Author's notes:


Hey, I'd like to present the 17th chapter of the story.

I hope you'll like it.

PS. My current plan for a couple of next weeks:
rewriting Alone,
rewriting the 1rst chapter of Kiss the Rain,
3rd chapter of Sometimes it's just better not to know,
rewrite the 3rd chapter of My home is where my heart lies,
a Christmas one-shot in WoW universe.

. If you have an idea that you would like to see me write, or want me to quicken the writing of any of my stories, feel free to write a comment :D

As always, till the next time, and thanks for everything.

Sorry, I had a lot of assignments from my uni, so I had little to none time to finish the chapter. Still, I hope you'll end up liking it :D

Changelog:
2020.12.13 - a preview was posted.
2020.12.24 - a whole chapter was posted.


Akali's POV (sometime later):


When the raven-haired woman began to stir out of her slumber, she was blinded by the white, intense light. It took her a couple of moments to fully open her eyes and adjust to the intensity of the light. As soon as she managed to do so, she froze. Akali did not recognise the room she was currently in. She tried to stand up as quickly as possible, but nearly immediately, she felt that some weight was put on her midriff. Without wasting a single second, she averted her gaze from the snowy-white wall. She tried to locate the source of the feeling. Just a second later, she found it.

On the midriff on the teenager, Evelynn was sleeping soundly. The hair of the woman was in disorder, she seemed exhausted. The fatigue and concern could be easily spotted on her beautiful face.

"What are we doing here, Eve?" she asked softly, tenderly creasing the cheek of her guardian. "Why are you so exhausted?"

As from a distance, the beeping sound started to be heard. A monitoring console could be spotted at her right. It was a modern piece of technology that was displaying a couple parameters on various graphs. Some fibres were connecting the device with Akali's body. The realisation was brought after a couple of prolonged moments.

She screamed loudly.

Rogue closed her eyes, hoping that all she was currently seeing was just a dream, just a nightmare. Within a couple of next moments, the teenager felt the comforting warmth closing all around her frame. The oh so familiar scent of her guardian soon filled the nostrils of the girl. Without opening her eyes, the raven-haired teenager hugged the woman back nearly instantly. She needed that warmth, she needed that feeling of protection.

"Shhh… everything is fine, darling," Evelynn cooed with a slightly hoarse voice. "I'm here, and I have no intention to leave you," she assured the latter.

"Eve," the girl mumbled in a quiet tone. "Tell me that it is just a dream, tell me that it is just a nightmare, please," she added in a pleading voice.

"Darling, it's reality," the magenta-haired woman uttered in a bit more serious tone. "You're in the hospital after the 'events' of yesterday's match," she provided a further explanation. "I'm so sorry that you must have endured through that all."

"Wait… what?" the confused teenager asked, opening her eyes to look at Evelynn's pretty face. "I… I thought," she continued to mumble.

"Oh…" the living goddess gasped, interrupting her protégé's statement. "You thought that you died, didn't you?" she asked with concern filling her voice. As soon as Akali nodded, Eve strengthened her hug, "You're alive, darling. You got hurt, but you'll be fine. I'll make sure of that myself," the woman promised.

"Do you remember anything from yesterday?" the golden-eyed beauty asked.

"Not much," Rogue replied with a guild clearly heard in her voice. "The last thing I remember was Miss Heavenbound asking me to help her with something," she added.

"Don't feel guilty, honey," Eve cooed once again. "You aren't the one to place blame for what happened," she added. "Do you want me to tell you the story?"

"Yes," the blue-eyed teenager replied instantly. "It feels weird not to know what happened earlier. I want to know everything," the girl said confidently, looking directly into the eyes of her legal guardian.

"Fine, you're probably the only one whom I couldn't say 'no' to," Evelynn replied with affection.

"Thank you," Rogue responded, flashing a broad smile.

Flashbacks (a couple of hours ago):

Evelynn's POV:


As the magenta-haired woman promised, they got up quickly and headed toward the luxurious vehicle of the diva. Thankfully, no one tried to break in and steal the car, or at least it was what Evelynn thought, looking at one of her "babies".

