CHAPTER 12: CHANGE STARTS LONG BEFORE ANYONE NOTICES

Fiona

The minute I saw the names of the people Shizu's grouped with, I knew I had to be there.

Damien Guerrero.

Natalia Hale.

Two names that always spelled trouble, especially when Shizuke Midorikawa is in the same sentence.

"You don't have to come, Fuyu. I'll be fine," Shizu said. Naïve fool.

"You'll be alone with your childhood bully and his new sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don't know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen," she sarcastically quipped.

"I'm sure we can set aside our differences for the task ahead."

He was being strangely optimistic today. Scratch that – lately, he's always strangely optimistic, which is pretty weird for a guy whose city is being invaded by a crazy butterfly lady who can turn anyone into supervillains. When the akumas first broke out, I would've thought I'd be looking after two problematic idiots.

"Huh. You're handling this better than I thought you would."

With Shizuke's track record for overthinking stuff and underestimating himself, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets akumatized within the first month. Heck, I expected him to have a panic attack every time an akuma pops up. But so far, against all expectations, Shizu managed to keep his head and stayed a functional member of society while Kaji, the one who's normally chill, became a glutton for danger. I'm kinda proud of the nerd for staying relatively sane inspite of all the weirdness going on with the world. Compared to that, facing his two least favorite people in the world shouldn't be a big deal.

"So would you please let me handle this on my own?"

"I'm still not fully convinced."

"Fuuuyuuu."

I gave him a gentle nudge, and he winced. What a baby.

"I'm just looking out for you, stupid nerd."

That hasn't changed. While Shizu has come a long way from the shy doormat I first met at the very same elementary we're headed to, I'm not about to ditch him when he needs me.

"But what about Kaji? He's grouped with…" Shizu looked around before ducking his head down and lowering his voice when he hissed, "He's grouped with Hawkmoth."

If I wasn't holding his bag of teaching stuff, I'd be face-palming by now.

"Shizu, I've been considering that for a while now, but I'm starting to agree with Kaji. Blair's probably not Hawkmoth."

One of the few changes that happened around Shizu since Hawkmoth's reign of terror began was his weird obsession with the class's rising fashion model, Blair Crawford. For some reason, he's convinced that the girl is Hawkmoth. Kaji's been trying to dissuade him for weeks. Now, even I'm trying to dissuade him. Sometimes even Blake drops in and half-assedly tries to dissuade him. Nothing we say gets him to drop his suspicions. If anything, his obsession just grows.

"Then why is she flirting with you and not Kaji?"

It doesn't help that Blair has made it her hobby to hit on Shizu. The first week of that, everyone was buzzing about it. Since then, it's died down. Any time that redheaded model is seen hitting on a certain blue-haired nerd, people no longer stop to gawk. They treat it like it's a perfectly normal everyday occurrence, like a teacher scolding someone for running down a hall or a nerd getting shoved into a locker by some jock… only for the jock to get bitch-slapped by me.

"To uh… See if I might figure out her secret identity with it? Or if I could map out her evil lair? Maybe she's trying to-"

"If that's the case, then she wouldn't need to see your chart to know she has to shake up her attack pattern to throw you off. Face it Shizu, the girl just has a weird crush on you."

Okay, that's an exaggeration. It's more like she finds it fun to mess with him. Blake spilled the deets on his twin and Kaji was a little sad that Shizu hasn't quite hit the jackpot with the red haired model. Then again, maybe it's for the best she doesn't truly like him that way. Blair doesn't quite fit Shizu's usual type. It'll only lead to a heartbreak, and for once, it's not for Shizu.

"But Fuyu! It can't be a coincidence! Akumas appear where she's supposed to be almost all the time, and yet she's almost always never found!" Shizu harshly whispered.

"We've been over this. She's probably doing the smart thing during the akuma attacks and hid like a normal powerless civilian. Just like you always do."

Another change with Shizu is his sudden disappearing acts. He's always busy elsewhere, needing to go to the bathroom, stuck on classroom duties, etc. This usually happens whenever there's an akuma attack. I should be relieved by this, except…

"Y-yes. I hide well. That's what I do. Staying away from danger. That's me," he said while avoiding eye contact, fiddling with his fingers, and his face stuck on a smile too stiff to be anything but suspicious.

"Or were you?"

Whenever he acts like this, it makes me think that he's actually closer than he claims to be. I mean, listen to his excuses:

"Sorry I'm late! The traffic caused by the akuma attack was crazy!" said Shizu, who lives within a fifteen-minute walking distance from the school and walks there every flipping day because he's a cheapskate who cuts costs wherever he can.

