"Murder?" Akali questioned her voice lacking any sound of concern. "Who is the target?"
"A low ranking summoner" Kennen stated softly.
"No one of importance" Shen added. "It is merely a ploy to frame Garen and Katarina."
"We are going to stop this murder then?" Akali asked her eyes flicking between the yordle's and Shen's.
"No" Shen replied. Her face retained its regular appearance despite the fact she felt slight shock at his response. Clearly whatever that was going to happen, wasn't going to affect the balance, or was going to tip the balance back to where it belonged, or so she assumed. "This framing of murder needs to go ahead. In fact, we have to make sure it does."
"I'm sorry. I fail to understand" Akali stated her eyes now meeting the floor, brows furrowed in annoyance, but she masked it with confusion. "If they get framed, then surely this could spark an incident between Demacia and Noxus? This could result in..."
"Obviously the picture we saw for them was quite different" Shen stated pulling a rolled up piece of parchment. Slowly bringing his hand up, he held the piece of parchment in front of Akali, waiting for her to take it.
Giving it a curious look she took it suspiciously, there was one image, clearly taken from one of the Piltover lens image capturefiers, most notably used in the journal of justice. It was of a beautiful woman, although it took only seconds for Akali to realise she was not human, her ears pointed, her cheeks and chin were angled. Her hair was long and protruded from out of a black hood, it's purple and light blue colourings appeared natural as did the piercing, but somehow soft ice of her irides.
"So who is she?" Akali asked examining every detail of this creature.
"Her name is Asyria. She recently joined the league by Swain's helping. She is a master of disguise, and is a well trained assassin. She will be committing the murder, as well as setting the two up" Kennen replied also staring hard at the parchment.
"You have to help her" Shen stated looking to Akali whose head immediately rose.
"I have to help her frame Garen and Katarina?" Normally she wouldn't have given any seconds thoughts to a request like this, she would have done whatever was decided best for maintaining the neutrality of Valoran. However Lux's face, along with her tears and sadness plagued her mind giving her a harsh guilty feeling inside. How would Lux ever forgive her for doing something like that? Lux was now a friend, and she had just been asked to betray her.
"I don't understand!" She said her voice giving away more than she wished.
"You do not need to" Shen countered. "There isn't enough time to explain all the details, but this mission is happening Akali. Your duty dictates that you must complete this course of action!"
"But..."
"What would your mother think of you?" Shen asked.
Her eyes fell to the ground once more...
"Mother" Akali began, wiping away the sweat from the hard morning of exercises. "There is one thing I don't really understand."
"What is it Akali?" She asked cupping water from the stream to her mouth and forehead. The area here was a beautiful sight even in the incredibly beautiful country of Ionia. The grass was a dazzling green, as though each blade vigorously absorbed every ray of Sun that blessed them. Wild flowers grew in a random assortment, and not a single building or human presence, besides the two ninjas could be seen for some distance.
Mountains surrounded them, although considerable expanses away and running through this serene sight was the stream, flowing with crystal clear water, sourced straight from the mountains.
"I've been thinking" Akali was clearly hesitant with what she wished to convey.
"Hopefully not anymore about that boy..." Her mother said the corner of her mouth curving upwards slightly.
"Well, no not really. It's just, I don't understand how people like us, can have things like that... I don't understand how you were allowed... to have me..." She replied honestly, although clearly struggling to find the right words.
A small sigh parted from her mother's lips and she turned to face her daughter. "Akali. Our order teaches you many things. Every day is a struggle for us because it helps to make us stronger. However, our order alone cannot teach us everything. Our experiences have to be our guide too."
"But the balance..." Akali interrupted.
"How can you judge balance if you have not experienced both sides? Everything is about balance. You will have to find the balance within yourself. What you will do for the kinkou to maintain balance in Valoran and also what you will do for yourself to maintain the balance inside you. Never forget your duty, but more importantly never forget you." Her mother finished and graced a hand upon her daughter's face.
Akali smiled trying to digest her mother's words.
This was without a doubt one of the hardest missions she has ever been asked to accomplish, not because it was beyond her skill level, the task itself relatively was easy, but what the repercussions would be. Potentially sabotaging the family name of one of her friends, as well as lying about it afterwards. She shook her head, the mission had be the most prominent on her mind if she was going to succeed. A distracted mind is a mind that wanders, and a mind that wanders, is a mind that fails.
