A/N: Hey look! I slowed down enough to take a second and actually name my chapters TT0TT (not sure if you get notifications for that but…..sorry u_u)
Sorry for the delay in releasing the chapter btw, I started writing ch 9 (which was originally ch 8) and then had to pivot. And then got sick on the vacation (and thus was not really doing anything but existing lol) and fdksljaflkjaf now I'm back and just running around.
Anyway RIP to Kyoshi, poor girl can't breathe without people reading it the wrong way
It was very clear to Kyoshi, she and her new team were not in a good position. Kyoshi hadn't thought to pack any rations or supplies in her delirious state at the mansion. Only contents from her room and chest. And even then, she'd apparently forgotten a shoe she meant to pack.
The rest of the team hadn't had a chance to grab anything from Cameleon Bay either. No supplies, no food, no money. It was like she was flung back exactly nine years into the past, like a homeless orphan on the street.
"We need a score," was all Kirima said, as she leaned back into the saddle. "Hujiang's too far, and we need supplies…stat!"
"Hujiang?" Kyoshi asked. She'd never heard of such a place.
"It's a secret daofei gathering place," Wong explained. "It's not on any maps. You'd only know about it if you traveled in daofei circles. We keep it well hidden for a reason."
"The best jobs would be there, but we need a job now because we're in dire straits thanks you to!" Lek yelled from the reigns.
Kyoshi flexed her jaw, but remained silent. Neutral jing, neutral jing. She kept repeating.
It wasn't entirely her fault, but she didn't help the situation back in Chameleon Bay. That being said, they also would've been stuck there without her and Pengpeng.
However, she didn't need to defend herself, as Kirima was the one who came to her defense.
"We wouldn't have a bison now without her, you know?"
Lek pouted, almost looking a little guilty. The boy had been the most attached to Pengpeng since she had joined the group. Everyone loved Pengpeng if she was being honest. Kyoshi was the one that dampened the mood, but that was something she'd grown accustomed to over the years with the villagers. It didn't seem to annoy her that much, since she realized she had a really good bargaining chip she could use.
"What are we going to do?" Kyoshi asked, a bit concerned about what Kirima meant by 'score.'
"It's exactly what I meant." Kyoshi continued to give her a confused look. "We're going to break into a joint and steal."
Kyoshi's stomach twisted into a knot, this was exactly why she hated daofei. They just took things that weren't theirs. But perhaps she couldn't judge, she used to do the same in Yakoya when she was a starving child. She even kept a coin from an offering box she stole from, too guilty to spend it and too scared to bring it back.
"We aren't going to hurt anyone, right?" She wasn't prepared to hurt innocents on her revenge quest, at least not yet. The thought of being able to made her nauseous, but she knew it would most likely be a reality she must face at some point.
"Of course not, dear!" Lao Ge spoke up. "That would defeat the purpose of us being sneaky. Plus, what kind of scum would we be if we just harmed laymen willy-nilly?"
The other three members nodded, to Kyoshi's surprise. Well, her mother's journal did say they were a smuggling operation. Maybe they weren't the worst kind of daofei? Like they weren't the violent kind?
Kyoshi inwardly grimaced as she remembered two of Kirima's stunts with Rangi, contradicting her earlier thought and making her rethink her perspective on the group. She may have to get back at the waterbender some time for that. Especially for the second offense.
Oh, right. Rangi.
Kyoshi rubbed her face in exasperation, then winced when she accidentally touched the bruised spot on her jaw where Rangi had headbutted her.
"I can fix that for you later if you want. After the job, and after we get something to eat. I need energy," Kirima told Kyoshi, receiving a muttering thanks from the tall girl.
What am I going to do about her? She thought, her mind back on Rangi.
There were five constants in this world of theirs. The sun will rise tomorrow, there will always be taxes, death is inevitable, and the Avatar would be reincarnated. And the fifth, and unknown to most people, was "If Rangi makes a promise, she will deliver."
Kyoshi's stomach curled inward. It wasn't if she was ever going to see Rangi again, but when.
Kyoshi leaned her head back on the saddle and let the cool air flow over her as she steeled her resolve. Ok, next time I see her, I'm going to tell her everything!
She tried to picture how the conversation would go.
"Rangi! I'm the Avatar! Please don't throw fireballs at my face! It's against your duty!"
"Rangi, listen! Jianzhu killed Yun and Kelsang, I need you to join me on a quest to get revenge and kill him myself!"
