Disclaimer: I don't own either Naruto nor Avatar. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Nickelodeon respectively.
A/N: Well, I guess you guys want an explanation as to why it took me so damn long to update. To make a long story short I was hit by the biggest case of writer's block that I've ever had. Several weeks could go by with me sitting in front of my computer, trying to work on a particular part of the chapter, but the words would simply not come to me. You have no idea how frustrating that was!
I finally managed to write the sixth chapter and I really hope that the block is behind me. I'm not going to bore you more than I've already have, but I'd just like to give a special thanks to Stalker of Stories for having once again agreed to beta-read this.
Chapter 06
Some Well Earned Rest
"Okay. Now try wriggling a bit," urged Ty-Lee hesitantly.
"Ghu. After this is all over you are so buying me a new set," Mai drawled as she and her normally peppy friend kept digging in the hot afternoon sun.
Azula, princess of the Fire Nation and Fire Bending prodigy extraordinaire, was in an even fouler mood than usual at the moment. But considering the fact that she was hot, sweaty and had been completely buried from the neck down in hardened soil since the previous day, perhaps that was somewhat understandable.
Not too long after their defeat at the hands of the Avatar and his friends, Ty-Lee had been the first one to break free from the holds that a certain young Earthbender had put on her. She had then pretty much immediately gone over to Mai and spent some time helping her gloomy friend out of her earth made prison.
However, the two of them would soon find out that they had gotten away lucky compared to their leader who had basically been completely submerged into the ground. Since none of them were Earthbenders, it didn't exactly require a genius to figure out that getting Azula out would be both a time consuming and back breaking chore. After all, the only tools available to them were Mai's weapons, which weren't exactly suitable for digging to begin with.
But the two girls didn't really have any say in the matter and had obediently (albeit quite a bit reluctantly on Mai's part) gotten to work, only stopping for the occasional short rest before getting back to it again.
Almost twenty four hours had passed since their battle with the Avatar before Azula was finally pulled out of the hole in the ground. She eyed her ruined uniform with disdain and tried to brush some of the dirt out of it, but soon realized that it was a lost cause and gave up. She silently swore that the next time they crossed paths she would make sure to "repay" the detestable little Earthbender that had dared to do this to her.
Trying to at least regain some of her dignity, Azula straightened herself up and silently took in the sight of the surrounding area, or more specifically, the damage that had been done to it during the battle.
The ground was scorched in several places, but all flames, including those she had used to encircle the plateau in order to trap their targets, had long since burned out. Her eyes then hardened as she stared down at the large crater that her blond opponent's attack had etched into the earth.
She barely managed to suppress a shudder as she could clearly imagine what would have happened if she hadn't been able to deflect the spinning energy ball at the very last minute. But even though it had missed, the shock-wave had still been powerful enough to send her flying. The memory of the incident was enough to turn her beautiful face into an angry scowl.
During the long hours that she'd spent buried in the ground, she'd had plenty of time to replay the battle in her head over and over again. The young man she had originally written off as little more than a grinning buffoon had quickly proven himself to be unlike any opponent she had ever faced before in her entire life.
The abilities he'd displayed in their battle were things she would never have believed possible hadn't she been there to witness them for herself. Not to mention the fact that during their whole encounter, he'd continued to do nothing but catch her by surprise.
That was probably the thing that irked her the most. His unpredictability. Add to that the stunning realization that there wasn't anything about him that she could actually explain. He wasn't a Bender, that's something she was definitely certain about, but that was pretty much it. He was a total enigma to her and that was something she, a person so used of being in complete control of every situation, couldn't tolerate. And yet still... for that very same reason, he intrigued her to no end. There were so many questions she wanted answered. Who was he? What was he? Why did he help the Avatar and where did he come from?
She let her golden eyes wander to the place where she had struck him down with her lightning, allowing a small but triumphant smirk to grace her lips as she recalled the end of their duel. Despite everything that had happened, at least that managed to soothe her bruised ego to some extent.
"Hey, what's that?" Mai suddenly asked while pointing at something in the sky, effectively breaking Azula out of her reverie.
Ty-Lee squinted her eyes, trying her best to make out the shape of whatever it could be, before her chocolate brown orbs widened in recognition. "It's one of our messenger-hawks," she declared.
"Call it down here," ordered Azula immediately.
Doing as she was told, the former circus performer put two of her fingers into her mouth and blew, letting out an incredibly high pitched noise that sounded almost exactly like a hawk's cry. The trained bird immediately responded to the call and changed its course, now heading straight towards the three girls before landing on top of Azula's outstretched arm.
