Mari carried the grocery-laden basket as she followed Seiko through the market. Against his protests, she had insisted on coming along to help him shop. It was the least she could do after he had graciously let them stay at his home for the past few months. She stopped when he came to a stall filled with cuts of meat; everything from pig-ox all the way to rarer delicacies like catgator and moose-lion which were unseen in the North Pole.

"Leina." Seiko greeted the muscular woman tending the stall with a warm smile. "You're looking as radiant as ever."

"Seiko, you charmer," Leina replied with a coy grin. From the tone of her voice, it was a frequent exchange between the pair. Then she turned to Mari. "And who's this with you today? It's rare to see you with company."

"This is my great-niece, Mari. Mako and little Zu's granddaughter," he delicately answered. "They've been staying at my house for an extended visit."

Leina rested her forearm on her stall. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mari. I hope Seiko has been behaving himself. He can be a bit of a handful."

"Come now, Leina," Seiko purred with a soft smile. "Am I that much trouble?"

The woman responded with a playful snort.

"Don't worry, ma'am. Uncle Seiko has been taking good care of us," Mari said with a brief sniffle.

"Good to hear," the woman replied before getting down to business. "I did get some nice cuts after my last hunt. Let me know what you need, Seiko."

"Of course." He replied. While he browsed, Leina went to help another customer.

"What do you think, Mari dear?" Seiko asked as he looked over the cuts of meat. "Leina has some excellent steaks, or do you prefer boar-q-pine?"

"I've never had boar-q-pine before," she answered. She was unable to explain further when she sneezed—multiple times. It was enough for the hood of her coat to slip off her head. Leina, along with several other nearby patrons, gave them an odd glance.

"Careful," Seiko said as he carefully replaced her hood over her horns. They couldn't let people see them out in public. It would definitely draw unwanted attention in the small farmer's market where Seiko preferred to shop. "There now."

Although the other shoppers had quickly scuttled away, Leina was still staring curiously at them.

"I'm sure you'll be discreet," he told the woman in a tone that bordered on threatening. She gave him an anxious smile before returning to her job.

As he adjusted Mari's hood, he noticed how tired she looked. He carefully pressed his hand to her brow beneath her horns. "Mari dear. You're burning up."

"I'm okay, Uncle Seiko. Really," she insisted through a sniffle and forced smile.

"I know your grandfather taught you better than to lie," he replied with a gentle smile. "Let's finish up and get you back to the house." She didn't argue as he took the basket from her. He quickly finished his business with Leina, then headed out of the market. Neither of them noticed the twenty-something woman watching them from afar as they drove away on his snowtred.

"You're sure you saw silver horns?" A stocky, elderly man, with white hair, questioned the woman as he sat in an overstuffed chair. Taxidermy animals surrounded them, and mounted heads, everything from moose lions to antlered hares, silently watched the conversation from the walls.

"It was only for a second but there was no mistaking them grandpa. They curved backwards over her hair from her forehead. I wouldn't have even noticed if the sun hadn't reflected off them," the woman stated.

"Her?" he echoed. "It was a female?"

The woman nodded.

He rubbed his bearded chin. "I wonder…"

"Grandpa?"

"Do you know where it went? Was there anyone else with it?" He began to interrogate her.

"She was traveling with a man who looked to be in his seventies. I tracked them to a secluded house outside Agna Qel'a."

"I've taught you well, Ama." A groan escaped the man as he stood and stretched his old muscles. "Pack our gear. We're going hunting."

The moment they returned, Seiko escorted Mari into the house. The boys were seated in the living area and looked up from the televiewer when they entered.

"Koji. I want you to take Mari straight to her bed," Seiko told the teen.

"Uhh…Sure." He rushed to Mari's side where she sneezed on him, unintentionally sending a spray of mucus on his shoulder. He didn't bother to wipe it off while he addressed her. "Are you okay?"

"It's just a little fever," Mari weakly smiled at him and sneezed again.

"I fear she may have caught a cold," Seiko added. "Where's Mako?"

"I think he's still in bed," Ryu answered. "I guess now that you mention it, the Old Man is usually up by now."

Seiko marched down the hall straight to Mako's room and knocked on the door.

