Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of its characters.

"Chiyo!" A voice called out in the middle of the rain, her body becoming drenched by the rain that had poured from the dark clouds. Lightning would lit up the whole Fire Nation capital with just a split second before disappearing as the crackles of thunder would erupt in the air, nearly stopping the girl in her tracks as she had seen her sister stand there "Chiyo!" The young girl called again, falling down to her knees because she lost footing on the concrete ground. "Chiyo!" Her cries did not cease as her tears blended with the rain and sobs soon leaving her throat. The older girl that she had called out too remained still despite the crying of her younger sister. It was as if she was frozen, unable to move, but once she felt a tug on her pants leg, she couldn't keep still. Slowly, the older female looked down at her sister with soft eyes.

Kneeling down beside her, Chiyo had slowly wrapped her arms around her younger sister. "You must promise me that you will always be strong, Mai." Her voice was hoarse, obviously from crying. "Don't ever show your weakness to anyone. Don't fear anyone, love more than you fear. I have made a mistake, I have let myself do things that I know that I can never change. Don't be like me, Mai. Don't follow my footsteps." Her hand slowly rubbed up and down her sisters back as the young girl shook from tears. "I'm going to be leaving for a long, long time. I want you to be strong for mom and dad, they're going to need you." Pulling her younger sister away, she looked deep in the gold eyes of her sister as her hair clung to the side of her face and shoulders. "Will you promise me, Mai?"

Mai was hesitant, her young mind unable to comprehend the events that were happening. All she knew was that her sister was leaving her in which she had hoped that she wouldn't. Why would Chiyo leave her? Why she should leave home anyway? Whenever she left, she had always promised to comeback but this time she did not say a word of coming back. Why was that? "Why aren't you coming back?" asked Mai, her voice growing hard out of sadness and frustration. "Why are you doing this?!" Chiyo had slowly looked down, her amber eyes showing a display of emotions that she did not want Mai to read. "Come back home. Let's go home."

"I can't." said Chiyo, her voice soft as she pressed her lips against her sister's forehead. "Hurry home, you're going to be sick. I'm sure mom and dad are worried about you anyway." And with that said, Mai felt the warm embrace of her elder sister slowly disappear as the cold rain enveloped all around her. She watched as her sister turned and walked away and for some reason, she didn't have the power to get up and look for her. All Mai could do was crying as the rain sang, the thunder screamed, and the lightning dance in the dark, cloudy sky.

6 years ago…

"I am so proud of you." said a tall, dark-haired man as he placed his hand upon the shoulder of his eldest daughter. Chiyo was ten-years-old, the daughter of nobleman Gen and his wife Qiu. They had two daughters, Chiyo and Mai. Mai was eight at the time as her sister reigned to be their young prodigy, aimed to be an assassin as she worked hard from the day they learned that she was skilled in the art of stealth and archery. She was a product that made Azulon pleased. An efficient way of taking down enemies without them even knowing, he had praised her and he had adored her. He even treated her as if she were his very own daughter. That approval was enough to set Gen on a path of wealth, recognition, and rank.

Qiu, although against her daughter being used as such, had never fought against her husband's wishes. He saw potential and a future in their daughter. She never questioned, she just supported it. As long as their family's reputation remained pure and admirable, she was pleased. Chiyo, on the other hand, was never pleased by this. Although born to realize that being in the Fire Nation was a blessing, that she was given a chance to be apart of the greatest Nation of the world, she had never felt right. This life never felt right for her. Killing never felt right. She used to have nightmares of all the people she killed, never able to get any sleep because blood on top of blood would be spilt in her hands. Why couldn't she had lived in a much simpler life in a much simpler time? It felt like constant torture to remain in a world like this.

"I am glad that I have made you proud." His daughter said, her eyes looking up at his form as he kept his hand on her shoulder. She could see he was glowing; a confident smile on his face while a blank expression remained on hers.

Qiu had knelt down and hugged her daughter, "We couldn't be more proud of you, my little Chiyo. Do you know how glad Fire Lord Azulon will be once you tell him you had annihilated General Kuon, the traitor? I'm sure he will be thrilled that you had done it so quickly!" Chiyo could feel her mouth going dry, her stomach turning, and nausea tickling her throat. How could they be so proud that their ten-year-old daughter had killed the fifth person in her young life? How sick were they. All Chiyo could do was accept her mother's embrace and return one of her own, her arms around her mother's small form as she felt herself wanting to vomit.

The only thing that didn't sicken her was her younger sister, Mai. Mai had stood there, her eyes big and curious, and standing there as if she was waiting for her sister to acknowledge her. She was only eight-year-olds and she had lived in a world that was pure. No blood, no war, and no death. All she knew was that her sister had skilled that acquired her to do certain things, things that only she was assigned to carry out, and that she had done them in a proficient manner. Mai never asked what her sister had did, but she had spoken words of admiration of her sister's capabilities.

Once Qiu had let go of her daughter, Chiyo had smiled and walked over to her younger sibling. "Mai, you look so adorable in your new dress." She had said to her, her hands on the girl's soft cheeks. She could tell that the eight-year-old was excited to be acknowledge, her eyes shining and shy smile on her face. "How is school?" She asked as her sister looked away and then back at her.

"The usual." Mai answered her sister, "How did the mission go today? Are you hurt?" Her eyes scanned for any injuries on her sister's form in which Chiyo could only frown. Had they told her sister what kind of profession she had? How could they taint her innocence like this? "Mom said that sometimes you get hurt doing what you do. I want to help… So, I…" She didn't finish her sentence, but she had heard the sigh of relief that escaped her older sister. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The older sibling said, almost wanting to cry from joy. She wanted Mai's naivety of her profession to continue, she didn't want her to know the horrible things her sister had done. She wanted to keep that peace within her forever but she knew that she wasn't going to stay forever. How could that really last? And if Chiyo never told her then someone surely would. "How about tomorrow, we have some fun?" She asked as Mai had lit up, her expression one of excitement but then it soon faltered. "What's wrong?"

"Ty Lee and I promised Azula that we would hangout with her in the palace." She said as she had seen her sister nod her hand in understanding. "Why don't you come over? I'm sure you would like to see Prince Iroh and Lu Ten." She offered, wanting her sister to be there with her. Chiyo did like Iroh, he was a kind man, and Lu Ten was also kind. With a sigh of defeat, she gave her sister another hug. Mai had taken that as a stamp of approval and returned her sister's embrace with a much tighter one with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

Author's Note:
Yes this story is short, but its not complete. I wanted to test this out and see if it was continuable. I really have a lot of hope for it too!