Chapter 8: Heartbreaker

~Adrien~

Adrien hurries under the table and pulls Marinette down with him. He places his finger against his lips to shush her before she makes any noise. The table isn't a very good hiding place, but it's the best one he has and there's no doubt in his mind that the akuma is after them.

His suspicions are confirmed when the akuma speaks, "Where is Adrien and Marinette?!"

The classroom erupts and everyone attempts to leave the room or hide away from the akuma.

Alya holds her phone in her hands and speaks loudly for the akuma, "They didn't come to school today."

The akuma growls, "Liar! I saw them with my own eyes!"

"Well they aren't here now." Alya says.

The red and gray akuma snarls at Alya then turns to look at Nino standing beside her.

"I am Heartbreaker. No one will be in love around me." She says before sending a beam of magic towards Alya and Nino.

Instantly the two turn towards each other and start arguing.

"All you ever want to do is record stuff for the Ladyblog!" Nino yells.

"Duh! Ladybug is much cooler than you. Why would I want to spend my time with a loser that just wants to listen to boring music all the time." Alya responds.

The two continue to fight as the akuma aims her weapon, a heart-shaped ray gun, at the other couples in the room. She watches in glee as they begin to argue and fight amongst themselves before she skips out of the room in search of her true targets.

Adrien and Marinette carefully crawl out of the room after waiting a few moments for the akuma to move on. They remain silent as they hurry to the locker room and away from their arguing friends and wherever the akuma has gone.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asks, holding Marinette's hand tightly in his.

Marinette nods, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed.

"Okay. The akuma is after us, so we should… separate! Yeah, you hide in one of these lockers and I'll find somewhere else to hide. That way the akuma can't get to both of us." Marinette suggests.

"You hide in here, and I'll find another place to hide." Adrien argues.

Marinette shakes her head, "What if the akuma sees you before you get a chance to hide?"

Adrien shakes his head, "What if she sees you?" He asks. "One of us needs to go, and it's not going to be you, Marinette. I'll be okay." He opens one of the lockers and helps Marinette inside. "I promise I will find you once Ladybug defeats the akuma." He says.

"And Cat Noir." Marinette says.

Adrien smiles, glad that Marinette always thinks of his alter-ego, "Ladybug and Cat Noir." He agrees before quickly running towards the bathroom to transform.

~Cat Noir~

A few moments later Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive at about the same time in the front of the school. Heartbreaker shoots at nearby couples while calling our for Adrien and Marinette.

"It seems someone is a little jealous, M'Lady." Cat Noir says in reference to the akuma.

"I don't think she's the only one." Ladybug says as she notices Lila walking up to the akuma.

Cat Noir can only vaguely hear what Lila is saying before him and Ladybug intervene.

"I saw them hide in the locker room." Lila says to the akuma.

The akuma studies her, confused at the help, but then moves to hurry to the locker room. Before she can make two steps in the right direction, Cat Noir trips her with his staff.

"Where are you going, Heartbreaker? Don't you want to get my miraculous for Hawkmoth?" Cat Noir taunts.

Lila sneaks away as Ladybug quietly lands behind the akuma. The purple mask appears over the akumas face and she shakes her head at whatever Hawkmoth tells her. Cat wishes he could hear what he's saying.

"You promised I could break them up, Hawkmoth!" She yells.

Cat Noir grits his teeth but remains still as he watches Ladybug carefully prepare a trap for Heartbreaker.

"They're in the locker room! I don't have time to waste on these heroes!" She yells before turning around and instantly tripping over the large lucky charm placed behind her.

Cat Noir stifles a laugh as Ladybug breaks the akumatized object with her yo-yo, purifies the butterfly, and attempts to pick up the lucky charm. Is that a hurdle? Cat Noir wonders to himself. He quickly hurries to help Ladybug with the surprisingly heavy and cumbersome lucky charm before they toss it into the air together and call "miraculous Ladybug" together.

Cat Noir turns to Ladybug as her power surges through all the arguing couples, "Wow, that was a surprisingly easy akuma."

Ladybug furrows her brow, "Too easy."

Cat Noir looks at her puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Ladybug sighs as her earrings beep, "Take care of the akuma victim, I'll meet you on top of the school in 5 minutes." She says before swinging onto the building and hiding to detransform and feed her kwami.

Cat Noir hurries to check on the akuma victim and then rushes to Ladybug.

He finds her pacing on the rooftop, "Everything okay, Bugaboo?"

She turns to him but continues pacing, "It doesn't make sense!" She exclaims.

Cat Noir looks at her puzzled, "What doesn't?"