"Mako?" When he didn't get a response, he cautiously stepped inside. His brother-in-law was buried under blankets on his cushion with sweat beaded upon his brow. "Oh my…You too." He didn't need to touch Mako to know he had a fever. "You've both been here too long." The fetchlings simply weren't built for cold weather. At least, Mako wasn't since he'd been cursed.

Mako forced himself up on his forearms. "It's just a cold. It's more important the kid get trained." A loud sneeze escaped his mouth. "What do you mean 'both?'" he finally asked through a sniffle.

"Mari's sick too. I have young Koji taking care of her," Seiko said. He pulled the covers back over Mako.

"Koji!"

"Don't get your tail in a twist. You know I won't let him do anything untoward to her," he assured his brother-in-law. He absently swung his hand up as he spoke. "Now, I want you to get some rest, and holler if you need anything. I mean it."

"Seiko…" Mako was about to argue, but Seiko wouldn't hear it.

"I mean it, Mako." Seiko was one hundred percent serious now that his family was sick.

Mako finally laid back down on his cushion. "All right. Sorry you have to deal with this."

"You never have to apologize to me. You know that, Mako," Seiko replied. After what had happened with Nagato, his guilt kept him feeling like he constantly owed a debt to Zu and Mako.

He returned to the living area where the boys were waiting. He made another motion with his arm as he approached them.

"Mari went right to sleep after I put her to bed," Koji explained.

"What's going on? Are they okay? It's not that torpor thing again is it?" Ryu spouted, obviously worried.

"No, but I think they may have spent too much time in this cold all the same," Seiko stated. A sneeze from Mako's room essentially confirmed his statement. "Now, into the kitchen both of you. I'm going to teach you how to properly cook. And I'm sorry Juji, but no animals allowed."

The bird replied with an annoyed squawk.

Koji glanced at Ryu who just shrugged as they were shoved to the other room. What else were they going to do while the fetchlings were sick in bed.

"Another ice wall went up," Ama said as she looked through her binoculars. She had brought her grandfather to the house where she had tracked the horned woman. A small pocket of trees, meters away, worked as the perfect hiding place for them to spy on the house, or so they thought. Every time they tried to get a look inside, an ice wall would erupt from the ground. It was getting frustrating.

Her grandfather snatched the lenses and pressed them to his face.

"What's going on in there?" he grumbled as he tried to see past the barriers.

"No! Not that way!" Seiko frantically shoved Ryu aside and grabbed the boiling pot. The foamy water spilled over onto the gas burner as he shifted it across the stove.

"What?" Ryu shrugged. "The higher the heat, the faster they cook, right?"

"Barbarian." Seiko dramatically waved his arm in the air as he tried to salvage the noodles. "You certainly picked up Mako's cooking habits. You need to bring them to a gentle boil or they'll get all mushy. Entirely inedible." He reset them on the burner at a low simmer. "Why don't you start shredding the hen meat." He directed Ryu towards the opposite counter where several arctic hens were waiting to be cleaned. The teen grumped, but did as he was told. With the noodles saved, Seiko went to check on Koji. The other teen had been charged with chopping vegetables.

"You're doing well," he commented as he watched over Koji's shoulder. "Keep in mind that the green onions are meant as garnish for this dish so they should be as small as possible."

"Okay," Koji replied as he continued to chop. When Seiko walked away, Ryu slunk into his spot.

"Teacher's pet," he whispered with a scowl. Koji responded with a smug grin.

"What made you want to be a chef, Seiko?" Koji eventually asked.

"I've always enjoyed cooking," Seiko answered, absently waving his arm in the air again. He really was dramatic. "The way separate ingredients combine to make a finished product. It's something that made me appreciate how things work together. Take ingredients that normally wouldn't be eaten alone." He picked a chunk of onion off Koji's cutting board and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. It dissolved to almost nothing as it was rubbed against itself. "By themselves, green onions are bitter and largely just fancy grass. But, add them to ramen, and they give the dish a savory bite which helps offset the bland noodles. Everything contributes a little something."

"I never looked at cooking that way," Koji said as he thoughtfully looked down at the fancy grass he was mincing.

"I'm not surprised considering Mako's methods," Seiko replied. "You poor things have probably been living off raw fish and eggs all this time."

Neither boy wanted to admit that Seiko wasn't too far off.

