Shape of a Miracle EP 2 - FreezeFrame

the one thing

"You see..." Tikki sings, buzzing around Ishida's room "With the power of the ladybug miraculous, you can purify the akuma..."

He sits up.

"But you also have the power to fix all the damages created by the villain. Are you following so far, Ishida?"

"N-not at all!" he huffs "what are you even talking about?"

"Ok, let me start again."

He stands up from his bed.

"N-no, don't-" he cries "It's just... Did you say superhero ?"

Smiling wide, Tikki zips to the centre of Ishida's room, over the little red box with the ladybug earrings.

"These are the ladybug miraculous." she chirps "wearing them transforms you into a superhero."

"Me?"

Picking up the box, she sings "Yes you! You, Shoya Ishida, have been entrusted as the wielder of one of the most sacred and powerful miraculous of them all, the ladybug miraculous! With it, you are granted the power of creation!"

She places the box in his hands. Hesitantly, he opens it. Inside, the ladybug miraculous lie. At a first glance they look like any pair of earrings, but their bold red colour and ever glimmering shine make them almost impossible for him to even look at in his dreary old room. Eventually his eyes are able to focus on something on the earrings: a reflection. A reflection of a pale little boy with greasy hair, baggy eyes and a stupid face.

He closes the box.

"I'm sorry..." he says and hands it back to her "There's definitely been a mistake."

"I know it's a lot to take in but don't worry, I'll be with you every step of the way!"

"Tikki..." He looks down "I'm no hero."

Without warning, she throws the box back into his hands.

"Of course you are, Ishida. You just haven't had the opportunity to prove it yet!"

He turns away.

"How would you know?"

"You wouldn't have been chosen if you didn't have it in you." she replies.

"Tikki..."

"I'm not expecting you to become an emblem of a hero overnight. It's going to take baby steps."

"Tikki-"

"But I know you can do it, Even if you don't see it, I know you can! So don't doubt yourself, Shoya. You can be a hero! This is your destiny! This is your-"

"IT'S NOT."

She jumps away, looking up at him in a familiar face of fear.

"Uh-" he covers his mouth, did he seriously just snap at her? "I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean to-"

He bites his lip. He hates giving himself excuses

"But you get it now, right? I just... can't. This is what I'm like. I'm just not-..."

He drops to his bed, eyes staring distantly onto his floor. Tikki sits on his knee. He covers his face with his hands. He can't even look at her.

"Why do you feel that way?" she asks.

"It's the one thing I know."