CHAPTER 14: HE WHO KNOWS TEN THOUSAND THINGS (PART 1)
(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
|Misty Palms Oasis|
After spending a few more nights at the inn, it was decided that Team Avatar had earned itself a little break from the constant fighting, training, and the overall pandemonium that the youngsters had recently been subjected to. It was also agreed that Shujinko needed to distract himself from the confusion that the existence of the hooded man was causing him, although this was never told directly to his face and was more of a tacit understanding between the other members of Team Avatar. This led to Team Avatar taking a few days off to enjoy a little vacation.
When the subject of 'Where should we go?' was brought up, Aang immediately suggested going to the Misty Palms Oasis, a place he had once visited and that Aang described it as a true wonder of nature. The Misty Palms Oasis was a large and refreshing spring located on the southwestern edge of the Si Wong Desert, not too far away from where they were. A town had been built around the spring, so if they wanted to, they could spend a few more days there in an inn before leaving. All in all, it seemed like the perfect place to visit and even Shujinko admitted it sounded interesting.
While on their way there, the only thing Aang talked about was how magnificent of a place the Misty Palms Oasis was. According to the myths, the Spirits themselves had specifically created that spring so that travelers and wanderers could have a place to rest from the unforgiving climate of the desert. Shujinko was rather skeptical of this, having never believed in myths himself, but it was an amusing tale nonetheless, and it helped him raise his expectations.
Upon their arrival, they did what any newcomer would do and went straight to see the main attraction. Ready to feast their eyes with beauty, Team Avatar reached the center of the town, and then…
"… Huh. It sure looks different from what I remembered," Aang said with an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head. "I guess this place must've had a change in management during the time I was gone,"
As it turned out, the passing of the years had done a number on the fabled spring, which had been reduced to an undignified chunk of ice on the ground that animals licked to quench their thirst. Needless to say, it was less than an impressive sight. They even heard some locals snickering at them, for they could tell that the members of Team Avatar were the usual tourists who had been misled by the oasis' old fame. The rest of the town wasn't much better, as most of the buildings were kutcha houses and small huts that made the slums of the Hidden Leaf Village look fancy in comparison.
"Well, since we're already here, we might as well make the most of it," Sokka said, wiping off the sweat on his forehead. "There's gotta be a cantina somewhere in this place. How about we go for a drink?"
Seeing as they had nothing else to do, Team Avatar began to wander around town looking for a tavern or an inn where they could get refreshments. Shujinko, who had never been in the desert before, took the time to observe his surroundings. He was oddly fascinated by how different this place was from the Land of Fire, where people lived surrounded by forests, meadows, and rivers. It made him wonder if the Hidden Sand Village was anything like this town.
"Hey Shujinko, can I ask you something?" Katara asked, to which the Chunin nodded. "Where's your headband? I mean, you used to wear it all the time, but now you don't,"
"My headband is in my backpack, and it's gonna stay there from here on out. I can't wear it anymore,"
Katara was visibly surprised to hear this, and so were the rest of Team Avatar. "Why is that? You used to wear that headband all the time, and you even have your old outfit on," Aang pointed out.
"My Earth Kingdom clothes got destroyed, remember? As for my headband, Azula was able to tell who I was just by looking at it, even though we'd never met before. If she knew about the headband beforehand, it's entirely possible that other people know about it as well, which means that if I wear my headband now, I'd be like asking to get recognized by our enemies," he explained. "It's a shame, but nothing can be done about it, and I'd rather stay on the safe side,"
Despite the calmness in his voice, not being able to wear his headband bothered Shujinko more than he was willing to admit. The headband was precious to him and he had learned to don it proudly, but most importantly, it made him feel close to his village no matter how far away he was. With everything that was going on, being deprived of that minuscule comfort was like getting spat on the face.
Eventually, they found a small cantina near the end of the town where a couple of locals were hanging around outside, wearing desert clothes and turbans. As soon as they laid eyes on them, the three locals began to whisper to one another, which immediately caught Shujinko's attention. Before they could reach the entrance, one of them raised his raspy voice. "Hey, you there, what do you think you're doing here?"
The tone in which the man spoke was none too friendly, but Aang, being the peaceful monk that he was, responded with his usual courtesy. "Hello sir, we're just here to grab something to drink. Is there a problem?"
"Damn right there is. You're outsiders, and we don't like the look on your faces. You'd best turn around right now if you know what's good for you,"
"We can assure you we're not looking for trouble, and we don't plan on staying here for much longer," Shujinko said as he walked past Sokka and stood in front of the thug. The man was a head and a half taller than him and was missing a few teeth, but he was also rather skinny. Overall, he hardly posed a danger, but the dagger strapped to his hip didn't go unnoticed by the Chunin. "If you could please step aside and let us in, we'd be grateful,"
"Grateful? You oughta be grateful I ain't skinning you alive right now, boy," the man replied, to which his two other buddies at the back chuckled. "Don't push your luck any longer. Now piss off, the lot of you,"
"I said step aside… please," the Ozuma responded, using a tone of voice that made it clear his patience was running thin. It irked him being treated this way by some witless punk who had no idea who he was trifling with. Back home, even the most harebrained of villagers wouldn't dare threaten a ninja, either out of fear or respect. Here, he had to deal with imbeciles acting openly hostile towards him for no reason other than they could get away with it, or at least so they thought.
