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Being a student of Francois Dupont's Akuma class was never easy. Constant attacks interrupted the lessons, making it impossible for their teachers to keep up with the material. The students were assigned with more homework than they could handle. Study groups met almost every weekend in the library, which opened especially for them. Every single member of the class cursed Paris' supervillain to heavens. Even the mayor's daughter, who was cause of at least one akumatization every week.
No one would join them willingly.
… but not one of them wanted to leave willingly either.
The reason?
They had knowledge! Knowledge that moulded them together like nothing else could ever achieve. Something special only granted to the members of this class. A privilege others would spent a fortune on having.
But really, who would want to leave, knowing Paris' two superheroes were learning literature and science along with them?
Alix remembered it like it was yesterday. Not a surprise considering what revelation it had brought with it. It wasn't every day you find out two of your classmates are Ladybug and Chat Noir! Their beloved heroes, who save the city almost every day!
It had been an accident on Marinette and Adrien's part. They defeated an Akuma right outside the school grounds, during lunch time. Expecting their classmates to still be in the cafeteria, they returned to Ms. Bustiers room, to detransform. But since the alarm had sounded, as usual, all of them where inside to take shelter from the attack. (Thinking about it, Alix wondered if those two even knew they were supposed to gather there, since they always had to run off as soon as they heard about an attack.) All in all, Ladybug and Chat Noir stood in front of the teacher's desk, staring with big eyes at their gathered class, when the timers sounded their last and they turned back into Marinette and Adrien.
A lot of freaking out happened on that day. Some parts of the room's interior might have been damaged in the chaos. Ms. Bustier hadn't been happy, when she finally entered half an hour later. She never learned what had caused her students' reaction.
The following days had involved a lot of class meetings and questioning. The last part mostly by their resident reporter, who couldn't believe her BFF was freaking Ladybug! And she hadn't even noticed! Chloé, surprisingly, only grabbed Marinette right on the first day to disappear off the earth for a few hours. The next morning, her behaviour took a great leap into a more tolerable direction. She regularly glanced at their class president with badly hidden admiration in her eyes.
Looked like the idol part hit heavier then the baker's daughter.
Not that Alix couldn't understand her. She had troubles bringing both parts of either hero into one person, as well. Their personalities in and outside the suit were entirely different. Where Marinette was nervous and clumsy, Ladybug was confident and graceful. Where Chat Noir was flirtatious and punny, Adrien was quiet and kind.
Of course there were a few traits both sides had and just expressed themselves in different ways. Marinette's knack for leadership, for example. Or Adrien's gentleman side. Those were pretty obvious.
Alix found herself already looking for them shortly after everything calmed down again. This made her notice Marinette's Ladybug moments, whenever an adult decided to be difficult, or someone threatened one of her friends. It also made her look out for Adrien's Chat Noir moments, when he was so at ease with his friends, that the puns just kept coming.
This attentiveness made her the first of her classmates to notice a few... more unusual traits.
It happened on a Monday morning, like any other. Alix was early as usual, since she liked to banter with Kim before class started. They always compared their accomplishments of the weekend. This time, it seemed like he had been more active than her. Not a surprise. She had to look after her brother Jalil on Saturday, since her father had gone on a day-trip to one of his fellow museum directors, outside the city. Ironic, if you asked her. He was the older one, after all. But he also tended to do stupid things, when no one was there to reign him in.
With this handicap, she couldn't go out skating as much as usual and for once, Kim actually won one of their bets. It certainly didn't lift her mood.
She rolled her eyes at his over the top bragging, her gaze falling on the blond figure standing with Alya and Nino by the door, at the motion. An idea formed in her head and she smirked.
“Since you're obviously so much better than I am,” She interrupted the taller boys lengthy description of how he did fifty laps in the pool without getting out of breath, “why don't you show it by sneaking up on our model boy? I say you can't even touch him, without him noticing you!”
Kim, competitive as he always was, didn't hesitate to take the bet.
