Chapter 3: En garde!
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Summary: Riposte AU but with a different plot.
Ever since Marinette was 6, she had taken an interest in fencing. The first time she saw them, she was amazed by their swiftness and precision, especially on how they advanced on each other. She always had a thoughtful look as her eyes held excitement whenever she saw them train or fight.
She asked her parents if they could enroll her in some classes, and they were a little skeptical at first but then decided to give it a shot.
M. D'Argencourt took an interest in her after a week of practice, seeing the potential the girl had within her. She may be a bit clumsy, but she was just a beginner. With time and practice, everything will get better. Over time she got better and annihilated her opponent's left and right.
As the years passed, she also had an interest in fashion design. Sure she loves fencing, but why can't she have two different hobbies? It's tiring, but it was all worth it for her.
Her friends didn't understand it at first. Kim understood it a lot more since he joined half of the sports in school and was the most athletic out of the three. Nino the other hand, not so much. If you asked him, he would prefer music and filming, which Marinette understood, seeing as people like different hobbies.
What she also loves about fencing is that she gets to travel to different parts of Paris for the competition. She only joined the local tournaments when she was eight. The moment she turned ten, M. D'Argencourt immediately signed her to a highly competitive contest with kids people who have the same age as her.
Let's just say it was challenging, at best.
But in the end, she won.
Tournament after tournament, she won every time, securing her place as one of the best fencers at a young age and became M. D'Argencourt's protege.
In those years of competing, she met a young fellow prodigy who was the same age as her. She was blunt when Marinette met her, to say the least, but she doesn't mind it at all. She appreciates someone telling the truth without any sugar coating it. It was good that they were friends, kept in contact, and would hang out if she stayed in Paris for a few days or weeks.
Agreste came in at a later time. She was probably eleven when the blonde boy stood in full fencing gear with his bodyguard and a woman. Marinette saw the boy radiating excitement but paid no heed to the boy, preferring to focus on her fencing partner.
She continued to ignore him, but he was persistent in making friends, so he did everything to make her a friend the moment he met her.
She never interacted with him outside as a sparring partner. They never tried to establish their relationship further because he had a strict schedule, especially with his lessons and modeling gig. They were acquaintances at best, but with little help from Nino and Alya, the two became friends.
At age 13, she decided to cut off her time at fencing. As much as she loves the sport, she has to make room for her spare time. It was hard, but it lessened her workload. With huge responsibilities on her shoulders, it took a toll on her health, and she needed to remove at least one of the reasons for the moment.
With her out of the team, M. D'Argencourt made Adrien his new prodigy. It was painful for Marinette to admit it, but he was good. Maybe even better than her. God, if her old rival heard her say those words, she'll gain a wack in the head with her kendo. Oh, if only she knew what was in store for her.
XXX
It was a Saturday morning. Marinette decided to visit M. Mendeleiev about the project that's due next week. It was also an excuse to see M. D'Argencourt and the team to see how they were.
Walking down the stairs, she spotted Adrien getting out of the lockers and putting on his headgear as he walked towards one of the mats. She jogged up to him before he could start with the others. "Adrien, Hey!"
"Oh! Hi Marinette! What are you doing here?" He asked as he decided to hold his headgear in his unoccupied arm to speak with her. She was a little winded when she came to a halt in front of him, but other than that, she answered him with ease. "How's practice going?"
"It's going great! Hey, you brought your gear! Are you going to train with us?" His eyes sparkled at the thought. But before Marinette could answer, she was interrupted by a feminine voice.
"Hey! You!"
M. D'Argencourt turned to look at the newcomer. "Oui?"
"I want to join your team."
He huffs in indignation. Although, he was surprised by the girl's boldness. "Only the best are admired you, knave."
She had the nerve to retort. "And I was, everywhere I went."
While M. D'Argencourt was seething at the girl, Marinette took the time to analyze the fencer. She wore red fencing gear, and her face got covered with a fencing mask. Her voice may have been a bit muffled, but that didn't mean she vaguely recognized the voice. She had to make sure.
Luckily M. D'Argencourt recovered from his internal screaming and looked on confidently. "Part le fer! This whippersnapper has a nerve! All right! I may consider your admission shall you defeat one of my students."
