Here it is, the thirtieth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released early because this has been a productive weekend so I thought I'd surprise you. This is a special, mostly retroactive, chapter that looks back on Marinette's internship with Mirko and her return to Adrien and is the second chapter that I have added to the story after drafting past it as it was needed given the start of the next chapter. However, that is all the administrative stuff I have for now and there are no questions or guest reviews to address here, though do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all, so I will leave this note here. That means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 30th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.

Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.

Chapter 30: Marinette's Internship

Marinette walked into the bathhouse that Mirko's gym had in the basement. She knew from her study of Japanese culture during her 6 months preparing to enter U.A. that this was called a sento, but she hadn't had the chance to have one of the traditional baths yet as she wasn't fully comfortable with them. Sure, the French had limited issues with nudity, their nude beaches were well known, and many women went topless in a non-sexual way, but Marinette hadn't really done any of that yet due to her age. Still, she didn't have that much of an issue with it around her own gender so this wouldn't be too bad.

The sento in the gym was very traditional with special divided areas for men and women, a changing room and from there you went into the main bathhouse in just a towel. She was carrying a small, special, basket the room had with her shampoo, soap, and a hand towel for sweat but she knew that only naked skin could touch the water. The rest of her stuff was in her locker with one exception but even if it was against the rules and potentially rude Marinette was not going to remove it unless Mirko ordered her to do so.

The actual bathhouse part was a large, steamy room with good floors for it, and a large bath in the standard fashion with some jets of water pouring into it at the back that was almost certainly above 25 degrees Celsius. Before it though were a series of showers in one wall with plastic stools before them. Marinette also understood this to be what was called kakeyu, the practice of cleaning one's body with hot water before the bath itself.

The purpose of this made sense to Marinette. It was to wash off all the sweat and dirt from the day as the bath itself wasn't to get clean but rather to slowly soak and relax. As such, out of respect as much as anything else, the shower was there to get rid of all sweat, as well as thinks like make-up for women though Marinette wasn't wearing any today, and to get accustomed to the hot temperature that the bath was set at.

"Ah good you made it." Mirko said from the stool she was sitting on under a shower in the middle of the row completely naked with a bottle of shampoo in one hand and a bar of soap in the other as she lathered the latter over her chest and abdomen. "Get that towel off and join me. I assume you at least know the proper etiquette for these things."

"Of course, I had to learn various cultural norms of Japan when I got into U.A." Marinette said with a nod as she went over to the side where Mirko's basket was and put hers next to it, took the shampoo and soap out of it and then put her towel in before removing her hair ties as she would have to wash her hair so it was best to let it down to her shoulders before turning to Mirko. "Though this is the first time I've ever been in one before."

"Not set up where you live?" Mirko asked as her red eyes saw the glinting jewelry on her intern's abdomen, as well as the impressive muscles the lean girl had, that had a similar patter to her costume making different from the one she'd worn in the Sports Festival.

"It's a western style accommodation building in Tokyo." Marinette said with a shrug as she approached. "Easier for us in a lot of ways."

"Well, if it is a private residence that makes sense." Mirko said as Marinette turned on the shower next to her and sat down letting the hot water wash over her and ease her sore muscles from her brief sparring session with Mirko. "Make sure you get used to the temperature and thoroughly clean yourself and then help me."

"Huh?" Marinette said as she turned around and began to lather the soap over her chest and arms now that they were wet.

"We have to be fully washed and while some people have Quirks that can help with it, back washing is harder for most people." Mirko said as she began to wash her muscular legs. "And I may need help with my hair, it's very long as you can see. I'll do my ears though; they are as sensitive as a rabbit's as you know. Then it will be your turn."

"Oh ok." Marinette said a little nervous about that but understanding it as she got to her abdomen though was carful around her Miraculous there. "I can help with that."

"Now I must ask." Mirko said with a grin as she began washing her face. "What's with that naughty little piercing of yours Ladybug? I noticed it in Sports Festival but that one is different, more exotic. It looks better than that silver one you had back then."

"Oh that." Marinette said flushing a little as she was still a little self-conscious whenever someone learned of her navel piercing or brought it up as she didn't really think about it anymore except when she needed to activate her costume. "Um, it is ok for me to have it in? I know there are some special rules with this kinda stuff but I'm not actually clear on them."

"Ink, even in these days, is frowned upon especially in more traditional places though most modern places allow it so long as it isn't clearly gang related." Mirko said and Marinette's mind instantly went to fact that the only tattoos she'd seen in Japan had been on Mage and Dominus which was odd as they were common enough back in France. "But as this is a gym no one cares on that front. As for piercings, there are no rules on them that I am aware of as they aren't clothing so you can keep it in if you want, I don't mind. Now why is that one different from the silver one you had in the Sports Festival?"

"That's because this is my Mira… my main one." Marinette said catching herself just in time though she was sure Mirko wouldn't understand what a Miraculous was it was still easier to avoid it all together. "It's a special item created by Technus, one of those international heroes called the Guardians and a top tier support item maker who's the best in Europe. It contains my costume in it in special nanotech form. He recently perfected it and his school contracts in Europe got the first batch as a good way to test it for the pros. For some reason he prefers to use jewelry to hold it. Adrien's is in his ring but mine had to be made in a piecing and well, there were only two logical places for it, so I opted for this one."

"Yes I think a nipple piercing might be a bit much." Mirko said with a laugh as they both began to wash their hair though Marinette was done quickly and lent over to help Mirko with the lower half of her long locks while the Rabbit Hero focused on her ears. "And as you can't have your costumes in the Sports Festival you had to take it out."

