Miraculous Juuni

by Gale-Dragon

Basically, a Miraculous Ladybug and Juuni Taisen blended universe crossover. As the butterfly of evil rises, the two Guardians of these Miraculous and Juuni have traveled to Tokyo, Japan to both protect these items and to find the perfect welders for both the Miraculous and Juuni.

1. Origins

Gale-Dragon: I sometimes hate how these kinds of things can just pop into my head, but enjoy the Frankenstein's Monster that I have created.

~}i{~

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Author commenting)

"|::| Translations from another language, mostly French and Tibetan. |::|

~}i{~

Some quick notes before we dive into the story:

The Miraculous team will be in Tokyo, Japan rather than Paris, France so some of the names will be altered a little bit. Here are the names of our main class,

Given, Original Surname (If present, it's the Japanese version of the names that I'll be using in this story)

Kanae, Aira

Adrien, Agreste

Chloé, Bourgeois

Ivan, Bruel (Barule)

Alya, Césaire

Juleka, Couffaine (Koufaine)

Marinette, Dupain-Cheng

Mylène, Haprèle (Haperaire)

Max, Kanté (Kanati)

Eiji, Kashii

Alix, Kubdel (Kubudere)

Nathaniel, Kurtzberg (Kuruzuberugu)

Nino, Lahiffe (Rahifee)

Rose, Lavillant (Rawarane)

Kim, Lê Chiến

Ryouka, Niwa

Sabrina, Raincomprix

Tsugiyoshi, Sumino

Michio, Tsukui

Nagayuki, Tsumita

Takeyasu, Tsumita

Misaki, Yuuki

Nanashi, Yuuki

~}i{~

Miraculous Juuni Chapter 1: Origins

~}i{~

A plane had just landed in an airport in Tokyo, Japan. After it had safely docked, the crew allowed the passengers to disembark.

A relatively tall man wearing a top hat and knee-length overcoat that was so dark green they looked black, especially in the right light. He had a dark green neck scarf with a silver pin and slacks that matched the scarf paired with brown shoes and white gloves. This man had long gray hair that was tied back in a low ponytail and a gray color goatee. His silvery eyes scanned the immediate area as he exited the plane without much hesitation. This man was named Duodecuple, and while he didn't look it he was close to 200 years old. Though he didn't look a day over 30, even if the goatee gave him a few years to his appearance. He was currently wearing a dark gray pack that held objects of most importance.

A short Chinese man with dark brown eyes, grey hair with a moustache and goatee of the same colour. He wears a red Hawaiian shirt with a white hibiscus flower pattern, tan capri pants, and dark brown shoes disembarked the plane. This elderly man's only carry-on was a customized pack that was designed to carry an old-fashioned gramophone. He was Master Wang Fu, and while he certainly did look old, he wasn't as old everyone would think. Sure, he may look like he's in his late 70s early 80s, but he was 186 years old.

Both of these gentlemen immediately headed towards the baggage claim. Both make sure to keep a distance from each other and did their best to avoid eye contact. They had to wait until they were alone before they could talk without being overheard, there could be evil ears around in the duo couldn't take any chance of being found or overheard.

Duodecuple got his bag first and immediately walked towards the main entrance/exit door of the airport. He stopped a short distance from the door to the outside as he pretends to check his watch on his wrist. Even pretend to think about remembering an important fact to buy some time to wait for Wang Fu.

Wang Fu finally got his back and walked towards the main entranceway. Duodecuple smiled and lowered his arm, check to make sure his bags we secure, and then made his way out. The other patrons followed in drones out the airport, the two grey-haired men being among them, taking great care as to keep a distance from one another. They had to wait until the number of people around them dropped.

When it was finally only them, Duodecuple allowed Wang Fu to catch up and said, "Tokyo, Japan… It's a nice city, to say the least." The two continued to travel down the near vacant road side by side.

Wang Fu nodded before saying, "The Miraculous should be safe here."

They kept walking towards the destination, both clutching their packs close. The important items that they had to protect were in those packs.

"You look for the two that are worthy of the Miraculous of Creation and Destruction, I shall find individuals that fit the criteria of the Juuni," Duodecuple stated as he instinctively felt his pack for the Miracle Box inside, there was currently disguised as an elaborate music box.

Wang Fu had his Miracle Box disguised as an old-fashioned gramophone. He certainly got some odd looks for it during the security check at the airport. But, Wang Fu was more than happy to explain why he had his "lucky gramophone" was in his pack, much to his amusement.

Wang Fu nodded when he said, "We start our search tomorrow. Right now we must get to our new housing." Duodecuple nodded. After all, prioritizing is important.

~}i{ The Next Morning }i{~

A 16-year-old teenage boy that stood 170 cm with short gray hair that barely covered his ears, tired-looking grey eyes, wearing a dark blue school uniform for boys, and brown shoes was leaning against a display case in what appeared to be a French bakery. This teen was Sumio Tsugiyoshi.

The perpetually tired teen let out a yawn as he waited for his childhood friend to finish packing the macaroons for their new classmates. Tsugiyoshi has known her since they were in diapers because his parents were friends with her parents. Heck, they were the first people to actually befriend them when they immigrated to Japan and open their French bakery here in Tokyo. So it was no big surprise that he wasn't stressing over being late because she was being a little bit frantic.

"Marinette, it's fine if they aren't perfectly aligned. They're going to eat them, not admire them in a gallery," Tsugiyoshi said before yawning again, still not that surprised by her behaviour.

Dupain-Cheng Marinette was a half-French (by her father's side) and half Chinese (by her mother's side) teenage girl of average height with medium-length black hair with blue reflections that was tied back in two twin-tails, bluebell eyes, and light freckles on both sides and the bridge of her nose. She was currently wearing the dark blue school uniform for girls with the skirt that was long enough to almost cover her knees and wore a pair of pink ballet flats with dark red soles.

The French-Chinese girl was still fussing over the macaroons as she said, "I know, I know, but I just want to make a good impression, there are going to be new students this year."

"Netty-chan, don't worry. Just be yourself, everything will be fine," Tsugiyoshi said as Marinette close the lid of the box with a relieved sigh.

"Yoshi-chan… Don't call me Netty-chan at school or around any of the other students," Marinette said as she carried the box with her from behind the bakery counter as she snatched her school bag on the way.

Tsugiyoshi gave an amused smile and retorted, "Don't call me Yoshi-chan and you got a deal." This made Marinette smile.

Cheng Sabine was mixing some ingredients when she told the two teams, "Have a nice first day of school." Cheng Sabine was a short woman short black hair with blue highlights, gray eyes wore a white Cheongsam with a red, black and gold plant design, periwinkle pants and black and white dress shoes. She was wearing a silver band on her ring finger.

Dupain Tom couldn't help but comment, "And don't be shy about telling others that you love each other." Dupain Tom was a tall man with a large build, short brown hair, green eyes, sideburns, and a moustache, wearing a light blue shirt with two buttons at the front of the neckline, light brown pants, and dark brown dress shoes. He was wearing a silver band on his ring finger.

The two teens groaned as Tsugiyoshi rolled his eyes while Marinette turned pink as you nearly shouted in embarrassment, "Dad! We're just friends!"

The grey-haired team then added, "Not to mention that Marinette is practically a sister to me."

Sabine giggled as Tom continued needing dough and said, "That might change."

Marinette and Tsugiyoshi groaned again as they exited the bigger you while muttering at the same time, "Not a chance." They were childhood friends and they can only see each other as sibling-like friends, period, end of the story.

Tom and Sabine knew this, but because they were loving parents. They couldn't help but tease the two about it every once in a while.

The two teens made their way to their high school, via one of the many shortcuts that Tsugiyoshi somehow knew about. Marinette could never figure out how he knew of these shortcuts, but then again she never actually asked how he did.

The school was now only two blocks away. By the time Marinette and Tsugiyoshi finally stopped at a crosswalk, due to traffic. When the crosswalk signal turned green, the patrons immediately started moving.

That's when the sound of a car tore around the corner with a screech, causing the pedestrians to hustle out of the street immediately. Only an elderly man in a red Hawaiian shirt stood on the crosswalk, not moving as fast as he would've liked to. Without really thinking, Marinette jumped into the street to grab the elderly man and pulled them out of the way of the oncoming car, and in just in the nick of time.

"Are you two all right?" Tsugiyoshi asked frantically, clutching the macaroon box to his chest. In Marinette's quick reaction to save the elderly man, she dropped her box, to which Tsugiyoshi caught it before he hit the ground.

In a slight state of shock, the elderly man said, "I am fine. *Turns to Marinette*. You saved my life, young miss."

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck when she said, "Yes, well, I couldn't let you get run over." That's when she realized she wasn't holding her macaroons and started looking around on the ground frantically for the box.

Tsugiyoshi held the box under Marinette's nose and said, "I managed to catch it, but I think it got a little shaken up." He opened the box, and true enough, the macaroons were scattered within the box.

Marinette sighed relief before saying, "Well, what matters is that they taste good, right?" Tsugiyoshi playfully bonked her on the head with the box.

Marinette took the box and offered a macaroon to the elderly man, who thanked her and took a bite. It was easily one of the best suites, he's ever had.

"Stay safe, okay, ojiisan," Tsugiyoshi said as he and Marinette headed off towards their school.

Wang Fu smiled as he watched the two teams had off. He then turned his attention to the man in relatively dark clothing and a top hat across the street, Duodecuple. Wang Fu gave him a slight nod. The keeper of the Juuni gave a slight nod back before they started heading into different directions.

~}i{ A Few Minutes Earlier }i{~

Kashii Eiji was walking towards his high school in his clean dark blue uniform, and a much-loved pair of dark athletic shoes. This 181 cm tall teenager was 16 years old with chin-length black hair that was carefully brushed back, save for one stubborn strand that just so defiantly hung in front of his face. His dark grey eyes kept a clear vigilant on the path before him.

Eiji belonged to one of the oldest families in Tokyo, a good noble one. But Eiji didn't just want to be content with that kind of title, no, he had a goal in mind for his life. Not the life that is expected of him.

"Stop! Thieves!" Eiji heard someone cried out. The tone and pitch of the voice, Eiji could tell it was an older man. The high school student spotted two individuals bolting his way with their stolen prize in one of their hands as they smirked with joy.

Eiji knew what he needed to do, and he did just that.

The thieves were on the ground, barely conscious but not harm too much, and the stolen item was in Eiji's hands. From what the team could discern about the item was that it was a box that seems to be of Chinese origin.

A pair of bicycle officers arrived at the scene as did a man in dark clothing and a dark top hat. Eiji couldn't help but note that the attire was strange for this weather.

"Those two have stolen an item for me, a black box with red decor," the man in dark clothing said in a breathless tone, possibly from running.

Eiji held out the box and hand towards the man and asked, "Is this it?"

In a relief-like glee, the man carefully took the small box and said, "Yes! It is." He opened the box to find that the contents within it were still there and undamaged. The man smiled and said to Eiji, "Thank you, young man. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Eiji shook his head and stated in a mature tone, "There is no need. I simply did the right thing because it was the right thing to do."

"Oh?" Was all the men could vocalize.

One of the officers picked up one of the thieves and said in a sincere tone, "Young Kashii-sama is pretty much the Tokyo Police Departments' best volunteer officer. Though it would be nice if we could recruit him despite still being a student."

Eiji then sternly replied, "I am currently focused on my schooling. I shall join the police once I have acquired my standard college degree."

The other officer chuckled as they cuffed the thieves and said, "All right, Kashii-sama, we understand. But doesn't school started in a couple of minutes?"

Eiji quickly checked his watch and realize that the officer was right. "Then I must leave, have a good day officers. *Gives a polite bow to the officers*. And you have a good day to sir *gives the man a polite bow*." The team then hurried off to get to school before the bell rings.

"He's a good kid," the first officer told the man. The other officer stated, "Just doing good because it's the right thing to do." With that, the officers headed off with the thieves in tow.

Duodecuple open the box again to look at the miraculous inside. The symbol of the ox was plastered on the inside of the lid. Duodecuple smiled as he looked in the direction Eiji headed off in and thought to himself, 'So the Ox is the first this time. My how interesting.'

~}i{ Later at the High School }i{~

Both Marinette and Tsugiyoshi managed to get into the classroom just as the bell rang, and macaroons intact.

As expected, there were a couple of familiar faces and new faces in the classroom.

"Hmm, a new record for the two of you, 20 seconds before the bell," Niwa Ryouka said as she clicked away on her laptop. This 16-year-old teenage girl was of average height with lime green coloured hair that had a braid tied on the left side of her head, lime green coloured eyes, and was wearing the dark blue school uniform for girls but had a shorter skirt than Marinette, the skirt barely covered her thighs. She was the school's biggest gossip and information gatherer has been since she was in elementary school and had shown no signs of stopping. It was more than obvious that she was going to be a reporter one day.

"Traffic slowed us down," Tsugiyoshi stated as he headed to his usual seat.

Marinette followed as she said, "I brought treats for the class." She then sat at the desk next to Tsugiyoshi as she showed off the background box, with a logo design that she made herself.

"Ooo, what kind of sweet did'ya make, sweetie?" One of a pair of twins asked in a somewhat cheeky and mocking tone. That was when the other twin added, "Ore-sama is guessing cookies, chocolate chips. Right sweetie?" The twins were a pair of 16-year-old boys with short smooth backed black hair, somewhat pale skin, mischievous brown eyes, and wore the standard boys dark blue uniform for the school. The older twin was named Tsumita Nagayuki and the younger was named Tsumita Takeyasu. The older always referred to himself as Ore-sama (it's just an egotistical and prideful way to refer to one's self in Japanese).

Marinette rolled her eyes at the annoying nickname those troublesome twins just love calling her before saying, "Wrong again, Nagayuki-kun. And for heaven's sake, stop calling me that."

"Macaroons, right Marinette-chan," a 16-year-old teenage boy with short messy black hair, bright green eyes that gleamed behind a pair of gray glasses, slightly pointed nose, and wore the school's standard dark blue uniform for boys said with a snaggled-toothed smile.

Marinette smiled at the dark-haired teen and said, "Right again, Michio-kun."

Tsukui Michio smirked when he said, "First to get the treats again, eh Eij-chan?" As he turned to the person sitting next to him, which happen to be Kashii Eiji.

Eiji only glanced at the French-Chinese girl and stated, "Since she is using a macaroon box, it would be logical to assume that there are macaroons in them."

Michio rolled his eyes before playfully punching Eiji in the arm and said, "Come on Eij-chan, I know you love the Dupain-Cheng's baked goods, so don't play coy."

Marinette giggled a bit, knowing full well that that piece of information was true. Eiji came to her parents' bakery like clockwork every Friday after school for something sweet. The stoic teen had a good heart, even if he didn't show it often. Another thing Marinette knew was that Eiji and Michio were the best of friends, just like her and Tsugiyoshi.

A short man with a bald head but had fluffy white tops of hair on the side of his head, a full fluffy white beard and moustache, wore a light blue button-up clean pressed shirt, clean khaki slacks that reached his ankles, and old-fashioned Brown loafers walked into the classroom. When he did the class immediately fell silent. This man was the teacher for this class, Tsujiie Sumihiko.

Tsujiie-sensei picked up a dry erase marker and started writing on the whiteboard. The class remains silent until the teacher finally spoke, "Since you students have been in the school for a year, you already know who I am. However, we have received a few new transfers from outside Japan this year." He finished writing 'Welcome New Transfers' on the whiteboard.

A short murmur pulsed through the classroom.

Tsujiie-sensei then continued with, "They will come in and introduce themselves. I want you all to be respectful and polite to them, I'm directing that to you Terror Twins."

Tsumita Nagayuki and Takeyasu smirked as the rest of the class chuckled and giggled.

The elderly man then added sternly, "I mean it you two. Three of the transfers are from France and aren't exactly fluent in Japanese yet, so I don't want any teasing about how they speak. Got it, Terror Twins?"

The Tsumita twins scoffed and stated, "Yes Sensei…" They knew their teacher meant business and they didn't want to start the new school year off on his bad side, again.

Tsujiie-sensei then waved at the individuals on the other side of the door, signalling them to come in. The door slid open and the four new transfer students walked in. Marinette immediately recognized one of the transfers and she internally groaned as she slumped in her seat. Tsugiyoshi noticed this easily.

Tsujiie-sensei then asked the transfer students in a clear voice, "Can you write your names on the board so the rest of the class can read your names as you introduce yourselves." He then wrote his name on the board to show how it should be written and said, "Surname is written first, then your given name. Like this. Then you can tell the class a little something about yourself, a hobby or an interest would be best." The words 'Tsujiie Sumihiko-Sensei' was written neatly on the board. "Understand?" The teacher asked the four transfer students when he looked at them again. They nodded in response. Then the Tsujiie-sensei erased his name so the transfers could write all their names.

The ginger-haired girl was first. She wrote her name on the board in very neat handwriting. When she was done, the words 'Yuuki Misaki' were on the board. The ginger-haired girl had soft cocoa brown eyes that gleamed cheerfully behind a pair of grey glasses, wore the girl's version of the school's dark blue uniform with a skirt to her knees, light blue leggings, and the school slippers. She smiled and said in a slight Tibetian accent, "Good morning, my name is Yuuki Misaki, and I like making sweets during my free time."

Marinette could practically feel the twins' staring at her at the comment.

Tsujiie-sensei stroked his beard and said, "Ah, what a coincidence, Dupain-Cheng-san's parents own and run a bakery that makes sweets."

At these words, the blonde of the group snapped her head towards the class and immediately honed in on Marinette.

Marinette rolled her eyes and said in a tone that could be interpreted as 'I-would-rather-have-my-teeth-yanked-out-with-plyers-than-talk-to-you'/annoyance, "|::|What the hell are you doing here? |::|

While the rest of the class wasn't surprised that Marinette was speaking in French, they were surprised by the uncharacteristic tone that she was using.

Tsugiyoshi looked between the blonde-haired transfer and his childhood friend and asked, "You already know her?"

"Unfortunately," Marinette groaned out in annoyance and with a sour frown before noticing the orange-haired girl next to the blonde. The bluette then said to the glasses-wearing orangette, "Bonjour, Raincomprix-kun."

Tsujiie-sensei glanced between the three girls before saying, "I was unaware that you knew two of our French Transfers, Dupain-Cheng-san."

Marinette crossed her arms and hiss out, "Yeah, we know each other, but we don't like each other one bit. Bourgeois-kun is nothing more than some spoiled rich brat I just happen to know from France."

"Ooh, I think you told me about her..." Tsugiyoshi muttered in realization. He remembered Marinette talking about a daughter of one of her parents' catering clients that lived in Paris, France, a lot of what was said weren't flattering, especially since the client was a good customer. It made Tsugiyoshi wonder how they could raise someone who could turn Marinette's mood around so drastically.

"Uhh, could you at least try to be civil in my classroom?" Tsujiie-sensei asked in a worried tone. Not sure what to make of this situation.

Marinette sighed before saying," I'll try sensei, but I don't know about Bourgeois-kun."

