Hey everyone. This one's on the older end, so it's probably just a one-shot (unless the response is somehow miraculous...).
Also note that I wrote this way before I started on Rebirth of Souls - of which the third chapter's rough draft is complete. Final copy will be out on Thursday (9/29), with chapter four scheduled for the Thursday after that (10/6).
This is supposed to be a "Your Lie in April" inspired retelling of the basic plot to Miraculous Ladybug. As such, it's probably not going to be epic in length even if it does see additional installments. It's meant to be as fleeting and bittersweet as the source of inspiration.
Let me know what you think!
As per usual, I'll give a one-time disclaimer: This is a derivative fan-work of Miraculous Ladybug and Your Lie in April. I have no ownership of the official releases, which I heavily recommend you support.
When I look back on it, it's hard to tell exactly when everything started.
Was it the first day that Chat Noir's ring fell into my lap? That was the day that my life as a superhero had officially started. That was the day that my fate seemed to draw a little closer to gnawing at my back. It would make sense if everything had started there, but it seems too early to be my starting point. Or maybe it's too late.
Was it the day that mom left us – Dad and I? I had been so young at the time. Sometimes I think the only reason I even remember her face is because of all those paintings and photographs that Dad liked to display around the house. Maybe it would have been better if he'd never had any of them in the first place. If he'd never met her…
Was it the day Hawkmoth died? When he'd been thoroughly and effectively laid to the ground in the rubble of my old house, the heat of the most powerful Cataclysm I'd ever pushed out still thrumming in my hand, I'd felt the strongest sense of elation ever. Of course, that feeling would never last long. Nothing was ever supposed to work out for Adrien Agreste. It came with the Chat Noir mantle. I was always the whipping boy for Lady Luck's ugliest side.
Was it the day I'd met her?
Her hair was as dark at night, and her eyes were a gorgeous blue. She was strong. She was confident. She was everything I used to be, and everything I wanted back from life. She was freedom, and Paris never could have been good enough for her.
I remember the day so clearly that if I think too hard, sometimes I get caught back up in it.
It was my first day of public school. With Hawkmoth gone and Mom so far out of reach, there was only so much budgeting that could be done before what little remained of my trust fund withered away. I had no choice. Something had to drop, whether it was the fencing, the piano lessons, or the private tutors. So, I picked the tutors. They were the only ones I could find a free replacement for.
Walking into class on that first day wasn't very strange. Nathalie pulled the car up, I stepped out, and then I just made my way up the steps. Sure, there were a few glances, a few whispers in the halls. It was to be expected with any new guy regardless of their standing in the public eye. Teenagers will be teenagers. That won't ever change, even if everything else was about to.
The second I stepped into the building, a camera flashed in my face. It wasn't anything I hadn't been expecting, though the abruptness of it caught me off guard. All I could hope for was that my wince hadn't been captured in the picture.
"Hey there. I'm Alya."
I gave my new photographer a once over. She was a friendly looking girl, waving cutely from behind her camera with her nose scrunched up and a glimmer of self-satisfaction in here eyes. I noted the badge dangling from the camera strap. School press, apparently.
"Hi, Alya. Anything I can help you with? I'm afraid I'm still trying to get my sea legs so to speak, so I'm probably not the first guy to go to. Fair warning."
"Cute and cool under pressure. An interview just begging to happen."
Ah, there's the rub. Well, might as well see where this goes.
"I hope you don't mind," she continued, "but as the chief of the school paper I have to make sure I light a fire under all my writers' butts. Getting the big scoops is just the way to do it, if you ask me."
"Is that your way of asking, or do I not get a say in this?" I questioned, already expecting the latter.
"Depends on whether or not you're willing to fight for it. Though you're better off knowing that just giving up is the easier option."
This girl was feisty. Not in the way Chloe could be when she saw something she wanted – that was much less playful and much more…angry, for lack of a better word. I kind of liked it.
"Fine, fine. I surrender," I conceded, holding my hands up by my shoulders. "I'll swing by after classes today if that works for you. I don't have much time though. Fencing, piano, photo shoots, all that stuff."
"Geez, a lot on your plate, huh? Shouldn't you be trying to live a little? We're young, after all. You can't spend every waking hour of your life toiling away on a job. You've gotta get that sparkle in your eyes, you know?"
"I don't know if that's possible. Sparkly eyes aren't really my thing. Well, not unless you intend to Photoshop all those pictures you take. Even then, it takes a bit of doing to really fool people with that kind of stuff, especially when you're as much of a public figure as I can be sometimes."
"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about!" She exclaimed, her index finger jabbing incredibly close to my face. "You, my friend, have a serious case of the gloomy rain clouds. For that, there's only one cure."
"And what's that?" I was seriously interested in what kind of answer she could come up with.
"It's simple. You've just gotta fall in love," she sighed.
It was that simple, huh? Just go find a nice girl and fall in love? Could Adrien Agreste even do that anymore? Even with the state of his powers, he couldn't escape the bad luck that came with them. Could he drag someone into something like that? Sure, Akuma hadn't appeared since Hawkmoth's death, but that didn't mean all crime had been stopped. Chat Noir could still have enemies.
