Hello dear miraculous friends. I'm back as promised for the May 2 prompt. Tomorrow it will be Malauu-LadyNoir's story. We will meet again on May 6th. I wish you a good reading. Miraculous kisses

JuliaFC: Thanks you a lot my dear belove friend. I hope you love this story too. Miraculous kisses.

PROMPT N°2: GHIBLI AU / ETOILE-LEAD-SAMA – CHOICE : THE CATS RETURNS

THE KWAMIS RETURNS

(Part 1)

Written by: Etoile-Lead-Sama

Beta and translator: Malauu-Ladynoir.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TSA Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation and Ghibli studios.

Marinette was a very ordinary girl. She went to high school, like any other teenagers, and spent all her free time helping her parents or with her friends. She was also secretly in love with the most popular boy of the school, the son of popular singer Jagged Stone: Luka Couffaine.

She'd an ordinary life, very ordinary, until the moment when her life changed forever...

xXxXxXxXx

In parallel with the human world, there was another world. A world filled with magic and creatures that were magical: the Kwamis. These beings had the ability to travel as they wished, from their world to that of humans, whether it was because they wanted to help humans or simply because they needed it.

In general, these two worlds didn't, or not a lot, interact with each other. Since magic has always attracted humanity, the latter can quickly become cruel or thirsty for power, so much so that the Kwamis had decided to keep their presence a secret.

But, despite all the precautions that the Kwamis could take, some humans still found out about them…

xXxXxXxXx

Marinette rushed to school: she'd gotten up too late again and was already late. She ran down the street at full speed, jumping over obstacles as she crossed her fingers so that her legendary awkwardness wouldn't strike her. She was going to continue her journey when suddenly she stopped, almost falling to the ground: there was a little black cat with a little packet between its teeth that was starting to cross the road.

She wouldn't normally have been caught if she hadn't seen, in horror, a truck heading straight towards the feline. The driver didn't look at the road and Marinette felt her heart fall into her stomach. Listening only to her instinct, she ran in the cat's direction, caught him in her arms and managed to reach the other side of the road before the truck reached the location where the animal was a few seconds earlier. The truck even had the audacity of honking its horn to let her know that she'd to be careful. What a joke...

Marinette was bubbling with anger at the driver but there was nothing more she could do. So she turned to the little ball of fur to check that he'd nothing. She suddenly witnessed something as strange as disturbing: the cat was checking the contents of its little package. She heard him sigh with relief and then he turned his emerald eyes towards her.

"Thank you, young human: you saved me and, more importantly, you saved my precious camembert. I would be eternally grateful."

Then, without giving Marinette time to say anything more, he disappeared. He'd left her there, frozen, completely stunned by the scene she'd just experienced.

Shoot. Maybe she was still dreaming...

xXxXxXxXx

Of course, Marinette had arrived very late that day and, in addition to the mockery of her classmates, she'd received an hour of detention. She didn't know what was worse: the detention time itself or the fact that Luka, too, laughed at the situation...

So it was quite late that night when she was finally able to go home. Marinette went back to where she'd saved this funny cat and stopped for a moment to think about it. She wondered if she'd really experienced all this, when she was brutally brought back to reality by bursts of familiar voices: that of Luka and another girl, a Japanese woman named Kagami, whom she'd already met two or three times in the school's hallway.

Of course, she knew the rumors, but seeing the man she loved, going out with another, broke her heart. She went home and threw herself on her bed to cry all the tears of her body and then, drained of all her energy, she finally fell asleep.

Marinette turned and returned to her bed, her sleep being restless.

"Help," cried a small voice from a grove.

The 5-year-old girl went to the source of the call for help, curious and worried about what might happen. She ends up finding a small ladybug stuck in a spider web. By dint of struggling to escape, the spider web had wrapped itself around her, capturing her a little more and putting her at the mercy of the arachnid which wanted to devour her.

The little creature stopped moving when Marinette leaned towards her.

"You're the one who's calling for help, little ladybug?" asked the young child.

There'd been a long silence and then the little trapped creature had spoken again. "Save me, please."

