Adrigami, darkmirror

"To fence with an opponent is to dance with them," Her mother often said. "You must know them intimately; learn how to read the tiniest movement and react accordingly, instantly. Never let them put distance between you. Push forward to break through their defenses."

Kagami adjusted her red fencing boots a little too tightly and looked over towards the only other member of the D'Argencourt Academy who'd been skilled enough to make it into the tournament. Adrien was in the midst of handling some very unsportsmanlike goading from the two boys who were set to face their academy in the next bracket; a short brunette and a more waspish platinum blond. Kagami couldn't quite make out what was being said between the three from across the gymnasium, but she saw the blond make a rude gesture with their hands and poke their sabre at Adrien's chest.

As ever, Adrien was being more patient with them than they deserved. As ever, a mask of warm politeness was fixed upon his handsome features. As ever, his body language was guarded and peaceful. As ever, he was all deflection, diffusion, and defense.

But defense wasn't Kagami's style. Not when it came to fencing or anything else in life. She forced the rest of her heel into the boot with a quick stomp, grabbed her sabre from the bench, and made her way over to the scene. She could just make out the tail end of some placating nonsense that Adrien was putting forth. "-here to have an honest game, aren't we? It'll be fun to face such passionate opponents in-"

"You two aren't supposed to be on this side of the court." Kagami coldly interrupted.

"Oh, Kagami! How's your ankle feeli-"

Adrien was again interrupted, but this time by one of their soon-to-be opponents. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the 'ice queen' of D'Argencourt. Finally found a school that's cold enough for you, huh?"

"Maybe if your academy had any actual victories to back up its boasting, I would have accepted your invitation. Unfortunately, your reputation precedes you."

The shorter one sneered at her. "You've got some nerve criticizing anyone's fencing 'victories' with your cheap style."

"Cheap style!?" Kagami's brows furrowed as she took a step forward.

Adrien placed his arm in front of her, nervously looking between her, the sabre clutched tightly in her hand, and the pair of boys. "Come on, let's not make this personal. Win or lose, we're all exceptional fencers to have made it even this far. We should be proud of ourselves and each other."

Adrien's warm smile and efforts at peacekeeping were ignored.

"You're like a bull in a china shop." The platinum blond snapped. "All force, and no finesse. It's no wonder you twisted your ankle thrashing around like you do."

"I've had more than enough finesse to take out three members of your academy so far." Kagami boasted. She shoved Adrien's arm aside before flourishing her blade at the two boys and striking a pose. She ignored the slight twinge in her right leg. "I'll take immense pleasure in beating back the two of you as well."

The two boys scowled at the D'Argencourt students. The brunette looked like he was about to open his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a buzzer signaling the beginning of the semifinals. The two turned around and walked away, but not before the brunette threw one last jab over his shoulder.

"Try not to break a leg, Ice queen."

Kagami sighed dismissively and dropped her fighting stance. Her anger cooled into something more bitter and embarrassed upon catching the disaproving look that Adrien was giving her.

"We didn't need to make enemies of them."

"They were pointing their blades at you outside of a match."

"People get a little heated in these competitions." The furrow in Adrien's brow softened slightly. "A lot of the kids in these competitions are just like us, you know. They have demanding parents and teachers that they want to make proud. It's crushing when they can't live up to those expectations."

"Handling both losing and winning with grace is part of the game." Kagami retorted. She sharply pivoted around, and began heading back towards the benches. "If you can't do that, then you've lost twice." The crimson swordswoman threw her own disaproving look to Adrien following behind her. "Unlike you, I don't tolerate vultures to circle around me. I only surround myself with truth and beauty, or at least as close to that ideal as I can get."

Adrien gave her one of his rare playful smiles. "I'm not sure why you tolerate hanging around me then."

Kagami turned on her heel so abruptly that Adrien bumped into her. She offered him one of her own coy smiles in return. "Because you're as close to that ideal as anyone can get."

Adrien chuckled and bashfully, and Kagami felt her own cheeks flush as well. Her mother's words echoed in her head.

'Never let them put distance between you. Push forward to break through their defenses'
**************

Kagami stood with the crowd of onlookers. She could see the boy from the Siant Dieder Acadamy that she's just fought over to her right, seething as her name pushed forward while his was left behind. The man putting the results on the board tilted and wobled a bit on his ladder, before regaining his balance. The two fencers moving into the final round were, predictably, herself and Adrien, and it filled her with no small amount of pride to hear the jealous whispers and impressed praises that were making their way through the crowd of onlookers and defeated fencers around them.

