Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Hey everyone! Real Quick: thanks to everyone who reviewed: cj; for those who added this to Alerts: mermaidangel123; their favorites: Kimjuni2.; and added me as Fav Author: Another Dead Hero. You guys rock! On with the show!
16 Years Later
Houjin stood in the middle of fire and chaos.
He wasn't exactly sure where he was but it was dark all around him, except for the flames.
He hadn't caused this. He knew it hadn't been him. He would never do something like this!
People are screaming and there's a laughter so cruel echoing through the air that he covers his ears, closing his eyes.
"This is just a dream," he muttered to himself. "Just a dream. Wake up, Houjin. Wake up. Please wake up."
"Houjin."
Houjin opened his eyes.
Standing in front of him was a woman who appeared to be large than life itself. She emitted power so great that Houjin took a step back. She was surrounded in darkness and he couldn't make out any of her features except her eyes, which glowed bright white.
The Avatar.
"Houjin." She held out her hand to him and he reached forward to meet her.
Salvation was here.
"Houjin!"
A splash of water hit him in the face.
Houjin sat up with a jerk. "What was that for?" he yelled, shaking the water from his long black hair.
"Hold still a minute!" Shui cried. Quickly he bended the water back into the skins at his side.
Houjin ran his hand through his hair to check that it was completely dry, glaring at the younger boy whose blue eyes sparkled with hidden laughter. "You could have just called my name."
Shui shook his head. "'Firebenders rise with the sun'. If you ask me that's a load of Flying Boar dung, knowing you. Come on. Meifeng will be up here next if you don't hurry."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Houjin murmured rubbing his eyes.
Shui shook his head again, mumbling as he went down the stairs. Houjin got up to get dressed.
Today was the day.
"WAKE UP!"
Sakari did so, glaring at the monsters.
Nine-year-old twins Junjie and Huan hopped up and down on her bed.
"Sakari! Sakari!" Junjie cried.
"It's your birthday!" Huan yelled.
"I know, I know!" Sakari grabbed the both of them around their waists and pulled them down on top of her. The three of them laughed before Sakari pushed them away. "Get out so I can get dressed okay?"
The two boys complied, shouting and pushing as they ran out the door and down the steps. Sakari shook her head, getting up. It could only be considered a relief that she was a morning person.
Stretching her arms above her head, she grabbed her clothes. Her mother said that natives of Kyoshi Island used to wear blue. Now, Sakari pulled on the brown tights, wrapping a tight sleeved red tunic around her body and grabbing her head scarf on her way out of the room, tying it around her mass of brown curls.
"Morning mom," she said as she got downstairs.
Suki, at work cooking breakfast, turned, smiling. "Morning birthday girl! Sorry the twins woke you up so early."
"It's fine." Sakari picked up a list from the table. "Where's dad?"
"Oh, keeping patrol." Suki grinned. "The Fire nation guards aren't scheduled to come back until tomorrow. Your birthday fell on a good day."
Sakari smiled. Tonight would be a celebration for all those who were born today. They normally had such a party but what with Fire Nation guards always on patrol, they never had much fun. Today was especially her day, however. She was turning sixteen after all.
"Is this the list of chores?" she asked.
Suki looked up. "Yes. I was just about to run out after I got breakfast ready for your brothers.
"I can do it. I don't mind, mom, really," she added when her mother looked about to protest. She grabbed a basket from besides the door and her mother tossed her the coin purse. "Be right back."
Sakari hurried out the door into the sunshine.
Kyoshi Island, despite their happy appearance, had not escaped the Queen of all Nation's reign, far from it. Azula, in attempt to rid herself of anything and anyone that might oppose her, had the Dai Li and whoever else had submitted to her reign travel the world, destroying the competition. Kyoshi's shrine and temple had been destroyed, along with the Kyoshi Warriors training hut. Omashu had once again been taken over, though this time with devastating affects seeing as how King Boomi was long gone from this world. Even Fire Nation master swordsman, Piandao, (who had been Sokka's master, Sakari had learned), had been taking prisoner for fighting against Azula's minions. The same happened with Ty Lee, who Sakari had never met but who was obviously a good friend of Suki's.
Of course, the search for the new Avatar was still on going. Water tribes had been scourged and attacked and Waterbenders who fought were now locked away or, worse, killed, the Northern Water Tribe all but destroyed and the Southern Water tribe almost completely obliterated. Sakari figured that was why her father and mother had moved here. She knew that her Aunt Katara (though she had never met the other woman) had also gone in hiding, though she couldn't blame her. It was dangerous for a Waterbender or any member of the Water Tribes these days. But they were all alive and safe and that's what really counted in Sakari's book.
"Careful!" Sakari snapped from her thoughts to see old Enlai struggling with a large barrel of water on his shoulder as three small children ran around his legs. "Hey! I said watch –"
The barrel went tumbling to the ground and the kids ran off, laughing. Enlai shook his fist after them, crying out, "Rotten kids!"
Sakari smiled, setting her basket down. "Don't go too hard on them, Enlai. They're just excited."
Sakari glanced about before raising her hands, bending the water back into the barrel. Enlai shook his head. "Sometimes I forget you can do that."
"Hard to get away with it when Fire Nation scum is running all over the place," Sakari agreed.
"True, indeed," Enlai responded. "But no matter. You have a birthday today!"
"I do." Sakari smiled. "Will you be at the celebration tonight?"
"Nope. I'm told old for those sorts of things. But I'll send you a present later today."
The rest of the morning went about in the same way as Sakari picked up her groceries. Some of the neighbors even gave her presents on the spot, smiling happily. One would have assumed it was only her birthday today.
