"Are you sure it was a good idea to let those two go off on their own?" Kanna worried. "I know you have faith in them to not cause trouble, but they've been arguing a lot these past few weeks."
"HaHa! Relax, Kanna. I have faith in my pupils to complete the task given to them without fail!" Kyojuro replied confidently.
"Of course they should be back by now," he thought, puzzled.
It'd been two whole years since his arrival to this world and although strange, he'd grown accustomed to some of the weird phenomenons and shenanigans this place had to offer. The south pole in particular was quite tame from what he could tell and Sokka and Katara were both capable on their own. Although his big brother instincts were beginning to kick in as they should've been back by now.
"With those two, you can never be sure what kind of mischief they can get tangled up in." Kanna said with a sigh.
"Whatever they are doing, I'm sure they are being as safe as possible!" Kyojuro replied.
"I hope you're right or the three of you are going to end up on dish and laundry duty for the next month. Again," she reminded.
The last time he allowed them to leave the village without supervision, they ended up dragging Kyojuro into their foolishness which was disastrous. They ended up leading a large family of otter penguins back to their home and they ate through an entire month's supply of fish. Suffice to say, Kanna was less than thrilled having to explain to everyone why they would be eating rice and vegetable stew until Kyojuro could catch that many again.
Did she mention that they somehow managed to get sick and needed to be tended too for two weeks as well? Her grandchildren, she could handle as she already had prior experience with Hakoda, Bato and his friends who were extremely mischievous growing up. However, factoring someone as energetic and free spirited as Kyojuro into their shenanigans somehow always amplified things tenfold.
"You worry too much, Kanna! That was a one time deal and I did end up finding a pocket full of fish because of that incident, did I not?" It was nothing more than a stroke of luck that having to re-catch their food supply allowed him to stumble onto a fish hole so big that any of them could now go and retrieve as much of it as they wanted.
Without warning a massive beam of light shot up and enveloped the sky leaving Kyojuro, Kanna and the rest of the tribe speechless and confused.
"What on earth is that?" Kanna asked.
"No idea, but until we know for sure what it is, please remain on guard," Kyojuro worried. It didn't seem harmful, but the last time a light that big showed up, it attracted massive unwanted attention in Zhao and his men. If he had to guess, this one probably was just as big as the one he showed up with.
Before he could think more about that light, his mind trailed too Sokka and Katara. They'd been gone long enough and with this beam of light blasting through the sky, it may not be long before enemies show up.
"Kanna, can you and Kishna watch everyone while I step out for a bit? I don't like them being out there while that light show just popped out of nowhere. I doubt it was one of the fire nation flares, but in any case, to be on the safe side, I'd rather them be where I can see them."
He grabbed his haori and equipped his sword, "I'll be back!"
She grabbed Kyojuro's arm, "But if you leave the village, who'll be here to protect us if this is a trap and we get ambushed?"
He stopped and thought of the likelihood of this being a diversion to get him away from the village. If he left to go retrieve Sokka and Katara then who would be here protecting the village? That would spell more disaster and heartbreak should he choose wrong and as confident as he was in his ability to find them and return quick enough, it wasn't a chance he was willing to take.
"You're right…," he stopped to ponder something to himself before speaking again.
"I'll wait here in case the fire nation does show up again! Sokka and Katara will have to manage without me for a small while, but as long as they recall their training, they'll be fine!"
For the past two years both of them had been taken under Kyojuro's wing and undergone training to become strong enough to protect the things that mattered to them. For Sokka, as he was a non bender, Kyojuro exclusively focused training him in the art of Total Concentration Breathing. For the most part while his body and instincts had become much sharper than previously, he still was unable to firmly grasp the concepts tied to them and so far while showing overall growth in himself, has yet to fully be able to perform it like Kyojuro. It should be noted however that while unable to fully use it, he'd shown glimpses of being on the cusp of it so Kyojuro decided to push him until he broke past his limits.
Katara on the other hand had been a bit different as no matter how many times she attempted it, she wasn't adept at any breathing techniques. It was strange as Sokka was able to grasp it somewhat, but she, while being far more gifted than him, was unable to perform it at any level. Eventually he decided to focus more on training her martial arts and hand to hand combat skills. She was still far from being a master, but could now decently protect herself from harm even without having her bending to fall back on.
"I'm sure if anything happens, they can protect themselves long enough to make it back to the village," he hoped. Although confident he had first hand exposure to the underhanded tricks that the fire nation had no qualms using and prayed to Agni that they made it back safe and sound.
3 hours later
Kyojuro had grown impatient as the sun was beginning to set and the two of them had still yet to make it home. If something had happened to them he'd never be able to face Hakoda after making that promise to protect them and definitely wouldn't forgive himself.
"I'm sorry, Kanna, I cannot wait any longer for them to return!" Against her best wishes, he was about to start his search for them as unless they got lost on the way back, they had more than likely got into a situation where they couldn't walk away from.
"Kyojuro I know you're worried, but didn't you mention having faith in them to return to us? Why not give them a little more time before going all big brother on them?" Kanna argued.
