Hello my dear readers! Because of the overwhelming response from all of you, and because my mind is a bit burned out at the moment, I have decided to Update this story before working on the next chapter of WotR! Yay!

Anyway, this chapter is where things get pretty close and personal. Conflicting emotions, confused thoughts. The past of the enigma revealed, a lover abandoned and a heart forsaken. This chapter is full of stuff, friends, so buckle up and enjoy!

And yes, Sir ShamanSushi DragonPaprika. It is going to happen again. Not just again, it's going to happen! IN THREE. TWO. ONE...

The Shadow that Watches

Chapter 3: Getting closer to her.

"TRIPLE KILL!" The announcer shouted as Zed stumbled back, bloodied and panting with exertion. In front of him lay the splattered remains of the yordle known as Teemo, who had exploded from Zed's Death Mark. A few paces away Lay Ashe, face blank and skin paler than chalk as she had bled out from the grievous stab wounds in her body. Even farther back, lay the decapitated body of a woman, blue demacian armor stained red from her wounds, a staff clutched in dead hands.

Zed was badly injured. He could feel the poison in his system, his left arm was frostbitten from 3 arrows of ice which were still embedded in his flesh. With a grunt of effort, he swiped his right arm down at the arrows, shattering them into ice fragments as he the clutched his arm in pain. He coughed, blood already gathering in his mouth, his facemask already soaked with the metallic tasting liquid. He began stumbling through the jungle, heading south towards his base. He was still in enemy territory when he heard the summoner signal, A fellow summoner alerting Zed's summoner and asking for aid. Zed growled, making his way over to see Katarina, who was on their team, battling ferociously against the enemy's Jarvan. Jarvan had used his ultimate ability, the ground having risen around them like a wall, and was attacking Katarina, who was going all out. Both of them were badly injured, but Jarvan was going to survive this.

Acting on instinct, Zed came close, summoning a Shadow into the area, surprising both combatants before Zed spun his armblades around him in a circle. Jarvan cried out in pain as the blades cut through his abdominal area, being disemboweled while Katarina took the chance and threw a knife, which stuck directly into Jarvan's throat. Jarvan made a sick gurgling noise as blood spurted out of his wounds, raising his hand at Katarina with his last ounces of strength. Suddenly, Katarina burst into flames, her screams drowned by the roar of the fire that came from the spell Ignite. Both fighters died there as Zed snorted with contempt. "Foolish move, using it on a woman who was going to die anyway and not on the man who was his killer." Zed said, as he began to make his way back towards his base again.

As he came upon the river, he was greeted by his other team-mate, who was none other than Akali. She was bloodied and beaten up as well, having taken on the Enemy's Darius all alone. Zed narrowed his eyes at her, and she remained impassive, her green clothes stained red with blood.

Before either could say anything, there was a sound.

Noc noc.

Zed and Akali quickly looked in opposite ways, so they could rely on the other to watch their backs. "Who's there?" Akali said as Zed suddenly realized what this was about.

"DARKNESS!" Came a screech as everything suddenly became dark, all sensations of sound and touch and sight vanishing. Without thinking, Zed instantly flashed towards Akali, appearing in front of her as he shoved her back towards their forest. Not a second later, Nocturne came howling through the air, running both of his blades into Zed, who snarled in pain, blood erupting out of his mouth. He was slammed against the river wall, his helmet shattering upon impact, revealing his messy black hair, which was dyed scarlet in places, and his scarred face, which had blood streaming down from the top of his head, parting around the nose. His eyes met Akali's as he shouted, blood coming out of his mouth as he did, "RUN YOU FOOL!"

Akali, eyes wide at the sudden appearance of Nocturne, did what was sensible and ran for it. Otherwise, Zed's sacrifice would've been in Vain. But before Nocturne could go after her, Zed thrust his blade at the being, who was forced to block it, although it did so without much effort. "You can't kill me that easily, shadow." Zed said, his voice breathless and strained, as if speaking was extremely painful. Which it was, considering that Nocturne had run Zed through with his blades. The ninja had a short time to live, but he seemed determined to not die instantly.

