Crap, Marinette's gotten herself into some trouble! While trying fighting off new akuma Zombizou, she narrowly escapes getting caught by Nathaniel. Suspicious, he basically forces her into going on a date. How is Marinette going to keep her secret and her lips from getting smooched against her will?!
Sorry this chapter took so long. Sort of needed a break and was focusing on Lukanette for a while.
It was late evening one night, and Nathaniel was in his room. The lamp was on, and he was sketching furiously in one of his books. He had reference books for all kinds of romantic scenarios and had to flirt with/court a girl.
"Okay... 'Marinette Dupain-Cheng,'" Nathaniel began while looking over the strip he drew. It was a picture of Marinette facing him, with her usual smile and pretty eyes. "'I've had eyes for you for a long time. Will you be my girlfriend?'"
He turned the page, and Marinette had a delighted look on her face, her eyes were sparkling and her speech bubble said, "Oh yes, Nathaniel! Truth is, I've felt the same way about you for a while, too!"
Turning the page again, Marinette was puckering up for a kiss.
"Sweet Marinette..." Nathaniel swooned as he raised the book to his lips to try and kiss the image.
'Knock it off, Romeo.' Evillustrator laughed from inside.
Nathaniel startled and dropped his comic, saying, "Evillustrator!"
Evillustrator came out from inside Nathaniel's body, and he stood in the room.
"Up to no good as usual?" Evillustrator joked.
Nathaniel quickly hid the comic under his bed, then said, "Weren't you still asleep?"
"I'm awake now," Evillustrator stated. "If you want to kiss a girl that badly, I can help. Check this out."
He sketched out a giant TV screen on his tablet and it conjured up in the room. The video feed depicted a man with his back against a tree in the woods, meanwhile he was freaked at the sight of a woman who looked like a zombie doll with her hair in a bun, with pink lips.
"This is my colleague, Zombizou." Evillustrator explained.
Zombizou stared the man down a bit, smiled, and then she shapeshifted into a young woman with long black hair, beautiful green eyes, and wearing a dark blue dress. She gave him a demure smile.
He blushed, dropped his things, and a photograph of this woman fell out of his bag.
The disguised Zombizou approached him, and he was helpless. She placed her hands against his chest. Zombizou then kissed this man on the lips.
"Zombizou sees into the heart of anyone she's near, becomes the person they love, and then she drains them of their love waves." Evillustrator explained.
The man collapsed and he fell unconscious.
"Thank you for your love." She giggled.
"With the help of Zombizou, any woman in love is yours," Evillustator offered. "What do you think?"
"I... Don't find that ethical. I want Marinette to fall for me willingly." Nathaniel explained.
"That's not gonna happen without the akumas' help and you know it." Evillustrator stated with a sigh.
Nathaniel was a little perturbed.
"Hold it!" A voice shouted. The two boys looked up to the screen and saw Ladybug was confronting Zombizou. "How can you drain the love waves from these innocent people?!"
"It's nice to meet you, Ladybug." Zombizou giggled.
Ladybug spun her yo-yo and started bathing her opponent with her own love waves. Zombizou grunted in pain before jumping away.
"Get back here!" Ladybug shouted before taking off after her.
"Damned Love Angel. That was fast." Evillustrator griped before drawing up a portal to go to the scene. He left Nathaniel in his room.
Ladybug was running through the woods. She stopped when she came face-to-face with Zombizou.
She giggled and said, "Aw, how sweet. When an adorable girl comes running after me, I have to stop and see what I can do to help. It's the teacher in me, after all."
Ladybug took her yo-yo out and began spinning it.
"What's the deal with this one, Nooroo?" Ladybug asked.
"That's Zombizou! She can drain people of their love waves!" Nooroo warned.
"Well, not me!" Ladybug declared.
"So... Who's the one who has your heart, honey?" Zombizou asked before glowing pale blue. As her form changed...
"Luka?" Ladybug asked, surprised to see her crush there.
"It's so great to see you here, Marinette. This place is perfect for me to play music," "Luka" stated. "Come closer. I want to get to know you better, and maybe we can start our own love song."
"Oh, Luka..." Ladybug said, nearly swooning.
