Broken, a miraculous: tales of ladybug & cat noir fanfic

Broken

Kagami did not know what happened. She saw Lila and everything went black.

"Kagami, stop!"

Kagami kept hearing excerpts of what happened, Marinette was shouting. But Marinette never really shouted.

The distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air.

"Kagami, this isn't how you are!"

"Kagami, please, listen to me!"

Kagami took in her surroundings, she was in an interrogation room, handcuffed to the table. It was only then she noticed the blood on her hands.

What did she do?

The door opened, Kagami expected her family's lawyer to walk in, but a young woman, roughly ten years older than Kagami herself walked in and stood in front of her.

"Kagami Tsurugi?" Asked the Woman, Kagami was struck by how similar she looked to Marinette, with the difference of hair and eye colour. Where Marinette's eyes alternated between blue and grey, the woman's eyes were a warm green colour and while Marinette's hair was black, this woman's hair was a soft brown colour, like Marinette's father's hair.

Kagami nodded.

"Skye Dupain," Said Skye, "I've been asked to handle this matter, which was easier than expected, since there was no one else."

Kagami's heart sank, her mind already connecting the dots.

"Do you know what you're being charged with?" Asked Skye, looking at Kagami, who shook her head, "They're holding you for 'attempted murder' of a girl your age, with one eyewitness supporting this claim."

"M-Marinette told them that?" Whispered Kagami, making Skye look down at her.

"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is listed as the victim, Mlle. Rossi is the witness listed on the file." Said Skye, glancing through the document, "I want you to tell me, in your own words, what happened?"

Kagami spotted Lila shoving Marinette against the locker, a bag of swords that D'Argencourt kept in the school falling from the top of the locker, before jamming a knee into her gut and throwing her on the floor. Marinette's side hit a bench as she went down.

"You're pathetic." Sneered Lila, "You say you love Adrien, but you give him up for some other bitch."

"That," Gasped Marinette, slowly getting to her feet, "was Adrien's choice."

Lila sneered and kicked Marinette in the side, knocking her back to the floor, before stepping on Marinette's right hand and pushing down on it until she heard a crack and a cry of pain from Marinette.

"You know you never had a chance with Adrien, don't you?" Snarled Lila, punctuating each word with a kick, "he'd never be interested in a piece of filth like you."

Marinette grabbed Lila's foot mid swing and knocked the other one out from under the Italian. Lila let out a yelp as she fell, as Marinette slowly got to her feet.

"You know what?" Said Marinette, holding her side, trying to ignore the pain, "I can live with that. As long as Adrien is happy, I can be happy. Love isn't something that requires both parties to feel the same way, because if you truly love someone, then seeing them happy is enough."

Kagami felt touched by what Marinette had said, before Lila snarled and grabbed one of the swords from the bag and went to stab Marinette with it. Something in Kagami broke, growling as she charged forwards grabbing the sword from Lila's hand and swing it at her.

Marinette stood frozen, watching as Kagami started to attack Lila, mentally arguing on if she should stop Kagami or remain out of the fight. The decision was made for her when Lila tripped and landed on her rear. In a flash of movement, Marinette had grabbed a sword from the bag and parried Kagami's jab away from the liar.

"Kagami, listen to me," Said Marinette, her breath shaky, "you need to calm down."

Kagami roared and went to slash at Lila, Marinette making sure to keep the blade from connecting with Lila.

"Kagami, stop!" Cried Marinette, as she parried another jab aimed at Lila, the distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, "Kagami, this isn't how you are!"

"She needs to be punished!" Snarled Kagami, advancing towards Marinette.

"Kagami, please, listen to me!" Yelled Marinette, "This isn't you! Please, you need to calm down!"

Kagami lunged forwards, with Marinette going to parry from Kagami's previous position. The blade slid between Marinette's ribs, the girl felt a pain in her chest, before she felt the sword poke out her back. The sword Marinette had been holding fell to the floor.

"Kagami…" Said Marinette, as she struggled to breath, coughing up some blood as she spoke. The sword was removed.

There was silence, before the sword clattered to the floor, joining its partner. Marinette felt her legs give way beneath her, while Lila smirked viciously, before letting out a scream. Kagami stood frozen, as she stared at the blood coating her hands.

Kagami stared at her hands in horror, "I killed her."

"Marinette is still alive, she has a punctured lung and a cut artery, but nothing too fatal." Said Skye, looking down at Kagami, as the Japanese girl started to hyperventilate.

