(Hey Guys! Thanks for the support on chapter 1! In truth I had been making little progress on this chapter but when I saw your guys positive response to it I decided to keep going! Thanks for all the love!)
It had been several days since Ladybug and Cat Noirs run in with Sapphire Stag. The pair were left wondering just who the beetle based miraculous was. Marinette fiddled with the note she had been given, inspecting it thoroughly. She entered the number on her phone, her thumb hovering over the call button for a moment. "What's your plan if you do call him?" her kwami asked.
"I don't know" she said, "maybe I can get someone else to call it for me?"
"Oh yeah and who would do that? "Oh Hi Alya! Could you please dial this number i don't know for me please? Please ignore the fact he called you Ladybug. Ya get what I mean?"
Marinette tried to form a witty response but nothing came. "Ugh, I hate it when you're right."
On the other side of Paris a teenage boy typed away. He took a sip from a bottle of water that sat on his desk. "Are you almost done?" a voice asked him. The boy sighed, turning his head towards the source. "Almost Jekyll." he said, typing away for another minute before navigating to the save icon and clicking it. "And finished." he said triumphantly. He put on a pair of nitrile gloves, using them to pick up the stolen tablet and place it in an isolated chamber. "This was probably the best one I've studied so far, I've learnt so much from it."
"So you're going to return it tonight?" The little blue Kwami asked, eating some citrus fruits.
"Not tonight." he said, "I've pulled three all-nighters just to finish my report on this, I need to sleep. Tomorrow night for sure." Jekyll was annoyed, he angrily swallowed the slice of lemon that he had been suckling on before yanking open the curtain. The boy hissed from the sunlight temporarily blinding him like a flashbang. "Do I need to mention that you've also neglected both your training and your search for a school here?" Jekyll scolded. The boy looked at his Kwami, too tired to put up a fight. "Fine I'll do my training but then I'm off to sleep." The Kwami pondered for a moment before laughing.
"Unfortunately for you, we need to fix your sleep schedule too." he flew over to the small fridge and pulled out a sports drink, throwing it to the boy.
"Fine" the boy groaned as he headed off to shower and get dressed.
The boy returned an hour later freshly showered. He put on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before slipping on a pair of trainers and grabbing the drink that Jekyll had passed him. He mapped out a journey on his phone before syncing it with his watch. He gave himself several minutes to properly stretch as music began to play on his earphones. He took off at a reasonable pace, his fitness making it look easy. His route took him through a park where he spotted another boy with blonde hair was having his photo taken by what appeared to be a famous photographer saying something about eating too much spaghetti. He scoffed at the idea of having his picture taken. He returned his attention to where he was running and realized it was into the path of two girls and a small child. He jumped, sailing through the air. He cleared the group of them with relative ease before landing in a crouched position. He stood up, his back towards the group. A tap on the shoulder signalled for him to take his earphones out and turn around. He turned around with a sheepish look on his face. "Hey, buddy. What was all that about?" one of the girls asked in a confrontational manner. The boy scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. "Sorry." he said, "I'm new around here and was having look around while getting some exercise in. I Guess I wasn't looking where I was going." he finished, a nervous smile crossing his face. The boy looked from the first girl to her friend, her dark tied back hair seemed oddly familiar but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. "Excuse me for being so forward but, have we met somewhere before? " he asked. The other girl panicked at being addressed.
"Um, I don't think so?" she said uncertain. The boy thought for a moment.
"Yeah you're probably right, I would have remembered a face like yours." he said with certainty. "Where are my manners?! I haven't introduced myself! My names Kai, Kai Kuwaga." he extended his hand. "My name's Alya Cesaire and this is Marinette" Alya responded. Kai shook both of their hands warmly.
Kai turned his attention back to the blond boy being photographed. "So who's that?" Kai asked, curious as to how much of a big deal this guy was. "You don't know Adrien Agreste?" Alya asked, surprise audible in her voice "He's kind of a big deal."
"The name sounds somewhat familiar." he confessed "Should I?" He asked. Alya sighed.
"He's only the son of Gabriel Agreste" she said impressively. Kai looked just as confused as when he had asked. "The .. Actor? No wait." he studied their faces as he pretended to know who they were talking about, slowly getting closer with each guess. "Ah, the fashion designer." he said with accomplishment with his voice. "Yeah of course I know of him. Now that I think of it I'm pretty sure I own some of his stuff." Kai turned back to Adrien, completely missing the exchange of surprised looks between Marinette and Alya. "So that's Gabriel Agrestes' son huh? Might as well go introduce myself." he said, beginning to walk towards him. Alya pulled him back. "Dude he's in the middle of a shoot, you can't just go over and interrupt him." Kai thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah you're right." he conceded. His watch beeped. "I'd best be going, nice meeting the both of you." he said as he turned and took off, returning back to his house.
