Chapter 3: After It All

Azure was on his way to school, Plagg tucked in an inside pocket of his jacket. Plagg had complained about wanting something warmer so Azure had found him a sock to sleep in as well. Azure told him he'd find him the best cheese he could find, but all he had was string cheese. But the small creature seemed to understand that he wasn't going to be able to afford much else.

His chest was sore, and when he'd woken up he'd noticed the huge bruise that'd formed where Stallion had hit him. Luckily no one would be seeing that anytime soon.

Azure walked up to the entrance of the school nervously. Damian had left earlier than him, so he was already at the school. He hadn't done anything about the punch while at the orphanage, and Azure's naturally suspicious nature led him to believe Damian would strike here.

Taking a shaky breath he tried to steady himself. Then he felt a surge of warmth and peaked inside his jacket at Plagg. "What the heck was that?"

Plagg snickered up at him. "You weren't going anywhere so I gave you a jump start."

"Uh, how?"

"Who're you talking to?" A voice said. Azure spun around to find Viridian leaning there. Azure gapped at the boy, unsure of what to say. Viridian however laughed easily, walking toward him. "Oh don't worry dearie, everyone talks to themselves. My name's Viridian."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well that's not surprising, I'm amazing." The boy said with a cocky smile. Azure frowned, everything about the boy seemed like a show. An excellent one, but a show. Instead, he kept his response simple.

"I just remember you because I talked to Silvia."

"Mmm," Viridian shook his head dramatically. "I'm always overlooked because of the pretty brunette."

"Uh right." Azure said, uncertainty about the boy digging at him. Viridian walked around Azure and leaned in the doorway to the school.

"Why'd you punch Damian?"

"How'd you know?" Azure asked.

"Simon." Viridian responded simply.

Azure glanced past Viridian into the school yard, where students were walking around. "Will there be trouble?"

"Probably, but just don't punch anyone again, hm?"

"Will they punch me?" Azure asked. Viridian rolled his eyes, and rubbed his forehead.

"God damn kid, no one's going to attack you. Where are you from?"

Azure hesitated and shrugged slightly. Then sucking in the cold air, walked past Viridian into the school. Immediately Damian and another boy were there. This boy was short. He had perfectly combed black hair and a messenger bag. His silver eyes twinkled with something that unsettled Azure.

"Heya Blue, nice to make your acquaintance!" The short kid said, a large smile on his face. But the smile was far from friendly. "The names Bates, Bates Malpaha."

Azure nodded numbly, noticing for the first time that Damian had a black eye from where he'd hit him. Along with a few other bruises, most likely from Ladybug. "Silent type uh? I can respect that."

"No, he just hides." Damian taunted. Azure glanced at the boy, but continued his silence waiting to see where this went. Out of the corner of his eye his saw Viridian walk in with Simon.

Bates considered Azure for a moment and then clapped once. "Really kid, you just owe Dame here."

"He better not try and punch me." Azure said. His spoke softly, leaving no room for imagination on what he was implying. Bates held up his hands, an easy laugh issuing outward.

"Wow Blue, calm down. We don't fight here, we play."

Azure remembered what Nara had said yesterday. They solved their problems with the video game.

Azure shook his head, allowing a disbelieving smile to slide onto his face. "So you're saying you guys really solve all of your disputes with a video game?"

Bates shrugged slightly. "Sure why not?"

"Because this isn't an anime."

Damian coughed uncomfortably and looked away. Bates however chuckled in a fake good naturally way. "We got the idea from an anime, you got us, but it's fun no?"

"No!" Viridian called from the edge. Bates smiled across at him.

"It's a shame you and your friends won't play Viridian, it'd be fun to beat you."

Viridian smirked softly. "Tell them why we don't play Simon."

Simon looked at Viridian then at Bates. "Our hand eye coordination is sub par." He stated blandly. Viridian scoffed and slide off the railing he was leaning on.

"Dude!" Viridian shouted. Bates shook his head and turned his attention back to Azure, who'd watched that all in silent disbelief.

