Hello my good people of league of legends lemonade! Yukami has returned with another lemon and news!
for one, i know a while back i have said that i was closing commissions, but of course i didn't see my foreseeable future outside the original plan, so i didn't expect almost 2 months of free time. plus it has been obvious that i have still been doing comms even after the fact
so now i am officially announcing the opening of commissions!
This is another commission from one of my buds in the Black Penguin. If you wanna get something done by Waddlebuff, GeistLoL or other good writers of the lemonade, feel free to hit us up!
without further ado, read on!
The dim moonly filled the foliage of the calm forest, the denizens of the night singing within the cracks of sight. Predator and prey dance in the darkness against their opposites, vying for life. The expansive Ionian valley was teeming with noctunal existence, almost at the behest and beck of the lunar beauty that hung mostly unencumbered in the dark, spotted sky. No soul of creature or man was without caution with the moon high, and any life or death instance was mere seconds from being decided.
It was as if nature itself deemed the brutal and fast dance of blades between the two people under the night's watch.
Blades clashed fast and strong, creatures smaller than the woman and man who fought escaping their wrath or collateral with each strike of steel. The woman's cries of effort were matched by the heavy breaths of the man. She spun and twirled violently, her numerous floating blades whipping and lashing at the male's long katana. Every few clashes would bring a random swipe of her foot or palm, easily blocked or deflected for another to follow behind it. What she didn't land on his body for pain, she hit on the vegetation that surrounded them, cutting large gashes into trees and shredding brushes with deft movement. Each strike was more fierce and deadly than the last, until the male parried an overextended strike from her blades. She easily dodged the counter attack, but was forced away from him, taking her stance less than a dozen feet apart from him. Both combatants were panting as the fight drew every ounce of energy from their bodies, and while she bore a heated and deadly glare, his eyes were filled with indifference and nonchalance. The cloud that sheilded the light from the moon on them parted almost auspiciously, revealing the hardened features of the fighters.
Exposing the angered expression of Irelia, the Blade Dancer and Captain of the Ionian Guard, and the calm demeanor of Yasuo, the Unforgiven samurai.
Irelia furrowed her brow as she internally shrieked at the inability to kill the rogue swordsman. She was skilled and proficient in combat against any and all warriors, having fought for the honor of Ionia numerous times in the war with Noxus. She survived near infinite fights of varying skills and weapons, besting the best soldiers and fighters between her home and the invading nation. She was gifted with the grace and elegance of the spirits, and commanded the spirit imbued blades that orbit her. Yet here she was, unable to land more than two or three hits onto his body, and those barely nicking his skin. She couldn't hit the dishonored samurai no matter how hard she tried, and it infuriated her.
"You are quick to dodge and block my strikes, dishonored. Even more so to flee my attacks when I am easily able to cut you down like the traitorous dog you are," she spat. The blades whirled forward as if pointing to the swordsman mockingly. "Fitting for a fleeing kinslayer."
Yasuo, for all she was taunting him for, refused to give an inch of amusement or annoyance to her words. Under the cowl that covered half his face, he held the thin, deadpanned line on his lips at the Captain. "I told you I am no kinslayer. I do what I must for the peace that is needed. I do what I must to survive and find the truth." he answered coldly.
"Ha!" Irelia shouted tauntingly, before charging forward and locking several of her blades against his once again. Yasuo was able to hold off all the sharp edges with his single one, now understanding that their fluidity comes from her movement. He noticed that her moves grew faster and stronger while she moved, especially whenever her blades were moved out of the order of her swings. "Does your justice see the blood of your brothers and sisters by your hand?! Does your justice know of how cowardly you are from facing the truth?!"
Yasuo grit his teeth, before pushing the captain away with one strong shove and deflecting a second retaliating attack she made. "When the truth is found, it will not be my justice that matters." he retorted, pointing his blade to the Blade Dancer. "Until then, my mission is to seek the one whom truly killed my master."
"You have no master, bastardous samurai. You only hold the lie you call your honor and pride to escape the punishment of Ionia."