The hawk bowed forward, showing off the canister on its back that contained its cargo. As Azula laid her eyes one the sealed scroll she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she saw the black band that was wrapped around it. Messages that carried the Black Ribbon held an extremely high priority and were intended to be read by the Fire Lord himself. It was obvious that whatever had been written was of great importance to the homeland.
The princess pondered for a split second if she should really be reading it or not before finally giving a shrug, deciding that her father surely wouldn't mind. She then wasted little time to remove the message that the hawk was offering her. With her prize in hand she nonchalantly handed the creature over to Ty-Lee while she removed the seal wrapped around the scroll.
As Azula read the message, she had to make a small double take when she was about halfway through, her eyes widening in slight surprise at what exactly was written. She went back to the beginning, going through the whole thing a second time, and as she carefully read it word for word, her lips slowly started to curve upwards into an evil smirk. Once she was finally done, the Fire Nation princess slowly turned towards her companions with a most pleased look on her face. "Well, ladies, it seems like there's a slight change in our plans."
"W-What do you mean, Azula?" Ty-Lee asked as she absent-mindedly stroked the hawks crimson feathers.
"According to what's written here," she said while holding up the document for the two of them to see, "it would seem as if our dear War Minister Qin have managed to develop something quite interesting during his time here in the Earth Kingdom. He claims to have found a solution to finally rid ourselves of one of the greatest obstacles to our victory in this war. A way to breach the impenetrable city of Ba Sing Se."
Both Ty-Lee's and the usually stoic Mai's eyes widened at this revelation. During all of the one hundred years that the war had lasted, nothing the Fire Nation had tried in order to conquer the great Earth Kingdom capital had met anything but complete and utter failure when faced with the famed walls that protected it. Nothing they had thrown at it had worked and even General Iroh, the legendary Dragon of the West, had been forced to admit defeat after his 600-day long siege of the city.
If what Qin said was true, that he had actually found a way to get past the walls, it would be a major breakthrough in their war effort.
"So what are we going to do now?" Mai started hesitantly. "Do we go after the Avatar or...?"
"There will be other times to for us to go after the Avatar and his ragtag team of misfits," stated the raven haired girl with a shrug and a smirk. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love nothing more than to pay them back for this humiliation, but I do feel that Qin is more deserving of our attention right now."
Azula took a small stick off the ground and burned the tip of it, turning it into a makeshift charcoal pencil. She then proceeded with writing down a brief message at the bottom of Qin's scroll, telling her father that he wouldn't need to bother sending anyone since she would go and inspect the War Minister's claims personally. The princess would have preferred to use some more proper tools for an important message such as this, but since none were available she was forced to improvise.
With the task done she re-wrapped the ribbon around the scroll, put it back inside the hawk's canister and sent the bird off to continue its journey towards the Fire Nation.
"Well then, girls, what do you say about giving our dear old War Minister a visit?" Azula asked in a feigned cheerful fashion. However, as soon as she said that, a lock of her black hair fell down in front of her face, reminding the princess that her current state of appearance was, well to put it mildly, a real mess.
Ty-Lee couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the sight, but stopped right away when she saw the look on Azula's face. The golden eyed girl's face had darkened instantly and one of her eyebrows twitched in barely restrained anger. Mai and Ty-Lee stood there in tense silence, dreading the eruption that was sure to come any second now.
But it never came. Instead Azula suddenly seemed almost unnervingly calm as she looked at them with eyes as hard as steel. When she finally spoke it was in a cold, nearly emotionless voice. "Ty-Lee, find our Mongoose Dragons. If we're lucky they shouldn't be too far away from where we left them," she said to the former circus performer before turning to the other girl, addressing her in the same manner. "Mai, go and check if there's a lake around here somewhere so that I may wash myself."
Mai and Ty-Lee briefly looked at each other, before hurrying along to perform their assigned tasks. None of them really wished to try their luck here, both preferring to do as they were told lest they'd incur the wrath of the seriously ticked off Fire Nation princess.
With her cohorts gone, Azula turned to look at the horizon. She narrowed her amber eyes as her thoughts were once again centred on the blond, grinning fool that had now joined the Avatar. She swore to herself that the next time they crossed paths, she would make sure to not repeat her past mistakes and deal with all of them.
Permanently.
