Throw Me Around Like One Of Your French Girls, Chapter 11

The sound of a familiar car engine roused Marinette Dupain-Cheng from her slumber. As if summoned by a chorus of angels, she rose from her bed and climbed the ladder up to her balcony. Running to the guardrail, she looked down to the street expectantly...

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the Agreste sedan turn the corner and drive slowly down her street, stopping in front of Tom & Sabine's Boulangerie. The sunroof was open, and the upper half of the boy of her dreams emerged through it, a smile on his face and a song in his heart.

As the car came to a complete stop, he leaped through the sunroof (my, he's so agile!) and dashed to the side of the building. She wondered what he would do next, until he produced a tall ladder as if from nowhere and leaned it against the building, the top of it clanking against the guardrail next to her.

"Be careful!" she called down to him, noting the height of the ladder involved, but he was undeterred. As he ascended, Marinette saw a red rose clasped in his teeth and a backpack over both shoulders. Even without seeing any more, her instincts told her that it contained the keys to the house that they would share (but whatever will I tell my Mama and Papa? We are so young! This is so sudden! she worried, but only momentarily) and the fluffy hamster of her dreams.

Adrien climbed higher and higher, his pace quickening as he neared the top, until he was facing her at last. With a mighty leap, he vaulted over the guardrail onto the balcony, knelt before her with glistening green eyes, and asked with a glance the question that was burning through his soul.

"Yes," Marinette replied, teary-eyed. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Leaning forward into that first, perfect kiss, pink clouds billowing around the two of them, she closed her eyes...

"Hellllllllp!"

The cry of terror startled Marinette, causing her eyes to flash open. No ladder... no rose... no hamster... no Adrien's embrace for her to sink into.

She shook her head briefly, trying to regain her senses. What in the world was I imagining? she wondered. And who was yelling-

"SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEE!"

Marinette ran to the far end of the balcony, looking out towards the school grounds in the distance. A boy was running across the courtyard, a streak of blonde hair leaping out at her - Adrien! she panicked.

He's not running towards me... he's running like he's being chased. As if he's running for his life!

A blur came into focus behind him as he dashed across the grass; it was some distance behind him, but closing in steadily.

It was -

"Kagami! No! Don't do it!" burst out of Marinette at full volume.

The slim figure chasing Adrien looked her way momentarily, then refocused on Adrien. The unsheathed katana in her hands indicated just what she had in mind for the boy who'd just dumped her so that he could be with Marinette.

"Ladybug! Please help me!" shouted Adrien in desperation, his arms flailing as he ran.

I have to do it! I don't care about my secret identity - Adrien's life is in danger! panicked Marinette. Without another thought, she called out:

"SPOTS ON!"

...but nothing happened.

Startled, Marinette reached for her ears, and was horrified to find both earlobes empty.

WHAT? Where did they GO? Marinette's inner thoughts shrieked.

She watched in agony as Kagami closed the distance on Adrien, swinging the hilt end of her blade at his head. Hit hard, he stumbled forward and rolled twice in the grass, unconscious.

Kagami turned to face Marinette, and even from a distance, her words were clear...

"I'll deal with him later. Now it's your turn. Longg... bring the storm."

In a blinding white flash, Kagami's slim form was transformed into Ryuko, her clothes and weapon turning predominantly crimson.

"He betrayed our love... because of you," Ryuko snarled. "And we know the proper fate of all betrayers."

Marinette wanted to run... needed to run... but her legs felt anchored to the spot where she stood. She felt a scream coming on as Ryuko took a mighty leap her way, clearing the distance between them in a single bound, her sword held before her, ready to strike.

Involuntarily, her arms went up, and her eyes snapped shut...

"BOOOOOOOO!"

Huh? boggled Marinette.

She reopened her eyes... and found herself on a stage in her normal attire, sitting in a chair.

