Chapter 6: Hiru Town Part 3

Shu the Feral was a name that had circulated across Hiru Town, but very few knew who he was exactly and what he looked like. Many people suspected he was some gigantic guy with lots of body hair, a frightening face, and a gigantic weapon that could slice half a dozen people at once. People imagined he stayed around the rougher-well, rough by Hiru Town's standards-so most tried to stay away from such areas if possible.

The only part of that description that was accurate was the frightening face. Shu seemed to have a face that even when in neutral, looked like a man ready to slice another man in two, with his eyelids always close together in a 24/7 glare, and the almost bloodthirsty smiles that he sometimes wore, even if it they weren't meant to be. His nickname 'Feral' was a somewhat accurate one.

Besides that though, the real Shu looked nothing like the character the inhabitants of Hiru Town imagined he looked like. She was a skinny young man of 17, with untidy black hair that had splits all over it. He wore a purple shirt and pants, both of which were covered in sewn up patches where cuts to the clothe once were, while strapped to his back was a single Katana, the sheath old and lost much of its colouring, making most of it a blandish brown colour.

This young, skinny and obviously poor swordsman was Shu the Feral.

And he was currently sweeping a café floor.

"The kitchen floor's nearly done old lady!" Shu said with a small laugh, making it sound softer than usual. He spoke to one of the eighty year old owners of this café, a short woman whose hair had gone grey in age, tied back into a bun and her face gentle but wrinkled with age. She smiled when she saw Shu working hard to keep her floor clean.

"Oh thank you dear! You've been a real help to us old timers you know" The old lady chuckled. Her husband, a man with short grey hair walked in, carrying burnt scraps of food. Despite his age though, the man was muscular, still someone not to take lightly in a brawl.

"Nothing at all madam. Just paying my debts. I would've died had you two not picked me off of that street and fed me" Shu shrugged, recalling the day he met the couple.

"Honey! Come quick!"

"What is it dear?" mumbled the old male café owner, not moving away from the dirty carrot he was cutting.

"There's a man outside on the street starving to death!" shouted his wife, from the entrance of the café itself.

"How is that anything new?"

"But he's on the floor, making groaning noises! We can't just leave him out here to die!" the old lady insisted. With a sigh, the old man rubbed his hands on his mouldy brown apron, walked out the kitchen, and towards his wife, who was staring worryingly at the boy lying the street.

The elderly café owner looked cautiously at the boy. He could've easily been faking it, people were known to go to higher extremes to get food nowadays. But one look at the boy showed he was genuine trouble. Lying on his back, his lips were cracked from dehydration and his eyes barely kept open. He lied on his back, but the man could hear the gurgling of his stomach. Not to mention his clothes were torn and dirty with patches of mud.

Still, the old man did not like the fact he carried a sword.

"F…Food…please…" Shu whispered, his voice raspy and in desperate need of liquids down his throat. The old café owner stayed silent for a moment, before with a defeated sigh turned to his wife

"Honey, get him some water and a few rice balls" said the elderly man. With a satisfied nod, his elderly wife rushed in to fetch the food and water. Suddenly, the old man felt a hand grab his ankle, and he quickly looked down to see Shu's hand, with Shu looking up at him with a big smile.

"Thanks! Can I also have some sauce on those rice balls, and some pumpkin pies, and some bean salad, and some ostrich-horse stew! And, and-"

"DON'T PUSH YOUR LUCK!"

"If you guys hadn't fed me back then, I'd be hiding my face from Koh the Face Stealer right about now!" Shu laughed loudly. He then pointed down to his sewn up pants "and you fixed up my clothes too! After everything you've done for me, how many sweeps of the floor does it take pay my debt?"

"…20 years" the male café owner grunted when his wife elbowed him in the ribs "forget what he said dear. You've done more than enough to pay us back. You've been such a big help to us old timers! Feel free to leave when you want."

