CHAPTER 11: FORGIVING IS NOT THE SAME AS FORGETTING
(Forgive and Forget)
Blair
After the disaster that happened at lunch, Blake snuck off for his daily alone-time to sulk. Because he was being extra lonesome today, I couldn't find him at his usual spots.
Please don't turn into an akuma… With how broken hearted he is, there's no way he wouldn't turn into an akuma! That corrupted butterfly will soon come here, following his miserable trail of brokenhearted teen angst, transforming him into a supervillain I will have to fight and then-
"EVERYONE EVACUATE!!! AKUMA ALERT!!!" Shizuke yelled as he ran past me carrying a crying curly haired boy with an akuma hot on his heels.
The akuma stands at six feet tall with a broad figure. He looks like he's modelled after a bounty hunter in an old west film, with a huge canon-like gun that fires nets made out of blue yarn. The akuma was unrelenting in his chase, only stopping occasionally to shoot a few children down the hall.
"Midorikawa! I mean you both no harm!" the akuma yelled as he ran after him, trying to hit him with one of his nets.
Shizuke displays amazing agility as he dodged every single one of the akuma's shots without slowing down or dropping the little boy he was carrying. They soon ran out of the building, the akuma right on his tail.
On the bright side, Blake can't be akumatized now that someone else has.
0-0-0-0-0
Shizuke
I ran around school dodging nets and looking for a place to hide. Damien-no, Bully Hunter is chasing me now, trying to get me and Dylan to watch him as he captures all the bullies in school and give them the punishment they deserve.
I managed to lose him for a bit and hid behind a building to catch my breath. I would've transformed by now if I wasn't carrying someone with me.
"Mister Shi-shizuke, why did you carry me? Aren't you mad at me for yelling at you?"
I shook my head. "No. I couldn't be mad at you for that," I said in between breaths. Untransformed, the Miraculous may have enhanced my senses but my physical abilities haven't changed. Even for a star track runner, running this far while jumping over obstacles and carrying a child is too much. "You were just defending your brother."
"Wouldn't it have been easier for you to get away if you just ditched me?" Dylan asked, looking at me with guilty eyes as I leaned on a wall for support. I must really look pitiful to him right now.
"I-I couldn't do that… Even if he is your b-brother… Akumas are d-dangerous… He might hurt you even if he didn't mean to," I took a deep breath before continuing so I can talk clearer. "And besides… I promised myself that I would never turn my back on people who needed help."
Before Dylan could say anything in response to that, Bully Hunter found us and we're back to running away from him.
"Please cooperate, Midorikawa! I just want you to see that I've changed!"
"Damien, you're not yourself! Don't do this!" I yelled back.
"Of course I'm not myself!" Bully Hunter growled, making Dylan shudder in my arms.
I could feel the little boy burry his head into my shoulder. Seeing his brother like this must be scaring him so much, he's willing to seek comfort from the guy who caused it.
"I am better now!"
A single rope of red yarn sped past me and wrapped itself around a tree, forcing me to turn away from the track field and run towards the theatre building. Bully Hunter was gaining on us.
"I'm no longer the bully that hurt you all those years ago! In fact, I won't let anyone else get away with bullying! That way, no one else has to suffer the way you did!"
I felt a pang of guilt at his words. He really does regret what he did after all.
I kept running until I reached the back of the theatre building, planning on cutting through the building to get to the gym – one of the many shortcuts I had to learn during my days as Damien's henchman. But the door was locked and my shortcut turned into a dead end, trapped between the corner of a building and a tall fence. If I hurry out maybe there's a chance I could still get out of this corner to somewhere more open. I turned around, only to see Bully Hunter blocked us off.
"Join me as I get rid of all the bullies in this school!" he said, offering his hand to us as a sign of peace.
"Or how about they don't?" said a voice that never fails to make my heart skip a beat.
Standing proudly on top of the theatre building was Chat Noire.
She jumped down from the building. Bully Hunter tried to shoot at her but she dodged it all by twisting in the air until she landed with a roll between us and the akuma. With her staff lengthened to twice her height, she struck Bully Hunter by the arm holding his gun, making him shoot his net up to the sky. Chat Noire swung her staff again, this time knocking Bully Hunter back a fair distance away.
"Get out of here while I distract him," Chat Noire said in a commanding voice as she deflected another net with her elongated staff.
I gave her a nod. As she ran towards Bully Hunter to fight him head on, I ran out of the corner and around the building. It was a long way around to the gym but from there, it's just a quick walk to the senior high school department – where the nearest exit is.
Since the Hawkmoth started attacking the city, the school came up with protocols to follow whenever there's an akuma nearby. In the event that an akuma attacks the school, students are to evacuate the department the akuma is in a swift and orderly fashion.
