Here it is, the fifty-fourth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released early because I am ahead in my draft and I wanted to get it out for y'all to enjoy. This is the first in what will be at least 3 chapters in an original arc I am doing between the move in and the preparing for the provisional license arcs but that's all I'll say about it. Anyway, that is all the administrative stuff I have for now and as there are no review questions to answer or guest reviews to respond to I will end this note here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. Now, though, it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 54th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.

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

Chapter 54: Unraveling an Enigma

"Alright first batch if macarons are ready." Marinette called out as she moved the batch of various colored macarons she'd made onto a serving tray. "Come and get them while they're fresh."

"There isn't much a smell to them." Mina said as she and Toru led the way to the kitchen area eager to try the sweets that Marinette had just baked for the class. "Not like with the cake."

"Macarons are mainly egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder and food coloring for the cookie part with a ganache, buttercream, or jam filling depending on the flavor you're going for." Marinette said with a shrug. "They're not really known for their smell like cakes are as they have the batter which adds to the smell. For these it's all in the taste and I made a selection."

"Yes what are the options?" Toru asked excitedly as she looked at the collection of variously colored circular things with a filling in them. "They all look good."

"Lets see the pink ones are raspberry." Marinette said pointing to it. "Brown is chocolate, green pistachio, the whitish ones with the filling are cookies and cream that I'm trying out for the first time, the red ones are strawberry, yellow is lemon, orange is orange, and white is coconut. That was what I could find for them, but I can make all sorts of flavors so just ask and I'll see what I can do. Any baker has to be able to increase her repertoire after all."

"Wow, well I say let's dig in." Mina said popping a raspberry in her mouth before her eyes went wide as she chewed and swallowed. "Ok that's better than Sato's cake. Not as fluffy but so much sweeter and packed with flavor."

"I know right." Sato said as he ate a chocolate one that had been made. "These are much better than I can make and so sugary that it really helps with my Quirk as well."

"Yes don't eat too many." Marinette said. "Sugar is a large part of them, and it is late."

The class nodded and they all took a few before heading back to relax or their rooms as Marinette oversaw the second batch she was making that would mostly go to the kwamis and had a few special ones for Adrien in them. Only he got the passion fruit macarons for the moment so she made them in the second batch just for him as he'd be one of the last to leave so they could have a more touching, private goodbye before bed.

Meanwhile Sato was busy cleaning up, he'd helped though quickly he'd realized just how different their skill levels were. Dupain-Cheng's baking was on a level he couldn't reach yet so he'd made a lot of mental notes on how to improve as he watched her work with an expert level of diligence and care in the art. It had been a surprise to find out she was a baker's daughter, just one of many surprises from her, but it was going to help.

Marinette was just glad that she could share her baking with the class and had made sure to have all she needed to make a wide selection for them but as all tastes were different she was sure that she'd get more specific requests in the future. Teaching Sato was a bonus as he was clearly eager to learn and it had been a while since she'd gotten the chance, Adrien was hopeless at this, so she relished it. He'd make a good student and knew his way around a kitchen so they could work faster and more efficiently together to bake for the whole class. Yes, she'd make him a true expert soon.

As she was setting out the second batch so that everyone got some, she and Adrien would split the leftovers and take them for the kwamis, the missing 6 students who she'd noticed had left just after she started baking, along with Tsu walked in from outside. Marinette had noticed that Ochaco had gotten all of team Bakugo rescue but her and taken them outside. Tsu must have been there, and they'd had a chat about something which Marinette was sure was connected to why Tsu wasn't present earlier. They all looked drained but better and Marinette knew how much food could help.

"There's still more left." Marinette called out. "More than enough for everyone. I even have some special ones orange flavor ones for Ida that I mixed orange juice into to get the flavor."

"Thank you for being so considerate Dupain-Cheng, just what I appreciate from a friend and future hero." Ida said taking an orange one as they all came over to get some macarons and eating it, his eyes wide in surprise. "These are delicious, I'll try a few other flavors as well, but the orange is already doing it's work. It's now as good as direct orange juice or soda for my Quirk but every little helps."

"I figured as much." Marinette said with a smile. "And hopefully in time I'll mix in some more traditional Japanese flavors into them to make hybrids. Pretty much any flavor can be made into a macaron though the foie gras ones are odd even by French standards."

"Foie gras?" Izuku asked confused.

"Goose or duck liver pate." Marinette said surprising them. "And, um, not the most humanely made thing."

