THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER. THIS FANFIC IS BOTH FUN TO READ AND WRITE, SO MUCH THAT I DECIDED TO MAKE ANOTHER CHAPTER.

DON'T MIND ME LET'S GET TO IT.

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9:30, Institute's armory / Morning hours.

Kidd had a lot of things in his life that he hated. For starters, royalty, and most of all, Demacian royalty…That fake mannerism, such a high standard type of life he could not even tolerate being close to, it was something he despised.

Then, egocentric people. People that could not for the life of them stop talking about themselves. People that only looked out for their own neck and nothing else.

And somewhere within that list, gunshots held a high number.

Anything regarding it, the weapon, the sound, the impact or the pain. Gunshots were the worst for Kidd, thanks to his sensible ears since birth. They meant chaos, nothing good, and probably the death of somebody.

And gunshots was exactly how he would describe the woman in front of him.

"You didn't deliver my powder, Kidd! What's up with that? I thought you loved me the most!"

Holding a machine gun in her slim arms, a blue haired mad woman shot countless rounds into the multiple targets around the Institute armory. Her braids flew around behind her back thanks to the bullet force and, even though she wasn't even looking at the targets, it appeared as if she had perfect aim with the machine gun.

He'd call her pretty, if her eyes weren't literally trying to bore holes into his body.

"Er…I had some new clients on the line, and y'know how I deal with new clients…" Kid stood on the side, plenty far away from the guns while he pretended to clean nothing in specific. They weren't the only ones there, truth be told. In the next booth, they had a Yordle shooting cannonballs at multiple targets. They inherently exploded when she destroyed them, for some strange reason. And also Tobias, better known as Twisted Fate, was deeply focused as he threw cards that somehow also destroyed targets, perhaps because of magic.

"Oh yeah. You used to treat me so well before? I wonder what happened? It's not me it's you?"

"I got to learn the real Jinx only after I made her my client. Classic relationship mistake"

Jinx cackled at his words, ditching the machine gun and throwing it to the ground. From seemingly nowhere, she took out a normal pistol, painted black with red letters that wrote: Jinx,

"You're cute for that, but…I pay quite well!" she stated, and stopped shooting at the targets behind her, "Don't I?" Suddenly, her eyes centered on him, turning cold and heavy with…something Kidd couldn't quite pin point.

"Y-Yeah, but…" Jinx lifted her pistol, a heavy, dark modified simple .11 round gun, and aimed it at Kidd's face.

"Don't I?" She interrogated, the tip of her pistol close to Kidd's forehead, forcing him to step back and push his back against the wall.

The plan was merely to play with him for a little, nothing too drastic, if only in revenge for not delivering her powder yesterday like it was agreed. Kidd had actually come here to apologize, so she'd let him go with only a small prank on him.

Unfortunately, her tactics backfired, and Kidd wore a face of anger and annoyance towards Jinx

"Look, if you want to do business with me, you better do it on nicer terms. I don't want to have a gun pointed at my face if I can help it, so fuck off and find yourself another smuggler. If you try to expose me to the Institute, remember I have a few things I could expose as well" Kidd stomped off, removing himself from her pistol hold and then slamming the armory door on his way out.

Jinx just stared at the scene unfolding, unable to process what just happened. It was meant to be just a prank, but now Kidd had actually sent her flying. Damn. Kidd was sensitive…it was only a gun to ya' face, nothing terrible.

"Might as well apologize, idiot punk" On the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her arch enemy Caitlyn, shooting sniper rounds into far away agents, "You do realize you can't kill other people while in Institute grounds?" She added, scoffing before turning around to concentrate on her shooting once again.

Jinx merely shrugged and sent her the middle finger. No way she'd apologize. She was Powder.

And Powder never apologized.

40 minutes later, Institute Library.

"Please keep quiet in the library!" A teenager girl with brown clothes and hair, plus golden skin berated people around for the third time in a row as she tried to concentrate on the book in her hands, "Nasus, send them off!" She pleaded, quite annoyed. Her cheeks were red from the anger, but she was too cute to come off as intimidating.

"Oh please, Taliyah. This is as quiet as Jinx will ever get, let it be…" The older man, a dog-humanoid, merely dismissed the teenager's worries before going back into his book.

And he was right. A while ago, Kidd had arrived into the library without saying anything to anyone, and with a sour expression on his face. Nasus wasn't one to pry, so he'd let it be. A few minutes later, Jinx had come in as fast as a leopard, waving at both Nasus and Taliyah before jumping on top of the unsuspecting janitor, who yelped in surprise.

Jinx had been a blur of apologies ever since, bothering Kidd as he cleaned up the library, dusting off books and brushing corners out of dirt or webs.

"Get off me already, I get it!" Kidd screamed as silently as he could, trying to fight off Jinx's arms to no avail. As frail as they may look, she was at least five times stronger than him, "There's a clogged sink, so I need to get going!"

"'I forgive you, Jinx' Say it! I want you to say it, or I won't be satisfied!" The blue haired woman was laughing, using both of her arms to hook herself to Kidd's neck, forcing him to drag her around or fall with her to the floor, "You are my favorite dealer, please don't break up with me!" She faked her tears, laughing as she did so. This was hilarious to everyone involved, except Kidd. And Taliyah.

