The district located in the inner section of this town is a completely different world from the outer district. The wall that separated it looked presentable, with beautifully carved stones and roads that would be the envy for those that lived in the lower class areas. The contrast here is clear, the walls itself dwarfed the poorly assembled dirt huts, as if everyone in the outer district is being looked down upon.

But most importantly, this wall is much more defendable than the one guarding against the town's external environment. It's as if the one outside was never meant to be used for defense, just a deference. And the real functional wall is the one guarding this inner district. The housing in this area are filled with expensive villas. Each estate would even have its own private garden walled off the from the rest of the world, complimenting the already large living space each wealthy family can have. A small pond, populated with well fed turtle ducks, is a commodity to every household here.

The many onlookers watched as a group of armed men walked on the clean and well maintained street. In contrast to the delicate architecture and the people in fine clothing, these men looked rough, wearing lamellar armor with fur combined into a brutish fashion. Plenty of these men have grey arrows on their forehead, indicating their status as Air-Benders, just not the ones most people expected.

"So, looks like this place still haven't changed." Ganbaatar commented this district with disgust.

"We are here." The somber voice at the front of this twenty men group reminded gravelly. Everyone halted in front of a large estate.

A large grandeur palace with a front large gate, built with a stone fountain curved with the symbol of badgermoles. The architecture was refined, talented and the typical style to solely display the owner's wealth and power. This building looked similar to Ba Sing Se's royal palace, only its size is smaller. Despite that, it is still a towering building.

Above the large fountain was a very eye catching object, a golden statue built with the image of a young and imposing man. Sharp facial expression, handsome features, the arm muscles were bulky and firm. The clothing of the statue suggests that whoever this man is must be a local government official, a pretty high ranking one too. This statue depicted a man that is vigorous, full of the strength of youth.

"Well this wasn't here before, none of it was here before." A bewildered Ganbaatar scratched the scalp under his helmet. He clearly remembered that the government building of this town was not that big. The old one was much smaller and more humble. It used to fit right in with the other buildings surrounding it. While the old mayor was a rather petty and incompetent man, even he wasn't stupid enough to waste so much money on a single building. Regardless, this new mayor certainly shared one thing in common with the old one, they both couldn't care any less about the livelihood of their poorer subjects in the outer district.

"So this is the new mayor eh?" Temujin took a good glance at the golden statue. "Built a large palace and a statue of himself made of gold, these sedentary folks are predictable." To the nomads who must survive in desolated steppes and dangerous wilderness, seeing people living such pathetic lifestyle made them churn. Compared to the proud warriors of Kheshig, what do men here have to offer besides nepotism and laziness?

While they all glanced at the beautiful structure, Lei didn't spoke a single word. For silence is much appreciated now. This person is an enemy to all warlord states. What thoughts would he be having as he looked at the glinting statue. In traditional Earth Kingdom culture, there is an ancient philosophy where a person must know their place in society and perform to expectation. That way, harmony is achieved. A ruler must be just, must be wise and compassionate to the subjects. In return, the people must be obedient and serve the wise ruler to better society as a whole. But when that integrity is polluted, and the leaders became corrupt, it naturally grants the people the right to rebel. Most of time that involves an empty stomach.

"Keep the prisoners in check," Ganbaatar looked at the collectives of cultists and pilots." Don't tell them who you are and no one knows you are a revolutionary!"

Lei nodded. They then proceeded to the gate made of iron bars, and stepped forward towards two men guarding it.

"Hold, who are you and what do you want?" One them said to Temujin.

"Open up the gates, we are here to speak with your new leader." Temujin demanded.

"We can't let you through!"

"Why not?" Temujin narrowed his eye. He instantly grabbed the guard, catching him by surprise. Temujin then conjured a small ball of air, ready to suffocate the fool that dare to oppose him. "I will make this clear, I sent one of my men to this town and he has yet to return. I suppose this new mayor of yours are responsible, and I also want to dispose some criminals while we are at it. But I can't do that if insects like you are in my way, now let us through at once or I will make you breath your last breathe!"

