Set Your Spirit Ablaze

by Mextli99

Kyojuro Rengoku had given it his all during his fight with Upper Moon 3 demon, Akaza and while he accomplished his goal of keeping everyone on that train safe from harm, he was unable to save himself and was killed in battle entrusting his will and spirit to the three Demon Slayers who were with him. He never expected to wake up speaking to a fire spirit asking for his help.

21. Calm Before The Storm

Today was the day. No backing down now.

Katara and Hama had worked tirelessly day in and day out in order to get the girl prepared for her challenge to Pakku and…to say that it was a bumpy ride would be underselling things greatly. Pakku had made it his personal mission to make her time in the South Pole especially hard thanks to him having some sort of personal vendetta against her.

That was fine though. She'd endured much worse than what this old prune could throw at her. Katara was a very quick learner however and received everything Hama had been showing her with rousing success. It was even hard for Katara herself to believe that it was coming so easy to her and yet here she was, learning from someone who was not only from her tribe, one handed and a woman, but also someone who was a Waterbending master in her own right.

"Stay calm, Katara. Hama prepared you for this," She tried to calm her nerves as Pakku stared her down with a sense of annoyance mixed with superiority. It really, really pissed her off.

Pakku calmly watched as Katara began stretching, "If you still wish to back out of this futile endeavor, now would be the time!" He called out hoping that he wouldn't have to embarrass her in front of the woman who scorned and left him all those years ago.

"Not a chance!" Katara shouted back as she finished and took her stance. She looked over to the very large crowd that had gathered to witness the fight and saw almost all of her friends and family from the Southern Tribe in the front row. They were not going to let her enter today without proper support.

"Cmon Katara, kick his butt!" She heard Sokka say.

"Show him what the Southern Water Tribe can really do!" Another cried.

"You got this!" She heard another shout.

Aang jumped high above the crowd using his airbending where Katara would be able to see him, "You're gonna do great! We believe in you!"

A smile made its way across her face as she finally noticed Sokka, Aang and Zuko were all front and center to see her fight. It gave her another boost of courage that she was glad to have. She didn't see Mai or Ty Lee either, but she figured that the two girls were simply watching from afar.

Katara did see something hidden in Zuko's expression as he gave her an awkward smile, but she didn't have time to worry about that right now.

"Come on, Katara! Show him what Southern Tribe women are all about!" That was Kishna's voice and Katara found her standing side by side with Kyojuro. They were…extremely close, but she'd come back to that later.

Kishna nudged the man on his side, "Aren't you going to say something?" Kyojuro was unusually quiet when normally he'd have been the loudest one there.

"Not yet!"

Kishna looked at him with a confused expression, "What do you mean not yet?"

Kyojuro beamed warmly at her, "Just trust me on this, Kishna!"

While it may have made sense to question his judgment, Kishna had learned a long time ago that Kyojuro was such an odd man and trying to make sense of his mind was one not meant for her.

She could tell there was a fire in his eyes even if his demeanor remained calm. It was cute in its own kind of way.

Katara waited to see if Kyojuro would say anything at all before the fight began and found it odd that he remained as quiet as a fox mouse.

"He's not going to say anything? No words of encouragement? Nothing!?" Katara felt somewhat betrayed, but kept her focus firm. Kyojuro wasn't sexist and probably had his reasons for staying quiet. She just wondered what it could possibly be?

"Are you going to make the first movie or should I?" Pakku teased as he walked towards her with his hands down as if he was dismissing her completely.

She summoned a water whip which smacked his shoulder as if to warn him to take her seriously. Not saying a word, she glared at him as he decided to indulge the girl in her foolish ambitions.

"Fine, if this is what you really want," He summoned a wave of water that pushed Katara away from him and gave her one of the most condescending smiles she'd ever seen, "Follow along closely young one!"

Trying to stand up, she was caught off guard as Pakku summoned another stream of water that smacked into her side, sending her flying across the ice again. She tried to find her footing, but he summoned it again as Katara continued to be thrust around by the roaring rush of water he was commanding.

"You think that you can just waltz into someplace you don't know, challenge the status quo and do what you want?" Pakku taunted as he bent a column of ice to sit down on, "That's not how the world works," Katara stood back up and made a run at him. Pakku foresaw this and bent the column of ice into her pushing her back once again.

Not to be deterred, Katara bent the water along the ground around her and began throwing pouts of water at rapid speed. Pakku dodged them effortlessly as he began returning them to her, but she would not back down from a challenge of might. Back and forth each burst of water came and went as they started speeding up the intensity and force between each return waiting until the other made a mistake and lost out.

Katara used her bending to solidify her feet in ice and took the last volley Pakku sent her way and absorbed it into her own which resulted in her sending an abnormally large amount of water infused with ice in his direction. Pakku had no issue dodging as he used water to propel himself upwards, but failed to realize why the child had infused that last attack with ice.

It was so she could solidify it quicker the moment he tried to dodge which managed to snag the end of his pant leg. Before he could undo the trap and while he was high into the air, Katara bent the water back down into the ground, sending Pakku crashing through the ice.

She hoped it hurt like hell.

The crowd was stunned to say the least as nobody expected her to do this well. Aang and Sokka started cheering which then sent the women in the crowd into a frenzy. Katara looked over at Kyojuro who still wasn't saying anything and continued to gaze upon the battlefield like he was waiting for something to happen.

Pakku burst above the surface as he took a moment to ponder about the situation, "That…that was a really good shot."

"That's the first time in years that I actually felt a hint of worry for my well being cross my mind and as much as I dislike you, I find that oddly commendable…"

"Unfortunately!" Pakku summoned a water sphere around him which then spawned multiple water tentacles, "This now means that I have to put a bit more effort into this than normal!" He began thrashing them towards Katara hoping to land something significant.

Katara dashed towards him with a water slide and continued to bend it around him dodging each blow as they increased in their speed.

As she was riding the water slide around the sphere he surrounded himself in, she threw ice shards into it hoping that something would break through while he had so many tentacles out trying to hit her. He had to stifle a laugh as the ice shards fizzled out once they hit his bubble.

Seeing that she was about to double back around and try again, Pakku spawned another water tentacle which smacked into her causing her to be thrown back again.

"T-that hurt-" Katara was still trying to catch her breath as it'd been knocked out of her from that attack. Pakku wasn't about to give her any more time to think as he ditched the water sphere and tentacles for close range combat.

He had a point to prove.

"What makes you think you're so special, huh?" Pakku used his bending to coat his hands in a thick layer of ice and headed towards Katara who was still trying to get her bearings back. She tried to move away, but Pakku manipulated a rotating wall of water that was keeping the girl right in front of him.

"I've seen people like you-"

Katara began swinging sharp amounts of ice discs at him in hopes that it would slow him down. He swiftly dodged each of them in succession and finally got into range, "All my life and each time I have dealt with them-" He started hitting Katara with his fists coated in ice as she cringed in pain.

"Block out the pain, Katara!" She thought to herself as he began targeting her ribs, "Kyojuro showed you how to fight close range!"

She started throwing punches infused with waterbending in hopes that it would be enough to push him back. Pakku began to laugh as he continued to pick her apart as his combos continued to land while hers missed the mark everytime she threw one.

"They have always ended up at my feet begging for forgiveness!" Pakku landed a sickening thud into the girl's head as she felt her legs begin to wobble and her head felt fuzzy.

"You will be no different than all the rest," He finished as he used the surrounding water circling them to grab hold of the girl and began dragging her all around him. Try as she might, Katara was going along for the ride of her life and there was nothing she could to escape.

"I will make you admit defeat in front of your friends, family, anyone you may care about so they also will get the message," He brought the water barreling into the ground causing Katara to cry out in pain. Water went everywhere as the crowd could only watch in horror at the sight they were seeing.

The man stood over the young girl as he put a foot on her head and sneered, "Ready to quit? The healing sessions for the women start in thirty minutes," He taunted as Katara honestly had no more left to give. Her body ached and she could barely think straight after being put in a spin cycle like that.

She could hear Aang and Sokka shouting, but everything felt all scrambled. Zuko had a panicked expression and looked like he wanted to come rushing to her side. Kanna looked like she would burst into tears if she didn't stand back up. Kishna just looked as worried as everyone and Kyojuro…

He still hadn't said a thing.