"Hey, hey, in through the nose, out through the mouth." Soothed Skye, "Marinette's fine, she's going to make a full recovery."

Kagami followed Skye's instructions, inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

"Until Marinette wakes up, you're going to be kept here," Said Skye, gently, "I'm sure once she's awake, you'll be able to go home."

Kagami nodded, before Skye left and a police officer arrived to take Kagami back to the cell she'd been allocated.

Adrien stared down at Marinette's unconscious form. He didn't want to believe what Lila had said, that Kagami had attacked and tried to kill Marinette, but without anyone else to give an alternative take on what happened, he couldn't do anything but believe what had been said. He'd tried to think of everything that he thought could explain it, other than Lila lying, Kagami being akumatized, Marinette getting stabbed by someone else and Kagami was the one who found her, anything that wasn't that Kagami had lied to both of them and deliberately tried to kill Marinette.

But what if she did?

Adrien shook his head, trying to dispel the thought from his mind. He had already heard from his father that he was to break up with Kagami, he didn't want her actions to tarnish the Gabriel brand. Everyone was treating Lila like a hero, except the select few of Nino, Alya and himself, the three of them more concerned with Marinette's situation.

"The doctors said she had a couple of broken ribs and a broken hand." Said Alya, quietly, "They think that Kagami, or whoever did this, was already attacking her before she was stabbed."

Adrien saw Alya tightly holding her phone, her knuckles slowly going white, every time someone was akumatized, there was a side effect, Alya couldn't be separated from her phone, Nino couldn't hold or come in contact with bubbles and Juleka couldn't look at her reflection.

Everyone who had been Akumatized was left with an invisible scar, Damocles would hoot and Bustier was say 'kissu' at random points while talking. Perhaps Kagami was left with a serious aggression.

But that didn't explain how or why Marinette was stabbed. Marinette looked so small, the bed spanning around her, as if she were an island in the middle of a sea of white and blue. Marinette suddenly started jerking, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat.

Within moments, a doctor, nurse and a couple of orderlies rushed into the room.

"Right, she's choking." Said the Doctor, as one of the orderlies guided the group out of the room. The door closed before any of them could hear what the Doctor said next a few minutes later the Doctor stalked out of the room and headed to a desk.

Before Adrien knew it, he was in the corridor, with Gorilla watching from the end of the hall.

Adrien was just leaving class when he heard the scream. In the back of his mind, he was able to identify the voice belonging to Lila, but still, he ran to the source, skidding to a stop when he reached the locker room. Lila was plastering herself against the wall, while Marinette lied in a steadily growing pool of her own blood.

With Kagami standing over her. With Marinette's blood on her hands. Adrien froze, absently aware of Kim rushing past him and tackling Kagami to the floor. Alya started calling for an ambulance, while Ms. Bustier and Ms. Mendeleiev started applying what first aid training they knew, being careful to stem the bleeding as best they could.

"I really don't know what good this is going to do." Said Mendeleiev, checking Marinette's pulse, "Since she's discharging blood from her mouth, we know she has internal bleeding."

"Demeter," Said Bustier, looking sick, "Can you, kissu, please not say that."

Mendeleiev looked around, noticing the pale faces of the students.

"All of you, go to the library." Barked the Teacher, making most of the students' scatter.

"Alya, could you please take Lila to the staff room?" Asked Bustier, as an ambulance pulled up outside the school.

Adrien had been guided away by Nino, when Alya took Lila to the staffroom. There was a commotion by the lifts, Adrien looked up and saw a young woman, roughly Ms. Bustier's age, stalking towards them. Adrien was struck by how much she looked like Marinette, with the exception of her hair and eyes, being light brown and green respectively.

"I'm looking for the Dupain-Chengs." Said the woman, in place of introductions or greetings.

"They've gone to close their bakery up." Said Alya, after a moments silence.

The woman growled, before fishing her phone out of her pocket. Adrien frowned, quickly noting that it was an older style of mobile, early 2000's, and not one of the latest models like most people went for.

"Mike, where are you?" Demanded the woman, Adrien had the sinking feeling that both the woman and 'Mike' were Mrs. Tsurugi's lawyers, "Okay, if you're there, then they can't be home yet."

The woman stiffened, before her attitude changed entirely, "Ah, hi… Okay, I'll wait for you to arrive at the hospital… No, I don't think anyone's been able to raise Toby, we'd need a fucking Ouija Board."

