Four whole weeks swiftly gone by, and what has she even achieved? What progress did she even attain by spending her time here?
She thought the lessons, the lectures and literature would somewhat manageable. She expected them to be boring, but still something she can at least handle.
Yet she have never anticipated that things would be so difficult.
She is a great fighter, skillfully so for a non-bender. If you challenge her to a duel, she will eagerly attack you with her metal fan. Even without weapons, she will still use chi-blocking to paralyze the opponent, acting swift and decisive.
But in the world of classroom, she is simply a lost girl who couldn't navigate through a dense forest made of books and paper. It is something she cannot prepare for or can she anticipate the harsh reality of being a student. Ba Sing Se university is considered the best university in the world, at least in its enrollment materials. But what many will find is that it is also the most difficult learning institution, filled with mind tearing courses plowing through the student's days. To enter this place is easy, but to remain enrolled here is another tale.
"Now, who can tell me how the Earth Kingdom lost the battle of Han Tui during the Hundred Year War?"
Satchiko is at the far back of the lecture room, behind a few dozen students. Her whole body is slumped on the desk, covered with scrap pieces of notes she woefully prepared last night. She never wrote so many words before, which might explain why her notes are dominated with messy handwritings and incomprehensible paragraphs compiled with misplaced page titles. Not even the Kyoshi warrior herself can understand the notes she wrote, it's as if she has expended last night all in vain.
Her eyesight felt blurry, unable to maintain focus. Just a few moments ago, she tried to keep her body posture standing, but eventually succumbed to her sleepiness.
She yawned tirelessly, burrowing her eyes into her green kimono. In the past two weeks, she hasn't been wearing her face paint or lacquered dark armor, as they have found zero use in the battle known as the classroom.
She is frustrated that she could not memorize any information. It's much harder for a knucklehead like her to remember a few lines on the paper than it is for her to defeat ten pirates.
"Satchiko, would you like to answer this question?" The lecture asked. But the classroom is silent, and everyone grew confused that no one is responding. "Satchiko...Satchiko!" The teacher roared, but still no response.
Hudie looked besides her, and saw her fellow classmate is dozing off. The young Kyoshi warrior used her arm as a pillow and proceeded to recapture some lost rest.
"Hey!" The Miao girl hissed and gently nudged Satchiko's shoulder. "Pssst, she is calling you."
"Mmmmmm, go away Kazuki. Stop bothering me please. I'm sorry that I didn't bring you with us on this trip, so maybe next time..." Satchiko murmured about her friend in her sleep, and then used one of her hands to withdraw herself from Hudie.
"I'm serious, the whole class is staring at you." Hudie panicked, seeing that the strict teacher is gradually making her way to their desk.
"I said go away Kazuki!" Satchiko demanded, narrowing her shut eyes. Her eyebrows displayed a slightly annoyed expression. "If you don't stop now, I will tell Kintaro that you stink like fish..."
A hand banged her wooden stall, and her whole body flinched in great reflex. She quickly jerked out of her seat and entered a fighting stance, causing her notes to fly everywhere. She is panting from over excitement, expecting that there is an attack taking place. But once she reassessed the situation, she realized that literally everyone except for Hudie is looking at her with amused expression. What an embarrassment.
"I see that someone is having a very good dream, want to share with the rest of the class?" The lecturer said, gently patting her wooden ruler on Satchiko's forehead. "If only you spent the same amount of time and energy to review the contents, maybe you wouldn't fell so far behind. Of all the history students I have nurtured in my career, I have never encountered someone as clumsy as you."
The Kyoshi warrior endured, hoping this moment can reside as soon as possible. But her trial continued as the lecturer further pointed out her flaws.
"Your written assignments and essays looked as though they were written by toddlers. As a student of Ba Sing Se university, you are held at a much higher standard. Your parents should be ashamed that they didn't cultivate a brighter daughter!"
Satchiko grasped her fist tightly, but knew she cannot retaliate. It's true that Satchiko is a terrible student, inept at writing and reciting notes. But she very tried her best, yet her hard work has not paid off at all. It's as though all expectations of a good experience in this university is slowly being chipped away. Endless hours on study have not yielded the sense of contentment she is hoping for.
"My parents...it's not their fault that I am not good." Satchiko defended in futile. She can handle the berating from others, but she would never accept her parents being lampooned.
"Oh very?" The lecturer is skeptical. She then carried a whole mountain of textbooks and slammed them on Satchiko's desk. The Kyoshi warrior isn't sure what her teacher is doing, she is astounded that the table haven't collapsed from all that weight.
"You see this?" The tutor used her hand to measure how many stacks of books there are. So much in fact, that they are higher than Satchiko's height. "This is the amount of information a normal student would memorize, how can you attest in this university, if you are not ready to learn?"
Satchiko gulped, grimacing at the huge stack of learning materials that is towering over her head. There is no way she can learn all of that. From the moment she begin her learning here, all she has been exposed to are torturous hours of studying and classes. But what frustrated even more is that other students around her did not experience the same struggle. In fact, many of them found the content rather easy to understand. But t very wouldn't be surprising if she found out she is at the very bottom of the class.
Instead of getting her hands dirty and practice throwing earth around, all the activities are done within the classroom, and had nothing to do with combat.
There are multiple courses.
For art, they are being taught how to drew paintings of a small island in the middle of the Mo Ce Sea. The professor asked all students to mimic his own art piece as much as possible. Completely clueless at the purposes of this lesson, she simply obliged and painted her own version. Instead of capturing what the professor had in mind, she made the professor faint due to how appalling her talentless piece.
Instead of a small island on the ocean, she painted a scribbly rock surrounded blue paint. But she took the extra steps of drawing elephant koi around the water, seen shooting fire out its mouth. While the artist in charge may have overreacted, it is undeniable that Satchiko's drawing is like a pigpen.
For literature, she have to recite a poem based on a picture. It is about a small meadow near some random town called Yaoping. While Hudie wrote a perfectly sounding Haiku about the trees and grass waving gently because of a small breeze of wind, Satchiko couldn't even form one good sentence. Her own 'poem' looks nothing more than words jumbled together, too many syllables, earning the disgust of the poetry instructor.
And now for history, she doesn't even know where to begin. Her books are like armor, impenetrable defenses that her simple mind cannot fully overcome.
There are so many history lessons about the Earth Kingdom, from its own founding, it's warring states, the rising and falling dynasties, the resistance against Fire Nation, and even some sort of revolution that occurred in Ba Sing Se. All of this are beyond her understanding, but she knew if Mayumi is the one on her position, then her much more talented sister would rise to the top immediately!
"I thought the whole point of us being here is about learning Earth bending," Satchiko said. "Shouldn't we be practicing how to throw earth around instead of learning things from books?"
The instructor have her a sympathetic look. "How can you bend the elements if you don't even understand it?" She challenged Satchiko's preconceptions. "If you don't even appreciate the history and culture of Earth bending, how can handle a power you don't even respect? There are always golden treasures in the texts, if you look hard enough, you shall find it!"
The people of Ba Sing Se value their education much more seriously than the folks in backwater Kyoshi island, almost excessively so. The students and scholars here are indeed some of the finest, partaking in rigorous exams and endless studies. If her sense of timing is right, the Keju exam Nguyen was talking about is coming very soon. But that is not her problem. For the lessons of every class she partake felt like a giant cliff she cannot climb over.
Satchiko felt there isn't any free time for her outside the classroom, as she must prepare herself for the next session. Why did she not learn Earth bending when she was young? Why have she subjected herself to such torment? She sulked, knowing that she will be stuck here for a while.
"As for actual Earth bending, students will partake in the lessons next week."
Satchiko brightened her face, finally, she can be taught actual Earth bending.
"But your final examination involves both a written and a practical exam." These words almost crushed Satchiko's reignited resolve. She knew the written exam would a great concern. "One to test your knowledge on Earth bending culture, and the other to test your earth bending techniques. Only by passing both, can you finish the degree."
