Author's Note: Yes. I know. "You're a 'professional writer' with three professional projects and two fanfictions you already only update once in a blue moon. And now you're starting another?"

Yes. I am. And it'll update once in a blue moon as well.

Is this where I throw on sunglasses and say, "Deal with it?" I don't know these meme things very well.

Chapter 1

Shauna Vayne rolled her eyes at the scene playing out in front of her. It was rather sickening watching a courtship dance, especially the one that was taking place in the middle of the common lounge of the cafe provided by the Fields of Justice.

"So, shall we do this again? Say this weekend? I know of a wonderful place outside of Piltover, just at the foothills of the mountains. Some fresh air might do us both some good."

Vayne knew she was probably being unfair. By all accounts, Jayce was a decent, respectful gentleman. He just looked incredibly fake, with his carefully groomed and maintained looks. She didn't think she could ever tolerate being around a person who spent as much time on his appearance as the Piltover inventor did.

Caitlyn, on the other hand, was much more appreciative. That much was clear.

"Provided neither of us are drug into a fight, I think you have a date, Mr. Jayce."

Vayne buried her face in the book she was reading, trying very hard not to notice the sickening sweet pecks the pair gave each other.

"I'll bring the fuzzy cuffs if you promise to be a bad boy."

Vayne clenched her eyes shut, as if that would bar her mind from forming any mental images. She refused to believe Caitlyn actually possessed such things.

"Oh goodness, an arrest would not look good on my sterling reputation."

Vayne wondered how a double homicide would look on hers.

"Oh, I think I can manage to... change the paperwork to not reflect poorly on you."

Could Caitlyn also change the nausea forming in Vayne's stomach?

"I couldn't ask you to compromise your studious dedication to the law of the land."

"A good sheriff understands that there are exceptions to every law."

Finally Vayne really had enough. "The only exception that I'm about to take is with this terrible flirting." She growled, looking up over the top of her book to level an annoyed glare. "You're both adults, you don't need to tease each other. Get out into the woods, rut like rabbits and be done with it."

It was as if the pair only just became aware of Vayne's presence. The Night Hunter supposed that could be excused; as she had taken up position in a shaded corner of the otherwise empty cafe. And it usually was empty at this time of day, in late evening after coffee and luncheon items fell out of favor. Vayne preferred it for precisely that reason whenever she was required to be on site for whatever reason.

Embarrassed, Jayce quickly excused himself, and that prompted Caitlyn to turn towards Vayne with disapproval. "Was that really necessary?" The Sheriff of Piltover demanded crossly.

Vayne scoffed, "You can do better."

Caitlyn's eyes narrowed, "Jayce is a perfectly good man."

"He's a narcissist of the highest order."

"It may be true that he puts undue attention towards how he looks, but we all have our faults."

Vayne's dismissive grunt said all she needed on that score before turning back towards her book.

Caitlyn then turned the tables, digging into a topic that she knew would get under the Night Hunter's skin. "Not all of us get tall, handsome, and charming apprentice summoners to fall on their knees in worship of us. The rest of us girls have to work at it."

Vayne pulled the book closer to her face, hoping between it and the shade that it would cover the color that appeared on her cheeks. As Vayne and Apprentice Kato were seen increasingly more and more together, rumors had spread that they were in a relationship, and they both decided it was easier to let people believe that and slow further inquiry.

The truth was anything but. Kato was convinced that he had a way to reveal a very dark answer to the mystery of her parent's murders, and Vayne was willing to entertain the best and only lead she had on that score in years. It was honestly insulting that people accepted the official explanation, like Vayne was one to waste her time in some pithy dalliance.

"I'm rather surprised you're still here." Caitlyn said, "After you spent last night at Kato's home, I wouldn't think you'd be heading back there so soon."

Vayne's eyes jerked upward accusingly, and she demanded with a hiss, "How did you know that?"

Caitlyn pointed down towards Vayne's chest, and said, "Because you didn't wrap yourself up today. Believe me, all the girls noticed."

Vayne flushed again, and pressed her forearms over her chest as she again hid her face behind her book. She normally wrapped her breasts if she was expecting a fight, which was usually her primary reason for being on the Fields of Justice. As such, very few people saw her... unbound... unless she was forced into one of the tawdry outfits Grand Summoner Laitwell designed for her. "My wrap is getting washed, and I don't keep spares at Kato's home."

