The blue spray can, the purple one, the red one, the black one, the pink one... Bah, it doesn't matter, I'll take them all. I also take the mask, gloves and goggles. I look at my watch: a quarter past six in the morning. It's a good hour.
"Alix?" It's my brother's voice. He walks out the door of his room rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing awake at this hour?"
"What am I doing awake at this hour? The question is: Why aren't you awake at this hour?"
Jalil looks at me sleepily and confused before returning to his room.
I try not to wake my father too when I leave.
Yesterday, the owner of the flower shop next door gave me an order: a mural for Valentine's Day. A little late, considering it's today, but I'm not gonna be shy about money.
I'm gonna finish it before I go to class.
"How much do you think she will pay you?" says
Fluff from the cap.
"I hope very much."
My graffiti is a surreal version with psychedelic touches of a couple that turns into a flower.
I'm not doing particularly well, nothing goes well in a hurry, although the surreal style well camouflages the failures I'm having.
I spend an hour doing touch-ups until I have definitely finished the mural. The owner of the flower shop arrives shortly after and she seems to like my job.
She opens the store and I wait at the entrance for her to pay me, which doesn't happen.
"Lady Lys. You will pay me?"
She does something with some papers and rearranges the flowers of some bouquets prepared for today.
"Of course. Have you signed it? Well, that's your payment: visibility."
What what? This chick made me spend an entire afternoon painting her stupid wall and get up at six in the morning, all with sore hands, for nothing? Work for free? It's gonna be no, that's not my thing.
"Lady Lys. Are you sure you don't want to pay me anything? I don't volunteer." I warn her. I let my annoyance carry over into my voice.
She looks up and looks at me superiorly.
"You are not a professional artist. You're a girl and I'm not going to give you money to deface my facade."
Wow, that's really good. This woman thinks she's gonna get away with it.
"You have been warned."
I still have my cans of paint and bad blood on me, although that's more of an everyday thing.
I go outside, where my graffiti is. I have already taken a photo of it to hang it on my Instagram page and advertise myself.
I take the can that I use the least, the yellow one, I climb on my ladder and lift it to reach the top of the painting.
The woman leaves the store.
"No! Do not do it! I'll pay you! How much do you want?"
Now we understand each other.
"Taking into account the speed with which I have done it, the quality of the work and the cost of the material... Well, about 150."
I really have no idea how much it would be, but since she tried to swindle me, I'm going to make a big buck out of her.
"A hundred and fifty!? That is too much!"
Now I have fun. What a rascal!
"Roses are expensive. And it is the best seller on Valentine's Day. But if you don't wanna pay it..."
I raise my arm again.
"One moment. What if I give you a hundred?"
I hold out my empty hand. Mrs. Lys comes in and comes out shortly afterward with a hundred-dollar bill. I calmly take off my protective gloves before taking the ticket and putting it in my pants pocket, next to my miracle.
"I will not hire you again."
"I will never work for you again."
She goes back inside with a sulky face.
I put on my fingerless gloves and then start gathering my things.
"Alix."
"Adrian?"
I turn around and there he is. I keep saving my cans.
"What do you do in a flower shop? You hate flowers."
That question is stupid, it's obvious that I just did that mural over there.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be going to class?"
He looks like I asked him the full pi number. I store my material with peace of mind.
"Do you want me to take you?"
He points to the limo behind him.
There are two people in my class who regularly go to school by limousine. My classmates, supposedly normal from a public institute. And shit. And on top of that we are the three Triple Super there. The class is full of real weirdos.
So of course the answer is yes. I'm gonna ride in a limo.
"If you don't mind filling your expensive vehicle with paint..."
He grabs my bag off the floor himself. I think I know what this is all about and I don't want it to happen.
"Seriously, what were you doing there?"
You're not very smart, right?
I take out my one hundred bill to show it off.
"I chea…" No, this time I've managed it more or less honestly. "I have won one hundred euros for doing the graffiti you have seen."
"Oh, that's great." He says as if I had just broken the news that the sky is blue.
He's distracted.
"Don't get so excited, Adrien, you're gonna destroy the car."
"Sorry. It's a feat."
