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AN: This chapter is written by xpakux, not littlewolf123. littlewolf wrote the prologue, and chocotruffles will be writing the next chapter.

We have recently received a flame from someone named 'stfu noob'. There are some things I forgot to mention to her. The main characters in this story are especially skilled; otherwise they wouldn't be one of the six diplomats going to represent their Nation at the meeting. Duh. Also, all the characters have Asian names since the Avatar background is Asian including Cantonese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc. along with others such as Inuit, Native American, etc.

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Chapter: Midori

Begin

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The sun was high in the azure blue sky. Random clouds floated by lazily. Leaves rustled in the green trees on their respective branches, flowers perfumed the air with their sweet scents. Small animals chattered and squirrels climbed up and down trees harvesting food, turtle-ducks swam in the nearby pond quacking happily.

A beautiful day….

Not.

"Midori! Midori! WAKE UP!"

An auburn haired girl rolled over in her bed, and pulled her blankets above her ears in an attempt to block out the screaming.

"MIDORI!" the voice yelled again, and began banging on the door repeatedly, "WAKE UP!"

She grumbled, and curled up some more.

"I'm warning you! Wake up before I break your door! MIDORI! Are you listening to me?"

"Meh…" Midori moaned half-heartedly as she placed her pillows over her head.

CRACK!

A large boulder was thrown at Midori's bedroom door and it cracked the wooden entrance before it splintered into various pieces. She opened one eye hesitantly to survey the damage her teacher had done.

"Wake up lazy!" The old man shouted at her, waving his walking cane before he grabbed Midori's shoulder and began shaking her.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake! Stop that!" she said grumpily, her hair sticking up in random places.

Midori sat up in her bed, and made a mental complaint about her mentor.

"You know, the door is made out of wood. You could have just bended it…" she said looking at the rubble that now littered her bedroom floor that she would have to clean up later.

"You keep forgetting, I don't have the element of wood in me idiot!" The old man said, hitting her over the head with his cane.

"Ow… Don't do that, it actually hurts you know…" She said, rubbing her head. "Anyways what do you want me for now?"

"You have been chosen to represent the Earth Kingdom for the Meeting at the Fire Nation!"

"WHAT! I didn't even sign up! Shouldn't that tell them that I don't want to go!" she exclaimed, clearly annoyed.

"What are you talking about Midori-sama? It is an honor to-…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I've heard that speech before.

"…"

"Whatever, if you have nothing else to tell me, go away. I'm tired," she said, starting to curl up once more in her bed.

"Nonsense! You shouldn't be speaking to your elders like that! I'm your teacher for-…"

"Yeah, yeah… fine, sure…"

"Go practice your bending!"

"Why Sifu? I think I'm fine…"

"You have to get ready for the meeting! They expect all the benders there to be extremely-…"

"Powerful? Charismatic? Beautiful? Social? Extroverted?" she said, making hand movements to accentuate her already dramatic speech.

"Stop that!"

"Whatever, I'm going to change now so you might want to leave Sifu…" she said nonchalantly as she walked over to her closet.

"Of course, I will see you later on the training grounds."

"Mhm, yeah, okay," she said, waving to him without looking.

The second her teacher had rounded the corner and was out of sight, Midori held her arms out in front of her, and flicked her wrist upwards. A wall of dirt rose in the doorway. She shut her fist, and the dirt compressed into a solid temporary door.

"I hate it when he breaks my door…"

Midori was a strange girl. She grew up in the wealthy and influential Earth Kingdom Bei-Fong family as the niece of the famous Toph Bei-Fong who had fought in the Great War as a leading general. But unlike her aunt, Midori was not blind, but like her aunt, she had extraordinary earth bending skills.

However, Midori was uncommonly lazy. When she was a child she showed no sign of any sort of bending ability. Disappointed, her parents decided to instead have her study from the best private tutors money could buy. However she went through those tutors like she did clothes, frustrating one after another with her lack of effort until no one was willing to teach her anymore.

