Chapter XI: Continuation
"It is good to see you all again, champions," Soraka says to the class, both of us bowing to the gathered champions in their seats, their heads nodding in response. I wasn't expecting the turnout to be so immediate. Told you. Jinx. Oh...sorry. It took conscious effort for us to ignore the thought link we have, a 'byproduct of me placing my magical condition on her' as Ryze put it. It's also strange to have him in the class, Ryze sitting sternly in the second row with Janna next to him, her body lightly floating off her chair. He's here to analyze my condition, not for the lesson. I quickly rise from my bow and start to write on the board, Soraka beginning the lesson. "We only have 2 classes of Relationships 101 left so let us get 'right into it' as they say. Today, our lesson is honesty. Honesty is not one but two components, honesty and acceptance."
Some of the lesson plan is down on the board when she starts to point at the words I've written. "The idea behind honesty is that one must be willing to communicate everything, no matter how embarrassing, to their partner so that you both stay within a relative sphere of known information. Feelings, concerns, needs, and desires all need to be discussed for a relationship to be healthy." She moves towards the word acceptance, my hands trying to keep up with the pace of her lesson. "It does not mean you have to accept their honesty, hence the second component. Not all information is easy to accept but two tools exist to make acceptance easier. These tools are negotiation and compromise, both of which are required to fully embrace acceptance."
I quickly finish writing and put the chalk down on the board, exhaling before she's done speaking. I do not know how she writes so quickly. She quickly moves to the front of the main desk, pointing a hand at Ryze. "Tell me, Ryze, are you and Janna seeing each other?" Ryze gives a snort, folding his arms and retorting with a grim voice, "On a professional level, mind you. I am interested in how beings of belief are born in Runeterra. Janna is aiding me in this research." Janna gives him a warm smile and responds in an echoing voice, "You believe in me and that sustains me. As does the beliefs of the champions and the summoners at the Institute. Your belief, however, feels different, more sincere and honest." Ryze grunts in frustration, his face looking away from Janna as he retorts, "Believe what you want. I only value information and nothing more."
The classroom laughs at Ryze's embarrassment, Janna still smiling as she turns back towards the front of the class, Soraka giving them a bow and stating, "Thank you, Ryze. Janna? Do you feel that there is something more between you and Ryze?" Janna looks at Ryze, a hand on her chin as she folds her legs and ponders. "His belief feels...different. I can feel his desire to know about me and how I function biologically. I had assumed it was merely for knowledge sake but now I am not so sure..." Ryze nods to himself in response, a neutral expression on his face as he states, "Although I can gain much research through observation, there are some topics I cannot learn without hands on study. I have not yet reached the point where I require such study but eventually, I will endeavor to ask Janna if she can assist me." Everyone in the classroom turns to regard Ryze's casual statement, looks of confusion on their faces. Did he just say that he will ask Janna if he can touch her for research purposes?
Janna response is to remain smiling at him and say, "If it will help with your research, I will agree to your terms when you wish to ask them, Ryze." Ryze nods his head in thanks before gesturing with a hand for Soraka to continue the lesson. "Thank you Ryze, Janna," Soraka stutters, continuing with, "Let's have someone who hasn't spoken in a while. Yasuo?" Yasuo's head springs to attention as he sits up straight, his hand wiping away saliva from his mouth. "Yeah, I'm awake...wad'ya need..." he slurs, eyes half closed as Soraka smiles at him and asks in an even tone, "Yasuo, have you ever tried to negotiate with Zyra in any way?" He gives a sideways glance to Zyra who looks back at him curiously, plant tentacles rising on her back to look at him in a similar manner.
Yasuo takes a drink from his bamboo thermos before saying, "Well...there was this one time...I think I was drunk...but I asked if I could feel her chest-" Zyra immediately recoils in surprise, her hands moving to her face in embarrassment as her plant tentacles hide as well. Yasuo doesn't notice, becoming more animated and moving to put a hand on the table. "She kinda said no at the time and I just went for it...both hands," he slurs, gesturing with his hands forward in a rubbing motion. "I don't actually remember how they felt...all I remember is my eyes closing and...me being here...wait, that happened recently?" He slurs, idly looking at Zyra who still has her hands on her face, her head briefly nodding. "Oh, sorry about that...guess I didn't really negotiate..." Soraka shakes her head before stating, "In a way, you did. Rather than simply accepting her words, you tried the course of actions as an alternative path. Zyra, did you attempt to stop him from touching you?" With her hands still on her face, Zyra shakes her head no, Soraka nodding in understanding. "The most wrong you've perpetrated, Yasuo, is that you are pushing her forward when she feels she isn't ready for such a leap. I advise patience and...less alcohol."