Yasuo glared at the captain. "My honor left a long time ago," he mumbled, poising his blade on the offensive. "And I have no need for your punishment until my mission is complete."
"Then you will die tonight, both a dishonored traitor and a failure." Irelia seethed, her blades whipping once more over her head.
"I will not die dishonored." Yasuo finished, before dashing forward with his sword to strike.
/
The late afternoon sun burned down on the Blade Dancer as she trekked on her steed across the road to the Daichou Valley, the last known location of her target, the traitor Yasuo. She peered at the beautiful scene before her, admiring the rich colors of the late summer fields. Today was a stunning day, no doubt. The sun shone over her with few clouds passing for minor cooling cover, the air smelled of the lotus blossoms and ferns that surrounded her in nature. She couldn't resist a smile as she allowed herself the peace of the environment wash over her along with the stray breeze that rolled the pristine grass of the field. In any other circumstance, this would be the event and criteria of her meditation or practice. The serene atmosphere providing a calm template for her craft and patience.
When I danced for fun...this day was the best one to do so. Sunshine, cool breeze, calm aroma of nature...she thought, closing her eyes momentarily to reminisce. With my brothers...with my O-ma. Halcyon days.
But it wasn't one of those moments, and she frowned as her home's current state and her current assignment returned to thought.
Irelia pulled out the slip of paper with the intricately detailed sketch of the samurai she was assigned to apprehend or kill. While she, like the elders of the capital, had no concrete evidence of his acts of treason against the peaceful Ionia, she could tell that he wasn't one to take for granted. The elder that he supposedly slain was the only other person known to Ionian lands capable of the fabled wind technique, and begrudgingly to the rest of the capital, taught it to the young swordsman years prior. Had everyone known of the true nature of the traitor, they would have likely kept the technique from him, or locked him away sooner to prevent the demise of the late master. But here they are now, the swordsman fleeing Ionian authorities and she on the road to find him.
Irelia sighed in annoyance. She shouldn't be hunting some rogue. She was far too skilled to be. She needed to be on the frontlines with her brethren who were still fighting off the filthy Noxians looking to conquer their home. No one could deny that her deed of disarming (literally) the Grand General was enough proof that she was apt to fight, but no one would argue about her not assisting in ridding the Noxian invasion.
Countless brothers and sisters perish because of the looming threat of Noxus, and I am looking for some guy with a sword that knows some fancy fanning. Irelia internally scolded. I will not deny I am frustrated about it, but the orders of the elders are just as important as cleansing the stain spreading on our land. When I find and capture the swordsman, I will return to the fight and finish what I have started.
And Irelia couldn't contain her anxiousness to go back. Even as she was hundreds of miles from the front, hundreds of miles from the next Noxian body to drop from her transcendent blades, she could imagine herself running through the armies, dodging dipping and slicing through anything that was closely resembling a Noxian. And considering they normally wore red and black with that infernal insignia plastered on the chest, targets were easy to find.
That was later. This is now. And she now was crossing into the Daichou Valley. She had lost track of the time, not noticing the late sun at the edge of the horizon. It would be dark soon, and while she was apt to defend herself against anything at night, she'd rather save her strength for the true battle.
Yasuo parried another slash from the Dancer, dodging her hard swipes with apparent ease. Each swing of her blades that missed, Irelia grew angrier, her vision going red as she realized that he wasn't running away anymore, he was playing with her. He wasn't in anyway showing effort in saving his own skin or even killing her. He dismissed her swings, kicks, punches and blades as if he was swatting a fly or dodging rocks being thrown at him.
He was blatantly mocking her.
"STAY STILL, YOU BASTARD!" she shrieked as a set of blades thrust forward at wind cutting speed. The samurai merely tilted his head, hearing the wind pass by his ear before ducking away from another swipe to his head.
WHY CAN'T I HIT HIM?! HOW IS HE SO AGILE!? Irelia internally fumed. HE HAS NO TRAINING! HE HAS NOTHING! WHY IS HE JUST DODGING?!
