The Principal's office was kept immaculate.

Deep brown timber, shiny and reflective, panelled the floors. The wall was lined with glass windowed shelves, displaying the various awards and accolades the school was famous for. The lower shelves had a collection of pieces of tech, left over from principals past. A waist-high desk of smooth aged oak stood in the centre, a computer and stack of papers sitting atop it with pinpoint tidiness. A single small, pink fish - claw marks across the whole thing - lay defeated off to the side.

Graves sat at the seat in front of the desk, foot tapping aggressively against the wooden floor.

It was seven in the morning, wednesday. Third day of the spring term. He checked his watch again. He wasn't late. Where was the Cat?

The cat-flap at the door flew open, and the smell of sardines wafted into the room. Graves ruffled his nose. He wasn't allowed to smoke at school but this was okay?

'Good morning, Professor Graves. Did you have something to report?'

Graves grunted in assent. 'Can you open the window?'

'No. Why?'

'Nevermin'.' He grunted, looking down to the clipboard he brought. 'I'll cut to the point. Was the Trial any different this year?'

'Different how?' The Cat jumped up onto the desk, and sat atop the open book. There was a ripple in the air, then it fell silent. 'There was no change in the set-up, if that is what you're asking.'

'Righ', did y'all have any new objectives or enemies? New areas?'

The Cat narrowed her eyes. 'What are you getting at.'

He placed one of the papers on the desk. On it was a torn page of a book, displaying a crude drawing of an insect-like creature, purple and riddled with thick veins, and long claws. Large scribbled text tagged it as 'VOIDLING'.

The Cat stared at it for a moment, tail swishing. She looked up to Graves.

'What is this?'

'One of the students reported they ran into one in the Depths.'

The Cat did not look amused. 'Impossible.'

'And so I thought too. But cuts don't lie, and neither does the kid.'

'I take it it was dispatched?'

'Yes, but that ain' the point -'

'So? What would you have me do? Does this relate to the other issue I asked you about?'

Graves tapped his fingers on the smooth wood. 'It could.'

'And it could not. I asked you to investigate the missing persons and the missing items, not indulge idle fantasies. Who was the student who reported this?'

'Ezreal Lymere.'

The Cat scoffed. 'Ah yes. Your pet project. Are you certain he wasn't simply trying to make his exploits seem greater?'

'Why woul'he lie about almost dying on the very first day?' Graves was starting to get annoyed. 'There was somethin else, too. Have you ever saw a white wooden room in Durandal?'

'Wood? No, certainly not.'

'The kid said they found the voidling in that kind'a room.'

The tail swished. 'Enough. I will look into it, but I'm under a lot of pressure. Two Principals in two years.' She sighed. Then the Cat nodded with tired resignition. 'I'll look into it.'

Graves huffed. 'S'all I ask.'

The second day of school over, Ezreal began the trek to the Battle Clubhouse. It wasn't far, but it definitely wasn't close. It was on the edge of the campus, the high walls of the rocky valley closely behind the small wooden shack.

Ekko was beside him. They walked in silence.

Again, Ekko had stayed up late, tinkering with tools. And again, Ezreal had apparently woken him up 'too early'. If not for Lux's presence at breakfast, they might've actually gotten physical.

They were in the same club, and were roommates, so it was natural that they ran into each other on the way to the club. Not that either of them particularly wanted the other's company today, but they made their way together anyway.

Barely a word was exchanged by the time they arrived at the hut, but Ekko did recoil physically at the sight. Or lack thereof. He furrowed his brows.

'What the heck? Is that it?'

'Yep.'

'It just keeps getting better.'

Ezreal shrugged. Ekko did the same. They both sighed. Ezreal was already getting tired of this.

'Well, let's get this overwith then.' Ekko said, and pushed open the door. Ezreal followed him inside, ears assaulted by a child's voice.

'Whooooaaa! Another person! Hello!' The bubble of pure energy portalled to the landing, causing Ekko to jump back with a 'whoa!', and Ezreal to smirk. 'I'm Zoe! What's your name? Your hair is cool!'

'I, uh?' Ekko said.

