A/N Hmm...only three reviews? It only takes a moment to type down your thoughts! Thank you to those who reviewed!
This one's pretty long btw. This is dedicated to NicBaz. Again, I'm really sorry.
Chapter 12
Today, Kuzon was going to do something different.
Just the other day, he had thought he had way too much free time. It was true. Kuzon usually practiced earthbending in the backyard or listened to the radio.
So he came up with a plan.
"Hey Mom." he said when she came home for lunch.
"Hello, Kuzon. How is your day so far?" Lin asked as she started serving the takeout food.
He sat down at the table. "It's okay. So what did you do?"
"Oh, the usual. Thugs in jail, more men trying to seduce me," she rolled her eyes at this point, "Saikhan asked me out-"
"Please tell me you rejected him." said Kuzon.
"I did. I think he'll stop asking at this point." Lin reassured him.
He exhaled in relief. "Thank the spirits! He is so serious and he's no fun."
She smiled and gave him his food. "Yeah he is. Still, he is trustworthy and a pretty good captain."
"I guess." he shrugged. "I can't wait until I join the Police Force."
"You'd probably be a better captain than Saikhan."
Kuzon beamed, then frowned. "Wait...isn't your lunch break almost over?"
Lin swore loudly until she realized Kuzon was still there. "Sorry. Don't repeat that. I have to go! I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Yeah sure. Bye!" he called out after her as she slammed the door. He heard the car start.
Once he was sure she was gone, he ran to his room. Kuzon was going to take a long walk downtown. Sure, there were gangs but he was going to be really careful. He just wanted to see why his mother warned him about how dangerous they were. Kuzon thought he was a really good earthbender. He was twelve and was really close to mastering it.
He found his gray coat and put it on. He grabbed some yuans and put them in his pocket.
"Time to get out of here." he said to himself. He grabbed the keys to his house and put them in his pants pocket. He locked the door and off he went.
Kuzon hadn't walked out in awhile. It took him a couple of months after the Daiki incident to go outside by himself. He had been traumatized.
Walking downtown wasn't that bad. There were some shady people looking at people's wallets and purses, and street vendors selling suspicious items. But Kuzon just kept his head down. No one paid attention to him.
He was walking down an alley when someone pulled him down behind a trash can.
"What are you doing? This is gang territory!" a voice hissed.
It was a boy with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. His tan skin was covered in grime and dirt. His clothes were torn and dirty. The boy was really thin and looked like he hadn't eaten in days.
"I didn't know! Hey, if this is gang territory then why are you here?" asked Kuzon.
"I'm part of the gang." the boy lied.
He rolled his eyes. With or without seismic sense, he could tell the boy was lying. "No you're not. You wouldn't be hiding here if you were part of the gang."
"Good point." the boy said. He stuck out his hand for Kuzon to shake. "I'm Lei."
He could tell that the boy had lied about his name. He decided not to lie though. "Kuzon." he said back and they shook hands.
"So Kuzon, what are you doing here?" Lei asked.
"I wanted to explore. I'm always cooped up at my house. What about you Lei?"
"I'm going to find some of the Agni Kai Triad's food. I'm hungry." Lai told him.
Kuzon felt the yuans in his pocket. "I have money."
"Really? How much?" he asked.
"Only ten." he replied apologetically.
Lai shrugged. "That's not enough. I have to feed my sister, my friend, her little brother, and another friend. I'm the oldest, so I have to feed them all."
"Wow. Hey I can help! I'm an earthbender and I'm pretty good if I say so myself." Kuzon said.
"How old are you?" Lai asked.
"Twelve." he answered.
"I'm sixteen. Hm, this could work, kid. I'm a non-bender. So I brought my boomerang." Lai said and showed Kuzon his weapon. "Follow me. Watch my back."
Kuzon nodded. They went deeper into the alley until they reached a dead end. There was just trash and a huge dumpster with flies buzzing above it.
"Shoot! When I followed them, they went here! I'm sure of it!" Lai muttered angrily.