Distraught, her mother decided to enroll her in a private school. Again, Midori showed no signs of any greatness or even decency. Her grades were dismal, and the fact that she seemed to have no bending powers made her useless.

However, her laziness was what made her reveal her bending abilities.

One day when she was in the dining room eating, there was a bowl of special cucumber kimchi that she liked, but it was sitting on the far side of the table. Too lazy to get up and walk, she bended the bowl towards her (it was made of porcelain).

Her skills were soon brought further into the open along with her intelligence. She had apparently never bothered to use her bending skills because she thought going to a special school for it would be too bothersome, and if she actually picked up her pencil during her tests, she'd be put into a higher class level and therefore have more work.

Midori had an uncanny talent with her bending. She was very precise with what she willed the earth to do, and was able to transform substances of earth into another in an almost alchemic transmutation. For example, she could easily disintegrate a solid granite rock into sand or turn limestone into marble by applying unbelievable pressure and heat.

But unfortunately, she didn't like to. And therefore, her bending skills were never exploited.

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"I can't believe you actually dragged me here…" Midori complained, her hair still sticking up since she hadn't brushed it yet.

"Midori! Stand up straight! Your parents are coming back from Ba Sing Se just to see you before we leave to the Fire Nation!" Sifu Lao Ye said strictly.

Midori widened her eyes, and a look of horror flashed through her eyes. Immediately, she smoothed out her hair, and quickly tied it into a bun. She then straightened her spine, put her shoulders back, and held up her head slightly. With those small gestures, the air around her completely changed in an instant.

"Yes, Sifu," she said softly in reply to his words, unlike that morning when she just mumbled and somewhat ignored him.

Lao Ye's eyebrows raised a fraction at the obedience his student was showing. He was about to open his mouth and comment, when he heard the doorknob creak.

Quickly, he ushered Midori to her normal standing position on the side of the aisle so they could greet the masters of the house as they arrived home.

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'I hate this! I hate it when they come back! Why don't they just stay wherever they leave to! As long as they have their money and Xiao Gu the don't give a shit about me.'

"Welcome home mother, father," Midori said, bowing, as her parents passed her.

The two adults turned towards her and inclined their heads somewhat to acknowledge her.

"Come child, let's go to the family room," her mother said directly.

Midori said nothing, and followed her parents, making sure to keep a distance of two feet between them.

As they arrived in the room, her parents sat down on the ornately decorated plush chairs. Midori stayed by the door, standing.

She continued standing very stilly for a while. Her parents were both looking at her.

'They're watching me like vultures, it's disgusting…'

"Excuse my rudeness, but what have you called me here for?" she asked, lowering her head.

"Ah, why do you ask that?" Midori's father said. He beckoned to one of the servants to bring tea. The girl quickly scrambled away.

"Well, with all due respect, shouldn't you two be watching over Xiao Gu in Ba Sing Se? He just started school, and I thought it'd be appropriate for you two to be over there with him to help him… adjust," she said, carefully picking her words.

'After all, that's everything you care about, isn't it? Everything is about Xiao Gu. Just because he's a male, he's heir to the Bei Fong family line.'

"Oh, no, we're very sure he will get along just fine. He's made many new friends at his new bending school! The Lao Long Academy for Boys is very prestigious, we made sure he was well prepared to belong," Midori's mother said, with a slight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Midori mimicked the smile, and said nothing.

"We heard you have been selected for the National Council," her father said calmly, steepling his long fingers.

Midori nodded.

"Ah, just what I expected from a Bei Fong. Do you know of the rest of the Earth Kingdom's council yet?"

"No, Father," she said, "I have not been informed of being accepted until recently."

"I see. Do you wish me to notify you then?" her father said teasingly.

Midori ignored the tone, and answered with a nod.

"Well, the leader is none other than General Tai Luong-"

Midori grimaced slightly

'That's the bastard with the ridiculously big head. He can't lead an army, he always makes-'

"Ning Yuan is the ambassador-"

Do everything for him while he sits back, and relaxes. Ooh, I'd love to see his forces crumble some day, if I wasn't an Earth Kingdom citizen that is…

"The two elders will be Soi Suang, and of course your Sifu, Lao Ye-"

'I already know that part…'

"And your counter diplomat will be Fai of the Long family. I hope you two get along famously…" her father finished as he began to curl his small beard, that hid a rather weak chin, with his index finger.