Seeing as she was still on the ground and unmoving, Pakku determined that he'd had enough fun toying around with this girl. Although…

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least somewhat disappointed that this was the best she could do. As much as he hated to admit it, deep, deep down, the fire in her eyes made him extremely curious given how she was the granddaughter of the woman who left him all those years ago.

Oh well, nothing that could be done about that now. He turned to leave the girl lying there as the feeling of being unsatisfied with how things ended slowly drifted around inside him.

"Damn it!" Katara barely mustered the words out as she started to cry, "I couldn't do anything to him…what was all that training for? Maybe I was too weak to make a difference."

As she started to close her eyes and thoughts began to slow, she wondered if her mother would be proud of her. She'd fail her promise to beat him and now this man was walking all over her pride.

"Katara!"

Her eyes shot open as Kyojuro's voice reverberated through the large crowd and all attention was on him.

"I didn't teach any pupil of mine to just lay down and quit, so enlighten me as to why you're still there?"

She tried to move, but her body was at its limit.

"In the years you have known me, have I ever stayed down once I made a promise?"

She remembered how he covered her with his cloak after he saved her from being killed by Zhao. He didn't stay down back then.

"I swore to you that I would not allow a single person to die and I upheld that promise just as I always have! Do not forget what you promised me!"

"I swore…that I'd bring him to his knees…" Katara started to rise again as her blood began pumping and air entered her lungs, "There is…no way in hell…that I'm gonna just quit before I make that a reality."

Kyojuro could tell that she was fired up again and felt a tingling sense of pride for his pupil, "Set your heart ablaze and fight! Show me the results of your effort!"

Katara took her stance again, "Right!"

Pakku was bewildered. How on earth was she still standing?

He made an attempt to bend another batch of water towards her and Katara felt her body move almost instinctively around it, "How am I moving like this?" She didn't have time to ponder as Pakku was headed back over to her with ill intent on his mind.

"So you haven't had enough yet?" He threw another volley of punches that landed on the mark as it collided into her.

She refused to fall again.

"I told you I'd have you begging on your knees for mercy! I've got a promise to keep you old sexist prune!" She solidified her own fists and smirked, "Is that the best you got? I can barely feel them anymore!"

"I guess we'll see about that," Pakku replied as they both began close quarters combat.

He was undoubtedly faster and stronger of the two, he was still landing more than she was consistently and yet-

"This girl will not fall! Fascinating!"

For every ten punches he managed to land, she would land one in retaliation that caused him to recoil. Why was he even playing into her game anyway? As they continued to exchange blows, questions echoed in Pakku's head about how he even let himself fall for such mindless tactics.

If he wanted, he could easily take a step back and return to thrashing the girl with nothing more than waterbending techniques that she probably had never seen before today. Even being trained by one as skilled as Hama did nothing to sway the fight in her favor as he had decades of experience to her measly week of training.

So why…why did he have this sinking feeling that if he backed down now, the tides of this battle would turn?

For whatever reason, he had a feeling that if he let up on her at all, he would end up being the one who would lose.

---

"Where did she get all this energy from?" Kishna watched as Katara seemingly went from barely being able to keep up with Pakku to now slowly matching the man on an even playing field.

"Hahaha! It took quite a while compared to her brother, but it seems like she's finally started to unlock her full potential!" Kyojuro replied as he didn't take his eyes off the contest.

"What do you mean?" Kishna asked.

"Total Concentration Breathing is something that many struggle to use and it can take years to bring forth, let alone master it. For Sokka, it took over a full year of training before he could use it consistently and even then, he had to warm up to it first. For the longest time and no matter how hard we tried, Katara never took to it like someone like her should have."

"But!"

"Putting her in situations like this turned out to be the perfect thing to counteract that! Water is the element of change and waterbenders like her always tend to go with the flow of battle no matter which way it is moving! Combined with her natural talent, this was always going to be the desired result, it just took someone like Pakku to forcefully drag it out of her! For that, he has my thanks!"

"Unfortunately for him this means that the promise we made will be carried out in full!"

Landing another blow to her stomach, Katara hunched over and before Pakku could retaliate, she landed one to his own ribcage which pushed him back.

"Where is this power coming from?" He wondered as he started throwing again and much to his dismay, the girl started smiling.

Katara used her bending to create a water cloak with extra thick tentacles slapped Pakku back. He braced for impact, but the force that she was exerting definitely caused him to flinch as he skidded backwards.

He moved to use the ice beneath their feet to throw her off balance, but Katara used bending to solidify her feet in place and began swinging water slices at him as he started to dodge. The tempo continued to rise as Pakku used a water slide to try and get back into range, "So you've got a bit more power behind your attacks now? Big deal, let's see if you can keep up with this."

He created his octopus water cloak which greatly outnumbered hers and began throwing back. He didn't miss the odd smile that crossed her face as he began losing out.

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that if you wanna beat me!" She exclaimed as she started throwing frozen ice discs from her tendrils.

Pakku tried to deflect them and much to his astonishment, he could barely keep track of everything coming at him. He heard someone call out from the crowd, "Hey! You could seriously hurt him if one of those lands!"

Katara didn't even hesitate in her response, "It'll be fine as long as he keeps dodging like any waterbending master can!"

He went wide eyed at that.

"Has she lost it? What sort of person does something so reckless?" Pakku thought to himself. Although he was still intrigued by the sudden change he was seeing. Just how far could this young girl go? He'd find that out for himself.

"I'll be the first to admit this," Pakku used his bending to create a water spout that allowed him to hover above everyone else, "You have surpassed my expectations and I acknowledge that you have some potential as a bender. Sadly there is still a key fundamental lesson you haven't quite gotten yet-"

He used his bending to phase change the entire icy terrain they were standing on into liquid. Before she could do anything at all, she was sucked into the current that Pakku was manipulating and propelled high into the sky. He bended a massive portion of the surrounding water upwards as it crashed into her.

"You are still a hundred years too early to challenge me!" He bended the water around her into a giant sphere and solidified it into ice as he motioned his arms to bring it crashing back into the ground sending ice, water and mist in every direction.

Landing back on the ground, Pakku took a moment to catch his breath as that was the first time in ages that someone had been able to push him as far as this. His old age had finally caught up to him. He used his bending to push the remaining debris away as much to his surprise, Katara was nowhere to be found. He used just enough force to not knock her through the ice, so she should still be around here.

A multitude of things happened all at once.

One, the alarm bells started ringing as Pakku began to put two and two together about why she wasn't on the surface.

Two, the ice below him started to crack faster than he could react too.

And three, Katara used her waterbending to propel herself through the ice directly below him. She connected with a massive uppercut coated with ice that landed fresh on his chin.

"So…that's where she was.." The attack landed hard enough that it brought him down on his hands and knees as he could barely process where he was.

He couldn't believe that she would use such barbaric tactics, but here he was on the ground in a completely defenseless position as she stood over him with the same fist she hit him with, raised high into the air in triumph.

The crowd went wild seeing the entire thing unfold as it was so unbelievable. She went from getting manhandled by a waterbending master who was regarded as the best the North Pole had to offer to now standing over him as if the roles were now reversed.

Pakku felt the feeling come back to his legs as he started to stand again, "That was a very, very good shot…to say that you did well hanging in this far would be an understatement," He stood back up and met the girl eye to eye, "That was the first time in decades that I've ever been pushed like this. It was…fun."

"To think that a young girl such as yourself opened my eyes is something I never thought would happen. You being the granddaughter of the woman who left me only makes this more interesting."

He took his stance again feeling that fire in his heart once again, "I no longer view you that far beneath my level. You have my praise."

Katara smiled as she felt hazy and began to sway again, "That's…huff*...good to hear. I told you…that I'd keep good…on my promise," She motioned to fall forward as her consciousness slipped away from her. Pakku caught her as she collapsed into him and the crowd knew the fight was over.

She may not have won the fight, but the moral victory she had achieved is one that would not be forgotten. It definitely wouldn't be forgotten by the woman standing beside Katara who had watched the fight with great intrigue in mind.

"Well…that was quite the spectacle. I guess it's finally time we talked, Katara."

Shinobu Kocho had been stuck with this girl who she thought was hopeless when it came to understanding Total Concentration Breathing, however, this fight caused the woman to realize they had much more in common than she originally thought. Their linked emotions caused her heart to stir, feeling what Katara was experiencing before awakening to her gift.

They both had the same hidden anger that pushed them to do things out of sheer spite and that was something Shinobu found quite endearing.

