I'm going to try and double the length of chapters, which really makes me nervous. My usual standard is no less than a thousand words per chapter, but for this story already the last two updates had over three thousand. For me to double it is about six to seven thousand, and I've never written something that long in one update.
I'm going to give it a shot and see if I can handle it.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Chat Noir stirred out of his doze, taking care not to wake his sleeping companion as he felt a familiar aura get closer to him. Biting back a growl of both fear and agitation, Chat straightened up to a sitting position and pulled the little kitten to him.
The purple butterfly landed innocently on his shoulder, and he held back a shudder.
"Hello, Chat Noir." The butterfly muttered into his ear.
"Father," Chat Noir somehow managed, keeping his voice steady and firm. Breathe, he told himself. The little kitten stirred in his lap, mewing lightly and licking his claws. The action somewhat soothed him and he tried not to be too obvious in his fear as he waited for a response.
"You have made little progress." There was no beating around the bush with his father – it was always straight to business. Chat Noir suppressed the bitter feeling that rose with his words. Always no emotion with Hawkmoth, his son no exception.
"I'm sorry, father," Chat apologized, keeping his eyes on the kitten in his lap, petting it gently. "I've been scouting the area to see if… If one of them have arrived."
The butterfly fluttered its wings slightly in irritation. "I suppose so. You've only arrived a short time ago. Very well, Chat Noir. I will accept this excuse for now. However, next time, you will receive punishment for your incompetence."
Chat Noir's tail twitched, but other than the small movement, he gave no other motion to suggest his feelings. "I understand."
Without another word, not even a goodbye, the butterfly flapped its dark wings and quickly flew away, eventually becoming too small of a speck in the distance for even Chat to see.
"Mew."
Chat blinked, lowering his attention once again to his little companion. The small kitten was peering up at him with curious golden eyes, a hint of sympathy within them. He laughed, even if it sounded dead and bitter. "See what I mean, minou?"
He sighed, shaking away the less than comfortable encounter with his father before gazing at the kitten with his glowing green eyes. "I guess you're going to be stuck with me for a while, little guy. I can't keep calling you minou forever. How about a name?"
The kitten twitched its tail, as if a little irritated with the idea but agreeing anyway. Chat couldn't hold in a chuckle – such a feisty one. Also cuddly. "Alright. How about… Shadow?"
It yowled in protest, causing Chat to yelp and shush him frantically. "Okay, okay! I get it, dumb name. Uh… Henry? Dart? Ninja?" He suggested, growing desperate as the kitten merely twitched its ear in satisfaction with each passing name.
"You're picky, little one," Chat sighed, scratching under its chin anyway. "Alright. What about… Er…"
Chat's nose twitched, lightly sniffing the air. The kitten was male… And had the faintest scent of milk. It couldn't be older than a few months, and that made his heart clench. This little being was now in his care, and if he raised it right, maybe he could even make it his familiar or something.
His green eyes locked with its golden ones, and slowly something formed in his head. The little guy was very cuddly and fierce – like a lion. It had comforted him and stayed with him despite his father's sudden appearance, even if as a butterfly. He was so loyal, and Chat admired that. A lot.
"Leo…" Chat said slowly.
The kitten mewled, seeming content with the name.
Chat felt a grin pull at his lips. "Your name is Leo, named after the Zodiac constellation. I'm sure Night wouldn't mind letting me borrow a name from one of his knights."
Well, as long as Night didn't find out, anyway, he thought to himself.
Leo purred, swinging his small black tail in the air.
Sighing, Chat stood, pressing Leo against his chest protectively. Squinting slightly, the demon raised his eyes and saw that the sun was high up, meaning the time was around noon or one in the afternoon. He had spent enough time on this rooftop – he had a job to do.
His grip tightened slightly on Leo at the thought of said job, but he held back his emotions.
Chat lifted on hand and glanced down at the ring that sat there. It was a powerful object. It suppressed about ninety percent of his power, and could block all of it if he wished. The ring protected him and kept him hidden from anything, especially a god. Well… It should, anyway.
He closed his eyes and willed a small percentage of his power to return, just enough for him to shrink down into a form he was familiar with. His body grew smaller, his tail turned into an actual tail and his skin grew fur that was pitch black.