'I'm Zoe! Let's be friends!' She held a hand forward, but before Ekko could take it Zoe melted back into the portal, and reappeared at the opposite side of the room. She waved at Ezreal as she landed and called over.

'Hi Ezreal!'

Ezreal shot her a greeting with his hands. She mirrored the gesture with a giggle.

Ekko eyed him. 'You know her?'

'I came by yesterday,' he shrugged. 'She's a member of the club.'

'Yep! Second year! Nice to meet you!' She called back.

...Wait.

'You're a second year?!' Ezreal said. Ekko gaped, too.

Zoe, on the other hand, puffed out her chest proudly. 'You bet! And I'll be the bestest senior you guys will ever get!'

'How old are you?' Ekko said, eyebrows raised straight to the heavens.

'Tsk, tsk, tsk. Never ask a lady for her age,' Zoe said, grinning smugly. 'You won't be popular with that type of pick up line, New Friend.'

'She's 14 now. Got in on a recommendation and a full scholarship, I believe.' A new voice came from behind the two.

Irelia entered the room with casual flippancy with regards to Zoe, but gave a nod to Ezreal and a bow to Ekko.

'14?' Ekko gaped. 'I thought you had to be 17 for the first year.'

Ezreal rubbed at his chin. I guess the signs were there, but I just didn't connect the dots. Zoe being a second year was obvious in hindsight from what she said yesterday around Irelia, but man – She was a literal child. It was pretty weird.

Regaining himself, Ekko clumsily returned the bow to Irelia. She chuckled.

'I'm Irelia. Nice to meet you, uh - ?'

'Ekko. I'm Ekko.' He was staring at her with doe eyes. Ezreal bit back the urge to laugh.

'Nice to meet you then, Ekko. You've already met Zoe and Ezreal here, so we're just waiting on the President and Professor. Then we can start.'

Ekko nodded, then tilted his head. 'Wait, that's it?'

Zoe, who had appeared besides them, nodded sagely. 'We're a super-elite club. Members only.'

'My tip would be to make a habit of tuning Zoe out. But yes, we don't get too many members.'

Ekko looked pretty confused at that, and Ezreal couldn't blame him. Then he glared at Ezreal.

'Looks like I'm stuck with you.'

'Oh, you're stuck with me?'

They glared at each other. Irelia, looking after them with genuine confusion, cleared her throat.

'Okay then! Even if they aren't here yet, I can give you a basic rundown of the club and our activities. Zoe, could you set up a dummy?'

A salute was given in response, before Zoe dashed off and rummaged about the shelves.

Breaking the glares, Ekko and Ezreal turned to Irelia. She gave them a smile you would give a little sibling. Seeing that, Ezreal snapped out of his growing anger – a little. Ekko was being a prick.

'Alright, while Zoe sets up, I'll explain the basic premise of the clubs here. They're essentially your team; any and all events that the school runs are done through your club. Your club functions as your family, let's say. Everything you do gets the club points, and with those points the club can cash them in for some benefits.
'So for example, let's we want to go on a training camp. It costs fifty points. We would need to pay that using the bank we'd stored up as a club. Make sense so far?'

Ezreal and Ekko nodded, avoiding each other's gaze. Irelia didn't break her smile.

'Good. That's pretty much the basis of the whole thing; you earn points by winning events and doing well at school, and you lose them by losing in those same events and doing poorly in studies, and you can spend them on things for your club. Any questions?'

'Is that it?' Ezreal asked.

'Well, no, but that's the very basic gist of it. Don't want to overload you on the first day, you know?'

'But then wouldn't we be at a disadvantage? We only have five members.' Ekko said.

'Don't worry – I'm super amazing.' Zoe reappeared. She said it with no arrogance. Irelia chopped her on the head anyway.

'Ignore her. You're right, in a way; We just can't get too many points with only five members. Hence the room,' she gestured to the small and dusty dojo-like room. 'If we had more points, we could expand it, for example.'

'Hmm.' Ezreal mused.

The door opened behind them again, and another voice, deep but a touch gravely, sauntered in.

'That's the idea. Good job as always, Irelia. Can always count on you to explain things concisely.'