When Irelia nearly dived for a strike, a battle cry echoing through the forest, Yasuo furrowed his brow for a second before whipping his blade forward and nearly sliding past the dancer. She paused mid stance, while he merely resheathed his blade and crossed his arms. She growled deeply as the sting of the small cut on her cheek oozed the lightest amount of blood.
"I do not wish to kill anymore of my Ionian kin. Especially not a warrior like yourself." he announced, not looking at the Blade Dancer. She grit her teeth hard and spun to him bringing her blades around for another strike to his open back. The blades crashed to the dirt with enough force to leave a dent. Irelia was heavily panting, but she stopped immediately when she noticed he wasn't in the place she swung. She hadn't noticed the reflection of his blade against her opposite cheek until he turned it for the moon to reflect.
"And you are not capable to fight me with even mind. I advise you leave before your emotions cloud your blades, and send you into mine." he added. Irelia turned her head to him, focusing one of her blades from close to her hand to sneak a strike to him from the close proximity. The blade hit the samurai on the chest, a deep cut marring his body and forcing him to step back in caution.
"That was dirty." Yasuo said unamused. Irelia merely summoned her blades to orbit her fiercely, the wind of their spinning lifting her hair slightly.
"WHY CAN'T I HIT YOU!? WHY ARE YOU NOT TAKING ME SERIOUSLY!?" she screamed, glaring daggers sharper than both their blades at his. Yasuo frowned.
"Like I said you are too clouded in emotions. I have very little to lose. If you focused-"
"DO NOT LECTURE ME!" she interjected. "You are not deserving of your blade, bastard! You who were born as dirt, raised in dirt, and fight like dirt, should not lecture me on battle or emotion! I command the transcendent spirit blades! I have slain Noxians in battalions with the swing of my finger!"
"And yet you can't keep yourself calm against me? If I am dirt, what does that say about you?" he taunted, a smirk appearing on his face.
"I WILL KILL YOU!" she roared, rushing the samurai once more. Throwing her arms forward, Irelia summoner over a dozen of her blades to impale him.
"Kill me?" he mumbled, before summoning a mighty gust of wind with the swing of his sword. The wall of air blocked the blades she threw forth to him, caught in the mighty wall of air before being careened to the sky and falling to the dirt. "You can try."
The moon hovered over the valley, giving ample coverage from vision to the Blade Dancer as she trekked the foliage to the sudden plume of smoke that she saw moments prior. She kept her body low, her blades silently snipping whatever leaves of branches blocked her path. If the samurai was near, she needed to find him, either kill or capture him, and head back to the capital. The sooner she was finished with her task, the better.
For a man apparently skilled in killing his kinsmen, he lacks in intelligence. She thought triumphantly. To leave yourself open in the valley may be the last thing people expect, but a signal with a campfire at the basin of the valley? You're making this too easy.
Irelia passed another set of branches, the distinct scent of burning dry wood and meat filling her nostrils as she drew closer. She narrowed her eyes as she peered through the shadows of the trees to the flickering orange light several dozen feet ahead. She could easily make out a humanoid figure sitting before the blaze with something in hand moving to his mouth. And he's eating. He will be sluggish or malnourished. At this point, I question the reason for sending me out here.
Irelia moved closer, her feet quiet on the dirt of the ground in contrast to the night denizens. If she paced herself, the crickets will drown out her steps. Her blades silently lifted behind her, pointing to the person seated. A single blade moved forward and aimed to the presumed head.
Apprehended or eliminated. Hard or easy. Tasking or quick. Choice too obvious. She mentally decided as the blade twisted once. With a single move, the edge was flown forth at near invincible speeds. A smirk stretched on her face as the task was already finished before she got to enjoy it.
The sound of metal clanging struck her ear.
Irelia furrowed. Peering into the opening to see her blade embedded in the target's head, she was surprised and disappointed as his own blade was unsheathed and upright, in the path of her own. She saw her blade on the dirt besides him, and his expression unimpressed.
