Contradiction || Marichat AU

Chapter 7: High Temperature

09-11-21, 11:50 am

"Arigato gozaimasu!" exclaimed the students, bowing down to their instructor. The words of gratitude were followed with applause ringing across the dojo — they were proud of what they had accomplished.

The students in Aikido Gi had just finished meditating, along with their cooling exercise. After thanking their teacher, they stood up from their kneeling positions to scuttle near the wall, holding the portrait of Morihei Ueshiba. They bowed once more to the portrait, bidding farewell to the woman who had brought them the skills they held today.

Leaving the dojo, a boy approached a certain girl. He had the messy comma hairstyle, its color mimicking that of milky chocolate. He had lamplike, mauve-colored eyes; the silver drop earrings dangling as he went to the girl. The boy wore the same uniform as she did, only his belt was not of similar rank as hers.

"Hey, thanks for going easy on me earlier, pigtails," said the brunette teasingly.

Marinette snorted at her usual nickname. "Is that the way you talk to someone older than you, kid?"

"Four months, Marinette. A four-month gap." He held out four fingers. 

"That doesn't make you any taller," said Marinette.

At this point, the boy had grown used to Marinette's teases, and he'd learned how to retaliate as well. "You want me to talk to you respectfully, but you were using all smart and violent techniques to me, someone younger than you..."

"We both did well, Nicholas." She nudged him playfully.

"No, you executed Kote-gaeshi perfectly! Being the uke is no fun when I'm paired with you, I can barely take you down"—he clutched his right arm, feeling it going numb—"executing tests are the death of me."

"It's hard to deflect your strikes as a nage, too. Don't praise me too much," said Marinette, tightening her belt.

The boy found her charismatic, as he would say all the time. How could he not praise her? Ever since they were twelve, he would talk about looking up to Marinette and her determination. 

Both became quick friends and started together, and once they were satisfied with their skill and rank, they planned to end together too.

They were the same age, yet she had accomplished much more. At random times, Nicholas would gush on and on about how much he admired her.

"You wanna grab lunch?" asked Nicholas suddenly, gazing at her with hope.

Marinette didn't even think about it, lips stretching to a smile. "Of course. Christ, I'm starving."

Hence, the closest students of the dojo went to a cheap diner to fill their stomachs. Nicholas and Marinette spent their time together not only eating, but laughing and complaining about their strict instructor's ways.

"I mean, really! All she says is 'again' repeatedly," he told carelessly.

"You know Sensei Laurant has always been that way though, I've known her for eight years now." Marinette's mouth met a straw as she sipped from her mango shake. "Her being strict helped me learn better."

"Her daughter's the exact opposite." Nicholas pursed his lips.

The blunette suddenly grinned, slapping the table in excitement. "Remember when you had a crush on her?" she snorted. "Wait no, you had a crush on each other."

After a chuckle, Nicholas said, "Our liking for each other was short-lived, especially because of that other girl I like."

Marinette flipped one of her pigtails haughtily. "It's me, right?"