After they fled from Riposte and reached a rooftop far enough away, Ladybug gathered Adrien into her arms before they landed behind a chimney. Once she was stable enough to rise to her full height, Ladybug turned to the chimney and set Adrien down against it, out of sight for the time being.

"Thanks for the save, Ladybug." Adrien said now that they were out of danger for the time being, praising his secret crush for their quick escape.

"My pleasure." Ladybug replied, a blush appearing on her cheeks before she shook it off and refocused on the task at hand. "But what kind of fencing was that?" the spotted heroine asked the boy, hoping that he would have some idea of how to defeat Riposte.

"Nothing like I've ever seen before." Adrien admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, clutching his hurt ankle to alleviate any pain he could.

"It's going to be hard for me to fight and protect you at the same time. I'm going to need some help." Ladybug mussed aloud, followed by her attempting to call Chat Noir and only getting his voicemail instead. "Where are you, Chat Noir?" the heroine in red muttered to herself, frustrated that her partner wasn't picking up.

"Maybe he's busy?" Adrien bashfully supplied with another shrug of his shoulders, pretending to think for a minute to cover his identity all that much longer. But the moment was interrupted when their hiding spot was sliced up into pieces, the chimney crumbling away to reveal them to Riposte.

"Allow me to explain the rules to you. You're not allowed to call it quits at any time!" Riposte declared, causing the two surprised teens to turn and face her. "Adrien is mine and I will defeat both of you and prove I am the best fencer!" the metal-coated akuma yelled at the two, prompting them to rise to their feet while Ladybug stood protectively in front of Adrien.

"Nobody's denying that, at all! My friend Marinette was just being honest and adhering to the rules." Adrien protested from behind Ladybug, trying to set the record straight once and for all.

"You know, from the sounds of it, it looks like you're getting bent out of shape about your part in breaking the rules. That's not anyone's fault but your own." Ladybug remarked, causing Riposte to growl at them and leave them unsettled.

"In any case, I'm sure Marinette wasn't trying to humiliate you." Adrien nervously added, now trying even harder to ease things over with reason.

"Of course not!" Ladybug squawked in an offended tone, turning to face Adrien just as he looked at her questioningly. "I mean, I'm sure that was the case." the spotted heroine rapidly continued, laughing nervously as she tried to keep her identity a secret.

"It's too late! The damage has been done! And this time... I shall be the referee!" Riposte shouted as she pointed her sword at them, soon lunging to attack the two and prompting Ladybug to prepare to do the same.

"Stay back, Adrien." Ladybug advised Adrien before she, too, lunged forward to engage Riposte in battle.

Meanwhile, Adrien used the opportunity to get away from the fight to find a place to transform, which caused his twisted ankle to act up. But he pushed through it and limped away, hoping to step in and help Ladybug as soon as possible. While Adrien was trying to hide, Riposte and Ladybug were still in the middle of their fighting, the spotted heroine using her yo-yo to defend herself from the akuma's attacks. After being backed up to the edge of the roof, Ladybug shifted herself to avoid going over and soon found herself backed against another chimney.

Now that Ladybug was cornered, she had to evade Riposte's strikes and strike back with the red fencer's saber, distracting Riposte long enough to throw her yo-yo a third cluster of chimneys behind her. With Ladybug's yo-yo wrapped around the structure, she pulled it tight and brought all the rubble onto Riposte, trapping her beneath it. Once Riposte was pinned, Ladybug went off to find Adrien; who had found a good hiding place behind a second chimney stack that was near the fight.

"You're sure taking some risks today, kid." Plagg warned his holder after popping out of Adrien's pocket, seeing the look of pain passing through the boy's features.

"Don't really have a choice, do I? Ladybug needs me." Adrien argued with his kwami, taking his hero duties seriously considering Ladybug was pitted against an offensive akuma. That was usually his area of expertise and while Ladybug was getting better, she still had a bit to go on her offensive attacks.

"Plagg, c-!" "Adrien!" Ladybug's voice called out, halting Adrien from transforming when he heard how close she was before she leaned around the chimney stack and found him.

"Adrien, you okay?" the spotted asked, concerned for his safety when seeing the surprised look on his face and not seeing Plagg zip back into Adrien's uniform pocket.

"Uhh, yeah, and you?" Adrien nervously replied, trying to play off his attempt to transform as an arm stretch as she stepped up to him.

"I'll feel better once you are safe, far away from that girl." Ladybug admitted, looking back at the rubble pile to ensure Riposte couldn't see them. "Come on, let's go." the red heroine declared as she swung her yo-yo to another chimney and pulled Adrien close to her again. Once more, the two shared a blushing smile at each other before they shook themselves out of their shared distractedness and swung off, hoping to get far away before Riposte could free herself.

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Thanks to their head start, Ladybug and Adrien had arrived at the Louvre Palace, finding themselves sliding down the side of the Louvre Pyramid. It didn't take long for them to reach the bottom and find themselves in front of a crowd of pedestrians, who were shocked by their presence and Adrien's hurt state.