"It's a staple in high society." Momo said. "My parents get theirs specially imported from France as they do make the best."

"What is your life?" Ochaco asked Momo again.

"Alright I'm done washing up." Sato said interrupting them.

"You didn't have to but thank you." Marinette said surprised that Sato had done that, she'd planned on taking care of it herself. "Take some and see how you can do making your own using your own style. Naturally you won't get my recipe, but I'd like to see your take on a macaron. If possible try to make something with a more traditional Japanese flavor so I can see how it works."

"Of course." Sato said selecting a few and leaving to try his own hand once he got the necessary ingredients though he knew that Dupain-Cheng had been rather secretive about a few small things that had to be her family's tricks which he of course respected and wouldn't ask about. "Thank you again."

"Happy to have some good help from someone who's passionate about macarons." Marinette said as Kirishima praised her macaroons having eaten some already.

"Yes these are delicious." Momo said her eyes wide as she ate a strawberry one. "They'd go great with some of my tea and as you can make different flavors the pairings will be tailored perfectly. I'll show you what I got Marinette and we'll work on making the best pairings of Japanese tea and French macarons."

"Between the two of us we have the tea and pastries covered." Marinette said smiling at her friend. "No one will know what hit them."

"With you that seems to be normal, both metaphorically and literally." Momo said before she left to think on a few things she needed to think on. "Good night."

"Good night Momo." Marinette called after her not knowing what was troubling the tall girl.

The others all had some and praised Marinette, but she noticed that Tsu was holding back. With a nod to Adrien, he came over and helped the other guys get a few extra before leaving to bed, with a lecture from Ida about brushing their teeth. Then he took his own selection, he knew exactly which ones were his, but he took a few extra for the kwamis despite their telling off that they were about to receive, and left Marinette with hers. Soon it was just her and Tsu downstairs and the frog-like girl hadn't had any yet.

"Have one Tsu, they're good and I made them for everyone." Marinette said as she explained the flavors again. "Don't feel like you need to hold back unless you're allergic to almonds or dairy then yeah that is a problem, but I can make any dietary requirement needed, even vegan."

"I, I don't know." Tsu said and Marinette could tell that she'd been crying recently which was likely why she was outside. "Do I deserve one?"

"Tsu, what's up?" Marinette asked kindly. "I know you didn't partake in the contest, and you just came in with Ochaco and most of us who were in Kamino Ward, something is clearly bothering you about all that. You can tell me if there's something bothering you, I've always been there for my friends."

"It's just, I said some things to them in Midoriya's hospital room that weren't nice and I'm sure they felt." Tsu said feeling like she could open up to Marinette about this and she wasn't sure why but there was just something caring about the French girl that only added to her leadership qualities. "I called them no better than villains for going after Bakugo and they went anyway. I didn't know that they'd done that until today, nor did I know that you'd been informed until then either it's why I didn't ask for you because you didn't know what I said so it didn't apply to you. I, I thought I'd stopped them, but I didn't, and I didn't know how to feel so I didn't think I deserved to be in the fun."

"Tsu." Marinette said softly understanding patting her on the arm gently. "Don't worry about it. Friends always say things they regret to each other, we've all done it, and we're all still here to make up for it. You're a blunt girl, it's one of your best traits as it helps keep others in check because of how grounded you are. You speak your mind sometimes that can seem harsh without meaning it, but we all know that you didn't mean anything by it."

"Did you know about it?" Tsu asked her. "About what I said to them?"

"Precisely, no." Marinette said shaking her head. "It didn't come up other than that the rest of the class was against it, but we were never going to fight. Hell, I only went to prevent that as I can hold Todoroki in check otherwise I would have stayed with Adrien, but they needed my power and skills, and I don't regret going. This is just what happens between friends. You didn't say anything bad or irrevocable and you lot have worked it out."

"True I didn't." Tsu said. "And we did work it out, it's just hard as I've never really dealt with this before."

"We're all in this together and now we're all living together." Marinette said. "And there will be times when we get on each other's nerves, that's just part of being a group and we have more going on than most as hero students. Just apologize, forgive, and forget. That's what all this fun is about. Now have a macaron, they are my specialty."

"Ochaco said that you're even more of a surprise than we thought, that you can bake and are really into fashion which I didn't see coming." Tsu said taking a green one and eating it her eyes wide. "That is good, pistachio I see. Why didn't you mention any of this before?"

