53 CH52: The Blood Moon

Ahri woke up to a new day at the Institute of War. She was considering just rolling over and continuing sleeping but remembering how important the day is, she immediately sat up while stretching her tails.

She looked beside her to wake up her newly acquired lover… only to find the bed empty. "Huh, I guess he woke up before me… or he didn't sleep at all, again," Ahri mused chuckling to herself.

After getting up, she went through her morning routine, while also paying close attention to her looks.

She went to the living room, expecting to see Grey there… only to find Nidalee and Silver. "Morning," the Huntress greeted.

"Morning," Ahri replied but sounded a little confused. "So, where's Grey?" she asked.

"He already left, said something about getting ready," Nidalee replied as she started petting Silver. "He asked me to take care of Silver while you two are out."

"Oh, that's nice of you," Ahri said before raising an eyebrow. "I have to say, you are taking this too well, I expected you to be… feisty."

The Huntress shrugged. "I got to admit, I'm not completely okay with it, but after meeting you and seeing how you get along with Grey, it sort of changed my mind. I honestly wouldn't have liked it otherwise."

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled warmly before turning back to her room. "Well, since Grey is getting ready, I might as well get ready myself," she said as she went to check on the things they bought over their time at the Institute.

While she was looking for what to wear, Nidalee yelled at her from the living room. "By the way, I'll have the summoners strength the soundproof walls while you're out!"

Ahri blushed and just kept looking through her clothes while yelling a reply. "Yeah… that's… a good idea."

With Grey:

The Abyss Watcher was now pacing back and forth in the dining hall in front of a table that had Brite, Ezreal, Lux, Tiara, and Solas.

"So, let me get this straight," Ezreal said with a rather surprised look. "You're over a century old, but you've never been on a date before?"

"Not even once," Grey replied still pacing. He was feeling something he didn't experience much, which was being nervous.

"How?" Ezreal asked knowing that Grey was pretty much one of the most wanted men in the Institute.

"Fighting the Abyss doesn't give you much time for any romance in your life," the Abyss Watcher replied still pacing.

Lux shook her head in bewilderment. "I don't know whether to commend you on your loyalty to your job, or feel worried about how much of a workaholic you were."

The Lord of Cinder just kept pacing back and forth, making Tiara groan. "For the love of Gwyndolin, would you calm down, Grey!" she practically yelled.

"How can I calm down?" Grey asked as he stopped pacing. "I just got into this relationship, and I don't want to screw it up."

"It's just a date, Grey," his sister reminded him.

"When was the last time you were on a date?" the Abyss Watcher asked.

"I've been on tons of dates," Tiara replied.

Her brother stopped pacing. "Let me rephrase what I said when was the last time you were on a date that DIDN'T ends with you slitting the throat of whoever you were on a date with?" Grey asked putting his question in a different way.

Tiara just looked at him for a couple of seconds before replying. "I don't see the difference," she said as if nothing is wrong with it making her brother sigh.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine," Solas tried to reassure him.

Grey sighed, turned a chair from another table around and sat down. "I'm just so… confused. I mean, what am I supposed to do."

"Well, just make sure she's happy," Lux began thinking that she would help the Abyss Watcher.

"I was already planning to do that," Grey deadpanned at how obvious Lux's statement was.

"Well, what do you two usually do together?" Brite asked, hoping to get an idea on how to help Grey.

The Abyss Watcher put a hand on his chin. "Well, we usually go around new places together, see new things, do new things, meet new people, and talk to each other," he replied before noticing that they were giving him weird looks. "What?"

"So, basically," Ezreal started looking rather bewildered. "Ever since you two met, you have been on one colossal date?"

Now it was Grey's turn to look confused. "What?"

Tiara shook her head while pinching the bridge of the nose. "Urghh. You two are so good for each other that it's sickening," she groaned.

Grey just sighed while messaging his forehead. "Grey, calm down," Ezreal said. "Your clothes are pretty much already themed for The Blood moon, and after what you told us, just act naturally."

The Abyss Watcher was silent for a few seconds before standing up. "Well, I might as well go and meet her at the transport station," he said almost sounding defeated before looking at his sister. "Tiara, don't kill anyone while I'm gone."