The blonde French transfer stood at medium height, she had light ocean blue eyes, light honey blonde hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail that appeared to be permed to curl in a clockwise motion, wore makeup that included light blue eye-shadow, nude lipstick, and a light peach-coloured blush, she has a gold chain necklace, with a gold sphere charm, and white-rimmed sunglasses on her head huffed when she said in a thick French accent, "Chloé-sama getting along with Marinette-chan? Not a small chance of happening."

A lot of the students in the classroom glanced at each other in confusion. To them, it sounded like Chloé and Marinette hated each other, but the words used made it sound like they were close...

Marinette rubbed her temples when she explained in French, "|::| Bourgeois-kun, in Japanese using the 'chan' suffix implies that you are close to the person or think that they are cute, and calling someone by their given name rather than their surname practically means that you are their close friend.|::|" There was no way Marinette was going to let Chloé call her Marinette-chan. Plus, she just needed the blonde to understand the proper use of suffixes.

Chloé's eyes immediately bulged out of their sockets when she shouted, "NONONONONO! Chloé-sama is no friends with you!"

Tsujiie-sensei was about to ask what Marinette said when she explained that she was just telling Chloé the proper use of 'chan' and the reason why people in Japan don't call each other by their given name unless that are close. "Ahh, alright.." the teacher said before turning his attention to the French transfers and said, "While I do think it's nice that we have someone who can help with you adjust to our country, I do hope you can set your differences aside and try to get along with her."

The French orangette was fine with that, while Chloé huff and reluctantly agreed. The last thing needed was an international issue.

The introductions continued. Chloé wrote her name on the board and said that her interest was in high-class entertainment and fashion. A short teenage girl with chin-length orange hair that is styled in a bob-cut, sea-green eyes light pink lipstick, wore a white hairband, glasses with a pale brown and grey rims, a dark blue uniform for girls with a knee-length skirt was next, writing 'Raincomprix Sabrina' on the board and said that like pretty buildings. The class just assumed that she didn't know how to say architecture in Japanese yet.

The albino boy was last. He has short moppy chalk-white hair that covered his right eye, pale skin that made the school uniform look darker than it actually was, and wore the school's slippers. He wrote 'Yuuki Nanashi' on the board, then turned to the class, revealing his red eyes, and said in a slight Tibetian accent, "Morning, I am Yuuki Nanashi, and I like cute bunnies." (For those who know the Juuni Taisen series, yes, this is Usagi. Had to give him an actual name folk.)

This earned a few odd looks from the class.

Nanashi suddenly wrapped his arms around Misaki's shoulders and said in a very foreboding tone, "This is my precious oneechan (older sister). Anyone who even tries to hurt her will have to answer to me!" You could practically see the black, threatening aurora surround the albino teen.

Misaki, on the other hand, looked like her expression was in between 'Really-?-I-have-to-deal-with-this' and 'uhh-that's-sweet-but-...' The ginger-haired girl then elbowed her brother in the gut, since he was close enough to do so. Nanashi keeled over, clutching his stomach, and curling into a ball while still on his feet. Misaki then said in an unusually calm tone, "Nashi, I'm pretty sure you know that I can take care of myself."

"Sorry, oneechan," Nanashi got out in a small whimper of pain.

Tsujiie-sensei was looking at the clipboard when this happened. He stroked his beard before walking over to Marinette and asked, "Dupain-Cheng-san, could you tell me how this name is pronounced? I believe this transfer is running a little late." He pointed at one of the names so Marinette could read.

"Agreste Adrian," Marinette read before wondering out loud, "Strange, I think I heard of that name before."

"You have?" Tsujiie-sensei asked before commenting, "I thought France was a relatively big country."

Chloé scoffed before saying, "Showing what you know Dupain-Cheng. But I thinking that to be expected of you."

Tsujiie-sensei couldn't help but say in a clear voice, "Bourgeois-san, please use either the -kun or -san suffix when addressing others, it is considered very rude when you don't use suffix in public when you are in Japan."

Chloé's cheeks gained a nice tint of pink at this.

Tsujiie-sensei then said, "I will contact Agreste-san's guardians. It could be something as simple as a cold-like Aira-san currently has." He then shuffled over to his desk and told the transfers to sit in the unoccupied desks, which they did. The teacher then quickly took attendance, even if he already knew who was in his class. So far only to absence, Aira Kanae and Agreste Adrian. "Dupain-Cheng-san will hand out her annual first-day sweets during lunch. And not a moment before, understand Terror Twins?" Tsujiie-sensei started giving the two in question a look.

"Understood, sensei," Nagayuki and Takeyasu said at the same time in a dull annoyed tone.

With that Tsujiie-sensei started with what was to be expected for the new school year.

~}i{ Meanwhile }i{~

A handsome fair-skinned teenage boy with brushed-back blond hair that is swept to the right, emerald green eyes, has a rosy tint on his cheeks, nose and the tips of his ears, wearing the dark blue school uniform for boys, and orange sneakers with white laces ran through the crowded Tokyo streets, trying his best not to collide with anyone or draw any attention to himself. This teenage boy was Agreste Adrian and he only had one goal in mind for today, attending a normal high school like everyone else.

When Adrian's father, Agreste Gabriel, told him that they were moving to Japan and enrolling him in high school, Adrian was both upset and excited. Upset that they were moving to a new country so suddenly, or at least without telling/asking Adrian about it. Thank goodness he had already known Japanese. And excited by the fact that he was going to attend an actual high school, not homeschooled as he had been for years. Adrian can finally make friends, talk to people who don't work for his father, experience life outside the gilded cage, and maybe learn more than he could from tutors. Adrian wanted to be a normal teen, not a famous French model for his father's company.

But Gabriel said no to going to school. He told Adrian that he would continue with his studies in their new mansion and that Nathalie will be picking up the school work from the school so he could remain at home, where it was completely safe.

Adrian would not stand for that anymore. He looked up the hazards in Japan, besides the natural disasters, Japan was a rather safe country. And made his blood boil when he learned that parents in Japan can let their children take trains, unaccompanied, to places and trust them to do so. Adrian couldn't go anywhere without his bodyguard that his father kept on him even at home.

Why couldn't Gabriel see that he was practically suffocating Adrian with protection and starving him of any experience outside the mansion and studios?

'Well, not anymore,' Adrian thought as he saw that the school was coming into view, his new school. 'Thank you printer and history erase,' Adrian thought happily as he made his way to the school.

Yes, he looked up the school, found the best route to school from his home, printed the map out, and he raised his computer and printer history so Gabriel can intercept him.

Adrien was going to school, period. Nothing was going to stop him from doing so.

That was when Adrian spotted an elderly man, who is fallen, reaching out to his cane that was just out of his reach. The blonde glanced at the school, then at the distressed old man, back at the school, and then back at the elderly man. As much as Adrian wanted to get to school as fast as possible to prevent his father from finding him since time is precious. Plus he was like the school…

Adrian picked up the cane and help the elderly man to his feet.

"Thank you, young man. I was in such a pinch," the elderly man said with a breath of relief.

Adrian smiled when he said, "It's not a problem, you needed help, so I helped."

The elderly man noted the teen's appearance and said, "I'm sorry for keeping you from your studies."

Adrian for waved it off when he said, "Actually, I was already running late to begin with." He handed the older man his cane.

"Then you should go, I believe it is the first day and I think the first period is about two and if I got that right. It's been a very long time since I was in school," the elderly man said to the teen with a humorous chuckle.

Adrian nodded as he made sure the elderly man was steady on his feet before rushing off towards the school. He needed to get in the doors before he was found.

Master Wang Fu stroked his Fu Manchu beard and thought before he picked up his cane, tapped it on his shoulder, and then walked off. He didn't need the cane to walk, or any walking assistance at all. This was a test, and that boy had just passed it.

~}i{ Second Period }i{~

Adrian slid the door to his classroom open with no effort. It made a rather loud slam when it did, something the blonde model did not expect.

Everyone in the classroom immediately had their attention on the newcomer.

"Yes? Can I help you, young man?" Tsujiie-sensei asked, noting the uniform and figured the boy was from another class.

"|::| Adrikins! |::|" Chloé exclaimed ecstatically in French, jumping to her feet she was about to leap towards the newcomer when the teacher told her to sit back down or he'll move her seat to the back with the Terror Twins. As much as she didn't want to, she sat back down with a huff as she folded her arms in front of her chest.

Tsujiie-sensei turned his full attention to Adrian and asked him, "May I ask you your name, young man?"

"Oh, I am Agreste Adrian," the green-eyed blond said before adding equally, "I'm sorry about my tardiness and the door. I didn't think it was that easy to open."

Tsujiie-sensei looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "Normally, I'd have you stand in the hallway for your tardiness and for disrupting my class," Adrian lowered his head at this. The teacher continued, "But, considering that it's day one of the school year and you are new to the school, I'm willing to let it slide just this one time and only this time."

"Arigato gozimatsu (1)!" Adrian said flatly as he bowed.

Tsujiie-sensei was impressed, even though he told latecomer to take his seat so he can continue his lesson.

~}i{ Just before Lunch }i{~

Tsujiie-sensei was explaining to the transfer students how their lunch system works.

"What? Student serving school food?" Chloé nearly shouted in shock.

Tsujiie-sensei nodded and said, "That's correct, Bourgeois-san. It teaches the students that they are part of a community and that they are expected to assist in the community when needed." The teacher was aware that things were different in France and it might be a bit difficult for the French transfers to adjust to the new culture.

Chloé scoffed and said, "Chloé-sama does not serve anyone. Just tell Chloé-sama where the cafeteria is so we can eat food lunch."

'And here I thought Tsumita Nagayuki's ego was a piece of work,' Tsujiie-sensei thought to himself. Although, it did cross his mind that the way the blonde transfer talked was because of limited use of the Japanese language, or was not sure how to properly referred to one's self in Japanese.

Marinette chuckled when she said, "Bourgeois-san, you are already standing and it." Tsugiyoshi couldn't help but chuckle in agreement.

"What do you mean?" Sabrina asked in confusion. The orangette might have been a bit more fluent in Japanese then Chloé was, but she still wasn't sure about her translations all the time.

Tsugiyoshi replies to the question by saying, "We eat lunch in the classrooms at our desks. We can move our desks to eat with our friends but we have to return them to their original spots before lunch is over."

Chloé was shocked by this revelation, Sabrina was just surprised by this, and the Yuukis were just ecstatic to try a new experience out alongside Adrian.

"Now, now," Tsujiie-sensei said, calming the transfer students down before adding, "I'm sure this is a lot to take in for you, I'm sure that you'll be grateful for the experience. The food will be here in a couple of minutes, so I should just wait while you adjust the desk to your liking before that, just make sure you don't block anyone's route."

The students looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

Tsujiie-sensei gently guided the new transfers away from the chaos just in time when he told them calmly, "It's not a bad thing to watch first before you try it out."

So Adrian, Misaki, Nanashi, Sabrina, and Chloé watch the rest of the class rearrange the desk so they could sit together while they ate.

Marinette and Tsugiyoshi press their desks together just in time for a third desk to connect. The two smiled at a Creole looking girl that stood about 167.64 cm, curvaceous body, she has heart-shaped lips, hazel eyes, a beauty mark above her right eyebrow, her hair is wavy and reddish-brown ombre that grew slightly past her shoulders and having light copper-red tips, She wears black-rimmed glasses with a white spot on each side and seemed to be wearing a light berry-coloured lipstick. Her name is Césaire Alya. The trio sat at the chairs as they pulled out their bento boxes.

The Tsumita twins together as they connected their desks to Niwa Ryouka, nearly threw a fit over the fact that the two practically slammed their desks into hers and nearly toppling her computer over. The twins manage to sweet-talk their way into her forgiveness, somehow.

Eiji and Michio kept together, which didn't surprise anyone.

Rose and Juleka come with their desks together as Alix joins them.

Kim and Max pushed their desks together with Nino, probably to talk about the latest music trend.

Some of the other students decided to keep their desks where they were.

Tsujiie-sensei then told the new transfers, "I don't mind how they arrange their desks during lunch, so long as they aren't blocking anyone's way and the desks are returned to their original locations before the next period starts."

Misaki was the one to ask, "Is it normal for Japanese schools to do this kind of thing? Even serving lunches in classrooms?"

Tsujiie-sensei nodded when he said, "Lunch, yes for the lower grades and junior high, but it's the first day of the school year and we do serve lunches for special occasions. Truthfully, students for high school tend to bring lunches from home. And as for the desks, that's more just my classroom, the other classes keep the desks in place and just have the students move the chairs."

Adrian was a bit relieved that the school serves lunches because he just realized that he didn't grab anything when he snuck out of the Agreste estate. "Lucky for me," he said before adding, "I was in such a rush since I was late, I forgot to grab my lunch."

Tsujiie-sensei smiled under his beard before saying, "You kids want to try the desk moving out? You have to be don't want to."

Chloé immediately clung to Adrian's arm and said in French, "|::| I'm all for this if that means I can sit next to my Adrikins. |::|" She then told Sabrina to move the desk together, the orange-haired girl hopped right to it.

'Something tells me that she's been a gopher for a while,' Tsujiie-sensei thought as he watched the orange-haired girl move the three desks together. The teacher sighed when he thought, 'I guess I should just watch for now. I'll intervene if I see any trouble brewing.' He then watched the Yuuki siblings move the desk together, making sure to leave room for others to get by.

A few minutes later, the food carts came in with warm fresh food ready to be served.

Tsujiie-sensei looked over the list of students and quickly made the order for who will serve the food. It didn't take the teacher long to do so. Marinette was one of the three on food duty for today. Tsujiie-sensei explained that she was on the roster first was because she spoke French and had her annuals sweets to hand out.

Marinette didn't mind, she was used to being around food so it didn't bother her as much.

Though Chloé insisted that Adrian could have some of her gourmet lunch from home, he wanted to try the food that was being served.

"I'm telling you this now Agreste-san, you have to eat everything on your plate, even if you don't like it so much," Tsujiie-sensei stated before adding, "It's because we serve healthy food and want our students to be at their best when they eat right. Thanks to this, we don't have a lot of picky eaters."

Adrian understood besides he was too hungry to care if he would like the food or not.

Marinette happily handed to macaroons to Michio and Eiji, who in turn, thanked her before she walked over to the carts to get ready to serve the food.

Adrian happily accepted what was put on his plate. Much to his amazement the food looked and smelt delicious. And a serving of rice, a small plate of chop chicken, a small bowl of a veggie salad, a small bowl of miso soup, a plate of mixed fruit, and Marinette just gave him a nice carton of milk and a macaroon.

"I would suggest eating the macaroon last, so you can eat the good stuff first," Marinette said with a soft smile as she handed Adrian a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. "Do you need a substitute for the chopsticks?" The blue bell-eyed girl asked, not sure if she should give him the chopsticks.

Adrian took the utensils and said with a smile, "It's okay, I know how to use chopsticks, I might not be the best at it but I can use them."

Marinette smiled, nodded, and said, "Well, enjoy your lunch, Agreste-kun."

"Thank you," Adrian said, keeping his smile on, not because it's polite, but because it was having normal school lunch at school. Adrian took his seat between Chloé and Sabrina, ignoring the blonde girl's comment on the school lunch not being up to her standards.

That was when Adrian realized that the teacher says that will only serve lunches on special occasions and that students usually brought their own lunches from home. As Chloé talked, Adrian and Sabrina eight. The blonde green-eyed teen pretended to listen as he ate and thought about how he should prepare lunch at home without his father or Nathalie knowing. He knew the family chef wouldn't mind making lunches for him to take a school, but there was always the possibility of either his father or Nathalie finding out.

At the moment, as far as those two and Adrian's bodyguard knew, Adrian was in his spacious room studying, like a good boy. He couldn't understand how those two could trust him to stay in his room all day to study but not trust him enough to leave the estate without his bodyguard.

Adrian used his spoon to scoop some rice and aided as Chloé continued talking.

'Maybe I can ask the chef if he could make a bento for me for lunch so I could pretend that I'm in a school,' Adrian thought as he used the chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken. He had to think of something so he can eat lunch at school without his father and Nathalie knowing he's actually in school. Adrian knew he had to think of something before tomorrow morning.

Alya was happily telling Marinette and Tsugiyoshi this new superhero manga she found last week.

The grey-haired teen snorted before saying, "You're such a superhero otaku (2), Alya-chan." He then slipped his small bowl of ramen and that was in his bento.

"And you are a cheese otaku," Alya retorted with a playful snort.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle and say, "She's got you there Tsugiyoshi-chan." The only thing Tsugiyoshi did was shrugged as he continued eating.

It didn't take long for everyone to finish eating their lunch is before they took a bite of the macaroons Marinette brought. It was like an airy cloud of sweetness followed by a soft buttercream filling swooned in everyone's mouth.

"Dupain-Cheng's baked goods hit another one out of the park," Takeyasu said happily as he popped the rest of his macaroon into his mouth.

"Mari-chan, you really should bring in these kinds of sweets more often," Ryouka stated cheerfully, happily nibbling on the macaroon.

Marinette couldn't help but say, "If I did, then they wouldn't be special."

Tsujiie-sensei chuckled and said, "She's got a point, Niwa-san." Causing the green-haired girl to puff her cheeks in annoyance.

Misaki was talking to a brother in Tibetan. Nanashi was happily agreeing with whatever his sister was saying as both happily finished the sweets.

Eiji was the only one in the class that remained silent while he ate the macaroon. He did enjoy the sweets that Dupain-Chengs made, that was something he was never going to deny.

Eiji felt Michio nudge him with an elbow. He turned to his friend, who was sporting a snaggle-tooth smile when he said, "Still one of your favourite, Eij-chan."

Eiji smiled back and applied calmly, "Indeed." He then turned his attention to an empty desk and said, "She is missing out on a lot today because of a cold."

Michio looked at the desk and stated, "Yeah, she's going to be real hissy when she finds out that we got foreign transfers." Eiji gave Michio a look that could only be read as, "really?" The glasses-wearing teen shrugged and said with a sly smile, "Oh, come on, you know that's how she's going to act when she finds out. Besides, doesn't she act like a hissing cat when she's mad?"

Eiji only side when he stated, "Just don't say that to her face or her friends."

Michio shrugged and said, "Fine." He knew better than getting on the bad side of the heir to the Aira dojo.

Soon, Tsujiie-sensei gave everyone the five-minute warning until lunch ended. The teacher quickly explains to the new transfers that the warning was for the class to move their desks back into place before the next class began.

Sure enough, the class started moving their desks back into the original spots.

Adrian, Misaki, and Nanashi were just fine with the whole thing, but Chloé didn't want to move her desk away from "her Adrikins".

"You can sit next to him again tomorrow at lunch," Tsujiie-sensei said with a sigh. He couldn't help but think that the blonde French girl was going to be more than a handful. 'I'm hoping she's not going to be more trouble than the twins,' the teacher thought before he started inspecting the positions of the desks.

Once the teacher was satisfied that all the desks were in their original place, yet the class talk amongst themselves until the bell rang for lunch to end.

Alya quickly scampered over to her two friends and then continued with the conversation. Tsugiyoshi snorted at one particular comment while Marinette giggled.

