Saki woke up slowly, taking the time to stretch her body in her big bed before getting up. It had been a few days since Nanami left. Today, she was going to hang out with Miya and Hiroki. They agreed to meet at the park near the Fire Sages' Temple – the one where Nanami had a fight with her dad.

Her room was really spacious, overly decorated with expensive furniture – not to her liking though. Actually, the whole place was huge, and excessive. They had many more bedrooms than needed, with an army of servants, living in a separate aisle of the house.

Saki was the only daughter of Magistrate Dao and his wife Ying. Her parents were both born in influential noble families, and were raised in a traditional aristocratic way, having to marry someone from a noble rank. Of course, the same path was waiting for Saki, but the young lady didn't really share her parents' ideals.

All of her life, she had many servants attending her every need. Dao and Ying had been giving the best education to their child, employing the most competent teachers of the Fire Nation. They wanted her to be perfect in order to marry a good man in the future, maybe even the young Prince Iroh himself.

Her parents were strict with her, always telling her to behave when they had society receptions, inviting the most powerful families of the Fire Nation to their huge mansion. All nobles were the same; their only goal was to gain more popularity, and marry their children to the best possible match.

Saki never had the freedom to choose things in her life. Everything was already decided for her. Her clothes were picked by her mother, and her speech was dictated by her father. Perfect appearance, matching a perfect personality. All fake though. She never had the heart to tell her mother that the extravagant outfits she bought were ugly, and that she hated them. The only time she could be her true self was at school, with Nanami, Miya and Hiroki.

Saki was told, since a young age, to only hang out with kids of the same rank as her. However, on her first day at the Royal Fire Academy, as she was a shy girl, she sat at a table alone, waiting for the headmaster's speech, and Miya was the first person to talk to her. It was really nice talking to such a cheerful girl she thought that day. Shortly after, Nanami came, and the three girls had become inseparable since then. They were her first real friends, not just kids that stayed with her because of her father's status.

Hiroki was just the same as Nanami and Miya. He was nice to her, even if he didn't talk that much – she wasn't very talkative either. He always walked her home when they went back together, on the days Nanami was waiting for her brother. She became quite close to him, and was probably the closest to him among the three girls. Nanami and Miya always teased him, so they quarrelled a lot – it was never serious though.

Once out of bed, Saki dressed quickly, picking a random outfit in her wardrobe, and rushed out. She exited through the large gate of her family's estate, and headed towards the school to pick Miya up.

.:*~*:.

.:*~*:.

The sun had just risen over the horizon, but a young girl was already exercising in front of the Royal Fire Academy dorms. Miya was stretching her body in the empty backyard, warming up before her daily morning jogging. She would usually run for thirty minutes, but she had added firebending practice in anticipation of the upcoming midterm exams.

After working out for about an hour, Miya returned to the dorms, took a quick shower, and headed to the dining room where breakfast was served. She sat at a table with her roommate and other students.

Miya was a cheerful and outgoing girl, so she made friends in the dorms in no time. She enjoyed her new life as a boarding student. However, she sometimes missed her family back on Ember Island – especially her little brother – and felt homesick quite often during her first few weeks in the dorms. She was now used to living there though.

At first, it was really difficult not being able to see her family whenever she wanted to. It was unbearable, and she felt like crying every night. Her family was really close, so coming here to study was already a great deal for her. But, prioritizing her education, her parents insisted that she enrolled in the Royal Fire Academy.

She missed her little brother a lot. She was five years older than him, so she spoiled him a lot. She adored him. She used to play with him all the time, and their moments together would bring her extreme joy. But those times were now gone. She could only get in touch with him through letters. He just started school this year, so his writing was clumsy, but she still liked seeing him grow through the words.

Miya was supposed to go back to her native island during these vacations, but changed her mind when she learned about Nanami's trip. She wanted to be with her friend when she would come back, and instead suggested to her family to travel to Capital Island. They were arriving next week, and her little brother sounded excited, through his letter. It would be his first time in the capital.

Back in her room, she picked out an outfit, humming to herself. Her roommate, a first-year as well, looked at her happily whistling, and asked, "Are you going somewhere, Miya?"

"Yeah. I'm going to meet with Saki and Hiroki."