As soon as I reached the gym, I dropped Dylan off. I was about to run back to Chat Noire when I felt a hand tug me back by the sleeve.
"Y-you can't go! It's not safe!" Dylan said.
Aww… It's kind of Dylan to worry about my safety even though I was mean to his older brother, but I need to go so this kid can have his brother back.
"I'll be fine," I said, barely managing to keep my breathing steady. "I can take care of myself."
Dylan shook his head. "You said it yourself! My brother's an akuma now! He's dangerous!"
Because of me, said my unforgiving conscience. Because I let my anger get the better of me again…
"Dylan, look, I'm sorry about that. I want to apologize to your brother too, but I know it's worthless as long as he's an akuma. I'm going to wait for him to go back to normal. I just want to be there as soon as Ladybug purifies him. I promise to stay at a safe distance."
Dylan looked at me with skeptical eyes, not completely convinced with my excuse.
I handed him my phone and loaded the Ladyblog's latest video. Kaji was gleefully narrating that he has followed Chat Noire and the akuma into the school's cafeteria. Wow, they move fast.
"I promise you, you won't see me in this video. I won't get close enough to appear for that," I said with as much confidence as I could with my half-truth. Surely, he won't see Shizuke Midorikawa go anywhere near Bully Hunter. "I always keep my promises."
Dylan eventually relented and let go of me.
"… I better not see you then."
"You won't."
I ran into the nearest empty space - a janitor's closet - and locked the door behind me. As soon as we're alone, Tikki flew out of my sweater vest.
"I messed up big time! Just when I thought I was finally improving I-"
"Shh… It's okay. You know what to do whenever you make a mistake."
"You're right," I straightened up and popped open the window. "The sooner I save Damien, the sooner I can fix this. Tikki, spots on!"
0-0-0-0-0
Chat Noire
After Shizuke and the little boy were well out of Bully Hunter's reach, the akuma started focusing more on me and we fought around the school. By now, the elementary department has been cleared out. All I have to do is keep him within this area until Ladybug gets here. It would've been so much easier if he didn't have that annoying grappling hook on him. So I herded the akuma into the cafeteria. Being indoors should limit his mobility.
We were at a stand down several feet away from each other when we heard someone by the window. Guess who decides to show up?
"Hello, viewers! This is Keagan reporting live at our school's cafeteria where the akuma is currently fighting off Chat Noire!"
"Idiot, get down! They'll see you!"
Not Ladybug, that's who.
"You! Just who I was looking for!" Bully Hunter yelled as he shot a net and caught Monsieur Ladyblogger.
The beads around the net started glowing and levitated Keagan up through the window and floating towards Bully Hunter. Fiona quickly jumped through the window and grabbed the net holding Keagan. She's only strong enough to slow down the floating net.
"Let go of him!" Fiona yelled, glaring ice cold daggers at Bully Hunter.
Bully Hunter ignored her as he reeled in Keagan. As strong as she is, Fiona's no match against an akuma, and is losing their game of tug-of-war. Keagan, on his part, hasn't stopped filming.
"So Bully Hunter, what do you need me for? I thought your M.O. was capturing bullies?"
"I just need you to capture everything so Midorikawa and my brother could see what I'm trying to do. I promise you won't be harmed."
Welp. I think we've finally reached the point where the akuma has run out of new things to tell us. I flipped a few tables over Bully Hunter to keep him busy and clawed off the bead weights around the net holding Keagan.
"Chat Noire! Where's Ladybug?"
"Monsieur Ladyblogger, will you get off your phone and at least make an effort to get away from here?!" I said through gritted teeth.
I heard the clicking sound of a gun being loaded behind me. Crud. I raised my hands in surrender and slowly turned to face him.
"I don't mean to sound like a bully extorting kids for their lunch money, but a deal's a deal," Bully Hunter sarcastically said, taking his sweet time pulling the trigger. "Hand over your Miraculous!"
"Nope," I dropped my baton and kicked it as hard as I can, aiming for his gun forcing him to miss. I caught my baton as it bounced off the akuma's meaty wrist and extended it to his face, hitting him square in the nose.
While Bully Hunter's busy fixing his nose in pain, I grabbed Keagan in a princess-style carry and ducked behind the cafeteria counter with Fiona following close behind.
Instead of freeing Keagan from the net, I thought better of it and tangled the net around a cupboard handle.
"Stay. Here." I said before he can retort, but then I thought better of it. I turned to Fiona. "Actually, make sure he stays here."
"Yes, ma'am," Fiona gave me an affirmative salute, which made Keagan mumble 'traitor'.
I peered above the counter to see if Bully Hunter has recovered yet. The net flying my way tells me, yes he has. With a flick of my wrist, my baton extended into a quarterstaff just in time to deflect the incoming net and send it back at Bully Hunter to give him a taste of his own medicine.
