Miraculous Devilman Chapter 9
Disclaimer: We Do Not Own Miraculous Ladybug or Devilman. MLB belongs to Thomas Asstruc and Devilman belongs to Go Nagai.
Chapter 9
Luka sat cross-legged on his bed, lightly strumming the strings on his guitar. His phone suddenly rang, abruptly stopping the tune. Luka put down his guitar and picked up the phone.
"Hello? Yes, this is Kitty Section. No, this is Luka Couffaine, co-leader." Luka's eyes widened in delight at what he was being told on the other end of the line.
"Really? Of course! We'd be happy to! Thank you! See you then."
The call ended. Luka rushed to his sister's room, and without warning, thrust it open.
"Girls, big news!"
He awkwardly paused as he saw Juleka and Rose sat in each other's laps, both slightly annoyed and curious as to why Luka interrupted them.
"What is it?" Rose asked
With a smile, Luka replied, "Kitty Section has got its first real gig!"
(Insert Miraculous Ladybug theme music)
"In the daytime, we're Marinette, Adrien, and Akira,
Just normal teenagers with normal lives.
There is something about us no one knows yet,
Because we have a secret,"
"Miraculous and Devilman,
Fight till the end to stop Hawkmoth!
Miraculous and Devilman,
Together as one they'll save us all!
Miraculous Devilman!"
Miraculous Devilman
In a dark room far underground lit from above by starck lights, Hawkmoth finds himself crossing a metal bridge to the purpose of this "second lair" of his. The metal clacks as his feet step across the panels lining his walkway. As he reaches the end, Hawkmoth, or rather Gabriel Agreste, stares upon a mechanical device of considerable size. It is a crossword of pipes and batteries humming with an electrical drone, all leading to a core that rests at an angle before the villain. Said core is a metal chamber with a glass barrier to protect its occupant from the elements, from any chance of desecration. This is the long thought lost mother of Adrien, held in what seems to be a form of stasis.
Gabriel walks closer to the canister with an almost reverent look, taking light strides across the barrier of small vegetation between the metal of the walkway and his wife. He puts a hand on the glass, looking down into eyes that cannot meet his own. After a time, he checks a small panel on the side of the canister displaying lights and giving an unchanging interval of beeps.
'Nothing has changed for the past few years now,' Gabriel thinks to himself. 'At least her vitals have stopped going down since that fateful day.'
Gabriel then hears a new set of feet approaching, but only resumes his standing position in front of his wife. He does not need to turn to recognize the pattern of foot followed by three claws. He hears the unfurling of wings as his ally comes to a stop before reaching his little 'barrier' of grass, a final click of her claws coming to rest on the ground.
"You might want to make your entrance less trackable, Your Featherness," Gabriel spoke, his back still turned to the harpy.
"Why? I'm not scared of you." Silene answers with a hint of arrogance.
Gabriel turns around, a stern look taking his face. "I remind you that Devilman has taken possession of one of my akumas. If he were to track it or you back here, our place of secrecy would be sacrificed."
"Very well then. It's not as though I haven't made efforts to disguise myself in public." she gives with a sigh, before turning her curiosity to the canister. "Is this what…all of this is for?" Silene gestures towards his miraculous. She cranes her neck to get a better look at the human inside.
Gabriel nods. "She means the world to me. It should have been me in there. I will do whatever it takes to bring her back."
Silene examines this woman. It's an odd sight. Everything seems to be intact, yet the soul seems…faint somehow from what her demon senses can tell. "And what caused this?"
A moment of hesitation passed Gabriel. No one, not even Natalie, knew the true reason why his wife was in the state that she is. His fingers gripped around the brooch. "She was a miraculous wielder. I was originally appointed by her to fight by her side, but…" his voice took a mourning tone. "The miraculous's power became too much for her."
"And so now you want her back…" Silene's gaze waivers as she feels a rush of her own memories. "Just like with Amon…" she mutters, not paying attention to her surroundings.
Gabriel gave the harpy a side glance, but said nothing.
He then senses the familiar steps of his fellow assistant. Natalie walks up slowly to them, keeping a distance of a few feet.
"Sir, the plan is underway." She reported.
Gabriel's stern face curls into a sinister smirk. "Excellent."
"I take it you're already working on a new plan?" The harpie is filled with a new amused curiosity.
Gabriel turns to her with a nod. " A trap to trigger a soul's negative emotion. We just wait for someone to take the bait."
(At the Dupain-Cheng Bakery)
Marinette sat at her desk, steadying a sewing machine with both hands as she stitched a seam along the hem of a skirt. The only sounds in the room were the whirring sounds of the sewing machine and Ticki nibbling on a macaroon as she watched her work.
"Is this gonna be part of the outfits for the band?" Ticki asked.
Marinette nodded as she continued to sew. "I'm making skirts for the girls, and trousers for the guys." She gestures to her sketchbook, where two base drawings of the outfits were drawn.
The female outfit consisted of a tank top, a skirt, tights and boots, while the male outfit consisted of a jersey shirt with spikes along the sleeves, trousers, and boots as well. Both outfits had belts worn as tails, gloves for claws, and cat masks to cover the face.
"Isn't it a little ambitious to make official band outfits before they get their first gig?" Ticki asked.
Just then, the phone rang, Luka's number showing.
"Hold that question." Marinette said as she picked up the call. "Hey, Luka."
"Mari, guess what!?" Luka's excited voice came from the other end, startling Marinette a bit. It must be good news to have a calm, reserved guy such as Luka excited.
"What is it?" Marinette asked.
"We've got our first real gig!" Luka replied happily. "Kitty Section is wanted to perform for a kid's birthday party!"
Marinette's face brightened in delight. "That's fantastic!"
"Come to the docks." Luka said. "I want Kitty Section to prepare for the event right away."
"But, I'm not even part of the band." Marinette protested.
"Nonsense." Luka replied, "You encouraged us to form the band in the first place, and helped us by being our practice audience. We really need your help." His voice took a sweet tone as he added, "I need your help."
Marinette felt her cheeks warming at that last statement. "Alright, I'll come." She replied.
"Great! See you in a bit." Luka concluded.
With that, the call ended.
Ticki smiled. "I guess now you have a reason to finish those outfits."
Marinette nodded at her kwami. "Yes, I do."
(At the Agreste Mansion)
Adrien sat in the back garden, in front of the statue of his mom. Most of the greenery and flower beds were overgrown and covered in weeds, but the statue itself was clean and polished, removed from any weeds or rust. Adrien set a euro down on the foot of the statue, exhaling before speaking.
"Hello, mother. It's been a while. I just want to let you know father let me return to school…and I have a girlfriend. Her name is Kagami . She's strong, smart, and caring. You would really like her."
"Are you talking to that statue?"
Adrien spun around to see Ryo walking towards him, his usual trench coat and shades on.
"Oh, good morning, Mr. Ryo." Adrien greeted the detective with a smile. He turned back towards the statue. "Mother, this is my bodyguard and friend, Ryo Asuka."
Ryo studied the statue. So this was the wielder of the peacock? A thin smile crossed his face as he reached Adrien. "So this is the woman I know so little about. She'd be proud to see that you're a hero."
