It was time. Her father had notified her a few days before that he thought she was ready. Ikki certainly didn't feel ready.

Of course, there was little to do in terms of preparation. She would take nothing with her, and anything she might need later on would be provided. Left with nothing to do but wait, she felt her nerves begin to cloud her thoughts.

As if sensing her anxiety, Jinora had suggested a last night out with their friends. Ikki was grateful for the distraction.

Over the past year the girls had spent a great deal of time with Skoochy and Kido, the four forming a tight knit group. Skoochy sometimes joked about the four of them becoming a superhero team.

Ikki had a hard time imagining they would still be close when she returned. Jinora and Skoochy would of course form their own little couple group now that they were dating. And Kido… he would probably just move on.

The two girls got dressed up for dinner, given that it would be her last chance for a while. While Ikki finished her hair, Jinora sat on the bed watching her sister work.

"Did you tell him that you were leaving?" Ikki was a little startled at this break in silence.

"Who?"

"You know very well who, don't play dumb." Her shoulders sagged in defeat.

"No, there isn't really a reason for me to tell him, it'll only worry the poor guy." Jinora looked perplexed at her sisters reply.

"No reason to tell him?! Ikki, that boy is pining for you! He's gotta know this was bound to happen, why didn't you tell him?"

"I don't know." Ikki looked a little ashamed at this. "I just didn't want him going all weird on me."

"Well you should probably tell him tonight, so he doesn't think you just disappeared without saying goodbye."

"Yeah, you're probably right." She let out a hopeless sigh. Jinora stood, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be alright, you'll see. It's not such a bad existence once you get used to it." She smiled at her sister, who returned it halfheartedly.

"C'mon," Jinora said grabbing her sisters hand and dragging her along. "Let's go have some fun!"

Ikki laughed and followed her sister out, trying to memorize every moment she had of this night.


Kido laughed as Skoochy fidgeted with his outfit, he never looked very comfortable in fancy clothes. Reaching over to smack his finger away from tugging at his collar, Kido had to suppress another grin. After years of being a prestigious member of the Bei Fong Family, he should have been used to this.

"Skoochy seriously, stop messing with it. You're gonna stretch it out and your mom will lock you up for making her go shopping with you again." Skoochy rolled his eyes and joined the other boy in laughter.

"Where are the girls? They should be here by now?" Skoochy shrugged in reply.

"Ah, they're girls Kido. They'll take as long as necessary to look nice."

"But…they always look nice, why should they go through so much effort." The earth bender looked exasperated at all of his questions.

"Of course they always look nice, they just want to look extra special sometimes. Don't forget to compliment them, or they'll feel like all their work went to waste." Kido nodded seriously at this advice.

The two spent a few minutes messing around in front of the restaurant. Skoochy had just put Kido in a headlock, ruffling his hair, when he suddenly stopped. His eyes focusing on something down the street. Kido squirmed out of his grip and followed his gaze.

The girls were coming and they looked amazing. Both were dressed to impress, and impress they did. Skoochy couldn't take his eyes away from Jinora, of course. Kido wanted to smirk at this, but he was too caught up with Ikki. She was beautiful and he felt his mouth go dry at the sight of her. Hard to imagine this was the seven year old who grated on his nerves as a child.

Skoochy let out a low whistle, which had Jinora laughing and twirling to show off the rest of her dress.

"What do you think?"

"What do I think?! I'm not sure I want to take you inside, for fear of having to beat off every guy in the establishment!" The couple laughed and Skoochy bent down to press a soft kiss to her lips.

Kido looked away, not wanting to intrude on the moment. His eyes met Ikkis who was looking at him expectantly.

"Oh, uh…you look really pretty Ikki. Not that you don't always look pretty, just tonight you seem to have put more effort into it, and it really shows." He probably would have continued rambling, if Skoochy hadn't tossed a small rock at his head. Kido was incredibly grateful the older boy was able to stop him.

Ikki simply laughed, shaking her head at him. Jinora and Skoochy were off to the side trying to suppress their own fits of laughter.

Great, the night had hardly begun and he was already putting his foot in his mouth. His despairing thoughts were stopped however, when Ikki laced their fingers and dragged him in the direction of the restaurant entrance.

"C'mon guys lets get going before Kido says something else he regrets." The four shared a laugh and went inside.

Ikki kept hold of his hand.


Dinner had been wonderful, full of laughter and storytelling, and although Kido didn't contribute much in ways of conversation, he still felt a strong sense of companionship.

