Chapter 18: Tales of Ba Sing Se

"Kana, why do you always wear your hair down?" Katara asked, putting up her hair loopies.

"It's easier than putting it up I suppose."" She shrugged, "Most people in the Earth Kingdom leave their hair down, unless going somewhere of course."

"Is that why you wore a Fire Nation topknot after being held on Zuko's ship?"

"Maybe. When Hariti and I traveled the world she would have me mimic the nation I was in to a get a feel for their culture. I guess that I just haven't fallen out of that habit."

"Can I do your hair?" Katara asked suddenly, and the only thing Kana could do was nod in surprise. She was sat down quickly on a stool, Katara's hands running gently through her hair. In under a second Kana sported a generic wolfs tail, bangs framing her face as long mahogany locks spilled down her back in a waterfall.

"There, Water Tribe mixed with Earth Kingdom." Katara grinned, hands on hips.

"I like it," Kana smirked deviously looking at the other girl through the mirror, "wanna see if it's combat appropriate?"

"Yes!" Katara gushed excitedly, "We haven't sparred in ages!"

"Did I hear something about a fight?" Toph asked, shuffling into the bathroom, hair sticking every which way.

"Kana and I are going to spar," Katara beamed, "you're welcome to join if you want."

"There's nothing I'd love more Sweetness, but Twinkle Toes needs more Earthbending practice."

"Well if you finish early feel free to catch up," Kana offered walking away from the small Earthbender, Katara in tow.

"So where are we going," Katara questioned excitedly, "we can't exactly have a bending battle in the fountain out front."

"Of course we could!" Kana laughed brightly, "however I asked Joo Dee where a good place to train would be, and she said we were welcome at the arena where they train Earthbenders. I figured that place would be perfect." She added after a thought.

Katara nodded with a smile as they walked out of the house together, and onto the road. "You know, now that I think about it, I never asked why you were so adamant about fighting Pakku at the North Pole." She said suddenly, causing – yet again – Kana to be speechless. Her friend had never been overly curious.

"Because I knew how to bend offensively, and had a better chance at beating him than you."

"I could have fought him." Katara stated stubbornly, sticking her chin in the air making Kana shake her head with a chuckle.

"You mean you would have fought him if I hadn't stepped in?" she asked playfully.

"Of course!" Katara exclaimed, "I'm surprised no one else had challenged him sooner!"

"Because they never had a chance, only you would be pig headed enough to think she could win." Kana said in amusement, crossing her arms- daring her to argue.

"That doesn't answer my question." The other girl grumbled, changing tactics.

"I fought Pakku so you wouldn't." She shrugged simply.

"But why?"

"Two reasons," Kana answered, spearing Katara with her gaze, "One: you wouldn't have defeated him, proving girls didn't belong on the battle field. And two… I didn't want to take the chance of you getting hurt."

"I wouldn't have!" she exclaimed indignantly only succeeding in drawing out a sigh from Kana.

"A master against a girl barely coming into her bending abilities? You might be a prodigy Katara, but you had barely any training."

"I'm sure I could have held my own." She snapped.

"I'm sure you could have, but that's different from winning, which is what was needed."

"You didn't win." She tried once more, making Kana grimace.

"He forfeit, that's winning."

"Only because you're a princess!" Katara snapped, hands on hips.

"Hardly," she snorted back, "I doubt the Southern Water Tribe has any need for royalty. I bet my claim would have no ground by now."

"You were touched by the moon spirit, of course it does!"

"Katara, where are you taking this?" Kana asked warily at the sight of a gleam in the other girl's eyes.

"You should go back and help rebuild, with our princess back we could rise up as one, you could reunite everyone again!"

"I'm the avatar Katara, that's my job to the world, not even my home can come before my duty."

"But it's your duty to help us too." She whispered head bowed in defeat.

"And I will, just as soon as I put an end to this war." Kana murmured, taking Katara's hand in hers, "I promise."

"Good," the other girl grinned, pounding a fist into her hand after taking it back, "because until then I have a completely legitimate reason to pound you into the ground with Waterbending."

"Ha!" Kana snorted, "you wish!"