"Correct but I'd gotten so used to constantly wearing it as the healing period after getting it done is about 6 months that I bought a new one made of tungsten when I found out that I'd need to remove this one." Marinette said. "I went with tungsten just in case I got burned it wouldn't be at risk as there's no way Todoroki or Bakugo can produce flames or explosions that hot. I still wore the special underwear I wear under my clothes for it out of habit though hence the bra I was wearing during that match."

"Ha well it was a good foresight given that you got burned against Todoroki and still fought on." Mirko said. "That's when I realized that you might be worthy of an offer, and you proved it until the end though we should work on you passing out."

"I did break several ribs, puncture a lung and fracture my skull." Marinette said as Mirko pointed to her back and Marinette dutifully took the soap from her supervisor and washed her back as odd as that felt. "My body couldn't take much more at that point though I did learn how much I could take from that match."

"Semantics." Mirko said dismissively. "Leave the tail, I've already washed it."

"Right." Marinette said though she had no plans to do so regardless. "There, it that good?"

"Should be now your turn." Mirko said and all Marinette could do was sit and let the hero wash her back though as she'd had Adrien do it for her when they'd showered together she at least knew what to expect from it. "Alright all done. Wash off the soap and lets soak. The special mix of minerals in the water with revitalize us after that nice workout earlier."

Marinette nodded though she would call getting kicked into a ceiling and then the floor nice as she and Mirko washed off all the soap and then headed to the bath. Soon they were in it and Marinette couldn't help but sigh as she sat down in the hot water at the far end, her back against the wall, and let the water do its thing with the budding bruise on her chest.

"Nice isn't it?" Mirko said sitting next to her the water deep enough to cover their shoulders. "I like to enjoy a place like this after a long day if I have the time and right now I do."

"I bet." Marinette said. "So how does a day usually go for you?"

"Well for me it's different cos I do my own thing most of the time, but I do have to report the crimes that I've stopped, solved, or whatever to get paid as I am a civil servant." Mirko said. "And I do do some charity stuff and the occasional promotional thing if I'm in the area though I stay away from the side gigs, not my kinda thing to be modeling or try and cash in on my looks. My likeness line does well enough, especially the mock costumes, bunny ears, and tail, but the figures sell as well. I'm even popular enough to get a western style funko pop in the states, only the top 10 get those."

"Funko?" Marinette asked that was something from her day and one she knew they'd made one of her as Ladybug of, but it was a limited release so few likely existed today. "I've heard of those though they are mainly an American and British thing."

"That they are though the ones of old Japanese animes were always hot sellers, so when the brand regained popularity they made them for the top heroes, and they really do well over there." Mirko said. "Hard to get here but they never took off in Japan so that is understandable. Mine was a special convention one so it's really valuable but American copyright and IP laws mean I only get paid for the first sale, nothing on resale which is where the real value is."

"I'm a bit lost now." Marinette admitted.

"Don't worry about it." Mirko said. "More me being annoyed that I only get my commission for the $20 first sale at the conventions and not the commission on the $250 resale value but whatever."

"I see so there are many ways to supplement a hero's income than just the government check." Marinette said which made sense. "But popularity plays a role in it."

"That it does." Mirko said with a nod. "The top 3 get all the glory, always have, though some like Best Jeanist who's fourth wins over on popularity thanks to Endeavor's personality and you have class like Ryukyu, the other woman in the top 10, who wins a lot of people over thanks to her calm class, but I get more action people who like Endeavor's style but prefer my blunt personality and large tits."

"Um." Marinette said not sure what to say to that though hearing a name similar to Ryuko brought back memories of Kagami who'd used that as her Miraculous name when she used the Dragon Miraculous.

"Some heroes like Midnight trade on their sexiness to appeal to a certain rabid fanbase while others like Uwabami use their looks in more classical fashions but I never desired that." Mirko said. "I live for action, and I live every day like it's my last so I know that when I die it will be my time and I'll be ready."

"That's one way to look at it." Marinette said surprised at how Mirko saw life. "So that's why you became a hero? For the action."

"It was a big reason." Mirko said with a grin as she thought back on her youth. "Back when I was a kid I loved to fight and even entered into a bunch of underground fights as a masked fighter when I was in middle school. Alas I was unmasked, and my name leaked, and I got expelled for it, but I wasn't 16 so I avoided a charge on my record. The officer said I should consider being a hero because otherwise I'd end up down the path of a villain."

"Oh." Marinette said surprised.

"I wouldn't have been a villain in the classic sense." Mirko said. "Just in the illegal Quirk use sense as my Quirk isn't easy to hide or avoid using. Still, I took that advice and enrolled in a Hero School in Hiroshima which wasn't a main stream one and began my journey to becoming a hero."

"I know that you and Hawks are the only top 10 heroes who aren't alumni of the big two schools." Marinette said. "Your school must be proud of you and what you've accomplished."

"They are but I don't really care for that, I don't look back but forward." Mirko said. "While at school I was a good student though when I first visited Osaka on a school trip me and my friends got lost and Fat Gum, he was a rookie at the time, helped me out."

"He's the BMI Hero isn't he?" Marinette asked. "The large one that can absorb and store damage in his fat."

"And unleash it as power when he burns it up." Mirko said with a nod. "His agency is in this prefecture, but I am not asking for his help as while he's competent he's busy right now. He was one of the heroes that helped me during that adventure. The other was a hero called O'Clock who helped out and saved me at one point, and I him, but he disappeared a few years ago."

"Disappeared?" Marinette asked worried.

"Likely retired quietly." Mirko said with a shrug. "A lot of heroes choose that way out. It's easiest and allows them to return to private life without fanfare."

"I see." Marinette said.

"But I'm not done with my career yet, not by a longshot." Mirko said with a grin. "But enough about me, what about you? What made you become a hero and why Japan?"