Adrian watched those three. From what he heard, it sounded like either the French/Chinese girl made the macaroons or her parents did. Because Adrian was a model, he rarely ate sweets and when he did they either didn't taste all that good or they tasted weird because of not having the right amount of sugar in them.

Adrian quickly snuck away from Chloé and Sabrina to ask the teacher.

"Hm? Yes, Agreste-san?" Tsujiie-sensei asked when he noticed the blonde model heading his way.

That was when Adrian asked his question, "Um, did Marinette-kun's parents make the sweets or did she? I'm just curious."

Tsujiie- sensei gave a small smile when he explained, "Agreste-san, I understand that your Japanese is better than I expected, but in terms of Japanese etiquette unless you are close friends we usually refer to others by their surnames rather than their given names. So please call her Dupain-Cheng-kun until she gives you permission to use her given name." The teacher understood that it took some time for foreigners to adjust to a new culture, but he also knew that not all of the students were so accepting of that fact and didn't want any of them to target this boy because of a cultural difference. Plus, Tsujiie-sensei didn't want any misunderstandings because of a cultural barrier.

Adrian nodded as a dusting of pink coloured his cheeks. He then asked again, "So did Dupain-Cheng-kun's parents make the sweets or did she?"

Tsujiie-sensei thought for a bit before saying, "My best guess, they all worked on the macaroons. Dupain-san and Cheng-san run their bakery and Dupain-Cheng-san helps from time to time. Usually all three work on treats for our class or school." The teacher noticed the confused look on Adrian's face. With a small smile, Tsujiie-sensei explained, "Not all married couples take the same surname after they wed, Dupain-Cheng-san's parents kept their surname because that is what they wanted and just gave their daughter both their surnames. Did that help you understand?"

Adrian shook his head when he said, "Ah, no, um, I can understand the aspect of some people who wanted to keep their surname even after marrying. I just wanted to know what a "macaroon" was…"

Tsujiie-sensei raised a bushy brow when he said, "Macaroon is the name of the type of sweet Dupain-Cheng-san handed out. It's one of her parent's bestsellers."

Adrian it up when he said, "Oh, I didn't know they were called macaroons. Are they a popular Japanese sweet?"

Before Adrian could even see the rather shocked look on the teacher's face, the bell rang, signalling the start of the next period.

"My apologies Agreste-san, but it seems like lunch is over. So I'm going to ask you to return to your seat for the next lesson," Tsujiie-sensei said in a kind tone. The blonde boy nodded as he walked back to his desk, as did the other students. What Adrian didn't know was the look on the teacher's face as everyone sat in their seats. It was a look of suspicion that the elderly teacher got every time he thought the Tsumita twins were up to something, but this time the look was there because he felt something wasn't right…

But the teacher continued with teaching, despite the suspicion he had.

~}i{ End of the School Day }i{~

Now that all the lessons were done it was time for the next school tradition.

"Students cleaning the classrooms!" Chloé shrieked in shock. Her scream was so loud the other classes were able to hear her, even though far from the classroom she was currently in. Chloé folded her arms and scoffed out, "What? Are there being no such things as janitors?"

'Yep, she's going to be a handful,' Tsujiie-sensei thought when he said, "In our culture, students are responsible for the upkeep of their classrooms. It teaches responsibility and awareness of one's actions. I take it that it's very different in France."

"Very much," was all Chloé said before telling Sabrina to follow her out and asking Adrian to come with, in French by the way.

But Adrian replied in French, "|::| Actually Chloé, I kind of want to stay in help clean. I mean it's part of their school curriculum, isn't it? |::|"

As much as Chloé wanted to tell Adrian that he didn't have to, she saw the look in his eyes and decided against it. She only said, "Fine, you can helping the cleaning, but Chloé-sama is going home."

"One second, Bourgeois-san, Raincomprix-san," Tsujiie-sensei said stopping them from leaving. He looked the two straight in the eyes and said, "Don't forget to switch into your outdoor shoes when you leave, you won't get far in the slippers you currently wearing."

Chloé stopped and said, "There is no way that Chloé-sama will forget Chloé-sama's shoes, they are the designers' latest."

Not all that impressed, the teacher asked, "Do you remember the shoe locker numbers that were given to you?"

Sabrina easily answered, "Chloé-chan's 273 in mine's 274. We are right next to each other."

Tsujiie-sensei nodded before letting the two ladies leave.

"Why'd you let them leave?" Kim asked the teacher, surprised that he did.

Tsujiie-sensei looked at the class and asked, "Did any of you kids want to listen to her complaint while you cleaned?"

Not that the class thought about it, and what they learned so far… Perhaps the teacher had the right idea in letting the French blonde leave.

Tsujiie-sensei took a few steps towards the blonde boy and said, "Agreste-san, I understand that she seems to be your friend, but I don't think it's a good idea to let her stay to help clean for the first few days of the school year since it seems like she doesn't do much cleaning on her own. I will start keeping her, and by extension Raincomprix-san, after the first week has concluded, to get a feel for how things are done and hopefully she'll join in when she feels comfortable enough to do so." The teacher was sincere in his words, and he had enough experience to know how to handle certain individuals.

Adrian nodded, he understood what the teacher meant and he knew Chloé.

Marinette couldn't help but say, "No offence sensei, but that might be longer than you think." The bluebell-eyed girl knew from the interactions she had with Chloé back in France that there was no way you could get the spoiled brat to hold a cleaning implement, willingly.

Tsujiie-sensei shrugged and said, "You can't blame a teacher for trying at least."

This earned a few giggles and chuckles before the teacher told the class to start cleaning. The Yuukis and Adrian were happy to join in.

~}i{~

After the entire classroom sparkled, everyone started to leave. Tsujiie-sensei told Adrian not to be late tomorrow, but he stopped Eiji and Marinette from leaving, saying that he needed to talk to them for a bit. Michio told Eiji that he'll see him in Marinette tomorrow as he waved goodbye.

The teacher handed a manila envelope to Eiji and asked, "Kashii-san to mind dropping us off at the Aira residence? Since it's on your way home."

"I do not mind, sensei," Eiji said as he took the envelope and added, "I assume this is the classwork for today."

Tsujiie-sensei nodded and let the dark-haired teen leave. He then turned his attention to Marinette and said, "First off, Dupain-Chang-san, the macaroons you brought in were exquisite as always."

Marinette smiled with a little blush on her cheeks when she said, "Thank you, sensei. I'll tell my parents that."

"Now onto the serious matter," the teacher stated before saying in an honest tone, "I understand that you don't seem all that close with Bourgeois-san, but as the only student in my class who is fluent in both Japanese and French, in both culture and language. I will have to depend on you to help me with our new transfer students from France."

Marinette knew where this conversation was going. "Oh no! No! No! No! No! No!" Marinette chanted, waving her hands dramatically in the air as she shook her head frantically, and took a few steps back from the teacher's desk. "I am NOT helping or playing nice with Bourgeois Chloé! No way! No how!" The baker's daughter practically shouted, now standing next to the classroom door.

Tsujiie-sensei, not impressed with the overactive display of emotion, did say calmly, "To be fair, I wasn't going to ask you to "play nice". I was going to ask for you to help me with our French transfers by acting as a mediator. You know French, I don't, so I just want you to tell me what they're saying if they don't know how to say it in Japanese."

Marinette folded her arms and said, "Agreste-kun seems to have Japanese down, but I haven't heard Raincomprix-kun say more than what was needed. No way on Bourgeois-san." She was keeping her ground on this.

That was when Tsujiie-sensei said, "I'll add an extra 10% extra credit on your finals social studies grade if you act as a mediator for our French students."

Marinette raised a brow and asked, "Are you actually bribing one of your students, sensei?"

The door slid open a bit as Tsugiyoshi poked his head through and said, "That's what sounded like to me." Marinette easily jumped at this sudden intrusion.

"Eavesdropping, Sumio-san?" The teacher asked in a humorous tone.

Tsugiyoshi walked into the class, closing the door behind them, and said as he avoided a swat from the other teen, "Not particularly, but since I promised Netty-chan's parents that I do bring her home so she doesn't get lost, I stayed so I can wait for. I just happened to be waiting near the classroom door."

Tsujiie-sensei raised an amused eyebrow at this before saying, "It's not particularly a bribe so much as doing extra work for your social studies. Oh, and before you ask, our transfers from Tibet are already fluent in Japanese, passed their verbal and written tests with flying colours."

When the teacher put it like that…

Marinette let out an exasperated sigh before saying, "Fine, just don't expect me to play nice with that spoiled brat."

"Duly noted," Tsujiie-sensei stated. Before the two teams currently, the teacher asked, "One last question. *The two stopped and looked at him*. Macaroons are pretty popular in France, right?"

Marinette blinked a few times before saying, "Um, they are and they come in a wide variety of flavours, they're the best when they are baked correctly. What you ask, sensei?"

"Just curious, since it seems that your father likes baking them often," Tsujiie-sensei said with a slight shrug.

Marinette giggled when she said, "Oh, that's just my dad wanting to share a little bit of French culture with Japan. Our matcha flavoured macaroons sell out faster than we can make them."

Tsugiyoshi rolled his eyes and said, "The cheese-filled ones are better." Before Marinette gave him a playful smack on the back of the head.

"Ah, yes, I remember my daughter-in-law mentioning that every time she tries to get a baker's dozen of that particular flavour," Tsujiie-sensei said fondly.

"Oh, tell her that she can order matcha macaroons online and we'll have them made by the time she picks them up!" Marinette said with a big grin.

"Oh? Your website is up and running now, huh?" Tsujiie-sensei asked, stroking his fluffy beard with a smile.

Marinette pulled a business card out of her uniform pocket, placed it on the teacher's desk, and said, "Our bakery's website is right here."

Tsujiie-sensei looked over the design of the card and said, "I take it you made the cards as well, Dupain-Chang-san."

Marinette turned pink when Tsugiyoshi said, "It's not exactly clothing, but yeah she did."

The teacher chuckled and with the two off while reminding them not to head to any arcades on the way home. The teens replied that they won't, Marinette with a giggle while Tsugiyoshi with a yawn.

Tsujiie-sensei glanced at the card with that serious look in his eyes when he thought, 'A part of French culture, eh. If that's the case, why would a native French citizen think macaroons are Japanese?' The teacher stroked his beard, not the least bit excited to find out the truth to that. But he was a teacher and he had to think about the well-being of his students.

~}i{ With Adrian }i{~

Thank goodness Adrian practised this before he had the idea sneak out to go to school. Climbing trees was hard, but at least he brought close with him so he doesn't have to explain why his perfectly modelled hands were scratched up.

Adrian carefully jumped from the tree branch to the balcony ledge of his room, now like it was a big jump or anything. The tree grew right next to it. He quickly and quietly opens the window, entered his room, and close the window. He quickly locked it before he equally quickly and quietly made his way to his bathroom to change into his casual clothes, which he had hidden in one of the many cupboards within.

After Adrian switched clothing, he neatly folded his uniform and hit it away in its hiding space. He quickly fixed his hair in the mirror before he exited the bathroom.

Adrian made his way to a desk, set in the overly comfortable chair, and opened a book on the table to a random page. That was when Adrian noticed a small black box with red line decor sitting in front of his computer.

Adrian stared at the object for a bit. He didn't remember that being there before he left… At first, Adrian thought that maybe Nathalie came in while he was at school, but she will check the whole room for him first before leaving something.

Adrian picked up the box and slowly turned it in his hands.

Suddenly, someone knocked on his door.

Adrian quickly had the box in one of the drawers before saying in French, "|::|Come in,|::|" to whoever was knocking.

A woman of average height, pale skin, dull blue eyes, and black hair that was pulled into a high bun with a strand dangling over her forehead with the left side of her head that is dyed a dark pink or red colour, she wore glasses with black and red striped frames, she wears periwinkle eyeshadow, round creamy-white earrings, she was wearing a red turtleneck sweater, a black dress jacket, black pants, and black medium-heel shoes open the door, walked in, and said in a proper tone in French, "|::| Adrian, your father has requested your presence at dinner in 30 minutes. |::|" This young woman was Sancoeur Nathalie, Agreste Gabriel's personal assistant.

Adrian frowned and stated sourly in French, "|::| Oh, good afternoon to you too Nathalie. Oh and yes, my day was fantastic, thank you for asking. It has been the best day so far where I have been locked in my room to study so many lessons, topics, and locations that I'll never get to use or visit because I never go anywhere father doesn't approve of. |::|"

Nathalie showed no emotion when she asked, "|: :|Are you done?|::|"

Adrian swivelled in his chair to look at Nathalie, folded his arms, and said, "|: :|You get my point though.|::|"

Nathalie then stated in a stern tone, "|::| We are in a new country, in a brand-new home. |::|"

Adrian rolled his eyes before stating, still in that sour tone, "|::| A home that I haven't left since we got here. Father might as well have just moved the old mansion here. I'm also still angry at him for just hauling me to Japan without my consent or even my opinion. Tell him I'll take my dinner in my room again. I still don't want to see him.|::|"

"|::|Adrian, you are being unreasonable,|::|" Nathalie stated sternly.

Adrian swivelled until his back was to the secretary and snapped, "|::| More unreasonable than father? I think not. I'm acting like a normal teenager who has been forced to move to a new country by a parent who doesn't even talk to said teenager about it until the last minute or even tells said teenager if he wanted to. Tell Gorilla to bring my dinner here, he's the only one I'm willing to talk to in a civil conversation. |::|"

Nathalie was silent for a bit before she finally left.

Once Adrian heard the door closed, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He didn't like being snippy with Nathalie, but if he wanted to continue to sneak out to go to school, he had to keep pretending that he was still mad at her and his father. Though Adrian was still actually mad at his father. After all, he knew that Gabriel would disapprove of him sneaking out and going to school, but he still never got a clear answer as to why Adrian wasn't allowed to attend school, other than to say that he said so.

Adrian sighed.

He really wished his mother was still here.

~}i{ With Marinette and Tsugiyoshi }i{~

"That's why the name Agreste sounded so familiar," Marinette said as she scrolled through her phone.

"From France?" Tsugiyoshi asked as they walked into the bakery.

Marinette showed her childhood friend the picture of Agreste Gabriel from one of the covers of a French magazine and said, "Agreste-san is one of France's biggest fashion designers." Marinette swiped left to show a picture of Adrian, modelling, as she continued, "And his son, Adrian-kun, models the majority of his designs. Do you know what this means!?"

"That we have another celebrity in our class?" Tsugiyoshi answered in a bit of a clueless tone, not quite understanding what his friend was implying.

"It means that France's best fashion designer is here in Japan! And his son is our classmate!" Marinette practically squealed in delight.

Tsugiyoshi raised a brow when he asked, "Uhh, excuse me for being the pessimistic one here, but why is "France's Best Fashion Designer" in Japan? When it isn't even the fashion season here?"

Tom and Sabine heard pretty much the whole conversation between the two teens when the tallest of the two parents asked, "Agreste-san is in Japan already?"

The two teens looked at the towering man and asked at the same time, "You already knew he was coming to Japan?"

That was when Sabine said, "Well, now that that's out in the open, yes. We knew. Bourgeois-san has been appointed the France ambassador to Japan and Agreste-san wanted to get some new inspiration from Japan, so there going to be living here in Japan with their families."

"That explains why that spoiled brat is here," Marinette grumbled, making Tsugiyoshi snicker.

Tom couldn't help but say, "Now, now, Marinette. I know you aren't the best of friends with her, but calling her a spoiled brat is-"

"Accurate," Tsugiyoshi stated before adding, "No offence, but I've only known her for a day and that's kind of how she acted the entire time. She even stormed out when she learned that students clean the classroom. I understand things are different in France, but still… *Mumbles* at least Agreste-kun was decent enough to help with the cleaning."

Marinette sighed before saying, "And Tsujiie-sensei already asked me to be the moderator for our French transfers."

Tom couldn't help but smile when he said, "Smart teacher."

Tsugiyoshi slid a sly smile at his friend when he said, "Smart enough to know that he was going to count the moderator business as extra credit in Marinette's social studies class." This earned an actual punch in the arm by said girl. "Ow…" the grey-haired teen vocalized as he rubbed where he was hit.

Sabine smiled at the teens when she asked, "Would you be interested in earning a little extra allowance?"

"Oh? Who are you catering for?" Tsugiyoshi asked. He's known the family long enough to know the code words they use.

Tom and Sabine glanced at each other with knowing smiles.

~}i{ With Kashii Eiji }i{~

Eiji entered his home. He headed straight home after he gave the schoolwork to the Aira household. The dark-haired teen did comment that Aira Kanae seemed rather illness-free when he saw her, to which she replied that her rather "Overprotective Papa" kept her home over a minor sore throat.

Either way, Eiji was glad to know that his classmate was fine and that her parents cared enough to make sure she was healthy. He did tell her that they got five foreign exchange students, three from France and two siblings from Tibet. Kanae effectively started throwing punches at her father and shouting at him for making her miss meeting new people. Kanae's mother was standing nearby, giggling at the whole thing as if it was something funny.

Eiji likes the Airas, they were a nice family.

"Welcome home, young master," said an elderly man with grey hair, grey moustache, wearing a black, sophisticated suit, and white gloves as he greeted Eiji. This was Yamato Shin, the Kashii family butler.

Eiji looked at the elderly man and stated, "Evening, Yamato-san. How is your day?"

The elderly butler smiled and said, "Oh, nothing out of the ordinary for me. How was your first day of school?" The two walk towards the dining room as the team told the elderly man his entire day, even the apprehension of a pair of thieves. Yamato-san smiled and said, "Sounds like you had an exciting day." Eiji smiled at the elderly man. Yamato-san then said, "I already have dinner ready, however…"

"I know they are not going to be here," Eiji said with a slight tone of annoyance before stating, "They are out "for business", as usual."

Yamato-san side and said softly, "I'm afraid so." The elderly butler knew well enough not to sugarcoat the answer. The teen was sadly too aware of the situation. As much as Yamato-san wanted Eiji to believe that his parents wanted to be home with their son, he knew that Eiji was smart enough to know it wasn't the truth.

"They are too busy with their careers to spend even a second with me," Eiji stated in a sour tone. He took a deep breath before saying, "But that is their choice, not mine. *Looks at Yamato-san*. Would you like to join me for dinner?"

Yamato-san smiled before saying, "I wouldn't mind one bit, young master."

~}i{ Time Skip, after Dinner, Agreste Estate }i{~

Gabriel "insisted" that Adrian ate dinner with him, no arguments.

So Adrian was sitting at the unnecessarily long dining room table, him on one end and his father on the other end. He didn't really eat with much enthusiasm then he used his fork to move the food around before deciding to eat it. It was good, don't get them wrong, but it was the usual dinner that they ate back in France. Nothing different, nothing new, and nothing to show that they were even in a different country. Was a point on moving anyway? Gabriel still wouldn't give him a real answer. This whole "New Inspiration" was nothing more than a joke to Adrian.

"|::|Adrian,|::|" Gabriel stated, getting his son's attention.

"|::|Yes, father,|::|" Adrian said, not the least bit interested in what the other had to say.

