Author's notes:
Here's the 10th chapter.
As always... thanks for all, and see you next time :)
Btw, I'm going to focus on rewriting the earliest chapters of most of my stories. "My home is where my heart lies", is probably going to be the first one I'll be working on.
2020.10.14 - preview.
2020.10.18 - entire chapter.
Irelia's POV (sometime later):
"Are you going to sleep whole day?" the question asked in a giggle-like manner woke up the pink-haired officer.
"Aghhh…" Irelia whined as soon as she felt her numb, stiff muscles. "What did you do to me?" she managed to whisper.
"Haha…" came Akali's giggle. "Nothing… that you would not want me to do," the assassin added.
Even though Irelia could not see the huntress… she was more than certain that the woman was winking at her. She still could feel the firm arms of the woman being wrapped around her waist. The warmth was so pleasant that she did not want to wake up or to press forward.
"I… I don't think so," the pinked-haired woman scoffed.
"Hmmm… do you really want me to toy with your pretty little pink clit again?" Akali hummed, then burst into laughter.
"No!" Irelia squeaked. "Hands off of my clit… I'm too sensitive… right now," she mumbled afterwards.
"Ohhh… I wonder who's doing it is," the huntress chuckled.
"I hate you!" the soldier whispered, trying to hide her blushing face.
"Maybe… maybe you want to be in control this time?" the sudden seductive question reached Irelia's ears. "Maybe… maybe you would want to play with my body this time?"
"Uhhh… I… uhhh… I think…" the officer was mumbling.
"You are such a cute human being… you know that?" the assassin giggled while she slowly rose up from the bed. "I do not feel like I am going to ever get tired of that game… you are too easy to tease, and I love that fact," she added.
Akali began to stretch right before the eyes of the pink-haired woman. The huntress was still naked, but that little detail did not phase her even in slightest. With a sly smile all over her face, she was observing Irelia's reaction. As she anticipated, it took very little time for the cheeks of the soldier to become red. Irelia seemed to be fighting against her very own mind and desires. On the one hand, she wanted to avert her gaze off of the huntress's perfect sexy body, on the other, she was unable to do so.
"I think… I learnt a new phrase that describes you perfectly," the quiet laughter of Akali reached Irelia's ears.
"Hmmm?" the special ops trooper hummed. "Do I really want to know what you have on your mind?" she asked in a little bit insecure tone.
"Oh… about that, I am pretty sure of," Akali replied in a cool tone.
"Go on then," the officer sighed.
"The term I learnt about is…" the huntress started. "Useless lesbian, and to me, it fits perfectly in your case," the white-haired woman chuckled.
The wide smirk that was already visible on her beautiful face only widened as soon as the officer hid her head under the warm blanket.
"You see… I was right," Akali giggled.
"I hate you…" the pink-haired woman murmured.
"Oh… I doubt that, or you love-hate me… then it's fine," the huntress responded.
"Why are you making me feel weird?" the quiet question was uttered.
"I think you meant to say – 'Why are you making me feel gay?' – another thing that I learnt in this world of yours," the white-haired woman giggled.
"Vanish… and never return!" Irelia squeaked.
The sheets and the pillow were pulled off of Irelia's head. As might be expected, Akali stood a couple of steps away from her. She was still as naked as on the day she was born. "It was to be expected, wasn't it?" the soldier asked herself deep inside her mind. There was no sound of rustling clothes that could be associated with changing up. Irelia wanted so badly to looked away, but… she was not allowed to. Within a moment shorter than a fraction of a second, the assassin closed the gap between them entirely. The white-haired woman straddled her and put her frim hands to use. One of them cupped the chin of the officer, forcing Irelia to keep staring at the beautiful face of the huntress. In the same time, the other hand pinned the pink-haired woman to the bed.
"Shhh…" Akali silenced the latter. "I think… that there was enough of the fluff already, we should focus on the business, shall we?"
"If you say so," Irelia replied with a roll of her eyes. "I don't have much choice, do I?"