The woman nodded and confirmed a few things, before hanging up. She then turned to Alya.

"I take it you're Alya?" Asked the Woman, looking at the Creole girl.

"I am." Said Alya, drawing the same conclusions as Adrien.

The woman took them all by surprise by smiling widely and grabbing Alya's hands, "Mari's told me so much about you, I'm Skye, Marinette's sister."

"I… didn't know Marinette had a sister." Said Alya, after a moment.

Skye was still for a moment, before slowly turning to Nino.

"I didn't recognise you." Said Nino, quickly throwing his hands up.

Skye only narrowed her eyes, before her gaze settled on Adrien, "And you must be the pretty boyfriend of the girl who stabbed my sister."

Skye's tone wasn't accusatory, merely factual.

"Soon to be ex." Said Adrien, keeping his tone level.

Skye wrinkled her nose, before she started to circle Adrien, frowning as she went. Skye stopped and glared at Adrien.

"If what I'm told is true," Said Skye, her tone cold, "being akumatized affects everyone differently, each victim having an invisible scar that they have to live with every day. Ms. Tsurugi was not in control of her actions and, while Marinette is still unconscious, we only have the testimony of a teenage girl who claimed to witness the entire thing but didn't alert anyone until after someone had been stabbed and remained calm as she recounted every detail."

Adrien could've sworn that the room temperature dropped.

"And that isn't taking into account her… 'exceptional' lifestyle that is faker that Kim Kardashian's 'assets.'" Skye's glare pinned Adrien in place, "But, seeing as you're more of a wet blanket-"

"That's enough, Skye." Said a gruff, yet at the same time soft, voice, making everyone look towards the entrance.

"Michael, you got here faster than I expected." Said Skye, leaning back on her heels, "I was just talking to Mari's friends."

Michael looked like an older, male, taller version of Marinette, except his eyes were a mixture of blue and grey. Michael had three pale scars that ran from the middle of his cheek to his jaw.

"Skye, you're not in court," Sighed Michael, before looking into Marinette's room, "I take it she hasn't woken up?"

"No, but she started choking on something just before I got here." Said Skye, folding her arms.

"Well, I'm sure she's going to be fine." Said Michael, turning to look at Marinette's friends. His gaze slowly went over the three, before settling on Adrien, "Relax, you look like you've got a foil shoved up your butt."

Adrien let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You're Emilie's son, aren't you?" Asked Michael, making Adrien stiffen.

"Wait, Emilie?" Asked Skye, whipping around to look at Michael, "You mean that actress you loved? The one you met while on work experience. The one you fainted in front of when she introduced herself to you?"

Michael slowly turned and glared at Skye, "That was one time."

"Yeah, but you were bitching about how your life was over because your idol saw you act weird." Snickered Skye, as Michael slowly grew redder.

"Well, at least I didn't moan when I met Dark Owl." Snarled Michael, making Skye freeze.

"Take that back!" Demanded Skye, as she went red as well.

"Make me!" retorted Michael, before a hand grabbed his ear, while the person's other grabbed Skye's ear.

Both suddenly paled, and silently sent a prayer to a powerful and merciless god, before they were tugged down to their mother's level.

"Stop it, both of you." Growled Sabine, before butting their heads together.

Michael and Skye recoiled and grabbed the point of impact on their heads. The two glared at each other, before they turned and look at their parents.

"Sorry, mum." They said in unison.

"Anyway, why does it matter who his mother is?" Asked Skye, gesturing to Adrien.

"Because his father is a controlling, abusive dick." Said Michael, as he stopped rubbing his head, "In the month I worked with her, he stormed on set six or seven times and had to escorted off by security."

Adrien was silent as he processed the information, he'd never heard about this side of his father. It did fit some of his father's attitudes and actions.

"He… He did tell me to break up with Kagami after the news broke." Said Adrien, quietly.

Michael had a smug look on his face, until Skye punched his arm. Skye then turned to Adrien and spoke to him, "Do you have any other family members that can take care of you? An aunt or set of grandparents, perhaps?"

"T-there's my Aunt Amelie." Said Adrien, making Skye nod and walked away, pulling her phone from her pocket as she did so.

"What's she doing?" Asked Adrien, frantically looking around.

"Most likely contacting Child Services," Said Michael, looking down at the panicking blond, "Since you literally just told us that your father has near total control over your life."