Irelia rolled her eyes. Ezreal and Ekko turned to see the newcomer, while Zoe waved and shouted something in greeting.

He was a tall boy, lean, and had a massive tuft of hair. He had a ponytail, similar to Ezreal, but his was massive – it stood upright behind his head with gravity-defying physics. Ezreal wondered what brand of hair product he used. On his back was a long, thin container covered in cloth and slung over a shoulder.

He was handsome, a sculpted face and solid nose framing a lazy grin that lay between the beginnings of a beard, which looked more as if he had just gone a couple of mornings without a shave rather than a conscious decision. He wore dark sunglasses over his eyes, covering the piercing glare that Ezreal could feel on him. At his waist was a tin flask.

He coughed, and grimaced at the sound of his wheezing.

'Yasuo, are you really going to show up to your first day as Club President hungover?' Irelia said, exasperated. Zoe tilted her head. Ezreal heard her mutter the word curiously.

'It's fine, I'm fine. Don't be such a stick, Irelia. You're ruining that wonderful beauty of yours.' He waved his hand dismissively, turning to the two first years. Irelia sighed.

As he spoke, another, massive figure appeared in the doorway behind Yasuo. He entered, and Ezreal stared wide-eyed at the biggest mass of man he had ever seen.

Professor...Braum? Was huge, standing easily over two meters tall and nearly as wide. But he wasn't fat, oh no. He was pure muscle, and Ezreal felt terrified for the poor buttons on the bald man's dress shirt. They looked as if they were screaming.

His eyes, happy and bright blue, looked down at Ezreal and Ekko with a hearty laugh. The way his mouth roared under a fluffy handlebar moustache made Ezreal feel at ease.

The Professor placed a massive hand on Yasuo's shoulder, still laughing heartily. 'Hello, children! I am Braum, Club teacher for Battle Club. Let us have good year!' He laughed again. Yasuo didn't flinch at the sound, somehow.

Ezreal stared up at him for a moment, before catching himself as Braum put a hand forward to himself and Ekko, presumably to shake. He stared at that for a moment, too, before shaking himself and smiling up at the man, taking his hand.

'Ezreal, sir. Nice to meet you!'

'Ekko. Likewise, Professor. I look forward to our time together.'

'Hah hah hah! You are very polite, these two! I like.'

With that, Braum took his hands back from the two, and walked over to the desk – which looked absolutely tiny next to him – and plopped down into the chair behind it. He flipped on the electric fan.

Irelia cleared her throat. 'Well then, now that we've all met, President Yasuo, would you care to explain the procedure for the year -'

Yasuo put a hand up, the other covering his ear. 'Too loud. You can do it, Irelia. I'll just sit this one out.'

And with that, he walked towards the other end of the room, extremely baggy pants swaying with effort. He took a seat opposite Braum, who laughed again. Yasuo covered his ears and sunk into a nap.

Clearly annoyed but determined to put up a good impression for the first years, Irelia drew herself up to Ezreal and Ekko. She still had the smile, although it was cracking.

'Well. You've met all of us then. Any questions?'

Ezreal and Ekko shared confused glances. Then collectively shook their heads. Irelia sighed and nodded, while Zoe perked up at the moment of silence.

'So, so what's your power, Ekko? By the by, mine is -'

'Let Ekko talk, Zoe.'

Ekko gave Irelia an appreciative smile, then coughed. He fingered the circular bag on his back lightly before speaking.

'It's, ah, a little hard to explain. Mm. Yeah. I'm really good at making stuff though.'

Irelia hummed. 'That sounds like a Luminary thing.'

'Dunno,' Ekko shrugged. 'Guess Durandal figures I'm just as weird as this guy.'

Ezreal sighed, exasperation getting the better of him. 'Okay, look. We got off on the wrong foot, but can we stop with the snide comments? We're going to have to spend a lot of time together.'

Ekko glared. 'I'll stop when I can wake up at a humane hour.'

'You're still on that?' Ezreal said, loudly as he turned to face the smaller boy. Ekko huffed. 'Dude, I said I was sorry. It's not like you're the perfect roommate, either.'

