Avatar Zero
Chapter 14: Making Money
The next week passed uneventfully. Other than Sukasin, that is.
Sukasin seemed to always be able to think of something she needed Sukuso to pick up in town. She also was able to think of all kinds of excuses to why she couldn't do it herself.
So, to keep her from telling her father or Kunju about Sukuso's frequent trips into the outside world, Sukuso did what she said. After thinking about it, Sukuso realized that Sukasin was just making it worse by sending him out so much.
Sukuso didn't mind much though. It was better than being stuck inside his room when he wasn't in training or sitting with everyone for their meals.
Besides being able to get outside, this also gave him a chance to find a few pieces of money. He would scan the ground for any coins people might have dropped. He had found about fifteen pieces this way. And after Sukuso bought something for Sukasin, she sometimes let him keep the change.
In total, Sukuso had two gold pieces, seven silver pieces, and twelve copper pieces. It wasn't much, and he still had a ways to go in order to get enough to get on board the earth kingdom bound ship.
There was a voyage leaving sometime that day, but Sukuso didn't have enough. Sukuso actually met the sailor he had spoken to before on one of his outings, and asked him when the next trip would be. The sailor said they would return in about three weeks. They would wait another week or so after that, and then go back again. That gave Sukuso about a month to get all the money together. He wasn't sure if he could make it, but he certainly had to try.
The coins he had found he kept in a bag Sukasin had given to him. He kept it hidden in his clothes when possible, and hid it under his blankets when he slept. So far, his savings hadn't been discovered. Sukuso was hopeful that it would stay that way.
"Students," Sou Shin stated loudly, pulling Sukuso from his thoughts, "I must step out for a moment. You may practice amongst yourselves, but do be careful."
Sou Shin turned and walked away. The students remained quiet and still until he was out of the training hall. Then all of them, except for Sukuso, faced each other.
"Okay," a boy said. "Who's up today?"
"I'll go," another boy volunteered. "I haven't had a good match in a while."
"All right," the first boy said, "so who wants to go up again Tan?"
"I won't, but I'll put in five silver pieces for the winner," a girl said, reaching into a pouch.
"Five silver pieces?" a boy asked. "I'm putting in three gold pieces!"
The other students started to throw various coins into a pile. Sukuso was confused.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Sukasin, who was standing near him, looked at him.
"Oh, that's right," she said. "You're new. Master Sou Shin leaves for errands during class all the time. While he's gone, we set up fights with each other. The winner gets that pile of money."
"Really?" Sukuso asked softly.
Sukuso watched the other students as the pile grew slightly. Then he got an idea.
"I'll do it!" Sukuso declared, stepping forward. "I'll fight Tan."
The students looked at him, including Tan.
"The new kid?" Tan asked. "This will be easy!"
"Do you have any money?" the boy who started the competition asked. "You have to put in at least two silver pieces to compete."
"Oh," Sukuso said softly. He was okay with the fight if it was a chance to get money, but it was also a chance to lose money if he had to put money into the pile as well.
But that was a risk he was going to have to take.
Sukuso reached into his shirt and pulled out his pouch. He took out two silver pieces and dropped them into the pile, like the boy had said.
"Then we're ready to go," the first boy said. "Take your places."
The other students stood back as Sukuso and Tan faced each other in the center of the hall. There was a rectangle drawn on the floor. Tan stood on one side, and Sukuso took the other.
It's a long shot, Sukuso thought. But if I manage to win, that will be a lot of money. I'll be that much closer to home. I have to try.
"First one to leave the ring loses," the boy in charge said. "This is an 'anything goes' match. Now let the battle begin!"
Tan wasted no time. He widened his stance and shot a fist forward. Flames erupted in front of him and flew towards Sukuso.
Sukuso ducked a little and leaned out of the way. He shot his own stream of flames back at Tan. Tan dodged the same way.
Tan ran up to Sukuso and pushed him with both palms. A surge of fire appeared as Sukuso fell backward. Sukuso landed near the boundary of the rectangle. Tan lifted a foot and brought it down towards Sukuso.