He clasps his hands nervously.
"I want to talk to you about something. It is important."
Oh shit. Not yet. I have to prepare myself mentally and think of an answer.
He looks at me seriously and grab my hands. Fortunately, behind his head, through the window, I see that we are reaching the entrance of the school.
"We are already in high school. We can talk later? We are gonna arrive late."
He purses his lips and nods.
By a whisker. I know exactly what he's going to say and I don't wanna hurt him. He's good people.
We both go out and we make our way through the people who accumulate in the entrance. There are more and more people without lives of their own and screwing up here. And our great mayor hasn't put police to clear the area, even with his daughter studying in this place.
But of course, after the scandal that all those disgusting old dirty men made about his daughter and her lack of reaction, it is clear that he cares between zero and nothing.
Adrien grabs my elbow so I don't fall behind. He has also taken my bag. I know he tries to be like a Disney prince, but I don't like that behavior. I can carry my own bag and I'm good at pushing people. Damn, if it's me, Bunnyx, the one who saves his ass, a civilian. He doesn't have to treat me like I'm useless.
I decide to let it go, his intention is good. Also, I don't wanna worsen the mood that already exists.
The tension grows more and more in the classes. Four students of this institute have been akumatized. The only people in Paris who have been akumatized. Everyone has realized that between possessions there is a certain gap of time and two and a half weeks have already passed. Everyone knows the next one is coming.
That drives people even further away from Chloe, since she has caused half of it. That's also why three of the four akumatizations are believed to be of the same class.
We arrived at our classroom. Now I have to put my bag in the back instead of in my locker. Still I thank Adrien for his kindness.
I go to my seat and think about how I'm going to reject it without causing an akuma.
In spite of that, it gives me room to perceive some things throughout the morning.
The already formed couples behave in an overly sweet and sticky way. So much kitsch is unpleasant to see.
I also notice that Adrien looks at me a lot, Kim at Chloe, Chloe at Nathanael, he at Marinette and she at Adrien. I knew most of these crushes, but since when has Chloe looked at Nathanael? Although the worst thing is that I am the beginning of a chain of unrequited love within this class. It's like a fucking soap opera.
Also, after recess, Kagami returns from leaving her bento in her locker with a cute little bag of chocolate.
"And it is?"
"Someone left it inside my locker. It comes with an unsigned note for us to meet at the graffiti gym after school."
"Oh! You have a secret admirer."
Kagami doesn't seem very comfortable with the idea.
"That person has opened my locker, since the grids are not big enough. They have invaded my privacy." she declares very seriously. "Also, it makes me very strange to receive chocolate because in Japan we are the girls who make chocolate for our lovers on Valentine's Day."
She frowns. The change of country can give a culture shock.
"But we are in France. Here the chocolate is given by men."
"Sure, we are in France."
Okay, that's sadness, disguised with her typical seriousness, but sadness.
"Or it can also be a girl, what difference does it make?"
Kagami nods in agreement.
"It is true, it will be a rejection anyway."
"That's the spirit." I joke. She makes a hint of a smile.
So when classes are over, Kagami is gonna turn someone down and so am I.
I go to get my bag at the back of the class and when I turn around, there's Adrien.
Here? With the whole world watching?
"Can you come with me to my limo?"
Again? Okay. Better for him, less humiliation.
Walking through the door I feel a look piercing the back of my neck. I turn around and it gives me a chill.
Marinette's eyes are so open that her irises don't touch the line of any of her eyelids, her mouth is tight and her neck is so tense that her tendons show.
When she sees me looking at her, she quickly hides it.
I must have imagined it.
Marinette is a good person, she always tries to help others.
It was Marinette who got Ivan to go out with Mylene, got Alya and Nino together, managed to convince the photographer not to go after the akuma and that Rose would be herself after Prince Ali's restraining order. She often brings us cakes from her bakery for free from and she always lends class notes to whoever missed it, except Chloe.
She is a good person, almost an angel. I've never heard of anyone she's ever done anything bad to. But she can be very jealous sometimes, I guess she may have a fault. Although the feeling she just gave me is very unpleasant.
We got into the limo. We sat down just as we were this morning before entering the school.
