10
"It's pricey… but I really do like it." Sokka said as he stared at a green bag. It was pretty expensive for a simple bag, about three silver pieces. Sokka had seen it at the market place of the town they entered that morning, and had rushed over to it immediately, gushing about how cool it looked, and how much he liked the design. The four of them had left the town of Chin a week ago, and it was clear to everyone that something had happened to Hoshiko. They all saw her eyes change, and the viciousness that she wielded when it happened. Afterwards, when whatever it was had worn off, she was quiet most of the time, when they flew across the land, they would see her staring off into space with a languid and lamenting expression. Even now, she wasn't even standing with them, she was leaning against a pole that held up the stand the bag was being sold in, staring off at nothing. Aang looked over at his friend, worried that something might've happened to her.
"Then you should get it," Katara told her brother, "You deserve something nice."
"I do, don't I?" Sokka agreed, looking over at her, "But… no, it's too expensive, I shouldn't."
"Alright, then don't." Katara said, she and Aang were getting tired of his mind switching back and forth from 'buy it' to 'it's too expensive'. They both began to leave, Sokka following them, his eyes still lingering on the bag. He turned around quickly and went back to the bag.
"You know what, I'm gonna get it!" he said happily, he turned to the merchant to talk to him about buying the bag. Katara and Aang went over to Hoshiko, who didn't seem to notice their arrival until Momo jumped off Katara's shoulders and onto hers. She jumped up in surprise, but smiled at the lemur, petting his head. She looked over at Katara and Aang.
"Where's Sokka?" She asked them.
"He's getting a new bag." Katara said, "Hey, Hoshiko…" She looked over at her.
"Yeah?" She prodded.
"You… You didn't get hurt worse in that fight than you said, did you?" Katara asked, Hoshiko quirked an eyebrow curiously.
"No. why would you think that?" She let a sly smirk seep onto her face, "You're not doubting yourself as a water bender, are you?"
"No, it's just…" Katara looked away, and the smirk left Hoshiko's face as she saw she was genuinely concerned about something.
"Just what?" Hoshiko asked.
"Well…" Katara couldn't seem to get the words out, so Aang spoke.
"We're all a little worried about you." He said, "You've been acting different ever since that fight with the Rough Rhino guy in Chin."
"What do you mean?" Hoshiko asked, "I haven't changed, I'm perfectly fine." She looked over at the lemur on her shoulders, "Isn't that right, Momo?" Momo let out a small squeak before jumping onto her head and curling up between her ears. Hoshiko laughed, "I guess that's one way to say yes." She reached up and scratched behind his ear a little.
A man pulled Aang aside, "Hey, you kids like earth bending?" He asked, "You like throwing rocks?" He held a bunch of fliers in his hand, "Then check out Master Yu's earth bending academy!" He handed one to Aang, who took it from him, scanning over the words written on the paper.
"Look, there's a coupon on the back." Aang said as he flipped it over, "The first lesson is free!"
"Who knows?" Katara said, "This Master Yu could be the earth bending teacher you've been looking for." Hoshiko nodded in agreement as Sokka came over with his new bag. Hoshiko looked at it and snorted in laughter. Sokka gave her an inquisitive look.
"What?" Sokka asked, Hoshiko shook her head, waving her hand at him.
"It's nothing." She said, smirking. She stood up straight and turned to her friends, "Let's go find this academy and put that coupon to good use." She looked around and saw the man from before a few feet away, still handing out fliers. She ran over to him, "Excuse me!"
Hoshiko, Katara, and Sokka waited outside the doors of the earth bending academy for Aang to finish. Hoshiko was lying against the ground, her fingers linked behind her head, staring up at the clouds with a sad but tired expression. Katara looked over at her in concern, while Sokka just kept inspecting his bag as they sat on the tiny stone walls outside the academy gate. Hoshiko kept staring up at the clouds, looking into the grayish whites of them, and if Katara looked hard enough, she could see the cloud's reflection in her friend's eyes. Sokka looked over at his sister and saw she was staring at something, he followed her eyes to see she was staring at Hoshiko, who lay down behind them on the ledge. Sokka saw her sad face and frowned. He reached down by his feet and picked up a few pebbles off the ground. He tossed one at her and it landed on her stomach, she didn't move a muscle. He tossed another one, and it landed on her chest, she still didn't move. He tossed a third one and it missed entirely. He scowled and reached over to her tail and gave it a small smack! Hoshiko immediately jumped up and glared at him.
"Hey!" She growled, pulling her tail into her hands, "What have I told you about touching my tail?" Sokka shrugged.
"Maybe if you were actually here and not somewhere else, I wouldn't have to touch it." He said, Hoshiko gave him a confused look, "You've been spacing out all week! Seriously, what's up?" Hoshiko looked away.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, moving to lie back down again, Sokka grabbed onto her pant leg.
"Yes, you do!" He said, "I don't know what it is you think about, but it has something to do with that colonel from Chin, doesn't it?" Hoshiko rolled her eyes and yanked her pant leg out of his hand as she moved to have both her legs hanging over the side of the two foot ledge they sat on.
"No, it doesn't." She said, "You think I'd linger on something as stupid as fighting my old master? Please." She leaned back on her arms, "There's nothing wrong, I'm fine."
"Liar." Sokka grumbled, Hoshiko glared at him and was about to reply when she saw some of Master Yu's students coming out of the building. Aang, in the same uniform, went over to them.
"Eh, he's not the one." He said, hitting the side of his head as sand came out of the other end. Hoshiko heard two students argue as they came out of the gate.
"I think The Boulder's going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble Six." One said.
