I felt the wood of the surface I sat upon pressing into my bumb from sitting for too long, but it still comforted me somehow. I felt my clothing rustle in the mild wind, and it even whistled in my ears. The afternoon sun glazed the bench I sat on, and the environment around me as well. I saw a glaze of orange yellow creaming up the grass, a small pond of clear and reflective water that was inhabited by a small family of turtle-ducks- most of which were ducklings next to their mother- and a big tree that housed fluttering blossoms that fell down to the earth like a more plantlike and earthly version of falling snow. I held a stringed acoustic instrument that I learned was called a "guitar" – or so it was called. After I examined my surroundings, and took pleasure in them, I took initiative in my hollowed glazewood instrument and almost actually began to strum upon the strings. "Jushiro!" a gleeful girl's voice called out to me, loudly interrupting my train of thought as I looked overhead at the blazing sun and I was warped back to reality.

I was not in the middle of a nice little pond area, and the afternoon sun wasn't blazing beautifully over my head. I was in a merchant stands' area of a city that spanned over the most part of an island called Kyoshi Island. I was not sitting on a bench, but I was simply sitting on a round stool next to a fruit stand. But I was still wearing similar clothing, which was actually no more than a black samurai gi with a black oobi that had designs of red flames sprawling all over the black. I still held my glazed wood instrument though, and it was still fit in my hands like usual. The instrument looked more so like a lute, but it wasn't, for it had more strings than a lute and it sounded different. Plus the strings were not as easily cut or severed as the doubly fragile lute strings were, plus the strings could be adjusted for tightness. My hands were armored lightly, wooden and bamboo material as wrist and backhand bracers, and light bronze armor plating on my very wide radius shady hat that I had made, materials were curteousy of the people here. Over my gi waas a very thin and yet very large white overcoat, as was customary for whatever the people here thought I was. On my coat's back, in black dye and written in Earth Kingdom's custom kanji differentiation, was the symbol: 喰, meaning "devour". I was pulled out of my strange little blink of a vision as I heard my name called out again. "Jushiro." a young woman's voice called out to me.

I looked forward to see a woman in green, lightly plated armor with white and eye shadowing and lips marked makeup- the standard look of a Kyoshi Warrior- jog her way over to me. I stood up to my feet and I held my guitar casually in one hand, gripping the neck of the instrument. I stood at about five feet and three inches of height, and I had a more medium weight, muscular build to my body, keeping both acrobatic and physically able if need be. When she finally made it to me, I looked slightly down to her face and smiled. Though she was shorter than I was, I still saw her as more of my equal than just a standard villiager or guardswoman. Nonetheless, I smiled greetingly to the young woman in front of me, and bowed slightly to the Kyoshi Warrior. "Suki, good morning." I greeted.

She looked up to me smiling, like usual, and breathing a little heavily from the jog over here. "Good morning, Jushiro." she greeted.

Suki was the leader of the band of women warriors on this island, the Kyoshi Warriors was their name, as was the island. Kyoshi was supposedly a woman, one who was extremely powerful in days long past, confined to the history books and lesson scrolls as the savior of this island. What did they call her? Oh, yes, that's right. Kyoshi was called "the Avatar". Supposedly, the Avatar was a person who could "bend" or control all four earthly elements: Water, Earth, Fire, and the wind, or Air. Or so they say, as well as a few other things, which also seemed far fecthed to me. "So, what is the head of the Kyoshi Warriors doing at this mid-morning hour?" I asked her.

It only took her half of a second for her to answer. "I'm getting in some early jogging before we practice our forms." she answered.

I smiled in a warm, satisfied way as I chuckled. "A smart person in your ranks would practice their forms. Kyoshi Warriors fight with those strange weapons. Metalic fans? Ingenious, but confusing." I answered her.

She smiled smugly as she put her hands on her hips and stood back a step. "And what, you fight with that guitar?" she retorted.

I scoffed as I parted my coat to reveal it. A cream brown fabric wrapped hilt with stitchwork perfectly marveling quadrilateral patterns in the hilt's cloth cover, a round metal hilt guard with the artwork of dragons and clouds scultped and carved unto it. The blade itself was only a pinch shorter than the scabberd used to hold it, which was as almost as long as my whole leg, barely not reaching down to my sandal adorned feet- even though the sword was at more of an angle anyway, so it wouldn't reach my feet. I smiled upon showing her. "Eh, wrong. I fight with my sword." I told her.

