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The infamous, illegal vigilante Argos is curled up and passed out in the hidden corner outside her apartment building, and Kagami knows what’s expected of her.
She has options for how to go about it. Kagami could transform to summon her sword and end it all here and now. She could call it in, let someone else deal with it, or personally bring him back to her mother. Her mother who, for months, has been cursing his name in every way she knows how.
Mother would be pleased with her, for once. Kagami will have done her job, as a good daughter should.
Her phone is in her pocket. Her Miraculous sits around her neck, camouflaged but ready at a moment’s notice.
And yet, Kagami is standing perfectly still.
It’s the first time she’s seen him unconscious. Blood trickles down his head and is smeared on the side of his mouth. Argos is breathing shallowly enough that it hardly looks like he’s breathing at all. There’s no hard lines or creases on his face— he’s not gritting his teeth or focused intently or guarded.
He looks almost peaceful while he’s sleeping.
He looks a lot more like a person than an enemy when he’s sleeping.
Kagami knows what she’s meant to do. She also knows everything she should not do— the traitorous things that would sooner get her stripped of everything she’s ever worked for and punished severely. The things her mother would never forgive, and would never let her forget.
If she walked away, nobody would have to know. And if they did, Kagami could come up with an excuse about seeing another vigilante nearby and believing it to be a trap, or something to that effect. She could have plausible deniability, and her mother would be disappointed in her lack of action but it wouldn’t betray everything she taught her.
Kagami knows the things she should not do. The consequences such actions would have if anybody saw and reported her.
But… That’s the thing about consequences. Someone has to catch you first, or else Kagami would’ve been punished for her traitorous thoughts months ago.
The problem isn’t that Kagami hasn’t made up her mind. It’s that she already has and she knows it.
A small huff escapes her. She’s been stalling but no longer. Kagami urges herself to move and takes the first step forward.
—
Kagami knows her neighbors. She knows the old woman one door down is hard of hearing and doesn’t leave the house after the sun goes down. She knows the man on her left leaves early to work the night shift and the woman on the right plays loud music as she takes care of her chores.
All of this makes it shockingly easy to carry Argos into her apartment unseen.
He’s not as heavy as Kagami expected him to be. Much like a Peacock, his outfit makes him look a bit bigger than he is. He twitched slightly when she hoisted him up but hasn’t since, remaining still until she finally lays him down on her couch.
It’s a good thing her couch has seen its fair share of blood stains or this would be harder to explain later.
Her first aid kit has been freshly restocked due to a supply run a few days ago so finding enough bandages to work with isn’t an issue. Working around his outfit is, though thankfully, his abnormal skin color makes it easy to spot the red among the indigo, and the bruises are darker than the rest of him.
Her gaze lingers on the brooch on his chest for a moment longer than necessary. It would be easier if he weren’t transformed in the first place but…
Kagami shakes her head. Plausible deniability is still in play here. It’s her duty to bring back that brooch, but she knows what will be done with it. If her mother doesn’t use it for herself, someone else will get it, and they will be no better.
Kagami doesn’t touch the brooch. She’s seen it in the wrong hands before and doesn’t trust her own. She may not know Argos well enough to say anything for certain, but she has yet to see him misuse it.
“Kagami-san…” A voice murmurs, hovering just over her shoulder. “I do not understand, what are you doing?”
“Treason.” Kagami answers. “Would you be willing to grab an ice pack from the freezer?”
There’s a pause, then he’s gone. Kagami manages to locate the worst of his bruises on his ribs by the time Longg returns, ice pack in hand. Kagami takes it with a murmur of thanks, wrapping it before settling it on the bruises.
She dabs the blood on Argos’ head away, then tapes some cotton balls to stop the source of the bleeding. He’s got injuries all over and of varying intensity but it doesn’t take too much for Kagami to locate and take care of them, one by one.
Argos’ skin is hotter than it should be. There’s an underlying problem she needs to address, though it takes Kagami a minute to find it.
Her answer comes in the form of a deep cut on his leg, pale veins surrounding it. The smell the wound is giving off makes her curse under her breath— that’s why he’s unconscious and weakened. “Longg, find my antivenom. In the bathroom.”
