Kise threw back his arms and sighed in satisfaction. The long blue arrows flashed in the light, and under his fringe so did his forehead tattoo. Kise had looked funnier bald, years ago on his way to the Southern Water Tribe to study with them. He had stopped at Kiyoshi Island for a history lesson about his predecessor, and found Aomine instead, untrained, unpolished, incredible.

Aomine had forgotten that Kuroko did not bother making meat when Kise came over, because Kise was a life-ruiner like that. To solace himself, Aomine stuffed seal jerky into this mouth and breathed his jerky breath at Kagami to see the horrible faces he produced. Momoi and Kuroko, experienced in his ways, had gone off to wash the dishes together while Kise, Kagami and Aomine kept each other out from under their feet.

"We should spar," said Kagami, eyeing Kise. "And no wimping out this time."

"I'm a pacifist," said Kise, not opening his eyes. "Kagamichi is stepping on my ancient cultural beliefs. Shame on you."

"You're the Avatar," pointed out Aomine, who had had this argument with Kise several times before, but could not resist poking at it, a dog with a bone on an open wound. "Why else do you learn to bend?"

"Battle for great justice is not the same as battle for beating people up," said Kise, serenely. This was, unfortunately for Kagami's ambitions, true to any right-thinking person.

"No battle after dinner, or no one gets dessert," said Momoi. She waggled her fingers at them threateningly.

Aomine eyed her and said, "Your dessert?"

"I brought it with me from the Southern Air Temple," said Kise, reassuring them. "Momochi, I've been good."

"Ki-chan is always good," said Momoi, and petted his bright head.

"Suck-up," muttered Kagami. "Fruit pies?"

"The best you've ever tasted," said Kise, smiling meaningfully at Kagami.

"Had them," said Kagami. "Western Air Temple."

"These are better," said Kise, with dignity. "I stole them myself."

"Should the Avatar be eating the fruits of crime?" said Kuroko, smacking Aomine's grabby hands as they tried to reach for the packet.

"Only the fruit pies of crime," said Kise, and laughed as everyone groaned.

"We have an announcement," said Momoi, when even the crumbs of the fruit pies were gone and Kise was winding the breeze around them, smiling and laying her hands over Kuroko's and Aomine's hands on the table.

"Really?" said Aomine.

"Yes," said Kuroko.

"Okay," said Kise. "Lay it on me."

"We're going to Republic City!" said Momoi, smiled.

"What?" said Aomine. "Oi, Tetsu- Satsuki- you're not-" What about me, he wanted to say, and felt the rush of words choke in his throat.

"Um, congratulations?" said Kagami, exchanging weird looks with Kise. Kise shrugged, and what the hell was that supposed to mean?

"All of us!" she said.

"Um," said Kagami, again.

"Yes, you too," she said. "Also Ki-chan."

"I'm not sure you can tell the Avatar he's going anywhere," said Aomine, blankly.

"I can if it's Ki-chan," she said.

"I'm not sure you can tell Kagami he's going anywhere," said Aomine, reduced to being the voice of reason.

She made a face at him, but it was Kuroko who leaned over and said to Kagami, "You're moving on soon anyway, right? Come with us to Republic City first."

"I've never been to Republic City," said Kagami, and thought about it. "Sure."

"Don't agree so easily!" snarled Aomine. "Anyway- you two- I thought-"

"We've been wanting to go on a little migration," said Momoi, and tightened her hand on top of his.

"That sounds lovely," said Kise, unruffled. "It's been a while since I've been to Air Temple Island."

"We leave by the end of the week," said Kuroko.

.0.

Later that night all passed out on their sleeping pads Aomine reached over and touched the edges of Satsuki's hair curled over the pillow, like he had when he was smaller and the pull of the moon in his blood had kept him awake, roaring through his veins. Tetsu was a dark shape just past her, sleeping perfectly still on his back.

Republic City. Republic City, and for a while, maybe for good. Momoi had said some things to Kagami and Kise and had them nod semi-knowingly and offer comments, comments that Aomine had not bothered to try and understand, about rents and work and the right time of year for travel, how they had money- some money, Aomine knew, not much- and it would do to get them there.

And then.

"We'll see where it brings us," Satsuki had said, and he'd felt the weight of her gaze on him flit on and off.

But Satsuki was a Kiyoshi Warrior, and Aomine wasn't sure what that meant outside the island- so many visitors gawked at them like a show and didn't believe that the warriors kept the peace and protected the village, didn't believe that Satsuki had a wicked bite behind the painted smile. Tetsu, sure. Maybe. Tetsu didn't seem to have much, or if he did, he never talked about it. If Tetsu didn't want to go he would just have waved them off and then written very short letters. But Satsuki had been born here. All her life would be left in its ruins.

He wanted the world outside so badly he could taste it, and thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going to swallow all of her up with it. Kise had been only the start of this craving, full of stories about the places he'd been and coming back a little more new each time, with books for Satsuki and Tetsu- books, as if Aomine cared about reading. He liked looking at their pictures, and hearing Tetsu drone on about boring geography. And then Kagami had wandered in, young as them, but with so much more of the world inside him. Satsuki had certainly seen it coming, and acted accordingly, prepared to leave everything she loved for the sake of him.

Aomine had thought he was done worrying if there was enough of Satsuki to be left over once he had destroyed her.

"I always meant to take you away with me," whispered Satsuki, reaching over, holding his hand in hers, awake, after all, or he had woken her, or she had woken up for him. "You were meant for more than only an island on the tail end of the world. I'll show it to you, Dai-chan. We'll have everything, and we'll go everywhere."

You were meant for more than me, thought Aomine, but he squeezed her hand instead. "I want to ride an airship," he said.

"See a volcano," she said. "Bend the water at the spirit oasis in the North Pole. I remember." Her face creased on a yawn. "Now go to sleep. I'm tired."

"Fine," said Aomine, and closed his eyes. "But Satsuki-"

"Aomine-kun," said Tetsu, the faint note of irritation vibrating through his voice, eyes still shut. "Go to sleep."

"I was only going to say I want to bring my teeth," said Aomine.

"You could have said that in the morning," said Tetsu.

Aomine would have snapped back, but he was suddenly tired, and Satsuki's hand on his had gone slack and her breathing evened out, and he was washed under by waves of sleep.