CHAPTER 7: THE BLIND BANDIT (PART 2)
(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)
(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)
Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure
"Why did you have to pick up a fight against her? She was supposed to be my Earthbending teacher, and now we have no idea where she is or how to find her,"
Aang wasn't exactly in the best mood. Despite being a cheerful and optimistic young monk, he felt he had missed a golden opportunity of learning Earthbending with a proper teacher, all thanks to Shujinko. The Avatar knew Shujinko hadn't done it on purpose and that his intentions were good, but it was hard to dismiss what he did as an ordinary slip when taking into consideration everything that was on the line. He wasn't furious at him or anything of the sort, but his worries and his anxiety were getting the better of him.
"Look Aang, I already said I'm sorry," Shujinko replied as Team Avatar walked aimlessly around the streets of Gaoling. It was early in the morning and the group had decided to go ask the people in town if they had ever seen a young girl that matched The Blind Bandit's description. So far, none of the locals seemed to have any knowledge about her, and it didn't seem like their luck was about to change any time soon. "I made a deal with The Blind Bandit so that you would get the chance to meet her if I won the fight, but she forgot about it as soon as I knocked her out of the ring. I wasn't expecting The Blind Bandit to be such a sore loser,"
But even though The Blind Bandit had indeed proven herself to be a sore loser, the Chunin knew he was the one at fault. Back when he was a Genin, he used to be harsh on himself whenever he committed a mistake or failed to notice an important detail during a mission or a training session. After some time, Shujinko learned not to berate himself for everything, but that natural urge of taking control of the situation was still there, and he was too proud and righteous to refuse to bear the consequences of his actions. That was the price he paid for holding himself to a higher standard than the others.
"Come on guys, look at the bright side. Yesterday, we were dirt poor, and now we have a bag of gold to spend on whatever we want," Sokka said cheerfully. He looked down at his most recent purchase, a fancy handbag, and smiled fondly.
"I still don't understand why you bought that purse, Sokka," Katara commented.
"For the last time, it's not a purse, it's a handbag! And why shouldn't I have bought it? I deserve to treat myself every now and then. Besides, you can't expect me to walk in front of everyone holding a bag of gold on my hands. That's what handbags are for, sis,"
Aang let out an annoyed groan as he turned around to face the other three. "It doesn't matter if it's a handbag or a purse. It's not gonna help us find The Blind Bandit. We've already asked half the people of Gaoling and no one has given us a clue," he said as the group came to a halt.
"In that case, maybe we should stop asking strangers in the streets and go to a place where people might know about her," Katara suggested before her eyes lightened up with enthusiasm. "I have an idea! We first learned about the Earth Rumble VI tournament when we were at Master Yu's Academy. How about we go there and ask some of his students? They might be able to tell us something,"
"Hey, that could actually work. Those two dummies from yesterday mentioned The Boulder and The Blind Bandit during their conversation. They were debating which one of them was going to win, so it's only logical that they have some knowledge on who The Blind Bandit is, even if it is just a little," Shujinko said before smiling at the waterbender. "I gotta' hand it to you, Katara. You're pretty smart,"
Katara returned his smile, feeling a tiny bit of embarrassment. She wasn't very used to receive that kind of praise, mainly because she simply did what she thought was right and didn't expect much in return. The goal of her suggestions was to move the group forward and nothing else. Still, she appreciated Shujinko's comment, as she knew he meant it and was more than just a hollow courtesy.
Shujinko turned to face Aang. "Do you think we should check out Master Yu's Academy?"
"I guess we don't have much of a choice. It's the only idea we've come up with so far. Besides, the morning class started already, so there must be enough students to ask them about The Blind Bandit. Let's go,"
000
|Master Yu's Earthbending Academy|
Team Avatar arrived at the academy just in time. Children were leaving the courtyard so that the older students could start their basic warm-up routine. Master Yu didn't bother himself with supervising his older students as he was too busy enjoying a cup of tea inside his dojo before the class officially started. Upon entering, they found Monkon and Yonri hitting two giant clay pots full of sand.
Upon noticing the presence of the four travelers, the two earthbenders stopped their exercise and glared at them, only to cower in fear when they recognized Shujinko. "What are you doing here? Only students are allowed to be in this courtyard," Yonri said in an attempt to look tough, although the tone of his voice betrayed him. His wrist was wrapped around several bandages, much to Shujinko's amusement.
"We need to find out who The Blind Bandit is," Aang replied. "Do you know anything about her?"
"The Blind Bandit? What makes you think we know who she is, kid?"
"Just stick to answering our question," Katara said, having fed up with their attitudes. The idea of freezing the two of them from their toes to their necks was starting to grow on her.
Sokka immediately placed his arm around Shujinko's neck. "That's right, unless you want to suffer the anger of our friend Rock Lee here. You know, Earth Rumble's new champion, kind of a big deal,"
Monkon and Yonri began to sweat. The rumors of an unknown teenager defeating The Blind Bandit had reached the ears of almost everyone in town. Neither of them had been able to sneak into the stadium to see the matches last night, but after their encounter with Shujinko, they knew it was a bad idea to mess with him. "The Blind Bandit is a mystery. No one knows who she really is or where she lives. She just shows up to fight, and when the matches are over, she disappears without leaving a trace,"
"That's it? That's all you can tell us about The Blind Bandit?" Aang asked, sounding a little disappointed. He was obviously hoping to hear something more elaborated.