Kai walked through the front door of his house. "It's so hot today." he said taking his shirt off and throwing it on an increasing pile of washing. He checked the TV, flicking through the various channels. He paused for a moment, watching as the results of a contest of some kind were being broadcasted. He watched it for short while, from what he could piece together it was a competition for a new weather girl. Soon the results had been revealed with one girl winning and the other losing. Kai promptly turned off the TV before heading off into another room of his empty house. Kai reached for his wallet, and was surprised to find it wasn't there. He panicked, trying to retrace his steps. Maybe it fell out when he jumped over those two girls at the park? What were their names again? Alya and… Marinette? It had been at least an hour since he'd ran into them, it was probably long gone by now. He sat down, annoyed with himself. It had his phone number in it, all he could do was hope that a good samaritan picked it up and would either call him or deliver it.
Ladybug and Cat Noir were in trouble. Stormy Weathers abilities had them pinned down, desperately trying to avoid vehicles that came hurtling towards them. They'd been doing well so far to narrowly avoid the cars turned projectiles but a flying bus seemed as though it would soon put an end to it. The pair got close as Ladybugs yo-yo twirled above them, a last line of defense. They closed their eyes, bracing for impact. The impact never came. After what seemed to be an awkwardly long wait they finally opened their eyes, hearing laughter nearby. In front of them was the bus that moments before had been bearing down on them. A figure in red was stood on top of the bus, hands on his hips, laughing triumphantly.
He turned to the superhero pair, his deep voice reassuring them. "I think you're meant to look both ways before crossing a road." he jumped down, the impact shaking the ground. Ladybug inspected the newcomer, something looked familiar about him, images of Sapphire Stag flashed through her mind. "It can't be Sapphire Stag" she said quietly to herself. "Stag's blue, his voice isn't that deep, is nowhere near that muscular, has brown hair instead of blond and he has two horns instead of one." Each difference caused her to extend another finger. "The name is Ruby Rhino, I'm on the trail of a thief by the name of Sapphire Stag." He explained showing them a picture of the familiar figure. "I've heard rumours that he's here in Paris, if you've seen him then please kindly tell me." His shoulders and shins had a thin layer of armor. "So tell me, have you seen him?" he asked. Ladybug thought for a moment, deciding on whether or not to snitch on Stags presence. Cat began to speak, but a hand to his mouth and a quick glare from Ladybug soon shut him up. "Very well." Rhino concluded. "I see you two are in the middle of something here." He said gesturing in the direction of Stormy Weather. "Want me to lend a hand?" Ladybug nodded, "Could you go and help anyone affected by Stormy Weathers' powers while Cat and I go and stop her?"
Rhino nodded before heading off in an opposing direction to the pair. He ran across the city, easily clearing the gaps between buildings despite his weight. He hurried across the city, freeing various stranded citizens. Soon he spotted a carousel, frozen solid as a team of firefighters tried to rescue two girls inside. Within moments Rhino had arrived on the scene. He spoke briefly to one of the firefighters before positioning himself in front of the solid block of ice. He lashed out at it, striking it with his full force. A quick inspection of the impact site revealed that not a single scratch had been made on it, this one required something special. "Everyone needs to get back." he ordered as the ice seemed to grow towards its victims. He unhooked a small rod from his belt, twirling it around his fingers in a brief display of showmanship. He pressed a button on the center of it, flicking out to his side, allowing it to extend. A quick double tap of the button had it begin to widen somewhat at the hilt, transforming it into a lance, matching the colour of his outfit.
Rhino pointed his lance upwards, gesturing for the two girls to move away. Trails of light slowly began to gather at the tip, slowly but surely forming a dull, red ball. He carefully lowered the lance, holding it up against the ice. The ice hissed as it began to melt slowly. Unhappy with the pace, Rhino held out his free hand and began to twist it, changing the colour of the ball from a dull red to brighter orange. He pressed it gently into the ice. A much louder whine was given off as the ice tried to protest. Patches of grass nearby began to catch alight and the firefighters tried their best to control the damage. Rhino began to increase the pressure he was exerting, pressing the ball into the ice as it began to melt.
No sooner than 5 minutes later the ice had thinned enough for the girls to escape. Rhino stepped back, firing the ball up into the air, watching as it shrunk before detonating like a firework and dispersing the energy back into the atmosphere. He put away his lance. "Are you two alright?" he asked, watching as the ice slowly regrew back to its original form. "Yeah we're good." the older girl said, "except for one thing." She pulled out her phone, taking a picture of him. "Who are you? What's your connection to Ladybug?" she asked, catching Rhino off guard. Rhino took a deep breath. "My name is Ruby Rhino and I just met Ladybug today. We haven't spoken much but she and Cat Noir seem nice." A tornado suddenly appeared centering the TV station. "Look, I've really got to go, if I see you again I'll give you a proper interview!" He called as he ran towards the freak weather phenomenon.