"I promise nothing," his sister replied earning a deadpan look from her brother. "Fine, as long as they don't bother me too much, I ain't going to kill anyone."

"So only Brite is in danger, good enough for me," Grey said as he walked away.

"What?" the Silver Knight asked looking confused and a little worried.

The Abyss Watcher ignored him and kept walking towards the Transport station. After reaching his destination, he simply stood at the side of the door waiting for his newly acquired lover.

After waiting for a few minutes, Ahri showed up in new clothes. It looked somewhat like her usual kimono, but with different colors. The main color was black and with dark red edges, a dark red skirt, and black detached sleeves. Her gemstones were tied to her waist, one at each side.

"Hey, Ahri," the Abyss Watcher greeted as she reached him. "S-Sorry if I'm not dressed properly," he apologized in an unusual nervous tone.

"It's okay," Ahri replied chuckling at his nervous tone. "Your clothes already suit the Blood moon," Grey's normal dark clothes did suit the festival. She was also glad that he didn't cover his face like usual, or even wearing his hat, and was strapped to his waist instead. she grabbed his arm and held his hand. "Let's go."

Walking into the transport station, the summoner there stood attention. "Good day, champions, leaving the Institute?"

Ahri nodded. "Yes, we'd like to go to Ionia, please," she requested.

The summoner nodded and motioned towards the Rune circle. "Very well, stand in the circle."

Both of them nodded and did as the summoner asked. The summoner waved his hands and cast a spell before both of them vanished.

Both of them appeared at a different transport station, with a different summoner there. "Welcome to Ionia, champions," the summoner greeted.

Ahri and Grey nodded before coming out of the Transport station. They found themselves in a large Ionian village.

Traditional houses, stores, and booths made of wood were everywhere, roads of dirt were between them, and lamps were hung from poles at the sides of the street. People were also walking around, all of them wearing traditional Ionian robes with red being the main color.

There were also Blood moon decorations. Most stores and booths were selling Blood moon themed products, along with most buildings being painted red.

"Well, we're here," Grey said trying to think about what to do. He then remembered Ahri saying that she always wanted to join the games. "Do you want to play anything?" he asked.

"Sure," Ahri agreed with enthusiasm that made Grey sigh in relief knowing he made a good pick.

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked around and spotted a game that caught her interest. It was the usual game of knocking down the bottles to win a prize.

Walking towards the booth, she took Grey with her and looked at the owner, a man with messy hair wearing Ionian robes.

"Hey there, want to give it a shot?" he asked offering them a ball. "Why don't you win a prize for your pretty friend here," he tried to persuade Grey into playing.

"Actually, she's the one who's playing," The Abyss Watcher replied motioning to Ahri.

The owner chuckled. "Sure, whatever you want," he was clearly underestimating her.

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan gave the man a gold coin before taking the ball from him and taking a few steps back.

"Just so you know, these games are rigged," Ahri whispered to Grey as he walked beside her.

"What?" Grey asked confused.

Ahri nodded as she prepared her wrist. "Yeah, the bottles are glued to the table."

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"Then why bother playing?" Grey asked.

"Because if you're going to face a cheater," Ahri raised the ball showing how it started glowing blue light. "Then you might as well cheat yourself."

The Abyss Watcher chuckled while the owner smirked thinking that Ahri was going to fail. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan reeled back her arm and threw the ball.

The ball hit the bottles. But, much to the owner's shock, a little fire exploded from the ball, burning the glue and forcing the balls down.

"Oh, would you look at that?" Ahri put her hands on her waist with her face full of self-satisfaction. "It looks like I won."

"A-Ah, of course," the Owner nervously chuckled. He knew that he couldn't exactly say anything, or he would be announcing that his game was rigged. "So, pick a prize."

Ahri smirked and looked over the prizes, they were mostly kids' toys. Her eyes then caught sight of a traditional Kitsune mask.

"I want that one," she said pointing at the Kitsune mask.

The owner looked at the mask and mumbled, "Of course you do," as if he was expecting it. He grabbed it and gave it to her.

Ahri took the mask and tied it loosely to the side of her head. "How does it look?" she asked, looking at Grey.

Her new lover smiled. "It honestly looks cute on you," he complimented.

