Chapter 2: Masquerades

When Marinette's phone alarm buzzed the next morning, she instinctively reached for her ears and tried to feel for the familiar round stones that she was so accustomed to. Her earrings weren't there, disappointingly. Guess it wasn't just a dream, she thought.

With no good news to look forward to, it took her a great deal of willpower to just get out of bed and prepare for school. She had not completed even a single assignment from the day before; the rest of her school work was also left undone—something she hoped that the teachers would miss. If they did notice, she was already prepared to use sickness as an excuse, though she reminded herself to only rely on deceit as a last resort. She abhorred simply lying outright like that; she had already told all manner of falsehood ever since becoming a superhero, but at least they were for reasons that far outweighed her moral conscious. This time? Not so much.

She dragged her feet all the way down to the kitchen for breakfast. "Good morning, maman," she said as she took her a seat and let her forehead rest on the table.

"Good morning, dear. Is anything wrong?" Sabine shuffled over to the table and reached for the basket of bread, offering to help prepare her daughter's breakfast but Marinette politely declined with a wave of her hand. "Did something happen at school yesterday? Boy troubles, perhaps?"

Marinette shook her head slowly from side to side. "It's nothing, maman. I'm just feeling tired, I guess. I stayed up late working on a project." Another lie. Another tick against her conscience.

"Do you need to take a day off, away from school? We can call the school and tell them of your absence." Sabine rested her hand reassuringly on her daughter's hand.

Marinette offered a weak smile. It was all too easy to say yes and avoid all the awkwardness and the troubles that she would have to face at school, but her conscience had already begun to weigh down on her. "Thank you maman, but there's really nothing wrong. Don't worry about it."

"All right dear," Sabine said. "But you can always talk to me if you have any problems."

Her heart sank at her mother's words. She had no one to talk to about her problems. Tikki was the only one whom she could confide in and share her burden. Without her kwami, she was not whole. That emptiness in her life bit at her like a rabid mongrel and she felt hurt just thinking about it. Still, she couldn't say a single word to her mother and so she could only offer a simple and defusing "I know."

Marinette finished her breakfast in silence and left the bakery soon after, pausing by the counter only to say goodbye to her father. Despite his chipper mood, none of it would rub off on her as her burdens outweighed whatever cheerfulness that he had to offer. She closed her eyes and let the cool morning breeze brush against her cheeks as she stepped outside. The sky was clear and the sun was warm. She looked up, half-expecting to see a black butterfly fluttering above the city, perhaps even finding its way to her for all the negativity that she held in her heart, but there was none. She shrugged and marched onward to school.

During her walk, she reflected on her life as Ladybug. She missed the thrill of swinging across the city with the wind in her face. She imagined the rush of facing down powerful supervillains while her partner kept things lively with witty banter and awful puns. What did I do to deserve this? she thought. Was all this caused by an Akuma? Maybe this is what it feels like while being possessed by an Akuma. If this was really the truth then I hope Chat would hurry up and rescue me. He's always so very reliable like that.

A sudden pang of sadness and guilt consumed her. A trickle of tears flowed down the side of her face as she felt the painful stab in her heart. She held her fist close to her chest. There it is again. Why am I feeling like this? She searched her memory in vain. She hadn't a single clue what was wrong with her.

Before she had realised it, the main entrance of school was already within her sights. Nino sat at the top of the steps leading up to the main doors, rhythmically nodding his head to whatever beat was played through the pair of headphones on his head. He perked up upon seeing her approach and took off his headphones, hanging them around his neck as he offered her a smile. "Good morning, Mari. You're a bit early today. I—I uh… hope you're feeling better."

Marinette's eyes explored this strange new Nino that she had never seen before, slowly taking in his seemingly nervous and hopeful expression, his fidgeting hands, and his shuffling of feet. He was clearly both excited and worried at the same time. She wondered what was going on in his head. Was he worried about whatever imaginary relationship he thinks we're having? She may not have had any answers, but she didn't want to disappoint him either—at least not without knowing what she was dealing with—so she returned his greeting with a smile of her own. "Good morning, Nino. I'm fine now. Thanks for asking."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck while his gaze fell on the sidewalk for a few moments before he spoke. "So, about that place I talked about yesterday. D-Do you still want to go today? After school, maybe?" He paused again while his eyes continued exploring his feet before adding, "We could invite Alya and Adrien too. You know, like a double date?"

Double date. He said double date, she thought. Alya and Adrien. Me and Nino. I can't even—whatever is causing all this, it sure had a sadistic way with relationships. Would it be too much for me to just turn him down? But if Alya and Adrien were both there, maybe I can try and learn something—anything!—from the two of them.

Marinette whipped up the best smile that she could offer in this weird circumstance—which isn't really all that much—and said, "Yes, Nino. I'd like to."

Nino's face lit up with a wide grin; he looked so happy that she immediately began to regret her decision. She felt guilty to lead him on like that. Think of the big picture, she thought. Whatever is going on here is surely more important than Nino's feelings?

