This chapter's prompt is more a springboard for the pot, not so much traumatic, but Nagito sure thought so at the time. But hey, Nagito's canon backstory is full of tragic events. Unfortunately, his past isn't much better in this AU, but at least he's not brain sick or dying, that's a plus.

Avatar Airbender AU. Featuring Hajime as the Avatar, it was originally going to be Komaeda, but then i changed my mind.

For some reason, i just really like the idea of a kid in the avatar airbender universe having to deal with fire bender and water tribe parents. Like all the drama and heartache, struggling for acceptance, and all the adventures and stuff that would come with it.

It's been a while since i've watched avatar, so forgive me if i don't remember the opening scene correctly. Also, creative liberties had to be taken, since it would play out differently with different characters.

Probably more setup and backstory then needed, but oh well.

Enjoy :)

START OF CHAPTER:

Nagito Komaeda was an average person in his own mind. Nothing much special about him.

But apparently, his own family had thought otherwise. His mother had been a fire bender from a rich family, who had for some reason gone and fallen in love with a poor man from a water bending tribe.

Them getting married was bad enough, in the eyes of both sides of the family tree. So even before he was born, Nagito's existence hadn't exactly been celebrated by pretty much any of his relatives.

So when they both died, guess who clamoured to take care of the poor orphaned Nagito? That's right, exactly no-one. So, now he was left alone in a cold empty estate, surrounded by piles of lifeless paper and possessions.

There was only a single grandmother, his father's mother, that had ever loved him unconditionally. But she hadn't been physically able to raise a child on her own, so Nagito was left to his own devices.

Not wanting to sit along his whole life and mope, he'd set out on an adventure. Travelling around, seeing the world, and having fun as he pleased. And thankfully, he'd inherited both of his parent's powers as well as their money, so this made surviving a whole lot easier.

But still, he could travel as much as he wanted, but he was still lonely. Still, he was smart enough to know that anyone who knew about his parentage wouldn't exactly be welcoming, that made it a lot harder to let people in, let alone get close to people. He'd heard other of the same situation (a rare occurrence), get called 'half-breed' plenty of times, enough to know that spreading the news of his own status wasn't exactly good for his survival.

But this more Nomadic lifestyle had come to a head one day, while travelling through one of the southern water tribes. Thankfully, his grandmother on his father's side had been more then happy to take him in when he visited. She was actually the one relative who had never cared.

'Buch of prejudiced simpletons' She'd scoffed. 'My son had found himself a nice girl, and it disgusted me that i was the only one who ever expressed happiness for them. Let alone welcoming a precious child into the family. I can't tell you how happy i was to have a grandchild to spoil.'

Then she had proceeded to mortify Nagito with the following sentence.

'Let me tell you, back in my day some of the earth tribe boys looked pretty good, hehe…'

'Grandma!'

His grandmother was eccentric, but still, to her family was family, regardless of origin. So whenever he found himself wandering south, he'd always pay the elderly woman a visit.

But he hadn't wanted to take up all her time. So he'd gone out to explore one day, and he'd ended up wandering outside his grandmother's village.

Further and further he'd gone, the icebergs getting taller and taller. Had he already passed this iceberg? Everything mostly looked the same now. Until eventually, he'd fallen face first into a massive crater.

"OW!"

Groaning slightly, he picked himself up, assessing himself for any injuries.

Thankfully, he found nothing that needed to be patched up. And so, his attention went to his surroundings.

Immediately, he gaped, eyes wide at the sight before him.

In front of him, sat a large ball of ice, but that wasn't the whole story. In the centre of this giant ice ball… was the biggest furry beast that Nagito had ever seen. That alone was a stare-worthy sight. But amazingly, that wasn't the only thing that stunned him. Floating inside the ice ball also… was a person.

There was a person inside that ice.

Not really sure why he was so desperate, he was immediately springing into action, summoning fire in his hands, and attempting to melt the round ice block.

Drip. Drip. It was going a lot slower then he'd like.

"Come on!"

He'd slammed his fist against the ice. Almost immediately, a rumbling was heard. He jerked his hand back, alarmed.