"Where... am I?" she mumbled, trying to focus. Glancing to her left, she saw Adrien sitting a few seats away from her in the row of chairs; he looked at her with some concern, but appeared nearly as unsettled as she felt. She shifted her weight as if to rise from her chair and approach him, but he gave her a subtle hand gesture to stay put.

"And this," a familiar voice rang out, "is our second guest. The young lady who saw her best friend happy at last, enjoying his first romance, but that wasn't enough for her!"

Marinette's head turned towards the speaker, who turned to face her. She recognized him instantly as the host of a popular afternoon talk show, one infamous for its ambushes, paternity tests, tales of infidelity and skirmishes.

"She held a secret deep within her for months, one that she could never say aloud... her forbidden love for Adrien," the host's mocking voice intoned. "She fumbled her way through many attempts, to be sure..."

A television screen behind her burst into life, playing a highlight reel of the many mishaps that had complicated Marinette's quest for Adrien. Pratfall after pratfall, fractured sentences, unsigned gifts, the bag with Master Fu's medicine, more pratfalls, Jagged Stone's commentary on her wall of pictures, her embrace of what she thought was a wax statue...

Helplessly, Marinette shook her head in disbelief. How can they even KNOW about any of those moments? her brain screamed. Let alone have FOOTAGE of them?

"But where her courage failed... her friend succeeded," announced the host. "Or at least she thought our guest was her friend. At least until jealousy built up so high that she felt compelled to act."

"...No!" Marinette cried out, weakly. "That's not how it happened!"

"Slowly, one aikido lesson at a time, one seemingly innocent walk to school after another... she seduced this poor boy away from his one true love," the host cackled. "Shall we bring her out now, folks? The girl whose trust and innocence were betrayed so foully?"

Marinette whirled towards Adrien. "Say something!" she pleaded in his direction. "Tell them how it really went! All the things that you told me!"

Without a word, Adrien stared at her, with something of a sad expression... then scooted his chair backwards so that he would be out of the way.

The booing from the audience grew louder; Marinette looked out at them, and realized that family and friends were the bulk of it. Her mother and father, her classmates, her teachers, Master Fu - where did HE come from? - nearly everyone she knew and many that she didn't were all voicing their loud disapproval of her.

A door opened on the far end of the stage, and Kagami stepped through it, wearing one of her usual school outfits. She kicked her shoes off, glaring at Marinette, and a bell rang loudly as if opening a wrestling match; the displeasure from the crowd turned instantly to lusty war cries, cheering on the imminent brawl.

"Here you go, ladies! Winner takes all!" declared the host, taking a step back to enjoy the spectacle.

Marinette rose from her chair and assumed the best defensive stance she could recall, or at least a crude imitation of it. Kagami's face was focused and furious as she ran in Marinette's direction; Marinette tried desperately to remember any of the aikido moves she'd learned, but all was a blur in the moment.

Just before she came within grasping range, Kagami thrust her hand forward and threw some kind of concealed powder into Marinette's face. Her eyes stinging, Marinette recoiled with a yelp...

"...Marinette?"

A low and gentle voice called Marinette back to reality. She spun her head around, looking for her assailant... but she was in her father's kitchen instead, sitting on the floor. The bowl of ingredients she had been working with lay beside her on the floor, most of its contents of flour and baking powder and spices either on Marinette or settling to the ground around her.

"Is everything all right - oh, my!"

Marinette looked to the door and saw her mother standing there, trying to suppress a laugh. Her father guided her back to her feet as she regained her bearings.

"I do believe that someone's worries are getting the best of her today," Tom noted, gently. "This is why I steered you away from any kitchen duties involving knives, Marinette."

"I... I'm sorry, Papa," apologized Marinette. "I'll clean this up and start again. I know that I can do this so much better-"

"No," a smiling Tom directed her. "I can clean this up in five minutes; it's no trouble at all. I would rather have you go upstairs and relax, as best you can."

"Are you sure? I want to help," Marinette asked him.

Her phone buzzed at that moment; Marinette jumped as if she'd sat on a live electric wire, then lunged for it. Her eyes scanned the notification quickly...

