Chapter 61
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Ahri got off her and Grey's bed in the Institute. They have gotten back last night, and she honestly didn't get any sleep at all after finally finding out the truth about her people and what happened to them.
Grey tried to comfort her, which somewhat worked by showing her she wasn't alone. But, she still couldn't get over the depression she was feeling.
Seeing her lover sleeping, Ahri decided to take a bath, hoping it would wake her up slightly from her sleepless night. After finishing and wearing her signature red Kimono, she went to wake up the Abyss Watcher.
"Grey, wake up, it's morning," Ahri's tone was blank. None of her usual teasing found in her voice.
The Lord of Cinder woke up rather easily compared to usual. Ahri guessed that he was worried about her. "Good morning," he greeted as he got off the bed.
"Good morning," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan half-heartedly responded before getting off the bed. "I'll see if Nidalee is awake. Can you check on the schedule when you come out?" she asked, but didn't wait for a response before getting out.
Grey sighed as he saw his lover leave their room. He had seen many people realize that their entire family or home was destroyed, but this was the first time he actually had to comfort one of them.
Going through a shower before wearing his clothes, he checked the schedule and narrowed his eyes slightly. He really hoped they were free today for Ahri's sake, but that wasn't the case apparently.
Meanwhile, Ahri had just woke up Nidalee and was waiting on the couch in the living room. She saw Silver come to her side after he woke up and jump to the couch.
Ahri had to admit, it was cute seeing the tiny wolf pup hold on to the edge of the couch before pulling himself on to it.
Silver walked to her side and rubbed his head on the side of her leg as a sign of comfort. Ahri gave him a small smile of appreciation before petting his head in gratitude.
"Good morning," Nidalee greeted as she came out of her room.
"Hey," Ahri simply replied with a wave of her hand.
The huntress raised an eyebrow at the way that the Nine-Tailed Vastayan was acting. She saw Grey come out of their room, fully dressed with a second sword on his back.
"Well, me and Nidalee have nothing, but… Ahri has a match in a couple of hours," the Abyss Watcher explained causing his lover to sigh. "You know, I can talk to the summoners or maybe Aki can-"
"No, it's okay," Ahri cut him off as she stood up while lifting Silver. "I'll be fine, so don't worry," she tried to reassure them, but the depressed look on her face was anything but reassuring. "Let's just get some breakfast."
Nidalee looked at Grey with a questionable look and he simply shook his head, implying that they shouldn't speak about this now. she decided to listen and they both followed the nine-tailed Vastaya out of the room.
They headed to the dining hall and encountered Aki, Brite, and Solas along the way. "Good morning," the summoner greeted.
"Hey," Ahri greeted half-heartedly, gaining confused looks.
"What's with the sword, Grey?" Brite asked, noticing the blood Demon sword beside the Farron Great-sword.
"Apparently, I'm the new blood God of Ionia," that statement gained looks of bewilderment from those around.
"What?" Brite asked, more confused than shocked.
"The Ionian gods made me one of them, the God of blood to be exact," Grey explained further.
"Are you certain that you made the right choice?" Solas asked. He knew what Godhood was like, and it doesn't usually end well.
"There were too many reasons for me to do it," the Abyss Watcher replied. Along with protecting Ahri, a new God of brotherhood would undoubtedly stop the Ionian people from being divided as Tiara said.
"Why would they choose you over someone who praises the sun?" Brite asked as if it was the stupidest decision ever.
While Grey was annoyed, he didn't want to start an argument with Ahri's current mode, afraid that it would only get worse.
"Hey, everyone!" They all saw Neeko coming towards them, running on all four before standing on her two feet as she started slowing down when she reached them. "It's great to see you again," she greeted just as she stopped in front of them.
"Neeko, how are you doing," Nidalee asked, the shape-shifter's presence seemed to lift the mood a little.
Neeko was about to answer when she suddenly stopped. Her gaze turned towards the blood Demon sword on Grey's back. "W-What is that?" she asked hesitantly.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden change of character. Grey decided to test something, so he reached for the handle of his new sword and pulled it slightly, showing a little of the dark blade with the Crimson edge.
Neeko took a fearful step back before running to hide behind Nidalee. "Please keep that away from Neeko, it's scary!" the chameleon asked as she looked over the Huntress' shoulder.
Nidalee was surprised. She had never seen Neeko look so… scared. Meanwhile, Grey finally understood what was going on with Neeko.
Vastayashy'rei were shape-shifting spirits, and Ornn told him that the Blood Demon sword kills spirit. So, naturally, Neeko would be instinctively afraid of it. He wondered why it doesn't do that to Vastaya, but he guessed it was because they were only half spirits.
Grey sheathed the sword, causing the glow of the edge to vanish. "I'm sorry about that. I'll make sure to keep it away from you."
Neeko gave a hesitant nod. "It's okay, just please keep it away," she requested, really not liking how the blade made her feel.
"Can we get breakfast, please?" Ahri requested, not really feeling like waiting for the meal.
The others simply nodded and finally entered the dining hall. After gathering breakfast, they all sat down at two tables near each other. Grey sat down beside Ahri, with Silver close by.
However, they didn't have peace for long as a loud, demonic screech echoed through the entire hall, drawing everyone's attention and making them look at the source.
The source of the sound seemed to be two individuals. One of them looked like a metal skeleton with a cage for a chest and was covered in cloth, making it look like a Scarecrow. The arms had claws for fingers and it had an extra arm that was made of darkness, and one of the arms was holding a rusty scythe. The head had a single red eye along with razor-sharp teeth.
The other figure looked like its body was completely made of pitch-black shadows. It had a humanoid torso, but it didn't have legs and was floating in the air. It had gauntlets made of red metal with extending blades that were currently out in the open and some shoulder armor. The head didn't have a mouth, but there were two white slits where the eyes are supposed to be.
Both of the figures were being held back by summoners, all of whom were behind them using chains made of magic to pull the two away from each other. It was mostly working, but the summoners were obviously struggling.
"What's going on?" Brite asked raising an eyebrow.
"Didn't I see that scarecrow before?" Nidalee noted, recognizing it from her first match.
"Oh, Uhmm," everyone turned their sights to Aki as they heard her speak. "Those two are Fiddlesticks and Nocturne," she said pointing at the Scarecrow and the shadow respectively. "You see, Fiddlesticks is the Demon of fear, and Nocturne is the Demon of nightmares. They basically feed off the same thing. This isn't the first time this happened. They probably had problems with who gets to feed in a certain territory," she explained to them.
"Back off, you pile of scrap metal!" Nocturne yelled in a phantom voice that seemed to echo in the area. "I've already started haunting these people's dreams!" he attempted to attack the other Demon with the blades on his arms.
"Fi~ddle~sticks, end of men. Fi~ddle~sticks, first of ten!" Fiddlesticks replied with a deep, demonic voice that echoed just like Nocturne's. Most were confused by what he said, but the other Demon understood that he was saying, 'I was here first'.
"Isn't Kayle supposed to be stopping this?" Ahri asked, getting annoyed of the constant yelling.
"Kayle isn't currently in the Institute," the others gave Aki questionable looks, so she continued. "Apparently, there some kind of rebellion in Demacia, and Kayle was sent there to calm things down as a representative of the Institute."
"A rebellion?" Brite asked getting concerned. "Are Lux and Garen alright?" he asked, knowing that those two were probably there fighting.
"They're fine, from what I was told. But, Lux seems to be in trouble with her family for some reason," Aki explained what she was told as a summoner and as… someone else.
"What about Sona?" Grey asked, not wanting the Maven to be hurt.
Before Aki can reply, someone tapped Grey's shoulder and he looked to see the very person he just asked about. [I'm fine, Grey. Thank you for asking,] Sona signed as she sat at the other side of the Abyss Watcher. [Most of my concerts were canceled, so my mother told me to stay in the Institute for now since it's safe.]
"I'm glad to see you're alright," the Lord of Cinder said, earning a smile of gratitude from the mute girl.
Their attention turned back to the demons when Nocturne suddenly created a magical field around himself that broke the summoners' chains and knocked them back. "I've had enough of you, Fiddlesticks!"
Fiddlesticks roared at the ceiling, unleashing red aura that covered the summoners who were holding him. Each of them gained looks of terror, dropped the chains they were holding Fiddlesticks with, and ran away screaming for their lives. "Reap and sow. REAP AND SOW!" the fear Demon yelled readying his scythe.
"Do you two have to be so noisy?" Evelynn asked as she walked towards the two putting a finger on her chin. "I'm all for seeing you two rip each other apart, but can you be less… annoying?"
"Don't test me, Evelynn!" Nocturne threatened, turning his glare to her.
"On the contrary, good sit," a rather well-mannered voice said with an accent said. "Our good agony Demon was just telling you to take your scuffle in a place that we don't eat in."
The owner of the voice was an obese amphibian looking humanoid creature. It had green skin and two tentacles on its face working as a mustache. Its mouth was wide and filled with nothing but sharp fangs. It was wearing a black jacket over a dark shirt and a pair of rugged jeans. It was also wearing a few pieces of jewelry, even a ring on one of the tentacles on its face.
"Tahm… Kench," Fiddlesticks groaned out, introducing the Demon.
"Now, this is quite the fine gathering we have here," Kench started sounding rather polite. "But, as much as I like to see my fellow demons kill each other, I'd really like it to be somewhere far from where I eat," he added, his voice taking a dangerous tone.
Ahri's ears flattened on her head and she covered them with her arms. "Can someone shut them up?" she practically begged.
Grey, seeing his lover's discomfort, and remembering that she was already in a bad mood, decided that he should fill in for Kayle. So, he stood up from his seat and started walking towards the four demons.
"Why don't you try and make us, Kench?" Nocturne challenged, sharpening his blades on each other.
The River king raised his hands in a seemingly peaceful manner. "Now, I'm not one to go for violence. Just kill each other… and I'd be more than happy to take care of the loser's belongings."
Evelynn immediately glared at Tahm Kench. "Look, I like your style, Kench, but stay out of my territory," she threatened, her lashers glowing and pointing at the obese Demon.
"You really think you're one to talk, Evelynn?" Nocturne taunted narrowing his eyes at her. "Between us, you are the weakest."
The Demon of agony immediately raised her hand and let out her claws. "Want to test that theory?" she asked. She might be the youngest one between these four demons, but she didn't believe she was the weakest for a second.
Nocturne readied his blades, Fiddlesticks raised his scythe, and Tahm Kench started running his tongue across his lips, most likely thinking of eating the first one of the three others to lose.
However, before any of them moved, a slash made of red energy struck the ground in the middle of their gathering, causing them all to jump back slightly and look at who stopped them.
Grey was standing near them, holding the Blood Demon sword as the blade was pointing at the ground between them, implying that it was the cause for the attack. While the demons were taken back by what happened, their attention was on the sword itself, not the wielder.
The first one to break the silence was Fiddlesticks. "Blood… Demon," he groaned out.
"You killed it?" Nocturne asked, though everyone can tell it was rhetorical.
"Awe, I liked that thing," Evelynn complained crossing her arms. Though, everyone can tell there was no sadness in her voice.
"Now, I know mortals in Runeterra have no idea how to make weapons from souls," Tahm Kench commented before narrowing his eyes. "Which means… Ornn made that for you."
"I'll give you one chance to step back before I force you to," Grey threatened, glaring at them.
"Just because you defeated one Demon, you think you can beat more?" Nocturne questioned, glaring back.
"Hopefully, he doesn't have to," a new voice spoke up.
Looking at the owner, Grey saw what can only be described as an exact, opposite copy of Kayle standing beside him.
