Going through this I've come to realize that I've been mixing terms from the different localizations of the series. I tend to lean more towards the French and Korean versions, hence names like Chat Noir, Dislocoeur and the usage of the expression "Miraculous Healing Light." Let me know if my amateurish welding is bothering any of you.
I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Just putting it out there. Please review if you have the time, I'm a masochist at heart.
School wasn't typically something that a Parisian teen would come to enjoy, but for Adrien Agreste the opposite was true. Sure it was work, but so was the rest of his life. Between a constant stream of photoshoots and his father's need for decorum at all times Adrien had found himself sorely wishing for a reprieve. Public school offered him just that, an opportunity to interact with people his age in a normal fashion. There were long nights of homework and tough examinations, but those were stresses typical to someone his age.
Most importantly, however, were the friends that awaited him every day. Nino, Alya, Chloé (okay maybe not her)…they had given him the fondest memories of his life. And Marinette…what about her? She had won his father's hat competition and the class' approval as Class President, but truthfully, Adrien knew very little about her. Her parents were bakers. He knew this from the Parents Day presentation. Chloé hated her, that didn't take a genius to figure out. She was half-Chinese. But when it came to actually knowing her…
Perhaps that was Chat's job. His time spent at Marinette's last night had been unexpected but in no way unwelcome. There were certainly many Chat Noir fans but none had ever offered to patch him up and feed him homemade cookies before. In hindsight maybe he should've expected such kindness from Marinette. He still remembered how she stood up for Mylene when the class was filming the movie and when Marinette had been the only one to pursue Alix prior to the Timebreaker incident.
Holding true to his feline identity, Adrien was quite curious and acutely aware of the pigtailed girl sitting behind him. There was a dull droning in the background which Adrien could barely identify as a lesson on French literature. He didn't think much of it when the noise suddenly stopped.
Adrien felt an elbow dig into his side. Nino was trying to get his attention, but when Adrien turned to meet his friend's gaze he was met with an awkward eye roll telling him to look towards the front of the room. Changing his gaze, Adrien's confused stare was met by the dull eyes of the class instructor.
"Mr. Agreste," droned the figure in a matter which lent the room a claustrophobic air, "an example of contemporary French literature please."
Contemporary? Adrien really ought to have known the definition of the word but at the moment he was coming up a tad short. It wasn't a very Marinette related question.
"I'm waiting Mr. Agreste." Oh great. Mr. Agreste. This wasn't going well.
"Arsène Lupin."
Adrien was slightly confused as to the reception of his answer. On one hand, the instructor's right eye had relaxed its stare. On the other, Adrien could swear he had seen the left twitch violently.
"I was expecting something a little farther along the century but your answer was passable," said the instructor, bringing a hand to his chin. "Although the Lupin stories are a particular weakness of mine, I must admit."
At least the instructor was pleased. Adrien, however, was struck with the sinking feeling that he was about to listen to a rather dry tangent on crime novels until the lunch period.
Lunchtime was a sacred time in France. From 12:00 to 2:00 the country came to a stop; plenty of time to rest and relax. At least that's what Adrien wanted to be doing. Instead of engaging with his classmates and having a laugh he found himself sitting in the corner of the locker room indulging the appetite of a certain night colored kwami.
"Have you ever had American? I must admit my curiosity, but I'd never lower myself to consuming such overly processed cheese. No, no, camembert is where my heart lies."
"I've started to dislike the stuff. Smelling it on you constantly has taken its toll."
"That's the thing with you humans. You always seem to find a way to get fed up with a good thing. In all the time I've spent on this Earth I've never gotten sick of camembert."
The sunlight filtering through the windows was a heavy temptation. Adrien wanted nothing more than to leave Plagg to his own dietary devices, but was reluctant to leave his kwami alone. "Considering your millennia of service camembert has been a fairly recent invention."
Plagg, who had been stuffing his face with great vigor, was given pause by Adrien's tone. "Your words are as sharp as aged cheddar. What are you implying?"
"Simply that the only reason you still enjoy camembert is because it's still new to you."
A ripple went through Plagg's body, almost as if the kwami had been suddenly exposed to the cold. Adrien figured that the emotional turmoil Plagg was experiencing had to be fairly serious seeing as how the black sprite hadn't taken a bite of cheese for close to ten seconds.
"Spare me Adrien," croaked Plagg. "If my love of camembert is but a temporary flame then your affections for Ladybug amount to but a spark."
Adrien would have bristled at such a remark in the past. He kept his composure this time though, partly out of fear of making too much noise with his kwami out and partly because he had become desensitized to Plagg's teasing. "Forgive me if I don't take your misinformed words as fact. I don't think a creature that perfectly represents the sin of gluttony such as you could ever take notice of the subtle nuances that love entails."
