Chapter 2: Stories and the Library
Earth Nation, between the great desert and the mountains
The sun began peaking over the summit of the tallest mountains in the range. The bluish-black haired kunoichi's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up, putting her hand on her head. She looked around to see…Naruto resting next to her on her right, Sakura on her left, and off to the far left was Yamato. She quickly scrambled away from him, blushing madly, and then looked to see Kakashi sitting on a rock, looking at two teenagers and a 12 year old kid, plus a strange rock formation that hand a young girl in it.
"You're the first up, Hinata-san," Kakashi commented as he looked up from his book 'Icha Icha Paradise', snapping the Hyuuga Heiress' attention up to him. "Don't ask me how we got here, I wouldn't know. Though those kids appear to be trustworthy."
"All I remember is a beam of light hitting us before I was knocked unconscious," Hinata replied, shaking her head and looking at Naruto, and then at the four others and the giant beast that was near them. "Who are they?"
"The boy with the arrow on his head is named Aang, he called himself the 'Avatar', the older girl is named Katara, her older brother over there is named Sokka, and the blind girl in the rock-shaped tent is named Toph," Kakashi replied, stretching for a moment before his eye went back to the pages of his book. "You say a lot of things in your sleep, Hinata-san, a few of which I think Naruto heard."
Hinata started blushing madly at that, her entire face turned a shade of bright red. She then looked to see Sakura sitting up and stretching, then looking around wildly. The pink haired kunoichi then looked at Naruto, who wasn't anywhere close to her, and then at Yamato. Then at Aang's group.
"Okay, mind telling me where we are? And who the newcomers are?" Sakura asked calmly as she stood up, and her stomach growled quietly. She then noticed they were up on a summit. "When did we get to the mountains in Iwagakure?"
"I don't think we're in the Land of Earth, Sakura-chan," Naruto groaned as he sat up, his stomach growling madly. "My stomach almost kept me up all night…"
"…well, as I was going to say, Naruto, our companions here, Sakura, are Aang, the kid with the blue arrow on his shaved head, calls himself the Avatar, the older girl in blue clothing is named Katara, her brother in the sleeping bag next to her is named Sokka, and the girl in the rock-shaped tent is named Toph," Kakashi said their names again, without looking up from his book. "They'll be awake soon, so we'll be able to learn more."
"…that'll be good, Kakashi-san," Yamato muttered as he sat up. "I really hate being left in the dark."
After a few more minutes of waiting, Aang's group awoke. The young airbender stretched and rubbed his eyes, and he saw the five Shinobi of Konoha awake. "How long have you guys been up?"
"I've stayed up all night, keeping guard," Kakashi replied, showing no tiredness in his voice or in his movements. He put the book away and leaned forward. "So what is the 'Avatar' anyway, and why are two teenagers and two pre-teens traveling around without an adult?"
"What, you mean you don't know what's happening here?" Katara asked as she sat up in her sleeping bag.
"Nope, never heard of the title Avatar or strange names like you guys," Naruto replied, his stomach growling still. "Sakura-chan, did the ramen get taken here with us?"
Sakura sighed, and looked into her pack. "Yep, it did Naruto. Though I think we'd better conserve most of it until we reach civilization…"
"We should talk over breakfast to sort everything out," Katara told them as she got out of her sleeping bag.
"I still don't really trust them, they could be Fire Nation," Sokka said bluntly as he got out of the sleeping bag he was in.
"Fire Nation? Is that slang for the Land of Fire in other parts of the world?" Naruto asked.
"Land of Fire? I knew it, you are Fire Nation!" Sokka yelled as he grabbed his boomerang.
"…huh?" Naruto asked as the almost paranoid teenager grabbed his weapon. "What's the deal? Is the 'Fire Nation' different from the Land of Fire?"
Sokka was taken aback by the question. "You mean you really don't know about the war that the Fire Nation started?"
"War?" Sakura asked as she finished making the fire for the morning. "There's a war going on here?"