"Not many chances to show it off before now." Marinette said with a shrug. "And when you girls were at my place it was over lunch, not a meal for my baking skills though I did bake the bread for it. Sato just provided the opening for me to surprise everyone and I took it, inadvertently as I was simply assessing his chiffon cake."

"You really are something else Marinette." Tsu said with a small smile as she had a strawberry one. "You know that right?"

"You guys tell me from time to time, but I've never seen myself as anything special." Marinette said with a chuckle. "But since starting my journey as a hero I've learned that I'm good at it and knowing what to do. I want to help people, to be there for them, and I have a power that lets me do that, so I do my best."

"And it's the best of us because you really understand this work, and you've got this natural charisma to you that makes up want to listen and follow." Tsu said. "And the fact that you lead us through it shows us that we are right. They told me a bit of what happened in Kamino, that you created an item that could contain four of the most offensive fighters in the class. That's a new level right there."

"That wasn't my intention." Marinette said defensively. "I was just trying to protect them but yeah I guess that did happen inadvertently. That's kinda how it happens at times for me, the unintended consequences of my actions show other possibilities and now I know I can probably defeat Bakugo and Midoriya."

"Those battles will be interesting if they ever happen." Tsu said before yawning. "But I should get to bed, it's been emotional today."

"I know, sleep on it and we have training tomorrow, that will get things back to normal." Marinette said as she created a box for the remaining macaroons and washed up the plate she'd used to serve them. "See you tomorrow Tsu."

"Yes, tomorrow will be better." Tsu said before leaving.

Marinette just smiled as she finished her work and turned the lights off as she left. It had been an emotional day for a lot of them, but it was over, and they were starting to adapt to life in the dorms. Things were going well, and Marinette couldn't wait for more now that they were all in a good place. Well, all but one of them but Marinette didn't know that as she finished sorting things out and went back to her room to share her macaroons with her kwamis and do a little fashion work before bed.


The one who wasn't fully settled was Momo Yaoyorozu. It had started during the room contest with the reveals around Sato's room and gotten worse with another reveal from the same person. She'd put it to the back of her mind to finish the contest and the stuff with Tsu, which she felt bad about and would make it up to her friend for making her so upset, had shown her that she'd not fully taken Tsu's feelings into account. She didn't know her friends well but that would change, and it would change with the one causing her this strange, unsettling feeling that something deeper was at play.

That friend was Marinette. Momo couldn't put her finger on it, but something felt off with the French girl now that she knew more about her. Something had always been off about Marinette and Agreste since she met them, their skill level and competence was just too great for even the two years of extra training they had.

The pair had experience that could only come from actual combat, and a lot of it, and the more she learned the more she was certain they'd been in it. Between their actions at the USJ, what she knew of Hosu with Agreste as it had apparently had a significant imprint on Todoroki to the point that he'd note Agreste's skills to her in their final, and what Marinette apparently did in the forest, along with what she'd seen in Kamino Ward, she'd been convinced of that.

Sure, it could just be the fact that she didn't know that Marinette was the daughter of the best bakers in Paris or that she was into fashion on a level where she could create her own unique designs good enough to catch the eye of the Agreste patriarch but that could be overlooked as they hadn't know each other long enough to learn those things. No, it was something else that she'd noticed that cause all she knew about Marinette to just not add up right.

Momo was at her desk, and she closed her eyes to think on it as she remembered all her interactions with the French girl, her near photographic memory helping. In this regard most were normal, but she remembered that Marinette would occasionally have what the others likely saw as a translation error but to Momo they seemed more like she was correcting herself forcefully from something that was normally habitual. Things like using past tense when she didn't need to, or different levels of ancestry, or references to loss that didn't add up. It was all nagging at Momo, and she wanted to find out why.

However, of everything that had happened, she likely wouldn't have bothered had it not been for one thing that stood out above all else, that picture. She knew that Marinette wasn't being truthful about part of it.

Sure, the girl probably was called Kagami Tsurugi but that wasn't the name of the female Tsurugi child of the current patriarch, and she wasn't as old as Marinette or in France. Obviously it could be another family, or an alias given Francois Dupont's legendary secrecy though Marinette and Agreste used their real names, but the look was that of the notable Tsurugis that Momo knew. Most wouldn't be able to do what Momo had done, they were a rather reclusive family despite their wealth and history, but Momo knew because she knew all the people in Japanese high society.

