Akali's mind was in a jumbled frenzy as she grabbed her bag and headed over to the hospital, where a list of patients was waiting for her. The steady clickity-clack of her heels against the hard pavement did little to alleviate her mind. Every time she thought of his name, pangs of anger, scorn, fear, and misery hit her.

Zed has escaped from prison. It was the only thought that Akali could remember when she finally stepped into the cold air of the hospital. Her trembling legs somehow managed to lead her to the elevator and into her solitary office, where she shrugged off her winter clothes and put on her pristine nurse's coat. A new day meant a new list of patients that she had to attend to. Being near the sick didn't bother Akali because she liked helping people. If there was an opportunity to help someone, she was one to seize it. Besides, a busy day of work meant that her mind would be off of him. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The second she stepped out of the room, Shen had just happened to be walking by to operate on a patient.

"Hey Akali!" Shen greeted her with a smile. Akali's eyebrows knit in confusion. Perhaps he was smiling because he had not heard of the Shadow Master. Just the thought of him made Akali's stomach turn with unease. Desperate to avoid the topic, Akali greeted him hastily, but to no avail.

"Hi." Her lips turned tightly into a very forced smile. "Busy with another operation, I see? I'd hate to bother you, so I'll just go ahead and attend to my own patients-" She had taken a few steps forward, so her back was facing Shen. The iron grip on her elbow, however, stopped her from moving forward.

"I heard about what happened to Zed," Shen whispered lowly. Cold shivers ran down Akali's spine at the mention of his name, but she barely managed to put on a passive expression. "What of it?" was all that she dared to say. The hold on her elbow tightened.

"Do not try and kill him." The seriousness in Shen's voice made her flinch as she pried away from his vice-like grip, still not meeting Shen's eyes.

"Kill him? Why would I kill him?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. She didn't need to turn around to know the disappointing expression on Shen's face. "I have neither a need nor want to see him dead."

"We both know that's a lie." His words rang out clearly through Akali's mind. She knew her voice would betray her strong emotions, so she slowly walked away from Shen. "Good luck on your next operation, Doctor," she called out to Shen.

How could I not want to kill him?

The day of work was an utter mess. The news of Zed lingered on her mind, no matter how hard she tried to push the thought of him back into the deepest corners of her mind, and it was evident through her patients. She either administered shots too roughly, or tied the rubber sash used for blood tests too tightly. Her patients had to suffer her own inability to focus on her work. She dug her hands deep into the pockets of her coat and tried to focus on the falling snow, yet again, Akali failed to push every and all thought of Zed from her mind.

"Goddamned bastard... How dare he escape?" Akali muttered to herself angrily. Thankfully, no one was walking on the streets at this time of night to hear her angry episodes or they'd question her ability to work as a nurse. The anger boiled underneath her skin, and it built up until she stopped and yelled to the dark and silent sky, "Damn you, you bastard! You'd better turn yourself in before I personally hunt you down myself!" Her breathing was erratic from her screaming, but she had to admit that it made her feel a lot better. Akali turned her head up to the night sky and felt snowflakes melting on her skin. Even she, as stressed and anxious as she, cherished the simple joy of walking peacefully home on a snowy, dark night. She gathered her sanity and proceeded home.

Or, at least she would have if she hadn't heard the sounds of painful grunting in a nearby alleyway. Akali, without any hesitation or fear, approached the alley. The sounds of punching and excruciating yells grew louder with each step, yet it didn't stop Akali. She fearlessly sauntered into the alley, where she witnessed four hoodlums kicking an already unconscious figure.

"Hey!" She yelled without a second thought. All of their attention was now focused on her feminine figure. The hungry look in their eyes was not unnoticed by Akali as her eyes steeled, eager for a fight. The four men stepped towards her, confident that their libido would be satisfied today. Their pace increased exponentially and they charged straight for Akali, but she didn't run. In fact, she stood still and observed them. One had a slight limp in his left leg. Another's heart beat was abnormally quick, which meant he clearly hadn't exercised recently. The two others were just...clumsy. They were tripping on each other's feet, eager for Akali. But she knew better. As soon as the man with limp lunged for her, she easily sidestepped him and smashed her knee into his left knee, successfully immobilizing him. He yelped with pain and fell to the snowy ground like a meteor, clutching his awkwardly bent knee. Akali grabbed the arm of the man with the erratic heart beat and spun him like a whirlwind. While he was spinning, she jumped up and kneed his face in mid air.

Two down. Two more idiots to go. Akali blew a piece of her hair from her eye. The two fumbling men left standing surrounded her from all directions. She waited for an opportunity to take out both of them simultaneously because the fight these men had put up was not exactly challenging. The opportunity presented itself when both men, on opposite directions of her, lunged head first for her. Akali looked up to the sky and sighed with boredom as she took a step forward, causing the men to crash head to head with each other.

"And that's kicking your asses!" She smiled cheekily. The strained groans behind her brought her back from her victorious daze, and she quickly knelt down beside the man to look at the damage. His nose was twisted at an unpleasant angle, and his midriff suffered many lacerations, as did his back and legs. Overall, he was lucky to be alive. Akali knew that he would not survive without immediate medical attention. Although he was unconscious, Akali couldn't help but admire his handsome features. His hair was pitch black like the shadows of the night. His cheeks, although matted with blood, were perfect, and it was evident that he was very built and chiseled. But the scar that ran along his left eye intrigued her the most. It was an involuntary action that led her to trace a pointer down the scar.

"Definitely a wound from a knife," Akali murmured to herself.

A cough left his lips abruptly, which caused Akali to wake up from her ruse and immediately pull her hand back to safety. She shook her head to clear her mind of the various things she'd like to do to this stranger, and stood up.

How am I going to bring him back home? Akali tapped her chin with her pointer pensively and looked up once again to the sky. She let out a sigh of annoyance when her mind thought of nothing. "Well, I hope I'm strong enough to carry him home." Akali wrapped his arm around her neck, and attempted to waddle home with a rather heavy stranger leaning on her side.

The summary should now officially make sense! :DD LOL

Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy! c; (if you can even tolerate my writing)