Note: The italicized portions for this chapter are from Morning Musume's "Password is 0" rather than Lilium Shoujo Junketsu Kageki, credit goes to the official music video and Project!Hello.

The Forget-Me-Not Chapter 4: Password is Zero

There is nothing that I am hiding from you.

There is no need to turn down this chance if it's here.

There is no need to have obvious reasons for starting something.

Though there is no guarantee of what lies beyond these efforts, I believe that there'll be something.

There is nothing for me to feel guilty about.

There is no need for a good reason to protect family.

Zero, the password is zero.

… Because tomorrow will come if I don't give up.

I'll get it if I do something no one else can.

Marinette was sitting on an armchair in the lounge in the girls' dorm, talking to Alya, who sat on the floor at the foot of the armchair. Alix was sitting near them in the loveseat when Kim, Max, and Ivan walked in, Ivan taking a seat on the couch.

Kim and Max plopped down on either side of Alix on the loveseat, prompting a glare from the girl as she pushed Kim off. Kim simply sat down again on the arm of the loveseat, and Alix adjusted the leather gloves on her hands with a scowl, not letting it show how much she enjoyed the two boys' company.

Alya was looking at the guys suspiciously, asking, "Why are you guys here in the girls' dorm?"

Kim gave Alya a pointed look and said, pointing back to the boys' dorm with his thumb, "They're messing around with poetry in there, it's boring as hell."

Marinette raised an eyebrow and asked skeptically, "Poetry?"

Max adjusted his glasses and replied, "Yes, poetry. I believe that it began when one of Ivan's neighbors found a poem that Ivan wrote quite a while ago."

"And then they just gathered in the lounge and started making poetry?" Alix asked incredulously. "What the hell, guys don't just do that, they're guys."

Kim shrugged and replied, "They do when they're bored, and this place is boring."

Alya looked over at Ivan and asked, "What was your poem about?"

Ivan scratched his head and replied, "It was a love poem I think." He furrowed his eyebrows in thought before adding, "I don't even remember writing it. It's not my thing."

Alix prodded, "Was it addressed to anyone?"

Marinette perked up and added hopefully, "Like a girlfriend?" At this, Alya sent Marinette a glare that the pigtailed-girl ignored.

Ivan shook his head, "No. It might not even be mine, but it was my handwriting, so I guess I wrote it." He then said to Marinette as an afterthought, "and I don't have a girlfriend." But the way he said it made it seem like he was trying to convince himself, too.

Alya moved to change the subject and instead asked Kim, "So, how are you holding up after that dare yesterday?"

"I'm fine, pretty much got off scot-free." Kim then winced a bit and said, "Could've been a whole lot worse though. They said I was lucky that I landed on my back the way I did. I could've broken my leg if I'd fallen feet first, or cracked my skull open if I'd fallen head first."

That was when Nino walked in and remarked, "And that's why you don't climb up the side of a tall building."

Alya smirked and teasingly asked Nino, "Hey, DJ, how was the poetry?"

"Not as boring as I thought it'd be," Nino admitted.

Marinette raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really? How many people were there?"

"About ten, though there were a bunch of other people who were just standing around listening to them."

Alya sent Nino a sly look as she quipped, "And did you share any poetry?"

Nino countered with an, "I sure did: Roses are red / Violets are blue / I'd make an actual poem / but it wasn't working out, dude."

That got the group laughing, and Alix made the mistake of pressing her back too far into the love seat she was sitting on, prompting a wince in slight pain.

Kim and Max both noticed, and the former asked, "Whoa, Alix you okay?"

Alix nodded, but the question got the rest of the room worried and Max asked, "How many did Juleka give you?"

Alix was leaning forward, looking at a spot on the ground and resting her arms casually on her knees as she replied frankly, "Well, she said that I deserved fifteen for how stupid the stunt was."

Jaws dropped in shock and Marinette was taken aback as well, "Fifteen!?"

Alix nodded, sitting up straighter, but not leaning back against the loveseat as she added, "Yeah, but she said she'd go easy on me and give me six."

Nino raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "That's less than half. It's unlike Juleka to go that nice on someone."

Alix shot back, annoyed at how he brought it up, "You don't think I know that?" She scowled as she added, "That's why I told her not to go easy on me. I don't like pity."

