"No, no, no! You can't just break from the agreement, damn it! We all agreed the best thing to do was to stick to the plan!" My team leader shouted profanities at our supporter who decided to rush out onto the field, in the direct line of fine of the enemy, and got himself killed. I sighed as he re-spawned and apologized.
"I just thought Ahri might need help, I mean she's Ahri." he said, and there was silence as they all swallowed the words I knew they were thinking, 'It's true.' I rolled my eyes. Just cause she was difficult for them to use, they assumed I didn't know how to use her and would make some sort of dent in their gameplay.
"And yet I've somehow managed to stay alive longer than the rest of you." I said. They all gave indignant squeaks, as if trying to protect their weak honour.
"We're all trying to cover for you." our fighter grumbled, and I 'hm'ed.
"Were you? Fine then. I'll stay here. You guys play. Don't bother covering for me." I said, and moved Ahri to the back. They were all silent before someone sucked his teeth.
"Whatever. Come on, let's go again. We can't let the loss of the Ranged AP we don't need bother us." he said, obviously taunting me. I didn't let it bother me; female gamers who were level three were always frowned upon. Unlike what people think happens, where the guys all play nice and pamper the girl, it's definitely different. The female ends up being ridiculed for being a 'bad player', even when she isn't, and eventually leaves the team because the guys are too ashamed to admit that 'a girl plays better' even though gender really isn't important. One would think that nerds would know that being exiled for whatever reason isn't pleasant. I suppose being in your own territory makes all the difference, huh? Not that this wasn't my territory anymore than it was theirs.
If anything, I belonged here more than any of them.
So I watched them. My 'team members' got slaughtered over and over because I wasn't 'interrupting their battles and trying to take the spotlight'. I wouldn't do such a thing, I just tried to save them from getting killed. After all, they would never 'pamper me just because I'm a girl', as my previous team said.
"Are you done now?" I asked when they had gone silent and they had all died. Ahri was taking hits, but I was waiting for them to respond.
"What kind of point are you trying to make, Ahri?" our marksman asked, irritably.
"When we all re-spawn, you let me do the fighting." this sounded more prideful than it was intended to, I assure you. "If you even touch your mouses or keyboards to perform a single spell, be it healing or offensive, I will consider it as you trying to save me, and will let you all die, even if you are in danger." I said. They agreed immediately, most likely expecting me to die as soon as I began.
Oh please.
When we all re-spawned, I slaughtered the enemy team. My bots were a big help in taking out the other team's bots while I just went after the other players, who were most likely very shocked to be beaten by Ahri. Just as with my team, most players I've come across in three years don't use Ahri properly, so cannot understand how someone else can use her.
When I was done, and the 'Victory' sign came up on screen, I decided to be a little...evil.
"Are you guys still there? Did you miss it? Should I do it again?" I asked, and the team leader went offline. Everyone else followed. I 'tsk'ed, mildly annoyed that my taunting didn't rise to surface any kind of spat between us. But I shrugged, looking above my monitor to the sheet of paper above it, pinned to a board over many, many others, and 'oh'ed. It was okay they dumped me.
According to that paper, I'd have quit the team tomorrow, anyway.
--TIMESKIP--
"Raen! Dinner!" Mum called. I blinked and looked outside. It was dark; I'd been ditched by my team at like three in the morning. Was it already dinnertime? I looked to the clock to my left, between my bed and the desk I was sitting at.
7:24
Oh. Oh my.
"Raen!" my brother sounded impatient. Mum most likely told him we wouldn't eat until I got down.
"En route, calm down!" I called back, taking my cat eared headphones from around my neck and putting them next to the keyboard. Tempted to just keep telling them I was coming but stay in my room, I stretched, hearing the satisfying sound of joints popping. Bunny slippers on my feet, one pink, one white, I pulled the hood of my oversized 'One Of A Kind' hoodie down and ruffled my short hair. Black strands fell into my face, and I blew them away from my eyes as I trudged towards my door. It opened as I was going to reach for the handle, my hand halfway up. I blinked up at my father, whose glasses, ever crooked, grinned at me.
"Hey there, just making sure you weren't trolling your brother." They know me so well, but this time I really was coming down. I smiled.
"I'm coming." I said as he left, and he waved without looking back, telling me he heard. I 'hmm'ed as he tripped on his way down the stairs, calling out an 'I'm good!' as he regained his footing. Rolling my eyes at him, I closed my door and made my way down the stairs as well, making sure not to fall either.
The clumsy gene had to go somewhere, and sadly it wasn't to my brother, the damn athlete of the family.
"Hey you," Mum said as I showed up. I smiled in response.
"Hello, mortals." I greeted her and my brother, earning an eyebrow raise and a kick from them, respectively.
