Three days had passed. Kain walked through the clamor of Zaun, his mind turning over the matter of Rin's arm. That pale blue glow he'd seen in the basement of the old Vander estate. The way the Hextech plating and flesh were beginning to merge—it seemed to be spreading with each passing day. He couldn't say for certain. But he had a feeling. And his hunches were usually right. What he was searching for was a medical interface unit to halt the progression of Hextech fusion. Originally part of the equipment used by Piltover's military physicians, it could be inserted into tissue where fusion had begun, artificially severing the flow of Hex energy. At least, that's what he'd heard around Zaun. The credibility was maybe sixty percent, but he had no other options now. Scanning the row of street vendors, Kain stopped before a stall with a wooden sign reading "Medical Components." A small elderly man with glasses was arranging miscellaneous parts beneath a chemical lamp. "You got an interface unit? Hextech medical grade?" The old man lifted the rim of his glasses and looked at Kain. "What of it?" "How much you want for it?" "—Who're you looking for this for?" His gaze shifted, glancing around. Kain paused for just a moment. "…A friend of mine. They've got Hextech fusion happening." "Hextech fusion?" The old man's voice rose. The vendor next to him turned his head. A scrap collector passing by looked over with an "Huh?" expression. "Wait a minute—is it an arm? A leg? What stage are we talking about? Has it already reached the flesh?" "It… might have." "Who is this person? An Enforcer? Don't tell me—Euphinis related?" Euphinis—the name of a human experimentation program Piltover had conducted in secret during the war. That program where Hextech was implanted directly into living bodies. "N-No! Just an acquaintance—a cat! A cat's arm!" The air around them stopped. "…A cat?" "Yeah! Zaun has cats too, right? A cat whose arm fused with Hextech!" No one said anything. The old man's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. A scrap collector behind him muttered "A cat…?" Another one whispered "Is this guy okay?" Kain felt full regret wash over him. "…So is it true? There's the same type of parts lying around in the ruins near the Dredge?" He forced the conversation back on track. The old man stared at Kain for a moment, then simply said, "It's Scrappers territory." "I know." "You going anyway?" When Kain stayed silent, a familiar scrap collector standing nearby—a man in his thirties named Nol, with an old scar over one eye—opened his mouth with an exasperated look. "You seriously gonna die for that woman?" Who said anything about a woman? He hadn't said that. So how did he know? Kain couldn't say anything. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Nol saw that, scratched his head, said "Don't say I didn't warn you," and walked away. ───── The ruins near the Dredge were about thirty minutes' walk down from the mid-levels of Zaun. You could feel the air change. It became humid, the chemical smell grew thicker. The remains of collapsed buildings piled on top of each other, making the footing unstable. Few scrap collectors came this far. It was dangerous, and the payoff was good. Kain advanced deeper, flashlight in one hand, stepping over rubble. He found the component remains faster than expected. Beyond a collapsed wall, neatly arranged in a wooden crate half-buried in soil. Medical packaging. Military physician equipment from the war, left to rot in place. Kain began loading the crate into a bag. Then he heard footsteps behind him. Not just one person. He turned around. Seven men stood blocking the entrance to the ruins. All of them were large. Pipes and iron bars hung from their waists. The man in front grinned. "Nice haul." This was bad. Seven against one was definitely bad. Kain ran to the right, still clutching the bag—his foot slipped. The floor of the ruins was rotted wood, and the moment he stepped on it, it gave way. He fell hard. Crash! "He fell!" The men laughed. This wasn't the time for laughing. Kain tried to get up—and was immediately kicked. A heavy boot drove into his ribs, and a grunt escaped him. Then another man piled on top of his back. Heavy. Why was he piling on? What followed wasn't so much stomping and kicking as it was literal trampling and beating. He managed to shove one man away with his elbow, but two others immediately pinned him from both sides. His arm was twisted. An iron pipe struck his cheek. The taste of blood spread through his mouth. But he never let go of the bag. He didn't even know why. But he couldn't let it go. In the end, the men rummaged through his belongings, took his chrome and tools, and left. They didn't touch the bag's contents, apparently thinking it was waste from a chemical contamination zone. He'd let them think that. Kain lay on his back on the ruins floor, staring up at the ceiling for a while. It was concrete, covered in cracks. Blood was coming from his mouth. Probably his nose too. One of his ribs felt bad. Every deep breath sent pain through his side. But he had the bag. Kain got up and began walking unsteadily. ───── The sound of his footsteps descending the stairs to the basement of the old Vander estate was heavier than usual. Rin leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, feeling the vibration of the device in the basement. After three days, she'd grown somewhat accustomed to the sensation. She'd begun to understand the time of day when Kain usually came. So she'd expected him today. She heard the door open. Rin opened her eyes. Kain was standing there. The right half of his face was swollen and red. