CHAPTER 9: SHARING IS CARING

(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.

"Attacking your enemy head-on? You're certainly bold for your age, so much that it makes me wonder how you have survived in this cursed world of ours for so long. Oh well, it hardly matters now, doesn't it? It's only natural that those who seek an early grave find it sooner rather than later,"

…

"Unhand me, you insolent brat! You cannot stop me from fulfilling my destiny!"

…

Shujinko jerked his head to the side, shifting his body uncomfortably. He opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly until his eyesight became clear. The same could not be said about his mind, however, as he found himself waking up after experiencing a weird dream, the second one he had had ever since the beginning of his travels with the Avatar and the Water Tribe siblings.

'It happened again. That was the same voice from before,' Shujinko thought as a worried frown appeared on his face. He leaned forward and stared at the blankets covering his body. They were ruffled and disordered just like the thoughts inside his head were right now. 'Why do I keep hearing it? And why now?'

What annoyed Shujinko the most was that the dreams about the mysterious voice were sticking with him. They were short and ambiguous, and the voice only spoke a couple of sentences at the most. Shujinko couldn't even put a name or a face to the owner of the voice, for he could see nothing but complete darkness whenever those dreams happened. If these dreams were the product of his imagination just like every other, why was it that he couldn't get rid of them? Why did they feel like a hollow echo from the past?

'I must be overthinking this,' the Ozuma reassured himself. 'I'm a ninja, and I've participated in plenty of missions. I probably heard that voice before during an assignment and my sub-consciousness picked up on it or something. If I keep thinking about the voice all the time, it's only natural for it to become a common occurrence in my dreams. The voice will fade away eventually as long as I stop thinking about it,'

It was either that or he would have to find a shrine dedicated to a Baku and present a generous offering.

"Today's the day!" The excited voice of Aang stopped Shujinko's train of thought. In was early in the morning, too early to start yelling, and yet Aang was bouncing all over the place like a kid high on sugar. "Guys, can you believe it? I'm finally going to learn Earthbending from a master!" Aang then noticed he wasn't the only one awake as he saw Shujinko standing on Appa, yawning and stretching his back. "Hey Shujinko, you're up as well! We sure picked a good spot to spend the night, don't you think?"

"Mornin', Aang," Shujinko replied lazily before getting off the Sky Bison. Unlike the airbender, Shujinko wasn't feeling all that thrilled. Hearing that voice again had left a weird taste in his mouth and he needed to clear his head. Not wanting to seem rude, Shujinko cleared his throat and met Aang's gaze. "And yeah, this place suits us nicely. Are you ready to start your Earthbending training?"

Aang grinned widely. "You bet I am! I was awake all night waiting for the sun to rise," he replied before noticing the look on Shujinko's face, as if he was bothered by something. "Are you okay? You look a bit strange, Shujinko,"

The corner of Shujinko's mouth twitched involuntarily. He didn't feel comfortable with sharing his worries about the voice in his dream, mostly because he himself didn't know what to make of it. Besides, he didn't want to spoil Aang's happy mood with his concerns, so he merely shrugged his shoulders and pretended everything was okay. "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired. Is Toph still sleeping?"

BAAAAM

The sound of earth trembling gave him his answer. The walls of the small shelter Toph had built for herself last night were suddenly thrown away, with Toph standing in the middle of it. The blind earthbender swayed her neck left and right, making popping sounds. She then looked at their general direction with an easy smile, as if this was her usual way of waking up every day. "Good morning, everyone. Who's ready to learn some Earthbending?"

"Me! Me! I'm ready to learn!" Aang exclaimed, his hand going up. It reminded Shujinko of how Naruto would act whenever he was asked if he wanted to learn a cool jutsu, and the fact that Aang was wearing robes of orange color only strengthened the resemblance between the Avatar and the blonde Jinchuriki.

"Hey, keep it quiet, will you? Some of us are trying to get some sleep here," Sokka said in annoyance after being woken up by all the noise the pair of benders were making. Katara was also awake by now, frantically rubbing her eyes after having her rightful rest interrupted. "I don't care if you two throw rocks at each other or whatever, just don't give me a morning headache, please. I've been having plenty of those since we left the South Pole,"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to disturb you, but I promise we'll try to practice our Earthbending as quietly as possible," Toph said with an overly-innocent tone of voice… right before she buried her heel into the ground. All of a sudden, Sokka found himself screaming in panic after being launched into the sky by an earth column, courtesy of The Blind Bandit. "There, was that quiet enough for you?"

After falling face-first to the ground, the young warrior of the Southern Water Tribe stood up (still in his sleeping bag) and tried to berate Toph, but he was so outraged that he couldn't even articulate words properly. Hopping like a bunny rabbit, Sokka left the group and went to blow some steam somewhere else, still muttering gibberish along the way.

