A/N: I'm back! I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! I actually have written out like 7 chapters but I have been hesitant to post because this story didn't garner much attention. But also, I have to remember who my audience is, especially since Kodocha isn't well known these days. But, I'm having fun writing this so! Here we are! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

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The sun was high in the sky today, streets packed with vendors, shoppers, enforcers, and travelers alike. They were in the middle of the tourist season, Founder's Day growing closer and the energy of the city growing in anticipation.

Frankly, Kurata Sana could do without all the tourists.

Every year they celebrated Founder's Day. Every year it was the same.

The council went on to promote innovation and discovery for a better Piltover, energizing and exciting the city for the world's newest technology and discoveries. The scholars of the Academy ran around like monkeys with their heads chopped off, trying to finish their latest projects to impress Councilman Heimerdinger in the annual showcase.

And of course, the people of Piltover ate it up like a steak dinner.

This year though, Naozumi vowed it would be nothing she had ever seen before.

Of course, she laughed and punched him in the arm. As Piltover's golden boy, it was his job to excite not only her, but the rest of Piltover citizens. But she had asked him too always be honest with her. No matter where their lives took them, she wanted Naozumi to stay true to not only her, but himself.

It was so easy to lose oneself to fame and fortune.

Being Piltover's golden boy with his prince like features, she knew that Naozumi could fall to fame at any time. But he for as long as they had known one another, they always had one goal in mind: discovery for a better world. While Naozumi shined in the bright lights, Sana worked in the shadows.

When she turned 18, she had a choice.

And now at 22, she never regretted her decision.

"Sana! Over here!"

She whipped her head and a grin split her face in two.

Her partner in crime was standing on the other side of the street, waving his hand high as the other was struggling to keep his millions of books in one spot.

Laughing, she ran over and caught book after book as they tumbled from his arms.

"Oh shoot! I'm so sorry! I can't ever seem to keep things straight!"

Sana rolled her eyes and set them on the table at their side as she chuckled.

"Good thing your mind works better than your body!"

The auburn-haired girl winked as she tapped at the man's head standing in front of her. He sighed with a tired smile.

"Yuck. You look like a dead man walking. Did ya not get enough sleep or what, Tsuyoshi?" Hands at her side, her partner looked at her with a gotcha smile.

"I'd be lying if I said I did." But then his eyes gleamed, excitement written all over his face. "But! I came up with some new designs, some that I think are really going to make a difference, especially in Zaun!"

"Okay! Okay! I hear ya! Why don't we grab this stuff and head back to the Academy, hmm? Tell me all about it on the way there!"

He nodded firmly as he talked her ear off about a specialized plumbing system that could purify the tainted waters of Piltover and especially Zaun before reaching the Still Water River. There was a glee in his eye and passion in his voice as he spoke.

Sana was always so amazed by how brilliant her companion was. He was so innovative and thought outside the box. Like she and Naozumi, Tsuyoshi had so many plans to improve the quality of life, especially those in his home city of Zaun.

Tsuyoshi fought through the impossible and worked his way to Piltover, getting accepted into the Academy by recommendation of Councilman Heimerdinger himself. The brown eyed boy worked his way up, garnering attention from the scientists and professors. He wasn't Naozumi, charming smiles and bright blue eyes that sparkled in the sun.

But he was perfectly Tsuyoshi.

Honest, loyal, hardworking Tsuyoshi who wanted to give the people of Zaun another chance at life.

"Geeze! You are speaking at like hundred miles per hour! Slow down! Slow down!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Sana!" He chuckled with embarrassment.

They Academy was a short walk from the plaza they met up in. When they arrived, there were students and researchers everywhere. With the annual showcase coming up shortly and Founder's Day only weeks away, people were trying to put together their best work for the highest honors.

They made their way through the hall, bumping into people here and there.

Sana had no problem calling them all out, barking at people to be careful of where they were running. She got meaningless apologies and she shook her head.

"Animals! All of them!"

Tsuyoshi just chuckled.

