Chapter 37

"WHAT?! WHY?!" asked all heroes unison. "Do you want to cease us as users of Miraculouses?"
"Don't worry," calmed Master Fu situation down. "I just need powers of all of them for one small experiment. Keep your Miraculouses, all I need are kwamies."
Nobody said, what was quite obvious – Miraculous without kwami is good for nothing and they all felt a bit unsure, whether this old 'prankster' did not wish to trick them stop using transformation for later.
"Madam Cheng, I'll need a private place for a moment," he added.
Sabine showed him door to small reserve kitchen, used for smaller rushing cooking.
Adrien dialed number of professor Lefebvre:
"Professor, cat is out of the bag. You may prepare your article for publishing. By the way, CSI Paris will probably contact you soon. They also obtained one akuma and I recommended them to contact you."
"Thank you for information, Chat Noir," said professor. "I'll be prepared to explain them my preferential need of authorship of any prospective article concerning akumas."
"Fine good luck! See you, professor!" said Adrien.
"Professor?" asked Alya with strange smirk.
"Later," said Adrien. "We asked an expert in Lepidopterology to help us with akumas."
"Interesting idea," agreed Alya. "How is it possible, I never though about that myself?"
"Hard to say," lied Adrien. He was quite sure, true reason is, Alya tends to ignore using experts for expertises and do double-check of every information…
"Marinette," Chloé sounded surprisingly shyly. "Could we be friends?"
"I think so," smiled Marinette. "Why do you need to ask?"
"As friends, we could maybe share…"
"Share what?!" asked Marintte with sharp blade in her voice.
"Rather whom," smiled Chloé back. "Share Adrien, I mean we two could share him. I could have him on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You'd have Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays."
Tom and Nino both looked extremely offended. Sabine and Alya on the other hand looked rather amusedly.
"Not that way," said Kagami with totally serious face expression. "YOU could have Tuesdays and Fridays, Marinette Wednesadays and Saturdays and I WILL have Mondays and Thursdays."
"What about Sundays?" asked Alya.
Marinette looked consternated and stayed wordless.
"Sundays are for relaxation," said Kagami and Chloé unison.
"You simply MUSTN'T allow that!" Nino kicked Adrien's ankle.
"Don't worry!" hissed Adrien back. "I'm not such an idiot."
He cleared throat, what helped him to capture attention of everybody and said, maybe a bit more loudly, than was necessary:
"That will NOT happen! I'm not confessor of bearded pedophile, so I don't need more, than one girlfriend. And I chose for Marinette, to be the one. So I won't be shared. And nor I will also not share you Marinette. Not with Luka, Nathaniel, nor with any other boy, who could fall into you in future."
"What about girls?" asked Alya with wicked smile. "Would you share Marinette with girl?"
"It¨s your round now!" hissed Adrien to Nino. "Go and tame her!"
"Tame Alya?" asked Nino. "Are you crazy? She's unstoppable like natural disaster. It's same like you ask me to tame tornado or earthquake…"
"You coward!" accused him Adrien.
"Living dog is better, than dead lion,*" answered Nino. "Finally, I'm Frenchman."
(*Ecclesiastes 9/4 – "There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.")
Adrien gave him killing glare, but laughed.
In that moment thankfully opened door, where all their kwamies were hidden.
"Come to see my surprise!" invited Master Fu everybody to back kichen.
He showed table, where six plain brass rings were placed. All kwamies flied around like a swarm of bees.
"We named that 'Binding Rings'," said Fu. "There's part of spell given by each kwami, so nobody should figure out, you're heroes. Well, with exception of Chloé, as everybody knows, she's Queen Bee. And Gabriel as well as Nathalie will also know identity of you all. But whoever, who did not yet figured it out, should not be able to reveal you."
"Nice," nodded Alya. "I hope, there's no ONE ring to rule them all."
"Off course not," smiled Master Fu. "Don't worry."
He grabbed one of rings.
"There are old Chinese ideograms," he explained. "This is Courage, this is Willpower, this is Wisdom, this is Strengthness, this is Loyalty, and this is Kindheartedness, these ideograms are on all six rings. But on four rings there is Love, on two of them, for you Chloé and for you, Kagami, there is ideogram for Sisterhood."
He gave kind smile to all six heroes:
"Come here. I have no authority, so my ceremony has no official, nor formal value, but as cleric I can guarantee at least some symbolical sense. Marinette and Adrien, you proved yourself. Will you accept each other as your partner, not only for fight in mask, but also for common life, life out of mask?"
Marinette smiled on Adrien:
"I will."
"I will," Adrien smiled back.
"Nice," nodded Master Fu. He placed one ring to Marinette's palm, second to Adrien's. "Marinette, place your ring to Adrien's left middle finger. Adrien, place your ring to Marinette's left middle finger. I cannot proclaim you man and woman, but I can proclaim you partners in good and in bad…"
He looked dreamy for a moment, but smiled, evidently being cool and contended with himself.