"You may have already imagined what I want to talk to you about, but let me say it." He takes a deep breath. This is going to be hard. "I like you." he whispers. "I like you a lot." he says louder. "I like you from the first moment I saw you." He smiles nervously. "You are smart, strong, independent, creative, talented, athletic, funny... beautiful." Lists him, fast and excited. "You're perfect."
Oh, fuck. Boy, you idealized me. I only have half of those qualities. He is the one who looks like a prince and surely he has a fault that I can't see, as he does with me.
He gets more nervous the more time passes. Shit. Why do I have to like someone? I did nothing.
It's best to do it quickly, like removing a Band-Aid.
"Sorry. I don't like you that way."
His expression falls. His hands holding mine stiffen. Now that he's not squeezing so hard I can let go.
This is uncomfortable. I don't know how to smooth it out. I don't know if I should be the one to console him for having rejected him. No, that sounds like a horrible idea.
"Thanks... for answering." He says very discouraged.
I open the door of the limo and get out. I don't know what else to answer.
Just as I leave I find Kagami walking down the stairs from the school entrance. Perfect.
"Kagami."
"Yes, it turned out to be a girl." she declares suddenly. "However, she did not want to go out with me."
Her face expresses some confusion. Actually that doesn't matter to me. If my dynamic with Kagami isn't going to change, it's not relevant.
"I just rejected Adrien and he seems sad. You are his friend, could you keep him company?"
We both look at the limo. Stay still.
We all have to learn to deal with rejection, that's how it is. But considering that he's a teenager belonging to the class that three people have already been akumatized from, it's best not to risk it.
Kagami is aware of that, and she's his friend, so she goes to the vehicle and gets in like it's nothing.
Turning the corner I find more people I know. Kim, Max, Marinette and Alya talk about something and Kim runs off.
Oh, no. I think I know what he's going to do and it's a horrible idea. Chloe doesn't know how to be nice. She's a fucking dick and she's going to hurt him a lot. And that means akuma.
Why does there have to be a fucking Valentine's Day?
I skate behind him, I can catch up.
The three of them look at me and I think that relaxes Marinette a bit.
I'm skating in the same direction Kim did, but I don't see him.
I'm in the middle of Paris, lugging around my graffiti supplies and looking at which way he might has gone.
Kim isn't very romantic and who has advised him is Max, so it will surely be something typical from a romantic movie. The thing is, I haven't seen any, ever. I also have no interest in doing so.
I'm slipping in some direction, I'll have to find it eventually.
In front of me I find a man grabbing a woman by the hair and banging her head against a wall. The woman struggles, but she can't let go.
Think fast.
I kick the man in the groin and another in his back. The wheels are hard and he falls to the ground immobilized. I don't pay attention to her, I run to help the woman.
She has a disfigured face. Her nose and mouth are busted. Her eyes are puffy. Her face is full of blood and it runs down her neck and drips onto the floor.
Seeing her like this makes me want to cry. That makes me wanna beat that man until he's paraplegic.
The stranger looks at me with glassy eyes and throws herself on top of me.
She straddles my chest and grabs my head, then smashes it to the ground. My neck hurts a lot.
I manage to get my arms out from under her legs and stop her before the next blow. I pull my legs out of her and kick her off of me.
What has happened?
I get up and grab my bag. I stagger and fall, but get up again. I turn around and see that the woman is no longer paying attention to me. She now kicks the man from before.
Behind her I see that there are many more people like that. Mostly men hitting women, some managing to fight back. There are also men's and women's fights. The only common thing is that they are all just two people.
Something happens here. I'm sure Kim has been akumatized. And whatever his akuma is, it's very dangerous.
Speaking of the devil, there he is, floating above the people dressed in red and black with huge wings. He has a bow and arrows with which he shoots at people, who run away from him. When the arrows touch them, they fight each other.
I have to transform before he sees me. People are so into trying to kill each other that they don't see me. A quick look down the street tells me there are no cameras nearby.
I transform.
I have to hurry up, or else this could end in murder.
I hear sirens. I hope the police take care of those affected, I have to fight against the akuma.
For now it is best to stop him from firing.