"He's gonna have to fight his way through the best earth benders in the world to even get a shot at the champ!" The other said. Aang's eyes widened and he ran over to the two students.
"Excuse me," He said, "But where is this earth bending tournament, exactly?"
"It's on the island of Nuniya." One of the boys answered, "Nuniya business!" Both of the boys guffawed and walked away. Sokka laughed and held his stomach as he, Katara, and Hoshiko walked over.
"Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Oh, I gotta remember that one!" Sokka laughed, wiping a tear away from his eyes.
Hoshiko walked over to the disappointed Aang, she glanced at Katara, who looked back, and they both nodded simultaneously. Hoshiko put her hand on Aang's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Aang." She said comfortingly.
"We'll take care of this." Katara said, they both abandoned the two to run after the students. "Hey, strong guys! Wait up!" They followed the two students around a corner, leaving Sokka, Aang, and Momo by themselves. Sokka looked down at his new bag and glared at it.
"What was I thinking?" He asked himself and held it away from him at arms length, "I don't need a new bag! Why'd you let me buy this?" He put it on the ground and turned away from it. Momo jumped off his shoulders and into the bag, turning in a circle once and laying down in the bag. Katara and Hoshiko ran back to the two boys.
"You ready to find an earth bending teacher?" Katara asked, "Because we're going to Earth Rumble Six!"
"How'd you get them to tell you?" Aang asked.
"Oh, a girl has her ways." Hoshiko said vaguely, looking back at the alley where the two boys had been. She knew one of them was frozen to a wall, and the other was pinned by thick black shadow. She smirked to herself and she and Katara led the two boys to where the tournament was supposed to take place.
The tournament was supposed to take place in a cave off the coast of the town they were staying in that night. The cliff side it was in was gigantic, and nobody who wasn't on the beach would be able to see, hear, or know what was going on. The four of them walked in to see a gigantic stadium with what seemed like hundreds of people in the seats surrounding the stage. The stage that was set for the fighters was a simple rectangular shape, with the symbol for the Earth Kingdom in the middle. There was a large stone podium that had the symbol of the earth being broken into four pieces by a fist. The entire room was lit up by giant glowing emeralds hanging off the top of the ceiling, and the first ten rows of the seats were practically empty.
"Hey, front row seats!" Aang said as they walked behind him, "I wonder why no one else is sitting here." Only a second later, a boulder came flying out from the ground of the ring and right next to where Sokka sat. They all gaped at it in fear.
"Guess that's why." Sokka said. Not wanting to be hit with a boulder, Hoshiko scooted back one row to avoid getting hit as more boulders shot out of the floor. A man stood at the center who was earth bending them out. The crowd cheered when they saw his face. He was a large, muscled man with long black hair hanging loosely from his head. His features were sharp and fierce, Hoshiko guessed that, back in the day, (Because he looked to be in his late forties or early fifties) he must've been a wrestler.
"Welcome to Earth Rumble Six!" He called out, his voice booming over the stadium, "I am your host, Xin Fu!" The crowd cheered again. Katara sighed and stared at her nails.
"This is just gonna be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn't it?" She asked.
"That's what I paid for." Sokka replied with a grin.
"The rules are simple!" Xin Fu continued, "Just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" He used earth bending to launch himself onto the stone podium as the first fighter came out. He was a younger, but much bigger muscled man with a goatee and a large badger mole tattoo on his back. He was shirtless so he could show off his muscles to the crowd. He smiled to the crowd, his arms up high in a sort of victory pose, "Round 1! The Boulder versus the big… bad… Hippo!!" The Hippo was a much larger man, when he opened his mouth in a war cry, they saw he only had four teeth, making him look like a hippopotamus. He was large, and rather fat, but it was a pretty average weight for someone his height, he was about six foot seven, so he was rather big.
"Listen up, Hippo!" Boulder said, "You may be big, but you ain't bad! The Boulder's gonna win this in a landslide!" Oh, Gods, Hoshiko thought to herself, he talks about himself in the third person.
"Hippo mad!" Hippo growled. He stomped his gigantic foot against the ground. Boulder bent up some rocks and shot them at the huge man. The Hippo didn't seem to be too effected by them, even by the one he caught in his mouth. He just used his four teeth to smash it up in his mouth then spit it back out. Hippo jumped up, taking the stage with him as he moved up and down, up and down. Boulder couldn't keep his balance as the stage moved, and he began to awkwardly step towards the edge of the stage.
"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen!" Xin Fu called out, "The Hippo is Rocking the Boat!" The Boulder, as he moved to the closest to the edge as he could get, pulled out a slab of stone and threw it at Hippo. Hippo glared at him, but didn't have time to retaliate because Boulder bent up the earth that he stood on, and threw him out of the ring, with lots of effort. The crowd cheered loudly, "The Boulder wins!"
"How about the Boulder?" Katara asked Aang, "He's got some good moves."
"I don't know." Aang said, "Bumi said I need a teacher who listens to the earth. He's just listening to his big muscles. What do you guys think?" Aang turned to Sokka and Hoshiko. Sokka only cheered loudly at the Boulder's win. Hoshiko patted Aang's shoulder to get his attention.
"You can do better." She said, "I don't think Appa would be able to carry a man with such a big ego, anyway." Aang smiled at her joke and turned his attention back to the fight.
