Jazik's heart hammered against his ribs as he ducked into an empty classroom, the adrenaline leaving him shaky. The hallway outside was silent now, the chaos of the battle fading into a distant hum. He leaned his head back against the cool wood of the door, closing his eyes.
They found me.
The thought looped in his mind, heavy and suffocating. He traced the faint glow of his Gavv organ beneath his shirt, a constant reminder of the biology that made him a target. G.O.D. hadn't just lost a specimen; they had lost an asset, and they always reclaimed their property.
He pushed off the door, pacing the small room. If he stayed here, the Dupain-Chengs would be caught in the crossfire. Marinette, who had given him a home. Tom and Sabine, who had asked for nothing in return. The image of the Dodo Magia's blade swinging near Rose and Juleka flashed behind his eyelids.
The only way to keep them safe is to leave.
The resolve settled in his gut, cold and hard. He would slip out tonight. Find a new city, a new alley to sleep in. It was better than watching Paris burn because of him. He turned toward the window, ready to slip away into the afternoon shadows.
"Jazik!"
The door burst open. Jazik flinched, his guard snapping back up, but it wasn't a monster. It was Alya. She didn't hesitate, rushing across the room to grab his shoulders, her grip firm.
"Are you insane?" Alya demanded, her voice breathless. "You just jumped out a window! We thought you were—"
"Dead?" Nino finished, leaning against the doorframe with a hand over his chest. "Man, my heart is still going a mile a minute. Don't do that to us."
Before Jazik could formulate a response to the sudden invasion of his solitude, Marinette pushed past Nino. Her eyes were wide, rimmed with red, and she looked him up and down as if checking for invisible wounds.
"Jazik!" she cried out, her voice trembling. "Are you hurt? You just ran off! I thought... I thought he got you!"
Jazik stared at them, the words he had prepared—I have to go, it's dangerous—sticking in his throat. He had expected fear, or questions about the armor. Instead, they were looking at him.
"I..." Jazik started, his voice rough. He cleared his throat. "I am fine. I just needed to... breathe."
"Breathing is good," Nino agreed, clapping him on the back. "But maybe do it with us next time? We're a team now. Sort of."
From behind the group, Juleka peeked around Rose's shoulder. The shy girl offered a small, rare smile, her orange eyes bright with relief. Rose beamed, clasping her hands together.
"We were so worried!" Rose chirped. "You were so brave, Jazik! But please don't scare us like that again."
Jazik looked at the circle of faces. Alya's fierce grip, Nino's easy grin, Marinette's relieved tears, the quiet solidarity of Juleka and Rose. He felt the weight of his decision to run heavy on his shoulders, but their presence anchored him to the spot.
"I promise," Jazik said softly, the words tasting like a vow he wasn't sure he could keep, but desperately wanted to. "I will try not to."
The group settled into a loose circle on the classroom floor, the air still thick with the lingering scent of ozone and the metallic tang of fear. Rose stepped forward, holding a slightly battered but intact box of cupcakes. Her hands trembled slightly, not from the battle, but from the adrenaline crash.
"We... we managed to save these," she said softly, her voice trembling slightly. "I thought we could all eat them. It might make us feel a little better. There's enough for everyone here." The cupcakes, slightly smudged with flour and dust from the battle, looked like a small piece of normalcy in the wreckage of the hallway. The gesture was simple, but it offered a shared moment of peace.
Jazik looked at the box, then at the faces around him. He saw the genuine worry and hope in their eyes. The dark thoughts of leaving, of running from G.O.D., receded for a moment. He realized that running now would feel like abandoning them after they just went through this for him. He forced a small, genuine smile.
"Yeah," he said, his voice quiet but steady. "That sounds good. Let's eat." He reached for a cupcake.
"Are you sure you're okay, Jazik?" Alya asked, her brow furrowed as she took a cupcake. She looked him up and down, her journalist instincts warring with genuine concern. "That thing really had you cornered. First Ladybug and Cat Noir saved you and then... Kamen Rider showed up." She took a bite, her eyes widening. "Oh, wow. Rose, this is amazing."
"I'm fine," Jazik said, the lie tasting like ash in his mouth, though the sweetness of the vanilla frosting helped wash it away. He watched Alya, noting how she immediately looked toward the window where Gavv had vanished. "He... Kamen Rider. He seems to know what he's doing."
"He's a mystery," Nino chimed in, leaning back against a desk and stretching his legs out. He took two cupcakes, passing one to Adrien. "One minute, he says he is 'not a hero,' the next, he's taking hits for Ladybug. Total enigma. But hey, I'm not complaining about the help."
Adrien accepted the cupcake with a polite nod. He looked exhausted, his usually perfect hair slightly disheveled from the chaos. "Yeah, we don't really know a lot about him." He glanced at Jazik, a flicker of something unreadable in his green eyes. "By the way. Leading that thing away from the classrooms, you really risked your life for everyone."
Jazik just shrugged, taking another bite of his cupcake to avoid answering. He felt the eyes of the Gochizos on him from the pocket of his jacket, a comforting, squirming presence.
"I'm just glad everyone is safe," Marinette said, her voice a little too bright. She was picking at her cupcake, not really eating it. Her gaze kept drifting to Adrien, then back to Jazik, a mix of anxiety and relief on her face. "When I saw you run out the door... I thought..."
"We're all here," Juleka murmured, so quietly that Jazik almost didn't hear her. She was sitting close to Rose, her knees drawn up to her chest. She hadn't taken a cupcake yet, but she was watching the group with her one visible eye. "That's... what matters."
Rose beamed, leaning her head briefly against Juleka's shoulder. "Exactly. We're a class. We're a team. Even if we are a little messy." She gestured vaguely at the destruction around them.
The group fell into a comfortable silence, the simple act of eating sugar helping to ground them. For a few minutes, the fear and chaos of the battle were forgotten. They were just a group of friends sharing a snack in the wreckage of their school. Jazik ate his cupcake slowly, savoring the familiar taste, letting it ground him. He was still worried, but for now, he was here.
***
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