Title: A Night Out
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar...sigh, if only!
Warnings: None.
Summary: slight MengLee/Sukka/Taang, Postwar-Gaang Wins, response to Masako MoonShade's The Three Bachelors Challenge A Fortune Teller. A Crush. A Warrior.A Blind Master. A Rumble and a Contract. A night out, all together...What could possibly go wrong?
Notes: Once again, it's longer then anything I've ever written. This one is over 3,000 words. Oh and by the way; I'm looking for a beta for ANO. If you want to beta for me, email or PM me. Thankies!
This is also a first attempt at action/fight scenes. I want feedback for those. I'm really happy with all the reviews I've gotten for this fic! Thanks everybody! :D
EDIT: I don't plan on updating until I get at least three(3) replies people. I'm not worried about not getting the next chapter in fast (It's mostly done), but I won't post it until I get three reveiws for THIS chapter! Just a warning. I'll wait two months if I need to ya'll. I know I'm getting hits(thanks for those, guys!) but I want some reveiws!
Toph let out a loud 'whoop', punching her fist in the air. As she landed a ripple of earth shook the people around her, but she just grinned mischievously and ran into the participants' area. The last her friends saw of her was her punching one of the men next to her into the wall for calling her short…without her Earthbending. But she saw the two exchange what she knew were worried glances with each other. She also know that they weren't all too worried about her but the man who was groaning on the ground clutching an obviously broken nose. He wouldn't be able to participate…
"Oh, Darn." She smiled 'sheepishly' (She had had twelve years of acting practice, had she not?) as the other people near her glanced at her suspiciously. The smarter ones had already moved to the edge of the small tunnel.
Suki shook her head as she watched the earthen door slide up, separating the crowd from the auditioners. She sighed; massaging her temples, she contemplated how many people would actually be competing for a spot and not in the infirmary.
"We really have to stay on her good side, Meng." She wasn't sure if that contract would help them after all.
Meng raised her eyebrows as she watched the man be knocked backward. She nodded dumbly when she heard Suki groan about it. She shrugged plopping a handful of fireflakes into her mouth. She turned and started towards the arena.
"Might as well get some good seats, huh?"
Toph giggled as she 'watched' the other contestants. She roughly calculated them.
3 Jumpy ones
2 Bored
8 Stared into space
1 Was fretting over his outfit
2 Were talking together
3 Were eyeing the others expectantly. (What? Did they expect someone to attack them?)
4 Actually dared to contemplate why a little girl was here. (Oh, they are so dead.)
1 Was fussing over his broken nose (Whoopsies!)
1 Idiotic champion was flirting with the belt carriers
All together she counted about twenty-four other contestants. This would go quickly. Oh, waitaminute never mind; make that twenty-six.
2 Were strutting over to where she was sitting (Finally some fun!)
She absently picked at her nails waiting for the two to reach her. Turns out they were the same idiots as before. Boy, she was glad Suki gave her permission to pummel them. She wouldn't want a lecture now!
"Oh! This is so exciting Suki!" Meng tittered looking down into the area where A badger-mole was busily cleaning the field. Suki had, heeding Sokka's advice, insisted on getting a seat towards the top stands. The two girls waited anxiously for the gong to sound, signaling the first match. Suki could only imagine what it'd be like to travel to Gaoling for the official tornament. Meng clapped her hands together eagerly at the sound of a large echoeing gong going off
"Let's get ready to RUMBLE!"
She turned excitedly to see Suki's expression and she seemed equally excited. She gasped as one of her beaded bracelets slipped off her wrist. She leaned down to pick it up, but another hand was already there. It lifted the beads up and held them in a tanned palm.
"Is this yours, Miss?" The young boy asked, a grin plastered on his face. Meng blushed as her eyes took in his features
Goofy Smile
Mud Colored Eyes
Hair Sticking Out At Odd Ends
And, her breath hitched in her throat…
Huge Ears
Suki blinked. Truthfully she found the interaction going on next to her far more interesting than the actual match. Meng was obviously flustered with the young boy, so Suki helped her out a bit. She nudged her side.
"Oh! Yes, yes thank you…" She continued blushing as she stared at him. She delicately took the bracelet from his hand, taking a moment to study his palm, of course.