Gabriel ignored the tone as he stated, "|::|Adrian, the French/Japanese Embassy is hosting a welcome party for us. Every fashion icon in Japan will be there, attendance is mandatory and I want you looking your best. So I'd suggest you get over this "phase" quickly and probably represent France's best.|::|"

Adrian rolled his eyes as he shoved a piece of broccoli into his mouth. Great… Another event where he's not going to be out of his father's, or Nathalie's, sight.

"|::|I have also been assured that a translator will be provided for us,|::|" Gabriele said calmly as he continued to finish off his meal.

Adrian's hand stopped moving.

A translator? Why would he need a translator? Adrian KNEW Japanese, fluently. It was one of the languages he learned back in France, his father should've known this. But apparently not… Though, this really shouldn't surprise Adrian…

Nathalie seemed to notice Adrian's expression of annoyance. She then added, "|::|The welcome party will be held at the French/Japanese Embassy. Representative Bourgeois has assured us that they hire the best French caterers in Japan. I already look them up, and they have a solid reputation for delectable French desserts, some with a Japanese twist to them. They have already been informed to make suite suitable for models and they have already found an event planner for the arrangements of the wares.|::|"

"|::|That's nice,|::|" Adrian said sarcastically before adding in that same tone, "|::|French food, I hadn't had that since, hmm, oh since now.|::|"

"|::|Adrian,|::|" Gabriel stated sternly before adding, "|::|I do not want that attitude at the event.|::|"

The blonde teen snapped back, "|::|Oh, don't worry Father, my attitude will be perfectly acceptable at the event. Just don't expect me to "get over my phase" so easily. As I stated before, I am still mad at you.|::|"

"|::|Adrian,|::|" Gabriel said in a warning tone.

Adrian scoffed when he said, "|::|I'm serious father, how can I ever forgive you for practically packing up everything I own, without telling me, then hauling me to the airport with absolutely no explanation, and tell me that we're moving to Japan for "New Inspiration". What inspiration, this place is too identical to our home back in France! Even the homeschooling! How is that inspiring?|::|" the teen put down his fork and stood up, walking away, Adrian snapped out, "|::|I'll play the part of top French model in front of the attendees at the embassy, but don't expect me to forgive you so easily.|::|"

As Adrian left, he slammed the door to the dining room close. The cutlery and plates shook slightly at the vibration.

Gabriele let out an audible sigh.

Nathalie placed a hand on the fashion designers shoulder and said, "|::|It could've been worse.|::|"

"|::|It could have been better too,|::|" Gabriel said with another sigh. He really needs to find a way to get his son to forgive him.

}{

Adrian quickly entered his room before closing and locking the door. He then took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Okay, maybe he was harsher than he wanted to be, but he meant every word of what he said. Adrian didn't regret it one bit.

Now that Adrian knew that he wasn't going to be interrupted anytime soon.

The blonde to open the poor with the black box with the red decor and picked the object up.

What was this?

~}i{ At the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, the Residential Area above the Bakery }i{~

Marinette couldn't believe what her parents told her. She just couldn't.

Her parents were catering to the French/Japanese Embassy's welcome party for the Agreste's! The top fashion designer and model duo of Paris, France! And her parents asked her in Tsugiyoshi to help them! Which means he's going to meet her idol! Agreste Gabriel!

Marinette happily screamed into one of her pillows to prevent her parents and neighbours from hearing. She was just soooooooo excited!

She calmed herself down a bit before thinking, 'And I'm in the same class as Agreste-sama's son!' That was when Marinette remembered the blond-haired boy who came to school late. 'Strange that he was late… Maybe it's because of the different time zones,' Marinette thought logically. She easily remembered the time differences between Japan and France, and how much it easily messed up her internal clock.

Although, that didn't explain Adrian's odd interactions between the other students and teacher. Mine you some of those could be explained by cultural differences… But, it seemed like it took a while for Adrian to realize that he was being asked a question and that he seemed socially awkward… 'It could be because he's in a new country,' Marinette thought as she stood up from her bed and walked over to her desk to write in her diary.

That was when she noticed a black box with red decor lines sitting on top of her desk.

Marinette blinked. It wasn't there this morning and she knew her parents were in the bakery all day today…

Marinette immediately checked her window locks, they worked… She then checked her valuables and clothing to see if anything was missing. Nothing was missing… Only an item gained.

Marinette picked up the box and looked at it.

What is this?

~}i{ With Kashii Eiji }i{~

After Eiji finished dinner, he went to his room. Once he was there, he noticed a small black box with red decor lines sitting on top of his desk.

The first thing Eiji did was check the locks on everything in his room, then check the windows, and finally checking every centimeter of his room for any place someone could hide.

There was no one but the person that will belong to… Nothing of his was missing… Only an item gained…

Eiji looked at the box. 'Strange, where have I seen this before?' The teen wondered as he spotted a folded note under the box. He picked both the box and the note up, and then read the note.

"You have proven yourself worthy of the Ox. Use these powers to fight alongside the legendary Ladybug, Black Cat, and the other warriors of the Juuni in the name of Balance. Sincerely, Duodecuple: Guardian of the Juuni." The note read.

Eiji raised a brow.

Ox? Ladybug? Black cat? Juuni? Warriors? What the heck does this note mean?

Eiji looked at the box again. What has he seen this exact box and design before?… That was when it hit him! The older man who was nearly robbed early today! Eiji gave him this exact box back to the man!

But… Why did that man sneak into Eiji's room and give them this box? Or even how he knew where he lived?…

~}i{ At the Exact Same Time }i{~

Marinette, Adrian, and Eiji open their respective boxes, curious to know what lay inside the mysterious object.

There were three bright lights from under the lids as the boxes were opened. Marinette's light was red, Adrian's was green, and Eiji's was purple. As soon as those lights faded three little creatures appeared from the lights. Each was a different colour, had different looks, but was roughly the same size.

Marinette's was red with a big black dot on its forehead, big blue eyes, and ribbon-like antennae.

Adrian's was black with bright green eyes, black wire-like whiskers, one on each side of its face and the top of its head, and a tail that was longer than its body.

Eiji's was a mellow purple with big brown eyes, had a pair of oxen horns on its head that was a shade lighter than its body, and then tail that had hairs at the tip.

The three teens had three very different reactions to the sudden appearance of the strange little creatures.

Marinette screamed.

Adrian poked the little black one and asked if there was like a genie.

Eiji quickly grabbed a nearby glass and used it to capture the purple creature.

A little unintentional game of tag and 'calm the teenager down', the creatures introduce themselves to their respective person.

The red one introduces itself as 'Tikki'.

The black one called itself 'Plagg'.

In the purple and said that its name was 'Stompp'.

After doing some quick explanations of what they are and what they can do, the three teens were a bit more willing to accept the 'Kwamis'. Eiji even let the purple kwami go from the makeshift glass prison, even if the kwami could phase through it.

As it turns out, kwamis well within objects called Miraculous and Juuni, these objects give a holder special powers to keep the balance in check.

Marinette put on the ladybug earrings, which was currently a deep red due to being inactive, per Tikki's request.

Plagg told Adrian to put on the black cat ring, which was currently white due to being inactive.

Eiji attached the flat, rounded golden pendant to the Kashii's family necklace that he always wore under his shirt. Stompp couldn't help but feel that that was rather convenient.

The kwamis explain to their person that they had to keep the miraculous items on them at all times so that they would always be ready to be called on when danger surfaces.

As much as the teens wanted to at least test these new powers, it was late and they needed to be up and ready for school… However…

Marinette couldn't wait to tell Tsugiyoshi about Tikki and Eiji wanted Stompp to meet Michio.

The kwamis firmly explained that they couldn't tell anyone about them, not even friends or family, for their protection.

Afterwards, the teams went to sleep.

~}i{ The Next Morning }i{~

The three teens went to their morning routines as they got ready for the day. They did their best to pretend that something amazing didn't happen the night before. Although…

"You're a little off this morning Netty-chan," Tsugiyoshi told Marinette on the way to school.

"Me? Off? Nah, it must be our imagination. It has to be your imagination because I'm not the slightest bit off. Nope, not all," Marinette rambled, trying and pretty much failing to convince her childhood friend, basically a brother, that she was in hiding anything. Tikki nervously peeking and I out of the French/Chinese girl's school bag, hoping that things wouldn't play out the way Tikki dreaded.

Tsugiyoshi snorted and stated, "Yep, you're hiding something all right. You always ramble when you get nervous."

'Shit! He's right!' Marinette realized, discreetly glancing at the little kwami in her bag.

"You actually read that manga Alya-chan recommended and like it," Tsugiyoshi stated with a smirk on his face.

"Uhh, yeah, you got me, Tsugi-chan," Marinette said with a defeated smile. Well, that wasn't how she wanted to cover up her behaviour, but it worked nonetheless.

~}i{ With Kashii Eiji }i{~

"Have a good day at school, young master," Yamato-san told Eiji as he saw him off.

"You have a good day too, Yamato-san," Eiji said with a small smile as he waved goodbye to the butler.

Stompp poked his/her head out of the inside pocket of Eiji's blazer and said, "He's a nice man,"

"I'm aware," Eiji said, keeping his eyes forward as he walked. He placed a Bluetooth earpiece on his right ear, so it wouldn't look like he was talking to himself. The teen then asked the kwami, "What exactly is this Juuni thing that was mentioned in that letter from that Duodecuple person? And who is he exactly?"

Stompp happily explained, "The Juuni are the 12 Warriors of the Zodiac. I think you humans have come to call it the Chinese Zodiac."

"Ah, so these 12 Warriors are represented by the same animals in the zodiac, correct?" Eiji asked as he looked both ways before crossing a street.

"Yup, I'm the Ox in the Juuni, and that makes you the Warrior of the Ox," Stompp said with a big smile.

Eiji thought about this new information for a bit before asking, "And I can assume this Duodecuple gives the Juuni items to those he sees worthy of them?"

Stompp nods and says, "Basically. He has to make sure that the holders are compatible with the particular Juuni."

"Compatible?" Eiji question with a raised brow as he saw the school night distance.

Stompp thought about the best way to simplify the 'compatibility' thing. The kwami then settled on, "I guess it's like matching personalities to the ability of the specific Juuni… It would be best to ask Duodecuple when we run into him again."

"I see…" Was all Eiji said before asking, "Can I use the Power of the Ox to help those in need?"

Stompp happily nodded and said, "Yup, but the Juuni are a little picky on what situations are for them."

Eiji raised a brow at the statement, but before you can ask the kwami what it meant, he heard someone call out to him. The dark-haired teen turned his attention to the voice to see Michio as he pushed his glasses up. Eiji took off the Bluetooth earpiece, placed it in his outer blazer pocket, and then waved at his friends as they moved closer to each other. They butted the back of their forearms before they walked on to the school campus.

~}i{At the Agreste Estate }i{~

"|::|Adrian, what you doing in the kitchen?|::|" Nathalie asked when she walked into the kitchen to arrange tonight's dinner and sought Adrian they are talking to the chef. And since there was no need for Adrian to be in the kitchen, Nathalie was determined to know why he was there.

'Crap!' Was all that came to Adrian's head when he realized that the secretary was there.

The chef may or may not have intended to make the situation worse when he said, "|::|Oh, Adrian wanted me to make these "bento" things for him for lunch from now on after he explained what they are. Said they were like a lunchbox.|::|"

Adrian had to think of something quick. He had to sneak out in a little bit if he wanted to arrive at school on time.

Nathalie raised a brow as she folded her arms and asked, "|::|And why would you want one of those?|::|"

'Damn! Damn! Damn!' Adrian chanted in his head. He needed to think of something! Fast!

Adrian turns to Nathalie and stated, "|::|I just wanted to all right. I wanted to do something that was Japanese. Bentos are probably the only thing I can experience here locked up in this mansion.|::|" He needed her to buy this, he needed lunch to take with him when he snuck off to school.

Nathalie gave Adrian a look when she said, "|::|Adrian, be reasonable. You don't need a lunchbox when you are at home.|::|"

Adrian waved his arm in the air and said, "|::|Fine! I wanted to pretend that I was at a Japanese school when I do my lessons, and I've read that high school students bring their lunch is in bentos. It's probably the only way I can experience the feeling of school locked up here.|::|" He practically storms out of the kitchen as he shouted, "|::|Thanks for ruining it!|::|"

Nathalie just watches the blonde walk off, back towards his room to study.

The chef couldn't help but say, "|::|I'm not sure if I should be the one to ask this, but what's wrong with letting him go to a school? He smart and everything, but you do know that most kids his age need some kind of social interaction with others, right? And as far as I'm aware, he's only been socializing with you, Mr. Agreste, Gorilla, and the fashion stuff you got. No offense, Mlle. Sancoeur, but the kid needs to be a kid with other kids every once in a while. I don't think he's gotten any of that in years.|::|"

Nathalie pushed her glasses into place when she stated, "|::|You're right, you shouldn't be saying that… But, thank you for saying it anyway.|::|"

The chef gave the secretary a small smile.

It didn't take long for Adrian to sneak out of the state and headed off towards school.

Plagg poked his/her head out from Adrian's inner blazer pocket and asked, "What about the bento thing?"

Adrian quickly ducked into a nearby quick mart and looked for the bento section. He whispered to the kwami, "I'm buying one. I have the money to get one until the chef can make me them."

Plagg couldn't help but say, "Can you get one with cheese, preferably Camembert."

Adrian grabbed a chicken and vegetable bento and then took a nearby bag of cheese bits. He went to the cashier to pay and then looked at his watch. If he leaves in a minute he can arrive at school on time. Adrian pulled out his wallet and used his credit card. The cashier looked at the card before glancing up at the teen with a raised brow and asked, "You Agareta Adiran-sama?"

Adrian gave a wiry smile when he said, "It's pronounced Agreste Adrian." He was a little nervous that maybe the cashier recognized his name.

The cashier shrugged and when the card through the machine before handing the card back to the teen and then gave him the bento and cheese bits. The cashier then told Adrian to have a nice day as the team left the store.

"It's not camembert, but it'll have to do until we get home," Adrian told Plagg as he opened the bag and gave the kwami a cheese bit. Plagg gave a sigh but ate the bit anyway because s/he was starving.

~}i{ Time Skip, Last Class of the School Day }i{~

Tsujiie-sensei continued with his lesson, but he was still thinking about something he noticed when the students ate their lunches. The students probably overlooked it, but the teacher noticed it right away. The teacher noticed that Adrian brought a store-bought bento. The teacher could tell it was, even if the boy had the foresight to take off the tag/sticker on it.

Tsujiie-sensei wasn't liking these signs that he was noticing with the blonde French boy… Although, it's only day two of the school year. Still, the teacher was going to keep an eye on that boy.

~}i{~

Once classes were done, it was time to clean. Chloé and Sabrina left immediately, much to the dismay of Adrian and the teacher, who shook his head in disappointment.

"KIIIM!"

Attention was now on Barule (Bruel) Ivan and Lê Chiến Kim. More specifically, Ivan almost trying to pummel Kim.

"Barule-san!" Tsujiie-sensei stated sternly, before saying in that same tone, "What are you attempting to do in my class?"

Ivan pointed at Kim and said in an aggravated tone, "But Kim, he-"

"Wasn't the one about to punch another person," Tsujiie-sensei stated sternly, before saying with a glare in his eyes, "Barule-san, principal's office, now!"

"But sensei!" Ivan said trying to explain.

"No buts, Barule-san, you know my classroom rules about violence. Now principal's office young man!" Tsujiie-sensei stated, pointing towards the door. The subtext was to head straight to the principal immediately.

Ivan glared at Kim before stomping away as he crumbled what Kim gave him.

Tsujiie-sensei then glared at Kim, once the bigger teen left, and stated, "Lê Chiến-san, I believe you have been told last year about taunting others, correct?"

"No," Kim stated before he saw the glare in the teacher's eyes and then squeaked out, "I mean, yes sensei." He slumped a bit at this.

Tsujiie-sensei huffed before saying, "And here I thought my only problems this year would be the Terror Twins and Bourgeois-san. It seems like I was wrong. Your punishment, Lê Chiến-san, is that you will also be doing Barule-san's cleaning duties."

"Yes sensei," Kim said, now really slumping.

With that, the class started on the cleaning.

}i{

Ivan stomps down the corridors, heading right towards the principal's office. As his anger builds with each step he took.

~}i{ Elsewhere }i{~

A closed, round window slowly opened, allowing the light from the outside to shine into the darkroom. This caused the swarm of white butterflies to flutter around a dark figure.

"|::|Negative emotions, this is perfect, just what I need. Anger, sadness,|::|" the figure in the dark rented with an evil glee (3). He held out his hand for one of the white butterflies to land on. When the pure creature did, the figure covered it with his other hand and focused his dark energy into it, turning it black with some purple streaks on both wings. "|::|Burn a hole into his heart my horrible Akuma.|::|"

The darkened butterfly fluttered off as soon as it could. The figure in the dark then said, "|::|Fly away my little Akuma and blacken their heart! (4)|::|"

The darkened butterfly flew through the small opening in the window that was specifically designed for the little creature. Soon, the Akuma flew right towards its destination, its first victim.

~}i{ Back at the School }i{~

Ivan slammed the door open, much to the principal's dismay. He told Ivan to leave his office and knock before being told coming.

Annoyed, Ivan complied as he took a step back and close the door. Just as he was about to knock, the Akuma flew into the watered up paper in Ivan's hand, turning it inky black. A purple-pink outline of a butterfly appeared around Ivan's eyes and cheeks.

Immediately a voice was heard in the teen's ears saying, "Stoneheart, I am Hawkmoth. I give you the power to seek revenge on those who have wronged you." (5)

Ivan smirked and replied, "Okay, Hawkmoth."

As soon as those words have been spoken, inky black and dark purple or started from the Akumatized item in that stood rapidly to cover the teen.

On the other side of the door, the principal waited for the knock before saying, "Well? Come in."

The door burst forward, startling that principle enough to hide under his desk. When he peeked over the desk, he sought a giant monster of stone that nearly broke through the door frame.

"KIIIIIIM!" The stone monster, Stoneheart, for before charging towards the window and bursting through it. He landed on his feet from the second floor and stomped around, looking for his target.

The principal called the police immediately and told them to send in an army of police officers.

~}i{ At the School Library }i{~

Marinette, Tsugiyoshi, and all you were talking about their recent project went the ground started to shake, violently.

"Earthquake?!" Everyone screamed before one person told everyone to look outside.

"KIIIIM!" Stoneheart roared angrily as he stomped around the school, still looking for his target.

"That voice… Is that Barule-kun?" Tsugiyoshi asked in shock, his usual nonchalant expression no longer on his face, just a surprised look.

"What happened to him?" Marinette asked in horror. She never expected one of her classmates turned into a stony monster or any monster.

Alya, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "GPS, check. Battery, check. Video space, check," she stated before she started hustling out of the library.

"Alya-chan? Where are you going?" Marinette asked her friend in confusion. After all, it makes sense to stay in the library will when there's a monster rampaging outside.

Alya stopped, turned towards her friends, and said, "If there's a supervillain, then a superhero will appear. So I'm going to follow Barule-kun and record a superhero in action!" With that, she took off.