She was the only one here who'd know it though and she focused on what she knew about the Tsurugi family. They were big hero advocates since the discovery of Quirks in the family and the family had had many over the decades, both before and after the creation of Japan's hero code, though none for at least 20 or 30 years if she recalled. They also used dragon motifs in their names and costumes Momo recalled for some reason.

Momo knew that they were an old family as well, they were established long before the Quirk era unlike hers and had maintained status and position through the advent. They'd even been strong enough to form three branches of equal power with the 3 Quirks found in the family. Despite this, the lighting branch died out during the Quirk Wars. Of the other two branches, the water branch had also died out, some 30 or so years ago so all that was left was the wind branch, but it was still as strong as ever.

That was just the basics that Momo knew about the Tsurugi family. She knew that they were also expert swordsmen and women with many national and international titles though not with a katana or using any Japanese arts like Kendo, no they specialized in western fencing which was not common for a Japanese family to do. That at least backed up what Marinette had said but it also added to Momo's confusion on all this because it helped confirm that she knew one of them.

In the end Momo knew what she had to do. She could have just searched on her laptop but something in the back of her brain, almost an intuition moment, told her not to do that because it wouldn't give her the answers she was looking for for some reason. No to get them she needed to call the Tsurugi patriarch personally.

Thankfully her father made sure that she had all the personal study numbers for his contacts, and she knew their routines just in case she needed to reach one for a favor. She was going to be a hero from a powerful hero family, she needed to know these things and she'd made sure to learn them.

Mr. Tsurugi was known to enjoy some whiskey in his study at this time of day after a long day of business from his estate up north and a relaxing evening of training with his children. This was the perfect time and Momo took a deep breath before she called from her cell phone thinking that she was ready for what was to come.

"Hai." Mr. Tsurugi said on the first ring. "If you have this number you must be important. State your name and business with me."

"Mr. Tsurugi." Momo said in her most formal tone from years of training and being at her father's events in recent years as his heir where he showed her off. "I sincerely apologize for calling this late. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu and I wanted to ask something of you."

"Yaoyorozu you say." Mr. Tsurugi replied clearly approving of her family. "The heir to the family if I recall. You're a student at U.A. right? Got into their Hero Course on recommendations if I recall. Quite impressive."

"Yes sir." Momo said as she figured out how to phrase what she wanted to say but pleased with how things were starting. "And I know this is random, but I wanted to ask a favor of you if that's possible? There's someone in your family I wish to know about, a potential hero contact I believe, and I was hoping you could tell me more from a family perspective. She's a friend of a friend but there are some cultural barriers between us as my friend isn't Japanese, but her friend is, and I don't think my friend would understand."

"Few outside our circles would." Mr. Tsurugi said before pausing as Momo waited with bated breath. "Very well, a favor from a future U.A. graduate and hero, along with being a Yaoyorozu as well, well that could come in handy. Which relative do you wish to know about?"

"Her full name is Kagami Tsurugi." Momo said. "And she's apparently living in Paris, France at the moment and attending their top hero school in Francois Dupont High."

There was a long pause, a lot longer than Momo was expecting. She could hear the man breathing on the other end and swore that he took a drink, but he didn't hang up which was good at least. What came next wasn't.

"There hasn't been a woman in this family named Kagami for generations, the name holds too much significance to be used again." Mr. Tsurugi eventually said. "Nor has there been anyone in the family's history that has lived in Paris since before the advent of Quirks. The last to do so was Tomoe Tsurugi. That said, her daughter, who's the matriarch that advocated for a hero-based society once the men who'd become heads of our three branches were revealed to have what were called Meta Abilities at the time, was called Kagami. She was the last one."

"Come again?" Momo asked unable to contain her shock at what she was hearing and having to ask for clarification on it. "I am sorry if I misheard you Mr. Tsurugi but are you saying that there is no Kagami Tsurugi who is alive and currently living in Paris right now?"

"Not from our line." Mr. Tsurugi replied. "There was a Kagami Tsurugi who lived there for a few years though sometime in the late 2010s. She lived there with her mother, the then matriarch Tomoe, who moved there due to the quality of the fencing in that city and to be close with some business associate we no longer have ties to. I believe it was the Agreste family."

Now Momo was stunned as that fit exactly with what Marinette had said about her friend Kagami being in Paris for fencing and contacts between her family and Agreste's. She had no idea what any of this meant but she was certain that at least Marinette's story of her and Kagami was true, but she didn't seem to know of the whole Tsurugi family out here. Taking a calming breath Momo composed herself before she continued.