"In that case, it'll be when I leave Hiru Town" Shu said. He rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly "I've…kinda gotten into a few fights while I was here."

"So I heard" the old man grunted, his face darkening "picking fights with Fire Nation soldiers is not a smart move. Thank god they don't know you're here, or that WE helped you! What the hell were you thinking?"

"These three guards were picking on this one guy because he couldn't Firebend" Shu said in a serious tone "I reminded them that having Firebending doesn't automatically make you stronger."

"So that's it, huh?" the elderly male café owner said sceptically "you helped that guy out and went against soldiers because he couldn't firebend?"

"Honey…you're being too harsh on the boy" the elderly wife complained

"Hey, what can I say old man" Shu shrugged, turning away to the back door that led out of the shop.

"Us weak non-benders have to look out for each other."

"Hei said there wasn't any point trying to get clean water, but I'm not sure I wanna buy water that stinks of piss."

Zeo listened half-heartedly to Riki bargain with the owner of a market stall. Though surprisingly, this certain stall was a few streets away from where the actual Market area was, and it was a noticeably bigger stall at that. Zeo figured this stall owner-a skinny man with a small moustaches and quick glaring eyes-made better money than most.

Most of Zeo attention was away from the stall, and to the street entertainer, a young man with long black hair on the opposite side of the street, juggling five sticks in front of a group of watchers. Amongst the watchers were a children, who despite their ragged clothes and dirt across their bare feet, were smiling widely as the juggler suddenly lit up the sticks on fire when each one touched his left hand. Despite being on fire, he continued to juggle the sticks to the crowds applause and amazement.

Though few were actually able to give him money.

"Listen kiddo, this ain't the bloody capital. Chances of finding crystal clean water is like finding a Lion turtle" the stall owner growled "but I wouldn't sell piss, even it was nobleman piss."

Riki sighed, and held up four flasks "please fill these up for us then."

As the stall owner went to fill up the flasks in the barrel of yellow water, Riki turned his attention to the food that was available on the stall. Most of it was fruit, dirty and bruised, but it looked edible. Riki took one look at the meat available, and made a face when he saw footprints on one of the small carcasses. He figured they'd best stay with the fruit.

"Hey Zeo, which fruit do you think we should get?" Riki asked, causing Zeo to turn his attention away from the entertainer. Zeo looked down on the stalls offering and hummed

"Hmm…we should take what apples and bananas he has left, even those dirtier ones, we can probably wash some of the dirt off. Let's take a few plums as well" Zeo suggested.

"Doesn't Master Aku hate plums?"

"Yeah…exactly."

CRASH

Zeo span around in a split second to where the crash came from. It came from where the crowd had watched the entertainer, only now that crowd had dissipated when three large young adults, all three dressed in similar coloured attire, signifying their status as a gang, had suddenly walked up and knocked the now frightened entertainer to the ground. The three thugs looked down at the entertainer with mocking smiles.

"You've got some guts punk to bend on our turf" the thug at the front said, while the two behind him sniggered "we don't take kindly to your kind in these parts! Don't you know Shu the Feral owns these parts of the town now? Maybe we should take you to him!"

"Ah geez…" Riki sighed, rubbing the back of his head "…that fat Tommen was right. We should probably not get involved and cause a scene Zeo-"

Riki suddenly noticed that Zeo was no longer there.

The first thug, who was much larger and muscular than other two grabbed the terrified entertainer by the collar and lifted him up to his face "Y'know, there's honestly no point bothering Shu Sensei with trash like you, so we'll save him the trouble and kick your ass now!"

"Excuse me" Zeo said formally, tapping the first thug on the shoulder. All three of the thugs turned around and stared daggers at Zeo "what do you want? Can't you see we're busy?"

"Sorry, I just wanted you to know that I admire you three for what you're doing." Zeo said, bowing to the three.

"R-really?" the thug on the left- an older, bald headed man said surprisingly, while the other two thugs smiled slightly.

