Chapter 2: Romances Like in the Comics

Just like it happened with all his friends, when he arrived at home, Nathaniel was feeling more dead than alive. But after a quick nap and an aspirin, he felt himself a little better. His body still ached with pains, but not as bad as before. And the best part was that his hands and his wrists were not aching, which was good because he had a lot of work ahead of him. Ever since he began working on his fan-comic of the Miraculous Team that he felt his mind swarming with crazy and insane ideas, some more than others. Not having to fully rely on what really happened in real life, he was having fun in coming up with different superhero identities for most of the team, as well as powers. But the best part for him was drawing them. He had come up with so many incredible sketches for both heroes and Akumas that it was starting to get difficult for him to decide which ones he should choose.

"This one's really nice." -Mulan said, as he checked out the drawing he had just finished. It was a rough sketch, but it had much potential. –"Did you base yourself on Bebop?" -he asked.

"Thanks, and yeah, I did base myself on the Akuma we thought today." -Nathaniel answered to his kwami. –"He was one stylish Akuma, I'll give you that. But I'll be honest, if I never hear "When the Saints Go Marching In" in my life, it'll be too soon." -he admitted, with that song still echoing in his ears.

"I kind of like it. It's a catchy song… though hearing it over and over can make a person go buggy." -Mulan joked. –"Still, you and the others managed to give that Bebop a lesson, before destroying his Akuma Butterfly."

"I know. I just wished that he had attacked Paris at a more decent time of the day." -Nathaniel said, as he looked for his eraser. –"Having to jump out of bed to go and fight that guy, just to come back here and have 30 minutes, before it was time to go to school… I just hope we don't have to do that again during the next couple of weeks. If I don't sleep for at least 6 hours in a row, my brain won't work the way it's supposed to work." -he sighed.

"Problems of being a teenager and a superhero, that's what I always say." -Mulan said. –"Still, look on the bright side. If you hadn't fight Bebop, you wouldn't have the idea for this new Akuma you are working on." -he said. –"Every cloud has a silver lining, they say."

And it was true. Sometimes bad things happen, but that does not mean one can not take advantage of what happened, and do something with it. Plus, as an artist, Nathaniel was more than used to seek inspiration on the most unlikely of places, as well as in the most awkward of situations. Looking at the now clean sketch, he believed that that new Akuma he was drawing was coming out a lot better than he had anticipated. Adding some shading to it, he then showed it to Mulan, from whom he expected an honest opinion.

"So, what do you think? Does he look evil enough?" -Nathaniel asked.

"Maybe… I think you should try and give him a bigger set of fangs." -Mulan suggested. He believed that the darker and creepier an Akuma would look on the paper, the better.

"Are you sure? If I give him fangs bigger than those he already has, he'll end up looking like a werewolf or a vampire." -Nathaniel told him.

"And would that be a bad thing?" -Mulan joked. –"Come on, you already said that this alternate universe of yours is going to be a little grittier than reality. So, what's the problem if they fight a werewolf or a vampire?" -he asked him.

"True, I've said that." -Nathaniel agreed. –"Still, I would like to keep any werewolf or vampire Akuma for a Halloween adventure." -he admitted, as he ran his eyes over the other sketches that he had piled up to his left, looking for a particular one.-"By the way, I think I didn't show you this one last night, because you were already asleep. What do you think of it?"

The sketch was of one of the heroes. It did not take Mulan more than a second to recognize who Nathaniel had drawn on that sheet of paper; it was Mylene. And instead of having her regular Forest Doe outfit, she was wearing a skin-tight grey and pink costume with a black-swan collar, black arms and gloves up to the middle of her upper arms, as well as black legs, starting at a point in the middle of her upper legs, and black boots, complete with a grey and pink mask. But the most distinguishing part of the outfit he had given her, was the hoodie with mouse like ears that covered her hair.

"Mylene with the mouse miraculous?" -Mulan asked him, wondering why he had chosen to give her that particular miraculous.

