24: Bittersweet hugs

You dashed forward, your form collapsing. This time you were prepared to fight. You ducked as Chat Noir threw a straight punch. You skidded to the side of him as you pivoted on your heel and spinning all the way round for some extra force, hardening your leg and kicking as hard as you could. He coughed as your leg connected with his back, stumbling forward.

He bounced back, attempting to punch you. Your form collapsed at the last second, leaving his fist to go straight through. He ignored this and tried to kick you. You grabbed him and pulled his fist to the right, causing his body to turn around as the whisps started to attack. He managed to escape your grip, diving out the way. He started to run.

"Oh no, you don't!" You yelled, launching yourself off the ground and collapsing your form to reduce air resistance. You sent him a flying kick, which he narrowly dodged. He was cornered between you and your whisps. The whisps started to attack, but he had gotten used to their attacking pattern and could now dodge with ease.

You growled as you started to fight him. You didn't bother with gasifying yourself every time an attack came on, since it took too much concentration. You took a few hits, but you evaded the major blows, occasionally collapsing your form when absolutely necessary. Chat Noir got out pretty unscathed, too. He was great at dodging and quick on his feet.

"Haha, we're getting nowhere, huh?" You laughed, out of breath as you stood at a small distance away from his panting figure.

"Guess we're evenly matched." He huffed with a smirk. He was on guard and in his fighting stance, you the same. 

"Y-Y/N....?!" A voice gasped, causing you to swiftly turn your head to the source. Nathaniel was standing alone, a few bags in his hands. He dropped them and stepped closer, only to jump at a loud voice. How did he know you...? You were in your whisp form... Oh, right. Everyone knew since you were the famous Akuma that hid...

"Stay back! She'll hurt you!" Chat yelled, racing toward you. 

"Hey, Nathaniel. How are you?" You smiled. Chat's eyes widened at your normal interaction, stopping himself mid-launch.

"Y/N..." Nathaniel started, his eyebrows furrowing. He looked to the ground with a hurt expression. "You... You told me you were okay..."

"Huh?"

"You said you were fine... You looked so happy recently, too... What... What went wrong?" He gulped. You let out a sigh.

"Nothing much. I just got bored." You smirked, giving a hopeless laugh. What go wrong? Jake used you, and you were more angry at yourself than him, but you didn't really care anymore. Why were you still doing this? And more importantly, why were you feeling this way...? Wasn't the Akuma meant to block these feelings of sadness? These feelings of hopelessness? First, Hawkmoth disappears, and now this...? What next, would you lose your Akuma?

Chat Noir ran toward you. You heard his footsteps and whipped your head around, though it was too late. He gave a swift kick, right in your face, causing you to crash into the ground. He then slid underneath the van, rolling out the other side, baton in hand.

"Well, that's going to make this a lot harder..." You sighed.

Bounding toward Chat Noir, you delivered a swift right hook that connected perfectly. However, Chat extended his baton into your stomach, sending you flying back. You collapsed your form before it could push you away any further and controlled your whisps against him. Chat dodged as his baton retracted and started to battle the whisps, each hit causing you a small amount of pain. You growled and joined the fight, struggling to control and fight at the same time at first, but ultimately getting used to it.

Chat skidded to the side. You awaited his next move, before he turned to the side. You raised an eyebrow before he turned with all his power, his extended baton racing at you. Your eyes widened as you turned into your whispy form, the baton passing right through you.

"Ha... Haha...! Aaahahahaha~! What was that?! That attack took way too long! You think I couldn't see that coming at me?!" You laughed. Chat gritted his teeth and ran at you, only to fall through. You were still laughing. "Seriously, what told you that would ?!"

You noticed Chat Noir try to race away, but your whisps prevented him from doing so.

"No." You spoke, your tone now, running after him again. You continued to fight, occasionally attempting to steal his ring when the opportunity arose. Chat Noir tried to race off again, but your whisps raced toward him.

"Y-Y/N! STOP!" Nathaniel yelled, getting in the path of the whisps. You stopped them before they could hurt him, your eyes wide. Chat raced off before you could comprehend what had just happened.

"W-What...?! N-No!! Dammit...!" You growled, clutching your head. You shouldn't have let him get away..! Before you could beat yourself up anymore, you felt arms wrap around your waist. You made a noise in surprise as you felt Nathaniel's head rest upon your shoulder, his body against yours. You froze, not knowing what to do. Your realized your body had returned to its regular, human state, though you didn't exactly know when.

"Y/N... I'm sorry..." He mumbled, raising his head ever so slightly to make his words clear.

"H-Huh...?" You gulped, your voice slightly higher than usual in fear. Why was he doing this...?

"Please, stop... No more akumas... Please..." He sighed, burying his head into your shoulder once more. You let out a long breath of air, your posture relaxing and hands falling to your sides, melting into his embrace. You raised them slightly, considering hugging him back, when...

That wasn't true. He had talked to you, approached you, but he was just too awkward to actually get a conversation going. You ignored all this, trying to fuel yourself with anger. You were an A. Something . Something . You weren't meant to be feeling

So why you...?

You abruptly pushed the boy away, a snarl taking over your features. He made a small yelp, his eyes widening and showing fear as he stumbled backward, quickly regaining his footing before he could fall. He stood still, his face distorted with fear.

Your heart suddenly felt like it was sinking. Your posture loosened as your eyes widened. He reached out his hand, but your body tensed and shook as you clenched your fists, causing him to retract his arm with a gulp. You stared at the ground, a sorrowful and conflicted expression on your face. Your eyebrows furrowed and your eyes held sadness. 

"I..." You gulped. You turned your head to the side, not able to make eye contact. You whispered, "I'm sorry."

And with that, you turned back into your whisp-like form, taking off and flying away.