My Miraculous, UNLOCK! A PSL for a Ladybug in Japan.

[amu_chan]

After settling in, Tom and Sabine would have given Marinette a surprise gift, since they could tell that she hadn't fully wanted to come overseas on this trip. So once they were settled in they gave her an envelope. Inside was a concert ticket for the next night and some spending money to buy herself either something to wear for the concert, or cloth if she wanted to make something herself, since the air B&B they were staying at had a sewing machine. They would be at the concert too, since it was a strange city in a foreign country and all, but they assured her they would be sitting several rows back.

They totally weren't going so Tom could spy on if she was flirting with any Japanese boys, NOPE! Not at all. She can't prove it.

Anyway.

So she would be given an afternoon with some money and a map to wander if she wanted to, so long as she was home in time for dinner. There might have been threats that if she was late coming back for dinner they would spend the whole concert glued to her side, but that was probably a joke. Right?

It was cold outside, late December snows keeping some people indoors, so the streets weren't too crowded, but that made it that much easier to catch hints of conversations from the people who were out. Teenagers and kids were talking about school, and sports, and the upcoming concert which seemed to be a big deal. The two main acts were a boy band called Darts and a singer named Utau. There were subtle advertisements here and there, but at least one shop window had a pair of posters for them. Darts was all cookie cutter boy band, and on the young side. Nothing like the energy someone would get from a Jagged Stone poster. It looked like SAFE had been the key word for the design team.

The poster for Utau however....

The girl in the poster couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen, and the babydoll black dress and the blond pigtails should have made her look soft and safe as well. Should have made her look young, even with the tall heels she was wearing. But there was nothing comforting or cookie cutter about the poster of her. Everything from the look in her eyes to her stance seemed to act as a warning. Or maybe that was just because Mari knew Chloé. Just from the image she seemed to have all the attitude Chloé tried to have. But what held people going by was the expression on her face. The eyes. Where all the boys of Darts were smiling brightly at the camera, and thus the passer bye, her violet eyes held a challenge, her lips a slight down turn that might remind one of Gabriel Agreste at his more irritated. As though the photo shoot, or perhaps the audience, was a waste of her time.

In fact, some of the people passing by would comment, and Mari could hear them, about how she was so pretty, why wouldn't she smile, or about how her music was so good you almost didn't care that her poster looked like it hated you. A few guys starred dreamily at the poster, though.

One boy, maybe 19 or so, stopped near Mari, eyeing the poster for a moment, his eyes cool, his face blank, hands in his pockets. Unlike everyone else, he hadn't bothered with a winter coat, wearing an all black outfit with small silver crosses here and there. He had short dark blue hair and for some reason might aaaaaalmost remind her of Chat, though there was no logical reason for it. Tikki, however, would sense something from him. The boy didn't seem to notice Mari at all, however, and would turn and walk off again after only a moment, seeming bored.

And he wouldn't be the only one Tikki would sense something odd about. Not five minutes later, three girls would be passing, huddled in their jackets. Two of them looked about a year or two younger than Marinette, the third looked a year or two younger than that. The youngest looking one had brownish hair in pigtails that DID make her look younger, but the barrettes might have something to do with that. Big red bows. She was also bouncing a bit as she walked, and all her mannerisms made her seem young. Of the other two, one had shockingly pink hair with a red X hair barrette over one small lock that was pulled up over the rest, and bored seeming gold eyes. She was hunched into her black and red jacket against the cold. The third had long purple hair Juleka would have loved and kind eyes, along with small kind expressions. She moved with a gentle grace, small fluid motions, and her jacket was well tailored to her and looked very feminine in style and cut. Very well made. The other two were clearly wearing off the rack coats, hers looked custom designed for her.

The youngest was talking animatedly. "Are we going to Utau's concert this time too, do you think? Should we ask Kukai and Tadase at school tomorrow?"

"Do we have a choice, after last time?" The pink haired one grumbled.

"Hmmm," the purple haired one said. "We probably should go. Let's bring it up at the meeting, alright?"

She looked like she was about to say something then looked around, scowling. She stared at Marinette for a moment then looked past her, before turning to the purple haired girl. "Where are Ran and the others?"

"I think Kiseki said something about training, they'll be along." And with that the three kept walking.

But not only would Tikki sense something odd from those three, the pink haired one the most, but.... something the pink haired one was wearing or carrying under that coat and scarf, hidden from sight, was something that Tikki would feel like a wave of power. As if she had just eaten one of the macarons with an enhancement potion in it. Something that girl had with her would make Tikki feel strong and amped up... but it wasn't any feeling she'd recognize.

Comments

[amu_chan]

"Unless you'd rather help with the paperwork..."

Amu jumped up and grabbed the new girl by the arm almost dragging her away from the table as she sped away. "Training it is!"

[coccinelled]

"I...Unless you wanted it all in French, your paperwork....ah?"

Marinette almost tripped as she is dragged by Amu, gesturing for Tikki to follow. They had to stick together, transformed or not. So of course she doesn't want to leave Tikki, especially in another country and all.

"So um. Are we training while transformed or.....?" Because she hasn't really gotten to do that. Given her Miraculous has a time limit once she has used her Lucky Charm and all. That and, her identity being secret to all the others meant she couldn't just go meet up and train with them normally.

