A/N: This story goes with: http://avatard000 dot deviantart dot com/art/Aritsu-Reunion-160745259 (replace "dot"s with ".")

It takes place a couple years after Ari's journey with the whole group.

#2: Reunion: Part 1

Katsu walked up the stairs from the basement of his apartment in the Earth Kingdom. He'd been living there for about 2 years, ever since Ari left and their group disbanded. Katsu knew Ari had to journey the earth and live as a monk as part of her nomadic culture, but he didn't see why he couldn't have come with her. He never got an answer out of her about that.

Things hadn't been too bad for Katsu lately. He'd been living in a moderately sized village, working various jobs. He often wondered why he hadn't gone back to the Northern Water Tribe, but deep down he knew that it was probably because he thought he had a better chance of running into Ari here. She told him she was going to be mostly traveling the Earth Kingdom.

As much as he missed Ari, he had plenty of friends here. He'd made some friends who lived pretty close to him, and one of his older employers often looked after him. There was just always something missing from his life. That was what was on his mind as he walked upstairs. It was a vapid task; he kept some food downstairs because it stored better in the cold. But there was nothing vapid about what he saw at the top of the stairs.

At first he thought he was imagining it. She was just on his mind, it made sense that he would be seeing her there. But as he reached the top of the stairs with his right foot, she moved close to him with her hands behind her back. Katsu had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

"..Ari," Katsu said quietly, still not believing it.

"Hi Katsu," Ari said quietly as well. Her smile grew even wider. Before Katsu could take anything in, she threw her arms around him. It took Katsu a minute to recover, but he soon wrapped his arms around her as well. Ari nuzzled her head into Katsu's chest. "I've missed you," she said.

"Ari.. how- why-... you're back?" Katsu said, still in disbelief as Ari ended the hug.

She giggled and replied, "I just ended my journey. As soon as I figured out where you lived, I came here first."

"Ar, I've missed you so much." Katsu said pulling Ari back into a deep embrace, "Everything's been so dull, so lonely without you."

"I'm here now Katsu, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

"You're staying? Why?"

"I want to be with you of course." And with that Ari closed the distance between them. They had what would turn out to be the first of many kisses.

A few moments later they pulled away. "You're beautiful," was all Katsu could muster as he stared at her. She giggled. "C'mon. Let me show you around the house," Katsu said taking Ari by the hand and pulling her off.