"When you lot aim to kill me by silent assassination, make sure you stick to the 'silent' part." he called, not looking to her direction and tossing the stick he had to his mouth into the flame before him. His voice was deep, rough, hardened. Something that caught her by surprise since his description was one of a young man. Irelia sighed as she stood from her spot between the brushes and stepped into the fire's light. Her blade resting near him lifted and returned to her, catching his eye. Irelia could see now that the man before her was indeed the one she was looking for.
"You seem to enjoy avoiding death, kinslayer. If you'd be so kind as to make this whole thing simple, I can kill you and head back to defend the land you betrayed when you slew its leader." she ordered. Yasuo made an annoyed expression before he gripped his sword by the handle properly and using it to stand.
"I am no kinslayer, I did not kill my master, and I will not die until the one who did is found." he announced, now turning to see the Blade Dancer. He widened his eyes slightly as he caught glimpse to the rather attractive female that stood before him, his gaze switching between the obvious Captain armor that she wore and the triangle of floating blades behind her. The piercing blue hues that seemed sharper than his own edge, and a near pristine appearance akin to a doll. If it wasn't filled with disdain and contempt, he'd be more apt to compliment her.
"you cannot fool me, Yasuo. I know of your ability to control the winds with your blade. I know of your pact to find the supposed true murderer," Irelia announced, raising her head as if to look down upon him. Yasuo made no means to react to it. "I also know of your slaying of numerous people looking to capture you, including the young and skilled swordsman you befriended under the elder's care, Yone."
At that, Yasuo took an irritated glare to the captain. "They wouldn't listen to reason. He wouldn't listen to his brother." he spat.
"He wasn't prepared to strike down his 'brother' and you took that weakness as opportunity." Irelia shot back. Now Yasuo was mad. "Skilled, but blinded by false brotherhood."
"Don't you dare speak of him that way." Yasuo seethed, pointing his blade at the Blade Dancer. "He was blinded, but not by his brotherhood. He was blinded by the fools who sent him to kill the only person capable of finding the true killer. Fools like you."
It was Irelia's turn to scowl, her floating blades whirling around to point at him menacingly. "Watch your tongue, bastard, or I will cut it from your mouth. The elders saw your failure and your deceit, and they sent me to end you. To make justice for your crimes."
Yasuo huffed in amusement. "Justice? That's a pretty word. Shame it's turned to filth in the self-centered minds of the elders," he retorted. "Honestly it sounds more sickening coming from you."
Irelia grinned as she heard the challenge. "Then allow me to clarify my justice by cutting your head. I will avenge those you have slain, and make amends for your crime in your death." Almost as a bell ring, Irelia made a battle cry and rushed forward, her transcendent blades poised forward to impale the swordsman's heart. Yasuo's eye glinted for a second before his blade went up and blocked her strike, the tips of the blades converged to the side of his sword.
"I'm not going to make any amends for my actual crime, or suck up to some nasty ideal that you people seem to like, but I will give you the easy way out." he returned. The two glared each other down, preparing themselves in their locked blades for their battle. The wind itself went still at the tension between them, and the forest of the valley seemed to lose its nocturnal life immediately.
It was Irelia who made the first move, bringing two of her blades from their lock on the samurai's up and lunging them forward at his body. Yasuo instinctively shoved the captain back and stepped back quickly, his sword moving fast in motion to deflect the incoming blades. Irelia gave no moment of reprieve, as she stepped forward and spun on her toe to will her blades in a diagonal cut. Yasuo blocked the series of edges with ease. Irelia continued her assault with another slice from the other direction. The swordsman parried her strike and thrust his blade to stab her, only for her blades to redirect his move and retaliate themselves. The two traded strikes and swings, blocking or parrying the other's attacks. Yasuo went for an impaling thrust after dodging one from Irelia, only to see her blades revolve around her body at wind cutting speeds and stopping his tip from breaking through. He pulled his blade back and quickly rolled to the right to avoid the massive wave of edges that were shoved forward at heavy and unblockable strengths.