"That was unexpected, I guess my friend is mixing her name up or something, she isn't Japanese so it's understandable, but while I have you I was wondering if I could ask one more favor." Momo said knowing that one day this would cost her a fair bit but anything short of an arrange marriage for her Quirk or illegal activities she'd do to repay her debt that she was incurring as it would help her understand Marinette, she was sure of it. "I am still a student at U.A. and hero history is a course that we will take as it helps us understand the ethics of the profession. It would be great to learn some more about one of Japan's pioneers in the advocation of the Hero Code here."

"I am sorry I can't help you with your friend, if she's not from here then she may have had a translation error or mixed up the name as you suggested." Mr. Tsurugi said apologetically. "But for another favor I am more than willing to talk about my ancestor who ensured that we'd survive the advent of Quirks with our status and power and even grow it with the three branches that her grandsons created even if my branch is all that is left today."

"That would be great, thank you." Momo said as she tried to figure out what angle to go with and came up with a good one that would be believable and helpful for her should she actually have to study this in class. "You wouldn't be able to tell me a bit about her life would you? We will no doubt have to write a paper on the early pioneers, and if it works I'd be honored to write one for your ancestor. I am top of the class academically and this will keep me there."

"Of course, I think there's a box of hers here that we pass down but seldom check as society has changed so much since her day." Mr. Tsurugi said, and Momo heard him looking for something, so she knew that she was in for it when the favor was called in. "While I look I'll tell you what I know that has been passed down. It won't be as good as first-hand proof as what has been passed down is not going to be fully accurate, but it will give you the general gist."

"It will and I can use that as the basis for my own independent research into other information on her." Momo said. "Thank you for this."

"My pleasure." Mr. Tsurugi said. "Let's see what I remember. Her name was Kagami, likely the confusion with your friend's friend having the same first name, and she did spend about two or three years in Paris from around 2018 to sometime in 2020 or so, we know because it was when Tokyo hosted the Olympic games that year back when they were still a big deal. She went there for fencing as she was a world champion at it and there was great school there at the time that would make her even better. I am also sure that the Agreste patriarch was in a business partnership with the family, but it ended and was never renewed for some reason despite their own continued success."

"Fascinating." Momo said though she was more confused by it all as they spoke because it was all pointing to something she really didn't want to think about. "And she was instrumental in the early hero advocacy when she returned?"

"Not at first, there were no heroes back then remember, the advent happened sometime in the 2030s I believe." Mr. Tsurugi said. "It wasn't for a good 50 years or so, sometime around 2070 that she got involved in it. What she did before then was just normal family stuff that isn't worth remembering but when the family's Quirks appeared in her three grandchildren, triplets, she got involved."

"That's pretty early in the wake of the advent for Quirks to appear." Momo noted. "An honor to the family for sure."

"It was and none were more pleased than the matriarch, at least that's how the story goes." Mr. Tsurugi said. "Especially because it was so soon after the advent, only a few decade, back at a time when only about 10% of Japan had Quirks. They were the some of the first born with no Chinese heritage where the advent occurred and from what my dad and grandfather had said she seemed really intrigued with the water, wind, and lighting split. When they got old enough they became vigilantes that had a code of ethics similar to the early heroes when the first code was adopted in Providence, Rhode Island, and she was the one who instructed them. Something about personal experience apparently."

"Personal experience?" Momo asked. "Your ancestor had person experience with heroes before the advent?"

"Yeah that has always changed in the telling over the generations to the point that I don't believe them at all, I think it's all made up to sound better for the kids." Mr. Tsurugi said. "But they make great stories for the family. As the legend goes, matriarch Kagami, while she was in France, knew two pre-Quirk heroes there who fought people turned into villains by some supervillain that loved there."

"That sounds a lot like what happened in Japan about two or so years ago." Momo said recalling a series of incidents that had occurred in the nation that got national news. "Something about a Quirk enhancing drug that caused normal people to turn into mindless villains or something like that."

"That is a good comparison for the stories I was told as a kid though the method was some superpower or tech depending on the telling." Mr. Tsurugi said. "There was also a lot of animal themes to the heroes and villain that have changed over time. No one knows why there's an animal theme to it all but there was. The one thing that didn't change though was that on one occasion matriarch Kagami's own mother was a victim of this villain and the lead hero, a teenage girl apparently, gave her a special charm to turn her into a dragon themed hero with the powers of wind, water, and lightning, and she helped. It's all fanciful though, a story to inspire and explain the branches and our history with dragons in my opinion."

