The Four Nations
Book 2: Earth
Chapter 3: Sifu Gaara
by DeathGodSlayer
Aang played a single note on a small flute, and on cue, four brown fur groundhogs came up and matched the tone with yelps, popping out of the ground before retreating back down. "I've always wanted to see Singing Groundhogs, so this is my mini-vacation." Aang explained, laughing at the small animals. "And it could come at a better time; Appa's more tired from flying than usual." He said before looking at the large white beast, sprawled out on the floor, panting heavily.
"That is my fault." Gaara spoke in his usual tone. "My extra weight and the weight of my gourd is too much weight for your bison. I apologise for tiring your animal out."
"It's alright. Appa's strong, he'll be ready to fly soon." Aang grinned, acknowledging the red haired boy's apology. "So how do we get to Ba Sing Se?"
"From here we go forwards into the desert before turning North, being directly at the Serpent's Pass passage and ferries that travel to Ba Sing Se." Gaara explained in return.
"Sounds good. You've got it all planned out." Sokka returned towards Gaara, who's eyes only darted to him momentarily.
"There is another that I should warn you about." Gaara spoke, grasping everyone's attention. "The Si Wong Desert itself. The heat is unbearable to most, it is filled with creatures, both docile and violent. There is also Sandbenders, merciless Earthbenders that have adapted their bending to suit their new environment."
"Well we have a Waterbender, and a powerful Earthbender, and the Avatar. Plus we'll be flying most of the time on Appa." Sokka replied to what the red haired boy spoke.
"But in the event that we stop and rest, we need to be prepared. Sandbending is completely different to Earthbending, it possesses the fluidity of Waterbending, the evasiveness of Airbending, yet retains the brute force of Earthbending. And Sandbenders will not show hesitation or mercy against you, even if you travel with the Avatar. If anything, they will probably target you for the bounty the Fire Lord placed on the Avatar's head."
Aang, Katara and Sokka gulped loudly in fear as Gaara said that Sandbenders will target them. "You told me that your gourd is filled with Sand. So are you a Sandbender?" Toph asked calmly, unfazed as the others were.
"I am." Gaara responded bluntly to the others surprise. "Si Wong Desert was once called my home. I have mastered the art of Sandbending. And I would like to give us the advantage over Sandbenders by teaching the Avatar Sandbending." Gaara continued, looking directly at the bald boy. "I do not have the time to make a Master Sandbender out of you, Avatar. But I can inform you of the basics of it, and with your knowledge of Waterbending, and previous tutelage in Earthbending. You should grasp it quickly."
"Sounds great!" Aang spoke cheerily, pleased he would be learning another form of bending, albeit not one of the four main elements."
"Toph, perhaps you should learn Sandbending as well?" Katara asked the smaller girl amongst the group.
Toph only scoffed loudly. "Nah, I'll stick to sturdy solid Earth rather than flimsy Sand." She boasted loudly in defiance.
"Very well, we will continue to the town I mentioned earlier; Misty Palms Oasis to rest and mentally prepare for the journey through Si Wong, from there we can begin Aang's Sandbending training in a better environment." Gaara spoke quickly.
"The Misty Palms Oasis is meant to be very refreshing." Katara spoke with a happy tone. "And it's famous Ice Spring is one of the natural wonders of the world. It's my turn for the mini-vacation, isn't it? I want to see the Ice Spring."
"I'm still worried about Appa though," Aang spoke with sympathy towards his large animal guide. "If he has had trouble carrying us already, it's only going to get worse in the desert heat."
"No." Gaara responded bluntly. "I travelled on your bison due to the distance between Sìguó and Si Wong, I can take care of my own transport from here."
On cue, the cork in Gaara's gourd popped out flying in the air before landing in Gaara's hand. Sand poured out of the gourd, pooling onto the floor in front of him. It began to form a small platform, large enough for one person to stand on. It's size proved correct, as Gaara then stood on it. Without the red haired boy moving an inch, the platform of sand began to rise, a ball of sand forming underneath it. "Shall we go."
"YOU'RE FLYING!" Sokka screeched in shock. "YOU'RE AN EARTHBENDER! AND YOU'RE FLYING!"
"Yes, the ball of sand provides motion for the platform, by using my Sandbending to roll the ball I can move across large distances like this, although it takes a lot of energy to perform." Gaara explained quickly.
"It's like my Air Scooter, but adapted to suit Earthbending." Aang looked up in wonder. "But we can't afford to waste any more time, let's go." He spoke jumping high into the air to land on Appa's head.