"I swear, if any of you is hiding something from us…" Katara began to say, but she was suddenly interrupted by Shujinko.
"You know, I've been thinking about this all morning. Despite being a great bender, The Blind Bandit is still a young girl, and a blind one at that. She looked like she was eleven or twelve years-old to me. The idea of a blind girl surviving on her own without anyone to look after her all of this time is unlikely at best, so I assume she lives with at least one individual who helps her with her needs, probably her family,"
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so The Blind Bandit lives with people. How does that help us?"
"Also, The Blind Bandit has impressive Earthbending skills, and considering her age, it's doubtful that she obtained said skills on her own," Shujinko said as he ignored Sokka's question. He wasn't trying to be rude, but he needed concentration in order to keep theorizing about The Blind Bandit's origins. "Someone must've taught her, and that someone must be a great earthbender as well as a great teacher. After all, she taught a blind girl and got amazing results. I don't think she joined a public Earthbending academy, because otherwise, people would've recognized her already, which leads me to believe that she was taught personally. Tell me, are there any remarkable Earthbending masters around here that offer private lessons?"
"Very few of them," Monkon answered. "And the ones that do, they charge a fortune to whoever wants private lessons, no exceptions made,"
"In that case, I can only think of two options: Either The Blind Bandit has some kind of relationship with her teacher in which no money is involved, or she's wealthy enough to hire the services of one of these private teachers. It's already assumed that she has at least one adult in her life that takes care of her, and that caretaker could be his teacher as well. The other alternative is that she lives with her family or with a group of people who took her in. Regardless of whom she lives with, these people saw fit to put a private teacher in charge of The Blind Bandit's Earthbending lessons, meaning that they have the money to afford it. As a result, it's possible to conclude that The Blind Bandit could be someone who's related to wealthy people here in Gaoling… But like I recently said, that's just a possibility,"
Once his deductive analysis came to an end, Shujinko found himself at the receiving end of five perplexed stares, as if he had suddenly grown a pair of antlers and a beak.
"Damn, and here I thought I was the detective of the group," Sokka said sarcastically. "Is that how I look when I'm overthinking things?"
"Now that Shujinko mentions it, the girl in my visions was wearing a pretty fancy dress, and she was playing with a Flying Boar," Aang recalled. "Is there anyone here in Gaoling who has a pet Flying Boar?"
"A Flying Boar? Isn't that the emblem of the Beifong family?" Monkon asked Yonri, who nodded.
"That's right. They're the richest family in town, and easily the richest family in all of the Earth Kingdom. They live outside of town near the hills,"
The Water Tribe siblings stared at each other in bewilderment. It was almost scary how Shujinko's theory was starting to add up. With basically no information whatsoever, he deduced that The Blind Bandit was most likely related to a group of wealthy people, and now they were hearing about the Beifong family. They already knew Shujinko was no dimwit, but they weren't expecting this kind of intelligence from a fourteen-year-old.
"Anyways, the Beifong family doesn't have a daughter, at least not that anyone knows of,"
"That's okay. We're not explicitly looking for a daughter, just a girl. Maybe her ties with the Beifong family don't come from blood or lineage," Shujinko explained.
The young monk smiled brightly at that. "That's good enough for me. We have to visit the Beifong family and see if they know anything about The Blind Bandit. I have a good feeling about this. Come on, let's get going," Team Avatar left Master Yu's Academy as more students entered the backyard, giving them odd looks.
Once she made sure no one else was hearing them, Katara turned to Shujinko. "How did you do that?"
Shujinko blinked three consecutive times. "Do what, exactly?"
"You know what I mean, Shujinko. That thing you did back there, how you figured out who The Blind Bandit might be. We barely even know her and yet you came to all sorts of conclusions after interacting with her only once,"
"I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, and I certainly haven't arrived to any definitive answers. I merely formulated a theory incorporating assumptions and suppositions. For all we know, The Blind Bandit might be a completely different person and my theory might be completely wrong, but in situations like these, it's better to speculate rationally about the individual we're looking for instead of hoping to get lucky,"
"That whole analysis thing, do you do that very often?" Sokka asked.
"You'd be surprised how often I do, Sokka, especially as of late given the situation that I'm in," the Ozuma replied. "I'm not familiar with this part of the world, so I'm still learning how it works. This kind of critical thinking in ingrained in my head at this point, and that's not only good, but also necessary. I need to be able to properly analyze my surroundings and the people around me in order to assess them, particularly when it comes to my enemies,"
"Your enemies?" Aang repeated. "What do you mean by that?"
"Aang, do you remember when we fought those Fire Nation soldiers back in Gi Yuin Village?" Shujinko, asked, receiving a nod from the Avatar. "In all of the time we've spent together since that day, have you ever wondered why I didn't use Ninjutsu to deal with them?"
The bald monk wrinkled his nose as he tried to come up with an answer. Now that he thought about it, Shujinko could've used Ninjutsu to take care of those Fire Nation soldiers with ease, yet he didn't. Instead, he relied on his knives and his martial arts ('Taijutsu,' Aang mentally corrected himself) to defeat them. "You didn't use Ninjutsu because you didn't need to, am I right?"