"But the mayor is having a meeting with someone!" The other guard squeaked in hopes to defuse this situation.

"Who!" Temujin boomed, frightening the other man into curling up into a ball.

"A very important representative of the Standardized Oil Company!"

The Kheshig and Lei felt silent, but Wuli and his men felt a ray of hope. If Wuli can just reach the representative, then he and his men can be saved. Then, they will expose to everyone that Lei is a guerrilla, and the Kheshig have also helped him. That way the whole town's garrison would come and defeat them all. At that point, the tables will turn favorably for him.

"More collies!" Ganbaatar cracked his knuckles. "I say we go in anyway, I doubt anyone can stop us!"

Temujin contemplated heavily as he caressed his beard. Right now, all they wanted to do is to find out whether or not Jargal have been held captive here. Secondly, they wanted to hand the Acolytes of San Bao over to local garrison. Since Lei will take away the pilots, he doesn't need to worry about this town rejecting such problematic prisoners. But right now, there are more people here from the United Republic, and probably very influential ones too. If the Kheshig were discovered to have mistreated pilots from the United Republic, then they might make another powerful enemy that may endanger the Kheshig's survival.

"Why are there United Republicans among your prisoners!" The guard asked. "You know there are consequences in attacking them"

Although these guards are possibly just for show, even they knew angering the strongest military entity in the world would attract unwanted attention.

Temujin looked at Lei, he knew the guerrilla wanted the pilots to go with him for an unknown purpose. At the same time, Temujin loathed anyone who collaborated with the cultists, regardless of whether or not they did it intentionally. He knew the United Republic is unofficially 'working' with a genocidal cult is all just a small part of the political game, a small corner of a larger picture that is difficult to comprehend for someone inexperienced. But for the aged Khan, he knew the well-being of his people trumps all other subjects.

"We are going in!" Temujin announced to everyone. Everyone all prepared themselves in case things go south. Ganbaatar pulled out his scimitar and directed the prisoners towards the gate.

"Wait wait, you can't just!" Ignoring the guard's plea, Temujin blasted the gate with a strong force of air and pummeled it until the the bars broke into pieces. The two men guarding stood in horror as they witnessed the sheer ferocity of this nomad. If Temujin wanted, he can use air to just kill them.

"Let's go." Temujin commanded. As they entered, they strolled forward with the prisoners. He decided to take this moment to speak personally with the disguised Lei, of course without anyone else hearing them. "I may not be able to fulfill our previous agreement exactly. While perhaps all the captured would be spared a well deserved death, I cannot guarantee that you will be taking the pilots away to whatever hideout you people have.

Lei was clearly displeased with this, but suppressed his expression. "Whatever you planning, I cannot see how that is going to help your people." While he wasn't openly angered by Temujin, he is still confused as to what the Khan is trying to accomplish.

"You see, I have met many mayors and governors across the Earth Kingdom, most of them would do anything just to make their wallets full even by a little. I have yet to have any proof, but I know that one of my nomad must have been captured by the mayor. Even though I don't know why he did that, I can certainly say for sure that these weak men would be a good bargaining chip. If you know what I mean."

Negotiations are always about understanding the other while making compromises. Sometimes, civil discussions turns sour and needed more underhanded tactics. But since when do the Kheshig ever cared about honor?

"I see your point," Lei nodded. "I am glad that you are willing to spare them before. But right now, what role do I have in this?"

"You don't have a role," Temujin bluntly answered. "I suggest that you leave this place quickly. If we handed these prisoners over to the local mayor, I am certain they would spill the beans about you being here. At that time, I'm not even sure I can help you. Because I won't."

"But wouldn't they say the same thing about you and your people?" Lei pointed out.

"We Kheshig have no political alignment nor are we interested in global affairs." Temujin said, explaining his rationale. "I know the mayor would not trust the words of an acolyte of San Bao, since no one trusts them due to obvious reasons. As for those self-righteous pilots, I doubt they can convince the local garrison or the United Republic to go after me. After all, my people are just some nomads, not conquerers. We are not on their top priority list. I am here to make sure that this new mayor would no longer threaten my people while also continuing to sell bison wool here."