The instructor returned to the front of the room, leaving Satchiko to contemplate the situation. Many thoughts ravaged her minds. What would happen if she doesn't succeed? Would her family be disappointed that she wasted a good learning opportunity? Even if she managed to learn Earth bending here, who knows what consequences she would face if she failed the written exam. Or maybe worse, what if she couldn't even earth bend properly and failed the practicals as well?
She have never felt such pressure. But she calmed herself by taking a deep breath, for she has faced much direr situations before. She almost got eaten by a Unagi, was targeted by some fanatical cult and almost killed, she even fought an Earth bending bandit and survived. Which is why she refuses to allow some some exams to unsettle her confidence.
The class is soon dismissed, and the off duty Kyoshi warrior slumped out the door, trying not to drop her massive pile of books. For her life, she trained in the way of fans to combat pirates that threatened her home. In this moment, she is not even able to write words that looked remotely pleasing.
"Hey, cheer up." Hudie warmly assured, carrying her own notebook out the room. "Things will get better."
...
Once she pushed open the doors to their shared dorm, Satchiko immediately climbed onto her bed, slamming her body straight down her mattress. Her brain has taken a great deal of pain during the class, which is why is refuse to move even an inch.
Hudie almost laughed upon seeing this sight. As she suppressed her urge to chuckle, the tired Kyoshi warrior detected this with her excellent situational awareness.
Satchiko lifted her face up from the mattress, looking at her with raised brows. Hudie immediately noticed that the brown hair are all in disarray, some even found their way into Satchiko's mouth.
"Eww!" Satchiko immediately spat out her own hair. "How did that even get in...ugh!" She then stared at Hudie, who is fighting for her life in order to not humor. "Don't even think about laughing!"
Hudie cannot contain it anymore, she bursted in laughter. She can placed her hand on her stomach, which became too painful at this moment.
The Kyoshi warrior simply crossed her arms in slight annoyance. Although, part of her enjoyed this company of a fellow student. Without Mayumi, Hudie very is the only friend she can depend on. She has become the person Satchiko spend the most time with in this university.
Once the Miao girl have calmed down, she begin to inquire the underperforming girl a question, one that would make Satchiko more homsick than ever.
"Oh, Kazuki is my friend back on Kyoshi island." Satchiko summarized, explaining the history between her and that foaming mouth girl. "She is also a Kyoshi warrior with, we are friends, and we both begin training at the same time. Well, that still doesn't prevent the fact that she always loses to me whenever we fight each other. There was this one time that I was rushing to training, I jumped out of the woods and landed on her back. Now that was a good memory."
"Is she ok?" Hudie wondered, a bit concerned with how much damage a human's spine can take after being crushed by person in armor.
"She is completely fine!" Satchiko displayed an unexpected moment of optimism, which surprised even Hudie.
She herself might have a pretty big appetite for a girl, devouring Elephant Koi meat whenever she got the chance. She is a growing girl, voracious in anything that is food. But she is DEFINITELY not heavy. Nope, no way that is true. When she squashed Kazuki, surely her friend is simply joking when she stated how fat Satchiko is. Yes, that is definitely the truth, Kazuki is simply joking.
Right?
"But, who is this Kintaro you are talking about?"
Satchiko noticed Hudie's question, trying to remember who that person is. "Oh well, he is a regular kid in my village. But unlike the other children in our generation, he is actually quite weak, which is why he was bullied a lot in the past." She carefully recounted, trying to dig up whatever vague memories she had of the boy named Kintaro. "I think he works for a fisherman in our village, I can't remember for sure. But we would always see him make these metal cages when we passed by his hut. Of course, he fails almost all the time, because the best thing he ever caught were seaweeds. And because of him unable to catch fish, he gets yelled by many fishermen for being useless, but..." Satchiko contemplated. While she does look down on Kintaro for being a teacher's pet to lessons taught by Akira and her father, he is not without his own merits. Even though he was being unfairly judged due to his physical weakness, she now felt what it's like to be in a similar position. To fail at something yet keep trying is a very noble trait.
"That's unfortunate," Hudie said as she tidied up the room and reorganized some written notes on her own desk. "So he had no friends at all?"
"Well..." Satchiko lamented. "Kazuki is kind of a friend to him I suppose, just barely. They live quite close to each other." She then climbed off the bed, and tried to restore some order to her chaotic study desk.
But as her eyes caught the glinting golden headdress, she stopped and stare at it. The intricately crafted headpiece have gathered a little bit of dust over the past few weeks, and she didn't even clean it.
"You wanna wear it?" asked Hudie. "I have never seen you wear your headdress before."
The Kyoshi shook her head gently. "I will wear it later." This is the same response whenever Hudie asked her. Once she gathered countless pages of what is supposedly her notes, she thew them together into the trash can.
Hudie grimaced, unsure what to make of this behavior. The Kyoshi warrior have spent countless hours crafting those study notes, and now they all ended up in the bin.
"I need to make new notes, the old ones made no sense, not even I can understand them." The Kyoshi warrior sat down and drew out a black piece of paper. After a few minutes have gone by, the parchment remained empty, still free of ink from the Kyoshi warrior.
"I think you are not used to this environment, maybe you need to take some fresh air." Hudie went over to the trash can and slowly recovered Satchiko's notes. "Ever since we are here, the only thing you did was lock yourself into this tiny room and look at books. You are not doing anything else?"
"Of course, I have to." Satchiko said in a low mood as she scribbled some random information of some Earthbending philosophy she clearly isn't familiar with. "What else am I supposed to do? How can I enjoy doing other things when I am falling so far behind?" She then slumped back on her chair, disappointed by how difficult it is to memorize and apply the contents from books. No matter how many times she tried to remember the information, her memories would evaporate the moment she stepped into the classroom. Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expect something different to happen. That is what she is doing here.
"And that's the problem." Hudie's words struck Satchiko into confusion. "You are too worried, and you are not taking care of yourself."
"I AM PERFECTLY OK!" Satchiko screamed, but she immediately apologized after scaring her roommate. "Um sorry, you were telling me what?"
"Don't worry, I won't tell you, I will show you instead." Hudie pushed open the door of their dorm and lead Satchiko outside. "Now, enjoy what you are looking and breath."
Satchiko did as instructed. She watched as the male students in ponytail hairstyle walked in groups, and then looked at some flowers before taking a deep breath in. It is relaxing, she cannot argue with that. As a devotee of Avatar Kyoshi, she mastered many weapons, but she also partake in a special form of meditation that fosters unity and community spurt with the other sisters. While she's not the best at being calm and thoughtful, she did took an interest in consuming the fresh air around this place.
"I wonder what Mayumi is up to, I hope she is ok." Satchiko said as her eyes wondered to the clouds, using her own imaginations to visualize what objects or animals are in the sky. One of the clouds looked like an Elephant Koi, and antve Tyler looked like a 'praying hand' wooden hut that is commonly built in her village. No words can describe her longing for her homeland. "I miss home so much, don't you feel the same Hudie?"
"I do, I wish I can finish studying here and return to Miao village." Hudie replied with a sigh. "I want to enjoy my folk's song and dances so much."
They both leaned unto the handrails, savoring this moment of peacefulness. Life can be chaotic and challenging at times. But finding moments to relax and recuperate os never a bad thing. Both of them hoped that this delicate quietness would persist longer, so that they may temporarily be distracted from their dull studies.
But all this calm and quietness was abruptly disrupted when they heard shouting, and a strong rumbling sound followed. The ground trembled a bit, almost causing both girls to fell down.
"Woah, what's going on?" Satchiko's eyes panicked, wandering around the surroundings. Her training instincts kicked in as her eyes looked around wildly for potential threats, but all she saw are frightened students unknowing what is taking place.
"Are we having an Earthquake?" Hudie grimaced, holding in her silver headdress as she did her best to not trip over.
