Avatar: The Warring Earth

Book Two—Air

By Twins of the Pen

Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.

Knock knock knock.

Tiki glanced over at her door curiously. Was that Syaoran coming to tell her that it was time for dinner? If so, perfect timing—she had just finished getting dressed after enjoying a hot shower. Secretly finding the situation amusing, the tiny airbender padded over bare-foot to the door. "Dinner time?" she asked as she pulled the door open, expecting Syaoran. Kei stood there instead, however. "Oh, hi Kei," Tiki greeted, though a strange sense of disappointment filled her at his presence. "What's up?"

"I heard that it's a nice night out," Kei said, a hopeful smile on his face. "Want to take a walk with me?"

Tiki blinked at him, uncomprehending. "Outside?" she wanted to check. When Kei nodded, her expression twisted into one of reluctance. "Oh, I don't know, Kei. I don't think we're allowed out after dark—"

"Oh, come on, it's only for a little while," Kei persisted, reaching out and grabbing one of Tiki's hands, his hazel gaze sparkling with adventure. "Besides, aren't you tired of always following rules? When was the last time you got into a little trouble? When was the last time you had fun?"

Tiki couldn't answer that question. Looking at Kei's face, she realized that he was wearing the same impish expression she used to go around sporting. That side of her usually got her in a lot of trouble… but Kei looked like he was really looking forward to this… and Tiki felt bad because he had been cooped up in the underground base all day…

A smile began to form on the tiny airbender's face. Well, why not? A nighttime walk wouldn't hurt, right? "Okay," she agreed, though some trepidation did seep into her expression. "But how are we supposed to get past the guards?"

"Don't worry about that," Kei assured her, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "I've got that covered." The nonbender proceeded to lead Tiki by the hand to the entrance of the base, finding that there was no guard there and the entrance was already open. While Tiki found this a tad worrisome, Kei seemed to have been expecting it, and he led Tiki right out. The tiny airbender just hoped that this would be a quick walk and no one would miss that they were gone.

Things didn't work out that way.

In fact, it was quite soon that their disappearance became noticed. Because Syaoran did come by to tell Tiki it was time for dinner. Knocking on the door as a safe precaution this time, he was confused to have it creak open, already ajar.

"Tiki?" he beckoned, afraid to step in again after the previous night. "You in there? It's time for dinner." Hearing nothing, Syaoran warily opened the door completely, only to find the room empty. Going to his next hunch, the Avatar came back out and went ahead and opened Kei door. There was no such courtesy between them, and if Tiki and Kei were together in there, Syaoran did not mind interrupting.

But no one was there either. And that painted an even more troublesome picture.

"Crap!" he growled. They'd given him the slip—or rather, Kei had. This was bad. Syaoran thought to find ZanYi, to tell her what was going on. But what if they were just on their way to dinner? What if he was overreacting? Getting the lieutenant involved would not be a good idea.

Forgoing getting assistance, Syaoran took off down the hall, searching for any sign of the two. And when he found the open gate to the topside completely unguarded, he knew something was wrong. The Resistance doesn't just leave that sort of thing open. Ever. As a collective whole, they could be as paranoid—or cautious—as ZanYi.

So he took off, running up to the world topside. Sealing up the gate behind him as a precaution, he sought to find Tiki—before Kei tried something he was going to regret when Syaoran got a hold of him.

Kei led Tiki into a dense part of the woods, in the direction where Bumi was being kept. Tiki had been worried about the sky bison, but ZanYi had assured her that the Resistance was feeding him and keeping him hidden from prying eyes. The sky was indeed beautiful tonight, though Tiki only kept getting snatches of it from under the thick canopy the trees created. Her worry had only grown when she and Kei had not encountered any Resistance soldiers outside defending the border. Where was everyone?

"Kei, where are we going?" she felt she had to ask, becoming concerned. The lack of security was something she was not used to, and it scared her a little. It had been a bad idea to go topside without supervision.

Kei, however, seemed not to have a care in the world. "Relax, Tiki," he assured her, suddenly turning right. "Here, look at this."

Tiki sucked in a breath. There was a cliff here, fenced off to keep people from falling off. But the view was amazing—a million stars littered the sky, far away from the dimming effects of city lights. The view seemed to stretch for miles, uninhibited from where they stood at the edge. This was the kind of view of the night sky one could only get in rural areas, and it made Tiki homesick.

"It's beautiful…" she whispered, the awe she felt making her breathless. Kei looked pleased with himself.

"I thought you'd like this," he said, slinging an arm around Tiki's shoulder and pulling her close. "You enjoy the simple things in life, after all."

"So you noticed," Tiki teased, smiling up at Kei. He returned the gesture briefly before his eyes grew serious.

"Tiki," the nonbender addressed her, turning and placing both hands on her shoulders, "there's something I've been wondering for a while, so I'm just going to come out and ask: how do you feel about me?"

It felt like the sounds of the night stilled as Tiki stared up at him, again, uncomprehending. Why was he asking all of a sudden? "Huh?"

"I mean," Kei decided to clarify after taking in her confused expression, "you like me, right?"

"Of course I do," Tiki replied, her brows furrowing. What, did he think she disliked him? What was this about?

"But as just a friend?"

Oh. That's what he meant. Tiki's face turned bright red. She hadn't been expecting this question at all. Where was this coming from?

"Uh…" she began, glancing away from Kei. How was she supposed to answer this question? Sure, she found Kei attractive, and he was really sweet to her, but was she ready to be in a relationship with him? That answer was probably no, but not because of him: right now, Tiki was still a mess. She would have to get herself together before she even thought about dating.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Kei said softly, one of his hands moving under Tiki's chin to guide her gaze back to him. "It's okay if you like me. I like you too. You don't have to be shy about it."

"But—" Tiki began, but she did not have a chance to say anything else—Kei had swooped down and captured her lips with his. Tiki's mind went into panic mode as she felt strong arms encircle her and pull her closer.

She couldn't believe it—she was having her first kiss right now! While Tiki knew it should be a happy, exciting time for girls, all the tiny airbender wanted to do was cry. She liked Kei, possibly as more than a friend… but this was too much. She didn't want him kissing her.

She didn't want this at all.

Syaoran didn't know where he was going. He was just running. Everyone was missing. Why was everyone out on the perimeter missing? There's no way they wouldn't be out here. Something smelled rotten, and he had a hunch it was Kei and several yuans.

