Kissy Daisy

Let's Investigate

Once she was off the boat and on level ground, Manon headed straight for Place Des Vosges. Or at least, she tried to; she'd never walked there without adult/teenager supervision before. It wasn't long before she got lost, leaving her with no choice but to start looking for Ladybug and Cat Noir instead. After all, who knew the way around town better than its two superheroes?

"Ladybug?" Manon called, though she didn't see the heroes anywhere. "Cat Noir? Have you seen my friend Marinette? A friend she was looking for got akumatized!"

She got a reply, but not from Marinette, or Ladybug and Cat Noir, or any adults or teenagers. In fact, that reply wasn't a human reply—it was the sound of a flock of birds approaching. Turning around, Manon could see that these weren't just any birds. They were the pigeons she and her mother sometimes saw in the park. The flock was heading straight for her, very quickly, as though something had scared them. Manon figured it must have been Kissy Daisy's kissing.

"Hi pigeons," Manon happily greeted. Her mom had always told her to stay away from the pigeons, even though she never wanted to. Now that she was alone with the pigeons, this was her perfect chance to play with these friendly birds!

Unfortunately, the pigeons ignored her and flew right past her. With a sigh, Manon continued forward and kept searching for Marinette, or anyone who could help her with doing so.

Ten minutes later, she paused her search to rest her feet at a bus stop. A man was already sitting there, looking really sad. The moment she saw him, however, Manon perked up. She didn't know the man's name, but she would recognize him anywhere. "I know you," she said. "You're that man who feeds the pigeons at the park!"

The man sniffled a little. "Have you seen my beloved pigeons?"

"I did...but only for a second. They were scared and they didn't want to play with me. They were too scared of Kissy Daisy...do you know about her?"

"I do. She kissed me and my pigeons, and that scared them and made them fly away. Not long after that, I saw her getting akumatized."

Manon was surprised. "The pigeons were scared of her even though she wasn't akumatized yet?"

"Why wouldn't they be? She's a stranger to them, and me. And they aren't used to being kissed like that!"

"She didn't mean to scare them, mister pigeon feeder."

"Mr. Ramier."

"Oh. Nice to meet you! But she didn't mean to scare them! She just likes kissing everyone and everything she sees, because she wants to be everyone's friend!" When Mr. Ramier didn't believe her, Manon told him all about her mom's trip to the garden island with Clara Contard, about the strange-looking but kind new friends they'd made there, and most importantly, how two of those friends (with one of them being Upsy Daisy) had somehow made it to Paris using a strange boat.

"So we need to find my friend Marinette before Kissy Daisy does, and we need to help Ladybug and Cat Noir de-akumatize her. We also need to find Upsy's best friend...or boyfriend, because she gives him more kisses than anyone else."

"What's her boyfriend's name?"

"Even Mommy doesn't know. No one on the garden island ever said his name, and he can't say any words. I know what he looks like though."

"Manon! Manon, over here!"

The little girl turned around and saw Luka heading toward her on his bike. He looked really worried. Instantly Manon braced herself, knowing he was likely about to give her a ride back to his houseboat.

Luka slammed on the brakes and leapt off his bike. Doing his best to regain his inner tranquility, he approached Manon and said, "Don't run off like that again, okay? Until Marinette comes back, it's my job to make sure nothing happens to you."