"Akuma alert! You must leave now! Evacuate the premises calmly!" Ladybug shouted at the crowd, holding Adrien in a way to prevent him from putting too much hoping to get everyone out of the vicinity before Riposte found them.

"This way ladies and gentlemen." Officer Roger; who had been amongst the crowd, ordered the pedestrians, now beginning to direct citizens away before an 'Akuma Alert' siren started to sound off.

Fortunately, every one of the occupants of the museum had exited the premises quickly and calmly, which allowed Ladybug and Adrien to enter without worry of the citizens getting hurt. But that didn't help Ladybug's worries to keep Adrien safe, seeing as she took them deeper into the museum to find him a place to hide.

"A safe place, a safe place..." Ladybug muttered to herself as she and Adrien arrived at the Egyptian wing of the Louvre, her eyes darting around to find anything that would do the trick. "There!" the spotted heroine cheered, seeing an open sarcophagus display across from them and quickly walking towards it to place Adrien inside.

"I'm sorry, but at least you'll be safe in here!" Ladybug apologized to Adrien before she began closing the lid, knowing that this was a less-than-ideal place for Adrien to be in. But it didn't seem like Adrien was focused on that when he grabbed the lid and stopped it from closing all the way.

"Please be careful, Ladybug." Adrien warned the heroine, knowing she'd be alone in the fight until she finally left the exhibit so that he could transform. However, seeing as Ladybug didn't know that, she had assumed he was just being his normal caring self and blushed at the attention.

"I'll be fine, thank you. Now you stay out of harm's way, okay?" Ladybug replied to Adrien, a little surprised by his concern before refocusing on the task at hand and finally closing the lid, leaving Adrien inside. But before she went off to face Riposte, a smiling Ladybug couldn't help herself when she placed a kiss on the sarcophagus's face, pretending it was Adrien if she dared actually kiss him. Knowing her love was safe, Ladybug left the exhibit, looking to defeat the akuma as soon as possible.

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Outside the Louvre, a newly freed Riposte rapidly approached the landmark and spotted the police had formed a blockade in front of the pyramid. That alone gave away Ladybug's location to the akuma, leading to Riposte jumping into the air above the Louvre and slicing off the top of the Pyramid to land in the museum. Fortunately for Riposte, she didn't need to look hard for the superheroine, seeing as she found Ladybug waiting for her with the challenger's saber in hand.

"Where did you hide Adrien?!" Riposte demanded from Ladybug as she stood up from her landing, pointing her bladed hand at the heroine in red with a snarl.

"You actually think I'd tell you? This is just between you and me, Riposte!" Ladybug challenged the akuma, spinning her yo-yo behind her as she held the saber out at Riposte.

"You think you can defeat me? Fine" Riposte replied, amused by Ladybug's challenge. "I'm going to defeat you and take your Miraculous! Then I'll go and find him!" the platinum akuma declared with a smirk, standing ready to attack a suddenly enraged Ladybug.

"I won't let you lay a hand on him!" Ladybug yelled at Riposte, knowing she'd rather die than let that happen before they lunged at each other, engaging in their ongoing battle once again.

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Back at the Egyptian exhibit, Adrien had waited long enough to make sure no one was in the vicinity and was looking to transform to help his partner take care of Riposte.

"It's time we went and joined Ladybug." Adrien declared within the darkness of the sarcophagus, reaching for the lid to lift it off and leave the small space. Normally, Adrien hated being locked up or being stuck in small spaces... but seeing as Ladybug was only thinking of his safety and his feelings for her, he let it slide.

"Didn't you hear what she said? She said to wait here! You can't disobey her!" Plagg protested as he flew out of Adrien's pocket, hoping that Adrien would decide to take it easy this time due to his injured ankle.

"I've gotta help her!" Adrien argued back as he went against his usual routine of activating his disguise rune, itching to get out of his confining hiding spot as soon as possible to do just that. "Plagg, claws out!" the green-eyed boy shouted, transforming into Chat Noir in a flash of green light while still inside the sarcophagus.

Once his transformation was complete, Chat Noir opened the sarcophagus display and peeked around before getting out, glad to see no one was there. After he closed the lid, the feline hero began running to the exit, only for his ankle to act up again when he reached the bottom step. Groaning at the pain shooting up his leg, Chat Noir stopped in his tracks before pushing down the crippling feeling and continued to find and join up with Ladybug. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

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Over in one of the Louvre's Painting galleries, Ladybug and Riposte were still locked in their fight, the akuma pushing the heroine back into the decorated hallway. But despite Ladybug using her yo-yo to defend herself, they skidded to a stop in the middle of the gallery and Riposte used their new position to try getting past Ladybug's defenses. With devastating slashes and strikes, Riposte pushed Ladybug back to the gallery wall before the red heroine pushed back with her borrowed saber.

Unfortunately, Riposte managed to push Ladybug to the ground, the red fencer's saber lodging itself into a painting above her and leaving the heroine defenseless. Now without a weapon in Ladybug's hands, Riposte went to attack Ladybug with her bladed hand... only to be blocked by Chat Noir and his staff.