'What are you planning father?'

"Do you have need of anything?" her mother asked suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"No Mother," she said, and then after thinking for a moment, tagged on, "You have already provided me with everything that I care for."

Midori's mother watched her movements beadily with her brown eyes.

"Ah, but I wish to give you a gift. Something to award you for being chosen and honoring the Bei Fong name," her mother said.

'I don't give shit for the Bei Fong name…'

"I know! I'll buy you new clothes! We haven't gone shopping together for a new wardrobe in ages! You will need more dress clothes of course, they'll probably be requiring them as a standard…"

Midori narrowed her eyes.

'Why are they being so civil…'

She hated shopping with her mother. Her mother usually criticized everything that Midori chose with a vicious tongue and often lashed out at her for her sloppy appearance since Midori usually preferred a simple ponytail, or a bun on occasion, paired with her oh so comfortable pajamas (since she was known by the servants to accidentally ahem fall asleep in the hallways from time to time). Of course she couldn't wear her nightclothes around the house now that her parents were back.

There was a silence. The servant that had left had just come back with an elaborately decorated china teapot made in the red and white clay style with a layer of expensive lacquer coating it. The cups matched the teapot.

The servant poured steaming hot tea into each of the cups, and offered them to her mother and father who took theirs, acknowledging his presence with a nod.

'So, I'm just as important to them as a servant, eh?'

When the girl offered a cup to Midori, she shook her head. Desperate for a way to get out of the room, she quickly made an excuse in her head.

"I don't want to be rude, but Sifu usually has me practicing the basics at this time. I usually want to train at least 6 hours a day, but I-…"

"Oh, don't let us stop you! Go, go!" her mother said with a smile.

"Thank you," Midori said, bowing before she left the room.

'It was like a furnace in there,' Midori thought to herself as she walked down the corridor, 'the air was smothering me. Urgh, now I actually have to train. They will probably be checking on me after they finish their tea.'

Midori turned a corner that would lead her to the outdoors grounds. As soon as the fresh air hit her face, she felt a bit more relieved than she had two seconds ago. After walking around in search of her Sifu, she found him sitting in the ostrich horse stables, playing a game of Pai Sho against another old man that Midori, surprisingly, couldn't recognize.

She watched the game for a moment, and noted to herself that the Lotus tile was in the center of the board, an unusual strategy. She had always preferred the oak tile in the center, but to each their own.

After watching the two men make a few more moves, Midori poked her Sifu in the shoulder.

"Come on, I need to train. You can finish your game some other time," Midori said, slightly dragging him.

Instead of grumbling a bit, and getting up like Midori expected, her Sifu instead brushed her off his arm, and continued his game. She stumbled back a few steps, straightening out her clothing, and became highly irritated.

'MY family is the one that makes sure he eats! He'd better show me more respect or I swear I'll-…'

"Not now!" Sifu said loudly, and with the force of a thousand saber-tooth moose lions.

A bit scared, she stepped back. Midori had never heard her teacher use that sort of tone with her. No matter how many times she slacked off or forgot to practice, she was never really yelled at.

She gritted her teeth, and then sat down on a bale of hay and watched the two old men play. After a few minutes, Midori became bored, and walked out of the stables.

'If he won't spar against me then I'll practice alone, but that's difficult. I guess I'll practice my basics,' she thought, while walking to the arena.

Once there, she sat down at meditated for a few moments, concentrating on her intake and outtake of breath, and the flow of her chi.

In…

Out…

In…

Out…

I wonder what they're conspiring about… They seemed a bit too happy for my tastes when they talked about Fai… If they tried an arranged marriage, I swear I'll run away…

In…

Out…

"Midori! MIDORI!" a voice called out.