"My grandmother called, she needs help with the shop. So bye!" said Shizu, whose grandma relies on him to handle the technological side of her business because she doesn't even own a cellphone, much less know how to use one to call him.

"Screaming? Oh! I was at the movies, watching that new horror movie. Yeah. Lots of people were screaming when that ghost appeared. I was nowhere near the akuma attack," said Shizu, who was never a fan of horror ever since my older brother traumatized him with his collection when we were twelve.

Bull. Shit. All of it. Complete and utter bullshit! Shizu is a notoriously crappy liar so he doesn't do it often. Yet, he's doing it anyway. I wish I knew why but every time I pry…

"Civilians should not get themselves involved when it comes to akuma! It's not safe! It's common sense!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He does this. Refuge in Audacity as Kaji called it. Speaking of…

"… I wish Kaji had common sense."

"Same."

He sounded completely genuine.

Whatever he's hiding, I'm sure he's not doing it to avoid us. Kaji's just paranoid. We're still as much of a friend to him as he is to us. That hasn't changed.

0-0-0-0-0

Being here in the same elementary I grew up in brought back some memories. We're even in the exact same elementary school building with the same bully that brought us together. The day went by as well as expected: Natalia hogging the class, Damien ignoring us as usual.

I glared at the two from the back of the classroom. What? Are we not good enough to bully anymore? All was peaceful on our side of the room until a mousy little boy with curly black hair shyly asked us for help with making a bracelet for his big brother.

"I want to make the very b-b-bestest bracelet for him, a-and who better to help than the Jewelry Princess!"

There's that annoying nickname again. I kept my temper in check. Contrary to popular belief, my temper doesn't blow up at the slightest offenses. I can be calm when I want to. TOTALLY CALM.

"I'm sorry, you got it all wrong. I'm not here to teach."

The boy instantly deflated at my rejection. "Oh. I'm sorry to bother you…"

He was just about to leave when Shizu called him back. "Wait! I can help you!"

"Really?"

"I prepared for this lesson, and I think I could do a decent job of teaching you the basics."

Shizu may not be particularly talented at art, but even he's miles better than me with a little practice. Tsk.

The kid seems to think so too when after a few seconds of scrutinizing the bracelet, he looked back up to Shizu and said, "I think it's good. Please teach me."

Shizu positively beamed… And stayed like that for an awkward minute or so. The kid's starting to look concerned. Taking pity on him, I patted him on the shoulder.

"Kiddo, relax. You just made his day."

0-0-0-0-0

Predictably, Shizu got a little attached to the kid. He kinda reminds me of how Shizu was when we first met. So unsure of himself, always seeking approval… Of course he'd want to help the kid. For the rest of the morning, Shizu stuck with the kid and helped him wherever he can. Soon enough, the kid also picked up on Shizu's eagerness to help and wanted to help Shizu in return. That's why the kid's here with us, helping us clean up the lab after Natalia didn't return from the bathroom and Damien just left as soon as the bell rang.

"That's the last of it," the kid cheerfully declared as he passed a tray of beakers for Shizu to put back into their shelves.

"Good job!" Shizu said, balancing the tray on one hand and petting the boy's head with the other. "You go on ahead now. We'll just close up the lab. See you later, Dylan!"

The boy, Dylan, smiled up and said his goodbyes before running off, muttering something about meeting up with his brother.

"Such a nice kid," Shizu said.

"Yeah, if only I could trade Gav for a little brother like that..."

"Fuyu!"

"What? Gav's obnoxious. He hardly visits home anyway. I wouldn't miss him."

Shizu said something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like the word 'tsundere'. Now, what did Kaji said that meant again? Where is that weeb-tionary when I need him? Oh right, he's hanging out with the twins. Something about setting Blake up with someone.

"Let's just go get lunch. I'm hungry."

"When are you not?"

For that verbal jab, Shizu is rewarded with a physical jab to the side. He laughed it off and led the way out of the lab. It took us a while to get to this point: the point where Shizu's no longer afraid to let out a more crass side of himself around me and Kaji. It's a shame he doesn't joke around as much as he used to. Just another subtle sign that the akuma attacks are affecting him more than he's letting on.

0-0-0-0-0

Even though Kaji and I managed to cheer up Shizu, what Natalia said at lunch still pisses me off. I told Shizu I was gonna go ahead and carried his stuff up here so I can finally confront that blonde witch without Shizu stopping me. It's not like I'm actually gonna punch her in the face. No matter how tempting it is. She's a weakling and I don't punch weaklings. I was standing by the door when she finally walked into the classroom.

"You know, if you're not gonna keep your opinions to yourself, why don't you at least have the decency to say it to our faces?"