"It looks really nice. Did you make it yourself?" Meng visibly turned three shades redder.
"Um, yes. I did. Thank you…"
"First match goes to The Tumbler!"
Suki smiled as Meng sheepishly turned back to face her.
"Don't worry Meng; you have the whole night!" she whispered, giggling.
"So, why are you here?" Fonzu asked smirking. Toph just smiled sweetly at him and continued examining the nails she couldn't see. Fonzu narrowed his eyes. "What are you here for kid?"
"You seriously don't have a clue who I am do you?"
"Ha, why should we. Hey, Elgo, you know who she is?" 'Elgo' chuckled at this. Toph did, too. She also, vaguely, wondered what idiot would name their kid Elgo.
"What's so funny?"
"You." She smiled. They narrowed their eyes at her. "And, I'm here to win the belt, doofus."
"You could never even make it in the tournament!" Toph smirked towards the two.
"Then lets make a bet on it. I bet you seventy-five gold that I'll have that belt by the end of the auditions. I don't need the money, but I'd want to see you're face after losing."
"Hah! That's a deal."
"Do you have the money to spare?"
"…Fifty gold." She smirked and shrugged offering her hand in their general direction.
"Deal."
For the next forty-five minutes Suki glanced from the arena to the two boys sitting closest to them. It was obvious they were related, probably brothers.
"No! I'm not going to say that to her!"
"It'll work trust me, kid!"
"I don't know Sen Su…She doesn't seem like she'd go for that."
"Lee, you're making it too complicated."
"Bu-"
"No 'buts'. Here she comes!"
"Hey, Suki, here's your sizzle crisps. And I thought you might want a drink, too."
"Thanks, MENG." Meng raised her eyebrows at her. "I really appreciate it, MENG. Thanks for getting me some, MENG."
Suki smirked when she saw the thankful look on Lee's face. He nodded a silly grin on his face.
"Whatever, Suki." She muttered shaking her head. During the past half hour she'd successfully avoided eye contact with Lee, and Suki just couldn't have that.
"Heh, hey Meng." Meng turned to face Lee, immediately turning pink, "Do you have a map? Cause I'm lost in your eyes." Meng blinked at him.
Suki slapped her head on her forehead. Lee turned back to Sen Su who gave him a thumbs up. He turned back to Meng, smiling sheepishly.
"I, uh, uh thanks?" She looked from Lee to Suki, "I'm just going to go…check to see when Toph will be up." She muttered, rushing off down the stairs.
"Idiots!" Suki muttered, rubbing her temples. "Stupid, stupid, idiots!"
"What the Hell do you mean I'm Dead Last!?" Toph practically screamed at the man in front of her.
"We want to make sure the…smaller people don't have to fight in the big matches."
"It's supposed to be a drawing. No specific order!"
"Yes, but-"
"So the ones that make it into the actual tournament will be pounded to death! I DEMAND that this audition, tournament thing is fashioned almost identical to the actual tournament. Set the timing into sections of like eight people!" Toph narrowed her eyes in the general direction of the man who was trying to calmly explain her placement in the auditions.
"Young…lady you have no right to speak in such a way. I must insist you calm down immediately. If you truly plan on winning so badly challenge our champion at the end of the auditions."
"Oh, I most certainly will, you…" Toph turned away from him muttering under her breath. She stomped over to a corner and lifted a chair from the ground.
No soldier talk, Toph. Come on this isn't hard! Toph thought to herself as she cracked her knuckles, Man, it is a bad habit. Mommy would be so proud. Oooh, wait…he could be put under the sexist label, right?
Suki blinked when she felt a slight rumble from under her. She looked out at the fighting benders. She shrugged, probably just some powerful bender showing off…or Toph.
"Spirits above, Suki, they put Toph as the last person up! She hardly gets to fight! Her opponent is called 'Marbles'" Meng laughed as she sat next to Suki. "But aren't the last group losers?"
"Meng, Toph is a…petite, fourteen year old, blind girl. I'm truthfully not surprised."
"But wouldn't they recognize her?"
"Meng, she hadn't been here for two years. I'm just worried about Marbles." She sighed, "She better stick to the contract."
"…Suki, did she sign as The Blind Bandit?" Suki froze. She rummaged around desperately for her copy of their contract.