Kyoshi curled in on herself. The more she thought about it, the more the idea sounded cringey and horrible. Rangi wasn't going to believe her if she just blurted that out, who would? If anything she might get angrier. She'd need to use such a method as a last resort.
She also couldn't just go around yelling about how she's the Avatar, especially with the way her bending was.
My bending. She groaned. She'd convinced the rest of the Flying Opera Company to teach them their forms in exchange for Pengpeng's services, even Kirima. Though Kirima was very confused why an earthbender would want to know waterbending forms, Kyoshi's excuse that 'wisdom can be gleaned from every nation' tied her over well.
But that type of training wasn't going to start until they were in a more stable position. Which meant, the faster they got their 'score' over with, the faster Kyoshi could get her revenge.
"So, what's the plan, where are we going?"
The group hid on the outskirts of Youke village, a decent sized village where travelers frequently passed through. It wasn't supremely wealthy, but it did contain enough riches to hold the group over.
Their first order of business was food. Luckily, there was a lake and large stream nearby the cave they hid Pengpeng in. Kirima got to fishing, with Lek starting the fire. Wong and Kyoshi were in charge of carrying and cooking the meat, and Lao Ge was…..well…. He was there. Sometimes they'd see him by Pengpeng, feeding her various greens and feed he must've sneaked off to forage for her.
While Kyoshi and Wong prepared the food, Lek and Kirima wandered off south of the village. When they came back, their hands were full of bundles of black clothing.
"What's that?" Kyoshi asked as she twirled one of the fish sticks over the fire.
"Our disguises," Kirima said. "We normally wear make-up for jobs, but, well, we don't have any."
Kyoshi stood up in surprise. "Wait, I think I have some!"
Lek's ears perked up, but became sullen with Krimia's next words. "No, that's yours. We can't take it. At least not yet. Plus, it would be worse luck for us to wear our face with someone who hasn't taken the code yet, than us not wearing it on a job at all."
Kyoshi blinked. Code? Oh, right. The code her mother had written about in her journal. It was a ritual to join the Flying Opera Company, many oaths had to be taken. "Then, let me take the oaths now!"
"No."
"Wha-why not?!"
"You need to earn our trust, kid. And this," Kirima threw a stack of clothes at Kyoshi. "Is your initiation."
"This one looks good," Lao Ge eyed a scroll in his hand.
It had been about a day or so since they had been in Youke village, and since they'd been scoping out the place. The team had decided on how to split things up.
Lek and Wong would scope out places that had money and various treasures. Kirima would handle places with make-up, and if time sufficed, medical supplies as well. Kyoshi thought the priority for Kirima's part should've been reversed, but she held her tongue.
That left Kyoshi and Lao Ge, who decided to scope out bookstores and libraries. Lao Ge had made a convincing argument that wealth can be found in knowledge or something or other.
Kyoshi glanced at the scroll in his hand, it looked like some kind of government document on wells or something. She frowned. "That's not a bending scroll"
Lao Ge had made special mention that one of the reasons they were doing this was so they could gather special bending scrolls for Kyoshi. Any kind, really, she needed all the help she could get. But they were especially in dire need for air and fire scrolls. So far, they've had no luck.
"I know, but there's something special in this one. Maybe not for you, but for the group!" He hid the scroll behind a shelf, probably to find later that night.
They walked around the store a few more times before it felt like they were drawing too much attention by just looking rather than buying, and left.
The duo walked by an inn, where two older women appeared to be gossiping.
"Oh I just hope that girl can find her in-law soon!" The woman with a fan cried, fanning herself for dramatic effect.
"It's such a shame when a family gets separated!" The other woman dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
"Oh I know, sometimes I think my husband is still shaken up from when-"
The conversation became harder to hear as they got farther away, which was pretty far. Those two women were very loud. She looked back, and saw the inn and noticed various windows were open due to the heat. She made a mental note, in case she needed to hide away in a room tonight.
"Worry not, little disciple." He waved a hand at her, getting her attention back. "Just go to that bookshelf on the far right side, I think it'll have what you're looking for."
Kyoshi hadn't looked in that section of the store, that had been Lao Ge's side, but she could only take his word for it. "Thank you, Sifu."
"And don't feel too nervous, we're just here for a quick hit and we'll be gone. As long as you don't sell us out, or get captured, it'll be fine."