He took a few steps back, then quite a few more as he saw that the noise he heard was actually the giant ball of ice cracking.

As he skittered backwards, it took him a few moments to realise that the cracks weren't also spreading across the ground, he was extremely thankful that it was just contained to the ice.

Speaking of which…

As the wind and dust settled down, he tentatively approached the former ball of ice. Was the person still there? Were they alive? Good god, he hoped he hadn't killed them with the ice ball's collapse.

As he got closer, he could see the figure face first on the ground, not moving.

"Hey!" He ran down the sides, skidding down and dodging massive piles of snow. "Hey! Are you okay down there?"

Despite looking like a pretty decent sized crater, it didn't take Nagito as long as he thought to reach the bottom. From there, he quickly approached the unmoving person.

From a quick observation, it looked to be a boy about his age. Spikey brown hair, and more tan skin compared to his own icy pale complexion. The clothing though, he didn't recognise… Each bending nation tended to stick to their own colour scheme, so what was this?

He couldn't be…?

No way.

"The Avatar?!"

No way. The avatar had disappeared years ago! All the air benders were long dead!

"Mmmmmngh…."

Startled, Nagito froze where he was kneeling next to the other boy, slowly looking at the others face.

Was he waking up?

He reached out his hand, and gently nudged their shoulder.

"Hey… are you okay?"

It… It was really hard to believe that it was even a possibility, but with that clothing…

"Ugh… who woke me up? I donwanna go bagto the air temple…" The words came out as a slur, but Nagito managed to understand what the other boy was saying.

"A-air..?!"

"Well duh…" The other boy muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Haven't you ever heard of air benders?"

What?

"You… Don't know?"

A brown eyebrow raised. Eyes were opened to reveal brilliant golden brown.

"Don't know what?"

It was Nagito's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Do you… Do you know what year it is?"

The brunette looked at Nagito like he'd just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

"Of course I do."

The answer that the brunette gave surprised Nagito.

"And you're absolutely sure?"

"Well, yeah?" Confusion was evident on the other boys face. "Why? What year do you think it is?"

Nagito took a deep breath, and prepared to answer.

"That… Was a hundred years ago."

"What?!" The other reared back a little, shocked. "No way, that can't be right."

"I'm serious! Here," Nagito stood up, helping the other stand as he did so. "Let me take you back to my village, and I can prove what I said is true."

A moment of silence, then he nodded.

"Hey, uh… I haven't asked yet, how rude of me. What's your name?"

"Hajime, Hajime Hinata."

"I'm Nagito Komaeda."

… …

Upon discussion (and several days of understandable emotional turmoil from Hajime), Nagito agreed to travel with the avatar. And for a while, all was going fairly good, well, aside from a few incidents with a very unhappy fire nation, all had been going decently so far.

But… so far Nagito had only displayed his water bending abilities, not willing to share his double heritage. It wasn't so much because he didn't trust Hajime, he was just… Scared, he supposed. No-one he'd shown had ever accepted him for who he was, and he didn't want to ruin his newest friendship.

Logically, he knew this was the avatar he was talking to, so if anyone would understand, it would be him, but it didn't help the feelings left from several years of rejection and anxiety.

But, unfortunately…

He wasn't exactly going to have that choice for much longer.

It'd been a good day, they were travelling through a forest, and for the most part, except for a few forest animals it had been peaceful.

Then…

"You two! Stop right there!"

Both boys froze, looking at each other with wide eyes.

"Stop right now! I know you have the avatar with you boy!"

They both turned around, and saw several men dressed in fire nation uniforms. The one that spoke had a fancier uniform then the rest, marking him as the one in charge.

"I'm… Sorry sir? I thought the avatar and his people were wiped out years ago."

The leader's scowl deepened.

"Don't play stupid with me, peasant boy! We got a tip that your companion over here was the avatar."

"I don't know who your informant was sir." Nagito was struggling to remain calm. "But is it possible he was mistaken?"

"Of course not! The common folk know better then to lie to us. So stop lying to me this instant!"