But then he stopped in his tracks, in the middle of the dense forest. What stayed him was the pull another way, to his left. It was like he could feel the chi flowing from that direction. It felt familiar, it felt soft, like air. "Tiki…?" Syaoran mumbled. That was the only reasonable explanation to him. Tiki could always make heads and tails out of a person's chi. Maybe the progress from training earlier had done more than helped him make a puff or two of air.

Without any hesitation, Syaoran started running that direction, following the flow of the chi blindly. He almost skidded himself right off a cliff—thankfully there was a fence line there, no doubt set up by the Resistance. "Great, that didn't work…" the Avatar grumbled, gripping the metal fence. He turned to go back… and that's when he saw them, two figures intimate in the evening night.

The large figure had to be Kei, and the small one must be Tiki. The small one that clearly didn't appreciate the intimacy being put on her. "Tiki!" Syaoran called out, angry. Sprinting over to the two, he yanked Kei away from her, throwing him onto the ground roughly. "What the heck do you think you're doing, Kei?!"

Kei hit the ground with a grunt, but he jumped back up immediately, shoving Syaoran. "Back off, Avatar!" he growled with a glare, "this is none of your business! This is between me and Tiki!"

But Tiki said nothing. As soon as Syaoran intervened, she had stepped behind him, her back turned on the both of them with both hands over her mouth. Was this real life? Did that really just happen? Did she really just have her first kiss… and want to cry because of it?

Tears were pricking her eyes at the moment, so the answer must be 'yes' on all accounts. With a sniffle, Tiki sank to her knees, her hands still pressed to her mouth. She was shaking from the effort of not crying right then and there, and cursing herself for being such a baby. It was only a kiss—it wasn't like Kei attacked her.

So then, why was she feeling so distraught over this? And why did she feel that the situation was so much worse, now that Syaoran had seen what happened?

Syaoran stumbled back a step, bumping into Tiki's low back. He looked back angrily, only to find the airbender crouching behind him, shaking. He knew that look. She was doing her best not to cry. That was all the motivation Syaoran needed. "No, this isn't between you and Tiki. This is all about you, Kei!" he snarled back, keeping himself planted between Tiki and Kei. "Because I don't know if you've noticed, but Tiki clearly doesn't want anything to do with you right now."

It took every ounce of discipline that his parents taught him and self-control from ZanYi not to bend Kei's backside right out of there. Tiki's voice was in his head, begging him not to make things worse with that. No need to reinforce bender stereotypes, or even Avatar stereotypes. But for the life of him, Syaoran just wanted to pummel Kei into the ground.

"Are you really so selfish?" the Avatar yelled at him, fists clenched at his sides. "You brought Tiki, a bender, up here without any protection, broke the rules of your stay, and forced something she didn't want! You wanted us to trust you, but you've been thinking about yourself this whole time without any thought to the consequences!"

Kei's face reddened with anger. Who did this guy—the Avatar—think he was, judging Kei like that? Syaoran didn't know him! Syaoran didn't know anything about him!

"I'm selfish?" Kei snorted in derision. "That's funny, coming from you. You monopolize Tiki day in and day out, all because you have 'training'! What training involves you being all hugged up on Tiki, huh?"

That broke through Tiki's inner struggle: so Kei had been topside this morning. That was worrisome as well: how did he get up here without alerting the guards? How did any of this happen without the Resistance knowing? This was a serious breach in security. As Tiki pushed herself to her feet, Kei continued, "Besides, you all keep her locked in that base like she's some kind of animal! From what I understand, airbenders need to be free to be happy! Tiki followed me up here of her own free will! Tell him, Tiki!"

Tiki turned. Kei was looking at her, his gaze imploring. She had been so stupid to go along with this in the first place.

"…I did willingly follow him up here," Tiki admitted, playing with the ends of her hair to avoid looking either men in the eye. "I just didn't expect… I didn't want him to kiss me."

That made Kei's face pale. "What?" he questioned, looking confused. "But… Tiki, you said you liked me too!"

The insertion of words in her mouth was not appreciated, and Tiki looked up to meet Kei's gaze now, her gray eyes sharp. "Did I?" she challenged, "Or did you just assume I did when I didn't answer?" Kei opened his mouth to reply, but when he realized she was right, he closed it again, a horrified look coming into his expression.

"Tiki, I'm so sorry," he blurted out, raising his hands as Tiki drew near him. "It was an honest mistake, I just thought—"

Tiki smacked Kei across the face, her hand stinging from the blow, but feeling satisfied as the nonbender's head whipped to the side, his cheek bright red and his expression screaming shock. A hand rising to rub his cheek, Kei turned back to Tiki, looking betrayed.

"You should have asked me first," she asserted, letting her own hurt shine through. "Never assume anything with me again."

Kei appeared speechless, and he looked away from the airbender, a hand still pressed to his cheek. Tiki turned away from him too, trying to pull herself together. She glanced at Syaoran and then away, too embarrassed—for the second time that day—to look him in the eye right now. "Let's go before someone notices we're gone and we all get in trouble," she suggested, and started walking through the trees back to base without another word. This would be the second night in a row that she would go to bed worrying about the next day.

Syaoran had to admit that, while there was a bit of satisfaction in Tiki's slap and reprimand, he didn't feel like it was enough. And Kei had called him a pervert? At least the Avatar wasn't the one who was forcing himself on the people he cared about. Intruding on Tiki had been an accident. But this? This was all just a result of Kei's own delusion. Before he moved to follow after Tiki, Syaoran fixed Kei a heavy, dark look. "Stop assuming everything revolves around you, Kei, because nothing does," the Avatar told him. "So try something like this again, and there will be a line of people waiting to pound you into the dirt, but I'll be at the front."

Turning on his heel, Syaoran moved to catch up to Tiki, trying to ensure that she didn't go off on her own. Catching up to her side, Syaoran slowed his pace to match her and her smaller stride. "You going to be okay, Tiki?" he found himself asking, but Syaoran kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to look down to her when it seemed she didn't want to look at anyone right now.

Tiki took a moment to consider Syaoran's question. True, she was very upset over what Kei had done—especially because the nonbender just assumed it was okay. But, unless her slap was too subtle, she was certain that Kei would never try something like that on her ever again. Her opinion of him had been severely damaged, and she was not sure if she would be comfortable being alone with him for a long time… but despite all of that, Tiki knew she couldn't be too mad at him. It was not Kei's fault that he liked her, nor would she hold that against him. He just needed to learn to tone it down a bit.

