Disclaimer: I own nothing but the original characters in this fic. I just hope everyone enjoys it. All I know is that this starts off very strange, but it does pick up, I promise. It has some roots in Japanese mythology, but I'm hoping to add more as I proceed with this fic.

1

The Hour of The Ox

Ren Oba was a quiet girl, always going to her classes and assisting her Grandfather in his tea shop. So, she wondered, how was it she found herself in a fog-covered street of Tokyo? She had never stayed out as late as she was. The small reusable cloth bag in her right hand felt heavy. All she had wanted to do was buy some art supplies before her class the next day! Why was it that everything strange happened to her? Why couldn't it be her older brother?

"I guess I have to keep moving," she muttered to herself, squinting to see through the dense fog as she slowly walked forward. "Maybe I'll get off the hook for being out so late."

Ren grimaced at that. No, she knew her mother too well. It was going to be a month of grounding, which meant relying on her grandfather for food. She hated doing that to the old man, but he never seemed to get mad at her for doing so. He always seemed upset by her mother's actions. A small smile appeared on her face at the thought of the old man. An impish laugh echoing around her wiped that smile from her face.

"Oh no," she muttered, picking up her pace.

Ren had forgotten about the hour of the ox! She broke out into a run when the laughing got closer. She needed somewhere to hide. A park or something similar. She would duck into a building if they were open. She'd never go out so late again, at least not on her own. The laughing came even closer when her foot hit soft grass. Nabeshima national park would have to do. She surveyed the slightly wooded area and hurried towards an old building set against the pond. She ducked inside and kept the door propped slightly for a quick escape. She brought a hand up to her mouth to muffle her heavy breathing. The impish laughter rang out, and she watched a figure limber out from the fog. A horned child holding a meat cleaver was walking about with a wide grin on his face. A skeleton followed, and its huge size caused Ren to freeze.

An amanojaku and gashadokuro? Just what were they doing out and about? She hadn't seen them in a long time, not since she was a small child watching the strange creatures from her window. She never seemed able to sleep during the ox hour. It was a good thing her grandfather was also a superstitious person. He had sewn an ofuda into her book bag when she started jr. high. She waited until they were truly gone to remove her hand from her mouth. A soft sigh passed through her lips, and she sat back on her heels. She turned to look behind her when a loud wail came from the old watermill. She stood up straight and moved deeper into the building, finding nothing. She let out another soft sigh and moved to exit the building. The hour of the ox had to be over.

Ren walked out of the public building and paused. Since when was the sun out? She looked around to see herself surrounded by trees and a red stream of water. It was time to return to the building. She spun on her heel, and her shopping bag fell from her hand, hitting the ground with a rattling thunk. The building was gone. She looked around wildly for it before crouching with her hands on her head. Where did the building go?! She was too young to be missing! She hadn't even finished high school. She didn't even get to go to her college entrance exams.

"Are you lost?"

Ren looked down to see a fox with glowing blue eyes. Did…did it just speak? She waited for a few seconds, watching as it brought a paw up and scratched behind its ear. It reminded her of her small house cat back home. It was even eying her the same way! She was losing it. Her mind finally cracked from the pressure.

"Did you not hear me?" The fox asked.

"I'm sorry, I was just processing the idea that a fox was taking," Ren quietly admitted, her cheeks then turning a bright red. "I apologize. That was rude."

"It's refreshing to see a human with manners," the fox commented, and Ren tried to pick up the main voice it spoke in. "Yet, you are not supposed to be here."

"Can I ask what gave it away?" Ren was surprised she sounded so calm.

"Your aura," it answered, and she was surprised it wasn't her- "And your clothing."

There it was. Ren nodded at that, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. The fox stood on all its legs and shook its body. Eyeing her once more. She hoped it didn't leave her on her own. She'd take the talking fox any day.

"Her destiny is not one you would know," a soft voice informed the fox.

"O-Inari-Sama," Ren said, bowing at the sight of the spirit god.

"Oh, and why did you send her?" The fox asked, its tail swishing as it took in the androgynous deity.

"Her grandfather makes a wonderful cup of tea," the deity shrugged, and Ren was thankful the man taught her everything she knew. "And I had a bet going with Raava from a millennium ago that one of my own choosing could survive their world."

"Why not ask the girl first?" The fox asked in a disappointed tone.

"Oba Ren, the large garden of lotus," Inari said, and Ren tensed at the use of her name's characters. "Are you prepared for the destiny awaiting you?"

"…I guess?" Ren slowly answered. "Am I going in with any information?"

"Just that things are going to be interesting," Inari answered before waving their hand.