Shujinko nodded. "That's correct. While I was fighting those soldiers, I was also analyzing their skills, and I came to the conclusion that using Ninjutsu against them was unnecessary. The ability to think during combat is essential because it allows you to make the correct decisions and it helps you avoid taking risks. That's the reason why I don't use Ninjutsu unless the circumstances call for it, because of its inherent dangers,"
"When we were bathing at the natural hot springs two days ago, you said something about Ninjutsu and how you weren't supposed to use it recklessly," the waterbender of the group recalled, and the image of Shujinko's scarred body inevitably came to mind. She discreetly shook her head in an attempt to get rid of that sad picture. "What did you exactly meant by it?"
"Every technique that derives from Ninjutsu has a chakra cost, regardless of the simplicity or complexity of the jutsu itself. Chakra is the combination of my physical and spiritual energies. In other words, you could sort of say that my chakra is to Ninjutsu what your chi is to bending,"
"Really? The monks taught me that chakras were points located throughout the human body where chi is heavily concentrated. According to them, chakras were like gates that regulated the internal flow of our chi, but they never said anything about chakra being energy that could be used,"
That last piece of information surprised Shujinko a great deal. He wasn't expecting the concept of chakra to exist in this part of the world, but if what Aang had just said was true, then it seemed that benders understood chakra in a different way. These 'chakras' that Aang was talking about were similar to the Eight Inner Gates that were inside a ninja's chakra pathway system.
He didn't know what the effects of opening these chakras were, but in the shinobi world, opening the Eight Inner Gates allowed the user to unleash the raw physical strength of the human body. As far as Shujinko was aware, only Taijutsu experts were able to open these gates, and they had to go through an insane amount of training before they could accomplish this. Judging by their bodies alone, Shujinko seriously doubted any of his new comrades would still be able to stand up if they ever tried to join him in one of his training routines, which lasted for hours. It soon became obvious to him that these gates Aang referred to as chakras and the Eight Inner Gates were different from one another.
"Well, in my case, chakra doesn't work like that. Chakra is energy, and every time I perform Ninjutsu, a portion of that energy is spent. You can make your chakra reserves bigger with enough training, and you can also reduce the cost of chakra by improving your chakra control, but no matter what you do, it's impossible to use Ninjutsu without consuming some of that energy. There's just no other way around it,"
"I think I get it. So… What happens when you run out of chakra juice?" Sokka asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice, as if a part of Sokka was telling him he was better off without knowing the answer to that question.
"Running low on chakra can be downright disastrous for a shinobi, even more so if it happens during the middle of a fight. Chakra is linked to our stamina, which means that our stamina takes a hit whenever we use Ninjutsu. Low chakra levels can result in fatigue and exhaustion. It can take days and even weeks to fully restore our chakra depending on how much of it is left in our bodies. Now, if your body is completely deprived of chakra… Well, that's the end of the road for you,"
Katara gulped. "… Does that mean you'll be left unconscious or something like that?"
"You'll most likely end unconscious if you use almost all of your chakra. No, when I say that it's the end of the road for you when you have no chakra left, I mean that you'll inevitably die," His words sent shivers down the spines of Aang, Katara, and Sokka, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over their heads. "A shinobi can't live without chakra. It would be like living without oxygen. That's why I can't afford to be careless when it comes to Ninjutsu, because I run the risk of spending too much chakra. Luckily, I'm well aware of my limits, and from what I've seen so far, I don't think I'll have to use Ninjutsu very often, at least not to the point where it becomes dangerous for me,"
It took a while for Shujinko to realize that the group had fallen unusually silent, and not exactly because their curiosity had been satiated. Apparently, knowing that he would die should he run out of chakra struck his new friends harder than what he anticipated.
Maybe it was because people in this world didn't die from excessive use of bending, but still, he thought their reactions were a bit exaggerated. There were plenty of other ways to get you killed in the shinobi world, some of them far more gruesome and painful than suffering complete chakra depletion. Besides, they needed to know this so that, in the case of a future emergency, they wouldn't pester him with questions such as 'Why don't you use Ninjutsu for this and that and the other?'
They had to understand that he was not like them. They had to understand that sticking his neck out and facing life or death situations was just part of who he was. Part of what ninjas were.
They had to understand that, sometimes, risking your life was the only way to preserve it.
|Beifong residence|
"Well, they weren't lying when they said the Beifong were the richest people in town. Just look at this place," Shujinko said, not bothering to hide his amazement.
After following the path that led to the hills, Team Avatar soon found the entrance to the Beifong estate, where two giant gates depicted the emblem of a Flying Boar. The entrance was protected by four guards who wore green and white uniforms. They wielded spears that were fairly similar to the naginatas that some shinobis used in combat, only that these spears had shorter, wider blades.
Since they weren't sure how the guards might react to their presence, Shujinko insisted on exploring the perimeter from a distance before approaching the guards. Luckily for them, there was a hill nearby that offered a clear view of the Beifong estate, which was surrounded by walls. Once they were at the top, they saw most of the Beifong estate consisted of an enormous garden with lots of trees, plants, flowers, and beautifully crafted sculptures. The buildings inside the estate were every bit as elegant as the garden was. Shujinko was willing to bet the Eye of Kazemaru inside his backpack that not even the Hyuuga manor was this magnificent, and he had never stepped a foot in the Hyuuga clan's territory before. All in all, it was a place worthy of a Feudal Lord and his family.
"It sure is impressive, but we have to think of a way to get inside and find a girl that may or may not be there," Sokka said, to which Aang raised an eyebrow.