"Of course, my own father would tell me stories of the family's history like that when I was a kid that I am sure were embellished and had changed over the generations." Momo said remembering them fondly though she didn't say that she knew of the story of pre-Quirk era, animal themed, heroes out in Paris which only added to the whole mystery she was dealing with. "Still a good story."

"Oh yes and it worked great for the branches to have their own tie to the matriarch at the time of their forming but after the water branch died out, my father decided to stop telling it as it was causing too many in the family to become heroes." Mr. Tsurugi said. "The family must remain though we will always be supporters of heroes because of our history."

"I understand and I hope that in generations to come your family returns to this line of work." Momo said. "A long a noble tradition like yours must be upheld."

"My daughter certainly wants to so perhaps, when you have the time, you can have some words with her as a current student and then she'll understand what she's thinking of getting into more." Mr. Tsurugi said. "As part of the repayment for this. Ah here it is."

"I am more than happy to, please pass on my cell number to her and I'll talk to her when I am free to do so." Momo said before adding. "And found what?"

"Each family head as far back as the shogunate era has kept a special box to remember themselves and pass on their wisdom to future generations." Mr. Tsurugi said, and Momo understood, it was a way for a family to maintain its legacy and learn from their ancestors to be better themselves. "Most are kept in other places in the estate or are in the now vacant other branch estates but as this is the main one the most important boxes are here and there's one for Kagami Tsurugi as she was one of more famous members. It's been in this study in one of my cabinets all my life, but I've never looked at it. one moment, It's a biometric seal that only a direct descendant of hers can open."

"I perfectly understand, my own family has plenty of similar things with similar necessary security measures." Momo said though she wasn't actually sure of that. "Please take your time."

"It's old tech but still good tech." Mr. Tsurugi said as Momo heard a pop from the other end. "Here it is, huh there's not much in it. My great-grandfather was a hero and his was fully stocked."

"There isn't?" Momo asked surprised.

"Yup just a few old pencil drawings that seem faded." Mr. Tsurugi said. "Can't really make them out but they appear to be of a boy with European features and another of some strange creature I've never seen before but it's dated during her Paris years so it's probably something from there and likely extinct. Let's see, there's her old family ring, some fencing clippings about her success at it, a couple of other papers from after the advent, and, ah this must be what she wanted to leave for future generations to see."

"What is it?" Momo asked.

"A diary." Mr. Tsurugi said. "Most of my ancestors kept them, it's the best way to pass on information and writing it down means only the family sees it without any of that suppression we get online these days. Huh, what's this?"

"Excuse me?" Momo asked without thinking of how rude it might be.

"Sorry, there's an old, printed photo in the pages of the diary." Mr. Tsurugi said. "The conditions of the box and it's location have preserved it perfectly, a rarity for something from before the advent. Must be of her from her French days, that's when the diary is dated."

"I am sorry for being nosy but, um, what is the photo of?" Momo asked. "Understanding her friends may help understand how she was shaped into an advocate later in life especially as she seemed to have cited her Paris days as an influence. I have a French friend who's mentioned that there is a legend of pre-Quirk heroes with animal themes, so I think there is some sort of general legend there about them so possibly some truth to your ancestor's stories."

"Perhaps and there's no harm in this, all this is going back in the box and forgotten about when I'm done as I don't really care for this, but I am more than happy to help a Yaoyorozu out." Mr. Tsurugi said, and Momo read between the lines and knew it was more the favors she'd owe that got the man helping her, but he was speaking, and she focused on what he was saying. "It's a picture of Kagami with another girl, I think the lingo is that it's a selfie. The other girl is taking it and smiling broadly while Kagami, I recognize the family traits in her though it's better than the portrait her we have her, is smiling more controlled though the peace sign is a bit much. They seem to be enjoying some colorful drinks outside a church of sorts, I don't know Paris, but the girl she's with is clearly European."

"The, the girl, can you describe her?" Momo asked as her heartrate went into overdrive, there was no way that this could be what she was thinking but the description of the setting was already too close for comfort. "She must be a good friend for your ancestor to want to preserve a photo of her for as long as possible."

"Sure, not much to say." Mr. Tsurugi said. "Looks like a typical European girl to me, pale skin, bright blue eyes though not as round as I'd expect, with short black hair that is similar to Kagami's but done in a set of short pigtails that stick out on either side of her neck. She's got a blazer on with the sleeves rolled up to just below her elbows and over a white shirt with a floral pattern."

