Noir sat up on his bed with a straight , dead quiet posture, completely relying on his newfound senses to perceive any movements or changes in his vicinity but he failed to notice any.
"That was unsettling..." Noir thought to himself, letting out a sigh of relief "But I think it's gone now…"
"I am going to be fine...I shall go to bed now, it's getting late"
He told himself while keeping a firm sense of belief and trust within himself, that whatever may come, he will face it with no fear, however his subconsciously clenched fists, face covered in cold sweat and dry gulps said otherwise.
The ephemeral yet interminable night passed for Noir. Nervous yet excited, he got ready with his backpack and proper attire to get going to the gymnasium.
Upon reaching the gymnasium, he saw his friends standing in the hall, waiting for his arrival so they could walk towards their class together.
"So how are you feeling now?" Liesel asked as they walked down the hall "Are your injuries doing better?"
"Well, I am doing better than yesterday," Noir said, taking a pause from walking, "so that's progress."
"Why did you stop?" Adrien asked noir in a subtle manner with slight concern "What's wrong?"
"This place feels empty..." Noir said with a lowered tone, as his eyes scrutinized the entirety of the hall and its horizon "Wasn't Elara supposed to come from today onwards?"
"I haven't received a text from her yet... it's alarming.." He said, his expression slowly turning ominous "Maybe we should go check up on the—"
He took a pause mid sentence as his eyes caught the merest glimpse of Elara, A huge wave of relief washed over him.
"There she is!!!!"
Noir spoke out all of a sudden in excitement at the sight of Elara.
"Look at the glow on his face."
Liesel smirked, poking Noir lightly.
"Well, he was waiting a long time to meet her after all."
Adrien said with a straight face, though worry for a certain someone still lingered beneath it.
"Heyyyyy, sorry we are late."
Elara rushed in and hugged Noir gently by his neck.
"What took you so long, Elara???"
Noir asked with concern, gently stroking her head.
"Oh, we came across some bothersome guys," Fumiko said with a mischievous smile, "don't worry, I beat them up."
"What?" Liesel looked at her, mesmerized "You beat them up???"
"Yeah," Elara added right after in a casual tone "they were some high schoolers trying to hit on me, Fumiko took care of them."
"The orange belt has gotten even stronger now, hasn't she?"
Noir said proudly with a bright smile, as if he had trained Fumiko himself.
Though, Noir's smile faded away as soon as he glanced at Adrien's apprehensive face.
"What's wrong?" He asked Adrien while closing into him a little "You seem to be pretty quiet now?"
"Nothing.."
Adrien said, though the glow on his face had already begun to fade.
"I just haven't received a text or a call from Clara since last night." He said as he sat down on a nearby bench "Something is terribly wrong…This gymnasium feels quite empty for me today..."
In the meantime, somewhere else in the city of Eisenberg,
A room nearly pitch dark and cold, lit barely by the thin layers of sunlight slipping in through the crevices of the window revealed two people standing in front of a chained woman.
One no taller than 5'11 and thin, another barely past 5'6 and slightly larger in size, both with black hair and distinctive hairstyle.
"FINALLY!"
The taller one spoke with a funky mannerism of voice, filled with excitement.
"After months of trying, I have got my hands on you thanks to this unnatural power."
He said while grabbing the chained woman by her collar.
"It's so unfair..." The shorter one complained to him "Why and how did you get such powers…I want them too!"
"Huff... Huff..."
The chained woman struggled to move even a bare muscle with the shackles around her.
"I will never forgive you..." The woman screamed at both of them "KERL... GEILER!!"
As she lifted her head, the light slipping from the crevices of the window illuminated her face slightly, exposing her flowing hair , brown eyes with distinct facial features, profoundly identical to someone whom Adrien holds very dear, Clara.
"Noir..."
Adrien's hands were shaking, the cause still unknown to Noir and rest of the group yet it could've easily been seen that it's from pure frustration and anger.
"I received a text from her friend."
End of Chapter 7