Hello, Guys. Finally, i was able to finish another chapter, looks like this story is going to take a little while longer.
But allow me to celebrate that it's been a year since i started writing this story, A WHOLE YEAR! WOW! I started this story for fun, and i still feel the same as the day i started writing it, i appreciate the reviews and the follows and favorites, it's been a pleasure providing you guys with some entertainment, especially during these troubled times.. not like my story makes the mood lighter or anything, it's depressing, but Hey, we all love sappy stories, Right?
Seriously, Thank you guys for your support, much appreciated, now let's dive into the chapter, shall we?
Katara
It's been a week since the battle of Yu Dao, but Katara's work hasn't been done yet, in fact it seems like it's going to take a little while longer.
Ever since the battle ended and the allies finally demolished the firenation conquest, Katara has been attending to the wounded of the battle, she's been helping the healers of her father's army and the medics of Yu Dao attend to the wounded of their army, as well as the wounded of Shun's army, some of them got to live and King Bumi decided to give them another chance to live, so he gave an order to have them healed as well while in prison, and the rest of the world leaders agreed.
Yes, it's King Bumi who is giving orders now, not Aang. Katara thought sadly, for she hasn't seen the youngman ever since the battle.
he's been locking himself up in a house in Yu Dao, refusing to meet anybody, occasionally coming out of the house for supplies, and those supplies were either Food or booze, or so she was told by Sokka who got to check on him when they asked for his attendance during the meeting of the allies to discuss the upcoming events, obviously Aang refused and sent Sokka away, telling him that whatever the council decides, he is on board, he doesn't need to make the orders to follow them.
Katara was worried sick for the youngman's well-being, but she knew he needed some time alone before he could open up to her, she busied herself with her work so to prevent herself from going over to his house, she knew it was wrong to leave him alone in such times, but she also knew that if she went to him without giving him some time alone, he would blow her off. literally perhaps.
Katara kept musing as she was healing the wound of one of the freedom fighters that are still living, he was still unconscious with his girlfriend by his side, the girl has been crying all week, refusing any kind of comfort, Katara spent the entire week trying to talk to her, to let her open up to her, but she refused to talk, she just sat there the entire week beside Sneers, but still Katara never gave up.
"Kori, you hardly had any sleep since the battle, take some time off and i assure you Sneers is in good hands." Katara reassured the girl, but still she wouldn't take it.
"I told you many times already, i am not leaving, Katara." She responded, followed by a sigh from Katara.
"Alright, But can you at least tell me what's bothering you? I know that you are aware that Sneers is getting better, so there must be something else that's bothering you. Please, talk to me." Katara requested again warmly, Kori looked at her and appeared to be struggling, more tears fell from her eyes and she forced her face away from Katara, wiping them away with her sleeve.
"There is nothing bothering me other than Sneers being unconscious." Kori refused to open up again.
Katara finished healing Sneers and returned the water to her pouch, she got closer to Kori and put a hand on her shoulder,
"Listen, i know we've only known each other for a week, but that period of time was enough for me to be certain that you are a good-hearted and kind girl, i want to ease your pain, and rest assured, i am not a tattletale, i can keep a secret. Please, talk to me so i might be of help." Katara said to the girl, looking her in the eyes to ensure Kori of her honesty. Kori looked to be struggling again, she opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, before finally opening up to Katara.
"I killed my friends." Kori finally said, followed by covering her face and sobbing. Katara knew why the girl said that, Sokka told her of what happened before the battle and how Shun tricked them to spoil their formation, Katara got incredibly worried when she heard that Aang almost lost his life during that moment, and how The arrows that they launched killed all of Kori's close friends of the freedom fighters.
"You didn't kill anybody, Kori.. it was a trick by Shun and he got what he deserved.." Katara responded, but she only said that to comfort the girl, to this day she was still shocked by what Aang did to Shun, she continued, "Sokka told me of your bravery during the exchange, he told me of how protective you were of Sneers and how you almost gave your life for his, it's something to be proud of." Katara finished with a smile.
