Hello beautiful people! Did someone say 'extra long chapter'? I have been dying to write/post this one for a long time! I had it in the works since Chapter 10, I think... Anyway, about Marinette's revenge prank on Chloe, I'll let you imagine what happened after that witch took a sip ;) Prepare yourselves, my children, for an extra long chapter of LadyNoir, enjoy! :3

Chapter 21

Ladybug sat perched on a tree branch outside a window of Master Fu's workspace. She made sure that she wasn't seen by anyone else, but was still able to see into the studio. From the looks of it, the elderly Chinese man was talking with a blonde woman in a blue dress who seemed distraught and he had been trying to calm her down. The spotted heroine began to feel pity for the blonde woman, seeing as she appeared to be on the verge of tears. However, the bluenette knew Master Fu was the right person to go to since the woman was feeling upset.

Ladybug watched as the blonde woman with warm, green eyes exited through the door and took that as her cue to enter Master Fu's workspace. With a graceful leap, she flew in through the open window, careful not to hit the flower bed on her way in.

She performed a tuck and roll landing when she touched down on the matted floors. Ladybug had to admit she was shocked that Master Fu appeared genuinely unfazed by her entry, but she should've known that out-of-nowhere 'superhero landings' wouldn't surprise him for obvious reasons.

"Ah, Ladybug," the old man softly spoke, shuffling over to the blue-haired girl, "You are a few minutes early, but no matter…wait here while I retrieve the book."

Ladybug nodded her head and watched as the vertically-challenged man doddered out of the room and disappeared behind a screen. She assumed the paper covering acted as the overlay to a secret entrance because he seemingly exited into another room.

The red-clad girl allowed her eyes to wander over to the gramophone, the one Master Fu kept the other miraculous in. To her knowledge, he has the turtle, bee, and fox miraculous; when she asked about the peacock one day, the old man immediately changed the subject. Of course, Hawkmoth somehow attained the butterfly miraculous. Other than those, the bluenette had no knowledge of the other miraculous that were hidden within the secret compartments of the gramophone.

Ladybug was so lost in her wandering thoughts that she jumped when a hand barely touched her arm. Upon reflex, the spotted heroine grabbed the person's hand, spun around, and locked them in an arm bar.

"Hey there, M'Lady," Chat Noir purred from under Ladybug's arm lock, "I see I got the right address."

The blue-haired girl's eyes grew wide, quick to release her partner from the painful hold and watched as he rose to his feet, brushing himself off. "Sorry…force of habit," she voiced, embarrassed.

"At least you have-"

"Don't…" she warned him.

"-cat-like reflexes," the blond finished with a satisfactory grin.

As Ladybug was busy rolling her eyes at the feline hero's comment, Master Fu returned from the depths behind his paper screen, flipping meticulously through the pages of the book. Chat Noir twitched his ears and stared blankly at the elderly man with a sense of familiarity.

"Chat Noir," Master Fu began, looking up and inching his way closer to the blond, "I am glad you could make it. I see you and Ladybug have already conversed…good. Now, we can-"

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" the cat-boy piped up, cutting off the Great Guardian.

Ladybug widened her bluebell eyes at him with shock—and maybe some frustration—so she folded her arms, and moved to stand next to Master Fu with a playful smirk tugging at her lips. Chat searched his memory for who this mysterious man in a Hawaiian shirt was, and how Ladybug appeared to know him…so how didn't he?

"Hm…your girlfriend, here, has not informed you of me?" the Chinese man hummed, stroking his beard, causing the red-clad heroine to fluster.

"I am not his girlfriend!" Ladybug countered, wildly pointing an accusatory finger at her partner.

"Oh, but you can be, M'Lady," Chat Noir wiggled his eyebrows and struck a pose…but something clicked in his mind about what that man just said. What he suggested about Ladybug being his girlfriend…where did he hear that before?

The closet! Chat internally screamed, It's the same guy who rescued Marinette and me from the art closet last night…that's right, he mistook Marinette for my girlfriend as well. What was his name again? Oh, yeah, Mr. Fu.