"Hey you! Ugly with wings!"
I jump to the nearest roof and then to a higher one. I'm more or less on his level now.
Hawk Moth has put a red thing on his hair that looks like a mohawk. It's ridiculous.
"Hello, rooster. Here is the rabbit."
He smiles that smile I hate. The smirk, but even worse. This is kind of sadistic. It doesn't fit him.
"I'm Dark Cupid. And as long as I'm here, no one will be happy. Nobody will have love. There will only be hate."
He shoots an arrow at me. I dodge it, but it passes close enough for me to see that it's actually a rose.
"Go fight who you love." he orders me shooting three more arrows at me.
I dodge them all, which is hard, because I'm on a roof.
"I'm already fighting with you." I have to distract him, to be able to look for the akuma object. "I know you want everyone to be as unhappy as you. But don't you think you've overdone it? Look at them, they will kill them."
I have said what I thought. He looks at the people, I'm not going to do it.
I look at him. He wears a leather jumpsuit similar and as tight as mine. He carries a bow and a quiver of arrows-roses. The string that holds his quiver has a clasp. It doesn't fit.
It has to be that.
He's still distracted, looking at the damage. There is something of the real Kim in there.
"Extreme hatred leads to extreme violence."
He lifts his head and his eyes look different, as if he's asking me for help. It is true that he is there.
"Come." I guide him.
He flies up and lands on the roof in front of me. I reach over to remove the brooch when a purple butterfly appears on his face. Hawk Moth speaks to him and all trace of Kim is gone.
He raises his bow and takes an arrow. But before he can throw it, a spinning top wire wraps around his arm and pulls him back.
He wastes no time and takes flight. Now I can see Queen Bee, who is pulling the akuma from a nearby roof.
Her face is tense. She knows it's her fault.
Dark Cupid pulls hard and Queen Bee pulls even harder. They seem to be playing tug of war.
A hurricane disrupts the akuma's flight causing it to fall several meters, though it also loosens Queen Bee's grip.
Ryuko reforms on a third roof, making a triangle surrounding the akuma between the three of them. We are all here.
Dark Cupid starts throwing roses at Ryuko, the only one who has been able to do anything to him.
She just cuts them off. She cuts them as if instead of having the speed of arrows they had that of a snail.
"I could be like this all day." she says seriously.
Well I don't. Taking advantage of the fact that he's calm, I jump on him.
I fall on his shoulders, hook my legs in his arms and try to catch the brooch without touching the roses in the quiver. Dark Cupid struggles with difficulty because his hands are full, but he manages to throw me to the ground from all this height.
The hit doesn't hurt, since it's not a magical attack, what it does leave is a big dent in the ground.
From here I only see Dark Cupid fly even higher, so high that none of my partners can reach him.
The two go down to where I am.
"Any plan?" Queen Bee asks. She tries to ignore the blood, mostly women's, that covers the floor. It's your fault.
No, it's Hawk Moth's fault.
"So so. I think Ryuko should wet his wings so he's closer to the ground. That is the main advantage of him." I explain. The aforementioned nods. "When he is, we have to keep him here, to be able to take the akuma item from him. It's his brooch, by the way. That's where Queen Bee and I come in." I look directly at her. She has a very tight mouth. "Keep him tied up while I take it."
"What if I use my power instead?" she answers.
"If you have a chance, do it." Ryuko intervenes.
The three of us look at the akuma and find that Hawk Moth is talking to him and that he moves his mouth, responding.
"The first thing is to get rid of his arrows." Ryuko says.
I agree, although I don't think it's easy.
"A portal?" suggests Queen Bee.
I shake my head.
"If the portals worked like this, I would have already taken the akuma object and could have finished it by myself. What's more, I could have finished off all the akumas by myself."
"Okay, I was just asking. What an edge you are!"
Look who's going to speak.
"I push you." Ryuko blurts out. "I have a lot of strength and you are small. I can push you to at least take the bow away from him. The fall will be up to you."
She looks at me to make sure. I nod in agreement.
She turns her back to the akuma and looks over his shoulder. Hers place her sword at about a thirty degree angle in front of her. I hope she has a good aim.
