To Lyger 0: He understands that for himself. But he didn't realize that it also applied to Knightowl – remember, (something I retained from the canon version) Knightowl has maintained the illusion that the current Knightowl and Sparrow are identical to the ones who first started in the 19th century. Very few people know the truth in this universe.

"These came from the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Pâtisserie?"

Kagami nodded, selecting another macaron off of the silver serving tray sitting on the coffee table between them. "Yes, Mother," she answered. "I stopped there to say hello on my way over, and Sabine insisted on giving me a box."

Her mother hummed, sniffing her macaron carefully before biting off half. Chewing it slowly, she swallowed and took a second small nibble, moving it around in her mouth.

"Do you not like them?" asked Kagami, trying to hide her nervousness. In her pocket, she could feel Longg quivering, a calming presence. She forced herself to breathe slowly, in and out.

"It is good," her mother admitted, finishing that macaron and reaching for a second one. "It is just excessively sweet."

Frowning, Kagami nodded, helping herself to her fourth macaron. "I understand. Perhaps next time I should ask for some of their more savory offerings?"

"That would be acceptable." Her mother picked up her teacup and took a sip. "But how are the Dupain-Chengs?"

Kagami smiled. "They seem to be doing extremely well," she told her. "Everyone was very excited when I arrived. They are having a tasting for wedding cake flavors this evening – Marinette invited me to stop back for dinner."

Her mother nodded slowly. "And the bakery?"

"They were pretty busy when I arrived," Kagami answered, shrugging. "Sabine said they've even hired another three workers over the last month or so. As far as I can tell, business hasn't slowed down for them at all since the end of the crisis."

Her mother frowned. "It is too bad that they canceled their contract with us," she mused. "They were the talk of the city for the six weeks you were gone; from what I understand, that has not changed at all."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "They were one of the few businesses in Paris that stayed open throughout the crisis, and reportedly they gave away much of their bread for pocket change to keep the city fed." Her mother pursed her lips, her brows furrowed in thought. "Do you know why they chose not to renew their contract?"

Kagami stifled a laugh, schooling her expression to avoid giving her mother any tells. Part of the reason had been because she had no longer needed that excuse to see Marinette once she had moved onto the Liberty permanently! But the other reason… "It became too cost-prohibitive for the level of increased sales that our advertising campaigns were generating above their baseline," she explained. "You remember that when all my existing clients had to renew their contracts and pay the standard rate, several canceled right away, correct?" Her mother frowned, her brows knitting together more deeply. Some of those cancelations had been because of the cost, but a couple had not. "Tom and Sabine continued for a while longer, but ultimately their bakery isn't quite big enough to afford a top-tier marketing firm such as Tsurugi – not at our standard rate."

"Is that so…" Her mother's mouth twisted around in distaste, and Kagami took the opportunity to refill their teacups, looking around at the mansion's sitting room, almost unchanged since the day she had moved out. The only change was the bokken leaning against the corner closest to the front door. The handle of a smaller bokken poked out from behind her mother's back on the other couch.

It was still so strange to actually be sitting in this house again. When she had made the decision to move onto the Liberty to live with Luka, Juleka, Rose, and Anarka, she had never planned to return her – ever. She had spent so much of her life locked up in her mother's house – beholden to her mother's demands, hidden away in a virtual dungeon until her mother should need to bring her out, most of the time for some business-related event. Finding her place with Luka and his family – her new family – and stealing some independence with the help of the Heroes of Paris, Kagami had finally gained the confidence to leave it all behind and become her own person. After she had broken her arm in Tokyo and Luka had nursed her back to health on the Liberty, she had never even considered coming back here. Why take that step backward when she had finally found the place where she really wanted to be?

But then the Tarasque had happened, and she had gone six weeks in Angola without ever seeing her mother. She hadn't even known if she was alive or dead until they returned to Paris. And when she had finally seen her on their first day back in Paris, her mother had hugged her! For the first time in almost fifteen years, her mother had actually shown affection. And when that had happened, something inside of Kagami had shifted, something that had started to shift when she met Luka, and even more when Anarka had practically adopted her as a second (third) daughter. She wanted to have a relationship with her mother – and maybe her mother wanted the same. Maybe her mother had changed. Maybe she had realized how much she missed Kagami while she was gone. Whatever it was, suddenly, maybe Kagami actually had a mother – other than Anarka. So Kagami and her mother had started having tea together, about once a week – that seemed to work for Marinette and Emilie; perhaps it could work for them, also.

Kagami's lips turned up the slightest bit as she took in the familiar decorations, the mementos from the many trips that her mother had taken for business, along with a shelf lined with the fencing awards that Kagami had earned over the years. This was… nice. It was nice to actually feel like she and her mother had a real relationship, rather than just a professional one. It was nice to be able to talk somewhere other than the office – even if her mother still mostly talked about work. It was nice to be treated like more than just an employee. It was nice… but it still felt a little strange.