The only reason he didn't outright shout her away was because her apology sounded genuine.

"I thought Powder never apologized?" Kidd tried, turning around so he could face the woman instead of fighting against her. She immediately pulled herself and closed in on his face, with her nose almost tipping his own.

This was such a normal occurrence now, that Kidd didn't even blush.

"Jinx does" She said, with a devilish smile on her face and expectant eyes. The kid inside of her,

It was clear that she wanted her apology received correctly. Kidd was adamant about it, because he hated guns, he really did, "Come on, you can't even die while in the institute. I just did it to mess with you"

"...I can die, you champions and summoners can't, but I can" He gulped dry, "I don't even know if I should be telling you this, but Janitors don't receive such blessed magic from the Institute Higher ups" He cursed under his breath, and attempted to remove himself from Jinx's hold once again, to no avail.

"Okay, that's fucked up" She blew a strand of blue hair away from her face, and this time her comment didn't prompt laughter out of her, "Fuck higher ups, yeah?" Kidd could only smile in return, nodding and sharing her sentiment.

"Fuck them, for sure. Now let me go, I won't run away" Being someone that appreciated personal space, Kidd attempted to ask and for once, Jinx followed through. But not before closing her almost almost fully and looking at him with suspicion. Once she deemed his words true, she let go.

"Am I forgiven?" She twirled on her own heel, and Kidd rubbed his sore neck for sometime before reincorporating.

"Will you do it again?"

"I will not"

"Really now?"

"Pinky promise!" Jinx lifted her hand and offered her pinky to Kidd. The guy had to swallow his cringe away.

"...Fine" He took hold of her pinky finger with his own and squeezed lightly, bringing their hands up and down twice while he did so. Jinx physically beamed at the interaction, "I forgive you, but stop vandalizing my room"

Taking her hand back, Jinx cackled, "I never agreed to that!" And with that, she bolted away once again, happy to be forgiven. Kidd merely fixed his clothes before letting out a huge sigh. Dealing with Jinx was far more draining than running two marathons in a row.

"Finally silence!" On his side, the teenager Taliyah, Shiruma's mage, celebrated, "Janitor, if you are going to flirt with that mad woman, please do so at the correct location. Not the library!" Kidd sweat dropped and frowned. Damn teenagers.

"Why? Are you jealous?" He jested back and the ever stoic Nasus for once let out a small chuckle. Taliyah found her face turning a bit red with embarrassment, and Kidd pushed his cleaning cart out of the library before getting mauled by two pieces of sharp rock flying his way.

Exiting the library, he started making his way to the lobby. Some institute guest had clogged the bathroom, and even though that was gross, it still meant it had been a normal human being, and not a void creature like Kog'Maw and its usual bout of diarrhea. Or Garen…

Ew.

So walking through the myriad of people coming or going around the hallway, he managed to reach the looby soon enough.

In the middle of the place, huge commotion.

"Get off me right now, or I swear you shall face the sword of justice, right up your ass!"

"Not before you give me that dress, it is mine, sister! Your boobs are too small for it anyway!"

"Now you've done it…"

Chaos, caused by the angelic sisters, Morgana and Kayle. He knew both of them, Kayle back when he had the gym assigned for cleaning, and Morgana, from cleaning her personal kitchen when there had been an accident.

When he tried sneaking past them, a single dark chain found its way around his waist. Before he knew it, he was already unable to move.

"Kidd, such a delight to have you here. You are right on time, if you'd be so kind as to help me?" Ever the gracious woman, Morgana pulled her chain until he was inches away from him. Kidd had to gulp dry in return…Being between these two women while they fought was…not ideal.

"The dress is as mine as it is yours, sister! Kid, please have her reconsider" The flying angel Kayle, she was wearing casual baggy clothes and a hoodie. To anyone who didn't know her, they'd say she looked strange. Nowadays, it was clear her sense of fashion ranged from zero to nonexistent.

"I made the design and had Elise make it for me, therefore-"

"I convinced Elise to make it for you, and you know how demanding that woman is! So that dress is also-"

"But that dress doesn't even fit you, stupid woman! Think for a second, for your country's sake!" Morgana won the argument if it was defined by voice volume alone, and Kayle looked dejected at the comment.

Kidd, in between both angry women, could only sigh in return, mentally exhausted.

"Let's calm down for a second, shall we?" the orange haired guy tried to calm down the two angels, "How about we figure out motives? Let's go with you first, how's that?" He asked, his eyes looking straight towards Morgana. The gray skinned woman smirked, twirling once proudly before nodding.

"We shall"

"Then, are you mad at Kayle for taking your dress, or for the fact that she didn't ask for permission?" Knowing Morgana and the fact that at heart she was a twin, Kidd knew this could very well be something about privacy and respect rather than the dress itself.

"Mm…the later" She confessed, not troubled in saying her actual annoyance at the situation, "This woman believes she can barge into my room and take my clothes without me being there to let it happen"

"You wouldn't let it happen, regardless" Kayle tried interrupting but Kidd lifted his hand to stop her.

"You don't know that" The janitor stated and Morgana felt delighted at his words. Kayle was always quite condescending and sure of the image she had of others, and it was often a wrong image at the end, "So let's say she asked nicely, would you be angry right now?"

