Facing the Sun
Chapter One
The sun's rays shone gently through the little window by a desk on the far left, where the same girl always sat with the same thoughts whenever she'd daydream in class. She would peer out into the sunset over the water, and her ears would make out the faint sounds of gulls chanting and waves sloshing. And sometimes, if she listened carefully, she would be able to make out the happy sounds of triumphant laughter from the small children who splashed around the shore with their parents. She was fifteen now, but she still remembers when she was like them – carefree and eyes wide in wonder of the world and all the places she would go with her sister. It'd been nearly ten years since she'd last visited the shore. What once used to be bright and vivid in color was now dull and gray, and like sand slipping through splayed fingers, memories faded away, leaving their traces in the small ways they could.
If she could go back to those times, she would take every second and make it count more than she ever would have before.
"Miyu!" The teacher scolded, irritated and worried all the same with the girl's obvious lack of attention.
The small girl by the window leapt at the sound of her name being called. She never meant to daydream, but no matter how she tried to focus, her mind would always seem to wander.
"Care to tell me what's so fascinating?" Miss Kanou teased, a smirk adorning her pretty features. Though she often scolded Miyu, it was never out of anger. She cared for the girl in ways many of her classmates didn't understand. And though Miyu often wore a delicate smile and her shy eyes shone with a rare innocence, there was a part of her that cried and pleaded for a chance to see her sister again. A plead that she buried beneath her happy façade. She fooled almost everyone.
"I-I… well…" She stuttered, peering down at the surface of her desk shyly. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to –"
"Come see me after class, Miyu." Her voice was stern, but Miyu understood the worry in her teacher's eyes. She really was a kind woman, and Miyu felt horrible for the way she had been daydreaming through class lately.
As she was asked, Miyu lingered behind her class once the final bell rung, sending her peers out in a flurry of conversation and excitement. She sighed, watching them go. Miyu was always the last one to leave, but this time, it felt odd. New. She turned to a single paper waiting on her desk and visually traced over the drawing she had started, studying her progress. Anything to ease her building anticipation of returning home.
"You really are a wonderful artist," her teacher said with a smile. She had approached the girl without being noticed.
"O-Oh," Miyu stuttered bashfully. "Thank you, Miss Kanou."
"Mind if I take a closer look?" the teacher asked, recognizing the boy in the picture. "This is Prince Zuko, isn't it? The one from the stories you always like to read?"
Miyu nodded. "I wonder what it was like back then." Her eyes were distant this time. She was always thinking about the past in one way or another. "I couldn't imagine having to face so many obstacles." So many trials. Miyu's only real trial began nearly ten years ago and had yet to come to an end.
"Well," Miss Kanou started with a sigh, "I think we all have to face several obstacles throughout our lives. That's just the way things are." Then she said brightly, "But it's our struggles that make peaceful times truly worth having." She gently referred to Miyu's own struggles.
Miyu thought about this for a moment, her brow subconsciously furrowing. She peered down at her drawing of a boy who also struggled with heartache and turmoil, though years and years before her time.
Miss Kanou placed a hand on Miyu's shoulder. "I worry about you. I just wanted to tell you that, even though I am your teacher, I will be here for you in every way that I can be. You can talk to me about absolutely anything if you ever feel like you can't talk to anyone else." She slouched slightly, looking directly into Miyu's eyes. She knew that Miyu had loving parents, but she wasn't sure exactly how much she revealed to them.
Miyu averted her gaze only after a short moment, afraid to share her feelings. This was her pain. She didn't want it to become anyone else's – ever. She would never wish this on anyone.
"Miyu?" The woman said softly, wondering where the girl's thoughts were.
"Okay," Miyu answered finally, smiling. "Thank you for your kindness. I don't feel like I am very deserving of it."
"Miyu…" Miss Kanou trailed, her chest tightening. "I can't help but worry about you. I've known you and your family for quite some time now. I've watched you grow in so many ways. I understand that it may sound very odd to you, considering that you only know me as your teacher, but teachers are human beings, too," she laughed briefly. "My point is that I would still care about you – no matter what sort of person you become or what you may be going through that you feel makes you any less deserving of love and care than someone else." Her hand slipped from Miyu's shoulder then.
