"Well, whad'ya know? Duran's information was solid," Rai said, standing at the top of a large hill overlooking a small settlement with a huge factory just below. She held up the map he had given her, confirming the factory below was indeed the marked location they had gone to from Shu Jing. She folded the map back up and tucked it into her pocket as the sun began setting, bathing the area in an amber light.
"What is that place?" Takumi asked, stepping up to the edge next to her to overlook the abandoned settlement.
"That is a refinery, or at least it used to be. It was founded after the Hundred Year War but it shut down decades ago. The factory's been abandoned for years, which makes it the perfect place for bandits to set up base in," she explained.
"So what's the plan?" Sati asked.
"The plan is I go in alone," Rai stated firmly.
"What? You can't just march into a bandit fortress by yourself!" Takumi protested.
"I can and I will. One person going in lowers the risk of being discovered and it means I can focus on what I'm looking for without having to worry about you two."
"And how exactly are you going to find a bloodbender?" asked Takumi.
"Simple, bandit cells keep rosters of their members, including any bending abilities. Not every bandit leader cares to get to know his underlings so personally, so they just write down the details for quick reference. I find that list and I'll know if there's a bloodbender in there. So any more than one going in is just unnecessary."
"But-" they both started, but Rai interrupted them.
"I know you two want to help, but you'll help me by staying out of the way," she said to them with a faint hint of compassion while turning away and preparing to slide down the dirt hill. "Besides, if on the off chance I happen to screw up and get myself captured, I'll need someone to rescue me, won't I?" she remarked, sliding down the hill. She hadn't turned around to see Takumi and Sati's reaction, but she knew that would be enough to placate them. She swiftly made her way into the abandoned settlement and ducked behind one of the buildings leading up to the abandoned factory. She poked her head out, but saw no guards, not even a single person in sight. She pulled her head back into the alley and closed her eyes, concentrating before slamming her foot into the ground and reading the seismic waves. "Hm, definitely occupied. Too many to take head on." Rai emerged from the alley and noticed the chimneys of the factory. "They wouldn't want to advertise their location, so there's no way they'd be using those for fires." With that, Rai launched herself into the air straight towards one of the smokestacks with an earth pillar. She cushioned her landing with some airbending so as not to make any noise as she carefully slid down the chimney shaft. When she reached the bottom, a metal gate stood in her way, but she easily metalbent the locking mechanism open. She stomped on the metal floor, reading the seismic waves again. Most of the bandits were located in the main factory floor, but there were a few walking around or in what used to be the small offices. "No one upstairs though." Rai stealthily made her way up the stairs and entered what was once the main office. What remained of the desk and shelving had decayed and looked incredibly run down.
The wall was covered in a large map of the world with various tacks and pen markings drawn over it. She moved over to the desk where letters were messily scattered across it. She bent over the desk and began scanning the letters looking for a roster. She lifted the list once she found it, quickly scanning for any bloodbenders, but unfortunately none were listed. She set the list down and began looking at the rest of the papers. "This is all correspondence with other bandit groups. There's gotta be something here that can lead me to a bloodbender and Goro," she muttered to herself. As she scanned through the letters looking for Goro's or another familiar name, but nothing was coming up. However, she did notice one name appearing several times: Ryota. "Ryota… Who's Ryota?" Rai quickly scanned a few of the letters. "Hm, looks like a new figurehead in the slave trade." But before she could search further, her head shot up when she heard the doorknob begin to turn. "Dammit," she cursed under her breath before quickly ducking into a nearby large cabinet. She couldn't see who entered, but she heard them shut the door once they entered. Judging from the footsteps, she figured that it was only a single person. She heard them walk towards her direction and braced herself for them to open the cabinet, but nothing happened. Cautiously, she pushed the door open slightly and saw the person who entered leaning over the table just as she had earlier. He was dressed completely in black with dual sabers sheathed across his back and long black hair tied in a low ponytail coming out the bottom of a large black hood. The wood of the cabinet creaked as she shifted her weight, a faint sound that the man seemed to notice. She sharply drew back from the door as she heard the sound his swords being unsheathed. She counted the steps as he drew closer and took a deep breath. Once she heard the creak of the cabinet door being opened, she leapt forward and tackled the man, knocking him into the desk. She hovered over him, pinning him to the desk with her gauntlet blade extended and ready to strike, but she drew back slightly in shock at the sight of his face… or rather the blue demon mask that obscured his face from her sight. For a moment, Rai could have sworn she heard the man gasp from beneath the mask. She regained her composure and leaned forward, keeping the masked man pinned to the desk firmly. She saw from the corner of her eyes that he held his twin swords in both of his hands, but even when he could have used them to threaten her as well, he did not raise them, nor did he seem to struggle against her grip.