Tsugiyoshi groaned out a "That hero-otaku is going to get herself hurt, or worse." He turns to Marinette and tells her to stay put while he tries to talk some sense into Alya. The bluebell eyed girl nodded as the grey-haired boy raced off to stop the glasses-wearing girl from doing something stupid.

Tikki poked his/her head out from Marinette's bag to check to see if the coast was clear when it was s/he floated out and flew to meet the girl's eyes. The miraculous sprite then said, "Marinette, now's your chance to activate your new powers. Remember, you need to capture and purify the Akuma that is possessing your classmate. The Black Cat holder will help you, and maybe hopefully a Juuni holder too."

"Okay, but what's a Juuni? And how do I activate my powers?" Marinette asked, more than a little confused.

Tikki then said, "I'll explain what the Juuni are after we finished this battle. Make sure you use the "Lucky Charm" to help capture the Akuma, but be warned, you will only have five minutes after activating the Lucky Charm before you transform back. To summon your powers, say "Tikki, spots on," and I'll transform you, to transform back you have to say, "Tikki, spots off". Um, let's go somewhere a little less likely to attract people, okay?"

Marinette nodded as she quickly ran towards the library's emergency exit, which was conveniently open and the alarm was not sounding. She quickly closed the door behind her.

Marinette then said, "Tikki, spots on!" The kwami was pulled into the deep red earrings, once in, the earrings turned bright red with five black symmetrical dots. In a flash of red light, Marinette's clothing turned into a red full-bodied, breathable latex suit with black polka-dots, a red mask with five black dots aligned symmetrically that covered the upper portions of her face, red strings were placed her hairbands making it look like she had antennae, her hair colour turned into a soft shade of orangey-red (6), and a yo-yo appeared around her hips.

Marinette looked at her reflection in the nearby waterway and amazed at her new outfit and hair colour. She unlatched her yo-yo from her hip and experimented with it for a little bit before she somehow flung it towards a nearby building and it hooked onto something. She tugged on the string cluelessly, before suddenly being flung to in that direction by the string sudden force.

~}i{ With Adrian }i{~

The blonde teen somehow managed to sneak back inside the estate without notice. Adrian just finished swapping his clothes when he heard a knock on his room door. "|::|Just a second,|::|" the teen called before he hid away his school uniform and exited the bathroom. Adrian opens his door to see Gabriel standing there. Surprised, the teen asked, "|::|Father? Is everything all right?|::|"

The question was understandable since Adrian doesn't remember the last time his father came to his room in person.

Stiffly, Gabriel stated, "|::|Adrian, I was informed about a little episode this morning in the kitchen. And I would like to inquire why it happened.|::|"

"|::|I'm pretty sure Nathalie told you why,|::|" Adrian stated plainly, leaning against the door frame as he folded his arms. He was getting annoyed by this. Adrian knew the assistant told his father everything, she always does.

Gabriel sighed before saying, "|::|Why do you want to go to school so badly? Everything you need is here, where you are safe.|::|"

Adrian groaned when he said, "|::|Father, we are NOT having this conversation again. I just want to do something normal, going to school and making friends is something I want to do. I told you this I don't know how many times, and yet you don't seem to listen.|::|"

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak when his cell phone went off. "|::|One second, Adrian,|::|" the blonde man said before answering his business phone. "|::|This is Agreste… …Ah, no, the colours must complement the figure, not hide it…|::|"

Adrian frowned before stepping back into his room and close the door as his father turned his back to him.

When Gabriel finished the call, he hung up and turn back toward his son, or rather, where his son should be. When the man realized that the door was closed he moved to knock but pause just before his knuckles could touch. It took a minute of heavy debating, but Gabriel decided that he needed to think about this for a while. And then he left.

Adrian pressed his back on the door before slid down to sit. He really shouldn't be surprised by his father's actions, but…

"Wow, I never actually thought the term "daddy issues" would ever be used as an understatement for anything," Plagg said, floating out from his/her hiding spot.

Adrian sighed when he said, "He wasn't always like this… He's been that way since mom vanished…" The teen got up in just moved to the couch. Plagg followed and sat next to the teen. Adrian turned his flatscreen TV on just to relax and forget his father for a bit.

"We interrupt this program for an emergency bulletin," the anchorwoman said into the camera. "A giant stone monster has appeared in Tokyo. The police have been trying their best to stop it, but the monster seems to be too much for them," the anchorwoman said, showing clips of the police trying to apprehend the stone monster, but failing. Sabrina's father is among the forces harmed. Adrian wasn't sure why or how Officer Raincomprex was already assisting the Japanese police, but now wasn't the time to question that.

Plagg jumped into the air and exclaimed, "We need to get out there!"

"How? Knowing my dad, we're going to be on lockdown as soon as he hears about this," Adrian stated, knowing full well it was true.

Plagg explains the same thing Tikki did with Marinette, except the transformation phrase for the black cat was "Plagg, claws out!" and "Plagg, claws in!" And the special skill was called "Cataclysm".

"You're explaining this Juuni thing to me when this is over," Adrian stated before he said, "Plagg, claws out!"

Much like how Tikki was drawn into the earrings, Plagg was drawn into the ring and turned it black.

Adrian's transformation turned his clothing into a black skintight breathable latex suit, with a pitch-black mask that had a green glass tint to his eyes and covered half his face, a long black belt strap that had a silver medal pole attached that hang off the bat like a cat's tail, black boots, black cat ears on the top of his head, and his blonde hair turn pitch black.

Adrian quickly looked at himself in the mirror but amazed at the reflection staring back at him. But then he realized that he needed to get out of the estate before the lockdown, so he did, and just in time too.

~}i{ With Eiji }i{~

Eiji was quick to act when he saw that the newsfeed on Stoneheart. He found a secluded spot in the nearby park and asked Stompp how he could transform so he could aid the police.

Stompp nodded and said, "Yes, we must help. But you must also help the holders of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous." Eiji understood as he nodded. Stompp then told the transformation phrase for the ox, "It's "Stompp, charge into battle!" And to change back you have to say "Stompp, retreat." Your special skill is called "Goboken", it will allow you to cut through any object, however, if you use the Goboken you will transform back into your civilian identity within five minutes. Understand?"

"I understand," Eiji said as he pulled the Ox Charm into view. "Stompp, charge into battle!" The stoic teen stated clearly.

With that, Stompp was drawn into the pendant, turning it into a white ox themed choker. This then started Eiji's transformation. His standard uniform change into a black and gold matador outfit with white gloves with grip buds on the palms, his short black hair grew all the way down to his calves and the underside of his hair turn blazing red, black oxen horns grew out of the sides of his head and pointed upward as a black and gold mask covered his face from the four head to his lower cheeks, and a black and gold sheathed sword appeared in his hands.

Eiji didn't think to look at himself, he just headed off towards where Stoneheart was headed with his newfound speed and agility.

~}i{ With Adrian }i{~

Adrian was balancing himself on the expendable metal staff he found on his costume, he extended the poll between two buildings and was walking across them. The now ravenette was just amazed by his newfound sense of balance.

"This is just awesome!" Adrian said aloud to no one in particular.

That was when he heard screaming that was getting louder. Adrian turned to see a ladybug theme redhead flying right towards him!

The two collided and ended up entangled in the yo-yo string that pretty much held them together in mid-air as the yo-yo parts wrapped around the pole as the two teens fell. Good thing the same string also prevented them from hitting the ground.

"You must be the ladybug my kwami told me about," Adrian said, feeling a little awkward about being tied to a girl while hanging upside down.

"I take it you're the black cat holder?" Marinette said, trying to untangle the yo-yo. Once entangled the two landed on the ground on their feet.

"How about calling me…" Adrian paused for a bit to think about what he should call is superhero form, since he obviously can't use his actual name. Black Cat was just too obvious, and already in use somewhere in the world… So how about… "Chat Noir," Adrian finally said with a cheeky smile.

"I'm…M-" Marinette started before the yo-yo came undone and landed right on Chat Noir's head. "Madly clumsy," Marinette said with a weary smile.

Chat Noir said it was fine and that he was new to this whole thing too as he picked up his staff, which had returned to its original size by now.

"I take it you are the Black Cat and Ladybug I am supposed to assist?" The two newfound heroes turned towards the boys to see a long-haired matador with ox horns, a mass, and sword in hand.

Chat Noir gave a catty smile when he said, "Hola amigo. ¿Qué buen matador está haciendo tan lejos de casa?" (Quick Spanish translation; Hello, friend. What is a nice matador doing so far from home?)

Eiji raised a brow when he asked, "I am sorry, but I do not understand what you just said."

Chat rubbed the back of his head when he sheepishly said, "Oh, uhh, sorry. I guess I pounced on a conclusion based on your choice of clothing." Then chuckling at the pun that he made.

Eiji tilted his head to the side and asked, "I am still confused about what you are saying. What about my appearance made you think I spoke another language?"

The ravenette and the redhead glanced at each other before the blue-eyed girl asked, "You didn't look in a mirror or anything reflective when you transformed? I'm assuming for the first time?"

The long-haired teen shook his head and said, "I did not get the chance, I wanted to aid the police and the two holders of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, which happen to be the two of you."

"Um, to put it simply," Chat Noir started as he scratched his cheek. He then added, "You look like a long-haired matador with bullhorns and a mask."

That was when Eiji finally looked himself over. He never really bothered to pay attention to his new look, especially when he saw the sword he had. Though he was aware that his hair grew considerably longer, that was something that he couldn't miss, especially since he's always kept it short. "I guess my new appearance does invoke the image of a matador," Eiji said thoughtfully.

That was when the heroes heard the sounds of buildings being smashed and crumbling.

"Put that thought on hold matador-chan, we've got a monster to crush," Chat Noir said before he pole-vaulted towards the sound.

Marinette sighed before twirling her yo-yo in letting it go to hook onto a building. The yo-yo then pulled her in that direction, causing her to scream due to the force of the pulling.

Eiji couldn't help but note, 'They must have just received their Miraculous as well.' He then brushed off in the same direction and hoped along the way that those two had some combat experience to aid them.

~}i{ In a Nearby Stadium with the Football Club }i{~

Kim wasn't an official member of the football club, but he was just helping out with the gear. The teen's true passion was swimming. Heck, if it weren't for the fact that the public swimming area was under maintenance, Kim would be swimming laps with Ondine.

"KIIIM!" Stoneheart word as he jumped into the stadium, causing the civilians to flee as the ground rumbled when he landed. When Stoneheart spotted Kim, he charged at him in rage. Just as the rock monster was about to crush the teen a metal staff if the giant's hand.

Stoneheart then turned his attention onto the black cat hero. A purple butterfly outline appeared over at the rock monster's upper face.

~}i{ Unknown Location }i{~

"|::|Yes! Yes! Everything is going according to plan,|::|" the butterfly holder said with evil glee. He knew his plan would work when he said, "|::|The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous have been activated. Here they come to save the day and now my super-villain will destroy them.|::|"

~}i{ Back at the Stadium }i{~

Chat Noir dodged Stoneheart's best with cat-like ease. He flipped over the stony monster and hitting him on the head with his staff. When Chat Noir landed, Stoneheart glowed yellow for a second before he grew a size up.

Stoneheart turns to the cat-themed hero, about to stomp him flat when Eiji charged swiftly, sword drawn, and struck the stony leg that stood on the ground. The sudden attack shook Stoneheart up a bit, but he recovered, glowed yellow, and then grew larger again.

Eiji halted next to Chat Noir and watched the Akumatized teen grow.

Chat Noir couldn't help but comment, "Well, it was a nice bull-headed try, Matador-chan." The Black Cat holder was liking the puns.

Eiji eyed the black cat hero in stated sternly, "Kindly stop calling me that, I find it annoying."

Chat Noir cheekily replied, "You got a name to call yourself by? 'Cuse if you don't, that's all I'm going to call you, Matador-chan~."

Before Eiji could even think of a name to give his superhero persona, Stoneheart continued his rampage.

Marinette wasn't sure what to do as she stood on top of the stadium, watching the two other heroes fight the giant. She just didn't know what she can do. That was when she spotted Alya in one of the team entrance areas with Tsugiyoshi, who was trying to pull her away from the action. Obviously, the glasses-wearing girl was glued to the spot.

That was when Marinette knew what she had to do, at least for this fight.

She twirled her yo-yo and aim did at Stoneheart's legs. Marinette uses the momentum from the yo-yo to pull herself to topple the giant to the ground, just in time, Stoneheart nearly crushed Chat Noir in his hand. Chat Noir leapt free and tumbled into one of the goalposts. Eiji rushed over to help the other hero up. Marinette ran over to the duo and said, "Sorry it took so long, Chat Noir, Matador-san."

Eiji couldn't stop himself from replying, "Please do not call me that."

While Chat Noir said, "It's cool, Wonder Bug. Now let's kick his rocky behind." As they cat hero was about to rush off to fight, Marinette grabbed him by the tail-like belt (don't try this with a real cat, you'll get hurt).

"Wait!" The red hero said, still gripping the black cat's tail. When he turned to the girl, she said, "Haven't you noticed that he gets bigger and stronger with every attack? We have to do something different."

"Different how?" Chat Noir asked, confused because he didn't know how else to handle a situation like this.

Eiji thought for a bit as he turned his attention to Stoneheart and noticed something. The horned matador then said, "Come to think of it, he has had his right-hand close the entire time."

Marinette then remembered what Tikki told her about Akumas when she said, "That must be where the Akuma is."

Eiji blinked when he vocalized, "Akuma? An evil spirit?"

"If so, how do we get it?" Chat Noir asked before telling the ox warrior, "It's the little evil thing that possesses innocent people and causes them to do evil deeds." Eiji wasn't completely sure of the Akuma thing, that was something he had to talk to Stompp about. That was when Chat Noir decided to use his Cataclysm. He touched the goalposts to test it out, the goalposts disintegrated into rust at the touch. Chat Noir then charged at Stoneheart, even though there not tried to stop him.

"Is there something wrong?" Eiji asked confusion as he watched the red hero trying to call the black cat hero back, who realized she could only use the Cataclysm once as there was no effect on Stoneheart. The rock monster effectively kicked Chat Noir towards Marinette and Eiji.

The redhead help the cat hero up when she said, "Are you crazy? You could have killed him if you used Cataclysm on him! He's an innocent victim possessed by an Akuma!" That was when Chat Noir's miraculous ring started beeping, signalling its first warning. Marinette groaned when she said, "And now you only have five minutes before you change back. Didn't your kwami tell you anything?"

Chat Noir sheepishly shrugged in embarrassment when he said, "I mean I have only listened to half of it. I mean… Can you blame me? He mostly talks about the kinds of cheese he likes to eat."

Eiji shook his head while Marinette rubbed her face with her hand.

Marinette took a deep breath before saying, "Okay, my turn." She then to the spinning yo-yo into the air and shouted, "Lucky Charm!"

In a burst of red sparkles, a red with black polka-dotted waterproof, full-body rubber wetsuit appeared and fell into Marinette's hands.

"I am more than a little confused right now, how is this supposed to help us defeat this opponent and capture the Akuma?" Eiji questioned in utter confusion as he pointed to the wetsuit in the red hero's hands.

"Hmm," the redheaded Marinette vocalized as she looked at Stoneheart. In her mind, his right fist glows a red with black polka dots, then Alya, then the garden hose, then the hose nozzle, and then the wetsuit. That"s it! Now she got it!

Marinette quickly picked up the hose, tight knots in the arms and legs of the rubber wetsuit, she then tied the openings of the wetsuit around the hose nozzle. When she was sure no water would leak out, she used her yo-yo to tie Chat Noir's ankles together and told him, "Trust me on this." She then told Eiji, "Get ready to slice Akumatized object when you see it, Matador-san."

"Please do not call me that," Eiji stated. Before he could ask what the redhead meant, she then flung the cat hero at Stoneheart.

The Akumatized being caught him easily with his free hand.

Marinette then leaped into the air with her lucky charm and hand. That was when Eiji realized her plan and ran towards Stoneheart when the ladybug hero shouted, "Catch me if you can!" That's turning Stoneheart's attention onto her and off the matador themed hero. The rock monster drops the black and rocks to capture the red hero. This left the Akumatized object open but put Chat Noir and Marinette's life in danger.

"Kids! The tap! Turn it on!" the female hero shouted as soon as she felt the crushing grip of the stone monster.

Alya and Tsugiyoshi quickly spotted the tap. The grey-haired teen quickly jumped into action when he raced over to turn the tap on, fast and at full blast.

The sudden flow of water blew up the stretchy suit like a giant rubber balloon, forcing Stoneheart's hand open. Marinette quickly jumped into the air at this and kicked Stoneheart in the face, causing him to drop Chat Noir.

Eiji quickly used his sword and stab the black rock, effectively breaking the item into pieces and forcing the blackened butterfly out of it. Marinette was quick to act when she flung her flowing yo-yo at the Akuma as soon as she landed and said, "No more evil-doing for you little Akuma." The moment the glowing yo-yo hit the darkened butterfly, it captured it and closed. When the yo-yo was back in Marinette's hand, she tapped the yo-yo and let the now pure white butterfly flutter free. "Bye-bye little butterfly," the red hero said with a small smile.

Eiji let out a low whistle while Chat Noir was full-blown impressed.

"That was incredible!" Chat Noir shouted, leaping to his feet right in front of Marinette as he continued, "I can't believe you came up with a plan like that on-the-fly. It's incredible! No, wait! Spectacular!"

Eiji then said, "While I would not use the same words as Chat Noir, I will admit that your improvisational skills are rather miraculous."

Marinette blushed a bit when she said, "Oh, um, thanks Matador-san."

Eiji sighed and said, "Please stop calling me that. I am no Matador."

"Well, then what should we call you? I mean, if you don't have a name to call yourself in that form, we're just going to keep calling you Matador-chan, Matador-chan," Chat Noir said in a cheeky tone.

Eiji thought for a bit as he gave himself a once over and felt the Horns on his head. That was when he finally said, "Since I represent the Ox of the Juuni, how about I go with the name Ushii Warrior of the Ox."

Marinette giggled, making Chat Noir a little jealous, when she said, "That's very on the nose. I guess I should go by Ladybug, since I kind of look like one." The redheaded hero looked at her arms, emphasizing the red with the black poke-a-dot pattern.

A high pitched beep alerted Chat Noir that he only had two minutes left before he transforms back.

Ushii then said, "You should leave now, Chat Noir-san. Because according to the kwamis, we are not to know each other's true identities."

Ladybug turns to Chat Noir and said, "He is right."

Chat Noir gave Ladybug and exaggerated bow when he said, "All right, farewell m' lady." He then turned to leave and said, "Bye-bye, Third Wheel-san." Chat then raced away and leaping the walls. He then shouted over his shoulder, "Let's do this again sometime, okay!"

"Ladybug-san, what does "Third Wheel" mean?" Ushii asked the redhaired superhero. But when he noticed the crumbled piece of paper on the ground, he remembered that the paper is what held the Akuma. Ladybug awkwardly tried to explain what the phrase meant as Ushii uncrumpled the paper. The warrior of the ox read the words on the paper out loud, "You haven't even the guts to tell Mylène you love her, wuss..."

