Hey thank you so much for all the reviews! I really appreciated them =) So we're going a little back in time for this chapter and the next, but worry not, I'll get back to what was happening soon.


A ten year old Dean fell flat on his ass with an "Omph."

"Gotta be quicker than that Dean," his father criticized. Taking a breath, Dean got back on his feet and returned to his fighting stance. He spread his feet, digging them into the ground. He raised his right hand just below eye level, keeping his palm flat towards his father, arm slightly extended. His left arm was bent so his hand was below his right elbow, palm facing down towards the ground.

"Bend your knees, Dean. Earthbenders get their power from the ground, the closer you can get to it the better."

Dean thought about that for a moment and looked down to his stance. He then spread his feet wider and bent his knees to an awkward extent. John chuckled at his son's new stance, but said nothing.

"Ready?" he asked Dean, who replied with a firm nod. His father rushed at him from across the field, raising a rock from the ground and pushing it at him. Dean stomped his foot to the ground, sending a chunk of the earth into the air. He then thrust his fist forward, pushing the rock into the one John sent at him. They collided with a crash, spreading dirt and debris. Quickly glancing around to find his father, his eyes widened as he spotted him to his side. Fumbling to adjust to the new angle his father was attacking him from, he wasn't ready when a rock hit him in the chest. He grunted as his back hit the ground, frustration coursing through him as he lost again.

John walked over to his son and offered a hand, helping Dean back to his feet. "What went wrong?" he quizzed, clearly knowing the answer.

"You attacked me from the side! I couldn't turn to face you quick enough."

"And why was that?"

Dean thought about it. "I wasn't fast enough?" he guessed.

"That, and your stance was too low."

"But you said-" Dean blurted before his father interrupted him.

"-the lower to the ground you get the more power you have. This is true, but, when you heighten one ability, you sacrifice another. With your stance you gained power, endurance. It would have been hard to knock you over if I attacked you from the front. But what did you sacrifice?"

"...My speed?"

"Not exactly. You sacrificed your flexibility. By rooting yourself to the ground you gave up the ability to readily move."

"So... Which is better?"

John chucked at the statement. "You have to find a balance. One is not better than the other. Sometimes you'll want power, others flexibility. Depends on your opponent. What do you think you'll need if you fight an airbender?"

Concentration written across his face, Dean seriously considered the question. "Flexibility."

John smiled as his son got the answer right. "That's right. Airbenders are tricky bastards. They rely on speed and agility, always looking for the right angle to take you down from."

"What do we rely on?"

"Earthbenders rely on endurance and strength. Rock is a stubborn element. You have to be strong in mind and body to move it. We face our opponents head-on. A real man doesn't hide behind tricks. Now, what else did you do wrong?"

Recalling the fight, Dean answered, "I lost track of where you were."

"Exactly," John smiled, proud of his son's ability to recognize his mistakes. "When I sent the first boulder at you, all of your concentration went to my attack. Always keep track of your opponent. Why do we practice without our shoes on?"

"So we can feel the vibrations in the earth," Dean recited the past lesson.

"And did you do that?"

Dean bowed his head in shame. "No, sir."

"Feel the movements of your opponent so you can make a quick counterstrike. Now let's try again. Get into your stance."

Dean did so, correcting his previous stance. He shot his father a questioning look, asking him if it was right. When John nodded in approval, he beamed with pride. As soon as John entered his stance, the pride was replaced by concentration.

John pulled the exact same move, attacking him from the front while moving to the side. But this time Dean was ready. Dean stomped on the ground to push the earth into the air, sending it at the first boulder. When John sent the second at him he ducked, and in one fluid motion raised his hands then pushed, sending an attack at his father. John quickly raised his hands, and a wall of earth sprouted from the ground to protect him. Dean's eyes widened with shock as a chunk of the wall flew at him. Creating a wedge with his outstretched arms, he split the oncoming rock into two as it hit him, harmlessly sending each half to his sides.

