774/Suspicions staved

Suspicions staved
Date of Scene:	16 November 2023
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	Cure Wukong sees a dark figure in the night and attacks them, only to discover they're Cat Noir! Fortunately, he doesn't take it personally.
Cast of Characters:	Adrien Agreste, Cho Konishi

---

Adrien Agreste has posed:
There were days that things were tense when it came to being a hero. Fights, combat, helping save people. Then there were days when it was just... Utterly... boring. Cat Noir had more than a few of those under his belt from the times Hawkmoth had either gone into hiding or simply opted not to be a thorn in his side in Paris, and it was moreso now in Japan. At least there were other things he could hop in on to help with on occasion.

Just. Not today.

Today Cat Noir was hopping from one rooftop to another just stretching his legs, getting a bit more familiar with the territory, aaaaand hoping beyond hope that MAYBE something exciting might show up.

It hadn't so far, so he ends up finding himself lingering near a street vendor selling yakitori and other delicious smelling things-on-a-stick that had him pausing considering getting a snack. No harm in a snack right? "Maaaybe just one."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong was out and about, leaping from roof to roof because...

... Okay, it was just fun. She could sense dark eenrgy, so it wasn't like she really NEEDED to be running from roofto roof. But it was good exercise and legitimately fuuuuun. She got to be all 'whew, whew!' as she jumped off one roof, sometimes she'd even pole vault and launch herself up fifty feet or so in the air, then land and...

... Okay, so she was a bit childish. It likely had to do with being Wukong, though. She always felt so much more FREE when she was Wukong. Possibly it was Wukong's influence. Or possibly it wasa suddenly having POWER! Either way, she was having fun.

So when she landed on a roof, she was running and then... She caught sight of someone running in the dark! LEH GASP! For a moment she thought they were someone on her side, a heroic figure! Except...

They were dressed all in black. Hidden in the night, hard to see. They HAD to be a villain. THAT was the only explanation. What hero would wear all black?!

... Nevermind she met some who did that. Ironically, she'd met this one. She just didn't realize it.

But now that she saw trouble, she didn't dare ignore it! "Halt, evildoer!" Cure Wukong's voice called out... Moments before she descended on him from above! With the Wukong Elbow Drop!

Adrien Agreste has posed:
All black with very green eyes that just sliiightly glow when the light catches right. Sure they could be mistaken for lenses over his mask, but it was easy to see up close that his transformation HAD given him completely green eyes with a cat-slit. Perfect for night vision and night time shennanigans!

Cat Noir takes a nice, deep breath of the yakitori he smells and is debating getting. One hand reaches behind him to grasp at the short staff tucked at the back of his belt with a clawed glove, pulling it free. All the better so he can leap down using it to slow his fall--

That was the plan. Right before he heard Cure Wukong's cry. Halt Evildoer!? His head whirls around sharp enough to make his blonde hair whip out of his eyes as he glances around looking for the possible threat not expecting that HE was the one being mistaken as the evildoer!

Green eyes widen at the figure dropping down toward him! With cat-like reflexes he leaps back in a crouch, one clawed hand on the ground and the other sweeping back to snap out his staff longer. "WOAH! Hey wait--!" He begins, "What evildoer!?"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong narrowly missed! And wait no missed CRUD SHE'S GOING TO--

She barely managed to pull her leg back in time and instead... slammed face first into the ground.

Right. Was REALLY counting on the bad guy to stay there. The pinkette groaned, laying there for a few moments. Okay. So. Plan A of 'sneak attack' only works if you don't... yell.... your intentions to attack. And if the person stood there. She groaned before reaching up to her ear and pulled out a toothpick, which lengthened itself to a bow staff a moment later. "I'm... I'm okay!" she said before, very slowly, picking herself off the ground and...

Staring at him. "Wait... aren't... you that cute guy who was there when Usagi-chan went all... like... rawr and stuff?" she asked. Blinking a few times. "Oh. Ohhhhh. Oh dear. Uhhhhh... my... my bad? Are you okay?"

... and then she promptly fell back over. "O-ow..."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir shifts up to his feet, then just a bit higher in case she tries to attack. His staff extends as well and he perches atop it, balancing on the single small staff with one foot while the other tucks behind his ankle for balance. Prepared to flip away if needed or otherwise react!

Thankfully he doesn't need to as Cure Wukong goes DOWN and in a rather painful way that earns a little hiss of sympathy from him. Still, this is the sight she sees once she rises again. Him precariously perched on a staff staring down from a height at her.

