Chapter 12: New Things

(A/N: Oh, what fun this chapter is going to be!)

(Marinette's pov)

Five days later, on Friday, May 13th, I planned to introduce Ann and Ryuji to the Kwamis and give them a Miraculous. I decided that to get the best results, I let the Kwamis decide. After all, Akira is a natural black cat! Tikki said it herself:

"Choosing Akira might have been one of Plagg's few good choices." Tests were almost over too, soo that's a plus. But, imagine my surprise when there was an assembly that afternoon.

"What's this about?" I asked my friends. We were gathered in the gymnasium, waiting for it to begin.

"Don't know. But, ten yen says that the principal is trying to repair the school's reputation." Ann said.

"Oh, that? I thought that died a week or two ago!" I said. Ann giggled at my comment.

Everyone then quieted down when the principal came on stage. The bald, obese man that was the principal of Shujin Academy started to talk about ever since the Kamoshida incident, the school has been concerned with the students' mental health. I stopped listening about a sentence in, knowing it was all B.S and that he was trying to salvage the school's dead reputation. But when he said the word therapist, I was intrigued. Maybe, this school is going in the right direction! When the guy came on stage, I didn't know what to think. Some of the girls around my friends and I started to whisper about how hot he is.

Yes, the man is quite good looking. But, he's probably in his late twenties or early thirties! Control yourselves, ladies! He greeted everyone with an amusing yet calm voice. After fixing the mic (which had turned of for some reason), he introduced himself as Takuto Maruki. He said that he was just at the school to counsel anyone interested. He then tried to bow but bumped his head on the mic, like an idiot. I know it's mean to think of him as an idiot, but the noise that the microphone made was horrendous. After that, when all the students were gone, Akira, Ann, Ryuji, and I hung out in the courtyard.

"Never expected this place to give a s*** about our mental health," Ryuji commented.

"The school is all over the national news. They had to do something to make sure that the school's rep is somewhat salvageable." I said.

"And Doctor... uh... Doctor Whatshisname!" Ryuji said.

"Maruki," Ann said.

"Yeah, him! Do you really think he'll do us any good?" Ryuji asked. Just then, the man himself came up to us out of nowhere!

"Ryuji..." Ann sighed.

"Hey there," he greeted. He looked us over for a few seconds before saying more.

"You two must be Takamaki-san and Sakamoto-san, right? And you two must be Cheng-san and Kurusu-kun." He said. We were all surprised at the fact that he knew our names. When Ryuji asked how Maruki knew, he told us that he was notified of several students to keep an eye on due to the Kamoshida incident before coming to the school.

"Why was I brought to your attention?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I was told you liked to hang out with these people despite their pasts, rumors, and other negative aspects," Maruki told me.

I sighed... was me hanging out with my friends really that surprising?

"So, What do you want with us?" Ryuji asked.

"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten. I know I already offered my services to the student body, but would you four be interested in counseling?" Maruki asked. I was interested, but Ryuji spoke first.

"Nope, not at all." He said bluntly.

"Ryuji-kun, I think this will be very good for us!" I said to my blonde friend.

"There will also be free snacks!" Maruki put in.

"Tell me more about these snacks," Akira said. I giggled at that comment.

"Hey! Don't fall for that, you two!" Ann scolded us. I love my friends so much! After some more talking with the new counselor, we agreed to at least one counseling session each. Akira talked to Maruki a bit more in private while Ryuji, Ann, and I went to the front gates.

On the way, I invite them over to my apartment to hang out.

"Sound cool, gonna have to call my mom first," Ryuji said.

"Yeah, let me call my parents too," Ann said. We stopped at the front gates to wait for Akira. Ann and Ryuji called their parents to tell them about my invitation, and I took out my phone and texted Akira.

~~+~~

Hey, Akira!

What is is?

So, I'm gonna tell Ann and Ryuji about my "Special Jewelry."

Oh, Really?

Yes, I think it'll be useful in the future.

I better see this!

We're waiting for you at the gates!

~~+~~

I put my phone away at the same time Ann and Ryuji did. After waiting for another minute, Akira walked up to us. My friends and I made our way to my apartment in Shibuya. On the way, thoughts swirled in my head. I wondered what Miraculous my two blonde friends would have. I was curious to see what their reactions would be to my secret. If I'm being truthful, I wanted to relive my early days of Ladybug. I wished to jump from rooftop to rooftop with my friends again without a care in the world! But, I left those days behind, as I did with Paris. I am now a new girl in Japan, showing my most classified secret with my closest friends. I hope that the Miraculous will be helpful in the future.

(Time skip! Brought to you by Plagg eating cheesy curry!)