OoOoOoO
Naruto let out a contented sigh as he leaned himself back in his seat, rubbing his belly with a happy smile on his face. He and his new friends had just finished eating a fabulous home-cooked meal at the inn, made by the loving hand of Mrs. H'u Xū. While he didn't think it was as good as Ichiraku's ramen (but really, what in the world was?), it sure came pretty damn close.
About an hour had passed since he, Aang and Toph had finally met up with Katara and Sokka after their violent encounter with the pirates. The young Waterbender had nearly blown a gasket once she'd seen the state Aang was in and had heatedly demanded an explanation.
After they'd managed to assure the girl that Aang was fine and that his paralysis would go away by itself in just a couple of hours, they'd headed back to the inn where, to their delighted surprise, a nice meal was being prepared for them. Then while they ate, the three of them went through everything that had happened while they were away. Each of them took turns in filling in the gaps, with the two Water Tribe siblings sitting at rapt attention, listening intently to every detail.
"I can't believe you took on a whole crew of pirates by yourselves and blew up their ship," said Katara with just a slight bit of awe.
"Damn it. I can't believe I missed out on a nice brawl fest just because those cowards were too scared to stay and fight on dry land. Some guys just get all the fun," grumbled Toph with a mouth full of food. After swallowing, however, she seemed to instantly perk up, sporting a wide grin. "Then again, I did get the pleasure of hearing Naruto scream like a little girl when I launched him at them," she laughed loudly while nudging the blond in the ribs.
"Oh, so you thought that was funny, huh?" Naruto said with a forced smile as his left eyebrow twitched. He definitely hadn't forgotten about the ordeal that Toph had put him through. Using the speed he'd gained after years of hard training he reached out to the girl, catching the startled Earthbender off guard and quickly got her in a headlock. The ninja chuckled evilly at her futile attempts of getting free and raised his free hand into the air.
Toph might have won the underground Earthbending tournament at her home town, beating the snot out of grown men more than twice her age with little to no difficulty. But she had never before in her life been on the receiving end of an Uzumaki styled noogie!
"Ha ha! Payback's a bitch, ain't it, Toph? Now say uncle!"
"In your dreams!"
"Say uncle!"
"Never!"
"Say uncle!"
"Forget it!"
"Come on, you know you want to," Naruto said in a sing song voice as he intensified the rough treatment of her scalp.
Toph's head almost felt like it was on fire and she growled in frustration before finally shouting, "All right! Uncle! UNCLE!"
The ninja grinned triumphantly as he let go of the young Earthbender. "See, was that so hard, Toph?"
Her answer was to jab the blond hard in his bicep. "Try that again and I will hurt you," said the blind girl grumpily while rubbing her head.
Naruto just chuckled and, to Toph's great annoyance, ruffled her hair affectionately before turning to the others at the table. "So, now that we've eaten, what are the plans for the rest of the day?"
"Well for starters, you and I are going to go out and find yourself some new clothes," answered Katara with a smile. "You can't continue running around in just a pair of pants, now can you?"
"I guess not," he replied with a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his head.
"And me and Toph planned to go and check out all the street performers," stated Sokka with a wide grin after having cleaned his plate off of every single grain of food.
"That sounds great," said Aang. He was really looking forward to get back outside and enjoy the festivities. "You can definitely count me in."
"Oh, no you don't," said Katara suddenly, causing everyone to look her way. The girl had her arms folded over her chest and looked at her young friend with disapproving eyes. "I don't think that you've recovered nearly enough to move around on your own yet. It would probably be best if you just stayed here and got some rest until the toxins are completely out of your system."
"Aw, come on Katara," protested the young monk. "I feel fine. Here, I'll show you." Using all the concentration and willpower Aang could muster, he ever so slowly began to raise himself onto his legs, shaking like a leaf until he'd finally managed to force his body into a standing position. He breathed heavily for a moment before showing the Water Tribe girl a wide grin.
That is until he fell flat on his face with a loud thud that made everyone else in the room wince.
Katara was instantly by his side, helping him back to his seat and started to examine him for any injuries he might have gained from his stunt. "Well, I don't really want to say 'what did I tell you'... but I guess I just did," she said with an apologetic smile while treating a quickly forming lump at the top of his head.
Aang pouted sourly and looked the other way.
"Hey, don't feel bad, Aang," said Sokka. "We'll tell you all about the fun we had when we get back. Won't we, Toph?"
"We sure will, Sokka," replied Toph, whereupon the two of them grinned brightly and gave the young Airbender a thumbs up each.