"Darling… darling… darling, you have no choice at all," the white-haired woman giggled quietly. "We have already discussed our little bargain… so let's omit that part and go straight into details," she added in a cold professional tone.
"Go on, then," the soldier replied.
"I need you to be a bait for someone," the assassin said bluntly.
"Why me? If it's just a case of being a bait, why didn't you choose someone else?" the surprised pink-haired woman asked.
"I told you that before, you are not afraid of being killed, you will not run away from the danger," the huntress replied, softening her grip upon the chin of the latter. "I need you to lure my target to the exact place. I am more than certain that if I chose anyone but you, that person would try to run away, ruining the whole plan," she explained after taking a prolonged breath.
"Who's your target then?" Irelia wanted to know.
"You see… it is not an easy answer to provide," the red-eyed woman chuckled. "To answer it… I must tell you my story, or at least a part of it."
"One of my friends thought that you're a part of some sort of ritual, or some sort of tribal trial," the pink-haired woman whispered. "Is that even remotely close to the truth?"
"Ahhh… I remember that memory," Akali said after a moment or two of thinking. "She was closer to the truth that she anticipated, I must get her that," she giggled. "The truth is that…" the assassin hesitated for a fraction of a second. "The truth is that my target is or rather was my mentor. He was the one who kidnapped me when I was little. You saw him already… he is not human, I forgot the name of his race, but they are like the mix of a human and feral beast," she began her story after a pause.
"You're talking about that big cat that chased Mark, am I right?" the officer asked.
"Yes… you saw there two additional huntresses… some sort of colleagues of mine," the crimson-eyed woman slowly replied. "Nidalee, Caitlyn are their names. I have not gotten any message from them since I moved to the upper city," she added.
"You think that they're in danger?"
"They are most likely dead by now," Akali responded. "Rengar, my master was chewing what remained of another hunter who was sent after him. His name was Yi," the huntress explained. "To be perfectly honest, the whole situation here is just a big tribal trial. All 4 of us came to the age of adulthood, so we must be put into the final test — a really savage and brutal one."
"Wait… you're trying to tell me that you were asked to kill that freaking beast that you just called Rengar?" the terrified commando trooper asked.
"To simplify that… yes," the short answer was provided. "But there is more depth into it," she sighed heavily.
"Then… maybe explain that to me?"
"I have no other choice," Akali answered, lying down next to the officer. "The philosophy of the trial is quite complex… but, it can be simplified. Rengar was a blade master, it is a very high and respected position in my society. He was responsible for killing people who were a threat to the council," the woman began explaining. "It is something like your government," she added when Irelia looked surprised at her. "He and all of his proteges had one more responsibility… they were forced to find new recruits that could potentially surpass them in the future. As far as I am aware, in the beginning, the recruits came only from Rengar's race, but with time, that rule was modified. Every one of them could have any numbers of students, after all, the council was paying for their living. The only task that was put before them was to train those students, prepare them for a trial," Akali took a deep breath, pausing for a moment.
"In most cases, it was a master who decided when his or her students were ready," she continued. "I was allowed to do a bit of research about that topic, but to be frank… I found only a little. In nearly all cases, the masters were waiting for their youngest pupils to reach adulthood before gathering them all and put them through the final challenge. Rengar had only 4 students, me, Nidalee, Caitlyn, Yii. I was the youngest of them, so he waited for me to be of age," the white-haired woman stopped once again.
"He brought us all before the council," the huntress started after a minute or so. "We were utterly clueless about what was going on, but to them… it did not really matter. After Rengar presented us to the old beasts that rule our society, he was dismissed. The rules of the trial were explained by the youngest member of the council. He was the only one of them, who did not look at us as a hunter at his prey. In theory, the task ahead of us seemed to be easily accomplishable. Still, as you might know, the devil is hidden in details," Akali whispered. "We were to kill our mentor, the problem was that none of us could match him in a one-on-one fight, and we were not taught how to work as a unit. So… basically, he did not say that aloud, but they wanted us to fight each other, to sharpen our fighting skills. When there would be only one of us still taking a breath – the winner – they expected that person to face off with Rengar," she added in a grave tone. "They did not care how many young lives would be wasted, the only thing that they cared for was a winner, a better hunter than the sacrificed master," she paused.
