"This will be your desk. You'll be helping me in any manner possible," Mako said as he pointed to her desk. He had gotten an office of his own. Sakura would be in his previous office, sharing with Bolin. "Really? Then I suggest you help him get a social life," Bolin commented and the duo snickered. The firebender sighed in exasperation. Dealing with one Bolin was one thing, dealing with two Bolins was another. It turned out that Sakura was just as talkative as Bolin with the same sense of humour, just a little bit laid back than his younger brother. "My friend Ino used to do the same thing to me whenever I stayed holed up in the hospital. She pretty much said I needed to get laid," she replied. "That's true. Mako does need to get laid. The only thing he's ever done was kissing. He's practically a virgin," the earthbender said and the two burst into laughter. "Let me guess, you have experience," Mako said, emphasizing the on the word experience. "Well no, but I'm better than you," the younger brother shrugged. Then his eyes lit up. "Did you know that Mako dated both Korrah and Asami? Both separately and simultaneously! I have to say..." his words died in his mouth at the sight of a seething Mako. Sakura shifted uncomfortably from where she stood. "I'll be in my office," he said as he stormed out of the room.

Bolin sighed as soon as his older brother left. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to blabber," he apologized to her. "The one you should be apologizing to is your brother, not me," she corrected him. He sighed again. "It's just that I'm so worried about him. Everything is going well for everyone but he's just... Argh! I don't know how to explain it but I can tell that something's missing. He knows as much," he explained. "I understand you. Ino also did that to the point of telling everyone about my business in hopes that I might change," she replied. "Well, let's save this talk for later. I think my boss is calling me," she said as she exited the small office and made her way to the office which at the end of the hall. She was surprised to find Korrah and Asami there. Mako was seated behind his desk and the two girls were standing. "Oh, good morning," she greeted awkwardly. She had left without seeing either of them in the morning. "Morning. I thought you had left but I'm glad to find you here. Great uniform by the way," Asami said with a smile.

Sakura smiled back in return. She was wearing a uniform similar to Mako but she had a skirt instead of pants. Her hair clashed with her outfit and so she wore a barett which covered her head entirely. She looked at Mako, he was uncomfortable. Bolin's words came back to her. ' Did you know that Mako dated both Korrah and Asami? Both separately and simultaneously!' "You have a meeting scheduled in thirty minutes. I thought it best to leave now," she said. Mako stared at her in confusion before it dawned on him. "Um, yes. The meeting, right. I'll see you guys later," he said as he stood up. He was out of the office before the two girls could retort. They walked quietly in the hall. "Thanks for save with Korrah and Asami, especially after..." he trailed as his face burned in embarrassment. "It's okay. You looked uncomfortable and I had to do something," she replied. Before Mako could reply, Bolin appeared in the hall. "Hey you two. I have some information on our latest case. You've gotta check it out!"


"A pattern of the Bending Shinobi's movements has been made. They're revisiting areas they have previously been so we can assume that they following a sequence of sorts. The last place they visited was the temple on Crescent Island. We can speculate that their next place is Kyoshi Island," Bolin said seriously. Mako nodded in agreement whilst Sakura studied the map. She knew all those places. She had been there herself. The Bending Shinobi, as they liked called themselves, were actually looking for her but she wasn't about to tell the two brothers. All the trust that she had built would go flying out of the window. The group of benders weren't part of her plan but they got caught in the crossfire. She closed her eyes in concentration as she felt the two foreign signatures which were inside her. Thank Kami there weren't any sensors otherwise she would've been mistaken for a jinchuriki as she had foreign chakra inside her. "Does that mean we're going to Kyoshi Island?" she asked. They were huddled at Bolin's side of the office which was surprisingly clean. "It appears so," Mako replied. "Do Korrah and Asami get to come?" the earthbender said excitedly. Both Mako and Sakura grimaced, for different reasons.

For Mako, it was because he had dated both girls and his brother's remainder earlier made him even more uncomfortable since Sakura knew. For Sakura, it was because she didn't want the two girls watching her like a hawk. Bolin studied their expressions. "I take it as a no then. I had hoped for a Team Avatar reunion but it's okay. We have Sakura so it'll be fun," he said as he slung his arms over their shoulders and pulled them closer. "We can meet up with them later. They're going to the Foggy Swamp to investigate," the firebender said with a sigh of relief. "Kyoshi Island, here we come!" Bolin cheered. Sakura stared at Mako and gave him a small smile. The other boy looked away, ignoring how his heart jumped a little at the smile.


