A/N: I'm not even going to bother apologizing for the long wait :/
...
But I still am sorry :(
Chapter 13
Chat Noir loved Alya, he really did. She was a great friend, not to mention his best friend's girlfriend and the love of his life's best friend. Also, there was how she had the 'I-don't-take-shit-from-anyone' attitude and how she easily brushed off ignorant assholes that made him like her.
But at the current moment, there was nothing more he wanted than to go back and wring her neck for interrupting him and Marinette. He's been waiting for three years to have moments like that and she goes in and ruins it!
He growled as he jumped to another rooftop, toward one of the less busy spots of Paris but not to his mansion. The night was still young, he didn't want to go home just yet.
But it seemed some places of business just didn't agree with him, as a lot of them began locking their doors for the night. If he wanted, he could simply perch outside one of them and wait for the remaining employees to leave before he would go in and steal everything he could.
However, he just wasn't feeling up to it tonight. Alya's unexpected entrance still made him grind his teeth in annoyance, he knew his mood would distract him from completing a good, clean steal from a place.
Stopping to have a rest, he sat down on top of a random building, dangling his feet over the edge. His suit blended in perfectly with the night, as such there wasn't a good chance anyone would find him. Then there was the fact that no one but tourists would crane their necks up to look at the tops of the buildings. All in all, he was in the clear for the most part.
He breathed in deeply and exhaled in an attempt to calm down, which thankfully worked. In retrospect, he shouldn't be that upset over it. He knew there would be plenty of time to kiss her later. Well, unless Alya convinces her to dump him.
Hm. Actually, were they even dating? They never made things official, but they definitely had something going on. He just hoped that Alya wouldn't ruin it, because he knew the girl had excellent persuasive skills.
His heartbeat started to quicken, something that made his eyebrows furrow in puzzlement. A strange feeling also gathered in his stomach, making it feel like it was constricting or something. He had a vague idea of what this was, but it was something he hadn't known for a long time.
Was he...was he actually afraid?
He couldn't remember the last time he'd ever been afraid of anything. Gradually rising to become the best criminal in the city trained his nerves to become steel. Eventually, nothing could scare him.
The barrel of a gun in his face? Swat it away and pounce on the man who dared point it at him.
Knife against his throat? Kick the fucker in the groin, or depending where he was standing, drive his elbow in the attacker's gut. No matter the case, an arm would be broken one way or another.
All of that and yet he feels afraid just because he might get rejected by a girl.
He scoffed with a wry smile and shook his head. Maybe he really was becoming soft.
He scanned the streets below once more, at the lingering Parisians walking just minding their own business, without even knowing that eyes belonging to one of the most dangerous men were watching them as they went.
Chat stopped when he saw a very familiar red baseball cap sitting atop an even-more familiar boy's head.
Ah, that's right. Now would be around the time when Nino would get out of work. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the sight of his best friend.
He knew that Nino walked home this late by himself all the time. He had faith his friend could protect himself efficiently, yet he found himself running across rooftops after him anyway. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry, right?
As Nino continued to his home, he was completely oblivious to the watchful green eyes taking note of his every step and near surroundings. Chat was glad, because he really didn't want any possible conflict with his best friend under his villain guise. He may have thought that he was 'badass', but Chat knew how well the DJ could hide his fear.
He knew everyone was afraid of him. Well, except Marinette. Then again, she probably did at least have a hint of wariness for him somewhere deep down. It was a human instinct, to be cautious of possible danger.
The blond smiled when he realized that Nino was almost home. Maybe then he could go back to his own and get a full night's sleep for once. Yes, an entire night's sleep without any interruptions sounded wonderful.
So lost in his thoughts, he wasn't aware of his friend being pulled into the dark corridor in between a pair housing apartments. But the terrified yelp that sounded was enough to alert the feline.
His eyes darted wildly over the street, with no Nino in sight. A low, guttural growl tore out of his throat as he used his baton to reach the street, prowling over to the suspicious-looking little alleyway.
For most of his life he didn't have friends except for Chloe. And now that he finally had them, he wasn't going to lose them so easily. Especially not when it was his best friend, the first friend he made at school, even before Marinette.
"L-Look man, I don't want any trouble. I swear I don't have much money," Nino stammered, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender while the idiot who dared attack his best friend held a knife against the aspiring DJ's throat.
