kitty's princess | miraculous ladybug

05 | one word

[unedited]
06/06/19

marinette flicked the tears off her face and smiled in front of the cat. she didn't know why she felt the need to convince the black creature.

"i assume you're full from your little snack," she giggled, pointing at the croissant that remained on the floor.

the cat made a sound of concern, but marinette shook it off. she trudged back upstairs, quietly closing the door behind her, leaving the kitty face to face with a door. the pig-tailed girl could swear she heard the cat hiss at the door.

she walked up to her bed with her head held high, and yet as soon as her body came in contact with the fluffy bed, her body shook and she silently sulked.

her chat was missing and she didn't know how she could help. sure, she could patrol the area, but do you really think there would be a wandering superhero loose on the streets?

the chances aren't likely.

after a few minutes of tikki trying to comfort her, marinette calmed down, wiping her fallen tears with her sleeve.

crying would do nothing in a time like this.

she got up and headed to her swirling chair, turning around to face her computer.

marinette turned on the computer and was instantly reminded of her other missing half; adrien agreste. pink hearts decorated his smiling frame in the screen, bringing tears to marinette's eyes once again. she pushed them back. tears were useless. what was adrien going through right now? was he being tortured? is he dead?!

the thought snapped marinette back to reality. she signed in to her computer and started to furiously jab at the keyboard.

adrien agreste's disappearance, she typed in, frantically scrolling for a legible source. after clicking on almost every website on clues to his disappearance, she sighed in defeat and slammed her fist onto the desk. the closest thing that had been somewhat believable was that adrien had either ran away or had been kidnapped, but even then things hadn't added up. his bodyguard stood by his side most of the time outside of school.

looking for a different source that can prove useful to the current situation of the vanishings, marinette searched up chat noir's disappearance, only to end up with the same result as adrien — nothing. all the theories on chat's disappearance had circled around cowardice, and marinette hadn't batted an eye at any single one of them. she knew her kitty, and he didn't seem like the type to run away from any kind of situation no matter how serious one had seemed.

she sighed. there was no chance that she would ever see her kitty again, and if there was, it would be slim.

it's only been four days, but for marinette, it has felt like an eternity. the two most important people in her life announced gone in one day. great.

tikki flew up to her holder's face, hugging her cheek in comfort. "it's okay, marinette," she said. "why don't you visit the guardian to see if he can help you?"

marinette's slouching figures instantly popped up as a hopeful smile appeared on her face. "good idea, tikki!" she giggled and lightly pecked the kwami's cheek.

changing into her clothes, she grabbed her bag and practically flew out of the room, earning a very confused look from chat noir.

she looked at him with a smile stubbornly stuck onto her face. "i'm going out for a while, kitty. it shouldn't be long."

before the cat could react, the door had slammed onto his face, leaving him alone in the packed-yet-empty home.

•••

"master fu!" marinette yelled, almost tripping on air as she giddily ran into the apartment.

the old man popped his head out from the kitchen, smiling in the presence of his chosen one. "what brings you here, ladybug?"

"i was wondering if you had any clues on chat noir's disappearance...?"

the smile instantly vanished on his face. upon notice of this, marinette's happiness also faded as doubt overcame her once again.

"you don't, don't you..." she looked down, rubbing her forearm in sadness.

he heaved a big sigh. "no, i do. i'm afraid i do."

at this, Marinette beamed. "isn't this a good thing? we can get chat back!"

instead of rejoicing with her, his face remained serious.

"w-what?"

"i have an idea on why he disappeared, but it may possible be wrong."

the bluenette waved this off. "it's fine. a small detail is still one step closer, right?"

"ladybug, this small detail is not exactly small. it is not exactly good, either." a look of panic washed over master fu's face.

the pig-tailed girl's eyes widened. if master fu was panicked, the situation must be worse than she had thought.

"as you know," master fu said. "the ladybug and cat miraculous are the strongest pairs of all the miraculous."

marinette nodded in acknowledgment.

"each miraculous has a new awakening. for every holder, a new skill is developed. the guardians had called it the development. think of it as an upgrade for the superheroes, marinette."

she blinked and then nodded again, urging the elder to continue.

"the fox miraculous, for example, upgrades their skill by enhancing their ability with the illusions. the holder can make their trickery more immense, and even if a force touches their illusion, it will not disappear as quickly," he said, motioning to the box that had contained the fox miraculous.

"however, the ladybug and cat miraculous are different." master fu rubbed his hands nervously. "usually, the developments for the two miraculous are good. they usually prove helpful for the holders. but... this situation. it hasn't happened in centuries," master fu wiped his sweaty palms against his khakis. "chat noir's development must have gone wrong. something must have happened to his miraculous during the time frame that his miraculous was upgrading, and we need to fix it. but... i can't fix it without—"

marinette's eyes widened. "what? does this mean you don't know how to fix this at all?"

master fu shook his head. "i don't know how to fix this as it has never happened in my lifetime, but my ancestors wrote a book on the solution to this equation."

the smile had once again lit up on marinette's face. she would be able to see her partner again after all.

"the problem is, i don't know where it is."

his words came crashing down on her.

"you don't know where it is..." she repeated.

"well, i don't know where it is, but that's because someone took it from me. i've never worried about it because i never thought the time would come that i would have to use the book, but now here we are."

"do you have any idea who took it from you?" marinette questioned, hope leaking out of her eyes.

master fu deadpanned, a fiery look trapped in his eyes. he opened his mouth and his eyebrows drew together as one word left his mouth. one word that would either help or devastate marinette. one word that would bring her silly kitty back, and one word that would change her life forever.

"hawkmoth."