Longg obeys. Kagami locates the syringe in the kit and replaces the needle. Longg holds the bottle out to her once he returns and Kagami swiftly administers it straight into Argos’ leg.
“Cockatrice’s work.” Kagami wrinkles her nose. “She’s all too fond of poisoning her targets. By the time they realize something’s up, the worst of it has left them weak and tired. If no one else is around, they’ll pass out and never wake up. Thankfully, it’s slow to kill. He’ll survive but he might be out for a while.”
“You’ve saved his life.” Longg notes. His tone is careful. “An interesting development, considering the amount of times you’ve personally almost killed him.”
“A lesser vigilante might’ve been killed, but those attempts were calculated. Argos was never in any real danger.” Kagami scans Argos once again before nodding slightly to herself. There’s nothing more she can do but wrap the wound.
Longg hums thoughtfully. “Have you made up your mind, then? You’ve been conflicted for quite some time. Your mother is catching on.”
Kagami remains silent as she finishes up. Longg has been questioning her for months— he knew her doubts before she did. And yet, even now, Kagami doesn’t have an answer.
Her family’s signet ring remains on her finger, a reminder of her duty. But she still remembers warm hands, impossibly blue eyes, and a scared but honest voice. ‘I don’t think I’ll live to see tomorrow.’
Kagami swallows thickly. She’s meant to take the brooch back but it’s safer in Argos’ hands. She knows this for certain. If he’s ever used it, it’s never been in the same way that her superiors have.
She knows that she cannot live like this forever. Eventually, she will have to choose a side and stick with it, because she will not survive living with doubt.
Her mother has given her everything— life, purpose, her home, her job, her Miraculous. She has shaped who Kagami is, possibly in more ways than one, and to betray that will betray nearly everything Kagami knows.
But she wonders if things could be better. If she would be happier on the other side.
Her phone beeps. Kagami picks it up, not surprised by the order for all Holders to go out and search for Argos immediately. Once again, the opportunity for an out presents itself. Kagami could bring him in herself and be absolved of everything she’s done.
But when she leaves, Argos remains lying on her couch, a blanket draped over him and the blinds shut tight.
—
Predictably, no one is able to find Argos, much to Cockatrice’s frustration. She rants and raves about all her hard work in actually poisoning him going to waste and Kagami tunes her out, putting up the act of searching when she knows it’s pointless.
She returns to her apartment a few hours later, glancing around to ensure no one else is around as she enters. She stops dead, however, upon seeing a flash of blue light from the kitchen.
Argos pokes his head out, looking significantly healthier than before. Kagami doesn’t move a muscle, wondering if he can see right through her. But then he smiles and she knows he can’t.
“Do I have you to thank?” He asks, hands folding behind his back. “Last I checked, I was losing consciousness in an alley. Imagine my surprise when I woke up with my wounds wrapped up and no trace of what I was infected with. I apologize for raiding your kitchen, it wasn’t for myself.”
Kagami takes a deep breath and forces herself to relax. “I don’t mind. I’m surprised you’re standing so soon.”
“I have a little help.” He taps his brooch. “Thank you for helping me, and not taking it. It couldn’t have been an easy decision with the bounty on my head.”
It both was and wasn’t. Kagami nods nonetheless. She feels strangely out of her depth talking to him like this. She normally only exchanges words when they exchange blows but now there’s no adrenaline fueling her every action.
He has no idea how much of his blood she’s personally spilt, or how much he’s taken in return. He doesn’t even know her name, though to be fair, she doesn’t know his real one either. She’s seen him over a dozen times in person and yet, all of this is completely new. Kagami rarely talks to anyone at all in her civilian form, unless she’s at a formal gathering or meeting someone on her mother’s behalf.
Kagami steadies herself. The last thing she needs is to give anything away.
“You likely already know it but I’m Argos.” He says after a few moments.
“Kagami.” She greets.
“I owe you one, Kagami. If you need anything, you can ask.” He begins to move towards the windows and Kagami stays perfectly still, only moving her head slightly to follow him. “I should get out of your hair before either of us get caught. The last thing I want is to be a burden to you.”
He’s so… Polite. More so than Kagami expected. Maybe it’s because she technically saved his life— anyone would be polite then.
Argos slides the window open. Kagami forces herself to move. “Are you sure you should be traveling on your injuries?”
