Amnesia [MARICHAT]

13

P A R T  T W O

Marinette. That was her name.

She sat in the hospital bed, listening half-heartedly to the man in the white doctor's coat, telling her all about how her memory loss was quite unusual, how he had never seen anything like it before, how it wasn't supposed to be possible. 

He gently informed her that she had been in an accident a few weeks prior and lost her memory - and how this was the second time she had forgotten everything. 

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng just couldn't bring herself to care. 

She had no life, and no one to lean on, and the only thing she knew was that she was Ladybug, hero of Paris.

But she could tell no one.

So she sat in that hospital bed for five days, blinking at the ceiling, no expression on her face when her biological parents introduced themselves to her for what the doctor said was the second time. The man and woman were in tears - utterly devastated to what had happened to their daughter, and Marinette had nothing to say but, "I'm sorry."

It was like they never heard her. They told her it wasn't her fault, that she had no reason to say sorry, but they had misunderstood. 

She meant, she was sorry they felt that way.

She didn't feel guilty about anything. It may have been her fault, but the thought was in the back of her mind.

No, she was angry. And she wondered if her past self had ever felt such rage, had ever contained such fury in her head and heart and had sat still in a white room, not saying a word. If Marinette of seven weeks ago had ever clenched her hands so hard that her own nails pierced her skin and made her bleed. 

And she wondered what she was like. If she was a nice person, if she was kind, or caring, or if she was hateful.

There was no way of telling, because all she felt about herself was that she loathed the world with such a passion, she knew there was no love in her heart. No for anyone.

Because she didn't remember. 

How was it fair? She wanted to scream. How was it fair that this had happened to her not once, but twice? What had she done to the universe to deserve such a fate? She would never get an answer to any of her questions unless she regained her memories. 

The doctor said that he had absolutely no idea if she would ever remember. It was as if she had asked a waitress - someone who knew nothing about medical practices. He was useless.

On the fifth day of her hospital stay, Tikki revealed herself. She flew from a bag of clothes her mother had left for her in place of the hospital garments, floating in the air like a bubble. SHe was surprised when Marinette did not freak out, when she looked at Tikki like she was normal.

Marinette explained that she remembered who Tikki was, but not any of their experiences.

Marinette told her all she knew.

I am a superhero named Ladybug.

I protect Paris from akumas.

I must find and defeat Hawkmoth. 

I have a partner named Chat Noir.

Together, Chat Noir and I have the powers of creation and destruction. 

You are a kwami.

Your name is Tikki. 

My earrings are a miraculous.

I must protect my miraculous. 

I must keep everything about Ladybug a secret, even from Chat Noir.

And I am in love with Chat Noir.

"What?" Tikki startled. "What do you mean, you're in love with Chat Noir?"

"I don't know," she told her. "I just... I am in love with him. That's all I know."

"But..." Tikki drifted down from midair, settling onto Marinette's lap. "But you aren't. You've never loved Chat Noir. You two have always been friends, and you were always obsessed with a boy in your class, Adrien Agreste." 

"Maybe I kept it a secret?" She suggested. 

"No - you weren't like that. When you got a crush on someone, you were really obvious about it. And you've never kept secrets from me. You were always annoyed by Chat's attempts to flirt with you." 

"He flirted with me?"

"With Ladybug, yes. He's in love with Ladybug. But after the accident, when you lost your memory the first time..."

"What?"

"He began seeing you a lot, Marinette. Without the mask. You hung out at your house and he told you about Ladybug, and he said that he didn't know if he still loved her anymore." 

Tikki floated to her pillow, and Marinette rolled onto her side to face the red creature. "Do you think that I fell in love with him after I lost my memory the first time?" she asked. 

"It's possible," said Tikki. "You two got along very well, and I think he started to fall for you a bit, too."

Mari sighed. "I'm so confused. I haven't even met this person but I know I'm in love with him." 

Tikki laughed. "Chat Noir is loyal, kind, respectable, and he would give his life for a civilian - which is a trait you don't find in people very often. He's an amazing person, and it's not a bad thing to love him. I think you should just see what happens, Marinette, and really decide for yourself if that's how you feel." 

"But isn't it dangerous to love him, with the mask and all? How could that ever work?"

"We'll see," Tikki smiled. "Anything is possible."

Well, that was certainly mysterious. "Why do you think this happened? There's no medical reason for it - and there's always a medical reason or this kind of stuff. Right?" 

"Yes," said her kwami. "It doesn't make any sense. Maybe it has to do with your miraculous?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you remembered certain things, and they were only about your miraculous. So maybe -" She gasped, suddenly, startling Marinette. "Maybe your miraculous resisted a -"

They both heard the squeak of a window opening at the same time, and Tikki zipped away into her bag on the floor on the other side of the room. It was dark - probably around eight o'clock, and the glass pane to her hospital room slid upwards, revealing a boy in a black suit. He slipped inside, closing the window behind him. 

The black cat had entered the playing field.