Chapter 11
A gentle knock on the door woke Irelia up. She needed a moment to realize she was in her room and where the door was. Her mechanical clock read 3:46 AM. Who could it be? She opened up, and all her muscles contracted when she saw Ahri. She did not want to talk to her, nor did she want to even see her at the moment. She coldly stared at her, waiting for her to speak first.
"I need to talk to you," the Vastaya said.
"Is it about my brother?" Irelia hissed.
Ahri's pupils widened in her blue eyes.
"How...," she started
"I heard you when you were talking to Leblanc."
"Irelia, I'm sorry I..."
"There nothing to say, and being sorry won't change anything to what happened."
"I should have told you as soon as you explained about your brother's death, but I was too afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Irelia struggled keeping her voice down. "I'm sure you were not afraid when you killed all these people."
"You don't even know what it's like. How do you think I felt when, every time I took a life, I woke up surrounded by the smell of death?"
"Don't your dare tell me you're not to blame. For how long has it been going on?"
Ahri lowered her eyes. "I lost count after 89 years."
"How many lives have you taken?"
"2514," the Vastay replied as her eyes teared up. "I remember each one of their faces and their screams of agony haunt my dreams every night. I did try to run away from this...lust, but I just... can't. Each time it comes back stronger."
"How is it you haven't killed anyone since you joined the League?"
"After the test, Master Jilian told me they could help me contain my power with their magic. It has been working well so far."
Irelia took a few steps back inside her room.
"Please," Ahri almost begged, "I've come to you to tell you the truth. I know I should've told you sooner, and you had the right to know. Hate me if you want, but I wanted you to know."
Irelia sniggered. "I will hate you. I can't understand your struggle, and to me you're guilty of all these murders. I won't take you back to Ionia for a trial, though, because they are too busy to take care of your case."
The mage walked forward, and Irelia immediately stopped her. "Get out." Her voice was sharp enough to make even the more stubborn soldier obey. Ahri froze and turned back. Irelia slammed the door, probably waking up the whole wing, but she didn't care.
She paced up and down in her room like a tiger in a cage. Soon, she felt like she was choking and went outside to take a breath of fresh air. A light rain was falling down, creating small puddles. The area around the Institute was empty, and not a sound but the falling droplets echoed around. She walked to the Fountain Yard, and when she reached the square, the rain had stopped, leaving a humid smell. She sat on a bench for a moment, looking at the sky and letting her thoughts drift away. A humming voice eventually dragged her back to reality. Irelia knew who it was before even seeing them. She got up to walk away, but Jinx's voice caught up to her.
"Where are you going? And what are you doing up this late, actually?"
"How is it that you're always behind my back?" Irelia asked. Jinx was the person she wanted to see the least if she wanted to rest her mind.
"Cause you're always in front of me I guess. You were here first."
"Yeah, but you don't have to talk to me when you see me," Irelia retorted with an icy voice, trying to hide her annoyance.
"I'm polite, that's it," Jinx sulked.
"What are you doing here?" Irelia asked, knowing how clingy Jinx could sometimes be, especially when she was bored, the rules of the Institute stopping her from blowing the whole place up.
"I can enjoy a night walk, can't I?"
"Have you somehow managed to approach Ahri without freaking her out?"
"No! She's always with Leblanc, and I can't stand her. Maybe you should do something about that."
"I'm trying, but it's not that easy."
"Maybe I could help."
Irleia hesitated. "How would you do that? I have no doubt you are a pro in messing up relationships, but I don't agree to your metho… actually, no." She was tired of holding back to spare others' feelings. Tired of standing in the back and watching while she could actually do something.
"What would you do to help?"
"I can be extremely persuasive, you know."
Irelia shot her a weird look. "You're not being persuasive right now."
"Okay, okay. All I need is to drag Leblanc out of here for some time, and an excuse to leave the Institute for a few days."
The Ionian scowled. "What do you have in mind?"
"I guess you know about the Black Rose."
"Yes, I do. Leblanc's father used to lead the organization before it got shut down. They have come back, but I don't know if..." Irelia suddenly stopped talking while an idea slowly sprouted in her mind. She was probably wrong, but it was worth investigating.
"What is it?" Jinx impatiently asked.
Irelia stared at her, knowing she could not trust her. Her help would be extremely useful, though. She thought about speaking to Karma first, but she would only stick to the war council's orders.
"Can you wait until tomorrow?" Irelia asked Jinx who mumbled a 'yes'. "Fine, meet me behind the Bilgewater building at noon."
"I supposed you won't tell me your plan," the Loose Cannon sighed.
"It'll be a surprise," Irelia smirked before turning around.
"As long as I can use my guns, I'm okay with it. I'll wait for you tomorrow." She waved at her and left the area.
Irelia remained in the Fountain Yard for a moment until fatigue caught up to her and she went back to her room. Her discussion with Jinx had completely driven her thoughts away from Ahri. The start of a plan had begun to shape in her mind, and she spent a moment thinking it through until she fell into a deep and empty sleep. When she woke up, the sunlight was reaching her pillow, warming the skin of her face. She brutally stood up when she realized the moment sunlight invaded her room was a bit after midday. The clock on the shelf displayed 12:36. She swore out loud and dressed up as fast as she could. She ran outside, ignoring Lulu's greeting. The probability of Jinx waiting for her was close to 0. The Bildgewater building was quiet at this time of the day, as most champions slept late in order to party overnight. The small backyard was filled with trash left there the night before and Irelia winced at the smell. Surprisingly she heard Jinx's voice humming from behind the small stone wall circling the place. Jinx was laying on the grass, her back leaned against the cold stone and her eyes closed. Irelia stared at her for a moment: it was unusual to see Jinx this calm, and she wasn't sure she wanted to awake the beast sleeping inside the Loose Cannon.