"Put your bending where your mouth is," Katara teased playfully, "because we're at the training arena."

"You are so going down!" Kana laughed, smirking at the other bender.

"Prove it."

QQQQQQQQQQ

"Where are we going, Jet?" Kana laughed, "We could have had that picnic in a hundred places!"

"There's a tree up on this hill, it's perfect for star gazing since it's away from the city."

"It's too bad that Lee and Mushi couldn't join us," Kana sighed, "you said Meno gave them double shifts?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, pointing upwards, "Look, there's the tree."

"You can see the sun set over the wall here." Kana grinned excitedly, "They say Ba Sing Se sunsets are the most beautiful in the world, I guess they forgot to mention that the lower rings can't see them."

"What were the sunsets like at the South Pole?" Jet asked curiously, taking the tablecloth from underneath his arm, and flinging it to the ground.

"Fire," she whispered quietly remembering her childhood just waiting for the sun to dip below the horizon, "it was as if the sun was being pulled down into the snow, it's fingers pulling at the white as if trying to pull up the blankets. My father used to tell me the story of how the sun loved the moon so much he would drown every night, so that she could breathe. And in return, she pulled him up every morning, laying down to rest at the bottom of the ocean so he could have his turn in the sky."

"Sunset is my favorite time of day," she said sitting on the tablecloth, "if you close your eyes and try really hard, it's almost as if you can feel their love wrap you in a warm embrace."

"Is that what bending is like?" Jet asked, his gaze staring at her dreamily.

"Sort of," she laughed softly, "you can feel it. It's like an extra part of you that exists to make only you happy. It's like a writers pencil, or painters brush. It's a warrior's sword, and an assassin's knife. Something that isn't separate from who you are, but a part of you."

"I've never heard bending explained that way." Jet said with a lopsided grin.

"It's different for each one." Kana blushed lightly, pulling her legs to her chest.

"Tell me?" he asked laying down, hands supporting his head, and wheat grass twirling in his mouth. She stared at his posture for a moment; it was relaxed, vulnerable. Not like the first time they met.

"When I first learned Firebending I was afraid it would flicker out of existence as if it never was, a candle in a typhoon. It grew though, into a campfire. Something that keeps you warm and safe, even if there are monsters in the shadows."

"Some campfires only become inferno's that burn everything down." Jet said quietly, but Kana heard him anyway.

"And some inferno's mellow enough to become a campfire." She refuted.

"But the damage is still there, and everything burned away." He growled, face twisting into a scowl.

"Sometimes beautiful things can grow from the ashes, Jet," she murmured, "you arose from your own ashes like a phoenix, someone who I believe can learn to accept those for who they are, not what they can do."

"Tell me about Earthbending." He demanded, changing the subject.

"It's like being an earthquake in the middle of forming a mountain." She said accepting the topic flip, "You're more than just rooted to the earth, you are the earth, and nothing can move you but yourself."

"And Airbending?"

"I honestly don't know." She chuckled lightly, "but the feeling when I fly using the glider is indescribable. No matter how high get, you never have to come down You can just keep going, free from any burdens you might have."

"Waterbending." He stated, leveling his gaze at her. Kana knew he had saved this one for last.

"Power." She declared, the only thing that came to mind. "You are the destructive force of the ocean, contained only by your own want. But you are also the rain that provides water to all living things. You are yin and yang, life and death… Tui and La."

"You describe them all equally," Jet noted, "even when they're so different."

"That's because they're all equal to one another." She hummed in agreement. Her eyes traveled to the sky as the last ray of light disappeared below the earths crust, and stars burst into existence above her head. She stared up at the constellations that were so different from the ones at the South Pole this time of year. But even with different stars, it was quite the beautiful night.

"What do you fight for, Kana?" Jet asked suddenly causing her to blink in surprise.

"Why do you ask?"

"My father once told me that what you fight for is who you are, it's what motivates you into actions, and what you do is who you are."

"No Jet, that's wrong." She said sternly, not looking down at him. "A person's actions are not what defines them, it's the reasons we do them."

"So what am I?" he asked.