Sukuso caught his foot and tried to flip him out of the ring. Tan twisted in the air and grabbed onto Sukuso's wrist as Sukuso released Tan's foot. Tan landed easily on the ground and then spun around, throwing Sukuso into the air. Tan released Sukuso, sending him tumbling to the other side of the ring.
Sukuso landed hard. He grunted.
He's . . . really good, he thought.
Tan ran towards Sukuso again. He twirled around, sending a stream of flames around him as he went. He continued to twirl as Sukuso stood up. Sukuso ducked below the flames spinning out around Tan. As Tan reached Sukuso, he lifted a leg, kicking Sukuso in the chest. Sukuso stumbled back, almost stepping out of the rectangle.
Sukuso didn't have much time to get his bearings again before the spiral of fire blew towards him. Sukuso fell onto this knees to get away. The fire went just over his head.
He's really good! Sukuso thought. He keeps attacking before I can. I can't get anything in. He's predicting my moves . . .
Tan stopped spinning. He scrapped the toe of his shoe against the ground while doing so, sending flames into the air like dust.
Sukuso quickly jumped over them, but Tan was ready for him. He had also jumped into the air. He swung a leg at him, throwing Sukuso again to the ground.
Sukuso grunted on impact. He then groaned. Tan landed next to him. He put a foot on Sukuso's chest.
"You're so predictable," he said. "This is much too easy. Why don't you just give up?"
Sukuso growled.
I can't give up, he thought. I need that money to get home! But he's too experienced . . . he's been training in firebending a lot longer than I have . . .
Sukuso then thought of something.
I haven't trained in fire bending for long . . . but I have trained in earthbending. Sukuso's eyes widened. If he isn't familiar with that style . . .
Tan lifted his foot again and tried to bring it down on Sukuso. Sukuso rolled out of the way. He flipped onto this feet. He widened his stance and held both arms out in front of him a little. A stance Master Soshi had taught him.
Tan looked a little taken back, but stood firm. He pushed a fist forward towards him. A blast of fire appeared and rushed towards Sukuso. Sukuso leaned to the side carefully without loosing his footing. He then slapped the ground in front of him with both hands.
If Sukuso was an earthbender, this move would have normally sent a layer of earth upwards and roll it towards the target. But because Sukuso was a firebender, a blanket of fire appeared instead.
The fire went towards Tan. Tan held both arms in front of him. The fire split when it approached him and passed on both sides, leaving him unharmed.
Although the attack hadn't effected him, he did look confused. He had faced other firebenders before, but hadn't seen fire used like that.
Sukuso concentrated and lifted his hands from the floor. He did it in a way that would normally raise a tower of rock. Instead, a column of fire appeared. Sukuso lifted a leg and kicked towards it. The fire flew towards Tan.
Tan tried to split this attack like he had the other, but couldn't. It pushed him back.
Sukuso leaned forward a little and ran towards him. He charged into Tan, pushing him back even further. Tan stumbled for a moment, and then regained his footing. He looked up at Sukuso and growled.
"Why you . . ." he started.
"Match over!" the boy who had started the match declared. "Sukuso is the winner!"
"What?" Tan yelled. Then he looked down at his feet. His right heel was outside of the rectangle.
"I lost?" he cried.
Sukuso let out a relieved sigh and wiped his forehead. The other students clapped for him.
Sukuso walked towards them. The moved away from him, letting him get to the pile of money.
"That was so cool!" a girl said. "Can you teach me that, Sukuso?"
"Aw, it wasn't that great," a boy bragged. "I could take him."
"You could not!" another boy said.
Sukuso ignored them. He smiled at the coins as he swept them into his bag. He had nearly doubled his savings. It still wasn't enough to get him to the earth kingdom, but he was well on his way.
Sukasin knelt down and started helping him put the coins in the bag. He looked at her. She smiled warmly at him.
"You did really well, Sukuso," she grinned.
Sukuso wasn't sure what to say to her, so he nodded.
"Um, thank you," he said.
They put the last of the coins into his pouch and then he put it back in his shirt. Just then, Sou Shin walked back into the training hall. All of the students looked at him.
"I am back, students," he said. "Let's pick up where we left off."