"What do I owe you if I lose?" Azure asked, knowing he'd lose if it got that far. He didn't even know what Super Smash was.

"Normal fee without previous bets like this, fifty bucks."

Azure blinked and glanced around, this was a scam he realized. They'd set this up to get money out of students. "And if I don't pay up?"

Bates laughed again, the niceness much less than before. "Well Damian has got the bruises to show for your assault."

And that was the kicker. A total scam. And they didn't have to lift a finger. Assuming they were any good at least. It'd be a little awkward if they weren't. The question though is why would anyone willingly compete for money against them? And why didn't someone stop them.

However, right now Azure knew he had to play along. He did need time to practice though. "Can I practice first? I've never even seen the game."

Damian and Bates exchanged looks, Damian made a face, Bates made one back, and this repeated back and forth until Bates finally nodded and turned to Azure, his weird smile still in place. "Fine kid, you got a week."

Azure nodded and immediately separated himself from them, bumping into Silvia.

Silvia usually set her alarm at least two hours prior to the start of school. The first hour she used to get herself ready for the day and to get breakfast for herself. The first half of the second hour was a time for her to finish school work, print stuff out, and to have time to herself. The second half of that hour was dedicated to getting to school and hitting her locker before classes. It's a system that she found always worked and got her plenty awake for the day ahead.

However, today was the day that her system failed her.

Tikki was the one who had awoken Silvia by nudging her persistently on her cheek. Silvia groaned and sat up in bed. "What's wrong?" She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"Your phone has been blaring for a while now," she replied in her usual high voice. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

Silvia's eyes widened in shock. "Oh no." She bolted out of bed and reached her phone. The time read 7:30 am, causing her to gasp. "No! This can't be happening." She threw her phone on her bed and rushed to her closet.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked.

"I have school in a half hour! Oh my god, I'm going to be late!" She threw on an army jacket and a grey undershirt. "How the heck did I sleep in? I never sleep in!"

"Maybe the battle from yesterday took a lot out of you. After all, that was your first time in a fight."

"I didn't think it would take that much energy out of me!" She hopped into her black jeans and threw on boots. Silvia hurriedly shoved all of her school books and her phone into her bag and rushed down the stairs, Tikki floating behind.

"I'm surprised your parents didn't wake you up," Tikki exclaimed as they spiraled down the staircase to the main floor.

"They always go to work early," Silvia explained. "It's why I have to wake up myself."

"Don't forget to grab breakfast!"

She skid into the kitchen and grabbed a protein bar and a macaroon from the pastry cabinet for Tikki. After last night's fight, she was too exhausted to have fed Tikki. She was honestly surprised that they could be refueled via normal human food. But if the kwami are weird Miraculous spirits and not animals, how do they get rid of waste? Silvia shook the thoughts out of her head. These were not questions she needed to be asking herself while she was running late to school.

She handed Tikki her treat and opened up a pocket for her to rest in as Silvia burst outside and into the city. As she ran through crosswalks and weaved through dense crowds, she did some rough calculations in her head. If she didn't run into any red lights on her way to school, she could most likely get there within ten minutes, and that doesn't even include the five minutes it took her to get ready and leave the house. As much of a best-case scenario that was, it still wasn't enough for Silvia's mind to keep thinking about the worse. What if she got hit by a car on the way, or her luck sucked and she hit every red light on the way? Her breaths were quick and her heart raced at the mere idea of being late.

Silvia, a few minutes later, arrived at the corner of the school. It was as if her special Lucky Charm that Tikki told her about was active without her being in her suit. She still had time, but that time was precious and extremely limited. With determination in her eyes, she jumped up the steps of the school, two steps at a time, and through the doors. Maybe she could actually make today a good day after her mishap this morning.

Well, that was what she was thinking until she ran straight into the boy from yesterday.

"Silvia!" Azure exclaimed loudly, having pulled back from the girl. She looked incredibly frazzled.