Bully Hunter turned a knob on his yarn gun-transforming it to a more compact gun- and pulled the trigger. Instead of another net, beads shot out of the gun and exploded when they collided with the net, disintegrating it.
I clicked my tongue. "So you have explosives too. Cest magnifique."
"Aww, kitty. If you wanted to play with yarn so badly, I can always switch back,~" he said, twisting the knob back to bulky net gun mode.
"You know, that joke would've worked better if your name had a yarn-based pun. Hawkmoth really has to up her game in the naming department."
I rolled out of the way as more nets shot towards me. Bully Hunter threw net after net after me and until there was just too many for me to dodge and I was on the floor. Before he can come over and take my Miraculous, a red and black spotted yoyo wrapped around Bully Hunter's gun arm stopped him.
"That's enough, Bully Hunter!" Ladybug entered the scene from behind the akuma, tugging at his yoyo as he stepped closer.
A glowing butterfly outline lit up over the akuma's face.
Noticing the lack of struggle from the akuma, Ladybug asked, "Hawkmoth's nagging again, isn't she?"
"Yeah, probably going 'blah blah blah… Get both of their miraculous! Blah blah blah… Don't forget to pick up some milk on the way! Blah blah blah…'," I mocked as I clawed through the yarn holding me down.
"Cat! Not the time!" Ladybug scolded, but not before he failed to hold back a snicker.
"Sorry Hawkmoth, can't listen to you right now. I'm in the middle of a fight," before either of us could make a move, the glowing butterfly outline faded and Bully Hunter's head is back in the game. "C'mere, Ladybug!"
Bully hunter grabbed the yoyo and flung Ladybug towards him.
Hah. Big mistake. With his huge bulky size and with Ladybug kinda disarmed, it's easy to understand why he'd think fighting Ladybug in hand-to-hand combat would be easy.
Mid-flight, Ladybug readjusted himself so his feet connected to Bully Hunter's chest first. The blow sent the large akuma down to the floor and Ladybug pinned him down by holding down his arm and his legs wrapped around the akuma's shoulder.
Ladybug is a highly competent unarmed fighter. With all the time we've spent fighting akumas, I would've thought Hawkmoth would warn her minion-for-the-day that Ladybug is not to be underestimated at melee.
As my partner was trying to pry off a bracelet – likely the possessed object – Bully Hunter turned the knob of his gun again. This time, it turned into a grappling gun. Bully Hunter shot its grappling hook and dragged himself and Ladybug across the other end of the cafeteria through several tables and chairs, making Ladybug let go.
Finally free of the net, I leaped towards the pile of tables, picked off a few and pulled out my partner. "Damn, that look like it hurt."
Ladybug flexed and stretched; demonstrating that he's well enough, thanks for the concern, his magical indestructible suit took the brunt of the damage.
"Where's Bully Hunter?"
"I won't let you take Kaji!" Fiona yelled.
"That answers your question, Bugsy."
Bully Hunter was at the counter back on the other end of the cafeteria, Fiona bravely standing between the akuma and Monsieur Ladyblogger like it's where she belongs. Ladybug and I tried to rush towards them but things escalated too fast on the akuma's side.
"I have no business with you, but I'll give you a chance," Bully Hunter turned his gun into its 'exploding beads mode'. "Step out of the way and you can get out of this unharmed."
Alarmed, Keagan said, "I'll be fine! He needs me! Do what he says, Fuyu!"
"Fuyu…?" Bully Hunter repeated, his eyes widening. Then his shock shifted to anger as his gun shifted to net mode. "You…"
Fiona didn't back away and shot him her own icy cold glare. "Whatever you're trying to achieve here, you can shove it! I'm not letting you drag my friends into it!"
At this very moment, I believed with all my heart that Keagan and Fiona belong together. They're both reckless! Ladybug seems to share my sentiments. He's making choking noises right next to me, equally shocked at her audacity to taunt an akuma.
"YOU'RE THE REASON MIDORIKAWA WON'T LISTEN TO ME!!!" Bully Hunter shot Fiona with a net.
Unlike with Keagan earlier, he was much rougher with levitating her towards him.
Also unlike Keagan earlier, Fiona's making an effort to get out of the net.
"If I can't convince Midorikawa that I've changed, then I'll just have to convince you and make you help me!" Bully Hunter said, shifting his gun to 'grappling hook mode'.
Bully Hunter went out of the cafeteria and swung away on his red yarn grappling hook with Fiona in tow.
As for Keagan, he freed himself from the net when no one was looking and jumped on the net holding Fiona, clinging onto it as it flew away with no regard for his safety, all before I could even think about stopping him.
"Come back here!" Ladybug yelled as he zipped after them.
I couldn't resist the urge to pull my hair in frustration.