Adrien smiled. "Really?" He looked down at his ring, a question that's been burning in his mind needing to be said. "I wonder where she is sometimes, you know. Father never told me why she left. It pains him when I bring her up at all."
"I could imagine," the detective scratched his head. "Truth be told, I've done some investigating of my own. But any information is sparse and just…cuts off after a certain point." Ryo looks deeper into the carved details. He notices that there is no sign of the peacock, even a disguised form depicted. "But in the end, you seem to look up to her even now, so she must have been kind indeed. She must have cared for you a great deal."
Adrien nodded. "I like to think that she did. My father says I resemble her a lot."
"And indeed you do."
Adrien jumps slightly to see his father suddenly standing a few feet away, standing tall and looking stoic as ever.
"Good morning, father." Adrien said, immediately fixing his posture and wiping the smile off his face.
"Sir." Ryo turned and took a straighter posture.
"I have just received an invitation to sponsor a child's celebration." Gabriel stated. He looks over at Adrien. "Coincidentally, the child happens to be the sibling of your friend. Nino, was it?"
Adrien's eyes widened. "You are the sponsor?"
Adrien was very aware about his invitation to the birthday party of Nino's little brother, considering that Nino told him all the details last night, but he had no idea that his father was sponsoring the event. "Er, I mean, that is..a surprise, that's all." Adrien cleared his throat.
Gabriel simply nodded. "Considering the circumstances of the event, it is only natural that you will be attending as well." He now turns to Ryo. "You will escort him to and from the event."
"As you wish, sir. I'll call in Lila for extra insurance. There's probably a lot of people in attendance if you're sponsoring." the detective pulls out an old looking flip phone and buttons a text.
"Father, may I bring Kagami along?" Adrien asked, his arms clasped behind his back in anticipation.
"Very well." Gabriel replied. "I actually have some business to take care of with Miss Tsurugi, so she will be attending the event anyway." With that conclusion, he turns to leave. He looks back one more time and adds, "The event is in an hour. Adrien, practice your piano until then."
"Yes, father." Adrien responded. He turned over the detective. "Mind being my one-man audience?"
Ryo gave a thin smile, "Sure."
(At the Devilman's apartment)
On the roof of a small building, Akira and Miki were in training. Miki was doing push-ups as Akira sat next to her, lifting some weights.
"If you're gonna try to feed your miraculous past it's set limit, you'll need a strong life force. This comes from two things, a passionate soul and a strong body. You've got the soul part covered, so now we make your body match. You got this!" Akira cheers on Miki as she pushes herself up for the thirtieth time in a row before she wobbles and comes to a panting stop.
She grabs a nearby energy drink bottle, guzzling down half of it before sitting herself up. "You got lucky, Akira. I didn't get a demon boost." She pants with a cocky grin.
"Gotta give you that one," Akira chuckled. The two had only started training a few days ago, but already Miki was reaching some new limits. Running seemed to be her biggest strength outside of hero mode. Her hero practice had always involved the clones, and learning how to split her focus between multiple vessels while still performing various high demand actions. Overall, things were moving at a steady pace.
It was after this exchange that the two heard a ringing. Akira went and grabbed his phone, answering a call from Ryo. The call was short, but Akira got the point. "Well, Miki. Looks like we're going to a birthday party." Miki pumped her fist and finished her drink, "Sounds like fun. Let's go!"
(At the birthday party)
Balloons and banners were streamed across lamp posts and trees as a party was being set up at a local park near the docks. Kids played with kazoos and ran around laughing happily, while some of the kids' parents stood off to the side, chatting with each other. Adrien entered the party, with Ryo close behind. The blonde model took a moment to take in the vibe of the celebration. The function of parties still felt foreign to him, having the fact that his father never allowed him to attend social events that weren't business related, until now.
"Hey dude! You're finally here!" Adrien turned to see Nino walk up to him, a smile on his face. "Kitty Section is getting set up."
"Hey, Nino." The blonde boy gave his friend a wave, then a smirk. "Remember when you tried to throw a party for me?"
"Only the part before I got akumatized," Nino replied, scratching his head. "Man, I wish I could remember what I did after that."
"Oh, you threw me a party alright," Adrien explained, "After you trapped all the adults in bubbles."
"What!?" Nino's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell me this before!?" he rubbed his forehead. "Ugh, that must have been embarrassing."
"It was certainly amusing." Adrien replied with a chuckle.
"What was amusing?" The boys turned to see Kagami striding up to them.
"Ah Kagami, you made it," Adrien greeted her with a grin.
"Uh, who's this?" Nino asked, gesturing to Kagami.
"I am Kagami Tsurugi. Adrien's fencing partner…" She then grabs his arm with confidence, "and his girlfriend. You must be the best friend he speaks so highly of."
If Nino's eyes were wide a minute ago, now they were bulging out of their sockets. "Girlfriend!? Fencing partner!? Adrien, what else aren't you telling me?"
Adrien rubbed the back of head with a nervous chuckle. "Heh, surprise."
Nino turned to Kagami and held up a fist bump. "Nice to meet ya, Kagami. I'm Nino, Adrien's best buddy!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nino." Kagami returns the fist with an odd grin after some hesitation. She wasn't quite sure what to expect, but Nino seemed a good foil to Adrien.
"What's going on?" The three of them turned to see Alya walking towards them, a curious expression on her face.
"Hey Alya." Adrien said. "Meet my girlfriend, Kagami."
"Girlfriend!?" Now it was Alya's turn to be surprised.
"My reaction exactly, dudette." Nino replied. He looked back at Kagami. "This is my girlfriend, Alya."
Alya starred Kagami up and down. So Adrien managed to snag a prestigious gal.
Big surprise.
"Kagami, huh?" Alya remarked. She extended a hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Kagami met Alya's shake. "You must be the reporter I've heard about."
"Sure am!" Alya's demeanor quickly changed into an excited one as proceeded to pull out her phone and open up the Ladyblog. "My feed's been blowing up with all the footage from the recent akuma attacks!"
She scrolled through them, from videos of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting Breakdown and Karmari to snapshots of Ladybug individually being chased by Revenger. One photo, one that stood out from the rest, appeared, to which Alya decided to stop on. "And this one is a personal favorite." She zoomed in on it, showing Adrien wrapped in Ladybug's arms as she lowered them safely from the collapsing building Adrien had jumped off during the attack of Gorizilla. Adrien was clearly smiling affectionately at Ladybug, who was returning the smile.
Kagami frowned at the photo and glanced at Adrien, who gave another nervous chuckle, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.
"Alya," Kagami's voice loses it's hesitancy and becomes colder, "Please refrain from spilling sensitive information where it's not appropriate. Adrien and I have already discussed…matters regarding Ladybug, so please stop." Her stare seems to peer into Alya's soul. If first impressions are important, Kagami has certainly not gotten a good one.
"…killjoy." Alya muttered under her breath, but relented and put away her phone.
"Nino!" Marinette made her way to the quartet, carrying
a box filled with electric cords. "I-" she pauses when she sees Alya. "Ivan needs your help with setting up the speakers." She corrected herself as she gave Alya an annoyed look. She then briefly directed her attention to the other couple. "Adrien. Kagami."