"I won't continue to sit by and wait for them to come back. What if they're in danger? It'd be shameful if I continued to wait on my pupils any longer, especially if they're in trouble!" he replied back.
He grabbed his haori and put it on while equipping his sword inside his scabbard. Regardless of how she felt about him leaving them unguarded, the threat to them didn't seem imminent. For now, Sokka and Katara took priority in his mind and until they were back inside his embrace, he would not rest until they were returned to him.
"Don't worry, Kanna! I'll be back!" He smiled at her and she felt like she had no choice, but to concede the argument. The only things she was weak against were her grandchildren's pleas and Kyojuro's absolutely blinding smile. Even if she was adamant about her point, once he replied with his confident and kind voice while giving her that all too friendly smile, she almost always relented.
"Fine, but you better take care of yourself while you're out," she relented.
"HaHaHa! Don't I always?" he joked.
Walking out of the tent they were in, he headed towards the outside of the village to begin the search for them. He made it as close to the edge before noticing something with his hawk-like vision that almost caused him to do a double take in amazement.
"What on earth is that?" he wondered.
From what he could see as it was still somewhat far from the village, a large creature slowly trotted through the water with small figures located on his back.
The closer the creature got the clearer it became to him and seeing Katara, Sokka and a small child aboard did set his heart at ease. He didn't understand what this creature was or why they were riding it back to the village when they left on the raft, but these were questions that would be asked once they made it back to him.
Kanna and other members had started to join Kyojuro as he was now patiently waiting for them to return, seeing it wouldn't be the wisest option to swim all the way out and scold them even if he really really wanted to.
They finally made it back to them, but not before Kyojuro spotted a small pale child with arrow based tattoos covering him head to toe. He seemingly had fallen asleep at the helm and he saw Katara try and wake him to no avail as they reached land.
"Katara, Sokka, where have you been? You should've been back hours ago!" Kyojuro inquired.
"Sorry, Kyo, but as you can see we kinda got...preoccupied," Sokka groaned, climbing off the large creature.
"Kyojuro, you aren't going to believe this, but we found this boy in an iceberg!" Katara added. She tried to wake him once again to no success so she motioned to her brother to scoop the boy off the animal as he was much too heavy for her.
"An Iceberg? How could anyone survive inside something like that?" Kyojuro asked, clearly skeptical of what he was hearing. He'd known the two of them long enough to suspect a wild and crazy story like this. Especially if Sokka had enough time to drag Katara into making one up with him.
"I want a rundown of everything that led the two of you to not only stumble upon this child, but coming back so late and on top of that, where's the raft you took?"
Both siblings looked at each other in annoyance before Sokka decided to answer, "So long story short, I was trying to hunt for food, but my annoying little sister had to tag along because she's bossy and can't admit when she isn't capable of handling stuff like hunting and steering," he made sure to put extra emphasis on steering knowing the reason they crashed.
"We got swept into a current and with her infinite amount of being a pain in my butt, nagged me while I tried to steer us to safety. We crashed and she got upset because maybe I mentioned how she wasn't suited to come along to begin with. She threw a temper tantrum and used her mystical water mambo jumbo to cause a huge wave to strike the ice and we found him inside of it," he finished.
"Oh really, now let me tell him what really happened," Katara began.
"We were completely off track since my oh so smart brother failed to catch anything and refused to head home thanks to his stupid pride and he is the reason why we got swept into the current. I tried to tell him to go left as I could see with the way he was going, we would crash, but noooooooo-" Kyojuro could now see why they ended up late. Maybe letting them go off on their own wasn't such a good idea.
"He decided that he knew what was best for us and instead of listening to me, he did the exact opposite of what I said and we had to jump out of the boat since he steered us into a wedge or we would've been crushed otherwise!"
"After we crashed and I confronted him about his error, instead of taking responsibility for his mistake, he turned around and said it was my fault for suggesting he was wrong. Then he had the nerve to say that because I'm a woman, I'd be better off washing clothes!"
Kyojuro looked at Sokka knowing the boy did have sexist tendencies that he needed to get rid off. Katara's story was sounding more and more believable by the second.
"I'll admit I did get upset at him, but can you blame me when I have such a jerk for a brother! After he said that, I went off on him and I accidentally waterbended an attack which managed to crack open a glacier and Aang was inside of it," she finished.
"Aang?" Kyojuro asked.
"He said his name was Aang and he's an airbender," Katara said.
The word airbender caught Kyojuro's attention, "Agni said there weren't any more of them after they were wiped out by that nation of demons. Maybe she misinterpreted this child's nationality…"
"An airbender? That's impossible," Kanna stated. "The air nomads were wiped out one hundred years ago. This can't be true."
"Gran Gran, I'm telling you, he's an airbender. We saw him use airbending with our own eyes!"
She nudged her brother who reluctantly agreed even if he didn't trust this kid.
"Yeah, he flew like twenty feet in the air when he sneezed so if that's not airbending then I don't know what is."
Kyojuro processed what he was hearing with great curiosity running through his mind. The air nomads should be gone, but if this boy is one of them and he just happened to appear during his stay with these people. Perhaps he's the one Agni mentioned that she was unable to inform him about.