"Has been going on for a century," Aang replied with a sigh. "…I wasn't there to help when it began, wasn't there to stop the war because I had ran away from my responsibilities…and gotten myself frozen."
"Wait a minute; you were alive during that time, before this war?" Naruto asked as Aang nodded. "Oh, I get it, by getting frozen…but shouldn't that have killed you?"
Aang shook his head. "I went into the Avatar State to save my life…"
"He was basically put in hibernation, Naruto," Sakura said as she crossed her arms. "Still seems unbelievable, but this Avatar State sounds like it defies all known medical science."
Aang nodded. Katara cleared her throat. "Before Aang left, the Fire Lord launched a massive attack on the unsuspecting nations. Somehow, the Fire Nation's forces breached the natural defenses around the Air Temples, killing all the Air Nomads…leaving Aang the last survivor of his kind."
"And that Fire Nation is still winning this war, I'm afraid," Sokka stated coldly as he looked at Team 7 and Hinata. "Only Aang can stop it, he has to master all the Elements and bring the current Fire Lord, Ozai, down."
"Elements?" Hinata asked. "Like Chakra Elements?"
Katara shook her head. "Never heard of it be called that before, but the elements can be used by certain people, born in each nation, to 'bend' the elements to their will." She demonstrated by opening her flask, and the water floated out as if it was contained in a bubble. "Not everyone can do it, like my brother over there. Aang's an Airbender, I'm a Waterbender, and Toph is an Earthbender."
Kakashi nodded. "Interesting…" He lifted his forehead protector up over his right eye. "Hinata-san, please activate your Byakugan…"
Hinata looked at him, confused, but did it. "Now, look at how Katara-san is manipulating her chakra…"
The Hyuuga Heiress gasped as she saw the waterbending master's chakra flowing through her hands, and through the water. Katara gasped seeing Hinata's eyes. "What the heck is that?" Sokka gasped as Hinata turned off her Byakugan.
"…my clan's kekki genkai-bloodline trait, the Byakugan," Hinata replied. "That was some of the most precise chakra control I've ever seen, Katara-san."
"…chakra, is that another word for chi?" Aang asked as he saw Kakashi pulled his forehead protector back over his right eye. "Was that a 'kekki genkai' too?"
Kakashi nodded with a smile under his mask. "Yes, though I wasn't born with it like Hinata-san. My Sharingan was given to me by one of my old friends, who died in the last war; he was part of the Uchiha Clan, the clan that has the Sharingan visual bloodline trait."
"So there was a war where you guys came from?" Sokka asked, lowering his boomerang. "How long ago?"
"By now, fifteen years. I was just promoted to Jounin then. It was a shadow war between all the Shinobi Villages," Kakashi replied as he sat down, and Sakura passed him a cup of shrimp ramen with chopsticks. "Thank you, Sakura. Right now though, we are in a 'Cold War' with the Sound Village, who is led by a former Konoha ninja named Orochimaru."
Naruto snarled at the Snake Sannin's name. "He killed the Third, and made my best friend and rival Sasuke join him…" he squeezed his fist. "Wait, probably the Snake Bastard is probably the reason we're here, probably one of his damn experiments messed up."
Kakashi was surprised by Naruto's insight. "Yes, I suppose that is how we could have gotten here…"
"I think the only question left is what to do next," Yamato said as he received the chicken ramen and chopsticks from Sakura. "Thank you, Sakura-san."
"I think we should help these guys, probably we'll be able to find a way to get back home if we go with them," Naruto suggested. "And besides, they'll need help if they got that guy on their side."
The blonde genin pointed at Sokka, whose jaw dropped. "What are you talking about; I'm the best warrior in my village!"
"…after all the adult warriors left to fight in the war, Sokka," Katara reminded him, making the teenager's face fall. "We could use any help you can provide."
Naruto grinned. "That's great!"
Hinata smiled at his enthusiasm, and Katara caught the blush in the Hyuuga Heiress's cheeks. "Defeating someone like Orochimaru would be good, as well as stopping an century long war," Hinata agreed without stuttering, yet her blush still remained.