The rumbling continued, and Satchiko immediately rushed back into her room. After some sounds of what appears to be a person putting on her armor, Satchiko returned in her lacquer metal suit. Although she didn't have time to put up her face paint, her golden war fan is strapped on her belt. After making sure everything she ready, she felt she is being herself again.
"Let's go," Satchiko's voice tone now have a renewed confidence. As a student she is at the very bottom of the food chain, but as warrior, she is a fierce fighter who will charging into danger.
"Hold on, what are you going to do?" Hudie almost jumped out of her skin as Satchiko charged towards the handrails.
The Kyoshi warrior used one hand to grab hold the handle as her whole body jumped over it. She hoped off the second floor and landed flawlessly on ground level with two feet. She then looked up, signally her friend to join her.
"Hudie, come on, we need to know what is happening!"
The Miao girl's feet is immovable. She is trying to process how Satchiko was able to easily jump off the building and harmlessly land on her feet. It appears there are still many things she doesn't know about what training Satchiko have been through.
...
"Hey wait up!" Hudie called out. Satchiko's speed is much faster, bolting past plenty of anxious students as they too felt a disturbance near the dorm.
Currently, the two of them are trying to locate the source of this mini earthquake, and see if they can handle the problem. By 'they', it's mostly Satchiko, who felt it is her duty to respond immediately.
"The dorm building is a big place, you might get lost if you are not careful!"
"I know that Hudie!" Satchiko replied. Internally, she felt she can locate the source of this quaking by just listening to the sound. Taking from her experience with fighting Earth benders such as Tu and Niujiu. The vibration of the ground felt like Earthbending, but who causes such destruction in a learning institution?
They both stopped when a tall stone wall separated them from the source, but Satchiko firmly believe that all they needed to do is go over it.
The Kyoshi warrior built up enough force as she sped towards the center of two wooden pillars. Using her legs's force, she propelled up the walls, pushing her body so that it 'jumps' from one pillar to another. In a matter of seconds, she managed to make it up to the roof tiles. For her, it was like a simple walk in the park.
Hudie is panting after all the running, by just trying to keep close with the tiredness Kyoshi warrior is already a big ask.
"Hudie, just copy what I did and get up here!" Satchiko advised, clearly forgetting that normal people cannot replicate a Kyoshi warrior's reflexes and agility. While the Miao girl is an educated young lady, she is not the best when it comes to physical activity besides dancing. After a few failed attempts to scale the wall, Hudie gave up.
"I will find another way over!" She huffed, catching some air after all that exercise. "Oh and be careful!"
Satchiko felt if Mayumi was here, it would the former that is trying to catch up to the the other. As the the oldest daughter of Akahana, her sister would have definitely be able to rush straight towards the action.
Once she scurried across on roof to another, she arrived at a beautiful garden, filled with bonsai trees and decorative flowers laid alongside a small man made river. The water is so clear, that she can even saw glinting pond fishes swimming peacefully in schools. As an added bonus, she even saw a small family of turtle ducks, five babies following their mother as they swam across the pond.
"Wow, they are cute..." She was distracted by those turtle ducks, the little baby ones are simply too adorable for her to keep her eyes off. The last time when she saw such creatures was during her first encounter with Batu. While she managed to prevent the Kheshig boy from hurting the family, the innocent mother turtle duck was unfortunately hunted by Jargal the hunter. And all of that recalled back to what Batu said to her during their first meeting.
Animal didn't do anything to us, yet most people still eat them.
Such is the simplistic and crude worldview of the Kheshig nomads, a group of hardened warriors and herdsmen trying to survive in what they saw as a dog eat dog world. But she can't help but admit their blunt philosophy do held merit. The strong naturally can devour the weak, she learnt that the hard way. Which is why what happened next further affirmed the Kheshig's survivalist mentality.
A large room sized boulder was hurled from the other side of the garden, violently plummeting into the pond. In its crossfire are the whole family of turtle ducks, alone with whatever pond fish that was just peacefully swimming in that place.
The water splashes was so big, that Satchiko have to raise her arms just to shield herself from the collateral.
But once she removed her arms, her eyes shifted darkly. Through her strands of brown hair, she gazed darkly at the imbeciles who have the audacity to harm a turtle duck family. She will not forgive them.
"Please stop, you are running this beautiful garden!" An old man, which is presumably the custodian of this area, pleaded with the troublemakers. Right now, two adolescent males are having a violent brawl, launching massive pieces of Earth at each other. They completely ignored that they are endangering everyone else and the garden's integrity.
Every time they shoot up pieces of earth from the ground, they defiled this carefully created place. The projectiles destroyed the river, killed the flowers, and even crushed a lot of bonsai trees, which are expensive plants that are difficult to obtain.
"Gaaah!" The gardener help up his hands defensively as a lone chunk of Earth flew towards him. His frail body will not be able to handle the force of being crushed.
"I got you!" Satchiko quickly scurried across the distance and pulled the old man away. It was a close call, as roomed sized earth decimated a wooden tool shed just behind where the gardener was standing.
The elder appeared frightened, his body remains trembling even after Satchiko brought him further away. It's as if he saw his whole life flashed before him.
"Are you ok?" Satchiko checked if he suffered from any injuries. Thank the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi that this poor fellow is unscathed.
"Ah, I am fine, thank you young lady." The gardener responded meekly. But his attention shifted right back to the fight. "Quick, we must stop them from causing further damage!"
The garden tried to stand up, but she can visually notice his legs are wobbling a lot. She can come up with one hundred reasons as to why this old man should stay out of the fray. For his own safety, she needed him out of the scene.
"No, you shouldn't go near them." She said.
"But those two are just young boys," the gardener replied quickly. "Surely, I can stop them. I just needed them to stop so that they can resolve their conflicts peacefully."
The Kyoshi warrior looked at how hazardous the fight is. Any chance of the gardener successfully stopping them is wishful thinking.
After a series of negotiating, she convinced the gardener to stand back and allow her to stop the fight. As a Kyoshi warrior, she can't allow an elder to be in danger.
She turned around, snarling her face as she begin to shout at the two fighters, lashing out at them for their antisocial behaviors. "What are you two idiots doing? You could have hurt this man!" She was ignored by the two, who fought with even more ferocity using their Earth bending. "Stop this at once!"
A stray piece of earth was sent towards her. Noticing this incoming projectile, she quickly dodged to the side, easily evading it. But she can still felt the heavy impact behind her, which almost disarrayed her foot balance.
She retreated back a little, trying to reassess the situation. The two combatants are clearly too invested into their quarrels, any attempt to reason with them would prove extremely risky. She asked herself, what would Mayumi do in this situation?
She watched as rocks and earth materials are being hurled forwards and back between the two, who are presumably students not native to Ba Sing Se. She still doesn't understand why they are fighting. What reason could trigger such violent confrontations?
Her eyes widened a bit as she noticed the clothes the two are wearing. As they fought each other, she begin to remember something similar that happened outside the walls.
Both brawlers are wearing clothes made of hemp. But it's the colors that grasped Satchiko's eyes. Respectively, one is wearing light green, whereas the other one is wearing dark green.
Students from Jian Sin and Siaw Jong? Satchiko tried to suppress her astonishment, she didn't anticipate that two students from those states would meet in here. While she knew such occurrence is not impossible, actually seeing enemies meeting each other here is still a bit unbelievable. She saw how brutal the civil war is, she listened to Liu as he told her the atrocities and horrors committed by his enemies, and she witnessed the affects that conflict had brought onto those scavengers. And now, she looking at two students from those nemesis states, fighting each other in broad daylight.
She needs to stop them at once, so that they may not be able to hurt other people.
She drew open her single war fan, its yellow glinting metal shined brightly under sun. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she going to do next, planning for her moves and anticipate potential resistance. She has fought Earth benders before, she fought them as though she isn't one herself. Even until now, she still cannot use her Earth-bending in a combative manner. But what is true is that so far, she has not fared well with any Earth bending opponents. She was helped by so many people like Temujin and the Judge of Honghai, but now she is on her own. Since she decided to stop the fight, she will be using solely Chi-blocking to disable them.