"Next match!" Xin Fu called out, "The Boulder versus…" The doors opened to reveal a man in red Fire Nation attire and waving a Fire Nation flag, "Fire Nation Man!" The crowd booed at his appearance, Hoshiko raised an eyebrow at him. Although he was wearing Fire Nation clothes, he looked nothing like an actual Fire Nation man. His skin was just a tad too dark, and his hair was a light brown instead of the traditional darker colors of Fire Nation hair. Then again, those from the Fire Nation colonies didn't really look like Fire Nation at first glance…
Sokka obviously didn't like him, booing along with the rest of the crowd as he began to speak, "Please, to rise for Firrre Nation national anthem." He said in an accent, Hoshiko knew he wasn't Fire Nation now. If there was an accent, it wasn't quite so thick, and it wasn't so odd. He rolled his r's too much, and his 'please' turned into 'pleeze'. He knelt down and began to sing, "Fire Lord! My flame burns for thee!" Hoshiko was surprised he knew the actual anthem, though. Sokka, however didn't seem to care as he picked up a rock, along with a few other groups of people, and threw them at him.
"Go back to the Fire Nation!" Sokka shouted as he threw his rock. The rock actually hit his head when it landed. Then, the red wrestler was sucked into the earth beneath him, up to his arms, and Boulder had lifted himself up on an earth made platform about twenty feet above him. He gave a dangerous smirk to the earth bender and Fire Nation Man made a terrified face.
"No! No, please!" He begged, Boulder said nothing as he jumped off of the platform, bringing his ankles behind him, making his knees jut out as he plummeted to the floor. Once he hit the ground, a rock shot out from underneath Fire Nation Man and he flew out of the ring, landing in the exact spot the boulder that had almost crushed the group from before was. The crowd cheered, and Sokka took a special joy in taunting the wrestler. Boulder defeated many other wrestlers, one was the Gopher, the Gecko, and the Wild Man. All the while the crowd cheered for him at each win. When it was obviously down to the last fight, the only round he would get with the champion, one of the emeralds centered their light on Xin Fu as he stood on his podium.
"Now," Xin Fu called over the silent crowd, "The moment you've all been waiting for. The Boulder versus, your champion, the Blind Bandit!" Another light centered in on a little pale girl in Earth Kingdom clothes as she wore a cape and held up the green championship belt. The crowd cheered loudly, chanting "BANDIT! BANDIT! BANDIT!" as she handed the belt to a young woman in a white kimono who was seen earlier carrying out the number of the round of the fight. She apparently had an identical twin dressed in the same get up that took the cape off the little girl's shoulders.
"She can't really be blind." Katara said as she looked at the girl, "It's just part of her character, right?" Hoshiko squinted her eyes as she tried to get a better look at the girl, seeing that her eyes were a milky white instead of any other traditional color.
"I think she is." Aang said.
"I think she is GOING DOWN!" Sokka said, Hoshiko rolled her eyes and smacked the side of his head to shut him up.
"She is blind." Hoshiko said, "Look, her eyes are practically all white. I don't see any other explanation." Sokka opened his mouth and Hoshiko glared at him, "I swear to the Gods, Sokka, if you burst out in one more cry for the Boulder, I will take your eyes out of your sockets and shove them in a place you don't want them shoved." He instantly shut his mouth and turned his attention back to the fight.
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl." Boulder said, looking at his opponent.
"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder." The Blind Bandit taunted. Boulder scowled at her.
"The Boulder's over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rock-alanche!" He growled, taking a fighting stance.
"Whenever you're ready, The Pebble." The Blind Bandit taunted with a laugh.
"It's ON!" The Boulder yelled. He took two steps, and The Blind Bandit used her earth bending to make him do a split. He cried out in pain as the Bandit made three pillars shoot out from the earth and make him go flying out of the ring. Hoshiko was astounded, she had never seen such a fast victory before!
"Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu announced. Sokka let out a cry of despair at the loss of his favorite wrestler.
"How did she do that?" Katara asked. Aang smiled.
"She waited and listened." Aang replied, Hoshiko quirked an eyebrow at his answer, then she remembered. Bumi had told him to find an earth bending teacher who does just that. Xin Fu jumped from his place on the podium to the stage, holding up a lumpy green bag.
"To make things a little more interesting," He said, "I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat The Blind Bandit!" The crowd was silent, "What? No one dares to face her?"
"I will!" Aang called out, walking up to the stage. Xin Fu grimaced, obviously not expecting any challengers, least of all a twelve-year-old boy. The crowd cheered as Xin Fu jumped back onto the podium to let them fight.
"Go Aang!" Sokka called out, "Avenge the Boulder!"
"Do people really wanna see two little girls fighting out here?" The girl taunted. The crowd gave out a chorus of 'Ooooh's.
"I don't really wanna fight you." Aang said, "I want to talk to you."
"Boo! No talking!" Sokka jeered, Katara glared at her brother.
"Don't boo at him!" She said, slapping his shoulder.
Aang took one step forward, and the girl bent the earth underneath him to make him fly off the stage, but Aang reacted quickly, using his air bending to avoid the strike and land safely a few feet away. Hoshiko noticed that, while in the air, the Blind Bandit couldn't seem to find him. When his feet touched the ground, she whirled around to face him.
"Somebody's a little light on his feet!" She said, "What's your fighting name? The fancy dancer?" Aang smiled sheepishly and shrugged, jumping quickly as he avoided another blow from her. "Where'd you go?" She mumbled to herself as he was still airborne. Aang landed a few feet behind her.
"Please, wait!" Aang called. She turned to him with a smirk.
"There you are!" She said, she brought up a boulder and shot it at him. Aang's instincts kicked in and he used his air bending to blow the rock, as well as the girl, off the stage and away from him. Everyone was silent for a few moments before the crowd erupted into loud cheers at his win. Aang looked up at the crowd before going back down the stairs after the girl.
