We left the hospital a few days after Akash woke up; Madame Qi and Ai had to make sure he was stable before letting us go.
"Where are we going?" asked Akash.
"Well, I am taking both of you to an orphanage, so that you have a chance of finding a new home together," Ai responded, her voice gushing with excitement.
I didn't really know how to feel about that. I was fourteen years old. Who would want to adopt someone as old as me? Well, I supposed having Akash would help, as whoever adopted him would have to adopt me.
Ai led us to her Satomobile, and the three of us piled in. I had seen Satomobiles, but I had never actually been in one. It was a small car, and it by no means drove smoothly. All I could hear were squeals from the tires and groans from the engine. Then again, I had read in my studies that it was a fairly new invention that helped some genius craft a multi-million yuan empire.
I wished I could do something amazing like that.
The Satomobile stopped in front of some small, shabby building that looked like it would topple over any second. The three of us got out of the car. I looked at Ai; tears sparkled in her eyes as Akash and I said our goodbyes and melted into her warm embrace. "Take care, Akira and Akash," she whispered before kissing our foreheads and making her way back to her dingy car.
"Will we see her again?" Akash asked in between gasps of sorrow.
"I don't know," I replied, wiping a sole tear from my eye. "But we have to move forward," I declared, taking his hand in mine and diving head first into our new lives as we knocked on the door. I held my breath. This was it.
A big-boned, gruff old woman with jet black hair (obviously colored, as grey streaks were still visible) and chocolate brown eyes opened the door before groaning and letting us in. The foyer consisted of a desk in the corner, where I presumed the old lady worked, and a single couch that seemed to serve no real purpose other than to make the tiny room seem even tinier.
"And what do you hooligans want?" the old woman commanded in a deep, baritone voice that seemed to fit her stature perfectly.
I cleared my throat.
"Well, you see ma'am, my brother and I wish to seek sanctuary at your orphanage, and-"
"Do you, insolent child, think I have an endless supply of beds at my disposal? I don't just accept children willy-nilly, you know! Plus, my commission is dependent on how many children are adopted, and who would want to adopt someone as old as you? Why should I waste a bed on someone old when I could just as easy accept someone much younger and much more likely to get adopted? Hmm?" she spat, her saliva assaulting my face like a swarm of bees. I winced in disgust, and wiped the wetness off my face.
"Ma'am, please, we lost-I mean, our mother has gone away, and we have nowhere to go. Please find it in your heart to accept my brother and I. We promise to be good children, and I'm only 14," I pleaded, putting on my most innocent face. Akash followed my lead.
The old woman eyed us both. "You," she growled, pointing to Akash. "Go to the back with the other children."
"But what about Kir-"
"NOW!" she boomed, her voice louder than the rumble of thunder. Akash yelped and followed orders.
The woman turned her eyes toward me. But this time, I scowled.
"Don't talk to my brother like that," I muttered, my teeth grinding with anger.
"Tsk tsk now dear! I wouldn't argue with someone who has the power to offer you a haven or let you rot on the streets," the witch sneered. "Despite your unfavorable attitude, which can be fixed in a jiffy, what type of bender are you? Maybe your skills could be of use to our establishment here."
I felt my palms start to sweat and my heartbeat thumped so loud, I could swear the witch could hear it.
"Ma'am, I…I'm not a bender." I waited for her to take pity on me and let me in. Instead, she cackled maniacally.
"Why, even more the reason not to accept you! Now, be off on your way!" she laughed, as if somehow, I was worthless to her, just because of some stupid whacko ability that I didn't possess.
"Why? What's wrong with being a non-bender, huh?"
"Don't you understand? They have no talents, they have terribly bad manners, and they serve no purpose! They're essentially useless!" she cackled again, her shrill laugh eroding my ear drums. I wanted to scream, shout obscenities at her wicked policies, but I restrained myself, and began to talk back when I heard a voice.
"Excuse me, Zhixu, what were you saying about nonbenders being useless?" the man stated aggressively.
He was tall, brutish, and you could see his toned arms bulging out of his skin-tight black suit, which he wore with black knickerbockers. The suit had a tail that almost touched the floor; it was slightly comical. He had a crew cut, with a mustache, although it seemed as if someone had erased the middle part of it. The man wore a large top hat, and he was accompanied by a woman with a camera around her neck and a pen and pad in her hand.