"… So anyways, what are you going to teach me first, Toph?" Aang asked eagerly. "The Rockalanche? The Trembler? How about the-"

Toph immediately extended her open palm in front of Aang's face, stopping his rambling. "Sorry Twinkletoes, but those moves are far too difficult for someone who can't even move a rock yet. First, we have to work on your stance, then maybe we can move on to the fun stuff. Oh, and don't think that I'm going to go easy on you. If you're gonna' learn Earthbending, you're gonna' learn it my way. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes, sifu-Toph," Aang replied obediently, performing a short bow.

This raised Katara's eyebrow. "Hey, you never called me sifu-Katara,"

"Well, if you think that I should…"

"Okay, I think we've wasted enough time already," Toph interrupted. Shujinko, who was silently watching the scene unfold, found it a bit amusing how outspoken and direct Toph was despite being the youngest of the group. He just hoped that attitude of hers wouldn't cause them any trouble down the road. "Follow me, Twinkletoes. This rock quarry we're in is the perfect place to begin your training. I'm sure we'll find a good spot in no time,"

Having said those words, teacher and student went on their way. As she watched the two of them walking away, Katara couldn't help but press the corner of her mouth, feeling a tiny hint of concern. She feared Toph's methods of teaching might not be the best-suited for Aang considering how different their personalities were. Surely Toph wouldn't mind if she tagged along just to make sure everything went smoothly for Aang, right? It wasn't like she was going to interrupt her lessons or anything like that… hopefully.

Katara then turned her head to see Shujinko, who for some reason was carrying his backpack. "Are you going somewhere, Shujinko?"

"I'm gonna' head out and explore the terrain. It might take me a couple of hours, so don't worry if I don't turn up for a while," Shujinko responded, and before Katara had the chance to ask him anything else, the Chunin pumped chakra to his feet and jumped out of her sight. The waterbender got out of her sleeping bag and took a couple of steps forward, raising her gaze in the direction she believed Shujinko had gone to, but all she could see was the sunlight glaring right back at her.

'I hate it when he does that,'

After hours of thorough exploration, Shujinko decided to take a break and watch the sunset, sitting on top of a rock where he could observe an inspiring landscape of faraway mountains and rivers in the distance. He hadn't realized how fast time had gone by ever since he had left the camping spot, probably because of all the thoughts that were going around inside his head.

The dreams he was experiencing, the voice he was hearing, being so far away from his village without knowing how or why… Shujinko didn't enjoy getting distracted, mainly because a shinobi could never afford to lose focus, but at the end of the day, he was still a human being who was lost in the most unexpected and bewildering of circumstances, the likes of which he never would've anticipated.

Shujinko opened his backpack and searched for one of the few belongings he still had with him. It was a small book with a leather cover and a pencil compartment. The book served him as a diary of sorts, a journal where he kept private thoughts, descriptions, photographs and even a few of his own drawings. Shujinko never wrote down sensitive information about the village or himself in case the diary fell on the wrong hands and he always made sure to use a degree of ambiguity whenever he transformed his thoughts into written words. That way, even if an enemy shinobi got a hold of his book for whatever reason, no real harm would come out of it.

The diary was a gift from his sister Nanami, and although he hadn't planned on using it very often at first, Shujinko soon found out that keeping a diary was actually beneficial for him. It was almost like having a real-life confidant with him at all times, one whom Shujinko could express his thoughts to without the fear of being criticized or judged. Sometimes he would write about whatever personal issues he was dealing with and other times he would simply write down an amusing thought that had crossed his mind. As for the pictures that were in there, they were mostly photographs and drawings of animals, objects, sceneries, individuals, and popular places of the Hidden Leaf Village.

'I haven't touched this thing for a while now,' Shujinko thought. He could hardly blame himself given how confusing and surreal his situation was, not to mention most of the time he was too busy figuring out what was going on and what was he supposed to do. He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a pencil out of the compartment. 'I guess this is as good as a time as any,'

April 20-27?

This is officially the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.

One of the shinobi rules is to expect the unexpected as much as the expected, if not more. I've always tried my best to keep that rule in mind, but this time, I believe not even Lady Tsunade (or any of the previous Hokages for that matter) would blame me for not anticipating the kind of mess I'm currently in.

I still don't know when, how, and why this has happened. Maybe I do know but just can't remember for some reason. Either way, it doesn't make much of a difference right now. What I do know is that I am far away. Far away from my room, far away from my house, far away from my village, far away from the Land of Fire, and as unbelievable as it is, far away from the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

I am in a different part of the world… Lost and at a loss…

…

… After making my way out of that forest, I soon came across a place that resembled a civilian town, a rural settlement to be more precise. I wandered around for a bit before encountering three teens about my age. Two of them were siblings and they bore a strong physical resemblance to each other while the third one was a boy, a young monk of sorts by the looks of it. Their names are Sokka, Katara, and Aang, as I later found out that day. I asked them where we were and they said we were in Gi Yuin Village, a place I had never heard before.

I then asked them how to get to the Hidden Leaf Village, and their answer baffled me. None of them were aware of the existence of the Hidden Leaf Village, claiming they had never heard of it before. Not knowing what to make of it, I simply said goodbye and left them, feeling utterly dumbfounded.

