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thewritewolf · 6 years

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True Sight - Chapter 3

Hello and welcome to the preview of Chapter Three! I’ve gotten back into the swing of things, so I’ve got some August Fluff Month stuff on the way. As always, I’ve only posted the first thousand or so words of the chapter, with the rest (and all the other chapters) on AO3.

Enjoy!

Read the rest on AO3

Marinette was feeling better after talking things through with Chat. While they aren't any closer to finding out who the stranger is, the situation didn't seem as frightening as it had before. She sighed as she set her backpack down on the chaise in her room, pulling out her homework as she did so.

Tikki flew out of her purse and landed on her shoulder. With so many possible things to talk about, Tikki waited for her charge to initiate conversion. In the meantime, her presence was comfort all its own for the frazzled teenager.

She had just gotten home from school, a familiar routine that gave her solid ground in this rough patch: Wake up, get ready, talk to Alya, take a seat. Clash with Chloe – gotta make sure she doesn't help out Hawkmoth everyday. Perform basic pleasantries with Adrien, take notes, eat out with her three main friends. Her heart fluttered for a moment as she realized she could count Adrien among her friends now. She cheered herself on. One step closer! Take more notes, go home.

Sitting down at her desk, Marinette began staring at her homework. Her mind was too preoccupied with the Ladybug side of things that she couldn't focus on the assigned worksheet. Tikki landed in front of her, meeting her eyes. The young heroine of Paris let out a sigh. “Chemistry can wait. I won't be able to work on this until I've settled down a bit.”

“Maybe a walk in the park will help you organize your thoughts? It certainly wouldn't hurt to get some fresh air.” Tikki offered.

She considered it. There was plenty of sunlight left, and the park was beautiful during late autumn. Why not?

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A short bus ride later and she found herself wandering through the park with her sketchpad. The park was popular this time of year, and she passed by a few of her classmates.

She spent some time sketching in amiable silence with the other class artist, Nathaniel. He had been working on a larger piece, and was taking a break by doodling in the sunlight. Marinette made sure that he promised to keep her updated with his progress before she moved on.

In her search to find a secluded spot, she stumbled across Juleka and Rose. She thought about calling out to them, but decided that might be intrusive and turned around.

Max, Kim, and Markov were heading to a soccer game Kim was taking part in. She joined them and made some sketches while cheering with Max and Markov. It wasn't too interesting to her, however, and too distracting for drawing. Halfway through the match, she excused herself and spent the rest of her trip on her own.

A couple of hours passed and she found herself out of the park and with several pages filled with sketches. Most were scenes she had watched, some sly sketches of random park goers, others particularly beautiful plant life. Some was design sketches for warmer clothing for her and her partner. Which got her sketching Chat Noir more. Who knew it was so fun to draw his distinctive outfit?

She hummed absently to herself as she roamed the streets of Paris. Tikki poked her head out of the purse she was hiding in to take a look at their surroundings. “Marinette!” She whispered to her charge. “Master Fu lives nearby. Maybe he knows something about the man? I know his parting words have been bothering you.”

Was that why she was feeling so out of it? “I suppose you're right, Tikki, but I don't see why he'd know anything.”

Trying a different angle of approach, Tikki responded. “Maybe he figured out why the ritual didn't work?” With another potential enemy floating around, Marinette would like to have that power boost sooner rather than later.

Marinette came to a decision quickly. With a firm nod of her head she changed course. “We're almost there anyway. We might as well ask.”

She ducked into an alley and made a few quick turns before reaching the storefront – a store which boasted “ancient Chinese secrets” and “world-famous chi massages.” She was glad she had her sketchbook with her, since she ended up having to wait for about half an hour due to a customer's session being already in progress. Eventually that customer left, and Master Fu stood before her, holding open the door while waving her in.

Nodding his head in a shallow bow, he moved past her to pour some tea. Two incredibly small cups and two normal sized cups were arranged on a low table and filled. He took a seat at the table, on the red cushion there. He started the conversation. “My apologies for making you wait, but I cannot act too suspiciously while either of you are here on non-urgent business. The facade I have established can withstand some... eccentricities... but not in great quantities." His face became a mask of gentle concern. "What is troubling you?”

Am I wearing my worries that openly? Or is Master Fu simply very perceptive? Filing those questions to the back of her mind, she answered as she took a seat opposite him. “Do you know anything about that person who we fought yesterday?” As she asked, Tikki flew out from her purse as Wayzz emerged from... somewhere. She didn't catch where he was hiding. They landed next to the tiny cups that had been poured for them.

He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Possibly, but I can't be sure. Tell me about the fight the two of you had with him. We will address his capability for hunting akuma afterwards.”

Marinette took and breath and gave what she thought was a fair account of the event – their arrival, his confirmation of their identity, his assault and the clashing between weapons. It was as she was describing the rapid exchanges between Chat and him that Master Fu held up a hand to stop her.

“You say that the sword was leaving physical marks on the staff of Chat Noir? You are sure of this?”

Marinette nodded. “I didn't even think that our weapons could be damaged.” She had see them lose their power before, but barring that, they hadn't suffered damage. Which made her a bit less confident in her armor.