Then Zombizou glowed again, before changing into Adrien.
"Adrien?!" Ladybug squawked before stepping back in shock.
"I've always hoped that you would like me. I've felt the same way, Mariboo!" "Adrien" spoke.
"What's happening here?!" Ladybug asked.
"Keep alert, Ladybug! This akuma can look into the heart of anyone she's near, and turn into the one they love!" Nooroo stated as Zombizou kept switching from Luka to Adrien and back again.
"Marinette..." "Luka" murmured, before switching back into Adrien.
"Mariboo..." "Adrien" spoke back.
"NO! Not looking!" Ladybug hollered, squeezing her eyes shut before taking out her yo-yo. "Ladybug Bridal Blast!"
She fired a giant blast of white love waves at Zombizou, but she was nimble enough to evade it. She jumped up into the tree.
Ladybug opened her eyes to see that she missed.
"Ladybug, I'll see you soon!" Zombizou giggled before vanishing.
"Crap, I missed..." Ladybug griped.
Nearby, Evillustrator had seen everything that happened, and he said, "The Bridal Blast... It could even destroy me if I'm not careful."
He then vanished.
Nathaniel was running through the same park.
"This is the park that Zombizou and Ladybug were fighting in, I'm sure!" Nathaniel shouted.
He stopped when he caught sight of red walking through the woods to leave.
"Ladybug!" Nathaniel spoke, surprised to see the angel.
As she was making to leave, Ladybug was talking with Nooroo.
"So Ladybug, who do you have stronger feelings for? Luka, or Adrien?" Nooroo questioned.
"I have no idea, Nooroo..." She admitted.
Nathaniel was hiding behind another nearby tree. As Ladybug passed out of sight, a flash of pink was barely seen, and then Marinette came out from the other side.
"Oh, Marinette." Nathaniel said, coming out from behind the tree.
The kwamis ducked into hiding before they could be seen. Startled, Marinette said, "Oh, Nathaniel... Hi there. How... How are you?"
"Oh, I didn't see a thing..." Nathaniel said, before turning tail and running. "Um, bye!"
"Hold it, Nathaniel..." Marinette began, before looking at her kwamis in confusion.
The next day at school, Marinette and company were in their club room, talking about a news article Alya had found online. They were looking at their club laptop.
"This is awful. The men and women who were attacked by the kissing fiend have been left very weak," Alya said. "And they're not sure if the damage is reversible."
"Sounds like that akuma I ran into last night, Zombizou." Marinette said to her team.
"Did you get her?" Trixx questioned.
"Sorry, I'm afraid not." Marinette admitted.
There was a knock at the door, and the kwamis hid.
Nathaniel opened the door and said, "Hey Marinette? Can I talk to you? Alone?"
"What, you don't have the balls to talk to Marinette with me and Chloé in the room?" Alya teased.
"No, I seriously need to talk to Marinette alone." Nathaniel said, blushing.
"Okay..." Marinette said as she slowly left the room with Nathaniel.
"Marinette and Nathaniel? Doesn't sound right to me." Alya said.
The others in the room nodded in agreement.
Out in the courtyard, Marinette was following Nathaniel, who was mentally prepping himself for what he was going to do. Evillustrator's image phased out so he could talk to Nathaniel.
'Nathaniel, listen, I understand you want this girl, but please keep your priorities straight! It's time for you to find the Love Angels and-' Evillustrator began, but...
"QUIET!" Nathaniel shouted.
Marinette flinched and said, "Um... I didn't say a word, Nathaniel."
"Oh, sorry, Marinette," Nathaniel said, turning around. "I wasn't talking about you."
Relaxing, Marinette asked, "So, what's the matter?"
"W-W-Well..." Nathaniel began, blushing hard. He then lifted his head before asking loudly, "Marinette, will you go out on a date with me?!"
"Whoa, a date?!" Marinette asked, her eyes wide with surprise and her stomach feeling like it was in knots.
"Thing is, Marinette, I just-" Nathaniel began, but Marinette put a hand up to stop him.
"Nathaniel, listen," Marinette began before putting her hand down. "I'm flattered. I really am, Nathaniel, but the truth is I can't. There's someone else I like."