Standing in his place was now a fully-grown cat with large green eyes, its tail swishing lowly.
Leo mewled from the ground, and Chat purred at it, licking him once around the air before gently grasping the kitten by the scruff in his jaws. With his companion securely in his hold, Chat proceeded to leap off of the building top, defying gravity as he landed gently onto the ground without any impact.
Feeling his muscles coursing with his energy, Chat bounded away quickly towards the house that had been created solely for him.
Not even a minute later he arrived, staring up at the mansion that greeted him. He flinched. The building was so… big. It had over ten rooms, large windows to stare out of, and humans who had been brainwashed to serve him for whatever he needed. And Chat absolutely hated it. His father had given it to him as a 'gift', but Chat saw it more as a curse than a blessing.
The big empty rooms of the place… It only served him as a grim reminder that he was alone. Not even the mortal servants could fill the void in his chest, for he knew they only acted solely on his father's commands.
At least Leo was going to be there for him.
Chat darted his eyes around, landing on the windows that signaled his room, the biggest in the mansion.
He crouched, his back legs tensing before he leaped. Claws digging into the solid wall to keep himself from falling, Chat pushed open the unlocked window with his head, relieved that no one was inside. First he gently set Leo in, letting the kitten drop to the floor on his paws gracefully.
Chat jumped, ducking into the room and also landing on his paws, if not a little clumsily. He grimaced. His bad luck always got to him at the worst of times.
His form shifted once more, only this time the ring glowed, pulsing gently as it sucked in all of Chat's powers and suppressed it. A boy that couldn't have been older than fifteen stretched, his neatly gelled hair getting in his green eyes.
He looked perfectly human. There was absolutely no demon-esque thing of him, the ears and tails completely gone along with the leather suit he had worn before.
Adrien bent down, scooping up Leo gently and absently rubbing the kitten behind his ears as he plopped onto the bed.
"Welcome home," he said aloud.
The words only bounced around in the large room in a lonely echo.
XxXxXxXxXxX
She likes to think that she's getting the hang of acting as a human. Of course every once in a while she would trip over her own feet, and was always a little too eager as she devoured sweet things.
Alya had been a wonderful help to her so far. The human was admirable with her outgoing personality and sassy words, and inwardly Marinette slightly idolized her. The two had grown close, and as remembered, Marinette blessed Alya as soon as she got home.
Marinette happily bit into a macaron, Alya doing the same beside her. They sat outside the school in the park on the bench, eating their lunches and talking quietly whenever they weren't chewing. It was a nice day, which Marinette thanked Viktor for. Lord Day must have been smiling upon her this afternoon.
"Oh, hey!"
Marinette paused in devouring a cookie to see Alya beaming at something, specifically at her arm. The mortal looked excited, beaming and practically bouncing in her spot. "You really are lucky, girl! You know what they say about ladybugs. If they fly to you, you're gonna have a good day!"
Inwardly Marinette smiled, lifting her elbow. The red and black-spotted beetle calmly crawled over her sleeve, and the goddess cooed lightly as she let it pass onto her hand and lifted it to her face. "You must have sensed me, didn't you?"
Thank the gods that Alya was distracted by her food – it would have been a very hard time explaining exactly why Marinette was talking the way she was.
The ladybug merely crawled around on her hand. Marinette smiled. It always made her happy whenever one of her subjects came to her; it made her heart beam that even if her aura was pressed back and she looked like a human, they could still recognize her easily.
"We should go to the mall later," Alya hummed, nearly making Marinette fall off the bench in surprise. "I need these new shoes that came out and where the hell did you get those earrings, Mari? They're gorgeous."
Marinette laughed nervously, silently willing the ladybug to fly away. She raised her hand and touched the red and black-spotted earrings she wore. "I, um… G-Got them online." She silently hoped that her luck would pull out today, because heaven knows she needs it at the moment.
Thankfully, Alya didn't seem to have any problem at all, hardly blinking as she grinned. "Send me a link later. Speaking of, we have to exchange numbers!"
