Justified Hatred

"Eh?" Gasped the surprised brunette. The sudden request made by the opposing figure was rather unexpected and certainly came off as a surprise. It all made sense in her head, though.
The request made sense, she had asked a request from a powerful adversary, one who could single-handedly turn the tide of the war around, one who could fulfill Irelia's wish.
Peace in Ionia.

All she has ever asked for in her life was that she could have a peaceful night's rest, a rest she needs, a rest she yearns for.
Not a night goes by where she doesn't wake up in sweat, not a night where she doesn't wish for the death of Noxians. A night where she could simply live, not as a soldier, but as an ordinary girl.
To fall in love.
To have an ordinary family.

And her chance is here.
Her hope.
Her last chance for freedom.
She must claim it, no matter the cost.

"You wish to fight me?" Irelia asked flabbergasted, "Is there merit for such a thing?"
Aatrox looked at her and replied. "Yes, I know of 2 merits that greatly favor me."
Aatrox picked up his sword and pointed it at her. "I wish to see if you're worthy enough of my blade, of me, specifically."
"I-I see." Replied the surprised Irelia. "What of the other?"
Aatrox put the sword down straight to the ground, which made it stand up and looked at the girl yet again.
"I simply like fighting."
"O-Oh. Follow me then."
Irelia then took the lead and lead Aatrox to the training grounds.
Something he never paid attention to was the weather, it was pleasant Ionia, unlike in Shurima, where some days might just make steel boil.

After walking for what seemed an eternity to Aatrox, the two finally arrived.
The place was obviously a bit beaten down because of the fighting that had taken place before, and thus seemed rather unworthy of Aatrox's blade, of its elegant splendor, but in the end, it didn't matter.

"Tarnished, but it'll do." Said Aatrox as he walked a bit away from Irelia, "Let's get straight to the point, unsheathe your blades, Irelia."

"Understood." Said Irelia as she summoned what seemed about 15 blades out of her bag, the blades in question had the color of silver and were extremely sharp, an excellent weapon for quick slashes.
Aatrox discerned this rather unordinary choice of weapons and decided to question her.
"An unorthodox fighting style, interesting. What made you take upon that style?"
"When I was a child, I was quite keen on dancing, I guess it stuck to me a bit too hard."
"Tell me, Irelia." Said Aatrox out of the blur. "What does gaining me as an ally, mean to you?"

Irelia then took on her usual stance and shouted. "Everything!"

And as she shouted, she charged, ferociously and fast. In less than a blur, Irelia appeared behind Aatrox and was ready to slash until she noticed that her blades, which should've hit his back, were blocked by a massive sword.

"An interesting strategy, but it proved to no avail. What will you do now?"

Aatrox pushed her back with a swing of his sword. "Come, charge. Unleash your anger."
"Argh!" Growled Irelia in annoyance, she used a move which no one till now was able to dodge, to not only dodge but block it? Who is this monster?

Irelia afterwards followed with a barrage of quick slashes, slashes so fast, the eye could barely react to it, therefore, the attacks were practically unblockable, that is only if the one receiving the slashes was a human.
Unfortunately for her, the one on the opposing spectrum was Aatrox.
A being who has slain gods.
Slain the mighty Pantheon.
One who up until 2 days ago, swore to destroy all that lives.

The darkin blocked every and each of the slashes thrown at him, not a single one undetected, not a single one weak.
Why was she so desperate? He could feel it, the attacks were swift, but also thrown with little thought behind them.
She certainly proved that she can dish out attacks, but can she receive one?

Aatrox proceeded to block one of the blades with his left hand and threw a quick, but rather weak, slash at her.
"W-What?!" Irelia's eyes widened as she saw one of her blades getting blocked by his left hand, and a slash coming from his sword which was held by his right hand.
But this wasn't the end, the resolve she had mustered wasn't going to disappear this easily, Irelia summoned multiple blades to block the attack pointed at her, and fortunately for her, she succeeded.

Instead of being torn apart in 2 pieces, Irelia was pushed back for about 10 meters, but as she was hit, she felt something rather peculiar.
"What is this? Why is it that I sensed sadness flowing from his blade?" thought Irelia to herself. Something like this shouldn't happen, to feel an emotion from a sword? Has she gone mad? Perhaps, but even then, the feeling of pure bitterness never disappeared from her mind.
She stood up and looked at herself to confirm, that all of her limbs were intact.
"Whew." Mumbled Irelia in relief.
"Well done. You should be proud." Said Aatrox from afar.
"Huh? How so?" Replied Irelia as she was breathing heavily, the strike was heavier than she expected.
"Be proud as someone who, after being struck by me, is still able to retain the shape of a body."
"I suppose I should. You're very strong."
Aatrox shoved his sword down into the ground and asked Irelia one final question.
"Who do you fight for, Irelia?"

This was a question any other would've thought for, for a while, but not her, she knew exactly for what.

"People died in front of me during the invasion. Their last words were 'Be a witness of my murder. Tell the world how I died. Live, and remember!"
These words have never left her mind since then, never.

"Live and remember, these were their last words. I shall not tarnish their wish."

Aatrox then proceeded to look up into the sun.
She has a reason to fight for, how good were the times when I too, had that.
I used to be the pillar of hope of Shurima.

And now, I shall be hers.

"Fine then. I deem you worthy."
"R-Really?! T-Thank you, I will not disappoint."

Aatrox then approached the girl, he put his right hand on her right shoulder and leaned closer to her face. The girl blushed and jumped a little from her place simply because of the fact that his hand was cold and that he was so close to her face.

"Before we engage in any further activities, may I have something to eat?" Said Aatrox as his stomach growled noisily.
"Y-Yes, certainly..." Replied Irelia as she still had that tinge of red on her cheeks.

End of chapter 6

Chapter 7 coming soon!