Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 20: Confession is Good for the Soul
Toph tapped her bare foot impatiently as she waited for Mai to speak.
"How long will this take?" the eleven year old asked.
"I'm thinking," Mai stalled.
"Don't bother with making up another lie," Toph threatened. "I can tell when someone is lying. The rate of their heartbeat changes for one."
"You can hear all that?" Zuko asked incredulously.
His voice was high pitched and his good eye was wide with wonder.
"Yeah, I can. I'm pretty incredible. If you stick around and get to know me, you'll figure that out for yourselves."
"Then why do your parents worry about you so much?" Mai asked sagely.
"Don't try to change the subject. I want to hear about you. Oh, and which one of you four is the firebender? Or are all of you?"
"I, I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko replied, his face growing red.
"Maybe I can squeeze it out of you," the earthbender snarled and tightened the earth cages around them.
"Give up, Deshi," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. "You can't lie. You never could. If we tell you the truth, Toph, what will you do?"
"I guess that depends on what the truth is," the girl replied.
She crossed her arms and began to tap her foot again.
"Alright, alright," Zuko shouted. "We're all firebenders except for Mai."
"That was the truth," Toph said happily. "Now what's your real name?"
She pointed to Zuko and hit him in the head with a small rock for emphasis.
"Zuko," he replied dejectedly.
"And your uncle's real name is?" Toph continued.
"Iroh," Zuko stated.
"Okay, that's a start."
She released them from their prisons. Mai daintily brushed the dirt from her robes while Zuko just glared at the earthbender. A guard appeared from around the corner.
"Are you alright, Toph?" he asked. "Be careful out here. You know how delicate you are."
"I'm fine," the girl replied demurely. "My new friends and I are just getting to know each other a little better."
Suddenly she was a frail blind girl, timid and afraid. The change in her voice and the way she held herself was extraordinary.
"You've sure got everyone fooled," Mai said as soon as the guard left.
"My parents won't accept the truth. I've tried, believe me, I've tried to tell them what I can do, how powerful I am. But all they see is a helpless, blind girl, who needs to be hidden away from the world so that no one can ever hurt her. I hate it." The last words were spat rather than spoken. Toph wiped at her damp eyes with the sleeve of her dress. "And don't you dare think I'm weak because my eyes watered a little bit."
"We don't think that," Mai said quietly. "In fact, I can relate to you quite a bit. My parents wouldn't let me be me either."
"So where are your parents?"
"In the Fire Nation," Mai replied. "They think I'm dead."
"Wow, how'd you manage that?" Toph asked admiringly.
"Long story," Zuko spoke up.
"Well then give me the short version."
Toph got back into an earthbending stance. Zuko and Mai shared a look and then related the entire complicated tale up until that point, including Zuko's status as Prince of the Fire Nation. The earthbender listened dumbfounded.
"So you're the Fire Lord's son and he burnt off half your face."
Toph stood on tiptoe and reached her hand out. Zuko grabbed hold of her wrist before she could touch the scar.
"No one touches that except Mai," he growled.
"Geez, relax, Zuko," Toph said. "I didn't know."
"Now you do," the prince snapped.
Mai placed a calming hand on Zuko's arm. She rubbed up and down for a few seconds and he relaxed into the touch.
"What do you plan on doing?" Mai asked Toph.
"I'm not going to tell on you, if you're worried about that. It seems obvious that you're good people and you're trying to stop the war. It's rough that your family is so rotten, Zuko, and that neither of you can go home. But you're lucky too; no parents to tell you what to do, wandering around wherever you like."
"It's not like that," Zuko stated. "My uncle is like a parent and so is Jee. And we don't go where we want, we go where my uncle decides and that's to get more training."
"Whatever," Toph shrugged. "It's still cool. I wish I could do it."
"You never said what you were going to do about us," Mai said irritably, getting the conversation back on track.