"You should fear the dark, Zed." Nocturne whispered, grabbing Zed's head with his clawed hands as the shadow ninja finally lost the strength left to stand. Holding his head up so Zed had to look into Nocturne's face, Nocturne said, "Because one day, it will be your undoing."
Zed only gave a defiant grin as he said, "Well aren't you smart. But you're nothing but a shapeless shadow without a purpose in this world." He then spat blood at Nocturne, who growled.
Before Zed's vision faded, he saw Nocturne dropping him and going after Akali, who was, by now, long gone hopefully. A small smirk appeared on Zed as he registered the feeling of the river gently flowing around his half-submerged face, feeling it wash the blood within his body… Then, all was black.

…

The match was over, Zed's team had won. After the game, as the champions had been returned to the institute, each champion had to go to the small medical room to have a check up before they were allowed to exit. Zed was the last one out, and outside, he was slightly surprised to see Akali standing. She was still wearing her ninja gear, the green outfit a bit too revealing to be sufficient protection, but after all, she was a ninja, not a knight. Speed was her forte.

She looked up to see Zed exiting and then Zed knew that she was waiting for him. So as he walked up to her, he stopped, looking down at her with his crimson eyes. His helmet had been broken and was currently being repaired to its original state by the magicians, so he only had his facemask on right now. Akali had uncovered her face.

She looked down at the grass, eyes narrowing slightly in conflict as she decided on something. Then, she looked up.
"I want to thank you… For saving me back then." She said, looking back down at the grass as she self-consciously rubbed her left arm, just above the elbow, with her right hand. She found it difficult to stare into his red eyes.

Zed looked down at her and sneered at her pathetic behavior. "I only covered you for your own weakness because my summoner forced me to. Otherwise, I'd leave you to die. It's your own pathetic lack of strength that you were in such a state after battling only one opponent." He said, as Akali suddenly looked up at him with anger and negativity.

"What the hell, Zed!? Would it kill you to not be an asshole? Here I am, trying to be nice, and you just keep acting like a complete ass." She said angrily, her arms by her side and moving in the way that expressed her demand for an answer. In a flash of movement, Zed had grabbed Akali's face by her chin, using his forefinger and thumb, forcing her to look at him as he leaned close to her face.

"Nice people are the ones who die." He said, his words spoken in a slow, measured way so each word carried so much.

"At least we don't die alone and hated." Akali whispered back in a similar way, each of her words expressing her distaste for Zed's attitude. Zed did not like her answer as his eyes flared. Akali stared defiantly back without a reaction, although she could feel the smallest stirs of fear within her. She easily suppressed it as the two stared each other down.

"There you go again with your love and family crap. There is no true family other than the family forged through battle." Zed said, hesitating about what he was going to say next. Akali's eyes widened slightly, brow burrowing a bit as Zed let her go, straightening up. She had never seen the shadow ninja hesitate about saying something. His words had always come out so straight-forwardly and confidently. But then, Zed turned his back to her, looking at her over his shoulder with red eyes that were colder than Frejlord.

"And love… Love is just a lie. I learned that the hard way. A foolish mistake made as a foolish youth." He said, his voice just as cold, before he turned his head around and walked off, leaving Akali in a state of mild shock. Did he just mean what she thought he meant…?

Was he talking about her?

…

Akali was just a young girl when her mother hand begun training her. Her mother's training was rigid and brutal, but from an age where most girls would be playing with dolls and doodling on walls, Akali had trained to be someone her mother would be proud of. Then came the faithful day that her mother had a guest over. It was someone that her mother had been quite impressed with. So there was Akali, dressed up in an elaborate kimono with her long black hair elegantly styled by her mother so it curled up into a loop before going back down like it was unbound. When she entered the room where the guest was, she was quite surprised. The guest was none other than a young teenage boy, his black hair choppy and long, his face scarred. He was surrounded by at least 5 shadowy ninjas, each of them armored and armed with weapons. But what really scared Akali was his eyes. Red, slightly glowing, but so cold and distant. The very same eyes turned and regarded her without emotion.

