"Open the door Jhin!"
There is no way Vi pinpoint their location this easily. Jhin knew it, and seems like Vladimir did too when he said without sound."We're sold."
"I know. I guessed this." Jhin mouthed back to him."Get away." He added, signing the door.
Having the silence as an answer were probably getting Vi angry. Well, angrier. The pink haired woman was always seems like she was angry to Jhin. "Open the goddamn door Jhin!" she shout.
The virtuoso waited until Vladimir stands next to him before giving his much anticipated answer. "Is that you Enforcer?"
"Of course it's me!"
"And you have the Defender of Tomorrow at your side?"
Vi laughed to him. "This is real cheap, tryna gain time like that!Open the goddamn door!" she shouted in her usual demeanor. Jhin was aware the only thing keeping her from breaking the door was the Jayce beside her. The Piltover born inventor had a nose for the traps. He probably felt the ones Jhin set too...
Yet, when his partner had a fuse shorter than the Baron Nashor's, it's not hard to dodge Jayce's foresight.
"I merely wish to check the Sherrif." Jhin replied with a slick smile in his voice."I heard some of the roofs were burning."
Knocks on the door stopped for a moment, before Jhin could hear the metallic crancking voices. He knew then the Vi has fallen to his game.
"Guard your eyes." Jhin said to the Vladimir just before the moment Vi's gauntlets met the hard wood of the door.
An explosion followed her motion. To outwards, bluish fire come ripped out from the door frame, power of the reaction threw the Vi and Jayce back.
It was his doing...Vladimir looked him with irritated sparks in his eyes. The virtuoso had no affinity for the magic like most or something another to give him an edge, yet his mind was more potent than the all magic in the League. Well...except his.
"You can't believe if I told you what one can do with some wires and a bit of thermal gel." Jhin said to the Vladimir's snaring expression."Come."
He walked to the broken door. Wooden pieces were everywhere, tendrils of green smoke emanating from the sides, darker in the places where the chemical burnt brightest. "Don't consume it." Jhin warned."I mixed the gel with some chemicals. Mostly harmless but the smoke of the mixture is paralyzing after being exposed to the high temperatures."
Frowning lightly, Vladimir put his left sleeve over his mouth. His right hand was standing ready in case Vi or more likely Jayce managed to escape from the explosion radius.
But they couldn't. After Jhin tear the curtain of smoke Vladimir saw Vi lying unconsious on the ground, next to the door pieces. Her armor saved her from the worst, there was only slight scratches on her face. Jayce was better since he was not present next to the door Vi set off the trap. He was also lying on the ground, his mighty hammer in his hands, eyes barely open. Vladimir understood whatever Jhin made, it's extremely effective, else he won't be in that state.
"Be thankful for the rules of the League and do not worry, Defender of was just a light neurochemical." Jhin explained while walking past him."You and your partner will be fine before the daybreak. But feel free to tarry as long as you want..."
And with a laugh, Jhin walk down to the hole.
"How did you know that Liev has sold us?" Vladimir asked while the duo walking on the streets of the Zaun.
Vladimir kicked a stone just before tackling. It was narrow, it was wet, it was filthy and it was warped, the road they were walking on. Just like the rest of this godforsaken place called Zaun.
"The seal on the envelope were tampered with. Badly repaired too." Jhin replied to Vladimir."So I guessed Liev has read the letter inside and seen the orders."
"Such as the smart of the peasants." Vladimir spat."But how did Vi found us?"
"The Enforcer and Sherrif has been tailing us since we depart from the Ionia." Virtuoso explained to the hemomancer."And they're in contact with the Ekko, who's been in Zaun nowadays. So when Liev squelad us to Ekko, he probably told the Sherrif."
"So that means..." Vladimir looked around with concerned eyes.
"Yeah. We're being followed!" Jhin shout out the second voice echoed throughout the dark street.
A chuckle heard in the air."You're amazing Jhin, you knew that?" A brash, teen voice it was.
