A/N: Admittedly I'm... Very nervous about publishing this chapter. That's why I've been putting it off for many months. I don't even know why I'm so unhappy with this chapter. But if I don't publish this, the story would've been on permanent hiatus so... *shrugs*. Carpe diem?
Inside the school, Niccolo inserted some coins into the vending machine.
"So?" he asked his kwami, tapping the glass of the machine, "Which chips do you want?"
Motto, from his place in Nick's hood, scowled at him. "...Ketchup."
"Are you purposely trying to go against me? There aren't any ketchup chips here."
"Maybe I am trying to go against you," came the whiny reply. Then there was a pause. "...Original."
"That's more like it." Nick pressed the appropriate button. A bag of chips fell from the metallic coil into the slot below. He picked it up.
Motto huffed. "I still want an explanation."
Nick hummed in response, pretending to be too focused tugging the chip bag folds to answer. He finally opened it, letting the salty aroma waft through the air.
"So why couldn't I use any illusions?" Nick asked nonchalantly, shaking the bag. "That robber mocked me when I tried to play that stupid flute."
"Do you know how to play a flute?"
"No..?"
"Then there you have it." Motto dove into the bag of chips.
Nick scrunched up his nose, bringing the plastic closer to his face. "Seriously? So I have to learn how to play the flute in order to make some illusions?"
"Well, you have to know how to play any instrument. Magic takes care of the rest." Motto shoved a couple of chips into his mouth. "Ladybug didn't have to be some professional yo-yo player and Chat Noir didn't have to be some amazing staff wielder. As long as Ladybug had actually played with a yo-yo before and Chat Noir fiddled with a pencil or something, magic made their skills improve a lot."
The teen sighed, ruffling his hair with one hand.
"But I'm guessing playing a flute is preferable?"
"Oh, definitely. Especially if you want to catch up to Ladybug and Chat Noir's current level."
Nick clicked his tongue. "Great…" He shook his head. "Well, I'll think about it in class."
He walked to the staircase. Motto peeked over the plastic bag, watching Nick march up the stairs. After Motto finished eating half the bag of chips, the kwami spoke up.
"I really want to know what made you change your mind. You said you were going to return the miraculous."
Nick stopped. He was only a couple of steps away from his classroom.
"Can't I randomly change my mind?" he asked, shoving the hand that isn't holding chips into his pocket.
Motto narrowed his eyes at him. "Was it really random?"
At first, Nick didn't respond. It was quiet for a little while. Motto figured that Nick was going to ignore him and simply move on, but to his surprise, Nick opened his mouth.
"Human beings are constantly bound by the rules. I'm not just talking about being unable to murder or steal. Humans don't have super strength, or super speed, or invulnerability. They don't have magic."
"So… You're in it for the powers?"
Nick shook his head. "Powers are a bonus. I can see their uses, but that type of life is not for me. I don't really need them. What I'm more focused about…" He smirked. "Is the costume."
Motto stared at him. "...What? You like dressing up as a fox? I mean, foxes are amazing, but I'm sure you can just buy a costume yourself-"
Nick poked Motto in the forehead.
"No," he scolded, making sure his voice is low so that no class overhears. "I'm more interested in the magic the costume provides. Ladybug and Chat Noir have been heroes long enough to make a name for themselves, yet still no one knows their identities. I've been hopping around Paris like a madman, and still no one seemed to pinpoint any information about me. They can't even tell what general age I am. It's like I'm a blank slate."
"Didn't you recently move to Paris?" asked Motto, crinkling the chip bag. "Aren't you already a blank slate?"
"My family knows who I am. I lingered around my parents for a while, and still they didn't recognize me." Nick grinned. "Don't you get it? I'm almost like a ghost. I can do whatever I want to do without fear of the consequences. No more worrying about what my family would think of me if I get caught- The magic will make sure no one will figure out who I am."
"You de-transform if your miraculous gets taken away from you," piped in Motto. "Or if you use up your power."
Nick shrugged. "It's still better than a non-magic costume. Normal masks are flimsy. You're tiny yet you still managed to take off that robber's mask."
"Well yes, but… Still..." The kwami trailed off.
Nick continued. "With this miraculous, I actually have a choice without the burden of my identity. I can do whatever I want without anyone attached to me suffering for it."
Motto gripped tightly on the chip he was holding.
"That's a stupid reason," he declared.
"I don't care. This is what I want."
"The Miraculouses aren't meant to be used for evil."
Nick scoffed. "Well, that sure didn't stop Hawk Moth, did it?"
"Niccolo. Hawk Moth isn't someone you want to be." Motto looked right at teen's face. "Just… What exactly are you going to do..?"
Nick crinkled the bag.
"Hurry and finish your chips. I need to get to class."
When Nick opened the classroom door, his teacher waved.
"Welcome to the classroom, Niccolo. You made it just in time for lunch break," the teacher greeted, leaning against the blackboard.
Nick winced. He eyed the nearest tablet to him, owned by a guy with a blue shirt, headphones, and a red cap. His tablet displayed the time loud and clear- four minutes before lunch.
The teen grimaced. "Sorry, uh, I was on my way to school when a fire hydrant broke down causing massive spills all over the city so I had to take a huge detour."
Miss Bustier raised an eyebrow at him. "If you got caught up in the akuma attack, you could just say so. You don't have to make such a ridiculous lie."
Nick stared at her blankly. "Oh… Right. The akuma attack. That's why I'm late."
Miss Bustier crossed her arms. For a while, Nick thought he was going to get scolded, before a defeated sigh broke out.
"It's fine, you're not the only one who got caught up in it." She gave a pointed stare at most of the people in the front part of the class. There was a sheepish smile by a blonde male in the front row and nervous laughter from a girl in pigtails. The snobby blonde haired girl, whom Nick didn't even realize was in this class, scoffed loudly.