"Chat Noir!" Riposte shrieked after Chat Noir pushed her away from him and Ladybug, enraged by his presence and interference.

"A fencing tournament at the Louvre? How come I wasn't invited?" Chat Noir rhetorically wondered while Ladybug rose to her feet, holding his staff at the ready for another attack.

"Let me guess: you were late because you were at the groomer again?" Ladybug countered as she pulled the challenger's saber out of the painting, now copying his stance.

"I was preening myself, M'lady. You know how long it takes cats to get ready." Chat Noir quipped back, adjusting his stance before he and Ladybug went to attack Riposte now that they had a fair fight.

Due to being attacked by both heroes, Riposte could only defend herself from the blows Ladybug and Chat Noir gave her, using her sword arm to block them. Unfortunately for the akuma, Chat Noir's fencing skills were enough to push her against the other wall of the gallery, leading Riposte to find herself cornered by the heroes.

"Checkmate, Riposte!" Ladybug exclaimed, keeping Riposte at the end of Chat Noir's staff and her borrowed saber.

"You've got the wrong sport, Ladybug! I think you mean: attaque toi!" Riposte yelled before she slammed into Chat Noir, knocking him back and making his injured ankle act up while he was kneeling.

"Chat, are you okay?" Ladybug asked her partner, turning to him out of her concern.

But her distractedness was just enough for Riposte to take advantage of it and attack Ladybug once again, sending the red hero flying out of the room. Thankfully, Ladybug managed to catch herself in a tumble to prevent herself from crashing into a stone stairwell, looking up to see Riposte exiting the gallery. Following her exit, Riposte then stabs an alarm button near the gallery exit with her blade, bringing a security gate down between them and Chat Noir.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir shouted as he limped to the bars, his hands wrapping around them to keep them occupied in his worried state now that he was separated from his partner again.

"Ready to lose, Ladybug?" Riposte snarled at the heroine before she once again picked up the fight against Ladybug, the akuma's strikes forcing their battle into the lower levels of the Louvre. Once they were out of view, a concerned Chat Noir decided to get back into the fight and called on his...

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir shouted, summoning his main powers. From there, he used the Cataclysm on the bars, rusting them into dust and allowing himself to get through before limping after Ladybug and Riposte.

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While Chat Noir was slowly making his way to Riposte and Ladybug, the two battling females had made it back to the Egyptian exhibit. But just as they reached the threshold, Riposte shoved her past it and sent Ladybug flying into the exhibit and landing on her back on the wing floor, the borrowed saber falling out of her reach. And as Riposte stood at the top of the steps to the exhibit, Ladybug recovered from her fall and growled at the akuma before worriedly glancing at the sarcophagus behind her. However, her concern for Adrien had clued Riposte in on where Ladybug hid the model.

"Of course." Riposte purred in satisfaction, followed by her jumping around near the ceiling of the room until she passed Ladybug and reached the sarcophagus. "The hour of revenge has struck!" the metal-coated akuma proclaimed before she lunged at the sarcophagus, ready to hack it into pieces.

"NO!" Ladybug screamed as she watched Riposte slice apart the sarcophagus. But to her immediate relief and shock... the sarcophagus was empty, much to the surprise of Ladybug and Riposte. But after she got past the shock, Ladybug quickly rose to her feet and threw her yo-yo at the alarm button, using the same trick Riposte did to trap Chat Noir. As the security gate was lowered and blocked the akuma from her, Chat Noir caught up with them and slid down the stair banister to land behind Ladybug.

"He's gone!" Ladybug exclaimed as she faced Riposte, spinning her yo-yo into a shield behind her before looking back at her partner.

"Uhh, who?" a flustered Chat Noir asked, already having a feeling he knew who Ladybug was referring to when he spotted the destroyed sarcophagus.

"Riposte is trying to get revenge on Adrien Agreste! I hid him inside the sarcophagus, but now he's gone!!" Ladybug frantically explained to her partner, fearing for her love's life now that he wasn't where she left him.

"Maybe he was feeling a little... claws-trophobic?" Chat Noir supplied, earning a perturbed stare from a now speechless Ladybug before Riposte turned to face the heroes again.

"Let's look for him together, Ladybug- and finish this match!" Riposte declared before she cut apart the bars and freed herself, one of the bars nearly hitting Ladybug in the process. But after she dodged it, Ladybug had enough of Riposte's actions and finally made the call to summon her...

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug exclaimed, throwing her yo-yo into the air and allowing her powers to manifest... "A radiator?" the spotted heroine wondered aloud after the Lucky Charm fell into her hands, the weight of it nearly taking her with it to the floor.

"Great. That should really heat things up." Chat Noir quipped, trying to lighten the mood while Ladybug glared at him for the remark. But she didn't let that distract her for long as she looked back at Riposte, her vision focusing on the akuma's sword arm and kick starting her planning process.

"The akuma has to be in her sword!" Ladybug announced to her partner, determination filling her features.

"Then why don't we get to the point?" Chat Noir jovially replied, earning a small laugh from Ladybug before they and Riposte began attacking each other again.

