I Don't Own Avatar or Miraculous.
Chapter thirteen. Blind Bandit. Part two.
"To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit." He paused as everyone fell silent, What? No one will face her?"
"I'll do it!" Marinette looked over in surprise, seeing it was Aang who had volunteered. Aang boldly climbed onto the stage. What was he doing? Ever since the Blind Bandit had showed up, he'd been acting a little dazed. Now he was randomly volunteering to fight the girl.
"Go Aang!" Sokka yelled, "Avenge the Boulder!" The Blind Bandit smiled as Aang got in the ring.
"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" She mocked. A series of 'ohs' was heard from the crowd.
"I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you." Aang explained. Oh… listens to the Earth… he needed and Earthbending teacher… this girl was blind and had to be a good listener… now she got it.
"Boo! No talking!" Sokka yelled. His sister smacked him in the back of his head.
"Don't boo him." She scolded. Marinette laughed at the tiny exchange. Aang took step forwards, the Blind Bandit smiled. She stomped her foot on the ground, causing a shock wave that formed a giant rock under Aang. He used his Airbending to fly gracefully in the air and landed softly be behind her. She turned around, looking a tad startled and upset.
"Somebody's a little light on his feet. What's your fighting name? The Fancy Dancer?" Aang shrugged before another rock erupted under him. He somersaulted off of it avoiding the ground. She frowned in confusion.
"Now where'd you go?" He landed behind her.
"Please, wait!"
"There you are!" She sent a boulder at him, speeding like a bullet. He jumped into the air, turning and airbending the rock backwards. The air hit her and the rock, throwing them both out of the ring. Everyone stared at Aang in shock before erupting in cheers. Aang chased after the girl but Marinette didn't hear whatever he said to her. He returned to the platform with a disappointed and distracted look on his face. Sokka ran on the stage as well, taking the money and blet and hugged Xin Fu. It was at that point that Marinette decided Sokka was probably more weird and more of a dork than Cat Noir the prince of puns. He put an arm around Aang.
"Way to go Champ!" Sokka lead the group out of the arena with a wide smile on his face. Aang continued to act sad for the entirety of that evening about the Blind Bandit, and for the morning after. Marinette decided to take action. She approached Aang carefully after supper.
"You know Aang, finding The Blind Bandit probably isn't that hard. She's famous in this town, and she's blind. How many blind, famous, twelve year old girls could possibly be running around this city. Someone is bound to know her and were she lives." Marinette encouraged. Aang's face immediately lit up.
"You're right! We should go back to town and ask around about her!" Aang got up immediately and ran around informing Sokka, Katara, Appa, and Momo that he was going back into town with Rin. Sokka and Katara agreed to come with them. They made their way back to the town. Sokka decided that was the best time to brag about how his belt matched the bag he bought the day prior, earning glares from everyone. Rin really didn't get Sokka sometimes. Sure, the bag matched the belt, but with the blue color of his watertribe attire and the gold and green on the belt and bag, he looked more ridiculous than he realised. She continuously attempted to informhim of the flaws to his outfit, but the boy was as proud as he was stubborn.
"If we want to find the Blind Bandit, the Earthbending Academy is a great place to start." Aang said, confidently marching towards the Academy. They immediately spotted the rude boys who had knocked Marinette over the other day.
"Oh, it's you again." One groaned. Katara shot them a warning look, the boy's immediately flinched. Marinette resisted the urge to laugh. What had Katara done the other day to make the boys so scared of her.
"Yeah, I didn't think so." Sokka fist bumped his sister.
"Nicely done." The second boy noticed Aang.
"Hey! You're the kid who beat the Blind Bandit!" He realised.
"We need to talk to her. Do you know where she lives?" Aang asked. The first boy shrugged.
"She's a mystery. She shows up to fight, then just disappeared." Aang looked downcast all over again. Katara reassured him by placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Let me handle this." She said sweetly before spinning on her heels and barking at the boys, "You're not telling us everything!" The second student put his hands in the air, genuine fear was in his eyes. Seriously Katara… what did she do?