"Um," the bluenette spoke up again in slight confusion to put an end to Chat's flirting before placing her hands on her hips, "Do you honestly not know who Master Fu is?"

"Wait, Master?" the black-clad hero questioned.

He swore that the old man said his name was Mr. Fu…where did 'Master' come from? While Chat Noir met him last night after freeing Marinette and himself from being trapped in the closet, he didn't actually know who he was. He shook his head 'no' sheepishly in response to his lady's agitation.

"He's the one who gave us our miraculous," she retorted with a smile, "He's the Great Guardian and protector of the other miraculous, too. Didn't your kwami tell you?"

"Uh…no, my kwami isn't that great in the 'helpfulness department'," Chat sighed, evoking a chuckle from Master Fu. Then, the cat-boy's eyes trailed over to a cane resting against the back wall. He recognized that cane…come to think of it, he knew why this man looked so familiar last night. "You…" he voiced quietly, turning to the elderly man, "You were the man I helped with the cane a year ago."

Master Fu said nothing, but hummed and nodded whilst smiling kindly at the blond, his big, brown eyes holding a warmth to them that made Chat feel calm and happy. The feline hero let his eyes wander to the book the Great Guardian held delicately in his hands. He studied the cover intently until he realized what he was looking at.

My father's book, he thought, That's where it went…but how did Master Fu get it? Did he swipe it from me when I wasn't looking and didn't notice?

"Do you recognize this book, Chat Noir?" the old man inquired, dragging the blond out of his thoughts. With a knowing smile stretching from the corners of his mouth, he walked the book over to the table along the back wall, setting it down before pivoting around to face the duo again.

"Um, n-no, sir," the blond fibbed, "I just, um…nothing." Yes, I recognize my father's book of heroes. How did you get it? How did you know that I recognized it in the first place? Chat Noir pondered.

"Very well," Master Fu nodded, "I told Ladybug yesterday that I feel Hawkmoth is planning something of great evil—evil that the both of you have yet to face. So, I spoke with Wayzz and decided I would train you to better fight against Hawkmoth and his villainy."

"But Master Fu," Ladybug stubbornly interjected, "We already know how fight akumatized villains. What's the point in undergoing training?"

"Both of your miraculous give you the power to enhance your attacks and defenses, Ladybug," the old, Chinese man calmly stated, "Think of it as baking: just because you can put icing on a cake, does not mean you are doing so properly and thus, not achieving the best outcome. I am merely going to teach you how to properly ice a cake."

Ladybug sighed and was tempted to roll her eyes at the metaphor, imagining how well Master Fu and Tikki would get along with their wise words. And it had to be a baking-related one, too…he couldn't be more obvious about her secret identity. The spotted heroine opened her mouth to ask the Great Guardian something, but her voice and words failed to fill the silence. Instead it was one confused kitty.

"Wait," Chat Noir proclaimed, drawing both of their attention to himself, "Who's Wayzz?"

"Now, then," Master Fu broke the silence, "Up until now, you have been doing fine on your own, but it is time that you learn proper hand-to-hand combat…especially since you may be coming face to face with Hawkmoth. So, I must train you to fight with better form and improved skill."

The old man paced back and forth before the superheroes with his hands behind his back as he spoke. He resembled a drill sergeant in the way he stiffly moved in front of the crime-fighting duo. They had helped Master Fu clear the mat in his studio to create an open space for training purposes.

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood front and center, feet shoulder-length apart—a few feet away from each other—and arms at their sides in attention. The elderly man held out his hand to the bluenette, palm up, and kept his other hand behind his back.

"Your yo-yo," he implied.

Without hesitation, Ladybug unhooked her red and black-spotted yo-yo from around her waist and dropped it in the Great Guardian's open hand.

"But, how will we fight without our weapons?" she asked, earning a soft chuckle from Master Fu.

