Chapter 15: Truth learning...

(A/N: Okay, look... I know Marinette is a little out of character. But, she's different as a result of the two years of bullying she endured. Also, I stuck her with my sense of humor, just to spice things up! That out of the way, on to the story!)

(Marinette's pov)

The next day after school, my friends and I went to Yusuke's and Madarame's place. When we arrived, Yusuke brought us to his painting room. Akira, Ryuji, and I sat on some chairs off to the side. Ann sat on a stool in front of the easel, which Yusuke was prepping.

"I thought it would be just yourself coming, Takamaki-san," Yusuke said. This guy is still a rude boy, I see...

"Wouldn't you get nervous too if it was just the two of us?" Ann responded with a nervous giggle.

"We're here to keep an eye on you, so, uh, don't do anything perverted 'kay?" Ryuji said.

"Stop making such odd assumptions. I have absolutely no interest in Takamaki-san as someone of the opposite sex," Yusuke said. That is... one way to put that... though if taken out of context, that would lead to some... bizarre conclusions... I thought.

"Huh?" Ann said. She apparently came to one of those bizarre conclusions.

"Is there a problem?" Yusuke asked.

"...No, not really," Ann responded.

"Well then, let's get started!" Yusuke said, pulling out a paintbrush. After a few seconds, Ann tried to start a conversation with Yusuke. But, he ignored her.

"It's no use guys when an artist starts to do their art, they enter a zone where they focus on nothing but their art," I told my friends.

"This isn't what we planned! We were gonna catch him off guard and make him spill the beans, weren't we?" Morgana said worriedly.

"How were we supposed to know this was gonna happen?" Ryuji whispered to the cat.

"I had an inkling that it would, but I didn't know that he would focus so intently on his art," I said.

"Seriously!? Guess we gotta wait till he's done... What an efin' pain in the a**..." Ryuji muttered. I felt a pang of guilt for not telling my friends about this, but what's done is done, I guess... So, we waited. Akira sat to my right and Ryuji to my left. Morgana was in Akira's bag with Plagg on Akira's lap.

"Perhaps I should try going outside this room..." Morgana suggested to Akira.

"Don't get caught," Akira told him.

"Heh, who do you think you're talking to?" Morgana said with a hint of arrogance.

"This is too boring, so I'm going to scout around a bit," Morgana added before leaving. Yusuke was so absorbed in his art, he didn't even notice our feline friend leaving. I doubt he even realized Morgana was there.

After a while, Yusuke suddenly slumped down with a defeated face. He must have hit an artist block... I can relate.

"It's no good..." He muttered.

"What?!" Ryuji said, standing up suddenly.

"I'm sorry... am I the problem?" Ann asked.

"No, not at all. It's just... I'm having trouble staying focused today. I'm sorry, but we'll have to resume another time." Yusuke sighed.

"Oh, Hell, no! How many hours do you think you made us wait?!" Ryuji yelled.

"Ryuji-kun, art takes time. And judging from the type of art Yusuke-kun is doing, it'll take a while." I told my angry, blonde male friend.

"At least one person here is familiar with the fine arts!" Yusuke said, giving me an appreciated look.

Suddenly my friends all got up, And judging from their determined faces, they were about to ask Yusuke about Madarame. I sighed and got up with them. This is probably not the best way to go about this, but what choice do we have?

"I'm sorry... We had another reason for seeing you today... We need to talk to you..." Ann said.

"It's about those rumors regarding your sensei," Ryuji said. I braced myself for Yusuke's anger that was bound to come.

"This again?" Yusuke said, standing up with an annoyed expression. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what to say, so I stayed silent.

"That painting I saw at the exhibit... You're the one who actually painted it, right?" Ann asked.

"That's..." Yusuke started, but Ryuji cut him off.

"Your sensei is seriously messed up. Madarame just thinks of his pupils as tools. That's why he doesn't give a damn whenever he steals their work or physically beats them. I'll make this clear, there's no point hidin' stuff from us!" Ryuji told Yusuke.

"Hahaha... I have no idea what you're talking about..." Yusuke said with a nervous hinge in his voice. That's when I decided to break my silence.

"Yusuke-kun, it doesn't matter if he took you in when you were a little kid! If he hurt you, took valuable things from you, or is a plain Jacka** to you... you have every right to walk away! If you have trouble with doing that, just ask us for help!" I told him.

