Chapter 4:

Ladybug? Helios City? Guardian?

Somehow, Buggaboy's answer only multiplied Chat Noir's questions. He especially did not like the mention of a guardian. They bring nothing but trouble.

"Please stop squirming!"

"Why should I do as you say?!"

"We're swinging thirty feet up! I might drop you!"

"Meh. Cats always land on their feet."

"Not when they're all tied up!"

Chat Noir let out a huff. There's no getting out of this for now. He was resigned to whatever it is that awaits him with the guardian.

The scenery around them has changed. The buildings are looking more and more old fashioned. And is that a castle? There are carnival rides scattered around like Ferris wheels and carousels, houses that deliberately look like old shops selling all kinds of souvenirs, carts peddling snacks and various people dressed like knights and fairies and witches. It looks like a small fantasy town, right out of a fairy tale.

"Are we there yet?" Chat Noir asked.

"It won't be long now."

The bug boy flung them over the tall stone fort walls. Chat Noir spotted a sign on the gate that says "Aurelio Land". Is this a theme park? The guardian wants them to meet at a theme park?

They landed on a secluded area behind a lane of shop buildings. Less people, more shade, right behind the shop with a "CLOSED" sign posted on the door. The bug gave Chat Noir a once over, hesitantly gripping on his yoyo.

"Before I untie you, you must promise me you won't run off."

"And why shouldn't I?" Chat Noir challenged.

The backdoor of the building flung open, making Buggaboy yelp in surprise.

"Get in. We can't let anyone spot you," said an old lady with a cane.

Ladybug thankfully untied him and ushered him through the backdoor. Chat Noir stretched his limbs to shake off that cocoon feeling.

"Gran- I mean, Master Hisui!" the bug bowed.

Noticing Chat Noir was just standing there in confusion, bug boy gently pushed Chat Noir's head down to a respectful bow too.

Chat Noir shook off bug boy's hand so he can look up to check the guardian. This is her? She had on a pale pink dress and an emerald green haori that had golden patterns around the lining. Her white hair was held together by jade pins. There are some jewelries on her- a bracelet with coin shaped little stones that had holes in the middle, rings of various colors, and a necklace with an amulet that looks like one of Ladybug's magic charms.

"Adrien Agreste. I've been expecting you."

Chat Noir spun towards the guardian with his eyes narrowed. He reached for his baton only to find bug boy already has it, looking unimpressed by his fight response. Chat Noir shot him a withering glare before redirecting it to the guardian.

"How do you know?"

The guardian pulled out a book from within her haori. It was white with thick teal borders. There were holographic clockwork patterns that moved in a steady rhythm within its teal borders.

"A little rabbit foretold your arrival."

The guardian flipped through the pages of the book until she stopped at certain part she pointed out. There were notes on his arrival along with the date and a timestamp. To Chat Noir, the year 2178 stood out the most.

Before Chat Noir can read more, the guardian slammed the book close.

"She also told me when you can get back home."

0-0-0-0-0

The guardian guided them to a living room where she had a plate of cookies for him and a wheel of Camembert for Plagg. Between her so casually calling him by his real name out loud and this bug who took him down in a way that reminded him of Su Han, Adrien decided it made no difference whether he remained transformed or not. He might as well just get comfortable and accept their hospitality.

Plagg didn't waste a second pouncing on the cheese. Adrien nibbled on a cookie. Hm. Then took a big bite. There was something oddly familiar about the taste.

Master Hisui sat down in front of him and unrolled a map on her side of the coffee table. The guardian explained as much as she could. Long story short, he's stuck in the future. It's not at all what he expected - where are the more futuristic buildings? But there were high-tech, self-piloting blimps and billboards with 3D holograms. Most of all, the place doesn't look like France.

Based on coordinates, this city is where France used to be during his time. Lots of stuff happened between then and now. Too many Miraculous users, too many different opinions on how people should co-exist with them, a power struggle happened… Same old history repeating itself but throw in magic into the mix and well, the world is irrevocably changed. Like the way of Pangea, continents got moved around. Paris still exists, but it's not where it is anymore.