Momo almost dropped her phone then and had to create a headset to hold it to the side of her head as she put a hand over her mouth while the other clutched her chest. That photo was exactly like the one she'd seen in Marinette's room, and the description in it was, well it was Marinette's description to a near tea though that photo had highlighted her western features more, so it made sense for Mr. Tsurugi to say that. She also knew Marinette well enough to know that she was a selfless girl who'd no doubt make a copy for her friend.

"Huh there's something on the back." Mr. Tsurugi said which broke Momo from her thoughts and reminding her that he was still there. "She's written something on it but it's in French I think. Has to be as it's in the Latin alphabet with all those markings the Europeans like to use."

"I understand the language, part of my training just in case I'm abroad." Momo said trying to hold it all together and needing to know more. "Can you tell me what it says? I might be able to translate it."

"No harm in it." Mr. Tsurugi said. "It says, 'La journée de l'amitié a été un succès. Je n'ai pas trouvé Adrien mais ma partenaire, MD-C, est devenue ma amie après l'akumatisation de ma mère et j'ai pu aider LB et CN lorsque LB m'a donné le dragon miraculeux. Bonne journée à coup sûr, se sentir mieux à Paris avec un nouvel ami. Marinette m'a même donné cette photo de nous, je la chérira pour toujours.' I apologize for any bad pronunciations; I'm reading it as if it was English which I do speak but I think it's off."

"That's how I first learned but I've been corrected though I think I get the gist of it." Momo said recovering from her translation because, well, it sounded like it was a commemorative photo that Marinette had taken to mark the day with her new friend Kagami though some of it was completely alien to her as she didn't know what the words meant. "But basically, I am pretty sure it's a photo of the day Kagami became friends with the other girl and that girl gave her the photo to remember it. Some of it is gibberish to me though but it's likely cultural."

"True or just when it occurred." Mr. Tsurugi said. "She's dated it as sometime in the summer of 2019 so right in the middle of her time in Paris."

"That, that could be it." Momo said trying to sound normal. "Sounds like some French thing that she was involved in, and her mother had some incident that helped her, and the other girl become friends if I had to guess. Then they went for drinks outside that church and the other girl took a photo of them to commemorate the day."

"Probably." Mr. Tsurugi said, and Momo heard him leafing through the diary. "Her diary is mostly in French as the dates are from her time there, so I don't know what was going on but her return to Japan is in Japanese, almost as if she's given up on French that point."

"I can understand her using French for in France to make sure she picked up the language." Momo said. "But to drop it like that, she'd have to have a reason for it."

"There is." Mr. Tsurugi said sounding a mix of sad and surprised at it. "Apparently she and her mother returned a little over a year after that photo because in the fall of 2019, so only a month or two after the photo, her friend from the photo, who she simply says was called Marinette, along with the boy she was in love with, someone called Adrien, vanished without a trace and no one knows what happened to them."

"Come again?" Momo asked surprised as she used all her willpower not to react to what she was hear. "They vanished?"

"That's what the Japanese says." Mr. Tsurugi said. "And the ink in the last few French entries is blotchy, I think she was crying when she was writing it which backs up the Japanese and makes the French illegible. It seems that no one could find her only friends in Paris and the heroes there, some pair called Ladybug and Cat Black though I doubt that's accurate given her mental state, disappeared a few months after it when the villain stopped attacking people though he was never caught it seems. After that she left to return to Japan because she couldn't stand it there without them."

By this point Momo had her hand over her mouth again and tears in her eyes but they weren't just for this Kagami girl. No. If what was written was true, and the coincidences were too much not to be, then, well Momo didn't even want to begin to think about what that meant as it was frankly unbelievable. Composing herself she had to ask one more question.

"Is there anymore?" Momo asked. "About the Quirk era?"

"There's one last entry some 50 years afterwards and it's in Japanese." Mr. Tsurugi said, and he too sounded emotional for his relative's pain, but his voice changed to pride as he spoke. "She says that she's just found out that her three grandsons have Meta Abilities, the first in the family and that they are the ability to turn into water, wind or lightning for a short period of time, 5 minutes or so. She says that they're the same powers she once had when this Ladybug person in Paris entrusted her with something called the Dragon Miraculous on something called Friendship Day whatever that is."

"I don't think anyone would know that." Momo said. "It sounds a bit much to me."

