[-Chapter Ten-]

We walked home from work the only way we knew how, and that meant we had to pass by Arisu's home again. This time, there was a crowd of people around it. I had originally been focusing on ways to get Aiko to don my jacket, which she was still refusing. But the crowd caught my attention—or more specifically, the flashes of green and gold uniforms caught my attention.

My lip curled instinctively, and at my side Aiko whispered, "What are the Chen-Li doing here?"

"I don't know," I answered calmly, but my heart was telling me that there was something I was missing. That morning, I had been forced to choose between investigating what had happened to Arisu's house, and going to work with Aiko. There was almost no element of choice at all: if I did not work, my sister did not eat. So I had passed by Arisu's burned house trying not to look too closely at it; I was distracted at work and only just managed to fill my quota for the day. After some quick trading on a few black markets, I was ready to go home.

In retrospect, I should have done my own investigation first. Now that the Chen-Li had arrived on the scene, I wouldn't have a chance to see what really happened. Perhaps I was being paranoid. Maybe the Chen-Li WEREN'T there to cover up what had destroyed Arisu's home. But then I remembered who I was dealing with: Aku, the biggest liar and manipulator that I had ever met. He knew, as well as I did, that the only thing capable of burning down Arisu's home was a deliberately set fire. The fire pits of our homes were set down in a pit in the dirt floors. There was no danger of our home catching fire from that. Of course, I did not know who would have wanted to burn down Arisu's home. Aku probably wouldn't tell me. Still, I had to try and find out.

So I walked boldly up to Aku, my most loathed enemy, and smiled. "Good afternoon, sir. What seems to be the problem here?"

His reply was dangerously curt and reserved. "A fire took this residential dwelling late last night. There do not appear to be any survivors."

My heart started hammering. I don't even think I had realized that I was still holding out hope until that moment. I could sense an invisible, dark hole of despair opening like a mouth in a yawn, preparing to swallow me in a single gulp. I fought against it. I had to keep myself together, but my head was spinning. Arisu can't be gone… she just can't be. Aku is lying. He always lies.

"No survivors?" Aiko repeated softly. "Oh, Hikari, I'm so sorry…"

Aku turned to stare at my little sister; that jerked me back to reality and I scowled at him. "Why are you sorry, Aiko?" Hearing her name on his lips was even more disgusting. His tone sounded a little too interested, a little too accusing, for my taste. Breathe, Hikari. No one in their right mind would ever blame Aiko for this. My eyes scanned Aku's face again, and my lips twisted further. Unless he thinks he can use her to get back at me. Well, just let him try. I'll give that bastard the fight of his life. I wanted to slap that curious and dangerous look off his face. I hated the laws that kept me from doing it.

"Arisu was her best friend," Aiko whispered. She squeezed my hand in an attempt to comfort me, seemingly unobservant of the glances that Aku was giving her and myself. After a while, his eyes settled on me.

"Tell me, Hikari," he began. "Do you know anything about…" His hand shifted to the depths of his green and gold uniform and I watched, but his eyes bored into my forehead. He towered over me by at least a foot, and I found myself thankful that taller people didn't intimidate me. "This?" I swallowed hard: it was a White Lotus Tile. I could see by the way that the paint had grayed that the tile had been out in the elements, most likely rain. My eyes flew up to the sky, where a gentle snow continued to fall. Perhaps frozen rain was a more accurate description.

"No, sir," I said, deciding to play innocent for the moment. "Why? Is it significant?"

He hesitated to answer me, as if unsure that I should have access to further information. "This is the White Lotus Tile. It is the symbol of a national terrorist group, predating the Great War." I knew what the war was: the Hundred Years' War, waged by the Fire Nation on the other three nations of the world. It seemed strange to me, having four nations. We were all just one people nowadays, united in most things. But apparently not so united, if Aku's assumption about the White Lotus Tile were true. And if they were true, why had Arisu handed me that tile? Was she in some kind of terrorist group? …No, of course not. Aku doesn't know what he's talking about, that's all. He always lies.

"Come on, Aiko. We're going home." She followed right away, without a protest. Her eyes were wide, and I wasn't sure if that was because she was afraid of Aku—as if; he only truly hated me—or if her cold was getting worse. About ten feet away from the ruins, Aiko started shivering uncontrollably. I paused and put my jacket around her. This time, she didn't turn it away, just hugged it closer and shuddered again. "Are you okay, Aiko?"

"It's so white," she murmured in wonder. I looked around, uncertain, and decided that she must have meant the snow. But I wasn't sure; unease pricked at my mind.