"Wow!" Kayle exclaimed loudly the moment she saw the vehicle. "You went big, didn't you?"

"Did you expect anything less out of me?" the siren allowed herself to chuckle a little. "I always had my future in my sight, and never let it go."

"I can certainly agree with that," the platinum-haired woman uttered. "Maybe… it's even an understatement."

"Oh, thank you, darling," Eve replied playfully. "Not even in hundreds of year, I'd expect you to say such a compliment to me," she allowed herself to tease a teacher for a moment.

"Forget that I said anything," the slightly blushed singer replied immediately.

"Oh… come on," the diva sighed. "You're no fun at all, dear," she pointed out.

"Just grab the stuff you need, and we need to go back," Kayle mumbled under her nose.

"Impatient, aren't we?" the siren chuckled, opening the boot of the car.

"Maybe… a little bit," the platinum-haired woman admitted.

"Hold that for a moment, could you?" Evelynn rhetorically asked, giving the teacher a bulky case that contained Akali's guitar.

"Fuck… what did you buy her? A guitar made of stone, that shit weights at least a couple of pounds!" the Rockstar nagged.

"Don't be a baby," Evelynn scolded the latter. "It's precisely what Akali wanted," she added.

"Yeah… so, it's the reason she's so muscular? I bet that playing with anything that you bought her requires a hella lot of strength," the singer continued to nag.

"Hmm… maybe partially," the magenta-haired woman hummed. "But, she's working out a lot, I mean, freaking a lot, so I'm not entirely convinced by your point," she added.

"I was just nagging," Kayle sighed heavily. "Just give me a break already, please," she uttered through her teeth."

"As you wish, dear," the golden-eyed beauty giggled. "Shall we go?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah, I hope, I won't drop that stupid case somewhere along the way there," the blue-eyed woman whined.

"Such a baby," the lawyer made a comment, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

Present times:

Akali's POV:


"What?" the surprised teenager asked. "You knew Miss Heavenbound before?"

"Yes, darling," the diva replied with a small smile playing on her lips. "I attended the same school she did," she added. "It's a really long story that I might tell you another day," the woman uttered.

"Why not now?" the genuinely surprised girl asked. "I bet that it is quite a story."

"Yeah, it is," Evelynn agreed. "How about you? Have you reminded something?" the diva asked, wanting to avoid another question from Akali.

"I feel like… I feel like, I have a couple of images of that day," the raven-haired teenager. "To some extent, they are making some sense, but maybe it is just me," she provided a further explanation.

"Oh, care to tell me what you remember?" the amused siren asked. "I'll try to fill the blanks in your story," she offered.

"Sure, I have nothing better to do," Akali smiled slightly. "The least I can do is to try."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, darling," Eve said with concern filling her voice. "Don't feel pressure to do so."

"I know… I want to," Rogue replied, scratching her nape. "For me… it is time I can spend with you, and for that, I am willing to do a lot," she confessed with a shy smile.

"Of course, you do," the golden-eyed goddess uttered, tilting her head slightly to the side. "You're such an adorable thing, Akali, you know that?"

"Eve!" the teenager squeaked, reddening on her face in an instant.

"Shh, darling," the magenta-haired lawyer silenced her protégé. "Do your telling, please."

Flashbacks (a couple of hours ago):

Akali's POV:


The raven-haired girl sighed heavily. As always, everything was going from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. First, the encounter with Adam, then… the necessity of dealing with the headmistress. Honestly, it was tiresome for Akali. Every single time when something bad happened, she seemed to be in the very first line. The brown-eyed girl felt the sweat break on her brow, she was tired. All she wanted to achieve that day was to play a match, and… maybe win it. The problem was that the girl was not entirely sure what to do with their time. Sure… they could be practising, but after all these hours they already spent doing so, it seemed pointless. In fact, it could lead to them being too tired to even play a whole match, so Rogue – as a captain – decided against it.

While sitting on one of the many benches located in the team's booth, the teenager spotted Miss Heavenbound approaching her. For a split second the brown-eyed beauty considered the option to hide. After all, she was already so drained with today's encounters. With yet another sigh, she opted to sit calmly and at least hear the teacher out.