"I'll take a seat," mumbled Nick to himself. Keeping his head down, he shuffled over to his seat and sat.
Since there wasn't much time left, Miss Bustier merely went over what was taught in the last hour. Nick wasn't paying much attention. He had his eyes digging holes onto his desk, eyebrows furrowed.
When the four minutes were up and the lunch bell rang, Rose bounced over to him. Juleka followed close behind.
"What are you thinking about, friend?" chimed Rose, propping her elbows on the desk.
Nick flinched. He turned towards her with wide eyes. "Me?"
"Yeah you!" Rose offered him a big smile.
Nick blinked. "Oh. We're friends..?"
The blue-eyed girl laughed. "Of course, silly! Didn't we have fun yesterday?"
Nick's wrist could still feel the phantom pains of being dragged all over the school. Still, he remembered chuckling at a few jokes, being intrigued at Rose's enthusiasm and at Juleka's creative view of the world. It wasn't all bad.
"Yes, it was kind of fun..?" Nick shrugged. "Is that all it takes to make friends?"
Nick entertained the idea of dragging Adrien somewhere to become friends.
"Sure, why not?!" exclaimed Rose.
Juleka nudged her. "It depends on the person. I wouldn't advise it. Some people aren't as happy-go-lucky as Rose."
Nick's face fell. Right. Dragging Adrien would probably be seen as kidnapping- Probably not a typical friendship activity.
"Making friends is hard…" mumbled Nick to himself, staring at the window.
Juleka placed her hands in her pockets. "Is that what's got you all preoccupied? New kid worries?"
"Hey, don't worry! I bet there are tons of people at school that share your interests!" Rose clapped her hands. "We can introduce you!"
Nick paled. "N-No! I'm good. I rather not socialize with any more people." He scratched his cheek. "So uh… Does this mean I can stick with you guys..?"
"Of course!" Rose sighed a breath of relief. "For a second there, I thought you didn't like us. Now come on, let's head to lunch!"
Nick nodded. "Right."
The male stood up, swinging his messenger bag around his shoulder. The trio walked out of the classroom. Rose chatted about Scrapbooking Club and new perfumes, Juleka talked about some cool new makeup tutorials she found online, while Nick stayed perfectly silent. He was content with simply listening to them.
When they found a table and pulled out their lunches, Juleka spoke up again.
"You did look really troubled in class, though." Juleka opened the container holding her sandwich. "Did something happen while you were running late?"
Rose gasped. "Was the akuma so scary that it traumatized you?! We didn't get the chance to see it!"
Nick stared at them. When it finally dawned on him that they were talking to him, he immediately shook his head. "No, uh… It was just a kid with a giant plush dinosaur. Are all akumas like that?"
"Not really," answered Juleka, "Every akuma has a different power. Most of them are straightforward supervillains who still look mostly human."
"Ooh, but some aren't straightforward at all." Rose took a sip of orange juice. "Remember Volpina, that fox superheroine from yesterday? It turns out that she was actually an akuma! Good thing Ladybug and Chat Noir are good at what they do. I would've never guessed!"
"Fox superheroine?" repeated Nick, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yeah! Hold on, I'll pull up a picture," said Rose, typing something quickly on her phone.
Juleka turned towards Nick. "Some people say that Lila is Volpina. I think she's actually still insisting that she's the great descendant of a fox superheroine. Who knows if it's true."
At the mention of Lila, Nick froze.
Rose gasped. "Lila? You mean the girl who flew in Prince Ali's private jet? How lucky! I would love to have a life as exciting as hers!" The girl tilted her head to the side. "Actually, Nick, she's a new kid like you. What a huge coincidence, two new Italian students! Do you two know each other?"
"Nope. Italy has over 60 million people. It's a coincidence," came Nick's instant reply. "Anyway, weren't you searching up Volpina?"
Rose perked up. "Oh, right, here!" She displayed her phone in front of Nick. Nick took the phone in his hands, frowning.
Akumas must have the same magic costumes as miraculous wielders. That's the first thing Niccolo realized, as it took a while for him to recognize his own step sister. When he did, it felt like something clicked inside his head. Lila and Volpina are definitely the same person- Same hair, eyes, height, jawline…
"Why is her akumatized form a fox superheroine?" wondered Nick out loud. He spared a glance at his messenger bag, where Motto was hiding, but obviously he wouldn't pop out just to answer him in public.
Juleka scoffed. "Who knows what Hawk Moth is thinking," came her sharp response. It was so cold that Nick winced a bit. He shot her a bewildered look.
Rose giggled, slinging an arm over Juleka's shoulder. "She's just upset because her akumatized form looked like a bright pink clown. I was a weird green-skinned perfume wielding akuma."
"Both of you have been akumatized?"
The duo nodded. Rose spoke. "It happens whenever you're alone, have negative emotions, no hope, and want something. This black butterfly flutters over, you hear Hawk Moth's voice in your head, then when you accept his demands he evilizes you and changes your clothes."
Nick stared at the two in silence.
Rose giggled. "What? Do you think we're kidding?"
"Um…" said Nick, blinking repeatedly. "I don't know what to answer to that."
"Heh, well enough being side-tracked," piped in Juleka. "What's bothering you? Hopefully it's nothing to get akumatized over."
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're so determined? It's not that big of a deal. I was thinking about learning how to play an instrument. Preferably the flute. But I'm not sure if full lessons are worth it- or even where to start."
"Flutes are lovely! I love flutes!" exclaimed Rose, clapping her hands. "And if you need some quick tips, I'm sure Ivan will help you out!"
"Ivan?"
Juleka nudged Rose. "It's supposed to be a secret, remember?"
