DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters, themes, and dialogue are the property of Nickelodeon, or whoever owns this epic awesomeness.
Ugh I HATED the last chapter! This one will be better, I swear. This is mainly a pile of Siege of the North and stuff leading up to it.
Previously on Rain Shower:
"No. Freaking. Way."
The Avatar had arrived. She watched as he and his companions were guided to meet the others. She eagerly ran beside the boat, and rammed into a stiff body.
"You're supposed to be grounded, Niwakaame."
Niwakaame's stomach curled in anger.
"Like I care about that," she replied icily, "Since when do you even care, Pakku?" The old man glared at her.
"I only want what's best for my great-niece," he said cooly.
"I'll believe it when I learn to fight."
Chapter One
Niwakaame enjoyed battle more than she should.
She had never fought anyone, aside from her training fights before, and being able to do so was amazing. She was locked in fierce combat with a firebender. She was growing bored with the simple moves, and decided to surprise him.
Doing a back handspring, she launched herself into the while throwing ice daggers easily at the warrior, who, shocked, blocked them in the nick of time. He stepped up his game and sent a large fire bomb flying towards her, and she sent up a thick wall of ice to defend herself. Laughing, she then created a hole in the wall and launched several water bombs, making the ice around them extra thick so that the flames could not penetrate them. S soon as they got through his shield, she melted them momentarily before freezing them around his legs, and then sent more water to freeze his arms. She then propelled him towards a nearby wall and used more ice daggers to get him stuck there. She then walked up to him, and blocked his chi, a skill she had learned from Yugoda.
She then saw, to her horror, Jakodu being defeated by a more talented firebender than her previous opponent. As she ran towards her friend, she thought over the past weeks.
She knew he was aware of her watching him practice.
Niwakaame would stand outside of the Academy and watch Aang train. In her cloak she was undetectable, and whenever Pakku would look her way, she would simply walk away. She had been observing Aang's training carefully, and whenever he learned a move that she didn't know, she would practice it herself.
So it didn't come as much of a surprise when he finally confronted her about it.
She stood at the entrance, her cloak keeping her nice and warm. As Aang approached her, she smiled to herself.
"Um, hi, I'm-" he began.
"Avatar Aang. You're learning from Master Pakku." Aang looked surprised and nodded.
"Follow me," Niwakaame instructed, and walked towards a small alley. She stopped and turned around, studying the Avatar closely. Her eyes darted to the barrels of water she had taken to prepare. Softly she flicked her finger, and a thin wisp of water rose from the barrel. She sent it flying towards Aang, who used air to deflect it. Rolling her eyes, she told him, "Use water, we all know you can bend air."
Aang looked surprised.
"Who are you?"
"The time for introductions will come," Niwakaame replied. She grinned inwardly. She would teach Aang moves she had invented, and Pakku would learn who the true master was.
"Um, why am I here?" Aang asked. Niwakaame chuckled. She shot icedaggers at the Airbender, who this time used snow to stop them. But one made it through, and Niwakaame turned it to mush before it slammed into Aang's nose.
Quietly, she slipped her slender arms through the cloak and demonstrated how to create what she called a "water bomb". She bent down, her fingers dancing elaborately but slowly in a circle, and Aang took the hint and copied her slowly twisted her armsand expertly stood on one leg before landing swiftly on the ground and shooting a ball of ice, filled with water, toward the wall. Aang mimicked her movements, but he stumbled a bit and the ice shell melted before the bomb hit the wall. Niwakaame chuckled again, and silently nodded.
"Good, for a beginner. Work on your balance, imagine you're dancing. Your movements are too stiff, even out your legs."
Aang tried again, and though the ice shell wasn't as hard as it should be, his execution was much better. Niwakaame noticed, with a wry smile, that he had used airbending to propel the bomb faster.
"Very nice, Aang."
"Can you tell me who you are now?"
"If you want to learn more, meet me here tomorrow."
With that she walked away, very happy with her work. She had succeeded in providing an aura of mystery to herself to keep him interested in learning.
She walked back to her home, smiling.
A few days later, Niwakaame was woken by a knock at her door. Yawning, she walked to answer it.
She was surprised to see one of her former classmates, Jakodu, in front of her.
"Jakodu?" she asked, "What are you doing here?" He grinned.
"I like being the bearer of good news."
"And I like to hear it. Shoot." He grinned.
"Pakku is accepting female students."
