By the time Cassandra's mum had arrived home, she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her phone lay next to her, charging, as hundreds of notifications lit the phone screen up permanently. She clicked her tongue, lifting her head and arm up to flip the phone around, before turning to face her kwami.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked, fully aware of the annoyance steaming off of her owner.

"My friends have been blowing up my phone since the afternoon. The miraculous has been messing with my phones notifications so it's all coming through now," Cassandra explained, as she yawned.

"Are you going to talk to them?" Tikki questioned.

"No, I don't think I should."

"But you know, my past holder, Marinette? She could have gave up on so many occasions but she had her friends to support her. You should always keep your friends around."

"My friends are different. Alibi holds grudges. She still hasn't forgiven me for taking her spot in class three years ago. And Tiara goes along with everything because she loves her. It's infurating sometimes, we always do what Aibi wants."

"Sounds like you need better friends," Tikki admitted. Cassandra sighed.

"I know," she paused. "If you're hungry, I still have a breakfast bar in my bag from the morning."

Tikki flew up, phasing through the bag. She turned away in her bed, facing away from her kwami. The phone still lit up occasionally, but the glow was blocked from the table. She sighed again, picking up her phone and turning on her back.

Aibi

3:45pm, today

Wtf was that today Cassandra

Are u friends with Alex behind my back

Y would u get urself suspended

4:28pm, today

Y aren't u answering me

Y tf are u with that bitch at the cafe

Cassandra

6:58pm, today

CASSANDRA

Y ARE U IGNORING ME?

8:49pm, today

Okay I see how it is

9:15pm, today

When you are ready to apologise, I'll be here.

Read: 9:20pm

Unsure what to reply, she backed off her messages with Aibi and opened Tiara's message.

Tiara

7:31pm, today

Hey Cassy, I'm not gonna pry into what happened today because I'm sure you received a mouthful from Aibi already but just know if you need to talk I'm here for you

And don't take what Aibi says to heart too muhc, there's a lot you don't know about Alexandra

She tapped on the response area, bringing up her keyboard, and she started typing.

What do you mean? What don't I know?

She watched as delivered turned to read, and the three dots appeared. They each lit up, one by one before they stopped lighting up and disappeared. They then reappeared.

It's not my thing to tell. Just don't worry about it okay?

I'll calm Aibi down and get her to forgive you before your suspension is over

Just don't do anything stupid with Alexandra

What's that supposed to mean?

Don't let her see you together

She can't control who I'm friends with

You would understand if you knew

Knew what?

Read 9:23pm

Hello?

Come on Tiara

Delivered 9:35pm

Cassandra backed out of their messages and back into the messages with Aibi.

Aibi

8:49pm, today

When you are ready to apologise, I'll be here

9:39pm

I have nothing to apologise for

She turned off her phone and turned around again. Tikki flew to by her side. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She didn't respond, so Tikki flew to her side, landing in the pillow.

Cassandra woke up to the loud sound of a bang. She turned to face Tikki, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"I sense an akuma, Cassandra," Tikki started, not even greeting her owner. "You need to transform."

"I'm still so confused about this akuma thing," Cassandra admitted, pulling her necklace out from under her shirt. She yawned.

"Find the akumatised object, destroy it and the most important part," Tikki paused. "Don't forget to capture the akuma."

She intensely stared at her human.

"Got it…I think," Cassandra said. "Tikki, spots on!"

Within a flash, Cassandra was replaced with Coccinelle, and she lept out of her window.

Being the first on sight wasn't what Coccinelle expected. She stood at a distance, watching what looked like a young boy in a formal suit and tie. He pointed a purple, energy-infused pen at people, with every click a shot of grey flew to the person, hitting them in the chest. The joy sucked out of them, watching as the person's face dropped, grew wings and their clothes got replaced with a suit and tie. The pen also appeared in their hand, and the grey shots spread like a plague.

That's when Kero Neko appeared. She leapt onto the roof Coccinelle was standing on, closing her eyes from behind her.

"Guess who?" Kero Neko asked.

"Hello Kero," Coccinelle chuckled. She turned around, suddenly coming face to face with her partner. They were less than a foot away from each other, with Kero's arms around Coccinelle's neck. She paused for a second, while the smirk on Kero's face grew. She pulled her in closer, hearing a sharp gasp from her.

