Dawn at the Wild Rift (Book IV)

Chapter 9

"Did he wake up?" a mage with a beautiful pair of light golden eyes and amethyst hair asks. On her hands, she is holding a bowl of warm water and some towels. The guard standing by the entrance of the infirmary shakes his head as a response.

She lets out a sigh, feeling impatient that the man they have been waiting for is still asleep despite being in slumber for centuries. As she enters the isolated room, the man she'd been looking for is lying on the bed peacefully. Sitting beside him, she wrenches the wet towel and damps it on the bare face of her new master.

Luo Yi, a mage that the people of Dongyu looks up to, could feel the faint dark power from the unconscious man. But no matter how weak he is at that moment, she still expects a lot from him not because he is her master but for the reason that she spent her whole life seeking him.

But now that she could take a closer look at him, he does resemble a dragon, especially the two curved horns on both sides of his head. Before he appeared before them, she heard a loud roar so Luo Yi is expecting a real, black dragon in form to appear but it never crossed her mind for it to be a man. She suddenly comes to a stop when he moves his eyelids and slowly opens his eyes. But before she could even open her mouth to ask if he's feeling okay, she is sent flying outside the infirmary after receiving a push from him.

"Master Luo Yi!"

Everyone panics with the sudden uproar. As they help Luo Yi back on her feet, the man emerges from his confined room. He stands tall above the others and one could feel an intense tension with just one glare from him. But with her acts still intact, Luo Yi still leads the people of Dongyu.

With one palm holding her clenched hand, she kneels in front of the awakened man and states, "We are at your command, Black Dragon."

Like a wave of dominoes, the Dongyu people follows the lead of their greatest mage, "We are at your command, Black Dragon."

A long silence passes which made it a bit awkward for Luo Yi, thus, she slowly lifts her head to take a peek of the man's reaction.

"A-ah, I... I... don't really know what you're saying but... I'm Yu Zhong," the man says while holding the back of his head and is wearing an uncomfortable smile.

Luo Yi stands and stares at him with an intense gaze which made Yu Zhong feel more awkward since he isn't good at handling or even interacting with women. He looks away from her and wishes that she would stop staring at him.

However, the mage is enraged that she grabs him by the collar and snarls, "I don't care if you're Yu Zhong, so long as you can lead us to battle and win, I don't have any complaints."

Her words don't make sense to Yu Zhong though. He, too, is puzzled because he suddenly woke up at a new place with only his name stuck in his memory, nothing else. And since his mind is like a blank slate, he has no idea how to lead a troop to battle. With Luo Yi's closeness, he starts to feel uncomfortable, thus, he is turning pale.

"I apologize, young miss, but I don't really get what you mean. And I have no knowledge about battles and such so you might as well let me go," he says while looking at the side. His awkwardness adds to Luo Yi's anger, making her patience snap.

"Don't give me that crappy crap! If you cannot fulfill the promise you made, then bring me back my youth! Bring me back my youth that's supposed to be filled with romance! Dammit!" she yells while shaking him to and fro. Not only did she spend time studying magic but she also used her time gathering the scattered people of Dongyu during her teenage years. She threw away the chance of finding adventure and romance just to wait and aid the Black Dragon when he awakens.

But now that it has happened, she just couldn't accept it that the situation would be like this.

"I am giving you a week to gather yourself together and after that, you should already have a plan on what we're going to do next. If not, then I will pull off those horns from your head with my bare hands!" she threatens him before banging her head on his.

Her sudden attack causes Yu Zhong to stagger backwards. He has never felt sorry for himself before and with this harsh treatment, he wants to cry out for help.

"I truly am sorry," he mumbles as his eyes start to blur. Luo Yi lets him go and turns her back on him to cool her head. And before she could leave, she is called out.

"Master Luo Yi!" one of the guards yells in panic, "The Black Dragon is totally knocked out!"

In Noxus of Runeterra...

Hanabi is trying to take off the bracelet and necklace given to her by that Ezreal. She suspects that they are no ordinary jewelries, instead they're some sort of charms that manipulates her into doing what Talon is ordering her to do. Though it isn't proven, she wants to believe in her instinct, besides Ezreal has no other reasons to give her such gifts.

With gritted teeth, she brings out her kunai and tries to snap the necklace off of her neck. However, she immediately drops it and even left a small cut on her chest when the necklace suddenly crackles with blue-colored lightning.

In the midst of pondering over what it actually is, Hanabi hears small knocks from the balcony of her room. Turning her gaze on the glass doors, she sees Jinx waving at her with a wide smile plastered on her face. She runs towards her and the opens the door.

"You came just in time," she states with anxiousness, "I wanna ask if you know what exactly are these."

Jinx stares at the golden necklace and bracelet that the ninja is showing. A confused look slowly creeps on her face and with a monotonous tone, she replies, "Exactly what it looks like, necklace and bracelet. Y'er makin' me an idiot, beauty?"

Her scowling face somehow puts Hanabi on the edge so she immediately explains what she just saw. She also adds her theory about it being like a leash to control her.

Jinx holds her chin and a smirk draws on the edge of her lips. With her eyes sparkling with both excitement and trouble, she grabs Hanabi's arm and jumps off the balcony.

"Talon's gonna be busy. Y'er not going to sit your ass in the corner of y'er room, right? Let me, y'er guardian angel, guide you back home," she proposes as she leads the way.

It is what Hanabi has always been waiting for—a chance to escape. There's a low possibility of someone she knows from Magical City or even Iga town, to just magically appear in that place to save her so she must do everything she can to escape by herself. She can't just be a damsel in distress.

Upon leaving the premises of the Du Couteau mansion, Jinx brings Hanabi to a worn down shop owned by an old man. Jinx pushes Hanabi to a corner of the shop and when they enter in a small wooden door, the wide room seems to be a new place filled with nothing but weaponry and armor that are of high quality. And as a ninja, it is also some kind of small paradise to try them out.

"First, we need to make ya wear a light yet sturdy armor. Injuries must be avoided, ya hear me?" Jinx states which Hanabi simply nods to.

While Jinx is busy looking for an armor that fits her, Hanabi gathers the courage to ask.

"Why are you helping me, though? They said that going against Kenshin... I mean Talon, is way more dangerous than one can imagine."

There is a long pause after that. Even though Jinx is smiling, Hanabi can't help but feel uneasy because for her, the girl in front of her seems to be up to something but she cannot just pin it down.

"That is exactly the reason why. Talon's only lost his cool once and I didn't see that ma-self. Imma help ya leave Runeterra and see how he'd react since he seems too attached to ya," she replied with a grin.

Before Hanabi could press any more questions to her, Jinx shows a silver overall armor that could protect her torso. She even helps her in putting it on which Hanabi finds uncomfortable because she is seen almost naked. But just as she expected, the armor feels lighter and she could still move with ease.

"Awright! Y'er ready? 'Cuz I am!" Jinx explodes as she punches her fist in the air. With her enthusiasm, Hanabi's worries somehow settled down for a bit.

"But how are we going to go beyond the high walls?" she asks. Going straight to the gates would be like casually telling everyone that she is escaping. And not to mention, she might bump into Ezreal or Sett and his underlings. It would be troublesome meeting with those guys.

"Doncha worry, we're going under," Jinx replies, "literally under."

A/N:
Sorry for the delay of updates. It was raining nonstop so I wasn't able to hike up for the internet.