Niwakaame's mouth dropped open.
"What?"
"He says to be at the Academy before sunrise." Niwakaame rolled her eyes.
"Why before? Is he giving me a private lesson?" She shuddered st the thought.
"No, but usually teachers get there earlier . . ." She gasped.
"Wait, do you mean-"
"Pakku needs a teaching assistant." Her mouth fell wide open. She never thought her great uncle could let go of his pride, but this wasn't just letting go, it was throwing it outside into the cold ocean!
"He wants me to teach?" she whispered, still trying to wrap her head around it.
"He said that if you can teach the Avatar you can teach anybody. He also blames you for giving him the idea of secret practices."
Niwakaame flinched. So Pakku had found out about her secret training sessions with Aang.
Dumb Aang had probably attempted to use water bombs.
"So now what?" she asked, leaning against the doorway.
"You get ready to train, but I am not going to follow your orders."
"Katara, I loved watching you defeat Sangok today," Niwakaame commented as the two girls sat watching Aang play in the snow with Momo. Katara grinned.
"I enjoyed it too." She sighed. "I just wish Aang would take his training more seriously." Niwakaame gave an understanding smile.
"I know what you mean," Niwakaame replied, grinning. When Aang had finally found out who she was, he had been surprised, but accepted it with ease.
What he didn't do with ease was remaining vigilant in her classes with him.
"I know, but still . . ." Katara murmured, her eyes never leaving Aang's agile form.
"That's boys for you," she replied, "But you know what I have noticed in these weeks of watching you two?"
"What, Master Niwakaame?" Katara asked teasingly.
"I think Aang has a-"
"Hey Katara, watch this!" Aang called, jumping into the air and landing on a spinning snowball. Niwakaame rolled her eyes and, grinning, made a snowball and threw it, hitting Aang square on the head. He immediately lost his balance, and fell to the ground. Katara was laughing hard as Aang dusted himself off. He stuck his tongue out at the two waterbenders, and went back to playing with Momo.
Niwakaame sometimes couldn't help but feel like a third wheel around Aang and Katara.
Niwakaame then narrowed her eyes at the snow. It was turning gray.
"What the-" she whispered, bending down to pick up some of the strange precipitation.
What she did next was about as feral as it could get.
She put the stuff in her mouth.
GROSS!
Spitting the disgusting stuff out, she shuddered as she got up.
"I'm going to see Pakku," she said as she walked away hastily.
She had eaten soot.
Reaching Jakobu, Niwakaame quickly utilized octopus form and leaped at the firebender, using her eight water-arms to freeze his arms and legs. She then jumped away so that her friend could finish the man off. Suddenly, as she launched a water-whip at the firebender she had taken on, the water dropped to the ground.
Dismayed, Niwakaame tried to make it rise, jumping out of the way of a blast of fire from her gloating adversary.
The moon had turned red.
She tried repeatedly to bend the water lying uselessly below her, but to no avail.
The moon disappeared from the sky.
Gasping, Niwakaame dropped to her knees, wailing in agony.
The Fire Nation had reached the Spirit Oasis.
They must've killed the Moon Spirit.
Screaming in rage, she lunged at the firebender, dodging the flames that were sent her way, and blocked the chi of the warrior. The two then began close combat, but the firebender proved to be well-trained in that field too, and soon, Niwakaame was knocked off of her feet.
"Not so powerful without your bending, are you?" he asked, revealing himself to be a bender around her age.
"Watch me," Niwakaame hissed, jumping up and tripping him.
She would fight the old fashioned way.
She threw the snowballs at him with brute force, and hitting her mark, again blocking his chi, and the two got into fistfighting again.
"Didn't anybody tell you not to hit a girl?" Niwakaame sneered.
"Yeah. And I don't." Niwakaame just rolled her eyes and punched him again. He then got his bending back, and threw her against the wall at the same moment Niwakaame noticed that few fire bombs were coming from the ships.
He sent more flames her way, and she dodged them yet again, flipping and making snowballs.
A blue glow could be seen from the distance. Niwakaame noticed the waterbenders all bowing down.
She decided to do the same while the other bender started to run.
Suddenly, her power returned to her. Niwakaame felt her bending return in a rush of cold air.
"Ha!" she laughed as she bent a vicious water whip at the firebender, bringing him back to her.
"Let me go!" he yelled.
"Why would I do that?" Niwakaame asked, sneering as she tossed him into the water.