He eyed the street with his only was too dark and Ekko had the home advantage. Hhin can't tell where the boy was residing at the moment. Luckily, Vladimir could.
"In the street next to us." The hemomancer reported.
Jhin shook his head."Shouldn't you be helping your comrades?"
"They'll be fine!" Ekko chuckled again."Caitlyn is with them."
Jhin did not expected everything went according to his plan, so when Ekko told him the Sherrif is fine he's not shocked. Also she was, by far, his favorite guess in who won't set off my traps game.
"So the Sherrif has unexpected." Jhin replied while they're walking to the street where Ekko has been hiding. They have no chance to hunt him down. Even if Vladimir could find his location and not a bloody tissue, he probably travel back in time to warp somewhere else.
This, if he's not mad enough to attack both.
Suddenly the reality in front of Jhin distorted. Fabric of the time and space teared, a bunch of electric blue sparks spreading around from a one fixed point in all that chaos. You don't have to be smart to understand something is not right.
So Jhin ducked under a sword that was not there for the moment, and escaped just in time from Ekko's materializing arm. While he reached to his gun, Vladimir jumped back in shock, clearly not waiting a kamikaze attack.
He smiled to Vladimir's snare."With love from Zaun." and joked after completely taking form.
"Ekko." Jhin the mask his voice was still calm, even after the suddennes.
Mohawk haired boy was standing with a relaxed stance. Head slightly tilted to side, his stick was resting on his left shoulder while his right hand toying with the mechanism on his belt.
But the virtuoso's keen eye saw the tension on the muscles of his hand. The tapping motion he did with his feet. A smile on his lips that couldn't reach the shimmering light on his eyes.
"You really did a number on the Vi."
"You should have seen the present we left." Jhin replied to the was smart but his brash attitude and reckless nature was his Achille's heel."The girl. What was her name again Vladimir?"
"Whore's doesn't have names."
Ekko laughed at the talk between them but it was not his usual warm and anger was packed into his voice. "You boys should really watch your mouths." He started walking to them.
"Or what, Zaunite?" Jhin said back.
After that was a mess. Ekko suddenly rushed to Jhin, only to threw back with Vladimir's magic. Blood taken a hold of him and crashed the boy to the ground. He used his time machine before his body could touch the cold tiles and warped to where he was standing before.
Jhin was ready for that. He shoot one round, enough to made Ekko back to the place he warped, rendering his teleportation useless for a moment. Blood droplets attacked again, but Ekko slid to his left and threw a bomb on his belt. The red liquid get back to shield the hemomancer and Jhin.
Jhin's eye searched the Ekko. He can't kill the boy, it was against the League rules, so Jhin had to force him to flee or create an opening for running away. Before Caitlyn joins the game.
"Slow him down." Jhin said to Vladimir." Can you draw his blood?"
"I thought you said no killing." Vladimir answered.
"I still do." Jhin replied."Only enough to slow him down. Can you do it?"
Vladimir thrown him a scorning look."I can draw an ounce of blood from a sting of a fly. Of course I can."
"On my mark then." Jhin eyed to Ekko, the boys location was ever changing, through he jump back an forth in drew a second gun."Now!"
Bloody curtain surrounding them suddenly disappeared and Vladimir shot his hand forward. With a simple movement of his slim fingers, he reached Ekko's blood and commanded it. Young Zaunite coughed and spit out blood, more of it was bleeding from his nose.
In a momentary confusion, Jhin fired both of his guns simultaneously, one to the Ekko's current location and other to his last seen. Bullets flew through the air, the one which is going to where stands catched air since he managed to teleport even in his bloody confusion. But the other one was more lucky, the tiny metal round found the mechanism on his belt and broke it down.
Not giving him any time to find his bearings Jhin ran to him. Now without his device and weakened by the sudden blood loss, Ekko can't move around anymore. A pleasing event...The virtuoso grabbed him by the collar. Looking up to him, Ekko's eyes were cloudy. Maybe Vladimir drew a bit too much blood, or maybe he did it just right.