Unfortunately, the thug didn't take Shujinko's lack of fear too well and reached for his dagger. "Why you arrogant sh-"
SWOOSH
Before the thug could fully unsheathe his weapon, Shujinko was already holding a kunai inches away from his neck. The man flinched and nearly fell on his back before he stopped moving, becoming nearly as motionless as a statue. His eyes were the only thing that moved, as they were wide open and wouldn't stop blinking. The Chunin's reaction was so fast that neither side had time to gasp or yell a warning.
"Do you really want to find out what will happen to you if you pull out your knife?" Shujinko asked, moving the kunai until its edge nearly made contact with his throat. He didn't sound threatening or angry, but casually serious instead, which only made him look more intimidating. "Let go off the handle and leave us alone,"
Slowly, very slowly, the man loosened his grip on the handle, letting the dagger slip back into its holster. Then, he took a few steps back where his buddies were, his gaze fixated on Shujinko the entire time. "Chunah, Sungung, let's go," he said. His face was twisting with rage as he dedicated one last glare at the brown-haired boy. "You better grow eyes on the back of your head, you little bastard. This ain't over,"
"Whatever you say, tough guy," Shujinko replied. He waited until the three ruffians were out of their sight, and once they did, Shujinko turned around and twirled his kunai before putting back in the holster. "Alright, let's get inside. Those three won't bother us again,"
The gang didn't know what to say, so they just kept quiet and followed Shujinko into the cantina.
Once inside, Shujinko noticed the place wasn't as small as it looked from the outside. There was enough space for about thirty people and there were enough chairs and tables for everyone. What really caught his attention, however, were the drinks that were being prepared. The bartender was using two swords to chop and slice a wide variety of fruits, which he then served on bowls made out of ice to keep them fresh before adding water from a bottle, all of that in fast succession and without the use of his hands. Shujinko found it to be a little extravagant, yet quite entertaining.
"I wouldn't mind giving those fruity beverages a try," Sokka said, smiling from ear to ear at the sight of the delicious drinks the cantina had to offer. "Sis, how about you find us a table where we can all sit? Aang and I will order something for all of us,"
Katara did as told and went to find an empty space, accompanied by Shujinko and Toph. Since the tables weren't big enough, they joined two of them together and grabbed a couple of chairs that weren't being used. Meanwhile, Aang and Sokka were at the counter table after paying for five mango drinks, admiring the bartender's unique preparation process. Shujinko was watching the bartender as well, which was why he hadn't noticed the look he was getting from Katara.
"Was that really necessary?" the waterbender asked Shujinko, who was too busy observing the finesse with which the bartender handled his swords. Toph was sitting next to him, getting herself a little too comfortable by placing her feet on the table without a care in the world.
"You can say that again. I don't know why that jerk from earlier was so keen on giving us a hard time. It's not like he owns this place or anything,"
"That's not what I meant, Shujinko," Katara said. The Ozuma turned his head to the left and finally met her gaze, and he was surprised to see the disapproving expression on her face, as if she had something to chastise him about. "You pulled a knife on that man and held it to his neck. You could've seriously hurt him,"
Shujinko blinked three consecutive times, a quirk that always manifested itself whenever he was confused by something. "Well, yeah. That's why I did it. Otherwise, my threat wouldn't have worked and he would've kept bothering us. I don't see what the issue is,"
"The issue is that you shouldn't go around threatening people like that. It's just not right," Katara replied in a reprehensive tone of voice, her brow somewhat furrowed. "We all know what you are, Shujinko, and we all know what you can do to someone. The guy was being rude, no doubt about that, but that doesn't mean you can use a weapon to intimidate him. We could've talked things out with him, or we could've left without making a fuss. You didn't have to do what you did,"
"Okay, first of all, I don't go around threatening people and you know it. I only threaten those who need to be threatened. Second of all, we did try to talk things out with him and it went nowhere. And third of all, that guy tried to draw his knife first. You saw that too, didn't you? I reacted on instinct and forced him to leave without actually harming him. If anything, I'd say I managed to get the best possible outcome, and I won't apologize for wanting to defend myself as well as the rest of you,"
Toph, who had been quietly listening to their conversation up to this point, raised her voice. "You know, I think I'm gonna have to side with Shujinko on this one. The guy was being a real butthole and Shujinko got him to back off without leaving a scratch on him. If it were up to me, I would've taught him a lesson right there and then,"
"See? Even Toph agrees with me, and she almost never agrees with anybody… No offense, Toph," the Ozuma added at the end, to which the earthbender shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
Katara wrinkled her nose. Despite considering herself as open-minded, she generally didn't like it when people argued with her about something, especially when more people joined the other side of the argument. There was no way Shujinko was going to convince her he did the right thing, even though he did the efficient thing from a purely practical perspective. After all, they did enter the cantina without hurting anyone in the process, but the fact that Shujinko was capable of holding a knife to a man's neck without a second's worth of hesitation quite simply didn't sit well with her.