"I'm sure. Well, if you have any candidates, feel free to introduce them. Unless you think you're up for the job, that is."
Alya's laughter was cool and easy. It fit her personality nicely.
"No, no. I'm not the kind of girl to move that fast. Besides, it's not about the girl loving you, it's about you loving the girl. You need to find someone that makes your whole world just burst into color and light. That way, the world you see can get reflected through your eyes for the rest of us to look at."
"Well, don't let anyone tell you that writing isn't your passion," I couldn't help myself from laughing, "you sure have a way with words, Alya."
"I try. Anyways, class is about to start. I'll get out of your hair for now. Remember, you promised me that interview. I expect you to make good on it."
The girl waved as she took off, a grin on her face and happy determination in her eyes. It seemed like I was starting this whole school thing off on the right foot. That was a relief. If nothing else, I could still claim to be able to do something right.
Public school was surprisingly easy to manage. Even with larger class sizes, teachers did a good job of communicating the material. Because of that, the rest of the day seemed to pass by easily. I suppose I had my private tutors to thank for that. They were the ones who had gotten me to the same place as the public schooling system and made sure I kept the pace up. After the interview with Alya, all that was left was to make my way back home for a piano lesson before showing up for an early evening photo shoot.
Things never really do go as planned though, do they? Right when you think you've got your life all mapped out, something has to come along and mix your plans up to the point you wonder why you even made them in the first place.
There was a crash, and then people screaming. Before I knew it, a car had been thrown across the street by something and smashed into the ground not fifteen feet from me. I should have been afraid, or at least panicked enough to start looking for a place to transform. Instead, I just stood there trying to take in exactly what was happening. Hawkmoth was dead. There weren't supposed to be Akuma anymore. Crime was supposed to be at an all-time low. Yet somehow, the behemoth lumbering its way out of the bank was all too real.
The Akuma was composed almost entirely of rocks, and it looked more than a little angry. I had no idea how it was possible for the creature to even be here, but that didn't change the fact that it was. Especially since with its giant, clenched fist raised like that, I could tell it was getting ready to make mincemeat out of me.
Deep down in my gut, I could feel my brain crying out. Move! MOVE! I wanted to live. Or at least, I thought I did. But somehow, my feet seemed to lag. Almost like my heart wanted to know what the point was.
Even if I had reacted quickly in response to the attack, it wouldn't have been quickly enough. Not if I'd wanted to keep up with the red blur that suddenly flashed across my vision and collided into the creature with startling force, kicking it across the road. The figure soon came into focus. She was a girl dressed entirely in red and sporting a mask. Even though that barely covered the area around her eyes and the bridge of her nose, I still couldn't place her face. I'd probably never met her before. No, I definitely hadn't. I would have remembered someone like her.
She landed gracefully after her attack, spinning in the air once before dropping into a fighting stance at my side.
"Seems like you need a little help there, kitten. Hope you don't mind if I step in."
What did she call me? No, more importantly, who was she? Another miraculous owner? I thought I had been the only one in Paris. Master Fu had passed away, Hawkmoth was dead, so who else was there?
She moved like water, flowing around the Akuma's attacks in a graceful and elegant way that I'd never seen before. When I'd fought against the creatures, my priority had always been the fight. I had to evade or defend against attacks while dealing out damage as best I could in an attempt to shatter the item that fueled the transformation. But the way this girl moved was…
She wasn't just fighting the Akuma. She was thriving off of it. With every duck, flip, and jump she seemed to grow stronger; faster. Was she actually having fun doing this?
Eventually she managed to claim her prize – a purple stone clutched tightly in the palm of the Akuma. She shattered it, slinging her weapon – a yo-yo? – out at it and capturing the butterfly inside. Then, astoundingly, she just let the thing go.
Akuma weren't meant to be allowed to live. They could just be infused with evil and turned against another person. Not killing the bug – being able to purify the butterfly that caused the damage – was something I'd never heard of. Plagg had never told me it was possible. Was this something only she could do.
"And here I thought this would be a good chance to see the great Chat Noir in action again. Why'd you hold out on me? Stingy," she accused, pouting as she examined her nails through gloved hands.
My head snapped in her direction. The girl in the mask was looking at me with a demure smile on her face. She'd asked me that question. She knew who I was…who I had been, at least. How? Why? Was this staged? Was she an enemy?
"Who are you?" I asked, dumbstruck.
Her smile turned cocky, a glimmer appearing in her eyes as she suddenly stepped and invaded my personal space. Either she was fast, or I'd lost my edge over the last two years. Probably a little of both.
"Call me Ladybug!"
With that, she was off. Her yo-yo had wrapped itself firmly around a nearby flagpole and the girl rocketed into the air, her laughter echoing through the air like wind chimes.
Yes. That was the moment. The moment when everything changed. Before then, my world had always seemed lifeless. Monotone. Everything was black, white, and shades of grey; just like an old photograph. But when I met Ladybug for the first time, the world seemed to become so much more colorful.
It was already April, but it felt like the year…no, it felt like my life was finally starting after a long, cold, colorless winter.
Thanks for reading to the end! Make sure to leave a review if you want to see this continued.