Marinette woke up early this morning, all thanks to her kwamis gently nudging and telling her to wake up. It had been a fairly nice night sleeping in a room where no one can get on her case regarding the events of last night. She found a note left by Makoto, explaining the meeting with the other chaperones suddenly had to take place early before breakfast. It wouldn't take long though, and the rest of the day will be open for them to make plans with their friends.
Oh well, Marinette isn't complaining as she knew it must be very important. Checking her phone, she saw no akuma alerts had popped up in her history. Thank goodness, but she mustn't get her hopes up. No akumas for days must mean Hawkmoth could be plotting something diabolical. Hopefully, Zoe will be all right should anything happen.
However, there were several messages in her phone's history box. Upon checking, Marinette's heart sank when she realized the rest of her classmates found out about last night's quarrel and, because everyone believed in Lila and saw her as the victim, everyone blamed their class representative.
ALIX: I hope you're proud of yourself, Marinette! Lila's really sad and it's all your fault!
NATHANIEL: Are you really going to act like an immature brat because of Lila?
JULEKA: The manager yelled at Miss Bustier last night and refused to believe Lila's disease was the cause of her actions, claiming our teacher is high on something or whatever he meant.
MYLENE: I don't know why you're getting those jerks from Japan involved, but you need to stop dragging other people into your pettiness!
IVAN: Have you been spreading rumors about Lila to those people? Do you truly hate Lila so much you're willing to ruin her life?
ALYA: Can't you put your jealousy aside and try to get along? Just because she likes Adrien and models with him is no reason to cause such drama.
NINO: You need to apologize to Lila, to Miss Bustier and to everyone else. And you'd better make it good, because you're ruining our trip!
The messages were too familiar for her liking. Every time Lila complains about their Everyday Ladybug 'bullying' her or 'refusing to bond with her,' people knew how to respond, obviously. Accusations and harsh words said straight to her face or texted them to her chat log. Nothing malicious, sure. But words do hurt, and sadly, nobody bothered to question what they say or apologize. Dark, bitter feelings which she never felt before swirled up inside her stomach. It's unfair of how everyone treating her like the bad guy when she's not at fault.
Another message popped up, unexpectedly. Marinette groaned irritably, recognizing the name of the sender.
ADRIEN: What's going on, Marinette? Nino said you got a bunch of Japanese kids and their teacher together to antagonize Lila last night. I thought we agreed to keep this on the down low and not let it become a big deal. Remember what I said about talking the high road?
"Ugh, not this again..." Rolling her eyes, Marinette angrily turned off her phone. No way is she going to let Adrien guilt-trip her into playing nice. Not like he cares, considering he always preferred the company of bullies.
She took a shower to take her mind off those scathing texts and got changed when she finished. Feeling hungry, she headed down to the hotel's buffet where she caught sight of Ren, Ann and Ryuji standing at the entrance. Makoto wasn't there yet, so Marinette figured she must still be at the meeting.
"Man, it's nothing but French or Japanese people round here. I thought we were gonna be getting alohas coming from all directions and stuff!" Ryuji was complaining loudly, and Ann sighed disappointedly.
"It costs money to enjoy that atmosphere, you know. There's not much we can do as students."
While they spoke, something Ryuji recently said made Marinette grin playfully. Sneaking silently up behind him, she shouted, "Aloha!" doing the unmistakable shaka gesture with two hands.
"Aaah!" Startled, Ryuji leapt forward and nearly colliding into Ann, who pushed him off. Though Marinette did catch a hint of pink on the blonde girl's cheeks the second Ryuji got took close. Does she have a crush on him?
"Wha...? Babe, what the hell?" Ryuji calmed down upon realizing who the culprit was.
"You said you wanted to get 'alohas' from everyone, right?" Marinette couldn't hide the cheeky grin, whilst Ren and Ann laughed at what she did.
"I mean... Well, yeah, but I..." Brown eyes narrowed as a suspicious thought entered Ryuji's mind, aiming an accusatory gaze at his two buddies. "Wait a second! Did you guys put her up to this?"
"Not at all..." Ren averted his gaze, still chuckling, but Ryuji didn't seem to believe him.
"Hahaha! Good one, Marinette!" Ann giggled.
Just then, Makoto walked up to them. For a moment there, she appeared tired and annoyed over something. But when she noticed how suddenly lively her friends are, curiosity piqued her interest. "What's going on here?"
"Oh, nothing." Marinette grinned, giving the male blond a light punch to the arm. "Just brightening up Ryuji's morning!"
"Very funny..." Ryuji grumbled. Fortunately, he didn't hold it against her as he knew she was just playing with him. Then, he noticed Makoto let out a small yawn with a grimace, weird though since a new day has just begun. "What's with the low energy, Makoto?"
"I just had to listen to the taxi driver complain for thirty minutes straight," Makoto replied, rolling her eyes.
"Oh?" Marinette looked surprised. "But why can't your teacher listen to the complaints?"