"I'm fine," she told Syaoran, meaning it. "I was… shaken, at first. But I'll get over it. It was only a kiss…"

Her first kiss, one that she would never get back…

But Tiki finally managed to look up at Syaoran, her expression one of guilt. "I'm sorry you had to come looking for us. I should've known better. If we get caught, I'll let them know that I was the one responsible."

Syaoran had to turn to her then, as if she was crazy. "You better hope we don't get caught! ZanYi will have not just Kei's, but all of our heads if she finds out about this," he hissed in the dark, as if just speaking the lieutenant's name would invoke her presence. "No one can find out about this or we're all doomed."

While it was a good thing for ZanYi that everyone on this base seemed faithful to her—considering she was a wanted fugitive at the moment by the Resistance—it would not bode well for any of them for anyone to find out. Because one way or another, the lieutenant would find out. And on this base, she had her brother to back her decisions. That made things even scarier.

With a deep breath, Syaoran paused and then thrust both fists forward, moving the earth to reveal the gateway back down to the tunnels. Thankfully, it seemed no one was there still. "Let's just get to dinner and pretend this never happened."

Tiki waited for the sullen Kei to pass her before she entered the base. There were still no guards… why? Where were the people that were supposed to be doing their jobs right now?

As if he heard Tiki's unspoken question, Kei turned back to say, "I bribed the guards and the soldiers outside to disappear for a while, thinking we'd need privacy. But since that isn't the case, they should be returning soon. Part of the deal was they'd bring me to the lady lieutenant if I stuck around too long. I don't care what you two do, but I'm leaving before anyone is the wiser."

Kei continued to stalk off, though in the direction of his room rather than the dining room. Tiki watched him go, a frown forming on her face. "I don't think I like that," she said, just not only in reference to the easy bribery of Resistance soldiers—what, were they being paid peanuts? "Just what did he plan on doing with twenty minutes of unsupervised privacy with me?" The thought made Tiki shudder. "Don't answer that."

"I wasn't about to," Syaoran assured her, looking darkly at Kei. Bribery too? Unbelievable. Was Kei just trying to rack up reasons for everyone to dislike him? And while he was disappointed with tonight's shift of guards, at least they had made sure to include turning him over to ZanYi in their deal. That was motivation to keep in line for anyone around here.

Pushing Tiki along, he got them inside and quickly closed the earth back up with another series of hand movements. The night sky disappeared, as did the canopy of trees as the earth ate them up. The lights of the underground base shone down on them in the stone halls as Syaoran turned back to his teammate. "C'mon," he urged Tiki, giving her a nudge forward. "We should get to dinner before Shun starts worrying and ZanYi gets angry."

"Okay, okay. Just quit pushing," the tiny airbender requested with a sigh. Hopefully Shun wasn't too freaked out and ZanYi wasn't too suspicious.

They found the giant waterbender easily enough—he was hard to lose in a crowd. Surprisingly, however, he was sitting by himself. Shun glanced up as soon as he noticed their approach. "Where have you two been?" he asked, frowning at Tiki and Syaoran. He also noticed the obvious lack of a suspicious person with them. "And where's Kei?"

"Kei went back to his room—we had a fight," Tiki informed the giant waterbender, completely ignoring his first question. The mention of a fight seemed to be enough to distract Shun from their unexplained absence, however.

"Oh, I see. Well, just get something to eat for now, and try not to let it get to you. Kei really does care about you, I'm sure of it."

"More than you know," Tiki mumbled, but she did as Shun suggested and headed for the food line. They seemed to be okay, so far… hopefully ZanYi wouldn't come sneaking up on them as soon as they let their guard down… though Tiki wouldn't put it far past the lieutenant. Syaoran nodded as well to heed Shun's words, hearing Tiki's utterances. But he said nothing, not wanting any more attention to be brought to the matter. After all, there was no need to bring the spotlight on them. He could only hope that somehow they would be able to get away with this, or they were all going to be dead.

So the Avatar grabbed his food and came back to sit by Shun. Syaoran looked around the room, scanning for ZanYi, as if just waiting for her to call them out on their misdeeds. But to his surprise, the lieutenant was nowhere in sight. "Where's ZanYi?" he asked, confused. It seemed like there was a number of people that were missing, all of which he noticed were leaders of some sort. The dining hall door opened, and Syaoran turned to watch as several of those missing people filed into the dining hall at last. The list included familiar faces, such as Ransik, and the line ended with Zaron. The sergeant major paused in the doorway, talking back to someone. When he nodded and entered the dining hall, Syaoran caught a glimpse of ZanYi's ponytail as she strode away from the room, headed back towards their quarters.

"Looks like someone's skipping dinner tonight," the earthbender remarked, bemused. Watching as the new additions grabbed their food and took seats, Syaoran questioned, "Was there some sort of meeting today?"

Shun shook his head, although not at Syaoran—he was put out that ZanYi seemed to be skipping dinner. What was so important that she had to miss another meal? Bringing himself out of his mental berate against the lieutenant's bad habits, Shun glanced down at the Avatar.

"Yeah, I believe ZanYi mentioned something of the sort in passing," he replied, looking back to his empty tray when he felt his cheeks begin to burn. ZanYi had told him of her evening plans right after she had kissed him… but he couldn't let Syaoran know that. And once again, the guilt Shun had reluctantly become so familiar with reared up again, swallowing him. Luckily, Tiki sat down with her tray just then, her glances going to the people who had just filed in.

"Wow, that was a lot of people… I wonder what they're planning as their next move," she speculated, stabbing a fork into her salad and taking a bite. "How is this base even allowed to operate, anyway? I thought the whole Resistance was after ZanYi. What'll this base do if they're discovered as harboring what the Resistance has deemed a fugitive?"

"ZanYi did nothing wrong," Shun pointed out, though his tone was a little too heated.

Tiki's lips twitched. "Calm down, Shun. We all know she didn't do anything wrong, remember? I was just thinking practically," the tiny airbender pointed out. Her amusement grew as she watched Shun blush and look down at his empty tray.

"Right… sorry," he mumbled.

Tiki waved him away with a lofty hand. "You're fine. Anyway, what do you think? Is the base operating under the radar, or are they just hiding ZanYi's presence here?"

Shun shrugged. How was he to know? He was itching to go find ZanYi to find out—along with other things he was itching to do—but the giant waterbender knew that he could not just rush off. That would make Tiki and Syaoran—especially Syaoran—too suspicious. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"The answer is both."

Syaoran lifted his head and stiffened to find Zaron standing at the end of their table, tray in hand. The sergeant major was a force to reckon with, and the Avatar was always glad he was one of the good guys in this war—being on the receiving end of his fire was downright horrifying.