"Hmmmm, it would be nice to have some company. Sometimes I sneak out of the house at night. Maybe you could come along and we could, you know, do stuff in town."
"Like what?" Zuko asked suspiciously. "And wouldn't it just be easier if you came to Keung's house to visit or we could visit you again."
"Well, there is an Earth Rumble coming up. I'd love to go. And I guess it's possible my parents would let me go to Keung's house. They trust him."
"What in Agni's name is an Earth Rumble?" Zuko asked with a shake of his head.
"It's an earthbending competition. They're held every year in this underground arena. I was thinking of actually participating this year. You could watch. It would be fun."
"When is this thing?" Zuko asked.
"Next week….the day in the middle, I'll meet you outside Keung's gate at sundown." Toph cracked her knuckles and began to laugh again. "I can't wait."
She turned around and headed back to her house.
Mai shrugged and followed, pulling a confused Zuko along by the sleeve.
"So did you have a nice time with Toph?" Iroh asked them on the walk home.
"She knows everything," Mai stated without preamble.
"Excuse me?" Iroh said.
"She can sense everything through vibrations. She knows when people are lying. She earthbended a wall around us and demanded we tell her the truth. She even knew that Zuko was firebending yesterday. She could sense it from her garden."
"Well," Iroh replied stroking his beard. "That might make things interesting."
"Huh," Keung said. "I always knew there was something about that girl. We'll have to have her over. I'd love to talk with her in more depth, maybe teach her some things too."
"Yeah, we mentioned that," Zuko stated. "She's meeting us in a few days. We're going to something called Earth Rumble."
"So she sneaks out of the house?" Keung asked. His eyes twinkled and he nodded his head appreciatively. "Good girl; she doesn't let them keep her down."
"I think she could get in and out of just about anywhere," Mai remarked. "The kid's pretty amazing and she knows it."
"Yet Poppy and Lao treat her like a delicate piece of glass ready to shatter at any moment," Iroh mused. "Can't they see her for what she really is?"
"She's tried to talk with them but they won't listen. They have their expectations for her and that's it," Mai replied. "I know just how she feels; trapped."
"That's unfortunate," the former general mused. "I hate to see talent wasted."
"I'm going to send an invitation tomorrow? We'll see how Poppy and Lao react," Keung stated.
"If they're anything like my parents, it won't be good," Mai predicted.
"It's still worth a try," Keung replied.
Good as his word, the next morning Keung sent a letter to the Bei Fong house inviting Toph over for lunch and an afternoon of conversation. The Bei Fongs sent a letter back thanking Keung but refusing on their daughter's behalf, citing her delicate condition and fatigue.
"That girl is anything but delicate," Mai stated. "Idiots."
"We'll try again in a few days, perhaps after you see her for that Earth Rumble," Keung said soothingly. "Let's get back to our lesson."
Keung was relating tales of the Earth Kingdom sages. He had a book of religious customs, generations old, written during a time when the sages played a much more prominent role in Earth Kingdom life.
"No disrespect," Zuko interrupted, "but how is learning about Earth Kingdom sages going to help me when I'm, if I'm Fire Lord?"
"I hope that you'll be a different kind of leader than your father and grandfather and great-grandfather. I hope that you'll show respect for other people and cultures. Having knowledge about other people makes you better able to relate to them. An Earth Kingdom leader will appreciate that you took the time to learn about his people. He'll respect that knowledge and he will respect you. All that mutual respect leads to good relations and a better world. And Zuko, you can never know enough."
"Oh, yeah, I get it," Zuko replied.
"And Mai, as Zuko's future wife it won't hurt you to know these things either. I can't see you as one of those women content to sit back and say nothing. I know you'll want to help Zuko and you're very bright. You'll give good advice. Certainly your time as a member of a noble family won't hurt either."
"If you say so," she stated.
