Authors note: The connected stories of this and mastermind123's story do take place according to episodes of Legend Of Korra (which I don't own), so we can get some information correct. This story itself takes place during the episode "The Voice In The Night", yea were behind but it doesn't matter, you still got the show to watch don't ya? Well anyways enjoy my longest chapter ever!
Triple Threats
Shu choked and begged for air but the second I'd let up, would be the last second of my life. Shu sputtered words, which nobody could officially make out but I would guess it was for assistance. The stammering and constant gasps for air had given the notice that he was in great pain, that and his face turning a bright red color. Eventually it started to turn a dark purple and I was worried that I would loose my only defense before I had a chance to make my escape. I loosened my grip, just enough for him to get in a few breaths of air.
The rope had dug into my skin, causing great irritation. Some parts had started to bleed and urged my to let up but I knew If I did that, it would be his hands around my neck.
"Help. Please!" He barked. The last part of the word sent bullets of saliva out of his mouth. I could feel his heat intensify and burst through his face, which was extremely violet. He kept staggering back and forth, I was afraid he would just turn around but he knew he live much longer if he did so.
"Try anything funny or you'll be out of air. Permanently." I whispered into his ear. If the rest of the Triple Threats knew I needed him they would act fast. "You can live or die, just don't struggle. Your choice."
He cooperated most of the time but his grip around the rope didn't ease up. He tugged but I tugged harder. I would imagine that he was getting very light headed. What surprised me the most was the neither, Tak, Pema, or Shu did nothing. They stood completely still with a blank look on his face, except for Jay would was basically laughing to himself.
"Very persistent Khai, kill ah man to get what'ya want. Didn't you say you were better then that?" Jay said, folding his hands comfortably in his pockets.
Damn you!, I was enraged with him. My heart raced just to keep up with the adrenaline that rushed through my body. Unlike Jun's purpose for wanting me dead, his seemed rather more social then anything. Breaking down a man on the inside to just get him to crack up on the out.
"I say we let'em die. He was useless anyway." Pema suggested.
Shu's final breathes had turned towards Tak, who had been thinking the same thing as Pema.
"Please. T-ak!" Shu choked on his last words as his final conscious breathes turned into a final sweep of air. Pro Tak didn't say a thing but only watched as Jay gained recovered from his laughing fit.
Bringing up his fingers he did the last thing, I'd expected him to do. Lightning rung out of his fingers, coiling around his body like a snake but it didn't have any effect on him. He lashed around, blasting the bolts of cold blooded fire outward to Shu, piercing his body. He had tried to go right through him and into me.
The next few moments felt like seconds as I jumped backward, nearly avoiding the nasty shock. Shu wasn't so lucky, as the lightning had passed through his heart, killing him without a sound. I watched horrified as one of the Triads, murdered his own in cold blood. Shu now lie dead on the floor and Jay's attention was on me.
"Should'a done that years ago." He said with a mild taunt in his speech.
Tak and Pema looked surprised that Shu had actually been dead. It was what Pema had wanted for a long time but she couldn't have believed it was really done. Tak on the other hand was rather angry. Sure he hated Shu but he would never allow for another less important member of the Triads to kill one of their own.
"Don't go over your head Jay! Remember that I'm the leader here!" Tak shouted.
"Of Course Pro, Ah was just havin' fun is all." Jay replied innocently.
Pro Tak didn't say anything because he couldn't. He felt weak that someone else like Jay had taken a great amount of control of the situation, bringing a random man in without his knowing, showing up late, and now killing one of his own? No. Tak felt a sudden weakness in both himself and his bond with Jay.
Jay refocused himself on me. I was still on my back after the blast, which I had still felt even after jumping off Shu.
"No more meat shields Khai, just ah lone Equalist and three benders." Jay pulled out another string of lightning from his fingers, my heart raced again. "I change mah mind, your execution starts now!"
The shot went off but I had already scrambled to my feet. The chain of devastating lightning missed me by centimeters but sent off a charge that forced me into a huge pile of hay. He hadn't let up, still keeping his charge, lightning once again strained the energy within his chi paths.
"Wait!" Tak barked.
Jay's lightning slowly dissolved back into his finger and turned faced Pro Tak.