"That akuma was too easy Cat Noir. She wasn't even a challenge!" She explains.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Cat Noir asks.

Ladybug shakes her head, "No!" She pauses, "Well, kind of. It's good because we had no issue taking her down, but don't you think it's weird that it took this long for someone to be akumatized over Adrien Agreste's new relationship, and when it happened, she was this easy to take down?"

Cat Noir thinks for a moment, it really is weird, but, "What if people aren't as upset over his relationship as we might assume?"

Ladybug scoffs, "Cat, there are a lot of angry girls out there right now. Not to mention Lila's anger on her own. Why didn't Hawkmoth akumatize her? Why did he choose someone so easy to take down? And what was she telling him no to? He distracted her for us, Cat Noir. My lucky charm was perfectly placed because he was distracting her."

"You don't really think Hawkmoth distracted his akuma on purpose, do you?" Cat Noir asks, incredulous.

Ladybug throws her hands up in frustration, "I don't know what to think, Kitty! This whole situation is weird. There are plenty of other jealous girls that hawkmoth could have chosen to akumatize today, so why did he choose one that turned out to be so easy for us?"

Cat Noir rubs the back of his neck, "I'm not sure Ladybug, maybe he's planning something big?"

Ladybug sighs, "That's what I'm worried about, but these girls won't stay angry and jealous forever, or at least, most of them won't."

"Do you think Adrien and Marinette are in any danger?" Cat Noir asks, worried that he may have put one of his closest friends in a dangerous situation.

Ladybug shakes her head, "Nothing will happen to Adrien or Marinette. Not while we are around." She says confidently.

Cat Noir smiles, "You're right, we'll protect them from any jealous akumas coming their way."

Ladybug smiles, but it quickly falls as a thought comes to her, "We should keep an eye on them." She sighs, "I'm worried that Hawkmoth may have his eyes on them as well."

Cat Noir's eyes widen, "You think Hawkmoth is watching them?" He questions, "Why? Why would he care?"

Ladybug looks away for a moment, but then turns to face Cat Noir with a confidence that steals his breath away, "Remember when I suspected Gabriel Agreste as Hawkmoth?"

Cat Noir nods, worried, "You don't think that's still possible, do you?"

Ladybug remains confident, "It all lined up perfectly Cat. He had the grimoire of the miraculous, he has the perfect cover as a recluse millionaire that never has time for anyone, including his son. Speaking of his son, Adrien has never been akumatized, no matter how he's treated by his father. Adrien isn't as perfect as everyone thinks, and it's clear he has been hurting, and yet, Hawkmoth has never once tried to akumatize him. At least, as far as I know."

"B-but, Adrien could just be good at keeping his negative emotions in check! Besides, plenty of people have never been akumatized. Marinette hasn't either!" Cat Noir defends.

Ladybug sighs, "Yes, but Marinette has almost been akumatized."

Cat Noir's eyes widen, "How do you know that?"

Ladybug's confidence wavers before she checks herself, "She told me. Anyway, that doesn't matter." She refocuses the conversation, "I know he has been akumatized, but his partner, Mayura, could've used his miraculous. Gabriel Agreste has the cover and the motive."

"What's the motive?" Cat Noir asks, visibly worried.

"His wife disappeared about a year ago." Ladybug sighs as her voice grows quiet, "I don't know why or what happened to her, but his motive could be to bring her back."

"B-bring her back?" Cat Noir's voice waivers, "B-but how?"

"The wish." Ladybug says simply, "Our miraculous can grant a wish to the user when their power is combined."

"But there are consequences! It could destroy everything!" He argues.

Ladybug places her hand on Cat Noir's shoulder and studies him closely, "Kitty, if he's Hawkmoth, he wouldn't care about that. Look at all the pain and suffering Hawkmoth has caused already."

"He wouldn't do that, Ladybug. He just wouldn't." Cat Noir says, grasping at straws. His throat is tight and his eyes are starting to sting.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asks, trying to look him in the eye.

Cat Noir turns away, "I have to go." He pulls out his baton.

"Wait!" Ladybug says, grabbing his tail.

Cat Noir doesn't turn back to her, "I was at school before the akuma, Ladybug. I need to get back. We can come up with a plan to determine Hawkmoth's identity later."

Ladybug releases his tail with a quiet, "Okay."

Cat Noir hurries away and slips inside the school bathroom before releasing his transformation and quietly crying. Could his father really be Hawkmoth?

A/N - Hey guys, here is the new chapter. Things are getting pretty mixed up for our heroes. The next chapter will be up by next Friday at the latest! Hope you enjoyed.