Hello everyone! Time for new chapter. Stat Chart:
Reviewers:
None
Views:
2,529+
Alrighty. We've got a new face here, some actions, and yeah. Enjoy!
Akira's stirring a pot of Flameo Instant Noodles when he sees Tamayo walk down the steps, looking a bit disheveled.
"Oh, hey Tamayo. I was just making a snack, want some?"
Tamayo nods her head and replies, "Yes, please."
Akira grabs a second bowl and pours them both some noodles. They take a seat on the couch and dig in.
"How was your trip to the Fire Nation?" Akira asks.
"It was…interesting."
"Oh? Anything noteworthy happening over there?"
"Just the usual."
The two quiet down after the brief discussion and finish their meals.
"Alright, I'm off. Kasem said he could use me for some wielding on one of his projects. I'll see you around."
"Okay. Bye."
Akira grabs both their bowls and places them in the sink before leaving, not forgetting to give her a kiss on the cheek on the way out.
Walking through the familiar streets of Republic City make the former prisoner feel…nostalgic. He'd wrapped his forehead with a bandana and put a hat on to avoid prying eyes.
He takes note of the newly grown spirit vines with little interest, focusing on getting to his destination.
Eventually, he stands before a modest looking building. While the occupants weren't directly his family, he had once seen them as such, and still does to an extent.
He knocks on the door and it opens. Yumi stands dumbstruck, staring at the man.
"Hello, Lady Yumi."
"Cain. How unexpected."
"Yes, the White Lotus in charge of guarding me had to evacuate during this Water Tribe Civil War. In that time I was free to let myself out. May I come in?"
Yumi nods and steps aside, letting the new arrival walk in.
"I see you're keeping the place clean, as usual." He remarks, standing in the center of the livingroom.
"Yes…what are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to visit my family. Is that so malevolent?"
"Of course not."
"Hm. Might I see dear Jun? It has been a while."
"Of course, but she may be sleeping right now."
"Ah, I suppose I shouldn't bother her then."
Cain then walks up to Yumi and asks, "I don't suppose I could bother you for a few yuan? I'm rather strapped for cash at the moment."
"Yes. I can lend you a bit of money."
"I would appreciate it."
Yumi grabs a small handful of yuan and, with a slightly trembling hand, gives it to Cain.
"Thank you. I'll see myself out."
Cain exits the house, leaving Yumi to let out a breath of relief. She immediately go to the phone.
"Hello? Hao? We've got a...situation."
Cain continues his walk around Republic City, stopping to get a bite to eat and a drink before stopping at the park to take a seat. He closes his eyes and breathes in a deep breath of air, letting it out immediately after.
"It's good to see you again, Hao."
Cain opens his eyes and looks to his left to see Hao, sitting nearby, eyes narrowed.
"How did you escape?"
"White Lotus left. To be honest, I'm surprised I made it here."
"What're you planning this time?"
Cain takes a moment to think before answering, "I plan…on resting and recuperating. After that, I'm…I don't know."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not. Look, I know you and I don't have the best track record-"
"Really? You killed my son."
"Not intentionally! You know that. Look, I served my time. I'm done fighting."
"I don't believe you."
"Believe what you want. I'm not in the best shape to do anything." Cain stands up and stretches, and Hao notices his thinning frame. "I'm going to visit more family now, if that's alright with you."
"Just watch yourself. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"I wouldn't expect any less."
By that point, Cain is walking away. Having seen Yumi again, Cain's thoughts drift to Akira. Her only decent child.
It's been a long time since I've seen the kid. He's probably all grown up now. Shouldn't be too hard to find him.
Doing a bit of tracking, Cain finds a quaint little house. The door is open though. Curious, he steps in and walks in on a rage inducing scene.
[Earlier]
Tamayo decided to stay home that day, leaving the Burning Heart to Tamako. Being alone at the house gave her the opportunity to relax for once.
A small jellyfish spirit suddenly appears, floating above Tamayo's head as she's laying on her bed.
"Oh. Hello, little spirit." She greets.
