The Demon and The Shadow ~ Kayn x Akali ~ League of Legends

Chapter 9 - Fear

Akali's head dropped, her expression darkening as she pulled up her mask. The kunai in her hands felt heavy, her feet felt slow and the air around her felt like it was attacking her from all sides, stabbing her with countless tiny blades. Her breaths were too quick, her eyes too blurry and her heartbeat pounding through her chest, so loud she could almost hear it. No matter how good she thought she was, the Order of Shadows was a near unbeatable enemy, especially with her injuries. If she were alone, she'd have lost all hope.

But she wasn't alone.

Akali felt Kayn's hand close around her's, his skin hard and rough. The feeling of his fingers brushing against her was like an anchor stopping Akali from losing hope, keeping her mind tethered to reality. She looked up at him, the sadness in her eyes fading as she looked him in the eye.

"We are going to get out of here alive, I promise," Kayn whispered, his breath warm and reassuring against Akali's ear. Akali couldn't help but smile: Kayn's voice was possibly the only thing on Runeterra that could have saved her in that moment.

"Okay, let's do this." She replied, her voice shaky, but calming by the second. Kayn nodded, his form darkening as he dropped into the shadows. Akali pulled a smoke bomb from her pack, pulling the trigger and throwing it through the open door. She dashed from the doorway, coiling through the smoke and, with the flash of a shuriken, leaping from the darkness. She landed with her feet planted on an Order grunt's shoulders and her kama buried in his skull. She pulled her kama free with one hand and pushed herself off his body with the other, her form engulfed by the smoke before the corpse hit the ground. As she pounced onto one of the other grunts, she spun in the air, slicing through his neck with her kama. However, as she landed, she felt a pain in her abdomen.

 I must have moved too fast, she thought, my wounds have reopened. Suddenly, a shadow took shape before her, arms and legs forming from the dark mist. A pair of shurikens materialised in the shadow's hands as it pulled back its arms, ready to throw. Dread washed over Akali as she realised she couldn't move fast enough to dodge the attack.

But, without a moment to spare, Kayn dashed through the shadow, slicing through it with Rhaast's blade. The shadow dissipated and Kayn reached for Akali's hand. He pulled her to her feet, supporting her with his free hand. Kayn's skin was splattered with blood, so much so that his torso was almost indistinguishable from the darkin corruption on his left side. However, it was clearly not his blood since, as the smoke cleared, Akali saw the bodies of at least 15 dead Order grunts, most in more than one piece.

But the battle was far from won as Akali knew their leader still stood. She knew only two people capable of the technique known as "Living Shadow," and one of them was the man she loved. With that, Akali heard a chilling laugh echoing from the darkness.

"Stand behind me," Kayn growled, "There are some bandages in my pack inside." His voice as dark and commanding, losing the poetic inflections and careful pauses Akali had grown to love. Something about his voice scared her. She couldn't tell what, but for some reason, his words plunged her into the dread she felt minutes earlier. "Quickly! There isn't much time!"

The insistence in Kayn's words woke Akali from her deliberation and she looked at him. His eyes were harsh and piercing, his expression desperate. She knew now what it was in his voice that scared her.

Fear.

"No. I won't let you face this alone," She said, planting her hands on Kayn's shoulders, "We got into this mess together. So let's get out of it together!" Kayn's eyes widened, his expression softening and his mouth curling into a soft smile.

"Fine. Let's do this," He pulled Rhaast up at his side and called out into the darkness, "What do you say, Rhaast? Ready to decapitate an old man?" Rhaast's laugh boomed into the night air and Akali didn't feel the chills it usually sent down her spine.

"I've been wanting to since you first introduced us!" Rhaast roared, his voice dripping in bloodlust.

"Are you done talking?" A voice growled from behind them. Kayn spun around, dread washing over him again. when he turned, he saw Zed, his arm wrapped around Akali's neck and a blade pressed to her abdomen. "One wrong move and she dies, Kayn." The dread in Kayn's mind turned from silent fear to raging anger, his hands shaking with the desire to rip Zed's head from his shoulders.

"You... You bastard!" Kayn roared. As he cried out, another voice filled the air as Akali screamed. Blood was starting to drip from her abdomen as Zed pushed the blade ever so slightly into her skin.

"Didn't you hear me?" Zed sighed, his voice seemingly annoyed, "You're still so brash, despite all my teachings." He tightened his grip around Akali's neck, causing her to gasp for breath. "Listen to me Kayn. If you value yours or this Kinkou rat's lives then drop the scythe." Kayn seethed, his eyes boiling with fiery rage. He felt Rhaasts weight in his hands and he felt the wrath within. He felt it slipping into his mind, filling him with delightful fury. Just when he was on the edge of total and complete anger...

"K-kayn..." He heard her voice drifting through the air, quelling the anger in his mind, "s-stop..." Akali's voice was almost inaudible and it took everything she had to force those two short words out. Hearing her brought Kayn to his senses and he dropped Rhaast immediately.

"Good. Now turn around and kneel." Zed's voice was, as usual, calm and calculated, as though everything was going according to plan. Kayn did as he was told and dropped to his knees with his back to Zed. He wanted to help Akali, but he knew deep down that he was slower than Zed and if he tried anything Akali would be dead befo-

Thud.

Kayn's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in the back of his skull as though someone had bashed him over the head with a club. He tried to spin around to see what it was but his consciousness was rapidly slipping into darkness. As his vision faded, he saw at least 10 more Order ninja standing behind Zed as he stabbed Akali in the stomach. Kayn's vision blackened until he knew only darkness.

Author's Note: "An update every week," he said. Sorry for not sticking to that but I have a few really long episodes in the works which should be done soon. Thanks for sticking with me, hope you're enjoying the story.

-Jack