"I do," Keung grinned, showing off his crooked teeth. "It's up to Iroh to teach you all about what it means to be a Fire Lord, your duties, the expectations placed on you and so forth. I'm sure he'll drop words of wisdom here and there for you. Now, let me finish this lesson and then you can eat lunch and spend some time training outside. It's a beautiful spring day, perfect for young lovers."
Mai suddenly found her fingernails very interesting and Zuko dropped his head, letting dark brown bangs partially cover his face.
Keung laughed.
"Where is she?" Zuko asked impatiently as they stood outside the main gate of Keung's estate.
As if she had heard, and it was entirely possible, Toph emerged from a tunnel she had made with her earthbending. She grinned and slapped her hands against her knees. A cloud of dust drifted upwards and Mai coughed.
"You're a little dirty, Toph," she observed with her usual understatement.
The young girl wore simple clothes of green and yellow instead of her fancy dress. Her wrists and ankles were covered with bands of cloth and a green and yellow hair band with two puffy white balls, one over each of her ears, sat on her head.
"A good coating of dirt never hurt anyone," Toph replied. "I spend too much time being clean."
"I take it you had no trouble getting out?" Zuko asked.
"Does it look like I had trouble?" the girl asked, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.
"Uh,no," the prince replied.
He looked as though he had been chastised by his favorite teacher.
"Right then, let's go. Earth Rumble is waiting for us."
"Oh joy," Mai stated.
"It is for me," Toph declared. "If I win, I get a belt and a bagful of gold. That might come in handy one day. Oh, before I forget, don't sit in the first few rows; unless you enjoy being pelted with hard clumps of earth."
"We'll try to remember," Mai replied.
"So, why didn't your parents let you come over the other day?" Zuko asked. "You weren't really fatigued, were you?"
"Of course not," Toph answered. "But they assumed that I was. I'll work on them. Keep trying. They don't want to offend Keung either. He's well respected around here."
"Hmm," Zuko hummed.
They strode down the road, made of hard packed dirt, at a good pace. Toph manipulated the earth as they walked, creating people, animals and buildings with a few brief movements. Mai and Zuko marveled that she knew in such detail what all these things 'looked' like.
"So who will you compete against tonight? Mai asked politely.
"Wait and see," the young girl replied.
Earth Rumble V was held in a massive underground stadium, lit by strange crystals native to the Earth Kingdom. At the stadium's centre sat a large rectangular arena. A sort of trench like space separated the arena from the stands where spectators sat. The first four or five rows of seats were empty. On a podium, high above the arena stood an announcer waiting for the event to begin. They paid their small fee and looked around the cavernous place disbelievingly.
"I've got to go enter," Toph explained. "You guys find a seat. I'll meet you at the same entrance after it's all over. I'll be the one with the championship belt."
"Under confident, isn't she?" Mai asked Zuko dryly.
They sat about eight rows back, purposely avoiding any contact with other spectators. The crowd was filled with mostly men of younger middle age and teenage boys but there were a few families too. Xin Fu was the host's name. Earthbending himself down into the arena, he waved his arms around in a wide sweeping motion, his long brown hair moving dramatically. He was theatrical and over the top, exactly what one would expect form an event like this. He explained the rules, or rather the rule; knock the other guy out of the arena using earthbending.
The first battle was between someone called 'The Dirt Beater' and a fat man, who looked uncomfortably like a huge baby, called 'The Hippo'. Within seconds the 'Dirt Beater' flew out of the arena and landed on the second row of stands, the stone cracking under the pressure of weight and velocity. Groaning, the defeated man got up, shook his fist at 'The Hippo' and then the crowd as they booed him resoundingly. Huge animals, badgermoles apparently, with a rider on each of their backs, cleaned up the arena between battles.
"Next up, we have Fire Nation Man…"
The crowd stood up as one, throwing their own rocks at the arena, doing their best to hit a bulky man who proudly waved the Fire Nation flag. He wore his hair in a traditional Fire Nation topknot and was dressed in typical Fire Nation clothing.
"How can he be an earthbender?" Zuko whispered to Mai.