"But in the process i caused the death of my friends, if it wasn't for me, they might have been still living and celebrating the victory with the others, now nobody is celebrating the victory, all thanks to my stupidity!" Kori said grievously, and Katara stood there helpless, not knowing what to do to help the poor girl.
Kori continued, "And Jet.. oh spirits Jet.. We couldn't even find his body.. and i wasn't.. i wasn't there.. when he got.." She trailed off, her sobs becoming louder.
Katara put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder again, "Your friends came to this battle already knowing what was at stake, they knew it and they still ran towards Sneers to help him, and Jet sacrificed himself to get the army into the city, without him or.. or Appa.." Katara got emotional herself at that one, the bison was a dear friend of hers, and she's gotten very sad herself for him,
"without them, we wouldn't have gotten into the city and freed it, we would have done the same thing to bring peace and balance back to the world, and we are almost there, we'll do it for them." Katara finished, Kori turned her head up to face Katara who had an encouraging look on her face.
Kori turned her face away again, "I am going to need some more time to adapt to this, Katara.. i know the right thing to do is to move on, but that's something even Aang still hasn't achieved.. i suppose all wounds will be mended in time." Kori responded, and Katara understood completely, especially the part about Aang.
"Yes, that's a start. and if it makes you feel any better, Sneers might wake up in the next couple of hours, so be ready for your wounds to mend, because the time has come." Katara said with a smile, and Kori's face finally brightened for the first time in a week.
"Thank you, Katara." Kori said with a smile of her own.
"Don't mention it. Now if you'll excuse me, i have other patients to attend to, i'll leave you alone with Sneers." Katara said, and Kori nodded.
As she made her way out of the room, her face turned to a frown, all the words she said was to comfort Kori, but she knew the situation their psychological wounds will never be mended, including hers, it's impossible to come out of a battle the same person as you were before, and she knew Aang would never be the same again.
Speaking of which, it's time to finally visit the youngman. Katara supposed, she has given him enough time alone, now it was time to talk to him, she knew it's going to be a very long argument, but she is willing to have it for his comfort.
Azula
It's funny how the world sometimes rolls in your favor, even so she was the one that murdered The Late Firelord Zhao and his rebels, The People are asking her to be The Firelord now.
It's been two weeks since Zhao's demise, Azula was certain the news have reached every corner of the world by now, After The Explosion, Azula took two days off to sort out her thoughts and try to have a clear head, her conscious was very nagging, but it took her two days to put it to sleep.. temporarily.
After that, she saw General Shinu coming to her with the great news, The People want her to be in charge of the nation, reasoning that, this is what happens when you get The Royal Family out of The Royal Palace, The Palace gets exploded, of course some of the people expected foul play, but none of them suspected that Azula was the one at fault, she lived her whole life in that Palace, there is no way she was the one to explode it.. Such Naivete.
With General Shinu by her side, She was standing in front of the rubble that used to be her home, she pushed her feelings aside to finally address the people in front of her.
"Citizens of The Firenation, Here we are again gathering at the same place for the second time in two weeks, but this time with heavy hearts and unclear minds, what happened here two weeks ago was a terrible crime, and the people responsible will be brought to justice. two weeks ago, we lost the man that i vouched for to be leader of this nation, Firelord Zhao. and as unfortunate as that is for me, i feel like it's most unfortunate for you, The People of The Firenation, you lost a competent ruler that would have made this nation great.." Azula said, feigning grief,
She continued, "it saddens me to say this but it seems to me that The Firenation is currently without someone in charge, and with the recent events of what happened in the colonies, we need a competent leader to be in charge right now.."