"A blue mask, huh? Either bandits have started wearing masks… or you're this Blue Spirit I've heard so much about. So which is it?" she whispered, bringing her blade closer to his neck. The masked man said nothing as he released his grip on his swords and raised his hands in surrender. Before Rai could utter another word, the pair quickly shot their heads towards the door as it opened and two bandits entered.
"What the? Hey!" one of them called in surprise as both thrust their fists forward, sending twin streams of fire at them. Rai quickly released her grip on the masked man and blew the flames back with an air blast before kicking the desk over and taking shelter behind it. The desk took another blast of fire, but it would not survive a continued assault.
The masked man retrieved his fallen blades and took shelter with her before gruffly whispering to her, "Do that again." Rai cocked her eyebrow in confusion for a moment before standing up as the flames died down for a second. She blasted the two bandits with air as the masked man moved from behind her and jumped into her air blast, using it to carrying him to the bandits at great momentum. He thrust both blades into each of the bandits' chests as they cried out in pain. The masked man stood up and shook the thick blood from his blades before gesturing her to follow him.
"Kills bandits and wears a blue mask. Definitely the Blue Spirit," she remarked to herself, following after him. The bandits had apparently heard their commotion and they were soon rushed by bandits. The Blue Spirit sheathed his blades and quickly grabbed Rai by her wrist, pulling her down another hallway as the bandits chased after them. He ran straight towards a window ahead and jumped through, breaking the glass as Rai followed and they landed in the bandit filled factory floor below.
The pair drew their blades and stood back to back as nearly ten bandits surrounded them. "Well, look at what we've got here. Everyone remember what we do to intruders, especially the pretty ones?" The rest of the bandits grinned and snickered while Rai merely rolled her eyes and scoffed. As she scanned the room for anything she could use to get them out, she spotted a pile of explosives in the far corner. Of course there were explosives, she figured, this was a mining facility after all.
She subtly nudged the Blue Spirit behind her with her elbow and motioned to the explosives. "Cover me," she whispered. Rai dashed forward and leapt over the bandits with a gust of air. She raced over to the explosives, taking a quick glance behind her to see the Blue Spirit still on his feet and fighting multiple enemies. When she reached the boxes, she pulled out a short detonation cord and lit the end with her fingertips before a thick arm wrapped roughly around her neck and pulled her up to her feet. She reacted instantly and stomped her foot in the ground, causing two earth pillars to rise from the ground directly under the bandit's feet, lifting him off the ground and allowing Rai to flip him over and slam him on his back. She turned around and waved her arms, drawing the Blue Spirit towards her with another gust of wind. "Let's go!" she shouted. As they ran out the loading doors, the Blue Spirit sliced through the chains that held the doors up, causing them to slam down, sealing the bandits inside before sheathing his blades once again. They managed to get a few feet away as the factory suddenly exploded. The Blue Spirit quickly shielded Rai from the blast with his body as force of the explosion pushed them off their feet and threw them into a nearby building. Still holding onto Rai, the Blue Spirit's back struck the wall and broke right through the weakened and dilapidated material as they rolled onto the ground.
Rai groaned and pushed the Blue Spirit off her and scowled at the sight of the blazing factory. "So much for that..." she muttered. "Hey," she started, turning to address the Blue Spirit, but stopped at the sight of him still on the ground, not moving. She reached her hand out and pulled off the mask, revealing a young man's face beneath. He was unconscious, but still breathing. She sighed and, with the mask in hand, she lifted the man across her shoulders and back and held him secure by an arm and leg. Before she made it back to camp, she spotted Takumi and Sati already running down the hill towards her.
"Rai! Are you ok?" Sati asked in worry.
"We saw the explosion!" Takumi exclaimed. "Who's that? One of the bandits?"
"Not exactly. I'll explain back at camp," she replied. When they reached their campsite, Rai gently lay the man she carried on the grass.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Sati asked.
"No bloodbenders in that cell. Didn't get much of a chance to explore anything else. Things got… dicey," she replied, looking back at the large cloud of smoke still going from the explosion.
"And who is this?" Takumi asked again. Rai said nothing and simply handed Takumi the blue demon mask she held in her hand. "T-the Blue Spirit?" he asked.
"It would appear so," Rai remarked.
"I had heard stories about the Blue Spirit back during the time of Avatar Aang. Do you think he was human too?" Sati asked.
"It's possible. Either way, this Blue Spirit is just a normal human after all. Not a spirit."
"It's a bit disappointing to be honest. I was hoping to meet a spirit," Takumi said in a disappointed tone.