"...Google Rewards wants to know my shopping habits," she sighed. "Not now!"

"Marinette... upstairs," her mother ordered her. "We've got this. We do appreciate your help very much, but for now, you're excused for a very good reason."

"All right." Marinette took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face. "I'll do my best to relax, I promise. Message me if you need me for anything."

As she headed to the stairs, Sabine leaned down and held the dustpan as Tom readied the broom. "The poor dear," she smiled. "Do you think that she's more worried that she won't end up with Adrien... or that she will?"

"Either way, I think that we are in for quite a ride," chuckled Tom.

Nathalie watched Kagami and Adrien carefully as the latter rose to leave. The two of them stood face-to-face, seemingly unsure of how to proceed; was this a situation for affection, or for a handshake, or for one or the other to simply slink away?

A hug was the eventual choice, lingering just a little bit. Nathalie couldn't quite tell which of them had initiated it.

Adrien walked to the car, looking back at Kagami as he approached it; she gave him a little wave as he got there, which he returned. He climbed into the back seat with mixed emotions playing over his face; Nathalie glanced at Kagami, whose face appeared impassive from a distance.

"Well? Did things go well?" Nathalie asked as the car pulled away from the curb.

"I think they did," replied Adrien. "We're still on good terms. It seems like it, at least."

"Good. Your father will be happy about that," said Nathalie. "Are the two of you still romantically inclined?"

Adrien paused. "We are not," he allowed. "Not the way that we were last week. That's done, and I don't think that I could get it back."

"So you are with Marinette now?" Nathalie persisted.

"Not... yet?" replied Adrien, staring at her. "I haven't talked to her yet. This was a condition for me to even ask Marinette. She could still say no, or not now, or not before she talks it out with Kagami."

"That seems logical. I wish you the best of luck sorting that out," noted Nathalie. "Listen, I need to run a little... errand. I hope you don't mind if we take a detour on the way home."

"Do what you need to do," Adrien said. "I'll be back here... thinking."

The Gorilla turned to Nathalie with a look of mild surprise; she barked out directions to a shopping plaza on the north side of the city, significantly altering the route home. Once the change was made, Nathalie busied herself pounding out an update for Gabriel on her phone.

I don't really need anything from the stores, she smiled to herself, but this is the opportunity Gabriel has been waiting for, I suspect. Which means that right about now, he most definitely needs a little bit of privacy.

She glanced back at Adrien, whose face betrayed the conflict within him that he had not spoken aloud.

Marinette trudged out of her shower, drying her hair with a towel. "Well, that wasn't embarrassing at all," she grumbled aloud as she donned a fresh set of clothes.

"As if that's the first time you've ever taken a flour bath down there," deadpanned Tikki. "It happens."

"It doesn't make it any less humiliating," sighed Marinette. "I feel like I can't do anything right, right now."

"Then don't do anything," Tikki advised. "You've already done more right than you know, in a lot of ways. You were correct earlier; one way or another, your life is about to change today. But that might be a small change. It might be good, it might be bad, it might just be another holding pattern. Don't work yourself into a panic over what you can't know yet."

"I understand that," Marinette agreed. "That doesn't make the anticipation any easier."

She sat down in her chair, looking exhausted. "Tikki, it's not just my life that's about to change. It's Adrien's, too. It's Kagami's. If Adrien does what I think he's doing right now, this is going to hurt Kagami. This is going to strain all of our relationships. And it's because of me; it's because I couldn't just tell Adrien how I felt before everything got so complicated."

"Part of me is overjoyed," she continued, "because Adrien might well be ready to give... us a try. And part of me hates that part of me."

"Okay. First things first... breathe," Tikki directed her. "Because you're on the edge of freaking out about this, and you don't need to be."

As Marinette made herself relax, Tikki fluttered back and forth around her. "Listen to me, Marinette. You know that you have taken Kagami's feelings into consideration every step of the way. Beyond what almost anyone else would have done in this situation. You've made sure that Adrien did the same. You know that. He knows that. She knows that. Don't you think that everyone knows that?"