They found their way to the lab, every researcher's assistant having their own work area. Tsuyoshi got to work under an engineer that was ranked thoroughly high through the Academy. It didn't surprise her in the least.

"Okay! So, now that I've talked you through it, what do you think?!"

"I think it's a fantastic idea!" Sana nodded her head, agreeing with his grand idea of a bolstered plumbing system that honestly could use a major upgrade.

"I just - Sana, can you imagine? Implementing something of that level, to purify our waters, and get Shimmer out of our sewage and water systems?"

She smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly.

The young woman had never seen Tsuyoshi so determined. His confidence, which always lacked, was spilling and it made her believe so truly in him. She had never met anyone outside of Naozumi and Councilman Heimerdinger who had wanted to help Zaun so badly.

Looking at Tsuyoshi, she could see the scar that sneaked out of his vest.

He never did tell her what exactly happened. Just that shimmer was involved, and that he lost his best friend. It ate at her, the suffering the people of Zaun, especially the children, endured. The crime lords of Zaun had essentially taken over, shimmer spreading through the under city, turning people into wild beasts.

She had heard stories from under city folks who were able to escape poverty. Shimmer pulled out the beast from inside of you, making you lose all sense of control. It disfigured a person, hiding away the human in you, turning you into a monster.

And it left people craving more.

So much so, the whole city fell under its spell and for the last ten years, had been running rampant.

Tsuyoshi was one of the fortunate ones to make it out alive. There were plenty others who didn't.

And then she sometimes she thought about eleven years ago; about the boy who jumped through her window and stole a teddy bear.

Akito.

She wondered if he ever made it out; if he was even still alive.

"Don't worry! We're going to make this happen!" She gave him encouragement and he gave a firm nod. "After all, that's why I'm here right?"

Snapping the googles over his head, he gave her thumbs up and face splitting grin.

Being a councilwoman's daughter and the best friend of the golden boy of Piltover, it had its perks.

Like funding certain projects and having access to materials that weren't so easily available, like a gemstone no doubt. Also, being a spokesperson for said student because said student didn't have the greatest public speaking skills was also an A plus.

She was given a choice.

Be the golden child of Piltover or work in the shadows to build a community from ruins.

Looking over at Tsuyoshi work, she couldn't imagine ever regretting that decision.

"Tsuyoshi? Are you in here?"

A timid voice spoke out, and the boy to her left immediately went red. His cheeks turned cherry red, and eyes went wide. Sana narrowed her eyes mischievously at him, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Uh, over here!" He embarrassingly squeaked, diving into his tools and opening his handy notebook of designs.

"I didn't know if you ate lunch already but I brou - Oh! Sana! Hi! I didn't see you there!"

Standing with a basket in her hand in front of the pai, Sugita Aya was a longtime friend of Sana's from their childhood. She too attended the Academy, her field primarily focusing on medical innovation and progression.

She had sand brown hair and light brown eyes and was dressed in the Academy's signature uniform: a black skirt with black leggings and button-down white blouse with a blue and gold embroider vest. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail.

Aya's cheek were matching the color of Tsuyoshi's, her face steaming. She was looking anywhere but at them and was playing with her hands.

"Hello, Aya!" She greeted with a smile and watched as Tsuyoshi turned her way and waved.

"Hi Aya."

"Oh! Uh, I was going to ask if you wanted to eat lunch together but if you're busy, I can just leave this here and come by later!" She stammered out rather quickly and Tsuyoshi's face grew darker.

Sana rolled her eyes.

"Uh, well, we just got to the lab and haven't started any of today's work so ah – "

"He would love to have lunch with you, Aya!" Sana interrupted, not being able to take the cringe of this conversation anymore. "Wouldn't you, Tsuyoshi?"

He was looking at her like she just shot his grandmother in the face.

"I – uh – umm yes! Yes!" He choked up on his words and put his notebook down, wiping his hands on the apron on him.

"Great!" Aya said, one octave too high.

But her smile grew ten folds.

Sana scoffed, rolling her eyes with a playful grin.

"Ugh, you two get a room, would ya?!" She teased and she could have sworn Tsuyoshi's heart dropped then and there because he still rigidly.