Shizuke, why are all your friends crazy?! No wonder you're so high-strung all the time! They'll be the death of you! The death of me too!
I launched myself after Bully Hunter with all my strength, venting out my frustrations.
0-0-0-0-0
Ladybug
There was a brief moment of panic when I lost sight of Bully Hunter, until Chat Noire caught up and grumpily reminded me that the crazy Ladyblogger is with them filming everything.
According to the Ladyblog, they're headed towards the school's clock tower where Bully Hunter plans to publicly execute the bullies by hanging them up there by their underwear. How nostalgic. I remember the days when he threatened to do the same to me if I didn't do his homework.
"Leave it to Monsieur Ladyblogger, to get freed from the akuma's dangerous clutches only to jump right back in the second I turn my back on him! How can one person be so reckless?!" Chat Noire ranted, understandably irritable. "And there's his Lady-friend too! What was she thinking picking a fight with an akuma?!"
Welcome to my world, dear love of my life. You'll make an excellent addition to our little family.
"At least their four-eyed friend is more cooperative. I've never seen him anywhere near an akuma, but the one time I do, he kept himself away from the akuma like I told him to! Just for that, he's become my favorite of their infamous trio!"
I had to slap myself so I don't do or say anything stupid when she said I'm her favorite. It doesn't mean anything! She just finds me less annoying compared to my friends!
"What was that?" Chat Noire looked at me with concern.
"NOTHING!!! JUST A FLY!!!"
"Okay…" Chat Noire said, sounding unconvinced.
0-0-0-0-0
"People of this school!"
Bully Hunter's voice boomed from where he was perched at the top of the clock tower, nets holding alleged bullies floating around it. Fuyu's net was floating the highest, right next to Bully Hunter. Kaji was filming the whole thing on a flying hammock made of blue yarn and floating beads near them. He was restrained to it with yarn.
"There is no need to fear! Bully Hunter is here to purge the school from all kinds of jerks who cause nothing but pain!" the akuma turned towards Fuyu. "Just you watch, Jewelry Princess. I'll get you to help me by the end of this."
"That's enough, Bully Hunter," I said as soon as I reached the top of the tower.
Bully Hunter took a step in front of Fuyu, blocking her from my view with his bulky form. "I was wondering when you'd show up… Wait, where's your partner?"
That was when Chat Noire snuck up from behind and struck. But Bully Hunter was quick. He grabbed Fuyu and rolled away. He mostly kept his distance as he shot at us. His arm with the bracelet is wrapped around Fuyu, making it hard to make a grab for it. I tried to snatch Fuyu off his grasp but his hold on her was too strong.
"Ladybug, I've got an idea," Chat Noire said, eyes locked on the akuma and focused as ever. "I'm gonna need you to be prepared to catch the hostage. Okay?"
I barely managed a nod when she charged towards Bully Hunter. She gracefully dodged all his shots and as she got into his space, she made a feint towards his wrist. Thinking she's gonna try to get to his bracelet again he turned to sidestep her.
"Cataclysm!"
Chat Noire struck down on the roof, making Bully Hunter lose his footing and fall through the hole she made. The sudden jolt made him let go of Fuyu, sending her falling off the clock tower screaming.
Remembering something from the Spider-Man comics Chat Noire made me read, I decided against fishing her back up with my yoyo and dove after her. I could faintly hear Kaji crying her name from above as I swung down as fast as I can to catch Fuyu. I quickly wrapped my arm around her, careful to keep her head down so she doesn't snap her neck and willed my yoyo to grow longer and longer until we reach the ground.
She was still shaking in my arms when we landed. It's a far cry from the strong heroic girl who stood up for me all those years ago and has been looking out for me since. Seeing someone as tough as her look so frail like this… It never gets easier.
"Are you-" I asked but I was cut off when she pushed herself off and took a few steps back.
"I'm fine," she gritted out while keeping her gaze away from me. Knowing her, she's probably ashamed of showing fear, even one as understandable as nearly falling to her death.
The sounds of explosions rang from above.
Eyes fixed on the top of the tower where Kaji and the others are still floating in mid-air, Fuyu said, "You should go."
As much as I want to stay to make sure she's okay, the battle with Bully Hunter isn't over yet.
"Okay. Just stay safe until we stop the akuma, alright?" I said as I threw my yoyo all the way back to the top of the tower and hauled myself up. Chat Noire doesn't have much time left.
0-0-0-0-0
Chat Noire
With Cataclysm already used up, this fight couldn't last too long.
I pounced on him from behind a gear and tried to ambush him, but he pulled off his grappling hook just in time to hoist himself up and dodge.
"Nice try, kitty, but you're gonna have to do better than that," Bully Hunter mocked as he steadied himself up a vertical gear that's slowly sending him down like an escalator. He shot another net at me, which I evaded by hiding behind a set of gears.
