Kyuri was certain that Master Yu was most definitely not Aang's Earthbending master as soon as she heard his first instruction.
"Strike as if you're punching through your opponent's head!"
"I don't think he's it," Aang said when he left the lesson, covered in bruises from being pelted with pebbles. Kyuri dropped to the ground beside him and nodded. Unlike Katara and Sokka, who'd waited outside, she'd climbed up and perched on the roof, watching the lesson.
"I think the Boulder's going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble VI."
"Yeah, but he'll have to fight his way through the best Earthbenders to even get a shot at the title."
Aang perked up visibly when the two boys leaving Master Yu's academy mentioned 'the best Earthbenders.'
"Excuse me?" he asked, running up to them. Kyuri's eyebrow went up as the two boys turned. Judging by the mean looks on their face, they saw only a little boy bothering them.
"Where is this Earth Rumble thing?" Aang asked interestedly.
"It's on the island of Nunya."
"Nunya Business!"
The two boys cackled and strode off, turning down a side street. Sokka laughed along with them.
"I gotta remember that!" he grinned.
"Katara, I think this may be our territory," Kyuri said. Katara looked at her and they both nodded before running after the two boys.
"Hey strong guys, wait up!" Katara called. They rounded the corner to see the two boys had paused and were looking back at them excitedly. They were both standing up very straight, straining to make themselves taller, and when they spoke, their voices were deeper.
"Can we help you with anything, ladies?" asked one.
"Well, my friend and I just love Earthbending," Katara purred, slinking forwards. "And we kind of wanted to go to this Earth Rumble thing."
"So you'll tell us where it is," Kyuri said. Her cloak twitched back, showing the swords at her sides. "Pretty please?"
The two boys gulped, eyes locked on the swords. "Uh yeah. It's uh…" The both reeled out location, tripping over their words quite a bit. Kyuri and Katara nodded.
"Thanks guys," Katara said, turning to go away.
"Hey, uh, wait!"
Kyuri and Katara turned to see the pair scrambling after them.
"Do you maybe want to go to the fight… with us?" one asked.
Kyuri raised an eyebrow at Katara. They both nodded once more and raised their arms. Puddles around the boy's feet rose up, covering them in ice and sticking them to the walls. Kyuri smirked, lining arms with Katara and returning to Sokka and Aang.
"Are you ready to find an Earthbending teacher?" Katara asked. "Because we're going to Earth Rumble Six!"
"How'd you get them to tell you?" Aang gaped.
"Oh, a girl has her ways," Katara smiled sweetly. Kyuri's smirk widened.
Earth Rumble VI was being held in a cave on the beach. It had been made into a huge arena with aisles upon aisles of bleachers and a raised stage in the middle.
"Welcome to Earth Rumble VI!" roared the man in the ring. "I'm your host, Xin Fu!"
"This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rock at each other, isn't it?" Katara sighed.
"That's what I paid for," Sokka beamed.
"The rules are simple! Just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" He jumped out of the ring and up into a private box. "Round One: The Boulder vs. the big, bad, Hippo!"
Kyuri was about as impressed as Katara, which is to say not much, though Sokka was absolutely losing his mind. Both girls were having severe problems getting invested in fights that just involved a bunch of men trash talking each other and then slamming their opponent into the dirt.
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for," Xin Fu said, one the Boulder had demolished his opponents. "The Boulder vs. your champion, the Blind Bandit!"
A little girl, not more than ten or eleven, stepped on stage. She was dressed in simple green and yellow clothes with bare feet. Over her shoulders was a green cape and over her head she lifted a heavy belt that looked like it might way more than she did. Her skin was pale, her black hair secured with a headband, and her eyes, what you could see of them anyway, was an odd, milky grey.
"She can't… really be blind," Katara said slowly. "It's just part of character… right?"
"I think she is," Aang said.
"She is," Kyuri nodded. "Watch her eyes. They don't track whenever someone moves."
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl," the boulder called to his opponent.
"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!" the girl shot back immediately, grinning mischievously.
"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings and now he's ready to bury you in a rockalanche!"
"Whenever you're ready, the Pebble!"