"Oh, nice! Have fun with your friends then."

Miya nodded, and headed out. She crossed the backyard and the inner yard, before passing through the side passageways leading to the main courtyard. Waiting for Saki at the water fountain, she thought about her life at school.

She was a bit worried on her first day, because she didn't come from the main island like most of the students here. She also heard bad rumors about noble kids who were cheeky, and overly pretentious – which was the case for most of them – but she felt relieved when she talked to Saki. Saki was sitting at a table alone, with a bored face. She wasn't even trying to talk to the other kids around her, even though from the ornaments in her hair, Miya could tell she came from a rich family.

Miya had never been anxious about making friends, but she was feeling a little uneasy about her rough manners due to her coming from an ordinary fishing family from the countryside. But Saki didn't seem to care about it, and talked to her normally, disregarding their different social status. Then, Nanami joined them, and things got livelier. Nanami's wild personality reassured Miya, and from that day on, she never cared about her not being good enough to attend the academy.

Lost in her thoughts, Miya didn't even see Saki arriving until she stood in front of her.

"Let's go!"

.:*~*:.

.:*~*:.

The sun rays entered Hiroki's room little by little, before reaching his sleeping face and waking him up. The young boy yawned loudly, rolling over to lay on his stomach. Still half asleep, he groped for his glasses that he put above his bedhead. Once he found them, he got up, sitting on the edge of his bed, and rubbed his sleepy gold eyes. He yawned again, and put on his spectacles before stretching his arms.

Hiroki's room looked as neat as him. Everything was organised. Piles of books were aligned niftily in his bookshelves, and his desk was squeaky clean and tidy. His favorite books were Avatar Aang's adventures in which he defeated the self-proclaimed Phoenix King Ozai. He had read them at least a hundred times.

Hiroki was a shy boy that didn't care about anything else apart from his books. He liked to spend time alone, reading novels. The complete opposite of his friendly, sociable older brother. However, being alone never bothered him; he didn't need friends. He was introverted – he knew it – but it didn't concern him in any way. He was detached from all these futile feelings such as friendship and love.

That's what he thought until he met Nanami, Miya and Saki. He was sitting besides the group of girls, but they didn't pay attention to him at first. He was actually bothered by their loud chatting – especially Miya. Nanami was the first one to speak to him. Hiroki thought she pitied him for having no friends, so he rebuffed her kindness coldly, but that didn't stop the wild girl. She kept talking to him, striking up a conversation every morning as they sat next to each other.

He was not happy at all being associated with a bunch of silly girls at first. They always interrupted his reading time. However, since then Hiroki had stopped bringing a book to read at school because he now enjoyed spending time with them. Miya was the worst of the three. She could talk all day, and not get tired of it. He didn't know how she got so much to say even though they met everyday. But apart from being chatty, she was a very nice girl.

Hiroki often bickered with Nanami and Miya because they always teased him, but he got along pretty well with Saki, who was calmer than the other two. They walked part of the way home a few times, just the two of them, as Nanami stayed to wait for her older brother, and he enjoyed talking with her. She was much more refined than the other two savages. She came from a distinguished family after all. She was really smart too; she excelled in every subject they had. Also, she was pretty cute. That thought made him blush furiously, and he shook his head vigorously to come to his senses.

He dressed quickly, and grabbed his bag. He went downstairs where his parents and his brother were already working. His family ran a grocery shop. His brother would be taking over once his parents would be too old to manage it. As the youngest, he could choose his path freely, and decided to enroll in the Royal Fire Academy because he loved studying.

He helped them a little, sorting fruits and placing them on the stalls. When it was time to go, he headed out and walked towards the park.

.:*~*:.

.:*~*:.

Miya and Saki chatted happily on their way, after not seeing each other since Nanami's departure. They rejoined Hiroki, who was already sitting on a bench in the large park, reading a book like always, and the three friends went to play in the park all day.

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it's not the continuation of Chapter 16. I still haven't finished writing Chapter 17, so instead please enjoy this bonus chapter about Nanami's friends, Saki, Miya and Hiroki! I wanted to focus on them too, and not only on Nanami. I'll try to update Chapter 17 next week, so see you in the next chapter :)