"Did you have fun last night?" Caitlyn teased. "Rut like... rabbits?"

"T... that is none of your business." Vayne snarled defensively, mentally slapping herself for stammering.

Nothing of the sort happened, not that she could admit that, in a perverse twist of logic. They had been going over what Vayne needed to do one more time for the ritual Kato had planned for tonight, the night of the new moon, and when the time was right for whatever Kato was going to do. There had been nothing sexual, or even sensual, about it.

Except for the part where she found herself necking with the apprentice summoner for a good minute, leaning over the spellbook that he had been showing her.

It had been a moment's weakness, a lapse in good judgment, that was all. She didn't pretend that Kato was unattractive, and that there wasn't a part of her that enjoyed the exchange... but that was all, and it was quickly back to business after they both came down from the surge of hormonal behavior.

And yet the better part of valor was to let Caitlyn believe that she had been tumbling naked in a bed with reckless abandon, overcome with desire.

This was what was wrong with the world, Vayne decided.

"Well, I hope you have fun tonight as well, dearie." Caitlyn said smugly, as she left with a teasing wave. "Sounds like you need it."

"What I need is none of your concern!" Vayne shouted to the retreating sheriff, before she slouched back into her seat, staring daggers at the lone cashier at the cafe head table in silent warning that he find something else to look at.

The Night Hunter regarded the time before settling back in with her book. She was supposed to wait here, because apparently their business was to be done in the Halls of Justice tonight, so there was little sense leaving the Fields, even to go to Kato's home.

She still didn't fully understand just what Kato was planning. Her eyes drifted to a belt pouch where she had stashed an item of her mother's, an old hairbrush that had managed to last. She knew why, Kato had told her that he had access to a scrying plate, but only on a specific night. She didn't know how or why, which was apparently important she not know. Knowledge would only come with time.

Fortunately, Vayne was well versed in biding her time. She had waited years for this opportunity. She could wait a few hours more.

The cafe officially closed shortly before the time Kato had chosen, which was intentional, as that meant no one had any business being in the lounge when he and Vayne met up. The cashier and the manager of the cafe closed the windows and flipped the signs, and nervously nodded in parting to Vayne as they departed, leaving the candle burning at her table for the only form of illumination.

She became aware of Kato's entrance, and started to lean forward to stand when he held up a hand discreetly to stay her. He crossed the remainder of the distance, deftly extinguished the candle with a flick of wind magic, then leaned her back against the plush cushions she had taken for a seat and placed a very long, very tender, kiss on her lips.

Vayne played along. Yeah... that was it. She played along to the nines, complete with a flush on her cheeks that she was glad was shrouded by darkness when he pulled his lips away a scant two inches. That's how well she played along.

"I apologize, but two of my fellow apprentices spied me heading this way, so we have a bit of an audience. I figure they'll get bored quickly enough." He said with apology, like his display of affection was unwanted.

They'd really have to discuss this... thing... at some point, Vayne decided, being totally honest with herself now that Caitlyn wasn't in earshot. She offered as genuine of a smile as she could manage while looking over Kato's shoulder to where she could now see the outline of a pair of figures hovering around the corner of the far entrance.

She slipped her right hand into her wrist mounted crossbow as Kato closed the distance again, and fired a quick shot that thudded harmlessly into the wall right in front of where the audience was trying to hide. But it was enough to spook them both, and they fled in a very swift and loud panic.

That said, she let Kato's kiss reach a natural end before saying, "That works better."

Perhaps Kato's lopsided grin he gave whenever he was embarrassed shouldn't have been adorable, but it was. "Yes, I suppose it does," he said, even as he hovered over her for what felt like far too long, a moment that neither of them was eager to break.

Kato finally closed his eyes, focused, and forced himself to the business at hand, straightening to allow Vayne to stand herself. "Shall we go? You are expecting some answers, and I need to get them to you."

It was shameful how Vayne's hormones actually managed to override that desire, even for the two minutes spent looking up at the apprentice summoner. Her features steeled, and she stood swiftly. "Yes. Especially since time is of the essence."

Kato allowed himself a grin. "Not so much at this point. We have the entire night. But it is best to get business done before we..." at that point, his composure faltered.

"We need to talk about... us..." Vayne agreed. "And we will. But as you said, business needs to come first. So lead the way."

