AN: It eventually becomes clear, but this takes place during the events of "Tit for Tat." In writing a story about Luka and Kagami closer to "present," I realized that I haven't shown anything of their interaction in this universe yet. This is the first time Ryoku and Viperion team up.

Kagami plastered a calm, unperturbed expression on her face while the man – only a couple years older than her but acted like he was so much more mature – in front of her prattled on about a trip he had recently taken to Cannes. His mother worked for one of her mother's partners, and she had insisted that Kagami keep him entertained at the party. She stifled the urge to roll her eyes – a habit she had picked up from Chloe and Marinette since she started hanging out with them in the fall. He and Adrien might both be sons of her mother's business associates, but that was where the comparison ended!

"That certainly does sound interesting," she finally told him when he stopped to catch his breath. How did Adrien survive these events? she wondered – not for the first time that afternoon. She pointed to the punch glass he had emptied and asked him, "Would you like a refill?"

"Please, allow me," he replied suavely, taking the empty glass from her hand and disappearing in the direction of the nearest server.

Kagami nearly gagged but schooled her expression. Blind though her mother was, it was like she had a sixth sense for when Kagami was not behaving herself perfectly, especially in public. She glanced around the room, hoping to find someone else to talk to, if only as a way to avoid Felipe's attention for a few minutes. Across the room she caught sight of a vaguely-familiar head of highlighted-blue hair. Looking closer, she recognized Luka, a friend of Adrien and Marinette she had met a couple times. He appeared in deep conversation with a pair of men she recognized as agents representing musicians her mother had hired in the past. Adrien had mentioned that their band, Kitty Section, was looking to sign with an agent and take the next step into the music world. Today Luka was pursuing his dreams; meanwhile, Kagami was trapped by her mother's expectations.

"You appear troubled, Kagami-San," a quiet voice observed close to her ear.

It had taken a few weeks for her to get used to having a Kwami with her at all times. However, with the ease of practice, Kagami held her cell phone to her ear and replied, "I am… disappointed, Grandfather. I had hoped that mother would let me attend Marinette's fashion show; after all, she is my friend and an up-and-coming designer. I really wanted to see her Ryoku-inspired outfit, especially!"

Longg hummed quietly. "The Teacher once said, 'Wherever you go, go with all your heart,'" he finally advised her. "You are here for your mother, but you are wearing the kimono your friend designed. You wish to support your friend; perhaps you may do so here."

"I understand, Grandfather." Kagami allowed herself a small smile. "We will see Marinette tomorrow, and she will have pictures from the fashion show then, at least."

Kagami saw Felipe making his way through the crowd toward her, two glasses in his hand, and made to put her phone away. Before she could, however, it chimed to indicate an incoming message. Recognizing the ringtone, she quickly hit the button to read the new message from the contact she had labeled "Hoppy": "Robbery in progress nearby." A second later, a map appeared, highlighting a bank only a couple blocks from the hotel hosting the event. Seeing Felipe's proximity, she nearly jumped for joy at the excuse to leave, even as she hit a button to acknowledge the message.

"I am so sorry, Felipe," she blurted out, before he could open his mouth. She accepted the glass he held out and explained, "I must go freshen up. I will be back shortly." Without giving him a chance to respond, she speed-walked toward the hallway leading to the bathrooms.

She downed the drink in a single gulp just before reaching the doorway and placed the now-empty glass on a tray just inside the ballroom doors. She nearly ran headlong into Luka on her way out, and muttered a hurried apology before hurrying into the ladies' room. After making sure she was alone, Kagami muttered, "Longg, Bring the storm," and transformed. Opening the bathroom window, she slipped out onto the window ledge, carefully propped it open, and leapt to the roof of the next building.

Ryoku had only gone a block when she heard someone running the same direction along the rooftops on the other side of the road. A quick glance showed her that it was Viperion. They had patrolled together a couple times since she became a fulltime member of the Heroes of Paris, but they had yet to work together beyond those quiet evening patrols. She shrugged and leapt across the street to meet him. She landed nimbly on one foot on the traffic light suspended in the middle of the street and, without pausing, jumped from there to the other side of the street.

"What's up, Snake Boy?" she called, smirking at him. Something about the anonymity of the mask, the freedom of the miraculous, allowed her to let loose a little more than she ever could in her regular life – especially within earshot of her mother.

"Oh, you know, the usual," he replied, smiling ruefully. "I was just in the middle of a huge opportunity in my normal life when duty called."

Ryoku giggled. "I was in the middle of pretending to entertain some boring rich brat, so honestly, gun-toting bank robbers will be an improvement!"

"Well, let's see what we've got here," he answered, leaping down to street-level and hiding right next to the bank's large front window.