Ren blinked, and the next thing she knew was icy water. She began to struggle, a small part of her thankful that her supplies were wrapped in parchment paper. It would protect them a little. She thought back to something she once heard about water being so cold that it felt like tiny needles entering the skin. She could attest to that. A part of her was having trouble staying above the surface. She heard a shout just as her head finally went under. Green eyes blearily watched the sun glinting above the surface as bubbles slowly drifted upwards. Inari chose one hell of a place to drop her. Her eyes slowly started to slide shut when a burning sensation filled her lungs. She needed to breathe. Dark spots filled her vision before everything became dark.

Ren found herself sitting on the ground, a strange creature next to her. It looked like a cross between a badger and a mole. It let out a tiny growl; it was a small creature barely up to her ankle. Yet, she felt like it was supposed to be bigger. She leaned back down on the ground, closing her eyes. She didn't know she could do that as a spirit because she probably drowned. She felt something shift, and the next thing she knew was intense heat.

"Gran Gran, is her fever going down?" A feminine voice asked.

"No," an elderly voice answered, and Ren was aware of something cold being placed on her forehead, making the heat seem less intense. "This child is strong; she will pull through."

"You could tell as well?" The younger voice asked.

A soft chuckle was the answer. Ren forced herself to move her fingers. The slight twitching of the digits caused silence to fall. She started to think that she was actually alone, but a slight weight on her hand let her know that one of the women was there.

"Don't worry, Gran Gran knows what she's doing," the younger voice said, patting REN's hand. "You'll be up in no time…she can't stop the wounds on your arms from scaring."

Wounds? Ren supposed it was likely she had hurt herself in her frenzied state. She twitched her fingers again, and the girl gave a soft sound that made Ren think she was kind. It was the oddest thing. The sound of cloth moving preceded a dense silence that was occasionally broken by faraway voices. Ren started to entertain herself by counting the number of times a child yelled they needed to use the bathroom. It was the same one which humoured her greatly.

Ren didn't know when it happened, but she slipped back into unconsciousness. The fever seemed to take a while to break, and when it did, she felt as though days had passed. It took her a few tries to open her eyes. There was a blue blob with white mixed in floating above her. She gave a slow blink and waited for her vision to clear up. The face of a woman with heavily lined dark skin was staring down at her. Her smile broke the serious expression on her face as she helped Ren into a sitting position.

"Your fever broke in the middle of the night," the old woman informed her. "My grandchildren pulled you from the water. How did you get out there?"

"I…I honestly have no clue what happened," Ren stated; she was still processing what happened to her.

"With your state of dress, you're not from here," the woman dryly commented, handing Ren a bowl of stew.

"Oh, thank you, ma'am," Ren said, accepting the bowl.

The old woman gave her a strange look, and Ren flushed in embarrassment. The old woman knew one thing about the girl. Wherever she came from, they made soft people. She had a strong will, but her personality hindered it by being too soft. The teen ate her food in a polite manner, taking care not to make a mess. Her grandson could learn something from her.

"The tribe has decided to allow you to stay here as long as you help pull your weight," the woman informed Ren.

"Of course," Ren agreed. "I'm thankful for your kindness."

Ren finished the stew, and the woman put her to work immediately. Having her clean the bowl and utensil she used. She had to earn her keep, and she wanted to repay the woman's kindness in not allowing her to die. She helped clean up the blankets they had her use and the bed roll. The animal skin on the ground made her uncomfortable, something she knew was just her. The tent flap opened, and a teenage boy and girl came in. The girl's blue eyes widened at the sight of the green eyes teen awake. A smile spread across her face, and the new teen timidly returned it.

"It's nice to see you up and about," the girl commented. "I'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka."

"My name is Ren," she introduced herself, giving the small bow that was customary in her culture.

"It doesn't sound like a fire nation name," Sokka muttered to himself.

Fire nation? The old woman cleared her throat, and Ren looked back at her. Well, it seemed like someone was going to give her information. It would just have to wait until everyone else was asleep. That came sooner than she thought. Sokka and Katara went to sleep early, much to her surprise. Ren was so used to staying up late studying that she had trouble falling asleep early.

"The fire nation is one of the four nations," the old woman informed Ren, motioning for the girl to sit around the fire. "One hundred years ago, they started a Great War and have caused devastation since. Their actions caused the extinction of the air benders."

"Airbenders?" Ren quietly questioned.

"Ones that can control the air itself," the woman answered.

Benders? Ren wondered what kind of world she was in. Inari needed to fill their bets themselves in the future because she had the feeling that she had entered a world of strange magic that aligned with something familiar. It wasn't until the old woman, who requested she be called Gran Gran, sent her to bed did she realize she had begun to think too hard about things. The bed turned out to be a fur-lined sleeping bag. A spare that was used for guests. Ren just hoped that her time adjusting was quick.