"No! No! I swear! It's true! No one knows where she goes or who she really is!" He defended. Aang thought for a second.
"That's because we are asking for the wrong person. In my vision, I saw a girl in a white dress with a pet flying boar. Know anybody like that?"
"Well, the flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family. They're the richest people in town, probably the whole world." The first boy said. The other boy flinched.
"But they don't have a daughter." He imputed.
"Flying boar is good enough for me! Let's check it out!" Aang said excitedly. Marinette heard on of the boys mutter something under his breath before Katara made the universal, 'I'm watching you' sign with her fingers.
"I've got my eye on you." Sokka followed his sister with a wide grin.
"Water Tribe." He whispered at the boys like he was the coolest thing ever. They found out where the Bei Fong family lived and decided they would sneak in and try to speak to The Blind Bandit. Marinette asked why they didn't just tell the Bei Fongs he was the Avatar. She knew that a lot of wealthy people delighted in being noticed by celebrities like the Avatar. At least, that's what Chloe had been like. The Agrestes weren't as impressed by famous people as most rich men were, which made sense, due to the fact that Adrien and Gabriel were famous themselves, despite hating attention. Team Avatar insisted sneaking in was a much better course of action. They jumped the wall of the Bei Fong household and they began to sneak towards the house. That's when a huge boulder erupted from the ground and knocked them all in separate directions. Aang, in particular, landed upside down in a bush right in front of the Blind Bandit herself.
"What are you doing here Twinkle Toes?" She demanded.
"How'd you know it was me?" Aang asked.
"Dont answers to Twinkle Toes! It's not manly!" Sokka complained.
"You're the one whose bag matches his belt." Katara pointed out, much to Marinette's amusement.
"How'd you find me?" Blind Bandit asked, ignoring the watertribe siblings.
"Well a crazy king told me I had to find someone who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision in a magic swamp and…"
"The point is, he's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master Earthbending soon he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord." Marinette interrupted
"Not my problem. Now get out or I'll call the guards." She threatened.
"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war. And yours is to teach Aang Earthbending." Sokka explained. The Blind Bandit paused before yelling, "Guards! Help!" Everyone immediately raced for the wall, jumping back over it and hiding. Two guards came to the Blind Bandit aide.
"Toph? What happened?"
"I thought I heard someone. I got scared.
"Your know your father doesn't want you wandering the grounds without supervision." So her name was Toph Marinette turned to Aang with a 'I told you so' expression.
"Now will we go talk to her parents directly?" She asked in an a matter-of-fact tone. Aang shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" They went around to the front of the estate and told the guard Aang was the Avatar before requesting an audience with the Bei Fongs. The guard went into the mansion before returning and informing them the Bei Fongs would be happy to invite the Avatar and his companions to dinner. Once more, Marinette gave Aang an 'I told you so' look. They were escorted inside before they were taken to a dining room were Toph, Master Yu, and the Bei Fongs sat around a table waiting for them. Immediately Marinette's eyes wandered to the cookies on the middle of the table. She thought about Tikki, who had fallen asleep in her satchel during their search for Toph. It had been a while since Tikki had gotten to eat her favorite snack. The servants seated them and Marinette discreetly took some cookies off the table and began to put them into her satchel. As she was doing this, several servants came in with bowls of soup, a platter of roast duck, and a pot of tea. A servant place a bowl of soup in front a visibly agitated Toph. Her father, Lao, immediately noticed and looked at the servant.
"Blow on it. It's to hot for her." Lao ordered. Internally, Marinette began to cringe. It occurred to her that the Bei Fongs probably had no idea about Toph's double life and went around babying the girl because they thought her blindness made her utterly helpless. If Marinette was Toph, she would have gone insane from the babying and constant reminder that her parents didn't think her good enough to do anything herself. No wonder she snuck out.