"Shouldn't we tell the guards to please let us in before we do this? They might give us permission if we ask them nicely,"
"Aang has a point, you know," Katara seconded. "Instead of breaking into their house, he could announce himself as the Avatar and tell the guards to allow us to enter. Even if they're the wealthiest people in all of the Earth Kingdom, I'm sure the Beifong family wouldn't turn down a request from the Avatar. If anything, they will most likely receive us as honor guests,"
"While that is true, our primary objective is to find The Blind Bandit, not to become the Beifongs' honor guests. In my opinion, we need to split up for a while. I'll search for The Blind Bandit while you wait outside. That way, I can verify if The Blind Bandit is here so that we don't waste any more of our time,"
"Wait a minute, what? You want to go there alone?" Sokka frowned at his suggestion. "What if you're spotted by one of those guards? I doubt they'll invite you to come over and eat cookies with them,"
Admittedly, the Ozuma still hadn't quite perfected the art of stealth. He was able to hide well enough and avoid making noises while doing so, but true stealth was something that took years to master and Shujinko was merely adept at it. Still, he was dealing with regular guards instead of actual ninjas, so he was confident that he could manage with his skills.
"That's precisely why I should do this on my own. In the unlikely event that I do get caught before finding The Blind Bandit, I can just escape with little to no trouble. However, if we all go there searching for her, not only the chances of getting caught increase, but we might also lose the opportunity to play the Avatar card. We ninjas are trained for this kind of situations, and don't take this the wrong way, but none of you are exactly the stealthy type. I'm better off doing this alone and you know it,"
As soon as he finished his rant, he saw a flash of disappointment in his friends' eyes, and Shujinko felt a pang of guilt inside his stomach. He knew he was on the right, and any of his comrades from the village would agree with him on this one, but he kept making the same mistake: Forgetting that Aang, Katara, and Sokka weren't ninjas. Even if his plan was based on sound logic, the three of them probably felt left out, as if they weren't good enough to help him.
If they were ninjas, they would've understood that the effectiveness of the plan was more important than their personal feelings. However, Shujinko had to remind himself that he wasn't leading a squad of Genins, but a group of teenagers who wanted to help despite not ever receiving any military education, at least not the one Shujinko did. Besides, he wasn't their leader either, so he had no right to give them orders just like that.
When he decided to fight The Blind Bandit, he did so without consulting any of them or asking what their opinions were. It didn't work for him last time, and the Chunin didn't want to make the same mistake twice. "Listen, if you don't think my plan makes sense, or if you want to suggest something else, just say it. You're my comrades, not my subordinates,"
"Actually, there's one thing I want to say," Aang replied as the rest of the group turned to him. "To be honest, I don't have much of a problem with you telling us what to do during these situations. You're smart, and you're obviously good at this kind of stuff, but … I still feel like I have to go there. If we find the girl from my vision, maybe telling her I'm the Avatar is the only thing that will get her to listen to what I have to say,"
'Aang sure is determined to find her,' Shujinko thought as another possibility crossed his mind. 'Come to think of it, if we do find The Blind Bandit here, there's a chance she'll recognize me by my voice. Considering how irritated she became after losing our fight, I doubt she'd be willing to hear me out, but if Aang does the talking…' "Fine. Aang, you're coming with me. It's time to find out if the Flying Boar is the link between The Blind Bandit and the girl from your vision,"
A wide smile was beginning to creep on the Avatar's face, but before he could express his gratitude, he was interrupted by Shujinko giving him a stern look.
"However, if you insist on tagging along, I need you to stick by my side and follow my instructions. Even if we do come across The Blind Bandit, you'll wait for my signal before approaching her. Do I have your word, Aang?"
"You don't have to worry about me, I'm as obedient as a tamed Camelephant. Now let's go find the girl from my vision!"
000
Toph was in a nasty mood as she walked around the gardens of the Beifong manor.
In her head, she kept recalling the events that took place last night, specifically her humiliating defeat at the hands of Rock Lee or whatever his ridiculous name was. She didn't know what angered her the most: The fact that she had lost or the fact that she didn't know how she had lost. Despite her arrogance and all her self-confidence, Toph was aware that she wasn't the only giant in a world of midgets, that there were other individuals out there with combat skills that rivaled or maybe even surpassed hers. However, it was easy to forget that when you were literally stronger than everyone around you, which was why Toph didn't really participate in the tournament expecting to find someone who could give her a run for her money…
... but then Rock Lee came along.
At first, it didn't seem like he posed much of a threat; just some fancy acrobat with no idea of who he was messing with. But as soon as she accepted the deal proposed by Rock Lee, her opponent became something else and began displaying amazing physical abilities, most notably his speed and reflexes. He moved so fast and dodged so easily that Toph couldn't help but feel impressed. Hell, she even enjoyed the encounter up to a certain point, for no one had ever forced her to take a fight seriously before.
It was that last move that really drove Toph up the wall. In just a couple of seconds, Rock Lee had somehow managed to get behind her back not once, but twice in a row. Then, she felt a mysterious force gathering behind her, like a compressed gale of wind that came out of nowhere. Toph didn't know what kind of trick her opponent used, but thanks to her ability to sense the earth's vibrations, she knew she hadn't been struck directly by Rock Lee, but instead by something that had been released from the palm of his hand. The next thing she knew, she had been knocked out of the ring.