Little did I know, things were about to become much more confusing…

…

… Somehow, I ended up joining the group of teenagers I met at Gi Yuin Village. I did so out of necessity, but also because they looked like decent enough people. They filled me in on what was going on around these foreign lands and what their objective was. As it turns out, Aang is the Avatar, a unique individual who has the ability to bend all four elements, a power only he can wield. He's also involved in some weird spiritual reincarnation business that I can't fully grasp as of yet.

Oh, and also there's a guy called Fire Lord Ozai who's after Aang. From what I understand, he's the leader of the Fire Nation, something like a Kage and a Feudal Lord combined. By joining Aang and the Water Tribe siblings, I've made myself a target, but it's too late to do anything about it. Something tells me this is how I would've ended up anyway, even if I had known about this war beforehand.

…

… When we were bathing at the natural hot spring, they saw my scars and it somehow ended up with me opening up to them. If I'm being honest, meeting Aang, Katara, and Sokka was the best thing that has happened to me so far ever since I arrived here, but I didn't want to risk becoming too attached to them. That night, I realized becoming too attached to them was not the same as developing a genuine bond with them. Despite not knowing me all that much, they did their best to understand who I am and accepted me with open arms, promising to help me find my way home. From that moment onward, I've stopped behaving like someone I'm not and I can tell they appreciate it.

Also, Aang revealed to me he had experienced a vision not too long ago. In said vision, he saw a young girl that was a stranger to him at the time, as well as metallic leaves floating around where he was. This revelation stemmed from Katara asking me about my headband, and when I explained to her what was my headband for and what it represented, it all started to make sense for Aang. The metallic leaves from his vision were a representation of me coming into his life, and it's hard to find another meaning to it or to look at it from a different perspective.

I still don't know how I arrived at this place or what my purpose here is. Do I even have a purpose or is my presence here purely circumstantial?

…

… Now that Toph has joined our group, Aang can finally begin his Earthbending training. We're currently camping at an abandoned rock quarry, and just like Aang, I should do some training myself and avoid slacking off, if only just to pass the time and keep my skills sharp. So far, I've yet to meet a bender or a non-bender that has forced me to use lethal force, but it's better to be safe than sorry. As far as I know, there might be other ninjas here in this continent other than me, and I must be ready in case we come across one of them.

I'm not sure when I'll write here again, but I'm hoping it won't have to be soon. That's all for now, I guess.

After writing just about everything that had happened to him up to this point, Shujinko let out an amused snort, a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth. It wasn't like he thought his position was a fun one to be in, but it was just so random and unexpected that it was also comical to a degree… Or maybe he was just trying to find humor where there really wasn't any. It could be either way.

The sun was setting down. Making use of the remaining daylight, Shujinko began to draw a picture of the scenery in front of him on the next page of his diary. He had never been particularly talented at drawing, but after months of practice, his skills with the pencil had somewhat improved. In any case, he wanted to have something to remember this place by, and since he didn't have any camera equipment, his only option was to make a drawing and hope it would come out decent.

Shujinko was about to start adding the details of the scenery to his work of art when… "Whoever's hiding back there, you should know it's rude to spy on people,"

A muffled gasp came from behind a pile of boulders, and Shujinko couldn't help but smirk. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Katara coming out of her hiding spot, a surprised look on her face. "How did you know I was here?"

"I heard your footsteps and your breathing is too loud. Sorry Katara, but you're gonna have to try harder if you want to sneak up on me," Shujinko replied. "Anyways, what's up? Is something the matter?"

"… Actually, that's what I wanted to ask you," Katara replied, to which Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "You were acting a little strange during the morning and you left in a hurry, so I was wondering if everything is okay with you. You didn't even leave one of those clones of yours back at camp like you normally do,"

The Ozuma blinked as he recognized Katara was right. He had been so distracted during the morning that he even forgot to create a shadow clone and order it to stand guard while he was gone, a mistake he hadn't realized up until now. Shujinko wanted to chastise himself for being so careless, but must of all, he was impressed by the way Katara had picked up on his unsettled mood. It looked like Katara was more perceptive than what he had given her credit for.

Nonetheless, he didn't want to bother Katara or make her worried, so Shujinko tried his best to put up a calm and neutral face, feigning normality. "Yeah, I guess I woke up a little distracted this morning. It's nothing to be worried about, though. I appreciate your concern, but there's nothing going on with me and I mean it,"

Katara's eyes narrowed slightly, and Shujinko could tell she wasn't buying it. Without saying a word, the waterbender approached Shujinko and took a seat next to him. When their gazes met, the brown-haired boy felt a strange sensation within himself, as if Katara was peering into his heart. "Shujinko, you don't need to be silent about what's troubling you. We may not know each other that well, but you're part of our group now, which means that your problems are also our problems. You can trust me,"

The corner of Shujinko's mouth twitched, and for a couple of seconds, he felt an invisible grip on his throat. Katara had unmasked him.