When the two clashing parties met, Ladybug blocked Riposte's blade with the radiator when she tried to slash at the heroine, followed by Chat Noir jumping into the air and trying to attack the akuma from above. But Riposte blocked Chat Noir's kick and pushed him back, quickly going to stab at Ladybug with her bladed arm again before she used the radiator as protection yet again. This continued for the following blows Riposte tried to land on Ladybug before Riposte managed to kick the red hero back from her. Then, Chat Noir recovered from his earlier blow and tried hitting Riposte with his staff, only to be blocked by her sword arm and pushed back from her once again.

"Grrr, she's too quick!" Chat Noir growled in frustration when he landed in front of Ladybug, brandishing his staff for defense in case Riposte took to the offense after their attacks.

While Chat Noir was on sentry duty for the moment, Ladybug now had the chance to do what she did best and look for a solution to defeat Riposte. Looking around the room, her Lucky Charm visualization alights on Chat Noir's tail, Riposte's sword arm, and the radiator in her hands, giving all Ladybug needed to come up with their end game plan.

"I need your belt, Chat Noir!" Ladybug shouted to her partner, causing him to side-eye her in the understanding of her request.

"Get ready!" Chat Noir replied before he and Ladybug rushed Riposte again, starting to remove his belt as he ran.

As they did, Riposte tried to strike at them while they drew near, causing Chat Noir to jump and spin in the air to avoid being hit while Ladybug slid under the strike. During that point, Chat Noir removed his belt and Ladybug threw the radiator into the air above them, which led to them switching objects when Chat Noir tossed his belt to Ladybug after she avoided the hit. Once the belt was in Ladybug's grasp, Chat Noir caught the radiator and got ready to use it against their opponent.

"En garde!" the feline hero declared as he swung the radiator at Riposte, causing her to run her sword through it when she attacked him. While Riposte's sword arm was going through the Lucky Charm, Ladybug jumped out from behind him and hooked Chat Noir's belt around the guard of Riposte's sword.

"Prêt!" Ladybug exclaimed after she landed and crouched on the ground in front of Chat Noir, continuing the fencing greeting Chat Noir started now that Riposte was trapped.

"Allez!" Both heroes finished before they pulled back on Riposte's bladed arm and yanked the akuma's sword to the side, snapping it in two and knocking her back. After Riposte landed on the ground, her sword fell to the side and the akuma flew out, the insect fluttering out into the open once more.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug exclaimed as she ran her finger down the middle of her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside of it. "Time to de-evilize!" the spotted heroine shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it within her yo-yo and pulling it back to her.

"Gotcha!" Ladybug cheered when the yo-yo was back in her hands. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free. "Bye, bye little butterfly," the heroine in red said as the butterfly flew away, right before throwing the radiator Lucky Charm up into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried out, summoning the cleansing cure and the magic ladybugs.

Immediately, the damage the fight had caused to the city and the Louvre was repaired, leaving no trace of the chaos that had happened. Even the severed top of the Louvre Pyramid and the demolished intersection where the fight started were restored to their former glory. The final act the Miraculous Cure did was turn the defeated Riposte back into the red-clad fencer, the evil aura fading away after the cure took effect.

"What happened?" The challenger wondered when she saw that she was not in her car anymore, followed by her seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir in front of her.

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir cheered, doing their post-battle fist-bump ritual before Chat Noir's ring bleeped in its final warning.

"Gotta go. Have a vet's appointment to get to. Take care of the young lady, will you?" Chat Noir spewed out before he ran out of sight, leaving Ladybug to approach the challenger and kneel in front of her before she put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything's okay." Ladybug assured the challenger, drawing an awed stare from the red fencer as she faced Ladybug.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir hastily ducked out of sight from the girls and hid behind one of the cat statues flanking the exhibit entrance. Now that he was sort of alone, Chat Noir used the opportunity to whisper...

"Claws in." Chat Noir quietly proclaimed, turning back into Adrien and catching an exhausted Plagg in his hands.

"Ohhhh... All this sport has made me hungryyyyy." Plagg whined, wriggling around in Adrien's hand.

"Later. Shh!" Adrien ordered his kwami before putting him in his uniform pocket, glad that he had the foresight to not use his disguise rune to further hide his identity before he saw Ladybug and the challenger approach.

"You go on. I have to find someone." Ladybug told the challenger, leading her to the exit and not seeing Adrien hiding behind the statue.

"Thanks." the challenger replied before she left, now allowing Ladybug to start factually looking around the exhibit for Adrien.

"Where could he have gone?" Ladybug wondered to herself, prompting Adrien to finally step out from behind the cat statute and into sight.

"Ladybug?" Adrien called out, causing Ladybug to sigh in relief as she turned to the sound of his voice and saw him.

"There you are!" Ladybug breathed out, happy to see her crush safe and sound as she walked towards him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I figured it would be better to escape before Riposte came along." Adrien explained as he walked up to Ladybug, meeting her halfway as he spoke. "Besides, I... hate to be locked up." the green-eyed boy meekly added, scratching the back of his head awkwardly before he looked at her sheepishly and Ladybug gasped at him in shock.