"Akali, can I have a word with you?" the platinum-haired woman asked, still being a couple of steps away from the girl.

"Yes," Akali replied instantaneously, standing up.

"Come with me, please," Kayle said simply, turning right.

Rogue allowed herself to sigh silently once again before closing the gap between her and the teacher. It took her at max a couple of seconds to appear at the left side of the Rockstar.

"What do you need of me?" the girl asked. The exhaustion could be felt in her voice.

"Would you like to help me with something?" Kayle opted not to answer the question directly.

"It depends," Akali started. "We have less than an hour left before the match begins, so… I am only able to help you for that little of time that is left," she added.

"I think it's more than enough," a second later the woman replied.

"Miss Heavenbound… what do you need my help with?" the teenager repeated her question.

"Oh… it's a simple task that I have a feeling you'll end up liking," once again the teacher avoided a direct answer.

"That means?" Akali inquired.

"Oh, I'd love you to help me with keeping the spectators entertained while your opponents are still on their way here," Kayle uttered in a stoic tone.

"Ok," Rogue responded with a hint of hesitation in her voice. "How do you plan to keep them entertained, Miss?" she wanted to know.

"It's quite easy, to be frank," the platinum-haired woman nonchalantly replied. "I think that playing a couple of songs would be enough. Would you mind playing the guitar while I'll be singing?" she asked a moment later.

"Ehhh… it would be an absolute honour for me, but Miss… I do not have a guitar here. So, I am forced to deny your request sadly," the raven-haired girl uttered quietly, lowering her head slightly out of embarrassment.

"Oh… I must inform you that it won't be a problem," Kayle nearly instantly replied, giggling a little.

"What… wait… how?" the surprised brown-eyed beauty mumbled.

"I met your legal guardian on the stands," the teacher started. "She heard my conversation with the headmistress and offered help," she added mysteriously.

"Ok… but, it still does not solve the problem with the lack of the guitar," Akali pointed out.

"Oh, silly me," the blue-eyed Rockstar chuckled softly. "I must have forgotten to say that the guardian of yours bought you the guitar and had it in her expensive car," she continued to chuckle.

"Ughh… that explains quite a lot," the girl murmured, scratching her nape. "But… wouldn't you need more than one guitarist?" she asked shyly.

"Oh, but of course," the teacher replied. "I've already recruited your friends while you were dealing with Fiora, pardon, Miss Laurent," she added, sticking her tongue out a little.

"What about their equipment then?" Rogue asked.

"Don't you worry about that, the girl of little faith," Kayle allowed herself to joke. "I have the drums and the guitar already prepared for them," she uttered in a normal tone a moment later. "The only problem was with you, but your sexy guardian proved to be handy there."

"Well… what do you want me to play then?" Akali asked another question that was bothering her mind.

"How about you showing off your skills firstly?" the platinum-haired Rockstar taunted. "In the meantime, I'll choose the songs we'll be playing. Deal?" she asked.

"I guess," the teenager replied, scratching her nape. "Still… is that guitar even tuned correctly? What about the amp, what about the strap, what about the rest of the equipment?" she continued to ask.

"Your sexy-ass guardian get you covered," the blue-eyed teacher chuckled. "You have everything prepared and ready for you to show off your skills."

"Yeah, that sounds like Evelynn," the raven-haired girl replied with a softness hearable in her tone.

Akali did not even notice when they entered the other part of the stadium. The realisation of that minor – in her opinion – fact, hit her when she hurt her toe on the stairs. She swallowed the curse and continued to follow the Rockstar.

"Where are we going?" after a couple of moments of silence, the girl dared to ask.

"We're just going to grab what we need then there is a decently-sized platform above us where we could safely play," the teacher provided the explanation in an instant.

"Oh, I see," the teenager responded after a few seconds of hesitation.

After that short exchange, the silence fell upon them once again. The only sounds that accompanied them were the sounds of their boots clicking on the stone floor. Akali was still following the lead of Kayle, so she allowed her mind to drift off to some extent. After all, the way they were currently following was not that difficult to remember.