She leaned her body forward, pressing her right foot to the ground. With one full push, she propelled herself forward, charging into the action.
The two Earth-bending ruffians finally noticed her. This time, one them shot up a wall from the ground and pushed it towards her. To them, anyone that meddles into their fight is just asking for trouble.
Instead of facing the wall moving to her position directly, the Kyoshi warrior used her acrobatic maneuvers to simply flip over the obstacle with a somersault.
Surprising the student from Siaw Jong, all he saw was a girl in black armor ambushing him until he felt painful punches across his arms.
After a series of jabbing, Satchiko purposely disabled his bending without fully paralyzing his body. The boy is still standing, but he is gawking in numbing pain.
"Ow! What did you do to me?!" He demanded, but Satchiko didn't have the luxury to answer. He tried to bend more stones, only to realize that the elements not longer comply. He panicked, begging for her to release him from whatever trick Satchiko performed. "Give me back bending at once!" He cried dreadfully.
"Don't worry, you still have your bending." She quickly reassured him to no avail. "The chi-blocking will wear off, just wait."
The Kyoshi warrior focused on the other boy, dashing towards him while avoiding the earth projectiles thrown towards her.
"Go away!" The Jian Sin boy dogmatically said. "This is between me and that Siaw Jong bastard, don't you interfere!" He then used some earth to encase his right hand, producing what appears to be a massive earth gauntlet. He forcefully punched it at Satchiko's direction, hoping to knock her to the ground.
She knew it would be feasible to just block the massive earth fist with her war fans, which is why she jumped upwards to avoid the strike. Once she landed on the earth gauntlet, she utilized her full weight and stepped on the gauntlet.
Her opponent grimaced in an ugly way as he felt his hands unable to support the additional weight. He fell to the ground, trying to extricate his right hand from the earth gauntlet.
"Too slow!" The Kyoshi warrior flipped over his head and arrived right behind his back. She then proceeded to block the chi in his arms, nullifying his ability to bend. And with this, his hands are trapped inside his own earthern weapon.
Despite feeling his the elements not responding to his command, the Jian Sin student still tries to pull his hands out. But the massive earth gauntlet is stubborn, just like these adolescents who fought each other.
"You shouldn't stop me!" He complained. "I am showing that Siaw Jong person that his state has committed unspeakable crimes against my people! Are you taking his side?"
"Hey, I'm not stopping you two because of that," Satchiko defended herself, maintaining her cool. "You are endangering the people in this place, that gardener was almost killed, can't you see?"
The student from Jian Sin saw the gardener resting on a bench. He looked at Satchiko with a contemptuous expression.
"Well what about him?" He pointed accusatory at the student from Siaw Jong. "He was doing the fighting too! If you are stopping anyone from destroying this garden it should be him!"
The Siaw Jong is now charging at them, Satchiko doubt he is much of a threat without his bending.
"Step aside!" The one from Siaw Jong pulled out a knife, which is definitely intended for the Jian Sin student.
She raised her fan above her head in alert and point it at her opponent, positioned her other hand to the side of chest. Once he is in closer range, the attacker thrusted the weapon towards her with full force.
As expected, the Kyoshi warrior grabbed his hand and used his force against him. She pulled and threw him to the grass and pressed his hand on his back, restraining any movement he still have. The knife was dropped.
Since disabling his bending alone will not cease his restlessness, she quickly performed some jabs on his legs.
"Gah!" He wailed as his entire lower body have been paralyzed. The numbing sensation is the sign that his chi flow have been occluded.
"Stay down!" Satchiko warned. "Seriously, you two need to stop at once!"
"It's his fault, he started it first!" The Siaw Jong student pointed at his opponent. "I am simply stating the facts, the state of Siaw Jong is fighting a righteous war against the Jian Sin, liberating the people from oppression! He is crying because recently our armies have scored a great victory against their incompetent troops."
"You take it back!" The wrath of the student from Jian Sin almost scared Satchiko. It was pure rage, one filled with disgust and indignation.
Hudie and a few other students finally arrived to the scene. As the two descended into a shouting match, the others around them dare not to approach them. It seems that not even Ba Sing Se can escape the war between Jian Sin and Siaw Jong. Who would have thought the conflict between two other states would 'spill' into here.
"Oh yeah, well who do you think is right?" The Jian Sin student asked Satchiko, who is surprised that they are asking her judgement. "This fool thinks that Siaw Jong is wearing on the right side, yet they committed so many atrocities."
"Well...of course it's your people." Satchiko remembered how much suffering the people of Jian Sin have suffered at the hands of Siaw Jong soldiers. Liu's own testimony is enough for her to believe how evil the Siaw Jongs are.
"But it was the Jian Sin who started it!" The other bellowed. "They are the ones who invaded our borders first."
She waited for the Jian Sin student to counter that argument, but surprisingly he was silent. She waited, but finally felt what the Siaw Jong boy said must have been true. Liu seemed to have let that detail out.
This is a new information about the conflict. To be honest, she has known so little about the world that it's hard to keep track of everything.
The relationship between Jian Sin and Siaw Jong is marked with horrific crimes against the people. Both sides suffered from heavy casualties in the wars. The event known as the sacking of Langshu and the pollution of the rivers with human bodies will forever be remembered by the people of Jian Sin about the Siaw Jong's immorality.
"I...well..." Satchiko looked between the two of them. But when she remembered how those Siaw Jong soldier behaved in the Khan's tent, she felt a sense of anger swelling in her. So far, the narrative from her point of view dedicates that the Siaw Jong are in the wrong, but even she can feel how complex this issue is. She didn't knew that it was Jian Sin that begin the conflict first.
"The people of Jian Sin support the war against my home with enthusiasm, they deserve to be..."
"Quiet!" Satchiko roared, and kicked the Siaw Jong student in the stomach. Before she can punch him, Hudie came over and pulled the enraged Kyoshi warrior away.
Satchiko then sighed, mentally tired from this moment. She doesn't know how to mediate between these two. The gravity of this controversial conflict between Siaw Jong and Jian Sin. Frankly, a Kyoshi warrior like her should never handle such heavy topics. She fights pirates and defends her home from evil people. But she doesn't know how to truly navigate between the Jian Sin and Siaw Jong conflict. Maybe they both have merits, or maybe they both are wrong in their own ways. But her conscience knows that killing innocent people is a crime she is not willing to overlook. Nothing can truly justify the harming of innocent people.
"What's going on here!" A girl in bamboo hat arrived hastily. "Oh my!" She placed her hands to her mouth, noticing all the bruises and injuries the two students have.
"Nguyen!" Satchiko cried in relief. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" This tour guide's presence should surely control the situation. "Quick, get these two to calm down."
Nguyen stared at the two, a little unsure what to do. But after contemplating for a bit, she ordered that the two be separated.
Hudie used her own Earth-bending to extricate the Jian Sin student from his Earth gauntlet. And the other students carried him to somewhere else.
Nguyen pulled out some bandages and a sling from her bag. Satchiko remembered how this women is a medical student in the university, the perfect person to treat these ruffians.
"Hey, hands off!" He is s resistant, unwilling to comply with treatment. Despite parts of his arms suffered from cuts, his stubbornness prevented him to seek aid.
Satchiko snapped open her fans and stared at him straight in the eye. Accept the treatment, or else!
He gulped his lungs, finally complying like an obedient child. Nguyen quickly bandaged his arms. She then fastened a Cotten sling over his neck so that his arms are comfortable.
"Now, what would you like to say to her?" Satchiko's tone is stern, almost reminiscent of Akahana's expression.
"Thank you!" He quickly said to Nguyen, who only smiled lightly and bowed.
"It's fine, please don't cause any trouble later on." Nguyen pleaded in a difficult expression. Compared to the fearsome Kyoshi warrior besides her, she is much more gentle in both voice and mannerism.
