Chat Noir disappeared. After the battle with Volpina, Haryana had gone home immediately, not wanting to be caught by the news and draw unwanted attention to herself.
She hadn't made it very far before Ladybug caught up to her, however, blue eyes alarmingly clear.
"We need to talk," Ladybug said, landing on the same rooftop as Rousette. "That drum you have-" she started.
"-I really don't know." Rousette interrupted. "It just…happened."
"Right," Ladybug swallowed, gaze shifting away. "I've never seen that happen before. Either you're one crazy-weird akuma or one crazy-weird wielder."
Rousette snorted, turning back to Ladybug. The sun was directly above them, casting Ladybug's face in a shadow.
"So have you been a wielder long?" Rousette asked, taking a hesitant step towards Ladybug.
The girl gave a soft smile, beckoning her over to her. "About a year now," she said. "You?"
"Maybe a week?" Rousette smiled sheepishly.
Ladybug chuckled. "Yeah…this whole magic kwami thing is pretty weird when you first see it."
Rousette nodded in agreement, taking a seat beside Ladybug. I guess school is canceled for today, she thought idly, gaze drifting over to the school. Boo hoo…
Rousette glanced to Ladybug, finding her brows knit.
"What's wrong?" Rousette asked.
Ladybug gave a heavy sigh, through her teeth. "It's been bothering me all morning…but…I mean, I know all of us are being targeted specifically because we're miraculous wielders, but why are you being targeted specifically specifically?"
Rousette stared at Ladybug, uncomfortable with her questioning gaze.
She swallowed.
Do you really want to know?
"Haryana dear!" A voice interrupted. Rousette turned her head, oblivious to what Ladybug would think of her responding to the name.
A woman was standing on the street below them, looking up at the two girls sitting on the edge of the roof, a hand shading her eyes.
How does she know my name? Rousette's eyes narrowed.
Her necklace beeped, startling her.
"You're going to detransform soon," Ladybug said, eyes narrowed slightly. Did she know?
"Haryana!" The woman cooed again. Rousette looked down at her, eyes wide. She had a wand out this time.
Was she from the Ministry?
She was panicking inside – she knew that. This woman, and Ladybug, both looking at her, questioning.
I have to get out of here.
And so she vanished.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
She'd retreated to Master Fu's home, slipping through the window to her room to find a pot of tea sitting on a cushion.
Though Master Fu was absent, Haryana knew that he'd been there recently, evident by the still steaming tea cup beside the pillow.
Lowering herself cautiously to the floor, she let her transformation slip off, closing the blinds to the room to shade the burst of color.
Trix floated out of her necklace, sinking with a sigh to Haryana's outstretched hands.
"I'm hungry," she sighed, rubbing at her eyes sleepily.
Haryana rubbed noses with her, earning a high pitched squeal from the kwami. "Hey!" Trix shouted.
Haryana eyed the kwami, setting her gently down on the cushion next to the tea pot. "I'll get you something to eat," she said, heading to the door.
"Blueberries please!" the kwami shouted.
Haryana smiled over her shoulder, pushing the nagging image of the strange woman on the street to the back of her mind.
"Haryana?" Master Fu asked, his voice somewhere in the back of the house. "Are you back?"
"Yeah!" Haryana shouted, snatching a package of blueberries from the fridge. Master Fu wouldn't mind…
"School got canceled," she amended, popping one of the berries into her mouth. Of course it was sour…
Puckering her lips slightly at the taste, she reentered her room, aimlessly tossing the package on the bed. "There's your blueberries," she said, sitting on the floor by the tea. Always green tea…
Master Fu entered the room then, hunched over his cane, but with a smile on his face. "I saw you on TV" he gave a cheesy smile, lowering himself to the floor slowly.
"Oh," Haryana's eyes widened, teapot hovering over her cup. "I was trying to avoid that."
Master Fu chuckled softly, taking a sip of his own tea. "That would be an impossible feat, I'm afraid. You're simply too bright a star to be ignored."
Haryana smiled into her teacup. "I'm just too fabulous, aren't I?" She scoffed.
He smiled. "Speaking of fabulous," Master Fu said. "Your drum is a new weapon that I have never seen."
Haryana sobered instantly, setting her cup in her lap. "Do you know why my weapon changed?" She asked.
"The only thing I can think of is that the transformation was triggered somehow," Trix pipped up, a blueberry in each of her cheeks.
"How?" Haryana asked. "You said this had never happened before, so what's different-"
"-You're different," Master Fu smiled. "Perhaps the miraculous deemed you to have a better fit weapon than a staff."
"Yeah but the staff was so much like my wand," Haryana wined. "I really liked it," she mumbled.
"Well perhaps it's best that your weapon isn't like a wand," Master Fu said, tugging at his beard thoughtfully. "You're less recognizable as a witch that way."
Haryana grimaced. "I'm afraid the fact that I'm a witch is already…known, somehow."
A pregnant pause passed.
"What happened?" he demanded, tone soft.
"There was a woman…" Haryana trailed off, eyes shirking from his gaze. "She had a wand, and she knew my name. 'Haryana,' that is," she clarified. "She called to me while I was transformed, and the only reason she would know who I am is if she's seen me before somewhere, or recognized my magical trace."
"I thought I would've obscured your trace," Trix muttered.
"But how would she have known who I am then?" Haryana demanded. "The only explanation is that she recognized my trace."
"Or that someone else has been following you this whole time." Master Fu said quietly. "You're in more danger than I thought," he frowned.
Haryana's eyebrows knit.
"So you're telling me that He's found me?" She asked quietly, dreading the response.
Master Fu looked to her, eyes earnestly pained. "I'm afraid it a likely possibility."
She looked to the ground, the tea in her cup cold.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Author's Note: Awwwwwwww depressing end of chapter ewwwwwwww (sorry). But hey, you needed to get the information! Now Haryana is being sought after by You Know Who and is in more danger than she might think…
Next chapter: Haryana comes closer than she's ever been to real danger – but she has the strength and friends now that she can choose: "fight or flight"
Feedback is always appreciated!