At least until she recognizes him.

With a weak chuckle he just swings his free foot forward to step off the staff, falling down to his feet in an agile movement. His hand reaches back to grasp the staff twirling it at his side even as it shrinks back to 'normal' usable proportions.

"That would be me. Cat Noir, at your service. Although... I think I should be the one asking if you're okay there. Need a hand?" His own is offered forward toward her though he doesn't push it in case she might not want to. It's just there while he smiles in a friendly manner.

"I was just out on patrol and was thinking of grabbing a snack."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong would take that hand, letting him help her up and... probably leaned against him a bit. "Owwww... and... uhhhh... I think I'm fine. Nope, I'm fine. I die all the time," she said with a light laugh. "That... that one really hurts, though. I probably shouldn't drop like that and... trying to correct isn't... usually successful. But oh my gosh it looks so cool, doesn't it?" she asked.

In retrospect, dropping from like. 500 feet to elbow drop someone and then twisting away to not break things did... not look cool. But until then it might have.

She pulled away to shake her head finally, then glanced to his stick. Her eyes lit up a moment later. "Wait! Are you a Wukong themed magical girl too?!" she asked. Then blinked and her cheeks went red again. "Magical... boy. Oh. Wow. You actually have a henshin, too. I don't see a lot of you. OH! Did you just get yours too? WAIT! Are you Ikuto?!" she asked. "Tad-- err. Platinum Royale told me about you!" Uhhhh...

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir pauses at the mention of being Wukong themed. "Mmm, I'm pretty sure not, or at least not directly. Maybe. My Miraculous has been around for a long, long time though and has a lot of history associated with it." His hands spread in a deep shrug, palms opened and facing upward. Even with this gesture he doesn't really dislodge her from leaning against him, and one arm falls down around her shoulders to help her balance until she recovers a bit. "Sorry. Just a cat here, although admittedly a *MOST* awesome one."

Then she asks if he's Ikuto causing his eyes to go wide. He leeeans back on his heels to peer down at her with a shocked, slack-jawed expression.

"Do you guys just always blurt out your identities to each other? I get having allies but I thought we had to keep our secrets no matter the cost!" At least that's what Ladybug told him all the time. He'd already slipped up a bit with Naru, but... But it was Naru. He trusted her at this point.

"Ah, no sorry, I'm not whoever you think I am though. I've been Cat Noir for about a year now. Just in another country," he explains with an awkward chuckle.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong cocked an eye. Then shook her head. "Uhhhh... actually, as far as I know Ikuto's a bad guy. Soooo... kind of? I mean, I generally try to keep it secret but well... a lot of people know. I've got to keep people safe, right? And sometimes that means transforming in front of places I don't want to. But I'm also like... I live at the school currently, so... it's not like there's a lot of times for people to attack me. That and ummm... sometimes people need help and it's kind of my job to help them. Besides, it's not a problem if the good guys know who I am, only if the bad guys know. If the bad guys know, then bad things happen and that's awful. But if we punch the bad guys enough then everything works out in the end!"

"... I'm Cure Wukong, by the way. And like, honestly? Keeping our identities secret no matter the cost seems dumb. I mean... if you say no matter the cost, then does that mean you're okay with people dying? With people getting wounded? Hurt? And if you're okay with that, then like... why bother? Half the reasons to become a magical girl in the first place is to be able to save people and I'd give up my identity a hundred times to save someone!"

"... But again, I'm not really... risking much, so it might be different for you. I don't... know who you are, so I'll just guess you have a lot to lose and so like, don't try to follow my example."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"I think you're taking the phrasing a little to, ah, darkly there," Cat Noir responds at talk of letting people die. "It's more like 'Keep the secret even if it means *I* get in trouble'." A wry grin is offered back as he allows her a moment to finish her line of thought with his head shaking. "I'm not even really allowed to tell the other heroes I work with who I am."

"Ah, anyway, my problems aren't yours I guess. Different types and all," he admits while reaching back to rub the back of his head with a hand. "Nice to meet you, Cure Wukong. I do recall you from dealing with Sailor Eclipse. You had a pretty handy ability there!"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong nodded. "Ohhhh! I get it! Yeah, that's... well. I mean... right. Heh. Sorry. There was a... thing... recently and it... it... wasn't... good... It hasn't happened again but I think I'm... kind of... scared... it might..." she mumbled gently. "A youma took hostages and... there were kids and... just... that... it... it wasn't... good... And thanks! You mean my stick?" she asked, holding it up. "Or my ability to come back when I die? Oh. Wait. Do you mean the clones? They're... hit or miss, honestly. Sometimes they listen... other times just just... run off and do their own thing. It's... kiiiiind of annoying."