Kyuri watched, restraining a smile, and the Blind Bandit threw the Boulder out of the ring in a total of two moves. Sokka's face was slack with shock, but Kyuri applauded politely, looking at the girl with a new respect. Despite her infirmity, this girl was a truly amazing bender. And judging from the look on Aang's face, he agreed. This girl waited and listened.
"Your winner, and still the champion, the Blind Bandit!"
"No!" Sokka wailed.
"How did she do that?" Katara blinked.
"She waited," Aang smiled. "And listened."
Xin Fu jumped down into the ring. "To make things more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!" Silence. "What? No one dares face her?"
"I do it!" Aang chirped. He hopped down into the ring and walked in, smiling amiably.
"Go Aang! Avenge the Boulder!" Sokka roared. Katara smacked his shoulder.
"Do people really want to see two little girls out here fighting?" the Blind Bandit mocked.
"I don't really want to fight you," Aang said. "I want to talk to you."
"Boo! No talking!"
"Don't boo at him!" Katara snapped.
Aang took a step forward and the Blind bandit struck, throwing him into the air on a pillar of rock. Aang went with the strike and glided around behind the Blind Bandit, setting down with barely a sound. But that was still enough. The girl whirled to face him.
"Someone's a little light on his feet. What's your stage name, the Fancy Dancer?" she snapped. Aang just shrugged and grinned. He jumped off the next strike form below and landed behind her.
"Please, wait," he begged.
"There you are!" she grinned, whirling. A boulder popped out of the ground in front of her and she sent it flying towards Aang. He blasted it back with a burst of air and the girl went flying over the side of the ring. The arena was silent for a moment, and then the crowd burst into cheers. Aang didn't bother to stay and gloat though, he chased after the girl.
"Please, wait, I want to talk to you!" he called. "I need an Earthbending teacher and I think it's supposed to be you!"
"Whoever you are, just leave me alone!" the Blind Bandit said before disappearing into a wall.
The two boys from the Earthbending academy were very forthcoming once Katara came forwards. She and Kyuri were able to extract a clue to who the Blind Bandit might be. Apparently the girl in Aang's swamp vision had a pet flying boar with her, and that was the symbol of the Bei Fong family. Their estate was easy enough to find, and even easier to get into.
They landed in a courtyard that practically screamed wealth. The trees were pruned into precise shapes and the grass was perfectly trimmed. The paths moved through ornate stone gardens and delicate water features. It was behind one of the trees that they hid, peering around.
The ground under them shook and abruptly bucked, throwing them all into the air. Katara and Aang were lucky enough to land in bushes while Sokka face-planted. Kyuri landed on her feet, staring at the young girl in an expensive, girly silk dress. She had familiar milky eyes.
"What are you doing here, Twinkletoes?" the Blind Bandit demanded.
"How'd you know it was me?" Aang asked.
"Don't answer to Twinkletoes!" Sokka protested. "It's not manly!"
"You're the one whose bag matches his belt," Katara pointed out as she hauled herself out of the bush.
"How did you find me?" the little girl demanded.
"Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an Earthbender who listens to the earth, and then I had a vision in a magical swamp, and-"
"What Aang means is," Katara explained, stepping forwards and cutting Aang off before he could put the Blind bandit off anymore. "He's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master Earthbending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord…."
"Not my problem," the girl interrupted sharply, sticking her hand in Katara's face. "Now get out of here before I call the guards."
"We all have to do our part to win this war," Sokka broke in intently. "Yours is teaching Aang Earthbending!"
"Guards!" she called, affecting a quavering, fearful voice. "Guards help!"
"Toph!" called a guard, charging around the corner just as the quartet shot back over the wall. "Toph, what's wrong?"
"I thought I heard someone," Toph said, still using a dainty, pitiful voice. It was clear to Kyuri that Toph was not opposed to usingher disability to her advantage if it suited her. "I got scared."
"Toph, you know your father doesn't like you wandering the grounds alone," the guard said, sighing in exasperation as he placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her back inside.