"Or maybe you guys should learn to keep your ears where they don't belong," she talked back with a hint of venom lacing her usual honey-sweet tone. She didn't even face me. She just sat by one end of the teacher's desk and started prepping her notes for the next lesson.

I went around the desk so that I was right in front of her. "You were hardly being quiet when you were bad mouthing my friend."

Anger flashed in her face for a split second before it was gone like it was never there. Her plastic smile was up and she said, "Like how your friend is bad mouthing me?"

"You did just hogged the lesson and not let him teach. What about you? What did he do that made you so pissy around him."

"Then what about Damien? He never said a word to him..."

Never said a word? Oh if only this stupid blonde knew how much her friend hurt Shizu she wouldn't be ranting like this. Now I know for sure that she knew nothing. I've always suspected this to be the case. And yet here she is, talking like she knew everything.

"… What's his problem? Damien doesn't deserve-"

Natalia flinched and stopped her rant. That rush of anger I felt must've shown in my face. I pushed myself away from the teacher's desk and turned to the door. I didn't look back at Natalia, but I can tell she's confused.

"If you really want answers," I hissed through gritted teeth. "Maybe you should ask your good friend Damien... If he'd tell you anything, that is."

I slammed the door behind me. Taking deep breaths, I told myself over and over to calm down. It wouldn't do to get akumatized over this. She isn't worth turning into an akuma and putting everyone around me in danger.

In the end, I didn't turn into an akuma. But my relief was short-lived as a few minutes later, an akuma attacked the school and Kaji was once again running towards the sounds of danger. That idiot! Now I have to follow him to make sure the idiot doesn't get himself killed.

0-0-0-0-0

A lot has changed since third grade… At least, that's what I like to tell myself.

I'm no longer the Jewelry Princess only to be admired from afar. I'm a strong fighter who can protect herself and others…

"Whatever you're trying to achieve here, you can shove it! I'm not letting you drag my friends into it!"

Right in front of me was yet another akuma. For whatever reason, he's after my friends. Like hell would I let him get to them without a fight!

"YOU'RE THE REASON MIDORIKAWA WON'T LISTEN TO ME!"

It was embarrassing how fast I was captured. Kaji, that idiot who has no common sense, managed to free himself from his own net and jumped after me just as Bully Hunter left the cafeteria.

Around fifty feet up later, Kaji had the nerve to ask, "Fuyu? Fuyu! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Just my pride. How about you? Did you hit your head back there? Because you must have a serious concussion to think that jumping after me is a good idea!"

"Oh. Sarcasm. You must be okay then."

"We're suspended about fifty feet off the ground by glowing beads and blue yarn. I'm doing better than okay, thank you for asking!"

"The akuma hasn't hurt us," at my glare, Kaji amended, "Technically speaking. Just stay positive! Ladybug will save us."

"Tsk. It would be better if we don't need to be saved at all."

It still stings that Kaji keeps getting himself into danger with akumas and there's nothing I could do about it. Shizu and I have tried countless times to get him to talk to us, but he's slippery. The guy is just so determined to jump at akumas, it's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

It got worse when the akuma grabbed me as a hostage. Chat Noire had this reckless scheme that sent me falling off the clock tower with Ladybug swinging down to catch me.

Just like that, it's like we're back to where it all started: by the clock tower, a superhero saving a helpless little girl.

"Are you-"

As soon as we landed, I pushed myself away from the superhero. I tilted my head up to the tower, pointedly avoiding his concerned gaze. I get enough of that from Kaji, Shizu, and the rest of my family. I don't need any more of that from a superhero too.

"I'm fine," I said, willing my voice not to tremble.

There was a loud explosion up in the clock tower that saved me from further questioning from the bug hero.

"You should go."

Ladybug did not linger any longer and swung himself back up to the clock tower… While I'm just standing down here, watching him disappear into the smoke coming out of the tower's roof.

Bullies are one thing. They're people. They don't have special powers. I can take them on no matter how many of them Damien has on his side. But akumas? All I can really do is sit and wait for the real heroes to come and rescue me like a damsel in distress… Like a princess.

Times like these, it feels like I went back to square one. The logical part of my brain tried to comfort me by saying that they're akuma. A normal teenager wouldn't stand a chance against them. I'm not weak for being helpless against akuma. But my pride still felt the blow and hated how useless I am. Weakling.

0-0-0-0-0

Miraculous Ladybug put everything back to normal and sent everyone back to the ground. Chat Noire fled the tower first, followed by Ladybug carrying the latest akuma victim.

"Fuyu!" Kaji yelled as he glomped me. Just as quickly as he hugged me, he jumped away as though he was burned. He tried to smile, but it came off as forced. "You're okay."

I punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Fuyu!"

"That was for making me worry, idiot!"