"... So, Cat Noir? Noir is like... the black and white detective movies, right? Ohhhh! Does that mean... you're a cat detective? Do you solve crimes? Do 'dames' come into your office who you KNOW are trouble but you can't not-help them anyway?"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"The black part is right." Cat Noir gestures over his costume pointedly, though he does grin. "As cool as that sounds, no, just 'black cat' as the literal translation. Chat Noir to be exact. English is a bit more known here than French though."

The blonde catboy shifts back to flip his staff up around his shoulders allowing his arms to drape over it with the center tucked behind his neck comfortably. "I worked in France with others, but the guy that we often fight has come to Japan, too. So here I am! The only 'dames' I get to deal with are usually on my side to begin with."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong let out a gasp, her eyes lighting up. "Wait, you're french?! Oh my gosh, that's so cute! France is the country of love, or so I hear," Wukong said with a soft, content sigh, a hand on her cheek. "So you're a cute french boy and..." Pause. "There's like, eight of you who joined the school this year alone, so like... at least that really doesn't narrow it down much. Oh, right. I'm on the student council, that's how I kind of... can remember that stuff."

Pause.

"That probably narrows it down a lot more and I probably shouldn't have said that. Oops. Oh well, though. You're a friend. I--" She then blinked. "Waaaaait. I think we met before, actually. When I got turned into a... weird... monkey girl. Who turned people into bananas. Were you there for that? If you were, uhhhh. Sorry. I uhhh... was upset because one of my friends I thought might die because she didn't have the like, magic protections most of us do. But now she does! We went to fairy heaven and punched a bunch of divine guardians and stuff. Grand heist heaven and all. It worked out pretty well, all things considered."

... Wukong.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"That it is!" Cat Noir agrees cheerily, and he leeeeans a bit closer to Wukong. "And while the views in France are beautiful, I have to admit there's quite a few beautiful sights here, too." A playful wink is sent her way before he allows his weight to sway back to standing on two feet. His 'tail' sways behind him from the motion. Even if it was just the dangling end of his belt it on occasion seemed to have a mind of it's own.

For just a moment his breath catches when she mentions being on the school council, and knowing about multiple French transfer students. Smoothly he gives the subtle deflection of, "Oh, I never said I went to schoold did I?" Of course he DOES, but that doesn't mean he can't allow a bit of plausible deniability in there.

As for the mention of the banana one he pauses, considers, and then nods. "Banana Kablama. I remember. That's what Hawkmoth does, he finds people who are very hurt or upset or angry or afraid, like Sailor Eclipse was too. And keeps trying to steal my Miraculous. Which is why," he adds chuckling, "I really do try to keep my identity secret." The staff is swung around again, and he leans in to meet Cure Wukong at eye level with a broad grin. "As much fun as it is chatting with a lovely lady like yourself, I should be on my way. A pleasure to meet you again under more favorable circumstances."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong blinked a few times and... her cheeks went scarlet. "A-are... are you f-flirting? With me? Why?" she asked. "W-wait, no, I didn't mean that like it sounded, I just meant, I, o-oh. Nevermind. I ummm... wait. You DON'T go to school? Or you don't go to Radiant Heart? Because not going to Radiant Heart is fine. But you NEED to go to school! An education is VERY important for your future! Without an education you'll only struggle in the future!" ... Nerrrrrrd.

Of course, her eyes went wide when she found out someone was trying to STEAL his miraculous! Whatever that was. "O-oh. OH! Well, then yes. You should hide it! And... and keep it safe. But ummmm... we should meet up again sometime. We both have like... magic sticks. Maybe we could give each other pointers and stuff. It might be fun. But uhhhh.... s-see you around. Cat Noir. B-bye," she said, giving him a little wave.

Hee hee. He said she was lovely. Sure, he probably said it to all the magical girls... but was still nice to hear.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Was he FLIRTING? Well he certainly doesn't answer that. That would be telling. Instead he touches his forehead with two clawed fingers in a little mini salute. "Of course! I'm always up for a good workout with a fellow hero, Cure Wukong. Cat you later!"

With that the dark feline whirls around and *stamps* his staff onto the rooftop. It extends flinging him into the air as he takes off on the rooftops and the night once again.