“It’s only until I get to a safe place. I’ll rest and heal properly there.” Argos tells her, one leg already on the window still. He glances back at her, however, a small smile on his face. “I’ll try not to ruin your hard work keeping me alive. I have some people who will take care of the rest.”
Kagami almost wants to stop him from leaving. She shouldn’t— he’s right, it would mean bad things for both of them if anyone discovered he was here. At the same time however, Kagami is curious. A single minute spent with Argos outside of her suit has revealed a side she’s never seen before. One that smiles at her. One that looks at her and only sees a good person.
She’s so deep in her own head that she’s caught off guard by Argos taking her hand and gently pressing a kiss to the back of it. He’s still smiling at her. “It takes a brave person to step in and help like you did when you had every reason not to. It’s good to see there are people on this side of the city still fighting.”
A lump forms in Kagami’s throat, reminding her of the choker around her neck. It’s always been perfectly fitted but right now, not for the first time, it feels tighter than it should be.
Argos’ touch is gone a moment later. He slips out soundlessly and under the darkened sky, the dark blue helps keep him somewhat difficult to notice. Kagami knows what to look for however and watches him slowly disappear in the horizon.
The window remains open for a long time. Kagami barely notices the breeze.
—
The hum of adrenaline is familiar. The taste of sweat and blood on her tongue, the sting of various injuries, the smell of ozone from her electricity— it's all comfortable in an odd sort of way. The same way it feels good for her body to burn after she’s worked hard during training. The same way scratching the right itch feels.
There should not be so much comfort to be found on the battlefield where she is being tested and pushed to her limits, and yet, it’s always the place where her head feels the most clear, alongside fencing. Her role is simpler and for once, Ryuko feels as though this is what she’s meant to be doing.
She was born to fight, not sit through meetings, mediate for the company, and smile politely at anyone who had enough influence in the city to warrant it.
Combat has always made sense to her in a way that very few things do.
Which is why it’s significant that for the first time in months, maybe years, she hesitates. Just once, just enough to be denied to anyone who wasn’t watching closely enough.
But on the battlefield, someone is always watching her. And she watches as magenta eyes narrow ever so slightly when she doesn’t strike immediately like she should’ve.
“Feeling off-kilter, Ryuko?” Argos blocks the blow coming for him, as she knew he would. If you fight someone enough times, you begin to get a feel for their reaction time and how they react to different things in a pinch. It becomes less of a battle and almost more of a dance, with the right performance. And Ryuko shouldn’t be making such predictable moves but.
But. She keeps thinking about finding him in the alleyway. About the smile. About the way he had looked at her.
It’s her own fault.
Ryuko grits her teeth. That doesn’t go unnoticed either, eyebrow cocked.
“Bad day?” Argos guesses.
“I don’t have bad days.” She denies, teeth bared in an effort to put up a wall. His gaze flickers down, something akin to confusion.
“Were your teeth always that sharp?”
“Enough chatter.” Ryuko cuts him off. His voice is distracting. She raises her sword to the sky to call down lightning. It keeps him busy enough to cut down the chatter and keeps her from hesitating so much.
When Argos finally retreats with the others, she’s left him a deep gash down his arm. She shouldn’t feel as guilty as she does.
—
Kagami doesn’t need to think when she sees a figure move in the darkness of her apartment. She grabs her nearest weapon— an umbrella by the door— and strikes fast and hard. It’s only after she’s gotten two hits in that she hears the strangled ‘Wait’ that makes her freeze.
Magenta eyes gaze up at her from the floor, sheepish and apologetic. It takes Kagami a few moments to force herself to relax, though she shoots a hard look at Argos as she tosses her umbrella on the couch.
“What are you doing here.” She asks flatly. Argos props himself up by his elbows, recovering impressively quickly. Kagami didn’t exactly hold back, though she only hit his body, not his face.
“Sorry.” He apologies, an awkward smile on his face. “I meant to knock but I didn’t want anyone to see me come in and I was better off hiding inside than out.”
“Announce yourself next time.” Kagami tells him. “Maybe then I’ll only get one hit in before I come to my senses.”
“Duly noted.” Argos remains on the ground until Kagami offers him a hand. He stretches, back cracking, then his gaze returns to her. “I promise I won’t make a habit of it.”