"You think you can pull this off?" Lei asked skeptically.

"Hmm, maybe, we shall see. My people's access to the area is vital. A good trading route isn't simply replaceable." Temujin replied, there was much confidence in his voice. He appeared to be wanting to resolve problem with negotiation. Sometimes if that doesn't work, another method might. Violence.

"I will go too," Lei's request went on to surprise the Khan. "There is someone I would like to meet."

Temujin remembered how Wuli denounced Lei's group for attacking facilities across the Earth Kingdom. But one thing about the pilot's word caught his attention is that Lei's guerrillas also targeted oil refineries owned and protected by the United Republic. Being a former White Lotus and a man who have seen a good portion of the world grant him many knowledge, including oil. It's a black sticky substance found naturally across the world. Unlike cooking oil, this oil they were talking about is a valuable resource, often people called them black gold. It's flammable, it stinks, but it has many uses if one can exploit its properties.

The Kheshig warriors have travel far and wide across the now fractured Earth Kingdom, sometimes they came across small puddles of oil. At first they don't know what uses they could possibly do with them, after all, they use sky bisons, not machines. The flying bisons need to consume grass, not some smelly liquid. But after their talented physician, Subutai, experimented on them, it became a weapon of war. When the oil flasks were broken, the liquids explodes with fury, burning everything in sight. But because they have a very scarce supply, the flammable flasks have to be used sparingly. They have already expended most of their arsenal to take down the United Republic Bi-planes.

"It's funny to me how the colony folks loved oil so much, they are willing to do anything for it." Temujin lamented this fact.

Lei didn't say anything. They proceeded to walk towards the direction of a wide and open courtyard. From here, they can see a large group finely dressed soldiers standing in attention.

"Don't do anything, my warriors will handle them if they get in the way." Temujin assured the guerrilla.

"I have no doubt about that," Lei replied.

...

Satchiko traced Batu towards a place that is possibly the market. She couldn't find the kid anywhere, so she looked around a little. Against the countless laborers and merchants, it would like finding a needle in a stack of hay. Even so she still tried to look around for any signs for a short boy in brown fur deel.

"Batu!" She cried. "Batu's where are you!" She scurried around. There was no response, only the sound of people, countless people trading, talking and arguing with shopkeepers as ther daily lives continued on.

"Hey watch it!"

She wasn't looking where she was going, and she accidentally bumped into a burly man. "Oh...sorry!" She quickly apologized. "I was looking for a little boy about this tall, have you seen him?" She said, using her hands to demonstrate how tall Batu might be.

It was met with a huff, and the man went away. Not everyone in this world is friendly, Satchiko reminded herself. Back on the island, being a Kyoshi warrior alone is enough to earn you the respect and admiration of all the islanders. Everytime she walks past a villager, they would greet her and Mayumi in a very friendly manner. If being a Kyoshi warrior doesn't do it, her status as the daughter of matron Akahana and chief Hakaru made her feel even more important.

But here, she is nothing more but another stranger, a piece of leaf among many. It's not that she was expecting to be treated kindly by others when she first arrived here. But actually being confronted by reality made her wonder what is her worth to this world. What does she even possess besides being a Kyoshi warrior and related to important figures of her village.

She took off her glove and examined her hands. So many years spent, training as a Kyoshi warrior, the one thing she ever wanted to be. She doesn't have any goals besides that, not until now with learning Earth Bending. But all of this made her remember something Mayumi told her in that one specific night.

Maybe she wanted us to realize that we are more than just women who fights with metal fans.

Those words played repeatedly in Satchiko's head. What does this little girl under the face paint and armor truly have? Is she talented in something? Does she have a hobby? No. She has no talent or hobby. All she is good at is being a Kyoshi warrior. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, maybe Akahana wanted her daughters to be something more, something unque. Whatever 'more than that' actually means is perhaps a question that will be answered when she gets older.