"Curious, but for now let's get him inside and changed. If what you say is true and he really was inside that iceberg, then he must be exhausted!" Kyojuro said.
"The large creature will have to stay outside the village as he's much too big and might cause problems. He seems friendly, but I can't take the chance of him doing something rash until this child wakes up."
Everyone started to walk back towards their homes, but Kyojuro swiftly grabbed Sokka and Katara and pulled them into a close hug.
"Do not ever stay out that late again," he began.
"Jeez, you don't have to worry so much Kyo. We were just fine on our own," Sokka said.
"Plus if we didn't stay out this late then we wouldn't have found Aang now would we?" Katara added. "You trained us to be able to take care of ourselves so have a little faith once in a while. We may argue, but we're still family and I'll always have his back and he'll have mine."
He released them from the embrace and smiled, "HaHaHa! Forgive me, I keep forgetting how cute the both of you can be! A bond between siblings is truly a wonderful thing, is it not?"
"Ew, stop with the mushy gushy stuff, Kyo. It's demeaning," Sokka groaned.
"Sokka, I don't think you're using that word right," his sister tried.
"It doesn't matter, can I please just go set him down in a bed so I can get some rest! I'm freaking exhausted."
Kyojuro simply took Aang from Sokka's grasp and began walking back to the village, "Do not worry, leave it to me! You two go get some much needed rest as you have another person to answer to tonight for this little escapade today."
Gran Gran," Katara worried.
"She's gotta be pissed," Sokka gulped.
Both siblings shivered in anxious anticipation as they walked back to their home where Kanna would surely be waiting to tear them a new one for getting into yet another shenanigan filled accident thanks to bickering.
Kyojuro made his way back to the tent that had been set up for injured tribe members and sat the still sleeping boy down on the blanket below. Now that he could get a much closer look at him, he couldn't be any older than twelve if not younger. The most intriguing thing that caught his attention however was how he was dreaming about something.
No to be blunt, the boy was most definitely having some sort of nightmare and was thrashing about as he slept. It was subtle, but Kyojuro already saw the signs in not only his father and younger brother, but Katara who would sometimes wake up and cry whenever dreams of the night her mother died resurfaced in her mind. From what he could tell, although he hadn't spoken to him yet, he had not even a small ounce of ill intent in his body.
Seeing as the sun was now completely down and night time had come upon them, he'd set up camp with this child for tonight, hopefully being able to bring some momentary comfort for whatever is troubling him so much.
Sitting criss-cross beside him, Kyojuro placed a warm hand on the boy's forehead and decided to stay like that until his body temperature had increased higher than where it was currently and until the nightmares finally stopped. He stayed like this for well over an hour before somehow feeling his eyelids become heavy and before he even realized what was happening, he was swept off to sleep.
Opening his eyes once again, he found himself filled with unimaginable amounts of warmth while at tune with everything surrounding him. He sat up and immediately recognized the location as it was one he's all too familiar with.
"Rengoku-san, welcome back," Agni greeted. She floated down with the same grace as their earlier encounters and her tone held a happier vibe to it.
"Agni, it's been a while!" he responded, happy to see her once again. "How have you been?"
"Funny, I should be asking you that," she replied.
"It's been two whole years and your spirit is still as bright and kind as ever. I'll never understand how someone as strong willed as you is helping someone as foolish as I, and I know I should've said this when we first met, but I'm so glad you're here, Rengoku-san. You've helped so many people in the short timeframe you've been here and I can tell you are destined for something truly wonderful."
"Do not think so lowly of yourself, Agni. You have been a wonderful guide thus far! You helped me back when I surely would've died against Zhao and his men and for that you forever have my thanks!"
"Stand proud and have your head held high!" He grinned at her and once again she chuckled at the irony of her being comforted by someone who was supposed to look to her for guidance.
As much as she wanted to keep him here forever and just enjoy the conversation between them, she knew he had much bigger obstacles ahead of him and needed to inform him of what was to come.
"Rengoku-san, I brought you back here as you may not realize it, the boy those two water tribe children found is the person I mentioned that the spirits refused to allow me to inform you of. Aang is a very special child and soon you'll come to understand what that entails sooner rather than later, but it is of the utmost importance that you protect this child like your life and everyone around you depends on it."
"Special?" Kyojuro frowned. He didn't like what she was implying. "Are you telling me to prioritize his well being over everyone else's?"
"As a Pillar, my duty is to protect everyone equally and without fail! No matter who this child is or even if he is far more special than the rest, I'll not only protect him, but anyone my hands can reach!"
"I feel as if I haven't exactly broken down the importance of why his life needs to be prioritized over the others. Mind you, I dislike having to show favoritism, but it is urgent you heed my warnings. This airbender, while being very young, holds unimaginable power in his hands and if he is to save the world, it needs to be cultivated under a watchful eye."
"As I'm not allowed to interact with the physical world, you will have to be not only my, but all of our eyes and ears as this boy develops into a warrior worthy of championing for peace."