Ahri smiled with some pink dusting her cheeks as she held his hand again. "Thank you," she said as they began walking away.

The Abyss Watcher looked back at the booth they were in just now. "I think you ruined his business," he said about the owner.

"This night isn't about him," his new lover replied without a care. "it's about us," she added as she squeezed his arm.

Grey smiled and squeezed back as they walked through the festival. Looking for something else to do, they spotted a noodle stand.

It was a simple place. Made of wood, like most buildings, with chairs in front of the counter so people can eat and watch the cook make their food. The cook, however, wasn't around, but there was a door at the back which implied that they might be there.

"How about we get some food?" Ahri suggested pointing to the stand. "I have to admit that I'm hungry."

"Well, I didn't get a chance to eat either, so I'm up for it," Grey replied remembering that he was too busy being nervous to actually eat breakfast.

They both walked into the stand and sat beside each other in front of the counter. There wasn't anyone there but them.

Ahri took it upon herself to call for the owner, "Excuse me?"

"Just a second," a feminine voice called from the back. Both Grey and Ahri looked at each other with a raised eyebrow, finding the voice familiar.

A moment later, someone came out of the back and they realized why the voice was familiar. It was Akali, but with different clothes.

Her chest was covered in bandages under a blue top with ocean-like drawings. A headband was on her head and her hair was now a light red shade.

"Akali?" Grey asked confused.

"Oh, hey," the rogue assassin greeted as she walked towards the counter where the cooking equipment was. "I'm glad to see you two made it."

"You own a ramen stand?" Ahri asked surprised and confused.

Akali shrugged. "Well, I got to make a living somehow," she replied.

Both of them looked at her in confusion. "Doesn't the Institute already give you money?" Grey asked.

Akali looked away with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "I… might not be very good at managing how I spend my money," she admitted making the new lovers chuckle slightly. "Anyway, I see you two are together, and from the way, you were walking together holding each other's hands, I guess you finally hit it off," she observed, but mainly to get the attention away from herself.

"Yes," Ahri confirmed as she held Grey's hand smiling warmly. "We're lovers now," she said and the Abyss Watcher mirrored her smile.

"Finally!" Akali sighed as she handed them the menu. "I was honestly starting to get concerned."

"About what?" Grey asked.

"That doesn't matter," the Rogue assassin waved it off before gesturing to the menu. "So, want to order?"

Ahri took the menu and Grey looked at her sheepishly. "Mind ordering for me? I still don't have much knowledge of Ionian food."

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply giggled. "Sure, no problem," she said looking over the menu before looking back at Akali. "We'll have two bowls of spicy ramen."

"My favorite," Akali said taking back the menu and started cooking. "So, Grey, I'm glad to see you're back from being missing," she said trying to start a conversation.

"Speaking of, what happened to you during the mission?" Ahri asked. She was wondering that herself… but she supposed that she was busy 'enjoying' the fact that they became a couple.

"It's… complicated," the Abyss Watcher replied shaking his head. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know what exactly happened myself," Akali and Ahri just looked at him confused. "Let's just say that I was lost, but someone helped me find the way back," he didn't mention Ama because she seemed to hate Runeterra and didn't want to upset her. He then remembered something. "Hey, do you two know what Okame means?"

Both of them looked surprised. "Where did you hear that word?" Ahri asked.

"Okame is a word?" Grey was confused since he thought it was a name.

"A very old Ionian word," Akali clarified as she kept cooking. "It means Wolf."

Now Grey understood what Susano meant when he said that it makes sense if he knew what it meant, and he had to agree honestly.

"And done," Akali finished cooking and handed her costumers two bowls of ramen with chopsticks. "Here you go."

Both of them took their bowls. Ahri picked up her chopsticks and, thanks to all the memories she took, used them well despite never using them before.

Grey, however, simply grabbed them with a look of confusion before asking, "So, how do I use these?"

Ahri chuckled finding his confusion rather cute. "Let me help you," she said grabbing his hand. "You hold them like this," she said helping him get the correct hold. "And you eat like this," she went back to her bowel and demonstrated.

The Abyss Watcher followed her example and managed to eat the ramen, although a little sloppy.