"I wouldn't be! Truly, I wish she'd be more respectful towards my privacy" The fancy woman huffed, crossing her arms below her chest to add emphasis.

"Ok! Then before going forward, you!" He turned around to look at Kayle, who even when on the exterior she looked quite imposing, reality couldn't be further away from the truth. She was a conflicted woman, with a lot of growth to do, "Why do you need a dress that you know it's not made for you?"

Kayle frowned, and remained silent for a little before growling once again.

"I was gonna have Elise fix it for me, momentarily" She stated, but her cheeks were red and eyes shy.

"Why not ask her for a new dress already? Why take mine?"

"B-Because there is no time…" Kayle tried hide herslef with her wings, but Morgana quickly held them in place with her magic,

"No time for what!?"

"I HAVE A DATE, O-OKAY!? I needed a dress…and it's tomorrow, so I ran out of options" The blonde angel finally confessed, with her eyes trying to bore holes not the ground.

"A…date? You?" Morgana questioned, dumbfounded, "with who—" Kayle shook her head in quick repetitions, and Morgana rephrased her question, "But…why not ask me? You barged into my room while I was in a battle, and took the dress without my consent!"

"Because I could not chance it. You would've said no and then-"

"I would've said yes, idiot!" Mogana interrupted her, exasperated, "I would've said yes. You've never gone on a date, it's like a miracle for me. Whoever got you might fix that strange brain of yours once and for all '' She let out a huge sigh and then shook her head in denial.

The two sisters finally relaxed their shoulders, and Kidd felt a weight being lifted off him.

"Well then, ask for it correctly. Not hard, yeah?" Kayle made a face before she nodded, turning her face to look at Morgana directly, "Hold on! Not in front of me, it's embarrassing. C ya'!" The janitor bolted away, running for his cart and pushing it into the nearby bathroom door. He had better things to do than witnessing a cringey scene taking place.

Entering the bathroom, he stopped his cart, put on his cleaning gloves and got to work.

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Pool Zone, Institute grounds, 12:00 PM. Midday.

"Is this enough Clorine?"

"Pour some more, just to be sure"

Under the artificial sun on top of the Institute's pool, Kidd and a lower summoner had spent the best part of half an hour cleaning up a mess made by no one other than Twitch inside the main pool. Pristine clean water had turned into a putrid green liquid with toxic fumes coming up from it. Apparently, a casual prank for the rat.

"And now we drop this chemical accelerator, Viktor's courtesy" The summoner, a short woman no older than Kidd herself, carried a huge mechanically intimidating device, apparently capable of accelerating chemical reactions and increasing their efficacy by tenfolds.

"Do you even know how to turn this thing on?" Kidd questioned the girl while she used her magic to lift the device and put it into the pool.

The red haired summoner chuckled and quickly shook her head in denial.

"Kidd you've known me for years now" And he did, he's been acquaintances with this summoner for at least more than a decade. Meeting her all the way back to primary school, back in Demacia…back in that type of life he despised nowadays, "Of course I know how to handle these things!" She mentioned with a smile on her face.

Her name was Wendy Gilliard, from the Guilliard family in Demacia, one of the most powerful families around the country. She was cheerful but overly pampered as a child, she came out oblivious to the struggle others could have around the economy or general suffering. She was not a bad person per say, but ultimately, she was very much a spoiled kid from the City.

"Just like you knew how to activate a portal last weekend?" He retorted and the red haired summoner quickly pouted in return.

"Well at least I can use magic!" She crossed her arms and made a face. She knew Kidd's situation with magic, but sometimes the anger made her mind foggy.

All those years of seeing Kidd practice for the Wizard Exams, all for nothing…she still felt the sting.

"Fuck magic, I don't need it! And if I had any, you know I could open any portal I so much graced with my hand" Kidd replied back, startling the summoner from his tone. Perhaps the day had been a little bit exhausting already for Kidd. And his statement, it was one they both knew was true, and Wendy huffed back, turning her face away from his direction.

"S-Sorry…" At the end, the redhead summoner couldn't stand Kidd's stoic silence and apologized before flicking her wrist, magically initiating the device underwater.

"Whatever, I'm just a little tired, I shouldn't have shouted at you, poor little witch" Kidd smiled at the ginger and she pouted comically before nodding back to him. The machine was humming slowly and the green putrid water was slowly returning back to its normal colours.

They silently sat around the edge of the pool, watching as the machine did all the work for them. For Kidd, it was great silence. For Wendy, it was a bit awkward.

"Say…have you thought about…y'know" The summoner finally attempted, with both her hands playing with each other in overwhelming nervousness. It was hot, thanks to the sun above them, but she also felt heavy and sweaty inside as well.

Kidd stopped himself from grimacing visually and took a second to collect his thoughts.

He stood up and turned around to face her as he walked backwards, planning his escape. God, he had dreaded this encounter the whole week.

"Look, you and I together? I told you already, it is not going to work, Wendy" She made a face, but apparently she'd seen this coming already, "Your dad might kill you…or me, or both of us! And you are super cute, but…we are just too different, okay?" The ginger sighed, pursing her lips in frustration.