When we arrived at home, Dad was there waiting for us. He instantly launched into another speech about how he'd hoped we'd learned our lesson—that portion was clearly directed at me. How Arisu had been involved in a national terrorist group and there was only so long that she could hide.

"Dad!" I snapped as my anger threatened to overwhelm me. "My best friend is dead!" I didn't tell him about our spat the day before. Suddenly that seemed insignificant and dumb. I wanted nothing more than to take it back, to see Arisu again and tell her I hadn't meant any of it. But I was too late, and Arisu had died thinking I hated her guts. Another realization struck me, almost powerful enough to make me throw up: I had thrown the Lotus Tile at Arisu's door.

If I had never thrown it, she wouldn't have been found out. She could have kept doing whatever it was that she and Koto did. No one would have known. I tried to convince myself that she couldn't have possibly been in a terrorist group, not my best friend… but then I betrayed my own thoughts and decided that our leader was a terrorist herself, and a dictator; what did it matter if she called someone a terrorist? And I couldn't make myself believe that Arisu would have been part of an actual terrorist group. I just couldn't.

"You don't understand, Kari," Dad said quietly. "I was around before the Chen-Li were instituted. It was a bad time to be alive. If people even thought you were a…" It was like he couldn't bring himself to say the word. "…Bender, then they hunted you down and eliminated you. You didn't have a chance to defend yourself and you didn't have a chance to fight back. What could one person do against so many? You weren't around then, Kari, so you can't appreciate the Chen-Li's impact on our lives.

"What if Aiko was a Bender?" he demanded. Aiko twitched and I stiffened. I wanted to scream at him: don't say that! It was my worst nightmare, a thousand times worse than my recurring dreams. The thought of losing Aiko to Bending was so horrifyingly impossible… How could I even consider surviving without her? Especially with that new law: they'd snatch her right up and I'd never see her again. No, I couldn't think about that because it was far too painful. "If the Chen-Li weren't here to protect us, Kari, we would lose Aiko!"

"If the Chen-Li weren't here to protect us, Dad," I spat, "and Aiko was a Bender, they wouldn't be able to take her away! That's the new law. Bender kids get taken away to Omashu."

"It's for rehabilitation," my Dad retorted. We were both notoriously stubborn and I was starting to see that it was pointless to argue. "Anyway, the rules exist for a reason. They're to protect us, and those who can't protect themselves. Even if it doesn't make sense," he conceded, "I have trust in the Empress Koori. So in this house, we will obey the laws to the letter. No matter how much it hurts."

Aiko, who had been frozen during the entire exchange, finally spoke. Her voice was squeaky, but soft and nervous. "Do you… do you really think I'm a Bender?" she asked, and then broke out into a coughing fit. I wrapped her up in a hug, feeling how the coughs shook her ribcage.

"Of course not, Aiko," I crooned. "You're already eight years old. You've only got two years to go."

"Only two years," she mumbled, and I could hear the genuine fear in her voice. It made me angry that I was comforting her instead of our dad, but at the same time, I knew he would not tell her what she needed to hear. "Only two years."

"Once you turn ten, Aiko," I reminded her. "Then there's no more danger of you being a Bender. No one starts Bending after age ten. Remember my party?" I asked. She nodded. My dad was well gone from the room by this time. "Yours is going to be so much bigger because I'm going to help you save up for it. You'll have a huge cake, with real frosting." Her breath caught and I heard it: the sound made me grin. "Plus cookies, and great decorations. And all of your friends will be there."

"And you?" she asked.

"I'll be there," I admitted. "But you won't really want to talk to me."

"I'll always want to talk to you," Aiko insisted quietly. I heard the smile in her voice. She broke out into another round of coughs; I swept her off the ground and carried her into our room. Though I was smiling from our talk, I could feel her sweating, and the heat building inside of her. It looked as though I would be missing my dinner after all.

(A/N) Well hello folks! A little update on my VERY riveting life: finals week is finally over! Now I'm here training for my job for next year, which is pretty fun but also robbing me of precious sleeping time :( I get to go home in two days, and start hunting for a summer job. Oh, the joys of being grown up xP Also... minorly addicted to Legend of Korra now. Naturally I ship Makorra, if you have to ask then you're just having a brain fart right? Right ;)

Tainted: I was always told that when in doubt we should blame the cat, but I suppose blaming the penguin works too! HAhaha :)

See you all in a week! Hopefully Aiko is feeling a little better by then :'(

~Lmyers3