Catching the swordsman on the defensive, Irelia spun and twirled repeatedly with her transcendent blades rolling with her movements, a dance signature to her name as they attempted to cut down the Unforgiven. In between select few swings, she either sent a strong punch or a pivot kick to him, managing to catch him off only twice before he began blocking the hand-to-hand strikes. The two engaged in a violent tango between their blades, minor hits to their bodies landing, but noting could guarantee victory or defeat.
Yasuo could see that the Blade Dancer was far more skilled than she let on, the sneak attack not being a means to make quick work of him, but to avoid using all her effort. As her dozen or so blades moved as she did, he felt his body fill with the wind of their dance, until his sword was wrapped in a thin gust of air. He managed to deflect her blades once more and push her back, sheathing his sword in the process.
"You dare sheathe your blade in a battle to the death?" Irelia mocked, her brow cocked in curiosity. "Even the most novice swordsman knows to keep his blade ready."
"Who said it's not?" he retorted. "Try to strike. Let see if my sword is truly ready."
Irelia's brow furrowed deeper as she looked to him analytically, checking for verify anything he might do. She could see that his clothing and hair moved ever so subtly, as if a gentle breeze was blow through. However the air around them was still, and she could not feel the same wind that he held.
Is this the fabled wind technique he used? It seems like a sort of shield. She contemplated. It matters not. If I can bypass with my blades the flesh of monsters, I can certainly cut some breeze through!
Irelia whipped her right arm back and sat her left forward and low, her palms open and her stance lowered. The transcendant blades responded to her motion by moving to her right side and lining perfectly together to make an airborne double edged sword that spun like a drill. Her gaze hardened in a second before she almost flew forward with the point of her blades directed at the swordsman. With this strike, regardless to whatever shield of wind he may have, she would pierce through and kill.
"THIS IS WHERE YOU DIE!" she roared as she thrust her band forward, the drill of blades rushing at the motion to impale the swordsman. In the instant that she was mere inches from penetrating his chest, she saw his body turn almost ethereal, before he leaned forward and to the right side. The drill of her blades went through him cleanly, but it was merely a wind after image that she felt no pressure against.
"TON!" Yasuo called, as he slid past into the guard of the captain and spun completely around. In the same instance, his now unsheathed sword cut through her armor on her left side leaving a deep cut going into her side. Several sharp gusts of wind made smaller cuts on other parts of her body, shredding her clothes and leaving gashes on her armor. Her pants and leg guards had thin lines that met her skin, and her shirt and sleeves had slices that exposed her cream colored skin. The small cuts met her body, and little lines of red began to form on her.
"Gah!" Irelia cried out as the numerous cuts struck her all at once. She could feel the minor sting of the smaller slices, but she recoiled as she felt the single cut from his blade in her left side. She dropped to her knee, her right hand going to her wound to cover the damage. She turned her glare back to the swordsman who sheathed his blade once more.
"The road to ruin is shorter than you think," he called, not looking at the captain. "Continue to test my blade and you will meet your ruin sooner than you'd expect."
Irelia growled as she stood to her feet, her anger welling as she felt insulted by his words. "I do not know of how you did that just now, but it won't work twice. I will soon have your head before it does."
Yasuo turned back to face the captain, a scowl on his face as he seemed to have settled on something. "You are definitely good with those...knives. What is your name?" he asked.
"My name is not of your concern since the dead don't remember anyway."
"But it does help the dead in the afterlife atone through the memory of those who sent them. You know of mine, and I would hate to kill someone as skilled as you without keeping your name for my own atonement."
"Flattery will not save you."
"But it gives you time to recover."
"When you beat me, I will tell you my name." Irelia seethed, moving back into stance to fight again. Yasuo hummed before drawing his sword and doing the same.
"Then I suppose I should look forward to learning it."
Without pause, the two dashed forward to each other, blades poised for another deathly battle. Once they were in reach of each other, their blades made a resonating sound that nearly shook the ground below and the air above them.
