The day after Kuzon left, all the kids from The Party wore their belts as headbands to school.
The teachers frowned, furrowed their brows, and punished the first few children they saw. Eventually, though, it became apparent that if they punished every child wearing the headband they would have hardly any students left to teach.
Frantically, the administrators searched for the instigator, but he had vanished. Disappeared from the face of the planet as though he had never existed. With no one to punish, they were forced to allow the tiny rebellion.
The Partygoers, as they decided to call themselves, bonded over the wondrous and mysterious Kuzon who had brought them all together, who had suddenly blazed into their lives and left just as unexpectedly. Still, he had illuminated for them that which they had never noticed before, and even though he was gone, they found themselves unable to look away.
On Ji had broken up with Hide, against her parents' wishes. She was sick of him, had been for a long time. It took Kuzon to give her the courage to say as much. But Hide was bound for glory in the army, they told her. She should be lucky to do half as well as him.
"Mother, Father," she had replied, "every other boy at school is twice the man he will ever be."
They allowed it with great reluctance.
Shoji had been walking home when he saw a beggar man on the streets, skin stretched tight over ribs. Soldiers were taunting him. "You're a disgrace to the Fire Nation! You can't even help yourself; what could you ever so for the nation? Hurry up and die so you can stop taking from the useful people of society."
Shoji calmly walked up to him and handed him a gold piece, his monthly gift from his father fighting in the Earth Kingdom. It wasn't until after he had taken the man to his home and bathed him, clothed him, and fed him, after he had taken the man to a tea shop and begged the owner to give him a job that he realized he had seen the man every day on that street, begging for a little bit of human kindness.
Zulon was a studious type. He was top of the class in academics, but had never shone in athletics, something that had earned him a fair amount of condescension from his peers and teachers. In the Fire Nation, you were supposed to be good at everything. Never settle for being second best.
But Zulon was fat and weak and no good for anything but studying.
When Kuzon came, Zulon learned that maybe that wasn't all bad. Maybe he could be good for something, after all. When Kuzon left, Zulon put his theory to the test.
He remembered that crazy thing Kuzon had said in History, that the Air Nomads hadn't had a form of military. That Sozin had ambushed them. He didn't want to believe it, but it was stuck in his brain, needling him until he figured it out.
So he went to the library, and he researched.
He found nothing in the first few days, just the same story he had been spoon-fed since he was small. He almost gave up then, but something pushed him on. Kuzon wouldn't have said something so ludicrous if he hadn't had some reason for saying it.
In the back of the library, he found old dusty volumes that looked as though they hadn't been touched in a hundred years. Zulon had never been back this far before, and he saw no one else. He doubted anyone even remembered this section existed.
There was an encyclopedia of sorts, and ancient history from before the Great War. In the entry on the Air Nomads, it read:
"The Air Nomads live in their four Air Temples in the North, South, East and West. Every citizen is a bender, and they are raised in the Temples by the monks. They are a peaceful people who believe that every life is equal. As such, Airbenders do not eat meat, and they do not have any army to speak. They do not believe in conflict."
Zulon grabbed the book, stuffed it in his bag, and ran outside before he threw up violently.
.0-0.
The Partygoers were surprised when Zulon called for them to meet in the cave. He had always been one of the shyest kids in school, much less their special group. Still, they understood and respected his call, because Zulon wouldn't have gathered them if he didn't think it was important.
"Uh, h-hi?" Zulon's voice squeaked and he inwardly cursed. "Um, so, I was researching that thing that Kuzon said once and I found something and Ithinkthatwhathesaidistrue."
"Zulon?" It was On Ji; she walked up and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Slow down and tell us what you found. It's alright." And she smiled at him and he felt himself relax, just a little.
"So, I, uh, was thinking about what Kuzon s-said in class that one time. About the Air Nomads." Several heads in the crowd nodded; they remembered what he was talking about. Zulon's voice grew stronger. "For those who don't know, Kuzon said that the Air Nomads didn't have an army, and that Sozin defeated them by ambush." There were a couple gasps of shock from the people who hadn't been there. "I didn't believe him at first, but then I got to thinking: Kuzon must've had a reason for saying that. So I did a little digging and—" here his voice faltered "—and I f-found this."
He pulled out the encyclopedia he'd taken from the library and opened it to the correct page. "It's from before the Great War; I-I don't think anyone knows it still exists. Well, except for us, now," Zulon babbled. "Sorry, I'll get on with it now."
The silence after he read the passage was deafening.
Finally, one girl, Mahara, spoke up. "Y-you mean, Fire Lord Sozin just k-killed them? For no reason?"
"No!" another boy shouted. "That can't be—it's not true! The Fire Nation is great." His voice broke. "Or is everything we know a lie? Is that what you're telling us, Zulon?"
Shoji was the one who spoke up, quietly. "Maybe it is." All eyes turned to him. "I met a man the other day…"
And he relayed his story of the soldiers and their cruelty, and his unknowing indifference that was just as cruel. Then other students began to speak up, On Ji among them, of the things they had witnessed or been subject to that they could no longer bring themselves to accept. One girl spoke angrily about her parents' arranged marriage that had left them unhappy and pining for someone else. A boy broke down into tears as he told how his brother had died in the war. Someone's father had been jailed for refusing to kill an Earthbender child during the campaign.