The earthbender gulped down his food and took a breath, trying to push that back. "Good evening, Sergeant Major Tsong," he greeted the man, who only gave him a courtesy nod in return. Addressing the whole of their team, Zaron continued.

"It took the past month to manage to get us all stationed in one place," ZanYi's brother explained, "and even now, the Resistance doesn't know ZanYi is here. They think she's on the run somewhere near the old Fire Nation mainland, and it's going to stay that way until her name is officially cleared."

Syaoran nodded, finally understanding. They all trusted that Zaron wouldn't send for ZanYi if it weren't safe for her. That man was more than protective of the lieutenant.

"So is there a plan for that?" he ventured to ask, cautious. That would be the logical thing to do now. It wasn't impossible for Zaron to just want his sister near him where he knew where she was during all of this, but it was also incredibly risky. Something big had to be in the works.

And Zaron affirmed that, nodding. "Yes, we're working on something. We've got a strong lead to fix all of this." Syaoran looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue when he stopped there. But the man only shook his head. "You are ZanYi's team, and she will read you in on it if she deems it necessary." A voice called out to the sergeant major, and Zaron's attention was diverted across the dining hall. With only a nod of farewell, the other Tsong left them to join some of the other firebenders, presumably those of his own soldiers in the battalion.

Syaoran, finished eating, dropped his fork. "Well, that wasn't very helpful."

"Zaron's not known for his helpfulness," Shun reminded the Avatar with a ghost of a smirk. Tiki, who had fallen silent at the sergeant major's approach, tilted her head curiously at Shun.

"Since when did you start referring to Zaron by his first name?" she asked, noting the difference. The last time they had been in the sergeant major's presence, Shun had made sure to address the man only by 'Sergeant Major' or 'ZanYi's brother.' This time around, however, the giant waterbender seemed quite complacent with referring to Zaron by his name. What had inspired that change?

Shun, realizing his slip, cleared his throat. "It just happened," he said, his vague statement causing Tiki to narrow her eyes at him. Feeling as if he had stayed long enough, the giant waterbender picked up his empty tray. "I'm gonna head back. I'll see you two in the morning."

Tiki followed Shun with her eyes as he walked away, tearing her gaze away from him only when he had left the dining hall. "Ever get the feeling that we're being left out of the loop?" she asked wryly, taking another bite of her salad before starting on her pasta.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "When are we not left out of the loop?" he countered her, bitter. He was the Avatar, and while he wasn't exactly a fully trained one, what he could do thus far still had to count for something, right? And yet, him and Tiki were always left out of everything that happened.

"Maybe Shun'll ask ZanYi what that huge meeting was about for us," Tiki mused.

"Well, chances are if ZanYi tells anyone, it'll be Shun," Syaoran mentioned, trying not to sound so resigned about that. "So we can get it out of him later. You know the man is a terrible liar." Syaoran turned an eye to Tiki's food, finding some bits of turkey-duck pushed to the side of her plate. "You're not going to eat that, right?" he asked her, fork already poised in his hand.

Tiki inched her plate towards him, amused. "Help yourself," she encouraged him. She would never cease to be amazed at how much the guys on Team Avatar could eat—where exactly did they put it, anyway?

"I don't understand how you guys can just eat and eat. Even Shun took another tray of food back to his room with him," Tiki noted, shaking her head in disbelief. She was barely able to finish her own food sometimes, depending on her mood. "Aren't you afraid of getting fat or something? Or is this just a girl problem?" Tiki wasn't too worried about getting fat—meat was fattening, and she was a vegetarian, so that wasn't much of an issue. Still, it seemed her body was still growing in other ways… The tiny airbender crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly self-conscious. Maybe she was eating too much after all.

Syaoran stopped, fork in his mouth. He looked down at himself, then look down at Tiki. "Personally, I don't think either of us have a problem, but I think worrying about it is a girl thing," he told her honestly. He took the rest of the turkey-duck off of her plate and swallowed it with satisfaction. But he did look back to the doorway, as if remembering Shun walking out with another tray. Did the waterbender think he was slick or something?

"You do realize that tray wasn't for him, right?" Syaoran prodded, giving Tiki a sideways look. "Shun eats what is given to him on base. He wouldn't take extra just because he's hungry."

Tiki vaguely remembered Shun saying something to that sentiment, back when she was just getting to know the giant waterbender. Her brow furrowed as she thought it through: if Shun wasn't going to eat that food himself, what did he need it for…?

"Oh," the tiny airbender said, finally getting it. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen ZanYi anywhere else in the dining hall, if she wasn't sitting with them. Of course Shun had her on his mind when he took the extra tray. Tiki should have known better. "Well then, I hope for his sake ZanYi is in a good mood. She must have had a reason for not coming to dinner… maybe she and Shun had another disagreement and he's trying to patch things up again."

The irony was not lost on Tiki as she considered Shun and ZanYi's hot and cold dynamic. How did they stay so close when they seemed to fight about everything? Tiki didn't think she could be in a relationship with someone she always argued with.

"Shun's always trying to patch things up with her," Syaoran pointed out, waiting for Tiki to finish her food so they could go back too. "I don't know how he does it—he gets in trouble and yet still tries to patch it up later."

In a way, he was glad it wasn't himself in that position. Sure, ZanYi never really got upset with Syaoran, but he always tried to avoid making waves with her. Shun wasn't afraid to do it. The Avatar sighed then, relenting on that fact. "It was never going to work with ZanYi," he mumbled, leaning the side of his face into his palm. "It was always Shun…"

Tiki immediately bit her lip. Crap, she should have just dropped the subject; she hated seeing Syaoran like this. He looked so defeated, so resigned…

And the worst part was that Tiki could not even disagree with him, not even for his own sake. She would feel like a liar if she did, because it was very obvious that ZanYi and Shun cared about each other, even when they were fighting. They just had one of those difficult-for-outsiders-to-understand dynamics.

"Forget ZanYi," Tiki suddenly asserted, surprising even herself with her impatient tone. "If she can't see how great you are, then it's her loss. You deserve to be with someone who is fully aware that you rock—uh, no pun intended. Don't let this drag you down, Syaoran. You have other things to worry about at the moment, as I'm sure you're aware of. Besides, the time will come when you find the girl who's meant for you. That time just hasn't come yet. But she's out there; I know it. So cheer up."

Done with her pep talk, Tiki finished her food and got up from the table to dump her tray. "You coming?" she asked, smiling down at the Avatar. Honestly, she couldn't see why any girl wouldn't be attracted to Syaoran—he was the freaking Avatar! And he had quite the impressive body, from what Tiki remembered…

…Wait a minute: what was she thinking?!

