Author's Note: Hey I'm back! Sorry for how long it's been, life kind of got a hold of me. Anyway, hope you enjoy :).
As he left the electrifying energies of the portal, the small ninja felt a sense of peace at the sight before him. Gazing out at the soaring mountains and the orderly village nestled amongst their steep yet lush sides, he felt some of the tension from their last mission bleeding out of his form, unable to fight the massive grin that was steadily growing behind his mask.
It felt good to be home.
Beside him, he heard more than saw Akali swiftly stalk off towards the training grounds to go blow off some steam. Their mission had been a success – eventually. But it had been a couple of long and trying months to ensure that outcome and had left the trio of ninja various degrees of tired and frustrated. Even now, the teen could feel the deep-set exhaustion in his limbs and the heavy lethargy in his mind from trying to remain focused and sane throughout the arduous mission.
"Kennen," Shen spoke up from his other side, causing the yordle to look up at the blue-clad ninja. "I am going to report our mission to the council. I'm assuming you will be finding Haybai and Nemr for company."
The purple ninja nodded, the normally chatty teen too tired to say much. Both ninja knew he needed the interaction with his kind to recuperate fully.
"Once you are done there, go meditate. Your technique is still not strong enough to withstand long-term missions."
The yordle's ears fell as he gave a sigh, "I know." Then, before his stoic companion could say anything more, he raced off to find his fellow yordles.
Shen let out a soft sigh, the weight of worry over both his younger companion and the findings of the mission settling heavily on his mind, before he straightened and headed towards the temple.
Neither ninja felt the eyes watching as they went their separate ways.
Racing through the streets of the Kinkou village, Kennen quickly spotted the short forms of his two friends exactly where he figured they'd be. With a cheeky grin, he bypassed through a nearby garden, plucking up a peony as he went before coming to a stop in front of the female Ionian.
"Haybai," he offered her the flower, "I tried to find a gift as beautiful as you but couldn't succeed."
The black and white yordle planted her hands on her hips. "Kennen," her voice was reprimanding but her eyes were warm, "you know Nemr and I are going out. Stop flirting with me."
The purple-clad yordle winked, "It's not flirting if it's true."
On his other side, Nemr rolled his eyes and hid his smile. All three knew that Kennen wasn't seriously hitting on the female ninja but the older two were trying (with little success) to somewhat subdue the teen's flirtatious nature.
"You are incorrigible," Haybai sighed, a black finger pushing the yordle backwards by the tip of his nose. "Do you flirt with every female yordle you meet?"
Kennen paused as he seriously considered the question, his mind sifting through all his missions. There had been that young barmaid in Zaun, the innkeeper in the quaint town of Fossbarrow, the twin miners in Kalamander, several of the students at the Yordle Academy in Piltover…
"Yep," he answered cheerily.
"Kennen," Haybai's tone of voice warned the young ninja that he was about to get another lecture. "You are the Heart of the Tempest. As an important part of the Kinkou clan you need to focus on your duty. That means you cannot chase after every female you meet."
The eighteen-year-old shrugged non-committedly. "I know my duty comes first. But come on, when has a couple of compliments ever hurt anyone?"
"That's not the point." The dark-haired yordle sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere further she turned to her boyfriend for help. "Tell him Nemr."
The tall yordle just shrugged. "He'll need to get some better pick-up lines before it becomes a real problem."
"Hey!" Nemr was able to easily ignore the sad puppy-dog eyes and pouting the younger yordle was doing; but it was a lot harder – not to mention dangerous – to ignore the smouldering glare his girlfriend was currently disintegrating him with. Self-preservation skills kicking in, the orange and black yordle hastily changed the subject.
"So," the normally laidback yordle grasped the first topic to come to mind. "How'd the mission go?"
Kennen grimaced, glad it couldn't be seen behind his mask. But despite his outfit concealing his expression it could not help him fully hide his sudden change in demeanour, the other two ninja easily catching the drop of his ears and the slump of his shoulders. "It was technically successful," he shrugged. "It just… didn't go the way we had planned. Things ended up being a lot… messier."
The other two yordles exchanged a concerned glance.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Nemr asked encouragingly.
The purple-clad yordle shook his head. "Not really."
Gently, Haybai placed her hands on the taller boy's shoulders as she spoke comfortingly. "Kennen-san, you do know you're allowed to talk about these things, right? The duty we uphold is important, but like all important work it does not come without its own costs. Ones not easily carried alone. As a clan, it is not only our job to help each other physically, but also emotionally. Even Shen and Akali have someone they can talk to."
"I know," Kennen pulled himself from the girl's grip as he straightened. "Trust me, I know how important maintaining the balance is. Otherwise I would not have done all the things I have. I'd just rather not think about it if I don't have to. So please, can we change the subject?"
The two older ninja exchanged another long look before Haybai conceded. "Alright." Forcing a smile she asked, "so what are you up to after this?"
Kennen grinned, "Why? Did you want to do something together?"
She shot him an unimpressed look, "You know, changing the topic was your idea. If you're not going to take it seriously we can go back to talking about your poor, emotional-handling issues."
"Oh come on," the purple ninja cajoled. "You know you'd enjoy it. Just think, the two of us strolling through the gardens – ow!"
The eighteen-year-old rubbed the back of his head where Nemr had lightly cuffed him.
"And I know you're stalling," the striped yordle cut straight to the point, expression serious. "Shen ordered you to meditate didn't he."
Haybai turned to him sharply, concern etched deep into her warm features. "You started to slip? After three months?"