---

Opening her eyes, Katara tried to move, but was forced to stay still by one of the healers, "You shouldn't try to move right now. Pakku really did a number on you during that fight and the reckless abandon you showed your body wasn't that good either."

"We managed to heal most of your injuries, but you still need some rest to recover your energy. You took a beating out there."

Katara had zero intention of listening to her, she needed to talk to Kyojuro. Sensing that she was in a decent enough state to have visitors, the healer went outside and gave her guardian the ok to come in and talk with her.

"You're awake! You did a phenomenal job out there!" Kyojuro came into the tent having waited outside for hours for the young girl to wake up from her unconsciousness. He hugged her as his warmth seeped into her and she returned it as well.

Pulling away from him, Katara gave Kyojuro a look that he immediately could recognize as one of inner conflict, "What's the matter, Katara? You should be very proud about what you did back there! Hahaha! It made me so happy watching you push past your limits in a way I hadn't yet seen from you!"

"Kyojuro?" She asked hesitatingly.

"Yes!" He replied eagerly.

"Who's Shinobu Kocho?"

He froze hearing that name. He tried not to show it, but Katara knew she'd hit something and wasn't about to let it go.

"How…how do you know that name?"

She grabbed her head as memories of that dream talk started to filter through, "I think I was asleep…or maybe somewhere else, but there was a lady who dressed exactly like you did, but had a butterfly motif instead of the flame stuff you wear. I don't know how long we talked, but she said that she knows you."

Katara watched as for the first time since she had known him, the bright gleam behind his eyes started to waver.

"How does she know you? What aren't you telling me?" Katara pushed hoping he'd answer.

"This shouldn't be possible. Shinobu is someone from my past who I told you I could no longer see anymore, but you claim you spoke with her in a dream?" Kyojuro thought back to how long it's been since Agni had spoken with him and his stomach dropped into the floor. He needed to speak with her and he needed to do so immediately.

He turned to leave, but Katara grabbed hold of his haori, "Oh no you don't! You can't just expect that I'll let you leave after all the questions I now have. Who was that woman and what secret are you hiding from me?"

Kyojuro took a deep breath and tried to reason with her, "I'm not exactly sure why you…seemingly can speak with that person, but if you just give me some time to-"

"No! I'm not waiting anymore, Kyojuro. Whatever it is you're hiding, you can tell me! I'm not gonna look at you any differently just because of some secret. Just," Katara stood up and looked him square in the eye, "Just talk to me. Please."

"I…I…" Kyojuro could see that Katara meant well and he absolutely trusted each of his new family with his life. It should be easy trusting them with his greatest secret at this point in their time together. All he would have to do is say it once and never have to say it again. It could feel like a giant weight that's been hanging over his head, finally getting lifted. So why…

Why was it so hard opening up to them?

"I can't…I just can't."

He moved away from the girl as she looked completely surprised at his dismissal of her acceptance of him. He could tell that he had crushed her feelings.

"I'm sorry, Katara. I'm so, so sorry." He left the room leaving a clearly hurt Katara trying to keep it together as she could feel tears coming.

She sat back on the ground and wiped away any tears that did manage to seep through. She was frustrated that, even now and after everything they'd been through, he was still keeping secrets from them. The most frustrating part was that he didn't trust them. Trust her, with whatever he's been keeping locked away.

"Katara?" That was Aang's voice. He walked into the room and knelt down beside her, "Are you ok?"

She sniffled trying to get herself together, "Yeah, it's just my injuries from the fight still need time to properly heal so I'm feeling some discomfort. That's all," She tried to lie. Aang wasn't buying it in the slightest.

"You don't have to lie to me. I was about to walk in when I heard you two talking."

"You heard that?"

"Every word," Aang confirmed.

"Is it true? Can you really see a spirit person too?"

She nodded yes as Aang looked conflicted. Katara didn't like that at all.

"Why, is it bad?" She was about to start panicking when she realized he mentioned it like she wasn't the only one seeing them.

"Aang…why am I getting the feeling that you aren't surprised about me talking with a spirit?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder and his expression turned serious, "There's alot going on right now and..as weird as it sounds, we're all connected to it in a sense."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a lot to catch you up on. Sokka and the others will be here shortly. When they get here, we'll explain everything that we've figured out up until now. As much as Kyojuro doesn't want to admit it, his secret may not have a choice whether or not it stays a secret anymore. Too much is happening all at once and I think he's the key."

---

"So…how long are you going to keep wallowing away in grief? This isn't healthy," Muichiro had been with Mai ever since reading the letter regarding her family's massacre and the poor girl had taken the news extremely hard.

She had barely left the room that she shared with Ty Lee. Muichiro didn't even get a response which prompted him to resort to different tactics.

"You need to talk to Kyojuro about this. Hiding what happened will only make things worse for other people with monsters like that on the loose. He's strong enough to protect you if Demons come for you as well. Don't you have any sort of self preservation?"

Mai simply shrugged her shoulders as she stared at the frozen wall in front of her with apathy in her eyes. She'd run out of tears yesterday.

"It doesn't matter. Nothing does."

"That isn't true," Muichiro tried to reason with her.

"Really? Will telling him any part of how they died bring them back?"

"No, but that doesn't mean-"

"Then I don't care!" She snarled back at him with as much malice as one person could give. She subdued herself back into the same apathetic state she was in previously and he sighed knowing that she was going through something that no person should ever have to live with.

Muichiro had to tread carefully as he knew the signs of a feral animal anywhere. She was on the cusp of snapping if he misspoke at all. He thought back to how kind Kagaya was when talking with him and he figured it best try and emulate that…even if he had absolutely none of that man's charisma and kindness.

He took a seat beside Mai and for a few moments, neither said anything to each other. For him, his heart ached for someone in a similar situation like he was in when his memories returned and the demise of his family became a reality. For her, it felt good having someone close to her at all after she drove Zuko and Ty Lee away. Sure, he was attached to her spiritually and he was apparently ten years old, but it still felt soothing.

"I lost my family too, you know."

Mai barely reacted to this, but her head inched up ever so slightly making sure she heard him right, "You did?"

"Yeah. My parents died when I was young due to unfortunate circumstances and for a while it was just me and my elder twin brother. It wasn't the best, but…we had each other and that was enough for me," She watched as flashes of sorrow crossed his face before continuing, "Of course nothing that happy lasts forever as he was soon killed by a Demon that had found us and in the ensuing scuffle I lost my memory."

"I was angry after that. It was unyielding and buried deep within me and because of my memory loss, I had no clue why I had felt this way. I knew there had to be a reason for it and it wasn't until I met someone who reminded me of my father that everything came back to me. I didn't have time to cry my eyes out when people were in danger and I'm not saying you shouldn't grieve because you have every right to. You have lost something that can no longer grasp again in this world and I won't tell you to ever let those feelings go."

"Instead of wasting this sadness, grief, anger, rage and everything else you may be feeling, it would be better to put it to good use like I did. Train. Train like your life depends on it. It was the only time that I felt any sort of semblance of calmness in the world."

"What good will training do? My family is already dead," Mai felt her heart begin to hurt thinking about how scared her baby brother must have been before he was taken from this world.

"You can avenge them by finding and killing the demon responsible. In that letter of yours, wasn't it said that the demon who killed them still hasn't been found? Not only that, the demon in question has been targeting people in high ranking positions seemingly like it's some sort of assassin. If this is the case then it stands to reason that it would eventually come after you."

Muichiro watched as the gears began turning in the girl's head as she came to the same realization that he did, "The only reason I'm alive is because I went with Azula instead of accompanying them to Omashu. If I was there, I'd…I'd probably be dead along with them."

"But I'm not."

"That's right! You have only survived due to pure chance alone and you're just going to waste this blessing? You will never see your family again, but please don't let their deaths be in vain. I know there's a reason why you and I became stuck with each other. I sense great potential within you, Mai. If you reach out to me, I'll do my best to prepare you for anything that comes your way."

"Ok, Muichiro, now how am I supposed to seal the deal here…" He thought back to the kindness that Kagaya, Kyojuro and Tanjiro showed him throughout his time as a demon slayer and knew exactly how to seal the deal.

"You have my word! I'll do everything in my power to make you stronger than any demon on this earth!" He internally cringed hearing how corny those three normally sound, but seeing a small hopeful smile come onto Mai's face, it seems like she got the point.