"Miss Kawakami is busy dealing with another minor problem. Third-years have been asked to help chaperone this trip because many other teachers have been called into questioning after our school had been outed for covering up some..." Makoto hesitated, "disturbing incidents. I'm used to dealing with students' troubles, but I never expected to have to do it overseas as well."
Marinette winced, sympathizing with the poor girl. Being a class representative, the job sometimes involved listening to her peers' complaints about minor or huge problems. "I can relate... I'm my class's representative, so listening to my peers' complaints can be bothersome."
"Really?" Ann frowned. "That must have sucked..." Suddenly her eyes grew wider. "Wait a sec! You're a class representative!?" When the bluenette nodded, Ann grew worried. "Not that it's anything to be upset about, but you're actually a representative to those brats!?"
The memory of last night's quarrel instantly becomes fresh in everyone's brains, expressions shift to concern and disgust. Marinette didn't like hearing anyone badmouth her friends as 'brats,' but she understood why her new friends are rightly upset. "Well, it's not that bad," she tried to reassure them, "I get to help everyone out when my teacher is occupied with other things. And besides, my classmates are not entirely bad people... they're just... misguided, is all."
The group exchanged puzzled looks among each other, pondering what she just said, as if she isn't making sense. Marinette winced at their reactions, hoping she didn't say anything to put them off.
"Anyway..." Awkwardly, Ryuji decided to change the subject. "We should be doing something more exciting! I mean, we're in freaking Hawaii for god's sake! Isn't the school supposed to plan stuff? I wanna go diving!" Despite his complaints, everyone knew he has a point.
"It seems there wasn't enough time to come up with any kind of coordinated travel plan," Makoto explained, disappointed. "That lack of coordination is what led them to using students as chaperones as well."
"Lack of coordination, huh? That I can also understand," Marinette sympathized, trying to cheer them up. "My school can be like that too. Unorganized and stuff like that. But at least we have Dr. Kurtzberg as our chaperone."
It truly is a pain to have school systems that can't make plans, as a result of their incompetence. Ryuji sighed in annoyance, then he turned to Ren when he recalled his best friend is sharing a room with Mishima. "By the way, Ren... you're rooming with Mishima, right? How is it? Anything interesting?"
Ren let out a heavy sigh. "He wouldn't shut up about the Phan-Site. Talked about it all night, even around midnight when I caught him moderating the website. I told him to go to sleep, but I think he's got a hearing problem..."
Marinette looked puzzled. "Um, who is this Mishima? And what is this Phan-Site, if I may ask?"
"Mishima is a classmate of ours, and he's the one who made the Phan-Site, it's all about-" Before Ren could provide an explanation, he got cut off.
"Phan-Site..." All of a sudden, a positive energy sparked in Ryuji's eyes. "You know, I do hear people talking about the Phantom Thieves every so often."
"Are they really mentioning..." Makoto came close to say 'us' but instantly remembered Marinette was right there. "...them?" She subtlety gestured to Marinette to silently warn the others to be careful in choosing their words wisely.
"I think so! W-uh, they've already made their international debut!" Ryuji caught himself at the last second, thank goodness. His enthusiasm overwhelmed him. "Man, just talking about that makes me wanna go back to Japan so bad!"
Ann sighed, shaking her head. "You really have no chill."
"Excuse me, but what does this Phan-Site have to do with these Phantom Thieves? And what are they like?" When Marinette asked the question, everyone stared at her as if she had grown a second head.
Especially ever since Futaba took care of defeating Medjed, the Phantom Thieves had received international recognition. In Hawaii, everyone did hear of the name and spoke high praises of the thieves. But why didn't Paris hear of their accomplishments?
Ryuji, being the one always to talk first, voiced everyone's thoughts. "Hold on! You mean you've never seen the Phan-Site? Much less heard about the Phantom Thieves?"
"Well, um..." Marinette thought hard about how to choose her words carefully, remembering the number one rule to never speak of Akuma attacks. "Let's just say France hasn't been receiving any news from the outside world these days. But I did see plenty of merchandise back at the Tokyo airport, and I looked up these Phantom Thieves when my class was staying at a hotel."
"So, you did check out the Phan-Site!"
Confused, Marinette wondered what Ryuji is talking about, until realization hit her. "Oh! You mean this Phantom Aficionado IS the Phan-Site? Hehehe, silly me. Guess I never figured that out. Anyway, from what I gathered, they target criminals that couldn't be caught due to authority figures covering for them or those who couldn't be caught and make them confess their crimes willingly. The police deem them as vigilantes..." she smiled, "but from what I think, if not for them, certain bad guys would still be roaming free doing whatever they pleased and hurting more innocent people."
As she spoke, her friends looked at her in different layers of warmth and appreciation. This Marinette had noticed. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Not at all," Ann assured with a grin. "We're actually glad to hear you support them. In fact, we're all supporters of the Phantom Thieves. They've helped us back when we were suffering because of selfish adults."