[amu_chan]

"Up to you," Amu said, panting. "I just don't want to do paperwork. OR train with Kukai..."

[coccinelled]

"Well. I get enough practice fighting with being Ladybug. But I guess it couldn't hurt to train outside of being transformed. Just in case."

Because she never knew when things might get dangerous. And she often wasn't already transformed until after she knew there was someone running around with their akumatized state. So it was probably a good idea to try and train a little more as Marinette. Just in case she found herself needing to deal with things until she had a chance to transform.

[amu_chan]

She nodded. "So.... how should we start? Like... racing or something?"

[coccinelled]

"A race seems simple enough? I'm not sure we might want to go too far though. Maybe just....to the next couple street lights or something?"

Because they should probably stick close by to the others still. And this place wasn't too crowded, so it gave them plenty of space for a fun, friendly race together. And if they stuck nearby, Marinette was less likely to potentially get lost, for that matter.

[amu_chan]

"Maybe out of the Garden, around the school grounds?"

[coccinelled]

"You would probably need to lead the way so I don't get too lost. But sure."

A race was simple enough. And as long as they didn't go too far it should be fine, with Tikki in her bag and all, so Marinette knew the kwami was safe and hidden. She had done some gym classes even back home and all. She was more of a klutz outside of being Ladybug but even she could manage a race. Probably.

[amu_chan]

Ran bobbed over to the, "Chara change or no?"

Amu looked at Mari. "Up to you."

[coccinelled]

"Not this time. Maybe next race if we fit in two while the others are busy."

Not that she doesn't like running along rooftops and all with using Tikki's ability to transform her. But it seemed to her it was best to try train as Marinette for now. Especially given the stares she had gotten and the concert. The more she kept a low profile in Japan, the better.

[amu_chan]

"Alright, but I stink at athletics without help."

"We represent your potential, Amu, anything you can do with our help you have the potential to do on your own," Miki said, sagly.

Amu snorted rudely.

[coccinelled]

"I just....want to see how I can manage training without Tikki. I'll probably be following behind you anyway since you know the area better. Just don't go too far ahead without me and let me get lost."

Marinette says with a shrug. She got practice enough while transformed for now, she figures at least. But as Marinette she could definitely train. Try to do more and improve her chances of managing as a civilian until she can figure transforming when necessary.

[amu_chan]

She shrugged, stretched a bit, then started running. She was about average for her age.Maybe a drop faster, but not much. For leg length, Marinette would have her beat. On the other foot... Amu isn't nearly as clumsy.

[coccinelled]

Marinette isn't necessarily the best, but she is competitive at times, and she can be stubborn and determined. Not that this necessarily always makes up for her being such a klutz outside of her transformations to Ladybug. But she still tries, managing well enough in keeping up for the most part, at least initially.

[amu_chan]

So they do decently well. She'd collapse on the grass at the end, panting a bit.

[coccinelled]

"That was...pretty good! I only tripped once. And I pretty well kept up with you."

Letting the other lead because of course she knows the way around better than Marinette. Given Marinette wasn't exactly local or anything. And she didn't want to race while looking at her phone for the map or whatever. That would have just resulted in her tripping up all the more. So it seemed safer to just keep herself slightly behind the other to let her lead around the school.

[amu_chan]

Have a weak glare as Amu tried to catch her breath.

[coccinelled]

"So I guess that's you telling me we're walking back to meet back up with the others then."

And not racing. Given Marinette was still catching her own breath a little as she chuckles sheepishly, she doesn't mind that too much. She simply takes a sip of her water bottle from her bag before she gets back to her feet more. A hand stretches out in offer of helping Amu up.

[amu_chan]

"Nah," she said, taking the offered hand. "Still easier than Kukai's training though. How about just a little chara-change for the run back?"

[coccinelled]

"I'm pretty sure we wouldn't get far without people probably stopping and being curious if I transformed."

Since people here weren't used to Ladybug. That was both good and possibly a negative with the attention it granted while also possibly gaining her more popularity and attention from Papillon possibly figuring she was here. Let alone the attention the other might get as a more familiar heroine of sorts around Japan.

[amu_chan]

She frowned confused. "I said chara-change not chara-nari...."

[coccinelled]

I...still have a lot to learn about these chara, huh?

[There was only two states that Marinette was aware of with Tikki. Either she wasn't transformed and was able to feed and chat to Tikki and carry her companion kwami around in her bag during the day. And there were the times she needed to transform, either into her usual default form or using the powered states, such as the aqua transformation to swim underwater. It depended on the situation.]

gyah wrong colour last post.

[amu_chan]

"You can't chara-change but you can chara-nari?" she asked, startled and a bit stunned.

It's okay.

[coccinelled]

"I don't know? I just mean, Tikki can help me transform, like I showed you, but otherwise unless I get her to help me transform, I don't have access to Ladybug's powers. If that's what you mean?"

She isn't quite sure on the terms. Things were a little different, with the chara in comparison to how things worked with the kwami, for all that they were kind of similar in some ways.

[amu_chan]

"Chara- change is when your chara takes over a little bit and you get a little extra ability from them. Usually against your will," she added, glaring at her charas. Ran found the sky interesting, Miki was drawing. Su just smiled sweetly.