Hi everyone!
This is a new story that is cowritten between me and my friend DearestMrIcarus. We really hope you like it!
This chapter is written by Icarus, so all the credit to him for this one, let us know what you think in the comments!
Adrien clutched the envelope as he accepted it from the special courier. This was either his ticket to salvation or the document exiling him to years of torment.
Closing the front door, he took a moment to examine the envelope carrying his pronouncement.
It was a creamy eggshell white; sealed with golden wax which bore the official crest of the schools: a circle with four ladybug dots around the edges and a paw print in the centre. Aside from the seal, it was without any ornate designs or patterns. In beautiful ebony writing "Adrien Agreste" was painstakingly transcribed above his home address.
In the corner, the sender was clearly displayed, "Twin Miraculous Academies: Office of Admissions".
His father, who had appeared behind him, spoke proddingly.
"Well go ahead, open it".
With trembling hands, Adrien carefully slid the letter opener across the surface of the paper, effectively slitting the envelope open. He removed the letter, and began scanning it.
"Dear Monsieur Agreste,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Miraculous School of Chaos..."
Adrien had gotten no farther, when he ripped the letter in half, and stormed towards his room.
Gabriel caught up to him and placed an arm on his shoulder.
"Adrien, what's wrong? Were you not accepted into one of the schools?" His father implored.
"No, I got an acceptance letter from the wrong school! I got an acceptance letter for the school of the misfortunate!" he bemoaned, using a slang term to reference to the less popular School of Chaos.
"Adrien, you were still accepted into one of the only two miraculous-bearing schools in the country. And the school of Chaos is just as good as the school of Order. I'll hear none of that 'Miraculous and Misfortunate' nonsense" Gabriel rebuked.
Adrien loosened himself from his father's grip and flounced away.
After an hour of silent complaint, Adrien finally ventured to look at the rest of the letter, starting where he left off.
"...for the following school year. We have taken the liberty of transferring your official school records. "
"Monsieur Agreste, with the recent vacancy of the position of the Destruction Miraculous, the Office of Admissions has spent countless hours searching for a qualified replacement. Of thousands of applicants, you have been selected."
"Plagg, the Cat Kwami, will instruct you on the capabilities of the ring (your Miraculous). It is essential that you provide your Kwami with sustenance, as they will be providing you with your powers. Plagg is partial to camembert cheese. It is recommended that you begin to consider an alias fitting your power, as you will be asked to provide one on the first day of class. Note that this alias should not be associated with your civilian identity."
"We wish you the best this upcoming year, M Agreste."
"Signed,
Headmaster Damocles"
He was still bitter, but if he was condemned to be in the school of misfits, he was glad he would at least bear the honoured title "Destruction" Miraculous holder.
Each school had a pair with opposite powers. Sometimes this meant some titles were less than desirable. Holders of powers like: Focus/Distraction, Patience/Impatience, and Tranquility/Volatility were some examples. Generally the more positive attribute (and therefore cooler associated powers) belonged to the School of Order, while the title in opposition was banished to the School of Chaos.
This is what led to the schools being informally known as the Schools of the Miraculous and Misfortunate.
"I'll show them," he vowed, "I'll show them all how good I am. By the end of the year, everyone will be begging to transfer from the School of Order to the school of Adrien... or...".
He thought, wondering what his alias could be. A sudden smile crept up his mouth. "Chat Noir".
Of course Adrien knew he was being vain, but he also knew that the office of admissions never reversed an invitation. He was painfully aware that he would have to make do with the hand fate had dealt him.
Only a few blocks away, a pair of bakers watched their daughter present her envelope to them. The paper seemed to be guilded in thin layer of gold paint, which matched the wax seal of the school. The fringes of the letter were decorated with the word "Miraculous".
She eagerly tore into the envelope and produced the letter. As she read the contents of the letter, her parents beamed with pride.
"Dear Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Miraculous School of Order for the following school year. We have taken the liberty of transferring your official school records. "
Her parents smiled and began to congratulate her, before she announced that there was more to her letter.
"Oh, right," Tom said, "now is the part where they tell you about your Kwami".
