Adrien shook Marin's uncle's hand as he greeted them with a bright smile after arriving at the restaurant.
"Adrien! Long time no see."
"Greetings Wang Shifu." Adrien said respectfully towards the elder man.
"I'm surprised to see you, are you here to meet Marin? He left for the market a while ago so he should be back soon." Wang asked much to Adrien's surprise.
"Marin is in Shanghai?" Adrien asked, his eyes widening in surprise as his heart began to beat faster in anticipation. "What a coincidence!"
"Or perhaps fate." Wang remarked as he petted the parrot on his shoulder.
"Maybe we can surprise him! Do you mind if we wait here with you?" Adrien asked as he was now impatient to see his best friend again. As Adrien asked that Wang looked towards the clock on the wall, growing concerned.
"Is Marin often late? I hope he didn't get lost."
"Getting lost is kind of Marin's M.O." Adrien chuckled. "But he'll usually be able to find his way back with some time, I wouldn't worry about him."
"If you're certain. Come, I'm already preparing dinner."
"Oh- I can help if you'd like." Adrien offered as he walked beside the master.
"I would be delighted for the help. Bastille, get me some chili peppers from the pantry, please."
Bastille immediately flew off at Chili peppers! Chili peppers!"
Fei walked down the stairs and slammed open the door before her, already growing agitated as she walked into the pawnshop.
[ "Cash!"] Fei exclaimed bitterly as an elder man stepped out from the back of the shop. As soon as the elder man had heard her, a smug smile drew on his face.
["Fei! What treasures do you have for me today?"] Cash asked as Fei took out the bag, shaking out its contents. From the bag fell a journal, a wallet, a peach, the phone, and earrings. Fei watched as Cash picket up the wallet first, emptying out the cash which added up to 500 yuan. Cash then picked up the journal but couldn't open it due to the lock. Then refused to even properly look at the earrings.
["Are you going to tell me there's nothing of value in there again?"] Fei asked almost mockingly while Cash smirked.
["I want to help you, really,"] Cash remarked as he flicked the fan in his hand. ["but everything has a price, and the price of these things is not very high."]
Fei only grew more enraged as slammed her hands on the table. ["I'm tired of stealing! I want you to tell me his name!"]
Cash only rolled his eyes at the young girl. ["Until you bring me enough things to pay that price, I can't give it to you. This bag is not bad, this phone's just junk, the earrings...]
["They're antiques!"] Fei tried to argue but Cash only rolled his eyes.
"I've been doing this job longer than you've been alive. They're commonplace...200 Yuan for it all." Cash said, only infuriating Fei further.
"What?! Are you kidding me?!" She exclaimed in disbelief.
"You know, Fei, I like you a lot. At 200 Yuan I'm actually doing you a favor, in memory of the noble Wu Shifu and all he stood for." Cash said with a faux sympathetic tone, that was mocking.
"So if you respect his values, why can't you introduce me to the man who can tell me who burnt down my father's school?" Fei asked, gritting her teeth as she spoke.
"You know, you may think I don't care, but I'm actually protecting you. Your father upheld the values of his school to a tee and look what happened. It was turned to ruin." Cash remarked. walking to the cash register while Fei only grew angrier. "Just like the school, those values no longer exist. What matters today is driven by the market. Cash is king, baby! It's sad, but adopting is the key to success."
"At that price, I'm better off selling them back!" Fei retorted, reaching for the items but her hand was slapped back by Cash's fan. She looked up to see a sinister smile had drawn on his face.
"Now that's an interesting idea. If you can actually find the brat you stole from you could make a pretty penny. After all-" Cash said as he picked up the earrings. "Sentimental value and feelings are priceless."
A chill crept up Fei's spine as Cash took out a student ID from the wallet, placing it before her. "If I bring you the owner of these things and he buys them all back from you, will you finally tell me what I want to know?" She asked, staring at the card placed before her, hesitating for a second.
Cash smirked as he saw her picking up the ID. "For the right price of course."
Situated in an alleyway Marin sat near an eatery, there were multiple people on the street walking by, heading back home or wherever they needed to be. An elderly woman placed a cup of green tea before him.
