Forenote: Summerstar, thank you - yes, I love nitpicks. 3 3 3 Have fixed the error and re-uploaded Chapter 1. whennerdscollide - You're the second person to say to me that professors are not good cooks. )
'Kitsune' is the Japanese word for fox and also used to refer to 'fox spirits'. Also, there's additional character and episode information over at the official Nick AtLA site which I based upon when writing this story.
On reviews - every review will be appreciated, and you don't have to have a ffnet account to leave a review.
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Zei woke up to a throbbing headache and found himself lying on what felt to be a pile of hay. Before his hazy vision loomed an unfamiliar ceiling with sinuous moldings cast in a slightly greenish light.
… Where am I? The professor wondered and winced for even the mere act of thinking caused the pain centered about the top of his skull to worsen. Vaguely, he remembered flying and colliding headfirst into a very solid object.
All of a sudden and most alarmingly, he felt nauseous. His right hand stole up towards his face, to cover his mouth while his left pushed against the yielding hay, struggling to elevate his upper torso into an upright position.
In a panic, he looked around hurriedly for a basin, a sink, a patch of grass to throw up upon and instead saw before him - numerous pairs of dark eyes alit with quizzical concern betwixt pairs of pointed ears and pointed black noses, which wrinkled in distaste when Zei emptied the meager contents of his stomach onto the clean kitchen floor.
Cool sweat beaded on his brow, his arms, on his back, all over him. In the deep recesses of his mind, Zei realized with a pang of additional worry that he must drink some water and soon, lest he risk suffering the debilitating effects of dehydration in addition to his head injury.
He forced himself to look up from the disgusting sight of his vomit on to meet the stares of the knowledge-seekers. Abruptly, Zei remembered that they had saved him from the wrath of their master, the Knowledge Spirit Wan Shi Tong.
I am in Wan Shi Tong's Library, Zei recalled with a start and shortly after felt besieged by uncertainty for he couldn't yet decide whether to feel heartened that he remained ensconced within his life's greatest ambition or be fearful for his life for the library's host had since twice threatened to do away with Zei and had twice attempted to kill him.
The Head of the Anthropology Department at Ba Seng Se University surprised and appeased his rescuers' annoyance (with the mess he had caused) when Zei smiled most gratefully to them and, in a fervent voice, thanked them for saving him.
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Zei had learned all that he could about the Library of Wan Shi Tong. All that he had to go on upon were mostly hearsay, legends and folklore. Perhaps the best evidence that the mythical edifice actually existed was an ancient rendering of the Library of which Zei had painstakingly made a copy of and which was widely regarded across the Earth Kingdom as merely the unknown artist's personal idea of what the structure resembled.
That the Library was supposedly located in the Si Wong Desert - 'The Desert of the Dead' - only caused scholars to relegate it as a fable rather than an immense archaeological find just waiting to be discovered. Zei, though well-aware of the glory to be bestowed on whoever found Wan Shi Tong's long-lost library, hunted for the Library for most of his life neither for the rewards wealthy sponsors would bestow upon him nor for the recognition illustrious peers and colleagues would grant unto him.
His reason to discover its whereabouts was simply as the Water Tribe warrior had uttered as an answer to Wan Shi Tong's question – 'Knowledge for knowledge's sake'.
As he drank the water the knowledge-seekers brought to him, as he rested and healed from his injury, when he realized and accepted with whole-hearted amusement that Knowledge Spirit's assistants indeed expected of him to serve as their cook as he had offered to – the professor remained unaware that it had been his genuine desire and need to learn all that he could which drew the kitsune unto his side, even to the point of disobeying their master outright, compelling them to save his life.
Wan Shi Tong had arranged for his assistants to not only to seek out old tomes, scrolls and such forgotten by their human owners, but also to assist the patrons of his vast library in searching out the information they sought. Hence, the kitsune not only seek out knowledge but were too drawn to assist those who sought out knowledge with passion and with the right intentions.
They couldn't help but be fond of such humans, whose kind were responsible for practically everything contained in the Library and who were the most curious of all living beings. It had been because of the kitsune that the Avatar and his friends had found out about the solar eclipse. It had been because of them that the Dragon of the West learned of a way into the Spirit World in order to see his beloved son for one last time. It had been because of the kitsune that one Ba Seng Se University professor finally found his life's ambition and because of them – he managed to survive his discovery.
To the kitsune, that the human was a good cook was merely an added incentive to save him.
