Ladybug led, as usual, and Chat Noir followed shortly behind. They used their enhanced strength to leap across the wide gaps where busy streets separated the buildings that were like a sidewalk to the heroes. Within seconds, Ladybug and Chat arrived at the scene, not even out of breath.
Below them was the Boulevard Saint-Germain, one of the busiest roadways in Paris. It was full of cars, driving in a smooth dance of stops and turns and goes. The honking that the duo heard earlier had stopped. They stood on a building's roof and surveyed the road below them, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
"Do you see anything, Ladybug?" Chat asked. He saw nothing, just cars and pedestrians, calmly going about their lives.
"No, I don't," she said, then hesitated. "Chat, have you ever been on the Boulevard Saint-Germain?"
Not as Chat Noir, he hadn't. But as Adrien, he had visited many of the designer stores on the thoroughfare, including the one with which he shared a name: Agreste. He was more familiar with the street than most people in Paris. "Yes, I have. Why do you ask?"
"Does it seem…odd to you, how the traffic is flowing so smoothly? It's usually much slower and crowded. And listen – there are no car horns from nearby. It's so quiet."
Chat saw – or rather, heard – what she meant. The road was usually full of traffic traveling at a snail's pace because of the sheer number of cars and buses. But right now, there were no traffic jams, no angry drivers honking their horns or yelling out their windows. "You're right. Do you think it's an akuma?"
"I'm not sure," Ladybug said. "It's not impossible that traffic is going so well right now, but it is unusual. But we should wait and watch, just in case it was an akuma and they're still nearby."
Chat nodded. "I'll take a lookout on the other side of the street." With a quick salute, he darted off down the rooftops. Chat reached a point on the boulevard where the buildings were closer together and the sky partially shrouded by trees. They would not hide his leap across the street entirely, but hopefully too many people wouldn't spot him. Chat Noir elongated his baton into a staff and took a running start. He pushed off the building's roof with the help of his staff and soared through the air, landing in a dive roll across the street. Chat allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as he came to a stop on his knees. It wasn't quite flying, but still one of the best parts about being Chat Noir.
From his vantage point, Chat could see a large stretch of the boulevard. About a quarter mile away, Ladybug was perched next to a chimney in the shadows. She had moved further down the boulevard so that more area was covered by the two watching heroes.
Cars continued to drive without much conflict down the road. Ladybug was right; something was odd about this. Chat stayed on top of his roof, perfectly still except for the occasional twitch of his tail, which always seemed to have a slight mind of its own, despite being part of his belt. His highly focused eyes darted up and down the boulevard, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Every so often, Chat looked at Ladybug to see if she moved. She didn't.
While he waited, Chat Noir thoughts drifted to Ladybug, as they often did when he had nothing else to do. He kept them inside his head, not wanting to alert any akuma that might be lurking nearby. She knows how busy Saint-Germain normally is. Does that mean she visits it a lot? Does she go to the boutiques? Maybe he had seen her at some point during one of his many journeys to his father's own designer store. His face quirked upwards in a smile. How often did he wonder if he had ever passed whoever Ladybug normally was when he was Adrien?
"Hello, Chat Noir. I've been looking for you."
The hero nearly jumped out of his skin. Chat turned around to see someone standing on the rooftop behind him. It wasn't Ladybug. The akuma had found him first.