The woman had wings, but they were dark purple. She had chin-length, somewhat spiky hair, which was styled like Kayle, only in the other direction. She had pale, purple-ish skin with glowing purple eyes and dark lipstick. She was wearing a strapless dark purple dress with some fur on the chest area and a slit on the side of her leg for movement.
"Normally, I wouldn't really care if you demons hunt each other to extinction. But, I really don't want my morning to be ruined by you, especially without Kayle around. So, settle down, or I'll make you," the woman said with her hands on her hips.
"You can try!" Evelynn said as she pointed her lashers on the woman.
Fiddlesticks and Nocturne looked like they were ready to attack as well. As for Tahm Kench, he just smirked at the other demons before taking a few steps back.
The woman didn't look intimidated. She simply raised her hands in the air and brought them down. Suddenly, all three demons who were ready to attack were wrapped up with black chains covered in purple energy.
"So, did you calm down yet?" the woman asked, smirking at the chained demons.
"I'll haunt your nightmares, fallen!" Nocturne threatened as he struggled against his restraints.
"Sister… please, help me," Fiddlesticks groaned. However, much to Grey's confusion, it was Kayle's voice that came out.
What the fear Demon did seemed to have only angered the woman. She raised her hand and brought it down again, causing the ground around the demons to turn dark, which caused them to start groaning in pain.
"Nice try, Fiddlesticks. But, you can't break what's already broken," the woman sneered. "I'll say this one last time; settle down, now!"
The three restrained demons struggled one last time before they simply stopped. They all glared at the woman but still nodded one by one.
"Good," the woman raised her hand again and the chains vanished. "Now, off you go," her tone was that of an adult scolding a child.
The three demons spared one last glance at the woman before walking away, each in their own direction. Tahm Kench, who was standing back this whole time, laughed before walking away himself. Apparently, he expected this to happen, which is why he stepped back.
"The Institute should make a dungeon for these freaks," the woman sighed while shaking her head.
Grey sheathed the Blood Demon sword and looked at the woman. "You're Kayle's sister, I presume?" he asked, remembering the Righteous mentioning a sibling.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Kayle actually bothered to tell you about me?" she seemed skeptical about that statement.
"She only mentioned you, but never spoke about you in person," Grey replied.
The woman rolled her eyes. "Figured as much," she mumbled before putting her hands on her waist. "As for your question, yes, I am. I'm Morgana, the Fallen Angel," she introduced herself before tapping her chin with one of her fingers. "And you're… Grey? or is it the Abyss Watcher?"
"You know who I am?" the Lord of Cinder asked confused.
"Rumors spread quickly, especially about someone who is from another world. Plus, Kayle has also mentioned you a few times," Morgana replied. She might not speak to her sister as much as she used to, but they still spoke whenever they could. "Well, I'll be leaving then," she said before turning around and walking away.
Grey noticed that she held herself high when she walked. He can tell it wasn't arrogance. It was as if Morgana was proud of her ability to walk in the first place.
The Abyss Watcher simply shrugged his shoulders before going back to the table where he used to be. "Thank you," Ahri said in gratitude, knowing that Grey interfered for her sake.
"Don't worry, but are you still sure about that match?" Grey asked, concerned that Ahri might not be ready.
"Yes, don't worry about it," Ahri replied.
Ahri felt something on her leg and found Silver rubbing his head on her. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled warmly and bent down to scratch the wolf pup on his head.
When Ahri straightened her back, her body began to glow. "Looks like it's time," she sighed before giving her lover the most reassuring smile she can muster. "Wish me luck."
Ahri vanished in a flash of light, causing Grey to sigh. "Okay, what's wrong with Ahri?" Nidalee asked, noticing the very different attitude.
"She… heard some bad news, on our last visit to Ionia," Grey summarized.
He couldn't exactly tell them about what he and Ahri learned since it was her business. True, she did tell some people about his origin, but she had his permission at the time.
"Hey, where's Tiara?" Solas asked, noticing the absence of the Dancer.
"Knowing her, she's either trying to get drunk at the bar or still sleeping," Grey replied, very used to his sister's behavior.
Inside the Match:
Ahri has appeared in the summoners rift. She didn't really bother meeting her other teammates. But, she did see that Wukong was with her. He was probably trying to talk to her, but she wasn't in the mood.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was currently in the middle lane. She was shooting down minions for now, since she still didn't see the enemy champion.
The enemy champion finally appeared, who turned out to be Syndra. The Dark sovereign threw one of her orbs of magic at the fox Vastaya, who immediately jumped out of the way.
Using some Foxfire, Ahri attacked the enemy champion. To her surprise, Syndra caught one of her team's minions with her magic and used it as a shield, making the foxfire destroy it.
Now, Ahri might not know what the minions were exactly, or even if they were sentient. But, she definitely knew that what Syndra did was still cruel.
Syndra apparently didn't seem to care as she grabbed another minion with her magic and threw it at Ahri, who flipped backward to avoid getting hit.
Ahri blew a kiss at Syndra, using her charm spell, which struck the Ionian sorceress. The spell did its work as Syndra started harmlessly floating towards Ahri, and right into the firing range of the turret.
The turret started attacking Syndra, who woke up from the spell after the first strike of the turret. She immediately tried to move back, but the not before the turret shot at her again.
Syndra immediately pulled one of the close minions to use as a shield against the turret's attack.
While it did stop it, it didn't manage to stop Ahri's Orb of Deception that simply passes through the minion and Syndra herself before coming back, dealing additional damage and killing Syndra in the process.
Ahri grabbed her Orb of Deception as it came back. Even taking life essence in the rift didn't seem to cheer her up. "Champion, the jungler needs help. I'm taking you to him," her summoner said inside her head.
Ahri simply nodded and let her summoner guide her out of her lane into the jungle. Moving through the trees and passing the beasts that paid her no mind, Ahri finally came across what seems to be the problem.
Limping across the river, Wukong came out of the enemy side of the jungle and was currently holding his side, wounded. "Oh, Ahri! Thanks for coming to my rescue!" even with his wounds, the Monkey king kept his cheerful attitude.
"Wukong, what happened to you?" Ahri asked as she began making her way across the river and onto her teammate.
"It was-" Wukong didn't finish his answer as an arrow made of blue energy pierced his back and came out of his chest.
When Ahri saw who just killed the trickster she gasped before her expression turned to pure rage. "YOU!"
Standing on the other side of the river was Lamb, floating beside her was Wolf. Kindred both glanced at Ahri before turning around and going back to her team's side of the jungle.
Ahri immediately went to follow them, but her body suddenly stopped halfway through. "You can't go there. That's their team's jungle, if you go there alone you would-"
"No! I have to get them now!" Ahri cut off her summoner, and their surprise was enough to free Ahri and let her run towards the jungle.
Looking for any trails, Ahri heard Wolf's chuckling beyond a few bushes. She walked through them and began looking around for any sign of the Eternal Hunters.
Normally, it would be nothing short of madness to actually look for Kindred. However, Ahri knew that champions like them have their powers greatly limited inside matches. If Ahri was ever going to get a chance to actually go toe to toe with them, it would be now.
Ahri's ears twitched as she heard something, making her jump to the side to avoid Wolf biting her head off. However, that was apparently a distraction as one of Lamb's arrows struck one of Ahri's legs, causing her to fall on one knee.
Wolf laughed at Ahri's state. "How stupid are you? Didn't your summoner know better than to move into enemy territory?" he mocked as Lamb walked beside him.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply pulled the arrow from her leg and glared at the manifestation of Death. "How… how could you? All those people? Men, women, and children. How could you!?" she yelled out.
Wolf seemed to tilt his head. "What is it talking about, little Lamb?"
"I believe it is speaking about the Kumiho extinction," Lamb replied.
The cruel half of Death laughed loudly. "Yes, now I remember. That was a fun hunt!"
At this point, Ahri was seeing red. These two hunted her people and family down. Wolf was speaking of it like it was a game, and Lamb didn't even seem to care in the slightest.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan ignored the pain in her leg and stood up again. Creating a large ball of Fox-fire between her hands, she hurled it at Kindred.
The Eternal Hunters split apart into two sides, avoiding the ball of flames. Lamb flipped in the air, sending several arrows at Ahri's direction.
Ahri had to use her spirit rush to dodge and was about to throw another attack at the merciful half of Death, only for Wolf to jump at her from the side, bite her left arm, and rip it off.
Ahri screamed in pain as blood started falling from where her arm used to be. However, she still attempted to attack Wolf by creating an Orb of Deception in her remaining arm and throwing it at him.
Wolf simply evaded the attack, his phantom body easily moving out of the way. Before the orb can even come back to Ahri, two arrows from Lamb struck her, one in the shoulder and one on the thigh of her uninjured leg, causing her to fall on her back.
Ahri simply laid still. Unable to move from the various injuries across her body. All she can do is listen to Lamb's hooves come closer and closer, until she saw both halves of death above her, one at each side.
Just as Lamb pulled another arrow to finish her, Ahri spoke. "Why?" Kindred seemed confused as tears started falling from Ahri's eyes and down the side of her head. "Why didn't you take me with them?"
Ahri wasn't stupid. Despite her childish attitude sometimes, she was very smart. She knew for a fact that her parents could have never hidden her from Kindred no matter what.
Once the Eternal Hunters start a hunt, they always find their mark. Those who run only end up finding them faster. This means that Ahri lived that day because Kindred let her live, nothing else.
"Simply put, it wasn't your time yet," Wolf replied.
"The Kumiho made a mistake, which caused their time to come faster than it should have," Lamb explained, still holding her arrow.
"However, you were just born and didn't make the mistake they did. Your life didn't even begin for it to end," Wolf continued.
"We would have came for you, should you have made the same mistake as your people. But, there was one factor we didn't account for," Lamb said before pulling the string of her bow.
Thinking back on what even Kindred couldn't predict, Ahri came with one conclusion. "... Grey," that was the last thing Ahri said before Lamb's arrow struck her chest.
After a few seconds, Ahri respawned on the summoners platform, looking even more gloomy than before. Her body started moving towards the middle lane, probably being guided by the summoner. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply went along with it, not even bothering to focus on this point.
Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Lamb shooting an apple from chibi Wolf's head.)
The rest of the Match went quickly for Ahri. She didn't encounter Kindred after the first time. She just stayed in the middle lane.
Her team won when their top lane managed to break into their base and destroy their Nexus. When Ahri was pulled out of the rift, she immediately left without waiting for anything.
She found Grey waiting for her outside the summoning chambers. Ahri knew that he probably saw her meeting with Kindred, and was concerned for her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, confirming her thoughts.
"Yes, thank you for worrying," Ahri replied, looking down. "Can you… leave me alone? I need some time," she requested.
The Abyss Watcher wanted to say something, but decided not to and nodded his head. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply turned around and walked away.
Grey simply went back to the dining hall where everyone was waiting. "Where's Ahri?" Nidalee asked.
"She needed some time alone," Grey replied, taking his seat again.
"I think I should go talk to her," Aki said standing up. She was seriously worried about what could be her best friend.
Surprisingly, Sona stood up as well. [I'll go as well. I have something I want to talk to her about,] she signed to the Abyss Watcher.
The Lord of Cinder was somewhat concerned, but he also knew that being alone is the last thing Ahri needs. "Alright, please take care," he said.
Both girls nodded and started walking out of the dining hall and started looking for Ahri. After asking a few summoners, they were told that Ahri was seen going into the garden.
After walking inside, they saw Zyra tapping her foot with an impatient look on her face. "Are you here for the fox?" she asked and they nodded. "Then please get her out of here. She just came in and walked into the middle without saying a word."