The jellyfish continues floating, giving Tamayo a single spin.
"Cute."
The jellyfish then plants itself beside Tamayo's head, not shocking her.
"Guess spirit jellyfish aren't electric. Neat." Tamayo pokes the jellyfish, making it slightly jiggle. "I shall name you Jelly."
An abrupt knocking on the door draws her attention away from her new friend/pet. Jelly, now startled, floats away and disappears through a wall.
"Ugh, whoever that is better have a good reason for making me get out of bed." Tamayo rants as she storms downstairs. "Who is it-" She starts, only to receive a punch to the nose, causing her to step back, making it to the livingroom.
The sharp pain disorients Tamayo, who is punched in the stomach. She falls to the ground, the wind knocked out of her she gasps for air, her vision swimming.
"Lucky us, she's all alone." A man's voice says.
"How're you so sure she's alone?" Another voice asks.
"No one's here after all the commotion, meaning no one else is in the house."
"Alright, so what now? We kidnap her, right?"
"Not just yet. Bitch runs a whorehouse. She must be pretty good herself."
A rough hand grabs Tamayo's throat, pushing her back to the ground. She tries to feebly claw at her assaulter, but is quickly losing consciousness.
All of a sudden, a sharp pain can be felt in her chest before the weight is lifted off. A ruckus is heard following that.
[Present]
Cain storms over to the closest attacker and swiftly snaps his neck. The second one, upon seeing his companion dead, goes to stab the girl.
He only manages to get the blade a short ways in, as Cain grabs his arm and carries him outside, throwing him as they exit.
Cain tears off his bandana and, with incredible speed, sends a swift blast into the assaulter's chest and head. There's nearly no noise, and no explosion afterwards. All that's left is a corpse with two holes in its body.
Done with the attacker, Cain returns inside to check on the girl. He uses his bandana to press against the stab wound until it stops bleeding. He then quickly searches around for medical supplies and finds some. He proceeds to clean and bandage the wound.
Tamayo, for her part, reorients herself after receiving the medical assistance. Cain seems to notice this as well and says, "Easy there. That seemed to be quite the ordeal. How're you feeling now?"
"Head still hurts, nose is sore, but otherwise I seem fine. Thanks for the help."
"You're welcome. You're lucky I was on my way here."
"Oh? How come? I hope you aren't here to kidnap or rape me too."
"No! That's the very opposite of what I wanted to do. I wanted to see Akira is all."
"Uh, sorry, I'm Tamayo. You are?"
"Cain."
Realization springs into Tamayo's eyes. "What're you doing back here in Republic City? Last I heard you were freezing in the North Pole." To her credit, Tamayo doesn't freak out. Of course that would be difficult due to her current predicament.
"Long story short, I was given the opportunity to escape. Don't worry though, I'm not here to cause trouble."
"Right. You'll have to excuse me if I don't believe you." Tamayo remarks, getting to her feet, only to sit on the couch. "I'll be fine now. If you could, could you get rid of the bodies?"
"Yeah. I was just thinking that." Cain grabs the nearby corpse and goes to leave, shutting the door behind him.
Now alone again, Tamayo ponders the latest event.
That fucking asshole sent his men to kidnap me. That one guy probably wanted me on his own, so that was unlucky for me. At least Cain came by to help. Cain. What's he doing here? Out of the entire world, he comes to Republic City. I guess we'll all need to keep an eye on him.
By the time everyone else gets back home Tamayo's nose and head feel better, and her chest wound had healed a fair bit. She informed everyone about the attack though, and Amako immediately calls Amai. The protective aunt tells them that she'll personally handle the situation, and expects the business to be shut down or the man responsible to be thrown in prison.
The information about Cain being in Republic City also puts everyone in alarm mode. They weren't able to do anything to the man at the moment, so they'd have to stick with keeping an eye on him.
Now, Akira and Tamayo lay on his bed. The former is massaging the latter's shoulders.
"I'm glad you're ok. I'd be distraught if they managed to kidnap or even kill you."
"Hm. You're good at this."
"Thanks."