It didn't take much to get admittance to the Beifong estate. A simple introduction on Aang's part and a request to speak to the Beifong's was enough, and they were suddenly inside, being showered in delicacies and amazing food. Aang was sitting across from Toph, smirking slightly as they ate, quite proud of himself. Toph looked highly annoyed as she glared at her plate. Kyuri sat between Sokka and Katara, watching the two younger children carefully.
"Blow on it," Lao Beifong commanded as the hot soup cuorse was placed in front of Toph. "It's too hot for her."
"Allow me," Aang said smoothly. He twirled his finger, a small tornado appearing. It danced across the table with an easy flick of his wrist and swirled over the soup, the steam vanishing. The table applauded at his small stunt, amazed.
"Avatar Aang, it is an honor to have you in our home," Poppy Beifong said, bowing her head politely as she lifted a spoonful of soup to her lips delicately.
"Tell us, Aang, how long do you think this war will last?" her husband, Lao, asked.
"Well, I hope to defeat the Fire Lord by summer's end," Aang said confidently. "Of course, I'll need to find an Earthbending teacher before then." He gave a pointed look to Toph, who was gulping down her cold soup while determinedly not looking at Aang.
"Master Yu is the finest master in the land!" Lao said, gesturing to the teacher at the end of the table. He didn't know Aang had already tried Master Yu, and from the look on the Earthbender's face, he didn't recognize Aang either. "He's been teaching Toph since she was young."
"Then she must be a great Earthbender," Aang praised. "Good enough to teach someone else, I be- Ow!" He let out a hiss of pain as a sharp rock stabbed at his shin. Kyuri peered under the table and saw the spear smoothing back into the ground.
"Toph is still learning the basics," Yu said primly, dabbing at his thin mustache.
"And I'm afraid because of her blindness, she may never be a true master," Lao said sadly. Aang, Katara, Kyuri, and Sokka all exchanged disbelieving and surprised looks. Toph had managed to keep her family completely in the dark about her activities as a professional Earthbender. Kyuri was impressed by all the planning that must have taken.
"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think," Aang said. His chair suddenly jerked under his and his face slammed into the soup in front of him. Everyone stared at Aang as he sat up, wiped off his face, and gave Toph a very unamused look. Then, very calmly and matter of factly, he looked at Toph and his face began to twitch. He snuffled for a moment and then sneezed, blasting the food of everyone on the opposite side of the table into their face.
"What's your problem?" Toph demanded, removing the bowl from her face and standing up sharply, leaning over the table.
"What's your problem?" Aang shot right back, standing up and leaning too.
"Perhaps we should retire to the living room for desert?" Poppy said, ever playing the hostess.
Their standing and a little begging on Aang's part got them rooms for the night, and Appa was allowed to stay in the garden on the condition that he didn't eat any of the plants. Aang was just saying goodnight to Appa and telling him to stay out of the azaleas when Toph appeared, lounging in the doorway.
"I'm sorry about dinner," she said "Look, let's call a truce, okay?"
"Okay," Aang agreed. "But no more sneak attacks, okay?" He bent down and rubbed his shin. "That really hurt."
Toph grinned crookedly. "Deal. So, Twinkle Toes, you wanted to talk. Let's talk."
The pair were gone for over an hour before Kyuri began to wonder.
"They should be back by now," she said softly.
"Huh?" Sokka asked, looking up from where he was working over his boomerang. He looked out the window and frowned at the moon, which was nearing its apex. "Hey, yeah. They have been gone a while."
"I don't know," Katara said. "Maybe Aang convinced Toph to teach him Earthbending. It'd take a while to explain everything to her parents and get their permission."
"Well if he has, maybe we can help convince them," Sokka pointed out. "And if they aren't there, then something's definitely happened."
"Let's go speak to Mr. and Mrs. Beifong," Kyuri said, standing. The other two rose and as a group they made their way down the hall to the living room, where Poppy and Lao Beifong were still reclining with Master Yu, drinking cups of soothing chamomile tea.
"Have you seen Aang and Toph?" Katara asked quietly when they entered.
"No, not since they went to bed," Poppy said. "Why?"
"Toph came to talk to Aang and they went out to the garden," Kyuri said, her hands fisting nervously where the hilts of her swords would be where they not back in their room. She had taken them off in preparation for room and now she was missing their familiar weight. "This was nearly two hours ago."
