Holy shit guys, I just posted 1 Chapter I get 15 reviews! The response was completely unexpected and overwhelming. Thanks alot guys, your support is appreciated. I'm glad to see how many people look forward to this story.

Now, without further ado, I give you Teemo.

*Curtains open to show a Decapitated Teemo's head on a spike*

Alright, now that everyone's riled up with joy, I give you my newest chapter. Enjoy.

The Shadow that Watches

Chapter 2: Hurting her

It was another normal day as Zed meditated in his bed, his room devoid of any light, leaving him in pitch black darkness. All around him, unseen to any eye except his own, his shadows were meditating as well. Every few second or two, another Shadow would materialize. Finally, after the room was filled with shadows, they all disappeared. Zed took a deep inhale, holding the breath for a few seconds, before exhaling slowly. His eyes opened, red eyes glowing dimly in the darkness. His eyes actually did glow, as that was the effect of his ability to see in complete darkness. In front of him, only one shadow remained. This shadow was feminine, with long hair tied back in a ponytail. It was one of his favorite disciples from long ago, now a stranger who he wished to know once again. He narrowed his eyes, the shadow disappearing in a small burst of black smoke as he stood up. He put his outfit on, adjusting each piece of clothing until they fit snugly onto him. Pulling his shaggy hair up, he covered it with his scarf before putting his helmet on. One would wonder if he felt hot under there with so many layers as well as his long hair. Truth was, a master ninja such as he was trained in basic monk arts, which included the ability to regulate his body temperature. It was a useful thing to know, so he wouldn't be distracted by sweat pouring down his face where he could not reach with his hands.

He opened the door to his room, exiting it. It was morning outside, the sun having risen a few moments earlier. As he walked down the hallway into the common room, someone suddenly came at him. His combat-instincts taking over, he instantly raised his hand, his blades springing out to rest against the neck of the person who had his own sword against Zed's throat. It was none other than Shen.

"You know Violence isn't allowed in the institute, Shen." Zed said in a contemptuous voice. Shen's eyes, yellow under his mask, narrowed. "I don't like how you humiliated my friend, Zed." Shen said in a voice that held obviously suppressed anger.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" Zed said, raising an unseen eyebrow.

"Sparring Arena. No Weapons. No armor. Now." Shen said as Zed laughed. A High and cold laughter.

"Alright, Shen, if you have a death wish, you will get it. I won't go as easy on you as I did with Akali." He said, a smug smile on his face which was hidden by his mask and helmet. Shen only narrowed his eyes further with determination…

…

The kitty cat alarm clock suddenly started meowing as a sleepy hand clumsily grabbed for it, missing it once. Twice. Three times until finally the hand managed to pet the plastic cat's head gently, causing the alarm to stop with a small purr. A groan escaped her mouth as she sat upright, stretching her arms above her head. Akali sleepily looked at the time on her clock. It was still early. She stood up, the subdued light of the morning sun through her curtains lighting her room sufficiently for her to see. She wore nothing but her underwear, which consisted of a white cotton bra and matching panties.

She took ten minutes to freshen up and put on something from her closet. She pulled on a white and red T-shirt with a pair of white pants to match. As she was tying her shoes, there came an urgent knock on her door. Curious about who would be up so early and be knocking at her door, she walked over and opened it. Outside, her friend Irelia was standing. She looked distressed.

"Irelia, what's wrong?" Akali asked, her eyes taking on a confused look as she tilted her head somewhat to the right unconsciously.

"Akali…" Irelia managed to say. She was breathless, as if she had run all the way here. "It's Shen… He... And Zed… Sparring room."

There was no need to say anything else, as Akali instantly begun running towards the sparring center as fast as she could, which was pretty damn fast.

…

Some of the champions had gathered to watch the spar. Almost half an hour had passed and neither combatant was backing down. Shen panted heavily, his brown hair ruffled, sweat pouring down his face and soaking into his white tank top. He had a bruise blooming on his right cheek and a split lip.