"Hello m'lady," Kero whispered, lingering close for a second. Coccinelle shoved Kero off her, watching as the girl howled with laughter. She felt a sense of familiarity wash over her like she'd been here before. She recognised that touch, that laugh, but from where?

"You're an ass, Neko."

That only caused Kero to laugh harder.

After Neko's laughter eventually died down, Coccinelle noticed that the population in front of her were now replaced with formal flying friends that spread the sole-sucking solution like a plague. Fortunately for the heroes, they hadn't been spotted yet.

"So, to me, it looks like the pen is their weapon," Coccinelle started, scanning the population of people in front of her. "I'm guessing that inkuma thing is in there."

"Akuma," Kero corrected, listening carefully to the plan.

"So we just have to destroy the pen, right?" Coccinelle asked, grabbing her yo-yo off of her hip.

"Yep, but we probably have to destroy the source, the original akumatised villain," she explained, taking her stick off her belt.

"Problem is, which one is the original?"

It would have helped if Coccinelle could have remembered anything else about him. All the colour drained out of their body till they turned a stone grey, so it wasn't like there was anything noticeable about him.

"Never mind that, let's just aim for the pens and take them out," Kero Neko stated,

Cocinelle swung her yo-yo, throwing it at the first flying-suited angel in front of her. The yo-yo wrapped itself around them, as Cocinelle tugged on it to pull them closer. Kero through her stick at the pen, knocking it out of their hand, to then leap towards it, grabbing both her stick and pen as they fell, smashing the pen. It disintegrated in her touch and the angel turned back to a normal person. They instantly started falling, managing to slip out of the yo-yo. Luckily, Cocinelle had re-thrown the yo-yo and secured them in it, pulling them up towards the heroes.

"What's…going on?" The bystander asked, their eyes wiring as they noticed the floating angels. "Am I in heaven?"

"Unfortunately not," Kero started. "But you might be if you don't run."

The bystander sprinted it off, around the corner and out of sight. By this time, the heroes had gained the attention of the flying angels, who, simultaneously, started clicking their pens their way. Cocinelle started leaping, dodging all the ink splatters that hit the ground, while Kero Neko started spinning her stick really fast, breaking every splatter onto her stick.

"This is not working!" Cocinelle screamed over the dodging.

Suddenly, Kero Neko had an idea.

"Get behind me! I have an idea!"

She imagined to leap her way behind her partner, inches of hitting the ink.

"What's the idea?" She asked, crouching down slightly.

"Summon your lucky charm," Kero commanded.

"Here goes…" Cocinelle whispered. "Lucky charm!"

She didn't throw her weapon up like the holder before her did. Instead, it lay in her hands, as she watched the miraculous ladybugs turn nothing into something. In her hand, laid arrows and a bow. She looked down at it confused, looking back up at the angels. Nothing. It wasn't until she looked at Kero that something clicked.

"You any good at archery?"

Coccinelle didn't need to see Kero's face to see her smirk.

They leapt away the moment the ink stopped, watching from a distance as they reloaded their weapons.

She passed over the archery set in her hands, watching as Kero threw the holder of her arrows around her shoulder. She picked up an arrow.

"I think these deserve a destructive touch," Kero smiled. "Cataclysm!"

She touched the tip of the arrow, watching the cataclysmic power spread throughout the tip of the arrow, giving a sort of blackish, goo-ish glow.

Cocinelle stared, her mouth gapping.

"I thought you said your power was to destroy anything you touch?" Coccinelle asked, watching as she put the arrow back carefully.

"Our only limit to our powers is our imagination. You can create anything you want, and I can destroy anything I want," Kero explained, pulling out a normal arrow. "Are you ready?"

Coccinelle hesitatingly nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Over here, angels!" Coccinelle screamed, waving like a maniac. They simultaneously turned to face her, sending a shiver down her spine. Then, within a blink of an eye, they were charging at her. At the last second, she ducked, watching them fly right over her head, then turned and blindly threw her yo-yo. It hit a pen, knocking it out of the angel's hand and hitting on impact. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath. She watched as the pen disintegrated into pieces, then threw her yo-yo a second time to wrap around as many angels as she could. What she hadn't noticed was a falling child, and as others dropped their pens and they broke, they slipped through the yo-yo and started to fall too.

"Save them!" Kero Neko screamed, her now charged. Coccinelle looked at the angels, and then at the falling people, before an idea glowed in her mind.

"Shoot the arrow at the pole!" Coccinelle screamed, using her free hand to point at the pole.