"Late!" She shouted loudly, looking at him wildly. Azure took another step back.

"What? You're fifteen minutes early." Silvia looked at him, and Azure withered slightly. He immediately knew that she was not in the mood. She seemed to think better though and took a calming breath. Then another. Then another. Azure raised his eyebrows but held his tongue as always.

"Fifteen minutes?" Silvia asked quietly, huffing slightly. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and snow. Azure turned and looked at the clock for the school. It was now fourteen till eight.

"Well fourteen now, but yeah."

"Oh my god! What luck!" She wheezed, leaning over and taking more deep breaths. Her brown hair flowed over her face. She then turned her head up and blinked, her dark eyes sparkled against the white snow on the ground. Azure cleared his throat and looked away.

"Did you uh, run here?" He asked, his voice quieter than usual. He coughed, he wasn't shy normally.

Silvia stood up straight taking her last breath before smiling at him. Azure felt his own cheeks redden, but blamed it on the cold in his head. What else could it be? He tried to reason. "Yes, I did."

"W-what?" Azure asked, snapping back to reality. It was Silvia's turn to give Azure a weird look.

"You asked if I ran here, and I did." She said slowly. Azure nodded happily.

"Right, cool," he said. Then he tweaked his head. "Wait, why?"

Silvia groaned and rubbed her neck. "I thought I was going to be late, so I got here quickly."

Azure nodded and shrugged. "Well try and set an alarm?" Azure offered. Silvia rolled her eyes, and he realized that she must have already done that.

Silvia checked her watch and her eyes widened again. "God I can't keep chatting! I have to try and keep my schedule!"

Then without another word she'd run off. Azure turned slowly, watching her sprint up the stairs to the lockers. He was being foolish, he'd only known her for a day. And exchanged less than a handful of words.

Plus he didn't get lucky, ever. He got to be alone, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. He glanced at the other students, who'd wandered off.

Right now he had a bigger problem. How was he going to learn to play that game? Simon may have said he was bad at it, but he knew everything. So if anyone would know what he should do. It was the blonde kid.

Azure pulled a smile, maybe he should thank Bates and Damian. They were forcing him out of his shell. Or maybe he should be pissed that they were forcing him out of his shell. But last night he'd promised his dad he'd be more open, talk to people. At least he was being forced into following his promise.

Simon stared at his reflection in the school's mirror. The events of yesterday bothered him, even if know one would ever know. The things the three people did out there, well at least two of them were beyond science. Physically they shouldn't have been able to do those things. Furthermore upon his examination of the videos there was no visible sign of gear allowing it either. To say he was confounded would be an understatement. He was far from fond of the feeling as well.

Simon ran his hands through his hair, to calm himself down. He looked at himself in the mirror, his face the same perfect mask of calm it always was. His expression or lack thereof was a product of years of practice. On the rare occasion that his parents were home, they always grilled one message home to him. You never show the way you feel, showing emotion won't ever get you where you want to go. So he never showed a thing. Not in his face and not in his voice. However, he also never didn't know anything. His eye twitched.

Simon left the bathroom, and his eyes found Nara first like they always do. Then they found her brother, who was watching him. He looked away from both of them, his eyes landing instead on the new boy. He was standing in the middle of the courtroom turning in a circle, looking for someone. After Damian and Bates attacked him they way they did, he's probably looking for someone to teach him. Which means he would need to know who could teach him, which meant he was looking for him. Simon followed Azure's gaze until it finally found him. Everyone came to him when they needed information. And everyone needed information.

Azure came up to him. The boy wore his emotions on his sleeves, at least some of them. He was clearly depressed, but right now anxious. "Hey, you're Simon."

"Viridian can help you." Simon told him, making sure to keep his voice steady.

"He can… what?"

Simon put his arms behind his back, watching the clock tick. They had two minutes till class. "He can teach you how to play." Azure let out a long breath he didn't seem to know he'd been holding. Simon turned to him, and saw the look on his face. "Now you want to know why Viridian doesn't compete in Damian's betting ring."