Being so practical was one of the things Katara liked about Shujinko, but such quality also came with objectionable results. On one hand, Shujinko was good at assessing situations accurately, and more often than not, he recognized problems that hadn't occurred to anyone else and came up with solutions to fix them. This trait of his certainly came in handy whenever the group found itself in trouble, and Team Avatar happened to be a magnet of troubles. On the other hand, some of the measures Shujinko took were exaggerated and sometimes even violent. It surprised her how cold and calculating he could be, and most of all, how it didn't appear to bother him at all. Katara supposed that was the product of being a ninja, but it still unnerved her nonetheless.
"Just try not to do that again, okay?" the waterbender said. She didn't want to continue an argument she felt was going nowhere, but Katara hoped Shujinko would at least take her words into consideration in the future. "You got away with it today, but we might not be so lucky next time,"
The Chunin gave her a curt nod and left it at that. He could've said something like 'I'll do it again if I have to', which he knew perfectly well he would, but that probably would've annoyed Katara when they were supposed to be having a good time. It wasn't worth it, and besides, he had already explained himself to her.
Luckily, the arrival of Sokka and Aang with several ice bowls made them drop the subject for good. "Alright, who wants some mango juice?" Sokka asked, giving one of the bowls to Shujinko while Aang offered one to Katara and Toph. The bartender had been kind enough to serve Momo a small cup of leftover juice, which the winged lemur was clearly enjoying. Shujinko grabbed a bamboo straw and slurped some of his drink, which he had to admit was excellent. The sweet and refreshing beverage tickled his throat every time he swallowed, and he had to force himself to slow down or he would finish his drink in a matter of seconds.
Team Avatar then engaged in idle chitchat, discussing banalities and cracking jokes every once in a while. It took Shujinko a moment to realize that, for the first time since he had joined them, they weren't making any plans or discussing topics regarding the war, bending, Ninjutsu, the hooded man, or anything of the sort. They were just shooting the breeze like a normal group of friends, and even though he remained quiet for the most part, something inside Shujinko made him feel relaxed and at ease, allowing himself to forget about his problems for a short while.
Sokka, who hadn't bothered to restrain himself from drinking too fast, was the first to finish his mango juice, which he did with a sigh of pleasure. "So tell us something, Shujinko," Sokka said as he left his bowl on the table. "You once said ninjas make their living doing all kinds of missions, right? What's the weirdest thing you've ever had to do on a mission?"
"The weirdest thing I've ever had to do on a mission?" Shujinko repeated, thinking to himself.
It was hard to answer that question when none of his missions in the past could be described as 'weird'. Dangerous? Yes. Weird? Not really, at least not from a shinobi's point of view… But then, he remembered that one mission with Naruto and Shino, and he couldn't stop his lips from forming a smirk.
"Okay, this is a good one. This one time, two friends and I were hired to attend a funeral that was going to be held outside of the village. There was only one condition that we had to comply with, and that was… We were strictly forbidden from laughing at the funeral,"
…
|A couple of minutes later|
"So in the end, the whole thing had been arranged by none other than Tobei Kagetsu, the man who was supposed to be dead. He wanted to remind his family what it was to laugh once again and to teach them a lesson about not being greedy. I swear I have no idea how I managed to keep it together during the funeral, and I spent the next two days laughing at the silliest of things,"
"And everyone who was at the funeral was trying to make you laugh? Are you being serious?" Aang asked, completely enthralled by Shujinko's story, just like the rest of Team Avatar.
"Oh yeah, every single one of them, and they didn't bother to hide their intentions," Shujinko replied with a chuckle. "There was this fat guy who took off his shirt and started dancing around with a smiley face painted on his gut. I nearly lost it when that happened,"
Everyone in the group laughed out loud, which attracted the attention of the few customers that were around. The idea that Shujinko, the tough and strong ninja of the group, had been forced to participate in something so ridiculous was nothing short of amusing to them. Shujinko wished he had more funny anecdotes to tell them, but unfortunately, funny anecdotes were a rarity for those who followed the shinobi path. "Oh man, I wish I'd been there to see that," Sokka said. "Though I probably would've laughed at the very beginning of the funeral,"
Aang nodded in agreement. "Me too. Hey, I think I'm gonna have another mango juice. Anybody wants some more?"
Toph and Sokka said they could use another drink, and so Aang left. However, as he was making his way to the counter, one distracted customer who was returning from there accidentally bumped into Aang, spilling most of his drink on the airbender's robe. "Oh, I'm so terribly sorry. I didn't see you there," the man apologized, but Aang gave him an easy-going smile.
"No worries, I clean up easy," he replied. In order to show him what he meant, Aang released a gust of wind on himself to remove the stain, which immediately alerted Shujinko. "See? Not a problem,"
"Good heavens," the man whispered in awe. "You are a living relic!"
"Thank you… I guess?"