With his long-ranged fighting style and varied abilities combined with the constantly shifting battleground, taking him down is trickier than it should be.
"Here, kitty kitty kitty…" Bully Hunter taunted.
The beeping of my Miraculous gave away my hiding spot and had me fighting him again. That was when Ladybug came swinging in, kicking Bully Hunter off the edge.
"Nice of you to drop in, Ladybug," I greeted. "Perfect timing as always."
"Sorry I took so long," Ladybug said, too serious to banter like a proper Spider-man knock off.
A grappling hook zipped by and pulled the akuma back up to our level.
"Great. You're both here," Bully Hunter shifted his gun into bead bomb mode and shot at us. "Now I just gotta knock you out and pry your Miraculous off!"
We scrambled up from one platform to another as the akuma wildly shot his exploding projectiles around us. With all the spinning from the rotating clock gears and us heroes running in circles around him, you'd think the akuma would get dizzy at some point, but nope.
"Chat Noire!"
Up on a beam, Ladybug was tying what appears to be a pair of red, black-spotted barbell weights to his back. I narrowed my eyes at today's Lucky Charm. How would strapping extra weight on to Ladybug stop Bully Hunter? Whatever. Leave it to Ladybug to figure that out.
"Can you get the akuma to fall off right below me? Thanks!"
Times like these, I'm glad that my power isn't as needlessly complicated as Lucky Charm. It takes a special kind of zany to use it to full effect.
The akuma made no effort to hide where he is. He's standing on a gear around the middle, shooting randomly at every direction except the one where we are. Good. He hasn't spotted us yet. With all the damages done to the clock tower, the gears are now grinding at a frenetic pace. My Miraculous beeped a second warning. I better make this quick.
I leaped onto the wildly swinging pendulum and slipped down. Just when the pendulum swung by Bully Hunter, I spun myself around from behind the pendulum's round weight and kicked him over the edge.
Spurred by his survival instincts to save himself from falling to his death, he changed his gun to a grappling hook and fired, aiming for one of the beams above - right where Ladybug was waiting.
Ladybug grabbed the other end of the grappling hook, slid it over a beam and jumped down with the weights strapped onto his back. Ah. So that's what the weights are for; to drag a big guy like Bully Hunter up a make-shift pulley while having him locked into using a grappling hook!
When they met, Ladybug snagged the bracelet and forced it to snap as they passed each other on his way down. With his hand now free to wield his yoyo, he caught and purified the akuma.
Bully Hunter transformed back into Damien mid-air. I jumped up and caught him while Ladybug swung down on a platform below to use his miraculous healing wave. Soon, a swarm of magical ladybugs flew around and fixed everything. Ladybug swung up to check on us and we did our fist bumps before we looked over Hawkmoth's latest victim.
The former akuma looked around in confusion. "… What…? Where am I?"
Usually, this would be Ladybug's cue to start comforting the victim… Except Ladybug is too busy staring into space. Since it doesn't seem like Ladybug's gonna do his usual akuma-hugger routine, I might as well give them my own brand of tough love.
"You're in the school's clock tower. And before you ask, yes, you've just been akumatized."
He took a while to process what I said, typical of most akuma victims.
"For what it's worth, you got akumatized fighting for a good cause."
"W-what did I do?"
"You tried to rid this school of bullies."
"Huh?"
"And you tried to make some nerd watch to convince him you've changed or something."
"What?!"
"Failing at that, you kidnapped the nerd's friends instead so they can convince him for you."
"WHAT?!"
"Don't be so dramatic. It's not like you were anywhere near killing them!" I waved him off, then something occurred to me. "Please don't blame yourself for the part where the pink one fell off the clock tower. That was totally my fault."
Damien covered his face and sunk down on his knees in despair. Sigh… I did promise myself I'd at least try to be a better hero, and part of that job is comforting victims.
"It was all for a good cause! You wanted to show you've changed and apologize to the nerd for being a bully before, right?"
Damien, still drowning in despair, simply nodded.
"Then don't let this stop you. You wanted to be given a chance to show you're sorry and that you've changed, right? But for that to happen, you have to give him a chance to see that for himself and forgive you by apologizing," then my miraculous gave off a warning beep. Two minutes left. "Looks like I need to clock out. Catch ya later!"
I shot Ladybug a wink and a pair of finger guns before leaping off into the school's lush gardens, leaving my partner to deal with the victim.
0-0-0-0-0
Ladybug
Why did she have to be so cute?! It's not fair! And did she have to repeatedly call me a nerd?!
With no more further distractions, I'm left alone in the tower with my problem. There was a brief silence before Damien spoke up.
"Ladybug?"
"Yeah?"