The girl was stoic, her expression faultless in comparison to the smile she always carried to the city and to her high school. She was silent for a moment before she met her teacher's eyes once more. "T-Thank you." She took a deep breath, realizing that she hadn't been breathing. She was afraid – so afraid to involve anyone else in these dark feelings. That was all she could seem to say for now, though her mind was teeming with so much more.
"Would you like me to give you a ride back to Hirokai? I would feel better if you weren't walking alone in the city." Miss Kanou couldn't help but behave in a motherly fashion. She wanted very much to have children of her own, but she was incapable of bearing a child. She took to her students as if they were her adopted children. When Miyu enrolled as a freshman, Miss Kanou saw right away that there was something different about the girl.
And something very sad about her smile.
"No, it's okay. I don't mean to be a burden. My father has trained me to defend myself if the need arises, but thank you very much for the offer." It was as if Miyu had rehearsed her words.
She always seemed to decline when Miss Kanou offered her a safe trip home. Miss Kanou would feel horrible if she didn't offer, so she always found a way to remind Miyu that the offer still stood.
The teacher sighed. "Well, I guess there's no changing your mind. You should head home now, then. The sun is already setting."
Miyu nodded before packing her things, making sure to stash her drawing in a safe place where it wouldn't crinkle and smudge. She slipped her backpack straps over her shoulders before trotting to the door. "Thanks again, Miss Kanou! F-For being so kind, I mean. " Miyu turned briefly and left Miss Kanou with a slight wave.
"Be safe, Miyu!"
Miyu enjoyed the walk through the city. Even though it was hardly ever silent, she enjoyed watching cars drive by and people dash across the busy streets whenever there was a gap in a traffic line. She enjoyed the sounds of the city. They sometimes covered up her busy thoughts and her nagging mind.
This time, someone walked by stringing along a dog on a leash, and before passing by, it licked Miyu's hand. Miyu giggled as she watched it continue on its way. It seemed as if the person walking it was in a bit of a hurry. They were out of sight in no time at all.
The sun really was already setting. The passage of time never seemed to slow. Miyu picked up her pace, hoping to get home in time to watch the sun set over the sea.
It had been ten years since she last visited the shore.
She dropped her bag off at the veranda, its wooden planks still warm from having soaked up the sun all day. Slipping off her shoes, she ran over the sand and relished in the way it squished beneath her feet and gently warmed their tired soles.
"Ten years!" She exclaimed in a hushed way, standing close to the sloshing waves so that they could reach for her and embrace her legs. "It's hard to believe I avoided coming here for so long, but I'm ready now."
She had grown accustomed to talking when no one was there. Sometimes, she would forget that she was actually alone. Certain memories she still held of her sister were still strong and vivid – so much that, at times, it was as if her sister was by her side again, teaching her to bend the waves in a way no one else admired more than Miyu. Her sister was the kind of waterbender Miyu always aspired to be, but now…
Miyu sighed, her high already dying.
She lifted her hands warily, posing in the way her sister had once taught her. It was a simple move, but regardless, Miyu's efforts were always in vain. The water had continued to ignore her since she was a small child. Try all she might, it was always the same. Yet, even so, she still hoped in some small way whenever she would lift her hands and beckon to the water that it would hear her and entwine with other wisps of blue sea as she called it to do so. In her imagination, Miyu created waves that soared for the clouds and towered over Hirokai. But never would this happen when she tried with eyes wide open. The fish created splashes, but never Miyu. Not anymore.
Though she still wondered why, she never stopped hoping that someday, she would become half the waterbender her sister was. And her father would be proud, as well as her mother. Her father was a master, and people from the nearby city came here to study with him and to learn what it truly means to become one with the spirit of the moon and the sea. Even Miyu strived to learn under her father's tutelage, but still, not one wave listened to her calling. Though her father was patient and encouraging, Miyu knew he was disappointed. She was nothing like her sister.
Her mother was different now, as she had been since the day of the accident. She was often times silent, and though she smiled for others, she often cried at night when the world was asleep, praying for her child and wishing that she could embrace her and kiss her cheeks again and brush her long, black hair like she used to in front of the vanity. Now, she would offer Miyu sparse affection and often focused her attention on household duties such as cooking and cleaning.