"Lê Chiến wrote it. He's always making fun of me," Ivan lamented with his head hung down.

Ladybug placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder as she knelt and said, "You know, you shouldn't get so bent out of shape about that. There's no shame in telling someone you love them."

Ushii then stated, "Might I make a suggestion?" This earned the attention of Ivan and Ladybug. Ushii then stated, "The best thing you can do is prove this Lê Chiến-kun wrong. Just tell Mylène-kun how you feel in your own way."

Ivan looked back down at the ground and said, "But what if she rejects me?"

Ushii simply replied, "Then you have to accept at it has happened, but in the end, you would have still proven Lê Chiến-kun wrong and you will also take some pressure off of yourself by confessing your feelings. I should also point out that there is also a chance that she will return the feeling."

Ivan glanced up at the ox warrior and asked, "You make it sound so easy… How can it be?"

Ushii finally sheathed his sword and stated clearly, "Because it truly is easy to do, it just takes the right choice to do it." Ivan gives the ox warrior a bit of a blank stare at this. That was when Ushii explained, "You can make the right choice by doing the right choice. Telling someone how you feel is the same premise, just tell that person how you truly feel about them and if you cannot find the words to say simply use something you can use to express how you feel."

This gave Ivan a spark of hope that told him that he could.

Ladybug smiled as she patted Ivan's shoulder when she said, "Ushii-san does have a point. If she likes you the way you like her, I'm sure she'll accept your feelings, Ivan-kun."

"How did you know my name?" Ivan asked in confusion.

That was when Alya cut in, thankfully, as she bombarded the two heroes with questions, "Incredible! Uncanny! Amazing! Are you three going to protect Tokyo from now on? How did you get your powers? Did you get stung by a radioactive ladybug or an ox or black cat? I just have tons of questions for you Ladybug-san, Ushii-san!" She was recording the entire thing on a phone.

Tsugiyoshi, on the other hand, wanted to leave the heroes be. He was trying to get his friend to stop but was failing miserably.

That was when Ladybug's miraculous started giving off a high-pitched beeping, signalling that she would transform back into her civilian form soon. "That would be my cue to leave, but first," Ladybug said before she tossed the Lucky Charm item into the air and shouted "Miraculous Ladybug!" Just like how Tikki told her.

Just before gravity took hold on the Lucky Charm, the item burst into glowing little ladybugs that bathed the city in what could only be described as a magical glow as those little ladybugs restored the city in a blink of an eye. It was as if the giant monster of stone was nothing more than a dream to the citizens. Alya, of course, recorded what she could on her cell phone.

Ladybug then said as she did a quick to finger salute, "Bug out." She then flung her yo-yo and swung off.

"I should also get going," Ushii stated, before turning his attention to the teens and said, "Be sure to get home safely." Before he ran off at a fast pace. He might not have activated his Goboken so he didn't have a warning signal, but he did have to get home before Yamato-san started worrying.

~}i{ At the Unknown Location }i{~

The unknown figure cursed when he snarled out, "|::|So, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the Ox Juuni defeated me this fight, but I will win the war and get their Miraculous! I will get my wish! So swears Hawkmoth!|::|"

That was when he wondered out loud, "|::|But only one of the 12 Juuni was used… Does that mean that only one Juuni can be used at a time, or if only one person can activate it, or if the guardian only found one person to use one of the Juuni?|::|"

That was when Hawkmoth thought over the situation he had created. Given the timeframe of arriving in Japan and when the three heroes appeared, there was a good chance that the Guardian of the Miraculous could only find three wielders. Two for Creation and Destruction, and one for the Juuni.

Hawkmoth cackled evilly when he realized this, and then said, "|::|My information was correct! The miraculous are here in Tokyo!|::|"

~}i{ The Next Day }i{~

Everyone's morning routine was the same as the day before. Marinette woke up late, Tsugiyoshi patiently waited for her to finish, Eiji was seen off by Yamato-san, and Adrian snuck out of the estate and had to buy a bento on the way to school. The blonde model needed to convince the chef to make him a bento.

The only thing that broke the routine was the news airing Alya's video about Tokyo's new Guardian Angels.

Tom was overjoyed with the news while Sabine was happy that individuals were willing to fight and help those poor "Akumatized" people. Tsugiyoshi only yawned when he told the two adults that it's supposed to be expected in his pessimistic tone. This made the two adults chuckle/giggle as Marinette finally finished her routine. And with that, the two teens left.

"I still can't believe that you met actual superheroes and you still at all nonchalant like you normally do," Marinette told her childhood friend in an exasperated tone. She was mostly saying this to prevent him from realizing that she was one of those heroes.

Tsugiyoshi yawn when he said, "Don't worry, Alya-chan'll show the excitement for both of us. Honestly, she could've gotten herself killed…"

Marinette playfully nudged the grey-haired teen and said, "Well, you made sure she wasn't."

Tsugiyoshi only yawned in response as they arrived at a decent time. "Huh, would you look at," the grey-haired teen told the bluette.

The two teens saw Ivan handing Mylène a note. The shorter girl read the note before smiling and then hugging Ivan, was now blushing at the action.

Marinette cupped her hands together, brought them to her cheek, and said, "Aww, isn't that just adorable?"

Tsugiyoshi shrugged and stated, "About time. Seriously, they were made for each other," as he dragged Marinette along.

"You can be a real kill-joy, Yoshi-chan," Marinette stated as she looked over her shoulder to watch Ivan and Mylène walk into the school campus holding hands with pinking cheeks.

"I've been told," Tsugiyoshi stated broadly as they entered the school building and switch their shoes.

}i{ In the Classroom at the Same Time }i{

Michio saw the whole thing from the windows with Eiji. "Glad he took Ushii's advice and told her how he felt about her," the glasses-wearing ravenette said with a snaggle tooth smile.

"As am I," Eiji stated with a small smile as he looked at the recently created "Heroblog" on his phone. The stoic teen then stated, "Césaire-kun certainly is fast when it comes to anything superhero related. The event only happened yesterday and she already made a blog about those three."

Michio looked at his friend's phone screen and gave a soft whistle when he said, "Wow, she already has 200 followers and 507 likes. Talk about an overnight sensation." Eiji nodded in agreement as he tapped on the video clip of Ushii's speech. As the video played, Michio-kun help but say, "Okay, did she stay up all night to make this blog? Everything is edited perfectly…"

Alya pop in at that very moment and said excitedly, "I know, and you're right! It took me all night to make my Heroblog perfect! Keee! I just couldn't sleep after witnessing such heroics! So I made myself productive in my excited state!"

Wearily, Michio said, "Uhh, okaaaaay, um, just make sure you get some sleep when you get home, all right, Césaire-kun."

"One inquiry, Césaire-kun," Eiji said, getting Alya's attention and then asking, "How come you seem to focus on Ladybug-san in this "Heroblog" when Chat Noir-san and Ushii-san also helped in the apprehension of the Akuma creature?"

Alya rubbed the back of her neck when she said, "Well, I ended up having more good footage of Ladybug than the others, so I used them. But in all honesty, I would've named my blog The Ladyblog if it weren't for the fact that the others helped an equal amount."

"Ah, so you wanted to be punny like Chat Noir-san," Eiji stated in his usual serious tone.

Michio chuckled at the comment while Alya giggled. The two-toned-haired girl then said between giggles, "I never took you for the comedian, Kashii-kun."

"Pardon?" Eiji asked in confusion with a raised brow.

Michio then stated with a soft chuckle, "Césaire-kun, Eij-chan was being serious, not funny. Though sometimes the fact that he is always serious can be funny."

Eiji gave Michio a serious look when he said, "Do not give her any ideas."

When Marinette and Tsugiyoshi entered the classroom, Alya immediately jumps towards them to show them her Ladyblog.

Things got a little hectic for a while, but things fell into order when Tsujiie-sensei called for it.

"Yo, sensei," a voice from the doorway said. The teacher turned to see a teenage girl with bright green eyes, somewhat messy orange hair that was tied back in a high ponytail that hung to her shoulders, a catlike grin and wore the girl's school uniform with a pair of sports shorts underneath.

"Ah, good morning, Aira-san. Glad you're back in health," Tsujiie-sensei said with a small smile.

Aira Kanae's smile widened when she pulled Adrian into the classroom and said, "Look who I ran into on the way here."

A sweatdrop appeared on the teacher's head when he said, "Ah, I see you already met Agreste-san."

Kanae then cheerfully said, "Yup, and when he told me that he was in the same class as me, we decided to walk together." The comment made Chloé glare jealously at the smiling girl in the doorway.

"She kind of insisted," Adrian said meekly. He has never met a girl who was able to literally strong-armed him into the following her. No really, Kanae practically dragged Adrian the entire way to school. The model knew that he didn't weigh that much, but the petite orange-haired girl didn't seem to have much trouble with dragging him along. It was both a fun experience and a kind of scary experience at the same time. 'Aira-kun certainly doesn't look like she can carry anything heavy… She actually kind of looks like she could be a model for sports apparel,' Adrian thought as he walked over to his seat as Tsujiie-sensei told Kanae that she can talk to the transfer students during lunch.

After the attendance was taken, classes started.

~}i{ Agreste Estate, 11:17 }i{~

"|::|Adrian?|::|" Nathalie called as she knocked on the teen's door, again.

It was strange, Adrian always responded when he heard knocking on his door. Well, unless he was in the bathroom using the facilities. But it's been close to 15 minutes since Nathalie arrived at the door and started knocking in five-minute intervals.

Something wasn't right…

Nathalie turned to Adrian's constant bodyguard, who was affectionately nicknamed the Gorilla because he kind resembled one, and asked him, "|::|Has Adrian left his room at any time?|::|" Gorilla shook his head. That was when the assistant asked, "|::|So as far as you know, Adrian has been in his room the entire morning, correct?|::|" Gorilla nodded.

Something wasn't right…

Nathalie used her master key to open the locked door and rushed and, closely followed by Gorilla. To both of their shock and dismay, Adrian was nowhere in his room, not in his bed, not in his closet, and certainly not in his open personal bathroom.

Nathalie and Gorilla paled at the realization that Adrian wasn't in his room doing his schoolwork.

"|::|Mr. Agreste is not going to like this,|::|" Nathalie said with a headache forming.

Gorilla only nodded at this statement.

~}i{ At School with Our Heroes at the Same Time }i{~

Tsujiie-sensei decided to do something a little different for today's lunch.

"Set us up in groups?" The students repeated in confusion.

The teacher nodded and said, "Correct. Now I usually don't mind that you like to hang with your friends during lunch, but since we do have five new students from outside the country, I feel that we should be a little more inclusive." He then holds out a small bag and asked the exchange students to pick a tile out of the back.

Marinette quickly translated since Chloé, Sabrina, and Adrian looked a bit confused by the instructions.

Soon, each of the exchange students picked a tile out of the bag. Misaki's was blue, Nanashi's was red, Sabrina's was green, Chloé's was yellow, and Adrian's was red.

Tsujiie-sensei put the small bag down and picked up a bag that was a bit more full of tiles. The teacher then said, "Now for the students who want to participate, pick a tile out of this bag and whatever colour it is you will be sitting with the transfer students with the same colour. No exchanges, no excuses, and no complaining. I want you to accept the colour and try to talk with our transfer students. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. They knew it was optional and that the tiles were going to be randomly assigned.

Soon, the entire class took a tile from the bag and then made the groups that corresponded with the colour. Four groups in total.

The blue group had Marinette, Tsugiyoshi, Kim, Mylène, and Michio.

The yellow group had Alya, Ryouka, Max, and Rose.

The green group had Takeyasu, Nagayuki, Juleka, Alix, and Kanae.

The red group had Eiji, Nino, Ivan, and Nathaniel.

After a bit of an uproar from Chloé because she wanted to sit with her "Adrikins" as she practically jumped on Adrian and wrapped her arms around him. The moment they saw the French model's face, it was obvious to everyone in the class that he obviously didn't want that kind of affection from the blonde girl. Chloé "insisted" that Nanashi trade tiles with her. But the albino shook his head and restated what the teacher said about the tiles. No trading, no excuses, and no complaining. Chloé huffed in annoyance when she realized that no one else in the red group was going to trade tiles with her.

It didn't take long for the class to rearrange the desk so that the tile coloured groups sat together. Although, certain classmates started teasing Marinette and Tsugiyoshi for being in the same group. The two easily retorted "what about the Tsumita Twins then?" That stopped the teasing dead in its tracks. It was kind of funny to those who knew the bluette and grayette.

When the groups got settled, they started chatting and eating.

With the red group.

"Agreste-kun, I am curious to know why you do not tell Bourgeois-kun to stop jumping on and clinging to you? Or at least push her away. It is very clear that you do not like it when she does that," Eiji asked the blonde teen model in a rather serious tone.

Nino then added, "Totally dude, I mean, unless you say or do that kind of thing differently in France."

Nanashi then said, "I don't think so. Oneechan, me, and our parents have been to France before. Lots of Doki-Doki (7) couples, but both sides seem to like holding each other. Agreste-kun doesn't seem to be enjoying being held Doki-Doki."

The rest of the red group looked at the albino when Nathaniel asked, "You happen to be trying to say "romantic", would you?"

"I guess, is that the right term?" Nanashi asked cluelessly, to which the rest of the group nodded. The albino then added, "I guess Aunty Momo might have made a translation mistake when teaching us Japanese." Since no one in the group knew how to respond to that, they just agreed and went back to the original topic.

Ivan then told Adrian, "I don't know what your history is with Bourgeois-kun, but even I would have told her to stop with the unwanted touching, especially if it makes you uncomfortable or if it's unwanted." Nanashi agreed and admitted that he does sometimes hug his sister without her consent and how it usually makes her uncomfortable or annoys her depending on what she's doing at the time. Nathaniel nodded in agreement at the statement.

Adrian lowered his head a bit and said, "But she's my friend and I've known her my whole life…"

Eiji narrowed his eyes when he said, "That still does not mean that she should do something that clearly causes you discomfort. Friends should know about each other's boundaries and respect them."

"Dude, Kashii-kun is right, have you told her that you don't like her hanging off you like that?" Nino asked before biting into his origiri.

Adrian thought about that for a bit before finally saying, "I told her a couple of times when her family met with mine…"

"And yet she still does which you asked her not to," Eiji stated casting a suspicious glance at the girl in question. Chloé easily glared at him when she noticed.

"That's just who she has," Adrian said before adding sternly, "I've known her my whole life, and I know she's not a bad person. Little selfish maybe, but not a bad person."

Eiji calmly placed his bento on the desk and carefully intertwined his fingers together when he said, "I will admit that I should not be the one saying this, but because you have known them a very long time does not automatically mean that they are your friend. That just means that you are acquainted with them."

Nino, Ivan, and Nathaniel gave each other a knowing look before chuckling. The darker-skinned team then said between chuckles, "Dude, you're right about you saying something like that."

"I don't follow," Adrian asked in confusion. Nanashi agreed with the French boy.

Ivan nodded his head to the blue group, making Adrian and Nanashi look at the group, when he said, "Kashii-kun and Tsukui-kun have known each other since they were five and have been friends since then."

"Oooh, that's why," Nanashi said as he turned his attention back to the red group with Adrian and said, "I think that you saying something like that would count as "ironic", right?"

Eiji nodded and replied, "In a way. However, Michio-chan and I got to know each other before we became friends, I do not think the same can be said about you and Bourgeois-kun, Agreste-Kun. Have you met with her outside of those scheduled "family meets"? For playdates, sleepovers, playing in the park, or just hanging out?"

Adrian tilted his head to the side and asked, "Are those activities friends do in Japan?"

At this, Nathaniel stopped his doodling, Nino dropped his origiri, Eiji's fingers unlaced, Ivan's mouth dropped, and Nanashi's eyes widen. Being uncomfortable with this, Adrian asked, "What? Is this there something on my face?"

The red group shook their heads as Nino asked, "Uhh, Agreste-kun, dude, did you have anyone to call a friend before you moved here to Japan? Actual people who know you and your interest?"

Now that Adrian thought about it… Did anyone he knew back in France know him personally? His dad hardly knew him despite being his father. Nathalie was his father's secretary/assistant. Adrian's bodyguard? Well, he certainly would know Adrian better than anyone he knew, but he didn't even know his actual name… Now that Adrian thought about what Eiji said, the Bourgeois' were just family acquaintances, maybe his father's friends but not his.

Nino, Eiji, Ivan, Nathaniel, and Nanashi looked at each other in concern. Adrian had been thinking about Nino's question and hasn't moved were close to five minutes…

"Agreste-kun," Eiji said as he tapped the blonde's shoulder, and snapping him out of his thoughts. The stoic team then asked, "How about you be our friend?"

Adrian blinked before saying, "Really?"

Nino nodded and said, "Totally dude, besides you need more positive buddies to hang with." Ivan nodded in agreement.

Adrian accepted the red group's proposal and causing Nanashi to almost jump on the blonde. Ivan stopped him and said that that was not appropriate.

Thanks to the seating arrangement, Tsujiie-sensei heard the whole conversation. And while he was glad his little idea was working, his concern for Agreste-kun increased.

Tsujiie-sensei closed his eyes and thought for a bit before concluding that making a house call would be a good idea. It seems like Adrian's parents needed to have a nice conversation with the elderly teacher. After bringing his concerns to the principal first.

With the yellow group. Alya was showing off her Ladyblog to the others in the group. Ryouka looked up the blog on her computer as she ate.

"Wow, you made this entire blog overnight? Did you get any sleep? Or are you even tired?" Ryouka asked the blogger as Max and Rose looked up out his blog on their phones. Chloé, on the other hand, remained in a sour mood.

As far as the blonde French girl was concerned, she was the only one in this class who should sit next to Adrian. Chloé was rich, popular back in France, beautiful, and she had status. She was perfect and only perfection it should be in the presence of others that are perfect. Adrian Agreste was perfect, so of course, he should stick near Chloé. 'I can't believe that teacher would dare split us up,' Chloé thought, not even bothering to listen to the conversation happening in front of her. The blonde girl hopped when she thought, 'Only I am worthy of Adrikins and he is worthy of me.'

"Bourgeois-kun, are you all right?" Rose asked Chloé in concern.

Chloé scoffed and stated in her high-and-mighty tone, "Chloé-sama is annoyed at that Chloé-sama is in sitting next to Chloé-sama's Adrikins-chan."

The rest of the yellow group glanced at each other wondering if they should ask Marinette if she can teach Chloé how to say first-person nouns or asked if Chloé even knows first-person nouns. Either way, they were not sure they should ask or not.

That was when Ryouka pulled up a translator app on her phone. She quickly program to translate Japanese to French, and vice versa. The lime-haired girl tapped the microphone icon and said into her phone, "You really should relax her face, you'll get early wrinkles if you keep your face clenched up like that."

Alya, Max, and Rose gave Ryouka a "really?" look as the lime-haired girl hit the translate icon and held her phone in front of Chloé for her to hear. As you can imagine, the pampered Princess was not pleased. Well, on the upside they found a way to communicate with her.