"That, Ladybug, is where you are wrong," he began, "Your body is the weapon. This," Master Fu held up the ladybug-print yo-yo for both she and Chat Noir to see, "This is merely a tool that aids you in the face of battle."

The blond couldn't help but snicker at what just unfolded before him. He knew how much his lady hated being wrong, especially being called out on it, and her face was subtly emitting her frustration at being told so by the old man.

"That goes for you, too, Chat Noir," Master Fu voiced, silencing Chat's giggles as he outstretched his hand to the feline hero, "Hand it over."

"But I—hmph," he pouted, feeling like a child getting his toy taken away for misbehaving. Chat Noir reached behind his back to retrieve his silver baton, detached it from above his belt, then tossed it to the Great Guardian.

Swiftly, the elder Chinese man caught the stick rather easily while it was in mid-air, as opposed to the black-clad hero's thoughts that it would fall to the floor. Master Fu turned away from the pair to set their miraculous 'tools' on the table by the gramophone.

Ladybug leaned closer in Chat's direction and, still looking straight ahead, whispered in a sing-song voice, "Busted." Chat Noir immediately whipped his head around to face his spotted partner, only to see she moved back to standing straight at attention.

"Hey!" he whisper-grumbled back at her, squinting his cat-like eyes in her direction.

Alas, he couldn't stay upset at Ladybug—kind, smart, beautiful, sophomoric Ladybug—for long. If anything, he found her juvenile behavior just then part of her irresistible charm that he fell in love with one year prior.

"Sometimes I forget that you are still teenagers…childish teenagers," Master Fu muttered as he pinched his thumb and forefinger at the bridge of his nose and shook his head with a chuckle. He spun around to face the two high school juniors, "However, you are still the chosen protectors of Paris. Now, face each other and move into fighting stances."

Ladybug was quick to turn on her heel, face her partner, bring her right foot back, and put her fists up by her face. Chat Noir, on the other hand, was less eager and more hesitant to copy his lady. After receiving a cocked eyebrow from her, though, he complied and matched her stance.

"Ladybug," Master Fu announced, walking up to the blue-haired heroine, "Your left, front hand is too close to your face. If someone were to throw a punch at you, or any attack," he brought his hand up to hers and slowly pushed her balled fist to her face, stopping when her gloved hand lightly touched into her mouth and nose. "That would most certainly not do you any good in blocking. Bring your fist forward more. And your right hand, bring it closer to your cheek, like this," he guided her hands to correctly block her face whilst demonstrating, himself, how her arms and hands should look in a protective, fighting stance.

"From here, you can throw a punch or block an attack then quickly bring it back to this stance. And as for your shoulders," Master Fu continued, "There should be in a straight line with your left shoulder forward and your right shoulder back. Align your head with your shoulders and look straight ahead. You want to shield off your vital striking points from your opponents."

Satisfied with the changes Ladybug made to her form, he stepped away and shuffled over to Chat Noir. The blond had made the same adjustments to his stance that Master Fu corrected Ladybug on while he spoke with her.

"Chat Noir," the elderly man spoke up, his amber-brown eyes meeting the feline hero's green, cat ones, "Your elbows are sticking out, exposing your sides. An attacker can easily strike there, like this," Master Fu jabbed the blond cat-boy with a finger punch between his ribs. While it was light, the contact was enough to make him jump back and rub his side—even with his transformation.

"Ow!" he howled, "What was that for?"

"Elbows in!" the old man sternly instructed. Chat Noir's emerald eyes grew wide and alert as he leapt back into his fighting stance and brought his elbows in by his sides. "Your opponents will not go as easy on you, so have your sides blocked. A hero with a broken rib cannot protect his city as well as one without."

Ladybug tried to hide her absolute hardest to keep from giggling at her partner as she adjusted her elbows like Chat Noir, thankful Master Fu hadn't performed that example on her.

"As for your footing," the Great Guardian continued, "You are putting too much weight on your front, left foot." Master Fu sprang into action and swiped his leg across and under Chat Noir's left foot, which sent the black-clad hero crashing down to the mat with a yelp.