"I'm so sorry! You did the right thing." Ladybug frantically replied, shaking her head in shame for putting Adrien through that. But in Ladybug's mental bashing of herself, she failed to see Adrien move as if to say something, only to opt from saying it and decide on something else instead.

"S-so, uh... So Chat Noir finally turned up, huh?" Adrien awkwardly remarked, trying to avoid the potential identity reveal since what he wanted to say and do was something he was used to doing as Chat Noir. But despite the awkwardness, Ladybug perked up at the mention of her partner.

"Yes, thankfully! Between you and me, he's much better at fencing!" Ladybug happily admitted before she mimed a fencing technique, causing Adrien to chuckle at the complement of his alter ego.

"And... Riposte?" Adrien asked.

"The girl is safe." Ladybug assured him, followed by her earrings beeping their last warning. "Oh no! I'm about to change back!" the spotted heroine exclaimed in worry, only to glance between Adrien and the ground to her right as she gathered her wits when she realized she still had some time before her transformation ended.

"You should be the one to return that." Ladybug said to Adrien as she pointed to the challenger's saber resting on the ground a few feet away, prompting Adrien to walk up to the sword and pick it up. Once he did, the model turned to look back at Ladybug and saw her stop at the top of the exhibit's exit stairs to look back at him. "Bug out!" the red heroine farewelled with a smile and waves before departing.

As she did, Ladybug didn't have the chance to see Adrien smile after her, blowing her a kiss now that she had departed.

What else can he say? He's in love!

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With Ladybug gone and with the challenger's saber in hand, Adrien headed outside the Louvre while the Akuma announcement rang through the building. Once he passed through the museum, Adrien found himself exiting the Louvre and saw the red fencer standing outside the Pyramid.

"I'm at the Louvre. Come when you can." the challenger spoke into her phone, calling her chauffeur before she hung up and looked at the ground with a sigh. When he saw the red fencer putting her phone back into her pocket, Adrien took the opportunity presented to him and stepped towards her.

"Excuse me?" Adrien spoke up, causing the challenger to jump with a gasp before turning around to see Adrien walking up, holding her saber.

"Listen, I- " the red fencer began, only to find herself unable to say anything before they both stood in front of each other awkwardly.

"I'm sorry." Both fencers said, the challenger bowing respectfully as she spoke while Adrien held out the challenger's saber to her with both hands. Upon hearing the others saying the same thing as them, Adrien and the red fencer looked away from each other bashfully before Adrien decided to take the floor again.

"Perhaps you'll agree to take this back now?" Adrien asked the challenger as he held the saber closer to her, triggering the red fencer to reach for her saber. But she then turns away, clutching her hands to her chest.

"No, I lost. You keep it." the challenger replied, turning her gaze from Adrien in shame.

"We both did, and I think that if we didn't break the rules, you would have won." Adrien countered, hoping to convince the red-clad fencer to not be so stubborn in her 'I lost the fight' mindset.

"That's not what your friend saw." the challenger argued, turning to look back at Adrien as she spoke.

"Actually, after the match between us, she said that if the circumstances were different, then either of us could have won." Adrien replied, leaving the red fencer surprised by the news. "And while I don't mean to be judgy, she was eerily casual when talking about 'first blood drawn' or 'battle to the death' matches. It was... surprising to say the least." the model admitted, looking off to the side with a disturbed look on his face when thinking back on his last encounter with Marinette.

"Truly? I thought only my mother was so casual about such matters," the girl said, smirking slightly.

"Yes, well, while Marinette can get easily flustered and has her quirks, she's kind and mean well." Adrien continued, pushing down his earlier recollection in the hopes of explaining things to the challenger. "Today was her first-ever experience with proper fencing so she was a little nervous to make a good impression. But she'd never cheat, and is always looking to do the right thing." the green-eyed boy concluded, leaving the challenger to look at him in surprise for a moment before it shifted into a smile.

"You like her a lot, huh?" the challenger asked, finding Adrien's long-winded explanation endearing as well as slightly amusing.

"Marinette? Yeah, of course! She's a very good friend! And you'll really like her too, once you get to know her." Adrien said, looking off to his top right towards the beginning of his reply before looking back at the red fencer as he neared the end. But regardless of his dodgy eye contact, Adrien once again held out the fencer's saber to her. "But please, take it. It rightfully belongs to you." the blonde model urged, causing the red fencer to glance between Adrien and her saber for a moment before finally taking it back.

"Thank you. And I'll be happy to get to know your friend Marinette!" the challenger happily responded, the two of them bowing to each other before Adrien held out his hand to her.

"I'm not sure if you remember from earlier, but my name's Adrien. What's yours?" Adrien said, finally properly introducing himself to his previous opponent.

"Kagami." the red fencer; now revealed to be named Kagami, replied, taking Adrien's proffered hand and shaking it just as Kagami's car arrived. With the vehicle's arrival, Kagami let go of Adrien's hand and walked to her car, only to look back at Adrien after she opened the passenger door. "Get ready for that decisive match!" Kagami playfully called out to Adrien, a mischievous smile appearing on her lips.