Katara was thankful for another girl to talk to. One that wasn't engaged or even focused on their "womanly duties". She watched as Ren learned how to fish from Sokka, giving her brother a dry look when he somehow got a fish hook in his thumb. Again. At least he didn't try to use a second hook to get it out.

"I'm going to gently pull on it," Ren informed him, slowly pulling on the hook.

"Just pull it out," Sokka stated, grimacing in pain as Katara moved to watch Ren's treatment.

"If I do that, I'll cause more damage to your thumb," Ren informed him before smiling slightly. "There, it's out."

Sokka let out a sigh of relief and blinked when his thumb was wrapped by her. She released his hand and moved to tie her hook on. It was with beginner aim that she cast her line. Katara moved to sit next to her, and Ren shyly looked at the water.

"I don't know of anyone with green eyes," Katara pointed out.

"Oh, my dad had green eyes," Ren informed her, smiling sadly. "I look a lot like him, but he used to joke that I was too similar to my grandfather."

"Oh," Sokka said, knowing why she seemed sad.

"I do know how to make a good cup of tea because of my grandfather," Ren admitted with a sheepish smile. "One day, I'll make you both one. I think you'd like a fruity herbal tea or a nice jasmine tea."

Katara and Sokka blinked. They found a topic she seemed to know quite a bit about. Katara watched as a fish swam by their fishing spot and took off one of her gloves. Holding her hand out and concentrating on the water. Ren was about to ask what she was doing when the fish started floating. Sokka sighed at his sister's actions and noted that Ren now had a faraway look on her face. Bender! Someone that could manipulate an element! It took Ren way too long to understand what Gran Gran meant about that. She probably even told her! Gah! She felt stupid! Ren watched as they gained a fish due to Katara and couldn't help but give the other girl an awed look.

"That was amazing!" Ren couldn't help but say, and Katara's cheeks grew hot.

"I'm not the best at it," Katara said.

"Still, I think it's absolutely amazing," Ren informed her with a kind smile.

"Are you a bender?" Katara asked.

"I don't know."

Ren wasn't sure if she wanted to be a bender or not. Sure, it would be cool to have control over one of the elements, but the responsibility behind it was more stress that she couldn't comprehend. Sokka exclaimed something, and she was pulled from her thoughts by her line dipping. Ren moved quickly and started to try and pull it in. Katara quietly cheered on the other teen as she started to lose the battle against the fish.

"Sokka…assist…please," Ren struggled saying, trying to keep her hands on the pole.

Sokka moved quickly and added his strength to hers. They pulled and pulled on the pole. Eventually, the head of a fish could be seen as they continued to pull. Sokka had sweat going down his face, and Ren felt her dress shirt sticking to her skin due to her whole body sweating. She was almost thankful for the light material. She would've been dying in one of the southern water tribe outfits. They had to stand up and start to walk away from the glacial edge to get the fish out. A giant Arctic char was flopping on the ice, and Katara quickly scooped it into the waiting bucket.

"Gran Gran can make a lot of food with this fish," Katara commented.

"Beginners luck," Sokka panted.

"I wouldn't mind that being it," Ren panted back, wiping at the sweat on her brow.

They recast the line, and Sokka added his as well. The three teenagers watched the water intently for more fish to appear. The waters were too calm. The fish had most likely swam away due to their scuffle with the large one. Still, their patience was strong.

"I can't believe we got a good haul," Sokka commented as the three of them carried the fish into the village.

"I'm surprised the fish came back with all your yelling," Katara stated.

Ren gave a nervous laugh at that. She felt the small hairs on the back of her neck rise and looked around to see suspicious looks being sent her way. She didn't want to be surrounded by such a thing. Sokka and Katara had welcomed her, which had been shocking as Sokka hated outsiders, but everyone else was incredibly suspicious of her. She didn't blame them. A strange girl wearing weird clothing appearing in the middle of the ocean was suspicious. She scratched at her bandaged arms before ducking her head slightly.

"Hey, don't worry," Katara softly said. "They'll get used to you."

"Thank you, Katara," Ren mumbled.

Her cheeks were red, and Katara gave a slight laugh. It was funny to watch as that red slowly travelled to the tips of her ears and the back of her neck. They entered their grandmother's hut. The old woman raised her brows at the three, and they quickly got to work. Katara and Ren did the "woman's work" by cleaning the fish and preparing it for smoking and preserving. Ren wasn't very good at that aspect, not really knowing how to cut the fish correctly. Some sweat went down her face as she tried to do it the same way as Katara, which brought about problems due to being left-handed.

"Try to make deep cuts," Gran Gran commented. "And follow the spine."

Ren gave a nod and did as she said. Her technique was going to need some work, but it was usable fish. Gran Gran's smile caused her to feel some pride in her work. She could learn to live her life with the water tribe, even if Inari wanted her to do something else. They were good people.