Ryoku jumped down and landed softly next to him. She took a quick glance inside the bank to see a man with a gun standing near the teller. A half-dozen other people stood or lay on the floor around the room.

"Second Chance," murmured Viperion, fiddling with his wrist.

Ryoku tensed her legs to leap through the window, unsheathing her sword and testing the grip. Just as she sprang, however, Viperion grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down to the ground. She tried to punch him in the chest with the hand not holding her sword, but he caught the hand easily. "What's your problem?" she grunted, wrenching her hand out of his grip.

He put a finger to his lips and whispered, "If you do that, they will shoot you in the face."

"And how exactly do you know they'll do that?" she retorted, trying to push herself up.

He pulled her back down. "Because they did it. Twice." She scoffed. "You didn't listen the second time, either."

"'Second time'? You're nuts. So why should I listen to you this time?" she demanded, glaring at him.

He started holding up fingers. "Your favorite color is red, your favorite anime is Attack on Titan, you hate spinach, and you won your first fencing tournament at the age of six. Should I go on?"

Ryoku's jaw dropped. "How could you possibly know all of that?"

"You told me," he replied calmly. "After you nearly brought the building down with Lightning Dragon and I pushed you out of the way. But we're wasting time here. You need to go Wind Dragon and rematerialize in the middle of the bank. I'll go in through the door while they are distracted and take out the two on either side of the door. You just need to take out the one standing by the teller."

She started at him nonplussed and then sighed. "Fine, we'll do it…" She trailed off and glared at him when she realized that he had mouthed exactly what she said at the same time she said it. "That is seriously creepy."

He simply smiled and raised an eyebrow at her.

Rolling her eyes, Ryoku whispered, "Wind Dragon," and held her arms out. The now-familiar feeling of weightlessness took hold of her as her body disappeared into a gust of wind. She looked at the crack under the bank door and concentrated on squeezing through it. A moment later she was inside the bank. She breezed her way to the middle of the room, close to the teller, and re-materialized in another gust of wind.

Her sword came up quick as lightning and she struck the robber in the back of his head with the flat of the blade. The robber crumpled to the floor, his gun clattering across the tiles. In the same motion Ryoku spun and raised her sword alongside her head, pointing in at the two robbers by the doorway in a ready position. She needn't have bothered.

Viperion was just in the process of flipping one robber onto his back, with the other robber already lying motionless on the floor. Viperion struck the robber still on his feet in the back of the head with his lyre, sending him sprawling forward. Simultaneously he lifted his knee and struck the robber in the chest. The robber fell to the ground with a grunt.

Ryoku nodded, grudgingly impressed. She cocked her head, hearing the sirens approaching, and glanced over at Viperion. He picked up his two prisoners by the scruff of their necks and gestured for her to follow. Picking up the man at her feet and slinging him over her shoulder, Ryoku followed. They dropped the three robbers in a heap on the side of the road, collected their guns, and waited for the police to arrive. Once the police arrived, Viperion gave a quick report before the two heroes leapt to the roof of the building next door. Viperion indicated for her to sit down, a question in his eyes, and she shrugged and joined him.

"You did good in there," he observed, "but are you normally this impulsive?"

"'Impulsive'?" she repeated incredulously. "I am not impulsive; I am direct. I see the way forward, and I take it. No hesitation: hesitation is weakness."

"The Dragon suits you, then," Viperion commented, plucking a couple strings on his lyre.

"So what about you?" she asked. "Are you always so… laid-back?"

He shrugged and continued plucking the strings on his lyre. Despite herself, Ryoku found herself drawn into the music.

"It's a blessing and a curse with my miraculous," he finally admitted after playing quietly for a minute. "I can guide us to the best result with Second Chance, but it means seeing all of the… less-than-best… results on the way there."

"How many of those 'less-than-best results' were there this time?"

"It took six tries for us to get it right," he answered, grimacing. "The first two times, you got shot in the head, right above the mask. The third time you brought the building down with lightning. The fourth time you ignored me when I said not to use lightning, used it anyways, and brought the building down again, but I at least saved you from being crushed – that was when you told me about yourself. The fifth time you paid attention and we scouted the interior out. The sixth is when it actually worked." He chuckled and played a couple chords. "You probably didn't really want to know about getting shot and crushed, did you? Sorry; not everyone really wants to know how bad things can go."

Ryoku considered for a minute. "No, I guess it's a good thing for me to know. This way I know to listen better if we work together again."

"You're a smart girl," Viperion noted, striking a joyful chord. "I still haven't convinced King Monkey to listen!"

Ryoku pushed herself up and prepared to return to the party. Before she left, however, she told him, "I hope your opportunity is still waiting for you when you get back."

"And I hope your 'date' doesn't bore you to tears!" he replied, smiling.

Ryoku made a gagging noise as she leapt off the roof.