"You're changing just like I said," She sighed, "growing from the ashes you left."

QQQQQQQQQQ

"I can't believe Sokka actually managed to get these tickets!" Kana grinned excitedly, "Even with my tips from the tea shop I'd only be able to afford two, let alone five."

"Are they really that good?" Katara asked, peering over her shoulder.

"They're suppose to be the best," Toph confirmed with a sagely nod of her head, "top notch performers."

"Sokka, did you steal these?" Kana accused teasingly, hands on hips.

"What? No!" he shrieked indignantly, "They were in the mailbox!"

"Now I'm actually suspicious," Katara snorted, crossing her arms, "why would they just be in the mailbox?"

"Any number of reasons Sweetness," Toph sniffed in a bored fashion, "the most two likely though is that an family heard about three eligible Bei Fong girls, and saw an opportunity, or inviting the avatar and friends is a killer marketing technique."

"Both are equally likely," Kana shrugged indifferently, "should we go?"

"I don't see a reason why not too," Aang piped up, "if it is suitors, I'm sure you guys are more than capable at scaring them away."

"Okay then, it's a date!" Kana announced, clapping her hands together merrily.

"Now that you say it like that, I wish Yue were here." Sokka groaned, falling back on his cushion, and making Kana roll her eyes.

"How long until it starts?" Katara asked, ignoring her brother.

"It says it starts at eight." Aang answered, peering over Kana's shoulder with Katara.

"What kind of performance is it?" Sokka asked, raising his head up to look at everyone.

"It doesn't say." Kana shrugged.

"Maybe we shouldn't go then," Katara said warily, "it could be anything."

"Of course we should go, pansies!" Toph shouted, "This could be the only time we get to see them!"

"I agree with Toph, it'll be fun!" Aang beamed happily, but the two Water Tribe girls shared a look of disapproval.

"Ugh, you two are so uptight, have some fun once in awhile!" Toph groaned.

"We know how to have fun!" the two girls shouted, hands flying to their hips.

"Then you mind us going to the play." Toph grinned with a sneer.

"We don't." Katara huffed indignantly.

"Great!" Aang exclaimed, "We have two hours until it starts, what do you guys wanna do 'till then?"

"We could practice some Earthbending." Toph stated with a smirk.

"That's be fun, you said I could start training with seismic sense." Kana agreed with a nod.

"What?" Aang pouted, "Toph said that I still have a long way until then."

"Water Mama had been training with me non-stop for a full month before you doofus' showed up, of course she's going to be ahead of you in Earthbending!" Toph scoffed, "It's not like it makes you any less of an Earthbender." She stated with a hard jab to the shoulder.

"Did you… just say something nice, Toph?" Sokka asked, mouth hanging open.

"Psh, please." She snorted, "I just didn't want to hear Twinkle Toes moaning all night long."

"You said something nice!" Sokka cheered, right before he was hit in the forehead with a pebble. "Ow, what was that for?" he groaned, rubbing the newly formed sore spot. Toph just ignored him, a light pink on her cheeks.

"Why don't you work on your Waterbending with Sugar Queen?" She suggested, arms crossed. "You still need to master that."

"Okay," Aang mumbled obviously disappointed, "but it's no fun if you can't fight."

"What do you mean you can't fight?" Katara snapped upset with Aang's lack of enthusiasm. "So far all you've studied with Waterbending has to do with large bodies of water, I guess it's time to get you out of your comfort zone."

"Wow Sugar Queen, you should be like this more often." Toph chortled, making Katara huff in annoyance.

"Why don't we all just train together," Kana suggested, "it'll be good practice for everyone."

"Yeah!" Toph cheered, "That way I can beat everyone into the ground instead of you, Water Mama!"

"Oh please," Kana snorted, "it's my first time using seismic sense, there's no way I'll do well."

"Not with that attitude you won't." Katara chided gently, "We're adaptable, I'm sure you'll get if really fast."

"Yeah, I guess your right." Kana laughed and motioned for everyone to follow her outside. Katara placed a warm hand on her shoulder with a smile, and handed her a strip of blue cloth.