Zed was in similar shape, although he was breathing at a more controlled rate. His black hair was messed up, sweat on his face as well as he breathed through his facemask. He was flexing his left wrist, twisting and turning it to relieve the pain he had experienced when Shen had twisted it. Both combatants had hit each other hard lots of times, but most of their blows had been deflected and blocked.

Their small rest over, both of them stepped in again. Zed feinted with a right hook at Shen's face, as Shen fell for it by bringing his left arm up to block it. Zed pulled his right hand in, swinging his right arm to the left harmlessly before suddenly bringing it forward, elbow outward. He scored a direct hit into Shen's midsection, the latter grunting in pain as he stumbled back from the force of the hit. But Shen was quick to counter as he grabbed Zed's arm before Zed could pull it back.

Pulling it back and to his side, Shen pulled Zed towards him. Leaning his head backwards, Shen suddenly brought it forward, butting his head hard against Zed's head. Zed's head was forced downwards from the hit, his breath leaving him for a moment as he staggered back from the disorientation. Shen was used to taking heavy blows and simply shrugged it off, pushing to his advantage. He grabbed Zed, quickly closing in to take the black haired ninja's head into a head lock. He kneed Zed hard in the stomach once. Twice. Before he could do it a third time, Zed pulled back and then jumped forward, using the headlock position to shoulder-tackle Shen down. Freeing himself quickly as Shen hit the ground, Zed punched Shen right in the face hard. The punch caused all of Shen's senses to suddenly blur from the heavy blow, as Zed continued by bringing his elbow up and then slamming it down onto Shen's chest.

There was a crack as all the breath inside Shen suddenly escaped through his mouth, the sound laced with pain. Instead of drawing his arm back, Zed raised his elbow just a bit and then swung it upwards at Shen's chin. Shen's was forced to look upwards as the elbow connected, blood spurting out of his mouth. Shen lay on the floor, writhing as he tried to recover, while Zed stood up above him, breathing heavily out of his nose.

"You're lucky the institute does not allow me to kill you, Shen." Zed said, looking down at Shen with triumph and disdain. He stepped back, watching as Shen struggled onto his front, pushing off the ground with his hands. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but he still stood up, his left hand cradling his chest while blood dripped from his mouth. He still wanted a fight.

Zed laughed coldly at Shen's reluctance to give up. "Resistance is futile, Shen!" Zed said as he stepped forward, aiming another punch at Shen's face. Shen dodged by spinning to the side, following up by aiming a reverse spin kick at Zed's open side. The kick hit as Zed was knocked down in the direction of the kick, the shadow ninja rolling to a crouch as he clutched his side in pain, breathing hard. He growled as Shen snorted in defiance at Zed. Zed stood up, closing in on Shen, who aimed a feinted with a kick and aimed a punch at Zed's injured side. Zed anticipated the move and grabbed hold of Shen's outstretched arm.

…

Akali had reached the room, shoving the doors open as she came in just in time to see Zed grip Shen's arm and bring his knee up at Shen's elbow. The crack sounded like a gunshot in the room, sickeningly loud as Akali's mouth opened in shock, eyes wide. Shen fell to the ground, groaning through clenched teeth as he held his destroyed arm with his other arm, Zed standing over him with intense fury in his eyes. Zed glanced up from Shen to meet Akali's eyes as she looked in dismay.

"SHEN!" She screamed finally, running to the sparring mat. She quickly fell to her knees next to Shen, pulling him onto her lap as she assessed his injuries with panic in her eyes. "Oh god. Oh god, IRELIA. CALL THE MEDICS. Oh god, Shen, look at me. Stay with me, don't fade. You'll go in to shock. Don't. Stay with me." She said, speaking her words very fast and hurried as Irelia, who had just appeared in the doorway, nodded and went back out. Zed was still standing in front of the two, looking down upon them. Akali looked up with hatred in her eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" She shouted at Zed, who didn't respond in anyway. "He was a fool to challenge me." Zed simply said, tilting his head as Akali glared at him, eyes wide with alertness and loathing. "As you are a fool to care for him. Caring for the weak will get you killed."

