Chapter 8: The Confession

(A/N: You know... I think I can drop even more fluff and shipping in this fic and make it longer! Prepare for more fluffy filler and Kamoshida's confession, everyone! I am going to be super surprised if this fic doesn't turn out to be over 100,000 words long...)

(The next day after school)

(Mari's pov)

Hi! I'm Marinette! Right now, I'm studying for midterms with my friend, Akira Kurusu, in a cozy diner. Also, Akira has been acting strange all day. He seems both relaxed and on edge whenever I talked to him. After our first class, I asked if he was alright, but he said he was fine. Then, at lunch, I sat next to him as usual, and he looked red. I asked him if he was sick, and he said he just felt a little hot. I'm worried about him, but I need to focus on studying! We were studying things that we thought most likely to appear on the test. I was looking over some optical illusions while Akira was reviewing his notes.

I sipped my hot cocoa while trying to figure out which line ends where. Akira was nibbling on a pastry while trying to memorize how hermit crabs and king crabs are related. "They both have six legs, right?" He muttered. "I think so..." I responded, trying to find a straight edge. "Mon Dieu, Pourquoi Les illusions d'optique sont-elles si difficiles à regarder?" I mutter without realizing it. (translation: My God, why are optical illusions so hard to watch?) Akira gave me a weird look. "Was that French?" he asked. "Hmm? Oh! Sorry! I didn't realize I said that in French!" I said in embarrassment. "It's alright, I kind of like it," Akira said.

"What?" I asked. "What?!" He responded with a red face. I giggled at his flustered self. "You know, I can teach you French if you want." I offered. "You would do that?" He asked. "Yeah, you seem interested, and I'll gladly teach you some basic phrases and sounds if you want," I said. He thought about it for a moment, smiled, and nodded. We continued studying and reviewing our notes. An hour later, we decided that we were done for the day. "Same time, same place next week for French?" Akira asked. "Sure, Au revoir!" I said with a smile. "See ya!" Akira said. I gave him a hug and skipped off to my apartment (which was a few blocks away). I didn't notice at the time because it was dark, but Akira was red in the face when I hugged him goodbye.

(Akira's pov)

She hugged me! Holy s***, she hugged me! It felt so warm and- No! Focus Akira! She said she would give me French lessons, maybe I can use it to my advantage! I don't mean that in a perverted way! Get your mind out of the gutter! If the Phantom Thieves incorporate French into our communication, then we can share secrets more easily! There is also the added bonus of hanging out with Mari every week, but let's focus on Phantom thief stuff! Morgana is going to have a field day when he finds out about this...

(Third person pov)

Over the next week and a bit, Marinette spent some time with her friends. She studied with them and taught them a bit of french. As well as taking the midterm exams with high hopes for the results. However, Marinette didn't call Bridgette during that time. She put her number into her contacts, but she never so much as texted her. Mari never told her friends bout her troubles. She didn't want them to be wrapped up in her mess. She hid her problems so well that Marinette herself could forget them for an entire school day. But when Mari was alone in her apartment... She stared at her phone, wondering if she should call her cousin. But, she never got the courage to do so. Mari was too afraid of what Bridgette would say. She was terrified of the idea that her cousin could hate her for what she did.

Both the Kwamis and Joan of Arc told Marinette that postponing and hiding her problems wasn't healthy. "Marinette, suppressing your problems won't make them go away. In fact, it'll make them worse!" Tiki told her. "Mon Cherie, you must face your challenges head-on if you want to conquer them. But if you do it alone, you will fall. You must tell your friends about what you are facing and gain their support. Otherwise, you will not win the battle." Joan lectured in her head. Marinette wanted to ask her friends for help, but she didn't want them to be worried about her.

"I'll just wait for Kamoshida to have a change in heart! Then I'll deal with Bridgette!" Marinette said to her concerned Kwamis and Persona on the night of April 30'th. "Alright... But please contact her! I'm sure she would love to hear that you're alive and well!" Tiki sighed as she and the other Kwamis flew into the Miracle box to go to sleep. Later, as Marinette was getting comfy in her own bed, she heard Joan's voice whisper to her in her head. "Both you and I know what will happen too soon than you would like. But I do hope you'll be up to that challenge, Mon Cherie~." "I'm gonna have to ask if the others have their personas talk to them..." Marinette mumbled as she slipped into unconsciousness.

(Time skip to the next day (May 1st)! Brought to you by Arsene giving Akira love advice at 3 am! Akira: Help! I did not ask for this!)

(Mari's pov)

"There is going to be a school assembly today?" I asked. "That's what we've been told," Ryuji said. My friends and I were talking in the halls, waiting for our classes to begin. "Why is there an assembly during exam week?" I asked. "Probably has something to do with Shiho's er..." Akira started, but he stopped himself and gave Ann a wary look. "It's okay, Akira-kun," Ann said in an apologetic voice. "If that's the case, why this late? Shiho's incident happened weeks ago!" I said. "Oh, by the way, how is Shiho?" I asked. "She's doing fine, the doctors say that she's making a steady recovery," Ann answered with a smile. "C'mon, the bell is about to ring. We'll see what this assembly's about when it comes." Ryuji said. A few seconds later, the bell rang, and we went to the said morning assembly.

(Another Time skip! Brought to you by Author-chan's determination to keep writing this book!)

I stood in the gymnasium with my fellow students listening to our principal. He told us that Shiho survived her attempt at suicide. He was talking about th importance of life or something when the sound of a door opening and closing filled the room, diverting our attention to the source of the noise. There stood Kamoshida, his head bowed and an apologetic expression on his face. He muttered something about being reborn before walking onto the stage. He stood next to the principal and confessed all his wrongdoings to everyone in that gymnasium. He sobbed and said that he'll do anything to atone for what he'd done. Ann shouted at him from where she stood (which was pretty close to the stage). I just stood there, trying to figure out which emotion to feel.

I heard a teacher shout that the morning assembly was over and that we should head to our classes. I heard students muttering around me about the Phantom Thieves and Kamoshida. I felt a hand grab mine and pulled me off somewhere. I finally regained myself when the students started to leave the gymnasium. "His heart really did change..." Ann muttered. "Seems like it..." Ryuji said. "But, was this really for the best?" He asked. "I think so..." Akira answered. I was confused, why are they so uncertain? "Guys, we did the right thing," I said. "He just confessed everything and is going to atone for what he did, why are you so down?" I asked. "You're right, thanks, Mari-san," Ryuji said.

A trio of students came walking towards us, it was Mishima and two girls. "Huh?" Ryuji said. "Do you need anything?" I asked politely. "Takamaki-san, I'm sorry!" Mishima said with an apologetic bow. "Huh?" Ann said. Mishima apologized for not doing anything about Ann's situation. The girls behind him apologized for spreading rumors about her and expressed their sympathy for her. "Did he do anything to you?" Mishima asked me. "Other than weird looks in the halls and P.E no, Dieu merci," I responded (Translation: Thank God). "Don't worry about it, it's all in the past now," Ann said. A teacher then yelled at us to go to class.

We all went to our classes. I carried on with my day, but there was a thought in the back of my mind that I couldn't get rid of. Maybe I do need help, but I don't want to bother my friends. What should I do? Who should I ask? I'm so sorry, Bridgette...