"Don't touch it!" A voice of a little girl cried in distress. Satchiko immediately faced towards where that came from. "Go away, this is mine!" The little girl, age roughly around nine desperately tried to prevent her doll from being taken away. A few other boys round the same age are bullying her, with one trying to snatch her toy away. "Help!"

The bystanders only went on with their days as if nothing is happening. Most of the peasants here only gave a few glances at this small commotion, and moved on. The small minor scuffle is nothing more but children fighting.

"No one is coming to save you no matter how loud you cry!" One of the boy taunted her. "Do you know who our dad is? None of the animals here would dare lay a single hand on us!"

Not only were they confident that their action would have zero consequences, their more expensive attire is more than enough to deter others from intervening.

"My parents told me that your mothers are only mistresses to your dad! They don't love your dad, they are just after your dad's money!" The girl sharply refuted. This immediately drew the ire of the boys. The tug of war for the doll is now even more intense.

"Well you parents are dead!" One of the boy demeaned. "They can't even work hard enough to pay back their debt! Now they are gone, and you sleep on the streets!"

The doll is now finally seized from the owner. She tried to reclaim it but to no avail. The boy holding the doll lifted it higher, making sure that it is out of reach. "Can't get it now can you!" The boys continued her taunt. They knew this girl is weak and powerless, so there is no harm in toying her a bit.

The bullied child started to burst into tears, but they only laughed at her misfortune. Her parents are gone, and now even her own personal possession is now also taken away.

One of the kid raised his hand, preparing to slap the little girl for her earlier insolence. To them, a person of poorer background should stay in line. So it is their responsibility as children of high status citizens to make sure the lower class children also respect this hierarchy.

"Knock it off!" A voice furiously demanded. Satchiko came over and pushed one of the boy to the ground, leaving him crying. This surprised the Kyoshi warrior, who thought he would be a little more resilient than that. One gentle push and that's enough to leave him tearing? "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" She stated with a judgmental expression. "Bullying someone weaker than you and then stealing their stuff when they already have nothing. Haven't your parents taught you anything about being generous to others?"

The three remaining boys still standing are immediately intimidated by this sudden intrusion. This was not within their anticipation. No one, has ever got the guts to stand up against children of a wealthy household, not even the guards in the city dared to obstruct them.

"Wh-Who are you?" One of the boys uttered. The strange and unfamiliar face paint made things even more nerve racking, as its intended effect is to demoralize a Kyoshi warrior's opponent. However, sometimes words are more useful than mere war paints. "Our D-Dad, h-he will-"

"No, the real question is who are you?" She spared no manners, assaulting the boys for their rowdy behavior. "You think I am scared just because of your dad?" She refrained from using her own father's title as chief, seeing how she doesn't want to play the same asinine game as these spoiled brats.

The Kyoshi warrior cracked her knuckles, sending them a quick warning.

One of the other boys decided to rush towards Satchiko, despite his much younger age, he doesn't appear to be afraid. "You will pay for this! Take that! Ouch!" His fist bumped into Satchiko's armor, making him scream in agony.

"You moron," another boy said casually. Assuming they all have the same father, they are half brothers to each other. "You hit the armor. Let me show how it is done!" He then went towards Satchiko and punched towards the unprotected section covered only by her green kimono. While he successfully landed the punch, he noticed that the teenager didn't flinch at all.

"Normally when I fight someone with fists," Satchiko begin to lecture. "I choose to use their brute force against them." She then slowly grabbed the boy who just 'punched' her, gently squeezing his shoulder. "But for people like you, a simple massage would do." She then immediately applied more force, inducing pain into the boy's shoulder. The boy screamed hysterically, fearfully trying to separate his shoulder from Satchiko's not so gentle hands. When the Kyoshi warrior let go, that boy ran off, possibly trying to find his parents.

"You!" Satchiko's eyes sharply beamed the one holding the doll. There are currently three boy here, and one last one still standing. She pointed at the doll, and then used one of her hands to indicate the boy to return what is rightfully from others. "Give me the doll or else!"

