"Oh my god, it really is you!"
Manzu hugged Ekko tightly, patting his back forcefully.
"You're alive? Little squirt, where have you been all these years? By Janna, do you know, we've been looking for you recently? We've formed an organization now!"
Manzu released Ekko. Seeing Ekko looking at him with a confused expression, Manzu chuckled, "Why that look, damn it, you're really something, Ekko. You didn't recognize me, did you?"
"Well, that's just unfair. I remember your face perfectly clear, but you forgot who I am?"
"You..."
Ekko looked at Manzu's familiar face, and a bold guess surfaced. He tentatively asked, "Manzu?"
Manzu smiled and nodded.
"It really is you? My god, Manzu, you've grown so tall!" Ekko exclaimed in surprise.
What was happening?!
It was actually Manzu!
When he was little, because he was too young, Vi looked after Ekko a lot, but Mylo in their group disliked Ekko. Ekko was too small, even a year younger than Powder, he wasn't tall, couldn't fight, and most importantly, he was timid, so Mylo didn't want to play with him.
Left behind, Ekko often played with Marsen and Manzu and the other kids. In Black Alley, he was the only child who had contact with both Marsen's and Vi's groups. Therefore, seeing Manzu now, Ekko naturally became excited.
Ever since Vander died, the kids in Black Alley had scattered. It was because of this that Ekko led a group of people, creating the Wildfire Gang, to protect the last spark of Black Alley.
"Yes, it's me, Ekko. Don't just talk about me; you've grown a lot taller too, and your muscles, tsk, how did you get so strong?" Manzu said, happily patting Ekko's shoulder. "Come on, come with me, Ekko, I'll take you somewhere!"
"Where? Wait, Manzu, I have something to ask you. How did you join the Lotus Flower Gang?"
"Don't ask so many questions, just come with me. You'll know everything when we get there!"
"Trust me, everyone will be so happy to see you! We have our own home again," Manzu said, laughing loudly.
He pulled Ekko along, and Zeri, seeing this, quickly jogged to follow them.
She didn't want to be left behind!
Damn it, Ekko said he didn't know about the Lotus Flower Gang, but... this captain of the Lotus Flower Gang actually knows him! Ekko, that guy, lied to me?!
"Where are we going?"
"To the Lotus Flower Gang, to meet our boss."
Our?
Ekko wanted to say something, but seeing Manzu's high spirits, he chose to keep quiet.
"Boss?"
"Is your boss Marsen?"
But after saying it, Ekko himself didn't quite believe it.
Marsen... when he was little, Ekko did follow him and looked up to him as an older brother. However, from Ekko's current perspective, Marsen was just an ordinary person; he couldn't have created such a large gang and driven out the Black Alley gangs.
"Marsen? He's not the boss. Although he brought me into the Lotus Flower Gang, he's just a minor leader, like me. But Ekko, you actually know our boss. You definitely wouldn't guess it's him."
"I know him?" Not Marsen, but I know him?
No, when we were kids, was anyone in Marsen's group particularly outstanding?
Ekko grew even more curious.
"Ekko, you know the Lotus Flower Gang's boss?" Zeri had been listening to their conversation. Hearing this, she leaned closer to Ekko and whispered to him.
Ekko looked at Zeri, also confused. "Do I... know him?"
Zeri: "?"
"Vi! Look, guess who's here!"
Suddenly, Manzu shouted loudly.
Ekko's body trembled, and he instantly looked towards where Manzu was waving.
The next moment, Ekko's eyes were filled with disbelief. In his sight, by the walled-off area in the distance, a red-haired woman in a red jacket was talking to someone else, one hand in her pocket. Hearing the shout, she turned her head, revealing a face incredibly familiar to Ekko.
"..."
And in the distance, Vi, who had turned her head to look, was instantly startled. Her beautiful face went blank, her rosy lips slightly parted. The next moment, Vi's hand came out of her pocket, and she rushed forward with large strides, shouting as she ran: "Oh my god, Ekko? Is that you, Ekko?!"
"By Janna, you're alive!"
Vi darted past Manzu and Zeri, flying towards Ekko and embracing him, forcefully pulling him into her embrace. For a moment, Ekko felt a warmth.
"Ekko, I thought something had happened to you too," Vi's voice choked.
"..." Ekko didn't speak. His hands hung limply at his sides, clearly dazed.
"Why aren't you speaking?" Vi released Ekko, gripping his shoulders with both hands, looking down at him. She anxiously continued:
"It's me, Vi, the Vi who used to bathe you with a hose in the junkyard when you were little. No, are you saying you don't even recognize me now? When you were little, you used to run around butt naked, calling me 'big sister.' How can you not recognize me now?"
Ekko's voice became a bit hoarse, and he whispered, "Yes, you're Vi. So, where have you been all these years?"
"Me?" Vi was startled by the question. Then, she looked at Ekko's face, seeing the weathered look that didn't match Ekko's age, and the numerous small scars on his body. Vi understood in an instant.
She softly said, "I'm sorry, Ekko. My story is complicated. I, I can't explain it in just a word or two."
Then, she hugged Ekko again, saying, "But I'm really glad to see you again, Ekko."
"I thought something had happened to you too."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't there when you needed me."
Being hugged by Vi again, this time, Ekko raised his hands and hugged Vi back.
"Do you know what's happened all these years..."
"Black Alley is gone, everyone is gone, even Powder already..."
Ekko was the leader of the Wildfire Gang. He led hundreds of people surviving in Zaun, struggling under the Chem-Barons. To give them confidence and build a perfect home, Ekko, though not yet an adult, had become the patriarch of their collective.
But now, in front of Vi, hearing what Vi had just said, Ekko suddenly remembered all those past events.
He wasn't always... this strong and capable from the beginning.
If, if Vi hadn't disappeared all these years, if Black Alley was still there, he might have gone to Piltover to study, or become a worker repairing machines with a wrench, instead of becoming a leader who picked up sticks to fight gangs. He truly disliked violence.
In front of Vi, Ekko turned back into a child. He instinctively poured out his grievances to Vi, even wanting to tell her about Powder's situation.
But the next moment, a voice sounded beside Ekko.
"Were you calling me?"
Hearing this voice, Ekko immediately pushed Vi away, his face turning from grievance to terror. He looked at the girl who was on her tiptoes, her hands intertwined behind her back, tilting her head and leaning in close.
She wore a denim jacket over a midriff-baring top, with long black pants covered in various pink patterns. Her pretty little face was fair, and two long blue braids hung crookedly together, falling towards the ground. Her large eyes were full of curiosity.
"F*ck!"
A curse exploded from him. Ekko instantly threw something he had tucked into his belt, using all his might to hurl it at her.
Ekko's sudden outburst and immediate throwing of the object happened so fast that even Vi, who was closest, couldn't react. Staring blankly, Vi screamed "No!" the next second.
The object Ekko threw was an iron block. If that thing hit Powder's face, then...
"SPLAT!"
A hand reached out, swatting away the iron block in front of the girl.
Jinx breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up and saw Leo's face. Then, she immediately became smug. "What, little squirt, wanna fight?"
"Come on! Am I scared of you?!"
Jinx raised her small fists, swaying back and forth.
Leo chuckled, looking at the arrogant Jinx. He put an arm around her, then looked at Ekko, who was panting, looking startled and horrified as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Don't be so tense, Ekko."
"I can explain."
"Explain your motherfcking cnt!"
"You're all Silco's people!"
Ekko cursed loudly.