"Were you just trying to emulate Kyojuro?"

He took a moment to respond as he flushed red, "...yes."

She started to snicker and the boy became even more flustered, "Hey! T-this isn't how I normally talk so don't get used to it!"

Muichiro was happy that she found some amusement in him though. He didn't know her for very long, but he was used to the sarcasm and deadpanned mannerisms. Sadness was something that did not suit such a pretty face in his opinion.

"Thanks…Muichiro. I needed that."

He nodded in kind as he took a seat in front of her, "I still think you should go and talk with Kyojuro, but if you do not want to right now then I won't push it. However, something you do need is protection against the Demons and that is definitely something I can give to you."

"For now we'll start from the basics and work our way up, little by little until you are receptive to my technique."

"You mean that weird technique that Kyojuro uses to move fast?"

"Exactly, but Total Concentration Breathing can do so much more than that. I'm going to pass down my Mist Breathing to you. That is if you're willing to try and master it."

Thinking about how horrific the scene with her family must have been made her blood start to boil again. If this was the only way to find out who did it and kill them, then why not listen to the brat.

What more did she have to lose anyway?

"You got yourself a deal, brat. I'm all ears, but don't get mad at me if I tease you once in a while. You're still tiny compared to me, so it'll be hard to see you as a teacher," Mai answered.

He opened his mouth to say something in retaliation, but decided against it. He'd let her have that one.

---

"Let me get this straight…you mean to tell me that each of you can see someone connected to Kyojuro's past? Not only that, they're spirits so the only people who can see them are us?" Katara asked tentatively as she eyed Sokka, Aang and Zuko.

"Sounds about right," Sokka answered.

"I know it may not make sense, but spirits are complicated and weird like that. It's the truth," Aang said.

"And what about you two?" Katara asked Zuko and Ty Lee. Both of them were just standing there as if they had something else on their minds.

"Just me and Mai, I'm afraid. Zuko here is spirit guide free at the moment," Ty Lee responded. It lacked the usual joyful tone that she almost always spoke in.

Katara moved to touch on it, but was stopped by Aang, "They've been like this since you first started training with Hama about a week ago. Neither of them will say anything to us about why they are acting like this."

"Because it's none of your business," Zuko scowled at the boy much to Sokka's dislike.

"Hey! Aang was just trying to fill Katara in about everything, there's no need to be a jerk all of a sudden especially since you won't tell us what was in that damn letter!" Sokka shot back.

"Letter? What is he talking about Zuko?" She asked.

"Again, it doesn't concern any of you so just drop it." Zuko said.

"That's not a good enough answer anymore. Ever since Mai read what was in that letter you gave her, we haven't seen her leave her room since. I get that she's your girlfriend and everything, but you can't keep dodging the question," Sokka argued.

"She's not my- Look even if I wanted to tell you, and I don't, it's not my place or business to tell it. Ty Lee and I are in agreement here."

The normally bright and cheery girl still remained as reserved as ever. She wasn't doing any of her acrobatic tricks which made the atmosphere even tenser than usual, "M-maybe we should tell them Zuko."

He looked at her like she had lost her mind, "Why should we? It is not our place to and you know it."

"I get that, I really do,,,but we need them to understand why she's been so distraught and Mitsuri says that she needs support instead of letting her cry her freaking eyes out alone in a room all day and night by herself."

"She needs us Zuko…even if she doesn't want to admit it."

Silence filled the air around them as Zuko struggled to find it within him to break the devastating news to the group.

"Aw, don't tell me you're getting all sentimental on me now Zuko."

They all turned around to see Yue and Mai walking side by side towards them.

He opened his mouth to speak and was cut off by Yue, "Zuko…please just let her speak."

"Are you sure you want to do this? They don't have to know," He asked, seeing what she was about to do as he spotted the crumpled up note in her hand.

Mai took a small breath and composed herself. This was not going to be easy, but it had to be done for not only her sake, but for her family's as well.

"I used princess over here as practice before I got here…it still didn't help much, but screw it. Might as well just come clean and get this over with," Mai kept her tone neutral, however everyone could tell there was a twinge of sadness in it.

"My family is dead."

Saying those four words out loud made her heart start to crumble again.

Sokka, Aang and Katara looked absolutely horrified. Katara all but shot up from her seat, "What?"

"They were murdered by a demon who ambushed them while they were on their way to Omashu," Mai said.

Ty Lee inched closer to Mai with tears forming in her eyes. Mai held up a hand to keep the girl from getting closer as she wasn't finished yet.

"If I had been there with them instead of following Azula's lead, I'd have been killed right along with them and their killer would roam free without a single care in the world," Her anger started to bubble back towards the surface, "It makes me sick knowing they died horrifically and it probably was nothing more than a late night snack for that monster…"

"No matter how hard I wished for it to be a lie, I now understand and accept that it happened. It's a reality that I can't run away from."

"It probably was nothing more than chance that I'm alive right now, but…" Mai eyed Ty Lee and Zuko and reminded herself that she wasn't alone in this world.

"I'm still here. And I still have people who care about me," Zuko and Ty Lee went wide-eyed seeing a genuine smile on her face which caused Ty Lee to lose it. Ty Lee rushed and embraced the girl as she returned the hug in kind.

"Mai! I'm so sorry about your family! I don't know how to make it better, but I'll do everything I can to help," The girl sobbed as Mai looked at Zuko who awkwardly made his way to her.

"We will find the demon responsible Mai," Zuko's expression turned dark, "That's a promise."

Aang interjected himself into the three way talk, "I'm sorry about your family, Mai. Zuko's right, whoever did this must be held responsible and if that is going to happen, we need to talk to Kyojuro. It's gotten to the point where putting it off any longer may endanger other people."

"But you heard how he completely avoided and shut me out when I asked him about the woman in my dreams. Unless we present indisputable facts to him, he will just continue to dance around the truth until the sea cows come home!" Katara folded her arms as she gave Mai a sympathetic smile.

"Do you mind explaining?" Yue asked. "Mai and I aren't well versed in your conversation with Kyojuro."

"Long story short, after my fight with Pakku and I passed out, I woke up with some weird butterfly lady standing over me as I stood in…the spirit world?" She looked to Aang for confirmation as he shrugged. He had no idea as everyone's spirit guide's world was different from what they told him.

"She said her name was Shinobu Kocho and was close to Kyojuro."

Ty Lee flinched again feeling how excited Mitsuri was getting. She never did get used to that sensation.

"I tried to get him to finally open up about his past and how all these spirits know him so well, but…" She sighed in exasperation, "He pushed me away again and ran out. I just don't get it. He calls us family and yet refuses to just talk to us. I don't get it!"

"Kyojuro can be pretty thick headed. This isn't all that surprising," Sokka chimed in.

"Well whatever the reason, we don't have any more time to waste. For whatever reason, these people have attached themselves to us and I think this may be the thing that forces Kyojuro to open up to us. Sure, his privacy is sacred and I will always try to respect other people's wishes, but with everything that's been happening and now…" Aang didn't need to bring up what Mai had just told them. Her expression told them enough.

"He has to talk to us and we can't take no for an answer," Aang was adamant in his stance as everyone else seemed to agree.

"Well, how do you suppose we get him to open up for good?" Katara asked.

"The answer is right in front of us. We all have someone connected to Kyojuro's past residing with us and we can talk to them anytime we want right?" Everyone nodded, giving him the signal to continue, "With this many spirits that know him, it would be very hard for him to keep us in the dark if we confront him as a group. Even someone as strong willed as him could wilt if pushed hard enough and honestly, we'll need everyone in unison if it's gonna work."

"Mai, Ty Lee, I know you all haven't known Kyojuro all that long, but you have someone connected to his past and I know I'm asking for a lot here, but if you could-"

Ty Lee gave him a thumbs up, grabbing hold of Mai as she gave a smile, "You've got our support!"

"That won't be enough and we all know it!" Zuko had enough of this nonsense that was supposed to resemble an actual plan, "Kyojuro is someone who stands above everyone else in terms of strength and what makes you think things will change even if we confront him like that. Someone like that can only be convinced with something that is hard to ignore."

"Strength."

"If we go to him with all these facts and still haven't given him any tangible reason to trust us then he would continue to keep everything bottled up in himself. He'd think that we'd be better off kept in the dark since we were weak enough to become a hindrance to him every time we encountered a demon."

