Okay, it wasn't planned by me to make this update so soon, but today was a great day for me and I had decided to work on this chapter as a reward for myself. And to be honest it is one of my favourite chapters so far. I had so much fun writing it, so I also hope that everyone of you will have a lot of fun while reading it.

I hope nobody mind the little salute to Star Wars in it, but I felt, that the quote I have used fits in the situation.

This chapter is about the promised trainings lesson for Kiyi. I wish everyone a lot of furn with this chapter.


Training

"Hold up your guard, Firefly!"

Toph's commanding voice echoed over the trainings place. Kiyi's face had taken a red color. The sweat ran down her cheeks and she breathed hard. She dodged one attack after another from the erarthbender, who was constantly throwing stones at the kid. The little rocks got at least the size of a fist. The child was obviously in trouble.

"Common Firefly, if you won't start to counter my attacks, then I'll only enforce my attempts to bring you down."

With these words Toph rose up a pillar right in Kiyi's way. The child almost crashed into it but right at the moment, as she wanted to run to a new direction a stone hit her hard on her shoulder and Kiyi felt down on her knees.

"OUTSCH, that was mean!"

Kiyi was upset but Toph just laughed at her.

"Why that? You've shown me, that you're able to blast stones of that size into pieces."

"Yeah, but as I did so, you have only just thrown them in the air and not at me!"

Tears came to Kiyi's eyes. Her shoulder wasn't injured, but it was aching. Toph knelt to her and gave the kid a mischievous smile.

"So where's the difference. You've shown me, that you've got a good aiming and a good blast. So don't be a weak dragon baby, like your brother, Firefly and STAND YOUR GROUND!"

Kiyi spitted out and gave Toph an angry grin. She got back on her feet and took fighting position. Toph smiled and then the stones flew again. Kiyi dodged the first two of them, but at the third one, she threw a fireball at it, making the target bursting in front of her. She was about to scream her pride out, when another rock almost hit her face. She ducked away blasting the next two stones.

"Good job, Firefly. Now you've got it. Alright, then. Faster. And keep an eye out for surprises."

Toph sounded satisfied. She was amazed, how talented this young firebender was. Of cause she was easy on her, but this training was far more, than she had expected. Now Kiyi and Toph got a good rhythm.

"Alright, now try to hit me, while you counter my attacks."

Kiyi didn't make the mistake to take down her guard this time, but she was worried.

"But I'll burn you, if I would hit you."

She blasted another rock, while she was bouncing to be a difficult target. Toph build up an armor of stones around her with a cracking sound.

"Don't worry, Firefly. I can handle this!"

Kiyi smiled and started to look out, for an good opportunity to throw her fire on the earthbender. She managed some good blows, but Toph just blocked the attacks, by raising plates out of the ground. Within time Kiyi could only focus on Toph's attacks, because young bender had set up the pace again.

"It's been a while, since you tried to hit me, Firefly."

Toph continued teasing her student.

"I can't! I need my hands to counter your stones!"

Kiyi was sulky and Thop laughed at her, again.

"Then be faster or find another way to hit me."

These words woke up a grim resistance in Kiyi. She reminded herself at the lesson, she had received by her Beautiful Princess last night. She focused on her energy, while she was still countering Toph's stones. Then she ducked away under another rock and jumped forward, kicking in Toph's direction. A hot and big fireball flew right in the direction of the earthbender. Even Toph wasn't aware of this action. She almost managed to block the hard blow, but she had to slow down her own attacks. Now Kiyi didn't hesitate. With three firepunches she forced Toph to focus more on her guard. Then Kiyi started to try a spinning kick, but the kid was overconfident, this time. She lost her balance, missing Toph and hitting a tree with the fireball at the edge of the garden, which was beside the trainings place. It was instantly lighted up, burning like a big torch.

"Shit, mommy will kill me!"

Kiyi looked fearful at the tree.

"Then put it out."

Toph sounded, like she had told her to blow out a candle. She had teared off her stone armor.

"But I can't! This fire is too big, we need help!"

Panic came to Kiyi's voice, but Toph laid her hand on the child's shoulder.

"Take a step aside."

Toph spitted in her hands, then grabbing with them deep in the ground. She sensed the roots of the tree in the earth. After that, she pulled the tree with the earth around his roots out of the garden and placed it in the middle of the trainings place to prevent the fire burning down the rest of the garden. Kiyi's jaw just dropped.

"Now you can put it out without risking to burn down the whole Palace. You're on, Firefly."

Toph presented her work with her open hands.

"But how should I do this?"

The kid still sounded desperate, but the earthbender stayed cool.

"Focus on the rhythm of the fire, match your own breath with it and take control of the fire and then let the flames die."

Kiyi was astonished, but nodded. "Alright, I will try!"

"No!" Toph interrupted her instantly. "Do it or leave it, Firefly! There is no try!"