Alix settled her head on her hands and observed as he stood and slowly crept over to where the three were talking. Well, tried more than everything. His tall frame was too big for the desks he hid behind. He even stumbled over a step which made a girlish squeak escape from his lips. Alix had to hold back not to laugh too loud. His only saving grace was that Adrien seemed to be deeply focussed on the conversation with his friends, or he would've lost the bet right then and there. She was glad he didn't, cause otherwise the following situation would never have happened.
He made it as far as standing right behind the cat themed hero in civilian clothes, Alya and Nino already sending him questioning glances, as he reached out with one hand to touch him. Before his fingers could even brush the white designer jacket, there was a movement as fast as lightning. The next moment, Kim laid on the floor, confusedly blinking up at the ceiling.
Alix' mouth fell open. Did that really just happen? Had their Sunshine child really just thrown Kim over his shoulder?
She wasn't the only one shocked. Adrien himself took a moment to take in the situation, body still bend, arms outstretched. Alya and Nino with wide eyes.
“Oh Kwamis...” He muttered as realization dawned over his face. “I'm so sorry, Kim! I didn't want to... You just surprised me and... ” He reached down to help his classmate up, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassed. “I couldn't help it. My brain immediately jumped to 'Akuma!', when I sensed something standing behind me.”
Alix couldn't hold it back any longer. She began to full out laugh.
It was the story of the day. Everyone wanted to know all the details. Adrien sunk his head every time it was mentioned. Especially when Marinette sent him a raised eyebrow.
“Don't send anyone into hospital, kitty.”
“Sorry, M'lady.”
It was the first and most noteworthy, but not the only incident. Alix observed several times, in which either Adrien or Marinette jumped when someone unexpectedly appeared next to them. Motions of in defence raised arms and bend legs to gain distance, abandoned as soon as they were begun, visibly suppressed through conscious thought.
It showed how much the instincts gained as their superhero selves carried over into their everyday life. And how hard it was to act normal, once those ingrained themselves into their beings.
Alix did not envy them of their responsibilities. And she was thankful for being aware of what her two friends went through every day to protect them.
As the Ladyblogger, Alya was the most informed in her class, when it came to the intensity and amounts of Akuma fights Paris had to deal with. She regularly chased after them to get some good footage.
Which meant she was also aware of how much time in the day they consumed.
After learning her heroes' identities, (Which had been the best day in her life, cause her BFF had been Ladybug the whole time! So cool!) she immediately sat down and created a new class chat without the two of them. She wanted to make these things clear to everyone. It explained so much about their friends' unusual behaviour and bad excuses, she didn't want her classmates to think anything else.
What she didn't expect was for them to come to her on their own accord and want to know how they could possibly help their friends with their burden. It showed once more, how deep the bond of the so called Akuma class was. They might be prone to emotional attacks, triggering more Akuma attacks than necessary, but they held together when it came to protecting one of their own.
The most asked question was how they could prevent more akumatizations amongst their own ranks. And while Alya wasn't an expert when it came to emotions and psychology, she did her fare share of research right after. They decided on some methods they wanted to try out, going to the next if they shouldn't work. Their classroom gained a few comfort items the very next day, provided by an anonymous person. Everyone new it was Chloé, since the blond always pretended to be interested in something else when they were mentioned, but no one pressured her about it.
The chat slowly but surely became their way of informing each other about the latest news concerning their resident heroes. Whether it was the most recent Akuma attack, or someone catching them on one of their late-night patrols. They liked to know how the heroes were doing or when they had a bad day, so they could make it easier for them, even if just a little bit.
Soon, they developed a code for that. Complete with numbers and colours and symbols and things like that, so they wouldn't have to read through a giant wall of text to get the daily updates. The Akumas got 'levels of pure frustration' in stars, with one being another Mr. Pigeon and five something like Syren. The colour showed how long it took. Green was only a few minutes, red several hours. Blue the usual. And emojis were used for what kind of Akuma it had been. Riposte for example would get a rapier, Pixelator a camera.