'At least I don't wake you up. And would it kill you to keep your clothes on your side of the room?'

'At least I don't keep you up! You're like a fog horn when I'm trying to sleep! Plus, you snore! How can such a deep sound come from such a tiny guy, anyway?'

Ekko rounded on him, voice rising. 'Oh, you wanna go?'

Ezreal had dealt with tons of roommates in the past, being in the children's home and all, but Ekko was being a real child. Ezreal's better senses told him to not rise to the occasion. To be the bigger person.

So naturally, Ezreal's eyes narrowed to slits. 'Bring it, Mohawk.'

'Whoo! Fight!' Zoe yelled from somewhere. Irelia was saying something to them, but Ezreal couldn't hear it. His eyes were focused squarely on his wonderful roomie.

They locked stares for what seemed like years, before Yasuo's gravely voice broke the silence. Angrily.

'You two are too noisy. What's even the problem here?' He rose from his nap, and moved deliberately towards the two. He towered over them, his massive ponytail contributing a large effort to that.

'I'm going to kick your ass, Ponytail.'

'When I kick yours, will you stop being a jackass?'

They continued to glare.

...Then Yasuo sighed, loudly.

'And here I thought we only had one child in here.'

Zoe tut-tutted at Irelia, who rolled her eyes with her arms crossed.

Ezreal and Ekko rounded their glares on the club president, who stood over them, posture relaxed. Yasuo regarded them behind his sunglasses for a moment, before a wicked grin broke on his lips.

'Fight me. You two against me. If I win, you two will be nice to each other. Like adults.'

Ezreal and Ekko exchanged confused – but still angry - glances. Was this guy serious?

Taking his growing dislike of the kid aside, Ezreal respected Ekko's combat abilities. He had seen him function in a life-or-death fight, and the kid was smart. Add in his own power, there was no way this was fair for Yasuo. Ekko appeared to share his thoughts.

Irelia placed a hand on either of the first-year boy's shoulders. Both turned to look.

'Don't. Just calm down, the lot of you.'

Melting just a little, Ekko's body lost some of it's tightness. Ezreal followed after a moment.

Yasuo, however, wasn't backing down. 'You two win, I'll buy you dinner.'

'Seriously, Yasuo, don't be a -'

'You don't even have to beat me. Just touch me once.'

Ezreal's stomach grumbled.

'Once? And you'll buy us dinner?' Ezreal said, and Ekko stared up at Yasuo.

'For the rest of the year.' Yasuo was grinning.

There was some noise coming from Irelia, but Ezreal didn't catch any of it. He locked eyes with Ekko, and they both nodded.

'Deal.' They both said.

Irelia sighed, muttering something like 'why do I even bother' as she removed herself from the boys.

Victorious smile plastered on his face, Yasuo turned to Braum, who was not paying them any attention. 'Professor, can you authorise this as a Duel? Me versus the two tykes.'

'Oh? I see!' He laughed, standing. The desk moved slightly. 'But Yasuo, this fight – is not fair, no?'

Ezreal smirked. This guy had no idea how unfair it actually was. Ekko was grinning too. This would solve the dinner problems Ezreal had nicely.

'Are you sure about this, Yasuo?' Irelia said, her last attempt at diffusing the situation. The third year nodded, tossing off his sunglasses and standing in the centre of the room. 'They could end up really hurt.'

'I want to nap in peace.'

With a final sigh, Irelia gathered up the excited Zoe, cleared away the Dummy Zoe had set up earlier, and sat at one of the benches lining the walls. Zoe was yelling something – they sounded like battle cries? - but everyone tuned her out. Ezreal and Ekko took their place across from Yasuo, who was stretching his limbs out. Each one cracked very loudly.

Slipping his gauntlet on, Ezreal tossed his bag to the side of the room as he lowered himself into a combat stance. Ekko likewise prepared himself, one hand at a small lever protruding from his bag, other clutching his glowing blue baton.

'Zoe, where did you put my practice sword? The wooden one?' Yasuo said.

