Hello, People..
This is chapter 2 of The Bending Academy, I hope you like it..
"So, first of all, as Uncle Iroh might have told you, we're a secret bending organization, so obviously I don't need to inform you how discretion is of utmost importance to the survival of our group, it's more important to our survival than you being an elite bender, you got it?" Aang asked, as they were on their way to the academy.
"I'm not stupid, Aang." Zuko responded, his patience wearing thin of his friend's attitude.
"Great. second of all, you might face a lot of surprises there so I just want you to calm down, relax and take in all the information like a reasonable person, or at least pretend to be, that's all I'm asking." Aang said.
"I think the only thing that might calm me down right now is punching you in the face." Zuko said.
"I'm just trying to help you make a good first impression on Master Pakku, he's not an easy man to call a friend, you need to win his trust."
"I don't need friends." Zuko retorted.
"In our line of work, friendship is all you need, my friend." Aang said, matter-of-factly.
"I'm not that good at making good friends, every time I try to make a friend, he turns out to be a lying jerk." Zuko said, and Aang understood the reference.
"You're never gonna let it slide, are you?"
"Never." Zuko said, as he looked intensely at Aang.
Aang returned his look with the same intensity but he didn't say a word, it looked like he was trying to say something but words wouldn't come out of his mouth, so he just sighed and looked away.
At long last, Fung announced their arrival, "We're here." Fung said.
They have been going up a mountain the whole time, and they finally reached the top of the mountain, it was a large castle that looked really ancient, still, it looked really magnificent for an old castle.
"What's this place?" Zuko asked.
Aang smiled at the place, "This used to belong to my people, the original air nomads, it used to be called the southern air temple, now it's the base of the only bending academy in the world, as much as I hated using my people's relics like that, it was essential to our survival as this is the only place nobody would ever think someone is hiding at, as far as your father is concerned, this is nothing more than a graveyard for the original air nomads." Aang explained as they got out of the car and made their way to the academy.
Zuko paused to take in the sight, it was amazing, he then looked at Aang as he realized something, "So, if all the airbenders were killed more than a hundred years ago, how are you an airbender?" Zuko asked.
Aang paused, his face turned to that of sadness, before he looked at Zuko and said, "It's a long story… I'll tell you all about it later, right now, we just need to get to the temple and meet with Master Pakku."
Zuko knew there was more to Aang's story than that, and Aang's answer confirmed his suspicions.
As Aang and Zuko walked the yard, they met with a familiar face that was practicing waterbending.
"Katara?" Zuko asked.
Katara called off the practice as she heard Zuko's voice, "Zuko?" She questioned, she then smiled upon seeing Aang, who returned her smile.
"Sup, tough girl?" Aang greeted.
"Hey there, tough guy." Katara returned the greeting, and Zuko knew there was more to Katara's wide grin than just greeting a 'friend'.
He decided to let it slide as he was more amazed at the fact that Katara was just waterbending right now, "You're a waterbender?" Zuko questioned.
"Yes, I am." Katara affirmed.
Zuko narrowed his eyes, "I can't believe you lied to me too." He blamed.
Katara raised a confused eyebrow, "You never asked."
"As if you would have told me." Zuko retorted.
"Of course not. We're a secret organization built on discretion, you don't want Master Pakku to kick me out of the academy, do you?" Katara asked.
"If he did, I'd ask him to kick me out too, and then you and I would start our own academy, Sifu Katara." Aang flirted with a wink, Katara blushed at that and just grinned even wider, but she was too out of breath to respond so she just looked away.
This was too nauseating for Zuko though, as he just wanted to tell them both to get a room, but he was still looking for answers so he needed them at the moment.
"Blegh, Too Mushy. Anyways, Is Sokka here too? As far as I know, he's the only one left in my circle that didn't lie to me." Zuko said, fearing the worst.
"No, don't worry, Sokka isn't a bender, I can assure you of that." She responded.
"That's a relief." Zuko said.
But what came next definitely surprised him,
"But I do know about the whole thing from the start though." Zuko was surprised to hear the familiar voice of Sokka speak.
He turned around to find him coming out of the bushes with a black sword that looked really odd, and a boomerang.
At this point, Zuko was losing all faith in his friends, "You too?" Zuko questioned, feeling betrayed.
Sokka raised both his hands, "Don't look at me, it was Aang who told us not to tell you." Sokka defended himself at the expense of Aang.
Zuko then looked at Aang with anger,
The Avatar just shrugged, "I told you to brace yourself for the surprises." He merely said.
Zuko just took a deep breath to contain his anger, "Remember, you are doing this for your uncle." Zuko said to himself.
"What's the fuss about?" Someone asked from the distance.
Zuko turned around to find a girl in green robes, she was barefoot and had her hair in a weird bun, when she got closer, Zuko's eyes widened as he had a look at her eyes.