"Like I said Jay, your in over your head. I'm leading this damn thing here and I' m not letting you get to make these decisions!" Tak shouted. Jay sent out a smug little grin over to Tak, knowing what exactly he was going through. He shrugged and turned back, sweeping the lint off of his pressed suit, only to have Pema take his place.
"Pema, burn the fucker." Tak ordered. Hearing the word burn in a place that was filled with flammable material, such as hay, didn't go right with me. If it meant anything I had to try my best to survive, even if that meant crawling through the material itself. Before I knew it, I was already half way through the hay mound.
Pema nodded but didn't go easy. Even from inside the hay mound, I could feel the warmth of the blasts she through. Ball after ball of flames, I could feel the fire racing towards me, nipping at my feet. The heat was intense, as if crawling through hell itself and having the devil breathe down the back of my neck.
I was more worried then angry. Being in my position and having hatred consume me, wouldn't be wise. Although even without it, I still didn't know where I was going. It was hard suppressing it. Not after all the years I cowardly let it build up.
"Come on Equalist! You can't run forever! You feelin' light headed? Need air? This whole barns coming up in flames and your going down with it!" Pema shouted, shooting streams of fire wilder then ever.
Now that she mentioned it, the air was getting thin. Using her own bending to suffocate me was a great strategy, especially in the position I was in. However, she was still shouting, cursing, throwing insults left and right until they hit me right in the middle. If she stayed in here any longer, her arrogance would get the best of her.
My hands dug harder through nothing but pure hay, that said until I reached a dead end.
Fuck!, cursing to myself because I had hit the edge of the barn. I had no choice but to turn another direction, the fire still encasing me in like a flammable coffin. Barreling out of the hay I had fallen right back into the barn but at a different location. Digging through the hay was risky but had bought me some valuable time.
Our lines of sight had been broken but my position was no better then the first. I sat upright against an unburned stable door that I had opened for cover. The whole barn was up in flames but not enough to actually bring it down. Soon however, it would get there. Burning embers flew upwards, singing anything they touched. Some had even fallen onto me, causing me to panic and swat at my arm numerous times, as if I myself was on fire.
"Where are you Equalist! There's only one door in here and your not getting through. Not until I see your flesh being torn away by the flames!" Pema shouted again, as if she had stopped. Her constant cursing was annoying. She hadn't even coming up with anything good anymore just "Damn you" this and "Fuckin" Equalist that.
By the way her voice was sounding, she was tired and loosing strength. More embers dripped onto my clothing from above. Swatting them off wasn't the problem, avoiding the falling upper loft was another story. I dove out of the way just in time for the collapsing upper level to smash the stable I was hiding behind. More fire erupted and sent out a drastic shock wave that made everything seem 20 degrees hotter.
Son of a! Looking up, I saw that I had dove right in the line of sight for Pema when I avoided the falling loft. I had only a brief glance at her and her surroundings before I got to my feet. Running behind another hay pile. My lungs burned, not from exhaustion but from the lack of oxygen.
Nearly on my back I stomped my shoe on the ground, for the bottom had been on fire. Wooden chips and debris fell from the ceiling, causing more flames to erupt.
"Come on! Fight! Let's see your strength!"
I had to ignore her. Her outbursts were nothing more then distractions trying to get me off guard. However despite the situation we were both in, I had no choice but to ignore her.
A large crackling led to a bunch of tiny flaming splinters to fall onto my shoulder. I would have just patted out the fire but that was before a heard the loud cracks above. To my complete horror, I watched as the support beam above had been chewed up by the flames and was made unstable.
Soon it rocked. Back and forth it turned as if loosing itself to fall but the fire had dissolved it to the point where its name "support beam" had become ironic. It broke in two. It came crashing down, bringing down a stream of fire with it. I hadn't been so lucky this time. A more serious blast had shot me out into the open, however I had some time to get out of the way of the falling beam.
Disoriented, massively bruised, and running out of air. The only way I knew Pema was in here, was the sound of her coughing. The smoke lowered closer to the ground, smothering anything it touched in a thick layer of black ash. My face was halfway coated with the stuff. Being out in the opened I had noticed something about our locations, a large lake of fire had separated us and climbed itself onto the walls on the barn.
The black musk that filtered the air made it almost impossible for anyone to see. However being on the ground I could plainly see Pema still throwing fire.