"Whatever, take it!" He threw the doll to the muddy ground. "When my dad hears about this, you are in deep trouble!"

Satchiko retrieved the doll, the bullies already ran off. The girl stood there idle, watched as Satchiko tries to give her back her beloved doll. At first, the nameless girl was reluctant, but slowly, she accepted Satchiko's good will. "Thank you," she whispered, too afraid to talk, fearing the world would continue to judge her weakness. "You don't know how much this meant to me." The little girl held the doll closer, hugging it very tightly. Even the doll's wool was damaged by the earlier tug of war, the child did not mind.

"There is a woman I know that can fix your doll." Satchiko enthusiastically offered, knowing Saran can fix it. "If you come with me we can-"

The nameless girl quickly shook her head, expressing her desire to not go anywhere. She even took a step back from Satchiko. From the boy's comments, it's clear that she has been orphaned, and recently too. Clearly mistrust is high for this orphan, even towards a person that just aided her. "It's fine, I just don't want anyone to make anymore changes to my doll." This did faded Satchiko's smile, she thought she already earned the little girl's trust.

By looking it closer, the doll resembled a thin looking man holding what appears to be a microphone. Brown skin, green eyes, and an elaborate hairstyle paired with a good looking green suit. Whoever this is, it's definitely not her parents.

"My mum made this while she was still around," the little girl confessed. "This is the only thing I had to remind me of my parent's love. So please, I don't want anyone else to touch it." Her request was meek and fragile. It's like a small critter begging to a predator.

"Ok then," Satchiko said in an understanding tone. She isn't as good with words as Mayumi, and she especially is not good with interacting with children much younger than her. The closest practice she got was with Batu, but he was quite mature for his age. Even the more juvenile Kyoshi warrior trainees were more easy to initiate a conversation with than the girl in front of her now. But she can at least try to be friendly to those that are in trouble. Hakaru always reminded her to never turn her back to those that needed help. Even if there is absolutely no benefit for you to demonstrate compassion. Her father always believe that kindness is something a person must naturally adhere to.

"You hungry?" Satchiko asked. Of course, after encountering the homeless and the desperate people in the last town, she knew the answer is an obvious yes. She doesn't have any money on her, so she might have to go back to the Kheshig and ask for some spare food.

Quick sounds of footstep rushed over to her. At first she was on alert, but after seeing that it is a little boy in brown deel, she dropped her guard.

"Hey Satchiko!" He yelled. "I got some snacks, it was expensive but I at least managed to brought some for all four of us!" In his hands were four wooden skewers, with hawberries coated in hardened sugar syrup. Whatever food he is holding, it looked delicious and exquisite. It looked at a work of art from Satchiko's view.

"Here, have it!" He handed one of this peculiar snack to Satchiko. And just like what she did with the buuz, she examined this new snack with interest.

"What is this?" She asked. She might as well as be a food reviewer at this point. But even if she didn't ask Batu, she knew the texture of the fruits indicates that this is some sort of candied fruit.

"Just try it! I spent some good money on this!" Batu decided to devour his own share. The taste was both sweet and sour, and he enjoyed every single one of it.

Instead of helping herself with this never seen before snack, she gave to the little girl instead. "What are you looking at Batu?" Satchiko asked as she noticed the perplexed faces of the boy.

"Well..." the kid doesn't know how to approach this. "I brought it for you, didn't I? And you just gave it away like it was nothing." From his perspective, it is considered disrespectful for a recipient to gave away a gift the moment they get it. A Kheshig trust those that are friendly to them. But trust can be delicate, and chaotic if the balance that maintains it falters.

Satchiko only nodded once. It's obvious the young nomad has a problem with her just handing an expensive snack away. Here on the Earth Kingdom, such food is only widely available to those who can afford it. Batu has expended a lot of his saving just to buy enough for the four of them, so naturally giving it away to someone else doesn't sit well with him.