"Yeah, yeah, throw it all in a pan and fry it up," Ryu flippantly remarked. Like Mako, he was of the mindset that food was meant to be quick and simple. "I want to hear about the Old Man's bachelor party." They still hadn't heard the story that Seiko had started when they'd first arrived. Every time they brought it up, Mako would immediately steer the conversation elsewhere. It made the boys want to hear it all the more.

Seiko gazed at the ceiling as if it would provide an answer while he tapped the chopsticks he was using to stir the noodles, against his chin.

"Where to begin…"

"Seiko…" Mako suddenly appeared. His normally stern voice had turned into a garbled rasp filled with too much fluid. He leaned against the wall between the kitchen and the living room; his haggard face and dragging tail, betraying how sick he really was.

"Aww, c'mon Old Man," Ryu griped as the story was interrupted again.

"You're supposed to be in bed." Seiko admonished the fetchling with a firm scowl.

"What's going on, Seiko?" Mako demanded as he seated himself at the kitchen table. The way he was huffing, he sounded more like he'd just run a hundred meters.

"Seiko was just teaching us how to cook," Koji innocently answered. Both he and Ryu were confused when Seiko let out a long sigh.

"I was trying to hide it from you so you wouldn't worry," he replied. "I don't know who, but someone followed us home from the market. I can only assume it happened because Mari's hood slipped off her head."

The boys' confusion quickly turned to surprise. Neither of them had a clue that they were under threat.

"That's why you put ice walls up around the house?" Mako stated.

"I'm not a fighter, Mako. It was the best I could think of to protect all of you," Seiko explained. "Fortunately, it seems our unwanted guests aren't benders or they would have already breached my meager defenses."

Ryu went to the nearest window and pulled back the curtains. A sheet of ice, at least a meter thick, surrounded the entire perimeter.

"It's not Toadman is it? Could he really find us all the way out here?" Koji asked, his mind automatically going to the worse-case scenario.

"I don't think he'd be doing well out in this cold either," Mako said followed by a loud sneeze; the noise enough to startle Juji who was still banished to the living area. The fetchling assassin that was chasing them had been possessed by some kind of toad or frog spirit. Similar to dragons, they were animals that normally didn't fare well in frigid environments. "Besides, I don't sense him nearby."

"Yeah, but you can only sense spirits for a few meters," Ryu said. "What if he's further out? I know there's a small woods nearby. Can your spirit-sense reach that far?"

Mako wasn't sure it could and currently, he was too sick to try.

"Maybe we should wake Mari. She'd be able to tell," Koji anxiously suggested. Mari's spirit-sense was ten times what Mako's was.

"Don't you dare." Seiko glared at him. "She needs her rest as does her Papa." Seiko turned his glare to Mako. "We'll just have to hope whoever it is gets bored and leaves us alone."

"I'm not willing to take that chance," Mako huffed. "Boys…Can I trust you to check things out? Discreetly." If they were being watched, he wanted to know exactly who was watching them.

"Of course you can," Ryu replied with a confident grin. "Would we let you down?"

Mako rolled his eyes at that statement. Ryu definitely had a knack for getting himself into trouble. Koji didn't look as confident, but nodded in agreement.

"Good. And when I say discreetly—that's an order. I don't want things to get out-of-hand. And don't forget rule number three!" With the condition he was in, it took all his energy to force the air from his lungs to call to them; the two teens already at the entryway putting on their snow gear. A moment later they were out the door. It made him wonder if they had even heard him.

"Well…Let's hope it turns out to be nothing," Seiko said once the boys were gone. "Now, it's back to bed for you young man."

Mako didn't bother to resist and allowed Seiko to escort him back to his bedroom.

Outside, the boys stood between the house and the ice wall Seiko had created. Not only was it thick, it towered several meters above their heads. They both craned their necks to scan the barrier.

"Guess we should have gotten Seiko to make us a door first," Koji said.

"No way," Ryu scoffed. "I can waterbend now. I can make an opening, nooo problem." He knit his fingers and flexed them in front of him. Then, proceeded to crack his neck and hopped in place a few times.

Koji watched expectantly. "Well?" he said after several minutes.