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His clothes were torn in places, chemical mud caked on his arms. He was favoring one leg slightly, shifting his weight carefully. But he was holding the bag. Rin started to stand. Without even realizing it, her body moved. "…What happened?" The words came out. She was a little surprised at herself. But they were already out, so she couldn't take them back. Kain looked up. With his swollen eyes, he made a slightly foolish expression. "Ah." "Not 'ah.' What happened?" "…Scrappers. Seven of them." "You went alone against seven people?" "Well, that's how it turned out…" Kain sank to the floor. He sat down without hesitation, plopping down. He set the bag on the ground. Rin looked at it. "I went for you and got beaten to hell." He said it bluntly. But he didn't sound angry. It was just the way he was stating it, matter-of-factly. "…I didn't ask you to." "I know." That was all he said. He placed the bag on the floor with a face that asked for nothing in return. Rin looked at his profile for a moment. The swollen cheek. The corner of his mouth where blood was beginning to dry. His arm caked with dried mud. Why was this man doing this? A long silence fell between them. The device pulsed—thump, thump—vibrating. The pale blue light thinly illuminated the space between them. Rin opened her mouth. "I was a former Enforcer." Kain turned his face toward her. He said nothing. "I was in a unit under a man named Jayce. A Piltover special operations unit—during the war. Near the end of the war, I disobeyed orders. I couldn't follow an order to abandon my comrades. I acted on my own to help them." Her voice was flat. She was killing her emotions in the way she spoke. But not completely. Rin knew that herself. "I was branded a traitor by the organization. The person I tried to save died anyway. Only I survived." Kain still said nothing. He just listened. There was something about his eyes that reminded her of something. "I lost my whole family too. In the war." His voice was quiet. "Some to chemical contamination, the rest to bombing. Only I made it. I don't know why." He made no excuses. His face showed no sadness. He simply stated it as a fact that existed. Rin looked at his profile and thought, ah. So that's why those eyes. They both carried something irretrievable. There were no more words after that. But somehow, that was enough. Only the vibration of the device continued. After a moment, Rin said quietly: "…You're an idiot." Her voice was a little softer than usual. She might not have noticed. But Kain did. His face flushed slightly—and it wasn't from the blood. ───── Night came. The light in the basement didn't change. There was no day or night here. Only the sensation of time passing. Kain was pulling out a scrap of cloth from his belongings, trying to press it against his wound. He was trying to do it one-handed, so it wasn't working. The cloth kept unraveling, and when he tried to wrap it again, it unraveled once more. Before he knew it, Rin had moved closer. "Give it here." Kain froze. "Huh?" "I said give it here." Rin took the cloth with her left hand—the one not fused with the plating—with careful, almost overly deliberate movements. She pressed it against Kain's wound. Her fingertips brushed his wrist. She pulled the cloth, folded the end, and tied it. "Can you… treat wounds?" "A little." She answered briefly and continued. The motion of tying the cloth with just her left hand looked slightly less convenient than it would for someone uninjured. But it was careful. Tied so it wouldn't come loose, but not so tight it would cut off circulation. Kain watched his own arm. Rin's left hand's fingers were near his wrist. Close. Closer than he'd expected. He almost said something strange. Specifically, he was about to say "thank you" when he almost said "your hands are small" instead. Why. Stop. He closed his mouth. Closed it with all his might. "…You tie it well for someone using one hand." That's what came out. Rin raised her eyes slightly. "I practiced." "I see." "I did." That was all the conversation was. But somehow, it felt very strange. Strange, or rather—his chest felt warm in the center. This might be the first time he'd felt this. Not the kind of thing about wanting to protect someone, but something simpler. Something closer to wanting to be together. Kain didn't say it out loud. If he did, everything would fall apart. ───── Rin finished tying the cloth and pulled back slightly. Kain looked at the makeshift bandage, then stood up. "Tomorrow, I'm going to look for a female doctor. I heard in Zaun there's one in the depths of the Pipe Collective. Maybe she can do something about your arm." Rin's expression changed for just a moment. Her eyes moved, barely perceptibly. "…Echo?" She said it like a whisper, then immediately closed her mouth. "You know her?" "Just the name." She said nothing more after that. When Kain asked if she knew where to find her, she just answered "I don't." Her eyes turned back to a fixed point on the wall. She knew something. Or maybe not. He couldn't tell. He still didn't understand Rin very well. As Kain headed toward the door, a muffled voice came from beyond the ceiling crack. Someone upstairs. "…That basement isn't just junk. Someone's living there." Another voice answered. He thought he heard a voice saying "Check it out." Kain didn't move. The voices upstairs faded. The footsteps disappeared. The basement was quiet again. The device vibrated. Rin still leaned against the wall. Neither of them said anything. Kain closed the door and climbed the stairs. The air outside was dim and cold as always.