Chapter 21: Chapter 20: What Happened After
(Third person pov)
Marinette walked into her apartment, closed the door behind her, and fell to her knees. She was so tired. Her mind flashbacked to what happened after she and all her friends left Madarame's Palace. Yusuke was holding the painting as they stood outside of Madarame's house. They then left for the hideout. There, they had filled in Yusuke about the real goal of the Phantom Thieves. To get back at the rotten adults who wronged them and give the people hope. They also agreed to share the secret of their 'Miraculous' abilities with Yusuke after Madarame confessed.
Marinette smiled at those memories and got up to make dinner for herself and the other Kwamis. She searched in her kitchen and decided to make Udon (A/N: Udon is super good, I highly recommend it!). She also made the usual snacks for the Kwamis and got to eating. After dinner, Marinette did her homework, showered, and got ready for bed. She curled up in bed, thinking about Akira. She internally fangirled at the memory of him holding her close as they fought Shadow Madarame.
'I have fallen hard... but this time... I will do it right.' She thought as she slipped into unconsciousness.
(Marinette's pov)
'Where am I?' I thought. All I saw was darkness. I couldn't move... I couldn't open my eyes.
'Is this sleep paralysis?' I thought. Just then, I heard a muffled voice.
"He... Mar..." It said. The voice sounded feminine. It couldn't be Joan because the voice sounded like it belonged to someone around my age.
"Ca... he... us?" Another voice asked. A male voice this time. Again, it sounded like it was someone around my age.
"I... thin... she... ca..." Another different voice. It was a bit deeper than the last one.
"Wha... we... do?" The feminine voice asked. Why can't I make out what they're saying?
"W... ait... til... ca... us..." The deep voice responded.
"H... ong?" The male voice asked.
"Mon... may... bu... pai..." The deep voice said. Slowly, the voices became fainter and fainter.
I woke up in a cold sweat. I sat up and looked around, breathing heavily. I calmed down and eased my breathing. 'That dream... what was it about?' I thought. I looked over to the clock on my nightstand. According to it, the time was five in the morning.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki said sleepily from a pillow on my bed. She must have been woken up by me.
"It's okay, Tikki. I just had a weird dream." I told the Kwami. 'No use in going back to sleep... maybe I can work on some designs!' I thought. I did just that, sketching out a leather jacket based on Skull's jacket in the Metaverse (with a few tweaks and personal touches). By the time I had drawn a design that I was happy with, it was around six in the morning. I wanted to call one of my friends, to tell them about my dream. But, I decided against it. I don't want to bother my friends this early in the morning about my weird and probably unimportant dreams.
(Time skip! Brought to you by Ann feeding Pollen some honey!)
As I was walking to school, I noticed Akira walking nearby. When he looked towards me, I smiled and waved to him. I hope I wasn't blushing too much. I trotted over to him, and we began to chat a bit, ignoring the other students who were giving us strange looks.
"By the way, Mari-san." Akira started.
"Want to hang out after school?" He asked. He wants to hang out after school? That's amazing! I- Oh, crap! I have a call with Kagami and Luka after school! Whyyyyy! ;-;
"Sorry, I have a call with my friends back in France after school. Maybe this weekend?" I suggested.
"That sounds great! How about Saturday? Meet at your apartment?" Akira suggested.
"Sounds like I plan! I can't wait!" I said with a bubbly smile. We continued to talk as we made our way to class. The students around us continued to stare at us and whisper behind their hands. I wanted to tell them off! I ached to tell them that Akira was a human being, not something to be gawked at like some zoo animal. But I knew why they did what they did. When a person becomes known for something, that is the only thing they are remembered for.
(Third person pov)
As the days went by, things began to settle down for the Phantom Thieves. With the occasional trip to Mementos, the Phantom Thieves went back to their typical daily lives. Now... How about that thing on Saturday with Marinette and Akira?
"So, you made these yourself?" Akira asked between bites of a chocolate chip cookie. The two were in Marinette's apartment, sitting side-by-side in Marinette's kotatsu. They were snaking on cookies Marinette made earlier that day.
"Yes! My parents are bakers, after all!" Marinette responded, picking up a cookie.
"Wow! You really are a girl of many talents!" Akira said with a smile as he picked up another cookie.
"Thank you, Akira-kun," Marinette said. There was a pause.
"So... How are things with your cousin?" Akira asked. Marinette stiffened.
"You did contact her... right?" Akira asked, eyeing his blue-eyed friend.
"I... well... um..." Marinette stammered.
"You didn't so much as text her, did you?" Akira said, a neutral face of displeasure on his face.
"Nope..." Marinette squeaked with a small voice.
"Mari-san..." Akira sighed.
"I've been busy, okay!" Marinette tried to defend herself. But, she knew she was failing miserably.
"Alright. I know the whole thing with Yusuke and Madarame has you in a mood. But, still." Akira said.
"I know! I'm just... scared..." Marinette sighed.
"Marinette Dupain-cheng. You have faced down literal demons. Tell you what, I'll be here right by your side when you call her." Akira said.
"Really? Thank you, Akira-kun! What did I do to deserve a friend like you!" Marinette said a bright smiled on her face.
"Don't mention it! Now, get out your phone." Akira instructed.
"Wait, we're doing this now?!" Marinette asked, a little freaked out.
"Yes, the sooner you do this, the better you'll feel!" Akira said, a determined look on his face.
"But, it's like early morning in London where Bridgette lives! I can't call her at three am!" Marinette said.
"You can, and you will. Get your phone out. You'll thank me later." Akira said.
Marinette sighed, knowing that it is impossible to change Akira's mind on the matter. She got out her phone, and a few seconds later, Bridgette's contact information was on the screen. Marinette looked at her black-haired friend (/crush), Akira gave an encouraging nod to her. Marinette took a deep breath and tapped the call button.
Ring
Ring
Ring
"Hello?" Bridgette's tiered voice said out of Marinette's phone speaker.
(A/N: Yet another Cliffhanger! I'm so evil! Anyway, I'm thinking about doing a comic. I don't know if I should, though... so, I made a poll! The link is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgrEUF50K288D_T3GMXXt49MocCCbDqH_1oZRKR0tFGwAbEw/viewform?usp=sf_link. I hope you have enjoyed the chapter!)
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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