"Please do me a favor and sneak me out of school! I can't face either of them right now!" he begged, prostrating down on the floor.
Once upon a time, it was me who was prostrating in front of him, begging for forgiveness over something that I now know wasn't even my fault. How times have changed.
"Listen, Dam-DUDE," I almost bit my tongue. I'm not supposed to know his name as Ladybug after all. At least my verbal stumble got him to look up. "Cat's right. If you really did feel sorry about what you've done, you should apologize."
"What's the use? He'll never forgive me… I don't deserve to be forgiven."
I resisted the urge to agree with him. Just because I akumatized him and he feels bad for it now, doesn't mean I'm just gonna forgive him for his years of bullying. But right now, I'm not Shizuke, the person he wronged. I'm Ladybug, the hero who hears everyone out fairly so justice can be served.
"I understand that you were akumatized because you felt… regret over your past actions…"
"Yeah. I was one hell of an asshole back then…"
I cringed at his use of curse words. That part of him hasn't changed.
"… I doubt I'm any better now."
My miraculous beeped, signaling that I only have three minutes left.
"Whether he'll forgive you or not, it seems to me he deserved an apology," I opened the window by the clock face and threw my yoyo out, letting it wrap around a building. "Now come on. A certain 'nerd' told me he'll talk to you once you're back to normal."
Looks like it's Shizuke's turn to have a talk.
0-0-0-0-0
After swinging us down and leaving him by a bench near the clock tower, I found a secluded place to detransform and carefully circled around before I made my way back. He looked surprised to see me, even though I, as Ladybug, told him I'd meet him here.
I never thought I'd ever be doing this. Nonetheless, I gave him my sincerest apologies.
"Damien, I'm here to apologize for my outburst earlier noon."
"What are you apologizing for? You weren't wrong, I really was a horrible friend to you… I deserved that."
"Stop!" I held my hand out. I straightened up and looked him in the eye. "What I did was uncalled for. I should've given you a chance to explain yourself like I would've had it been anyone else."
"But-"
"What you did in the past was horrible, but it had no bearing on the matter with the boy. I was being unfair and let my anger get the better of me. You didn't deserve to get lashed out on today. I'll try not to let that happen again and be more cooperative in the future. That's all I wanted to say to you. Good day."
I started making my way back towards the elementary department, leaving Damien behind. Now that the akuma situation is over, classes should resume in the next period...
"Midorikawa! Wait!"
I stopped in place, willing myself not to snap at him. Not even a full minute ago, I just promised I'd try to hear him out first and not let my anger get the better of me, so that's exactly what I'm going to do.
"I know this is six-no, seven years overdue, but I want to apologize for how I treated you in the past."
I turned to face him fully and narrowed my eyes at him. If he thinks one measly apology is gonna be enough – but then Damien did the unbelievable: he was bowing at me on the ground, the same way I did back when I was begging him for forgiveness all those years ago.
"Just… Just know that you never deserved to be treated that way."
"I know that," I said. It came out more detached than how I'm really feeling... Anger, sadness, regret… All of it blending inside of me. But it was all I can manage without lashing out at him all over again. He doesn't deserve it when he's actually TRYING to apologize.
"Good. Good… I don't expect us to ever be friends again. I mean, who would want to be friends with me after that?" he stood up straight from bowing. Then he laughed at himself in a self-depreciating way and looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. "If you could never forgive me, I'll understand. I just want you to know I regret how I was, and I'm sorry."
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Yeah…?" he reluctantly complied.
Normally, I'd feel bad for making people uncomfortable, but there are things I needed to know before I can even consider forgiving him.
"What made you change?"
Right after I befriended Fuyu and left him, he didn't just stop being a jerk. In fact, he got worse. Then suddenly, he stopped. He never approached us, never acknowledge our presence… But his goons didn't so I assumed we're still on his hit list. A part of me always wondered why.
"My brother… You've met him. He's a good kid and he really looks up to me," Damien said as his lips twitched into a smile. That smile turned down into a grimace. "He started school a year after you and Kuznetsov became friends. Dylan befriended another kid who was just like me. He came home crying one day feeling like shi-feeling like dirt. Took him a while to get over that, and even then, there are days when he relapses and thinks he's worthless all over again."
I chose to ignore his near curse. Well, that explains where he got that empathy from. I've only known the kid for a day and I can understand feeling a little protective of him. What more if he's actually my little brother?
"He kinda reminds me of you, you know? Honest, kind, earnest... Eager to please. Can achieve just about anything when he puts his mind to it. But with terrible self-esteem, ever since he made that one awful 'friend'," Damien let out a sardonic laugh. "Karma truly does have a twisted sense of humor."
A quiet "oh" was all I could say. I can feel Damien's own self-loathing from where I stand. Damien stayed quiet and misty eyed for a while before he gathered himself and started talking again.