"I wanted to be a hero because I've always wanted to do what was right and help those who need it." Marinette said giving the standard response but the truth of having her Miraculous thrust upon her because she helped an old man and becoming an inadvertent hero who grew into her role was a lot harder to explain. "And fight evil for the sake of justice. I know, poetic but we French can be like that."

"Many take that path." Mirko said. "And for the most part they are the best, at least those who don't crack, and I have a feeling you won't crack, are like that."

"Thank you." Marinette said surprised that Mirko thought that highly of her already. "And yeah I always wanted to be a hero, especially after the stories of the heroes of Paris past, both during and before the Quirk era, inspired me. Then there's my Quirk, it's a hero level Quirk and really useful for being one so it felt wrong to not use it to help others."

"It is a good one." Mirko said with a grin as she rubbed her chin from where Ladybug's knee had hit her earlier. "Brought me to my knees briefly which isn't easy."

"Yes so you can see why a hero's life made the most sense." Marinette said. "Add in the whole generations of Quirk Marriages for my enhanced constitution, strength, durability, stamina, and what not and it was as if I was destined to be a hero when I was born."

"Well, I'll be testing those things tomorrow to see how good they actually are." Mirko said with a grin. "It's all in your file, as is the fact that you went to the top school in France for your first two years as they do 5-year programs there hence you skills going into U.A."

"Francois Dupont is the best and I aim for the best." Marinette said simply. "That and all my friends were all applying there as well so we all worked hard and got in. However, I was paired with none of them but Adrien when the pairing happened as our Quirks balanced each other out. It took a bit and the whole secrecy thing took a bit of getting used to but by the end of the first month there we were the top of the class as a pair."

"I won't pretend I know much about the system there and I don't care to know as they have their way of teaching just as my own school did." Mirko said. "Only that you decided to apply for the U.A. exchange."

"It was an offer made to us by Principle Nezu when he saw footage of us in action and came to inspect himself." Marinette lied using the back story they had carefully prepared. "Francois Dupont hadn't had an exchange for a while so he felt that it was time and he'd heard that we might be what he was looking for, so he came and administered the test to me and my partner Cat Noir."

"That would be Adrien Agreste." Mirko said. "The other exchange student, right?"

"Yes and my boyfriend but I won't get into that." Marinette said as Mirko gave her a sly smile but didn't press it, for now. "We passed the tests and we saw no reason to pass up such a chance, so we took the offer. It was usual for 2 to 8 kids from Francois Dupont to go on an exchange and transfer to a school abroad either after their first or second year depending on the school system. My rival and her partner went to America after the first year, so we took this one after our second year."

"Makes sense and now you're here." Mirko said. "Must have been a culture shock though coming from France to Japan."

"It was but we had 6 months to prepare here with a teacher from our school who we knew and who had been at U.A. teaching for a year to prepare for a potential exchange where he'd be our legal guardian." Marinette said. "And some other things but we had an intense 6 months learning the language and culture as much as possible. It was easy for Adrien as it's his 6th and one of the other 5 is Mandarin so he had a base to work off but it's my 3rd with no such base and as you can tell my accent is still present."

"It works for you, adds to your appeal." Mirko said. "As do your oriental features. Don't deny them, I can tell that you aren't pure French."

"I'm actually only a quarter by blood but fully by culture and if asked on that I'll say half French to avoid having to give a full explanation." Marinette said. "My mother and all her family are Chinese hence the features, while my father is half French and half Italian hence the quarter for me."

"Ah that would be it." Mirko said. "And that does explain the Cheng part of your name though in Japan we don't hyphenate names, so it is a bit of a surprise to us."

"Correct." Marinette said. "My mother didn't take my father's name and they gave me both when I was born. It was a fad back in the late pre-Quirk era for some and as they wanted me to understand both sides of the family it made the most sense."

"It's not a think here but it's never been a thing here." Mirko said. "Still very patriarchal in a lot of ways here, not that that matters to me and all the glass ceilings I've literally kicked through in my life though usually down not up and I don't care for things like that regardless as I'm solely focused on doing my job. You'll see for yourself soon enough."

"Yes when I follow your patrols." Marinette said. "I am looking forward to what those will be like and what I can learn from them."

"Patrol is the technical word but as you will see they are more akin to hunts with me." Mirko said with a grin as she got up and Marinette did the same. "I don't go out to deter crime, I go out to stop it at the higher levels. However, that will start on the third day when some of the big players I'm after are meeting. Tomorrow it's the gym. I want to test those generations of Quirk Marriages myself."

"Very well." Marinette said as they made their way to their stuff and began to thoroughly dry before heading to the locker room as dry as possible as was required of them. "I look forward to it."

"I hope so, enjoyment in what you do is a good way to keep your head in the right space for our line of work." Mirko said. "Now let's go out and grab some dinner, civilian clothes and I'm going to be hiding my ears and tail as I don't want people knowing I'm here, and you can tell me all the juicy details about your boyfriend. Don't leave anything out, I want to know everything."

All Marinette could do was nod as she followed Mirko back into the locker room to change and head out, the Rabbit Hero wearing a special hooded cloak thing to hide her ears and tail, for dinner. It had been an interesting first day and Marinette couldn't wait to see what would come over the rest of the week.


Marinette was regretting her thought the night before as Mirko pushed her through a punishing cardio workout that morning. After dinner she'd returned to her room, called Adrien to chat about their days which were similar in the sense they spent it getting beaten up by powerful people who enjoyed to fight and then having a traditional bath, before they both went to bed.

