloring books for pre-schoolers."
"Let's just start the lesson!" I said, having enough of them bad mouthing me, acting like I'm not around to hear them. I dragged Fuyu with me as I made my way past the two jerks and entered the classroom.
I was greeted with the sight of chaos.
Paint was splattered everywhere, paper airplanes were flying in the air, children were screaming, jumping on tables, and throwing balls of paper and paint at each other, and there was one curly haired boy crying in the corner.
I almost felt like joining the boy. But I have to be strong. DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN!!!
"Children! May I have your attention, please?!"
They continued to wail at each other. So it's a 'no' then.
Fuyu slammed her fist onto the teacher's desk to gain their attention. "HEY!"
Still a 'no'.
"WILL YOU RUGRATS SHUT THE FUDGE UP?!?!" yelled Natalia, entering the room with her face contorted in anger. Damien was looking effortlessly intimidating by her side.
The children finally stopped.
Natalia rewarded them with a sickeningly sweet but obviously fake smile.
"Good children," Natalia strode towards the board, writing the words 'Woven Bracelets' in colorful chalk. She wrote each letter in a different style with different colored chalk, all still neat and legible. I still hate her, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate good penmanship when I see it.
"Okay class," Damien said, taking over the introductions. "I'm Damien Guerrero, and this is Natalia Hale. We're here to teach you how to make bracelets."
And now they're pretending I'm not even here. I shouldn't have expected any better.
"So you little snot-nosed brats better pay attention," Natalia said, her words not matching that sweet smile on her face.
I prayed to every god I knew to please give me the strength I will need to get through the day.
0-0-0-0-0
Blair
Ah, Education Week. It's that time of the year where teachers can sit back, relax, and watch students make a fool of themselves as they take over their jobs for a week. And the reward? Extra credit. That's it. Which is great for nerds and the flunkies who need it, but not so great for those who are perfectly content with just getting by on average grades and not repeating another year.
Take us for example.
"Just one more lap kiddies, and it's free time for the rest of the period!" Keagan yelled from the bleachers as the class ran in the track field.
"You guys sure this is okay?" Blake asked while looking like a hypocrite by joining us in the bleachers with a cold can of soda.
"Sure it is. No one takes Gym class seriously anyway," I laid down on the bleachers with my arms crossed behind my head as I basked under the bright midmorning sun.
The three of us are here against our will. Keagan's here because he's the mayor's son and volunteering to teach kids makes good press (even though he's actually slacking off). My brother and I are here because of Aphrodite, the company in charge of paying for our tuition so long as we join every school activity decked in her clothes. Together, the three of us form team compulsory.
It's not so bad. We just get Gym for most of the morning, I'll leave the history lessons to Blake, and then there's Science, English, and Math in the afternoon.
Our sunbathing time was cut off when we heard cries from the other end of the track field. The kids were crowding around one corner. We ran as fast as we can towards them. From what I can pick out, one of them fainted.
"Settle down kids," I said with authority as I parted the crowd.
The kids obediently quieted down to whispers. There, lying on the grass in the middle was the smallest boy in class. He's a skinny little boy with light silvery hair. His pale skin has gone red and he was breathing heavily.
The drama club could sure use a kid like him.
Blake kneeled down and lifted the kid just enough to sit upright. "You okay, Zephyr?"
The boy, Zephyr, looked up at him with a dazed look. "I'm fine, uh… Miss Blair, right?"
"Close enough," Blake said, completely deadpan.
"Blake, take him to the clinic," I said, holding back a smirk as the little boy subtly winked at me. "Keagan and I can take over."
Keagan eagerly nodded. "Yeah, Blake. Don't worry about us. We can handle it."
Blake shot us a dubious look but didn't argue. He wrapped one arm around Zephyr's back and his other arm around the boy's legs. With a huff, he lifted Zephyr off the ground. He said to the group of children, "Any of you know where the clinic is?"
After one girl volunteered, a curious little girl with dirty blonde pigtails, Keagan and I declared the rest of Gym to be free period.
"Try not to get heatstroke kidlets!" I called after them, as they ran off across the field.
Now that our paid little con artist has taken my brother out of hearing range, Keagan and I can finally get back to business. I turned to my partner-in-crime for the day.
"So I hear Natalia's in the same group as Shizuke. You got their sched, right?"
Keagan flashed his trademark shipping grin. For once, I'm not annoyed to see it.
"Oh yeah. Let's get this ship sailing!"
