Miraculous Games

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four:

It had been two days.

Nathanael had emerged from his pod. Though he had been weak at first, he was regaining his bearings slowly. When he had first stepped out of the pod, he was face to face with Adrien. The exchange was rather awkward between them at first, and it still hadn't gone away. The fact that they had been in a fight to the death with one another was... difficult, to say the least.

Adrien had been sitting in the infirmary, watching the vapor inside Marinette's pod swirl around in circles when Nathan's pod popped open. It had startled the cat so much, he had fallen out of his chair. Nathanael had pulled himself out of the healing chamber, waving his hands in front of his face like he couldn't breathe. When he finally looked around, both Adrien's and Nathanael's eyes locked.

"Uh... hi?" Adrien said, attempting to be friendly.

Nathan sighed and leaned against the pod. He folded his arms. "Let me guess, you're here to chew me out for trying to hurt you?"

Adrien shook his head quickly and got to his feet. "No no, not at all. I'm here to just... well..." He turned his attention to Marinette's pod. Nathan was confused at first, but once he followed Adrien's gaze, his whole body stiffened. He stared at Marinette's pale face and limp form.

"D-did I do that to her?"

Adrien rubbed the back of her head. "No, not really. Do you remember what happened?"

"I..." Nathanael trailed off, then scratched his head. "I remember Marinette getting hurt and then us escaping into the Cataclysmacopia. Then..." He furrowed his eyebrows together and he dropped his hand. "Something happened. Something... bad."

"Do you want me to tell you?" Adrien asked.

Nathanael shook his head, giving him the cold shoulder. "No, I'll figure it out myself."

From then on, the conversation between the two boys was either extremely awkward or it didn't happen at all. Adrien could tell that Nathan didn't want to say a word to him, but it wasn't like he was looking for conversation. They may have made it out of the arena, but that didn't mean that their tension had gone away. If anything, it had only increased.

For the past two days, on top of the two boys dancing around each other's presence, Master Fu had been pushing everyone to work harder in their training. Adrien, who had only been taught certain types of fighting movies, was seriously struggling. He almost regretting telling the old Chinese man that his mother had asked for a prepared team. They had woken up early a couple times in the row now, but after going through some rigorous training exercises, Adrien was ready to pass out. Running laps, throwing spears, wrestling, and lifting weights was not something he did on a daily basis. He respected all of the Charms and their scores even more now.

Adrien trudged into the top floor apartment after a long workout session, his head dripping with sweat. As he walked in, Juleka lifted her head up from the book she was reading - Your Design and How to Find It - and smirked.

"Tough day?" she asked.

Adrien scoffed and ran his fingers through his greasy hair. "What do you think?"

"Well, I think you need a little pick me up!"

Adrien jumped slightly as Rose popped up next to him, holding a tray of cookies in her arms. He smiled and was about to take one, but Juleka raised a finger.

"Ah ah, mister. What's the point of working out if you're only fattening yourself up afterward."

In retaliation, Adrien picked up one of the cookies and shoved it in his mouth. Juleka only rolled her eyes in response while Rose giggled. He took a handful.