Zhixu's eye twitched as she eyed the man from head to toe.
"Ah, Mr. Butakha! What a pleasure to see you today! I surely didn't mean that-" Zhixu started.
"Silence. Now, Zhixu. This is not what I want to hear when I come here on my monthly inspection, you know. For these institutions that I am funding, I have certain expectations. These institutions are purely humanitarian, and to deny a child entrance to these institutions is anti-humanitarian, don't you think so?"
"Yes, of course Mr. Butakha!"
"I'm not convinced, Zhixu. Now, you will permit this child to become a resident at the orphanage or you will be dismissed if I hear of this again, and I will find a more suitable replacement. Is that clear?"
"I will make sure of it, Mr. Butakha, that this never happens again," Zhixu apologized, and went into the backroom.
"Very well then, that's what I wanted to hear," he said. "You got that down?" he asked the woman, who was hastily scribbling something down in her notepad. After finishing, she shook Butakha's large hand.
"Very well, Mr. Butakha. It seems to me that your funding of this orphanage and your support of humanity clearly disproves the rumors that you've been laundering money for underworld crime lords," she said.
He smirked.
"Of course! See, I told you so. You know, Bunka, not everyone who owns money is a criminal!" Butakha chuckled. "The money raised from the pro-bending shebang really has its benefits, you know, like creating orphanages for kids like these!"
The man called Butakha sidled up next to me.
"Pose for a picture," he whispered irately through the corner of his mouth. He put his arm around me and pinched my shoulder to force me to smile, while Bunka snapped a shot of us.
He then pushed me aside and went over to Bunka, grabbing her hungrily by the waist.
"So, does this news mean we can finally go on that date I've wanted?" he flirted shamelessly.
Bunka smiled coquettishly, her eyelashes fluttering with lust.
"You should thank the spirits you weren't involved with those thugs, or you wouldn't get this," she said, ferociously grabbing his lips with hers.
I looked away, kind of wishing that Zhixu would come back. I also felt the strange need to thank Butakha for his kindness.
Their passionate groans as their lips strangled each other were nauseating. After a few moments, however, their embrace ended, and Bunka left in her Satomobile, promising to meet Butakha later that evening.
I walked up to Butakha and tugged on the fabric of his suit.
"Thank you, sir. Without you, I-"
He cut me off.
"Don't touch me with your grubby hands, you filthy orphan! You're gonna ruin my suit! You're lucky I was there with the press, otherwise, you would've been on the streets!" he shouted, shoving me away from him.
Hurt swirled like a hurricane in my chest, but it was quickly replaced by anger.
"Asshole!" I shouted as he was walking out. He stopped in his tracks.
"What'd you say to me, you little punk?" His face was inches away from mine, and his breath smelled of alcohol. Seiji's face replaced Butakha's, and without thinking, I punched him square in the nose. Just then, he grabbed me by my shoulders.
"WHY YOU LITTLE, UNGRATEFUL-"
"BUTAKHA!?" Bunka's squeaky voice became music to my ears. "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?" she said, completely in shock at her lover's violent actions towards a young girl.
"Dollface! I was just teaching her how to, um, defend herself! Right kid?" he said, slowly unleashing his grip on me and grinning the fakest grin I had ever seen in my lifetime. His eyes silently begged me to support his story. I smirked. I was about to call him out on his bullshit when he said, through gritted teeth, "Why would I do something that outrageous when it could mean the shutdown of this whole orphanage?"
Immediately, I stopped in my tracks. If this scandal ever reached the public, the orphanage would be shut down, and all these kids would be left without a home. Gulping heavily, I realized that he had won. I looked at him with narrowed eyes filled with hatred. But this time, he wore the smirk.
"Yes, Miss. Mr. Butakha was teaching me how to defend myself if I ever got into a situation like that!"
Bunka sighed with relief. She went up to Butakha and locked her lips with his, and once again, their groans of sexual desire permeated throughout the room. I gagged. They split again, and went on their merry way, but not before I heard Butakha's cackle as they made their way to the Satomobile.
There's no way that guy wasn't tied to criminal affairs. But no one would ever believe me.