Kaji rolled his eyes. "Well excuse me, little miss badass. I'm not the one who fell off the clock tower."

"It's not my fault the akuma took me hostage. At least I don't actively try to put myself in danger."

Kaji huffed and turned away from me. "I only did what I had to do."

I pulled him by the shoulder to get him to look my way. "No you don't."

He looked back with a stubborn glint in his eye, no different from his headstrong father that often frustrated him.

"I have to."

Things soon went from awkward to tense and finally to normal. Kaji was whining the whole way back about how unfair life is because he couldn't get an interview with the heroes today.

That was when my phone rang. It's probably Shizu, asking if we're okay. He could just check the Ladyblog to know we're okay, but the frantic nerd prefers to hear it from ourselves that we're okay. Sap. I reassured him that we're fine, and asked where he is. His answer was concerning.

"He's with Damien?" Kaji asked after Shizu hung up.

I gripped my phone tightly at the sound of the bully's name. "Apparently."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Same."

0-0-0-0-0

Worried about his class since the twins aren't responding to his calls, Kaji decided to go ahead to check on his class leaving me alone at the playground to deal with Shizuke and Damien.

"Shizu!" I yelled as soon as I saw that familiar head of blue hair. He's not alone. I placed myself by Shizu's side, protecting him from Damien. I glared up at the giant bully and growled, "You better not be messing with Shizu's head again."

How nostalgic. We're even at the exact place where I first fought Damien to save Shizu.

Instead of glaring back like I expected, Damien nodded his head down. "I know, and I'm sorry for everything I did as Bully Hunter, I-"

"Zip it. Haven't you seen the Ladyblog? People see me with Kaji on the Ladyblog all the freaking time! I of all people would know that akumas are just unlucky people who were controlled by Hawkmoth when they were down! I'm not gonna hold anything you said or did as an akuma against you. Apologizing about that is stupid, so I don't wanna hear it."

"Right… Sorry."

Damien looked down to the side, avoiding my glare.

"I have better reasons to be mad at you that you're actually accountable for."

I've had enough of this jerk. With a huff, I grabbed Shizuke by the arm and marched ahead.

"Let's just get back to the classroom. The yellow eyesore must be getting tired of taking care of a classroom full of screaming children by herself."

When we got back in class, I was surprised by the change of dynamics in their trio. For the rest of the afternoon, Shizu was able to have his turn in teaching. Good for him.

Natalia was being pissier than usual when we first entered the room. Probably my fault, but I'm not apologizing when I'm not feeling it. A quick talk with Damien was all it took for her to try to be more civil. She occasionally shoots questioning looks at Damien after that. Guess it wasn't too late for the dumb blonde to learn things.

I still don't trust Damien. He may be acting nice and helping Shizu now, but it may be just like the old days… He might be trying to get Shizu to owe him so he can have him on a leash again. But this isn't like old times. I'm stronger now. I'm not scared of him. I won't let him hurt Shizu again.

0-0-0-0-0

"Just because you got him akumatized doesn't mean you owe it to him to forgive him."

"Fuyu! Feet off the coffee table!" Shizu swat my feet down. "And no, I'm not doing this because I akumatized him and owe him forgiveness. I've grown out of that mentality," he huffed and placed two cups and a pitcher of ice cold lemonade on the coffee table. "I just… I just don't like the person I become when I let my grudge get ahead of me. That's why I want to stop being mad at him."

I drop my glare at that and shook my head. "Sometimes, I think you're being too nice for your own good. It's okay to be mad at him. He had it coming."

"Not when I'm hurting him and he hasn't done anything recently to deserve it."

"You say that like you're not still affected by all the crap he said before," I poured myself a cup of lemonade, careful not to break the glass with my tight angry grip. "He's a horrible person."

"He's changed. That's not what he is anymore."

Shizu, you stupid bleeding heart. Now we're here in his living room discussing the latest akuma, Bully Hunter, who turned out to be Damien.

Shizu told me everything that happened. Apparently, Shizu is the one who got Damien akumatized by growing a spine and yelling at Damien about all the pain he caused him. What a milestone! Must be seen to be believed! Kaji would've been here too if he wasn't stuck in detention with the twins. Something about setting the classroom on fire.

But now Shizu's feeling guilty about standing up for himself. Ugh. Typical Shizu. As strict as he is around everyone, he takes it the hardest when he believes he's the one stepping out of line. Better make sure he doesn't do something stupid like…

"You're not going back to that toxic pit he called 'friendship', are you?"

"Of course not! I know better. I wouldn't even call us friends right now, we're more like acquaintances. But if he starts acting like how he used to, I'll throw him."

"Good."