After a couple of next moments, the teacher suddenly stopped. If not for the excellent reflex of Rogue, she would, without a doubt, bump into the older woman.

"I am sorry, Miss Heavenbound," the girl uttered a quiet apology.

"What? What are you apologising for?" the surprised woman asked immediately.

"I… I have nearly bumped into you, Miss," she responded, lowering her head.

"Akali, stop, please," the Rockstar giggled. "You're too cute for your own good. You can't be that adorable all the time," she continued to giggle.

"Pardon?"

"Sorry, kid," the platinum-haired woman said. "I cease to forget that you're not used to such behaviour," she provided an additional explanation. "Let's just pretend that what I said a moment ago, didn't happen at all, shall we?"

"Ok," Rogue agreed with slight hesitation.

In the next few moments, they entered the spacious room where some instruments were stored. The girl nearly instantly spotted the guitar case that looked exactly alike to the one she showed Evelynn a couple of weeks ago.

"Is it what I think it is?" the raven-haired teenager asked with her lips slightly agape.

"But of course, darling," the voice of the lawyer reached her ears from a close distance.

"Eve?" the girl squeaked, placing her right hand on top of her chest. "Don't you dare to do that again, I nearly had a heart attack," she added in a slightly risen tone. "Do not do this again!" she demanded.

"Darling, darling, darling, it'll probably never cease to amaze me," the magenta-haired woman stopped resting onto the nearest wall and began walking toward her protégé. "I must agree with Miss Heavenbound in one matter… you're too adorable for your own good," she chuckled, cupping the chin of the girl with tenderness.

"Eve!" Akali pouted before blushing hard. "Why are you always try to tease me?" she asked with accusation in her voice. "It is not funny," the girl whined loudly.

"Oh…," Eve gasped. "I think I finally found your weakness, dear," she giggled with a mischievous smile playing o her kissable lips.

"You are the worst!" the brown-eyed beauty pouted, turning around.

"Easy, easy," the teacher uttered with a small smile. "You'll have a hell lot of time later for your fighting," she added. "But… for now, let's focus on the task ahead of us."

"Fine, Miss Heavenbound," Rogue sighed heavily. "Miss told me that the guitar is already tuned, is that true?" she asked Evelynn in a quiet tone.

"How do you think, darling?" the lawyer asked, gently turning around the girl to face her. "Hmmm?"

"I assume that you already dealt with every possible nuisance," Akali simpled replied.

"Well… as you predicted, your instrument is ready for you," the siren smiled broadly. "The question is whether you're ready to play for us… to play for me," she asked, knowingly putting additional emphasis on the last few words. "I can't wait for your performance, darling," the diva playfully whispered.

"Ehhh… I… I… I think so, I guess," the raven-haired beauty mumbled.

"Any recommendation of what to play?" Rogue asked as soon as she regained her composure.

"Whatever you feel like playing," Kayle replied in a rich tone, shrugging nonchalantly. "Don't feel pressured to play something difficult just to show off," she added quickly. "I know that you're talented, but… I'd assume that you didn't have that much time to learn."

"Ok… I think I have already come up with the right idea," the young woman uttered quietly.

"Would you mind sharing what's in that pretty head of yours, darling?" Evelynn uttered in a purr-like manner out of a sudden.

"Miss Smith!" Kayle rose her voice slightly. "Don't be ridiculous! You can wait a couple of moments more, can't you?"

"Ehhh… yes, I can," the magenta-haired woman replied with a sigh. "Good luck, baby," she said to Akali.

"Thanks, I feel like I will need it," Rogue responded with a shy smile. "You can go, I will be ready just in a few moments," she added.

"I know girl," the Rockstar replied simply, tilting her head to the side. "I need to change my outfit too, so be a good girl and hurry up!"

"Ok… ok," the teenager responded, taking the guitar case right away.

"Is the amp already on the platform?" Akali asked her legal guardian.

"Of course, darling," Eve uttered simply, nodding. "Come, let me help you with the preparation for your debut," she added playfully.

"Eve!" the raven-haired girl whined.