"Since we're travelling together, I think we should have a group name. It can't be Team Avatar since Korrah and co aren't present," Bolin said as they walked to the port. They were going to travel by sea and it wasn't far away. They would be there in three days. "Does it even matter?" Mako groaned. "I also want a group name," Sakura agreed. "Yes, I knew you would agree. I was thinking maybe Team Red," he suggested. "Why?" Mako asked. It didn't make sense. "If we combine our hair colors, black and pink, we make red," he replied with a smug smile. "That's lame. Team Police is better," Mako huffed. "That's even lamer, and I thought you didn't care about it," Bolin pointed. The two bickered back and forth about the group name. "What about Team 7?" Sakura spoke. Both boys stared at her curiously. "I took the last figure on our ages and added them together. Four plus two plus one equals to seven thus Team 7," she spoke. The duo was quiet for a while. "I think Team 7 is better than Team Red," Mako said. "Yep, wayyy better than Team Police," the other brother said. Sakura's eyes glittered with happiness as she clapped her hands together. "Kyoshi Island, make way for Team 7," she said as she punched air. "Yeah. Those bending shinobi won't know that hit them. We're bending the element of surprise here, pun intended," the earthbender said with a grin. Sakura laughed whilst Mako facepalmed.


They arrived at Kyoshi Island at sunset after three days. The journey was rather uneventful. Bolin had been sulking that he wouldn't be able to see Opal for an indefinite amount of time and Sakura spent most of her time studying Mako's right arm. "Give me a day and I think I'll have come up with a way to fix your arm," she had told him. "Will I be able to firebend again?" he had asked. He tried not to be hopeful but he couldn't ignore the small spark that had ignited in him when she gave him an affirmative nod. "Kyoshi Island," Bolin breathed out as he dragged his suitcase behind him. "I heard Avatar Aang came here during one of his travels. He encountered the Unagi and also met Avatar Kyoshi," Mako told him.

Suddenly, he felt something dark pulsing around him before it disappeared in an instant. He looked at his partners to see if they had felt it. Bolin was still chattering away about how the air smelt like salt yet fresh at the same time, oblivious as ever. He turned to Sakura to find the pinkette staring ahead with an unreadable expression. "-right, Sakura?" Both of them hadn't been paying attention to the earthbender. She was a bit slow to turn and her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Yes," she forced. "You hear that Mako? I knew she would..." The rest of the conversation drowned out to the older brother as he thought about Sakura's recent actions. She had felt it too but her reaction to it was different.

They met up with the Island leader who turned out to be an old woman called Suki. She was dressed in a blue layered robe with completely grey hair. That name rang a bell somewhere in his mind. "Did you know Avatar Aang?" Mako asked. "Yes I did. I was part of the Gaang as Sokka liked to call it," she said with a laugh. No wonder her name was familiar. Her name was in the history books as one of the people who fought alongside the previous Avatar. He explained their visit to the island. "Those benders have been wrecking havoc all over the elemental nations. We were lucky to have suffered minor casualties. I trained the Kyoshi Warriors myself and they did well against them," she spoke as she led them to their accomodation.

"Did you notice anything about them?" Mako asked. "Apart from some wicked martial arts moves and advanced weapons handling, nothing really. In my opinion, they seem to be looking for something or someone given their recent activities," she said. "Why do you say so?" he asked again. Bolin jotted down something in his small notebook. "They have a mantra, something about nindō and the will of fire." He saw Sakura stiffen beside him out of the corner of his eye. "It seems to me that they're trying to tell everyone about their nindō whatnot. I had a talk with one of them whom we had caught before he bit his tongue and killed himself," she told them. "What did he say?" Sakura asked almost quietly. "He said the will of fire will live on, that's our nindō is. I asked him why they were wrecking havoc and he replied that they weren't wrecking havoc, they were merely accomplishing their master's wishes," she replied. "Did he say who was their master?" Mako asked. "Hmmm, he didn't because that's when he bit his tongue. But he mentioned something along the lines of cherry blossom," she retorted.

They stopped by a large statue. "Who's that?" Bolin asked as he peered up. "That's Avatar Kyoshi -" Sakura let out a sharp cry as she dropped her bag and crouched, covering her ears with her hands. Her face was contorted in pain and she was muttering but Mako couldn't quite catch it. He crouched down beside her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked just as Bolin knelt beside her. "Sakura, what wrong?!" The earthbender was panicking and his features deeply etched with concern. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She opened them and looked at Mako. Her eyes blazing with an unreadable expression. He felt as if he was looking at entirely different person. She snapped them shut again before passing out.