It became a ritual for Alya to update the group chat as soon as she ended her livestream of an attack on her blog. Most followed that one anyway if they could, but having it all ranked by someone who was there was a lot more reliable.
It worked incredibly well. Soon, someone always uploaded their notes from a lesson into the main class chat, whenever Marinette or Adrien (most of the time both) were missing. They held their usual antics back, when the two looked like they would rather be anywhere but in class. And they planned extra study sessions to explain topics to them, if it seemed like they struggled to understand them. The last didn't happen that often, because they were incredibly smart and had missed so much school already due to their secret life, they had learned to study on their own.
What surprised Alya the most, was the weekly spa-day Chloé offered the class. No one was obligated to come, but they were welcome to spent a few hours relaxing in her pool every Saturday. Marinette was seen there the most, obviously forced by the mayor's daughter. But in a 'you need some you time once in a while' way. Alya was glad she wasn't the only one looking out for her BFF any more. The young designer always declined any offers from the reporter of spending a weekend outside of Paris to clear her head. She had the responsibility to be there when an Akuma attacked, so she couldn't leave the city for more than a few hours. It was harder to get the rich blonde off your back, as soon as she decided something, so Marinette had no choice but to comply.
She would say, everything was going great!
...until the late-night Akumas started.
Alya liked staying up late. It was her most productive time when it came to writing new posts for her blog. But she was also always up early to read new comments and watch the news before school.
It was why she was the first of her class to know of the attack that happened at one a clock that morning. Some drunk person didn't like that his escort found another man more attractive than him. He turned into another version of Dark Cupid. It took Ladybug and Chat Noir two hours to show up. Most likely because they had been asleep themselves. Then another one until they defeated him.
Apparently, falling asleep after being on an adrenaline high, fuelled by magical superpowers, wasn't easy, cause they had two zombies in class on that day.
It didn't end there.
The late-night attacks became a weekly thing. Then twice a week. Then more than once a night...
The mood in class dropped noticeably, since some woke up from the noise when the Akuma was in their area. But no one could rival the dark eyebags of their resident superheroes.
One morning, Alya woke up to a message on her phone. The news app, with an article about that nights attack. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she read the headline:
'Four Akumas in one night! How long will our heroes be able to take this?'
It was almost on autopilot that she collected the stats and posted them in the group chat. All of them four stars. All of them going into red. Nora noticed how worried she was, but she ignored her sister in favour of getting to school as fast as possible.
When she arrived at the classroom, she was greeted by an unusual sight. Unusual for this hour of the day at least. The shapes of Adrien and Marinette sitting in the last row, leaning half on top of each other, dead asleep. They probably didn't even go back home after the last Akuma, judging by the clothes they wore. (Her blue-haired friend might be scatter brained and clumsy most of the time, but even she wouldn't forget to change out of her pyjamas. And she was pretty sure Adrien's father would never let him leave the house in anything but Gabriel brand designer wear. But she had to admit, the Chat Noir and Ladybug themed nightwear were kinda cute. Probably made by Marinette.)
She snapped a quick picture and sent it into the chat to inform the others of how gravely the situation was today. (It would also find a nice place on her desk. To always remind her of the drawbacks of being a hero, she told herself.)
The first to enter the room after her was Chloé. She sent one look at the sleeping teenagers, before throwing her hair back and strutting to Alya. “This is getting ridiculous!” She said quietly, careful not to disturb them. “Utterly ridiculous! Hawk-guy is running them ragged if he continues like that.”
“Yeah.” Alya shrugged. She was getting used to this new Chloé. “But I don't know what we could do to stop him.”
“We'll just have to keep doing, what we're doing. Support them out of the suit as much as we can.” The blonde glanced at the reporter. “You're already doing a lot with keeping the class in the loop about everything. Otherwise they would have it a lot harder.”
