Stuck In A Bakery (With You), Chapter 56
Slowly, Kagami regained her footing, though her eyes told the story of how startled she really felt.
"You have been... Marinette, you have been Ladybug this entire time?" she asked, hesitantly.
"I have," Ladybug smiled. "I didn't mean to shock you with that; I'm sorry."
"No, I... I just..." stammered Kagami. "It makes sense to me now, I think. I may have faulted you for hesitancy in the past, before I got to know you... but there is a strength within you that I have admired. Something that you hold in reserve until it is needed. This explains so much."
"Marinette reminded me of Ladybug in so many ways," Chat told her. "Her compassion, her giving nature, her fire inside when someone was wronged... but it wasn't until last night that I fully understood why."
"You didn't know?" asked Kagami, with some wonder. "Did you, Marinette?"
Ladybug shook her head. "Neither of us had any idea," she explained. "I kept fending off Chat because I was crushing on Adrien... who didn't notice me that way because he was crushing on Ladybug. And neither of us could tell the other our secret."
"But you have each told me," noted Kagami, slowly.
Her face grew somewhat cloudy with confusion. "Why have you told me?" she asked.
"For a couple of reasons. Come on over here; let's sit down and talk about it."
Ladybug gestured to a bench close to the alley, still largely out of line-of-sight to the street and anyone who might be walking by.
"Okay... reason one is that Marinette and I have been feeling very conflicted over what's been happening between us. You know that, of course; we've talked it out a couple of times already," began Chat. "But talking it out doesn't necessarily make it any easier to deal with. When this lockdown started, you felt like you had a boyfriend in me and a good friend in Marinette. There had to be times when you wondered if you'd even want to look at either of us when it ended."
"Did I have some moments like that? Yes, I did," admitted Kagami. "And if the two of you weren't who you are... I mean, not just who you are now..."
Ladybug looked at Chat. "Okay... let's make this less confusing, now that she knows and before anyone else sees us here. Spots off."
"Claws in," Chat echoed, also transforming back.
Kagami smiled and added, "What I meant was... that both of you have cared about what I feel and how all of this affects me. That much is obvious, and it is appreciated... even if I can see now that I never really had a chance with Adrien."
Adrien frowned at that. "Kagami... that's not true at all," he countered. "A lot of things fell together the way that they did to set up what has happened. That doesn't make what we had before any less real."
"I understand that. I do, Adrien," sighed Kagami. "But I always felt as if... that if Marinette ever found her courage, or if you opened your eyes to her, that would be that. And I was correct in that."
"And I am sorry that I contributed to that," Marinette apologized. "I waited so long to tell him... and then when I felt like I could finally do it, he was with you then, and I held my tongue. But once Adrien and I fully understood the situation last night... you deserved to know the truth, as well."
"Did I?" Kagami wondered. As her composure returned, her analytical side kicked in. "I feel like I am the last person who should have been told the whole truth."
"How do you mean?" Adrien asked her. "Is there some reason that you feel that we can't trust you?"
"I am compromised to Hawkmoth, am I not? Three times over, so far!" countered Kagami. "That was why you took the Dragon Miraculous back from me, Marinette - because I let my secret slip out. And why I was so surprised when you gave me a second chance at that!"
"About that," Ladybug began, feeling awkward. "I want to apologize to you about that day. I was feeling somewhat jealous over how close you and Adrien were becoming... and part of why I gave you the Dragon again was to distract you from that. And because I felt that you would be a valuable partner against the Akuma, absolutely... there was never any doubt of that! But it wasn't fair of me to treat you that way."
"I would like to think that I wouldn't have done something like that," answered Kagami. "But to be honest, I can't say that for sure. Not without walking in your shoes."