"Mum, it kicked me." I whined lazily, sitting at my seat at the table, on the other side of him. He scoffed, crossing his arms as mom brought dad's plate to the table.
"You two, seriously, are you a little too old for this?" she asked, and I shrugged.
"He's older. By five years. It's his fault." I said. If you haven't noticed, I tend to speak in short sentences, unless I'm under pressure. Or excited.
"Raen, Carter, stop." she chided, not even meaning it, but it made us stop anyway.
"So, what's the occasion?" dad asked, and we all looked to mum.
"I felt like trying out new stuff." she shrugged, motioning to the Korean food. Oooh, kimchi~
"Not what we meant." Carter said through a mouthful of rice.
"Why the table?" I clarified.
"Wanted to wash the pots before I ate so the food had to go in dishes on the table. You just crowded like ants so we ended up eating here." she said. Looking to each other, Carter, dad and I shrugged, nodding.
Sounded like something we'd do.
My family never had dinner together. Ever. It's not that we weren't close, nothing like that at all. We just... did whatever we liked when we ate. It wasn't like eating together was awkward, just that we didn't usually do it because of the television or computers.
Come to think of it, this table has only been used as a decoration since it got here. Same goes for the last one that I broke when raging about losing a battle because of my internet connection lagging my games. The one before that one was broken by Carter and Alec, his friend from college, pretend-wrestling. I had come downstairs in a hurry to pee and they had to turn suddenly to avoid me. Unfortunately for the table... going left was the only option. To their right was mum's vase of actual real flowers. It was the only plant that was actually alive and green in the house.
We all knew that doing something to the plant would be worse than breaking the table in two.
"...as awesome! It went 'whoosh' and the other guy was like 'whoa!' so he had to duck before he got hit!" Carter was talking sports, most likely, and I looked to him.
"So how's your piano playing going?" I asked, hoping for a change of topic. I had zoned out too much so I had no idea what sport they were talking about. Sounded like baseball, but it could also have been lacrosse. You never know with Carter.
"Oh, that's great too. I learned about three new pieces in an hour, give or take the ending of one that I kinda mess up. Beat my record." he said, and I 'hmm'ed, standing and going for my chopsticks from the drawer next to the stove. I can't eat bibimbap with a fork.
"Which ones?" I asked, and he swallowed before answering.
"Two from Chopin, one from that anime you like." he said, and I gave him a deadpan look as I sat back down, having found the right chopsticks; they had pandas on the end you hold.
"That one anime I like." I repeated, and he shrugged.
"The one you like best." he said, struggling with the name.
"Shingetsutan Tsukihime?" Mum asked. I shook my head at the same time as Carter.
"Nah, not that one," he said, at the same time as I reminded her that it was by far, not my favourite anime.
"Shame, I liked the opening for that one." she said.
"Oh, the one from Tokyo Ghoul? Unravel?" Dad guessed. I shook my head again at the same time as Carter.
"Noooo, it starts with an 'H', I think." Carter said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"...Hellsing?" I asked, and he nodded, snapping his fingers.
"That one." he said proudly, and I 'hmm'ed.
"That's not my favourite anime. I don't even have a favourite anime." I said, and he waved me off.
"You like it more than Naruto?" I nodded.
"One Piece?"
Nod.
"Fairy Tail?"
Nod.
"A lot of others?"
Nod.
"Then it's close enough to your favourite as I can guess with my apparently limited knowledge of Japanese cartoons." he said.
Point.
"I guess. So you learned it okay? No trouble?" I asked. He heard the underlying offer for help but shook his head.
"It's fine. Just the ending when you're supposed to hit the sixty million chords at the same time I can't reach that far with my fingers." he said, frowning slightly. I smirked.
"My hands are smaller but I can reach." I teased, making myself a lettuce wrap, Suga-style. He rolled his eyes.
"You're not human, you don't count." he said, and we lapsed back into our meal, the only sounds were the clinking of cutlery -and chopsticks- against dishes.
"Oh, I was supposed to ask, Raen, have you finished college yet?" Mum asked. I nodded, giving her a deadpan look.
"Three years ago, cause of League." I said, and she 'oh'ed, blinking. Dad laughed.
"Why because of League?" he asked.
"I had to focus on the game. College was in the way." Carter raised his gaze to the heavens, muttering about 'geniuses and their damn priorities'.
"Germany is holding the Championships this year. Can I go?" I asked, remembering. Mum swallowed slowly and Dad just looked at me. Carter tensed. I'd asked my parents for two years straight to go, but they said 'no' on account of my age. But now I was nineteen, my age wasn't a problem anymore. They looked at each other.