"Helped you? Did you physically see what they look like or how they make villains confess?" Marinette remembered what Sabrina had told her the night before. "Do they use drugs or hypnosis to make them talk?"
Her choice of words seemed to have disturbed Ryuji, who proclaimed, "Hell no! Only the damn cops came up with that crap to slander them!"
"Well, you see..." Ren began, thinking hard on how to word his next sentence. "We're not completely sure of what they do, but it's nothing to do with drugs or hypnosis. Whatever it is, they persuade their targets to publicly confess their crimes and turn themselves in to the police. No harm done to them either."
So there's gotta be magic involved to make criminals confess. Marinette's theory of the Phantom Thieves using Miraculous magic was starting to fit.
"If you want, Mishima can tell you more," Ren advised. "He runs the Phan-Site, so if you want more information on them, you can ask him. I think you saw him last night when he you were getting harassed by your teacher and peers last night."
Oh, so he was that boy who voiced his belief of Miss Bustier and her students being high due to their ignorance. "Thanks, I'll do that." From what they told her, it was basically the same information as what she found online. Marinette felt a bit disappointed, but today is no day to complain. Today is supposed to be another day of having fun in the sun.
"Okay, let's try and forget about those things for now," Makoto said.
"Why? Don't you want to know what they're gonna do next?" Ryuji argued, completely unaware of another teenage blue-haired boy in a dark purple shirt and black pants casually walking over to him. Everyone's eyes grew wider than saucers the instant he approached them, almost like they knew him, as Marinette silently deduced. "People are waiting for them to fix society! We don't got time to be relaxing over here! Ain't that right, Yusu-" the blond turned to acknowledge his presence but suddenly something registered in his brain because he certainly wasn't expecting to see this boy here. "Wait, what the hell!?"
"Overseas travel provides a great opportunity for new insight," the boy spoke in a deep, baritone voice. "I'd prefer we stay here a bit longer."
Whilst the group spoke with him, something regarding rain, storms and firework festivals, Marinette finally got a good look at him. All of a sudden, her face grew warm as a pink hue colored her cheeks. This guy is so handsome, just like a prince. His mannerisms and sexy voice also match the description of his princely appearance. That famous lovesick grin spread across her lips, until she quickly shook her head. Get ahold of yourself, Marinette! You barely know this guy; he might not be interested in you! I mean, even though he's more attractive than Adrien and Luka... No, no, no! Things ended badly when I tried to get together with either of them. It won't work with this guy... no matter how sexy his voice sounds or how hot he is. Argh! Stop that! She mentally slapped herself and took a deep breath. Get it together now. It was then she finally noticed the blue-haired boy was gazing at her, waiting for her to speak.
It was shortly after Ann introduced them. "Marinette, this is Yusuke Kitagawa. He goes to a different school, but we hang out a lot. Yusuke, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's from Paris, here on a trip with her class too."
Marinette needed to say something, anything so she wouldn't appear rude. "You're gorgeous. Wait, what? No, I... Uh, what I mean is... this entire hotel is gorgeous! No, no! Ugh, the beach today looks gorgeous!" Here comes the stammering, it must've made her look pathetic to him. Even her friends stared at her like she has gone bonkers.
The second Yusuke first saw her, he found Marinette to be quite possibly the prettiest girl he has ever seen. Fingers came together to make a picture frame, gazing intently through his little window to study her. He could go blind with the eyes glistening like sapphires and the radiance her smile displayed. "Fascinating..." he whispered. Everyone expected him to say something, so he dropped his small window frame and bowed politely. "Hello, Marinette. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He didn't seem put off over her nervous stuttering, something which made Marinette sigh in relief. "It's nice to meet you too."
"Didn't Ann mention you are from Paris?" When she nodded to confirm Ann's word is true, Yusuke's eyes sparkled as he smiled dreamily. "I've always wanted to go to Paris. It's been my dream to visit the Louvre, to see all the wonders and creations of previous masters of the art world!"
As he spoke, Marinette noticed how her friends seemed a little weirded out by his love of art the more the passionate artist continued on regarding his fascination with France and art. Sure, Nathaniel is talented artist, but nobody ever finds it awkward when he goes in the zone. Unless that someone is Chloe, who never hesitates to insult one's talent. She wanted to scold them, thinking they're being a little rude, until Makoto politely cut him off.
"Okay, enough of that. There's nothing planned after breakfast. What are you all going to do?"
"Uh..." Ryuji thought for a second when it comes back to him. "Oh yeah, I still gotta buy souvenirs. My mom asked me to grab some stuff for her."
"I totally forgot about that!" Ann gasped in realization. "We need to pick up things for Futaba and Morgana too."
"Are they more friends of yours?" Marinette asked.
"Yeah, but they're not in our school. Morgana is Ren's pet cat..." Ann smiled when Marinette awed at how sweet they are to get a gift for their friend's pet. "And Futaba is a tech-savvy girl, she likes to tease people a lot, especially Ryuji."