"I think it would be a cool idea. I mean, Mylene is pretty shy, when she's not being Forest Doe, and of course, mice are quite shy by nature." -Nathaniel said, justifying his decision to give her that particular miraculous. –"Plus, I think she looks great in grey, pink and black.." -he added.

"Well, I like the colour scheme, as well as the hoodie you added to her super outfit. And I don't know how you guessed, but the weapon that comes with mouse miraculous, is indeed a jumping rope." -Mulan told Nathaniel, who smiled at the happy coincidence. –"All in all, I think it's fitting miraculous to give her." -he said, while still admiring the sketch. –"What would her superhero name be?"

"I still don't have one… Multimouse, maybe?" -Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders. –"I need to think about it." -he admitted.

"Well, either way, it's a great idea for your comic book." -Mulan declared.

"I knew you'd like it." -Nathaniel said. –"And let's see if you like this one too. I worked on it, two nights ago." -he declared, showing the drawing to Mulan.

Looking at it, Mulan quickly recognized Kim, but instead of having the Antelope outfit, he was wearing a black, teal, and cyan suit, which gave him a slender and more muscular appearance. The suit had a snake texture along with the same kind of underbelly like a snake, and on his face, he had a cyan coloured mask with fangs like those of a snake, around his eyes. As a weapon, Nathaniel had chosen to give him a scythe. On the paper sheet, next to the sketch there was a written: "Think of a cool name for it… Viperion? Aspik?"

"You drew Kim wearing the snake miraculous?" -Mulan asked him.

"Yeah, I did… I mean, I did like the drawing with him wearing the monkey miraculous, but I wanted to try and see if he also would look good with other miraculouses." -Nathaniel said. –"So, what do you think? I like how the mask came out."

"You want my honest opinion?" -Mulan said, with Nathaniel waving at him. –"He looks alright, but, trust me when I tell you that you should give him the monkey miraculous, just like you were thinking. In terms of personality, he's too impulsive and carefree to be the holder of the snake miraculous. Believe me, I met one of the holders of that particular miraculous, before the Collector did what he did to it and the rest of the Zodiac miraculouses, and he was the polar opposite of what Kim is." -he declared. –"You should give the snake miraculous to someone else on the team… or someone outside the team. Whether we like it or not, even if you give a miraculous to each member of the team, minus Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino and Chloe, because you said you wanted to keep them with the miraculouses they have in real life, that means you will have three miraculouses that won't have a holder."

"Someone outside the team, huh?" -Nathaniel pondered. –"I'll have to think about it." -he said. –"And what about the possible hero names I came up with? Do you like them?"

"Aspik and Viperion? I'll be honest, Aspik doesn't sound very good, but Viperion, does have a nice ring to it." –Mulan said.

"You think? I was a bit afraid that it would sound too much like Vaporeon, you know, the water evolution of Eevee?" -Nathaniel asked him.

"Nah, it sounds alright. And I don't think of a Pokémon, when I say it." -Mulan told him.

Mulan was about to suggest someone to be the holder the of snake miraculous, when his eyes caught a glimpse of an unknown drawing that had been placed on the bottom of the stack of paper sheets. Wanting to know what it was on that sheet, he wasted no time and grabbed it, scattering the rest of the drawings that had been stacked, all over Nathaniel's desk.

"Oooh, what do we have here?" -Mulan said, as looked at the paper sheet.

"Mulan, wait!" -Nathaniel exclaimed, not wanting his kwami to see that particular paper sheet.

Looking at the paper sheet, the red panda kwami saw that this one was filled with doodles and sketches of the boy Nathaniel had bumped into a week before, Marc Anciel. Since that happened, that he had kept a close eye on him.

"Nice work. You really captured the kid's essence, especially his eyes. You always manage to draw the eyes in a way that makes them look alive." -Mulan pointed out. –"I wish I could draw like you do." -he said, without taking his eyes off the drawings. –"These are really, really good, especially these last two ones. You've been drawing him when I'm asleep, haven't you?"

"I have…" -Nathaniel sighed, admitting it.