Rose placed her hands on her mouth. "Whoops! Uhh…" She lowered her hands. "You won't tell anyone, right?"
Nick tilted his head to the side. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm not supposed to tell."
"That Ivan plays the flute," whispered Rose. "He learned it to impress Mylène. He's pretty good at it, too. But Kim or Chloé would definitely tease him about it, so it's a secret!"
Niccolo scrunched up his nose. "I literally don't know who any of those people are."
"They're all in our class," explained Juleka, "Ivan sits in front of you."
Nick tried to recall his classes. Unfortunately, all he can remember was sleeping, daydreaming, or basically being late to his class. Everyone's faces were a blur. He very rarely paid attention to people, so it's hard to start now. He hadn't even checked which student was Adrien Agreste, and that's just a quick internet search away.
"I'll keep an eye out for Ivan," said Nick, fiddling with his fork. "What is he like? Do you think he'll give me a few pointers?"
Rose was bouncing in her seat. "Ivan is great! He's always in touch with his emotions and always likes to lend out a helping hand. Mylène even says that he's super sweet and romantic!"
"Mylène is Ivan's girlfriend," added Juleka for Nick's benefit.
"Huh." Nick nodded to himself. "Okay. Okay sure. This can't be too hard. I'll just… Try and talk to him after school." While his tone is light, Nick couldn't help but scrunch up his face in distaste.
"Something wrong?" asked Rose, "You look like you just ate something sour. Do you want us to talk to Ivan for you?"
"It's fine, my lunch tasted funny for a second," lied Nick, looking away. "And thanks for the offer, but I can talk to him myself. Get some proper experience in socializing. Piece of cake."
Niccolo was screaming on the inside. This wasn't going to be a piece of cake.
The person sitting in front of him was large, bulky, and tall. In fact, this middle schooler was the tallest kid in class. He wore a black t-shirt with two crossing bones, had a tuft of dyed blond hair, and possessed a scowl on his face.
"In touch with his emotions and likes to lend out a helping hand," mumbled Nick, "If by emotions she meant anger and lending a hand she meant a punch to the face, I can see what she means."
His seatmate turned to look at him. "Did you say something?" he asked, twirling the pencil in his hand.
Nick jumped a bit in his seat, then hastily shook his head no. "J-Just talking to myself."
The redhead stared for a bit, before nodding and returning to his work. Not schoolwork. This guy was neglecting the worksheet and instead is doodling around the margins.
Niccolo looked over to his own worksheet. To be fair, he hasn't even touched it. Maybe working on some mind numbingly simple math equations can ease his mind. He reached over to his bag to grab a pencil, until a thought occurred to him. Maybe the person in front of him wasn't even Ivan. He doesn't seem the flute type. Perhaps it's all a misunderstanding.
Nick decided to check just in case. He nudged his desk partner.
"What's the name of the guy in front of us?" he whispered.
"Ivan," the redhead whispered back.
"...Oh." Nick inwardly cursed.
His desk partner scanned him with blue eyes. "Why did you want to know?"
"Uhh…" Nick's fingers tapped the desk in concentration. He looked at his hand. "I needed to borrow a pencil from him."
"You could've borrowed one of mine," offered the redhead, handing over one of his spare pencils.
"Right, I just uh, didn't want to bother you. But I guess I did anyway. Since I had to bother you in order to ask you for that guy's name. And now I'm further bothering you with this conversation." Nick winced, hastily taking the offered pencil and facing his test. "I'll shut up now."
The redhead looked like he was about to say something, but the teacher cut in.
"Nathaniel! Niccolo! I do hope you two are working on your worksheets," she said, crossing her arms.
"Yes Miss Bustier," answered his seat partner, whose name is Nathaniel apparently. He focused his attention on the paper in front of him.
Nick sighed a bit in relief.
Ten minutes before school ended, Nick couldn't help it. He raised his hand.
Miss Bustier walked over to him. The class was supposed to be working on some more worksheets, but most of them are merely chatting with friends, waiting for the day to end.
"Yes Niccolo?" she asked, offering a friendly smile.
"May I be excused?"
"For what?"
Nick ruffled his hair. "Uhh… Washroom?"
Miss Bustier glanced at the clock. "There's only ten minutes left of school…"
"I'll be quick. I've already finished my work."
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "This is due the day after tomorrow."
"...Does that mean I'm not excused?"
Miss Bustier took Nick's paper, scanning it with a critical eye. "Well, as long as you return back to class. No student of mine is leaving school early."
"Thanks," said Nick. He grabbed his messenger bag and booked it out of there before anyone could question him.
He didn't lie. Nick went straight to the washroom. He opened the door and to his relief, it's empty. The teen wandered over to the sinks, turned the faucet on, and splashed a bit of water on his face.
"I could just learn how to play the triangle," said Nick to himself. "I bet I can play a mean triangle. I'd impress everyone with my newfound mad triangle skills. Who needs a flute anyway?"
"You know what I've noticed?"
Nick yelped. He whirled his head around, looking for the source of the voice, until he spotted Motto hanging from his messenger bag.
The teen relaxed his shoulders. "Oh, it's just you."
"I noticed that you talk to yourself a lot." Motto placed a hand on his chin. "Is that your substitute for human interaction?"
"For someone who's a partner for superheroes, you're surprisingly not very nice," said Nick. He grabbed some paper towels to wipe his face from water.
"For someone who said they'd return the miraculous back to Master Fu, you're surprisingly not returning it," countered Motto.
Niccolo sighed, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "I'm not going to kill someone or try to take over the world with your miraculous, if that's what you're worried about."
Motto scoffed. "As reassuring as that is, I'm more concerned about Ladybug and Chat Noir. I could be giving them a helping hand right now instead of wasting my time with… Whatever you're planning to do."