"Leave me out of this!" The male blond glared in her direction, causing Ann to laugh a little.
"I was hoping to do some shopping myself," Yusuke said, then he looked at Marinette, who blushed under his gaze. "What about you?"
"Well, I did promise Zoe and my parents that I'd buy them souvenirs, so I don't see a reason to refuse..." She trailed off when her stomach grumbled. "Uhh, shouldn't we eat first?"
"Excellent suggestion! I've been curious to what the Hawaiian cuisine tastes like."
"Then it's settled!" Makoto exclaimed, satisfied now that a decision has been made.
While everyone strolled towards the hotel's buffet, Ryuji sighed, clearly not expecting Yusuke to show up in Hawaii when he was going to Los Angeles, but Mother Nature had other plans in store for his friend. "Man, our group's totally the same even out of Japan..." Perhaps that is how it's meant to be.
To their surprise, the closest store to the hotel was a general tourist store, so the gang decided to enter and explore in there first to search for possible Hawaiian merchandise. They split up to look around. It makes one feel like they could just spend forever at places like this. So many interesting stuff to choose from.
Ann and Makoto debated on whichever brand of coffee to buy. Marinette wondered if she should just buy her father a Hawaiian shirt or a shark tooth necklace. Yusuke had suggested their gifts to focus on impact rather than taste. Finding something they wouldn't get themselves but be happy to get as a gift. Ryuji and Ren had a bit of trouble searching for what they need. This is Futaba and Morgana they're talking about, friends like them with standards for happiness are way too high. Yusuke found an hourglass that measures three-minute increments, but Ryuji told him such a thing can be found easily in Japan.
Wandering further into the store, Marinette smiled admiringly at the sight of every beautiful knickknack either on a shelf or lined up on the walls. The designs or patterns are so aesthetically lovely, it's hard to pick. Finally, she made her decision when she found what she needed and made her purchases at the counter.
With the rest of the group, minus Yusuke, still preoccupied to look for souvenirs, Marinette decided to wait for them sitting beside him on a bench. She didn't know how to start a conversation with him. Every time she meets a handsome boy, she acts like a useless buffoon.
Fortunately, Yusuke beat her to the punch. "Marinette, I'd like to tell you something."
"Sure, what is it?"
"I'm sure you know now I'm an artist, I attend Kosei High's fine arts division. I have hoped to find inspiration in Los Angeles before that dreadful storm happened, but I'm also aware Hawaii is filled with inspiration that could drive the imagination wild. However, upon meeting you, I have been unable to avert my gaze..." he clasps her hands into his own, "you radiate a passion I've never felt from anyone before!"
Marinette's face glows bright red. His voice firm with passion made him sound serious and romantic. Is he saying what I think he's saying?
"I beg of you, please!" All of a sudden, Yusuke leaned in very close to her face, making the temperature of Marinette's body heat rise up on a whole new level. "Will you be the model for my new art piece?"
Wait, what? The red in her face vanished, registering what this boy just requested. A model? Not a love confession?
"The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were suitable for the job. Your eyes are like a pair of blue gemstones, sparkling with radiance and charm. Your face is like an angel guiding lost souls in the darkness."
Marinette's face grew redder as he complimented her. "Oh! Well, um... thank you." Except there's one problem. "But how long will this take? My class is here only for a few days."
"The same can be said for my class as well. Fear not, Marinette. It won't take forever. Just a few hours of sketching and that's it. Normally, I would've brought some paint, brushes and a canvas with me, but my teacher told me it's too much."
Wait, he wanted to bring all of his art supplies with him? Wow, I guess he's totally passionate about art. Kind of reminds me of myself when I'm passionate about fashion, only I don't bring too much stuff with me. Marinette's thoughts dropped when she noticed a tinge of fear in his eyes, probably worried she might not accept the offer if he upset her. "I'll do it," she agreed without hesitation.
Yusuke looked at her in surprise, before beaming in relieved happiness. "Splendid! I truly appreciate it." He was really excited to have received her acceptance. Lifting her hands up to his face, he kissed her knuckles gently. "You won't regret it, I promise."
Marinette's eyes widened and her face practically glowing a crimson color at the gesture. She pulled her hands back, breaking away from the eye contact shyly. Her eyes unexpectedly made contact with someone else when she looked away, someone she didn't want to see.
Standing further off in the distance was Alya, who was also out shopping with the girl squad, Lila included, in another store nearby. Upon noticing her ex-roommate, Alya frowned disappointedly. Before anything could be said, Marinette hastily broke eye contact to avoid looking at her, this time finding herself staring back into Yusuke's eyes, looking at her with gentle concern.
"Uh, a friend of yours?" Yusuke could tell that girl is the same age as Marinette, born of creole descent, most likely. Judging by the girl's expression, there appears to be an aura of sadness and displeasure the instant she saw Marinette.
"We used to be best friends, but..." The response in Marinette's tone spoke volumes of her relationship with the creole girl. Once close friends, but no more due to some unfortunate event.