Alya blinked, saying slowly in disbelief, "You-you told her not to go easy on you…" When Alix nodded, Alya closed her eyes and sighed, rubbing her temples.

Max then asked, "How many did she end up giving you."

Alix crossed her arms, seemingly still mad, "Eight. She still went easy on me, damn Felix."

Kim ruffled up her hair affectionately to try and calm some of the girl's anger as he said sympathetically in slight guilt, "Sorry about not being there with you. I feel really guilty."

Alix swatted his hand away, yet still let a small smile come across her face as she replied, "Don't worry about it, it's all good."

That last part of what Alix had said before, however, had caught Nino's attention and he asked, "What do you mean by 'damn Felix'?"

Marinette then spoke up, saying, "Felix told Juleka to go easy on her, right?"

Alix nodded, "Yeah." She was bitter as she said, disgruntled, "I know he's just trying to help, but it pisses me off. I'm short, I'm thin, I'm a girl, and I'm – ugh! I just hate it when people feel like they have to go easy on me."

Kim patted her shoulder, "Don't sweat it, Felix probably would've told Juleka to go easy on me, too."

Alix's mood was still noticeably bitter as she grumbled, "Yeah, but she wouldn't have gone that easy on you. You're almost twice my size, and you're –" she cut herself off, and looked down instead, scowling again.

Kim leaned down with a smirk and asked, "I'm what? Hot? I think you'd be more successful at seducing Juleka."

Alix responded with a punch to Kim's shoulder and a sarcastic, "Yeah, right. Don't be so self-centered, and everyone knows Juleka's committed."

"Shortie"

"Dumbbell"

"Chibi"

"Hercules"

"Loudmouth"

Alix seethed, "Loudmouth? I am NOT the loudmouth have you heard yourself talk?"

Marinette, not wanting to let their squabble get too out of control, jumped in with a, "I think we all know who the real loudmouth is – Chloe."

"Oh, I second that," Alya interjected.

Alix added a, "God I fucking hate her, she's such a bitch."

Kim scoffed and retorted, "No way, she's worse than that."

Max adjusted his glasses and added, "I agree."

Ivan gave a short, "same."

Nino was distracted, and not truly listening to the conversation anymore. Something struck him about what was said about Felix telling Juleka to go easy on Alix. He backed away slowly towards the doors, and said, "Yeah, I'll see you guys later, I need to go talk to Felix." He promptly left the room, a confrontational look on his face that displayed a combination of worry, fury, and confusion.

This piqued the interest of the others, confused as to why Nino abruptly left like that. Marinette, Ivan, and Alya exchanged a glance, thinking about how Marinette was asking before about that Mylene girl, before Alya looked away.

Alya knew she couldn't deny it – there was a conspiracy of some sort going on, or, at least, some drama that involved Marinette's delusions about that girl. But this felt too big, something about what was going on felt foreboding – like an eruption waiting to happen… It spelled disaster, and Alya didn't want to be the reason for its eruption.

Mylene wasn't here. Alya didn't know who she was or where she was, but she didn't care. Alya had a bad feeling about that Mylene, and she didn't want to get involved. It'd be for the better if they could all just live blissfully unaware like always, but Marinette didn't think that way, and it made Alya frustrated.

And though Alya was unaware, she was certainly not the only one thinking this way.

Ivan stood up, and moved to follow Nino, "I'm gonna go, too."

Alix crossed her arms and huffed, "Well, I'm bored."

Kim then jumped up to his feet and said in excitement, "Hey! I heard they were having a wrestling thing in the rec. center! Let's go!" He began stretching and then jogged in place a bit as he added, "I'm done sitting for the day."

"Well, I wouldn't mind coming along to watch," Max declared. He made eye contact with Alya and Marinette as he asked, "Do you want to come with us?"

Alya shook her head, "Oh, no way. I'm not into wrestling."

Marinette added with a sheepish smile, "Me neither, but have fun!"

Alix stood up and slowly stretched out her arms a bit as she said, "Well, I'm going." She relaxed and moved towards the door and said, "Let's go."

Max and Kim followed after her, the former asking, "You're not planning on entering, are you?"