"We will take it from here," Satchiko turned around and notice some lawmen with dao coming into the garden.
"You are in serious trouble young brat!" One of them yelled, snatching his target's collars. "Kids these days should learn to respect their elders! You just defiled a ground carefully managed by the city's best gardener!"
"Oh, that is very sweet!" The gardener responded, flattered by the compliment.
The officer then pulled onto the boy's ears, much to Nguyen's disapproval. While Satchiko herself wanted this boy to be punished a little bit, Nguyen managed to stop the officers entirely.
"Now move along!" The officer demanded, shoving the Siaw Jong boy to the exit of this garden. "Master Xuan Zang is going to like this one, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets expelled!"
"Indeed, all his hard work and dedication just to get in here, all washed down the river."
"Bwahahahahaha!" The two officers laughed in unison. To them, this is very amusing. The Siaw Jong student's face descended into horrors, knowing what they said might be true.
"Thank you Nguyen," Satchiko said. "If it wasn't for you, those two would have still be fighting each other."
"But I was just passing by." Nguyen replied earnestly. "Well, I got to go now. I still have to prepare for the upcoming medical exam. See you around!"
Nguyen also left, presumably to tend to the other injured student. This woman in bamboo conical hat is not what the fighters wanted, but it's what they needed. Compared to the lawmen, she treated these patients with respect and kindness as expected of a doctor in training.
Once they left, Satchiko reassessed the garden. If it wasn't for all the holes and wreckage caused by the Earth bending fight earlier, this would have been an excellent piece of greenery. Everywhere she looked are just signs of destruction, with statues and trees broken by boulders.
"Hey, you did very good!" Hudie complimented. "You resolved that conflict between the those two students."
Satchiko didn't respond, she walked over to the man made river and looked at the dead turtle ducks. The body of the mother is floating lifelessly in the pond surrounded by four babies.
"No, you are wrong." Satchiko walked over to the pond's edge and stared at her own reflection, her face looked sad despite the danger have been quelled. She looked away from the ducks. "Listen Hudie, while I have stopped them from fighting, I did not resolve their conflict at all. They will just keep fighting if they have the chance, and I can't do anything to stop it." She then looked at her gloved hands. "I couldn't make any actual changes."
"That's not true," Hudie said. "You stopping them fighting DID change something. You saved the gardener remember?"
Satchiko looked at the old man resting near the broken tool shed. He nodded his head and smiled underneath his long white beard, affirming Hudie's statement.
"I suppose so..." Satchiko doesn't know how to react. But Hudie is right, she can't blame herself for the things she cannot control. She still have much to learn about this world and its problems. But at the same time, she knew there is more she has to learn about herself.
The quacking sounds of turtle ducks heightened hers senses, she sharply turned her face to the pond, spotting a lone baby turtle duck swimming about.
One has survived.
She kneeled across the edge of the pond, trying to observe the baby turtle duck. It looked scared and defensive. And when she used her hands reach it, her fingers were bitten.
"Ouch!" She cried in pain. All she wanted was to take care of this delicate creature. She knew it cannot survive in the wilds without the mother.
She tried to reach for it again, but her body misbalance caused her to fell deep into the river. And Hudie immediately responded by trying to locate the Kyoshi warrior.
"Satchiko!" The Miao girl cried. The gardener also sat up from his bench, and urgently made himself to the pond. Panicked, he tried to look for any signs of movement, but the water surface are all clear.
"This pond, it isn't that deep!" The gardener said.
There was a few seconds of interval, but the Kyoshi warrior finally resurfaced. She gasped for air, and then begin to swim towards the baby turtle-duck. She quickly used her two hands to hold onto the shell, refusing to let go despite the animal's protest.
"Sorry little thing, this for your own good!" She held it in her palms and gradually stepped out of the water. Her hair is all soaking and her kimono needed to be cleaned, but she has rescued the baby turtle duck.
"What are you going to do with it? I don't think the dorms would allow us to keep pets." Hudie asked in concern. But Satchiko's fair expression is telling that she couldn't care less at all.
"I will find a way," Satchiko then comforted the turtle-duck's tiny fur. "What happens today have caused trouble for many people, including this little girl, or guy...Anyway that is not important, we need to find a new home for it."
The turtle duck looked horrified that this giant green monster in armor is carrying it around. Without the mother, someone must take care of it.
"Can I count on you to keep a secret Hudie?" Satchiko was met with a nod from her roommate.
As for the gardener, he sighed. "Well, I guess I needed to start cleaning this mess!" He slowly begin to pick up some fallen sticks and rocks on the ground. Although it's clear that he needed more help than that. Luckily, Hudie volunteered, she used her Earth bending to fix up the landscape and plant back some trees.
"Satchiko, you sure you can handle caring for an animal AND keeping up with you study?" Hudie inquired. The Kyoshi warrior isn't sure, but she will try her best. "I will help you too, you know you can just copy my notes if you are too busy right?"
...
"There, hopefully that should do it." Satchiko gently placed the baby turtle duck into a small stare basket she just bought. It is filled with a bowl of water as well as a bowl of rice from the cafeteria. This isn't much, but it's the best they can do for now. They already put in a lot of effort to sneak this creature into the dorm.
The baby turtle duck chirped, a bit less aggressive this time, after being carried around by Satchiko to this room, it felt less hostile. Noticing the bowl of rice, it immediately begin to eat the food. Slowly chipping away the contents.
"It looks so cute!" Hudie tried to not get overexcited. Having such an animal can provide so much entertainment between study sessions.
"Don't get too attached to it," Satchiko advised, not overeating to the fact they now have a 'pet'. "I am just taking care of it until it gets old enough. Eventually, I am going to release it to the wilds."
Even though she always has a penchant for cute things, like that sky bison calf she used as a pillow, she knew she can't keep this turtle duck forever. There is no doubt that it is the world's most adorable creature, but at the end of the day it is still from the wilds, not domesticated. The gardener even personally informed her that the group of turtle ducks are not owned by him.
Both of them exited their room once again, leaving the baby turtle duck to her own devices.
As they walked across the yard, Hudie begin to ask Satchiko a question in regards to bending. How she has never seen the Kyoshi warrior Earth bend once.
Satchiko showed her this little trick with two pebbles, spinning them around in her palms. But when inquired about more skillful forms, the Kyoshi warrior was reluctant to say more.
"I have been trying, but anything larger than a small pebble is something I can't control." Satchiko revealed, not proud of her puny achievement. "To be honest, I am a bit afraid about the exams. Hopefully the first lesson on Earth bending can help me lift larger rocks."
She then swayed her arms in rotating fashion, imaging herself throwing large chunks of earth at pirates back home. While she is confident that the practical lessons on Earth bending would be more tolerable than history, arts and theory aspects, part of her still felt anxious that she will inevitably fail. The greatest concern she has towards her own capability would be that there is something unnatural going on that hinders her ability to bend. Perhaps, she is simply overthinking too much.
"So, where do you want to go?" Satchiko asked Hudie. "I don't have much coins, the ones me and my sister ever had are only used for emergencies."
Money has been quite a problem. The allowance from their parents were never that plenty, as food is considered much more valuable. She only had a small handful of copper coins left.
"We don't need to buy anything, I wanted to visit the lower ring." Hudie said, jumping happily that they are going to visit the outer district. "They are having a stage play show tonight, since we don't have any classes tomorrow, we can go there and watch it. It's free of charge!" She then pulled out a poster, which displayed an image of a man and woman kissing. There is also a lone badgermole standing behind them, as though the creature is guarding the two humans.
Satchiko raised an eyebrow, unsure what stage play show is.
"You...you don't know what it is?" Hudie felt confused. "It's a performance about a famous real legend, actors in costumes...and they act. You don't have this back home?" It's wild to think that someone have never heard of the concept of stage performance. But since Kyoshi island always had a humble existence, it's only expected that its inhabitants have limited knowledge of the outside world.