Aang stood at the outskirts of the oasis with Gaara; he whipped up a stream of sand and launched it with speed towards one of the pillars of compressed sand Gaara had created. The stream of sand struck the pillar with force, but only enough to make it wobble slightly.
"Use your previous knowledge of Waterbending, but don't follow its ideals completely. Aim to shred skin from bone with each attack, use the brute power of Earthbending." Gaara spoke monotonously, he demonstrated himself, whipping up a thicker stream of sand and launching it at a different sand pillar, all within a split second. The pillar didn't just topple, it snapped in half with the sheer power of the attack.
"But I've lived my life following the peaceful Airbending ideals. The offensive style of Earthbending was hard enough to learn, but Sandbending seems so much more ferocious…" Aang spoke solemnly; to think about shredding skin from bone with each attack… it was something he never wanted to think about in the first place.
"You will learn Avatar, that those ideals are extinct." Gaara spoke bluntly, shocking the small Air Nomad. "Do not give up on your beliefs and ideals, but know when they will get you killed. Naruto has adapted his Airbending to this war filled environment. The Fire Nation will show you no mercy; can you afford to offer them the same privilege?"
"Sandbending is more ferocious than Earthbending." Gaara continued after a few seconds. "There are things that Sand can do which Earth cannot, that is why it is superior. But the idea behind Sandbending is vastly different. With Earthbending, your will must be as sturdy as the Earth itself. With Sand, your will must be open to change, to expand and adapt." Gaara finished, lifting up a ball of sand, he compressed it down into sandstone once again, all without moving a single muscle.
"That's just like the idea behind Airbending." Aang spoke enthusiastically.
"Then use that knowledge, and attack again. Sandbending is beyond the four basic elements, it is a combination of different ideals. This is what you will discover when you encounter new bending styles." Gaara returned quickly.
Aang nodded, before turning to the pillar once again. Taking a deep breath he lifted the sand and punched the air in front of him, the Sand followed powerfully and struck the pillar, causing it to pivot and wobble violently, but not enough to topple. It was progress, nonetheless.
Sokka spoke alone with a man who had introduced himself as Professor Zei, the Head of the Anthropology Department at Ba Sing Se University. The two men were huddled around a map that the Professor had unravelled on the table, deep in conversation whilst gazing at it.
Katara and Toph stood next to each other at the bar, with mango drinks in hand. Gaara and Aang were still away practising Aang's Sandbending. This left the two girls alone for their own discussions.
"Katara," Toph asked quietly, the tone surprising the young Waterbender. It was completely different to Toph's usual brash self. "What does Gaara actually look like?"
Katara's brow rose at the question. "I suppose that he is very good looking, and his face is always completely calm it's almost scary. It's like he doesn't feel anything. He has black rings round his eyes, so he mustn't sleep very well at night. And he has wavy, but spiked red hair." She answered honestly, describing the young male Sandbender.
"I see…" Toph answered even more quietly, Katara couldn't help but smile coyly as a faint red tint spread across the blind girl's cheeks. "Katara, h-how do you know…." She couldn't even finish the sentence, yet Katara believed she knew what she was going to ask. "How do you know when you like a boy or not?"
"It's hard to describe." Katara answered quickly, she was right about what Toph was going to ask. "People act in different ways when they come close to their crush. Some get shy, others get embarrassed easily. But their hearts races every time they see them."
"But I can't see a crush when I have one." Toph pointed out the very obvious almost sarcastically. "I can't see him, so I have to go by things I can feel and hear. His voice is always calm, it's reassuring, it's something about his voice." Toph smiled very weakly, the tint on her cheeks growing ever so slightly. "And his stance, which I can feel through my Seismic Sense, I can see that he is a lot like me. Strong. Confident. Unbending. Like a typical Earthbender. But he is also hiding something terrible deep down within him… I can't see that, but I can feel it..."
Both girls stood silently at that moment, before Katara received a very hard punch in the arm courtesy of the smaller black haired girl. "If you tell ANYONE about what I just said, I'll Earthbend you so bad you'll end up on the moon!"
"You've improved quickly." Gaara spoke bluntly, watching Aang knock down the final sand pillar with incredible force. "It seems you've grasped the idea behind Earthbending and Sandbending now. It will be safer to travel through the desert now with two Sandbenders in the group."
"Thank you… Sifu Gaara." Aang spoke happily, before bowing respectfully to the red haired Sandbender.
"You guys!" They both turned to see Sokka, Toph, Katara and an older man running towards them. "Apparently there is a library somewhere in the desert! It's got information on everything, even the Fire Nation!" Sokka spoke with enthusiasm, screaming his recent knowledge at the two of them.