"Please, listen!" Aang pleaded as she stomped away, "I need an earth bending teacher, and I think it's supposed to be you!"
"Whoever you are," The girl said, "Just leave me alone." Aang ran down the stairs after her as she created a doorway in the wall and stepped through it.
"Wait!" Aang called, the girl closed him off as he came toward it. He pawed at the wall before turning back around sadly and heading back up to the stage, where a few people had already come onto the stage to cheer him on. Hoshiko, Katara, and Sokka were already there. Sokka hugged Xin Fu and grabbed the bag and belt from him.
"Way to go, champ!" Sokka congratulated, putting his arm around Aang's shoulder. Aang looked down at the ground sadly, not replying.
Aang stared up at the ceiling of the inn he and the others had splurged on with his victory money. He couldn't sleep, he tried to, but he couldn't. The fact that he may have lost his earth bending teacher ate away at the back of his mind, and it wouldn't leave him be long enough to let him get some shut eye. He heard a small moan, and looked over to see Hoshiko tossing and turning in the cot she was given. She was sweating, and her face was scrunched up into one of agonizing pain. Aang slowly sat up and was about to go and wake her, when her eyes shot open and she jumped up in her bed, panting harshly. She wasn't facing him, so she didn't realize he was awake, or anyone else for that matter. She took in deep, shaky breaths, letting a few tears fall from her eyes and not bothering to wipe them away. Her nightmare had gotten even worse than it had before, the giant panther eating her family and friends before coming back to eat her. She could still hear their bones being crushed up in the monster's mouth.
"Hoshiko?" Aang murmured quietly. She jumped and quickly wiped away her tears before looking at him.
"Aang!" She said, "What… What are you doing up?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Aang replied, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, "Is everything okay?" Hoshiko turned away from him.
"Yes, it was just a nightmare." She sniffled a little before preparing to lie down, "Go back to sleep." Aang stared at her still form for a moment before double checking that Sokka and Katara were asleep.
"…Is that why you've been acting so strange, lately?" He asked quietly. Hoshiko seemed to freeze altogether, holding her breath. She let it out and sat back up, looking at him, "Is it because that nightmare is bothering you?"
"Not exactly." She replied, swinging her legs over the side of the cot. She rested her elbows on her knees and held her head, sighing, "It's hard to explain."
"Well, we have a while before dawn." Aang said, "Why don't you explain it to me?" Hoshiko looked up at him, and Aang was surprised to see a tortured, tired look on her face. He got up and walked over to her bedside, putting his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Hoshiko took a deep breath.
"You know, a lot of fire benders hate us." She said, "It's because the fire benders were the first humans to find out about the shadow bender's greatest, and most dangerous weapon."
"What do you mean?" Aang asked.
"In our tribe's original tongue, shadow benders were called Ni-nin." Hoshiko said, "That translates into 'two people'. We were called this because each shadow bender is born with a second entity inside them. A being who loves danger, violence, and chaos. They're normally the complete opposite of who the host is, and you can tell who's in control of the body by the behavior shown, as well as one physical difference." She pointed to her eye, "The eyes change color, the pupils and irises turning white, and the rest becoming black. Or, so I've been told, anyway." She looked down at the floor, "When I fought Colonel Mongke back in Chin, I let my anger get the better of me, and… I let that other being out." She held her head in her hands, "It's been a long time since I lost control like that. If I hadn't passed out when I did, I may have never been able to come back. Ever since then, I've been having nightmares about that other person. She even came up with a name for herself."
"What is it?" Aang asked.
"Kagemi." Hoshiko answered, "In the language of my people, the name means 'shadow'." She lifted her head up, and looked at Aang, "You can't tell anyone about this. No one. Not even Sokka or Katara."
"Why not?" Aang asked.
"Because…" Hoshiko looked down at the floor again, "I don't want them to be afraid of me." Aang tightened his grip on her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze of assurance.
"They won't be afraid of you." Aang said, "But, I still won't say anything. You can tell them when you're ready." Hoshiko smiled up at him.
"Thanks, Aang." She put her hand on his back and pushed him up, "Now get in your own bed and go to sleep!" Aang smiled and walked over to his bed, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Aang bid, crawling back under the sheets and closing his eyes. Surprising both Hoshiko and Aang, they both had a calm, dreamless sleep throughout the night.
The next morning, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Hoshiko were walking about in the streets. At breakfast, Aang suggested they go and search for The Blind Bandit, because he knew that she was the one he saw in his swamp vision. They all agreed and began to search, after Sokka had taken the championship belt and putting it on.
"I gotta admit," Sokka began, "Now I'm really glad I bought this bag. It matches the belt perfectly." Hoshiko snorted in laughter. "What? Why do you keep laughing?"
"Nothing! It's nothing!" Hoshiko replied with a wave of her hand, she turned to Aang, "So, where do you think we find the Blind Bandit?"
"If we wanna find the Blind Bandit," Aang said, "The earth bending academy is a good place to start." They walked through the gate of the academy and saw two students, the ones from yesterday, in fact, doing an earth bending exercise where they punched sand inside a vase. They looked up when they saw people coming in, and scowled when they saw Hoshiko and Katara.
"Oh, great." One said, "You again." Katara and Hoshiko glared at him, leaning towards them, making them both jump up in fear.
"Yeah, I didn't think so." Katara said.
"Nicely done." Sokka complimented.
"Hey," The other student said, pointing at Aang, "You're the kid who beat the Blind Bandit." Both boys moved over to him.