Yusuke looked shocked at my outburst, but quickly recovered and shot back:

"Oh? And you did something similar?" with an irritated face.

"Why, yes, actually," I responded.

At my words, he, Ann, and Ryuji did a double-take.

"W-what do you mean?" Yusuke asked. He had a look of concern and curiosity in his eyes. I saw that Ann and Ryuji had a similar look on their faces.

"Well, without getting into to much detail, I had a bullying problem when I was living in France. I had endured it for about two years, and the worse part is that the people bullying me were my friends." I started.

Akira looked away... he knew the story... he knew where this was going...

"Then, one day, around a month ago, I had enough and went to the only friends I had left. They helped me move here to Japan and get the bullies off my back. Those bullies ruined my life in France, so I ran away to Japan to get a fresh start. It is possible to get away from a toxic situation, so listen to me and save yourself." I pleaded to Yusuke.

Yusuke looked at me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling. Was he gonna take my advice or brush it off? I saw out of the corner of my eye that Ann and Ryuji were staring at me. Ryuji was just plain shocked while Ann had her hands over her mouth in shock. I felt a pang of guilt for not telling them, but I never got a chance to before.

"It's just as you all say. We're... our sensei's 'artwork'" Yusuke said. That caught me off guard, as well as the rest of my friends.

"Don't misinterpret me, though. I offered my ideas to Madarame. As such, it can't be called plagiarism. Sensei is just suffering from artist's block at the moment." Yusuke continued. I wanted to face-palm so badly at that moment, and I could tell my friends felt the same way.

"Don't get me wrong, your story is very inspiring, Marinette-san. I am glad you got away from the people who hurt you. But, I am not in a similar situation." Yusuke said.

"Dude, still..." Ryuji muttered.

Yusuke turned his head away from us.

"Kitagawa-kun..." Ann sighed.

"Then why are you stickin' around?! All his other pupils ran away! Aren't you the only one left?!" Ryuji asked, incredulous.

"What's wrong with a pupil wanting to help his master? There are no victims here! Stop pushing your self-centered righteousness on me!" Yusuke asked angrily.

"Yusuke-kun, there is nothing wrong with a pupil wanting to help his master. It's just that the explanation you just gave us doesn't include the other pupils. I doubt they would willingly give up their art to Madarame only for him to take all the credit." I said.

"I have to agree with Mari-san, in every way I look at it, Madarame is just stealing from his pupils. How are you okay with this?" Akira asked. Yusuke looked at the two of us.

"I'm supporting sensei as his pupil. Wheres the wrong in that?" Yusuke asked, before sitting on a stool behind his easel.

"Don't ever come here again... if you do, I'll sue for causing a disturbance." Yusuke continued. I just stared at him with pity. He's just lying to himself at this point... I feel so bad.

"Hold it! We're not done talkin' here!" Ryuji said.

"Then you leave me with no choice..." Yusuke said, standing up and taking out his phone.

"I'm reporting you to the police," Yusuke said calmly. My friends and I were surprised by that statement.

"I asked Takamaki-san to be my model today, but I don't recall ever calling the rest of you here!" Yusuke said.

"What the eff, man?!" Ryuji said.

"Ryuji, stop it! Calm down, okay?" Ann scolded.

"Damnit!" Ryuji cursed.

"I won't report you... but under one condition." Yusuke said, putting his phone away.

"And that is?" I asked. Yusuke turned to Ann.

"I want you to be my model, Takamaki-san," Yusuke said.

"But you said that it wasn't working out today..." Ann said.

"That's because I was unconsciously being modest for your sake. However, I have nothing to worry about anymore. If you're willing to bear everything to me..." Yusuke started.

I am not liking where this is going! What is he going to suggest?! I don't know if I want to know!

"...I will put my heart and soul into creating the best nude painting ever!" Yusuke declared.

... please tell me he's joking or I heard him wrong. Ryuji and Ann expressed their shock and anger (well, Ryuji was angry, and Ann was more shocked). If Akira was shocked or angry, he didn't show it. I was just standing there, trying to prosses what Yusuke just said. I barely heard the following conversation. When I finally processed what Yusuke said, I was angry and disgusted. Ann was sixteen, SIXTEEN! She is a minor! That means if Yusuke made that painting, it would be considered child p***! I wanted to tell (scream) Yusuke this, and apparently, the look on my face showed it because Akira said:

"We have to leave... before Mari-san explodes."