Toph would've still reacted the same way as she did if she knew what Rock Lee had done to her, but at the very least she wouldn't have to deal with this pesky uncertainty. If she ever met Rock Lee again, there were two things she wanted to do: The first was to ask him what dirty move did he pulled on her, and the second was to demand a rematch.
'… Who's there?' Toph narrowed her eyes as she picked the earth vibrations. Two people had entered her family's garden, sneaked past the guards, and climbed up a large tree to stay hidden. Who were these two trespassers? Toph assumed they were burglars who wanted to steal something from the richest family in town, and since the guards hired by her parents were mostly incompetent, proven by the numerous occasions in which she had sneaked out of the house right under their noses, it was hardly a surprise that two lowlifes had successfully done the opposite.
In any case, their robbery attempt came at a very timely moment. At least she now had the chance to blow off some steam, even if just a little.
000
"I gotta' say, this is actually exciting. It's like we're secret spies," Aang whispered to Shujinko as the two of them were hiding between the branches of the tall tree.
"This isn't a game, Aang. Don't get distracted," Shujinko whispered back. Even though they were in a pretty good hiding spot and the guards had yet to detect their presence, the Ozuma didn't want to test their luck engaging in idle talk. And besides, he didn't feel like discussing how redundant the term 'secret spies' was. "We need to keep our eyes open and our mouths shut for as long as we can,"
Aang nodded in understanding. Although he had gotten used to it for the most part, it still surprised him how serious Shujinko could become when it came to these types of situations. The Avatar supposed what they were doing this very moment was making Shujinko feel like he was on a mission back in his homeland, and despite not knowing much about the shinobi world, Aang could tell ninjas took the missions they participated in very seriously. He wanted to know more about Shujinko's missions, but that conversation would have to wait.
"Eyes open, mouths shut. Got it," he replied before leaning forward, puckering his lips in deep concentration. Aang narrowed his gaze when something caught his attention. "Hey, I think I saw someone,"
"Where?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe near that fountain over there? I need to take a closer look,"
"Aang, be careful. If you keep that up, you might end up fa-"
Before Shujinko could finish his sentence, Aang began to lose his balance as a result of leaning forward too much. "W-Whoaa," he nearly shouted. Shujinko immediately pulled him back and pressed his hand against his mouth in order to prevent Aang from yelling and giving away their position. Luckily, the Ozuma reacted quickly enough and saved the bald monk from facing a long fall.
Seconds after this happened, they saw someone walking towards the tree, and the eyes of both teens widened when they recognized The Blind Bandit. Aang wanted to gasp, but Shujinko's hand acted as a muzzle that prevented him from opening his mouth. 'That face, that hair, those eyes… She's definitely The Blind Bandit,' Shujinko thought. 'It's hard to believe that we found her on our first try. This makes everything so much easier,'
Judging by the frown she was sporting, it was very likely that the girl had heard Aang's voice and wanted to see… or rather, hear, what was going on. It was said that blind people had remarkably better hearing than the average person. The brown-haired boy didn't know whether this was true or not, but if it were true, then Shujinko would have to come up with an idea to approach The Blind Bandit as gently and non-threateningly as possible.
'Come on, walk away… Leave already… You didn't hear a thing…' The rate of his heartbeats increased as he slowed down his breathing. The Blind Bandit moved her head to the left and then to the right, as if making sure no one was around her. Then, she finally gave up and decided to walk away. A sigh of relief nearly escaped Shujinko's lips as he slowly moved his hand away from the Avatar's mouth. 'Crisis adverted,'
BAAM
Out of nowhere, The Blind Bandit turned around and stomped her foot, causing a small-scale earthquake. The ground shook so violently that both Shujinko and Aang fell from the branches of the tree. Even though he was taken by surprise, the Chunin managed to land on his hands and feet, unlike Aang, who didn't react on time and landed butt-first on the ground.
"What are you doing here?" Toph demanded to know.
"Who, me?" Aang asked back. Ignoring the pain on his lower rear, he stood up and gave The Blind Bandit an awkward smile. "Well, uhm… I'm Aang! It's nice to meet you, Blind Bandit. I'm a huge fan of you,"
"I wasn't asking you. I was asking the dirty cheater standing next to you,"
Shujinko frowned deeply. 'She recognized me? How? She can't see my face and I haven't spoken yet. Is she truly blind?' "Well, first of all, sorry for coming here uninvited. And second of all, I'm not a dirty cheater like you say. I won our fight fair and square,"
"I'll ask one last time. What are you doing here, and what do you want? If you're here for round two, I'll gladly give you the beating of a lifetime,"
"No, that's not what Shujinko's here for!" Aang was quick to reply, not wanting to test the temper of the girl from his vision. "Please, just hear me out. There's this really important thing I have to tell you. It'll only take a couple of minutes at best, but you need to listen to me,"
Toph snorted. "Listen to you? I don't have to listen to what anyone has to say. Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the guards and order them to deal with the two of you,"
"Because you're strong enough to deal with the two of us on your own," Shujinko ventured to say. "I saw what you're capable of back in the Arena. It makes me wonder why someone like you needs guards in the first place,"
Truth be told, he didn't like having to convince people through words. That was not what he was trained for. Ninjas were hired to steal information, protect certain people, retrieve a lost object, and do pretty much anything their client wanted them to do, as long as the request was within the boundaries of reason and the client had the money to pay for their services. If not from a client, the mission could also come from the village itself if it benefited its interests.
