Miraculously Unrequited

Chat Noir POV

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Jumping from house to house, I lose her after running into a stupid billboard?! Just my luck honestly, I can't even keep track of a bug let alone see a huge picture of myself in front of me!

In my defeat, I slumped on a gargoyle and looked at the streets below me to see none other than Mari walking into a dojo. I jumped down a few flights to land on a flagpole and get a closer look. "Does Marinette know karate?" In contempt, I decided to wait until her practice was over to make sure she got home safe, like the good superhero I am! But after over an hour of watching people walk in and out who weren't her, I got a little annoyed.

Jumping down into an alleyway, I detransformed and walked into the building. I turned a corner and bumped into an older woman with ginger hair and green eyes. "Oh uh, Je suis désolé madame. I didn't see you there."

She looked down and said hastily, "Tá tú ceart go leor, ní raibh mé ag tabhairt aire!" I didn't recognize the language and turned to ask what it was, but she was already gone. Shaking off the odd encounter I went on my way to looking for Mari.

Knocking on all doors I could, all I was ever interrupting were a teacher and maybe two or three students. One of the last ones I was about to knock on swung open before I had the chance. I looked around and saw a short yet familiar man standing in the doorway. He smiled up at me with his hands behind his back and said, "are you here for the free meditation lessons?"

I stared at the small man confused with a sort of déjà vu feeling in the back of my mind. "Uh sure, my name is Adrien." I took out my hand for him to shake, but instead, he smiled and motioned for me to step inside.

"Please sit on the mat, to ready yourself for the first exercise."

I obediently sat down and looked around the room. There wasn't much, just a few plants and ancient Chinese or Japanese art across the walls. There was only one table with candles scattered around an old music player.

The small old man sat criss-cross across from me while softly closing his eyes and motioning for me to do the same. As I did, a strong scent of lavender wafted through the air and surrounded us. I wanted to open my eyes to see where it was coming from but I felt relaxed and more tired. Struggling to stay awake, I could feel myself beginning to sway until I heard a small ding making my back go pin-straight and my eyes fly open.

"The free fifteen-minute session is over. For the next few days, you'll feel quite the boost of natural energy so you will not need coffee or energy drinks. Please consider coming again." The old man bowed his head and before I knew it, I was already outside his room with the door closing behind me.

Looking around I looked at my phone and realized I was going to be late for a modeling gig. "I should've just gone home after the attack!" Looking around I ran towards the direction of the spot. After a few blocks, I realized I wouldn't get there on time by foot. "Plagg claws out!" Sticking my hand in the air, I waited for the green flashing lights but saw and felt nothing. "Plagg? This isn't funny, I'm really going to be late!"

Opening every pocket I had, Plagg was nowhere to be seen. Lifting up my hand to the sky in my dramatic panic, I saw my ring was gone as well. I fell to my knees and held my face in despair then remembered that I could just retrace my steps.

Picking up my bag and all the papers I dumped out of it, I ran back to where I came from but the dojo wasn't there. Instead, it was a small grocery store. In my panic, I threw open the doors and looked around to see people with carts walking up and down aisles picking food off of shelves. "Maybe I'm just going crazy..."

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Master Fu POV

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As I stood to light incense that would help dull his senses, Adrien sat obediently down on the mat with his eyes closed. I stood next to the table waiting for the oils to take effect on him so I could slip off his ring without him realizing.

I really believed you to be the chosen one for the Cat miraculous, but I guess my senses are dwindling from my old age.

He began to sway back and forth telling me that he was at his weakest point where he wouldn't feel his ring being taken off. Putting out the incense, I slowly walked over to him and slipped off his ring. "Thank you for your service Chat Noir." After that, I put the ring away in my secret compartment in the record player and grabbed a small gong to wake Adrien from his trance.

His eyes snapped open while his back became pin-straight. In his awakening, as he stood up I casually pushed him out of the room so I could begin to pack everything up. "The free fifteen-minute session is over. For the next few days, you'll feel quite the boost of natural energy so you will not need coffee or energy drinks. Please consider coming again."

As soon as Adrien left, Wayzz flew out with a panicked expression, "but master, what if he comes back before we leave? How will you be able to explain the dojo being packed up?"

I kept racing around the room and yelled commands through the door telling everyone to hurry as I explained to Wayzz what was happening, "he won't be able to find us again for a few more days. The oils he breathed in cause confusion and short term memory loss, so even if he wanted to find us, he couldn't."

"So why are we moving then?"

"We're not, we just can't use the alias of a dojo anymore, if he sees this building in the future he'll want answers so we're just changing into a massage clinic." I swung open the door again holding the plants in my hand and walked across the hall to pull out flowers, massage rocks, oils, and lotion.

Wayzz sat on the table a little confused then looked at me again to ask the one question I didn't have an answer to, "so if not Adrien, then who will be wielding the Cat miraculous with Ladybug?" I looked at him sitting there next to the other miraculous and sighed.

"I really don't know, but it'll have to be someone I see potential in more than once. They need to be trustworthy, kind, loyal, heroic but most of all, they need to be able to keep their secrets and promises." I looked to the ceiling and whispered, "even if it means lying to everyone their close with."

"If you found a Ladybug like that, I'm sure you can find a Chat Noir." He flew up to me and bowed then went into the music player.

Without any more time to waste, I headed out onto the street to search for a new Chat Noir that will be reliable enough to keep this persona a secret.