She smiled to me with her arms crossed. "We can use swords and other weapons too, y'know."

I put my coat back to normal adjustments. "I know that. But nobody can even bend any elements here. I'd like to see that around the place."

"You've seen people bend elements before, Jushiro. Especially recently with those Fire Navy raid attempts." she commented.

I grimaced upon hearing those words. "Fire Nation" just brought up some unpleasantry in me. "Suki." I called her out.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." she apologized.

"It's alright. Well, call me out if you need someone to help instruct the youngers up in your group. I'm going to continue my sitting next to that fruit stand." I replied.

And right before I started to walk away, she spoke. "Actually, we could use your finger skills while we're practicing." she offered. "And yes, I mean your guitar."

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "You know my price."

She raised a brow and submitted, annoyedly, to my reference. Her face wore the expression of 'Are you freaking kidding me', in a more posititve way and showing an annoyed smile. "Yeah, we'll make you another meal and you'll get a stay in the inn."

I grinned and closed my eyes. "Lead the way, boss."

We began to walk to the dojo of the Kyoshi Warriors up the road through the town. "You mercenaries are all the same." she spat out to me.

I held my guitar and tested the strings to see if they were still good. "Shows what you know, Suki the Great and Powerful. I'm a Yojimbo, not a mercenary."

"Same thing." she argued.

"Is not." I snapped.

"Is so." she shot down.

We contnued to walk until we were inside the Kyoshi Dojo. There were about twenty, maybe just fifteen, other women in the Kyoshi Warriors, all of whom greeted me upon my entry. I took a seat on a cushion that was laid out for me. As I strummed my instrument to the rhythym of my favorite song, playing each note and stringing my way through it impeccably, the Kyoshi Warriors almost seemed to be following my rhythym in their excercises. They fought with those fans, though, and I never did understand that fact. Yet again, I never thought I truly would, for I was only seventeen years of age. I was not some old sage or a cliche thinker or builder; I wasn't someone who needed to fully know everything. I was a Yojimbo, a seventeen year old one at that. Hours passed and my fingers began to sting slightly from the constant playing of my guitar. After all that time, Suki and the other ladies of her dojo stopped with the excercises. She looked to me and smiled as she thumb flicked a silver coin to me. "Here's a tip." she complimented.

I smiled and snatched the coin in the air before putting it in my pocket. "I appreciate it." I thanked as one of the Kyoshi Warriors took my guitar up to the room I'd be renting out.

"Take some time to walk around, then we'll have your dinner ready for you." she directed to me.

I got up to my feet and popped my neck a little bit. "You got it, Suki." I affirmed as I walked out into the dusk of Kyoshi Island.

The town would always settle all around for the night to come. The stands for buying goods would always be looking prepared if not fully closing up shop, and people would hardly be around at a later hour like the late afternoon. Dinners would be cooked, and baths would be taken by now for these people. But this was still comforting, for I rather enjoyed the small town feel that this place offered for me, almost made me never want to leave. Well, I had no choice to leave anyway, for it would take a lot of time for these Kyoshi Island villiagers to make me a decent ship and I can't trouble them to give me crewhands to help me get wherever I want to go. I walked my way to the arms and wares shop building in the town square, thanking the spirits that it was still open when I got there. I took off my hat to reveal my head and my face as I called out, "Her, Aro! You still at work, bud?"

I had dark, brownish black locks of hair that reached down to the back of my neck and my hair was always combed back, so I could still have my face be seen. My eyes were sharp and slim yet ovalular and round, adorned with rather thick and noticable eyebrows and long eyelashes. My nose wasn't all too petite or big, and my lips were normal. People often said that they liked my lips and my face, seeing it at night when I wasn't shading it from the blare of the sun on the hot summer days. "Yeah! I'm here, who's askin'?" a gruff, older man called right back out.

I chuckled a little bit. "It's Jushiro! The usual around here!"

A strong looking yet small and aged middle aged man with a chin and neck beard and short black hair with a frontal thinning hairline and a brown worsksmith's tunic and apron walked out and over from the inner stores of his shop. Upon seeing me, he smiled and rubbed the top of his head. "Well, well, the man of the hour, eh?" he asked.

I shook his hand both casually and formally, preparing to let him challenge me to another arm wrestle- as is the custom for the wizened old forgemaker. "Evening works going good, old timer?" I asked him.