Of course the news arrived this morning, and this is why the people asked for a meeting with Azula and Shinu, The Firenation lost its domination on The Earth Kingdom, when Avatar Aang gathered an army and came to the colony and took it from Shun, Azula didn't know what to think, does she feel sad about the end of the conquest? or does she feel happy that Aang is still alive? Of course, she chose the latter, she was ecstatic that after General Shinu told her the news and left, she cried tears of joy, it was such a happy moment for her, the first one in a very long while, but then it dawned on her that General Shinu told her the news with heavy heart, he was also standing by her side at the moment motionless, he never said any words ever since he told her the news, of course he was mourning his son, pompous little shit that he was, but still his son. and Azula vowed to give him a break after the speech.
she continued, "I know i've been mulling it over for the past week, my sincere apologies to the people of this great nation that it took me this much time to realize it, but if it's a Firelord you see in me.. Alright.. I'll be Your Bloody Firelord!" Azula said Passionately, and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause, it's funny how in the past, the uproar of those people would make Azula want to strangle each and everyone of them, but now, it's what gave her encouragement, maybe all the people she wanted to strangle died in that explosion with Zhao.
From the looks on those people's faces, some of them looked exactly like General Shinu, they must have lost some boys to The Battle in Yu Dao, and though Azula knew which side she wanted to win, but those people deserve some mourning, maybe it'll help her gain some favoritism within them.
"What happened in Yu Dao was a terrible crime, and The Avatar will pay a hefty price for what he did to our soldiers in the colonies, our boys and girls who gave their lives bringing glory to this country, They will go down in history as the heroes who made their country proud, who made their countrymen proud, and who made their new Firelord proud, May The Spirits have mercy on their souls." Azula finished, putting a hand on her heart, and the crowd erupted in applause, some of them wiping away their tears.
After that, Azula spoke about new plans for The Firenation, and the first course of action is renovating The Royal Palace, The Palace that once represented the glory of The Firenation, Now, its rubble represents the fall of The Firenation, especially after Aang rejoined the fray, but surely that wasn't what she told the crowd, it was what she discussed with General Shinu afterwards, The old man just sat there in his house as he got Azula to temporarily live with him until the palace is restored,
she couldn't go live with Mai or Ty Lee, not after what she did to Mai's father, in fact she hasn't seen any of them ever since the explosion, it was exceptionally weird.
But at the moment she was just bothered about General Shinu being overly quiet, "I know this is hard for you to deal with, General. and so i decided to give you a break, i have reestablished my reputation among the people, i think i can take it from here." Azula said to the general, which finally caught his attention.
"What about The Coronation?" General Shinu asked through a miserable voice, it saddened Azula.
"My Coronation is not until The Palace is fully renovated, General. that's how the rules are, so i would say it would take three weeks.. a month at most." Azula said, knowing full well that The General would be aware of such information if he wasn't in a such a traumatizing state.
"Oh, Yeah.. Correct." The General said, looking at the ground once more.
Azula stood up, and put a hand on the old man's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Alright? Just take some time off. Just know that i won't allow you into my service again until you are fully recovered, is that clear?" Azula asked feigning a serious tone.
The General looked at her and nodded, as if thinking that Azula wasn't joking about the whole thing, Azula wanted to clarify that she wasn't serious, but she thought it was pointless, she just patted him on the shoulder and left him on the spot.
She wanted to visit her favorite place of the city, a spot that overlooks the sunset at the top of the city, it's beautiful and makes thinking easier.
She wore her crimson cloak covering her head to hide her identity, and took her leave, making her way to the place, as she walked she eavesdropped on some conversations around the city, most people were very happy that Azula finally accepted to be Firelord and that The Royal Family is going back to rule The Firenation, others feel like Azula didn't deserve the honor.
"she was imprisoned by Zhao and now we are supposed to accept her as our Firelord?" said one passerby to his companion, Azula gave a sarcastic smile.
if only he knew the half of it. She thought as she kept walking, eventually it was one particular eavesdrop that made her stop dead in her tracks, and listen to it fully, it was a mother asking her son about his day at work.
"What's new in Lord Ukano's place, Kei Lo?"