The room laughs heartily as Yasuo stops drinking from his thermos mid swig, capping it and putting it away. "Right...less alcohol...got it..." he slurs, his eyes closing as he falls to his right, Zyra jumping as his head touches her shoulder. "Zyra, I think you wont be able to participate further today. Thank you for coming but please escort Yasuo out. He is in no condition to learn currently." Zyra takes her hands away from her face, looking around the room at the other champions before putting Yasuo's arm over her shoulder, dragging him towards the exit with classmates nodding to her in acceptance. I open the door for them and bow as they leave, closing the door behind them and nodding at Soraka. "Today's class will be short so I will ask one more question before we adjourn." Shortened? That wasn't part of the lesson plan. Her gaze turns towards me, gesturing with a hand for me to return to my spot in front of the class. I look around the classroom, the champions just as confused as I am at the sudden change in the lesson and as I reach my spot, Soraka demands, "Why are you leaving the Institute of War?"
She knows!? Whoops... We will speak of this later, Jinx. Thanks, Soraka. Way to throw me to the wolf. I shake my head and sigh before answering. "I fear I am becoming a threat to the safety of my fellow champions due to my access to my abilities off the Field of Justice. I also fear that I will go the way of those trapped within arcane prisons, becoming another slave of the Institute of War to be called upon when they see fit. Leaving seems like the only way to prevent these two fears." Silent shock greets me, champions looking at each other and back at me in equal measures. "But...but what about Wuju, Master! And Ionia! You're gonna just leave them without representation!?" Wukong blurts, moving off his balancing act on the desk to stand in front of it with a look of outrage on his face, his body tensing. I give him a neutral look and turn towards him, my hands gesturing in the battle signs of Ionia, Wukong immediately recognizing the sequence as his face moves from frustration to shock. He points a finger to himself and my head nods in confirmation, Wukong sitting back on the desk and lowering his head as his face remains surprised.
I sigh again before continuing, trying to keep myself calm despite my own outrage. "Ryze has been trying to find a way to assist me but I cannot wait for a solution to be found. Also, there are tasks that I wish to perform in Ionia that I cannot do as part of the Institute." I give the class a deep bow, my hair flowing forward as I say, "I am sorry that you have to learn of my resignation this way. I had wished for it to remain a secret but since you have asked, I see no reason to hide it."
"All due respect, Master Yi? It's more of a disservice to both Ionia and to yourself that you kept such information from your fellow champions," Jarvin sternly remarks, Shyvana giving a brief nod with arms crossed. "I had a feeling something was up, Yi. At least someone made you come clean," Lux remarks immediately after with a gloating smile as Garen interjects with, "I will miss having someone that I can easily beat in arm wrestling but I'll manage..." Other champions share their concerns but most agree that if this is what I wish, they will allow it. "But Yi! What about lady friend, Jinx! Will she not come with you!?" Braum shouts from the third row of seats, Sejuani staring at me with cold judgement. I give a nod and a smile before answering. "She is indeed coming with me. I had tried to dissuade her but she is who she is. I can honestly say I am relieved to not be making the trip alone."
"I am accompanying him as well," Soraka says from my left, my face moving from neutral to surprise as I turn to look at her neutral expression. The class is shocked as well, even Ryze and Janna paying closer attention at the suddenness of the statement. "I will accompany them in punishment. I am the one who brought this upon them so it is only fitting that where he goes in life, I must be there to guide him. It is my atonement for what I have done." Her head dips low in shame, her face sad but I raise her head and point her body towards me with my hands, my body moving to orient towards her. "Soraka. Although you are not incorrect, you do not need to go this far. Me and Jinx can handle this problem and you're place is here in the Institute, representing the celestial-"
"I too have places that I must go in Ionia, places that I cannot visit as part of the Institute of War. This is not a negotiation," she says sternly with more hostility than she has ever displayed. Her neutral face offers no argument, only a simple statement of fact and I groan in frustration, once again finding my fate outside of my control. My head lowers for a second as I let out another sigh before I meet her gaze again, a grim smile of acceptance on my face. "Very well. Since I cannot convince you to not go to Ionia, you may accompany us." I turn to the classroom, bowing to them and saying, "I hope that you will keep this all a secret-"
"Not a chance, Yi. Champions are gonna find out one way or another and the summoners will learn just by viewing the minds of those they summon. How do you know the Council of Equity isn't already pushing you out the door?" Ryze states in his usual irritated voice, his head giving me an imperceptible nod as well as I respond, "I have heard no news from the Council as of late and I am going to file my resignation papers with Jax once this class is over."
