Ch 4
Huh, Water bender?
The rest of Saturday was dueled out until the sun went down below the wooden fence line that surrounded their backyard.
` Sunday, Zaiko woke to the smell of frying bacon and scrambled eggs. This was why he liked Sundays. It was the one day he got to really enjoy bacon. I mean if you eat bacon and don't enjoy it, something is very, very wrong with you.
Anyways, Zaiko jumped out of bed and walked over to his dresser and rubbed the smooth wood.
"Ok ol buddy, what do you have for me?" Zaiko happily declared. He opened the bottom compartment which held his socks. He rumbled through them and grabbed an all black pair. He looked at them and grinned
"Perfect," he said, tossing them over his shoulder onto his bed. He closed the compartment and opened the middle one containing his pants. He pulled out his red Levi pants and closed the compartment. He lastly opened the top compartment which of course was his shirts. He pulled out his favorite shirt. An all black shirt with a phoenix on the front. There were also flames on the sleeves.
"Ok, done. Thanks ol buddy," Zaiko said to his dresser cheerfully walking over to his bed now ready to get dressed for the day.
After he got dressed he went to look at himself in the mirror one more time. He grinned
"Like I always say light skin or not I'm always me." he said as he walked to his door to exit the room. He twisted the door knob and walked out.
When he got down stairs, he breathed in the luscious smell of bacon grease and cheesy scrambled eggs. His mom must have been feeling exceptionally generous today. Zaiko could smell peanut butter cookies going in the oven.
He looked into the kitchen and saw his brother as always already at the table waiting happily for his food. As always his gray hair was still neatly straight and his eyes were a clear gray. He decided to go with an all white outfit. "Just like mom," Zaiko thought to himself as he stepped into the kitchen. He was taken aback by what his mom was wearing once he entered though. She had her gray hair tied back into a ponytail and wore a gray shirt and gray sweatpants. She was leaning over the sink washing the dishes and on the stove next to her was the finished breakfast. Zaiko took his seat across from his brother and hung his head low since he was still a little drowsy.
"You look good ma" Mako complimented. Their mom looked herself up and down, smiled and spinned.
"Oh this is nothing"
She said fixing two plates and walking over to the table.
"But these are for you"
She said placing their plates in front of them.
"Alright!" mako declared immediately digging in. Zaiko rolled his eyes as he pushed his fork around his plate. After Mako finished his plate going to get a second Zaiko had only finished half. He thought it would be a good idea to text Terri-ann and tell her what he and his brother were up to. Since they were training all yesterday, Zaiko never got the chance to see what she was talking about, so he made mako promise to help him find out today. It wasn't easy though he had to agree to a lot of things. Annoying but reasonable things. The response message he got back from Terri-ann caught him off guard. He had told her he and mako were coming over because they needed to talk. He at least was expecting an "ok good" type of response. Instead he got three crying emojis and a 'I'm sorry but we really can't talk anymore. Yep Zaiko felt that one.
"Mako!" he called "Time to go."
"Time to go?" Mako repeated, looking up from his now empty plate. Zaiko didn't know what in the world was going on. Her answer kept repeating over and over in his head.
"Never talk again" he ended up saying out loud.
Mako got up and grabbed one more piece of bacon and quickly munched it down, eyeing his brother the whole time. He knew exactly what was wrong with him.
"Ok I'm done, let's hurry" Mako said
"Where are the two of you going in such a hurry?" their mother asked, eyeing the both of them.
"A friend in need," Zaiko answered, standing from the table and walking towards the front door. He had only made it as far as the stairs before his mom asked him what friend. He remained silent. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Mako!" Zaiko snapped again
Mako, who had been eyeing another piece of bacon, quickly walked from the kitchen and stood behind his brother waiting for him to give him the signal to leave.
They both walked to the front door. As Zaiko grabbed the door knob their mother called from the kitchen. "Be safe you two. And be back before dinner."
Zaiko smirked as he pushed open the front door as both siblings
stepped into the blinding light of the outside world.
