Hi everyone!

I present to you a new story, Live and Let Die!

Although this may be a bit too early for me to ask, but if you could leave a review after you finish reading, that would really help.

Just a simple two minutes is all thats needed. Anything helps builds my confidence and eagerness to share more with you all.

There isn't anything that makes a writer happier than hearing from their readers so please do so if it isn't too much trouble.

Without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of Live and Let Die.

~mk-lite


It was supposed to be a normal night, but this night was different. There were screams, shouts, and crying throughout the entire village as the sounds of slaughter filled every house. Flames were burning up everything in sight, the heat wrapping it's suffocating embrace as her cries were met to no avail as the house she was so familiar with began to collapse in front of her eyes. Suddenly, the door burst open and a tall man rushed into the room. Scooping her up in his arms as he rushed out of the house, the man looked down at her with a comforting expression on his face. "Do not fear, young one. My name is Du Couteau and I am here to protect you and the people in this village." Setting her down a safe distance away, he ran back into the burning village. It would be hours before Du Couteau would stagger out of the destroyed village with a look of pure despair on his face. "There were no other survivors, we must take this young one back to the Noxian High Command. At least there she will have a chance of survival." he said quietly as the squadron of soldiers he came with nodded at him. Tilting her head in confusion, Katarina blinked at Du Couteau. "Pa…pa?" she said in a confused tone. Kneeling down in front of her, Du Couteau rubbed her head. "That's right, I'm your papa and I will never leave you."

Opening her green eyes slowly, Katarina blinked a couple times before realizing that she was crying. Sitting up in her bed and wiping her eyes, Katarina swung herself out of bed as she made her way to her bathroom sink. After splashing her face with cold water, she closed her eyes, trying to shake that dream out of her head. She was only a toddler in the dream, unable to remember clear details but for some reason, that specific scene was stuck to her mind like glue. This wasn't the first time that she has had the same dream. In fact, she had lost count of how many times this has happened, starting a couple months ago. Her earliest memories began with her assassin training under the Noxian regime. Ever since then, she had grown to view feelings as a sign for weakness. Katarina had built herself up to the assassin she is from willpower, coldness, and cunningness. Katarina was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the knock and the tentative opening of her door.

Talon cautiously stepped into her room, all his senses on high alert, as Katarina always opened her unless she was in a game but games didn't start for another hour. Suspecting something was wrong, Talon paused, suddenly hearing the running water in the bathroom. Realizing his mistake, Talon quickly turned around to make a bolt for the door before Katarina walked out of the bathroom, sleepily stretching before freezing mid stretch at the sight of Talon, who had frozen mid step. Slowly turning around, Talon opened his mouth to say something before taking in the sight of Katarina in her sleeping outfit, her short gym shorts and tank top showing a lot more skin than he was ever used to seeing. Bowing quickly in apology as he averted his eyes, Talon turned back around and began sprinting for the door as he felt the fire from Katarina's rage fill the room. Just before he reached the door, a throwing knife lodged itself in the space between his skin and shoulder cloth, pinning him to the door. Before he could yank it out, a dozen more blades buried themselves all around him, rendering him immobile. Talon began frantically tearing away at his clothes before he felt Katarina's blade against his back.

"Now that I have you caught, would you like to explain what the hell you are doing in my room, peeping like some classic pervert?" Katarina asked in a sweet tone through gritted teeth. Talon gulped as beads of sweat dripped down his face. "I-I was just checking up on you, like usual! Don't you remember?! I would check up on you in the night and morning ever since we were little! You didn't answer your door so I was concerned," Talon said all in quick breath. After pondering for a couple minutes, Katarina grinned. "First off, we aren't children anymore so we have this thing called privacy. Secondly, you were still peeping on me. I cant exactly forgive you for that, so we're going to have a bit of fun," as an evil glint filled her eyes. Talon's shrill screams rang out in the hallway, causing Shyvana who was on her way delivering a basket of fruit to jump in the air, landing back on the ground in her dragon form from the sudden scare, turning the fruit into a pile of ash.

Zed was sitting alone in the cafeteria, reading one of the books Akali had insisted he read. "It'll teach you a thing or two in bed," Akali's words and winking face flashed through his mind as he kept reading slowly. The ninja had gone through emotional and physical trauma that would break any normal person. But reading Fifty Shades of Grey proved to be an opponent that he was having difficulty against, as the scenes that were being described made him want to crawl into a hole. Sipping his milk carton silently with a straw that went through his mask, Zed didn't even notice Talon until the assassin collapsed onto the chair across from him, causing Zed to spit out his milk and fling the book away in surprise. "It's a good book," Talon said weakly, as the Master of Shadows quickly regained his composure, only to nearly fall out of his seat after seeing Talon's face. Talon's right eye had swollen up from the fresh black eye, there were several bruises all over his face and body, Zed suspected. There was also a small dagger buried in his shoulder, but it seemed like Talon was unaware of it. "W-what happened to you?" Zed coughed.