"You lived in Republic City. There's a spirit portal there and you're telling me you've never met a spirit?" Rai asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You're the Avatar. Have you met a spirit?" Takumi asked back. Rai opened her mouth to argue, but before she could even speak, the unmasked spirit began to stir and groan.
"Hey, look. He's coming around," said Sati.
The pale boy groaned and slowly opened his pale blue eyes as he sat up. He blinked a few times to clear his sight and saw three figures standing over him. His eyes quickly glanced over Sati and Takumi before landing on Rai. "It's you."
Rai cocked her eyebrow in confusion. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"Perhaps not, but I know you, Rai," he said sincerely.
However, at the mention of her name, Rai quickly bent down to his level and whipped out one of her arm blades and held it up threateningly. "How do you know my name?" she asked darkly with narrowed eyes.
"I could never forget you," he whispered. "I could never forget that day. I don't expect you to remember me; we didn't interact much then. But I remember you… and Kala."
Rai gasped and her eyes widened in shock as she drew her blade away. "Who's Kala?" Sati asked.
"H-how do you know that name?" Rai whispered. Just then, Haku suddenly hissed and snarled widely as they heard something rustling in the bushes. The others became alert as a large horned, white furred beast with a saddle emerged growling at Haku with equal threat.
"Wait!" Hiro cried, running between the two beasts and holding his arms out defensively. "It's ok. He's with me." As the others relaxed, the great white beast came up to the boy from behind and affectionately nuzzled against his leg. "This is Griffith, my puma goat. I usually have him stay out of sight when I attack bandits and slavers. My name is Hiro," he said, pulling a red and white oriental shirt from one of the packs of Griffith's saddle and exchanging it with the black shirt he had on. As he changed his shirt, the three caught sight of the multitude of scars across his back, shoulders and arms. As he buttoned up his new shirt, he turned around to speak to them. "I was one of the slaves Goro purchased, along with you and Kala and several others. I worked in the forge so we never really had a chance to interact with each other, but I could never forget you or that day." Once he finished buttoning his shirt, he threw on a sleeveless black jacket and undid his ponytail, allowing his long black hair to flow freely. "I was there when they when they killed Kala… to teach us a lesson. I saw what happened and I saw what you did next. You saved us. Thanks to you, I was given a second chance."
"You... you were there…" Rai whispered, taking a step back as she processed this.
"You were a slave?" Takumi exclaimed in shock.
Rai looked away in shame and reluctantly muttered, "I... I was…"
"Why didn't you tell me? Or us for that matter?" he asked, gesturing to Sati as well.
"I don't know who you are kid, but Rai doesn't have to tell you anything," Hiro said, giving Takumi a scornful glare.
"Hey!" Takumi cried, offended.
"Quiet!" Rai shouted, silencing the quarrelling boys. "It's not a part of my life that I like to talk about!" Rai said sharply to Takumi before turning to Hiro. "How did you go from ex-slave to vigilante?"
"To answer your question: I tried to go back to a normal life, I really did. When you scared the bandits away and disappeared, the rest of us managed to make our way to a nearby town and find the authorities. None of us said what you did or what you were. Most of the other children were still in shock and too traumatized over the whole ordeal. They tried sorting us out and figuring out where to put us, but most of us had no families or home left. The slavers made sure of that. But I was lucky… if you can call it that," he scoffed, "I had some extended family in another town so they took me in. They tried to give me time to adjust, but they just couldn't understand what we had to endure. Even some of the other kids in the town tried to befriend me, but all I could see was their blissful ignorance. I couldn't help but feel envious that they lived such a life blind to the true horrors of this world. Every night, I couldn't sleep and whenever I could, it was always nightmares. Whenever I closed my eyes, I was afraid that if I opened them again, I'd be back there: chains on my wrists and a whip to my back. Then, I started thinking about all the other slaves, all the other children who were still suffering while I just sat there trying to forget what happened to me like it was nothing! It wasn't nothing! It did happen to me and it was still happening to so many others. I had been given a second chance because of you. I swore to myself that I wouldn't rest until I eradicated every slaver I could find and…" Hiro trailed off but kept his gaze locked with Rai's.
"And what?" Rai asked, pushing him to finish his sentence.
"And to find you," he answered.
"Well, that's not creepy" Takumi whispered to Sati.
"Yeah, no kidding," Sati agreed.
Rai sharply hushed Sati and Takumi before turning back to Hiro. "Find me? Why?"
"Because you were the one who was strong enough to fight back, to escape; the one who made my freedom possible. I owe you a debt, I owe you my life," he said, falling to one knee and bowing to her.
