Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Chapter One: Shocking Discovery

"Kimiko, get down from there!" Jia shouted loudly to her youngest child, who was climbing up a tall tree. The small girl was more than halfway up and made no move to stop. "Kimi, you are going to fall and break your leg! You better get down here right now before I make your father go up there after you!"

It was a harmless threat to the girl. She knew her father was not home from the market yet and could do nothing whatsoever to stop her. If anything, it only made the girl move faster.

"But I'm almost at the top, Mama! I've never made it that high before!" Kimiko was full of excitement. For years she had stared at the tall tree in the field behind her house and wished she could see the world from that point of view. Today was the day she was finally going to reach the top.

Kimi had always wanted to fly in the sky, like an eagle hawk or a pigeon duck. She wanted to feel the wind blow her short dark hair around her round face and soar through the sky. She felt this way since she could remember. It was an unreachable dream, but it was what Kimiko craved.

"Oh, Kimiko, I am going to feed you to the hog monkeys if you fall out of that tree!" Concern was written all over Jia's face. Her daughter had always been a free spirit, but she had never put herself in danger like this. Kimiko also wasn't listening to her mother, which didn't normally happen as well. She placed her hand upon her swollen stomach and wished she was not pregnant so she could climb up after her daughter. Without turning away from the tree, she addresses her eldest child. "Huang, go see if your father is back yet. If not, run and get him. He should be here soon."

Nodding in understanding, Huang immediately turned and ran around to the front of the house. Luckily, he hadn't had to run down the road at all. His father, Shen, had just dismounted their ostrich horse. "Papa, Kimi's gone crazy! She won't listen to Mama and come back down the big tree in the backfield," Kimi's older called to their father while he ran toward him. Huang was panting heavily when he arrived at his father's side.

Shen was a well-known earthbender throughout the small village of Xiao Yan. His job was to create and upkeep the houses with his earthbending. He also helped keep the roads clear and smooth. There were not many earthbenders left in the town since many had been drafted to fight in the war against the Fire Nation. Only Shen and two others remained. Rono was an elderly man who could barely get around anymore. His leg was injured during the war and he had to use a cane to get around. The last earthbender was Huang, who was still only a child at the age of ten. Shen was teaching him whenever he had time, but they had only just begun lessons. The only reason Shen wasn't fighting for the war was that he was too young when the Earth Kingdom came around the last time for soldiers. It was his wife Jia's biggest fear that they would return again and take him away.

"Come on, Papa! Kimi's gonna get hurt if we don't hurry!" Huang screamed while pulling on his father's large, rough hand. Shen didn't waste another second before taking off. He hoped he got there before his little girl was hurt.

Kimiko had only one more branch to climb before she was officially at the top of the tree. Her heart was racing. She was almost there. Her small hand extended to the thin branch and then she pulled herself up to the very top of the tree. A huge grin overtook her face when she popped out above the leafy green canopy. A soft breeze touched her cheeks before moving her short, pitch black hair out of her sky blue eyes. The feeling was amazing. Kimi had never felt this way in her entire life seven and a half years of living.

Kimiko had never been far from her home, which was on a hill a little ways away from the market square in town. Her mother and father had taken her into the small village only a few times with her brother. She had never really seen a view like this before. The sun was beginning to set, which painted the sky a beautiful array of orange, yellow, and red. Kimi could also see the entire village of Xiao Yan as well. Looking behind her, Kimiko could see her family's cozy home and beside that was the barn where her father kept the ostrich horse, turkey ducks, and even a few koala sheep that were raised for wool. Another smile lit up the girl's face when she saw her father and brother running toward her.

"Papa! Huang! Look, I finally made it to the top!" Kimi was bouncing with excitement from her accomplishment. The little girl leaned forward to look down at her mother. "Mama, do you see this? I made it all the way to the top!"

"Kimiko, please come down here now. I don't want you to fall and get hurt!" Jia's voice rang out loudly up to her daughter.

Before a response could come out of her daughter's mouth, a loud crack resonated through the field. A sense of dread filled everyone in the surrounding area as the tree branch supporting Kimiko's weight snapped in half. Her small hands tried to grab onto another part of the tree, but the break happened so suddenly.

"Kimi!" Jia screeched as she watched her youngest child fall from such a high distance. Helplessness was all she could feel because she was not able to bend an element to help save the girl. Shen was still too far away to catch her with his earthbending and Huang froze with fear. He didn't think his little sister could survive at such a high fall.

Everything felt as if it was happening in slow motion to Kimiko. Adrenaline filled her tiny body as the wind rushed past her face. A few branches scraped against her skin, but she didn't care as all she saw was the ground moving closer to her face. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. The girl put her hands out in front of her as if it would help slow her down, but it was futile.

Kimi closed her eyes. She couldn't help but allow one thought crossed her mind. Was this what if felt like to fly?

.

.

.

