The Assassin
It was two months after Zuko's coronation, and the world was slowly healing. It was dinnertime at the royal palace, and everyone was sitting down outside on a blanket, chowing down. Toph was the one who felt him, jumping up and stomping on the ground, making a pillar rise in front of Zuko where five darts hit.
"There!" Toph yelled pointing at the roof of a house, where a figure suddenly jumped from.
Everyone gave chase, the yelling of the town guards could be heard in the distance. When they turned the corner, the guards were all on the floor, but they could see the assassin making his way out the gate.
"Halt!" Zuko yelled running after him, everyone else at his heels.
The assassin was making his way towards the water when Aang and Katara made of wall of ice by freezing a gigantic wave they bended. The assassin stopped as they caught up to him, but still kept their distance. His hair was black, and fell to his lower back; he wore a long black coat, and wore black boots. He turned to face them; his lower face was covered, but he had pale gold eyes, and wore a stealthy black suit.
"I demand to know who you are, and why you tried to assassinate me!" Zuko demanded.
The assassin merely stared, then unsheathed a long sword, holding it up to his face, then putting it to his left.
"I guess he wants to fight." Suki said.
"Well he can't take all of us." Zuko said.
"Yeah, whoever you are, you're about to feel the might of Team Avatar!" Sokka yelled.
The assassin scoffed,"Come and try."
Toph launched a boulder at him, and with his sword he sliced it. Zuko and Sokka were right behind the boulder; Zuko struck first with his broadsword, which the assassin deflected using one hand, moving past him quickly to repel Sokka's attack. Aang sent a blast of air at him; he leaped over it, quickly turning around to deflect a low strike from Zuko, then a high strike from Sokka, ducking when Zuko tried to fire blast him in the face. He jumped back, just as Ty Lee jumped in, almost paralyzing him with three quick jabs. He jumped back, now surrounded by the Kyoshi warriors. As they struck at him he dodged their punches and repelled their fans with his sword, leaving his right hand free. He repelled a fan strike from Suki, then turned around to lock blades with both Zuko and Sokka. He pushed his arm forward, knocking them both off their feet, and jumped backwards, effectively avoiding an attack from Aang and Ty Lee.
He stood up and looked at them,"Is that all you've got?"
"No!" Toph yelled sending boulders at him. He sliced through the first three, then did something no one expected. He held his hand out, then closed it to form a fist. The rest of the boulders turned to dust. He chuckled.
"Who is this guy?" Sokka asked panting.
"Whoever he is, he's good." Ty Lee said.
"Not good enough." Katara said bringing her hands down.
The assassin's went wide for a second as he noticed the ice falling down. He took his sword and jumped into the air, slicing straight through a large chunk of it. It was in the air that he came face to face with Aang.
"I'm only going to ask you one more time, who are you?" Aang yelled. He merely chuckled, bringing his sword down. Aang blocked it with his staff, then the assassin jumped off of him, sending him falling towards the ground. Aang recovered in the air, landing on a tower, watching the assassin grow smaller as he escaped. He jumped back down, the same questions and concerns showed on everyone's face.
Elsewhere, on an island not far from the Fire Nation, the assassin landed on the beach, removing his mask, looking back towards the Fire Nation bay.
"Looks like those kids gave you more than you bargained for." He heard someone say.
He looked over to see two people, one standing up straight, the other leaning on a palm tree. The owner of the comment was leaning against the tree. He had short black hair and wore a long black robe that didn't hide the claymore at his side. The guy next to him wore plate armor and wielded a large hammer.
"No, I just wanted to give them something to be frightened for." The assassin said looking back at the Fire nation bay.
"Ryouga, we don't have too much time to screw around." The guy with the hammer said.
"Relax Akuba, you can only be 18 once in life. I say we enjoy it while it lasts." The guy leaning against the tree laughed.
"Odaku, we have a schedule to keep; we don't want to keep Him waiting." Akuba said sternly.
"Don't worry Akuba, this is the time when it gets easier to assassinate someone." Ryouga said.
"How?"
"Fear is the key to any kill. That uncertainty, that...doubt that floods their minds when they face a superior opponent. Then, when they realize just how hopeless their situation is, they panic. That is when the kill is easy, and much more satisfying." Ryouga said without looking at either of them.
"Man, and I thought I was twisted." Odaku said getting off the tree.
"So what do we do in the meantime?" Akuba asked.
"Simple, we need to study this place more. Those other benders and fighters who were with him weren't that threatening, but the fact that I didn't prepare for them shows how little we know about this place."
"Well let's hurry this up, he'll be here-"
"In two months time, calm down." Odaku interrupted Akuba in exasperation.
Akuba held his tongue, Ryouga turned and walked towards the mountain.
"Akuba, we'll need a cave. Odaku, we'll need camouflage for our new temporary base."
"And where are you going?" Odaku asked.
"To observe these people more closely. I doubt that they'll be expecting my quick return. I won't attack though, I'll just watch them...see what goes on in their daily life. Make sure to have everything ready for when I come back, they'll be many things we'll have to discuss." Ryouga said running over the water and jumping out of sight.