How To Save (Seduce!) Your Villain A Guide By Avatar Aang

by Nazaki-Sama

"Shitty author, shitty novel! Prince Zuko deserves justice!" Aang's famous last words as he took his last breath, and then he found himself waking up in the novel he died cursing. Feeling anger and indignation for the way his favorite character died unjustly, Aang vowed to give Prince Zuko the happy ending he deserved, even if he was the Villain! Inspired By SVSSS.

5. Chapter 5

…How To Save (Seduce!) Your Villain In A Few Easy Steps; A Guide By Avatar Aang…

/Warnings: This chapter contains:- cursing, sadness, crying, a little bit of humor, fluff, hurt/comfort, and feelings (lots and lots of feelings!)! All reviews are appreciated.

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Chapter 5

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Aang was done, he was done; he really was! He was so tired and angry, and a step away from leaving the brats with him in some no-name village and calling it a day! Offer them for adoption or something because clearly, Aang didn't know how to handle two teenage brats who were hellbent on making Aang's life a living hell and disregarding all of his authority and seniority in the group! They make choices and do what they like without consulting Aang, and always cause trouble wherever they go.

Aang swore to everything holy up there that he was this close… This close! …To just pick up the kids and make a U-turn, go back to the Southern Water Tribes and drop their kids there; give them some strongly worded letter or speech about how they should teach their brats better. Maybe that would teach the two brats one or two things and actually slam some common sense into their heads, making them stop doing whatever the hell they wanted and damn the consequences, they caused! Consequences that would end up coming and biting Aang in the ass because he was the one who had to interfere and put a stop to the madness the brats created!

Aang was angry; he was so angry that it was a miracle he wasn't steaming from how furious he was… Aang was furious! … he was so done with everything that he knew he would blow up on the next person who gave him a wrong look or even dared to open their mouth. Even the System knew something was wrong and didn't dare to open its trap and bother him about the plot anymore; content with floating way back in the group and giving Aang all the space he desperately needed after the blunder Katara had dared to do to ruin Aang's days and make him question her intellect and ability to survive on her own.

Gods above! Why do such things always happen to Aang? Why is it always Aang?! He swore to everything holy that he was good and was trying to do good by saving the world and stopping the war! So why were the fates punishing him by forcing him to be the legal guardian of two brats who had shown him nothing but pain and bitterness in the weeks since he took over raising them than all the criminals he had to take down in his years as a lawyer?! Why do the fates hate him so much that they turn Aang's life into hell just for spite and giggles? How do people handle taking care of teenagers when Aang almost committed arson after just a week or two with these brats?! To make things worse, people willingly went on and reproduced to increase their numbers when the end result was these ungrateful little shits that turned his (Shaved) hair grey every time they opened their mouths! How did this damn novel white-wash them so much that it turned them into angels, Aang would never know!

Oh, just the reminder of what happened not that long ago was enough for Aang to growl out and glare at everyone looking their way with a look that told them he would come at them and bite them where it hurt! Aang's blood boiled in his veins to the point he wondered how he didn't start Fire Bending then and there with how much fury was swimming in his soul! Curse Aang and all of his ancestors if he ever looked at a child after this babysitting job was over and thought children were adorable. They are not! They were evil incarnations and Aang was a thousand and one present sure they were not even humans to begin with!

People hearing his growl and feeling the dark aura emitting from Aang in waves, scrambled away; a look of terror on their faces as they looked at the dark cloud over Aang's head and the miasma of fury and loath oozing out of him. Even the chatty vegetable seller who was mouthing off to his brats and trying to sell them rotten vegetables had shut her mouth; a shaky smile on her lips as she finally brought all of her finer products to the front and didn't dare to say something to Aang, fearing that she would set him off and receive the blunt blow of his rage instead of the brats behind him who deserved it.

Brats if Aang saw at this moment, he promised to send them head first into the ocean not that far away and get rid of them once and for all… well, maybe not Sokka, the boy had shown himself to be reliable and had good instincts, but his sister? oh, Aang had so much to say to her father and crazy grandmother when they were going to meet after Aang dropped them in the Northern Water Tribes and called it a day.

Aang frowned harshly, picking up a watermelon and inspecting it with a dark look; Aang knocked on the melon, frowning even harshly at the sound he heard… Aang picked another, and he moved it a bit, his scowl became even harsher as he heard a sloshing sound. "Are you trying to cheat me?" Aang questioned the seller darkly, watching how the woman stuttered and swore up and down that the watermelon was ripe and good to eat…

Yeah right! Good to eat, Aang was sure that one bite of this death trap and then the brats behind him (Katara was complaining and trying to apologize -Like she had been doing ever since she made that fucking mistake not that long ago- and being ignored by Aang, while Sokka was hugging Momo, and looking between Aang and Katara while hissing at his sister to stop… really, the only one with brain cells between the two) were going to die from severe food poisoning before they even managed to swallow the first bite.

"Aang! I said I was sorry! Please, I am sorry!" Katara whined and pouted harshly while looking at Aang with pleading eyes, begging for his understanding and acceptance; Aang could only snort, roll his eyes and for the thousandth time that day, ignore the girl (Just like he had been doing for days now) as he abandoned the watermelon and went to inspect the leafy green hanging, planning on concentrating on that instead of the death trap disguised as fruit.

"Well…" Aang drawled out, putting the leafy greens in his basket before finally picking a couple of apples he saw Sokka eyeing. "Sokka, would you please let it be known that 'Sorry' don't magically solve anything, and doesn't bring automatic forgiveness," Aang replied, irritation clear in his voice as he put on some more fruit and vegetable in the basket; his face got even darker at the reminder of what Katara had done weeks ago because Katara had a shit taste in men, she practically followed the first one who waved for her home (…Aang was definitely ignoring the hurt and sadness as he remembered the words said weeks ago when… Aang was not sad, he was not hurt; he was also not disappointed… yeah, he was just angry, that was that…).