"What, are you crazy?" Kero Neko asked, aiming at the pole.

"JUST DO IT!"

The arrow released instantly, and as it flew threw the air, it grew in size. The arrow quickly opened up, letting out a small bag before closing just in time for the falling people to grab onto it. The bag then expanded, turning to a bouncy-looking mat under the pole-arrow.

Coccinelle shot a smile at Kero, who stared in awe at the arrow, then turned to Coccinelle with an enchanted look. She muttered something under her breath incomprehensible to her partner. Before she drew another arrow, aiming it at the pen in their hand. She released it and drew up more and more arrows that hit pens, but none of which contained an akuma. Meanwhile, Coccinelle's arms had been gradually getting sorer, so her grip started to slip, letting a guy slip through and fly off. Fortunately, Kero had taken her to stick out and thrown the archery set over her shoulder, before throwing the stick straight to the pen, then leapt over the angels, narrowly missing some shots of joy suckers, grabbing her stick with one hand and the now normal guy in the other.

"Hold onto me," she informed the guy, "I'll bring you down safely, I just need both arms." He hesitatingly obliged, wrapping his arms around Kero's waist. It was not a tight grip, and Kero could feel this guy was extremely uncomfortable, but she knew he felt he could trust her, somehow. She took a deep breath in and out, pressing the button on her stick to retract it to just under her arm span. Then, she spun as quickly as she could. The stick acted as a propeller, slowing down her fall to land safely on the ground. The moment the guy's feet touched the ground, he realised his grip, stepping a foot away from the girl.

"Thank you," he stammered, not looking the girl in her eyes.

"Happy to help. Thank you for trusting me," she smiled, watching the guy slightly relax. "I know you're probably confused, I'm sure the news will explain it later."

"No, I know. I've watched miraculous before."

Kero cracked a smile. "Well that's good, do you mind doing me a favour?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Depends."

"All these people seem confused, lost almost. Could you guide them to safety? Away from here I mean. Me and my partner will deal with this…situation."

The guy nodded, running off instantly. Kero smiled, putting the stick back it's place, before taking out her archery set and aiming it at more pens.

Coccinelle, meanwhile, looked down at Noah, who was running away. Did Kero Neko know who Noah is? Does this mean she knows her partner behind the mask?

But she shrugged that thought off. Now was not the time to be thinking about identities, especially when she was warned about the risks of revealing secret identities.

It wasn't long before Kero had taken out all the angels, leaving one hovering in the air. They stood in an almost stand-off position, with Kero charging up her cataclysmic arrow and joy taker, as he had been named, pointing his pen. Kero narrowed her eyes, copying Joy Taker. The tension stunk up the air, while Coccinelle bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

In a second, Joy Taker had released a bubble that splashed onto Kero, who had let her arrow go. It glided through the air, touching the pen, seeing it crumble at its power.

Kero's eyes darkened, but she didn't change. Instead, she snapped the arrow in her hand, throwing it right to Coccinelle, who moved out of the way slightly to allow the arrow to pass.

"Fuck you!" She screamed.

Cocinelle threw the yo-yo at Joy Taker, who had now transformed back into Mason, catching him before he fell.

"Where…am I?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes as he adjusted to the light. He looked Coccinelle in the eyes. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

She smiled. "I'm sure you'll find out soon." Her eyes pointed down to the sea of cameras. Mason followed the trail of her eyes, widening them as they reacted to the cameras. She lowered him down, with the paramedics instantly huddling around him.

"Capture the fucking akuma you dipshit!" Kero Neko screamed, then leapt over to Coccinelle's side.

Cocinelle started at her yo-yo. She tapped the middle, dropping out an earpiece.

"No you idiot, like this!" Keep shouted, drawing a line with her finger as it dragged down the middle of the yo-yo, opening it up and falling to the ground. She swung it slightly, before throwing it at the akuma, pulling it back in a motion. She then tapped again, releasing a purified butterfly.

"Whoa…" she muttered.

"Whoa, my ass!" Kero Neko screamed, throwing her hands around. She faced Cocinelle. "Thanks for getting the akuma and not letting it multiply you bitch, maybe next time-" with every step Kero took, Coccinelle stepped back "-don't leave it so long or maybe your head will be purified next." until she backed up against a chimney wall. Kero had placed her hand on the wall, trapping Cocinelle in between the two. This sudden silence confused her, as she realised the position and she turned away, failing at hiding the blush that followed. She stepped back, handing the archery set back. "Just reverse the damage, dickwad."

