To yellow 14: Of course, if you've been fighting the same threat for that long, you're not going to assume the threat is different. Imagine in the show if Ladybug found herself fighting an actual magic user, rather than an Akuma!
To PG.182227: Adrienette and DJWifi both show up in a couple of stories, though at the moment they're only at the forefront of one (but that could change as I write the later stories). As far as countries… there are a lot; a couple stories hop between several. 100% of the American, Africa, Asian, and Australian sets will be used (even if they aren't clarified much); 175% or so of the known (in-universe) Atlantean Miraculous will be used – at least 5 or 6 new miraculous are found/revealed. Plus a metric ton of non-miraculous heroes. Oh, and I haven't seen any of the new episodes or the Shanghai special yet. I keep getting distracted with writing!
To HopefulPhoenix: Entertaining and educational!
To Cesar848: Honestly, sometimes that's my approach to politics, lol! "Why choose the lesser evil?"
Juleka held her shinai up at an angle, just the way Kagami had showed her. Her head felt constricted within the helmet (men) that Kagami's mother had sent over to them and which Juleka's mom had insisted they wear whenever they sparred; the metal grille (men-gane) covering her face made it difficult to see. And then there were the padded breastplate (dou), skirt (tare), and gloves (kote)… Were it not for Kagami staring her down in identical equipment, standing motionless in a guard posture, Juleka would have started fidgeting hours ago from how uncomfortable it felt. She had been training for close to a year before now, but she could barely move in this heavy suit. How anyone could possibly fight in all of this was beyond her understanding.
There was a reason she preferred her skintight miraculous suit over all this padding.
Kagami raised her shinai slightly, mindful of the ceiling on the Liberty's lower deck, moving her back hand down closer to the end of the tsuka. Juleka shifted her own stance to mirror Kagami and tensed, moments before Kagami lunged. She feinted a stab at Juleka's chest which she moved to parry, only to draw back and strike Juleka in the head. Juleka groaned and stepped back, resetting for the next round. This time, Juleka made the first move, a slash at Kagami's waist which she blocked effortlessly. Kagami charged inside Juleka's reach, and Juleka jumped back, hacking with her own shinai to block Kagami's strike. Kagami levered her shinai under Juleka's tsuka for a quick touch on her arm.
"This is completely radical!" observed her mom from the far side of the room. "So intense – even just watching from the sidelines!"
"Kagami took to the sword far more quickly than many of my previous holders," Longg observed, sitting on her shoulder. "I am sure this is why."
On her other shoulder, Roaar scoffed. "She's doing a lot better than my kid at the moment…"
Her mom chuckled. "Well, Juleka did have more important things to learn than fighting," she told Roaar.
Roaar huffed. "There's nothing more important than learning how to fight."
"To you, maybe," her mom retorted. "But chord progressions are so much better for a four year old than katties, or whatever Kagami's been teaching her."
"It is pronounced 'kata,'" Longg told her. "And the kata are just as valuable to the practice of martial arts as your chord progressions are to music."
"Aye, but you're a lot less likely to hurt yourself practicing bass guitar than practicing kendo," she pointed out.
"Don't you remember that time I cut my finger so bad it bled?" Juleka asked, jumping back to avoid a jab. "When you made me practice bar chords for an hour straight?" She lunged forward with a slash at Kagami's legs, striking the outside of Kagami's thigh moments before Kagami struck her across the back.
"Penalty," Kagami called. "No strikes below the belt!"
Juleka groaned. "Tell that to Night Bat," she grumbled, twisting her back to stretch out her shoulders.
Kagami giggled. "In true combat, the rules don't apply. But in training?"
"They apply when they benefit you?" asked Roaar, raising an eyebrow.
Kagami folded her arms, glaring at the Kwami through her men-gane. "It's a friendly competition…"
"As always," Juleka agreed, nodding. She bowed and resumed her stance as Kagami did the same.
"I'm sorry I haven't watched you two spar before now," her mom commented, humming pensively.
"I am, too: normally I do a little better for myself, Mom," Juleka grunted, ducking a slash and sweeping her shinai at Kagami's side. She just managed to catch Kagami's ribs… moments after feeling the tip of Kagami's shinai connect with her back. "Almost," she grumbled, straightening up. She could see Kagami's excited grin through the grille of her own helmet, and couldn't help showing her own enthusiasm. Ever since she had first met Ryoku, sparring together had become their "thing," their opportunity to spend time together. Of course, Juleka mused, this is the first time it's me trying to help her!
"That's not the way I remember it," Kagami teased, stepping back and adjusting her grip.
"Maybe not the first time," Juleka allowed, lunging forward. "But since then…"
Kagami batted her shinai away and rapped her on the arm. "A lot of talk for a kitten…"
Juleka glared at her. "Give me my claws, and let's see how tough you are, drake!"
Her mom hummed. "Don't your suits have less padding?"
Juleka groaned. "Yes, mother," she retorted. "But that's only a problem when we're taking hits – and then only really for Kagami right now. And at the moment…" She feinted a strike at Kagami's head and dropped to target her arm as she moved to block. Kagami, however, ducked under the strike and smacked Juleka's shoulder. Juleka groaned. "I think I'm the one who needs the padding the most."