"Nothing new, mom.. ever since Lord Ukano died in that explosion, The House has gone very miserable, it's sad really. his Lady Wife soaked the entire place with tears, The little one Tom-Tom is always posing strength, but eventually he breaks down, i caught glimpses of him crying a lot in his room or when he thinks nobody is looking, Poor kid.. but what worries me the most is Lady Mai." The boy said, with a look of genuine concern that bewildered Azula.
"What of her, son?" The mother asked.
"She's been locking herself in her room ever since, never coming out but to receive food.. her mother tried to get her out multiple times only for her to send her off.. but the other day.. i think i saw her coming out of her room." The boy said, and Azula's eyes widened.
"What did i tell you about spying on the lady, Kei Lo? i know you have feelings for her but that's never an excuse, youngman." His mother scolded.
"I wasn't spying on her! i was.. looking after her.. anyways, there's more to the story.. when she got out of her room, i thought she was going to kill herself or something so i followed her, but then i found her meeting with this friend of hers Ty Lee." Kei Lo said.
"Well, what happened then?" The mother asked, looking be intrigued by the story just as Azula.
"I couldn't hear a word they said, they got suspicious of their surroundings and that made me wary, so i hurried out of the place.." Kei Lo said, Azula gave a sigh of disappointment, she was hopeful he might have heard something..
"But before i left, i heard some metal clinking on the ground, when i turned to look at him, he was a giant man with a very weird mark on his forehead, he looked very scary, i don't know why Lady Mai and Ty Lee would talk to such a man, but i guess nothing good." Kei Lo finished, knocking the air out of Azula's chest.
Azula got away from Kei Lo's place and entered a nearby alley where nobody was around and she heavily panted, the shock made her breathing heavy.
Mai and Ty Lee want to murder me? Azula thought, the shock hasn't worn off yet, and they use the criminal that has a history with Azula, Combustion Man.
When did he even escape from Prison? Azula thought fearfully, he is the most dangerous criminal in The Firenation, and a very skilled assassin, nothing like being murdered by an assassin paid by your two best friends.
Azula was very shocked, which was later taken over by anger, and the first angry thought that entered her mind was.. Treason shall never go unpunished.
Aang
You never completely let go of a habit, you always have to come back at some point, specially at dark times like this.
The habit Aang can't let go of is drinking liquor, he took a sip from his cup of wine and sipped it in slowly, not even flinching from the taste as he has gotten very used to it, last time he hurt his conscious, he felt like drinking to let go of the pain..
but this time he doesn't drink to let go of the pain, he drinks to let go of the anger. last time he killed a man, he drank to let go of the guilt, now he drinks so he might prevent himself from killing more men, his anger was immeasurable, and even after an entire week, he still feels like he needs to avenge his fallen bison.
He took another sip of his wine as the memories of Appa flashed in his head again, he wanted to get rid of them, all of them, it was torture to remember his beloved bison, Momo was still by his side, sleeping by the corner of the room, but his heart was still empty without Appa, he first met him when he was young, and Appa promised that they were going to be together forever, but he couldn't keep that promise..
That dumb bison! Aang thought angrily as he took another sip of his cup, The Avatar was sitting in his room in the house he rented in Yu Dao to stay away from public eyes, getting wasted ever since the battle, he would replay the moment he slit Shun's throat over and over in his head just to feel the satisfaction of it, at this point, he doesn't care about murdering a dozen more people just to let those wretched feelings go away, he thought about going out on a hunt, not animal hunt, Yu Yen Archers hunt..
Yes, he knew some of those bastards were still alive, just like Jeri and some of Shun's scums were still alive, rotting in prison, Sokka came to Aang a number of times asking him to come out to interrogate the men, Aang told him that he trusts his judgement and that Sokka should take Tolan and interrogate them himself, after all Tolan is a Dai Li agent, he has a few ideas about getting information out of people.