"This is ridiculous, I'm not going to stay here and possibly kill myself just to watch you burn!" Pema reduced the flames from her fingertips until they died out completely and started for the door. "Fuck it, I'm out!"
My eyes widened in horror as her hand touched that barn door. "No Pema wait!" I jumped to my feet, feeling the burns that had been imprinted on my body begin to ache. Out of pure pain I fell to one knee, weak in fight, air, and spirit to carry on. My tongue felt like nothing more then a dry piece of raw meat.
The Back Draft
As the door to the barn was forced open, Pema was swallowed up by a gulf of flames, tearing apart her skin like it was nothing but paper. Her ideal of my death was now hers. As she had opened the front door, a gush of oxygen had been reintroduced to the flames, resulting in a combustion like state, blowing apart anything in a certain radius. In this case, Pema was the unlucky victim.
Her screams were deafened within the explosion. I wasn't able to tell if she had been in one piece when the explosion happened but I doubted it. Chunks of wooden and burning straw had been sent flying, nearly leaving me with a third degree burn, if crossed across my body. Lucky for me I had been lying down so the chances of that were slim to none.
For me, it had been an advantage in two ways. Yes Pema was gone but the effect of the blast had shook the entire barn. The front door was gone because of the blast and the windows had been blown out, causing the smoke to rush out with it. With my breathing chances at a better level I had more time to look for an escape.
I could have used the windows for an escape but they had been barricade by either a wall of fire or something solid was in the way and on fire. I crawled low to save what air I had left and trying to avoid falling panels at the same time. The barn shook, and more support beams had began to fall, it would not hold for much longer.
I nearly stumbled, trying to move to the back of the barn where there wasn't any fire, turned out to be more of an hassle then expected. Ducking under support beams that had fallen, and narrowly avoiding explosion that rained fire down on me, from the lofts above had proved to be my greatest challenge.
One support beam had fallen but in a weird way. One end was stuck, still able to hold on as its other end was withered away by the up roaring flames. It acted as a battering ram when it fell, smashing a thin whole in the back of the barn.
It reacted with a small back draft, erupting in more flames but none that would turn out to be as hostile as it did to Pema. I raced over to the whole, ignoring the burning sensation that scared my leg. Air was limited and it made me light headed, which probably was the cause for Pema to eventually leave.
The whole in the wall was thin but on the other side I could see the woods, engulfing the backyard of what I assumed to be a farm. The edges of the whole had been red hot, poking at me as if I had been a well cooked piece of meet. They left devastating marks on my chest but nevertheless, I pulled free, gasping and choking for the new air the refilled my lungs.
Yes fresh air! Throwing myself onto the ground I let the cool night time sky refresh my body, as it felt like the largest ice pack when the cool air brushed against my burns. I panted heavily, letting my heart slow down seem liked the hardest thing to do in this situation. My body cooled under the night, I had prayed for my life to be spared, and my prayers were answered.
Pro Tak and Jay
The two mischievous Triads starred silently in the farmhouse as they watched their barn burn to the ground. As the house fell into itself it had shot out one last ring of fire, as the collapsed ceiling tiles had let in more oxygen from above.
Fire rose from the fallen barn and embers crackled onto the ground, much of the grass had turned black from the fire or the layer of ash. The two Triads stood without movement, Jay stood with a arrogant grin on his face while Tak's showed fear. Not worrisome fear of caring about Pema's safety, nor a fear of concern for the money value lost from the barn but of the insane destruction that had been caused. The flames that had risen from that barn had terrified him.
"Do ya see her"
"No"
A quick silence was created as they watched through the back window.
"What about him?"
"No"
Tak bit his lower lip, worrying about the destruction of the wreckage, until the a slight pain had urged him to stop. Jay guzzled down a quick shot of alcohol and turned towards Tak.
"Hey, Pro. We should get'a goin'. The MB's will be here any sec."
Tak snapped out of his fearful stationary state and nodded in agreement. "Yes but first get what we need, there's a few papers up in my office I need to get."
"Ah already know what to bring for mahself. Take ya time Pro Tak, just don't take it all."
Khai
I had already begun making my way towards the house. I would've assumed that the fire would had been enough of a distraction for me to move along the edge of the farm unnoticed. The farm house was impressive in size but weak in texture. It made primarily made up of wood, with stone structuring at some parts. The back porch was massive, I stood under it starring above to make sure no one was there.