Clang!
Irelia cried out as she was forced to the floor on her back. She growled as the waves of pain from the numerous cuts that painted her body took its toll with the exhaustion of the long and arduous fight. The Blade Dancer, for what it was worth, was being beaten. Her arms and legs cried in pain and tiredness from abuse, her brow was coated in a heavy sheen of sweat, the many cuts on her body bled profusely, her armor and dress was in tatters, with her left sleeve cut off and her right thigh almost completely exposed.
Yasuo sheathed his blade and crossed his arms as he glared down at the captain. He was significantly less worn looking than her, having several good cuts on his already exposed torso and his foot bleeding from another sneaky stab she made to him, but overall in condition to fight.
"Stay down. I do not want to kill you." Yasuo affirmed once more. Irelia ignored him, gritting her teeth as she willed her arms and legs to move her upright. She glared with one eye open at the Unforgiven.
"I...I am going to end you!" she called, attempting to stand once more. "I must finish what I started! I need to! The elders...the people...they rely on me to bring you to justice!"
Yasuo growled in anger now, drawing his sword quickly before using the back end to strike Irelia's leg and force her to fall back to the floor. "The elders? They want justice?! Don't make me laugh!" he spat. Irelia got to her knees before she felt the cold steel of Yasuo's sword sit beside her head. She froze as she knew one wrong move could spell her death. "Their justice is one of fear and foolishness! They thought I killed my master almost immediately upon seeing the evidence of wind where he was slain! I was framed for a murder I did not commit! And this justice sent men and women who dedicate their lives to false honor to their graves against me!"
"Those men and women died to stop a murderer! Your bloodied hands are proof of that!" she shot back, turning to sit down instead of stand. She could see the point of his blade to her nose, but she held no reason to show fear. "And I am willing to die to do the same!"
"No," Yasuo affirmed, sheathing his sword once more. "You are not. I killed to survive. They attempted to kill because of some circle of old geezers told them to. I told you, I am no kinslayer. And I will not go against that by slaying you. Regardless to the behest of someone whom you believe is truth, you cannot and will not slay me. Not until my mission is complete." Yasuo turned away from the Blade Dancer and walked to the forest, his decision to end their fight made.
Irelia was fuming. Once again this man was lecturing her. She who lost so much in a war that should not have started. She who has seen the blood of her brothers and sisters, who has seen the death of those innocent and free in her home, was being lectured by one who betrayed his honor. Now he walked as if he was victorious. As if she was in the wrong for finding a murderer like him to bring him to justice. She was angry that he denounced her honor with his nonchalance in battle, and saw no reason to kill her when she was down. It was too much for her to take. Too much for her to withstand.
And she refused to allow him to live after doing so.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" she screamed, throwing forth her arm and sending every blade she had at him in haphazard flurry. Yasuo sighed as he knew he wasn't going to leave that easily.
Yasuo spun on his heel and unsheathed his blade, cutting the dirt before him in one swift slice. "CHORYON!" he shouted. A massive wall of wind raised before him, and the air seemed to blow every leaf and blade of grass away. The onslaught of blades met the wall of wind and was abruptly careened to the sky. The blades immediately deflected from the wall, shooting in different directions almost randomly. Irelia saw the massive wave of air redirect her transcendent blades and gaped.
He...used the wind to block them?! How is that possible?! She thought. Her mind was interrupted as a quick sheen from one of her blades met her eye, and she noticed that the wind deflected one back at her, the angle directly for her head. She threw up her hand to block the blade, but was surprised as the feeling of it's sharp edge had not met her skin. She felt a gust of air blow in her face, and looking forward, saw the swordsman standing before her with his hand gripping the deflected blade. His hand dripping blood from what she presumed was the edge cutting into his palm. Irelia peered up to him in awe, completely taken by the fact that he just saved her from killing herself accidentally.
"H-how…? Why?" she breathed, not having much else on her mind than the truth of his rescue.
"Like I said, I am no kinslayer."