"Marinette, all it's gonna take is one date with me for you to forget this other man," Nathaniel pleaded. "If you get to know me, you'll see we're meant for each other!"
"I can't, Nathaniel..." Marinette said sadly. "I'm sorry..."
Nathaniel's face was sad and his eyes were warbling with dejection. Evillustrator phased out a bit just for Nathaniel to see, and said, 'Hey Nathaniel, want some help from an akuma?'
He phased back in, Nathaniel glowed for a second, and then his face grew angry. He said, "Well, what about that secret of yours? I know all about it."
Marinette looked up in shock.
"W-What secret?" Marinette asked, but then her brain replayed the events from the night before. Their brief encounter. "No way... Impossible..."
"You don't want that secret getting out, do you?" Nathaniel questioned, his arms crossed.
Marinette was stunned silent, not sure how to react.
Evillustrator came out again and said, 'Whoa, look at you, Nathaniel! Taking advantage of an innocent girl. Maybe you DO have the potential to be an akuma.'
Marinette's face fell.
Inside the school on the second story, Adrien was watching from the window.
Marinette went back to the club room and she reported everything. Unsurprisingly...
"You and Nathaniel? On a date?!" Alya asked, unpleasantly surprised. The kwamis were out, too.
"You'd better have a good reason for doing something so utterly ridiculous, Marinette!" Chloé demanded, hands on her hips.
"He couldn't have worn you down, could he? You didn't just say "yes" because you were sick of his pushiness, right?" Alya asked.
"Well... Truth is, I think there's a possibility that Nathaniel's somehow figured out that I'm Ladybug." Marinette admitted, seriousness in her tone.
"HOW?!" Chloé asked, angrily. "Isn't there some unbreakable barrier created by our friendship that protects our identities or something?"
"In theory, Lady Chloé." Nooroo said.
"That's why I have to go on this date to make sure. And if Nathaniel suspects something, I'll find a way to trick him otherwise." Marinette said, her arms crossed.
The girls and kwamis were all looking at each other in concern.
'My first date, and with a boy I don't even have feelings for. Just my luck.' Marinette thought, worried.
The next day, Nathaniel was waiting in the park, dressing in a semi-formal suit. He ditched the tie, the top buttons on his collar were undone, and his slacks were khakis. Overall, it was just a nicer version of his usual outfit. He was also holding a small bouquet of flowers.
He was looking around, and he checked his phone, saying, "Marinette's late... But I guess that's to be expected with her."
Evillustrator came out of Nathaniel's body.
"Remember, Nathaniel. If you want this girl to kiss you, you need to push her, push her, and push her even more. And after that, keep pushing her." Evillustrator advised.
"I know, you already told me." Nathaniel said.
"Zombizou's taking care of your work for you, trying to bait the Love Angels and draw them out," Evillustrator explained. "In the meantime, I hope you'll be able to get a kiss from this Marinette girl without me. Bonne chance!"
He drew his jetpack on his tablet, conjured it up on his back, and then flew off.
Nathaniel gave a sigh.
"Um, Nathaniel?" Marinette said from offscreen.
Nathaniel turned around to see Marinette, dressed in a casual pink dress and flat shoes, and her hair in its usual pigtails. In short, she didn't really put in a lot of effort for this.
"I... Sorry I'm late." She said tensely.
"Oh, Marinette," Nathaniel said as he came over to her, and handed her the flowers. "I got you these flowers. I hope you like them."
Marinette took the bouquet and gave a somewhat awkward smile before saying, "Thank you very much."
The two of them started walking together. Nathaniel was smiling, and Marinette was looking a bit worried.
"So, Nathaniel... What's up with that secret?" Marinette asked.
Smiling, he said, "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not important."
"But it is..." Marinette began to insist.
A familiar car pulled up, and out of the back seat came Adrien, who approached them.
"Well, this is an unusual sight," Adrien commented. "Marinette and Nathaniel. Quite an odd pair."
"Adrien..." Marinette began.
"We're on a date," Nathaniel stated. "Is it really that weird?"
"No." Adrien spoke.
"Adrien, you really don't get it..." Marinette began, but Nathaniel cut in.
