Miraculous Hunters Rewritten: Book 2

Chapter 16: Riposte Part 2

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.