She walked passed him and looked around the covered masks of the students. "Which one of you is the best combatant?!"
The students nervously shuffled before they parted to reveal Marinette and Adrien. He walked confidently toward her, although he stopped when she pointed behind him. "Wait. You. Come here."
Marinette raised a brow as she slowly walked towards the fencer. Stopping right beside him, she waited for her to continue. "I challenge you to a duel," The blonde teen sputtered. Meanwhile, the bluenette stared her down. "Unless you're scared of losing." again.
Both girls stood face to face with another, eyeing each other down in Marinette's case, seeing as the other girl was wearing her fencing mask. For a few tense moments, Marinette said nothing. Finally, with a smirk, she gave her answer for everyone to hear. "Oh, I'm not scared of losing. Maybe you should be scared of me."
It was all quiet until M. D'Argencourt cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, are you sure you want Mlle Dupain-Cheng? Would you rather want M. Agreste instead?"
Marinette inwardly rolled her eyes at the statement. She was still good at fencing一possibly even better after she became Ladybug. She may be a little rusty on her footwork, but that didn't mean she was quick and agile at the same time. Meanwhile, the fencer kept her eye on the bluenette as she gave the head coach her answer. "I'm always sure of my answers."
The people dispersed as Marinette went into the locker rooms to change into gear. She was glad she decided to bring her own. She had already planned to practice a few new tricks with Adrien after meeting with M. Mendeleiev, but maybe she'll try those tricks with an old friend.
After getting their equipment ready, they tested them out with hits to see if the machine was in proper working order. Having those checked out, the two girls stood opposite each other, their saber in hand and their stances ready.
The room got tense as M. D'Argencourt stood in the middle, looking between the two combatants, and raised his arm. "En garde!… Prȇts?... Allez!"
The two charged at each other the moment he dropped his hand. They both moved so quickly and fluidly that the class had to blink twice to snap out of their shock. The buzzers went off at the same time.
"Simultané! Par un toucher!" D'Argencourt declared as both went back to their starting positions.
"En garde! Prȇts?... Allez!" Both moved simultaneously like the wind. Those who haven't seen Marinette fence before had their jaws dropped to the floor. The ones who faced or saw her in action watched in awe. Adrien tried his hardest to keep his mouth from hanging open as he remembered those times Marinette bested him. She was unbeatable, as everyone knew back then.
The buzzers went off simultaneously again as D'Argencourt looked towards the crowd sheepishly. "Uh… Abstention!"
"This is the first time I've seen someone tied to her… " Adrien mumbled underneath his breath. Unfortunately for him, one of the students heard him and chimed in. "I know, right? I haven't seen M. D'Argencourt chose to abstain before. This a tight bout."
Before they readied themselves again, the one in red decided to turn it up a notch. "Wait."
Marinette and D'Argencourt looked at her.
"I request we do it the old-fashion way. We'll be much more at ease without the machine." Bingo.
He looked at Marinette in question. "Marinette?"
Inside the mask, Marinette grinned, "Fine by me." She happily said as she moved to unplug the body cord.
The fencer did the same, and both readied themselves while all stood in anticipation.
"En garde! Prȇts?... Allez!"
The two started going at it like wild animals. They blocked and attacked each other within each hit from the saber. The crowd cheered as they stood and witnessed the biggest and most memorable fight they had ever seen. With mastery in the sport, the two proteges went full throttle with constant lunging, blocking, etc. neither gave the other time for a little breather.
"Sacré bleu! Why have I not seen this fight in my entire life?!" He cried out as the crowd cheered along with him. Adrien watched the whole thing with wide eyes as he followed the two figures moving left and right. They used the entire room as an escape route for the other's saber.
The fight soon moved up the stairs, and the audience swiftly scrambled to catch the two. Seeing the stairs flocked with people, Adrien quickly moved to the other batch of stairs, allowing him to see the two girls heading towards the library.
He can see both of them panting heavily even between blocking and lunging, yet neither girl wanted to give up.
"Let's finish this Mari-hime." The red fencer declared as she readied herself for another lunch while Marinette did the same.
Adrien watched as the two lunged at each other. Both of their foils hit their marks at the same time.