"Marinette." Kagami greeted plainly, the tension in the air thickening.
"Look, it's Adrien Agreste!" one of the kids pointed at Adrien among the group, grabbing all the kids attention. In mere seconds, a crowd of excited kids surrounded Adrien, speaking all at once.
"I saw you on TV!"
"You're so cool!"
"My mommy owns your perfume!"
"Are you staying for the party?"
With Adrien now busy with all his little fans, Nino and Alya went with Marinette to help Kitty Section set up.
(On the band boat)
Ryo found himself on the large boat that Luka called home. The others had all left to carry out various tasks and final tuning of instruments, leaving him alone with the blue-haired guitarist on the deck.
"So you are Ryo Asuka?" Luka extended a hand to Ryo, "Pleasure to meet you. A friend of Adrien's is a friend of mine."
The detective only stares at the hand, "And you must be this 'Luka' everyone keeps telling me about." Ryo does shake hands after a second, but turns out to look at the city from the boat's railing.
Luka gives Ryo a curious look, before tuning the strings of his guitar a final time and joining the detective. "You seem to have a particular rhythm, Ryo." The detective looks over silently as Luka begins to play a calm tune. It begins with clear notes of clear purpose, Ryo can tell that Luka is focused. However, Luka's playing then sounds as if it is relaxing, with the notes taking a more free and varied range. Something about it touched Ryo, but he couldn't quite describe how. "You hold yourself to high standards, detective. You are most comfortable when you have control of everything around you, but there is one element of chaos that you enjoy. There is something in your life that you cannot always control or understand, yet that brings you a silent joy."
The musician smiles as Ryo takes a surprised step backwards. Ryo tries to distract himself by straightening his coat, but then Luka strikes a key point. With a final strum after a soft end to his tune, the musician offers, "Maybe it's not some "thing"' that you love as much as it is some'one'."
Ryo's cheeks flush for only a second, but he quickly tries to brush it off. "So what it's not like he's…" He stops himself, "Well how would you know? Have you ever felt like that towards someone?"
Now it was Luka's turn to be lost for words. He looks over in the direction where Marinette was helping Juleka untangle some cords, a small smile curling on his lips.
Ryo glances over in the same direction, then puts a hand to his brow. ('You've got to be kidding me')
(A few minutes later)
It was once most of the band had set up when Akira and Miki arrived, both still sporting their athletic wear from earlier. "Hope we're not too late," Miki waved Marinette and the other band members assembled. "You're just in time, actually," Rose called out to them, "We're almost done setting up." Miki joined with the others as Akira was pulled aside by Ryo.
"Hey, what's the deal?" The Devilman asks.
"I need you to help me follow some leads I've found in my investigations. There's a possible demon relic hidden in the catacombs and caves under this city. This could be the key to this 'Xero' demon I've shown you all the prophecies of."
Akira nodded with agreement. He recalled how Ryan had spent many nights either away from the apartment or coming home late, sometimes rambling about a demon of prophecy. "Ok, Ryo. I'm with you. I just hate to miss this party," He remarks lightly, to which Ryo puts a hand on Akira's shoulder with a thin grin. "Perhaps, but we both know that with demons involved, we can't afford to waste a chance."
With that, the two demon hunters made small goodbyes. Akira found Miki and gave a, "Sorry to drop you here, but Ryo needs my help with finding a demon tool."
Miki pouted a little, "And I assume you're not taking me with you?"
Akira lightly put his forehead to hers, "I'd rather you not have to mess with demons again if I can help it. Besides, the city might need you up here again."
Miki gave a cocky grin, "Sure, I'll watch the other two. Good luck down there." The two shared a small kiss before Akira ran off to find Ryo again and Miki went to join Marinette.
Ryo went and approached Adrien, who was with Kagami. He had brought Lila with him, and she followed behind the detective. "Oh. Hi, Ryo. What's the matter?" Ryo put on and flipped down his shades, "There is some urgent business that just came up. Akira and I are going to be gone for a few hours. Lila will take over and be the custodian in my stead" He gestures to the brown haired girl, who gives a friendly smile. "And Miki is here too if you cause any trouble." Ryo smirks slightly as Adrien takes in this attempt at a joke. Ryo simply pats Adrien on the shoulder and walks off.
"I'm sure you two know how to enjoy yourselves, but I'm here if you need anything," Lila offers with a small chuckle.
In the scuffle of people, Miki came across Kagami. The two made friendly greetings, and Miki struck up a conversation. "So how's life treating you? Akira told me that you and Adrien are together now."
Kagami gave a small yet confident grin, "It's been nice. We've had a few outings since that first fencing lesson I gave you. Adrien has been very earnest in his actions." Kagami then looks over at the blonde being pressured for attention by his fans, "Though he can't help getting dragged off for various reasons," she mutters in annoyance. "Tell me about it," Miki chimed in, "All of a sudden, Akira lets Ryo pull him away from the party for some kind of 'adventure' or whatever it is he does when he's not with Adrien."
The two girls share an odd grin, lamenting their similar frustrations.
(Back on the boat)
As the band nears completion in it's stage setup, Luka was tuning his guitar now with the speaker plugged in. As he gave it a final strum, the musician noticed Marinette approaching with a bag in her hand.
"Hey, Luka." She greeted him with a smile.
"Marinette, good to see you, we're almost ready to go." He turns his head to the bag, "What've you got there?"
"I have the band outfits ready." She reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of trousers, a jersey shirt with spikes along the sleeves, spiky boots, and a cat mask with a black and blue striped pattern along the edges. "I've given the others their outfits and they've tried them on and said they fit." She held out the outfit to Luka. "I hope I got your measurements right."
Luka put down his guitar, excitement in his eyes, "This looks incredible. I'll try this on," the musician takes the bag and begins removing his outer clothing.
Marinette quickly turned around, putting her hands over her face as her cheeks warmed.
Soon, Luka had put on his new outfit, and gazed upon his new look in awe. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Marinette. This is amazing."
Marinette could see the joy in his eyes through the mask Luka now wore. "You really think so?" Marinette said with a hopeful smile. She was worried about the quality of the outfit considering how she'd done them in mere hours, yet she still took the time to add spikes to Luka's boots.
"I do. Thanks for everything, Marinette," he puts a hand on her shoulder. "You really are something special."
Marinette's cheeks flushed as she took in his compliments. "Thank you, Luka. That..it means a lot."
The atmosphere seemed to melt away as the two just stared at each other, smiling and enjoying each other's presence.
"Luka Couffaine?" The atmosphere re-emerges as Marinette and Luka turn to see a woman with tan-toned skin and brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail.
"Ah, Miss Lahiffe," Luka said. "Our band is just about ready to perform for the birthday boy."
"About that," Miss Lahiffe frowned. "I'm afraid your service is no longer necessary."
"Excuse me?" Luka said with a raised eyebrow.
"We have found another performer," Miss Lahiffe explained. "Someone more…experienced."
"Who is this "performer?" Marinette demanded.
As if on cue, the booming music from a large set of speakers blared out, and to the boat entered no other than the most popular musician in Paris, Jagged Stone.