Rai instantly recoiled at this gesture and stepped back, narrowing her eyes angrily. "Debt? I'm not looking for someone to repay a debt!"
"Whether you think so or not, I do. My life belongs to you and I pledge myself to you."
"I'm not looking to fill the void of a master for a lost ex-slave!" Rai argued.
"That's not what I'm trying to do!" Hiro protested, standing up. "I only wish to help you in any way that I can. Please! I have seen how broken and dependent some slaves become and how desperate they are to fill their need with a new master, but I swear that is not what I intend!"
"Are you sure? Maybe you just don't realize that you're trying to fill a void," Rai retorted.
"Please, I only wish to help your crusade. My blades and my fire are yours to command. Think of me not as a slave, but as a loyal follower."
Rai paused in silence for a moment, contemplating his words. "I hear you've been tracking bandits. How successful have you been in tracking Goro?"
"Unfortunately relatively unsuccessful. He knows how to cover his tracks, especially now that he knows the Blue Spirit is on his tail. By the time I get to where I've tracked him, he's already moved on to another location. I swear I will not be a hinderance. Please let me join you."
"Fine," Rai muttered, "But tell no one of what I am. Understand?"
"I have never spoken of that day to anyone else and I won't start now. You have my word," Hiro bowed.
Takumi then tugged on Rai's sleeve, silently coaxing her away. "Sati, please help Hiro get settled into camp," she said before walking to the far side of camp with Takumi.
"He sure is a strange one," the young boy remarked.
"You have something to say about this, I imagine?"
"Are you sure it's a good idea to trust this guy so suddenly? We have no way of knowing if this guy is legit!"
"He knew her name…" Rai commented while looking at Hiro from afar. "There's no other explanation for it. He was there, he's telling the truth."
"Ok, he may know some specific details, but what if he was one of the bandits' kids or something?"
"There were no children there that weren't slaves," Rai answered simply. "You saw the scars on his body, just as you saw mine."
Takumi stood there in silence, not sure of what other argument he could make. Instead, he hesitantly asked, "W-were you really a slave?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, walking past Takumi and back to the camp. As she made her way to Hiro, she suddenly recalled part of the fortune teller's premonition. '"A hero in blue…"' And now she had met the Blue Spirit, whose name was Hiro! She cursed under her breath at how ridiculous the entire thing was. It had to be a coincidence! But, so far each prediction had come true. If that was so, then it meant she would reunite with Goro soon.
Later that night, the group sat around a campfire eating their dinner. "So, Hiro, if you don't mind me asking, what was it like?" Sati asked, trying to make conversation and hopefully get to know their group's newcomer a little better.
"Being a slave? I'm sure Rai has told you enough already."
"Actually, she's never mentioned it before today," Takumi remarked, glancing over at the blonde.
"Heh, well I can't blame her. It was the single most horrifying experience of my life, a living hell that I didn't think would end," he replied grimly, leaving an uncomfortable silence among them.
"Rai, was it really like that?" Sati asked innocently.
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" she yelled, throwing her empty plate to the ground and walking away from the campfire.
"I-I didn't mean to make her upset," Sati said, hanging her head with guilt. "I just don't understand why she's always pushing us away so much," she sighed in defeat.
"That's just it. You can never understand, neither of you could," Hiro smoke as the fire crackled.
"Why's that?" Takumi asked, slightly insulted.
Hiro glanced over to Rai, who sat a fair distance away from camp, looking up at the stars in the night sky. "You two may think of me as the newcomer in this group and that I have no right to speak about her like that, but the fact is I knew her before either of you. There's a reason Rai is the way she is. As much as the world wants you to believe that it doesn't, slavery is still a common occurrence. They only target small towns and communities, places that most people won't notice are gone. When they come, they take all the children and kill every last person in the village before burning it all to the ground."
"Th-that's horrible," Sati gasped in horror.
"It's an insurance policy, to ensure that any slaves that do somehow manage to escape have nowhere to go and no one to go back to. I was eight when they came to my village," Hiro revealed. "My entire village was wiped out and I was sold into slavery. A man named Goro purchased me and since I was a firebender, I was put to work in his forge. When you are made a slave, you are stripped of everything: your family, your home, belongings, dignity and worst of all, your identity. If you're lucky enough, you get to keep your name. First they break you, in body and spirit so as to crush any bit of hope you have and then they reforge you into what they want. I have seen slaves so broken that they would cut off their own hand with a smile on their face if it pleased their master."
Takumi and Sati sat in silence, unable to accept Hiro's words as true. They exchanged a look before Sati hesitantly asked, "How did you escape?"
