Here's Chapter 2! With this, Ekko's little adventure comes to a close. I'm planning on waiting for a few days before working on Chapter 3 so that more of you guys can tell me about who you want to see next. Anyway, enjoy!
"Taric?"
"Yes?"
"What does this have to do with anything about Janna? Like, at all."
The Boy Who Shattered Time crossed his arms and glared at both the League's own Fabio and the mass of clothes he had in his hands. "Shouldn't you be doing something like, I dunno, telling Janna how much of a great guy I am?" Taric scoffed at this. "Please! My word means nothing. If you want Janna to love you, you're the one who has to work for it, no?" Ekko sighed and slumped his shoulders.
"Maybe you're right, but why are we here in Taliyah's clothing store, of all places?" Ekko turned around to survey the fitting room. It was obviously Shuriman in design, with sand colored walls and some ancient-looking symbols kept on the walls. There was a single mirror in the room with a golden frame. He hadn't known that Taliyah even a clothing store to begin with. And it was probably doing well, since the fabrics Taric held seemed pretty fancy.
Taric's eyes narrowed. "What do you think we're here for? You're getting a change of clothes." Ekko pulled back, clutching his scarf protectively. "What?! These clothes are perfectly fine!" Taric shook his head in disagreement. "Clothes make the man, Ekko, and those clothes make you look like a thug with a steampunk fetish. True, you'd look good in Zaun, but this is the Institute of War, and you'd do good to follow the presentable trends. Do you think Janna would appreciate such a ridiculous outfit?" Ekko gulped. Taric had him there. "O-Okay, I'll... wear something different. " Taric beamed, glad that the young Zaunite saw things his way.
"Perfect! Now, strip."
Ekko stared at the man in front of him. "Excuse me?" Taric stood there, the near-perpetual smile directed at Ekko. "You heard me, strip. I need to see which clothes will suit you best." Ekko recoiled in fear and shock. Was this guy for real? Were the rumors true? "No way! I'm not taking off my clothes in front of you! I'll pick my clothes out myself!" Taric drew himself up to his full height, his expression now one of sheer annoyance. "Ekko," he began. "You have to trust me on this. Take your clothes off." "No!" Ekko growled, glaring at Taric in defiance.
Taric closed his eyes and sighed. "Then, it can't be helped..." Ekko looked at him, confused, noticing that the room was getting brighter. He looked down, and saw the glowing sapphire in his hand too late. A bright flash blinded the teen, making him scream. He felt hands all over his body, but his eyes hurt too much for him to care. "Ah, there we are..." He heard Taric say. When he could finally open his eyes again, he blanched upon seeing his clothes in a heap at Taric's feet, and the man smiling at him in an amused fashion. As Ekko reached the horrifying conclusion that Taric had manhandled him, relieved him of all his clothing, and that he was now standing in front of the Shield of Valoran completely naked save for his underwear, his vision began to dim till all was black, and he fell over like a sack of potatoes, completely unconscious.
"Ah, it appears he's waking up." Ekko groggily opened his eyes to the sight of Ahri, Taric, and Shen looking down at him in concern, the Ionian ninja in his medical attire. What was he doing here? This was probably the hospital, given Shen's presence. But what had happened before? There was a room with clothes in it, and there was a guy who looked a lot like Taric, and he didn't have any clothes on, and... Oh. Ekko remembered. He remembered everything. The poor teenager got up with a jolt and began screaming in horror, his eyes filled with panic. Ahri immediately grabbed his shoulders to calm him down.
"It's okay! Everything's okay! Taric didn't molest or rape you in any way!" "How the hell should I know?! I was out cold! He could have done anything he damn well pleased!" Ekko shrieked, shrinking away from Taric. The man chuckled sheepishly. "Do forgive me. You just failed to comply with what I needed you to do, and I simply had to take action." Seeing that the teenager hadn't stopped looking like a cornered animal, he sighed. "If you still don't believe what Ahri said, I believe this should put your fears to rest." The man reached into his pocket, and pulled out a sheet of paper - no, a photograph. He turned it around so Ekko could see what it was, and the boy's eyes bugged out. Taric was sitting in Morgana's bakery, looking happier than ever, feeding chocolate cake to a blushing Diana. Ekko wondered how the hell this could ever be possible as he stuttered, "B-But, y-you... Aren't you...supposed to be...?"