"It sounds horrible!" Irelia exclaimed loudly. "How could they do something like that to you?"
"Haven't I said it already?" the surprised huntress asked. "They are beasts, all they crave for is to obtain as much power as they can. They can only assure that if there are many powerful soldiers behind them. They use the natural selection to ensure that what they are left with at the end, is the best they could have in the given moment."
"But… but…"
"There are no buts there, Irelia," the assassin said softly. "The universe is cruel, and its rules by even more cruel and vicious creatures. It is not a myth… it is a sad truth," she added in a sad tone. "It is not very different from your rules, after all, they sent you for a suicide mission. They sent you and your team to hunt me."
"I agree… I agree with you to some extent," Irelia mumbled. "But… it isn't entirely true…"
"You will still defend them, will you?" Akali chuckled. "It is not unexpected tho."
"What do you mean?"
"Irelia…" the huntress called her name most softly. "You are an idealist… if you were taught something, you would believe it… worse… you would hold to it as a hopeless man who puts his trust in a razor's edge," the woman continued. "You are perfectly aware that your supervisors allowed the remnants of your team to stay in the upper city only because they saw an opportunity in that. They sent the regular military to the slums."
"Yes… I know that they sent those poor bastards without even mentioning or explaining the current situation," the officer sighed heavily.
"There is more to that… don't you think?" the white-haired woman asked. "They are using the numbers to search vast areas of the slums… but, they are seeking for Rengar or me, they are seeking potential recruits. Your government need meat that can be easily replaced. After all… have you heard how many of those little soldiers died already?" she continued without waiting for the soldier's response.
"Ehh… last time I checked… there were at least 200 confirmed cases… and another 100 MIA's," Irelia replied in a breaking voice.
"Pfff…" the huntress scoffed. "As far as I know, there are at least 1000 dead soldiers, maybe even more. On the other hand… your supervisors managed to recruit at least 50000 of the poor, so for them… it is still a net victory," she added.
"That's beastly!" the soldier commented. "How do you even know that?"
"Have you already forgotten?"
"Through… through my blood? That's how you know all of this?" Irelia said, her entire frame was trembling.
"Yes… I have explained that before. I do not know why are you acting so strangely all out of sudden?" Akali focused her burning red eyes on the officer. "You are scared?"
"Yes… I'm scared, what else you know about me?"
"Isn't it the safest to assume that I know everything?" the assassin giggled.
"So… it's safe to assume that you'll end up sacrificing me?" the pink-haired woman whispered while tears started to run down her cheeks.
"Listen!" the crimson-red-eyed woman said. She grabbed the right hand of the soldier before forcing her to look at her burning eyes. "You might not believe me… but, if I promise something, I will make sure to fulfil it. I am not a coward… I am not a lier!" she added in a slightly risen tone.
"I… I'm…"
"Silence!" Akali ordered. "You do not have to apologise… all I ask from you is to obey my commands," the woman whispered in a cold tone. "Now… get up and dress up, we are leaving this part of the city as soon as you are ready," she uttered.
Without a moment of hesitation, the white-haired woman released Irelia's hand out of her iron grip and stood up. Akali did not spare the pink-haired officer another glance, she just headed to the bathroom. As soon as the sounds of running water reached Irelia's ears, she knew it was high time to get up.
Even though her muscles still did not recover fully, she did not have a choice. She was to follow the beautiful assassin. She was to return to the darkness of the slums. The real question was, whether she had enough courage to do what was planned for her. Sadly… she did not know the answer, and by the look of things, she would not be provided with one.
The officer sighed heavily. It was going to be a hell of a challenge for her. About that… she was pretty much sure of.
