Nino Lahiffe was the absolute worst at keeping secrets.
Call in an inherent trait, chance, bouts of awful luck, whatever, but everyone knew it was dangerous for him to know anything they didn't want anyone, Alya specifically, (and to an extent, all of Paris) to know, because he was a wimp and could not say no to her and everyone in the school knew it.
Which was why he was still extremely confused as to why Ladybug would ever, ever give him a chance to be a superhero. The entire purpose of the masks were to keep their identities a secret. A secret. The one thing he could not do to save his life...or rather, Alya's.
"SHELLTER!" he yelled, trying to deepen his voice and not make it blatantly obvious who he was as he raised the shield above his head, struggling to balance himself as the weapon, nearly as big as him, pulled him back and forced him to hold on to Alya to steady himself.
So, not exactly the most heroic action he could have selected at that moment.
Oh, well, he decided as he carefully maneuvered Alya and Chat Noir to the pavement. At least it hadn't been worse. His hood hadn't come down or anything, though, now that he thought about it...he cautiously reached up to check on his ballcap, making sure it wasn't showing. That would have been just his luck, to finally get a chance to be a real hero, only to be discovered less than a minute later because of his lucky hat.
After all, it wouldn't have been the first time-
"Oh! A new hero!"
Before he could respond, Alya, having miraculously recovered, had already whipped out her phone and begun recording. Uh oh...
Nino glanced back at Ladybug for help. The girl merely shrugged as though submitting to their fate. The phone lense was jabbed up in his face and he took an unconscious step back, giving her a weak smile.
"What's your name?"
"Uh..." Help me, his eyes said as he pleadingly met Ladybug's gaze. Go on, was the response he received. Quickly, he thought of a name, something his class had just gone over in biology... "Carapace!" he blurted. "Call me Carapace!"
The dots on Ladybug's earrings flashed again. "Oops!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. "Gotta go! Bye!"
With one last grin, Nino turned and took off after her.
They had met in a side alley where he'd morphed and said his farewells to Wayzz (but not before teaching the little dude a secret fistbump routine). And that had been the end of that. His once-in-a-lifetime chance to have powers. After all, it wasn't like Ladybug and Chat Noir needed help often. In fact, if Chat hadn't gotten himself stuck, then Nino wouldn't have been needed at all.
He didn't anticipate ever seeing Wayzz again (which probably explained the totally manly squeeze he'd given the kwami before he'd disappeared back into the bracelet) and he was sure that was the last time he would ever be called upon to help (After all, even if LB and Chat were outnumbered, they still had Rena Rouge, which...now that he thought about it...he found a little odd that she hadn't been Ladybug's first choice in rescuing Alya).
Going home just didn't feel the same after that. Something had happened to him that night, something more than he'd told Ladybug when she'd noticed his odd look as he prepared to run back to meet his girlfriend. He felt different. Stronger, braver, less...like him.
Ah, it was probably just the adrenaline getting to him. Wielding a miraculous was a lot more taxing than Ladybug and Chat Noir had made it out to be.
At this point, just standing was an effort in itself.
Upon reaching his house and without uttering a word to anyone, he shuffled up the stairs, throwing open his door and collapsing onto his bed, face buried into his pillow to muffle his screams, a combination of fear and thrill. He had fought a supervillain. He. Had fought. A SUPERVILLAIN.
Not just fought.
Fought and survived.
Fought, survived, and gotten the girl.
Not to mention he'd found out about Wayzz and all the other miraculouses and potentially discovered the secret to Ladybug's very existence (he still hadn't guessed who she was, though she'd been adamant that no one could ever find out the truth. Besides, if Alya ever found out that he'd been the one to save her and he had superpowers and hadn't told her, she'd bury him alive, forget Hawkmoth and his akumas).
This was absolutely the opposite of any secret he'd ever worked out from his classmates and he had a feeling it was going to take every ounce of his self-control not to spill his identity to anyone.