"So I understood then that I am the worst person ever. I couldn't face you or Kuznetsov after that. I didn't know what to say… I was ashamed of myself. Still am."
"Then why didn't you apologize sooner?"
"Because I'm a coward."
"And your goons? Why didn't they stop attacking me if you already regretted being a bully?"
"We liked feeling powerful and when I quit, they just replaced their leader. They wouldn't listen to me when I told them to stop. So we cut off all ties. We're no longer 'friends'."
Now that he mentioned 'friends'…
"And Natalia? Does she know?"
Not long after he stopped bullying me, I saw him befriend a certain blonde. At first, I thought she was a replacement for me, his new personal homework machine. But then I noticed how differently he treats her. I was a little resentful when he treated me like a servant while he was much nicer towards her, because why me? Why was I the one he bullied? And then Natalia started acting like a huge jerk around me, so I just assumed it's because they're both jerks that they got along better. But now though, I get the feeling that's not the case.
"I didn't have the guts to apologize to you like I should've, much less tell the only friend I have about how horrible a friend I could be. If she knew, she wouldn't want to be friends anymore."
Damien crossed his arms in an effort to look tougher than he really is. I'm sure he'd rather not talk about this. The only reason he's answering is because he probably feels that he owes me at least this much. He's genuinely sorry.
"I'm sure she'd still want to be your friend," I said reassuringly, which caused Damien's head to snap back up at me at the unexpected sympathy. "I'll never forget the bully who made my first year in Helios miserable… But you're not that guy anymore."
"Wait, does this mean you forgive me…?"
He sounded so hopeful, I almost feel bad for crushing that.
"Not quite. You haven't bullied me in years, and I can see you've changed. I have no reason to keep holding a grudge against you… It's just that, I can't just get over the past as if none of it happened. This is all so sudden, and honestly, I'm having trouble absorbing…" I waved my hand over to him, indicating his changes. Damien looked confused. Sigh, I should just get to the point. "Perhaps someday… For now, I can accept your apology."
Damien only nodded in response, full of understanding. He's nothing like who he used to be - the demanding brat who would throw a tantrum whenever he doesn't get his way.
After letting all of that out, I felt different. This isn't like earlier, where I just blew up and threw all my resentment at him. This time, I felt like a weight has been lifted off of me. I still feel some anger boiling deep inside me, but it's not as intense as it used to be. Tikki was right. Holding onto grudges really isn't good for anyone.
"For now, I want us to work better in our group together, and that can only happen if you stopped pretending I am not around- and for Natalia to stop antagonizing me, but I'll worry about that later. So, groupmates?" I held out a hand, which he took and shook.
"Groupmates."
0-0-0-0-0
Blair
It took me most of the free period, a quick run across the school grounds as Chat Noire, and dumb luck to find my sulking twin brother. I should've known he'd climb up a tree to be alone. There he was, lying on the highest branch looking totally emo. He makes it look like bark is a perfectly comfortable thing to lay on. He always had delusions that tree climbing was cool for some reason. I detransformed behind some bushes before approaching Blake.
"Bro, get down from there! Class is about to resume! We can't just leave Keagan to deal with those little gremlins alone!"
"You go on ahead. I'll just stay here and think about my place in the universe now that Natalia's got a boyfriend."
I rolled my eyes. "You're being a drama queen, bro. Stop acting like it's the end of the world! So what if Natalia has a boyfriend? It's not like she's going to marry him."
"That's where it starts, sis. It's a step-by-step process. First they'll date, then they'll get engaged, then they'll get married and have children!"
Plagg is snickering in my purse. I placed my hands on my hips and glared up at my dearest brother.
"Psh… Not everyone ends up marrying their first love, stupid," I said with a dismissive wave.
"Tell that to dad."
"He's a special case. He always believed he only had the capacity to fall in love once so of course he's gonna try his best not to screw that up."
Sometimes, I wonder if I'm gonna end up like dad – never let go of the first and only person who made him feel something that isn't platonic because he's afraid he's never gonna feel that way again. He was never attracted to anyone before he met mom. If they hadn't met, he believed he'd probably stay single for life like he initially planned. I can only hope that if I ever find that person, they'd be at least half as nice as mom and they feel the same about me.
"And mom said he was like, her fifth love. Sixth if she was counting her unrequited crush on her teacher when she was a kid. That's how it works for most people! Trial and error until you find the right one for you! I'm sure you'll get your chance someday."
"Even if they don't end up getting married, I doubt Natalia will ever look my way. I'm not even her type! I'm no prince charming…"
Despite being the spitting image of our dad (save for the eyes) Blake clearly takes after mom; such a hopeless romantic with a flair for dramatics. Dad had always been the more pragmatic one in that relationship.