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions," moped Marinette.

"But other roads are, too."

Tikki hovered in front of Marinette's face, forcing her to meet her gaze. "You are doing the best you can to keep the peace and not let anyone be hurt. That's who you are. That's why you're Ladybug, because that's always your primary instinct," she said.

That got a small smile.

"That doesn't mean that everything always goes the way you planned it," continued Tikki. "Or that you can always protect everyone, or that no one around you ever gets hurt. That's going to happen now and then. But do you know another reason why you're Ladybug, Marinette?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"Because Master Fu saw something in you. How determined you are that when you do see someone hurt, or something that's wrong, you always get back up and you always try to make it right," smiled Tikki. "You're allowed to be wrong, or make mistakes, and no one is even saying that you have about this. You are allowed to want things, and to get what you want sometimes."

With that, Marinette's phone rang, indicating an incoming call.

"And you might be about to get it now," Tikki declared. "Good luck."

The coverings on the observation window in Hawkmoth's lair opened once more. The afternoon sun sent a handful of white butterflies scattering as a narrow beam of illumination spread across the floor.

"My son," the villain intoned dramatically, "appears to have served my purposes admirably. He has attracted two young women with his many charms, either of whom may prove to be a suitable companion for an Agreste in time. Each of them is fair of face, strong of will and thoughtful of others. Each has cast a tender eye upon my son. But only one of them may lay full claim upon his affections."

"Which may make this the critical moment. One of them has just seen her romance end abruptly, through no fault of her own, replaced by a person whom she considered a friend. The other is in uncertain waters, hesitant about hurting her friend, worried about the emotional impact on all three of them. If I recall anything about being a teenager in love... the anticipation alone must be agonizing for her."

With a tiny wave of his hand, he summoned one of the butterflies to his outstretched palm. "How unpleasant for them," Hawkmoth smiled insincerely.

The hand closed, and purple energy crackled around the closed fist.

"Go, my little Akuma," Hawkmoth declared as he released it. "Take flight and await my orders. I do not know yet which of Adrien's paramours will be the most vulnerable, and I can only read their surface emotions until one of them dips low enough for you to make contact. So, hover and wait, and allow me to gauge the situation. Because from what I can tell so far... both of them are vulnerable to some extent."

Purple wings flapped silently, carrying their owner up through the observation window and out into the Parisian sky.

Marinette pressed the button to accept the call. "H-hello, Kagami," she greeted her.

She studied the girl on the other end of the video call as carefully as she could. Kagami's face was rigid, betraying little emotion; it appeared to Marinette that Kagami was at home, presumably in her own room judging from the decor, though Marinette had not been there herself yet so as to know for sure.

"Hello, Marinette," Kagami returned the greeting. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm, uh, hanging in there," murmured Marinette. "I feel like I'm the one who should be asking that question, though."

"Adrien is on his way home now. He and I had lunch together, and discussed something important. I needed to speak with you before he does," said Kagami, evading the question neatly.

"I'm glad that you did. I wanted to talk with you before I do... um... anything major," ventured Marinette. "How did it go?"

"Predictably."

Marinette flinched slightly at that as Kagami continued. "To jump directly to the point... Adrien and I are no longer a couple. Your path to him is clear."

Both girls fell silent.

As if listening intently to a faint radio signal and suddenly recognizing his favorite song, Hawkmoth's smile widened greatly.

"Perfect," he snickered. "As Nathalie had indicated, Adrien is occupied for the short term... and I strongly suspect that the girls are communicating as I speak. Without Adrien to mediate between the two of them, which emotion du jour will emerge dominant? Anger at a friend's betrayal? Despair over hurting others? Remorse, perhaps, or fear of reprisal?"

"Stand by, my Akuma," Hawkmoth directed it from afar, "and prepare to strike!"