"Yes, I think it's admirable you act tough with your conditions."

"Con…ditions? What conditions?"

"The condition of having no balls."

It took a moment for the three thugs to register what Zeo had just said to them, but when it did, the three passive faces quickly turned to faces of pure rage, the first thug letting go of the entertainer, who immediately sprinted away from the four and off the street.

"You…little shit!" the bald headed thug roared, reaching out to grab Zeo by the neck. Zeo reacted quickly, ducking under his massive arms and grabbing him by the waist. Almost without difficulty, Zeo swung the large man over himself and sent him flying into the air, landing hard on the ground below with a mighty crash.

"Bastard!" the other two thugs cursed. The third thug, a younger man with his hair in a ponytail, swung his left fist at Zeo face, but Zeo simply sidestepped and pushed the swinging fist gently with his right hand. The thug was sent flying forward, but not before Zeo shoved his left leg directly into his, causing the man to flip in mid air and land directly on top of the already downed thug.

The first thug, shocked to see his two friends toppled with ease, reached inside his robe and was about to take out a small knife, but Zeo quickly swung his hand into his face, and produced a blast of fire that hovered in his hand. The thug fell to the ground, his legs shaking from nearly having his face burnt. Zeo looked down at disgustfully.

"Next time you want to pick on a firebender…" Zeo put out the fire in his hands "…try to pick on one that can fight back."

And with that, Zeo turned and left the group.

"I don't know about you Hei, but I LOVE market stalls!"

Hei sighed at his energetic masters proclamations. It always amazed him how he, a sarcastic and often quiet kid was picked by this loud and energetic legend. Come to think of it, none of his students really matched Aku at all. Zeo was just like him, only his scars ran much deeper than his own, and while Riki was a lot more carefree than them, he had no firebending to call his own, only his knack for technology.

And yet, these four misfits had created what could arguably be called a family.

Hei followed his master down the busy market stalls, shoving past people as they trailed through the crowded street. Hei watched his master, and felt how odd it was his long hair was gone, now only a clean cut and without his goatee. He'd always had long hair, it honestly suited his rebellious stance, and in many ways became a stereotype for the Phoenix Rebels. Aku was that much of a figure in today's society.

Still, it seemed to be for the better, because nobody gave him a second look, most thankfully of all the guards on patrol. That was something Hei had noted as they entered the market area…the growth of Fire Nation soldiers in the area. They looked so out of place, not because of the spears they carried, but by how clean and new their clothes were. None showed any sign of decay or dirt, their armours shining brightly in the reflection of the beating sun. Amongst these crowds of people dressed in broken and tatty clothes, it was a painful reminder where money went to nowadays.

"Where's the contact with the Spirit orb master?" Hei asked Aku, careful to whisper.

"Tommen said at the end of this street, he's the owner of the pottery shop" Aku explained.

"Are we sure the guy has a Spirit orb?" Hei asked his master urgently. Aku turned around to him with a smile.

"Well if not, we're gonna have a hard time getting home" Aku laughed loudly, earning a groan from his eldest students, who rubbed his face in his right hand.

SMASH

Aku and Hei looked up urgently from where the sound of something smashing, the entire street having gone silent to watch too. To their right, two Fire Nation guards were huddled around one particular stall; the said stall had just been knocked over by one of the guards. He was the only one who face was visible with the mask off, and his square jawed face growled in disgust.

"God woman, are you trying to poison me!" snarled the guard down to the frightened stall owner. She was a young woman, her hair in two buns on each side, but like many people she looked malnourished. Her stall had been selling small biscuits, which made it seem stranger she herself looked so thin.

"You okay their Jess? Your face has gone purple" one of the other guard laughed. He sounded older than the other, and took amusement in the others tantrums.

"This stupid bitch nearly poisoned me with her crap!" the soldier spat, turning to the woman "and this is after she had the balls to ask me to pay!"