The yelling snapped her out of her trance, as she stood and spun around swiftly, putting her hands up in an attacking position.

"Midori! It's just me!"

Midori turned around and saw Fai Long crawling over the wall that surrounded the Bei Fong property. As he struggled to get off the wall, he lost his footing. As he fell, Midori extended one arm in front of her, hand in a fist, and then spread her fingers apart, turning the floor beneath Fai into sand so he wouldn't be hurt. A little scrambled maybe, but not hurt.

"Fai, you idiot…" she said, enunciating the 'idiot' part as she threw a pebble at him with her bending abilities.

Fai caught the rock with one hand, and brushed it off to the side.

"You shouldn't worry so much Midori… you'll get wrinkles…"

"Loser."

"Old hag"

"Damn you"

"Such appropriate language for one of such high social standing."

"Shut up, pretty boy!"

Fai let out a mock gasp and spun around pretending to cry into his hands.

"Oh shut up!" Midori said, exasperated.

'He always does that when someone calls him a pretty boy… haha, it's because everyone always thinks he's a girl! HA! Especially because his name goes both ways!'

"Well… you look like a boy!" Fai retorted.

"I do not!"

"Well, you look like an old hag then!"

"Shut up! Just because half of Earth Kingdom mistakes you for a girl, doesn't mean they mistake me for a boy!"

"Bah!"

"Whatever… Oi, do you want to train with me?" asked Midori, suddenly remembering why she was outside in the first place.

"Meh, are you just looking for an excuse to beat me up?" Fai asked, suspicious.

"A bit, but I really do need to train. Mother dearest and Father are going to be checking on me later and I already told them I'd be out here practicing.

"Ah, I see…"

The two walked to the center of the arena, beginning to bicker again.

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

"Do not!"

"Whatever, let's just start," Fai said.

"Go!"

Fai was the first to attack. He ran directly at Midori, his palms open and windmilling his arms to ribbons of dirt reared out of the ground and headed for Midori. Midori spun around to make a shield of rock, and when she couldn't felt he vibrations anymore she set the guard down, and dissolved the earth beneath Fai into sand. Struggling to move, Midori took advantage of Fai being distracted, and stomped on the ground, and then threw a large boulder at him. Fai was able to escape just in time by jumping up, but as he was about to land, Midori stomped on the floor and slid her foot to the front, while keeping her hands open-palmed and in front of her.

A line of jagged rocks sprung up from the earth, beginning at where she stood, and was directed to the area where Fai was gong to land. Fai saw it, bent his legs, and extended his arms underneath him and then pulled up. A pillar of rock rose, and met his feet, as Midori sent a wave of sand at the boy. He retaliated by cutting through, while using the sand as a screen so she couldn't see that he had set up several plots of sand over the field.

Fai then began attacking rather than being on defense. He threw boulder after boulder at her, so she was busy deflecting them with her arms. She was unconsciously falling into his trap, as Fai continued pushing Midori further and further down the field. Midori sensed something was wrong, and shot her leg out in front of her so that a wave of sand rose into the air, and she quickly made a pushing motion with her hands, throwing the sand forward.

The grains entered Fai's eyes, and he couldn't see so he began rubbing his eyes. Midori jumped slightly so that when she landed, a very large piece of land rose into the air, and she then hovered it above Fai's head.

When Fai eventually cleared his vision, he saw the shadow beneath him, and knew he was defeated.

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TBC:

Next time the final main character is introduced.

This chapter is written by xpakux

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AN: Yeah, I bit too long, but I really wanted a fight scene! Hope I did it well, I'm usually better with writing hand to hand combat, not bending or jutsu or stuff like that, but I can improvise. Imagine the fight scene to the song Tsuruga (from DDR).

Also… DAMMIT THIS IS NOT A SUE STORY! The characters are not perfect, and they don't attract men! Theirs is almost NO ROMANCE in this story at all! This is an action/adventure story with bits of everything else added in OKAY! The first chapter was only a prologue.

Also, littlewolf123, chocoxtruffles, and I are going to be taking turns writing the story. See you guys in three chapters!