He looked up at the roof of the building, seeing Cat and Ladybug pinned down by Stormy Weathers abilities. A quick glance revealed how much energy he'd burnt through. He only had a small fraction left. Without hesitation he drew his lance again, creating another ball and pointing it at Stormy Weather. The second ball was much larger than the first. He twisted his hand again, changing the colour of the ball to a much deeper red. He made slight adjustments to his aim, using pieces of debris as references to help him calculate it. A loud beep from his belt buckle indicated that he was almost out of time. He fired the ball, watching it sail through the air and hitting Stormy Weathers unguarded back. She dropped her umbrella which Ladybug quickly grabbed and snapped over her knee. The beeping from his belt became more frantic causing him to retreat and look for a place to hide. Rhino quickly found a place to hide and reverted back to normal. He sighed in annoyance and frustration before a red kwami flew out from his scratched belt buckle. "You shouldn't be too hard on yourself." The red kwami soothed. "It's not your fault that the miraculous is damaged."
"You're right, It's just that I wish there was a way we could fix it." Rhino sighed, "come on let's head home." he suggested, walking slowly. He looked up at the sky, smiling as the breeze blew through his hair and a small, white butterfly landed on his shoulder before fluttering away.
Kai had spent the past few hours trying to keep himself awake. "Jekyll are you sure this is gonna help me correct my sleep schedule?" He half asked, half whined.
"Yes. It will." Jekyll replied, "trust me I've been around a lot longer than you. I think I know a thing or two about humans." Kai sighed depressively, focusing on the news report about Ladybug and Cat Noir. His heart skipped a beat when Ladybugs portrait appeared on screen. He'd only met her once but he couldn't stop thinking about her. The news report concluded and he was about to change the channel again when his phone began to ring. He looked at the screen, not recognizing the number.
Kai answered the phone, "Hello, is this Kai Kuwaga?" The voice on the other end asked. It sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. "Uh, yeah it is? May I ask who this is?" He said politely. "It's Marinette, we met earlier today at the park?" Kai remembered her now,
"yeah, you were with that other girl yeah? Alya I think it was? How did you get my number? I don't remember giving it to anyone." He asked, curious. "Oh. Well, funny story. You dropped your wallet at the park. I picked it up to see who it belonged to and your name and number were inside it." She explained. "Do you want me to come to yours and drop it off or would you like to meet me at the park again so you can collect it?" She asked. Kai thought for a moment. "I'll come and collect it." He said, "if I stay at home any longer I'll fall asleep." He joked. "I'll get ready and meet you there as soon as I can okay?"
"Sure, I'm already here anyway." She laughed nervously.
"I'll see you there." He hung up, making sure to add Marinette's number to his phone before heading out to meet her.
Soon Kai had reached the park. He looked around, eventually spotting Marinette hiding behind a tree as she watched Adrien continue to model. He snuck up behind her without her noticing. "What are we looking at?" He whispered jokingly. Marinette jumped, letting out a loud yelp. Everyone in the park turned to look at them, including Adrien and his photographer. "You!" Cried the photographer pointing in their direction. Kai exchanged a concerned look with Marinette. Marinette gestured to herself, "me?" She asked hopefully.
"No, no the boy." He responded, pointing directly at Kai.
"Sorry." Kai said sheepishly turning to Marinette. He walked over, to Adrien and his photographer. Soon he was stood next to Adrien, modeling and having his photo taken.
"I don't think I've ever seen you around." Adrien said in-between shots. "What's your name?" He asked. Kai was busy focusing on trying to look somewhat decent in each photo. "My name's Kai Kuwaga, I just moved here from Montreux in Switzerland." He explained. "I've heard about you, you're Adrien Agreste right? It's nice to meet you." he extended his hand for a handshake while the photographer worked to adjust the lighting. "It's nice to meet you." Adrien responded, shaking his hand.
After an hour the shoot had finished. Kai and Adrien walked over to Marinette's who had been rejoined by Alya. "I just remembered," he said "you still have my wallet don't you?" Marinette's voice was high pitched and nervous. "Yeah I sure do." she handed it back to Kai. "Thank you so much." He said, smiling. "I can't begin to tell you how much my dad would have complained if I'd lost it."
"You know Marinette and Alya?" Adrien inquired.
"Yeah, we met almost after I ran into them." Kai laughed, "You should have seen it." he paused. "How do you guys know each other then?" Kai asked.
"Oh, just from school" Adrien said casually as Marinette stayed oddly silent.
Kai nodded, before yawning quietly. "Oh, cool." Kai said, "truth be told I've actually been looking for a school to enroll in. Think you guys could give me the address?" Kai jotted it down quickly. "I'd best be off." he stated before turning back to Marinette, "Thanks again for finding my wallet." he said, smiling gratefully. She waved her hands around erratically, "It's fine honestly." she said, still nervous around Adrien.
By the time Kai got back home it had grown dark, he dragged himself into his bedroom. "Jekyll can I please go to sleep now?" he asked, "It's dark outside." The blue Kwami looked at him somewhat unimpressed. "Fine." Jekyll conceded, "make sure you have a good night's sleep" he ordered, "remember we're returning that tablet tomorrow." Kai nodded, giving a small "mhmm" as he fell face first onto his bed, falling asleep immediately.