"Kyojuro, why do you think the spirits protected him for one hundred years inside of that ball of ice?"
He took a moment to ponder the thought to himself as everything surrounding the boy and his arrival was not only eerily similar to his, but also physically impossible for someone to survive inside of there for that long without dying. Kyojuro doubted that this is another case of someone transported from his world as he'd never even heard of anyone with tattoos that strange back home.
Then if he were to factor in the spirits themselves wanting to protect this child the scenario became clearer and far more thought out. "So he's an airbender and is not only the first that has been seen for one hundred years after his people were wiped out, but one that the spirits themselves hold in high regard and wish to protect…"
Thinking back to one of the first talks he and Agni had, he realized something about the air nomads that had almost slipped his mind, "Wasn't the Avatar supposed to be an air nomad?"
"Indeed he was," she hinted. "You should have the full picture by now, Rengoku-san."
"You mean to tell me, this child is the legendary Avatar you informed me of?" Kyojuro wasn't as stunned as one would think, but was surely confused as the supposed person he would stand side by side with was barely a pre teen.
"Avatar Aang is the last of his kind and against the other spirits' judgements and criticisms, I figured you would be the best possible choice to not only shine a guiding light to him, but also teach him the ways of firebending."
Kyojuro continued to think to himself just what could've happened to this child that caused him to disappear for as long as he did while not aging a day. It just didn't make sense to him. How could someone so small hope to stand up against something that even he struggled against.
"You're most likely wondering how could a mere child fight against forces so great that they've managed to ravage the world and have come close to completely conquering it, am I right?"
"You seem to be a mind reader, Agni. Was I lost in thought?"
"No, but this would not be the first time the Avatar has been underestimated. Make no mistake, this child, if able to reach his full potential, has the power to single handedly turn the tides on this wretched war and end it on his own."
"As you know the Avatar is the only one that can master all four elements and bring balance to the world, but he also has the unique gift to tap into their previous lives and enter what you may call the Avatar State. Once this is in effect, no bender can stand against him and if he masters it, he will be unstoppable."
He saw her momentarily pause and knew she was leaving something out, "What else aren't you telling me, Agni? If I am to put my all into this boy's growth then I need every little detail you can spare."
"Listen closely and heed this warning. The Avatar State is heavily tied to emotions and one's mental state. It most likely hasn't sunk in that he's the last of his kind and when he finally becomes aware of this fact, I'm sure his outburst will be absolutely terrifying to watch unfold. Because of how young he is, his enemies can and will try to take advantage of this and if they succeed it has dire consequences for everyone involved. If Aang goes into the Avatar State and gets killed while in it, the line of Avatars from the past will be completely severed and it along with the hope for this world will die along with it."
"Now do you understand how imperative it is that you prioritize this boy's life over others? Without him, the world can never know true peace and under no circumstances can his death be allowed."
"That's...quite a heavy burden for anyone to have to bear let alone a small child," he replied. "Does he know about the things you've just told me?"
"Most of it, yes, but he ran away from home just before the fire nation attacked in fear of his responsibilities and duties that fell within his jurisdiction. Luckily the spirits watched out for him as had he not left when he did, he would've been killed alongside his people."
"I'll do what I can for this boy, but do not misunderstand me. I can only train him if he truly desires it! If his heart isn't in the right place then I'll be as patient as I possibly can with him, but he has to want it before I can give guidance."
"That is true, Rengoku-san. I'm sure Aang will come around the more he grows into his environment. After all, I haven't seen a person able to resist your charms yet," she added that last part jokingly.
"HaHaHa! I'll definitely help this boy if that is what you want. Just give me time to gauge his personality and I'll talk to him about it."
"Moving on to the last thing we need to discuss, there are two individuals you need to interact and form bonds with. The first child is Prince Zuko and the second is Princess Azula, both of the fire nation and potential heirs to the throne."
"Why do you want me to bond with those two if they're associated with the fire nation?" Kyojuro asked. "Aren't they the bad guys here?
"Normally you'd be right," Agni chuckled. "Both of them have great potential within them to do good, but are lost and currently headed down the wrong path. Zuko is lost due to his father's influence and if he isn't stopped will burn himself out chasing an impossible goal to please him."
"What goal is so vast that he couldn't accomplish it without burning out?" he asked.
"When young Zuko was thirteen years old, he was banished from their home to search for the Avatar who the world hadn't seen for one hundred years. To anyone else this would be a clear indication of one being sent on a fool's errand, but Zuko firmly believed his father loved him…"
"Even after burning off half his face in such a cowardly way."
Upon hearing this a vein showed itself on Kyojuro's forehead and she could tell it made him visibly upset.
"He burned his own son's face?" He had to take a moment to compose himself before the fire in his heart grew bigger.
"Why would he do such a thing? What could his son have possibly done wrong to deserve such treatment from a man that was supposed to protect him?"
"Simply put, he spoke out of term inside a war meeting as he was very misinformed with it being his first time there after all. His father took offense to it and after kneeling for forgiveness in front of his father, Firelord Ozai, he cupped the left side of his son's face and marked him."
