Chapter X
Lucky Dice
The three were still on the Dinh Kim, after two days of traveling. While Yomi and Mao looked on the map for shortcuts and small places to stop, Chiko's mind was elsewhere. Tomkin had been on Chiko's mind for days. He wondered if fate will allowed them to meet again, if Tomkin ever reached Qin and who else he would meet, and if there was anyone else like Tomkin. He also wondered if he should talk to Mao or Yomi about his…crush.
Finally making their last camp before Gaoling, Mao was roasting some green onion bulbs and more morels. Chiko was off by himself looking at the clouds and doing some task around camp. Yomi noticed this and looked to Mao.
"I wonder what's on his mind," mused Yomi, rolling out the sleeping mats and checking the boiling water; Mao wondered himself but didn't outright say anything about it.
Still he responded to Yomi's thought with a candid answer. "Obviously it's Tomkin. Who else would the boy be mooning over?" he said as he took one of the veggie kabobs and began to tear it asunder.
"You really think Chiko…has a crush on him?" Yomi asked, grabbing his own dinner. Mao looked up, with bits of charred onion and mushroom on his face, his lips shiny with grease and juices.
He licked his fingers and said, "Well, duh, he spent every moment with Tomkin; the two hit it off rather well. Don't worry, Yomi; we all had our first crushes. He'll be over his soon." Mao licked his lips before shouting out to Chiko, "Hey! Airhead! Dinner time, get your butt over here." Chiko returned to the camp to eat his own kabob, mind still lost in thoughts about Tomkin.
They reached the town of Gaoling after five days of travel. Exhausted and enamored by the bustling city, the trio had much to do and much to explore and they knew they better start now.
The first place the trio found was a small noodle shop on Kin-kin street. The squat, charming little shop was painted with little caricatures of squat, cow-pigs, ostrich-horses and goat-donkeys all marching along the front window with a little boy holding a banner that said "Bao Fu's Noodles." Interested, the three walked into the tiny shop, and grinned at the wonderful smiles and inviting atmosphere. With a few silvers they figured they would share a big bowl of ramen before exploring more of the town. Finding a seat, the three sat down and was greeted by who appeared to be Bao Fu. He was a short, balding middle-age man with a bushy beard and a rat tattoo on his right bicep, holding what looked like the Earth Kingdom coin symbol. He smiled brightly at the three and welcomed them into his noodle shop.
"Well, well, looks like we have some new faces. Haven't seen you three before, you new in town?"
Yomi nodded to Bao Fu's question. "My brothers and I just got in a few moments ago; we're going to get a quick lunch before we roam around the city." This delighted the owner who slammed his hand on the table laughing.
"Well I'll damned! This, my friends must be fate, to have you three enter the best noodle shop of all of Gaoling—no! The best noodle shop of all of the Earth Kingdom, as your first place to visit in Gaoling! I will give you the best bowl of ramen you ever had, hahahah! So good that you will stop by here everyday!" Yomi looked a bit shocked by the loud man but was pleasantly surprise by his good humor. However he wondered how he could afford "the best ramen they ever had."
Clearing his throat Yomi announced his concern to Bao Fu, who again slapped the table and said, "Don't worry about it, it's on me. But just this once!" he quickly added before disappearing back in the kitchen. The three chuckled amongst themselves, feeling lucky about a free lunch. However concern rose again at the talk about finances in Gaoling.
"We all need to find jobs and make some change if we're all going to stay at an inn;" Mao warned, leaning back on his cushion. "We also need ask the locals about which inn, and we need to keep thrifty while we're here. If we're going to stay here for a few months until the Greater Heat is over, we need to be wise,"
Chiko looked thoughtful as he adjusted his position, so he was no longer kneeling and said, "Well, th-th-th-that's obvious. But finding a j-j-j-job isn't g-g-g-going to be easy. We should ask a-a-around to see who w-w-would hire o-o-o-out-of-towners."
Mao agreed at Chiko's point and Yomi added on, "Yes, that's very important; it might be difficult for the locals to hire someone they don't know, though we could pan-handle. Or perform on the streets." Chiko shot down Yomi's first suggestion.
"Nah, b-b-being beggars isn't a w-w-wise idea. Though st-st-st-street performing m-m-might be p-p-p-p-pretty lucrative."