"The same as they always do, more active with you being serviced." he responded. "You gon' need anything to be made?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm going to need some more armor." I requested as I handed him twenty five silver coins from my pocket. "Just some shoulder bronze padding for my coat and lightly armored boots."

He shook his head. "Can't do the boots idea, not enough bronze from the ore veins."

I smiled and scratched my head. "I guess so. Then... what about your moonstone stores? Can you make me another sword?" I asked as I took out a piece of Jade that I found and I put it among the coins. "I think that'll be enough for it."

He groaned and sighed as he took the money and the jade off of the table and put it in his shop's money safe. "I'll need your coat, and your sword will be ready by this time tomorrow." he told me.

I grinned and took off my coat to give to him. "Thank you, Aro." I gave farewell as I walked away. "Goodnight."

"You too, mercenary." he replied.

"Yojimbo." I corrected.

XXXXXXXXXXX

I ate all of the food that was laid out in front of me, which was basically just cooked and buttered Elephant-Coy, with minced lobster and seared turtle-crab. I was like a living storm on a bloody battlefield, tearing apart and absolutely consuming everything that was in my reach, gobbling down the extremely well cooked meat and guzzling the ale that was prepared for me. As if nobody could tell from my actions, I was hungry and enjoying every moment of this. Though I did keep it to some level of politeness and civility by notusing my hands with the food too much. When all of my hunger was satisfied, I fell to my back, smiling and panting. I almost felt my belly begin to blob up and puff out like a giant bubble. But naturally, it didn't, and rather I just felt overly stuffed. "Thanks for the food, Suki." I thanked as I grunted and groaned, almost partially struggling to get back up to my feet.

Suki was simply looking at me expectantly, as if she wanted something else. "And...? You know the rule, you have to say it every time we do this." she asked and informed me.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright. The Kyoshi Ladies-"

"Kyoshi Warriors." she corrected.

"—are the most superior fighting force you will ever see, and all other forces can suck it."

She smiled, humoredly and showing satsifactory approval. "Oh stop, you're making me blush."

"Except the Yojimbo, they're the most badass paid people in the whole universe." I finished.

"Oh whatever, mercenaries suck." she chimed in.

"I know they do. Yojimbo are better." I agreed.

She rolled her eyes. "I know, there's a difference, Jushiro. But come on, they're kinda the same thing."

"Nnnnnope." I argued. "Mercenaries are and Samurais, as well as assassins and warriors are totally better."

"Oh whatever, your bed's ready. Be ready to rise early." she ordered me.

"I always do, Suki." I groaned as I popped my knuckles loudly and walked to a futon and a blanket with a pillow that was laid out for me. "If I recall, I wake up earlier than you do." I chided humorously.

"Do not." she argued.

"Do so."

"No."

"Yes."

She put out the candles that lit up the room. "Goodnight, mercenary."

I closed my eyes and fell into a deep, and enjoyable slumber. And that slumber was also decorated by a fateful dream.

I was in the middle of a field of grass and colored flowers, underneath a crisp blue sky. White fluffy clouds were floating and dazing all over the sky, and the hills of green that seemed to stretch on forever seemed to move and rumble in the soft and yet strong summer wind. I looked upon all of this, and I smiled gleefully. "Ah... home." I breathed out.

Then the sky darkened and the clouds multiplied and darkened very quickly. Thunder began to crash and lightning began to flash all around the angry sky. The wind whistled loudly as it gained strength and speed. Then the unthinkable happened as I saw her standing in the distance. She wore a soft lightish red/pink fabric circuis acrobatic outfit with a red sash/skirt and what looked to be dancer's shoes. Aside from her outfit, I saw her long brown ponytail come to light when another lightning flash illuminated it. Seeing this, I began to run in an attempt to help her get to shelter from the storm. Then the sky seemed to open up like the mouth of an angry god, and no storm or lightning came from its gape. A giant ball of fire rocketed its way to the ground, conflagrating and killing everything in a blinding flash of light and fire. I woke up that next morning, sweaing and breathing heavily as I quickly sat up in place. Looking around after that, I thanked god it was a dream, and that the girl didn't die for real. "Gotta get up out of this, Jushiro." I grumbled as I began to get ready for my day, combing my hair and bathing like I usually do.

Unaware of what new adventure would go underway with the sunrise and the awakening.