"That's not true," Aang tried to reason.

"No, he's probably right," Sokka replied. "We couldn't do anything at the Northern Air Temple, We couldn't do anything whenever Zhao attacked us and we were nothing more than dead weight when he was fighting that female demon at the Fire Sage temple."

"Zuko's right. Even if he wanted to tell us everything, he has an incentive not to. If we can't protect ourselves from demon attacks then maybe he thinks it better if he shouldered everything by himself." Sokka kicked himself upon realizing the issue here, "We gotta get stronger."

"If we get stronger then maybe Kyojuro will start to trust us more as equals instead of people he thinks he needs to protect. I'm managing Water Breathing little by little and even though I'm still not there yet, I can at least use Total Concentration Breathing to compensate for now. Katara seemingly unlocked hers during the fight with Pakku and Aang's the Avatar. So he's already covered."

He pointed to the three four individuals in front of him, "If we're gonna convince him, we all need to get way, way stronger than we already are."

Ty Lee ran towards Sokka and moved to Chi block him, he foresaw this and tried to dodge, but the girl matched his tempo and speed and delivered a crippling blow to his side as he dropped to one knee in pain.

"What was that for?!" Sokka tried to control his breathing and he found it almost impossible to do so. She walked over to him and pressure pointed him again, giving him his breathing technique back.

"Do you really think I've been sitting on my butt? Mitsuri's been helping me with my own Total Concentration Breathing. She said since we were so much alike, it'd be easier to teach me her technique. She also thinks I've got a talent for something called Transparent World given how easily I've always been able to sense where everyone's chi spots are located."

Mai decided to chime in, "Muichiro and I started training in something called Mist Breathing. He claims that it'll do some good if I'm able to actually fight back against them. That weird breathing stuff is supposed to be connected to it which makes sense."

"And I have my Water Breathing technique!" Sokka added.

"I can ask Shinobu to teach me some more about Total Concentration Breathing, but I'm still nowhere as adept at it as Sokka."

He patted his sister on the back as he beamed with pride, "Don't sell yourself short Katara! The way you started kicking Pakku's ass was pretty cool if I must say so myself."

Aang nodded in agreement, "I haven't been able to use it at all. Yoriichi says that it comes to everyone differently, but he thinks that it'll come to me much differently than most."

"Koku has been teaching me something he calls Moon Breathing. I'm not exactly sure how it's supposed to work, but he's a good teacher and he's been very honest with me about his past misdeeds. I know how antagonistic he was to your spirits in his previous life, but I think he wants to atone by passing it down to me." Yue saw the reactions that everyone gave her and figured that they were on board.

That left Zuko, the odd man out once again.

"I don't have a guide or anything special like that," He tugged on the straps of the backpack that contained his sister and frowned, "My bending is still gone. My sister is still a demon who does not consume flesh out of sheer determination and spite. If you take everything into account, I'm deadweight."

"That's not true!" Aang leapt forward, "You've always been a big help to us even if you won't admit it to yourself. So what if you can't bend or use the same techniques that others can. Just focus on yourself and I'm sure everything will fall into place. You are needed!" Aang stared at Zuko much to his dismay and brought a small blush on his face. He didn't think anyone would outright compliment him like that and it caught him off guard.

He turned away from everyone trying to hide his growing blush and heard chuckles behind him, "My…my uncle said that my old source for Firebending was wanting to restore my honor after I was banished. Traveling alongside you guys has…it's opened my eyes to some lies I desperately wanted to believe."

He turned back to everyone with a calm expression. It was as if he was about to be relieved of something weighing him down, "I know you've heard the rumors."

"About you?" Aang asked. "Kyojuro mentioned that it was something you'd share when the time was right. I didn't press any further out of respect."

"It's deeper than you'd think. Haven't you ever wondered why I was so hellbent on chasing you that I went all the way to the South Pole in search of The Avatar?" Aang, Sokka and Katara nodded, "Well I wasn't doing it because I wanted to, it was because I had to."

"Back when I was…still just a kid, I was at a war meeting that I begged them to let me attend. I didn't understand the culture of keeping my mouth shut and letting the generals speak, so when I heard about the horrific plan they had in store for the new recruits, I spoke out in detest not realizing that it was a grave mistake to disrespect someone like that."

"What sort of plan was it?" Aang asked.

Zuko gulped and balled his fists, "They were going to sacrifice an entire platoon of fresh recruits as part of their strategy. Many of them who would be my age now, would've been headed on a suicidal mission that they had no chance of surviving at all. Hundreds of lives wasted and it sickened me that they would discard our people so easily."

"That's awful!" Aang felt sick to his stomach.

"This did not go over well and I was challenged to an Agni Kai which I had no choice but to accept."

"That's one of those fire nation duels right?" Sokka asked. Zuko nodded in response.

"I didn't think I could beat the general, I just thought that I would be able to do a good enough job not to get burned much. I had no idea that my own dad would be the one who took his place."

"Your own dad? That's sick." Sokka said.

"No kidding," Zuko tried to joke. It just made him feel worse.

"I knew I stood no chance against my father, so I bowed in front of him and begged for forgiveness. Do you want to know what happened after I did?"

Mai and Ty Lee knew exactly what came next. It sickened them thinking back to how painful it must have been for your own dad to do that to you.

"He put a hand on my face and burnt it as he felt nothing."

Aang, Sokka and Katara all went wide eyed. This had to be a lie right? What kind of father would purposely scar his own son.

Katara was the first to say something, "But in order for him to leave a scar like that-"

"It would need to be a prolonged touch," Zuko finished. He could see her grow pale hearing that.

"We knew the Fire Lord was a monster, but this is…" Sokka didn't even have the words for it.

Katara was tearing up again as Aang put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. He wasn't doing much better.

"I…I just didn't want you guys to think that I don't trust you. I haven't told anyone that story since it happened, so that should say everything about how I feel towards you all."

Sokka, Aang and Katara crashed into the boy with a tightening hug as he turned even redder than normal.

"We appreciate it!" Aang said

"Heck yeah we do! Telling us a story like that when you went through something that traumatic couldn't have been easy." Sokka assured.

"I'm sorry you went through that Zuko. You didn't deserve that," Katara was adamant on making sure he got that message.

He didn't say anything in response besides mumbling a "Thanks." They let him go and gave him some room to breathe having almost smothered him in affection, something he still wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"Now that that's out of the way and everyone here trusts each other, I think the best thing we can do is train and when each of you has a decent enough grasp on that breathing stuff, we'll confront Kyojuro about what he's hiding," Zuko sensed that everyone was in agreement with the plan.

Now that they had a concrete goal in mind, they would not let the opportunity to get the truth out of him escape. They were more energized than ever thanks to Zuko's talk and that did cause him to swell up in pride. It was the first time in a long time that he felt…at ease with people who seemed to care for him without him having to work abnormally hard to earn it like he had to do with Ozai.

---

Kyojuro stood on the edge of the bridge overlooking the city lost in a thoughtful conflict. He'd been standing there for the past few hours staring up at the moon as he desperately tried to contact Agni and once again could not call upon her guidance. He was worried that something had happened to her, but with no way to contact her nor any way to figure out why people from another world were starting to seep through, he felt lost.

Pakku thought the Demon infestation was his fault and given how he was still so confused about everything, there may be a chance that it might've been true. That sickened him far worse than any ailment could hope to accomplish.

All those deaths, senseless and wasteful by nature, people being eaten alive like livestock, lying to his family about the true nature of how he got here…

Wondering whether or not all of that was his fault made his heart stir and his emotions chaotic. He felt tears start to build, but refused to let them fall. A Hashira such as himself had no time for feeling sad and other things of this nature. He had to be strong in the face of uncertainty and even if it kept him up at night, he would push it all down in favor of standing tall.

An image of Katara giving him another heartbreaking expression flashed across his mind and that wall he started building up again felt wobbly. Like one wrong move might bring the whole thing down.

He started shaking trying to hold everything back. It was hard…and unpleasant, but as the only one who can stand up to the Demons, he would not let things get to him! Even if he had to bear the brunt of the world on his shoulders alone, he would not falter!

That did very little to make the uneasiness of the world go away. Even with all the strength he possessed, he still couldn't make a difference when it mattered most. Incidents from the Fire Sage Temple, The village that Zhao murdered, the beating he took from Upper Rank Four, lying to everyone, missing his father, mother and…

His dear little brother Senjuro.