“I wasn’t aware I’d be seeing you again at all, much less in my apartment.” She keeps the suspicion out of her voice when she asks, “Why are you here? It’s rude to break into people’s homes.”
“I can knock next time?”
“I wasn’t aware there would be a ‘Next time’ in the first place.”
“I’m not trying to impose.” Argos holds his hands up in surrender. “I have to admit, I’m… Curious. You’re Kagami Tsurugi, aren’t you?”
Kagami suppresses a reaction and nods. She has a good idea of where this line of questioning is going. “You want to know why I helped you when my mother actively wants you dead.”
Argos taps his nose. “Got in one.”
“You’ll be disappointed then.” Kagami huffs, shrugging off her coat and moving to hang it up. “I don’t have much of a reason.”
“Whatever it was, it was enough to defy what your mother wanted of you. I’m sure you’ve heard nothing good about me.”
Kagami hums, not turning around. She shouldn’t be talking to him. She shouldn’t be telling him anything even remotely useful that could potentially be used against her.
“I couldn’t walk away,” leaves her mouth despite everything. “That’s all.”
“You could’ve turned me in.” Argos points out. “You could’ve done a lot of things.”
“I’m aware.”
“Why help?”
“I didn’t have a reason. I felt bad.”
“That is a reason.” Kagami shoots him a look. Argos doesn’t look deterred. For a split second, she wonders what would happen if she transformed here and now. How quickly his smile would drop. How betrayed he might look. If he would run or fight. What he might say to her then. How shattered this illusion of a good and brave person he thinks she is would be.
Self-destructive, Kagami accuses herself, and shuts the thought down. For multiple reasons, she won’t be doing that.
“You shouldn’t be here.” She reminds him again. He’s lucky that Kagami doesn’t like cameras. That her apartment only has the bare bones in terms of technology. Normally, her mother wouldn’t allow it, but Kagami wrapped her true intentions under the pretense of wanting to find her own independence and work ethic. Building herself up from the bottom. It’s why she has an apartment and not a penthouse.
Kagami has pushed for many things in her life that she might’ve never gotten previously. Sometimes, those few things she’s gotten are the only things that keep her sane.
“I can leave whenever you like.” He says. Kagami turns around but finds nothing but honesty in his eyes. Magenta and violet are a hypnotizing mix of colors. A little too easy to get lost in. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or put you in danger. Just say the word.”
Kagami knows what she should be doing. As of late however, she finds herself doing anything but that. A recent streak of recklessness that can only end badly.
“Tea.” She finds herself saying instead. Argos blinks owlishly. “Would you like some?”
His smile gets just a little bit brighter for it. “What kinda do you have?”
—
Ryuko stands in the locker room, her thumb running under her teeth. She had barely thought twice about Argos’ comment before but it seems he was right. Her teeth are sharper than before. Her transformation was… Altered somehow. Only slightly. Hardly noticeable, and yet, someone noticed. Who’s to say others won’t?
Ryuko clenches her jaw. It means nothing. It’s of no concern.
(And yet, as she trains in her transformed form, she can’t seem to do anything without noticing her mouth feels a bit different. Sharper. Pointed.
It means nothing.)
—
Argos, to his credit, does knock next time. And instead of turning him away like she should, Kagami opens the window and shuts the blinds once he's inside.
One visit turns into two, then four, then a regular occurrence. And every single time, its Kagami that's willingly letting him into her house.
She could've pretended it was only curiosity for how he acted outside the battlefield before but now Kagami fears she’s in too deep. She likes the company after having spent so much time around coworkers, superiors, and begrudgingly allies. She likes that he seeks out her company simply because he seems to enjoy it. She likes that he makes her feel like someone she wants to be. Not a weapon and not a successor, but a person. Her own person.
It’s a dangerous game to be playing, but Kagami finds the rewards outweigh the risks. She toes the line and refuses to tip over.
It may be a matter of when she gets caught, and not if, but Kagami is finding it harder and harder to put up walls when she feels so free letting them come down.
There are always consequences, however. Even if Kagami doesn’t see them from her mother, she sees them in battle.
Ryuko is not supposed to hesitate. Ryuko is perfect in every sense of the word and when someone pushes, she pushes back.