Of course the youngman decided to stay for a while, along with all the armies that were allies to Aang, even King Bumi was still in Yu Dao as they were still making debates about the new conditions of the city, Mayor Morishita returned to rule the city, all hail the bugger. but that also gave Aang hope that the debates are finally coming to an end, and they would leave the city for good never to return, leaving Aang alone until he figures out what to do with his current crisis, and what to do with the upcoming crisis with Vattu.
Yes, Aang never forgot about Vattu, he just needed some time to let off some steam.
Suddenly, The Avatar heard some knocking on the door, he stood up, stumbled across the room from too much liquor in his system but eventually he stood tall and went on to open the door.
"Who..*Hiccup* Who's this?" Aang asked.
"It's me, Aang.. Open up." a very familiar female voice answered, it belongs to the last person Aang wants to confront at the moment.
"Katara.." Aang said, before opening the door for the youngwoman, as much as he wanted to run away from her, he couldn't just leave her standing at the door, "Hey, Katara! What's up?" Aang greeted drunkenly, Katara sighed disappointedly in the process.
"Somehow, i knew i would find you like this." Katara said, as she stood at the door pouting.
"Yeah, what of it, Mom?" Aang replied sarcastically, still intoxicated, he went back to the table and sat on the chair, Katara followed him and closed the door behind her.
"Aang, would you at least try to sober up a little so we could talk normally?" Katara requested, and Aang chuckled.
"You mean this isn't normal enough for you, Kat?" Aang asked, giggling still. Without permission or consent and with an angry face, Katara suddenly took the water off her pouch and splashed it at Aang's face, taking the Airbender by surprise and making him fall off his chair, dripping and spitting water all over the place, Aang stood up ferociously staring Katara.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Aang shouted pointing angrily at her.
She got very close to him, with a furious face herself, and without further notice, she SLAPPED him hard across the cheek, Aang took the hit and stumbled back a couple of yards, this is really getting out of hand, he put a hand on a nearby counter, putting the other on his now red left cheek, the liquor was still messing with his mind, probably that's why he took the slap harder than he should have.
He looked at her again, she was still staring at him angrily, with a dark face that would make the bravest of men cower back, Aang stood as strong as he could and finally spoke to her normally,
"Are you done?" he asked.
Katara's facial expressions were never fazed, but she managed to voice out some words, "Depends on your sobriety." She replied menacingly, he's never witnessed Katara being this angry before, what's gotten into her?
"What are you so angry at me for, huh? What did you expect me to do? i just lost my best friend." Aang replied his voice cracking at the last two words, his eyes filling with tears and he brought them away from Katara's.
Again, she took him by surprise as she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely, her facade finally breaking and she started crying in his arms, feeling wet tears staining his clothes, Aang got over the surprise and hugged her back, feeling some tears falling from his own eyes, staining Katara's clothes.
"I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry." Katara said in Aang's ears, her sobs were getting louder by the moment, Aang knew that wasn't her that slapped him, she was just angry for him, not at him.
"No, I am sorry.. I shouldn't have gotten back to being a sorry excuse of a human being." Aang said defeatedly, still holding onto her, they held each other for a long time, as if letting go would harm them, Aang knew that he needed her more than ever, he needed her to comfort him, to tell him that everything will be ok, to support him in the wars to come, the crisis he was facing at the moment wasn't like any he has ever encountered, without Katara's help, this one might break his back for good.
"I need you now more than ever, Katara.. i have no one left but you." He whispered in her ear as he refused to let go, but as soon as he said the words, Katara broke the embrace to stare him in the eyes with determination.
"I'll always be here for you.. i promise." Katara whispered back warmly, and Aang felt some kind of comfort for the first time since they separated at the southern air temple, they kept staring at each other, gazing in each other's eyes lovingly, Aang tried to find meanings for his feelings for her, but he couldn't fathom, he just stared at her eyes because it felt right. Eventually, Katara broke the stare and let go of Aang making him feel a slight cold at her departure, her sudden movement made Aang confused but he stood still waiting for her to talk.
