The Firebender
Kana did not immediately dive into her story. Instead she moved into her small kitchen, made a pot of jasmine tea and served one up for herself and the Avatar. They sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying the drink and its aroma.
Finally, she looked at Xai and said, "Do you like Bending?" She held a small flame in her hand as she asked this, "I do. I love it. I love everything about it. It's beautiful. Earth, Fire, Air, Water. All of them beautiful, all of them equal. The only thing that makes an Element stronger than the other three is the Bender that makes it dance," the small flame rolled over her hand as she flicked her fingers, staring at it as she did, losing herself to the past as she began her tale.
"When I was twelve, I was already a recognized master of Firebending…"
Kana loved Firebending. She loved all of it, actually, all bending. From Fire to Earth. It was beautiful. She became a master at twelve because she loved bending as much as she did. While some children were content to while away their days playing games and dodging school, Kana devoted every waking moment to her bending lessons.
Although, the word 'master' is a trifle strong for one so young. Certainly, the girl had the forms ingrained into her heart and soul, performed them without error, but she had little in the way of experience. In the beginning.
Having outperformed her class by a wide margin, she was moved ahead two years, and entered into a local tournament. She swept the tournament, taking it by storm. Kids her age, generally, did not have her drive to master bending.
She held out hope that she might meet someone similarly motivated, however. So she competed again in the junior tournament, six months later.
Just as she was climbing through the tournament, rumors reached her of a boy, a year or two older than herself. He was winning, just like her. He was apparently a prodigal student, just like her. He…
Was her next fight, Kana's final opponent. Winner take all.
She stood in the ring with him, bowed and took a stance.
What happened next, she would never forget.
The boy, barely fifteen, smirked arrogantly at his much smaller opponent.
"They say you're a prodigy. That you won this whole thing hands down, last time," his smirk only grew, "Well, I wasn't here last time. Hope you don't hold any grudges when I whoop you."
"Right back at ya," the girl smiled. She took a stance, hands before her. The older boy smirked wider.
The match proceeded normally. For a time.
Kana began to overtake the boy, and leapt up in a fiery kick.
"Foul!" The judge called. The girl aborted the attack and almost stumbled when she landed. She received a punch to the ribs, and she stumbled back.
She glared at the smirking boy. The proper procedure was to wait for the judge to restart the match. She looked to the man, but he wasn't making a move to call it out.
The girl hummed to herself, thinking about it. She looked back to Bao, her opponent. He was still smirking.
Kana hopped up and launched herself at him, unleashing a beautiful barrage. It lasted ten seconds before Bao made an odd signal with his hand.
"Foul!" The judge called again. She took a step back, the boy tried to punch her again. Kana ducked under it and slid back.
Searching her memory, she remembered Bao making that same signal the first time she had a foul called.
Even the crowd was starting to see that something was wrong.
"So, tell me," Kana began quietly, "How much does it cost to have a judge in your pocket?"
"Don't know what you're talking about," his sudden frown let her know she'd hit the mark.
"Time out!" Kana called then walked over to the bought judge. He had an exasperated and annoyed look on his face. "I'm sorry, sir. I understand that my chances are dwindling. Only two more fouls and I'll be declared the loser. I just want to say I'm tired, and clearly I've made some mistakes, but I will be fighting straight and narrow from here forward. In fact, my next set will be the stances taught by the Zuko Fire Academy. Stances that are recognized by everyone," she stared into his eyes, "as completely legal moves. Why, were I to get a foul while using those, I do believe your reputation would be called into question." The judge paled.
Kana walked back to her place, stomped forward, one fist held back and above her head, the other held forward, her elbow bent. Her form was perfect. Bao was glaring.
"Those old stances," he growled, "They are obsolete!" He charged at the girl one hand fisted, the other held like a claw, fire swirling around his fingertips.
"Zuko Academy stances are slow," Kana said, punching forward before the boy was halfway to her, "But unbelievably powerful." The absolute torrent of fire that escaped her slow punch covered half the stage.
The bought judge twitched and grimaced. He couldn't call foul, here. No matter what he was paid.
Bao was barely able to disperse enough of the flame to keep from being hurt. He scowled as he heard the murmurs of amazement. He was sweating, his breath was ragged, and that was from only one attack. He turned his scowl back on the girl in time to catch a massive fireball to the chest, knocking him clear out of the arena.
"W-winner," the corrupt judge stumbled, "Kana." The girl ignored the glaring of her opponent. She walked off the platform of the arena and passed him by without even looking at him. She ignored the judge, and the crowds, and the cheers. It all felt cheap, hollow.
The win, this win specifically, was supposed to be her measure. She wanted to find another talented bender and fight them, not necessarily to prove she was better, but to participate in that dance. She wanted, so desperately, to find another to help show her the true beauty of, not just bending, but all motion. That was, clearly, not what happened.
Kana never participated again after that tournament. Perhaps if she had, she would have become extremely famous, a household name. Commercials for equipment would use her name, 'Safety Gear used by Kana,' or books would be written to define her techniques, 'Firebending Made Easy, from Master Kana.' But she didn't.