"You can act high and mighty if you really feel the need to. I saw you making goo goo eyes at that fine piece from last night. I forget, is France a polyamorous culture?"
"My main concern is how you managed to dredge up a word as large as 'polyamorous,' but I'd also appreciate it if you didn't refer to my classmate as a 'hot piece.'"
A chuckle emanated from Plagg, radiating seemingly from the very core of his being. It was slightly unsettling. "I said 'fine piece.' You're the one who thinks she's hot."
Adrien felt a blush creeping up his face. He wanted to argue more but repressed the urge. His slip of the tongue had cost him the match.
"Those cookies looked delicious though. Not as good as cheese of course, but I wouldn't mind having a bite or two. Do me a favor and swing by tonight to get me some samples."
Plagg's revelry was interrupted by a noisy commotion outside the school. A loud howl penetrated through the walls to dominate Adrien's hearing. He had a sinking feeling about what the source of the noise was. Looking through the window confirmed his fears.
"Plagg…"
"What is it?"
"Claws out."
Traffic had ground to a halt in front of the school. The street was an auditory hellscape; irate drivers, impatient to return to the workplace after lunch, were laying on their horns as if their lives depended on it. The source of the congestion did not seem to take much notice. Rather than show a sign of regret that thing seemed to be reveling in the attention. Certainly it was good at drawing attention, seeing as how it was seven feet tall with green fur and the features of an anthropomorphized cartoon wolf.
A deep and resonant voice emitted from the maw of the green akuma. "Now, now ladies and gentlefolk there's no need to panic. We can all take the time to appreciate me together."
The drivers continued to honk, paying no mind to the akuma.
"My parents didn't understand me…but this beautiful wolf you see…this is the true me."
From his vantage point at the top of the school Adrien was scoping out the new threat as Chat Noir. He wanted nothing more than to jump in and end the conflagration but was given pause. He would need Ladybug's help; only she could purify the akuma.
His head turned in response to a light landing behind him, although the action was unnecessary; he knew the source. It was a beautiful girl sporting two ridiculously cute pigtails and a red face mask. Her lithe body was hugged by a red suit adorned with black dots. Adrien did not know the identity of the material she was sporting; only that it was incredibly flexible and resilient. While the girl let her left arm hang limply against her body her right was at rib-level, casually twirling a yo-yo which left behind a brilliant pink aura.
Ladybug had arrived on the scene.
"Ooh My Lady!" exclaimed Chat rather enthusiastically. "It truly is a blessing to see you today."
Ladybug's features twisted into a bemused grin. "I seem to recall hearing that one the last time Chat Noir. Perhaps you're simply going through the motions today?"
Adrien let a mock expression of shock cross his features. "Perish the thought My Lady. If you would only listen, your humble Chat Noir will improvise a song for you at once."
"While that sounds like a fine way to pass the time, I'd rather get our business concluded first."
"Your dedication to duty astounds me Ladybug. Do you have any thoughts on the situation?"
Ladybug made her way to the ledge to take a look at the akuma. While the action seemed rather normal Adrien had been around the superheroine long enough to realize that her body language was quite lazy today. The way she casually rested one leg on the ledge and let her eyes roll over the scene gave off an air of indifference.
"I don't know why I even bothered to bring my good yo-yo today," she sniffed.
"You have more than one?"
"Of course. They're a dollar each at the corner store."
"I have one that retracts itself. Very handy. If you want I could go fetch it for you."
Ladybug shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just get this over with; I have some things to do today." Leaving no time for Chat to even understand what she had said she threw her yo-yo into the air. "Lucky Charm!"
An oversized dog-catcher's net landed in Ladybug's waiting hands. "Lucky Charm already?" inquired the black cat.
"We always resort to it anyways. Might as well save some time."
Adrien was confused. "But My Lady…we don't even know where the akuma is!"
Adrien heard…a sigh. Was she sighing at him? "Kitty, take a look at the doggy's neck."
The neck? Straining his eyes Adrien took a closer look. Between the tufts of fur he could make out something brown. "A collar?"
"That's where we'll find our akuma."
"You seem purrfectly confident about this. What if the akuma is somewhere else?"
"Chat, the wolf isn't wearing anything else."
The plan was simple: Chat Noir would distract the doglike monster as a cat should and Ladybug would capture it with the net. It was so simple, in fact, that Adrien was slightly concerned it wouldn't work. He trusted Ladybug, however, and jumped down to street level to confront the green beast.
"Meow? What's this? I didn't think Looney Tunes was on today," taunted Adrien.
The wolf turned to face Adrien. It looked much larger up close and Adrien would have felt quite nervous if it weren't for the monster's rather comical features. "Forgive me," pleaded Adrien, "you're more of a Balto than a Sam Sheepdog."