Despite his intent, his words didn't settle Kyoshi's nerves down.
Kyoshi finally understood why her outfit had a lot of bands around the arms and legs. It was to to pocket stuff into her clothes, and for the items to stay there more easily.
She and Lao Ge, and the rest of the Flying Opera Company, were dressed like stereotypical thieves. Head completely covered except for the eyes. Lao Ge carrying a giant sack to fill their goods in.
"No no! Put those in this bag, and stuff this in your tunic!" Lao Ge whispered as they cleared out sections of the bookstore. He'd made sure to gather the scrolls and books he put aside first.
Kyoshi scanned the walls and noticed a few new scrolls that weren't there that morning. Some with a lot more colorful binding. She grabbed them.
"Ok we're done here! Let's get back!" Lao Ge yell-whispered to Kyoshi.
Kyoshi nodded, stuffing the last of the scrolls that took her fancy into her tunic, and carrying the rest in her arms. Lao Ge heaved the giant bag onto his back, and they slowly squeezed it out of the window.
The quiet night was broken with whistles and alarms in the air.
"Quick! Get her!" A commanding voice called in the dark, it made Kyoshi stiffen in response.
"Tch," Lao Ge got into a bending position. "Looks like Kirima got spotted. Listen, stay on the roof and out of the light. Just focus on making your way back to camp!"
"But how am I going to get on the ro-" Kyoshi swallowed her scream as she saw Lao Ge's foot come down and launched her into the air. She landed on a nearby roof with a soft thud.
Kyoshi gripped the uneven tiles as her foot rested on the gutter, trying to steady herself before pulling herself up.
A little more warning could've been nice. She thought, annoyed.
She stood up slowly, until she was in a stable half-crouching position, and slowly moved her way over the roofs. Staying out of the light wasn't too hard, as the giant moon was obscured by clouds for the time being.
She was surprised to find she was more athletic than she realized, as she was able to clear gaps in the roof with a jump, small or long. Or perhaps it was just the benefit her height and the close proximity of the roofs had. Either way, it made her feel good in a way.
She moved swiftly through the darkness, surprised to see her servant training and light footsteps coming in handy.
She was about three-fourths through her route when she saw guards appearing on the street below. Kyoshi cursed to herself. She'd been so lucky up until now. All the ruckus was on the other end of the town. If the guards were here, either the other members had shaken them loose, or some guards had wisened up and thought to check for other members around the city.
As Kyoshi wondered if she should stay where she was at, or continue onward, the moon decided for her. It started peaking through the clouds, if she stayed she would most definitely be spotted. She looked at her surroundings and noticed the inn from earlier. Unlike that morning, most of the windows were closed now, except for one.
She took a deep breath, and started running and bounding to the door as quietly as she could. Her foot slipped slightly on the roof tile just as she jumped through the window, just enough that it made a sound.
She slipped behind the window and sneakily looked out. The guards were whipping their heads back and forth.
"Did you hear that?" One said.
"Yeah but I don't see anything," said the other.
"Maybe it was a mouse cat?" The first one offered.
After a few moments, they finally started to walk away. Kyoshi finally let out the breath she'd been holding. She was lucky that this inn happened to be here with a vacant room. At least , she assumed it was vacant. What kind of sane person would keep their window open while they occupied it?
They must've left it open to keep the air circulating.
But Kyoshi's moment of reverie in her escape was put to a halt by the sound of sharp small breaths.
Someone's in here! She whipped around to look, but she was met with pure darkness. Oh now you go back behind the clouds! She cursed at the moon.
The sharp breaths continued, at first Kyoshi thought it was a person, then an angry spirit. Now, she realized they sounded familiar. She wasn't sure where to place where she'd heard it from.
"Kyoshi…." she heard a familiar voice whisper in the dark. Hearing her name caused Kyoshi to lurch.
Unsure whether to run backward or take a step forward, her feet accidentally entangled themselves over each other, with her body decidedly flying forward. She caught herself with her left foot after a huge step forward, but the momentum got her again and she needed to bring her right foot forward to balance herself out.
Her right foot, however, connected with something on the ground in front of her, and caused Kyoshi to fall tail over teakettle over the object on the ground. She landed upside down on her shoulders, as she heard the voice gasp in pain.
Kyoshi scrambled, rolling herself over, and attempted to sneak into the shadows as the light of the moon came back. Damn it! That thing has it out for me!