Before she could change the subject, Ren and the entire gang emerged from the shop, at last finished with their task. Several bags in their possessions, no doubt filled with great gifts. Marinette saw this chance to suggest bringing up the idea of ziplining and, to her relief, everyone was instantly onboard. They departed, leaving a still frowning Alya behind.
The zipline had been so much fun that some of their group members got to do it again for a third time, thus included Marinette because she loved the thrill of the ride. Lunchtime came shortly afterwards, and everyone decided to dine at a cheap but popular place to eat.
Upon hearing Marinette reveal she's going to model for Yusuke, the rest of them stared at pretty boy suspiciously or exchanged nervous looks. "Uhh, are you sure you want to do it?" Ryuji broke the silence, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"Absolutely!" Marinette nodded. Though she couldn't understand why the others don't seem to approve of her decision. "Why? What's the matter?"
"Hmph! I can't understand why you'd object to my request of asking Marinette to be my model. She's a lovely girl, whose beauty must be captured in my sketchbook!" Yusuke's comment made the girl blush again. "If all goes well, I might even ask her if she will do me the honor of posing for a nu-Aagh!" He was instantly silenced after he got punched in the arm by Makoto.
"Hey Marinette, why don't you tell Yusuke about yourself. I think he'd be very intrigued to know you have a famous great-uncle for a chef who created a soup named after you."
It was obvious to Marinette that Makoto was trying to change the subject, to avoid whatever it is Yusuke was going to say. The second her great-uncle Wang was mentioned, Yusuke had been hooked. So, Marinette repeated everything she had told her friends yesterday to him.
When hearing his newest model is gifted in creating beautiful designs or clothes, Yusuke looked amazed. "If so, may I see your sketchbook? As one artist to another?"
Marinette reached into her bag and took out her sketchbook, handing it to him. He slowly flipped the pages, eyes studying each and every design she had drawn in the past. The newest ones she had sketched came from yesterday; two summer dresses each with a different pattern or colors, inspired by yesterday's undersea adventures.
"Incredible!" Yusuke's eyes widened in admiration. "Fashion isn't in my expertise, but those majoring it at my school would be thrilled to have someone like you among them. They could take lessons from you."
"Let me see!" Ann peered over his shoulder, and gasped. "Oh, wow! You made all of these? They're so pretty! You're super talented, Marinette!"
Everyone else got a chance to look at her work and showered her with compliments. Who knows how many times Marinette had blushed in one day, but she's grateful for the praises. "Thank you, guys. My dream is to become a fashion designer someday, so I'm glad to know there are others liking what I do."
"Did you ever make these creations?" Yusuke asked.
"Yes, I have. But only a few of them. I do have a website where I take commissions."
"Cool! I totally gotta buy plenty of those!" Ann exclaimed, excitedly. "Oh but wait! I'd like this one first!" She pointed to Hawaiian themed summer attire that Marinette had made yesterday. "How much does it coast, by the way?"
"You always buy the nicest things you first see..." Ryuji shook his head. "Do you have enough room in your closet back home?" To Marinette, he grinned. "One time, Shiho opened the closet door, and an avalanche of clothes comes falling out. Her jaw literally hit the floor... as did mine. It took half the day for the three of us to clean up, my muscles were sore."
Ann scowled, kicking his leg under the table. "Hey, why did you have to bring that up!?"
"Because you've got so much stuff, you're barely able to fit them in drawers, boxes or closets. You don't even remember they exist until later on when you stumble upon them."
"Shut up! I've got plenty of room!"
"Pft! Yeah, right."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
The two of them bickered back and forth like a married couple, in Marinette's mind, that is. It almost made her giggle but couldn't hide a grin. Ren and Makoto managed to break it up, just as their food arrived and everyone quieted down to eat.
Several minutes later, Yusuke broke the silence to ask this, "Tell me about Paris, Marinette. What's it like living in such a grand city?"
Marinette cringed, hesitating. Of course, the topic of Paris comes up. She'll have to choose her words carefully. What will she say if she has to avoid speaking of akumas? Her conflicted silence set off alarm bells in everyone's brains.
At first, Yusuke feared he had offended her. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, it's not you! It's just..." the smile she made to mask her true feelings was slightly crooked, "Paris is quite a 'wonderful' place to live in! It really is the City of Love, it's like love is in the air when you meet someone you really like and want to be with them forever!" Not really, as Marinette knew when it comes to supervillains and dark magical butterflies, Paris is far from how she described it. Even mentioning her ideal version is love reminded her of her failed attempts to fall in love.
Her attempts to conceal the truth didn't go well like she had hoped, because Makoto's expression grew stern but with a hint of concern, like a mother who suspected instantly her child is hiding a bad secret. "Okay, I've heard enough. You know something about Paris that we don't. You also mentioned how Paris hasn't been receiving outside news for a while. Does it have something to do with whatever it is you're hiding from us?"