Kiyi took a deep breath. She felt the heat of the fire, the dancing flames. After some time, she felt the rhythm of it, but it was hard for her to make her breath matching with it. But suddenly she recognized the connection. Slowly she began to cool down the fire until all flames were gone. She hugged the earthbender with a joyful scream.

"Thank you, Toph. I couldn't have done this, without your help!"

Toph just laughed.

"Thank you, Firefly. But I'm sure you owe your brother also a hug. I think he helped a bit."

She nodded at the person behind Kiyi. As the kid turned around, she saw her brother, watching at both with a red mad face.

"Toph, what in all Agni Kais have you done with Kiyi? And Kiyi, why did you nearly burned half of the garden?"

Zuko was right. Kiyi looked terrible. She was over and over covered with dust and dirt. She had scratches on her hands and in the face and all the dirt was mixed up with her sweat to a disgusting and filthy mess, which covered the child from head to toe.

"We just had two hours of fun out here. And the tree was an accident. But I made the best out of it. As your new Left Hand, I have decided, that a half burned tree would make this trainings place classy!"

Toph's voice was joyful and she was about to pull Kiyi at her side to give Zuko a wide grin, when she recognized, that the kid had walked over to the tree. The child had picked up an old helmet, which had laid behind the tree. It was filled with cherries. She looked at it with a mixture of worry and grief. Zuko walked over to her.

"Are you alright?"

But the kid didn't react. She was still focused on the helmet.

"Kiyi...?"

Zuko touched his little sister at her arm. Kiyi winced and looked at her brother with tears in her eyes.

"Are you hurt?"

Zuko sounded worried but his sister shook her head.

"Are you still afraid about your mother. I think Ursa will be mad with me and not with you, Firefly."

Toph had also come to the siblings. Kiyi shook her head again and turned to her brother, burring her face in his robe, and started crying. Both knelt beside the kid.

"Then what's the matter?"

Zuko had hugged her, while he had asked. It took a moment, before Kiyi answered.

"Do you miss her, Zuzu?"

Both were facing the kid with a lack of understanding.

"Do I miss who?"

Zuko was confused, but his sister faced him with her big eyes.

"Our sister. Do you miss Azula?"

Zuko was stunned for a moment. He started to shake and his eyes widened. His voice was trembling.

"Why… How… How did you came to this question?"

Kiyi stayed focused on her brother.

"Since my return in the Palace, you often have been in her old room. And you have cried there, sometimes. And I know, that you always have a picture of her with you."

She showed him a picture of him and Azula, that the kid had taken out of his robe, while she had cried. Now Zuko stayed silence. He just watched at the picture of his sister, so Toph broke the silence

"Yes, he misses her very much, Kiyi."

"Toph! She doesn't need to worry about this!"

Zuko looked mad at the earthbender and Kiyi took a shocking gasp.

"Oh come on Zuko! With all these facts it's far too obvious, even if you wouldn't talk to Kiyi right now! And if your hopes will come true, it is something, that will affect her and her life! So don't tell her, she shouldn't care about that!"

Toph was even madder. Suddenly, Zuko reminded her at her parents, who also had tried to overprotect her, when she was a child. Kiyi noticed her anger, because the ground under the feet of the earthbender was filled with a cracking noise.

"So you hope to get her back in the Palace some day?"

Kiyis voice stunned the fire- and the earthbender. It sounded very hopeful!

"I think, this would be wonderful. I'm so happy to have my big brother, think about how much better it'll be to have a strong big brother and a strong big sister!"

Now Zuko was totally confused.

"But why? Didn't you know, what she had done. And don't try to play the innocent. You just proved, that you have heard much more, than we have told you?"

Kiyi nodded instantly, facing Zukos look.

"But she never did any harm to me! Yeah, I was scared at first, as I was kidnapped, but then I realized, that non of the kids were hurt. I don't believe, that she wanted to do any harm to them or me. I don't understand why she did that, but I'm sure that she wouldn't wanted to hurt me. On a strange way, I'm thankful for what has happened. She helped me to find out, that I'm a talented firebender. So I have forgiven her the kidnapping. And if her return would make you happy, I want to help you, as good as I can!"

The eyes of the kid got wet again. Also Zuko couldn't fight back some tears. Then both siblings gave each other a long hug.

"Alright, could everyone of you just stop with this crying stuff. This starts getting ridiculous."

Toph pulled Zuko up and away from his sister, but he didn't miss a little tear in the eye of the earthbender.

"Okay Toph. But you have to put the tree ba..."

~ SNAP! ~

Zuko was about to walk to the tree, when his belt snatched and his trousers dropped. Instantly, Kiyi felt down on the ground coughing and gasping, because she had to laugh so hard. Toph also had recognized, that Zuko must have lost his pants and laughed out loud. But Zuko was mad now.