But one wrong move costs her. Pain rips across her chest as the innocent-looking feathered fan hits its target and Ryuko staggers back. Her sword takes a defensive position, ready to block the next hit, but there isn’t one. Her eyes flicker up and just for a moment, she sees surprise in those magenta eyes. Like he wasn’t expecting it to hit either.
There’s a single moment where they’re on the same page before it’s broken. Another ally leaps to her aid and Argos recovers quickly enough to parry the attack made.
Her mother scolds her after her wounds have been treated in the medbay but Ryuko’s mind is elsewhere. She gets twice as many hours assigned to the training room for her mistakes and Cockatrice gleefully pushes her to her limits, given full permission not to pull her punches.
It’s not her bruises that keep her up at night.
—
“Are you in pain?” Argos’ eyebrows furrow in concern when she winces from moving too suddenly. Kagami almost finds the situation funny considering who gave her the injury she’s still recovering from.
She should probably resent him more for that but she doesn’t. They’ve traded what feels like hundreds of blows and injuries. Ryuko is meant to win but if she can’t win, she puts up a good fight. Even if there are lines she doesn’t want to cross, she still has to show that her heart is in the fight in order to keep her Miraculous.
Combat often feels like a second language to Kagami, one that very few understand. She was not meant for paperwork and long, grueling hours pouring over emails and attached documents. Her mother often speaks of her one day taking over Tsurugi Technology and Kagami finds herself dreading the thought. As it stands, she barely has any free time for her art. Taking over would mean losing even more things she enjoys that aren’t fencing or sparring. There’s a chance she may lose even those.
Kagami understands how to run a business just fine, but she does not enjoy it. And when she needs an escape and cannot return to the artwork hidden away in her bedroom closet, Kagami transforms and either volunteers to patrol or trains in the gym.
Argos is an excellent fighter. Those moments when they’re trading blows and speaking the same language— they’re something Kagami struggles to find with anyone else. Very few resistance Miraculous Holders can keep up and ever since Adrien dropped off the face of the Earth, Kagami has struggled to find another good fencing partner. Anyone who can keep up is someone she can’t help but respect.
The injuries she takes during battle still hurt like any other but they’re often hits only Argos could land. Hits that remind her that she actually has some competition and room for improvement. And while Kagami does like winning, she can’t deny she likes the challenge too.
If anyone understood how she felt, it was Argos. Because Kagami has thrown many heavy hits his way knowing he could handle them just fine, and from the look on his face when one of his own hits landed, he very well might’ve been playing the same game.
A waltz on the battlefield, in its own right. It’s as intimate as Ryuko can get with anyone.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Kagami replies evenly. Argos doesn’t seem very reassured.
“Stay there.” He stands up from the couch. “What do you need me to grab?”
Kagami tells him what to grab and where to find it and Argos makes a beeline for everything. Her heart does funny things in her chest.
—
Red scales sprout along her neck. Her horns get a little longer.
Ryuko’s changes are getting harder to hide. She still doesn’t know why they’re happening. She’s never seen another Miraculous Holder alter their suit.
“Why is this happening?” She asks immediately after dropping the transformation. Longg has an unreadable look in his eyes.
“If you experience great changes in your life, your form will reflect that.” He informs her calmly. Kagami’s mouth presses into a thin line.
“Not much has changed.”
“Are you sure about that?” Longg tilts his head at her. His gaze is scrutinizing and she looks away before he does. “You’ve been changing in little ways for a long time. This was inevitable.” A pause. “Kagami-san. If you don’t choose one way or the other soon, that choice will be made for you.”
“I know.” She admits. Her hands ball into fists. She has always tried to be decisive and confident about her choices. She should not be hesitating when it comes to choosing either one.
To stay where she is and do her duty as she is meant to, or to leave it all behind for a chance at something better. Kagami knows which one she wants and yet, she feels paralyzed by it. Something holds her back. A weight that always drags her down, keeping her on the fence rather than on either side of it.
It frustrates her more than anything. Longg remains silent so she finds herself asking, “You must have an opinion about all this.”
“I believe you have enough people telling you what they want you to do. This is something you must choose for yourself. I only ask that you do choose. Otherwise, you may splinter yourself.” He levels her with a firm look. “Do not live in pieces, Kagami-san. It’s one of the worst ways to live.”