"We need to talk to her." Aang said, "Do you guys know where she lives?"
"The Blind Bandit's a mystery." One said, "She shows up to fight, then disappears." Aang cast his eyes down to the ground despondently. Hoshiko put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"Let me handle this." She said, she marched over to the boy and jabbed her finger at his chest threateningly, "You're not telling us everything!"
"N-No, I swear it's true!" The boy stuttered, "No one knows where she goes, or who she really is!" He moved back and hid behind the other boy in fear.
"That's because we're asking about the wrong person." Aang said, "In my vision, I saw a girl in a white dress with a pet flying boar. Know anybody like that?"
"Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Bei-Fong family." The student not cowering in fear said, "They're the richest people in town. Probably the whole world."
"Yeah, but, they don't have a daughter." The other boy said, moving out of his hiding place a little.
"Flying boar is good enough for me!" Aang said, turning to his friends, "Let's check it out!" He beckoned his friends to follow him as he ran out the gate.
"Yeah, you better leave." One of the boys growled quietly, glaring at the two girls.
"Hey!" Katara said as she walked out, "I got my eye on you!" Sokka followed after his sister with a pleased smirk.
"Water Tribe." He murmured making a symbol with his arms as he walked away.
The group hid outside the Bei-Fong estate, where two guards stood at the door. Above the ornate door, was a symbol of a white boar with white wings.
"That's the flying boar from my vision." Aang said, staring at it. He turned to his friends, "Come on." The four of them tiptoed their way around the estate, scaling the walls around the huge garden outside the mansion of a house. They maneuvered around the topiaries and other plants. They saw a figure walking around the garden and they all looked around a bush to get a better look at it. Suddenly, the ground beneath them rumbled and made them all shoot up into the air. Aang, Katara, and Hoshiko landed on bushes, while Sokka landed on the ground. Aang looked up to see the Blind Bandit in a fancy white dress, and her hair decorated into an elegant bun.
"What are you doing here, Twinkle Toes?" She asked, glaring at him.
"How'd you know it was me?" Aang asked.
"Don't answer to Twinkle Toes!" Sokka hissed from his spot on the ground, "It's not manly!"
"You're the one whose bag matches his belt!" Katara retorted as she and Hoshiko began to get up.
"How did you find me?" The girl demanded.
"Well, a crazy king told me I need to find an earth bender who listens to the earth." Aang said as he air bent himself off the bush as everyone stood around the girl, "And then I had a vision in a magic swamp, and-" Katara saw the girl's disbelieving face, so she spoke up.
"What Aang is trying to say is," She began, "He's the avatar. And if he doesn't master earth bending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord." The girl held out her hand to Katara's face.
"Not my problem." She said as she began to walk away, "Now, get out of here, or I'll call the guards."
"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war." Sokka said, "And yours is to teach Aang earth bending." She was silent for a moment before turning around.
"Guards! Guards, help!" She cried in a distressed voice. Everyone scrambled to get away as the two guards came running towards her.
"Toph! What happened?" One of the guards demanded.
"I… thought I heard someone." Toph said in a small voice, sounding like a frightened child, "I got scared."
"You know your father doesn't want you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph." The guard said, putting his hand on her shoulder and escorting her away, with the other guard looking around them for anyone who might cause the young girl harm. Aang looked after them, before slyly grinning and sliding back down the wall.
Hoshiko was truly amazed at what the name 'avatar' could do. All four of them had shown up at the Bei-Fong estate, unannounced, saying they were here for a visit. They told the servant at the door that Aang was the avatar. He went to go and announce them, and now, they were being welcomed as honored guests in their home. She regarded the two parents respectfully as they were invited to sit and eat with them. She noticed Toph looked an awful lot like her mother, sharing the same hair color, skin color, even the same petite fingers. She had no resemblance to her father, from what she could tell. Maybe if she had some pigment in her eyes, they'd be the same color as his, but she could never know for sure.
They sat at the dinner table, Toph sitting at her father's right hand, Aang at his left. Hoshiko noticed that even Master Yu from the earth bending academy was in attendance. He must've been Toph's earth bending teacher, and since nobody knew of her existence, she could only guess it was for private lessons. She looked over at Sokka to see him totally pigging out on the fancy foods the Bei-Fongs had laid out. She ate at a much slower, more refined pace, to look nice in front of these people, but the food was amazing! They must've had a gourmet chef making all the food, and it was divine! Had the situation been different, she would have been chowing down on everything like Sokka was.
A servant brought a bowl of soup to Toph, still warm and steaming.
"Blow on it." Toph's father said to the servant, "It's too hot for her."
"Allow me." Aang said, making a tiny whirlwind to cool down the soup. Everyone but those who had seen his air bending before clapped in applause at the feat.
"Avatar Aang," Toph's mother said, "It's an honor to have you visit us."
"In your opinion," Toph's father began, "How much longer do you think the war will last?"
"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord before the end of summer." Aang said, he sent a sly look to Toph, "But I can't do that without finding an earth bending teacher first." Toph scowled.
"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land." Toph's father said, gesturing to the man in question, "He's been teaching Toph since she was little."
"Then she must be a great earth bender!" Aang said, grinning at Toph, "Probably good enough to beat someone els- OW!" He jumped up in his seat from the sudden pain of a rock jabbing his foot. He glared at Toph, who had done it, and she smiled innocently as she calmly at the food in front of her. The earth bending had been so subtle that nobody else had noticed it, and they were all giving Aang odd looks.
"Toph is still learning the basics." Yu said after a moment.