"Then move on."
"What?"
"Move. On. There are plenty of fish... Fishes? Fish? Whatever. Sea creatures, yeah, that'll do. There ar-"
"Sea creatures? Really?"
"Can't be picky with what you catch, bro. It's better to cast your net wide and broaden your options if you want to actually catch something 'cause we can't always catch them goldfish, now can we?!"
Blake grumbled about how I'm not even at the punch line yet but he's already annoyed to pieces. From the ocean of kindness that is my heart, I pretended not to hear any of that.
"As I was saying; there are plenty of sea creatures in the sea that can appreciate an overly dramatic dork like you!"
"Thanks, sis," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You're welcome," I cheerfully replied. Then I schooled my happy face to a more serious expression. "Bro, whether you choose to wait for her or move on, I'll always be here for you. You know that, right?"
Blake's sour face softened. "Yep."
I grinned. "Now get your butt down here, because you're up there and I can't be there for you!"
Blake rolled his eyes, and stood up, balancing precariously on the branch.
"Coming, sister dearest," he said in a tone full annoyance, but we both know he means it.
My brother did some warm up stretches before he climbed down a lower branch, then another, lower and lower until he jumped down with a twist in mid-air when he was only six feet off the ground.
"Show off," I muttered.
"Like you don't do that too," Blake jabbed back.
Together we threw jabs at each other until we reached our classroom. There we were greeted with a strange sight.
"Twinsies! You came back! I was beginning to think you've abandoned me!"
There, we found poor Keagan, tied to a chair, unable to do anything but watch helplessly in the sidelines as the class descended into war against each other with that girl with the dirty blonde pigtails leading one side and Zephyr leading the other. How did that kid get back here so fast?! I'm pretty sure I saw him by the clock tower along with the other bullies before I left…
"How the heck did this happen?" I asked incredulously. Blake was too shocked to say anything.
"I don't know! One minute we were having class like normal, the next, they were declaring war on each other and I'm tied to a chair!"
We stared at the class who were building forts made of chairs and paper flying everywhere. Then we stared back at Keagan, who looked about ready to cry. Then back at the class, who somehow set a pile of books on fire, triggering the fire alarms and the sprinklers, making everything soggy.
All this in the span of, what? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? We weren't gone THAT long.
"We're so in trouble…" I grumbled as I untied Keagan.
0-0-0-0-0
Shizuke
"Shizu!" Fuyu greeted us at the playground on the way to the elementary department. Noticing my company, she wedged herself between us and glared up at the giant ex-bully. "You better not be messing with Shizu's head again."
Damien nodded his head down in humility and said, "I know, and I'm sorry for everything I did as Bully Hunter, I-"
"Zip it," Fuyu cut him off, her voice had that sharp edge and her icy blue eyes set in one of the coldest glares I've ever seen from her. "Haven't you seen the Ladyblog? People see me with Kaji on the Ladyblog all the freaking time! I of all people would know that akumas are just unlucky people who were controlled by Hawkmoth when they were down! I'm not gonna hold anything you said or did as an akuma against you. Apologizing about that is stupid, so I don't wanna hear it."
"Right… Sorry."
Damien looked down to the side, avoiding her glare. I kinda feel sorry for him. He didn't know that that would trigger Fuyu's wrath.
"I have better reasons to be mad at you that you're actually accountable for."
Damien winced. He looked like he was going to try to apologize again but Fuyu cut him off and marched ahead, dragging me with her.
"Let's just get back to the classroom. The yellow eyesore must be getting tired of taking care of a classroom full of screaming children by herself," Fuyu said, rejecting any of Damien's attempts at conversation. She glared at him the whole way back and stayed firmly between us.
0-0-0-0-0
When we returned to the classroom, Dylan greeted us and was glad that we're on civil terms now. He returned my phone, pleased to say he didn't saw me in the Ladyblog's livestream like I promised. Natalia seethed and was mean at first, but at least Damien tried to play peacemaker between us and let me teach. After that, we managed to work together well enough. Fuyu made no further comments at the change in our group's dynamics and quietly sat in the corner listening to music while occasionally shooting Damien and Natalia a glare whenever she thinks we're not looking.
The rest of the afternoon went a lot better than this morning. There's just one more thing I need to settle…
"Fuyu, I need you to help me ask out Blake."
Fuyu choked on a cookie – from Tikki's stash. Sigh... I refilled her glass of lemonade, which she grabbed and swallowed to wash down Tikki's cookie. As soon as she cleared her throat, she sputtered out, "Wait, what?!"
Then it occurred to me how my choice of words could be misinterpreted. "That's not what I meant! I mean, we ask him to go out with us! Platonically! Just a group of friends on an outing!"
Wiping her face clear of cookie crumbs, she asked, "What do you have in mind?"
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