Her face turning rosy, Tiki averted her gaze from Syaoran's, as if she was afraid that he would be able to guess what she was thinking just by looking into her eyes. But seriously, what the heck? Syaoran was her friend and she was not supposed to be thinking about him that way… no matter how attractive she may or may not find him.

Syaoran gazed at Tiki with what could only be described as amusement. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he told her in a dismissive tone, but he certainly took in the words she said. Forgetting about ZanYi was already his plan, and it seemed to be getting easier. Giving her up to Shun was a different story, but as Syaoran was already made aware earlier, he would have to work on it.

He stood up and moved to dump his tray. "Okay, let's go," the Avatar conceded to Tiki, but not before giving her a pat on the head. "Thanks, Tiki," he added quieter, his face almost a bit pink himself as he said it. It just seemed like Tiki's praises were coming out in droves today. Considering what he got everywhere else, it did more than boost his spirits. Maybe there was a reason the two of them were friends after all.

Tiki didn't mind the head pat this time. Syaoran looked happy, and that was all she cared about. She was about to follow him out before she remembered something: Kei had skipped dinner as well. She eyed the food line, biting her lip again as she considered what to do.

"Maybe I should bring Kei a tray…" she mumbled doubtfully. She was still mad at the nonbender, for sure, but she didn't think he deserved to starve tonight for what he did. On the other hand, it had been his decision to run off and sulk in his room—Tiki had nothing to do with that. So it was his own fault that he wouldn't have dinner. Still, maybe she should take a tray to him, as a peace offering. Kei may have overstepped his bounds tonight, but Tiki didn't want to feud with him forever.

Syaoran looked down at the airbender, incredulous. Was she really still trying to be nice to that guy? He'd been manipulating her, forced himself on her, took her out where it wasn't safe, and she wanted to bring him dinner when he decided to pout about getting caught? The Avatar was starting to find Tiki daft.

"No," Syaoran said firmly, moving behind Tiki to guide her towards the door. "He decided not to eat and he wronged you. From now on, the ball's in his court to make it up to you."

There was no way he was going to just let Tiki continue to be Kei's everything. Enough was enough. Kei had way overstepped, in Syaoran's book, and the Avatar wasn't about to let that go. "You don't deserve to have your kindness taken advantage of, Tiki."

Tiki looked over her shoulder to give Syaoran a sad, uncertain look. "Even so…" the tiny airbender trailed off, finding it hard to argue with Syaoran about this because he had very strong points. Yes, Kei had taken advantage of her. And yes, it was his own fault that he decided to skip out on dinner. But even so, Tiki felt bad for him: not only was he in a place where he was given a look every time he even breathed, but there was no one like him around either. Tiki knew how it felt to be isolated, to be in a place where no one truly understood her. And she was Kei's only friend in this strange place. True, Kei had asked to accompany them, but he had no idea what he was getting into. Tiki pitied him.

With a sigh, the tiny airbender just decided to let the issue go. Syaoran did not understand, nor did she expect him to. He was biased due to his extreme dislike for Kei.

"…Syaoran," Tiki spoke up, keeping her eyes forward as she walked, "If Kei wasn't a nonbender, would you actually get along with him?"

Was it just bias that kept the Avatar from getting along with Kei? Or was there something deeper there that Tiki just wasn't seeing? She knew Kei was a little selfish—he had proved that tonight—but everyone had their own faults, didn't they?

Syaoran looked quizzically at the back of Tiki's head. "Hey, I may be wary, but I'm not against nonbenders. My mother and sister are nonbenders," he pointed out, first and foremost, as if that was explanation enough.

His mother and sister were nonbenders? Tiki never knew that. Then again, Syaoran didn't talk about his family much. So there was nonbender blood in his veins…

Wait, why was that suddenly so important? So what if Syaoran had a nonbender mother and sister? It didn't make him less of a bender—in fact, it made him the Avatar. Huh. Maybe there was hope for harmony between the two races after all.

Syaoran was still scowling as she thought, though. The thought of him and Kei being friends wasn't even laughable. It was just insulting. The Avatar even grimaced. He had a whole list of reasons of why he didn't like Kei; Syaoran also knew that Tiki wouldn't appreciate a list probably. She was just too blind.

"My problem with Kei lies in his character flaws and his treatment of you," Syaoran answered, scowling. "You don't see it, but he's messing with your head and your heart to get what he wants. And you were my friend before I even met him. You mess with my friends, you mess with me. Simple as that."

Tiki peered up at Syaoran again, considering his words. He was unwittingly showing his sweet side again—Tiki almost smirked—but the rest of his reasoning was troublesome. He thought Kei was playing with her head and her emotions? He didn't think Kei's affection towards her was genuine? What little pride Tiki had as a woman decided to take offense to this. Spinning on her heel, she turned and stopped right in front of Syaoran, halting his progress with a hand solidly placed against his stomach.

"What do you mean he's messing with me?" she wanted to know, her brow puckering. "Are you saying it's impossible for a man to be attracted to me as a woman? That he's only playing a game?"

Syaoran growled, annoyed. "Seriously? That's all you got from what I said?" he quizzed her, lifting a hand to his head, as if confused himself about that. Was she that sensitive about her gender? First she thought she was fat, now this? It was like dealing with his sister—and she was a teenager.

"If you didn't notice tonight, I think he very much wants you, and that's the problem."

Roughly moving her hand from his stomach, the Avatar stepped closer to Tiki, peering down at her seriously. "He is using anything he can to get your attention, to the point of manipulating your indecisiveness and taking advantage of your kindness. A real man wouldn't do that."

Tiki was adamantly shaking her head way before Syaoran was finished speaking. "You're wrong," she insisted, frowning up at the Avatar. "Up until tonight, Kei has been nothing but sweet to me. And of course he's fighting for my attention: I'm training you all day, aren't I? He has no one else to talk to!"

Manipulating? Taking advantage? The words were ugly, and Tiki shied away from them, stepping back from Syaoran in the process. What did he know about a 'real man' anyway? It wasn't as if he was an expert on this whole dating thing.

"There's nothing wrong with Kei wanting to be with me," Tiki asserted, her glare intensifying to distract from the heat rising to her cheeks. "In fact, I may like him as more than a friend. Tonight was just… unexpected. I wasn't ready for it. But given time, who knows? Maybe my aunt was right." Tiki looked away from Syaoran, tucking her hair behind an ear. "…And I've never had a boy like me before…" she admitted quietly, her face turning redder by the minute. Ping did not count in her mind—he was her cousin, after all. "It's a nice feeling, being wanted. I could get used to it, if I tried."

