Ionian Nights- Part 11
###Part 11
It was a good two weeks until Utsusemimaru opened his eyes for longer than a few seconds. The young man was alive but he had to be under Soraka's care constantly. As she put it: "His body is riddled with crushed bones while every single muscle and vein seemed on the verge of tearing of bursting. If Syndra hadn't taken him out of that fight, he probably would have just taken himself out eventually."
While Karma would have said she didn't leave his side for the time, that would be a lie. Several times Karma had to step away and handle other matters. With Ozawa, Shinji and Kouga gone? Karma needed to find replacements and determine the best course of action. Thankfully Ryota helped a bit, although his feelings toward her hadn't been the hottest (compared to the fiery passion he had, time and time again, asked her for her hand in marriage or at least a chance at romance).
Thankfully when he finally did awaken for longer than seconds, Karma was there. "Good morning, Utsusemimaru," She said. He tried to roll over to look at her but the monk seethed, opting instead to lie flat on his back. "Don't pressure yourself too much, you're still in a lot of pain."
Rather than look to Karma, Utsusemimaru opted instead to look out a nearby window. His recovery room was a small little "first aid" section of the Placidium that likely had to be converted to some emergency recovering room. "If it's morning, why are there stars outside?" he questioned, looking at the night sky.
Karma chuckled lightly, although Utsusemimaru didn't find this nearly as funny. "By morning I mean around one or two in the morning. You've been out for some time, dear." Karma reached over to try and stroke his bare brow, headband removed for healing purposes, but he flinched and turned away. Karma sighed softly, turning away. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"May I know the exact reason why you're mad?" Karma asked, although he probably had a good ten or so reasons off the top of his head.
Utsusemimaru just looked away, again attempting to roll over but grunting in pain. "Karma, I thought you loved me. I mean, you're all I had left for some sort of family. You were like my mom or something. You weren't always around but you always encouraged me and gave me someone I could call family," It stung, but he had to go on. "Did you just use me? Was I never someone you could call family? Only a valuable piece in your game to use?"
She had known his sense of betrayal was deep but never that it extended far enough for him to consider that she didn't care about him. "Utsusemimaru, you must know-" Unfortunately, there was a knock on the door to the chamber, Karma sighing. "I apologize, let me handle this first."
Opening the door while Utsusemimaru focused again on the sky, Karma found Soraka and (standing behind her like some sort of massive bodyguard) Ryota. Soraka was fine, but Ryota for some reason kept his armor on. Hell, you could even see bits of bandage used to patch up his body sticking out of the heavy, ornate armor. "My apologies, Karma, but I have to tend to Utsusemimaru's bandages again," Soraka said, Karma nodding as the astral healer moved over to his bed.
Karma stepped outside to give the two privacy while she did that, turning now to Ryota. Ryota cleared his throat, kneeling slightly before Karma. Although it was a bit of a hollow gesture, as kneeling put him barely below Karma. "I...I should formally apologize, m'lady, for how I treated you during out last outing to Syndra's domain. I hope you know I care deeply of you and that my anger was far from justified. A woman like you deserves more adoration than what I offered," He finished, head canted low.
Rolling her eyes, Karma sighed. "Stand up, Ryota, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep trying to impress me like this," she said, the shogun struggling to stand but able to finally reach his feet. "I appreciate the apology, I do, I'm just incredibly stressed at the moment." This was even more evident because she didn't try and actively discourage his romantic endeavors.
Ryota seemed to smile under his helmet but that faceplate made it difficult to read his emotions. Though the aggravated grunt and the crossing of the arms made it clear he detested what he had to say next: "The...outsiders...that you asked for have arrived, Lady Karma. They are outside the Placidium, as we do not allow foreigners into our seat of government."
"It's fine, Ryota. I personally asked for them to come and hopefully it's one of the people I was looking for."
"Of all people to send...they send you..."
A few days after the whole ordeal with the assault on Syndra's domain, Karma began thinking to herself. She needed help with a certain matter and it was clear that in this situation, Ionia's magics would not suffice for what was needed.