She'd been out like a light until she was woken early the next morning by Mirko kicking her door in and tossing her her breakfast, a simple Japanese one you'd get from a cart or hole in the wall shop and a bottle of water as she told Marinette to be ready for her workout in an hour. Marinette had used that time to have her breakfast, brush her teeth, and mentally prepare as she changed into her U.A. PE kit and then went down to the second floor for the workout.

When Marinette got there Mirko was grinning in a tank top and shorts, her tail and ears twitching slightly in excitement, as she began to put Marinette through her paces. They'd started with a blistering cardio were Mirko tested Marinette's top speed, an impressive one, and distance she could go while maintaining a high level of speed before tiring, again impressive to her, as well as finding out what her best speed was for running long, flat, distances. That had taken the first few hours and had been bad but then came the rest of the morning drills.

Mirko it seemed had decided to use drills that were common at something called the draft combine, something Americans did that dated back to their pre-Quirk days and were usually done for their Quirk Sports Leagues, but their heroes did them as well to test themselves in various areas. Apparently it was really good for finding a baseline of what a person's body could do without adding boosts from a Quirk unless they couldn't avoid it.

The drills included vertical leap, something Marinette proved really good at though nowhere near what Mirko could do, and she said that she could go higher in her costume due to the way it boosted her natural abilities, shuttle drills, sprint dashes, standing long jumps, and the like. It was basically a lot like Aizawa's Quirk Assessment test only more intense and she wasn't allowed to use her Quirk at all.

That lasted until lunch, with plenty of breaks for water and sports drinks Mirko recommended, where they went downstairs to get a delivery of food from a local place though Marinette collected it as Mirko was still avoiding her presence being known so as to not tip off her prey as she called them. The lunch itself was hearty and good for working out and Marinette ate all of it as she was hungry from being pushed so hard and once she'd digested it they went right back to it.

The afternoon was for weight training. Mirko did this with Marinette to get an assessment of how good she was compared to her. Marinette was pleased when she out did Mirko on the upper body workouts, benched more, did more pullups, lifted heavier weights and all that and Mirko complemented her on her impressive work. Then came the legs though, oh gods the legs.

Mirko's Quirk was mainly in her legs, and it gave her phenomenal leg strength, but Marinette now saw that first hand. She actually couldn't use the same machine as her supervisor as Mirko had the machines specially made for her and others whose Quirks that gave strong leg muscles. Marinette was no slouch and well above average for the best Quirkless human in that department thanks to her enhancements, but she could tell that Mirko was in a league of her own when it came to leg strength. Likely only All Might could exceed her if Marinette had to guess.

It also hurt like hell. Mirko really pushed Marinette to and then past her limits to find out how well she could handle herself and was impressed by it though she reserved her final judgement for the bath after the workout. She even waited until they'd both washed and were soaking in the needed healing properties of the bath before she spoke.

"Well, you passed Ladybug." Mirko said as Marinette just moaned as the water soothed her tired muscles, though now she had proper workouts to do as Mirko had filmed it all while writing down what she was doing for her to use later. "You will be able to keep up with me."

"I will?" Marinette asked glad that she'd passed but too tired to really celebrate it.

"Yes I could tell you would have a chance from the Sports Festival, and the last two days proved it." Mirko said. "You're just bellow me in the tests when I average out the results and your upper body strength is greater. Add in you costume and that yo-yo, which I hear you are an artist with, and you can keep up with me which is key."

"That's good to hear." Marinette said. "I look forward to learning from you. What will the patrol entail?"

"A lot of running, jumping, and in your case swinging from building to building." Mirko said unknowingly doing the things that Marinette was already trained in for urban patrols, well self-trained but same thing. "We will be going from above, mainly rooftops, to various locations in the city that I have intel on. You will follow and call into the police the moment I engage so that they can make their way to the gifts I'll be leaving them. I assume you have something for that, right?"

"My yo-yo is actually more than it looks but a high-tech support item." Marinette said. "I can use it to call, and it is tied to my phone. Give me a number for who I have to, and I can preprogram it in tonight. That will make things smoother and easier when the time comes."

"Excellent then that is what I will do." Mirko said. "You will contact my police contact and tell him where I am. He has a list, and I am going to follow it so just use numbers to cut down on the time you're talking to him. He's worked with me in the past and this will speed things up and get the ambulances there faster."

"Right, it's ambulances, not squad cars with you." Marinette remembered. "Ok, I can do that."

"Good." Mirko said. "So, here's how the first patrol will go…"

Mirko spent the rest of the bath telling Marinette how tomorrow would be and what to expect from it. Marinette wasn't going to lie, she was excited for it when she went to bed, talked with Adrien to learn that he too was going on a patrol tomorrow though at night not during the day like they used to do in Paris, and went to bed eager to see what the morning held for her.


What it held for her was like being back in Paris only in a new city and somehow even faster than she was used to. Marinette was certain that Mirko could give a Miraculous Holder a run for his or her money with her speed as they took off from the gym and to the rooftops of Osaka and made their way to the first location, a weapon's maker that was doing a morning deal to avoid the heroes who more often came out at night.

That had been busted up by Mirko leaping through a garage roof to beat up the maker and the wannabe villains that were buying his merchandise before Mirko leapt way. It was so fast that Marinette barely managed to get the alert out, but she did and used her yo-yo to follow Mirko to her next target, a support company that had been illegally selling it's castoffs and failed products to criminals rather than recycling or properly destroying them.

Mirko had handled them by leaping through their window from the next door building as Marinette called it in, again barely in time but she found her rhythm as she watched Mirko do her work. That was why everything was smooth by the time Mirko burst through the skylight and took down the smuggler meeting and hopped on to the drug manufacturer.