Toph, was bored. No, she was more than bored; she was fed up, and frustrated. She wanted to hurt something…she didn't know what. Back home, she would deal with frustration by destroying her room. Her parents would always make a fuss over her and not care about the room one bit; there were some ups to being part of the richest family in the world. She'd been facing the wall for half an hour and everybody there didn't even seem to notice her. She sighed and kicked a stone up wear Fonzu was sitting
"Yow! Alright, who did it!"
It wasn't as fun the third time. So, just to start a fight, she giggled at him. He whipped around to face her. "YOU!" he shouted at her.
"Me!" she smiled up at him her elbows on her knees. He fumed above her, but Toph had had plenty of experience with temperamental teens. At this point in her life, she was a Master at many things, but her favorite had to be being a Master Nuisance.
"Who in Hell do you think you are!?" he sneered. Elgo was smirking in the background.
"The Blind Bandit at your service, Fonny." She smirked at him; she could tell that just by how he reacted that he'd never heard of 'The Blind Bandit' before.
"Fonny?!"
"Nicknames are my thing. I don't know you enough to give you a more personal one, though. Seriously you should hear some of my work!" 'Fonny' glared at her, stepping closer.
"Are you trying to get killed?"
"No, I just don't find you threatening. Now, Hothead could be threatening sometimes, but I've always gotten out of my messes!" She grinned at him goofily and remembered all the close calls she had had with the Prince. "Ahhhh, those were the days."
"You're treading on a thin line, kid."
"Funny, I was about to say the exact same thing!" She smiled and stood. Toph hit her heel; to the ground, and the stone she was sitting on vanished into the ground. She lifted her face up to him, her misty eyes catching the firelight of the lanterns surrounding the cave. Fonzu took a step back from her, his eyes wide. Then, he laughed and pointed at her.
"You, you're blind!" Toph stared at him, for about thirty seconds.
"I can't believe you just noticed that, Fonny. Wasn't it a bit obvious? You know, The Blind Bandit?"
"You're going to get crushed out there, Blindy!"
"Blindy? No, it's The Blind Bandit." She said quite loudly. She smiled when she heard someone near her shout,
"The, The Blind Bandit is here?!"
"What!"
"Where? I don't see 'im!"
"Shit!"
"Who's that?"
"Who's that! Are you serious, dude?" Toph simply smirked and walked away.
Meng was practically jumping out of her seat in anticipation.
"Toph's next, Suki!"
"Yeah, I know Meng." Suki replied.
"You know one of the fighters?" Meng turned to face Lee and nodded excitedly. The awkwardness from earlier was forgotten. Suki had to admit, they would be a perfect couple.
"That's so cool!"
"Our Final Match! And here comes…Marbles!"
"Is that him?" Lee asked, staring at the small man out on the field. Suki gaped at the person on the field…Fonzu was Marbles?!
"And his opponent, THE BLIND BANDIT!!!"
Suki almost felt bad for Fonzu. Toph had easily gotten more cheers than him. "Go Bandit!" she shouted.
"Is that the actual Blind Bandit?!"
"Sure is!" Meng smiled at him, catching his eyes. She quickly blushed and turned away from him. Suki rolled her eyes and nudged the small girl.
"Is she actually blind?" Lee asked, curious.
"Yeah, but she's the best Earthbender in the world. Even better than Avatar Aang!"
"I heard that she disappeared with the belt a few years ago."
"It was stolen by Sandbenders." Meng replied, "Then she couldn't come back for the next tournament. We came with her."
"Wow, that's awesome!" He laughed. Suki smiled, keeping her eyes on Toph.
Toph smirked, she could practically feel 'Marbles' shaking. She flexed her toes in the dirt, keeping her eyes centered on Fonzu. Then she grinned. Fonzu's eyes widened and he quickly dodged out of the way…of nothing.