"Rock and Roll, my dudes!" Jagged called out, striking his signature pose. His assistant, Penny, stood behind him, holding his pet crocodile, Fang, with a metal leash in one hand, and a clipboard in the other.
"Sweet! Jagged Stone is here!" Nino's little brother, Chris, came running up to the group, an excited grin on his face.
"Hehey! You must be the birthday boy!" Jagged bent down to meet eye level with the kid. "How'd you like to pet Fang, big guy?"
Luka turned to Chris's mother with a glare. "You're replacing us with Jagged Stone!?"
"With all due respect, I know nothing about your band's musical quality." Miss Lahiffe replied calmly. "Jagged Stone is a very busy man, and we are very fortunate to have him here."
The others, specifically Juleka and Rose, made their way over the conversation.
"What's going on?" Rose asked.
"Miss Lahiffe is replacing us with Jagged Stone!" Luka was now visibly upset, pointing an accusing finger at Jagged Stone. "He doesn't know the first thing about performing for kids!"
"Woah, easy there laddie." Jagged Stone put up a defensive hand. "I'm sure a group of kids ain't so different from a world tour audience."
"This isn't fair!" Marinette's voice raised as well, looking over at Chris's mother. "Miss Lahiffe, you're not even giving Kitty Section a chance!"
"Yeah, that's not cool of you to just dismiss us for the popular musician." Juleka added.
"Please…please let us perform." Rose's voice was timid, and tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. "We worked so hard to show you what we can do."
Juleka wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulder, and she looked over at her brother, who was now glaring intensely, his fingers squeezing tightly around his guitar.
(In Hawkmoth's Chambers)
The big circular window opened, and light poured into the dark basement, revealing Hawkmoth, who stands tall and ready.
"What a pity. An ametur musician who's voice can't be heard. Let's help him out." he cupped his hands over a moth, transferring dark energy into it.
"Fly away my little akuma, and akumatize this voiceless soul."
The akuma flew out the window and high above the city.
(Back on the boat)
As Marinette and the others continued to argue with Miss Lahiffe, the akuma flew up to Luka and inserted itself into Luka's guitar pick. The guitar pick turns black, and the Hawkmoth symbol appears over Luka's glaring face.
"Vocaloader, I am Hawkmoth. It seems your voice isn't being heard. Well, with everyone silenced, they won't have a choice but to hear yours. I'm giving you the power to silence anyone who stands in your way.
All I ask for in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses. Do we have a deal?"
Luka simply fastened the guitar pick around his neck like a locket.
"I'll take your silence as a yes." Hawkmoth concluded with a sinister smile.
With that, darkness enveloped the blue-haired musician.
"Hey, what the? Aa…" The arguing band and Miss. Lahiffe all turned their heads in shock to see Jagged Stone being raised off the ground by a tall figure bearing sleek armor. Dread filled Marinette's heart as she recognized it as the outfit she had given Luka, now warped into something evil. Jagged fell silent as a trickle of glowing energy came from his mouth and floated in the air. It resonated with a hum sounding like the singer's own voice before being drawn into a guitar pick around the figure's neck.
"You would desecrate our hard work, but no longer!" The twisted Luka retorts with malice. He drops Jagged Stone, who tries to yell, but no sound can be made.
The others begin to back away slowly, Chris being grabbed by his mother as Vocaloader pulls out his guitar and strikes it loudly. A concentrated sound wave knocks all of them off their feet as he then rushes at Nino's mother. In a swift motion, he pins her to the ground and puts a hand over her face. "And you! You would put all of our hard work to ruin, crush our dreams for the sake of some…Idol!" Vocaloader extracts her voice, which flies like a wisp of mist into the guitar pick. A small speaker dish then appears on his shoulder plate, which Marinette notices. Then, in an uncanny blend of Luka's, Jagged Stone's, and Miss Lahiffe's voices, "But now, as Vocaloader, I will ensure none can silence our voice. You will know our sound and fury!"
Chris is grabbed by his mother, who runs away in silent fear. The rest of Kitty Section scoots away scared, but the akumatized Luka stands calm for a second. "Do not worry, friends. I will not harm you. I only seek justice. Our moment in the sun will be seized this day, I swear that to you."
"Luka.." Marinette got up to her feet and bravely stepped forward. "Please, don't do this. What you're doing isn't justice, it's revenge. Kitty Section will find another way."
"It's gonna be okay, bro," Juleka added.
Rose timidly spoke. "This..this isn't you, Luka. Please."
This time, more of Luka's own voice came through. "You guys. You're all so kind…but those on top always take advantage of that. I'm done letting others push us around. This was going to be our first big performance, and now it will be again. I won't let anything or anyone silence your voices," he looks to Marinette, "or your talents."
Before anyone can stop him, Vocaloader runs into the crowd of the party.
Chaos erupts as people get their voices taken, children running to their parents in silent panic, the screams and usual sounds of panic that came with akuma attacks decreasing rapidly. Soon, what was once screams of horror is quickly becoming a quiet chaos as more speakers appear on Vocaloader's armor and his guitar is upgraded with new sounds. Adrien and Kagami had managed to escape, but had lost each other in the crowd.
Marinette turned to the band members. "You guys take cover. Ladybug and Chat Noir should arrive to stop this silent madness soon."
Everyone nodded in agreement and hurried towards the bottom level of the boat. Marinette crouched under a speaker as Ticki flew out of Marinette's pocket. "Even under Hawkmoth's influence, Luka seemed very much like himself." Ticki remarked.
"I know." Marinette replied. "He thinks he's doing the right thing, but we need to step in before all of Paris falls quiet. Ticki, Spots On!"
A pink aura surrounded Marinette as Ticki got sucked into Marinette's earrings. A red suit and mask with black polka dots appeared on her, red ribbons wrapped around her pigtails, and a yoyo with the same color scheme appeared around her waist. Marinette, now Ladybug, spun around, lifting her leg high, and struck a pose, the ladybug symbol appearing behind her as her transformation was now complete.
Miki ran away towards the boat, which Vocaloader had been moving away from. She ran across the deck whispering out "Mullo, Get Squeaky!". As she reaches the edge of the deck and leaps off across the water, the mouse kwami flies out and absorbs Miki in a flash of magic. Her transformation reaches its end as she dives into the river, ready to enter the fight from a different angle.
(Elsewhere in the park)
Adrien ducked behind a tree, checking left and right to make sure no one saw him.
"We didn't even get cake yet," Plagg grumbled as he flew out of Adrien's pocket.
"Think about your stomach later. Plagg, Claws Out!"
A green aura surrounds Adrien as Plagg is sucked into his ring. A black suit and mask appear on Adrien and a silver staff in hands. He slashed his claw-like hands before striking a pose, the black cat paw symbol appearing behind him. He extended his staff and vaulted away towards the ruckus.