I trust him to at least defend himself if Damien ever resorts to violence. As for the mind games, I'll just have to keep an eye on him.

"But if he really wants to change for the better, we shouldn't discourage him."

I slammed the glass over the wooden coffee table. It only made a loud clang but it didn't even crack.

"Argh… Fine! Whatever. Just don't let your pity cloud your judgement."

"Don't worry Fuyu. This won't be the same as third grade. Besides, I know you have my back."

"You can bet on that," I picked up the jar hidden under the coffee table and popped a cookie into my mouth.

Lately, Shizu's taken up to baking cookies. His apartment is never without a full jar of them. They're actually pretty good, better than the ones from most stores – probably because he doesn't skimp on certain ingredients, like chocolate chips. Shizu doesn't know to how to half-ass things. To this day, he never explained why the sudden random interest in confectionary. Not that I'm complaining. Naturally, I've taken up to cookie hunting at his place whenever I visit.

Shizu gave me a disapproving look. Oh right, he made these. He'd probably want some for himself.

I grabbed a handful of cookies and offered it to him. "Here."

He groaned, like this wasn't what he wanted, but took the cookies anyway. Weirdly, he put some into his backpack. Saving it for later? But we're in his apartment, and I can see his fridge just beyond the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen…

"Actually, I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?" I said in between chewing.

Shizu's nose scrunched at my lack of table manners. What a mom.

"Fuyu," he took a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to help me ask out Blake."

The cookie jar nearly slipped off my fingers as I choked on a cookie. Shizu quickly refilled my glass which I gratefully accepted. As soon as I cleared my throat, I yelped, "Wait, what?!"

Realizing how he worded his request, Shizu's face turned red and he stuttered out, "That's not what I meant! I mean, we ask him to go out with us! Platonically! Just a group of friends on an outing!"

Wiping my face clean of crumbs, I asked, "What do you have in mind?"

0-0-0-0-0

And that is how I find myself here, in an arcade, with a certain pair of red haired models tagging along on our 'Friday Game Night'.

"Fuyu! Why did you brought her along?!" Shizu hissed while the twins were busy playing at a dance game.

"She would've bitten my head off if I didn't."

Kaji wasn't kidding when he said that Blair is the overprotective twin. Yeesh. Kinda funny when I remembered that she's the younger twin. No wonder she and Kaji get along.

"I'm sure you could've handled her," Shizu lowered his volume and said, "Even if she turns out to be Hawkmoth, it's not like she gets much exercise from that. As long as you take her down before she transforms, you should be able to overpower her."

"As much as it flatters me that you think I'm stronger than the city's most wanted supervillain, I don't see why Blair shouldn't be allowed to come along on an outing to cheer up her twin."

Shizu huffed and went over to the dance game to glare at Blair. As soon as Blake was defeated, Kaji pushed Shizu in his place to challenge Blair. The redhead's eyes glinted when she saw her next challenger and said something that made him blush furiously as he yelled, "No! I am not dancing to that song with you!"

Kaji cackled to himself on the side, pleased at his 'matchmaking skills'. Just because he can't set Blake up with someone, doesn't mean he's not gonna try to set up the other twin with his best bud. Blake leaned over the air hockey table I was standing by, waiting for a turn.

"You guys seriously going through all this trouble just to cheer me up about Natalia?"

"Someone's observant," I stated flatly. "But yeah, that's exactly what's happening here. Is it working?"

"I suppose this beats moping around in my room all day."

"Good."

"Uhm, yeah. I better thank Keagan, then," Blake awkwardly said as he turned to look back at Blair and Shizu at the dance machine.

The aforementioned 'couple' has finally decided to dance to a bubbly K-Pop song and were showing off their dance skills. It looks like no one's gonna be getting a turn any time soon. They were starting to attract a crowd, most of them starting to notice that there's a model in this beat up old arcade.

"You know, this is all Shizu's idea."

"Really? I would've thought it was Keagan who planned this."

I snorted. "If he had his way, he'd be setting you up on a blind date."

Cold sweat broke into Blake's face as he shuddered. "Thank God Shizuke toned it down. I'm really not in the mood for romance right now."

"Shizu's always been the more down to earth one in our friend group."

Blake looked confused with my statement. "… You're not giving yourself enough credit."

"I'm serious."

"Well, someone has to keep those two hotheads in check and watch out for them. From what I can see, it's you who's doing just that."

I shook my head. "No, you don't get it. Shizu… He's sort of like our rock. Yes, he's like an overbearing mother hen sometimes who jumps to ridiculous conclusions about your sister… But he's always there to give us a listening ear and an honest opinion on things. When the world goes crazy, we can always count on him to keep us grounded. No strings attached. People like that are hard to come by for people like me and Kaji."