Taric laughed aloud. "Gay? Ah, everyone loves making that conclusion, given what I wear on the Fields of Justice and my personality. Funny, how just showing a great passion for the beautiful things in life can get you labeled as a homosexual. You don't know how amusing it is when I'm laning with a male Marksman! Poor fellows stay so far away my Bastion won't even touch them!" The Shield of Valoran laughed again. Ekko still couldn't believe what was happening. "But... Diana..." Taric laughed again. "Ah, yes. She is such a wonderful young woman. Poor thing is just somewhat misunderstood. But once you get to know her..." Ekko was finally beginning to calm down. "So... You're not..." "Not at all. The man you see before you is 100% straight." Taric smiled reassuringly, and Ekko finally let out a deep breath in relief.
"Also, while you were unconscious, I took the liberty of completely reworking your appearance Please, do look at yourself now." Hearing this from Taric, Ekko spun around to conveniently face a mirror which Ahri had brought in. His jaw dropped. His tan vest had been replaced with a long sleeved shirt of the same color, and instead of his red scarf, a small necklace with a cog strung through it was in its place. His baggy pants were gone, and a blue pair of jeans were on his legs now. His boots had also been removed, and two black sneakers were now what covered his feet. Finally, his mohawk had been turned into the pompadour on his Academy skin. Surveying himself in the mirror, he had to admit: he looked good.
"This is… I look great," Ekko said, still marveling at his new appearance. "It was the least I could do for scaring you so terribly earlier." Taric bent his head in apology. "Y-Yeah, and, uh, thanks. I didn't think I could ever this… Nice. I'm really thinking I should have just gotten rid of my clothes back then." The Shield of Valoran chuckled. "I am glad to hear it. Now then," he stood up, and helped Ekko off the bed. "We have figured out your wardrobe, but now it is time to see how your manners fare." He began to lead the teen out of the ward with Ahri, stopping by the door to turn around and give Shen a word of thanks. The ninja bowed his head, happy to be of service. As he watched the trio leave, he thought to himself. Maybe. In some time, he just might go and see those two.
The street didn't stand out much. It was like any other street out there, with its share of buildings, some shops, some hotels, and the admittedly rare nightclub, so it was pretty much a typical street in the Institute of War. A few people were on the pavement, minding their own business as they went on with their daily lives. These 'few people' also happened to hold a sparkling hunk of a man, a nine-tailed fox woman, and a time travelling teenager. "So, what do I do?" Ekko asked, turning around. He really didn't want to get on the wrong side of Taric or his gems again.
"Simple really. Just walk to the end of the street and back, " Taric replied. Ekko's eyes narrowed. This was a suspiciously mundane thing to do. "That's it?" ''That's it," Ahri replied. The teen gave their faces a once-over. Not a single bit guile lay in their eyes. He sighed and shrugged. He might as well do it. It couldn't be too hard.
He began to stroll leisurely down the pavement, hands in his pockets, running his eyes over the entrance to shops that managed to catch his attention. He was feeling better about this little task. Nothing terrible had seemed to happen so fa-
"Ekko? Is that you?"
His blood ran cold. He felt his heartbeat pick up the pace as his face grew warmer. Those bastards. He knew that this wasn't some walk in the park. He slowly turned to his side to face the speaker. Standing in front of him, blonde hair floating in the wind, was Janna. Her signature white outfit left very little to Ekko's imagination as he stared at her, entranced. "Ekko?" she asked, cocking her head in concern. Ekko quickly composed himself to the best of his efforts, and stammered, "H-Hi. It's nice t-to see you here." His face was getting redder by the second. He was going to strangle those two the second he got out of this. "Are those new clothes? You look so nice!" Hearing Janna compliment his appearance made his animosity towards Taric wither away in an instant. And to hear her complimenting him in general made him feel fuzzier than a Poro on the inside. "Y-You think so? Th-Then-"
He stopped upon hearing a giggle behind him. He whirled around, and saw Ahri in front of him, desperately trying to hold in her laughter. He felt his hands shaking in anger. Did this idiot have any idea what she was doing? She could damn well be ruining his only chance to get Janna to go on a da-huh?
The fox had raised a hand from her sides and twirled it around. Turn around, she seemed to be telling him. Confused, he complied, and shrieked in horror, recoiling from the newcomer in front of him. Gone was the floating blonde hair. Gone was that perfect skin. Gone was that incredibly revealing outfit. Standing in the place of the girl of his dreams stood LeBlanc, sporting an incredibly amused grin as her chin rested on the top of her staff.
