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Tikki

Convincing my charge to accept his duties as a Ladybug is proving to be harder than I initially expected.

"On second thought, maybe I'm not up to this hero business," my chosen, the bespectacled boy with dark blue hair rambled. "I have school, class president duties, Judo, the flower shop…"

His name is Shizuke Midorikawa. This boy has repeatedly passed the guardian's test... while at the same time, obliviously sabotaging the guardian's chances to test anyone else. His eagerness to help people is unmatched. One would think he'd jump at the chance to save his school…

"Hey! Maybe you should get Fuyu to be the new hero! She's strong! She's the most heroic person I know! And most importantly, she has the piercings for it! Four of them in fact!"

But at the prospect of piercing his ears, he's chickening out. Granted, there's a long list of other things that made him want to back out. Having to fight a raging fire monster with a yoyo is probably at the top of the list.

And there's that ever familiar look in his eye that tells me that he doesn't believe he's good enough for this. It's a sadly common trait among my charges. But that's what I'm here for.

"Shizuke, you're the chosen one," I stressed firmly. "It has to be you."

"I can't-"

He abruptly stopped. It seems like something caught his eye.

I followed his gaze to his monitor showing a live broadcast of the attack. Someone was following the monster. From the look of recognition in Shizuke's face, I can conclude that this is someone he greatly cares for.

Suddenly, his entire demeanor completely changed. His mouth turned into a firm line, his doe brown eyes hardened, and he turned to me.

All his doubts were replaced with resolve.

"… All I have to do is say 'Spots on', right?"

Excitement bubbled up within me. There is hope for this charge yet!

"AND you have to wear the Miraculous!" I said, pushing the earrings to his face.

His determination instantly faltered. But I'm not giving up. I'm sure he can overcome his strange aversion to piercing his ears to save someone's life!

"Uhh…" he was grasping for an excuse, his hesitation seeping back in. His eyes were darting around his room, looking for a way out, the scissors in his hands snipping in agitation.

"Please, set your priorities straight! What's a pair of pierced ears compared to the safety of your friend?"

"Aha!" Shizuke grabbed the earrings and went to his desk, pulling out an eraser. The boy began cutting the end of the eraser into small cubes.

"What are you-"

"What's important is that I have to have the Miraculous on me right?"

"… Yes. But what does this have to do with-"

With a quick snip of his scissors, a button from his sleeve cuffs dropped. He calmly did the same to his other sleeve.

"What if I wear it like this?" Shizuke picked up one of the earrings and pinned it on his cuff. He slid the eraser bit into the cuff to seal the needle. He did the same to his other sleeve and showed me his handiwork. "Will this work?"

He repurposed the earrings into cufflinks. He found a way around his problem. His reasoning may be foolish but I can't deny his creativity.

"Yes," I smiled proudly at my charge. "This will work."

Though the arrangement didn't seem ideal at first, this boy has potential. Under all that stiffness, he has the creative spark of a Ladybug.

He let out a relieved sigh. "Okay then. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Oh! You're not going to fight alone. You'll have a certain black cat for a partner."

"Got it. Tikki! Spots on!"

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Plagg

"So with this ring, I can transform into a superhero like the red spandex guy on tv?" asked my new chosen.

This time, I got a crimson haired girl named Blair Crawford. She's harder to read than my usual overemotional chosen. So far, she seems willing to jump into the hero biz.

"Oh, Tikki's out already?" I poked my head out of the roll of toilet paper I was playing in and looked at the TV screen on her bedroom wall. Looks like Tikki's chosen has already jumped into the fight without us.

"{STOP DESTROYING SCHOOL PROPERTY!}" the red spandex guy yelled as he gutsily jumped at the burning champion. One thing's for sure, Tikki's got a weird one.

My new chosen coughed to return my attention to her question. Demanding much?

"To answer your question, yep. And the red spandex guy's your partner. You do most of the fighting, while he'll be in charge of fixing stuff."

"Hmm…" my chosen carefully slid the ring on like it's the most precious thing she ever had. Whenever her eyes weren't glued to that ring, she's stealing glances at the picture hanging on the wall – a portrait of a happy family while there were still four of them instead of two. Loneliness hiding behind a 'cool' façade seems to be a staple among my wielders. "What powers do I get?"

Ooh... Now this is new. Usually, I get the reckless half of the dynamic duo but this one is actually willing to wait and listen to me explain things. I look back at the screen showing Tikki's navy blue haired chosen currently yelling at the akuma. This will be amusing to watch.

"You get the power of destruction, enhanced senses and physical abilities, a baton that can extend to an unlimited length, and an indestructible suit," as I enumerated this, Tikki's boy got blasted with a ball of fire and came out of it unharmed. Way to demonstrate my point, lucky bug.

My chosen narrowed her emerald green eyes. "How are we supposed to defeat Scorch?"

"Simple. Destroy the possessed item, make sure your partner purifies the akuma that pops out, and Scorch will return to normal."

She raised a brow at the screen showing the fire guy's flames growing along with his anger while fighting the noisy new bug hero.

"… He doesn't look like he has anything on him."

Fair point. He looks more like a bon fire with legs than a human with raging fire powers. But I don't want to think too hard about the technical stuff.

"Sure he does! Just leave it to Tikki and her chosen to purify the akuma."

"What happens if my partner doesn't purify the akuma?"

"Nothing pretty. Seriously. Make sure he purifies it," I emphasized, not wanting a repeat of the same mistake made by the last duo who had to fight an enigmatic butterfly villain. That would be a drag I'd rather not deal with ever again. "You ask too many questions. Do you want to do this or not?"

Her emerald eyes are practically gleaming as her lips tilted up to a Cheshire cat grin, like the answer to that question is obvious. Anyone can tell from her stance alone how determined she is.

This is her dream becoming a reality.

"Okay," she said with a flip of her long crimson hair. "I'll do this. What do I have to do to transform?"

That's all the confirmation I need to know that she's ready to be the next Black Cat.

"Just say 'Claws out', and the Miraculous will do the rest."

She smirks as she lifts her ringed fist in the air.

"Plagg, claws out!"

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