"I can't wait, Kagami." Adrien replied, earning a nod from Kagami before she got in her car, which drove off a few seconds later while a smiling Adrien watched it go.

But unbeknownst to Adrien, Marinette had found a hiding place outside of the museum and turned back into her civilian self. However, she didn't expect to find herself able to hear Adrien and Kagami's conversation, despite her hiding place being near the entrance of the Louvre. Needless to say, when Marinette found out that Adrien was freaked out about her earlier remark and saw her as only 'a very good friend' she found herself sinking to the ground in distraught.

" 'Eerily casual about blood matches' and 'A very good friend', huh? Not exactly the impression I wanted Adrien to have of me." Marinette spoke aloud, hiding herself behind her knees while Tikki floated near her left shoulder.

"At least now you know how much Adrien values your friendship." Tikki pointed out, which only caused Marinette to slump in on herself even more.

"I know! Great, so he likes me. But I don't want him to merely like me!" Marinette exclaimed, looking at her kwami with a mopy frown. "I mean- I do, but, you know, I want him to LIIIIIIKE me!" the designer exclaimed, widening her arms to emphasize her words before hugging herself, unaware that Adrien's driver was pulling up and he left during her rambling.

"In that case, you might have to work on your fencing!" Tikki teasingly remarked after Marinette let her arms drop to her sides, causing her holder to laugh and point her finger at Tikki like a saber.

"On your guard, Tikki!" Marinette exclaimed, leading to her and Tikki pretending to fence with Marinette's finger and Tikki's whole arm while continuing their laughter. But just seconds after Marinette poked Tikki's stomach, her phone started ringing an alarm, causing her to check it to see what the notification was. "Oh shoot! I'm going to be late!" the pigtailed girl yelped when she saw it was the reminder of her training with Draal in 15 minutes, quickly standing up and running from the Louvre courtyard after Tikki flew back into her duffel bag. Once her kwami was tucked into her bag, Marinette raced back to her house in the hopes of not missing her training session, needing to blow off some steam.

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(Time Skip)

It took a little bit to get back home from the Louvre, but Marinette made it to her house with 5 minutes to spare. After sneaking into her room to drop off her things, she changed into a pink tank top, white sports bra, baggy dark gray linen track pants and pink trainers decorated with her signature cherry blossoms and white accents. Now in more appropriate attire, Marinette placed her rope dart into her duffle bag and snuck back out of her house, heading to the alleyway behind the bakery to open the one sewer hole in the vicinity. Thanks to her time as Ladybug and her previous training with Draal, it was easy for Marinette to lift the metal disc out of the way and start climbing down the ladder until she was far enough to cover the hole up again. With no one in sight to see her, Tikki flew out of Marinette's duffle and floated near Marinette as she reached the bottom of the ladder... which was actually quite a long way down.

Unknown to the people walking on the streets above, there was an abandoned vent shaft in front of Marinette's family bakery, which was like the one in front of Guard de Nord station. While it was sealed off decades ago before Marinette's family took residence there, when she and Draal were looking for a good spot to train they stumbled on it rather quickly... like it was meant to be. It was close to Marinette's house and school while also being close to Stone Arc's underground entrances so that Draal could get to the Gyre Station afterwards. Granted, they did need to take out the machines that were left over from the vent shafts' active glory days and open a passage to it from the sewers, but it left behind a large space for them to train in. The area itself was quite tall, which led to the sewers under Marinette's house running deeper to compensate for it, allowing the newly made passage to go to the bottom of the chamber.

In the end, they had a space out of the public eye and hidden enough to prevent someone from stumbling into it by accident. Regardless of how they ended up getting the space, she and Draal were using it to its fullest potential. They were even planning to add some mechanics like the Heroes Forge had so that they could really heat things up later on. But that was on the back burner as Marinette and Tikki went through the tunnel to the old vent shaft, soon coming out the other side and seeing Draal waiting for them.

"I was beginning to think you'd be late this time, Little Ladybug." Draal remarked as he watched Marinette enter, a small smirk present on his features.

"Sorry, I'm cutting it so close, Draal. Had a little situation happen at fencing tryouts." Marinette apologized as she walked to a pile of rubble and set her duffle bag next to it, that being their rest area for the moment until they continued with the renovations.

"That was today? How did it go, if you don't mind me asking?" Draal asked, recalling what Marinette had told him a few days ago about a chance to practice outside their sessions.

"It was good at first. I managed to show off the skills you've been teaching me lately." Marinette reported as she dug through her bag, pulling out a bag of cookies for Tikk to snack on while they trained. "But it didn't go very well... and I really want to blow off some steam right now." the red-tipped-haired girl added as she pulled her rope dart out of her bag, followed by her reaching behind the ruble to grab one of Draal's spears to toss to him.

"Very well. Now let's spare." Draal replied as he caught his spear, waiting until Marinette was in front of him before the both of them stood ready to start sparing.

After Marinette took the first move, their practice went on from there and grew more and more intense as time passed by. But due to her eagerness to blow off some steam, Marinette was more distracted than she usually would be and had quite a few near misses from Draal. Unfortunately for Marinette, however, Draal finally knocked her to the floor and held her at spearpoint after a while of her luck-infused evading.