"He. Is. Not. Weak." Akali hissed at Zed, her voice edged with venom. "He was strong enough to resist the temptation of using the forbidden powers. You had no strength. You HAVE no strength without it." Akali continued, as Zed's eyes narrowed. For a moment, Akali thought Zed was going to attack her as well. But he didn't. He only clenched his hand into a fist and unclenched it, glaring down at Akali.

"This is where I'll always find you, Akali. Down on your knees, caring for friends who are too weak to stand up for themselves." Zed said as Akali gently placed Shen back down, the medics having gotten there. She stood up and stepped closer to Zed.

There was a resounding crack of sound as Akali's hand slapped Zed hard, his face being forced to turn in the direction of the slap. As she held her right hand where it was after its slap, Zed's eyes narrowed, still looking in the same direction. He chewed his tongue, testing his jaw and the sting of his cheek, before looking down. Then he looked up, and as Akali saw his eyes, she knew she had made a mistake.

Before Zed could retaliate, Irelia came up to stand next to Akali, her blades flying beside her menacingly. "I think you should leave." She said as Zed's eyes narrowed further.

"Do not forget your origins, Akali." Zed said in a voice dripping with anger and venom as he turned around. He walked out of the room, a shadow being summoned to take his discarded armor and follow him.

Akali finally let go of her forced composure, falling to her knees as she trembled. No matter how much she hated Zed, she hated herself just as much for being afraid of him… He was something else, something that Akali wasn't used to. It was impossible to read him and his violent nature made him very dangerous. What made him even more frightening and awe-inspiring, as much as she hated to admit it, was his detachment to human emotions. He only seemed to be capable of negative emotions, and even that in small amounts. She had never seen him truly smile or laugh, nor had she ever seen him frown. Most of his emotions seemed to be expressed by his tone and his eyes. She sighed, a tremble running down her body as Irelia crouched down next to her, patting her back.

"I know how you feel." Irelia said, eyes on Shen who was currently being helped into drinking medical potions. "He's not human." She added, causing Akali to grimly narrow her eyes at the ground.

…

It was near evening by the time Akali had returned to her room, having spent most of the time waiting for Shen to regain consciousness. When he did, Shen had expressed his regret at not being strong enough to make Zed pay. Akali felt the heavy weight of guilt settle in her stomach.

Now, she was sitting on her bed, face buried into her hands as she tried to think things through. "Mother… What should I do? I'm so lost…" she muttered to no one in particular, thinking of all the advice her mother had given her. Finally, one surfaced…

"Remember, Akali. As Ninjas, we excel in combat situations where we are alone against an enemy force. Alone we might be strong, but do remember, that outside of battle, everyone needs someone to lean onto. With nothing but the shadows as your company, you will soon turn bitter and lose your humanity. So always have people you can talk to and trust."

"Are you telling me to go be nice to him, Mother!? He's a monster!" She said out loud to no one in particular. As if her mother had come in the form of a ghost, her own sub consciousness answered her in her mother's voice, "He wasn't always a monster, Akali. The years of solitude and sorrow have turned him into this. Tell me, what does he seek?"

"He seeks to destroy those who won't accept his forbidden ways." She said. "That is nothing but the surface of the fact, my child. Go deeper."
"He wants to kill us, since we won't accept him and his methods." She said, but she could almost see her mother shaking her head. Then, Akali raised her head, her eyes suddenly widening slightly. "He seeks… acceptance."

The image of her mother inside her mind smiled before being replaced by an image of Zed's face, as she had seen on that day. His scars weren't that prominent, his narrow red eyes glowing in contrast to his pale skin and black hair. He seemed… Distanced. A thought came to her mind, of him standing outside the institute alone. Another thought, an image of him taking his food into his room instead of eating in the cafeteria. Alone, yet again. He was so antisocial. But was he truly like this?

