DISCLAIMER: League of Legends is owned by Riot Games; I do not own League of Legends or any of its characters. This is a purely fan-made fiction.
The sun rose over the tranquil island nation of Ionia, its pristine rays of light glimmering over the serene, crystal clear lakes and rivers, and almost setting even the roaring waterfalls ablaze with sparkles. The trees welcomed the warming beams as their flowers sprouted out, some of them dropping its petals to fly into the skies, where they'd settle elsewhere to sprout into new life. The village squares and parks began to teem and flock with life, the citizen wandering about on their errands, monks and priests arriving at the temples to begin their duties of spiritual enlightenment, and merchants pulling their carts and setting up their stalls to sell various exotic items from all over Valoran. Far above the village, however, were two certain individuals, who prepared for a daily ritual of balance; Master Yi, the renowned Wuju Style Swordsman – and Wukong, the self-titled "Monkey King", and student of Yi – were both standing near one of Ionia's greatest waterfalls, falling down into a deep ravine lake below. It had only been a few weeks since Wukong took up his part of their promise, and had begun his more serious training in the arts of Wuju, but the swordsman could already see that progress was beginning to be made in the monkey. Even without his Seven Lenses of Insight, it was as clear as the morning sun for him.
"Alright, my disciple…" Yi finally stated, sheathing his blade onto its straps on his back, walking over to the edge of the roaring waters. "Today, we shall commence the Test of Balance. It is very simple, if one knows how to fully invigorate one's self to inner and outer balance. Are you prepared?" he turned to his trainee, who just had a confident smirk on his face and nodded.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Master." Wukong answered his master as his tail was whipping back and forth slightly in excitement; he was always ready to please his master with his successes, may they be from training or combat. Yi just chuckled softly.
"My disciple, excitement is a good thing, in its basic aspect… but do not let it make your overconfidence swell with it." He warned him with his wise words, which the monkey understood perfectly, as he nodded.
"Of course. Forgive my impatience, Master." Wukong said afterwards, but the elder man just smiled back at him, and reached out to pet his student's head, which he responded to with a soft, purring noise.
"No need to forgive your own excitement, Wukong." Yi told him, before he looked out at the fierce current again. Out there were two rocky outcrops, and for their training, they had each carried a stone tablet with them up here. "Now, we shall make our way out to those small cliffs. Once on them, we will place these stone tablets upon them…"
"… And balance on them, Master Yi?" the monkey asked ahead of Yi, which made him chuckle again and nod softly.
"Yes, Wukong. Now it may look easy, but these currents are powerful, and can easily sweep you off if you lose balance and fall in." he warned him, which sort of cringed the monkey king in fear of falling down. It was a long way to fall, after all. "That is why you must not only focus the balance of your body… but the balance of your mind as well. Try and focus your spirit, as well as your body. Only then will you pass the test." Yi himself thought this test should've been saved for later, but he at least wanted to try it out for Wukong's sake. Who knew, he maybe had what it took already. The monkey smiled and nodded enthusiastically, grabbing his slab of rock and holding it with ease.
"I will do my best, Master Yi!" he said as he then leaped out towards his outcrop, landing on it with both his hind paws and holding onto it with ease. "Easy so far…" he commented to himself with a smug grin, before he leaped up momentarily, placing the slab of rock on top of the small cliff, and landed onto the smooth, flat surface of it, instantly finding himself wobbling, however. "W-Whoa, whoa! Eeeeeeeeasy now, Wu'…" he told himself to get balance, but Yi was heard chuckling, and as Wukong looked behind himself, he could see Yi already standing on his tablet which was perfectly balanced on his cliff cropping, and he was even standing on one leg, holding his hands in a typical meditation position. "M-Master! H-How did you-"
"Practice, my young fellow." The elder man said with another soft smile under his goggle-clad helmet. "Now, stop focusing on me. You are about to fall." He told him quickly after, which had the monkey looking down as his stone tablet was leaning dangerously too much to his front, and he gasped as he moved backwards, but found himself tilting a lot backwards instead. "Calm down, my student…" Yi ordered him as he slowly shifted pose while standing on his tablet, holding one hand out with the other over his head. "Focus. Find your inner calm. Find your balance." These words made Wukong at least try and stand a bit more still, soon finding it a lot easier to stand on the slab of rock that was so delicately balancing upon the slippery cliff of the waterfall. He then sighed, taking a deep breath in, and slowly exhaling, trying to focus as he slowly closed his eyes, soon finding him in an 'inner world' of his senses. Even with his eyes closed, his senses still visualized the area around him, the scent of the crisp morning air mixed with the aroma of the fresh, roaring waters of the waterfall, his ears being filled with the sounds of the water, the wind, the ever slight movements of his master… it was truly something he had never felt before. It was a true Nirvana. The only times he had usually reached this state, where he was just in a place of utter delight, was in combat, alongside his master and tutor. And his only friend ever since he left his homelands. Wukong had always held a great respect for Yi and his teachings, seeing how strong he had become ever since the Zaunite scientist Singed destroyed his entire village with his newly-invented chemical. He wanted to help him, to get his revenged on Singed for what he had done.