Present times:

Evelynn's POV:


As soon as the brown-eyed teenager finished the fragment of her story, the silence fell upon them. The golden-eyed living goddess used that moment to her advantage and enforced her hug, trying to comfort her protégé. Akali did not waste a single moment and took the given opportunity, burying her face in the crook of Evelynn's neck. The moment she did so, the rhythm of her heart calmed down.

"Thank you," the teenager said with gratitude after a slow exhale. "Thank you for being here… for me," she added a moment later.

"You're welcome, darling," the diva whispered back, running with the finger of her left hand through Akali's hair. "You want to take a nap?" she asked a few moments later.

"Why do you ask?" Rogue wanted to know.

"You had quite a day, I'm just concerned about you. I don't want you to stress yourself out," the lawyer provided a short answer.

"Nah… I am fine," the raven-haired girl tried to convince her guardian, but a sudden pain in her left leg made her hiss. "Auch," she said through her clenched teeth.

"I won't say 'I told you,' but, please take it slow," Evelynn whispered with concern.

"What is wrong with my leg?" the brown-eyed teenager wanted to know.

"That's part of the yesterday's events, unfortunately," the magenta-haired lawyer sighed. "Do you want me to call the doctor or nurse?" she asked, the exhaustion visible on her pretty face.

"Nah, I will handle that," the young beauty assured the guardian with a shy smile. "My priority now is to find out what happened yesterday," she added. "Eve, please, help me go through that process," the girl pleaded the living goddess.

"Fine…," the diva sighed once again. "But, under one condition."

"What is that condition?" the raven-haired teenager asked shyly.

"If you're in pain, you'll tell me that immediately," the siren replied nearly instantly. "I don't want to see you in pain," she added, tenderly creasing the check of the latter. "Agree?"

"Yeah, I will tell you as soon as it happens again," the teenager agreed with a nod.

"Splendid," Evelynn uttered cheerfully. "So… what do you want to know?"

"What happened next?" the girl asked immediately. "I have only shattered images of the next scenes inside my mind," she explained.

"Oh, I think it'd be an utter waste of time for me to tell you how the whole setup looked like," the magenta-haired woman allowed herself to chuckle a little.

"Eve!? You have promised," Akali pouted slightly.

"Oh, shhh," the golden-eyed woman silenced the latter. "I can assure you that nothing interesting happened there," she smiled. "I was teasing you constantly and you… were adorable blushing and stuttering alternatively. That's all it was in fact," the lawyer provided an extended explanation.

"Ehhh…," the brown-eyed girl sighed heavily. "It sounds as if it could be the truth. I have no reasons not to believe you. So… let's omit that part of yesterday's events, shall we?"

"I'm more than happy to oblige," Evelynn replied with a quick wink.

"So… what happened next?" the girl wanted to know. "I would assume that I played something, how did I do?"

"Not so fast, darling," Eve pointed out. "I'd like to tell you the story of your performance in detail," she added.

"So," the teenager sighed. "It was an utter failure."

"I wouldn't call that a failure," the magenta-haired lawyer responded. "Just hug me tighter and listen to the story, you brat," she allowed herself to tease the injured girl for a little more.

"Come on," Akali protested loudly. "Tell me already," she demanded.

"Fine, fine, fine," the siren began to giggle.

Flashbacks:

Akali's POV:


"Good luck, honey," the diva said, leaving the platform slowly. "Remember, they'll be there any minute, so if you want to test something out, you have little time left," she pointed out.

"Ok, I know," Rogue replied instantly. "Just go and enjoy the show, I guess."

"I'll, I'm pretty sure of that," the magenta-haired goddess replied with a broad smile. "By the way, you still haven't told me what you're going to play," she brought up the topic once again.

"Nor I intent to do so," Akali replied back with a mischievous smile. "You will have to wait a bit longer and find out with everyone," she added sweetly.

"You little shit," the golden-eyed vixen joked.

"I told you that a hundred times already," the brown-eyed beauty chuckled. "I am your little shit, not someone's else, and to me, that is a huge difference. And now, please be gone!"

"Fine, fine, fine," the diva replied while giggling. "Can I have at least a smooch on the cheek?"