Propping his chin in his palm, Talon winced slightly. "Katarina happened." Zed sighed, as he picked up his book and placed it in his bag. "Although you two have been raised in the same household for as long as either of you can remember, the both of you have a relationship that one would assume is an abusive one," Zed chuckled in a low tone to which Talon raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You're a one to talk, look at you reading that kinky book. I bet a couple of hextech chests that Akali made you read that because you're absolutely hopeless in bed," Talon smirked a second before Zed's fist was buried in his already bruised face. Zed calmly examined his gloved hand to see if there was any blood on it as Talon lay on the floor, gazing up at the ceiling, wondering if his day could get any worse. As if it was on cue, the Announcer voice rang out: "Talon, you are summoned to the waiting area to meet your summoner. Your game will commence in a couple minutes."

Zed strolled over and helped the assassin up on his feet. "Well, it would seem your big mouth is needed on the Rift. Try to make it back alive," Zed said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he sat back down to continue reading. Talon rolled his eyes, "It was nice seeing you too, Zed," he muttered before making his way out of the cafeteria and down to the waiting area, trying to ignore the numerous stares and whispers behind his back at his damaged appearance.

Throwing open the doors to the waiting area, Talon walked up to the only available summoner. A young man about the same height as he was with bright blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes extended his hand eagerly to Talon. "Pleased to meet you, my name is Joseph and I'll be your Summoner for this game. Let us do well together! Er, it would seem..ah, just let me help you with that," the man said with a little too much energy as he plucked the dagger out of Talon's shoulder, causing him to wince slightly. Extending out his hand, the Summoner grinned eagerly at Talon. Sighing in exasperation, Talon shook his hand and went to join the rest of his team who were waiting in their teleportation portals. He closed his eyes as the teleportation portal activated, the familiar Announcer voice welcoming the Champions and Summoners to the Rift.

Opening his eyes, Talon was suddenly aware that he wasn't in his usual outfit. Fitted with a blood red cape and a white mask with a red slash down his left eye, Talon flexed his fist, admiring the Blood Moon skin that his Summoner equipped him with. As the rest of his team filed out to their respective lanes, Talon found himself thinking of Katarina again. Zed was right, Katarina had been introduced to him in his training as an assassin for the Noxian regime. It was then that they became extremely close, training together, carrying out missions together, but as of recently, he felt that she had become more distant and colder, if that was possible. He had known her ever since they were children, so he had the habit of looking after her like an older brother would. However, some old habits were hard to break, hence resulting in his beating this morning. Shaking his head, Talon took in a deep breath. "Focus, this game is a ranked promos for my Summoner. As distasteful as it is, losing this game would be a shame for the both of us," he thought as he extended his blade and readied his shurikens.

Stopping a safe distance away from his turret, he strained to see through the fog of war to see his lane opponent. Suddenly a whirling blade came into view which Talon ducked at the last second. As the blade lodged itself in the ground, Talon began to have second thoughts about winning this game as the red haired assassin stepped out into his vision. Whirling a blade in each hand, Katarina grinned at him, "Different appearance, same weakling underneath." Smiling weakly at her, Talon raised his hand in apology. "Please be gentle," he whispered. "Not a chance," she retorted as minions began to move into the lane.

A couple minutes later, and Talon was getting frustrated. He had been ganked by the enemy Lee Sin twice now and that had enabled Katarina to build up a whole item and two levels ahead of him. Purchasing his Youmuu's Ghostblade at the shop, Talon rushed back to lane, his Summoner indicating that his Flash and Ignite were ready. Katarina was pushed up, her health slightly low due to an earlier gank from Talon's jungler, Elise. Seeing an opportunity, Talon dashed in, thrusting his blade at her only to stab the ground as she shunpoed to a blade she had placed a while back. Activating his Youmuus, Talon ulted as he vanished from view in a flurry of blades. Flashing and igniting her simultaneously, Talon poured on as much damage as he could before vaulting over a nearby wall. A couple seconds later, the Announcer called out his kill as Talon breathed a sigh of relief. A shudder went down his spine as he could almost feel Katarina's rage fill up the entire Rift.

The game would continue in Talon's favor, as the rest of his team continued to snowball in their respective lanes. Finishing the game neatly in around twenty five minutes, Talon's team left the waiting area laughing and in high spirits. Talon stepped out of the waiting area to almost run into Katarina, who seemed to have been waiting for him. "Ah. If this is about the game just now, I can promise you that it was my Summoner doing all that to you, not me." Talon said in his usual no nonsense tone to which Katarina laughed. "I lost that fair and square, I was just wondering if you were okay. You seemed a bit off lately," Katarina said almost worriedly, which caused suspicion in Talon. "Actually, you're a one to talk. You've been acting reclusive, even more than you usually do. You seem more cold and quicker to resort to violence then usual. Is everything alright with you?" Talon asked as they began walking back to their living quarters. Rubbing her arm casually, Katarina refused to meet his eyes. "I've been fine. Just having some bad dreams." "About what?" Talon questioned. "I-It's nothing, look, I need to be alone. I'll see you later," Katarina said in a hurry before dashing into her room as soon as they reached it. Talon had to focus extremely hard not to pull out his hair in frustration at the irony in Katarina's words and actions. "This red headed moron gets me all worried about her by asking me if I'm okay and now leaves me hanging when I ask her if she's okay. What the hell is that all about?!" he thought angrily as he stormed down to his living quarters.