"I want you to kn-know, Kagami..." stammered Marinette, "that this was never my intent. I was actually happy for you and Adrien, that you'd found that kind of happiness together."

"I am aware of that," Kagami said, simply. "And it was appreciated."

"If he sh-should approach me, looking to start something between us..." Marinette trailed off.

"Marinette," Kagami interrupted in a firm voice. "You know that he wants to. We need not dance around the truth or be less than honest with each other, especially now. Adrien broke up with me because he has fallen for you."

"That doesn't mean that I know what I should do about that yet," countered Marinette, weakly.

"I will tell you what I want you not to do. I want you to not feel bad about what has happened," said Kagami. "And I mean that most sincerely."

Marinette stared at her phone. "Wh-hat?" she managed, caught off-guard.

Concentrating quite hard... Hawkmoth paused, opening his eyes.

"...What?" he echoed. "The level of intensity... just plummeted!"

"Listen to me, please," Kagami began. "Just now, you have been handed the one thing that you wanted most, on a silver platter. Adrien's heart is yours for the taking. And yet, your first thought is of worry about my feelings and soothing my heartbreak."

She managed a small smile. "I cannot say that this does not sting, or that it will not continue for a long time," Kagami admitted. "The next time that Adrien and I are together... I am not sure quite what it will feel like for us. But after Adrien and I talked about this last night, I did some thinking... and I realized something rather important. Two things, actually."

"What were they?" asked Marinette.

"One was that, from the very beginning, from the day that I met Adrien, he fascinated me. He woke up something in me that I had never felt before; I yearned for him, all of him, as if he was the only boy in existence," Kagami declared. "It was not mutual at first. He was fond of me, but not in that way. I was sure that with time and persistence, I could change his outlook and have him view me in a new light, and once he did, he would feel that same sort of... passion towards me."

"But even as a couple," she continued, "that never seemed to happen. He was always holding something back... something important."

"I know that he cared for you. That he still does," argued Marinette. "I've watched the two of you together, before and after you made your move."

"I did not say that he did not enjoy my company," Kagami parried. "He most clearly did. And he did not complain about the kissing and the hugging, either... but I was always the one to initiate that. I was always the one to push forward, to ask for more, to want more. He was perhaps too polite to decline... or too curious as to what it would be like to try it... but his heart was never in it completely. I understand that now. There was someone else."

"Are you sure about that?" wondered Marinette. "I mean... I didn't get the feeling that he thought of me... that way until very recently. I was always just a friend to him."

"We could argue about that until dawn, I'm sure," Kagami replied. "But I will return to that point later... The other thing is this. Marinette, do you remember what I told you once I knew that you had finally confessed your feelings to him?"

Marinette thought for a moment. "That you were happy that it was finally a fair competition... but it was one that you intended to win," she recalled. "Was that it?"

"To the word, yes," smiled Kagami. "And I meant every word of that... but there was something that I did not comprehend. It was not a competition at all... because you were refusing to compete."

Marinette's head whirled, processing that statement.

"There is some truth to that," she allowed, eventually. "When we first met, I saw you as my rival; I won't lie about that. That day at the skating rink, I didn't know what to think of you."

"Nor I, you," Kagami replied. "You remember what I said before, how I suspected you were playing Adrien for a fool back then? I can only imagine how you pictured me."

"...Let's not go there," admitted Marinette. "Because we both know far better now."

"We do," smiled Kagami. "And I am very glad of that."

"But once you and Adrien were together... that day when you had kissed him, and then you got ice cream with him, and I saw the look on his face when he was with you... I stepped back, and I stayed back," Marinette said. "That was a very deliberate choice I made. I still had feelings for Adrien... but it would have been wrong for me to act on them once he was spoken for."

"And I know just how hard that was on you," Kagami said. "And how hard it will probably be on me to do the same."

"Okay. I'm just going to... blurt this out all at once, okay?" stammered Marinette. "While I have the willpower to say it."

"What is it?" wondered Kagami.

