Nino nods his head to the rock 'n' roll beat. He could see, amidst the sea of dancing fans, Jagged Stone wildly strumming on his guitar, keeping everyone pumped up. The Rockstar reaches a hand out to him, which he eagerly reaches out to grab...
Then the music stops, snapping him back to reality, and back in his room.
Nino sighs and takes off his headphones. Doubt his grandparents would appreciate that kind of music playing in their wedding anniversary party either.
He's been scrolling through his playlist since morning to find the perfect songs, but none of them sounded right, and, to be honest, the new popular ones were getting too old for his taste.
Listening to Jagged Stone's music always helps him choose the right song for each of his friends' birthday parties, but not this time. Maybe because this was the first time his mom asked him to create a playlist for his grandparents, and the elderly have very different musical tastes that teens cannot rock out to.
"I believe... this one will also not... please your grandparents." Wayzz comments as he flies away from the earbud he was listening the same music from.
"You can say that again." Nino agrees.
The teenage boy was glad to have a second opinion by his side. His little bro would just play around pretending to be a famous Rockstar which would result turning a small area of his room into a mess.
At least Wayzz takes his assistant job more seriously. Plus he helps with the cleaning and organizing of stuff.
And if his Holder asks, he would gladly scatter some of his stuff to make him feel at ease in his own private room.
"What kind of music do elderly people like?" Nino wonders.
"Disco?" Wayzz suggests, remembering the time his previous Holder traveled to America during the seventies.
Man. Can his previous Master dance.
Nino shakes his head, "No... Gramps didn't like all that grease."
His mom already told him everything she knew about his grandparents. He wants this to be a surprise, so he can't ask his grandparents, even discreetly.
If only he knew someone close to his grandparents' age...
"A long time ago, me and my fellow Kwamis would gift our Guardian music by using whatever we have in our disposal to make up for the lack of instruments." Wayzz recalls with nostalgia.
"And Ladybug loved it?" Nino asks.
"No. The Guardian before Ladybug loved it." Wayzz corrected.
Nino's eyes momentarily widen in surprise. The Guardian BEFORE Ladybug...?
As far as he knows, Ladybug was currently the Guardian of the Miraculous. That's why she was able to distribute the magical jewels to the right heroes for the job.
The Guardian before Ladybug... This here is Magical Miraculous History coming directly from someone who has lived for a thousand of years. (According from trustworthy resources.)
"The Guardian before... What was he like?" Nino's curiosity was hungry for the truth.
"Wise... persevering... nurturing..." Wayzz summarizes, "He was, like a grandfather to Ladybug and Chat Noir. It broke our hearts to see him go like that."
Seeing the despair on his Kwami's little face broke Nino's own heart, "Aww Wayzz... I'm so sorry."
"Oh no!" Wayzz shakes his head and waves his arms, "He's still alive."
Nino lets out a breath of relief, "So he just stepped down."
"No. He..." Wayzz frowns once again, "He sacrificed his memories just to keep the heroes, and everyone safe."
The way the turtle Kwami spoke highly of him... He must have been someone really dear to him other than a Guardian.
To sacrifice your memories... To forget the people you were trying to protect... The same people who were grateful for your sacrifice, yet wish there was another way without losing you...
Nino wishes that day will never happen to him. Or the people he cares about.
"This was one of his favorite songs." Wayzz flies towards Nino's laptop and hops from one key to another, typing something on the screen.
Once he found what he was looking for, he clicked on the mouse.
The music that flowed into the room wasn't as loud as the rock music Nino was listening to earlier. It was... softer. And... has a gentle feel to it.
It made Nino feel like he was in a waterfall, hoping from one stone to another. Fishes would jump out of the water now and then, but he just watches them jump and keeps on stone-hopping.
He finds himself back in his room. The mental experience was...nice.
He wishes he stayed longer.
Looking around in his room, he realized his place wasn't right for the mood. So he downloads the music in his phone, grabs Wayzz and his wallet, and heads to the park.
Yep. The park was the perfect place to listen to this type of music. It makes the park look and feel more relaxing.
Nino never imagined there would be a day he would listen to music that wasn't rock and roll. It makes him feel... relaxed. Not like 30 minutes ago when he was stressing out on what music to play in his grandparents' party.
...
O, M, G... He found the perfect song for his grandparents.
"Thanks Wayzz!" He lightly pats his cap, where his Kwami hides underneath. Wayzz doesn't move in response. Nino looks around before slightly lifting his cap. The turtle Kwami was lying down on his belly, with a sad look on his face.
The teenage boy smiles softly as he rubs the Kwami's back with his finger, "I'm not going anywhere, Bud. And no way am I going to forget about you."
Wayzz smiles in return and hugs his head (in the cutest way you can imagine). Nino gently puts his cap back on, then decides to head back home.
On his way, he bumps into a canvas held on a stand. He manages to maintain his balance and steadies the canvas before turning to the painter, "Sorry."
"No harm done Young Man." The painter, an elderly old man in a Hawaiian shirt, nods.
Nino stands beside the painter to take a good look at what he was painting. What he sees, shocks him.
It was... an eye. A yellow eye with a green pupil. An almost complete yellow eye in a partially painted background streaked and splatted by various shades of green.
"I..." Nino is conflicted on what to say, "don't think, I ever seen anyone with that kind of eye color."
Really Man?
"Really?" The elderly painter sounded surprised, yet continued painting, "I could've sworn I had a friend with eyes like this."
Nino's eyes momentarily turned surprise. Could he be...?
"Then again..." The painter continues, "My memory isn't how it used to be. (Slightly chuckles.) That's the downside of getting older."
Nino slightly frowns in sad disappointment. Maybe he was mistaken?
He looks up at his cap. He looks back at the elderly painter. He takes out his phone and presses the play button.
The elderly painter smiles as he closes his eyes and lets his head gently sway to the music. He opens his eyes again and turns to Nino, "I thought you youngsters these days don't appreciate that kind of music."
"It turned out to be my favorite." Nino playfully shrugs.
The elderly painter chuckles, "Mine too."
Nino's smile widens. He gazes at his cap, imagining the little turtle currently hugging his head in gratitude.
He still has time before his grandparents' wedding anniversary party. It'll be nice to chat with an elderly artist for a change. Maybe even pick-up some pointers on popular music for the elderly.