Shujinko, who had been enjoying himself up to this point, had to stop himself from berating Aang in public. Had he forgotten they were supposed to keep a low profile, and especially him? They weren't in enemy territory, true, but soldiers of the Fire Nation could be anywhere in the Earth Kingdom searching for them. What was Aang thinking, showing off his Airbending like that? Couldn't have he just accepted the man's apology and walk away? Even a freaking Academy student wouldn't have blown his cover that easily and over nothing!
"A living Air Nomad is standing right in front of me. I never thought I'd see the day," the man said. He then bowed before Aang and introduced himself. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. Tell me, which of the Air Temples do you hail from, oh young monk?" the scholar asked, grabbing Aang's arm and examining his clothes with utmost interest, which made the Avatar feel a bit awkward.
"W-Well, I was raised in the Southern Air Temple,"
"Oh, splendid!" Zei exclaimed with childlike enthusiasm. Then, to make things even weirder, he began to measure Aang's head using a wooden divider for some reason. "And what was the primary agricultural product of your people? Let me guess. Lettuce? Wheat? Rice, perhaps?"
"… Are fruit pies an agricultural product?"
Zei gasped as if he had discovered the revelation of the century. "Fruit pies? Why, that's absolutely fascinating! It feels like I'm talking to a walking compendium of Air Nomadic knowledge. Just a moment, please. I have got to write this down,"
"Who's that guy Aang is talking to?" Toph asked.
"I'm not sure, but maybe he can help us out with something," Sokka replied, a gleam of interest in his eyes. "Hey Aang, how about you bring your new buddy over here? We could tell him some stories about the adventures we've had together,"
The ears of the professor perked up and he turned around with a giant smile plastered on his face. "A personal interview with the close friends of an Air Nomad? I wouldn't dream of missing such an opportunity!" Without waiting for Aang's answer, the man ran (yes, ran) across the room and stopped right in front of them, notepad in hand. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. Please, tell me all about your experiences, even the most minor and mundane of details,"
Shujinko kept silent and studied the overly-excited man in front of him. He seemed harmless enough, and nothing appeared to indicate he was up to no good. What he wanted to know was what this guy could help them out with, according to Sokka. Also, Shujinko was hoping that Zei wouldn't give him any attention. If he found out Shujinko was a lost traveler from a place as remote as the shinobi continent, Zei would most likely refuse to leave his side and would keep asking him questions until his mouth fell off.
"To be honest, I don't know where to begin. There are so many good stories to choose from," Sokka said as he rubbed his chin in an introspective manner, though it was obvious to them that Sokka was putting on an act. "Before we start, would you mind if we take a look at your map? You're obviously a well-traveled guy, and ours is a little dated,"
"Of course, be my guest," Zei replied, handing him a map that was notoriously wider than the one they had. Sokka unfolded the map on the table, which depicted a fairly detailed representation of the Earth Kingdom's geography. Several locations were inside circles or marked with crosses, and there were also line patterns drawn across the map that indicated the many routes Zei had followed over the course of his travels. Shujinko, like the good shinobi that he was, was pleased to see an accurate map of the place he was in.
Sokka, however, looked like he was somewhat disgruntled. "No Fire Nation? Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?"
'So that's what Sokka wanted from the beginning,' Shujinko thought. 'In any case, it would be useful to have an updated map of the Fire Nation. Guess I can't blame him for trying,'
Katara took notice of something once she found the location of the Misty Palms Oasis on the map. "It looks like you've made a lot of trips into the desert," she said, pointing at several line patterns that lead nowhere, and for the first time, the look of excitement in the professor's eyes was replaced with one of frustration and slight sadness.
"All of them in vain, I'm afraid. I've spent years of my life and almost all of my money doing what I love. I've discovered lost societies and ancient civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but no matter how many times I try or how much effort I put in, I haven't been able to find the crown jewel of my profession… Wan Shi Tong's Library,"
Despite the noticeable devotion with which he spoke, Toph let out an amused snort. "You've spent years walking through the desert hoping to find some guy's library? Who builds a library in a desert, and what's so special about a boring old library anyway?"
"This library is more valuable than all the gold that exists under the sky, little lady. It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and as you can imagine, knowledge is priceless," Zei explained. "According to legend, it was built by the great knowledge spirit Wan Shi Tong with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers, creatures of great beauty,"
"Oh ho ho! Foxy knowledge seekers? So this Wan Shi Tong spirit has attractive assistants by his side?" Sokka asked with a goofy smirk on his face, nudging at the professor with one of his elbows. "Are you sure knowledge is the reason you want to find this library, professor? Eh, eh?"
Katara's face went red from embarrassment and had to slap her brother on the back of his head so that he would cut it out. "I'm pretty sure he's talking about actual foxes, you idiot,"
"Do any of those spirit foxes happen to have nine tails, by any chance?" the Ozuma asked. His question was so strangely specific and came so out of nowhere that, instead of responding, everyone around Shujinko just gave him a deadpan stare. Even Zei with his jovial attitude was blinking owlishly at him. "What? It was just a question. Sheesh,"
"… Well, not that I know of, but that would certainly make for a wonderful specimen," Zei said, to which Shujinko shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers spent ages collecting books, scrolls, and any form of written information from all over the world and put them on display for mankind to read, giving us the chance to learn and better ourselves. I cannot think of a nobler goal than that, but unfortunately, I haven't managed to find the library despite my numerous attempts. The Si Wong Desert is enormous and ruthless; even seasoned travelers have lost their lives there,"
Shujinko remained silent, taking in what Zei had just told them. Normally, Shujinko didn't have much faith in legends, but even legends had a truthful base to them. Besides, Shujinko had come to accept the fact that there were a whole lot of things that existed and that remained a mystery to him. Being on this land was proof enough of that.