Thrusting his heel into the ground, Dean elevated the ground underneath one of his fathers feet, attempting to knock him off balance. John sidestepped the attack and twisted his foot into the earth, causing rock to form around Dean's foot, trapping it to the ground. When Dean lost his balance because of this, his other foot moved to steady him. As soon as it touched the ground, rock formed around it as well. His father suddenly appeared before him, open palm pointed at his neck.

The duel was done. In such a position, the attacker is showing his opponent he had the kill stroke, and therefore has won.

After a moment his father released him, and he stumbled back, panting from the exertion.

"That's enough practice for today. If we're late for dinner your mom will kill me."

They walked down from the rocky terrain and back into the village walls.


"Mom!" the boy exclaimed, running toward her. She smiled and caught him in a hug.

"How was your earthbending lesson?"

"Good! I almost beat Dad once!" he exclaimed.

Mary looked up and shared a smiled with her husband, knowing that he let Dean think it was a close match.

"You'll get him next time," she encouraged. She frowned slightly when she noticed Dean's shirt was ripped. "Dean, honey, what happened to your shirt?" Then she noticed the forming bruise on his arm.

Dean looked down, just noticing the tear himself. "A rock hit me there," he shrugged.

John rubbed his hand over his face, already knowing he was in trouble. When Dean noticed her troubled expression, he moved to soothe her.

"S'okay Mom, I'm strong. Just like the earth! Right Dad?"

"That's right Dean," his father praised.

"Honey, why don't you go wash up for dinner. Leave your shirt on the table, I'll sew it later."

"Okay Mom."

When Dean sprinted off to do as he was told, Mary turned to face her husband, anger in her eyes.

"John Winchester you are far to hard on him. Throwing rocks at him? You can't teach him to earthbend without hitting him?"

"It's good for him Mary. He needs to be strong if he's going to look after this family someday. Besides, it's not like I threw them at him that hard."

"He's just a boy!"

"He's ten years old now. It's time for him to start learning to become a man."

"Dad!" a squeaky voice called out. John looked to the source to find Sam, his youngest, running towards him. His son ran at him and John scooped him up in his arms. "Dad, guess what?"

"What?" he repeated in the excited voice reserved only for children.

"I lifted a rock today! I earthbended!"

John looked to surprise at his wife, silently asking for confirmation. When Mary smiled and nodded, John beamed at his son.

"That's great Sammy!"

"Can I come with you and Dean now?" he questioned hopefully.

"Maybe in a little while Sammy, but not now."

Sam's bottom lip jutted out in a pout. That's when John noticed two men walking toward the direction of his house. Recognizing them as part of the village's ANBU Black-Ops division, he turned to Mary and handed Sam over to her.

"Mary, take Sammy inside."

Mary looked to the two approaching men and sighed. While John was away on his mission she would never hear the end of it from Dean, who would be bouncing off the walls waiting for his next lesson.

Missions were a normal occurrence for the members of their village, for they belonged to no ordinary village. In Lawrence, their main objective was to raise shinobi: benders skilled in the art of combat. Missions assigned would vary from doing manual labour to acting as escorts, gathering secret information, retrieving stolen items, and carrying out assassinations. Besides that, it was a village just like any other. While missions were their top priority, the people of the village had day jobs. Mary and John were animal farmers, living in the outskirts of the town.

Grabbing their son, she took him inside the house and shut the door.

"Go find your brother and wash up for dinner, okay?"

"Okay Mommy!"

She walked into the kitchen and began cutting carrots for their dinner. Setting the carrots down on the table, Mary walked over to the window and looked out, doing her best to remain unseen by her husband or the other mission members. She worried about John and his missions. Her husband was a very skilled shinobi, but because he belonged to the ANBU Black-Ops division, his missions were of the most dangerous nature and always held the threat of death. She would never complain though; this was John's duty to their village and their nation.