Miyu knelt down and slipped her finger through wet sand, drawing a simple heart. Her love for the ocean was always there, buried beneath her fears and her heartache. She missed her sister more than words could ever convey, and she was afraid that it would be too painful to return to the place she and her sister spent most of their time together.
"I miss you," she whispered, inspecting the small heart. "Everyone does." In fact, it was painful, but her heart had healed enough to return to this place. Miyu once thought it would never begin to heal, and even in ten years, there was still emptiness and sorrow.
She had been learning to live with these feelings for a while now, and she would keep trying her best until it was time for her to go find her sister. Until then, she would try to better herself in every way she could. There had to be a place for her in the world, and if not here, then where? She once thought that her place would always be Hirokai, but lately, her dreams painted pictures of faraway places.
Her parents made something special for her birthday: a traditional meal that was once popular only in the Fire Nation in old times. Like her sister, Miyu had developed a taste for spicy foods rather than the bland, fatty foods of the water tribes, which her parents normally preferred.
"How is my beautiful daughter doing?" her father had asked once his plate was full. Unlike his wife, he often spoke first and resolved to press through Miyu's presently quiet nature.
"Fine," she said politely, returning a small smile. She picked at her food, still thinking about her first trip to the sea in a long time. "Thank you for the meal," she thought to say, slipping a bite into her mouth. "It tastes really good!"
Her father chuckled. "Your mother and I haven't prepared this in a while, so we thought we'd surprise you." He sipped from his glass, clearing his throat. "It's hard to believe that you're fifteen already. Where did the time go?"
"Dad?" Miyu asked suddenly, uncertainly in her voice.
"What's on your mind, Miyu?"
"Am I…" she struggled to find the right words. Miyu was never good at saying anything, at least the way she meant to say things. "Well… Do you think I'll ever be able to waterbend again?"
Her father was silent for a short moment. "Miyu…" he trailed, placing down his utensils.
"Of course," her mother finally offered. It was the first time she had spoken since the table was prepared. "Just believe in yourself, Miyu." She was gentle in saying this. She and her husband knew that Miyu had yet to forgive herself for the tragedy that took place the day her sister passed away. She placed her hand over her daughter's and offered what little comfort she could. "Aya would want you to forgive yourself. We all want that for you, Miyu."
So many questions raced through Miyu's mind, but she nodded instead.
"You can still heal," her father supplied, referring to her healing abilities. "Your waterbending is still there. Maybe not in the way you would like it to be, but for now, maybe that's all it's meant to be." He paused for a moment. "I believe in you, Miyu. Don't be so hard on yourself. These things take time."
"Why…" Miyu started, unsure. "Why couldn't I heal Aya?" It was more a question to herself than to anyone else.
Her parents exchanged worried glances.
That night after they had eaten and their bellies were comfortably full, Miyu pardoned herself for the night and nearly headed back to her bedroom before thinking better of it. Instead, she traced the doorknob of her sister's door. It had been awhile since she visited Aya's room. This place, too, was difficult for Miyu to venture, though for some reason, she was never able to avoid it the way she avoided the sea.
She crept inside, gently shutting the door behind her. The room was always left untouched, save for the times her mother entered to dust and keep Aya's belongings from being buried beneath time's preserve. The sun had long since sunken behind the sea, but Miyu imagined a time when the sun rays would slip through barely opened blinds and splay bright patches of light over the carpet. At times like these, Miyu would always think of the sun. It was strange how a waterbender could feel so close to the sun and not to the moon.
She took a deep breath and swiped her hand over the mirror her grandmother had given Aya many years ago. She would always tell Miyu and Aya stories and legends that built the mirror's history, but Aya never believed in these stories. According to their grandmother, this was a special sort of mirror that was once used as a means of transportation to any six of the other mirrors like it – wherever they were in the world.
Of course, Miyu wasn't nearly as gullible as she used to be when she was a small child. And like her sister, she sorted any thoughts about her grandmother's stories away as fantasy and kept them there.