"L-LeBlanc?! What the fu-" He was silenced by the meaty finger of Taric. "Now now, Ekko. The good lady is merely part of your training." Ekko stood there, dumbfounded. "But… What…?" LeBlanc laughed in her high-pitched, condescending manner. "I work with these two. I'm in charge of seeing how the client reacts when they see their target. And your reaction..." She suppressed another fit of laughter. "Was very, very amusing. Most of them tend to be that way." Seeing how humiliated the poor boy was, Ahri patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, you did good! Your back was straight, you kept eye contact, and your hands were out of your pockets! That's pretty much what you need when talking to a lady." Ekko noticed that what she said was true. Taric laughed. "Ah, it appears that there is no need for training in etiquette, save for some quick tips at a table. Ekko." The boy turned to face the Shield of Valoran, who was wearing a satisfied smile of approval. "I hereby deem you ready to go on a date!"
Ekko pushed the door to the cafe open, looking around for the young woman nervously. There she was, several tables away. Janna had ordered a latte and was sipping it idly while reading a magazine. He sighed internally in relief when he saw she was alone. She was wearing a light blue jumper and jeans, along with white trainers. On the table was small white handbag she probably got from a Demacian store. Her hair was floating close to her body, her golden locks almost glowing in the gentle ray of the evening sun, and he marvelled at the mystical, yet conventional beauty that Janna held. He walked inside, taking care not to get noticed by her, looking for a table nearby. He made the smallest of fist pumps upon seeing a vacant one nearby. Ahri's advice of pretending to go to a table and stopping at another's in 'surprise' seemed like it would work. Stepping to the counter, he ordered a cappuccino. After paying and thanking the barista once it arrived, he walked as casually as he could towards the vacant table, making sure he was choosing a path that would get close to her table. He thanked Ahri under his breath for all these tactics she would usually employ on an unsuspecting young man before doing... Whatever she did to get essence, he didn't know. As he got closer, he gave a silent pull on the chain of his Zero Drive, which he had insisted on bringing, setting a waypoint in case things went awry. He was not screwing this up.
"Oh, Janna, hi!" he greeted, getting her to look up from her magazine. She smiled at him, making his heart pound. "Oh, hello! I wasn't expecting you to come here, Ekko." He chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment. "W-Well, neither was I. Can I sit?" She nodded, and he thanked her as he took a seat. He looked out of the café window to see Taric, Ahri, Blitzcrank, and LeBlanc watching him from a clothing store to see how things went. He didn't know why the yellow robot was there, but he figured it was probably collecting some data. He also noticed Taric had a satchel at his side, but he decided to focus on his task. Everything was going along smoothly so far. Now he had to capitalize on it.
"So, uh, how's the weather thing going along?" he asked. She giggled. "It's just fine. My boss is always praising just how great I am at the job." "Wow, that's great! I mean, it's like you're meant for it, you know? I mean, you control wind, and stuff." And you're insanely hot, he thought to himself. Her clear laugh rang out, and the slightest tinge of red appeared on his cheeks. "Oh, Ekko, you are far to ki-"
She was cut off by the door the place bursting open. A rough-shod bunch of four men, probably travelers or something, entered, loudly cracking crass jokes and laughing. Ekko felt the customers growing rather annoyed, but Janna seemed to be getting uncomfortable. He looked out to his friends, and they shared a similar look of unease. Eager to calm Janna down, he attempted to get back to the conversation. "So, um, are things going okay for y-" He was interrupted by the loud slam of a hand on the table. Looking up, he saw the four men leering at the two champions. He toyed with the chain to the device at his waist, ready to yank it at a moments notice. Taric was now moving to the entrance of the store, followed by the two women.
"So, what have we here?" the table-slammer asked. He appeared to be the leader of the lot, a fat and ugly piece of work, and Ekko decided that alone, he wouldn't be a threat. However, he wasn't alone, and Ekko had left his bat and Timewinder behind. "A very pretty young damsel, and a scrawny little whelp." His buddies sniggered behind him. Ekko's eyes narrowed. "If it's not too much to ask, I'd appreciate it if you backed off." The leader sneered. "And what might you be doing about that, hm?" He turned to Janna, who was in a mild state of panic. "Come on, girlie. You'll have more fun with us than with this piece of trash." He grabbed the arm holding the magazine, causing it to drop onto the table. Disgusted, she wrenched her arm away from the thug, glaring at him contemptuously. Ekko glanced out of the window, and silently cursed upon seeing the trio getting held up by a mass of horses and carriages. It would take them roughly two minutes to get across the road.