"If Ladybug can waste time humiliating my step sister twice, I'm sure she isn't too busy." Nick pulled out his phone to check the time. "Six minutes until school ends. Great. Maybe I shouldn't talk to him today."
Motto snickered. "I'm actually excited to see you interact with this Ivan guy. If it's anything as awkward as that conversation with the person sitting next to you-"
"Ugh, you heard that?" Nick scowled at his kwami. "You were so quiet in class that I was hoping you were sleeping. Or dead."
"Nope. Very awake and alive." Motto wiggled his tail, as if that proves how conscious he is. "Want to know the best way to talk to people?"
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you're helping me now?"
Motto shrugged. "I can't help helping people. Especially for people as lost as you are." Nick scowled at that. The fox floated over by the sink and sat on the edge. "The answer is charisma, by the way."
"...Charisma."
Niccolo's tone was flat. He was facing the door, hands in his pockets, shoulders slouched. However, his brown eyes kept flickering over to Motto, and he was responding to his words. The kwami knew he's got Nick's full attention.
Motto smirked. "Yep. Confident, genuinely listening, smiling, pleasant eye-contact... You can charm so many people off the bat."
"Yeah, uh, no." Nick leaned his forearm against the sink edge next to Motto. "Have you seen that Ivan guy? I'm pretty sure he's more standoffish than I am. He can probably see through me and snap my neck in an instant!"
"I really doubt a middle schooler can snap your neck." Motto waved his paw. "And please- Tough guy, weak guy, smart guy, meek guy- they're all human in the end. They all share the same basics of conversation. Just be genuine without oversharing, confident but not too cocky, and don't forget to smile."
Nick deadpanned at him.
"That sounds exhausting and stupid. I'll just use your advice as a last resort."
Motto sighed, shaking his head.
"I am so unappreciated in my time."
Nick managed to reach class with two minutes left of school. Most of his classmates were packing up, and their chattering has gotten louder. He slipped into his seat, next to a startled Nathaniel. He looked like he was expecting Nick to skip class. Nick wishes that were the case.
"Nick!"
Nick glanced to the right to see an enthusiastic Rose bouncing over to him. It was just her this time. On the other side of the classroom, Juleka appears to be talking to a short girl with blond dreadlock hair dyed in green, blue, and magenta.
"Rose," greeted Nick, scratching his cheek.
She cupped a hand to the side of her mouth. "You're going to talk to Ivan, right? You can do it at his locker if you're discreet about the whole flute thing. Me and Juleka are going to distract Mylène in the meantime so that you won't get interrupted," she whispered, making sure only the two of them can hear.
Niccolo paled. "W-Woah there, you did not have to go through the trouble of-"
Rose giggled. "It's fine! Anything for a friend!" She hushed her voice again. "You're totally going to play for me and Juleka once you get super good, right?" She grinned. "I can't wait!"
Rose skipped away towards Juleka, leaving Nick alone.
"Well now I can't back out of this conversation." Nick turned towards his messenger bag, where Motto was hiding. "I feel both honoured and used somehow. Does that make sense?"
The kwami inside the bag snorted in reply.
The bell rang.
Niccolo tried to be as discreet as possible, joining most of the class on their trek towards their lockers. He couldn't tell which feeling was stronger; the feeling of dread at social interaction, or the feeling of anxiety at social interaction.
"I can't back out, I need those illusion powers. Plus, if I can't even talk to one normal guy, how am I supposed to fulfill Lila's deal and talk to a popular guy..?" whispered Niccolo to himself. He leaned over to his messenger bag. "Wish me luck, Motto."
A muffled scoff resonated from the backpack. "I'm the wrong kwami for that."
"You are definitely not helping," said Nick. There were a stare or two from people noticing that he's talking to himself, but most of the students in the locker area aren't paying attention.
The teen took a deep breath. He marched over to where Ivan was standing.
Ivan had his locker open, tapping his fingers against the metal. He was frequently scanning the area, probably waiting for somebody. So when Niccolo approached, Ivan immediately noticed him.
"What," said Ivan.
Nick froze up. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
There was silence for a moment. Ivan frowned at him. "Are you okay?"
"Flute," squeaked Nick, before wincing. He then straightened himself up. "Can you- Oh wait. Yes, I'm okay. Thanks for asking." He coughed in his sleeve. "So uh… Can you… Can you play the flute."
Ivan tensed up. He looked left and right, but no one is paying attention to them. He turned back to Nick, leaning a bit towards him.
"Why are you asking that?" he harshly whispered. In Nick's opinion, it was just as loud as a normal speaking voice.
"I was thinking about playing the flute, and I figured I could get some tips…" Nick trailed off.
"Hmph." Ivan turned back to his locker. "Well I don't play the flute. Ask the music teacher." He slammed the locker shut.
Nick winced. Ivan looked ready to leave.
(What to do now? Grovel and beg?)
Niccolo felt something nudge him. It was Motto, nudging him from inside his messenger bag.
(Oh right, charisma.)
(How does one charisma again?)
Nick straightened himself up. He took a deep breath, relaxed a few tense facial muscles, then forced a smile.
"I can't really ask a music teacher. They'd probably force me to take music class like everyone else and to be honest I don't want too many people knowing I'm learning how to play the flute." Nick mentally double-checked his smile, while still forcing himself to keep eye-contact. "I can't hire an instructor either, I don't want to waste too much money on this. So any help you got would be really useful. If not, I understand."
Nick kept the relaxed body posture, keeping the palms of his hands up. He remembered his mother telling him that palms up suggest friendliness or something.
The expression on Ivan shifts. He puffed out one cheek. "Well… I know how you feel about not wanting too many people to know you play flute."