"Eve!" the so-called 'ninja' whined loudly. "Go already!" she uttered in a low voice.

The only response the brown-eyed girl got was a mischievous smile that was flashed by the siren.

"See you soon," Eve added before leaving.

To say that the girl was nervous would be an utter understatement. She was shaking from her feet up to her head. Of course, she did perform for small groups of people in the past. But… that was far from what she has ever done. Time after time, the young woman tried to regain her composure, to calm down. Wasn't that strange that Akali –always so perfect of her abilities – was losing her mind over a test of her skills? Not at all, I would say. As you might already know, the raven-haired teenager could wear a mask that hid her true self. Still, the only person who she could not fool with that trick was herself.

"Come on, come on!" she was repeating under her breath. "You can do this, Akali. It is nothing more than another test, another way to prove that you get what it takes to be the best," she tried to convince herself.

For the brown-eyed girl, it seemed as if the time completely froze. She seemed to be in the centre of some events that were bigger than very. Akali felt so small, so fragile, so worthless. There were no chances that her performance would be a good one. With every single passing moment, the girl was drowning herself more and more with the negativity. It was all too known to Rogue that she would fail in the very end if she allowed that process to last.

Then, out of a sudden, the beautiful face of her legal guardian appeared inside her mind. The young woman could easily spot the broad smile playing on Evelynn's plump lips. She could see the proudness playing in these orbs of molten gold. That was what she needed. The girl needed something to push her forward. Even if she had more time, she doubted that she would come up with a better reason to win over her fears. After all, it was not a secret that Akali would do anything to please Evelynn, to make her proud of her.

"Fuck it!" the raven-haired beauty cursed under her breath. "I am going to make it work!" she promised to herself.

Akali was determined to fulfil what she promised. With the image of the living goddess still before her eyes, she firmly grabbed the neck of the guitar. Within moments, she started to play. There was no point in wasting any more time, she had already wasted more than she should.

One might think that the brown-eyed girl would start with something slow, something not that complicated to play. And here, that person would be surprised. For the very first song, the so-called "ninja" opted for the legendary track of Megadeath, Tornado of Souls. Within seconds the stadium started to be filled with the heavy sounds of Akali's guitar. Rogue was a little bit surprised as soon as it happened. Still, it appeared that her amp was connected to the sound system of the building.

"So far so good," the teen acknowledged with a small smile halfway through the song. "Still, the difficult part is just up ahead," she thought about the guitar solo that was widely considered as one of the best. "Ehhh… let's do it," she sighed.

The apex point of the track began maybe a few moments later. Akali allowed herself to close her eyes right before she started to cover the solo. She needed that to fully calm down. Everything that was happening around of her needed to be discarded, marked as points of possible distract. Every single ounce of her was focused on that short period that was about to begin.

Present times:

Evelynn's POV:


"Oh… I remember that," Eve exclaimed with a small smile. "You nailed that song, I must admit I was impressed, what I'm saying, I'm still impressed. Good job, darling. I'm so proud of you," the golden-eyed goddess added with proudness filling her voice.

A tender kiss was placed at the teen's forehead in the form of some kind of reward.

"Thanks," the girl quietly replied. "I was so nervous, you know? I felt like I was about to fail," she confessed a moment later.

"Hmm," the diva hummed. "I'm more than certain that you had conflicted feelings about that performance. However, you did phenomenally, and over time, you were more and more confident in your skills. I can assure you about that," the woman provided an explanation.

"Thanks, again," the raven-haired girl replied with a bit more confidence in her voice. "Aghh," she whined a moment later, reaching to the side of her head. "It hurts," she added in a hurt voice.

"I know, darling. You were hit not only on your leg but… also on your head," she added.

"How? What else I do not remember?" the so-called 'ninja' asked, still massaging the injured area.

"It happened much later," Evelynn started. "To be frank, it happened at the very end of your match," she provided another piece of information.

"Ball hit, or someone missed and accidentally stroke me?" Akali wanted to know.

"I'd really love to confirm your guesses, but sadly, it was intentional," the lawyer whispered back.

"What happened then, I need to know!" the teenager demanded.