"It's just not fair, I've…I've liked you for years! I should've said something before but…after your dad-"

"I don't have a dad, Wen. We've talked about this, that man is not my dad" She grimaced. This wasn't where she wanted to take the conversation.

"Still! I... just want an honest answer, not all this crap about my dad or our families…do you like me or not? Is that such a hard question to answer?" She almost yelled, looking down to the ground in frustration.

Unfortunately for her, when she lifted her eyes, Kidd wasn't even there anymore. Wendy could only laugh bitterly, it was her own fault for cornering him this much.

Maybe next time…

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OUTSKIRTS OF THE INSTITUTE. 3:00 PM.

"Delivery for Kidd D' Leon~" Right outside the office, always at the exact same time, a magical blue bird appeared in the sky, singing a song not known to many but Kidd, which was his own delivery tone, "Delivery for Kidd D' Leon~" It sang.

Almost impossibly, held by her claws was a package twice the bird's size.

"Stop yelling! I'm right here, stupid bird!" Kidd on the other hand was down on normal grounds, imploring for the bird to stop calling his name. This wasn't discrete business with that parrot crying his name and delivery on the same sentence.

"Delivery for you, Mr. D' Leon! Thank you for being an outstanding customer of Mineral Co." The bird finally recognized him and started honing on him. For a second, Kidd thought the animal would crash on him, but it actually stopped a few centimeters away. Kidd reached up with his hands and the bird dropped his package on them, "TWO KILOGRAMS OF BLACK SEA POWDER, RIGHT OVER" Kidd cringed at its loud announcement, even though it was a usual thing now. He had been buying powder through this service for as long as he had had Jinx as a client, and their prices were perfect. The only bad thing was that stupid bird for delivery.

"Thank you, here is payment" He took a pouch of coins and lifted it up above the bird's head. It immediately opened its peak to impossible levels, and Kidd merely dropped the coins inside it. This was magic, so he didn't question it much.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR PREFERENCE, WE WILL BE WAITING FOR YOUR NEXT ORDER" The thing literally screeched and Kidd face palmed, annoyed. This day had proved to be quite challenging, even if he was done with anything cleaning related.

The bird finally took off and Kidd nodded to himself, satisfied. He'd separate a bit of the powder and give Jinx the rest, plus a bit more as compensation for missing out yesterday on his delivery.

Checking his little tablet, he had few requests today, mainly Gragas and Jinx, plus…a new request, from-ah, the garden. Zyrah. Maybe she was unable to grow the Drudanae? He'd have to go talk to her, because she'd not left any reason for the message or request.

"Do plants even use money?" He questioned the air as he walked back into the Institute and straight towards his room. The walls around it, he had already cleaned up. Jinx's vandalism was absolutely annoying, but she used materials that were easy to clean up. Kind of like a prank master.

Which Jinx probably thought she was.

Walking into the room and closing the door behind him, he clicked a button on the windows that made them one way only, so the people outside could not see him but he could. A smart device he made months ago.

Before any delivery, he'd take a well deserved shower.

So he took his clothes off and reached for a tower from his wardrobe, before making his way into the bathroom. If Kidd could be grateful about something inside the Institute, it was the fact that he had a bathtub and a decent bathroom altogether. A place to wash his hands, a fully functional toilet and a bathtub were things of luxury back in his childhood, more so when he got exiled from his family.

And that was a reason why he didn't have a response for Wendy ready. She had confessed almost a week and a half ago, but he had been adamant about it. Somehow she had convinced him to at least think it over, but it wasn't a decision he was keen on making. On one hand, he enjoyed his time with Wendy, but then on the other hand, she was far off reality herself at times. And, she still got along with what he would've called family years ago. D' Leon and Gilliard family had a history of rivalry and friendship, and it was one of the reasons why they met at such a young age.

Wendy still thought she could maybe bring him back and then have them reincorporate Kidd into the family, but it was something Kidd could not accept, no matter what. He was unfairly forsaken by them, and when he lived in the family, he was treated like utter garbage. So he had no desire to go back to those people, no matter how much Wendy fought him over it.

With the water running warm on his skin, the Janitor started humming to himself, deep in thought. Visiting Jinx would be his last stop, because crashing in her bedroom meant a lot of things and none of them quite enjoyable. She was hyperactive and friendly, and had a gazillion table games she'd sometimes force you to play.

At first, an annoyance. Now, he was happy to have the meeting once every week. Some games and laughs, even if it was with a mad woman.

Maybe…yeah, he would.

With a smirk, he finished showering and quickly got ready for his deliveries.

With an extra Ionian Bottle of Alcohol in hand.

One hour later, Institute Dorms.

"Another three and not even a single day has gone by, Kidd! Yer in a streak, aye!?" Belly fully open in view, hearty laugh, again it was Gragas the Drunk that he chose as his first customer of the day.

"Well, I have a good contact. I hope you never meet them" He joked and the fat man laughed again, taking the three bottles in one hand even when Kidd needed both his arms and chest to carry them.

"Here, three hundred gold. Ya' earned it" He coughed once before turning around, reaching for a very small cup, and then serving some of the Ionian alcohol, "And here, ya' need to try this monster! Can't believe you're missing out…" Kidd looked over the cup, perplexed. Unlike most alcohol, this one was bright purple, with bubbles that kept popping into mini stars, truly magical.