"Don't rush me. I'm building up to it," Ryu huffed. He wasn't entirely over his fear of water and he'd never tried to manipulate something this large before. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally get drenched.

"I thought this was 'nooo problem,'" Koji mocked.

"Shut up, teacher's pet," Ryu retorted. It wasn't a real argument as they chuckled soon after, but the playful banter was enough get him to relax. He took a deep breath, then put his arms in front of him. One fluid spin of his shoulders later, and a section of the wall turned to water and disappeared into the snow.

"See. Told you I could do it," Ryu proudly stated.

Koji tilted his neck and gazed into the narrow gap. They'd have to turn sideways just to squeeze through it.

"Well…It is an opening."

"How long do you intend on sitting in this cold, grandpa?" Ama asked as she leaned against a tree. They'd been staking out the place for hours with no further clues as to who, or what, was inside. She was beginning to regret telling him about the horned woman she'd seen disappear into the house.

"What's the first rule of hunting, Ama," her grandfather said from where he was laying in the snow.

She rolled her eyes.

"Know your prey…" she answered with a sigh.

"And the second?"

"Patience," she said. She slumped beside him in the snow and hugged her knees. These were rules that had been instilled into her since she was a child. She didn't need to be reminded of them. Motion from the house caught her peripheral. Something was emerging from the ice wall. She quickly stood against her tree to see if she could get a better view.

"What is it?" she whispered to her grandfather who had snatched the binoculars.

"It looks like two males, mid, maybe late teens," he replied. They sat silently for a moment and watched the two figures creep along the snowfield.

"I can't really see. Do either of them have horns?" she asked.

"It doesn't look like it." He put the binoculars aside and lifted his arm. Ama took that as her cue to help him back to his feet. "So, we have three teenagers, a horned female and two males, living with an elderly male without horns," he surmised, callously using terminology normally meant for animals. "Get the traps ready. It's likely they've been sent out to search for us," he finished hastily.

"I don't get it grandpa. Why don't we just burn them ou—"

Before she could utter another syllable, he had her coat collar clutched in his hands.

"No! Absolutely no fire!" The fear in his blue eyes was enough to make her submit.

"Okay, grandpa. Okay," she said, placating him. "No fire." The entire time they had been sitting, he'd insisted on using their portable heater as opposed to a campfire. She just didn't understand why.

"Good. Now traps. Get moving," he ordered with a firm flick of his wrist.

Koji set his hands to his knees as he took a moment to rest.

"Man…I didn't think the woods was that far." Frosty clouds escaped his mouth as he huffed. Normally, he wouldn't have problem with a hike like this, but the cold air filling his lungs was making it difficult. Plus, he'd been slacking on his exercising since they'd arrived in the North Pole. It was hard to earthbend when there wasn't a lot of earth to bend. Instead, he'd been using his time to practice metalbending with a small steel sheet he'd found in The Rampage. It was probably meant to be used as a patch for any minor body damage the vehicle sustained but metalbending seemed like a better use for the material.

"We're almost there," Ryu assured him. The other teen also sounded winded, but no where near as bad. Unlike Koji, the Avatar had been spending most of his days training.

"C'mon." Ryu offered his hand which Koji grasped and allowed the other teen to help him stand up straight. Then, they resumed the final stretch to the woods, leaving tracks in the permanent tundra.

"Do you sense anything?" Koji voice was hardly a whisper as they entered the small clump of conifer trees.

Ryu shook his head. His spirit-sense wasn't anywhere near as good as Mari or Mako's but, if there was any kind of spirit, he should be able to sense it by now.

"Guess that means there's no spirit, or half-spirit, here," Koji continued to whisper, now afraid of anything else that might be in the woods to get them.

"Guess not," Ryu replied as he lead the way with a small flame bent over his hand for light. It wasn't completely dark yet but the thicket added additional shadows to the looming dusk.

A clump of snow fell from a branch making Koji momentarily jump as it landed beside him with a muted plop. The minor fright was enough to make him hastened his steps to keep up with Ryu.

"Do you suppose there are platypus bears in these woods?" he asked as he carefully tried to weave around the dense, spiny branches. Any branch that did touch him, made a slight zipping sound as they rubbed harmlessly against his winter coat.

"Nah. It's too cold up here," Ryu casually replied before dropping the other shoe. "We're more likely to find grizzly lynx."

