"This guy with his ridiculous shadow clone..." Syndra breathed, summoning another power ball towards the man. Zed chuckled, merely dodging it by switching places with his clone. The clone began to rush up on her, which, from Syndra's experience, could only mean that-

"Gotcha!" Zed said aloud as he rushed up from Behind. Syndra turned just in time to force him away with her power. He groaned, tumbling into her tower, which began to hit him in response. "Damnit!" He tried to rush away, but he wasn't paying attention. Syndra grinned, holding her hand up to him. She summoned all of her power, and the purple power balls began to float towards her.

"You're done." Syndra smirked. Zed flicked his head towards her as she pushed her power against him. All at once, the balls flew at him, hitting him at her will, until he fell to the floor.

An enemy has been slain!

Syndra silently cheered to herself before beginning to head back.

"Nice job." She watched her jungler, Riven, pass her by and disappear into the second half of the jungle. Syndra rolled her eyes.

"Piece of cake." She mused, recalling back to the base. She searched over some items before deciding to buy a few things, then headed back to her lane.

"That was very tricky of you." Zed said to her approach. She stopped just under the tower. He was completely bypassing the minions, merely staring over at her with his arms crossed. "I was impressed."

"As you should be." She narrowed her eyes with a slight smirk. He watched his head tilt ever so slightly in her direction, which was slightly confusing on her end. She lifted her hand to him, which he immediately responded by switching with his shadow clone, a great distance away from her. He slashed all of the opposing minions down and let his venture forth, merely watching, stationary. She killed the minions with ease. Zed merely waited until their minions clashed again, and the process repeated for most of the game.

"Syndra, what is going on mid?" Riven said to her at the platform. Syndra sighed, trading in an item for another.

"I have no idea." She breathed. "He wont try to attack me. He just runs away. But he wont let me attack the tower. He merely kills the minions, and leaves me be." She turned to Riven. "There have been ample times to kill me. There were a few I did on purpose. I am far from understanding."

"That does seem odd..." They walked into the lane together before Riven chuckled slightly.

"What?" Syndra narrowed her eyes at her jungler.

"Maybe he likes you." Syndra gawked at her, which made Riven laugh further.

"Honestly, this is Zed we're talking about." She sighed.

"But, hey." Riven said, poking her forehead slightly. "This is also you we're talking about." Riven let a little wink slip in with her smirk before she disappeared into her jungle. Syndra stared after, befuddled. She couldn't imagine that Zed, master of Shadows, and completely involved in assassinating, would want anything to do with... Well, anyone.

Upon returning to lane, she noticed he was gone. She eyed around, killing a few of the minions, before she decided to ward her bushes. Luckily, she had picked some up from the shop a few recalls back. She placed on the left, then traveled over to the right and did the same. No one was there.

"This could be my chance." She said. She followed her minions up to his tower, beating on it with all of her might until it fell to the ground.

An enemy tower has fallen!

Before she could give much joy, she felt a blade go through her back. She coughed up blood and leaned forward slightly.

"I was wondering when you'd..." She said, turning to look at Zed. But it wasn't Zed. It was their jungler, Xin Zhao. He pulled his spear away and made to bring it down. Syndra forced her power towards him, pushing him away. As he came back at her, she began summoning balls of power to hit him, flailing them at him and stunning him several times. After several moments of that, both of them dangerously low, she used her ult, killing him pretty instantly. She sighed, turning around to see Zed just behind her. He was also low in health, possibly from fighting her other teammates.

She took a few steps back and raised her arms out to him. He only stood there. They stood off like that for a few moments before she sighed, aggravated.

"Why wont you attack me!?" She growled, taking a defiant stomp towards him. He said nothing, but his arms did uncross. "What could possibly be the reason for letting me go!?" Still, he said nothing. For a while, they stood their in silence, the only noises that could be heard were the minions behind Zed, and the occasional voice of the announcer. She growled again when the silence was not met with an answer, marching towards him. "How dare you!"