"How do you do that."

"It's not hard." Simon informed him, turning back to the clock.

"Well why not then, if he can teach me to win in a week, he could do it himself." Azure stated, his confusion clear to Simon. He didn't understand.

"I'm sure you know what it is."

"A scam."

"Correct, and a good one. Bates is the best player here, other than Viridian, so they set up a game and played everyone for money. They lost on purpose a few times, then beat them. Everyone, well nearly, has owed money to them at one point. And just like with you, they have money on everyone who owes money, so they can force them to play."

"That's… depressing." Azure groaned. "Why doesn't anyone do anything?"

"They aren't technically doing anything wrong. And they mostly target the rich kids, wring money out of them. I can't imagine that bothers you too much." Azure opened and shut his mouth. Simon was right, he was always right. Simon turned fully once more to Azure. "I wouldn't worry Azure Požar, you've faced much worse than people who use video games to steal from the rich."

Simon immediately walked away, the bell having run as soon as his last word fell out. Azure did not move though, the shock of his words pinning him to the spot. Simon may not show emotion, but that did not mean he didn't know how to elicit the right emotional response with his words. His wandering eyes found Nara again. He just wished he could elicit one other emotion. He quickly discarded the arrant thought. It was time for school.

Drey was excited, and barely holding it together. That horse guy was the perfect fall guy. He wasn't sure where he'd come from, but it was like a gift from god. Now he knew who his enemies were, and how to stop them. He could use his Miraculous and end that Ladybug.

Now it was just up to waiting for the right time. He'd finally opened his box, and inside was the Butterfly Miraculous. Which meant he could search for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous without ever leaving the safety of his house.

He grinned down at the book open in his lap, remembering how he'd heard about this. His parents were talking about it. Discussing these things called Miraculous. They had a few themselves, but if they wanted to achieve their goals they needed the right ones.

That night Drey had snuck into his parents' room and found information about an old man, the one with the Miraculous. That's when he'd made his plan to steal himself one as well. He wasn't sure what his parents were planning, but he had the power now. He would achieve his goals, and show them that he was the better child, not Silvia.

A small blue creature hovered next to Drey, extreme caution set in its tiny features. "Hello master."

"Hello, my name is Drey, what is yours?" Drey asked politely.

"Nooroo." The creature says softly.

Drey smiles gently. "Hello Nooroo, together we're going to change the world."

"Master, the world isn't meant to be changed, but to grow."

"No no, the world can't grow anymore. It's broken, and it needs to start over."

"Why start over and not fixed?" Nooroo questioned nervously.

Drey dropped the smile and turned seriously to Nooroo, who floated away a little, uncomfortable with the intense stair. "What's made broken can't be made better, it can only be made slightly less worse. If we want a better world, we need to start over."

The school day was nearly over. There was just one more period to go through. Science. And it in and of itself was over. Simon watched as Azure seemed to practically vibrate in his seat.

At lunch Azure had walked up to Viridian, Silvia and him. He'd approached them, standing more confident than before. Though there was still that same sadness. It always sat in his eyes. The boy's eyes slid over Silvia, longer than normal, but no one else would see it. They didn't see what he did. Finally though Azure's eyes settled on Viridian.

"Simon said you could help me." Azure said, his voice a forced calm. Simon was forcefully reminded of himself when he was learning to be what he is now. Viridian however has no such filter or care.

"Help you uh? Well dearie, it's going to cost you."

Azure squinted at Viridian. "That's stupid. I'm doing this because I don't have money."

"No no, not money, a smile!"

"Excuse me?" Azure growled. Viridian chuckled and looked at the other two.

"She smiles all the time, and I'm working on Simon. So I'm doing all I can to fix you early." Viridian quips. Azure's face however hardens.

"I'm not broken." Azure said. Simon glances at the other two for their reaction. It was clear that Azure didn't believe what he'd just said, however that wasn't news to Simon. Viridian immediately seemed to regret what he'd said. And Silvia looked sympathetic. Neither of this was a surprise either. He eyes wandered back to Azure where he found his first surprise. A smile.