"I'm so confused…" She whispered to herself. She hated this man, but she felt pity for him. She felt sad for his lonely existence. When she was a child, Zed had been just a teenager, recently having founded the order of the Shadow. Her mother had allowed Zed to teach Akali, and within the few years they spent together, the two had become good friends. Zed had given Akali her title, the Fist of Shadow. Sadly, her mother was killed by one of the shadow ninja, for unknown reasons. Though Zed had the man executed, Akali had turned her back on the Shadow Order and joined the Kinkou, the former being a painful reminder of her mother. Although the reason was not known, there was a rumor that her mother had refused to send Akali on a mission that would have Akali massacre a lot of innocent people. Because of that, her mother had paid with her life and Akali had abandoned Zed.

Is this all my fault? She thought, a pang of pain going through her chest at the thought that, maybe, she was the reason behind Zed's bitterness. The weight of guilt in her stomach became greater and she felt sick. He had hurt her when he had hurt Shen; hurt her when he had humiliated her… But had she hurt him back when they were young? Had she been the one he leant on, so leaving him caused him to fall?

…

Zed was sitting on his bed, his room yet again in darkness, his red eyes glowing as he waited for his injuries to heal. Most of them were bruises, and had healed somewhat. Finally, he felt the need for some entertainment, as meditating all day long was a sure way to get stir crazy.

Standing up, he put his armor. It was a tedious task, to put on his helmet and armor every time he went out of his room, but it was necessary. He didn't want people to see his face. A true shadow never left anything for people to recognize him with, whenever possible. He held his helmet up in his hands, but decided not to wear it. His facemask would suffice.

He exited his room and walked down the hallway into the common room. Like always, his entrance had made the conversation in the room fall, as many people stopped talking to glance at him. Fear was a powerful thing. He walked over to the bookshelf, picking a book out before going over to sit on an unoccupied sofa. He relaxed, opening and reading the book with one hand.

Just as he was reading, he saw the shadow of someone standing in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, he looked up from his book to see Akali standing. She looked impassive.

"Can I sit here?" She asked, catching Zed by surprise. "Depends. What do you want?" he asked, his crimson gaze piercing and intense upon Akali's dark red ones.

"I just wish to talk." She said, her voice neutral and low. Zed didn't speak for a few moments before giving an almost imperceptible nod. Akali nodded in return and sat down next to Zed. A few moments passed in awkward silence. Zed glanced at Akali. Akali seemed nervous and unsure of what to say. The memory of her slapping him came back to him.

"I…" Akali muttered, trailing off. Before she could think of what else to say, however, Zed suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her down onto the sofa, his left hand holding her down while his right hand went up to her neck, his first two fingers extended to press down on the sensitive pressure point right above the apex of the collarbone. Akali's eyes widened as she felt his pressure on her neck, finding it difficult to breath.

"You think you can just get away with disrespecting me?" Zed said in a sinisterly cold voice. "You're just as alone as I am right now. Your friend isn't here to save you. Shen is moping in the infirmary while your little pet rat is busy in a match."

Zed's breath washed over Akali, though he was wearing a face mask. Akali was frozen, eyes wide with fear as she watched his menacing eyes stare down at her. "If you ever… Even dare, to raise your hand against me like that… I will snap it like a twig, just like I broke Shen's arm." Zed snarled, eyes narrowing as his anger slowly bubbled and cooled enough for him to realize the position they were in. Their bodies were inches apart, close enough to feel the warmth emanating from each other's skin. Akali's neck was soft under his fingers as he felt her pulse quicken with the fear she was experiencing.

But fear was not all that Akali was experiencing. This sudden loss of power against such a dominant person was foreign to her. Akali, who had always stood alone and succeeded in any challenge presented to her, was lying here completely at the mercy of a man she thought she knew. But what she knew about Zed was only the tip of the ice burg, and she found an unusual desire to learn more about him…

The awkward situation of confused feelings passed as Zed pushed off of her, walking back to his room with his book in hand, leaving Akali dazed on the sofa, still in the same position, staring up at the lights on the ceiling as she tried to decipher the jumble of thoughts that was her mind…

As always, my dear readers, do Review. Everytime you review, a teemo gets slaughtered brutally and painfully! Or, if you happen to be a fan of teemo, Painlessly and fast. But yes, he still dies. And yes, it's still messy. Lol.