Pushing open his doors and staggering to his couch before collapsing into it, Talon let his hood fall off, revealing his messy dark brown hair. Running his hand through his hair as he let his eyes wander the room, Talon stopped at the small framed picture in his bookcase. Standing up and walking over to it, he picked it up gingerly. Brushing off the thin layer of dust that coated it, Talon gazed at it, his thoughts in the past. Katarina, in a white dress and himself in a pair of jeans matched with a striped sweater stood on both sides of the tall man that they had been raised and taught to call Father. But his real name was General Du Couteau, the supreme leader of the Noxian High Command. He stood tall and proud, his uniform clean and even, everything about his body language displaying strength. Katarina and Talon were both only eight years old at the time of the picture, but that was the only picture of the three of them together. He was Katarina's father, having taken Talon in under his wing after besting him in a test of combat. But mysteriously, Du Couteau had disappeared many years ago, leaving Katarina in complete disarray, who would have gone into complete madness if Talon hadn't been there for her. So they had grown up relying and trusting one another, until recently.

Setting the picture down, Talon lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as a million thoughts ran through his head. He didn't know what to do, caring for others wasn't exactly in the assassins best abilities. So after a couple minutes of tossing and turning, he finally gave up and decided to train to get his mind off of things. It was nearly midnight and the moon was shining bright as he stepped out of his room. "Diana would be elated." Talon muttered as he made his way towards the Arena. A couple steps before he entered the Arena, he suddenly froze. Leaning slowly to peek into the Arena, he was both surprised and concerned at the sight of Katarina. She didn't seem to notice him yet, so he kept watching. Spinning so fast that she was a blur, blades flew from the middle of the mini tornado she had conjured up, each blade burying itself hilt deep into the Teemo dummies that were set up all over the Arena. "Talk about abusing the new Practice Tool," Talon smirked to himself. But his thoughts were soon silenced as Katarina burst out of her tornado, landing on top of a dummy as she pulled out two blades from behind her and sliced the dummy to confetti in two strikes. Leaping off it, she whirled her blades in her hands expertly midair before hurling them in seemingly infinite directions. When she finally landed, all the dummies fell to the floor, blades buried in the middle of all their heads.

A feat like this, despite the practice dummies, was something to be acknowledged, which reached Talon loud and clear. Cautiously stepping out from his cover and clapping his hands, Talon walked over to Katarina, who stood up in surprise. "Talon, I'm surprised you're at this hour. Aren't you tired?" she breathed, her chest still heaving up and down from the exhilaration of her genocide of Teemo dummies. "I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to take my minds off of things for a bit. I assume you are here for the same reason?" Talon asked. Rubbing her arm, Katarina spoke in almost a whisper. "Actually no, I've been having nightmares. They have been happening to me for a while now, and it's always the same nightmare. A burning village, my father coming to rescue me, and sending me to the Noxian High Command. Every single time I wake up from that dream, I'm crying and realize how alone I really am without my father in this world. I..I…" In that moment, Katarina felt all the emotions from her nightmares, the overwhelming sadness and coldness collide with one another, breaking down her emotional walls. Her voice gave out as Katarina choked up, tears beginning to fall down from her eyes. She fell to her knees and hung her head as the tears began to fall more rapidly. Lifting her head up and placing it in his chest, Talon smoothed her hair as he felt her body shake from the force of her sobs.

"I know I cannot possibly know what it is to feel even a bit of what you're going through right now. But I know that you are most definitely not alone. I have no intention of leaving you, and you have friends here that you can turn to. Akali, Cassiopeia, Garen, Shen, Ahri, and even Zed to name a few. You are cared for here, so don't feel like you're out in this harsh world all by yourself because you aren't." Talon said firmly as he felt her sobs subside. A couple minutes of blissful silence followed before Talon looked down at Katarina's head which was still buried in his chest. Realizing that she had fallen asleep from the exhaustion of everything, Talon tried to gently disengage himself from her before feeling her fist tighten on his pant leg. Sighing, he shifted his position so that Katarina's head lay in his lap as he awkwardly brushed a couple strands of red hair away from her face. Looking up at the open ceiling with the moonbeams cascading down onto him, Talon suddenly felt a sense of peace and calm overcome him. Always feeling like he was on the move, or having to watch his back for anything, this feeling of complete relaxation was foreign to the assassin. Closing his eyes, he didn't even see the silhouette of a figure floating, outlined by the white moon as he nodded off under the stars with Katarina asleep in his lap.