Having Gragas offer you alcohol wasn't an everyday thing, and he planned on opening one bottle tonight anyway, so he took hold of the cup and downed it in one go, making Gragas clap in the process.

"Fuck, that's it, Kidd!" He applauded and Kidd…he didn't feel much different. At all. Maybe the small burn of alcohol, but even that was quite minimal, "Shit hits your mana links like a trick, aye?" The Fat Man laughed, and Kidd only felt cold inside.

So that's why he felt nothing different. Because he had no mana…damn, what a kick in the balls.

"It's quite good" Kidd faked his enthusiasm, "This will help me get through the other deliveries, thank you!" Gragas merely laughed again before slamming his door closed. Kidd relaxed, put his emotions in check, and continued forward to his next objective.

10 minutes later, Institute Garden.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Kidd found himself in a strange situation as he tried speaking with seemingly a plant, a rose, but bigger. Much, much bigger. According to Zyra's message, he could ring the bell by speaking to the flower, but he had been doing so for a few minutes with no success at all. If someone were to catch him speaking to a plant…damn.

"Hmm, you finally arrived…" From behind him, a voice startled Kidd, making him jump in surprise. Deep, fancy voice and unique golden eyes, it was Zyra. Or it was Zyra but…strange looking. Wobbly, with the contour of her eyes reddish and puffy.

She seemed slightly out of her mind, and if Kidd didn't know better he'd even say she was…

"Are you…" High on Drudanae? "Okay? Zyra?" He stopped himself from asking stupid questions and the plant Queen giggled at his words.

"I have never been better, dear Janitor!" Her demeanor was…all over the place, and her vines too. They were moving a lot, chaotically so. No one other than Jinx for pranking called him dear janitor.

"So the Drudane was…a success?" He questioned, wondering why exactly Zyra had requested him. He didn't expect a vine to take hold of his hand and guide him closer to the woman. If it was Kidd's decision, he would stay a good few meters away from her. She was just too deadly.

But right now he felt…strange, like the air was making him lower down his defenses. Like maybe this plant wasn't…as scary as she usually was.

Then he realized the air was slightly pink and that pinkness was being shot on top of them by Zyra's plants. Oh no, this must be some type of pheromone…

"Oh, it was only fifty percent successful, but successful enough…come, I don't bite" The vine holding his wrist pulled him closer until she was face to face with the Jungle Queen Zyra, who was smiling. Her golden eyes shone bright and for once she looked…relaxed.

"W-What…" Zyra took his hand and the floor beneath them opened, vines joining forces to turn into stairs for them to descend, "I…I can't breathe when…" She placed a long finger on top of his lips to shut him up, and Kidd gulped dry. Maybe with another woman, this would be slightly enticing. But since it was the Thorn herself, now quite evidently high on Drudanae, this was quite scary.

"Fret not, I have made…arrangements for that" She mentioned, and started leading Kidd into her…den? House? Who knew, really. But it was dark, increasingly so as they delved deeper into it, until Kidd could no longer see anything except the glow of Zyra's eyes.

Finally stopping, the janitor felt as if they stopped descending, and instead they were walking forward. At one point Zyra stopped and hummed proudly.

"Welcome to my abode, how do you like it?" She questioned, and Kidd had to remain silent if only to not let any stupid thought come out of his mouth.

"I'm sure it's lovely, but I can't see anything…" He confessed and Zyra clicked her tongue, smacking herself on the face.

"I always forget how inferior humans are, always relying on their eyes to see…" She sighed before snapping her fingers once. Her trace of magic traveled around the place, and plants grew from the walls. When the plants opened up, their core shone bright, so bright it lit up the entire place.

"Woah…" Kidd wasn't surprised easily, a trait Zyra realized early. So she smiled proudly.

Indeed, this was an underground house, with vines covering the walls to stop the dirt from falling on top of them. The decoration was…strange, maybe it was just Zyra's tastes, but everything was regarding flowers. The ceiling had a wide selection of them. The floor, not many, probably because Zyra didn't want him stepping on them. There was no bed and no kitchen and literally nothing that could remind someone of humane life. But it was still a perfectly livable place. Not counting the lack of oxygen.

"Pretty, yes?" She questioned, and Kidd nodded twice in agreement, "I knew, I just like humans praising me" She giggled and Kidd realized the vine holding his wrist finally disappeared. Zyra trusted him enough to know he wouldn't dare do anything when inside her den, "And here, follow me"

Kidd nodded and walked behind her, noticing that around her waist, there were new colourful flowers. Pink, purple and…bright orange. And orchids, and a lavender smell.

"New attire? Looks good" He commented on the side, not really expecting a reply but needing to make conversation. Zyra looked back at him and smiled again, never stopping her walk but actually…swinging her hips a little bit more, pronouncing her hourglass figure.

Was he really feeling this way for a…plant? Jeez. Maybe that alcohol did something to him after all.

"I admit I find it great that you noticed, it took me a long session to find these flowers, and fitting them was no easy task either" Kidd knew. Those weren't easy to find, or easy to obtain. Or easy to grow…or easy at all, because some were pretty poisonous too.

"It's lovely…and this is…?" Reaching a certain section, it seemed as if light could not quite enter the place. As if magic…literally stopped it from coming in.