They both can understand that Ahri angered Zyra by not asking for permission to be here. They walked deeper into the garden and found the Nine-Tailed Vastayan sitting near a bond of water.
"Ahri, are you okay?" Aki asked.
The Fox Vastayan looked at her. "Oh, you two. Yes?… no? I don't even know anymore," she replied with obvious conflict. "Look, I just want some alone time. Can you leave?"
Aki simply looked more worried while Sona rolled her eyes. The mute girl took out her board and wrote something before showing it to Aki.
The Shy summoner read what was written before looking back at the Maven. "Are you sure?" Sona nodded at that question. "Alright, stand still for a second."
Aki held up her hand and created her summoner's orb. She casted a spell that made Sona's head glow for a second before returning to normal.
Ahri noticed what they were doing but simply ignored it and kept looking at the water. That is until a beautiful voice spoke in her head. "Can you hear me?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan immediately started looking around for the source of the voice, before spotting Sona waving her hand. "It's me, over here."
"Sona?" Ahri was honestly stunned. "How are you-"
"This is a telepathy spell. It's how I communicate with the summoners during matches," Sona's voice replied inside her head.
Ahri had to admit, Sona's voice was heavenly. It was truly a curse that she couldn't speak with such a voice. It was also weird to talk to someone who wasn't even moving their lips, but that wasn't the weirdest thing she had ever seen.
"So, do you want to tell us why you've been acting like you're at a funeral all day?" Sona asked crossing her arms.
"Don't pretend you care," Ahri said standing up from her position and facing the mute girl.
Sona rolled her eyes again. "I DON'T care. Not even a little. But, your mode is effecting Grey, otherwise, I wouldn't bother being here," the Maven gave Ahri a hard stare. "So, grow up, and tell us what's wrong with you."
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan glared at the Maven. "Fine, you want to know what happened? Very well," Ahri then started telling them about the trip to Ionia, about finally learning about her people and what happened to them.
Sona simply kept a passive look throughout the story, while Aki's look turned to one of sympathy. "Oh, Ahri… I'm… I'm so sorry," the shy summoner apologized.
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Ahri replied to her friend.
"That's it?" Ahri immediately glared at Sona while Aki looked shocked at what she said. "So, your people messed up, they paid for it, and your moping because Kindred did their job?" Ahri was heavily resisting the urge to strangle Sona right then and there. "You do realize that Grey has been doing his best to help you, and you're turning him away for such a stupid reason?"
"Don't talk to me like you understand," Ahri threatened, her eyes glowing with magic.
"And what about Grey?" Sona asked, much to Ahri's confusion. "Don't you dare tell me he doesn't know how to feel like to lose everyone he cared about."
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I'M AVOIDING HIM!" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan yelled out. "Grey already had enough tragedy in his life. I don't want to burden HIM with MY problems!"
"Then you're truly an idiot," the Maven replied, causing the other two girls to look confused. "Right now, you ignoring Grey is far worse than anything else you could do to him. You said it yourself, Grey experienced enough tragedy. Being with you truly brings Grey happiness, but you're slowly taking that away. So, if you really care about Grey, then talk to him about it, because helping you is the only thing he wants right now."
Ahri let that sink in as she lowered her gaze to the ground. She was thinking that she was actually helping Grey by keeping some distance, but it seemed to only make things worse.
However, one thing confused the fox Vastaya. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, not seeing a reason for the Maven to help her.
Sona looked at her before looking up at the sky. "Do you know how it feels like to be alone in the dark, but have no ability to actually call for help?" she asked all of sudden. "It hurts, and it's lonely. Honestly, I never met someone who can relate to how I feel. To be so lonely, yet never have the ability to call for someone, for anyone to help. Until I met Grey. For the first time, I actually met someone who knows how it feels like to be left alone in the dark without anyone to call for. But we're also different. I don't call for anyone because I can't. Grey doesn't call for anyone because he's afraid to drag someone else into the darkness with him. He's just that selfless," Ahri thought that what the Maven said was actually a good description of her lover. "Let me make myself clear, Ahri. I want Grey to be happy, which is why the minute- no, the very second you mess up, I will be there to take him from you, so watch out," with that, Sona turned and started walking away.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan couldn't help but look at the mute girl in a new light. She had always thought that Sona simply didn't care for anyone else but herself. But, that was apparently not true.
"Aki," the shy summoner tensed hearing Ahri call out her name. "Thank you."
Aki was relieved to see an actual smile on Ahri's face again. "Oh, it's alright, I was just worried about you."
"Can you tell Grey that I'll be in our room. I want to try something," the shy summoner nodded and they both started walking out of the garden.
After a quick apology to Zyra for intruding, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan headed towards their shared room. Once inside, she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge which was full of ingredients.
"Alright, this shouldn't be hard," Ahri said as she grabbed a few things from the fridge.
Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Sona playing on the stage and chibi champions cheering for her.)
Grey was coming back to his an Ahri's room at sunset. Nidalee would have been with him, but Neeko took her to show the Huntress her new room.
Opening the door, Grey was immediately concerned over the smell of something burning, only to be greeted with a sight he definitely wasn't expecting.
Ahri was standing in front of him, holding a tray that had a few cookies that were burned. She had some flower on her right cheek and a sheepish smile on her face.
"I… tried to make you something," Ahri said holding up the tray. "But, apparently, I don't really know how to cook, at all."
She was mostly going on the memories she had stolen. But, cooking was for more complex than it appeared to be. She supposed that it could have gone worse.
Grey just blinked a few times before smiling and walking up to her. Much to Ahri's surprise, he took one of the cookies and ate it. "Trust me, I've had much worse than a few burnt cookies."
Ahri couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I don't want to know," she commented, not desiring to know what he ate that could be worse than the burnt cookies.
In all honesty, Ahri presented them in the hopes that they would share a laugh at her failed attempt. But, she guessed that she should have known better than to think that Grey would laugh at someone's attempt at doing something, failure or otherwise… well, maybe he'd laugh at Brite, but she can never know when those two are together.
They both sat down on the couch, the tray of burnt cookies on the table in front of them along with Grey's hat. They gave one to Silver, which he ate without a problem.
"I'm sorry," Ahri suddenly said making him look at her. "I know you've been trying to help me handle what happened to the Kumiho… and I've been just pushing you away. I thought I was making sure you don't get caught in my bad mood, but I was doing the opposite. So, I'm sorry," she apologized again before looking at him with wet eyes. "Can you forgive me?"
Grey simply shook his head. "Ahri, everyone handles loss in their own way. I almost lost my sanity because of what happened to the Abyss Watchers. I didn't expect you to be completely fine. I'm just glad you're taking this better than I did."
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan gave her lover a grateful smile before kissing him. She ignored the taste of burnt cookies and simply enjoyed the moment before pulling back and looking at his blue eyes. "Thank you."
The Lord of Cinder simply smiled back before looking at the TV. "Now, why don't you show me why these 'video games' are so fun for you? maybe I can enjoy it?" he requested.
Ahri immediately smiled "Are you sure. It can be quite hard for new players," she said teasingly.
"It can't possibly be that hard," Grey replied before grabbing one of Ahri's controllers. "Now, how do I… start this?"
Ahri chuckled. "Well, first, you got to turn it on… and also make sure you're not holding the controller upside down like you're doing right now."
(A/N: Thank you for reading this.
First, about the demons' appearance. I wanted to give them a chance to show up. Raum didn't because he's inside Swain, and he has no reason to. Plus, it was a good chance to introduce Morgana.
Second, about the conversation between Ahri and Kindred. I'm surprised no one pointed this out. I was already planning to explain that Kindred spared Ahri, not missed her, but didn't get the chance until now.
Third, about what Sona said to Ahri about relating to Grey. I didn't realize it until now, but Grey's background is just as matching for Sona as it is to Ahri. I'm not planning to make this a Harem Fic, but if I was to ship Grey with someone other than Ahri, it would be Sona.
Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Ahri got off her and Grey's bed in the Institute. They have gotten back last night, and she honestly didn't get any sleep at all after finally finding out the truth about her people and what happened to them.
Grey tried to comfort her, which somewhat worked by showing her she wasn't alone. But, she still couldn't get over the depression she was feeling.
Seeing her lover sleeping, Ahri decided to take a bath, hoping it would wake her up slightly from her sleepless night. After finishing and wearing her signature red Kimono, she went to wake up the Abyss Watcher.
"Grey, wake up, it's morning," Ahri's tone was blank. None of her usual teasing found in her voice.
The Lord of Cinder woke up rather easily compared to usual. Ahri guessed that he was worried about her. "Good morning," he greeted as he got off the bed.
"Good morning," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan half-heartedly responded before getting off the bed. "I'll see if Nidalee is awake. Can you check on the schedule when you come out?" she asked, but didn't wait for a response before getting out.
Grey sighed as he saw his lover leave their room. He had seen many people realize that their entire family or home was destroyed, but this was the first time he actually had to comfort one of them.
Going through a shower before wearing his clothes, he checked the schedule and narrowed his eyes slightly. He really hoped they were free today for Ahri's sake, but that wasn't the case apparently.
Meanwhile, Ahri had just woke up Nidalee and was waiting on the couch in the living room. She saw Silver come to her side after he woke up and jump to the couch.
Ahri had to admit, it was cute seeing the tiny wolf pup hold on to the edge of the couch before pulling himself on to it.
Silver walked to her side and rubbed his head on the side of her leg as a sign of comfort. Ahri gave him a small smile of appreciation before petting his head in gratitude.
"Good morning," Nidalee greeted as she came out of her room.
"Hey," Ahri simply replied with a wave of her hand.
The huntress raised an eyebrow at the way that the Nine-Tailed Vastayan was acting. She saw Grey come out of their room, fully dressed with a second sword on his back.
"Well, me and Nidalee have nothing, but… Ahri has a match in a couple of hours," the Abyss Watcher explained causing his lover to sigh. "You know, I can talk to the summoners or maybe Aki can-"
"No, it's okay," Ahri cut him off as she stood up while lifting Silver. "I'll be fine, so don't worry," she tried to reassure them, but the depressed look on her face was anything but reassuring. "Let's just get some breakfast."
Nidalee looked at Grey with a questionable look and he simply shook his head, implying that they shouldn't speak about this now. she decided to listen and they both followed the nine-tailed Vastaya out of the room.
They headed to the dining hall and encountered Aki, Brite, and Solas along the way. "Good morning," the summoner greeted.
"Hey," Ahri greeted half-heartedly, gaining confused looks.
"What's with the sword, Grey?" Brite asked, noticing the blood Demon sword beside the Farron Great-sword.
"Apparently, I'm the new blood God of Ionia," that statement gained looks of bewilderment from those around.
"What?" Brite asked, more confused than shocked.
"The Ionian gods made me one of them, the God of blood to be exact," Grey explained further.
"Are you certain that you made the right choice?" Solas asked. He knew what Godhood was like, and it doesn't usually end well.
"There were too many reasons for me to do it," the Abyss Watcher replied. Along with protecting Ahri, a new God of brotherhood would undoubtedly stop the Ionian people from being divided as Tiara said.
"Why would they choose you over someone who praises the sun?" Brite asked as if it was the stupidest decision ever.
While Grey was annoyed, he didn't want to start an argument with Ahri's current mode, afraid that it would only get worse.
"Hey, everyone!" They all saw Neeko coming towards them, running on all four before standing on her two feet as she started slowing down when she reached them. "It's great to see you again," she greeted just as she stopped in front of them.
"Neeko, how are you doing," Nidalee asked, the shape-shifter's presence seemed to lift the mood a little.