She finally talked, "Do you want me to brief you on the latest news?" Katara proposed.
Aang sighed and took a seat on the chair behind him, "Sokka informed me of the latest news, The return of Mayor Morishita, the pointless meetings of the victors at the administrative building to discuss plans for Yu Dao, I wouldn't call this information, we all knew this was going to happen as soon as we take the city." Aang said uninterestedly.
Katara grabbed a chair and sat beside Aang with a heavy sigh looking at the ground, Aang observed her suspiciously, "What?" He asked, as he knew something was wrong with her.
Katara brought her head up suddenly, "What?" She asked.
"What's wrong?" Aang asked.
"Nothing's wrong."
"That look on your face cannot be nothing."
Katara considered for a second before asking, "Is it really that obvious?"
Aang chuckled lightly, "Yeah, Totally. Now what's wrong?" Aang asked.
Katara sighed again, this time clearing her throat and straightening herself on the chair making Aang very anxious to hear what she has to say,
"I just heard rumors on my way here, but i can't tell if they are true.." Katara started, Aang nodded in anticipation, waiting for her to continue..
"Zhao is dead. The Firenation Princess has taken over the throne." Katara dropped the information on Aang like a Waterbending bomb, his eyes widened and he couldn't speak a word for a couple of seconds.
"What?" Aang asked, struggling to get the word out of his mouth.
"Yes. It shocked me too.. A firenation citizen in the city said that his cousin in their motherland sent him a letter saying that Firenation Princess Azula vouched for Zhao to be The Firelord, and as soon as the coronation was concluded and he entered the throne room, The Entire Royal Palace was exploded, saying they used something called blasting jelly, very explosive.. and apparently there were hundreds of kegs as the guy who sent the message said that the entire palace turned to ashes in seconds, and the explosion could be heard within miles and miles of it, shaking the ground beneath the entire nation, killing everyone inside, who happened to be ALL the noblemen loyal to Zhao." Katara finished, Aang was in more shock than ever.
"All the noblemen loyal to Zhao, you said?" Aang asked.
"Yes. all of them turned to ashes in seconds, and although the message says the police suspect it was the doing of Pirates, i doubt those thugs could organize such a well-devised plan, Aang. whoever did this chose the proper time to wipe out all of the rebels.. and take the throne for herself." Katara voiced out her inner thoughts, making Aang turn his eyes to her roughly.
"Azula would never do such a thing." Aang said, not very sure whether to believe what he just said or not.
"Come on, Aang. you sang a lot of songs about Azula's intelligence to us, how would you not suspect that this plan wasn't of her doing? She was there during the coronation and yet she's still alive." Katara said, making some interesting points that Aang couldn't process at first due to the booze.
And yet Aang still argued, "Because It's the royal palace we are talking about, no matter how ruthless she may seem, she would never do such thing to the family legacy." He said feeling like he is trying to convince himself not Katara, he stood up from his chair and started pacing around the rented house.
"But the family legacy would have been gone entirely had Zhao become the firelord." Katara said.
Aang mulled it over for a second before a thought occurred to him, he stopped pacing and look at Katara, "Has there been any mention of a third party involved?" Aang asked.
Katara seemed to be in thought, trying to remember anything, "I don't think- Wait, i guess there is." Katara said, interrupting herself.
"Who?" Aang asked as he got closer to her.
"There was another name mentioned in the letter. a General i suppose, the guy who received the letter said he was following Azula everywhere.. what's his name.. Sheenu? Shenai?" Katara tried to remember.
"Shinu?" Aang suggested.
"Yes! That's him." Katara said, and Aang fell back to the chair.
"What's wrong? Do you know the guy?" Katara asked.
"Yes. We met a couple of times, i never trusted the guy, he seemed like a snake, just like his son." Aang responded hoarsely.
"Who's his son?" Katara asked.
Aang sighed heavily before saying, "Shun.", His wretched memory still haunting Aang to this day.
