Chapter 8

Zed encountered Akali in the Infirmary once more. Instinctively reacting, Akali then reached for a nearby syringe that a nurse left behind, before pointing it threateningly at Zed. “What do you want?’

“I thought it would be in your best interest to forfeit the match,” Zed said, stripped of his armor and mask. However, he still held the grace and poise of a predator, with rippling power underneath his powerful muscles in his sleek build. He trained just as hard and devotedly as Shen everyday, muscles sculpting his form like a marble statue of Adonis or some other Grecian hero. His red eyes glinted dangerously towards her, and Akali felt as though she were being stalked and vulnerable.

“Why would I do that?” Akali said, defiance in her gaze now. “I’m not scared of dying.”

“That kind of foolishness is going to lead to your ultimate humiliation,” Zed said patiently, as though he were lecturing a child. “A shinobi learns to survive no matter what. They don’t head recklessly into battle hoping to die, do they? That’s what warriors and martyrs do.”

“I am a shinobi of my word,” Akali said solemnly. I will fight you mid lane. And I’m going to surpass you.”

“As you are right now, you are still weak,” Zed breathed. “If you continued your training with me instead of siding with Shen, you would’ve reached your full potential. It’s unfortunate, but they’ve softened you.”

“I was young and naive back then,” Akali whispered, before Zed took an apple from the bowl of fruit someone gave her for swift recovery. Akali then cleaved the apple right in half before Zed could eat it, and Zed smirked at that as he let the apple drop to the flour, it’s halves rolling on the floor.

“You do have a bloodthirsty side,” Zed said, as though he marveled in Akali’s wish to cleave him in half like she did with the apple. “You will have eventually become the perfect ninja once you defeat me. That was my only wish for you, Akali.”

“You never had my best interests at heart,” Akali said, narrowing her eyes towards Zed while he stepped closer, as they were almost kissing distance away. “You only care about yourself. Why else did you kill Shen’s father?”

Zed remained silent for a while, before he shook his head slowly. “Still aching for the past, Akali? If you don’t move on from that, then you’ll never hope to defeat me. Take a step forward into the future, instead of wallowing in misery in things that can’t be changed.”

Akali glared at Zed. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

“I suppose so,” Zed said before he leaned away from Akali and gave that damn irritable smirk in her direction. “If you step foot on the Fields today…I will destroy everything about you.”

With that, Zed departed. Akali let out a sigh, realizing that the tension in the room had risen like a blood pressure. Just somehow, Zed managed to elicit certain emotions in her; a desire for revenge, and something else that she dare not admit. She couldn’t possibly think about that right. If she did, then everything that the Kinkou had worked so hard to attain could literally fall to pieces. She didn’t want that to happen. She had to remain strong.

“I’m not going to let him get to me,” Akali said to the empty room, though something in her heart broke when Zed mentioned the past.

—x—

Shen saw her before the match. Akali felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the anticipation of facing Zed. She would pay him back for everything that he said. Though some part of her also felt a little doubt inthe back of her head. What if Zed really did have her best interests at heart? Were the Kinkou ninjas as noble and honorable as they said they are? They once treated Zed like their own, while he was in the fold, and Akali fell in love with him back then. He promised her that she had talent, that she had the potential to overtake Shen and even himself, and Akali would watch Zed and Shen spar together on the training grounds, closer than brothers. Why did that all have to change?

Akali sighed. What is done is done, she supposed. She had nothing to do with it now. Now she must face her own mentor on the battlegrounds, and win. She was determined to win. If she didn’t, then everything would be lost.

“I’ll keep an eye on you in midlane,” Shen said as he patted Akali reassuringly, realizing that she was feeling a little distant today. “I trust that everything is well?”

“Oh, everything is fine,” Akali said, trying not to worry Shen. She smoothed the furrow out of her brow and smiled at Shen, to which he gave her a slight smile back in return. He then put on his mask, full shinobi garb equipped onto his body including his twin blades. Akali adjusted her mask as well,

The gathering crowd anticipated this match. Summoners watched from a safe distance in the Institute through a magiacl orb that showed the Summoners in the Rift. Akali was at base with Shen, exchanging a frew whispered words, before she departed for midlane. She hid in the shadows, peering over the ledge to see if her opponent was beyond it. Zed managed to keep himself well hidden, of course. He was the master of Shadows, after all.

Akali waited by her tower until the minions started spawning. Once the minions spawned, she went towards the center of the lane where the opposing minions would crash in the middle, fighting their own wars. Akali gathered some gold by throwing her kama, keeping a safe distance from Zed while Zed farmed with his shurikens. He said nothing, but he was watching her intently and suddenly Akali felt naked and exposed underneath his gaze.

He’ s trying to pressure me, Akali thought. I won’t cave in. All I have to do is just get some farm, and then wait for the right opportunity to pick him off. That’s my job as an Assassin.

When Zed landed a Shuriken on a minion he was trying to farm, Akali threw her kama at him to harass him. Zed’s eyes narrowed at her through the slits in his mask, though he didn’t do anything about it and continued to keep farming. Somehow, his calm silence and his determination to just farm the minions was bothering her. Was he really planning on killing her? He didn’t even bother to harass her in lane while she took farm and harassed him accordingly. What was up with that?

“Zed,” Akali said as she started to feel her temper flare. “You’re insulting me by not giving it your all.”

“Why should I do that on a second-rate ninja?” Zed asked, and Akali tried to keep her cool, though her arm trembled with anger adn she missed a minion with her kama, her aim off kilter.

“You will regret those words,” Akali said, before she reached level 6 and started to all in him. He was starting to feel the pressure now as she dashed towards him and he retreated towards his tower for safety. This time he blew all his cooldowns just to give Akali some return damage nd to also use his shadow to escape a step ahead of her. When he was safety at tower, he then waited until the cannon minion reached his turret, killed it under the safety of his tower, and then backed.

That should keep him in line. Akali continued to farm, growing a cs lead, at least, though alarms went off in Akali’s head when Zed coordinated with the jungler to gank botlane. Akali reached as fast as she could down there, and Shen even used his ultimate to protect Varus alongside Thresh, though Zed mercilessly slaughtered the man along with Jarvan. Thresh was low health, and their eyes met when Akali saw Varus’s dead body on the ground.

“Curious when one dies,” Thresh said in response, sight regret in his voice or not saving his partner. “Akali, you ganked too late.”

“I know,” Akali said, feeling awful about her misplay.

However, Zed, fedo ff the one kill he got on Varus, proceeded to go ham and target Akali. It seemed like his laser focus was on Akali and only Akali, and Akali didn’t have her dashes or even her shroud touse to defend herself. Shen and Thresh also had their cooldowns blown from trying to save Varus, and when Akali tried to reach the safety of the tturret, Zed mockingly cut off her hair before he decided to land the final blow to kill her.

Everything went black.