I climb onto the blade of the sword and she catapults me in Dark Cupid's direction. I start to fall a bit before I reach it, so I use my umbrella handle to reach it.
The akuma keeps talking, so it's easy for me to rip the bow out of his hand.
"Don't get distracted by the phone!" I tell him when I fall. I can't help it, it's Kim.
I land on the roof of a building. He follows me, flying very fast, even though his butterfly hasn't left yet. I run in the direction to my partners.
Queen Bee starts to spin her spinning top, gaining momentum to wrap her cable around the akuma, but as soon as she does, he goes flying up again.
Damn, we're at a standstill.
"Well, at least he can no longer create violence." comments Queen Bee.
Ryuko extends an arm to me, asking for the bow. What IS she gonna do? I give it to her, anyway, it's no use to me.
Ryuko picks up the bow and places her sword on it. The bow is so big (Kim size) that the sword fits very well.
"Do you know that this is not an arrow?"
"I am aware, but I think that with this strength it will go far."
She points as if she has done it many times. She shoots almost vertically and the sword makes an interesting and wobbling arc, but she still manages to slash one of Dark Cupid's wings.
"Let's make the plan."
Ryuko runs off. Okay. I look at Queen Bee. She looks smart too.
I think that Dark Cupid can no longer stay in the air. He goes down slowly, but he does it.
Ryuko jumps, turning into water just as she is on top of him.
Wings soaked, he plummets.
Once on the ground, Queen Bee prods him with her spinning top while I quickly remove the brooch and break it. The butterfly comes out and I crush it with desire.
It's done, it's over.
Dark Cupid turns into Kim and Ryuko returns to her normal form.
"Take care of the civilians, I'll take care of the boy."
They ignore me. They are going to talk to the police and the television cameras. Better, I prefer not to deal with the public image.
I go to Kim. He seems disoriented.
"Bunnyx? What do I do here? What happened?"
Yes. He's clueless. He tries to look behind me. I put myself in the middle, I don't want him to see it.
Kim may not be the nicest person in the world, but I know he would feel bad if he knew the damage he's done. No akuma so far has hurt people.
That's why I'm taking him home. So far we've only done it with Ivan, but that's because he couldn't get down the Eiffel Tower by himself.
"You were the akuma of today."
"What?"
He tries to look behind me again, but I grab his face in my hand.
"Don't look. I'm taking you home."
I could take him in my arms, but I know, and with certainty, that he would not fit me. On horseback? No, neither.
Well, a portal.
I make a circle in the air with my hand and the white portal appears.
I've noticed that both Ryuko and Queen Bee say words when using their powers, but I don't. At no time has Fluff told me that I have to say anything, she has only explained to me that this is my burrow.
Kim freaks out. Every time I do something in front of a civilian, they freak out.
"Go." I indicate with my head.
He frowns very confused.
"There?"
"Yes."
"Am I going to time travel?"
How do you know that? Oh yeah, Alya put it on her blog. Damn Alya. Why does she have to be so gossipy and so good at it?
"Come inside already!" I order pulling his arm.
Once Kim is in the burrow he looks everywhere. I'm calm, I know that he only sees black holes.
"This site is amazing!"
Really? He is past the point of sadness-anger-whatever bad feelings the akuma caused.
"I have to talk to you."
I can perfectly see how those words take away the emotion that he had a second before.
"I've done a lot of damage, right?"
He is hurt and discouraged. And I decided to take on the arduous task of putting it in its place.
His place is not to be sad.
"That's not what I want to talk to you about. You don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
I take several steps to get closer to him.
"Look boy, you" I point my finger at him. "you resisted."
"I don't get it."
I'm not surprised, it's not like you're the smartest guy around.
"Well, when I told you about the damage you were doing, you stood still and almost showed empathy." I explain. "It was like a second, but something is something."
"Really?"
I nod. That will make him feel better. And that will make me feel better.
What the fuck did I just think? I turn around and start to walk away from him.
"Well. Now you're going to tell me where you live so I can take you home."
I pretend to listen to him as I look for the right portal. I already know where he lives.
