The Next Generation

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the long break, but holidays are stressful and unfortunately, work gets busy this time of year. Being a bouncer is no easy task! Heheh...But anyway, here's the next installment! Again, sorry for the time it took for me to get it up, and thanks for being patient!

TEAM KAZOR
Thousand Smiles,

ButterflyKai

Chapter 29: You Are….My Fire

Previously, on Avatar…..

Yue received a letter from Shun, letting her know that he was getting married. Qui, who was asking somewhat suspicious questions, accidentally mistook a question from Yue, telling her that Lu Ten must be upset that she was excited for Shun's wedding.

After thinking this over, Yue became very distraught, and secluded herself after telling Lu Ten that he can't accept her if he didn't accept her relationship with Shun. Lu Ten, of course, was greatly confused as to why she was upset, and became very angry, storming off. Haku, in attempt to mend everything, went after him, bringing Qui.

Haku, realizing that Lu Ten would not listen to reason, started a fight with his roommate, leaving Qui standing there awkwardly.

Lu Ten shot a stream of fire at Haku, who was still protected by his rock wall. Haku punched the ground, causing a rock to jut out of the ground, right in front of Lu Ten, who flipped backward to avoid it. He ran at Haku, slamming a fiery fist into the rock wall, causing it to crack. Haku punched it back, causing it to encase Lu Ten's fist, and the prince struggled to free his hand.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Haku!" Lu Ten shouted, glaring. Haku hit the wall, causing it all to crumble, except the part trapping Lu Ten's hand.

"You never listen to reason, that's what!"

"What are you talking about!"

Haku sighed. "You need to talk to Yue. You know that you aren't mad at her. You are mad at yourself."

Lu Ten stared at him.

"Yue is mad at me, if I try to talk to her, she'll just get upset."

"Yue is not mad at you, and you know that. She is hurt. Somewhere along the way, there was a misunderstanding, and she is just hurt."

"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" Lu Ten sighed as Haku released him.

"Well, if I was Yue in this situation," Haku began, smiling slightly, "I would love to have you sneak out at night, risking your freedom and such to come apologize in my room…."

Lu Ten considered this.

"But that's just me." Haku smiled, a bit sadly. Lu Ten nodded.

"No, see, that's a good idea. You and Yue think the same. So, you'll help me out, right?" Lu Ten gave Haku a pleading look. Haku nodded, smiling.

"Thanks, Haku." Then Lu Ten looked to Qui, glaring a bit. "You better not rat us out."

"Why would I do that?" Qui asked simply. "I have nothing to do with it."

"Um, why would you need to lie about that?" Haku tilted his head. "It's not like you had anything to do with it."

Qui looked away from them. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What do you know?" Haku asked suspiciously.

"Well, Yue was concerned about you, Lu Ten, and asked me about it."

"Why was she concerned?" Lu Ten asked suspiciously. Qui shrugged.

"I guess she thought you were acting a bit weird."

"But that was because of you."

"Me?" Qui stared, confused.

"You were saying all this weird stuff about getting girls and stuff, and it made me really uncomfortable. It had nothing to do with Yue."

"Oh, well, I was only asking that out of pure curiosity."

"Lies!" Haku smirked, pointing dramatically at Qui, who blinked.

"It's alright, Haku. If he doesn't want to tell us what girl he wants, he doesn't have to."

"I don't really have time for a girlfriend," Qui said, adjusting his glasses. "After all, I have to study and practice my bending. Having a girlfriend would be a distraction to me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lu Ten glared.

"Nothing. Just that it wouldn't work out for me."

"Yeah, well, come on, Haku." Lu Ten went back inside.

"Yue?" Kaya cautiously entered her room, seeing Yue lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"It's not like Lu Ten to do something like that…." Yue said quietly, not looking at her cousin. Kaya sighed.

"You're right. It isn't like him. Which is why this is just a huge misunderstanding. You should probably go talk to him."

"No, I can't go talk to him…. I wouldn't know what to say."

There was then a light knock on the window. Yue and Kaya curiously got up and went to the window, where Lu Ten was standing sheepishly on a large pillar that Haku had made. Haku was standing behind him, smiling.

"Can I come in?" Lu Ten asked, his face tinting a little. Yue blushed, nodding. Lu Ten and Haku stepped in, Lu Ten gently took Yue's hands.

"Yue, I am very happy that Shun is getting married. I know how special he is to you, and you are very special to me. I would never be jealous of your relationship with your brother."

Yue bit her lower lip, her blush darker than before. Lu Ten kissed her gently, then just held her lovingly.

"I love you, Yue. I would never do anything to hurt you."

Yue smiled slightly.

"I love you, too, Lu Ten…."

Haku and Kaya exchanged pleased glances.

Within the weeks that followed, Yue received countless letters from Shun about the wedding plans. He sent her sketches, plans, and even samples of the color scheme, flowers, and fabrics for the clothes.

The bride's name was Kiara, and she was a few years younger than Shun. When the wedding was only a couple days away, Yue, Kaya, Lu Ten, Haku, and even Qui, left for the village that Kiara lived in. They took a train to the docks, then a boat to the Earth Kingdom, then an ostrich-horse drawn carriage out to the village, which was rather far into the wilderness.