The mirror was already beginning to collect more dust. Miyu brushed her hand over it until she could see a reflection not quite so blurry. Peering back at her was a pale girl with dark hair and deep blue eyes, closely resembling an even mix of her parents. Miyu found features in herself now that also reminded her so much of her sister. Because of this, she neglected her reflection as often as possible.
Miyu realized that someone was standing behind her, seemingly waiting for her to turn around. Her heart leapt painfully and she spun around to face the intruder.
"Aya?" she breathed, but no one was there. Miyu was imagining things. She fell to her knees, suddenly weak.
For a moment, she believed that Aya wasn't really gone. She peered down at her hands, turning her palms upward and ignoring the tears that brimmed her eyes.
"Someday, I'm going to be as strong as you are!" A sweet, young voice declared, tiny hands tossed high in excitement as she watched her older sister complete yet another beautiful set of steps she had recently learned from her father, the only waterbending master within miles and miles.
Even in the neighboring city of Hitachi, not one waterbender could quite compare to the girls' father. Aya often wondered if they were actually biased, but she would never say it out loud. Even if that was the case, the girls loved their mother and father and shared a close bond with their parents – almost as close as the bond they shared with each other. Even if there were greater warriors in the world, their father would always be the best in their eyes.
Aya stopped for a moment to rest, plopping down beside her sister in the sand. A close grouping of palm trees shaded them from the intense summer sun, and though Aya's skin was naturally more resilient to the sun's rays, Miyu wasn't quite so fortunate.
"You know what I think?" The older girl said softly after a moment of listening to the gulls in the distance.
"Hmm..." Miyu replied, letting the webbing between her toes soak in the warmth of the sand. As much as a child could love any place, she loved the shore. So many memories were created here, and not one was any less valuable than the next.
"I think that, someday, you will be one of the strongest people in the world, Miyu. Stronger than me and stronger than Dad." She smiled faintly, watching as the waves overlapped one another. It reminded her of a time when she wrested with her little sister during a pillow fight. There were feathers everywhere – so much that it almost looked like snow, or what she imagined snow would look like if it ever were to snow in Hirokai.
"What makes you say that?" Miyu chuckled, her voice crisp and innocent like bells ringing in the distance.
Aya shrugged. "I just do." She smiled down at the younger girl now. "A different kind of strong, I mean."
"Different…" Miyu repeated, wondering what her sister could mean. "How so?"
"Well…" Aya began, leaning back against propped arms and pressing her palms into the sand. "Strong in here." She pointed to her heart then. "And because of that, you will become strong as a waterbender, too."
Miyu wasn't sure what to think of that. Wasn't her heart strong already? "My heart is strong, right? It never skips a beat!"
"True, but that's not quite what I'm talking about, silly."
Aya stood, brushing the sand off her pants. "Come on. We should head inside and see if Mom needs any help with dinner. Dad's planning on having some guests over tonight to discuss some business," she emphasized, forming quotations with her fingers and wiggling them back and forth.
Miyu sighed and followed behind her sister back to the house. "They're going to tell stories of our ancestors again, aren't they? Like the ones who lived in the Southern Water Tribe a long time ago?"
"Something like that. They just like to keep tradition by telling stories of our people on the night of a full moon, and tonight's the night."
"Already? I feel like we just had a full moon!"
"Same here!" Aya laughed, crossing the veranda hand-in-hand with her little sister. "Oh well. After dinner, how about we put our pillows to some good use?"
Miyu's eyes twinkled in excitement. "Okay!"
It was late that night and Miyu couldn't sleep. The pillow fort she had built with her sister was probably the best one yet, and instead of sleeping the time away, she would rather stay awake and put her imagination to the test. Tomorrow was her sixth birthday, and though it was only her sixth, Miyu wanted to relish in being like this with her sister all that she could before they got too old for pillow fights and forts. Aya was already eighteen! Miyu couldn't believe it. Her sister was becoming a woman and leaving her behind already. Just the thought tightened her chest and burnt her eyes with unshed tears, but quickly, Miyu wiped them away and laughed instead.
Aya stirred, having dozed off only moments ago. "Hm?" She was groggy and disoriented. "Miyu?"
"Sorry." Miyu curled up beside her sister, resting her head on the same pillow. "I can't sleep, and then I thought of something funny."