From behind a bush, Kagami raised her head, struck with shock and breathing heavily. She had hidden under the foliage of a bush to hide, but then heard a sound approaching. She had peeked through the thick leaves to see…Adrien transform into Chat Noir! She dared not make a sound as the hero kept off into battle, but now all of her thoughts were on what to do next. "Then he's really…so what does that mean about us?" Doubt began to pour into Kagami's head as memories of past incidents started piecing into a terrible picture. All that time where Adrien had expressed his admiration for Ladybug, he was actually the Chat Noir infamous for his romantic attraction to her. Then was Adrien and Kagami's relationship only a farce? Was he only dating her as a part of disguising his identity?
Kagami shook her head. No, that couldn't be true. Yes, Chat Noir was infamous for his attraction to Ladybug, but Ladybug had always rebuked his advances. Perhaps Adrien had given up on Ladybug, which led to him asking her out. Yes, that had to be true. Kagami forces herself to focus on the good, to have hope. She knew Adrien, he was honest and loyal and faithful. Kagami knew that Adrien, despite being Chat Noir, was still her boyfriend and a loyal one at that…right?
Kagami stood and ran in the direction of the battle, determined to help Adrien however she could.
(Within the city)
Silent panic spread as Parisians ran for cover, though no shouts or cries could be heard, with Vocaloader collecting more voices as he proceeded down the streets. With each new voice, Vocaloader's power increases, the vibrations coming from the sound waves of music blasts from Vocaloader's guitar shaking the ground violently, making people stumble and fall down, to which Vocaloader uses to his advantage to seize their vocals. As he absorbed more voices, his own became less human, "I just need to claim my end of the bargain, then no one will silence us again." The Akuma finds himself before a citizen backed against a corner, and readies his hand, only for a staff to knock his hand away.
"Hey, didn't your mother ever tell you to keep your hands to yourself."
Vocaloader turned to see Chat Noir with his staff held ready and a grin on his face. "Good luck trying to silence me, for I meow loud and proud."
"I don't need your voice. Just your Miraculous." The Akuma stands tall and pulls out his guitar. "You can give it to me now, or I'll be forced to take your voice too."
"You'll have to take mine first!" A yo-yo wraps around Vocaloader's guitar, prying it out of his hands and into Ladybug's grip.
"Always purrfect timing, Bug-a-boo." Chat Noir remarked.
"And always with the jokes, Kitty." Ladybug remarked back with a sly smile.
Vocaloader points at the heroes, "I don't need my guitar to take care of you both…"
All of a sudden, a dozen Multi-Mice clones land on top of the Akuma, having jumped off a nearby building and pulling him to the ground.
"Ack!" Vocaloader cries out as he gets pinned to the ground. A single Multi-Mouse stood away, leaning on her sword like a cane. "Guess I got the drop on him, huh?"
Chat Noir grinned. "Hehey, Mousey's got jokes too."
With a shake of her head, Ladybug replied, "Nice of you to drop by." She peered behind the mouse-themed hero expectantly. "Where's Devilman?"
"He went off on some hunt, or that's what he told me. I have no idea whe…" an ear-splitting shriek screams aloud from the Akuma, causing pain for the three heroes, before he unleashes a powerful shockwave to blast the clones off of him. The clones crash into Chat Noir and Ladybug, knocking Vocaloader's guitar into the air. He reclaims his weapon and strums the strings, forcing everyone around him off their feet.
He rushes Ladybug before anyone can gain their bearings, and pulls her up off the ground. With a glow in his eyes, Vocaloader draws Ladybug's voice out from her mouth, and absorbs it into his guitar pick. "You wanted my strings so bad? Well now your voice will always be with them!" He begins to reach for her earrings, but the heroine kicks herself off. The Akuma jumps away from the others in a burst of sound back into the open as his guitar begins to transform. Once better sized to his proportions, Vocaloader's guitar increases in size, it's handle growing longer and gaining handles. A large blade appears on it's side, and now Vocaloader wields a war axe guitar hybrid.
Chat Noir's eyes widened at the sight of a simple guitar being turned into a fierce weapon. "So, your power increases with each voice, huh?" He holds his staff ready. "Let's test it out." He dashes forward, swiping his staff at his legs.
Ladybug tries to yell at him to stop, putting her hand to her throat as she realizes she was now mute.
The multi-mice scramble to surround the akuma, though one stays behind in concern for Ladybug.
As Chat Noir swings at Vocaloader, the akuma plants his guitar axe handle into the ground, causing Chat to bounce off with a loud "Clang!" As Chat lands on his feet, some of the multi-mice rush in from behind him. They manage to knock Vocaloader over, but they can never manage to pin him down before getting sound-blasted away. At the same time, the akuma can never manage to grab an individual clone before the others overtake his focus.
Chat Noir jumps in time and time again, trying to land a decisive blow, but Vocaloader matches most of his strikes with the swing of his axe guitar.
"You're one stubborn villain, aren't ya." Noir begins to quip, "Nothing keeps your sound down. You're rock solid." The two enter a clash. Vocaloader tilts his head, "…okay, that was actually kinda alright. It'll be a shame to take your voice." The akuma overpowers Chat, knocking him backwards with a push to the side and a shoulder smash. Chat tumbles for a few feet, and lands on his feet. Vocaloader rushes at him and puts a hand over his mouth. A gust of mist escapes Chat Noir's lips, and transfers into Vocaloader's locket. Voice taken, the Akuma shoves him down before turning to face an incoming attack from a multi-mice clone.
Another multi-mouse comes up to the cat hero, "Are you alright Chat?!"
Chat Noir tries to respond, an inaudible sigh escaping him as he signals to his throat. He points at the voice-taking villain, then at his mouth, does the zipping motion across his lips before making a fighting stance, hoping he can convey his idea through his body language.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" The mouse clone said with a sly smile.
Chat Noir gave her an unamused look before pulling out the cell device on his staff and typing out what he was trying to communicate. He held it up for the multi-mouse clone to read, to which she did out loud. "Let's give Vocaloader the silent treatment. This might trigger him to attack harder, which we will stall to tire him out."
Ladybug made her way towards them, overhearing the plan.
"Did you catch all that, Ladybug?" Multi Mouse asked.
Ladybug nodded and got out her yo-yo, ready to get back into action.
With that, The three of them turned towards Vocaloader and simultaneously, and silently, lurched at him with their individual weapons. The Akuma vaulted into the air and swung down his guitar axe, giving himself some space as the heroes backed away from his impact zone. Shockwaves broke the road into pieces and asphalt shot out like shrapnel around him. Ladybug deflected incoming debris with her spinning yo-yo and came to blows with Vocaloader. The multi-mice were not so lucky, and their combined injuries were beginning to take a toll on their performance as a whole. Chat Noir was able to vault himself above the blast with his staff, and hit Vocaloader on the head while he had been fighting Ladybug. The villain, for a brief minute, paused to rub his head, to which Ladybug uses that to her advantage, wrapping her yo-yo around his legs, making Vocaloader lose balance and fall down.
Just as success seemed guaranteed, Vocaloader grew desperate. "No! I need more power! I can't lose here! The band will have its day!" He roars in fury, and pulls Ladybug towards himself with a kick. She is lurched forward, and Vocaloader backhands her away, the yo-yo still strung on his leg. Chat Noir tries to go after Ladybug, but he is knocked off his feet by a sound blast. As he picks himself off the floor, his eyes widen as the rage filled Akuma barrels towards him through a crowd of multi-mice. Vocaloader winds up his guitar axe, swinging hard and fast before the hero can move. A silent gasp is all that escapes before Chat Noir is blown into the sky like a golf ball.