Aang hummed, already planning on what to do for dinner that day, wrinkling his nose when he remembered that he had to go and buy meat after finishing here… ugh… Aang just felt disgusted just remembering this, but he sighed; in the end, Aang had two kids who needed all the nutrition to grow up, and even if Aang was a vegetarian, he couldn't force his diet and beliefs on kids who needed all the nutrition they could get after years of starvation.

Katara hearing his words, choked up and then started to stutter more apologizes and even went as far as tugging Aang's clothes, trying so hard to justify herself and beg for forgiveness for her wrongdoings… Aang ignored her, acting as if she wasn't there tugging his robes which were going to be ripped if this continued on.

"Katara…" Sokka sighed at the display, petting Momo before pulling Katara away and putting the lemur in his sister's hands, cutting her off from continuing to dig her grave even more. "Maybe you should just give Aang some… space…" Sokka, the only person with brains between the two siblings said, his words made Katara whine looking close to tears, but nonetheless, she ended up listening to her brother and leaving Aang alone to angry shop for their dinner.

For the thousandth time ever since Aang transmigrated into this shitty novel, he couldn't help but wonder how it was Sokka who was killed in this stupid novel, and Katara was the one who survived when it was clear to everyone out there, that Sokka was the only one with two brain cells and instincts to survive, unlike his airheaded sister who fell in love with every boy they met and God's above couldn't help but cause troubles wherever she went because 'She wanted to help' or God forbid, got a crush.

But as always, Aang ignored that line of thinking because hell to the no he didn't want his blood pressure to shoot through the roof as it already did the past days after the suffering Aang went through… In and out, Aang, in and out. Nice and easy just like the therapist had told you… Aang tried to tell himself for what felt like the umpteenth time, hoping that this time would be the golden time and Aang would finally calm down and get over all of this.

Taking a deep breath to calm down; Aang paused a bit as the scent of a sweet, pungent zing hit him. Turning around, Aang narrowed his eyes as he looked around the seaside village they found themselves in; narrowing his eyes a bit as he gazed at the cloudless sky with a look of deep concentration before taking another deep breath.

"Sokka!" Aang called out, snapping Katara and Sokka, who were watching an old (No doubt married) couple fighting in front of them, out of their daze, and made them turn their attention to Aang. "Get your stuff and prepare to find a shelter, a storm is coming," Aang ordered, turning back to the woman behind the stand and paying her for the purchase, before walking to his kids who were standing beside Appa, already planning on finding somewhere to hide until the storm passed.

"See!" The elderly woman screeched, pointing at Aang, and making the man raise his eyebrow at this. "Even he could tell there was a storm coming, and yet here you are! Bent on going out there and die!" The woman chided her husband narrowing her eyes at him and looking a step too close dragging him away by his beard.

"You are crazy. He probably is crazy!" The fisherman snapped pointing at Aang and causing his eye to twitch at that. "It's a nice day!" The man gestured to the sky with both arms. "No clouds, no winds, no nothing. So quit your nagging, woman!" Aang rolled his eyes, motioning to his brats to come to him.

"Come on, Sokka, we need to go, leave the dead man alone, we need to find shelter before the storm hits," Aang demanded, putting his hand on Sokka's shoulder and steering him away, ignoring the squawk heard coming from the man behind who whirled on Aang and glared at him.

"What did you say?!" The fisherman growled pulling his straw hat away from his face and glaring at Aang… a glare that tapered off and the man gulped when Aang stood to his full height and looked down at the man with a dark scowl, watching how the man stuttered before clearing his throat and then saying. "…Sir." In such a tiny noise as small as a gnat.

"You heard me the first time, no need to repeat." Aang rolled his eyes before looking at the sky once more. "Besides, a man who doesn't listen to his wife is a dead man walking because want it or not, buddy; the wife is always right." Here, the fisherman's wife looked at her husband with a smirk and a look of superiority as she crossed her arms over her chest ignoring her husband who growled at her.

"The boy with the tattoos has some sense, you Blockhead. You should listen to him!" The woman smiled at Aang happily before sending a harsh glare to her husband, making the man growl something under his breath; Aang rolled his eyes, picked Momo from over Sokka's head, and motioned to the kids (Still ignoring Katara) to move it for they had spent way more time talking to some nut case who was seeking his death than Aang wanted.

"Wait a minute… Boy with tattoos?" The fisherman then turned to Aang and narrowed his eyes as if trying to focus. "Air Bender tattoos! Well, I'll be a hog monkey's uncle." The man looked surprised before he pointed his finger at Aang. "You are the Avatar, ain't ya?" He questioned and before Katara answered that question for Aang and got him in trouble, Aang shut her mouth by sending her a narrowed look.

"And you are a dead fisherman, we covered that up." Aang ignored the old man's sputtering as he turned to the Lady. "Excuse me, Ma'am; is there any inn in here or somewhere to offer shelter in the forest?" Aang questioned, already planning on going to the forest and searching for a cave or something if there wasn't.

"Well…" The old woman paused, looking between Aang and her husband before a devilish look flashed in her eyes; Aang all but groaned at this sight, already feeling a headache approaching. "You could come and stay with me until the storm ends; I could even put that creature with you in the boathouse, it will fit." The woman nodded, ignoring how her husband's eyes widened to the point they almost bulged out of his head.