[Drink something warm, you'll feel better."] An elderly woman said with a smile, but Marin couldn't bring himself to even look up, let alone speak. After losing all of his belongings he had found himself unable to even stand up due to the shock. He hadn't even realized how much time had passed until the street lights had begun to light amidst the darkness. Then, this elderly woman had found him and guided him to this place. The young man couldn't even bring himself to thank the elderly woman, as his mind was filled with worry for his Miraculous, and more importantly his Kwami.
If the Miraculous were removed by anyone else aside from me then Tikki would return to the earrings. If I can't find them there's no telling what could happen...
But then a notepad was placed before him as the elder woman spoke once more.
["You don't have to speak if you don't want to. But do you have someone you'd like me to call for you?"] She asked in a gentle tone.
Marin's eyes glanced to the notepad, and immediately thought about his uncle who would be worried sick. But right now he couldn't think about returning, not without Tikki. He picked up the notepad and pencil, immediately sketching his earrings, and showing it to the woman. She looked down at it for a moment thinking to herself and then walked across the street towards a store across the street.
Marin didn't know what she was doing, but eyed the tea that was still hot nearby.
["Did you lose a gift to give to a sweetheart?"] The elderly woman asked, partially joking, as she held a pair of black earrings in her hand.
"This is yours isn't it?"
Marin's eye widened as he heard someone speaking french and looked up to see a pretty girl with a bag pack and his school ID before him. "W-Where did you get this?!" Marin immediately asked, his hope renewed as the girl handed it to him.
"It was fallen on the ground. I was going to take it to the station, but I recognized your face on it." The girl said and then turned to the elderly woman. ["He's a tourist, I'll take him to the police station to find his things."]
The elderly woman nodded but placed the earrings into Marin's hands.
"I-uh, I can't take this auntie." He said, speaking french reflexively as he shook his head, but the woman only closed his hand around the earrings. He felt guilty, taking advantage of this woman's kindness but then he felt his shoulder being tapped by the girl.
"Come on, it's getting late." She said, as Marin quickly bowed to the elderly woman in thanks and then ran after the girl to catch up to her.
Fei walked in stride as she was eager to get back to the shop. As soon as she dealt with this kid then her nightmare would be over and she could finally move forward with her life rather than continuing to steal.
"Excuse me?"
She turned back to the taller boy, who appeared to be bi-racial if his bright blue eyes were any indication. He had a handsome face but also gave off a vulnerable aura that made her want to tease him. Almost reminding her of...
"How is it that you can speak french if you don't mind me asking?" The boy asked formally. But before Fei could think up an answer they heard the sound of a scooter. Fei immediately tensed up as she saw the gang of boys from earlier who saw her pick-pocketing- if they caught up to them then her cover would be blown.
[There, that's her! It's the girl from before!] One of the boys shouted as Fei grabbed the tall boy's hand.
"Follow me!"
"What?" The boy asked before she dragged him away towards a narrow alleyway that couldn't be accessed by the main roads.
"W-What was that?" The taller boy asked, catching his breath as Fei looked back to make sure they weren't being followed.
"...Just saw some trouble makers. If they caught up to us then we would have been in more trouble." Fei explained, feeling little remorse as she lied through her teeth.
"Hey- thank you for helping me. I'm Marin by the way." The taller boy said, introducing himself. "People here are so nice, but... it's kind of impossible to explain my situation to them." He remarked, looking incredibly sad for a moment before breaking into a grateful smile.
"It's no trouble." Fei said. "Let's just find your things and send you back home."
"You didn't tell me your name."
"...Fei." She said with some hesitation, not sure why she was entrusting her name to a stranger of all people.
"Fei?" Marin said aloud. "That's a really nice name." He complimented with a smile on his face, making her feel happy for a moment before she quickly realized what she was doing. "It'll be faster if we take a bike to the area where there are an abundance of pawnshops. That pickpocket of yours probably sold your things to multiple shops, so we can start there." She explained, renting out a bicycle for them. "Get on the back."
"Uh- isn't that a little dangerous?" Marin asked with some hesitation. "Having two people riding on at the same time?"
"It is. But I only have enough cash to rent out one." Fei informed, lying again as Marin only sighed in defeat, following her directions.
"Do you at least have a helmet?"
Adrien stepped out of the kitchen after having washed his hands and spotted his bodyguard playing with the parrot, Bastille. The sight amused him, as it appeared the two were getting along very well, however his smile faded as he overheard Wang speaking to someone outside.
