A/N: You thought I had given up on this, right? Well, it's back, and more is coming soon. The dance party is fast approaching, but first, a little character development for Senyo and Shoji. Because once Kuzon leaves, they (and On Ji) are going to be the main focus of this tale.

Senyo glanced anxiously up at the sky. She guessed that nearly half an hour had passed since Kuzon had dashed off to Agni knows where to retrieve his "parents". She, Shoji, and Urdu were all sitting against one of the outer walls of the school, waiting for him to return. On Ji probably would have joined them, but after getting in trouble in gym class her parents had whisked her off to get ready for some kind of fancy dinner.

The three youth couldn't run off and play anything right now- this was too important. Too many things had happened today. There were too many questions, too many worries, and too many thoughts to simply forget and indulge in the merriments that typically proved the highlights of their days. Their postures were stiff and their lips were uncharacteristically silent, for they didn't need words right now to fill the air when no answers would come.

Who. Is. Kuzon? He spoke like a poet, and he fought like a dancer, and his emotions undulated like a wave ebbing and flowing with intensity and passion far more potent than anyone she'd ever met. Yesterday he wept upon learning the origin of his own name. His drawing was breathtakingly raw. But he was just a kid, wasn't he? He was only one year older than her, and for that matter the same age as Shoji and Urdu. No. He was not a kid, even if he had a great sense of humor and sometimes acted a little goofy. He wasn't one of them at all, really. He'd seen too much, lived too much, and lost too much. Why?

And for that matter, if he really was free to travel as he pleased with his nomad friends, why was he here in school, anyway? Senyo sighed. Sometimes class felt almost suffocating. What she would give to just run off and see the world instead of just learning about it... what if Kuzon was thinking the same thing? Senyo gasped and turned to the two boys, horrified.

"Guys, what if he doesn't come back? Since he doesn't have parents, he can't face the headmaster again. What if he and his friends just disappear? What if he's already gone?

Shoji's face went ashen. "No! Don't say stuff like that, Senyo. He's coming back. Why would he only stay here for two days? I'm sure he'll figure something out. Besides, he wouldn't leave without... saying goodbye."

Shoji cursed himself as his voice shook. As loathe as he was to admit it, Senyo's words had really scared him. This whole thing was crazy. He'd known Kuzon for less than two days, but already felt a great deal of brotherly affection for him. Sparring together, nearly winning Hide and Explode before they'd crashed into each other, sharing food at lunch today... he was amazed at how quickly they had just clicked.

Shoji didn't make friends easily most of the time. He was rather quiet at school, only showing his more mischievous and exuberant side to people he trusted. As a non-bender, he was already socially disadvantaged, and being naturally more passive and hesitant certainly didn't help. Most of the time he stuck with Senyo, his quirky cousin, and Urdu, who'd been his friend for years and was shyer than anyone he'd ever met. Urdu was constantly teased for being 'the fat kid', but he made a really loyal and caring friend.

Besides those two were some of the other non benders, like his usual sparring partner Chan Li. And perhaps he could count the Hu Jon sisters, two very nice identical twins who helped him with his basic engineering homework. Of course, there was On Ji, but seeing as he hadn't been able to actually talk to her in over a year... at any rate, he wasn't exactly a social butterfly. But the friends he had... he held onto fiercely. Kuzon couldn't be gone. He just couldn't.

"Oh sweet Agni- look! It's Kuzon!"

Urdu's exclamation drew the other two out of their reveries. There Kuzon was, strolling up the road with a secret smile just tweaking the corners of his mouth upward. On his right and left were two other figures whom they'd never seen before. One was a fairly short man walking in a somewhat awkward manner with a strangely short top knot and an extraordinarily large beard.

The other was a heavily pregnant woman with her hair in two giant buns on the sides of her head. As the trio drew closer, the three Fire Nation youth were stunned by the darkly pigmented skin and blue eyes of Kuzon's companions. Clearly these two strangers were not of the Fire Nation- in fact, neither Shoji, Senyo, nor Urdu had ever seen people of this ethnicity before.

