A group of them walked through Zaun's streets in a tight pack. With Vander's exaggerated size and monstrous looks, there was no way he wasn't going to draw eyes.
The Zaunites' first reaction on seeing Vander was, naturally, to flinch. But the moment they spotted the shirtless, black-haired young man up front with that easy smile, the tension evaporated.
That was the boss of the Spirit Blossom Gang, the one who ran Hope Community—everyone around here knew him.
Vander had Jinx on one side and Vi on the other. Logan walked alongside Silco, with Sevika, Ekko, and the others trailing behind.
"What's that?" Vander asked on the way, extending a claw to point at something.
Logan glanced up and saw he meant a section of wastewater pipe fitted with locking clasps. Logan grinned as he explained, "Our project. We built it to cut off Piltover's sewage from flowing down here."
Vander looked surprised, scratching at his huge head. "Wait— and they just let you do that?"
"Vander, do you think the Pilties are that kind?" Vi slapped him on the back, casual as anything. "We fought. They lost. After that they behaved. Got wrecked—totally wrecked, you get it? You think everyone can talk their way to peace like you? Piltover people only learn when you hit them."
"Hm… sounds like you really did a good job, Logan," Vander said with a sigh of emotion.
But the moment the words left his mouth, his expression soured. He lowered his head to glare at Vi, baring his teeth—scary as hell—and said, "And you… Vi. How did you end up like this?"
"Like what?" Vi blinked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Look at you now! I don't remember raising you like this. Dyed hair, tattoos, piercings—what haven't you done? Didn't I say you weren't allowed to get tattoos?" Vander's voice rose.
Between him and Vi, the father-daughter bond sometimes felt more like father-and-son. Vi had been rebellious since she was little, always butting heads with him. And once they'd grown close, Vander had pulled out the full Dad authority and started cracking down on her.
The first second he laid eyes on Vi again, he'd felt uncomfortable with the way she looked.
Why did my daughter turn into this?
As for Powder—no, Jinx now—she looked… comfortable, the kind of sight that put him at ease.
Her hair was smooth, her skin pale, her eyes big, her mouth small—prettier and cuter than he'd imagined. Powder really had grown up… grown into her looks. When they were kids, Vi had been the best-looking one—just with a terrible haircut. But now, Vander thought Powder was the prettiest. Of course, Vi was pretty too.
His two girls were both beautiful!
And what made Vander happiest of all was that Powder had no tattoos, no pierced ears. She wore a wool sweater and a coat, looking like a gentle, bookish girl.
What had Vander always wanted most?
Not some great achievements for Vi and Powder—just that they'd grow up healthy, live good lives, not fall in with bad habits. No smoking, no drugs, none of that. That was all he'd ever hoped for.
And Powder… had done it.
Thinking that, Vander couldn't help saying, "Why don't you learn from your sister?"
"Huh?" Vi's mouth fell open. The look she gave Vander was beyond weird.
Learn from her?
Learn how to kill people?
Learn how to build horrifying weapons?
Or learn how to throw a tantrum like a lunatic because a single dish doesn't taste right?
Around them, members of the Spirit Blossom Gang all lowered their heads. Ekko in particular twitched at the corner of his mouth—then actually stopped walking, standing there like he'd been put in detention.
Learn from Jinx?
With their hands on their hearts, even though Boss Vi looked aggressive, she was actually gentle. When something dangerous happened, she was always the first one in. Maybe her words didn't always sound nice, but she really was a good leader.
But Jinx?
To be fair, among the Spirit Blossom Gang's core crew, everyone except Zeri was scared of Jinx.
Who in Zaun hadn't heard the stories about the blue-haired lunatic?
"What do you mean 'huh'? Look at Powder—what's so great about tattoos, anyway?" Vander went on. "Me having tattoos—fine. I used to run with gangs. They were a symbol. But you? Why are you getting tattoos?"
"You—!" Vi stomped, furious, and reached up to thump Vander on the back, producing a heavy thud-thud. "What do you even know?!"