Alix scoffed, "No way, I'm not letting some sweaty, beefy guy get his disgusting hands on me." She then added with a smirk as they walked out the door, "But, I'll definitely watch so I can see Kim get his ass kicked."

"Hey! I'm not gonna get my ass kicked, I'm gonna win."

"Yeah, right, I bet you'll last two rounds max."

"You're on!"

The rest of their conversation faded away, and Marinette and Alya exchanged a knowing smiles, Marinette saying, "I don't know how they're still not dating."

Alya drawled, "I'm surprised one of their arguments hasn't ended in making out yet."

A silence ensued. Marinette felt again like something was missing, like Mylene was missing. After just one of them left, everyone else quickly followed, and it felt horribly empty in the lounge. Marinette wasn't even sure where Ivan had gone. Did he have any hobbies or interests at all? Now, Marinette could only associate Mylene with him, and Marinette felt bad that she didn't know him well anymore.

In fact, did she know anyone well anymore?

Did Kim and Alix do anything other than compete? Did Max do anything other than hang around them? What did Alya even do anymore besides just socializing? Did Rose, Juleka, and Felix ever do anything besides tend to their prefect duties? Nino always seemed to be mad nowadays, why was that? Chloe would've gone out of her way to flaunt her greatness to everyone before, but now she didn't seem to do anything besides stay with Sabrina.

And Nathanael… The poor boy desperately needed to keep his anxious hands busy, and Marinette felt as though he could draw in order to do so… It'd be easy to get paper and a pencil, but yet, he didn't… why?

Alya looked up at Marinette and sighed, knowing what the girl was thinking about. She turned around on her spot on the ground so she'd face Marinette as she said gently, "Girl, you thinking about that Mylene person again?"

Marinette moved her legs so that she was hugging them and resting her forehead on her knees as she said, "Kind of…" She shifted again, curling up on the armchair and resting her chin in her hand as she said with a gradually growing frustration, "I can't shake this feeling that Mylene was here. She was here, I know it! But no one else does, and I don't get it, and they don't get it, and you don't get it. And I-"

"Girl," Alya softly interrupted her friend. "Even if Mylene had been here, what are you going to do about it? She's not here right now, and that's all that matters." She placed a reassuring hand on Marinette's knee as she added, "Don't worry about it, there's nothing you can do."

Marinette shook her head, disagreeing with her best friend with all her heart as she said resolutely, "No, that's not right. There is something I can do. I can, I can ask Nino again, there's got to be a reason why he's brooding so much nowadays. And Felix, he always talks to Felix, I bet I could ask him, too! And, if that doesn't work, I can just look around, there's got to be something that could shed some light on things."

Alya looked alarmed and interjected, "You already asked them, it's not going to work a second time. And, girl, you aren't gonna go out looking for her, are you? Because that is definitely not a good idea."

"Ugh, but what else can I do?" Marinette protested. "This is bothering me so much, I need to know what this Mylene thing is all about!"

The two were full on arguing now as Alya retorted, "Well, if you have to do your detective work, how about you stay inside the asylum. Wandering out in the endless forest with your sense of direction isn't gonna get you anywhere."

Marinette was getting more and more hotheaded as the argument went on, as she nearly shouted, "Well, if no one's going to tell me what happened like you said, then what else can I do but find her myself?"

Alya was holding herself back from yelling as she objected, "How do you even know she exists?"

Marinette deflated, but remained firm as she said, "I know she does."

Alya closed her eyes, sighing, rubbing her forehead briefly before dropping her hand and opening her eyes to stare at the ground.

Marinette continued in a low voice, stubborn and determined, "If they won't tell me, then I'll find her. If they won't let me find her, then I'll search for clues until I figure this out." There was a silence before Marinette added as an afterthought, "Felix probably has records somewhere, if I can just find them, then I can figure out where she went."

Alya cut her off with a steadfast, "What are you going to accomplish by leaving? Or sneaking into the prefects' offices? Are you trying to return to civilization before your time? Run into humans? Do you think Mylene's going to be there? All those humans see us as monsters. Leaving is just as pointless as this quest for Mylene. Don't be stupid, ok? Leave this alone, please."