"Kagami... I am not Adrien's girlfriend yet. I... agree with you... that I might be, very soon," Marinette gulped. "But if that happens... I am not going to be the kind of girlfriend who gets clingy and jealous. You need to spend time with him - with and without me, as much as you want to. If your parents put you together at times, I'm fine with that, but don't feel afraid to reach out on your own, too. You need to remain close to him. And I don't want you to feel like you can never touch him again, okay?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," said Kagami.

"I mean... you have feelings for him, and he has for you. I know he does," Marinette replied. "So if you hug him, or peck him on the cheek, or show affection for him that way... I'm not going to be three meters away glaring at you, I promise. You may not be his girlfriend any more, but you are still much more than just a simple friend for him."

Kagami went quiet. "There are kisses, and then there are kisses," she mused.

"And I trust you to know the difference between those," said Marinette. "Just like I knew the difference these last few weeks."

The steely expression on Kagami's face broke once more. "And here I was preparing to offer," she ventured, "that if the two of you needed me to step back and give your new relationship time to develop in private... if you would find it difficult to do that with me nearby..."

"You're worried that it would make it weird for us?" marveled Marinette. "Kagami... look. It's not as if we would just... make out in front of you or anything like that. Neither of us is like that." That I know of, anyway, she thought to herself. "It's... I feel weird talking about 'us' with Adrien when there isn't even an 'us' yet. But I know that I definitely don't want you stepping out of my life... and neither does Adrien."

Kagami's smile returned... and it seemed completely genuine. "I thank you, Marinette," she said. "I... do not make friends easily. I was very afraid of losing one good one - or two of them."

"I am not going to let that happen. And you are welcome over here any time, just like on Tuesday," Marinette grinned back. "You are my friend with or without Adrien. We're not going to define what we are to each other around what we are to him."

"Good. I would not want it any other way," Kagami replied... but her smile did fade slightly. "And as a friend... I feel like there is one thing that I must caution you about."

"Hmmm?"

From afar, Hawkmoth's brow furrowed.

"Come on, come on..." he muttered. "This barrage of inexplicable positivity cannot last forever, can it? Surely there must be some animosity between you two ready to bubble up!"

Reading the competing waves of emotion as best he could, Hawkmoth came to an abrupt decision. "My Akuma," he commanded, "fly to Marinette Dupain-Cheng now. I sense that a moment of truth is at hand."

"From the moment that I met Adrien... I felt like he was always pulling back, as I said before," Kagami began, solemnly. "A perfect gentleman, a kind-hearted soul, but not someone who was actively looking for a girlfriend. Or at least he was not looking for me to be one; he had someone else already in mind for that. And for the longest time, I was so sure that the someone was you, Marinette."

"I don't believe that it was," replied Marinette. "Not then."

"Which had me wondering... who was this mysterious third girl that had captivated him so strongly?" said Kagami. "Certainly not Chloe Bourgeois; his body language screamed out keep your distance whenever I saw her close to him. Nor Lila Rossi... I do not know if he even knew her then, but I like to think that he would know better than that if he had."

"Lila is a snake," growled Marinette. "A poisonous one. And Adrien is aware of that."

"I asked you once whom that third girl might be... had he ever spoken of someone in particular, or had you seen him with someone else? And you said that you had drawn a blank on that," Kagami noted. "Well, that came up in our conversation today... and now I know whom that girl was. He admitted it to me, for my own benefit."

"Wait, what?" Marinette stammered, her jaw dropping. "There is a third girl in this? For real?"

"More was than is, if that's any comfort," replied Kagami. "I do believe that he is fully focused on you now. He lights up when he speaks of you, even more than when he spoke of-"

"Of who?" Marinette burst out, interrupting her.

"Of Ladybug," Kagami said. "Adrien had a gigantic crush on Ladybug. He had been falling for her for a long time."

Everything in Marinette's world stopped at once.

There was a faint and familiar voice in the background - Kagami's, she reasoned - and she caught a few phrases in the distance like "I did not mean to alarm you" and "It seemed odd for him to be susceptible to celebrity, given his background" and "Are you all right?" But none of those registered fully with her in the moment.