"Jax has already approved them," Soraka interrupts, putting a hand in the chest of her dress and pulling out a scroll, offering it to me. I snatch the scroll and unroll it, quickly scanning the contents. All three of us are approved. He is doing this without the Council's consent. My face looks up rapidly in surprise, my mouth asking the question of when did she do this before she answers, "Jinx had informed me of this event since she felt we have a closer connection, saying it was an attempt to 'ease a broken heart'. I went to Jax for explanations and filed the paperwork while I was there, which he asked me to deliver to you." Jax, you clever master. You forged our signatures from other documents. You knew somehow what was going to happen. "He truly is the League's Grandmaster..." I idly say, a laugh coming from everyone in the room. I turn to them and offer them a swift bow before asking, "I apologize but can we adjourn here? There are matters I wish to discuss in private with the parties involved."
"That means us now," Diana retorts from her seat, a warm smile on her face but a smile that offers no negotiation. The other champions nod their heads in agreement and I sigh, moving towards Jinx's seat. "Um...I can explain..." she tries to say as I grab one of her ears with a hand, pulling her to her feat as she protests, "OW! Get off! I know we agreed to some tentative demands but..."
"We agreed not to tell anyone except Ryze, but you also told Soraka and now she is leaving the Institute with us," I say sternly, letting go of her ear and folding my arms across my chest as she moves close to me, her face angry as she shout at me with finger pointed, "That's rich coming from you! Were you going to tell your friends about any of this!? That you were up and abandoning all of them without a word!? Did you even think how they would respond!?" I shake my head no before answering calmly, "No, I did not because they would not have known. How they respond is for them to-"
"Stop it!" she shouts, slapping me hard across the face to the surprise of everyone in the room. I give a groan of pain as my hand goes to my face, the area now tender. "Do you know how I felt when I found out you'd up and leave me without a word!? I felt horrible! You think the others would respond differently!? No, they wouldn't! So stop lying to us!" She raises her hand to strike me again but wrestles with her own motives, moving from readying a strike to staying her hand and vice versa. I lied to them. Yes! Yeah, you did! I lied to them. Yeah...you did! I lied to them. Yi?
I fall to my knees, my hand still on my face as my other arm falls to my side, my head downcast in shame. "I am unsure...I am unsure...and afraid..." I whisper, my eyes closing as tears start to fall down my face. Jinx immediately kneels down as well, her arms embracing me and my arms moving to embrace her as I start to sob, words babbling out mid sobs. "I didn't...I don't know what to do...and it frightens me...I am afraid..."
"Life isn't black and white, Master," Wukong says from above me, the sound of his armor rustling as he kneels down next to me, "and you aren't alone in fearing the unknown. But the first lesson you taught me is that compassion leads to mastery, not anger, confusion, fear, or doubt. It's the reason I'm your student and why in time, I plan to have an apprentice of my own." He places a hand on my head, fur meeting hair as my face turns towards him with tears in my eyes. "Besides, wouldn't want to make a scene in front of every champion that ever respected you," he states with amusement, gesturing with his tail to the other champions in the room, each one with a different expression. "Way I see it, partner, no point worrying about what's gonna happen. Better to worry about what you do right now. You make your own luck," Twisted Fate says idly from his seat while twirling a card in his hand, the symbol changing as he twirls it.
"Much as it's slightly amusing to see a man lose his willpower and fall into darkness, I believe it is time for us to move on," Ryze exclaims, a sour look on his face as he moves from his seat towards the door, Janna floating behind him. Other champions take the hint, moving to the exit with looks of concern, sadness, and indifference, leaving only me, Jinx, and Soraka in the room. I try to will myself to stop crying but can't, my heart and mind feeling heavy and anguished as I lower my head again. "I brought this on you..." Soraka says, moving to a kneeling position next to us with a sad expression, "I bound Rune magic to you and in turn that magic moved to Jinx. Now you are forced to leave the Institute for fear of imprisonment. All because of me..."
"Oh, get over yourselves," Jinx says with a stern tone to both of us, causing me to look up at her as she puts a hand to my face. "We all have blame right now. You invited Soraka into your mind and it went badly. I decided to try and seduce you and that went the way it did. Soraka solved your problem with summoner magic, results as follows. We all make mistakes."
"I killed them..." I whisper, my mind unraveling from the trauma and my head lowering in shame. "I killed my own people...with my own hands...I couldn't save them...not after-" Soraka puts a hand on my left shoulder, interrupting me in an even tone. "That decision is in the past now. Using what Fate said, you cannot worry about the future or the past. The past is already written and cannot be undone. The future is uncertain and unwritten. Only the present can be changed."
"I...I don't know what to do..." I try to say before Jinx thunks me in the head with her forehead, a smile on her face. "Yeah, you do. You're just having a moment right now. Want to talk about it?" she asks calmly and I look between them, questioning if I should tell them but rapidly making a decision, my hands taking Jinx's and moving them in front of me as she looks at me in concern.
"It is time you learn...the full story..."