"I don't think he's really Fire Nation," Mai replied. "It's just a gimmick to get the crowd all riled up."
She smiled at his naiveté and grabbed his hand.
"…..versus a new contender, a young girl who calls herself 'The Blind Bandit'."
"Here she is," Zuko stated.
Toph walked out like she owned the place. A wide grin split her face and she raised her hands triumphantly as if she had already won. As Xin Fu earthbended himself back to the podium, Fire Nation man chucked rocks in her general direction. Toph just laughed, avoiding them all, sensing where they were coming from and exactly where they were headed. She stood still, head cocked as if listening, her feet moving, picking up the vibrations from her opponent.
"Aren't you up past your bedtime, little girl?" 'Fire Nation' man asked with a grin.
"Who are you calling little girl?" Toph retorted. "You're nothing but a big baby. Just watch."
The crowd laughed uproariously.
"She's a natural," Mai stated. "And she loves the attention."
"Maybe because she never gets any, unless it's negative," Zuko sighed, thinking of his relationship with his father.
They watched, awestruck as Toph made quick work of Fire Nation man and moved on to the next round, dispatching of that opponent as well. In the end, it came down to a battle between Toph and 'The Boulder'. The spectators were wild with excitement and put most of their support behind the spunky blind girl no one had seen or heard of before.
"Do you think she can take him?" Zuko asked, interested despite himself. "'The Boulder' is good but Toph is amazing."
"I think so, unless she gets too cocky," Mai mused.
"Children don't belong in the arena," the man shouted across to Toph. ""The Boulder feels bad about hurting a little blind girl.'"
"Wimp," Toph cackled. "You're not a boulder; you're not even a rock. You're a bit of dirt under my foot."
"'The Boulder' doesn't feel bad anymore," he declared angrily and sent a huge chunk of earth straight at her.
Toph simply shifted a bit to the right and avoided the projectile handily. Her sensitive feet picked up the man's every movement, his breathing and his heart rate. She knew almost before he did exactly when, how and what he would throw her way. She might be only a child, but it was child's play for her to dispose of her opponent. Sensing his precise location, she stomped her feet and created three tall and slender pillars of earth that sent him airborne, over the side of the arena and down onto the ground with a painful sounding crash.
Xin Fu swooped down on an ever shrinking mound of earth, until he stood in the arena again. He gestured for Toph to come over and then in his loudest, most enthusiastic voice, announced her as the champion of Earth Rumble V. A female assistant, dressed in what would be considered swim wear in the Fire Nation at least, handed a huge green belt and a green sac full of money to Xin Fu.
"Oh, ho, thanks to our gorgeous assistant, Lili, for all her help. We couldn't function without you, baby."
Lili gave him a withering look and pranced off the stage waving at the crowd, most of whom were either ogling her openly, many getting slapped by wives or taking secretive peeks at her slender legs and abundant cleavage.
Fu handed the belt to Toph and she raised it above her head. The crowd cheered again.
"It's bigger than she is," Zuko exclaimed.
"Wear that in good health little lady. Last year's champion, 'The Mountain' died recently. Hope it isn't catching."
"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere," Toph retorted.
The sac of money was handed over next and the earthbender cradled it almost affectionately.
"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, here's our new champion, winner of Earth Rumble V, 'The Blind Bandit'."
As the crowd burst into applause again and began to rush the stage, Fu bent down and whispered something to Toph.
"You damn right I'm blind," she roared in response and sent the man on a ride he wouldn't soon forget.
"So what did you think?" Toph asked Mai and Zuko when they met up again a few minutes later. "Was I great or what?"
She blew the black bangs off her forehead and stared directly at them, her translucent eyes eerily perceptive. Mai glanced at Zuko and rolled her own eyes.
"I can feel that, Mai," Toph reminded her.
"Good," said Mai. "Tone down the arrogance. It's getting annoying."
"What's wrong with telling it like it is? Are you jealous or something?"