"Here you go Rou," Sakari said, handing the older woman a parcel from her mother.
"Thank you, dear," she said, smiling. "Oh and I have something especially for you."
The old woman scooted back into her house, disappearing for a moment. When she returned, she held an old looking scroll. "I discovered this long ago in my travels. It is one of only three so you must take good care of it. I figure, though, that you need it more than I do."
She handed the scroll over, Sakari setting her basket down again to open it. "Whoa," she said, softly.
Sakari was now the proud owner of an old Waterbending scroll. Oh yes, she certainly had need for this and told Rou that as she thanked her, making her way back home.
"Mom?" she called quietly, dropping off the basket.
No answer.
Grinning Sakari ran back out the door passing few people on the way. They were all most likely preparing for tonight's festivities. It wasn't long before she was crashing through the trees and onto the beach shore, where she slipped out of her shoes and outer attire to the sarashi underneath, hiding her things under a nearby bush. Taking a deep breath, she plunged into the cold water.
She came here often, when no one suspected it. Opening her eyes, she saw the Giant Koi fish swim past and possibly even the shadow of the Unagi but she ignored them all, swimming deeper underneath the rocks and then up in the secret cavern that she had found.
Sakari burst above through the surface, swimming to land. She had been much younger when she found this place, hanging onto the back of Giant Koi when the fish had dived underneath the water. She had seen the opening in the bottom of the rocks and had swum in to discover this hidden rock cavern. It was great for practicing her Waterbending without fear of the Fire Nation Guards catching her.
Sakari wrung the water from her hair before moving to the edge of the shore, lifting her arms. She took deep breaths, practicing pushing and pulling with the gentle wave of the water in the cave. She rose the water, streaming it back and forth in front of her. She couldn't do much, not having much time to practice but what she could do was better than most; she was after all the only Waterbender on Kyoshi Island.
Letting the water splash back to the ground, she opened the Waterbending scroll Rou had given her, bending the water from it so that it was dry once more. "Oh," she said, noticing the picture of a Waterbender with water around them in the shape of octopus arms, "that looks promising."
Rolling the scroll up, she began to practice, determined to become a Waterbending Master even if she had to train herself.
"Happy birthday Sakari!"
Sakari looked over her shoulder, trying to catch who ever had called her name but of course they were long gone, mixed up in those who were dancing. "Thanks!"
Sakari was enjoying these festivities even if she was exhausted. After practicing (and failing) the "Octopus" for an hour or so she had to swim back to the mainland and then her mom was waiting for her for their own practice (though the Kyoshi Warriors were supposed to have been 'disbanded' that didn't mean Suki's own daughter wouldn't learn a few things from the leader).
"Sakari!" Her friends Bo and Lan stood close behind her, giving her hugs as she turned to find them. Bo grabbed her into a huge. "Happy birthday friend!"
"This is a much better festival than last year!" Lan said over the loud call of the Tsungi horn, pipas, and the zheng. She grinned. "The merchants are even out selling jewelry."
"Who do you think they are?" Bo asked, gesturing towards the stage where Chief Oyaji sat with three other people, all of whom were very unfamiliar.
One was a girl, who couldn't have been more than eighteen older who was smiling around. She had long wavy brown hair pulled back in a tail, very pretty gray eyes, and her skin was dark, like Sakari's, though not as. Next to her sat a boy that could only be her younger brother, though his hair was black and his eyes blue. And on the end of their row saw a very handsome boy, his jet black hair loose around his head, hanging into golden eyes. . . . Firebender. . . . Those eyes scanned the crowd now, as if he were searching.
"Why would they invite a Firebender?" Sakari whispered.
"Maybe he's part of that huge rebellion they were talking about?" Bo suggested.
"He's a very good looking," Lan said with a smile which caused Sakari to laugh.
The crowd suddenly drew to a hush and everyone turned as Chief Oyaji stepped up, the firelight making the gray in his brown beard twinkle. His brown eyes glistened with excitement. "Kyoshi Island! Today is a celebratory day! Today we celebrate the birthdays of our own children!"
Bo ruffled Sakari's hair. "They grow up so fast," the seventeen-year-old said, sniffing.
Sakari elbowed him in his side as Chief Oyaji called for attention again, looking more or less serious. "But today we also celebrate something monumental. Today brings about an event that hasn't occurred on Kyoshi Island in over three hundred years. . . .
"Sixteen years ago, Avatar Aang risked his life to save his family, his children, who sit behind me now, and friends from Azula's attack on Ba Sing Se. In his place, a new Avatar was born to the Northern Water Tribe and was rushed away to protect her from the evil that was Azula."
A murmur went up around the crowd. The Avatar was a live?
Chief Oyaji raised his hands again. "Yes, my friends. There is hope! There is hope for the Avatar is very much among the living and among us!"
Chief Oyaji stepped farther up. "I have the pleasure of presenting to you all, my friends, my family, my Village . . . Avatar Sakari."
A silence greater than anything took hold of the crowd as Chief Oyaji kneeled. The three kids on stage followed suit. Sakari turned and saw Sokka and Suki standing now at the edge of the stage. Suki looked close to tears but they both kneeled. Soon everyone was kneeling in Sakari's direction, even Lan and Bo.
Sakari stood in the middle of them all, shocked still and speechless.
Avatar Sakari.
A/N: Hey everyone! Gosh this chapter took me forever to write. I hope you all liked it! I'll be going out of town for the next week so there probably won't be an update for a while but there will be when I get back next Saturday. See you soon!