"Pow—Jinx. Say something," Vi demanded, turning to Jinx.
Jinx guiltily dodged Vi's gaze, lips pouting, refusing to answer. But when Vander looked over, she instantly lifted those bright, watery eyes at him, flashed a sweet smile, and said, "Vander~ Logan's cooking tonight. It's so good."
"???" Vi watched the scene, teeth grinding like they were about to shatter.
What was that supposed to mean?
Acting innocent, huh?!
And Vander—!
What do you mean I have tattoos?
You haven't seen the cloud-pattern tattoos on Powder's body—half her body's covered in them! And she used to wear smoky makeup—smoky makeup!
She was not that well-behaved!
"Why are you getting jealous of your sister now?" Vander said.
"Damn it! Vander, listen to me—this isn't what you think—" Vi drew a deep breath, staring at him.
And right then, she didn't notice that the distance between her and Jinx had thinned a little because of Vander's return.
She could tease Jinx now—rather than tiptoeing around her sister, afraid she'd get angry, afraid she'd be upset.
Before, Vi's feelings toward Jinx had been… wrong. Not what sisters were supposed to feel.
But Vander being back had brought them closer to that old rhythm again: the pampered little sister, and the big sister who always got scolded.
"Vander," Jinx cut in, interrupting Vi, "not only did Vi ignore you—tattoos, piercings—she even went and hooked up with a Topside enforcer."
"…Dating?" Vander's face fell as he looked at Vi seriously. "I don't mind you dating someone from Piltover, but you have to bring them back so I can meet them."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there while you were growing up," he continued, "but I'm back now. Vi—this is the big stuff in your life. I have to be involved. I need to see what kind of person that kid is."
"Kid? Ha!" Jinx burst out laughing. "Vander, don't let her fool you. Vi didn't hook up with some guy enforcer—she hooked up with a female enforcer!"
"!!!"
"Stop spouting nonsense! Powder, shut your mouth!" Vi snapped, lunging to grab Jinx.
Jinx nimbly slipped out of reach and hopped back. "Aha!" she crowed, planting her hands on her hips. Then, wearing the most obnoxious grin imaginable, she puckered her lips at Vi and said, "Hey, did I say anything wrong? If I'm wrong, why are you getting so nervous? Or are you scared Vander won't let you be with that stick-thin female enforcer?"
"Say one more word and I'm really going to get mad!"
"Mad? You think I'm scared of you? Come on, then—hit me!" Jinx stuck out her tongue at Vi.
Please. She had Silco, Vander, and Logan at her back now.
Why would she be scared of Vi?
"You—!" Vi was about to lose her mind.
Jinx spun around and took off at a run, charging forward. Vi sucked in a breath and sprinted after her, chasing her down the street.
Vander, meanwhile, felt dizzy. He watched his two daughters race ahead, their noisy laughter echoing again and again.
No—my daughter… got rebellious to THIS extent?!
Tattoos. Piercings. Drinking. And now she's—what—into women?!
"Logan," Vander asked, turning to him, "is what Powder said true?"
"Mm. More or less." Logan patted Vander on the shoulder. "Though there's an even bigger surprise waiting for you."
"There's more?" Vander's mouth twitched.
"Yeah. The truth is, Jinx isn't as well-behaved as you think. You'll find out soon enough." Logan said it with a wicked grin.
Beside him, Silco's mouth curled up too.
Jinx was his to raise. Now… let Vander deal with the headaches.
"Alright, enough," Silco said, stepping ahead and looking back at Logan and Vander. "Logan, Vander—we need to find a place and talk. Properly."
"Now that you're back, it's time to sound the horn for the counteroffensive."
Logan nodded.
Honestly, without any serious Hextech weapons, Vander alone could sweep Piltover—his combat power wasn't something a human could stand against anymore.
And Logan?
Ever heard of a twin-cities nuke?
"…." Vander fell silent, meeting Silco's gaze.
Then he nodded.
"Alright."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810