"How did you find this out?" Aang asked with surprise.
"Professor Zei told me." Sokka spoke with a large grin, pointing towards the older man. "He's been looking for it for some time now. I figure with Appa with can search for it from above. Then when we find it we can use the library to find a weakness in the Fire Nation and bring them down finally!"
"But it could take days to find the library in the desert." Katara pointed out dimly, stating an obvious fact. This desert was massive, even on Appa it could take days to cross it entirely.
"I don't care!" Sokka replied angrily. "Aang, I believe it's my turn to pick a mini-vacation. And I want to spend mine AT THE LIBRARY!"
"Though I should warn you." The professor spoke formally. "The desert is near impossible to navigate, and there are many dangers in its sand. Ferocious, poisonous beast. Mind rotting fauna. Seedy Sandbenders. And perhaps the most frightening of all, apparently within the desert lies an ancient spirit; Shukaku, the Sand Spirit. For years it terrorized the Sandbender tribes, before turning to a deep slumber. We must make sure not to anger that spirit while looking for Wan Shi Tong's library."
Gaara looked over at the aged professor suspiciously. "Do not fear the Sand Spirit." Gaara replied calmly. "It will do us no harm."
"Okay then." Sokka answered enthusiastically. "We best start searching." He spoke before turning to the open desert, pointing his finger towards it. "TO THE LIBRARY!"
Gaara gave the motion to land as they soared through the air over the waves of desert sand. Gaara lowering himself gently on the platform of levitating sand he had created, whilst Aang controlled Appa to gracefully land on the tiny particles. "What's going on? Why are we stopping?" Sokka asked quickly as soon as his feet hit the desert sand.
"The desert freezes over night." Gaara answer was straightforward, his gaze moving towards the declining sun. "We should stop and rest now, while the sun is leaving, before continuing towards this library as the sun begins to rise in a few hours."
Gaara turned, stomping his foot gently in the sand, on cue, a massive igloo of sand was constructed, the opening large enough for Appa to easily walk through, the structure even larger on the inside. "You all get some rest, I will stand guard against threats throughout the night. The sand igloo will insulate the warmth and keep you warm for the night." Gaara continued, looking towards the group.
"Do you want us to take shifts on guard?" Aang asked the red haired boy as he led his bison into the igloo. "You could do with some sleep as well."
"I don't sleep." Gaara answered bluntly, before turning to face out at the open desert.
Katara and Toph walked side by side, Katara seeing Gaara alone nudged Toph carefully on the arm. "What?" Toph whispered back to the Water Tribe girl.
"Here's your chance, go talk to him." Katara answered in a similarly hushed whisper.
Toph's eyes went wide at Katara's statement, the girl halting completely in her tracks. Katara saw this and turned her towards the red haired boy, giving her another small push in his direction before entering the igloo after everyone else.
Toph stood silently, before moving slowly towards the Sandbender, eventually standing by his side. "So... how is it you know so much about the area?" Toph asked, wanting to hit herself for not finding something more interesting to talk about.
"Because these sands are what I once called my home." Gaara answered bluntly, staring heavy lidded out to the sands reaching the horizon.
"You lived out here?" Toph asked quite surprised.
"I spent years in this desert, in solitude. I had hoped to find peace in loneliness. It was only after I met Naruto did I realise the mistake in that idea." Gaara replied apathetically.
"Naruto was out here as well?" Toph asked, surprised to know that twinkle toes the second could survive this heat as well.
"Yes, he was crossing the desert after staying with the Hyuuga family in the Earth Kingdom. He was riding on Kurama when I encountered him. I viewed him as a threat and attacked, but I lost our battle. He could have left me in the desert. But Naruto saved me, from more than just death. He saved me from my pain, which was only increased by my loneliness." Gaara answered; even with remembering the story his monotone voice did not reveal a hint of emotion.
"It's getting late." Gaara suddenly spoke out before Toph could reply. "You should get some rest."
"The library is completely buried…" Katara spoke as the group looked up at the massive pillar jutting out of the sand, matching it to the top of the library illustrated in a painting.
"Well the good news is that the inside is completely intact." Toph spoke with her hand pressed into the sand.
"Then we best start excavating!" The professor spoke in an unusually cheerful tone, as he pulled out a small shovel and began digging into the sand.
Just then a small fox like creature appeared over a sand dune, a scroll in its mouth, wasting no time it ran at the tower before turning vertically upwards. Literally running up the side of the tower, reaching a window at the top and climbing through there.
