FW09: Oh hey y'all! Back for another chapter! Cool, very cool. Also, I hope the multi-update of Chapter 3 didn't put everyone off...heh...

Really sorry about that guys. I got a little distracted making the third chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed the extra little tid-bit about the Liu residence. Had a bit of research to do on that, but if I got anything wrong please let me know! And again, thank you for everyone who decided to give this fic a chance and either reviewed it, gave it a favorite/alert, or just generally read it!

All right, now with that out of the way, let's continue!

Disclaimer: The wonderful team at ZagToons and Thomas Astruc made Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, not me! All characters, except for OCs, are theirs and not mine!

Bedtime Stories - Tikki and Plagg

Chapter 4: Marinette's Bedroom and Uncle Jianyu - Part 2

By the time I had accepted Huang's request, the day had already begun to turn into night. Soft orange and pink hues mixed with the darker colors of the sunset, splashed against a cloud-streaked sky. Zedong, versed in telltale signs of weather, encouraged everyone who had traveled long distances to stay until the coming storm passed. This inevitably led to more merry-making among the relatives, most of whom had indeed come from far away. Their laughter and bright lamps guided Huang and I home as we conversed about how to deal with Uncle Jianyu.

"Invoking luck is harder than it looks," I explained, my antennae twitching in thought, "My field magic is easy because I was a field spirit. Luck is something different altogether."

"But you did it when the bandits came," Huang retorted, following behind me as I flitted back towards his home, "Can't you do it again?"

"Well...it's sort of like..." I tried to come up with a way to make him understand, "Having two tools - one you know how to use, and one you don't."

"Two tools?"

"Mhmm. My field magic is my first tool. I grew up using it, and knew how to control it from the beginning. It's not very strong or amazing, but it works well," I held up my hand and a dot of green energy burst forth. I let it flow from me to Huang, and it danced across his features like a firefly. With a laugh, he swatted it away and rubbed his face.

"My luck magic is my second tool. It was given to me by chance, and I haven't had time to learn how to control it yet. At best, I can use 'brute strength' to make it work, but it's not the same as knowing how to handle it properly."

"Like...when my dad tried to teach me how to chop firewood?" Huang grunted as he had to step over the fence that surrounded the family field, "He kept telling me where to chop, but I just kept swinging as hard as I could when I couldn't find it..."

"Mhmm, that's right," I sat atop his head, giving my wings a break from flying, "Using my newer abilities also drains me, so if I don't know who or what I'm using it on, the energy that makes it happens just flows right out of me!" Huang looked up, even though he couldn't see me, and gave a little 'oh' of understanding.

"Is that why you went to sleep every time a bandit came?"

"Yup. The first time I used it, I was so tired, I could barely even fly!" I nodded and peeked over his forehead, "That's why we need to meet with your uncle. I've been practicing lately, and found out that focusing my luck-invocation on something in front of me uses less energy!"

"Okay! Only...one problem," Huang took me off of his head and held me in his palms, "Father banished Uncle Jianyu from the house. Mother told me we'd never see him again."

"Well..." I glanced back at the Liu family house, "Huh? Is that...?"

Huang followed my eyes and saw his uncle sneaking around the siheyuan quietly. The sun had set finally, and it was rapidly turning to night - perfect for the dark clothes that Jianyu sported. He seemed to be watching for Zedong in particular, ducking immediately when a man's shadow would pass by, and hid himself carefully just out of sight from the windows.

"What's he doing?" Huang asked loudly, but gave a small choking noise as I dragged him behind one of the boulders. I peeked out to see if he saw us, but Jianyu continued to stalk along the perimeter of the house, unaware that he'd been spotted already.

"Probably hiding from your father..." I whispered before he could ask again, "He's forbidden to return, remember?"

"I know that," the boy retorted in a pout, then peeked around the boulder with me, "But why return?"

"Hmmm..." I narrowed my eyes, "I'm not sure...but whatever it is, it can't be good." Huang and I watched as Jianyu reached up every once in a while, searching for something as he slipped his hand through the gaps in the floors. And every time he did, a frown would appear on his face, as if disappointed, and took his hand back - empty.

"Maybe he forgot something?" Huang asked naively, but I shook my head.

"He never stepped foot inside the house," I turned to look back at Huang, anxious and uneasy, "Let's go get your father."

"What?!" he crossed his arms, and I winced at the volume of his voice, "You just told me you'd help him!"

"Shhhh!" I calmed him down and took a quick peek at Jianyu, but he still seemed too preoccupied to notice, "It's just...oh Huang, I know what I said, but I just...I don't have a good feeling about him!"

