After fifteen minutes of pleading and pestering, she sped out of the room, ignoring the evil eye Mendeleiev sent after her, no doubt suspecting already that Marinette wasn't going to return.
Something she was probably going to hear about later...
Skidding into the lockerrooms, she snapped her purse open, meeting Tikki's wide stare.
"Is it too late?" the dark haired girl asked.
"He's still near!" the kwami reassured, waving her little arms.
That's all Marinette needed. Summoning the transformation, she sped out after Chat Noir, eager to see him, eager to find out what's going on. She didn't find him first. She found what had to be Illustrator's latest work. Their ruined work.
What she was sure was supposed to be her, was a red smear on the wall, dribbled down to stain it and Black Cat, pooling on the foot of the building.
It left her unnerved.
A little... a little scared...
Did... did Chat Noir do this?
Black Cat came up beside her, big wide smile in place, turquiose eyes gleaming. "He finally showed himself! What are we waiting for Lady..." Cat sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the mural. "He, he didn't." Cat let out some mix of a hiss and a whine, dropping down to the mural, tentatively touching the stain with his claws. Red smeared over his fingers, and the cat grimaced down at it.
His work...
"I," Ladybug voiced above, eyeing the mural warily, "I don't know if Chat, if Chat had..." She shook her head, frowning. Why was she so unnerved? She asked, "Could Cataclysm do something like this?"
...Assuming Chat Noir can use Cataclysm.
Cat frowned, glancing at the mural. He didn't know if Cataclysm could do this sort of damage, even with the control he had over how something was destroyed. Could it be selective in melt away half a mural?
Shaking his head, Cat turned to her, insisting, "We should find him."
Ladybug blinked down at him, considering the agitated cat before her. He went on, jerking in some random direction, "You look that way, I'll look this way. Let's see who can find him first. Maybe finally get some answers out of him."
She gives a grim nod and turned away, zipping off to find him.
Black Cat tore off in another direction, eager to find this stray cat.
Neither noticed the mural with the stained, remaining Black Cat portrait. How what should've been still turquoise eyes turned after Ladybug.
That confident smile turned vile.
Lunch was approaching and Ladybug still hadn't found any trace of Chat Noir.
It was becoming really frustrating. Where could he be...
Stopping for a moment, she ran a hand through her bangs, trying to fight off this strange sense of unease. Unease that wouldn't be sated till she found him. But why? Why did she care?
She didn't know this cat...
Ladybug gave a start, blinking down and absently noting a familiar blond boy.
The boy that looked so surprised and hurt when he came across Nino and them.
The boy that had fled.
That had evidently spent the night in a park.
A boy she had considered skipping school to check on, a boy she gave free croissants too.
That boy was now huddled up against a building, shaking slightly, wide eyed and scared.
It wasn't a hero duty that had her drop down beside him, reaching for him.
It was genuine concern for this lost teen that brought her to him.
He jumped when she touched his shoulder, looking at her wildly when she asked, "You ok?"
His pupils went wide, and she was startled to see them water. "Ladybug," he breathed, shaky and relieved. She jumped when he flung himself out her, clutching her tight, face pressed against her shoulder as he trembled.
Heart hammering in her chest, slowly, she brought her arms around him, giving his back a soothing rub as she waited for him to calm down.
"It's, it's ok," she offered awkwardly, unsure of this, of what had scared him so.
She didn't know him, she's sure she didn't know him.
But she had no explanation as to why she tightened her hold on him, bringing him closer, or why she nuzzled back, finding a familiar smell of leather, cologne, and cheese. "It's ok," she whispered again into his hair, giving him another squeeze. "I'm here, it's ok."
He gave a jerky nod against her and slowly drew away, his breathing uneven. He looked to her, looking lost and hurt and relieved and confused and scared and... and just so much of a mess she wanted to pull him into another hug.
Instead she set her hand on his shoulder, tilting her head just so as she looked him over. "Are you ok?" she repeated.
He gave a shaky nod. "Just," he starts, gulping and struggling to find the words. "Just a nightmare." His mouth sets in a firm line, a slight unsure grimace gracing his features. "A nightmare..." he repeats softly.
She hums curiously, not understanding what he was thinking. She pressed, "Do you want to talk about it...?"
It looked like he wanted too.
Looked like he was about to spew this out, reveal his thoughts.
Only to shyly close his mouth, frowning at her. "It's fine," he said, drawing away from her and looking away. "Thank you Ladybug," he said earnestly.
She frowns, feeling like there should've been more to do.
Should've gotten a different reaction.
Giving into that feeling, she asked, "Do you need help getting home?"
He shook his head no.
"Ok," she said weakly, slumping as she frowns at him. He kept his gaze away, a sad heavy pout on his lips. "Well, be sure to talk to someone about this, uh, nightmare, ok?"