Adrien could hear a growl make its way from the throat of the wolf. "You…you don't understand me either do you?"
"Why would I? Compared to my glorious cat getup your cheap fur suit doesn't even rate."
The wolf didn't say anything more. It simply charged at Adrien, mouth open and ready to mangle the obnoxious cat. Adrien stood his ground. The longer he waited to dodge the more off balance the akuma would be after the initial attack. If Ladybug wanted to end this quickly then Adrien was more than happy to oblige her. After closing half the distance between itself and Adrien the akuma fell to all fours and lunged. Adrien was not prepared for the burst of speed. He leapt with mere inches to spare, escaping the terror of the wolf's jaws. The green monster rotated mid-lunge in response, and in doing so, was able to slash Adrien's right shin with its claws.
"Ah-!" Adrien stifled a gasp of pain. Making such a sound would only distract the blur of red and black that was about to come down on the akuma.
The heavy net reached the ground, tangling the akuma in the process. With one deft movement Ladybug removed the collar and snapped it in half. A black butterfly burst from the destroyed collar, attempting to escape the wrath of the speckled girl before it. Before Adrien had a chance to get in a quip the akuma was in Ladybug's yo-yo. "Bye-bye pretty butterfly," she said as she slid her finger across the surface to release the purified akuma.
"I think I prefer your captures to be a tad more Rube Goldberg-esque," quipped Chat, standing with one hand covering his slashed shin.
Ladybug was sporting a rather sour expression. Following her gaze Adrien noticed it lead back to his right shin. He sheepishly rotated his body so that she could only see his left outer leg.
"Miraculous Healing Light!" shouted Ladybug. The net burst into a swarm of magical ladybugs that moved out into the city to repair the damage caused by the akuma. Adrien was relieved when a group of them swarmed around his injured leg. A warm feeling overtook his body and dissipated along with the wound. It was as if the gash had never happened.
Adrien was brought out of his reverie over the instantaneous healing by an icy stare from Ladybug. "What were you thinking Chat?!" There was anger in her voice, mixed with a dash of a fear.
"Me? I was just following the plan."
"You were supposed to distract the akuma, not dodge at the last second!"
"My Lady-"
"Spare me the cutesy titles right now!" interrupted Ladybug. "Why did you do that?
Adrien rested a hand on her shoulder. "The closer the dodge the more his balance would be thrown-"
"I know why Chat! I know why you did it, but not why!" cried Ladybug.
Adrien was beginning to grow frustrated with his partner. He didn't understand. "I don't know what you mean."
The girl's gaze dropped to the ground, and in that moment she looked more like a scared teenager than a revered hero. It was only for that moment, but the image imprinted itself in Adrien's brain. "I-," her voice was low now, the anger had left it. "I hate it when you do this Chat. You don't think about yourself. You always let yourself get hurt. Timebreaker…Dislocoeur…"
"…"
"You…you're impossible. You're not real Chat. You act like some sort of movie hero, with your flirting and your nicknames and your…your sacrifices. That's not how it works. That's not how I want it to work."
She was doing it to him. The same thing she always did: melt his heart. "But it always turned out fine, didn't it?"
"You think its fine to have me watch you put yourself in harm's way like that?"
His hand lowered a little, resting on her arm rather than her shoulder. "Because you reverse it. Every time I get in over my head you save me."
"That won't always work!" screamed Ladybug. "One day Chat…one day something's going to happen and you won't be alright! And where will I be then?! What will I do then?!"
She shook herself free from his grip and threw her yo-yo towards the roof of the school. Adrien reached out to grasp ahold of her again but she had already grappled to the ledge where they had convened just a few minutes before. She was gone, and for the second time in two days Adrien's face felt warm and wet, and he didn't need to bring up his hand to check for the cause.
Adrien didn't bother returning to class after the akuma attack. He didn't want to. He didn't want to learn and he certainly didn't want to think. He just wanted to dull his mind, and the only way to do so was to run throughout Paris as Chat. For hours he leapt across the rooftops of the city, stopping only so that Plagg could recharge and Adrien could get his bearings. Before he knew it the sun had set on Paris. His father, if he took the time to notice, would surely be angry at Adrien for being out so late at night. But this was not a night for Adrien to care about such things. He need only run.
Landing on a building ledge Chat glanced around. He had already torn through this section of the city before, and would do so again until his he had calmed himself. But there was something else familiar about where he was. Something that reminded him of cookies and hot chocolate.
His body began to move without a second thought, bounding gracefully across the rooftops of Paris.
He was going to visit that girl once again, the kind pigtailed girl who had so graciously looked after him before.
He was going to visit Marinette Dupain-Cheng