That's the barebones explanation. The guardian refuses to explain any further as it's none of his concern. He wouldn't be here for too long - he's only stuck here for about a week.

"As we wait for Bunnix to take you home, you should stay with us. We have a guest room you can sleep in and some spare clothes you can use. Don't go anywhere without a chaperone. Under no circumstances must you interact with people more than necessary. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'm."

So, it's no different from home then.

His disappointment must've shown on his face because the guardian softened her stance and looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way. It's for your own safety. You're not supposed to know too much about the future and…"

"I understand. I've seen enough movies to know I can't let the timeline get too messed up while I'm here."

At a loss for options on what to do, Adrien decides to just follow the guardian. She seems like a nice and dependable guardian... But Master Fu also seemed nice and dependable during the few times he met the old man. Adrien curled his right hand into a tight fist, feeling the cool metal of his Miraculous. He'll sleep with an eye open for tonight.

"Now that that's settled, we should come up with your cover story. Since you're staying with us, you could be the new part-timer at the flower shop for the summer. For appearances sake, you have to actually do some of the work there. Are you okay with that?"

Adrien nodded with a mental shrug. Not like he has much of a choice. Would she even listen if he said no? He's not taking his chances upsetting the person offering him a place to stay while he's lost in the future. Where else could he go? Everyone he knew are over a century away. It's not like this is Paris where he can hazard a guess as to where his future descendants are and hope they'd let him stay.

"As for the Chat Noire that went missing in your place…"

This was when the bug lad came into the dining room with freshly brewed tea.

"It'll be difficult but we can manage, Master Hisui," the bug boy stiffly said as he poured everyone a cup of tea.

Adrien looked back at the guardian, who frowned but nodded solemnly. Not having anything to contribute, Adrien took a sip of the tea he was given. Mmm… Chamomile.

"And for her civilian life, we should keep the list of people who know of Blair Crawford's disappearance as short as possible."

Adrien nearly burned his tongue. Blair Crawford's the cat's real name, right? How could the guardian so casually namedrop the Black Cat Heroine around this bug?! Unless…

After clearing his throat, Adrien stage whispered at the guardian, "Does he…?"

"He knows," the guardian spoke firmly as she took a prim sip of her tea.

Adrien looks back at the future bug, with his jaw hanging open.

"You're allowed to know each other's secret identities?!"

Adrien felt a flash of envy, but he stamps it down. This is a different pair with their own circumstances - a helpful guardian, a strong melee fighter bug, and who knows how powerful their cat is like. Perhaps they've overcome the danger that's preventing him and his own partner from showing their real faces to one another. With that thought, he becomes optimistic once again. This could be him and his own bug someday.

"That's wonderful! You guys must be doing so well for it to be safe enough to do that. I'm happy for you."

Buggaboy flinched away from Adrien's hopeful gaze.

"Actually, it's only me who knows. She doesn't. And we're in even more danger than ever!"

With every sentence, bug lad was getting more and more frantic until he cracked at the last word. He was breathing heavily, reciting some kind of mantra to calm himself down. The guardian got up with her cane to rub circles on the bug's back.

Adrien hesitated to ask what that was about. Thankfully, the guardian decided to elaborate with no prompting.

"It's the safest route to take," she said to Adrien, before directing her attention back to the panicking bug. "But all is not lost so long as Hawkmoth doesn't have either of your Miraculous."

The ladybug hero's brows remained scrunched up but at least he was breathing easier. He downed his cup of hot tea like it would somehow cure his worries.

Adrien was concerned because one, that was hot tea he just downed like a glass of lemonade! Two, he is literally hyperventilating over this. Sounds like things aren't going so smoothly with the future Miraculous holders despite the duo having a more hands on guardian helping them out.

Just how bad is their situation? What kind of enemies are they facing? Is Adrien even safe here?