As the night grew late, the four paid and left the restaurant. They continued chatting and laughing as they walked aimlessly toward the dock, Skoochy tried to dump Jinora in one of the decorative fountains lining the street. The girl laughing and squirming out of his grip. Kido turned to share an eye roll with Ikki, but noticed she looked rather downtrodden, a small frown tugging at her lips.

"Are you okay?" She looked up startled, and placed a quick smile on her face. One that he could clearly see was fake.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Kido simply shrugged and turned back to watching the couple, who were returning to the group.

"I think it's about time we head home." Jinora stated leaning in to kiss Skoochy goodbye, the two were lost in their own world for a few moments, and Kido turned to give his farewells to Ikki. He was startled to see she was close to tears.

"Ikki whats wrong?!" She simply shook her head before running off in the direction of the park. Kido turned a frantic gaze to her sister, who looked troubled but unsurprised.

"Why don't you go after her Kido. Skoochy can walk me to the docks." She gave him a supportive smile before tugging her confused boyfriend behind her. Kido took her advice and started off in the direction Ikki had run in.

He found her not very far away, leaning against a stone pillar at the entrance. She seemed to be unsurprised at his presence.

"I should have know Jinora would send you after me. She's always looking out for my best interests." The tears were drying on her face, and she wore a look of acceptance on her features.

"I shouldn't be this terrified, it's something I've always known was going to happen. And now that it's here, I keep digging my heels in, fighting against it. And I just can't anymore." He was utterly confused and slightly concerned that she had gone mad.

She looked up and gave a bitter laugh at his expression. Stepping closer, he could see her clearer now. Long hair had fallen out of it's ties resting on her shoulders, her eyes were puffy, but he could still identify the grey coloring. She was beautiful, and he wasn't sure why she could make his breath leave his lungs like that.

She spent another few moments studying his face, looking for something. Whatever it was she must have found it, because a soft smile spread across her lips.

"I'm sorry Kido." And then she kissed him.

It was his first of course, he had never really seen the appeal to the act. But it definitely seemed appealing now.

Her lips were soft, pressed against his with enough pressure to make his heart skip in his chest. One of her arms wrapped around his shoulder, and the other around his waist, enveloping him in her embrace. He was unsure what to do with his own hands, so he settled with cupping her face in his palms.

Her head tilted, allowing her mouth to press deeper against his, her lips brushed against his own in a slow movement. Her hand was tracing circles against the back of his neck, allowing sparks of something to go shooting to the pit of his stomach.

He gasped slightly at the sensation, and she took the opportunity to further the kiss along, allowing her teeth to nip gently against his lip, before soothing the spot with a quick swipe of her tongue.

Oh spirits, he had no idea what he had been missing up until now. No wonder Jinora and Skoochy we're constantly joined at the lips.

His thoughts were brought back to Ikki, when she tugged at his upper lip, and a soft moan vibrated from her mouth. He was practically drowning in the sensation of her, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find his way to the surface.

She broke the kiss off, burying her head into his chest, and clinging as tightly as was comfortable for the both of them.

He couldn't suppress the grin, replaying the kiss over in his mind. He thought back to the words she had uttered. What had she meant by saying she was sorry? It didn't seem like she was sorry for kissing him, and the way she was holing him now made him feel like she never wanted to let him go, almost as if she was desperate for it.

And then he understood.

"It's time isn't it, time for you to finish your training?" He buried his nose into her hair, trying to memorize the scent of her, and the feel of her body pressed against his.

She nodded against his chest, and he felt a few tears leak into his shirt. His own tears started to sting at the corner of his eyes.

He was losing her, they had just had a perfect moment, and now he was losing her.

There were a million things he wanted to promise. But none of them seemed fitting or right. So he settled with a simple admission. "I'll miss you."

She let out a little sob and whispered back. "I'll miss you too."

Pulling back, she searched his face one last time. Trying to memorize his features, he imagined. She initiated another kiss, but this one was frantic, and desperate. A kiss of goodbye.

They held this kiss for a moment. Then she tore herself away, walking toward the docks, without looking back.

He watched her retreating form, lips still tingling. Tears leaked from the edges of his eyes.

This girl who he had practically grown up with, who helped him develop into a more confident individual, who made him feel irritation, and elation, and glee, and sorrow.

He was almost positive he was in love with this girl. But it was too late to tell her now.

She was gone.