((A first ever short that I am working on for Zedkali. This will be updated in due time. The inspiration for this came from this song. Yes, I had this on loop the whole time I had been writing and will be writing xD))
((For obscuram-ens who has been an amazing rp partner and inspiration to me. I hope that this does your muse justice since it does rotate around our headcannons.))
The First Goodbye.
She saw him, moving through the dark corridors of the Kinkou temple, moving away from the Master's quarters. Akali smiled to herself, a sly grin crossing her lips as she made her way toward her former mentor silently, not a single sound heard as she moved, her footsteps light, breathing even, copper eyes sparkling. When she was close enough, she dashed forward, jumping onto his back before somersaulting above his head and landing lithely on her feet before him, the gentlest giggle escaping her lips.
"Did I manage to catch you off-guard, Sensei?" she asked, grinning widely, looking pleased at herself.
Zed managed a weak smile, looking startled, almost scared; something he did not usually do whenever she prowled toward him. It had been a regular training between them that continued into a game when Akali was removed from Zed's duty and placed under Shen's instead.
The young girl could only stare at Zed questioningly, copper eyes catching his body language, wondering what could possibly on the ninja's mind. He was jumpy, on edge, something that was very out of character for him.
"Sensei...?"
Without a word, Zed patted Akali's head once, running his fingers through her dark locks absentmindedly before walking away toward his quarters without a word, leaving her standing where she was, copper eyes wide with worry.
The next day came and Akali was out and about early, rushing toward Zed's quarters with concern. Despite her early arrival, she found his room empty, almost as though he had not been in there the whole night. For the next half hour she prowled the Kinkou grounds, trying her best to locate her former mentor, keeping her head low so that she would not be noticed and summoned to complete her tasks for the day.
A shout came from the Master's building, angry and spiteful, the sound of a familiar grunting as a body hit the floor. And Akali knew who exactly those voices belonged to. Breathing heavily, she ran, she ran as fast as her feet would allow her to, toward the commotion.
"Sensei!" she screamed, running toward him who was on the floor before the Master who had his finger pointing toward the temple's exit with anger and disdain.
"OUT! LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!" the Master yelled at the dark form on the floor, crimson eyes staring up at his former Master with surprise and regret.
Before Akali could even move from where she was to get to her former mentor, a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind, locking her in their iron strong grip, restraining her from moving any closer to Zed.
Shen.
Zed got up now, bowing lowly before turning away toward the exit, eyes empty and emotionless. An angry red mark was on his cheek, no doubt the work of the Master.
"Sensei!" she screamed, struggling in Shen's grip, fingers scratching at the man's armour uselessly as her legs flailed, "Let me go, Shen!" she hissed, clawing on his arms.
"Let him go, Akali," Shen replied calmly, eyes never leaving his adopted brother's figure as he moved, "You will refer to me as Sensei."
Seething with anger, Akali elbowed her new mentor squarely in the chest with great force, a skill that her former mentor had taught her only a few weeks ago which was still fresh in her mind, sending her captor flinching slightly backwards, loosening his grip on her body. Throwing a dirty look to Shen, Akali wasted no time removing herself from his grip and running toward Zed, screaming his name as the Master looked on with disapproval.
"Leave her be, Shen," he said before Shen could make a move toward Akali, "We shall see where her loyalty lies."
She finally caught him right outside the Toriis of the temple, nearly disappearing into the forest.
"Sensei, wait!" she said, quickly lunging herself onto his arm, her fingers gripping into his skin, making him stay. Zed didn't turn to her, keeping his face away from her, staring at the frozen forest ground below them, gently trying to pry her fingers off him.
"What did you do?" Akali asked, her voice hard, shaky, "Why did Master send you away?" No answer came. "ANSWER ME!" she screamed, sending a flock of birds flying away in panic at the shrill sound of her voice.
Then Zed seemed to be melting in her grip, his body a shadowy black figure as her fingers fell through his being.
"Shadows," came his swift and short reply from behind her.
Akali jumped, turning around in surprise and disbelief, "Why did you...?" she spoke weakly, warm tingles jumping up behind her copper irises.
"WHY ZED?!" she yelled, calling him by his name for the first time in her life, her hands balled into fists before launching herself onto him, punching him repeatedly on his chest, "Why, why why?"
Again, no answer came.
However, an arm did, gently wrapping itself around her, pulling her close so that she could not move her arms, wrapping her in a warmer kind of iron grip, much different to the one Shen had on her. An embrace.
"Don't leave me..." she sobbed weakly into his chest, "Sensei, you can't leave me, we haven't finished our stealth training, we haven't started on ou-"
Her words were cut off by a tighter embrace, a hand running through her dark hair affectionately.
"I can't stay," came the reply.
And with that, his figure was once more a shadowy figure, her body falling through the shadowy form and falling onto the frozen forest floor below.
And he was gone.