Aya chuckled. "Goofy." She ruffled her sisters already static-y hair, earning a few giggles in return. "It's almost two o'clock in the morning," she said while stifling a yawn.
"I know…" she said, feeling disappointed that the night was going by so fast. Why did time with her sister always do this? "Then can I stay right here?" She closed her eyes, realizing that the pillow her sister was resting on was actually very comfortable, almost like resting on a cloud as Miyu would imagine.
"I don't see why not," her sister said through a smile, closing her eyes. She was already losing the fight to stay awake. Using what little energy she had left, she reached for the blanket covering her legs and tugged it upward so that it was covering them both up to their shoulders.
"Good night, Miyu."
Her little sister was already asleep. Aya was quick to follow. Her dreams created scenes of how they would spend Miyu's birthday together, and each time, they did something even more special. She soon dreamt of taking the stars one by one as if they were all part of a staircase and building a fort of clouds on the moon, where she and Miyu would spend their time laughing and telling stories.
She knew it was supposed to be a surprise, but Miyu couldn't help but ask as she excitedly wiggled in the car seat the next morning. "Can I at least get a hint? Please!"
"Nope! You're too smart. I can't think of a hint that won't give everything away," Aya lied. Her sister was indeed smart for a six-year-old, but she wanted this to be the biggest surprise she had given her sister yet. There were plenty of hints she could toss around, but she would rather her little sister wriggle in excitement. And besides, she couldn't help but smile whenever she happened to steal a glance at Miyu's obvious anticipation.
They had already long since passed through the nearby city where Miyu now attended school. Now they were on the main stretch of road that spread out four lanes and was always buzzing with traffic. Though Aya didn't really care to drive on busy roads, her little sister was definitely worth the trouble.
"Oh, fine," Miyu grumbled, squishing her cheek against the car window.
"You'll find out soon enough. Don't worry," Aya laughed, stealing another glance at her sister. "Hey, don't make me pinch you!"
Miyu restrained a smile, but the slight twitch at the corners of her mouth gave her away. "You better not, Aya! You're driving!"
"I could pull over, you know. But I'd rather not," Aya teased.
An hour came and went before Miyu was roughly jerked awake from her nap against the window.
"Sorry, Miyu. I had to break. This guy obviously can't drive!" She sneered, watching cautiously as a truck bearing a pile of heavy logs swayed back and forth between lanes.
"Whoa, that's scary. What is that guy doing?" Miyu asked, suddenly awake.
"Not sure. I'm keeping my distance, though. I don't trust driving too close to him. Especially not with you being in the car." Aya's knuckles whitened as she clutched the wheel even tighter.
Miyu gasped. Suddenly, as she had feared, the large truck slammed into a nearby van, sending it screeching into the next lane. Logs came crashing down from the back of the truck, snapping free of their secures and slamming into several more cars nearby.
"Aya!" Miyu screeched, eyes wide and full of fresh tears.
"Hang on, Miyu!" The older girl cried, jerking the wheel and narrowly avoiding a collision from the left.
The car spun out of control as its wheels grated against broken glass, cutting through the rough texture.
"Dammit! We're stuck!" Aya cursed, slamming her foot desperately on the gas pedal. She couldn't think straight.
Was this really happening?
Miyu's heart was pounding. She felt sick to her stomach. "Aya…" she sobbed desperately, covering her face with her hands. Vehicles continued to spin out of control all around them and collide against each other and the railing that lined the busy highway.
Aya ripped free of her seat belt, doing the same for her sister. "Here, come out on my side!" She cried, grabbing for Miyu.
Before she had time to do anything more, a loud horn blared and headlights shone in through Aya's window.
"Aya!" Miyu screamed.
Time stood still in that moment. For the first time, it stood still. Only for them.
She couldn't stop coughing, no matter how much it hurt. It felt as though razor blades were slicing through every inch of her body, and she couldn't help but retch as the smoke teased her throat. Her vision was spotted; she was trapped beneath an upturned car, and the taste of blood filled her mouth. She could no longer feel her legs, but with great effort, she was able to slide her arms over the glass-dusted gravel of the highway and tug her body forward ever so slightly.
