Author's note: I'm so, so, so, sorry for how long it's taken me to upload this chapter. I sprained my wrist and couldn't work on this for a month. First because I actually couldn't use that hand for the first couple of weeks and then because when I did have limited use of it, I ended up over using it to try and catch up on work. So yeah, not fun.
Anyway, it's not my best chapter but I really wanted to get something to you all. Sorry again for the long wait. Next chapter should (barring anymore unforeseen circumstances) be up on time.
A tense silence hung over the village the following morning, despite the disproportionate number of people up at the early hour. Word had spread quickly after the attack the night before, leaving everyone awake and on edge. All those who could be spared were split into teams to systematically scour the area. The alert ninja searching for some sign of the imposter that dared hurt an essential member of their clan even as the first rays of light skimmed the tops of the buildings. Meanwhile, inside the temple a small cluster of people had gathered outside the infirmary door, waiting with hushed tones to see if the young Heart of the Tempest would survive. High above the anxious crowd, lying low along one of the building's tall trusses, Katarina too waited with baited breath.
It had taken her many hours to make her way back here after slipping away from the Eye of Twilight. During that time, she'd been forced to utilise all of her skills to evade the vigilant patrols before eventually working her way back to the medical centre to wait. Her choice of position had been a threefold decision; providing a secure hiding spot to wait out the seeking patrols while also allowing her to keep an eye on her two remaining targets as they all waited to see if her latest attempt was successful.
The Noxian felt her annoyance build at the thought of her last fight. She had been so close to eliminating one of her targets. A few seconds longer would have been enough to guarantee it. Only for the untimely intervention of the blue ninja to once more thwart her. Still, she figured it had only prolonged the inevitable; very few could survive a wound like that, even with immediate medical care. However, she needed to make sure. Past experience had taught her that presumptions – no matter how valid – could lead to major complications if they turned out to be wrong. And in a profession that required walking on a knife's edge, complications usually ended with unnecessary death.
Her attention was suddenly snapped downwards as the door to the infirmary opened, emitting the plump, furry medic. Below, the ninjas also paused, their focus fixing onto the Vastayan, only for their hopes to fall as the medic slowly shook their head.
"I'm sorry," their subdued voice still carrying upwards to the hidden assassin, "but he was too far gone. I couldn't save him."
A distraught murmur started amidst the crowd but Katarina paid it no mind, a mixture of satisfaction and sadness filling her. It was almost a shame really, she'd enjoyed fighting the yordle. He was the most thrilling opponent she'd had in a long time. Almost as thrilling as fighting him. Still, she reminded herself, pushing the disappointment aside, she still had two more targets to go and she was positive they'd be just as much fun.
Her eyes soon honed in on said two ninjas as they exited the infirmary. Shen soon came to a stop beside the medic to talk to his father, so Katarina turned her attention to watch as the green-clad woman stomped away from the crowd. The grief and anger written in every line of Akali's body left the assassin with little doubt that her destination was some secluded training ground to destroy.
Well, she thought with a smirk, as she carefully trailed the ninja from above, I did say I wanted a challenge.
Akali's kama once more sliced through a target, but it did little to quell the burning swirl of emotions spiralling tighter and tighter in her chest. The ninja forced herself to slow her breathing, trying to get a handle on the anger, grief and helplessness, raging out of control within her. She was the Fist of Shadow, she could not afford to let her emotions control her like this. Of course, said thoughts did as little as tearing up the training field in quelling the turbulent feelings.
Her hands gripped tightly around her weapons shook, still covered in the blood of their youngest member from when she'd tried desperately to stop him bleeding out.
With a snarl, she launched herself at the next dummy.
How could they have been so stupid? That damn assassin had already attacked him once. Just because he was in the centre of the temple shouldn't have caused them to let their guard down. After all, she'd gotten into their village without detection; from there, getting into the temple wasn't much of a stretch.
Her blades cut through the wooden puppet with ease, the top barely having time to tilt backwards before the Ionian turned to the next one with fury.
Maybe if they'd realised the Noxian's intent earlier, if they'd gotten there sooner, then Kennen wouldn't be-
She cut that train of thought off with force, jerking to a stop before the last target before she puzzled over that thought.
It was weird for her to shy away from such topics. She'd been trained to become the Fist of Shadow since she was a young child. During that time, she'd seen (and caused) her fair share of death and injury. It was a known part of life. Just as she knew that close allies were not exempt from treachery or death. For this to hit her so hard was… unsettling. Yes, she knew she implicitly trusted her teammates (after working so closely for so long it became essential), but she had not realised till now how much she'd come to care for them both.
With a sigh, she lowered her weapons. There wasn't much left here to take her anger out on anyway.
Suddenly, her form tensed and her temper flamed to the surface again as she felt a familiar presence behind her.
"You," she hissed, turning to face the nonchalant figure in the shadows.
Haybai stood staring at the medic in numb disbelief, the Vastyan's words sounding again and again within her brain without really sinking in. By her side, Nemr stood stock still, shock and grief evident on his face.
Because he was gone. Kennen: the energetic, impulsive yordling they'd taken under their wings what seemed like forever ago and had become like a little brother to them, was dead. Killed by the assassin still roaming their home trying to kill the clan's triumvirate.
"-need to contact his family and begin looking for a new Heart of the Tempest." She absentmindedly heard Lord Kushio say to his son.
"I'll take care of contacting his family. However, I think we should wait until we've dealt with the assassin before looking for a new Heart. The last thing that we need is to bring an inexperienced candidate into a potentially deadly situation. We-" Shen's words were lost as Nemr shifted beside her.
