Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

A/N: This chapter will feature Nesoberi plushies. If you don't know about it I suggest you to google it now. If you're lazy I'll tell you a nesoberi is a plushie with a huge head and a small body, but it's better to get an image of it.

Summer.

"Kid, it's the holidays." Plagg yawned as he woke up to Chiba vacuuming his room. "Do you have to get up this early?"

Maybe spending time with the cat kwami really did have an influence on Chiba. "Yeah that's because between chores, babysitting, the huge load of homework the school assigns us, akuma fights and patrols I have a lot of time," Chiba answered sarcastically.

"I've been spending a few months with you, and I've never seen you do anything other than work. What do you do for fun?" Plagg asked.

"Hmm." Chiba turned off the vacuum cleaner. "Work is fun."

Plagg hit himself in his face. "Get out with your friends! Enjoy the sun! Eat some cheese but don't eat mines! I don't understand you at all. You really need some fun in your life, or else you'll become the emo you look like."

Chiba pushed the vacuum cleaner outside of his room, ignoring Plagg's comment. Plagg gave an exasperated sigh and flopped back on Chiba's bed.

A beep from the phone caught Plagg's attention. The kwami flew over and checked Chiba's messages.

"The Ladyblog has a new update." Plagg muttered. "Nothing about cheese though. Wait- Ladybug and Black Cat Nesoberi plushies?"

Hayami froze when she saw the new update on the Ladyblog. Eyes focused on her computer screen, she scrolled down until she saw the promotion pictures for the plushies.

Hayami stared and stared. Then she made some sort of weird screech and buried her face in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Tikki asked, hovering beside Hayami.

"No." Hayami muttered, her face red. Tikki peered at the pictures.

"They're pretty cute. That's Japan for you." Tikki admired them.

"...Yeah…" Hayami's green eyes were narrowed as she glared at the picture. "It's cute. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen in my whole life."

"I suppose you'll want a Nesoberi of Black Cat." Tikki remarked.

Hayami remained silent. "It's embarrassing though," she said finally.

Tikki moved the mouse and clicked on a picture of the Black Cat plushie to enlarge it. The plushie had big round eyes and hair made out of felt, and two cat ears. There was even a bell around its neck. Seeing that immediately set Hayami into "fangirl mode".

"Hnnnnnnn!" Hayami made a sound like a dying whale, jumped on her bed and rolled around, while cuddling one of the many cat plushies that lined her bed.

"So cute so cute so cute so cute," the girl squealed repeatedly, pink hair splaying out on the bed. Tikki was amused to see her usually stoic holder act in such a way.

Recollecting herself, Hayami stopped rolling, and cringed when she thought of her earlier ways. "I've become one of those idiotic Black Cat fangirls," she muttered, embarrassed.

"But you're not an idiot," Tikki said kindly. "And you do have a chance to end up with him, because you're each other's best friends!" She tried to encourage her holder, hiding the fact that if neither of them died there would be a 100% chance that they would end up together.

"Yeah. That's what we think of each other. As friends." Hayami sat up, the cat plushie lying in her lap. "I'm not exactly ready."

"So, are you getting the Black Cat plushie? It's pretty rare, there are only 15 of them and they can only be won in UFO catchers, in arcades all over the town. They'll be released two weeks from now." Tikki noted.

"Only 15 of them…" Hayami held her chin. "This is going to be an ambitious plan. UFO catchers are hard, and I've never really tried to play them before."

Hayami's expression turned serious as she brainstormed of ways to get one of those plushies. Her eyes wandered to her computer screen and her expression immediately melted into a much more milder one. "Gah! He's adorable!" she squealed, and Tikki thought she nearly saw hearts appear in her eyes.

"Okay… so I have a split personality now…" Hayami muttered as she returned to normal.

"Just a reminder, you have to get them before the diehard fans of Black Cat. And there's a lot of them, but only a few plushies." Tikki said.

"I know." Hayami sprang from her bed to her bag, where she kept her purse. "I need to get more 100 yen coins… and I have to wake up early that day…"

Tikki watched in amusement as Hayami wrote down the things she would need to do to get the plushie. It was funny because Hayami treated her mission as a school project or something. Her holder was really too serious for her own good.

Chiba was convinced that something strange would happen at nighttime.

