Nino hesitated outside of Master Fu's home, waiting with his back to the outer wall for Fu's last customer of the day to clear out. He could hear voices just beyond the door, chatting idly as the patron was walked out. He didn't attempt to overhear, he had no reason too or interest, not that he would have had the peace of mind to even try. His thoughts flickered between headings and facts he had done his best to memorize as the door opened, a slender woman stepping out in his peripheral and thanking the man who walked her out.

"Have a good day Madame," Fu said with a smile, watching her leave for a moment as if to ensure space before he turned and looked at Nino. "Right on time young man, a good start. Come in."

Nino pushed off the wall, moving quickly to obey and stepping inside. When the door swung shut and the locked clicked into space the small professional space seemed to age, hung suddenly with importance and calm far more ancient then its walls. Nino was made aware again of that familiar building pressure as they stepped from the hallway to Fu's workspace, an intangible force and inaudible sound resonating from the far wall. It wasn't pecking or pestering like it had been before, but it was still there, aware of his presence as much as he was aware of its.

Nino tensed when he felt his cap get knocked slightly askew, reacting naturally to having Wayzz fly away from him but he relaxed about as quickly, smiling as he watched his kwami greet its old master.

"Hello old friend," Fu said warmly, cradling Wayzz in one hand as he smiled down at him. "Have you been well?"

"Yes master," he answered happily, turning to gesture to Nino who had moved to examine the chest where the stones lay hidden. "He's been working incredibly hard, you'll be pleased with his progress."

"I'm sure he's been diligent," Fu looked over at his student who was absorbed with his own thoughts before lowering his voice. "Though he looks burdened. Is all well?"

Wayzz's smile dropped a little, the kwami holding the old man's gaze when it returned to him. "He's had a lot going on, and no small part of his anxiety stems from his training today. I hope that going through a lesson will ease his worries some."

"Ah, I should have assumed as much." Fu nodded his head, looking up and calling out to the boy across the room. "Come Nino, sit. Let's talk."

Nino looked up sharply, apprehension clear in his eyes but he shook it off quickly, moving to a place opposite Master Fu before sitting cross legged on the ground. Fu joined him, perhaps a little stiffly but Nino made no comment, instead sitting patiently.

"Show me where you are," Fu instructed, gesturing to Nino's bag and smiling as Nino hurried to gently pull free the ancient book that had been his guide.

"I haven't made it very far..." Nino admitted a bit sheepishly, turning about fifteen or so pages in from the cover. Each page was densely packed with lettering and segmented passages, having slowed his down tremendously. "Working through chunk by chunk is slow."

Fu turned the book with one hand, humming as he looked over the page Nino had landed on. He flipped quickly through what Nino claimed to have accomplished, and to Nino's surprise he beamed.

"These are some very important passages you've gone through already young man, do not be displeased with your work. The book covers more time than most history books ever penned, and much more completely. There is far more here than many would assume." Fu turned the book back to face Nino, folding his hands in his lap. "It is important to remember the key points it teaches. Tell me, what are the main things you recall? And what makes you believe they are of consequence."

"All of it seems important," Nino said slowly, looking down at the book and wondering if it would be cheating to flip through. "I was surprised to learn how important the stones have been to history, I knew they were old but I didn't put it together that they would have been used to turn the tide in major events. Miraculous wielders have decided to outcome of wars and the survival of empires, which maybe I should have guessed but..."

"History does not teach you of magic and those who understood it. Though heroes rally to protect the people and nightmares crawl the streets and rise from the shadowed reflections of the fearful, many would discredit the existence of magic at all." Fu's eyes twinkled with humor as Nino looked up at him. "Sometimes seeing isn't enough to believe either."

"Still," Nino continued, "it's never even eluded to, no one knows what wars were won by heroes."

"It may be hard to understand, but that is often their desire."

Nino's expression clouded with confusion and Fu pressed on.

"Think of the first akuma you ever saw with your own eyes, before you were taken, before you were Jade. When heroes were a whispered myth and villans a ghost story. How did you feel?"

Nino was slow to answer, taking his thoughts back to the first attack.

"I was afraid," he finally said, wondering if that was the right thing to say. "And confused. I didn't think it was possible."

"Many never did. Though not all may have powers there have been many heroes, and these heroes have risen to champion the darkness of their peers for thousands of years. Wielders throughout time have understood that they could not protect the world in every circumstance, and if people thought wars could only be won should someone far beyond their own capabilities arrive they would lose hope. That is why during the times the stones lay dormant they fall into myth and legend." Fu's expression was serious and incredibly calm as he finally said, "They have to."

