MariChat: Chat Out Of The Bag

Change to Come

Ryuu Gibererin watched as his home, his business, the same home he had lived in for the past ten years of his life after coming to Paris, burn to the ground. The sight hurt and terrified him.

Choosing the leave Japan to come to Europe had been a dream of his since he had been a child, longing to experience another culture outside of his island nation. He had found a passion for botany and gardening when he arrived in the European city, and after a few years of hard labor, had opened his own flower shop. He had several employees whom he got along with exceptionally well with, and they spent many hours of the day together.

Thankfully, they had not been in the building when the fire had started to spread.

The cause of the fire was still unknown, but the police claimed it was something to do with a broken gas line that had caught a spark from a group of delinquents whom had lit themselves some cigarettes, and had run off when the fire had sparked. This was due to several eye witness accounts. Ryuu knew the ones they referred to well. They used the front of his store to linger and loiter around, but they never seemed to be a bad sort, so he never particularly minded. He had even exchanged pleasantries with them. He was on first name terms with them, as he had spoken with them, making sure that as long as they behaved, there would be no issue with them staying around his store.

He knew the only one whom smoked was a rather brutish looking boy named Twist. Or at least, that's what he called himself. It didn't take much to figure out that he was the reason his store had caught fire.

But that wasn't the only reason.

Ryuu knew, deep down, it had been a mistake from Twist. He panicked, like any normal child would do in this situation, and ran. But it was Ryuu's own crippling fear that stopped him from smothering the flame. He just ran out of the store in his own panic.

Around him, people tried to reassure him. The police offered to find the group of youngsters for him, and he was given many words of compassion and sympathy from the people he knew well. He thanked them, sincerely, but asked to be left alone. The firefighters took to their work, and combated the fire, but Ryuu couldn't watch it happen. He just wanted to be alone, and peeled off, away from the scene, to find a quiet place to be alone with his grief.

He couldn't stand the sight of fire. He had always been afraid of large fires, even as a child. He had intense pyrophobia, and insisted others keep open flames away from him.

And it was burning his home down. He couldn't watch it anymore. Even if the fire brigade were here now. The image had been burned into his eyes.

He had lived there for ten years. Now where would he sleep? He had run that business for ten years, trying to be as friendly and as social with his workers and his customers as possible. He had done everything in his power to make as many people around him as happy as he could. It was what he loved to do.

And now all he had left of that life he had built for himself, was just a red rose.

It had been some time for Hawkmoth to open the sliding roof from his lair to observe the city of Paris for weakened individuals, whom he could manipulate. He had been biding his time, planning his next move against the detestable Ladybug and Chat Noir. The power he yearned for, the miraculous of both the cat and the bug, would amplify his own powers tenfold each. He already knew what he wanted to use them for.

But he still required them to be in his possession.

The power he had saved, building up over the past few days, would allow him to create an immensely powerful Akuma, whom would be gifted strength and powers to an abnormal level. They would be stronger than Ladybug and Chat Noir, there was no question about that.