'Oh!' Zoe lit up. Then she portalled to the front of the room, where she had thrown it the day before, popping back up at the bench. She portalled again to Yasuo, expertly sliding the wooden stick into his outstretched hand. Then she fell again, and landed with a thump on the bench, next to a still scowling Irelia.

'Should the window be open?' Braum asked Yasuo as he made his way to stand between the two parties. Yasuo pondered for a second, but shook his head.

'The fan should be enough.'

Fan? Enough? This guy is way too cocky, whatever his power is.

'Very okay! Then, as Braum witnesses, this duel is officially witnessed! Start!'

Instantly, Yasuo lunged forward.

Ekko shoved Ezreal down, causing Yasuo's first strike to miss. A dull thwip sliced the air. Yasuo hummed, dark circled eyes locking to Ekko.

'Interesting.' He said. 'You first.'

Ekko grimaced, and brought his baton up to block the swing pre-emptively. Seeing the defensive move, Yasuo shifted his attack at the last possible moment to knock Ekko's baton-gripping hand with the hilt of the wooden blade.

Surprise clear on his face, Ekko reeled in pain, and stumbled back, Yasuo closing in. Before he could strike again, Ezreal rushed Yasuo's turned back with a clenched fist imbued with energy. Yasuo reacted quickly, spinning and stepping to the side. Ezreal's fist cleaved the air, and he stumbled forward as the energy fizzled out.

Ezreal recovered his balance, but the larger boy was already on top of him. Yasuo raised his blade, the downstroke sure to follow swiftly. Ezreal grimaced, and willed the power within to fill him.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment, then Ezreal appeared a meter to the left, using the residual momentum from the Shift to turn into a spin, fist flying towards Yasuo.

Yasuo's eyes brow raised slightly, but quickly brought his blade up to intercept the blow. With a crunch, Ezreal yelped in pain, but pushed the pain aside and Shifted away. He stopped next to Ekko, who was breathing heavily – dark bruises covered him everywhere already.

Wait.

'When did you even get hit there?' Ezreal asked through bated breaths. Two Shifts in quick succession would do that. Ekko shot him a glare through pants. His eyes then quickly darted to Yasuo, who was settling back into a relaxed stance, eyeing the two silently.

'...This guy's an actual monster.' Ekko said.

'Don't worry. We'll get him.' Ezreal said, raising his gauntlet. 'We can't keep asking Lux to buy us dinner.'

'That was a moment of weakness.' He sighed, but stood up, resolute. 'Sixth time's the charm, I guess.'

Yasuo began to walk slowly towards them.

Ezreal inhaled sharply, expunging the small burst of power he charged into his open palm. The blast shot towards Yasuo, who immediately responded with a dodge to the side, naturally slipping into a dash towards Ezreal. Ezreal shot off another blast, Yasuo performing a low pirouetteto the side again, swiftly flowing into an upwards slice.

Ezreal, about to get hit and unable to gather enough energy to Shift, brought his arms close to his body to block. Just before he could connect, Ekko grabbed Ezreal by the shoulder and threw him backwards. Ezreal lost balance, and Ekko used the momentum to bring down his baton towards Yasuo's exposed body.

'Oh? Not bad.' Yasuo said, as he quickly readjusted his blade's path to intersect with the baton, then pushed it up and away from the wood. Off balance, Ekko stumbled. Yasuo reeled back. He exploded forward, elbowing Ekko's stomach.

Ezreal stood, shaking his head before raising his gauntlet for another blast. Ekko was in the way.

Gasping in pain, Ekko fumbled backwards, somehow still standing – barely. The baton went flying. Yasuo pressed his attack, swinging his blade horizontally. Ekko, seeing the attack, grimaced and leaned into the gravity of his fall, toppling to the side and just barely out of the way.

As the boy fell, a bolt of energy exploded from Ezreal's hand, streaming straight towards Yasuo's face. Ezreal grinned, this was it. Ekko scrambled back.

Yasuo reacted in time. He rode the movement of his blade, ducking to the side. The blast whizzed past his head harmlessly.

Grunting, Ezreal poured more power into his gauntlet, shooting off two more blasts. Needles of pain pierced at Ezreal's skin from the expenditure.

