Chapter 4: Lost Kitten
Six-year old Noriko and her family were visiting her older cousin Kagami in Paris. They had flown in a private jet from Tokyo and brought with them Noriko's black kitten (named Suki).
It was early in the evening and Noriko was playing with her kitten in her guest bedroom. She was in her black cat pajamas for bedtime, and she was pretending to be a kitten too. She chased Suki around the room.
Noriko had opened a window for some fresh air, and before long Suki jumped out.
Noriko ran to her parents, crying. "Suki ran off!"
(She spoke in Japanese.)
"Suki is probably trying to find her way to our home," said her mother. "But she won't be able to from here."
Her father said, "Don't worry, Suki has a collar with a location chip."
They tried looking for Suki using their tracking app, but it turned out the locating system was based in Japan and didn't work in Paris.
Kagami's strict mother, Aunt Tomoe, said, "It serves you right for being careless. Your kitten is gone forever."
"Don't worry," said Noriko's mother. "We'll buy you a new kitten when we get back home."
"I don't want a new kitten!" said Noriko. "I want Suki!"
Norikio grabbed up the cellphone with the tracking app, and ran and hid in a closet to cry.
Soon a purple and black butterfly slipped under the closet door. It entered the cell phone.
The voice in her mind was telepathic and she understood it. "Kuro Neko, I am Shadow Moth. I will give you the power of a magic cat so you can find your lost kitty. There's a bad boy dressed as a black cat and also a bad girl dressed as a ladybug who will try to stop you. You need to defeat them and take the boy's ring and the girl's earrings for me."
"I will, Shadow Moth."
Dark energy bubbled around her. She now looked like a anthropomorphic anime black cat with a huge head and big eyes. There was a large pocket over her stomach.
"In your magic pocket you will find a Translation Gummy," said Shadow Moth by telepathy. "Eat it and you will be able to speak in other languages and understand what everyone says."
Kuro Neko took the gummy from her pocket and ate it.
"You can put your cell phone in your pocket for safekeeping," sent Shadow Moth. "The pocket also has a magic propeller. Put it on your head and you can fly to look for Suki."
Kuro Neko did both these things, and flew out of the window and high into the air.
"I can't see Suki," Kuro Neko said.
"Use the Come-Come Cat to make cats come to you. There's a stadium near here where you can gather every cat in Paris."
Kuro Neko flew to the field as directed and pulled out a black ceramic figure of a beckoning cat.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news. This is Nadja Chamack with a report on a strange movement of cats that are disrupting traffic this evening. They are all converging on the Parc des Princes stadium. It seems likely that this is the work of an akuma."
Marinette saw the report on her computer at home.
"Let's go get Adrien," said Marinette. "Tikki, spots on!"
On the way to Adrien's house, Ladybug saw Catwalker was already active. Ladybug's heart pounded as she saw him. He was leaping and vaulting in the direction of the stadium.
Ladybug caught up with him. "Catwalker, you saw the report on the news? I'm so happy to see you – to see you're ready to help, I mean."
She was going to have to be careful about showing too much affection.
"No, I had some time this evening and decided to do a patrol," said Catwalker. "Then I felt a strange pull in this direction."
"That's not good," said Ladybug. "I think this akuma has power over cats. Maybe you should detransform and sit this one out."
"No. I signed up to help and that's what I'm going to do," said Catwalker.
"He's more stubborn than Chat Noir," Ladybug thought.
They arrived at the stadium and stood on the upper edge.
The akuma victim was hovering in the air in the middle of the field. The playing field was almost filled with cats.
With the villian in sight, Catwalker didn't seem to be compelled to get any closer.
"I am Kuro Neko," said the supervillain in French. "I lost my cat and I want her back, so I'm calling every cat in the city."
"Kuro Neko, we can help you find your cat," called Ladybug. "But taking all these other people's cats makes them unhappy."
"I don't believe you – I know you want to stop me. I'm going to take your ring and earrings for Shadow Moth."