Just a few tables and minor back porch decorations had been set up. Decorative plants and a bare wooden picnic table had been above. As I walked up the stairs, I had made out more marking that had been carved into the table. Just Triad trash curses and obscenities that didn't belong. There was the logo of the Triple Threats and the words "Fire Benders Rule!" also carved within.
The inside was worse then the out. A bare room, couches, and a radio that didn't even work. The walls had holes and scorch marks from previous issues.
In all honesty, the reason I was still here was for my sword. I could have just slipped by the side of the house, use the night for cover but I really wanted it back. However I would be lying if I said that was all I wanted. I promised myself if I found my sword, I would just leave but if I were to see Tak or Jay on the way, I would have to improvise.
The house was huge and surprisingly it looked like it had just been the four of them. Well, now there was two. I journeyed down the hallway, the walls were bare and looked like they had been under construction. Paints tarps and clear, plastic sheets hung from the walls.
I walked further on, my heartbeat growing with each footstep I took. Climbing a few step, I turned another hallway where my expectations were still at a low.
Mugs, cups, wrappers, and food had scattered the halls. This place looked just the way it smelled, like shit. I hadn't expected much out of the Triple Threats, let alone cleanliness.
That house shook, dust and rubble fell from the ceiling like rain, coating my shirt.
What the hell? I thought, moving into the nearest doorway for some cover. It had turned out to be an empty closet but served the same purpose of stealth. I inched the door open, starring into a messy hallway but no signs of trouble.
The rumble that had shaken the house was gone but I could hear voices, one of them I could clearly make out to be Pro Tak but the other.. well it wasn't Jay.
Pro Tak and Guest
Tak stood with his jaw to the ground as he starred at the collapsed wall. His blood boiled and his mind was on stress overload.
Using his earth bending he created another sheet of stone that he pulled from the ground outside. He then fixed it in place, ceiling off the night time sky and the black gust of smoke that had been entering.
"Quit fooling around Tak, we need to talk."
Finishing up his bending motions the wall fixed perfectly in place, however it plainly stood out.
"Yu! Uh, wha- what's going on?" Tak asked.
The brown-cloaked pridesmen starred furiously at him, pacing slowly towards him until he was an arms length away.
"You know exactly why I'm here, Tak. What did you see?" Yu said angrily, his voice a bit muffled.
Tak swallowed hard. As "strong" as Tak claims he is, right now he was looking extremely weak. He said to sweat, pits of sweat began to form underneath his arms, and his voice had gotten wheezy.
"Well. I. Uh. You see there-"
"What did you see at Amon's damn revelation meeting! I sent you because you claimed to have the skill necessary! Don't fucking tell me you were lying!" Yu voice was as dark as ever, sending multiple chills down Tak's spine.
Tak began to stutter. Sweat ran down his forehead like it was their job. He shivered and quaked but said no answer that Yu could make out. Yu shot forward, launching out his hand, he grabbed Tak by the neck and slammed him against the wall, nearly blowing it out the other side. This was without the straightening of his back.
"I may be an old man Tak but don't take me for granted. I could snap your neck in seconds, it wold be easy! Like breaking a toothpick. So tell me, what was Amon doing?"
Yu loosened his grip a bit so that Tak could speak.
"We-well ya see." Tak stopped. Taking in a large stream of air and releasing it through his mouth, he continued. "When me and my associates had arrived, the whole place was in chaos! Steam, smoke, you name it but it was rising fast and people were screaming as they ran out. Whatever had happened, you can bet Amon wouldn't have shown himself again that night."
Amon thought to himself. His plan was ruined but he could probably steal Tak's excuse. He dropped Tak to the floor, the coward landing on his ass like scared, whimpering dog.
"Besides, why couldn't you do it yourself, sneaking in and all that? And Isn't it true you have a man on the inside?" Tak asked.
Yu's eyes were cold, just like his heart but there was great power in his voice.
"My skills involve great power and elite assault tactics, not some cowardly hide and seek game. I don't do stealth." Yu took the time to look out the window to notice the burning barn, which had been dying out. "And I'm assuming neither is yours."
"And who I associate with, does not concern you." Yu finished.
Yu had been thinking about the one informant who acted like their leader, Jun. He had barely seen him yet Admiral Geming took orders from him like a dog to his master. Now Yu had been distrusting them both, now that everyone else had been on some manhunt for a kid.