Nick bit the inside of his cheek, stopping himself from saying 'Nah, you don't want to get teased, and I don't want to have a potential connection to my miraculous self. We have two extremely different feelings here.'
"Mhm," Nick says instead.
"So…" Ivan shuffles in place a bit. He offers a shy smile. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to teach you some basics. Mylène has been saying I should socialize more."
"You and me both," blurted out Nick before he could stop himself. He shakes his head. "I mean- thank you so much. I really appreciate it!" Niccolo forced a grin. Ivan didn't look half as scary when he's smiling.
"Ivan, hey!"
Nick dropped his grin, glad that Ivan was going to be distracted so that he could slip out. Until Nick realized that the person calling Ivan was approaching from behind him.
A short girl with a pink headband ran up to Ivan. She gave a quick hug to him, making him blush slightly and hug back. Niccolo tried to discreetly move away from the duo. However, the girl took notice of him and smiled.
"Hello!" she exclaimed. "I'm Mylène. I'm in your class."
Nick nodded. Then, he realized he couldn't run away. Ivan may take it the wrong way and not give him flute tips. He offered a pinched smile.
"I'm Nick. I'm new to your class." Nick blinked. "Oh wait, I guess you would already know that…"
Mylène giggled. "I've seen you around Rose and Juleka. They probably already gave you a run-down of the school, but if you have any more questions you can ask anyone in class. We want you to be comfortable here."
"Except for Chloé," mumbled Ivan.
The girl sighed. "To be fair, Chloé isn't… The nicest person."
Ivan placed a hand on her shoulder. "She made you cry. She's the worst."
Mylène features softened. She nuzzled closer to Ivan, before turning back towards Nick.
"Just try your best to stay out of her way," she said, "Marinette and Alya are pretty good at keeping her down- Marinette is class representative and Alya is class deputy- but sometimes the things she does is uncontrollable. Please don't turn into an akuma over her."
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Have you two ever been turned into an akuma?"
Ivan tensed up. Mylène held his hand and answered.
"Ivan was the first ever akuma made. I turned into an akuma during a school film."
"Huh." Nick scrunched up his nose. "Has everyone in our class turned into an akuma?"
"Everyone except for Marinette and Adrien," said Mylène. She smiled. "I'd like to think that they're too positive to be akumatized."
Ivan chuckled. "Or maybe they're too resistant against Chloé."
"Well, you have to be really positive to be resistant against Chloé, right?"
"True," said Ivan with a sage nod.
"So stay positive, avoid Chloé, and I won't get akumatized. Got it." Nick shuffled his feet. "Can I go now?"
"Oh! I hope we weren't keeping you from anything important," said Mylène.
"N-No!" replied Nick, waving his hands, "I enjoyed this conversation! I just have to go… To the washroom!" He nodded to himself. "Until next time. Bye!"
Nick speed walked out of the semi-crowded hallway.
Ivan and Mylène exchanged looks.
Nick breathed in the outside air. The air was cool and free, unlike the crowded dense air in school. Niccolo leaned against the stair railing, watching a few people exit the building.
"Never again," he said to himself. "I've filled my social interaction quota for the month."
"What are you, allergic to people or something?" Motto poked his head from the zipper in the messenger bag. "They seem like nice people! I can't tell if you're actually antisocial or just have lots of social anxiety."
Nick stared at him. "There's a difference?"
"Yeah. Antisocial people are sort of rebellious and hostile to society. Social anxiety is having an unreasonable fear of social situations." Motto scratched his head. "You know, other than the whole stealing thing, I don't think you're that antisocial. You're more asocial than antisocial. Actually, I think you are asocial. Being asocial is-"
"Ugh, too many terms," interrupted Nick. "Well, whatever I am, all anyone needs to know is that conversations takes ten years off my life. I fear I may die soon."
"Well, be sure to thank me before you die!"
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Why."
"Duh, I helped you with Ivan. My whole charisma thing worked." Motto puffed up his chest in pride.
Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm going home."
"Not thanking me? Huh, maybe you are antisocial. We should research more on this."
Niccolo ignored his kwami, preferring to walk down the stairs. When he reached the bottom steps, he noticed a small crowd forming off to the side. They were pretty loud talking to each other. Niccolo kept walking.
"Is what's being said on the news true, Lila?!"
Nick immediately stopped. He looked over to the crowd, trying to get a better look at the people. There, at the center of the crowd, was his one and only stepsister.
"Pfft, the news just immediately takes Ladybug's side! I have a cousin working in the media, and he says they like to hide the truth to make the superheroes appear more appealing. He said they embellished that news broadcast to protect my secret identity!" explained Lila.
The crowd around Lila gasped. They started to whisper to each other, sharing tidbits of information.
Nick sighed, leaning against a tree.
Here's a fact: They do not have a cousin working in the media.
"But…" started one of the people. "Ladybug said she even purified the akuma…"
Lila scowled. "Ladybug and I… We don't get along. We used to be super close until I moved to Paris. She's human like everyone else, and humans get jealous. We were best friends so she knows Volpina will upstage her. Now she's doing whatever she can to put me down."
The crowd continued to exchange looks with each other. Finally, one spoke.
"I don't believe it," declared one of the males. "Ladybug is way too perfect to ever be jealous."
Murmurs of agreement rang through the people.
"Wha- She isn't perfect!" protested Lila.
"I think travelling the world has really gotten to your head," said another person. "I mean, visiting so many countries, being related to so many celebrities, having your own deluxe shark tank… You're way too used to knowing everything about famous people, both strength and weaknesses. But Ladybug is different. She doesn't have any weaknesses, she always win!"
"Yeah!" agreed many other people from the crowd.
Nick gasped in a mixture of laughter and disbelief. "What?" he choked out.
Motto popped out from the messenger bag. "What do you mean by what?"