["Uncle! We're telling you, it's that pickpocket again!"] One of the boys said, whom Adrien recognized as a trio of fans he hung out with earlier. As he approached the front door Adrien's eyes widened as he saw a familiar necklace in the largest boy's hand.
"Ah, Adrien." Wang greeted as he saw the young man approaching. "These are some of the neighborhood children." Wang informed, but Adrien immediately turned to the trio with a serious expression on his face.
["Excuse me, can I see that for a second?"] Adrien asked as he saw a familiar necklace in the pocket of one of the boys. As it was handed to him, Adrien immediately recognized Marin's lucky necklace, right down to the silver key. ["Where did you get this?"] Adrien asked with some urgency.
["A local thief dropped it, we were chasing her down before we lost her. We were checking to see if it belonged anyone around here."] The one with glasses informed.
"Is it yours Adrien?" Wang asked, to which Adrien shook his head.
"No, it's Marin's. He doesn't go anywhere without it." Adrien informed as he saw panic settle on Wang's face.
"I'm going to call the police." Wang informed as he walked to the phone while Adrien turned back to the trio.
["This necklace belongs to my friend, he's been missing for a few hours."] Adrien quickly informed. ["Can you tell me how I track down this thief?"]
The trio exchanged a glance as the one with a floral printed shirt spoke up. ["There are a number of pawn shops in a nearby district, if the thief went anywhere it would be there to get money."] He informed as Adrien nodded, pocketing the necklace. ["If your friend is over there we'll find him."]
["I'll go help Mr. Wang. Thanks for your help guys."] Adrien said gratefully as the trio left. But as he closed the door he immediately called out. "I'm going to look for Marin on the streets nearby, won't be too far!"
Before his bodyguard could react Adrien sprinted out through the back and turned a corner.
"Well well," Plagg remarked as he flew out. "Looks like our baker boy wandered off."
"Our?" Adrien questioned for a second before shaking his head to regain focus. "This is serious Plagg, if I know my best friend- which I do, he's probably looking for this necklace."
"Oh, I see now!" Plagg said as his eyes began to sparkle. "Once we find the baker boy he'll be so grateful that you won't even have to convince him to bake that scrumptious camembert bread for me!" The Kwami of Destruction said as he drooled, thinking of the bread he had been deprived of for so long.
Adrien could only roll his eyes, somehow Plagg's priorities never ceased to surprise him. "It'll be much easier to find Marin as Chat Noir. Plus, there's no way Ladybug would ask questions about me saving a former Miraculous holder." Adrien reasoned as he recalled how Marin wielded the Mouse Miraculous.
"Unless he thinks you're in love with him or something, because let's face it- who travels half of the world just for one person."
Adrien stared at his Kwami with a deadpanned expression. "Marin's just a friend Plagg. Plus- I'm pretty sure he'd do the same for me."
"If you say so." Plagg remarked as Adrien transformed.
Marin hung on to Fei's waist as she traversed the roads on the rented bicycle.
"So Fei, how do you know how to speak french?" Marin asked, trying to take his mind off of his Miraculous for a moment.
"...My...my father knew the language. He taught it to me, hoping we'd go to France one day." Fei said aloud.
"Well if your family ever decides to visit France then look me up, I show you the best places to visit." Marin promised with a smile.
Fei chuckled under her breath, hearing his sincere tone. "We haven't even found your things yet and here you are already celebrating." She remakred bitterly.
"Maybe. But I just want you to know how grateful I am for you help. I haven't always had the best experience with trusting people this past year, but I think meeting you may change all that."
Fei frowned as she heard his words, gripping the handlebars tighter. "I'm...I'm not as great of a person as you may believe. If my father could see me now, he'd be so ashamed." She admitted aloud as her guilt began to creep to the surface. "I'm nothing like the person he wanted me to become."
"You shouldn't feel ashamed about helping people Fei." Marin insisted. "If I hadn't met you today I would probably still be sitting in a single place feeling sorry for myself. Anyone who has the courage to do what's right especially if against what they've been taught is someone remarkable- and to me, that's you."
Hearing those words caused Fei to feel even worse as she wished Marin had been a terrible person, someone she could reasonably steal from without remorse. But unluckily for her- she just happened to find the kindest tourist in Shanghi.