Nino was quiet, holding his master's gaze for a moment more before looking away, turning the words over in his mind. "I think I understand... So, people forget and the wielders don't take credit."

"They arrive when they are needed, and once they are no longer needed the stones are put to rest."

Nino blinked, something heavy settling in his chest as he looked up in sudden shock. "Wait, like once the threat passes they just get put away again?"

"No necessarily," Fu said calmly, "it is common for the stones to last through the generation of their chosen wielders, staying with them until they either move on or die. However, if the world continues on its natural course then after the wielders pass there would be no cause for them to remain active."

Nino's brow furrowed as he tried to understand, Fu smiling kindly and giving an example.

"I chose your friends to become the new Ladybug and Cat Noir because an unnatural and terrible threat rose to challenge them. This was no normal human discourse, but something wicked and spiteful beyond the peoples' ability to combat." Fu's eyes darkened, his posture folding slightly as he spoke. "It was magic... dark and terrible. A miraculous stone, wielded as a weapon, not as a shield."

Nino looked down at the book, reaching out to touch the page and speaking mostly to himself in a quiet voice. "Control, instead of cooperation."

Fu nodded, silence stretching between them for a short while before Fu sighed, closing his eyes.

"In this case, when the day comes that Hawkmoth is defeated and his stone is purified the unnatural threat of the akumas will pass. The stones can exist to aid and nourish humanity once again, and should peace return and the people of Paris retake their burdens, Ladybug and Cat Noir can rest."

Nino didn't speak, thinking over what had been said. He was surprised when Fu changed the subject.

"You spoke of control," Fu spoke up, drawing Nino's thoughts elsewhere. "Have you memorized the strengths and weaknesses?"

"Yes!" Nino said a bit eagerly, excited to have something he knew for certain. "Uh..." He ticked them off on his fingers. "Fortitude versus Apathy, Cunning versus Manipulation, Truth versus Arrogance, Cooperation versus Control and... and uh..." He stared blankly for a second before he hit one fist into the palm of his hand. "Diligence versus Selfishness! For the turtle, fox, peacock, butterfly and bee respectively. Right?"

"Right," Fu said with a chuckle. "Well done. And I expect you can tell me about the two near absolutes of the higher stones?"

"Yes!" Nino said again enthusiastically, leaning forward and beyond thrilled to have the answers his master was expecting. He had been studying so hard, it was a massive relief for it to pan out.

A short distance away Wayzz was watching them work, floating over the hidden chest where his comrades lay dormant. As he looked on he saw the past and the future align in the present, colliding for a moment as he bore witness. Fu was listening, his hands folded in his lap as his young student eagerly referenced what he had learned. As his newly acquired knowledge ran dry the old man started to lecture, calmly stating that which had not passed from one living soul to the next in over a hundred and fifty years.

Nino and Fu sat together, the teacher flipping through the pages of the book with practiced ease as the student looked on in awe. What had taken him all week with agonizing detail his predecessor could accomplish effortlessly, reading scrawled text circling faded pictures as if it were his native tongue. Wayzz watched as Nino asked questions, taking off his hat and putting it aside so he could look between the book and his instructor unobstructed, and the simple change made him look very different.

Wayzz hummed, knowing full well it was pride that he was feeling as he turned away, looking down at the phonograph that had been his home for many years. As his friends spoke of times long passed Wayzz floated down, gently placing one fin on the unassuming surface he knew contained the chest. He could feel them, those who lay waiting. They knew he was there.

"You're going to love him," Wayzz said with a quiet chuckle. "As much as you loved Fu. He's a good boy, he'll do right by us all. I promise I'll protect him."

The last wisps of fire from the sunset were fading in the sky above Paris, the transition from day to night more vibrant and beautiful then it had been in a while. Tourists pointed and photographed the way the last of the sunlight shone off the windows of the ancient buildings, and even those who were lucky enough to live in the city every day took note of how peaceful it looked. It was warm and enveloping, slipping into the gentle reaching blues of twilight.

The colors were especially beautiful when viewed through the gently rippling surface of the Seine.

Jade lay on his back, idly watching the sky darken from his place far beneath the water. To him the water was comfortable, but to others he realized it would likely be unpleasantly cold. It was strange that beneath the water he felt the most like Jade Turtle and the least like Nino, more... 'super' human. He didn't need to breathe and he knew that somehow fundamentally his body was designed differently, especially when he was in the river. Even as himself, at home and lounging around he knew he was different, altered somehow by the choices he had made. Perhaps even more so then his friends.