He imagined what would happen if Wan Shi Tong's Library existed in the shinobi continent, and the answer was fairly obvious. Villages would kill to get a hold of that library, and once in their power, they would send ninjas to protect that place all twenty-four hours of the day. Shujinko wasn't the most experienced or knowledgeable ninja ever, but he wasn't stupid either. The chance to acquire ages' worth of information from all corners of the world would be too precious for a village to pass up, or worse, let an enemy get such a dominant advantage. In the shinobi world, information could tip the scales of even the most unfair of odds.
"Do you think this library has veridical info of the Fire Nation? A map, hopefully?" Sokka asked.
"I don't know for sure," Zei replied. "What I do know is that, if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's Library,"
"… In that case, it's settled," Sokka said with finality. "Aang, you already chose a spot to spend our vacations at, so now it's my turn. Listen up people, our next stop is… THE LIBRARY!"
…
"… Hurray," was Toph's flat response.
Zei scratched his cheek. "I do admire your courage and determination, but how do you plan on finding the library? Many before you have tried only to fail, and I wouldn't want any of you to end up lost or hurt because of the obsession I have with this place,"
"Maybe, but I bet none of them traveled on the back of a Sky Bison,"
"You have a Sky Bison!?"
000
Team Avatar left the cantina with Zei following closely from behind. The academic was literally bouncing with excitement, saying how he was the luckiest man in the entire world and how honored he was to join their group. It got to a point where Shujinko had to respectfully warn him not to say anything until they were outside as they were trying to remain unnoticed. Aang thought his friend was being a little harsh, but he knew Shujinko was just trying to be careful, and being careful was something that the airbender could admit to occasionally forgetting about.
As soon as they got outside, they heard the distinctive sound of Appa's growls, which prompted them to see what was going on. When they found Appa, they also found a group of locals harassing their furry friend, one of them being the rascal that threatened Shujinko earlier on. "Shoo! Away with you! Leave that gorgeous relic of the past in peace!" Zei shouted.
None of them seemed the least bit intimidated by the scholar's warnings. However, upon recognizing Shujinko and seeing him adopt a fighting stance with his kunai, they reconsidered their options and decided to leave on their vehicles, which were wooden sailers out of all things. 'People using sailers to travel across the desert. Just what I needed to see,' Shujinko thought. 'What's next, tumbrels that go underwater?'
"I swear, those sandbenders are just the worst," Zei commented with a huff.
"Sandbenders?" Toph repeated. "Is Sandbending a thing around here?"
"Most certainly, practiced by the Si Wong tribes, a people indigenous to the Si Wong Desert. Instead of bending solid earth, they bend the loose sand around them. I wrote a whole book about the subject, and at one point, I tried to visit one of the local tribes to learn more about their ways. Sadly, most of them are a hostile bunch, and quite vindictive as well. They don't respond kindly to offenses, and believe me when I say they get offended rather easily,"
Vindictive people, who lived in the desert and were able to manipulate the sand around them? They sounded like a cheap knock-off version of Gaara, Shujinko thought, but without the killing intent or lust for blood. They all hopped on Appa and got themselves comfortable for what was most likely going to be a very long ride. Zei insisted on sitting next to Aang so that he could appreciate the figure of the Sky Bison better, to which Aang agreed to under the condition that Appa was not to be annoyed, especially while they were flying.
"Tell me, Sky Bison, are you the last of your breed?" Zei asked, getting a grunt in response. "Ha! Delightful! How I wish I spoke his tongue. Oh, the stories this magnificent creature could tell,"
Shujinko sighed. A very long ride, indeed
|Some hours later|
"So what are we going to look for once… if, we found this library?" Katara asked. The last few hours had been spent looking at an endless sea of sand in almost complete silence, and since it didn't look as though their fortune was going to change any time soon, the waterbender thought they might as well talk about something to pass the time. Anything to make their journey less painfully uneventful.
Her brother raised an eyebrow at her. "A map of the Fire Nation, duh. That's kinda the whole reason why we're here,"
"I know, but I feel like I'd be such a waste to focus only on a map when there's a ton of other things we might as well take a look at while we're at it. For example, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some Waterbending scrolls. The one I got from those pirates is pretty worn-out,"
"Hmmnh, actually, I hadn't thought of that," Aang replied. "I guess I could read more about the Avatars that came before me. Since they're my past lives, it would be like reading my own biography. What about the rest of you?"