Hearing him sigh like that, it was clear to Mulan what was going on. Nathaniel was in love, and he was in love with boy. Mulan was no stranger to love. He had experienced many times before. Maybe not in the same way that Nathaniel was experiencing, but he knew how that feeling worked and just how good it made a person feel. And he was happy that the holder of his miraculous was in love. He was not the first of his holders to fall in love, and Mulan knew he would not be the last one either. It filled his heart with joy, just from thinking about it.

"You're in love with him… with Marc, aren't you?" -Mulan asked Nathaniel, who was blushing a little, upon the mention of Marc's name. –"And don't lie to me. I know when you lie to me, Nathaniel." -he said. –"Go on, admit it. I'm not going to judge you for loving him, Nathaniel. There's no shame in admitting it. You know me. Live and let live, that's my motto."

"I… I admit that I feel attracted to him." -Nathaniel admitted. He had only talked to Marc once, and though he had the feeling he was a really nice guy, he did not know him well enough to say that he loved him. –"I don't know if I'm really in love with him or not, but every time I remember about the first time we spoke… actually, the only time we spoke, I get butterflies in my stomach. Plus, at school, whenever I see him, I try to disguise the fact that I'm not looking at him. Also, my heart starts to pound a little faster." -he said.

"That sounds like love to me." -Mulan said, as he handed Nathaniel the paper sheet with Marc's sketches in it. –"In fact, I would be lying if I said that that doesn't sound like young love… look at me, I'm talking like an old man." -he chuckled lightly, and noticing that Nathaniel was not chuckling with him, which he always did, when he came up with a joke. –"Nathaniel? What's the matter? Why aren't you chuckling?"

"Oh… it's just that… well, it's complicated." -Nathaniel sighed, with his head down.

"Complicated? What's complicated?" -the red panda kwami asked him, knowing something was wrong, but not what.

"Well… the fact that I might be in love with a guy." -Nathaniel sighed.

And then it hit him. Mulan had not thought about the fact that a boy loving another boy was not something that was seen with good eyes by modern society. To him, as a kwami, there was nothing wrong about it, but he knew that to most people, that presented a problem; a problem which made a lot of people suffer, just because they were being true to themselves and to their hearts.

"Oh, that…" -Mulan sighed.

"Yeah, that…" -Nathaniel sighed.

"Well, I never understood what the big deal is about you humans and your relationships. Society says "Boys should date and marry girls, and girls should date and marry boys.". I don't understand why people are always saying that. As I see it, there's no doubt that boys should date and marry girls, and girls should date and marry boys… but if a boy wants to date and marry another boy, and a girl wants to date and marry another girl, I don't see the big deal of it." -Mulan said. –"As long as that makes them happy, and they don't hurt anyone in the process, I don't see any problem in that. And neither should you. So, you're in love with a boy, big deal. It beat not being in love with anyone." -he said. –"Plus, I would be lying if I said that you two wouldn't make a cute couple."

Mulan's words resonated on both Nathaniel's heart and soul. It made him happy, knowing that the little kwami supported him. If everyone in the world were as supportive as he was, the world would be a better place.

"You're more understanding than most people, Mulan." -Nathaniel smiled at him.

"Thanks. But then again, I'm not even a person, I'm a kwami, remember?" -Mulan joked, making Nathaniel chuckle.

"Well, you know what I mean." -Nathaniel said.

"By the way, I never asked you this, but are you gay? I mean I saw you checking Marinette, and even Chloe once." -Mulan said, remembering those times.

"To be honest I don't see myself as gay. I see myself as bisexual." -Nathaniel answered him. He himself had doubts at first, because at first, he felt attracted to boys. But then, he also began to feel attracted to girls, which made him realize he liked both, and that that was normal for a bisexual. –"I mean, I feel attracted to girls, but I also feel attracted to boys. I think it depends on either my mood or something else, I don't know. It's complicated at times." -he admitted.

"Well, I don't see anything complicated about it. Whoever you chose to love, whether it is a boy or a girl, as long as they make you happy, I'll be happy for you. And so, should everyone else who cares about you." -Mulan said, as he patted Nathaniel on the head, with his little paw.