"These people believe in Lila's lies, but when it comes to an actual truth like 'Ladybug isn't perfect', they don't believe it."
"You don't think Ladybug is perfect?" asked Motto, tilting his head to the side.
"She isn't a supernatural creature. She's just some human teenager with a miraculous and kwami like me. No person is perfect. There's always going to be this flaw that people don't like."
The crowd talked more, before eventually dispersing to go home, leaving behind an irate Lila. She moved to go home as well, before she spotted her stepbrother.
Lila gestured for Niccolo to follow her. With a shrug, Nick followed at a reasonable distance. She entered a bakery across the street. Two minutes later, Niccolo entered that same bakery. It was empty, except for Lila and the woman as the cashier.
"Here you go." Lila tossed a box at Nick. Nick barely caught it, frowning a bit.
"Geez, give a warning before tossing fragile food at me," complained Nick. He opened the box to see lines of macaroons, with one missing. Lila was chewing on one.
"Don't try to talk to me at school. I don't want anyone to know that we're connected," said Lila.
"And the bakery right next door is safer?"
"People say this place makes the best pastries. We're just two strangers here for the famous food." Lila wiped her hands. "How much did you hear of that conversation?"
"Straight to the point," commented Nick. He placed the hand that wasn't holding the macaroons into his pocket. "I heard mainly the last part. They believe your lies, they don't think you're the fox heroine, and they think Ladybug is perfect."
Lila scoffed. "What lies?"
"Lila, you've never traveled around the world, the only famous relation you have is my mom whom you aren't even related to biologically, and she's way too much of a pyromaniac to ever let the family have a shark tank." Nick took a bite of a macaroon. Wow, it was pretty good.
Lila crossed her arms. "Well whatever, I'm still the great descendant of the famous fox superheroine Volpina. Not like you'd know, since you're my step brother and all."
Nick heard muffled screaming from inside his messenger bag. The teen placed a hand on it, trying to stop Motto from squirming.
"Meh. Superheroes don't interest me anyway. Especially fox-themed ones. I don't even like foxes," said Nick.
Motto stopped squirming. Yet somehow, Nick could feel his glaring through the bag.
"Right, your main mission isn't about superheroes, it's about Adrien Agreste." Lila batted her eyelashes. "You have attempted to talk to him today, right?"
"...How does he look like, again?"
Lila groaned. "I swear, Niccolo!"
"There are like fourteen other people in my class. How am I supposed to know?" said Nick.
"I bet you didn't even try to socialize with any of your classmates."
"Not true!" protested Nick, trying to remember everyone he has talked to today. "I talked to at least five people in the classroom today. That's about a third of them talked to!"
Lila gasped. "You talked to people in your class?" She brightened up. "That's… That's great! I'm so proud of you. You never talk to people of your own free will. I was almost certain you couldn't do it! How was it?"
Nick's shoulder drooped. "Tiring."
Lila rolled her eyes, punching Nick on the shoulder. "And that's why I want you to be friends with Adrien! I know for a fact that he's not a bad person, so I figured your social awkwardness wouldn't hinder this too much."
"And here I thought you did this because you're obsessed with Adrien," muttered Nick.
"I heard that," said Lila, giving him a sharp look. "Anyway, in case you still don't know how Adrien looks like, he's the only good-looking one in that class."
"That helps zero percent."
Lila rolled her eyes. "He's the only natural blond one. Green eyes. You seriously can't miss him. He poses like a model every two seconds and he looks good doing it." Lila pat Nick on the shoulder. "I'm leaving now. Don't forget to invite your class to your birthday party!"
With that, Lila Rossi left the bakery.
Niccolo scowled, ruffling his hair. After making sure she's properly out of sight, he opened his messenger bag to see Motto glaring at him.
"How could you say that foxes aren't cool?!"
Nick pat him on the head. "Oh chill. I didn't say that, I said that I don't like foxes. And the only reason I said that was to separate me and my miraculous self."
Motto's expression changed. He looked surprised. "Oh." Then, his expression sours. "Did that girl seriously claim she was Volpina? Or distantly related to Volpina?"
"Yep." Nick popped the p sound. "But Lila is a compulsive liar. It happens."
"Not cool. Though I suppose you aren't any better. At least she wants to be a hero."
"How long are you going to be negative?" Nick placed the box of macaroons inside his bag. "Here, take these macaroons as a peace treaty."
Before Motto could respond, a voice cut in.
"Uhh, who are you talking to?"
Nick paled. He looked over to see a girl with dark blue pigtails. She looked sort of familiar, but Nick couldn't place his finger on it.
"Just… Trying to make peace with my backpack. By shoving macaroons in it." Niccolo closed his eyes, immediately regretting what he just said. "Welp, I'm going now! Bye!"
He rushed out of the bakery, pretending that Motto wasn't snickering at him.
The moment Nick arrived home, he locked himself up in his room, turned on his computer, and started to research. It had started with information on flutes, before it drifted into other areas.
"I thought you finished all your homework in class," commented Motto.
"I did." Nick's hands were a blur across the keyboard. Words flitted across the screen, but they were going so fast Motto couldn't grasp a single coherent sentence.
"So is this what you do for fun? It looks like work. Boring, boring work."
Nick paused to glance over to Motto. "I guess we just have different definitions of fun." He resumed typing, pulling up a blank document then filling it with words.
From what Motto could tell, Nick is flipping between articles, transcripts, security footage, and more. He typed his work in Italian then encrypted it with a special vigenère cipher, all without breaking his pace.
The fox scrunched up his face. "Okay seriously, what are you doing? I'm getting serious paranoid hacker vibes out of this."
Nick stopped typing. "Stop interrupting me, I need full concentration for this."
"But what exactly is this-"
"Family, I'm home!" came a cheery voice from somewhere in the house.
