A/N

Hello! This is Miraculous Fanfic Lover back again. It's been a long time since I read any fanfics (Ok, two weeks maybe ;3 ) Unfortunately I had a funeral of one of my grandfather's so those weeks were hectic.

Anyways, as I had promised in my profile, 'The chase for the dolls' is on! This chase I hope will be purrety interesting and chapter 01 as you'll know was and is the exact same one I had wrote on chapter 03 of when will my ship sail so if you have read it feel free to skip to the next chapter where things spice up a little bit.

Enjoy...

A/N 2- Ok, so I updated all these chapters with a few good edits all thanks to GreenPaw! If there is any confusion please feel free to read from the beginning :)

I thank profusely, GreenPaw for helping in reviewing and editing this story despite his/her busy schedule... :)

*Rated T just to be safe *

A/N

"Marinette! You've got just 30 minutes left!" Alya called from the opposite end of their shared apartment. "Make sure you wear your mask!"

As if she would forget. Today was the day! The day of the annual masquerade ball being held by Marinette's college. But there was more to it this year, as in the twist to the competition to choose the best couple from the entire college. The new CATch… the staff would be randomly choosing partners and giving them time to learn about each other, after which the annual contest would begin.

Slipping in her decorative earrings, Marinette paused to take another look in the mirror at the masked costume she had designed herself. It was a beautiful red and black Ladybug inspired dress and her mask had been created with the same material. It was elegant and gorgeous.

Her roommate called out another reminder of the time.

"Coming!" Marinette replied, checking her dress one final time.

Alya grinned the moment her best friend emerged from her room. "You look gorgeous, Marinette. Now, if the lady in the red would be kind enough," she stated with dramatic flair and a wave to the doorway.

Marinette tried to hold back her smirk as she played up to her friend's antics. "Oh, I will. Let's go!"

Excitement pulsed through her veins. Today was a wonderful day. Which would only get better if she managed to gain Adrien as her partner. That would be the best!

"Adrien. Remember, you should be on your best behaviour and wear the costume which Mr. Agreste designed," Nathalie stated with cool indifference.

"The warrior one? Sure Nathalie, I will." Adrien deadpanned, having absolutely no intention of doing so, at least once he'd escaped the confines of his home.

Gabriel Agreste had designed Adrien's outfit himself. It was a warrior's costume and had absolutely no mask! Much to the young man's annoyance. Adrien had insisted that he wanted to blend in with the others at college but his father was not buying it. Gabriel just shrugged him off with the comment, "We are Agreste's and we are different." Yeah right!

Adrien had kept his mouth shut, inwardly protesting. He was not giving up either. Little did his father know, the blonde had been fashioning his own costume on the sly. One which was not as fancy as anything Gabriel would create but was to Adrien's own taste.

As soon as he reached the college he quickly crept into the nearest restroom. Adrien himself had designed the costume with great difficulty. Thank goodness for the internet. Ditching his father's creation, Adrien switched his outfits. Now he wore the black cat costume, which he'd accessorised with a small cat bell, along with his customised mask.

With a roguish smirk and confident swagger, the blonde wondered to himself,Now, who will be my puurincess?

Upon the stage, Cammela, the senior head announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, now it's time to seek out your partners! Madam Bustier will give you a chit and you will have find the lady or gent with the matching chit. We will give you one hour to get to know each other and then we will start the contest."

Adrien was handed his individual chit, and on it was boldly written "LN".He was really excited to know who his partner would be. Soon almost everyone had paired up but it seemed that his lady was still missing, scanning the mass of participants he failed to see any solo ladies. Hence, he did the only thing which came to his mind. Shouting out, "LN! Who is LN?"

On the other side of the room, Marinette received her chit from Madam Bustier which also read, "LN".

"LN, what does that mean?" Mari thought.

As if someone was reading her mind, a male voice shouted from the opposite side of the crowd, "LN! Who is LN?"

"Over here!" Marinette shouted back as she adjusted her mask and headed to where the sound came from. Weaving her way through the throng of people, she inwardly hoped the person calling out was Adrien. But the moment she spotted the man wearing a black cat costume and holding the chit "LN" in his hand her heart sank. Adrien would never wear something so ordinary. Oh! This day was going to be awful!

"Hello there," the man said, reaching for her hand as he attempted to kiss her knuckles but Marinette was not having any part in it.

He startled as she abruptly pulled away from his grasp. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He straightened and recomposed himself with a polite smile. "Well... Hi! I'm Chat... Chat Noir," the ma- Chat Noir beamed with pride.

Marinette stared at him in puzzlement for a moment. "Oh! It's ok. You know that we can reveal our real names, don't you?"

"I do! But in my case, No! It will be better for my identity to remain a secret," Chat sighed.