"Yes," Toph's father said despondently, "And, sadly, because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master." Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Hoshiko paused in what they were doing.
The group of four exchanged glances, knowing this wasn't true. "Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is- WAH!" Aang stopped when his chair was suddenly pulled forward and he went face first into the bowl of food in front of him. He sat back up, the bowl still on his face, and moved it up to the top of his head where he could see Toph and glared at her. Everyone gave him odd looks again as he wiped the food off of his face and out of his eyes. He paused for a second, then smirked deviously. He reared his head back and let out a violent sneeze, making the food in front of Toph, her mother, and Master Yu come flying at them. Toph's bowl landed right in her face, and it quickly fell off.
She stood from her chair and glared at the air bender, "What's your problem?" She demanded angrily.
"What's your problem?" Aang retorted. Toph's father looked between the two confusedly, and the rest of Aang's entourage grimaced at the sudden display, knowing that everyone else had no clue what was going on.
"Well, shall we… move to the living room for desert, then?" Toph's mother suggested after wiping off the food from her face with a handkerchief, obviously trying to remedy the situation.
Hoshiko let out a sigh and lay down against the bed sheets. The Bei-Fongs had been kind enough to offer them a room for the night in their home. Apparently, they had more rooms than they knew what to do with.
"That could've gone better." She commented dryly, looking up at the ceiling.
"No kidding." Sokka said, "I can't believe they think she can't be a good earth bender! I mean, we saw her fight. She was incredible!"
"I know!" Katara said, "I don't get why they're so protective of her."
"It's because of who she is." Aang began wisely, "Come on, think about it. The Bei-Fongs are probably one of the richest families in the world. If it got out that they had a blind, twelve-year-old daughter, and someone was really, really desperate, they'd kidnap her and offer a ransom for her safe return. They're her parents, they're just trying to protect her." Hoshiko nodded in agreement, rubbing at Momo's ears as he lay on her stomach.
"Still, though, isn't it a bit much?" Hoshiko asked, "She's a great earth bender, probably one of the best, and her parents still want her to be guarded whenever she's in the house that she never leaves? Doesn't that kind of hinder the fact that she's more capable than any of us at earth bending?"
"Maybe they don't know it." Aang said, "At dinner, when he said that thing about her never being a master, he probably doesn't know she's the Blind Bandit." A loud grunt came from the window, and the group looked to see Appa looking in from the outside. The Bei-Fongs didn't have a room big enough to let him stay in. Aang walked over to the window and petted his bison. "Goodnight, buddy." The padding of bare footsteps was heard as someone approached their room. Aang turned to see Toph leaning against the doorframe casually. He flinched and took a defensive stance, ready to fight against her if he had to.
"Relax." Toph said, "Look, I'm sorry about dinner. Let's call a truce, okay?" Aang lowered his stance and looked at the young blind girl in surprise. She nodded her head toward the hallway, "Walk with me?" Aang nodded and followed her outside. The group watched the two leave until they were out of sight.
"That was odd." Hoshiko commented after a moment, leaning back against the bed and closing her eyes contently.
"…" Katara looked over at her friend in silence, seeing her overall behavior had changed back into her normal self, "Hey… Hoshiko?"
"Hmm?" Hoshiko asked, cracking one eye open.
"Did… something happen?" Katara asked, "Yesterday, I mean."
"We saw the Blind Bandit fight." Hoshiko said dryly, "I think that counts as 'something'."
"No, I mean after that." Katara asked, "You're more… yourself today than you were yesterday."
"Am I?" Hoshiko asked with a playful smirk, "I didn't realize I had become someone else."
"That's not what I mean and you know it." Katara said, Hoshiko rolled her eye before shutting it.
"Katara, there's nothing wrong." She said firmly, "I never changed, I've been myself all this time. I never changed my behavior, I'm perfectly fine and I've been perfectly fine."
"Liar." Sokka said from his spot on the bed, Hoshiko opened her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. Her tongue disappeared and she snickered when she saw he was still holding the bag he had bought yesterday. He looked down at the bag then back at her, "What? What is so funny?" Hoshiko snorted again and waved her hand at him.
"N-Nothing. Nothing." She said, "It's nothing, I promise." The group jumped when they felt something like a small earthquake rumble through the ground beneath them. Hoshiko shot up from bed instantly and Katara and Sokka jumped up as well. They all shared glances and knew they were all thinking the same thing, Something's happened to Aang and Toph. They all ran outside, something a few guards were already doing, as well as Toph's parents. They went into the garden and found two small ditches that looked like the ground had been scooped out of it. Next to them was a scroll stuck through a knife. Sokka walked over to it and pulled it out of the ground.
"Whoever took Aang and Toph left this." He moved the knife over to Katara and she pulled the scroll off, unrolling it and reading the message inside.
"'If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the arena.' It's signed Xin Fu and The Boulder." Katara read.
"I can't believe it." Sokka said, suddenly grabbing the scroll and making a victory pose, "I have The Boulder's AUTOGRAPH!!" Katara sent him a dry look, and Hoshiko looked at him in disbelief.
"Really, Sokka?" She asked, he looked at her blankly and she smacked her forehead. Toph's mother walked over to the two ditches away from her husband as he turned to Master Yu.
"Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back." He said to him.
"We're going with you." Katara said, Toph's father looked unsure for a moment, but nodded in consent. Toph's mother kneeled down in front of the two ditches.
"Poor Toph." She said brokenly, "She must be so scared."
"Somehow, I doubt it." Hoshiko mumbled to herself.
