A/N: Thanks for everyone reading so far guys! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy~ ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or Legend of Korra.

Chapter Fourteen: Agni Kai

Earlier That Day...

The dramatic beating of drums and trumpets filled the tent as Iriah walked across a tightrope 15 meters above the ground with a burning sword in one hand, her free hand clawing at the air. On the other end of the tightrope was Bing Su who was wearing a dazzling dress of deep blue and matching silk slippers. Unlike Iriah who walked haltingly and gingerly, Bing Su seemed to glide through the air, turning and stepping lightly as though on firm ground.

As the drumming reached a climax and the trumpets blared loudly below, Iriah made a misstep and dropped the sword which spun to the ground. Missing the safety net by inches, it hit floor where an assistant standing guard extinguished it. Up above, Iriah wobbled on one foot, rotating her arms comically in a vain attempt to keep balance but then fell head first down to the safety net where she lay on her stomach, her face digging into the squares of the net twine.

Shadow, who had been directing the performance from below, called for a break in order to scold the Incredible Inferno for yet another failed attempt on the tightrope. Iriah, not wanting to make it any easier for the insufferable clown, did not get up from the safety net but instead lay there motionless, fuming at her humiliating failure and the redundant lecture that was to follow.

"Inferno!" snarled Shadow who was standing on the top-most rung of the ladder that led up to the safety net. "Get off the net right now!"

Iriah ignored this last bit and sighed, peering through the net below her where a mattress was laid out. She started counting the seconds in her head, trying to see if her disobedience would goad the ringmaster into climbing onto the net to pull her out by the ankles.

"Inferno, get up this instant!" hissed Shadow again, not moving from the ladder and instead addressing the backside of Iriah who was lying very still. "This is the fifth time you've fallen off the tightrope! Get it together or –"

"Oh, give her a rest, Shadow, honestly!" At the bottom of the ladder stood Bing Su who had just climbed down from the other side, looking pristine and unruffled as ever. Her flawless features were slightly marred by the fact that she was frowning disapprovingly up at Shadow who returned the look from above.

"Miss Bing Su, might I suggest you ready yourself? We'll be continuing again just as soon as I get this clumsy cretin up." Shadow tried shaking the net as though hoping Iriah would flop out of net like some dejected fish. She didn't budge.

Bing Su shook her beautiful head and said, "No, no, that's quite enough for today. She only started the tightrope this morning and she's made tremendous progress."

"Tremendous progress?" repeated Shadow incredulously, looking down at Bing Su again. "Falling off over and over again is your idea of progress? Miss Bing Su, you might be excellent on the tightrope, that I know, but you're clearly deluded if you think that Inferno's performance is anything more than an utter disaster!"

"Is that so?" asked Bing Su, her voice suddenly cold. "Well then, I guess you could teach her yourself if you think my methods are such a disaster!"

"That's not what I –"

"Then this is it for today, Shadow, and not another word. Tell the others to leave. We've been here all day!" And with that, Bing Su turned heel and walked away, still managing to make her heated exit look dainty and graceful.

After ten more minutes of empty threats and yelling, Shadow gave up on Iriah and told everyone to get lost. Some of the younger staff members dropped whatever it was they were holding and practically fled the main show tent, such was the vehemence Shadow exuded when he wasn't acting like a regular children's entertainer. Iriah lay on the net for a few more minutes until Shadow exited in a huff, then slowly crawled toward the ladder and climbed down.

Half an hour later, Iriah found herself sitting in front of her vanity mirror, staring glumly at her reflection while Bing Su reapplied her makeup next to her. She'd been practicing nearly all day and her scarlet uniform was soaked through with sweat. Normally, stage costumes were only worn during the practice directly preceding the live show but Shadow, thinking that costumes would help Iriah get into character, had insisted on it. Now the left sleeve was torn from one of her messier falls and Iriah doubted whether it would last another day.

"Don't feel so down about it, darling," said Bing Su as she powdered her nose. "Shadow's out of it as usual. He knows full-well that you've never had any experience on a tightrope and these things take time."

This was mostly true. Iriah had pointed this out to the pompous ringmaster that very morning when he had proposed the idea but he had ignored the fact completely, merely instructing her to "pick it up" as soon as possible while practicing her firebending illusions at the same time.

The whole thing was complete nonsense and Iriah still felt queasy from repeatedly falling from a dangerous height, sometimes nearly burning herself with the flaming sword when she had to make an unexpected plunge to earth. Bing Su, who was a trained acrobat as well as a dancer, had no problem whatsoever on the tightrope but found it exceptionally difficult to train Iriah who couldn't understand why Shadow wanted to do a show where a magic act took place in the air.

