A/N: I really am a sucker for happy endings/consider this two chapters in one. May this bring a smile to your face.
SEASON TWO IS HERE AND SPOILERS AWAIT YOU.
So here we go. The fate of this fragment depends on you, the reader. Do let this sentimental old geezer know what you think.
As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes or memes. Not a wit or one. They're tributes, one and all.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Time and feedback will determine if this fragment becomes a story. Simple as that.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know what you think~!
"There are no happy endings? Who decided that?
I decide such things.
Now MOVE."
~?
Spark
It didn't hurt.
Funny, that.
Why?
Isha had though there would be pain; she'd expected it, even if she'd been at peace with it. She'd closed her eyes and pulled the trigger as her world blazed blue. Mister Monster -Vander!- had vanished into the explosion, as had she. That should've been the end of it, right? She'd saved everyone, even if it hurt. The gun had shattered in her hands. Everything went white.
Wasn't dying supposed to hurt? That was how it went in the stories. Everytime.
So why, why, why wasn't there any pain?
"...?"
Daring to creak an eye open, she found herself standing in the dark.
No, that wasn't quite right. There was a light in the distance. Fire flickering in the gloom. Lacking anywhere else to go, she shrugged trotted toward the flame.
So what if she was dead? Big Sis would live. Nothing else mattered.
Almost before she knew it, she reached the campfire.
Someone was sitting there.
Whomever they are, they seemed...tired. They wore a black cloak with a tattered hood, dark and empty, devoid of all light. He leaned against a black, ringed staff of eerie metal cold and fathomless, something that had her shying away from it despite her best efforts to come closer. Its owner hummed an old lullaby, something she couldn't quite remember.
No, wait.
She did remember.
The last person she'd heard it from was...her...
"There you are, young lady." the stranger ceased his lullaby and turned his empty black hood towards her, revealing the vague outline of a face therein. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? If I hadn't caught you here at the crossroads, you would've died. Your Mum would never forgive me if I let you croak after something like that...
Her little heart hitched into her throat and she blinked quickly.
With a bandaged hand, the Stranger reached up and tugged his hood down, revealing his face. She glimpsed messy blond hair and blue-eyes-bordering-on-amber within that hood, tanned whiskered cheeks dimpling in a small smile. A familiar smile, one born from her earliest memories.
Isha could not speak. Never could. She'd been born mute.
It didn't stop the little gasp of air that left her lips.
'Daddy...?'
Dead.
He was dead.
Daddy was supposed to be dead.
Dead and gone, Mum had said. The Enforcers had taken him away a long time ago, buried him in a cell so deep and dark that he never saw the sun. She said he'd surrendered to save them-from what, she never knew, only that he did. His lullabies were all she had to remember him by, faded memories of a face she barely recalled, a tune scarcely remembered. For the longest time, it had been her and Mum.
Then Mum died when the Gray came.
She had been alone.
Until Big Sis.
"You dyed your hair blue, huh?" Daddy grinned, snapping her back to the present. "Not a bad look, though I would've preferred blond. You've been busy, I take it?"
Her head bobbed in a jerky nod, helmet flopping wildly atop her head.
"Thought so." her maybe-dead-daddy righted himself with a grunt and stood, leaning upon his staff. "Alright, then."
He opened his arms wide, smiling down at her.
"Give your old man a hug, why don'tcha?"
Isha rushed him.
Her head struck his leg and she buried her face into his trousers with a weak whimper; he smelled familiar; of fire and water and burnt leather. It reminded her of home. Her eyes were burning, but she refused to cry. She absolutely refused. She was stronger now. Tougher. She wouldn't cry. Mustn't cry...
Daddy knelt and drew her into his chest; it was the catalyst that broke her and she began to weep openly.
"Shhh," he hummed at her. "It's alright. Daddy's here, don't worry. I'll fix things. I'll fix everything."
His staff tapped down in the void, producing a hollow clang of sound.
But first...
Reality rushed back, punctuated by an almighty roar.
"Give your sister a hug for me, won't you?"
Her eyes opened.
The first thing she saw was Big Sis leaning over her, her hands desperately shaking her shoulders.
Relief flashed across her tearful face, raw and painful.
"ISHA!"
Jinx tackled her; Isha let her; if only because her attention was elsewhere.
Peering over her shoulder, she saw Daddy step out of the ether -a portal of some kind?- brandish his staff and wade into the Noxus soldiers. They bristled, for all the good it did them; because suddenly there were a dozen other Daddies, no, hundreds now, each emerging from a plume of smoke to surround the original, each brandishing their own staff in hand.
"AMBESSA!" Naruto's voice boomed, bringing all the fury of the afterlife with it. "Time to die~!"
Behind him, countless shadow clones marched forward in lockstep with their creator.
The Noxians died screaming.
Remember Me Again
Target in sight.
He didn't notice her; consumed as he was in his work. Crafting another one of his weapons, no doubt.
Or perhaps he was preparing a prank. She wasn't entirely sure which, this time. He and Jayce were alike in that way; put a project in front of them and they'd lose themselves for hours, if not days. If it weren't for her they'd probably forget to eat and drink entirely.
Still, this was perfect; she wouldn't get a better shot at this.
Easing her way through the door, she held her breath and tiptoed up to him.
Just a few steps more, now. She'd finally get even with him after that last trick of his.
One step closer.
Two, now.
Three...!
The door clicked shut behind her.
Caitlyn nearly hissed under her breath.