And now, in the dead of night, Piltover had sent it's emissary to inquire as to what needed. They weren't allies, per say, but helping out another state and earning favors was always a good thing on the political stage. "Oh c'mon, I thought you'd be happy to see me, Karma-mel!" Vi chuckled, arms open as if Karma was going to hug her.
"Don't call me that," Karma sneered at the nickname. "I asked for a Piltover emissary who could discuss technology with me."
"And you got me," Vi retorted. "I may not be some hextech wizard but that doesn't mean I'm not a bit of a grease monkey. Besides, I'm still on probation for saying some less-than-likeable things to the government officials soooooooo if they had a chance to get rid of me, they'd take it. Oh, by the way: Armor guy? Big dude with the fancy helmet? I don't like him. He's a dingus. Be sure to tell him I said that about him."
Karma groaned, Vi's nature as some sort of cocky joker made her second-only to Wukong in annoyance factor dealing with her. "I take it you came alone?" Karma questioned, arms crossed.
"Nope. Sparky wanted to come and Piltover will do anything to get him out of the city even if for a-"
"Sparky?" Karma inquired. Vi jerked a thumb (her hextech gauntlets strangely missing for this moment) behind her to the steps. There sat a young man, thumbing through some Ionian guidebook. He seemed normal except for some rather sharp, mechanical augmentations on the visible parts of his body. There weren't much of those, however. Only his neck and cheeks could be seen from his clothing, each with quietly whirring gizmos under the proverbial hood.
Karma nodded. "I take it he's the cause of that incident in Zaun about a month ago or so. Well, onto business Vi. I need to know if Piltover has a specific technology," Karma looked stern, emotionless, waiting for quit scratching the inside of her ear with her pinky.
"What kinda tech you looking for? We got vehicles if you need'em. Maybe a hexcore to power your stuff. Our medicine might not be as 'insta-cure' as your healing magic BS but I'm sure we could give you-"
"I need the technology to keep someone alive."
Vi paused. The cocky, chuckling jester was gone. "You...you mean something like a life support system for someone sick?"
Karma shook her head. "I mean keeping someone alive who should be dead."
In a few seconds Vi's expression swapped from "Is she serious!?" to "What the hell is wrong with her!?" to "I'm going to beat what's wrong with her out of her." Karma knew Vi was a hothead but to attack her? That'd be a whole different level of stupid.
"What in the hell are you thinking, you friggin' idiot!? Do you-" Vi stopped dead in her tracks. The young man from the steps had a hand firmly wrapped around her upper arm, grasping her and trying to hold her back. Vi was clearly concerned, this young man at least able to keep her from sparking an international war as he almost had.
Vi shrugged his arm off but thankfully stepped back. "No, Karma, Piltover is not Zaun. We may have better tech but we also have better morals. And no way in HELL are we going to service any sort of tech that would force someone to live in agony. Look at that pile of garbage that is Urgot, you think HE wants to be alive!?"
Again, the young man pulled on Vi. "Miss Vi, please, calm down. You said your piece, Karma knows Piltover won't help. Let's just go, ok?" he begged. At the very least he seemed to rein Vi in. Probably not of her accord but enough for him to remind her that assaulting the duchess of another country was a very big no-no.
"Tch, fine. Let's just go. At least we can spend the next few days "negotiating" by site seeing," Vi started walking away, the young man sighing heavily. Probably thanking whatever god Piltover believed in that things hadn't gotten out of hand.
Karma shook her head. "Thank you, Sparky, for your help."
The young man blushed, shaking his head. "That's just what Vi calls me, ma'am. My name is Mach."
Karma nodded. "I've seen what you've "done", along with the rumors swirling that it was not your doing. My condolences."
Mach turned, double checking that Vi was out of earshot, moving closer to Karma to whisper. "Piltover won't do what you're asking. Zaun will. But think for a long time about it, ma'am. Zaun is...it's like one of those old stories. You'll get your wish but you will probably not like the result."
Vi was tapping her foot now. "C'mon, Sparky, let's go. It's like three in the damn morning and I wanna get into a bed already!"