Her eyes were completely pale, as if she's blind.
Aang received her, "Hello, Toph. We've got a newbie around here, but unlike the other times, this one is an actual friend of mine, so make sure you don't go for the legs this once, okay?" Aang said, urging her to be merciful.
Zuko was confused by everything around him, this girl looks so frail and weak, and apparently, she's blind, how could she be capable of breaking legs?
"I told you, Twinkletoes. I'm no longer that person, I'm actually more mature now." Toph said.
Zuko wasn't sure how to approach this, so it was a breath of fresh air that Toph continued talking,
"Hey, Aang. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Toph asked.
Aang facepalmed himself, "Monkey Feathers! I totally forgot. Toph, this is Zuko, one of my friends at school, and he's a firebender. Zuko, this is Toph, one of the best earthbenders around, and one of my earthbending teachers." Aang said.
"THE best earthbender, not one of the best." Toph corrected.
"Not with Bumi around, you are not." Aang whispered, so that Toph couldn't hear him.
But alas, he forgot that Toph could even hear a whisper, "That old timer doesn't hold a candle to my abilities." Toph said, arrogantly.
Zuko just had to ask the question, so he cut their conversation off, "I'm sorry to get off topic, but I just wanted to ask you something, what's wrong with your eyes?" He asked.
It was Sokka's turn to talk, "Oh, Toph is blind." Sokka said.
Zuko punched his friend in the ribs, "Ow! What was that for?" Sokka complained.
"Why are you such an inconsiderate imbecile? Don't you have any regards for people's feelings?" Zuko asked, completely enraged by Sokka's answer.
Sokka chuckled, Zuko was surprised by this, "Feelings?! Oh man, Zuko, you're funny. You clearly have a lot to learn, buddy." Sokka said.
Toph remained silent, something about Zuko's attitude struck a nerve within her, nobody has ever been so considerate about her disability before, even though, it's not actually a disability, but still, even though she doesn't like to show it, it does bother her when someone calls her blind.
"I'm sorry for this, I didn't mean for this conversation to get this rude." Zuko said, looking at Toph.
Toph couldn't return the look, but she felt his sincerity, something about him made her unable to speak, so she just remained silent.
Zuko was confused by this, and was getting uncomfortable with the silence.
Aang decided to break the awkward silence, "Anyways, I think what Sokka is trying to say is, even though Toph is technically blind, it's not an actual disability to her, she does see people, in fact she sees you right now, but in a different way… she sees with her earthbending, it's kind of like seeing with her feet, she feels the vibrations in the Earth, and she can see where everything is, even better than you do, so no need to pity her, she's actually one of the strongest people in the world." Aang said, praising Toph.
Zuko's eyes widened at this, he looked at Toph with newfound respect, "That's amazing." He said, as he stared at her with newfound admiration.
Toph could feel all that, which made her blush.
Aang and Sokka's mouths were agape, they have never seen Toph convey any feelings of femininity before.
Katara was just smiling at her friend, she might have finally found the perfect match for her.
Toph then turned her head up and faced Zuko, "Thank you, Zuko." Toph said.
Aang and Sokka screamed, they couldn't believe what they just heard, words of gratitude coming out of Toph's mouth? That's it, this must be the end of the world.
they looked at each other in confusion, Zuko looked back at them with even more confusion at their attitude,
"What's wrong?" Zuko asked.
Katara decided to intervene, "Nothing, they are just very excited with you being here among us, they can't wait to introduce you to Master Pakku." Katara said, saving Toph from Aang and Sokka.
Who knows what they could have said to Zuko that might have changed his view of her. Katara thought, that's why she decided to intervene before it's too late.
Katara said this as she was looking at Aang, silently ordering him to never speak any more words to Zuko about Toph's attitude, Aang was never afraid of anything but Katara's intense stare, and so he just silently nodded.
Zuko remembered, "Oh Yes, Master Pakku… I totally forgot." Zuko started, he turned around to look at Toph one more time with a fond smile,
"It was nice to meet you, Toph. Looking forward to having a chat with you." He said, still maintaining his smile.
Toph smiled back, "Yeah, me too." Toph said, blushing as she said so.
Sokka wasn't having any of it, he held his head and turned around, "This is getting out of hand, I'm hallucinating, did someone put cactus juice in my tea? I need to get to a place where things make more sense." He said, before he left the place.
Aang snapped out of it as he was as shocked as Sokka was with Toph's words, "Right… Well, off we go then." Aang said, grabbing Zuko and making their way to the headquarters of the academy where Master Pakku is.
They finally arrived at Master Pakku's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in, Aang." Someone from inside the office said, apparently, it's Master Pakku's voice, Zuko thought
Aang opened the door and entered, with Zuko in toe.