Mao liked that idea, too but he cautioned. "Chi could sing, I could pipe and you Yomi could drum, but as much as that sounds like a lot of fun. street performers tend to be looked down upon." Their conversation was interrupted with a very short, mousy looking girl, with big brown eyes bringing them their ramen.
"Here you go, sirs," she said in a shy squeaky voice. Chiko smiled softly at her and thanked her for the meal. She squeaked and bowed, before scampering back to the kitchen. Mao dug into his own meal before commenting.
"Mousy looking girl, isn't she?" he said slurping his noodles. Chiko glanced at him before digging into his.
"She's kind of c-c-c-cute actually. In a meek, waitress kind of way." Mao smirked and chuckled a bit, nibbling on the floating dumplings in his.
"You like mousy women, Chiko? Aren't they too shy for your taste? Don't you prefer someone more outgoing, like Tomkin for example?" Chiko almost choked on his ramen, coughing and sputtering while pounding on his chest.
He gave a horrified look to Mao before whispering, "You knew?! How?!" Mao lifted an eyebrow before causally eating his lunch.
"It was obvious, Chi; he mooned over you, and you mooned over him. It was clear as clouds in the sky and nothing to be defensive at."
Chiko looked at Yomi who shrugged and ate his bowl of noodles. "I choose not pay attention to it. Who you admire is none of my business," said Yomi, pointedly sipping at the broth. Chiko sighed and stirred his noodles absently before changing the topic.
"Where d-d-do we go n-n-n-n-next?" His voice bland, and uninterested.
"Well…there is the Earth Rumble II." Squeaked the serving girl who overheard them." It's an earthbending tournament. It happens once a month and there is one today, umm in south Gaoling," The three turned their heads in surprise. "I am so sorry that I interrupted you." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears when Chiko smiled again.
"No, no, thank y-y-y-you very m-m-m-much!" he said, still having that smile on his lips. The girl bowed, relieved, and scampered back to the kitchen. Now with a destination, the three decided to see this Earth Rumble II.
After talking to some locals, the three found the entrance to where the tournament was being held. Paying for tickets, they a found spot in the front, when a boy around Chiko's age shouted:
"Hey newbies! You shouldn't sit in the front!" Chiko was going to ask why, when a large boulder came barreling passed them and smashed the seats that they were going to sit in. Blinking and getting their answer, they headed to where the boy was, who introduced himself as Tai Rong.
"I figured you guys were new; the locals know better than that." The three nodded as Tai Rong babbled about earthbenders that were fighting, giving out the statistics and all the details that were pretty boring to the trio. At that moment, interrupting Tai Rong's diatribe about the "Quake-Master," the announcer called the next match.
"Now we have two contenders here! In corner one, the indomitable, the incorruptible, and the mighty! YOOOOOONG DAAAA!" The crowd went wild as a seemingly handsome man walked on the platform, blowing kisses to the ladies and saluting the men. "In the next corner we have the challenger, a man fierce and brash, the wild BULLLL MAN!" While the crowd cheered for Yong Da, they booed at Bull-Man who was a brawny fellow with a cow skull over his face.
The announced lifted his hand and then a moment later: "GOOOOO!" The fight began and the two earthbenders circled each other. Bull-Man made hostile threats while Yong Da sighed and threw a kiss at his fans before making some cocky retort. Overall Chiko and Yomi appeared to be uninterested.
The fight actually started when Bull-man threw a boulder at Yong Da, all the posturing and grunting was over. Now the real battle began! Mao and Tai Rong were both getting into it.
Tai shouted at Yong, "DO THE KNUCKLE-BRAKER! DO THE KNUCKLE-BREAKER, YONG!" Mao on the other hand wasn't shouting finishing moves, but more technical maneuvers.
"HORSE-STANCE! GET INTO HORSE-STANCE GODS DAMNIT! WHAT PART OF SEI PING MA DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!?" bellowed Mao from his seat. Tai Rong looked at Mao, wondering if he was an earthbender himself. Finally Yong Da did horse-stance to Mao's relief and then created a pillar of rock at an angle that sent the Bull-Man flying. Tai and Mao cheered as the other two sighed, bored. The announcer made Yong the winner and said something that got the three interested.