"Thanks, Mulan." -Nathaniel thanked his kwami. –"Still, there's one thing in all this that I don't know about." -he said. –"I don't know if Marc is straight, gay or bisexual. And even if he's not straight, I don't even know if I'm his type or not."

"Now there's a complicated issue, I'll admit." -Mulan said. –"Just between you and me, do you think he is straight?"

"I don't know." -Nathaniel sighed. –"That's' the problem with some people. There are people who are gay or bisexual and it's easy to see they are, and there are those who might be one thing or the other, and you just can't see if they are, or not. He can even be asexual or pansexual, for all we know." -he admitted Deep down, Nathaniel was ready for Marc to be any of those things, though in his heart, he wished he was at least bisexual. –"Don't get me wrong, if he's not interested into guys, I'd be happy to just be his friend, but…"

"But you want to be a little more than just a friend to him. I get it, believe me… you humans today with all those kinds of genders. Sometimes I wonder if they have existed since the dawn of times, or if you all just made them up, as you went along? But I digress… do you want me to find that out?" -Mulan asked Nathaniel, spiking his curiosity. –"Do you want me to find out if he's into girls, or into boys? Or even both, like you?" -he asked him.

"And how are you going to do that?" -Nathaniel asked him.

"A kwami has his tricks. Remember, I can pass right through objects." -Mulan said, as he passed right through the paper sheet Nathaniel was holding in his hands. –"So, getting into his locker wouldn't be that hard. Plus, cameras can't catch me, so there's no way anyone would see me doing it. And on top of that, I could ask help from some of the other kwamis. I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping me with that task." -he said, confident that he would be able to pull that stunt out. –"So, what do you say?"

The idea of Mulan finding out if Marc was straight, gay, bisexual, pansexual or asexual, just from looking into his locker and seeing his stuff, was obviously funny. Nathaniel did not expect Marc to have anything that said "I'm gay" or "I'm bisexual", or whatever lying inside his locker. He would just have to work up the courage to ask him that, after working up the courage to talk to him and befriend him. Still, if Mulan wanted to help him out, he saw no problem and allowing him to do it.

"Who knows? Maybe he'll find out something, although that's highly unlikely. Still, as long as it makes him happy to think that he's helping me, I don't mind it." -Nathaniel thought to himself. –"Alright, I guess you can help me. But, let's just keep this between the two of us, for the time being, okay? I don't have any problems in the others knowing about this, but let's keep it just between us, for the time being." -he told him.

"You got it." -Mulan said, winking his eye at him. –"And trust me, when I'm through with this investigation, and everything goes right, your romance with him will be one like in the comics." -he smiled, which made Nathaniel chuckle, wishing that would end up happening.

He had just finished getting ready for his fencing lesson, and already he wanted it to be over. Adrien did not want to admit it, but he barely had the time to rest properly, after he and the rest of the Miraculous Team dealt with Bebop the day before. Because of his busy schedule, instead of going home after class, he was forced to go to a photoshoot, whose photos were for the promotion of his father's newest winter line, and after it, he went back home, just to get ready for yet another high society dinner, this one organized by mayor Bourgeois. It if had not been for Chloe, who also attend it, to keep him company, Adrien would have died of boredom, waiting to get home, and have a few hours of sleep. Unfortunately, when he got home, he was unable to fall asleep, even though his body begged him for it. When he finally fell asleep, it was almost 4 in the morning. It was no surprise to him, when he almost fell asleep in class that morning.

"You look like a zombie… and not one of those zombies from the "iZombie" TV show. You look more like a Walker zombie from "The Walking Dead" with those nasty bags under your eyes." -Plagg told Adrien, as he grabbed his helmet and his sabre.

"I know, Plagg." -Adrien sighed. His only wish right then was to go home and sleep. But he knew that if he did that, Nathalie would then tell his father, and he would get into trouble, especially because the only reason he had to skip fencing was being too sick to even get out of bed. –"I never thought about this before, but I'm beginning to consider starting to drink coffee in the morning" -he said.

"Cappuccino? Americano? Expresso? Macchiato? Mocha? Latte?" -Plagg joked. –"Which one would be your guilty pleasure?"

