IV
Usagi looked back briefly before following Sona back into the forest along a small, dusty path. She remembered this path very well, this would connect to other smaller villages and to the new Order. Usagi thought of it as sort of a trade route from Southern Ionia to the rest of the island.
Sona stopped suddenly when the route diverged into 4 separate pathways. Usagi realized that Sona wasn't as familiar with her former home as the green-haired was. She took her hand and led her down the second path. "The other paths lead to other villages who need to use it to get into the city easier. And the last path leads to the mountain."
Sona turned back at the crossroads and nodded. Then she turned back to her green-haired friend and made a few signs with her hand rapidly. Usagi made an annoyed face at her, contrasting her friend's bright glow. "No way in hell am I excited. I'm nervous."
Sona shook her head and inhaled a large amount of air. With puffed cheeks, she smiled at Usagi, who had a feeling at what she was getting at. She inhaled deeply as well and they both exhaled a few moments later.
She grumbled as she asked, "You're going to make me do this the whole time, aren't you?"
Sona only smiled widely in response.
Usagi could sense the air was a little different than when they were at the capital. Either that, or it was the constant deep breathing she did while they walked. Her nose tickled, making her sneeze. "These breathing exercises are going to make me sick."
She giggled at her friend, but then yawned. She looked up at the darkening sky and turned to Usagi. The green-haired raised an eyebrow, "It's just starting to get dark. Are you tired already?"
When Sona nodded, she sighed, "How about we walk a few more steps?" she asked.
The blue-haired pouted and kept walking along the forest path. Both of them walked for another hour or two. Usagi thought the two of them could reach by nightfall, though even she grew concerned at how quickly it became dark. Sona looked up; the moon had made its way high into the sky. She glanced at Usagi, who stopped in the middle of the path.
"I know, we should set up camp now." Usagi said, glancing around for a suitable spot for them to rest. She found a clearing surrounded by a few trees. The two of them smiled as Sona sat against the trunk of a tree. Meanwhile, the green-haired gathered any twigs and grass she could find around the area.
She brought them back to the campsite where she found Sona already asleep. Her head tilted to the side, looking as though she was about to fall. Usagi smiled as she put them in the middle of campsite, then used her fire powers to light the fire. She sat down next to the fire and opened her journal.
She never got to finish her journal entry, which started to write over a previous entry from a while ago. The fire in front of her made the illusion that the letters stretched across the page. She was fond of this, as writing with a fire or a candle beside her became second-nature. For once since the start of this situation, her face relaxed once her pen moved across the page. It was as if the letters had taken her stress away momentarily.
However, she noticed the shadows made from the fire flicker. Usagi narrowed her eyes; she couldn't feel a breeze, so why did the fire flicker? She looked up and called, "Sona?"
However, the young woman still slept. Though, there was something off about her.
Her head was straight now, her whole body resting on the tree trunk. Her hands were folded in her lap. Usagi glanced left and right of her, but couldn't see anything. She went back to writing for a while, dismissing it as a small breeze. As soon as she put her pen down on the page, this time she heard the rustle of leaves.
The green haired stood up abruptly. One hand held a blue glow to it while the other clutched where her heart is. "I know someone is there." her eyes shifted, but they couldn't see well in the thickness of the dark. "There's no use hiding. Just come on out."
She turned back to where Sona was sleeping and her eyes widened. Three hooded men stood around her, all dressed in black. She faintly recognized them but her main focus was on confronting them. The blue glow in her hand became a magic circlet as she threatened them, "Don't you think of laying a hand on her!"
Before she could say more, a strong hand touched her back. She stumbled forward and the magic circle disappeared. The hooded men chuckled in unison as the person behind her said, "You're not very grounded, are you?"
She recognized the voice; very deep, almost metallic-like. Somehow it managed to make her heart race in both a good and bad way. She turned to the man and asked, "Zed?"
The man was a head taller than her, the intensity of his red eyes made hers look like a shade of light pink. She could faintly see the shine in both his blades and the shurikens on his back. "It's been a while."
"It's been years." she corrected him.
He walked past her and around the fire. Zed looked over at the three and they nodded back. He looked back at her and said, "Come. We're going on a walk."
"Will they take care of Sona?"