She took a deep breath in, throwing up the set. "Miraculous Coccinelle!" Suddenly, butterflies zoomed across, some hitting into Kero Neko and calming her down. "Better?"

Kero smiled. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean…any of it."

"I figured."

Both girls smiled at each other before the cheering of the crowd snapped them back into reality. They looked down, waving at the crowd. In a split-second decision, Kero leaned into Coccinelle, kissing her cheek,

"Meet you later today?" She asked. Cocinelle muttered a response, which Kero took as a yes. "Alright, cya later!" She waved, before extending her stick and flying away.

The blush on Coccinelle's face sparked a reaction from the crowd. She backed out of the view, asking herself 'what the fuck', but took a deep breath in, dropping down to the crowd of phones.

"Miss miss miss, what's your name?" One voice over all screamed.

"My name is Coccinelle-" a small snicker came from the crowd "-and my partner's name is Kero Neko. We will be here to deal with any akumatisations."

The crowd cheered, and just as she was going to leap away, she felt an arm grab onto her. She turned around to recognise the guy, his name was Noah and he was a kid in her class. He instantly turned on the camera.

"Noah on the scene here. Coccinelle, you said your name was?" He asked, earning a nod. "I just wanna know one thing…" his pause built up anticipation. "What was that all about? Do we have a pair of secret lovers?"

"That was nothing. Kero Neko and I are friends, from what I know she's just a flirt."

"A flirt who gets you flustered," Noah smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Tell me you wouldn't get flustered if someone hot did that to you."

Noah's smirk widened, raising an eyebrow. "So you think she's hot?"

"I-" the blush returned. "I'm just gonna go-"

She leapt away instantly.

She jumped from roof to roof, occasionally failing to launch her yoyo further enough to grab onto a building or structure. Eventually, when she got further enough from the scene, she sat down, looking over the buildings. She looked at her necklace, fidgeting with it slightly. It had been a couple of minutes since she left the scene, and she was now waiting until the beeps of the miraculous detransformed her. She continued to stare, noticing small things, like the pattern of the traffic light system or the carelessness of the pedestrians when crossing the road. She noticed a bag slowly fly away in the slight breeze, or of the way a young girl walked with a skip in her step. Coccinelle just observed.

But eventually, she realised it was eleven AM. How long had she been sitting up on the roof? Why hadn't she detransformed yet?

She dropped to the floor. "Spots off."

There was no one around, so the flash did not bother anyone. Tikki flew out of her miraculous, floating in front of her.

"Congratulations Cassandra!" Tikki stated, floating backwards as Cassandra walked forward. "You did amazing!"

"Thanks, Tikki," she smiled, reaching into her pocket to pull out a breakfast bar. "Do you want some of this? I'm not really sure what you eat."

"Anything sweet works!" Tikki cheered, taking the bite-sized piece Cassandra ripped off for her.

"Hey I've got a question," Cassandra asked, taking a bite of the bar. Tikki looked up at her owner. "Why didn't I transform back after using my power?"

"Adults don't have to transform back. Your body is strong enough to deal with that power," Tikki explained.

"But, I'm barely an adult."

"Age isn't what determines if you're mature enough to handle the power. It's your power, strength and approach that does. The miraculous has determined that you classify as an adult in its eyes so it has no restrictions."

"Oh," Cassandra responded, taking another bite of the breakfast bar. "Does that mean Kero Neko doesn't transform back either?"

"I'm not sure, I don't know who she is," Tikki explained. "You could ask her next time you see her?"

"That's a good idea."

"Hey Plagg," Alexandra grabbed Plagg's attention, who was munching on a slice of feta cheese.

"Yes?"

"Did I do a good job today?" Alexandra asked, lying on her bed. She put her phone down, and turned to the kwami sitting next to her.

"Yes, I think so. Why?"

"I don't know, I got hit by an akumatised villain on my first day…"

"Alex, Adrien messed up on his first on the job too! You can't expect to be perfect all the time," Plagg answered.

"I guess..."

"Hey, Alex?" Plagg asked, floating to Alexandra's face.

"Yes?"

"Get me some camembert next time," Plagg stated, burping. Alexandra smiled.

The next morning, Cassandra walked into the kitchen, slugging into her chair. She watched as her dad scrolled mindlessly on his phone. Her mum was flipped an egg, the smell filling the room.