"If I had to choose, cappuccino. I like the foam." –Adrien answered him.

"Spoken like a true wielder of the black cat miraculous." –Plagg joked. –"I also enjoy the foam as well. It gives me a moustache." -he laughed.

"I didn't know you were such a big fan of coffee, or that you knew so much about it." -Adrien pointed out.

"Well, you pick up a couple of things, when you are asleep, and I can't sleep a wink. So, to keep me entertained, I binge watch a series on Netflix, with some help from a cup of Java." -Plagg explained. –"Did you know that you have more than 30 kinds of coffee capsules in your kitchen?" -he asked him.

"That explains why sometimes your breath smells a bit like coffee mixed with cheese, and why Nathalie sometimes finds empty cups on the sink in the morning. She must think it was my dad's doing." -Adrien chuckled.

Most of the times, the locker room of the fencing academy would be packed with students, but on that day, for some unknown reason, most teachers had cancelled their classes. One of the few who had not cancelled his, was Adrien's teacher, who as always, only had two students, Adrien and his opponent.

"So, are you going to train with her again?" -Plagg asked him

"If by "her" you mean Kagami, then, yes, I'm going to train with her again." –Adrien said.

"I don't like her. She's got no sense of humour." -Plagg said. Not once had he seen the girl in question smile.

"She does have a sense of humour. You just need to know how to tackle it. Plus, you've got to cut her some slack. She's from a different country and from a totally different culture than ours. It's only normal that her sense of humour is different from yours or mine." -Adrien told him, while letting a yawn. –"Ether way, I have to go. You be good and don't do anything stupid while I'm not around."

"Does this look like the face of someone who would do anything stupid?" -Plagg asked Adrien, who promptly raised an eyebrow at him. –"Okay, okay… geez, I make one little mistake and everyone loses faith in you."

"Just one?" -Adrien asked him, wish a smirk on his face.

"Okay, a whole lot of them. But in my defense, some of them were accidents." -Plagg said, as he entered the locker. –"Thank God I brought your Nintendo Switch with me. I'll be playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for the next two hours." -he said, as Adrien closed the locker.

"Remember, don't do anything stupid." -Adrien said, as he walked away, leaving Plagg inside the locker.

Making his way to the room, where the class was going to take place, Adrien imagined how he was going to be able to keep up with his fencing opponent that afternoon, given his exhausted state. He knew his opponent was a fierce one, especially considering it was a girl. Besides Mylene and Sabrina in school, Kagami was the only other person who had it in her the talent, combined with the agility and the stamina, to beat him in a fair fencing match. Opening the door, he saw himself in the same old Louis XVI decorated room his fencing classes took place every week. As always, the rectangular room waxed floor was spotless, the opulent statues and marble busts did not have a single speck of dust in them, and the mirrors on the walls had been cleaned in such a way that

And standing next to one of the windows, looking through it, was Kagami Tsurugi, his fencing partner and opponent. Kagami was slender, and of average height height. Her pale skin, with visible freckles and sharp yellow-brown eyes, gave her an almost feline-like complexion. As for her hair, it was dark blue, swept to the left with light blue reflections, which reminded Adrien a bit of Marinette's own hair, even though Marinette's was a lighter shader of blue. Just like Adrien, she was wearing a white fencing outfit, with the only difference to it, was that while Kagami's had her family's crest on it, Adrien's did not.

"Hello, Kagami." -Adrien greeted her, with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Adrien." -Kagami said, as she slightly bowed herself to greet him. –"I hope you are having a most pleasant day." -she said in a formal tone.

"Well, I'm trying." -Adrien said, though it was hard for him, given just how exhausted he was. –"And, please, Kagami, you don't have to be this formal with me. You're not addressing my father or Nathalie." -he smiled at her.

"Forgive me, Adrien. It's just that I'm so accustomed to behaving like this around most people, that I sometimes forget that you don't like it." -Kagami apologized herself, still speaking in the same formal tone.