"Right sir, I'm sorry, uh sir. Yes sir." Tak said, managing to get his own tongue to produce the words. Yu continued to pick him up by the throat, this time his voice was more insane then ever.
"Let's not forget the little deal we made. I gave you your title by taking out those metal benders, in exchange for your assistance when need. Fail me again and this time it will be your fucking life!" Yu said, dropping him immediately.
Using his bending, Yu had destroyed the wall that Tak had broken, disappearing within the cool darkness.
Khai
My muscles cramped up. Knowing that The Pride had been in league with the Triple Threats had scarred the shit out of me. I had barely survived the first one and I technically hadn't killed him.
As much as I wanted to kill Mao for nearly killing Ruan, I was in no position to fight. I opened the closet door an inch more only to have shut it all the way. I saw Jay who had been leaning against Tak's office door. I had guessed he heard everything and by the smug look of his face, him and I had the same thought.
Pro Tak was a fake, and Jay knew it. Opening the door a little bit more I saw that Jay had entered. I didn't get a good look at him but i did see a weapon of some kind. I opened the door and walked out, pressing my back against the wall closest to Tak's office, where Jay had once been, I peaked inside.
"Jay where the hell have you been!" Tak said pretending to have ignored the whole last 10 minutes that had passed.
"So. Your ah fake?" Jay said.
I moved my head closer to the door, I now saw Jay wielding my sword in his hands. I bit my tongue. My blood started to boil once more and I couldn't have been more furious at him.
"Dammit Jay, you have no right to-"
Before he could even speak, his chest tore apart, leaving huge gaping tear. Blood spattered across the wall, leaving behind a dark crimson stain that would not come off. Tak would have probably been able to have stopped it but Jay's electrical ability had given him a huge advantage. By sending mild volts of lightning through the blade, he managed to increase the sword, when swung it sent off an electrical like slash, killing Tak without Jay having to get close to him.
"Ah don't take orders from fakes" Jay said, cleaning his blade on Tak's blood-soaked suit.
He turned around, his eyes locked on mine.
Shit, waited to long! I thought. I turned and darted down the hallway. Followed by an explosion from the room, I knew that he was following me. I could hear the lightning, discharging from his finger. He sent of wave after wave of attacks. They smash through wall after wall, crumbling pillars, and starting mild fires on curtains. If I didn't leave soon, the whole house would fall.
"Nice bud, ah'd knew ya make it out! Ironic to die by ya own sword though, eh Khai?" Jay shouted.
Barreling down the hall, I opened door, closets, and small cupboards. All had been clean out. I was thinking about sneaking my way out but every time I opened a door, a lightning bolt would be there, inches from my face.
Jay let out a lightning pulse so powerful it had short circuited most of the lightning in the house. The explosion of the attack had sent out a heat wave powerful it had burned my cheek. I had gotten to the stair that had rounded the corner to the lower level. It had given me some cover.
I had made myself downstairs and had now been wandering the giant house. Catching my breath, I breathed in slowly to slow down my heart rate which had been hammering itself against my chest. Soon enough it went right back up. Jay came around the corner, swinging widely with my sword.
His inexperience with the weapon was humorous. It lead to many cuts and scratches on the walls, shredded curtains and pain tarps, and I was afraid that he would actually break it. He should have stuck with his lightning. I had to make my move.
He swung low then high then low again, continuing with his pattern as if he would slice me in half. My father had taught me basic hand to hand trick resulting with the nerves of human body, resulting in high levels of pain but I needed an opening.
Jay swung low, letting out a startled grunt. I swooped him, the jabs I had sent to him were fierce. I had hit pressure points at near perfect accuracy but my result were horrifying. After I had hit the first one Jay stopped. At first I felt like I had even killed, it had been a terrifying experience.
Jay dropped to ground without a single movement more. My heart raced, starring at my hands I was horrified what I had done. Jay began to laugh widely, almost at an insane way, it made my skin crawl.
"Like father like son, huh bud? Congratz man, you've officially proven yaself ah monster like ya father. Like your whole damned kind!"
My hands begun to shake, and I instantly felt sick. Those pressure points that my father had taught me when I was young, weren't pressure point strikes at all. He had taught me chi blocks, and I had used them against Jay. As horrified as I was, my fury still increased. I had vowed never to use it but here a was demonstrating it for the first time and I get it done almost perfectly, I hated myself for it.