Maybe that was just him though.

He blinked when the water suddenly went dark, focusing after a moment on the large solid body of a ferry coasting overhead. He watched as the engines pushed it forward, throwing his window to the world into even more garbled nonsense. The churning water made him sigh, a small stream of bubbles rocketing upward with the gesture.

His session with Master Fu had gone well, lasting about four hours before his master insisted he take a break. It had probably been obvious he was getting overwhelmed, something that frustrated him but he knew he couldn't just absorb everything in one go. He needed space to process the information, work through the details and commit them to memory. It wasn't like he could take notes really, Wayzz had insisted on him destroying his translation notes at home once he had them memorized. So the river was his place of calm, but even so he felt a heavy weight rooting him to the bottom.

This wasn't him...

Jade turned in the water, his sudden agitation demanding movement so he flipped over and started to idly swim upstream, thoughts conflicted. He caught sight of his gloves and looked away, seeing only the river and feeling little better.

He had started to adjust, pretty well honestly. He was able to reconcile 'Jade' as a part of him and his life but...

His mind swam with facts and dates, myths that were true and stories about people Fu had known that sounded like fairy tales. Magic and strength, connection and power. Yin and Yang, Cat and Lady.

Jade looked up, through the water and at the distant indistinct visage of the Parisian skyline. Even as his stomach twisted uncomfortably the sight of the city brought him some peace too.

They were just kids... he kept thinking that. Every time Fu discussed the power of creation and destruction, the absolutes of the higher stones... he pictured Adrien. He pictured his best friend sucking big time at Dig Dug and he pictured Marinette quietly doodling in the margins of her notes. When Fu handed him the book again as he was leaving Nino thought of how it was Friday. How normally he'd be dead asleep on the floor of his room with a controller cast away beside him. At what point had they not become those people anymore?

Jade felt something shift, not in the water or even the environment, it was internal. Not even in a poetic way, a literal slight crawl of energy that drew his attention.

'May I say something?'

'Wayzz?' he asked, his tone slightly chastising but it lacked any heart. He was actually a literal relieved. 'Were you listening again?'

'Yes, and I have something I'd like to point out.'

Jade would have chuckled if he wasn't twenty feet underwater, swimming forward again and content to listen. 'Go for it.'

'Do you think, fundamentally, being Ladybug and Cat Noir had anything to do with them falling in love? Or do you think it was something that would have happened anyways, spurred on by who they are as people?'

Jade said nothing, the pressing silence of the river acting as his answer.

'Being Ladybug and Cat Noir has become part of who they are, but it has not compromised who they are as individuals. I think at first this was true; it would not surprise me if it were the case. Marinette shared with you her fears, everything that made her uncertain as she accepted her new role. Adrien leapt to it gratefully, eager for freedom he had never been granted. In both of these ways, they changed because of the powers they were given. Marinette became what she hoped was a hero, and Adrien abandoned a life he had long since stopped loving in the hope of something new.'

Jade waited but Wayzz didn't continue, waiting for a response as the hero made his way upriver.

'So, you're saying that I'm letting being Jade get to me?'

'I'm saying they did the same thing. They came out of it, and so will you. If you let your burdens take from you who you are... well.' Wayzz stopped.

Jade could feel Wayzz's unease, the kwami's thoughts inaccessible but predictable. And even with all his fears Jade smiled.

'You're worried about me.'

'You're important to me.'

Jade didn't respond, the words somehow echoing through him as he stopped and let himself be carried by the current of the river. The water surrounded and cradled him, but he was much more aware of the suit. It had become so natural that sometimes he forgot he even had it on, but he was aware of it outside of himself, understanding it as part of the other half that made this whole thing possible. The suit protected him, Wayzzprotected him even now.

'You're important to me too Wayzz. I don't mean to freak you out, I'm just... stressed you know.'

'I don't relish being a part of what causes you so much discomfort... but I know once you adjust-'

'Woah WOAH, what? You stop that right there whats that comment all about?'

Wayzz didn't respond.

Jade waited but he had a feeling he wasn't going to be getting an answer, so in one motion he kicked off the bottom of the river and started paddling to the surface. He moved to climb out, intent on detransforming to lecture his kwami in person but he was already talking, too impatient to wait.

'Wayzz I don't associate you with my stress or my crap at all. I signed up little man! I said yes, you told me to wait! You were looking out for me the whole time, and you have been nonstop since I met you! I didn't realize you were taking all this personally man... me being stressed about being Jade has nothing to do with you!'