Not that she didn't have the opportunity. She simply found something better.
Kana didn't finish her tale that first night. Avatar Xai had come late and she still had to work in the morning. She sent him on his way, promising to continue on the following evening.
The next day he actually met her at her work.
"You are obsessed. This story isn't a nice one and doesn't have a happy ending," she told him.
"I'd still like to know," he said, a much less cocksure grin on his face, "And what's the harm in telling it?"
She didn't answer.
That night, just after a delivery dinner she got the Avatar to pay for, Kana continued.
"Eight days before my fourteenth birthday, I saw something that changed everything…"
"Everyone, hands up!" A tall Earthbender shouted, using his ability to make sharp spires of rock float in the air in front of every visible person at the bank. He didn't need to say that it was a robbery for everyone to understand.
"Now, my boys are gonna take the money in the vault. Any of ya moves and the two people next to you get it!" Even as he spoke, five more men wearing masks entered. One used Metalbending to rip open the vault, and the rest went in to collect the money.
Kana kept still, just like everyone else. She had no desire to play hero, just to see the people around her get hurt.
"Nice working with you," the robber winked at them as he backed out of the bank. The whole robbery had taken less than three minutes, and no one had the time to alert the police. It was a certainty that they would get away.
As soon as the Earthbender was out the door, the spikes dropped to the ground, once more inert.
A few moments later, there was the sound of conflict outside. Kana rushed to one of the windows and peeked out. A Waterbender woman had appeared and was taking on the team of six men, and winning.
Even the Earthbender, whom she later learned was called Spike Xiao, couldn't stop her. She twirled and jumped and lashed at them with the water from her flask, incapacitating the entire gang. It was… amazing!
More so, the responses it got from the criminals. They tried new things, clever tactics, improvised and strategized, on the spot. The woman, clearly a bounty hunter, had quite a few close calls, due to their collaboration.
"Beautiful," Kana muttered to herself. She didn't realize the man next to her heard her, earning her an odd look. She didn't care. She needed to see more.
But, alas, it was all over, far too soon. The criminals were caught, turned over to the constables, and the woman was given a voucher to turn into the bounty office for each of the criminals she had captured.
And, rather suddenly, Kana knew what she had to do to get that desired dance.
-+
"So," Xai said, setting aside his drink, "You became a bounty hunter, just because you saw some lady do it?"
The woman sighed before she sipped her tea, slowly.
"It was the criminals, actually," Kana told him, "They were bad guys. They threatened to kill people for money. They only had one redeemable quality. They were ready to do things that hadn't been done before. I saw in them the opportunity to study a bunch of different things that would never make it to mainstream bending. After all, in no bending tournament in the world would they allow a Waterbender to mix solid objects into this water to improve penetration. No Firebender would be tested to see if he could turn another's body heat against them. No Airbender would-"
"I get it. You wanted to see things that had never been done before. Why not join one of the science clubs, or temples, then?"
"I'm an orphan. I wasn't born to greatness," she leveled a half lidded gaze at him, "I worked my finely toned backside off to achieve my skills. My orphanage could barely afford enough to send its charges to school, there would be no way they could afford the requirements for a club. As for joining a temple," she shrugged, "It would be of no use to lock myself up in some monastery, staying hidden from the world when the very thing I wanted was to show the world how beautiful it can be."
"I guess you've got a point."
"Back to it," she said, "I had the same dream, but a new goal. And I knew just where to go to start."
+-909
The very next day, Kana sought out the location of the local Bounty office. There, she proceeded to ask a lot of questions.
Yes, you had to be licensed to be a bounty hunter.
No, there was technically no age limit.
Yes, there was an informal ranking system, for both bounties and hunters.
Yes, she could take the initiation, and no, they wouldn't pay for her funeral if she died.
Kana hadn't actually asked about the last one, but they added it on anyway. More than likely, it was standard procedure. Make sure to tell the new recruit that they might die.
Kana didn't care. She needed this.
"There's no specific time or day for initiation," the bored clerk at the bounty office said, "You just need a licensed Bounty Hunter to agree to it. Thing is, it's a competitive market. Most of 'em don't want any more Bounty Hunters out there."
"Do you know of any Bounty Hunters who are soon to retire?" she asked.
"Ha!" The man slapped the desk before him, "I like your reasoning! Tell ya what. I know three. The easiest to get in contact with is Sinmao Li Teng. He's retiring, and a little sentimental. Senile, some might call it. Impress him, and I'm sure you'll get yourself that Hunter's Mark." He pulled a piece of paper out of his file and handed it to the girl. It had Sinmao's address and a picture of an old man with white hair.
"Old Sin was never the best, but he also never underestimated a bounty. If you learn that from him, you should do fine."
The journey to the Li Teng home was short and uneventful. The process of making it past the gate was equally simple.
"My name is Kana. I have come seeking an audience with Master Sinmao Li Teng," she said to the man guarding the gate.
He just shrugged and opened the gate.
Actually meeting with the old man was another matter.
"Who are you?" A young man only a few years older than her demanded.