And he didn't have two minutes.
The thug's ugly smile distorted into an infuriated grimace, and he seized a handful of Janna's golden hair, making her scream in pain. Enraged, Ekko stood up, giving a withering glare to the four goons. "Leave. Now." One of them, a lanky punk with a few teeth missing, stepped up and swung a fist. He caught the enclosed hand effortlessly, his eyes boring into the dumbfounded thug. "Should have walked away..." he muttered, as he drew a fist back and threw it forward in a punch, connecting cleanly with his opponent's jaw and knocking him onto the floor, out cold. Shocked, the three men lost interest in the young lady they had been harassing and began stalking towards Ekko. He backed up. He couldn't take on three men at once. He wasn't even armed. Scanning the room, he spotted a man sipping from a mug of steaming coffee, warily observing the conflict from a distance.
Mug of steaming coffee.
He ran for it, jumping any obstructive tables as the three punks cursed and took after him. Reaching the now panicked man, Ekko seized the drink, shouted a quick word of apology, and splashed it into a lackey's face. He fell to the ground, shrieking in agony as the scalding liquid burned him. He flung the mug at the other one's head, shattering it on his skull and making him stagger away in a daze. That left only the leader. He smiled inwardly. These were odds he could handle.
The thug decided to foolishly rush him, throwing a wild haymaker. Ekko ducked it with ease, slinging a punch into the man's beerbelly, eliciting a pained wheeze as the air was knocked out of him. He followed up by slugging him in the face, stunning him, before finally finishing with a powerful kick to the torso. The punk flew back, colliding with a table and unceremoniously flipping over it, settling in an unconscious heap on the floor. He panted heavily as a result of the exertion, hands on his knees. He had won. As he straightened up, he heard a small clatter against the tiles beneath him. Curious, he looked down at the source of the noise.
A glowing emerald.
Shit.
"My apologies, Ekko. I had no idea you would dispatch those hooligans so quickly," Taric said apologetically. A surly Ekko continued rubbing his eyes to try and get rid of the purple spots dancing in his vision. Taric had kept a collection of gemstones in the satchel just in case something went wrong. And once again, Ekko had been blinded by one of them. "Don't mention it," he muttered.
He heard Ahri whistle. "Yeah, that was really something, how you managed to take out four goons that fast. I honestly thought you were gonna get creamed." LeBlanc chuckled. "Indeed, you fought very well. You also looked quite dashing while you were at it, protecting Janna like that. A truly gentlemanly act."
Janna? Janna!
He slapped a hand to his forehead and feverishly looked around the room, desperately searching for the young woman. He saw her leaving through the door, and jumped out of his seat in pursuit, leaving behind the bewildered champions. Catching up to her on the pavement, he called out, making her whirl around in surprise. They were bathed in the orange light of the sunset as they stared at each other.
"J-Janna," he panted, winded from his sprint. She looked at him with concern. That's it, he thought, crushed. There's no way someone like her would love some troublemaker like him, especially after watching him beat the crap out of four men. He sighed. He might as well apologise for it, and then leave her alone. She would probably be better off and happier with someone else anyway.
"I'm… I'm sorry. That you had to see that," he said, hanging his head in shame. "I did something terrible back there, and you have every right to think I'm no better than those guys I trashed." She watched him in silence. Figures. "I'm sorry," he flatly finished, and turned to leave, depressed.
"Ekko, wait."
He turned around, confused. What could she possibly want with him? "Y-Yeah?" His confusion only grew as he noticed a faint tinge of red staining her cheeks. What the hell was happening? She began stepping forward. His heart was racing as he started going red himself. "Janna? But… Aren't you mad that I-" He stopped upon seeing her shake her head.
"I'm not mad, Ekko. How could I possibly be angry towards someone who put themself at risk to save my skin?" She drew even closer. Ekko could barely think straight. Was this actually happening or was this some delusion? "Besides," she continued, now face to face with the blushing teen. She smiled shyly.
"I thought you were very brave."
Ekko thought his heart would give out. It was pounding harder than Olaf's drumset at a Pentakill concert. "Y-You… A-Ac-Actually think…?" She nodded, blushing. "Of course. And if it's not too much to ask..." she turned away, embarrassed.
"Would you… Go out… On a date? With me?"
His life was complete. Nothing else mattered any more. All there was in Ekko's mind was an unbridled happiness. "O-Of course! I'd love to go on a date with you! I… I..." he stuttered, not sure if he should go through with it. He looked at Janna's blushing face, her expression one of confusion. Should he…?