Adrien looked around the room again, his breathing starting to come out in rapid puffs. He vaguely heard Michael swear as the world went dark.

Amelie Graham-De-Vanily quietly swirled her tea around in her cup. One of the two rings laid on the table. Felix had decided to go to bed early, since he'd pulled an all-nighter the previous night. She jumped when the phone suddenly rang. She spotted the number was from France and scowled, no doubt Gabriel noticed the ring was missing.

"Hello, Amelie Graham-De-Vanily speaking, can I help you?" Asked Amelie, already knowing Gabriel was going to be as hostile as possible.

"Mrs. Graham-De-Vanily? My name's Skye Dupain," Said a young woman's voice, a French accent tinting her English, "I'm calling to inform you about the current legal situation with Gabriel Agreste and that you're currently Adrien's only known living relative."

Amelie paused, before frowning, "What has my idiot of a Brother-In-Law done now?"

"Currently we're investigating him on suspicion of neglecting and coercively controlling his son." Said Skye, making Amelie stiffen.

'Well, that explains why Adrien wasn't able to attend my husband's funeral.' Thought Amelie, as Skye let her take it all in.

"Do you have any residences in Paris that you and your son can stay at while the investigation is on-going?" Asked Skye, "We're going to need Adrien to remain in Paris, as this concerns him, and we will need his testimony in the case."

"I believe I have a house somewhere in Paris," Said Amelie, oblivious to Felix picking up another phone and listening in, "I'll have to check, but are you sure Gabriel is abusing Adrien? I know he's been distant since Emelie died, but actively neglecting and controlling Adrien's life?"

"I'm not at liberty to say at the moment," Said Skye, "But, we have gone over the case and spoken to a few employees. One has given cause for concern, but that is another case that's also ongoing."

"Right," Said Amelie, sighing, "I'll let Felix know and be there as soon as possible."

"Right, thank you for your time." Said Skye, before hanging up.

Amelie kept the phone to her ear, before saying, "Felix, you're supposed to be asleep."

There was a loud groan, before the phone was hung up and Felix stomped his was down the stairs.

"What's this about Adrien being abused?" Demanded Felix, making Amelie sigh again.

Skye put her phone back in her pocket, before looking down at the case file in front of her. It was thick with sheets of paper filled with testimonies, bank statements and other pieces of legal evidence. Skye looked over at the other files, one filled with unfair dismissal cases, another filled with evidence of illegal substances and purchases, a third filled with Gabriel's concerning relationship with Gabriel Agreste, the fourth filled with Emelie Agreste's 'disappearance' and the subsequent unsolved investigation and the final one filled with the case that concerned Ms. Tsurugi and Marinette. Skye had said to her boss that she shouldn't handle a case that involved her sister, but their firm was a total of five people, two of which were on holiday and another was off sick after taking a dip in the Seine.

There was a knock on the door, before a Japanese man strode into the office.

"I assume you're the one handling Ms. Kagami's case?" Asked the man, holding a thin folder.

"I am." Said Skye, leaning back in her chair.

"These are the disinheritance forms signed by one Tomoe Tsurugi in regard to one Kagami Tsurugi." Said the man, dropping the file on Skye's desk, "I tried to talk her out of it, but that only resulted in Tsurugi dismissing me from her service."

The man left without another word, before Skye groaned and slumped forwards.

Kagami sat in the corner of her cell, waiting for her mother to turn up. Part of her wanted her mother to tell her everything would be okay, but it'd been a week since she'd been brought here, and her mother had yet to show up.

There was a knock on her cell door, before it was unlocked and allowed Skye to walk in.

"Kagami," Said Skye, hesitantly broaching the subject, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Kagami stared up at Skye, trying to read her body language.

"I'm afraid your mother has chosen to disown you," Said Skye, slowly, "her former solicitor approached me last night with the paperwork."

Kagami didn't react, she just stared at Skye, as the young woman waited for a response.

"This makes your case incredibly complicated, as we will need to find a family for you for when all this draws to a close." Said Skye, running her hand through her hair, "But, don't worry. I promise we'll have something sorted out before everything's over."

Skye was quickly ushered out of the cell, leaving Kagami alone. Kagami sat still for a few moments, before pulling her knees to her chest and started crying.

Alya watched Marinette's chest rise a fall; she no longer needed a ventilator to help her breath, of course, Marinette had to learn to breath on her own again; so, they made sure they had someone in the room with her. The nurse was reading a magazine in the corner, keeping one eye on Marinette.

