A decaying leaf danced between howling winds, swirling around peach blossom trees that, in the darkness, looked more like forlorn bodies twisted cruelly out of shape. As it continued its macabre dance, the leaf caught the attention of a lone traveler. He traced its path, tilting his head slightly when the leaf, giving off its last breath, landed just in front of him.
A gravelly voice emerged from the shadows. "Crush it."
The traveler perked his ears, scanning his surroundings quickly. His eyes darted between the trees, searching in vain for the origin of the sound.
"What is done cannot be undone, Zed," the masked figure replied, his hand instinctively reaching for the pair of swords across his back. Slowly, he paced circular steps on the cobblestone road.
"You have quite the nerve to come to my temple, Shen," Zed taunted. "Could it be that you have finally realized the truth?"
Shen paused for a moment, keenly listening to the subtle movements of the other ninja. Though Shen could not see him, yet, he could sense his aura, tainted by hatred and bloodlust. Tensing up, Shen quickly drew one of his swords. He gripped the sheathed one firmly with his other hand.
"I am not here to be your disciple," Shen coldly responded, steeling his stance.
"Watch your words. You might end up as cold as them," Zed threatened as he leapt onto the moonlit path. He leaned backwards while pummeling his arm forward, slicing through the air with glistening blades. Zed then spun in place, withdrawing his arms and bending his legs slightly.
Shen slowly drew his second blade.
Zed somersaulted backwards as he tossed a shuriken at Shen, who, with a flick of his wrist, sent the projectile back at Zed. The latter landed just in time to dodge the reflected weapon. The Master of Shadows then dashed forward, launching into the air before driving his fist down onto Shen. The Eye of Twilight quickly sidestepped out of the way, and then elbowed Zed in the back. Just as he was about to crash into the ground, Zed extended his arms and propelled his body forward, knocking Shen over and trapping the ninja under his legs.
"Your skills have waned, Zed. You have grown soft," Shen noted, slightly surprised.
Zed laughed deliriously.
"Are you mistaken? I emerge victorious!"
Shen cleared his throat.
"Even so, your form has really decayed," Shen continued, pointing to random parts of Zed's body. "It also seems like you forgot all the techniques you pioneered, too. You're lacking discipline, to be honest, but that's probably because you dis-"
Zed swiftly drove his feet into Shen's chest, ending his verbose speech. The latter groaned in pain, grunting as he wildly swung his swords in the air. While Shen continued to flail around, Zed had already tumbled out of the way, and was just about to stand up. The latter waited for Shen to get up before once again lunging at him.
Shen quickly leaned backwards, realizing too late that Zed had never intended to follow through with his attack. Eyes widening with primal fear, he shoved his sword into the road and careened himself over Zed, narrowing missing his opponent's finishing blow. It instead collided with Shen's weapon, subsequently breaking it in half.
Breathing heavily, Shen drew his sword closer to his body, and attempted to find his center of balance. Zed, too, retracted his arms. They began to circle one another.
"You were lucky," Zed spat at him. "Master always favored you over me."
Shen shook his head. "Father took pride in both of us. Look how well you treated him!"
Enraged, Zed hurled two more shuriken at his opponent, who, upon dodging one, was nicked in the face by the other. Shen grimaced in pain and attempted to wipe the wound; Zed abused the small window of opportunity and quickly summoned a shadow. Accompanied with a doppelganger, Zed dived towards Shen's abdomen while his shadow rushed for his throat.
Shen's movement, however, was actually a feint, a guise to buy him more time. He followed up on his advantage, sending his blade into the doppelganger's throat while parrying the real Zed's blade with his left arm. The sudden attack surprised Zed, causing him to lose balance and trip. Before he could regain his stance, Shen, in one fluid motion, bent in his overextended right arm and grabbed the tip of the blade with his left hand, effectively bringing the sword under Zed's chin.
Zed roared in anger, thrashing under Shen's restraints.
"Let me go! Kill me! Avenge your father!" he shouted deliriously.
Shen tossed him onto the ground.
"That's not what I'm here for," he declared as he planted one foot solemnly onto Zed's stomach.
His opponent gasped for air. "What, then?" He managed to sneak in with his breath.
"Something else, something more urgent," Shen explained, his breathing slightly labored as well.
"Of course," Zed said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "My enemies don't just stroll into my territory without a purpose."
"And then beat you at your own game?" Shen taunted.
Zed glared at Shen. With a yell, he attempted to push his opponent off him. He was ultimately unable to lift him up, however, and instead resorted to pounding the ground with his fists.
Shen sighed, raising his arms as he stepped off of Zed. When he realized that the other ninja was unable to get up on his own, he offered his arm. Zed spat at him but, after a few futile attempts, finally accepted his help.
"We can kill each other another day, I guess," Zed joked as he slowly got back on his feet. "In the meantime, you should try out this really nice tea I brewed."
Shen frowned slightly. His rival's change in attitude was certainly perplexing, but his pained, sharp breathing and slight limp was strange as well. The battle they just had was a minor skirmish compared to the cataclysmic duels they had before, so how could it be that Zed's this worn out?
"You better not be worrying about me," Zed warned, flashing his blades under the moonlight. "Trust me when I say that you won't be an orphan for long."
"Sure."
"Don't forget your weapon," Zed reminded him. "I'll lead the way."
Shen nodded in acknowledgement, and sheathed the unbroken blade. He lagged a few steps behind Zed.