"What the…?! Woman! Are you mad?! Bringing a stranger to my own house!" The man screeched, ignoring how his wife raised her nose in the air and started to walk toward Aang and took his arm before pulling her to no doubt her house.

"What? You are already planning on going and dying in the sea; I might as well find myself a nice young man who would take care of me when you die; someone who would actually listen!" The old woman snapped back in anger; her words making the man deny and argue before he started to follow his wife and try to justify his cause.

Totally ignoring Aang who was dragged by an elderly woman who had such a strong grip that Aang couldn't even budge an inch and escape from her claws (God above! Aang didn't know elderly women could have such a strong grip like this!), which made him sigh and motion to Katara, Sokka, and Appa to follow. "Say… you don't have any 'Bad Boys' staying at your house, do you?" Aang questioned, ignoring Katara who shrieked Aang's name, her face red with embarrassment at having her sordid past exposed like this.

"Bad boys… why would we…?" The fisherman looked at Aang, then at Katara when she shrieked, before realization struck and the man let out a tired sigh, giving Aang a look of sympathy. "So, your kid also tried to run away with one, didn't she?" The fisherman gives Katara a disappointed look. "Don't tell me, he plays music and is going to be 'The next famous musician of this century!'." The man mocked, waving his hands around like a fangirl and widening his eyes in mockery.

Aang snorted at that, remembering the event that took place not that long ago, his mood plummeting to the ground just remembering it before finally spitting out. "Worse, way worse. He was a 'Freedom Fighter'…" Aang mocked, his words made the fisherman facepalm so hard his face became red before he sent Katara a disbelieving look (Which was answered by a pout on the girl's side before she tugged at Aang's robes… again, Aang ignored her and didn't even turn her way still angry and hurt). After that, Aang and the elderly couple started talking about raising kids and the misshapes around that topic. Aang hoped the couple would give him a piece of advice or two to help with these kids…

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He really didn't want another Jet's misshape to happen again…

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…(The day started like every other day did, ever since Aang transmigrated into this world… with the System acting as his exclusive alarming clock; screeching its nonexistent lungs out and waking Aang at the crack ass of dawn to start the day. Rising before the sun even rose and all that crap or whatever… Aang knew deep in his bones that this day was going to be shit through and through… he just knew it…

Aang remembered lying on his bedroll and gazing at the treetops above, lamenting his life choices and the reason he found himself in this forest God knows where with two brats he was forced to babysit and were hellbent on making Aang's life a pain to live. The annoying System on the other hand was floating on Aang's right, taking its new job as a news channel seriously and telling him about the weather or something.

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【…And the temperature would be around…. A lower chance for rain… wind… So, if My Liege wanted to enjoy taking a flight, today is the day!】

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Aang was already drowning out the System's voice, ignoring that thing and trying to think of positive thoughts that would bring his mood up a bit so he would get the energy wanted to get up and start this day that shaped up to be pretty bad from the start… Cats… that was Aang's first thought before he blinked and let out a sigh when he saw Momo snoozing on top of his chest; yeah, the thoughts of cats didn't cheer him up as they used to do, not after being given a cat in the form of a flying lemur that was more trouble than good, and then he had to actually take care of that thing and watch it twenty-four/seven or else the animal would eat something poisonous and die!

We are getting close to the north… Aang could only try to cheer himself up at the thought of getting closer and closer to the Northern Pole, where he then would learn Water Bending and after, leave Sokka and Katara there to go on a solo journey and find the Venerable Blue Spirit who was going to help him win this war… But… they were weeks away from the north, and Aang knew it would take even longer because Katara and Sokka couldn't shut up for one damn day and always act like kids hyped on sugar and caused Aang many troubles… Aang let out a pained sigh at that thought, but at least the mention of the Blue Spirit cheered him up somewhat, and Aang wondered when would he meet that Venerable Spirit and then convince him to come with him… Soon, I hope… Aang could only pray.

…Prince Zuko… The thought of Prince Zuko actually brought a smile to Aang's face; a snicker left him, and Aang couldn't help the amusement from taking hold of him. Man, it had been a while since Aang had seen Prince Zuko around; ever since that day when Katara accidentally called him 'Princess' (Not that she was wrong, the man was such a Princess when he wanted to be). Aang would admit that his days had been a bit boring without the Prince chasing him around, and he couldn't help wondering when he would see the Little Princeling… I wonder what Prince Zuko is doing now… Aang couldn't help the amused smile making itself known the longer he thought about the Prince.

It was fun, teasing Prince Zuko, the most fun Aang had since he transmigrated into this stupid world; the highlight of his day, and after a while of no Prince Zuko in sight, Aang was becoming bored and grumpier (And a little bit concern to be honest), especially when Katara was all about Prince Zuko this and Aang that… Sigh… Aang hoped Prince Zuko would show up soon, he prepared so many teasing remarks to greet the Prince with… Aang couldn't help but pout at the reminder of the remarks that were left unused because the Prince didn't show up for their weekly chase.

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【My Liege?】

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"Hmmm." Was Aang's reply as he finally stood up from his bedroll and prepared to start the day by doing his morning stretches and exercise before starting to prepare breakfast for the kids who would wake up hungry and demanding food and attention… kids… Aang wondered how people actually wanted them when they were just a pain in the ass that required constant attention and supervision or they would welt and die like a flower you looked away from a second too long.

That day started like any other day of Aang's life since his transmigration into this world… a pain and a half, and if Aang knew any better when he woke up that day, he wouldn't have even left his bed and continued sleeping on until this cursed day was over and Aang could finally wake up child-free and back in his home…

Home… where Aang would drink his sweet, sweet coffee (Something to Aang's heartbreak didn't exist in this world… yet… if Aang had anything to say about it) and read the newspaper like any normal human being, before going to work and terrorizing the criminals before calling it a day and enjoying the rest of his days like how he always liked. No saving the world, no deadline until a fucking magical comet appeared and brought with it death; no babysitting duties, and especially no annoying System that was the most annoying parasite to ever exist in the world!