"Calm down, Akali," the magenta-haired woman rose her voice slightly. "Can't we just talk about something more pleasant than that event?" she asked. "Honey, I'm more than sure that you want to know everything, but maybe… we could postpone that for little more?" she offered, but inside these orbs of molten gold, Rogue saw a silent plead.

"Why…, fine," the brown-eyed beauty gave up, sighing heavily. "What do you want to talk about then?" she asked, hanging her head lower than previously.

"How about," the magenta-haired goddess started, cupping the chin of the latter. "How about you allow me to tell you how wonderful you were performing alongside members of Pentakill? Hmm… what do you think about that?" she used her seductive tone to emphasise the offer.

"Wait… what? Did you just say that I was playing alongside Pentakill?" the shocked girl wanted to know.

"Haha…," Evelynn started to giggle. "It isn't like you spent at least a couple of dozens of hours with one of the members of that band," the woman allowed herself to chuckle.

"How?" the so-called 'ninja' squeaked, surprised.

"You honestly didn't know that Kayle is the 'Kayle' of Pentakill?" Eve asked with slightly wider eyes. "I thought that it was obvious, but it seems that not so much," she made a comment.

"You are kidding me right now? Please, tell me that you do," Akali heng her head low, pleading. "Am I that stupid not to recognise her?" she asked.

"Not really," the golden-eyed woman tried to cheer up her protégé. "She doesn't really look like on their concerts and video clips. I'd say that she masked herself pretty well," she added with a small smile.

"Still, she somehow managed to fool everyone in the school!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Not everyone, but most of the people, to be perfectly honest, only Fiora knew exactly who Kayle really was," the diva continued to giggle. "Shall I tell you the story or you want to continue asking questions?" she asked with a wink.

"Please, do tell," Akali uttered.

Flashbacks:

Evelynn's POV:


Akali kept playing for at least half an hour. Over time, the people began to fill up the seats on stands. It was honestly one of the best moment of the life of the siren. All around her, her protégé's peers were utterly shocked when they finally found out who was performing. Evelynn needed to admit that she was so proud of Akali in that very moment. With a wide smile playing on her lips, she continued to watch the performance.

Soon enough, the sound of the guitar faded away. The silence fell upon the stadium.

Maybe a couple of moments later, the mic's sound could be heard all over the building.

"Sorry kiddos," the rich voice sounded. "I'm afraid that I need to steal the show of that pretty fucking awesome girl that was shredding all over the guitar. As AC/DC once said 'for those about to rock, we salute you,' right now, I'm saluting that kid," the feminine voice continued.

"For the record," the woman sounded after a couple of moments. "If someone still didn't recognise me, I'm Kayle, and we're Pentakill!" she growled.

The roar that exploded all around the stadium was incredible. Of course, it took a couple of prolonged moments for the people sitting on stands to process the information. However, once dealt with, they welcomed the metal band with applauses, roars, shouts, and chantings.

"Oh… did I hear it right, you're guys eager for us to entertain you?" Kayle started to taunt. "Anyways, we didn't plan on playing anything today, but this chick of yours has a metal heart. And to celebrate it, we're going to play with her as our support,' the Rockstar continued her speech. "Are you ready?"

Another roar resounded. Many students rose up from their seats and started to clap. They were definitely in the mood for the show.

"Eager you are, fucking awesome!" the singer screamed. "But enough of that bullshit. Look at the platform, we're here to play!"

When Evelynn averted her gaze from her phone screen, she located the musicians without any problems. Even from such a distance, it was evident that Akali did not know how to behave. Would anyone blame her for such actions, Nah, after all, she would play side-by-side with some of her idols.

"Oh… I can see that our smoking-hot chick has a bit of jitter," the singer allowed herself to chuckle. "Kiddos, give me a favour, chant for her for a moment. It seems she needs a bit of encouragement. The bitch has fire, you guys just need to reignite it," she said toward the crowds.

As everyone might expect, the people all around the building did what the famous Rockstar wanted them to do. Still, it was not as loud as eager like a couple of moments earlier, but the crowd definitely wanted to please the singer.