"Morning," Cassandra greeted, pushing her hair back out of her way.

"Morning princess," Cassandra's mum, Alicia, responded. She turned around, sliding a plate of two eggs and toast. There was a side of chives and the toast and a thin spread of avocado on it.

"Thanks, mum," she added, taking an egg and sprinkling some chives on the egg. She takes a bite of the toast, getting a smudge of avocado on her lip.

"You're welcome princess," Alicia replied, turning off the on eggs and sliding the eggs onto the plate. "We got a call from your school."

Cassandra perked up. "You got suspended?" Cassandra's dad, Oscar, pitched in. He dropped the phone, looking straight at Cassandra. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I did. I took the blame for a fight," Cassandra answered, speaking through her chews.

"Don't talk while you're eating. You got suspended, how the fuck are you going to go to a good university now?" Oscar spat, standing up and walking towards Cassandra.

"I can deal with that when I get to it. I can always go to TAFE if I need to," Cassandra replied, putting her toast down and turning to face him.

"Oscar-"

"Like hell, you're going to TAFE! I did not nearly die travelling across the world to give you a good life just for you to go to fucking TAFE! That's for fucking pussies who are too dumb to attend college!" Oscar screamed, spitting in Cassandra's face. She wiped the spit off her face, standing up to his height.

"You're from fucking England, Dad. You didn't die travelling the world, you didn't even need a goddamn visa. Don't pull that immigrant shit, you've been here since you were thirteen." Alicia walked from around the counter to beside Cassandra. "And you do a fucking certificate in construction with your apprenticeship. I could earn more than you working at Maccas."

Oscar gritted his teeth, raising his hand to slap his daughter across the face.

"You do not speak to me that way."

"I'll do what I want."

The slap made contact with her face with it being heard all throughout the house.

"Learn to respect your elders," Oscar spat, walking off. Cassandra lunged at him, however, Alicia held her back. She didn't even give her mum a chance to speak before she walked off, picking up the rest of her toast and her keys that were hooked against the wall. She walked out the front door, slamming it as she walked out.

Alexandra put her earphones in as she walked out the door. She pulled the door closed, closing it with her keys. She locked the door before turning with a spin. Her music blasted in her ears, walking with a slight skip in her steps.

"What's got you so happy?" Plagg asked, from inside her hoodie's pocket.

"I don't know, I'm just in a good mood," Alexandra replied, smiling brightly.

"It doesn't have to do with that Cassandra girl?" Plagg questioned.

Her smile dropped, rolling her eyes. "No, it does not."

"So you don't have a crush on her?" Plagg continued.

"No? Why does everyone keep asking that?" Alexandra asked.

"Because.."

Plagg stops, deciding not to continue.

"Because what? I-" She stops, noticing a blonde girl stomp towards her. "Jordan?"

Cassandra gritted her teeth, her eyes locked on the ground in front of her. She stomped as her steps. Her earbuds hung from under her shirt into her pocket, the music blasting so loud that even Alexandra could hear it from a good distance away. She walked passed Alexandra, slamming against her shoulder. "Fuck off Rodriguez."

Alexandra took a step back to balance herself, watching as Cassandra hurried passed her. She raised an eyebrow, looking at Plagg who flew to be by her side. "What the?"

"Are you going to go after her?" Plagg asked.

"I don't think so…she looks like she wants to be alone," Alexandra commented. At that moment, her bracelet started to flash and vibrate. It caught the attention of both of them. "What the fuck is happening?"

"I think Coccinelle is calling you," Plagg answered, flying close to the miraculous. "You should transform."

Alexandra nodded, before looking up and down the street. It was practically deserted. "Plagg, claws out!"

With a flash, Kero Neko launched herself into the air, vaulting from rooftop to rooftop. She looked at where she landed before, realising that she hadn't been leaving any holes or tracks on top of the roofs. Suddenly, her pole started vibrating and she lost her balance. She fell face flat, groaning as she looked straight up. The pole showed a photo of Coccinelle she had taken the other day.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kero Neko asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Are you transformed right now?" Coccinelle questioned. It was then that Kero realised Coccinelle was covering her eyes.

She chuckled. "Yes, you can uncover your eyes."

Coccinelle took her hand off her eyes, revealing extremely puffy eyes. She cracked a smile slightly. "Sorry, didn't want to accidentally discover your secret identity."