The slender figure of a young woman lied only a few feet away, her body bent unnaturally. Her clothes were torn and she was drenched in what almost looked like black fluid in Miyu's speckled vision, but she knew better. It was blood and there was a lot of it.
"Aya!" Miyu screamed, the blood in her throat distorting her speech. Through coughs and gasps for air, she repeated herself over and over again as if her voice alone could somehow wake her sister. "Plea-he-hease! Aya!"
Her ears perked at the sound of sirens in the distance. "Please, help…" she uttered helplessly. "Someone please help her…." The sirens sounded so far away, and though anyone else would say that help was close, Miyu felt that they wouldn't arrive in time.
She nearly bit her tongue as she attempted, once more, to drag herself across the gravel. Parts of the car had been strewn about and torn to shreds, though enough remained to pin her legs to the ground and conceal her body from the light of day, or what was left of it behind the thick cloud of black smoke.
"A-Aya," she sobbed. "Aya." Her voice wasn't her own any longer. No matter how her throat burned, her pleads wouldn't cease. They couldn't.
This couldn't be happening. This was just a nightmare and she would wake up crying. Aya would tell her that none of this was real. That everything was okay.
One more tug and the sickening sound of snapping bone crackled throughout the thick smoke hovering around her. Miyu fought it as much as she could. She had to get to her sister. She just had to. The physical pain was unbearable, but nothing could compare to the pain she felt in her heart.
It was all her body could handle. Something inexplicable began to take hold of her. It froze her arms and fingers and it silenced her whimpers, coaxing her with a blanket of darkness and easing her into a slumber so peaceful, she thought she may be following her sister to Heaven.
She would follow her anywhere if she could.
Her eyes snapped open and she jolted upward, springing herself from the confines of her stretcher. The sirens of the ambulance nearly deafened her ears, and the emergency responders around her stared in shock as the young girl snapped free of what was keeping her alive only moments ago.
"My sister! Where's my sister?!" She bellowed, searching frantically for any sign of Aya.
"Please, calm down!" One managed to say, but Miyu didn't want to hear it.
Only moments ago, she was crippled and several of her ribs were broken. Now, she was standing and even talking as if she had only experienced a gentle tumble on a bicycle with training wheels.
Not one person knew what to say. They stared stupidly. How…? How could this girl have healed so quickly?
It had only been a day. Miyu was already released from the hospital to return home, but she had yet to see her sister. Where were they keeping her? What room? Would she be okay, too?
The answer was not what she expected – not what she was willing to accept. Not at all.
Her mother and father held her as she screamed and sobbed at the news of her sister.
Aya was dead.
"Miyu?"
The sound was distant at first, but once a familiar warmth splayed over her side, Miyu realized that she had fallen asleep on Aya's bedroom floor. Her mother was panicked.
Miyu pressed open the door, stepping out into the hallway so her mother could see her.
"I'm sorry," Miyu said, her mother's face falling in relief as she sighed. "I wanted to spend some time in Aya's room and I ended up going to sleep in there."
Her mother pulled her into a hug then, brushing a hand over the back of her head and sleeking her hair. "I didn't mean to panic. If I had known you were in Aya's room, I would've just let you sleep. I just worry about you, Miyu. I was afraid that you ran away."
"Where would I run to?" Miyu asked softly, her eyes distant. "And why would I run away? I wouldn't even consider leaving you and Dad."
Her mother's shoulders began to shake. "I'm not ready to lose you, too," she said through tears. "I don't mean to be so overprotective and paranoid, but I don't know how I could live with myself anymore if I couldn't hold you like this."
"Mom…" Miyu started, wrapping her arms around her mother's back. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Her family needed her. How could she even think of leaving when her mother was like this?
"I love you so much, Miyu," her mother said, calming herself. "I have been selfish since your sister passed, and for that, I am so, so sorry."
Miyu rested her head on her mother's shoulder then, closing her eyes. Her mother was always capable of offering this sort of comfort, though she hardly ever showed it. It was her own way of protecting herself from the past rather than facing it and letting it go. Accepting it.
Miyu could understand that. She had yet to truly accept the past as well.
