Sakura

Chapter 12

Nami attempted to crack open her eyes, her lids feeling as though they were weighted with something. Drawing in a breath, the siren let out a yelp of pain as a sharp sensation ripped through her chest. Definitely had to be a cracked rib, and as though reading her thoughts a voice came from the end of the bed she found herself in.

 "At least three of your ribs are cracked thanks to Zyra," the voice spoke. It definitely belonged to a woman as Nami tried again to open her eyes, her lids fluttering. Had she been drugged? What happened? Where was she? Nami struggled to sit up and watched as a blurred figure stood above her, hands placed on either side of her arms and gently pressed her back down. Was she in some sort of medical wing? The lights were dim, but everything was starkly white. Perhaps she was in the hospital?

 "Where?" Nami croaked, her throat dry. Licking her lips the siren tried again to speak but found she had lost her voice. How long had she been here?

 "Rest." The voice soothed and Nami felt darkness take her.

"Explain to me just how exactly we lost her?" Lux's voice rose while she paced, the mage seeming nearly hysterical at this point.

 "No point in knowing how," Ahri responded coolly. "Our focus should be on retrieving the Morai."

 "You mean the guardian," Poppy said, her blue eyes narrowing. The yordle warrior had not been silent when she learned of Lux and Ahri's plan of keeping Nami at arm's length.

 "Of course," Ahri said with a wave of her hand.

 "She can clearly handle herself, I'm not sure what all the hub-bub is about," Jinx said as she began to unwrap a candy bar.

 Lux stormed over to Jinx, grabbing the candy from the girl's hand.

 "The hub-bub, Jinx, is that Nami's been poisoned. With a concoction that even Urgot cannot find a cure for," Lux said, her face falling.

 "It's Noxian, I still don't understand why you trust that thing..." Sarah spoke up as she leaned against the wall, pushing a swath of her orange-red hair away from her eyes.

 "Urgot isn't for you to trust. He's made do with our arrangement," Ahri said, her voice on the thin line of snapping.

 "Maybe he doesn't want to find a cure, maybe he doesn't care if Nami dies," Ezreal said, moving to stand beside Sarah.

 Ahri's sharp eyes landed on Ezreal and narrowed to near slits, a swirling blue-green energy dancing behind them.

 "You brought this all upon our heads," Ahri snapped, her foxtails appearing behind her. "And Nami's. You opened your mouth and blundered the truth when she was better off not knowing anything."

 "Was she?" Janna spoke now, her calm voice oddly tempered. "You and Lux may be our leaders, but that does not mean we so blindly follow. Nami deserved to know her life was in danger. She deserved to be trusted."

 Ahri looked taken aback, and for good reason. Janna rarely spoke, and even less so at any guardian meeting.

 "Perhaps you are right, Janna," Ahri said, her tails disappearing as she cast a look at Lux who chewed on her lip worriedly. "Hindsight being what it is, I won't allow us to make the same mistake twice. We must get her back. I expect full reports within two hours. Move out, guardians."

 With a near instant flash, everyone in the room burst into uniform, a few companions springing forth. In moments the room was empty with the exception of Lux and Ahri.

 A long, drawn out sigh escaped from Ahri's lips as she slipped into a nearby booth.

 "Lux, what are we going to do if we can't find her?" The normal confident Ahri was gone, and the sad eyes of a woman looked back at Lux. In all the time Lux had known Ahri she had never seen the woman so much as slouch. It took a long time for Lux to try mirroring Ahri and the way she led, so it was strange to see someone she had idolized for so long looking so... weak.

 "I-," Lux faltered and shook her head. "No," a renewed strength and determination appeared on the young woman's face. "We've been through too much, fought too hard. We won't lose her. We'll find her, and we'll make sure we don't-"

 "Lose her?" Ahri said, her voice cracking. A lone tear escaped from Ahri's sparkling purple eye. "Rakan and Xayah... they're still gone too. I had hoped that if Nami had found the Golden Demon, they'd be there too."

 "They may be," Lux said, moving to pat Ahri on the arm. "We have to keep going. We can't give up!"

 "Of course," Ahri said, nodding, quickly wiping away the tear that was trailing her cheek. "I will go speak with Urgot, see if there are any new developments. You make sure you double check everything at the abduction site. See if there are any remnants that we may be able to track."

 "Got it!" Lux said, her uniform gliding on as she transformed. "Oh, and Ahri," Lux said hesitantly. Ahri had just finished her own transformation and adjusted her stockings as she looked up at Lux. "I- Be careful around Urgot. He seems to have settled, but Noxian dogma runs deep. We can't afford to lose you."

 Ahri cast a wink at Lux, smiling brightly. "Don't worry, Lux. He's the one who should be careful."