A/N: I realized as I was writing this that the incident in the classroom and music class actually took place on Aang's second day of school in the original. For the purposes of my story, all the canon events at the school take place on the first day, except for Aang's fight with Hide, which will occur on the second day as written.
Silence fell over the mid afternoon as the courtyard pulsed with anticipation. Everyone's eyes honed in on the two opponents facing each other in a practice duel. Mr. Wei's face hardened. "All right, Kuzon. Here's your first test. Let's see what you make of it." He began kicking up rapidly and moving left and right, disguising the timing of his potential strike. Kuzon sunk low on the balls of his feet, waiting and watching every maneuver. In an instant Wei propelled forward, and balancing on his hands, performed a two legged sweep designed to immediately knock his adversary to the ground.
But it was as if Kuzon had sensed somehow exactly what Wei was about to do and he gracefully leapt upward, propelling his own foot right into Wei's stomach. Wei winced but did not falter. He rolled up backwards and back onto his feet, surging forward with a melee of quick jabs to catch Kuzon off balance as he landed. But Kuzon's reflexes were exceptional and he dodged or blocked every single fist, ducking low and using his legs like pliers, spreading Wei into a painful side split. Wei growled and tried to grab Kuzon's shoulders and pin him, but Kuzon vaulted himself off of Wei's body and landed behind him, dragging him down and twisting his arms backwards. Wei flipped his lower half and sent his feet flying towards Kuzon's face. Kuzon ducked his head, and although Wei's feet did not make a direct impact, they grazed the sides of Kuzon's forehead with enough pressure to pull his headband entirely off.
Before anyone caught a glimpse of anything, Kuzon let go of Wei immediately and clapped his hands to his forehead, curling into a ball and resting his face on his knees. "Stop!" Wei rolled back into a sitting position, stood, and turned around. "Do you concede, Kuzon?" Kuzon's voice came out muffled and uncharacteristically panicked. "Yes, yes, I concede. Please, just somebody hand me my headband." Shoji ran over and retrieved it from a few feet away. "Here you go, Kuzon." Without lifting his head, one hand shot out and grabbed the cloth strip and wrapped it over the hidden face. Only when the headband was once again fully secured and intact did Kuzon rise from his place on the cobblestones. His face was expressionless.
Mr. Wei was filled with curiosity. What could be on his forehead that would embarrass him to the extent that he would take such precautions to hide it? Before anything else could happen, the bell sounded, signaling the end of the school day. With a sigh, Mr. Wei addressed the class. "Very well. You are dismissed." Kuzon turned around and exited the yard rapidly, the other students all meandering off in groups, whispering about everything that had just happened. Songbai Wei dropped his face into his hands. He was torn between frustration and relief- frustration that his student had given up for unknown reasons, and relief that the fight had ended when it had. The way things had been going, 13 year old Kuzon would have bested him in front of all his pupils. He resolved to discover the source of Kuzon's skill and the nature of his past. What reality was he hiding from everyone beneath a red belt?
On Ji had been stealing glimpses of Kuzon all day across classrooms, intrigued by and (if she was honest with herself) attracted to the headband wearing colonial whom the whole school was talking about. His skin was slightly darker than most people's she knew, and his dark hair was cut daringly short (she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a boy over the age of seven without a top knot). He was slightly taller than her and slender without being overly muscular. But his eyes were the most fascinating part of his appearance- stormy grey and brimming with all kinds of emotions beneath the surface. She'd never met anyone with grey eyes before, and she found them beautiful. There was just something about him that told her that he had experienced things beyond his years. Such as the scar that prompted him to wear the now famous headband. A scar from what, she wondered. Firebending? He couldn't even bend. What situation could he have been in where someone would burn him, a non bending child, badly enough to leave a scar? Had he been lying when he said he was from the colonies? After all, what about what he'd said in class about the Air Nomads? Where did he learn something like that? And in music class, with the dancing, what was that all about?
On Ji shook her head. The only way she was ever going to satisfy her curiosity was by spending more time him. He didn't even know her name yet! That had to change. As she was walking into the outer courtyard, she spotted Kuzon alone up ahead, with his hands at his collar and his head bent over. Perfect. As she drew nearer, she was surprised and amused to see two white ears poking up to either side of Kuzon's head. "Don't let the Headmaster catch you with that monkey." Kuzon jumped about three feet into the air and whirled around guiltily."What monkey?" Said monkey wiggled around, causing a strange lump around Kuzon's collarbone. On Ji giggled. He was adorable. "Don't worry, I'm not a tattle tale. My name's On Ji." But before she could say anything else, the two were interrupted by the last person that On Ji wanted to see right now. Her boyfriend.
"On Ji, you don't have to babysit the new kid." On Ji bristled with barely restrained anger. Hide insulted everyone without any concern for their feelings. He was a jerk, but she had no choice but to date him. His father had been an Admiral in the war effort, while her lineage was decidedly unimpressive. When Hide began to court her about a year and a half ago, she'd had no choice but to accept under pressure from her parents. If they ended up married, it would be a very good match that would secure wealth and honor for her offspring and descendents. If she didn't kill him before then, of course. To her shock, Kuzon actually bowed to Hide. "Wow. You must be one of those popular kids I've been hearing about." Hide looked nauseatingly smug. "That's right. Now, I know you're from the colonies, so I'll say this slowly. On Ji. Is. My. Girlfriend. Don't forget it." With an arm firmly around her, Hide steered On Ji away before she could say anything else. She knew what was coming. Hide was a year older, so he couldn't always keep an eye on her, but when he did, he became very angry with her if she so much as talked to another boy. Especially someone like Kuzon, who was unique and strong and the object of schoolgirl affection despite his low class status. On Ji braced herself. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation.
Shoji had been stalling with his friends, waiting for a moment to ask Kuzon to play Hide and Explode for several minutes after the bell. When he saw On Ji talking to Kuzon, he inwardly groaned. On Ji was easily the prettiest girl in their class, with a sweet temperament and sense of humor to match. Shoji knew he wasn't the only boy who'd harbored a crush on her for quite some time.
But because of familial manipulation, she had been claimed a while back by an older firebender who had a hot temper and mean streak to match. Hide relished in the chance to take out his aggression on worthy targets, and he generally considered any boy who so much as looked at On Ji a 'worthy target', let alone talked to her. Because of his father's status as a revered Fire Navy Admiral and his own militant loyalty to authority, Hide could get away with murder right under the Headmaster's nose if he wanted to. And Hide had a knack for sniffing out what he considered trouble. Kuzon might not be in any condition to play anything after Hide got through with him. Although, with what had just happened in gym class, maybe it would be Hide walking limping away from the fight. Either way, blood was sure to spill as a result of this situation.
Shoji and the others stood silently stunned as Hide strode over, insulted Kuzon, grabbed On Ji, and walked away without throwing a single punch. That never happened. Shoji stepped forward, his voice tinged with awe. "Wow. He didn't beat you up. Not even a little." Kuzon gave his easy going smile. "I guess I'm just lucky." Lucky was an understatement. Kuzon was some kind of god. He had to have super powers or something. Senyo, Shoji's twelve year old cousin with pig tails and a gap tooth smile, grinned mischievously. "We're gonna go play Hide and Explode. Do you wanna come?" Kuzon's eyes lit up. "I'd love to!" As they all ran off, Shoji couldn't keep the grin off of his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so happy about anything. After all, if Kuzon could get away with exchanging a few words with On Ji without being pummeled, maybe, just maybe, he had a chance too.