"I can't believe this is our next season's main act!" muttered Iriah, clenching her fists. "He even got Bolin to pay off that smashed cabinet and he's not even going to let me use it anymore."

"Bolin?" repeated Bing Su absentmindedly as she applied more blush to her already rosy cheeks.

"You know, that earthbender kid who interfered during my show once."

"Oh, yes, him," said Bing Su, turning her face so as to examine her makeup from different angles. "He must have a crush on you, Iriah. I've seen him following you around everywhere."

"Yes, that must be it," agreed Iriah noncommittally. Most of the other circus staff had left the changing room. There were just three people left: Bing Su, Iriah, and an assistant who was tidying up the clothes racks behind them.

"We should really do something fun this evening, Iriah," said Bing Su once she was satisfied with her blush. "It's been ages since we did something on the fly."

"And this coming from a circus performer? I'm really worried now," answered Iriah in a mocking tone.

"Oh, don't be like that. Why don't we eat out tonight?"

"I'll pass. I don't want to be noticed outside the circus, thanks."

"Now, Iriah, I insist. We'll just grab some dinner and come back. What do you say?"

No one could never resist Bing Su's requests for very long. It was like an unwritten rule in the circus – perhaps the entire world – that everyone agreed to do whatever it was she asked in the end. That was how it was for Bing Su. Iriah couldn't help but wonder how much easier it would be if life gave her everything she wanted. But instead of declining the dinner date, she relented and soon was dressed in regular attire for their little outing.

"Hold on a second," said Irah when Bing Su was about to leave. Stepping back to the costume rack, she picked out a long dark cloak and threw it over her shoulders much to Bing Su's dismay.

"I don't want people to see me, okay?" said Iriah flatly and, for once, Bing Su did not press the matter.

Present Time

"Ag-Agony what?" Bolin managed to ask through gritted teeth as fought to keep a cool head. He could feel his burn as though it were a pulsating creature, making him half afraid to take a good look at the damage.

"I challenge you to an Agni Kai, boy," repeated Yongzheng. "The traditional way of eliminating an unworthy firebender." He then laughed as though the very sound of his voice was humorous.

Mako's heart thudded loudly against his ribcage, all the blood rushing to his head. Having known only one other firebender for most of his life, Mako had never engaged in a fire duel before. He had been a part of his fair share of fistfights but a full-fledged Agni Kai was something he had only read about in dusty books.

Even to the people of the Fire Nation Agni Kai was considered an outdated method of coup d'état, bordering on barbaric. If an Agni Kai ever took place at all nowadays, it was usually a staged act used in traditional ceremonies. But this was no act and Mako's challenger was dead serious. However, the teenage firebender could not possibly imagine how he could avoid it.

"I accept on one condition!" shouted Mako, inwardly pleased that his voice did not tremble.

"What?" cried Bolin, flabbergasted. "Mako, what're you –"

"What would that be?" growled Yongzheng, ignoring Bolin.

Mako squinted in the dark. Some time had passed since entering the alley and his eyes were now adjusting to the lack of light. He could see Yongzheng's face leering out of the gloom, his stance slightly leaning forward, ready to pounce.

"My earthbender companion leaves right now," said Mako loudly, choosing his words carefully in case their blood ties interfered with Bolin's safe escape. His wording did not go unnoticed by Bolin but the burned shoulder kept him from proper speech.

Yongzheng seemed to find this gesture of chivalry to be almost as ridiculous as most people thought of his mullet and let out a gruff guffaw.

"Fine, then," said Yongzheng, pointing a finger at Bolin who was crouched on the ground. "The earthbender leaves."

Bolin slowly got to his feet, his teeth clenched against the pain his shoulder was causing him. He looked at Mako who seemed quite unshaken at the prospect of fighting a dangerous madman one-on-one. Bolin could do nothing to help, however, his shoulder preventing him from moving without wincing.

"Just go, Bolin, go," said Mako quietly, moving to hide his brother from view. These words did not go unheard from Yongzheng who laughed again, though he did not say anything.

Wishing more than anything that he could earthbend a brick into Yongzheng's open mouth, he turned and quickly ran toward the other end of the alley. He felt like a total coward with every step that he took, leaving his brother and their assailant behind. But the only help he could offer Mako now was to find someone – anyone – to intervene. His left hand felt for the walls as he ran faster and faster, praying that he wasn't already too late.