The hours came and went and before anyone knew it, the final bell was ringing to set Miss Kanou's students free from the confines of their studies. Miyu had finished her drawing now, studying its outcome with a smile that spread to her eyes as it rarely did.
Before she could protest, someone snatched the drawing from her desk and dangled it over her head.
"Hey!" she cried, bounding upward to take it back.
"What's with this drawing?" the boy asked, snickering. "You're always drawing the same guy."
Miyu blushed, trying one more time to take back her drawing. "Well, what's with you?" she spit back. "You always tease me for no reason. Why waste your time?" She pouted, crossing her arms.
"Oh, I have my reasons," the boy chuckled, leaning forward so that his face was only inches away from her own. Miyu would never admit out loud that she thought he was attractive. She turned her face away, stubbornly fixing her attention to a random spec on the wall.
"I'm not interested in dating anyone, Leo," she said more gently, hoping to get through to him. His name was odd, she always noted with faint interest. He was from Ba Sing Se, an old city that has thrived in every way imaginable. She couldn't imagine why he would leave, or why his family would for that matter. Maybe he, too, appreciated the small joys she found in this city.
He sighed. "I can wait." Then he held out her drawing as if to hand it back.
"Don't hold your breath," Miyu smirked, taking her drawing back and storing it somewhere safe. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Miss Kanou was watching them suspiciously, as if she was waiting for an opportunity to call Leo out and help Miyu deflect his advances.
Many boys had expressed their interest in Miyu since as early a time as the sixth grade, but she would always decline. Even now that she was old enough to date, according to her father, she couldn't possibly think of dating anyone when she already had so much on her mind.
"Why do you always draw the same person?" He asked, changing the subject. He knew she wasn't interested in him, and he wasn't the kind of person to force anything on her. Of course, that never stopped him from poking fun from time to time. He was the only person in the school who really made an effort to talk to her besides Miss Kanou. By the time he had figured that out, it became much more difficult to let her be.
"Well…" Miyu struggled to find the right words for a moment. Maybe the answer was simpler than she thought. "I've read a lot about him in books. I admire him." She felt her face warming up again.
"So if I was Prince Zuko, would you actually give me the time of day?" Leo chuckled, light from the window catching his light blue eyes in a short lived glint.
"W-What?" Miyu stuttered, nearly dropping her backpack as she fastened it over her shoulders. She would be lying if she ever told anyone that she didn't fantasize like most teenage girls did. It was one way she could take her mind off of the sea and off of the young woman who once bent its waves so passionately. Miyu would never consider dating anyone, but that wouldn't stop her from including in her daydreams her own idea of romance. It was silly and Miyu had little time to wonder about these things. She pushed her thoughts aside for now. "A-Actually, I should get going. Bye!" She said hastily, running for the door.
"Hey, wait up!" Leo shouted, but before he could say anything more, she was already gone.
Her father was out late tonight teaching a student advanced forms. She and her mother ate dinner in silence, though comfortable. Miyu placed a light kiss on her mother's cheek and excused herself to her bedroom, where she sat at her desk with only the dim light of a candle that she preferred over any lamp. She peered at the drawing she had completed of Prince Zuko that day, and the longer she studied it, the less complete it really looked.
She never quite realized how often she dreamt of living in a time when she would truly need her waterbending to protect her. What sort of waterbender could only heal, but not actually bend the water?
Miyu was odd. That much she knew without a single doubt.
She healed without touching. It was the only task Miyu had ever been adept at. She knew it was unnatural, and the few waterbenders in Hirokai who could also heal saw her ability as a new approach to psychic bloodbending, a taboo ability that was outlawed in the court of Republic City years before Avatar Aang's first child was born.
Miyu didn't have the ability to manipulate the blood within someone's body. She would never call herself a bloodbender. That was something only a select few in the world could ever do. Though, strangely enough, Miyu could heal someone just by sitting beside that person and focusing on whatever was physically causing him or her pain. Because of this, the elder waterbenders in Hirokai began to call her the world's first known psychic healer and strayed from the idea that she was to be feared.
Miyu's father explained to her once that he believed, if it wasn't for her involvement in the accident that took away her sister, she would not be able to heal in such a unique way.