Marinette calmed down, listening to Alya and realizing where at part of her concern was from. "I'm not trying to find humans, I just need to find Mylene," Marinette reassured sincerely. Wondering why her friend was so uncharacteristically against her, she asked, "Why are you so against this? You're usually so supportive of me."

Alya made a point to look Marinette in the eyes as she said solemnly, "You've got that weird feeling about Mylene. I've got this weird feeling that you've got a death wish."

Marinette searched Alya's gaze, and knew immediately that her friend was being sincere.

She truly had this foreboding feeling in her gut like how Marinette had this feeling that something, that Mylene, was missing.

Marinette appreciated Alya's concern, she really did.

But, the one thing Marinette wasn't afraid of was death.

So what if she had a death wish? Everyone was going to die eventually, and if looking for Mylene means moving up her expiration date, then she just needs to do it quickly.

Alya continued gravely, "This isn't going to end well, at all."

Marinette replied with a sincere, "Thanks for worrying." She then added firmly, "But, I don't care. I need to know. You can't change my mind."

Alya reiterated in vain, "She doesn't exist."

Marinette stood up and moved to walk out as she said, "I don't care."

Alya watched Marinette put on her rain jacket and walk out from her spot on the floor, and flopped down on her back with a frustrated groan. Her friend was too stubborn for her own good.

She then heard Chloe's haughty voice, "Trouble in paradise?"

Alya scoffed and replied, "No way, this place is not a paradise."

As soon as Marinette stepped outside, the first thing she saw made her want to flip a table, and she seethed as she stormed toward the sight.

Alix, Max, and Kim had evidently taken a detour to the boys' dorm. Judging by the gym bag clutched in Kim's hand, they'd probably gone in to get his stuff for the wrestling thing. Nino was arguing with Felix in hushed tones several meters away at the back end of the boys' dorm.

Nathanael had, however, also been evidently making his way back to the boys' dorm as the three musketeers came out with Kim's stuff. When they inadvertently crossed paths, the three screamed on cue and Alix especially started yelling at the redhead.

"Hey, look, it's the savage. What are you doing out here? Isn't rain supposed to melt witches like you, or does that misery of yours act like a freak shield? Maybe your hair wasn't red enough, so you went looking for another victim besides your mom."

"I-I just need to pass through."

"Pass through us? What a nice way of asking us permission to stick a knife in our backs, this lunatic's got manners."

"Alix, I don't think reaffirming Nathanael's identity as a miscreant is necessary."

"Fuck no, this bastard mutt needs to be put into his place."

"Alix, everyone knows he's a freak, let's get to the wrestling thing already."

Marinette stormed over to Alix, getting the attention of the other three boys. While Kim and Max were mostly unfazed, Nathanael looked stunned, fearful and in awe at the same time. She reached over to grab Alix's arm, with a fierce, "Alix, back off!"

Right as Marinette's fingers grazed the material of the sleeve of Alix's rain jacket, however, the pink-haired girl wrenched her arm away from Marinette, with an angry shout of, "Don't touch me!"

The icy glare Alix sent Marinette was enough to cool most of Marinette's anger and replace it with shock as Alix reiterated in a low voice, "Don't. Touch. Me."

Marinette let out a deep breath and said a cautious yet sincere, "I'm sorry."

Alix, previously looking like she could've blown up, calmed down when Kim put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, reminding her to take a few deep breaths in and out. Max cleared his throat, and Alix forced herself to say, "Yeah, whatever, thanks for apologizing. Just, don't do that again."

"I won't," Marinette promised. She could not, however, forget what Alix had said before to Nathanael, and added, "…as long as you don't harass Nathanael like that again."

Alix was furious, and she slapped Kim's hand away as she stormed towards Marinette and shoved her as she said, "What gives you the right to say that, huh? You a new prefect, or something? Think your weird prophecies about rainbow-dreadlocks-girl making you a god? Fuck off, and stop butting your head into things you don't understand."

Marinette stumbled back briefly, but took a step forward with fire in her eyes as she said, "You were yelling at Nathanael like he personally murdered everyone you've ever cared about, when he's done nothing to you. What else is there to understand?"

"I'll tell you what," Alix threatened as she moved to tackle Marinette.