Hoshiko, Katara, Sokka, Master Yu, and Toph's father walked down the hallway to the arena. Hoshiko's sharp ears picked up murmurs of voices in the stadium, but she couldn't make out the words. Then she heard something that was definitely not a scared little blind girl.
"You think you're so tough!" Toph shouted from her elevated cage, "Why don't you come up here so I can smack that grin off your face?"
"I'm not smiling." Xin Fu said, glaring up at the little girl. Toph's father looked up at the two cages and saw his daughter dangling there, not hearing what she had said before.
"Toph!" He cried. Xin Fu and The Boulder turned to the group as they came in. Sokka held up the green bag they had received for Aang's win, having the Bei-Fongs replace some of the pieces they splurged.
"Here's your money." Sokka said, throwing the bag on the ground, "Now let them go." Master Yu earthbent the money over to Xin Fu. Who picked it up and saw that the money was really in there. He turned to someone and waved his hand, and they lowered Toph's cage. They opened up the bottom and she fell out. She instantly ran to her father, who put his hand on her shoulder and everyone, excluding Aang's friends, began to leave the stadium. Katara looked over at Xin Fu.
"What about Aang?" She demanded, Xin Fu pulled a scroll out from his pocket and unrolled it, revealing it to be Aang's wanted poster.
"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the avatar." Xin Fu said, "Now, get out of my ring." Hoshiko, Sokka, and Katara got into defensive stances, knowing they'd have to fight him for their friend. The looked as a dirty whirlwind came toward them, and it stopped to show the wrestler called Fire Nation Man. Another wrestler called The Gecko jumped down from the ceiling, The Hippo stepped forward, crushing a rock with his teeth, another wrestler called Wild Man jumped up from the stadium seats and another wrestler called The Gopher popped out of the ground. They all stood in front of Aang's cage, and the three of them knew they couldn't take on all those wrestlers at once.
"Go." Aang told them from above, "I'll be okay." They all backed out of the stadium, Hoshiko glaring at Xin Fu when she saw his victorious smirk. They ran to the hall where Toph was leaving with her hand in her father's as she walked beside Master Yu. Hoshiko ran over to her.
"Toph, there's too many of them for us to fight." Hoshiko called to her, "We need your help to take them down!" Master Yu and Toph's father stopped walking. Toph's father sent the Shinjun a stern look.
"My daughter is blind." he said, "She is blind, and tiny, and helpless, and… Fragile! She cannot help you." Toph snapped her hand away from her father's hold.
"Yes." She said firmly, facing Hoshiko, "I can." Hoshiko smiled as she walked away from her father towards the three of them. Her father watching her with a concerned look. They walked back to the ring where the wrestlers were carrying Aang off. Toph bent up a large rock and blocked their path. They all turned to the four of them at the other side of the ring.
"Let him go!" Toph ordered, "I beat you all before, and I'll do it again!"
"The Boulder takes issue with that comment!" Boulder declared as Hippo threw Aang's cage down on the ground a few feet away from the rest of them. Everyone began to run forward, ready to fight, but Toph held out her arms to stop them.
"Wait!" She said, the group waited a few moments as Toph stood still, feeling the vibrations of the wrestlers' feet as they ran toward the group. She turned her head to the group behind her, "They're mine." Katara, Sokka, and Hoshiko's eyes widened at her statement. Sure, she had beaten them before, but that was only one at a time! How was she supposed to beat them all at once?
Toph stomped her foot into the ground as she took an earth bending stance. She raised her arms, shaking slightly and held them up for a moment before pulling them in and turning a large amount of earth that blew all the wrestlers back, it also left a dirty dust cloud that blinded the wrestlers from seeing her. Toph walked straight into the dust, ready to fight. The other three exchanged helpless looks before Hoshiko shrugged and gestured to the two siblings to follow her as they ran over to Aang's cage. It was only a second after Toph entered that she shot one of the fighters out of the cloud and out of the ring. Hoshiko would've been astonished at her amazing time in kicking butt, if it wasn't for the fact that Aang was stuck in a cage and needed to get out. Sokka picked up a rock and started slamming it on the lock in front of window that showed Aang's face while Katara tried to pull open the bottom. Hoshiko looked around for the switch that would open the bottom up, but she was having trouble.
Sokka kept slamming the rock down on the cage, which sort of broke Hoshiko's concentration. "Hit it harder!" Aang told him.
"I'm trying!" Sokka said, as he kept slamming the rock down. Hoshiko rolled her eyes and kept inspecting the sides of the cage. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another wrestler go flying out of the ring. Then another, all in the same basic direction. Hoshiko smiled as she finally found the switch and yanked at it, opening up the bottom. Aang leapt out, taking a defensive stance, but Sokka shook his head at him in a 'don't bother' kind of way. When Aang gave him a confused look, Sokka pointed to the dust cloud to see Hippo run out, swinging a stone slab at nothing. A second later, The Boulder came flying out and landed beside him. They both turned around to see Toph leaving the cloud she had made, taking a simple fighting stance instead of the more complicated looking ones made by The Boulder and Hippo. Hoshiko could hear Toph's father biting his nails in fear for his daughter.
Toph stood in the center of the ring, which looked like an Earth Kingdom coin, listening as another wrestler came flying down at her on a rope with a rock in his hand as Boulder and Hippo came running towards her with their own rocks. Toph bent the symbol of the coin and made it turn so that when the wrestler on the rope came closer to them, he would run into Hippo and Boulder instead of Toph. Everyone watching this gaped at her, in awe of her amazing earth bending skills. Toph smirked to herself as she used earth bending to send the three of them flying out of the ring, and on top of the other three wrestlers she had taken out before.