They left the cafe, and into the night. It actually felt good to outright admit that there was more than business to attend to. That was entirely new territory for the Night Hunter, and it was something she knew she couldn't handle in the same way as anything else in her life.

Well, she could, she supposed... but putting a bolt through Kato's skull for fancying her would make her a pretty horrible person, especially since it wasn't exactly one sided. Not like the crush Dr. Mundo apparently had on her.

"Are you cold?" Kato asked. Apparently, Vayne had shuddered at her prior thought.

She shook her head. "No... just... a momentary chill," she said in assurance, then noticed the path they were taking. "Are we heading to the Institute of War?"

"We are." Kato confirmed. "But I'm playing it safe by not telling you anything else. I already fear that I've told you too much, and that it may cause trouble."

"Trouble? How?"

Kato's response was an intentionally vague, "You'll see."

"I somehow doubt the central halls of the greatest summoners in the land will allow an apprentice and a league champion to waltz through them uninvited in the middle of the night." Vayne said.

Kato then surprised her by morphing into Grand Summoner Laitwell, even nailing his Piltover accent perfectly. "Ah, but they'll let me in!"

"Unless Laitwell is already in there."

"He... I mean... I'm not. I'm actually in Piltover until tomorrow."

"And when your master returns tomorrow, and learns that someone was impersonating him..."

"He'll actually know it was me." Kato said simply. "This isn't the first time I've done this. I actually have his permission to do so... as long as I tell him exactly what business I was up to and what I found."

Vayne started to ask why that was, when Kato shushed her with an illusionary gnarled finger. "You'll see very soon why."

As Kato had promised, the guards at the gates to the Institute of War didn't stop them past getting Kato to sign in (as Grand Summoner Laitwell), before allowing him and Vayne to enter without even a pat down for weapons. They didn't even attempt to take Vayne's visible weapons.

"Having a Grand Summoner for an escort has its advantages." The Night Hunter observed. "Maybe I should be dating him."

"I can hold this illusion for some time, if that's what interests you." Kato replied simply.

Which prompted another thought that got Vayne to shudder. "I think I'll pass."

She got a sense of where they were going the moment Kato took a left towards the Eastern Wing. She had heard tales, many of which gained some confirmation as she saw how the halls became progressively less maintained the further east they went.

They reached a point where Kato felt confident enough to drop his illusion, a point where dust ruled every surface to the point that they were leaving footprints, signs that Kato felt compelled to cover up by stirring the air behind them.

Their progress stopped at a door that Vayne had only heard in stories, stories that she had highly doubted until now. "Is this...?"

Kato held up one finger, then opened the door to Fiddlestick's chamber.

The scarecrow instantly stood, scythe at the ready as Kato took one step forward into the chamber that should have been his death. And for a brief moment, it seemed like it would be, until Fiddlesticks instead lowered his scythe, and said, "You have come again. You wish access to my master's sanctum."

"I do."

"The time is right, and the demi-plane is aligned. You may do so."

At that point, Kato gestured for Vayne to enter. "I am bringing one vital to my studies. She knows nothing of the sanctum, and thus desires nothing physical from it. Merely an answer to a question."

Fiddlestick's glowing eyes turned in her direction, and her bravery faltered the point that she stepped right back out of the chamber. It didn't help that even Kato had expressed worry that he had already told her too much.

But hells, by how the story goes, she should be dead already having already set foot inside. So once again steeling herself, she entered the chamber, and braced for Fiddlestick's judgment. She wasn't helpless after all, and had bested the executioner more than once on the Fields of Justice one on one.

"I am more powerful when not bound by summoning, Night Hunter Shauna Vayne." The scarecrow cackled, and demonstrated such with a lightning fast movement that brought it right to her face, and a wooden hand under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet its. "It is only an answer she seeks?"

"Yes, construct," Kato answered sternly. "I trust it won't be a problem. I doubt the master would want to see me displeased."

"No, she would not." Fiddlesticks said. "Very well, Night Hunter. Seek your answer. Take nothing from the sanctum."

She? Vayne thought. Istvaan had been a man. What...?

"Beware your thoughts, human." Fiddlesticks warned. "Seek only the answer you desire, and nothing more."

Vayne forced her mind blank, and that prompted the league executioner to release her. "Follow the young master. He will lead you to the sanctum."