The curse of the rich and famous, as Kaji once said.

"… I get that," he said, eyes staring intently at Blair. "I suppose I have someone like that too."

We stayed in silence, neither of us feeling the need to talk to each other and like it better that way. Leave the socializing to the extroverts. As soon as the air hockey table was cleared, we took our places and started a game. The point of this outing was to help keep his mind off of Natalia, and playing a good game of air hockey was one way to do it.

Besides, I'd rather not give Blake advice for his love life. I, of all people, can't give him advice on romance without sounding like a hypocrite.

"Hey, guys!" Kaji cheerfully greeted as he tapped me on the shoulder.

The distraction was enough for Blake to sneak past my defense and score a win. I glared at the redhead who was grinning smugly, making his family resemblance with Blair all the more obvious, then I glared at the cause of my loss.

"What?" I hissed, using my anger at losing to cover up the fact that my face is turning red for any other reason.

Kaji, thick skinned as ever, wasn't affected by my glares and cheerfully carried on. "Has either of you seen Shizu or Blair? I lost them in the crowd."

"Nope," Blake said, after a quick scan of the arcade. Blair at least should be easy to spot with her long crimson hair.

"Think my 'secretly dating' theory is actually happening here?" Kaji grinned, perfectly covering up his anxiety about Shizu's disappearing acts with shipping. Typical Kaji. If I wasn't familiar with his patterns, I wouldn't have been able to tell it apart from his usual shippy self.

To him, shipping is fuel for optimism. Lost an uncle? Ship his teacher with his aunt so he can get a new one. Friend flaking on us? He's secretly dating someone, not purposefully avoiding us. I suppose there are worse coping mechanisms than shipping. Why can't he be content with shipping LadyNoire instead of jumping into akuma attacks to take vids them?

"Oh Bro…~ Check out what we got for you.~"

Blair and Shizu came up from behind Blake, and Blair draped a black hoodie over her brother. When Blake held it out, revealed the cat ears over the hood, the silver studs, the pockets with the zippers, the cuffs, the bell charm… the jacket may not be made of leather, but its design is clearly inspired by Chat Noire. Blake raised a brow at the two.

"You guys teamed up and hogged the dance machine for this?"

Shizu was nervously shifting about. "Yeah… I-We thought you'd like it…"

"I don't like it…"

"Oh," Shizu deflated, thinking Blake is upset and not noticing the growing smile on the model boy's face.

"I love it!" Blake exclaimed. I've never seen the normally stone-faced twin so giddy before. To the side, Kaji had his trusty phone out to record this. "Sis and I have always been a fan of superheroes and like collecting hero merch."

"See, Shizuke. I told you he'd like it," Blair said, patting Shizu by the shoulder in a friendly manner.

Shizu swatted her hand away, folded his arms close to his chest, and glared at her, the lights above hitting his glasses just right made it look more intimidating. "Just because I helped you win doesn't mean we're friends."

Blair mock pouted at him. "D'aww, and I thought you were starting to warm up to me.~"

As for Blake, he was too busy excitedly putting on his new jacket to care about his sister hitting on Shizu.

"Man, I always wanted a Chat Noire jacket! Chat Noire merchandise are much harder to find than Ladybug merchandise. I don't know if it's because Ladybug's more popular or it's because more people can pull off black than red with black polka dots so her stuff sells out faster…" and so he droned on and on about how there should be more Chat Noire stuff on the market. Next to him, Blair was nodding eagerly at everything he said. Shizu too, for once in perfect agreement with the redhead.

I don't know what was more surprising: the twins turning out to be superhero geeks or the fact that Shizu willingly cooperated with Blair even if he still hates her. Then again, he was able to work with Damien and Natalia a few days ago and they're not quite buddy-buddy with each other.

"Oooh… Does Shizu have some competition for Chat Noire's attention here?" Kaji teased.

Shizu stiffened and stared at Blake in horror, probably thinking something stupid like how he doesn't stand a chance against a model. I always found it weird that Shizu developed a celebrity crush on Chat Noire, since she doesn't quite fit Shizu's usual preference for Yamato Nadeshiko types.

On the other hand, Blake cringed in disgust. Curiously enough, Blair's face also cringed similarly at about the same time. Is this a twin thing? Always sympathizing strongly with each other and feeling their twin's every pain?

"No. Just no," he firmly said, an eyebrow twitching. "Chat Noire is cool and all, but I don't like her like that. I have an aversion for redheads."

Shizu visibly exhaled in relief.

"To all the redheads who have a thing for my brother, I am so sorry for being born with red hair more fabulous than yours," Blair said, not sounding very sorry at all as she flipped her crimson red hair. Snarky redhead.