"I'll be the judge of that," the amateur robber grunted. He had begun to stick his hand in the trembling boy's bag he normally used for school, when Chat chose that moment to intervene.
"Actually, I think I will be the judge of that."
The idiot and his best friend turned, allowing the true criminal to see the man's face. His eyes squinted, trying to figure out whose pair stared back at him in shock out of the ski mask.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nino's mouth drop open. He held back an amused chuckle and instead forced himself to keep a steely gaze locked on the unknown robber. He gripped his baton tightly, pressing a button to extend it in what was meant to be a silent threat.
"Ch-Chat Noir!" the man gasped. "I-what are you doing here?"
The blond shrugged, feigning carelessness to hide his anger. "This city is mine, I go wherever I please. What are you doing here?"
"Just robbing this kid," the man replied, briefly returning his attention back to the paling Nino. He was mildly scared before, he knew he might get hurt but knew if he cooperated he would get to live. But now that Chat Noir was here? He had no idea what would become of him. He grimaced as the knife pressed tighter against his throat, the extra force added causing a sliver of blood to trickle down from the new wound.
Chat clenched his teeth as his eyes zeroed in on the new injury. He was considering just scaring this asshole off, but now he craved retribution for the fool's grave mistake.
"Yes, well, that won't be happening tonight," he retorted bluntly, no longer willing to put up the careless act. He leveled his baton with the robber's waist and pressed the button to extend it further, making it land in his stomach and successfully get him away from Nino.
Chat was hardly aware of Nino's gaping expression as he ran over and pounced on the fallen criminal, ripped off the mask, and effectively landed punch after punch on his face. His teeth were bared in a snarl, his eyes sparking in fury.
"Chat Noir," the man coughed out when the blond paused to catch his breath. His nose was past broken, his bottom lip was was torn and his cheeks were beginning to house black and blue bruises. His eyes were almost swollen shut. "Why are you hitting me? I'm just like you!"
He paled once he saw the look of absolute rage on the blond assailant's face, knowing instantly that he had just spoken the wrong words.
"You are nothing like me," he hissed, standing and lifting him up by the collar of his shirt. "I'm the best in all of Paris. You're no better than the dirt on my boots. I worked hard to get to my position, which didn't include mugging poor teenagers. Seriously, how much money did you think he had? 10 Euros? Maybe 20? It's the stupid ones like you who give the real criminals like me a bad name."
He hissed and slammed the man against the wall, who was now blinking fast to hold back the frightened tears threatening to escape.
"No matter what you do," he spoke, poison lacing his words, "I will be better than you, faster than you, and smarter than you. Do not ever try to compare yourself to me again. Do I make myself clear?"
The man gulped and nodded hurriedly, sweat raining down his forehead and cheeks. Chat's lips curled up in disgust as he dropped him, wiping his hand against his leather-covered stomach as the idiot ran off without another word.
He panted as he reined in the desire to run after the fool and land a few more punches. But he still had an audience with him that he couldn't leave without addressing. And so, he slowly turned to Nino, who had remained frozen during the entire time.
His hazel eyes penetrated through Chat's green ones. It was obvious he was terrified, he probably thought the cat would do something worse to him than what the other guy did.
So, the blond grinned and raised his index and middle fingers to his forehead.
"See you later," he quipped, finishing off the salute before using his baton to get to the roof above and run in the opposite direction toward his mansion. Nino was almost home, he'd be fine walking back alone for a couple minutes.
Along the way, he happened to come upon a jewelry story. There was no one around it, and the place was filled with darkness. It would be a great opportunity to steal every jewel he could. But he wanted to go home...
He snorted and leaped closer to the shop. He could never resist temptation, and that jewelry was enough temptation to delay him from sleep for just a few minutes longer.
But when he was finally able to sneak inside, he was devastated by how the shop was completely clean. Not a necklace or ring was in sight, the glass cases were absolutely empty.
Nothing was smashed, the alarms weren't triggered, and everything was exactly in place, except for the jewelry.
He frowned. Whoever had gotten there first, was obviously quite skilled in making a clean getaway.
Curious for some type of clue for the culprit's identity, he wandered around the now worthless shop. When he came upon the counter, he eagerly snatched up the note that was left on top of the cash register.
His eyes narrowed as he read the orange writing, only widening when he saw the signature.
"Volpina?"
A/N: Next chapter will be longer, promise! And I won't take as long to update, now that we're getting closer to the ending :)