"Don't go interrogating her like she's a suspect in a robbery case!" Ryuji tried to intervene on Marinette's behalf, but he got ignored.
"We're not angry, we just want to know if everything is okay." Ren looked at her with the benevolence of a kindhearted father figure, trying to assure the girl that she has nothing to be ashamed of. "We understand you don't want to talk about it, but it's not really your fault if we hear about it from a different source."
Deep down, Marinette did want to tell them. She really does, even knowing Ren was correct. But still...
Two small pokes touched her side, coming from her purse. Discreetly glancing down, she saw Tikki and Kaalki silently reassuring and encouraging her to speak up. Confidence boosted, Marinette relented, "All right. Here's the truth. Did you ever hear of Ladybug and Chat Noir?"
Neither of them knew exactly whom she was talking about, so she continued in the manner of a teacher addressing her students on an important lesson. "Paris has two superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, fighting a supervillain known as Hawkmoth. Everyone in public has seen what Ladybug and Chat Noir look like and what their powers are. There's also a website dedicated to Ladybug, it's called the Ladyblog."
It took a moment for Ren to register what the girl said, until his eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I know exactly who you're talking about. Futaba told me about this website a few days ago, but I never saw it before. She's a huge fan of this Ladybug person."
"For real!?" Curiosity piqued, Ryuji hurriedly fished out his phone and started his research. Eyes widened when he found a video of Ladybug and Chat Noir teaming up to take down Stormy Weather, ending with the girl who had become Stormy Weather transformed back to normal and Ladybug flooded the city with magical ladybugs across the city, fixing the damage Stormy Weather had caused. He showed his friends the video and everyone stared, mesmerized.
"Incredible..." Yusuke murmured. In the back of his mind, an art piece involving ladybugs inspired him. Stealing a gaze at Marinette, perhaps he could draw her as a maiden surrounded by nature's beauty and ladybugs.
"Wow, so Paris has real-life superheroes and villains!" In a weird way, it reminded Ann of those magical super girl anime shows she used to watch as a child, stunned that a real deal is happening on the far side of the globe.
"Apparently, these two heroes showed up over a few years ago..." Marinette stated, explaining what she knows and careful not to reveal too much that would give away her identity. "Ladybug has the power to create anything and fix damages after battles, being the only one who can purify the akumas and amoks. Chat Noir can destroy anything simply by touching it, literally, no matter how big or small the object is." She showed everyone a picture of the heroes. "They're fighting a villain called Hawkmoth, a man who dresses up in an attire resembling a butterfly. He has the power to brainwash people by using dark purple butterflies called akumas and transforms his intended targets into villains by feeding off on their negative emotions. Then, around the time of Heroes' Day, another villain came to his assistance, and she's called Mayura, her animal motif is the peacock, and she has the ability to infect an object with an empowered amok feather belonging to Hawkmoth's target." Marinette found a photo of the evil butterfly man and the wicked peacock lady herself. "Nobody knows where they came from, but Hawkmoth is after the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous for some selfish, evil reason."
"Any idea why he wants these Miraculous and what they are?" Ryuji questioned.
"From what I know, the Miraculous are pieces of jewelry, each designed with the motif belonging to a certain animal," Marinette explained. "Ladybug wears magic earrings to transform, and Chat Noir wears a magic ring to transform. But nobody knows why Hawkmoth wants them, or who he is. It's a complete mystery to all of Paris."
"And this Hawkmoth has the ability to transform somebody into a villain based on negative feelings?" Yusuke asked, re-reading what she had told them on his own phone.
"That's right, and it can be a real pain!" Marinette confirmed with an irked sigh. "Nobody is allowed to get upset or cry, even when someone has a bad day or bad things happen to him or her, no matter their age. Hawkmoth takes advantage of it by promising power to exact vengeance unless the person he chooses to akumatize brings him the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous. Heck, he has sent out more than one butterfly in a single day. One time, he did send out a whole horde of butterflies when more than person experiences negative feelings." It was on that day she was unfairly expelled, and very nearly akumatized.
"How awful..." Yusuke frowned sadly. "Still, I suppose coming here must be a relief for you. There are no villains or dark butterflies around to terrorize you or anybody."
He was correct. This little vacation to Hawaii is just what Marinette needed to relieve herself of the stress of not having magic butterflies fluttering nearby at 24/7. Still, she worried how Hawkmoth hasn't sent out an akuma in a while. That scumbag could be plotting something. Zoe did confirm everything is fine back at Paris, but you never know when danger will strike at you unexpectedly.
As for the Japanese group, they sympathized with the poor girl's feelings based on what she told them. Experience came from confronting Palace rulers or witnessing the rulers' actions in reality; selfish adults more than once often shush or force victims to stay quiet and not allowed to speak up or cry over their suffering, or else unfair consequences would make things much worse than their present troubles.
One thought lingered on Ren's mind, remembering how uncomfortable Marinette reacted when someone pried about Paris. "How come you never told us?"