'Dodge this!' He yelled, trying to mask his growing exhaustion. Yasuo paused, taking a deep breath, drawing his blade back and towards the electric fan's current.

Then, he swung his blade directly forward, cleaving the air in front of him – and stopping the two blasts in their tracks. The energy bolts struggled against nothing, a wall of air pressing against them. Yasuo followed the motion of his blade, spinning into a push against the barrier with a yell.

'Sorya!'

The bolts flipped, streaming back towards Ezreal at insane speeds.

Caught completely off-guard, Ezreal grimaced and raised his hands at the last moment to block his own energy bolts, jolts of pain ripping through his body as they connected.

Simultaneously, Yasuo rounded Ezreal's gauntleted side. In the brief moment of still before he struck, Ezreal swore he could make out a smirk on the third year's face.

'This has to go.' Yasuo said, then slammed his blade into the gauntlet.

Crack. The gauntlet's outer rim shattered, coruscating light blaring out from the piece of tech. The force of impact pushed Ezreal to the side, and he felt panic rise.

Oh shit. Shit shit shit!

'You're fast, but -' Yasuo started.

Desperate, Ezreal forced power to fill his body – harder without the gauntlet as an anchor. It worked anyway, barely, he Shifted to the left...

...And straight into the flat of Yasuo's outstretched blade.

'- easy to read.' Yasuo finished.

Wind knocked out of him and momentum halted completely, Ezreal collapsed to the ground, eyes shut and breath coming in sharp, painful breaths. He heard Yasuo turn and mutter.

'One down.'

Ezreal couldn't breathe. It was hard, and he had to focus everything he had to just get a little bit of air.

And suddenly, another body fell atop him, knocking what little air he could gather out of him again.

'And that's two.' Yasuo's voice rang in his head.

Pant. Pant. Him and Ekko's breathing were short. He still didn't open his eyes.

'Wooooo! That was AWESOME!' Zoe's yell finally forced Ezreal to inch open his eyes, and stare directly at the ceiling. The red banners fluttered. He breathed quickly and painfully.

'You didn't have to go so hard on them, Yasuo.' Irelia.

'And the winner is...Prez! Wooooo! Nice one, Yassie!' Zoe.

'You're both too loud. Now let me sleep in peace. But yeah, I know; pretty cool.' Yasuo. There was a clap – a high five? Then a sharp groan.

More words were exchanged, but Ezreal just lay there for a moment, eyes shut and Ekko laying across him, catching his breath.

How long were they lying there? An hour? Two?

Ezreal didn't know, but the world slowly stopped it's spinning as it focused on...

Zoe.

'Oooh, you're awake! Hi! Are you okay?'

He stared up at her for a moment, confused by her mis-matched eyes, before shooting up with a jolt. Ekko groaned and rolled off him, but he rubbed at the back of his head.

'How long were we out?' Ezreal said.

'Mm, 'bout ten minutes? Not that long.' Zoe said, happy. Irelia crouched next to Ezreal too, the concern on her face sharply contrasting the childlike bliss on Zoe's.

'You took a nasty hit. Don't get up too fast.' She said gently. Ezreal nodded, and she moved over to Ekko, saying the same thing.

Ezreal looked around the room, eyes falling on Yasuo, who was – true to his word – napping at Braum's desk. Braum had disappeared, so Yasuo had taken his fluffy chair. He looked so peaceful. Ezreal frowned.

They hadn't even touched him.

Still breathing fast, but getting it under control, Ezreal's gaze fell to his left hand. And he wished he hadn't looked.

His gauntlet clung to his body in tatters. Pieces of machinery stuck out, and the main shell of the white rim was shattered completely. He exhaled, and looked to Ekko. He rose to a sitting position with what looked like quite the effort.

Ekko was far more beat up than Ezreal was. His entire face was bruised, and he winced every time he moved his arms. It was like he'd fought multiple battles, which Ezreal didn't really want to think about right now. He was already cringing as he sat upright.

The two's gazes met, and Ezreal couldn't bring himself to muster any venom. Ekko apparently felt the same, and he settled for a weak shake of the head.