"Not helping, guys," muttered Katara while giving the two a dirty look before turning her attention back to the young monk, taking a reassuring hold on his hand. "Aang, I know you're upset about this, but you have to understand that your health is much more important than a few hours of fun and games. So please don't be mad."
The Avatar let out a heavy sigh before forcing himself to give the girl a small smile. "All-right, I'll stay put. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it."
"Don't worry, Aang. We'll try to not be out for too long, and if you get lonely you've always got Momo to talk to." The lemur in question was currently sniffing at the boy's leftovers, snagging some of it when he thought no one was looking. "And tonight we'll watch the fireworks that Mr H'u Xū told us about."
With that said, the Avatar's friends headed out, promising the young Airbender that they wouldn't be out for too long, and that they would bring something back for him.
Once they had left, Aang let out a sigh before turning to Momo who was sitting on the table in front of him.
"So, Momo. Anything you'd like to talk about?"
The little animal just silently looked at the Airbender before letting out a drawn out yawn. He then curled himself into a ball and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.
Aang sighed as he leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling and having only two words to describe his current situation.
"This bites."
OoOoOoO
"Okay, but thank you for the help anyway," said Katara as she and Naruto left yet another booth.
That was the sixth clothes-salesman they'd been to in the last half hour, and none of them seemed to have anything that even remotely managed to catch the interest of the blond at her side. At one point she'd suggested him to try out some traditional Earth Kingdom clothes, but he had quickly dismissed that idea, saying that green wasn't really his colour before shuddering for some strange reason.
She also found it a bit annoying that he seemed to be far more interested in what was going on around them than what they were actually supposed to be doing. She couldn't help but wonder if all boys were like that, or just the ones she knew.
"You could at least try some of the clothes out before completely dismissing them," sighed Katara as they walked down the street.
"But Katara, what's the point in trying out something if I can already tell that I won't like it?" Naruto asked innocently with his hands folded behind his head.
"I suppose you're right," she said with another sigh. "But what exactly are you looking for anyway? I'm not a mind-reader so I can't really help you if you're not telling me, can I?"
"I guess not," the ninja replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.
He knew he should act more interested when she'd offered to help him out, but he just couldn't help it. He'd always thought that shopping for clothes was, well for the lack of a better word, boring as all hell. That was one of the main reasons why he had a tendency to run around in the same clothes for several days on end.
But that was certainly no excuse and he realized that he really should put some more effort into the whole thing. He turned to Katara and offered the girl an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Katara," he said. "I'll try to be more interested. I promise."
The young Waterbender felt her annoyance disappear and allowed her lips to turn into a smile of her own. "That's what I wanted to hear." She then suddenly grabbed onto his hand and started dragging him down the street. "Now come on. We don't have all day on our hands."
"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?" Naruto whined as several bystanders gave them some amused looks. Honestly, what was the deal with girls and shopping anyway? He just hoped it wouldn't end up like that one time when Sakura had dragged him out of his apartment (in a manner very similar to this one actually), claiming that he seriously needed to extend his wardrobe. Everything had been fine and dandy until they'd run into Ino who, after having heard what they were doing, had said that she was far better suited to help Naruto out since Sakura, apparently, didn't have any real taste to speak of.
The end results hadn't been pretty and he still had nightmares from that particular event.
The two of them continued on in this fashion for some time, wandering in comfortable silence with Katara scanning through the different stalls while Naruto obediently followed in tow. It didn't take all too long before the girl's blue eyes landed on a booth that seemed to exhibit a wide array of different clothes. After getting the attention of the topless boy at her side, the two teenagers went to check it out.
They had just barely begun browsing through the displays when the owner approached them. She was a rather attractive woman that appeared to be in her early thirties, clad in a stylish, yet practical, kimono with her dark hair flowing down her shoulders. Her face showed just the slightest hint of make-up and she offered both of them a warm and inviting smile.
"Why, hello there, darlings. My name is Sichou and welcome to my humble boutique," she said with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "How may I be of assistance?"
"Well, we're looking for some new clothes for my friend here," answered Katara while pointing at Naruto. "We haven't had much luck so far and hoped to find something here."
"Don't worry," Sichou replied with a wink. "I've got clothes from every corner of the world. If you can't find anything you like here, then you might as well stop looking." She then turned to Naruto, giving the blond her full attention. "Now, honey, tell me exactly what you had in mind."
"Well, I'd really like something orange," answered Naruto hesitantly. "And something black in there would be nice too."