Just like the day before, Marinette wasn't paying attention in class. Besides learning that she had been paired up with Alya for some school project as well as being reminded to hand in a bunch of assignments by the end of the week, she paid no heed to the lessons and had already begun planning for her after school activities. She tried to think of a list of questions that needed answers, but she wasn't even sure if any of them were appropriate to begin with. Can I ask even Alya how she began her life as Ladybug? What's her relationship with Adrien? Why is Adrien always with her, including being late for school together?

At the end of the school period, Marinette wasn't any more prepared than she had already been. After most of the class had left, she gathered her belongings while waiting for her friends to get ready.

"Wherever Nino's taking us, it'd better be good," Alya said while stuffing her books into her blue and grey messenger bag.

Adrien sauntered over to Alya and leaned over towards her while resting his elbows on the table. "It had better be worth it. I am surely going to get another stern lecture from Nathalie for skipping fencing later. It'd be such a catastrophe." He made a flippant gesture with his hands for added impact.

Alya rolled her eyes and pressed her index finger on the boy's nose. "You're a sly one, aren't you? Sneaking away from his own bodyguard to go on a date?"

"Forget about the whole date thing, think of how wild this would be. It'd be the purr-fect jab at my father." Adrien made sure to roll his tongue as he emphasised the perfectness of his pun.

Alya giggled. "Oh Adrien Agreste, the child rebel. He's the cat's meow!"

Adrien made a clawing gesture at her. "Wait until you see just how he claw-some he really is!"

"Oh, you think you can capture my felines with such pawful scratching?" Alya leaned so close to the boy model, she could probably smell his breath.

All this time, Marinette sat quietly while her fists were tightly clenched underneath the table, trying to contain her growing agitation at the pair. It was all too much. If she had heard another word from either of them, she was so sure that she would have flipped the table. Causing a scene would be the last thing that she wanted on her bucket list of things to do in the midst of mysterious circumstances, so she grabbed her things and walked over to Nino. She hooked her arm around his own and began pulling him out of his seat, practically dragged him towards the door. "Let's get some fresh air, Nino. I think I'm starting to feel a bit light-headed in here."

"Uh, okay." He followed her lead without protest. "We'll be waiting outside, dudes," he managed to say to the Adrien and Alya before he was dragged outside.

Marinette sat on the steps outside the main entrance of school and watched the clouds and the birds flying overhead. I can't believe Adrien was flirting with Alya so openly and casual like that. And what's with all the horrible cat puns? Her eyes widened when it had dawned to her just what those puns could actually imply. Chat Noir loved to make horrible puns. Adrien and Alya were throwing cat puns around so casually between themselves. If Alya was Ladybug, then that could only mean that Adrien was her partner. Wait, does that mean Adrian is Chat Noir? Adrien, is Chat?

"Hello, Earth to Marinette." Nino waved his fingers in front of her eyes and shook her out of her thoughts.

"Oh Nino, I was just thinking about Adrien," she said, and then immediately covered her mouth and froze. "Sorry, that didn't come out right. I—I mean, I thought—"

"Calm down, Mari." Nino held out both hands, motioning for her to settle down. "You seem kind of troubled."

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking…" She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "Sorry. It's just so… uh… I mean… I don't know what to say. Sorry."

"Relax, Mari. Nothing's wrong," Nino said, trying to sound reassuring. "Well, except for the fact that you said sorry four times already. Something's definitely bothering you. Won't you tell me, please?"

Marinette heaved a sigh and buried her face in her hands. She slowly shook her head from side to side and said, "Oh Nino. Things are just so crazy and complicated right now, I've not even begun to understand and figure things out yet, let alone try to talk about it."

"Oh," Nino said in a lowered tone.

She snapped her head back up. She realised how her words could be so easily misinterpreted. "No, no, it's not what you think."

"It—it's not?" The boy looked cautiously hopeful.

"Nino, please." Marinette reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. She met with his gaze and furrowed her brow. "You need to trust me on this. I—I just can't talk about my problems right now. But rest assured that it isn't about you at all."

"Okay." Nino nodded his head slightly.

"What have we here?" Alya walked out with her arm wrapped around Adrien's. "Alone for less than five minutes and we're getting frisky already?"

Marinette immediately pulled back, releasing her grip on the boy. "W-What are you talking about? Took you two long enough to come out. Now shall we get a move on before the day is done?"

"Yeah, let's—"

Nino could not finish his sentence for the sound of screeching rubber on asphalt, mixed with the creaking of metal on metal, alerted the four of them to a commotion nearby. A man on a motorcycle sped down the road, his machine's engines roaring as the rider twisted the throttle down to its fullest. Hot on the rider's tail was a strange floating vehicle that looked like a horizontal bar with a pair of vertical legs hanging from both ends. Thrusters built into its feet allowed it to hover and move above the ground.