"Dad and Lila aren't home, it's just me here!" yelled Nick back, before continuing to type on the computer. He opened a program that began spewing random characters across the screen, seemingly decoding something.
That's when they heard the creaky steps of the ladder. A knock sounded on the attic door.
"Can I come in? I want to see my favourite son!" exclaimed Francesca from the other side.
"I'm your only son," mumbled Nick under his breath. He locked his computer and turned off the monitor.
Motto snorted. "You know, by that logic, you're also her least favourite son-"
"Motto, I'm opening the door whether you're ready or not," snapped Nick in a hushed whisper.
Without a sound, the kwami hid behind one of the photo frames lining Niccolo's desk.
After triple checking to make sure there was nothing incriminating in his room, Nick nodded to himself. He walked over to the attic door, fiddled with the hatch to unlock it, and swung open the wooden panel.
Francesca climbed onto the floor of Nick's room, a large smile gracing her face.
"Niccolo! How was school? Did you talk to all your new friends?"
Nick suppressed a groan of despair. "School was fine. I talked to people."
His mother clapped her hands, a giddy look on her face.
"I need to meet them soon!"
Niccolo slumped into his computer chair.
"You can meet them during my birthday party." He looked away. "Also, mom… I've been meaning to ask you something…"
"What is it?"
Nick ruffled his hair, fidgeting in his seat. "I kind of…" He gulped. "Need a favour."
"Ohh?" Francesca walked over to the computer table, resting her arms on it. "That's rare. You never ask for favours."
Nick grimaced. "I know."
"Is it a girl? I bet it's a girl!" A grin stretched onto Francesca's face. "Does my little Nick have a crush?!"
"What? No!" protested Nick, pushing his chair away from his mother. Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a low voice. It was barely loud enough for his mom to hear. "I need money."
Francesca blinked. "Money?"
"Yeah, I… I want to buy a flute." Niccolo crossed his arms, face turning red. "I searched it up, and the cheapest brand new ones are about nine hundred euro…"
"Nine hundred euro?" The black-haired woman scrunched up her eyebrows. "That's not good."
"Right, so I was thinking of getting a used one-"
"You're worth way more than nine hundred euro!" proclaimed Francesca. She pulled out a tablet and started typing. "I'm certain I can get a professional custom-made flute with a couple of phone calls-"
"Wha- Mom no!" Nick pulled the tablet away from her hands. "I don't need a professional custom one, just the cheapest one you can find. I don't even know if I'd like playing the flute. I'm just curious about it. You don't need to waste so much money for this."
"Oh c'mon Niccolo, you never let me do anything for you! You'd refuse my Christmas presents if it weren't impolite!" Francesca took her tablet back. "And what do you mean waste money? I'm one of the richest actresses from Italy. I burn things down just so my money won't be gathering up dust."
"No, you burn things down because you have pyromania and you're looking for an excuse." Nick scowled at his mom. "Mom, seriously, you don't have to do this. I searched the internet and I found some decent used ones for about a hundred euro."
Francesca scoffed. "How about this- Early birthday present. I'll buy you a flute myself, and I won't give you anything on your birthday."
"I smell trickery," said Nick with narrowed eyes.
Francesca gasped.
"Trickery from me? Why, I'd never!" exclaimed the famous actress.
Nick scrunched up his eyebrows. "It can't cost anything more than five hundred."
"Two thousand, at least!"
"I mean it, mom. Five hundred."
"How about no more than one thousand?"
There was a stand still for a while, both sides refusing to give up. However, after a pleading look from his mom's green eyes, Nick's shoulder slumped.
"I'm such a loser," groaned Nick, hand on his face. "Fine, whatever. No more than a thousand euro, but that better be my only birthday present."
"Of course!" Francesca placed her hands on Nick's shoulders. "And for the record, you are not a loser. You are my precious son who really needs to let other people be nice to him. No man's an island, you know. You need to learn to rely on others." She pat his head.
Nick huffed, crossing his arms. "So anyway, how soon can you get it?"
"For you? Consider it done by tomorrow morning, before you go to school."
Her gaze trailed over to the corner of the desk. Niccolo didn't mind, he made sure his room was perfect earlier, until he remembered the photos propping up the side of his desk. He also remembered that his kwami had chosen that area to hide behind.
"Woah there!" Nick practically dived into her line of sight. "What are you looking over there for? There's no reason to look there! If you have heard or seen anything, it was probably your imagination!"
Francesca raised an eyebrow at him. "I was just looking at the pictures."
"Ah." Nick coughed into his hand. He looked over to the picture frames on his desk.
There were only two photos- Niccolo has always been a minimalist type of guy. The photo on the right was of the current family, taken a year ago. His mom's face was nuzzled in the crook of his stepfather's neck, a content smile on her lips. Closer to the lens was Lila, all prepped up and camera ready, with a confident look gracing her features. Then off to the side but not too far off was Niccolo, smiling shyly at the camera.
The other photo contained Niccolo again, but aged five and grinning. A dog was on his lap, licking his face. Behind him was his mother, looking years younger, holding hands with a man and staring at him as if he was the most important person in the world.
"Your dad loved music, you know," said Francesca.
Nick turned back towards her. "Antonio or Samuel?"
"Your biological dad."
Francesca reached for a photo, causing Nick to tense up. When she pulled it from the table, there was no fox kwami behind it. The teen sighed in relief.
"He liked music?" inquired Nick as he attempted to casually walk over to the other photo frame. Behind it was Motto, giving him a panicked look. "I don't remember that."
"Antonio dragged me into concerts nearly every week while we were dating. I had to put my foot down when we were married, because I was getting sick of them." Francesca laughed a little as she rubbed her thumb in circles against the frame. "He wanted to enroll you into lessons too, but you never liked any of the tutors."