"Kitty Section got a new gig this week," Said Alya, quietly talking to Marinette, "Nino's got one tomorrow, he hopes he'll get his big break and fix all the problems in the world."

Marinette said nothing, as usual.

"Lila's been unbearable since this all started." Said Alya, wincing at the thought, "Your, er, sister inspired me to do some research. You were right, Lila has been lying."

Alya reached out and grasped Marinette's hand, rested her head on the bed.

"Adrien's been living with his aunt and cousin," Said Alya, her eyes closing, "apparently his Dad was controlling him, which actually lost him custody and since there are rumours that he's unfairly dismissed people and had an inappropriate relationship with people who've been underage, I think it's fair to say that he's no longer someone anyone want to be associated with."

Marinette's hand suddenly tightened and relaxed, making Alya bolt upright.

"M-Mari?" Gasped Alya, getting the nurses attention.

"What's wrong?" Asked the nurse, approaching Alya.

"M-Marinette just squeezed my hand." Stammered Alya, before the nurse turfed her out of the room.

Lila entered the classroom, expecting everyone to crowd around her and take everything she said as gospel, but instead she found them all laughing and hugging over something.

"Lila!" Cried Rose, spotting the Italian, "Have you heard the news?"

"What news?" Asked Lila, already thinking up a way to make it about her.

"Marinette's woken up!" Cried Rose, happily embracing Lila.

Lila's mind screeched to a halt, if Marinette had woken up, then she'd tell everyone what actually happened and everything Lila had would vanish.

"T-that's great." Said Lila, quickly glancing around, "Are we allowed to see her?"

"The police were speaking to her when Alya left," Said Alix, frowning at Lila, "Alya was in the toilet when she woke up. Marinette's mum was with her when she woke."

Lila swallowed her nervousness, quickly thinking on how she could turn this to keep the consequences away from her.

"How can they be sure Marinette remember what happened exactly?" Asked Lila, getting a few frowns.

"Well," Said Max, pushing his glasses up, "they'll ask Marinette what happened and depending on if her story matches to what either you or Kagami said, then they'll carry on from there."

Lila gnawed on her lower lip, before the conversation moved on. If she went home, perhaps she'd be able to convince her mother to move to another country. Things had started to get stale anyway.

Half-way through the lesson, a woman and a couple police officers knocked on the classroom door.

"Please forgive the intrusion, Mdme. Bustier," Said the woman, quickly flashing her badge at the teacher, "but we need to speak with Mlle. Rossi, regarding the currently ongoing cases, regarding her employment at Gabriel and the attack on Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

Mdme. Bustier nodded, before turning back to the class. Lila wasn't out of the room, before she screamed, "Marinette and Kagami planned everything to discredit me!"

The detective and police officers all stopped, all eyes were on Lila, as the Italian finally realised what she just said.

"We haven't even asked you anything," Said the detective, slowly, "and that's the first thing you choose to say?"

Lila nervously looked around, before she was guided out of the classroom. She was guided to the Principle's office, where she found her mother waiting for her.

"Mama!" Gasped Lila, her eyes darting around, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard the Police wanted to speak to my daughter and I decided to be with you as emotional support." Said Mdme. Rossi, as Lila slowly paled.

"Mlle. Rossi," Said the Detective, sitting in a chair opposite Lila and her mother, "I was hoping you could walk me through everything that happened when Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was stabbed."

"Oh, it was horrible!" Cried Lila, burying her face in her hands, to hide her lack of tears, "Kagami was out of control, she kept hacking at Marinette! I could only scream when she finally stabbed her!"

The detective was silent, before she leaned forwards, "And when did Mlle. Tsurugi break Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's ribs?"

"Just before she stabbed her." Gasped Lila, pushing her hands in her face.

"And her hand?" Questioned the detective.

"Before she broke her ribs." Said Lila, feigning a sniffle.

"That's odd." Said the Detective, locking her fingers together, "Because, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's ribs are broken at the back and on the opposite side to her hand. So, unless Mlle. Tsurugi rolled her over and then stomped on her hand, then the footage we've got is wrong."

Lila's world broke.

Marinette shifted slightly, she'd been discharged from hospital and was about to go into the witness box.

"The people call Marinette Dupain-Cheng to the stand." Said One of Skye's business partners, Malcolm.

Getting sworn in was reasonably quick and Malcolm started asking questions.