'I know you're burdened-'

'Not by you! You're my friend! And like- you know w- hang on.'

Jade stopped, looking around as he dripped water all over the sidewalk beside the Seine. People were staring, a couple snapping photos and waving but he was busy, smiling quickly but throwing his shield to the ground and climbing aboard.

He shot forward, cutting across the street and getting a few irritated honks as he vanished between the buildings, covering about a block before he zipped into an alleyway.

Nino released the transformation, pressing his back to the wall and catching Wayzz as he popped out into the air in a flurry of magic. The kwami looked a tad sheepish, landing in his charge's open palms but looking away from him.

"Wayzz," Nino said firmly, demanding to be looked at. He was amped, completely caught off guard by these sudden insecurities. He had always taken Wayzz to be this ancient, calm and incredibly wise creature. He could be funny and sweet but for the most part he was this quiet completely self-assured voice that helped him every day. It had never even occurred to him that... "Buddy? Look at me please."

Nino waited, watching with a breaking heart as Wayzz looked up at him unsurely. The totally on top of it all powerful god... thought that Nino regretted him.

"Wayzz," he said intensely, desperate to make himself clear in the dark dusty air of the alleyway. "Being Jade is one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

"What?" Wayzz said softly, confusion crossing his features and Nino's heart ached again.

"I- I know I complain, I freak out and I- I didn't realize all the stuff I was saying bothered you so much... none of that has to do with you. Or even being Jade... it's me man. I freak out, I panic and think I'm not good enough. You're just so... important! You and the stone, and guardian training and Master Fu, these are huge things!" Nino was breathing fast now, unable to look at his kwami who was staring at him so intently, trying to understand him. Nino had to rewrite a hundred things Wayzz had assumed, he didn't know how. "You've been keeping me sane little man... me being stressed and overwhelmed... that's me. That's my bad, that's my own messed up self-worth crap... I've been so freaked out about doing everything right but... I wouldn't give this up." Nino looked back at his kwami, so much sincerity visible that Wayzz was taken aback. "If Master Fu gave me the chance to back down and give back the bracelet and run away I wouldn't do it!"

"But you've been so stressed, working yourself so hard... You keep talking about the way things were before, I just thought-," Wayzz tried to say, but suddenly Nino was shaking his head, barking out a strained laugh.

Nino kept laughing, but the sound wasn't joyful. It was shocked, guilty. Wayzz held his hands together uncertainly, always the one to offer advice but for the first time in a long time... he didn't know what to say.

After a few moments the laughter died, Nino's shoulders pulling in as he held Wayzz close to his chest. The kwami accepted the movement, laying his head against his charge. He could feel his heart beat, for a time the gentle pounding was all he heard.

"I was just venting..." Nino spoke wretchedly, all traces of the laughter gone. "I'm so worried about filling in the way I'm supposed to... acting like I was a second or third choice. Like I've got to prove myself..." He paused, his hands cupping around Wayzz a little tighter. "I get so busy freaking out about everything I'm meant to be doing... but Wayzz that doesn't mean I don't love it. That I don't love you."

Silence stretched, the sounds of the city reaching them distantly, as if they were happening a world away. After a time Nino sniffed, rubbing a thumb on the small grooved turtle shell resting on Wayzz's back.

"I didn't mean to make you think anything like that Wayzz... I talk all the time about so much negative crap that's only in my head... I keep forgetting to look at everything it's done for me."

Wayzz felt the absence of the heart beat before he realized he had been pulled away, faced suddenly with Nino's earnest gaze as he was held up. Nino was smiling gently, his eyes sad and... apologetic.

"It's natural for you to be stressed, "Wayzz tried to say, surprised when his own voice was... taunt. He was trying to placate him, but Nino was shaking his head again.

"I've got no excuse for hurting the guy whose been on my side since day one. I just never thought... I didn't think it was possible for you to think I hated being Jade, that I regretted meeting you. You're in my head all the time, I just assumed..." he stopped, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. He was quiet for a little, and he could feel Wayzz watching him.

"It's my fault..." Nino finally said. "I was mucking crap up for myself just as much." He was quiet as he thought about something, smiling when he said, "Wasn't it you who said 'Letting yourself get carried away with poisonous thoughts is never good, even if they are never spoken aloud. That might even make them worse.'"

Wayzz blinked once before chuckling, looking down as he said, "Yes I did say that."