“They shouldn't be able to. The number of substances that can damage the main components of the miraculous can be counted on one hand. The most obvious are other miraculous. The others are rare to the point of non-existence or lost to time.”

Marinette's eyes widened. “Do you think that we are dealing with another miraculous bearer?” She wasn't sure what she thought about that. Hawkmoth was bad enough, but at least this one seemed to be willing to fight alongside them.

Master Fu stroked his beard once again. “It is possible – there are still miraculous that are lost or unaccounted for, including one of the seven. But I feel this is not the case.”

Marinette's ears perked up at that. Having the stranger be a miraculous bearer was something she understood and could plan for. But an unknown person being able to harm at least their weapons and probably even their armor was... unsettling.

He got up and walked over to his electronic notepad. Returning to his seat, he began flipping through the virtual pages of the copied book of miraculous lore. While doing so, he spoke. “I have not made progress in deciphering the remainder of the ritual we performed, but I have compared it to the other pages in the text. Specifically, the alchemical recipes that unlocked the specialized forms of your miraculous. It was difficult to notice at first, but the language is subtly different. The potions claim to awaken power from within, whereas the ritual promised to sharpen their powers.”

He stopped and sipped tea while Marinette absorbed the information. So the ritual was meant to hone their abilities rather than be a power boost. Her shoulders sagged. I guess it was too much to hope for a quick fix to our problem. Then her eyes widened as the implications caught up to her. “Do you think that we... summoned this person?”

Master Fu slowly nodded. “That is a very real possibility. The fact that he appeared no more than a day after we performed the ritual and tracked you two down specifically is too great a coincidence to be ignored.”

Great. So they were responsible for adding to their own troubles. Then again, that fight with the akuma immediately afterwards would have been time consuming without help. There was also the relief that this wasn't part of a slow burning plot by Hawkmoth. Which reminded her... “Did you want me to describe the battle with the akuma?”

At his nod, she began. The form of the villain, their brief struggle before the stranger's arrival, his discovery of the akuma's hiding spot, his defense of Chat, and the delayed beeping of their miraculous.

The elderly guardian had been following her story intently, but was surprised with the ending. “That is... very strange. That would suggest they were receiving outside power, sustaining the transformation.” He furrowed his brows and looked deep in thought. “I feel that deciphering the remainder of that ritual has become of paramount importance. Is there anything else you wanted to ask, Ladybug?”

God, it was weird to be called that while she wasn't wearing the spots. She shook her head and got up to leave. Tikki returned to float by her head.

"Good bye, Ladybug, and be careful. We do not know what motivates this stranger."

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She still had homework waiting for her, but she found it much easier to focus on after her walk. She got it done in record time, but the sun had long since set. Leaning back in her desk chair, her mind wandered over the day's events.

Her conversation with Master Fu hadn't exactly set her at ease, but she was at least glad that it wasn't Hawkmoth up to any new tricks. He may be getting stronger, but she and Chat Noir were improving as well! As her thoughts drifted to Chat, she was reminded of Tikki and the sustained transformation.

“Tikki?”

Her kwami stopped midway to lifting a whole cookie to her mouth. She gingerly placed it on the desk and glided over to her charge. “Yes, Marinette?” Tikki watched her with big, round eyes.

Marinette paused. “Did you feel the flow of energy Master Fu mentioned?”

Her kwami crossed her arms and legs over her, eyes crossed for a moment. She looked deep in thought as she responded. “Yes. It was very strange." She opened her eyes and began flitting around Marinette. "Normally, I draw my power from a pool within me – cookies help fill this pool, but there is a steady stream that will fill it over time. In that moment, the stream's flow became much stronger, and I could keep up the transformation with no problem. If given time, we might have even been able to call on the Lucky Charm again.”

Marinette mulled over this information. Most of it was nothing she hadn't figured out on her own, although Tikki put it into more definite terms. “Has this ever happened before?”

“Sometimes. Usually, when there is a lot of magic in an area. It probably wasn't a conscious decision, for what it's worth.” Tikki waited for a response, but Marinette was tapping her finger on the desk, plainly unsatisfied with the answer. Tikki returned to her cookie and was beginning to nibble at it while Marinette watched.

She bite her lower lip and wondered if it would be too much to ask if Tikki knew anything about the ritual. If it was in the guardian book, then that must have meant it had been used by miraculous users in the past, right? Maybe other Ladybugs had dealt with it before, and Tikki would have been there for those times...

Tikki looked at her with eyes filled with sympathy, likely having figured out her charge's next question. “I'm sorry, Marinette. I can't answer questions about past Ladybugs.” The kwami became more vibrant and her voice took on a more hopeful tone. “But I can say that you shouldn't worry about it. This will all work out in the end, trust me!” Her charged sighed, disappointed with the answer, but not surprised by it. Still, she trusted Tikki had her best interests at heart, and felt worry slip away.

Marinette yawned and took that as her cue to get ready for bed. She was able to sleep early for once and she fully intended to take advantage of that. Tomorrow, she would have patrol with Chat, but for now she could relax.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #marinette dupain-cheng #master fu #marinette #True Sight #ml fanfiction

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