CHAPTER 5: BROKEN PAST

The day after being discharged from the hospital, Yasuo realized what a failure he was. He allowed emotions to take over his actions, a deed that was so unforgivable to the Ionian Warrior Council that it could lead to imprisonment. But then again, he no longer had anything to do with the Ionian Warrior Council. He smirked quietly as this notion. As if that was not enough, he had lost a duel against a member of an unallied nation. Horrible. Furthermore, he had put himself in a hard position to even talk to Riven. She saved his life, and he wants to go convict her of killing off his master?

Deep in his thoughts, he almost missed the quiet knocking on his door. He sighed, yelled a "comin'!", and got up from the couch and went to open the door. There stood Riven, looking quite troubled. She didn't have her sword with her, and her glove and shoulder piece were missing too. Judging by the dark bags she had under her eyes and her shaking, he could conclude that she didn't sleep for a couple of days.

"Hey Yasuo…" she said weakly.

"Oh, my God, you look terrible. Come in." He replied.

She walked in haphazardly, scanning his apartment with glazed eyes. He lead her to the couch, where she sat down cautiously, as if it were loaded with traps. Seeing her shudder, Yasuo quickly grabbed a couple blankets and wrapped them around her.

"I'll go make some hot chocolate," he offered, and stood up. Riven held onto his arm and shook her head.

"No thank you, Yasuo. I just came here because I wanted to talk to you."

He looked at her, then at the hand that was holding on to him like a lifeline, then back at her again before sitting down next to her.

"What did you want to talk to me about, dear?"

"After your fight with Draven, when you were unconscious, he told me…"

She started shuddering again. Yasuo suddenly understood the situation, and found his hand gripping his sword tightly.

"What did he tell you?" Yasuo asked as softly as he could manage, hoping Draven didn't tell her what he think he did.

Riven started sobbing and clutched at his chest.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so so so sorry, I didn't know anything, oh God, I can't believe it…" She blubbered between gasps.

Yasuo looked down at the shaky figure holding on to him, feeling her tears streak down his chest. He was extremely uncomfortable.

"How did you manage to put up with me when you knew?" she questioned.

"Because," Yasuo replied, "I've already forgiven you." Wai-wai-wait, what? he thought, I forgave her? What the hell am I saying?

"I know you haven't!" she cried, "I killed your master, shattered your life, and forced you to leave your home to some place you never wanted to go to!"

"Riven," he said, "my master won't be brought back and my life won't ever be the same."

"Exactly! Then why didn-"

"But I'm glad I'm here."

"Huh?"

"Throughout my exile, I've been filled with vengeance and hatred. What kept me going was my hatred of Noxians. I've always blamed Noxians for everything that happened, what with my master dying, my exile, my brother's death, and my journey to kill the one that caused all this. But the fault laid with me. Had I not left my master that night, none of this would have happened. Instead, you and I would have met in battle. And with those circumstances, one of us would have been killed that night. My master's death brought great agony, but as the agony faded and as I looked into the eyes of my vendetta, I could only feel fortunate of what happened. I realized I could forgive."

"But I killed…"
"Riven. You were ordered to kill. I was ordered to defend. You followed through with your orders, but I did not with mine."

"That's not an excuse! I killed someone, I'm a monster!"

"You're showing regret for this. I'm sure you know about Singed's… "bombardment". He killed an entire village with his poison, and he feels no remorse. That's what a monster is. You, on the other hand, understand how important human life is. You shattered your own sword and severed ties with your own nation because of it. And that, I daresay, cannot lead to conviction."

Riven nodded her head quietly, and closed her eyes.

"Thanks, Yasuo," she said.

"No. Thank you, Riven," he replied.

Riven's headed drooped forward, and her grip on Yasuo's arm weakened. She began snoring.

He chuckled quietly. Seems like she finally let things go. Even if just a little bit. He gently rested her head on a couch pillow, readjusted the blankets, and stood up to go make some hot chocolate. As he boiled the water and got out the chocolate powder and marshmallows, he quietly thought about everything. More importantly, he thought about Draven and his cruel disclosure about his past to Riven.

He ground his teeth. He had to show that spoiled Noxian idiot who was the boss around here.

Meanwhile, outside the hallway, Singed was carrying his dirty laundry to the laundry room, when he happened to pass Yasuo's apartment. He heard his name and something about "poison", "no remorse", and "that's what a monster is". His bald head drooped as he slowly lugged his laundry to the laundromat. Singed was heartbroken.

Outside the Institute floated a weird creature. This beast was composed by a huge purple eyeball, surrounded by sharp beige armor and a couple of purple tentacles. Sprawled on the ground unconscious were the guards that secured the entrance to the League.

"Such weak beings," its deep voice resounded, "not worthy of my investigation."

Then, in a louder voice, it boomed, "I demand entrance into the League. Or I will bring it down and make it mine."

"As if I would just let that happen," a fishtank voice replied from inside the Institute.

"If you dare oppose me, face me."

In a flash of purple, Kassadin appeared over the wall and in front of the eyeball.

"From what I see, I can't face you. You're just an eye, not even a complete face." Kassadin stated bluntly.

"You must not know about me," the floating eyeball retorted, "or you will not refuse my demands."

"I know much about you, Vel'Koz."

Vel'Koz blinked his huge eye and stared at Kassadin.

"Then you must know why I have left the Void, Voidwalker?"

"I must say I don't. Why, Vel'Koz?"

"Well, you see," the eyeball stated, "I have learned all there is in the Void. There remain no more unique specimens for me to experiment on."

Kassadin's yellow eyes narrowed.

"You were called here by Malzahar, weren't you?"

"Only Malzahar and I know the truth of the world. Through careful studying, we both came to the conclusion that Runeterra lacked a ruling power. Of which will be us, the Void. There's nothing you can do, Voidwalker. We are already in motion."