Both girls, however, were stopped in their tracks. Kim was holding Alix back, leaving the pink-haired girl kicking and aggressively trying to attack Marinette and tell her just what was up.

Marinette, to her surprise, was stopped by Nathanael, who stood in front of her with his arms out and back to Alix. The redhead looked utterly depressed and anxious, but was resolute in his defense of Alix as he said, "Please stop. I-I really appreciate you trying to help, but there's really no point. It's always like this, you wouldn't understand."

"But, you can't just take this!" Marinette protested. He was right, she didn't understand. Chloe was right, too, Alix had said far worse than the blonde had. Yet here Nathanael was, still defending his bullies. Why? Was he really that used to it? Was he really that used to this torture? How could he stand the oppression?

Nathanael was shaking as he drew his arms in and gave Marinette the most heartbreaking smile she'd ever remembered, "I always have."

He moved to walk away, but then Alix, who had calmed down by then, threw in one last, "Yeah, go back to where you came from, halfa."

Upon hearing the slur, Nathanael froze. His body began trembling uncontrollably, and his eyes widened as he brought his hands up to his ears and mumbled, "No, no, no, no, no, mom, I'm sorry! No, no, no, stop! Stop, no, no, no, no. Why!" By now, Nathanael had collapsed down on his knees, his head lowered as far as it could go.

Alix was steely as she watched him collapse, physically unable to do anything but a deep fear ingrained within her that was visible in her as she stood there. Kim and Max weren't watching at all.

Marinette was horrified, and she turned on Alix and shouted, "That was uncalled for!"

By then, Nino and Felix had noticed, and there were bystanders staring at the scene. The two had approached them, and Nino knelt down beside Nathanael, helping him stand up and guiding him back to the boys' dorm.

Felix pulled Marinette back and said, "Alright, that's enough. You're lucky Rose and Juleka aren't here, this would've earned both of you ladies a punishment."

"Me?" Marinette asked incredulously, "But I didn't do anything!"

Alix scoffed, "Yeah right, this would've never been a problem if you hadn't gotten involved."

Marinette was stopped from attacking Alix again by Felix and instead said desperately, "Why are you so harsh on Nathanael?"

Alix gave Marinette a hardened look, and said simply, "He gets it."

The words made Felix's hands tighten on Marinette's shoulders, but he was otherwise unfazed. Marinette didn't understand what that meant. She looked over at Kim and Max, but the two boys were not making eye contact with anyone. She looked back at Felix, but he had a mastered poker face.

The three of them understood what that meant, and, apparently, so did Nathanael. But Marinette felt as though she'd never understand. Why would Nathanael take such abuse from Alix? What was it about Alix that he understood? Why did it warrant abuse for being a corrupt half-breed?

"I don't get it," She said.

"I didn't expect you to," Felix and Alix said this in unison. And Marinette was thrown off guard, sending Felix a surprised look.

Felix ignored it, and instead motioned towards the recreation center, "Go, the wrestling will start soon."

Alix sighed, all hostility drained out of her voice as she said, "Right." She walked over to Kim and Max and patted them on the back as the three walked away and said, "Come on, let's go."

Marinette was left alone with Felix then, and he stepped back. He brought a hand up to his head, as if to quell a headache, and stumbled slightly. Marinette, surprised, helped him steady himself and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Felix replied, eyes closed in waiting out the spell. "I just need some more rest." He shook it off and instead turned to Marinette and said, "More importantly, keep in mind that some things are better left alone. You'll never understand Alix and Nathanael's situation like they do, and while I know he appreciates the gesture, I also know that your shouting match with Alix frightened him. Please be cautious from now on."

It was then that Marinette was reminded again of how she seemed to barely know her friends anymore. Yes, Alix was going too far, but she hadn't even thought to understand Alix and why she was being mean until after Felix showed up. Running in like that with guns blazing was definitely not the best approach to that situation, especially now that she considered how Nathanael might've felt.

She'd just assumed he'd be relieved to have pressure off his shoulders. But he definitely wouldn't have collapsed from anxiety if she hadn't gotten Alix angrier, and, for that, she felt guilty.

Marinette sighed, this was too much. First Mylene, then Nathanael, then Nino, then Alya, and now Alix. There was too much going on.