"Dude what did she say?" Mako asked. they were still only just outside the door standing on their porch. Zaiko showed Mako the text and even he was caught off guard.
"Alright let's go" Mako said as he began to channel the air currents around him. Zaiko put his arm over his brother's shoulder just as they lifted off the ground and began to shoot skyward. Zaiko loved that about Mako. Being able to control the air currents. Sometimes he was jealous. He always wanted to know how it felt. To have the wind in your hair, the rush in your ears. Even though it wasn't the same, Zaiko always enjoyed joining in for the ride. mako carried them just above terri-ann's house and it only took about 10 minutes. Zaiko noticed that there were two cars parked in front of her house that weren't there the first time they came here. Both siblings descended on the sidewalk next to one of the cars. "Well," Mako said jokingly, "she has other company." Zaiko glared at him.
"Kidding kidding"
Zaiko pulled out his phone and texted Terri-ann and told her they were outside. They waited three minutes before her front door opened but instead of Terri-ann an older man stepped out. As he began to walk towards them both brothers looked at eachother and had the same thought [father]. "Are you that boy Yaiko or Zaiko!" the man questioned Zaiko with anger in his voice. The first thing that went to Zaiko's head was the first name said. "Yaiko? That idiot of a fire bender from Friday" Zaiko thought
"I think not". Not to mention he didn't even know this guy but that caused him to wonder why he said his name as well.
"I am Zaiko,"he said, putting his hand on his chest. "And this is my brother mako" he continued pointing at his brother. Mako smiled immensely. Zaiko nudged him and he stopped.
"You have no right to be friends with my niece," he told them sternly. "Niece?" Zaiko asked, clearly confused. The man laughed.
"And you call yourselves her friends and you didn't even know. Zaiko wasn't expecting something like this today; the man's words almost felt like hate.
"What the hell are you trying to say, cut to the chase I'm really starting to get angry" Zaiko told him, extending his hand and displaying an intense flame.
"You're a perfect example of an everyday fire bender, prideful and cocky," the man said. Before Zaiko could respond mako stepped in front of zaiko and when he did a huge gust of wind came from behind him.
"End all this pettiness now and just tell us what we don't know." Mako said. That caught the guy off guard but he stood firm and smirked.
"Sure wait here" he told them and then went back into Terri-ann's house.
"Control yourself Zaiko," Mako told him. "I know its just-" Zaiko started
"I know, we've gotten ourselves into something much deeper than we think." Mako said.
Zaiko sighed "Yeah and we don't know what it is."
"Well we're about to find out,'' Mako said just as Terri-ann's front door opened. From the door walked out the man from before, Terri-ann and a woman they could easily tell was her mother. Terri-ann had her hair tied in a ponytail and Zaiko noticed that her hair actually wasn't really that long, it only went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a blue long sleeve shirt and blue jogging pants. Her emerald eyes were full of sadness and almost if Zaiko wasn't looking deep enough...regret. Her mother had the same complexion as her daughters but had hazel eyes. Her black hair was also shorter than Terri-ann's only going past her ears. Her eyes were just as amazing as Terri-ann's; only these eyes just like the man from before were full of hate.
"My daughter is not of your kind" she said pointing her finger at Zaiko hatefully. Zaiko took a step back. What the hell was this lady talking about? Something about the way she said the word kind, ticked him off. "What do you mean?" Mako asked in defense of his brother. Her gaze shifted to mako but only for a second.
"She is a water bender," she said, closing her eyes.
"Huh!?" Zaiko and Mako both said, completely puzzled. The man once again laughed. That pissed Zaiko off enough to shake it off. "Is this true?" Zaiko asked, looking at Terr-ann. She nodded. Well now zaiko was more than confused. Now he was a little curious. How did she sneak her way into a fire bending class? That was a question he was going to have to ask her alone."Ok" Zaiko started Pushing all the new mental luggage to the side.
"Now that that's done can you explain to me why I'm getting the hateful vibes, oh and why you asked if I'm Yaiko." he finished pointing at both her uncle and her mother.