Satchiko connected her fist with her palm upon realization. "Oh, so it's like little children playing games. When I was younger, me and Kazuki would always pretend to be Kyoshi warriors. And the other girls would pretend to be pirates. Is that right?" She smiled widely, thinking she is correct. Hudie only gave a reluctant nod, knowing the knucklehead tried her best.
"So, what story is this?" Satchiko further examined the poster. Two person kissing and a badgermole overlooking at them. "Wait, correct me if I am wrong, is this girl in the picture named Oma and the boy named Shu?"
Hudie goggled her eyes, dumbstruck by Satchiko's sudden boost in intelligence. She nodded her head in affirmation.
"And that badgermole, that's the one which taught them Earth bending right?"
Hudie nodded again. "Indeed, according to the famous legend, Oma and Shu are the first humans to learn Earth bending from the badgermoles. Their story is about..."
Hudie halted when Satchiko quickly raised her hands. The Kyoshi warrior felt bad that she has to pause her friend, informing her that she already heard the story from a certain green ribbon guerrilla. The story of Oma and Shu is indeed very famous. Not only it is an incredible love story, it also signifies the importance of badgermoles in Earth Kingdom culture.
"The Green Ribbons?" Hudie asked in concern. "Are they good people?" Perhaps Hudie and her people have never heard about those guerrillas. The Green Ribbons are hostile towards the United Republic and pretty much every Earth Kingdom warlord state.
Satchiko didn't answer hastily, but decided that from the short interaction she has with them, they do appear to be formally enemies of the bending purity cult. Any enemies of the mysterious cult that targeted herself and Mayumi is enough to be deemed as an ally, including the Kheshig nomads.
"Welp, at least I don't have to worry about them." Hudie said in a carefree attitude. "No one cares about my village anyway, not even the one in charge of the province I am from."
They both headed for the train station. While they did got lost on the way, they still managed to reach the monorail.
As the trains glided on the rails, Satchiko lamented on the fight she just stopped. Those two students bared pure hatred towards each other. The conflict between their states have turned these strangers into enemies.
She sighed, saddened at this reality. If what the scavengers elder said was true, then the state of Siaw Jong and Jian Sin would have lived as one people, unable view each other as enemies. Now that she thought about it, Temujin have said something very specific to her about a certain someone.
If you ever met that puppet named Wu, remember, use as much force as possible when you punch his pathetic face. After that, make sure you pull his tongue out and boil his remains in hot cauldrons.
The Kheshig are a strange people, Satchiko pulled out her Wu doll from within her kimono and gently pressed it. She already left her armor back in her dorm, so she has more space to carry a few belongings with her.
Her relationship with the Kheshig people is interesting to mildly put it. Their interaction so far is also perplexing too.
First, she attacked one of their youngest members over a dispute about turtle ducks, then somewhat saving him from the bandits who seek out airbenders and other 'impure' people. Them, she and Mayumi got saved by their warriors lead by Ganbaatar, she saved them from Shui's blood bending with her teeth, and then being invited over for dinner after the Khan himself entered the fray. Finally, without the Kheshig, she would have never made it to Ba Sing Se.
But the true issue she grasped with is how she as a Kyoshi warrior also had so many different world view with that tribe. While they are considered allies to her, they also committed things she does not approve off. From their more 'selfish' code of conduct to their problematic view of the Avatar as a whole. Yet somehow, she can still trust them, knowing how the Kheshig do not show mercy to their enemies to the point of disrespecting a foe's corpse.
It's too much thinking for her little brain. If her mother is right on one thing, is that sending Satchiko to the outside world has definitely changed her daughter.
She then looked at Hudie, whose own culture is dedicated about dancing, singing and just celebrating the simple things in life. While many would view cultures dedicated to war as something more worthy of pursuing, she can see how those people are definitely always wrong.
Even though no one took Hudie's people seriously, she hope one day everyone can learn a few things from her culture. To embrace a simple and happy life instead of one ridden with war and sadness.
...
"So this the lower ring, I got to say, it looks very different when I was inside the train."
The Kyoshi warrior familiarized herself with the new surroundings. She have saw this outer district from above. Now that she is finally here in the overgrown city, she can finally experience what it's like to be here.
Everywhere she looked, there are people from all walks of life. It's quite a challenge to venture through the streets, avoiding cars and Ostrich horse carriages as they cross the densely populated area. It definitely is much more crowded than the more serene looking middle ring. Buildings are multiple stories high, with the ground level used for commerce purposes.
The markets are especially bustling with activities. Grocers would shout out how fresh and cheap their fruit and vegetables, bragging how their produce have came newly arrived from the agrarian zone this morning. Customers would try to bargain prices with the shop owners, occasionally descending into petty arguments...
Sometimes, she can see a little girl looking from the windows above. They made contact, and the toddler waved at her.
Even she doesn't even know who that is, she still smiled and waved back at them. She continued this insignificant act until Hudie pulled her through a crowd of people until they arrived in front of a small wooden food cart.
Satchiko didn't have time to think until her nose detected a very pleasant smell. Her eyes looked at what the food vendor is selling, but she doesn't know what it is.
But she was startled when she noticed the owner of this small food stand, a young girl similar her age.
The owner looked rough and unclean, wearing nothing but a brown fur rag and a pelt. Her hair is extremely messy, unkempt due to her not maintaining it properly.
"You got a problem?" The teenager challenged, picking up Satchiko's gaze.
"Um nope!" Satchiko raised her hands defensively. "Nothing is wrong, just looking." She hoped that she did not offend this girl, whatever tribe she is from.
The stall own narrowed her eyes, suspecting Satchiko is plotting something. But the truth is, Satchiko is simply too taken back by her rough appearance. Even the Kheshig herdsmen looked more civilized and clean when compared to this girl. Comparing Sarangerel to this street food seller is like comparing a beautiful swan to an an ugly duckling.
"If you are concern that my food is unclean, then don't you worry." The girl said as she point her fingers at a small metal plate on the side of the cart, a registration plate. "These custard tarts are the finest, my people have perfected the technique after we arrived to this city many years ago, you should try some."
Satchiko raised her brows at the registration plate, she isn't sure what it means at what the cart owner is implying here. There is five golden coin symbols imprinted on the plate, but she isn't certain what they represent. Perhaps she still have much to learn about folks living in Ba Sing Se.
"I will have two please!" Hudie happily brought two egg custard tarts and handed one to Satchiko. The Kyoshi warrior was hesitant at first, fearing potential hygiene problems in her food. But the tasty smell of the baked good is strong for her to resist.
The size of her egg custard tarts is two hands wide, very big for a street food. Its center are filled with the rich yellow egg color. Just as always, she isn't sure what crazy cooking techniques was applied.
"Thanks Hudie, don't mind if I do..."
She took one small bite, and Satchiko widened her eyes and immediately wailed in a joyful cry. She even used her spare hand to hold her full cheek, all the while chewing the dessert. Every since she has arrived in the city, the only thing she has eaten are free rice and bread from the cafeteria. This sweet refreshment of her tastebud is a great way for her to forget about she is struggling with the lessons.
"See, I told you so!" The stall owner smugly said, pleased that the Kyoshi warrior is also defeated by her people's secret recipe. While many saw the Zhang tribe as unhygienic savages, those who truly spent time to understand them would be surprised by this hunter-gathering people.
Satchiko took some time to finish the rest of the custard tart. If Batu was here, he would surely have loved it. Speaking of which, she wonder if the Kheshig are still in the agrarian zone. If so, then maybe she might be able to visit them.
She shoved the rest of the tart into her mouth. Both Hudie and the Zhang food vendor grimaced, confronted by Satchiko's voracious mannerism. The Kyoshi warrior's mouth is extended to the very limits as she DEVOURED the whole thing in one attempt. This is the opposite of being ladylike. No, even men wouldn't be able to replicate such rudeness.