"It's to cover your eyes, that way you can't look." She said.

"Desperate to beat me, Katara?" Kana snickered, sliding the fabric over her eyes.

"I almost beat you last time!" she shouted playfully.

"Would you two shut up so can get down to business?" Toph growled, shifting into her horse stance.

"One moment Toph, I just need to give this to Aang." Kana chuckled taking the flask that hung from her waist, and tossing it in the general direction she had seen the bald Airbender. There was a thunk quickly followed by a groan.

"What was that for?" he whined.

"Sorry, can't see." She shouted pointing at her eyes, "Blame Katara!"

"Hey!" the other girl snapped indignantly, and without warning Kana shifted into her own horse stance, stomping on the ground, sending Katara flying away. She flung to her side, a whip of water catching the hem of her dress. A bolder slammed into her chest, sending her into the air. For a moment it was almost as if she were a bird. A moment later her back smashed into a wall, ripping any air from her lungs.

"Come on, Water Mama, pick up the slack!" Toph shouted.

"It's not as easy as you think." Kana grunted, kicking up the earth in the direction of her voice. She could feel her heart hammering as a surge of water slapped her across the face. Her entire being was screaming at her to rip off the blindfold, only the practiced restraint keeping her from doing so. For a moment she was back on Zuko's ship learning Firebending.

At the time she had wanted to twist the ocean to her will, to bring it crashing down on the ship, and wipe out the need for fire. But she didn't. Damn it she was stubborn like an Earthbender, and she was going to get this! It wasn't like earth was the opposite of water; she had even seen through her element before, this shouldn't be any different. She just couldn't rely on the moon to guide her.

With a deep breath, she opened herself to the world, and she became the water. She was adaptable to her surroundings; she was soothing and violent at the same time. And just like the water, Kana would seep into the earth and become rooted in it. She let out the air in her lungs, sidestepping the two water whips angled at her from both Katara and Aang, preparing to send a wave of earth in their direction. She slammed her foot into the ground.

Time seemed to come to a near stop, trudging through the muck as her sight came back to her. The vibrations brought images - no, feelings - to her brain. It was almost too much, threatening to overwhelm her with sensory overload, but she took another breath forcing herself to calm down. She felt a wall of earth being lifted by Toph, only to be smashed by Aang, Katara readying another attack on her.

Kana felt a smirk come to her lips, and she picked up a small boulder swinging around to face the other Waterbender. Her fist slammed out, sending the rock in her direction, only for it to be sliced in half by a water whip. Kana lifted her foot into the air, about to slam it back into the earth, and send a wave of earth towards her friend, when Sokka walked out.

Before he could even speak, everyone turned towards him, angling their bending at his face, causing him to give a high-pitched shriek. "What are you guys doing?" he blubbered, "I just came to tell you we had to get going!"

QQQQQQQQQQ

"Uncle, we have a problem." Zuko whispered to Iroh as he descended from a ladder, "One of the customers is on to us. Don't look now, but there is a girl over there at the corner table speaking to Kana. She knows we're Fire Nation." Zuko forced Iroh to turn back around as he had turned to look, and when he did, he sported a wide grin. "Didn't I say don't look!"

"You're right Zuko. I've seen that girl in here quite a lot." Iroh chuckled in amusement, "Seems to me she has quite a little crush on you."

"What?" Zuko gasped, reeling back in surprise.

"I'm closing up shop," Kana said happily, suddenly behind them, making Zuko jump.

"What?" he stammered.

"It's only sun down!" Iroh argued, and Kana laughed.

"We aren't going to get any more customers, it's the Blossom festival tonight."

"The Blossom festival?" Zuko scoffed, "sounds stupid."

"It's as stupid as The Fire Day's Festival we went too." Kana snapped harshly, "The Blossom festival is a celebration of Earth Kingdom culture, you should respect it."

"She does have a point nephew." Iroh scolded gently.

"You're going clean up," Kana ordered Zuko with a tight frown, "that should be a proper punishment."

"But, but that's your job!" he sputtered.

"Would you rather clean out the tea pots?" she questioned, hands on hips.