She pulled her leg back, but not fast enough before the figure, their features cast in shadow in front of the moonlight, turned their head.
There was a flick of a wrist, and a flame torch appeared in the figure's hand. Kyoshi stared in the eyes of her second worst fear. She was alone in a room with Rangi.
Kyoshi needed to reevaluate her friend's ability to keep a promise. Apparently, she was as quick as she was capable of delivering on them.
Kyoshi froze, gripping at the loose scrolls in her arms.
Is it better she can't recognize me in this get up? Or is it worse? Was the only thought that went through her mind. She decided on 'worse' because in the time it'd take for her to reveal her identity, Rangi would've already turned her into barbecue pork shrimp.
But as Rangi slowly analyzed Kyoshi, she stopped at her face and her features became soft. "K…Kyoshi?" she whispered.
Really?! I know there's not a lot of 'almost seven feet tall' people in the Earth Kingdom, but surely I'm not the only one! Kelsang and Wong were around her height too!
But Kyoshi's frantic train of thought came to a halt when she really took a look at Rangi's appearance.
Rangi didn't have her armor on, instead she was just dressed down to her sleeveless white tunic and under shorts that fell short on her upper thigh.
Her eyes were slightly glazed, as if she was half awake. Her cheeks had a slight sheen to them, as if fresh tears had just been spilt. She also had a large bruise formed across her face accompanied by a busted lip.
Yeah, I'm going to get Kirima back for that.
The most important thing she noticed from Rangi was, she wasn't attacking her. Kyoshi's eyes widened in surprise. This was her chance!
Kyoshi shifted the scrolls so that all the loose ones were being held by her left hand, then she scrambled to face Rangi and close the distance.
"Rang, I have something to tell you, please listen!" Kyoshi took her right hand and cupped Rangi's face, wiping away some of the wetness. Rangi flinched a bit, but didn't move away, her eyes were still wide and glazy. "Jianzhu he-"
There was a sudden crash that shook the room, and in an instant the room was illuminated with new light.
Kyoshi turned around. Guardsmen stood at what used to be the entrance to the room, a giant hole cratering the frame. Light from the hallway spilt into the once darkened room.
Kyoshi looked at the men, who bore a shocked expression that matched her own. After a brief standoff, Kyoshi's brain came to a screeching halt. She realized what the men saw.
There was an unknown person, dressed as a stereotypical thief, in a dark room with the window open. With said thief's hand on what appeared to be a defenseless, half dressed, and crying woman.
To her horror, Kyoshi painfully realized how much of a prowler she really looked liked.
Kyoshi's brain went into overdrive, a scream stopped midway up her throat by her heart. Sweat was pooling all around her body. She was sure the spirits had it out for her, why else was everything going so sideways? Did one of her past lives screw the spirits over so bad they had to curse her? Was it Kuruk? She bet it was Kuruk.
She pulled her hand away from Rangi, and put her hands up in a surrendering pose. "I-uh, it's not what it looks-" Kyoshi's eyes widened and her body moved instinctively in front of Rangi, as she saw the guards bending a giant earth boulder.
"M-miscreant!" One yelled in a high pitched voice, before hurling the rock at the two girls. "Lech! Intruder! You despicable fiend!"
Kyoshi quickly pushed Rangi out of the way of the boulder and dove past her, saving them from the boulder. Then she made a break for the window. The boulder left a giant crater in the floor, and Kyoshi could hear disgruntled voices from the room below. At the same time she registered that, she also heard a slam and a clattering. Kyoshi was sure she may have thrown Rangi too hard and her poor friend had hit the wall.
Kyoshi was sure that wasn't going to help Rangi's mood, but at least Rangi wasn't crushed. Definitely lost some friend points there. She grimaced to herself as she jumped out the window and onto the roof.
She started running down the rooftop when alarms and sirens started to blare in her direction. Great.
With no need for stealth, she began sprinting to the nearest rooftops, light be damned.
As she bounded her way over roof tops, she realized she heard a whooshing sound. She risked a chance to look back, to see a very angry Rangi hot on her heels. She was using that new jet-stepping move she created back in Chameleon Bay to make her way across the rooftop gaps.
"Gah! I'm sorry!" Kyoshi yelled. Hoping the blanketed apology would balm whatever rage her friend was in. Instead it acted more like gasoline on a fire.