"This is amazing, Akali," Grey complimented as he ate his noodles.

"Your welcome," the Rogue assassin chuckled as she started washing her kitchen tools to use them later.

Ahri and Grey just ate their ramen in silence. There wasn't a need to actually say anything. Both of them were simply enjoying being beside each other. It felt… natural.

After finishing their bowls, Ahri grabbed her gold patch. "So, Akali, how much was that?"

"It's on the house," Akali replied surprising them. "Consider it a gift for the new couple, you guys deserve it," she finished cleaning and started heading to the back again. "Well, I gotta check on something, see ya," and with that, she went through the door.

Once they were left alone, both of them stood up from their seats and took a few steps from the stand. "Well, that was kind of her," Grey noted before looking at Ahri. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

Ahri hummed and in thought while looking around before spotting something. "Oh, I think I see an Ice-cream stand. Let's get some dessert," Ahri said and immediately went to get her frozen treat without waiting for a reply.

Grey chuckled seeing Ahri's enthusiasm about Ice-cream. It was pretty obvious that it was one of her weaknesses.

In the past, he could have rarely smiled in his old world. But now, just seeing Ahri genuinely having fun was enough to make him happy.

"Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself," Grey looked beside him… and saw that Ama was the one who spoke.

"Oh, you," Grey noted. At this point, Grey was pretty much used to her habits of showing up out of nowhere. "I thought you hate it here?" he asked remembering Ana's reaction to Runeterra.

Ama glared at the people around them, that for some reason didn't notice her. "I do," she confirmed.

The Abyss Watcher looked at her glare and didn't see any actual hatred, but disappointment. It was a look that a parent would give their child when they choose the wrong life for themselves.

"Anyway," Grey attempted to change the subject. "Yes, I am enjoying myself. Wouldn't you be in my place?"

"I suppose that's right," Ama chuckled as she turned her attention back at the Abyss Watcher. "But, do you think that it will last?"

"Nothing is eternal," Grey admitted but without a sign of any depression, having already accepted that fact. "However, that just means you have to enjoy what you have while you have it. The future is not the present, and I'll deal with it when it happens, but now, I'd like to enjoy these peaceful moments."

The black-haired woman chuckled, almost as if she was hoping for him to give that answer, which was confusing.

"Grey! Come on!" their conversation was cut off when Ahri called out.

"I'm on my way," the Abyss Watcher replied before looking at Ama. "You might not enjoy it here, but consider enjoying yourself."

With that, Grey walked away headed towards his lover. Ama, who was left alone, chuckled in amusement for reasons unknown to others around.

"Oh, is someone there?" Akali asked from the back, hearing Ama's laughter and coming out. "I didn't realize I had any… customers…" Akali trailed off as she looked in disbelief at Ama, who was standing at the front of her stand. "You… you're… I…" she couldn't even form a sentence.

Ama simply brought up a finger towards her smirking lips. "Shhhh, no one has to know," she whispered before she vanished in a flurry of embers.

Akali just stood there with her jaw hanging. She knew EXACTLY who that woman was, so she did what any rational person would do in her situation… which is fainting on the spot.

Meanwhile, Grey reached Ahri and saw that she already had two cones of Ice cream in her hands.

"What took you so long?" Ahri asked handing him an Ice-cream cone.

Grey took the ice-cream and replied, "I thought I saw someone," he forwent mentioning Ama because he knew she would be gone when he looks back.

Ahri was curious but shrugged it off and decided not to worry about it. They started walking through the festival again, looking for something to do.

After walking for a few moments and finishing up their Ice-cream, Ahri spotted another game that caught her interest.

It was a knife throwing game. The stand had three targets at the back and prizes at the side. It kind of looked like that bottle game they played before.

Ahri normally wouldn't be interested in knives, but she then looked at Grey. "Hey, Grey, why don't you try out that game there?" she asked.

The Abyss Watcher looked at the game before looking at his lover. "Why?" he asked a little confused.

"I already played, so it's your turn to have fun," Ahri chuckled as she pulled him towards the game before he replied.

The owner, which was a slightly short woman with a couple of scars on her face, showed up. "Hey, want to give it a shot?" she asked.

Ahri pushed Grey forward and he rolled his eyes with a smile. "Yes, I'd like to try," he said giving the woman some gold.