Irelia's POV (2 hours later):
It was already a late evening when they reached the top level of the highest building in the city. The insignificant cold wind was blowing. "I should have taken a coat, I'm freaking freezing here," Irelia sighed in her mind. Before them in some distance, their target could be seen.
"You're sure of this?" Irelia quietly asked while staring at the direction her so-called partner pointed out.
"It is a problem, indeed, but… I think it will only slow us down for a couple of minutes," Akali nonchalantly replied. "There are only 5 guards there. If you want, you can stay here and let me handle that little problem of ours my way," she added.
"Is there a way to avoid bloodshed?" the pink-haired woman asked, but she already knew the answer. The huntress's eyes went dark… they became primal, she was out for blood. "Fine," Irelia gave up. "Please… don't make them suffer longer than it's necessary."
"Why do you care for these humans that much?" the assassin wanted to know.
"If you have already forgotten… I'm human too," the offended soldier replied. "I still have feelings… I'm not a killing machine like you. I can't just watch as people are being killed in front of me with a huge smile on my lips!" she threw out all the accumulated negatives. "If you have to kill them… go ahead, but do it cleanly and quickly, and most importantly, don't expect me to witness that!" the sassy response was provided.
The huntress closed the gap between them in a matter of second. She grabbed the neck of the soldier before leaning in.
"You can speak as sassy as you want to," the red-eyed beauty said through her sharp teeth. "But… deep down you know that you will still end up looking at me because I am like a drug to you," she whispered in a much softer tone. "You can pretend that you do not like killing… but, as long it is associated with me and my sexy ass, you will end up staring."
"You're… you're… you're unbelievable!" the officer squeaked, blushing hard. "Why are you always affecting me that much!" she nagged in a pitful tone.
"That is a question to yourself, isn't it?" the white-haired woman chuckled while softening her grip upon the neck of the pink-haired soldier. "I do not really know why you fall so hard, but… it does not really matter much right now. We have a task ahead of us."
"I guess… you're the only one who would do something like that," Irelia whispered. "Akali?"
"I am still focused entirely on you," the huntress uttered. "What do you want from me?" she sighed, then asked the question.
"If… if… if I mean anything to you… please, just, please don't let them suffer for too long," the officer said in a really low tone. The tears started to form once again in the corners of her eyes.
"Ehhh… you will get me killed one day," the assassin replied, letting her go. "Just do not cry… they are not worthy of your tears. I will end their lives as smoothly as I can. I promise this," the white-haired woman promised, then turned around.
"It is time for me…" she started but was interrupted by Irelia.
"Thank you," the officer whispered while pressing her face between shoulder's blades of the assassin. "You have no idea… how much it means to me," she added, then wrapped her arms around the exposed midriff of the white-haired woman.
"I really must get going," Akali uttered quietly after a couple of moments. "I can not say that I do not enjoy the warmth of your body, but there is a task ahead of me. Till… till it is not finished, I can not allow myself to rest. I hope you understand that."
"Wasn't it easier to just say – 'I love you'?" Irelia asked teasingly. "But… I understand. But you're mistaken in one detail. It's no longer your task… it's ours," she added confidently.
"Ummm…" the surprised huntress only managed to gasp. "Thank you," she added after the initial shock was gone.
"Go," Irelia encouraged the huntress to press on. "I'll be watching your back from here… in case you screw something up," she giggled.
"I need to get going, or I will need to rip that tongue of yours," Akali replied in a playful tone. "You are becoming more and more daring… to some extent, I already miss that blushing mess that you were not so long ago."
"You know… there is saying among my people," the pink-haired officer started. "The easiest translation of that is if you're staying close with someone… in some time you're becoming alike," she giggled. "I can only become as bold and daring as you're Akali."
"Ehhh… I hope I will not see that day," the assassin sighed. "Hey, watch my back," she uttered, then winked at the soldier, and after a second or so, she was gone.
