Author's note: I'm actually pretty excited about this chapter, but I almost didn't get it up on time. Despite how much I've been enjoying writing action scenes they are pretty exhausting and time consuming to write. Plus work's been pretty busy. But I got it up on time! Hope you enjoy it :).
Immediately Akali lunged for where her twin kama lay beside her futon, only to draw up short as a knife cut through her path.
"Now, is that any way to treat a visitor?" Katarina asked lightly, another blade bouncing ostensibly in her hand.
The dark-haired woman widened her stance but stayed in place; her eyes fixed on the Noxian even as a hand slid to her belt. She may not have her main weapons but she was far from defenceless.
"It is when they try to kill my teammate."
"Oh that," the Noxian shrugged. "It was nothing personal. You ninja of all people should understand that."
"Then why did you do it?" Akali knew she was risking a surprise attack the longer she stalled, but any information learned could be invaluable.
However, the assassin just smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know."
As fast as a striking snake, she attacked, launching several knives at the ninja, but Akali was ready this time. The Fist of Shadow ducked the blades, throwing down a smoke bomb as she did and instantly clouding the room. Utilising this darkness was second nature to her, so the green ninja wasted no time racing towards the assassin, dodging the stray blades as the Noxian tried to hit the silent ninja. Her fist collided with Katarina's jaw, sending her reeling.
However, even with her head spinning from the blow, the Noxian reacted quickly. Grabbing the extended fist as she fell, the red-head used the leverage to swing in towards where she now knew the ninja's torso would be, dagger in hand.
Akali twisted with the movement and the strike sailed past the female ninja before a knee to the solar plex knocked her backwards. Winded, but not down, Akali rolled away, finally picking up her weapons as Katarina shook the last of the ringing from her ears. Both were breathing heavily as the smoke cleared.
Katarina grinned, "Giving it your all now huh? And here I was thinking I wouldn't get a challenge."
Without a word, Akali leapt for her, swinging her kama to back the assassin up into the wall. Katarina was forced to flip up onto a small shelf to evade the strike before she sprang off the wall and over to the other side of the room.
The fight continued with neither really gaining an advantage. Akali couldn't fully utilise her weapons in the small space, but they did provide her with enough range to easily reach the assassin from anywhere in the room. Katarina, however, was nothing if not dextrous, evading the ninja's long reach with flashy acrobatics. It was tiring sure, but the few injuries she'd managed to inflict past the inhibited ninja's defences more than evened that out.
Akali seemed to have realised this too. Discarding one of her kama, the green ninja reached for the spare kunai in her belt before rapidly throwing them at the Noxian.
Taken by surprise, Katarina couldn't dodge the first one in time; the blade carving a shallow laceration across her upper arm as it flew past. She didn't have time to care, however, as the rest of the kunai came at her in rapid succession. The red-head was so focused on evading the blades that she didn't see Akali lunge for her until the ninja was almost on top of her. Katarina stalled as she watched the kama approach her chest, until, at the very last second, she ducked the deadly blade.
Akali, not expecting the sudden disappearance, could not stop her momentum as the assassin slid underneath her, nor could she dodge as one of the Noxian's daggers sliced through her calf as she went by. The ninja cried out in pain, but she continued to move, turning to block the assassin as she came to her feet behind the Ionian. However, the injury made her movements too slow and Akali was unable to defend against the successive kick.
The blow sent her tumbling backwards (her weapon clattering out of her hand) before she came to rather abrupt stop against the wall. Katarina was upon her before the green-clad woman could even move, driving a knee into her chest to keep her down as she raised her dagger to strike.
Before she could bring the blade down however, she was forced to roll back and away from the downed ninja in order to avoid the sword heading directly for her neck. The Noxian sprung back to her feet on the other side of the room, turning to find Shen standing defensively in front of his comrade.
"Well, aren't you just a regular knight in shining armour," the red-haired assassin sneered.
"It's my job to know where I need to be," was his simple response, as Akali forced herself back to her feet.
"Ah, so you're a purposeful kill-joy. Good to know."
With a snarl Akali sprung for the Noxian, but Katarina simply dodged to the side. As the enraged ninja backed her into a corner, she glanced around to find Shen standing poised behind Akali, ready to attack should she try and leap to a better position or gain the upper-hand against the green-clad woman.
Conceding that this was not a battle she could win, the assassin readied her shunpo device. "Well, this has been fun," she grinned, before activating it and teleporting to the unblocked doorway. "But I think I'll try my luck elsewhere. Later."
Before either could react, she was gone.