Aya went beet red.

"I kid! I kid!" She laughed, slapping the back of Tsuyoshi's shoulder. "But seriously, yuck. I'm leaving now before this gets too cringe to watch."

"Wait, Sana! You don't want to join?" Aya asked, her voice sounding guilty but the look scribed on her face was hopeful she wouldn't.

The auburn-haired girl shook her head. "Nah. I'm good. Besides, I already ate."

That was a lie, but she didn't want to make them feel bad.

"Tsuyoshi, I'll be back later this afternoon to see your progress! So, don't get too glued to Aya and suck her face off! We have work to do!"

That did it for him because now she was cackling as she ran out of the lab room with a very loud "Sana!" echoing from behind her.

After running away from Tsuyoshi's lab, Sana found herself wondering through the Academy. She stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the students, researchers, scholars, etc. She was no scholar herself. She barely made it through primary school and when she got to high school, passed by the skin of her butt.

If it hadn't been for Aya and Fuka, she'd have failed.

But now, she was working with some of the most promising minds and future leaders of Piltover. Her job as a public relations officer and liaison mostly for Tsuyoshi, and ever so rarely Naozumi, had her busy. A lot of her job was advocating for Tsuyoshi's designs and models and getting the heads at the council to turn for him.

Naozumi didn't need her but whenever he needed some extra pull, it didn't hurt to have the daughter of one of the most respected councilwomen in Piltover.

People in the Academy were indifferent to her, but she didn't think much of them. She had her goals in life and she was going to do everything she could to make a difference in the world she grew up in.

Without or without them.

"Sana! Hey!"

At the sound of her name, she turned around and smiled at the sight of her longtime friend and most popular person in all Piltover, Kamura Naozumi.

His smile dazzled in the sun, his blue eyes sparkling with knowledge and brilliance. His purple, gray hair shone brightly, and his soft features made the girls around him fall to their feet. If there was anyone who would be the post boy of Founder's Day, it was going to be him.

"Well, well. If it isn't the Golden Boy of Piltover! Coming to see your lowly subjects, now?"

Naozumi rolled his eyes with a bright smile etched on his face.

"I can't come by and say hi to my favorite person in the whole wide world?" He said with his puppy dog eyes and Sana couldn't resist.

"I'm surprised you even had the time to come down with Founder's Day coming up and all! Besides, don't you have some big, secret thing you gotta get done?"

They never kept secrets from each other, but Naozumi had sworn to secrecy on their latest advancements with the gemstone. He wouldn't even tell her.

The blue-eyed man gave a strained smile. "Come on. Let's go to my office."

Putting his hand on her back gently, he guided her upstairs.

"Right. Your office." She teased, and he sighed.

"You know you could have one too, and more. If you had accepted my offer."

Sana stepped away from him and shook her head vehemently. He scrunched his eyes slightly, and she glared slightly at him.

"We already talked about this, Nao." Her voice was firm, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"I know, but Sana. Your talents are better elsewhere, and you know that." Naozumi continued walking and she stopped, head titled, a deeper glare on her face.

"It's not flashy like what you're doing, Naozumi. But Tsuyoshi has amazing ideas, and he is going to change the world, for the better, when he's given the opportunity."

He wouldn't let it go. Naozumi had so badly wanted her to join him on at the top, standing on the mantle, looking over everyone. Be the face of innovation and discovery, and the gateway for a new world and future.

And maybe once upon a time, she did want that.

She wanted all the glory and fame, the spotlight directly on her.

But that all changed.

It changed when a boy came bursting through her window, skin, and bones, with sunken hard eyes. When she met a young man from Zaun with wicked scars and a painful past who wanted a better life for the people of his home.

When she saw enforcers shoot and kill just because they weren't one of theirs.

It had caused a rift in their friendship and sometimes it felt like Naozumi was in a different world. But she stood by her decision. And never wavered.

Naozumi sucked on his lips, and then scoffed. He chuckled, almost embarrassingly. He looked at her with pleading eyes, hands at his hips.

