I took Ms. Bustier's coat off of my shoulders and handed it back to her before I put my normal shirt back on and left the room with my stuff. I walked out of the school building and decided to head to the bridge where André is supposed to be set up for today. I don't feel like eating ice cream but seeing people enjoying ice cream lets me know what joy looks like at least, since it's been so long since I've felt it that I don't remember what it looks or feels like.
On my way there I spotted Ms. Chamack looking around frantically, probably looking for Ivan for the story. I continued on my journey unnoticed by her, and most other people just rushed to their homes to get away from Ivan, ignoring me. Just as I got to the bridge I noticed Manon looking very scared. On the other side of her, charging in her direction, is Ivan.
I promised Manon that no matter what I would protect her, and I won't let myself become a liar like Lila. I charged into a sprint and was able to shove Manon out of the way just in time only for me to be grabbed instead. I noticed the purple butterfly symbol form on Ivan's face so I turned and faced directly into Ivan's eyes, knowing that whoever Hawkmoth was would see me along with Ivan seeing me, and the butterfly symbol flickered before it shattered. I was dropped to the ground as Ivan de-transformed and the akuma came out already purified, Tikki's magic spread around Paris and everything was fixed.
I walked over to Manon and picked her up before walking towards where I saw Ms. Chamack earlier. By the time I got there Ms. Chamack seemed to be in a panic attack so I sat Manon down beside her and Manon hugged her mom tightly, bringing Ms. Chamack back to her senses. Seeing both are now safe I walked off, back to school since the akuma is already dealt with.
When I got back I went straight to the locker room and changed into gym clothes. Just as I was leaving, all the girls entered to change into their own gym clothes, all girls except for Lila. Rather than risk falling for a trap I just stayed in the locker room and waited until anybody else was leaving and went out with them.
As soon as we got to the courtyard Mr. D'Argencourt handed us both pads and a fencing saber each. Since I've already taken a couple lessons in fencing I quickly put the pads and helmet on and held the saber upside-down to show I wasn't fighting. I looked over and noticed Mylène struggling to put the pads on so I went over and helped her. I then returned to my spot without a word.
"Thank you Marinette." Mylène said softly, but I didn't respond. "I know this won't mean anything to you, but I am sorry for being so stupid to believe Lila over you."
I just continued to ignore anything Mylène said until the rest of the class arrived. As soon as they were here Mr. D'Argencourt started the lesson and called me up for a demonstration, since he doesn't want a full match like he'd have with Adrien, nor does he want someone who knows nothing about fencing like everybody else.
We set up before the match commenced, him thinking he'll have it done in a few moves, me tired of holding back. He took a few swings, all aimed to end the match, and I played defense. He went for a thrusting strike so I leaped over it backwards and into a backflip while using my saber to hit his chest making me the winner.
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"You are much more skilled than our last lesson." Mr. D'Argencourt commented out of surprise. "Did you practice between then and now?"
"No, I just stopped holding back." I responded blankly.
He flinched at my voice, as did everybody else, and I took my spot a little bit away from the others but outside of the dueling area nonetheless. People were awestruck at what just happened but I ignored their looks until Mr. D'Argencourt drew their attention back to him. He showed them a few moves to practice and paired them up for duels and he himself paired up with Adrien, though that was expected. The last two left were me and Ms. Bustier.
I walked up to Ms. Bustier who was trying to copy how the others were holding their sabers, but not quite understanding how they were holding them. I stopped her by gently placing my hand on hers. I looked to her for permission after she was made aware of my presence and she nodded. I gently moved her hand into position on the handle of the saber and I could immediately tell that it was a lot more comfortable for her. I then showed her a few of the techniques I've learned and she nearly perfectly nailed them the first try. I corrected her form before I showed her a few defensive moves and she asked to try and duel me so I nodded and we went away from the crowd before we commenced.
Ms. Bustier was trying her best so I couldn't go really easy on her but I didn't pull out any unique moves like the one I pulled on Mr. D'Argencourt. As the match went on I could see her studying me and the way I moved and I also felt everybody else's eyes on me as well.
"Looks like teacher and student have swapped roles." Alya commented.
Soon after that both Ms. Bustier and I decided to forfeit the match since neither of us cared who won.
"How do you move without emotion?" Mr. D'Argencourt asked astounded.
"If I had kept my emotions I would've been akumatized, so my subconscious got rid of them." I answered blankly, everybody flinching at the sound of my voice again. "I don't think it was worth it since that action was based on emotions I no longer have."
Ms. Bustier then called gym class to an end so I removed the pads and handed them and the saber back to Mr. D'Argencourt before going to the locker room and changing into my regular clothes. I went back to the classroom and sat in my seat in the back before laying my head on the desk, not going to sleep but looking like I did.