The first warning of that day showed up in the form of Momo getting stuck in a Fire Nation trap after chasing a bug… in fact, that was all the warning Aang needed to know that this day was going to be shit through and through, but what did Aang do? What did he dare to do?! Aang decided to be an idiot and think positively for once… Aang decided to take the positive approach and look where it got him! …Aang by now, should have known his track record of thinking positively and how it always ended when he did so. Still, Aang persisted…

The second warning of the day to Aang's (Not much) surprise was in the form of Sokka and Katara starting their daily bickering session; Aang could only sigh, as he looked at Katara and Sokka going on and on. Sokka was going in about how they should walk to avoid getting detected by the Fire Nation while flying a giant fluffy monster (Making the poor bison look at Aang before letting out noises of hurt that made Aang sigh and pat the animal on the nose while offering comforting words) while Katara went on and called her brother stupid and how this action would make them late and they would take a long time to even go from point A to point B if they did what Sokka asked for… again, this caused Sokka and Katara to start a fight that Aang had to break and not for the thousandth time, Aang wondered why he was even here in the first place… in the end, Aang managed to reach a compromise that would satisfy both children and make them stop bickering loudly and attracting everyone's attention, and with that off they went hiking to reach the next village… something that was filled with children's bickering and disgruntled words, and Aang snapping at them to shut up (Which they would do for like, five minutes before they were back to bickering once more).

The third warning? The System was so chipper and happy that Aang could only look at it from the corners of his eye; his suspicion was through the roof when that damned parasite continued to be happy and talk about the 'Amazing' sights and from the way it acted, Aang knew that thing was trying to distract him or something. Aang had half a mind to just turn back and leave everyone and everything and fly away… but Aang wasn't Aang if he wasn't committed to everything he did to the bitter end… so what did Aang do? He sucked it up and continued on his journey, questioning everything about his stupid life as he continued hearing the brats go on and on and on; their fight attracting every predator in the forest, human or not…

When their group stumbled upon a Fire Nation camp, by then, Aang's hope had left him, and he knew that this day was going to be so bad that no amount of positive thinking would change its outcome. As Aang gazed at the soldiers who were in the middle of their lunch break, Aang could only let out a tired sigh, raising his hand and facepalming so hard that a few soldiers flinched. Katara and Sokka, on the other hand, shrieked and tried to run away; an action that seemed to snap the Fire Benders out of their surprise and make them surround the three of them preparing to attack.

By the time the System had announced 'The Freedom Fighters Arc' starting… Aang's hope in humanity had left, and he could only watch numbly as that thug appeared from the treetops like a monkey and jumped at the Fire Nation's soldiers, attacking and incapacitating all of them with the help of his company. Aang could only gaze at the sky with unimpressed eyes; he was feeling pain so unimaginable and was left wondering why it was always him who found himself in such situations when he had done nothing wrong in his life! Debatable, but still it was the principle of things!

When Aang saw that thug disarm a soldier and then stop near Katara and give her a smile with that 'Hey'; Aang could only narrow his eyes, his protective instincts reared their head and he almost went and pushed that thug out of his brat's way… when Aang saw Katara look at Jet with sparkly eyes, a blush on her face as she whispered back 'Hi'… Aang almost clutched his nonexistent pearls, horror making itself known when he managed to recognize that look on Katara's face then and there… No… Aang could only feel horror at the realization that his stupid brat had gone on and developed a crush of a murderous thug, in the span of five seconds where their eyes had met each other…

Suddenly, Aang could only freeze as he felt his life flashing in front of his eyes then and there; his mind could only process these few facts. Teenagers Older Bad Boys Sheltered Unstable Young Girls Bad Life Choices Genocide On The Way Bad Breakup = Teenage Pregnancy! Just that thought, made Aang's heart drop to the pit of his stomach, his face twisting in horror and his eyes almost bulging out… I am not ready to be a grandfather at the age of 24! …Aang's mind screeched, before he paused, and blinked in confusion at that stupid line of thinking before he shook his head.

No! No, that came out wrong! Aang was the guardian of these two brats and their crazy Gran-Gran had entrusted them to Aang; returning back the granddaughter pregnant at the age of thirteen due to bad life choices on her part would turn Aang into nothing but a monster who couldn't take care of two children right and had endangered them in a way unimaginable! He was breaking everyone's trust by allowing Katara to stand near that unstable maniac!

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【My… Liege?】

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The System's voice snapped Aang out, and he could only blink before sending the System a look that promised it death and suffering unimaginable in the future. "This is all your fault, and when I finish this arc, I swear to God I will kill you." Aang hissed, ignoring the System shriek of terror as he marched toward Katara, picking her from the back of her dress (Ignoring her squeak of embarrassment as she hissed at Aang to drop her down) and putting her beside her brother, glaring her into submission in the hope of Katara not doing something stupid (…Who was Aang kidding, these two were teenagers, their whole lives revolved about doing stupid things!). "Ok, brats, enough is enough! Both of you, on Appa's back, we are flying away." Aang snapped, pointing to Appa who was munching on some bushes not that far away.