"I'm not as amazing as you think." She said under her breath as they pulled into the pawnshop district. "We're here."
The two removed their helmets, placing the bike to the side as they then walked down the stairs to the dimly lit alleyway surrounded by shops. Marin looked all around in hopes of seeing anything familiar.
"Look this way, I'll go that way." Fei said as she walked in the opposite direction. Marin turned to the nearest shop and immediately his eyes rested on a familiar pair of earrings, making his heart soar with relief.
"There! They're here! My Miracul- uh, my earrings!" He said excitedly as Fei turned towards him.
"Are you sure?" She asked."They could just be-"
"No way, I'd know them anywhere!" Marin insisted as he looked back at his precious Miraculous. It had only been a few hours but he was eager to see Tikki again.
"To know you jewelry anywhere, these earrings must be very special to you." Fei inquired as Marin's expression fell.
"...yeah, they are." He said sadly as he wondered if Master Fu would have been upset if he found out the Miraculous was taken from him so easily. Thinking if the master would have still believed in him to be guardian if he knew how careless he'd become.
"Come on." Fei prompted, placing a hand on his shoulder as they walked into the pawnshop together.
Inside the story was just as dark as the alleyway, giving off the vibe that they weren't supposed to be there. The owner was no different as his smile reminded Marin of a Cheshire cat, always scheming.
"Hello, sir, I really need to get these earrings back, they're very, very important to me, I'm so happy to have found them!" Marin said, reflexively speaking french as he was eager to get his Miraculous back, but then quickly realized his mistake. "Oh, I mean-"
"It's fine, I speak French. So... It's these earrings you want eh?" The owner asked, pointing to them using his fan.
"Yes sir." Marin nodded as the owner smiled.
"100,000 Yuan to get them back."
Immediately Marin's eyes widened in disbelief. "1-100,000 Yuan?!" He exclaimed.
"Indeed, these earrings are quite ancient, truly remarkable craftsmanship resulting in a high-quality product that is high in quality even after so many years. Truthfully I should be asking more from you." The owner informed as Marin's stomach sank, knowing that all he was saying was the truth.
Fei in turn looked at the owner in shock at the sheer amount he was enforcing, quickly scowling at the owner who continued to smile. "That's extortion! There's no way this would be worth that much!"
"I'll tell you what, since it appears that you have been the victim of a, horrible theft." The owner remarked. "I'll return the rest of your belongings for free as a sign of goodwill." He said as Marin looked down at his journal, charm of protection, phone, bag, and wallet. His heart sank at the sight of his necklace missing.
"You can't be serious!" Fei exclaimed slamming her hand on the table, appearing to be enraged but Marin placed a hand on her arm to stop her.
"It's okay Fei, I'll pay." As soon as he said that Fei looked at him in shock.
"But...it's too much." She pointed out as Marin could feel his heart sink into the floor.
"I can pay for it partially, but I need my uncle's help to pay off the rest." Marin explained, feeling extremely guilty for having to ask such a tall order from his family. "Do you have a phone I could use?" He asked, seeing that his sim card had been taken out of his.
The owner walked into the back for a moment as Fei took the chance to grab Marin's arm whispering under her breath. "This is crazy Marin! A pair of earrings isn't worth this!"
"I have to get them back." He insisted as Fei looked at him in disbelief.
"Why are you going so far for a pair of earrings?!"
"Because they were entrusted to me!" Marin harshly whispered as Fei looked at him in surprise. "Look, I know it's hard to comprehend. But I was supposed to look after these earrings by someone important to me. They're gone now, and all I have left are those earrings. So I have to do whatever it takes to get them back, no matter what." He said sincerely as Fei couldn't even bring herself to speak.
As the owner returned with a phone, Marin began to dial, but before the call could go through Fei grabbed the phone and immediately hung up.
"Fei?!" Marin asked in surprise as the girl glared at the store owner.
"We'll get your earrings back, but not like this." She said, grabbing his messenger bag off the table. As she did so, his journal was knocked off the table and opened up. Before Marin could reach it, Fei picked it up first and quickly dragged him out of there without a second thought. As the journal fell, however, so did the torn photo, which Fei picked up, her eyes widened for a moment in shock but didn't have time to properly react.
" If you don't buy these jewels now, I can't guarantee that I'll still have them later. If a customer wants to buy them, I'll sell them." He warned as Marin immediately became worried.