"This is where I attempted to grow Drudanae. By far, the most adamant and selfish plant I have ever held in my hands" She walked back and lifted her hand up to Kidd's face, "Allow me" Kidd gulped but nodded, and Zyra placed her palm on both of his eyes. Her hand shone bright for a few seconds, and Kidd could swear he could hear her chanting from her voice.

She removed her hands and suddenly things felt a little brighter. And when he looked at the dark part of the underground house, it was…dark still, but he could see. Somehow, someway.

"I've made it so you can see in the dark, it's a simple spell, don't think too much about it" She mentioned, gracious as ever, "Now, as you can see…" She giggled at her pun but indeed, he could now see the chamber. A place isolated from light, armored by thich vines. In the middle, soil and small green and purple petals. Drudanae, but like Zyra first mentioned, it was quite darker than normal, and less lively.

"Drudanae, out of only the petals? How?" He questioned, curious and Zyra internally smiled again, happy to answer any questions if it was regarding her beloved plants.

"Drudanae's seeds are smaller than what the human eye can usually catch, and they grow on its petals" She explained and Kidd whistled, "And they are also the most demanding of all flowers. Which is why I brought you here"

Perplexed, Kidd blinked twice before turning around to face her, "I know nothing about flowers though" Zyra giggled once again and shook her head in denial.

"I'm not asking you about flowers, idiot human. Drudanae requires constant contact with both darkness and a flow of magic that is related to dark matter" Kidd made a face and she sighed, "In other words, Drudanae only grows naturally in places closer to the void, do you understand?"

"So it's an impossible flower" He concluded and Zyra huffed, shaking her head in denial.

"Impossible for you maybe, but not for me. What I'm trying to say is…someone is able to grow this flower correctly, and either they are a master at the art, or they have access to a rupture of the Void. In either case, I'd like to meet them, and I'm requesting your services to make it possible" Zyra finally placed her cards on the table, and Kidd understood. Damn. She wanted to know his source directly…

He was about to come up with an excuse, but he remembered that in reality, Zyra wasn't his usual customer, and she wouldn't affect his Drudanae income as long as Gangplank didn't start getting his drugs from Zyra. And knowing the Thorn Queen, that was highly improbable.

"Mmm, I'd need to convince her to come meet you, or you can follow me and get to her" He concluded, "But you can't tell many people about this, she's a friend and I don't want people to start hunting her or something something…"

"I am not concerned with threatening, the only thing I want is to learn how exactly is she growing Drudanae, that's all" Zyra was all over the place, walking in circles, "They can manipulate darkness and dark magic at will, and make a constant flow for the Drudanae to grow with enough nutrients and magic…Even I can't replicate it, so I need to learn the process"

"Okay, okay, but first let's calm down" Kidd naturally placed a hand on her shoulder so Zyra would stop making circles around the floor, and she stiffened for a second before relaxing.

She watched him with suspicious eyes before humming in approval, "I never let humans touch me, but I'll make an exception. Consider yourself blessed" Kidd sweatdropped, but he nodded his head twice nevertheless.

"Okay, one more thing. If Gangplank asks-"

"I do not condone selling my babies for drug abusers, do not fret. I turn a blind eye to your service because it is not often"

"Fine, I'll arrange the meeting" Kidd finally agreed, sighing as he did so. This would be a hassle, but he hoped Zyra's ego would grant him a lot of money as payment, "Now if you don't mind…" He attempted to take his leave, but a vine held him in place.

Looking up, Zyra was looking at him with expectant eyes.

"I thought it was human tradition to stay and drink tea with the person that invited you to their abode. You wouldn't be such a disrespectful human, or would you?" Her tone was…jestful. Sarcastic, but invitational as well. She was offering tea for Kidd, but couldn't for the life of her ask the normal way.

Kidd looked at the time on his pad quickly and grimaced, it would be a little late and he still promised to deliver the powder today, But the Thorn Queen's eyes were excited, obviously having planned this moment carefully. The slowly decaying part of his heart that was soft squeezed and he decidedly accepted the invitation with a nod. Seeing Zyra silently beam up and nod back was a unique experience, so he deemed his actions the correct ones.

The queen of the jungle plants turned around and motioned to follow her, and he did so without hesitating.

Jinx could wait a little bit longer.

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6:00 PM, Institute Hallways. Sunfall.

Two hours. Two whole hours speaking with Zyra, Kidd never would've guessed. The Queen had knowledge, overflowing out of her about the story, and about biology, chemistry, botanic facts Kidd just would've never guessed. Once comfortable, she was far more talkative than what he had imagined. Zyra was witty, smart and well-spoken, and even though he was well aware that at one point she had desired to conquer the world and cover everything with her plants and vines, but now she had calmed down quite much. She had a strange sense of humor and an even weirder sense of superiority, but overall, she was someone you could spend hours talking to without getting bored or tired.

She was also quite confused of human traditions, and their mannerisms. The meaning of physical contact, the meaning behind feeling empathy for others and such things always went past her, even when she herself was a few centuries in age.

