Ladynoir July 2023

Red

HEADS UP: THE FOLLOWING ONE SHOT CONTAINS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOOD AND A DESCRIPTION OF AN INJURY. IF THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN TO YOUR INTEREST PLEASE SKIP THIS ONE! So remember when I was talking about that intense angst? Enjoy...  -Colorado

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She wasn't sure how either of them had gotten there. No, Ladybug could remember easily how this had all started. Chloe had made a mean comment, as per usual, and someone had gotten akumatized, as usual. But this akuma was different from the rest, for some reason this akuma had been more vile, more harmful than any akuma Ladybug and Chat Noir had faced so far. She called herself Fragile Heart, and she was completely made of glass. Her arms and feet were nothing more than thick and sharp shards. She was dangerous, Marinette knew, even before she had seen what happened to a girl from the class below her.

So now here Ladybug was, trying to dodge each of Fragile Heart's swipes towards her. Chat Noir had just arrived on the scene. She hadn't seen him yet, but the tell tale sound of his baton hitting the ground told her enough. Her heart sped up at the prospect of seeing Chat, it had been doing that more and more recently. It was quite annoying, actually. Ladybug backed away from Fragile Heart, throwing her yo-yo towards the roof so she could fill Chat Noir in.

"Why hello, My Lady." He grinned, picking up her hand and kissing it.

"Hello, Chat Noir," she greeted him, tapping his nose with her finger.

"Who are we dealing with today?"

Ladybug turned her attention back towards the courtyard of the school.

"She calls herself Fragile Heart, she's mainly targeting Chloe, but she's trying to find anyone she can get her hands on," Ladybug explained, watching as Fragile Heart approached a boy cowering in the corner.

"And her powers?" Chat Noir asked, watching the confrontation. Ladybug could only close her eyes as Chat Noir gasped. Her cure would bring them back, it always did, but God was it a miserable scene to watch.

Marinette had been trying to evacuate people when a girl from a grade below her had the bright idea of trying to confront Fragile Heart. They had been friends, but that didn't stop Fragile Heart from swiping her arm-shard through the girl's stomach. The girl disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Oh God," Chat Noir croaked, Ladybug looked over at him. He looked a little sick. "Remember when akumas simply just changed people into zombies? Not basically kill them?"

"Good times, I guess Hawkmoth missed the memo this time."

"She just... sliced through that boy!" Chat Noir said, absolutely exasperated.

"I know, I know. I tried to evacuate the school as much as possible, but there's still a few people down there. A few people who we have to save. We have too, Chat." Maybe her voice was on the edge of desperation, but she didn't care. She wasn't sure how many people she could watch die without breaking down.

"Hey." Chat Noir grabbed her shoulders and turned towards her. "You're going to bring them back, you always do, okay?" he mumbled, placing his forehead on hers. Ladybug tried her hardest to ignore her nervousness at his proximity. It was just Chat! Why in the world was she nervous? And had his eyes always been that green? No! Bad Ladybug, she had an akuma to fight.

"Thank you, Chat Noir. You and I are going to save everyone, right?" she asked, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

"Absolutely." He stepped back, "you and I against the world, My Lady."