After that first meeting, Akali began training under this youth, who she had come to know as Zed. Zed was even more brutal than her mother, unforgiving in mistakes and completely detached from his emotions. But never did he hurt her nor did he ever punish her in any way that would hurt her.

Years passed and soon, they trained together, fluidly moving as one as Akali had memorized Zed's movements. She had become a living shadow of his, mimicking his skilled movements perfectly.

Another year later, Akali was now a young teen while Zed was coming of age. They had grown very close through the time they had spent together, and though it took a long time, Zed had begun to open up to Akali. For once, he actually smiled and laughed, his eyes lighting up whenever he saw her. And now, there they were, sitting on the back-porch of their home, staring out at the night sky over their courtyard, which had all of the traditional stuff like a pond filled with Koi fish, a cherry blossom tree and even one of those water-falling-into-a-bamboo things that she never knew what to call.

Akali was wearing a very beautiful silken Kimono, which Zed had gifted her himself, while Zed was wearing a more simple but just as elegant red and black kimono. Though he was young, Akali's young heart gave an excited throb as she admired his muscular physique, his abs just visible through the gap of his kimono.

Suddenly, a streak of light flashed across the sky as both of their eyes widened.

"A shooting star." Akali said in mild surprise as Zed raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" He asked, as Akali rolled her eyes. Zed was knowledgeable in many things, but he never did know about trivial things like this.

"A streak of light like that is called a shooting star. They are very rare and people who see it are supposed to get their wishes granted." Akali said, her dark red eyes staring up at where the shooting star had disappeared.
Zed chuckled as he said, "I find it hard to believe that, Akali."

Akali smiled shyly, a blush creeping up onto her face as she then said, "Hey Zed?"

"Yes Akali?"

"Do you like anyone?"

"I like you."

Akali blushed a bit more before she shook her head slowly. "No, I mean. Do you like anyone?"

Zed was silent for a few moments, his face becoming unfathomable again as she thought about it. "I don't suppose so."

"Let's get married." Akali blurted out, quickly slapping her hands up to her mouth just as she said it, regretting it as she looked at Zed, completely red. Zed was looking at her, caught by surprise as it showed on his face.

"I-I-I mean… I… I like you. You like me. My mother tells me that love is for people who have perfect synergy. We know each other better than anyone else… So, I thought… We should get married when we grow up." Akali said, staring down at the ground as Zed processed what she was saying. She thought Zed was going to reject her, or worse, kill her right there.

But to her surprise, Zed began laughing. A true laugh as Akali looked at Zed in a dumbfounded way, her blush still very visible on her face. "Wh-What!?" She said indignantly as Zed finished laughing, grinning at her. "Yeah Akali, I think that's a good idea." He said, as Akali's face reddened even further. At that, Zed began laughing again, harder this time as Akali scowled, punching Zed in the shoulder for laughing at her feelings…

…

Akali's eyes opened. She was lying on her bed, dressed in a white tank-top and a pair of white panties.

The whole day had passed in a blur and here she was, lying in the dead of night without any urge to sleep. She already knew the next parts of her dream. The next parts would consist of a ninja under Zed's order killing Akali's mother because her mother refused to send Akali to a potential bloodbath. The killing of her mother wasn't authorized by Zed, who had taken action by killing the ninja at fault. But Akali had been ruled by grief then and turned her back on Zed. Zed had actually pleaded her to stay, pleaded that he would do anything, but she hadn't listened. Now, all of this was coming back to haunt her like some freakish show of karma. She checked her clock, seeing that it was near 3 AM.

Sighing in defeat, she decided to give up trying to go back to sleep. Putting on a silken robe, tying the sash tight around her waist, she decided to go for a walk.

Ten minutes into her walk, she was walking near the room known as "Elysium." It was a very cool room that was basically a huge indoor park. It easily dwarfed most rooms and was just like the outdoors, with grass and uneven ground and trees, even a small flowing river. The ceiling was open, so it was more like a huge courtyard than a room. But people still referred to it as a room.