"Even though I'm the one at the top, it sure feels like you're the one winning."

Sana scoffed and blew past him. Naozumi was in tow, following her to his office. She was all too familiar with it; all their long nights of experimentation and talking about life itself.

"The real winners and losers are not us, Nao. And you know that."

When they got to his office, he opened the door and they stepped in. It looked like it hadn't been used in months.

"At the end of the day, whether I'm working with you or Tsuyoshi, all of our efforts, are for the better of Piltover and Zaun." He gave another strained smile, the corners not quite reaching his eyes.

She titled her head.

"What is it?" Sana asked, and Naozumi took a deep breath. He placed his hands on his desk, arms wide open and head hanging.

Exhaustion took over his young face, aging him ten years.

"Nao, what's wrong?" She was at his side in moments, grabbing onto his shoulder.

"Let's just say there's a lot riding on this Founder's Day."

Sana glared, frustration rising in her. This was so damn infuriating! Whatever secret project Naozumi was working on, he wasn't allowed to speak about it, and it didn't seem fair. Fair to her, but mostly fair to him.

"If only you could tell me, then maybe me and Tsuyoshi could help!"

Pulling her into a hug, Naozumi embraced her tightly.

"Just knowing I have you by my side is enough to keep me going." He whispered in her ear, and she felt her cheeks go red. "This would be a hell of a lot harder if I didn't."

Naozumi embraced her for a moment more and Sana's entire body went aflame. There was tingling from the tips of her ears to the end of her toes. This level of intimacy was new for her, especially between her and Naozumi.

People teased them often, always accusing them of secretly dating or assuming they were.

But it was strictly friendship. Sana never saw feelings for him beyond that of him being her best friend. Besides, it was too weird for her. She couldn't imagine being in a relationship with him.

It would be like dating her brother.

Yuck.

But today, he was holding her like he was on his last leg, like the floor was going to collapse under him. So, she held onto him tight. Because she knew that the tallest always fell the hardest without a strong foundation.

Sana pulled away and looked up at her longtime friend.

For as handsome and attractive as he was, the stress of times was catching up to him. She could see wrinkles by his eyes and mouth that weren't there previously. And his eyes looked more exhausted than they had even in the last few months.

"You look like shit."

And whatever tension was in the office, it was gone as Naozumi started to laugh.

He threw his head back and cackled, hugging his stomach.

"Honest to God, Sana. I so needed to hear that!"

Sana smiled, scratching the back of her head.

"Well, I am here to serve!"

Naozumi pulled her into another hug.

"Thank you. Seriously. Without you, I'd go mad."

He smiled candidly at her and she returned with a bigger grin.

"Well, please don't do that because then they'd probably want me to take your spot and I have no desire to do that!"

He laughed again and ruffled the top of her head. "You're the best. Alright, I think I'm ready to go back."

Naozumi closed the drawer to his desk and put a notebook away in the pocket of his coat. Sana titled her head in curiosity.

"What's that?"

He looked down at the pocked of his coat. "Oh? This? Nothing special. Just some notes I needed." Naozumi smiled and padded her head.

"Anyway, I got work to get done. You should probably go find Tsuyoshi and get back to work. After all, saving the world is a lot of work."

Sana punched his arm and he cried fake tears. They said their goodbyes and Sana watched as his back grew smaller and smaller until he disappeared down the hall completely.

She was worried.

They were seeing each other less and less, and their conversations seemed to grow shorter as well. Whatever the council was using their precious golden boy for, it was taking its toll on him. Sana made a mental note to ask her mother next time they had dinner together. Her mother would never tell her outright, but she was cryptic, and liked to speak in riddles at times. So, maybe she could work that out of her.

Taking a deep breath, she knew there wasn't much she could do other than be his lending ear. But she had faith in Naozumi and knew that he was strong enough to handle the burdens that came his way.

Soon enough, things will be different.

A/N: Nothing crazy but it forwards the plot! We get to meet some of our favorites like Tsuyoshi and Aya! And Naozumi as well.

I hope yall enjoy! Til next time!

Dark Waffle