"Toph, how did you done that? Is that the thing, what came to your mind, as you promised me a payback? A silly joke?"

But Toph was now also gasping for air. Zuko pulled his trousers up again and started trying to fix the snatched belt.

"Silly joke? I think it's a classic one! It's the first time in my life, that I'm really disappointed, that I cannot see! So think twice Zuko. I would prefer a payback, where I won't miss half of the fun!"

Toph was still giggling.

"Come on, let me help the Panty Lord with his belt."

She reshaped the metal belt buckle to a long needle, Zuko stitched them in both ends of his snatched belt und Toph curved the ends up, so the belt ends won't slip away. Zuko looked at Kiyi and Toph with anger but then all of them started to laugh.

"Oh spirits, KIYI!"

Ursas worried scream caught their attention. She was still on the other side of the garden, but she had seen the filthy mess, what seemed to was her little child about two hours ago. Kiyi sighed and bowed before Toph.

"Thank you Sifu Toph. Don't worry about my mother, I'll handle this. And Zuzu? Tell her, I'm sure, she'll be on your side. See you."

Toph smiled at Kiyi.

"Clever move, Firefly. I see you have learned fast."

Kiyi smiled back.

"I had a good teacher. Bye Toph, Bye Zuzu."

The kid rushed away followed by Ursa who was obviously more shocked, as she could see more results of the hard training at her daughter.

"She's a tough one and a clever kid. She reminds me of you, Zuko."

Toph was standing beside the Fire Lord. Zuko turned to the earthbender with surprise.

"Why do she reminds you of me? You called me a dragon-whelp, remember?"

Toph smiled at Zuko.

"I was just kidding. I think you are tough, too. You opposed your father. I know best of all, how hard this could be. You faced your sister, you helped to end an long war, you're doing a good job with the former colonies, you brought your mother back in the Palace. Oh, and beside all this, you're ruling a great nation. I could go on with this list, but I think even you got the point."

She gave Zuko a good thump on his shoulder.

"But if you tell this to anyone, then I'll kill you, Panty Lord."

Zuko touched her thankfully at her shoulder, but then he chanced subject.

"When did you learned so much about firebending?"

"As you taught Aang the firebending I had also listened carefully. And later I have discussed this knowledge a lot with Iroh in Ba Sing Se. The way firebenders are controlling and directing their Chi had caught my attention."

She breathed in and stamped on the ground, while she exhaled, causing a deep rumble in the earth. The whole place was shaking a bit. Zuko watched her with a little shock. He could also swear, that the ground under his feet had heated up a bit.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Toph had a victorious smile on her lips.

"Indeed."

He was still watching the earthbender with astonishment, as he reminded himself at the reason, why he had come to the trainings place.

"Did you found any hint at the wagon?"

Toph took of her metal bangle and reshaped a symbol for Zuko. It showed a three-headed dragon.

"It was hard to uncover. They were carved off very well. But to my luck the metal remembered the old symbols deep inside. Do you know, who wear these symbol."

Zuko nodded.

"I do."

"I have ordered to arrest General Zao for further investigations. Major Shimasu told me, that there are problems with his equipment lists."

Toph sounded serious and Zuko's face got darker.

"So you think, he sold army equipment."

Toph nodded.

"Yes, and with the wagon, we have enough evidences to start further investigations."

"Good job, Toph. But it still puzzles me, that he had removed all signs on the wagon. If he had left them on it, we would have been on his track instantly, but he could have used different excuses. It had meant some trouble for him, but nothing, he couldn't handle. At least as long as I have to stay to the law."

Zuko sounded deeply worried and Toph caught up his idea.

"So you think, that an even bigger fish is stinking in the town?"

Zuko took Toph's shoulder to signal her, to went back in the Palace.

"I think we must talk to doctor Hong as soon, as possible. I have ordered him to come here to the Palace, but he had send me a message, that he couldn't come yet. Due to his message, he suffers from an infection, he got from the wound, he had taken and he had to rest some days, before we can interrogate him."

Toph nodded, but she was also rubbing her chin.

"A strange coincidence. But okay, anyway I want to check the place first, where the police has found the wagon. But let's have dinner. I'm really hungry now."

Zuko started to laugh again.

"Now you remind me of Sokka!"

"Hey, that was mean! I like that" Toph laughed with Zuko. "Maybe I should forget my compliment, that you remind me at Kiyi."

But Zuko laughed impish at her.

"I'm fine with this. She reminds me more about Azula, anyway."

"Oh poor Zuzu,..." Tophs voice was full of a joyfull pity. "...then you must really have had a hard childhood. I bet she had kicked your butt every single day!"

To his surprise, he had to laugh about this joke.

After Toph and the Fire Lord had left the trainings place a cloaked man left the shadow of a pillar, opened a secret door and was gone.