"Oh!" Lao said worriedly. "Toph, out at night? She could have tripped and hurt herself, or fallen in the river. Guards!" he called. Two guards who had been stationed outside the door rushed in, hearing the distress in their employers voice.
"Sir?" one asked immediately.
"Toph has gone out the garden and she's been there for far too long. Please, go find her and bring her here," Lao said.
"Of course sir," the guard nodded. He gestured to his companion and they hurried from the room.
"Lao, maybe we should go look too," Poppy said fretfully.
"We'll help," Katara broke in. "If she's with Aang, then the Fire Nation may be involved."
"The Fire Nation?" Poppy gasped. "Oh Lao! Let's go look for Toph at once!"
The concerned parents rose and scurried outside, the other tree following behind with Master Yu. They went out into the left portion of the garden and began walking in lines, searching methodically as the guards combed from the right towards the middle.
"Oh no," Kyuri said, pulling Katara back as she nearly tripped over something glinting faintly in the moonlight. Sokka looked down and sucked in a breath. He plucked the dagger from where it was impaled in the ground and unrolled a scroll that stabbed onto it.
"Whoever took them left this," he said, passing it to Katara.
"If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena," Katara read aloud. "It's signed Xin Fu and the Boulder."
"I can't believe it," Sokka whispered. He snatched the paper from Katara and his face lit up. "I have the Boulder's autograph!"
"Priorities, Sokka," Kyuri reminded him coldly. "Sangilak, Aang and Toph have been taken." This was followed by a mental replay of Katara reading through the ransom letter. "I want you to sit this one out. Quite frankly, you don't fit inside the arena."
"…Are you implying I'm fat?"
"I'm implying you're a prideful dragon, which, typically, are slightly larger than people."
"Oh, right. Sure."
"Sangilak, you're very beautiful and threatening. Do you feel better?"
Sangilak humphed sulkily. "Slightly."
"Master Yu, I need your help getting my daughter back," Lao pleaded.
"We'll help too," Kyuri said.
"Poor Toph," Poppy shimepred, clasping her hands together as a tear rolled down her face. "She must be so scared!"
"You think you're so tough!" Toph raged. She had to stand on her tiptoes to see out of the box, so the effect was somewhat ruined, but still. "Why don't you come up here so I can smack that grin off your face!"
"I'm not smiling," Xin said, and indeed he wasn't. In fact, after a half hour of being insulted along with every other member of his family, he was frowning quite heavily.
"Toph!"
Toph paused her shouting to look up. Lao, Sokka, Katara, Kyuri, and Yu were on the opposite side of the ring.
"Here's your money," Sokka said, throwing a green bag on the floor. Yu bent it across the arena floor over to Xin. He picked it up and weighed it, opening the bag and mentally tallying it up.
"Fine, take the brat, and welcome," he said, gesturing. Toph's cage was lowered and she was dumped roughly on the ground. Immediately the girl was on her feet, rushing to her father's side. He placed a hand on her shoulder and hustled for the exit.
"What about Aang?" Katara called. Xin unfurled a poster and grinned.
"I think the Fire Nation will pay a very fine price for the Avatar. Now get out of my ring!"
The professional fighters appeared, rocks at their fingertips and ready to attack.
"Go, I'll be okay!" Aang called. Katara and Sokka turned hesitantly and went for the exit.
"Toph!" Katara called after the fleeing family and Earthbending master. "There's too many of them! We need and Earthbender. We need you!"
"My daughter is blind!" Lao raged angrily. "She blind, and helpless, and tiny and fragile!" he stuttered. "She can't help you!"
Kyuri watched as each word made Toph stiffen and straighten up just that much more. "Yes, I can," Toph said quietly, pulling her hand free of her father's grip.
Aang listened to all this as he was thrown the fighter's shoulders and walked out of the arena, bumping his back against the rivets in the metal painfully. He heard rumbling, and then the fighters paused.
"I've kicked your butts before and I can do it again!" Toph called. Aang grinned.
"The Boulder takes issue with that comment."
The three Water Tribe members rushed forwards, intent no stacking the rushing benders, but Toph threw out her arms cutting them off.