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Though his servants made certain the human kept out of his way by confining said human to the kitchen and keeping him happy by delivering the books he requested, Wan Shi Tong grew more annoyed with each passing day that the professor stayed within his library. The kitsune, privy to their master's moods, in turn grew more worried in direct relation and inversely felt less confident of their ability to keep Zei safe from their master's short temper.
Zei, blissfully ignorant of his impending doom, happily went through book after book after book, only showing momentary annoyance when the kitsune remind him when it was time to prepare for their meals and his. When engrossed in his reading, Zei (still a human, not yet a spirit) quite forgot that he required nourishment as well.
Understanding that the Knowledge Spirit may still be upset with him, Zei didn't protest his having to be restricted to the kitchen, which strangely enough – was better-illuminated than the other areas of the library he'd been to and even more so than the planetarium, when showing daytime and no solar eclipse.
The kitchen too felt airy due to the multiple large vents in the ceiling.
The vents puzzled Zei, who wondered how they could open out into open air when the library was completely buried. Had the kitchen chamber's ceiling not been so high and remained out of his reach even if he stood one of the cupboards, he would have stuck his head into one of them in order to examine the airway
Along one wall stood floor-to-ceiling windows which showed only compacted sand dimly lit by the reflected light of phospherant crystals. The luminescent crystals lined the window edges and crossed the ceiling and walls, making the kitchen so well-lit that Zei actually found it more difficult to fall asleep than stay awake.
Perhaps the most surprising feature of the kitchen was the north wall, though Zei wasn't completely certain it was the north wall, whereupon were columns of holes in the shape of archs. They were the openings of the burrows wherein the kitsune slept.
From the burrow three holes up and four holes from the right, a drowsy black-furred kitsune poked its head out. It blinked and yawned widely before jumping down to the floor whereupon it squatted on its haunches, lifted its right hind leg to scratch at an itch behind its right ear for several seconds before yawning yet again. Then, it stood on all fours, stretched long and walked over to the professor, seated against the wall, between two windows, and as usual – engrossed in a very thick book.
Zei felt a poke against his right upper arm and absent-mindedly extended his right arm out to pat the kitsune on its head. When he stopped, the kitsune made a soft whimper and wagged its tail when Zei continued patting its head. When he stopped again, it lifted its left paw and lightly struck the professor on his right shoulder.
Unable to keep his attention on his reading, Zei let out a soft sigh and gave the kitsune a mock glare. A soft chuckle escaped him when the kitsune pretended to be cowed by flicking its ears back and low against its head.
"All right, all right," said Zei with a smile, barely placing his book aside on the floor when already the kitsune was making itself comfortable on his lap. Contentment hummed through its small lithe form as the professor rubbed its head, its neck and back and scratched it underneath its chin. At times, the knowledge-seekers strongly reminded Zei of pets rather than the magical untouchable creatures they had been described to be in legends.
Judging by the number of burrows and from his observations that much more than one kitsune shared the same burrow, there appeared to be a few hundred knowledge-seekers, most of who were apparently on assignment – searching out more additions for the library. Their absense was a bringer of much relief to the professor, who already felt quite strained to have to prepare meals enough to satisfy the appetites of about two dozen kitsune at a time.
While stroking the kitsune's fur, Zei found himself wondering how the kitsune accessed and exited the library, now that the structure was completely buried underneath the sand. Soon however, the professor was worrying more of just how much cooking he would need to do should more kitsune arrive from the outside.
Though Zei thought himself quick-witted for recalling a bit of information he had once read which suggested that the knowledge-seekers enjoyed food treats, of cooked meat most especially - he was having second thoughts of committing himself to cater to the kitsune's wishes. He had failed to realize just how many they were though he should had thought of it, especially considering the immense size of the library.
Oh well. What's done is done, thought Zei with a small amount of weary regret. Yet after the kitsune on his lap had dozed off, Zei completely forgot about his troubles as he immersed himself back into his book.
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The presence of the human in his library had occupied his mind to the point he failed to remember the damage he had caused in the planetarium. Its door had been closed, undoubtedly by one of his kitsune, for he had taught them to close doors, most especially to chambers such as the planetarium when no longer in use. The closed door hid away the damage from his eyes during his library rounds, and he forgot it had been in that chamber wherein he lost his temper with the Avatar and his companions.
Just as he was about to use magic to open the door, he realized with abrupt renewed anger that the humans couldn't have gained access into planetarium had not a kitsune assisted them by opening the door for them.