“You're also not holding back with your support.”
“Everything to help Ladybug out. ...it's the least I can do after all the Akumas I've caused.”
That last comment stunned the Ladyblogger and when she was able speak again, the other girl had already sat down.
Good to know Chloé understood her own actions better and tried to redeem herself.
A few more of her classmates filtered in, all sending worried looks at the back and sat down as quietly as possible. Nino joined Alya at the front, since their respective seating partner was out for the count.
“Mylène is taking notes today.” He informed her. “Alix helps if it gets too much. Sabrina and Max are on Ms. Bustier shift and Ivan brings some blankets and a few pillows.”
“Good. That should give them at least a few hours of rest.”
“Hopefully. I'm just glad we can do something. Imagine if we didn't know about it. We would be completely oblivious to our friends' struggles.”
And wasn't that something to think about? Alya would like to argue, that she would've noticed her BFF having difficulties. But that would make her a liar. She wasn't sure she would've seen it, between school work and the large amount of Akuma fights she had to cover for her blog.
She didn't get the time to dwell in the What-ifs. Ms. Bustier entered the room behind the rest of her classmates, shooing them to their seats, since the second bell was about to ring. (Alya hadn't even noticed the first.) Ivan gave his fluffy package to Nathaniel, who was closer to Marinette and Adrien and made it more comfortable for them. At the same time, Sabrina distracted their teacher, so she wouldn't become aware of their sleeping classmates.
If nothing drew her attention to them, a whole hour could go by before she even noticed them. It had happened before, just with them missing completely.
(Ms. Bustier might be a good teacher, but her situational awareness could be better.)
In the end, it all could have been in vain. Because the second the bell chimed, the door to their room was ripped open. In came a breathless Kim, grinning from ear to ear and exclaimed in a booming voice.
“I was still on time!”
Everyone immediately shushed him, but it was too late. The resting bundle of exhausted superheroes sprang up at the loud noise. Adrien jumped onto the table, crouched, with one hand ready to call for Cataclysm and Marinette scrambled out of the seat, instinctively reaching for the yoyo usually resting on her hip. They blinked blearily, when there was no Akuma coming for them, but a class of students looking sorry and a confused teacher.
“Did we fall asleep?” Marinette mumbled, falling out of her stance and sinking down onto the bench again.
“Looks like it.” Adrien didn't even try to climb down, he just stretched himself out on the pillows, like the cat he so regularly was. Marinette joined him by using him as the pillow. Seconds later, they were passed out again.
The class shared a collective sight of relieve. They already feared to have taken the much needed rest from them. Kim grinned sheepishly and mouthed an apology while he marched over to Max. “Forgot to check my phone.”
“Could someone explain to me, what is going on?” Ms. Bustier wanted to know with a raised eyebrow. Thankfully she talked only loud enough so everyone could understand her. That were obviously some very tired teens and she wasn't strict enough to make it harder for them, than it already was.
“Sorry Miss.” Alya took charge, having an excuse at the ready. “The Akumas tonight were very close to their homes. They almost got no sleep at all, so we thought they could catch up a little in class.”
“Oh... okay. Just don't make it a routine. They should stay at home, if they are this tired.” It was way too easy.
“Sure.” No promise. The next time, she just wouldn't notice it again. The determination glimmering in everyone's eyes told her that.
Alya was glad, she knew about her friends' daily superhero work. It felt good to repay them for regularly saving the lives of everyone in Paris, (maybe even the world, depending on what Hawk Moth planned to do with the Miraculous) even if it was just a little bit. They had it much harder than she ever would have imagined.
And if she secretly freaked out every time she remembered that her best friend was the Ladybug, superheroine of France, that was her own business.
Ivan was not one to express his emotions much. He learned at a young age that due too his huge size, people tended to leave him alone, as long as he wasn't an open book with his feeling. So when he first noticed his love for Mylène, he was so afraid of a negative reaction and the following bullying he would probably receive, he kept it to himself.
