Disclaimer: I still don't own LoK and ATLA

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A/N: I'm so glad a lot of you liked the Bolin/Asami friendship. However Bolin won't be appearing for quite awhile here. I do plan to write a side-story for this featuring him. I'm still on my planning stages though.

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Warning: I feel like this chapter's not as strong as the one before. Nonetheless, I hope it's up to par for you guys.

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A New Beginning

To A New Start

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The sun was already at its peak when Asami woke up. It seems that ever since she arrived almost a week ago at Hama's Village, she'd been sleeping in a lot rather than sticking to her usual routine in the city. Her body clock's still getting used to the ten-hour time difference.

"Had a nice sleep, Miss Asami?" A smiling face greeted her as Asami walked into the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry, I made you some vegetable stew."

She smiled back at her. "Yes. But I definitely need to adjust my routine soon." She moved to see what the other lady's cooking. "You know you don't have to do any of this for me, Mila. I don't want to bother you - "

"Oh nonsense, you child. You're mother had been very kind to our family. We all love her." The older lady squeezed her hands before returning to her cooking. "That makes you a part of our family, too."

Maybe it's because she'd wanted to hear, wanted to feel acknowledged so badly that she'd accept anyone's compassion even if they just met merely a few days ago. But after losing so much, would it be alright to believe in Mila? To believe in anyone at all?

"You go ahead and eat. I need to get out for awhile." Asami said as she rushed out of the house. She turned towards to the woods, hoping for some solidarity. She still hasn't ventured to this part of the village but she needed some time alone.

She stopped at a small clearing after she's satisfied that it's far away from the trail that people used. Steadying her breathing, she sat down on the grass. She remembered it got harder for her to breathe when Mila told her that she's a part of their family. It frightened her to even trust Mila.

According to her mother's letter, Mila's a childhood friend of hers from the Village. When her mother's family moved to the Capital City, they trusted their flower shop business to Mila's family. Her mother would spend her summers in the Village for years before she met Hiroshi. When Asami was four-years old, her mother visited the Village to officially turn over the business to Mila. Mila refused though, telling her that their family had been so caring to them already and couldn't accept such a gracious offer. Mila suggested that let them just continue to work for them and maybe one day, they would want to settle back in the Village and takeover of the business.

That never happened though. The next year, her mother was murdered. Not until she received her mother's letter as of late, she'd forgotten how fond her mother was whenever she talked about the place where she grew up. It shames her that she had forgotten about that. It didn't help that Hiroshi never brought up Hama's Village again to her either.

Mila said that at least twice a year, she'd sent a letter to Hiroshi inviting him and Asami to visit them in the Village. She also reminded Hiroshi that her mother left the flower shop in Asami's name. Was it too painful for him to talk about her mother that he'd neglected to reply to all the letters that Mila sent?

"Breathe, Asami, breathe." She instructed herself. She pulled her knees closer to her body. "When did I've become so weak? I've got to get hold of myself."

After a minute, she stood up and walked back to the path. She took off her outer jacket and neatly folded it. There are still a lot of things needed to be done soon. One is to change her wardrobe. If she wants to work at the shop, she needs clothes that wouldn't restrain her movements. She also needs to convince Mila to take over the shop. She wanted to go through with her mother's original plan, and just apply as a worker there as means to survive. But the woman had been so unrelenting, telling her over and over again that Asami's the owner and she's the employee. Period.

Turning to a left, she noticed an old man picking up scattered leaves and tea cloths all over the road. She quickly made her way to him. "May I help you?"

The man didn't stop picking up leaves to look at her. "Yes please, if it's not much of a bother."

It didn't take awhile to put everything into the man's basket. The man finally looked at her, his eyes crinkling into a smile. "It would've probably taken me a way lot longer if you hadn't come. Thank you miss-?"

"Asami." She decided not to use the 'Sato' as long as she can.

"Ah, thank you Miss Asami." The man bowed benevolently. "You must be the person that I'd been hearing a lot from the villagers. I must say though, they're quite wrong. They've underestimated your beauty, Miss Asami."

"You're too kind sir." Asami bowed back.

Usually, she would roll her eyes from the cheap line. But the way the older man said it, it lack malice. Asami noted the elegant appearance from the man. For one, he's wearing an exquisite red robe instead of the simple garbs that the other villagers wear. His grey hair is neatly tied atop his head and his beard looks well groomed. Must be someone important from the village.

"If you wouldn't mind, shall we head back down together? I'm afraid I'd worry some people if I don't come back soon."

Asami shook her head. "Not at all. Shall we, then?"

"How do you find Hama so far, Miss Asami?" The older man asked when they started walking.

Asami took a moment to look around at her surrounding for a bit before answering. "I'm still getting used to hearing insects instead of people and cars. It's so different from Republic City. They're quite the opposite I must say."

"Back in my younger days, even if you're living in the city, you can still hear the insects. The generation today is really far ahead of my time." The man besides her chuckled. "So what brings you to Hama? People usually go to Ember Island for vacation instead of here. Are you visiting a relative?"

"I've decided to work at somewhere new. I just want a change of scenery. The opportunity came knocking through my mother's old friend." Asami replied, hoping it didn't sound mechanical. She knows someone would ask her that question one day so she'd been practicing in her head how to respond. She wanted to sound nonchalant, someone who just wants to unwind in a new place. Not someone who went here because she had no other choice but to escape her old life.

But it appears she didn't practice too much as the man stayed silent for awhile. She can feel him looking at her, as if he saw through her facade. She didn't dare to look back, her eyes wandered around the different flowers growing at the side. She needs to familiarize herself with the flowers soon.

"Miss Asami."

Her heart jump when the man called her. She slowly turned her gaze to the man. He lifted his basket in front of him to show to her.

"Would you like to join me for some tea? This tea leaves are Hama's secret treasure, you know?"

"I um, - "

"I insist, please. I'm not to brag but people recognize my tea as the best around here. I was trained by the best tea-maker after all." He sounded proud but it's directed as praise to whoever taught him. His tone got softer but still firm at the same time. "Let this be my sign of thanks for helping me out earlier. And maybe you can consider this as your welcome party to Hama Village. The wise man also said that a good cup of tea can fill up a man's soul. To a new start, right?"

She left Republic City with the means of restarting her life. However, ever since she came here, she'd done nothing about it. She'd never gone outside to socialize in fear of getting betrayed again. Perhaps it's not too late to stop the wall she's building around her. But would it be safe to do that though?

She looked to the older man as he waited patiently for her answer. He looks genuine and honest. Maybe she'll compromise by just adding a door to her wall. With that, she won't rush to anything. She won't be careless this time.

"To a new start." Asami smiled to the man. "It'll be a great pleasure to join you, sir..?"

The man's eye brightened then smiled apologetically. "Oh how rude of me of not introducing myself earlier. I'm Tom-tom."

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Chapter 2 End

June 27, 2012

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Dun, dun, dun, dun! Anybody remembered who Tom-tom is? And I couldn't resist. We need tea for them.

I hope this chapter didn't let you down.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorite and added this on alert.