"… I guess… I guess I'm confused with myself, Katara," the Chunin said as he looked away from her, choosing to frown at his own boots instead.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like I can't be who I normally am. When I'm with you guys, I feel comfortable and more open towards all of you, as if you were people from my village. But then something happens that makes me remember my village and how I got to this part of the world is still a mystery to me. It becomes the only thing I think about and I can't get it out of my head. If I could only just…"

Shujinko forced himself to stop. He was allowing his emotions to take control over him, something no ninja could ever afford. Taking a deep breath, Shujinko placed his thoughts in order before opening his mouth again.

"I just wish there was something I could do to make my path clear. I know what I must do, but I have no idea how to do it or where to start. This place, this quest we're on, it's not letting me be who I am, and I've never felt this way before,"

That was the problem Shujinko had been struggling with ever since he woke up in that forest. For him, there was no such thing as a duality between being a person and being a shinobi. He didn't stop being a person when he was out on a mission, the same way he didn't stop being a shinobi when he was eating sushi at Masao's restaurant. No matter where he went or what he did, he would always be one individual with one identity: His own.

However, finding himself so far away from everyone and everything he knew was making the Ozuma experience doubts about who he was. He had absolute certainty that returning to the Hidden Leaf Village was both his will and his duty, but he didn't know how to go about it, especially since he had gotten himself involved in a war and had joined the Fire Nation's main target. One side of him felt wonder exploring such an incredible and foreign part of the world, learning about places, abilities, and living beings he had never heard or seen before, all of that in the company of great people.

Meanwhile, another side of him kept reminding him that he was a shinobi, that he had still yet to find a way home and that anything that didn't contribute to that was a waste of time. Perhaps the worst thing of it all was that no one around him could fully understand what he was going through. How could he expect them to when none of them had grown up like him or lived like him?

After a minute of deep silence, Katara finally raised her voice. "… I'm not going to pretend that I fully understand you, Shujinko. Maybe I never will. Still, I can't help but think that perhaps you got it all wrong. It's not this place that's not letting you be who you are. It's… Well, maybe it's just you,"

Shujinko gave her a side-glance. "Me? What do you mean by that?"

"I know the Hidden Leaf Village is your home, and I know how much you want to go there. I can only imagine how it must feel to be in your shoes right now. However, that shouldn't stop you from expressing your feelings and being yourself. Ninja or not, you're a good person. That's not going to change no matter how far away from home you are,"

A good person… Shujinko wasn't so sure Katara would think of him as a good person if she knew some of the things he had done. The life of a shinobi was one of constant danger, and Shujinko had already soiled his hands with the blood of enemies by the age of twelve. Whether it had been out of survival or self-defense, it didn't change the fact that Shujinko had killed people before, and although he didn't regret those deaths, they still weighed on his mind. It wasn't something he expected Katara to understand. If anything, the less she knew about it, the better off she was.

In spite of all that, Shujinko had to admit Katara was right about something. No matter where he was, there was no reason for Shujinko to not be true to himself. He was his own person with his own set of morals and values, and being honest and truthful to his comrades was certainly one of those values. Would he stop being a shinobi if he stopped hiding his feelings? Would it be wrong to drop the façade?

"… You know, I've never really been one to talk about my emotions all that much, not even before all of this happened," Shujinko confessed.

"Why not?" Katara asked. "There's nothing wrong with talking about the way you feel,"

"It's hard to explain, but ninjas like me are meant to have complete control over our emotions. We must never allow what we feel to get in the way of what must be done. If we did, we most likely wouldn't be able to perform our duties properly, and we'd risk failing our missions. I'm not saying we don't have any emotions, of course we do, but emotions often cloud our judgment, and a clouded judgment can lead to disaster. It's one of the first lessons a village teaches its ninjas, and we have to keep it in mind every time we face danger or adversity,"

The waterbender stared at Shujinko with a look of concern on her face. The more she knew about the kind of life Shujinko had, the more she pitied him, and the more she resented the Hidden Leaf Village. Preparing kids to become soldiers and forcing them to partake in dangerous missions was already bad enough, but indoctrinating them into detaching themselves from their emotions just so that they could perform their duty was simply awful and next to inhuman. It made Katara wonder how someone like Shujinko, who had been nothing but decent and helpful to them, could come from such a cruel place.

"I suppose this whole thing doesn't make much sense to you. I don't expect you to understand it, but at least now you know why I act this way sometimes,"

"Shujinko, can I ask you something?" Katara said, unable to resist herself. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but… but the Hidden Leaf Village sounds like a terrible place. They trained you since you were a kid to become a soldier, they took away your opportunity to have a peaceful life, and judging by your scars, you've been wounded more than once. But despite all that, you still want to go back to your village. I don't understand. Wouldn't you want to leave that place behind and live somewhere else? Why would you risk your life like that to protect a village that treats you like a tool?"

It wasn't until she spoke those words that Katara began to feel uneasy. For better or worse, she knew that the Hidden Leaf Village was very important to Shujinko, and she was afraid her question might've offended him. However, and to her surprise, she noticed the corner of Shujinko's mouth slowly lifting until a soft smile appeared on his face. "You know, there was a time when I asked myself that very same thing,"

"You did?" Katara asked.