She heard noises from inside. Grunting noises. Impacts and sounds of effort. Curious, she went into the room, her bare feet feeling the transition from smooth wooden floors to soft grass. She walked for a few minutes, taking small steps due to her outfit as well as due to caution, slowly heading towards the source of the sound. It was coming from a small area reserved for training, circled by trees and bushes. Within that area, she was surprised to see Zed.

Zed was training against his shadows, who were attacking him. He was dressed In only a pair of pants, shirtless as sweat dripped down his muscular body, his black hair akin to the proud mane of a lion with some wolfish traits because of its length and irregular style. A shadow charged him, aiming a thrust at his face, but Zed leaned away from the thrust and caught the arm, pulling it over while kicking his foot at the shadow. The shadow burst into black smoke, but if it was solid, Akali was sure the arm bones would've been broken out of the shoulder blade, or the entire arm would've been torn from it's socket.

She watched in silent awe, feeling like a child again as she watched Zed take on his other shadows, who ganged on him. His muscles rippled as he moved, his sweat giving his skin a shiny texture, his mouth pressed into a thin line in concentration while his eyes were narrowed in concentration. Even through all that, his face managed to give off a look of indifference, as if this was no effort at all.

As if something was forcing her, Akali suddenly walked into the clearing. Zed froze, stopping in the middle of snapping the neck of one of his shadows. Akali stopped in front of Zed, who let the shadows disappear. She bowed to him, before entering a combat stance. Zed raised an eyebrow, before he too, lowered his head like he was nodding at her, but kept it lowered for a few moments before raising it.

Then, both of the ninjas attacked each other. Their movements were fluid, like water, and each anticipated the moves of the other. Before, back in the sparring area, Akali's thoughts had been focused on anger and at paying Zed back. Now, her mind was in complete peace. Each of her strikes were deflected by Zed's strikes, who was finding his own attacks blocked and diverted by the female ninja. Palms met palms. Arms crashed against arms. Elbows were palmed aside, kicks were blocked by both hands. Punches were ducked under, leg-sweeps were jumped over.

Both ninjas were moving in complete sync, like they could read each other's minds and knew what to expect and what to do. And then, suddenly, Zed had managed to block aside Akali's arms, leaving her open. He tackled her down onto the grassy ground, his hand swiftly coming up to her neck to show that she was defeated. But defeat wasn't on her mind.

She was breathless with excitement, exhilarated from the spar. Her heart was beating fast and hard and her eyes were staring up at Zed in slight awe. Zed found himself lost as well, mesmerized by the beautiful woman lying under him. Her robe had come loose and was open slightly, showing him the revealing clothing she wore underneath. Even her tank top had ridden up a bit, exposing her toned stomach. But her face was what held his attention. Her dark red eyes were reflecting his own, pools of different colors swirling around each other to make that color that her eye's possessed. Her black hair was lying spread around her head, silky and shiny to look at, reflecting the moon over head. Her lips were just parted, small breaths coming out of it slowly and Zed had the insane urge to lean closer.

High above them, a small streak of light flashed across the sky. Clouds were coming in after the shooting star, slowly covering the moon. As the moon's light faded, the last rays of silver illuminated the two figures lying on the grassy ground, their lips joined together, eyes closed. Zed's right hand made its way to Akali's hand, and soon, their fingers intertwined with each other in blissful harmony.

And, just as suddenly it had begun, Zed had walked out of the clearing, not even looking back, his eyes covered by his hair, leaving Akali, yet again, lying on her back, staring up in mild shock and wanting more. The man was so difficult… He was like a shadow. One moment, he was there. The next, he wasn't… But Akali knew that this memory would stay with both of them for a long time.

Well, there's the chapter. I hope all of you enjoyed it. As always, please take a few moments to leave your thoughts on the chapter in your reviews. Did you like it or not, any suggestions you might have, what you think is going to happen, etc. Remember, I always love to read your thoughts on my story! :3 Till next time.