Vocaloader grabs one of the downed multi-mice, too tired bearing the combined battle damage pain of all her clones. Before the others can intervene, the akuma has taken its third hero voice. With a moment of respite, Vocaloader allows a short chuckle to escape his lips. "Maybe I should take her Miraculous…No, that's not part of the deal. We'll still need at least one hero when this is over." With that, he begins to approach the downed Ladybug.
(Somewhere else in the city)
Kagami is making a good pace towards the sound of the fight. She begins crossing a bridge across the river, stopping halfway across the bridge as something catches her eye. She looks up to see Chat Noir, no, Adrien fall out of the sky. She gasps as he falls into the water just away from the bridge, and Kagami rushes to the railing to try and find him. Kagami sees where he splashed down, but only sees bubbles. She waits only for a moment, he's not coming back up. Without further hesitation, she dives headfirst into the water, grabs him, and pulls him up to the surface. The two find themselves on the sidewalk just above the water line. Chat Noir gasps for air before turning to see that his savior was.. Kagami!?
"Are you alright?!" She asks in a panicked voice.
Chat Noir felt his cheeks flush slightly. Here he was supposed to be the hero, yet was being saved by his girlfriend.
He tries to communicate back by giving her a thumbs up and smile, his staff floating up beside him.
The two grab onto the edge of the sidewalk and pull themselves out of the water, Chat Noir shaking the water out of his hair, which now stuck out like spiky quills.
Kagami is unsure what to do now. Adrien seems well enough, but she can see a small scuff on his cheek. "Well, I'm glad you're still alive." Does she let on that she knows who he is? She decides against it. ('He must be under enough pressure already, I don't want to overwhelm him')
Kagami does her best to wring out her sleeves, "I want to help you."
Chat Noir immediately shakes his head and crosses his arms in a "no way" gesture. He points to his mouth, then to Kagami, trying to explain the situation.
Kagami tilts her head at this, "Why are you…he took your voice? You think he'll take mine." She crosses her arms.
Chat Noir nods, then remembers his staff. He pulls out the cell device and types his response, holding it up for Kagami to read. The message read: Vocaloader is ruthless and won't stop till he has everyone's voice. You must get to safety quickly.
"I'm not just going to leave you here, not again! I…" Kagami stops herself, conflicted on how to approach this with everything she knew. "I can fight. I am one of the best fencers in this city. At least let me support you, please." An odd sort of desperation is clear to see in her eyes.
Seeing how she is stubborn about helping him, Chat Noir gave a shrug of relent and gestured for her to get on his back. Relieved, yet slightly embarrassed, Kagami got on his back. 'I have to tell him after this is all over' she agrees to herself.
(Meanwhile, underneath your he city)
In the deep recesses of the underground, the cold of stone surrounded the two demon hunters. Only the stream of light from Ryo's flashlight allowed him to see in the caves beneath the city as they explored, with Akira using his Devil-eye's X-ray to scan ahead for obstacles or clues. "Are you sure this is the right place?" The devilman turned curiously.
"Not entirely," the detective responded with a hint of dismay, "The journal I found at the museum only let on that whatever relic we're looking for was hidden under the city. There are thousands of cataloged tunnels here, but we need to go deeper if we want to find what we're looking for."
Ryo took a few steps away from where Akira had been walking, turning his flashlight ahead. He saw a new tunnel ahead and started moving towards it, only for Akira to grab him by the torso and pull him away with a "Woah!" The two fall backwards, Ryo landing atop Akira.
The detective flushed brightly, but his flashlight was fortunately pointed away from them. Ryo quickly picks himself up and shines his light around where he had been walking. To his surprise, right in front of him was a long chasm in the ground. An embarrassed frown covered Ryo's face, which soon turned into an annoyed one as Akira came up behind him.
"What are we even looking for again? You just said we were looking for a 'relic' of some kind."
Ryo took a deep breath. And then sighed in slight frustration. "I don't know exactly. All the book said is that a "spear of Xero" was found and brought here. It could be just a spear, or it could be some sort of demonic device like the devil-chronicle mask. The stupid book didn't want whoever found this to find the relic." Ryo huffed, to which Akira put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, friend. I know you'll figure this out eventually. Besides, I'm here to help you."
The detective had to chuckle with some relief, "I doubt you can translate any of what I'm reading."
The devilman rolled his eyes with a grin, "No, but I can get you wherever you need to go."
Ryo looks down the chasm in front of them, it is very wide and looks rather deep… "I need you to get me down there," he states matter of factly.
"Sure thing," Akira chuckles as he picks Ryo up in his arms, growing out his devil-wings. The devilman begins slowly parachuting down the chasm with his wings before the detective can protest being carried in such a way.
(Back at the battleground)
"I need your miraculous, and I'm not letting anything stop me." Vocaloader readied his guitar as he approached the wary Ladybug. She sees her yo-yo still strung around the Akuma's leg, and formulates a small plan in her head. ('I'm sorry Luka,' she thinks to herself, 'but I can't let you do that').
Just as Vocaloader swipes at her, Ladybug dashes between his legs, grabbing hold of her yo-yo as she does so. She pulls on his leg with all of her strength, and forces the akuma to kneel. With her ladybug vision, she spots the guitar, her yo-yo, and herself. In a single motion, she unwraps the yo-yo, wraps around the guitar, prying it out of his hands, and using her kneecap to break it into two. She frowns though when no akuma flies out.
"Nice try, Ladybug." Vocaloader then tackles her down, pinning her arms against the pavement. "But I stay, unlike your miraculous!" Still holding the spotted heroine down, he rips the earrings off her ears. In an instant, pink light engulfs Ladybug, detransforming.
("No!") Ladybug internally panics. ("This can't be happening!")
Vocaloader abruptly pauses, a gasp escaping his lips. He couldn't believe his eyes. Ladybug…was Marinette Dupain-Cheng!?
In his state of shock, he drops the earrings, the miraculous making a clacking sound as they hit the ground.
"It can't be…" The Akuma's eyes grew so wide, they looked like they might explode.
Ladybug, now Marinette, gave a sheepish smile, giving a sort of a half shrug.
"I…what have I done? What have I done?!" Luka's voice is at its most human as the reveal kicks in. He falls to his knees, "I…stole your voice, the voice that was precious to me."
Vocaloader quickly releases Marinette, staggers backwards in horror before the mask moth symbol flashes over his face. He reels back in pain as Hawkmoth tries to assert more control over him.
"What do you think you're doing, Vocaloader!?" Hawkmoth shouted through their akuma bond. "Get me Ladybug's miraculous!"
Luka groaned as he involuntarily reached for the earrings he dropped, his body shaking as he tried to resist Hawkmoth's control.
Marinette scrambled to her feet and put her fists together in a pleading gesture, begging Luka to resist.
"I need this power…to save our band's dreams…" Luka struggles to speak as his own body is fighting against itself. As he tries to pull away, small flashes of purple electricity course at him from the moth symbol.