Slowly his screaming faded to confused, uneasy whimpers and he fell asleep shortly after. He didn't hear his parents come to check on him or Chris knock a potted plant from the banister. That night his dreams were full of magic, fighting Hawkmoth directly, and eventually gaining the trust of Ladybug and Chat Noir and discovering their secret identities. However, it did not take long for those dreams of grandeur and fame to morph into accusations, fear, and terror of the villains finding him out and what started as a blissful night transformed into a solid three hours of actual sleep combined with constant nightmares and awaking, shrieking and drenched in cold sweat.
Marinette was the first to notice him the next morning as he slowly trekked along, headphones jammed firmly over his ears, listening to his newest mix with his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets. She frowned, probably noticing his silence and the way he kept his eyes firmly on the pavement, nudging Alya who followed her gaze confusedly. Her face lit up as she spotted her boyfriend and she waved wildly.
"Nino! Over here!"
He smiled faintly, returning the wave and trudging over to join then, lowering his headphones and slinging an arm around Alya's shoulders, falling instinctively into place between the two girls and shoving away his sensations of dread. He winced slightly, laughing as Mari slung an arm around his shoulders in the same manner and the two girls pulled him toward the steps. Already the other students were swarming the entrance and the threesome had to shoulder their way through the older students to reach their lockers.
"Hey," Nino said, glancing around as he stuffed his backpack for physics. "Where's Adrien?" It wasn't like his best friend to be late.
"He's on his way," Alya replied, glancing absentmindedly at her phone. "Photoshoot."
Nino frowned. Another one? "Hmmm." He didn't say anything more. He didn't have to. With a sigh, he swiped through his playlist and selected another song, pulling up his earphones and diving back into the bass. Alya and Marinette shared a glance and shrugged, not understanding but not really trying as usual.
Together, more or less, the three headed up the stairs to their classroom. The girls then waved and disappeared to their seats in the middle and Nino slumped behind his desk, glancing worriedly toward the door, waiting for Adrien to come charging in, doubled over and out of breath. He'd begun to notice his friend's absence more and more and although Adrien constantly assured him that nothing was wrong and that he wouldn't miss class for the world, Nino was still concerned. After all, how many photoshoots could Gabriel Agreste possibly do?
He was halfway on his feet, having half a mind to march down to Adrien's manor and put Mr. Agreste in his place, when a stern voice cut above the sound of his dubstep.
"Nino, please refrain from whatever foolish thing you are about to do and take a seat. Class is about to begin."
Nino froze, jerking his earphones down and flushing slightly at the raised-eyebrow expression of Madame Bustier. "Sorry," he mumbled, ducking his head and sliding back into his seat, ignoring the snickers coming from Chloe and Sabrina's desk.
Their professor frowned but made no further comment, picking up her instructing stick and moving toward the whiteboard. Her eyes drifted around the room, pausing briefly upon Adrien's empty spot. "All right, children. Turn to page 394 and let's begin."
Nino sighed, dropping his head into his hand, fighting to stay awake.
Where are you, dude?
The rest of class seemed to pass exceptionally slowly. Bonding elements, mathematics, akumas blowing up half of the schoolyard, nuclear reactions, and-
Wait...what?
Someone screamed as something outside the window exploded and the room was enveloped in red. There was no time to react. The windows shattered and the fire erupted into the classroom, smashing into everything and creating a hurricane of chaos. "Everyone get down!" Alya yelled, already grabbing Marinette's arm and ducking for cover behind their desk. Nino reacted the same, throwing himself to the ground and throwing his arms over his head. All around him, the class was screaming and trying to get out of the way as something big, terrifying and obviously akumatized teleported inside.
"WHERE ARE LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR?" the thing screamed, swinging a fist toward the Madam's desk, splintering it in half. "I WANT THEIR MIRACULOUSES!"