Ladybug flung her yo-yo at the villain and wrapped it around her to pull her down. Kuro Neko reached into her pocket and produced a knife, which she used to slash the yo-yo string. The yo-yo fell to the ground, leaving Ladybug holding only a loose string.
"That's impossible!" said Ladybug. "My yo-yo is unbreakable!"
"My magic pocket has everything," said Kuro Neko. "This is a Disintegration Knife that can cut through anything."
Ladybug knew the yo-yo had unlimited string, so she leaped down into the arena to grab it. The cats immediately attacked and jumped on her. Fortunately they couldn't claw or bite through the suit, but they clung to her.
Ladybug managed to get to her yo-yo even with the cats almost weighing her down.
"I bet the akumatized object is inside that pocket!" said Catwalker. "I'm going to break it open."
"Wait, Chat – Catwalker," said Ladybug, "Let me make a plan."
"I'm not gonna be a sidekick like the old Chat Noir!" said Chatwalker. "I'll make my own decisions."
"Lucky Charm!" called Ladybug.
The charm gave her a spotted tracking device, which she turned on. A direction was indicated on the screen. It seemed to be close by, but not inside the stadium.
Catwalker called "Cataclysm!" and his right hand glowed black. He leaped up at Kuro Neko.
"Come-Come Cat Control!" said Kuro Neko, pulling the beckoning black cat out of her pocket. "Attack your partner instead!"
"At your service, Kuro Neko," said Chatwalker. He used his pole to change direction and come after Ladybug.
"Catwalker, snap out of it! You're on my side!" Ladybug called, but he didn't seem to hear her.
Ladybug shook off the cats and used her yo-yo to flee the stadium in the direction shown by her tracker.
"I wish I had my old partner back," thought Ladybug. "I know he loves me and a kiss would break the spell, like it did with Dark Cupid. Adrien doesn't love Ladybug."
Using her yo-yo swings, dodges, and kicks to avoid being tagged by Catwalker, Ladybug kept going. The tracker indicated a small black kitten. Its collar was flashing, making it stand out from the other nearby cats.
Ladybug swung down and caught the kitten, then jumped to avoid another slash from Catwalker.
With more evasions, she made her way back to the stadium.
"Look, Kuro Neko! I found your kitten," called Ladybug.
"Stop attacking her," Kuro Neko ordered Catwalker. "It might hurt Suki."
Catwalker and the cats in the stadium became peaceful and purred.
Ladybug landed on the ground and Kuro Neko floated down to her.
"Kuro Neko, there's an object in your magic pocket that you had before you transformed. Please give it to me and I will give you Suki."
A mask of purple light appeared around Kuro Neko's eyes. She shook her head.
"Shadow Moth, I don't need your power anymore," said Kuro Neko.
She pulled the blackened cell phone out of her pocket and handed it to Ladybug, who gave her the kitten.
Ladybug broke the cell phone, releasing the akuma butterfly. She caught it with her yo-yo and purified it. She threw the tracking device into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
Kuro Neko turned back into a little girl in black cat pajamas, with her kitten the the ground beside her. The kitten went over to her and she picked it up.
Catwalker looked blankly at Ladybug. "What happened? Did we win?"
"I did," said Ladybug. "We need to talk about what happened. But first I need to get this little girl home."
"I'll head home myself, then," said Catwalker. "I have things to do."
He used his pole to vault away. There was no offer of a fist bump from either side.
Ladybug asked the little girl, "Where do you live? Do you understand me?"
The girl spoke in Japanese. "Watashi wa Tsurugi Noriko."
Ladybug caught the word. "Tsurugi? Do you know Kagami?"
"Kagami-san wa itoko."
Ladybug guessed this meant the girl was a relative of Kagami's, so she took her and the kitten to Kagami's house.
Later, Marinette talked with Tikki in her room.
"That didn't go well," she said. "Adrien isn't working out as a hero. I think I should try getting Chat Noir back."