Marinette slowly approaches him, cupping Luka's hands in hers. She gives the akumatized musician a reassuring smile, trusting him to do the right thing.
Vocaloader's body tenses up before forcing himself to stop finally. "I…cannot fight you, I must not fight you. Not again. Not the one most dear to my heart." Luka recoils as he slowly fights off Hawkmoth's control, reaching for the guitar pick chained around his neck. "I know I will forget what happened here, but just know that…I love you." In a final burst of strength, he tore the guitar pick off it's chain around his neck and handed it to Marinette.
Marinette ripped away the chain and stomped on it, releasing the akuma, which started to fly away. Vocaloader gave out and the darkness drained from Luka at last.
As the multi-mice began to rouse, one of them saw the scene unfold, smiling cheekily behind her visor. ("Akira is gonna get a kick out of this") she thought.
(In Hawkmoth's Chambers)
"Nooo!" Hawkmoth growled angrily, as he once again failed. He had the earrings in his grasp, and he lost it. Head hung in defeat, the basement window closed, leaving the butterfly villain in complete darkness.
"So this is your weekly routine?" mocked Silene, who had been watching all this from the shadows in his dome chamber.
Hawkmoth turned around, glaring daggers at the harpy.
"And what is yours? It seems you aren't any closer to capturing Devilman as I am of capturing Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses."
Silene growled at this, but said nothing else. ("Just you wait, Human. Soon, I won't have to bother letting you live. Soon, our general will be awakened")
(Meanwhile)
Chat Noir vaulted from streetlamp to streetlamp, trying to hurry back to the battle to help Ladybug and Multi-Mouse. Kagami held on tightly to his back, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt them soaring through the air each time Chat jumped.
To both of their surprises, the akuma comes flying towards them, seemingly trying to find another host on its own.
"The akuma?" Chat Noir exclaimed with a raised eyebrow. "Ladybug must have extracted it." He jumps back down from a street lamp, allowing Kagami to get off his back.
"Cataclysm!" Black sparkles engulf Chat Noir's hand, and with a grunt, he runs forward, grabbing the akuma mid-air, and disintegrating it in an instant.
Kagami was surprised, "I didn't know you could deal with akumas as well."
Chat Noir gave her a cocky grin. "Ladybug's not the only one who can dispose of akumas, you know."
His grin immediately falters to concern as he remembers. "Ladybug! I gotta make sure she's okay!"
The black cat hero quickly takes off again, seemingly forgetting Kagami in the process.
She stared in dismay and slight annoyance as she was left on the street. "That Adrien…well I can't just stand here." And so Kagami simply ran in the direction Chat Noir had gone, trying her best to catch up.
(Back with Marinette and Luka)
Luka rubbed his head as he got his bearings straight. "Wha..what happened?"
Luka!" Marinette paused for a brief second, relieved to have her voice back, before wrapping her arms around him. "Are you okay?"
Luka is barely getting his bearings after losing his short memories, but a thought crosses his mind. ("Why is Marinette this far away from the party, and where is Ladybug?")
Before he can properly respond, Chat Noir jumps down from a nearby street lamp, panting heavily as tries to catch his breath.
The multi-mice reconstituted into the single hero, and Multi-Mouse makes her way to the others.
"Ladybug, I'm…here?" Chat Noir looks to Luka and Marinette, then to Multi-Mouse, but no sign of the spotted heroine. "Where did she go?" He asked the mouse heroine.
"Ladybug was about to de-transform back after using her lucky charm to save me." Marinette explained. "She told me to tell you to take care of the akuma."
"She left just a second ago," confirmed Multi-Mouse, something of a sly grin unseen behind her visor. Unseen by any of the others is Kagami, who has since caught up with Chat Noir but decides to stand behind a building's pillar within earshot.
"Oh, I see." Chat Noir sighed in relief. "Well good to know things worked out. Saw the akuma and took care of that pesky thing." He smiled admiringly. "Always Bug-a-boo to save the day. Nothing like her."
A beeping sound can be heard. Chat Noir looks down at his ring, which begins to flash. "Oops, gotta go before you me without my mask. But first." He held out a fist bump towards Multi-Mouse, who returns it.
"Pound it!" Chat Noir said before extending his staff and vaulting away.
Kagami, now having more doubt in her heart despite everything, simply walks away back towards the party.
"Well, I gotta run. Good luck you two," Multi-Mouse chuckles before running off and down an alleyway nearby.
With that, Marinette turns back to Luka. "We should head back to the boat and work things out." She suggested.
Luka's eyes widened slightly as he processed what had happened. Ladybug being nowhere found, Marinette being right beside him as he came to. The very defensive and rushed tone of voice Marinette had when answering Chat Noir… something clicked in his head.
The musician suddenly had a large yet comforting smile on his face as he replied to Marinette, "Yeah, that's a good idea…Ladybug."
Marinette suddenly had panic written all over her face. "What!? No! That's not-, Luka, this it's not what it looks like…!"
Luka only chuckled lightly as the two made their way back to the boat and the party.
(Back at the party)
As the chaos finally calms down, Luka and Marinette find themselves surrounded by the other band members near the stage. Luka makes an apology to the others, as well as to the general crowd. Surprisingly, the battle had resulted in negligible damage to the town, and the people had their voices back so all was forgiven in relatively short order.
The band prepared to take down their equipment, when they were approached by Jagged Stone, who suggested that he and the band could perform together, that way both get to shine. After a brief private discussion with the Kitty Section members among themselves, they agreed to the deal, with Miss Lahiffe approving this resolution as well.
With that, a crowd of kids began to form around the stage, and Kitty Section readied themselves for its grand debut. As preparations ended, and Jagged began by introducing the band beforehand, Luka called Marinette to the side.
"Say, Marinette. Did I say anything weird when I was akumatized?"
Marinette blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Um..well, you kinda…confessed your feelings… towards me."
Luka smiles somewhat embarrassed, "Gosh, I…wish I had remembered that. So, I'll say it again..properly this time." A kind glimmer shone in Luka's blue eyes as he gathered himself.
"Marinette, thank you for everything you've done for me, today and all the time before. I see the shining light of an artist in you, one that I've never seen before. I love your artistic spirit, and your strength to do the right thing. I love you."
With that, the musician puts on his costume mask with a grin. "I understand if you need time to think, it must have been a wild day for you. Take the time you need." After a light tug from Juleka, Luka joins the rest of the band and they begin their first public performance.
Marinette was absolutely speechless. Her face was bright pink with blush as she took in Luka's second confession.
He likes her more than just a friend!
She had no idea Luka felt that way about her until today. And to be honest with herself, she always admired Luka too, even before the whole thing with Adrien happened. It was almost too good to be true.
"That is the most beautiful declaration of love I have ever heard." Ticki, who peeked her head out of Marinette's purse, exclaimed.
"It really is, Ticki," Marinette managed to reply simply. "It really is."
It was at this point that Miki returned, this time with Akira.
"Yo, fearless leader!" He called out, and soon the three were talking. "Seems you had all the fun without me," the devilman smirks.
Miki can't help but bear a smug grin, remembering what happened with Luka.