Nino smiled for a moment before sighing, saying, "I took a little while to get used to being Jade, it will take me a little while to get used to being the Guardian too. But as much as I've worried and studied and overthought everything please know... I'm so grateful to you man, for giving me this. You and Master Fu... you both thought I was a hero. And now you both think I can do this job..." Nino paused, pulling Wayzz forward to hold him against his neck, smiling when he felt Wayzz cling to him. "I keep dwelling and freaking out... I shouldn't have needed this kind of reminder to think about the good things too."

"So there are good things?" Wayzz asked quietly. "Before being assigned as the guardian... you had finally started to enjoy it. But then this happened and I was afraid..." Wayzz stopped, and Nino felt something horrible and cold settle in his stomach as Wayzz said, "I didn't want to be a part of something that was hurting you so much."

"Oh Wayzz," Nino said entirely on instinct, pulling the kwami back so they could look at each other again. "No man, no. Don't even think like that that's total bull. Of course there are good things man!" Nino shifted the kwami into one hand so he could gesture wildly with the other. "Are you kidding me?! I can freaking super suit up at any time! I can climb anything, I can punch bad guys through walls! I've got a crazy hover board shield;I can do the water thing. I mean come on!" Nino was laughing now, genuinely as he started to list things off. "I have the chance to help and protect people, I've got the opportunity to learn about the craziest unbelievable magic stuff in the world! I've got a freaking super power that can slow down anything I hit!"

"You got a date," Wayzz said with a laugh of his own, relief clear in his tone as he floated free of Nino's hold if only to give him more gesturing room.

"I got a date!" Nino repeated, one hand taking his hat so the other could run through his hair. "With a really amazing girl! That would not have happened without you, and nothing else either. Wayzz you gave me the chance to help people, and with this guardian thing I can keep protecting people for a really long time! Like super long! Like two hundred years!" Nino stopped, breathing heavily and momentarily overwhelmed as he ranted, flooded with every good thing all at once.

Nino looked to Wayzz floating freely in the air with a kind, ancient smile. The two friends watched each other for a time before Nino said, "There is good... there is so much good. I'm just so worried about getting it all right... I keep forgetting that." Nino sighed, before slowly he reached out his left hand to Wayzz, the bracelet's weight going unnoticed for the first time since he met Fu.

"You're my friend Wayzz, I owe you so much. You're important to me... so please, next time I'm hurting you like this, please tell me? Tell me so I can fix it, and... so I can remind myself to just chill out and relax every once in a while."

Wayzz looked to the extended hand, but in a sudden moment of emotion he ignored it, flying forward to Nino's face so he could hold him as best he could, the tiny turtle curled against his cheek.

"I love you young master," Wayzz said genuinely, "Don't let this hurt you... remember who you are. You're Nino, admirable and strong, goofy and fun. We have so much time... nothing needs to happen so quickly."

"I love you too Wayzz," Nino said earnestly, his voice husky as he tried not to cry. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be," Wayzz answered. "Just be you, that is all I want."

Nino didn't speak for a while, enjoying the contact and pulling himself together. No one bothered them or intruded in the alleyway, the space feeling pulled away from the rest of Paris. No one knew they were there, and for the time they didn't know about anyone else either. They were just friends.

"Alright," Nino finally said, Wayzz pulling away and smiling at him. "I need to chill... I need to regroup and calm down about stuff, and we need to relax. Just us, bro time. No studying tonight, no homework, no Alya, no duo. I'm telling the others to cover my patrol, we're just going to... relax."

Wayzz grinned. "That sounds like exactly what you need."

"What we need, we're a team. For the night I'm not going to worry about anything except my best bud."

Wayzz was stunned for a moment, before suddenly he laughed, zipping forward to land on Nino's hat and peer down at him upside down. "Your 'best bud'? Don't tell Adrien, he'll be heartbroken."

"He'll get over it," Nino said with a shrug, grinning too as Wayzz vanished into his hat, signaling without words that he was ready to go home. After spending just a moment more breathing deeply, making sure he was centered and calm, Nino stepped towards the entrance of the alley and out onto the street.

It was now firmly night, the street lights lining the sides of the street as traffic sped blindly by. Pedestrians chatted idly, a few dogs on leads as people went about their evenings. It was the perfect time for walking.

Even though Nino couldn't use his over ear headphones with Wayzz in his hat he couldn't help but recall a lot of what Wayzz had told him, about staying true to himself. So, after a moments consideration, Nino pulled out his phone. He didn't even look at the track, he just hit shuffle and turned up the volume, sticking his phone in his pocket before finally starting to walk again. And for the first time in a long time, Nino listened to music as he walked.