"We're on our way to my my parents' studio house on the other side of town," Nathaniel said, smirking in triumph. "You jealous?"
"No," Adrien casually stated with a shrug. "It really isn't is my business who Marinette decides to spend her time with."
"Please! Adrien, you don't..." Marinette started.
"I'll be on my way, okay?" Adrien said before turning and walking for the car.
"Adrien!" Marinette said, taking after him.
"Marinette!" Nathaniel spoke after her.
Marinette caught up to Adrien, who was still facing the car, and she said, "Listen, Adrien, I have no choice but to do this!"
"Are you going to be okay on your own with him?" Adrien asked, not turning to look at Marinette.
"Huh?" Marinette asked.
"I know you can handle yourself. But still, let me know if he does anything to you that you don't like, and I'll take care of it." Adrien stated.
"Adrien. Thank you. I'll be okay." Marinette said as she smiled.
"Hey, come on, Marinette!" Nathaniel said before taking Marinette by the hand and dragging her away.
Adrien looked on with worry, and said, "Mariboo..."
Over with the others, they'd met up in Chloé's bedroom and they were looking at the information regarding Zombizou. They even had a map that detailed all of the areas where the attacks were reported.
"Bingo!" Chloé said.
"What's up?" Alya asked.
"This is the area with the most concentrated number of Zombizou reports." She said as she pointed at the park area.
"Yeah, Chloé," Alya said. "I noticed that too."
"So, anyone in that area is almost certain to be attacked by that akuma!" Chloé declared.
Alya face-palmed and said, "Chloé, that goes without saying! I already knew that from all the data we collected."
"Doesn't matter who figured it out first," Chloé argued. "With this knowledge, I'm going right into the war zone!"
"What are you talking about, Lady Chloé?" Nooroo asked. Trixx and Pollen were looking at Chloé in confusion, too.
Soon enough, Chloé had dug out her favorite, sparkly, yellow dress, white wedge shoes, had a white clutch purse, was wearing one of her favorite pendant necklaces, her hair was down for once (but her Miraculous was still in it), and she'd changed her makeup. She was walking through the park, seemingly minding her own business, and she had a smile on her face. Pollen was hiding in the clutch.
'Since I'm an utterly fabulous girl, I'll be the bait,' Chloé thought as she kept walking. 'That Zombizou will DEFINITELY want to target me.'
Alya, who was walking was a fair distance away, had her arms crossed and she was looking at Chloé with some bemusement in her face. Trixx was hiding in her shirt, while Nooroo was sitting on her left shoulder.
"If she were more humble, she'd be a lot more attractive to Zombizou." Alya muttered.
"My instincts are telling me we should wait on Ladybug instead of doing this." Nooroo commented.
"Don't worry so much, Nooroo," Alya said with a smile. "Chloé and I have this in the bag."
"That settles it: I'm going to find Marinette." Nooroo said before flying off.
"Hey! Nooroo!" Alya protested before pouting.
At the Kurtzbergs' studio house, Nathaniel was standing at an open window and looking at the sunset-painted sky. The house also had several paintings and other art pieces on the walls. Meanwhile, Marinette was sitting at a small table, looking down at the floor as opposed to at her "date."
Nathaniel said, "A beautiful sunset..."
He turned to Marinette, and suggested, "Hey, why don't we take a trip down the Seine under the starry sky on a rented boat? Sounds romantic, right? We can talk about our plans for the future."
Instead of answering the suggestion, Marinette turned her face up to Nathaniel and asked, "Nathaniel, could you please tell me about that secret you know? Otherwise it's gonna keep bothering me."
Nathaniel's smile fell and he grew a bit quiet. He sighed and said, "Okay, I'll tell you."
Marinette swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Marinette... Are you really the Love Angel Ladybug?" Nathaniel asked.
Marinette tensed, her back straightened up, then asked, "Um... Love Angel? Ladybug? Who's that? A super heroine that you came up with for your comics?"
Nathaniel didn't move an inch. In fact, his arms were crossed and he was looking at Marinette, almost as if he didn't believe her.
'Crap! This isn't good! Not at all! What'll I do?!' Marinette thought.