Then Kim found out and the whole Stoneheart thing happened. Ladybug and Chat Noir saved him, Marinette told him to express his feelings and Stoneheart happened again, so he was again saved by the two new heroes.
It wasn't the greatest day.
...until Mylène said she loved his song. Ever since then Ivan was grateful for the spotted heroine and her catlike partner for bringing them together. And in the back of his mind also for Marinette for suggesting the idea. Because without her, the things after would never have been set in motion.
When Marinette and Ladybug were revealed to be the same person, the tall boy couldn't help but want to pay her back for everything she had done for him.
Yeah, he did not show his emotions much. This made him the polar opposite to his much more expressive, blonde classmate, who always liked to tell everyone how much she loved them.
Rose could be difficult to deal with if you don't like being touched. She always went in for a hug when she was grateful, or happy, or sad... all the time, actually. And he didn't say that he hated them. They were comforting. If you had a bad day, one embrace from her could make everything seem brighter. He had needed that magic power of hers more than once already. It always worked!
The problem was something different.
Ivan was aware, that fighting Akumas every day could change you. He had been there at the incident with Kim and Adrien. A normal person wouldn't react by throwing someone over their shoulder, just because you're suddenly standing behind them. No those were reflexes drilled into your brain by avoiding attacks and fighting for your live. (Hawk Moth wasn't kidding with the opponents he sent after Ladybug and Chat Noir. Some of those were dangerous enough to end someone's life with a single hit. And Adrien had already taken a few of those to save Marinette.)
He'd also kept an eye on them during the late-night Akuma phase. Which had thankfully stopped shortly after those four Akumas in one night. He hadn't given the two of them much longer before they fainted mid-fight. Immediately expecting an attack after being ripped from sleep wasn't a healthy response either. Alya informed them over the group chat, that she still had to be careful with waking Marinette, whenever they had a sleepover.
All of that was why he expected something to happen, the moment he saw Marinette absent-mindedly draw in her sketchbook and Rose, full of energy like usual, approach her. Ivan stood immediately. For a second, he wasn't sure what he was going to do, or what exactly he needed to prevent, which cost him precious time. Time he didn't have.
Rose reached Marinette, a huge grin on her face, as she spread her arms wide and literally crashed into the young designer. “I love you so much, Marinette!”
Everyone else would've laughed, hugged her back and appreciated Rose's open personality once more. Marinette wasn't everyone else. She was Ladybug! A superheroine who fought everyday against crazed people to keep the pair of magical earrings, she dutifully wore all the time, out of the hands of a megalomaniac. While wrapping her arms around said superheroine, Rose's hands accidentally brushed one of those very same earrings.
Even Ivan, from his position a few feet away, could see the way Marinette froze.
The first thing he expected was for her to rip herself away from the other girl, maybe push her back or throw her like her partner had done before. It would have hurt Rose and then Marinette would've felt guilty and apologized the rest of the day for an instinct she wasn't able to suppress. It would have been okay, because Rose knew about that problem. She just tended to forget these things sometimes.
He didn't see Marinette's eyes unfocussing, her breath hitching and her muscles completely locking up, until she was trembling.
He recognized a panic attack when it was hitting him in the face like that.
Rose backed up when she noticed something was wrong. By that point, he'd already reached them. He threw a pen he'd snatched from his desk at the model boy absorbed in a conversation with Nino, who caught it without even looking. But it attracted his attention enough for him to see his lady was in distress. Nothing could hold him back then.
After that, it was a blur of Adrien calming Marinette down by repeatedly telling her a mixture of 'I'm here, M'lady!', 'No one will try to get your Miraculous!' and 'Tikki is safe!'; the tiny red ladybug goddess doing everything to catch her attention and help her take deep breaths and Rose apologizing for having caused this. Even Plagg, who they had come to know as a self-absorbed, cheese-loving ball of pure delight – note the sarcasm – was a purring, comforting weight on Marinette's shoulder.