"And you can train each other," Kakashi suggested, making everyone look at him. "Naruto and Hinata-san's chakra elements have both been discovered recently wind and water respectfully. Perhaps they can learn how to bend from you, Aang-kun and Katara-san, giving them the control needed."
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about perfecting my jutsu!" Naruto yelled, and then he sat down and looked at the ramen cups Sakura had finished handing to him during the conversation, and his stomach growled deeply. "Training can wait till I eat!"
Everyone laughed at that, and Aang got a cup of chicken ramen and chopsticks from Sakura. He sniffed it. "What is this stuff? It smells good."
"Ramen, the best food on Earth!" Naruto replied as he started digging in to his cup, practically shoveling the noodles and vegetables into his mouth at surprising speeds with his chopsticks. "Never had it before?"
"Never," Sokka replied as he tried to hold the chopsticks and grab the food inside the ramen cup, but it fell out. He tried it again, same result, and again. "…is there some trick to this?"
Katara bends the wet noodles and lets them go into her mouth, and she slurps them up. Sokka snarls. "That's not what I meant, how do you use these things? I know how to use them to eat rice, but not noodles!"
"Like this," Hinata demonstrated, holding the chopsticks properly. "It takes practice to use though."
Sokka growled, and just decided to go the easy route-drinking the ramen noodles. "Yes, this is good."
Toph used her chopsticks skillfully to eat her ramen, which was shrimp. Aang looked at her confused. "Coming from my family, you learn to use all types of food with these things."
They all laughed at that. "I know how you feel; being heiress to a clan is hard work!" Hinata laughed, and Sakura could see she was getting more comfortable, even though she was sitting just a few scant inches away from Naruto.
The two groups had their breakfasts and talked where to go next. Yamato was kind of curious that they were taking vacations while the world's fate was at state, and Sokka agreed. Naruto however thought it might be a good idea, since rest and relaxation is needed between training.
"So where are we going?" Naruto asked as Appa stretched and roared. "You sure that thing can fly?"
"Yep, we're going to an oasis in the desert, the Misty Ponds Oasis, really beautiful place and one of the wonders of the world," Aang replied as he leapt onto Appa's head, and the rest of the group piled on into the saddle.
"Sounds nice," Kakashi commented as he sat down on the massive saddle. "Never seen a creature like this before, though at least it's friendly."
"Kind of cute too," Sakura commented as she rubbed the flying bison's furry coat, and it warbled a thank-you for the petting.
"Alright, let's get going!" Naruto yelled as Aang said 'Yip-yip', and Appa took off into the sky at a startling speed. "Wow, who'd have thought beaver-san would be this fast in the air!"
"…beaver-san?" Aang asked questioningly as he looked back, and then he laughed. "Oh, the tail! Flying Bisons can airbend like humans, making them able to fly." The young Avatar patted Appa's head. "Appa and I have been together through thick and thin ever since I was a little kid."
"Cool," Naruto grinned as he looked over the mountains as they headed towards the desert.
"I noticed you called Kakashi earlier 'sensei', what does that mean?" Katara asked Sakura and Hinata.
"It means teacher," Sakura replied with a smile.
"You mean like 'sifu', right?" Katara asked and the pink haired kunoichi nodded. "Hinata used the term '-kun' when addressing Naruto, and he called you '-chan', and Kakashi called you '-san', what do those mean?"
"-kun is used to describe boys, -chan is used to describe girls and young children, and –san is used to describe equals and people you're unfamiliar with," Hinata replied as she looked shyly at Naruto. "There is another honorific to describe those greatly respected and elderly, -sama."
Katara nodded. "Sounds confusing, so I'd either be called Katara-chan by Naruto, or Katara-san by you two and Kakashi?"
"Correct," Sakura replied with a smile as she looked over the mountains.
"What is a 'ninja' and a 'shinobi' anyway?" Sokka asked them.