Oh, what the hell.
He composed himself, plucking up every ounce of his courage. This was harder than prepping to fight any Zaunite thug. "Janna… The thing is… I love you. I've always loved you. I've loved you the second I saw you. You're so nice and so beautiful, I just couldn't resist myself. And to think you actually want to go out with me..." He smiled at the Storm's Fury, who was now a deep scarlet. "It makes me happier than anything else."
They stood in silence, both mulling over the other's words in silent joy. She broke the silence with a giggle. "I… Didn't take you for such a smooth talker, Ekko." Ekko didn't notice the hands on his shoulders till she began to lean in with her eyes closed. What was she-
Everything stopped as their lips met in a kiss.
Ekko's mind went blank. He could die now. He could die now with no regrets, peacefully. He actually thought he might die at that moment, given how his heart was beating faster than Twisted Fate could throw his cards during his Devourer phase. Not that he cared. Dying while kissing the girl he loved seemed like an excellent way to go.
Janna eventually pulled away, giggling upon seeing the Zaunite boy in a shocked stupor. "Well then," she said pulling out a pen and notebook from her handbag. She scribbled something in it, and tore a scrap, placing it into Ekko's pocket. "That's my phone number. Call me whenever you feel like being together." Ekko barely managed to make sense of it in his muddled brain, and nodded dumbly. She began walking away, leaving the blushing teen on the pavement staring after her.
"And one more thing." Ekko, his mind now cleared, stood in rapt attention of her next words as she turned around. "I think I like your normal outfit better." She laughed as Ekko turned a deeper shade of red and looked down in embarrassment, turning back as Janna continued on her way. Ekko watched her as she went, still in amazement of his good fortune.
When she rounded the corner, he felt a hand clap down on his shoulder. He turned to see the four champions, all of them (save the golem) smiling. "Congratulations, Ekko. You have officially gotten Janna to fall in love with you. I am very proud of you," Taric said, grinning broadly, his hand a vice grip on his shoulder. Ahri seized his cheeks, tugging on them and giggling at his objections. "You looked so cute out there! Amazing!" LeBlanc chuckled. "As that annoying Demacian always says, 'I love it when a plan comes together.'" Even Blitzcrank was patting him on the back, if a little forcefully. Ekko laughed.
"Thanks. All of you. You don't know how much this means to me." He turned to the duo who had even made all of this possible. "Especially you two. I don't know what I would've done without you." They nodded in acceptance of their praise, smiling. "'I'll have the payment ready by tomorrow morning, so I'll see you then." Ekko turned, and began walking away, contented. He'd never felt this happy before. "Goodbye. And again, thank you all." He eventually walked around a corner, and out of sight of the four champions.
The team of four began patting each other on the backs, exchanging words of praise and congratulations on a job well done. Eventually, Leblanc cleared her throat. "Well, I'll be going now. Swain wanted me to pick up some birdseed for that bird of his. I'll also drop Blitz off at the office." Prodding the Great Steam Golem with her staff, the two walked away, leaving the Nine-Tailed Fox and the Shield of Valoran behind. A streetlight flickered to life above them, and they realized that dusk was setting.
Ahri raised a hand towards Taric, and he lightly smacked it in a high five. "And that's another one," she laughed, leaning against the post of the streetlight. "Indeed," he said, still feeling pride to the young man who he had made so happy. "However," he began, getting the fox woman's attention. "Ekko will not be the last one to be pining for someone to share his or her life with." The woman shrugged. "That's right. And it's our job to fix that, eh, big guy?" Taric chuckled. "But of course. And Blitzcrank just so happened to give me list of clients that are seeking our services." He pulled out a folder from his satchel, and Ahri got off the post. "Well then..." both of them simultaneously began, starting their journey back to the office, opening up the collection of requests.
"Back to work."
Holy hell, this was a long chapter, I honestly didn't expect to write so much, But, there it is. Ekko's arc is over and done with. I'm pretty proud with how it turned out, although I did feel it was pretty damn long. If it felt uncomfortable for some of you to read so much in a stretch, let me know in a review so I can break an arc into smaller pieces. Now, as I said earlier, this story is going on hold for a bit while I look at reviews to see that people want next. I'm intending to start another story and work on it during this intermission between arcs, so keep an eye out for that. Anyway, feel free to leave a review so I can get more ideas and make better content. Thank you all again for reading.
