Random thing I came up with, Xin Fu watching Toph's rise to fame. Then, her fall. Enjoy!
The first time he saw her, he was astonishingly close to her actual identity. Some little girl who wasn't supposed to be here, a rich daughter.
She'd come in quietly, dressed in simple (yet very expensive looking) skirtlike trousers. She had a mound of black hair tucked neatly in a bun that covered the whole back of her head, with big clumps of it covering her face. She looked small, and delicate.
She'd spent the majority of the time skulking near the entrance, leaning against the wall. She had to be around nine or ten, maybe even older for her fragile frame. The entire time her head was down, listening but not watching the match.
She left before dark.
The next night she was back, in something different. It was rougher, and her whole stance was harder.
"I wanna talk to whoever's in charge," she demanded to the ticketmaster, who, slightly shocked at being bossed by such a small girl, took her immediately to Xin Fu.
"Who are you?" he asked curiously, but she cut across him, leaning up to put her hand in his face.
"I wanna fight."
Wouldn't this be interesting. The little girl fight some of the biggest Earthbenders out there.
"What's your name, little girl?"
"Doesn't matter," she said over him. "You can introduce me as the Blind Bandit."
...
Her first match was something astonishing for Xin Fu.
After she'd told him she was the Blind Bandit, he'd looked closer at her eyes. They were foggy, unseeing. He was intrigued.
She was pitted against the Fire Nation Man; it would bring the audience to its knees to watch the gimme player be defeated by a little girl. And if she failed – well, then the night would be ruined for most people.
"The Blind Bandit!" The audience was quiet as they watched her walk quietly out onto the stage, her sleeve rippling in a draft. She kept her face blank, her head down, cowed.
"Fire Nation Man!"
"BOOOOO!"
He walked out to the usual booing and namecalling. Rocks were thrown, old garbage. He smiled, then turned to his opponent.
"A little girl?" he sounded truly puzzled.
Then her head snapped up. She had a nasty grin on her face, the one Xin Fu had seen before in dozens of competitors – where they know they have you to play with.
"Really?" Her voice sounded different from the commanding tone she'd used on him the other day. Gentler, human.
Fire Nation Man placed the flag down, and raised his arms, talking to the audience. "This will be over quickly, folks."
The folks gasped.
The Blind Bandit wasn't doing anything. And then, she raised her arms in one quick, sure motion, and lashed out with an elbow.
A peg of earth erupted underneath Fire Nation man, catapulting him up and out of the ring.
Xin Fu was shocked. He had trouble breathing.
There hadn't been banter yet. The audience screamed.
...
That night she rose to champion. She seemed to sense what the crowd wanted, and yelled or taunted her opponents until they got tired of her. Then, with one or two moves, she'd get them out of her way.
She was the best Earthbender he'd ever seen.
She was good.
And she knew it.
That smile hadn't left, and her voice had become hard and sarcastic again. She was loving her limelight, every minute of it.
Finally, that night he raised her arm into the air, "Your champion, the Blind Bandit!"
"Sweet."
...
From then on, she was the final act. People heard about her and came just to see the little Earthbending champion.
Effortlessly she'd get rid of whatever competitor they had in store for her tonight.
One day, being the moneymaker he was, it occurred to Xin Fu to ask the audience to fight her. Maybe there were more like her, children and his ticket to luxury, just hidden in the crowd.
"To make things more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!"
The entire arena was holding its breath. Xin Fu feigned shock.
"What? No one dares face her?"
"I will!" Someone appeared so quickly he must have been in the front seat – which either meant he was an idiot, or a supreme Earthbender.
Looking at how he was dressed, Xin Fu would have to say he was an idiot. He was in an Earthbending uniform, but the hat covering his completely bald head looked so out of place it was hilarious.
"Do people really wanna see two little girls fighting out here?"
The crowd ooed. "I don't want to fight you, I want to talk to you."
Someone's high pitched voice filtered into Xin Fu's awareness. "BOO! No talking!"
"Don't boo at him!"
Then it was on. Xin Fu watched eagerly, waiting, watching. He almost wanted the girl to go down, the Blind Bandit that no one knew about. The mystery.
But the bald kid won the fight.
...
It was an hour after he'd given up his sack of gold before the Boulder alerted him that the Blind Bandit actually didn't get defeated by Earthbending.
It never occurred to him that the kid was the Avatar.
"Nobody cheats Xin Fu!"
...
It was less than a half hour since he'd captured the Blind Bandit and her bald friend when the Gecko brought him the wanted poster.
It matched him perfectly.
"What about Aang?"
"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar."
...
He never thought he'd lose. Or, if he did, it wouldn't have been so quickly. But no, the best Earth Rumbler that had ever been seen was defeated in minutes by a blind little girl.
And after that, his Blind Bandit never came back.
...
"I know you two are very different. But I believe you have a common interest."
Lao's eyes were narrow.
"The Avatar has kidnapped my daughter. I want you to do whatever it takes to bring her home."