Now that I think about it, Blair and Chat Noire do have that in common… Maybe Shizu liking Blair isn't as impossible as I thought.

Before this conversation can devolve into a superhero geek fest between the twins and my two hero fan friends, someone's stomach growled and Kaji suggested we grab a bite to eat at the snack bar.

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We gathered around a booth, the table full of food – Kaji's treat. Shizu would've protested but Kaji shot him down by saying, "You and Blair got him a jacket, and Fuyu let him beat her at air hockey," ignoring Blake's indignant 'hey!' behind him, Kaji continued his argument with a pout. "Let me do this one thing!"

We took our seats in the half circle booth. I was seated between Kaji and Shizu. Much to Shizu's dismay, he's seated next to Blair. Predictably, Blake took the other end of the line, right next to his sister. We passed around cans of coke and had a toast.

"I would like to say, thank you all for dragging us here today. We had a lot of fun!" Blair declared, raising her coke can like it's a classy champagne flute.

Blake stood up with his coke also raised like a champagne flute, and nodded towards Shizu with a shy smile. Wow. This guy should smile more often. Kaji thinks so too, he even had his phone out to take a picture of the 'angsty emo bad boy' smiling.

"Yeah. Thanks. I really appreciate it, Shizuke."

What he didn't say was that he's referring to not letting Kaji set him up with someone tonight. Tactful.

"Oh, uhm… You're welcome," Shizu said as he fixed his glasses, which is actually a poor attempt to hide how flustered he is. He's straight but even he's affected by Blake's smile.

Blair turned her head towards Shizu, eyes wide. "Wait, this was your idea?"

Kaji reached over my head and ruffled Shizu's hair. "Yep. This guy made it his job to look out for everyone," Kaji winked at Blair. "Quite a catch, no?"

Sigh. He still hasn't given up on the ShizuBlair ship.

Instead of following that up with her usual flirty quips, Blair just looked at Shizu with analytic green eyes before saying, "You really went out of your way to cheer up my brother… Didn't think this is how you'd go about it, though."

Shizu huffed in indignation. "What were you expecting then?"

"You giving Blake a pile of mind-numbing schoolwork to get his mind off Natalia or something."

"Did you honestly believe I only think of school-related stuff all the time?"

A secretive smirk made its way to Blair's face, "Nope. I'm pretty sure you think of me at least half the time.~"

Poor Shizu, unable to deny it, he had no words for Blair's blatant flirtation and just gracelessly sputtered how she's wrong while she just laughed at his flustered state. Kaji was cackling to himself at the spectacle and Blake just shook his head, but he looks just as amused by their antics.

"See? Shipping really does make the world a happier place," Kaji whispered to me, which made me roll my eyes.

"Whatever, Kaji."

In the midst of the chaos, I saw Blair stealing glances at Shizu from time to time, smiling that candid smile she doesn't use for a pictorial… Is the way to this model's heart through her twin brother? If it is, then Shizu just won himself some brownie points he didn't want. Kaji noticed too, but didn't point it out and just quietly took pictures.

Dinner soon ended and it was time to leave. Blair went outside, away from the noise of the arcade so she can call the Liungs to fetch them. Blake stayed behind to talk to us.

"I've had a lot of fun today thanks to you guys."

"No problem, Blake," I said.

"You can always call us any time you need a little pick-me-up after a heartbreak," Kaji added with a wink.

I elbowed him in the ribs, making him gag on air.

"Geez, Fuyu. Jealous much?" he said in a light joking tone, indicating that he's not that hurt.

I ignored him in favor of talking to Blake. "Don't hesitate to call any of us for that or if you just want to hang out. It would be nice to have another sane person around."

"Yeah. Next time we all hang out, I hope it doesn't have something to do with my failure in romance…" Blake shook his head and steadied his voice like he's making a promise. "No, I'll make sure it's not going to be about that again."

"Mind explaining to us what this is about?" I asked.

"I'm moping now because I kept hesitating until it was too late. If I gave it a shot sooner, maybe Natalia and I would be dating by now, and I wouldn't be here thinking about all the time and opportunities I wasted."

"But what if she still dumps you anyway?" Shizu asked, reminding us that he's still here and hasn't pulled his disappearing act again.

Blake paused to think about it. His lips tilted up to a sad smile as he said, "Even if it doesn't lead to anything, I at least tried and gave it my all. I wouldn't be here wondering about 'what ifs'. There's nothing regrettable about that."

Shizu fell silent as he adjusted his glasses. He looked to be pondering something before he said, "… That's understandable."

"Why, Shizu? Planning on confessing to someone?" Kaji asked.

"N-N-NO!"