"Yeah probably something she misremembered, it is 50 years or so after the fact." Mr. Tsurugi said. "Still, she's amazed and so proud that they have Meta Abilities. She promises to fight for them to be accepted and teach them to be heroes like those of Paris that she knew and admired when she lived there. She says that this isn't a coincidence either that they have these powers, that something bigger is at work and now knows that her still missing friends must be safe as this must be a sign given the ties to her Paris days. She says she's happy again for the first time since then and that she knows that she will see them again in this life or the next."

"That is hopeful." Momo said barely able to contain it anymore, but she had to for a few more moments. "Thank you for your help and if you can think of anything else for my project on her please don't hesitate to reach out. I am in your debt Mr. Tsurugi, and I am sorry for brining all this up."

"No, thank you Miss Yaoyorozu for allowing me to feel this connection with one of our great matriarchs, it makes me more hopefully that if my daughter becomes a hero she'll be honoring our legacy and ancestors properly." Mr. Tsurugi said. "And I will call in the favors in time, just focus on becoming a great hero and doing your family proud."

"I will, goodbye and thank you again." Momo said and she heard the other side hang up.

Only once the call was over did she put her phone down, removing the holder she'd made, and let herself break down from what she'd learned. The tears flowed down her face, and she clutched at her chest as she took deep breaths to try and calm herself down at what she now was certain had to be true. How it had happened she didn't know and there was only one person right now who could give her the answers she wanted and needed but it had to be even if it was unbelievable.

Short of a massive coincidence that Momo didn't believe in, Marinette and Adrien weren't of this time period. Something had happened about 230 years ago to them, and they'd ended up here. None of that made sense but the evidence didn't lie, and Momo felt her heart go out for her friend. If this was true then she'd lost everything and everyone dear to her other than Adrien who she clearly loved before this happened and now was all she had. She had him and he had her, and it certainly explained her reaction after Adrien was gassed, and her hesitancy to leave his side, it couldn't have been easy to deal with.

There were a lot of other questions Momo had as she got ahold of her thoughts and emotions enough to stop crying for her friend. Beyond the whole how did they end up in Japan of all places and the fact that they seemed to be from the past, there was the whole fact that both had established family histories and records. That was what made no sense to Momo, how could they have them?

Someone had to be helping them but who, how and why? They were at U.A. and clearly powerful but they were from the pre-Quirk era so how did they have Quirks? They were also clearly heroic, Momo didn't doubt that they were the legendary heroes of Paris that they'd once spoken of, and she knew Marinette was the best of them, she was a true hero and so was Agreste, but who was backing them?

These were all questions that she had, and she was going to get them answered and right away. She had a feeling that Marinette would still be up, so she went to her bathroom to wash her face and then made sure she looked presentable in the mirror. Then she left her room and headed downstairs to Marinette's room on the 3rd floor. It was time for answers and to see if what sounded impossible was true. It was time to learn the truth of who exactly Marinette Dupain-Cheng was.

Dun, dun, dun! I just couldn't resist yet another cliffhanger, they're too much fun to use and this was a big one that just had to be left like this. It looks like Momo has stumbled across the one lose threat that there was and tugged it, and well they do say curiosity killed the cat and she certainly got more than she bargained for. I'd always intended for Momo to be the first to find out but using her own brain and deduction skills because things weren't right to her, and I've been teasing it as subtly as possible from time to time until the Kagami picture. I wasn't sure how to get Momo to find out at first, though I knew this would be where she learned after learning more about Marinette's past, but then it hit me even if it might not be my best idea or work (sorry). I decided to use the one Japanese connection Adrien and Marinette had in Kagami and use her personality, history in Miraculous Ladybug, and upper-class Japanese roots and the nature of that segment of Japanese culture to be the weak link in the back stories that the Guardians created and the only one who could find out was Momo. How they messed up will be seen soon as that is coming in the Momo finds out arc (lack of better term for it) so stay tuned for that, but it does show that the Guardians aren't infallible and there is a need for more caution. For those wondering, what Kagami actually wrote was 'Friendship Day was a success. I didn't find Adrien but my partner, MD-C, became my friend after my mother's akumatization and I was able to help LB and CN when LB gave me the Dragon Miraculous. Good day for sure, feeling better in Paris with a new friend. Marinette even gave me this picture of us, I will cherish it forever.' Anyway, that's all I have for you after this emotional and revealing chapter, so I'll leave it off 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