That had been the longest trek, but they made it and Mirko for once had a challenge as one of the criminals used the drug on herself to counter Mirko before Mirko could knock her out, but it proved fruitless as Mirko just kicked her through a wall after a brief fight and brought the warehouse down on the operation as Marinette called it in. This was the only one that they had to stay because of the evidence though the police were fast to get there and contain everything.

Of course, they took Mirko's statements on all the busts, had her do her reports there and then, and sent her on her way. That had been all for the first day and they'd returned, had a meal, a light workout because Mirko wanted to blow off some excess steam, and then another bath before bed. Marinette had been run ragged that day as it was well beyond what she'd done in Paris, but she managed it and was looking forward to calling Adrien that night.

It was as she was getting into bed that she remembered that Adrien was on patrol that night, so she left him be, reluctantly, and was about to send a good night text when she got one instead. However, it wasn't from Adrien but Midoriya and was just his location, an alleyway in Hosu City, for some reason. What he was doing there was beyond Marinette's understanding as she didn't think he was interning there but she couldn't do much about it in Osaka as Hosu was in Tokyo.

All she could do was send a message to Adrien who was in the same city to get the word out, but he didn't respond. That was expected, Adrien had said he wouldn't respond during a patrol, well paw-trol as he called it, so that was to be expected. Marinette just hoped that he was safe and not in harm's way as she went to bed.

It wasn't until the next morning when Mirko provided a paper with breakfast did Marinette learn about what had happened in Hosu City the night before. Everything began to make sense with Midoriya's message, other than the still unexplained question of how he was there to begin with, as Marinette read her eyes wide at what had gone down while she slept.

The Hero Killer: Stain, shown on the front cover in full restraints being led by about 6 cops, had finally been stopped by Endeavor who'd gone to Hosu to find him. It was front page news and the whole country was rejoicing at the capture of the Hero Killer though a video Marinette didn't know about yet was already starting to make the rounds.

Marinette wasn't sure why, but something bugged her about the whole thing, a sixth sense she'd developed from years of fighting Hawk Moth and fighting alongside Adrien almost daily in that time. That or her love for him caused her to pull out her phone and call him as she ate breakfast before joining Mirko for her first two hunts of the day, a tech villain bust and an illegal Quirk experiment lab, that would be taking place before they broke for lunch.

"Hello, I'm sorry that this cool kitty can't come to the phone, but I am currently in a place that I can't receive calls." Came Adrien's voice message in Japanese before it even rang showing that it was either off or set to straight to voice mail for some reason. "Please leave a message after the annoying tone."

"Adrien this is your girlfriend." Marinette said slightly annoyed at the message alert as that was unlike him. "You know, bugaboo. Why can't you answer your phone? Usually, you at least let it ring first and just not answer if you can't pick up. Please let me know that you are ok even if it's by text, but I expect a full story as soon as I see you again."

It was less than 5 minutes later when she got the message. She was curious as to why he couldn't answer the phone but still text though at least he responded so she didn't mind too much.

Hey, sorry m'lady but I'm currently in a place that only allows phone calls in a specific area, and I can't access it now and I think you told me that you have a patrol with Mirko later, so I'll tell you more later as I don't want to bother you during it. I'm good no need to worry about me though you know I love it when you do just as I worry for you. Before you ask, yes, I was in Hosu last night and got Midoriya's message. I'll explain more when I can but he's fine as well, all of us who were there are. I'm with Midoriya, Ida, and Todoroki now and we're all safe and doing well. Keep up the amazing work with Mirko my beautiful bugaboo. Love you xxx.

Marinette let out a sigh of relief at that and texted back a response that she was glad that he could reply and that he was right about her going out on another patrol soon so she wouldn't message until that night. She was happy that he was safe and loved him too.

With that Marinette put her phone away, changed into her costume and went out to join her patrol. However, as she went through the motions and didn't make a mistake, she was still a little off during it and Mirko noticed. Thankfully they had a bit of break before a night patrol that was to flesh out some underground fighting rings and other things that Mirko was looking forward to breaking up with her legs, so the number 6 hero grabbed some lunch to go and took Marinette to a rooftop.

"You're slightly off Ladybug." Mirko said bluntly. "I can't work with you if you're off. Thankfully you're only an intern and can't fight but if you could I'd have to leave you behind. I don't fight with those who can't hold their own and I don't know if you can right now."

"Sorry, I've been doing everything I'm supposed to but it's the news this morning that has me a bit off." Marinette said as she bit into the rice ball Mirko had got her and as if on cue a jumbotron near them began going over the news that was gripping Japan, the defeat and arrest of the Hero Killer. "My boyfriend was in Hosu last night and I'm not sure if he's telling me the full truth of what went on there. I know I shouldn't think about it right now and I'm sorry, I have no excuse for my failure."

"Huh, I thought you said he was interning with that international Guardian hero called Mage." Mirko said. "And they are in Tokyo but not near Hosu if I recall the few times I've been on their turf."

"Yes but they must have gone there, and Adrien would have gotten the message I did from another classmate of ours and almost certainly gone to help out if he was nearby." Marinette said. "And then there's another in our class interning in Hosu who would be in the middle of the action there. Plus, as you know, Endeavor's son is in my class, and I think he's interning with his father right now. All four were there and something happened. I know Adrien's ok, and I have been putting this first but, I don't know, something feels off about it."

"Something is off about the whole Hosu Incident." Mirko said darkly as she looked at the screen. "And not just because that fire bastard beat me to it."

"Huh?" Marinette asked. "Oh yeah you wanted the Hero Killer for yourself."

"Yup he was mine, but I had to deal with the shit here first." Mirko said. "I'd figured out his pattern and knew he'd be in Hosu for a while, so I was going to get this shit done and hop over there but that turd, I mean number 2, beat me to it. Still, the burns are almost too sloppy for Endeavor and the video I saw showed Stain with an injury that could have only come from a kick and missing his blades and top for some reason."