"...Is it because he's actually bad luck?"

Brown, narrowed eyes stared at me, and I could hear Chunhua's voice in my head, swearing me to secrecy.

"I suppose so...it could certainly happen," my conscience was really starting to hurt at this point, "Humans can be cursed to have bad luck by Evil Gods. And...it's a really strange feeling, so - "

"Then all the more reason we should help him, Qiji!" Huang stared after Jianyu, pitying him, "Poor Uncle Jianyu...cursed by an Evil God."

...Right. Sure. Let's go with that.

"C'mon Qiji, we should go talk to him!" Huang urged me, and began walking along the boulder outcroppings that surrounded the compound. I started to protest, but it fell on deaf ears as he continued onward. Shrugging and sighing, I followed him slowly, and observed the situation.

Ever since I saw Jianyu back at the compound, unease had been rising in my stomach like boiling water. There was no doubt that Jianyu wasn't there to beg for forgiveness from the family, especially Zedong, but he wouldn't resort to stealing, would he? It had taken me some time to realize that not all humans were good, since the Liu family was so kind and generous, but I believed, and still do believe, that family was sacred. However, Jianyu seemed to be in dire straits, and to bully Chunhua into giving him money was something that bordered on desperation. I glanced up at Huang, who still had no idea what had transpired, and my insides squeezed painfully out of guilt and pity. I couldn't tell him...not now.

"Uncle Jianyu," Huang whispered as he arrived silently. Instead of reassuring the older man, though, Jianyu whirled about with wide, bulging eyes. For a second, I thought I saw his hand go into his robe to pull something out, but he relaxed when he realized who had spoken.

"Little Huang," he gasped hoarsely and clutched his heart weakly, "What are you doing here?" He looked around quickly, as if Zedong was going to pop up somewhere.

"I asked Qiji if she could spare you some luck," Huang explained quietly, and held me up in his hands, "She said she'd help you!" Jianyu blinked at me, then stared at Huang flabbergasted.

"...Maybe my luck really is turning around," he mumbled as a smile wormed its way to his face, "Excellent, little Huang! Now what must I do? Pray? Offer something?" He started patting his pockets, but I held up my hand to stop him. I took a deep breath and steeled myself, pushing aside the nagging doubts and insecurities. This was for Huang, and that's all that mattered.

"You only need ask, Mr. Jianyu."

"I see...then, I wish for luck in my next venture!"

I looked up at Huang, and he shrugged apologetically. The way his uncle spoke was crude and vague, and it didn't help that he didn't seem the least bit regretful for having caused that scene earlier. Sighing, I drifted up to Jianyu's eye-level, crossing my hands to lay demurely over my hanfu.

"Could...could you be a little more specific?" I asked politely, my antennae twitching as I prepared myself for the invocation.

"Why?" his nose crumpled in confusion, "Just grant me luck, as much luck as you can!"

"Well...what if it's luck that you don't want or need?" I glanced upward and watched the shadows of the dancing men and women pass above us, "For instance, the fortune I grant you could be luck in love. Is that what you were hoping for?"

"No..." Jianyu groused, crossing his arms.

"Then perhaps you could tell me?"

"..."

Agitated and unsure, the bruise-patterned Jianyu peeked at Huang, who was watching our exchange intensely. I took the hint, but I couldn't say anything without making him curious. Spending so much time with him was not only fun, but...a little too knowledgeable about when I was trying to misdirect him. Needless to say, surprises were never successful with this kid.

"Little Huang, why don't you go be a look-out? Tell us if anyone is coming our way, hmm?"

Surprised, both Huang and I looked at Jianyu, who jerked his head to the front of the siheyuan. A clatter of something ceramic made us all jump, and the drunk laughter of rowdy Liu relatives echoed above. After a nervous second or two, Huang nodded and ran towards the entrance of the residence, hugging the stilt that held the entryway with wide eyes. I focused my attention back on the dark-clothed man in front of me, alert and guarded.

"I owe money to a man that I gambled with," he stated plainly, crossing his arms with a small twinge of pain, "5000 shells*." From the Liu family, I learned the concept of money, and in those days, 5000 shells was a fortune, more than a man of Jianyu's status could ever hope to collect.

"Then...what is it that you need luck in?"

"Grant me the luck that the bandits received," he held out his hand as if I could materialize money from thin air, "Enough to pay back the man I owe, plus a new robe. My brother-in-law has broken it beyond repair."