"It went through that window up there!" Sokka pointed to the top of the tower. "But it's so high, how will we ever reach it." He asked discouraged, before he looked at Gaara and Aang. "Hey! You've been Sandbending all day, why don't the two of you move all the sand so we can get to the entrance!"
"Impossible." Gaara replied bluntly. "If that is just the pillar at the top, then the library would go hundreds of metres down into the desert. And Sand is too loose to just dig a straight hole downwards." He furthered explained, before looking up to the window. "However…"
Gaara then stomped his foot on the ground, sand rose in front of him, compressing together to form his means of travel, however this one was larger, enough to fit five or six people on. "I can lift everyone up to the window."
Sokka cheered in victory as he clambered onto the platform, followed by the Professor, Aang and Katara. Only Toph stood motionless. "I ain't going in that death trap; I'd rather take my chances with the loose, fuzzy sand. Besides, libraries never really did anything for me anyway." She spoke, waving her hand in front of her eyes quickly at the end of her sentence.
"Gaara nodded, beginning to lift the group up on the platform. "Take care of Appa for me Toph!" Aang called down as the blind girl and his bison began to shrink as they ascended.
"We're travelling with the Avatar, the bridge between our worlds! He'll vouch for us!" Sokka spoke with a large smile towards the owl spirit, Wan Shi Ton, pushing Aang towards the front of the group. They had been discovered by the spirit the moment they entered the library.
"Sure, I'll vouch…" Aang chuckled weakly, before bowing to the ancient spirit. "I promise you. We will not abuse the knowledge in your library for cruel or offensive purposes."
"Very well." The owl spirit complied, taking the word of the Avatar regarding its biggest fear. That his knowledge would be used for war and tyranny. "But in order to browse my collection, you must first make a contribution of your own."
"I have this tome of my studies." Zei went first offering the book to the owl spirit.
"Fir edition. Very nice." Owl owl responded in a pleased tone, with a wave of it's wing taking the book.
"I have this authentic Waterbending scroll." Katara offered the Waterbending scroll she had received from master Pakku.
"Ooh, these Waterbending illustrations are very detailed." The owl with enthusiasm, taking the scroll.
"Oh!" Aang spoke, going next, taking out a Fire Nation wanted poster of himself.
"I suppose that will do." The owl spoke with less enthusiasm, taking the poster.
Sokka pulled out a small rope, quickly creating a butterfly shaped knot. "Tada! It's a special knot!"
"The owl spirit looked very unimpressed. "You're not very bright, are you?" It answered, taking the knot nonetheless, before turning to the red haired boy. "And what do you offer?"
"I have nothing to offer." Gaara answered in a monotonous voice, staring back at the ancient spirit.
"Do you believe you can lie to me, he who knows ten thousand things?" The owl spoke with slight anger. Perhaps it is time I began taking live exhibitions as well."
"What do you mean?" Katara asked for the group, they all began looking between the spirit and the red haired Sandbender, who were fixated upon one another.
"I know who you are. And I know what you are." Wan Shi Tong fixated even closer onto Gaara. "You are the Sand Spirit, Shukaku…"
The group gasped collectively, looking at Gaara with wonder and awe, Gaara facial expression broke slightly, his brow furrowing towards the ancient, all-knowing spirit. "Then I offer myself to your library, as a legend in the world. To become your first live exhibit."
A/N: Hey There! DGS here! So I finally pulled an update out of my ass! Although it is a little shorter than usual for this fic. But it's my first update for a while so I'm a little rusty, and although I liked the plot for this chapter, I don't like my writing style for it, it seems short and rushed. But review and let me know how you feel.
That being said I have something to ask. Okay, so LoK showed interracial couples with children bending different elements e.g. Mako and Bolin, Kya and Tenzin. So my idea is that if a child had two different bending parents, and the genetics were correct, and in extremely rare occerences, would that child be able to bend two elements? even three? It says that ONLY the Avatar can bend all four. But what if through enough training, and understanding of the element, can a bender learn a second bending close to their heritage and personality style, such as if Uncle Iroh managed to Learn Waterbending. So that would relate to element releases in Naruto universe, where one is normal but exceptional people can learn two and more, but only certain people, Rinnegan users can master all five? Let me know in a PM or review how you feel about that, I've considered it for my story and may use it nonetheless, however if the idea isn't received well I may scrap it, it's not that important.
Anyway that's all, I'm not sure when the next update for this is, because I cba writing canon out for when they are in the library, but I may skip over to Naruto in the next chapter following Sasuke, and return to the ending of the library episode. I have to update Demon Lacrima and Kiiroi Senkou soon anyway. So be patient please.
D.G.S