It was as if somebody pressed a button, because he and Ladybug suddenly became more open (not too open though) at their midnight patrols than when they were fighting akumas.

Ladybug, in particular, would be more relaxed, compared to her poker face when she was dealing with akumas. For some reason Ladybug had taken an intense liking to him, showing her affection by petting his head, which he always accepted with a somewhat forced smile.

It was a bit degrading to be seen as a cute kitty, especially for a person as stoic as he was, but Chiba didn't want to hurt Ladybug's feelings so he didn't say a thing.

That day, there was an akuma attack near the station next to the Kunigigaoka Station, which meant the attacks were spreading out from their town. Which also meant they had to patrol areas near their town too.

Spreading a map out on his desk, he had marked down where the akuma attacks took place, in hopes of finding Kochou's lair. So far they had no clue, as the attacks seemed to take place randomly.

There was a knock on the door, and Chiba quickly spread out some books to seem like he was studying. Plagg was unaffected by the disturbance, until Chiba grabbed him and shoved him under his pillow with a muffled screech from Plagg.

"Oh. Mom." Chiba greeted when his mother came into the room. His mother was a sweet, gentle woman, and since Chiba had been serious and quiet ever since he was a kid, his mom didn't want to disturb him. And that was why she always knocked before entering his room.

She set down a plate of sliced apples on his desk. "Don't sleep too late," she reminded him and then exited the room.

Chiba felt slightly guilty that he was lying to his parents about studying. He did study, but he spent some time patrolling, so it wasn't a complete lie.

He stuck a toothpick into one of the apple slices and ate it, before pulling the map out from under his books and memorizing the different roads in the nearby towns. The hour ticked by as Chiba saw there were only five minutes before his designated meeting time with Ladybug. He transformed and climbed out of the window, and the hot air immediately enveloped him. It was a stuffy change from the air-conditioned room the boy had been enjoying moments earlier.

A heat wave had hit Tokyo, so that night was said to be one of the hottest nights of the year. Even though the sun had gotten down, it was still very stuffy, reminding Black Cat of the inside of an oven.

He hopped over to the library, and even though it wasn't very physically exhausting, beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. He wiped them away with his hand.

It didn't help that he was wearing a skin tight suit, making him even hotter (in terms of temperature, not in terms of attractiveness, although the latter may be true). The breeze that blew by also carried warm air, making matters worse.

In the distance, he could see Ladybug hopping over. "Hi." he greeted.

"Hello." Ladybug said. Normally, she would have petted his head, but the weather was too hot and she felt sticky all over. I'll be needing a bath when I get back, she thought.

"Let's begin." Black Cat took out his staff and turned on the screen, and a map showed up with neon green highlighting their paths to the other town. Using that as a guide, he lead the way.

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER

The two masked heroes were walking briskly across the rooftops of their town. So far, they hadn't spotted any crimes happening, which was good. However, the heat only seemed to intensify with every passing minute, which was not good.

Even with her major crush on her partner, Ladybug kept her distance from Black Cat, because his body heat would just warm them even more.

They happened to be walking past a river, and the same, unprofessional thought instantly came to the superheroes' minds.

I want to jump into the river.

Of course, that was a bad idea, because if anyone caught them, they would be seen as slacking off, and given the two's mindsets, they definitely didn't want people to think of them as lazy. Not to mention the river was probably polluted, and if they got wet they would look like two drenched chickens, and that would be embarrassing.

"I know what you're thinking," Black Cat said, staring at the dark river, which was rippling slightly.

"Just one word: nope." Ladybug gave a curt reply, and they continued their way.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

They had finished patrolling the towns to the east and north of Kunigigaoka Town, they just had to do the ones on the west and the south.

Problem was that they were both drenched in sweat from head to toe. They could've stood there in the rain and it wouldn't make them wetter.

They found a weird guy stalking a girl, so they took care of him swiftly and escorted the girl home. After that little run-in, both Ladybug and Black Cat were in desperate need of water, which the girl and her parents were happy to provide. After a quick break and expressing their gratitude, the superhero duo set off again. Despite the weather conditions, they didn't waver in their work, nor did they complain. They didn't even talk much to each other to save energy and breath.