What would happen if she let herself fall in love with Kei? She wasn't ready for such a thing now, but what about in the future? What if Kei became a little less selfish, and what if Tiki became a little more mature? Would things between them blossom into something wonderful? Tiki didn't know… but after a lot of consideration, she would be excited to find out, when the time was right.

Syaoran turned away from her with an infuriated growl. Was Tiki really this stupid after all? Was she really so blind to how life worked? How love worked? It was like reasoning with a prepubescent girl. "You just don't get it, do you, Tiki?" he asked her, face a mixture of disbelief and outrage. "This isn't something you get used to. You either fall for somebody, or you don't. Forcing yourself to think about someone in that way will only hurt you."

Syaoran took a couple paces, trying to breath so he could calm himself. But he couldn't help it. In this moment, Tiki was even more infuriating than ZanYi! And that was certainly not compliment.

Stopping, he turned to her again, voice more level. "You can do whatever you want, but know what's best for you and when's someone's using you. Know the difference between wanting to feel wanted and actually liking someone for yourself. Know who you are and own it. Because that's the difference between an adult and a child."

Storming past Tiki, he said, "I'm going to my room. Good night." And then Syaoran just continued to walk away, stewing in his frustration.

Tiki blew out a gust of hot air after Syaoran stormed off, causing her bangs to fly up. Great, now two guys she was close to were mad at her, though for decidedly different reasons. Why did Syaoran constantly have to act like he knew everything? What did he know about being in love? The thing with ZanYi was just a crush! And an ill-fated one at that! What did he know…?

As suddenly as it had boiled up, Tiki's anger melted away, and she sighed a deep sigh. Syaoran knew her—he knew every facet there was to Tiki, all of the good and the bad. So when he said there was a problem, there most likely was. Which made the Avatar right.

Dang it.

Frowning, the tiny airbender trudged her way back to her room as well, taking her time so she wouldn't have to run into Syaoran. Okay, so maybe she was in love with the thought of being in love. Still, how was she supposed to know the difference? Like Syaoran, it wasn't as if she had done this before. How was she supposed to know what was like and what was love? Who could she talk to about this that wouldn't blow up in her face for making the wrong decision? Who knew what it was like to be in love…?

Tiki's mind conjured up images of two people, both waterbenders: Sikka and Shun. Sikka was getting married, and Shun was in love with ZanYi. They could help her, if only she would ask.

But, that could wait until tomorrow. Right now, Tiki had some sleeping to do. It had unexpectedly been a long evening, and she just wanted it to melt away into morning as she whiled away the hours in Dream Land.

Shun stood outside ZanYi's door with a tray of food balanced on one hand, debating with himself whether he should knock or not. If he knew ZanYi like he thought he did, the only time she deemed to skip a meal was when she had a lot of work to do. He could hear her in there now, shifting papers and whatnot. He didn't want to interrupt her if she was busy, but still, he didn't want her to go hungry either…

Finally deciding on a course of action, the giant waterbender raised a hand and knocked on the door. He would just give ZanYi the tray of food and return to his own room. He didn't want to interrupt her when she seemed to be busy. They could talk tomorrow.

Hearing the knock on the door, inside the room, ZanYi barely paid it any mind. "Door's unlocked," she called out, not even bothering to look up. It had been a long enough day inside the meeting. While it was great to have so many people have ZanYi's back during this time, it was a lot of different people with different opinions and different approaches to how to fix this. At least they had eventually come up with an idea that might work.

Now ZanYi just had to try and put it together.

Papers, reports, surveillance photos, and maps littered the desk in her stone quarters, spread everywhere the eye could see. The lieutenant poured over them, relentless. Taking the highlighter out from behind her ear, ZanYi leaned over her desk some more, tapping it against the metal as she stared at the information in front of her.

She'd been tired before, but she was hitting her second wave, ready to take this on. So much was at stake—for her and for everyone who was standing by her side. Whatever they planned had to work.

Stuffing the highlighter back behind her ear, the lieutenant ruffled through some more papers, grabbing a report she'd seen earlier. Skimming it over, she reoriented the surveillance photos on her desk to be in the proper order.

The door began to creak open as Shun let himself in, unsurprised when he saw the paper explosion that was happening on ZanYi's desk. Business as usual. The giant waterbender shook his head as he closed the door behind him and approached ZanYi. "Dinner's to-go tonight, Lieutenant," he announced, waving the full tray invitingly in ZanYi's line of vision. "I'll leave you be if you're busy, but be sure to eat something, okay? Just for my peace of mind." With that said, Shun put the tray over on ZanYi's nightstand and headed for the door. "Good night, ZanYi."

Upon hearing Shun, the lieutenant reluctantly tore her gaze away from everything on her desk. She watched as the man brought her the hot meal, the smell enticing. Her stomach rumbled a bit, overworked and unpaid. When he started to walk back out, she looked down to the maps and schematics before her and sighed. "Wait, Shun," ZanYi called out to him before he reached the door. As if it was a difficult decision, she paused, then continued, "I'll eat now."

Meaning he didn't have to leave yet. Technically, the back of her mind reminded her, she was working overtime, not even needing to go over these papers and plans until tomorrow. But ZanYi was so eager to get this done, figure this out…

She took the highlighter out from behind her ear and dropped it on the table before crossing over to her bed. Sitting down heavily, the lieutenant closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breather. Her mind was racing over everything, but her body was starting to slow. Maybe she was more tired than she thought.

While Shun was elated that ZanYi had asked him to stay—though indirectly—his good mood evaporated when he saw how exhausted the lieutenant seemed to be. Taking a seat next to her, Shun frowned down at ZanYi, as if he expected her to drop at any minute.

"Maybe you need sleep more than you need food…" he speculated, "Are you sure it's okay if I stay?" If he stayed, ZanYi would not go to sleep, and she looked as if she needed it. Shun could just see her tomorrow morning, if she was that exhausted.

But ZanYi waved him a dismissive hand, opening her eyes back up to glance over at the waterbender. "It's fine, Shun," she insisted. "Besides, I told you we'd talk after dinner. For you, it's after dinner."

The lieutenant looked over at Shun, eyeing him. "Worst case scenario, I already know you make an excellent pillow," she stated matter-of-factly. A curl came to her mouth then, recalling that morning when she'd found Shun sick. It hadn't really been a bad experience for her, aside from the initial confusion of what Shun was doing.