"Fei-" Marin turned towards his new friend but she didn't waver.
"Believe me, no-one will buy them at that price." She insisted.
["You're making a mistake Fei."] The owner said as Marin overheard his harsh words. ["Have you finally decided to give up after so many years?"] He asked as Marin noticed Fei gripping his hand tighter.
["Never."] Fei remarked. ["But I'm not going to disgrace my father's memory anymore!"] She insisted, dragging Marin out of the shop while the owner scowled at the two of them.
"I'm taking you back to your uncle!" Fei said as she dragged Marin to the bike.
"Fei, what is going on?" Marin asked, "That guy back there...do you know him?"
Fei flinched for a moment but then shook away the feelings. "I'll tell you later, right now you need to get on the bike!"
"But I can't just leave my earrings behind, I told you-"
"If you walk back in there that man is going to rob you and your family blind! I know, he did the same thing to my family!" Fei exclaimed as Marin saw pain in her eyes. "I promise you, everything will be okay but right now you have to trust me!"
Before Marin could respond a group of men ran out of the shop they were in earlier, and Marin felt his hand being grabbed as Fei sprinted along with him. "RUN!" She exclaimed as it was now evident they were being chased.
"Why are they after us!?" Marin asked, but received no clear response.
"All you need to know is they're dangerous!" Fei warned, but then froze in place as they came up to a dead end. Behind them the three scary-looking adult men stalked towards them, clearly intending them harm. One of them tried to grab his arm but Fei immediately kicked his hand away, placing herself between Marin and the three men.
"Stay behind me!" She ordered as she leaned back into a fighting stance while Marin looked on in disbelief.
"You can't take on three grown men by yourself!" Marin said in concern. He flinched as the largest of them men tried to attack but Fei immediately retaliated by jumping into a Dragon kick- knocking him in the face and stunning him for a moment.
"My father always taught me to protect good from evil. I may not have always lived up to his values, but I can now!" Fei remarked, preparing to take on multiple people in a fight but then a voice was heard from nearby.
The three boys from earlier who were chasing them down, now appeared to be on their side as they turned their attention to the men. But was quickly evident that they had no previous fighting training as they broke out into weak stances clearly based on kung fu movies.
["We, the proud street vigilantes, fight evil, even when uh... it strikes out at uh... more evil!"] The one in the middle with glasses remarked.
"...What is happening?" Marin asked as Fei yelled at the boy.
"Go home! you're gonna get hurt!" She ordered.
["We don't take orders from a thief!"] The largest boy remarked, pointing towards Fei while Marin looked on in shock at his words.
"Theif?" Marin questioned aloud as Fei grabbed his hand, making him run towards the narrow alleyways until they were safely away from the threat at hand.
As night fell, Gabriel looked up towards the Eclipse about to begin, his change finally arriving after waiting for over 15 years.
"The time has come." He said as Nooroo flew out, his expression riddled with worry.
"Master, please reconsider! You'll trigger magic that is much too powerful for you! The magic guardian of the Prodigious is a formidable opponent, you'll never be able to defeat him!"
Gabriel scoffed at his Kwami's concerns, brushing them away. "Who said I would be the one challenging him?" He remarked as he sensed a nepharious aura in the area, one whose negativity was boundless, and would become a key part of his plan.
Fei looked up towards the moon, knowing all too well what day it was. She knew that she had to return to the temple as fast as possible.
"Come on, we can hide out at my-" Fei began to say but was stopped as Marin refused to budge.
"Fei, what is going on?" Marin asked seriously. "Why did those guys back there chasing us? And why did those boys call you a thief?"
Fei flinched at those questions, feeling guilt burn her stomach as she took out the torn photo she kept in her pocket. Looking down at it, she saw herself and Wang, her father's longtime best friend. Seeing the photo against gave her a rush of nostalgia as she knew when and where exactly it was taken. But as it was torn, she knew that there was only one person who could have it. She hoped, prayed even that it didn't belong to him, but as she handed it back her heart sank.
"Hey, that's mine." Marin said, taking the photo back from her hand. "Thanks for picking this up for me." He said, nodding his head while Fei felt a chill up her spine.
"Marin," Fei asked as her voice felt choked up. "Do you have another name?" She saw Marin tense up for a second, looking at her in surprise before blushing slightly.