"Batu, first of all I wanted thank you for the snack. I very do appreciate that you brought one for me. But this little girl here, she is one that is hungry." She said in a diplomatic manner.

Batu was unconvinced with this excuse, he took another large bite out of a syrup coated fruit. "Go on." He said. The voice felt harsh, and a bit unforgiving.

"So I gave it to her." Satchiko simply finished. She wanted to use her words carefully, in case her friend became unsatisfied with her little charity. "You can understand right?"

Judging by the response, Batu doesn't even want to acknowledge her motive.

"If this stranger wants some snacks, why don't she buy some herself?" Batu now looked a little mean. The little girl hid behind Satchiko, fearing repercussions. "I don't want to waste money on people I don't know! You know how hard it is for nomads like us to earn actual coins right?" He blurted.

"Batu!" Satchiko cried, restless about his insensitive remark towards the nameless child. "Me and my sister were strangers to you as well, yet you still invited us over for food. Why can't you do the same for this poor kid here?"

"Well maybe it's because I would have lost nothing when I expressed good will!" Batu ignored the little girl hiding behind the teenage Kyoshi warrior. It's like this whole time she is nothing more but a cause for their argument rather than a person. But the little girl can felt threatened. Her presence alone is probably unwanted, so she decided to hand the snack back to Satchiko.

"No, keep it, this is yours, and I would not take a no for an answer." Satchiko assured the girl, while trying not to use her arguing voice at the wrong person. The little girl did as Satchiko said, although she is still very hesitant to eat the snack. So she endured her hunger.

"Well, if she is hungry, why can't she get her parents to buy her the snacks!" He argued, without knowing that the girl's parents are gone, just like his.

"She doesn't have any parents left!" Satchiko involuntary raised her voice. This is probably the second time she got into an argument with this kid. Last time it was the turtle ducks, and this time, over a simple snack. Somehow, despite the friendly relationship with Batu, she still cannot ignore his certain attitude. "You lost your parents too, you would know that better than I!" It was at this moment that Satchiko suddenly realized she has spoken too much. She crossed the line by bringing up Batu's real parents, she even promised Saran to not mention this in front of the kid.

"Whatever!" Batu angrily kicked a nearby rock. "I will go back to the bisons instead!"

"Batu wait, I didn't mean to...don't leave." She tried to take back what she just said. Her choice of wording couldn't be more worst. Not wishing to add fuel to fire, she let Batu extinguish his anger by himself, but thankfully, someone else can assist with that.

"You two were gone for a while, where have you been?"

Batu's entire body froze. An older voice of a female behind him asked. The two women stood are both worried about their younger siblings wandering off.

"We were watching you from a distance, and for a while now." Sarangerel begin. "Both of you are in serious trouble, you hear me!" The air-bender yelled, scaring the little girl hiding behind Satchiko.

But Sarangerel then did something that made the nameless girl not as fearful. The Kheshig maiden handed her some money, even though it wasn't a lot, it's enough for her to possibly buy some food. Assuming no one forcefully took it from her. "Eat up, and don't worry about my brother." Sarangerel advised.

Slowly, the little orphan took a small bite from one of the hawberry. It was both sour and sweet, but the flavor is very good. She can taste the sugar and the fruit with her crushing teeth, and then she desperately eat the snack. The sound of crunching can be heard whenever she chewed on the sugary fruit. She probably haven't eaten anything like this for a long time.

"Ok, now we leave." Mayumi pulled Satchiko and Batu closer to her. Together, they started to head back to bison.

"Wait!" The little girl cried out, even though she doesn't wish to delay them any further. "Who are you?"

They all stopped in their tracks, even though this question is for Satchiko only.

"I'm..." She took a bit to think about her response. Yes is a Kyoshi warrior, and that would be a valid response to someone who doesn't know about them. But the question 'who are you', was never something she was asked by someone. "I'm Satchiko, I'm just a Kyoshi warrior from Kyoshi island."