She then proceeded to chew up all the contents into a mesh. Then like a hungry sand shark, she swallowed the fistful sized amount of food. Satchiko licked her fingers, making sure none of the food is wasted. And then she felt her stomach is churning, and a big rush of air came to her mouth.
Buuuuuuurrrrrrp!
Satchiko excused herself, but it still managed to attract the unwanted attention of everyone near her. Hudie stared, almost amazed at what the devotee of Kyoshi have just accomplished.
"What?" Satchiko asked innocently. "I am a growing person, I need to eat a lot." Normally she wouldn't play the same card Batu used, but since this is a special occasion, she have to mitigate the damage she has done.
"How-did-you-how did you ate that thing is one single bite?" Hudie's jaws almost reached the floor, astounded by Satchiko's appetite.
"Well, it was technically two bite." Satchiko corrected. "People always said I can eat a lot of things, but honestly, even I was surprised by what I just did."
She remembered how whenever her mother would cook Elephant Koi for dinner, her own portion wouldn't last for a minute on the plate. Mayumi is usually the one to tell her chew carefully, and she does miss that part. But this is the first time she has displayed this act on other food. Hastily gobbling up everything into her mouth has always been reserved for eating Elephant Koi meat.
How strange, probably just a coincidence. She is quite hungry after stopping that fight earlier.
"Well, you want another one?" The food vendor girl asked, trying to dig a few more coins out of them.
"Oh yes please!" Satchiko eagerly agreed to the deal. But Hudie however wasn't so glad. She wanted to visit more stalls and buy other types of street food for her friend. Spending it all on one type of food would not make the most of this trip.
They wondered further through the streets and crowded alleyways. Passing through construction workers repairing buildings and transporting materials. But in the midst of the crowd of green, Satchiko noticed something that is standing out of place.
There are five of them, men who are of military origins strolled through the streets as they passed through the citizens.
Wearing cord and plaque armor, these men are donned in impressive metal suits that incorporated mountain pattern scales as protection. Their necks are also covered by a layer of lamellar sheet which surrounded all sides, leaving only their eyes exposed.
But it's their weapons that truly advertised as who they are. While she could not remember their armor very well, she already got a good memory of their weapons, the Ji.
To her, it is still a strange weapon. Kyoshi warriors have mostly known metal fans, katanas and spear like pole arms. But the world outside have shown to have a diversity of blades.
The Ji is like a spear, but also have a crescent blade. But the curve faces inward to the wooden stick, with two sharp edges facing the external.
"Those people, do you know who they?" Satchiko already knew who those soldiers served under, but she wanted to know the opinion of the average people about these mysteries warriors.
Hudie noticed the five soldiers with Ji. "Maybe don't stay too close to them, those are non-bending soldiers that fight under the Judge of Honghai. They look sort of mean."
She have seen these men before, these soldiers that fought for the Judge himself. For a man of legendary status, she can already sense what type of people he would recruit, those willing to strive above others.
During that battle outside Ba Sing Se's walls, they fought using shield walls and applied massive formations to encircle the bandit army. When they finally fought the cutthroat White Sparrow daofei, she remembered just how desperate the enemy behaved.
Like a rat being strangled until it gave up entirely, those bandits were no match to these soldiers.
She rubbed her eyes again after she looked at one of the men's appearance. He looked somewhat familiar, but she could be wrong.
She wanted to know what they are doing here in the lower ring. Setting aside her own little adventure, decided to trail after them from a distance, much to Hudie's dismay.
...
"What are we even doing?! We should be preparing for the show tonight, not following Ba Sing Se soldiers around town." Hudie hissed, warning that Satchiko is playing with fire here. They have been following those soldiers for the span of two streets, leading themselves to a district near the market. They are right next to the walls, very close to the base with dozens of buildings ranging from homes and shops.
The five soldiers entered what appears to be some sort of rundown restaurant, quite massive when compared to the structures near it. It's outward appearances are marked by countless display of swords and spears near the entrance, it seems that the owner has some peculiar taste.
The name of the establishment however is very captivating. Giant signs above the entrances says: Grandma Jin's benevolent eatery. Whoever this grandma Jin is, she must be very benevolent.
Those unexperienced with the city would often mistake it as a den for criminals. But surely, those soldier wouldn't blindly enter one calmly.
Perhaps an eye catching sight is a large stone statue behind the restaurant. The figure is even larger than all the houses around it, standing tall and overlooks this section of the lower ring. While not as high as the walls, it is gigantic for a statue. Not even Avatar Kyoshi herself enjoys such treatment.
The statue looked strange, but she is not here for that. She slowly made her way towards the front porch, creaking on the wooden floors like a thief entering a hostile area.
Hudie sighed, and followed the Kyoshi warrior. They both pushed through the doors, and immediately they were greeted with sounds of laughter and cups smashing together. While the restaurant appeared to be poorly maintained from the outside, the interior is a completely different story. The whole space are filled with well furnished walls and round tables populated with customers. Beautiful waitresses in refined dress would go around the room, pushing small trolleys filled with bamboo steamer stacks. The food are all very varied and meaty, enough to fill the appetite of a certain demographic, soldiers. All of them acted a bit rowdy, but thankfully the atmosphere in the room is loud but controlled.
"And there I was, charging towards a daofei. He raised his shields at me, and I punctured it with my bare fist!" A non-bending soldier in medium olive green uniform claimed. His helmet is the same design as those of Siaw Jong and Jian Sin, the only difference are the colors. While this man is definitely exaggerating whatever battle he just fought, he did succeeded to accumulate praises from the listeners.
"Nonsense, you very think that is possible?!" An Earth bender in green and yellow uniform bellowed. He heavily took a bit out of a dumpling, pointing his chopsticks at speaker. "I have been fighting for the Terra team for twenty years, never have I saw someone punching a shield and make a hole in it. The only hole you made is one in your girlfriend's heart!"
"What! That's not true!" The speaker defended. "She was unfaithful to me, not the other way around!"
The other men bursted into laughter. Despite all the unspeakable horrors they have witnessed on the battlefield, they are grateful that they can still enjoy something simpler in life. This place is poplar with the troops, who would spend their time and salary in exchange for some liquor and company of their fellow brother in arms. While most soldiers came here for the food, others are here for a more enlightening reason...
"Hello there!" A cheerful waitress in green qipao arrived in front of Satchiko and Hudie. "A seat for two?" She didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that Satchiko and Hudie are just teenagers. Perhaps it's Satchiko's metal fan that allowed them to entered here without resistance, or maybe the establishment's owner wanted to serve every customer that enters the door.
Hudie shook her head nervously, clearly she isn't comfortable being in a house full of rowdy soldiers. But the Satchiko brushed aside her concerns, after all a warrior like her feels more at home alongside people with swords than pen wielding students . She then looked around for those men in cord and plaque armor, but they are nowhere to be found.
"Um hello?" The waitress asked again, confused by the silent. "Is everything ok?"
"Oh sorry!" Satchiko quickly apologized for zoning out. "We are not here for lunch, maybe a small snack would fine." It would be rude to barge into this establishment without ordering anything.
The waitress lead them to a long wooden table near the kitchen. They sat on the seats, and Satchiko insisted that they pay for whatever beverage with her own money rather than burdening Hudie. It was her idea to follow those soldiers belonging to Judge of Honghai, so it would be unfair for Hudie to expend more coins.
When the barmaid asked for what drinks they would have, Satchiko immediately declined any offers of alcohol. Even if her mother isn't here, she still doesn't want to taste the disgusting liquids which induces drunkenness.
"Hmm, how about some cactus juice, that sounds nice." Satchiko said after scanning the menu.
"You sure?" The barmaid raised an eyebrow. "It's just that the juice is actually-"
"Don't bother with the details, I know what a juice is!" Satchiko reassured the barmaid. The cactus juice just so happens to be a cheap item on the menu, that is the only incentive she has. "What about you Hudie? Don't worry the drink is on me."