"It's our teacher's orders, well, mostly it's strictly orders from the mayor," Marinette sighed. "When we made arrangements for our trip, my teacher and principal discouraged my class from talking about akuma attacks as much as possible. The mayor is very concerned with the danger of the tourist economy going down due to the akuma incidents." As she spoke, the eyes of her confidants widened to confusion and irritation. "What...?"
"THAT'S why you didn't want to talk about akumas!?" Ryuji exclaimed, angered. "Because of some goddamn politician worrying over the loss of tourists!" His loud voice gained unwanted stares, forcing Yusuke to slap his arm and apologize hastily to the onlookers.
Ann leaned in; eyes narrowed. "Marinette, do you realize that keeping quiet over a supervillain terrorizing your city will only allow tourists to come, unknowingly putting themselves in danger. Not only is it a total lack of disregard for people's safety, but complete carelessness on the mayor's part!"
Marinette gasped; it took her a few minutes for this sudden realization to sink in. But still, the mayor is in charge of the city, and nothing can be done to stop it, right? "But there's not much anyone can do. The mayor is in charge and anything he says, people will obey without question. Heck, whenever someone disobeys or defies him, he fires them on the spot. Especially when it comes to his daughter, Chloe... she's a spoiled brat and an unremorseful bully. He's allowed her to get away with multiple bad stuff because of his position... especially at my school, where it's pretty much a protection force for her."
Literally, her new friends either reacted in horror or groaned in annoyance. What she told them was so surprising, she had no idea what this man was doing is basically illegal and the people of Paris never question it. And upon hearing of his daughter granted a pass to do whatever she wants with no consequences have left them speechless. Except Makoto, who was fully aware of the situation after Marinette told her, and now Ren was in the know when his girlfriend told him, looking equally furious as well.
"Like I told you before, what the mayor is doing is called abuse of power," Makoto groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And allowing his daughter to get away with her horrendous behavior would only allow Chloe to grow up and become a criminal." Garnering confused looks from Yusuke, Ann and Ryuji, she repeated everything from what Marinette had told her at the Tokyo airport, with Marinette silently nodding to give her approval before she did, of course.
"I only found out about it last night when Makoto told me," Ren said, after his girlfriend had finished the story.
"But that's not all..." Marinette further added, "Chloe willingly teamed up with Hawkmoth and Mayura to steal all of the Miraculous jewelry, because she wanted the bee Miraculous for herself, feeling entitled to it. Luckily, she failed, but her father is still shielding her from the consequences and the police have agreed not to arrest her because they don't want to lose their jobs."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, visibly appalled by what they just heard. It wasn't long before their expressions shift to rage and eyes narrowed, fury simmering beneath them. Even the look in their eyes seemed to scare Marinette a little bit.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Banging his fist on the table, an enraged Ryuji sent some drinks knocked off and spilled the contents on the ground, not that anyone cares at this moment. "You're allowed to just to stay silent while this Chloe bitch is allowed to hurt you and others because her dad has been threatening every moronic adult to bend to her will! Grr! Pisses me off just hearing about it! This is exactly like Kamoshida again!"
"Not only that, but she actually aligned herself with two supervillains to steal some jewelry. And she still got away with it?" Ann's pretty features shift to pure anger. The growl in her voice almost reminded Marinette of a feral panther. "And what's this about setting an example? Set an example my ass! Your teacher is only pushing you to be a DOORMAT and a PUNCHING BAG to that spoiled brat!"
"Your parents sound quite horrible as well. They stayed quiet this whole time while you, their own daughter, suffer public humiliation and torture at the hands of a bully." Yusuke's face distorts to an eerily calm yet terrifying cold fury.
"What I don't understand is how could Paris willingly bend to the whims of a person like Chloe?" Never in his life had Ren ever heard of people acting so incompetent, cowardly or unprofessional before. The scandal regarding Kamoshida was bad enough, but for an entire city to let the mayor's daughter stomp all over its civilians was beyond incomprehensible. "Her dad might not see anything wrong with her bad behavior, but it should've been obvious that he's raised her to be a condescending, entitled bitch to get or do whatever wants, since it's only bringing more harm, but the adults have chosen to turn a blind eye instead. Chloe willingly worked with a supervillain, not only should it have gotten her arrested, but her father as well for letting her walk free."
"Look Marinette..." Makoto turned dead serious, agreeing with what her boyfriend just theorized. "Such enabling and abuse of power is not only wrong but also ILLEGAL! There shouldn't be a city run by corrupt authority figures who grant their children the freedom to abuse people. This constant behavior is only causing more akumas! Chloe may be the daughter of a mayor, but that does not make him in charge of everyone's jobs, least of all, your school and the police! He's supposed to represent Paris, correct? Well, he's only representing how corrupt, unprofessional, ill-mannered, abusive and incompetent all of Paris has become. Multiple people around the globe would've received news of what Paris is truly like and nobody would want to visit or vacation in a city plagued by a villain feeding off negative emotions caused by an unremorseful bully, whose criminal acts are enabled by her father, the school administration and the police."