With a growl of displeasure, as much as pain, Akali hobbled over to her med kit, before sinking down to wrap the large gash in her calf.
As she did, Shen scanned the scenery to try and find where the assassin had disappeared to. When he was unable to spot her, however, he turned back to his teammate, knowing that if she'd evaded Akali, she would elude him too.
With a sigh, he helped the fuming ninja to her feet. "Are you alright?"
"No," she snarled. "And I won't be alright until we stop that damn assassin. Or at the very least find out why she's here." The green ninja's knuckles whitened from how tightly her fists were clenched as she paced back and forth around the room.
"You didn't find anything else then?" Shen asked resigned, though he could already see the answer.
She shook her head, mouth pressed in a thin line. "She's been very careful to cover her tracks. When she attacked me, I did manage to glean that she's not doing it for fun – despite how much pleasure she seems to get from fighting. But that was all I was able to learn. Not who her targets were, nor who she's working for or how she got here. Nothing."
"Well, that's something at least. But still not enough." The blue-clad ninja was silent as he mulled the information over before speaking once more. "Tell me about her fighting style."
Akali did not stop her pacing as she begun analysing the fight. "Her main weapons are blades, particularly throwing knives and daggers, so she's most dangerous at a distance. However, she's also proficient in hand to hand combat so boxing her in close won't necessarily work either. She's fast, dexterous and able to adapt to situations and changes in technique quickly. Her biggest strength is her unpredictability. Most of the times she got a good hit on me when I wasn't expecting it. In part, that's because she's smart enough and good enough to keep some of her abilities hidden until she needs then. She's-" and this pained her to say it, "probably a better fighter than me."
Shen nodded. "But not good enough to take us on as a team. The more eyes there are on her the harder it is for her to manoeuvre and strike unexpectedly. And she knows it."
"Perhaps, but that doesn't help us stop her. It's obvious she's here to kill the three of us, but if we can't beat her one on one, what are we going to do? We can't confront her as a group because she runs as soon as that happens. She's only drawn out when one of us is alone," Akali ranted.
It took a second for what she said to sink in but once it did both of them froze.
I think I'll try my luck elsewhere, the assassin's last words floated between them as they turned to face each other, eyes wide at the realisation.
"Kennen!"
As one, the two ninja turned and raced towards the temple, hoping they were wrong.
Kennen hated being injured. It might seem ironic considering in his line of work – and with his impulsive nature – more cases than not ended with him hurt in some way. But that did not stop him from loathing injuries any less; or more specifically, healing from them. Considering he was known for his speed, spontaneity and inability to stop moving, it really didn't come as a surprise to anyone that being forced to rest, wait and be still didn't sit well with him.
As he lay in the dark infirmary, trying to fall asleep and not jostle his injured shoulder (as even in his sleep did he stop moving), he decided moodily that his current predicament was not improving his opinion on that matter at all.
With a frustrated sigh, he readjusted his position to try and get a more comfortable position in the deathly still bay. The yordle had listened to the medic leave a while ago to go to dinner with his family, leaving the restless ninja alone in his attempt at the arduous task of falling asleep.
The quiet click of the door-lock brought his moody sulking to a sudden halt. The yordle immediately throwing himself under the bed before he even took in the Noxian assassin. He hadn't needed to see her lethal silhouette to know something was wrong. No one was allowed into the medical bay this late at night, and no one, not even the medic would have locked the door behind them.
Thankfully, it seemed the assassin hadn't seen him as he crawled underneath the beds, but that didn't stop the chill of unease rising his fur as she spoke.
"I know you're in here little mouse."
He felt his ear twitch in annoyance at the nickname, even as fear pooled in the bottom of his stomach. This was really bad. He'd had a hard enough time fighting her last time. Now he was locked in a room with the woman, with a busted arm and next to no energy because he'd used it all in a desperate electric blast to save himself from her last attempt on his life.
He grimaced as he pulled said arm from its sling – the medic would kill him for using it later, but right now he needed every asset he could get to survive – grabbing one of his remaining shuriken as he slowly made his way past where the Noxian was searching. He wouldn't last in a prolonged one-on-one fight but his small size and the dim lighting would hopefully be enough to give him a slight advantage – one he intended to use to his fullest.
Katarina stalked carefully through the dark, silent room, eyes scanning for her prey. By locking the door, she knew she'd both stopped him from escaping and – with any luck – bought enough time for her to find and finish him. However, despite the surety of the outcome, she did not drop her guard. The ninja had already proven himself to be a formidable opponent, and even injured, she had no doubt he would put up a fierce fight. Experience had taught her that much.