"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, with the recent vacancy of the position of the Creation Miraculous, the Office of Admissions has spent countless hours searching for a qualified replacement. Of thousands of applicants, you have been selected."
"Tikki, the Ladybird Kwami, will instruct you on the capabilities of the earrings (your Miraculous). It is essential that you provide your Kwami with sustenance, as they will be providing you with your powers. Tikki is partial to sweets. It is reccomended that you begin to consider an alias fitting your power, as you will be asked to provide one on the first day of class. Note that this alias should not be associated with your civilian identity."
"We wish you the best this upcoming year, Mlle Dupain-Cheng."
"Signed,
Headmistress Mendeleiev"
Her parents smiled. Two bakers should be able to provide a Kwami with all the sweets it would need.
"I'm so proud of you," her mother praised.
"We both are," her father added, "we still would have been proud if you got into the school of misfortune- ow!"
Sabine had not so subtly dug her elbow into his ribs.
"I mean, nothing is wrong with the School of Chaos," he recovered, "I'm just glad you've continued the family tradition as an Order student".
As the months went by, anticipation began to build up. Friends talked about who had been accepted, and to which school. Of course no one spoke about their secret identities; it was expressly forbidden, and everyone had heard horror stories of students being expelled for even being accused of revealing their identity.
As summer approached an end, the whisperings were brought to a boil. No one could seem to contain their excitement. That is everyone other than the isolationist/model Adrien Agreste.
Adrien knew that tomorrow he would meet his Kwami, Plagg. He would also find many new friends and acquaintances as he began his first year of public school. But for today, he would satiate himself with a pastry.
"How is my favourite baker?" He trilled as he opened the bakery door.
Marinette blushed. Every Sunday Adrien Agreste -The World Famous Model- went to her bakery to try one pastry.
"He-he-hey, Adrien," she stuttered, "How can help I yo- I m-mean who can I help- no, ugh... How...h-how can I help you?"
"One...hmm... let's try an eclair today, my friend," he sang back, graciously ignoring her festival of stutters.
Adrien honestly didn't know the girl's name, but he considered her to be one of his only friends. Between his very restrictive and busy lifestyle, and his dislike of disingenuous people, Adrien seldomly made friends. Therefore Chloe (his longtime friend), and pastry girl were the two people he felt any connection to.
"One e-eclair, comi-coming u-up," she blathered.
Adrien smiled, accepting the treat, and offered the fare for his trip to flavourtown.
"One beautiful pastry from an equally beautiful girl," he purred.
Marinette blushed, and offered a nervous giggle in return. As she noticed that there were no other customers in the bakery, she attempted small talk.
"S-so... e-excited f-f-for school?" she managed.
"I am very excited. I'll actually be attending on of the Miraculous Schools," he said proudly," how about you? Are you excited FUR school?"
Adrien smiled at the pun. Since he had learned he would become the holder of a cat Miraculous, he had become fascinated by the creatures.
He had also developed a bad habit of adding cat puns into everyday conversation; even when it wasn't always appropriate (The other day he had told his personal chef that his slightly below average dinner was PAWSitively CLAWful).
"O-oh? Y-y-yeah, Me too," she squeaked,"I g-got the S-s-sch-school of O-order... you?"
Adrien tried to sound proud.
"I was lucky enough to get into the School of Chaos. Maybe I'll see you around at a football game," he grinned.
Marinette shook her head in agreement, but her words seemed to fail her.
Adrien once again smiled at her, then walked out of the shop, pastry in hand.
"Good job Marinette," Sabine said, appearing from behind a door," you got 5 sentences out. I think that beats your previous record of 4 from several months ago. Pound it!".
Marinette allowed herself to fist bump her mother. It was the small victories that counted.
The day seemed to take forever, but eventually both Marinette and Adrien found themselves in bed, though sleep seemed to evade the pair. Adrien imagined the hundreds of friends he would make on his first day in giddy excitement, while Marinette conjured up every nightmare and horrid accident that could befall her.
What felt like minutes later, both heroes arose from their restless slumber. Adrien looked at his alarm clock. 6:50.