"A kick?" Marinette asked confused. "That doesn't sound like Endeavor."

"Yeah there's a video going around already, it keeps getting taken down because of the censorship we live in, but it keeps coming back because you can't stop it." Mirko said glaring at the screen as the coverage of the situation wasn't helping. "An ode to Stain explaining him, his past, his motives, and actions and showing at least part of what has to have been his final speech. He was shirtless and missing the wrappings on one arm though not the cuff thing that hid his final blade. He also had a clear bruise on his left side that comes from broken ribs and the shape wasn't a punch."

"No shirt, a kick, burns, and I bet he had punch wounds." Marinette said thinking aloud so she chose some her words carefully as she muttered. "Cataclysm, Engine, Half Hot Half Cold, and Super-power. It has to be."

"Huh, what's with the mumbling?" Mirko said. "It's weird and a little creepy."

"Sorry bad habit I seem to have caught from a friend." Marinette said. "I think Adrien and the others ran into Stain last night, but I can't be certain and he's not telling me anything beyond the fact that he's safe and well."

"If he's not telling then it's because he can't over a phone and might not be able to regardless if he was in the middle of the action like you say he was." Mirko said simply. "There are ways to eavesdrop and with this Stain shit going down I don't doubt the authorities are trying to avoid too much leaking out. There were things that looked like Nomu from the USJ incident there as well as well, so the League of Villains is involved somehow but no one knows the exact connection. No doubt they are trying to avoid it becoming a rallying cry and all heroes and interns there will be aware of that."

"Ah that makes sense." Marinette said understand it more and feeling at least a little at ease from it. "I hope that they didn't face a Nomu like the bird one. I was one of the 5 to see the fight between it and All Might up close, and that thing was scary."

"Still impressive that you were one of the ones to make it to that point." Mirko said as they finished their meal. "But put that stuff to the back of your mind Ladybug and get him to talk when you get home. In this line of work, you have to learn to compartmentalize and focus on what is immediately in front of you while you're in the field. If you don't then you or others might die. Now come on, get your head back in the game and remind me why I made an exception for you. We have a busy day ahead of us and I need you fully committed."

Marinette just nodded and got up taking Mirko's words to heart as they set off again. For the rest of her internship, she was focused on learning all she could as she followed Mirko on her hunts, had bath chats with her, and talked to Adrien when she could but didn't bring up the Hosu Incident to avoid dwelling on it during her time with Mirko. She was going to get answers from him but when she got home. For now, she had to focus on the internship.


"Thank you for all you've done for me this week." Marinette said before she left the gym that had been her home for the week and bowed to Mirko despite knowing that the woman wouldn't mind if she didn't she still did so out of respect. "I've learned a lot."

"You've impressed me Dupain-Cheng." Mirko said with a grin at the girl she'd broken her tradition for. "I won't see you for a while, I don't take work study students, but when you're a pro and I'm in town I may hit you up should I need someone to watch my tail for me. You can keep up with me so with two more years of training under your belt, and a Sports Festival gold that I expect you to win, I'll know that you can hang with me."

"I'm honored." Marinette said standing up from her bow, her case in her hands as she was wearing her school uniform again to go home. "What now for you Mirko? You're plans with the Hero Killer have fallen through."

"True so I'll hit my contacts here to make sure Osaka is cleared out for the moment and then see where I'm next needed." Mirko said. "There's some rumblings of big things brewing to the west so I may check that out. Take care Ladybug."

"You too Mirko." Marinette said before she turned and left after Mirko and the gym to walk to the station and the train home.

It was just after lunch on her last day of her internship and Marinette was ready to get back to what her home now was and more importantly back to Adrien. She really missed her love during her internship and couldn't wait to see him again. Of course, that would be a while as she was getting the 3:30 bullet train from the main station bound for Tokyo and that would take her a little over 3 hours, so she'd get back a little after 7 based on her estimation. Still, she couldn't wait to be back.

Most of the train ride was spent texting Adrien, checking what school work she still had to do for when classes resumed, and thinking back on all she'd learned that week. It had been an intense week full of things she used to do in Paris, mainly running, jumping, and swinging from building to building though no fighting this time, and it had taught her a fair bit of at least what a new age hero like Mirko did. Marinette wouldn't be that kind of hero, her time as the hero of Paris had shown her that a hometown hero was best though she could understand the need of roving heroes like Mirko.

There was still so much more she needed to learn though. While Mirko explained the basics, her style was unorthodox and unusual as not many heroes followed her path. Most did work studies, joined that agency as a sidekick if they did well, and then moved on to create their own ones if they were ready for it. That was the traditional path that Mirko had spurned and while it had worked for her it did so because of her personality more than anything else. Marinette would go down the more traditional path though she'd do it with Adrien.

The biggest thing this week had taught her, well that and the whole Hosu Incident that she needed answers on, was that she hated being away from him. Yes, she had a few things to work on priority wise as a hero, Mirko had noticed that and called her out for it so Marinette knew she would have to put more trust in Adrien to handle himself like he did her, but a lot that would be negated when they were partners after graduation. Together they'd be just like before and that was all she needed. They had been through a lot together, but they still had each other and that's all that mattered.

It was thoughts like these that comforted Marinette as she reached Tokyo and made her way home from the station. It was a short walk from the station to the building that housed the Guardian agency and their residence and the entrance to the apartment part was closer to the station, so it didn't take long for Marinette to get there.