"But the question remains... why would we tell you our secrets, if you are compromised like that?" Adrien continued. "Well... my Lady and I have been discussing many things lately, and one of them is that pretty much all of our allies are compromised now. After Chloé did what she did, Hawkmoth knows the identity of everyone that Ladybug's ever trusted with a Miraculous. So we don't think that we are putting you in additional danger right now... we feel like we are bringing you in closer, now that we know that you are."
"This is not an impulsive decision," Marinette agreed. "We discussed this for quite a while."
"Have you told all of them your secret?" Kagami asked.
"No. You are the only one," replied Marinette. "And probably the only one that we plan to tell. Of course, you are the only one involved in a love triangle with us..."
"That we know of," Adrien deadpanned, getting a dirty look from the girls.
"...and, to put it bluntly... the rules have changed," Marinette added. "Because my mentor is no longer available to guide us. It's up to Adrien and I to figure out how to best use the Miraculous to protect Paris from Hawkmoth, and to rebuild our team... and that means mixing things up a bit."
"We need people who are brave, who are smart, and who are trustworthy to help us do that. And you were one of the first people that Marinette and I thought of," smiled Adrien.
"You... you want me to become Ryuko again, when you need me?" gasped Kagami.
"At least once," smiled Marinette, craftily. "But I have a different role in mind for you, as well."
"Please, explain," Kagami insisted.
"I do want you to appear in public as Ryuko at least once more. Perhaps more than that. And if Hawkmoth thinks 'Ah, that is Kagami Tsurugi,' would he act upon that? Perhaps... but he could have acted against you at any time, since he's known for a little while now, and he has not done so yet. That doesn't mean that he never would..." Marinette suggested, "but that we don't plan on leaving you or your mother undefended if he does."
"You're going to allow me to keep the Dragon?" boggled Kagami.
"Not exactly," Adrien smiled. "If Hawkmoth knows that you are Ryuko, and sees you in that role once more... he might not suspect that our newest partner is also you. A little misdirection to try and throw him off the trail."
Marinette added, "The Dragon is quite powerful... and its weapon is something that you are very comfortable with, of course. So when we need a swordswoman, you'll get that call. But one of our inner circle of Miraculous recently lost its host..."
"...and we would like you to be by our side a lot more often than that."
Kagami turned to Adrien, whose arm was outstretched towards her, a black box in his hand.
"Kagami Tsurugi... you are someone who should be treated like royalty," he smiled. "And this makes that official."
Her eyes wide, Kagami accepted and opened the box...
A tiny yellow being floated out of the flash of white light. Floating before Kagami, it smiled up at her demurely.
"Greetings, my queen," Pollen greeted her. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Hello, little bee," marveled Kagami. "It is good to meet you, now that I am not trying to dodge your stingers!"
"I am so sorry about that," Pollen declared, her face falling. "It is a terrible feeling for a Kwami, having their power misused... I was so disappointed in my prior host."
"That was Chloé Bourgeois, yes?" asked Kagami, the name only emerging from her mouth grudgingly.
"We are not supposed to name names... but it is not as if she made any effort to hide herself," sniffed Pollen. "She was more alarmed that there might have been someone in Paris who didn't know."
At Kagami's questioning look, Marinette sighed. "Chloé and I are... complicated. We always have been," she replied. "She was not given her Miraculous at first; it was more of an accident that she got her hands on it. There were days when she was a valued teammate, and days when... not so much."
"Complicated may be one of her middle names," Adrien agreed. "I would know that better than most."
"And while I do not want her near a Miraculous again... there are some bridges there that need rebuilding," Marinette said. "She was spoiled, entitled and demanding... but she also felt neglected and ignored by us, and lashed out because of that. And I can't say that I couldn't have handled her better than I did. I avoided confronting her when there were problems, and we paid a big price for that."
"And you're not alone in that," Adrien consoled her. "I didn't recognize it in her, either, and I may be the only person with whom she's ever let herself be vulnerable."
"At any rate, I look forward to getting to know you better, Kagami... if you'll have me," Pollen added in a soft voice. "If you do... I ask only that you use my power with good intentions."