Adrien took another cookie as the other two continued to discuss how they would cover up the disappearance of the girl.

"… Blake can cover for her with the Fox Miraculous," said the lad bug.

Hang on. Blake? Fox Miraculous? Cover for the cat as a civilian? The fox knows her…?

"He can take her shoots for her," Master Hisui added in agreement. "It's far from the first time he's had to pose as her. The Liungs will surely help him with this."

The Liungs? Another set of people know her identity too…? Just how many know?

"Does she know about any of this?"

Adrien didn't mean to say that out loud, but there it is. The guardian and the bug looked back at him, making matching questioning faces.

"Her identity, I meant," Adrien clarified. "All these people know about her identity… Does she know?"

"She knows," the bug spoke firmly. "If I knew something as important as this is going on, she would know too. I won't pull anything behind her back without her knowing. That's the foundation of trust!"

There was a hint of sharpness in his words that cuts at Adrien's haphazardly patched up wounds. On the bright side, this bug has gained Adrien's genuine respect and a bit of his trust.

Master Hisui coughed loudly and changed the subject.

"Now that that's out of the way, I think it would be best for Adrien to know your real face."

Monsieur bug looks up with a frown at the guardian.

"But wouldn't that affect the past as we know it?"

"If he's going to live with us, it would be more convenient for all if you don't hide from him. You're the only one who can chaperone him."

"And why can't you?" the bug asked, shuffling in his seat. "This sounds too important to mess up… I'm not sure I could-"

"It would be best if it's you and not me."

Adrien felt like he's looking at a mirror with the way the guardian looked at him. It's the kind of look where you see this person… You miss them. You know them. But at the same time, you're practically strangers. So close yet so painfully far.

"Your lives won't cross at all."

With a sip of tea, the guardian recomposed herself and continued her explanation to her chosen bug.

"There's over a hundred and fifty years between the two of you. Whatever he learns about you will never be relevant within his lifetime. This is as safe as it gets for him to know anyone in the future."

"… I-If you say so."

The bug hero detransforms. Once the pink flashes clear up, seated in front of Adrien is now a teenaged boy with Tikki floating beside him. He's got blueish black hair and brown eyes behind a pair of square glasses. He's wearing a thin white cardigan over a black polo shirt. An odd choice of clothing, considering it's Summer in this time. Adrien opts not to voice his questions about his fashion choices. Despite the nerdy outfit and being a bit shorter than Adrien, he looks like he could bench him even as a civilian.

Swift as a python strike, the boy held out his hand towards Adrien.

"Um… Uh… My name is Shizuke Midorikawa! Age 16, born on May 4th! Blood Type O!" the boy's face went red then quietly finished his introduction with a much quieter, "Nice to meet you."

Adrien took it in stride, flashing a polite friendly smile and shook Shizuke's hand.

"I'm Adrien Agreste. Age 14. And I'll do my best working at your family's flower shop. Nice to meet you too."

0-0-0-0-0

Not long after introductions were made, Adrien let out a big yawn. Master Hisui looked over the blond and asked him what time was it before he got warped here.

"It was past midnight. Around one in the morning, I think," Adrien rubbed his eyes.

"Ah. No wonder you're so tired. I suggest you take a rest now. Shizuke and I still have things to discuss. Tikki can give you a quick tour around our home."

Too groggy to really do much else, Adrien got up from the couch and followed Tikki. He thanked them for the hospitality like a gentleman, even bowing in respect, before turning away. Plagg floated behind him, made an 'I'm watching you' gesture before following them out.

Master Hisui shook her head with an amused smile, not at all threatened by the kwami of destruction showing signs of hostility.

"That's Plagg for you. Always ride or die by his chosen."

"They don't trust us," Shizuke flatly said.

Their situation is pretty bleak if you ask him. His partner's disappearance is just the cherry on top of a disaster sundae. The time lost legendary cat boy and his protective tsundere cat are the sprinkles.