Viridian was also surprised. "Well you did it, so I'll help. We start after school. Meet me out front. My driver will take us to my house."

Azure's smile immediately dropped. "Cool thanks. See you then."

The three of them watched Azure walk off, when he was far enough away Silvia had turned to them. "I feel bad for him."

"Yeah." Viridian agreed glumly. "But…" he said his smile slowly rose back. "He did smile."

"Do you know why?" Silvia had asked Simon. He shook his head slightly. Forcing the annoyance at the admittance far down. Silvia grimaced and turned around watching the boy again. Simon had turned his own gaze to the boy as well. He was more interesting than he'd expected.

Simon was tired of not knowing. And now that he sat in science, the class winding down, he did something he'd never done. He raised his hand.

"Then when they meet it creates-" the teacher faded away, looking at him. Simon kept his arm raised, his face the same constant mask. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and muttering start up slowly. He knew they were wondering what he could be asking. And if he had a question, how lost where they. Finally the teacher pulled herself together. "Yes Mr. Zlo?"

"It's about the events that occurred on the news yesterday, and the science, or lack of science rather, behind it."

The teacher nodded slowly. Knowing his question may be over her head. Simon knew this as well, yet needed to see if someone else had an answer. "What exactly do you want to know about it?"

"How could those two people possibly do those things, physically. The strength it would take to be able to pull off such feats is greater than anyone should have. At least appropriate to their size."

The teacher took a moment, and frowned slightly. Finally she went over to her computer and started typing quickly. "Let me watch the video."

"Understood, miss." Simon said. He'd watched all the videos himself. He saw nothing to give any visible hints, which was the worst part. The teacher made a little aha noise, pressed several buttons and up popped a video from the local news. She pressed the play button, and it loaded up. The video was from a distance, and showed Ladybug swing into Stallion, launching him ten feet into a concrete wall. Then it moved in and showed the Stallion getting up, looking no more than annoyed. The teacher paused the video and shut off the projector.

"I see what you mean." The teacher mused, looking at the computer screen. Simon hardened his gaze, watching the wheels turn in her head. He doubted the answer was something he wanted to hear. He said nothing, though, hoping against hope he'd receive anything other than what he expected. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Nara staring at him. He knew everyone was staring, but her eyes were the only ones that affected him. He wanted to look back, say something, anything, but the thought of her brother changed his mind quickly. "Mr. Zlo?"

"My apologies miss, can you repeat that?" Simon asked, caught out and embarrassed by it, not that anyone knew or laughed. If anything, he figured they probably thought he was thinking of some advanced math. Viridian knew though, and that's why he was smiling to himself. The teacher for her credit smiled sweetly.

"Of course. I only said that I can't see anything that explains how they are achieving this."

"I understand miss." Simon said, disappointed despite his low expectations. The teacher returned back to the last bits of class, rushing to make up for lost time.

Simon zoned out again, having read several articles and essays on the subject previously. He wanted two things right now. The first is an explanation on how they're doing it, the other is to talk to Nara. To see her green eyes look up at his again. To talk.

"Simon are you feeling okay?" Simon jerked his head, finding Silvia looking down at him. Class must have ended. He looked around, Nara was talking happily with one of her friends. "Viridan's right, go talk to her. Screw her brother."

Simon stood up, struggling to keep his normal exterior. "Her brother is correct, I am… a poor friend for her."

"Is it because you don't want to be friends?" Silvia asked softly.

Simon watched Nara leave the room, and groaned internally. "That, and I'm not good for people."

Silvia gripped his arm. He looked down at her, tilting his head slightly. "You're good for me."

"You make the people around you better." He reminded her. She blinked, then smiled.

"Thanks Simon."

"Do not thank me." He said in his monotone, then he picked up his bag. "I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

He heard her open her mouth, but didn't wait to find out why, leaving the room quickly and bumping to Nara. His eyes widened and backed up quickly. "S-sorry."