"It's one of the most shameful acts I've seen in my time as a spirit," she finished.
"How awful…"
"Indeed and I feel like this boy could use a good influence such as yourself in his ear. If not for himself then for the future of the nation he may end up ruling one day after this war is finished."
He nodded silently to Agni still trying to imagine what kind of man would intentionally harm his own child to that extent. Although his father wasn't the best he never physically went out of his way to harm him nor Senjuro like that. The thought of a mere child crying and begging at his own father's footsteps was enough to sicken him.
"The girl, Azula, is a different case altogether. Unlike her brother, she is one who is heavily tied to my being and because of that her bending is on another level entirely. She's a prodigy who excels at everything she puts her mind to, but her mind and ideologies have become warped in part due to Ozai's awful influence. If she's not careful she could very easily end up along the lines of her grandfather and father which would spell disaster once again."
"Being completely honest, she'll be a handful when you meet and in all honesty you may want to be prepared to fight her with intent to kill."
"Why on earth would I need to exert much force to deal with a small child? She'll be no match for me!"
"Rengoku-san, while she's very young in experience, no firebender alive has the potential to surpass her father other than her. Zuko is gifted in his own right, but if you don't take her seriously, you'll end up regretting it."
"Now you don't have to actually try and kill her, I merely meant to take her as seriously as you took Zhao and his men."
"Got it! I dislike the thought of harming children, but if it comes to that, I'll knock some sense into both of their heads!"
Before she could reply back to him, she felt a very small, almost insignificant disturbance in her realm. She looked around before noticing realizing what exactly she was feeling and if she was human her heart would've hit the floor.
"There's no way it could be here. I made sure of that when he first arrived." She probably looked extremely distressed on the outside looking in as Kyojuro watched on in didn't matter what he thought however. Until this matter was resolved once again she'd have to cut their meeting short to take care of this matter once again.
"Agni, what's troubling you? You look very distressed."
"It's nothing major, Rengoku-san, but I'm going to have to cut this meeting short. The approaching matter is one that requires my full attention. I promise on my time as a spirit we will meet again."
Kyojuro was no fool. Whatever she wanted to hide from him was big enough that even a spirit like her was worrying about his safety in this place.
"Alright, whatever is troubling you, I won't ask about it for now, but the next time we meet I better receive an explanation about what it is you fear me knowing!"
"You have my word." She placed a hand on his chest to begin the conversion of his spirit back to his body. She smiled at him and he was off, completely gone from her world once again. Now as the threat looming over her grew closer, Agni realized she would have her hands full keeping it back for the personable future.
"Wake up, wake up, Kyojuro wake up!"
His head shot up and he noticed the airbender was no longer in front of him sleeping. Instead Katara was kneeling beside him, clearly worried about him being so unresponsive.
"You wouldn't wake up even after I shook you like crazy and screamed in your ear," she said.
"That was probably due to my talk with Agni…" he thought. He couldn't tell her that so he decided to use one of the oldest tricks he knew.
"HaHaHa! If I had known my cute pupil would be so worried about my wellbeing, I'd have gone to bed much earlier!"
Katara almost immediately blushed and turned away from him now annoyed, "I-it's not like I was that worried about you, dummy!" She forced out, trying and failing to calm down and hide the blush still covering her face.
"I was just waking you up so you could meet Aang. He mentioned when he woke up, he tried to move you, but it felt wrong somehow so he asked me to do it."
"Ah so that's what happened to him," He stood up off the ground and they both walked out of the tent to see the little airbender, demonstrating airbending by manipulating the air around him to form a small ball of air.
"Yaaaaaaaahoooooooooo!" Aang was using his ball of air to literally drive himself around the village showing off to the kids. He felt completely free from his responsibilities that had weighed him down from earlier although he had no earthly idea why everyone looked so confused as to him being an airbender.
Gaining even more speed he decided to attempt to show off by waving, not paying attention to his surroundings.
"Look out!" he heard Katara shout.
He looked forward and didn't even realize just how fast he was going. He was about to crash into a tent full of supplies and because of his admitted rustiness had a hard time stopping himself.
"I can't stop fast enough!" He braced for impact knowing this would be extremely painful before being dashed off the air ball that dissipated back into the atmosphere. Aang found himself being carried bridal style by a strange yellow haired man who had slept beside him earlier.
"What the-"
"You should be more careful, young airbender! Using one's own powers for selfish indulgence may cause harm to others around you if you aren't aware of your surroundings."
Kyojuro placed him back on the ground and decided to introduce himself.
"Hello, young airbender! I am the Flame Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku!"
"Um.. I'm Aang," he meekly replied, still embarrassed about being cradled.
"What a unique appearance you possess! Those tattoos signify you are an airbender does it not?"
"Actually it means I'm an airbending master," He turned beet red again in embarrassment realizing how he needing saving must look, "I swear that last incident won't happen again. It's unbecoming of someone like me needing saving because I can't control a simple air scooter," he groaned.
"Nonsense!" Kyojuro shot back. "Needing help no matter how good you may be is nothing more than part of being human!"