"Well...I guess, but are you sure you're ready for this, Raen? You thought you were ready all those other times, but you've gotten better since then, so who's to say you won't get better if you train for another few years?" Dad asked. I grinned, and they all got that look on their faces that said 'damn it, what have we started?'
I was fairly familiar with this expression on them.
"I've trained with Ahri all this time. We're ready." I said, remembering the odd feeling I got whenever I imagined myself playing with her and winning. It was exhilarating.
It was perfect.
There were a few moments of discussion between my parents while Carter and I washed the dishes. He nudged me subtly, handing me a plate to dry.
"You think you're ready?" he asked. I shrugged.
"Hope so." I said, and he gave me an incredulous look.
"What?! You're going to Germany and you don't know if you're good enough, Raen what the hell-
"Shisus Krist, I was messing with you." I said, eyes wide and blinking at the soapy spatula he was brandishing threateningly in front of my face.
"Oh. So... So-"
"I'm ready, Carter. I'll be fine." I said. He gave me another long look before simply nodding and giving me the spatula. I looked at it, cloth halfway up to dry it. I sighed deeply.
"Carter you idiot. Don't just dunk it in the suds, you're supposed to scrub."
--TIMESKIP--
"Hey, you there?" I asked, seeing and knowing very well that my teammates were online.
"Yeah, hey Ahri." someone said. The Tank of the team, Matt, and the only one who didn't mind my presence as much as the others.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked. He mumbled something like 'don't know...left the team' and I blinked, then made a sound, similar to a laugh.
"What's so funny?" he asked, and I grinned.
"I left too." I said, and he was quiet for a while before he laughed too, sounding disbelieving but amused.
"Oh wow, really?" he asked, and I answered in the affirmative.
"Yeah. I got bored of them." I said, and he laughed. "I haven't told them yet, but they'll figure it out when I don't play with them." I continued, and he made a sound of agreement.
"But you were awesome yesterday though, you were on fire. I had no idea what to do with them arguing all of a sudden." he said, and I smiled. Matt always was really quiet, never participating in coming up with the plan, just playing according to it.
"I've been playing for a long time." I said as explanation for my obviously honed and polished skills, and he hummed in thought.
"How'd you learn to play with Ahri so well?" he asked, most likely a subtle way to get me to elaborate.
"Practice. It's been a long time since I found the game. For a while I'd switched between champions, finding out how to use them all. Ahri was always the one I used best." She had so much potential it was insane. It made me happy, and most of all honoured beyond belief to be able to use her to her fullest.
"Whoa. She's really hard to use to me though. I guess to each his own." he said, easily shrugging the matter off.
"Oh, I have news, Matt." I said, and he sounded interested, "Oh yeah?"
"My parents are letting me go to Germany for the Championships." I said, and he was quiet.
"Ahri..." he began, but trailed off. "Ahri, the championships are really serious, you know? It's not something you can just go to and expect to win because you're good." he said, and I frowned, but then remembered he doesn't know my skill level.
"I know. Thanks for worrying about me. But it's not just that," I said, and he made a sound for me to continue. "I need a team. And I need to make it so that we qualify in the top 32 and then in the top 8, and then the top 5. You've seen what happens when a girl is on the team. I get shunned from here to Wednesday-"
"Today is Wednesday."
"Shaddup, Matt -and they all just look down on me." I said. He let out a sigh.
"Well...I know a group who doesn't mind girls. I mean, there aren't any girls on the team, but they judge by gameplay, not gender." he said, seemingly thinking deeply. My eyes widened.
"Matt, I swear, by the 'Brimmingham' sign outside my window that I will love you forever if you tell me how to show them my skills." I said, and there was a sound of someone choking.
"Um. Matt?"
"Sor- Did you say 'Brimmingham', Ahri?" he asked, sounding ecstatic but disbelieving and shocked all at once. I blinked.
"Uh. Yes? This doesn't mean you're going to stalk me all the way to England, does it?" I asked, laughing nervously. He laughed as well.
"No, shut up you idiot." he said, and I grinned at the playful tone I've never heard from him. "I live in Brimmingham!" he said, and my jaw dropped.
"No. Way." I said, and he laughed.
"I know, that's why I was so surprised!" he said, and I frowned, confused yet happy.
"But your profile on League's forum says you're from Florida." I said.
"I moved to Brimmingham in February, I haven't changed it yet." he said, and I was just gaping at my wall.
"I...I'm shocked." I said, admittedly sounding rather awkward, but what was I supposed to say in such a situation? He laughed.
"I could say the same. I live in the same place as Ahri, the nine tailed fox." he said, and I grinned.
"Not my name, Matt." I said.
"No kidding. What is your name though? So in case I hear it I can come over and say hi." he said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Not stalker-ish at all, hearing my name and just rushing to greet me." I said. He scoffed.