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The kitsune had fled into their burrows; Zei trembled against the pantry door on the other side of the kitchen. He watched with ever-increasing horror as the Knowledge Spirit used its beak to break open one of the burrows. Zei didn't understand. He had been reading with the black kitsune asleep on his lap when it suddenly woke, its ears swiveling in alarm and hearing something Zei couldn't.
Curious, the professor had set aside his book again. As he did so, kitsune, one after another, ran into the kitchen through the holes which lined the bottom of the wall separating the kitchen from the hallway outside. Clearly frightened, they scurried into their burrows. The black kitsune, in turn, ran off Zei's lap just as the large kitchen doors burst open and revealed the frightful sight of the Knowledge Spirit, enraged.
Zei, fearing for his life, had forced himself to his feet and ran for the nearest door. In his panic, he stumbled, falling painfully to his hands and knees and had crawled the rest of the way, expecting at any second for the Knowledge Spirit to bite him into two. The grinding sound of rock giving way and a sharp terrified yip caused him to look back. Confused relief clashed with terror when he realized that Wan Shi Tong was after the knowledge-seekers.
There was simply no time to think, to determine why the lord of the library was so angry with his assistants. There wasn't even time for Zei to worry about what may happen to him after the Knowledge Spirit was done with the kitsune. With the next powerful jab with his beak, a portion of the kitsune burrow wall collapsed and the black kitsune, whose burrow Wan Shi Tong was specifically destroying, leaped from the ruined wall and landed ungainly on the floor to run, yelping, to cower behind Zei's feet.
The professor froze, absolute terror coursing throughout his entire being as the Spirit turned and gazed upon him with malevolent black eyes.
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I should had realized long ago that the kitsune had been conspiring against me. Time and time again, humans continued to find the knowledge they sought in little time in the immense collection of knowledge within my library. I should have realized the kitsune had been assisting humans. I should had known that my command to them to never assist humans again had not been enough for long ago – I had trained them to assist patrons in seeking out the knowledge they desired and for hundreds of years, they had done exactly that.
Deep inside of me, I knew it was partly my fault that the kitsune had only followed their instincts and their training. I knew they had not intended to betray me, yet the realization was obscured by fury, which grew more powerful and harder to control each time I lost myself to anger. All I sought now to do was to punish the kitsune and make an example of the one which had helped the Avatar and his companions… and to also do away with the human the kitsune had kept me from killing.
I could sense the human's absolute fear and the knowledge of it exhilarated me. As I took a step towards my prey however, the human suddenly and most unexpectedly, in a tremulous voice asked of me to forgive the kitsune.
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Despite his fear and his desire to continue living, the last thing Zei wanted was for the kitsune to suffer for saving him and helping the Avatar and his friends find the information they sought in order to stop the Fire Nation. Zei wasn't certain that the kitsune's disobedience was what caused the Knowledge Spirit to be so furious now, but what else could have triggered his anger.
Despite he was now shaking so badly, he could have sworn he could hear his kneecaps knock against each other, Zei remembered what he had learned from the very first book the kitsune had brought to him after they had enjoyed the first meal he had prepared for them.
"They cannot help themselves," he said, his tone pleading as he addressed the Knowledge Spirit now eyeing him narrowly. Zei swallowed nervously and decided to take it as a favorable sign that he was still alive. Behind Zei's feet, the black kitsune whimpered as the professor stepped away from it and moved slowly until he stood before its master.
"Oh Great Knowledge Spirit, please remember. Please remember you had intended for your kitsune to help those who seek knowledge. You knew your vast collection of knowledge would be useless if its patrons could not find the information they sought easily. Knowledge itself is useless if it is not learned or used for good. That is why you taught your knowledge-seekers to not only add new knowledge to your library but also to assist-"
"ENOUGH!" Enormous claws destroyed the floor on Zei's left before knocking the professor back to fall on his side. Zei struggled to get up, but the Spirit pinned him down with those same claws. Zei's vision turned blurry as the Spirit applied pressure, cutting off the human's blood supply and forcing air from his chest.
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I should had killed this human, should had done it before. I shouldn't have let the kitsune stop me then. Killing the human they had rescued should teach them a lesson. They would never betray me again and never help another human escape from me ever again.
The human raised his face towards me; his eyes, wide and filled with tears, pain and fear of me. Without warning, I found myself hesitating, but it was not the despair in his eyes which gave me pause. It was the reflection of my eyes in his. My eyes, narrowed in rage, seemed too to show despair.
Confusion overwhelmed me unexpectedly. Abruptly, I lifted my claw and heard the human choke in air before falling silent.
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To be continued.
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