"That's right. It was like a year ago or so. I was in the middle of something called the 'Chunin Exams', an event in which ninjas from all villages participate in order to obtain the Chunin rank, or in other words, to become middle-class shinobi. I remember being confused with myself, confused with almost everything I knew. What was the point of putting up with so much danger and sacrifices? Why did I have to endure all of that? What was so important about my village that I had to protect it with my life?"

The girl from the Southern Water Tribe was intrigued, to say the least. She was shocked to hear this coming from Shujinko. All of this time, she had been under the impression that Shujinko's commitment towards his village was due to near-blind loyalty, due to the fact that he simply didn't know any better. While she certainly didn't see him as a mindless simpleton, Katara hadn't really expected her golden-eyed companion to have thoughts of his own on this matter.

"In the end, I asked the Third Hokage, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village at the time. He was old and wise, and he explained things in a way that eventually made sense for me. Basically, he taught me that the Hidden Leaf Village was more than just a bunch of houses and buildings surrounded by a wall. It's the people that live there that are the ones we have to protect. Spending your days in danger and anonymity just so that the civilian family next to you feels safe is a life worth living. That's the reason the Hidden Leaf Village was founded, so that normal people could live somewhere in peace, and us ninjas will provide that peace no matter what it takes,"

After saying those words, a gentle breeze went by, caressing Shujinko's hair as his side bangs weaved timidly. He wasn't sure why, but being able to explain his feelings towards his village to Katara made him feel at ease, almost happy. Deep down, he wanted Katara to know why the Hidden Leaf Village was so important to him. Shujinko didn't expect her to see things the way he did, but at least now she knew what his home meant to him, and thus, she now knew a part of who Shujinko truly was, both as a shinobi and as a person.

"If nothing else, all of my friends and my family live in the Hidden Leaf Village. I'd say that's a good enough of a reason for me to return,"

"You have a family?" Katara asked as her eyes widened in surprise. Up to this point, the thought of Shujinko having a family had never occurred to her, mostly because she'd been too distracted by the Chunin's peculiar background and his absurd abilities.

In response, Shujinko opened his diary and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. It was a photograph of him standing outside of the Academy along with the rest of the Ozuma clan, which consisted of his father, his mother, and his younger sister. Shujinko had used adhesive tape to attach the corners of the photograph to the page. He handed the diary to Katara so she could take a proper look. "This picture was taken the day I graduated from the Academy and became a ninja. As you can see, my family isn't exactly numerous, but we're a tight unit,"

The first thing Katara noticed when she took the diary in her hands was just how unbelievably realistic and detailed the picture was. She'd been expecting to see something among the lines of an elaborated drawing or perhaps a printed illustration made of ink, but what she got was a solid, fully colorized image of Shujinko and his three other family members. It was unlike anything Katara had ever seen before. She doubted the Fire Nation, even with all of its technological advances, was capable of producing a picture of this quality.

Once she got over her initial shock, Katara focused on the people shown in the photograph. A slightly younger version of Shujinko was smiling at the camera with two adults standing beside him, each of them placing a hand on their son's shoulders. The woman had a warm and tender smile, and she seemed to be elated by the occasion. Her husband had adopted a more sober expression for the picture, but Katara could still see the pride in his eyes. Next to Shujinko was a small girl grinning from ear to ear, giving off a tomboyish vibe that made the waterbender smile.

When she gave Shujinko his diary back, Katara was met with a pair of sunken eyes. "Not a day goes by without me missing them. I just want them to know that I'm alive, that I'm doing the best I can to find my way back home,"

Almost instinctively, Katara grabbed Shujinko's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "You will find your home. We'll see to that. In the meantime, just try and make the best of things while you're still here with us. You can always count on me if you ever need to talk,"

Shujinko was slightly taken aback by the gesture, but he soon returned the squeeze and smiled at the waterbender. "Thank you, Katara. Even with all the craziness that's been going on, I'm happy that I got to know you… To know all of you, I mean," Katara smiled back and, for a brief moment, she allowed herself to gaze at Shujinko's golden, penetrating eyes. Yellow eyes were a genetic trait that was pretty much unique to the people of the Fire Nation, and after dealing with the Fire Nation and its soldiers for so long, Katara's sub-consciousness ended up associating yellow eyes with danger and violence.

However, it felt different this time. Katara wasn't threatened in the slightest by Shujinko's eyes. If anything, they made her feel secure and protected, but most of all, they made her see the core of Shujinko's being: No matter how much violence Shujinko had seen or experienced, those eyes belonged to a good person, one who knew of kindness and loyalty. She no longer saw him as just a warrior or a traveling companion. No, Shujinko was more than that. He was a friend… He was her friend.

"… Huummh, maybe we should get going, Katara. It's getting kinda' dark out here, don't you think?" It was only after he spoke that Katara noticed the somewhat awkward expression on Shujinko's face. His cheeks had acquired a tiny shade of red, and when the waterbender looked down, she finally realized she'd been squeezing Shujinko's hand for longer than what would be deemed appropriate, to the point where the Chunin was starting to look uncomfortable.

