Hey readers, I'm so happy for getting all those lovely reviews that I had to update.
"Ah; this is more like it." Sakura said happily as she rested her arms behind her head.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Toph asked curiously
Sakura smiled "I'm just glad that we finally get a little break; since I've come to this world it's just been one conundrum after another."
That was no joke.
Ever since Sakura had dropped into this world all it's been doing was throwing obstacles in her path; from escaping a desert; fighting off killer buzzard bees; crossing a deadly pass to make it to a city just to discover that it was under attack then having to save it by destroying a giant drill and defeating an evil Fire Nation princess and her friends; it was no wonder she was tired. And this was all just to get to the city; they hadn't even gotten to their main objectives yet which was to find the earth king and inform him of the information they had discovered about the Fire nation AND finding Aang's bison Aapa on top of that Sakura's objective also included finding a way back home.
She was extremely happy when she found that their trip to Ba Sing Se's inner wall wouldn't be the same as the outer wall-thank goodness for that. Sakura couldn't help but feel both sympathy and admiration for the avatar group that she had joined; if they've been enduring this for so long they were definitely strong.
She couldn't help but want to aid in the group's efforts; with everything happening she's hardly had time to think about finding a way to return home. It did cross her mind but that could happen after she helped them. She was certain that with a group like this anything could happen.
They were all currently in a train that was being pushed on tracks by earth benders and they were getting closer to the inner wall.
"I can't believe after we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece" Katara said in relief
Sokka jumped "Don't jinx it; we could still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire nation spoon or discover that the cities been submerged in an ocean of killer shrimp."
Sakura gave Sokka a concerned look and went to check his forehead "You don't have a fever..."
He swatted her hand away "I'm fine."
"You sure? Crazy doesn't usually show up on ex-rays but I do know the symptoms." Sakura said crossing her arms over her chest holding a cheeky smile.
"I think he's been hitting the cactus juice again." Toph said as she petted Momo in her lap
"I'm just saying weird things happen to us." Sokka told them
As if the universe was trying to emphasis a point; a large guy with an entire corn stuffed in his mouth walked to them and forced himself between Sokka and Toph.
Sakura stared out of the window to look at the land between the inner and outer walls; it was free space filled with grass and vegetation; completely breathtaking and beautiful.
Aang however had too many things on his mind to consider it.
"Don't worry Aang." Katara reassured "We'll find Aapa"
"It's such a big city..."
"He's a giant flying bison how hard can he be to find?" asked Sokka
Just then; they crossed the line into the inner wall.
Sakura's jaw slackened and her eyes widened; she saw the city and it was huge! The tracks ran all along at the top of the city; you could see buildings stretch almost endless until it reached ANOTHER wall where more building; homes and industry continued.
She looked at Sokka with a dull look "What were you saying about jinxing again?"
Sokka's head dropped.
When the train stopped and everyone got off they stared at into the distance; Toph sighed.
"Back in the city..."
"What's the problem? It's amazing!"
"Just a bunch of walls and rules," Toph pouted "Trust me; you'll get sick of it in a couple of days."
"I take it you don't have a good history with walls?" Sakura asked sceptically
"Big time"
Aang stared out and blew on his bison whistle "We're coming from you buddy."
"This is gonna take longer than we thought." Sakura muttered frowning.
Her finding a way home was defiantly going to have to wait for a while; looking at Katara who was comforting Aang; Sakura smiled.
'I can wait a little...'
Sakura turned around when she felt like she was being watched and saw a women standing on the other end of the tracks; she had dark hair with some kind of big hair piece on; wearing a light cream coloured-greenish dress. What Sakura noticed though was her wide stretched smile that looked very painful.
The women walked over to them "Hello; my name is Joo Dee; I have been given the great honour of showing the avatar around Ba Sing Se."
She looked at the rest of the group "And you must be Sokka; Katara; Toph and Sakura; welcome to our wonderful city; shall we get started?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow; she had only joined the group very recently so she didn't know how this women could possibly know her name-unless she had been informed by someone after the drill incident.
'But that would mean...'
"Yes" Sokka said "We have information about the Fire Nation army that we need to deliver to the earth king immediately."
"Great; let's begin our tour and then I'll show you to your new home." said Joo Dee with the same tight smile as she walked away from the group expecting them to follow.
Sokka let out a frustrated cry and followed after her "Maybe you didn't hear what I said; we need to talk to the king about the war. It's important."