"Er, yes!" Marinette yelped as she inwardly panicked. Shit. She didn't have a phone – her powers were too suppressed at the moment for her to conjure up one. She bit her lip. Maybe if she released just a tiny spark of energy… Only a little…
While she stammered and tried to divert Alya's attention to something else, Marinette silently willed her earrings to give her back some of her abilities. If Alya had been paying attention, she would have noticed how the earrings flashed for a brief second and how Marinette tucked her hand into her purse, mysteriously pulling out a new phone that couldn't have possibly fit in such a tiny bag.
Ding.
Marinette froze, right in the middle of handing Alya the phone so they could swap contact info. Her senses tingled, her warrior instincts warning her. Something tugged at her gut… A feeling she hadn't felt in over three thousand years, not since… Oh. Her breathing stopped. Not since the treaty with the demons.
"Alya." Marinette's voice hardened, her eyes glazed with determination and slight fear. The demon was close – it must have sensed her small wave of power and was now trying to find her. She had to get Alya out of here. If the human somehow got hurt… Her chest tightened.
Marinette hated to manipulate her friend like this, but there was no time. The demon was drawing closer with each second and she couldn't risk Alya's well-being for this. Leaning close, Marinette pressed her fingertips to Alya's forehead.
"Go home," Marinette muttered. Her voice was commanding and vibrated with something not human, something not part of this world. "Lock the doors. Close the windows. Do not go outside."
Alya's eyes were now dazed and unfocused. As if a robot, the girl robotically stood from the bench and gave a single nod before sprinting off quickly, presumably in the direction of her house.
Marinette breathed, wincing when another sharp tingle of warning shot through her.
Hissing, the goddess growled and felt her earrings glow once more. Her body shifted, and she could feel her aura suddenly be let loose like a fresh breeze of air. Wings made of summer dew and feathers whiter than snow spread from her back, and her clothes flickered to become a red and black-spotted dress. Her face became covered with a mask, and in her hand came her trusty weapon she had ever since she had been created. Ladybug stood. Her earrings still held back some power, and while she wanted her shield and other abilities, it would have to do for now. Not when humans were so close – the amount of magic she would have radiated could have destroyed them all.
Then she waited.
She didn't have to for long – in the distance, she squinted her eyes. Something too fast was jumping rapidly in between buildings, a mere black blur with a hint of gold.
She crossed her arms, brows furrowed as it landed about fifty meters in front of her, the being straightening to its full height.
"Chat Noir," it purred, bowing lowly. Ladybug bit her lip – oh, she's heard of this one. The one who was the complete opposite of her. The one who spread misfortune and had hands of destruction. Gods, why him? His body was clad in a leather suit, his belt elongating at the back to move slowly like a tail. Black ears of velvet twitched on top of his messy and unkempt golden locks, eyes the color of bright amber with narrowed pupils staring up at her from his bow.
"Ladybug." She said simply, taking her yo-yo and spinning it rapidly to the point it created a red blur and a high-pitched whistling noise. "You've been quite the trouble lately, demon."
Chat Noir merely shrugged, reaching behind him to take out his own weapon. A silver clasp grew in his hand, becoming a long baton that he leaned on against the ground. "Maybe."
Ladybug narrowed her eyes, bending her knees slightly as her wings fluttered lightly in anticipation. "You broke the law. A sacred one. The gods have decided to punish you."
"Seems like everyone is," he muttered bitterly. She blinked, but before she could interrogate him for answers, he merely smirked, as if his remark hadn't been spoken at all. Cockily he twirled his baton, purring at the goddess. "Well, my lady. Shall we?"
Ladybug pursed her lips in anger. "Let's, kitten."
XxXxXxXxXxX
At first neither of them moved, waiting for the other to strike first. After half a second, the spots they were once standing became empty, red and black blurs clashing against each other with a loud screech. They bounced back, eyes narrowed and minds racing.
"Are you even trying, my lady?" Chat Noir grinned.
Ladybug bit her bottom lip in both hesitance and irritation. The stupid cat was right, unfortunately. Somewhat. She was trying, she was. Just… Not to the best of her abilities. Did she really have to kill this demon? She thought desperately. He did no harm to the humans. He didn't even harm her yet. He was just a kitty with an ego bigger than China, and… Hell she was the goddess of creativity, of life! She made things and built them, not destroy like he did.
Speaking of, the mangy cat pounced, claws outstretched and missing her by only a centimeter as she fluttered her wings and flew out of the way.