"Simon!" Nara exclaims warmly. "I've missed you! Why don't we talk?"

"I- um…" Simon faded off, struggling to bring back up his barrier.

Nara sighed loudly, running her hands through her hair. She hid slightly in it, her pale cheeks tinged slightly pink. "It's my brother isn't it?" When Simon doesn't speak, she stomped her foot, something like anger on her face. His heart dropped at her expression. "You don't have to listen to him, you know. You can do what you want!"

Simon clears his throat, refuting finally to his normal mask. "I do what I want."

"Don't lie to me, Si," Nara insisted, stepping in close. Simon took a step back, and looked away, carefully regulating his breathing. He couldn't show anymore than he already had.

"It is better this way." Simon said. Nara huffed loudly, Simon looked back, she'd crossed her arms. "My apologies, Nara, but I can't."

"You can, and you should. Because we both know you want to." Nara told him. She looked away and Simon tracked her eye line to her brother. Her brother was standing, watching with a look that eclipsed anger. "We're allowed to do what we want."

"No, I am not allowed to do what I want." Simon told her as he watched her brother. He struggled temporarily in what to do, carefully hiding it all from sight. After a torturous moment, he'd made up his mind. "I have to go."

Nara grabbed his arm, looking up at him, her green eyes peering at him. His heart seemed to skip a beat, and the two of them stood still, unmoving for longer than was normal. Simon didn't want to move, ever. "Do you really have to go?"

"Yes." He said slowly. After another strenuous pause she nodded, letting him go.

"Please text me." Nara said, something in her eyes. Simon nodded slowly. Then he stepped around her, and made his way down the stairs towards the exit. He was counting the seconds till her brother accosted him. It would happen the moment he hit the ground floor.

Simon took the last step from the stairs and his prediction came true, because her brother was suddenly bearing down on him. His breath hot and his anger clear. "Looks like you didn't learn your lesson."

Simon looked at him stoically. "Neal, I ran into your sister and we exchanged words, that is all."

"That wasn't it at all! You stopped and talked for ten minutes!" Simon tilted his head. Ten minutes? He wouldn't have guessed that ever. "Not to mention all of the staring!"

"I apologize, but we both know that Nara is stubborn, and will do what she wishes." Simon retorted. Neal steps in, their bodies pressed close.

"No not sorry, this is sorry-"

"Now you big Bull, what are you doing?" A voice called. Neal whipped around, clearing the view for Bates to come into sight.

"Go away Bates, this doesn't involve you!" Neal growled, now stomping to him. Bates looked about as worried as Simon ever did, which was very little. Simon righted himself and fixed his shirt.

"Shush, Bull. I don't want to hear it." Bates says, his own customary smirk in place. Simon wasn't found of Bates' smirk. It was just demeaning, not playful like Viridian's.

The difference was hilarious to see though. Neal was large and worked out regularly. Bates was small with a thin frame. Yet, no matter how much Neal growled or how menacing he was, Bates didn't seem to care. Instead, Bates looked past Neal to make eye contact with Simon. Simon returned the eye contact, knowing what his game was.

"Thank you anyway Bates, I can handle this situation."

"I'm not sure, Know it All. Looked like Bull here was about to do you in."

Simon hardened his stare. "I know what you're playing at. I'm not accepting your help."

He heard footsteps behind him, Silvia and Nara were standing behind him on the stairs watching. Hopefully they hadn't been there the whole time.

As for Bates he simply shrugged and turned away. "Someday Know it All, you'll wish I was there. And I won't be."

"I know." Simon quipped in his monotone, earning an eye roll from Bates. Neal stood in the middle ,looking confused, but also weary of Nara watching.

"I'll see you all around, then." Bates said with a wink to the group and walked off. Neal watched him go then carefully approached Simon again.

"Just, do what we discussed." Neal snarled.

"I have every intention of doing just that." Simon responded knowing deep down he hated doing it. It meant he couldn't talk to Nara. But it was for the best.