Jianyu's robe had indeed suffered, but I was certain that it wasn't just Zedong's rough handling that caused it. More likely it was whoever caused those bruises - making me realize why Jianyu had run to the Liu household, and his behavior towards Chunhua. Shaking my head, I agreed with Zedong - if Jianyu continued down this road, he would never change and would continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

"...Mr. Jianyu," I pushed his hand down, trying to remain calm in face of the ludicrous request, "Luck works in mysterious ways. Even I myself don't have full control over it. How much you'll receive and when...I can't give you a direct answer. You may receive your 5000 or more shells within a day, or perhaps it'll even be just 100 shells in 10 years."

Although the bandit incident showed how powerful my luck could be, it wasn't guaranteed that Jianyu would experience the same thing. Additionally, I wanted to prevent anymore 'blackout' events, in which I expended all of my energy and had to recover in the spiritual world. During the bandit incident, there would sometimes be days that went by in the physical realm, while it only seemed like a few minutes during my recovery.

"It all really depends, Mr. Jianyu," I continued my explanation, "It could also come in the form of an object, or a person. However, when I do bestow it, and I will, it is up to you to figure out how to use it or how to approach them."

I didn't know it at the time, but men like Jianyu don't take kindly to not being given exactly what they demanded. It took him a few moments to process the information before he understood that I couldn't just give him the money like he wanted. The complexity of luck and its ways were beyond him, and, perhaps it was the pain of his body, or the stress of his burden, but Jianyu simply...snapped. Sourness and impatience stretched across Jianyu's feature, with a streak of scarlet running across his cheeks, and I saw his hackles raise like an angered animal. He even bared his teeth, and swiped his hand like a claw, grabbing me forcefully...

"He grabbed you?" Marinette interrupted softly, "Tikki..." It had been nearly an hour since the immortal creature had begun her tale, but the concerned teen was wide awake and listening to the story intensely. She was curled up beneath her Adrien poster and Tikki noted that the bluenette was squeezing her pillow with enough force to choke the life out of a baby elephant.

"It's all right," she couldn't help but laugh a little at Marinette's reaction, and calmed the girl with a few gentle touches on the back of her arm, "I was a spirit remember? Becoming intangible was - is - one of my natural abilities." To emphasize her point, Tikki sunk into the bed slowly, letting her entire body phase through the comforter and mattress. Marinette reached her hand out to feel the spot where she'd disappeared into, a cool spot left in her wake.

"So...he didn't hurt you?" she asked, and Tikki popped her head back up through the bluenette's hand.

"Of course not," the Kwami began to smile, but it morphed into something sad and regretful, "But...Jianyu didn't have to...to get what he wanted..."

At least, Jianyu had tried to grab me. Long, cold fingers brushed my tail, but I turned intangible as soon as I saw his arm move. He swiped at me several more times, each swing more frustrated and angry than the last.

"Stay still, you little - !"

"Mr. Jianyu, please!" I ducked another arm swing, trying to reason with him, "I'm trying to explain how you can - oh!"

One of his swings had gone through my head, causing my vision to blur and my senses to twist in an awkward fashion. Nausea lurched in my throat, and I turned away for only a few moments to settle myself. However, by the time I had recovered, Jianyu had set his sights on someone else.

"Q-Qiji?"

'No...no, not him. Please...no...'

"...Huang?" my voice croaked.

I felt my insides grow cold as I turned around, hoping beyond hope that it wasn't him. Unfortunately, my worst fears were realized as I saw Jianyu holding my friend hostage, one hand wrapped around Huang's mouth, and the other holding a knife poised shakily on his throat. Teary eyes pleaded to me in terror, and he kept tugging at the bruised, but burly hand that silenced him. Jianyu wrenched at Huang's jaw for good measure, the small muffled cries for help turning into squeaks of pain.

"I might not be able to catch you, God," Jianyu spat, his snake eyes dark with greed and desperation, "But little Huang isn't as slippery. No more asking nicely - grant me luck in wealth, or else." I had half a mind to shout, get the adults' attention, but he made a point of sticking the knife further into Huang's neck. A bead of blood formed where it connected, and my lips snapped shut in quiet fear.

"All right..." I waved my arms, making myself fully tangible, "All right...I understand. I'll give you the luck you wish for, but know that I cannot control it. It will be up to you to figure out how best to use it. And once I do...you let Huang go." Jianyu hesitated before giving a slow nod, glancing down at the young boy with apprehension.