Meanwhile, Chloé was still walking through the park, where multiple couples were sitting on benches and being all sickly-sweet with each other. Chloé was being sure to play innocent as she tried to lure out Zombizou.
"Oh dear," Chloé said, trying to get Zombizou's attention. "This is forcing me to face things that I'm too innocent to learn about yet..."
Alya was walking behind, looking at all the couples, and giggled to herself, "I'm learning new things, and it's so much fun."
Unfortunately, Zombizou was close by, but she was busy draining love waves from everyone in the vicinity. She was in the woods, and she had just finished kissing the lips of a young man. He collapsed, and then the akuma giggled.
"Thank you for your love wave." She giggled before turning and walking away... revealing that she had several other victims in her wake, both men and women.
"Ugh, I can't believe she hasn't attacked yet!" Chloé said, crossing one leg over the other. She and Alya had sat down on a bench to take a break. "I've been parading around in my best outfit, basically leaving myself open for her."
"I think I should've been the decoy," Alya said. "You're terrible at being deliberate bait, Chloé."
"Excuse me?!" She shouted. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"You're too obvious," Alya elaborated. "You don't seriously think an akuma's dumb enough to fall for that, do you? And not only that, we're in public."
"You think you can do better?!" Chloé insinuated. "Do you even have anything good to-"
*AAAAAAAH!*
"Over there!" Alya said, pointing in the direction the scream came from. "Come on!"
The girls got up and started towards the shout.
A young woman was confronted by Zombizou, and she was scared out of her wits. But then Zombizou shapeshifted into a handsome young man with dark skin, bright green eyes, and short black hair in a mohawk and was wearing clothing that just screamed "biker."
The woman smiled and willingly let Zombizou give her a kiss, draining her love waves.
But nearby, Alya and Chloé were watching everything, and Alya said, "That's got to be her!"
"No kidding!" Chloé agreed just as the kwamis came out of hiding. "Let's get going!"
"Cunning Wedding Flower!" "Growing Wedding Flower!" "Bridal Change! Wedding Dress Transform!" "Angel Illusion Rena Rouge!" "Angel Subjection Queen Bee!"
Rena Rouge took out her flute, then shouted to Zombizou, "CUT IT OUT!"
"What?" Zombizou said as she whirled around, leaving the woman unconscious on the soil.
"Love Angels Rena Rouge and Queen Bee are here!" The girls said as they posed, ready for battle.
"I've been waiting for you two angels." Zombizou giggled before glowing. This time, she was able to use her powers to deceive both Queen Bee and Rena Rouge, by showing them two different faces.
"Carapace?!" Rena asked, seeing the turtle angel in front of her.
"OMG, it's XY!" Queen Bee squealed as she saw a young man a little older than her.
He was wearing primarily purple, including a purple headband that framed a blonde, swooping up-do. He had blue eyes, and was wearing an XY gold necklace.
"It's great to see you here," Zombizou said, able to split her voice between the illusions. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."
The girls blushed, smiling and swooning over their crushes.
"Nice to see you here, Queenie," Zombizou said, voicing XY. "How about you come and give me some loving of your own?"
Queen Bee giggled as she blushed and her knees were getting weak. She squealed, "Oh, you have no idea how much I love your music!"
"Rena, come into my arms, dudette," Zombizou spoke, this time voicing Carapace. "Only one fox is allowed in this turtle's burrow, and that's you."
"You're a handsome shellback guy, Carapace," Rena swooned. "I could go for a hug and kiss from you right about now."
Blushes on their cheeks and completely taken by the deception, the two angels started walking closer to Zombizou.
Zombizou let out a giggle as she watched the hypnotized angels come close to her, like moths to a flame. She also had her arms out.
Up above the scene, the Evillustrator was watching, a triumphant, evil smirk on his face, and his arms were crossed.
Things weren't going too well on Marinette's end, either.
"Marinette..." Nathaniel said, stepping closer.
"What do you want?" Marinette pleaded.
"I won't say a word to anyone that you're Ladybug," Nathaniel began as he walked closer to Marinette. "I promise to never tell."
"Didn't I just tell you that I don't know who you're talking about?" Marinette questioned as she stood up.
Nathaniel, instead of listening, put his hands on Marinette's shoulders and leaned in closer. Marinette looked at him fearfully.