She has no response other than a nod. Longg accepts that and pushes no further.
—
For the first time in months, Kagami dreams of her again.
Warm hands wrapped tightly around hers. A gentle voice— almost identical to that of her enemy’s but not quite. Almost optimistic. Almost hopeful. Then her smile had dropped like she knew the end of the story before anyone else did.
She had been holding her hand when the snap rang out. Gone in an instant, a feather in the air. That warmth faded away to an unforgiving chill as her mother scolded her for getting too close to an artificial construct.
Kagami wakes up from that dream as she has so many times before: aching. Cheeks wet. Knuckles white from clutching onto the sheets.
She tosses the covers off. Kagami knows better than to try going back to sleep.
—
“I was starting to think you lost your fire.” Argos grunts. Ryuko doesn’t have it in her to respond— her nightmare still dances in her mind, that warmth, those eyes, that voice—
Argos is one of the few members of the resistance that can keep up with her, hence why she often finds herself facing him more than any other Miraculous Holder. Even so, Ryuko is more fired up right now than she’s been in a long time, and even Argos seems to be struggling with it. Her movements are quicker, more force behind her blows and soon enough, she sends his fan skidding across the pavement, out of reach.
Before Argos can dive for it, Ryuko puts a little wind behind her and surges forward, slamming him into the wall. A short cry leaves him but even as she pins him, he still has some fight left in him. His arms push back against the one against his collarbone, teeth gritting. She can see the gears whirling in his head, thinking of more strategies to retaliate with.
Ryuko can feel her own frustration crackle like lightning has burrowed beneath her ribcage. Her eyes bore into his and a question finds its way to the forefront of her mind.
“Why?” She demands. Argos’ full attention turns to her. “Why haven’t you used your power? Why are you holding back?"
Why are you the only one I can trust with it?
His eyes flicker then, a hard line setting on his face. “I’m not creating something just to make it fight! This is my own battle— I will not be careless about what I give life to!”
There’s passion in his voice that she hasn’t quite heard before. She knows it’s the truth. She can hear it. She can feel it.
His gaze is intense and challenging, as if daring her to suggest differently. It ignites a different kind of fire in her chest and this time, Ryuko doesn’t hesitate.
Her lips crash into his before she can process what she’s doing.
She only regains her senses hearing a noise of shock somewhere behind her. Ryuko pulls away, heart thudding her chest. Argos’ eyes are wide with surprise and something else she can’t decipher. When she whips her head around, she locks eyes with Cockatrice, and the world tilts on its edge. She’s plunged into cold, unforgiving depths, and realizes Longg was right, as he usually is.
Her own actions have made her choice for her.
“Ryuko…” She hears Argos murmur, a hand on her shoulder.
“Wind Dragon.” Leaves her tongue and takes her far, far away.
—
Clothes go in first. Then basic necessities. All packed in neatly and orderly, allowing just enough room for a sketchbook. She may have to leave some of her supplies behind but those can be replaced. This… It would be difficult to replace her sketchbook.
Longg retrieves the first aid kit, insisting she take it with her. Begrudgingly, Kagami agrees, then tracks down her hidden funds and starts wrapping herself up in the most inconspicuous outfit she owns. It may be a losing battle to even attempt traveling in her civilian form when her mother has ways of tracking her but Ryuko is too flashy. Too easily identified.
There’s a knock at her window. Kagami whips around, almost transforming on the spot, but hesitates.
She hesitates for too long because Argos slides the window open himself in the end, but sits on the still rather than stepping inside.
“Going somewhere?” He asks, gesturing at the suitcase. Kagami takes one look at his face and her shoulders sag.
“How long did you know?”
“I had my suspicions but didn’t confirm them until today.” Argos tells her. “It made sense for Tomoe Tsurugi to give her daughter, who is quite famous for fencing, a Miraculous with a sword for a weapon. The only part that didn’t make sense was your actions.”
Kagami shakes her head. “I don’t have time to go over them. Cockatrice—”
“—is currently under the effects of Vesperia’s Venom.” Argos informs her. “She won’t be talking for at least twenty or so minutes. I did still owe you one from before so, consider it a debt repaid.”