"Wait, wait! Why the rush? You could stay a bit, introduce yourself, something… ha…" The Thug started with a charming smile that all but vanished when Aang sent him his infamous glare, promising him pain if he continued. "Ahem! Anyway, my name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters. Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, The Duke, and Pipsqueak." Jet introduced himself, without even being asked to, and Aang growled, once more motioning to Appa…

To Aang's (Again not much) surprise, Katara ignored him and snuck from under his arm, going to Jet and introducing everyone to him, and to damn Aang even more, she introduced him as 'The Avatar, The Master of all Elements, and the Bridge between the Spirit and Mortal Worlds'. That made Jet stare at him with wide eyes and Aang could only scowl harshly at him, wondering what kind of punishment fit for Katara's disobedience this time; Aang's hope of leaving had already vanished by the time Katara ignored Aang, ignored Sokka, and ignored all the signs that pointed to something dangerous, and acted like an airheaded brat with a crush… you know what? Aang was so going to bill the Water Tribes that generations would pass and they would still be indebted to him, just wait!

"Katara…" Aang hissed in a threatening tone, watching how the little girl ignored him and continued with her way toward Jet, offering a shy smile as she talked with the boy and ignored Sokka who called her out after looking at the camp looking weirded out, and definitely ignoring Aang who was standing near Appa fuming while petting Momo to calm his anger down.

Aang twitched, and glared some more as he felt his anger level jump through loops and reach higher than Aang ever felt it before… Oh, Katara was so going to get it! Six hours of handstands and every time she took a break an additional hour would be added; one way or another Aang would make this girl repent and get back to the right way, one way or the other he would stop her from looking at disgusting boys ever again or have an unwise crush on these nasty creatures, even if it killed him!

"Hey, Jet, these barrels are filled with blasting jelly." A tiny brat who couldn't be older than seven or eight shouted; 'The Duke' Aang remembered Jet introducing him as, looked at Jet, and raised his helmet to show his eyes. Aang wondered if that thug had dared to kidnap this boy from his parents or something because a child this young shouldn't be with this gang at all!

"That's a great score," Jet smirked, looking so happy as he heard this; Aang who knew the plot like the back of his hand could only growl harshly as he petted Momo's fur so fast that the fur stood on its end, charged with electricity. Aang could only glare at Katara, silently ordering her to come and stand beside him (Something that was ignored by the girl as she trailed after Jet like a lovesick schoolgirl) while sending the System a look that promised it death, for putting him in this situation.

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【 QAQ 】

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Sokka, God bless his little heart, was the only one with functioning brain cells between the two siblings; so, when the boy saw how Aang was losing it, and was a step away from pulling their ears, he dragged Katara toward Aang so the three of them could talk and pack before they left.

Sokka's instincts and brain seemed to be working just fine and were even admirable because the boy immediately noticed something was off with Jet and demanded that they leave this place and Jet behind… Something that went ignored by Katara… Aang's brain and knowledge about future events showed itself then and there, as he pulled Katara aside and told her that Jet was a bad person not to be trusted… Which also went ignored by Katara… When both Sokka and Aang combined their efforts to make the girl understand and come back with them and leave Jet alone… that annoying brat dared to throw a temper tantrum and run after Jet wanting to see the bandits' hideout, leaving Aang frozen in his place as his life once more flashed before his eyes.

This time, to Aang's horror, he saw a child (A baby this time, a newborn baby!) thrust into his arms by Katara who told him from now on he was forced to take care of her child because she couldn't do it and her family couldn't so it was Aang's duty and responsibility to do so, before Katara up and disappeared, leaving Aang alone with the baby that had Jet's annoying face and was giving him that infuriating grin, begging to be punched…

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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Every part of Aang shrieked and writhed at this cursed image that just invaded his mind, and he could only shake in his place; petting Momo like his life depended on it while muttering in panic. "Deep breaths, deep breaths! Everything is going to be alright; deep breaths!" Feeling like the world darkening in his eyes and for a second too long, Aang felt his life being cut short by being forced to take care of another child foisted on him by the Water Tribe's crazy people. "Katara I swear to God! Come back here!" Aang screeched as if his life depended on it, glaring at Katara (Who was ignoring him) and Jet (Who was also ignoring him… You know what? Aang would burn this forest down, he would burn it down with Jet in it!).

"Uh… I will watch over her?" Sokka, God bless his pure and confused heart, offered when he saw Aang petting Momo (Who even when subjected to many fast movements that made all of his fur rise in statics, didn't move out of Aang's embrace; instead, the animal stayed, offering comfort while munching on something without a care in the world) so fast, spark all but flew out and burned something.

"Sokka…" Aang breathed out, finally managing to calm his nerves enough and stop himself from suffering a stroke then and there. "Your sister is doing this on purpose… I swear she is doing this on purpose…" Aang hissed, his words making Sokka a little nervous and worried as he glanced between Katara and Aang. "Ten…" Sokka looked confused at that and let out a noise that begged Aang to clarify the meaning. "Katara is punished by a ten-hour handstand session… a number that would increase with every disobedience…" Momo got even more pets and scratches as Aang said that, as for Sokka, a horrified look dominated his face as he looked at his sister with the look of someone who believed Katara would die.

Aang on the other hand, crossed the clearing in a few long strides before picking Katara up by the back of her dress and pulling her away from Jet and his gang toward where Sokka was standing beside Momo and Appa, looking so terrified and confused, but nonetheless the boy didn't say anything as he followed Aang who was carrying a struggling Katara like a misbehaving kitten.

"Aang! What the hell?! Let me down!" Katara screeched as she struggled and scratched Aang's arm and tried to kick him, looking at him with a red face full of anger and embarrassment when Aang finally put her down after they were paces away from Jet and his bandits (Who to Aang's fury remained in their places and didn't budge, looking at Aang and then Katara before Jet just shrugged and leaned on another tree as if waiting for them to finish talking). "Why did you do that? Aang, you are embarrassing me!" Katara hissed, her face red with anger and embarrassment for what he had done just now.