"Your the same monster, as all you chi blockers are!", Jay grunted, being in the frozen state he was in, it had been very uncomfortable. He began to chuckle once more, however my attention was still on what I had done. "If ya can't, no one can is that right! Is that right you fucking coward! Nothing but a monster, that's what you are!"
My eyes shot up. Jay could see the hatred in my face and for that, his grin lowered. I started over to him, causing him to flinch but I only grabbed what was mine, my sword.
Jay grew annoyed, he saw that I had suppressed the hateful things he had said. It was my turn to tell this prick a thing or two.
"A monster? You see me as a monster? If I was a monster I would've snapped Shu's neck, If I was a monster I wouldn't have tried to warn Pema about her caustic death, If I was a fucking monster, you head would be off your pathetic shoulders!" I got closer to him kneeling down to about eye level, he was perfectly silent. "You killed them all, you killed Shu, Pema, and Tak and you dare call me some monster? I regret it all yes, I hate Equalists, I hate my family, and I hate Amon but I do not just go around looking for murder like you do!
You see yourself as such a fucking shepherd, yet you butcher your own sheep and laugh about it. Your far from a saint Jay, live with the fact that your the monster." I stood up.
Letting out the anger felt good but there was still more locked up. Lucky for me the sword still had its sling, so it was around my back in seconds. I turned around only to have heard Jay's voice, he wasn't laughing anymore, but enraged as I was. My words had gotten to him.
"So what? In all your glory ya going spare mah life? Your weak Khai! Only the strongest survive!"
I stopped at the entrance of the bare room. I looked back one finale time. "I don't play the role of judge, jury, and executor. I'll let the MB's take care of that."
Jay cursed widely, pulling anything he could find from his mouth. He was loosing it and was being hysterical.
"Who do ya think'ya are Khai? Some sort of damn saint? Don't ya fucking leave wer not done yet! Get the fuck back here, ya prick!"
As much as I regretted leaving him alive, it was the right thing to do. Hatred was immoral but aren't we all? That's how we all think and live our lives and there's nothing we can do to avoid it. This small step toward morality I took, was the first of many.
Khai (Later that night)
I had walked on that night. My flash bare and burned and the cool breeze didn't help as much as it did then. Leaving Jay for the Metal Benders was the hardest thing I could do but it was right.
I stumbled down the cold side walk of the deserted Republic City. Whatever had happened since my fight against Jun was acting up. Citizens ran to their own houses and locked their doors. I could actually here the locks shut and for a while I blamed myself. Then I thought about the curfew I had heard over the radio, that the council had been planning but not officially put it in affect.
There were other things to. Announcements of Councilmen Tarlok's Anti-Equalist task force was in the process of being made and they wanted the Avatar to join. However many journalists have announced that she hadn't been interested. There had been a rumor of Amon having the ability to take away a persons bending.
It seemed as if I had a boulder swung over my back. The injuries I had suffered had affected my head. I had debated about just dropping my sword but then again fighting Jay for it would've been a waste of time.
"Khai, Khai is that you?"
Now I was hearing things. It was probably a metal bender wanting my death, seemed like everyone else did. My vision was blurred and my hearing deafened, my legs quickly getting weak, I fell to me knees. I had suffered so much in the past few days, I could barely stand.
"Khai! I'm coming hold on! Khai? Khai stay with me!"
I was soon on my back. I could feel the familiar voice tugging away at my body. Hauling me away. My world swayed as I eventually began to black out, the last thing I ever saw was my body rising towards the sky.
Apartment 236
When I had eventually come to, I was laying shirtless on a bed. I began to breath hard but didn't dare move. I looked around the room to see if their was anything familiar. I thought it had been Porter who brought me back to the compound but I'd doubt he would be the one to take off my shirt. It had only been heavily bruised. Mild burns but nothing worth the trouble to go to. The smoke in my lungs had probably cut off my circulation, causing me to pass out.
My chest wall fifty percent purple an black. The scars and bruises that I caused myself had been soaked in a warm moist cloth and others had been patched up with bandages. I began to cough widely, feeling though a lung was about to pop out at any moment. The sounds of my coughs caused footsteps to stir in the next room, I had caught someone's attention.