Zei's eyes lit up with passion, reminding Shujinko of Rock Lee and Might Guy whenever they started going on about the springtime of youth for the tenth time, although if he was being honest, he had come to miss their incessant yapping at least a little. "I've asked myself that same question over and over again, yet I still can't find an answer. Personally, I think all areas of study are fascinating worlds that keep on growing, even though I have a weak spot when it comes to anthropology. So much knowledge gathered in one place… I would happily spend the rest of my life there,"
Toph rolled her eyes. Spending the rest of her life in a library sounded like hell to her. Due to her blindness, the earthbender never learned how to read, so her parents made sure to read her fairy tales every single night before she went to sleep. Said fairy tales were all about beautiful princesses, brave soldiers, rich families, talking animals, and a whole other bunch of nonsense she couldn't be less interested in. The only way she had of getting them to stop was to pretend to fall asleep until they left her room. Since then, Toph had developed an aversion towards fairy tales and books in general.
"What about you, Shujinko?" Katara asked. "Is there anything you'd like to learn more about?"
The Chunin didn't respond immediately. Instead, he made it look as though he was in deep thought before giving her his answer. "I think I'll just stick to finding a map. It's what we came here to do, after all,"
Sokka smiled at that and nodded approvingly. "You heard that, sis? Shujinko is one of my own. We don't get distracted and we focus on getting the job done. That's how smart guys like us operate,"
What the boomerang-wielding boy ignored was that Shujinko had just told him a lie. Well, not a complete lie. Technically speaking, it hadn't even been a lie at all. The Ozuma had simply decided not to tell him all of the truth.
Shujinko had no intention to search for a map of the Fire Nation or anything related to that place at all. What he wanted to find, what he needed to find, was a map of the whole world that showed exactly where the shinobi continent was. If this magical library had information from all corners of the world, then there had to be at least one map that included the Five Great Shinobi Nations. It was only logical. And besides, he highly doubted Team Avatar would come back to the Si Wong Desert a second time once this trip concluded, so this could be his best chance at discovering how to return to his home.
While it was true that a map of the Fire Nation would benefit the group, Shujinko was willing to be selfish and place his own needs above the rest on this occasion. He wasn't going to stop them from looking for what they wanted; he was going to search on his own. The golden-eyed boy would even help them find a map of the Fire Nation once he got what he needed. They were, after all, his friends… but he was a ninja, and a ninja was obligated to have his priorities sorted out.
"Wait a minute, what's that down there?" Sokka asked all of a sudden. Shujinko, who had spent the last five minutes on a world of his own, shook his head and crawled his way to Sokka to see what had caught his attention.
"More boring and stupid sand?" Toph tried to guess.
"No, I… I think I saw something," Sokka then adjusted the lens of his spyglass telescope and started to move it around slowly, trying to locate whatever it was that had caught his attention. The rest of the group waited in anticipation, praying that Sokka had found the library they'd been looking for all day long. They had already suffered five false alarms already and both their hopes and their patience were quickly ebbing away. "Yeah, it's like some kind of tower! Aang, go that way!"
The Avatar took the group to where Sokka was pointing his finger at. Narrowing his gaze, Shujinko tried to spot the tower Sokka was talking about. At first, neither he nor anybody else could see anything other than dunes of sand that stretched to the horizon, but as they continued to fly, a thin white line became more and more visible. By the time they got there, Team Avatar was standing in front of a tall structure that was similar to a lighthouse near the shoreline.
Shujinko crossed his arms as he stared at the tower from top to bottom, furrowing his brow. "Well, this is impressive, but what's this thing even doing here? Who the heck thought it was a good idea to build a tower right in the middle of a desert where there's nothing of worth?"
"Maybe one of the Si Wong tribes did it?" Aang suggested.
"I very much doubt that. This type of elaborated architecture doesn't correspond to the, shall we say, primitive lifestyle of the Si Wong tribes," Zei explained. He then grabbed an ancient drawing of the library and compared its design with the tower in front of them. "In any case, this is clearly not what we're looking for. The library is said to be of huge size, which is understandable given the number of books that place must store inside. I suppose we must continue with our-"
"What's that?"
Everyone turned around to see what was Katara pointing at. On the top of a dune stood a small quadruped animal of grey fur, holding a scroll between its teeth. The creature was staring at them curiously, but nothing seemed to indicate it was afraid or bothered by their presence. Shujinko was surprised, not because this was some weird hybrid animal like the ones that roamed this part of the world. Quite the contrary, he recognized it immediately, which definitely wasn't a common occurrence. "It's a fox. A real fox," he said, almost happy to see something normal for once.
"A fox?" Aang repeated, blinking in confusion and awe. "I've never seen one of those before. So this is how they look like… It's so weird,"
"It's not just a fox, it's gotta be one of Wan Shi Tong's knowledge seekers! Look at that scroll!" Sokka pointed out. As soon as he said that, the fox trotted down the dune and climbed up the tower with the same ease with which a shinobi would've done it. Once it reached the balcony, the fox turned around to face them from above, and Shujinko could've sworn the fox had made a gesture with its head, as if telling them to follow its lead.
"My word… The library must be close!" Zei exclaimed. "Come on, let's get going! We might be able to find the library before sunrise if we hurry!"