However, ninjas were enforcers and task-doers by nature, not negotiators. If their mission was to convince someone, they did so by carrying out a certain job or using a wide variety of methods to force whoever needed to be forced into agreement, but ninjas rarely saw themselves in a situation where they had to convince someone using dialogue and dialogue alone.
'Kakashi-sensei once told me a good ninja was capable of adapting and overcoming unusual circumstances. I guess this is what he meant by that,'
Luckily for Shujinko, his answer managed to slightly deviate the topic of the conversation. "I don't need any guards. I can look after myself just fine. The idea of hiring those clowns came from my parents, not me," The Blind Bandit assured them.
"Your parents?" Aang repeated. "That means you really are part of the Beifong family, right?"
"Tch, tell me something I don't know,"
"Oh, I could tell you lots of things that you don't know about me, but I doubt you'd believe any of them," the Chunin replied. He noticed how The Blind Bandit, now identified as a Beifong, raised an eyebrow at him, as if she could somehow tell that he was being sincere. "In any case, we don't want to waste much more of your time. My friend Aang here is the Avatar, and he would very much like to ask you if you could please teach him Earthbending. That's the reason why we were looking for you,"
"You came all the way here just to ask me for Earthbending lessons?" Toph asked, her tone filled with incredulousness. "What makes you think I'm willing to teach you Earthbending just because you're the Avatar, huh?"
Aang scratched the back of his head, not really knowing how to handle the situation. With that attitude of hers, he now understood why Shujinko had so much trouble talking to The Blind Bandit while they fought against one another, as well as why she fled the scene as soon as she lost the match. "The thing is… A friend of mine told me to find an Earthbending teacher who waited and listened to the earth. Then, I had a vision of you playing with a Flying Boar. Shortly after that vision, we traveled here to Gaoling, and when I saw you and the way you perform Earthbending, I knew you were the teacher my friend told me to find,"
Toph listened very closely what Aang had to say while checking his heart rate through the use of her seismic sense. Surprisingly enough, the boy hadn't told a single lie, but just because he wasn't lying didn't mean that she was interested in his story or his motives, not in the slightest. "Well, tough luck for you. I don't care if you're the Avatar, I don't owe you anything,"
"You're absolutely right. You don't owe him anything, which is precisely why he's asking you to teach him Earthbending, not demanding you," Shujinko quickly pointed out. "If you still hate me due to our match the other night, then, by all means, hate me, but please try to take Aang's position into conside-"
"And what about you, anyway?" Toph cut him off. "Are you his official assistant or something? In case I haven't made it clear yet, I'm not interested in hearing anything that comes out of your mouth. Maybe you should go back to your home and mind your own business instead of acting like the Avatar's babysitter,"
As soon as she finished that last sentence, Toph felt a sudden reaction in Shujinko. His body became tense and he started breathing a little heavier. Thanks to her seismic sense, she noticed how Aang had turned to his friend and heard him gulp uneasily. At first, she believed Shujinko had gotten angry over her resentful comments, but Toph was about to find out just how wrong she was.
"… Trust me, you have no idea how badly I want to go back to my home. I think about my village, my friends and my family every minute of every day,"
Toph opened her mouth to reply but found herself unable to. She wasn't expecting that kind of response. Before she could ask him what he meant by that, Shujinko started talking again.
"I'm a foreigner. Not just in this land, but in this part of the world as a whole. Do you remember how I said there were plenty of things about me that you wouldn't believe? This is one of them. I woke up about a week ago near Gi Yuin Village with no memory of how I got there. I asked people about my home, but no one knew what I was talking about, as if my village had never existed, and when I looked at a map of the continent, I… I couldn't recognize any of it. My village, my country, all of the lands and the places I've ever known to exist, none of them were in that map and no one I've met so far has even heard of them before. I'm in a part of the world I never even knew it existed up until now,"
While listening to Shujinko's words, Toph was also listening to this heart… And there were only three explanations she could come up with: Either Shujinko had such control over his emotions that he was capable of lying without eliciting an internal reaction from his body, or the guy was actually telling the truth, as nonsensical as it was. It was also possible that Shujinko was just telling her what he believed to be the truth, but that would require some serious psychological issues on his behalf, and with the exception of this wacky story, Shujinko seemed to act, think, and speak like a completely normal person. All three scenarios were unlikely, especially the idea of Shujinko telling the actual truth. What was Toph supposed to make of this?
"You probably think that I'm a liar or that I'm crazy, and I don't blame you for doing so. However, if there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that I want to go back home and see everyone I hold dear again more than anything in the world. Aang is the Avatar, and as far as I know, him, Sokka, and Katara are the only people who can help me and who are willing to do so, which means I have to help them out in return. You can laugh about it all you want, but from where I come from, that's what a true comrade does. That's what my village has taught me,"
Even with her mocking and haughty attitude, Toph simply couldn't find the will to offend or make fun of Shujinko. Regardless of whether she believed his story or not, he spoke with such seriousness and conviction that she found it hard to question him. And besides, if Shujinko's intentions were to lie to her, he had to be smart enough to realize that no one would buy such a farfetched story, which only made her think that there was a minuscule, yet real chance that Shujinko wasn't lying at all and that the places he spoke of indeed existed.