Ladybug was getting a bit frustrated (just a little, mind you) because of the constant silence between them. Ever since she saw the notice for the Nesoberi plushies, she had wanted to see the real Black Cat, and talk like they used to do. It didn't feel right to start a conversation at that moment, so she kept quiet.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER

"Are you okay?" Black Cat asked his polka-dotted friend, noticing she seemed to be doing worse than he was.

"I'm fine." Ladybug replied, but she was panting and struggling to keep up. "Just a couple more blocks and then we'll be finished."

"Finishing our patrol or the weather finishing us?" Black Cat remarked drily. Good grief, Plagg was having such an impact on him.

"Haha. Very funny." Ladybug wasn't sure when did she become so sarcastic, but it was probably because of her mood being affected by the weather.

"And… we're… done!" Black Cat announced when they had finished their patrol.

"Good." Ladybug flopped down and sat on the roof, furiously wiping her face of sweat.

"We just have to go back." Black Cat said, pointing in the general direction of where Kunigigaoka town was.

"Okay." Ladybug stood back up immediately, ignoring her sore legs. "Let's go back."

"Wait." Black Cat said. "I don't think either of us have the energy to make our way back."

"So buy something from the convenience stores here." Ladybug suggested. "One of us can change back to civilian form. I have money on me."

"I'll go." Black Cat volunteered. "I'll buy some drinks. You'll stay here."

Ladybug wrinkled her nose. "No, I can go."

"I'm going."

"I don't mind going. I'll do it."

"Don't bother yourself, it's not a big deal for me."

They stopped when they realized they sounded like two immature kids squabbling.

"...Are you saying I'm not capable of doing that?" Ladybug asked, her tone a tad colder than her usual tone.

"No!" Black Cat said, surprised that she would think like that. He hesitated before saying, "I'm just… concerned. About you."

That was unnecessarily mushy, Black Cat thought. He cringed inwardly when he thought of what he had just said. She probably thinks I'm a huge weirdo.

If Ladybug's face wasn't already rosy from physical exertion, she would have looked like a tomato because of Black Cat's comment. She refused to make eye contact with him and looked down.

Black Cat took Ladybug's silence as cue that he should be the one to buy something. "Well, I'm going," he said, and jumped off the roof.

FIVE MINUTES LATER

"I thought you were only getting drinks."

"That was the original plan." Black Cat looked sheepishly at the ice cream cones in his hands. "But I couldn't resist."

Ladybug sweatdropped. "You can improve on your self-control." she commented as she took an ice cream cone. "Thanks."

They hopped leisurely back to their starting point, chatting while eating ice cream. It was a refreshing treat for both of them. After their gruelling work, it seemed normal that they deserved something.

"Oh yeah, I have to pay you." Ladybug remembered.

"Nah, don't. My treat." Black Cat said. Before Ladybug could say a word, he added, "I insist."

"You sure are a good person." Ladybug said, a warm feeling blossoming in her heart. Not only was Black Cat nice on the outside, but he was also nice on the inside. Maybe that was why Ladybug liked him so much.

Black Cat was pleased to hear that. Most of his classmates didn't really care for him, nor was interested to know him after seeing his appearance.

"So, see you next patrol," he said.

Ladybug stepped forward and petted his head gently before retreating quickly, a shy smile on his face. "See you," she said and leapt away.

Black Cat ran to the opposite direction to his home. It seems like she won't stop petting my head. I wonder why.

At precisely half past seven AM, the alarm went off. Hayami shut her alarm clock and sat up, determination glowing in her eyes.

Battle Plan… START!

Hayami had done a lot of things to prepare herself for that day, such as keeping as many 100 yen coins as she could, searching up tips on using UFO catchers and strategically looking for a place that not many people would go to lessen competition.

Hayami took her fangirling very seriously. If she didn't get one of those Nesoberi plushies she would be so disappointed.

She tied her hair in a half ponytail, hoping no one would recognize her. Grabbing two purses filled to the brim with coins and putting them in her bag, she set off, walking purposefully to her destination.

When she arrived, there was no one there, not even the workers. Hayami looked at the time and realized there was an hour and half until they would be released.

Well, I'm going to wait. Hayami took out her phone and scrolled through her news feed.

After a while, Hayami saw some other fans arriving. The arcade she chose only had two Ladybug plushies and two Black Cat plushies, so some fans were disappointed that they won't be getting a chance to get one of those plushies.