A large envelope was handed over to John, who took a moment to leaf through it. After exchanging a few more words, the two men left and John walked back into the house. Mary quickly returned to making dinner. She knew John didn't like to see her worry.


Walking into their room that night, Mary found John sitting on the bed, burning the envelope with the details of his mission over a candle.

"Already memorized the mission? Do I get to know anything about it?"

John chuckled. "You know damn well I can't tell you my missions."

She did. But she was always able to wrangle a small detail from her husband. She sat down on the bed next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Please," she asked, kissing his shoulder. "It makes me feel better if I know something about what you're getting into."

John smiled as he looked at his wife. God, she was so beautiful.

"It's a recon mission on the Fire Nation."

"Hmmm... How did Dean's lesson go today?"

"You should see him Mary, the kid's a natural," he beamed with pride. "He'll be better than me someday."

"Dean has always been a quick learner."

"He is," John agreed. "He doesn't think things through very well, though. Likes to go head first into a fight. Maybe when I'm gone you could try to teach him some self control? Run through some scenarios with him?"

"I'll do that. Sammy can sit in too now."

"He won't understand it as much as Dean but I suppose it'll be good to have him start early. He really bended today, huh?"

Mary chuckled, smiling fondly over the memory. "He was so excited. He said he gets to be like Dean now."

John laughed at that and put his arm around Mary, pulling her closer to him.

"When do you leave for the mission?"

"Tomorrow morning. Bright and early."

Before Mary could respond there was a loud thud from a nearby room. Both parents gave a sigh; Dean and Sam were up again.

"I swear the moment I tell them it's time for bed they get a second wind of energy," Mary said, giving a tired smile as she started to get up.

John put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I got it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see them before I left anyway." He kissed her on her forehead and left.


Dean walked beside his father as they walked through the village. Despite his excitement, he kept as passive a demeanor as he could; Dad didn't like it when he overreacted, said a shinobi should have control over his emotions. John had asked Dean specifically go with him when he went into the village; said he had something to show him.

While his dad was gone on his mission, Mary had been drilling him on differing scenarios, asking him what his best move would be. He almost always got them wrong, and they hurt his head to think about. What's worse is that Sammy got them right more than he did. But now that Dad was back, he could get back to earthbending.

They walked into an open field with a large stone slab in the center. Dean recognized it, though had never really paid any attention to it.

"Do you know what that is?" John asked him.

"No, sir."

"The names engraved on this stone are heroes in our village." Dean's eyes widened; his father did not give out praise unless it was deserved. A moment of silence passed before John spoke again. "All these shinobi were killed performing a mission. They died protecting our nation. That is something that should never be forgotten." The awe and excitement Dean felt earlier gradually turned into a morose seriousness. "Dean, you're approaching the age where you will graduate from the Academy, and before you know it you'll be sent out on missions. Remember this: there is no such thing as an unimportant mission. Every mission is a life-risking assignment, even the ones that are D-rank."

John allowed a moment to let his words sink in to his son. "When a shinobi is killed on a mission, his armband is returned to his family and his name is inscribed on this stone." Dean looked up to his father's armband, worn around his left arm below the shoulder. It was made of stone, so only an earthbender could wear it, and had the Earth Nation insignia engraved on it. Every Earth shinobi was given one when they graduated from the Academy, as proof of their shinobi status. Dean had asked John before if he could try on his armband, but his dad refused and said it was something that had to be earned. "Do you know why I am telling this to you?"

Dean thought about it, then shook his head. "No, sir."

"I want you to understand what it truly means to be a shinobi. It is not an easy life, Dean. It is full of hardship; death will follow you wherever you go. The Four Nations are divided; the minute you put on a shinobi armband, you have more enemies than you can count, even though you've never met them and they've never met you. I've seen the names of my comrades inscribed on this stone more than I'd like to say. Never take your duties as a shinobi lightly."


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