"Well, the Kyoshi warrior should also learn that she shouldn't just run off!" Mayumi lectured Satchiko, who doesn't appear guilty about her action. In fact, she seemed rather happy that she coincidentally was able to help the little girl from the bullies. "She should be exercising discipline and not act rashly!"

The little girl waved at them as they leave. Seeing that she has helped someone, Satchiko does feel better...

"We are done here," Sarangerel said to the three. "We are lucky that we haven't met any guards, let's head back before our parents find out."

As they walked back towards the location of the bisons, Satchiko took one last look at the little girl. The child just stood there, watching them going further and further away. As the number of crowds started to become more dense, the image of the little girl eventually no longer remain visible for her.

"This might be the last time I ever saw her. Big sis, you didn't even let me ask her about her name. Who knows, she might even be a potential candidate as a Kyoshi warrior!" Satchiko respectability protested, while hoping she doesn't get on Mayumi's bad side. "She is just an orphan, you don't need to worry too much about me."

"Do you have any idea what could happen when you run away from us alone?" Mayumi's sudden voice wasn't so pleasant. For the longest time, Mayumi's tone sounded like she is disciplining her little sister. In the past, she has never demonstrated such negative attitude regardless of how much stress Satchiko caused. Something must have made her becoming more overprotective, behaving more like their mother.

"I'm not a kid anymore Mayumi." Satchiko attempted to force her sister to stop grabbing her arm. Eventually Mayumi did let go, hesitantly.

"You might just be a teenager, but you need to know that certain actions have consequences." Mayumi started to talk with Satchiko, but this time, it sounded serious. "I was a fool to think that walking to Ba Sing Se would be safe. I admit that. But sometimes, you also need to stop getting yourself into danger."

"That goes for you too Batu," Sarangerel said to Batu, who is still carrying a deep frown following Satchiko's inappropriate comment.

Instead of going against Mayumi, or trying to defend herself, Satchiko acknowledges this critique. Obviously, she intentionally made a lot of questionable mistakes that would have been detrimental. Being in close proximity with a Unagi could have got her killed, and for what? Just because she wanted to get some free Elephant Koi fillet for dinner instead of buying from the fishermen? And then there is this one time when she got into an argument with the Yi governor. Even though she was in the right by denouncing the governor's unjust actions, it didn't achieve anything besides possibly exposing her to possible danger. If it wasn't for the disgruntled citizens for overwhelming the governor and the bodyguards, they wouldn't have escaped that town easily.

"There they are!" Someone cried. "Those are the criminals!"

Satchiko's senses immediately sharpened. It must be those boys she just fend off against, they must be back for revenge. She quickly turned around to face the end of street, where the voice came from. But instead of seeing the young rowdy boys, she instead saw a cranky old man directing seven local officers towards them. The guard carried no weapons, and appeared barefooted.

"Ok, I led you to them, where are my coins?" The old man coughed as he demanded the reward. "The wanted posters said that I get ten thousand coins if I catch those two criminals, where is my reward? That money is enough to pay for my dying wife's medicine, where is it!"

"I think there is a misunderstanding here," a guard said. "The reward is given by a governor from the state of Yi. Whoever gives the criminals to him personally with receive the reward."

"I will get a share, right?" The senior pleaded, gently clinging onto one of the guard's uniform. Instead of receiving a verbal response, the frail old man was punched in mouth, making him fell to the ground. His tooth fall off, and bit of blood can be seen dripping out of his mouth.

"Don't touch!" The guard, which appeared to be the one leading this group tried to clean his uniform after being grasped the old man's skeleton like fingers. "A low born geezer like you should be grateful that I even acknowledge you exist!"

The old man tried to get back up, he doesn't appear wanting to give up now, not when his dear old wife is lying sick in bed. But whenever he tried to get up from the spot, one of guard would always give him the boot in the stomach. The old man breathed heavily, loud wheezes can be heard as his inter-coastal muscles worked their hardest to keep him alive.

"Enough!" Mayumi shouted, getting their attention. "Whatever problem you have with us, leave him out of this!"