When it felt like she should have hit the ground all ready, Kimi's eyes opened once more. What she saw caused her to go into shock. She was floating in the air! Her hands had created whirls of wind that held her above the tall blades of grass that were just brushing her stomach.

Suddenly, the air stilled and Kimiko was touching land again.

"Oh my goodness, Kimi!" the girl's mother shouted after she snapped out of her own shock and crouched down next to her daughter. Jia grabbed Kimiko and pulled her into an awkward hug around her large stomach. "Never do that again. You could have gotten hurt or even died. Promise me that you won't climb that tree ever again!"

Kimi wrapped her own arms around her mother and returned her hug. She didn't really understand why she was so upset still. Not a hair on her little head was harmed. But she figured it was better to appease her mama for now. "It's okay, Mama. I won't climb that tree again."

"Oh, thank the spirits," her mother muttered into her hair before releasing her child. She gave a watery smile to Kimi and wiped the tears away from her eyes.

What her mother didn't know was that Kimiko didn't have any plans to stop. She had the greatest rush of her entire life. She was basically flying! Sure, she wasn't going to climb that tree, but there were more than one tree that surrounded her home. Kimi just had to make sure that her mother and father weren't around when she tested out this new skill she had just discovered. It might not happen soon, but someday Kimiko would once again return to the treetops. Maybe she could even figure out how to fly like she always wanted. After all, she could float in midair. .

"Kimiko!" Shen called as he arrived at the two's side. Huang was not far behind him either. "What were you thinking doing something so dangerous? And did you just airbend?" He was thoroughly confused, but glad that his little girl was safe. He knelt down and pulled her into a hug of his own.

"Airbend? What's that? Is it like how you and Huang can earthbend?" Kimiko asked her parents inquisitively. It was almost disturbing how unaffected she was by the traumatizing event that had just took place before the rest of her family.

Shen gave her a small smile after exchanging a look with his wife, "Kind of, but it's different. There are four elements that can be bent; fire, earth, water, and air. Your brother and I can bend earth." He then tapped the ground with his hand and a little rock shot out of the ground at Huang, who dodged it easily with a tiny laugh. "Waterbenders live in the north and south poles and firebenders are mostly from the Fire Nation. The Air Nomads used to have temples all around."

"Used to?" Huang asked in confusion. He had placed himself next to his mother, who happily wrapped an arm around him. "What happened to the nomads and their temples?"

Jia frowned deeply, "The Fire Nation attacked them many years ago. There aren't any more Air Nomads left. My grandmother—your great-grandmother—was born in the Western Air Temple, but she left when she was young to travel and fell in love with a member of the Earth Kingdom—your great-grandfather. My mother was an airbender as well, but she died when I was born. We figured the line died out when I didn't have the ability to airbend. It seems that we were wrong."

Kimiko didn't like the answers her parents were giving her. "Does that mean I am the only airbender left then? Are there others like me?"

Both the adults share a troubled glance before turning back to their child. "Well, there is the Avatar, the master of all four elements. I'm sure he would know all about airbending, but—"

"Then he can teach me!" Kimi shouts excitedly, interrupting her father.

"No, honey, I'm sorry, but the Avatar has not been seen in decades. No one knows where he is hiding or if he is even around anymore." Jia tried to let her daughter down gently, but the disappointment was obvious.

"Well, I'm gonna find him one day so he can teach me airbending!" Kimiko determined fiercely while standing up. "I'll practice by myself until I can go and find this Avatar!"

Jia sighed and placed her hand on Kimi's shoulder. "Maybe when you're older, Kimiko, but for now you need to understand something." The woman's eyes became steely as she continued on. "When the Fire Nation attacked the airbenders almost one hundred years ago, a war as struck between all of the remaining nations. The Fire Lord wants to control all of the nations, but the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes refuse to give in to a man that would attack such a peaceful nation purely for power. My mother was hiding her entire life because the Fire Nation wanted to exterminate all of the airbenders to make sure that the avatar is defeated. If they found you, they would take you away from us. This means that under no circumstance are you allowed to practice airbending anywhere other than the safety of your home, okay? You mean everything to your family and we don't want to lose you."

Kimiko looked between her mother, father, and Huang before dropping her head in defeat. She didn't want to cause them any worry and if that meant hiding her bending to everyone except her family, then she would do just that. "I understand, Mama." But nothing was going to stop her from training herself hard. Maybe one day there would be a time when she could openly bend without fear.

Jia and Shen smiled down at their daughter, glad that she knew the severity of her abilities. "That's our little Kimi. Now, let's all head inside. It's about time for dinner." Shen picked up Kimiko and grabbed Huang's hand while Jia took hold of the other.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. All Kimiko could think about was that exhilarating feeling she felt when she was falling and used her airbending. One day Kimi was going to experience that feeling again.

AN: Well, here is the first chapter! I'll try to update this story as frequently as possible. Please leave a review to tell me what you think!