Once there she nodded to the doorman who knew her and went to the elevator. There was a bank of them but the one at the end was special and only for the penthouse where Mage, who was considered the landlord of the building due to running the Guardian agency, lived with his wards as he'd explained it to the staff. They hadn't questioned it and Marinette was used to it by now, on the occasion she used the elevator and not Mage's power, and took it to the penthouse uninterrupted.

The elevator itself would come out of the floor in the central atrium of the whole floor room and drop her off there before going back to the ground level. The atrium itself, a standard one of nice marble with a mirror and a small desk on one wall, had the 4 doors to the 4 parts of the apartment, a rack for shoes and some coat hooks and hangers for their jackets. It also had Adrien's costume case in it which Marinette smiled at as she put hers next to it.

She then took her shoes off, removed her uniform jacket and hung it up on one of the hangers and took the tie off as she didn't need it. Then she opened the door to the living room and kitchen and walked in knowing who would be on the other side.

Inside Mage was actually present sitting at the bar area as always though surprisingly Tikki, Plagg, and a few of the other kwamis were with him, while Adrien was deliberately looking out of the window so Marinette could only see his back and the left side of his face. The smile there told her enough though as she knew he'd sensed her arrival and was just being annoying because it would make their reunion even better. Marinette would punish him latter but for now she needed to be in his arms.

Dropping all sense of decorum, Marinette rushed Adrien, who was in in PE pants and a simple white shirt and jumped into his arms as he turned to catch her with ease. She felt like the love-struck school girl that she was as he twirled her, and they kissed passionately as he did so. It may have only been a week, but they hadn't seen each other in that time, their longest time apart since being blasted into the future, and Marinette couldn't resist, and neither could Adrien.

However, it wasn't an uncomfortable cough from Mage at the length and passion of their kiss, though that did come, that broke them apart. No, it was the wince that Marinette felt from Adrien as he stopped spinning her and set her on her feet and her left shoulder touched his chest just below his right shoulder.

That was odd and Marinette reluctantly pulled away from Adrien, though she kept her arms around his neck, and he kept his around her waist as she looked at him. Instantly she was concerned at what she saw.

There was a large bandage on his right cheek that went from just above his lip to ear and his right ear, which itself was fully bandaged for some reason. However, the shudder had been from contact with his chest and though Adrien might have tried to hide it, he was wearing a v neck shirt and Marinette could see the bandages wrapping his upper chest.

"What happened?" Marinette asked concern in her voice as her blue eyes bore into his green ones. "Tell me Adrien."

"It's not serious." Adrien said defensively. "Just some scrapes from Hosu, that's it."

"I heard of Stain's state when he was caught." Marinette said her voice chilling a few degrees. "And I know there's only one way he could have lost those clothes. I know Cataclysm well."

"Um…" Adrien began but Marinette wasn't going to take any of this and backed up while grabbing the front of his shirt with her right hand.

With a yank, she easily ripped it off him and discarded the now ruined fabric as she looked at his chest. White bandages wrapped it though only the upper part under his armpits. As she looked, Marinette saw that there was what looked like a gauze pad on the upper right part of his chest just below in shoulder and beneath the bandages. That didn't look like nothing.

"Spill." Marinette almost growled. "What happened in Hosu? Tell me exactly how you ended up with all these bandages."

"Um well." Adrien began looking at Mage and the kwamis who were clearly not going to help him.

"Nope just you." Marinette said before pointing at Mage. "But don't you dare leave, you were his supervisor, so I need answers from you as well. neither of you are getting out of this."

"Understandable." Mage said from his seat. "But there's only so much that either me or Adrien can say."

"Yes, I'll tell you what I can bugaboo, but I swear that I can't say more." Adrien said raising his arms defensively. "I am sure you are aware of the video going around about the Hero Killer."

"I've heard of it, and I am aware that there are things that I likely can't know because of containment and what not." Marinette said. "Mirko explained a bit about how things like this sometimes go down. Still, tell me what I can know."

"Firstly, it's not as bad as it looks." Adrien said. "And not as bad as what you went through in the Sports Festival."

"That is the only reason why I'm not slapping you right now." Marinette said. "Well, that and it would be domestic violence. However, you are going to tell me how all that happened. Now."

"I didn't answer your call because I was in the hospital in Hosu, and you can only use phones to call in a certain area." Adrien said. "All 4 of use were there though only Ida had anything serious as he was the first of us to be hurt and badly."

"Ok that's a good start." Marinette said. "He was the one who was actually supposed to be in Hosu, and I take it he's why Midoriya sent his location out. He must have found Ida injured and messaged for back up."

"Yes." Adrien said with a nod. "Midoriya and his supervisor, Gran Torino, were on a train to Shinjuku to do a night patrol there as part of their internship when a flying Nomu crashed into his train car with a hero as they were passing though Hosu. That got Gran Torino involved and Midoriya followed him to help out. He saw the Nomus attacking Hosu, but Ida wasn't there and went to find him and help evacuate. That's when he did but Ida had already been injured by the Hero Killer who he'd stumbled upon trying to make a kill."

"That does make sense." Marinette said though she knew Adrien well and she knew that there was something he was leaving out but didn't press it as he'd only leave it out if he absolutely had to. "So Midoriya sent his location to get help to deal with the Hero Killer hoping that others were in Hosu with their supervisors who could actually engage Stain in combat."

"Yes that's why he sent it." Adrien said with a nod. "Only Todoroki and I were around though, and we both came with our mentors, Mage and Endeavor. We all surprised Stain and he got desperate at being outnumbered but couldn't break from his desire to kill Native. In the chaos, Midoriya, Todoroki and myself were all injured but Endeavor showed his skill by saving us and taking down Stain. We were then taken to the hospital to recover. Ida has some damage to his left shoulder that will affect that hand, Midoriya broke his right hand, Todoroki took some knives to the left forearm, and I took a throwing knife to the cheek and a folding one to the chest. Our costumes can deflect blades, but they can't stop a piercing attack."