"Coming! Coming!" he said before turning back to Karma. "Please, miss, ask yourself if who you want to keep around is truly worth keeping around. Because, more likely than not, their life will be torment if you do."
With that the young man with those freakish augmentations ran off. Karma turned, thinking of his words as she returned to the Placidium. As much as she detested Vi's attitude, the reaction would have probably been the same for every member of Piltover: Zaun is the one she'd have to contact but the price will be heavy.
As Karma walked through the halls, her heart felt heavy. A key rule of Ionia was balance, but this was one of those situations where 'balance' sat in an area too blurry to make out if it was right, wrong, or a balanced decision.
"Utsusemimaru is an Aspect of Ionia. If he is around, he can fight Syndra if the time comes as well as serve as a beacon for all of Ionia to rally too. But, as they said, his lifespan is short. If we opt to extend his life, it will be an agonizing, terrible existence. I can't just let such a powerful piece die...but I can't let him suffer either..." Karma thought to herself, approaching the door to the temporary recovery room. The door was ajar, Karma standing outside while Soraka spoke with the monk.
"It's ok, dear, your bandages should all be replaced now. I'm sorry I can't just heal you entirely. There is always the threat that your body would shut down any recovery systems if it is healed over and over again," Soraka said. Karma couldn't see but from the soft noise, it sounded like Soraka sat on the side of his bed. "Feeling better now?"
"Define better, Soraka. I'm apparently some majorly important figure in Ionian lore that is supposed to fight Syndra...but she absolutely kicked my ass, pardon the language. I apparently only have another few years to live and the woman I considered my surrogate mother was just keeping me around for political purposes," he said. "Makes me wish I hadn't fought when the temple was attacked."
Soraka sighed, Karma biting her lip at those stinging words. "Child, are you aware that Karma was in tears the entire way home? She didn't care that nothing came out of challenging Syndra. She was one hundred percent concerned with you dying."
"Yeah, because-"
"Because she cares about you, you fool. Karma may be a leader, but she is human. How do you think she feels right now? She is probably greatly wounded in knowing how furious you are with her. She's had an incredibly painful few weeks, Utsusemimaru, and you're likely the closest family she has right now. I know it stings but for Karma's sake, stow your anger," Soraka retaliated.
Utsusemimaru was silent, only the shifting of bedsheets signaling that he was there. "I'm...I'm sorry..." he finally said.
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to, child. Karma is hurting greatly and she needs to know that even if you are hurt, you still care about her," With that, hooves hit wood as Soraka began to walk out. Karma, realizing that she would be seen, turned a bit as Soraka opened the door and then closed it. "Feeling better now, Karma?"
"You...saw me?"
"I was vaguely aware you were there."
Karma rubbed her brow. "T-Thank you, Soraka. I've been so stressed and even I am questioning if I saved Utsusemimaru for the right reasons. I just can't...you know why I asked for Piltover, right?"
"Yes, for technology to keep him alive."
Karma leaned on the wall, eyes shut. "We didn't find any solid answers to why this happened, I have to find new council members with Ryota shoving applicants down my throat every second, the greatest creatures of Ionia are probably all awake and active now...and here I am, worrying about family matters."
Soraka smiled, placing one azure hand on Karma's shoulder. "And that should be your answer. If Utsusemimaru was just a piece in your puzzle, would you worry this much? Would you contact another state -just- to keep someone you care for around?" Soraka smiled, trying to ease Karma's mind. "You lead an entire nation, Karma. It will be hard, but don't ever let balance sacrifice your humanity or question your own feelings."
Karma turned to Soraka, smiling softly. "Thank you, Soraka, that has helped immensely. I still have a great many challenges but you have at least offered me a moment of respite."
"Not a problem at all...now I suggest you get some sleep soon. You still need to pick out three people who you feel champion the cause of Ionia."
All at once, Karma realized what she should do when it came to the council. She couldn't keep appointing those who only work in offices or have grand names, titles and palaces in their names. No, the council needed a fundamental change to keep something like this from happening again.
The Council needed champions.