Kennen felt his ears fold down in confirmation and he internally cringed at the worry that bloomed to life on his two friend's faces. This conversation just kept jumping from one bad topic to the next. Honestly, he would much rather be chewed out by Haybai over his flirting habits than talk about the task that actually frustrated him.
It wasn't liked he didn't know it was a problem. Oh no, he was very aware of how important meditation was. Despite his mastery of other similar focusing techniques (like Tai Chi), none of them could replicate the regenerative mental properties that meditation provided. A vital technique for the resident yordles, whose sanity depended on positive interactions with their kind. Even after only three months away within the company of his fellow triumvirate members, Kennen had felt his mind starting to slip towards the end, despite doing everything in his power remain in control.
It wasn't an easy feeling to describe, nor was it a very pleasant one. The straining ache that grew within his head and frayed the edges of his consciousness was not one he would ever forget. It had taken copious amounts of energy just to focus; to try and plan and rationalise rather than act instinctively. In the end that had worked in their favour. But looking back now, the young yordle could see just how easily things could have swung the other way.
Still, he reminded himself, he had only felt the onset of the disorder and only towards the very end of their long mission – nowhere near enough time had passed for it to seriously take hold. Already, in the short time he'd spent amongst his brethren, the insidious feelings had faded till it felt like nothing more than a bad dream and leaving him feeling refreshed – if a little tired.
Wanting to downplay it, he told them just that. "Only a little bit. And I'm fine now."
Unfortunately, his response did little to assure either of the older ninja.
"Kennen," Haybai started, her normal lecture tone laced with concern, "You know how dangerous that condition is. What if you hadn't been able to get back here in time? You need to gain better control over your meditation or else you won't be able to go on long missions."
"I know that," Kennen spoke defensively. "And I'm trying. But it's not my fault I can't do it."
"No one's holding your ability to meditate against you Kennen," Nemr said softly. "We all know that your energy powers make it hard for you to be still for long periods of time. The fact that you've mastered meditation to the point that you have is an amazing testament to your skills and dedication."
"But while your powers provide the Kinkou with a valuable asset," Haybai took up, "being able to maintain sanity on missions is critical. The last thing the Kinkou needs is anoth-an off the rails ninja. Every bit of mastery you can gain is invaluable. But more importantly, so is your mental well-being. Which means you need to tell someone if you start to slip again – immediately."
"I know," Kennen mumbled at his toes.
Taking pity on the boy, Haybai gave the purple-clad ninja an affectionate rub on the head. "Now go meditate. After that you're more than welcome to come over to my house for dinner."
Instantly the younger yordle perked up. "Well I can't say no to spending more time in your lovely presence," he winked before rushing off, laughing as the Ionian female's reprimands chased him.
Observing the small, lone ninja down below, the figure in the shadows grinned. Looks like her patience and persistence had paid off.
It had not been an easy task getting here. Not only had it been difficult to even find the ninja clan's base of operation but then she'd had to find someone willing enough to get her past the turbulent seas and underwater reefs to the uninviting rocky shores of the secluded island. After that it had been a long, arduous trek up the steep mountainside to reach the nestled village, where she'd been forced to hide from the ever-vigilant warriors while she'd waited for her prey to return.
Then, after days of waiting, her patience had been rewarded. From her vantage point near the village entrance, she'd been absentmindedly cleaning her weapons when the portal had opened and out stepped her three targets.
One had immediately stalked off, too quickly for her to follow and leaving her to observe the remaining two as they'd conversed. As they went their separate ways the concealed female trailed the smaller of the two, unwilling to confront the other in the company of the elders unless she had to. This had worked out even better than she had expected however, as he'd eventually led her to a secluded corner garden at the edge of the village whereby he promptly stopped and sat, eyes closed and body still, in the centre of the clearing. Really it was almost too easy.
Her green eyes narrowed in thought as she stared down at the furry creature. Many from her city-state considered yordles to be weak, but she knew all too well that appearances could be deceiving. This Ionian clan was known all over Runeterra for its strength and influence, so having a yordle as a core part of its force meant that he was more than capable of taking care of himself.
Still, even the strongest opponent could be overcome if they let their guard drop. It was a pity really; she'd been looking forward to the exhilaration of a worthy adversary.
She grimaced at the thought, hand touching her left eye and the scar that ran through it; a reminder that the mission always came first. And her mission this time was to ensure that the three, core ninja of this clan could not interfere with her nation's preparation. The Kinkou had been known to put an end to large operations before they'd even begun. At such a critical stage of the invasion, that could not be allowed. Therefore, her job was to eliminate that threat – by any means necessary. In her mind, there was no better guarantee than death, and with such formidable opponents she could not afford to waste this opportunity.
Still, she reminded herself as she readied her blades, with two other elite members to kill she was sure that the thrill of the deadly dance would come soon enough.
With that in mind, the hidden Noxian launched her two daggers at the unsuspecting figure in quick succession.
And I'm back with a cliffhanger :D. Didn't you miss me? Haha, but in all seriousness, it's good to be back. I've missed posting chapters. And I forgot how much fun it was to write Kennen. The scene between him and Haybai and Nemr has got to be one of my favourites so far.
Despite my hints no one was able to guess who the new champion would be, but thanks to everyone who sent me a guess, I was really interested in your ideas.
I don't know how well I'll be able to stick to my 2 week update schedule with how busy life's been atm, but I will do my best :). I also wrote a short story about Gnar for a recent Lol contest, which I might post up here at some point, so you guys shouldn't be hanging too much regardless.
Love to know what you thought :).
Candlestic