Sorry guys, not as much schizo action today, but what we do see here is vital to the plot. As I type this, I've got a good amount of it finished. I'm not feeling too confident about it, so don't expect the worlds greatest update. I still consider Chapter One (Not the prologue) to be my best one yet. Btw, it's pronounced Key-row. I should've taken a moment to realize that his name sounds a lot like Iroh, so I'm making it pronounced Key-row. And no, Iroh isn't in this. Oh yeah, there isn't exactly "fluff" per say in this chapter, it's more like… Styrofoam. Don't worry, I'm getting there.
Chapter Three: Banishment
Toph gasped. The child… had changed. He hadn't spoken in his high, shrill voice he'd used when he'd first spoken to her. He'd… he'd become Aang… He sounded so mature, so… solemn. She knew this boy, this Kyroh, had many more secrets than he let on. Simply by the way the doctor (Toph assumed that was the other man) talked to him, Toph knew he had no idea who the child was. Certainly Katara knew, as well as the captain of the boat, but who else? Did any of the villagers know that the most powerful being on the planet lived among them? Toph felt the Kyroh's breath on her neck. How long is he going to stand there? If he isn't gonna say anything… However, almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she felt the warm air leave her neck, and she thought she felt a small part of her wish it back. Toph heard the child back away, and then he exclaimed, in the same squeaky voice he'd used when he first entered the room, "Bye Miss Toph-lady!" and she heard him scurry out of the room. Toph couldn't bear it any more.
"Katara? I need to speak with you. Now."
"Doctor, if you'll excuse us."
"Yes, ma'am." Toph heard the doctor exit the room, closing a door behind him. Toph turned to where she'd last heard Katara's voice.
"Who knows?"
"Me, Sokka, Pakku, Gran Gran, and Roraak."
"You positive that's all?"
"Absolutely." Toph sighed with relief. "Did he… talk to you?"
"Well, of course, you heard him."
"You know what I meant." Toph thought for a moment before replying.
"Yes." It came out as a whisper, barely audible even to Toph.
"What does it mean?"
"What do you mean, what does it mean? He's the avatar, not that hard, is it?"
"I meant the fact Aang had control of Kyroh's body. He shouldn't be able to do that, Kyroh should have complete control."
"I don't know." Toph smiled. "But I like it."
"Well I don't. I think it could seriously mess up his life, if he's got two personalities."
"Two personalities…" Toph suddenly had a theory. A crazy theory, sure, but what if…
"Toph?"
"Katara… what if 'Kyroh' never had control, never even existed, and it's been Aang the entire time?"
"Don't be silly Toph, he can't be. He died, he was reincarnated as someone else. Kyroh has Aang's memories, sure, but it can't be Aang." Toph wasn't convinced, but she was too weak to argue.
"Whatever you say." Toph leaned her head back onto the pillow, eyes staring at the ceiling. "Katara?"
"Hmm?" It appeared Katara had been trying to sneak away, as she was much farther than when she'd last answered.
"When I'm out of here, I'll need a house."
"You mean…"
"Yep, I'm staying here for good."
It took three days. Three, miserable, agonizing days of waiting, of watching, for Toph's plan to work. She wasn't the most patient person in the world, she grew more and more restless as time progressed. She hadn't had many visitors since the incident, Katara came to check up on her a couple times, but other than that, the only person that came to see her was Kyroh. He'd snuck into the hospital in the dead of night, to catch her asleep. He'd crawled up to her bedside to whisper softly into her ear, "and I loved you too", before softly pecking her on the cheek, and sneaking out again. As he turned his back and exited the door, Toph smiled slightly knowingly. Knowing all too well what had happened, knowing her plan had worked, knowing the answer she'd been seeking for ten years.
Toph decided to spend the next night in the hospital. She'd been ready to go the day after Kyroh's, no, Aang's visit, but she felt she deserved a good night's rest to make up for all that lost sleep. She also wanted to revel in her joy. She toyed with the idea of telling Katara what had transpired the night before, but she wasn't sure how she would take it. She decided to keep it a secret from everyone, even Kyroh. Toph had the best night's sleep of her life that evening. For the first time in her life, she had no weight on her shoulders. There were no negatives to her life, no issues, no problems, nothing. She lay her head down on the bed, the biggest smile of her existence plastered on her face. She loved the feel of the cool, soft pillow, the warm sheets, the cool air. She felt that her life was going better than she could ever have imagined.
"Ah, but is it?"
"Shut up. My life is fine. I don't need you."
"You're glad you've found Aang again, are you not?"
"Yep. And I don't need you anymore, so fuck off."
"Ooh, big words coming from a woman in love with a nine-year-old."
"What are you talking about?"
"Think, woman. The child is nine years old. You're twenty-two. See a problem?"
"I don't care, I've finally found Aang again."
"But have you? How do you know that's even his body? He's rarely even in control of it, most of the time it's the Kyroh kid."
"So?"
"So, what would happen if you were to get married? You'd wake up with a nine-year-old, and he'd wake up and freak out that this woman has kidnapped him."
"Kyroh's not important…"
"No, Toph, he is important. You would have to love him, too. Do you love Kyroh?"
"Shut up! Just shut up! You're lying! Aang's in control, Aang's been putting on an act all this time, waiting for me! You're just jealous!"
"Jealous? Oh yes, I'm super jealous of your nine year old boyfriend."
"Go away."