"Grizzly lynx?" Koji nervously gulped and inched closer.

A sly smile spread over Ryu's lips. He couldn't help but have some fun with his friend's skittish nature.

"Yeah. Big curled claws, long teeth." Ryu hunched himself up as he imitated the creature.

"Wha—You're lying, man," Koji said when he noticed the smirk on Ryu's face. "There's no such thing."

"There is. I read about it in one of Mari's books," Ryu replied, matter-of-factly.

"You don't like to read," Koji stated.

"Then I saw it in one of her books," Ryu retorted. "And the pictures were way sca—"

There was a loud twang and suddenly Ryu found himself dangling upside-down in the air by a metal cable wrapped around his ankle.

"Dammit!"

"You okay, man?" Koji shouted up at him.

"Yeah, fine," Ryu replied as he swayed back and forth. "Some dumb hunter must have planted traps." They followed the metal cable to where it was looped around the tree Ryu was dangling from.

"And they caught a dumb animal," Koji laughed.

"Hah. Hah. Can you get me down?" Ryu grumped.

"First. Admit you were lying," Koji responded.

"What?!"

"The grizzly lynx. Admit it's not real."

Ryu wasn't about to admit to anything. "Get me down, Koji!" he snapped and threw several fireballs which charred the snow at Koji's feet.

"That's not very nice. Besides, Mako said you're only supposed to be waterbending while we're here," Koji sassed, as he continued to mock his friend.

"Dammit, Koji! When I get down there!" Ryu folded himself in-half as he struggled to grab the wire around his ankle. It would be so much easier if he could metalbend. He still hadn't been able to pick it up, even with Koji's help.

"Nobody move."

The two teens went still, well as still as Ryu could considering his position, when a woman stepped out of the shadows with a crossbow pointed at them. Behind her was a rugged, elderly man with a scruffy white beard on his wrinkled face.

Koji slowly raised his hands. "Whoa…Hey. If this was your trap, we're sorry we tripped it. We were just out…exploring," he said.

"Exploring, eh?" The gruff man stepped up to Koji and grabbed his chin. "I heard you say Mako. Do you know him?"

"Mako? Did I say Mako?" Koji managed through his pinched lips. "I'm pretty sure I said

Ma—ku?"

Ryu slapped a hand to his forehead. Koji never was the best liar.

"Koji! Run!" he yelled. The hunters retreated back into the safety of the trees as he rained fire on them. Although he had managed to scare them off, Koji was still standing beneath him.

"Koji! I said run!" Ryu reiterated.

"What? No way, man. I'm not going to leave you out here!" he stated insistently.

The argument was interrupted when blood spurted out Koji's mouth. The teen fell over in the snow and Ryu could see a bolt sticking out of his back.

"KOJI!"

The woman tilted the crossbow to him.

"We don't want a repeat of that little 'accident,'" the old hunter began from behind the woman. "Do you know—Mako?"

Rage consumed Ryu. Wind whirled around him, tearing at the trees, as he went into a frenzy.

Mako stirred when he felt the fur on his spine stand on end. This was a sensation he knew all too well. He dragged himself off his cushion to the window. Frost decorated the corners and he could barely make-out a snowstorm that was raging in the small woods beyond Seiko's ice wall.

"Dammit, Kid…" he grumbled to himself.

The hunters ran deeper into the woods to escape the sudden storm that threatened to swallow them. Eventually, they took cover behind the thickest trees they could find.

"Grandpa!" Ama shouted over the gale. "What's happening?"

The elderly man dared a peek. The teenage boy was writhing in the trap. He continued to watch as the boy incinerated the branch that was holding him with a massive fireball. Soon, the entire tree was on fire along with its neighbor. It wouldn't be long before the entire woods would be ablaze. Once he was free, the teenager hovered above the ground in a great sphere of air, the wire flailing around his ankle, as the flames and wind swirled around him. Then the teenager fixed his angry gaze on him.

The man's chest spasmed as he hid from the glowing eyes. He had seen that same image years before. The flames eating everything; the angry glare from a monster. It was like he was reliving his past.

"You!"

The tree Ama was hiding behind suddenly flew to the side as a torrent of air uprooted it. She scrambled backwards in the snow, away from the monster coming after her.