Irelia rested on the railing that was located on the top level of some not particularly interesting building. From the place was currently standing, she could watch a decent part of the city due to the height difference. But… most importantly, she was able to watch the entrance to the city elevator. To be perfectly honest, there were 20 such places scattered across the entirety of the upper city. Since she returned from her failed mission… all of these entrances were being guarded 24/7 by the members of the regular military.
Akali was not a fool, she must have gathered some pieces of information about every one of them. There was no chance that she just randomly chose that particular outpost. If she was her, she would choose the facility with the least security assigned to it. To some extent,… it sounded a bit surreal. After all, all of the elevators could be used the same way and provided the same output. It was a fascinating detail that there was a significant difference in the strength of the unit assigned to the various points.
As far as Irelia was informed by the red-eyed assassin, there were at max 10 soldiers guarding that particular entrance. All of them were pretty much fresh after the academy, so to be frank, they would not post any threat to the huntress. To some extent, she pitted those soldiers, they did not know what was coming their way. They were too young to die, but in the end, what she could do… nothing.
Irelia took the binoculars and started to watch her so-called 'partner'. As was to be expected, Akali reached the bottom level of the facility in record time. If she wanted, she could be near invisible to anyone. A couple of meters above her, there was a single soldier who was resting on the wall. His cap was pulled down, hiding his eyes. He was probably trying to catch some sleep. "Too bad," Irelia thought.
"He is asleep?" Akali asked through their mental connection.
"Yes," the officer simply replied.
"I will break his neck… he is not going to feel anything," the huntress said. "Satisfied?"
"Yes… go ahead."
Without an ounce of hesitation, red-eyed beauty started to climb the wall. Within maybe a few seconds, maybe a little longer, she reached the level where the soldier was sleeping. With a real cat's grace, the white-haired woman closed the distance between her and the sleeper. Irelia saw a quick action of her partner's firm hands, and the man was dead. His still warm body collapsed on the cold floor lifelessly.
In nearly the same moment, a door located maybe 50 meters away from Akali opened and two soldiers left the building.
"Akali!" Irelia squeaked. "Hide the body, there are two men 50 metres away from you!"
"Affirmative," the white-haired replied.
By looking at Akali's figure, it was pretty easy to forget that she was far stronger than most men in their prime. The pink-haired soldier gasped loudly when the huntress picked up the dead body from the floor and jumped with it to the point's next floor. For her, it seemed as if the dead man weight pretty much nothing. When the red-eyed assassin made sure that no one was nearby, she laid the corpse gently on the cold stone.
Without wasting any time, she rushed toward the railing. The huntress allowed herself to look over the edge of the floor. The mentioned soldiers were the target she was seeking.
"They're on your left… maybe 10 – 20 metres away from you," Irelia informed her so-called partner.
"Thank you. Note that this time, I will not be able to kill them without shedding some blood," Akali said in a cool tone.
"I know… do what you need to do," the pink-haired soldier replied.
It seemed that the huntress did not want to waste any time more. In the very next second, Irelia could see her standing on the railing and preparing her deadly blades. The officer allowed herself to blink one time, and it was over. Akali jumped to the level under her, catching the attention of the surprised soldiers in an instant. Sadly for them… the assassin did not allow them to react. She simply did not give them enough time to do so. Each of the sharp, deadly blades of the huntress found its way toward the neck of the men. As if skin, fat, muscles and bones were butter, the steel pierced through them like a hot knife. Just a moment later, the two heads hit the stone followed by the bodies.
Irelia focused on the assassin. She was smiling, her eyes once again went dark. It must have been the true nature of Akali. The living goddess of the hunt did not rest for long. Before the officer could say anything, the white-haired rushed toward the nearest door, vanishing a moment later.
She lost the assassin from her sight. The soldier wanted to see what was going on. So… she tried to regain the connection between them. After a moment, her mind started to be flooded by the images of the slaughter. Their mental connection could be considered useful sometimes, desired in the other times. Still, in the rare moments like current, it was just a curse.