"Hello, Jinx," she eventually said.
The young woman jumped up her feet with a startle, ready to shoot the person who had dared bother her. She relaxed when she saw Irelia, and er eyes widened "Oh, look who's finally here!"
"I didn't expect you to wait for me."
"I thought it could be worth it. So, what's the plan?"
"First tell me one thing: are you sure you can get to Noxus's undergrounds unnoticed?"
"Maybe not unnoticed, but uncaught, that's for sure."
Irelia sighed "As long as your face remains unseen, I don't care what happens in Noxus. You can blow up the whole city if you want."
A large smile stretched on Jinx's face "That's interesting!"
"But," Irelia continued, "You'll have to take care of something first: I want you to infiltrate the Black Rose and get as much information about their relationship with Noxus as you can. They have been let down by the Noxian government, which led to their destruction. They're quite likely to be in bad terms with Noxus."
"What are you gonna do with this info?"
"Let me finish," Irelia coldly said. "The Black Rose is afraid of Noxus' power, and with reason. The memory of their old quarrel will not be enough for them to take action against them. They need a better pretext, something they can't ignore."
Jinx's smile grew even wider, going from one ear to the other.
"I want you to provide them with this pretext. You told me you could easily mess up relationships, and I trust you. This is your chance to shine."
"Do I have free reins?"
"Yes, you do," Irelia replied without a hint of hesitation in her voice. She was determined to do whatever she could against Noxus, by any means. "One more thing," she added, "I won't be responsible if anything happens to you. You're writing your own story."
"So I can sell it to you."
"I'll use what you can give me, but all your choices are up to you."
"Don't worry about that," Jinx smiled. "I've always been relying on myself."
"Great. When can you leave?"
"As soon as you give me an excuse to leave the Institute."
"Since when does Jinx need an excuse to do anything?" Irelia sarcastically said.
"Now you're doing things my way!"
"I'll get used to it. I must go. Find a way to keep me updated."
"Got it!"
Irelia then went back to her room and changed, before striding to the Fountain Yard for her only match of the day. She was teaming with Zed, Yi, Janna and Lucian. Her opponent was Garen, and she struggled to keep her mind focused on what was going on. Garen's armor was heavy and tough, but had three main weakpoints: the elbows, the back of the knees and the neck. Irelia prioritized those points, striking with a deadly precision. The match ended extremely quickly, as she and her teammates dominated their enemies until the end. Back to the Yard, Garen grinned at her "Good match."
"Thanks, Garen."
The Demacian seemed a bit hesitant. He eventually asked "Where's Ahri? I haven't seen her in a while. I mean, outside the Rift."
Irelia's gaze turned to ice as she replied "She's not my problem anymore. She's been here long enough to handle herself."
"Did something happen between you two?" Garen frowned.
"I won't talk about this." Irelia's voice was curt enough for Garen to understand he was walking on thin ice.
"Let me know if I can do anything to help," he just said.
On her way back to her room, Akali's voice stopped her. The young ninja stopped dead when Irelia shot her her darkest look.
"Wow, why are you so pissed off?" she asked.
Irelia quickly pulled herself together, forcing herself to forget about Ahri. "Nothing. What is it?"
"Karma wants to talk to you."
"Of course she does," Irelia rolled her eyes.
"She thinks you're freaking out."
"Do you think I am?"
"Not in a Jinx way, but I can't deny this whole Noxus thing is taking a toll on you. Maybe you should, you know, slow down."
"And ask Darius and Draven if they're up for a drink, sure."
Akali put her hands in the air "Alright, forget what I said. Karma's waiting for you in her room if you feel like talking to her right now. I'll see you later."
She left and Irelia remained standing there for a moment. Could karma have guessed her plan involving Jinx?
Irelia knocked at Karma's door, a little harder than what she meant to.
"Come in," Karma said.
"You wanted to see me," Irelia said while closing the door.
"Indeed. Please take a seat."
"Is it going to take long?"
"Why are you so suspicious?"
"I just want to know what to expect," the Will of the Blades replied.
"I'm sending you to Ionia."
Irelia remained speechless. "Why?"
"Because the war council needs to be kept under control."
"What do you mean?"
"Words about thousands of people leaving Noxus have reach their ears, and they want to close the borders."
"And?"
Karma glared at her "And how can we leave those people outside? Right now, they are being piled up on the coast, waiting for a way to cross the sea to reach the island."
"I don't see why we should help them. It might be a trap."
A genuine look of anger was floating in Karma's eyes. "They're refugees, forced out of their homes to stay alive. If we refuse to welcome them, we might as well just send them back to Noxus and give them a reason to join their armed forces."
"You clearly haven't heard of the mess they've made in Piltover and Demacia."
"They're treated like animals."
"Oh, perhaps you want us to give them castles to live in. We're in time of war, in case you haven't noticed. If we need to shut the borders to keep our people safe, I will do it."
"And let those who have lost everything die outside? Just like a sheep you'd feed to the wolves?"
"I will never put Noxian lives before my people."
"I don't understand you anymore, Irelia. What happened to you?"
"What happened is that Noxus is invading our lands again and that you're too blind to see that everything coming from theirs might be a threat. I will go to Ionia, but not to stop the council."
Karma brutally stood up and shouted "Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?"
"Yes, and unlike you, I will do something to stop it from happening." Irelia's voice was calm and as cold as death. "I will place you under arrest if you try to stop me," she added, shooting Karma a dark look.
"Do you even realize what you're saying?" the latter said.
"We've been way too passive about this whole situation, and if I have to lock away whoever gets in my way until the Noxian threat is utterly eliminated, I will."
She turned around to leave. Her hand on the door handle, she added "I'll repeat it one more time, Karma: do not get in my way."