Katara immediately jumped off the rock and let go of his hand, as if she was touching a red-hot iron bar. "R-Right! I was just about to suggest that!" she blurted out, turning around so that Shujinko wouldn't see the growing blush on her face. "Come on, let's head back to the camp. We don't want the others to get worried," Without waiting for Shujinko to stand up, Katara began to walk away at a hurried pace,

The Ozuma closed his diary and put it inside his backpack before jumping off the rock he was sitting on. He was thrown off by Katara's odd behavior during the last bit of their conversation, especially with the way she looked at him at the end. She hadn't annoyed him or anything like that, it just made him feel confused. 'I guess Katara is more affectionate towards people than I thought,' he supposed.

In any case, Shujinko was glad he had spent time with her. He was left feeling better after opening up to Katara and listening to her advice. It was hard to describe, but Katara had this maternal instinct that could seemingly see through his shinobi mask. She was perceptive, caring, and wise in her own way. At the same time, she was obstinate and didn't look like the kind of person that would take a 'no' for an answer. In other words, she reminded Shujinko of his mother Masumi, which could be part of the reason why he felt at ease talking to her about his internal conflict and the incertitude he was experiencing.

Shujinko would always refuse to see himself as a misunderstood victim, but at the same time, he believed there were some aspects of his live that only another fellow ninja could comprehend and relate to. However, after this interaction with the waterbender, the golden-eyed teen was beginning to question this belief of his. Was it really necessary to understand people if you wanted to help them? Was he a fool for believing himself to be so much more different from Katara or any of the Hidden Leaf villagers for that matte just because he was a ninja and they were not?

The Ozuma was aware he couldn't forget about his problems or make them disappear, but perhaps now he could cope with them in a healthy way instead of keeping everything bottled up inside of him… He just had to stay true to himself.

|Several days later|

"Yeah, whatever, go splash some water if that makes you feel better!" Toph shouted at Aang before turning on her heels and walking away. 'Argh, what a stupid waste of time,'

The Blind Bandit was genuinely frustrated. She spent so many hours working with Aang, teaching him the correct stances and forms, toughening him up, just for Aang to chicken out when he was put to the test. The fact that he didn't have the guts to stop the incoming rock was already disappointing, but when she berated Aang for his lack of spine, he simply sat there and took it like a submissive wimp.

That was what irritated Toph the most. How could the Avatar, the most powerful bender in the world, be so soft and meek? He could've asked to try again. Heck, he could've at least berate her back or something, but instead, he responded by sucking on his thumb like a big baby. It didn't help that Katara kept coddling Aang, telling him things like 'Don't worry, you gave it your best effort' or 'You should take a break and try again once you're feeling better'. The waterbender had good intentions, sure, but she didn't realize her way of showing Aang her support was doing more harm than good in this particular situation.

Avatar or not, her student would never learn Earthbending unless he had a change of attitude and showed some backbone.

"Hey there, Toph,"

The earthbender stopped walking and turned her head to where Shujinko was, having felt his presence earlier thanks to her seismic sense. "What do you want, Shujinko?"

"Me? Nothing. I just happened to be nearby when I heard you yelling at Aang, something about him being too spineless to stop a rock from crashing into him. Looks like teaching him Earthbending is gonna' be more challenging than what we all anticipated, huh?"

"Tch, you can say that again," Toph replied, frowning in annoyance. "He wants to learn Earthbending but he doesn't have the right mentality for it, and without that, he might as well quit now and start using a slingshot. It's the closest thing to Earthbending he'll ever get to use,"

Shujinko snorted. The idea of the almighty Avatar using something as mundane and childish as a slingshot to take down hordes of enemies was an amusing one. For someone like him, who had been trained from a young age to handle and wield deadly weapons such as kunais, shurikens, and explosive tags, a slingshot was barely more dangerous than a spitball.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. Aang is a good guy, and he's no slacker from what I've seen. He'll just have to adjust himself to your teaching methods," he said, to which Toph raised an eyebrow.

"You're not gonna' suggest me to treat him more delicately like Sugar Queen does?"

"Sugar Queen? Is that Katara you're referring to?" Shujinko asked, only to feel stupid seconds after. What other girl could Toph be referring to if not Katara? "Well, no. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to suggest someone else how to do a job I can't do myself. You're the Earthbending master here, not me. Besides, Aang has to learn something more important than Earthbending, more important than any other kind of bending for that matter,"

"And what exactly is more important than bending?"

"The ability to deal with struggle and adapt to the circumstances," the Chunin responded. "Aang wants to learn Earthbending from you, but as you just stated, he doesn't have the right mentality for it. We can say he's out of his comfort zone when it comes to Earthbending. The way I see it, life is full of situations that pull us out of our comfort zone, and if we're not willing to adapt to those situations, then we'll never be able to handle them in the future,"

Toph stared at him for a moment, then smirked teasingly. "Huh, well wasn't that deep and wise. I didn't realize we had a sage in our group,"

"A sage?" Shujinko repeated. "I mean, technically speaking, you could say I'm a sage, but that's a conversation for another moment. Anyways, what are you going to do with Aang? You're not going to hang him out to dry, are you?"