No teacher turned up, thankfully, because they had no idea how they should explain the magical creatures among them, if one did.
Ivan hovered close by in case he was needed, but kept enough distance to not crowd his youngest classmate. That could only make it worse and her closest friends were already taking care of her. He was glad he could get their attention fast enough, before she dissolved into a full blown panic attack.
Secretly, he decided not to let anything like this happen again.
Ivan wasn't an open book when it came to his feelings. But he was observant and could read them very well on other people. If this skill could help make their days a little easier, he would gladly use it for their heroes and always remind his classmates of the little things they might have missed.
There were many things the Akuma class had to change, when they found out about the secret identities of Paris' protectors. Some of them made their lives more complicated. Alya had to keep the class updated. Chloé did everything to get the two of them to have a little fun and the rest split up several different things, from note taking to pillow shift, to make it easier for them.
Interactions had also needed a revision. Especially after the incident with Kim and the one with Rose not much later. Unexpected loud noises had been banned whenever the two heroes were particularly exhausted or otherwise not completely there. They didn't want anyone to end up in hospital. It had been a chore for Kim and Alya, who liked to give their excitement voice. The fact of possible injury was pretty persuasive though.
There were also a few good things coming with the reveal. You could even say they were great, but that would depend on the person. One of them was the fact, that everyone immediately knew their new classmate Lila Rossi was lying, when the claimed to be Ladybugs best friend.
She probably had expected from them to grovel at their knees to become her friends. Instead they just simultaneously raised an eyebrow, turned to Mari who looked like she'd never seen that girl before in her entire life and then shot the liar down immediately.
Suffice to say, she was the only one to willingly transfer out of their class. She didn't even stay for a whole week.
So yeah, they could identify people who pretended to be close to Ladybug and Chat Noir, because they themselves were close to Ladybug and Chat Noir. And if there ever were any doubts, a simple glance or a short text message could clear up any misunderstandings.
Even better was something else though. Since the two heroes didn't have to hide their secret identities in front of their classmates any longer, there was no need to have their Kwamis stay out of sight all the time. They just needed to hide fast enough as soon as someone came in through the door, but they had practice in that. People not giving any indicator before entering a room hadn't started only in the last hundred years after all.
Kim liked Plagg a lot. The little devil loved to play pranks to everyone, by suddenly appearing behind them, or shuffling their things around when they weren't looking. Whenever someone was missing something, they sent an eye-roll into the direction of the Kwami of Destruction, knowing it was his fault again. Only Tikki giving him a disapproving stare could make him give it back. Or someone bribing him with cheese. (Adrien telling him he would not buy him Camembert was also pretty effective though.)
Since then Kim always had a small stash with him. That way he could make the cat-god help him with teasing Alix, if she dominated him in one of their bets again. Which happened more often than he would like to admit. His parents were already frowning at his unusual consume of this particular milk product. But he didn't care. He loved having someone else who enjoyed a good joke.
Tikki liked holding conversations with the kids in Ms. Bustiers class. They were quite intelligent for their age and they tried to help Plagg's and her holder to carry the burden of being a superhero. They could've completely ignored that whole side of the business and just focussed on the fact they had the protectors of Paris in their class. They even could've spilled it to TVi news or posted it on their media accounts.
No. They decided to keep it to themselves, even go through the trouble of organizing a system.
Yeah, Marinette might not have noticed that little bit, but unlike her Chosen, Tikki wasn't half asleep when her classmates acted. She could hear their conversations. She also immediately went to Alya to thank her on Marinette's behalf for setting it up, offering her own help by, for example, snatching the blue-haired girl's phone and informing Alya of anything, if there was the need.
So yes, they might be called the Akuma class by everyone else. And they might have a harder life than normal teenagers should have at that age. But they loved being able to help their heroes! To know them behind the mask! To tell themselves, they had done a little something to protect their city as well!
They wouldn't trade this for anything in the world!