That night . . .
The dinner table was very quiet that night. For whatever reason, no one was speaking.
Sukuso didn't really mind, or notice. He mostly just ignored their conversations anyway.
The silence did, however, bother Sukasin, who didn't like quiet. She had to think of something to get everyone talking.
"Sukuso won a fight today," she said.
Sukuso looked at her, surprised. He wasn't used to be dragged into a conversation.
"Oh, really?" Kunju asked.
"He did really well," Sukasin nodded. "Sou Shin left for a while like usual, and Sukuso volunteered to be in the fight. He won!"
"Isn't that supposed to be a secret?" Sukuso asked quietly.
"Oh, no," Sukasin giggled. "Master Sou Shin knows that we hold the fights while he's gone. He just doesn't say anything."
"Doesn't the winner get money?" Kunju asked slowly.
Sukuso gulped, trying to get his heart back into his chest.
"Sure does," Sukasin nodded. "Sukuso won quite a bit of money today."
"Is that so . . ." Kunju said, a little slyly. "What is it you plan to do with that money, Sukuso?"
Sukuso tried to think of something quickly, but nothing really came to mind. Fortunately, his mouth did the talking for him.
"I don't have any plans for it," he lied as calmly as he could. "But I won it so I might as well use it."
"Fair enough," Kunju shrugged. He smiled again. "I'm glad to see that you're learning from Master Sou Shin. You must be doing well, if you were able to win a fight against another student after just a week of training."
Sukuso rolled his eyes.
"Maybe of firebending," he muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kunju asked, confused.
Sukuso hesitated, realizing what he had said. What would Kunju do if he knew that Sukuso had won by copying earthbenders? He was so set on making Sukuso a full firebender.
Sukasin was still beaming.
"Sukuso was amazing!" she said. "He used moves I've never seen before."
"Oh?" Kunju asked softly.
Sukuso paused, but then closed his eyes. Sukasin had started the conversation. He had to finish it.
"I used earthbending," he admitted.
The group around the table looked confused. Sukuso didn't look at them.
"I used the techniques I was taught in the earth kingdom," he said. "The firebending style wasn't working for me, so I used what I learned there. The combination of earthbending stances and firebending did the trick."
Kunju looked at him, looking both curious and confused.
"Master Sou Shin said you were doing well," he said.
"Why does it matter?" Sukasin asked. "He won, right? He's still new at firebending. Let him use what he knows until he masters it."
Kunju paused, and then started to go back to eating.
"Very well," he said.
Kunju went back to eating in silence. Sukuso held in a sigh.
I was worried over nothing, he thought.
Sukuso started eating again. He didn't notice that Kunju was watching him carefully.
Sometime later . . .
Kunju stepped into the room silently. The man he had spoken to about Sukuso was already there, sitting on a cushion. Kunju went up to him and sat on another cushion in front of the man.
"What did you wish to see me about?" the man asked.
"It's about that boy," Kunju growled. "Sukuso. It's not working like we planned . . ."
"What is the matter?" he asked.
"He is still practicing what he's learned over in the earth kingdom," he hissed. His eyes narrowed angrily. "He's combining earthbending stances with our beloved firebending. It's just not right!"
"You must be patient with the boy, Kunju," the man cautioned. "His loyalties cannot be easily swayed. After all, he did grow up in that place. And he did not come here by choice."
"But he is a firebender," Kunju argued. "Sou Shin said a very natural one. I thought . . . I just thought he was getting used to it."
"Just keep your eye on him," the man ordered. "He needs time to adjust to all of these changes we're putting him through."
Kunju growled. He looked up at the man angrily.
"Why can't we just force it out of him?" he asked.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" the man asked. "He is still using the earth kingdom's fighting style. The earth kingdom is still in his heart. Do you think he will really betray that?"
Kunju growled and bowed his head.
"This should have been so simple!" he said.
The man paused and then lifted a hand. He placed it on Kunju's head.
"The heart is never simple," he said. "You must always remember that, my son."
Kunju looked up at him weakly.
"I don't want to let you down, Father," he said.
"You won't," was all his father said in return.