With this new information unleashed, Marinette had gone dead silent, mulling over what Makoto and Ren just said. She mentally searched her brain for an answer, to explain how nobody can ever stop Chloe or her father, but could find none. Their words swirled around in her head. Face growing pale, the truth hit her like a brick wall.
Everyone saw how grave her expression had become, and Makoto broke the silence first, assuming she might have responded too harshly. "Oh... Marinette, I'm sorry. It's just..."
"Maybe we should head back to the hotel when we're done here..." Ryuji suggested. The atmosphere felt awkward now and he began to feel bad for lashing out, even though he was disgusted to hear what the poor girl had gone through.
Marinette's head snapped up. They can't cancel today's plans. Not on her behalf. "No, don't do that! Nobody needs to apologize. None of you did anything wrong." She sighed. "What you just said actually makes sense. I just... never realized it before." Wait a minute, there was something else Ryuji recently said left her puzzled. "Hold on... You mentioned Kamoshida earlier, right? That same gym teacher turned pedophile who the Phantom Thieves exposed. How do you guys know that?"
"Because most of us attend Shujin Academy," Ren explained, solemnly.
"That bastard ruined my career on track..." Ryuji revealed. His eyes cast a soft, almost sad traces of hurt in them. "He insulted my mother after he gained information on her background through one of the members and provoked me to take a swing at him. He broke my leg in 'self-defense' and the team was disbanded, but they blamed it all on me."
"He sexually harassed me and allowed people to spread rumors about us supposedly dating," Ann explained. The look on her face spoke of regret and heartache over what happened to her. "My best friend suffered the most, and I was a total idiot not realizing it. She tried to commit suicide after he..." she hesitated, "forced her to take my place after I refused to sleep with him."
Instantly, Marinette's face changes to visible horror. Mouth hung open and her eyes grew wider than plates. Said nothing, but anyone could tell how disturbed she was to hear this. And from what Ann said, her best friend was the same girl who publicly tried to kill herself... Oh god. "I'm so sorry to hear you guys had to go through such an awful time," she said sympathetically. Then she added, "Is it okay if I hug you guys?"
The two blonds were genuinely surprised by her offer and their hearts warmed by her words. Ann and Ryuji exchanged small smiles and nodded to show their acceptance. Although the request made Marinette cry a little, because she was in need of a hug too. The pair rose from the table and went to her side. Marinette got up and threw her arms around Ryuji's waist first, considering she was shorter than him. He welcomed the embrace, patting the top of her head tenderly. Next came Ann's turn. Her slender arms felt smooth and secure, delicate fingers stroking her hair.
Watching such a pleasant, sweet moment in front of them made Ren, Makoto and Yusuke smile in union. From inside their holder's purse, Tikki and Kaalki silently shed happy tears. After what she told them and the events of last night, Marinette definitely deserved this.
"Thank you, Marinette, it's been a while since I held someone like this," Ann said, carefully withdrawing from the embrace. When Shiho told her that she was moving away to get a fresh start, it broke Ann's heart to have lost the dearest friend to hold and cry on a shoulder. To have someone offer a hug out of kindness made Ann welcome the desire.
Marinette nodded, wiping away the tears. Before she could say more, Ryuji suddenly exclaimed, "I know! Why don't we take a pic together? Y'know, so it could cheer you up a bit and be something we can remember by."
"Ooh, good idea!" Ann was definitely on board with the idea.
"I can take the photo if you want." Ren offered, pointing to a majestic waterfall in the distance. Such a background would be perfect for a memorable photo. "Just line up over there. You too, Marinette."
"Are you sure you don't want to be in it?" At first, Makoto worried this won't be fair to her boyfriend. But Ren insisted it's nothing to fret over and they could take another picture with him in it later or tomorrow. "Okay, thanks."
Marinette soon found herself in the center, whilst her friends got close to her in front of the distant waterfall. She blushed upon realizing how close Yusuke is. By the way, he asked Ren to ensure the composition of the photo is well-balanced, much to Ann's annoyance. With just the right adjustment, Ren successfully took a perfect photo of them before showing it off to everyone and they definitely liked it.
"We still have some time to spare, right?" Ann reminded. "Where to next?"
"We can go swimming at the beach." A nice swim, or possibly another chance to go parasailing, is just what Ryuji wanted to do. "How about there?"
Yusuke accepted the suggestion. "That sounds lovely. What do you think, Marinette?"
"I'm up for anything!" Anything to take her mind off Chloe and akumas for today. Speaking of which, Marinette told everyone to keep what they learned a secret. "Please don't tell anyone in my class that you know about akumas and stuff. If they do, everyone will blame me for-"
"Don't worry, Marinette. We won't say a word, but if it does happen, we'll just tell them we found out ourselves through a different source," Makoto assured her. "All right, let's head over to the beach." After paying for their lunch, the group raced off for another day of fun in the sun, in the sand and in the ocean.