"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng," Started Malcolm, "Could you tell us what happened the day you were stabbed?"

Marinette took a deep breath.

Lila shoved Marinette against the locker, she was vaguely aware of a bag with something metal in it falling to the ground, before Lila jammed her knee into her gut and threw her on the floor. Marinette's side hit a bench as she went down.

"You're pathetic." Sneered Lila, "You say you love Adrien, but you give him up for some other bitch."

"That," Gasped Marinette, slowly getting to her feet, "was Adrien's choice."

Lila sneered and kicked Marinette in the side, knocking her back to the floor, before she stepped on Marinette's right hand and pushed down on it until she heard a crack and a cry of pain from Marinette. Marinette was fairly sure it was broken.

"You know you never had a chance with Adrien, don't you?" Snarled Lila, punctuating each word with a kick, "he'd never be interested in a piece of filth like you."

Marinette grabbed Lila's foot mid swing and knocked the other one out from under the Italian. Lila let out a yelp as she fell, as Marinette slowly got to her feet.

"You know what?" Said Marinette, holding her side, trying to ignore the pain of a broken rib, "I can live with that. As long as Adrien is happy, I can be happy. Love isn't something that requires both parties to feel the same way, because if you truly love someone, then seeing them happy is enough."

Lila snarled and grabbed something from the bag, a sword, and went to stab Marinette with it. Marinette heard someone growling before Kagami charged forwards grabbed the sword from Lila's hand and swing it at the Italian.

"Kagami, listen to me," Said Marinette, her breath shaky, "you need to calm down."

Kagami roared and went to slash at Lila, Marinette making sure to keep the blade from connecting with Lila.

"Kagami, stop!" Cried Marinette, as she parried another jab aimed at Lila, the distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, "Kagami, this isn't how you are!"

"She needs to be punished!" Snarled Kagami, advancing towards Marinette.

"Kagami, please, listen to me!" Yelled Marinette, "This isn't you! Please, you need to calm down!"

"Kagami…" Said Marinette, as she struggled to breath, coughing up some blood as she spoke. The sword was removed. Everything then went dark, before she opened her eyes again to a brightly coloured room.

"After I woke up," Said Marinette, trying to stay calm, "the Police asked me what happened I told them what I just told you."

"Just to clarify," Said Malcolm, smirking at Lila's lawyer, "Mlle. Tsurugi didn't attack you, but entered a blind rage when she saw you in danger and, excluding the already existing injuries, you were only injured because you got between her and Mlle. Rossi?"

"Yes." Said Marinette, clearly.

"No further questions." Said Malcolm, as Lila's Lawyer stood up.

"Mlle. Dupain," Said the Lawyer, an old, balding, fat man who looked at Marinette as if she was a piece of dirt.

"Dupain-Cheng." Corrected Marinette, her tone flat.

"Dupain-Cheng," Said the Lawyer, "is it true that you do not like my client?"

"I don't dislike Lila," Said Marinette, carefully adjusting herself so she didn't aggravate the stab wound, "I dislike the lies she is telling people, as it plays with their emotions and their dreams for their future."

"But you have no proof she's lying." Said the Lawyer, smugly.

"On her first day, I saw her steal a book that belonged to Adrien's father from Adrien's school bag and then dispose of it in a trash can in the park." Said Marinette, her tone flat, "I then followed her and saw her lies exposed by Ladybug."

Lila's lawyer paled slightly, before clearing his throat, "Hearsay, you have no proof that she lied about anything."

"I didn't need to," Said Marinette, flatly, "The lies she started telling when she returned from hiding in her room, were poorly made and only required a quick google search to disprove."

Lila's Lawyer paled further, before looking at the judge.

"No further questions." He muttered, before Marinette was dismissed from the box.

Kagami's leg bounced, her host parent glanced over and her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be okay." Said Claire, gently rubbing Kagami's shoulder.

Kagami nervously swallowed, while Maria took hold of Kagami's hand.

"You just need to go up, tell them what happened and answer their questions." Soothed Claire, while Maria looked at Lila and her lawyer.

The process of Kagami being called to the stand and sworn in came too quickly for the girl's liking, Malcolm had gone over the basics with her the day before.

"Mlle. Tsurugi," Said Malcolm, approaching the stand, "I only need you to answer yes or no to my questions. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Said Kagami, as Lila's Lawyer smirked.