Considering where they stood now with each other, ZanYi thought nothing of it.

Shun's face flushed at the reminder. He hadn't been in his right mind that day, so he could not be blamed for his actions. Still, it didn't look like ZanYi was mad about it… she actually looked quite amused. She was probably going to hold that over his head for a while.

"A-Anyway," he pressed on with a cough, eager to change the subject, "um, you should get some food in you. We can talk after you've eaten."

And with her mouth full, it would be harder for her to make fun of him.

ZanYi rolled her eyes, but was sneering by then. Shun was always so easy to fluster. "Fine," she told him, reaching for the tray of food. Finding it cooling, the lieutenant fostered her warm chi into her hands, heating the food back up just right. ZanYi always preferred hot over cold. Her gaze surveyed the food, pleased by the meal they had served tonight at dinner. "Thanks, Shun," ZanYi added, keeping her eyes on her food as she started to eat.

Shun smiled, relieved that ZanYi had finally started eating. "No problem," he assured her when she offered him thanks. He was just glad he could help.

But it was really unexpected, and certainly unprecedented, to ZanYi. Even Zaron never did stuff like this for her. Then again, this was one of the few things he would leave her alone about—he could be just as bad about skipping meals if he was onto something. So having someone there to make sure she ate, even bringing food out to her because she was working…

Again, it was that gentle part of Shun that poked at ZanYi, a feeling so unusual and uncomfortable for her. But that wasn't a bad thing. She almost kind of liked it.

"I'm going to be working around the clock for a while," the lieutenant warned Shun in-between bites. "There's a lot to get done."

The giant waterbender shrugged. "I'll just make it a habit to bring you meals, then," he decided. After all, if he wouldn't do it, he was certain that ZanYi would go hungry before she asked anyone to bring her a tray of food. Leaning back, Shun rested his enormous frame against the wall her bed was against, his eyes on ZanYi as she ate. "So what's going to keep you so busy for the next few days?" Shun wanted to know, folding his arms. Something big was undoubtedly decided in that meeting today—what, exactly, would have to be divulged as soon as ZanYi was ready to tell him.

ZanYi originally was going to protest and tell him that he didn't need to keep bringing her meals. But this was Shun, and if she knew him as well as she thought she did, then this would be something he'd ignore her orders on and continue to do. Therefore, she didn't waste her breath.

"We've got a plan right now that's going to save a lot of lives," the lieutenant told him, focusing on her plate instead of Shun. "They've found the main POW camp for the Neo-Equalists. We have a lot of soldiers held up there." Including her soldiers. Her AKs. Everyone who was present at the ambush and could vouch for her innocence.

Shun let out a low whistle. "Wow, you are going to be busy," he agreed, beginning to frown. Whatever ZanYi was planning with this POW camp, she was heartily invested into it—which probably meant that she was going to go out and do something reckless sooner or later. Shun sighed, resigned. Even though their relationship had changed, nothing would stand in the way of ZanYi and her work. He couldn't even think about asking her not to go—all he could do was support her.

Shun's hand wandered up to touch the fanged necklace he wore. A POW camp, huh? Would his family happen to be trapped in one of those? Shun had been searching for them for nine years—and counting—but still had no luck in tracking them down. But was the reason he could not find them because they were being detained elsewhere?

He hoped not. Shun knew what it felt like to be trapped in a strange place, feeling as if escape was hopeless most days… he would rather his family be on the run—or even dead—than in a situation like that.

ZanYi nodded an affirmation to his statement, finishing her food. She set the tray back on the nightstand and turned on the bed to look back at Shun. The sudden frown was no surprise to her—whether because he wasn't going to see as much of her or he was worried about whatever plan it was, the lieutenant didn't know. Perhaps it wasn't even a reason she was guessing.

But she watched his hand stroke over his necklace and ZanYi almost smirked. "You've been around me too much," she commented, reaching over to pull his hand away from the fang. "You've picked up my tell." A tell she never would have realized unless Shun hadn't called her out on it so many times. Yet, there he was doing the same thing now. It was enough to make the corner of her lip upturn. "It's going to be fine," ZanYi tried to assure him, allowing the heat to rush to her hand and warm his. "And if everything goes well, it'll be enough to clear my name too. Don't you trust me by now?" The question was light and scoffing, knowing that he did trust her. It just seemed to be everything else around her he didn't seem to trust.

Shun actually rolled his eyes. Though he knew the question was rhetorical, it still irked some part of him that she asked, because his answer was always the same. With another deep sigh, the giant waterbender leaned forward, touching his forehead to ZanYi's.

"I do trust you," he reminded her needlessly, his pitch low and intense, "I'm just scared—terrified—of losing you. I've already lost so much…"

But there had been others who had lost more: Tiki. Syaoran. ZanYi…

Shun closed his eyes and took a deep breath, squeezing the hand that held his. "Sorry. I'm being selfish," he admitted, "Of course I want your name to be cleared. You deserve it."

He slowly opened his eyes once again, gazing into the depths of the fiery golden eyes he had come to know and love. What would he do if he never saw those eyes again?

If. She said, if everything goes well. At this point, Shun didn't even want to know what the consequences might be.

ZanYi didn't say a word for a minute, unable to. There was an intensity to his eyes that matched his words, full of a fervor she didn't understand. If she didn't know Shun, she would almost be guessing he would start being clingy, which would not bode well with her at all.

But she knew Shun. And as much as he seemed to abhor the idea of anything happening to her, he was fighting to keep it in check. Shun hadn't even asked her not to do whatever she was planning, not to go along with the rest of the soldiers. He knew he couldn't stop her, and for her sake, wasn't going to try.

Shrinking away a bit, the lieutenant pursed her lips, trying to find a way to ease that fear and worry of his. Then her eyes widened with realization, the answer coming to her—or at least, she hoped it would be an answer.

ZanYi got up off of the bed, to go through the drawers. Zaron had salvaged as much of her personal belongings as he could, so that meant…

"Bingo," she muttered to herself, finding exactly what she was looking for.

Coming back to sit in front of Shun on the bed, she took his wrist to open his hand up to her, pressing cold steel into it. "Look, these are my dogtags," ZanYi explained. "Zaron and I swapped as soon as I finished boot camp, so he has my old tags. These are the ones from when I was made lieutenant of the AKs." Her eyes met his then as she looked back to his face. "If it helps Zar when I'm out in combat to have them with him, maybe it'll help you too."