Kagami Tsurugi was, like Adrien enjoyed telling himself, was a rather peculiar girl who was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Given her formal education, she tended to display little or no emotion at all, when talking to someone. Not counting Chloe, she was his oldest friend. At first, he did not like her, because she acted around him in a cold, and rather distant form, a little like his father, after his mother's death. But it did not take him long to see that under a mask coldness, mixed with fierceness and stubbornness, she was an incredibly thoughtful and hospitable girl, whom because of her formal education, was socially awkward and shy. She was also incredibly competitive and prone to jump to conclusions, which on more than one occasion had put her at odds with certain people. Adrien and her met a year after his mother's death, when his father went into business with Kagami's mother. Her father, Ichiro Tsurugi, was the Japanese ambassador in France, while her mother, Tomoe Tsurugi, was a former fencing world-champion, as well as one of the most successful fashion designers in Japan. That meant she usually spent her time between Paris and Tokyo. It was normal for her to spend at least a week, every month, in Japan, accompanying either her mother or father in work. This also meant that she did not have much time to socialize with other people, not that she would mind, given her personality. In many ways, she was like Adrien, who until a year earlier, sometimes had to accompany his father in business meetings around the world. The difference was that he had a talent to make friends quite easily, while Kagami did not.

Adrien and her went to the same school together, although not the same class, until he was transferred to College Françoise-Dupont. But even after he was transferred, he continued to see her once a week, every week, during fencing class, where the two of them had requested their parents to always be given private fencing classes together.

"It's okay. And it's not that I don't like it. It's just that I think you don't need to act that way all the time. We're friends, remember?" -Adrien smiled at her. –"You don't have to act so formally around me." -he kept smiling. For years, Adrien had been trying to get Kagami to loosen up a little around him, maybe because he felt that she should act more like a kid her age, or maybe because he himself needed to be remembered of that as well. Having a father like Gabriel, had put some pression on him to be seen as something he was not. Luckily, he had met friends who kept reminding of that, as well as a certain kwami. But Kagami, she never had that much friends to remind of that, or at least, Adrien did not know about them, because she did not talk much about her private life, unless it was strictly necessary.

"Yes. I'll try to remember it." -Kagami smiled back at him. It was quite rare to see her smile, but when that happened, people would see just how beautiful her smile was.

She was about to ask Adrien something, when they heard the door behind them opening. Entering the room was their teacher, Michel Gaudin, the best fencing teacher in that academy, as well as former Olympic champion, who had won two gold medals and a silver medal.

"Monsieur Agreste… Mademoiselle Tsurugi… I trust that you are ready for today's lesson?" -Mr. Gaudin asked both of them with his usual authoritarian voice.

"Yes, sir." -they answered in chorus.

"Well, then what are you waiting for? To your positions, immediately." -Mr. Gaudin said, as the two of them put their helmets on and placed themselves in position.

Under the supervision of their teacher, Adrien and Kagami engaged in a duel, brandishing their sabres. As always, it took less than 10 seconds for them to engage in a fierce battle. They both began strong, but due to Adrien's exhaustion, he allowed Kagami to get the upper hand in combat, by resorting to a more defensive strategy, blocking most of her attacks, instead of attacking her. As she fought him, Kagami noticed that he was slower than usual, and he was hardly trying to match her blows. And she was not the only to do so. With his trained eye, Mr. Gaudin saw that Adrien was not giving his best. In fact, he was not giving even half of his best. Still, he allowed them to proceed, to see what happened next. A few seconds later, when Kagami successfully disarmed Adrien, who saw himself too exhausted to even try to avoid it. Usually, he would have given a lot more fight, but not on that afternoon. His body craved for sleep, and no one could tell him otherwise.

"Bravo, Mademoiselle Tsurugi." -Mr. Gaudin said, complimenting her on her victory, before turning Adrien. –"And you, Monsieur Agreste, what is the matter with you? I thought you were better than this."

"Forgive me, sir." -Adrien apologized.

"Wherever your head is, I suggest that you bring it down to earth. If you had your mind in the duel, Mademoiselle Tsurugi would have not been able to disarm like she did." -Mr. Gaudin told him. –"Now, grab your sabre and recommence. And remember, keep eyes on your opponent as well as your mind in the duel; and the same goes for you Mademoiselle Tsurugi. I will not have anyone slacking off in my class."

