The Black Cat (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

Adrien: I'm Missing

      The Dupain-Chengs were preparing dinner. I'm afraid with paws, I'm not much help. Marinette put a bowl on the floor.
   "Kitty." she smiled, "Come here, please." Manners... even with a cat, huh? I stepped down and looked at the bowl. It wasn't raw. Tilapia and shrimp... well, that's one way to feed a cat. "I hope it's enough." Marinette sighed, rubbing my head, "I'm gonna have to get some food for you."
   "Thank you." I whispered.
   "Aw, what a cute meow." she giggled, standing up, and sitting in her chair at the dinner table. It was worth a shot. I sniffed the food, and took a small bite out of it. It was great, don't get me wrong, but it was also a pain in the butt trying to eat with no hands or silverware. I felt like a pig. I was done, and the clock read 8. Maybe it was a good time to leave. How would I leave? I'm not a familiar... I'm a missing boy trapped in a system. I rubbed Marinette's leg.
    "It's 8... do you leave now?" she asked me. 
    "Yes."
   "He meowed..." Ms. Dupain-Cheng smiled, "I think it's a yes." I went upstairs, hoping she wouldn't follow me, and transformed into Chat Noir. I climbed up her balcony and escaped. I hid on a roof, and watched as she looked around.
   "I guess he does leave... every night at 8." she frowned.
   "At least you know, you can ask Alya too."
   "Great idea. I'm going to start getting ready for bed."
   "Okay honey." her mom left, and Marinette was talking to Alya. I figured it was okay. I jumped around a little before finding myself on a bridge. I hid underneath it, and hugged my legs to my body.
   "You okay, kid?" Plagg asked me.
   "No." I answered.
   "You haven't eaten very much in a week."
   "I can't really help that, can I? The fact you're stuck in my head makes it ten times worse."
   "You know I can't control that." Plagg sighed.
   For two months, I've been trapped under a mask. One day when I was patrolling, something happened to my Miraculous. I told Plagg to de-transform, and rather than becoming myself, I was a black cat. Plagg could talk to me, but he didn't have a physical form. He was a spirit, and in return for helping him, he gave me the ability to transform into Chat Noir, a crime fighting superhero. But everytime I try to change back, I become a cat, or I am Chat Noir. I can't remove any of them, and Plagg and I are completely unsure what happened.
   I visited Plagg's past holder, a guardian by the name of Master Fu. A powerful wizard, he is, but he had no clue what happened. He believed that during the transformation, Plagg's spirit connected to mine, and somehow didn't detach. The effects of trying to remove it early had a high chance of being fatal. So... since then, I've been living as a permanent superhero... that or an alley cat.
   As for how I got to Marinette completely fazes me. And as far as I was concerned, I couldn't be a familiar. Then again... Plagg was once a familiar, then he became a spirit. If I had to come to a conclusion, maybe Marinette was trying to summon Plagg, but because of our attachment, I came out as a cat... Marinette's cat familiar. But... Plagg found me years before Marinette had anything to do with this. But at least now I had a stable source of food and water. I just hope I don't have to eat anything raw... unless it's sushi. 
   Something was going wrong. The last thing I needed was for one my friends to be dragged into it, unknowingly. There's no way I could help with her magic. I was a wizard myself, but 2 months of no lessons... it was starting to affect me. Sure, homeschooling had me 2 years ahead, but how much could that help me now? And what do I know about being a familiar? I hated lying, I hated seeing her so embarrassed, and seeing her teased by Chloe, more importantly.
   As Chat Noir, I visited Marinette every so often. Every time, she'd ask me,
   "Is Adrien okay?" Every time, I had to lie, and assure her he was okay. She was the only one that still asked. Everyone else was told I was on a trip... studying abroad. She didn't believe it. She was the only one who saw right through it. She was the only person I could talk to, and feel cared about... even if my identity to her was a complete mystery. She was real with me... and I couldn't help but notice she talked to me more as Chat than as myself. I jumped roofs, and found myself back at her house. She was standing on the balcony. I jumped down,
   "What's my Purr~incess doing out so late?" she turned around, and smiled.