"I am Kana," she said simply, bowing.
"Another wannabe, I see," when she stared at him, he continued, "You think you are the first to bother Grandfather about becoming a Bounty Hunter? Ha! You aren't even the fifty first!" He turned away, waving over his shoulder, "Come. You will be tested. When you fail, we will not pay your medical bills."
The girl frowned.
She was taken to a courtyard. Two others were there. One had a sword, the other had the traditional appearance of a Waterbender, dark skin and blue eyes. They all wore the Li Teng crest, depicting an antlion, and stood at attention before two men. One was old and scarred, sitting on a chair with a grumpy look on his face. The other was a younger man, but looked a lot like the older, and was standing behind him.
"What is your name?" The standing man asked.
"Kana," she said simply.
"You wish for Sinmao to take you under his wing, take you on as an apprentice?"
"No."
That brought a shocked silence for a moment, then the old man turned to look at her, one bushy eyebrow raising.
"Then why are you here?" The old man asked, "Speak up, girl!"
"I wish to be verified as a bounty hunter. Nothing more. I do not need to learn your secrets. I do not want to steal any inheritances. I just want my license."
Again silence.
"You would dare-!" The young man that led her here began, stepping towards her menacingly.
Then old Sinmao began to laugh. He waved off his eldest grandson's anger.
"Refreshing," he rumbled, "How very refreshing! I am a rich man, Kana. You can see that. And all you want is your license. You are certain?"
"Money is useful, but I will get that from Bounty Hunting. The wisdom of… seasoned fighters is invaluable, but you have grandsons to teach already. I just want my license, that I might make my own way."
"So refreshing!" The old man slapped his knee, "Fine! You'll get your shot," he gestured his grandsons forward, "If you can beat one of my grandchildren, while fighting them three on one, I will grant you your Hunter's Mark."
The boys leapt into their stances. Kana slid into the first form of a boxer's stance, fire dancing over her knuckles.
"Begin!"
Kana dashed forward, slid under the blades of the swordsman, hopped over a large rock sent her way, then met water with fire as she kicked forward at the third brother. She did a backflip over the swords again and, while upside down, punched him in the stomach, then kicked him aside just before landing.
Sinmao Li Teng watched the fight progress. The girl was wonderfully gifted. She moved like the fire she controlled. He lifted an eyebrow when she started focusing on, not Imon, the swordsman, but the Waterbender, Dai. Many before her had made the mistake of thinking Imon the weak link, simply because he was not a Bender.
The truth of it was, Dai was lazy. Sure, he was strong and fast, but he did not put in the same effort that his brothers did.
And it was no surprise when, against the odds, this Kana was able to knock him clean out, then dodge the attacks of the remaining brothers.
For a moment the fight paused as the remaining three contestants looked at the old man. He simply gestured for them to keep going.
Kana sighed and leapt back into the melee. Sinmao whispered something to his son, and the man bustled off in a hurry. Kana would not notice, too focused on the fight.
Tai, the oldest son, and the Earthbender, was by far the best trained and the most dedicated. He was the second to go down.
Imon was the only one left. The youngest of the Teng brothers twirled his swords and slowly stepped around Kana, observing her movements. He felt that the chances of his victory were very low.
"Ha!" She stepped forward hard and fast. The ball of fire that she produced took up a quarter of the courtyard.
"I surrender!" He screamed. The fire shifted upwards and dissipated in the air above the compound.
Old Sinmao clapped in appreciation.
"I thought I recognized you. Made a great showing in one of the amateur competitions, you did," he stroked his mustache, "Stay and have dinner with us. Do that and you have your license."
Kana looked at the three brothers, only one of which was glaring at her. She bowed to the patriarch of the family.
"I humbly accept."
The five of them sat down at the dining table while Sinmao interrogated the girl. Why would she become a bounty hunter? Had she planned on leaving the country? Why had she quit the tournament circuit? More and more he asked until the meal arrived.
It was a simple affair. Just rice, fish, and a couple of pickles. Kana was surprised that it wasn't something more grand, but she did not question it, nor complain.
Halfway through the meal, Sinmao's son came into the room with a piece of parchment and a fountain pen. He laid it down next to Kana, and pointed with the pen.
"Sign here. As you do not have a family name, simply put an X in that spot." He handed her the pen and she signed the paper.
Almost before the last line was on the paper, the man snatched it back. Blew on it to dry the ink, and handed it to his father.
"As requested, father."
The old man nodded, grinning.
A sense of dread filled the girl. Her grey eyes narrowed, her fingers clutched her chopsticks and she looked to the brothers for any hint of what just happened.
"That was not a licensing contract, was it?"
"No, it was not," the elderly hunter said, sounding even more amused.
The girl sighed, "What, then, have I committed myself to?" It was her own fault for signing without reading. She saw something in there about her license and just assumed…
"Nothing much," the old man resisted the urge to laugh, "Just Adoption papers."
"What."
"Tai, Dai, Imon!" The three boys stood up, ramrod straight, "Bow! Welcome Kana! The youngest of the Li Teng Family!"
"What."
