"Seriously?! Seriously?!" Ann shrieked the second they exited the Palace, "'Lesbians can't make it in the fashion world' my ass!"
"I know plenty of people who would like to get their hands on people like hers' necks," Yusuke growled. He was aro-ace, and despite his fatigue from the Metaverse, his hands itched to grip a katana that was not there.
"Yeah, well, I'm calling first in line!" Ryuji snarled.
"Is she seriously that close-minded that she would assume that LGBTQ+ people can't be successful?" Makoto wondered aloud, "There are tons of celebrities that have publicly identified with some LGBTQ+ identity, and that has barely affected their careers whatsoever. If anything, even if they said they simply support LGBTQ+ that actually improves their careers, not ruins them."
"Wait, Lady Ann… are you a lesbian? Not that I have a problem with that inherently, but…" Morgana spoke up. He'd been quiet since that first statement from her post-leaving the Metaverse.
"Did I never mention this to you, Morgana? Weird… anyways, I'm homoromantic asexual."
"O-oh… sorry for flirting with you all this time, then," Mona awkwardly stammered out his answer, "I had no idea…"
"What, did'cha think Ann caring as much for Shiho as she does was just really strong friendship?" Ryuji snarked. Morgana did not reply, instead looking down as his ears flattened.
"...ouch, dude. Sorry…"
"You seem to be quite knowledgeable on LGBTQ+ things, Makoto," Yusuke spoke up, "I apologize if I straight-coded you in advance, but… are you LGBTQ+?"
Makoto looked somewhat shamefully at the rest of them. Sae wasn't any kind of hateful towards any group of people other than the enemies in the courtroom, to her knowledge, but she didn't have any proof to be sure, so she'd kept quiet.
"...Panromantic, and maybe asexual. I-I'm not entirely sure yet…"
Ann just smiled acceptingly.
"We would never hate you for being you, Makoto. Even if the rest of us were straight-"
"Gods forbid," Akira jested.
"-we wouldn't hate you for something like that, you know?"
"Thank you, guys," Makoto said quietly, willing tears away, "I needed that."
"Oh, and in case it wasn't clear," Ryuji piped up, "me and Akira are both bi!"
"And I'm pansexual!" Futaba grinned, "Sojiro knows and accepts me, so don't worry about needing to hide it or something."
With happy smiles on their faces, the group prepared to disperse, only for their text messages to suddenly blow up.
Chance: Good news and bad news. Bad news is that we have another akuma; good news is that it isn't me or Luka. Can any of you guys help today?
Ryuji got there first.
Skull: I gotcha, Marinette. Us Phantom Thieves gotta stick out for each other, yeah?
Chance: On my way, then! Where are you right now?
Panther: We're all near the Shibuya train station.
Literally seconds after Ann sent the text, a techno-styled portal appeared right behind Ryuji. Before he could shout due to surprise, Lady Horseshoe pulled him through to the other side. Thankfully, nobody noticed them, as it was a quiet evening.
"Borrowing him! Thanks!" she shouted as the portal closed.
The group stood there, blinking.
"Okay… that just happened," Futaba commented.
"Now what?" Akira inquired.
o~o
Ryuji let out a small shout of surprise as Mar- Ladybug carried him bridal-style (man, she's strong) over the rooftops and across the city. As the wind swept through his hair, he looked down and noticed the streets had an innumerable amount of hoofprints on them.
"So… mind filling me in a little, Ladybug?" Ryuji ventured to ask.
"The akuma's named Rodeo Clown," she explained expeditiously, "he apparently has the ability to turn people into these steers when his bullwhip touches them. They, in turn, can turn more people into steers when said cows… well, give them the horns."
"Yikes…" Ryuji whistled as they finally came to a stop on one of the roofs. Off in the distance, they could hear the sound of the stampeding bulls sweeping across the city. "I know I said I would help in any way I can, but how can I do anything here?"
"You may be right that you can't do much," Lady Horseshoe smiled as she pulled out a box, "but the right superhero can!"
Extending said box to him, Lady Horseshoe divided Kaalki from Tikki and turned to the blond, saying, "Ryuji Sakamoto, here is the Miraculous of the Monkey, which grants the power of Jubilation. You will use it for the greater good if you are willing, and when you are done, you will rescind the Miraculous to me. Do you accept?"
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji grinned, taking the box immediately.
Opening the box, Ryuji's grin stopped temporarily when a bright light shot out, reforming into a small, floating primatoid.