She felt incredibly insulted. Was it because she was a girl? Was she not formidable enough? Was he taking pity on her? She raised her hand, going in for the slap. She was shocked when he caught it, pulling her up off the ground slightly. He stared down at her through the mask for a while, and she tried to search it for answers, even though she knew it would never reveal them.

Gently, he put her down. "I simply did not wish to." He said quietly, letting go of her wrist once she was back on the ground. "No other reason than that." She stared up at him, speechless. That made less sense than any of the excuses she had made in her mind moments before. She swallowed quietly before lifting a hand to his mask. He tensed, but remained the same otherwise. After a few seconds of that, she began to lift it away.

He seemed to make a move to stop her, lifting his hands to where her waist was, but after the first initial tug, he paused. What would happen if she was to see him? He let his hands drape her hips gently. Her eyes shifted slightly, not sure what to think of it as he pulled her closer. She continued to pull the mask away, revealing his chin and lips, a scar decorating them both. She didnt expect him to have a wound like that. She traced it with her free hand, just to make sure it wasn't fresh. His hands on her hips tightened slightly at the gesture.

"Syndra..." He said quietly. Before she could continue, a rustle in the bushes interrupted them both. Syndra shot a glance towards it, seeing a familiar sword begin to peek out of the bushes. She pulled away from Zed and, As Riven came into the clearing, sword raised high, Syndra used her powers to push him away. His mask forced itself back into place as he went tumbling. He then used his clone to further himself from the two, obviously running back towards their nexus.

"Damn." Riven said, looking over at Syndra. She shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to get away." Syndra laughed. Riven shook her head with a grin.

"No worries. We'll get him next time." She mused before turning and dodging back into the jungle. Syndra looked towards the place where Zed had run off, completely entranced by the moment they shared. Before she could turn to walk back to her own platform, the enemy nexus began to blow. She stared at it before shaking their head.

Victory!

They had been winning by a landslide, so the enemy team gave up. Syndra was ported back to the main dock. She looked around until she noticed Zed, staring at her. He shrugged slightly before his feet carried him off of his platform and out the door. Syndra was quick to follow.

"Tell me." She said as she caught up to him. He looked over at her, slowing his walk. "What... happened back there?"

"You... got too close." He said quietly. "That wont happen again." He nodded before turning, his walk picking up. Syndra picked herself up and floated along with him, keeping up easily.

"Why?" She asked. He sighed. "Tell me why you decided on me, at least." He kept walking in silence for a minute before he just stopped. She was not prepared for it, and stopped a little ways in front of him. She waited until he took a breath.

"Because... I think you're interesting." He said, looking at her. She stared at him for a moment before letting herself touch the ground. She walked over to him. "Don't..."

"Let me." It wasn't really a question, but a soft demand. He took a slight step back as her hand came up to the mask. "I'm curious about you."

"Are you?" He said, grabbing her hand. "What do I get in exchange for this peek in your curiosity?"

"I'm... Not sure what I could give you." She flicked her eyes over to his hand holding her wrist once again. He chuckled, causing her to look back. His thumb hooked under the mask and he lifted it slightly.

"You do not get all of it." He said bluntly. He pulled at the mask until his lips were visible, smirking as he pulled her closer to him. "But... I will take payment for what you have seen." He leaned over and, with a little maneuvering, stole a long, lustful kiss from Syndra, who was too stunned to retaliate. When he pulled away, he pushed the mask back into place, looking down at her face. She swallowed to try and fix her dry throat.

"...So, what do I do to get the rest of it?" She mused to cover up the fact that she was flustered, and caught off guard. He hummed.

"Hn... We'll see." He said, squeezing her waist slightly before letting her go. She pouted slightly. She'd get what she wanted, even if she had to force it out of him. He chuckled, and even though it was dark, it sounded... genuine. She tilted her head slightly.

"C'mon. Don't tease me."

"Trust me, you'll appreciate it more if I do." He mused before disappearing in a flash of smoke. She groaned, turning away from where he had been to look up at the sky, quickly turning into night.

"Time to go home." She sighed, but as she walked, her fingers traced her smiling lips.