"…ninja and shinobi are two words for the same thing, really," Yamato replied. "We're basically warriors who fight in the shadows, using stealth, recon, and other powers to win victories. Where we come from, there are five major countries, with major Shinobi Villages in them: the Land of Fire, where Konoha-the Village hidden in the Leaves exists; the Land of Earth with the village Iwa-the Village Hidden in the Rocks; the Land of Lightning, where Kumo-The Village Hidden in the Clouds exists, and finally Konoha's ally in the Land of Wind, Suna-The Village Hidden in the Sand. There are other major Shinobi Villages, yet they aren't as large, or as powerful as the main five. Orochimaru's Sound Village isn't formally recognized by any Shinobi Village, due to the fact he threatens us all."
Sokka nodded. "So you're warriors, just like us. Can anyone where you live bend the elements like Aang, Sokka, and Katara?"
"Not like them, but it is similar. You have four elements, there is an extra we have that requires changing the nature of your own chakra-lightning," Kakashi replied. "Yamato-san can use both Earth and Water elemental chakra, and can even manipulate wood due to his DNA being that of the First and Second Hokages. The Second Hokage was the First's brother, and could perform Water Jutsu's without being close to a water source. The Third was a Earth and Fire jutsu master, and was the student of both the First and Second. The Fourth Hokage…his Chakra Element was wind, like Naruto, but he died before completing the Rasengan, hopefully Naruto can complete his work. Finally, the Fifth is probably an Earth Jutsu specialist due to her extraordinary physical strength, although she devotes her time to healing ninjutsu, which is probably where most of strength probably comes from, and her incredibly fine chakra control."
"What are 'Hokages'?" Toph asked as she leaned back in the saddle, and she cursed the real feeling of blindness she had in the air.
"Leaders of our village, and the strongest ninja in the village," Naruto replied as he grinned. "One day, I'm going to become Hokage and become greater than all of them, it's my goal in life. So we're going to be at this Oasis place soon?"
"Yep, you're really going to love this place!" Aang replied as Appa roared in agreement.
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Misty Pond Oasis, Earth Kingdom Desert
Later that day, they landed near the wooden-walled oasis. The ice spring looked like it hadn't been maintained, so it had melted to a shallow stump in a pool of water. The buildings were dilapidated, falling apart, and looked like they were hit hard by fire blasts, earthquakes, and even bombs.
"…this is the natural wonder?" Naruto asked, pointing forward at the scene. "It looks like one of those merc camps Ero-sennin and I passed during training."
"Must of changed ownership since I was here….heh, heh, heh…" Aang chuckled as Katara and Sokka looked at each other questioningly, and then at Kakashi.
"…we got no where else to go," Kakashi stated bluntly as they all started walking in, and the sign fell and shattered behind them. "…seems to me the people here don't care about this place."
They all nod at that, and began walking further into the small village. Passing what used to be an large iceberg, vapors wafted up from the mere cube of the former spring, and a dog was licking the moisture off. Hinata looked around to see a couple of the men in the small village leering at her, Sakura, and Katara and she subconsciously shudder. Naruto looked around as some of the tough looking men glared at him, and he squeezed his fist.
They reached the bar/restaurant, and there were four men standing on either side of the door. One of them, closest to the door spat at Sokka, who started to grumble as the man wiped his face. Naruto stuck out his tongue at him, and as the rest of the group entered the restaurant, he chuckled.
"Sexy no Jutsu," Naruto said quietly, and, in a puff of smoke, his form was replaced with an incredibly sexy blond woman in pony-tails, her 'assets' being covered by wafts of smoke, and she winked and blew a kiss at the four men that acted tough.
Instantly, the blood rushed to the men's heads, and they all rocketed away in a stream of blood coming from their nostrils. Naruto chuckled as he released his Sexy no Jutsu, and rushed into the restaurant. The four men landed, and slumped against the wall of the restaurant, unconscious. He put his hands in their pockets and walked in with a smirk at his recent prank. He saw a person sleeping on a table, and a bunch of other 'tough guys' in the background
"What are you smiling like that for, Naruto?" Aang asked as Naruto grinned.