Zed nodded, then moved through the bushes in almost a blur like motion to Usagi. Illuminated by the fire was a shadow of him left behind. She almost went to touch it when the shadow turned to her and asked, "What's the matter? Can't keep up?"
She grimaced, "Don't be so smug." she levitated through the bushes and towards him. He stood there with his back turned. When she landed beside him, she asked, "Where are we headed?"
"The Golden Demon escaped, I'm sure you know already." he started to walk and she tagged along beside him. He had a bit of an edge in his voice, which made her a bit skeptical. "One of my students saw him come into your home. What did he discuss with you?"
She spent the next while telling him about the conversation. Every once in a while she'd look up at him, but the mask made it very hard to tell his expression. Every so often, she'd hear him say 'hm' but it was emotionless at best. Once Usagi finished her story, an uneasy silence hung over them. It almost felt the same as when she told the story to Karma and Irelia, yet she felt a little safer then.
"...Well?" she asked him.
"You made the right choice." he said to her, though it had a threatening undertone to it. Usagi continued to stare at him, waiting for him to say more. "We need to take down that... thing. He should've never been kept alive."
She remember that day when they caught Jhin. She couldn't blame him for feeling that way, she wanted to do the same. However, the way Kusho looked at the captured man, his eyes weren't angry or shocked. He seemed more curious of the man, his actions and his talent. So she never showed her intention to kill him. Usagi wondered what her master saw in him past his obsession.
She nodded to him, though it was very absent-minded. "...I agree. They said that he's heading to other places outside of Ionia."
Zed stopped and turned to her; faintly, she could see a small bit of concern in his eyes. She continued to explain, "Noxus, they say he might be heading there at some point." when he nodded, Usagi added, "That Noxian commander - Darius and his brother, Draven, they were discussing it with Karma."
"Letting him get out of Ionia... would be a mistake." he jumped onto a tree branch, and moved to a higher one. She levitated to his level but stayed a bit behind him. From where they stood, they could see the capital, along with other villages nearby.
Usagi tilted her head, "I doubt he would leave now. Not without-" the words were stuck in her throat; she knew exactly what he wanted to do before he left.
"Right. Which is why you're going to help me." he crouched down close to the base of the branch. She blinked in response to his forwardness. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or worried.
Zed casted her a side glance. "Did that get your attention?" when she nodded, he turned back to the view of the capital. He explained, "He showed up at your house first. He'll most likely come back there."
She raised an eyebrow. "You want me to be bait?"
"If that was my intention, I wouldn't tell you would I?" he grunted and moved to a different tree. She followed him and sat down on a branch beside him. He stood this time, looking down at the ghostly villages. The last of the fires burnt out steadily. "Information is what I need."
She nodded. "And what about Shen?"
"What about him?"
"Well..." she started, trying to carefully tread around their hostile relationship. "We all worked together to stop Jhin back then. I was wondering if you're going to work with him again."
Zed turned to face her but she couldn't read his expression. "If it comes to that..." he turned back to the villages, now shrouded in darkness.
She sighed and put a hand to her heart. It continued to glow a bright red and illuminate her surroundings. The bright flicker caught his attention, carefully watching how it danced in the breeze. He turned back to the village. Both of them remained silent, letting the breeze make a whirling sound behind them.
"You must have a lot of followers now." Usagi said suddenly.
Without turning to her, he answered, "It's been growing at a rather... rapid pace."
"I think the shadows intrigue people."
"Of course." his confident nature started to shine through. Usagi tilted her head and leaned forward, wanting to listen to more. He continued, "Intrigue becomes enlightenment, and enlightenment turns to strength."
She nodded and added, "And if they walked a different path than the shadows, you vowed to slay them." she raised an eyebrow at him and giggled. He turned his head towards her, his arms and neck tensing. Usagi noticed and her giggling slowed into a small shrug of the shoulders. "Guess I shouldn't be joking about things like that."
"Especially since you've left the path long ago." Zed's eyes intensified. She felt a mixture of both excitement and fear.
Usagi looked down and chuckled, "I'm no ninja..."
"If you were to hone your technique, Ionia would fear and respect the shadows even more."
Usagi looked into the distance and smiled, "I'll think about it after we take down Jhin." she glanced at him, his red eyes staring back at her. "But you know I'm a mage at heart."