"You shot him!" the teenager boomed. The flames around him coalesced over his hand into a large fireball aimed at Ama.

"No!" He threw himself in front of her. "I'm the one you want! I told her to shoot. Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt my granddaughter!" The teenager continued to glare at them, any sense of mercy gone as he raised his arm to strike.

"Ryu! Stop!"

They all turned when another figure burst through the branches. The figure had silver horns on his head and a blue-scaled tail that swung at his back.

"I knew it…" the old hunter rasped.

"We absolutely do not attack out of anger! That's one of the first things I taught you, Kid!" the horned man huffed as he addressed the teenager.

"But they shot Koji!" the teen roared in response.

"And where is he now?!" the man managed between labored breaths accented by clouds of frost.

That made the teenager pause. The air around him settled and the glow faded from his eyes as he slowly floated to the ground. An instant later, he was rushing away through the trees.

Mako fell to his knees, drained not only from the run, but the illness he was battling as well. He'd been in such a hurry that he hadn't even bothered to grab his winter clothes. His only concern had been to stop Ryu before the kid did something he would regret. He shivered as he waited for torpor to take hold.

"I never imagined I would cross paths with you again."

Mako looked up weakly to see a woman and elderly man standing over him. A smile spread across his lips as he recognized the old hunter.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again either, Amaruq," he stated through labored breaths. "Did you see my granddaughter's horns and think they'd be a good trophy for your wall?"

"I didn't know she was your granddaughter, but yes. Since I didn't get to keep yours, I thought hers would do," Amaruq replied.

The woman raised her crossbow and aimed it at his head.

"Look at the spikes on his horns grandpa. They'd be a much nicer trophy."

In his weakened state, the most Mako could do was firebend through his skin. Heat radiated from his body, melting the snow around him, as he used the last of his energy to defend himself. He couldn't help but smile when Amaruq's face paled and the man took several cautious steps back. Clearly, the old hunter hadn't forgotten their last encounter either.

Amaruq placed a shaking hand on the weapon. "Let him go Ama. He saved your life. The least we can do is let him, and his granddaughter, keep their crowns."

The woman was clearly disappointed, but eventually lowered the weapon. With the confrontation averted, the two men exchanged one last angry glare before Amaruq lead his granddaughter away. The sound of an engine was the last thing Mako heard before he passed-out into the snow.

Priorities, Ryu recalled. That's what the Old Man had said all those years ago when he chose to help his injured wife instead of chasing Bufo.

"Koji!" He plowed through the trees, bending away any flames that got in his way, as he searched for his friend. When he'd seen Koji bleeding in the snow, he'd just lost it. It hadn't even occurred to him to see if Koji was actually dead. Of course, seeing his friend hurt would have still made him mad, but maybe not destroy the whole woods mad. He went to where he had left Koji. The area was a disaster. Fire was everywhere and the surrounding trees were tipped with their roots exposed, the ones that weren't uprooted entirely anyway. He frowned at how much damage he had caused and quickly extinguished the flames. Hopefully, Koji hadn't gotten caught in the tempest.

"Koji!" He frantically shouted again. The other teen was no where to be seen, but there was a trail of blood that lead further into the woods. He followed it and eventually found Koji limply leaning against a large pine. He must have dragged himself there to escape his tantrum.

"Koji!" Ryu rushed to his side and gently shook him. Koji's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, hey man," he weakly managed. "Do you know how much this hurts?"

Ryu looked at the bolt still sticking out of Koji's back. It was sunk halfway up the shaft, probably in a lung. Simply pulling it out wasn't an option at this point.

"You're going to be fine. I'm going to get you back to Seiko's and get you all fixed up," Ryu stated, trying to remain calm, although the ashen color of Koji's face made him worry. "C'mon." He placed himself under Koji's good arm and hoisted him to his feet. The other teen went completely limp.

"Koji?" No response. He gave him a good jostle. "Koji. Koji!" Still nothing. He was about to start panicking when he heard a noise coming through the trees. Soon, Seiko broke through the damaged branches.

"Oh dear…" The elderly man frowned when he saw the condition of the two teens. He rushed forward and pressed his fingers to Koji's neck.