He glanced at Hajime, who had remained quiet so far throughout this exchange, perhaps guessing it was better to stay silent. He didn't know much, but from Nagito's own words and what he'd gathered up to this point from people around them, the fire nation wasn't exactly his biggest fan at the moment. When Hajime had remarked on that last point one night, he'd only laughed and replied that it was a massive understatement.

The leader stepped towards him, raising his hand meaningfully.

"Either you tell me what I want to know, or you'll be in serious trouble, innocent or not!"

Nagito frowned.

"I told you sir, my companion isn't the avatar."

The leader stared at him for a moment, then scoffed ad turned to Hajime, who was a few steps behind Nagito, but slightly to the side enough that he was visible.

"You! Are you mute or are you going to speak for yourself?"

"And what is it you wish to know?"

"You know what!" The leader growled. "Are you the avatar or not!"

"No sir, I'm only a traveller."

"There, you heard him speak." Nagito interrupted, regaining the lead firebender's attention. "Now can we be on our way? Neither of us are the Avatar you're looking for."

"I don't appreciate your attitude boy." The commander growled. "Careful before I decide to burn your tongue off."

If Nagtio was alone, he'd be sorely tempted to just up and give their leader what-for, but since he had Hajime with him…

"My apologies sir, can we be on our way now?"

The fire bender huffed and glared at them, and was just opening his mouth to hopefully agree, when-

"Sir, doesn't he look awfully like the hooded boy in the wanted poster in the capital?"

"Yeah." Another soldier agreed. "Spiked hair and everything."

Oh no. This wasn't good.

That thoughtful look on the leaders face definitely wasn't good.

"Like the poster, you say boys?" Nagito didn't like that sly grin.

"Exactly sir!"

Greedy eyes shifted to Hajime, who warily took a step back.

As soon as the other man shifted his foot, Nagito instantly stepped in front of Hajime, hiding the brunette from the leader's direct line of sight.

"What do you think you're doing, peasant? Move now!"

Pale green eyes narrowed.

"Nagito-"

"No."

Then, several things happened at once.

The leader attacked with a snarl, massive fireball headed directly towards Nagito. There was a split microsecond where his brain also registered that if he did nothing then both he and Hajime would be injured and probably taken away, but if he fought back he'd risk revealing his lie to Hajime.

It took even less time for his heart to make that decision.

"NOW YOU LISTEN HERE YOU SHITS!" Massive waves of fire came from his hands, framing his face in a terrifying light. When combined with his rare angry expression he looked positively demonic. "I AM NAGITO KOMAEDA, SON OF THE LATE FIRE GENERAL MICHIKO KOMAEDA!"

"You mean-"

"Oh my god is that really?"

"No way!"

He could faintly hear a 'Nagito wha-'

"AND IF ANY OF YOU HURT A HAIR ON MY COMPANIONS HEAD I WILL BURN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU ALIVE!"

The entire group of soldiers, understandably, looked absolutely terrified.

"Men we must-" The leader turned to address his men.

But nobody was there.

He turned back, moustache quivering in anger.

"Don't think this is the last you've seen of me!" And with that they were alone.

They.

'They' were alone.

In the moment, he'd only really processed what he was doing in a rushed sort of fashion. But now, now that there weren't any other factors involved.

He'd fire bended in front of Hajime.

Hajime.

"…Nagito?"

Squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn't cry, he turned to leave.

"Nagito…?!"

The other's confusion had turned to urgency and a tiny bit of panic.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Nagito sighed. "There's no way you'd want to be seen with someone as horrible as me anymore."

Right as he was taking a few more steps, he heard a rustling before he was jerked to a stop. He didn't have to look back to realise what happened.

"Are you sure you still want to hold that hand anymore? It's been amazing but I-"

"Is this about the firebending?"

Nagito whirled around to face his companion, unintentionally yanking his hand out of the brunette's grasp.

"Is this about the firebending?!" Nagito repeated incredulously. "What else could I be talking about?!"

"I don't see a prob-"

"You don't see any problems?" Nagito was near hysterical, with tears about to spill. "How could you not?! Did you not just see the fire shooting out of my hands?!"

"So…?"

"I CAN WATERBEND HAJIME!" He burst out.