The blue-haired superheroine didn't even bother stifling her laughter this time, thankful once again that Master Fu hadn't done so to her being that she had the same problem with her footing. Maybe it was because she was a girl and Chat was a boy…sexist or not, Ladybug was glad she wasn't the one getting her spots handed to her by someone almost two centuries old. Come to think of it, though, her partner's wonky footing could be the reason why he dropped her from above his head at the dance the previous night.

"Ow…again…" the blond mumbled, sprawled out on the floor.

He had to admit he was slightly embarrassed that an old geezer was making him look like a weak kitten in front of his lady. Even though he and Ladybug faced countless akumatized victims where Chat would get thrown around, getting thrown around by Master Fu was far more mortifying. Ladybug's chuckles didn't help boost his confidence in the situation, either; but her laugh rang throughout his body, making him feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Up, up," the old man warmly chided, getting Chat Noir to scramble to his feet and return to his form. "Put \ 90% of your weight on your back, right foot…only 10% on your front. And your front foot should not be flat—your heel must be off the ground so that only the ball of your foot and toes touch the floor."

Master Fu demonstrated with his foot, looking like he was wearing an invisible high heel on his front left foot, but his back, right one remained flat. Ladybug and Chat Noir mimicked the old man and looked up at one another, locking their eyes.

"Yes! We are making progress!" the Chinese man cheered, stroking his beard. "I would prefer you demonstrate your fighting skills while not transformed to see where your strengths and weaknesses truly lie without your enhanced abilities, but I will respect Ladybug's request of keeping your identities a secret. It would serve useful to improve your combat while not relying on your miraculous, but no matter. Now, let me see your hand-to-hand combat so I can study up close where you stand."

"Hold up," Chat interrupted, raising his hands up, "You want us to fight each other?"

"Not fight, spar," the old man corrected as he stepped back and stood by the table where the yo-yo and staff rested alongside the ancient book, "I would say light-contact sparring, but since you are transformed, you will be fine."

"I wouldn't say that…LB, here, can really pack a punch-"

"Begin," Master Fu interjected with a wave of his hand, signaling for the match to commence.

"Wait! I'm not-" SMACK! Chat Noir barely had time to think before Ladybug charged at him with a jump front kick. He stumbled back a few steps and shook off his shock to register what had just happened. "I-I can't hit a girl!" he cried.

"So, I'm guessing that didn't apply to the countless female akumatized victims you fought?" Ladybug breathily smirked, stopping in her tracks.

"That's different—you're my…partner," he shrugged, slouching his shoulders.

"This is training. It's nothing personal, Kitty," she winked one of her bluebell eyes at the blond, causing his heartbeat to pick up speed. He blinked at the red-clad girl, his face blank, before emerging from his trance. A crooked grin appeared at his face and a light-hearted chuckle spilled from his lips.

"Nothing personal, Bugaboo," he winked as he moved back into his corrected fighting stance.

"Begin," Master Fu repeated once more.

Ladybug leapt towards her partner, relishing in the glimpse of panic she caught in his emerald eyes, and threw a series of punches at the blond. While Chat Noir kept dodging and avoiding his lady, he felt himself nearing the corner of the room.

"You need to block," the old man called out, "Combat is not just attack, it is also defense. If you feel trapped, switch off…get out of there."

Hearing these words, Chat Noir tuck and rolled past Ladybug, momentarily surprising the spotted superheroine. The bluenette speedily turned around, but was met with a roundhouse kick from the blond that she blocked in time before he hit her shoulder.

"Roundhouse kicks aim for the mouth and jaw, not the shoulder," Master Fu commented, "Hit them up where they smile."

Staying relatively in one spot of the mat, Ladybug and Chat Noir continued to spar; they would exchange in turns of punch-kick-block combinations while the Great Guardian intently observed the super duo. The two found that combat was much easier and more effective given the new techniques they were shown.