The use of the portals is quite simple. Fluff said the warren wasn't configured (yes, she used that word) since I was a new holder and the miracle isn't made for us, so I had to put it in 'Earth' mode, 'current' epoch. She told me how to do it.
I go towards any portal the diameter of my burrow. Now, all I have to do is circle around until I find the one closest to his house and do the same gesture as zooming on the phone. That brings me closer to the place.
If I want to travel through time, supposedly my main power, I have to keep my hand on the top or bottom of the circle.
Now it's a calmer time, but when I make a portal that leads to another place without going through the burrow it is much more difficult and sucks much more energy.
"What are you doing?" Kim asks behind me.
"Something too complicated for you to understand." I find his house and pull him back. "Go."
We appear at the entrance of his house. It's just like any other house on the street, all mass produced. An ordinary house in any neighborhood. Neither very rich nor very poor.
The only thing that's not normal is the girl sitting on the front step waiting.
She gets up and looks from one to the other.
"Ondine. What are you doing here?"
"I want to talk to you." She speaks to Kim, although she looks at me.
I'm able to take the hint. It's Valentine's Day and there's a pretty girl at Kim's doorstep. I'm not an idiot.
Damn, I don't feel like leaving. But I have no right to stay here, Bunnyx is a stranger. Ondine, on the other hand, is an acquaintance.
I turn to Kim as if she doesn't exist.
"On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays I patrol the city at night. If you want to talk to me about something related to akumatization, give me a signal." I offer before leaving them alone.
I know that both Kagami and Chloe are watching the public opinion on Triple Super. I don't. I don't want to know anything about Dark Cupid's damage, or about our haters. At least not in the way they do.
I'm going to talk to Max. I don't know how I'm going to fool him this time.
But now I'm onto something else.
I've discovered the real reason Kim got akumatized. It wasn't just because Chloe turned him down.
She rejected him, humiliated him and took a picture to spread on the Internet with the message: 'No boy who is not up to par ask me out again.' Despite the great malice in her gesture, many people have joined her in making fun of him.
How many will accompany me? Much more than her, for sure.
I walk into the class heading straight for her. I have brought a bag from home.
I go to her seat and dump the contents of the bag onto her person. Past food and soda cover her completely.
She jumps up.
"What are you doing?!"
I take out my mobile phone and take a picture of her with that disastrous look.
"A picture. For you to have as much fun as Kim."
Some people in the class comment on things. Some celebrate and others quarrel. Luckily for me, their defenders haven't arrived yet.
I know this move is stupid, but sometimes I contradict myself. Sometimes I'm also a fake, even if I throw falsehood in the face of others.
Adrien didn't see these flaws, huh?
Chloe snaps out of surprise and throws herself at me. I dodge it.
"I'm going to call my father! They're going to give you the longest period of expulsion ever in the history of France!"
"Yes, but you can't hit me."
Her jaw trembles. She is furious. It's fun. And I know Hawk Moth isn't going to akumatize her now.
Someone pulls me out of class. It's Max. We go to the end of the corridor, where there's usually no one.
"You know that you are getting expelled?"
"I don't give a fuck, actually."
Max rolls his eyes.
"Does Kim matter that much to you?"
What? Where did he get that from?
"I don't care of Kim. I wanna do justice."
"Oh, yeah?" He questions. He looks upset. "Because the last time you told me that you didn't end up doing anything and I committed a crime."
He's upset. I guess he expected something else and I didn't say anything. I used him.
I don't like it. I don't wanna make him feel that way. But I have to find out.
"Speaking of which…" I have to check our theory. "Could you do it again?"
"Are you kidding? Why? There has to be a reason."
I can't tell you.
"If you find something, I'll tell you."
Max crosses his arms.
"Tell me now and maybe I'll do it."
Think fast.
"It's true, I lied to you." I walk over to him and cup his ear with my hand. "I wanna expose the corrupt rich. I hate them."
I pull away. I think what I have said is credible.
"Politics?"
"No, it's not politics. It's that I think they try to make the Triple Super look in a bad place and I don't like it."
I think I've convinced him. He looks at me for a long moment. So much so that his glasses start to slip and he puts them back on.
"I will do it. But you will be with me."