"Alright. Hold still for just a second, okay?" Sichou asked before whipping out a measurement-tape and started taking the boy's measurements. With that done, the woman tapped her chin and hummed while giving the young ninja another quick once-over. Her lips then turned into a grin. "I think I have just what you've been looking for," she said before turning to her goods, digging them through in search for what she had in mind.
"Here. Try these on and see if they fit," she said and handed Naruto the clothes she'd picked out. "I really think you'll find them to be to your liking."
Naruto looked first to his right then left before replying. "Where am I supposed to change? You can't possibly expect me to get naked out here on the street."
Katara blushed while the sales-woman just laughed melodically at the boy's words. "Oh, don't be silly, honey. I've set up a make-shift changing room behind my booth so my customers can have all the privacy that they deserve."
"Oh. Thanks, lady," Naruto smiled brightly before going to try on the clothes.
Just shortly after the blond had left, Sichou let out a low whistle. "Mommy knows what she likes and mommy likes what she sees," she grinned lecherously before letting out a sad sigh. "If only I was ten or fifteen years younger." She then turned to Katara with a conspiratorial smile. "You really should hold on to that one, girlie. He's got quite a body for someone his age. It's almost a shame having to cover it up."
"Wh-What?!" Katara sputtered in shock at the older woman's comment, her cheeks suddenly burning with one of the most intense blushes she'd ever experienced in her whole life. "We're not like that! We just met yesterday!" she nearly shrieked, scandalized by what the woman had just implied.
"Really? Well, that's a shame," Sichou stated. "You two make such a cute couple."
Whatever retort she was about to say was interrupted when Naruto returned, dressed in the new clothes.
His pants had been swapped for a pair that was of a slightly darker shade of orange than his old ones, held securely in place by a black cloth tied around his waist. His previously naked upper body was now covered by a common, short sleeved Earth Kingdom tunic, with the only difference being that instead of the usual green, yellow or beige colour, it was white. And to top the whole thing off, over it he wore a black and orange over shirt.
"So what do you think, honey?" asked Sichou with a playful smirk on her face while holding up a mirror she'd kept nearby.
Naruto remained silent for a moment, taking his time to check himself out in his new attire. "I like 'em," the blond concluded with a wide grin, actually pretty satisfied with the clothes. The saleswoman obviously knew her stuff. "Hey, Katara. How do I look?" Naruto asked while striking a pose.
"You look great," replied the Waterbender as she couldn't help but smile at his antics.
It was soon wiped from her face, however, when Sichou bent forward and whispered into her ear. "He sure does, doesn't he?" She teased with a mischievous smirk, making Katara glare angrily back at the woman.
"Hey, is something wrong, Katara?" Naruto asked, having noticed the sudden change in his friend's mood.
"Nothing, Naruto. Let's just get out of here," muttered the young Waterbender as she handed the smug looking Sichou the money they owed her, while at the same time trying to make sure that the boy didn't notice her blush. Honestly, the nerve of some people!
"Are you sure? You seem a bit upset," insisted the blond boy as they started to head back to the inn.
"I told you it was nothing!"
OoOoOoO
"I still don't get what's so great about fireworks," grumbled Toph sourly. "If I wanted to listen to a bunch of loud bangs I could just as well have gone to the nearest sleazy bar and busted some heads instead."
"Aw, don't be like that, Toph," said Sokka with a grin. "We wouldn't dream of missing out on your charming company."
"If that's sarcasm I'm hearing, you're going to be waking up without your front teeth."
As evening finally came, Naruto and his new friends found themselves sitting atop the roof of H'u Xū's inn, waiting expectantly for the fireworks to finally begin.
"How are you feeling, Aang?" Naruto asked as Katara tried to help the young monk take a seat. The last thing they wanted now was to have him fall down and beat himself half to death after everything that had happened.
"Much better," stated the Avatar with a wide grin as Momo climbed onto his shoulder. "I've regained most of my mobility, but my legs still feel a bit wobbly and I've got this really annoying tingle in my feet. But other than that I feel fine."
"Great to hear that, buddy," smiled Sokka. The Water Tribe boy reached into the bag sitting beside him and pulled out a smaller one, made out of paper, which he then tossed to the recovering Airbender. "I got you some snacks. Hope you'll like 'em."
"Thanks," replied Aang happily before throwing a few of the crunchy goodies into his waiting mouth. He chuckled at his lemur companion who had decided to mimic his actions. "So, er, how was the fair?" The young boy asked hesitantly as he turned to his friends, a forced smile present on his face. "Did you guys have any fun?"