"You lack the discipline to train as a ninja." Zed told her. She almost forgot about how blunt he could be at times.
She turned again to see a visible shadow of him being left behind. Usagi looked around and saw him at the bottom of the tree. She levitated down to his level and stood a distance from him. Usagi followed his gaze to one of the villages nearby. There was a small flicker of light past the village, closer to a nearby forest.
"My finest student is an example of discipline and studious training." he boasted. She grinned as she tilted her head to listen to more. Instead, he turned and walked down a different route. "He mastered every weapon given to him. He has almost perfected the shadows."
"And where is he now?"
He looked down at the path and stooped. His fingers brushed the ground, kicking up grains of dust. The red illumination acted as a dim flashlight for them. They were faint, but they could see track marks.
"I sent him on a mission. I expect him to be back in a few days."
She remembered the days when she'd go on missions. It was so long, she had forgotten what she did, but she couldn't forget what she felt. The green-haired smiled and looked up to the moon, "I like to see fledglings open their wings."
Zed said nothing more as he walked through the forest with her. He blended with the shadows casted and the darkness. She glanced up at the sky; this place held a familiar air to it. The rest of the walk was silent save for the sound of her footsteps. Every so often, he looked back at her with piercing red eyes. She wondered why, until she followed his eyes to her heart.
She put a hand over it, blocking out the light. "Is it bothering you?"
"No, it's... intriguing." he turned back to the path in front of him. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. "We're heading back."
She bit the inside of her mouth and held her tongue. She wished she didn't have to, but she could see why he wanted to leave. The track marks on the ground were fresh; someone had been there before them. She didn't have time to analyze as he was further ahead.
Usagi levitated herself and glided through the air. She floated beside him, crossing her legs. "Can anyone in the Order of Shadows fly?" she grinned.
"Why fly and allow yourself to be seen when you can wait in the shadows and strike when they least expect." he replied to her. She smiled and continued to glide beside him.
A few seconds passed before she turned back to him. "You think and act like a shadow."
He closed his eyes and started, "Live by the shadow..."
"...Die by the shadow." she finished for him.
She remembered the motto well, dating all the way back to when she first stumbled upon a young group of acolytes. A low murmur of chanting became more audible as she got closer to the group. They fell silent and departed into the shadows.
The rest of the trip was silent. She didn't know how he felt about it, but to her it was a blissful silence. Some people feared and were consumed by silence, but she basked in it. Zed was a little more tense as he walked; she could understand his frustration that Jhin escaped. It almost made her think Master Kusho should've killed him when they caught him.
Before they knew it, they were back at the campsite. Sona was still asleep while the others sat around the campfire. Usagi looked for any signs that they moved or hurt her, but there were none. They eyed her as well, though they had on masks which hid their faces well. She couldn't tell if they stared out of curiosity or out of contempt.
Usagi turned to Zed, "It was nice seeing you again."
He gave a slight nod of the head before turning to the other members that accompanied him. "Did you sense anyone in the area?" he asked them.
"There was a caravan of Ionian guards nearby." one of them spoke.
She almost forgot that they searched the night for the Order of the Shadows. Usagi found it useless for them to search while they could simply blend in the shadows. Either way, it could've been potentially dangerous for both of them if they were caught. She could understand his reasoning behind coming back.
"Let us be on our way." Zed looked at her, then made some hand signs. A shadow portal formed beneath him and he spun down the portal.
She waved goodbye to him and watched as his other students did the same. Despite the situation, she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. He'd hardly change from the last time she saw him. She was still concerned with his connection to the shadows, but she knew deep down he didn't change.
Sona rubbed her eyes and woke up. She turned her head side to side, as if she had seen someone. The blue-haired looked up at her friend, the confusion in her eyes told her she sensed the Order. She made some hand signs and gestured her friend.
"Nothing happened really. I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk." Usagi told her.
Sona smiled and shook her head. Usagi sat down on the other side; the fire still burning bright as it had been before she left. She watched as the blue-haired closed her eyes again. In a matter of minutes, her head drooped forward along with her blue ponytails.
The green-haired didn't realize she was exhausted until she watched her friend fall asleep. Her eyes closed as she starting thinking of when she was a teenager.