"Oh Yeah.. Him." Katara mumbled.
Both of them went silent for a some moments, as soon as Shun's name was mentioned, the air was sucked out of the room, Such a pain in the ass, alive or dead.
"Aang, we need to talk about this." Katara said from beside him.
"Hm.. What?" Aang asked as her words took him by surprise.
"What you did with.. him.. at the battle.. we need to talk about it." Katara clarified as best she could.
"What's there to discuss? he killed my friends, i slit his throat with a dagger.. i don't think there's further talk." Aang said, struggling a little bit with the words.
Katara looked to be taken by surprise from Aang's response, "Aang-"
"What do you want me to say Katara?! Yes, i killed the bastard, and yes i felt bad for it, but Now i don't feel bad at all, the only thing i am feeling bad for is thinking that all people can change, but Jet was right, we were up against a monster. and now, most of my friends are dead!" Aang lashed out at non expectant Katara, he always felt bad for killing, even this time, the only difference is this time he didn't take much time to move on.
Katara was rendered speechless by Aang's words, Aang felt like she was struggling to get words out but she was looking at him like he was a complete stranger, after what seemed like eternity of silence, and since she didn't have anything to say, Aang spoke again,
"You know what would have happened if i just listened to Jet and never agreed to the negotiations? probably none of this would have happened, we would have had a solid plan from Jet who understood Shun more than anybody. you wanna know why i returned to drinking, Katara? it's because whenever i make a mistake, it's my friends who pay for it!" Aang said, feeling his chest tightening from the frustration, so he breathed in some fresh air to refresh his aching chest, he never wanted to bother anyone with his inner problems, but Katara asked for it.
Aang kept his eyes away from Katara for some time after that, but then he brought his head up to face her again, only to find her cheeks stained with tears and her looking at him desperately.
"I hate seeing you like this.." The girl said weakly, her voice sounded very fragile and desperate that it made Aang's insides crumble all the more, he looked at her with tears threatening to fall from his own eyes, until Katara's expressions hardened, and she stood abruptly from her chair.
"I am going to Kyoshi Island tomorrow morning." She said all of a sudden.
Aang was more confused than shocked by the statement, "What's in Kyoshi Island?" Aang asked.
"My Mother. I am tired of trying to get you out of your cocoon, Aang. I have enough on my plate already, and you are so stubborn and selfish that i can't take it anymore.. i am going to look for comfort myself, and since i can't find it here with you, then i'll try to get it from my mother." Katara finished.
Aang stood up angrily, "Selfish? I am Fucking Selfish?!" he said angrily.
"YES, YOU FUCKING ARE!" Katara shouted back, her anger couldn't be more visible that it made Aang step back a few paces.
"You are the most selfish and stupid person i've ever met, and to think The Avatar is supposed to be the best of us, turns out he only thinks of himself!" Katara screamed out, her veins popping up and looking like she's ready to murder, It was Aang's turn to be rendered speechless as the watertribe girl was shooting him a death glare.
Eventually, she took a deep breath, and looked at him again,
"I am going to Kyoshi Island tomorrow. I hope if i get to see you again, you would be the person i imagined you were." Katara finished still staring daggers at him.
Aang looked at the ground to avoid her eyes, he was so broken inside and the struggle not to cry in front of her was more difficult than ever, for some reason those words hurt more than anything he's ever endured. After what felt like a lifetime of feeling Katara's eyes on him, she sighed and then made her way to the door, Aang wanted to shout out to her, tell her to stay, even beg her to stay, but eventually, he only settled on berating her.
"So much for promises, Katara." he voiced out weakly to her, reminding her of her earlier promise to stay by his side no matter the cost.
She turned to him, her eyes weren't filled with hatred or anger, they were filled with desperation and sadness, which made Aang all the more broken inside,
"I made a promise to Aang.. you are not Aang." She said, getting out of the house and closing the door behind her, leaving Aang to fall to his knees and break down immediately.