(Third person pov)

To say Ann and Ryuji were surprised would have been an understatement. Ann nearly shrieked when she saw the miniature gods and Zodiacs. Ryuji scrambled away and put his back against Marinette's living room wall. After calming their friends down, Marinette and Akira explained what they were seeing.

"Wait! So these... things... are gods and Zodiacs as living beings. That can give a fraction of their power to humans that wear specific accessories when the human says certain words in a particular order?" Ann said.

"That's one way to put it... but yeah," Marinette said.

"That's cool and all... but why are you showing this to us? This has gotta be your most protected secret ever!" Ryuji asked, a questioning look on his face.

Marinette sighed and started to explain.

"You guys are my friends, and I trust you with my life. We've been to the Metaverse and fought side by side. We've all seen some messed up stuff in our lives. I want to give you guys a symbol of my trust in the form of a Miraculous. I already gave Akira one, the ring of the Black Cat, it's the silver ring he's wearing." Akira held up his right hand to show off.

"I have one too, the Ladybug earrings," Marinette added, showing them to Ann and Ryuji.

"The Miraculous do work in the Metaverse. Actually, they are even more powerful in the Metaverse! So... what do you say?" Marinette asked.

Ann and Ryuji looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, we can't refuse after a speech like that!" Ann said.

"Also, having superpowers in real life outside the Metaverse? Where do we sign up?!" Ryuji said.

"Here's the thing... you don't choose your Miraculous... The Miraculous chooses you!" Marinette told her two blonde friends.

"What do you mean?" Ryuji asked.

"Well, the black cat Kwami, Plagg, chose Akira, and he's a natural with the Miraculous! So, I figured that to get the best results... I let the Kwamis pick their wielders!" Marinette explained.

"Okay... let's do this!" Ryuji said. Just like that, all the Kwamis (except Tiki and Plagg) flew around the two blondes. After a few minutes, most of the Kwamis retreated back to Marinette. All, except two, Pollen and Xuppu. The bee and monkey Kwamis floated around the two blondes with curiosity. Pollen hovered close to Ann and started to talk to her.

"What's your name?" Pollen asked.

"It's Ann Takamaki," Ann responded. Meanwhile, Xuppu did the same with Ryuji.

"Who are you?" The monkey Kwami asked.

"Ryuji Sakamoto, little buddy!" Ryuji said. Both Pollen and Xuppu looked to each other, smiled, and zoomed over to the Miracle box. They pulled out their Miraculous and handed them to Ann and Ryuji. Marinette looked happy with this.

(Marinette's pov)

So... the bee and the monkey... This should be good. I started to explain the powers that come with the Miraculous.

"Ann, the power of the bee is very straight forward. It's called Venom, and it allows you to immobilize any living thing for a short time. Ryuji, I should warn you that the monkey is a little chaotic. The power is called Uproar. It can allow you to throw a toy-like idem at your enemies and disable their abilities for a short time. I trust that you'll use these powers responsibly." I say to my two blonde friends.

"You can count on us!" Ryuji said, putting on the golden circlet.

"Yeah! Also, the ability to immobilize and disable opponents? These will be so useful in the Metaverse!" Ann said, putting the comb in her hair.

"Oh, and one more thing!" I said.

"For the Bee Miraculous, you need to say, "Pollen, Buzz on!" to transform and say, "Pollen, Buzz off!" when you want to change back. For the Monkey Miraculous, it's the same thing, but you need to say, "Xuppu, Showtime!" and "Xuppu, Naptime!". Makes sense?" I say. The two blondes nodded.

"Great! Let's start practicing then!" I said, grabbing the Horse Miraculous. I teleported my friends and me to the island that Akira trained at. Ann and Ryuji transformed when we arrived. Their costumes were similar to mine and Akira's in the way that they were formal wear. Ann wore a yellow 1950's style dress with black stripes, complete with yellow and black gloves, tights, and heals. Ryuji wore a messy, brown, and yellow suit. Loose tie, unbuttoned jacket, just really untidy (here are the links: https://www.wattpad.com/949803163-the-fighters-concept-and-design-the-new-bee https://www.wattpad.com/949803484-the-fighters-concept-and-design-the-new-monkey).

And just like Akira, my blonde friends were naturals with the Miraculous. Ann (known as Honeybee) was quick and accurate with Venom. Ryuji (known as Kong) was fast and surprising (Akira had a hard time dodging). By the end of it all, I was glad to have shown the Miraculous to my fellow Phantom Thieves. Each Miraculous seems to fit them like a velvet glove. I can't wait to see how the Miraculous helps us in our Phantom Thievery!

(A/N: Well... This took longer than expected!)