Just as the man turned around to leave, Shujinko grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Wait a minute, professor. There's something I want to check," he said before snatching the drawing from his hands. Upon taking a close look, he noticed the similarities between the top of the library that was depicted on the drawing and the tower, and all his doubts were gone. "There's no need to go anywhere… This is the library. It's buried,"
…
"Buried!?" Zei ran towards the tower, stopping just a few meters away before dropping to his knees. "This cannot be… My life's ambition is now full of sand!" he lamented in despair, acting like a man whose house had crumbled to the ground after catching fire. Then, to Shujinko's befuddlement, he grabbed a tiny trowel and began to remove the sand nearby. "But I won't be deterred so easily. I'm going to stay here and unbury this place if it's the last thing I do!"
"I think there's an easier solution," Toph said as she walked forward, placing her hand against the tower once she was close enough. After a while, she turned her head to the side and smiled. "Well, you guys sure are lucky. The interior of this place seems to be intact and… Wow, it's enormous. There's gotta be at least hundreds of thousands of books inside, more than enough to make you nerds happy,"
With the help of Zei, the members of Team Avatar climbed up the tower using a grappling hook attached to a rope, a tool that the professor always carried around due to him being constantly traveling. They left Appa outside under Toph's care, who wasn't the slightest bit interested in exploring the library ("Why would I do that? I've held books before, and I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me,"). Once they reached the balcony, they took turns to climb down into the library as carefully as possible, making sure that the rope could withstand their weight.
As soon as Shujinko's feet touched the ground, he looked around to see whether if the legends about the library had been exaggerated or not, and what he found was… 'Holy grandmother of Kami,'
To put it simply, the place was just as beautiful as it was gigantic. The Ozuma saw corridors with countless bookcases standing in rows, illuminated by glowing sky-blue crystals that provided a dreamlike ambiance. The bookcases were so tall they touched the ceiling, and they were filled to the brim with books, manuscripts, and documents in perfect condition. The structure of the building was supported by columns of concrete, and every single one of them had a carved owl at the top. More than a library, this place was a vivid, breathtaking work of art drawn by the most talented of painters.
It was so alluring that, for a split second, Shujinko forgot about what he had come here to do. It was almost as if the library was inviting him to… No, rather, it was positively encouraging him to read everything he could get his hands on, like the temptation of a beautiful woman begging to be held and kissed tenderly. Shujinko had to grab his own cheeks and squeeze them hard so that he would snap out of his semi-state of trance. Luckily, no one saw him do this to himself since they were just as distracted as he was.
"This place… It's even more glorious than I imagined," Zei said amidst shaky breaths, sounding like he was about to shed tears of joy. "All of my endeavors… all of my work… have finally been rewarded. Oh, if this weren't a library, I would cry victory as loudly as I could!"
Sokka approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm happy for you, professor. You deserve it. But before we start our reading marathon, we should split up and-"
Suddenly, Shujinko's eyes widened, alerted by the sound of feathers rustling. "Something's coming," he warned his friends. Without asking questions of any sort, they all followed the Chunin and hid behind the wide columns at the side of the library. Once they were there, Shujinko slowly stuck his head out, trying his hardest to see what had come for them without getting spotted. However, before he could catch a glimpse of anything, a loud, heavy voice echoed around the library.
"I know you are back there. Show yourselves before I force you to,"
The Ozuma gritted his teeth. They had been discovered, and whatever it was that had discovered them wasn't human. Knowing it was futile to keep hiding, and not wanting to anger whoever was talking to them, they all left their hiding spot and allowed themselves to be seen.
An eerie-looking owl, twice as tall as any man on the face of the earth, was standing next to the rope they had used to get into the library. Its feathers were darker than the blackest of nights and its unsettling presence filled the atmosphere with an ominous tension. Even Shujinko, who had seen gruesome creatures and faced dangerous foes more than once, couldn't avoid a shiver from running down his spine. With his fists clenched, he decided he would be the first to interact with the owl in case it was hostile, but Zei moved before he could.
"Greetings, oh wise spirit," Zei began to say as he approached the owl with small steps. "I am professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. We apologize for coming here unannounced, but-"
"You should leave the way you came, professor," the owl cut him off, making no efforts to hide his contempt. "If you refuse to heed my warning, a stuffed head of anthropology is what you will become,"
'Crap, I don't like where this is going,' Shujinko thought. He took a deep breath to calm his beating heart and gestured the rest to follow him. As he walked, the owl's gaze met his, and the Chunin had to fight off the urge to grab a kunai and attach an explosive tag to it. "Please, don't attack us. We mean you no harm. Are you the guardian of this place?"
"Indeed. I am Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things. You are humans, and humans are no longer permitted in my study,"
"Do you have something against humans?" Katara asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do, and the reason for that is a simple one. Humans are destructive and selfish beings. They do not appreciate the beauty of knowledge, and they only bother to learn things to get an advantage over others. Their ambitions are shallow, just as shallow as that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking for information that would help him destroy his enemy," Wan Shi Tong said with utmost authority.
