Note: Thanks again to Vievin for correcting this chapter. I love you dear.
Hope you'll enjoy it (:

Chapter 10

After an hour of twisting and turning, Akali got up, unable to stay put any longer. She silently walked around the house. The furniture was covered with dust and most chairs were occupied by dirty clothes. Looking through the window, the ninja couldn't see anything but the dark wall of the neighboring house. There was a staircase which probably led to Katarina's room, and nothing could have convinced Akali to go up there. She instead entered another room which seemed to be the place where the assassin stored all her stuff. Trying not to step on anything Akali stopped in front of an old shelf. There were five wooden animals, sculpted and painted with dexterity. Certainly something Katarina had stolen from one of her victims. A piece of paper next to an eagle caught her attention. It was a rough doodle of a woman and seemed to have been made by a child.

A noise behind her back startled her. "Relax, it's me." the Sinister Blade calmly said.

"I'm not sure relaxing when you're around is a good idea." Akali replied, suspicious.

"I won't attack you tonight, if that's what you wanna hear. Killing guests under my own room would tarnish my reputation."

Without actually trusting her, Akali pointed at the shelf. "Did you steal all that?"

The assassin stepped closer and frowned at the sight of the pieces of wood "I made them myself when I was a kid, after my dad offered me my first knife." The innocence of her sentence was suddenly washed off by her last words. It was surprising that Katarina didn't mind Akali looking into her personal stuff.

"How abut this?" she asked, showing the drawing.

"My mom. I never got to meet her, so I tried to do my best with the descriptions I could extract from my father."

An uncomfortable silence followed which Katarina eventually broke "Why are you and Irelia going to Ionia with Soraka?"

"We're just ensuring she's safe, that's all." Akali replied before immediately regretting it.

"Safe? Safe from what?"

Akali cursed under her breath. "Nothing you need to know about." She stared into Katarina's green eyes. The latter replied with a firm voice. "If something is threatening her, I need to know."

"Why? You don't give a shit about her." Akali retorted, convinced that the glimmer of worry in the assassin's eyes was fake.

"It might surprise you, but I do give a shit about Soraka. You see, some people are respected everywhere, regardless of your political or ethical beliefs. Before you ask, I'll be honest with you, just this time. Soraka saved my life about a year ago when I got ambushed by Zed and his friend Syndra near the Institute. For a whole day I remained on the ground, gushing blood and unable to move. She somehow found me and saved me. This is why I have a debt to pay, and this is why she's probably the person I respect the most in the League, maybe even the only one. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go back to sleep. Feel free to search this freaking mess. I don't even know what I keep here anymore."

Katarina strode out while Akali remained in the room. She had never thought that a normal conversation with the Sinister Blade was possible. However, their little chat had convinced her that Katarina would keep silent if Warwick ever showed up. She could have read honesty within her eyes when she had talked about Soraka. The ninja went back to the living room and sat on the floor, trying to remember some old meditation techniques sh had learned years prior. She couldn't relax though, and resorted to waiting for the sun to rise. They left Katarina's lair a bit before dawn, as the sky started to lighten.

Back to the docks, they easily found one of the sailors they had spoken to the day before. The journey to Ionia by boat lasted two days. They paid the man in advance, and for two days they remained on the deck, watching the water splash the large hull of the ship. The crew were nice and curious, although respectful enough not to ask private questions about the purpose of their journey. During the trip, Akali couldn't help thinking about Warwick, and her companions' faces informed her that they were both worried about the Blood Hunter too. The signs of his presence in Noxus had been a surprise, as it proved that what they had expected from him was completely wrong. They only thing that managed to comfort Akali was the certitude that Warwick would not attack them if they stayed together. Once again, while she was leaning over to watch the water run on the side of the ship, she wondered about the wolf's intentions. In spite of her efforts to gather all she knew about how his past was linked with Soraka's, she remained clueless.

When the island of Ionia finally appeared in the horizon, Soraka waved at Akali while Irelia was speaking with the captain. "How do you feel about coming back here after all this time?" the Starchild asked.

"I don't really feel anything. I don't actually feel like I've been away for years. It seems to me that I just took a short vacation from this place."

"This is usually when that feeling appears that you know you can call this place 'home'. No matter how far you are, no matter for how long, as soon as you put you feet at home, you feel like you've been there the whole time."

"How about you?" Akali asked, staring at the shore lost in the thin mist. "Can you call this place home too?"

Soraka sighed "I don't think so. This place mainly belongs to my past, making me who I am now, and still, every time I see this shore, I want to turn back."

"You mean your past with Warwick?" Akali hadn't meant to be so direct, but she couldn't stand it anymore: she needed to know, even if she had to worm the information out of Soraka.

The latter winced. "Don't act like you're surprised, Soraka." Akali said. "I know you lied when you told me you didn't know what Warwick wanted! I didn't insist because I failed to realize how big of a threat he actually was to you."

Soraka stared at her for a moment before replying "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Irelia when she came to see me at the Institute: this is my own business. I don't want you to get involved any further in this and..."

Akali snapped her. "Whether you want it or not, Irelia and I are both involved in this now, and you can't change this situation."

"Have I ever asked you to come with me? As far as I can remember, you offered me your help without me asking for it."

"I did, and you accepted it. We already asked you about Warwick, and you kept telling you had no idea what he wants from you, but I'm sure you do know. You're smart, and I don't understand why you lied to me in the beginning. I mean, what did it..."

"Will you stop with this?" Soraka hissed in an unusual threatening voice. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Have you ever thought that maybe I want to keep my past for myself? What if I don't want to tell the truth?"

"Why would you want to hide it? What are you so afraid of? You seem more scared of talking about what happened in your past than being harassed by Warwick!"

"I'm done with this conversation, Akali. If you want answers, maybe you should find Warwick and ask him." She walked away, leaving Akali more astonished than ever. She felt like the real Soraka had gone, and she had been speaking to someone else. The cold and aggressive tone used by the healer sounded wrong. Akali thought about her last words and wondered what would happen if she actually tried to find Warwick to settle this once for all. In the Fields of Justice, Warwick was a ruthless and brutal opponent. He loved to toy with his targets, spreading death wherever he went, leaving nothing but torn corpses lying in rivers of blood. His formidable speed made him one of the most dangerous champions in the League, which seemed to please the summoners. Outside the Rift, however, he remained a complete mystery. Just like every champion, he was probably only playing a character in the Fields to hide his true personality, and therefore, his weaknesses. Akali knew the Blood Hunter had some affiliation with Singed, but couldn't say what type of relationship bounded the two of them. She probably had a chance of winning if she battled Warwick, as she was even quicker than him. On the plus side, the massive shape of the wolf made him a target easy to hit. The ship floated above a huge wave, reaching for the sky as the water carried it closer to the shore. Akali drove her thoughts away: she wouldn't fight Warwick alone. That was not what she was there for.

She heard footsteps behind her and felt Irelia's hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna reach the docks in five minutes."

Akali smiled, trying to hide her confusion and frustration about Soraka.