Chapter 6

Akali seethed. She didn’t like encountering Zed, nor did she approve of Shen still treating her like a child. She was old enough to make her own decisions, damn it! Just because Shen and Zed may be slightly older than her didn’t mean that she didn’t know anything! Akali tore out fistfuls of grass in frustration while she had been trying to meditate, to calm her angered emotions.But the more she thought about it, the more she thought about Zed mocking her. She will surpass him in his own arts, as a mockery to her tribute to him as his star pupil, before killing him with glee. She wanted him to feel pain, she wanted to get him where it hurts most. But Zed seemed to go by his own whims and principals, and he didn’t care at all about her or Shen, whom he once treated like his lover and the other whom he treated closer than his brother.

Kennen attempted to reassure her that everything was okay, and Akali smiled at the Yordle and gave him her thanks, though still… She had to defeat Zed, and she had serious doubts about whether or not she could do it. As much as Shen may protest against this, this was something that Akali had to do. She couldn’t hesitate. She must not waver. She hated Zed with all her heart, and she will continue to do so. It’s that hatred and seething anger that lingered underneath the surface that fueled her, that propelled her into action. As much as Shen would preach about temperance, Akali believed that taking action was more important than staying inside the cerebral realm of meditation.

She encountered Zed again when they were in the cafeteria mess hall. Akali tried to ignore him, though Zed continued to taunt her, as usual.

“You’re sulking like the child Shen thinks you are,” Zed said casually, and AKali, insulted, threw her fork towards his direction. Zed easily moved his head aside and the fork struck through the wall deadcenter, wavering for a moment from the force of mipact that it was thrown. She didn’t make a scene afterward, though she ate her lunch in silence, away from Shen and Kennen, who would normally accompany her during her meal times, and then went straight to training after lunch.

She brandished her kamas with grace and skill. The forests of Ionia had plenty of large trees that she can practice her weaponry skills on, and she slashed through dozens of trees and watched with satisfaction as they tipped over and fell with deafening crashes onto the ground. She didn’t care if the sacred land were benig desecrated or whatever; she needed to vent her action, and this was way more effective than meditation could be She needed to feel the blood pumping through her arteries and energy through her limbs.

She didn’t care how childish she looked. She simply let her anger become steely determination, to become a single minded focus that sharpened like the point of a spear. A spear that she would hurl through Zed’s chest if she could. Sometimes this led her to training more intensely before, an she felt that it was making her stronger, more fine focused, more driven for this mission.

I’m going to kill him, Akali thought fiercely to herself as she sliced more trees down with her kamas. I will surpass him in his own arts. For what he did to Shen, I will never forgive.

Kennen stopped by, noting the ferocity in Akali’s attacks and the strain that she was putting on herself.

“Akali!”

Akali stopped to pause momentarily, unaware of just how tired she was after exerting all her strength into slicing down the trees. Damn it, she couldn’t move, and suddenly became aware of a strain that was biting into her biceps. At least, she hoped it was only a strain.

“Hello, Kennen,” Akali said, before she fell down on her knees and collapsed. She heard Kennen calling for her, though consciousness swept away from her like a current and she was caught in the undertow of oblivion.

—x—

Akali woke up in the Infirmary. She found herself bound in bandages, wearing a sling around her arm and bandages wrapped around part of her chest and shoulders. Akali stared at them in wonder. She didn’t believe that she trained that hard; did she seriously train to the point of breaking her own bones?

“Looks like you got injured while training,” Kennen said sympathetically. “Akali, tell me what’s bothering you. You’re usually not this careless.”

Akali looked away. “I was angry and I guess I overdid it.”

She didn’t elaborate on why she was angry, though Kennen probably understood. He knew not to press it any further, before saying, “Well, I’ll come visit you and hope that you make a swift recovery. It’s always reassuring to have you on the battlefield as an ally.”

Akali nodded, before Kennen left. Next up to see her was Shen, whom she still wasn’t happy with.

“Shen,” Akali said evenly, and Shen shook his head in disapproval.

“Do you know how much of a psychic cost it’s causing you to obsess over Zed?” Shen said, and Akali flared up at Shen again. She injured herself, and he didn’t show any concern whatsoever for her? Though some part of Akali understood that Shen was right, and she hated him for for being right all the time.

“I can’t sit around idly,” Akali said. “I need to get…to the match. I have to have that match with Zed.”

“Why do you insist on that match with Zed?” Shen said. “I will stop you if I must, Akali. I know that you will push yourself to the point of killing yourself.”

Akali attempted to leave, though Shen grabbed her by the arm and forced her into the bed.

“I will call one of the Summoners to restrain you, Akali,” Shen said. “You best not resist.”

Akali glared at Shen but said nothing. She used a smoke shroud to escape from his grasp and headed out the hallway, though the Summoners were there, as promised. They inserted a syringe into Akali’s neck to sedate her, and then she knew no more.