"Marinette," He said. "I won't tell anyone, I promise, just... Just kiss me."
"K-Kiss you?!" Marinette asked, her voice pitch higher in fear.
"Marinette..." Nathaniel moaned before puckering up and beginning to lean in for a kiss.
Marinette's eyes were wide and she tried to find a way out.
"Lady Marinette!" Nooroo shouted as he came through the window. "Listen-"
Marinette snagged the kwami and blocked Nathaniel's lips with him. Nooroo shouted and blasted butterflies at him, like an electric shock of some type. Nathaniel then fell on his back, unconscious from the impact.
"Blech!" Nooroo gagged, sticking his tongue out. "That was disgusting."
"Sorry about that, Nooroo," Marinette said, hugging the kwami to her cheek. "But I didn't have any choice. It was either that or have to non-consensually sacrifice my lips."
"Lips?!" Nooroo squeaked. "That reminds me! Zombizou is after the lips of Ladies Chloé and Alya!"
"What?!" Marinette said, with Tikki coming out. "Then let's go!"
In the park...
"Come to me." Zombizou said, voicing for both disguises at once.
"Carapace..." Rena moaned.
"Play a song for me, XY..." Queen Bee also moaned.
The two angels were swaying, blushing, and they were approaching the akuma without any inhibitions.
"Oh, it's so easy to fool these girls!" Zombizou giggled.
"STOP!" Ladybug shouted as she jumped on to the scene.
"Damn it!" Zombizou shouted.
Ladybug took out her yo-yo and started spinning it and bathing the group in rainbow love waves. They were all groaning in pain, but it didn't take long for Rena Rouge and Queen Bee to find the love waves soothing and healing. But Zombizou wasn't very happy about it, and almost in an instant, her illusions shattered.
The other angels gasped as they regained their senses, just as Ladybug jumped in front of them.
"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked of her teammates.
"Yeah, we're good," Queen Bee confirmed. "Thanks."
"Damn you, Ladybug! You've got some nerve, breaking my illusions!" Zombizou griped.
"The only illusions I like are the ones Rena Rouge creates!" Ladybug said.
"You have some nerve, deceiving me with the face of my favorite DJ!" Queen Bee shouted.
"Bride's Bashfulness!" Queen Bee shouted as she summoned her baton.
Zombizou fired black energy from the palms of her hands.
"Marriage Announcement - Honey Star Shower!" Queen Bee hollered, firing bee-shaped lights. The black energy split like the Red Sea parting.
"I'm the angel of illusions, but I'm no hypocrite! I can't believe you'd deceive me with the face of my crush!" Rena Rouge shouted. "Love's Tribute Candle!"
She summoned her wand, then shouted, "Miraculous Fantasies!"
She fired foxtail lights, and it seemed to surround Zombizou. But then she ducked out of the way.
"Time for kisses, girls!" Zombizou said before blowing big, pink, glowing kiss marks.
"Ack!" Queen Bee shouted, narrowly dodging one kiss by quickly moving to her left.
"Ew!" Rena squeaked, ducking and leaning her back backwards, as if she were doing the limbo.
"Knock it off!" Ladybug squealed, ducking her head.
Zombizou fired more kisses, but yet again...
"Ah!" Queen Bee screamed.
"Stop that!" Rena shouted, hitting the dirt on her stomach.
"Cut it out!" Ladybug screamed as she dodged another kiss while covering her rear.
Zombizou blew a giant kiss at the girls, and this time it had its tongue sticking out and swishing around.
The girls were grossed out, but they weren't too paralyzed to move.
"Look out, girls!" Nooroo shouted.
Ladybug dodged the kiss by doing something akin to leap frog, meanwhile Rena and Queen Bee ran to avoid the giant French kiss.
"Hey, don't you know that you shouldn't kiss people without their consent?! Especially if they don't have feelings for you?!" Ladybug barked out. "If you don't understand, then don't go around kissing this way!"
"Silly girl!" Zombizou said before blowing yet another giant, French kiss.
Ladybug summoned up her Lady's Crystal and took it into her hands.
"Lady's Crystal!" Ladybug called out, activating it.