Hayami was suddenly afraid that Okajima might be there too, since he had been a huge fan of her alter ego after her "tsundere" comment. She scanned the area, but fortunately she didn't see anyone she knew (not that she knew a lot of people).

Hayami turned to see the person that was behind her in the line for getting a Black Cat plushie. To her surprise, Hayami recognized the girl as the owner of the Ladyblog. She was filming a live excitedly.

"...now I'm going to get a Black Cat Nesoberi, while my boyfriend's going to get a Ladybug one. We hope that we can get both so we can take the two plushies and make them kiss! That's our ultimate goal!"

"Now, I think they're about to begin. Stay tuned, everyone! I'll let you see if I get any results." The live ended and the girl put her phone back.

"You're the person in charge of the Ladyblog." Hayami said.

The girl grinned. "Yup, that's me. Nice to meet you, fellow fan!"

"N-nice to meet you." Hayami returned the courtesy. "Are you going to film yourself playing the UFO catcher?"

"Yeah. I've practiced a lot. I do hope I'll get one." the girl replied.

"Then… will you accidentally film me?" Hayami asked, expressing her worries ever since she saw the girl and was reminded of the Ladyblog's popularity. She surely didn't want, let's say, Nakamura to see her.

"No. You're in front of me, so unless you stick around my try you won't get filmed." the girl answered. "I respect those who don't want to be on my blog."

"That's good." Hayami replied, and then somebody cried, "The arcade is open!"

The door opened and the fans would've surged into the arcade if the workers didn't direct them to go in a line. Hayami was triumphant that she was the first to have a go at the Black Cat plushie.

Seeing the adorable plushie in real life made Hayami want to go into a fangirl fit right there, but she knew she had work to do. Taking out one of her purses, she inserted the coins. Hayami rubbed her hands and her eyes were fixed on her goal, heart pumping in nervousness and anticipation.

Ladybug luck, please be on my side.

Hands trembling, she put them on the controls. Carefully guiding them, she hit the "down" button. She didn't expect her first try to be a success. The claw gently nudged the plushie towards the chute, but it didn't budge.

Hayami's tactic was to push the plushie closer to the chute by each try, since she knew the grip of the claws were too weak.

Over the next few tries, Hayami got a basic grasp of how the catchers worked. Sometimes they would twist to the right, sometimes the left. This unpredictable feature made it even harder for Hayami.

10 tries. 15 tries. As the number of tries increased, Hayami's frustration increased too. Her hands were sweaty, making it harder to grasp the controls.

There goes 2000 yen, Hayami thought, rummaging in her purse for more coins. Well, it's expected. I'm a slave for this plushie.

Hayami sighed as the claw rose up without a prize again. The neon lights were flashing as if mocking her.

But… I won't give up!

Hayami took a deep breath, silently saying a prayer to the gods, and tried again. And again. And again.

3000 yen lost. Beads of sweat formed on Hayami's forehead. She had 2000 yen left to spare, but what if she couldn't get the plushie? Wouldn't that be a total waste of money, time and effort?

WIth this discouraging prospect looming ahead, Hayami started to feel desperate, but she forced herself to keep calm and try and try again.

Finally, at the 33th try, the plushie was pushed into the chute. Completely forgetting herself, Hayami screamed, "YES!" and did a mini victory dance. The line behind her also cheered, amused by this crazy fangirl.

Hands trembling with excitement, she gently took the plushie and looked at it as if it was the world's greatest treasure. "SO CUTE!" she squealed and hugged the plushie, before carefully placing in a plastic bag to keep it clean.

In very high spirits, Hayami placed her purse back in her bag and walked away, still hugging the plastic bag with the Black Cat plushie in it. She felt invincible- she had gotten one of the fifteen plushies of Black Cat!

Nothing could dampen her mood. Absolutely nothing. Until-

"Rinka?"

Hayami froze and returned abruptly to reality. Oh no. Please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me-

"That's you right, Rinka?"

Hayami started to edge away, back facing the person who was calling her name. Hayami knew the voice was Yada's, and she was at least thankful it wasn't Nakamura, but what she did back then was totally embarrassing!

Hayami broke into a mad dash, clutching her plushie. She buried half of her red face behind the bag.