Her close experience with death triggered this strange ability, and though many people had their assumptions as to how and why, it never helped answer the one question Miyu asked herself the most.
Why couldn't she heal her sister?
Propping her elbows on her desk, she pressed her face into her hands and sighed. Even after ten long years, it was something she still couldn't let go of.
She nearly tilted backwards in her chair when a loud crashing sound tore through the normally silent household. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and she wasted no time in swinging her door open to peer into the dark hallway outside her door.
Could someone have broken in? Miyu's heart began to pound. She tiptoed forward, her mind racing with ideas as to what she could use as protection. Waterbending was always out of the question. As much as it pained her to admit it, even to herself, she was useless as a waterbender.
Where were her parents?
A strange glow began to creep out from beneath Aya's bedroom door. Miyu was afraid of what the source could possibly be, but curiosity got the better of her. It angered her to think of the possibility that someone had broken in – especially through her sister's window.
Slowly, carefully, she pressed open the door and peeked inside, her eyes widening at what she found.
Aya's mirror was glowing faintly, only enough to illuminate the room like a campfire would illuminate a small clearing in a forest. Is this where that strange sound came from?
Shutting the door behind her, Miyu crept forward cautiously. She must've fallen asleep at her desk. This must be some sort of dream. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Though Miyu was uncertain, something about the mirror drew her towards it, pleading with her just as she pleaded to the waves in the sea. There was a part of her that wanted to run to her parents and hide behind them, but her curiosity was far too stubborn. She reached a hand forward hesitantly before coaxing her fingers over its smooth surface.
Before she could react, it felt as though someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her through.
She slipped into a black void, hearing a soft, familiar voice as she drifted along the edge of consciousness.
"Don't be afraid."
Author's Note: Hey, guys! FHM here, reporting for duty. It's been about two years since I've actually submitted any ounce of writing to this website, and I can thank becoming a college student for that. College is crazy - in some ways good and other ways bad. For one thing, I'm pretty much always busy. Even when I'm sleeping, I'm busy, because my stupid brain comes up with ways to remind me of the stress on my shoulders. I am a music major, which means that I might as well live in a practice room. All I can really say about that is, "SO... MUCH... FLUTE... AND PIANO..." Anyway, I'd also really like to say that, for those of you who have been patiently waiting for a True Colors update... I'm sorry I basically fell off the face of the Earth for a couple of years. I really do plan to complete it someday soon, but it might just have to be during the summer when I'm not thinking so much about classes. And honestly, I haven't worked on it in so long, or any other story for that matter, that I'm really trying to get back into the swing of things. I have been in a bit of a funk lately, and by funk, I mean I'm taking medication for depression... well, sort of. I'm weening myself off of it for... well, reasons. 0.o Writing is something I haven't involved myself with since I started my college classes as a freshman and I forgot exactly how much happiness I used find in sitting in my room with some nice music in the background and in just... writing, writing, and writing some more. I picked it back up about two or three weeks ago (I kinda lost count, haha), and it really seems to be helping out with my emotions. I don't know how many of you actually read these author's notes, but I figured I'd give a brief explanation of where I am in my life currently.
Anyways, I decided to start working on this fic, mostly for my own pleasure. Personally, I've been wanting to take a stab at making my own "Zuko falls in love with OC" story without creating a Mary Sue or a "Zuko-instantly-falls-in-love-with-perfect-OC-and-they-live-happily-ever-after"type thing. I would probably jump off a ten story building if I found out that I created a Mary Sue. Not really, but I would be so disappointed with myself. DX Another purpose why I decided to start this fic is that I am trying to redirect my thoughts. Depression has dragged me into a sort of negative thinking cycle... But enough about that. I suppose, in a way, I am personifying my own heartache as Miyu. Granted, Miyu and I are nothing alike and this isn't a self-insert cliche. As she grows and becomes, in her own way, a person who learns to forgive herself and accept the circumstances in her life that she cannot change, I hope to do the same in my own life. This story is sort of a way for me to gain new perspectives.
So yeah. I blah, blah, blah'd for a bit. Thanks for reading! :D More chapters are to come in the future. Depends on life and college and practicing and junk. Ermagerd, FLERTE ERND PIERNERRR!