"I'm hardly envious, Toph. I'm perfectly capable myself. But I don't go around boasting all the time."
"Well aren't you a perfect little lady?" Toph said, dripping sarcasm. "Maybe you should go home to your perfect little house in your perfect little city, in your…."
"Stop," Zuko said sternly.
Both girls turned to face him, arrested by his very princely and commanding tone.
"Wow," Toph said. "Maybe you will make a good Fire Lord."
"I know he will," Mai agreed and linked her arm through Zuko's.
Toph earthbended her way back home again after their goodbyes and promises to see each other again. Mai and Zuko walked hand in hand through Keung's garden, taking their time before going back into the house.
"I like her," Mai declared though Zuko hadn't asked. "She's brash, obnoxious, loud and a bit annoying, but I like her."
"Yeah, I like her too. I was going to tell her that she could give Bumi a run for his money but figured that her head is swollen enough already."
"Soon she'll be declaring herself the world's greatest earthbender," Mai chuckled.
"Do you wanna sit here for awhile?" Zuko asked, indicating one of the many benches scattered throughout the large gardens.
Mai nodded and they sat, leaning back and looking at the spring sky.
"Do you ever wonder what your father and sister are up to or what they thought of your death?" Mai asked after a few minutes of contemplative silence.
"No good," Zuko replied bitterly. "But yeah, once in awhile I do."
"My mother must have been scandalized and worried about their reputation," Mai stated without emotion. "My father might have been a tiny bit sad. My uncle, remember I told you about him?"
Zuko nodded. "The prison warden, you mean?"
"Yeah, I hope he….I hope he remembers me fondly."
The moonlight glimmered in her tear filled gold eyes. Zuko put an arm around her, and she let her head rest on his chest for a moment before lifting it again.
"Kiss me, Zuko," she demanded softly.
He dipped his head down and pressed his lips against hers, gently inserting his tongue after a moment. The kiss grew heated and hands started to roam.
"Let's go to your room," Zuko pleaded.
"Mmmm," Mai agreed.
They jumped up from the bench and scurried to the mansion, quietly entering the foyer and hoping to sneak upstairs.
"Ah, young love," they heard Iroh remark from the living room.
"I have some memories of that," an unfamiliar voice replied with a deep laugh.
"Zuko, Mai," Keung called. "Don't go upstairs yet. Piandao arrived a few days early and he's eager to meet you."
"Damn," Zuko hissed but he complied with Keung's wishes.
They pushed the living room door open the rest of the way and nodded politely to Iroh and their host. The other man, dark skinned and dark haired with a close beard and hazel eyes, looked them up and down good naturedly.
"I'm very happy to meet you, Prince Zuko and you as well, Mai."
He inclined his head and then smiled. Both Zuko and Mai bowed.
"We're pleased to meet you, sir," the prince replied.
"Good, good; now Mai, I suggest you get over here. I've got a few things for you."
She walked over to where Piandao sat and noticed a huge case sitting on the floor.
"Open it," the sword master instructed.
Mai undid the hasp an opened the case. Inside was a dizzying array of finely crafted projectile weapons, better than any Mai had ever used or seen. She was dumbfounded.
"Yes, they're all for you," Piandao said though Mai never said a thing. "I have a few swords for you to try out too."
"I don't know what to say," Mai finally uttered.
"Thanks is good enough," Piandao laughed.
"Thank you," Mai said
Her voice was full of awe and she caressed the weapons each, one at a time.
"Oh, and both of you had better get a good sleep tonight. I plan on working you hard."
Zuko caught Mai's eye and shrugged. There would be no bed sharing tonight.
A/N: thanks so much for all the great reviews. I appreciate them more than you know.
Everyone seems to be looking forward to when Zuko and Mai meet up with Aang. I think I've finally figured out when that will be in the show's timeline.
Things to look forward to…..Azula and her new lackey, lots of Zhao and more Ozai..but all that is a little bit in the future.