"You may be a master, but above all else you're still just a child and shouldn't have to hold such a strong sense of responsibility on your shoulders."
"R-right…"
Grabbing Aang by his shoulders, Kyojuro had quite the questions to ask this young man. He wanted him to feel as welcome as possible since he now has to form a strong bond with the avatar.
"So, young airbender," he began, "What other sorts of tricks can you do?"
"Um...you mean you aren't worried about me crashing again?" Aang asked.
"Not a chance!" he boomed. "A child should be able to interact with others as freely as possible. If anything goes wrong I'll be here to catch just like I did now!"
Also the only elements he hadn't yet seen was airbending and earthbending and seeing how Aang stacked up against his fellow Pillar, Sanemi would be a treat to witness.
"Well...I can sorta fly with my glider," he offered, gauging his reaction.
"Fly? Tell me more! How do you get into the air while still on the ground below?"
Hearing Kyojuro was genuinely interested in his airbending, Aang started to perk up.
He used his airbending to pull his glider into his grasp, "It's all thanks to my trusty glider. It helps me manipulate the air currents around me which grants me temporary flight."
"Mind me giving me a demonstration?" Kyojuro asked.
"Not a problem," Aang grinned.
Opening his glider to the awe of small children that had now made their way towards them, Aang jumped into the air and to everyone's amazement, had begun flying through the air as if he were nothing more than a bird in the sky.
"Incredible!" Kyojuro stated. "You can really fly. It's as if gravity doesn't weigh you down at all!"
Yeah, isn't it amazing!" Aang shouted while pulling off a loop.
Kyojuro had to admit, as cool as Sanemi's wind attacks are, he definitely doesn't have anything in his arsenal that even comes close to being this cool or unique.
"You haven't seen anything yet. Watch this!" Aang leapt away from his glider in midair and instead of falling, he turned himself in midair as he was falling to create a small current that slowly but surely gilded gracefully back to the ground and in show off fashion, he used his bending to bring his glider into his hand.
"What impressive showmanship you possess! I can see why an avatar such as yourself is highly regarded for his skills!"
Upon hearing him being called Avatar, Aang's entire demeanor changed which didn't go unnoticed by Kyojuro. It was if he was ashamed of the word itself and almost retreated back into himself.
"Sorry, I think you're mistaken. I'm not the Avatar." He didn't sound confident at all, but Kyojuro was smart enough to know when to back away. It wasn't time to bring up a subject that is now clearly far too personal for him to talk about.
"I wonder why he's hiding who he is…" He'd get around to figuring out the cause for this later, but right now this child's emotions were almost screaming at him to move away from this very touchy subject.
"Forgive me for my mistake, Aang. I associated you with that person and didn't even think to ask you whether or not you were the Avatar first. This mistake will not happen again."
"It's fine, Kyojuro. I-look the Avatar has been gone for a long time and Katara already asked me about it. I'm not the Avatar and have no idea where he is."
"Fair enough!" he agreed.
Deciding to bring the young airbender back into the conversation from earlier, Kyojuro figured he'd ask this young man's interests.
'Well now that that matter is resolved, what else do you suggest we do, young airbender?"
Aang didn't really know any activities that each of them could enjoy as he'd never actually been to the south pole before. Most games he could think of required the use of airbending which they all lack. "I wonder if they have penguins…"
"Oh, I know! Let's all go penguin sledding!" Aang offered.
"You mean the act of getting on the back of otter penguins and using them as transportation?" Kyojuro asked.
"I wouldn't say it like that, but yeah more or less."
Sokka was sitting along the sidelines watching things go down and didn't trust Aang as far as he could throw him. Granted he's extremely light and Sokka could probably throw him far enough if he tried, but still….
"Kyo, I don't think we should go off with him. Maybe we should just ask him to leave-"
"What a wonderful idea! I've seen Katara and the other small children of this village partake in this activity all the time, so it should be safe enough to do," Kyojuro interrupted.
"So you're familiar with penguin sledding?" Aang asked excitedly.
"Nope! I've never even attempted it. Not even once!"
"So...how are we supposed to go penguin sledding if neither of us has ever done it before?" he deflated.
"I believe I can help you out on this one," Katara said.
Aang's eyes lightened up and he practically jumped on the girl, hugging her as thanks.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" he repeated over and over.
"Young airbender, I do believe that it is unbecoming of a man to grab hold of a woman without her consent."
Aang released her and blushed, "Sorry about that, Kyojuro," he rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "I guess I got a little too excited huh."
"HaHa! You remind me of Senjuro and how eager he was when it came to meeting new people! You and him are very similar in many ways."
"Kyojuro, who's that?" Katara asked.
His eyes betrayed themselves and a hint of sadness managed to seep through before fading away behind an ocean of happiness once again.
"Just an old friend of mine," she didn't miss how he failed to elaborate further, but didn't feel like now was an appropriate time to call him out on it.
"C'mon guys, what are we waiting for? We should get going so we can hurry and catch one!"
Aang used his airbending and dashed away from the village at a speed that greatly resembled one using total concentration breathing.