"You're in Ba Sing Se now; everyone is safe here." Joo Dee said
Sakura couldn't help but think there was seriously something wrong with this women but she decided to keep that to herself for now.
The group was put in a carriage and toured around Ba Sing Se; they began from a place Sakura couldn't help but note seemed like a rather run down area of the city. Joo Dee explained to them that it was the lower ring.
"What's that wall for?" asked Katara
"Oh Ba Sing Se has many walls; there's the ones on the outside protecting us and the ones on the inside that maintain order. This is where our newest arrivals live as well as our craftsmen and artisans people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively."
They looked outside to observe two men at the entrance of an alley way-one with a giant sword.
"You do want to watch your step though." Joo Dee warned them with a wary expression.
"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" asked Katara
"This is why I never came here; I was always told it was different from the way the monks taught us to live." Aang said
Sakura nodded "I can see why."
Their tour continued on the other side of the wall; the buildings here weren't as crowded together or run down. It looked more modern.
"This is the middle ring of Ba Sing Se; home to the financial district; shops and restaurants and the university."
Sokka looked at Joo Dee "Yeah we met a professor from the university he took us to an ancient underground library where we discovered information about the war that is ABSOLUTELY crucial for the king to hear!"
Joo Dee continued to smile and looked outside "Isn't history fascinating; look here's one of the oldest buildings in the middle ring Town Hall."
Sakura hit her head against the window of the carriage as Joo Dee exited.
"Is that women deaf? She only seems to hear every other word I say?" Sokka said
"It's called being handled get use to it." Toph sighed
"I don't think there's any point in trying to get this women to listen to us." Sakura said with her arms crossed.
"We have to; it's the only way we'll get to see the earth king." said Katara
"Good luck then." Sakura said shaking her head "It'd be easier to break into the palace."
After that they were taken to the upper ring-having seen the last two rings Sakura had guessed that this was for the most important people of the city-those who were very wealthy. She turned out right when Joo Dee explained that to them.
Then the carriage crossed a huge court yard where they saw yet another wall but it was different than the others; painted and decorated with a rich taste.
"What's inside that wall?" asked Sakura
Everyone looked out where they saw a couple of men in uniforms standing there.
"And who are the mean looking guys in robes?" asked Sokka
"Inside is the royal palace, those men are agent of the Dai Li. The cultural authority of Ba Sing Se; they are the guardians of all our traditions."
Aang leaned on his hand "Can we see the king now?"
"Oh no; one doesn't just pop in on the earth king" said Joo Dee
Sakura clicked her tongue in annoyance; she would've loved to get into that palace right now just to spite that women and wipe that smile off her face but she didn't want to cause any trouble for the rest of the group.
After the tour Joo Dee lead them to their new home in the upper ring; while they were admiring the outside a man came running up to Joo Dee and bowed giving her a scroll.
"More good news; your request to see the earth king is being process and should be put through in about a month."
Everyone looked at her in shock "A MONTH?"
"Six to eight weeks actually." Joo Dee corrected
"Oh that makes it so much better" Sakura replied sarcastically
They went into the house; it had a fare amount of space for them. Sakura went to go and sit on one of the pillows with Toph and Katara.
"Isn't it nice?" asked Joo Dee "I think you'll really like it here."
"We'd like it a lot better if we weren't staying here so long." Sokka commented "Can't we see the king any sooner?"
"The earth king is very busy running the finest city in the world but he will see you as soon as time permits"
"If we're going to be here for a month we should spend that time looking for Aapa" Aang said looking out the window.
Joo Dee bowed "I'd be happy to escort you anywhere you'd like to go."
"We don't need a baby sitter." Toph said
"I second that notion" Sakura said raising her hand
Toph and Sakura stood up heading for the door
"Oh I won't get in the way" Joo Dee said blocking their path "And to leave you alone would make me a bad host. Where shall we start?"
Realising that they weren't going to be able to get rid of their host; the gang decided to save their energy and start looking for Aapa. They began with the most obvious places to buy animals-pet stores.
"I'm sorry but I haven't heard anything about a stolen bison; I didn't even know there were any." the store owner said
"If someone wanted to sell a stolen animal without them knowing where would they go?" asked Aang
Sokka stepped forward "Where's the black market? Come on you know!"
The man looked nervous as he glanced at Joo Dee who shook her head behind the groups back as if giving a silent warning.
"That would be illegal." he then looked over to the side of the store "You have to go now your lemur is harassing my parakeets'
Sakura went and grabbed Momo who was eating the bird's food and pulled him out of the store by his tail.