The guard stopped stomping on the old man, although it was probably too late. The old man is no longer breathing. Like a dead piece of tree trunk, he stayed on the ground lifelessly. Sleeping quietly, no longer bothered by the world around him.

"D-Did you just-" Satchiko was dismayed. These 'militias' from the capital just killed someone they were supposed to protect. Not only was the old man not being treated with dignity, his life doesn't appear to be any less important than an insect to these men.

She then saw Batu finishing the remaining snacks. Dropping the wooden skewers to the ground, he silently reached for his composite bow, as well as the arrow he got hidden in his deel. This could end up into a violent brawl.

"You two," the guard smugly pointed at Satchiko and Mayumi. "I heard that you both have done some very illegal things. Come with me and nothing bad will happen."

"Batu did you two do?" Batu hissed at Satchiko. She couldn't respond, fearing that the truth may drive a wedge with her nomad friends.

"Leave them alone!" Sarangerel snapped, standing in between the two Kyoshi warriors and the carousing men. "Don't you people have better things to do? Don't bother other people and they won't bother you."

"Then you should know to stay out of our business! Or else the same would happen to you!" The guard tried to examine Sarangerel's youthful complexion with his hands. The Kheshig woman used her hands to swipe away any intent to touch her.

"Back off!" She warned. "My people will not tolerate this!"

"Hmph! You think we are scared of some air-bending girl like you?" The guard replied. "Don't forget, you are on our turf. Our state, our town, our rule! And here, no one Li is going to tell me what to do with you! Boys, surround them!"

The remaining six men formed a line to cut off the escape. They backed the four against a large flat stone wall and then prepared themselves into an Earth bending stance. Just by this observation, the four of them knew these are Earth Benders, much more dangerous than the non-bending guards stationed at the front gate.

"How can you justify arresting me and my sister? What did we even do!" Mayumi challenged these guard's claim she and Satchiko has done something that warrants an arrest.

Hearing this indignant statement, the guards only laughed, all to the confusion of the four,

"Why don't you look for yourself!" One of the guards bellowed. He then pointed at the wall behind them, which they still haven't looked at yet.

"Is that, us?" Satchiko cannot contain her bewildered expression.

"Yes, and we are not the only ones on there." Mayumi said, extremely worried about the situation they got themselves into. Who would have thought that one impulsive action from her restless sister could drag them into deep waters.

The stone wall they are looking at have countless wanted posters of many individuals. In the center are lifelike pictures of two sisters from the exact moment back in state of Yi. Each of them are labeled with five thousand coins each, and the message implied that these two have committed heinous crime against an important governor.

That's not the only thing that caught their attention. There are countless other posters depicting men all with similar green uniforms and cap. One of them is even Lei. There was no mistake made here, his face looked very similar even though the poster is hand drawn. These other people must his associates. Every single one of them were described as the 'Collective enemy of the Earth states', and encourages anyone who have encountered them to hand them over to the local militias for execution.

"So he was a criminal!" Batu took a better look at Lei's poster. The boy doesn't like that man anyway, not since his stubbornness convinced the Khan to spare those deserved to die cultists and pilots.

"Oh, you know him?" The lead guard grinned in a very creepy way. "Perhaps you can come with us and answer some questions."

"No!" Batu yelled, aiming his bow at the lead guard. His small stature and undeveloped arm makes his aim very shaking. Maintaining it for a long time does make it obvious that his arms are tired.

"We are not going anywhere with you!" Satchiko yelled at them, opening her two war fans. "I have done nothing wrong. All I did was call out a governor's wrongful treatment to a homeless person and then he got angry. It was clearly him that was in the wrong not me!" Satchiko was breathing fast, very angry that fool who put a bounty in her. She felt she has never been treated so unfairly before, nor has she been so angry at someone. "You think you can just arrest me, just because a poster told you to?"

"You clearly don't know how this world works," the guard smiled further and ordered his men to close in on the four.

Mayumi pulled out her sword, readying herself to fight off the carousing people. A man in full suit of lamellar is seen rushing right at them.