"Allow me." Aang said, airbending a small tornado at Toph's bowl and cooling it. The Bei Fong's clapped at the demonstration.
"Avatar Aang, it is an honor to have you visit us." Toph's mother, Poppy, said kindly.
"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Lao asked.
"I want to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of the Summer, but I can't do that without finding an Earthbending teacher first." Aang explained. Toph's expression darkened as her clouded eyes darted to where Aang sat. How had Toph done that? Did she follow the sound of his voice? Probably...
"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land. He's been teaching Toph since she was little." Yao suggested. Aang's smile widened.
"Then she must be a great Earthbender! Probably good enough to teach someone else!" Aang suggested. That's when Toph sent a fissure at Aang. The Avatar yelped a little, before sitting up and smiling as if nothing had happened. Toph went on eating, also pretending nothing had happened.
"Toph is still learning the basics." Yu said simply.
"Yes, sadly, because of her blindness, I don't think she'll ever become a true master." Yao agreed. Once more, Marinette flinched. Toph glanced over at her in concern, but quickly returned her attention to Aang when he decided to open his big mouth again.
"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she." Aang said. Toph sent a another fissure at him and went back to pretending like she was innocent as Aang face planted in his soup. Aang rubbed his face before getting 'the smile' on his face. 'The smile' was the look Aang got when he had come up with a completely random and stupid idea. He sneezed, sending air across the room at Toph, covering everyone in food. Toph stood up.
"What's your problem?" She growled.
"What's your problem?" He snapped back. Everyone wiped off their faces.
"Well, shall we move to the living room for dessert then?" Poppy suggested calmly. Later that night, Marinette approached Aang as he was putting Appa to bed, with Tikki floating at her side.
"You know Aang, annoying the girl you want to be your teacher isn't the smartest move."
"She started it. She kept Earthbending at me. It's obvious she's not interested.
"That's not the problem Aang." Tikki said quickly, "Marinette and I have some concerns about Toph's parents. They don't know the truth, and probably for good reason. Toph reminds me of Rin's friend in Paris. He was in a similar position. He wasn't blind, but he was treated like a fragile thing by his father."
"Of course! That's why this whole thing bothers me!" Marinette realised, "In Paris, my friend's father practically locked his son up for the first fourteen years of his life. He began to run away, trying to sneak into a public school. See, his father was more concerned with protecting his son than actually taking the time to really get to know his son. It's the same with Toph. Her parents have hidden her from the world because she's blind, so she has been running off to fight at night because she is tired of her parents seeing only her disability, and not her. There's no way her parents will ever let her travel with us. She knows that. That's why she keeps refusing you. She probably does want to go, but she can't." Marinette explained.
"But that's not fair! She shouldn't have to hide like that. This should be her choice." Aang objected.
"It's not fair." Tikki agreed, "But it is the truth."
"What the heck!" They spun around to see Toph behind them with a startled look on her face.
"Toph!" Marinette said in surprise.
"I heard three people talking, but there's only two of you in here!" Toph cried. Marinette realised Tikki was still floating next to her, but wasn't too concerned since Toph couldn't actually see Tikki.
"O, that's just Tikki, Rin's spirit friend." Aang said. And… now Toph knew about Tikki.
"Spirit?"
"Hi, Toph. I'm Tikki, the spirit of good fortune and creation." Tikki introduced. Toph looked around frantically, not certain where Tikki was.
"What is it like flying or something?" Toph asked.
"Uh… yes." Aang said in confusion. Toph calmed down.
"Oh, that explains it… Look, Aang… I would like to talk… privately. I'm sorry about dinner. I'd like to call a truce." Toph offered. Aang shrugged and glanced at Marinette.
"Rin?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. You two have fun throwing rocks or something… I don't care." Marinette said. She went back into the guest room with Sokka and Katara. Little did Marinette realise, a certain curious Kwami stayed behind to watch the two benders from afar. Marinette settled into her sleeping bag and started to doze off when Tikki flew in, waking everyone in the room.