Her mother hummed. "It would be good publicity for us if we were seen to be helping a small business which survived the crisis by giving back to the community," she mused. "They gave back to Paris; we give back to them." She nodded slowly and focused her attention on Kagami. "You are to speak with Tom and Sabine this evening," she instructed her. "If they are willing to sign a new contract with us, we will give them the same rate they received during your internship. If they wish to negotiate, you may reduce that by 15% – the public goodwill will, I think, more than compensate for such a discount."

Kagami's eyes widened in surprise, and she nearly choked on her tea. "Yes, Mother," she answered quickly, already doing the math in her head. "I will be sure to ask them after dinner."

Her mother smiled thinly. "Good. Remember: any opportunity to improve the company's reputation is well worth the effort." She took another sip of her tea and cleared her throat. "Now, how is it, being back at work after so long away? Your clients are all rebounding well?"

"I–I have no complaints regarding my work," Kagami replied, straightening her back. "It was a challenge at first, of course – I had grown so accustomed to having so little to do in Angola that it took a week and more to truly return to a proper routine. But I am happy to return to some degree of normalcy at work. Several of my clients needed significant effort to help them rebuild their reputation and market share after the crisis. Agreste had to cancel or delay several fashion shoots, and all of their lines got several months behind their production schedule. Marinette is getting caught up, but between that and the wedding planning she has been overwhelmed. I've offered to do what I can–"

"As her marketing advisor or as her friend?" interrupted her mother, arching her eyebrow knowingly.

Kagami laughed. "Do I have to choose one or the other?" Her mother's lips turned up in a thin smile. Kagami coughed. "Agreste is otherwise rebounding well – but they are in a better position than most. Fred Haprèle actually asked for assistance with advertising an acting camp for later this summer – he lost so much momentum during the crisis that he thought this was the only option. When I gave him the estimate today, he said he might need to take out a loan to cover it and pay us back if the camp is successful."

Her mother frowned. "Offer him a percentage fee, rather than the flat rate," she instructed her. "We stand to make more in the event of success; he stands to lose less in the event of failure. And we know that it will succeed," her mother added severely.

Kagami nodded obediently. "I will mention it to Mylène tonight and call him in the morning to work out the details."

"Very good. And your upcoming trip to Tokyo?"

"I will finalize my schedule tomorrow," Kagami answered. "Max will not be able to join me in Japan, but I do not think it is necessary for him to present his game to the distributors personally; I have a full presentation prepared, including some gameplay footage. However, I will be bringing Nathaniel and Marc with me: if their manga book is going to turn out well, they ought to meet Kimiko in person at least once. Additionally, they want to see more of Japan as inspiration for a couple of their other books."

Her mother shook her head ruefully. "I still do not understand how you managed to branch us out into comic book publishing…"

Kagami stifled a giggle. "Considering the number of Heroes of Paris-related clients we already have – Agreste's Heroes of Paris line, Max's Super Akuma Battle game… even Kitty Section and Jagged Stone have recorded songs inspired by them – it seemed like an obvious fit to approach the creators of the Ladybug and Cat Noir comic series."

"You will see to it that they comport themselves properly while in Japan, of course."

"Of course; I've already given them some reading material to prepare for the trip. And I will coach them on proper etiquette during the flight."

Her mother hummed. "I assumed you would," she mused. "From what your obasan told me, Luka behaved himself very well as their guest. I was… relieved to hear that, particularly after everything else that happened during that trip." Her mouth set in a thin line, tension evident in her jaw.

Kagami smiled tenderly, looking away from her mother. The trip to Japan had been so difficult, and so much of it hadn't gone according to plan. She had been hurt, her aunt and cousins had gone into hiding, and her uncle had even been murdered by the Yakuza. But through it all, Luka had been her rock, supporting her and keeping her going. Had it not been for him, she would never have survived – not the loss of her uncle, and certainly not the final battle against the Yakuza. But unfortunately, he would not be able to join her in Japan on this trip, not if they were going to fit everything into this summer.

Finally, her mother asked, "And how is Luka?"

"He is very well," Kagami told her, unable to keep the warm smile off of her face. "Last weekend, we tried a new restaurant that opened along the riverfront – Angolan cuisine. Also last week, we recovered some more of our stolen possessions – Luka's old amplifier. Now, Luka and the rest of Kitty Section are getting ready for their next recording session." She sighed heavily, trying to keep it quiet and avoid her mother's notice. Thanks to this trip, this would be the first recording session she missed since they started dating.

"And his mother and sister, they are well, as well?"

Kagami nodded. "Anarka and Juleka are well. Juleka and Rose are both excited for the upcoming wedding, as well as the recording. For her part, Anarka has been in her element getting the repairs and maintenance finished for the Liberty."

"I am glad to hear it," her mother told her. "I hope you will pass on my regards to them this evening."

"Of course."

AN: Not exactly "mother of the year" material… but points for effort at least, right?

Tomorrow will be the beginning of "Girls' Night Out."