The Missing Purrincess

Chapter 12: Didn't think they would care

"Have you found her mommy?" She could hear a little girls voice ask. That hurt.

---Alya's POV---

Get Prince Ali to school

Get Jagged Stone to school

Get a doctor to school

Get Lila's mom to school

Check security footage of Lila when Mari was almost expelled

Check security footage of Mari when Mari was almost expelled

Get class to stop fighting

Find Marinette

That was a fairly simple list right? Should be at least. I already had Prince Ali coming Monday, so that would be the best time to do the rest. In the meantime, I still needed to hang around with Lila.  Yeesh. 

It had been a couple days since Marinette had gone missing, so now the town was aware. I hoped that Marinette could see how many people cared for her. There was no official search, but people had been taking days off to help find her.

Adrien had never given any indication of being close with Jagged Stone, but since Marinette was nowhere to be found, he was my best bet. The whole class had met him of course, but the chances were best if Adrien asked him to come being that he's a celebrity himself. 

I had to be careful how I approach him though. Since he wasn't there when the class war began, he still hadn't taken a side. I was pretty positive however, that he would take Chloe and Marinette over Lila though. The whole class was. He hadn't changed sides when the class split and was officially on the Marinette side of the room.

The room splitting kind of stung. Chloe and Sabrina ended up sitting in the spots they first sat in when the school year started. It was a daily reminder of when I met Marinette. How far our friendship had come before I wreaked it. If it was anybody else, I would be worried about them not forgiving me, but I had long since forgotten that.

Marinette was the nicest girl is school. There was zero chance that she would hold a grudge over this.  Anybody else would, but not Marinette. maybe that's why she became a target in the first place for Lila's bulling. Because she was a much better person.

"Adrien we need to talk." I began after class. I pulled him behind the school where nobody could hear our conversation.

---Marinette's POV---

It had been a couple days since I left home. Surely there were people looking for me. Ladybug and Cat Noir were probably expected to help search too. That would be difficult. I had no idea how I would explain to Cat Noir why I had no interest in finding myself, but I'd just have too.

Trying not to think about it, I decided to go for a walk. Putting on my disguise and pulling the hood over my head, I left my new home to get some fresh air. 

I often went for walks as Marinette when I needed to think. It gave me some time away from what was going on in the world. I realized how wrong that thinking was. Going out into the world to get away from it. It's backwards.

So of course, the first thing I see as I make my way to the Eifel Tower, is a search party for me. I pulled my hood down further and tried to walk around the crowd, before setting my eyes on someone I never though I would see at something like this. Jagged Stone.

Looking around, I saw more people that I would never have imagined would care. Nadia Chamack Manon's mother, Clara Nightingale, Mireille the girl who won the kidzTV weather competition, Mayor Bourgeois, Captain Couffaine Julika and Luka's mom, and yes, Jagged Stone. 

Some of my classmates were there as well. Rose was dragging Julika around, Alya was hanging around Jagged Stone, Nino and Adrien were talking a little ways off, Max and his robot friend were looking in the harder to see places, Even Chloe and Sabrina were there. 

I had to get out of there fast. If even on of these people recognized me, then I would not only be given a lot of questions that I wouldn't have answers to, but I would be taken back home. Probably to be grounded eternally. The Miracle Box was still at my hideout so I needed to get back anyway. This was too risky.

"Have you found her mommy?" I could hear a little girls voice ask. That hurt. I didn't even think about Manon missing me. Even if I was just her babysitter, we were close. 

"Not yet sweetie."

That hurt more. Nadia was putting hope into Manon that would never be fulfilled the way she needed it to be. I couldn't stay here longer. It hurt too much. I never thought this many people would be there.

I backed out of the crowd slowly, but I could have sworn that Alya looked at me. To be fair, I don't think she recognized me, but it freaked me out too much. I looked even more different to myself than I did as Ladybug and she never thought it was a possibility that we were the same person.

I hoped that i would be able to get back safely without drama. That didn't last long however, when I heard a scream from behind me. I turned around immediately and rushed toward the sound on instinct, not even registering that nobody knew me. 

More screaming. There were few things that could cause a reaction like that, and the faint purple glow of a butterfly outline came into view. I couldn't see much else however, when I saw the state of the place I had just left.

Definitely an akuma.