"Of course," Marinette replied, before delicately taking the little ladybug between her fingers.

A few seconds later, she was finally free.

"Thank you very much, little human, I would give you back the favor one day, if you seem to need help."

Then the little ladybug had flown away and her memory with her.

Marinette awoke a few seconds later.

"What a strange dream!" she whispered to herself, before turning to try to go back to sleep.

xXxXxXxXx

Unfortunately, Marinette didn't have the pleasure to go back to sleep as she wished: a strange white glow had invaded her room just seconds after she'd close her eyes again.

"What is-..." she began, before she realized that the light was coming from her sewing box.

She hesitated to get out of her bed to see more closely what was going on, but before she'd time to make any movement, her sewing box opened and twelve creatures came out, all looking like small animals. They all had a small trumpet and were lined up on either side of the box, towards Marinette, forming a hedge of honour.

The next moment, the creatures played their instrument and the sound of the trumpet echoed in the room. Two other animals came out of Marinette's sewing box: a small peacock and a small bee.

The last two arrived, floated towards Marinette, who then fell in the back of her bed, biting her blanket, completely scared.

"I've the honour to introduce you to her Majesty, sovereign of the Kingdom of Kwamis, Queen Pollen," said the little peacock.

Marinette made a muffled sound in her blanket and the little creature continued her elocution.

"You saved Prince Plagg this morning and her Majesty wanted to thank you by herself."

The girl moaned again in her duvet and the sovereign put her little paw on that of the peacock to silence him.

"I'll continue, Dusuu, thank you," she said in a soft voice, before going to float even closer to Marinette. "I am infinitely grateful to you for saving the Prince: this is my heir, if anything had happened to him-…"

The little bee fell silent under the emotion and Marinette stopped shaking like a leaf: even though these creatures were frightening, they didn't seem to be dangerous.

"I would like to thank you properly," said the little striped sovereign, "so I invite you to come to my Kingdom and I offer you the hand of Prince Plagg in marriage."

Marinette was too stunned to be able to speak.

"We will pick you up tomorrow night. Have a nice night," concludes the little Queen.

The next moment, Marinette's room was back to normal. She then stretched her hand forward, in the direction of her sewing box, and declared weakly. "I don't want to marry Prince Plagg."

By following her instincts, and saving the funny cat that morning, she'd got herself into a lot of trouble...

xXxXxXxXx

Marinette never managed to go back to sleep and, for once, she was one of the first to arrive at school, which was a feat. She ended her day turning, again and again, tirelessly, the words of the Queen of the Kwamis in her head. She was increasingly terrified of the prospect of marrying the strange cat she'd saved and never being able to see those she loved again.

The afternoon was already well advanced when another strange event occurred. Marinette, who was then on her way home, heard the wind carry her the sound of a voice.

"Marinette," she said, "follow the ladybugs: they will take you to Chat Noir. He will help you."

The young woman swept away the surroundings with her eyes, worried.

"Is there anyone?" she asked, on her guard.

"Follow the flight of ladybugs…" was the only answer she received.

Marinette remained frozen in the same place for some time and, hearing nothing, she shrugged and went on.

The young woman thought for a long time about what she'd heard. Strangely, she felt that she could trust the voice she'd heard that seemed familiar to her. This Mr. Chat Noir was perhaps her only option to get out of the situation she was in. She wouldn't take much more risk to follow the ladybugs and meet him: after all, were they not the symbol of luck?

xXxXxXxXx

Marinette had easily spotted the ladybugs she was supposed to follow. Indeed, these were numerous enough to attract her attention and a little different from ordinary ladybugs: they seemed magical.

The little red black-dot insects led her to a suburban house, whose appearance was detonated compared to other houses on the street. Indeed, where the others seemed brand new, by their modern architecture and by their bright whiteness, this one seemed ancient, made of stone like the old buildings of the last century and transpired the mystery and secrets by all the joints that kept the building standing.

Marinette hesitated for a few seconds and finally dared to approach: she'd not come all this way to give up at the last minute. She then grabbed the cat's paw-shaped knocker, which adorned the door and struck it three times.