They stayed there well into the night, crying with each other, laughing, sharing stories. Eventually, some kids picked up their instruments and started playing and the Partygoers danced again.
.0-0.
A week or so later, Shoji spoke to Zulon and On Ji in confidence about something that had been bothering him ever since Kuzon had left.
He had carefully planned out what he was going to say, how he was going to ask for advice. He opened his mouth and blurted, "Kuzon—or one of his friends—one of them is an Earthbender!"
So much for that, he thought sheepishly.
"What?" Zulon said stupidly.
"The P-Party," Shoji stuttered. "When Kuzon and his friends snuck out the back, someone bended it to close, I swear!"
"It's okay, Shoji, we believe you, calm down." On Ji herself was feeling anything but calm. An Earthbender. It went against everything she had ever been told.
Then again, so did everything else about Kuzon. It made sense, in a way. And, she realized, it didn't shock her anywhere near as much as it would've a month ago, or even a week ago.
"What else would he be?" she found herself saying.
"Huh?" Shoji and Zulon gave her a confused look.
"He broke all the other rules. Why not this one?"
.0-0.
After the war was over and the Fire Lord defeated, most citizens of their town were grumbling about the humiliation of it all. The Partygoers were the only ones who saw any good in the situation. A couple even theorized that Kuzon might come back, though most agreed that it was unlikely at best.
The Avatar and the new Fire Lord were traveling to various cities throughout the Fire Nation, "building bridges" or something like that. They insisted that things were going to change. Most of the old fogies didn't want change, because change is hard.
The Partygoers knew that much.
Their town was on the list. It was strange, because they weren't a major city; in fact, they were rather small, on the outskirts of the Homeland. It was an odd choice on the Avatar and Fire Lord Zuko's part, but no one thought much of it.
Until they came to the school.
"Take off your 'headbands' and put them on properly! We have some very important people visiting today and I will not have them think that we are teaching a group of mannerless sloths," Mrs. Cho ordered.
"If it's all the same to you, ma'am, I like the headbands," a vaguely familiar voice said.
Mrs. Cho gasped and immediately pressed her forehead to the floor as the Avatar, Fire Lord and friends entered. Her students quickly followed suit.
"Please, please stop. I don't want to be bowed to."
"What are you talking about, Aang? People bowing is great! After everything we've done, it's about time we got some respect around here. Ow! What was that for?"
"Ignore him; he's an idiot," said the girl who'd presumably hit him. "We don't need you to bow to us."
"That's not the Fire Nation that I want to run. I don't want respect born of fear. Please, all of you sit up."
Slowly, On Ji lifted her head. Shoji and Zulon were next. Then the rest of the Partygoers looked up and faced their Avatar and their new Fire Lord. Eventually, only Mrs. Cho was still pressed against the floor.
On Ji couldn't stop staring at the Avatar. Something about the young, grinning bald boy with the arrow on his head was familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it until he laughed, a clear, joyful sound just like she remembered.
"K-Kuzon?" she stammered. "Is that you?"
He turned to her and grinned. "Hey, On Ji. Nice to see you again."
"What?" Mrs. Cho shouted, finally standing up in her anger. Then she collected herself somewhat and bit out, "I mean, that was you? You were Kuzon?"
"Well, my name's actually Aang. Kuzon was a friend of mine in the Fire Nation a hundred years ago."
"A hundred years ago?" she asked dazedly. "Then—that means…"
"Yeah," the Avatar (or Kuzon or Aang or whoever he was) said quietly. "I was there."
"Listen up, everybody!" Fire Lord Zuko said with authority. "You have been taught lies and propaganda for most of your lives. The fault is not your own; that blame lies squarely on the Royal Family's shoulders. Still, we must set the record straight. With the help of the Avatar and others, we are working to rectify the errors found throughout the curriculum here and across the nation."
Not even Mrs. Cho would dare to contradict the Fire Lord and Avatar. Nothing good would come of it.
On Ji, Shoji, Zulon, and the other Partygoers realized that they could recognize all of the people standing in front of them somewhat from The Party, except for the Fire Lord. Amazing, they thought. The greatest enemies of the Fire Nation were right in front of them, and they hadn't known a thing. Still, remembering the joy and fun that Kuzon or Aang or the Avatar had brought to them, they couldn't bring themselves to be sorry.
On Ji suddenly remembered that day in the cave, where Zulon had read that passage on the Air Nomads, where everyone had gathered together and shared stories about the wrongs of the Fire Nation that they hadn't even noticed before. And she was glad that Ku—Aang had come, glad that he had showed them how to dance. Glad that he had defeated Ozai.
Glad that he had set them free.
A/N: I should probably get to work on my next one shot in my attempted series, but I'm working through a block in that and this plot bunny whacked me over the head until I wrote it down. It's rough and unbeta'ed, but I dunno, I kinda like it. I always wondered what happened to the kids of the school once Aang left, so I made it up myself. Hope you like! Drop me a review and let me know what's good, bad, ugly, beautiful. I'd love to hear!