"One thing after another, this child is truly remarkable. Katara, Sokka whenever you get the chance, meet Young Aang and I at the place where otter penguins gather."
"We'll be waiting for you!" He sped off at an even greater speed which kicked up a ton of snow which landed on Sokka, Katara and a bunch of other villagers who looked annoyed.
"Alright that's it, I'm outta here," Sokka groaned. "Katara make sure those two don't go off and do something stupid and keep an eye on Aang. I still don't trust him."
"Sokka, you're overreacting. I'm sure by the time I get there, they'll be patiently waiting for my instruction on how to catch one."
Catching up to them, she could only groan at the sight before her. She facepalmed and realized that leaving these two together for extended periods of time maybe wasn't the best idea in hindsight.
Aang was currently busy diving attempting to catch an otter penguin while Kyojuro was standing to the side, coaching him along.
"Young Aang, you have to put your entire being into it! Otherwise you'll only come up short!"
"Kyojuro, it's much harder than it looks. Why don't you try and help me out here?" Aang shot back.
"Haha! I have no need for methods such as these. I have my own ways of calling these creatures over to me without having to move an inch!"
"Oh really, I'd love to see you try and do better than me," Aang replied, still diving for otter penguins and failing.
Kyojuro crossed his arms and took in a deep breath as if to ready himself for something massive.
"Penguins, come to me! Allow me to trespass alongside your backs!" The echo of his statement was not only loud, but scary to them and they scurried off leaving Kyojuro alone yet again.
"Kyojuro, if that didn't work the first five times, why would it work now?" Aang laughed while falling on his stomach, missing again.
"Hmmm, they seem to not recognize my voice as a friendly one. No matter! If I repeat this attempt dozens, no, a hundred times more, I'm sure they will eventually come to recognize me as a friend!"
Aang almost laughed himself to tears hearing this ludacris answer that Kyojuro admittedly believed in. It left the little monk so confused yet happy to have someone he could cut loose with.
Katara, having watched enough of this comedy show decided to make her presence known, "It seems like you two are having fun," she teased.
"Katara, what took you so long?" Kyojuro asked.
"Yeah why didn't you follow closely behind us?" Aang added. "We've been here for the past thirty minutes trying to figure out how to catch one, but we can't seem to get the hang of it."
"Don't lose faith, young Aang. If we continue down this path of trial and error, we will eventually reach the peak of our goal!"
"Of course you would say that. You're not the one covered in snow from falling on the ground," Aang smiled.
Kyojuro walked up to him and leaned down so they were now face to face, "If me covering myself with snow, makes up for my failure in coaching you in catching an otter penguin, then so be it!"
"Katara! Use your waterbending and cover me head to toe with snow, so my new friend will feel better about his inability to capture one!"
"Kyojuro, I don't think Aang was serious-"
Aang unbeknownst to them was using his air bending to create a small funnel of air which was sucking snow up at an alarming rate.
"Ok, just remember you asked for this, Kyojuro." He shot the large conglomerate of snow at him and it collided into him while leaving him buried in a large pile of snow.
Aang dropped on the ground laughing again at his top tier prank he'd just pulled on him. Katara touched the pile of snow to make sure he was ok buried under everything there.
"Kyojuro, can you hear me? I'm gonna try and bend this off of you," she worried.
She couldn't make out much, but it sounded like muffled laughter was coming from under all that snow.
"Hahaha! Do not fret Katara. This snow is nothing that could seriously harm me!" Kyojuro muffled.
The snow began to melt and evaporate at a rapid pace and before long, Kyojuro stood completely undeterred by all that snow and ice that had been laying on top of him. He didn't even move an inch from his spot.
"Kyojuro, you're a firebender? That's so cool!" Aang gazed.
"I guess you can call me that. My form of bending is quite different from the rest so don't be surprised if it takes your breath away!"
"Besides, young Aang, you are far more skilled with your element than I!"
"That technique you just used on me was incredible and deserves praise! You must show me more of your tricks when you have the time."
"Yeah, if you want I could show you this really really cool trick where I use the air around both of us and-"
Katara stood on the side silently watching these, from what she could tell, two balls of hyperactive sunshine going back and forth with each other in such a friendly manner it was almost too bright to watch.
"Boys? I don't mean to interrupt your little activity, but I thought you wanted me to show you how to catch an otter penguin?"
"We do!" Kyojuro and Aang shouted in unison. They both had the brightest expressions lighting up their faces.
"So cute…" she thought.
"Well then listen up and watch closely." She pulled a small fish from her pocket and tossed it towards Aang who caught it and before he knew it, penguins were surrounding him in droves, toppling him over.
"Stop...hahahaha...it tickles, c'mon guys" Aang now had his penguin secured as soon as he managed to get out from under the massive pile of penguins.
Katara stopped to hand Kyojuro a fish before he held a hand out as if to tell her to remain where she was.
"Did you not hear me earlier, Katara? I said I do not need trickery to capture one of these and I will prove it to not only you, but my new pupil here as well! What kind of master cannot show off the fruits of their hard work to their pupils when it's time to present?"