Their next stop was to Ba Sing Se University where they went up to the students to ask the questions with the same disappointing results.
"I've never seen any sand benders or nomads around here; you should ask professor Zei; he teaches the class on desert cultures."
"Right" trailed Sokka "And which of your professors can we ask about the war with the fire nation?"
The student started to become nervous "I...I don't know I'm not a political science student-I have to get to class."
The student stumbled over his feet and dropped his scrolls.
Sakura narrowed her eyes and glanced back at Joo Dee who waved him off.
'Why do I get the feeling something's defiantly wrong?'
When they returned back home all of them were down; not only did they fail to find Aapa but they weren't able to see the king either to give him the information about the Fire Nation AND Joo Dee had followed after them. Sakura had the feeling that she wasn't trying to host them so much as keep an eye on them but for what reason was the troubling part of all of this.
Sakura then looked ahead of her and saw someone peering from his door at them; Sokka noticed as well.
"Did you see?"
"Yeah" Sokka said before turning to the rest of the group "Guys come with me."
They went over to the other house and knocked on the door; a man came and opened it.
"You're the avatar!" he exclaimed looking at Aang "I heard you were in town; I'm Pao."
"Nice to meet you Pao." Replied Aang
"So Pao what's going on with this city?" asked Sokka "Why's everyone so scared to talk about the war?"
Pao looked around nervously again as if they were being watched but Sakura couldn't sense any presence that wasn't visible.
"War? Scared? What do you mean?"
"I can feel you shaking." Toph stated
Pao started looking around again and whispered "Look I'm just a minor government official; I've waited three years to get this house. I don't want to get into trouble."
"In trouble with who exactly?" asked Sakura
Pao shushed them "Listen you can't mention the war here and whatever you do stay away from the Dai Li!"
With that he closed the door leaving the group with many more questions.
"Now what?" asked Katara shifting her eyes from one person to the next.
"I don't know" Aang said
Sakura lied awake in bed; her mind drifting over the events of today. She stared out of the window; her new room was pretty empty besides the furniture. It made her feel home sick.
Everything in this world was so different than hers-from the people to the animals to the cities...she didn't belong here. Yet here she was. She wondered what everyone back in Konoha were doing; would her friends be looking for her by now when Tsunade realised she had missed her deadline to return home from her mission?
Her friends...
A certain blonde haired blue eyed boy popped into her head and she shut her eyes tightly; feeling the painful contraction in her chest.
'Naruto...'
How would he feel when he discovered she was gone? Would he be worried; angry...hurt?
Hurt that she was no longer there?
Hurt that she didn't come back?
Hurt that he was alone?
Sakura shook her head "No...I will find a way back."
That's right; she would get home no matter what. She'd figure out a way to get home.
While she may not have been prepared to get dragged into another world; she was grateful that she was not without help. Those four people who have quickly become her friends; Sokka; Katara; Aang and Toph.
And of course Momo.
She wasn't in this alone; they could've left her in the desert but instead they brought her into their group. It all happened so fast yet she felt like she was falling into place with them easily enough.
Sakura closed her eyes; tomorrow was a new day and she was going to do her best.
'Never give up'
Morning couldn't have arrived sooner; when Sakura woke up she almost forgot about where she was. She had just finished getting dressed for the day went to go and eat breakfast with her friends when Katara came running inside in excitement.
"I know how we're going to see the earth king!" she said
"How can we do that? One doesn't just pop in on the earth king!" Toph said mocking Joo Dee
Sakura giggled "She's right though; how are we going to do that?"
Katara held up the mail "The king is having a party tonight for his pet bear."
"You mean platypus bear?" Aang asked
"No" Katara said looking at the papers to double check "It just says bear."
"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear?" asked Sokka
"Or his armadillo bear" added Toph
"Gopher bear?"
"It just says bear..." trailed Katara
Sakura looked back and forth between the four "There are animals combined with other animals in this world?"
"That's right" Toph said
"Back on topic; the palace will be packed so we can sneak in with the crowd."
Toph lied down on the pillows; arms behind her back "Won't work."
"Why not?" asked Katara
"Well no offense to you simple country folk but a real society crowd would spot you a mile away; you've got no manners."
Katara raised an eyebrow at the blind earth bender "Excuse me? I've got no matters? You're not exactly lady fancy fingers."
"I learned proper society behaviour and chose to leave it." Toph stated "You never learned anything and frankly it's a little too late for that."
Sokka jumped up "But you learned it; you could teach us."