"Hold on." Kuzon said. He slammed his foot on the ground. There was a secret staircase under the dumpster. He told Lai about it.
The street urchin frowned. "Are you sure?" he said.
Kuzon went into the dumpster and moved the trash, revealing the secret staircase.
Lai grinned and clapped him on the back. "I'm so glad I met you, kid." he said.
They walked down the staircase, wrinkling their noses at the unpleasant scent. Suddenly, a large bang broke the silence.
"It came from over there." Kuzon said, pointing to the right hallway.
They followed the path until they reached a large room filled with food and money. Lei's eyes bulged.
"Wow! This is 'mazing!" he said and began to stuff his pockets with food and yuans. "C'mon Kuzon! Help me out here!"
The young earthbender obliged and put some food and money in his pockets, behind his headband.
"What do you think you're doin'?" said a gruff, annoyed voice.
The boys slowly turned around. A firebender stood in front of the only exit to the outside.
Another one appeared next to him. "What's goin' on-oh. We've got a couple of trespassers."
Kuzon immediately stomped his foot on the ground, sending them flying. He raised a cloud of sand in the air and grabbed Lei's wrist.
"Let's go." he whispered to him.
Lei let himself be led by the younger boy. They went back to the stairs that led to the outside. Kuzon shut the trapdoor and they climbed out of the dumpster.
"That was...so...close." Lei panted.
"I...know." Kuzon said. "We should get going...though. Show me...where your...friends are."
Lei nodded and they went through some alleys until they had to cross a street.
They ran in the middle of traffic and cars honked in annoyance.
"Sorry!" Kuzon yelled at them and accidentally bumped into a man wearing red and yellow robes. He was tall and had a blue arrow on his bald head. His gray/blue eyes looked down at him. Kuzon couldn't help but feel like he should know this man.
"Pardon me." the man said, looking at Kuzon with slight curiosity. Kuzon did not like the stares the man gave him and ducked his head so the bald man wouldn't see his face. But his curiosity got the best of him and he studied the man, examining every feature.
"C'mon kid!" he heard Lei shout.
He stopped staring. "Um, sorry. Gotta go!" he told the bald man and ran to catch up with Lei.
Lei led him through multiple alleys until they reached a small, cheap shack made with thin pieces of metal. Lei knocked three times, paused a second, and knocked once. The door opened.
A small girl that looked like Lei opened the door. "You're back!" she cried and hugged his leg.
"Yup. And I brought a friend." he said and pointed to Kuzon.
"Hey." Kuzon said.
The boys went inside. There was a girl older than Lei feeding a five year old applesauce. The boy had shaggy brown hair, green eyes, and a crooked smile. A girl sat in the corner stroking her long raven hair, which covered her face.
"Finally you're back." the girl with the little boy said.
"Sorry Haromi." Lei said. "We got a lot of money and food from the Agni Kai triad, though."
She held out the little boy. "I had to keep Skoochy from pickpocketing. And we also got money too. He put a mean puppy dog face. Pulled in a lot of money from people."
"Nice Skooch." Lei grinned. The boy-Skoochy-gave him an even bigger crooked smile.
Lei and Kuzon put the food in a basket and the yuans in a nearly non-existent pile.
They talked and laughed. Kuzon felt good. He finally felt like he had friends. This was awesome.
But he couldn't help but wonder about that bald man. He was so familiar. Maybe Kuzon had seen him before, but he didn't think so. He knew in his gut that the man meant something to him. He wasn't just a random man.
He glanced at the sky. It was dark. He'd better get home.
"I'd better go guys. My mom's gonna come home soon." Kuzon said.
"Alright. But come back, man. Thanks for helping us." Lei said and clapped his back.
Skoochy's big sister nodded. "You're pretty cool, kid."
Her brother chirped, "Kuku!"
Haromi looked up at him. "You're awesome, mister."
"Next time, get better food." the girl with raven hair said in a monotone.
He smiled. "Sure."
He waved goodbye and went back home, feeling content.