"But, how are you going to catch one without the fish? Stop being stubborn and just take the fish," she argued.
"Never!" he jabbed.
Katara hated when he got like this because he became completely stubborn on doing things one way and one way only. It didn't matter if it was completely illogical and made absolute zero sense, if Kyojuro wanted to complete a certain task his way, he'd stick to it until it either got done or someone forced him to stop.
"Ok then, suit yourself," she threw her hands up in the air and made her way over to Aang who had finally broken through the pile of otter penguins and had his ride now secured.
"Aang and I are going to watch you show us how you do things since you want to be so thick headed," irritated she grabbed Aang and pulled him to the side with her.
"So when did I become his pupil?" Aang asked. "I just got here and he's so trusting."
"Honestly I think he's half insane, but Kyojuro's a good judge of character. If he trusts you then we have nothing to worry about," she answered.
"He's such a strange guy…,but everything about him seems so genuine I find it hard to believe he's a firebender. Normally those guys are super uptight and strict about traditions and honor and all that other boring stuff. He just wanted to catch otter penguins with me and goof off."
"I definitely like him better than the other firebenders I met back home. They were so uptight, it was kinda suffocating to think about."
"Aang about the fire nation, there's something you should know about the war-"
She was cut off by Kyojuro, now staring down a massive otter penguin. "Kyojuro be careful! That's a king otter penguin and they can be very hostile and territorial."
"Relax, Katara! I'm perfectly capable of handling myself with dangerous animals." The king otter penguin snarled at a perfectly calm Kyojuro who only felt it was right to allow them to leave without him for now. This could take a while.
"Young Aang, Katara, you two should go on ahead, I'll catch up later!"
"Are you sure? You did say you'd show off for your new pupil," Katara teased.
"That goal hasn't changed in the slightest, but with how long this waiting game of ours is going to take, I want you kids to enjoy the day. Once I'm finished here, I'll be sure to ride my penguin to wherever the both of you are!"
"If you say so," Aang said. They both left Kyojuro and the animal standing down face to face with the tension between the two so thick you could slice through it.
"So what will it take for you to allow me to ride your back?" The penguin grew closer and snarled even louder at him hoping to drive him away.
"Do not fear, I am not your enemy! I only want to show off to my cute pupils you saw earlier." He thought back to how animals from his world when threatened could be softened up by showing submissive behavior and warm feelings.
"Ok watch this," He smiled at the otter penguin before kneeling down on the ground with his head touching the snow, "I truly mean you not an ounce of harm! If you go out on a limb to trust me, I promise you won't regret it one bit!"
"I'll hold my head on the ground for as long as it takes in order to get him to trust me. Compared to the time I ate Mitsuri's leftovers and had to apologize for an entire day, this is nothing!"
Kyojuro waited and waited with his head held to the ground for over ten minutes straight before finally hearing fins clapping above him and the seal making a seemingly happy squeal. He didn't understand the logistics of what he'd observed, but whoever this strange man was, he'd shown respect to his authority so the least he could do was let him ride on his back for a short time.
Lifting his head off the ground and shaking snow out, Kyojuro saw how pleased the animal looked and smiled, "HaHa! It looks like we've reached some common ground, strange animal. Now, let's not waste anymore time here and head towards my pupils who are surely waiting in anticipation for my arrival!"
Before either could begin to ride to their destination, a bright signal flare shot high into the sky sending Kyojuro's nerves back on edge. He ran over to a cliff overlooking where Aang and Katara had slid too and noticed it was near the same fire nation ship they were told to avoid.
"Of course those two ended up going there without my supervision," He kicked himself for not thinking about the possibility of them getting curious and exploring it, but didn't have the time to apologize as he now had to get back to the village and secure everyone's safety.
Using his enhanced vision thanks to his total concentration breathing, Kyojuro saw Aang carrying Katara away from the ship and was now making his way back to the village.
"Penguin! Let's head back to the village and regroup!"
The penguin laid on his stomach as if to signify his approval and Kyojuro got on and readied himself. Normally even at their fastest speed it would still take them at least six to seven minutes to arrive at the village. Of course this doesn't account for a sled that could be boosted thanks to Kyojuro's enhanced physical strength. If he were to kick off with his legs, their speed would be even faster than normal and he could cut the time in half.
"Hang on, penguin. This may be a bumpy ride!" He breathed in and kicked off, causing a gigantic snow flurry behind him and shooting them forward at inhuman speeds. Kyojuro hung on tight so as not to fall off and the two now made their way back to a village that would surely need protection from a certain prince who's looking for something the world had not seen in one hundred years.
The initial interaction between Aang and Kyojuro was yet another reason why I wanted to begin writing this story. Both of them were so pure and fun in canon so I hope I managed to portray them well here. Next chapter will be where things pick up and a certain fiery prince makes his arrival. I hope everyone's having a safe and wonderful summer!
Thanks again for reading, see you next chapter.
PS: Kyojuro would definitely name this penguin, Sen which would be short for Senjuro. He hides it well and won't outright talk about it, but he really really misses his little brother even though they can no longer meet.