Master Fu made a mental note that they were limiting themselves to the one corner of the mat, so he piped up, "Take advantage of all of the space you have…move around more."

Their match continued for almost thirty minutes, with the protectors of Paris sparring with each other and Master Fu shouting out pointers as they sparred. Eventually, Chat Noir grew tired and found it became difficult to power-house through the training exercise with Ladybug. As his attacks weakened as well as his blocks, the spotted heroine took this as her golden window of opportunity to end the match.

The bluenette swiftly flipped him over her good shoulder and onto his back, causing him go crashing down on the mat. Chat Noir hadn't realized it at the time, but he gripped onto his partner's wrist and pulled her down with him. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, Ladybug propped herself up on all fours overtop of the blond who laid beneath her with a blush creeping up his face.

Ladybug groaned and rolled her bluebell orbs at her black-clad partner as she picked herself up off of him and bounced to her feet. It took Chat a moment to register the fact that he had just been closely face to face with his lady again, and that she had him pinned to the floor…again!

Master Fu watched from a distance as the pair scrambled to get back to their feet in attention stances before him. He grinned smugly at the duo as he playfully picked up the yo-yo and baton from the table next to him. The Great Guardian shuffled back to Ladybug and Chat Noir with his hands behind his back. Silence rang throughout the studio while the high schoolers awaited Master Fu's next instruction.

"Match goes to Ladybug," he proclaimed calmly, tossing the yo-yo to the blue-haired heroine. After she caught her miraculous 'tool', she tied the string around her waist securely.

"Wait, how can you tell?" Chat Noir asked, curious how the elderly man figured Ladybug was the winner.

"Simple," the Chinese man began, "Ladybug cornered you several times, her offense and defense were equally impressive and balanced, though she still needs to improve her form while fighting. She knocked you to the mat and, might I add, pinned you there." The feline hero's cheeks flushed a brilliant hue of red as he sheepishly looked at his boots. The blond lifted his head and stole a glance at his lady—who was walking over to the table where Master left the book of miraculous heroes—before his focus turned to Master Fu, "You can have this back, now," he warmly spoke, handing Chat Noir the silver staff so he could reattach it to above his belt.

Ladybug flipped through the pages of the ancient book, searching for any clues about Hawkmoth's so-called plan; after all, he and the butterfly miraculous were on one of the pages. Chat Noir continued to study his lady…and the tome she firmly grasped. That was it, he needed to ask about his father's book as well as why and how Master Fu got a hold of it.

"It is late and superheroes need their sleep. Go home, the two of you, and rest up," Master Fu said, breaking the silence and interrupting Chat's wandering thoughts, "We shall meet here again at the same time tomorrow."

The black-clad hero paused, thinking back to his schedule and if he had anything planned on a Saturday at 3:30 in the afternoon…he very well could have a piano lesson or photoshoot he forgot about. "What if we can't come due to…prior commitments?" he gulped.

"I hope you realize, Chat Noir, that the safety of this city is more important than any other activity previously planned," Master Fu responded, understanding what the cat-boy meant, "I will see you here tomorrow at 3:30 and that is final."

Ladybug set the book down next to the gramophone and nodded her head along with her partner. The red-clad heroine was going to go see a movie with Alya, but she could just reschedule—whatever means necessary for protecting Paris came first.

"Very well," the Great Guardian smiled, "Goodnight."

The bluenette's eyes widened in addition to her partner's. Did he say night? As in, it's nighttime? Ladybug mentally panicked as she looked out the window to see an inky, blue-black sky dusted with stars, How long have we been here? It was just 3:30…now it's almost…9:15!

"I have to go! I didn't know it got this late!" the spotted heroine exclaimed frantically as she unhooked her yo-yo and prepared to swing out the window, "Goodnight, Master Fu!"

"Me too! I'm right behind you, M'Lady," Chat Noir added as Ladybug flung herself out of the window and into the night. The blond reached behind his back for his staff and extended it to pole-vault after the girl of his dreams.

