Author's note: Hi there. Thank you for all your reviews. It means a lot. I'm glad you're into this story, so...
One more time with puns.
CHAPTER 2 "The suspicion"
And so it was decided to go with Chloé's idea. To be honest everyone was surprised by her action – not only that she submitted the idea in the first place, but also that she invited them to Le Grand without any hidden agenda. After all, what would she possibly gain from all this? Well, that's how most of the class perceived the situation, but not all believed in Chloé's pure intentions.
'I'm telling you, she's up to something. I just haven't figured out yet what it might be. But mark my words, there's something more to this party than we know,' Alya murmured in Marinette's ear as they were leaving the school.
'I suppose we'll see soon enough,' said Marinette absentmindedly. She also had a feeling that Chloé was hiding something, but another detail nagged at her mind.
There were fourteen students in Marinette's class, so the chance for this to occur was really small, yet there was a not-so-theoretical possibility that she would get to dress as Ladybug. She still hasn't figured out how was it possible that none of her friends and colleagues had ever recognized her when she was transformed into the heroine known as Ladybug, even though she looked literally the same except for a red suit and a small red mask covering her eyes. Possibly it had something to do with the spots. Yet she felt it would not be wise to tempt fate on such an occasion as the party at the risk of being recognized. After all it was crucial to keep her secret identity … well… secret.
Suddenly, Alya's jabber jolted her back to reality. 'What did you say, Alya? Could you repeat that last thing?' Marinette asked.
'I was just saying how funny it is that out of our class only you and Adrien haven't been akumatized. Did you ever notice that?' Alya repeated.
'Eep... Emm… What? Really?' Marinette mumbled.
'Yes, actually I checked that lately, and I am 100% positive. We've all been akumatized in the past year except for you two. Well, Adrien is such a sweet boy that he probably would never get an akuma. I mean the man is as tranquil as Shangri La. You though… ' Alya raised her brow.
'Whaaa… What a-a-are you getting a-a-at?' Marinette stuttered.
'Oh, nothing,' Alya said innocently. 'It's just that Chloé got on your nerves so many times, I kind of assumed it was a question of when rather than if. Yet you've proven me wrong. Actually I don't get it. Many times I've seen you mad as hell, and still not even a fly, let alone an evil butterfly. Do you meditate or something?' Alya jested.
At that point Marinette was beet red so Alya decided to drop the subject. 'Relax, I'm just teasing you,' she said in a conciliatory tone. 'Don't get yourself so wound up if you don't want to see an akuma coming your way… Sorry! Sorry! It slipped, I swear!' Alya cried as she saw what looked like wisps of smoke coming out of Marinette's ears.
Marinette was about to snap at Alya but before she was able to muster an adequately mean reply, they heard screams and saw people running away from a commotion somewhere down the street. Shivers went down Marinette's spine as she caught a glimpse of what looked like a very tall man in a very strange suit, scissors in his hands, needles on his shoulders and an evil sparkle in his eye. Undoubtedly another akuma victim.
As Marinette took in the scene, Alya was already wading through the crowd in the direction of the villain, her phone in her hand, ready to stream up live on her blog. 'Alya, no! Wait!' Marinette cried, but in vain as her friend was out of her reach. 'Well, Tikki. Let's see about that akuma, shall we?' she whispered into her purse and looked around for a suitable hideout.
News spread like wildfire. After just a few seconds, the scene was almost empty of people, but contained a considerable amount of superheroes as Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped into the street and approached the tall man. He looked like a very gloomy tailor's mannequin, save for the scissors in his hands. His voice echoed through the street. 'I am the Grim Tailor! The master of the scissors! Now give me your miraculouses or prepare for the final cut!' he yelled.
'Hey, that was actually quite a cutting remark for a… ' said Chat Noir casually but he saw the expression on Ladybug's face and changed his mental gear '…villain?' he ventured. The heroine just shrugged. 'Maybe we could just get the job done?' she snapped.
Chat wasn't really good at reading Ladybug's moods, or he would have learnt by now when it was a bad time for jokes, but today his Lady seemed particularly harsh. She also seemed preoccupied with something else as she was constantly looking around as if making sure that no one was watching them. Chat decided he wasn't going to add to her aggravation and instead forced himself to focus on the task. 'The akuma is probably hidden in his scissors,' he suggested. 'Otherwise, we're in trouble as I don't see anything on him except for the needles.'
'And if the akuma is indeed in one of the needles then needless to say it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack,' he thought to himself and giggled internally at this pun, but he was smart enough not to say it out loud.
'I agree. Let's get to it then,' Ladybug replied and they attacked in unison. Soon it was all over, the akuma purified and all the damage reverted. In the middle of the street there was a tall, thin, elderly looking man, tape-measure around his neck. He looked a bit flustered, probably wondering how did he get there. He gave Chat an uncomfortably long stare.
'He looks kind of familiar,' Chat Noir thought as he tried to recall his face. 'Got it! He is the Chief Tailor at my father's fashion house!' Chat had an unpleasant impression that somehow his father was involved in this akumatization.
Then he remembered Ladybug's mood and turned his attention towards her. 'Is everything all right, my Lady? You seem worried. What's on your mind?' he asked gently. He half expected she would dismiss his concern or snap at him, but she just sighed and didn't reply at all. 'Oh boy, this is bad,' thought Chat.
AN: Well, what do you think? I'd love to know your opinions. There are at least 6 more chapters to go...