"Did we ever?!" Sokka exclaimed, brimming with barely contained excitement. "There were enough games, food and street performers to keep me occupied for days." The teenager raised a hand and started counting down on his fingers. "There were platypus-bear tamers, boat races and a magician that ate his own head. They even had a tent with belly-dancers. Belly-dancers, Aang!"
Sokka turned silent when he noticed the slightly forlorn look on Aang's face, not to mention the glare that his sister was sending his way. He slumped his shoulders with a guilty look on his face.
"I'm sorry. Aang," Sokka said remorsefully. "I know you really wanted to go."
"No, it's okay, Sokka," replied Aang, trying to wave the whole thing off. The boy forced a smile, but everyone could tell it was far from genuine.
The Water Tribe siblings looked sadly at each other, wondering what they could do to cheer up the boy. But before any of them had time to say anything, the attention was suddenly drawn to Naruto when he suddenly slapped Aang on the back. The force of it almost caused the Airbender to fall forward and made Momo let out a frightened shriek as he jumped off the boy.
Aang curiously looked at Naruto who simply grinned back at him in that fox-like way of his.
"Hey, drop the long face, Aang," said the blond. "I'm sure that once you've beaten that Fire Lord you were talking about, people are gonna throw you a party that'll make this one look like Wednesday-tea by comparison."
"You make it sound so simple," frowned Aang while rubbing his back (he wouldn't be surprised if it was going to leave a mark). He really appreciated the blond's attempts to lift his spirits, but if there was one person he'd rather not think about right now, then that person would have to be the malevolent ruler of the Fire Nation.
"That's because it is," insisted Naruto as he leaned forward and looked into the young Airbender's grey eyes. "I'm still new to this place and might not have all the details, but I've managed to catch on to a few things. This Firelord is a pretty bad guy, right?"
That's got to be the understatement of the year, Aang thought. "Yes. He wants to conquer the whole world," he answered hesitantly.
"And he's really strong, isn't he?"
"Yes. He's supposedly the most powerful Firebender in our time."
"Then all you have to do is to get even more powerful than he is and kick his ass," Naruto finished while pointing Aang in the chest, grinning from ear to ear. "It's as simple as that."
"No, it's not!" Aang frowned, gaining a look of frustration as he couldn't help but start thinking about all the things he would have to do if he was to ever save the world.
What many people seemed to forget was that while Aang was indeed the current incarnation of the Avatar, with all the duties and responsibilities that that title entailed, he was also still just a child. Having the fate of the entire world resting on your shoulders would be unbearably tough for anyone, let alone if you where a twelve year old boy who should be enjoying his childhood to the fullest.
"First I'm going to have to start learning Earthbending. I've still got a whole lot of Waterbending to perfect before I'm done. I have to find a Firebending instructor that's actually willing to teach me and not toast me on sight. Do you have any idea how hard that'll be in this day and age?!" And once I've actually mastered all the elements I'll have to -!"
Naruto then suddenly and unceremoniously bopped the Avatar on the head, much to the boy's (and all of his friends') shock, effectively shutting him up in the middle of his rant.
"N-Naruto?!" Katara nearly shrieked.
"What? He was starting to hyperventilate," stated the blond innocently before once again turning his attention back to Aang, who was now silently rubbing his head while pouting sourly at the ninja.
"I said it was simple, not that it was gonna be easy," Naruto said before getting himself back up on his feet, his eyes remaining locked with Aang's.
The Avatar and his friends eyed the blond curiously as his face split into a wide, toothy grin. He then suddenly pointed down at Aang, startling the boy and causing him to flinch back just a bit. Before the boy had time to voice a question, Naruto started talking in a loud and commanding tone.
"Uncork those ears of yours and listen well, Aang! I know that you've got a lot of stuff on your shoulders right now, but you can never give up. Even if everything feels unbearable or impossible to you, even if it feels like the whole world is falling apart all around you, you can never ever run away! Because as long as you put your mind to it, have the will to work hard and never give up on what you believe in, then there is nothing in this world that is impossible for you! NOTHING!"
The Gang could do little more than stare in silent bewilderment as the whiskered teenager continued on with his impassioned speech, the tails of his headband fluttering dramatically in the evening wind.
"Is this guy for real?" Toph whispered with a raised eyebrow, but was quickly hushed by Sokka.