They continued to pile up as his willpower slowly drained.

He barely even realized that small droplets hit his hand and he touched his face for confirmation. He was crying and no matter how much he wished it to stop, the tears spilled out one after the other until it was a constant stream.

"Damn it, Kyojuro! Get it together!" He slapped both hands on the side of face hoping that it would be enough to snap himself out of this momentary burst of sadness. It wasn't working. He gripped the edge of the bridge and continued to weep as everything he'd been holding in had finally started to break through.

"Stop it! I'm stronger than this! I have to be the one that they can lean on in uncertain times and that cannot happen if my emotions are out of control!"

"Kyojuro?" A voice familiar to him called out.

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and turned around seeing Kishna looking at him extremely worried. He tried to turn away from her and rub the tears away, but she simply grabbed hold of his face and brought him into a hug. His face was centered near her chest as he was taller than her.

"Kishna, I-"

She shushed him, "I don't know why you're so upset and I know how secretive you are with certain aspects of your past so I won't ask if you still aren't ready to talk. One thing I will not ignore is you being in pain and bottling it up."

"It's only us here, so you don't have to hold anything back from me. I won't judge you if you cry. For a while, you helped pull me out of a dark place when you first showed up and I swore that I'd never let the same thing happen to you."

"Just let it out, Kyojuro. You don't have to be strong all the time."

Kyojuro could feel her warmth as his emotions started rumbling again. The tears he'd wiped away slowly came back as his lip quivered and he sniffled trying to stop it from happening again.

A small sob broke through as he tried to muffle it. Another soon followed as the tears poured down again and he snuggled closer to her. Kishna deepend the embrace as the moonlight shone down upon them. Kyojuro never felt as small as he did currently, but Kishna brought some calmness to his sense of self that made it all the more harder to remain in control anymore.

He decided just this once…maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let it all out.

And so he did.

Sobs wracked his body as he trembled and shook using Kishna as his support. For the first time in years, he decided to let everything out.

She stroked his head and assured him that things would be ok. Seeing him so vulnerable made her sad and while she didn't know what had him so shook up and even if he didn't tell her, she just wanted to do the best she could to help the man she admired the most.

They remained like this for almost ten minutes until his breaths regained their usual beat and she brought his face to hers, gazing at his bright colored eyes and knew exactly what she was feeling for him wasn't just a passing emotion.

She loved this man with all her heart.

They both stared at each other while inching closer for what seemed like an eternity. Kyojuro knew what he was feeling for the woman wasn't something that he could ignore anymore either.

He wondered if it was what his father felt for his mother while she was alive.

Soon they were close enough that their breaths bounced off each other and they didn't need to speak to convey their feelings.

"Kishna, I-" She cut him off as her lips collided into his. He returned the advance and the kiss between the two became more active as he gripped her hips and brought her closer.

She pulled away first as Kyojuro went wide-eyed seeing the person who his heart had come to accept as his first true love. She was crying. Kishna seemed to notice as she started smiling which confused him.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm happy," She grabbed his hands and gripped them with a certain tenderness that elicited sparks within him, "When my husband and son were killed in the raids, I thought I would never be able to feel joy like this again. You dropped into my life…all our lives…and changed everything. Even if you don't ever open up to anyone about what you're feeling, I want you to know that-"

She closed her eyes as tears continued to fall and gave him one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen, "I love you, Kyojuro."

Kyojuro could only stare at her and feel his heart skip multiple beats. Maybe…maybe letting someone else inside the wall he built around himself would work. Maybe he doesn't have to shoulder everything on his own.

"I…I love you too, Kishna!" He almost surprised himself that he said it in his usual bright voice.

There it was again. She watched as his usual booming vibrato inched back into his voice and she could sense that the sadness that plagued his heart had subsided temporarily.

He stepped back and bowed deeply, "Forgive me for acting so foolish! I should have known better than to continue to bottle everything up like that, especially when I have such a kind and caring woman like yourself looking after me!"

She chuckled at that, "So…you feeling any better?"

"I'm feeling better than ever! I…I have something to tell you and even though it sounds crazy, I want you to know that I speak the truth. It's-" His expression softened as he contemplated going through with it, but knew he trusted this woman more than anything else right now, "Pretty unbelievable to say the least."

"Kyojuro, whatever you tell me, I promise I will believe you, one hundred percent. You've never told me a lie before and I doubt you'd start now."

He inhaled and exhaled to calm his nerves before starting and Kishna wondered just how big of a bombshell this secret of his was.

"Surely it can't be that crazy," She thought to herself.

"I'm from another world," Kyojuro told her. She had to make sure she heard that properly.

"Do you mind repeating that? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

"I said…I'm from another world, Kishna. I don't belong here."

Ok. Maybe she wasn't going deaf, but maybe she was going crazy instead.

She squinted her eyes to make sure he wasn't playing a prank on her and found nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

"You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"I would never lie to you."

"You must forgive me for being a bit…cynical here. If you aren't from here then where exactly are you from and how did you get here? Saying you're from another world is…well it's kind of-"

"Unbelievable? I know, even I have a hard time accepting it, but I swear on my mother's grave that it is the truth!"

Kishna had no choice but to believe him now. Kyojuro never swore anything on his mother's grave before now. She just wished what she was hearing wasn't so outlandish by nature.

"Well traveler in a strange land, mind telling me just how you got to a world such as ours," She said teasingly which caused him to blush.

"My world greatly resembles this time period although none of us can manipulate the elements like the people of this world can! You already know about my job as a Hashira and my ability to utilize my breathing to move like I can, but what you don't know is the reason for it."

"I know I told you that a Hashira was someone who was supposed to keep the balance, but that was a half lie. In actuality, we are tasked with one job and it was the most important thing that one could hope to do back home."

"I am a Demon Hunter and in my world, demons were creatures that fed on humans like food and gained strength from it. They also weren't able to walk under the sunlight as it was hazardous to them, so we made it our mission to wipe them out before they could continue to reign havoc on humanity."

"You already know about my family's situation, so I won't go over that again, however…I do need to tell you how I got here."

She could see him hesitate.

"I was tasked with investigating a group of disappearances that undoubtedly had to be Demon related and so myself, a child with a good sense of smell, a boar child and a blonde haired child who sleepwalked-"

"A boar child?" She put her hands on her hips, quite intrigued by what he was saying.

"Oh, do not misunderstand! He was merely a child who wore a boar's head over his own! It was incredibly bold, but that's beside the point." She gave him another questioning look, but didn't stop him from continuing.

"We soon found the cause of the disappearances and eliminated the threat, however we didn't anticipate an even stronger demon to show up out of nowhere. The others were injured and in no condition to fight this demon, so I took over and did what I could. It wasn't enough given that the demon I just happened to run into was what was known as an Upper Rank which were some of the strongest among them."

"I fought my absolute hardest and gave everything I had…but it didn't amount to much."

"What do you mean?"

"I was impaled through the chest by that demon and died not soon after that."

Kishna froze and covered her mouth in horror. She touched the center of Kyojuro's chest where his scar resided and frowned in sadness, "That's how you really got your scar isn't it?"

He covered her hand in his own and nodded in response, "I had a promise to make sure no one died from that incident and even though I failed to keep the promise I had with my Father and Brother to come back home safely, I did not let a single soul perish!"

"I thought that I would be transported to the afterlife after I died, but instead I awoke to Agni speaking to me about this world needing help! She explained the story of how the fire nation grew out of control and the true nature of fire needing to be reclaimed so I chose to come here and do my part to end the war."

"I didn't expect to fall in love with such a kind and wonderful woman though."

"That's…quite the tale," Kishna moved closer to him and met his gaze again, "What you've just told me is so unbelievable that if it was told by anyone else and I mean anyone else, I would dismiss it just for the craziness alone."

"I understand why you've been so secretive about it. Anyone would probably label you a nutcase for even insinuating that there's worlds other than our own. Spirits…they work in mysterious ways that even the oldest among us never truly have been able to figure out."

"I don't know the nature of how a spirit like Agni pulled you into our world…but I'm glad. I'm glad to have met you, Kyojuro."

"I have many more questions to ask and since it's getting to be so late out-"

Kyojuro internally smacked himself not realizing it had gotten so late out. She had probably come out here to find him after she noticed he hadn't returned back to their stationed area.