Kagami locked eyes with Pollen, considering her options.
"Kagami? A couple of things, before you decide," Marinette jumped in. "Because I want you to go into this knowing all the facts."
She turned Marinette's way and nodded, listening attentively.
"Number one. You do not have to agree to this," said Marinette. "I hope that you will, obviously! But you know what having a Miraculous can be like; it is a responsibility more than it is a gift. It can be dangerous to have, and dangerous to use, and dangerous to those around you. We don't know when we will call upon you, or what you'll have to do to protect your secret, or a million other things. And the closer you are to Adrien and I..."
"...the more serious it can be," Adrien chimed in. "And you're closer to us already than anyone else has ever been."
"I understand," said Kagami. "I would not agree to this lightly."
"Secondly... and this is really important to me, Kagami... this is not an 'I stole your boyfriend, so here's your consolation prize' apology," insisted Marinette. "I mean... I don't think that I stole him, exactly... but I still feel like..."
"Marinette?" interrupted Kagami. "You've said it, and I've said it. Adrien can follow his own heart, and make his own mind up."
"But everything that we'd talked about before - including alone time for you and I, where we can see where we stand - is still in play," Adrien reminded her.
"Absolutely," Marinette confirmed. "But you would not be holding that box if we didn't have absolute faith that you are the right person to have it."
Kagami nodded with a smile, trying not to let emotions show.
"Third," Adrien continued. "If for some reason, you don't think this is the right Miraculous for you... there are many others. We had considered a 'wild card' kind of role for you, where you might receive whatever Miraculous best fit a situation or an Akuma."
"But there's also something to be said for getting to know one Kwami very well, and bonding with them on a personal level," smiled Marinette. "Adrien and I know a little about what it's like to be lonely... and then to have someone to talk to and someone you can depend on."
"Even if it's a friend that no one else knows about," Pollen added. "Well, almost no one else."
"And this way, when you're needed, we won't have to come and find you and give you a Miraculous. You'll have it nearby," Marinette pointed out.
"And last, but not least," said Adrien, "you do not have to be 'Queen Bee', necessarily. That was Chloé's thing. The Miraculous responds to your wishes, your self-perception, your own sense of style when it transforms you. You can mentally picture yourself however you'd like, and that's what you'll look like."
"You mean that you want your hair like that as Chat Noir?" deadpanned Kagami.
Marinette hooted loudly, then tried to muffle it when she saw Adrien's face.
"As a matter of fact..." Adrien grunted, feigning being offended, then allowed himself to grin. "Yes, I do."
"Well, then," Kagami declared. "I will say that golden hair combs aren't part of my usual fashion choices... and you might need a comb more than I do..."
As she removed it from the box and tucked it into her hair, Pollen flew up close and whispered in her ear, to which she thanked Pollen quietly.
"...but I think that I can make yellow and black work well."
With a grin in Pollen's direction, seeing hopeful smiles on her friends' faces, Kagami declared, "Pollen... buzz on!"
When the white flash cleared, Marinette and Adrien stared in amazement at their friend.
In place of Queen Bee's skintight striped bodysuit, Kagami wore a black jumpsuit, with thick yellow stripes on the sides and scattered aesthetically across the front. It was well-tailored to her slim frame, allowing unfettered freedom of movement while covering her completely, its center line zipped closed to the yellow choker around her neck. Her hair had lengthened somewhat, flowing out behind her. A black domino mask with a golden border surrounded her eyes, which shined with intensity; the spinning top rested at her right hip.
"Wow," gasped Marinette. "That is... that is amazing!"
"A queen bee can be formidable... as can a wasp," she replied. "But Hawkmoth will regret the day that he first tangles with the Hornet!"
"All you need to go with that is some Hanzo Steel," admired Adrien.
When Marinette looked at him quizzically, Adrien laughed, "Okay! The first thing we need to do, when travel is back to normal, is movie night at my place."