With the green group, things were a bit more relaxed. Nagayuki, Takeyasu, Juleka, Alix, and Kanae were pretty chilled with Sabrina. Though they couldn't help notice that the orange-haired French girl kept glancing at Chloé.

"Rain-chan, don't worry, you can hang with your friend after school," Kanae said casually before drinking for her sports bottle. The heir to the dojo wanted to ask Sabrina what France was like, but she didn't want to come off as mood so she was waiting for her to relax a bit.

"Yeah, chill, eat, and just talked us, it'll make time fly," Alix stated before happily popping a gyoza into her mouth. Juleka agreed as she sipped her drink.

Sabrina glanced at Chloé and said, "But what if Chloé-chan needs her napkin, or make-up, or her mirror?"

Juleka raised a brow when she asked, "Doesn't she happen stuff in her bag?"

Sabrina shook her head and said, "No, I have those, Chloé-chan doesn't like carrying stuff that'll heavy her bag."

That was a telling comment.

"Gopher," Takeyasu snorted out as Nagayuki snide out, "Total gopher as Ore-sama sees it."

Kanae glared at the twins before stomping on their feats at the same time from under the table, hard. Both of the twins quickly covered their mouths as they hunched over in pain.

While Alix and Juleka saw that coming, Sabrina was a little confused by the action.

Kanae smiled at the other orangette and said, "Don't mind those two troublemakers, they always do weird things together." Sabrina did give a small hesitant nod. That was when an idea, so she asked Sabrina, "Why don't you tell us what you and Bougi-kun like doing when you were in France."

"It's Bourgeois-kun, Kanae-chan," Alix said, not at all surprised by the dojo heir's tendency to mispronounce names. Kanae gave a nervous chuckle at that.

But the idea of perfect Sabrina right up as she happily told the green group what she and Chloé, mostly Chloé, did when they were in France. Well, at least she was happy and not anxious.

With the blue group, things were pretty mellow especially when they told Kim to cut back on the swimming information. Marinette, Tsugiyoshi, Mylène, Michio, and Masaki did have a rather odd moment of awkwardness when Kim revealed that he always wears his swimming brief so that he was always ready to swim.

"Please tell me that you wash those regularly," Tsugiyoshi said with a cringe. After all, that was something he didn't need to know about Kim.

Misaki couldn't help but chuckle at the comment, it was a bit of a nervous chuckle. She did mention that she knew how to swim.

Mylène did ask, "But isn't it that a mountainous region?"

Misaki nodded and replied, "Yes, it is but it also has rivers and lakes. So you need to know how to swim."

Kim's eyes lit up as Marinette said, "Oh wow, I never knew that." This then gave the bluette an idea as she quickly pulled out her sketchbook and started drying and outfit. Tsugiyoshi rolled his eyes in amusement at this as Michio chuckled.

Misaki was a little curious by this one Michio explained, "Dupain-Cheng-chan wants to be a fashion designer one day, so she sketches whatever comes to mind or if she sees something that inspires her. Seems like you gave her an idea for an outfit."

This made Misaki smile as Tsugiyoshi stated, "But if that doesn't work out, she has a backup plan of taking over her parents' bakery."

Marinette frowned, stop what she was doing, carefully placed her pencil down, and effectively punched Tsugiyoshi in the arm.

"Ouch…" Tsugiyoshi said dully as he rubbed his now sore arm.

Marinette quickly went back to drawing as she muttered, "You are such a pessimist."

Tsugiyoshi grumbled out an, "I'm a realist, not a pessimist."

Michio chuckled out a, "Could have fooled me." Making Mylène giggle.

Ken ended up breaking the mood by asking, "What's a pessimist?"

~}i{ At the Agreste Estate }i{~

Gabriele was going over colour palette designs for his and Adrian's formalwear for the embassy party and he wanted them to be ready for it. For that, he specifically told his staff that he wanted absolutely no interruptions unless it was of the utmost importance or an emergency.

"|::|Cyan would be nice for the ties and cuffs, but then it'll be too bright and distracting from the rest of the outfit,|::|" Gabriel muttered to himself as he used a stylist to tap the colour edit on the tablet to adjust the colour in question to something a bit more in tune with the rest of the outfit. Maybe obsidian blue would be a better choice.

Nathalie entered the office with a knock.

Gabriel glanced up with a glare when he said, "|::|I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed unless it was important.|::|" he then turned his attention back on the tablet.

Nathalie placed her hands behind her back when she said, "|::|It is, in it regards Adrian.|::|"

Gabriel sighed when he said, "|::|I thought I instructed you to get him to stop that "moody phase" and administer his history test.|::|" The fashion designer really couldn't understand why his son continues to be in such a mood.

"|::|That is part of the problem,|::|" Nathalie said, before taking a deep breath and relaying as commonly as she could, "|::| Adrian is not in his room.|::|"

Gabriel froze at these words. He glanced up again and ordered, "|::|Search the entire mansion then. He's probably hiding someplace to avoid his test.|::|"

Nathalie took another deep breath before saying, "|::|The staff did, twice.|::|"

Gabriele let the tablet slip from his fingers and landed on his lap the stylus hit the ground with a 'clank' and then rolled on the smooth surface. The fashion designer but the tablet to his lap when he ordered, "|::|Find him! He couldn't have gone far!|::|"

"|::|Yes sir,|::|" Nathalie said before she left to carry out the order.

Once gone, Gabriel slumped in the chair he was in with it exasperated sigh. Now the fashion designer didn't understand why his son was doing this, this, this "acting out" thing, but it was certainly unbecoming of both the Agreste.

'Why, Adrian, why!' Gabriel thought as he rubbed his face. He had done everything he could to protect his son. Why was he putting himself in danger by leaving the estate? Gabriele couldn't lose his son too, not after what had happened to his beloved wife…

Gabriel had to think. Where would his son go if he wasn't in the mansion? Book flight back to France? If so, which airport was the closest?

The fashion designer quickly dialled Nathalie's number, as soon as she answered he said, "|::|Nathalie, pull up the flight manifestoes for the nearest airports that are departing for anywhere in France, and send someone to those airports to see if Adrian is at any of them, NOW.|::|"

"|::|Understood,|::|" Nathalie replied before hanging up and pulling up the flight information.

Gabriel was going to have a nice word with his son when he gets back.

~}i{ Back at School }i{~

Adrian looked at his phone with glee. His contact list practically doubled within the past couple of minutes. Adrian now had Kashii Eiji's number, Yuuki Nanashi's number, Rahifee (Lahiffe) Nino's number, Barule Ivan's number, and Kuruzuberugu (Kurtzberg) Nathaniel's number. The male model gave the group his number and Nino already made a group chat with all the numbers, aptly entitled "Rad Red". The group chat name earned a few smiles.

Eiji told Adrian that Michio would be willing to be his friend if he asked him. Do what Adrian said that he wanted.

All too soon, the five-minute warning was given. Now all the desks had to be returned to their original locations.

This allowed Adrian to talk to Michio, maybe even get Dupain-Cheng-kun's number.

"Eh? Sure, why not," was the response the glasses-wearing ravenette gave the blonde model when he asked.

"Really?" Adrian was surprised by how easy the response came.

Michio nodded when he said, "Yeah, I don't mind being friends with you. Besides, if Eij-chan thinks of you as a friend, then that's good enough reason for me."

"Eij-chan?" Adrian question in confusion.

Marinette popped by and said, "Oh, that's Tsukui-kun's nickname for Kashii-kun. Oh and just so you know, only Tsukui-kun can use that nickname with Kashii-kun, so don't even bother trying to use it."

Tsugiyoshi, who was sitting in his chair, then added, "It's kind of one of those weird things that come from being childhood friends. Me and Mari-chan have a boatload of crazy quirks." With that, a carefully balanced her sketchbook on Tsugiyoshi's head. When the grayette realize what was happening, he tried to pull away and effectively letting the book fall right onto his face before landing in his lap. This earned so smiles, chuckles, and giggles from the classmates that just happened to have seen it.

Alya couldn't help but comment as she recorded the whole thing, "You two are more sibling-like then childhood friends. By chance, would that happened to be true?"

"Nope, we just know each other as siblings," Marinette said as Tsugiyoshi handed her back her sketchbook.

Adrian couldn't help but think that this was the best day of his life. He happily added Michio's and Marinette's numbers, and he gave them his. Tsugiyoshi snagged the phone from the blonde model's hands and started clicking away on it. This, of course, causes Chloé to go on a rant about how media was to just take "her Adrikin's" phone. Tsugiyoshi effectively ignores her and return the phone in a few short minutes. Adrian was very confused by this until he looked at his phone screen. The grey-haired teen had just typed in his contact information into the blonde model's phone.

Adrian gave Tsugiyoshi a slight nod over Chloé's rant. The grey-haired teen saw, returned the nod, and then yawned.

Yep, this really was Adrian's best day ever.

~}i{ Outside the School, Right across the Street from the Building }i{~

Wang Fu and Duodecuple stood in the shadows of the surrounding buildings as they watch the classroom that held there are three new miraculous wielders.

"Not bad choices, eh, Wang, Duodecuple said as he watched the students in the class scurry to their seats.

Wang Fu cracked a smile as a little green turtle-like kwami floated by his year when s/he said, "I sense that those three already have a strong bond with their respective kwami."

"So it seems," Wang Fu said as he tapped his chin in amusement. He then directed his attention to Duodecuple and asked, "I'm aware that the Juuni are "picky" about their wielders, but do you have any idea on how you're going to find any candidates for the remaining 11?"

Duodecuple held out another small miraculous box and opened it carefully, revealing a dark purple Panja bracelet with a golden cat par print on the main bead/Jim, under the lid, was the symbol of the Tiger. With a mischievous smile on his face, Duodecuple said, "I have an idea for one particular Juuni."

~}i{ Back in the Classroom }i{~

Kanae suddenly sneezed, making a couple of her classmates' to jump.

"Not still contagious, are you?" Ryouka asked as she watched the dojo heir sniff.

Kanae scoffed and stated flatly, "You think my dad would let me out of the house if I were still remotely sick?"

The reply was pretty much unanimous; nope. Kanae's father wouldn't have let his precious daughter and heir out of the home if he thought she was sick.

That was when Adrian felt his phone vibrate. As much as he wanted to look at what was sent to him, he knew he couldn't do that during class.

~}i{ At the Agreste Estate }i{~

Nathalie had just sent a text to Adrian that read, "|::|Adrian, where are you? I know you are not in your room or anywhere in the mansion. Your father is furious with worry and he just wants you home. Please Adrian, just tell me where you are.|::|"

Gorilla stood nearby as he watched the assistant tap her chin with her phone in a worried manner. Nathalie had just heard back from the staff that checked out all of the nearby airports, they had no new information to report. Which meant that Adrian wasn't trying to return to Paris.

"|::|Where could Adrian be?|::|" Nathalie asked out loud in a worried tone before she left her room, leaving the bodyguard alone.

Though no one had asked him, Gorilla had a few ideas about where Adrian could be. He then thought back to when the blonde model learned that he was finally going to attend school in Japan and then remembered that disappoint a look on Adrian's face when he realized that he was just doing the curriculum at home. Gorilla tapped his chin a few times, trying to remember the name of the school that Adrian was supposed to attend. Snapping his fingers in realization, he then pulled out his phone and searched for the school. When the bodyguard found it, he tapped on directions.

Now having a map, Gorilla left the estate and followed the directions to the high school.

~}i{ Back at School, Classes Ended, Cleaning Starting }i{~

This time, Tsujiie-sensei insisted that Chloé and Sabrina stay in the classroom until everything was clean, much to the two's dismays.

But nevertheless, the cleaning went as scheduled in the class had some interesting news for the transfer students.

"After school clubs?" Adrian, Misaki, Nanashi, Sabrina, and Chloé asked in confusion.

Marinette happily explained, "After school clubs are groups of students that gather after classes have ended and do stuff that they have a shared interest in doing. Like art, knitting, baseball, basketball, science, and so on. As long as you have at least three students, an advisor for a club, and the approval from the school, the club can be about anything."

Tsugiyoshi then added, "Sensei should be handing out the list of already established clubs after we're done. If you want you can join one of those, or ask how to create your own. Though some of the clubs might be in the middle of selecting a new captain so they might not be allowing new members to join until they have a captain."

"Why would they be needing new captains?" Sabrina asked in confusion.

That was when Kanae explained, "Some of the captains from last year were in their final year of high school and have since then graduated, thus leaving the captain slot open if they haven't already chosen a replacement or didn't have a vice-captain. *Now in a cheery tone*. Lucky for the judo club, they still have me to lead them again this year~."

"Oh yeah…" Some of the nearby students vocalized in relatively the same tone.

That was when Michio said, "That reminds me. *Looks at Eiji*. Don't have to head to the kendo clubroom later today to do an inventory check?"

Eiji nodded and said, "Yes, but I cannot imagine it taking me longer than an hour. But I was assured by the rest of the kendo team that they would lend a hand."

Michio chuckled at the comment when he stated, "Yeah, I figured. They just love you too much." This made Eiji smile a bit.

Once the cleaning was done, Tsujiie-sensei did indeed hand out the players for available clubs. He then said, "Though I'm sure the club captains here could explain better than me, but since I'm the teacher I have to say this. Now that enough time has passed since the first day of school, we will now have the clubs allow new members to join or start a trial stay."

Marinette quickly explained that a "trial stay" was a trial period for students that are insured if they wanted to join a club or not.

Just as Tsujiie-sensei was about to go over the athletic teams and the tournaments they participate in, a student from one of the other classrooms suddenly opened the door. The student boldly shouted, "Aira! I challenge you for the captain's seat of the judo club!"

The class was silent for a bit before Tsujiie-sensei said, "Can that wait for a couple of minutes? I'm still going over clubs."

The student was big and tall, had messy black hair, dark eyes, and wore the school uniform. He then said, "No, I want to challenge Aira-kun for the captain's seat now!"

Nanashi was the one to ask as he turned to the person in question, "Aira-kun, what's he talking about?"

Kanae then explained, "While most of the non-sports clubs elect their captains when it becomes vacant by voting, the sports clubs have a one-on-one match between the two best players. Whoever wins the match becomes captain of the club. The challenge will differ depending on which sports club you're in. Since I'm in the judo club, we decide our captain by a basic judo match."

"But, if you are already the captain of the judo club, why is he *points at the student in the doorway* asking for a match for the captain's position?" Misaki asked curiously, trying to understand the situation.

Marinette then explained, "The judo club has the tradition of having "Captain's Challenge Matches". It's when a member of the judo club can challenge the current captain for the title. The goal of the challenge is to knock the opponent out of bounds, not them unconscious, or make them yield. Winner either remains captain or becomes captain."

Chloé scoffed and said, "How barbaric."

Everyone gave the blonde French girl a look.

That was when Kanae side and said to the student the doorway, "I'll accept your challenge, but you're going to have to wait until sensei finishes up with the club explanation. Just be patient, alright."

That was when the student in the doorway notice the transfers and said, "Ah, so it was your class that got all the new kids. I'll tell sensei that."

Kanae nodded and stated, "Please do, 'cuse if you don't I'm sending you into next week." It was a little unnerving how she made that thread sound so casual, but she made a point as the judo club member nodded and scurried off.

With that, Tsujiie-sensei continued the club explanation. He happily answered any questions regarding the topic.

It didn't take long until the explanation was finished in the class was ready to head on out to the gym where the judo club was holding their captain's challenge match.

This allowed Adrian to check his phone and the message that was him. After reading the text from Nathalie, he texts back, "|::|Why should I tell you anything? You always tell father everything, so you're the last person I want to talk to. I'm just sick of being caged up in that mansion.|::|" Adrian was sure that his father would restrict his freedom, even more, when he returns home but in the meanwhile…

"Is everything all right, Agreste-san?" Tsujiie-sensei asked the blonde model in a slightly worried tone.

"Uh, it's nothing," Adrian said with a fake smile, hoping the teacher would buy it.

Tsujiie-sensei narrowed his eyes a bit before saying, "Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm willing to listen and I'm sure one of your new friends would be willing too."

Adrian smiled for real this time.

That was when the Tsumita twins called for bets on who would win the captain's challenge. The response was pretty much unanimous.

Tsujiie-sensei sighed at this while Adrian blinked in confusion. Nino decided to explain this, "Those two are always trying to make a quick yen, whether it's betting on who will win in a game or scamming other students. Anything that'll make them money they'll do, and most of their scams get them in trouble with the teachers."

"That would be an understatement," Tsujiie-sensei said with another sigh. He was sadly used to those twins' antics.

That was when Eiji stated, "Though I cannot say that they will be making much this time. It is the judo club's challenge."

Michio rested his hands on the back of his neck and stated, "Yup, she's going to knock him on his ass."

As they headed towards the gym, Adrian asked in utter confusion, "Wait, you think Aira-kun will win? But the Challenger is twice her size."

Marinette giggled as Tsugiyoshi snorted when the bluette said, "You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover, Agreste-kun. Kanae-chan has never lost a single judo match and she took the position of captain during her first year here. Plus the captain then was nearly 3x her size."

Adrian couldn't believe what Marinette was saying. But there was only one way to see if what she said was true.

Soon the entire class and the judo club were in the gym to watch the match. The PE teacher being the referee for the match. At the moment the two challengers were wearing gis, white with yellow trimmings.

Unbeknownst to everyone inside the gym, they had one extra person watching the match from outside.

"Match, Start!" The PE teacher called, raising both hands into the air, signalling the two participants to start.

The Challenger immediately charged at Kanae, who was still in her starting pose.

The next thing to happen made Adrian think that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Kanae used her opponent's momentum to throw him over her shoulder, and easily smashing him to the floor on his back. When he didn't move after a solid minute, the referee checked on him. See that he was unconscious, the PE teacher declared Aira Kanae the winner.

The French transfers couldn't believe what they had just seen! A petite teenage girl had thrown a tall bulk the teenage boy as if he weighed nothing!

Tsugiyoshi noticed the hanging jaws on them and said, "Aira-kun's parents run the Aira Dojo. From what I've been told, it's been in the family for generations. She's the current heir to that dojo, so her father had pretty much trained her in judo since she could walk."

"Wow, just, wow," was all Adrian could get out. While he didn't believe what happened was real, he was still glad that he left the estate to witness it. It was these experiences outside the gilded cage that Adrian wanted to experience, even if some of them were a little hard to believe.

"Agreed," Eiji said softly, causing Adrian to look at the dark-haired teen. To the blonde surprise, there was a soft smile on Eiji's face, like he was admiring the dojo heir.

Michio notice the look on his friend's face and said with a sigh, "Really Eij-chan, you still got that crush on her?"

"So? I like her, it is not that strange," Eiji stated regaining his composure, but with a small tent of pink on his cheeks.

Michio closed his eyes, placed his hands on the back of his neck, and said, "Not saying it's a bad choice, but I just don't find girls act like gorillas attractive."

Eiji narrowed his eyes at his friend and stated sternly, "Michio-chan."

Suddenly, and angry or surrounded the vicinity. When they turned to see where the source of it was, they saw a very angry Kanae standing there and cracking her knuckles. "What did you just call me, Tsukui?" The dojo heir asked with venom that could kill a lesser warrior.