The woman took the gold and gave him three knives. "Alright, you get three tries," she informed him taking a step to the side, away from the line of fire.

"I'll only need one," Grey said making her confused.

Deciding to use one of the tricks he learned at the Catacombs of Carthus, the Abyss Watcher held the three knives by the tip of the blade before reeling back his arm and throwing them all at the same time.

Both Ahri and the owner looked surprised as all three knives struck the center of each target. "Woah, pretty good," the owner complemented before looking back at Grey. "Well, you won, so pick a prize."

The Lord of Cinder looked over the prizes before something caught his attention. It was a wolf mask, with the same design as Ahri's one except looking like a wolf.

"I'll take that one," Grey said motioning to the mask.

The owner grabbed the mask and handed it to the Abyss Watcher, who, like Ahri, put it on the side of his head only in the opposite direction.

Grey turned around and showed it to Ahri. "Look, now we match," he said jokingly.

Ahri chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, it kind of suits us, actually," she replied as she held his hand while walking away. "The Kitsune, and her Okame," she pointed out before smirking at her lover. "Also, were you showing off back there?" she asked teasingly.

Grey just smirked. "Showing off is your thing, not mine," he replied in a mixture of serious and joking tone.

Ahri put a finger on her chin before shrugging. "That's true, I guess," she agreed and they both shared a laugh.

Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey walking through the festival with chibi Ama watching over them from the top of a building.)

The date has gone on great in Grey's opinion. So far, he and Ahri have managed to go around the festival and try out different games or see people performing shows on the streets.

It was now late at night. The Crimson Moon was now high in the sky shining red light upon all of Ionia.

Grey and Ahri were currently sitting on a grass hill, giving them a great view of the moon and the entire village.

Besides Ahri was a bag full of all the things she bought. To some people, it would seem childish, but to Grey, it was rather cute how excited his lover was at joining the Blood moon festival for the first time.

"So," the Abyss Watcher cleared his throat trying to start a conversation. "Did you have fun?" he asked.

Ahri smiled and leaned on his shoulder while looking up at the moon. "I did, it was amazing," she said before looking at him. "Let me guess, you were nervous."

Grey sighed and answered truthfully. "Yeah, I was. Was it that obvious?" he asked.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Ahri assured him as she intertwined their fingers. "To be honest, I was nervous, too," she admitted.

Grey chuckled and held her hand gently as he also looked at her. "I guess we were both worried for nothing."

They both looked into each other's eyes before leaning forward and sharing a kiss. It lasted for a few seconds before they pulled back.

"Thank you," Grey said suddenly.

"For what?" Ahri asked.

"For giving this chance," Grey explained as he held her hand tighter. "I truly never thought I'd be this happy, but you allowed that to happen, so, again, thank you."

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply smiled and caressed his face. "Don't worry about it. If anything, I have to thank you, too, for giving me the same chance."

The Abyss Watcher returned her smile as they shared another kiss. They kept sitting there for a few moments before Grey stood up.

"We should probably get back now," Grey said as he offered his hand to Ahri.

The Nine-Tailed Vastayan whined but still accepted his hand and stood up. "Can't we stay for a while longer?"

The Lord of Cinder shook his head. "Sorry, but no. Besides, we can always come to the next festival."

Ahri smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's right," agreed as she held his hand and started making their way to the Transport station. Ahri then remembered something. "Oh, right. Nidalee said that the summoners are going to strengthen the soundproofing of our walls."

Grey blushed, remembering how the Huntress complained about the noises. "Yeah… that's… a good idea," he said.

His lover chuckled with a hint of embarrassment. "That's what I said."

Grey chuckled and shook his head. "Let's get back now. Hopefully, we'll get back home before Tiara kills Brite," he said remembering his sister's temper.

(A/N: Thank you for reading this.

First, I'm sure you see that this is better than the first version, which couldn't even be called a date if I'm honest. So, I decided to give them more personal time together.

Second, I'm sure that you noticed Akali's reaction to Ama. Yes, she will show up again, but I can't say anymore or that would be spoilers.

Third, Ama's reasons and interests in Grey will be explained later, so don't worry.

Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)