"Scared, Fonny?!" she shouted to him, earning some laughs from the closer people. Fonzu gritted his teeth and tried swiping his leg, knocking rocks in all different directions. Toph smirked, dodging out of the way as the audience gasped. The rocks zoomed past her ears, and she stomped her foot. A large wall of earth came up from the ground and she punch into it. Marbles furrowed his brow at the move but dodged to the side. Toph slammed her palm to the ground, and a pillar of earth shot out from under Fonzu. She twisted her palm, her wrist facing outward. Fonzu yelped pitifully as the pillar encased him up to his shoulders and shot down into the earth under the stage. Toph, in one smooth movement, straightened and punched her fist into the air. Fonzu shot up, into the air, and a small dust cloud appeared where he landed. Toph kicked her heel into the ground easily and slammed him against the wall.
There was a pause as the crowd took in what had happened in the past eight seconds. Then a loud collective cheer rose from the crowd.
"THE BLIND BANDIT!!!" the announcer shouted.
Meng and Suki jumped out of their seats, screaming for Toph. Lee immediately joined them, but his brother seemed quite dumbfounded.
"Okay, everyone! The auditions are over! BUT! We have a special guest, give it up for…The BOULDER!" Cheers echoed around the stadium, but Meng and Suki sat down, waiting for the announcer to finish.
"Who here thinks they can take our reigning champion and live?! Come on! If you beat him, you get all the GOLD in this bag and…the BELT!""
Neither of the two girls were surprised to see Toph begin walking back into the fighting circle. The drink she put down still sloshing on the table.
"So, Pebble, what've you been up to lately?" Toph shouted to him.
Toph planted her feet firmly on the ground
"The Boulder is not distracted by the blind girl's attempts."
A thick dust cloud settled itself over the benders. Toph stomped on the ground, pulling up a sheet of earth, and she flipped it horizontally. She punched into different areas, knocking them out evenly. Sharp, thin shards of rock launched into The Boulder. She heard an 'oomph' and knew she had hit her target. She wiped the dust off the field, pulled it together and shot it towards him. Meant really to toy with him, she hit her heel into ground; a pillar of rock aimed at The Boulder's back was easily dodged and thrown back towards her. She slid out of the way only to be bombarded with three rocks almost the size of boulders. She just ducked down, the hair in her eyes not bothering her in the least. She hit the heels of her palms to the ground and a wave of earth snaked its way towards the larger man. The Boulder simply blocked it and sent the wall used towards Toph. Toph smiled and slammed a boulder into the wall. It shattered in all directions, minor scratches littering Toph's form.
"Done playing yet, Pebble?" she shouted to him. The people in the crowd were whispering, now. How could such a small girl finish such a match only to attack with such ferocity in the next…and only be 'playing'?
She grinned, her horse stance hardly giving away any intentions. She swiped one arm towards the ground, fingers barely touching it. Nothing happened. The Boulder relaxed his stance slightly, almost unnoticeably to the crowd, but Toph wasn't part of the crowd.
The Boulder was shot back by the blows coming from the blind girl. He tripped on his own feet and was instantly shot out of the ring.
"Never--NEVER--underestimate…THE BLIND BANDIT!!!"
Toph gulped down some water before going back into the waiting area, her new belt wrapped around her waist and money sack in her hand. She walked up the Marbles and held her hand out to him. He was rather…busy at the moment, but she wasn't at all bothered,
"Pay up, doofus."
"Where did you learn stuff like that?!"
"I said pay up. Or does Elgo have my money." Fonzu narrowed his eyes at her, but grabbed the moneybag off the counter next to him. He tossed it to her. She grabbed it just a centimeter from her face; she still remembered how Sokka had dropped the belt on her head two years ago.
"Where'd someone like you learn that?"
"I learned and taught it myself."
"You teach!?"
"I'm not going to be your Master, Fonny. Twinkle Toes is enough for me to handle." She shook the bag. She smirked at him, "He still can't beat me. Fonny, let me tell you somethin'. That was the stupidest bet you'd ever make, challenging a Master like me. You know Twinkle Toes begged for me to teach him. We still spar with each other to keep up practice, but Monk Boy never wins."
"What's with the nicknames?"
"I told you, it's what I do. There's Twinkle Toes, Snoozles, Sugar Queen, Hothead…I nicknamed the whole gang within minutes."
"…Why would your parents even let you come here?"
"They didn't; I ran away two years ago. Haven't seen 'em since…though Ill' probably have to visit once we get to Gaoling. Damn, hadn't thought of that." And Toph turned on her heel and headed out to meet Meng and Suki. She smiled and dodged between the crowds.