"I'll try," he said, his voice firm and determined.
That was the best she could hope for.
She gave the boy's shoulder another squeeze, then her yo yo gave a chime, hinting that Cat was trying to contact her.
Ignoring the boy's agitated look, she checked it.
"No luck," Cat stated bluntly, a frustrated scowl on his features.
Ladybug shook her head as well.
Cat sighed on the other end. "I need to head back Bug. I'll look again later."
"Yeah," she agreed, shutting the compact closed.
She looked down, meeting the boy's frown.
She blinked, off put by his stare. "Y-yes?" she asked.
Bluntly, he notes, "You're not close with your partner?"
She's surprised. "Wh-what?" she stammered, blinking at him rapidly.
"You're not close with your partner," he repeats, sounding sure, sounding a mix of pleased and agitated.
She narrows her eyes at him, insisting, "We get along fine."
He opens his mouth to presumably argue, only to close it with a purse of his lips.
He lets it go, and Ladybug quickly left to return to school.
All the while, she couldn't help but think that he... he was right.
She liked Black Cat, she really did. He could be a very pleasant and cool cat to hang out with.
But there were... issues.
Issues she couldn't ignore.
His need for attention, to be a hero, to be impressive.
It often led to him rushing off and not working with her, thinking his plan alone would work fine.
It was a true, but it was one she didn't like to acknowledge.
Black Cat was her other half.
She would think this meant that he worked fine with her?
It's what she always thought...
But just a mere mention of this fact by the stranger left a tug of frustrated doubt in her.
Agitated, she shoved the thought back, detransforming in an empty hall.
Tikki made no comment or reassurance that yes, she and Black Cat were true partners and they worked best together.
She just dove back into the purse, leaving an unsure and frustrated chosen alone.
He wondered if he told her, right then and there, if she would believe him.
That he came from a world where he was her partner, one she got along with, one she enjoyed working with. He wondered if she would believe him if he told her his suspicions, that this was that akuma's doing, who they had been face previously... what was her name?
This had to be her doing.
And he didn't doubt that she was still around.
That she was hunting him, and hunting Ladybug no doubt.
But would the heroine believe a boy that doesn't exist here in this warped world?
She may bodyguard him, she may not believe him.
Neither had believed Chloe was being tormented by Vanisher till they saw the strange acts for themselves. And he was a friend of the blonde, and yet he still didn't believe her or looked into it.
Chances were slim that Ladybug would've believed a civilian.
She may look into it, but chances were she wouldn't have found the akuma.
And, chances were she would've done it alone.
Especially if he was right, that she and Black Cat didn't work well together.
He saw pieces of it yesterday, Black Cat ignoring Ladybug when he dove at Chat Noir.
Adrien saw it in his gaze.
That was a cat that wanted to run on his own, not shadow Ladybug, not protect her.
He was a cat that wanted attention, wanted the light for himself.
Thinking someone like that had his miraculous, was his Lady's partner; it made Adrien bristle, made his hackles rise.
And just hearing how clipped Cat had been on the call, how little they talked, how distant they seemed.
It rubbed Adrien wrong to see Ladybug with such a partnership.
Rarely did they ever work apart, especially when looking for suspicious activity.
Black Cat should be shadowing her, watching out for her, protecting her.
He's seen first hand, four times, what Ladybug would do to get an objective met, to save someone.
She puts herself at risk, relying on calculations, predictions, and chance.
She was always so confident and sure of her predictions, that she always seemed to overlook the risk of miscalculation.
That's why he was there.
He made sure she won, that she wasn't put at risk.
But it was hard to do that now with Ladybug not trusting him, thinking Chat Noir was an akuma, more likely to attack him than listen.
And she may not consider Adrien the civilian either. Especially since she seemed sensitive about the truth of her partnership with Black Cat.
One she wanted to believe to be true.
Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair, not caring how messy it came out. What was he to do?
He pulled out the black ring, grimacing. "What should I do Plagg?" he asked it.
His miraculous was as silent as ever.
...He wondered if the akuma knew who he was.
Wouldn't it have attacked him by now?
...Perhaps not.
From what he could recall, she liked messing with her prey, liked to hunt, like to scare and toy with her victims.
She wouldn't look into his identity.
That would ruin the fun.
She'd wait till Chat Noir was out and about, wait till Ladybug was-
Adrien gasped fearfully, stiffening.
Ladybug!
She was on her own and that would be perfect and-
Adrien didn't think further on the thought.
He jammed the ring onto his finger and tore off to find her, ready to face the akuma if she moved to attack.
It didn't matter if he didn't exist here, if Ladybug viewed him as a stranger and threat.
Didn't matter that she had someone else.
Didn't matter if she didn't like him.
He was her partner.
He will always be her partner.
And that meant watching out for her, even if she didn't want him too.