"Oi! Wait!" Yada cried, and ran after the pink haired girl, her ponytail swaying left and right. The girl she was chasing was definitely Hayami, given her reaction.

It was at times like this that Hayami forgot about the streets she had been patrolling for a few months, and foolishly ran into a dead end. Wondering if she could somehow climb away, Yada reached her, panting. Yada placed her hand on Hayami's shoulder and turned her around. Hayami tried to hide her face using the bag.

"Stop it. I know it's you." Yada said, a bit entertained at Hayami's efforts to hide herself.

"..." Hayami slowly lowered the bag, face as red as a tomato. "Yada," she greeted as cooly as ever.

"What are you doing here?" Yada asked.

"What are you doing here?'

"I was visiting my aunt who lives near here." Yada replied. "Now it's your turn."

Hayami didn't speak, the rustling of plastic bags being the only thing that could be heard. Yada's attention turned to the bag, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you were such a fan of Black Cat." Yada commented, coming to conclusions quickly.

"I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Hayami replied hotly. "I- I was getting it for someone else!" she defended herself quickly.

Yada didn't believe her. "Yeah, right. Blowing 3300 yen for a plushie. For someone else." She deadpanned.

Hayami fell silent.

"It's okay." Yada sighed. "I'm not like Rio. I won't tell anyone about this if you wish."

Hayami was glad for her friend. "Then don't tell anyone." she said.

"Alright." Yada promised.

"It's so cute." Hayami said later when she placed her plushie on her bed. She petted its head as if the plushie was a real cat. "Such a cutie."

"So after all your tries, it turned out to be successful." Tikki smiled. "This shows you to never give up!"

"Yeah." Hayami stared lovingly at the plushie, squishing the plushie's cheeks together. "Awww." she cooed. She placed it on top of her massive pile of cat plushies. The girl was an avid cat plushie collector, as Tikki had learned.

"There you go. Black Cat, king of all cats." Hayami declared smugly.

A beep from the phone caught her attention. Hayami turned on the screen and saw that the girl from the Ladyblog had posted something new. It was a picture of the Ladybug Nesoberi and the Black Cat Nesoberi facing each other, with other merchandise of the superheroes in the background. The caption below said, "Look! We got them! Aren't they adorable?"

The next picture made Hayami turn red. The plushies were now kissing, or basically their mouths were touching, and hearts had been edited in the photo.

Oh my gosh… Hayami stared at the picture, before turning off her phone and putting it away. That's enough internet for today.

Meanwhile, Chiba was out shopping. On his way to the supermarket, he passed one of arcades that had the exclusive plushies. To his amusement, he saw Okajima groaning outside the arcade.

"Are you okay?" Chiba asked.

Okajima sighed. "I couldn't get the Ladybug Nesoberi… I ran out of money…"

"How much did you bring?"

"1000 yen."

"That's too little. And if you really wanted to get the plushie, you shouldn't spend all your money on buying… your stuff." They both knew that Chiba was referring to Okajima's porn magazines.

"Hey, have you seen the new pic?" Okajima asked. He shoved his phone in Chiba's face, nearly breaking the poor guy's nose. Chiba moved away automatically, as Okajima used to show him pictures of girls before realizing boobs had literally zero effect on him.

"Ah." Chiba looked at the picture of the Ladybug and Black Cat plushies kissing. If they were alone, Chiba knew Plagg would have made one of those aggravating "oooooh" noises.

"That's not going to happen!" Okajima cried angrily. "Ladybug is ending up with me! My sweet tsundere princess!"

Chiba didn't want to hear Okajima lament, so he excused himself and went on his way. Suddenly, he heard a sudden screech from the arcade. Chiba turned around and saw a teenage girl holding a plushie of his alter ego and screaming loudly, "I GOT HIM!"

"Fangirls are crazy." He muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's kind of disgusting to see them act in this way."

Well, that's too bad for Ladybug, Plagg thought when he heard his holder's comment. But why should I care when cheese is my true love?

A/N: I forgot to mention in earlier chapters that you can suggest akumatized versions of characters from Assassination Classroom via review or PM. Except Koro-sensei, because he's already way too powerful. Chiba and Hayami can't be akumatized when they're miraculous holders in this fic, so you can't suggest akuma forms for them too.

So okay, since school has started, updates may come slower. I'm sorry!

And please read and review! Thanks!