"They've got Aang and Toph!" The Kwami cried frantically. Everyone sat up immediately. They raced outside, alerting the guards and Toph's parents about the problem. The spotted a note the kidnappers left.
"'If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the arena.' signed, Xin Fu and the Boulder." Katara read.
"I can't believe it! I got the Boulder's autograph!' Sokka said excitedly. Everyone rolled their eyes at him.
"Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back." Lao said.
"We're going with you." Marinette volunteered. And they did. At the arena waited Xin Fu and The Boulder. Sokka put the bag of gold down, and Xin Fu took it.
"Here's your money, now let them go!" Sokka ordered. Xin Fu motioned for Toph to be released. They let her out of her box and she ran to her father the pair turned to leave.
"What about Aang?" Marinette asked, ready to transform and she went to open her satchel.
"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar. Now, get out of my ring." Before Marinette could bring Tikki out, all of the Earthbenders that competed in the tournaments emerged from the shadows. Seeds of doubt went into Marinette's head. She'd never fought a serious threat without another Miraculous wielder before.
"Go. I'll be okay." Aang suggested. No. She'd promised Bumi. She spun on her heels, her mind made up. Toph's parents didn't accept Toph's blindness? Fine. Then they would learn the truth.
"There's too many of them. We need an Earthbender. We need you!" Marinette said. Lao glared at her.
"My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you!" Lao growled at her. Toph flinched, before turning to face Marinette and letting go of her father.
"Yes. I can!" She said, obviously fed up with her father. She marched into the ring, and smiled.
"I bet you once, I'll beat you all again!"
"The Boulder takes issue with that comment." Hippo threw Aang's cage to the side. Katara and Sokka went to help Toph, but she stopped them.
"Wait." She grinned wider, "Their mine!" She began to rock the entire ring, creating a dust cloud for cover. The Water tribe sibling raced to help Aang, Marinette just watched in awe as Toph defeated each Earthbender one at a time. Her father just stared, shocked at what he was witnessing. Her teacher, Yu, looked excited, as if having the greatest revelation in the world. She finished of Xin Fu alone, easily sending him flying towards were her father and teacher sat.
"She's the greatest Earthbender I've ever seen." Yu proclaimed proudly as if he was responsible for that." The battle ended just as Katara and Sokka got Aang out. It had only lasted moments. The other benders hadn't stood a chance. With the conflict over, they returned to the Bei Fong estate where Toph finally confronted her parents.
"Dad, I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way. But the helpless blind girl you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love Earthbending, and I'm really good at it. I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you've kept me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me, but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend. So, now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way feel about me." Marinette had a phantom at that moment, a flashback. The memory of a boy holding out an umbrella with a kind smile.
I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of new to me.
"Of course it hasn't changed the way I feel about you. Toph, It's made me realise something. Toph looked up at her father in hope.
"Really?"
"Yes, I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on, you'll be cared for 24 hours a day!" Her father ordered.
"But Dad!"
"We are doing this for your own good Toph."
"Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here."
"I'm sorry Toph." Aang whispered.
"I'm sorry too. Goodbye Aang." Marinette realised Toph was crying. The line had been crossed. She shoved passed the guards attempting to escort her out.
"I know you probably don't care about my opinion, but this is not okay. You have one daughter. If you don't learn to let her choice for herself, you will forever lose her one day. You can't protect her forever, so stop pretending you can." She said to them angrily. Toph looked back at her in surprise. Marinette gave her a curt nod before leaving to join her friends.
Just as they were about to leave, a certain blind bandit came running out of the house.
"Wait!" Toph called. Marinette smiled as the girl explained that she would be coming with them.
I'm Sorry I haven't been updating lately. This chapter is actually the longest I've done yet. The play season is wrapping up, so I'll have a bit more free time to spare, but I need to work on a essay in my free time too. I hope you like this chapter. I know I kinda skimmed over the fighting scene with Toph, but I'll make up for it. Remember to review and give me constructive criticism.