Curse of the Black Cat (Miraculous Ladybug)

P a r t 6

"Chat? Chat, can you hear me?"

My eyes slowly opened, but the only thing I could make out was a blurry red figure crouched over me. As seconds passed, however, it slowly cleared until I could see my Lady's bluebell eyes staring down at me anxiously.

"Can you hear me?" she repeated.

"Yeah," I managed to reply, then feebly accepted her outstretched hand and pulled myself to a sitting position. "Where . . . What's going on?" I blinked a few times, frowning. "Did you capture . . . Where's the witch?"

"We defeated her already," Ladybug reminded me. "You tried to run off afterwards and ended up fainting." She studied me closely. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, looking around in puzzlement. "Where's Queen Bee and Rena?" I questioned.

"I returned their miraculouses already. You've been out for like an hour."

"An hour?!" I stiffened in terror, my father's words about what time he wanted me back home flashing like lightning through my head. "Oh crap, what time is it?!"

Ladybug retrieved her yo-yo from her waist and slid open the top. "A few minutes past midnight."

Midnight? Suddenly, relief coursed through me. It was over; I could detransform now!

Maybe it's a good thing this happened . . .

"Th-thanks, m'lady . . . for staying with me." I flashed her a grateful glance, then hopped to my feet. "I really need to go now, though . . . and I'm assuming you need to do the same?"

"Yup." She nodded briskly, then grinned crookedly. "Now all I need to do is think of a convincing excuse to my parents on why I'm so late." She giggled.

"Yeah . . . same over here." A sense of foreboding crept through my chest as I wondered how my father would react to my extreme tardiness. "Bye, then."

"Bye, Kitty." She raised her fist, and I mirrored it. "Pound it!" we announced together, even though it was a little late. But neither of us cared.

👻 👻 👻

"Claws in!" I whispered, and my black suit wore off in a flash of gold light. I felt slightly relieved about my power working normally again, but I still felt apprehensive to the extreme on approaching my father.

Swallowing, I poked the doorbell, and a moment later the camera zoomed out of the wall. There was a long minute of silence before it retreated again, and a moment later the huge gates to my house swung open. I took a deep breath and entered.

I walked through the front doors, but immediately halted. My father was standing at the top of the stairs, hands behind his back and his dark eyes staring coldly at me. "Well?" he demanded. "What's the excuse this time? I gave you a fair time to be back, and yet you did not arrive until past midnight."

I drew in another long breath, then forced myself to meet his eyes. "I wasn't planning to be late, father," I mumbled guiltily. "There . . . There was an akuma attack . . . Ladybug told me to hide . . . I couldn't get back home because the supervillain was in the way . . . I'm sorry, really."

As I spoke, I noticed with furtive surprise that his eyes briefly widened. After I finished and waited anxiously for his response, he shocked me by giving me a brief nod. "I see," he muttered, then glanced shortly at Nathalie. "But from now on, as I instructed you earlier, keep in contact with your guard, Nathalie, or me. We need to know where you are at all times. Understood?"

I gaped in wonder at my dad, incredulous this was turning out so well. "Y-Yes, Father," I stammered, starting to smile. "Thank you."

He nodded once. "Now off to your room; it's late."

I returned the nod hastily. "Yes, Father," I said again, then rushed forward and started quickly up the stairs.

"Son?" My father's arm suddenly reached out and barred my path past him. When I looked at him in even more surprise, I realized there was a sort of painful longing in his expression.

"Remember that I love you," he added, with what might've been a hint of warmth.

"Of course . . ." At this point, all I could do was stare stupidly. "I . . . I love you too."

---

I more or less staggered into my room and closed the door behind me. "Plagg?" I squeaked, flopping backwards into my bed, "did that just happen? Did my father, the most strict man in Paris, just show me a bit of affection?!"

My kwami didn't answer my wondering question. Instead, he floated up in front of me, crossed his arms, and announced with a scowl, "You're welcome."

I looked at him strangely. "What?"

"You're welcome," he said again. "For knocking you out until it was over."

"That was you?!" I exclaimed, shocked for the umpteenth time that night.

"I told you not to transform!" he snapped. "What were you thinking?!"

"I forgot!" I protested. "And besides, you didn't exactly tell me why I couldn't transform. What was I supposed to do anyway? Ladybug needed my help!"

Plagg huffed irritably. "She could've managed fine."

"No, she couldn't," I shot back instantly. "She needed our Cataclysm. And that was what freed the akuma."

"From now on, if I warn you about something," my kwami went on, ignoring my reply, "would you please listen? I don't give warnings lightly."

"Okay, okay," I muttered, then sighed. Flashing him a little smile, I finished, "Thanks anyway, Plagg."

He shrugged, then floated off towards my cupboards. "Yeah, yeah, don't say a thing."

I just laughed, glad about the way things had turned out, no matter how bad they had seemed earlier. I'd still had a fun time with my friends. I'd gotten to see Ladybug. And I'd learned something valuable: if a five-thousand-year-old being warns you not to do something, it's probably best to listen.