A few minutes later Akira says he has to leave, off to see the upcoming Press Conference.
Tamayo hops off the bed to grab a drink. With Cain in the city, everyone could definitely use one.
Akira arrives at City Hall, where President Raiko is in the middle of a Press Conference. The young Firebender stands with Asami as the conference proceeds.
"Mr. President, are you concerned that your approval ratings are now nearly as low as the Avatar's?"
Another reporter with a feathered hat raises his hand in the air and asks, "Have you seen today's headline? It says, 'Raik-Oh-No. Polls pan, Prez plans!'"
What the hell kind of headline is that? Akira thinks.
"I'm not concerned with snappy put-downs in the press. I'm facing this calamity just like every other citizen. There's a tree growing right through my office. You think I'm not doing everything I can to get rid of it?"
Korra decides to make her appearance then, flying in on a glider. She uses a bit of air to cushion her fall, ruffling Raiko's hair and glasses, which he smooths over and fixes.
A random reporter asks, "A few questions, please!"
"Avatar Korra! Do you regret the way you handled the Unalaq crisis?"
"Why are you forcing the integration of spirits in Republic City?"
Korra says, "Listen, I've been trying everything I can think of to get rid of these vines, but-"
She's interrupted by yet another reporter asking, "Why can't you fix this?"
"Are the vines here to stay?"
"Is this part of your New World Order?"
"Look! Harmonic Convergence was just a couple weeks ago. I just need a little more time to get everything back to normal."
Raiko steps forward and speaks up, saying, "The Avatar has put us all in a very difficult position, but my administration-"
Korra interrupts this time, exclaiming, "Oh! I'm sorry. Did I put you in a difficult position by fighting the spiritual force of evil that was going to destroy the whole World? Maybe your administration could've handled that!"
Lin breaks the two apart announcing, "That's all! No more questions!"
With the conference ended, Akira and Asami approach their Avatar.
"This is a disaster." She comments.
"Don't worry, we'll figure something out." Asami reassures.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have my poll numbers. Eight percent approval? Who were they asking?"
"You can't take that to heart. People are just frustrated." Akira states.
"I don't blame them. I should be able to fix this. I'm the Avatar."
The three decide to return to Air Temple Island for dinner. Upon arrival they see Bumi acting a bit put out.
"What's up with him?" Korra asks, sitting beside Bolin while Asami and Akira stand to the side.
"Bumi says he Airbended earlier, but he can't now. Oh, and I guess he's not very good at knitting either. I gotta say, I love being a part of this family. You got the grumpy dad, the wacky uncle. The put-upon Mom, crazy kids. This is great."
"Where's Mako?" Asami asks, wondering where her boyfriend is.
"Oh, you mean the brooding teenager? He's busy at the police station."
"Still?" Korra asks.
"I told him he should take a break, but he said, 'he had to focus on work.'" Bolin answers with a Mako impression.
"Well, he is a detective now. Makes sense he'd a have a lot of work with all the spirits and such." Akira rationalizes. "If you want, Asami, I can arrange a little get together for you two."
"Oh, that's fine. I'll just stop by the headquarters and visit him later."
"Oh! Did you see that? I think the napkin moved!" Bumi suddenly exclaims.
"You blew on it." Kya states.
"Wait! Maybe I can only do it when my life is in danger. Bolin, bend a giant boulder at me."
"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea." He claims.
Pema then states, "If you're gonna be bending giant boulders, you can do it outside."
"No one is bending giant boulders!" Tenzin exclaims.
"Look alive, Uncle Bumi!" Meelo declares, throwing a plate at the man.
Bumi reacts by closing his eyes and instinctively surrounding the plate in a sphere of air. Everyone looks dumbfounded. He opens his eyes and exclaims, "Ah! I told you!"
"Unbelievable. You're actually an Airbender."
"Wait until I tell Mom. She's gonna love this."
Just as Bumi says this, he drops the plate onto the ground with a crash.
With dinner now forgotten, everyone decides to retire for the night to think on the recent event. Akira and Korra sit on her bed and discuss the exciting event.