Shun could only stare down at the cool metal in his hands, the object both familiar and foreign to him. Slowly, he looked up to meet ZanYi's eyes, pleased as well as astonished. "You're… giving these to me?" he asked, as if the intent was unclear. He ran a thumb over ZanYi's engraved name in the metal, a slow smile creeping across his face. Out of all the gifts he had ever received—which wasn't really a high count—this had to be one of the most thoughtful, the most thoughtful being the fang necklace Nyla had given him.

Shun glanced down at the necklace now, considering it. The dogtags may have been hidden away in a drawer somewhere, but ZanYi had kept them, so clearly they something to her. Wouldn't it be fair to give her something that was equally important to him…?

Following that logic, Shun lifted off his necklace. He felt abruptly naked without it, but assured himself that it would be fine—he was certain that ZanYi would take good care of his necklace. "Here." He stretched forward, reaching around ZanYi to slip the necklace around her neck for her. "Fair trade, right?"

ZanYi looked down as the necklace fell against her chest, almost bewildered by the gesture. Her gaze went back to him, frowning. "Shun, no, that's not what I wanted," she did protest this time. How could he give her that? If the lieutenant still thought it was just a necklace, maybe it would be okay, but knowing now that his sister made it for him? That changed the game.

"I can't take this, Shun," ZanYi insisted, reaching a hand to touch it, as if she still couldn't believe what he was doing. "This is from your sister. Besides, those are just my dogtags, nothing important like this…"

Just the dogtags that were imprinted for her the day of her promotion, the day she finally was given the chance to lead her own soldiers. ZanYi had been the lovely age of seventeen too when she got those tags. The memory of her appointment was one of her proudest moments.

"Look, just take the tags and keep your necklace, Shun," the lieutenant reiterated, reaching up to pull it over her head. "I'm giving those to you so it'll help you stop worrying all the time. I don't need anything in return."

Shun had a hold of ZanYi's hands before she could undo anything, smiling gently. "It's all right," he encouraged softly, lowering their hands to rest intertwined between them. "I want you to have it. You giving me your tags won't stop me completely worrying—but it'll help. So I want to give you my necklace so that you never forget, no matter what happens, I'm always with you."

A teasing corner of Shun's mouth tilted up. "Besides, what would I look like wearing your tags and that necklace? Wearing too many accessories will have people questioning my sexual orientation," he joked. Seeing that ZanYi still looked like she wanted to protest, however, the giant waterbender leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

"…Think of it as an indefinite loan, if that makes you feel better about it," he suggested after a moment, pulling back to meet the lieutenant's gaze. "Whenever you go on an op, you'll take my necklace with you. That way, if you ever get into a jam, you'll remember that you have to come back—you have to bring my necklace back to me." Shun let his fingers trail up the cord of the necklace to rest on ZanYi's neck, his thumb stroking her cheek as always.

"I'll be upset if you don't keep my necklace safe, so make sure you do," he told her, completely serious, although he was smiling. "Think of it as my first—and last—selfish request."

Looking down at the dogtags still in his hands, Shun removed the hand from ZanYi's neck to drop the tags over his head, the cool metal coming to rest a little lopsided, over the left side of his chest. The symbolism was not lost on Shun, and he smiled as he toyed with the tags.

"So, is this my 'collar' now?" he joked. Honestly, the giant waterbender was soaring on the inside. Why had he held himself back for so long? This… he had no idea he could be this happy until now.

"It's not a collar," ZanYi negated, looking down at the necklace Shun had bestowed on her. If her dogtags were a collar on him, she certainly didn't want his necklace to be one on her. It was certainly foreign to her, her fingers reaching up to touch the fang. Jewelry wasn't her thing. At all. Just give her dogtags and the lieutenant was set to go.

But it seemed like Shun really wanted her to have it. That was also a bit unsettling, because she knew exactly how important it was to him, and now the waterbender was passing it off to her. His meaning behind it all didn't escape her. This all meant she had to make sure nothing happened to it, which in turn meant that, if she was wearing it, she had to make sure nothing happened to herself.

Sneaky, Shun. Sneaky.

"Fine, I'll keep it for now," ZanYi eventually resigned, giving Shun a look. Thankfully, the necklace was long enough that she could slip it down her shirt during the day. Start walking around with that and there was no way someone wouldn't notice. But for the moment, she kept it where it was, falling down her front. Her eyes went to Shun, watching as he played with the metal. She smirked. Certainly, dogtags on a man with a physique like Shun's would have been telling and normal in the circles she ran in. But she knew Shun wasn't like those men, wasn't a soldier. It was almost out of place on the peacemaker.

Reaching up, ZanYi gripped the dogtags and pulled him back over to her, placing a rough kiss on his mouth. "Just remember: now I've got my name on you. You can never forget who you belong to," she spoke against his lips, looking up at him with hooded eyes that spelled out mischief.

Shun's face darkened with a new blush. As gentle as he tried to be with the lieutenant, she seemed to have no problem being rough with him… not that he minded, exactly… The impish look she was giving him had the giant waterbender smirking in response.

"Yes, Master," he teased, sliding his arms around her and kissing her again. He noted mentally that, when he was out in public, the tags would have to be hidden under his shirt. If anyone—Syaoran or Tiki especially—caught sight of the metal, he was dead. He was still feeling guilty, sneaking around like this with ZanYi, but like the lieutenant had said before, their business was their business, and no one else had to know.

At least not until the time was right, anyway.

A/N from Eva: Things seem to go up and down often with Team Avatar, eheheheh. So, show of hands, how many people still like Kei after this chapter? Eh, I'm sure you'll tell us in the reviews. XP

Masseffect321: Thanks for the favorite! DJ and I are so glad that you're enjoying the story, and I'm super glad that you like Tiki so much! We hope you continue to read and enjoy!

Revolution But Civilization: LOL, glad you like all of the characters. XD Yeah, Shun has a tragic past, which is why he's so sweet. But he would tell you not to feel bad for him, because he wouldn't be the man he is today if not for those hard experiences. :P And look at that, wish granted! Now you know what Kei was up to! The phrase "Be careful what you wish for" comes to mind here... XP

Guest: There wasn't an update yesterday because DJ and I have lives, and sometimes, those lives get busy. We try to update regularly every week, and most of the time, we do. But what helps us is getting reviews from readers who give us interesting comments and helpful feedback. Hope this answers your question.

That's all for this weekend. Hope you all have an awesome week! And, if you haven't seen it already, don't miss the finale for Book 2 of Legend of Korra! Take it from me, it is epic! See you next week!