"And until I manage to find my way home," Naruto now pointed at himself with his thumb, his blue eyes burning with a seemingly unquenchable fire that spoke of his fierce determination, "I am going to help you with your quest in every way I can! Believe it!"
And, of course, it was at exactly that moment, when the blond had just finished talking, that the fireworks decided to start.
After the spectacular light-show had ended, the Avatar and his group of friends walked down from the roof, heading towards their rooms in order to get some well deserved sleep before their departure in the morning.
However, they soon stopped in their tracks when they heard the voices of Mr and Mrs H'u Xū coming from downstairs. Although they couldn't quite make out what they were saying, other than some sporadic bits and pieces here and there, there was no mistaking it that it was a rather heated discussion.
After briefly looking at each other, they all wordlessly agreed to go down and find out what exactly was going on. As they walked down the stairs, the voices got clearer and it became much easier to hear what was being said between the elderly couple.
"...no harm in asking," spoke Mrs H'u Xū. "If anyone can help it's him."
"Oh, but I don't want to bother him with our troubles," replied her husband. "He already has enough on his shoulders to deal with."
When they finally entered the dining hall, they couldn't help but notice the way how the elderly couple sitting by the table instantly turned silent when they saw them.
"Oh, hello there, children. Did you enjoy the show?" Mr H'u Xū asked with a smile. However, unlike his usual smile that seemed to be full of humour and mirth, this one seemed awfully strained for some reason.
"Is there something wrong, Mr H'u Xū?" Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wrong? Whatever are you talking about, young man?" The old man asked while raising himself onto his feet, that same smile still present on his face. For some reason he seemed to refuse to look anyone of them in the eye and his wife kept frowning at him. "Everything is fine."
"You're lying," deadpanned Toph, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. The blind Earthbender had immediately been able to pick up the vibrations that the old man was giving off, letting her know that he wasn't telling them the truth. "What is it that you're trying to hide, old man?"
There was a moment of tense silence in the room that only ended when the lady of the house decided that enough was enough.
"Go on, dear, tell them," she urged her husband. "They can help."
"There's obviously something bothering you, sir, so please tell us," implored Katara. "If there's anything we can do, we'd love to help."
H'u Xū looked a bit hesitant at first but gave in once he realized that nothing he said would manage to deter the youngsters standing before him.
"Well, all right then," he sighed. "Please, have a seat and I shall explain everything."
His wife gave him a small smile and squeezed his shoulder before leaving the table. "I'll go put on some tea," she said.
Having grabbed a chair each, Naruto and his new friends waited expectantly for the old man to tell them all what exactly seemed to gnaw at him. He wrung his hands for a bit, seemingly to compose himself, before he took a deep breath and finally looked up at them.
"In the mountains, not all that far away from here, there's a village called Cai Kuang," he began. "For generations our two settlements have enjoyed a close relationship that benefits us both. They mine the mountains that are rich with numerous kinds of ore, which we then here in Gang Kou later help ship to different parts of the kingdom, providing a good source of income for us all. We visit each other all the time and a lot of us have started families together. My best friend, who I've known for pretty much all my life, lives there."
The old man's face then turned despondent, making him actually look his age for the first time since the youths had met him.
"But suddenly, around three weeks ago, we just stopped hearing from them," said H'u Xū as he rubbed his wrinkled forehead. "No messages. No travellers. Nothing."
"Have you made any investigations?" Sokka asked while stroking his chin.
"Yes. Some of the men and I actually went to check if everything was all right with them, but we weren't even able to get there," he explained. "You see, between Gang Kou and Cai Kuang there's a deep and wide ravine, and the only way of crossing it is by using a certain bridge that we built over two hundred years ago. But once we finally got to it, it had been completely and utterly destroyed."
"Could it have been worn out due to natural causes, or do you think that there's some kind of sabotage involved?" Katara asked
"There was definitely nothing natural about this, believe me," stated the old inn keeper grimly before taking a sip of the cup of tea that his wife handed him. "We had brought an Earthbender with us, and he tried to create a new bridge so that we would be able to walk across. But before we even had time to set a foot on it, it started crumbling and shattered into pieces before falling into the chasm right in front of our very eyes. We tried the same thing about three times but got the same result."
The old man's face was scrunched into a mask of frustration as he stared down at the table.
"I don't know what's happened, but I'm certain that something bad is going on in the village and I'm at a complete loss of what to do."