0-0-0-0-0
Shizuke
The lesson went on with little trouble. With Damien's natural talent for intimidation, none of the kids dared invoke the giant's wrath. It's either that or Natalia is a creature that both scares them with her sharp tongue and confuses them with her honey sweet smile.
"And that's how you make a basic bracelet," said Natalia, showing off her pink friendship bracelet. "Now, I'll teach you a more complex pattern."
I wasn't able to teach, and it's not for lack of trying. Natalia spoke louder and shoves me aside whenever I tried to lecture. Damien continued to pretend I didn't exist. Together, they completely hogged the lesson.
Fuyu is patting me on the back in a silent show of support. Since they're never going to give me a turn, I decided to make myself useful and clean up the mess the kids made. Fuyu and I grabbed a couple of wet rags and started wiping off the paint on the back wall.
"Uhm… Excuse me?"
One of the kids approached us in our sad little corner. It was that curly haired boy who was crying earlier. The little boy was looking down at the floor, his curly black hair covering half of his brown face, and his ears were burning red. I was going to ask him if there's something wrong when he shoved his little hands out from behind his back and presented us with yarn strings of different colors and wooden beads.
"M-m-my name's Dylan. P-p-please… Please help me make a bracelet for my big brother," he squeaked, raising his head to face us.
Finally! A chance to get some teaching experience!
"Oh, sure! I'll be happy to-"
"I want to make the very b-b-bestest bracelet for him, a-and who better to help than the Jewelry Princess!"
All my hopes were instantly sunk.
Fuyu's eye was twitching with annoyance at her hated nickname, but she held it all in if only because this is a child she's talking to and he didn't know any better.
"I'm sorry, you got it all wrong. I'm not here to teach."
Dylan's posture sagged down. His gaze looked away from us, clearly crestfallen. It felt like we just kicked a puppy. "Oh. I'm sorry to bother you…"
"Wait!" I called out to stop the boy from returning to his seat.
Dylan looked back at us with a face that seems to be trying to look neutral but only looks even sadder.
"I can help you!"
"Really?" he asked, hope sparkling in his brown eyes the way Kaji's does whenever Ladybug and Chat Noire agrees to do an interview. Good thing I was planning to say yes anyway.
I pulled out a sample of my work. While nowhere near as intricate as the ones Natalia is currently making, it's a simple design with every thread woven tightly. "I prepared for this lesson, and I think I could do a decent job teaching you the basics."
The little boy examined my work. Pride welled up in my chest to see him impressed with my handiwork. The boy gave me a small smile. "I think it's good. Please teach me."
Natalia can have the rest of the class if she wants! I got the nicest kid in the room to teach!
0-0-0-0-0
Half an hour went by teaching the shy little boy how to make a bracelet. From time to time, kids would to ask for Fuyu's help in making bracelets but wouldn't let me teach them. They thought Fuyu's giving tips. Fuyu promptly shooed them away. We planned the pattern, Fuyu dropping dry commentary from time to time, and we braided the strings tightly with the beads carefully woven in equal distance from each other.
"Now tie this nice and tightly over here, and there you go! It's done!"
And the end result is… Is it really a bracelet? How huge is his brother's wrist anyway? Fuyu could wear that bracelet as a choker!
"It's finished! We did it!" Dylan exclaimed as he raised the red and blue bracelet for us to see, looking just about ready to cry.
Oh well. The kid's happy. All's well that ends well.
I beamed with pride and ruffled the boy's curly hair. "Your big brother would love it!"
"You think so?" Dylan asked, sounding doubtful yet hopeful at the same time. My heart felt a tug at this. I can so relate to this kid.
I emulated Chat Noire's confidence and said, "I know so."
"Thanks, uh…" Dylan sheepishly scratched his cheek. "I never got your name."
"My name is Shizuke. Shizuke Midorikawa."
Dylan hummed. "That name sounds familiar… Where have I heard it before?"
"Maybe you heard it from the other times he volunteered for this teaching tradition? He does this every year since junior high," Fuyu suggested.
The boy scrunched up his brows in concentration, before shrugging and going with Fuyu's answer. For some reason, my stomach felt queasy. I get the feeling that there's more to it than that.
My instincts alerted me that someone is watching me.
From across the room, Damien was staring at our table. That's strange. For the past six years, he's been perfectly content pretending I don't exist. As soon as our eyes met, he looked away.
What was that about?
0-0-0-0-0