"You forget: I've been doing this as long as I could walk!" Kagami informed her, dropping back into her stance. "And I taught you."
Juleka focused on Kagami's eyes, waiting for the moment that she would move. She didn't have much of a tell, but after sparring together for so long, she could just barely pick it out. A tiny tightening of her grip, too slight for anyone to pick up on if they didn't know to look, and Kagami lunged, raising her shinai the slightest bit. Juleka, however, moved a little faster, blocking Kagami's strike high and sliding her blade along Kagami's. Kagami flicked her wrist, twisting her arm around to dislodge Juleka's blade, but Juleka struck again, hitting Kagami's forearm.
Juleka grinned in relief as she backed away. Kagami, however, winced, letting out a hiss. Her arm dropped limply to her side. Juleka's smile fell away and she pulled off her helmet. "Are you okay? What's wrong? Did–did I hurt you?"
"No…" Kagami removed her own helmet and tossed it on the ground, rubbing her upper arm. "I think I'm okay… I must've just pushed a little too much. Ice and a break and I'll be fine. But it's a good thing Mother agreed to pull me out of the tournament this weekend: there's no way I'm ready for something like that yet."
Juleka rushed over and grabbed Kagami's uninjured arm, guiding her over to one of the benches against the wall. Kagami glared at her halfheartedly but didn't protest. Longg flew over a moment later, carrying an icepack twice his own size. "I'm sorry," Juleka told her worriedly.
Kagami shook her head, her mouth set in a thin line as she took the icepack and adjusted it on her arm. "No… don't be. It's my fault."
"I'm the one who was sparring with you, though." Juleka's face fell and she leaned away, examining Kagami closely. She still had the same look of excitement and exhilaration in her eyes, but the creases around the corners of her eyes hinted at the pain she was plowing through. "Maybe we started too soon?"
Kagami narrowed her eyes and poked Juleka in the chest. "Don't even start. I'm the one who wanted to spar. I'm the one who kept going when I could feel that I'd pushed a little more than my muscles could take. And I'm the one between us who should really know what she's doing since I'm the one who taught you how to fight in the first place!"
Juleka nodded slowly.
"You young uns have the makings of true pirates!" Juleka's mom observed, handing them both water bottles and dropping onto the bench on Kagami's other side. The two Kwamis settled onto their holders' laps. "I hope I get to see you really going at it one of these days!"
"Definitely!" Kagami agreed, her eyes lighting up eagerly. Juleka grinned in response. "When we can go all-out – powers and everything – it's absolutely awesome!"
"I bet! So how long have you two been doing this for?" her mom asked.
"Almost a year," Kagami answered.
Simultaneously Juleka replied, "Eleven months next week."
Her mom's eyes widened in surprise. "That long?"
Juleka nodded. "The Heroes of Paris take training pretty seriously. Ladybug and Cat Noir and their oldest teammates – Luka, for example – had to figure it out as they went."
"They were recruited in the heat of battle," Kagami explained. "And while the miraculous can convey some understanding of how to use them, they still require training and discipline to use them well – like any weapon."
"That's why they decided to avoid doing that anymore," Juleka continued. "They didn't want me and Rose and the others to have to learn while trying to fight, so they did some training with us, but Carapace didn't really do much 'weapons training'."
"That's where I come in," Kagami supplied.
"I suppose that makes sense," Anarka allowed. "I can't think of many better than you for training people to fight!"
"I'll say!" Juleka agreed.
Kagami grinned. "The first time Viperion introduced me to Bengalia, I offered to train with her, and the rest is history!"
"I figured that she could use a little more social interaction, so the two of us just started meeting to spar," Juleka explained, smirking at Kagami. Kagami quirked an eyebrow back at her.
"You've known each other's identities that long?"
Juleka shook her head. "Actually, we didn't find out until last summer in Le Havre."
Her mother nodded in understanding. "I wondered why you all seemed so… different when you came back from that trip."
"That's why," Juleka answered. "Knowing that Rose was Miss Pinky–"
Her mom's eyes widened. "You and Rose didn't know yet?" Juleka shook her head. "Why not?"
"Ladybug and Cat Noir left it up to us who we would tell," Kagami explained. "But they also warned us to be careful: it has to be someone we trust absolutely, and it's safer if they're also a hero."
"That and I didn't want Rose to worry," added Juleka. "Turns out I didn't have to worry about that!"
Her mom smiled, shaking her head. "Instead, I have to worry about all of you!" She turned to Kagami with a curious look. "So then is knowing each other's identities why you and Luka started…?"
"No," Kagami insisted. "Being on that trip together gave us a lot of time to get to know each other. We were already close before then; knowing each other's identities only made everything… click. The partner whom I trusted to see me through a difficult situation was the same man who could calm my anxieties with his music. In the end, there wasn't anyone else I could love; it was only him." She swallowed, and Juleka wrapped an arm around her back. "It was all of you. And I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Nor would I," Juleka's mom agreed, smiling at the two girls. "And I'm glad all this training means all my kids know what they're doing."
Kagami nodded firmly. "You don't have to worry: Luka and Juleka absolutely know how to fight. I already made sure of it."
"Oh, I already knew they could fight!" her mom chuckled wryly. She pulled both Kagami and Juleka into a hug "But I said all my kids."