A surprise on its own level, was something that he should've seen coming. Zyra's ability to make tea was absolutely incredible, moreso as someone who did not quite enjoy tea as much as others. Hers was…just the perfect balance between bitterness and sweetness, and it was something you couldn't stop drinking. A given, once you realize she was literally the queen of all plants. At the end he had been reluctant to leave but needed to, and Zyra was also quite adamant on him leaving, but still, he thanked her for the tea and took to the exit.

And now he walked through the hallways to reach Jinx, with a relaxed pose. The tea and chit chat was really something he had needed for a long time. No reason for stress, just hanging out with someone else, it was quite nice.

Lost in thought, he didn't realize the moment he reached a strange looking, metal armor door. Engravings made through bullet shots, and a sign of WARNING: DO NOT TRESPASS hanging on the top.

This was Jinx's room, a hazard to mankind itself.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited for someone to open.

It took some time, which was already quite strange. Usually, you'd be received by hyperactive energy and manic laughter once you knocked on the door.

Now, the door opened slowly and carefully.

"Yeah?" And it was Jinx. The same blue hair, the same crazy eyes. But she was wearing a white tank top and baggy pants, and her face was so…not crazy and not Jinx, Kidd suspected something was wrong and it wasn't the lack of powder, "Oh, Kidd…"

"Hey, I came to deliver your Powder? One whole kilogram" He tried sounding enticing, hoping the sound of gun fuel would cheer her up, but she merely nodded and stepped to the side, silently inviting him to her little room.

It was filled with different posters of rock, guns and explosion pictures, plus some guitars, weapon blueprints and weird drawings.

Even then, the weirdest part of it all, was Jinx herself, acting completely unlike herself.

"Here's the money" She said after rummaging through a chest she had, filled with different stuff, including money. Then she threw the pouch of coins on the bed Kidd always decided to sit on, since Jinx had literally no chairs.

"Thanks.." He took the money and stashed it in his pants before turning back to Jinx, who was clearly a downer version of herself, "You…okay?" He asked, and Jinx cringed.

"Don't ask me, this is…uncool, just leave" The blue haired mad woman tried to dismiss the situation, but Kidd…was curious, if nothing else. And maybe he cared.

Just maybe, a little bit.

"No way, you are never like this. Come on, you were all over me this morning, what happened?" He tried again and Jinx lifted her eyes to look at him carefully, pondering her options, "Hey, my lips are sealed, you know it" She made another face of concentration before exhaling loudly and dropping her body next to him, on the mattress.

"Ah well, I'm…officially crazy, you know?" She exhaled hard and reached bellow her pillow. She took out a strange paper and gave it to Kidd.

Examining it, he grimaced.

Mental Health Justice Institution

In conjunction with the Department of Public Security of Piltover.

It is through this specified document and only after extensive tests and twenty four hour sessions of both careful watching and thoughtful therapy sessions, that we have come to the decision to label patient Powder (no last name) as officially and clinically insane.

In due regards, public department of Health, Piltover. 2nd St, 69901

Kidd, perplexed, could barely understand the message before finally deciding to rip the paper off.

"Hey! Why are you-" Kidd interrupted her by throwing the paper to Jinx's face. The blue haired woman merely dodged it to the side.

"So you're officially insane?" She made a face and nodded with her head, "So what? We knew this already" He concluded, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "What's changed?" His eyes showed no room for argument, and Jinx remained silent for a little.

"Well…"

"Nothing. Nothing's changed, Jinx. You are still here, a champion, I still sell you illicit powder, you still get to shoot that crazy cannon machine gun of yours. Nothing's changed" He sighed before continuing, "Look, when we first met you told me you were crazy. Now they are letting you know it's for real. So what? So long you don't harm me, I won't care if you're clinically crazy"

"It's just…a bit crazy, y'know?" She joked without realizing and Kidd laughed, forcing a surprise out of her. It wasn't usual that Kidd laughed at one of her jokes. Instantly, a small smile appeared on her face once again, "So you don't care?"

"I don't care about your insane status. So long you are okay, it's all the same to me, Powder" He mentioned as he chuckled and Jinx felt her chest tighten up a little. Not many used her real name, but Kidd often made it a habit to call her Powder.

"You…you are especially sweet today, are you falling for me!?" Suddenly, her eyes gained back their usual brightness, and she jumped on top of the bed with high agility to show the fact that she was sorta back to normal, "No can do, you are falling for these pistols!" She made pistol signs with her hands and shot imaginary shots at Kidd.

"Oooh yeah, for sure I'm falling…" Kidd added, with a ton of sarcasm. "Here is your powder, Powder" Jokes aside, he placed his backpack on the circular table she had in the middle of her room, a low height table made out of metal.

From it, he took a dark, leather pouch specially made to carry this type of material, and he placed it on the table, putting force in it so it made a loud sound when touching the metal table.

"Sweet!" Jinx exclaimed, excited. She loved the sound of new powder ready for her inventions, "Smells…unique" Opening the pouch, she could not help but take a whiff.

"It's the same as ever…they did mention they had upgraded the materials"

"Potassium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal…I'm sensing something else too…" She took a handful of powder and placed it on the table. How she managed to discern the material from one another without anything but her naked eye, was already unexplainable, "Diamond dust! Extra penetrability, thank you, Kidd!" Her eyes shone bright and after carefully putting the gunpowder back into the bag, she jumped towards Kidd, suddenly wrestling with him, "You are the best!" She said as her arms crossed around his chest and squeezed.