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Nara looking at him, her green eyes wide and uncertain. She understood. She just refused to accept it. Or didn't want to.

Simon quickly turned around and made his way through the exit and onto the snow covered sidewalk. He did it though, because one of them had to. He knew it hurt them both, but it would hurt her less in the long run.

Simon tore his mind from thoughts of her, to his other focus: Ladybug, and how she worked.

Nara watched Simon go and sat down hard on the stairs. She saw Neal approach her and she brushed him away. "I'm going home alone again." She said crossly. He simply nodded, turned his back and left. Nara groaned and put her head in her hands. She hated this. She felt someone sit next to her and she looked over. It was Silvia. Nara smiled softly. "Hey Silvia."

"What's going on? Simon never explains."

"My brother doesn't like us talking." Nara said sadly, her eyes on the exit.

Silvia raised an eyebrow. "That's not his place."

Nara nodded, turning back to Silvia. "No no, I know. I wouldn't listen, but Simon does." She played with her short brown hair a little. "It's his parents, I think."

Silvia's eyebrows tensed in thought. "Maybe. Unfortunately, that's just Simon for you."

"He told me once they didn't like people who weren't wealthy. That they thought of themselves as superior to them." Nara said slowly. "That they would push him to find someone else."

Her eyes flickered in a hint of anger. "Your brother doesn't have the right to say that about other people, especially if he doesn't know them that well."

"Maybe. But everything seemed okay, until one day Simon said he was bad for me, and today's the first time we've talked in months." Nara stood, walking to the center of the now empty courtyard and looked up at the falling snow. "He never talks about it?"

Silvia tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket and walked next to Nara. "Not really. Simon usually just states facts, rarely stuff about his own life." She paused for a moment. "Maybe I could try talking to him for you."

"You'd do that?" Nara asked hopefully. Simon acted as if she knew why he'd distanced himself. But she didn't and it ate at her. If Silvia could help, well that would be more than she could hope for.

"Of course." She smiled softly. "It's the least I could do to help."

Nara smiled warmly and hugged her quickly. She let go just as quickly. "Sorry, got excited!"

She chuckled. "It's okay, Nara. I would do the same thing."

Nara gently kicked at some snow. "I just have a soft spot for him. He's got it so hard."

"You want my honest opinion about something?"

Nara turned away uncertain, hiding her face in her hair. Simon had told her once to never pass up a chance for knowledge, but it didn't come as easy to her. She liked to think the best of everyone. But she resigned herself and sighed slightly. "Sure, what is it?"

"From what I know of him, I think he may have a soft spot for you, too."

Nara smiled, maybe knowing things didn't have to hurt. "Yeah, yeah I hope so, too."

"Your room is huge." Azure muttered, looking around Viridian's room, a room that was larger than the orphanage he was living in. The house itself could definitely fit every single place he'd ever lived inside of. Viridian chuckled and shrugged.

"My parents bought it to show off, I think. It was probably my father compensating for something." Viridian joked, apparently happy with himself.

"Uh, right." Azure muttered looking around. They'd wasted no time getting here. Viridian had had a car pick them up and take them, and the driver was silent the whole time. Viridian, however, was not. He talked about the game, about teching and dodging and shielding. None of which meant anything to him, though he'd tried to stay focused to very little success.

Azure wandered around the rooms first floor. The was a grand piano in one corner. A little bit away from it there was a hot tub. On the other side of the room there was a fencing mat. Azure walked up to and looked over it. There were rapiers for all three fencing styles. Viridian walked up, controllers in his hands. "You fence?"

Azure looked over and nodded slightly. "Used to."

"Cool… why'd you stop?" Viridian asked. Azure sighed and turned his gaze back to the mat. "Just asking, don't stress." Azure blinked. He was being careful, wasn't he? He knew where he came from. Maybe he felt bad for having so much, or perhaps he was cautious after his mistake at lunch. Either way it seemed out of character for the normally crass boy.

"It's fine, don't worry around me yeah?"