Despite the aura of anger, Michio just said in a relatively calm tone, "Oh, you heard at that. My, I never would have expected you of all people to eavesdrop, *smirks* Ko~ne~ko~(8)."

The angry or erupted into a raging inferno at that.

With an amused smirk on his face, Michio bolted. Kanae immediately took chase. Leaving the rest of the students groaned out either, "not again," or "already?" or "seriously?"

Misaki was the one to ask, "Um, does Tsukui-kun always antagonize Aira-kun on purpose?" Nanashi simply watched the glasses-wearing teen play keep away from the enrage orangette.

Marinette sighed when she said, "From time to time, and never in the classroom. I honestly don't know why he does it."

Tsugiyoshi yawned and said, "Well, what do you expect from a cat and a dog?"

"Cat and dog?" Adrian asked in confusion, not understand why the reference was being used.

That was when Alya scrolled through her phone as she explained, "What Tsugiyoshi-chan means is that their family crests have the animals in question in them. The Aira's family crest has a tiger with trees while the Tsukui's family crest has a wolf with a full moon. See?" She then showed the Yuukis and Adrian the two family symbols on a phone.

"Oh, that explains the cat and dog reference. A tiger is in the cat family while a wolf is in the dog family," Nanashi said before looking up at Kanae, who was still chasing Michio, and adding, "Though it seems like the "cat" is chasing the "dog" in the situation." The others nodded in agreement.

After a sharp turn, Kanae raised her fist to throw a punch. But the punch never landed on its target.

Kashii Eiji caught Kanae's fist, stopping her in her tracks, and stated sternly, "Aira-kun, please control your anger. You of all people should know just how strong your punches are, and you can do some serious damage." Kanae growled as she yanked her hand away from the stoic teen, who then turned his attention to his friend and also stated in a Stern tone, "Michi-chan, you should know better. I know I have told you dozens of times to quit antagonizing Aira-kun like that."

With the smirk still on his face, Michio raised his hands and feet and said, "Fine, I understand. Besides, not like the hissy koneko has a re-track on those claws."

"Why you!" Kanae growled out, she nearly jumped on the glasses-wearing teen when Eiji stopped her.

Eiji then shot a clear at his friends and said sternly, "Michi-chan, I'm being serious."

"All right, I'll stop, Eij-chan, I'll stop," Michio said as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Thank you," Eiji replied before glancing at Kanae, who scoffed and trudged away without much as a word.

Outside the gym, Duodecuple saw the entire thing.

"So, what do you think, Roaar?" Duodecuple asked the floating dark magenta cat-like kwami with black stripes and large orange eyes.

The magenta kwami watch Kanae's storm into the girl's locker room and said, "Aside from being a little easy to provoke, she might be able to wield the Tiger Juuni easily enough."

"That is all I need to know," Duodecuple said with a smile plastered on his face.

A student walk by the window. Once the student passed a completely, Duodecuple in the kwami work on.

~}i{ After School }i{~

"I am serious Michi-chan, why do you antagonize her?" Eiji asked his friend as he placed a box of wooden swords onto a shelf.

Leaning on a nearby wall, Michio replied, "So you can show-off that impressive strength of yours."

Eiji paused, looked at his friend, and said, "I do not follow."

With a humorous chuckle and a sigh, Michio said, "Eij-chan, the Aira family has this "tradition" of only allowing strong individuals to "court" their children especially their heir. It's all a whole different issue if the Aira kids are doing the courting."

Eiji raised a brow when he asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Michio raised his brow and amusement when he said, "You obviously like Aira-kun and you're strong enough to stop one of her knockout punches, so you might be a good candidate for her to date, according to the Aira traditions."

Eiji was quiet for a bit as his face turned pink. He then said in a soft tone, "I do appreciate your efforts to help, but I adamantly disapprove of your methods of doing so."

Michio shrugged and amusement when he said, "Hm, it was worth a shot at least. But I understand, I really will stop pestering your little koneko."

"Michi-chan!" Eiji warned, turning a nice shade of red.

"I'm not going to call her that to her face anymore, just around you," Michio snickered out as he continued to tease his friend.

Eiji could hear the faint sound of Stompp snickering from the inside pocket of his blazer.

~}i{ With Adrian }i{~

Gorilla found Adrian at the closest corner near the school. This gave the bodyguard some relief to know that he was right.

"|::|Did Nathalie or father send you?|::|" Adrian asked both ashamed that he's been caught and worried about the outcome.

Gorilla shook his head.

Adrian bit his lip when he asked, "|::|Did you… Notify them that you were coming here or that you found me?|::|"

Gorilla shook his head again.

"||:|Are you going to let them know that I was sneaking out to go to school?|::|" Adrien asked now worried that he was never going to see his new friends ever again.

Gorilla did not shake his head nor did he not. All he did was point to Adrian.

"|::|You want me to tell them?|::|" Adrien asked in shock.

Gorilla nods.

Adrien adamantly shook his head and said, "|::|No Way! They'll never let me out of the mansion! I've actually made friends, I'm socializing with others my age, and I like the teacher. I'm not letting father take that away from me!|::|"

Gorilla placed an oversized hand on Adrien's shoulder.

Adrien sighed and said, "|::|Can you at least let me sneak back in so I can change clothes?|::|"

Gorilla gives a small smile and nods.

With that, they headed home.

~}i{ With Tsugiyoshi, Alya, and Marinette }i{~

"I'm serious, why did Tsukui-kun antagonize Aira-kun like that? If it weren't for Kashii-kun, he would've been pounded into the dirt," Alya said as she checked her Ladyblog.

"That's an interesting point," Tsugiyoshi noted before asking, "Have either of you noticed that Tsukui-kun always taunts Aira-kun into attacking him whenever Kashii-kun's around?"

Marinette thought about it for a bit before saying, "I have actually since it's always Kashii-kun that always saves him from Aira-kun. But I don't think that Tsukui-kun would use his best friend like that, they know each other too well for that kind of antic."

That was when Alya asked, "So then why does Tsukui-kun do it then? Because I doubt he likes Aira-kun the way Kashii-kun does, heck he pretty much admitted that he doesn't like Aira-kun."

That was when Tsugiyoshi realized something and said in a rather surprised tone, "Wait, maybe because Kashii-kun likes Aira-kun, Tsukui-kun antagonizes her!"

"Huh?" both girls vocalized at the same time as they stopped in their tracks in confusion.

Tsugiyoshi stopped to explain what he meant, "My mom is good friends with Aira-kun's mom and I remember her talking about an old Aira tradition. In this tradition, the Aira will only allow strong individuals to court their children, mostly daughters."

"Old school, but what does it have to do with Tsukui-kun taunting Aira-kun into attacking him?" Alya asked, not quite understanding how the new information applied to the current situation.

Marinette thought about that for a bit before finally realizing what her childhood friend was implying and said, "Oh, wow, Talk about being a good friend." Tsugiyoshi nodded in response.

"Huh?" Was all Alya got out.

Tsugiyoshi glanced at Alya and said, "Think about it. Tsukui-kun knows Kashii-kun and knows he likes Aira-kun in that way. He probably knows their traditions, so…" He let the ombre girl put two and two together.

Alya's eyes widen when she finally realized the truth and exclaimed, "No!"

Marinette nodded and said, "Yes, I'm pretty sure that's why Tsukui-kun is trying to help Kashii-kun hook up with Aira-kun by tricking her to go all out on him so Kashii-kun can use his strength to stop her, and to show Aira-Kun that Kashii-kun is strong, just what the Aira family traditions ask for." Tsugiyoshi nods at this.

Alya couldn't help but say, "No way! I'm surprised that Tsukui-kun would do that. I mean, Aira-kun is in exactly his favourite person, and vice versa. So…"

Tsugiyoshi started walking when he said, "Try not to blog about this or you'll be on the receiving and of Aira-kun's wrath."

The two girls glanced at each other. Well, it was a good point.

They followed Tsugiyoshi as Marinette said, "I kind of think it's sweet that Tsukui-kun cares for Kashii-kun that much that he'll put aside his dislike for Aira-kun so his friend would be happy." The grey-haired teen only yawned at this.

~}i{ With the Two Guardians }i{~

"You have found another wielder for the Juuni?" Wang Fu asked Duodecuple as the Green turtle-Mike kwami with an antenna floated nearby.

Duodecuple grinned and said, "I have, and I do believe that she shall be a worthy tiger."

~}i{ With Aira Kanae }i{~

"AAAA-CHOOO!" Kanae sneezed out as she got to the corner street of the dojo she lived at. She sniffed before she continued home as she thought, 'That mangy Tsukui better not be talking about me.' She disliked that guy, and it didn't help that their fathers seem to be good friends.

As she walked up the pathway, Kanae that brought her thoughts back to earlier, when Eiji caught her fist as she was about to pummel Michio. She knew that she could break bones, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Kashii-kun's hand would be hurting for a while. But…

'He didn't seem to be in any pain during or afterwards…' Kanae thought as she took her shoes off and slipped on a pair of comparables slippers. She then brushed it off with a scoff.

As far as Kanae was concerned, Kashii Eiji was just some rich boy from her class. Okay, yeah, he wasn't anything like that Bourgeois girl but Kanae never knows how he acts behind closed doors. Even if he was able to hold up against her, defensively at least.

Kanae then headed up to her room. She had homework to get done.

~}i{ At the Agreste Estate }i{~

Agreste Gabrielle was utterly furious at his son. Not only did he leave the estate without his permission but he also shirked off his studies! Absolutely unacceptable of the Agreste name! Currently, Gabriele was scolding Adrian about disobeying his orders.

"|::|The Tokyo Tower is surprisingly similar to the Eiffel Tower back in Paris,|::|" Adrian said as he looked at his phone, reading an article on the Tokyo Tower.

"|::|Adrian!|::|" Nathalie scolded as she tried to take his phone, but he pulled it away before she could and pocketed the device. The teen then folded his arms when he saw his father glaring at him.

"|::|I have been very patient with you about this "phase" of yours, Adrian,|::|" Gabriel stated sternly, barely catching Adrian glaring at his father. The fashion designer then said, "|::|But running away and leaving the house with my permission is a different matter entirely!|::|"

Adrian rolled his eyes when he said in a very sarcastic tone, "|::|Oh, so you don't like it when someone disregards your words, gee, how novel.|::|"

Gabriele now out his eyes when he said in a very stern tone, "|::|Adrian, I'm warning you. Pull a stunt like this again and there will be consequences.|::|"

Adrian scoffed when he hissed out, "|::|Oh, like what? Not letting me out of the house? Keep me in my room? Prevent me from seeing any of my friends? Deny me my favourite foods? Newsflash, father, you already confine me to the house and my sanctuary from you, Nathalie, and modelling IS my room, and since I don't leave the house I have no one but Gorilla to call a friend. Though I doubt you'll keep him away from me. And since not giving me my favourite meals would be just childish, I highly doubt that would be considered a punishment.|::|"

Gabriel was utterly flabbergasted! He has never heard such a tone from his son before. Gabriel quickly recovered and said, "|::|I can always cut back your modelling shoots.|::|"

Adrian rolled his eyes and shook his head when he said, "|::|That wouldn't bother me one bit. Honestly, father, if that's your best idea of a "consequence", I'll just go to my room and go to sleep.|::|" With that, Adrian stood up and promptly left the living room, without so much as a second glance at his father.

Gabriel stopped his son by placing a hand on his shoulder and said, "|::|Adrian, you listen to me-|::|"

Adrian slapped his father's hand away and snapped, "|::|Why should I? You never seem to listen to me, father!|::|" With that, the blonde model stormed off.

Gabriel wasn't sure what was happening. He turned to Gorilla and ordered, "|::|You stay outside his room tomorrow and make sure he stays there, understood?|::|"

Gorilla nodded.

With that, Gabriel and Nathalie left the living room. Gorilla sighed and shook his head as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"|::|Why should I? You never seem to listen to me, father!|::|" Adrien's voice emitted from the recording app on the phone.

Gorilla sighed again. It was becoming painfully obvious to the bodyguard that he seems to be the only one in this estate who interacts with Adrien regularly that was worried for both father and son.

~}i{ Wth Marinette and Tsugiyoshi at the Dupain-Cheng Bakery }i{~

"Wow, you already finished the visual assortment for the food?" Marinette said as she looked over a rough sketch Tsugiyoshi made to show which food goes where for the French/Japanese Embassy Welcome Party. The bluette looked at her friend and said, "I'm surprised you got this done so quickly."

Tsugiyoshi yawned and said, "That's just the first rough draft. Ojichan and Obachan (9) are still working on what goods they should make, including their famous blended sweets." The grey-haired teen then glanced at the baked goods that were currently on display and asked, "Did the embassy even asked what kind of goods they wanted or they trusting Ojichan and Obachan with the whole thing?"

Marinette handed the drawing back to Tsugiyoshi and said, "I think that's up in the air right now. The embassy is still confirming attendees and any dietary restrictions, so we don't have too little or too much food and that no one goes into anaphylactic shock."

Tsugiyoshi hummed out a "Good point… They're not going to ask for that snail's dish, are they? Because I know you don't make that in the bakery."

Marinette giggled and said, "No, they aren't going to ask for escargot, Yoshi-chan."

Tsugiyoshi shrugged and said, "I figured I ask anyway."

Tikki softly giggled from his/her hidden spot as s/he watched his/her ladybug interact with her friend. That was when Tikki thought, 'I wonder if Great Guardian Duodecuple would be all right if I 'recommend' Tsugiyoshi for a candidate for the Juuni?' Tikki then watched as the grey-haired teen waved goodbye to the bluette and left the bakery. Tikki then flew into Marinette's room to wait for her there.

Once Marinette walked into her room, Tikki greeted her.

That was when the bluette asked with downcast eyes, "Tikki, are you sure I can't tell Yoshi-chan? I know he won't tell anyone."

Tikki shook his/her head and said, "Marinette, you can't tell anyone your Ladybug. It's for their safety and well-being. You also can't tell the other Miraculous or Juuni holders either."

Marinette sat on her bed as Tikki floated over as she said, "I know, but he'll find out eventually. Despite how he acts, he's very smart, and he'll notice that "Netty-chan" isn't around when "Ladybug" is. What I do then?"

Tikki thought for a bit before saying, "Maybe if Great Guardian Duodecuple finds Tsugiyoshi-kun worthy of the Juuni, then he can know."

Marinette raised a brow at that when she asked, "What do you mean by that? You keep saying that I'm not allowed to tell anyone who I am, even the other Miraculous Heroes."

Tikki smiled and said, "The Juuni are a bit different."

~}i{ With Kashii Eiji at the Kashii Home }i{~

"You keep telling me that Stompp, but can you explain it a little better on why the Juuni are different from the other Miraculous?" Eiji asked the floating ox kwami as s/he ate and origiri. The teen was currently laying on top of his bed, keeping an eye on the purples sprite, more so to make sure the kwami doesn't leave any crumbs.

The kwami swallowed what was in his/her mouth and said, "Well, besides the compatibility thing… Well, I guess there's also the fact that sometimes the Juuni can't be activated all the time and the Will of Trust."

"Will of Trust?" Eiji question as he sat up on his bed.

Stompp nodded and said, "Yes, the Juuni's Will of Trust is basically when both the wielder and the Juuni can truly trust one of the other Miraculous or Juuni holders with their true identity."

"Really?" Eiji questioned in an intrigued tone, then asked, "Will I know when this "Will of Trust" happens?"

Stompp smiled and said, "You will and you'll know instantly."

Eiji thought about that for a bit.

~}i{ Back with Marinette }i{~

"Really? So if Yoshi-chan becomes a holder of the Juuni and he has his "Will of Trust" with Ladybug, it would be all right to tell him?" Marinette asked, eyes wide with glee.

Tikki nodded with a smile.

That was when a problem entered Marinette's head when she said, "But wait… Who's this Duodecuple-san and how would he know about Yoshi-chan?"

Tikki thought for a bit before saying, "I don't know in all honesty, but Great Guardian Duodecuple has always been able to find suitable wielders for the Juuni, whatever his methods may be."

This put a smile on Marinette's face.

~}i{ Right outside the Dupain-Cheng Bakery }i{~

Duodecuple was standing across the street from the bakery in question as the sun started setting. Once let the sun had completely disappeared, the Guardian of the Juuni started walking down the sidewalk to the Aira dojo.

~}i{ At the Sumino Residence }i{~

Tsugiyoshi was laying on his back in bed as he fiddled with his phone. He was currently on the Ladyblog, scrolling through the videos that Alya posted looking for one particular video. Once he found it he clicked on it and fast-forward it until it got to one particular part, the part where Ladybug was kneeling next to Ivan.

Tsugiyoshi hit the play button and the images moved. Ladybug smiled as she patted Ivan's shoulder when she said, "Ushii-san does have a point. If she likes you the way you like her, I'm sure she'll accept your feelings, Ivan-kun." The teen hit the pause right there and rewind it a bit. "She'll accept your feelings, Ivan-kun," Ladybug said before he hit pause again and skimmed back a little bit. "Ivan-kun," The hero in red said over the phone speaker.

That was when Ivan's voice asked, "How did you know my name?" That was when the teen hit paused.

"I agree with you, Ivan-kun, how did she know your name?" Tsugiyoshi asked out loud to no one in particular.

~}i{~

To be continued in Chapter 2.

~}i{~

1) Arigato gozimatsu is Japanese for "thank you very much".

2) Otaku is the Japanese word for geek or nerd with an obsession with one particular specification, usually anime, manga, or technology.

3) Yeah, pretty obvious who this guy is. Since the time of writing this story, any Miraculous fan already knows this person's identity. But, to those who don't, or don't follow the Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, I will save that surprise for you guys when I get to that part in the story. Therefore, please do not comment on this guy's true identity (Evil persona is fine, just not civilian ID) so that there won't be any spoilers, thank you.

4) I know that in English Hawkmoth says, "Fly away my little Akuma and evilize him/her!" However, the rough translation from French actually means "blacken their heart". While I know a lot of people reading this that are Miraculous fans are used to and like the term "evilize", I however actually prefer the "blacken their heart" term better, so I'll be using that in the story. Sorry Miraculous Fans, but it is my story.

5) I'm just going to go with that the miraculous powers and their kwamis can understand and speak any language when being wielded for this.

6) Oh, come on, considering all the character alterations I did for the Juuni Taisen characters, for both the hero and civilian personas, you Miraculous fans really think I wouldn't take the opportunity to do a few minor appearance alterations to our favourite ladybug and black cat heroes to make it harder for the characters in-story to guess the hero's identities.

7) Japanese onomatopoeia (the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).) for a heartbeat. Doki-doki is mostly used as an expression for romantic encounters (e.g. being around this person makes my heart beat faster).

8) Koneko is the Japanese word for Kitten. In this story, Kanae absolutely hates being called that.

9) Ojichan and Obachan are terms for Uncle and Aunt, respectively, that both casual and familiar. In this case, Tsugiyoshi knows Marinette's parents as if they were his uncle and aunt.

~}i{~