She stalked alongside the wall of one of the league's darker corridors. Waiting motionless like a carnivorous hunter awaiting its prey, her emeralds paused upon the end of the corridor, where the one called Asyria would surely walk. However she was not Akali's concern, it was another who would be walking down this corridor, and one that if not distracted would easily end this plan. Nidalee, the Bestial Huntress, her supernatural sense of smell, would not only sense the body, but also the one carrying it, for Nidalee and Asyria apparently have a deep history, or so Shen informed her.
As predicted there walked Nidalee on the opposite corridor to Akali of this crossing of passages, just as Asyria turned the corner. If Nidalee spots Asyria then Swain's plan would be ruined, Katarina and Garen wouldn't be framed; she considered her failing purposefully momentarily before she headed decisively down the corridor towards the huntress. Her head turned left, and she caught beautifully seductive light blue eyes coming from down that corridor, it was clear this was Asyria.
Asyria noticed the ninja, but paid her no heed; she clearly had a mission of her own and it involved whatever was thrown over her shoulder in large black wrappings. Akali quickened the pace towards the huntress who spotted her coming and their eyes met. "Nidalee" Akali called and the huntress stopped on her spot, eyeing her suspiciously. This would be her first conversation with Nidalee, and she really had little idea of what to say or how to make sure she wouldn't continue further down this corridor.
'Fight her if you have to' was Shen's words and she hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"What is it Akali?" Nidalee asked, her obvious suspicious appearance not breaking gaze from the ninja.
"What brings you out here? I didn't take you as much as a library person" Akali replied confidently and calmly.
The gaze she held upon the ninja only increased in suspicion and subtly the grasp upon her spear tightened, most others wouldn't have noticed this, in fact Nidalee may not have even noticed it herself, but Akali also shifted very slightly to allow a more defensive position. "I'm not" she replied after a while, but she still hadn't moved, which was good for Akali, despite the awkwardness of the situation. "There was something I wanted to check up on... why does it concern you?"
Akali's eyes withdrew, there was something she could try, taught to her by the kinkou, as with all female ninjas, but it did rely on Nidalee's attitude towards a certain idea. She took a quiet deep breath and her eyes slowly and seductively landed back onto Nidalee's face. "I've watched you" Akali began, her voice softer than usual, and slightly alluring. "For sometime. Your nature is... interesting, I wish I could, know it better."
Nidalee's eyebrow rose out of curiosity. "My nature is interesting?" she repeated small smirk upon her face. "I find the nature of a ninja interesting as well. Akali, you could have approached me at any point, why now? I don't bite... unless you like it."
"Well you always seemed to prefer the solitude, and you're somewhat an intimidating woman to approach, luckily, I like that" Akali replied with a seductive smirk of her own and casually stepped forward closer to the huntress, but also still highly cautious. "But suddenly I can contain myself no more, and I just had to hear you speak."
"Is that s-" She broke off mid sentence and her nose lifted slightly into the air, and she took a small casual sniff. Akali realised Asyria must be getting closer to them and knew she had to be somewhat more distracting. Her foot moved forwards followed shortly after her whole body, she was now within easy touching distance to Nidalee, whose face returned to the ninja. "Well, what I was going to be doing could wait... if I get an interesting offer for something else I suppose."
"What interesting offers could I make?" She acted, acting coy.
"I'm sure you could think of something mousey" Nidalee replied slowly poking the tip of Akali's nose with her own. However a slight flair in her nostrils, which Akali barely noticed indicated she was still sniffing, slightly panicked and unaware of what else to do she brushed her nose past Nidalee's and placed her lips against hers. It was a very strange sensation, Nidalee appeared to have no issues with the kiss, but Akali felt awkward, she definitely felt no attraction to this woman, or any woman for that matter, and it made it difficult to seem convincing.
Nidalee eventually parted from her lips, her eyes soft and gentle. "It's odd that this should happen, it seems to bring up former... smells, strangely enough, of another flame I once had. It's been a while since... well I hope it was to your liking, you know where I reside if you ever desire more mousey" with that she brushed against Akali's nose once more and her hand graced her hip and she walked away in the opposite direction.
A sigh parted from the ninja's lips and she bowed her head, slightly in shame and in relief that at least her mission was a success. Suddenly however it became very apparent eyes were upon her, Asyria and a couple of summoners were actually stood looking at her. The beautiful creature gave her a look that seemed to dictate disliking and hidden deep, jealousy. Amongst the small group of summoner's however was a face she recognised all too well, and it portrayed his feelings of betrayal. Daelen stared at her before looking down to the ground and turning away from her down the corridor and out of sight.
'Go after him, explain it was just part of the mission!' She thought to herself. 'Damn it legs move!' But she knew she couldn't, she had to report back to Shen and find out what was next, because his last words to her before she set off for this mission was that 'this is only the beginning.'