The girl quickly broke off from her stance and turned to look at Adrien. "Who got the first hit?! Who?!" She asked breathlessly. Both of their chests were heaving heavily from the lack of air in their lungs.
M. D'Argencourt suddenly appeared, panting and limping. The crowd also started to appear right behind who was in a similar situation as him. "Who touched first? Who?! Tell us now!"
Adrien suddenly wished he didn't follow those two, but at the same time, it was worth it. He tried to remember everything that happened. Both hit at the same time. He was sure of it, but if he told them it came out as a tie, then they have to start at square one all over again. But he could see Marinette lunging faster because of her footing. Or he saw the red fencer's foil bending a little quicker than the former.
With everyone's eyes on him, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "The red fencer got the first hit."
D'Argencourt took a double take and looked at Adrien like he was joking. "Ar-are you sure? That's what you saw?"
He nodded wordlessly. Hoping he chose the right word to say. Both girls took off their masks, and the girl with vermilion eyes relaxed while Marinette grinned at her. "Looks like you finally beat me, Tsurugi."
"It seems I have. But this doesn't mean I'm going easy on you next time."
"Well, lucky for you, there's a couple of months left before the Tournoi de sabre de Paris. I'm expecting you to be there."
"Oh, you'll see me alright." Kagami showed her a small smile that made Marinette's heart flutter, although the moment got broken when Adrien cleared his throat and looked back and forth between the two. "Um, not to disturb your conversation or anything, but how do you know each other?"
The girls looked at each other for a few moments before they turned back to look at the Agreste boy.
"Met each other in one of the tournaments hosted here in Paris. I won by a millisecond. After the tournament, we decided to be rivals." Marinette started.
"Every chance we faced each other, things get heated. She either wins, or I do. The cycle kept on repeating. Our parents decided to plan for the two of us to get together. It didn't work at first. We glared at each other, but when Marinette's mother started to talk about one interest that intrigues us, we undoubtedly became friends from here on out."
"Wait, your surname is Tsurugi? Why does that sound familiar?" Adrien pondered the name for a moment. He tried to think of any Tsurugi that he may know or not, but Marinette interrupted his bubble of thought.
It's familiar because her mother is Tomoe Tsurugi. The world champion fencer. And this here is her daughter Kagami. Kagami, this is Adrien. Adrien, this is Kagami."
Kagami bowed to Adrien, and he hesitantly reciprocated it back. The three walked back to the hall, where all excitedly conversed about the duel. M. D'Argencourt quickly walked up to the three and invited Kagami to join his academy. He was a little upset with Marinette losing, but he gained a new student in the end, so that's a win for him.
M. D'Argencourt then turned to look at Marinette with hope in his eyes. "What about you, Mlle Dupain-Cheng? We could use the old captain back."
Marinette smiled sadly at him and shook his head. "I'm sorry, M. D'Argencourt, but I can't. I would love to be back on the team, but I don't have the spare time I used to have when I was a kid."
He was upset that his protege couldn't return to fencing, but that didn't mean he wouldn't open a spot if she chose to return. "Well, if you change your mind, just know that you will always have a spot in my academy."
"Thanks M. D'Argencourt." She smiled at the man as he nodded and returned to his students. He looked back to the other two. "Are you two coming or not?"
Adrien moved to join him, but Kagami stayed beside the bluenette and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot join you today. My mother ordered me to come home after I got in."
The two went back as the other pair walked out the doors. Kagami turned to look at Marinette. "I hope you would like to accompany me to my home. Mother has been eager for you to visit."
The bluenette giggled as they walked down the steps. "Well, today's a good day for her then. Maybe we should visit the bakery to get your mother her favorite pastry? My parents would love to see you."
"That would please mother a lot. And it would be lovely to see both of them again." Kagami smiled at the thought of seeing Tom and Sabine. Marinette smiled as she grasped Kagami's left hand to her right. "Then come on!"
She pulled her along, laughing and running all the while. Kagami stumbled a bit, but she managed to balance herself and ran alongside her friend, joining in on the laughter. It was great to see her friend again. And possibly be even something more in the future if she desires it so, but for now, Kagami just wants to enjoy her time with the bluenette.