Viridian examined Azure closely and then shrugged his smile returning to its full amount. "Well then, what's the story dearie?"

"I did it before my parents died. They took me everyday, and I learned all about it. Then they died, and my first foster parent took me as well. His name was Noir. He thought I had a talent for fighting. With him, I learned a whole bunch of stuff." Azure said, he jumped into the mat and made his way to the array of blades, examining them.

Viridian nodded in appreciation, following closely behind. "Well what happened then?"

"I fought people, people that I shouldn't have and I got sent here. It was made clear I wasn't to take part in those lessons anymore." Azure slide his finger along the thin blade. It was a beautiful one, he doubted it'd ever been used.

"Were you any good?" Viridian asked, going over to a wall and setting up the controllers.

"The best." Azure said, and he could hear the longing in his voice. He missed it, it was amazing, the way he felt when competing.

Viridian laughed loudly appreciation. "Cocky, I approve."

"Why am I not surprised?" Azure looked over at the boy and tilted his head. Didn't they need a T.V? Maybe Viridian knew something he didn't. He walked over, looking over the items he had. There was a thin black thing inside of a doc, which he assumed was the switch itself. Then Viridian had two sets of remotes, a blue and red set and a black set. But Viridian didn't seem to be using those. No, instead he'd gotten out two remotes that looked like old gamecube remotes, but they clearly weren't. Azure still couldn't find the TV though. "Where's the TV?"

Viridian looked up, something like confusion set in his features and then smirked. "Oh, wait for this. Go sit over there." He pointed past Azure, who turned and saw a coach more than ten feet back.

"Uh, you know I may not be a pro at the whole video game thing, but shouldn't we sit closer?"

"Trust me dude, sit back."

Azure shrugged and went over to the couch, sitting down on the insanely comfortable couch. Like, this is more comfortable than anything he's ever sat on. He looked around from there and finally spotted Viridian's TV, though it was at a poor angle for this couch. Maybe he should move it? He watched as the picture of the Eiffel tower was slowly replaced by one that featured Viridian, Silvia, and Simon in front of a christmas tree. "Was that last year?"

"Was what last year?" Viridian asked, walking over. He looked over, and saw the picture. "Oh yeah, almost at least. We spent the day at Simon's. His parents are never home, so it was nice."

"You all look so happy." Azure mused. Even Simon had a small smile, or at least it looked like a smile. It was a different expression than no expression, so it was something. Viridian shrugged and sat down, Azure noticed something in his face, but didn't say anything.

"Catch." Viridian tossed him one of the controllers and held the other in his hand. "You ready to lose?"

"Born ready." Azure said.

"That Know it All!" Shouted Neal, punching a wall. All he wanted to do was protect his sister. Simon and his family was dangerous. He didn't to tell her what Simon had told him, but he might have to. He certainly hoped Nara and Simon would stay apart this time but he doubted it.

He turned around, spotting Simon turning the corner. Simon had left the school just after him. No Bates to stop, no Nara either. He was going to make that rich, too smart for his own good, idiot finally stay away from his little sister. He started to storm his way through snow toward the corner Simon had just turned when something clicked inside him. Power coursed through him. Then a voice spoke in his head.

"Hello Destroyer, my name is… Hawkmoth, and i can give you the power to destroy the man you hate."

Neal rose his hand, his phone showing a picture of Nara, his phone was slowly being covered in darkness. "I can work with that. But what do you want?"

"The Ladybug Miraculous delivered to me!" The voice in his shouted. Neal grinned, feeling the darkness cover his body, and strength course through his body.

"Then I'll give it you, as soon as I handle Simon."

Author's Note: Yeah this is a leangthy one. And yes most of it doesn't focus on our main two. But this is more than just a Silvia and Azure story. Many of the mains (like the TV show) will be getting Miraculous of their own over time. So don't worry. They call in like Nino and Alya. Just very differently. I hope you enjoyed. Yet again this chapter was put together with the help of Stitches04! Check out her work!