To be honest, it was the only match that she'd been looking forward to the whole tournament. Beside her, Adrien was looking a lot more concerned than thrilled.

"Maybe we ought to call the match off."

"Absolutley not."

"Kagami, I was watching you in that match with the boy from the Saint Dieder academy. You're heavily favoring your left leg, and it shows. You left yourself way too open in the beginning rounds, and he nearly overtook you." Adrien's voice was gentle. He put a placating hand on her shoulder and Kagami glared at him in response. "I can forfit the match today, let you take the trophy, and offer you a rematch when your feeling better."

A buzzer loudly pulsed through the gym, and the crowd around them dispersed back towards the stands. Kagami coldly brushed Adrien's hand off from her shoulder. "On the first match we ever fought, you were declared the winner, and yet you chased me across town to rectify a bad call. That commitment to honor and honesty is what I like most about you, so it's more than a little insulting that you're offering me such a dishonor now."

Kagami walked over to the white mat that would hold their duel. An assistant referee helped to hook her up to the score keeping equipment while she flexed her right ankle to try and loosen it up. She made a slight grimace at the pain, and a more annoyed grimace when she saw that Adrien was hanging around her rather than heading to his own starting position.

"Kagami-"

"It's time for our match." Kagami, inturrupted. "Don't you dare go easy on me Agreste. You'll need to save some of that pity for yourself." She made a move to push him towards his place on the mat, but was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist.

Kagami raised her brow. Adrien's polite mask had melted into something a little more vulnerable and morose. "I know what you're going through, better than anyone else. Whenever I look at you, I can't help but feel that I'm looking at a dark mirror of my own life."

Adrien gaze was filled with a tired empathy. He gave her hand a squeeze, and it was all Kagami could do to keep her heart steady. "You don't have to push yourself like this to try and win your mother's affection." The boy said gently.

Kagami's own expression burned. She closed the distance between herself and Adrien and planted both their hands on Adrein's chest. Her voice filled with resolve. "My mother isn't the reason I'm determined to take home the gold today. I want nothing less than the satisfaction of pushing you to your absolute limit's Agreste, and then beating you at your peak."

Kagami then pushed Adrien back roughly. The boy stumbled and nearly fell flat on his back, but was caught by the other referee assistant. "Woah there kids, lets play nice. Are you ready to be hooked up?" He gestured with a cable from the scoring device in his hand.

Adrien nodded hesitatnty before looking back towards Kagami. "Why?"

The surprise on Adrien's face only emboldened her. Kagami poffered him a spirited smirk while posing with her blade. "Like you said, we're dark mirrors of each other, and I know better than anyone how badly you want to win the day for the sake of your father's pride. So lets both compete for the sake of our parent's honor. Let's burn all our feelings of fear an inadequacy on this pire, and give everything we have to offer for them. Even if we burn ourselves up in the attempt."

Adrien's expression turned to something more dark. He nodded in stern understanding, pulled down his visor over his face, and took a readying stance. The mask he always wore partially slipped off, revealed in the tense line of his shoulders and the anxiety of his bouncing heels. Kagami pulled down her own visor. Unlike Adrien, though, she had no mask to remove. Her aggressive stance only showed what was always evident.

The referee held his hand up. The crowd quieted down. The whole world was patiently waiting to see their show. Kagami's heart beat like a drum against her ribcage, and Adrien swayed in his usual defensive posture.

The referee's hand came down. The crowd roared. Kagami lunged forward like a bull towards a red flag, fully exposing her weakened side, knowing that her opponent wouldn't take advantage of it. Metal clashed. Silver flashed. The buzzer sounded. Point to Kagami.

They took stances again. Again the referee's hand came down. Again, the point went to Kagami.

Kagami was sweating underneath her suit. She let out a breathy laugh as she watched Adrien flex his sabre and take position again. "See, I told you to save your pity."

Adrien let out his own brief chuckle. His stance shifted from the usual defense posture to something more agile, graceful, almost catlike. Kagami smiled. Many hours of facing off against him in practice had made her familiar with this stance of his. He was finally taking the match seriously.