"I know that. I really don't see-"

"HOW do you not?! Don't you understand?! The fire nation, the water tribe, they're not supposed to mix, I'm not supposed to have both! I'm not supposed to exist! I…" Nagito was shaking, a few tears starting to make their appearance. "I'm… I'm an abomination, a freak of nature… I don't… I don't deserve your kindness anymore now that you know I've lied to you… I was selfish… I just… I just… I…"

Before he'd even realised it, he'd been crushed into a warm and firm chest. Opening his eyes would have revealed the tanned skin right in front of his face.

"Oh Nagito… Is that really what people said to you?"

"…I didn't want you to hate me…" His voice was small and weak.

"Hey… I could never hate you."

Warm hands stroked his back in a soothing motion. As much as Nagito wanted to pull away, he couldn't help but melt into the warm embrace.

Did this mean he wasn't being rejected?

For real?

"Don't ever apologise for being yourself, Nagito." He pulled away a little, and lifted a hand to wipe any remaining tears. "Because no one in the world can ever replace you."

"You… You don't hate me? You don't mind that-"

"That what? You have white hair? That you've stuck by my side? That you've supported me this whole journey without question? Or maybe how adorable your messy bed-head looks in the mornings…"

"Stop that…" Nagito whined. "You know what I mean."

Hajime said nothing for a moment, smiling gently at him.

"Do you know what one of the purposes of the avatar is? It's to bring peace between all of the bending nations."

"You say that, and it's a beautiful sentiment, but-"

"If no one accepts you for what you are, then I want to change that. I want to use my avatar status to help change the world."

A hand gently cupped Nagito's cheek, pale face going pink at the action.

"I want to create a world where you don't have to be ashamed of being who you are. You are a beautiful person Nagito, and, more then anything… I want to bring about a peaceful world, where everyone can see you just as I do."

It was such a beautiful smile, one that Nagito, despite still being a dark shade of pink, couldn't help returning.

"I… Want that too." He put his hand over the tan one still on his cheek. "Will you… Will you be by my side?"

"Always."

Nagito couldn't be happier.

Even if Hajime wasn't he avatar, even if he was just a completely normal person with no talents whatsoever, Nagito was grateful, happy to have someone that liked and appreciated him for who he is.

He couldn't be happier then he was now, by Hajime's side.

END OF CHAPTER:

Seriously, it was like 600 words before Hajime was even introduced. I mean goddamn…

Have i been putting too much emphasis on setups and backstory? I mean, i don't really know, but is it too much waffling on for you guys?

Anywho, as usual i hope i've entertained you with my latest crazy plot idea.

When Nagito said 'neither of us are the avatar', I was only sad that the time period didn't allow me a 'these are not the droids you're looking for' joke, but hey I can still laugh at the image.

…

OOOOOH! New thought.

Soooo… I was thinking. If I ever extend this AU (which as with all the others will be when this series is finished first). How about I make Fuyuhiko prince Zuko? Fiery temper (-I'm more proud of that joke then I should be lol-), redemption ark, it would be perfect (and he even lost and eye). And Natsumi can be Azula, she's certainly got the attitude/personality for it, and there's even Peko to be a sort of Iroh/guardian stand in. So? You guys think that could work if I ever did that?

(Plus imagine the sweet fire sword moves from Peko like the fighting badass she is)

Maybe Souda could be Sokka? Lol I've put as much thought into this as that Batman AU from a previous author note.

Although I'm having a fire lord dilemma. I sort of want Junko, cause she's still the crazy bitch that ended the world… But I hate Tsumugi WAAAY more, because of my absolute hatred for V3's main game ending. (It's actually funny, I'm more neutral towards Junko now, because Tsumugi has taken all of my seething hatred).

So I'm considering Tsumugi, cause then that also lets me add more V3 characters in too. So far I haven't crossed V3 characters with DR1-2 character centric stories very often, or the other way around.

You know what? I think I just talked myself into making Tsumugi the Fire Lord cause I just hate the plot twist she represents, and well she technically a villain anyway, sooo… Yep. Lol I just talked myself into it. But still, what are your thought on my future character decisions?

Cya next chapter :)

Tairulz