"The next match is a challenge to all of the watchers here today! If one man can beat The Bard, the reigning champion, then this sack of three hundred gold pieces is HIS as well as the title Earth Rumble CHAMPION!" The crowed cheered, enticed by the offer, but it was Mao who got up from his seat and headed to the platform, cheered on by Tai.
"You can do it, man!"
Yomi, however, got up and tried to stop Mao. "Brother! You're not an earthbender; there is no way you can win in this kind of fight! I know it's a lot of gold but we still have plenty from last time." Mao smirked and patted Yomi on the shoulder.
"It's okay, Yo-brother, this fight is in the bag. I bet this guy never fought a nomad." He winked and responded to the challenge by getting up on the platform. Yomi and Chiko followed him, worried more for Mao's life than Mao was himself.
Standing on the edge, the announcer took Mao's hand and named him the opponent to The Bard. Yomi, however, felt his face drain with shock and surprise. He couldn't believe who he was seeing—the man who challenged the audience was none other than…
"ARJUNA!?" Yomi said, his voice not hiding his shock that the wandering minstrel he met four years ago in a seedy inn was a champion earthbender in Gaoling. The odds of this happening couldn't even be fathomed. At Yomi's astonished voice, Arjuna turned his head to Yomi and Chiko who stood, mouths agape. Mao didn't know what the hell was going on and asked Yomi what made him look like basking catgator. It was then Arjuna realized what was going on.
"Oh! By the gods! What are the odds? So we meet again, Monk Yomi and Monk Chiko, and I see my challenger is Monk Mao. Dear monk, how have you been treating my pan-pipes that are on your hip?" Mao blinked and then his eyebrows flew up.
"Holy bison-balls! You're…you're that traveling minstrel that gave us those maps!" Ajuna bowed at Mao and nodded.
"Yes I am the one. Now, are we going to fight or chat like old ladies?" Arjuna asked with a sly smirk. Mao got into the end of the ring as Arjuna got into the other side. The announcer was at first confused but then seemed go with the flow by starting the fight anyway.
"READY! STEADY! GO!" The crowd roared as the two started the bout.
"DON'T GET YOURSELF KILLED MAO!" Yomi called out from his place by the ring as Arjuna got into his first stance.
Mao couldn't believe the man that Yomi met years ago was here in front of him; as much as it boggled him, he had to get his head in the game and fight. Arjuna stomped with his left foot and used his right to kick, sending a few rocks after Mao. Mao simply dodged and slid to the right and stepped forward. Arjuna repeated the move he did previously and Mao continued to evade it.
"Testing me out, old man?" Mao asked, crossing his arms and looking at the path the boulder took. Arjuna chuckled and pulled his right hand back with a twist. Mao vaulted backward just as rock jutted out behind him. Mao landed on the rock with a laugh. "Nice! You are just testing me out." Mao jumped back to the floor and raised his right open palm at Arjuna.
"Typical Nomad—let the opponent come to you and avoid attack," Arjuna said, his voice bored at Mao's defensive techniques. "Where is that ferocity? That fire you have, Mao? You can't win by evading my blows." Mao was doing a pretty good job dodging the hunks of stone that Arjuna was throwing at him, but the bard was right. He wasn't going to win by playing 'duck and cover;' he needed to go on the offense.
"Hey Yomi, get me your staff!" shouted Mao as he swerved counterclockwise. Yomi blinked and looked at the official who was watching the match and nodded. Yomi ran back to the seat and threw his glider at Mao. He caught it and, taking off his shirt, he got into a more offensive position. Using a sweeping motion, he swung the staff up, sending a gust of air at Arjuna which pushed him back.
"Now that's more like it!" Arjuna cheered with the audience, who now realized that the earthbender was fighting an airbender. The announcer blinked in surprise and looked at Yomi.
"You-you guys are airbenders?!" he said to Yomi and Chiko who were rooting for Mao.
"Yeah…one of the last few actually," Yomi said, then shouted for Mao to 'stir the heavens,' using the staff to create small vortices.
The announcer called out to the audience in his booming voice, "This is a classic duel. Air verses Earth! Who will prevail?" The crowd cheered, encouraging the two. Mao continued to walk in circular patterns, watching each step of Arjuna who tried to trip up Mao's good footwork. Arjuna widen his stance, staying low to the ground as he moved his hands up, sending a wall to block Mao. However, the airbender leaped over it and swung the staff horizontally, jetting the air at Arjuna, who in turn tried to block it with another wall.