"Are you trying?" She spat back, but there was no real malice in her words. Focus, she yelled at herself. Focus. Breathe. Don't get distracted – this is a demon. He probably killed hundreds of mortals in his past, and maybe even some minor gods as well.
Chat Noir smiled cheekily, swinging his baton and blocking her oncoming yo-yo. "Nope!"
She flinched. It was just a tactic, the goddess thought. To throw her off her game. She needs to kill him. Now. Not when Alya was only a few blocks away, not when humans were so close… And yet, her curiosity overtook her. It was a dangerous habit of the gods, one that did not make an exception to her. She, like all beings, unfortunately had that one voice in the back of her mind that asked 'why?'
And so, she listened to it and demanded. "Why?"
Without answering, Chat Noir merely threw his baton, and she yelped, swinging her yo-yo and managing to knock it to the side.
For a moment they paused. Their breaths weren't heavy and their skin didn't sweat. They merely stared at each other, silently pressing inquisitive questions about each other. Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Do you actually want to kill me? All of which both of them were afraid to answer. Did they even have an answer?
"Humans are close." Ladybug said. Her hand, although hadn't once tightened less on her yo-yo, did lower slightly.
"They won't see us," Chat Noir replied. The baton, which had been flung who knows where, was now back in his claws. "Are you worried about a crowd, Bugaboo?"
Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "Stop that."
Chat Noir blinked, as if genuinely confused on what she was asking. "Stop what, my lady?"
"That!" She waved her hand, as if trying to shoo away a pesky fly. "You… We're immortal beings – and you – you're flirting in the middle of a battle? What the hell is wrong with you? Do you even want to kill me?" Her voice had gone shrill with each word, but that last question. It slipped out. She hadn't meant to ask it – of course he wanted to kill her. It was always like that. Why on earth would she –
"No. I don't."
The reply is soft. Gentle, even.
Her throat suddenly clogged with something indescribable, and her gut clenched. In front of her was no longer a cocky and arrogant panther, but instead something far more innocent and far too… real for her to understand. He didn't want to destroy her. He wanted her alive.
Ladybug let out a small breath, hands twitching and her eyelashes fluttering slightly from the sudden exhaustion that seemed to seep into her entire being. "We have to kill each other."
Chat Noir nodded. "We do."
"But we don't want to."
A smile seemed to tug at his lips, but instead he pressed them together, as if trying to suppress the grin. "We don't," he agreed again.
Ladybug swallowed the lump in her throat. Her doubts before only swelled tremendously at his words. They were ordered to fight and kill. They absolutely had to – no questions asked. And so, with her voice not as firm as before, Ladybug once again tensed her muscles into a fighting stance.
Chat Noir grinned slightly, copying her movements.
"I, Ladybug, will punish thee, Chat Noir, in the name of the gods!" She declared. Her hand was slightly shaky as she gripped her yo-yo.
"And I, Chat Noir, promise to make you perish for my father, Hawkmoth!"
Two grimaces.
And they lunged.
The battle before was mere child's play compared to what was now currently unraveling. Too fast for regular eyes to decipher, blurs of red and black flashed up in the sky and on the ground. One moment they would be on one side of the park and then they would somehow be in the opposite way. Large noises of clangs and metal clashing against metal rang through the air, yet no words nor signs of fatigue were present.
They were a goddess and a demon – built for war and having been through war, they were stoic and steeled themselves.
Yet as they fought, Ladybug could find herself hesitating. An opening – his chest was open – and yet her hand did not move to throw the yo-yo. She was holding herself back and that both frustrated and panicked her. During a battle she had to be calm and collected. The only thoughts that should be present are of battle strategies and calculating surmises. She couldn't keep going like this, her thoughts are too scattered, she's too distracted and sooner or later it's going to –
Ladybug let out a small noise, something a cross between a gasp and realization. Her lips parted slightly to let out, "oh."
Landing on the ground, Ladybug could only watch with wide eyes as her left arm slowly bled, golden drops of blood splattering the ground.
"Oh – I – " Chat Noir suddenly croaked. Ladybug lifted her gaze from her wounded arm to see the demon, whose gaze was locked with her injury. His skin was pale and his tail twitched in aggravation, and – his eyes – they were so… sickened. In disbelief. Regretful.