"Those two are made for each other," Master Fu sighed in content.

Ladybug and Chat Noir sat with their legs dangling from the top of a building a few blocks away from the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. After he caught up with her, the feline hero convinced her to stay and talk for a few minutes before calling it a night. However, what he really wanted to talk about was the book of miraculous heroes.

"If this is about last night," Ladybug began, her voice shaking, "I'm sorry…it wasn't my intention to hurt your feelings, but the truth beam…it…"

"It's fine, M'Lady," Chat warmly replied, brushing away her concern, "Just because you don't return my feelings in the way I'd hoped, doesn't mean I'll stop loving you. Besides, that's not what I wanted to talk about."

The spotted heroine leaned back on the palms of her hands and gazed up at the stars twinkling from above. "Okay, shoot," she encouraged, tilting her head to the side to look at her partner.

God, she looked so beautiful in the moonlight…and the way her bluebell eyes lit up with that spark of warmth and kindness. He knew he was getting distracted, but once again, got lost at sea in his lady's ocean eyes, the depths of the crystal blue that flowed within her orbs pulled him into a hypnotic trance. The blond shook his head free of the spell she cast on him as he remembered why he wanted to talk: the book.

"Um…that book…how did you get it?" Chat Noir questioned, looking away from Ladybug and her enticing gaze.

"I brought it to Master Fu," the bug-heroine answered plainly, "This boy at my school had it and my kwami said it was imperative we get it to the Great Guardian. Actually, it was more difficult than I expected because this other girl was flirting with him and she swiped the book from him. Then she saw that there was a fox superhero and based her lie of being a miraculous wielder off of that. You know the rest about how she was akumatized by Hawkmoth and became 'Volpina'."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Chat Noir spoke up, waving his clawed hands frantically and shaking his head, "Lila stole the book?"

"Yeah," Ladybug nodded and shrugged, "When she threw it in the trash, I retrieved it…but then when she started telling the boy those lies about me again, I swooped in and…and told her off, but…then she was akumatized because of me."

That was what must have happened in the park that day, the blond pondered, And then I got upset at Ladybug for yelling at Lila…oh, God, she must hate me as my civilian self for doing that! I officially have no chance with her.

"Well," the bluenette piped up, drawing Chat Noir back out of his thoughts, "I need to get going for real this time…see you tomorrow. Bug out!" Ladybug hurled her yo-yo off into the distance and swung off into the night as she made her way back to her house.

Ladybug landed gracefully on her balcony and slipped in through the trap door above her bed. She decided to drop her transformation once she planted her feet on the floor next to her mattress and her kwami popped out of her earrings. Tikki floated over to the bed, collapsing in a heap of exhaustion and hunger after holding that transformation for all those hours.

Marinette let out a sigh, beginning to feel her body ache all over. Master Fu worked them harder than most of Hawkmoth's villains have…now she was bound to be sore in every muscle tomorrow.

"Tikki," the blue-haired girl whined, "I'm pooped…has Master Fu always been that-" Marinette paused mid-sentence when she heard a creaking noise coming from below her loft bed, so she motioned for the bug-like creature to hide as she peeped her head over the edge.

At first she saw nothing except the darkness of her room, but then she discerned a switch being flipped and her room was suddenly engulfed in light.

"M-Marinette…you…you're Ladybug?"

Mwahaha...cliffhanger.

In case anyone was wondering, I based Master Fu off of my karate instructor by having him say pretty much everything combat-related that my instructor says (about what a weapon is, stance corrections, pointers while sparring, etc.) That, and my instructor tends to go rougher on the guys and not the girls when demonstrating techniques and such, as you read with Chat Noir. He's basically a 75-year-old badass ;)

Feel free to guess in the reviews who found out that Marinette is Ladybug...and while you're at it, tell me what you like, what you dislike, what you want to see happen, and any predictions you have for future chapters. I love reading what you lovelies have to say!

Until next chapter, toodles! :D