While his request was a little odd, Marinette decided it was a bit of harmless fun. "Well then Chat Noir, this sounds interesting. Let's make a deal."

Chat's eyes widened in surprise at this. "What exactly?"

Marinette gave him a small smirk. "How about we both conceal our identities? To be honest, I didn't want to reveal my name to a complete stranger. So this works for me too."

"Hmm... Okay, but what's in it for you?" Chat questioned, while tapping his chin with a gloved finger.

"Nothing much," Mari giggled.

"I see young lady. You already know that I am Chat Noir... so... what should I call you?"

Marinette's lips pulled together in a thoughtful pout. "Um… Let's see…"

Elsewhere in the room, a girl with a butterfly costume had a vindictive matter on her mind. She zeroed in on two particular lovebirds, intent onmaking a huge scene. Even while masked and in costume, Marinette was sure it was Lila Rossi who began taunting Luka and Kagami. The couple were hard to trouble but Lila was the queen of bullying.

"Oh look, it's the emo boy from a broken home," Lila began, "And the ice queen girl with an invalid mother. A pair of misfits trying to make themselves whole. What a joke. Oh dear, Luki and Kags, what are you two doing at this party? No one wants losers like you here. Then again, it's kind of entertaining since you totally suit each other!" Lila didn't hold back her loud cackle as she looked around expectantly for support from her peers.

Marinette's fists curled until her knuckles whitened. She couldn't just stand there watching her friends getting bullied. Could she? As much as she shied away from situations like this as her normal self, this costume seemed to give her a new found confidence. "Excuse me?" she snapped, drawing Lila's attention.

Lila turned with an expression of distaste curling her lip as she looked up and down at Marinette's costume. "And what are you supposed to be? A ladybug?"

The girl beamed proudly. "This outfit was designed by yours truly and it WAS inspired by ladybugs. However, I'm not interested in discussing my dress with you." Squaring her shoulders, Marinette got to the point. "How dare you insult my friends and act as though you are somehow superior. Belittling others isn't the way to impress people. In fact, you've just done the opposite. So, pick up your attitude and go GET LOST! The exit is to your right, now use it!"

All smugness dropped from Lila's face as she blinked at Marinette in shock. Her only response was a dumbfounded, "Huh?"

No one had stood up to Lila earlier. Yet it was clear that everyone supported Marinette's reprimand. The whole area was applauding this mystery lady in red as Lila stormed through the hall cursing said lady under her breath.

But Lila's humiliation was increased as she neared Chat Noir and he noted that the bully was headed in the wrong direction. "She said to your right, not left. And don't you dare to do that to anyone again." His words were matched by a very cold stare which made Lila want to leave immediately.

Determined to retaliate, Lila spun back around to have the last word but unexpectedly slipped over in her haste, taking Marinette and Chat Noir with her as she fell to the ground. Lila scrambled back on her feet and scurried away like a cockroach escaping a well-lit room.

Chat Noir had taken the brunt of Marinette's fall, cradling her in his arms as he lay on his back. A blush stained Marinette's face as she quickly stood, offering her hand to Chat Noir to help him up.

He took her hand without hesitation and continued to hold onto it as he spoke with admiration. "That was a great amount of courage you had there, um..."

"Ladybug, call me ladybug." Mari – Ladybug replied standing back up. "You too, Chat. I never knew cats could do such awesome death glares." She chuckled.

"Oh, I have many talents, M'lady," he smirked with a waggle of his masked eyebrows. "Now we have a contest to win."

After the run-in with Lila, Marinette didn't really want to stay any longer. "I'm sorry, I think I should go now. I've had enough drama for one day. I can't stick around for the contest with you but hope you find another girl." She said waving a hand at the black cat while heading towards the exit.

Chat Noir opened his mouth to reply, but she was already out of earshot. "You're kidding me? Another girl?" The idea was unthinkable, even though they'd spent very little time together, Ladybug had made an impression on Chat Noir he was unlikely to forget. She was brave, beautiful and made his heart pound. "We may not have participated in 'best couple' but surely, we will be M'lady," Chat murmured to himself,"Whoever is behind that mask, I love her and we will be a couple."

"Chat Noir," Marinette uttered with a dreamy sigh as she exited the doorways and headed towards her car to get some rest. She wasn't leaving Alya behind. Her best friend was having fun with Nino as she had lucked out and got his chit number. Funnily enough, his costume did little to hide his identity and she knew without a doubt that he was going to give Alya a ride home.

But Marinette's mind wandered back to her feline partner. "He is so awesome. Surely, I'm in love with whoever is behind that mask." Lost in thought, she dug her hand into her pockets as she daydreamed about him. Suddenly her hand caught onto something. Pulling the item free, she stared at an intricate lifelike doll. A doll who announced, "Hi, I'm Tikki!"

"Aaah! A mouse!" Marinette screamed