"Wait, you're not my previous boss! Where's the nitwit?" the creature squeaked, hands on his tiny little hips.
"Xuppu, we don't have time for that!" Ladybug chastised, "Explain his powers quickly - we have work to do!"
"Fine… your power is Uproar, first of all - land the item summoned on a target and their powers are disrupted, though you get a 5-minute timer afterward. To transform, say 'Xuppu, showtime!' and to manually detransform, say "Xuppu, Naptime!"
"Uproar, Showtime, and Naptime, huh…" Ryuji repeated, careful not to actually say the full transformation phrase as he slipped on the circlet, "I got it. Let's do this!"
"Then say it already!" Xuppu shouted though it was not mean-spirited - merely a tad impatient.
"Xuppu, Showtime!" Ryuji cracked another signature grin, letting the magic overtake him and filling his body with strength. Flipping backward, gold light surrounded him, and when it faded, over his face was a dark brown mask with two beige spots near where his eyebrows would be and a skin-tight brown and beige bodysuit. On each of his wrists were what looked like thick bronze wrist cuffs which extended into brown leather gloves, and instead of a rope that represented his tail like Kim's had, Ryuji had a long golden-brown kung fu sash that was longer around the back ends. The Miraculous itself sat proudly on Ryuji's head, nearly camouflaged among the blond's spiky hair. Finally, the familiar weapon of the Monkey user - a thick staff known as Ruyi Jingu Bang - appeared with a twirl in Ryuji's hands.
"So, what is your alias gonna be?" Ladybug
"Oh! Um… Well 'Saru' means 'Monkey' in Japanese, but that sounds too plain…" the blond mumbled, scratching his head, then his face brightened and he snapped his fingers, "How about Saruchame? It means mischief monkey!"
"Xuppu would love it, that's for sure," Ladybug smiled, "Now come on, let's go!"
Ryuji - now Saruchame - guffawed as he leaped after Ladybug across the rooftops. He even twirled his staff like helicopter blades to give him more landing time, and it worked! Ann was right! Sure they took on plenty of monsters and Shadows in the Metaverse, but this was way different! And he loved it!
The sound of angry cows drew closer and closer until the duo finally made it to the Louvre, most of the cattle seemed to be wrangled around the glass pyramid.
"I'm guessing that that's our guy?" Saruchame pointed at a man dressed in a Western cowboy outfit with evil clown makeup splashed across his face. He was riding on one of the bigger steers and cracked his whip several times against the ground.
"Yup!" Kobra exclaimed as he and Chat Noir landing next to the pair, "Whatever you do, don't get hit by that whip or you become one of the cattle!"
"Have you had to use Second Chance already, Kobra?" Ladybug asked.
"A couple of times after you left," he said, "Don't worry, I already recharged."
"Sorry M'lady, it was my fault," Chat Noir said, "I thought I saw an opening to grab the hat. Scales saved my bacon!"
"Well, hopefully our new teammate can level the playing field a bit. What do you say, Saruchame?"
"Let's make some mischief!" he cheered, immediately catching every bull's attention.
"...shit."
"Yah! After those varmints!" Rodeo Clown shouted, cracking his whip again, and this time the cows all reared like horses and charged right towards them, breaking through the glass pyramid as they went.
All the way back in Japan, Yusuke dropped his phone and nearly latched onto the ceiling, his face white. He had never seen anything so ghastly in the real world! Did they know how many priceless works were kept in that art lovers' holy grail?!
"Bro, you okay?" his roommate asked, "You see a ghost or something?"
"...Or something," Yusuke eventually squeaked out, terror still in his tone.
o~o
Most of the rest of Paris had wisely retreated inside to avoid the stampede and getting impaled by any of the steers.
"Oh, dear! By my calculations, the heroes' rate of success is dwindling with each new steer created!" Markov cried from Max's bedroom, where said boy and Kim had been playing a video game when the chaos started.
"Hey, don't worry, Markov! If push comes to shove, I'll protect you and Max!" Kim boasted.
"By my calculations, if you go out there, you'll either be a steer or a splat on the concrete after they run you over!" Max argued back.
"Not if I strike the big baddie first!" Kim countered, looking out of Max's window at the stampede.
Then, as if in slow motion, a blur of brown and beige ricocheted off the window's ledge and to the roof on the other side. In mid-air, the figure wearing the Monkey Miraculous flipped around and swung his staff, countering a strike from Rodeo Clown's whip. Wind whipped past Kim's face as the hero sprinted to rejoin the other heroes ahead.