"Embarrassing you? Embarrassing you?!" Aang hissed, looking at the girl with anger in his eyes. "Who is the one embarrassing themselves other than you who refused to listen to both me and your brother and went with that man -An older man by the way!- and was only brought back by being dragged away! Katara, what the hell is wrong with you, I told you, this man is nothing but bad news so stop this foolish behavior, and come with us because we are leaving!" Aang glared at Katara with a look that told her he was this close to punishing her in front of all these people and getting everything done with once and for all before taking Katara and Sokka and leaving this damned place.

Katara growled upon hearing this and she stomped her foot before she pointed at Aang. "So, when it came to Prince Zuko, we aren't allowed to point out how stupid and embarrassing you are with your behavior around him, but when it came to me you raise hell?!" Katara snapped, looking so furious as she glared at Aang. "Jet just saved us from the Fire Nation's soldiers, and you had the gall to call him a bad guy? What about Prince Zuko? He was nothing but a bad person who destroyed my village and scared my people! You don't see me calling him a scum even when he was just that! A monster!" Katara's words made Aang scowl harshly, feeling his anger spike a bit hearing Katara's mocking words.

"Katara… you don't know what you are talking about, so don't go pointing your finger without knowing the full picture," Aang warned, trying to calm himself down and speak rationally with the girl, trying to keep his anger down and not cause problems.

"I know clearly what I am talking about!" Katara growled, huffing as she shifted and tried to bypass Aang and walk toward Jet only to be stopped by Aang. "Just go and be with Prince Zuko, and stop embarrassing me for a second! I know what I am doing! I am an adult! Hell, girls, my age are already betrothed and ready to get married, but here you are treating me like a baby!" Aang grimaced when he heard Katara saying this, feeling a little sick and concerned (And a bit freaked out) with such words spoken by the girl.

"You are thirteen! Thirteen is still a child, Katara!" Aang said through gritted teeth trying to keep the conversation calm, once again ignoring how Prince Zuko was brought up a second time in this conversation when this wasn't about Prince Zuko at all. "A child who needs to listen to their guardian-!" Aang was cut by Katara who pushed Aang away when he kept getting in her way to Jet.

"Yeah?! Well, who appointed you as such? I don't remember me or Sokka doing that! It's not like you are our father or anything, so why bother staying here when you obviously prefer chasing after Prince Zuko?!" Aang froze upon hearing this, feeling like the world had come to a screeching halt as he looked down at Katara who crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him with a furious look on her face.

"K-Katara! That's enough!" Sokka snapped, his eyes wide as he looked at his sister with shock and something else that not even Aang managed to decipher. "You can't just say that to Aang when-!" Sokka tried only to be cut by Katara who glared at her brother and spat.

"He is always hovering around and scolding us every time we did something that was not up to his 'Perfect Standards'! Do this, do that, don't do this, stop doing that! And he is always angry at us even when we try our best! Always acting like he knows best just because he is the Avatar! If Dad was here, then, then-!" Katara went on and on, and Aang could only listen numbly before finally, a spark of anger was felt and Aang snapped out of it.

Aang snorted, feeling amusement and anger brewing within him; not being able to help himself, Aang raised his hands and started clapping slowly, a mocking look on his face that made the kids stop and look at him.

"Oh, I see how it is." Aang smiled, even when he felt no humor at all and anger had seized him (But to be honest it was mostly hurt at what Katara really thought of him, but Aang squashed that emotion down, replacing it with anger because anger was always easier to deal with). "My, my, Katara, so mature, already a grown-up it seems; of course, as a grown-up, you know better than me, don't you?" Aang smiled and tilted his head, looking at Katara's confused face and Sokka's nervous one. "Of course, you are so clever! You are thirteen, know all about life, hm? Of course, you know best, so why listen to an adult who was shackled up with two brats against his will, spent every day and night worrying about them, always wondering if they were hungry, if they got hurt, or if they got tangled with the wrong crowd or were captured or God knows what because those brats have this uncanny ability to always get in trouble because they refused to listen!" Aang snapped before he closed his eyes and took deep breaths trying to reign his anger in. "Of course, I am not your father or anything important really, nor am I a father, so what do I know about children?" Aang then started walking away, ignoring Katara and Sokka who scrambled after him and called his name. "Since you know best Katara, I will leave everything up to you; Sokka, stay with your sister… or don't… after all, you two are mature enough to know about life and don't need an outsider 'Who always acts like he knows best' around to 'Embarrass you'." Aang mocked, whistling to Appa and looking at the creature who came rushing at him. "Don't follow, and keep an eye on them," Aang murmured to the beast before patting its muzzle, receiving a head tilt and a noise of confusion from the beast, but nonetheless, Appa lay down on the grass and nuzzled Aang with his head, as if telling Aang it understood him.

"Wait, Aang! please listen, Katara didn't mean to say-!" Sokka tried to explain and act as a peacemaker, but Aang was done, he was tired, he was angry, he was hu- he didn't care; Aang already opened his glider and launched himself in the air using his Air Bending, ignoring the brats who called his name. "What the hell! Appa, Yip-Yip! Yip-Yip! Why aren't you flying!" Sokka's screech resonated loudly, and Aang sighed when hearing this, mentally thanking Appa for doing as Aang ordered.