"On the 17th of September, you entered College François Dupont's locker room to get changed for a fencing lesson, is that correct?"

"Yes." Said Kagami, getting a nod from Malcolm.

"You said, in your statement to my colleague," Said Malcolm, picking up a folder in his desk, "you saw Mlle. Rossi grab a sword from a bag and try to stab Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is." Said Kagami, as Lila started to whisper in her Lawyer's ear.

"After that, you described the following series of events that led up to the stabbing incident, as if you were not in control of your own body. Is that correct?" Asked Malcolm, putting the folder down.

"Yes." Said Kagami.

"No further questions." Said Malcolm, returning to his seat.

"Mlle. Tsurugi," Said Lila's Lawyer, looking at the Japanese girl, "Is it true you believe on acting first, despite not having the full picture?"

"Yes." Said Kagami, looking at the lawyer.

"So, if you found that your boyfriend viewed a girl, who wasn't you, and one that he clearly held feelings for," Continued the Lawyer, "you wouldn't wait for further clarification and you'd immediately go on the attack."

"No." Said Kagami, shaking her head.

"Just like how you didn't wait before attacking Mlle. Rossi and, subsequently, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng." Accused the Lawyer, "You saw the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, didn't you, Mlle. Tsurugi?"

"No." Said Kagami, shaking her head harder.

"Or perhaps Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was simply collateral damage." Said the Lawyer, before Malcolm stood up.

"Objection, Your Honour. M. Strand is forming baseless accusations." Said Malcolm, leaning forwards, his hands resting on the desktop.

"Sustained," Said the Judge, before turning her gaze on Strand, "Monsieur Strand, I do hope you have actual evidence to back up these allegations."

Strand grinned, "My client's account of the situation will confirm the allegations."

The Judge glared at him, "The testimony of one sixteen-year-old girl, who has been denounce as a liar by three different witnesses and has herself claimed to have blacked out and only woke up to see Mlle. Dupain-Cheng already wounded."

Strand's grin slowly fell from his face, and looked over a Lila, who had paled significantly.

"Permission to call a recess." Said Strand, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Granted, we'll reconvene in thirty minutes." Said the Judge, slamming her gavel onto the desk.

"Strand's got nothing to stand on." Said Malcolm, as Skye handed coffees around, "Compared to who we've got, the case is ours."

"So, he's stranded." Said Adrien, looking up at the legal expert.

"Not how I would've put it, but yeah, he is." Said Malcolm, Lila had accused Adrien of harassing her, both at school and at photoshoots. Those claims were quickly refuted by Adrien's classmates, the photographer Vincent and scars that adorned Adrien's arms in the shape of Lila's fingernails.

Adrien had another court date, in regard to Gabriel's neglect and emotion and verbal abuse towards Adrien. A bell rang, signalling the people to head back into the court room. Malcolm walked up to his desk, with Skye sliding in next to him, as Strand stood up, his eyes glued onto his desk.

"Against the advice of her counsel, Mlle. Rossi wishes to take the stand." Trembled Strand panic clear in his eyes.

"Mlle. Rossi," Said the Judge, leaning forwards, "If you take the stand, you will be open for cross examination."

Lila gave the Judge a sickly, sweet smile, before she nodded, "I understand your honour."

"Mlle. Rossi, could you please recount the event of Friday, September 17th?" Asked Strand, a smirk on his face.

"I was arguing with Marinette in the locker room, she was just about to leave when Kagami burst in and tried to kill me," Said Lila, tears starting to form in her eyes, "Marinette got caught between us and was stabbed, there was so much blood."

"You said you and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng were arguing." Said Strand, as Lila faked a wince.

"Someone had vandalised one of her sketchbooks," Said Lila, "she thought I'd done it because I was the last one to leave the room it was in."

"I have no further questions, your honour." Said Strand, smirking at Malcolm.

"Mlle. Rossi," Started Malcolm, approaching the girl, "you said you and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng were 'arguing', at any point, did the disagreement turn physical?"

"No, we were only using words." Responded Lila, unknowingly walking into a trap.

"Then, how, may I ask, did Mlle. Dupain-Cheng suffer; a broken arm, a broken hand, two broken ribs and three fractured ribs, a skull fracture and a shattered ankle? Your Honour, I'd like to introduce items 14-JT, 15-JT, 16-JT, 17-JT, 18-JT and 19-JT into evidence."

