Miraculous Ladybug: Short Stories

Battle Scars

It was quite a bright and warm summer day in the magnificent city of Paris. Home alone, Marinette sat outside on her balcony, admiring the beauty of it all. Rather than her usual outfit, she had on more appropriate attire for the heated weather. Marinette wore a white tank top with her own personal floral design across it along with a pair of pink jean shorts and her typical flats. She breathed in the cool breeze as she designed some new fashion ideas. It was surprisingly a challenge for her to sketch them down, though.

Marinette's right wrist ached terribly from the bruises of the last akuma victim attack. The villain caused Ladybug to fall from the Eiffel Tower, having Chat Noir grab for her wrist immediately. The two heroes were forced to stay in such a situation for at least fifteen minutes before they were able to both make it to a safe, flat surface. Fortunately, Chat Noir was even able to save Ladybug's life. A few scratches were definitely worth living.

Perhaps few is an understatement, though. Marinette's wrist was not the only thing that was sore. She ached from head to toe, covered in all sorts of cuts and bruises. Whereas the magical superhero suit was indestructible, her skin most definitely wasn't. The last akuma villain had been the toughest one they have fought so far. Hawkmoth must be growing quite impatient with waiting to capture Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses.

Marinette sighed in frustration before shutting her sketchbook. It was easy enough to hide her injuries from her parents; all she had to do was wear long sleeves and pants. Since it was generally chilly in the house, it raised no suspicions for her wearing such warm clothing in the summer. However, it wouldn't be that easy when walking around town. Alya even attempted to have Marinette over, but Mari just lied to her by saying how busy she was.

Tikki noticed that Marinette wore a gloomy expression, "Cheer up, Marinette! I know how you must be feeling, but at least you are alive!"

Marinette smiled genuinely, "You're absolutely right, Tikki!" She reached out to cuddle her little kwami, but flinched at the painful movement of her limbs. Mari felt as if she could hardly do anything without triggering discomfort. A sudden shriek interrupted the heartfelt moment, "Looks like we have some work to do."

"But, Marinette, I thought you could barely move?" Tikki seemed concerned.

"We don't exactly have any other choice. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette transformed into Ladybug within seconds. She used her yo-yo to travel quickly through the city to meet up with her partner. It wasn't long before she spotted Chat Noir on a rooftop. Rather than a calm landing on the building, Ladybug stumbled, forcing Chat to step in. He held on to her shoulders, "Are you finally falling for me, my lady?" A sly grin crept up on his face.

Ladybug cringed at his grip on her bruised arms. She smiled to hide the pain as she nonchalantly shuffled out of his arms, "Only in your dreams, alley cat." Truth be told, Ladybug did have some feelings for Chat. She tried her best to ignore them, though, since Adrien held her heart. Before Chat Noir had time to flirt some more, an arrow soared directly past his head.

"Ah, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I am Le Chasseur. I believe you have something that I want." The female villain wore a short dress and boots, which were both camouflaged in design.

"With a cattitude like that?" Obviously not amused by the cat's pun, Le Chasseur picked up her bow to shoot another arrow at Chat. Luckily, he blocked it with his staff. For what seemed like an eternity, Ladybug and Chat Noir did nothing other than dodge multiple attacks from the villain. Normally, it would be no issue. Since Ladybug was injured, though, even the simple dodging was exhausting her drastically.

Le Chasseur must have felt somewhat defeated, for she took off to the ground to target other citizens. "Chat, go rescue as many people as you can." The boy nodded before jumping off the rooftop. "Let's get this over with already. Lucky charm!" A red and black spotted shield dropped down into her hands. At first, she was confused as to why she would need it. After all, her yo-yo served perfectly well as a shield. Then, she noticed Le Chasseur going after Nathanaël. When Ladybug saw the villain pull back her bow, she heaved the shield towards the student, which injured her arm even more. The shield passed in between the red head and the arrow just in time.

Le Chasseur was enraged, "Do you really think you're so tough, Ladybug?! You always try so hard to save everyone else, but who will be there to save you?" The akuma victim pulled back her bow and let another arrow fly towards the heroine. Ladybug froze, clearly not expecting such an outcome. Realizing that it would be too late to pull out her yo-yo to block the arrow, she had no other decision but to dodge it. Ladybug could hear Chat Noir shouting at her from the ground to move out of the way. She quickly jumped to the left, safely out of range of the dangerous object. Due to her exhaustion, though, she didn't land safely on her feet as expected. Instead, her head smacked against the rooftop pavement, causing her to blackout. Le Chasseur giggled wickedly and left Ladybug alone to accept her fate.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir shouted in panic. He abandoned his current objective and rushed up the building to get to his partner. When he reached her, he attempted to awaken her by gently shaking her. Whereas she was not waking up, he noticed a black dot fade away on her earrings. Ladybug only had a matter of minutes before she would transform back to her civilian self. "Don't you worry, my lady. I'll keep your secret a secret." Chat Noir scooped her up in his arm and headed straight for the Agreste mansion. Making sure that no one else saw, he carried Ladybug through the window to this bedroom. He gently set the girl down on his white sofa.

Chat Noir knew that Ladybug's identity being revealed was inevitable. Granted, he could leave so that he would not find out who she was. Ladybug was in such a horrible condition that leaving was not an option at the moment. He sat down next to her on the sofa, carefully monitoring her breathing. A couple of minutes later, Ladybug detransformed. The first thing that (pleasantly) shocked Chat Noir was that the love of his life was Marinette, a very close friend from his class. All this time, Ladybug was closer to him than he thought...

The second thing that shocked him was that she looked hurt. He noticed that all of the cuts and bruises also were not brand new, either. Ladybug, or Marinette, was always so brave, confident, and strong. She definitely would not be the type to admit to any type of pain. Chat Noir couldn't help but ask himself how many other times his lady was hurt and didn't mention anything to him.

Tikki was laying on Marinette's chest, clearly weak herself. Chat Noir smiled at her, "Would you like some cheese to get your energy back up?"

"Cheese? No, thank you. That is more of Plagg's thing. I actually prefer sweets!" The little kwami reached into Marinette's pocket and pulled out a spare cookie that she always carries around in case of emergencies. Nibbling on the cookie crumbs, she looked up at Chat Noir's heartbroken face. "She will be okay, Adrien. I can sense it." Chat's eyes went wide at the mention of his alter ego's name. He was about to ask the kwami how she knew, but she must have known what he was going to ask because she rolled her eyes and motioned at the boy's room.

"Right. And I know that she will okay. I've never met anyone stronger." The boy's face lit up as he thought about her. He was glad that Marinette was Ladybug.

Marinette's eyes began to slowly blink open. "Chat Noir? What...what happened?"

"You blacked out, Princess." Marinette was confused as to why he called her princess, since he always called Ladybug his lady. Then, it hit her. She must have detransformed! Marinette's eyes went wide as she attempted to sit up quickly. "Hey, take it easy!" Chat Noir held his hands out, "Your secret is safe with me." Marinette still did not seem completely convinced. "I'll tell you what, you can trust that I'll keep your secret because I trust that you'll keep mine. Plagg, claws in."

Marinette watched in shock as her partner in crime detransformed into her crush. "A-Adrien?!"

"Surprise?" Adrien laughed nervously. "Uh, Marinette? The amazing girl who saves Paris from villains is the same adorable, clumsy girl who sits behind me in homeroom. I do love both of them, with and without the mask. I just hope you feel the same way about me..."

"Trust me, you have no idea." Marinette screamed internally as Adrien pulled her into a passionate kiss.