Chapter 9
Can't Stop What's Comin'
Akali weighed the costs of chasing after Kayn. On one hand, she could end him now, and ensure he wouldn't become any type of problem later. Or, she could take some time to recuperate and gather intel on what he was doing here. To her surprise, she heard Shen's cool voice adding its opinion in the back of her mind.
"Akali, never follow an enemy without backup or knowing you can take them down. You never know how many more are waiting just around a corner."
She shook her head, knowing that while she wanted to be contrary, Shen's advice was still valid.
After grabbing up any knives she had thrown, Akali sat with her back to a chimney, catching her breath. That smoke attack had taken a lot out of her, and right now she was quite vulnerable, but couldn't bring herself to care. Her wrist throbbed where he had roughly grasped it, and she suspected it was sprained. Surprisingly, she was okay overall. There was just a stifling burning in her chest that was really prominent.
She felt the bricks jabbing into her back, but closed her eyes, nonetheless.
One, Two, Three
She counted her breaths, getting up only after she hit ten.
Gently jumping down to the balcony that leads off the roof, Akali wondered if Bridgette was aware of what had just happened. She should probably check that Kayn hadn't terrorized anyone in the building before getting some rest.
She made quick work in her room of making more talismans and grabbing potions to down for more strength. After washing her face and redoing her hair, (which she hadn't cared to straighten recently) the ninja began to feel a bit more awake.
Stalking back into the lobby, Akali surprisingly found Bridgette sweeping away while mindlessly singing a quiet song.
"Bridgette?"
"Oh! Miss Akali, I feel like I haven't seen you all day."
Akali inspected Bridgette, not seeing anything out of the norm. In fact, the young lady seemed quite chipper, ribbons tying her hair back to expose her doe ears. Some type of flour was peppering the apron tied over her dress.
"You weren't at the front desk earlier, were you cooking something?"
"Yes indeedy, I was baking some delicious Guanti apple pie. They say the Guanti apples are supposed to make your eyes silver for an hour if you eat too many of them, so naturally, they are all I've had today. No effects this far, but I'm quite determined!"
Akali let Bridgette ramble for a bit-going on about how she wished for silver eyes when she was little-until she politely cut her off with further questioning.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but did anyone see a man with a scythe come through here today? Has long black hair with a blue streak at the front, about *this* tall, a strange scar on half his face."
"Sorry miss, I didn't see anyone like that. I can ask around for you if you'd like!"
"Thank you Bridgette, but that's okay. Just be sure to be careful, and maybe don't mention him to anyone. He isn't really the friendly type."
Bridgette noticed the caution and underlying meaning in Akali's words.
"Yes. Yes, I'll be careful. Thank you for the warning." Bridgette seemed much less carefree now, but it was better to be uneasy than 6ft under. "I'll get someone to renew the wards outside and perhaps to keep me company so I'm not alone."
Akali smiled and nodded, satisfied with these precautions and quite certain that if Kayn had cared about hurting Bridgette he would've already.
Bridgette walked into what Akali assumed was the kitchen, and the ninja pondered what Kayn was doing in the city. Was he looking for her? Certainly not to bring her over to Zed's crew, based on his aggressiveness. Maybe it was just coincidence? Was he even still in the city? And what type of magic was he learning?
Questions upon questions popped into her head.
Akali needed answers, and she knew the best place to find them.
Shen noticed a slight change in Kennen when they finished warming up and began to spar. His attacks were more focused, and there was an absence of his usual quips.
They had sparred just the two of them before… but something this time was different.
They exchanged blows, questions brewing in Kennen's eyes. Shen noticed, of course, but chose to ignore them.
The yordle bounced around Shen, using his intense speed and energy regen to his advantage. Though Shen was the main leader of the Kinkou, there were quite a few times he had been tricked and outmaneuvered by Kennen.
Their relationship was strange. Kennen was one of the few people who would tease him, though underneath it all there was mutual respect between the two ninjas. Shen wouldn't call them friends though, more like comrades.
Shen would admit sometimes he felt a bit like an outsider from the Kinkou, despite running it. Usually, he stamped down these feelings to keep his mental balance, but sparring with Kennen with the absence of Akali seemed to draw them to the surface.
Sometimes, when they used to all train together, Kennen would point with his eyes at Shen when speaking alone with Akali. He didn't think Shen noticed, but usually these interactions would lead to Akali slapping Kennen's arm or blushing furiously, which wasn't particularly conspicuous.
The way Kennen darted in and lobbed a shuriken at Shen reminded him of another memory. Particularly how when Akali and Shen were training, Kennen would throw dulled ninja stars at her feet to make her lose balance. At first she would scold him for this, but eventually, it did make her footwork improve.
The two of them made bets (which Akali usually lost), put spicy Chimpewr in each other's food, and purposely distracted the other while meditating. They always seemed to annoy each other worse than most siblings.
Despite all this, Akali and Kennen had cultivated a sense of companionship and trust in each other that Shen secretly wished he had. It was almost as if they were in on a private joke that Shen just couldn't understand. Kennen brought out the silly side of Akali, and they treated each other like family.
With these thoughts floating around, Shen felt oddly tired.
He backed away from the fight, and Kennen looked at him curiously.
"Kennen...what did you think?"
"Uhhh, about what?"
"About her. About what I should do."
"Well whatever you did certainly didn't work out, so I'm glad you had the sense to come ask for my help." Sarcasm was dripping in Kennen's voice. It was true, Shen had even walked to Kennen's room to talk, but never found it in himself to knock.
"I just," Shen's voice left it's stoic tone for a second and began to waver, "...thought she would come back."
Kennen moved aside, eyes losing a tad bit of that electricity. He ran both hands through the long fur on his head, eventually letting them rest on the back of his neck.
"And I just thought you guys would be able to talk it out."
Shen proceeded cautiously with his words, ever the diplomat. "Things were very tense at the moment-we both acted irrationally. And while it's my responsibility to stay calm, when I'm talking to her I just…can't stop from feeling out of balance."
He crossed his arms, leaning on a flat stone next to the training area. Kennen, to his surprise, clamored up beside him, letting his legs dangle off the slab.
"Akali always has been a bit unpredictable. I just always knew she respected you, in fact, she would talk about you more than anyone. Always wondering what you would teach her next and how she would fare in sparring. I'm sorry for assuming that you could work it out together. I…I should have done something more."
"Don't think my mistakes are your fault for one second."
Kennen looked at the ground.
In a rare comforting gesture, Shen patted Kennen's shoulder.
"Do you think she will be okay out there? I know she can fend for herself, but the Kinkou has been her home for her entire life..."
Shen looked up, determination in his eyes.
"She will be, and when our paths cross again, we will bring her home."
I've been struggling a little with Shen's perspective. Let me know any suggestions you have in the comments!
Cover made by cattythedoormat on Instagram! Her league fanart is amazing!