She grasped his hand and gave him a look unfamiliar to him and one that caused her to blush quite a bit, "I would like to talk more about this with you…in my tent."

He was confused as to why she was blushing about a simple midnight talk. It clicked in his head when he realized that they'd both just confessed their love for each other.

Oh.

Kyojuro was a man after all and he understood what this meant. A woman wanting you to escort her home was one thing, but inviting you into said home for a "late night talk" was something else entirely.

It did not scare him however. His heart made it clear that she was the one he desired most in this world and who was he to deny it any longer.

He returned her gesture as he clasped his hand in hers and they started the walk back to Kishna's tent. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Kyojuro's mind and heart were clear and finally telling someone his secret made it feel like a massive weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

The two locked eyes as they entered her tent and almost like it was instinctual, they both knew of one thing that was soon to be sure.

Neither of them would get much sleep that night.

---

The next two weeks flew by as everyone was seemingly disjointed from one another. Kyojuro had been trying and failing to apologize to Katara for their disagreement, but the girl had made herself scarce from him. Any time he was able to track her down, she always made up some excuse to get away from him. It was the same for his other pupils and while he decided to give everyone some space, it still hurt nonetheless. Kishna offered to talk with her, but Kyojuro needed to handle things himself. He trusted Kishna with his deepest secret and nothing bad happened, so why not the others. Kyojuro felt confident about his decision to tell them and the moment the opportunity presented itself he would lay everything out on the table for them.

Katara, Aang, Sokka, Mai, Ty Lee and Yue decided that their time would be well spent gathering strength and furthering their grasp on Total Concentration Breathing and the unique Breathing forms that it granted. Sokka, Makoto and Sabito focused on Water Breathing and how best to tailor it to Sokka's fighting style.

Mai and Muichiro dedicated their time around getting the basics of Total Concentration Breathing as it was all so new to her and Muichiro could tell she would have little trouble retaining the things that he was teaching her. Even with the weight of her family's death still on her mind, she knew the only thing that would allow her to move forward would be this. Avenging their deaths was the only thing that replayed in her mind as she continued to train with him for these two weeks.

Aang and Yoriichi found each other's company very pleasant as the genius level swordsman coached the young monk in the ways of Total Concentration Breathing. Even though Aang was more receptive to Yoiriichi's teachings, he still had trouble grasping the methods used to move like them. Aang was puzzled as normally training comes easy to him whenever he needed to master an element like Air or Water, but this…he just could not figure out how to make his body adapt to the technique. Yoriichi was patient and told him that it would soon come to him when he was ready for it. Aang just wished that he didn't have to keep waiting for it to happen.

After their duel, Katara was approached by Pakku who offered an olive branch of sorts. He was a prideful man and admitting that he may have been wrong about her did give Katara plenty of satisfaction, but she wasn't that petty. Her grandma told her about the past she shared with Pakku and pitied him. He offered to allow her to train with Aang during the day time lessons if she wanted and he would no longer antagonize her.

Apparently, her grandma gave the man a verbal lashing for how beat up Katara was after what was supposed to be a…friendly duel between an adult and child…suffice to say, the woman was not pleased with how violent he'd gotten with her grandchild.

That left Ty Lee who in all honesty was…very special in more ways than one. For starters, she not only was able to grasp the basics of Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, she had already begun to memorize the sensation of Mitsuri's Love Breathing technique. Mitsuri commented on how gifted she was in order to be able to learn something like this in such a short amount of time.

Ty Lee was more akin to Muichiro and Gyomei in that area. There was no doubt in Mitsuri's mind that she would end up being in a similar tier to those two monsters if she continued to train properly. She even had a decent grasp on the Transparent World phenomenon that not even Mitsuri was able to awaken before her death.

She knew she had the perfect successor for her breathing style.

Zuko continued to observe Azula's behavior to make sure she was still restrained in her small state. Iroh offered to calm his nerves by helping him practice meditation. He thought it would help balance his chi and hopefully help calm the storm that was brewing within him. Since he could not help out much with everyone's training, he figured it best to try and regain his lost firebending in hopes to actually be able to contribute something, anything at all, to the group. He knew that they told him they accepted him as is and even without his bending, but the boy couldn't help but feel powerless.

Iroh's tea did help soothe his nerves whenever they grew to be a bit too much to handle when thinking about everything that had happened to everyone so he thanked Agni above for that.

As everyone continued their tasks to ensure that the confrontation with Kyojuro would be successful, they were completely unaware that outside forces waited and lurked in the shadows.

---

"So is everyone ready?" Katara asked as they had assembled outside of Kyojuro's tent. Today was the day that they'd get the answers they wanted out of him and they would not back down until he came clean.

"We're probably as ready as we're gonna be, Katara. I like our chances today though," Aang reassured her.

"Exactly. We've been training like crazy to show him that he doesn't need to protect us all the time. Even if he doesn't accept us at first, we'll knock it into that thick skull of his if we have too!" Sokka joined in with Aang's enthusiasm.

"That's right! Mai and I won't just sit around and let him do as he pleases. Isn't that right?" Ty Lee nudged the girl into joining the conversation. She did her best to include the girl and Mai appreciated it greatly…even if she wouldn't come out and admit it.

"Sure," Mai eyerolled, "Let's just get this over with. It's not like he can just brush us off now."

Zuko noticed Yue still hadn't made it, "Any idea where Yue is? I thought we all agreed to meet today."

"I couldn't find her this morning. We normally meet for breakfast around eight in the morning, but she didn't show up today," Sokka informed them. He wasn't too worried that he hadn't seen her yet, "She probably had some urgent princess duties to attend to. I'm sure she'll join us when she can."

"I'm sure she won't mind if we go ahead with the plan. We can just catch her up on anything she misses," Sokka said, "Let's get started!"

Now with everyone in agreement, Katara reached to open the door and before she could, it started to open as Kishna stood in front of them.

"Kishna? What are you doing in Kyojuro's room?" She was taken aback by the woman.

Kyojuro trailed behind Kishna and pulled the woman into a side hug, "Katara! I have been meaning to talk with you!" He took one look at his pupils in front of him and beamed, "I've been meaning to talk with all of you actually!"

Sokka saw what was on Kishna's neck and his mouth almost dropped to the floor, "You're wearing a Betrothal Necklace." He looked at Kyojuro and started to put it together and everyone else was doing the same.

Sleeping in the same room, being extremely close to one another in a manner that resembled lovers more than friends and a Betrothal Necklace on top of that.

"So…you're both engaged?" Aang asked.

"That is correct!" Kyojuro answered.

Kishna gave them a generous smile as she walked forward to Katara, "I know that this may seem sudden to you all, but…it's been something that I've known in my heart for quite some time now."

"I love this man. More than anything else in the world right now."

Sokka nudged Zuko in the stomach while leaning over and whispering, "I told you they weren't just friends." Zuko could admit when he was wrong. He didn't think someone like Kyojuro was into stuff like this if he was being honest.

Katara didn't know what to say. She knew that they were close, but to think that it would turn into this was shocking to say the least.

"I'm…happy for the two of you," She stated as Kyojuro came over to the girl and bowed.

"I am so terribly sorry for my actions a few weeks ago! Time and time again you've shown me that I did not have to hide myself away from everyone and even with that knowledge, I still discarded it," He came up from the bow and put both hands on her shoulders, looking her square in the eye, "That will not happen again! You have my word!"

"I take it each of you has been affected in one way or another due to my actions? You have my word that I will never lie to you all again! I think.." Kishna placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded at him. He could do this and nothing bad would come from it.

"I think it's time I came clean to everyone. I told Kishna about my true origins and I know everyone standing before me deserves the truth."

"You really mean it? No more lying? Just the truth and nothing else?" Katara was unsure about how easily he was deciding to tell them. They barely had to do anything to get it either, which was off putting.

"I swear on my mother's grave!" He promised.

Silence filled the air as a sense of understanding grew between them. This was it. Whatever secret he was hiding, they would finally understand. The gap of trust that had slowly but surely widened would be closed for good.

Before Kyojuro could open his mouth to start, a guard came running towards him with a sense of urgency that he had not seen since they had gotten to the North Pole.

The soldier stopped in front of them and looked directly at Kyojuro with a hint of disgust, "Kyojuro Rengoku and Avatar Aang. You have both been summoned to speak with the council."

"Council? What's going on?" Aang asked.

"I cannot give out confidential information such as this without a chief present. Please follow me."