The earthbender crossed her arms and raised her chin, making a thoughtful expression. "I am willing to give him another chance, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I need to push his buttons and get him to confront me. Do you have any ideas?"

Shujinko looked at the ground and contemplated what could be done about Aang. The airbender was a kind, good-natured kid with a golden heart. He rarely got angry or lost his temper, and when it happened, it was because the group was in some sort of trouble, but even then he would regain his optimistic and positive attitude shortly afterward. Toph was basically asking how to get Aang to behave in a way he normally wouldn't, and it was hard to come up with a scenario where that would happen.

For some reason, Kakashi's bell test came to his mind. The true purpose behind the test had been for the Genins of Team 7 to work together in order to achieve a seemingly impossible goal, which was to take the bells from the Jounin. In a way, Kakashi had manipulated them into displaying teamwork, and that manipulation was what had gotten Shujinko, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to pass the test without even realizing its true meaning until Kakashi had explained it to them.

"If you ask me, maybe you should try to make Aang realize he does have what it takes to learn Earthbending without making it obvious. You're not going to get a confrontational reaction out of him unless he's in a position where he has no other choice but to be confrontational. But if he's aware of what you're trying to do, he'll probably dismiss or ignore you,"

"In other words, I have to trick Twinkletoes into confronting me? Is that what you're suggesting?"

"… I suppose so?"

Toph grinned. "That's good enough for me. Thanks Shujinko, you've been really insightful," And just like that, The Blind Bandit began to walk away, rubbing her palms together with mischievous intent. After all, not only was she an amazing earthbender. She was also a sly brat capable of exasperating anyone around her if she put her mind into it, and that certainly included the Avatar.

As for Shujinko, there was only one thing he was thinking of as he saw Toph leaving. 'I sure hope this ends well,'

"This is bad. This is really, really bad," Aang said as he stared in fear at the saber-tooth Moose Lion in front of them. The giant creature was growling, raking her hoof across the dry earth. You could see the fury in her eyes as she got ready to stomp and make mincemeat of those two for daring to put their hands on her cub. "Sokka, why did you have to go after Foo Foo Cuddlypoops?"

"Hey! I needed food and Foo Foo Cuddlypoops was standing right there! How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Sokka defended himself. The boy from the Southern Water Tribe had been trapped in a ground fissure after attempting to hunt the saber-tooth Moose Lion's cub for dinner, with only his head and his fingers sticking out. "Look Aang, you have to help me get out of here. Airbending isn't gonna' work! You need to use Earthbending!"

"I can't use Earthbending, I don't know how to do it!" Aang replied. The saber-tooth Moose Lion had already charged at them twice, and his Airbending had only allowed the monk to evade the beast without harming her. However, the saber-tooth Moose Lion was fixated on mauling them both, and it didn't seem like the pacifistic nature of Airbending was helping them right now.

"But you have to try! It's our only chance!" Sokka shouted back before glancing at the irate mother of Foo Foo Cuddlypoops. "Oh no, she's coming at us again!"

The saber-tooth Moose Lion let out a bellow and charged. As he saw the beast approaching, Aang frowned. If he couldn't convince the Moose Lion they weren't a threat to her and her cub, then he was left with no other choice but to make her leave, even if it meant using force. With or without Earthbending, there was absolutely no way Aang would ever allow his friends to get hurt. He had to act now.

Aang took a step forward and waited for the Moose Lion to get closer to where he was. He filled his lungs with oxygen, flexing the muscles of his arms as he went into an Airbending stance. Then, just when the rampaging creature was about to run over them, the Avatar jumped and pushed his arms forward, releasing a powerful gale of wind. The Moose Lion was sent sprawling across the ground, raising dust everywhere. Without missing a beat, the bald monk went back into his previous Airbending stance, ready to strike the Moose Lion a second time.

Thankfully, there was no need for that. As soon as the Moose Lion got back on her feet, she grabbed her cub by the scruff of the neck and took off, having recognized Aang as a far too dangerous threat. The young airbender let out a sigh of relief, but then, the sound of hands clapping reached his ears. When he turned around, he saw Toph casually sitting on a rock, a smug smile on her face. Shujinko was there as well, but unlike the earthbender next to him, he just looked awkward and doubtful.

"What are you two doing here?" Sokka asked.

"Who, us? We were just enjoying the show," Toph replied casually.

"Enjoying the show?" Aang repeated as his incredulousness quickly transformed into anger. "What's the matter with you? Sokka and I were in danger and you didn't lift a finger to help us!"