Francesca seemed distracted. Nick quickly bent down near the picture frame and gestured to the hood of his sweater. Motto understood the message and quickly hid inside the hood right before Francesca turned around.
Niccolo pretended to wipe away some dust off his wooden floor to give an excuse for bending down. At his mom's bewildered look, he straightened up.
"Couldn't he have taught me some music himself?"
Francesca nearly burst out laughing. "Wouldn't that be a sight!" She muffled some more laughter with her sleeve. "Antonio was horrible at playing music himself. He somehow got banned from the school band all throughout his student years!"
"Oh."
Nick's mother shook her head. "Heh, well, you better not inherit his awful music talent, Nick." She placed the photo frame back down. "I'm off to make a few calls. Come bother me in the living room if you need attention."
"Noted."
Francesca smiled at her son, eyes squinting and features soft.
"I love you, Nick." She gave her son a quick hug then descended down the ladder out of Nick's room.
Niccolo shut the panel and locked it. Once he could no longer hear Francesca's footsteps, Motto popped out of Nick's hood.
"Geez, I nearly got a heart attack when she started picking up the picture frames!" said Motto. "But other than that, your mom seems nice. I like her. Let's keep her around."
"She's my mom, Motto. She'll try and stick around no matter what I say." Nick wandered over to his computer and turned on the monitor. After inserting the password, the screen flashed back to the decryption program he had on earlier.
"You know, you didn't even say thank you when she said she's buying you an expensive flute," scolded Motto. "Bad manners, Freckles."
"Hey, I already told you not to call me that!" whined Nick, "And I didn't realize I forgot to say thanks. Remind me to thank her when she gives me the flute."
"Will do."
Nick glanced over to the screen. "This looks like it's going to take a while."
"So are you going to tell me what you're doing on the computer now?" asked Motto, leaning close to Nick's face.
Niccolo rolled his eyes, lightly pushing the kwami away.
"I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out in a couple of days." Nick pat his jeans. "In the meantime, I'm going to get some training done."
Motto tilted his head to the side. "Training?"
"Motto, Foxtrot!"
When the transformation was over, Nick escaped through the window. He made his way back to the abandoned warehouse where he captured that criminal earlier today.
With a grin on his face, Niccolo began to train.
"She did not just do that."
It was morning. Sunlight crept through the window. A kwami was whistling and a certain teen had his eyes wide in disbelief. Niccolo had been staring at the object in front of him for quite a while now. It was a case, propped up on the kitchen counter, lid wide open. Inside the case, surrounded by fuzzy soft black padding, was a flute.
Not just any flute. Nick doesn't know much about them, but he knows his metals. Picking the instrument up, Nick felt the familiar sensation of silver. Everywhere.
It was a solid silver flute. Not just silver-plated, but honest-to-goodness solid silver.
Not only that, but the flute had engravings in multiple places. Loopy designs surrounded the buttons, trailing to the side where a name was engraved in swirling script.
'Niccolo Conti'.
Nick sighed, gently pressing the flute against his forehead.
"Oh mom… You really didn't have to do that…"
Motto peered closer to the flute. "That definitely costs more than the one thousand euro budget limit you two agreed on."
"Yep. And my mom is nowhere to be seen. Probably trying to avoid me scolding her for wasting money like that."
"Don't forget to thank her," reminded Motto.
"I will when I see her, but…" Nick ruffled his hair. "This thing is way too fancy to be brought out in public. I was trying to be discreet."
With a sigh, he brought the flute near his lips.
ScRRreEEeeEcH!
Motto slapped his hands over his ears.
"ACK! What did I do to deserve hearing that?!"
Nick winced. "It wasn't that bad..?"
"The only bright side is that you know how to properly hold a flute, and that's just because your miraculous gave you that instinct!" Motto shook his head. "Here, I'll show you how to play a simple B note."
The kwami nudged Nick's fingers onto the proper keys. Niccolo fumbled a bit, nearly dropping his very expensive flute, but finally managed to put his fingers in the proper position. He played.
ScReEeeCh!
SCReeeeEEcHH!
ScrRrEeEeEcCch!
Nick glared at the instrument.
Motto shook his head. "It's not the flute that's the problem! C'mon Freckles, stand up straight. You got this."
With a sigh, Niccolo resumed 'playing'.
It took ten minutes of trial and error before they decided to call it quits. Motto is nursing a slight headache while Nick's grumpiness was making him blow too harshly on the flute.
"This is bad, Motto."
Motto sniffed. "Yeah, my bleeding ears agree with you on that one."
"I think…" Nick stared at his flute in horror. "I think I inherited my dad's awful music talent."
"That's not how genetics work, Freckles."
Niccolo raised an eyebrow. He brought his flute closer to his lips.
"Please don't play to prove me wrong," interrupted Motto before Nick could do anything. Nick lowered the flute. "You're just a beginner, Nick. Maybe you're just having a bad music day."
"I can't afford to have bad music days. If things go south for some reason, it's good to have these illusions to back me up." Nick brought the flute back to his chin. "I won't stop until I play this one note properly at least once."
"I'll go look for earplugs."
When Nick finally arrived to school, proud that he had played the note correctly at least once, he had already missed half the day.
A/N: 1000 euro ≈ 1100 US Dollars ≈ 1500 Canadian Dollars
Flutes are pretty expensive compared to other instruments because they're handmade. Reviewer yellow 14 pointed out I used dollars instead of euro, so I edited that. I temporarily forgot about the existence of different currencies. English uses both euro and euros, French uses euros, and Italian uses euro (or euri uncommonly). Decided to settle with euro because they're Italian.
This chapter was supposed to be split in two, but I figured you guys waited long enough. Next chapter might be shorter though.