Bolin's ragged breathing and heavy footsteps faded behind Mako who stood stalk still, facing the formidable man in front of him. For a split second, Mako considered making a run for it now that his brother had escaped. But the dark alley seemed to engulf him, trap him in its gloomy folds and bind his feet to the spot, forcing him to carry out his part of the bargain.

"And now," said Yonzheng, flexing his muscles and stretching his legs, "we begin."

If someone had told Iriah that "grabbing some dinner" included watching two teenagers being chased out of a shop by a group of grown men and then being dragged along herself by her own dining companion in order to somehow aid and assist said teenagers, she would've locked herself in her caravan until the following morning.

Most unfortunately, no one was prescient or kind enough to warn the young magician of such a weary turn of events. As she sprinted down the street beside Bing Su, keeping one hand on her hood to keep it from slipping off, she couldn't help but feel exasperated that these things kept happening to her. Was it too much to ask that a circus magician live a mundane, peaceful life?

Far ahead, the two teenage boys, Mako and Bolin, were leading the strange stampede through the marketplace. The thuggish men were hot on their tail, however, and the two girls were falling behind in the ludicrous race to nowhere. To make matters worse, night was falling and Iriah had barely eaten her noodles before she was rudely pulled from her chair by Bing Su to participate in the chase. As she ran, her stomach grumbled loudly.

"Where'd they go?" panted Bing Su as they reached an intersection. There seemed to be no one dashing down the main road. Next to them was a lane leading into the residential area of Shin Ren Town, comprising mostly narrow alleyways sandwiched between dilapidated houses.

"Maybe we should wait and see who comes out," suggested Iriah feeling incredibly hungry.

At that very moment, a rumble of disgruntled voices came from somewhere near them. It seemed to be coming from down one of the side streets but it was clear that they were the voices of the men, not the teenagers.

"This way!" Bing Su did not wait for Iriah to respond before dashing down one of the lanes, her handcrafted heels clicking on the slate road. Sighing heavily, Iriah followed her down the lane, unable to dismiss the fact that her friend had just raced down a market street in high heels.

Firebending was never something Mako particularly enjoyed. Of course, the skill had come in handy during times when he had to fix something and a little welding was required or when he needed to make a portable flame to warm his hands. But the truth was that living in a rural Earth Kingdom village hardly necessitated the use of such a skill, and in Toh Sa Village, firebending was regarded with wariness if not downright dislike. Because being a firebender was not a useful party trick you could use to win friends in his neighborhood, Mako had even considered forgoing the chance of learning the art when he was younger.

Kenji thought differently. When he found out that his firstborn was a firebender, he took it upon himself to teach the youngster everything he had learned in the Fire Nation. Though Mako shied away from the task at first, he quickly gave into his father's demands and began his training near the mountainous areas around the village where he wouldn't burn anyone and – more importantly for Mako – where no one would see him firebending.

In hindsight, Mako couldn't help but feel both grateful and a little frustrated at his childhood firebending training. The disappointment came swiftly with awful realization and fear when Yongzheng made his first move. Thrusting his fist forward with a mighty roar, a fireball as big as his head came flying at Mako who had no choice but to throw himself sideways to avoid the attack. As well-meaning as Kenji had been, he could never have imagined that his son would duel a skilled firebender in an alleyway at nighttime. This meant that Mako, however much he had learned from his father, did not know how to fight properly or effectively block powerful moves.

They circled each other, Mako unable to land a punch while Yongzheng licked his upper lip, clearly enjoying the heavily one-sided battle.

"Tired, boy?" goaded Yongzheng, surveying Mako who was sweating profusely. "This won't take long. I'll finish you off before that earthbender comes back to collect your crisp corpse. Don't you worry 'bout that."

Years later, no one could quite describe what happened next in the gloomy alley. All that was certain was that it happened very fast. One minute they were staring each other down and then in the next, Yongzheng moved forward, hit Mako under the chin with a sharp uppercut and, like a limp rag doll, Mako fell backwards, landing so hard that all the breath in his lungs were knocked out of him. He barely had a second to collect himself when he felt the heavy man sitting on his chest, leaning forward to wrap his sausage-like fingers around Mako's throat. With horror and in head-spinning agony, he felt a frightening heat creep through the fingertips of his assailant. Mako was unable to scream as the burning fingertips dug into his neck, scorching his skin.

A/N: I hope I made the time differences obvious enough with the flow of events. Will update as humanly possible :D