Neeko was about to answer when she suddenly stopped. Her gaze turned towards the blood Demon sword on Grey's back. "W-What is that?" she asked hesitantly.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden change of character. Grey decided to test something, so he reached for the handle of his new sword and pulled it slightly, showing a little of the dark blade with the Crimson edge.
Neeko took a fearful step back before running to hide behind Nidalee. "Please keep that away from Neeko, it's scary!" the chameleon asked as she looked over the Huntress' shoulder.
Nidalee was surprised. She had never seen Neeko look so… scared. Meanwhile, Grey finally understood what was going on with Neeko.
Vastayashy'rei were shape-shifting spirits, and Ornn told him that the Blood Demon sword kills spirit. So, naturally, Neeko would be instinctively afraid of it. He wondered why it doesn't do that to Vastaya, but he guessed it was because they were only half spirits.
Grey sheathed the sword, causing the glow of the edge to vanish. "I'm sorry about that. I'll make sure to keep it away from you."
Neeko gave a hesitant nod. "It's okay, just please keep it away," she requested, really not liking how the blade made her feel.
"Can we get breakfast, please?" Ahri requested, not really feeling like waiting for the meal.
The others simply nodded and finally entered the dining hall. After gathering breakfast, they all sat down at two tables near each other. Grey sat down beside Ahri, with Silver close by.
However, they didn't have peace for long as a loud, demonic screech echoed through the entire hall, drawing everyone's attention and making them look at the source.
The source of the sound seemed to be two individuals. One of them looked like a metal skeleton with a cage for a chest and was covered in cloth, making it look like a Scarecrow. The arms had claws for fingers and it had an extra arm that was made of darkness, and one of the arms was holding a rusty scythe. The head had a single red eye along with razor-sharp teeth.
The other figure looked like its body was completely made of pitch-black shadows. It had a humanoid torso, but it didn't have legs and was floating in the air. It had gauntlets made of red metal with extending blades that were currently out in the open and some shoulder armor. The head didn't have a mouth, but there were two white slits where the eyes are supposed to be.
Both of the figures were being held back by summoners, all of whom were behind them using chains made of magic to pull the two away from each other. It was mostly working, but the summoners were obviously struggling.
"What's going on?" Brite asked raising an eyebrow.
"Didn't I see that scarecrow before?" Nidalee noted, recognizing it from her first match.
"Oh, Uhmm," everyone turned their sights to Aki as they heard her speak. "Those two are Fiddlesticks and Nocturne," she said pointing at the Scarecrow and the shadow respectively. "You see, Fiddlesticks is the Demon of fear, and Nocturne is the Demon of nightmares. They basically feed off the same thing. This isn't the first time this happened. They probably had problems with who gets to feed in a certain territory," she explained to them.
"Back off, you pile of scrap metal!" Nocturne yelled in a phantom voice that seemed to echo in the area. "I've already started haunting these people's dreams!" he attempted to attack the other Demon with the blades on his arms.
"Fi~ddle~sticks, end of men. Fi~ddle~sticks, first of ten!" Fiddlesticks replied with a deep, demonic voice that echoed just like Nocturne's. Most were confused by what he said, but the other Demon understood that he was saying, 'I was here first'.
"Isn't Kayle supposed to be stopping this?" Ahri asked, getting annoyed of the constant yelling.
"Kayle isn't currently in the Institute," the others gave Aki questionable looks, so she continued. "Apparently, there some kind of rebellion in Demacia, and Kayle was sent there to calm things down as a representative of the Institute."
"A rebellion?" Brite asked getting concerned. "Are Lux and Garen alright?" he asked, knowing that those two were probably there fighting.
"They're fine, from what I was told. But, Lux seems to be in trouble with her family for some reason," Aki explained what she was told as a summoner and as… someone else.
"What about Sona?" Grey asked, not wanting the Maven to be hurt.
Before Aki can reply, someone tapped Grey's shoulder and he looked to see the very person he just asked about. [I'm fine, Grey. Thank you for asking,] Sona signed as she sat at the other side of the Abyss Watcher. [Most of my concerts were canceled, so my mother told me to stay in the Institute for now since it's safe.]
"I'm glad to see you're alright," the Lord of Cinder said, earning a smile of gratitude from the mute girl.
Their attention turned back to the demons when Nocturne suddenly created a magical field around himself that broke the summoners' chains and knocked them back. "I've had enough of you, Fiddlesticks!"
Fiddlesticks roared at the ceiling, unleashing red aura that covered the summoners who were holding him. Each of them gained looks of terror, dropped the chains they were holding Fiddlesticks with, and ran away screaming for their lives. "Reap and sow. REAP AND SOW!" the fear Demon yelled readying his scythe.
"Do you two have to be so noisy?" Evelynn asked as she walked towards the two putting a finger on her chin. "I'm all for seeing you two rip each other apart, but can you be less… annoying?"
"Don't test me, Evelynn!" Nocturne threatened, turning his glare to her.
"On the contrary, good sit," a rather well-mannered voice said with an accent said. "Our good agony Demon was just telling you to take your scuffle in a place that we don't eat in."
The owner of the voice was an obese amphibian looking humanoid creature. It had green skin and two tentacles on its face working as a mustache. Its mouth was wide and filled with nothing but sharp fangs. It was wearing a black jacket over a dark shirt and a pair of rugged jeans. It was also wearing a few pieces of jewelry, even a ring on one of the tentacles on its face.
"Tahm… Kench," Fiddlesticks groaned out, introducing the Demon.
"Now, this is quite the fine gathering we have here," Kench started sounding rather polite. "But, as much as I like to see my fellow demons kill each other, I'd really like it to be somewhere far from where I eat," he added, his voice taking a dangerous tone.
Ahri's ears flattened on her head and she covered them with her arms. "Can someone shut them up?" she practically begged.
Grey, seeing his lover's discomfort, and remembering that she was already in a bad mood, decided that he should fill in for Kayle. So, he stood up from his seat and started walking towards the four demons.
"Why don't you try and make us, Kench?" Nocturne challenged, sharpening his blades on each other.
The River king raised his hands in a seemingly peaceful manner. "Now, I'm not one to go for violence. Just kill each other… and I'd be more than happy to take care of the loser's belongings."
Evelynn immediately glared at Tahm Kench. "Look, I like your style, Kench, but stay out of my territory," she threatened, her lashers glowing and pointing at the obese Demon.
"You really think you're one to talk, Evelynn?" Nocturne taunted narrowing his eyes at her. "Between us, you are the weakest."
The Demon of agony immediately raised her hand and let out her claws. "Want to test that theory?" she asked. She might be the youngest one between these four demons, but she didn't believe she was the weakest for a second.
Nocturne readied his blades, Fiddlesticks raised his scythe, and Tahm Kench started running his tongue across his lips, most likely thinking of eating the first one of the three others to lose.
However, before any of them moved, a slash made of red energy struck the ground in the middle of their gathering, causing them all to jump back slightly and look at who stopped them.
Grey was standing near them, holding the Blood Demon sword as the blade was pointing at the ground between them, implying that it was the cause for the attack. While the demons were taken back by what happened, their attention was on the sword itself, not the wielder.
The first one to break the silence was Fiddlesticks. "Blood… Demon," he groaned out.
"You killed it?" Nocturne asked, though everyone can tell it was rhetorical.
"Awe, I liked that thing," Evelynn complained crossing her arms. Though, everyone can tell there was no sadness in her voice.
"Now, I know mortals in Runeterra have no idea how to make weapons from souls," Tahm Kench commented before narrowing his eyes. "Which means… Ornn made that for you."
"I'll give you one chance to step back before I force you to," Grey threatened, glaring at them.
"Just because you defeated one Demon, you think you can beat more?" Nocturne questioned, glaring back.
"Hopefully, he doesn't have to," a new voice spoke up.
Looking at the owner, Grey saw what can only be described as an exact, opposite copy of Kayle standing beside him.
The woman had wings, but they were dark purple. She had chin-length, somewhat spiky hair, which was styled like Kayle, only in the other direction. She had pale, purple-ish skin with glowing purple eyes and dark lipstick. She was wearing a strapless dark purple dress with some fur on the chest area and a slit on the side of her leg for movement.
"Normally, I wouldn't really care if you demons hunt each other to extinction. But, I really don't want my morning to be ruined by you, especially without Kayle around. So, settle down, or I'll make you," the woman said with her hands on her hips.
"You can try!" Evelynn said as she pointed her lashers on the woman.
Fiddlesticks and Nocturne looked like they were ready to attack as well. As for Tahm Kench, he just smirked at the other demons before taking a few steps back.
The woman didn't look intimidated. She simply raised her hands in the air and brought them down. Suddenly, all three demons who were ready to attack were wrapped up with black chains covered in purple energy.
"So, did you calm down yet?" the woman asked, smirking at the chained demons.
"I'll haunt your nightmares, fallen!" Nocturne threatened as he struggled against his restraints.
"Sister… please, help me," Fiddlesticks groaned. However, much to Grey's confusion, it was Kayle's voice that came out.
What the fear Demon did seemed to have only angered the woman. She raised her hand and brought it down again, causing the ground around the demons to turn dark, which caused them to start groaning in pain.
"Nice try, Fiddlesticks. But, you can't break what's already broken," the woman sneered. "I'll say this one last time; settle down, now!"
The three restrained demons struggled one last time before they simply stopped. They all glared at the woman but still nodded one by one.
"Good," the woman raised her hand again and the chains vanished. "Now, off you go," her tone was that of an adult scolding a child.
The three demons spared one last glance at the woman before walking away, each in their own direction. Tahm Kench, who was standing back this whole time, laughed before walking away himself. Apparently, he expected this to happen, which is why he stepped back.
"The Institute should make a dungeon for these freaks," the woman sighed while shaking her head.
Grey sheathed the Blood Demon sword and looked at the woman. "You're Kayle's sister, I presume?" he asked, remembering the Righteous mentioning a sibling.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Kayle actually bothered to tell you about me?" she seemed skeptical about that statement.
"She only mentioned you, but never spoke about you in person," Grey replied.
The woman rolled her eyes. "Figured as much," she mumbled before putting her hands on her waist. "As for your question, yes, I am. I'm Morgana, the Fallen Angel," she introduced herself before tapping her chin with one of her fingers. "And you're… Grey? or is it the Abyss Watcher?"
"You know who I am?" the Lord of Cinder asked confused.
"Rumors spread quickly, especially about someone who is from another world. Plus, Kayle has also mentioned you a few times," Morgana replied. She might not speak to her sister as much as she used to, but they still spoke whenever they could. "Well, I'll be leaving then," she said before turning around and walking away.
Grey noticed that she held herself high when she walked. He can tell it wasn't arrogance. It was as if Morgana was proud of her ability to walk in the first place.
The Abyss Watcher simply shrugged his shoulders before going back to the table where he used to be. "Thank you," Ahri said in gratitude, knowing that Grey interfered for her sake.
"Don't worry, but are you still sure about that match?" Grey asked, concerned that Ahri might not be ready.
"Yes, don't worry about it," Ahri replied.
Ahri felt something on her leg and found Silver rubbing his head on her. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled warmly and bent down to scratch the wolf pup on his head.
When Ahri straightened her back, her body began to glow. "Looks like it's time," she sighed before giving her lover the most reassuring smile she can muster. "Wish me luck."
Ahri vanished in a flash of light, causing Grey to sigh. "Okay, what's wrong with Ahri?" Nidalee asked, noticing the very different attitude.
"She… heard some bad news, on our last visit to Ionia," Grey summarized.