As the lesson went on, Adrien became progressively more exhausted. Feeling that he was not well, Kagami decided not to go so hard on him. This, of course, earned both of them a scolding for their teacher, who could not understand why they were not giving their all that afternoon. He was used to seeing both Adrien and Kagami fight with passion. He would usually even beg Kagami, who had the bad habit of taunting Adrien during their duels, to restrain herself from talking while fighting; something that was not happening then. It was almost as if they believed there was no reason to fight one another. But before he could get an explanation for their behaviour in duel, he was called to the administration's office.

"Continue to practice, until I come back. I'll try to not take too long." -Mr. Gaudin declared.

After he left the room, Adrien and Kagami waited a moment, before stopping. Taking off his helmet, Adrien felt relieved to be able to breath. Sighing, he knew that he would only be back to his old self the following morning. Signalling Kagami to join him, he sat down on a bench that was next to one of the windows.

"You look a little… off, today." -Kagami said, hesitating for a second. –"You usually are a better sword-fighter than this." -she said, trying to show that she was worried about Adrien.

"I admit that I'm a little exhausted." -Adrien said. –"I haven't been getting much sleep lately, and from the bags under my eyes, you can see that I'm telling the truth." -he declared, which was perfectly true. With everything that happened to him the day before, he hardly had the time to rest and regain back his strength.

"I see." -Kagami said. –"Is it a girl?"

"W-What?!" -Adrien said, slightly shocked with her question.

"I asked if it's a girl that is making you act this way; that is making you unable to sleep properly?" -Kagami asked him, frontal as always. She did not believe in making small-talk, before approaching a specific subject.

He could not say it was not related to a girl, because if he did, he would have to tell her everything that happened to him on the last 36 hours, as well as everything Miraculous Team-related. But the truth was, Hawk Moth's latest attack was not the only thing that was on Adrien's mind, while he was fighting Kagami. He also had something else in his mind… Marinette. He had been thinking about her more than ever before.

"Well… you could say that." -Adrien told her. –"I've been thinking about a girl. Don't worry, it's not you… I meant, it could be you, but… don't take this the wrong way… I'm not saying that… oh, crud, sorry, Kagami… what I meant is that I think you are a really good friend. But I was thinking of someone else." -he sighed, while thinking that he might have hurt her feelings. He knew Kagami was a tough cookie, but even the toughest of people have feelings.

"I understand." -Kagami said. –"For what is worth, to me, you're also a very dear friend, Adrien, but just a friend." -she said. –"It's not that I don't harbour any other feelings for you, but, none of them are romantic."

Hearing her say that, Adrien felt like a weight had been lift off his shoulders. It was not the first time he heard someone say that they did not harbour any sort of romantic feelings for him, but given how Kagami was, he was afraid that she would feel like he had insulted her.

"W-Well, I'm glad I didn't hurt your feelings." -Adrien told Kagami, as he placed his helmet on the ground, by his feet.

"Who's this girl you are thinking about?" -Kagami asked him. She was not curious about the girl in question, but she did want to know more about how he was dealing with it.

"Whoa, straight to the point… there are a lot of things I like in Kagami, but this isn't one of them. She always manages to catch you off-guard." -Adrien thought to himself, while thinking of how he should answer her. –"It's a girl from my school. I like her a lot, and I've been wanting to tell her just how much I really like her." -he sighed.

"And why haven't you done it? What's keeping you from doing it?" -Kagami asked him. She had never harbour romantic feelings for anyone, because she had been taught that love was a distraction. Plus, she had never met anyone her age, she felt was good enough for her, or that harboured love feelings for her.

"I… I… I really don't know. I mean, you know I'm shy, and…" -Adrien told her.

"My grandfather has always said "Shyness is invariably a suppression of something. It's almost a fear of what you're capable of" … you must not fear of being capable to do something, Adrien." -Kagami said. –"Tell me, do you think this girl likes you back?"