A small opening was then made in the door and Marinette felt herself observing.

She became agitated, really uncomfortable but then finally managed to speak. "Hello, I'm looking for Monsieur Chat Noir, does he live here?"

She heard a little giggle, and the next second the door opened in front of her. She gasped when she discovered the appearance of her interlocutor.

The teenager who stood in front of her, and who, Marinette was almost certain, was about her age, wore a black leather outfit, which sculpted his muscular and slender figure. He also wore a cat's tail and in his hair as blond as wheat she distinguished the two distinctive ears of the same feline. His face was hidden behind a black mask and his green eyes had split pupils. Marinette had no doubts: she was in the right place.

Chat Noir grabbed her hand and bowed to lay a kiss on it. The girl blushed under the attention and he gave her a mischievous wink, just before straightening up.

"I'm Chat Noir, to serve you, pretty Meowdemoiselle," he said in a charming tone. "What can I do to help you?"

xXxXxXxXx

Chat Noir offered his guest a cup of tea and she drank it while she told him her story. He settled in his chair, his elbows on the table, his fingers crossed and his chin resting on it. He plunged his mesmerizing green feline gaze into Marinette's two bluebell eyes. He gave her a disarming smile and started to speak, with his velvet voice that made the girl blush in front of him.

"What a cat-astrophic story! But what makes you think I could become your knight in leather armor?" he asked the girl seriously.

Amused, he watched her open and close her mouth, then she blushed more.

"A voice told me to come here," she finally confessed, with obvious embarrassment.

Chat Noir smiled more: this little mouse was very interesting. He was about to tease her a little more when she surprised him by getting up abruptly.

"Sorry, Mr. Chat Noir, I didn't want to disturb you with my problems. I put myself in this situation and I would be fine on my own as well."

Under the stuneed gaze of the feline, she bowed. "Thank you for giving me your time and forgive me for wasting it unnecessarily."

She'd almost reached the front door when Chat Noir regained his consciousness.

"Wait, don't go away: I'll help you!" he exclaimed, all traces of humour soared. "I also have a few accounts to settle with the Kingdom of the Kwamis…"

When the feline saw Marinette's bright look of hope, he knew he'd made the right choice.

xXxXxXxXx

The feline told the young woman that he'd been human, too, but that he'd had the misfortune to discover one day a passage that led to the world of the Kwamis. Lost in this other world, he'd been touched by a spark of Prince Plagg's power. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it had turned him into what he's now: a half-human being, half-Kwami, not really belonging to one world, nor really to the other.

Chat Noir saw sadness and empathy in Marinette's eyes and he made her one of his smiles so charming.

"It's not really a problem, Purrrincess," he said. "Besides, I'm not sure the last member of my family missed me... Actually, I wasn't really happier before…"

He made a melodramatic smile and added, "I just have to remain discreet and avoid contact, except when a meowtiful meowdemoiselle in distress like you comes to ask me for help."

He'd backed up his statement with a ravaging wink that caused Marinette to roll her eyes, her cheeks becoming a little more red in the process. But neither was wrong: he was playing the clown to hide his solitude...

Chat Noir began to explain to Marinette that, in addition to the appearance of a feline, he'd inherited a small part of Prince Plagg's power, when the door of the house opened suddenly in a breath of air. Chat Noir jumped on his legs, grabbing a baton that was concealed in his back and he pulled it out.

A mini tornado rushed towards him and threw him against the wall before he'd time to do anything. The rest of it was like a time-lapse movie.

A white rabbit entered the house and clicked his fingers, making a magic portal appear. The small tornado, in which he saw a small red dragon, rushed towards Marinette, taking her towards the vortex.

Chat Noir was very fast but it wasn't enough: the magic tunnel closed under his nose, just as he reached it. He cast a dark glance at the corner of the wall where the passage to the Kingdom of the Kwamis had been a few moments earlier.

"Hold on, Marinette: I'm coming," he whispered with a determined tone.

To be continued…

You can read the rest of this story on May 8 with the prompt: Princess and AU knight

May 3 : My place is yours by Malauu-Ladynoir

Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated and motivate the authors.