'...My bad.' Ezreal said.

'No. You didn't do anything wrong,' Ekko shrugged, wincing as soon as he did it. 'The guy's just on another level.'

'Oh! Speaking of,' Zoe interjected, before throwing her head back and towards the sleeping Yasuo. 'PREZ! THEY'RE UP!'

Ezreal winced from the volume, but Yasuo only twitched. He slowly rose from the pillow of his folded arms, and locked Zoe with a death glare.

She looked away and whistled. Well. She tried to.

Sighing loudly, Yasuo rose slowly. He made his way over the two sitting boys, and crouched down.

'You two learn your lesson?'

Shooting a glance down at his hand, Ezreal nodded with a scowl. Ekko did likewise.

'Good. We don't need any more kids to babysit,' Yasuo nodded. 'Now then, since you're up and alive, I have an announcement to make.'

Irelia crossed her arms, eyebrows raised. 'Oh? Finally ready to actually be the President?'

'Ignored. I've gotten us a sparring date with the Sorcery Club on friday. That is all.'

Irelia's eyes narrowed. 'Sorcery?'

'Yep.' He grinned at Irelia. 'Thought you'd be excited. Problems?'

'None!' Zoe exclaimed, and Ezreal felt a tingle of excitement creep past the searing muscle pains. Lux was in the Sorcery club, right?

'Oh, and you two,' Yasuo looked down to the fallen boys. 'You'll be participating too, so, uh, rest up.'

'Their injuries are your fault!' Irelia said. Yasuo winced, placing a hand over his ear and the other in a stop motion.

'Please, Irelia, volume. Sorry about your glove, kid. Try and get it repaired for friday, though. You'll probably need it.'

And with that, Yasuo gathered his bags, long and thin container still slung across his back, and walked out of the Clubroom. He was yawning deeply the whole time.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the room.

Being the ever-present bubble of energy she was, Zoe broke it. 'Welp, that was fun. I'm hungry now. 'Lia, can we get food?'

Irelia chopped her on the head. 'Don't you have something to ask your juniors first?'

'Oh, right!' Zoe grinned at Ezreal and Ekko. 'You guys wanna come?'

'We, uh,' Ezreal began, but Ekko finished it off for him.

'I think I'll have to decline. I don't think we'll be getting there anytime soon.' He winced as he said it.

'Same here,' Ezreal said, crestfallen. 'I think I'll just sit today out.'

If we can't even touch him two-on-one...

'Plus, I'm kinda broke.' Ekko added.

Irelia laughed once. Ezreal was a little taken aback – had she laughed yet? The sound was alien when it came from her.

'You guys do know you can use the student kitchens right?'

'Wait, where?! What?' Ekko said. Zoe raised her hand.

'I can't cook! So I get Ire-Ire to do it!'

Chop. 'Ignore this gremlin. But...' she gave them a look over, and faded into a warm smile. 'Tonight, I can make you guys something too. It's partially my fault for not stopping Yasuo, after all.'

'I, uh, -' Ezreal said.

Ekko wore a wry little smile. 'I still don't think -'

'Don't be silly. You two look like you could use a treat.'

'Relly's really good at cooking. Like, really REALLY good. Trust me, I have experience here.'

Ezreal breathed out slowly. Then, he nodded.

'Thank you.'

'...Thanks.' Ekko said.

Nodding, Irelia picked up her belongings (Zoe included) and made her way to the door. With a small smile, slightly apologetic in nature, she turned back to the two boys.

'Welcome to the Battle Club, officially. I'll see you at dinner.'

Ezreal and Ekko were left alone in the room, the only sound their breathing and the rhythmic whirring of the electric fan.

They stayed silent for a long time, avoiding each others gazes. It was awkward.

Eventually, though, someone had to give. In this instance, it was Ezreal who rose to his feet first, and began to gather his things. He slipped his broken gauntlet into his bag, wondering how in the hells he would explain this to Graves. And then how he would go about fixing it.

'..Hey.' Ekko's voice broke the silence.