He couldn't exactly tell them about what he and Ahri learned since it was her business. True, she did tell some people about his origin, but she had his permission at the time.
"Hey, where's Tiara?" Solas asked, noticing the absence of the Dancer.
"Knowing her, she's either trying to get drunk at the bar or still sleeping," Grey replied, very used to his sister's behavior.
Inside the Match:
Ahri has appeared in the summoners rift. She didn't really bother meeting her other teammates. But, she did see that Wukong was with her. He was probably trying to talk to her, but she wasn't in the mood.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was currently in the middle lane. She was shooting down minions for now, since she still didn't see the enemy champion.
The enemy champion finally appeared, who turned out to be Syndra. The Dark sovereign threw one of her orbs of magic at the fox Vastaya, who immediately jumped out of the way.
Using some Foxfire, Ahri attacked the enemy champion. To her surprise, Syndra caught one of her team's minions with her magic and used it as a shield, making the foxfire destroy it.
Now, Ahri might not know what the minions were exactly, or even if they were sentient. But, she definitely knew that what Syndra did was still cruel.
Syndra apparently didn't seem to care as she grabbed another minion with her magic and threw it at Ahri, who flipped backward to avoid getting hit.
Ahri blew a kiss at Syndra, using her charm spell, which struck the Ionian sorceress. The spell did its work as Syndra started harmlessly floating towards Ahri, and right into the firing range of the turret.
The turret started attacking Syndra, who woke up from the spell after the first strike of the turret. She immediately tried to move back, but the not before the turret shot at her again.
Syndra immediately pulled one of the close minions to use as a shield against the turret's attack.
While it did stop it, it didn't manage to stop Ahri's Orb of Deception that simply passes through the minion and Syndra herself before coming back, dealing additional damage and killing Syndra in the process.
Ahri grabbed her Orb of Deception as it came back. Even taking life essence in the rift didn't seem to cheer her up. "Champion, the jungler needs help. I'm taking you to him," her summoner said inside her head.
Ahri simply nodded and let her summoner guide her out of her lane into the jungle. Moving through the trees and passing the beasts that paid her no mind, Ahri finally came across what seems to be the problem.
Limping across the river, Wukong came out of the enemy side of the jungle and was currently holding his side, wounded. "Oh, Ahri! Thanks for coming to my rescue!" even with his wounds, the Monkey king kept his cheerful attitude.
"Wukong, what happened to you?" Ahri asked as she began making her way across the river and onto her teammate.
"It was-" Wukong didn't finish his answer as an arrow made of blue energy pierced his back and came out of his chest.
When Ahri saw who just killed the trickster she gasped before her expression turned to pure rage. "YOU!"
Standing on the other side of the river was Lamb, floating beside her was Wolf. Kindred both glanced at Ahri before turning around and going back to her team's side of the jungle.
Ahri immediately went to follow them, but her body suddenly stopped halfway through. "You can't go there. That's their team's jungle, if you go there alone you would-"
"No! I have to get them now!" Ahri cut off her summoner, and their surprise was enough to free Ahri and let her run towards the jungle.
Looking for any trails, Ahri heard Wolf's chuckling beyond a few bushes. She walked through them and began looking around for any sign of the Eternal Hunters.
Normally, it would be nothing short of madness to actually look for Kindred. However, Ahri knew that champions like them have their powers greatly limited inside matches. If Ahri was ever going to get a chance to actually go toe to toe with them, it would be now.
Ahri's ears twitched as she heard something, making her jump to the side to avoid Wolf biting her head off. However, that was apparently a distraction as one of Lamb's arrows struck one of Ahri's legs, causing her to fall on one knee.
Wolf laughed at Ahri's state. "How stupid are you? Didn't your summoner know better than to move into enemy territory?" he mocked as Lamb walked beside him.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply pulled the arrow from her leg and glared at the manifestation of Death. "How… how could you? All those people? Men, women, and children. How could you!?" she yelled out.
Wolf seemed to tilt his head. "What is it talking about, little Lamb?"
"I believe it is speaking about the Kumiho extinction," Lamb replied.
The cruel half of Death laughed loudly. "Yes, now I remember. That was a fun hunt!"
At this point, Ahri was seeing red. These two hunted her people and family down. Wolf was speaking of it like it was a game, and Lamb didn't even seem to care in the slightest.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan ignored the pain in her leg and stood up again. Creating a large ball of Fox-fire between her hands, she hurled it at Kindred.
The Eternal Hunters split apart into two sides, avoiding the ball of flames. Lamb flipped in the air, sending several arrows at Ahri's direction.
Ahri had to use her spirit rush to dodge and was about to throw another attack at the merciful half of Death, only for Wolf to jump at her from the side, bite her left arm, and rip it off.
Ahri screamed in pain as blood started falling from where her arm used to be. However, she still attempted to attack Wolf by creating an Orb of Deception in her remaining arm and throwing it at him.
Wolf simply evaded the attack, his phantom body easily moving out of the way. Before the orb can even come back to Ahri, two arrows from Lamb struck her, one in the shoulder and one on the thigh of her uninjured leg, causing her to fall on her back.
Ahri simply laid still. Unable to move from the various injuries across her body. All she can do is listen to Lamb's hooves come closer and closer, until she saw both halves of death above her, one at each side.
Just as Lamb pulled another arrow to finish her, Ahri spoke. "Why?" Kindred seemed confused as tears started falling from Ahri's eyes and down the side of her head. "Why didn't you take me with them?"
Ahri wasn't stupid. Despite her childish attitude sometimes, she was very smart. She knew for a fact that her parents could have never hidden her from Kindred no matter what.
Once the Eternal Hunters start a hunt, they always find their mark. Those who run only end up finding them faster. This means that Ahri lived that day because Kindred let her live, nothing else.
"Simply put, it wasn't your time yet," Wolf replied.
"The Kumiho made a mistake, which caused their time to come faster than it should have," Lamb explained, still holding her arrow.
"However, you were just born and didn't make the mistake they did. Your life didn't even begin for it to end," Wolf continued.
"We would have came for you, should you have made the same mistake as your people. But, there was one factor we didn't account for," Lamb said before pulling the string of her bow.
Thinking back on what even Kindred couldn't predict, Ahri came with one conclusion. "... Grey," that was the last thing Ahri said before Lamb's arrow struck her chest.
After a few seconds, Ahri respawned on the summoners platform, looking even more gloomy than before. Her body started moving towards the middle lane, probably being guided by the summoner. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply went along with it, not even bothering to focus on this point.
Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Lamb shooting an apple from chibi Wolf's head.)
The rest of the Match went quickly for Ahri. She didn't encounter Kindred after the first time. She just stayed in the middle lane.
Her team won when their top lane managed to break into their base and destroy their Nexus. When Ahri was pulled out of the rift, she immediately left without waiting for anything.
She found Grey waiting for her outside the summoning chambers. Ahri knew that he probably saw her meeting with Kindred, and was concerned for her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, confirming her thoughts.
"Yes, thank you for worrying," Ahri replied, looking down. "Can you… leave me alone? I need some time," she requested.
The Abyss Watcher wanted to say something, but decided not to and nodded his head. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply turned around and walked away.
Grey simply went back to the dining hall where everyone was waiting. "Where's Ahri?" Nidalee asked.
"She needed some time alone," Grey replied, taking his seat again.
"I think I should go talk to her," Aki said standing up. She was seriously worried about what could be her best friend.
Surprisingly, Sona stood up as well. [I'll go as well. I have something I want to talk to her about,] she signed to the Abyss Watcher.
The Lord of Cinder was somewhat concerned, but he also knew that being alone is the last thing Ahri needs. "Alright, please take care," he said.
Both girls nodded and started walking out of the dining hall and started looking for Ahri. After asking a few summoners, they were told that Ahri was seen going into the garden.
After walking inside, they saw Zyra tapping her foot with an impatient look on her face. "Are you here for the fox?" she asked and they nodded. "Then please get her out of here. She just came in and walked into the middle without saying a word."
They both can understand that Ahri angered Zyra by not asking for permission to be here. They walked deeper into the garden and found the Nine-Tailed Vastayan sitting near a bond of water.
"Ahri, are you okay?" Aki asked.
The Fox Vastayan looked at her. "Oh, you two. Yes?… no? I don't even know anymore," she replied with obvious conflict. "Look, I just want some alone time. Can you leave?"
Aki simply looked more worried while Sona rolled her eyes. The mute girl took out her board and wrote something before showing it to Aki.
The Shy summoner read what was written before looking back at the Maven. "Are you sure?" Sona nodded at that question. "Alright, stand still for a second."
Aki held up her hand and created her summoner's orb. She casted a spell that made Sona's head glow for a second before returning to normal.
Ahri noticed what they were doing but simply ignored it and kept looking at the water. That is until a beautiful voice spoke in her head. "Can you hear me?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan immediately started looking around for the source of the voice, before spotting Sona waving her hand. "It's me, over here."
"Sona?" Ahri was honestly stunned. "How are you-"
"This is a telepathy spell. It's how I communicate with the summoners during matches," Sona's voice replied inside her head.
Ahri had to admit, Sona's voice was heavenly. It was truly a curse that she couldn't speak with such a voice. It was also weird to talk to someone who wasn't even moving their lips, but that wasn't the weirdest thing she had ever seen.
"So, do you want to tell us why you've been acting like you're at a funeral all day?" Sona asked crossing her arms.
"Don't pretend you care," Ahri said standing up from her position and facing the mute girl.
Sona rolled her eyes again. "I DON'T care. Not even a little. But, your mode is effecting Grey, otherwise, I wouldn't bother being here," the Maven gave Ahri a hard stare. "So, grow up, and tell us what's wrong with you."
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan glared at the Maven. "Fine, you want to know what happened? Very well," Ahri then started telling them about the trip to Ionia, about finally learning about her people and what happened to them.
Sona simply kept a passive look throughout the story, while Aki's look turned to one of sympathy. "Oh, Ahri… I'm… I'm so sorry," the shy summoner apologized.
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Ahri replied to her friend.
"That's it?" Ahri immediately glared at Sona while Aki looked shocked at what she said. "So, your people messed up, they paid for it, and your moping because Kindred did their job?" Ahri was heavily resisting the urge to strangle Sona right then and there. "You do realize that Grey has been doing his best to help you, and you're turning him away for such a stupid reason?"
"Don't talk to me like you understand," Ahri threatened, her eyes glowing with magic.
"And what about Grey?" Sona asked, much to Ahri's confusion. "Don't you dare tell me he doesn't know how to feel like to lose everyone he cared about."
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I'M AVOIDING HIM!" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan yelled out. "Grey already had enough tragedy in his life. I don't want to burden HIM with MY problems!"
"Then you're truly an idiot," the Maven replied, causing the other two girls to look confused. "Right now, you ignoring Grey is far worse than anything else you could do to him. You said it yourself, Grey experienced enough tragedy. Being with you truly brings Grey happiness, but you're slowly taking that away. So, if you really care about Grey, then talk to him about it, because helping you is the only thing he wants right now."
Ahri let that sink in as she lowered her gaze to the ground. She was thinking that she was actually helping Grey by keeping some distance, but it seemed to only make things worse.
However, one thing confused the fox Vastaya. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, not seeing a reason for the Maven to help her.