To Akali, the support that was shown by her peers was priceless. With every single second, she felt more and more confident. She started to feel as if she could climb the highest mountains both in reality and figuratively. Soon enough, she lifted her head higher. She stood proud amongst these legends.

"Damn good job, guys!" Kayle complimented the crowd. "Our iron chick is back," she exclaimed loudly. "Are you ready for something from our newest album? Are you ready for the 'Tears of the Goddess' and 'Mortal Reminder'?" the platinum-haired singer asked on top of her lungs.

The band did not wait for any kind of response. Instead of it, the opening riff of 'Tears of the Goddess' filled the air instantly. Before Kayle began singing, she dragged Akali to the very edge of the platform. With the left arm wrapped around the girl's neck, the singer fully focused on the song. The voice of the platinum-haired woman indeed sounded way better currently than on pre-recorded video.

Rogue was in distress. One part of her wanted to run away as far as she possibly could, while the other one wanted to give that utter chaos a shot. To be perfectly frank, she had little to none choice. After all, the arm of Kayle wrapped around her prevented her from taking even a single step back. So… in the end, all she could do was to play the best could. With yet another heavy sigh, the raven-haired girl joined the rest of the band during the song.

The time seemed to be flying faster than usual, or it seemed that way to Akali. She could swear that just a moment ago, she began to play the very first notes of 'Tears of the Goddess,' but in reality, the band already finished both of the announced songs. For the brown-eyed teen, it was a shock. She was so stressed that she seemed to entirely lose any semblance of a sense of time. Everything that was going on looked as if played on double speed.

"Fuck yeah!" the platinum-haired singer stated after a moment or so. "This rookie is fucking unbelievable, don't you agree?" she asked the observers.

For the response, she did not have to wait too long. A mere moment later, the crowd roared in delight. "Yeah, that's what I think as well," the frontwomen commented. "How about a little challenge for the 'rookie'? What would you say if I ask her to play 'Deathfire Grasp' opening riff solo?" she referred to the people situated on the stands.

"Wait… no…no…no," Akali began to stutter. "I am fine with just playing alongside you, Miss Kayle," she added quickly, gesturing.

"Nonsense!" Kayle stated. "Come on, 'Deathfire Grasp' it is," she demanded.

With yet another heavy sigh, Akali adjusted her amp to fit the song. She could feel her hands began to sweat extensively once again. She swallowed a gulp that formed inside her throat. In a matter of seconds, all the excuses to postpone the beginning of the song were depleted. With nothing else to do, she began. The sound of heavy and fast riff soon could be heard all over the place. Surprisingly, the brown-eyed teenager performed better than she anticipated. Still, she felt as if everything that she played was at most mediocre, decent, nothing great.

Akali did not even notice when the mentioned riff was extended to the sole then to the full song.

"Damn! The rookie is on fire. Indeed she is," the platinum-haired singer made a comment on Rogue's performance. "Tell me, chick," she referred to the girl. "Would you mind playing for me 'The Suffering' out of Coheed and Cambria's repertoire? Or you don't have guts to do so?" the frontwomen taunted the young woman.

"I will… I will… I will do it," the so-called 'ninja' managed to mumble after a couple of tries.

"Freaking awesome!" Kayle roared to the mic. "Did you hear that, crowd? We're having a blast."

Present times:

Akali's POV:


"What happened next?" Akali wanted to know.

"Oh… darling," the diva tenderly chuckled. "You did better than phenomenally," she allowed herself to giggle a little. "You were a sight to behold… although that football uniform decreased your sex appeal level. But hey, you were still one of the hottest chicks there."

"Eve!" the blushed girl whined loudly.

"Shhh," the siren silenced her protégé. "All I said is true, you can accept it or deal with it," she taunted.

"Whatever," Rogue gave up. "Still, I want to know what happened next, with details, please," she demanded.

"Ehhh," the lawyer sighed. "All the rest are mere details with little to none importance," the woman added playfully. "If you really want I can tell you everything, but maybe… both of us should take a short nap before heading home? How does it sound, my dear Rogue?" she made a proposition.

"It sounds about right," the teenager responded with a broad smile playing on her lips.