"...My brain just provided about twenty-eight possibilities of what that just was," Max reported.
"...Well, don't bother," the athlete said, head bowed, "not like I didn't see this coming eventually…"
o~o
"Ain't this supposed to be the other way around?" Chat Noir squawked, barely missing getting gored by one of the steers before he leaped back to the roofs, "I thought that the big cats chased the meat!"
"We're-we're getting nowhere just running from them like this," Kobra panted, "sooner or later, one of us is going to bite the bullet!"
Ladybug groaned as she finally threw her yo-yo up in the air. "Lucky Charm!"
With a swirl of Ladybug's yo-yo, a lasso appeared in her hands.
"Sticking to the western theme, huh?" Ladybug said, but looking around nothing was lighting up.
"Well, stick to your saddle and we'll make our way through… or something like that," Saruchame joked, "Let me try something - Uproar!"
A squeaky toy in the shape of a banana materialized in his hand. He tossed it up and swung for the fences.
"Now, where are those-" Rodeo Clown never got to finish his sentence as he felt something hit him in the back of his head. Looking down, he spotted the toy banana at his feet. Looking up, realizing that one of the heroes had thrown this piece of plastic at him.
He laughed loudly, "What in blue blazes was that supposed to do, you-"
"You fool!" Hawkmoth's voice echoed in his mind, although he was far too late. Rodeo Clown vaguely had a sense of foreboding; suddenly noticing the attention of all his beloved bulls were now trained on him. He barely had any time to react before he was swamped, not noticing the lasso that tightened around his hat.
Once Ladybug had yanked his hat off of his head, the bulls attacked him ferociously, and when they were through, they calmly walked away from his barely-conscious form and sat down in straight rows on their hind legs.
"Well, that's one way to wrangle the cattle!" Chat cheered.
"Kitty, you do the honors?" Ladybug grinned, tossing the hat to her partner.
"With pleasure! Cataclysm!" the Cat hero shouted, catching the ten-gallon hat in midair. In seconds, it disintegrated into a pile of ash and the familiar dark moth emerged from it.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma," Ladybug proclaimed, swiping her yo-yo and spinning it around, "Time to de-evilize!" With a swift swipe, the akuma was captured and sealed shut inside, "Gotcha!" At last, in a practiced motion, Ladybug lightly tapped the top of the yo-yo, opening it up and setting the moth free, "Bye, bye, little butterfly."
Then gripping the lasso, she tossed it into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
In a swirl of pink, the Ladybug's swamped the highways of Paris, repairing the trampled roads and cars and restoring the majestic glass pyramid entrance of the Louvre.
If it wouldn't have gathered attention, Yusuke would have cried.
Most importantly though, each steer was fully restored to the normal form of a Parisian citizen. They all looked confused and disoriented, but none were hurt.
Finally, the akuma in question groaned as Hawkmoth's black miasma faded, revealing an American tourist, sitting up and rubbing his forehead.
"...What happened?" he groaned, in a thick Southern American accent, "Did I black out or something…? I could have sworn my drink tasted funny!"
"Everything's okay now, sir," Ladybug said kindly as she and her team leaped down to the ground. Already people were cheering happily, slowly surrounding the group.
The heroine grinned and held out her fist, and the three boys quickly followed with resounding cries of, "Pound it!"
"That was so cool!" Saruchame cheered with a jump.
"Not bad for a newbie," Chat Noir smirked, "that was a pretty good aim you had there."
"I try my best," Saruchame shrugged before twin beeping sounds interrupted them. Eyes widening slightly, Saruchame's eyes glanced back, "Uh… does that mean…?"
"That you're about to transform back? Yes," Ladybug nodded, hand hovering over her earrings too, "So am I. Let's get out of here."
"Wait!" Nadja Chamack exclaimed, running over, making the heroes pause slightly, "May we at least get your name, young man?"
"Oh! It's Saruchame!" the Monkey Hero puffed his chest out proudly, "Can't wait to keep working with these guys!"
"Wish we could stay for more questions, but we really got to go," Ladybug hastily said as she leaped away, yo-yo swinging into the skyline, "Bug out!"
Saruchame followed close behind her and the two quickly found an alleyway free of civilians and cameras. Moments later, the circlet beeped for the last time, and in a flash of golden light, Ryuji Sakamoto returned to his former glory.