Sona looked at her before looking up at the sky. "Do you know how it feels like to be alone in the dark, but have no ability to actually call for help?" she asked all of sudden. "It hurts, and it's lonely. Honestly, I never met someone who can relate to how I feel. To be so lonely, yet never have the ability to call for someone, for anyone to help. Until I met Grey. For the first time, I actually met someone who knows how it feels like to be left alone in the dark without anyone to call for. But we're also different. I don't call for anyone because I can't. Grey doesn't call for anyone because he's afraid to drag someone else into the darkness with him. He's just that selfless," Ahri thought that what the Maven said was actually a good description of her lover. "Let me make myself clear, Ahri. I want Grey to be happy, which is why the minute- no, the very second you mess up, I will be there to take him from you, so watch out," with that, Sona turned and started walking away.
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan couldn't help but look at the mute girl in a new light. She had always thought that Sona simply didn't care for anyone else but herself. But, that was apparently not true.
"Aki," the shy summoner tensed hearing Ahri call out her name. "Thank you."
Aki was relieved to see an actual smile on Ahri's face again. "Oh, it's alright, I was just worried about you."
"Can you tell Grey that I'll be in our room. I want to try something," the shy summoner nodded and they both started walking out of the garden.
After a quick apology to Zyra for intruding, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan headed towards their shared room. Once inside, she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge which was full of ingredients.
"Alright, this shouldn't be hard," Ahri said as she grabbed a few things from the fridge.
Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Sona playing on the stage and chibi champions cheering for her.)
Grey was coming back to his an Ahri's room at sunset. Nidalee would have been with him, but Neeko took her to show the Huntress her new room.
Opening the door, Grey was immediately concerned over the smell of something burning, only to be greeted with a sight he definitely wasn't expecting.
Ahri was standing in front of him, holding a tray that had a few cookies that were burned. She had some flower on her right cheek and a sheepish smile on her face.
"I… tried to make you something," Ahri said holding up the tray. "But, apparently, I don't really know how to cook, at all."
She was mostly going on the memories she had stolen. But, cooking was for more complex than it appeared to be. She supposed that it could have gone worse.
Grey just blinked a few times before smiling and walking up to her. Much to Ahri's surprise, he took one of the cookies and ate it. "Trust me, I've had much worse than a few burnt cookies."
Ahri couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I don't want to know," she commented, not desiring to know what he ate that could be worse than the burnt cookies.
In all honesty, Ahri presented them in the hopes that they would share a laugh at her failed attempt. But, she guessed that she should have known better than to think that Grey would laugh at someone's attempt at doing something, failure or otherwise… well, maybe he'd laugh at Brite, but she can never know when those two are together.
They both sat down on the couch, the tray of burnt cookies on the table in front of them along with Grey's hat. They gave one to Silver, which he ate without a problem.
"I'm sorry," Ahri suddenly said making him look at her. "I know you've been trying to help me handle what happened to the Kumiho… and I've been just pushing you away. I thought I was making sure you don't get caught in my bad mood, but I was doing the opposite. So, I'm sorry," she apologized again before looking at him with wet eyes. "Can you forgive me?"
Grey simply shook his head. "Ahri, everyone handles loss in their own way. I almost lost my sanity because of what happened to the Abyss Watchers. I didn't expect you to be completely fine. I'm just glad you're taking this better than I did."
The Nine-Tailed Vastayan gave her lover a grateful smile before kissing him. She ignored the taste of burnt cookies and simply enjoyed the moment before pulling back and looking at his blue eyes. "Thank you."
The Lord of Cinder simply smiled back before looking at the TV. "Now, why don't you show me why these 'video games' are so fun for you? maybe I can enjoy it?" he requested.
Ahri immediately smiled "Are you sure. It can be quite hard for new players," she said teasingly.
"It can't possibly be that hard," Grey replied before grabbing one of Ahri's controllers. "Now, how do I… start this?"
Ahri chuckled. "Well, first, you got to turn it on… and also make sure you're not holding the controller upside down like you're doing right now."
(A/N: Thank you for reading this.
First, about the demons' appearance. I wanted to give them a chance to show up. Raum didn't because he's inside Swain, and he has no reason to. Plus, it was a good chance to introduce Morgana.
Second, about the conversation between Ahri and Kindred. I'm surprised no one pointed this out. I was already planning to explain that Kindred spared Ahri, not missed her, but didn't get the chance until now.
Third, about what Sona said to Ahri about relating to Grey. I didn't realize it until now, but Grey's background is just as matching for Sona as it is to Ahri. I'm not planning to make this a Harem Fic, but if I was to ship Grey with someone other than Ahri, it would be Sona.
Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)
Ahri got off her and Grey's bed in the Institute. They have gotten back last night, and she honestly didn't get any sleep at all after finally finding out the truth about her people and what happened to them. Grey tried to comfort her, which somewhat worked by showing her she wasn't alone. But, she still couldn't get over the depression she was feeling. Seeing her lover sleeping, Ahri decided to take a bath, hoping it would wake her up slightly from her sleepless night. After finishing and wearing her signature red Kimono, she went to wake up the Abyss Watcher. "Grey, wake up, it's morning," Ahri's tone was blank. None of her usual teasing found in her voice. The Lord of Cinder woke up rather easily compared to usual. Ahri guessed that he was worried about her. "Good morning," he greeted as he got off the bed. "Good morning," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan half-heartedly responded before getting off the bed. "I'll see if Nidalee is awake. Can you check on the schedule when you come out?" she asked, but didn't wait for a response before getting out. Grey sighed as he saw his lover leave their room. He had seen many people realize that their entire family or home was destroyed, but this was the first time he actually had to comfort one of them. Going through a shower before wearing his clothes, he checked the schedule and narrowed his eyes slightly. He really hoped they were free today for Ahri's sake, but that wasn't the case apparently. Meanwhile, Ahri had just woke up Nidalee and was waiting on the couch in the living room. She saw Silver come to her side after he woke up and jump to the couch. Ahri had to admit, it was cute seeing the tiny wolf pup hold on to the edge of the couch before pulling himself on to it. Silver walked to her side and rubbed his head on the side of her leg as a sign of comfort. Ahri gave him a small smile of appreciation before petting his head in gratitude. "Good morning," Nidalee greeted as she came out of her room. "Hey," Ahri simply replied with a wave of her hand. The huntress raised an eyebrow at the way that the Nine-Tailed Vastayan was acting. She saw Grey come out of their room, fully dressed with a second sword on his back. "Well, me and Nidalee have nothing, but Ahri has a match in a couple of hours," the Abyss Watcher explained causing his lover to sigh. "You know, I can talk to the summoners or maybe Aki can-""No, it's okay," Ahri cut him off as she stood up while lifting Silver. "I'll be fine, so don't worry," she tried to reassure them, but the depressed look on her face was anything but reassuring. "Let's just get some breakfast."Nidalee looked at Grey with a questionable look and he simply shook his head, implying that they shouldn't speak about this now. she decided to listen and they both followed the nine-tailed Vastaya out of the room.They headed to the dining hall and encountered Aki, Brite, and Solas along the way. "Good morning," the summoner greeted."Hey," Ahri greeted half-heartedly, gaining confused looks. "What's with the sword, Grey?" Brite asked, noticing the blood Demon sword beside the Farron Great-sword. "Apparently, I'm the new blood God of Ionia," that statement gained looks of bewilderment from those around. "What?" Brite asked, more confused than shocked. "The Ionian gods made me one of them, the God of blood to be exact," Grey explained further. "Are you certain that you made the right choice?" Solas asked. He knew what Godhood was like, and it doesn't usually end well. "There were too many reasons for me to do it," the Abyss Watcher replied. Along with protecting Ahri, a new God of brotherhood would undoubtedly stop the Ionian people from being divided as Tiara said. "Why would they choose you over someone who praises the sun?" Brite asked as if it was the stupidest decision ever. While Grey was annoyed, he didn't want to start an argument with Ahri's current mode, afraid that it would only get worse. "Hey, everyone!" They all saw Neeko coming towards them, running on all four before standing on her two feet as she started slowing down when she reached them. "It's great to see you again," she greeted just as she stopped in front of them. "Neeko, how are you doing," Nidalee asked, the shape-shifter's presence seemed to lift the mood a little. Neeko was about to answer when she suddenly stopped. Her gaze turned towards the blood Demon sword on Grey's back. "W-What is that?" she asked hesitantly. Everyone was surprised by the sudden change of character. Grey decided to test something, so he reached for the handle of his new sword and pulled it slightly, showing a little of the dark blade with the Crimson edge. Neeko took a fearful step back before running to hide behind Nidalee. "Please keep that away from Neeko, it's scary!" the chameleon asked as she looked over the Huntress' shoulder. Nidalee was surprised. She had never seen Neeko look so scared. Meanwhile, Grey finally understood what was going on with Neeko. Vastayashy'rei were shape-shifting spirits, and Ornn told him that the Blood Demon sword kills spirit. So, naturally, Neeko would be instinctively afraid of it. He wondered why it doesn't do that to Vastaya, but he guessed it was because they were only half spirits. Grey sheathed the sword, causing the glow of the edge to vanish. "I'm sorry about that. I'll make sure to keep it away from you."Neeko gave a hesitant nod. "It's okay, just please keep it away," she requested, really not liking how the blade made her feel. "Can we get breakfast, please?" Ahri requested, not really feeling like waiting for the meal. The others simply nodded and finally entered the dining hall. After gathering breakfast, they all sat down at two tables near each other. Grey sat down beside Ahri, with Silver close by. However, they didn't have peace for long as a loud, demonic screech echoed through the entire hall, drawing everyone's attention and making them look at the source. The source of the sound seemed to be two individuals. One of them looked like a metal skeleton with a cage for a chest and was covered in cloth, making it look like a Scarecrow. The arms had claws for fingers and it had an extra arm that was made of darkness, and one of the arms was holding a rusty scythe. The head had a single red eye along with razor-sharp teeth. The other figure looked like its body was completely made of pitch-black shadows. It had a humanoid torso, but it didn't have legs and was floating in the air. It had gauntlets made of red metal with extending blades that were currently out in the open and some shoulder armor. The head didn't have a mouth, but there were two white slits where the eyes are supposed to be. Both of the figures were being held back by summoners, all of whom were behind them using chains made of magic to pull the two away from each other. It was mostly working, but the summoners were obviously struggling. "What's going on?" Brite asked raising an eyebrow. "Didn't I see that scarecrow before?" Nidalee noted, recognizing it from her first match. "Oh, Uhmm," everyone turned their sights to Aki as they heard her speak. "Those two are Fiddlesticks and Nocturne," she said pointing at the Scarecrow and the shadow respectively. "You see, Fiddlesticks is the Demon of fear, and Nocturne is the Demon of nightmares. They basically feed off the same thing. This isn't the first time this happened. They probably had problems with who gets to feed in a certain territory," she explained to them. "Back off, you pile of scrap metal!" Nocturne yelled in a phantom voice that seemed to echo in the area. "I've already started haunting these people's dreams!" he attempted to attack the other Demon with the blades on his arms. "Fi~ddle~sticks, end of men. Fi~ddle~sticks, first of ten!" Fiddlesticks replied with a deep, demonic voice that echoed just like Nocturne's. Most were confused by what he said, but the other Demon understood that he was saying, 'I was here first'. "Isn't Kayle supposed to be stopping this?" Ahri asked, getting annoyed of the constant yelling. "Kayle isn't currently in the Institute," the others gave Aki questionable looks, so she continued. "Apparently, there some kind of rebellion in Demacia, and Kayle was sent there to calm things down as a representative of the Institute." "A rebellion?" Brite asked getting concerned. "Are Lux and Garen alright?" he asked, knowing that those two were probably there fighting. "They're fine, from what I was told. But, Lux seems to be in trouble with her family for some reason," Aki explained what she was told as a