When Kuzon spotted them, a grin lit up his face. "Hey, guys! These are the friends I was telling you about. Errr... their names are Wang and Sapphire. Wang and Sapphire, meet Shoji, Senyo, and Urdu."

Sapphire extended her hand somewhat cautiously. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Senyo frowned in confusion. The woman's voice was very young. And looking at her more closely, Senyo could easily see that her skin was smooth and completely wrinkle free, and that she was really far too slender in the rest of her body to be carrying that kind of pregnancy weight. Furthermore, Wang's shoulders were rather narrow for a grown man, and he too had no wrinkles or blemishes of age.

Kuzon, watching their reactions, chuckled and swept his arm up dramatically. "Ta da! They're my parents. Pretty convincing, huh?"

Shoji's jaw dropped. Never had he imagined that Kuzon would dare to dress up dark skinned teenagers and try to pass them off as his biological parents to the Headmaster. If his ruse were discovered, Kuzon would be sent to the coal mines and his "parents" would likely be arrested. Was Kuzon nuts?

Kuzon grabbed both of his "parents" and started leading them inside. He stopped and turned back briefly. "Oh, I almost forgot. I'm having a secret dance party tonight in a cave down by the water. I'll leave a trail from the quarry where we played Hide and Explode. Spread the word to those you can trust. Come just after sundown. See you there!"

As the strange looking trio entered the school building, Shoji, Senyo, and Urdu were left in complete and utter shocked silence.

Urdu was the first one to find his voice again. "Is he serious? A dance party? What if someone finds out? We'll all be dead... or worse, sent to the coal mines! There's no way we're gonna go, right Shoji? Shoji?"

Shoji's face gradually took on a resolved look. "We should go, Urdu."

Senyo put her hands on her hips. "Shoji, you're normally the more cautious one. What's gotten into you? Urdu's right. I don't care how cool Kuzon is or how much fun it might be... it's not worth it if we lose everything. He can just run away if things get bad. We can't. He has no idea what he's asking us to risk for him."

Shoji's fist clenched. "And what exactly are we really risking, Senyo? Our families? My dad never even talks to me unless it's to complain that I'm not tough enough or that I'm a shame to the family for not being a firebender. Urdu, you're terrified to even talk to your parents unless they address you first. Our education? We've been sitting in class since we were little kids just memorizing information day in and day out, learning how to bow just the right way and recite oaths and walk in perfect lines. Does any of that even matter? Kuzon's seen the world. All this time we've been hearing Ms. Kwan talk about the war and he's been living it. Kuzon's strong and caring and smart and different. I don't want to spend the rest of my life following the rules and letting grownups think for me. I want to be like Kuzon. I don't care about consequences. There's gotta be something better than going on like this. He's not going to stay here forever. So I'm gonna spend as much time with him as I can while he's here, and that means I'm going. Are you?"

Senyo staggered back, stunned. She'd never heard Shoji say so much at once, or express so much emotion or determination. But everything that he said resounded with her own thoughts about Kuzon and about school. Senyo had always looked up to Shoji. He was her favorite cousin, with a huge heart and a gut sense of the right thing to do. This- Kuzon- was really, really important to him. While she was still worried, she knew that she needed to support him and trust him, as she always had. "All right, Shoji. I'll come with you."

The smile that he gave her lit up his entire face. He reached over and pulled her into a fierce hug. "Thank you, Senyo. This means... more than I can say."

Both cousins then turned and looked at Urdu, who hadn't said anything throughout this exchange. His brow was furrowed, but at last he sighed. "I still think this is a really bad idea, but I'll do it. I just need to figure out how to sneak out after dinner."

Shoji grabbed both of them. "C'mon, we've got to tell everyone! Let's go!" The three young teens took off down the road into town, with Urdu struggling to keep up with the other two.