The Missing Purrincess

Chapter 11: New identities

Not that she was too unhappy with her life. She wasn't insecure or anything, but plain old Marinette paled in comparison to Ladybug.

---Alya's POV---

It hurt standing with Lila. It hurt seeing Nino's face when I stood with her. It hurt to continue hating on Marinette. It hurt to not say anything to Nino or Adrien about WHY I was doing this. It hurt to have to be careful about what I say around who. And to be honest, I deserved it.

The class war had begun today and I took Lila's side. What was I supposed to do? If I wanted dirt on her, I needed to be her friend. That was Marinette's flaw I think.  As sweet as that girl is, she can't lie to save her life. Actually, that was the main reason why I took her out of contention for Ladybug back when I was trying to figure that out.

So when Lila and Marinette started butting heads, Marinette just couldn't pretend to like her. That was what got her in so much trouble. I knew it. 

I'm pretty sure that Adrien caught me talking to Rose a couple times, but apart from that nobody else knew what I was doing. Rose was a little surprised when I came up to her, but I was expecting that to be honest. 

"Psst, Rose!"

"Alya? What's up?"

"Shhh. You still keep in contact with Prince Ali right?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind trying to convince him to come for a visit?"

"Why? He's very busy."

"It's about Lila."

"What about her?"

"She said that she was friends with the prince right? I want to see if he recognizes her."

"OH! I knew you wouldn't turn your back on Marinette!"

"SHHH. This has to stay between us until I say otherwise."

"Wait why?"

"I think that Lila may have been worse to Marinette than she let on. Besides, if Lila hears he's coming, she'd find a way to get out of school till he's back."

"Oh. That's horrible!"

"The one thing I can't figure out is why Marinette never got akumatized, but I can deal with that later. For now, Lila needs to go down. Are you with me?"

"Of course Alya! Marinette was one of my best friends. You can count on me!"

As far as I know, Adrien was the only person who noticed us talking. Not that it would matter too much, as long as nobody knew what we were talking about we were fine. 

My phone dinged, signifying a text. 

[ Rose: He said he could come briefly next Monday Is that okay?

You: Perfect. Thanks girl!

Rose: NP!]

That's one thing off my checklist. Today was Tuesday, that gave me a little less than a week to get everything in order. Let's hope it's enough time.

---Marinette's POV---

Pinning my hair up in a pun and putting on a black hoodie, I left Master Fu's house on the hunt for supplies. Tikki and I needed sustenance, and what we brought was not going to last more than today. What Master Fu had left couldn't be much longer than that either. Tikki and I had brainstormed everything we needed to do and made a list.

First, to the bank. I needed some money and I had started an account a while back and had been putting my allowance in it for a few years now.  It had gathered up quite a lot. Hopefully enough for everything I needed. I had never thought I would be using it like this.

Then to the costume store for a wig. My hair was just unique enough that it may get me recognized and I couldn't risk that. A red one would do. 

Then to the supermarket for groceries.  Lots of canned goods, dried fruits, and things that would last a while. I also got ingredients for cookies for Tikki. They weren't going to be her macaroons, but those required a little more effort and I wasn't sure that Master Fu had what we needed for those.

Then to the mall for some less recognizable, or suspicious clothes. I couldn't get anything too expensive, but what I bought should work. A black hoodie with a green paw print, grey boots, and some blue jeans. I also bought some fake glasses frames and green contacts so that my face wouldn't be too recognizable. 

(She looked kinda like this)

If nobody recognized me as Ladybug, nobody would recognize me like this. Hopefully not anyway. I wasn't planning on leaving often, but I couldn't risk being seen as Marinette anymore. 

My life was so weird now. Since I entered high school, I had met more celebrities than I ever thought I would, made new friends, fell in love, and became a superhero. An awesome superhero. A superhero with responsibilities. A superhero who was more important than Marinette ever was or ever could be. 

Not that I was too unhappy with my life. I wasn't insecure or anything, but plain old Marinette paled in comparison to Ladybug. Ladybug was a necessity to Paris' survival. 

To put it simply, Marinette was an accessory made to improve the outfit, Ladybug was the stitching sewn in. You could take the accessory out and still have a complete ensemble, but without the stitching you would just have a bunch of fabric. As much as the accessory helped, it was not nearly as important.

I knew that I was loved as Marinette, but this was a long time coming. Now that I had left, I can't go back. I just hope that the people who still cared about me could forgive me.