Chapter 38: Alibaba; Friend or Foe?

(Marinette's pov)

The next day, I woke up to a text message from the group chat. It was Ryuji with a photo from the firework festival. Yusuke was on the right; only half of him was visible. Ann and Makoto were walking down the stairs, looking back at the camera. I was in the background waving everyone down with my bright smile. I smiled and saved the photo to my phone, making a mental note to print it out later. I sighed and started to get ready for the day.

(Time skip brought to you by That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime! Great anime! Good watch!)

Huh... I did pretty well on the exams! I saw that I was in the top 30. I looked at the top ten and saw Akira in there! I cheered in my head, proud of my friend. I made a mental note to give him some cookies later. I felt my phone vibrate and took it out. It was a text on the group chat. Mishima is a dead-end, Makoto's sister as well, no leads... great... I sighed.

"What to do..." I muttered.

The next couple of days were uneventful, only more dead ends and work. But, on the 20'th, after school, Akira showed us something. Text messages from a person called Alibaba.

"Considering the fact he mentioned stealing hearts, he knows, doesn't he?" Ryuji said.

"How were we found out?" Yusuke asked.

"They may have traced our chat log..." Makoto said.

"That shouldn't be possible... we would know if there was someone in the chat," I said.

"And even if they did read the chat, how could they have known about it?" I said.

"Do you think there is another cause?" Yusuke asked.

"That's the feeling I'm getting," Makoto said.

"Is it that easy to look at someone's chat log?" Ann asked.

"Anything is possible... I know that from experience... Perhaps they are hiding in plain sight?" I mused.

"Maybe... but why is Akira getting an error when he replies?" Ann asked.

"Perhaps the receiving end doesn't exist?" Makoto suggested, tapping the dragon Miraculous around her neck.

"That's possible?!" Ryuji asked.

"We don't know all the answers; we can only guess..." I said.

"Wait... could Alibaba be a hacker?" Yusuke asked.

"Wait, a hacker?!" Ryuji said.

"I don't get high-tech stuff! What does this all mean?" Morgana asked from Akira's bag.

"An unknown hacker contacted us!" Ann said.

"I see. I don't really get it." Morgana said.

"Then, is this person Medjed?" Yusuke asked.

"That's unlikely... Alibaba said that they want to "deal" with Medjed..." I said.

"I agree with Mari-san, if we take their words at face value, that is..." Makoto said.

"True..." Yusuke said.

"Hey... wouldn't it be great if we got this guy on our side?" Ryuji said.

"Let's calm down, Ryuji-kun. We don't know anything about them. How do we know if we can trust them?" I said.

"I don't think it's a bad deal, though..." Ryuji said.

"Even if Alibaba turns out to be a criminal? I am not helping anyone of that sort." Yusuke said.

"Oh, right. That wouldn't be good..." Ryuji said.

"The "I've prepared the necessary tool" part makes no sense either," Morgana added.

"Could this just be a prank?" Ann said.

"I doubt it... Alibaba knows too much for this to be a prank..." I said.

"I just thought that myself!" Makoto said.

"If they know who we are, won't we get caught?" Ann asked.

"If Alibaba wanted to report us, they would've done it the moment they found out," I said.

"They must have some sort of objective of their own. Alibaba did offer us a deal." Yusuke said.

"It'd be best if we stay together. If something happens, we can act at once." Makoto said.

"Yeah. So, somewhere we can wait and hide for long hours..." Ann said.

"How about LeBlanc?" Makoto said.

"I was just thinking that!" I said.

"Alright, let's go," Akira said. We all nodded.

(At LeBlanc)

We walked into LeBlanc; I liked the place. It was quiet, plain, a little dirty, but pleasant. Sojiro was leaning against the counter, looking over some mail. He looked up at us and looked surprised.

"Oh? What's with the big group?" Sojiro asked.

"Good evening!" Ann greeted.

"Good evening, Monsieur Sojiro! We were hoping to put together some summer plans here if that is alright with you." I said.

"Hm? Is that a new face I see?" Sojiro asked.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Makoto Nijima. I hope we're not a bother," Makoto said.