The glowing lights from the Lady's Crystal were bathing the giant lips, and then they were converted into akuma energy. The energy was then absorbed into the crystal, causing it to flash red and for the wings to open.
"Engagement Present! Lady's Crystal, L'amour Pour Vous!" Ladybug shouted, shooting the love waves at Zombizou.
Zombizou was blasted directly, but her facial expression went from pained to happy. She said, "Wow... The feelings of this love wave are as sweet as a kiss of pure love."
She faded into sparkles before going up into the sky.
"Well, mission accomplished again," Rena said as she and Queen Bee approached their leader. "And man, that was an uncomfortable one."
"No kidding. I mean, yuck, kisses against our will?! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Queen Bee added.
"Crap!" Ladybug said. "I totally forgot about Nathaniel!"
The people who were attacked by Zombizou were waking up, but their memories were blank.
"Ugh... What happened?" "What am I doing here?"
Up in his hiding spot in the tree, Evillustrator muttered, "Crap. You can't even steal a kiss from those girls."
He took his jetpack and flew off.
Back at the studio house...
"Nathaniel? Oh, Nathaniel?" Marinette said, crouching over Nathaniel.
Nathaniel stirred, and then he woke up to see Marinette. He sat up a bit and asked, "W-What happened?"
"I really haven't a clue," Marinette said. "You were trying to force a kiss on me, and then you just fainted. You've been out for hours."
"I... I see." Nathaniel said, blushing.
"Just... Promise me you won't try anything like that again, okay?" Marinette gently asked. "No one wants to be kissed without consent."
Nathaniel didn't answer back.
"Now... Let me go and get you some water." Marinette said as she made her way to the studio house's kitchen.
As she quietly shut the door, she said to her kwamis, "That was close..."
Back out in the main room, Nathaniel stood up, a wistful smile on his face, and murmured, "Marinette..."
The window opened and the Evillustrator flew in.
"Ack! Evillustrator!" Nathaniel quietly panicked. "Listen, hurry and get inside me! Marinette's in the kitchen right now!"
"Don't go ordering me around." Evillustrator spat, a sour look on his face.
"And... How'd it go with the Love Angels?" Nathaniel questioned quietly.
"Quiet," Evillustrator said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Ladybug showed up and ruined everything. I need a break..."
He flew inside Nathaniel, who groaned in pain a bit, but then he relaxed.
"Okay, so... That rules Marinette out as a suspect. There's no way she's a Love Angel." Nathaniel said, a bit relieved.
"Isn't that what I've been saying from the get-go?" Marinette sweetly asked as she came out with a glass of ice water.
However, being the klutz she was, she wound up tripping on nothing, and the water glass flew out of her hands.
"AH!" Nathaniel shouted as the ice water splashed all over him.
"Sorry!" Marinette squealed.
That was a close call! Marinette's thrown Nathaniel off her trail... For now, at least.
In the next chapter, Nathaniel takes advantage of Marinette's weak spot, people in distress and crying, to get her to do a mock wedding with him. Wait, what?! Okay, this is just getting insane! And it doesn't look like Adrien's too fond the idea, either.
Alright, let's see about episode 37, focusing on Kagami/Ryuuko.
In the angel realm...
"Ryuuko is the fourth Love Angel?" Fu recapped.
"That's right, dude," Carapace reported. "And now we have all four of the Miraculous Something Four, but..."
"But?" Fu questioned.
"But it doesn't seem like the angel realm is a priority for Ryuuko," Carapace added. "It seems her only interest is destroying and killing akumas."
"I fail to understand why Ryuuko must try and convince everyone why she's so strong," Fu admitted. "Or why she fights solo... I wonder..."
"You wonder what, Master?" Carapace asked.
"As you're aware, angels are beings that are extremely in tune with their emotions and their love waves above everything else," Fu stated. "But if events were to happen that were to disturb those love waves, I wonder what would happen to that angel."
There was silence for a second.
"There's a chance that the seed of hatred could be planted inside that angel's heart." Fu somberly spoke.
"Seed of hatred?!" Carapace asked. "How could it be possible for something so nasty to live inside the heart of an angel?"
"Hm..." Fu murmured.