"Yeah...before I moved to France with my mother it was Xiang. I don't go by it anymore."
Fei's world fell on it's side as she heard those words coming from his mouth. She took a step back, trying to carry the weight that she now felt.
"Fei? Are you okay?" Marin asked, reaching out to her in worry. But tears only welled up in her eyes, as she looked at him. Over the years she had fantasized about the number of times she had hoped they would reunite, ideaistially she believed that he would have returned in a world where the school had been rebuilt, and they could spend the evenings talking about the past. But reality was never kind to her just as it was for her father.
"A-Xiang, I-" Fei held her tongue as she held back the words she wanted to say, knowing it would only cause pit in her stomach grew. "We're not safe out here on the streets, I promise once we get somewhere safe I'll explain-"
["You really thought you could get away from me, Fei?"]
Both teens immediately turned to the sound of a familiar voice, and saw the owner of the pawn shop walking towards them, fanning himself all the while.
Marin looked between the two, as the older man spoke to her with familiarity. "You... You know each other?"
"Of course we know each other! How do you think I ended up with your earrings in the first place, kid? She stole them from you, and then she stole them from me!"
Marin looked at Fei in shock as she looked at him helplessly.
" I... I- I was about tell you, Marin! I- I swear!" Fei said reaching out towards him, but he only took a step back.
"You're the reason why my earrings were taken? And you were okay with extorting me for money?" Marin asked in disbelief, as the person he had placed his trust in turned on him.
"Please, just listen!" Fei begged. "I'm sorry! He told me he knew someone who could tell me what happened to my father! But he demanded a huge sum of money in exchange for the truth!"
"The truth isn't free." The owner remarked as she sheathed his fan. "Old Wu refused to learn that lesson, and look where he is now, the same place you two will be."
Marin immediately turned to the owner of the shop, the gears in his brain turning as he turned back to Fei, shocked. "Feifei?" He asked as she couldn't meet his gaze.
"I needed to guard my father's legacy, I needed to know what happened!" Fei said, trying to reason what she had done not only to him, but numerous people over the years. "They did everything to make us leave. Everything! Intimidation, burglary... They took everything from us, even the bracelet my father had entrusted me with- all of it disappeared. I needed to know who did it, I needed to know who destroyed our lives and to do that I...I..." Fei fought back the tears as her old friend looked at her as though he were looking at a stranger- pain riddled in his yes.
"And that was your excuse?" Marin asked coldly, with no emotion in his voice. "You hurt people, stole from them just because you wanted revenge?"
"It's not revenge!" Fei immediately exclaimed. "It's justice, justice for my father, the man who looked after you- because no one else would lift a finger to help!" Fei tried to plead with Marin, trying explain that she had no choice but her old friend looked at her with a flash of hurt in his eyes.
"Would you have cared who I was if I was a stranger?"
Fei froze in place hearing that question aloud.
"If we weren't old friends, if you had gotten your way, would you have even spared me a second thought?"
"I...I..." Fei couldn't feel the will to speak as she clawed her chest.
"You used me, you saw how desperate I was to get my earrings back, and you knew I'd be willing to pay a huge price for them."
"While this is touching and all- there's still a price to be paid." The owner said, snapping his fingers, signaling to his goons to come out of the shadows. The two were surrounded quickly and grabbed with their arms bound behind them. The shop owner flicked his fan again as he looked at the two teens, wondering to himself for a moment. "Lucky for you Fei, we can still have a deal going. My new buyer is going to truly going to enjoy finding the treasures your father hid away in your temple."
Immediately a flash of rage took hold on Fei's face despite her grief. "I would rather die than tell you anything Cash!"
Cash only scoffed as the younger girl's meek threats. "Maybe you are willing to risk your life. But are you willing to do the same for him?" The older man said as he pointed his fan towards Marin, whose face paled. "As it turns out, his uncle is a three Michelin star chef with plenty of money to spend on a family member. Alive or not, it doesn't really matter. When it comes to things that have sentimental value, people will pay any price." He laughed loud while Fei looked at her old friend- who didn't return the gesture. Quickly realizing the weight of what she had done, and the danger she had placed him in.
Notes:
-Fei has Marin's miraculous, and he's too distressed to even think about them right now.
-Chat Noir out here, getting his boi back