Aang nodded in agreement "Yeah; I'm mastering all four elements how hard could manners be?"
Sakura crossed her arms over her chest "Harder than you think. Take it from someone who's had to put on disguises and impersonate high society members for missions. It's a pain."
"I'm sure we can do it." Aang said grabbing one of the curtains and pulling it over himself like a robe; he bowed to them "Good evening Mr Sokka water tribe; Miss Katara water tribe; lord Momo of the Mono dynasty; Sakura of the other world."
Sokka grabbed the other curtain and started to copy Aang as they bowed their heads.
"You should stop that before you-
BONK
Too late; Sakura sighed as Sokka and Aang lied on the ground having bumped their heads together.
Toph stood up from her seat "Katara and Sakura might be able to pull it off but you two will be lucky to pass as bus boys."
"But I feel so fancy" whined Sokka
In the end it was the females of the group that would be sneaking into the party to find the earth king.
They got some fancy dresses; simple designs and long flowing. Katara wore a light greenish dress with clouds painted on; Toph wore a creamed coloured dress and Sakura wore a long white dress with green lacing similar to Katara's.
"Can someone braid my hair?"
"I'll do it" Katara said coming over to Toph
Sakura sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror "This isn't going to work."
"What are you talking about? You look great."
Grasping a strand of her hair she sighed "I can't go looking like this."
Sakura made a couple of hand signs that made her hair change from pink to black. "That's better!"
"Oh..." Katara said in understanding; Sakura would be the only girl with pink hair and would stick out quite a bit.
Sakura did her short hair up in a bun and added a flower hair pin into the side.
"That's that."
"What you do?" asked Toph
"She changed her hair colour." Katara explained
"Oh year..." trailed Toph "I always forget she's got a weird hair colour."
Sakura pointed "Hey! It's not my fault I have strange genetics."
"You sure they aren't mutated?" asked Toph which made Katara give a slightly hard tug on her hair
Sakura laughed "I've thought about that."
They came out to show Sokka and Aang; the girls had their fans in hands and giggled.
"Wow you look beautiful." Aang said with a slight blush
Sakura looked at Katara who was about to say something when Toph smacked a fan over her mouth "Don't talk to the commoners' first rule of society."
The girls started making their way out telling Aang and Sokka that they would let them in through the side gate.
And now the plan was in motion.
The palace was packing; so many of high society gathering. As the girls got to the front of the line Toph showed the guard her Beifong document as she did before when he asked for the invitations. Things went downhill when the guard refused to let them in and the three had to step out of line.
"What now?" Sakura asked
Katara spotted someone coming in a white carriage on the side; judging by the way the guards bowed to him; he was clearly someone important. The man was middle aged with long dark haired tied back in a braid and a goatee; he appeared very strict-laced with his fine black and green robe.
"I have an idea; follow my lead." Katara said as they walked up to the man.
"I'm sorry to bother you but our cousin lost our invitations...she's blind. Do you think you could help us? Our families in there and they're probably very worried."
The man glanced at them before smiling and nodding "I'm honoured; please come with me."
The very guard that refused to let them in bowed as the man passed them and let them in.
When they entered the palace and took in the amazing interior; there was a large table set up in the middle with all kinds of foods Sakura has never seen or tasted before. At the end of the table was an actual bear eating.
'Rich people...' she thought shaking her head, she never understood what it was with high society having over sized pets you couldn't actually tame or play with unless you wanted to risk losing an arm.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" the man asked gesturing to the palace "By the way I'm Long Feng; I'm a cultural minister of the king."
"I'm Quwamei and this is Doph and Zakura"
Sakura and Toph yanked Katara down by her head piece of giving them the stupid nick names.
"Where is your family; I'd like to meet them."
The girls tensed up instantly, getting in was apparently going to be the easy part of this mission.
"We don't see them right now but I'm sure we'll find them." Sakura said
Katara nodded "That's right; thank you very much for your help."
The girls attempted to leave but Long Feng stepped in front of them "Don't worry; as your escort it would be dishonourable to abandoned you ladies without finding your family first; we'll keep looking."
'Crap' Sakura cursed under breath glancing nervously between Katara and Toph who both appeared stumped with what to do next.
A couple of minutes later and Long Feng had still continued to follow them; not only had they failed to ditch him but they needed to let Aang and Sokka in as well.
Sakura whispered to Toph and Katara "Think we can make a run for it?"
"I doubt it; if he catches us sneaking away he might become suspicious." Katara whispered back
"And we have to still let in Aang and Sokka."