Naruto frowned and was just about to say something, but was stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. Looking to his left he saw Katara who shook her head at him before giving a nod towards Aang, telling him to remain quiet and wait for Aang to make his own decision.
Everything was silent for a moment as the Airbender had his eyes closed, appearing to be in deep thought. However, none of them had to wait long before the young monk's lips spread into a wide, lopsided grin. "Don't worry about it, Mr H'u Xū," he said. "We'll go check things out for you. After all, it's the Avatar's duty to help people in need wherever he may find them."
"B-But what about your quest?" The old man stammered. "Surely you have-" he began before he was cut off by Sokka.
"It's not like we have to follow a schedule here," said the young Water Tribe warrior before he folded his arms over his chest and smirked. "The way I see it, as long as Aang manages to master the four elements and beat the Fire Lord, I think we can allow ourselves a slight detour on our way there."
"And besides, if we're heading for the mountains it would be a great opportunity for me to finally start drilling some Earthbending into Twinkle Toes here," interjected Toph.
"Seems like you're gonna get some help whether you like it or not, old man," stated Naruto with a toothy grin. "If I were you I'd just be happy and accept it."
H'u Xū looked speechless for moment as he stared at them, looking from one to the other. But soon a wide smile started to form on his wrinkled face, more than twice as big as the one he'd worn when they first met him. "I... I thank you, Avatar Aang," said the old inn keeper and bowed before them. "Your kindness truly knows no limits."
"H-Hey, you don't need to do that," stated Aang as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I can't save the world without taking time to save the people living in it, can I?" The boy slightly turned his head towards Naruto, catching the older boy's gaze. "I'm just doing what I believe is right."
The two of them shared a grin as no more words needed to be said.
The moment was broken when Sokka suddenly yawned loudly while stretching his body. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get really tired," he said. "What do you say about hitting the sack and getting some shut-eye?"
"Sokka's right," Katara agreed. "It's been a long and eventful day for us all and we'll need our sleep if we're going to leave early in the morning."
They all bid the elderly couple a good night and once again went upstairs, heading for their rooms. Naruto chatted happily with Aang and Sokka as they walked towards their room that was located at the opposite side in the hallway of the girls'.
"Wait, Naruto." Katara called out to the blond, catching his attention and stopping him in his tracks as she approached them. "Could I speak with you for a second?"
Naruto nodded and told the guys to go ahead before him, including Momo who simply jumped from his head and onto Aang's. "What is it, Katara?" he asked, turning around to face the girl as she walked up to him.
"I just wanted to thank you," she said with a smile.
"For what?"
"Well, for saving Aang for starters," Katara answered with a chuckle. "If you hadn't done what you did, I don't know what we would have done. I don't know what I would have done," she added before looking down at the floor, her face sombre as she couldn't help but think about what had almost happened.
"Hey, don't mention it," said Naruto, making Katara look up at him. "Aang is now a friend of mine and I never abandon my friends."
The blond was once again giving her one of his usual foxy grins, something which the dark skinned girl had started to find oddly comforting in the short time they'd spent together. It was more than enough to silence the worries of what could have been and returned her smile to her lips.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am for what you did. I really am glad that you decided to come with us, Naruto."
The blond shinobi rubbed the back of his head in mild embarrassment. "H-hey, I was just doing what anyone of you would have done."
"Well, good night, Katara," said Naruto, offering her a last smile.
"Good night, Naruto," Katara replied. She watched his back as he walked down the hallway before finally disappearing into the room he shared with the other boys for the night. With a smile placed firmly on her lips, Katara went to her own room at the opposite end.
She opened the door, finding Toph already sound asleep and snoring away as she lay sprawled across one of the two beds. The Water Tribe girl couldn't help but smile at the sight and looked forward to actually be able to sleep in a real bed for once. They had all been camping for so long that she almost felt like she'd forgotten what it was like.
After closing the door behind her, she moved silently into the room, taking extra care so that she wouldn't awaken her friend from her slumber. The young Waterbender undid her hair from its braid, undressed and folded her clothes in a neat pile on a nearby chair, before finally climbing into her bed.
As Katara closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to claim her, she couldn't help but reflect upon the strange events of the last few days and wonder how the mysterious blond boy would further come to affect their journey.
OoOoOoO
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. The next one shouldn't take nearly as long and the fact that it will mostly revolve around an already existing episode may help things along. Which one you may ask? Why, "Bitter Work" of course! It's finally time for Aang to begin his Earthbending training.
Until next time, this is ChaosGhidorah who's signing off.