She looked back up at Felix and replied with a sheepish smile, "I'll try."

"Thank you," Felix said softly. He then moved to walk to the boys' dorm. Marinette watched, and was surprised to see that Nino was back outside, leaning against the doors of the boys' dorm. He was supposedly waiting for Felix, but the way his arms were crossed and how he was glaring at her with a warning in his eyes was unsettling for Marinette.

She turned back towards the girls' dorm, but then remembered that Alya had been there.

Alix, Kim, and Max were in the recreation center, too…

She then looked over at the edge of the forest that lay beyond the dorms, expecting to see an empty fence that she could lean against. She was instead surprised to see Rose and Juleka there, backs toward Marinette and huddled around a spot in the fence.

Marinette approached, curious. When she got close enough, however, Juleka snapped to attention and whirled around, facing Marinette. The pig-tailed girl stopped in her tracks, taken aback. She awkwardly smiled and said, "Uh… hi."

Juleka monotonously replied, "Hi." She stayed close to Rose's side, shielding the short-haired girl from Marinette's view whilst holding an umbrella over both their heads.

With one last clang Rose stepped away from the fence and moved to stand next to Juleka and asked Marinette with a chiding, "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"Uh…" Marinette stumbled. Not knowing what to say now that she was speaking to the intimidating prefects. Remembering her argument with Alya, however, it occurred to Marinette that she hadn't yet asked Rose or Juleka about Mylene. "I-I was just wondering if you knew anything about a girl named Mylene?"

Rose and Juleka exchanged a look that Marinette couldn't catch, before Juleka stated, "It's raining pretty hard now, you should be getting back inside."

Marinette blinked in surprise, "But-but what about Mylene do you know where she is? No one else knows her, and she isn't around!"

"Well, there's your answer," Rose replied, her voice sweet as usual, but also hardened, clearly indicating that there was no more discussion to be had.

This was Rose and Juleka, the strictest prefects. There would be nothing else Marinette could get from them, not unless she wanted her back to be decorated.

But Marinette stood there a little longer in silence with the two prefects. The rain fell against her rain jacket, and Marinette watched as the droplets ran down her jacket sleeve.

She'd been so heated when arguing with Alya, so determined to find out more. But, now that she had the chance, she was faltering. She supposed there must've been a way to ask Rose and Juleka for information without making them suspicious.

But Marinette didn't have that kind of skill.

So, she instead asked the prefects absentmindedly, "Why is it always raining here?"

"Because someone froze time so that it's always like this," Juleka deadpanned.

"Wait, really?" Marinette was surprised, with how serious Juleka always sounded, there was no telling whether it was true or not. If it was true, it'd be horrifying. Living forever, trapped in time? That was no way to live, it was unnatural. One lives with the idea of making the most of their lives before they died.

What meaning to life was there if there was no time? If one lived eternally?

Zero.

"I was being sarcastic" Juleka replied with a straight face.

"Oh…" Another awkward silence ensued, and Marinette looked over at the spot in the fence Rose had been fiddling with, and was surprised to see a padlock and several chains keeping the door shut.

The padlock, however, was on the other side of the fence.

"What were you doing over there with the fence?" Marinette asked, genuinely curious.

"Making sure it was secure," Rose replied. It was mostly true, and so Marinette believed it… Mostly.

"That's a padlock right? Why's it on the outside?" Marinette inquired, wondering just why a padlock would be on the outside, where anyone could approach and try to crack it.

"So no one escapes," Rose explained. "It's impossible to reach from this side. The asylum is isolated enough so there is no danger of anyone on the outside cracking it. We want to make sure everyone here is safe."

Marinette bit her lip. The fence was tall. The openings in the fence were too small for anything except maybe an ant to fit through. It was secure, they were safe… Mostly.

Though she wasn't sure if she'd receive an answer, Marinette asked anyway, "What's the code to the padlock?"

"Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero." Juleka supplied in her usual monotone voice and straight face.

Marinette blinked in surprise, "Wait what?" 0000 was a horrible code, anyone could solve that.

"I was being sarcastic"

"Oh…"

Rose, however, then said something chilling that contrasted with her usual gentle and feminine voice, "Zero is your rate of success for finding Mylene."