Fiddlesticks then returned to his chair, staring out towards the doorway, doing so even as Kato closed the door, then guided Vayne through the dusty summoning chamber. It was a mess in more than just being abandoned... it was nigh entirely trashed, with bookshelves toppled, glass bottles shattered, their contents staining the carpet, all signs that something very, very violent had occurred.

"I know you're curious." Kato whispered, "But try not to think too much until we're across the veil. Fiddlesticks is gaining interest in you again, and I don't know just how far he'll respect my wishes."

Sure enough, the scarecrow had turned its head unnaturally in her direction, eyes glowing warily, though it had not otherwise moved. Vayne again cleared her thoughts, this time closing her eyes before her curiosity could tempt her further.

As a result, she didn't even realize anything had changed. Kato guided her forward, and only after several steps that seemed far too long for the size of the chamber, did she open her eyes again to find herself somewhere else entirely.

She wasn't even confident they were still in the Institute of War.

It looked more like an observatory without walls, a night sky surrounding a red carpeted circle.

"I've banished everything else out of sight so as not to have you tempted by any straying eyes." Kato commented. "The only thing we will need is this."

He held out his hands, and a scrying plate phased into existence. "And here we are, quite possibly the only scrying plate not on record at the Institute of War."

"Is it safe to wonder where I am?" Vayne asked, momentarily distracted again from the business at hand.

"Only because I really can't tell you." Kato replied. "I only found this place by accident myself when I started as an apprentice. I had been drawn to the eastern wing for some time, and took the opportunity to explore when I was able to slip Laitwell's eyes."

"That's why he lets you impersonate him... because you're the only person Fiddlesticks lets pass." Vayne deduced.

"That's correct, although in exchange he has me catalog everything I can find whenever I visit. He's no doubt going to be disappointed tomorrow morning when I tell him of this, but I'll manage."

He then looked at Vayne, and said, "I trust you have what we need... right?"

She jerked from her awe to glare at him before retrieving the item of her mother's. "It's the best I could find."

Kato nodded. "That will do nicely."

He looked at her nervously, and said, "I will do my best... to... push through the events of your parent's deaths."

Vayne shook her head, displaying a confidence she did not feel. "Don't do anything that would potentially break the divining. I relive those events every night in my nightmares. One more time won't do more damage than has already been done."

Kato's concern was both evident and touching. But she refused to be coddled if it meant that answers might slip through her fingers.

The apprentice summoner nodded. "Understood."

A pedestal formed in front of him, and he set the scrying plate onto its broad, flat top. Gently, he took her mother's brush. "The waters within the plate will quite likely... destroy this item."

"The loss of a trinket is worth finally knowing why," Vayne retorted. "Do it."

Kato's response was to nod, before gently dropping the hairbrush into the broad lip of the scrying plate. Sure enough, it bubbled violently, but the reaction was ignored as Kato began to focus, conjuring an image that Shauna Vayne remembered very vividly.

She forced herself to remain composed as she witnessed the murder of her mother, and the crone that killed her. She refused to close her eyes, refused to cover her ears as every sickening taunt from the witch was spoken as if it was that horrible night yet again.

She had to know. The witch had stopped after killing her mother, fleeing without searching further for the child that she had tried to lure out of hiding. Kato turned the focus of the scry onto the witch, just in time to get the answer she had been looking for... in the form of a telepathic communication.

The child is warded. I cannot sense her.

It doesn't matter. Was a reply from a voice she was surprised she recognized. I found Brucius Vayne. I am told the corpse is enough to get the information our bosses need, right?

Yes.The witch answered. Collect the body, then we leave.

Must we?

Yes, we must. You've caused enough of a commotion, and we must get the body to our employers.

You won't control me forever witch... when I am free...

Save your threats. We leave. Now.

Kato then dropped to his knees, the scrying vision shattering like glass. He was panting heavily, trying to apologize, "I... I'm sorry... that's all I could do... I'm not... very strong with that sort... of mental... exertion... I'm so... very sorry."

Vayne was jolted from her thoughts, and she hurriedly knelt before the apprentice to help him to his feet and offer her shoulder for support. "No... no need to apologize. You've given me more than I've ever had before. A start."

Kato seemed confused by this. "How? What did you learn from just that?"

"The person she was talking to telepathically." Vayne explained. "I've heard that voice before. I know who else was there."

"Who?"

Vayne turned grim. Even with this knowledge, she knew going further wouldn't be easy. "His name is Shaco. He's a champion here in the League of Legends."