'...Hey.' Ezreal responded, zipping up his bag and slowly turning to face Ekko. The smaller boy was still sitting, but he looked more relaxed now. He wasn't looking at Ezreal.

'...Sorry. I was, uhh,' he glanced down. 'Really rude. I get grumpy when I don't get enough sleep.'

'I noticed.' Ezreal sighed, a small smile forming. 'I, ah, I'm sorry too. You didn't deserve what I said to you.'

Ekko finally looked to him, a small smile on his face too. 'Like the fog horn thing?'

'Oh no, that,' Ezreal grinned. 'I totally meant.'

Ekko coughed a single, pained laugh. 'And I meant it when I said you're noisy in the morning. But, ah -' he scratched the back of his messy hair. 'I know you don't mean to wake me up. So, sorry.'

Exhaling with relief and exhaustion, Ezreal sat down next to him. 'I'll be quieter in the mornings.'

'And I'll keep it down with the tools. I'll see if I can do something about my... problem.' He tilted his head with a wry smile. 'I've never had to share my room before. Only child. So I never knew.'

With a chuckle, Ezreal held out his hand. 'We cool?'

'...We're cool.'

They shook hands.

Leaning back, Ezreal felt a little better. If nothing else, this was a good thing to come out of today's club meeting.

Silence returned again, but this time a pleasant one. The two sat there for a while longer, just letting their tired bodies rest.

After a while, Ekko cleared his throat.

'Also, uhhh...' He was a little flushed. 'I'll need some help walking back. Pain.'

Ezreal laughed.

extra 2

Being the eldest of a family of five children, Irelia had been forced to grow up quickly – especially after their mother left. It had been hard, undoubtedly, but it had left her with skills that she was grateful for, and made her feel closer to her brothers than anything else in the world.

Irelia felt a similar type of sensation as she placed the large and round pot down at a table in the far corner of the Cafeteria, her three surrogate siblings eyeing the food like hawks.

Zoe, she was used to cooking for. The kid would eat literally anything she tried, regardless of how it turned out, and so Irelia had used that to trying weird dishes with her. But in honour of the two newcomers, she had defaulted back to a safe recipe – one of Kai's favourites – a rich chicken soup served with rice and veggies.

The food on the table, she felt the three gazes lock onto the pot. A wonderful aroma rose from the dish. Barely holding in the urge to laugh at them, she handed out the bowls and utensils before nodding.

'Okay, let's eat.'

It was if a bomb went off. Three voices, two male and one goblin, screamed their thanks to her, and practically dove into the pot. Irelia smiled. Then gave Zoe a light smack on the head.

'Don't be rude, Zoe. Let them go first.'

'Awwww. Whyyyy?' Zoe looked up to her with the poutiest eyes she could manage. Irelia hardened her face in mock-authority.

'Because they're your juniors. You have to be the mature one.'

'Grrmmm...' Was the response.

Rolling her eyes, Irelia released the small girl from her grip. She looked over Ezreal and Ekko and found her smile return. They were enthusiastically pouring soup into their bowls, spewing words of thanks as quickly as the liquid filled their ceramics.

Bowls filled, they spooned soup into their mouths. Ezreal's eyes widened, blue glittering with amazement as he shot his eyes to Irelia.

'Tshis ish -' he gulped down the mouthful. '- So good! Are you a chef?'

Ekko was nodding intensely as he wolfed down another spoonful.

She chuckled lightly. Irelia didn't know what the story was between these two, but she was happy to see that they'd seemed to have resolved it. Or at least, put it aside for the time being.

'No, I've just had a lot of practice. You guys should learn to cook, it's a useful skill.'

They responded through mouthfuls of food. Irelia smiled, finally taking a seat. She waited until Zoe had finished taking her – equally massive – serving before she herself got some to eat.

Sorcery club, huh?

She'd be lying if she said she didn't want to visit them.

Well, there was one person in particular. She hadn't seen them since last term had ended. How had they been? Had they even thought about Irelia?

Would Irelia be awkward?

She pushed the thoughts aside; sighing as Zoe was yelling something.

Oh wait, no – she was choking on a rogue piece of broccoli.

The other three scrambled to help her.