   "Hey Chat." she looked at me closely, before frowning.
   "Your cheeks... they've hollowed out since the last time I've seen you. Have... you been eating?"
   "You caught me." I laughed nervously, "I-I don't get a lot at home." I didn't even go home. I couldn't. Not with my dad's security and the constant looking for Adrien Agreste. 
   "Oh come in." Marinette opened the door.
   "Princess, it's fine, I can-" I was interrupted by a loud roaring from my stomach. "manage." I blushed.
   "Your stomach says otherwise. I live in a bakery, Chat. I can help you."
   "Okay." I let go of my pride, and sat on her desk chair. She went downstairs, and I looked around her room. It looked much bigger as a cat, but it was a nice room. She decorated it with a lot of pink... and fashion magazine clippings, some of which were of me. Wait a minute, that's an entire wall of me! Does she like my dad's work or something?"
   "Hey, I'm back." she opened the door. She held out a plate. "This was all I could gather in a small amount of time. I found some cheese, though! You've been asking for that lately." she bit her lip.
   "N-No, it's great! You know me too well, Mari." I took the plate and took a bite of the sandwich. "Thank you."
   "Of course. I got us some tea as well. Do you like tea?"
   "I do." I answered, taking the mug.
   "That's good." she smiled, before dropping her cheeks. "Chat, I'm really worried." I turned to face her, and she looked distraught. 
   "Why is that?"
   "I haven't heard or seen him in more than 2 months. It's silly, really."
   "Adrien... why are you so worried about Adrien?"
   "What do you mean?" she looked me dead in the eyes, "He's one of my school friends, I care for him."
   "No one else asks about him anymore."
   "I'm not everyone else." she muttered. "Did you stop looking?"
   "He's studying abroad."
   "Sparing me the truth, are you?" her voice became cold. 
   "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean it like that. And no, I haven't stopped... trust me, Ladybug gets on me about going off course for patrol." she giggled, before hugging me.
   "You don't have to get in trouble for me, Chat."
   "I know how much he means to you... I can't see you sad like this. He's your friend, of course you care."
   "Why would his father tell everyone he's studying abroad?" she asked me.
   "To protect his name." I answered, "You can't be a celebrity and have a runaway son. It lowers your reputation. Gabriel Agreste... cannot afford to lose his name because of his son." I turned away.
   "Unbelievable." she mumbled. 
   "Princess?" I turned around, and she began tearing up.
   "I'm sorry if you like Gabriel Agreste, but what kind of father puts his reputation before his son... his own flesh and blood?"
   "Mari, please-"
   "It's cruel and unfair! Why Adrien disappeared is beyond me, but living in such a way... I can kind of see why he never returned home. That doesn't change how upset I am, though. When he left, he left behind his best friends... people who love him. I love him." she whispered. I hugged her,
   "Princess, I promise." I closed my eyes, "I won't rest until I find him, I swear."
   "Chat..."
   "Shh. It's getting late. You should get to bed."
   "Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Kitty." she waved, and I hopped away. I sighed, looking out towards the city. It was a matter of trying to find a place to sleep at this point. I found myself standing in front of a motel. I rented a room. I collapsed on the bed.
   "Adrien... you promised her?" Plagg asked me.
   "I had to. She looked so upset."
   "Let's hope you can keep that secret."
   "Yeah. Goodnight, Plagg."
   "Goodnight, Adrien." I transformed to a kitten for the night, and curled up between two pillows. Tomorrow, I needed to talk to Master Fu again.
   I'm trying, Marinette. I really am.

~~~~~~

   I was gonna wait a little until I published this, but I couldn't wait, honestly. This is my last day of spring break, and it's been an absolute joy writing. I just wanted to share the joy, so... here's another chapter! I don't have too much to say, but let me know if you liked this chapter by commenting or voting... it helps me out a lot :)
   Thanks for reading, and see you soon! ~Morgan!