"Her father" her uncle started, "Was killed by fire benders. They mugged him, took all he had and killed him." her mother continued pain visible in her voice. "That caused my daughter to go through a deep phase of depression; her grades dropped for a while. She even hung out with the wrong crowd. Only now has she gotten back on track. She turned, looking down at Terri-ann. Her eyes were deeply stern, "Her being around fire benders is forbidden," she said." then to find out she had one as a boyfriend" Zaiko couldn't hear another word.
"Forgive me Mako." Zaiko sighed
"No Zaiko" Mako started but Zaiko had already stepped forward.
"I am extremely sorry for your loss. I truly am but I can't just let you stereotype me over that experience". Her uncle stepped forward.
"Well prove you're different right now in a fight," he said. Mako sighed, "wouldn't that defeat the purpose?" He turned to his brother. "Zaiko, come on dude."
"Sorry, bro but this is the only way they'll see reason," Zaiko said.
"No you took it to the extreme because you don't like being stereotyped"
Mako sighed, "But you get to prove your point in the end I guess."
Zaiko smiled."You worry too much Mako. I won't lose."
He walked into her yard and for the first time he noticed that her yard was completely earth. Her uncle stepped off the porch. He glared at Zaiko with a smug look. "Heh, so he really thinks he's gonna win," Zaiko thought. He looked at Terri-ann and her eyes were telling him not to do this. He had to look away. He knows how deep the situation was but he wasn't about to back down.
"Zaiko!" Mako called. Zaiko turned to face his brother. "Don't you think it's weird?" Mako asked. Zaiko made a face "what if she's a waterbender and her mom is then he must be one two" zaiko said.
Mako shook his head "if that was the case he wouldn't have chosen to fight. There is no water here." Mako told him. He glanced at her uncle then back at Zaiko. "Just be on guard bro"
Zaiko grinned "dude really. He turned to her uncle and got into stance. Her mother shook her head. "Terri-ann, how did you even run into this guy?" Terri-ann looked at her mother's eyes full of complex emotions. "You don't understand what I'm seeing," she told her. How could he explain it to her? Zaiko had shown her that maybe all fire benders aren't bad after all. Maybe her mom was just clouded by pain and grief. Her uncle began to laugh
"You're such a cocky little-"
"Shut up! Dude." Zaiko said, cutting him off as he jabbed a powerful fireball at him.
"Ok, let's see his response," Zaiko thought. Her uncle raised his leg and a wall of earth rose blocking the fire.
"You can't be serious!" Zaiko thought. Her uncle punched the wall three times, breaking it into three chunks. "Ok he's an earthbender cool gotta prove I'm different they'll like this one." Her uncle got into a boxing stance. He kicked the bottom piece sending it towards Zaiko, who ran and jumped pushing off of it. her uncle stepped back and kicked the top piece towards Zaiko. Zaiko shot fire from his hands pushing him further up.
"What is he doing?" Mako thought to himself. Her uncle raised his arm and sent the final piece at Zaiko. "I dodged the first two. Now watch this! Zaiko thought. He flipped over the chunk of earth pushed off the bottom sending him towards her uncle. He punched him in the jaw and then pushed off his chest back flipping.
Zaiko looked at her uncle with a grin who had stumbled back a little. He rubbed his cheek slightly. "You got some nerve kid." he snarled.
"My hand to hand combat skills are just as good as my fire bending, you wanted different. Here you go." Zaiko responded. Then dashed at Terri-ann's uncle. Mako shook his head. "He's an earth bender, his defense is gonna be good Zaiko," he thought. Once Zaiko got within three feet of her uncle he raised his arms raising the earth in front of him causing Zaiko to jump back. The earth levitated above her uncle as he held his hands up to the sky.
"How about this!"
Zaiko sighed. "This is going to be interesting." her uncle motioned his hands towards Zaiko as the earth above him then flung towards him. Once the chunk got within arms reach of Zaiko he extended his arm and released a small but powerful condensed fire blast right into the center of it destroying it. Even so, Zaiko was still blown back by the force of the colliding elements.