“…Why?” She asks, for the second time that day. “If you had a feeling I was Ryuko, why did you keep coming here?”
“If you wanted to take my Miraculous, you would’ve done it while I was unconscious.” Argos points out.
“That still doesn’t explain why.”
“Is it not obvious?” He tilts his head. Kagami keeps staring. “I enjoy your company, Kagami.”
“I gave you bruises today.”
“And I gave you a pretty nasty cut not too long ago.” Argos counters. “Neither of us are exactly normal people in that regard. I think we can call it even.”
Her eyes trail to her suitcase again. When she says nothing for a time, Argos speaks up. “I can give you a few options of where to go from here, if you want. You can ignore them and go off on your own. I could arrange to get you out of the city and towards wherever you want to run to. Or… You could come with me. To the resistance.”
“I’ve been their enemy for a long time. I doubt I’ll be welcomed.”
A smirk forms on Argos’ face. “Ask Ladybug how I ended up joining. Believe me, first impressions aren’t everything. It’s what you can do to help them that matters. I’m not a saint by any means but we both want similar things, so I work for them now. And if it’s any consolation, you do have a friend on the other side.”
Kagami looks up, frowning.
“Adrien speaks highly of you.” Argos informs her. “And he has some sway among them. And of course, I’ll be with you every step of the way, if you’ll have me.”
Kagami takes in a deep breath and slowly closes the distance between them. She drags her suitcase with her and when Argos offers his hand, she tentatively takes it.
“I apologize.” She blurts out, surprising him. “For before. I got caught up in the moment.”
He catches on quickly. “No apology needed. I’m only sorry it couldn’t have been under better circumstances.”
Kagami raises an eyebrow, searching his face. Argos hesitates for a brief moment, then murmurs something under his breath. Her breath catches in her throat upon watching his suit disappear, leaving behind blonde hair, green eyes, and an almost familiar face.
He clears his throat. “I’ve been wanting to tell you my name for a long time. It’s Félix.”
She recognizes that name. It’s another one her mother has cursed. Kagami finds herself smiling.
“Félix.” She repeats, reaching up and gently cupping his face. “Hm. I like that.”
“You do?” His eyes shine with hope.
Kagami answers by leaning in again. Félix eagerly meets her this time and with no one and nothing interrupting them, the kiss is much longer this time around.
Their foreheads rest against one another’s when they break away to breathe. Félix starts laughing and Kagami doesn’t know why but she does too. She presses another kiss to the corner of his mouth. He peppers a few on her cheeks.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” Félix admits, cheeks pink.
“I shouldn’t be surprised.” Kagami teases. “I started leaving the window unlocked.”
“I noticed.” Another kiss is pressed to her cheek. “We should start heading downtown. The sooner we get you somewhere safe, the better.”
She hums in agreement, transforming alongside him. His eyes curiously lock onto her hands and she quickly notices the golden-tipped claws there.
“I like the changes you’ve made to your suit.” He admits, thumb tracing over the claws. Ryuko lifts her free hand to his face, gently tracing her new claws down them, not enough to scratch. His face flushes an even deeper shade of red.
Ryuko grins with a mouth full of sharp teeth. “Good. I’d be sorely disappointed if you didn’t. I would’ve been wrong about the type of person I think you are.”
“And that is?” He prompts inquisitively.
“Someone who loves all parts of me.” She tells him. “Someone I don’t have to pretend for.” After a pause, she adds, “Someone who can keep up.”
His eyes light up. “Would you like a race?”
“Is that the best way to introduce myself to my new allies?”
“Be your authentic self and they’ll figure out the rest.”
“Then yes. And for your sake, I won’t use any of my elemental abilities.”
Both of them climb onto the fire escape and once they’ve made it to the roof, take off. Ryuko feels the wind on her face, the adrenaline in her veins, and knows for certain that she is alive in every sense of the word.
She beats Argos by a hair. There’s some apprehension and fear when people see Ryuko downtown, in resistance territory, but Argos joins her side and intertwines his hand with hers. Both of them are still breathing heavily and catching their breaths from the race when Ladybug and Chat Noir quickly show up, but Argos squeezes her hand tightly. Ryuko bumps her shoulder with him.
Together, they face everything that comes.