"He's still alive but from the looks of it, he's lost quite a bit of blood. Since I'm not a healer, we need to get him to a hospital," Seiko explained.

"No. No! If Koji's parents find out what happened, they're going to make him come home!" Ryu adamantly stated. Mako wasn't Koji's guardian. If they took Koji to a proper hospital, the doctors would have to call his parents. That was the last thing he wanted.

"That may be the case, but you have to think about what's best for Koji," Seiko firmly stated. "Unless you have something else in mind."

Ryu looked at his unconscious friend, and a determined expression furrowed his brow. Blood stained the snow as he carefully placed Koji on the ground.

"I'm gonna heal him," he stated. He tore off his gloves and rolled up his sleeves.

"Oh?"

"I am the Avatar. I did it with Shizuku and I can do it with Koji," Ryu added confidently.

"If I'm correct, the Avatar just destroyed these woods," Seiko said pointedly.

"Whatever." Ryu scowled at the old Waterbender. "I'm going to do it." He wasn't an expert but, if Koji's face was any indication, they didn't have time to get him to a hospital anyway.

"If you insist," Seiko said with a resigned shrug. "But make it quick. Mako's not going to last much longer in this cold either."

"Mako?" Ryu wasn't sure how the Old Man fit-in, but he didn't have time to question it. Priorities. He bent a patch of snow into water and placed it around Koji's wound.

"Take out the bolt," he ordered Seiko.

Seiko hesitated. "I'm no expert of course but…Isn't the water supposed to be glowing?"

"Just take it out!" Ryu demanded. He wasn't about to let his best friend die.

Seiko knelt next to him in the snow. "When I first met you, you told me you used waterbending to save Zu's life. Why?"

"I don't know. I had a vision and I was able to go into the Avatar state," Ryu hastily explained. "I can do this. I just need to focus."

He felt Seiko's surprisingly steady hand on his trembling ones.

"I didn't ask 'how?' I asked 'why?'" Seiko calmly repeated. "And really think about it."

Ryu paused as he tried to remember.

"Because she got hurt protecting me. Because she was the first person in my life to tell me I was important. The first person that made me feel like I wasn't a burden. The first person…to…to see me," Ryu replied, doing his best to swallow the emotion that accompanied those words. He was surprised when the water around his hands began to glow.

"Bending isn't just strength, it's also emotion," Seiko stated. "Anger made you destroy this forest, show me what love can do."

Ryu returned his focus to Koji, not only his best friend, but his first love. The water around his hands radiated light, as did his eyes, as he went into the Avatar state.

"That's better," Seiko said and finally yanked out the bolt. Blood pooled in the water briefly before the wound closed. Several minutes later, only a scar marred Koji's back.

Once he was finished, Ryu fell backwards onto to the snow. Going into the Avatar state twice in one day was exhausting. His gaze fell to Koji. The color had returned to his friend's face, but he still wasn't moving.

Seiko gave Koji a quick once over. "Looks like he's going to be just fine," he said. "Well done young Avatar."

A relieved smirk spread across Ryu's lips. "Y'know that whole love and emotion thing was really corny," he huffed as he caught his breath.

"It was. And yet it worked," Seiko agreed with a clever smile. "Now hurry. We need to get these two back to the house."

Ryu hefted Koji onto his back and followed Seiko out of the trees. While they were walking, he had to wonder. How was it that Seiko could be so wise and still have caused so much chaos by tricking him into triggering Mako? The old Waterbender really did like his curveballs.

Ryu kicked open the door and carried a still unconscious Koji into the house. He was immediately accosted by Juji. The iguana parrot gurgled loudly as it rubbed into his cheek.

"I know buddy. Give me a moment."

The ruckus was enough to draw Mari from her bedroom. She emerged with her blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"Koji!" The blanket fluttered to the floor, abandoned, as she rushed to his side. "What happened?"

"Can you take Juji? I'll explain everything once we get Koji and the Old Man in bed," Ryu answered. The iguana bird was climbing all over his head and face, licking and cooing.

Mari's tail flicked anxiously behind her. "Papa? What happened to Papa?"

Seiko entered the room. "Priorities, Mari dear." The statement was enough to calm his great-niece.

"Right…" she sniffled. She carefully pulled Juji away and let Ryu finish his trek to the guest room.