I slowly turned my head, only to see Kya running up to me, putting a warm cloth along my head.
"Kya?" I said slowly, my head pounded as I tried to lift myself up.
"Whoa now, just lay down and let me take care of you. You've been beaten up pretty hard." She said rubbing my forehead.
She wore water tribe clothing, her long beautiful brushed against my cheek as she leaned in to dab my forehead with the soaked cloth. I couldn't help but blush. She giggled a bit, my face went red instantly hoping she hadn't noticed but it was obvious she did.
"My spirits, what the hell happened to you Khai?" Kya said.
"It's a very long story, I wouldn't want you to feel bad for me." I replied.
Idiot, what the hell, just talk to her! My mind was in an uproar, I wanted to but it just seemed weird. Especially appearing i a room with her with my shirt off. I attempted to sit up.
Kya put her gentle hands on my chest, pushing slightly to get me to lie down. "Then it's going to be a very long night. Please tell me, so I won't have to worry.
I chuckled a bit, trying to recall every incident I could that had been since I first met Jay. I retold her everything and I meant everything. If something felt out of place to her she would keep asking about it to make sure I was alright. She was very loving. The fact that i had worried her made me feel cared for.
Having a family who hated me, made me feel useless. All those wandering eyes that pointed out "The Equalist failure" made me hate them more, those who I hadn't even talk to. Tonight, Jay had pushed me beyond my limits.
"That's awful! Glad to see your still in one piece though." She said.
"Thank you, it means a lot. It was a pretty rough time. I can still feel the smog stuck to the side of my lungs. Thank you for helping me." I said.
Said gave me an innocent looking smile, and at one point my eyes were lost in his blue eyes.
"Anytime Khai. I'm just lucky you were passing by my apartment when I came home from work."
"Yeesh, long day?"
"You don't know the half of it. But it's a very long story." she said mimicking my exact words.
"Well, it's going to have to be a very long night." I replied.
We both laughed again, chuckling together like this made me feel whole and not so worthless. However the laughter had caused a cramp to form in my side. My muscles twisted together, making me grunt hard.
"Oh, hang on I know what to do."
Kya left my side and went into another room. My hand clentched at my side, although it only seemed to get worse. Kya arrived back witha bowl filled with water. Using her bending, she spread the water over my torso, and it began to glow.
It felt as if my whole body was getting messaged, the healing water clearing out all my pain that had been in my side. My mucles instantly relaxed and I let a relaxed sigh.
"My father taught me that one." Kya said. She looked at me and smiled, her innocence, the way she looked at me with her blue sparkling just made me safe. She was absolutely stunning. The fact that she had brought up her father had made me sick though. Sick with guilt. When we left Kyoshi, she was forced to leave it all behind. Unlike mine, her family probably wants her back.
"The only thing I can do is take away bending. My damned father, taught me how to chi block. The sad part was that I didn't even realize it until today." I said.
Talk about a conversation killer man, idiot!, I shouldn't have brought that up. I didn't want to sound pitiful.
She looked at me with compassion, she seemed to absorb my sadness in a way where, anything with her made me feel safe.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean-"
"No, no it's fine. You've been through a lot, a level of pain that I couldn't even imagine. If anything I should be the one to apologize for bringing it up." She said.
That really got my attention, there was no way I was going to let her take the fall for something that I clearly brought up. I sat up, this time fully accomplished. I had passed through the healing water and now at upright next to her. She hadn't been expecting me to sit up so fast. Putting away her water back into the bowl she sat down next to me, our eyes locked.
"No. Don't take it out on yourself. I shouldn't have brought it up I'm sorry and.. and thank you. For everything you've done for me. You don't know how much you've made my life so much more livable. I know we should spend more time together and I'm sorry I haven't been there for you. Kya, I.. I." My mind and conscious had totally broken down. From that point on I didn't know what to say but Kya helped out.
She pressed her hand against my cheek and guided my face towards hers. I had been turning away from embarrassment. We got closer, to the point where our lips touched. My hand brushed against her cheek, it felt like a whole lifetime had passed when kissing her. The love we had for each other was unforgettable but it was my hatred towards others that would get in the way.
Seconds past, then minutes. Our lips still locked as we slowly fell backward onto the bed.
The thing with my hatred was that with Kya. It wasn't suppressed at all. It was gone.