Jhin hit him in the face. With the scabbard of his precious gun, he broke a few of Ekko's teeth. A small whimper heard then the teenager's eyes rolled backwards and he fainted in Jhin's hand.
"Where to now?" Walking to him Vladimir asked.
Jhin let Ekko's body fall to the ground."We still have our Liev's."
Vladimir kicked the Ekko's head."I'll rip that bastards heart open!" he sweared.
"You and me both." Jhin said. He leaned and took the Ekko's broken device.
With that they left.
It was a week before the duo manage to cath every member of the Liev's gang, Foxes. All of them carefully killed by Vladimir, the hemomancer slowly and surely painfully drew every bit of blood inside their loins and drown them in it. Add that to the week of travelling in the continent, it took two weeks them to return the League.
"I heard you had a concert last week Miss Buvelle." Jhin said to the Sona.
They were in the League only place in the Runeterra where a psychopath serial killer can talk a musical genius.
"Yes. You were not there though." The maven can't talk, yet her telepathic voice was more lively than all the Jhin heard before with his ears.
"I have some...business I have to attend." Jhin said in an apologizing tone."But I did not forget you."
In the years they spend with, Sona and Jhin had become friends. Not at first, and not easily, but bit by bit the virtuoso managed to break through barriers she erected whenever he was around. He played an harp undescrieably bad to make her laugh. Danced with her music. Sometimes accompany her with his voice, with the mavens approval of course.
But what really did the trick was flowers. Every kind of them. Whenever Jhin left for a job, he always returned with the bouqets made by flowers, special to the places he visit. And somewhere between the flowers they become...friends. Sona was still afraid of Jhin, though she accepted he was not the maniac killer as people said. Sure he was a killer, but also a good listener and musician.
"Phosphorite roses of South Zaun." He bring out the flowers hid his back. Green and blue, the boquet were shining with the colors of the petals."Never wither and shine brighter everyday. Like your beauty."
Sona took the flowers. A healty blush were spreading accros her pale cheeks."I...thank you." She was looking the flowers with a visible adoration.
"I hope you like them."
"I love them!" Sona replied.
"That's enough for me then."
"What is enough for you!?" Another voice cut the talk between them.
Jhin turned his back. Two woman, one with black hair and one with white locks were approaching to him."Will of the Blades, The Exile." He greeted them.
Riven simply said nothing, but gave a wordless greeting with her crimson eyes. Irelia was worse, while walking to him, her blades shifted in the air dangerously.
"The creep." She mocked hatred towards Jhin was not a secret in the League."Are you following the Sona again?"
"It was a talk between the friends." He replied.
"You mean you were harrassing her?" Irelia looked to the Sona for a moment."Don't defend him againist me Sona!"
Jhin did not replied at first. He can leave peacefully and that was the thing he would do if this was not his first talk in weeks with Sona.
The other choice were simple. He can ruin Irelia's days as she ruin his.
"I wonder if your daughter has that same forktongue you sported." Jhin was thankful for wearing a mask, o his smile would be all over the place.
Irelia's blades suddenly stopped while her eyes darken."What did you said?" She was like a snake getting ready for an attack.
"So the rumors were true. You really adopted the girl. Who's was it again?A guard died on duty?"
"You; " Her blades drew near, though Jhin didn't flich. She can't hurt him in there."Will not even talk about Diade!"
"Her name is Diade? Willful, in Ionia I suppose.I...worked with someone the same name at past."
Irelia were just a moment away from bursting. She probably thought that this was a threat to her precious adopted daughter.
After a minute of silence Riven was the one who's been talking."I think you should leave, Jhin."
"I do too, The Exile." Jhin turned to the maven beside him."I'm sorry for my behavior."
"I apologize on my friends behalf." She replied back with a smile. "Good day Jhin."
"Good day to you, Miss Buvelle, The Exile." And then he left the three woman on their own.
He was chuckling under his mask.