summoner and as someone else. "What about Sona?" Grey asked, not wanting the Maven to be hurt. Before Aki can reply, someone tapped Grey's shoulder and he looked to see the very person he just asked about. I'm fine, Grey. Thank you for asking, Sona signed as she sat at the other side of the Abyss Watcher. Most of my concerts were canceled, so my mother told me to stay in the Institute for now since it's safe. "I'm glad to see you're alright," the Lord of Cinder said, earning a smile of gratitude from the mute girl. Their attention turned back to the demons when Nocturne suddenly created a magical field around himself that broke the summoners' chains and knocked them back. "I've had enough of you, Fiddlesticks!" Fiddlesticks roared at the ceiling, unleashing red aura that covered the summoners who were holding him. Each of them gained looks of terror, dropped the chains they were holding Fiddlesticks with, and ran away screaming for their lives. "Reap and sow. REAP AND SOW!" the fear Demon yelled readying his scythe. "Do you two have to be so noisy?" Evelynn asked as she walked towards the two putting a finger on her chin. "I'm all for seeing you two rip each other apart, but can you be less annoying?" "Don't test me, Evelynn!" Nocturne threatened, turning his glare to her. "On the contrary, good sit," a rather well-mannered voice said with an accent said. "Our good agony Demon was just telling you to take your scuffle in a place that we don't eat in." The owner of the voice was an obese amphibian looking humanoid creature. It had green skin and two tentacles on its face working as a mustache. Its mouth was wide and filled with nothing but sharp fangs. It was wearing a black jacket over a dark shirt and a pair of rugged jeans. It was also wearing a few pieces of jewelry, even a ring on one of the tentacles on its face. "Tahm Kench," Fiddlesticks groaned out, introducing the Demon. "Now, this is quite the fine gathering we have here," Kench started sounding rather polite. "But, as much as I like to see my fellow demons kill each other, I'd really like it to be somewhere far from where I eat," he added, his voice taking a dangerous tone. Ahri's ears flattened on her head and she covered them with her arms. "Can someone shut them up?" she practically begged. Grey, seeing his lover's discomfort, and remembering that she was already in a bad mood, decided that he should fill in for Kayle. So, he stood up from his seat and started walking towards the four demons. "Why don't you try and make us, Kench?" Nocturne challenged, sharpening his blades on each other. The River king raised his hands in a seemingly peaceful manner. "Now, I'm not one to go for violence. Just kill each other and I'd be more than happy to take care of the loser's belongings." Evelynn immediately glared at Tahm Kench. "Look, I like your style, Kench, but stay out of my territory," she threatened, her lashers glowing and pointing at the obese Demon. "You really think you're one to talk, Evelynn?" Nocturne taunted narrowing his eyes at her. "Between us, you are the weakest." The Demon of agony immediately raised her hand and let out her claws. "Want to test that theory?" she asked. She might be the youngest one between these four demons, but she didn't believe she was the weakest for a second. Nocturne readied his blades, Fiddlesticks raised his scythe, and Tahm Kench started running his tongue across his lips, most likely thinking of eating the first one of the three others to lose. However, before any of them moved, a slash made of red energy struck the ground in the middle of their gathering, causing them all to jump back slightly and look at who stopped them. Grey was standing near them, holding the Blood Demon sword as the blade was pointing at the ground between them, implying that it was the cause for the attack. While the demons were taken back by what happened, their attention was on the sword itself, not the wielder. The first one to break the silence was Fiddlesticks. "Blood Demon," he groaned out. "You killed it?" Nocturne asked, though everyone can tell it was rhetorical. "Awe, I liked that thing," Evelynn complained crossing her arms. Though, everyone can tell there was no sadness in her voice. "Now, I know mortals in Runeterra have no idea how to make weapons from souls," Tahm Kench commented before narrowing his eyes. "Which means Ornn made that for you." "I'll give you one chance to step back before I force you to," Grey threatened, glaring at them. "Just because you defeated one Demon, you think you can beat more?" Nocturne questioned, glaring back. "Hopefully, he doesn't have to," a new voice spoke up. Looking at the owner, Grey saw what can only be described as an exact, opposite copy of Kayle standing beside him. The woman had wings, but they were dark purple. She had chin-length, somewhat spiky hair, which was styled like Kayle, only in the other direction. She had pale, purple-ish skin with glowing purple eyes and dark lipstick. She was wearing a strapless dark purple dress with some fur on the chest area and a slit on the side of her leg for movement. "Normally, I wouldn't really care if you demons hunt each other to extinction. But, I really don't want my morning to be ruined by you, especially without Kayle around. So, settle down, or I'll make you," the woman said with her hands on her hips. "You can try!" Evelynn said as she pointed her lashers on the woman. Fiddlesticks and Nocturne looked like they were ready to attack as well. As for Tahm Kench, he just smirked at the other demons before taking a few steps back. The woman didn't look intimidated. She simply raised her hands in the air and brought them down. Suddenly, all three demons who were ready to attack were wrapped up with black chains covered in purple energy. "So, did you calm down yet?" the woman asked, smirking at the chained demons. "I'll haunt your nightmares, fallen!" Nocturne threatened as he struggled against his restraints. "Sister please, help me," Fiddlesticks groaned. However, much to Grey's confusion, it was Kayle's voice that came out. What the fear Demon did seemed to have only angered the woman. She raised her hand and brought it down again, causing the ground around the demons to turn dark, which caused them to start groaning in pain. "Nice try, Fiddlesticks. But, you can't break what's already broken," the woman sneered. "I'll say this one last time; settle down, now!" The three restrained demons struggled one last time before they simply stopped. They all glared at the woman but still nodded one by one. "Good," the woman raised her hand again and the chains vanished. "Now, off you go," her tone was that of an adult scolding a child. The three demons spared one last glance at the woman before walking away, each in their own direction. Tahm Kench, who was standing back this whole time, laughed before walking away himself. Apparently, he expected this to happen, which is why he stepped back. "The Institute should make a dungeon for these freaks," the woman sighed while shaking her head. Grey sheathed the Blood Demon sword and looked at the woman. "You're Kayle's sister, I presume?" he asked, remembering the Righteous mentioning a sibling. The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Kayle actually bothered to tell you about me?" she seemed skeptical about that statement. "She only mentioned you, but never spoke about you in person," Grey replied. The woman rolled her eyes. "Figured as much," she mumbled before putting her hands on her waist. "As for your question, yes, I am. I'm Morgana, the Fallen Angel," she introduced herself before tapping her chin with one of her fingers. "And you're Grey? or is it the Abyss Watcher?" "You know who I am?" the Lord of Cinder asked confused. "Rumors spread quickly, especially about someone who is from another world. Plus, Kayle has also mentioned you a few times," Morgana replied. She might not speak to her sister as much as she used to, but they still spoke whenever they could. "Well, I'll be leaving then," she said before turning around and walking away. Grey noticed that she held herself high when she walked. He can tell it wasn't arrogance. It was as if Morgana was proud of her ability to walk in the first place. The Abyss Watcher simply shrugged his shoulders before going back to the table where he used to be. "Thank you," Ahri said in gratitude, knowing that Grey interfered for her sake. "Don't worry, but are you still sure about that match?" Grey asked, concerned that Ahri might not be ready. "Yes, don't worry about it," Ahri replied. Ahri felt something on her leg and found Silver rubbing his head on her. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled warmly and bent down to scratch the wolf pup on his head. When Ahri straightened her back, her body began to glow. "Looks like it's time," she sighed before giving her lover the most reassuring smile she can muster. "Wish me luck." Ahri vanished in a flash of light, causing Grey to sigh. "Okay, what's wrong with Ahri?" Nidalee asked, noticing the very different attitude. "She heard some bad news, on our last visit to Ionia," Grey summarized.He couldn't exactly tell them about what he and Ahri learned since it was her business. True, she did tell some people about his origin, but she had his permission at the time. "Hey, where's Tiara?" Solas asked, noticing the absence of the Dancer. "Knowing her, she's either trying to get drunk at the bar or still sleeping," Grey replied, very used to his sister's behavior. Inside the Match:Ahri has appeared in the summoners rift. She didn't really bother meeting her other teammates. But, she did see that Wukong was with her. He was probably trying to talk to her, but she wasn't in the mood. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was currently in the middle lane. She was shooting down minions for now, since she still didn't see the enemy champion. The enemy champion finally appeared, who turned out to be Syndra. The Dark sovereign threw one of her orbs of magic at the fox Vastaya, who immediately jumped out of the way. Using some Foxfire, Ahri attacked the enemy champion. To her surprise, Syndra caught one of her team's minions with her magic and used it as a shield, making the foxfire destroy it. Now, Ahri might not know what the minions were exactly, or even if they were sentient. But, she definitely knew that what Syndra did was still cruel. Syndra apparently didn't seem to care as she grabbed another minion with her magic and threw it at Ahri, who flipped backward to avoid getting hit. Ahri blew a kiss at Syndra, using her charm spell, which struck the Ionian sorceress. The spell did its work as Syndra started harmlessly floating towards Ahri, and right into the firing range of the turret. The turret started attacking Syndra, who woke up from the spell after the first strike of the turret. She immediately tried to move back, but the not before the turret shot at her again. Syndra immediately pulled one of the close minions to use as a shield against the turret's attack.While it did stop it, it didn't manage to stop Ahri's Orb of Deception that simply passes through the minion and Syndra herself before coming back, dealing additional damage and killing Syndra in the process. Ahri grabbed her Orb of Deception as it came back. Even taking life essence in the rift didn't seem to cheer her up. "Champion, the jungler needs help. I'm taking you to him," her summoner said inside her head. Ahri simply nodded and let her summoner guide her out of her lane into the jungle. Moving through the trees and passing the beasts that paid her no mind, Ahri finally came across what seems to be the problem. Limping across the river, Wukong came out of the enemy side of the jungle and was currently holding his side, wounded. "Oh, Ahri! Thanks for coming to my rescue!" even with his wounds, the Monkey king kept his cheerful attitude. "Wukong, what happened to you?" Ahri asked as she began making her way across the river and onto her teammate. "It was-" Wukong didn't finish his answer as an arrow made of blue energy pierced his back and came out of his chest. When Ahri saw who just killed the trickster she gasped before her expression turned to pure rage. "YOU!" Standing on the other side of the river was Lamb, floating beside her was Wolf. Kindred both glanced at Ahri before turning around and going back to her team's side of the jungle. Ahri immediately went to follow them, but her body suddenly stopped halfway through. "You can't go there. That's their team's jungle, if you go there alone you would-" "No! I have to get them now!" Ahri cut off her summoner, and their surprise was enough to free Ahri and let her run towards the jungle. Looking for any trails, Ahri heard Wolf's chuckling beyond a few bushes. She walked through them and began looking around for any sign of the Eternal Hunters. Normally, it would be nothing short of madness to actually look for Kindred. However, Ahri knew that champions like them have their powers greatly limited inside matches. If Ahri was ever going to get a chance to actually go toe to toe with them, it would be now. Ahri's ears twitched as she heard something, making her jump to the side to avoid Wolf biting her head off. However, that was apparently a distraction as one of Lamb's arrows struck one of Ahri's legs, causing her to fall on one knee. Wolf laughed at Ahri's state. "How stupid are you? Didn't your summoner know better than to move into enemy territory?" he mocked as Lamb walked beside him. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply pulled the arrow from her leg and glared at the manifestation of Death. "How how could you? All those people? Men, women, and children. How could you!?" she yelled out. Wolf seemed to tilt his head. "What is it talking about, little Lamb?" "I believe it is speaking about the Kumiho extinction," Lamb replied. The cruel half of Death laughed loudly. "Yes, now I remember. That was a fun hunt!" At this point, Ahri was seeing red. These two hunted her people and family down. Wolf was speaking of it like it was a game, and Lamb didn't even seem to care in the slightest. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan ignored the pain in her leg and stood up again. Creating a large ball of Fox-fire between her hands, she hurled it at Kindred. The Eternal Hunters split apart into two sides, avoiding the ball of flames. Lamb flipped in the air, sending several arrows at Ahri's direction.Ahri had to use her spirit rush to dodge and was about to throw another attack at the merciful half of Death, only for Wolf to jump at her from the side, bite her left arm, and rip it off. Ahri screamed in pain as blood started falling from where her arm used to be. However, she still attempted to attack Wolf by creating an Orb of Deception in her remaining arm and throwing it at him. Wolf simply evaded the attack, his phantom body easily moving out of the way. Before the orb can even come back to Ahri, two arrows from Lamb struck her, one in the shoulder and one on the thigh of her uninjured leg, causing her to fall on her back. Ahri simply laid still. Unable to move from the various injuries across her body. All she can do is listen to Lamb's hooves come closer and closer, until she saw both halves of death above her, one at each side. Just as Lamb pulled another arrow to finish her, Ahri spoke. "Why?" Kindred seemed confused as tears started falling from Ahri's eyes and down the side of her head. "Why didn't you take me with them?" Ahri wasn't stupid. Despite her childish attitude sometimes, she was very smart. She knew for a fact that her parents could have never hidden her from Kindred no matter what. Once the Eternal Hunters start a hunt, they always find their mark. Those who run only end up finding them faster. This means that Ahri lived that day because Kindred let her live, nothing else. "Simply put, it wasn't your time yet," Wolf replied. "The Kumiho made a mistake, which caused their time to come faster than it should have," Lamb explained, still holding her arrow. "However, you were just born and didn't make the mistake they did. Your life didn't even begin for it to end," Wolf continued. "We would have came for you, should you have made the same mistake as your people. But, there was one factor we didn't account for," Lamb said before pulling the string of her bow. Thinking back on what even Kindred couldn't predict, Ahri came with one conclusion. "... Grey," that was the last thing Ahri said before Lamb's arrow struck her chest. After a few seconds, Ahri respawned on the summoners platform, looking even more gloomy than before. Her body started moving towards the middle lane, probably being guided by the summoner. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply went along with it, not even bothering to focus on this point. Time skip: Brought to you by chibi Lamb shooting an apple from chibi Wolf's head. The rest of the Match went quickly for Ahri. She didn't encounter Kindred after the first time. She just stayed in the middle lane. Her team won when their top lane managed to break into their base and destroy their Nexus. When Ahri was pulled out of the rift, she immediately left without waiting for anything. She found Grey waiting for her outside the summoning chambers. Ahri knew that he probably saw her meeting with Kindred, and was concerned for her. "Are you alright?" he asked, confirming her thoughts. "Yes, thank you for worrying," Ahri replied, looking down. "Can you leave me alone? I need some time," she requested. The Abyss Watcher wanted to say something, but decided not to and nodded his head. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply turned around and walked away. Grey simply went back to the dining hall where everyone was waiting. "Where's Ahri?" Nidalee asked. "She needed some time alone," Grey replied, taking his seat again. "I think I should go talk to her," Aki said standing up. She was seriously worried about what could be her best friend. Surprisingly, Sona stood up as well. I'll go as well. I have something I want to talk to her about, she signed to the Abyss Watcher. The Lord of Cinder was somewhat concerned, but he also knew that being alone is the last thing Ahri needs. "Alright, please take care," he said. Both girls nodded and started walking out of the dining hall and started looking for Ahri. After asking a few summoners, they were told that Ahri was seen going into the garden. After walking inside, they saw Zyra tapping her foot with an impatient look on her face. "Are you here for the fox?" she asked and they nodded. "Then please get her out of here. She just came in and walked into the middle without saying a word." They both can understand that Ahri angered Zyra by not asking for permission to be here. They walked deeper into the garden and found the Nine-Tailed Vastayan sitting near a bond of water. "Ahri, are you okay?" Aki asked. The Fox Vastayan looked at her. "Oh, you two. Yes? no? I don't even know anymore," she replied with obvious conflict. "Look, I just want some alone time. Can you leave?" Aki simply looked more worried while Sona rolled her eyes. The mute girl took out her board and wrote something before showing it to Aki. The Shy summoner read what was written before looking back at the Maven. "Are you sure?" Sona nodded at that question. "Alright, stand still for a second." Aki held up her hand and created her summoner's orb. She casted a spell that made Sona's head glow for a second before returning to normal. Ahri noticed what they were doing but simply ignored it and kept looking at the water. That is until a beautiful voice spoke in her head. "Can you hear me?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan immediately started looking around for the source of the voice, before spotting Sona waving her hand. "It's me, over here." "Sona?" Ahri was honestly stunned. "How are you-" "This is a telepathy spell. It's how I communicate with the summoners during matches," Sona's voice replied inside her head. Ahri had to admit, Sona's voice was heavenly. It was truly a curse that she couldn't speak with such a voice. It was also weird to talk to someone who wasn't even moving their lips, but that wasn't the weirdest thing she had ever seen. "So, do you want to tell us why you've been acting like you're at a funeral all day?" Sona asked crossing her arms. "Don't pretend you care," Ahri said standing up from her position and facing the mute girl. Sona rolled her eyes again. "I DON'T care. Not even a little. But, your mode is effecting Grey, otherwise, I wouldn't bother being here," the Maven gave Ahri a hard stare. "So, grow up, and tell us what's wrong with you." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan glared at the Maven. "Fine, you want to know what happened? Very well," Ahri then started telling them about the trip to Ionia, about finally learning about her people and what happened to them. Sona simply kept a passive look throughout the story, while Aki's look turned to one of sympathy. "Oh, Ahri I'm I'm so sorry," the shy summoner apologized. "You don't have anything to apologize for," Ahri replied to her friend. "That's it?" Ahri immediately glared at Sona while Aki looked shocked at what she said. "So, your people messed up, they paid for it, and your moping because Kindred did their job?" Ahri was heavily resisting the urge to strangle Sona right then and there. "You do realize that Grey has been doing his best to help you, and you're turning him away for such a stupid reason?" "Don't talk to me like you understand," Ahri threatened, her eyes glowing with magic. "And what about Grey?" Sona asked, much to Ahri's confusion. "Don't you dare tell me he doesn't know how to feel like to lose everyone he cared about." "THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I'M AVOIDING HIM!" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan yelled out. "Grey already had enough tragedy in his life. I don't want to burden HIM with MY problems!" "Then you're truly an idiot," the Maven replied, causing the other two girls to look confused. "Right now, you ignoring Grey is far worse than anything else you could do to him. You said it yourself, Grey experienced enough tragedy. Being with you truly brings Grey happiness, but you're slowly taking that away. So, if you really care about Grey, then talk to him about it, because helping you is the only thing he wants right now."Ahri let that sink in as she lowered her gaze to the ground. She was thinking that she was actually helping Grey by keeping some distance, but it seemed to only make things worse. However, one thing confused the fox Vastaya. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, not seeing a reason for the Maven to help her. Sona looked at her before looking up at the sky. "Do you know how it feels like to be alone in the dark, but have no ability to actually call for help?" she asked all of sudden. "It hurts, and it's lonely. Honestly, I never met someone who can relate to how I feel. To be so lonely, yet never have the ability to call for someone, for anyone to help. Until I met Grey. For the first time, I actually met someone who knows how it feels like to be left alone in the dark without anyone to call for. But we're also different. I don't call for anyone because I can't. Grey doesn't call for anyone because he's afraid to drag someone else into the darkness with him. He's just that selfless," Ahri thought that what the Maven said was actually a good description of her lover. "Let me make myself clear, Ahri. I want Grey to be happy, which is why the minute- no, the very second you mess up, I will be there to take him from you, so watch out," with that, Sona turned and started walking away. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan couldn't help but look at the mute girl in a new light. She had always thought that Sona simply didn't care for anyone else but herself. But, that was apparently not true. "Aki," the shy summoner tensed hearing Ahri call out her name. "Thank you." Aki was relieved to see an actual smile on Ahri's face again. "Oh, it's alright, I was just worried about you." "Can you tell Grey that I'll be in our room. I want to try something," the shy summoner nodded and they both started walking out of the garden. After a quick apology to Zyra for intruding, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan headed towards their shared room. Once inside, she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge which was full of ingredients. "Alright, this shouldn't be hard," Ahri said as she grabbed a few things from the fridge. Time skip: Brought to you by chibi Sona playing on the stage and chibi champions cheering for her.Grey was coming back to his an Ahri's room at sunset. Nidalee would have been with him, but Neeko took her to show the Huntress her new room. Opening the door, Grey was immediately concerned over the smell of something burning, only to be greeted with a sight he definitely wasn't expecting. Ahri was standing in front of him, holding a tray that had a few cookies that were burned. She had some flower on her right cheek and a sheepish smile on her face. "I tried to make you something," Ahri said holding up the tray. "But, apparently, I don't really know how to cook, at all." She was mostly going on the memories she had stolen. But, cooking was for more complex than it appeared to be. She supposed that it could have gone worse. Grey just blinked a few times before smiling and walking up to her. Much to Ahri's surprise, he took one of the cookies and ate it. "Trust me, I've had much worse than a few burnt cookies." Ahri couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I don't want to know," she commented, not desiring to know what he ate that could be worse than the burnt cookies. In all honesty, Ahri presented them in the hopes that they would share a laugh at her failed attempt. But, she guessed that she should have known better than to think that Grey would laugh at someone's attempt at doing something, failure or otherwise well, maybe he'd laugh at Brite, but she can never know when those two are together. They both sat down on the couch, the tray of burnt cookies on the table in front of them along with Grey's hat. They gave one to Silver, which he ate without a problem. "I'm sorry," Ahri suddenly said making him look at her. "I know you've been trying to help me handle what happened to the Kumiho and I've been just pushing you away. I thought I was making sure you don't get caught in my bad mood, but I was doing the opposite. So, I'm sorry," she apologized again before looking at him with wet eyes. "Can you forgive me?" Grey simply shook his head. "Ahri, everyone handles loss in their own way. I almost lost my sanity because of what happened to the Abyss Watchers. I didn't expect you to be completely fine. I'm just glad you're taking this better than I did." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan gave her lover a grateful smile before kissing him. She ignored the taste of burnt cookies and simply enjoyed the moment before pulling back and looking at his blue eyes. "Thank you." The Lord of Cinder simply smiled back before looking at the TV. "Now, why don't you show me why these 'video games' are so fun for you? maybe I can enjoy it?" he requested. Ahri immediately smiled "Are you sure. It can be quite hard for new players," she said teasingly. "It can't possibly be that hard," Grey replied before grabbing one of Ahri's controllers. "Now, how do I start this?" Ahri chuckled. "Well, first, you got to turn it on and also make sure you're not holding the controller upside down like you're doing right now." A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, about the demons' appearance. I wanted to give them a chance to show up. Raum didn't because he's inside Swain, and he has no reason to. Plus, it was a good chance to introduce Morgana. Second, about the conversation between Ahri and Kindred. I'm surprised no one pointed this out. I was already planning to explain that Kindred spared Ahri, not missed her, but didn't get the chance until now. Third, about what Sona said to Ahri about relating to Grey. I didn't realize it until now, but Grey's background is just as matching for Sona as it is to Ahri. I'm not planning to make this a Harem Fic, but if I was to ship Grey with someone other than Ahri, it would be Sona. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.