"We're coming with them," Sokka demanded.

"Only their presence is required, you do not have permission to attend the meeting."

That worried them. What could they possibly want to summon the two of them separately. No matter, Kyojuro figured it must be a matter regarding the war efforts and turned to them with a smile.

"Do not worry! I am sure that this will be something that can be taken care of in a timely manner!"

He could see a hint of worry on all their faces. He made a promise to tell them his secret and he'd be damned if he didn't keep it.

"Katara! Everyone! I assure you this will not take long. I promised you that I'd tell you everything I'd been keeping to myself right?"

"You did," Katara said.

Kyojuro stuck his pinky out towards the girl as a sign that he would commit to the promise in full, "I will come back here! Just wait a bit longer, ok?"

She took his pinky on her own and felt happy that he was following through with it, "You got it, Kyojuro. We'll be here when you get back."

Kyojuro and Aang followed the soldier to the capital where the meeting had yet to begin. All he had to do was make it through one meeting and a burden the size of the sun itself would be lifted off of his shoulders. Kyojuro had a promise to keep with his pupils and by Agni, he'd keep it no matter what!

None of them could even fathom that Kyojuro would never be able to keep the promise he just made to them.

---

Aang and Kyojuro made their way to the meeting room as numerous guards and soldiers were all throughout the hallways and around the building itself. Night had slowly started to creep up on them as they had been made to wait for a few hours beforehand. There was such a large amount of people for a simple meeting and with how precarious everyone was being it sent them both into high alert.

"Something is wrong here, Aang." Kyojuro stated.

"I feel it too. I wonder what's going on?"

A guard came and got them and took them to a room as Iroh, Yue, Arnook and Pakku all stood inside with a large parchment placed on a table out in front of them. They did not look happy. If Kyojuro had to guess, he thought they looked mortified at whatever was on that piece of paper.

"This is your fault!" Pakku snarled at him again as Iroh put another hand on his shoulder to calm him. Kyojuro could tell that Iroh wasn't faring well either with whatever they had just read.

Yue was shaking near her father as he could barely believe what he'd just read himself. It just couldn't be true.

"What is the matter? I don't understand-"

Pakku cut him off as he grabbed the letter and threw it at Aang who caught it.

"You…do not…BELONG HERE! I've kept quiet long enough about you, but…" Pakku gripped the edges of the table in remorse and guilt, "It's too much now. We…we failed them. Tui La we failed them."

Kyojuro's stomach dropped for a reason he hoped wasn't true.. He had a feeling this had something to do with demons.

"That letter…is from Omashu. I suggest you two read it well," Iroh stated with sadness.

Aang started reading the contents of the letter and his heart almost skipped a beat when he reached the end. It was in big bold letters and the monk looked up at them to see if what was in the letter was true.

Spirits, this had to be a nightmare.

"Where did you get this?" Aang barely got out.

"It came this afternoon, young Avatar. I know how much this place meant to you. We thought you should be the first to know."

Kyojuro needed to know what was happening, "Aang please hand me that letter."

The boy still could not believe what he had just read and was still trying to process everything. There was just now way this was real. It had to be a fake right? A sick joke someone was playing on him.

He handedly Kyojuro the letter as he moved to sit down before his legs betrayed him. Kyojuro saw how distraught he was becoming and moved to read the letter himself to see just what everyone was so shaken up about.

He got to the first sentence and froze.

Demon Ambush inside of Omashu. His eyes continued to read more of it.

Numerous Civilian Casualties. Not again. It was happening again right as he started to let his guard down. Dammit.

The last line made his blood run cold as he realized just how devastating this attack must have been. Omashu was a giant city so this…

What sort of Demon was capable of such destruction?

He started to read this last portion out loud just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, "The Great City of Omashu…"

"Has been completely annihilated."

That was not all, unfortunately.

There was one final part of the letter that caused his nerves to go into overdrive. This was turning into a nightmare.

A Demon has infiltrated your city. Be wary of everyone.

---

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it Hama?" The two sat side by side near the outskirts of the capital under the full moon's light.

"Indeed it is, Kanna," The older woman responded as if her mind was elsewhere.

"Is something the matter, Hama. You've been awfully quiet these past few days and I want you to know that you can tell me anything."

Hama didn't speak and instead chose to gaze at the city before turning back to Kanna. She wondered what exactly her friend dragged her outside the city to talk about.

"I'm a Demon, Kanna. My goal tonight is to wreck chaos and destruction all throughout this city."

Silence filled the air until Kanna broke it, "You're a what? What goal are you talking about, Hama?" She put a hand to her forehead to make sure she wasn't coming down with something in her old age.

Hama held the numb that was her left arm up as smoke began to come out from it. Her missing left arm had begun to regrow much to Kanna's surprise as it caused her to stumble back in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I don't understand. How did you-?"

"I told you, Kanna. I'm a monster who will kill countless innocent people tonight in pursuit of my goal."

Hama started to shift into a state unrecognizable to Kanna. Her skin went from its usual complexion to a pale gray and her height increased as well. Hama's frail gray hair shifted into a beautiful baby blue color and her eyes blurred into a bright yellow.

"What's going on? W-who are you?" Kann asked as confusion and fear started to take hold of her.

"Kanna…I brought you here, so that you'll be safe. What will happen to this city is something out of my control. It has to happen, but you will remain unharmed. I swear," Hama said as she inched closer and closer to the poor woman.

"You fear my form as it is now, but please know that this is unavoidable."

Hama put her hands on Kanna's shoulders and began to cry, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry! I wished things had been different! I never wanted something like this to happen, but…"

"The world we live in is cruel."

She was still scared and very confused as to what was going on, but Kanna could feel an unwavering sadness within her oldest friend's heart. She wiped one of her tears away and the two held the gaze they shared as Kanna began to feel sleepy.

Hama was using Waterbending to cool her body which would cause her to go into a temporary slumber. It would be painless and keep her asleep the entire time the raid was ongoing. Not soon after, Kanna was asleep in Hama's arms as her heart broke sensing how afraid she was of her.

Even afraid, her friend didn't hesitate to wipe her tears away. That made Hama sick to her stomach. She was maybe the biggest hypocrite of them all. Crying to your friend about how you would slaughter countless people, but spare her.

She was the lowest of the low. Scum below the earth even, yet she would see this raid through to the end.

"Yo Granny!" Jet called as he made his way over to her with the supplies in tow. He was wearing a very large cloth-like jacket that concealed him from the full moon's light. He still didn't know how exactly he was supposed to fight like this, but he had faith that his superior would have something that would let him show off his stuff.

He stopped, seeing how upset she was and decided to ignore it. Hama was not a person he felt like pissing off right before he could have his fun.

She still had her back turned to him as she placed Kanna down in front of her, "Did you bring them?"

"Of course I did! I will admit, when you said that you needed corpses, I didn't think you meant something like this. What sorta plan do you have cooked up?" Jet asked as he placed five bodies that were wrapped up near the woman.

"Good."

"Unwrap them as I will need their combined might to subdue Kyojuro Rengoku before he can get in my way."

Following her orders, he unwrapped them from the packaging Hama had put them in and Jet was shocked by what he saw.

The five corpses that would aid her in subduing Kyojuro Rengoku weren't just any ordinary people.

"No way…" Jet could hardly believe it. They were some of the strongest benders in history.

The first was the man who Jet killed with his own two hands: Jeong Jeong

The second was a woman known for her kindness and peace: Avatar Yangchen

The third was a woman known for her fierceness and unwavering determination in battle: Avatar Kiyoshi

The fourth was a man who many believed to be a failure as an Avatar: Avatar Kuruk

The fifth and final corpse was the one who started it all, the devil who steeped this world into a century long war that had no end in sight: Fire Lord Sozin

"How did you manage to find these in such good condition? They look like they only recently died." Jet asked. Hama ignored him as her mind was still elsewhere.

"Get into position and stop asking so many questions. It's beginning to irritate me," She stated.

Jet rolled his eyes and gave her a sarcastic salute before leaving. He had to go get his weapons to show off to everyone when he started killing them. This was going to be so much fun!

She took one last look at Kanna and frowned before steeling herself for tonight.

Even though she would become a traitor to her people and kill so many of them for what seemed like sport. Hama had one line even as a demon she refused to cross, no matter what price she may pay in the future.

She couldn't bring herself to harm the person she held closest to her heart.