As if to prove her right, she suddenly dropped and rolled under a pair of shuriken that flew at her from behind. She threw a dagger in the direction they'd come from but as expected it hit nothing.
Silence reigned, smothering the room as one strained to find her target while the other stilled in his new hiding place.
Finally, after a tense minute of forced stillness, Katarina started to move again. "If you're going to stall for time, at least make it interesting," she called out as she walked back towards the door, leaving her back exposed to the row of beds along the right wall.
As expected, another pair of shuriken came at her, but this time Kat was ready. Twisting to the side, she shoved hard at the nearest cot, sending it careening into the others in a clatter of warping metal.
Kennen shot out of the carnage, his fist connecting with the Noxian's stomach and sending them both tumbling backwards. The yordle kicked the assassin as they rolled before driving a shuriken at her face. In defence, Katarina lashed out at his injured shoulder, redirecting the blade to scrape across her cheek before the young ninja pulled back with a cry of pain. That was all the opportunity she needed, kicking him off.
Kennen hit the wall hard. Groaning he pulled himself onto his hand and knees, head spinning and the nerves all up his arm screaming out their agony. Shaking his head, he looked up just in time to see the assassin lunging for him, rolling out of the way just before her dagger slammed into the ground where he'd been.
He scrambled away from her, turning to throw another shuriken only to stall as his hand came up empty. Cursing under his breath, the ninja sprinted across the room as a flurry of knives shot after him. He twisted at the end, catching the last one before, with a quick flick, he sent it back towards the Noxian.
Surprised by the action, she only just blocked the returned blade, giving Kennen enough time to race in close to her for a couple of hits. Before he could pull away however, Katarina grabbed his wrist, flipping him up and over her in an improvised roll only to slam the yordle into the ground behind her.
Though winded and body aching, Kennen refused to give up, drawing up a portion of his rejuvenated magic and releasing a short blast at the springing assassin. Caught mid jump, the Noxian was sent flying backwards, before crashing back down hard on the stone floor.
Utilising the small reprieve, Kennen unsteadily got his feet back under him. He pushed the pain aside as he forced his body to race towards the closed door. In his current state, he knew he couldn't keep fighting her, but he should have enough energy left to blast his way out of the infirmary and escape.
Across the room, Katarina saw the ninja making a break for it. Snatching for a knife as she quickly pushed herself upright.
"If you run," she taunted, the blade swiftly leaving her hand straight for the retreating figure, "you won't see me stab you."
Kennen turned, trying to twist out of the oncoming attack, only for a sudden bout of dizziness to slow his reflexes.
The blade struck true, hitting the yordle square in the chest. Their combined momentum threw him off his feet. The force of the blow sending him rolling helplessly across the floor before he came to a stop on his back. Excruciating pain tore through his body causing him to cry out, as a long, deep gash blooming red on his upper body from where the blade had been ripped free during the tumble.
At the sound of footsteps steadily approaching him, the downed ninja tried to feebly move but his limbs barely responded, feeling sluggish and heavy already from the blood loss. All he could do was try and breathe around the wet sloshing from an obviously punctured lung as the redhead's face came into view.
"I'll admit, you put up a good fight. Far better than I've had in ages," Katarina spoke softly, lightly stroking his ears before, with a determined expression, she raised her dagger. "To thank you, I'll make your death swift."
Kennen could only stare, his waning focus set fully on the deadly blade as it fell. He did not hear the door as it was smashed open and barely registered the assassin being thrown backwards by a blue blur. Then another face filled his vision, framed in green and black.
Akali, his mind helpfully supplied as she pressed down firmly on the gaping wound, trying to desperately stop the flow of blood.
The yordle knew he should be concerned that he could barely feel her hands but instead found himself fascinated by the sheer worry etched into the normally apathetic, ninja's face.
Aw you do care, he tried to joke, but all that came out was wheezy croak.
"Kennen," Akali's dread filled voice still held enough authority to break through the building haze, drawing his attention to her blurry face. "You need to stay with me. You need to stay awake. Do you understand? Don't go to sleep."
But I'm so tired, he thought, his eyes involuntarily closing before he forced them back open. Is this what normal people feel like? he wondered, idly watching the dimming face before him. It looked like she was saying something else, but for the life of him he couldn't make it out. Why couldn't he hear her? He wanted to ask but he couldn't get enough air in his lungs. He couldn't breathe. He felt like that should worry him but he simply didn't have the energy to care. He didn't have the energy to keep fighting.
I'm sorry, he thought before his eyes closed once more and the darkness pull him down into oblivion.