"In any case, that doesn't matter right now. If you want to become Aang's Earthbending teacher, that's up to you. We'll come back later today to see if you've made up your mind. Aang, let's go. Our job here is done for the time being," Shujinko said before turning around. As he began to walk away, Aang looked back at The Blind Bandit, wondering if he needed to say something else to her. However, he immediately realized that no other words needed to be uttered, and promptly left the place.
Toph simply stood there, pondering over Shujinko. That boy certainly gave the word 'uncertainty' a whole new meaning. All of her resentment she held towards him had changed, turned into a puddle of riddles and questions. Who was Shujinko? How did he get involved with the Avatar?
Regardless of whatever opinion she had of him, Toph found herself respecting Shujinko, at least to a degree. He didn't try to threaten her or used the knowledge of her true identity to blackmail her into teaching Earthbending to Aang. Instead, Shujinko humbly asked for her help and didn't treat her differently because of her blindness or her privileged status, the two things her parents seemed to care for the most. Being treated like a normal and independent human being felt… well, it felt nice, and it wasn't up until now that she realized that.
When he talked about how he wanted to return home, she detected genuine melancholy and maybe a bit of pain in his voice, and even though those places could very well be the product of Shujinko's imagination, Toph couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for bringing that subject up.
She heard the voices of the guards calling her name. Toph let out a sigh and started walking back into the house, knowing full well that she was going to be thinking about this all day.
'Should I…'
000
|Several hours later|
Being the Avatar sure had its perks, Shujinko thought as he stared at the amount of food that was being brought to them by the servants of the Beifong family.
Before leaving The Blind Bandit alone, Shujinko had told her they were going to pay her a second visit that very same day, but the Ozuma never expected things would go this smoothly. After a couple of hours had passed, the members of Team Avatar reached the gates of the Beifong manor and were immediately stopped by the guards, who told them to get lost. Aang replied by saying he was the Avatar and that he humbly requested to see the Beifong family, and before the guards had the chance to ask for proof, he performed a flashy Airbending demonstration to erase any doubts that they had.
The head of the Beifong family, Lao Beifong, was informed of this and immediately instructed his guards to allow the Avatar and his friends to come inside. After formally introducing themselves to Lao, he basically showered them with the finest dishes that a man of his status could provide, as well as other expensive delicacies. They all sat at a table and started eating, making use of proper manners… Except for Sokka, who was wolfing down as many sweets as he could while the servants replaced the empty plates every three minutes.
"It is truly a great honor to have you here with us, Avatar Aang," Lao Beifong began to say. "Please excuse us if you find our reception to be lacking. Had we known of your arrival with a bit more of anticipation, we would've arranged a banquet, one that would meet the expectations of a guest as distinguished as you are,"
"You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Beifong, and thank you for your kindness," Aang replied, his voice a little more tense than usual. The Blind Bandit had yet to show up, and he feared she would not come at all. Was she trying to avoid them?
"Think nothing of it. Please indulge yourself. You may eat and drink as much as you wish. It's the least we can do for you as your hosts,"
The eyes of Sokka shone with glee. "Did you hear that, Katara? He said we can eat and drink as much as we wish! The Beifong family sure knows how to treat guests, am I right?" Sokka asked, still chewing a mouthful of roasted duck. Katara pressed her lips together while one of her eyes began to twitch, embarrassed by her brother's lack of restraint when it came to food. Her twitch got even worse when she noticed a trickle of sauce dribbling down the corner of Sokka's mouth.
Poppy Beifong, Lao's wife, gestured one of the servants to bring more tea. "Avatar Aang, if you don't mind the question, when do you think the war against the Fire Nation will come to an end?"
"It's hard to say, but I would like to stop the conflict once and for all somewhere around summer," the Avatar said while Poppy 'hummed' in understanding, zipping on her tea. Aang gave Shujinko an expectant stare, and the Chunin returned the gesture with a soft nod before grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "However, before that can happen, I need to learn Earthbending from an exceptional teacher,"
"An exceptional teacher?" Lao repeated. "Well, I would be glad to introduce you to Master Yu. He's not here with us at the moment, but I can assure you he's the finest earthbender in all of the land. He even teaches Earthbending to our daughter,"
Both Shujinko and Aang shared a brief look. It was more than obvious who Lao's daughter was, but of course, they had to feign ignorance in order to avoid any suspicions. "I didn't know you have a daughter, Mr. Beifong," Shujinko commented, adopting a casual and innocent tone of voice.
Lao merely gave Shujinko a side-glance, clearly not very interested in speaking to someone who wasn't the Avatar. "Yes, well, I happen to have a daughter. Her name is Toph, and as I was saying, Master Yu is supervising her Earthbending. Unfortunately, Toph was born blind, and she's quite delicate as well, so we allowed Mater Yu to become her teacher under the strict condition that he would never teach her anything that might be remotely dangerous,"
'So The Blind Bandit's full name is Toph Beifong,' Aang thought. He immediately realized there was something that wasn't making a whole lot of sense. It was true that he had only attended one of Master Yu's classes, but from what he could tell, the man didn't seem to be anywhere near as good as Toph when it came to Earthbending. It was hard to believe that Toph owed her outstanding abilities to someone like Mater Yu, which could only mean one of two things: Either Master Yu was much better at Earthbending than what he let on (and he also taught Toph a lot more behind her parents' back), or Toph had learned Earthbending from someone else, also behind her parents' back. 'No wonder Shujinko is always trying to deduce stuff. I feel like a super smart detective,'
"Is there any chance we could meet her?" Katara asked. "I'm sure we could become friends with your daughter,"
"Oh, I'm not sure if that's possible. Toph doesn't feel safe around strangers and gets frightened quite easily. And besides, she's currently not feeling very well. When we told her we had visitors, she said she was experiencing a small headache, the poor thing. Our doctor assured us there was nothing to be afraid of and that Toph simply needed to stay in bed and rest. I imagine you can understand our concerns,"
Under normal circumstances, Shujinko would've snorted. Toph had a headache right before they came here? What were the odds of that? Also, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Toph's parents were absolutely oblivious about their daughter and her activities. Toph may be blind, but she was a damn good earthbender, and she certainly wasn't delicate.