"I was freed by her," he said, looking at Rai in the distance. "By the time the slavers had come to my village, Rai's home had already been destroyed. She was six at the time. We were purchased by Goro together, along with a few others. Any mistake or slip up and we were punished, harshly. Rai had it worse than any of us; she was Goro's personal slave and he was a cruel, sadistic psychopath. He would do things to her and make her do things she didn't want to, sometimes to other slaves, sometimes to herself. It was always his intention to… deflower her," Hiro struggled to speak, disgusted by the very idea, "but he wanted to wait until she was older. He at least had the decency to not force himself onto a child, but that is by no means a redeeming quality for him. In the end, he never got his chance." Takumi shivered in disgust at the very thought. He quickly glanced over to Rai and tried to imagine just what she had to go through to survive while Hiro went on. "Rai was always a fighter," Hiro continued. "She resisted at every opportunity and it seemed like no amount of punishment could break her. I admired that unbreakable spirit in her."
"What happened then? How did you all escape? Couldn't she just fight back with her powers?" Sati asked.
"None of us knew she was the Avatar then, not even her," Hiro answered. "When we were sold to Goro, Rai became close with another slave, Kala. Perhaps Kala reminded her of someone or she felt the need to protect Kala. Either way, Rai loved her. Kala was a bit of a klutz and always terrified. She was messed up her work so often and Rai was always there to save her and protect her. That courage was inspiring, not just to me, but to Kala as well. You see, one day, Goro ordered Rai to be tied to a post for seven days without food or water."
"What? That's inhumane!" Sati cried.
"Slave owners usually are. Goro had hoped it would break her, but Rai still kept going strong. It wasn't sheer willpower though, it was Kala. None of us knew it then, but Kala had been sneaking food and water to Rai every night even when Rai told her not to. It was only bits and scraps, but it was enough to keep her going. But, one night, Kala was discovered in the act. The entire camp was woken up and Kala was beaten to death in front of us all to teach us a lesson of what would happen should any of us disobey." Takumi and Sati fell silent. "Rai could only watch as someone dear to her was killed right in front of her. And then, it happened. Her eyes turned pure white as she ripped free of her restraints and rose into the air like a god. Goro and his bandits ran as Rai unleashed all of her might. She protected us from harm and killed the one who killed Kala. After that, she disappeared and the rest of us made our way to a town. But after everything that I had been through, I couldn't just sit and be… normal anymore. The memory of all that pain, that torture was still so fresh in my mind, but what was more prevalent was the memory of her," Hiro explained, absentmindedly glancing towards Rai. "Goro wasn't the only person to purchase slaves and he wouldn't be the last. I knew I had to do something. I left home and started tracking the slave trade, killing slavers and freeing their captives."
"I-I never knew… how horrible," Sati whispered sadly.
"Rai's had to endure a lot of pain and suffering. I can understand why she wants to live the rest of her life in anonymity."
"But that's what I don't understand! She's the Avatar! She has a duty to the world!" Sati exclaimed.
"How many Avatars do you think went undocumented before the world started catching on? Just try to put yourself in her shoes, Sati. Rai was torn from her home and family and forced into a position where people forced her to do what they wanted. The same is done to the Avatar."
"What? That's not true!" she protested.
"Think about it. When the Avatar is identified, he or she is taken from their home and sent around the world to learn the other elements and essentially forced to accept the responsibility that comes with the mantle of the Avatar. Not all Avatars are the same, Sati. Each Avatar is different and each views the duties differently, whether as a great honor or a burden. Not every Avatar is a Korra, happily taking on the mantle. Sometimes you'll get an Aang, an Avatar who would do anything to not be the Avatar. And sure, Aang did eventually accept the mantle, but Rai won't ever allow someone to tell her how to live her life. That's why she rejects the mantle of the Avatar; to her, it's just another form of slavery."
Takumi stared down at his half-empty plate, suddenly feeling guilty for having been so insistent with Rai that she share her past. He had never thought it would be that bad! But that was no excuse. He couldn't imagine how every time he asked, it only served to bring up all those painful memories for her. He set his plate down and hesitantly made his way over to Rai, who continued staring up into the sky.
"What do you want Takumi?" she asked, not even turning around.
"I'm sorry," he said, hanging his head.
"What for?" she asked.
"All this time I had been pushing you to open up. I should have been more respectful."
Rai sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "You don't need to be sorry, Takumi. It's out in the open now, so let's just leave it at that." Takumi smiled at Rai as he sat down next to her and the two kept looking at the stars in the night sky above.
Next chapter: Takumi isn't happy with the new member of their group and voices his concerns, but Hiro has a few concerns of his own.