"Wait. They're mine," Aang heard Toph say from outside, and he grinned.
Sokka and Katara appeared, trying desperately to free her. Katara tugged at the doors on the bottom and Sokka beat the latch with one of the rocks now flying from Toph's dust cloud along with the fighters.
"Hit it harder!" he ordered.
"I'm trying!"
It wasn't much longer before the latch gave and Aang slipped out into the arena, gaping as he watched blurry shapes move through the dust.
Toph emerged with the Hippo and the Boulder. They were still putting on a show, Kyuri thought disdainfully as they beat their chests and roared. Hadn't they yet realized? Toph had no sight so her other senses had sharpened to make up for the deficiency. Screaming and wailing and rushing in with lead-footed stomps only made it that much easier for her to take them down, which was what happened. The Boulder and the Hippo went flying form the ring as one of their compatriots went flying into them.
Toph was left facing Xin. They circled for a moment, and Kyuri could see Lao up in the stands biting his nails and looking like he was about to have an aneurism. Xin moved suddenly, firing eight rocks of different sizes at Toph. She raised a protective wall made of two triangular slabs. When the barrage finished, she shot one towards the fight promoter, who dodged. His hand dipped into the ground and Toph grinned. She dodged the small rock thrown towards her head and returned with an attack that sent Xin flying out of the ring to crash into the bleachers.
Katara and Aang ran over eagerly, Kyuri following more sedately, while Sokka just fainted in disbelief.
"Nice to finally meet you, Toph," Aang grinned, patting her on the shoulder.
Needless to say, they weren't welcome at the Beifong estate anymore. Aang stood on the bluff overlooking the compound, staring back at the house. It had nearly killed him to hear Lao's judgment passed and to see Toph's tears as they were lead out. That girl was twelve, and she'd never really lived. Her parents stifled her for fear of her being hurt, when in actuality, they were causing her the most harm.
"You'll find someone else," Katara assured her. "There are plenty of amazing Earthbenders out there."
"But not one like her," Aang said softly.
"That's true," Kyuri agreed as she swung onto Sangilak. "She is a truly impressive fighter."
They clambered onto Appa and Aang took a breath to say the traditional phrase. But before he could, he heard heavy panting. He turned to see Toph dressed in her fighting clothes, a bag over her shoulder.
"Toph!" he grinned.
"My dad changed his mind," the girl panted. "He says I'm free to travel the world."
Kyuri narrowed her eyes in disbelief. The overprotective father Toph had had all of her life had just suddenly decided to let her leave and travel, when only hours before he had reduced her to tears and forbidden her to bend ever again.
"Well, we'd better go, before your dad changes his mind again," Sokka said.
"You'll be a great teacher Toph," Aang grinned, and he meant it.
"Thanks," Toph said. "Before you go, can I show you something?"
"Sure," Aang shrugged, hopping down. He hit the ground only to be blasted back up into the tree. He managed to wrap a leg around a branch and laughed loudly.
"And I'll take the belt back," she added, holding out a hand. Regretfully, Sokka stripped it off and dumped it over the side of the saddle.
"Ow!" Toph yelled as it struck her and she toppled over.
"Sorry," Sokka apologized. Aang took his place in Appa's saddle and once again, they were off, only with a new master among them.
Sorry for the long gap guys. Well, long for me. I've not really been in the mood to write lately. I've been sick, and also I worked out to hard and I sort of.. broke myself. (kudos if you know that quote) But now I've bounced back and now Toph's popped up, plus I hashed out the details for the next Avatar story I plan to write! Maybe a bit premature, but oh well. This idea's been bugging me for weeks and I finally got up the guts to type out the first chapter or so, and it came out really well. Basically, it's written as if the Avatar was born in the Air Nomads when Ozai was in power, and he used Sozin's Comet (Ozai's Comet now) to take them out instead of using it to destroy the Earth Kingdom. It follows a group of ten novice Airbender girls from the Eastern Air Temple who escaped the raid in the beginning, one of whom is the Avatar, but she has no idea. Of course, it'll be ZukoXOC too. Why? Cuz Zuko's freaking sexy!