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【My… My Liege… Are you…?】

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"I am fine," Aang replied through gritted teeth, his eyes forward, refusing to turn and look at the System which was floating just out of reach; he was already pushing everything down and taking deep breaths like his therapist always told him, in the hope of pushing all the anger (And hurt) away. "Show me the village, Jet was targeting," Aang ordered as he glanced at the System, already preparing himself to do something to force the System to talk or fly the night away to find the village if the system refused to show him the way because it would ruin the plot; the System, if possible seemed to have paused before…

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【Gaipan Village is this way, My Liege】

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That was the System's sudden answer before an arrow appeared on its screen pointing to the west, making Aang sigh and relax, following the directions the System gave him toward the village; a plan formed inside his mind and Aang could only sigh as he prepared himself for the fight that would take place when the Fire Nation situated in Gaipan Village discovered he was the Avatar… this wasn't going to be fun at all, but well, since when was Aang's stay in this crazy world of Avatar Aang fun or anything of that sort?

So Aang reached the village by sundown, already sighing tiredly when he landed down and hid in the forest behind the village, wondering to himself how he would make people listen to him and not go nuts when they saw the Avatar among them. Fire Nation soldiers would no doubt run after him and plan to capture him (Aang could easily knock them out and get it over with but what about the civilians?), Fire Nation civilians would either ignore him or start panicking at the thought of Aang just coming and threatening them or whatever, and then, there were the Earth Benders whom Aang didn't know how they would act or say when Aang showed up; would riot break and people get harmed or would something else happen?

Aang bit his lower lip in deep thought before sighing, glancing at the gates of the village and then at the direction of the Dam where Aang had flown and saw Jet's gang guarding and moving craters to and from. "Well, no time like the present… but first… System, how are Katara and Sokka and how far are we in the plot?" Aang couldn't help questioning the System, already itching to go back and drag the kids away if the System informed him that something funny was going on.

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【My Liege, thirty or so minutes before the plot reaches the halfway mark. 'Sokka' has already met the Fire Nation Old Civilian Character, and is on his way to inform 'Katara' of what happened. Character 'Jet' is not near 'Katara' at the moment, My Liege, and nothing has happened between them so far.】

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Hearing this Aang couldn't help but relax a bit, knowing that when morning came, the rest of the plot would reach its conclusion point; so, before that, Aang had to inform the village, evacuate it from people, and then go and pick Katara and Sokka up before they set Jet off and make the thug imprison them (In Sokka's case) or brainwash them into helping (Katara's), and then leaving this damn place once and for all.

"Well, then, let's finish this." Gathering his resolve, Aang squared his shoulders and took a deep breath before marching toward the village like a soldier marching toward their mission, planning on finishing it and getting back to the kids before they decided to do something stupid they would regret later and force Aang to clean after them like they had been doing since day number one.

Not so surprisingly, no one believed him… in fact, even with tattoos, monk robes, and all the signs pointing to Aang being the Avatar; the people in this village, even the soldiers just looked at him, shrugged, and returned back to their lives without a care or a look back at Aang. No pitchforks, no fires, and no soldiers trying to capture him and put him in Avatar jail or anything… Aang could only feel awkward as he stood in the middle of the town square and gazed at the people who were ignoring him like he wasn't even there.

"That's… weird…" Aang finally admitted, going to the village's gate and leaning on the doorway, watching the people go to their homes and prepare to spend the night; wondering deep inside if this was a normal reaction to the villagers, or something related to the settings of this world; was this because this world didn't want to deviate too much from the plot by making people stupid and uncaring about danger approaching them? Or maybe, Sokka was the key that Aang should bring here and allow him to be the one to evacuate the people from this village because this was Sokka's arc to shine and Aang shouldn't be here to ruin it… Hmmm…

"Y-young man… c-can I help you?" Aang blinked in surprise when he heard someone talking to him, turning to the caller, Aang was greeted with the sight of an old man leaning on a stick, looking too tired and beaten as he tried to blink and force his eyes open… Shit, that must have been the civilian that Jet dared to beat up! … Aang could only curse internally before rushing to help the man and keep him up before he fell to the ground.

"I think I should be the one saying that, sir." Aang felt guilt and a little bit of anger as he led the man to the healer, wondering if he had chosen wrong and that he should have been with Katara and Sokka right now instead of being here… but truly, Aang needed to make sure the people here were safe and evacuated before returning to get his brats. Aang knew Sokka, and he knew the boy could handle himself when it came to it; Aang also knew that Katara could do the same if she just got rid of her boy obsession thing that made her fall in love with every older man or 'Bad Boy' she saw… girls… "Was it the thugs in the forest?" Aang questioned after they reached the frantic healer who all but lost his mind when seeing the older man this beaten up.

"Eh…? How did you…?" After that, explaining things was easier this time, and people actually listened to Aang! This kind of made him suspicious because this only happened when the elderly man vouched for him, and when Aang studied the interaction of the soldiers, villagers, and the older man, Aang could only give a wry smile… so much for being a random Fire Nation civilian, that older man must have been the Chieftain or something.

So, they talked, they devised a plan, and Aang could finally let out a relieved sigh knowing that with the villagers finally safe, Aang could go, punch Jet in the face, and then pick up his brats and continue with their journey… only, Aang got the shock of his life when the older man dropped the bomb of Gaipan village being one of the villages in the Earth Kingdom filled with the resistance forces and how they wanted to help Aang in his fight in any way they could.

"…Resistance?" Aang questioned, already feeling his interest peak up, his mind running into overdrive as he heard the Chieftain smile and tell him about the Fire Nation civilians and nobles who opposed this war and wanted it to stop. Aang's eyes widened a bit, and excitement coursed through him the longer he heard the man talk (Who turned out to be one of the leaders of the resistances, who was traveling through the forest to bring back news from their allies in other villages). "Then why did the people brush me off when I came to warn them about danger if you are already on my side?" Aang couldn't help questioning the man.