"What?"
"Go away. I'm sick and tired of you. This is my head, my life. Leave. You have no place here."
"I'm the only think keeping you from killing yourself. You're nothing without me."
"Leave!"
"You will regret this."
"Toph, Toph, wake up." Toph felt a pair of hands on each of her shoulders, gently shaking her awake. Such… small hands…
"Huh? Wasgoinon?"
"Toph, it's time to wake up." The voice again
"5 more minutes mommy." Toph just wanted to sleep. Lessons could wait till later.
"Mommy? Toph, I'm not your 'mommy'." Wait a second…
"Aa… Aang?"
"Shh, not now. Come on, Toph, we need to leave." Toph felt the boy tug on her shoulders, urging her to sit up and come with him.
"What? Why?"
"Come on." And with that, he pulled her off of the bed, not gently, but certainly not roughly. For the first time in over a week, she could see again. She immediately stomped her foot on the ground, attempting to send out as many vibrations as possible. She quickly took note of everything in the room. The bed she'd been confined to, along with maybe a few dozen more, all in a very large room, roughly equivalent to her parent's dining hall. She smiled at being able to fend for herself again, at the lack of helplessness brought about by complete blindness.
It had taken her a while, but her attention was finally drawn to the boy rummaging through the small bag at the side of her bed. He was small, very small. He was light on his feet, as he had always been, but still, not light enough. He turned around, surprising her, and he shoved a handful of something into her arms. "Put these on, we need to go now." Toph, perplexed, felt around the things he'd given her, realizing they were clothes. She quickly felt her body, and when the first thing she made contact with was skin, she panicked. She darted to cover herself up, and in doing so, she dropped the clothes. Fortunately, she found her undergarments were still on, and she dove to pick the clothes back up, and she made a mental note that she wasn't blushing or, for that matter, all that embarrassed. She still got the robe on (for that was what it was) as quickly possible. As soon as her arms were through the sleeves, her right hand was grasped by the tiny boy, and she was pulled out of the room in an instant, barely able to keep her balance. Toph was pulled out a door, and into the cool night air. For five minutes they weaved through the small city, until Aang came to a complete halt, causing Toph to crash into him, sending the child toppling. Toph bent over to him and apologized profusely, but Aang simply waved it off. He advised her to grab a hold of his hand, something she gladly did, and pulled her through a narrow tunnel. She felt the tunnel slowly widening, eventually giving way to a small cavern. From what she could tell, there was nothing in it, just ice… and rock a good mile beneath. They traversed the rest of the ice tunnel, and finally came upon the cavern. Toph reluctantly released Aang's hand, and went to a wall, where she dropped onto the floor and sat. However, she almost immediately leapt back onto her feet. It was freezing! She strained herself now, bending the rock deep beneath the ice, and pulled it up from the depths of the frozen ocean. It took much of her energy to complete the task, but once the rock was above the ice, she morphed it into a rock couch, softening it up enough that it would be comfortable. She sat down on it, exhausted. It was now that she realized that Aang hadn't said a word during the whole ordeal, he had simply stared at her. Oh, how she wished she could see his expression. Toph smiled at him, and gestured to the spot beside her. Aang walked over to the couch, and she sensed a slight hesitation in the way he moved. However, any second thoughts she may have had were doused when he sat beside her on her right, placed his arms around her and leaned his head into her side. Look how small he is, his feet don't even reach the floor. Toph placed and arm around him and he sighed, breaking the silence. "Aang?"
"Yeah?"
"There's something I need to tell you. When you came in the night before last, I wasn't asleep."
"I know."
"You… know?"
"Yep" Aang's face brightened, and he flashed Toph a big grin, before realizing she couldn't see it.
"But… how?" Toph was utterly perplexed.
"You were all tense. When you sleep, you're really calm and relaxed."
"Maybe I changed my habits over the last ten years. You never know."
"No, I mean now. These days, when you're asleep, you're relaxed."
"So you knew I was awake?"
"Yep."
"And you came in anyway?"
"Yep!"
"And kissed me and said you loved me?"
"Absolutely."
"Aang…"
"Yeah Toph?"
"Did you mean it?"
"Yeah." Toph smiled and ruffled his hair.
"You know something, Aang? You have a way with making things look like accidents, you know that?"
"That's what they tell me!" Aang chirped proudly.
"So why'd you bring me here in the middle of the night?"
"Because, Toph, we need to talk."
And that's where I leave you! Yes, I know, the chapter sucked, but I hope you guys enjoyed the Styrofoam! Also, this chapter rounded out at 1,994 words, and 8 ½ pages! Yay! It is officially the second longest in both words and Microsoft Word length! Actually, it may be the longest, as the two thousand something included the black text thingies. I' trying to hold back on the real "fluff", as the kid's 9, and I am NOT a supporter of NAMBLA. Or NAWBLA, I guess, but whatever. I still don't thing this story's all that good, and this one was the worst chapter yet (The prologue is teetering on the edge of canonship right now). But you still don't know whether Kyroh is real! Haha! But I assure you, you'll find out next chapter. I'm starting to get the ending brainstormed, but it all depends on how I decide to go on a certain thing. Oh, and this might be the last update for a while. I'll try to squeeze one in, but I doubt I'll be able to. With the side notes, this is my longest chapter yet. REVIEW!
P.S. The Banishment in the chapter title is referring to Toph's removal of her tough/angry voice.