"She, she must've gotten them when Kagami attacked." Said Lila, a small amount of panic appearing in her voice.

"Mlle. Rossi," Said Malcolm, "you just said Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was caught in the crossfire, when all of these could be considered defence wounds."

"M-Marinette did put up a fight." Said Lila, trying to cover her story.

"Mlle. Rossi, you are aware that there is video evidence that contradicts your version of events?" Asked Malcolm, before turning to the Judge, "Your Honour, if you will permit it, I'd like to add item 16-JS-B into evidence, it is footage from the security camera the school locker room, it has also recorded audio."

"Sustained." Said the Judge, as a TV was wheeled into the courtroom.

The TV screen flickered into life and started playing the recording.

Lila shoved Marinette against the locker, a bag fell from the top of the locker, before jamming a knee into her gut and throwing her on the floor. Marinette's side hit a bench as she went down.

"You're pathetic." Sneered Lila, "You say you love Adrien, but you give him up for some other bitch."

"That," Gasped Marinette, slowly getting to her feet, "was Adrien's choice."

"You know you never had a chance with Adrien, don't you?" Snarled Lila, punctuating each word with a kick, "he'd never be interested in a piece of filth like you."

Marinette grabbed Lila's foot mid swing and knocked the other one out from under the Italian. Lila let out a yelp as she fell, as Marinette slowly got to her feet.

Lila snarled and grabbed one of the swords from the bag and went to stab Marinette with it. Kagami charged forwards grabbing the sword from Lila's hand and swing it at her.

"Kagami, listen to me," Said Marinette, her breath shaky, "you need to calm down."

Kagami roared and went to slash at Lila, Marinette making sure to keep the blade from connecting with Lila.

"Kagami, stop!" Cried Marinette, as she parried another jab aimed at Lila, the distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, "Kagami, this isn't how you are!"

"She needs to be punished!" Snarled Kagami, advancing towards Marinette.

"Kagami, please, listen to me!" Yelled Marinette, "This isn't you! Please, you need to calm down!"

"Kagami…" Said Marinette, as she struggled to breath, coughing up some blood as she spoke. The sword was removed.

"As you can see, Your Honour," Said Malcolm, "Mlle. Rossi has been lying on the stand in regards to the entire situation and sequence of events."

"I now understand your reasoning for add additional charges against Mlle. Rossi." Said the Judge, looking down at Malcolm, "Attempted Murder in the second degree and truancy. I believe that the Jury has seen enough to make a verdict."

The Jury deliberated for an hour, before returning to the court room.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Asked the Judge, looking at the jury members.

"We have, sir." Said the foreman, shuffling his feet.

"How does the jury find on the first count on the indictment, attempted murder in the second degree?" Asked the Judge, leaning back in his chair.

"Guilty, Your Honour." Said the Foreman, looking down at the paper.

"How does the jury find on the second count on the indictment, truancy?"

"Guilty, Your Honour."

"Mlle. Rossi, even without these charges, you would've been sentenced for your continued perjury in this court room," Said the Judge, "you are hereby sentenced to 30 years in prison, you will start serving the sentence at a juvenile detention centre and, one you are of age, will be transferred to an appropriate prison to serve out the rest."

The Judge banged his gavel on the desk, before dismissing the court.

Kagami looked around her new room, Maria and Claire had decided to adopt Kagami, after Tomoe had refused to allow Kagami back into the home to collect her belonging, instead having all of them burnt to a crisp.

Kagami took a deep breath, finally realising this was her first day of being a normal girl. There was a groan and a wheeze, as Marinette struggled to lift a box up.

"You're going to tear your stitches!" Said Kagami, striding over and taking the box.

"The doctor said he might invest in getting me a cone." Said Marinette, slumped against the door, "I can now write properly with my left hand."

"Considering that your right one is fucked," Said Kagami, carefully helping Marinette up, "I'm sure the compensation that Madam Rossi had to give you will help in finding someone who can get it back up to fighting strength."

"I've actually got a physiotherapy session tomorrow." Said Marinette, dropping herself onto Kagami's bed, "Adrien's helping with the animal's downstairs."

"Are you sure it's not Felix?" Asked Kagami, dropping down next to Marinette.

"Nah, Felix hates cats," Said Marinette, looking at the ceiling, "and I think he's afraid of me."

"I'm not surprised." Responded Kagami, looking at Marinette.

Adrien joined the two girls half-an-hour later, dropping himself onto the bed and curling around them.