And maybe his bad luck was rubbing off of her, but her instincts went haywire – go! Go! Go! He's wide open! Indeed he was. He was just standing there, baton limp in his hand as he couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from the large gash now gushing golden streams of ichor. Her muscles reacted without her permission, now moving on pure battle instincts, and her yo-yo flew, knocking him right in the shoulder.
He gasped loudly, staggering back slightly as he clenched right where her yo-yo had made contact. In horror, she watched as something dark purple gurgle underneath his tightened claws, the blood dripping down his leather suit.
They made eye contact.
Horror. Fear. Anger. I didn't mean to.
"I…" Ladybug's voice cracked lightly. "I need to go."
Chat Noir nodded slowly, his gaze never once breaking from hers. "Fix your arm… It looks quite bad, my lady."
Ladybug bit her lip – to hell with her arm, she could care less. It was him she was worried about, he was clearly bleeding more heavily than her and… and… she caused it. She hurt him, she did it… She… She… She was going to throw up.
"Y-You too," Ladybug managed to rasp. "Your shoulder… I…"
Chat Noir glanced down at where his hand still gripped himself, grimacing lightly and trying to smile despite the pain obvious in his eyes. "It's fine. Until next time, Bugaboo."
Twirling his baton, he ignored the steady stream of dark purple liquid now dripping down his side and shot her a cheeky grin. Giving a two-fingered salute, the cat jumped away, racing in between buildings and quickly running out of her sight.
"Urgh," Ladybug muttered. She tightly gripped her arm, the golden trickles of ichor still running down her skin. Her wings flapped, the feathers taking her higher and in the opposite direction of where the demon had gone.
She landed on the balcony of her room, gasping lightly in pain as the deep wound threatened to open further. Her eyes stinging with small tears, Ladybug bit back a groan before concentrating. Healing was not her best ability, rather more favored to Kagome the goddess of purity, but she prayed silently that it would work.
Perhaps Kagome was smiling upon her, because slowly the wound closed. It wasn't all the way, but enough so the ichor wouldn't bleed so heavily. Breathing a small sigh of relief, the goddess heard her earrings give two loud beeps of warning before they glowed a bright pink. Her wings shimmered away, the dress she had been wearing along with the yo-yo fading into nonexistence as her mortal clothes reappeared.
Marinette shakily took off her jacket, not wanting to stain the fabric with her ichor as she squeezed back down into her bedroom. This was terrible. Not only did she have a sudden injury with no explanation, but the blood… It was one thing her earrings could not disguise. The golden drips of a god's blood was not something that could be covered, and she feared for whatever human might find out if they saw her.
Acting quick, Marinette stumbled over to her closet and threw the doors open, grabbing a random article of clothing. Pleading her earrings just for another sliver of power, the tank top shifted and morphed to become a long white bandage.
It would have to do for now, she thought to herself as she wrapped the cloth carefully around her upper arm. She could only hope that the wound would heal on its own and that no one would ask any questions.
Exhaustion seeped into her body, tugging at her stomach before she groaned and tiredly climbed back up to her bed. She had about forty minutes of the lunch hour left, and a nap sounded so good right now…
But try as she might, sleep refused to come despite her droopy eyes and limp body.
"I need to kill him." Marinette muttered. To who, she didn't know, but it was definitely someone.
He had broken a sacred law. But… That law was one she had hated for eons. She had craved to go to earth, to interact with these mortals that had captured her attention greatly. And what damage had he really caused? She felt no magical disturbance from him, and heard of no skirmishes or trouble in Paris. He did nothing wrong… Not in her eyes, not when she herself had been so desperate to descend from the heavens and touch the earth.
The look he had when he realized he hit her… Her stomach clenched. It wasn't his fault, she knew. It was an accident. They were fighting, yes, but it had been mere blocking and dodging up to that point. His claws had swiped up, and she had moved right towards them in her racing thoughts and distracted mind, and ichor started to fall.
He had looked so sick, so disgusted. His eyes were wide and his ears drooped, and his whole body was limp and frozen as he stared at her wound. And oh gods… her reaction. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of what happened, but it came to her anyway. She hurt him. She hurt him.