"Ow, I think I landed on my tailbone!" Marinette yelped after she landed on the ground, her rope dart skittering out of her reach while she placed a hand on the sore spot on her back.

"Were this an actual battle, Little Ladybug, you would have been deprived of your left leg, right hand and your ears." Draal lectured Marinette, tapping the mentioned areas with his spear to add further emphasis before she pushed the bladed point away from her in frustration. "Clearly, you are more distracted than you say you are." the crystal-backed Troll observed as he let a pouting Marinette get up from the ground, his face contorting in concern as he watched her sit up.

"It's nothing, really." Marinette groaned in an attempt to avoid talking about it, earning an 'I don't believe you' look from Draal. Seeing her friend's skepticism, Marinette sighed in relent and hunched in on herself. "Things... got a little heated up when an unexpected arrival named Kagami came to the tryouts." the designer grudgingly admitted, straightening herself and sitting up to look up at Draal with a pout.

"Seeing as you said today was a chance to earn a spot on the team, I don't see why it was unexpected." Draal responded, curious as to why Marinette was so upset.

"It was unexpected because she showed up during the tryout and demanded to be let onto the team." Marinette explained, mopily placing her chin in her hands. "When D'Argencourt said no, she insisted and he decided to let her challenge the best of his class to earn her spot on the team." the pigtailed girl went on, now getting into the deeper issues of her sour mood.

"However, the best fencer on D'Argencourt's team is Adrien. So it led to them having quite the match against each other when Kagami suggested fighting without the scoring box, especially since they were so evenly matched." Marinette elaborated, Draal staring at her the whole time now that he was entrapped in the story. "Admittedly, Kagami's cutthroat attitude during the match was admirable, and I can see her doing well in a match to the death with how skilled she was. But it didn't go well and she ended up being akumatized... which is why I got here so late." the red-tipped-haired girl concluded, a nervous smile on her lips towards the end.

"Sounds to me you had quite the day." Draal noted, earning a small nod from Marinette in confirmation. "But it seems there is more to the story." the large blue Troll stated as he finally sat down, patting the ground next to him after he set his spear aside.

"Yeah, there is." Marinette softly admitted before she scooted over to Draal, Tikki flying to her side after finishing the cookies her holder brought for her.

"So what is the problem?" Draal asked, his curious eyebrow raised at her drawing a sigh from Marinette.

"The reason why Kagami got akumatized... is because when she and Adrien were going towards the end of their match, I ended up being the only witness to how it ended. And I ran my mouth in saying that neither of them won after the amount of rules they broke." Marinette explained, once again placing her head in her hands as she folded in on herself in shame. "Kagami didn't take it well and while she was offered a rematch, she didn't take it and got akumatized due to her anger at how she acted during the match. And on top of that, she targeted Adrien and demanded the decisive match while powered by the akuma!" the designer rambled on, which left Draal shocked by the news before composing himself to respond properly.

"Not very honorable from the sounds of it. But why are you so disturbed by it?" Draal questioned his pupil, unsure of why Marinette was truly so hung up on it... other than her crush being in danger, of course.

"I'm distracted because it was my ruling of the match that caused her to be akumatized! I can't stop thinking if I made the wrong call, or if I should have been more lenient in my judging!" Marinette exclaimed, throwing her arms out in front of her amid her frustration. "But then I remember that I'm used to fighting without traditional human rules ever since becoming Ladybug! So does that make me a hypocrite or was I subconsciously just trying to keep Kagami from getting on the team just so I had a chance to do so?" she ranted before bunching in on herself again, placing her chin on top of her knees with a frown.

"I'm just confused if what I did was the right thing if it ended up causing so much destruction and putting the love of my life in danger." Marinette confessed, followed by her burying her head behind her knees. Seeing his friend's distress, Draal placed a comforting hand on Marinette's shoulder, bringing her to look up at him again at the sudden physical contact.

"If you want my advice, I'd say you did the honorable thing to begin with." Draal spoke, earning a surprised stare from Marinette at his words. "Yes, it did cause a bit of a mess. But you remained true to your morals and thought you were doing the right thing." the crystal-backed Troll went on, trying to get Marinette to see that she didn't need to worry so much about the outcome.

"But what if I was being a hypocrite?" Marinette countered, still not convinced that Draal's words were true.

"When it comes to the life or death battles with akumas or Gumm-Gumms, you can't fight by the rules since you can't count on your opponent doing the same. But this wasn't life or death, it was a fencing match. A very different scenario seeing as it is simulated combat instead. So it makes sense safety-wise to further stick to your morals and the rules of engagement." Draal explained, having more experience with combat and the corresponding morals than Marinette did. Considering that his father was the previous Trollhunter and that Draal accepted Jim's challenge and respected the outcome, it made sense to Marinette that he would know about these things.