"Son of a-"
A few streets south of him, Marinette had the same realisation, as her father poked into her room.
"Marinette, are you going to be late for school?"
The two students threw on clothes and grabbed the slips of paper with their locker combinations. The school had sent them just days before school and both heroes were confused by the instructions.
They made it to their respective schools, which were adjacent to each other, only separated by a football field; a goal post standing in front of each school. Looking at the buildings, one could see they were nearly mirror images of one another, both had a main entrance on the north side, and confusingly 20 separate entrances on the south side.
The main difference was the pristine look of the School of Order, and the drab appearance of her sister school.
The students lined up outside of the southern entrances of the mirorred buildings. Everyone looked different. Some students were dressed in formal clothing, others sported jeans and tshirts. Some wore kempt hair, and others had scraggly coloured hair. Yet they all wore a common look of confusion.
As the students clustered together, the PA system but a stop to the bustling crowds.
Two voices spoke in eerie unison.
"New students of the Miraculous school of (the voices diverged with 'Order' and 'Chaos'), please form orderly lines based on the door number you have been assigned, and lock both doors. From there, open your assigned locker in the changing room, and open your Miraculous box. Your Kwami will complete your instructions".
The speakers suddenly blared back to life, as if something else had occurred to the announcers.
"We would also like to remind you that the forest to the west of the schools is strictly of limits to all students at this time".
And with that ominous announcement, silence filled the fields.
Marinette looked at the paper she had been sent.
Door:1
Locker:1
Combo: 12-23-41
Tikki
She found herself first in line, and silently entered through the doorway. The room was a plain white, about 3 metres long by 3 metres wide. One wall was covered by 20 labelled lockers, the wall opposite of it hung a giant mirror, and the other pair of adjacent walls each had a door. Marinette quickly locked both doors and took a breath.
Marinette found locker number 1, and opened it. Inside was a small hexagonal black box, covered in thin red engravings.
Marinette gulped as she opened it. Inside were two earrings.
"Hi Marinette, I'm Tikki, the Kwami of creation and a Ladybird Kwami," the sweet voice of a small red being began, "I know you have a lot of questions, but I'll explain the basics, is that ok?"
Marinette nodded her head at the small flying creature that had appeared from thin air. She had seen Kwamis before, but never her own.
"Ok. First of all, you need to remember to keep your identity a secret. Do you have an alias chosen for when you walk out that door?" Tikki asked, pointing to the door opposite of the one Marinette had entered through.
"Y-yes," Marinette let out, then reminded herself that she had to be confident, "I mean, yes. I decided to go with Ladybug. Quick. Succinct. To the point".
Tikki beamed, "what an excellent choice Marinette! Now, to activate your transformation you will need to say 'spots on' and to deactivate it say 'spots off'".
She went over how to use miraculous ladybug, as well as lucky charm, and several of ger multitool's abilities.
"And one more thing Marinette. When you transform, I'll be pulled into your miraculous, so I won't be able to communicate with you until we separate."
The girl shook her head, then spoke.
"I think I understand Tikki. And by the way, my friends call me Mari".
"Mari? I love it!" The creature squealed in delight.
Marinette prepared to transform, then stopped.
"Oh, and do you like these?" She said pulling out a box of fresh macarons.
Tikkis eyes grew wide. And, as if to reply, she dove into them, mercilessly devouring the treats.
In room 1 of the other school, Adrien located his locker, also number 1.
He found a similar box and opened it to find a gorgeous silver ring, and the included Kwami.
"The name's Plagg. I was told you're Adrien. Listen up kid. First thing you need to know, 'claws out' is gets you the supersuit. 'Claws in' makes you you again. Also remember that you need a name. You picked one out?"
Adrien smiled. "Chat Noir."
Plagg sighed, "I suppose that isn't the worst name I've come across. Ok so-"
Adrien, assuming the speech was over, called out the phrase.
"Plagg, claws out!"
A flash of green light accompanied by several slick moves turned Adrien into his new Miraculous self. Chat Noir.
He looked at himself in satisfaction.
"I look good," he grinned.
The students found themselves in their classes, receiving the normal orientation class. It was a general 'get to meet the class', followed by an explanation of what classes to go to when.
