Chat Blanc ✅

Chapter 15

"Luka Couffaine, here is the miraculous of the Snake, which grants the power of Second Chance, and you will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you must return the bracelet to me. Can I trust you?"

The guitarist stared at the box his friend held up, and took it with no hesitance. He lifted the carved lid up, and was met with a turquoise orb of light materialising at his side.

After a few seconds, it disappeared to reveal a blue kwami reminiscent of a serpent.

"Are you sure that I should use this again? Chat Blanc already knows my identity from when I first wore it when fighting Desperada."

"I know," she admitted with a sigh. "But it's the only protection I can grant you right now. You're the True Holder for the Snake, and your heart resonates the best with it. Maybe in the future we can work on changing your suit so that Hawk Moth can't recognise you if Chat reveals your identity later."

Luka nodded, picking up the jewellery, before connecting the two ends of it around his wrist.

Marinette scooped up Tikki from her shoulder, watching as she finished munching on a cookie. Then, the girl questioned, "You ready?"

"Of course!" the god enthused, floating into the air. "Sass?"

"Yesss, I am ready to assist."

The female turned to Master Fu, bidding, "I'll see you after we save Chat Noir."

The Guardian nodded. "I have faith in you, Marinette."

She smiled, and walked towards the wooden door to exit. Luka followed, and with a few final waves goodbye, they soon stepped out onto the streets of Paris.

~*~*~

A quiet growl pierced through the air, as a figure in white narrowed his icy blue eyes in anger. He stood up from his perch, lept onto a certain balcony, and pulled open the hatch.

Immediately, the scent of bread and sweets wafted into his nostrils, causing his dilated orbs to set and a sigh to escape his lips. He landed on the bed beneath him, then leaned his head over it to see around the whole room.

Mannequins were placed to the sides nearby to a spotted chaise, where his past visits had been spent lounging and lazing on its surface. Lingering sunlight filtered through the circular window embedded in one of the walls.

The ears atop Adrien's head flicked. His belt tail whipped the blanket he had now stood up from. Sharp fangs glinted as a snarl tore through his lips.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, Chat Blanc, but you need to find Ladybug."

Chat grunted at the voice echoing in his mind, and denied, "No I don't - my Princess is more important. Besides, do you see the pest about?"

He furrowed his brow, and the symbol in front of his face flickered before disappearing. Then, with a simple thought, he prevented the villain that had once possessed him from being able to see through his eyes.

The akuma flexed his claws. He tilted his gaze up to the trapdoor above. Soon after, his legs sprung him up high, leaving him soaring through the air and down to the ground.

A baton saved his fall. It extended to help him scower around the city, with his heightened senses being utilised.

That was when a Wi-Fi pole from an apartment building caught his attention. Chat Blanc jumped to the top of it in an easy movement, and perched.

He tilted his head in all directions whilst scanning about. Not many were out at the time, as the sun was soon about to set, and give way to the moon.

That made him growl again. His pointed fingers dug into the metal at his feet, and bubbles of white began to form on his hands.

All of a sudden, his pinned cat ears twitched, and Adrien froze. Narrowed eyes snapped to a structure far below. Their irises slit.

~*~*~

"So, she just called it a day?"

"Yeah!" Marinette replied, holding her hand in front of her face to smother her chuckles. "Whenever I ask her why, she always gets so embarrassed."

Luka smiled slyly. "I think I know why."

The girl blinked up at him with innocent eyes. "Really? But this is Kagami we're talking about."

He let out a laugh. "Well, it's obvious, really. I think she has a cru-"

Their conversation was cut off by a hiss nearby, and the teens both glanced up to where the source was. There, atop a lamppost ahead, was Chat Blanc staring, enraged, at their intertwined hands.

"Chaton..." Marinette breathed on instinct.

The akuma turned to her at the quiet nickname, and his irises slowly expanded to a size bigger than usual. However, they soon turned back into slits as Luka took hold of one of her arms.

"You..." he growled, landing on his two feet on the pavement below. "I've had enough. I need to protect you, Princess, and he's stopping me from doing that."

"I don't need protecting!" she exclaimed. "Or saving! You do, Chat. Just give me the akumatized object, I'm sure that I can find Ladybug so she can de-evilize you."

The female held a hand out, and moved closer with a pleading expression. Adrien did the same, and he soon found himself stalking to right in front of her.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he whispered softly. "After all, who can keep you safe without Chat Blanc around?" There was an edge to his tone, as he carried on, "Certainly not Couffaine."

With that, he stepped back, and whipped out his staff. Marinette watched as the tip of it glowed a bright purple, before he pressed the paw-shaped button on the hilt of the weapon.

Her eyes widened, but she had no time to process what happened.

Since a person pushed her body to the side, and violet instead enveloped Luka, who had been the one to save her from the hit.

"Luka!"

A cackle heaved Chat's chest. "That was meant for my Princess, but now that I think about it..."

He tapped at his chin with a finger, then grinned whilst twirling the baton in his grip. He leaned it across his shoulder.

"...I can use this to my advantage."

The heroine could only watch with a worried look, as her friend turned to face her. Though what made her quietly gasp and step back a few feet wasn't his blank features.

Rather, it was the fact that his eyes were a different colour.

A bright, ruby red.