"She's our student council president," Ryuji said.

"Nijima?" Sojiro repeated.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked.

"Nah, it's nothing," Sojiro said, shaking his head.

"A student council president, eh? I'm stunned. I hope he's not causing you too much trouble." Sojiro said, gesturing to Akira. Why did he change the subject so quickly?

"I'm Sojiro Sakura, but everyone calls me Boss." Sojiro continued.

"By the way, that was addressed to you," Sojiro said, gesturing to the letter on the counter. Sojiro then excused himself and left the store. We sat down and started to chow down on some snacks we brought as we talked. Later, a news broadcast caught our attention. It was about Medjed and their response to our silence. I pulled out my phone and checked the website.

"There is a message, but I can't read it that well since it's in English," I said, squinting at my phone.

"I'll read it!" Ann said.

"The Phantom Thieves remain silent at our question. This proves we are just. People of Japan, wake up. You must not worship the Phantom Thieves." Ann read.

"What! That's Bullsh*t!" Ryuji raged.

"Keep listening." Yusuke told Ryuji.

"We will discipline any who worship them. The punishment is the confiscation of possessions. We are Medjed, we are unseen, we will eliminate evil... That's what it says..." Ann finished.

"What does it all mean?!" Ryuji asked.

"They're saying they'll target sympathizers of the Phantom Thieves," Makoto explained.

"The nerve... They would attack innocents because of what?! That they believe in our message? That they support our justice? Oh... they want war... let's give them war..." I said with rage.

"Careful, Mari-san. Your evil aura is leaking again." Ann said.

"Right... I need to calm down..." I said, taking a deep breath.

"Confiscation of possessions, hm?" Yusuke asked.

"Perhaps bank accounts or personal information... either way, it won't be anything pleasant. Mari-san, calm down. You look like you're going to go feral." Makoto said. I took another deep breath; I can rage all I want later.

"I'm with Mari here! Why the h*ll are we being singled out?!" Ryuji said.

"Perhaps all they care about is labeling the Phantom Thieves as crooks. That all this wouldn't have happened had the Phantom Thieves not existed." Makoto said.

"That's complete Bullsh*t!" Ryuji raged.

"I agree. We only want justice! Not this!" I said.

"Talk about a troublesome organization that we've been targeted by..." Morgana meowed.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Ann asked.

"I hate to say it... but perhaps we should take up Alibaba on their offer..." I suggested. Everyone looked shocked at my statement.

"Mari-san... is that wise?" Yusuke asked.

"What other choice do we have? Akira, let's open the letter; maybe it's from Alibaba..." I said. To my surprise, Akira actually did what I said.

"A calling card?" Morgana said, examining the contents of the envelope.

"Who is it from?" Ann asked. I picked up the envelope as Akira set down the red card.

"It doesn't have a return address nor a stamp that I can see. It must have been delivered directly." I said, setting the envelope down.

"Could it have been Alibaba?" Yusuke asked.

"It's a possibility," Makoto said.

"They did say that they prepared the necessary tool..." Morgana said.

"What does this all mean?" Ryuji asked.

"It means we wait for Alibaba's next move," I said.

"Oh, dear..." Ann said.

(Time skip! Brought to you by Longg helping Makoto with her work!)

As I lay in bed that night, I consulted Joan of Arc for her opinion.

"Mon Cheri, you are up against a powerful foe. You have dealt with worse... why do you ask for my words?" She asked in my head.

"You are a legendary saint and a past holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. I just want your opinion." I asked.

"Well, this Alibaba could be a powerful ally. While I wouldn't trust them entirely, I would trust them enough to help," Joan said.

"I see. Thank you, Joan." I said, settling down to sleep.

"Until you need me in the battlefield, mon fleur..." Joan's voice said, fading away. I smiled and fell asleep.

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(A/N: Well... I guess I have my writing Mojo back! Also, if you want to submit fanart, I have a Tumblr! Here: https://justatimidcreator.tumblr.com/ Also, more art! It's a bit of a redesign for Marinette's Phantom Thief attire!)