"Got to do better than that, Mao," Arjuna said, stepping forward and sending a jut of rock to throw off Mao, who again leaped over it. Then Mao got into an earthbender horse-stance and threw his hands up. Arjuna had a confused expression on his face and got into a neutral pose.
He scratched his head in bewilderment at first but then his eyes widened in shock when Mao bent low, thrusting his hands down. Something hard and fast pushed him to the ground and was pressing him hard against the rock floor. Mao smirked devilishly as he stood up and with a fluid motion turned the gale that was pressing Arjuna to the floor into a vaccum. He lifted Arjuna in the air and sent the old man flying around the ring in circles. As he flew, Mao walked in the trademark stance of Tui Mo Zhang, or 'turning the millstone,' the classic move of the airbenders. Using all of that centrifugal momentum, he sent Arjuna soaring to the other side, slamming him into the front row. The crowd went nuts! They screamed and cheered as Yomi and Chiko clung to each other, jumping up and down, chanting.
"He won! He won! He won!"
Arjuna stood up shakily and staggered back into the ring dizzy. "Wow! Now that was fun! What do you call that move?" he said with his hands on his knees. Mao was panting hard and had one of his hands on his back as his body was slicked with sweat.
His chest heaving, Mao tried to gulp down air and said between breaths. "I don't know…how about the 'Downdraft hammer-throw?'" He tried to help Arjuna steady himself. Arjuna laughed and thanked Mao as he got steady.
"Brilliant, I think that works rather well," he said. Tugging his beard, he motioned to the official to give Mao the gold and the belt, but Mao refused the belt.
"Nah, give it to an earthbender. I don't need a title, but I need the gold." The official blinked but Arjuna nodded.
"Quite well, we will keep your name on the records, though. Come with me, boys, I want to ask you something," said Arjuna, motioning with his hand.
Outside Arjuna had his cloak and pipa and walked with them. Mao split the gold and gave some to Chiko and Yomi for personal use and then placed the rest in the main purse for more practical uses. Arjuna watched this and walked with the three down another road which Yomi noted as 'Xing Street.' Mao turned his head as Arjuna cleared his throat.
"It's funny indeed I found you three. I thought I would never see you again. A morbid thought, but a realistic one, you've all have grown considerably. Especially the small one…only he's not small anymore. He's almost your height, Yomi," Arjuna said, turning a corner and the three following. He continued as Yomi and Chiko looked at each other briefly. "I was going to ask some questions about what you've gained from the Eastern Temple. I also have some news to share, but I want this at the comfort of my summer home. Which I am asking you three to stay at until Qiufen, the equinox." Yomi's surprise was apparent but Mao was more pleased at this news. This was quite a blessing, but he had to ask.
"Why? Are you just being polite?" Arjuna nodded at Mao's question and gestured as he spoke.
"Also because it would be a shame for the son of Hayate of the Northern Gale not to have hospitality while he is staying in my hometown. Besides it's boring just having Padma around, no offense to my wife, but your company would be more than appreciated. The least I could do is shelter the survivors of the people I've admired since I was a lad." Yomi was tense at the mentioned of Hayate, but became calm at the mention of Arjuna's generosity. It was definitely a lucky throw of the fates here, to be staying with Arjuna.
He was more impressed at the summer home. It was rather small, but never the less elegant. It had a smooth limestone entryway and a very beautiful garden with a koi pond. 'Contented' would be an understatement to the joy the three felt. Yomi, however, felt that he didn't deserve this.
"Sifu Arjuna, I am grateful for this remarkable generosity. I am sure my brothers and I would pay you back with whatever you need."
Arjuna waved it aside and replied, "No need for formalities, it's just Arjuna, and you boys don't have to do anything phenomenal for me. However, doing some minor housekeeping would definitely be welcomed." Yomi bowed, accepting the circumstances. He hated getting anything for free; at least he was paying Arjuna back.
At that, Arjuna declared, "Now…you must meet my wife."
AN: Chapter 11 and 12 will be ready soon, thanks to PeterChamelon for beta 3 and for all the support and encouragement from J. Idanian and Petey of course Bob too. (Whats with my fic attracting male 20-somethings) Keep reading and reviewing will do an Omake soon with links to character art.