The referee's hand came down. Kagami lunged and stumbled upon missing her mark. Metal calshed. Silver flashed. Point to Adrien.
************

Kagami sat on top of the gymnasium roof, waiting for Chat Noir to come and tell her it was safe to come out of hiding. The final match between her and Adrien had been inturrupted by the Saint Dieder boy Adrien had beaten being Akumatized into the Blademaster. It haden't really mattered by that point. Adrien had been so far ahead of her, that even if she'd managed to win the next round, she still would have lost.

But that wasn't what was disappointing her. She'd expected to lose with her ankle holding her back, but she'd at least hoped that this competition would force something out of her fencing partner. Desperation. Fear. Anger. The passion he kept hidden behind his mask. She wanted to see him burn honestly the same way she burned. But even with his father's approval on the line, and Kagami herself giving everything she had, his inner fire still was restrained. As always, he was defensive and polite.

"Kagami?" The crimson suited girl jumped a little, and turned to the familiar voice. She could have sworn a moment ago that's she'd been alone on the roof.

"Adrien? What are you doing up here?"

Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Chat Noir stuck me up here to keep me same from Blademaster. And you?"

"Same." Kagami stood and approached the boy. "Do you think the attack is over?"

"I think so. Though..." Adrien seemed to look around a bit. "I don't see Ladybug or Chat Noir around anymore. They might have forgotten about us up here."

Kagami looked around the roof herself; at the dusty grey concrete; at the large skylight, dark and reflecting the stars above now that the lights in the building below had been turned off; at the Paresian skyline glittering warm and gold in the night around them. She turned to Adrien and smiled. "I wouldn't mind staying here a little while longer. Im sure we can always call the fire department if Ladybug and Chat Noir don't come back for us."

Adrien chuckled. "My bodyguard won't like that, but then, it is such a nice night."

"Yes," Kagami agreed slyly, taking a seat on the edge of the skylight. "It is a nice night to critique your fencing style."

Adrien smiled and took a seat next to her. "Hmm? Let me guess, you think it's too reserved."

"Your stance is always impecibaly percice, but too rehersed; too easy to read."

Adrien leaned back comfortably on the skylight with his hand beneath his head, and closed his eyes. The mirrored stars in the glass seemed to dance below him. "Most of my opponents don't seem think it's too easy to read. At least, if my win to loss ratio is anything to go by."

"Most people don't know you that well." Kagami shot back. her fingers taped her chin thoughtfully as she watched him stretch out. "Your second stance is certainly more fun to fight against, but I don't think it's your real fencing style any more than the first. They're both too defensive. I want to see what you do when you aren't waiting to react to someonelse's moves."

Adrien opened one eye to gaze up at her. "Then what do you think my real style is?"

"Why don't you show me."

Adrien closed his eyes and smiled, and then suddenly lept up again. Kagami looked on in curiosity as he walked over to the edge of the building and fished for something out of his white uniform. He fiddled around with something she couldn't see, and then backed away. On the ledge of the building sat a music player and a set of portable speakers. A song that Kagami recognized as 'Clair De Lune'started playing.

Kagami could barely hold back her smile. "You really are a hopeless romantic, aren't you." Adrien laughed good-naturedly.

"So I've been told."

Adrien walked over to the glass skylight and stood out upon it, his silhouette radient as he looked upon the golden glow of the city lights. He turned and held out his hand to Kagami, and their eyes met. Vivid green of spring's first sprouts, and earthy brown wherein green things made their home. Kagami's smaller hand fit perfectly in his, and she took it without hesitation, as always.

They wrapped their arms around eachother. The music was soft and sweet, and she could feel his heart beating in tune with it as they shuffled their feet across the glass. Dancing really was like fencing, but this time there were no sabres between them. There was nothing at all between them.

Kagami could feel her face getting hotter and hotter, and her gaze drifted down to the skylight. Adrien must have noticed something in her expression because he asked "You're not afraid of hights, are you?"

"No."

Then, just like in their fencing match earlier, Adrien's stance suddenly changed from his usual polite and defensive posture into something more mischievous and agile. All at once, Kagami's body was dipped low, and her eyes were torn from the dark mirror below them to Adrien's face and the halo of stars that circled above him. He kissed her deeply.

Her cheeks felt like they were boiling when he finally pulled her up and drew his lips away. Her heart gave another erratic burst when the previously coy expression he'd been sporting melted into genuine affection.

No words were said. None were needed. No masks were present.

Kagami and Adrien laughed and danced under the stars till all thoughts of fencing and the pressures of their daily lives were long forgotten.