Adrien... had a gigantic crush on Ladybug.

The words rang in her skull as if church bells had pealed them out from right inside her room.

Adrien loved LADYBUG.

She had questioned him that one day why he always left one bedroom window open...

"I... kind of always had a hope in the back of my head that..." Adrien had trailed off, then shook his head. "No. It's silly."

The ramifications of that were a rollercoaster in and of themselves. Again, Kagami's voice was but a distant whisper to her - some things about "he tried to confess" and "he said that she turned him down repeatedly" that weren't making any sense to the fragments of her conscious mind.

The very, very faint sound of tiny purple wings outside her window never stood a chance of being heard.

"Get in there!" Hawkmoth encouraged his Akuma. "Whatever Kagami has told her has startled Marinette to her core. I have my target... and now all I must do is reel her in. Let us see, once and for all, what makes her tick..."

I was my own rival, Marinette's brain shouted loudly at her. I was trying to be Adrien's girl... but I could've been at any time, with just two words!

But...

A calmer thought floated across her mind at that moment.

...he's fallen for ME. Not as Ladybug... but as Marinette. He doesn't know my secret. He fell for me once in my costume... and then AGAIN without it.

I don't have to worry about 'is he starstruck by celebrity' or 'would he love the real me?' He already DOES. All of me.

It...

It was...

...my being with Adrien really was... always meant to be.

Kagami did her best to make her voice heard over the phone, as she watched Marinette space out... and then saw a smile form on Marinette's face, a broad one that hinted at happiness running far deeper than Kagami could imagine.

"Marinette! Marinette, wake up!" she repeated. "I did not mean to startle you or worry you like I have..."

"No," Marinette said, very softly, her eyes returning to Kagami's. "You just made me realize something that... that I should have figured out a long time ago. Something wonderful."

"...Are you certain of that?" asked Kagami, suspiciously. "Just then, you looked as if I had smacked you with a club."

"Kagami," smiled Marinette, "there's no way that you could ever know how much you just helped me. But can I ask you why you told me that?"

"Because you supported me," Kagami replied, "even when your instincts told you that you didn't want to. Because you were my friend, even when you thought that I had taken away the one thing you'd wanted most. And because I know that you'll be so good to Adrien... so I want you going in with your eyes open. I want it to work for you two."

"If he... when he asks me... I know that it will," Marinette breathed.

"Unbelievable. Unbelievable!"

In his wrath and disgust, Hawkmoth's composure slipped dramatically. "What is the world coming to," he lamented, "when you cannot even count on lovesick teenagers to fly off the handle when you need them to? What kind of charmed life does this Marinette lead, what reservoir of willpower does she possess, that only in times of utter despair does she seem at all vulnerable?"

Mentally, he directed the Akuma up into the sky once more as he steadied himself. "You are an elusive little fish, Miss Dupain-Cheng... wriggling your way out of almost every net, even while those around you and who know you rack up an impressive body count. Someday I will craft the perfect lure for you, however... as my intuition keeps telling me that you may be worth that effort."

"And as for you, Miss Tsurugi... bad luck for you today, I suppose, but your taste in friends is also intriguing. You have served me well on prior occasions... and I am glad that your family connections will keep you close at hand. You may yet prove to be a useful pawn again."

"But enough of that," Hawkmoth declared, refocusing on the task at hand and closing his eyes. "I shall not waste this Akuma. Who is feeling strong emotions in Paris right now, and would be a more useful proxy for me?"

He concentrated hard... then emerged from it with a concerned expression.

"Ah... do I truly wish to do this now?" he wondered aloud. "I had not planned on a target who would be hitting so close to home... but... bah. As always, I can adapt around this eventuality."

The Akuma shifted its flight path at Hawkmoth's command, aiming for a different part of the city and a new target. As it zeroed in, Hawkmoth's voice rang clearly:

"Take him."