My Imaginary Friend \|/ Adrienette/Marichat AU

Chapter Ten

Nino felt like his name had predestined his life. So many people said no to him, it was getting old.

Don't run away and start a revolution, Nino.

Don't play that music, Nino.

Don't stab that crazy lunatic cat, Nino.

He might as well be called No-no.

"No!" Marinette cried even as the knife slipped into Chat's side with a sickening sound. She fell back to the ground as the cat stumbled away, her knees buckling.

Nino himself wasn't in much better shape. The wound in his own side was still bleeding, though he had wrapped his torn shirt around his chest like a bandage. The world swayed as he turned towards Hawkmoth, or maybe that was just him.

"Well," he said, "thank you for the awesome time, dude. By the way, your girlfriend you sent after us, she's dead. Have fun with that."

Though her throat still hurt, Marinette snorted, a faint smile turning her lips. But it faded just as quickly as she caught sight of the weird cat-boy thing. She crawled to its side, before gently whispering something to it. Nino couldn't hear what she said, but he had a feeling he didn't want to. A realization had hit him like a brick and he felt like he needed to go to bed for a few days.

"Why," Hawkmoth growled, the knife in his hand still twirling, "Did you just stab your ally?"

Nino grinned.

"Ally?" he scoffed, "You mean the ally that you turned against us? That you sent to kill my friend? Heh, sorry dude. I'll do what I have to when it comes to protecting Mari."

Though his words were bold, regret and fear churned in Nino's stomach. He was truly getting tired of stabbing people. Well, he was in the mood to stab some food with a fork, but that didn't count.

Ugh, here he was, thinking about food while Mari and Adrien were injured and Hawkmoth was sneering menacingly. That showed his priorities.

Before Nino could continue with his enchanting conversation, Hawkmoth lunged towards him without warning. His knife held out at his side, the man snarled some sort of threat that was lost in the sound of Mari's distressed yelp.

Nino had no idea what to do. Time seemed to slow as Hawkmoth charged towards him, his eyes full of hatred. How do stop a man from killing you? Especially when you're already injured? But there wasn't time to think. He squeezed his eyes shut, his thoughts drowning all other sounds out.

Nino waited for death. For pain.

And waited.

Waited.

Until he opened his eyes slowly, and saw Mari standing in front of him protectively. Her frown was full of determination and her clenched fists betrayed her rage. Below her, Hawkmoth lay curled on the ground, his knife in the I.F.s hands.

"I kneed him in his vulnerable spot," Marinette said, turning to Nino with a satisfied smile on her face.

Nino winced only slightly before smiling back. He made a mental note to never get on Mari's bad side.

Hawkmoth, meanwhile, had used the miniature conversation to drag himself towards Marinette. Silently, he grabbed her ankle in his gloved hand, trying to drag her to the ground with him. It was a feeble strategy, and Mari simply kicked him in the face in retaliation.

Nino had to look away when he saw the blood and the man's crooked nose. He was sure he was going to be sick. This all felt like some sort of nightmare.

"Well, Princess," Chat Noir gasped from his curled position on the ground, startling Nino, who had forgotten he was there, "I guess this entire meeting was a cat-astrophe. Maybe— Ugh!"

Chat clawed at his wound, pressing against the gash to try and stop the bleeding. It was useless. Nino winced once again at the blood before jogging to the cats' side.

"We should get him some help," Nino said, his eyes wide as he took in the damage. It was all his fault. Marinette ran to his side, before assessing the situation herself.

"We can't," she whispered sadly, "He's Hawkmoth's now. He's not human. He's invisible like me now, and no doctor could see him. There might be someone who can help him, but I don't know anyone. Luckily, the dagger wasn't very large, so it doesn't seem to have done any fatal damage."

Nino grimaced at the creature who used to be Adrien. He had pieced it together right after he had stabbed him. He wasn't stupid. Well, actually, maybe he was. After all, he had stabbed him in the first place.

"I'm alright," Chat whispered, his voice weak, "I don't— I don't remember being human so I can't mourn my loss. I'm purr-fectly capable of surviving without you. Master is going to recover soon. I suggest you make a run for it before he sends my fellow Akumas after you. I'm valuable to him, he wouldn't let me die."

As much as Nino wanted to believe that Chat's words were insane, they made too much sense. Hawkmoth probably had a way of healing his Akumas after a fight, and Mari couldn't afford to stay any longer.

Behind them Hawkmoth started to try and rise to his feet.

"Go," Chat Noir said, his tone sounding almost urgent, though his eyes betrayed inward conflict. He must be at least a little loyal to his master, he seemed to regret telling them to run away.

Beside him, Mari shed silent tears. She had only just gotten her beloved friend back, and now he couldn't remember her once again. And even worse, he served Hawkmoth and had tried to kill her.

Though she was heartbroken, she collected the shards and used them as daggers.

"Let's go Nino," Mari growled, her fingers clenched into fists, "We'll regroup with Nathaniel."

"Yes ma'am," Nino replied, mostly out of fear.

Marinette was about ready to kill Hawkmoth with her bare hands. But she restrained herself. If she killed Chat's Master, who knows what would happen to him?

"You haven't won this," Hawkmoth taunted weakly, "I have your old friend! And he'll be the strongest Akuma yet once I train him! You'll see!"

Marinette turned her back on him and his akuma, and walked away.

Yay, another chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it. I've been super busy with practice for harp and doing school (I'm sure we all know the struggle). I might make the next chapter longer than the past two, seeing as these were a bit rushed.

Have a Miraculous day!