Chloe screamed as a blast of something hot and purple whistled past the students and exploded into the far wall, disintegrating it almost instantaneously. "Go away!" she huffed, standing up and crossing her arms in her typical indignant stance. "We're studying here!"
"CHLOE!" Alya hissed, still crouched behind her table, her eyes shooting daggers toward the blond. "STOP ANTAGONIZING THE VILLAIN!"
"Shut it, Alya!"
While the two girls bickered behind him, Nino fumbled for something to fight back with. Quickly, he shifted through his backpack. A pile of text books, a spare pair of headphones, nothing really good for resisting evil akumas with insane powers.
Besides, he shouldn't get his hopes up. There was no way Ladybug would bring his miraculous to an everyday fight. No, today he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He cringed at the sound of more glass shattering around him, curling further in on himself.
"MARINETTE, WAIT!"
Footsteps darted past him and he forced his eyes upward, catching a flash of bright pink as the classroom door opened and the girl went flying out of the room. Mari? he thought dazidly. What is she doing?
And then Alya was screaming at him.
"Nino! NINO, stop her!"
What was he supposed to do? He gaped at his girlfriend with visible confusion but Alya simply thrust a finger toward the door, already having her phone up and recording. "GO AFTER HER!"
With a groan, Nino complied, heaving himself to his feet and darting out the door before the akumatized victim could turn to stop him. He had to find Marinette. He didn't understand why she'd chosen to run away in such an obvious manner but he knew Alya was counting on him to stop her before she got hurt, which, quite frankly, was the very opposite of running and hiding, which was what he very much wanted to be doing at that moment.
Think like Carapace. Think like Carapace. Wait, Carapace is me. Think like me. Think like-
Well, that was the most unhelpful train of thought ever.
"Marinette!" he called, hurtling along the hallway, opening every door and checking every classroom for the girl. "Dudette, where did you go?" There was no sign of her on the top floor. He hurried back toward the stairs, flinching at the furious roars coming from the beast still being contained in the classroom. How much longer was it going to stand around? And where had it come from to begin with?
"MARI!" he shouted again, cupping his hands to his mouth.
And that was when he spotted her on the first floor, darting toward something out of his line of sight. Whatever it was, it didn't look like she had any intention of hiding.
"Marinette!" he called again, leaping down the stairs two at a time. The dark haired girl spun upon hearing her name and her eyes widened as she twisted back away and took off running toward a side room, slamming the door shut before he could say anything.
Nino blinked. Well, that's not a normal reaction.
He hurried toward the office, pausing right before he reached for the handle and adjusting his hat determinedly. "Marinette!" he exclaimed, pounding on the wood. "Dudette, what are you doing? We need to hide and-"
Purple light whizzed past his ear and exploded, the force of the impact throwing Nino forcefully away from the door and sending him tumbling away from Marinette. He groaned, landing painfully on his back. The world spinning before his eyes and ears ringing loudly, he stared straight up-straight up into the eyes of the akuma.
The warrior-a combination of a samurai and a dragon-snarled at him with blazing black eyes and raised her dagger-like spear above her head, preparing to drive it into the dj's heart. Nino's eyes slammed shut as he prepared for the end and for the overwhelming pain to engulf him. It's over, his mind thought bleakly, unable to move, his body still in shock from the explosion.
"NINO!"
Alya's panicked shriek flooded the gym.
Nino felt his heart shatter as he partially opened one eye, spotting his girlfriend standing hazardly on the stairs, terror alight in her eyes as the scene unfurled before her.
"NO!"
I'm sorry, Alya. I failed.
He braced himself, ready for the darkness, ready to welcome it like an old friend.
The sword came swinging down, the blade glinting hungrily against the sun.
"STOP!"
An explosion of red light flooded the gym, coming from the direction of the office. Before anyone could say or do anything, a yoyo came whizzing out of the darkness, striking the blade head-on and sending it skittering away from the akuma's grasp and saving Nino's life.
The yoyo whipped around, retracting once more to its owner, and Ladybug stepped from the shadows.