Her best friend paused, right ear twitching just so, but she'd already crossed the distance between them.
Her chin came down on his shoulder as she embraced him from behind.
He laughed. "Nice try, Caitlyn."
Her world sank and too late, the would-be-enforcer realized she'd stepped into one of his traps; the floor clicked underfoot. A whir of pulleys and rope proved her only warning; she barely had time to yelp before she found herself danging upside down from the ceiling, heels bound, quite trapped.
Naruto spun away from his workbench, balancing a bowl of ramen in his free hand, wearing a shit-eating grin. "That's another point for me~!"
Her face darkened, both in embarrassment and shame as she tried to keep her skirt from falling. "That still only counts as one!"
"Does it now?" the prankster tilted his head, still beaming from ear to ear. "I can always leave you hanging...
She flailed a free hand at him to no avail; he leaned back, just out of reach. "Why, you...!"
"Say the magic words and I'll let you go."
She hissed at him, indignant. "Never!"
Naruto quirked a brow. "Say it."
Caitlyn squirmed. "No!"
"I can do this all day, ya know." he paused to indulge in his Ramen, then grinned at her anew. "How's all that blood feel, rushing to your head?
Dizzy. Damn him. She was completely at his mercy and they both knew it.
With a put-upon-sigh, Caitlyn folded like a house of cards.
"...please let me go, oh-wise-and-mighty Naruto."
The rope-wire holding her legs collapsed back into the ceiling, sending her sprawling to the floor.
"See?" Naruto turned his back on her, blinded by his triumph. "That wasn't so hard now, was it? Serves you right for sneakin' up on me like that...be glad I didn't use shadow clones this time...
Caitlyn scarcely heard her best friend's snarky remark as she hauled herself to her feet. She only had eyes for one thing and one thing alone.
Vengeance!
With a furious shout, she jumped on his back, locked her legs around his waist and dragged him down to the ground.
Unprepared for her sudden assault, Naruto fell with a startled squawk and she with him; together they tumbled, twining in tangle of limbs. In the end, victory was hers; by dint of skill or luck -likely the latter-she landed top him, right on his hips, legs sprawled on either side of him, pinning him in place. He made an annoyed noise and moved to shove her aside, only for her to grab him by the wrists and pin them over his head, locking his arms in place.
Panting, she leaned down to hiss at him, pressing her forehead to his. "That's victory for me, then."
Naruto coughed. "Uh, Cait...?"
"What?"
Naruto coughed again, louder and more obvious this time.
Her face went red a moment later as she realized the compromising position in which they'd landed. Why, it almost looked like the two of them were...!
Evidently her dear friend realized the same; because his whiskered visage was just as red.
And yet...
.
..
...she'd known him for such a long while now.
Her eyes flitted down to his lips as he shifted awkwardly against her hips. It felt...good. She inhaled sharply and-
It was not to be; with a creak of well-used hinges, door opened behind them and Jayce sauntered in, a box of gadgets tucked under his arms.
"Sorry I'm late," he laughed, view blocked by the boxes, "I found something interesting in the Undercity...
Paused now, as he beheld the two of them in such a position. "Am I interrupting something?"
Naruto draped an arm over his eyes and averted his gaze.
Caitlyn whined.
Jayce, innocent buffoon that he was, mistook their lack of words for something else entirely and coughed into a fist.
"I'll, ah," he hastily set the box of gizmos on a nearby table, backpedalling quickly, "I'll just come back later, then, shall I? Please don't make a mess...
He was going to tell Mother about this, wasn't he? Oh, gods, not that, anything but that...!
Heat seared up the back of Caitlyn's neck. It reactivated her. "Jayce, no, wait-
Too late. The door slammed shut and he scarpered, the utter coward.
Naruto blew out a soft sigh. "To be fair, you jumped me, ya know...
Caitlyn slammed her head against his chest. "I hate you so much right now."
Without warning, the balcony doors absolutely flew apart as someone kicked them open...!
Four urchins came barreling through at breakneck speed; only for one of them, a girl with pink hair, to come to a jarring halt upon seeing the two of them. The other three slammed into her back as she flung her arms out, but no attack was forthcoming. On the contrary...
"Daaaang." she whistled instead, cheeks terribly red. "Musta got the wrong building. Sorry about that, we'll just be going...
A girl with blue hair elbowed her. "Vi, no! This is the right place! Little Man said so!"
The bigger boy behind her sighed. "Doesn't look like it, though...
The lanky one beside her grimaced. "Tell me about it...
"Hey, hey!" Vi sputtered. "Don't pin this on me! How was I supposed ta know?! The blinds were down! Sheepishly, she looked their way and anxiously scratched the back of her head. "So, ah, stick 'em up and nobody gets hurt, I guess?"
Caitylin blinked. Hard. "Are you...robbing us?"
"Pretty much," the blue-haired girl chirruped happily. "Sorry, not sorry."
Naruto covered his face with both hands and snarled an obscenity in his old language.
Caitlyn absolutely whined. "Kill me now...
A/N: We'll cut it there. Consider this a snack to whet your appetite.
If it wasn't obvious, these are potential teasers for something that may or may not be coming down the pipeline. Hope it made you smile.
No previews this time. I'm exhausted. Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write.
Sooooooooo...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review...Would You Kindly?
Hope you enjoyed this, and may your day be filled with lots of luck!
Warm regards,
~Nz.
No previews here. Time for an old man to rest awhile.
R&R~!