Chat Noir swung from building to building, looking for any signs of stray Akumas. Ladybug told him that she was swamped with homework, leaving the black clad hero to patrol by himself.
Chat Noir stopped at the Eiffel Tower, taking in the view of his home. He took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the crisp fall wind flowing through his wild, blonde hair. He sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the silence and contentment that nighttime provided.
After three years, Hawkmoth, now coined Shadowmoth, was no closer to being defeated than Ladybug was to becoming Cat's girlfriend. Now, in his last year of lycee, his father demanded more than ever of his seventeen-year-old son, and the little sleep was starting to catch up to him.
Cat Noir tried to imagine a world without Shadowmoth, a world where being Cat wasn't a full-time responsibility, but the thoughts couldn't visualize. A world without Shadowmoth and his akumas could very well be a world without Ladybug. And he never, ever wanted that to happen.
Sure, his life would be less complicated. He might have still been dating Kagami, but would he have wanted to? He could focus on taking over his father's company, possibly even make him proud. Cat Noir looked down at his ring, the full pawprint looking back at him. But, at what cost?
He shook his head. He knew the cost, and it was even greater than Ladybug. The cost of the one place where he could be who he was instead of what everyone expected him to be.
Just as he was about to turn around and head for his house, a flash of pink ran by him.
"What," he said, turning in each direction until he saw it.
A girl raced across the rooftops, dressed in pink leather with dark, purple stripes, her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail with pink stripes racing through it.
"Wait," he said, running to catch up with her.
The small ears on her head twitched and rotated in his direction, but she didn't stop. Instead, she leapt down from the building, disappearing into the streets below.
Chat Noir tried following her but could no longer spot the girl.
"Who was that," he whispered to himself, pulling out his baton.
He scrolled down to Ladybug's face, hitting the call button. When it went to voicemail like he figured it would, he left a message.
"Ladybug, we've got a problem. Call me back as soon as you can."
Meanwhile, in her room above her parent's bakery, Marinette finished up the rest of her homework with Tiki by her side.
"I thought I was never going to get done. Why does Ms. Mendeleev always have to assign so much of it?"
"I don't know. I believe Chat Noir is still patrolling if you want to join him," Tiki said, floating near her holder.
Marinette looked at the time on the clock on her nightstand. "Yeah, I could use a run to stretch my legs anyway."
"Tiki, spots on," Marinette said, about ready to leave her bedroom when she felt her yo-yo buzz.
"Huh, that's weird," Ladybug said, opening her messages on the device.
She replayed Chat's message and leapt out the hatch on the roof, hoping she wasn't too late to meet him.
Ladybug found her partner easily, knowing his usual spots.
"Ladybug, you're here," he said, sauntering over.
"I finished earlier than I thought. What's wrong," she said.
"I saw this girl. I think she's a miraculous user, but I've never seen her before. Her suit was almost fuchsia with stripes running down her legs, and she had small ears on top of her head. I didn't get to see her face."
Ladybug stepped back, putting her hand to her chin. Normally, Chat loved to see his lady so deep in thought, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.
"Was she trying to hurt anyone," Ladybug asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts.
"No, she just seemed to be running. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that she was on patrol with me."
"Master Fu said that there were three missing miraculous. Shadowmoth has the peacock and the butterfly so it only makes sense for him to have the third one too. Chat, we need to find this girl and get her miraculous before she does any damage."
"Why, who do you think this girl is, Milady," Chat asked, remembering how easily this girl was able to evade him.
"I think she has the tiger miraculous," Ladybug said, "And I think she's working for Hawk Moth."