"Well, I just taught those guys who spit at Sokka a lesson," Naruto replied as they walked further in. There was a guy in desert clothing at the bar.
"I'd like a mango please," the man asked, and the bartender nodded and drew his swords.
The bartender sliced off what looked like an ice bowl, used the tip of the blades to put it on the cutting board. He then cut a few fruits onto the cutting board and began using his blades to chop them at lightning fast speeds, tossed a half a mango up and sliced it in half, and then he scooped up the juicy mango and put it in the ice bowl. He then used his blades to grab a vase of liquid and poured it into the bowl and then he sheathed his blades. He moved the ice bowl of diced mangos into the middle of the cutting board, and put a bamboo straw and umbrella into it, and the man took.
"Impressive," Kakashi muttered as Sokka pushed forward into the room, getting a whiff of the beverage.
"I don't see anything wrong in having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy," Sokka said as he put his hand on his chin and smirked, then he pushed Aang and Toph out of the way and ran toward the bar stands and the rest followed. "Excuse me!"
As the bartender turned around to get another bowl, and Aang accidentally bumped into the man with the man with the desert clothing who was walking towards a table. The drink splashed onto the Airbender's shirt, and the bowl crashed onto the ground.
"No worries, I clean up easy," Aang told the man as he looked at the blond-haired genin's reaction to the man who wasn't paying attention. The airbender closed his eyes and generated a pulse of wind around his clothing, which dried after a few seconds.
"Wow that was cool!" Naruto exclaimed as he saw the feat of airbending. The man caught his desert hat, and chuckled. "You'd better watch where you're going in the future."
"It was an accident, baka," Sakura said as she bowed to the man. "Sorry about that…"
"Not a problem," the man said with a chuckle. "You're the Avatar, a living relic."
"Thanks, I try," Aang said, not getting what the meaning of 'living relic' is.
"An air nomad, right in front of me…" the man said as he put his hand to his chin in thought. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." He said as he bowed in respect, and Aang did the same. Then the professor grabbed the Avatar's arm, and pointed at the arrow tattoo. "Tell me, which of the Air Temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Air Temple," Aang replied, starting to get confused at why the Professor was so interested in him.
"Splendid," Zei said as he took out a head measurer, and put it around the Airbender's head. "Now tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"
"Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?" Aang asked the professor who put his hand to his chin again.
"Oh, truly fascinating, that is one for the journal," Zei replied as he put his hand on Aang's shoulder and raised his other hand in an pointing motion.
"Hey, you can stop treating Aang like some piece in a museum now," Naruto grumbled as the professor took out his journal and began to write. He then looked at the blond genin, and his headband, and gasped.
"You've been touched by a creature of the spirit realm, no; it's been imprisoned inside you!" Zei stated, making Aang's group look at Naruto. "These marks indicate it's either a wolf, fox, cat, or bear. Is it a benevolent spirit? Or malevolent? Why was it sealed inside of you?"
"Uh…ano…uh…" Naruto started as the professor traced his whisker marks with his finger, then recorded it into his journal. 'Got any idea what he's saying, stupid fox?'
"This is the place where bijuu come from," Kyuubi stated bluntly. "When I was a one-tailed kit, I used to work for a group of spirit beasts, including this annoying owl who thought he knew it all."
'Wait, bijuu come from this place?' Naruto asked the old fox demon.
"Not this place exactly, more specifically the Spirit Realm," Kyuubi replied with a snarl. "A bijuu, or tailed-beast demon is created when an impure or evil human spirit collides with an evil human spirit, mine was a Fire Bender one of those Avatars had to kill 1000 years ago, that's why when you use my chakra, flames sprout out."
'…I see…' Naruto said as he came back out of his mind as Zei furiously wrote down the markings on the genin's cheeks, and he looked at Sokka, who was eyeing him strangely while sipping a fruit cup, and Katara who looked at him confused, and Toph, who just had a strange look on her face. "…I have a demon inside of me guys."