"I will have some water thanks," Hudie nervously said. This attracted Satchiko's attention, to which the barmaid explained that a glass of water is free. The Miao girl was insistent, unwilling to have anything other than water.
"The cactus juice will be coming right up." Once the barmaid went back to the kitchen, its door swung open and Satchiko can get a glimpse at what is happening inside. Countless chefs are stirring meat and vegetables in giant woks, while using blazing fire to heat the metal pot's bottom. The cooking techniques here in Ba Sing Se are vastly different from Kyoshi island, where people would cook their food in a small pot hanging from the ceiling. The chefs here are fast with their spatulas. Their are frying, mixing and flipping food like a very efficient factory.
She shook her head, reminding herself why she is here. She took a moment and glanced at the surroundings. Everywhere she looked are just regular soldiers, enjoying food and drinks, and some are playing with darts and having drinking contests. But those soldiers she was following are not here.
"Here you go, one glass of water and bottle of cactus juice..."
Satchiko is still looking at the rest of room when she heard a familiar feminine voice. She spun her head around, and saw a young adolescent woman in a dirty apron.
The person had long brown hair flowing below the shoulders. Her porcelain skin have indeed darkened a bit, possibly due to working long hours in the kitchen. The last time she saw her, she definitely was in a more refined state than she is now. And since both of them are without their face paints, it left Hudie confused when both them maintained eye contact for a long time.
"You two know each other?" Hudie asked carefully.
The woman with long brown head nodded, and smiled at Satchiko. "We do, for a lifetime." She then gently caressed Satchiko's hair. "Hello my little baby sister."
"Mayumi," Satchiko struggled to talk, overwhelmed that she has finally seeing her sister. "You-you are working as a waitress?"
Her sister smiled, shrugging her shoulders. But it still failed to alleviate the amount of guilt building inside Satchiko.
"Well, I'm more of a dish washer here." Mayumi chuckled. "Grandma Jin said I need some time memorizing all the recipe and dishes. Meanwhile, I will just be helping in the back, resupplying ingredients and doing prep work for the other chefs." She then sighed and shook her head . "It's hard at first, but I am getting the hang of it. I must say, it gets pretty rough during rush hours."
Satchiko quickly scanned the jam packed room. All the seats are occupied and yet this isn't rush hour?!
Mayumi never actually had a real job before. Sure she occasionally helped other families with babysitting and doing errands. But since Akahana have officially taken the mantle and replaced the last woman as their village's matron, work has always been doing chores in the house. This is the first time she has found real employment.
"Are you-are you not tired?" Satchiko asked with difficulty, she wouldn't even dare to look at her sister directly in the eye. She herself is studying comfortably inside a classroom of Ba Sing Se university while her brighter and more talented sister is wasting her potential by doing backbreaking work in an eatery. Something about this just isn't right.
"Well, it's just working, nothing too out of the ordinary." Mayumi brushed off Satchiko's concern. She then placed the glass of water in front of Hudie, but she didn't do the same with the cactus juice for Satchiko. She then looked at her sister, almost with sparkling in her eyes. Judging by Mayumi's renewed interest, Satchiko can already guess what is going to be spoken.
"So, how is your study?"
Satchiko swallowed hard, trying to think hard on how to respond. Mayumi have placed more hope and anticipation in her than anyone. Never doubting about her little sister's capability. Which is why by telling Mayumi the truth of her study struggles would only devastate this caring and hopeful big sister.
"Everything is doing very well," Satchiko acted it up, not wishing to show any hints of lying. "I haven't got to the Earth bending classes yet, but so far I have been doing fine on the arts and literature side of it."
"Well that's good to hear!" Mayumi curved her red lips even wider, pleased with hearing such good progress. If Satchiko kept this up, they should be back home in no time.
When Satchiko reached for the cactus juice, Mayumi stopped her. The older sister gently nudged her arms away, as if telling her that this beverage is unsafe to drink.
"I am still surprised that we managed found you here, what a coincidence." Hudie commented. She felt much safer now, seeing a familiar face around.
"Why are you working in this place anyway Mayumi?" Satchiko's innocent looking face always managed to melt Mayumi heart.
Once she was able to recover from looking at such adorably sister, Mayumi explained what she was doing in the past few weeks. While looking for accommodations, she found help wanted poster on a wall. After ripping out it out from the surface, she went to this eatery and got hired. It did took a few days until she found a rentable apartment in the lowering. While a bit small, the space she rented is very cheap. The landlady have been very generous.
"You spent the first night sleeping on a bench outside?!" Satchiko almost lost her wits, yelling without restraint. Her hands also involuntary banged on the wooden table.
Mayumi hushed her, trying to calm things down. Some of the soldiers and waitresses also stared at them, wondering what is going on there. "How could you do this to yourself? You could have-but I..." She covered her eyes with her hands, concealing her sadness. She then felt Mayumi's hands, patting herself shoulders reassuringly.
"I'm sorry," Mayumi apologized, soothing Satchiko. "I didn't mean to make you sad. I thought I should tell you the truth, I would never want to hide anything from you sister. But I also don't want you to feel guilty about things you have no control of."
Truth and control. She breathed deeply when she heard these words.
Satchiko now found herself even more unfavorable in her own eyes. It brings her great displeasure knowing she hasn't been completely honest to Mayumi this whole time. Yet, she still cannot muster the courage to inform Mayumi on the difficulty she had in classes.
"Tell you what," Satchiko raised her eyes to Mayumi's voice. "Once I finished the shift, we will have a nice long talk, does that sound ok?"
She nodded, she simply missed Mayumi too much. Spending some quality sisterly time together is definitely better than studying long hours.
"Mayumi!" A chef cried from within the kitchen. "I need some more meat and noodles, can you get some for me?"
"Coming!" Mayumi shouted back across the countless clanking sounds of woks and spatulas. Satchiko watched as her sister rushed back into the kitchen in her aprons. Mayumi soon disappeared behind the countless chef tossing their dishes. It must be very demanding to work in heated conditions, staying alongside blazing fire and adhering to the kitchen's fast dynamic.
Satchiko sulked on her seat, trying to process what happened.
"So..." Hudie inserted herself here. "Is your sister also coming to the show tonight?"
"I think so," Satchiko answered plainly. But the the truth is, she isn't sure herself. It is currently afternoon now, if Mayumi finishes work so, maybe they can go out to see the stage play.
...
-There is always something about baby turtle ducks that made me fascinated. It is just another fauna in the Avatar world, yet I always felt that there is deeper symbolism I am not aware of. A baby turtle duck is cute, gentle and adorable, but they are at the same time they are defenseless to those who tries to attack it.
We have finally reached the 300000 word count for the story! Yeeeeaaaah. _. I love writing stories, and I am so mentally exhausted!!!!
Anyway I would like to thank Matheus Bezerra de Lima, Matwice, Alice Phoenix Burke-Fawley, AnimeEl, BethxAngel, Cunninng-Fox-Ranger, Cydo, Ezra Uzamaki, H.R.C Stanley, Hydroelectric Dam, Mark321, MerlockVonbaron, Mirai Arashi, Nobody137, PJM 13, Sakhmet and Hathor, Shadows82, Trekkienick, WaterShivers, Zeldamaster98, breeannablackthorn, chubbybunnye, dancecat25, gothbianmai, Harry fan got, I mean come on, johndoessmith265, king turkey, krizoha2, lastfight5, leahfrmar2032, starwarsboy123, taylorpham25, tememjj, Amazing Spectacular Spider Man, Arrianna Le Fay, AvatarMr, Curleyfries, HerondaleSalvatoreGirl22, IanLouis23, Midnight Panda X0X0, Moontides18,Stripes-Stars-Rainbows, TeamRecktEm, Chubbybunnye, haydentwin1, king turkey, Krizoha 2 as well as all of you people who are reading from guest accounts. Thank you for reading so far into this story.
I also like to specially thank the amazing artist kkachi95 for the cover art, which have surpassed all expectations.
29/9/2021