As I concentrated and focused my power into my hands, the physical world began to slip away from me. Darkness crept over every rock and tree, over the Liu residence, even the ground beneath our feet - until it was only Jianyu and Huang were in front of me. The laughter of the party, and the crickets who were alerted to the shift in natural energy slowed in a distorted discordance until it stopped altogether. With one last final strained grunt, I flew towards Jianyu's body, erupting into a bright ball of hot, white light...

And disappeared.

...

...

...

Who do you pray to when you're a God? Maybe something in the spiritual world? Or a more powerful God? The concept of prayer was 'human', but I could understand the need for guidance during times of uncertainty and doubt, and this was one of those times.

I don't know how long I floated around for, exactly, but I remember waking up surrounded by tiny lights in the spiritual realm. Exhaustion and weakness were weaved into every fiber of my being, and there was a headache that was worse than any I'd experienced. Spirits that I'd encountered every now and again would tell me that this would happen if I pushed myself for a human's sake, but I promised I'd never put myself in that position. Well...until then.

Several passing spirits noticed me, but upon seeing the lights, left me alone and assured me that I was well taken care of. I didn't realize it then, but as I grew stronger, I could hear voices from the tiny lights. The first was from a strong orange light, sparking and bold - the voice was Zedong's! Reaching out an arm, I drew the light close and listened to the garbled words. The next was a soft yellow light, this one's Chunhua's, and it was a sad calling. Slowly but surely, energy poured from their words - prayers - and I was brought back faster than I would have normally. Eventually, as a day or two had passed in the spiritual realm, I could feel myself grow strong enough to manifest myself in the physical world.

...

...

...

"...Look, she's coming back!"

"The God's returned! The God's returned!"

"Welcome back, Luck God!"

Soft, but relieved words echoed around me as I materialized back in my shrine, and I opened my eyes slowly, hopefully. Many round, anxious faces filled my vision, but none of them were the ones I wanted to see. I floated above the crowd of the Liu family and continued my search, darting here and there between the bodies and waving hands.

"Huang?! Huang?!" I called out, but he didn't reply, "HUANG?!"

"...I'm here, Qiji..."

I spun around to see Chunhua and Zedong standing off to the side, their hands holding Huang's shoulders. His nose was red, and his eyes puffy, but he seemed to be all right. All the while in the spirit realm, I had nightmares of him hurt or worse, but to see him no worse for wear caused waves of relief to wash over me.

"Huang..." I sighed gladly, and flew down to meet him. Only...he didn't look at me.

"Huang?"

"I'm sorry..." his voice trembled, in such a way that nearly broke my heart, "I'm so sorry, Qiji...I n-never should've..."

Hiccups interspersed his apology, and tears started to dribble down his face. I flew to him, panicked and beginning to form tears of my own.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Huang, don't - "

"You disappeared!" the young boy looked up and startled me with his outburst, "You just...vanished...and n-no matter how m-much I c-called you...you never c-came back!"

Large, glossy tears dripped from his eyes, and he brought his hands to rub away the blurry vision. I sniffed and smiled at the child, a few tears of my own slipping down my red-black cheeks. He was much too kind - after all, he was the one in danger, not me. I floated to him and placed my hands on one of his, gently. He hiccuped and blinked rapidly, unable to control his breathing.

"Shhh...shhh..." I made soothing noises and patted his hand, "But I did come back...didn't I?"

He dropped his gaze and sniffed, making several gasping noises as he tried to bite back more sobs. Having none of it, I floated to look up at him, smiling broadly.

"...I did, Huang," I answered for him, chuckling, "And I'd do it again, if it kept you safe. You are my friend, Huang...and I would never want you in harm's way."

I frowned and closed my eyes in shame, recalling Jianyu and his knife. Anger sparked along my brow when I opened my eyes and finally noticed the bandage that was tucked into the collar of Huang's robe, covering the wound. I huffed in disgust and pursed my lips.

"If only I'd warned you better about that...that..." I controlled my temper, seeing as how Huang was watching me, "That coward!"

"It was my fault, Qiji," Chunhua spoke up, kneeling to look both Huang and I in the eyes, "I didn't want Huang to know the truth...that sometimes blood can betray blood."

She turned Huang to her and wiped away his tears with the sleeve of her robe.

"I'm so sorry, Huang," she hugged him tight, comforting him, "But do you understand now? Why we had to send Uncle Jianyu away?"

"Y-yes," he tucked his chin towards his chest in a solitary nod, and sniffed again, "I understand."