"That is good to know." Marinette said narrowing her eyes and knowing that the story wasn't fully adding up based off Stain's state when he was captured. "And your injuries? How are they?"

"Superficial." Adrien said. "The cheek is fully healed and won't scar, though there is one on my chest now, but the blade just hit muscle which has been repaired, and, um, the blade nicked the top of my ear so I'm missing a small part of it. Only a little notch at the top that my hair can hide but yeah."

"I don't care about scars or that, you know that." Marinette said. "But I do care about the fact that you aren't telling me the full truth."

"I'm telling you the official story of what went down in Hosu." Adrien said and Marinette saw it in his eyes. "And that is all I am telling you."

Adrien was telling her what he could as whatever actually happened in Hosu was something that couldn't be allowed to get out even to those who knew the students involved. She knew that there was no way that Endeavor actually took down Stain and leave him in the state he was in when captured.

No, most likely it was the 4 U.A. students who did and Adrien was almost certainly the one at the front given his past and his power. The only way Stain could have lost his clothing like that and have no burns other than his face was from Cataclysm which meant that Adrien fought him and did well but got hurt. She'd read on the way back what Stain's Quirk could do and almost certainly Adrien was on the receiving end of it. That meant that he was likely at the Hero Killer's mercy at one point. That was what finally got to her and all her emotions about what happened broke through in one go.

"You dumbass." Marinette said as she burst into tears unable to control herself as she lightly hit his chest with her fists before Adrien pulled her close and she just let him hold her there as she sobbed into his strong chest. "I know you can't tell me what actually happened because it's being done to protect you, and I hate that, but I also hate that you could have actually died. I read about his Quirk so don't deny anything just don't say anything. I know the life we live is dangerous and that either of us may die in the line of duty but not this soon, not less than a year after we lost everyone we loved but each other, not before we do good in the world again. Don't ever do this to me again Adrien."

"I won't my love, I'm sorry for worrying you like this." Adrien said softly one hand caressing her back and the other her hair as he spoke softly to her while she sobbed into his chest. "I missed you this week as well. From now on, we do everything hero related, other than when in class and forced not to, together. We are Ladybug and Cat Noir, we are a team be it in our past lives, in this one, and in the next. We will be together always and forever."

"I know and I agree." Marinette said sniffling as she recovered from her brief moment and pulled back but still in his arms and looked up at him. "We are a team, and we always will be from now on. That is the biggest lesson we've taken from this internship. We shouldn't be apart again."

"We have always been better together." Adrien said with a smile and raising a hand to cup her tear-stained cheek and brush away the tears. "And we always will be better together."

"That we have." Marinette said before her face hardened. "But that doesn't mean you're not in the doghouse for putting me through all this and not telling me until now, though it may have affected my internship so I do get that at least, mister."

"Um…" Adrien began but Marinette cut him off.

"No, you listen." Marinette said looking Adrien in the eye. "I'm going to change, and we are all going to have my favorite meal, that includes you Mage, you aren't in the clear for this shit and you will eat the French food I choose for all of us and make sure we have some good French wine."

"Best not to go against her." Tikki said quietly to Mage. "You are partially at fault here and it's best to avoid pissing Marinette off more than you already have."

"I know, fine." Mage said pulling out a phone. "Let me call Vina, I need her help with this, but I'll get the best."

"Yes, I can have some good stuff." Plagg said with a grin. "That woman makes the best wine but then again she did create it."

"I know it's why she has such bad daddy issues seeing as he stole her work and used it to become a god." Mage said as he hit a button on the phone, and it rang before it was picked up by a woman speaking Russian causing Mage to switch to that language. "Vina, it's Mage, look I need a favor … Yes, I messed up … Thank you, you're the best … Ok here's what I need…

"Also, while we will still share a bed because I haven't had your arms around me all week and I love our cuddles." Marinette continued ignoring the side comments. "That is all you're getting until you redeem yourself in my eyes, which I know you will. Now I'm going to change and wash my face."

With that Marinette reluctantly extricated herself from Adrien's arms and walked off to her bedroom to get into something more comfortable and freshen up for a good dinner with her boyfriend, legal guardian and the kwamis. Tikki and the female kwamis flew after her to help out as Adrien, still shirtless, turned to look at Mage, Plagg, and the male kwamis who all had various degrees of confusion on their face.

"Don't look at me." Mage said with a shrug as he put his phone away and a bottle of top-quality French wine appeared before him. "I'm immortal which makes dating hard, so I don't get or do relationships."

"And us kwamis are actually genderless with masculine or feminine personalities." Plagg said helpfully as the other kwamis nodded. "Kinda like the Hutts were pre-Disney though they were actually hermaphrodites who could create their own offspring by themselves which we can't do."

"Um ok." Adrien said confused at what both Mage and especially Plagg were going on about. "I'm going to get a new shirt and try to figure out how to make it up to my lady."

Adrien just walked off to his own room to get a new shirt and try to understand Marinette. He understood why she was upset and accepted that, so he had to make it up to her. He knew that he'd do the right thing soon and he at least got her frustration as he had been at Stain's mercy.

Still, he'd make it up to her swore. They'd been apart for a week, but they were together again and now they'd not be apart again. That was what they took from the internships and going forward they'd be stronger, together.

Well, there it is, a longer look at Marinette's internship, her reunion with Adrien and her reaction to what she's allowed to know about what went on. Adrien can't say anymore because of the coverup, and he has to deal with that, but I am sure that he will find a way to do so as we move onto the next arc of the story. That is all I have for you though so I will leave it here. If you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.

Stringdog