They wandered for a while before finally reaching the Temple of Shadows, a pagoda which, under the sporadic moonlight and dancing silhouettes, appeared to be a twin set of blades searing over grey-black flames. Tiered towers harbored red lanterns, unlit, that followed the rhythmic swaying of said shadows. At the very top of the towers stood an outline of a figure that, upon being noticed by Shen, lurked back into the darkness.
Shen ignored the growing apprehension seeping throughout his body. That was probably just a recruit or something, he justified to himself.
He jumped slightly when something brushed his shoulder. Noticing that it was just Zed, however, he calmed down.
"Help me up the stairs," Zed panted.
Shen grunted as he shoved the mass of flesh and metal onto the top of the steps. Zed rolled around in confusion for a bit, slightly disjointed at what just happened. He quickly snapped awake, however, and leapt to his feet. Yawning as he stretched, he then clapped his hands together once more.
The shadows in front of the two Shisa statues, which were placed at equal distances from the gates, suddenly pooled together. From the abyss surfaced another Zed.
"Ao," Zed nonchalantly greeted him. "How're things around here?"
Ao bowed deeply. Without getting up, he replied, "Master Zed, all is as you left it."
Zed patted Ao on the back. "Good work," he praised. "Now let us in."
"At once," Ao bowed once more, and dissipated into nothing. Shortly after, the gigantic red gates swung inwardly, creaking as it revolved around its hinges.
In silence, the two took off their shoes before venturing into the building. What little light that seeped in casted hazy illuminations on well-polished weapons lined up neatly on racks, highlighted gently the lush, bamboo floor, and traced lightly the elongated twin horns of a helmet resting solemnly on a face of inexplicable beauty.
"What the hell's Syndra doing here?" Shen blurted out, disrupting the eerie yet peaceful atmosphere. Shen quickly clasped his mouth with his hand.
Oh god, he thought.
Syndra's eyes suddenly snapped open, and almost immediately a menacing, dark-purple aura radiated from her.
"I can ask you the same," she returned the question, her tone of such coldness that it sent shivers up Shen's spine.
"But," Syndra suddenly burst into a smile, and with it vanished her aura. "I've heard from Zed that you're here on urgent matters. So we'll forgo the destruction this time."
Shen hunched his shoulders as he gave off a heavy sigh of relief.
"You two can stop standing there now. I won't bite!" Syndra beckoned to them. The two ninjas straightened their backs, and marched toward the maple wood table in the middle of the room.
"Sit!" she commanded, and the two quickly followed suit. Sweat glistened off of Shen's head. He threw a look towards Zed.
This is the girl you were bragging about? His eyes asked.
Zed nodded quickly, and then snapped to attention when Syndra called to him.
"How's the tea?" she asked, flashing her pearly white teeth.
"Wonderful," Zed tersely replied.
"What do you think, Shen?" Syndra turned her head towards him, eyes closed, still baring her teeth.
Shen gulped. Hands shaking as he received the tea cup, he took a rather dainty sip and answered with all his strength, "It's great."
"How's your business going?" Syndra continued, whirling slightly on her tatami mat.
"Pretty good," Shen stuttered, frowning at Zed, who replied with a shake of his head. "I don't get summoned very often now, so I've been operating on more patients."
"That's great!" she exclaimed, stretching her arms into the air.
"Hah," Shen laughed nervously. "Yeah." He elbowed Zed hard in his ribs.
Help me, Shen's eyes begged.
Zed patted specks of dust off of his brass pauldrons. He then tried to smooth out the creases in his robe.
"Zed!" Shen whispered urgently.
He summoned a shadow, commanded it to whistle, and hummed its tune shortly after. Meanwhile, Syndra continued to smile carelessly, oblivious to the scene in front of her. Shen decided that he needed to take matters into his own hands.
"If you'll excuse me," Shen apologized. "I must speak to Zed privately."
Syndra shrugged, and told him to be quick. Shen wasted no time in dragging Zed out of the room.
"Are you alright or something?" Shen demanded as soon as he slammed the door shut. "First you give up on killing me, and now you're acting like a spineless wimp."
"Syndra made me promise I would never kill something again," Zed began to explain, color slowly seeping back into his pallid face. "I had to do all I could to stop myself from murdering you."
Shen crossed his arms sternly, tilting his head and goading Zed on. "That doesn't explain your actions in that room."
"I don't know, Shen," Zed shrugged. "She's been acting that way lately. I can't tell what's troubling her. She just smiles that creepy smile."
Dejected, Zed hunched his back and leaned against the wall. The other ninja stroked his non-existent beard and contemplated the new information. He recalled how fidgety Kennen had gotten during operations; it was so bad that the director had to lay him off temporarily. Akali, also, was almost always on edge, constantly seeking something to sink her blade in.
Sensing something strange in Shen's character, Zed asked him what he was thinking about.
"Actually," Shen answered. "I came to you because I thought you would know the answer."
"Me?" Zed frowned. "You're the Eye of Twilight!" He threw his arms in the air, exasperated. "If you don't know what's causing this, who could possibly know?"
The two men paced the perimeter of the hallway, eyebrows furled in deep thought.
"Perhaps Soraka would know something," Shen threw his conjecture at Zed. "If there really is some disturbance in the magical force or whatever, she would most likely be one of the first to know it."
Zed rubbed his temples, breathing heavily.
"The Spirit Walker, that Shojin monk, they probably know something's up, too," Zed added on, raising fingers as he named them.
"Whatever it is, I can't solve this alone, Zed," Shen began, searching for the right words to continue.
The other ninja nodded. "I know what you ask of me. I suppose, just this one time, we can set aside our differences and solve this mystery."
Just what has Syndra done to you? Shen pondered to himself.