Once Koji and Mako were settled in their beds, Ryu sat in the living room to rest with Juji nestled happily on his lap. He came alert when Mari and Seiko emerged from Mako's room.

"How's he doing?" he asked.

"We called Nana and she confirmed he's definitely in torpor," Mari answered with a sneeze. "We've covered him in all the blankets I can spare," Seiko added. "All we can do is wait."

Ryu let out a relieved sigh. It wasn't the best news since torpor could last days, or even weeks, but at least the Old Man hadn't died out in the snow.

"I'll go in there later and use some firebending to help warm him," Ryu said. He needed some time to recover first.

"Thank you, Ryu," Mari sweetly smiled. "I'm going to sit with Koji now if that's okay?"

"Of course, Mari dear," Seiko said, waving her off.

Ryu tried to hide his frown as Mari disappeared into Koji's room.

"I know that look," Seiko said as he seated himself next to Ryu on the couch. "I've been exactly where you are." His gaze went down the hall to where Mako was sleeping.

It took a moment for the realization to hit Ryu. "Wait. You…and the Old Man?" The way Seiko flirted with Mako, it made sense.

A chuckle escaped the old Waterbender's lips.

"No, no," he began. "Don't get me wrong. Mako is a handsome man, and little Zu is very lucky to have him, but our relationship is different. I tease him and he lets my antics roll off his shoulders until he puts his foot down. He has a knack for putting me in my place. That's the way it's always been." His eyes fell to the kitchen where the ramen he had finished for dinner, sat cold and forgotten.

"The man I speak of was named Kuro. I met him in culinary school. He was smart and handsome and I immediately fell for his deep emerald eyes." Seiko reminisced. "Unlike me, he came from a family of chefs. He taught me all his techniques and secrets and, in exchange, I procured him the best ingredients from my mother's greenhouse. We quickly became friends. I cherished every moment we spent together.

"One day, I'd finally mustered the courage to confess my true feelings. I invited him to meet me on the campus promenade and played it off as nothing special, just a friendly visit. He showed up with a young woman named Yatsuma…his girlfriend."

It wasn't the exact same as Ryu's situation, but now he understood why Seiko was sharing. "What did you do?" he asked, now invested in the old Waterbender's story.

"Well, we spent a lovely afternoon talking and laughing together. Then, that night, I went home and soaked my pillow with tears while I drank myself stupid," Seiko answered flippantly. "The next day, I went to class as if nothing was wrong and threw-up into the consommé I had been preparing." Seiko chuckled again. "I remember, the only thing that I could think to say at the time was 'don't eat that.'

"Kuro didn't hesitate. He whisked me to the bathroom and sat there the entire time while I emptied my gullet. It proved he was still my closest friend. That's when, hugging the toilet, I had a decision to make. I could either continue to wallow in what I had lost or, I could be happy for what Kuro had gained."

A sad smile spread across Seiko's face.

"I chose the latter. Yatsuma was a good woman, and I couldn't deny they were the perfect couple. I was even the best man at their wedding."

"Did you ever tell Kuro how you really felt?" Ryu asked.

"No, but he knew. I think Yatsuma did as well. It was something they accepted all the same. It was difficult but, if it meant I could stay near Kuro, I swallowed those feelings."

They were interrupted when Mari emerged from Koji's room with a sneeze.

"Mari dear. I understand your concern, but you should be back in bed," Seiko softly scolded.

"I know, Uncle Seiko…But I want to get Koji some tea," she answered with a sniffle. It was obvious she was forcing herself through her fever.

Juji scrambled up to Ryu's shoulder as he stood.

"I can get it, Mari," he offered.

Mari seemed surprised.

"Really, Ryu? I didn't think you could make tea," she said with a slight giggle.

He gave her a light-hearted huff. True he wasn't a cook, but he could do that much at least.

"I'll be helping him, Mari," Seiko assured her. "You go back to Koji and leave everything to us."

"Thank you Uncle Seiko. Ryu." She gave the teen a brief hug before returning to Koji's room. Through the closing door, Ryu saw Mari settle herself in a chair beside Koji's bed. Koji weakly smiled at her as they held hands.

"They make the perfect couple don't they," Seiko whispered in his ear.

"They do..." Ryu agreed with a sad smile.