"There's more" Kidd attempted to remove himself from her hold, but a champion was always stronger than him, no matter how thin Jinx's arms looked.

"More?" She questioned, not remembering the time where Kidd would give anything extra for free.

Letting him free, the orange haired janitor reached for his back, and from it, he pulled out a bottle of bright purple liquid.

"We always hang out when I deliver your powder, so I thought…." Jinx blinked twice before realizing what the bottle was.

"Oh! Er, alcohol? Sure, I'm a party girl, I looove drinking" She played dumb, because in reality not many people, if any at all, ever, invited her to drink. Or to a party. Or invited her to anything.

"...Have you ever had a drink before?" Kidd questioned with a funny smile on his face. This was a new facet. A flustered mad woman.

"Pfft! Of course I have, I'm a master at this shit, bring it here" She quickly took the bottle from Kidd's face and opened it with her teeth, forcing Kidd to sweat drop and make a pan face. She didn't need to use her teeth, it was an easy to open bottle…

"Watch out, it's Ionian Alcohol. It can get you…pretty wild"

"Nah, it's cool" She dismissed his worries and took a good three gulps from the thing, immediately grimacing and making a face, "Shit, it's too bitter!" Kidd laughed. If this was bitter, then most alcohol was beyond her capabilities…

After a second, he realized the alcohol had no effect on her either.

"Do you feel different? You took three full hits of that stuff" He asked, and Jinx smiled proudly in return.

"Hell nah! I told you, I'm a master of drinking!" This was obviously a lie, and Kidd held in his surprise.

It…kind of made sense. Jinx never showed him magic. No showcase of mana, no…strange, weird and unexplainable abilities. Just her own prowess, and her mad genius and her weapons and perfect aim, but clearly no magic.

No effect from one of the strongest drinks in the realm confirmed it. She had no mana.

God, Kidd felt himself at home for once. Relaxed, finally someone who could relate a little bit.

"Sweet, hand me some of that, then" He said and Jinx obliged, but not by handing the bottle, rather by taking hold of his chin and lifting it up, aiming the tip of the bottle down to let Purple Magical Alcohol fall down into his throat directly.

"Fuck yeah!" She yelled in excitement, cheering as Kidd smiled while drinking. After a few seconds, she stopped, and Kidd drowned a long burp respectfully, "Oh you can burp, who cares!? I do it all the time!" She proceeded to demonstrate and Kidd grimaced.

"Jeez, I know. I'm showing decorum in front of a lady!" He joked, but it was also true. He'd do such types of things in front of girls, this was just the way he was raised, it was ingrained in his brain.

"Haaa! A lady!? Me!?" As if to make it more obvious, Jinx pointed towards herself, when Kidd nodded, she made a face, "Impossible. Ladies have…y'know, class. Boobs, a pretty face, immaculate hands…" She tried naming a few things that described her perspective of what a lady was, but she grew distracted when Kidd lifted his right leg up and rolled up his pants up to his knee.

She knew this was a thing, but Jinx had never seen Kidd's prosthetic leg. It was…quite complex in its model and features, of course since it was made by Viktorn himself.

"Sorry, this thing sometimes itches…do you mind?" He asked, motioning his knee. Jinx denied with her head, very curious. She took another gulp of alcohol and watched as Kidd clicked a button on the leg and the thing immediately detached off his…stub. It was…quite scary. Burnt scars she knew were from magical or physical damage, they ran deep and quite harsh. Kidd definitely lost this leg…the really painful way.

"How did you…" She tried, but then the clapping monkey toy at the back of her mind worked for once and stopped the words from coming out. Kidd merely shook his head in denial.

"One day, maybe" Kidd promised indirectly and Jinx could only nod in return, "Is it me or is that shit not hitting?" Lifting the bottle, the piltovian woman smiled devilishly and started downing the bottle, agreeing with Kidd. In reality, she had never actually been drunk before, but she knew this wasn't it, "Hey, leave some for me!" He attempted and Jinx passed the bottle to him, already halfway done.

"Sure…oh, I think it's working!" Standing up, her world started wobbling from left to right like crazy. Kidd guessed it was because at the end, this thing did have alcohol, it just wasn't anything extravagant or strong, "Everything is…weirder now!"

"Great…you got any games to make it interesting?" He already knew the answer to this question, and Jinx suddenly jumped away from the bed and went straight for the chest where she had taken out Kidd's money. After a few seconds, she finally retrieved a box.

"Nahaha!" She laughed her funny, villain laugh, "You ever played truth or dare Jenga!? Oh this is gun' be fun!"

Kidd grimaced, drunk down the rest of the bottle, and head on to play truth or dare.

Probably the worst game to play next to a crazy, blue haired woman.

Unfortunately, none of them realized the small beeping sound inside Kidd's backpack. It was his tablet, showing alerts.

EMERGENCY CALL

EMERGENCY CALL

EMERGENCY CALL

1 Text Message: ITS ME DALLY I NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE!

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This is the second chapter, it's been fun to write. I like the characters I have right now, I'll be introducing more champions as I see fit.

Thank you for your reviews and make sure to leave more, those motivate me to keep writing.