Scars DISCONTINUED.

17

When Marinette walks into the building she's dizzy. The world feels like it's spinning around her and she almost falls when an older gentleman grabs her arm and steadies her. "There you go, come over here and take a seat." He guides her over to a mat on the floor and has Marinette sit down, immediately placing a cup of tea in her hands.

She doesn't know why the dizzy spell had suddenly popped up, she guessed she could chalk it up to exhaustion but it felt wrong to be in the parlor. Like she was overstepping a boundary she didn't know she had set.  The old man sits in front of her, a steady hand still on her arm.

"Drink, it'll settle you." He says, joining her.

Marinette should be more wary of strangers, but she drinks from the cup immediately. Besides, the voice had told her to ask for tea anyway. They hadn't led her astray yet. They wouldn't. The old man's promise is good as the spinning stops and Marinette is able to see straight again. "Thank you sir," she says and takes another sip of the drink. "It is no problem my dear. What brings someone so young to my shop?" Fu asks. His eyes are kind and there's a smile on his face but Marinette clocks his wary body language immediately.

There's a jade bracelet on his wrist, dazzling and gleaming as the sunlight hits it. Marinette feels an itch in her hand so she clenched and unclenches it to steady it. Not yet.

"Ladybug's kwami brought me here." She says causally and Tikki pops her head out and waves at the old man. "Oh. Oh my. Do you have the ladybug miraculous?" He questions. His eyes have gone wide and he looks a little worried. "No sir, Chat Noir has the ladybug miraculous currently." The Master nods, relief evident and clear in his body language. He did not want her to have a miraculous.

"As nice as it is to have you here young miss, why has Tikki brought you here and how do you know about her?" He asks and Marinette smiles. "Chat Noir visits me, I only just found out that sometimes he brings Tikki with him. He hasn't been doing the best since Ladybug abandoned Paris," Fu winces, "and the akumas stopped appearing. He's been mean to Tikki, so she's been staying with me for a couple of days."

Fu nods and looks over at Tikki who is talking to Wayz. The turtle kwami and it's holder lock eyes and the kwami shakes his head. "I see, and why did you take Tikki in? Surely you would not want all the responsibility of hiding a cosmic creature without the jewelry to wield that power yourself?" He asks subtly, raising a cup of tea to his lips.

Marinette shrugs. "I don't need power, I just wanted to make sure she's safe. She hasn't been doing the best since Ladybug disappeared either." Marinette says in a hushed voice. Master Fu looks so so sad at that statement.

And it's true, she didn't need the power. She didn't even want it, no no a much more delicious prize was waiting for her.

"Ladybug has been gone for a while now. It's been almost four months with no sign of her return. Truthfully we do have the ladybug miraculous, and while we should bring in a new holder into the field, Hawkmoth has not been active for some time.

"Chat Noir and I still hold onto the hope that Ladybug will return to reclaim her place among the holders." The old man says. "That's stupid." Marinette says angrily, her temper getting the best of her manners, and Fu looks up in confusion. There's really no reason for her to be crying, but as she begins to argue with him Marinette has tears in her eyes and her cup shakes in her hand so she puts it down. Everyone always thought the best of Ladybug, it was stupid. "Ladybug left you, left all of Paris to defend itself because she's selfish. Why do you want her to come back so much? If she was good then she wouldn't have left in the first place."

Tikki floats over to Marinette and hugs her. "It's okay Marinette. Nobody blames her." She says and Marinette turns on her angrily like a wounded animal that's been trapped by a predator. "But they should blame her!" She yells and stands up. Tikki flinches at the anger in Marinette's voice and the flame flickers out of the girl's chest upon seeing it. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Or yell." Fu watches her with careful eyes and takes another sip of his tea.

"No, no I can see why you would think that. From an outsiders perspective it does seem that way." Marinette nods, glad to see that somebody understands. "However, I knew Ladybug personally. We were very close, and it saddens me now that I can never speak to her on my own again. She was a very good friend. She was anything but selfish. She was scared and tired and angry.

"And I have never blamed her for it." The master takes another sip of his tea even as Marinette stands up and leaves the building, Tikki hot on her trail.

She walks for a long time, shoving her hand in her pockets and flipping her hoodie up over her head as she weaves in between people. This felt good, walking. Well, not physically, her ankles and feet hurt. But she kind of liked the pain, liked the way it felt like a punishment when she tried to walk or run away from something she didn't like. The massage parlor had been nice, comforting even, but she hadn't gotten the information she wanted. And she clearly wasn't meant to go there. It felt like an itch in her spin the moment she walked in, she knew somehow she wasn't meant to be there. Forbidden almost.

And that old man, what was he playing at? Telling he what she wanted to hear and then telling about what a hero Ladybug was? How dare he, how dare he try to tell her that she was good, that she had the city of Paris first in her mind when she just- just LEFT!

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki whispers, hiding in Marinette's hair as she ducks into a side alley and throws her bag against a wall. "She just LEFT Tikki! She left, and yeah sure there hasn't been a villain actively attacking Paris since, but STILL! Even if there were what would we do? NOTHING! There hasn't even been a new Ladybug chosen since she just abandoned everyone. It's like they're some abused kid still vouching for their deadbeat parents!"

Marinette turns and punches a wall, grunting and grumbling some curses when her knuckles give a sickly pop and quickly swell. "Mother fucker!" She yells as she tries and moves her fingers to no avail. "Oh my goodness Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki yells and zooms over to hover worriedly near Marinette's broken fingers.

"It's whatever! Don't worry about it!" She says as she doubles over and accidentally bumps her forehead into the wall. "This sucks!" She yells as she walks around and presses her back against the other side of the alley, sliding down it to sit down. Blood bubbling begin to rise from her skin as the knuckles and fingers turn a sickly purple and green, swelling thickly.

Marinette buries her face in her arms as she brings her knees up to her chest. Taking solidarity in the sound of the nearby cars and throbbing in her hand.

Words: 1290

Authors note:
Hey guys, it's been a hot minute. I'm very sorry for not updating. I haven't been very motivated recently and I've been working a full time job while still in high school, plus I have track and theater practice and now I'm having to pay off my car because a lady T-bones my old car while I was at a stop sign and totaled it with me in it. Who the fuck goes 75 mph on a 45 and then doesn't even get out of their to check on the person they hit? I was trapped in the car for half an hour before being rushed to a hospital an hour away. I had glass in the back of my head, a busted lip and a bloody nose but other than that I was fine physically. Mentally is a different story but I'm trying to fix up a schedule to be able to post more regularly for y'all. Again I am very sorry and I will be finishing this book. Thank you all for your patience and have a wonderful day/night.