Blanc Out (Miraculous Fanfic)

Chapter 2

"Marinette! You're going to be late!"

Marinette groaned as her mom called up the stairs, twisting in her bed. She flinched as a flicker of pain ran through her, muscles still sore from yesterday's fight. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, her mind instantly becoming alert the moment the image of Chat Blanc ran through her head. She sat straight up, Tikki still fast asleep on the pillow next to her, eyes fluttering open as she threw herself to her feet.

"Marinette, are you awake?"

"Yes!" she called back, throwing her skylight open. She peered out onto her balcony, but nothing but emptiness met her gaze. Her heart sank, knowing that Chat was probably long gone by now.

Her eyes fell down onto the blanket and backpack she had left out for him, sitting right by her doorway where she had placed them, him having apparently not used them. She picked them up, but paused when she realized how light the backpack was. She opened it up, an empty chip bag and an apple core greeting her eyes. A small smile spread over her face, realizing that he had eaten, meaning that he wasn't out there starving.

"He took the food, Tikki," she said in relief as she slipped back down into her room.

"I'm surprised he left anything at all," the kwami said, staring at the blanket and backpack. "Akumas are self centered, so he must have not wanted them."

"Akumatized or not, he's still Chat," Marinette said defensively. "He's just..."

The kwami darted in front of her, arms crossed. "I don't want to be harsh, Marinette, but if you are going to be able to get through this fight you need to separate the idea of Chat Blanc from Chat Noir in your mind. They're not the same person anymore. It's the same thing you do with any other akuma."

She didn't reply, movements slightly tensed as she began to get ready for school. Tikki watched her, before letting out a small sigh, drifting after her holder. She knew that this was hard, this was her partner after all, her close friend and one of her few companions in her superhero persona.

"...You might want to bring something for lunch," Tikki said after a moment. "We should use the lunch break to go to Master Fu's, and get the Miraculouses for Alya and Nino, they should probably hold onto them until we're able to... defeat this akuma."

"Where do you think Chat is right now?" Marinette asked softly.

"Hopefully still hiding and not causing trouble," Tikki said, landing on her shoulder. "We should probably get going, you don't need to be late for school again."

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The Ladybug versus Chat Blanc fight was what everyone was talking about at school– and Marinette hated every moment of it. Hearing everyone talking about it, speculating what it meant and what had taken place– it was all just a painful reminder. She sat hunched in her desk, pretending that Alya wasn't talking her ear off right next to her, many of the class gathered around.

"What do you think, Marinette?" Alya asked, causing her to jump.

"I– I don't want to talk about it," she said quickly, not sure of what the question had been, but she had no intention of answering.

"I know you're not chatty about akumas, but this is different," she said, shoving her phone under Marinette's nose. Her eyes widened as she watched the video of her throwing Chat Blanc into the side of the building, an inhuman yowl escaping his throat. The air around her felt heavy, and she turned away.

The Miraculous Ladybugs hadn't healed him. She had seen the pain he was in last night. She didn't know why it hadn't affected him, but the last thing she wanted was for him to be in pain. She had hurt her partner and hadn't been able to heal him, he was attacking her and it was against his own will. She hadn't been able to help him, and she was afraid that she couldn't.