Heartstring ✅

Chapter 7

As soon as Chat Noir shut the trapdoor to her bedroom, Marinette felt her kwami nuzzle her cheek as she exclaimed, "Marinette! You're okay!"

She giggled, but her smile soon turned to a frown as she realised, "Oh no! I need to get Luka back, Tikki!"

Tikki nodded in understanding and replied, "Yes, you need to transform so you can capture the akuma. We have to wait for Plagg to charge, though."

Marinette pulled out a cookie from her purse, allowing her kwami to nibble into it as they waited for Chat Noir to transform again. As they waited, she pondered on how to free her friend Luka, and explain to her partner as to why she didn't help him - as Ladybug anyway.

Soon, he came down from her bedroom and came up to her. "Don't worry, me and Ladybug will get Luka back safe," he assured, making her smile in gratitude.

He gave her a two-fingered salute and began to make his way to a nearby window when she called, "Chat Noir?"

He turned to her, confusion in his eyes as she said, "I think the akuma is in the guitar pick around his neck, and it should be easy to break since he doesn't have any weapon to use."

Chat grinned at that and laughed awkwardly, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"Yeah, about that..." he chuckled. "I used my power on his heartstrings, but he has a sword that can create cracks in the ground."

She inwardly groaned, wondering how much harder it would be to break his possessed item even with the two of them.

"Stay safe, Chat Noir," she bid, sending him an, albeit nervous, smile.

"You too, Princess," he said, before jumping out of the open window he was perched on. A gust of wind blew into the room, making Marinette shiver and go over to close the window.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed. "Tikki, spots on!"

A skintight red suit formed over her body, covered in black spots that were evenly spaced out across her figure. A yo-yo materialised at her waist, as she now adorned a spotted mask and red ribbons.

She leaped into the sky, using her yo-yo to latch onto a chimney and swing in the direction of the visible wreckage. Cars were upturned, lampposts were fallen, and cracks were spread across the, now empty, roads.

In the distance, she noticed a figure clad in black leather charging at a person with vibrant blue hair. He wielded a sword, and swung it at every angle in an attempt to hit Chat Noir. Thankfully, his reflexes allowed him to dodge most of the lunges, but when his foot almost slipped off of the roof, Heartstring used the momentary distraction to his advantage.

The akuma roughly pushed Chat's hip with the hilt of his sword, making him double-over in surprise, giving him the chance to kick him in the stomach.

The blow blew him back at least a block, leaving him to land on his left arm. He let out a pained grunt, as a stiff feeling settled in his joints and his breathing became uneven.

Sprinting towards Heartstring, Ladybug catapulted herself up onto the roof he was on, following silently behind when Luka landed in front of the winded hero. He clutched his side, wincing as he pushed himself up.

"That's enough!" Ladybug intervened, realising the extent of the injury inflicted to her partner. She flung her yo-yo, wrapped it around Heartstring's waist, and then proceeded to fling him into the distance.

With the akuma out of sight, she scrambled to Chat Noir, picked him up and walked a short distance before easing him onto flat ground. Well, it was the flat roof of a building and his back was leaning on the chimney of it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help, Chat Noir," she apologised sincerely. "I got held up in my civilian life." It wasn't a complete lie, right?

"No sweat, Bugaboo!" he said, only to wince when the movement of his stomach sent pain rippling through him.

Ladybug pushed him back into the chimney gently and advised, "Be careful. We have to find a way to defeat the akuma, but if you're injured it would be a lot harder."

"That's the thing!" Chat exclaimed, trying to stand again, only to be nudged back down. "He's after a girl named Marinette, and judging by how angry he was after I took her to safety he's going to look for her soon."

As if hearing the conversation, the voice of Heartstring echoed, "Marinette! Where are you, my Melody? I need to keep you safe!"

Ladybug faintly blushed under her spotted domino mask, touched by how much Luka cared for her. In the distance, car alarms could be heard, and the ground began to slightly vibrate with the sound of rumbles.

"Right, I know what to do," Ladybug enthused, holding a hand for her partner to take. Graciously, he intertwined their fingers and winced as he stood.

"We need to lead him away from Marinette's bakery so that we don't have to worry about her when we fight the akuma," she explained in a confident tone.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Chat Noir agreed, only to wonder out loud, "How did you know where I left her?"

"Oh! U-Um...I just guessed, ya know? After all, she...she lives there, so I just assumed she was there," Marinette fumbled, attempting to come up with a reasonable excuse.

Thankfully, he only nodded and pulled out his baton. With a thoughtful expression he questioned, "Where should be lead him?"

She smirked and replied, "I'm thinking the Arc de Triomphe."