"YOU'RE SORRY?!" Rangi roared incredulously. Kyoshi felt a weird pull from her left side, and quickly leaned to the right to avoid it.
Great, now she's chucking fireballs.
A candle went off in Kyoshi's head. Wait, I felt the fire! I can sense that element! M-maybe if I firebend, that'll stop her! Yelling her Avatar status might not be a good idea, but maybe showing it would be. Especially since she had a firebender near her that they could use as a cover-up!
As she ran and dodged the oncoming fireballs, she kept trying to perform a fire fist. C'mon, just a little flame! A spark! Anything!
But no matter how many punches or swings she made, she just couldn't get a flame to burst from her fist. Ah, forget it! Seeing the futility in her efforts, she swung her fist down and behind her as she ran.
She felt something respond to her motion, a different kind of pull. Kyoshi watched in horror as a giant chunk of the ground from below, followed her arm motion and shot right into the rooftop behind her. It decimated the rooftop, knocking Rangi's feet out from under her and knocking her off the roof. Rangi locked eyes with Kyoshi, a look of surprise and betrayal on her face, before she was soon sent barreling towards the ground.
Kyoshi could feel the blood leaving her face as she painked and quickly threw her arms up into the Soft Bridge position. Hoping either the ground would soften, or a pillar would come up and meet Rangi before she fell too far.
Her bending took the form of the latter. A giant pillar shot up from the ground at a rapid pace, meeting Rangi mid air. Rangi hit the pillar with a resounding THWACK. Arms and legs sprawled out like she was performing a belly flop in the water.
The pillar shot up higher than the tallest building nearby, due to Kyoshi's lack of control, and only stopped when the pillar was perfectly framed in front of the moon. Almost like the moon itself was mocking her.
Kyoshi didn't move, she just stared with an expression mixed with deadpan and terror. It felt like an eternity as she saw Rangi's hand slowly appear and grip the edge of the pillar, and then pull her head over the edge to look at Kyoshi.
Fresh blood trickled down her nose and forehead from where she made contact with the pillar. Rangi's face bore an expression that walked the lines of absolute contempt and "You HAVE GOT to be kidding me!"
Kyoshi felt sweat pooling down her body as her anxiety increased. Yeah… I can't salvage this. And then started sprinting harder than she ever had before. Sprinting over the last few rooftops, and having to haphazardly bend a too high of an earth slide to tumble down to get to the bottom.
As she rolled she could hear Rangi screaming her name. She was far back, but Kyoshi could tell she was gaining. Kyoshi opted for a riskier route, and cut through the nearby lake. She earthbent a sloppy, giant bridge out from the water.
Kyoshi quickly scrambled across, and as she did, she could see the rest of her team just over the hill; they quickly maneuvered Pengpeng to get closer.
Kyoshi looked back as she ran up the hill, Rangi was now crossing her bridge. Kyoshi, in a panic, threw her hands down into Subduing Bridge, and the earth quickly retreated right beneath Rangi's feet, causing her to fall into the water.
She could hear the Fly Opera Company yelling for her, and she pushed herself into a full sprint. She heard Lek call for Pengpeng to take off just as she felt something cool wrap around her waist as someone earthbent a launch pad beneath her feet.
Kyoshi was flung through the air, but was gently pulled into the saddle by Kirima's waterbending. Kyoshi was surprised to find herself still holding onto all the scrolls she'd taken, none had left her tunic or grasp since she sprinted out of the hotel.
Kyoshi looked down and saw Rangi just reaching them as they were well into the air. She saw Rangi let off some sparks in frustration, before she completely disappeared from sight behind the clouds they'd ascended too.
I'm really in the gopher dog house now…. Kyoshi thought, gasping for air after the intense chase.
When she turned around, everyone, sans Lao Ge, was giving her the biggest side eye she'd ever seen.
"So, quick question," Lek started, sizing Kyoshi up. "Why was your ex chasing you half-naked?"
Kyoshi's only response was throwing the scrolls in their faces.
A/N: FOC: What were you doing on the job?
Kyoshi: It's not what you think! Nothing happened! TT0TT And she's not "half naked", she's just wearing PJs! ….I think…..
FOC: You're just raising more questions than answers!
More comedy of errors on Kyoshi's side, rip Kyo enjoy it while it lasts, cause when the shoe drops well…. u_u
Anyway, Jianzhu chapter next 8U (now you know why it's been a struggle TT0TT)