Toph grabbed the two girls by their robes "We won't have to worry about that."
She pointed to the side and the girls gasped when they saw Aang and Sokka standing there with a jug and tray in their hands.
"They actually went as bus boys." Sakura muttered
"They got in." Toph said as they walked towards them until she was beside them
"Another crab puff please."
Aang turned to Toph "You found us!"
"I'd recognise your footsteps anywhere twinkle toes" she said before taking a crab puff from Sokka
Sakura and Katara also joined them.
"Thanks for letting us in." Sokka said sarcastically
"Sorry but the guy who let us in won't let us out of his sight." Said Katara
Sokka looked behind them "I don't see any guy."
Sakura started looking around but she couldn't see Long Feng anywhere but she did see someone else coming their way.
"Oh boy..." Sakura said pointing "Look who's joined the party."
Joo Dee came rushing to them "What are you doing here? You have to leave or we'll all be in big trouble!"
Sokka frowned "Not until we see the earth king"
"You don't understand; you must go."
Joo Dee tried pushing Sokka who ended up bumping into Aang who spilt the entire jug of juice he was carrying onto one of the guests.
"Sorry-no don't shout" Aang said before he air bended the water out of the woman's clothing. That evidently revealed himself to the entire party who was now starring.
"So much for blending in," Sakura said "What should we do now that we've got everyone's attention?"
Sokka gasped as if a brilliant idea struck him; he went over to Aang "You keep their attention while we look for the king."
Aang did just that; he put on a show with his bending for everyone while the others went in search for the king.
Sakura had actually also become interested in watching the show when Aang took the different liquids from the cups and created a sphere of colours with water bending.
Until Toph pinched her butt hard making her jump in pain and snap out of her trance.
"Shouldn't we be looking for the king?"
Sakura stopped "A thought just occurred to me; wouldn't the king be heavily guarded? And stand out from the rest of the crowd."
"Heavily guarded?" asked Katara
"That's usually the case with the lords back in my world; even at special events they are never unguarded."
"You mean like that?" Sokka pointed
Everyone turned and saw several dozen guards walk in and then other guards carrying someone in.
"Yes." Sakura said nodding "Exactly like that."
Sokka went to go tell Aang who tried heading to him but then the guards picked up the earth king and carried him out while some others stayed behind.
"He's leaving!" Sakura said rushing forward however her movements; hands of rock grabbed her and pulled her back along with Sokka; Katara and Toph.
'As if things couldn't get any worse.'
Long Feng appeared in front of Aang "Avatar it is a great honour to meet you; I am Long Fang-Grand secretary of Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li. I'd like to talk to you; your friend will be waiting for us in the library."
The group was brought into a dark library; the only light source in the room was the fire behind Long Feng who was sitting in front of them. When all of them were gathered together Sokka went straight to the questioning "Why won't you let us talk to the king? We have information that could help defeat the Fire Nation."
"The earth king has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minusher of day to day activities."
Sakura narrowed her eyes
"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard." Aang attempted to convince Long Feng.
"What's important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se; all his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters."
Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Long Feng "And let me guess; politics and military resources are in your control?"
"It is my duty to oversee the rest of the cities resources," Long Feng corrected
"So the king is just a figure head" Katara said
"He's your puppet!" exclaimed Toph
Long Feng held up his hands feigning innocence "Oh no; no! His majesty is an icon; a god to his people; he can't sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war."
"So the king doesn't know about the war at all!" Sakura exclaimed with a frown
"As I said it is not his duty to oversee such matters"
"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation helpless! You could lead an invasion-
"Enough!" Long Feng said standing up "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war would throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic. Our economy would be ruined; our peaceful way of life; our traditions would disappear. In silencing talk of conflict Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful; orderly utopia; the last one on earth."
By now everyone had a horrified look on their faces.
"You can't keep the truth from all these people; they have to know." Katara said
"I'll tell them" Aang warned "I'll make sure everyone knows."
"Until now; you have been treated as our honoured guest but from now on you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents; if you mention the war you will be expelled from the city. I understand you have been looking for your bison; it would be a shame if you were not able to complete your quest."
Everyone gave Long Feng deadly look at the threat.
"Now Joo Dee will show you home."
The door opened and a woman came walking in but it was not Joo Dee.
"What happened to Joo Dee?" asked Katara
"I'm Joo Dee; I'll be your host as long as you are in our wonderful city." The women said with the same wide smile as the previous Joo Dee.
'Things sure are spiralling fast.' Sakura thought
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