"Can you believe it! Bumi is an Airbender! This is amazing!" Korra says excitedly.
"I know. Do you think maybe he's just a late bloomer? Well, a very late bloomer."
"I don't know. Wow, this is all so exciting."
"I know. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get any sleep tonight."
"I feel the same. What should we do to calm down?"
Akira lets out an awkward cough, a blush on his face. "Well…we could…uh…"
Korra catches on. "Oh. Uh, yeah! I mean, if you want to."
"Hah, look at us. We've already had sex twice and we're still nervous about broaching the subject."
"I know. Funny, right?"
Both let out soft laughs before going quiet. They begin small, with kisses and feeling. Then, they move on to the more intimate and physical pleasures.
Cain, walking around the city in the dead of night, makes his way to a cemetery.
He soon arrives at his destination and walks to a certain headstone with practiced steps. The name written upon the headstone reads: Chūji. Cain kneels down with a solemn face.
"Hello, Chūji. I know it's been a while since we last spoke. Your father isn't very happy to see me, which is understandable. I'm…sorry. I know you can't hear me, and that no matter how many times I say this it won't bring you back."
Cain tightens his hands into fists and plants them firmly into the ground.
"I should've been faster. I should've been more precise in my shot. I should've…I should've been better."
A gentle hand finds its place on Cain's shoulder, shocking the man. He looks up and sees Yumi of all people standing beside him.
"Despite my family's distrust of you, I can still find it in my heart to comfort you."
"You've always been the kindest of your siblings, Lady Yumi."
Yumi kneels beside Cain with a small smile.
"I have to be. We're a military family, with the few oddities."
"You seemed terrified when I first showed up. Why are you acting so kind now?"
"Because it's as you said, I'm kind. I was actually on my way to see Chūji here when I saw you."
"I see." Cain stares at the gravestone and remembers a simpler time.
[Flashback]
A young Cain is sitting against a tree in the Royal Garden, dazing off.
"Hey there Cain." Yumi greets.
Cain quickly jumps up and bows. "Lady Yumi!"
"No need for all that. How have you been?"
"I've been doing fine, thank you for asking."
"Good to hear. I already said hi to your brother, so I thought I'd check up on you."
"You don't always have to check up on me. And you don't always need to look out for me."
Yumi tilt her head and crosses her arms, planting a smile on her face as she says, "Oh? I didn't realize. My apologies."
Cain sits back down against the tree, and Yumi follows his lead, sitting beside him.
"No, I'm sorry. That was rude."
"Are you sure you're doing ok?"
Cain sighs, closing his eyes. "Before coming here, I was the one to look after Apollos in Ba Sing Se. Then suddenly I learn that Fire Lord Zuko is our father. I guess I'm expecting everything to be a lie, and you'll all throw us back into the streets."
"What? We'd never do that." Yumi states. She wraps Cain in a hug, continuing with, "I don't know what it's like to grow up in the Lower Ring, but I want you to know that we'd never just throw you to the streets. If you ever think like that again, I'll spank you so hard your ancestors will feel it. Understand?"
Cain nods his head fervently.
"Good. Now come along. I brought you the new book you wanted."
Cain rests a smile on his face as he follows his elder.
[Present]
Cain opens his eyes and sniff once, wiping his eyes. "I should get back to my apartment. It's getting late."
"Of course."
As Cain begins to leave, Yumi calls out his name. He turns around and looks at her.
"I hope you aren't here to cause problems. If you're genuine in your retirement, then I'll put in a good word for you with the others. If not…"
"I understand. Thank you. Of course, heh, you don't always need to look after me."
"You're like a son to me. I'll always try to look out for you."
Cain looks to the ground, his expression softening. He wishes Yumi a good night before returning to his apartment room.
A short while later he collapses on the bed, drifting off into a dreamless slumber.
And that's it for this chapter. Meet Cain. He's a particular individual. And Tamayo should've just killed those two goons that followed her before. Oh well. See y'all next chapter!
Reviews would be appreciated
Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I'll see you next chapter