The Ozuma shifted uncomfortably. Even though he wasn't going to say it out loud, the spirit was right, at least when it came to ninjas. From the moment they entered the Academy, ninjas were taught the value of information and how important it was to acquire it. Everyone understood that stealing information from enemy villages was a primordial aspect in the life of a shinobi, and the same could be said about keeping information safe from them. If you had to either kill or die for it, then you were expected to, because the consequences of not doing one or the other could be highly detrimental for a village, if not disastrous in some cases. Information could save lives, defeat opponents, and win wars.
"So, who are you trying to destroy?"
"Destroy?" Sokka repeated before letting out an awkward chuckle. "W-What? No, of course not. We're not here to destroy anything or anyone. Firebenders are into that kind of stuff, not us. Ask anyone,"
"Then why have you come here?"
"… Knowledge for knowledge's sake?"
The owl squawked as if Sokka's answer was an offense to his intelligence. "If you are going to lie to a spirit who has existed for innumerable decades before you were even conceived, you could at least put a smidgen of effort into it,"
The golden-eyed boy decided to intervene. "Would it help if we say we're here with the Avatar?" he asked, gesturing Aang to step forward.
The young monk gulped but approached the owl nonetheless. "Hello, mister spirit. It's a pleasure to meet you," Aang said as he bowed. "My name is Aang, and I'm the Avatar. If you're worried about us being here, I can promise you we will not abuse the knowledge in your library. You have my word,"
"The Avatar, hmnh?" Wan Shi Tong seemed to consider Aang's promise for a while and then spoke again. "Very well, I shall let you peruse my vast collection, but only on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars and intellectuals, each of you is required to contribute something of knowledge. An awfully generous deal considering what you stand to gain and what you stand to lose. Now then, what can you offer to this library?"
Without missing a beat, Zei walked up to the spirit and knelt before him, holding a thick book that he had kept inside his backpack. "This is one of my most well-known tomes. Please accept this as a donation to your library,"
"First edition? Very nice," Wan Shi Tong moved his wing and took the book, seemingly pleased.
Next was Katara, who smiled and grabbed a scroll that she was carrying. "I can give you this Waterbending scroll. It's a little old, but it's authentic and it's still in good condition,"
"I believe I already have quite a few of these, but I do find these illustrations appealing. I accept it,"
Aang seemed to panic for a bit, but then, he found a wanted poster of himself and presented it to the owl. "What about this?"
Wan Shi Tong gave him a shrug and took the poster. "I suppose that counts,"
Sokka puffed his chest out and confidently approached the spirit with nothing but a tiny piece of rope. "Great spirit, watch this out," Holding both ends, Sokka began to twist and bend the rope, turning it into a knot with the shape of a butterfly. "Ta-da! Bet you've never seen one of these before… What? It's a special knot invented by the people of the Southern Water Tribe! If this doesn't count as knowledge, I don't know what does,"
"… You are not particularly bright, are you?" Wan Shi Tong asked. Nevertheless, he accepted Sokka's 'knowledge'. The spirit then laid his eyes on Shujinko, and before he could say or do anything, Wan Shi Tong approached him and began sniffing the air around the boy, which only made him feel more uncomfortable than what he already felt. "You… Why do I smell the hint of a spirit's scent inside of you? Tell me your name and where do you come from, and do not try to fool me. I will know if you are not being truthful,"
"My name is Shujinko Ozuma," he replied. "I come from… a very distant place,"
"Just like that other one…" the owl muttered. "Well then, Shujinko Ozuma, what addition can you contribute to this place of learning?"
The Ozuma opened his backpack and started rummaging through his stuff, hoping to find anything that he could offer. There wasn't a whole lot inside, just some food pills, sealing scrolls, a bit of money, a canteen, and the Eye of Kazemaru. Nothing of that could be considered knowledge, and he needed the sealing scrolls to carry his weapons and other similar equipment. He was about to give up when his eyes landed on a secret compartment inside his backpack… where he stored his diary.
"Ummnh, Shujinko, is there anything you can give?" Aang asked in a slightly apprehensive tone. If Shujinko stood before the spirit empty-handed, the worst that could happen was that he would have to go back and join Toph and Appa outside, but in such a mysterious place like this one, the airbender would rather be accompanied by as many friends as possible.
Slowly, very slowly, Shujinko grabbed the small book covered in leather and closed his backpack before approaching the spirit with a somber expression on his face. Katara recognized the book and her eyes widened in surprise. "But Shujinko, that's your-" she began to say, but the Chunin gave her a look that prompted her to shut up. Then, without saying a word, he extended his hand.
Wan Shi Tong stared at the offering with his penetrating gaze. "What is this?"
"… My diary,"
"Your diary? How unconventional, but since I accepted that absurd piece of rope from your friend, I do not see how I can reject this," And just like that, Shujinko's diary vanished from his hand. "Enjoy the library, but be very careful with what you find. Some of the books here are older than what you could possibly imagine, and if I see any of you cause them any sort of mistreatment, torment beyond your wildest dreams shall be your punishment,"
Aaaaaaaand that was chapter 14. Hope you all liked it.
I'm glad I was able to get this chapter done so quickly. Granted, I had to split the episode in half, but I like the way this chapter turned out. I focused more on the group dynamic while the next chapter will be focused on advancing the plot.
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Peace!