"Please, you're not important enough for me to stalk." he said, and I grinned.
"I'm Raen. Like the water that falls from the sky, just with an 'e' instead of an 'i'. Please refrain from exploiting my name to anyone who might know me." I said.
"Raen? Carter's little sister Raen?" he asked, and my eyes widened.
"You know my brother." I said.
"Yeah, we go to the same college." he said. My mind was officially blown.
"Carter! Get in here!" I yelled. I heard Matt laugh at me shouting the house down and shushed him.
Carter's room was next to mine, and I heard a thud as he most likely fell off his bed. I think I woke him up. A twenty four year old, sleeping in the middle of the day.
I wanna be Carter when I grow up, Mum.
"What's all the noise about?" he grumbled, opening my door and coming into my room.
"You know someone at college named Matt?" I asked, and he gave me a look.
"There are at least sixteen 'Matthew's in my calculus class, much less the rest of the place." he said, and I made excessive hand motions, trying to get him to understand what I wanted to say.
"I'm unplugging my headphones.You two talk so I know Matt isn't stalking me." I said, and did just that.
"Carter!" Matt said as soon as I unplugged, and my brother's eyes widened.
"Matt?!" he asked, and I rolled my eyes.
"DONKEY!" I interrupted, and they were both quiet.
"Good. I was just making sure you knew him. You can go now." I 'shoo'ed Carter out of the room, sitting back in my computer chair.
"No, wait, what the hell is going on, why are you talking to Matt?" Carter asked.
"He was my Tank." I said, and he blinked at me.
"He was my team mate in the game I play." I rephrased, and he 'oh'ed, nodding.
"Cool, I didn't know you were interested in this stuff, Matt." he said, and Matt made a 'meh' noise.
"It's awesome, bro." I raised an eyebrow. Since when does quiet Matt say 'bro'? Oh well.
"So, how many times has Raen beaten you up?" Carter asked jokingly, and despite my slashing motions across my own throat, continued. "Not too bad, I hope?" he said, and Matt was clearly confused.
"Uh. Raen's like a level three." he said, and Carter was now the confused one.
"Uhm. Dude, She's like God-tier." aaand I just collapsed on my bed. Well, I guess Matt would have found out eventually.
"...Huh?" Confused Matt is confused.
"Um. Matt? Yeah, when I play with you guys I use a level three account but I'm actually not. At all." I confessed. There was silence before Matt burst out laughing.
"Oh God, this is gold! Those guys were making total idiots of themselves!" he laughed, and eventually Carter gave my computer a weird look and left.
"Hey! My parents will wonder who's in their daughter's room." I said, and he quietened down.
"Sorry, it's just... too good to be true. Those guys screwed themselves over." he chortled, and I shrugged.
"It didn't matter, really. I'd have quit the next day. It was good they gave me an excuse to leave." I said.
"What, really? You'd have left?" he asked, intrigued.
"I spend a month and two weeks with one group to test them out. Then play with them continuously if they're good. These guys only lasted the month." I said, and he 'whoa'ed.
"That's... weird but cool." he said. I don't know how to respond to that.
'Yeah, it is, isn't it?'
'Not really'
'I guess so'
...No.
"Well, since you've been doing this for a while, I guess it won't hurt to tell you those guys to make a team with." Matt said, and I agreed instantly.
"Y'know what, you can meet them in person. They all go to Carter's college as tech guys. Since there isn't an actual tech teacher, and the sub they have isn't as smart as them, the tech class is pretty much just a place they train while the other students are actually taking the class." Matt said. I 'oh', cool'ed and he made an agreeing sound.
"So, just come to the college and you can meet them tomorrow. I've got a class at like five in the tech building so I can show you." he said, and I laughed nervously.
"Um. You mean like me going outside my room? Outside my house?" This was bad.
"Yea- Raen. You're not one of those people who haven't seen sunlight in like three years, are you?" he asked, and I winced. Even the random number he pulled up was dead on, and I swallowed.
"Oh God. Okay, no. Carter's dragging you out of your house tomorrow, because this isn't healthy in the slightest. You can bring your equipment, of course. They'll most likely want to test you." he said. I managed to agree, and he said he'd sort everything out with Carter before going offline.
I cussed outloud.
This could be bad.
__________________________________________________
WARNING: I'M NOT SURE WHERE THIS IS GOING SO PLEASE DON'T HURT ME IF YOU ONLY GET UPDATES EVERY SIXTEEN YEARS OR SOMETHING.
So. First chappie of a fic inspired by Dan (danisnotonfire) doing his thang at the League Tournament in Germany.
So...
Tell me whatcha think?
:3
~Anna
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