"I, uh.." Marinette put a hand over her face. "Don't look at me like that guys!"
"Why? Did something happen?" Miki asked, her voice somewhat hopeful.
"He…you see.." Marinette stammered.
"Luka gave her a beautiful declaration of love." Ticki told them with a smile.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Miki put an arm around Marinette.
"Guess he really was fond of you," Akira added.
"So what did you tell him?" The two ask in unison.
"He told me he'd give me a moment to decide." Marinette explained. "I like him too, but…"
"But what? You're still hung up on Adrien?" Akira retorts. "Yellow top doesn't even know you like him. Besides, he's dating Kagami."
"Akira." Miki chastises his tone, but turns to Marinette. "Think of it this way. How long has it taken you to even try and get Adriens attention?" Miki's own Kwami stuck his head out from one of Miki's pockets, "I've heard quite a few stories from Plagg."
Marinette ponders this, remembering the past year worth of attempted schemes and shenanigans.
"Quite a while." She admitted.
Miki nods with a smile, "And along comes Luka. He's a lot more aware of how people feel, he's an artist like you, and in such a short time you two have gotten along so well. The fact he got akumatized means he clearly cares a lot about you." Miki then gives Marinette a gentle nudge. "You even managed to help him fight Hawkmoth's control like Akira did for me. There's got to love in that."
"Follow your heart, Marinette." Ticki added. "Trust yourself."
Marinette smiled and nodded, realizing what she really wanted. "Thank you, guys." She replied gratefully. She put her arms around her friends' shoulders.
"Let's watch the show now, shall we?"
(Meanwhile)
Adrien returned the party, de-transforming behind the same tree as before, and giving Plagg a much-deserved wedge of Camembert.
"You know, it seemed like Multi-Mouse knew something about that situation that I didn't." the blond boy voiced his thoughts.
Plagg just shrugged as he stuffed his face with the cheese. "I wouldn't think too much about it, kid. Besides, you should go see how your girlfriend's doing, considering how you left her on the street and all."
Adrien gave his kwami an annoyed look.
"Adrien."
"Gah!" Adrien jumped slightly as he turned to see Kagami standing right behind him, a solemn expression on her face.
"Oh, hey Kagami. What's up?" He said with a nervous chuckle.
Kagami gave him her signature cold eyes, "I think you may know what."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Adrien said innocently.
Kagami's eyes grew colder, and her lip seemed to quiver slightly. She crossed her arms, preparing for the truth. "Adrien, I know you're…"
"Dude!" The two looked over to see Nino running towards them, holding his cap so that it won't fly off. "Where have you two been? You can't miss Kitty Section's performance!"
Before the two could respond, Nino grabbed the two by their arms and dragged them towards the crowd.
(Later, on the boat)
Marinette waited patiently backstage as Luka signed autographs and tended to the group of excited kids upfront. The performance has been a success, with the kids enjoying the combined show of Kitty Section and Jagged Stone, and Miss Lahiffe telling them that she will definitely spread the word and recommend them to a wider audience. Luka looked like a true professional up there, a rockstar in the making. She now knows for certain what she wants, and she will…
"Marinette."
Marinette flinched slightly as she blinked back to reality, turning to see who called her name.
To her surprise, it was Kagami.
"Kagami?" Marinette greeted questioningly.
"Hello, Marinette. I came to see how you were doing." She gave a small yet sincere smile.
"Oh," Marinette did expect for Kagami to be concerned about well-being, yet she didn't deny that it didn't feel nice to be on friendly terms, with everything that went with Adrien and all. "I'm doing well, actually. Um, where is Adrien?" She asked casually. "Shouldn't you be with him?"
Kagami's smile becomes a conflicted frown, "He left in a hurry after the performance. Let's just say there's something we need to discuss." She refrains from saying any more to avoid revealing anything she had learned today. "It seems you've had quite a day, though I can see you're doing quite well now."
"Uh, yeah," Marinette felt her face warming as she thought back to everything that happened today. "You could say that. I want..er, hope things are working out with you and Adrien." She tried saying as sincerely as possible.
Kagami is taken aback, touched even. "I…thank you." She puts a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "It's know wonder you are dear in the hearts of many. I hope you find all the happiness you desire." With that, Kagami takes her leave, a somewhat sullen smile across her face. The next few days will bear much trouble.
Ticki peeked her head out of the purse. "Something tells me there is tension going on between them." the ladybug kwami remarked.
Marinette nodded. "Likely. It's not typical for Kagami to come up to me like this."
"Like what?" Luka asks from behind Marinette.
"Eek!" Marinette whirled around, nearly stumbling backwards. Luka grabs her arm and pulls her straight on her feet, an amused chuckle escaping his lips. "Sorry. I'm glad to see you're still here," He lets her go.
"Yeah, I…have come to a decision." Marinette answered. She gestured to Ticki. "This is Ticki, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Luka." The ladybug kwami greeted joyfully.
"I see. It's nice to meet you too." Luka tilted his head in curiosity at the kwami before turning back to Marinette, "Would you prefer somewhere more private?"
Marinette blushed before slowly nodding. "..yes."
"Alright then, my room is just below deck." The musician opens one of the cabin doors for Marinette as she enters the lower deck of the ship. The two find themselves in Luka's room. Various instruments are displayed on the walls, and it feels rather homely.
Luka finds himself in the middle of the room and turns to Marinette. "So, what's on your mind?"
"I took some time to think about what you said," Marinette began, her fists clasped together as she held down her nervousness. "And I've realized, after everything that happened today, that I have feelings for you too. So, I've decided… I want to give this a try." She stood on her tippy toes and placed a kiss on Luka's cheek.
"I want to be your partner."
Luka blushed brightly, unsure what to say. He placed an embarrassed hand to his face as he couldn't help but smile with joy. "I…hehehe. Thank you, Marinette." He forces himself to face her properly, his cheeks a deep red. "You've made this my happiest day. I promise to do everything in my power to make you happy as well."
Marinette's blush matched her new partner, her smile so wide and genuine that her cheeks hurt. "Same to you Luka." She slowly reached over and gripped his hand, who squeezed back gently.
Ticki peeked out the purse, smiling happily at the new couple.
End of chapter 9
Author's Notes:
dancecat25: "There once was a ship that was put to sea, and the name of the ship was Lukanette," Oh, bonjour, beautiful readers. Quite the turn of events in this chapter. Hope the reveal and Luka's confession and Marinette's decision left you speechless:)
Aladar Caval: yo there readers. Hope you enjoyed this snippet of battle, and a few duo moments. Been a while since I've done some Ryo and Akira, and I'll be sure to develop Ryo's investigation more in the next chapter.
dancecat25: I was originally not planning to ship Lukanette, but they're dynamic is so gosh darn cute that I said "Screw Adrienette! I want me some Luka and Marinette fluff!". Come at me, Adrienette fans! I look forward to bringing you some more in our next cooldown chapter. Until next time, Bug Out!
Aladar Caval: get ready for some light fluff and a major confrontation on the MLB side of things. Meanwhile, you DM fans get ready for some good ol' fashioned Akira and Ryo adventures. See you next time. 'Til all are one!