That was the one million-dollar question in Adrien's mind. He wondered if Marinette liked him, the same way he liked her. She was an awesome friend, and more than once she had been there for him, and that could mean she had deeper feelings for him. Plus, whenever he was Chat Noir and he flirted with her, she would always flirt back at him. Of course, that happened when she was also Ladybug, and Master Fu had told them that when they transformed, they became less inhibited, so all that flirting was just her letting out some steam. Still, he wanted all that flirting to mean something. He wanted it to mean that beneath all that flirting with him, she harboured deeper feelings for him… romantic feelings.

"I don't know. But something deep inside me tells me the answer is yes." –Adrien answered her, with determination in his voice.

"You will forgive my bluntness, Adrien, but just because you think that deep inside you, she likes you, it does not make it real." -Kagami told him. –"The only way you'll know that, is if you tell her what you feel about her. Otherwise, you'll keep living with doubts in your head and in your heart… at least, that's what my grandfather has told me." -she said.

"Ouch! She has a point, but she didn't need to say it like that." -Adrien thought to himself, knowing that Kagami was right about what she had said. –"I guess you're right… there's no point in dwelling in what can be, if I'm not sure that that will even happen." -he sighed.

"Tell me about her. What is it that you like in her?" -Kagami asked Adrien. Once again, she was not interested in the girl Adrien had a crush on, but as interested on what he saw in her, that made him like her.

Answering her question, Adrien spent the next couple of minutes telling her just how amazing Marinette was, and what he liked about her. He told her pretty much everything there was to tell about her. And he did not just describe what he liked about her physically. He took his time to describe her personality and how she made him laugh sometimes, and how dedicated she was to the things and the people she loved and cared about. All in all, he described her as she truly was. Hearing him say that, Kagami believed him. She knew Adrien did not have a tendency to exaggerate when talking about something or someone.

"She does seem like an interesting girl." -Kagami said with a neutral voice. She had heard everything Adrien had told her about Marinette, and could imagine why he would want to date her. –"I can see why you wish to ask her to be your girlfriend." -she told him.

"Interesting? I think the word I would use is special. But she's so much more than that. Having her to accept to date me… that would be a romance like in the comics" -Adrien thought to himself –"And I really wished I could tell you more of what makes her special, but I can't, not without revealing a couple of secrets that I can't reveal, for your own protection, Kagami." -he mused about.

You know what I love the most about writing Alternative Universes? It's that the possibilities of what can happen in them are pretty much infinite. Once again, I decided to "play", if we can use that expression, with certain things that the original show can't play with, and that is the characters' sexuality. We know that in the original show Nathaniel is heterosexual, because he's depicted as having a huge crush on Marinette on season 2. But then, we have people shipping him with Marc in season 3... so, why not have the best of both worlds, and make him bisexual? I think it would solve a lot of problems with various ships, and in this case, it solves the fact that he's both into girls and boys. Plus, as always, I love to write scenes between Nathaniel and Mulan, where he shows his kwami what he has been working on. It gives me an excuse to add certain details from the show's canon to my AU.

Also, we finally saw the first appearence of Kagami in my AU. A lot of people had already requested for her to appear in it, and truth be told, it was already a little over due, because I wanted to add her to this universe, but the right moment had not arrived yet. And after reading the chapter, I think you'll see that I did alter her backstory a little, to fit with the rest of the story. Plus, I also added that her dad (whom we have not seen in the series yet) is the Japanese Ambassador, which explains why she lives in Paris. I had fun writing her, because she's so different form the rest of the characters that I've written in this series. Tell me, what did you think of her first appearence? What will her part in this story be? Stay tuned for more... and as always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this story.

P.S. I almost forgot, for this adventure, one of the Akumas the Miraculous Team will be facing is a guest Akuma, created by LaViolaViolaRosa. Who could it be? You'll just have to wait and see. ;)

P.S. 2 And before I forget, I have recently commissioned something extremely beautiful, featuring Chloe and Sabrina, that I have posted on my DeviantArt page. Be sure to check it out, as well as the artsts page, alright? They both deserve it.