"I can't believe he's really gone." Nemr's quiet voice cracked with emotion.
Haybai could only nod before burying her face in the taller yordle's shoulder as the reality of what had happened set in and the tears started to fall.
She knew she shouldn't be crying. Death was an inevitable part of their lifestyle, and grief could cloud one from doing their duty properly. But she couldn't help it. Realising she would never see the lively, fun-loving yordle again. The one who could go from a lovable flirt and playful prankster to a deadly-serious ninja when called upon. The one whose light personality and caring nature balanced out his two teammates so perfectly. And now he was gone forever.
The steady footsteps heading towards them had her turning fast, wiping the tears from her eyes as Shen approached them.
"Lord Shen," she gave a quick bow. "What can we do for you?"
His eyes held a look of compassionate understanding as he spoke softly. "I need you two to come with me."
Glaring the Noxian assassin down, Akali sneered, "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here after what you just pulled."
The accusation barely phased Katarina however as she moved further into the well-lit training room. "Hit a sore spot, did I?" she smirked. "And here I thought you ninja were supposed to be impartial."
The green ninja's hands tightened around her weapons. "Kind of hard not to be defensive when you keep trying to kill me and my teammates."
Katarina just shrugged. "I already told you, I'm just doing my job. It's not my fault if you're not good enough to stop me."
The sly smirk the Noxian sent her along with the words did nothing to help the Ionian's fraying temper, causing Akali to grit her teeth in order to avoid rising to the obvious bait. Thankful that her mask hid her change in expression, she instead pressed further. "So who are you working for?"
"You mean you can't guess," the red-head feigned shock, thoroughly enjoying this game of wits. "Well, then again, I suppose you do have a lot of enemies don't you. Maybe I should have asked for more to get rid of the three of you."
Akali narrowed her eyes at the assassin's mocking response. It was becoming fairly obvious that was the most she was going to get from the Noxian. She was just too sharp to give anything else away. Though, with the rage still burning deep within her gut, that suited the Fist of Shadow just fine. She was done playing around.
Acting faster than Katarina had expected, the green-clad woman lunged at her; her kama flying from her hand as she closed the distance. The Noxian barely managed to twist to the side and dodge the flung weapon, only to get sucker-punched in the face by the irate ninja. The force of the blow sent her tumbling backwards a couple of metres before she managed to catch herself.
Akali stalked towards the downed woman, kama in both hands. Her voice growling ominously between them, "After what you just pulled, you really picked the wrong ninja to follow."
Before she could react, the green ninja leapt at the assassin, pinning her to the ground. Legs tightly pinching the Noxian's arms to her torso she raised her weapon for the killing blow. "I'm going to enjoy this."
Katarina, however, just gave her a wicked grin, "I'm flattered but you're not my type."
The comment stalled the ninja for a brief moment of disbelief, allowing Katarina enough time to pull her legs up and around the green woman's waist and flip them both. As they fell backgrounds, Akali managed to pull her legs up underneath herself, before vaulting the assassin away from her.
The Noxian caught herself in a handspring before flipping back to feet to face the now standing ninja. She grinned, but before she could voice another witty remark, Akali was already springing for her. Her attacks came hard and fast, forcing Katarina on the defensive. The red-haired assassin blocked a kama with one of her larger daggers, sidestepping the other and then jumping the following kick before she finally put some distance between them.
As the green ninja once more closed the distance between them, Katarina rethought her plan to target her. Furious over the death of her teammate, it was obvious the anger was making her twice as dangerous. Still, the Noxian was far from outclassed. All she needed was a little bit of space then her surprise move should be enough to turn the table. And with a little luck, she could pull that off before that damn blue ninja showed up.
Despite the sombre mood, Nemr couldn't help looking curiously about them as he and Haybai followed Shen deeper into the temple. This was the furthest he had ever been into the building that lay at the centre of the village. And for good reason.
The Kinkou temple was huge. The intricate, multi-story architecture carved into the very stone of the mountain that towered over the village was one of the first visible sights upon arrival and often left the few visitors the Kinkou had in awe. He could still freshly remember his arrival and the breathtaking wonder the striking, ancient structure had instilled in him.
But what few realised was the depth that the temple reached; the rocky rooms extending, not only horizontally deep into the mountain side, but also vertically, up and down away from the surface structure. In fact, very few (even amoungst the Kinkou) knew exactly how far they extended. Almost all of the public space lay close to the entrance of the temple, with the rest of the sizable space used to store the many artefacts too powerful or too dangerous to the balance. Instead, they were locked deep within the mountain, to be hidden away forever from the outside world. As they travelled further inwards and upwards, the striped yordle could feel their influence. The dark magic charging the stale air around them and making his fur rise up in uneasiness.
Finally, the trio came to a stop outside a nondescript door which Shen promptly opened, causing both yordles to stop dead in their tracks.
The room itself was nothing special – just a small, brightly lit and sparsely furnished room – but it was what was in the room that had Haybai gasping in shock and left Nemr gaping. Because there, tucked into a medical berth in the centre of the room with several machines humming softly away around him, was Kennen.
The youth was as motionless as Nemr had ever recalled seeing him. But one thing was abundantly clear: he was most certainly not dead.
Gasp! I didn't kill him! Then again, I'm pretty sure most of you guys knew that already :). Don't worry, there is a method to my madness, which'll be explained in the coming chapters.