As I watched the Liu family reconcile with each other, and the relatives rejoice that not only Huang was safe, but that I had returned, I was relieved and reveled in the peace and harmony that washed over the siheyuan. And yet...in that calm moment, my actions nagged me and the charged, sick-to-the-stomach tension that Jianyu projected seemed to linger in the air, like a bad smell. I looked out towards a pair of mountains where the sun settled itself and prepared for sleep, ominously causing its golden rays to be swallowed between dark peaks and shadows to rise like water to a sinking ship. Whatever had happened after I had cast my magic and fell back into the ether, it wasn't the end, but the beginning of something legendary. Good or bad, I wasn't sure, but for sure, legendary it would be.

Marinette watched as Tikki finished tale dramatically with a swish of her tail, and she gave a few soft claps in response. The ladybug Kwami giggled at the awestruck expression on her face and flew to hug Marinette's cheek, giving it a squish.

"So...you never saw Jianyu again? And Huang, was he traumatized? I mean, his parents lied to him, Jianyu held a knife to his neck, and - "

"Ah-ah-ah," Tikki shook her head and pointed to the clock, "It's 11:03 PM. Unless you want to be late to school again, no more questions, only bed."

"B-But..." Marinette started to whine, even when she felt the ever-familiar fatigue weigh down her eyelids.

"We can always continue tomorrow night if you really want to, Marinette," she gave the bluenette teen a nudge, and got a groan from the sleepy girl.

"Fine...but at least tell me..." she pulled the covers around her as Tikki shut the lights off, "How come Huang didn't pray to you? You said you heard Zedong and Chunhua calling to you, but you never said anything about Huang."

The tiny ex-God chuckled at Marinette's question, and settled on the pillow with a sigh.

"That's what worried me," she gave a little yawn, "But actually, Huang was just praying to a different God." Marinette's eyes went a little wide, and she sat up for a moment.

"Wait...isn't that...'cheating'?" she made air quotes with her fingers, "Sort of like if you pray to one God, like Jesus, and then start praying to...I don't know, Buddha?"

"No," Tikki laughed sleepily, waving her arm as if to say 'no big deal', "Praying to a different God back then was more like...asking to borrow some flour or for a favor. It was really informal in those days. And, as long as you had the right price, you could even get some of the more powerful Gods to assist you."

"Right price?" the kind, benevolent bluenette wasn't sure she liked that term very much.

"Mhmm..." the Kwami yawned again, patting the hand that was closest to her, "But I can tell you about that later. C'mon Marinette, let's go to sleep."

"...All right," she didn't seem satisfied by the answer, but she really was too tired to argue, "Good night, Tikki."

"Good night, Marinette..."

The Parisian teenager went to sleep with dreams of snake-like eyes and fairy lights that night, but before that, she also wondered about where Plagg fit into all of this. It had started with how she met the other Kwami, but he still had yet to appear in the story. Several theories sprung to mind - one being that he might've been a human she encountered later, or maybe was Huang himself? Maybe he was another God, maybe the same one Huang prayed to? All of these questions swirled about in her noisy cranium, making it hard for her to sleep, but once she listened to Tikki's slow breathing and the quiet tinkling of the windchime outside, the weight on her eyelids returned.

'...At least Jianyu's out of the picture...for now,' was her last thought of the night, before sleep came and carried her away.

FW09: Oh my goodness, that took longer than expected! Sorry for the long wait everyone, I got writer's block as I was coming up with the ending for this particular arc, and was super tempted to make it into a three-parter. Then I realized I could still make it a two-parter and just start a different mini-arc to explain the rest of the story, so we can finally move onto Plagg! Yay!

LOL You know you need to change things up when you start getting tired and overworked writing one character's backstory.

So, moving on, here's the only little note here to explain:

"I owe money to a man that I gambled with," he stated plainly, crossing his arms with a small twinge of pain, "5000 shells*."

- In this period of time, Chinese trade mostly involved bartering with goods or shells as currency. And when I say shells, I literally mean shells - like 'she-sells-seashells-down-by-the-seashore' kind of seashells. Bronze/metal coins came after shells as a form of currency, but that part of the story has definitely not come to pass yet.

And last but not least, in order to keep things fresh, I've been looking into other fandoms to write about and am starting to fall in love with Katekyo Hitman Reborn all over again! If you guys know what that is, let me know what you think in a review or a PM! I've already started hashing out ideas - like having a female Tsuna instead of a male one, and trying to figure out if I want to go the reverse-harem route that is pretty common, or try to pick someone. I might just even do a drabble series, since that would let me explore different options.

Again, if you have any questions, also drop me a review or a PM and I'll try to answer it in the next chapter/send you back a PM in kind. Thanks for reading! And Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!