An accident, she tried to desperately think. It was like him – an accident. But was it really? The damage he inflicted upon her was entirely her fault, and her throwing her yo-yo was her fault as well. Ugh. Her head swam with conflicting emotions and thoughts, threatening to combine into a massive headache that would take hours to calm down.
She turned to her side, not wanting to lay on her injured arm. They both didn't want to kill each other, they agreed. Yet they had to. It was a necessity – she wasn't sure what his reason was, but hers was clear. He has broken a law the universe created. His punishment is death.
Marinette bit her bottom lip, not at all surprised when the sweet taste of ichor suddenly tingled her taste buds. With how much lip-biting she had done all day, it was only a matter of time before the skin split.
"Oh, Tikki," she whispered, even if the kwami wasn't there. "I'm so confused."
She licked her lips, wincing as more golden blood dripped slowly into her mouth. Next time, she promised herself. Next time she'll be merciless. She'll carry out the mission she had promised to complete, and destroy the demon.
Her eyes fluttered closed, knowing the bitter truth despite her words.
She was lying.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"I'm fine, Leo," Adrien grunted as he gritted his teeth. Despite his reassurances, his face twisted in pain, his shoulder still dripping with dark purple blood. His already stained shirt had been discarded moments ago, forever ruined by the demon's blood.
"Shit," he hissed sharply as he stared at his injury in the mirror. The skin was bruised and a sick yellow, already going a dark blue. In the middle of it was a large gash, not long but deep. Who knew a yo-yo could do so much damage?
Leo mewed from the ground, worry in his golden eyes as he weaved himself around Adrien's legs in an attempt to comfort him.
Adrien grimaced. This was a rather tricky situation he had gotten himself in, and once again he cursed his rotten luck. He was someone who specialized in destruction. For injuries, he had never been one to heal or treat. He highly doubted human treatment would work.
He pursed his lips in thought. The injury itself would go away soon, maybe in about two days at most. It wasn't the first wound he'd gotten and definitely not the worst, but the pain was still there and stabbed at his nerves every second he moved.
"Won-fur-ful," Adrien muttered to himself. The pun naturally slipped out of his mouth, but for once, Adrien didn't think too much on it.
His thoughts flicked to Ladybug. She was the goddess of creation and good fortune, practically the opposite of him. She – she –
Not now, Adrien, he thought to himself. Right now he needed to treat this wound and think about what Nathalie, his human 'legal guardian', had told him before he had left to consult Ladybug.
"Tomorrow you are to attend school by your father's orders," she had said with a blank face and equally distant eyes. "Please be awake by seven thirty the next morning. Your chauffer will drive you."
School, he supposed, was maybe the one upside to this whole situation. Secretly he had been planning to go anyway – how could he not? Spending millennia trapped in his father's castle, and to finally have some sense of freedom on earth? Humans intrigued him, to his father's disgust and irritation.
It had something to do with his loneliness, Adrien thought vaguely. He craved for affection and social interaction, and it didn't matter if they weren't demon. This school was a good opportunity for him – he would seize any chance he could get.
"Today was interesting, minou," Adrien said, finally tearing his gaze away from the gash in his shoulder and picking up Leo with his good arm. He ignored the tinge of pain that followed, and concluded that he would just slap on a gauze later.
Leo mewled.
Adrien cracked a small grin, sitting down on the bed and petting Leo gently on his back.
"I wonder how things will now go, my lady?"
XxXxXxXxXxX
Well, it's not 6K, but it's more than the last chapters. I hope it satisfies you.
This is definitely the longest chapter I have ever written xD whoo! I'm quite proud, even if I did want it to be a tad bit longer. Oh well. Can't have everything.
So yeah! That's what's happening now. They finally met, even if as only Ladybug and Chat Noir, but hey, it's something. I tried really hard to incorporate Chat's natural flirtatious attitude into their fight, and I think I somehow pulled it off lol. It was difficult but I got there.
Also keep in mind about the blood thing. It's the one thing Adrien's ring and Marinette's earrings can't change or at least cloak. Adrien's blood will always be dark purple regardless of human form, and Marinette's ichor will never change from being gold.
Why remember that, you ask? Oh, well, it miiight reappear in a future chapter… *cough* HINT *cough*
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter!
Yaaay~
More Adrien and Marinette interaction next chapter, I promise.
Until next time!