"No." he grumbled, pulling his apron over his head.

"Well to bad," Iroh stated, "because I'm not going to!"

"Uncle-"

"You made your bed, now you must lay in it." he said before pushing his way into the kitchens.

"Be quick about it, would you?" Kana laughed with a mocking tilt of the lips, following Uncle. Zuko watched them go with a glare and grudgingly started to stack chairs. He wiped down the tables, flipped the sign on the door over, and watered the plants, eventually his frustration dissipated. He wondered how Kana could be so frustrating, maybe because it always seemed like she was right. She never really spoke without meaning behind her words, yet somehow they came out as understandable instead of like his uncles rambling wisdom.

She was kind, but cruel. So cruel, yet she managed to know who deserved her sympathy or her wrath, and in his case, both. He remembered that night that seemed a century ago when she had revealed the horrid scars on her back. Could he be like her? Those ragged pale lines helped to forge who she was, could it be possible that the steel he was made from had yet to be forged? Could Ba Sing Se be the iron casting needed to shape him into the person he could be? Could Kana be the water needed to cool the molten metal?

"Maybe you need some help." He heard her laugh from behind, and for the second time Zuko's heart jumped into his throat that night.

"Kana?" he asked bewildered.

"Who else?" she teased, pulling up a chair, and placing it atop a table.

"What are you doing, I thought this was my punishment?"

"It's not my place to expect you to know better." she said through pursed lips, "You were always taught that the Fire Nation was superior compared to the Earth Kingdom, so how could you know about their celebrations, or the relevancy of them?"

"I studied the Earth Kingdom, but only if it could be used in battle, my uncle told me more about it."

"But what does he know?" Kana asked in amusement, "He was a conqueror, his words, no matter how wise, need to be taken with a grain of salt."

So kind, but so cruel.

"But I have a better solution than making you pick up chairs," Kana said with a grin, "you should go to the festival with me."

"With you?" he asked, cheeks turning pink. Was she asking him out on a date?

"Yeah, we had fun last time at the Fire Day festival, and I'm sure Jet wouldn't mind."

"I can't," he snapped, scowling. So she was just asking him out of pity, was it? "I'm going to that new noodle place with someone tonight."

"What's her name?" Kana asked brightly with an enthusiastic smile.

"It's not really your business." he scoffed, and he watched her hands clench angrily.

"Whatever." she growled, pushing past him, and outside. The door swung open, and he saw Jet leaning against the wall. Zuko watched as the other boy put a hand on Kana's shoulder, and she smiled up at him.

"Lee." he heard his uncle's voice before he felt his hand being yanked back. He glanced down to see his fingers a bright red, causing a sickening feeling to swell in his stomach. He had almost bended inside of the tea shop, risking both his, and his uncles lives.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked meekly, yanking out of his uncle's grasp.

"Jealousy makes us do crazy things." Iroh answered gently, only managing to make Zuko angrier.

"I'm not jealous!" he snapped at him.

"Then I suppose you were okay when she told you they kissed?" Iroh inquired with a raised brow.

"She wouldn't do that!" Zuko yelled, angrily. Iroh just gave him a look, and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"It isn't hard to see that you like her, nephew." his uncle said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's a little hard to see that she likes you back."

"If she liked me, she wouldn't be going on a date with Jet." Zuko spat bitterly.

"She would ask an old man like me to accompany her to the festival if it was a date." Iroh laughed heartily.

"She asked you to go?" Zuko breathed, then it was just a friendly outing she was looking for. "Agh, I'm such an idiot!" he shouted, pounding a fist into his forehead.

"Maybe," Iroh chuckled, "but it's easily reconciled."

"Really?" Zuko asked, "how?"

"Simple, just go to the festival and surprise her."

.

I know not updating for so long is unacceptable, however it couldn't be helped. I just recently moved across the country, and being the idiot that I am, forgot my lap top. It took weeks for me to get someone to finally send it out here, and I had to rewrite bit's and pieces of this. I hope you all forgive me, and since school is starting my writing schedule will probably get back on track.

P.S. What happened at the festival/play will be addressed later.