Marinette sat in the Miraculous class, listening to the Headmistress go over the mundane details.
"And last," Headmistress Mendeleiev called, "each grade will form one football team, which will compete with other schools... including the Miraculous School of Chaos".
The class went quiet.
"I can't wait to join!" a girl in a fox uniform
(Rena Rouge if Marinette remembered correctly) said.
"As if. The notion that you would make it on the team is utterly ridiculous," a bee suited student stung.
Rena grumbled to Marinette. "I can't stand her. By the way, I'm Rena. Rena Rouge".
"Ma... Ladybug," she recovered, "I'm Ladybug. And yeah, I hate snobby people. She doesn't even know you, how can she tell you aren't football material?"
Rena smiled. "I think I just made a friend".
Marinette fished through her rucksack and opened the box of macarons. Tikki had left one.
Marinette broke it in half, and offered the piece to Rena. "You most definitely did".
Across the field Adrien was talking to a turtle guy named Carapace.
"So dude, did you hear that some rich kid got sent to our school? Can you imagine how awkward he feels around the rest of us right now?" He laughed.
Adrien offered a polite giggle, which only made him look suspicious.
"Wait, it's not you, is it?"
Adrien sighed. "I don't want to be known as the rich kid. I just want to make friends".
"Sorry dude! If it helps, you can totally be my bro?" Carapace hastily apologized.
Adrien smiled. "I have a bro," he thought to himself.
By the end of the the morning both schools had formed football teams from their incoming classes. Not suprisingly the team captains were Ladybug and Chat Noir, the favoured Miraculous holders of their schools.
The in the past the schools had a rather bitter rivalry, but this year it seemed that the emnity was more competitive than aggressive. That is, until lunch, the time of the first game.
The school teams both met on the field, and the bleachers were packed (they had been packed an hour before the game).
As the game began, it seemed that the school of Chaos had an advantage. Chat Noir led an offensive that brought a goal in the first 30 seconds.
A chorus of intermingled boos and cheers echoed through the makeshift stadium. Marinette had frozen amidst the pressure.
"Captain, snap out of it. We need you, Ladybug!" Rena called.
That was enough to break Mari free, and she began to play with all her might. She scored a goal soon after, kicking the ball right between the legs of the goalie; a rather tall boy with short black hair and blond bangs.
Ladybug and Chat soon found one another as frustrating rivals. Whenever one had the ball, the other would guard them with ferocity. When someone tried to pass to their captain, the other captain intercepted it maliciously.
The game went on, eventually tying at 2-2.
By the end of the match, it had begun to rain, and the teams headed to their assigned areas to grab their things.
Adrien effortlessly opened his umbrella.
It was black with little bubblegum bubbles dotted along the rim, a strange design, but it was one of his father's designs (Gabriel's only umbrella design), and Adrien only carried Gabriel brand apparel and accessories to avoid contention with his father.
Suddenly the bumblebee girl came from behind him and yanked the umbrella from out of his grasp.
"Thanks, I needed an umbrella," Queen Bee smiled snidely.
Marinette turned around to see Chat Noir grab a bublegum patterned umbrella from her teammate.
Even if Queen Bee was annoying, Ladybug refused to let some 'Misfortunate' underachiever take a 'Miraculous' student's things.
She yanked the umbrella from his hand.
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," she rebuked, fuming.
"I think you misunderstood. I-" his words were cut off by an unnatural crunch.
Marinette had no clue what came over her. She had just acted without thinking.
Adrien felt a warm flow mix with the rain and cool sweat on his face. The salty taste confirmed his suspicion. Ladybug had given him a bloody nose.
Instantly he lashed out, punching her in the arm with all his strength.
Ladybug clutched her left shoulder. That was going to be a nice bruise.
At this point the students of both schools had begun to notice, and it quickly became an all-out brawl.
It was only when Headmaster Damocles and Headmistress Mendeleiev appeared that the fighting died down.
When asked who had started the fight l, Chat and Ladybug both raised their hands in defeat.
"In my office, now!" Each shouted to their guilty student.