A Game of Shadows

The door in front of Zed would open with a creek after the first knock. The entrance way was unnaturally dark within, pitch black without a sign of a single person in visible sight. Even the walls, ceiling and floor were swallowed up almost immediately by the darkness.

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The room shifted as the darkness swirled about the Master of Shadows and a sensation similar to that of having miss-stepped and falling took over for the briefest of moments. The world shifted about him, only for Zed to find himself in front of another door. This one was of a solid Oak and somewhat decorated. A red carpet with a diamond pattern upon it leads to it, polished wooden floor boards beneath it. There was a lack of walls and even a ceiling, even the floor tapered off into the darkness.

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Within the room itself sat an Ionian with a tea set ready and set out upon a table. A vacant seat sat adjacent from him, empty. The room was furnished with red carpeting beneath the table with some furniture here and there about the room. It was simple and had a small Noxian sense about it if only to remind Zed that he was maybe still somewhere within the city-state. The most notable thing in the room besides Daichi was a grandfather clock that ticked audibly and rhythmically.

Daichi himself had worn a simple set of robes that were similar to that of a summoners, however it deviated in that it was forest green in color and there was a design of a white Ionian dragon circling the robe, its head coming to a rest at the end of Daichi’s back.

“Ah. Good afternoon. I was expecting you and I am quite glad you were not tardy. I promise I won’t keep you long Zed, nor will you be late for whatever it is you had set out to do. Why don’t you have a seat, help yourself some tea? It’s an Ionian brew. There’s cream, milk and sugar too if that’s what you prefer.”

Daichi’s green eyes matched the piercing red before him without so much as a hint of demoralization. He moved to stir his tea and took it with his right hand and would take a sip from it.

“Quite. I am not the general nor do I hold any Noxian rank for that matter. And yet here you are because I will you to be.” Daichi answered as he sat his tea cup down and folded his hands upon the table in front of him. “I suppose you could argue that you could have easily turned around and gone another way and that I didn’t will you to be here but then we’d be rambling.” A slight laugh escaped his lips.

“It’s been quite some time since I last saw you in person. This is a much needed talk between you and I. You may call me…Hachi. Forgive me if you’re growing impatient, I suppose it’s just nerves. Did you have any other questions before I went further? Oh, and feel free to drink your tea. I promise you, I did not tamper with it. That would be in awfully ill taste.”

“Actually, I’ve change my mind. How about you call me Daichi instead? I believe a man has the right to be called whatever they wish to be called. But I know you know this well Masaru.” Daichi spoke with neutrality in his tone as he mulled over the thought. “We’re here in this room right now because you left something unfinished.” Daichi saw the reaction and suppressed a wicked grin that would have otherwise risen up.

“Good, I have your attention now. We both come from the same roots. And while everyone else in the world knows what you did that day, there’s only a handful that actually had gotten to see it. The coldness, the efficiency of how you had everyone killed. Maybe you were right when you massacred everyone. Maybe." Daichi repeated.

"However, you took from me a lot that day.”

“You had everyone I had ever cared for murdered, and most of everyone I ever knew. Though I suppose things worked out for me in the end and they did for you as well. Funny how things work. However, we're both bound by our past.” Daichi shrugged and reached for his tea, grasping it in right hand again. “It would appear I have set myself up in a terrible position haven’t I?” He commented casually and without worry as he looked upon the blade that Zed drew. “Isn’t that silly of me?”

Next came something surprising, the removal of the mask and the drinking of the tea. Sure enough it wasn’t tampered with. It appeared Daichi was at least honest.

“You would be right. I haven’t been part of the order for a long time. And you’re also right in the other regard. I do fully intend on killing you. However, not now. It’s not so much a lack of courage as it is incredibly inconvenient to be meddling with such a grizzly affair at the moment. If I wanted to do it now there would be no formalities, there would be no tea. No discussion. Nothing more than a battle to the death.” A slight laugh escape his lips.

“We’ll come to blows and one of us will die. Just not now. I simply intended on making my intent known to you and possibly treating you to tea.”

“I tell you my intentions because I want you to know ahead of time. I want you to know it will be I who will take your life. I want you to realize that in your final moments some forgettable person you stepped upon on your way was the one who ended you. Not Shen. Not Akali. Not Kennen. But Daichi. This isn’t a matter of simplicity; this is a matter of making it more personal than it has to be.” Daichi commented matter of factly. Then came the comment about Daichi possibly being a strong Shadow.

“Maybe. But that’ is a “what if”. I don’t like those. Besides, I’m more content with my own craft. It’s not so much that I care about if your technique is forbidden or not. I just think mine is better.” He grinned widely.

“Overpowered Zed? No. I said better. There’s a difference, mostly opinion. I know what you can do because I saw it myself.” Daichi retorted as his gaze became slightly more intense as Zed’s tone became more mocking. “No. You were thrown out because you weren’t daddy’s favorite, because you went behind his back and did something he thought you shouldn’t have. Was your ambitious effort one last way to show him that maybe you were actually worth something? What did happen behind those closed doors?”

He sat his cup down, gaze ever present on Zed’s crimson eyes. “I’m not going to thank you Zed. You might have set up a chain of events, but I was just another Kinkou in the temple. Some young boy to either be converted or killed.”