While Kaji was busy questioning Shizu about the mystery ship involving our friend, Blake was looking at me pointedly. I narrowed my eyes back at him. No. I am not taking his bait. Nuh-uh. This guy doesn't even know anything. Now's not a good time to worry about my feelings when a certain idiot is trying to solve his issues by jumping at akuma instead of talking it out with his friends.

The moment was gone, and Blake is back to talking to everyone.

"Blair's right. I won't get anywhere if I don't do anything about it," as if realizing what he just said, Blake gave us a stern look and added, "Just don't tell her I said that. I don't need her getting any more insufferable than she already is."

Shizu and I nodded at him while Kaji made zipping gestures over his mouth.

"Hey!" Blair called after us from outside the arcade. "What's taking you so long?! Are you having a heart-to-heart without me?!"

Blake rolled his eyes. "Coming, sis!"

With that, we all went out the arcade just in time to see Blair hang up on her phone.

"Our ride's coming soon. Did you guys actually have a heart-to-heart?"

We all shook our heads in denial, honoring Blake's request.

Loud screeching of tires alerted us when a car parked in front of the arcade, gangster style. The driver seat's window rolled down revealing a man – no, a teenager with brownish black hair and dark grey eyes with a wide smile planted on his rosy white face.

"Little bro! Little sis!" the guy greeted with a wide friendly smile, looking nothing like his so-called younger siblings. This must be twins' foster brother, Vincent Liung. "I'm here to pick you up!"

"We can see that," Blair flatly said.

The twins hopped into the back of the car. As the car drove away, we could see the twins waving at us through the windows. Blake in particular was giving me a meaningful look while mouthing something that looks suspiciously like 'tell Kaji'. Cowardly meddlesome bastard.

Kaji was squinting after the car. "Hey Fuyu, did you get what Blake was trying to say? I couldn't see it from my angle."

"It was nothing," I said with a straight face. While I prefer being blunt about things, that doesn't mean I can't pull a good poker face. "We better get home too," I was about to pull out my phone to call either Mama or Gav, when Kaji spoke up.

"No need for that. Aunt Vera said Uncle Ross will be here in fifteen minutes," how and when did he contact his aunt when he didn't stop talking to anyone the whole evening remains a mystery. "She said he'll be cool with giving you guys a ride too."

"Whipped and not even married yet," I shook my head in mild disapproval. Mr. Ross is back to being lame and hasn't done anything cool since third grade. At least he managed to propose to Kaji's aunt. It only took him five years to get there. "When's the wedding?"

"I don't know, but I heard it's sometime this spring!" Kaji was practically sparkling when he announced it. "They're still debating on whether to hold the reception at the castle or at Lucia Park. Isn't it exciting?"

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."

Formal events. And on Spring too. Ugh… That means dresses and pastels.

Seemingly reading my mind, Kaji said in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, I'm sure I can get Aunt Vera to let you wear a suit."

It's times like these that I wish I can get him the way he gets me.

"That's a relief."

Content with my response, Kaji turned to where I believe Shizu was standing.

"So Shizu, until Uncle Ross comes around, care for a round of- Shizu?"

No, Shizu didn't disappear again. Not physically, anyway. He just stood there by the door with a glazed look on his face.

"You still there, bud?" Kaji asked, waving his hand in front of Shizu's glasses.

That seemed to snap him out of whatever funk he got his head in. Shizu nearly tripped over his own legs as soon as he was alert again. It's not unusual for Shizu to get lost in his thoughts. What's unusual is that this is happening more and more often lately and he's not saying anything about it. Sometimes, he'd space out in the middle of a conversation. There are times where he looks like he wants to tell us something, but for some reason, he doesn't.

"I'm here! What were we talking about?"

As much as I wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, I knew he'd just shut us out. But if he thinks for one second that I'm unaware that he's hiding something, he's got another thing coming.

"Mr. Ross is fetching us here in fifteen minutes. Want me to crush you at air hockey before we leave?"

"Oh, okay Fuyu."

One of these days, I'll get him to talk.

"Hey! I asked him to play with me first! I called dibs!"

I'll get them both to talk.

0-0-0-0-0

Notes:

Fridge, the reason Shizuke got flustered when Blake smiled at him is because he subconsciously recognizes it as a smile similar to Chat Noire's sincere smile.

Anywho, this is the end of this episode and the next one is still a work in progress. Not gonna say when it'll be out since I'm bad at keeping up with deadlines for personal projects. So next episode is gonna be more Blair-centric and is focused on her model job. That's all I can say without spoiling it too much. To those of you who actually read my story this far, you are awesome! Especially to queen123414, king of the kaiju, brandonmille02, derleks47, and Sakmet and Hathor who faved and followed this story. Thank you very much!