"So, kiss each other!" he said, observing, how Marinette and Adrien looked a bit bewitched, keeping hands of each other. "Dismiss!" he added order.
"Alya and Nino, you know what to do,I believe," said Fu, giving them their rings. "Will you accept each other as your partner, not only for fight in mask, but also for common life, life out of mask?"
"I will," they both said unison and used rings same way, like Marinette and Adrien did few moments ago.
Alya did not need encourage in order for kissing Nino.
"Nice," smirked old Guardian. "Chloé and Kagami, here are your rings. I understand, it's not same, as they obtained. But I have no boys for you two, so the only I could recommend you, behave to each other like being really sisters."
To Adrien's and probably also Kagami's surprise Chloé hugged japan girl. Kagami resisted for a moment, but finally hugged her back.
"So Queen Bee, here's your first assigment as press secretary," said Master Fu. "You'll need to explain, why you have these rings. So, show yourself!"
"Easy-peasy lemon squeesy," smirked Chloé. "All I wanted was to celebrate my being heroine with Adrien. But he was already with HIS girlfriend and their friends here, but they invited me to join the party. And during party an old Chinese junkman came with so-named friendship rings to sell them to dupes. As Adrien paid for it and as it was a present from him, I accepted it, however I normally do not wear plain brass."
"Not bad for your first official public lie," said Master Fu.
"What do you mean?" asked Alya. "As press secretary she should explain…"
"I hope, you're really not so naïve," said Adrien. "Your press secretary's task is not to explain things. But to say things in a way to manipulate everybody to think, what you want them to think. Sooner you got it, the better."
It was strange moment, when Alya was finally speechless…
"Lunch is ready to be eaten," interrupted a bit unpleasant atmosphere Sabine. "Remember you all, maybe you did not hand Hawkmoth to be arrested, but you effectively stopped him from his ravaging. And you both, Chloé and Kagami, you'll be always welcomed here."
"Really nice from you," said Kagami and made a low bow.
"As my sister told," smirked Chloé. "You have really tasty macarons here. If you're so kind to invite me, it would be impolite not to take a taste."
"Who are you and where is Chloé Burgeoise?" asked Alya.
"HA HA HA," faked laughter Chloé. "I'm able to be nice and polite. Well, if I want something. And I want these macarons…"
"I guess, you're simply unreformable," Tom laughed aload.
"Off course!" faked Chloé indignation. "What's perfect doesn't need any reformation."
After these words whe sat to place next to Marinette and tried some Doubanjiang from one bowl. She made several deep breaths.
"Gosh!" she said with half-strangled voice. "I had no idea how spicy it could be!"
When she grabbed glass of water, Kagami stopped her:
"Eat better some bread with cheese and drink some milk!"
"Cheese!" Plagg flied to table. "Did somebody say cheese?!"
"May I?" asked Adrien.
When Sabine nodded, he placed a chequer of tofu into his mouth.
"Not that bad, but not a real cheese!" said little black creature. "This one I recognize!" he whooped with delight. "It's almost same good as Cammembert…"
Nobody was able to stop little black flying glutton from trying various things on table, only Tikki followed him to avoid something to be spoiled or dumped.
During best party time Chloé's phone ranged:
"Yes, daddy, what would you need?"
"My little princess, where are you?" Mayor Burgeois evidently needed something really badly. "Are you with other heroes?"
"Yep, daddy! We have party."
"Could you help your daddy?" asked Mayor. "There's press conference in fifteen minutes on place, where that fake spaceship 'landed'."
"Give us at least half of an hour!" ordered Chloé. "In spare time you and police prefect could prattle your heart content."
"My little princess…"
"Don't worry daddy!" Chloé cut his speech off. "We'll say, how much we appreciate your help as Mayor of Paris. At least I will."

XXXXXXX

Paris Police Prefect Jacques Clouseau was man, who liked hearing his own voice. Really a lot. Not that he was just incompetent. He rather gave new meaning to that word. His personal servant Cato Fong conscientiously prepared papers with his speech, but Prefect Clouseau succeeded to spill papers of his speech and reconnect them in wrong sequence. Most funny fact was, neither him, nor any of journalists around recognized it in his babbling…
"Yes, politics. Where greed wears the mask of morality," he finished his speech, looking to Mayor Burgeois.
Mayor Burgeois heared all those nonsenses and desired to drink a shot of pastis (or better two, three or four shots)…
"Hi daddy, I and heroes are finally here!" introduced her group Queen Bee.
"Hello Parisians!" Chat Noir made Cheshire Cat grin to camera. "We have some good news and some bad news for you. I understand, that amongst our journalists there a lot of uals are. But I'll do my best to explain everything to you."
"Excuse me, Chat Noir!" asked Alec Cataldi. "But who are uals?"
"Intelectuals without intellect," explained Chat Noir with even wider smile…

TO BE CONTINUED…