"What?" Sokka asked, hearing Naruto mumble his confession.
Kakashi sighed; he was hoping this conversation wouldn't come up until they got back to Konoha. "Naruto has a demon sealed inside of him named Kyuubi, a nine-tailed demon fox that attacked our village 15 years ago and killed many of our Shinobi. Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage battled the demon on nearly equal ground, but he couldn't last for much longer, so he took a newborn infant and performed a difficult seal on the demon, imprisoning it in Naruto here."
"…he was hated by the adults in our village since he had Kyuubi inside of him, they blamed him for all the deaths the demon caused," Hinata said in a small voice, looking at Naruto whose head was looking at the ground. She then looked around the bar, noticing not everyone cared, and those who did cautiously moved away from the young jinchuuriki.
"Fascinating," Zei said as he looked closer at Naruto. "And here I thought Jinchuuriki were impossible to create! Wait till my colleagues at the University hear about this!"
"Can't you see he's not happy with his situation?" Katara asked Zei as she raised an eyebrow. "For a person who knows so much about humans, you don't seem to know a lot about their feelings."
"It's okay, Katara-chan, I'm kind of used to the hatred people give me, and I just shrug it off," Naruto said as he raised his head with a smirk. "Actually, it's kind of refreshing having a guy go nuts about the fact I do have a demon inside of me."
"…I meant no disrespect, however," Zei said as he bowed in an apology, and then directed it towards Aang too. "I tend to forget about people's feelings; I spend more time in books than with actual people."
"…so Professor, you sound like a well traveled guy, do you have a current map? Ours seems a little dated," Sokka asked, giving Naruto a weird look, and then he shrugged. 'Weird, having a demon inside of him…how does he even contain it?'
"Certainly," Zei replied as he looked at them.
A few minutes later, Sokka rolled out the map on a nearby table. The map shows the desert and most of the Earth Kingdom. Toph reclined herself on two chairs as she drank her fruit drink. Naruto, Hinata, and Aang stood to the right of Sokka, Sakura, Katara, Yamato, and Zei stood to the left, and Kakashi was behind, looking over the Water Tribe warrior's shoulder.
"Wow, this area is as large as the Land of Earth…" Sakura gasped as she looked at the desert on the map. "Though the desert…you could fit the Land of Wind in it easily."
"Very observant, Sakura-san," Kakashi stated as he looked at the map too.
"Land of Earth? Land of Wind?" Zei asked. "Are those formal names for the Four Nations?"
"…they are actually the names of the five great Shinobi Nations where we come from. Long story," Yamato replied as he looked at the map.
"Damn no Fire Nation? Does anyone have a good map of that place?" Sokka complained as he looked up into the ceiling.
"It looks like you've made a lot of trips into the desert," Katara commented as she looked at the trails through the desert that were marked by dashed lines.
"All in vain, I'm afraid," Zei replied with a sigh. "I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel-Wan Shi Tong's lost library."
"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" Toph asked him skeptically.
"I have to agree with Toph-chan, a library doesn't sound too important," Naruto added, and a growl was heard at the back of his head. 'What is it, stupid fox?'
"Wan Shi Tong is the name of the bastard owl who ordered me around all those years ago! If I wasn't sealed up in your damn body, I'd rip him apart!"
"This library is more valuable than gold young lady and man," Zei replied as he raised his hands and closed his eyes. "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge, is priceless."
He emphasized by pointing up at the sky, and Toph still wasn't convinced. "Sounds like good times."
"It is, according to legend, it was built by the Great Knowledge Spirit, Wan Shi Tong, with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers," Zei said, emphasizing the amazement of it all by waving his hands.
"Kyuubi was one of those knowledge seekers a thousand years ago," Naruto said bluntly, making Zei look at him. "The bastard fox told me himself."
"Again, fascinating," Zei muttered as he looked at Naruto. "One day I'd like to see how one of those seals are created."