Toph merely shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it just didn't occur to either of us. Besides, we were too busy eating our snacks to care about anything else," And just to add the cherry on top, the blind earthbender dropped a handful of dry fruits to the ground and grabbed Aang's staff, ready to use it as a hammer. "Here Shujinko, let's have some more,"

But Aang had had enough. Before Toph could stomp the dry fruits with the staff, he walked over to where she was and snatched it away from her hands. "You know what? I'm fed up with you and your attitude! I don't care if you don't teach me Earthbending, I'm not letting you walk over me any longer!"

There was a moment of silence during which Aang glared harshly at Toph and Shujinko. He was especially angry at Shujinko, who hadn't said or done anything. Aang had little doubt Shujinko could have and would have helped him take care of the Moose Lion, so why was he acting as if nothing was going on? Why wasn't he at least reprimanding Toph?

To his surprise, Toph seemed pleased with him. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips before giving Shujinko a knowing look. "See? I told you this would work," she said before facing Aang. "Congratulations, Twinkletoes. You passed the test,"

"I… Huh?" Aang blinked, clearly confused by Toph's words. "Wait, this whole thing was just a test?"

Shujinko shrugged. "Pretty much. We're sorry for putting you through this, but according to Toph, it had to be done. I promised her I wouldn't intervene,"

"… I don't understand what's going on," the Avatar admitted, looking absolutely befuddled by the unexpected turn of events.

The Blind Bandit jumped off the rock she was sitting and stood in front of Aang. "I'll tell you what's going on. You just showed you have the guts to stand up for yourself. You stood your ground against that dangerous Moose Lion on your own and without flinching. What's even more impressive, you stood your ground against me. Do you get it now? If you're able to do that, then you definitely have what it takes to learn Earthbending,"

It was only then that Aang began to process everything he was being presented with. Toph had wanted to prove a point, or rather, she had wanted him to prove a point to himself. And the point was… that he could stand up for himself? Aang wasn't really sure if things had to go so far in order for him to realize that, but at least now he knew there had been a purpose to all of this. "I… I think I get it now,"

"In that case, do it. I wanna' see your Earthbending now that you know what to do," Toph ordered him.

"Huh? Right now? But I just-"

"I said do it!"

Aang gulped. He turned to Shujinko, who simply nodded at him encouragingly. Within a few seconds, he spotted a rock not too far away from where he was standing, and he slowly made his way towards it.

Once the rock was almost at arm's length, Aang felt a queasy sensation in his stomach and started having second thoughts. He remembered how he failed to stop the rock from earlier, how he chickened out at the last minute. This could very well be his last chance to prove himself to Toph, and just the thought of that was enough to make his hands shake. What if he failed again? What if he embarrassed himself? What if…

'… No, it's not going to be like that,' Aang told himself. He was done wallowing in self-doubt. If he could confront a raging Moose Lion and Toph, then surely he could confront a stupid rock.

He took a deep breath, aimed at the rock and punched the empty air…

…and the rock moved. Not only did it move, but it dragged itself backwards for several feet until crashing against a boulder. The rock shattered into pieces as small stones and pebbles were scattered all over the place.

Toph was the first to smile. "You did it, Twinkletoes. You're officially an earthbender,"

"I did it… I did it!" Aang exclaimed as a huge grin took over his face, unable to contain his excitement. "Sokka, Shujinko, you guys saw that? I moved that rock using Earthbending! It wasn't even that hard to do!"

"Hooray, hooray, you went from being a water-splasher to a rock-tosser. I'm proud of ya', buddy," Sokka replied with a tired smile. "And since we're on the subject, would you mind using your new powers to help me get out of here? I can't feel my legs anymore, and my butt's been itching for like an hour,"

Aang was more than happy to make use of his new Earthbending, but Toph stepped in and told him she would take care of it, as the Avatar didn't have enough experience controlling the earth and could end up crushing his friend to death. With a single stomp of her foot, Toph opened the ground fissure and Sokka was spat out of it. Katara soon joined the group and helped her brother to walk, grabbing his arm and placing it around her shoulders, all the while Sokka kept whispering 'Freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom'.

'It looks like everything did end well, after all,' Shujinko thought as he too helped Sokka. 'I wonder how long our luck is going to last this time,'

"And so it had to come to this,"

As he stood on top of a tall hill, the cloaked man stared at the cloudless sky. A full moon illuminated the rivers of the valley, and the wind was blowing a cold, gentle midnight breeze. He should be feeling weary after traveling nonstop for days, but on the contrary, he was feeling restless. After years of searching, planning, and waiting, the time for action was almost there. He could feel it.

The cloaked man stuck his hand inside his garments and drew out a huge golden jewel. The Eye of Kazemaru shone brightly, telling the hooded individual where to go in order to find its counterpart. He would soon have the chance to introduce himself to the boy, the antagonist of his destiny.

"…The encounter of two forces… The clash of two fates… The savior… The condemner… Everything is falling into place, just as the prophecy foretold,"

Aaaaaand that was chapter 9. Hope you all liked it.

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot to talk about in this chapter. I wanted to start with the episode 'Bitter Work' before getting to 'The Chase', and I have my reasons for it. All I can say is you guys better be ready for the next chapter, because boy will there be action.

Peace!