The rider took a sharp corner, leaning into the curve until his knee was almost touching the ground. Once he had cleared the sharp turn, the bike roared again as it and its rider disappeared around the bend. The rider's pursuer made the turn as well, although not as elegantly. A part of its chassis scraped against the nearby buildings, shattering glass and detaching bits and pieces of rubble as it pursued its prey.

"Maybe we should postpone this date for a bit," Adrien said as he grabbed Alya's hand and took off in the direction of the hovering menace.

Marinette turned to Nino and held her hand up, gesturing for him to stay put. "I've got to go," she said before running after her friends.

"Mari, wait!"

"Sorry Nino, there's something that I have to do!" She turned around the corner just in time to see Adrien and Alya rounding another bend at the junction across the road. She angled herself forward and sprinted towards the corner but jerked to a standstill when she felt a hand grab her own from behind. A split second later, a car sped down the road, passing her so closely that she could feel the rush of wind in her face and the smell of its exhaust fumes.

"Holy shit, Mari!" Nino held on tightly to Marinette's hand and refused to let her go. "Watch where you're going. You could have been killed just now!"

"I'm—I'm sorry, Nino. I was being careless." Marinette inhaled deeply and then looked down both sides of the road. Satisfied that the road was clear this time, she crossed the road with Nino in tow. "Come on, Nino. I'm not done yet."

The two of them reached the junction where Marinette had last seen Adrien and Alya. They went around the bend but she had already lost sight of her two friends. She scanned the buildings for signs of recent entry and found none. Dissatisfied with her progress, she looked to the rooftops next, half-expecting to see two figures in red and black. When there was nothing to spot, she let out a deep sigh. "I lost them," she whispered under her breath. Despite this, she continued down the street while Nino only followed.

"All right Mari, this is crazy. What are you trying to accomplish here?"

"I—there's something I need to confirm for myself. Nino, please bear with me."

She took his silence as a reluctant sign of approval and kept on walking. She paused by store entrances to take a peek into the premises. She stared down empty alleyways and side lanes. By the time she had reached the next intersection, she was almost ready to give up. Wherever Adrien and Alya were, they would have been long gone by now.

Just when she was about to turn around and leave, a familiar red spotted lady and her black-clad companion appeared out of a side lane across the street. Ladybug swung up onto the rooftops while Chat Noir raised himself by adjusting the length of his baton. The two superheroes headed in the direction of the hovering contraption—no doubt another one of Hawk Moth's Akumatised victims—wherever it may be or whomever it was chasing.

"Holy shit, did you just see? That was Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"Yeah, I saw them. They were right in front of me all this time." To be fair, she didn't actually have any proof to confirm her suspicions. All she had were compelling circumstances and coincidental sightings that she was more than happy to grasp at. Alya was Ladybug, and therefore Adrien must be Chat Noir. They both took off together, disappeared together, and then Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared together. Adrien is Chat Noir, she thought. I can't believe it. All this while… if—if only I had known sooner…

"Are you all right, Mari?" Nino tilted his head and leaned to one side, trying to place himself within her gaze.

With a sigh, Marinette locked her arm around Nino's and spun around. "Come on, Nino. Take me to that place you said you would. I think I need a break or I am going to scream."

Marinette spent the afternoon with Nino at the Arcade Street playing various beat-em up titles including the coin-op arcade version of Ultimate Mecha Strike 3. It wasn't exactly what she had expected out of Nino; she didn't peg him as the arcade-gaming type. Perhaps he only did this for me?

Irrespective of his motivations or interests, she needed something to cheer her up and she had Nino to thank for it. The immensely satisfying sessions of ass-kicking that the fighting games provided her was more than enough to relight a small spark within her heart. Well, that and the long queue of challengers who thought themselves worthy of defeating her. Marinette took delight in proving them all wrong.

By the time Alya and Adrien had contacted the pair to reschedule a meet up, it was already evening so they agreed to some ice cream at the nearby food centre. After the adrenaline rush of beating over two dozen challengers at Ultimate Mecha Strike 3, Marinette felt strangely calm and was not at all bothered by the incessant flirting and horrible pun-slinging between her two friends. Since realising who they were under masks, she felt like she had a better understanding of why her two friends acted as they were.

After the double date had come to a closure, Marinette thanked Nino for the wonderful time and said goodbye to her friends. She also decided to make one last stop before heading home. There were still unanswered questions that she easily held at bay while beating the digital crap out of a steady stream of challengers, but now that she was left to her own devices again, those nagging thoughts resurfaced while she had the time to consider her next move.

She walked down a familiar street in Paris and headed towards the shop of one particular eccentric Chinese healer whom she had known from another time when she was Ladybug. She knocked on the door and only had to wait for a very brief moment before she the muffled voice of an old man said, "Come in."

With some amount of trepidation, she parted the door panel and gingerly stepped into the premises. "Good evening, Master Fu. We need to talk."