The village was made of stone cottages in a rather barren area, which seemed to have been once full of life. When the carriage stopped, Yue jumped out of it, running into her brother's arms. Shun smiled and hugged her tightly. Lu Ten, Kaya, Haku, and Qui weren't far behind her.

"Welcome to Kishi," Shun said, shrugging, with a nervous smile.

"I can see why they needed missionaries…." Qui muttered. Shun nodded slightly.

"This used to be a proud farming village with crops and foliage covering the area," Shun explained as he led them through the village. "But back when there was the war, this place was taken by the firebenders, and the land hasn't been the same since. It's very difficult to grow anything, and to get any food, the villagers had to travel very far."

"Why didn't they just move?" Kaya asked.

"Because, this is their home. They were born and raised here. They are connected to this place on a very deep level. And they had no money with which to move, even if they had wanted to."

"So then, how are you helping them?" Yue asked.

"By helping rejuvenate this soil. By working the land, we can try to make the once life-giving soil return to the way it was before the war. Then the farmers can grow their crops once again."

Yue smiled up at her brother. He led them to a little cottage, and they went inside, seeing a beautiful young girl sewing something.

"Kiara," Shun said, his voice softening. She looked up and smiled at them.

"Kiara, this is my sister, Yue."

Kiara stood up and bowed slightly. "It's nice to finally meet you. Shun has told me so much about you."

"Yes," Yue smiled. "He's told me a lot about you, too." Aki sniffed toward Kiara, and she patted his head.

"This must be Aki," Kiara laughed lightly as the little critter climbed up to her shoulder, sniffing her head, then leapt back into Yue's arms.

"And this is my cousin Kaya," Shun gestured toward the Air Bender.

"I'm one of the only three Air Benders." Kaya said proudly. "I'm the Avatar's daughter."

"I am very honored," Kiara bowed. Kaya smirked.

"And Lu Ten, the Fire Prince." Shun indicated Lu Ten.

"It is also an honor to meet you," Kiara bowed again, but her voice had lost its light-heartedness. Lu Ten nodded to her, a slight smile on his lips.

"And I'm Haku!" Haku said quickly. "Haku Bei Fong!"

"Yes, you are Toph Bei Fong's….child!" Kiara smiled.

"He's a boy," Shun said awkwardly, and Kiara blushed a bit.

"It's fine!" Haku laughed.

"And who might you be?" Kiara asked Qui. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.

"My name is Qui. I am no one of importance."

"He's a close personal friend!" Kaya said quickly, and Qui nodded hesitantly.

Shun ushered the three boys out, leaving Kaya and Yue with Kiara, who went back to her sewing.

"You're a lot prettier than I thought you'd be," Kaya said, and Yue hit her arm, giving her a nervous look. Kiara laughed.

"Why thank you, Kaya. I must say that the two of you are a bit younger than I expected. The way Shun talks about you, how brave and skilled you both are, I didn't expect you to be so young."

"We're fifteen…." Kaya muttered. Kiara smiled.

"I thought you would be older. And a little more….rebellious."

"More rebellious?" Kaya smirked. "I'm plenty rebellious!"

Yue nodded, smiling a little.

"Obviously not enough to take down your enemies." Kiara muttered. Yue and Kaya exchanged confused glances.

"What do you mean?" Yue asked curiously.

"I know that Yue will like Kiara!" Shun said as he led the boys to the field where the other missioners were digging large pits.

"Well, that's not really a problem," Lu Ten said. "Yue pretty much likes everyone. It's Kaya you have to worry about liking people."

"Haha! That's true!" Shun smiled. "I know that Kiara will love Yue, too. After all, there isn't much not to love about her."

Lu Ten smiled, keeping his reply to himself. He felt a little uncomfortable in the village of Kishi. It seemed like people were staring at him. He wasn't scarred like his father, so this kind of shocked him. They weren't glaring, or staring in awe, as some would expect, but simply staring, emotionless. Their expressions were not unlike the one Kiara had had when greeting him. He couldn't understand their behavior, and it put him on edge. He didn't like being away from Yue, which made him feel even more awkward. In situations such as this, she was usually the one to calm him.

That night, the girls slept in Kiara's little house, and the boys slept next door in the home of Kiara's cousin Hu Long. When everyone had fallen asleep, Lu Ten got up and crept out and peeked in the window of Kiara's house.

"Yue…." He whispered, seeing that she was the closest to the window, not surprisingly, since she was bathed in moonlight.

"Hm?" Yue slowly opened her eyes. She smiled a bit and stood up, glancing back at Kaya and Kiara, both of whom were still fast asleep. Aki poked his head out from under Yue's blankets and hurried into her arms. Lu Ten helped her climb out of the window, and they walked a little way from the village, to where the pits were being dug.

"Have you noticed how people look at me here?" Lu Ten asked awkwardly. Yue bit her lower lip and looked away from him.

"It's because you're a fire bender….. Firebenders destroyed their homes…."

Lu Ten stared at her. "You don't think I'm like that, Yue, do you?"

"No, of course not…."

"Good. Because Yue, you are my fire. My one desire." He kissed her gently, causing her to blush.