"M'lady, what's wrong?" Kero asked.

"Uh, it's nothing. Why were you transformed?" Coccinelle continued, rubbing her eyes.

"My miraculous started flashing and Plagg said it's probably you calling me. And it's clearly something, what's going on?"

"It can do that? That's cool," she sniffled, "is that normal?"

"No. Now stop avoiding my question," Kero replied.

Coccinelle bit her lip slightly. "I'm by the South Side Park."

Kero nodded, ending the call. She leapt forward, vaulting off of the houses below. Eventually, she reached the park, where Coccinelle sat on top of the roof, swinging her feet. She smiled as she noticed Kero Neko leap towards her.

"Hey Cat," she smiled, watching her partner drop next to her.

"Cat?" Kero asked, sitting next to her.

"You call me m'lady for some reason, so I should have a nickname for you," Coccinelle admitted.

"Clearly you haven't watched miraculous yet," Kero replied, nudging her. She smiled, but her smile quickly dropped as she turned away. "Hey, what's bothering you?"

Coccinelle didn't respond, only staring out into the distance. She watched as the kids slid down the slide, cheering and screaming. She watched as the other kids swung from one side to another on the swings, or up and down on the seesaw. She watched as the parents chatted to the side or scrolled on their phones, letting time pass.

Kero Neko looked at Coccinelle. She followed her eyes to the park, seeing nothing of interest. She looked back at the hero in front of her, lost in her own mind. The quiet breeze of the wind blew threw the trees ever so slightly that most did not notice it. The birds chirped in a far distance, a place where only Kero seemed to hear from here.

Coccinelle didn't seem to mind her partner staring at her. She didn't seem to care about the tears rolling down her face, or the occasional sniffle. She scooched over, resting her head on her partner's shoulder. Kero still looked at the girl, putting her arm on her shoulder and pulling her in closer as a side hug. She, using her other hand, held Coccinelle's face gently, wiping her tears away with her thumb. Coccinelle's smile grew, and she blushed slightly.

"You know, you're cute when you're flustered," Kero smiled, still holding her face. Coccinelle rolled her eyes.

"I'm just not used to people's touch. It's slightly embarrassing," Coccinelle started. "Something about you makes you feel familiar."

"M'lady-"

"I know. This isn't me trying to reveal my identity. I'm just saying. You seem familiar, and it's comforting."

"So if this was anyone else?" Kero asked.

"Yeah I wouldn't have even called you," Coccinelle chuckled. "Sorry, that is weird. We've only known each other for like a week."

"Relax, m'lady. Your presence is comforting too, and I'm okay with this." They sat for a bit longer, still holding onto each other. Kero caressed her face again, smiling gently. "You know, if you continue to let me hold onto you like this, people may think we're gonna kiss," Kero commented.

"Shut up, cat."

Kero chuckled, letting go of her face, she pulled her partner in for a hug. Coccinelle snuggled into her shoulder, the sniffling returning. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not right now," she muttered, wrapping her arms around her tighter. They stayed like that for a bit, before Coccinelle pulled away and sat beside her partner. "Do you have any plans?"

"No, I'm yours for as long as you need," Kero replied, staring into the playground in front of her.

"Good."

"You don't wanna be alone?" She questioned, watching a kid slide down a slide. Coccinelle nodded. "I get that."

They sat there for almost half an hour. After a bit, Kero started messing with her baton. She randomly clicked her buttons, occasionally hitting some part of herself with the stick. It caused Coccinelle to snicker at every time. Eventually, Coccinelle reached out to stop her.

"It's my dad," Coccinelle stated, taking the stick out of her hand. Kero turned to face her, urging her to continue. "He's a complete ass, abusive even. I can't stand to be around him sometimes."

"I'm sorry, Coccinelle," Kero acknowledged, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Physically? I'm fine. Mentally?" She paused, fidgeting with her fingers. "I'm just glad to have an escape."

"I'm always going to be here for you. We're partners, bonded for life," Kero started, dropping her hand from her shoulder.

"Yin and yang?" Coccinelle asked, holding her hand out.

"Yin and yang." She slapped her hand, then slapped the back, pulling her hand back and fist-pumping. Her partner copied her. "Did we just come up with our own handshake?"

"Yeah, not very original though," Kero replied.

"Who cares? It's ours, cat."

Both smiled. "Can't believe we've only known each other for a week."

"It doesn't feel like that."

"I agree."