"Yeah, you have a point, Draal. Thanks for the advice." Marinette thanked him, grateful for his insight into the situation Marinette had gotten herself into. "But honestly, I think it was a good thing that I didn't get on the team. I'd probably be distracted by Adrien all the time." the red-tipped-haired girl announced as she let her legs drop to the ground, trying to see the silver lining in the outcome of the day's events.

"Probably for the best... you still have a way to go before you can wipe the floor with them when it comes to your swordplay." Draal teased, a chuckle slipping past his lips while Marinette sent an unamused glare at him.

"Ha ha, very funny." Marinette deadpanned, causing Tikki to giggle at the two's interactions. "Speaking of which, shall we continue? I've got a clearer mind now." the designer declared as she rose from the ground, letting Tikki fly back to her bag while her holder held out a hand to Draal.

"Thought you'd never ask." Draal happily replied as he took her hand, getting up from the ground before they grabbed their weapons. With their minds cleared and refreshed, Marinette and Draal continued sparring, the Ladybug Miraculous Holder more focused now that she talked about her lingering feelings about the day.

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After a while more of training, the hour grew late enough that Marinette had to get back home for dinner, leaving Draal to head back home to Arcadia. Making his way back to Stone Arc was easy thanks to Draal making an access tunnel to a salvage runner track to the city from the abandoned ventilation shaft, followed by a quick trip to the Gyre station. But after arriving back in Heartstone's gyre station... It was a different story compared to how he was treated in Stone Arc.

Now that he had left the station, Draal glumly sighed to himself before heading to the market to make his way through to the exit to the surface. As he did, Draal could hear no-so-quiet whispers about him from bystanders, dragging his previously good mood as he went on his way.

"Well, if it isn't the dishonored son of the former Trollhunter. How have you been, you worm?" a voice to Draal's right snidely remarked as he passed through the market, causing the blue Troll to look and find it was one out of a group of Trolls loitering by a stall who had spoken to him.

"None of your concern, if that's what you want to know." Draal replied to the group that addressed him in a short tone, turning away to walk away from them.

"How can we not help but wonder about you? First an arch enemy of the Trollhunter, then turned ally of both him and the current Ladybug Miraculous Holder, and now training both while Ladybug has helped you get back here." another Troll; Bagdwella, remarked, an intrigued smile present on her face as the group started following the retreating Draal.

"I got to say, this is quite the long game you played. Truly, I didn't think you had the brains for it considering you tend to think with your muscles." a third Troll; Krax, ridiculed Draal, his smug smile deepening when the subject of the group's scrutiny stopped in his tracks.

"There is no long game!" Draal snapped as he turned and growled at his unwanted tormentors, but was still holding back from attacking the Trolls while he took a breath to calm down. "I've just been given a second chance and I don't intend to waste it." the crystal-backed Troll admitted, his hands balling into fists before they relaxed, showing he was now calm despite the harsh words. But that didn't stop the trio of Troll's smiles from leaving their face at Draal's reaction.

"Well then, if that's the case... I'd be wary of that temper of yours. You never know when things can change at the drop of a hat." the first Troll mockingly advised Draal as the group turned to leave, only to stop and look over their shoulder at the son of the former Trollhunter. "Especially when it comes to how sensitive humans can be." the belittling Troll added with a mean laugh, prompting Bagdwella and Krax to do the same before finally leaving, Draal glaring at them as they did.

Thanks to the unexpected delay, it took a little while for Draal to arrive at the surface. But he made it back to Jim's house thanks to the tunnel he dug into the boy's basement, and settled in to fall into a fitful sleep. Just before he could, however, Jim came down to the basement to put some stuff his mom had found lying around in the corner of the basement. Needless to say, upon seeing Draal still in his basement, Jim was surprised to see him.

"Draal... I didn't think you'd still be here." Jim cautiously admitted as he walked towards the crystal-backed Troll, placing the box in his hands at the foot of the stairs.

"Why's that?" Draal asked as he lifted himself from the floor, arranging himself to sit up.

"Well, Mari told me that she helped you get back into Trollmarket... and I thought you would have gone to live down there again." Jim explained, rubbing the back of his neck out of nervousness. "So... why are you here if you don't mind me asking?" the Trollhunter questioned his friend, earning a sigh from Draal at the query.

"Admittedly, I was thinking about it." Draal began, meekly looking at the ground. "But despite your sister's efforts, I'm still not fully welcomed in Heartstone. Some of the other Trolls don't accept how I've been allowed back." the large blue Troll finally admitted.

"Is that the only reason?" Jim inquired, now standing in front of Draal as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"...No. I... also feel... safe here, living in your basement. Despite everything that's happened between us... you, your sister and the others still befriended me, even when I didn't deserve it." Draal replied, looking up at Jim with a soft smile as he spoke.

"Well, you made it easy when you came to repent for your actions. But what sealed the deal is you opening up to us and showing us who you really are. That's what matters to us in the end." Jim stated, crouching on the floor to meet Draal's eye level and bringing a fond smile to his Troll friend's lips.

"Thank you... Jim. I needed to hear that." Draal said as his eyes grew a little misty before Jim hugged him, surprising Draal before he returned it a few seconds later, the two of them sharing a sweet moment.