But right now, that was not the focus he had in mind. Right now, he only focused on his inner and outer balance, all his senses working to stay still and calm on the slab of rock. Both he and Yi stayed like this, ever so slowly and often changing positions upon their tablets. Soon enough, a lot of the Ionian villagers caught sight of them all the way up on the waterfall, some of them standing still to admire such graceful and honorable ways of showing respect for their ancient martial arts, while others glanced and then moved on. Soon enough, however, the sun began to set down along the hills, so long did they stay upon the waterfall, and the evening was upon them as the mercenaries were heading home, or to one of the village's many eateries to get some food before settling in for the night. For Yi and Wukong, however, they had left the waterfall and went home, to Yi's own, personal 'Dojo', which was also his own house, given to him by courtesy of Duchess Karma. They enjoyed a rather simple, yet nice and home-cooked meal as Yi was eating slowly from a bowl of rice and prawns, while Wukong was enjoying a slightly bigger plate with dumplings, rice, noodles and a bowl of Ramen. Yi chuckled as he saw the monkey eat with a slow, yet ravenous pace, slurping up his noodles before chewing down a dumpling.
"Such a predator that lives in you, Wukong." He commented as he reached for his Sake bowl and took a slow sip of it. Wukong snickered meekly and scratched the back of his head.
"Heh, sorry Master. I just enjoy food!" he said in an apologetic manner, before he went right in on his food again, chowing down more dumplings as even his tail was used to grab a pair of chop sticks which he used to roll up noodles in a ball before stuffing it into his hungry mouth. Yi just chuckled again at his student's manners, not minding them at all. He still saw him as a child at heart, and what better way to let a child live than to just be himself. Just as Wukong was about to eat his possibly eight dumpling of the day, however, he paused for a while, looking at his slightly clear reflection from the Sake in his drinking bowl. "… Master?"
"Hm? What is wrong, my disciple?" Yi asked, sensing slight discomfort coming from the monkey king's voice.
"What… made you take me under your teachings?" he asked slowly, looking at himself. "Was it because I was alone, and had no one else near me? Or was it just because you wanted to pass on the Wuju Style?" he did in no way mean to disrespect Yi's ancient, almost extinct style of combat, but he was still overwhelmed with curiosity, slightly typical for his species of animals. Yi sighed deeply, before answering;
"Yes, it is true that I wanted you as my student to hold the ancient art of Wuju alive. My tribe was extinct, and only I had survived the massacre that Signed had created. I trained hard and long, for days and nights, with almost no rest, not even for food. That is why I today have mastered the Wuju Style, and is eager to teach others of its ancient teachings. That's where you came in, Wukong. You showed no fear of new things, and you did not even back down from the chance of fighting me, even though it did not go in your favor on the first try. You still had that battle spirit, which is invaluable for all who wields a weapon. I knew you'd be a worthy disciple of mine. But I also noticed you harbored something even greater in you… a deep sense of guilt. I suspect it is from you leaving your home lands to pursue your dreams, even if it was for a noble cause. You felt you had betrayed your friends and left them behind, no?"
Wukong only sighed and nodded his head slowly. "Yes… Master…" was his only answer, really feeling that memory come back and haunt him. The day he left his homeland, his village. He clutched around the tuft of chest fur he had sticking out, groaning a bit, but showing he was fine.
"Very well… that is also why I took you in." Yi continued. "To help you rid yourself of your guilt, to show you that what you were doing was a noble cause." He smiled over to his monkey student. "You helped an old man carry on his legacy. And I hope your promise still holds." Wukong looked up and smiled a bit, nodding as well.
"Yes, Master… once I find someone as worthy as I was to you, I shall teach them the style of Wuju and carry on your legacy onto them. That's a promise. One I will keep until I can no longer hold my staff!" a smile spread on both their faces, before Yi nodded.
"Alright then. For tomorrow, we'll-" he paused, feeling a paw on his wrist and looked back at Wukong, who still looked a bit distressed. "Yes, Wukong?"
"Master…" he asked of him. "It's been… so long since I called someone this, but… would you… mind if I considered you… my friend?" now this was something that slightly took the Wuju Swordsman off-guard. He had never called anyone a friend either, and now Wukong offered him friendship right in front of him just like that. But, nevertheless, the feeling of having someone who called him his friend… he felt it would be a nice experience. Smiling, he nodded as he petted Wukong's head, ruffling up the fur on his head as he let out another soft 'purr' noise.
"Of course, my student… my friend." Yi told him with that same smile, and Wukong's face instantly lit up with a big, happy grin. Finally… after all this time, he finally had someone to call a friend. "Now, let us have some rest, Wukong. The night is long, and we need our rest." He said as he and Wukong walked off towards their sleeping quarters… now both as master and student… and as friends.