"The knowledge for it died with the Sandaime-the Third Hokage, nearly three years ago when Orochimaru slayed him," Kakashi told the professor, who sighed. The jounin smiled under his mask. "Though I could show you how to make some basic seals for fuin jutsus-cursed techniques, but I don't think you'd be able to put them into practice."
"It'd be much appreciated sir," Zei replied as Sokka got a look in his eye.
"So you were saying, Naruto, that the knowledge seekers look like Kyuubi?" Sokka asked as the jinchuuriki nodded.
"And he isn't too happy about going to Wan Shi Tong again, he told me if he wasn't sealed inside me, he'd rip the 'Owl Bastard' in half," Naruto replied as Zei started pulling out something from his pack.
"Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected all the books from around the world and put them on display for mankind to read, so we might better ourselves," Zei told them with wonder in his voice as he laid out a blueprint of the library on the table.
"So if this place has books from all over to world, you think they might have any info on the Fire Nation? A map, maybe?" Sokka asked the professor. Aang and Naruto leaned forward as they began finishing their drinks, and Hinata sipped quietly as Katara looked at Zei.
"I wouldn't know," Zei replied truthfully as he looked at the blueprints. "But if such a thing exists, it would be in Wan Shi Tong's library."
"It might be a good place to learn some intelligence…" Kakashi stated from a military point of view.
"I'd like to see how this place looks compared to the maps from home," Sakura stated as she leaned forward at the map. "We need to know more if we're ever going to get used to living here for the time being."
"Ano…and there might be a way for us to get back in the library," Hinata added as she looked at it.
"Then it's settled," Sokka said after he put his hand to his face in thought again, and he smirked. "Aang, I believe it's my turn, I'd like to spend my vacation…" he started dramatically and he pointed his finger towards the sky. "…at the library!"
"Uh, hey, when do I get to pick?" Toph asked, looking over to them.
"You got to work here for a little longer before you qualify for vacation time, and that goes for the rest of you too," Sokka stated as he crossed his hands to emphasize his decision.
Toph slammed her bowl on the table and huffed in indignation. Sakura was starting to get a little tired of Sokka's attitude…so she put him in an arm lock. He cringed as the pink haired kunoichi grip, and several pops were heard.
"Now Sokka-san…are you going to treat a comrade with more respect?" Sakura asked him sweetly as more pops were heard from the warrior's arm.
"Yes, yes, just let go!" Sokka replied in a yelp as Sakura released her hold, and his arm floated back down to his side, limp. "Ouch…you're stronger than I'd ever think…"
"Of course, there's the matter of finding it. I've made many trips into the desert, and nearly ended up dying each time," Zei told them, getting everyone back to the topic at hand. "I'm afraid that desert is impossible to cross."
"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Sokka asked as he looked at Aang, and then at the professor.
"A sky bison, you actually have one?" Zei asked amazed, and he looked at Naruto smirking.
"Yep, and you also have five Konoha Shinobi escorting you too, and nothing is impossible to cross," Naruto replied with a smirk.
A little later, the group with the professor exited the bar, and went to look for Appa. The flying bison was at the edge of the settlement, and there were strange men in desert clothing approaching him. Appa snarled a warning at them, and he started sidestepping away.
"Sandbenders! Shoo, away from the bison!" Zei ordered the Sand Benders as Aang and Naruto caught up.
The Sandbenders looked at the group, and began walking away towards their sand-skiffs. They piled on and one bended a mini-sandstorm into the sail, making the skiff move away, and it formed up with another one and they moved away at a startling speed towards the north.
"We should get some supplies before heading out," Yamato reminded them as he looked around. "The desert is vast, so we'll need all the water and food we can carry, as well as sleeping gear and tents for the rest of us."
"You might be able to get some in town. I'd like to wait out here, and enter the actual appearance of a sky bison in my journal," Zei told Yamato, who nodded a thanks and went back into the settlement.
"Oh, could I have some of the local currency? I don't think our ryou's will work here," Yamato asked, as Katara gave the ANBU captain the sack of Earth and Water Nation money.
To Be Continued…