Chapter 9
Katara taught Kura the basics of waterbending (push and pull the water, streaming the water, make a giant wave, and the water whip). Kura thought she might have seen Zuko in the bushes out of the corner of her eye once or twice, but she stayed concentrated on the waterbending. She knew Sokka was somewhere in those bushes too.
She was getting good at waterbending fairly quickly. They were training in Paku's old waterbending academy. He had been at the South Pole since before Kura was born and had passed away a few years ago, about a month after Katara and Sokka's grandmother did. Anyway, Kura was a natural, which was obvious even before she started. She was a technically waterbender by birth (even though Khanna didn't bend), first of all, plus she was the Avatar, and she'd learned this for thousands of past lives before her.
When they decided to stop for the day, Kura went to the kitchen to have a snack before she went into the Spirit World. After a few moments, Sokka strolled in; they were alone.
"All he did was spy on you girls the whole time." he said.
"I figured." Kura replied. "I'm going into the Spirit World after this. Make sure you're both there." Sokka nodded. Then, Zuko waltzed in. Kura tried not to glare.
"Hello!" he said cheerfully. Jerk.
"So..." Sokka said casually, "Kura's going to see Aang soon." Zuko eyed Kura carefully, then nodded to Sokka. "You're probably going to want to be in the Spirit Oasis with her, right?"
"Yes. I'm also going to want you to be there, peasant." Zuko hissed back to Sokka. Kura could see the tiniest bit of fear in Sokka's eyes, but he hid it with defiance.
"Fine by me." he said firmly. So, they three of them went to the Spirit Oasis together. Zuko kept an innocent manner the entire way, especially when Katara joined them.
When they arrived at the Oasis with the new leader of the tribe, Kura sat in front of the pond. Katara said to her, "Don't worry, Kura. We'll all be here to watch over your body while you're there."
"My body?" Kura cried, "What's going to happen to it?"
"Nothing," Toph reassured her, "It's just, while your in the Spirit World, you won't be able to control your body here, only your spirit there. It'll be fine."
Kura took a deep breath, and said, "Okay. So...what do I do?"
"You sit there and meditate. Just close your eyes and...think about it I guess. Keep very quiet, and we will too, and eventually...you'll get there." Sokka explained halfheartedly. Kura didn't look very convinced.
"I remember Aang got there when he watched the koi fish circling each other." Katara said slowly, "And, he was sitting in that special way. He had his legs crossed, and his fists were together. No, not like that, Kura. Put your knuckles together. There you go!"
When Kura had the correct position, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. Everyone was quiet. She opened her eyes and looked at the fish. One was black, the other white. Each had a spot on its head of the opposite color. It reminded her of something...Perhaps the white fish reminded her a little of Appa...She missed him all of a sudden. She hadn't had much time to see the big fluffy bison lately. Maybe later-
"No! Concentrate, Kura! Keep your mind focused on the koi!" She looked back at them. Circling each other...around and around...round... circle...black...and white...Yin and Yang! That's what it reminded her of!
Suddenly, the fish formed the yin/yang symbol. Then there was a flash, and Kura couldn't see for a moment; everything was white. Then, it faded into a brown swamp: The Spirit World!