"I never knew!" Hoshiko heard Master Yu say from the stadium seats, "Your daughter's amazing!" Toph used her earth bending to blow the rest of the dust away from the stadium, revealing Xin Fu as the last man standing. He popped his neck to help get ready to fight Toph before taking a fighting stance. Toph held her position and spat at the ground in his direction in disrespect before smirking maliciously at the man. She took a fighting stance as she and Xin Fu circled each other around the center of the ring. After a moment, Xin Fu made a move and sent an onslaught of boulders at the young girl. Toph defended herself by making something of an earth shield in the shape of two triangles leaning against each other. When the boulders stopped firing at her, she shot out one of the triangles at Xin Fu. He dodged it with a spin in the air. He dug his fingers into the earth and shot a fast traveling boulder at the girl, who dodged it by a paper's width before sticking her hand in the ground and making him fly out of the ring and, incidentally, between Master Yu and Toph's father.
Aang, Katara, and Hoshiko smiled excitedly at Toph's incredible victory. Sokka gaped openly before falling back against the ground in a sort of fainting way. The other three ran over to thank Toph for her help and to comment on every part of her amazing fight.
"She's the greatest earth bender I've ever seen." Master Yu said to Toph's father. He didn't reply, simply staring at his daughter as if for the first time.
When they returned to the Bei-Fong estate, Toph stood in front of her parents, explaining her entire double life story to them.
"Dad, I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way." Toph said, "But the obedient, little, helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love being an earth bender! And I'm really, really good at it! I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me, but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend!" Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Hoshiko exchanged glances at these words, surprised at what they were hearing, "So now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me."
"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph." Her father said, "It's made me realize something."
"It has?" Toph asked, her voice hopeful.
"Yes," Her father answered, "I've let you have far too much freedom! From now on, you will be cared for, and guarded, twenty four hours a day!" Hoshiko's eyes widened, that was definitely not the response she was expecting.
"But Dad!" Toph began, not able to believe these new terms.
"We're doing this for your own good, Toph." Toph's mother said. Toph's father stood.
"Please escort the avatar and his friends out." He ordered a servant as the four of them stood as well. "They are no longer welcome here."
"I'm sorry, Toph." Aang said over his shoulder as he was led out.
"I'm sorry, too." Toph said brokenly, "Goodbye, Aang." He saw a tear slip out from her eye before he left, and he became even more depressed.
The group looked down at the Bei-Fong estate from a nearby cliff, getting ready to leave on Appa. Aang looked down at the estate sadly, knowing that he had found his perfect earth bending teacher, and she couldn't teach him. Katara walked over to him.
"Don't worry, we'll find you a teacher." She said in a comforting tone, "There are plenty of amazing earth benders out there."
"Not like her." Aang said sadly.
On the saddle Hoshiko gave Sokka a disbelieving look as he polished the champion belt. She let out a small snicker and covered her mouth to stop herself. Sokka heard it and glared at her.
"What?!" He demanded desperately, "What is it that's so funny?!"
Hoshiko waved away his question, "N-Never mind! It's nothing!" She said between giggles. She calmed herself and helped pull Katara up onto the saddle as she walked over. Aang was about to tell Appa to take off when he heard the sound of footsteps and somebody's panting as they ran. He turned and saw Toph in her wrestling outfit as she ran toward them. Aang's face instantly burst into a smile.
"Toph!" He exclaimed happily, "What are you doing here?"
"My dad changed his mind." Toph said, "He said I was free to travel the world." Everyone shared happy glances before looking back at her.
"Well, we better get out of here." Sokka said, "Before your dad changes his mind again."
"Good idea." Toph agreed with a nod.
"You're gonna be a great teacher, Toph." Aang said.
"Speaking of which," Toph began, "I wanna show you something."
"Okay!" Aang jumped down from Appa's head and the second his feet touched the ground, Toph made a rock jut out from the ground and make him go flying into the tree next to Appa.
"Now, we're even." Toph said, a smug grin on her face. She held up her hand to the saddle where Sokka was, "Um, I'll take the belt back." Sokka removed it with a small frown and tossed it at her. It hit her head and she fell to the ground. "Ow!"
"Sorry." Sokka said quickly. Aang fell out of the tree and hit the ground with a thud. Everyone helped Toph get on the bison before they took off, "So, maybe, when you're not wearing it, could I… borrow the belt? It goes with the bag so perfectly…" Sokka asked as they flew.
"I'll consider it." Toph said with a shrug, hanging onto the saddle as if her life depended on it. Hoshiko couldn't help herself as she began to laugh out loud. Sokka glared at her, letting out a sound of frustration.
"Okay! Every single time we bring up the bag, you start laughing!" He said, jabbing his finger at the guffawing Shinjun, "Just what is so freaking funny?!" Hoshiko quickly calmed herself and looked at him, wiping a tear from her eye.
"I probably should have said this in the beginning…" She said through giggles, "But Sokka, that bag…" She giggled behind her hand, "It's a girl's bag!!" She started guffawing again, and everyone else began to snicker along with her. Except for Sokka, who looked down at the bag in horror, "I saw, like, five women toting it around yesterday! I can't believe you didn't see it!" Sokka blushed a furious red and threw the bag off his shoulder, slumping unhappily against his seat, crossing his arms and pouting like a stubborn child as they flew through the night sky.
If anyone waited on this, I'm SOOOOOO sorry! My computer's been really sucky lately, and it wouldn't let me get on the internet or use word document for a while because it was so dumb.
But it's all fixed now, so it's all good.
Please, please, PLEASE REVIEW!