"Zaiko!" Mako yelled, but Zaiko was just fine. He might have gotten blown back 3 feet and was on one knee, but he wasn't even hurt or tired at all. His only problem was trying to find a way past his defense.
Terri-ann watched in awe. Zaiko was definitely far from other benders his age. She couldn't think of anyone who could think and act that fast.
"Who could have thought he was capable of this," she heard her mother mutter.
Mako could see the grin on his brother's face as he shook his head. "Seriously we end up like this all the time. "What am I gonna do with you?"
As Zaiko got back to his feet her uncle smirked. "I'm surprised you still can keep up." Zaiko returned a smirk as he extended his hand outward and displayed a marvelous flame.
"I've been hit harder." Zaiko looked around the yard seeing the damage this fight could cause if they kept going. That was one thing Zaiko refused to hold in his conscience. He looked at her uncle. "You realize we can destroy this house and the yard if we keep going right?" Zaiko said.
Her uncle cracked his knuckles. "I'll take full responsibility."
Zaiko smirked. He knew how to get past his defense now. Zaiko shot fire from his feet sending him straight up into the sky and flipped until his head faced her uncle and shot fire from his feet again. "A straightforward attack? You firebenders never learn." her uncle scoffed. He stomped the ground with both feet as two spheres of earth rose from the ground as he broke them both in half forming four decent size spheres. He thrusted his arm toward Zaiko as they both shot towards him. Zaiko stopped shooting fire from his feet when the first sphere got 5 feet away from him. He flipped over it and grabbed it, chucking it at the second destroying them both. He landed on the ground now 10 feet from her uncle. He once again shot fire from his feet zooming towards his opponent. "Seriously, is that all you firebenders are good for?" her uncle said, then kicked the third sphere and flipped kicked the last. Zaiko stopped shooting fire from his feet and when his feet touched the ground he started running, keeping his momentum. I've been saving this for you Mako. he thought. Zaiko spinned past the first sphere and ducked the last one. Standing back straight and bringing his arm back taking a deep breath, Zaiko released a powerful fire blast at her uncle from 3 feet away. Her uncle only had enough time to block as he was blown back 4 feet, slamming hard onto the ground on his back. Zaiko had a huge grin on his face as her uncle got back to his feet slowly. He wasn't injured but the attack from Zaiko left him sore. He turned to terri-ann's mom.
"Maybe he is different, Mary." her mother didn't know how to respond. She couldn't believe her eyes. Zaiko didn't just simply win, He won and made it look as if it were basic training to him. She looked at her daughter and saw how happy she was. She knew as a parent she couldn't deny the way her daughter felt. She couldn't tell what Terri-ann was seeing in Zaiko, at least not clearly. One thing was sure he was not like the rest. She sighed and closed her eyes hoping she wasn't gonna regret what she was about to say.
"Zaiko!" she called. Zaiko jumped at the sound of his name. He turned to her mother slowly.
"Um… yes" Zaiko stuttered.
Her mother smiled which caught Zaiko off guard. He wouldn't exactly be smiling after someone fought in his yard. "You are a different kind of firebender, I sense no arrogance from you. Rather a sense of hope that comes out through your flames."
Zaiko was confused by the statement but then he felt Mako lean on his shoulder slightly.
"Let me guess, firebender, you thought that was cool, didn't you?" Mako said sarcastically.
Zaiko sighed, "Shut up Mako."
Mako saw a small fire burning on the ground but he quickly took care of it. Terri-ann's mother helped her uncle back to the porch.
"Seriously, Jimmy. You need to be more careful," she said.
"Ha! It'll take more than that to keep me down." Jimmy laughed.
Mary turned to Zaiko and Mako one last time.
"Zaiko, you are the only fire bender I trust my daughter around." Her tone became dead serious, "Don't disappoint me." she said.
Zaiko smiled."You have no need to worry. I'll keep her safe."
Mary's eyes filled with little hope. "You made a good choice, Terri-ann," her mother said, turning to her daughter, then apologized.
"I shouldn't have judged him so quickly."