"P-please sir…" the woman begged weakly, holding her hands together "I-I'm sorry if the food upsets you…but, no one has complained about my bis-"

The soldier slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

Hei nearly snapped forward at the guard, but Aku grabbed his hand and looked at him with a seriousness he rarely showed him "No."

"You want me to just stand here while they beat on a harmless woman?"

"If we attack these guards, all of the other guards on this street will see us, and we'll have the entire towns regiment after us! They'll then figure out who I am and then we'l have the entire Army after us!" Aku growled "we cannot get spotted now!"

"But…" Hei almost whimpered. He knew his master was right, they could not draw attention to themselves, especially soldiers attention. But seeing that woman, slowly standing back up, her left cheek bright red, made Hei feel sick.

The worst part was her expression…it was completely passive, like this wasn't the first time it had happened to her.

"God…if I get Diarrhoea because of that shit, they'll be hell to pay!" the guard threatened, spitting on the counter before he turned and walked down the street alongside the fellow guard. As the two left, the crowd began to mumble, and not too long did the street return to how it was before the commotion.

"I feel…so helpless" Hei whispered, clenching his fists "was there nothing we could do for her?"

Aku looked at Hei, and said, "There is now". Aku walked towards the young stall owner, who was silently picking up the food that had dropped onto the floor, and knelt down beside.

"Here madam, let me help you clean this up." Aku said with a warm smile. He then reached to the ground and helped the young girl pick up the food. The young girl smiled at him warmly, and whispered thank you.

Hei looked at them for a second, before stepping over to help his master and the young girl. He silently promised to himself he would stop such things from happening ever again.

"Master Shu! Please help us!"

Shu was about to enter the café back entrance where he was working to pay off his debt, when suddenly the three thugs who Zeo had beaten up appeared on the street, their knees on the ground and their heads bowed. Shu looked at them with a hint of confusions, before sighing and turning to them.

"Biggs, Wedge, Ward, what do you want?" Shu mumbled, rolling his left arm around "you guys look like you've been raped in the asses or somethin'"

The largest thug, the one called Ward, stumbled at the remark "Well…err…Master Shu…"

"Stop calling me "Master". It's annoying."

"Y-yes! Well, you see mas-I mean we were patrolling your territory, and we spotted this punk Firebending on your street!"

"Since when has this been "MY" territory?" Shu growled, the three thugs trembling. With a sigh, he said, "go on."

"Well sir…" mumbled Biggs, the bold headed thug "…we were promptly gonna show this guy what we do to Firebenders, and then-"

"Before you continue, what was this Firebender doing exactly?"

The youngest thug, Wedge, spoke "he was entertaining children!"

Shu kicked Wedge in the face.

"YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!" Shu shouted, his face turning to a murderous glare. The three thugs huddled together, even Wedge, whose nose had been busted open and was bleeding out of each nostrils "I attack Firebenders that pick on others! I don't hurt innocent Firebenders. You guy's are just as worse as the Firebenders you claim to hate!"

"B-but Master Shu!" Ward trembled, forgetting he wasn't allowed to call him that "we never got chance to beat him up. Some other punk came over and beat us all up!"

"R-really?"

"Yea!" Biggs nodded quickly "he was a Firebender, but the guy didn't even use it against us! He used this really strange hand to hand combat style I'd never seen before! He was really tough!"

Shu looked down at the three pathetic thugs in consideration, thinking over all that had been said. Shu couldn't be bothered to take on small fries, they were just too boring, but for a while Shu had wanted to find a Firebender who was not only talented, but was not easy to scare. This guy they were talking about had taken them out without using his Bending art and left them in a frightened state. He was certainly not some half assed noblemen who thought his status made him a better fighter than everyone else.

This guy might alleviate the boredom I've been feeling lately. Shu said with a notion of excitement. Shu knelt besides Ward, Wedge and Biggs, patting Wedge softly on the head as a vicious smile appeared on his lips.

"Tell me more about this friend of yours."