Shujinko didn't know much about parenting himself, but he certainly knew one thing for sure: Lao and Poppy Beifong could've never raised a kid to become a ninja, not with their overprotectiveness.
After enjoying a meal worthy of a king, the four teens were lead to a living room where they could rest and spend the night. They all sat down on big cushioned pillows, feeling tired after all the food they had just eaten. Even Shujinko, who generally never stuffed his stomach while he was away from his village, couldn't resist the temptation of trying out foreign cuisine and ended up having one or two bowls too many. 'Damn roasted duck, why does it have to taste so good?' the Chunin thought, rubbing his inflated belly.
"Honestly, I don't care what anyone says. Visiting the Beifong family has been our best idea thus far. We should've come here a long time ago," Sokka said as he made himself comfortable. He knew that convincing Toph to become Aang's teacher was important and all, but after weeks of eating vegetable soups and leftovers, filling his stomach with delicious, juicy meat was more than enough to make Sokka forget about all his worries.
"You know, I kinda' feel bad for Toph," Katara commented as she stared at the ceiling. "I get that her parents are trying to protect her and all, but don't you guys think they're exaggerating a little?"
Shujinko nodded. "I agree with you, Katara. This is gonna' sound a bit ironic, but in a way, Mr. and Mrs. Beifong are just as blind as Toph is. Speaking of which, she may be blind, but she can still see everything around her somehow. I wonder how she does it,"
"Wouldn't you like to know,"
Everyone turned their heads around to see who had just spoken. To their surprise, Toph was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was wearing a simple, yet still elegant pajama, and she had undone her hair's braids, wearing it loose like the day they first met her.
"Toph?" Aang wasn't expecting to see The Blind Bandit, at least not today. He was under the impression that Toph wanted nothing to do with them after the conversation she had with Shujinko and him. "… Huhm, hey there. We didn't see you at dinner," the Avatar lamely said.
Toph raised an eyebrow. "Maybe that's because I wasn't there. That whole headache thing was just an excuse I came up with to avoid having to attend dinner. I knew it would work, given how gullible and overly concerned my parents are,"
Shujinko wasn't the least bit surprised by that. If Toph was capable of hiding her secret identity to her parents, then surely coming up with an excuse to absent herself from dinner was a piece of cake for The Blind Bandit. "So why are you here now?"
"I'm here because…Because I have to keep the end of my bargain, and because I hate owing stuff to people,"
After the conversation she had with Shujinko earlier that day, Toph was left wondering what kind of person the Chunin was. It would've been easier to brush aside his story as mere nonsense, but deep down, she knew there had to be at least some degree of truth to his words. Finding out what sort of trick Shujinko pulled on her during their fight faded into the background as she was now more interested in learning more about the guy, because if his inconceivable story turned out to be real, then there were thousands of questions that Toph wanted an answer to. The fact that he was traveling with the Avatar only made her more eager to discover the authenticity of his narrative.
"Anyways, let's go for a walk, Twinkle Toes," Toph said while facing Aang. The monk looked around with a lost expression on his face.
"Wait, are you talking to me? I'm Twinkle Toes?"
"That's right. You're way too light on your feet to not deserve that nickname. So let's get going, Twinkle Toes. My parents think that I'm asleep, but the guards are still making their rounds, so we can't stay outside all night,"
Aang wasn't sure what had caused Toph to change her attitude, but that was the least important thing at the moment. With a bright smile on his face, he said goodbye to his friends and promised them to be back in a couple of minutes. The Avatar followed The Blind Bandit outside, leaving Shujinko and the Water Tribe siblings alone.
Shujinko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Just like Toph, he had also noticed how Aang's steps were delicate and gentle most of the time. Shujinko had picked up on this because he was a ninja, and ninjas were trained not only to move as silently as a ghost, but also to detect the presence of hidden enemies who erased the sound of their footsteps. Was Toph's sense of hearing really that developed or did she have a secret ability he wasn't aware of?
"Huh, what d'ya know? Looks like your plan worked after all, Shujinko," Sokka commented.
"I sure hope so, Sokka. I sure hope so,"
Aaaand that was chapter 7. Hope you all liked it.
As it turns out, I'm going to split the blind bandit episode into three chapters. I feel more comfortable working that way.
Also, what's your opinion on Shujinko's deduction scene? Please take into consideration that Shujinko has been training with Kakashi for eight months now, and his training wasn't just about learning Ninjutsu or becoming a better fighter. Kakashi taught Shujinko how to think like a shinobi, and thinking like a shinobi means being somewhat of a detective. Shujinko might not have an IQ of over 200 like Shikamaru, but he's still shrewd and analytical, more so than his Genin version of himself.
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Peace!