The young avatar stood still and bowed respectfully to the old master, making Zuko question the gesture, Master Pakku looked like he took a note of this but he didn't make it public.
"Master Pakku." Aang said.
The old master nodded to them, and started to analyze Zuko, the young prince noticed the old master's eyes never left him from the moment he entered the room.
Aang smiled, "I'll leave you to it then, Master." The Avatar said, as he took his leave.
Zuko kept looking at Aang, panicking, why's he leaving him alone at a time like this? He kept begging Aang to stay, but Aang merely smirked teasingly at him.
Zuko made a mental note to punch Aang in the ribs later.
After Avatar Aang took his leave, Master Pakku stood up and walked slowly to where Zuko was standing.
"What's your name, boy?" Pakku asked.
Zuko introduced himself, "I'm Zuko, son of Ursa and Japanese emperor Ozai."
Pakku scoffed, "I didn't ask for your heritage, I merely asked for your name, here in the white lotus, we only have one name, we leave our family name at the door of the academy, you got it?" Pakku said, looking Zuko in the eyes.
His eyes were ice-cold, like it's seen so much in his lifetime, a sight that made Zuko recoil.
"Yes, sir." Zuko said.
"Sir? Do I look like a knight to you? I'm a Master Waterbender, here in the academy, we call our teachers 'Master' not sir, and we bow to our elders as a sign of respect for their efforts in raising us to become men, you saw the mighty avatar bowed to me as soon as he entered the room, but you merely looked at me as if I'm some punk playing ball in the street with you, or is it that your father's name makes you think you are a big deal?!" At this point Master Pakku was shouting, his voice was even more terrifying than his ice-cold stare.
Zuko paused, unable to speak, so Master Pakku shouted even louder, with his face even closer to Zuko's face, "ANSWER ME!"
Zuko closed his eyes, he couldn't keep up with the old master's intense stare anymore, gulped before speaking, "My apologies, Master Pakku." Zuko said, and he followed it up with a bow to the old master, in the same manner that Aang bowed.
"You lack discipline, you are not fit to be a bender, if it were for me, I'd have thrown you out of the academy and back to the streets immediately…" Pakku started, Zuko was almost on the verge of tears, but Master Pakku continued, "But, Grand Lotus Iroh recommended you to me, and I could never reject a recommendation from Iroh, Let's see how far you can go, especially after learning how much your uncle believes in you, I hope you make up for it." Pakku said.
Zuko couldn't bring himself to smile, Pakku's harsh words still rings in his ears, so he merely nodded, "Thank you, Master Pakku."
"Aang." Master Pakku called, and the avatar opened the door and came in, apparently, he was standing outside the whole time.
And he never came to save me from this monster. Zuko thought.
"Yes, Master Pakku." Aang said, as he entered the room and bowed to the old master.
"Take him to Master Jeong-Jeong in the firebending department, let's hope he makes a man out of this brat." Pakku said with a condescending tone.
Zuko couldn't respond, he merely stood there motionless.
Avatar Aang bowed to the old master yet again, "Yes, Master Pakku." He said, the avatar then grabbed Zuko and walked out of the room.
They walked away in silence until they were out of earshot.
All of a sudden, Aang broke out laughing, he couldn't hold it in anymore, Master Pakku's words seriously terrified Zuko, and he couldn't believe the look on his friend's face.
Zuko hissed, his terrified face turned to that of anger at his friend who apparently lacks any sense of consideration.
Zuko immediately remembered the mental note he made when he was back there in Master Pakku's office, he then made a fist and punched Avatar Aang in the ribs.
Aang held his ribs in pain, as the punch was too strong, but he then continued to laugh as he said, "I probably deserve that."
"Yeah, you bet you do." Zuko said with a venomous tone.
Zuko was still angry at the avatar but after rethinking the situation, it was rather funny.
He smiled a bit as he kept walking with Aang to Master Jeong-Jeong's.
"Let's hope this one is a lot nicer." Zuko voiced his thoughts to Aang.
This only made Aang laugh even more, "You're in for a treat." Aang said, his voice filled with sarcasm.
Zuko's mood dampened even more, he was starting to reconsider his decision to come here, but his uncle's words still echoed in his ears,
"Now, it's your time to rise up to the occasion, to become the man you were always meant to be, to become a true firebender." That's what Iroh said when he visited him in the hospital.
Zuko still couldn't understand what Iroh meant, but he was more than adamant to make Iroh's dream come true, to make Iroh proud of him, and if he has to go through hell to achieve that, then that's what he's going to do.
Zuko kept walking with Aang to Master Jeong-Jeong's department with newfound strength, and he has Uncle Iroh to thank for this.
This is it for this chapter, I hope you liked it.
More to come soon.
Please, don't forget to review and have a good one :)