"No, they do not. Can't blame them though," Master Hisui huffs. "The only guardians Adrien's ever met were Master Fu the coward and Master Su Han the incompetent jerk."

Shizuke regrets not taking to his best friend Kaji's impromptu Miraculous History lessons the way the fox twins did - those hero nerds. He has no idea who those guardians are. He's just gonna have to take Master Hisui's word for them.

"I thought his guardian was your master. Marinette, was it? The legendary Ladybug?"

Her name came up enough times that Shizuke can't NOT know about her. But honestly, Shizuke remembers her best as the girl who made those really good cookie recipes Tikki taught him.

"She eventually was. Their partnership is going through a rough patch. Master's guardianship changed a lot between them whether they like it or not. Fear led to secrets, and secrets lead to strained trust… Their bond is in a tough spot. Please understand."

"I do," Shizuke pointedly said.

Master Hisui looked him dead in the eye.

"She meant well. She never meant to hurt him."

"But she did."

Shizuke looked away from the guardian and towards where he last saw Adrien.

"And now he doesn't know what to think of her. Is that it?"

Master Hisui went to his side and patted him on the back. She couldn't reach the top of his head like she used to, and this is as high as she could reach.

"See, this is another reason why I want you to be the one to look after him."

For a second, Shizuke can almost believe she's proud of him. Maybe she is. He doesn't know anymore.

"Is this all you wanted to talk to me about? I have to go down and set up the shop so we could open up for business tomorrow."

"Just one more thing: don't let him know my real name."

Master Hisui held her haori tighter around her. The golden embroidery of runes shined brightly against the emerald green over the lining. Those runes enchanted the garb with Glamor Magic strong enough to prevent even Shizuke from recognizing her the day she chose him to be Ladybug.

"He shouldn't recognize me. When the day comes for him to meet me properly - when he's an old man and I'm a child - he wouldn't treat me any different because of our meeting now. Things have to go the way they did."

There she goes again. Putting duty over feelings.

"Please help me preserve the timeline."

I can admire that from literally anyone else…

"Yes, Granma."

… but not from her.

0-0-0-0-0

Tikki guided Adrien and Plagg out of the living room. Master Hisui and Shizuke stayed in the living room to discuss more things without him. It's future stuff, none of his business. Adrien felt a slight sting but tells himself it's okay. Master Hisui isn't his guardian, Shizuke isn't his Ladybug and he is most certainly not their Chat Noire. This is nothing personal.

It was a quick tour. Their entire residence is smaller than his room. Perhaps even smaller than Marinette's home. It was scarcely decorated too, with lots of unopened boxes in the corners. They've only set up the living room, but only barely. There weren't any homey touches like pictures on the walls, homemade curtains and throw pillows, personally chosen rugs or other knickknacks to say people actually lived here.

Have they recently moved here? That would explain a lot.

"And this is your room. It's a lot smaller than your room-"

Plagg didn't let her finish and started poking around the room before digging around the trash bin. Adrien chuckled at his kwami's antics.

"You sure didn't waste your time making yourself at home," Tikki said.

Plagg popped his head out of the trash bin to blow her a raspberry.

"We're gonna be stuck here for a few days. Might as well get comfortable and start putting some homey touches!"

From the trash, Plagg pulled out a half used up roll of tissue paper and rolled it across the room with Tikki hot on his trail trying to get him to stop. Adrien hopped over the tissue trail without a care and plopped himself down the bed. This isn't as soft as what he's used to but it'll have to do.

"If this Master Hisui lady wouldn't mind if I put some Camembert out on the nightstand, this place can at least start smelling like home."

"Don't trash the guardian's guest room! That's not nice!" Tikki huffed.

"Sorry. I promise we'll clean it up in the morning," Adrien tried to appease the red kwami.

Adrien's only met Tikki less than a handful of times. Most of what he knows about her were based on a few stories Ladybug told him. She seemed nice enough. A stickler for good conduct. And she has a massive sweet tooth.

"Speaking of nice," Plagg floated closer to Tikki with his arms crossed and a mischievous grin. "Your guardian had some really nice cookies. They smelled familiar to me. Where did you get them?"

"You'll have Shizuke to thank for them. He made them from scratch."

"Shizuke made them himself, huh? Interesting."

"I taught him some of my favorite recipes I've eaten in the past."

"How long did it take him to master the recipe?"

"It took him a couple of weeks to master how to bake them. So what? He did well for a first-time baker!"

Out of nowhere, it hit Adrien where he's eaten cookies like those before.

"They wouldn't happen to be cookies from Tom and Sabine's bakery? I remember the cookies Milady sometimes brings to patrol. They were delicious!"

"Yes! Ladybug and I loved them so much we tried to copy them! We cracked the Dupain-Cheng family recipe! Yes! We did! And I passed it on to Shizuke!" Tikki said stiffly.

Plagg was flat out laughing. Adrien didn't get what was funny, but the atmosphere is calming to him. Tikki bid them a good night's rest - more like an afternoon cat nap - before leaving them in a huff. She'll call them down for dinner in a few hours.

"You know what kid? I think Tikki's current bug boy may not be half bad."

"What makes you say that?"

" I got this litmus test to tell apart the high-quality Camembert from the cheap mass manufactured cheeses. It's all in the effort they put behind them and their willingness to acquire the finest ingredients and the patience to endure the wait needed for the cheese to properly form."

Already used to Plagg's cheese metaphors, Adrien's brain translated that as Plagg pulling a secret test of character on wielders based on how they treat their kwami.

"Tikki's boy is willing to learn a new skill to make her the best cookies. If you can recognize the taste, then he must've put a lot of effort to get it up to the Dupain-Chengs' level. He did all that for Tikki. This proves jitterbug is a fine slice of Camembert!"

That makes sense. Adrien can't imagine someone like Shadowmoth would do the same for his kwamis. But someone like his Lady would totally do this for Tikki. Shizuke falls in the same category as her, which is a relief. A thought crossed Adrien's mind, causing him to suddenly sit up to properly face Plagg.

"Was that why you kept making me buy you Camembert and carry around slices of them?"

Plagg smirked. "At first, yeah. But now you've made it a habit on your own."

Adrien put the one pillow he had over his face and groaned. How did he end up stuck with this gremlin of a cat for a kwami?

"If Shizuke's a fine slice, then you're a full roll of stinky gooey Camembert!"

Coming from anyone else, that would've sounded kinda insulting. It's a good thing Adrien's already used to Plagg's love language.

"I'm glad you're here."

Stuck in the future, in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers… He feels completely lost, but at least he's not alone.

"Yeah, what would you do without me?"

Plagg nuzzled by his side. Between how late he was up, a full stomach and the chamomile tea, Adrien didn't stand a chance fighting sleep. As he drifted off to dreamland, Adrien hummed to himself.

"Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady…"

0-0-0-0-0

Glamor Magic

All Miraculous have a trace of Glamor Magic enchanted onto them. It prevents the wielder's identities from getting exposed. It was once believed to do so by changing the way people perceives the wielder. However, further research proves the way it works is rather than alter the wielder's appearance, it prevents people from making the connection between the hero and the civilian. The Glamor Magic will feed their minds with excuses as to why the hero isn't the same person as the civilian, be it shrugging it off as a coincidence or leading them to a different conclusion.

However, there is a limit to the suspension of disbelief, like say their significant others noticing the hero and the civilian sharing a unique quirk or if either forms did or said something too incriminating for the Glamor Magic's suggestions to cover up.

Marinette's found a way to cast Glamor Magic and enchant other objects with it. Being a fashion designer, she mainly experimented with clothes and accessories. These items are meant to emulate the Glamor Magic a Miraculous comes with so that even non wielders can make use of it. It serves as extra protection for an untransformed wielder.