"Yeah... he's got us this time... and, yeah Mari-san, are you okay?" Ryuji asked.

"Perfectly... fine!" I said in a strained voice.

"Are you sure? You're oozing an evil aura..." Ann commented.

She was right! I was emitting an evil aura... how had I not noticed?

"Let's just go..." I sighed.

Ryuji opened the door to find Morgana waiting for us outside. He asked if we were done, and Yusuke must have heard him because he looked up from his desk where he was sitting and muttered about a cat. Ryuji then shoved Morgana into Akira's bag, and we hurried outside.

When we arrived outside Madarame's and Yusuke's house, an angry buzzing sound was coming from Ann's bag. The source of the buzzing was a very enraged Bee Kwami, Pollen.

"Pollen?! Are you okay?" Ann asked her Kwami worriedly.

"Forgive my anger, my Queen. But that... man... wants to paint you without any CLOTHES!!" Pollen raged.

"Pollen, I agree with you. It is wrong, and I am pretty sure it's illegal." I said.

"Wait, hold the phone! Yusuke wants to do WHAT?!" Morgana asked.

"Let's continue this conversation at my apartment, it's only a few blocks away," I suggested. My friends agreed that that would be a suitable course of action.

(Time skip! Brought to you by Thrill of the Hunt's literally over a year-long hiatus! I'm not salty, you're salty!)

When my friends and I got to my apartment and settled down, Ann and Ryuji asked (rather worriedly) if what I told Yusuke was true. I was slightly hesitant at first, but with Akira's support and encouragement, I told them. I told Ann and Ryuji my full story, from when Lila first came to school, to when I escaped to Japan.

"Oh my God..." Ann muttered.

"Holy s***..." Ryuji breathed.

I just sat at my kotatsu, looking down at my hands, remembering everything. Akira was by my side, giving me silent support. Ann and Ryuji sat on the opposite side of my kotatsu, staring at me. Morgana was also there, sitting on the table, staring at me as well.

"Marinette... I just... wow..." Ann said.

"Yeah... that's a lot to take in..." Ryuji said.

"I have to agree with Ryuji, that is a lot to take in..." Morgana said.

"I know... but I couldn't do anything else... no matter what I said or did, Lila always seemed to win. I tried to reason with everybody, but they chose to only fill their ears with her lies. I didn't have any other options. I just needed a fresh start. My life was basically over in France, so I made it official." I said.

"I can understand that, but faking your suicide?! Doesn't that seem... much?" Ann asked.

"I know what you're thinking, but as I said, I had no other option. Lila had everyone wrapped around her finger other than my two friends, Kagami and Luka. Almost everyone believed Lila because she was so charismatic and convincing. And actions speak louder than words. Kagami and Luka told me after a week after I moved here that people actually woke up and looked into Lila. I'm just sad it took my "death" to make them realize that." I explained.

After that, my two blonde friends and my cat-like friend stayed silent for some moments.

"Is... this the reason why you feel so inclined to protect us?" Morgana asked. I gave a small nod.

"Marinette..." Ann said.

"You don't have to do that, we won't abandon you as your friends did back in Paris." She reassured me.

"Yeah! You put your trust in us when you gave us these!" Ryuji said, gesturing to the Monkey Miraculous on his head (which looked like a yellow headband).

"We won't turn our backs on you!" He said with a smile.

"Thanks, you guys... I'm so glad I met you." I said with a big smile.

"But, now, we must get back to business!" I said, putting on my serious face.

"Agreed! Now then..." Morgana started.

"What was Pollen going on about?" He asked.

(A/N: Another cliffhanger! I'm sorry! In any case... if you were wondering what Thrill of the Hunt is, it's this comic by an astounding artist on deviant art by the name of Ipku. It fallows Marinette and Adrien (seasons 1 and 2, time frame) as they try to figure out who is responsible for the recent murders in Paris. It's an original comic with some original characters by Ipku themself! I highly recommend reading the comic and giving Ipku some love, even though it's been like a year since they last posted any art. Anyway, here are the links to Ipku's deviant art: https://www.deviantart.com/ipku and the comic dub of Thrill of the Hunt: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4B5Hyhl2lHTkyjbNkH9PFcKcFtF_dLj5. Also, I am not affiliated with Ipku or the people who made the comic dub (I wish I was). I am just recommending their content to you, my readers.)