She woke up after three hours. She apologized profusely for her behavior claiming that she had been having severe migraines for the past week. "Do you want me to get you something?" Bolin asked. They were in a room which was similar to the rooms at the Air Temples. There were three sleeping bags for each of them. "No, I just need some air," she said as she walked out of the room. Mako decided to follow her. She made her way back to the statue. He watched her stare at the statue for what seemed like eternity before finally joining her. "It's amazing, isn't it?" he said as he stood beside her. She snapped her head to face him, her expression alarmed before morphing into familiarity. "Yeah, it sure is," she breathed out. They stood in silence for a moment. "Do you miss your home?" he asked. "Yes, I do. I hadn't planned on coming to Republic City the way I did but I guess fate had other plans for me," she spoke. "What was it like? Your village?" he asked again as he held his breath. It was too personal but he decided to test the waters anyways. She was silent for a moment. "It was a pretty peaceful village. I had a good childhood but that was before I went beyond the village gates that I was exposed to the harsh realities of life," she said with a faraway look.

There was a commotion behind them and the duo turned to see two men carrying someone on a stretcher. There was so much blood that you couldn't distinguish anything about the person. She rushed over to them. "What happened?" she asked as she moved to keep up with the men who were rushing. "The Unagi happened. I told him to never try to swim alone but he just had to. He escaped by a hair's breadth," one of them said. "I can help him. I'm a healer," she told them. The man eyed her up and down focusing on her hair. "Who says I can trust you?" he asked her with a gaurded expression. "She travels with the Avatar. She has also healed me," Mako spoke up. She sent him a grateful look. "Who are you?" the other man asked. "I'm Mako, a friend of Avatar Korrah," he said with a hint of pride. "Mako? As in the Mako?" A small group had gathered around them. They were standing in front of a nondescript building. A girl emerged from the crowd. "He's Mako, the firebender who travels when the Avatar. The one I'm always telling you about," she said as her eyes shined with awe. She was dressed in a blue robe similar to everyone with dark hair in a short bob. Her eyes were brown and looked about 18. "Please, I can help you. Just trust me," Sakura pleaded. The men gave her one final look before obliging.

She was taken to a room which was empty. They laid him on a sleeping mat. "Is there anything you need?" Mako asked. "No, I just need everyone to be quiet while I work on him," she said as she removed her jacket revealing the form-fitting black garment she was wearing inside. She rolled up her sleeves. "Can I have a bowl of water to wash my hands? And some gauze and bandages. Also a hair tie," she said as she began to remove the layered pieces of clothing until she was down to his pants, leaving him shirtless. From what her eye could tell he had a lot of internal bleeding, fractured ribs, maybe a punctured lung and a severe concussion. "Can you tell me what happened?" she asked as she washed her hands after the bowl arrived. "He went swimming in the sea and somehow ended up in the Unagi's mouth whilst he was under water. I really don't know how he got out but I found him on the sea shore. You'll have to ask him when he wakes up," the man who had identified himself as Ping told her.

Her hands roamed over his prone figure as she did an assessment. She ignored the shocked looks and gasps when her hands lighted with medical chakra. Both of his lungs were punctured, five broken ribs, internal bleeding around the intestines and a concussion. His chest had a large gash across his abdomen from where he was probably bitten. He also had a severe case of blood loss. She started by numbing his nerves in case he woke up during her procedure before moving onto to stop his internal bleeding. Next, she went to his lungs which were surprisingly still in tact. The ribs followed suit before she closed the gash on his chest leaving behind pink, fresh skin. She moved to his temples to heal the concussion and the injury on his forehead. She asked for another bowl of water and wiped the blood off him and her hands then wrapped his chest and forehead with bandages. He was relocated to another room and dressed in cleaner clothing. She put her hand on sleeping boy checking if she had left anything. She was pleased with herself when she found none.

She stood up. "I've healed all the damage but he still needs to rest and let his body heal naturally. Two weeks of bedrest before he can go outside and another week without doing anything," she told Ping. "I'd say that he's a bender. I checked his Chi paths as I was healing and some of his Chi paths were burnt showing usage of a lot of Chi than usual. It was probably his first time and that's how he was able to escape the Unagi," she told them. It had taken her a total of fours hours before she could move him to another room. The damage had been severe but she wasn't a renowned medic for nothing. Mako stood up as well. "I have no idea to thank you-" She didn't hear the rest of it as she succumbed to chakra exhaustion.


Hope you like it. Many things about Sakura still don't make sense but as you continue to read, I'll explain more. Read and review.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire