Summary:
Marinette suffers a depression after the disappearance of Adrien. Meanwhile a certain cat starts noticing things when it's too late.

Cleansing the Wounds

Prologue

The night sky of Paris was smeared by dark clouds that hid the bright stars like an ocean full of pearls. It was raining lightly and one could hear the pitter-pattering sound of the rain. Unfortunately, it perfectly reflected the atmosphere around a certain cat-boy and his beloved Ladybug.

He hurried to her side halfway through their nightly patrol. All night, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong with his lady and it made his ears droop down in discomfiture.

"Ladybug.. are you okay?" he asked.

There was silence. In the chill air, the vapors from both of their breath condensed into visible clouds.

His eyes shifted to a certain object held in her hands. A notebook. It was somewhat eerie to see his lady carry something else around other than her yo-yo. However, as intriguing as it seemed, he decided to ignore the object altogether and focused on the wellbeing of Ladybug.

"I'm fine." His lady said, but he was not convinced.

"I can tell you're not. Do you.. want to talk about it?"

"No," Her eyes were dark with pain and misery. Even though he could tell she was crying, his lady tried her best to hide how sad she really was. "I don't want to talk about it. It's very personal."

He sees through that mask of her. It was not difficult to notice. Because at that moment, she reminded him of himself.

He smiles at her, trying to lift the mood a little. "I understand. But, my lady.. keeping your feelings bottled up like that isn't going to help you. You know you can always talk to me about it."

She glances up at him with her gloomy eyes. "..I don't know.."

"I insist!" he kneels down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, we can't have you Akumatized now can we? What would I do without my lady around to cleanse them?"

"As if he'll be able to do that." She chuckled a little, slightly showing the characteristics he fell in love with.

She stopped sobbing, and wiped the tears off her face. "Perhaps I should talk to someone.."

He listened carefully. Her sad blue eyes look down at the city below, as thoughts drift away to a certain blonde boy. "There's a friend of mine, a classmate actually.. he's been missing for over a month now."

Ladybug waited for a reply.

Silence.

His hands trembled and something snapped in him. Suddenly, he was overridden by a sense of fear.

"Who.. who is that friend of yours?" he questioned.

There was a long pause. She hesitates. "…His name is Adrien Agreste."

His heart raced fiercely at the mention of his civilian-self. Many thoughts danced around his head and he was pretty sure he just lost one of his nine life's. The stand out thought being the fact that Ladybug knew him as his civilian self. She actually knew him. That's not all. They're even classmates.

Before he could try to connect the dots, his thoughts were interrupted.

"…Chat Noir?" Their eyes locked, she hoped for a response from her partner that would cheer her up. Even though Ladybug knew he was terrible when it came to certain.. cat puns. At the moment, she knew he was the only one who could really understand her.

"..Do you want to help me look for him?" she whispered and he felt hurt and regret on his own.

He shook his head. "…H-He's probably alright. Maybe he has his own reasons?"

Her heart sank and sad blue eyes lowered down. "At first, I thought so too. But it's been a month now! And- and…"

And what? He almost cried out.

"A few hours ago.. he's been proclaimed dead."

The last bit of smirk that had been present was completely gone now.

"What?" He cried. "I don't think that's true."

"I know you're trying to make me feel better here, but it's not helping."

"Has there been any prove yet?" he asked. Forcing himself to remain calm through all this. He wanted to burst apart. Yell at whoever came up with this outrageous rumor. He wanted to know what was going on.

His lady shook her head. "No. But nobody just leaves home for over a month. He's probably taken away.. maybe he's been kidnapped. I swear I should have just.. just.. done something! It's my fault!"

"No." he assured her. "That's not true. It is not your fault."

"You don't understand!" she protested and quickly shot up. "Adrien Agreste is the boy I have always been in love with! He's.. He's.. very important to me."

There was a silent chill in the air, one that crept into his body and rested deep inside his bones. Chat was so taken away by her words, he couldn't speak for a moment. When his senses came back, he realized the mess he was in.

"..I need to tell you something." He scratched the back of his neck.

But Ladybug gasped and covered her mouth. Trembling with fear as she realized her slip up. She was never meant to say that.

"I-I'm sorry!" She immediately turned around, and tried to make a run for it.

"Wait!" He rushed after her, and his hands clutched onto Ladybugs arm. Halting her.

"There's something I need to tell you! It's about that boy you just mentioned." He confessed.

Ladybug turned to look and her eyes widened as they met with his. He could tell she was incredibly scared. The usual proud and collected woman wasn't there to be seen, which was when he realized he had never seen her so vulnerable before.

Close by, a black butterfly fluttered its wings. It passed some buildings until it eventually moved straight at the girl in red. Chat titled his head, noticing a shadow passing him from the side.

"The Akuma?! Now!? Ladybu-!" he cried.

It was already too late.

The Akuma attached itself onto Ladybugs notebook and a purple butterfly-like mask glowed in front of her face. He cried for her, shook her, but in the end he couldn't get through. What else was there to do? He couldn't purify these cursed damn butterflies!

And then, a blob of dark energy instantly took over his lady. He had no choice but to back off, and helplessly moved a few steps back.

In front of him was no Ladybug. It was what had remained of her.