"Yeah! That was fun!" Xuppu exclaimed gleefully, "You ain't too shabby, kid!"
"I'll take that as a compliment?" Ryuji asked hopefully.
"You were great out there, Ryuji!" Marinette said as her own transformation dropped. She reached into her purse and tossed her Kwami a macaroon, and the Monkey Kwami a piece of banana bread. "The Monkey Miraculous really suits you."
"Thanks… by the way, what made you think to come and get us for help?" Ryuji asked.
"Oh, it's always my Lucky Charm that tells me whether our team needs more help, and my Lucky Charm this time gave me a…" she giggled, "a sock monkey."
Ryuji laughed boisterously, "Your Lucky Charm seems to have quite the sense of humor at times… so you needed the Monkey Miraculous, but… why did you pick me? Something tells me that you were waiting for me to say that I was available to help."
This time, Marinette's smile wasn't quite so wide, "...I learned the hard way to always follow my instincts. I'm never ignoring them again."
o~o
"...You've noticed as well, right sir?"
"...Yes, it seems Ladybug is getting bolder in bringing out the other Miraculous again. It was annoying enough when she found a new Snake Holder. However… this could also work to our advantage."
"Should I send instructions to Miss Rossi again?" Nathalie asked Gabriel Agreste.
"No, not yet," the man instructed, "first we must determine where Ladybug is finding her new allies. They certainly aren't the same children that go to Adrien's school, but we should continue to keep an eye on them nonetheless. You never know when Ladybug will get desperate enough to reuse an exposed hero, like Miss Tsurugi."
"Do you think any of them can be coaxed into your cause like Miss Bourgeois?" Natalie pressed.
"I don't think so," Gabriel admitted, "Unlike Chloe's entitlement, the other heroes seem content enough in the roles they currently play."
"I wouldn't be so sure sir," Natalie countered, "Miss Rossi's schemes seem to be proof of that."
"...Perhaps… we still have much to think about. Ladybug has found herself new heroes. We must double our efforts to obtain the Miraculous."
"Of course, sir," Natalie nodded before leaving the room silently.
o~o
AN: So this chapter a bit more of a filler if anything, but we did get to see another Phantom Thief joins the ranks of the Miraculous Heroes, Ryuji with the Monkey Miraculous.
I based his hero design loosely off of Monkey from Kung Fu Panda or at the very least, that's where his wrist cuffs are coming from. I'll admit, Ryuji was probably one of the harder characters to create a hero design for.
Now, I know that a lot of you may have seen this coming, and some of you may not be too happy with this choice either due to a certain comment that Morgana makes about him in the game (I won't say it here, but you should all know what I'm talking about). At this point in the timeline though, that comment hasn't been made yet, and I'm personally not planning to include it in this story. However, I didn't choose the Monkey Miraculous for Ryuji simply because of that, or his Persona either. A lot of you have also suggested Ryuji for the Dragon Miraculous, and while I'll admit I can see him having fun with the powers, I don't think he represents the spirit of the Zodiac animal as he does with the Monkey.
People in the year of the Monkey (according to my own research) are lively, flexible, quick-witted, and versatile, as well as honest and even gentle.
Now if we look at Ryuji as a character, we know that he's not the smartest person in the Phantom Thieves ranks, but he's not stupid either. He has come up with ideas to help the team, and some of his own actions have solved several problems in the game as well (I won't say which situations I'm talking about for game spoilers, but you all should know if you've gotten far enough). Sure, he can be brash and not think things through sometimes, but a lot of his intentions are for the benefit of those he cares about.
Need proof?
- He doesn't go to his mom to tell her about Kamoshida's abuse because she's already a single, working mother trying to keep a roof over their heads, and him bringing the abuse up would simply add more stress to her own life.
- When confronting Kamoshida, he does it at first for revenge, but eventually, it shifts to getting rid of Kamoshida to help the students he's abusing, as well as expose how much of a scumbag the gym coach really is.
And this is just from what I've observed, but Ryuji is a really honest guy. He hates liars and people that take advantage of others, and he shows that he truly cares about people he calls his friends. Personally, that's probably my favorite part of his character.
Plus, even if he isn't the smartest person on the team, he's always the most passionate and enthusiastic of the bunch. So there's that too.
So anyway, those are my reasons for gifting Ryuji with the Monkey Miraculous, and I'm sticking to them!
Hope you enjoyed this short filler chapter! R&R and see you next time!