"…We had many people come here after your resurrection, Avatar. All of them claimed to be you, and well… they brought us nothing but trouble so we learned to ignore all those who claimed to be the Avatar." Aang facepalmed as he heard this, cursing under his breath at the realization that imposters had been going around and pretending to be him, tricking people and no doubt stealing from them all the while they were unaware of what was going on.

"Well, you could have told them to do some Air Bending or something… believe me, they wouldn't have succeeded and would have broken their backs instead," Aang stated with a wry smile, remembering the pain and half it was to learn Air Bending and how his bones still screamed every time he bends; thankfully, his body got used to Air Bending arts, and finally, his bones got the respite they needed after months of agony. "You know what?" Aang smiled mischievously before taking the marbles from his pouch (Something that even now Aang didn't get rid of surprisingly, only because he thought the kids would enjoy playing with marbles or something, but so far, the brats only stared at Aang and then the marbles in confusion every time Aang gave it to them to play) and performing the marbles trick Avatar Aang was famous for. "An Air Bending trick no one would be able to perform without Air Bending." Aang grinned, enjoying the wide eyes full of surprise and wonder as people came closer to see this trick.

New plans were hashed out, and this time, the old leader whose name turned out to be 'Zasu' gave Aang a map to help him in his journey. "…The golden dots are the villages filled with our resistance forces, Young Avatar; if you ever needed something go there, and they would help in any way they could." Aang hummed hearing this, his eyes trailing over the golden dots in the Earth Kingdom, and to his surprise, they were also found in the Fire Nation! Tell you that Aang's theory about not all the Fire Nation agreeing with Sozin's mad plans was true; now, Aang just needed to find another clue to prove his theory that the Air Nomads weren't wiped out from the face of this earth. "The black dots are the villages with Ozai's allies so you should avoid them for your safety." Aang spent that night sitting beside Zasu and the Elders of the villages, talking and being offered the knowledge needed to defeat the Fire Lord and his family, making Aang a little uncomfortable when one of the most bloodthirsty Earth Benders demanded that Aang put the heads of Ozai's family on spikes, leaving no one alive.

"Now, now, that's extreme and unnecessary!" Aang tried to play the peacemaker when he saw some of the Fire Nation people get irritated and almost start a fight with the Earth Benders when the latter insisted that Aang needed to eliminate Ozai's bloodline with him. "Besides, why would I do that when I knew Prince Zuko and General Iroh were on our side?" Aang questioned, his words didn't seem to convince the Earth Benders not one a bit.

"Prince Zuko? The same Prince Zuko who had been chasing you ever since your resurrection and is planning to capture and drag you to the Fire Nation? That Prince? He is nothing but A-!" An Earth Bender started shouting and spitting curses and insults, making the Fire Nation people furious as they almost sprinted from their seats and attacked.

Aang sighed, picked up his staff, and threw it like a spear at the man, watching how his clothes got snagged and he was pinned to the wall behind, stopping the man before he dug his own grave and ended up getting killed. "Please don't talk about Prince Zuko like this, you don't know the man so you know what you are saying." Aang smiled, even when there was an edge of threat to his voice as he glared at the man and ordered him to shut up.

"Oh, yeah? Do you even know who he is to say such empty words? What is he to you for you to defend him?!" The man screeched after trying to struggle and set himself free. Aang who heard this question could only blink and tilt his head a bit… what was Prince Zuko to him?

A good question really. Before Aang was transmigrated into this book, Prince Zuko was Aang's favorite character and the one person Aang had hoped the hack of an author would give a happy ending, even when many other readers demanded that Prince Zuko got punished for being an unrepenting Scum Villain (Totally ignoring Prince Zuko's Arc and character development in Chapter Three: Fire). After Aang transmigrated into this novel, Aang expected to meet a moody teenager with anger issues (Like Aang once was) whom Aang would take the role of his mentor and teach him what needed to be taught before his ascension as the new Fire Lord. Something that shattered when Aang met with Prince Zuko, a young adult, twenty of age (Which kind of surprised him, as Aang thought that if Katara and Sokka remained at the same age in the novel, shouldn't Prince Zuko also be the same age? To Aang's surprise, there were a few exceptions to this rule. One, Prince Zuko; two, that stupid Bumi, and three, that annoying Jet who instead of being sixteen, had jumped to age nineteen. Others? That was still a mystery) who was a firecracker that kept Aang on his toes and surprisingly had a depth and sweetness to him, if their short meeting after Aang saved General Iroh was anything to go by… Hmmm… So, what was Prince Zuko to Aang? His favorite character? A Scum Villain? Something else?

Aang's lips quirked as he remembered the many nicknames he had come up with and started associating them with Prince Zuko. "Well, he is my Little Sun; of course, I will be protective of him, don't you think?" Aang stated, feeling amusement as he used the nickname that always made Prince Zuko shriek the loudest every time he heard it (Aang didn't really know why he used this word to describe Zuko -Maybe because Aang always associated this word and the word Sunshine with Zuko?- but it slipped, and well, Aang found it fitting, and he always called Zuko by that anyway and many had heard it already, so he didn't correct it).

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Utter silence…

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The people in the room looked at him with utter silence… especially the Fire Nation people whose jaws just dropped as they looked at Aang like he had sported several other heads; the Earth Kingdom people also sported the same look, as for the man pinned to the wall, he paled so much before he started stuttering an apology after an apology, looking a step away from a full-blown panic attack. "Did I say something wrong?" Aang questioned and tilted his head, wondering why people had shut down and were looking at each other like they were a step away from losing it.

"N-no! No, nothing, Avatar, we were just surprised!" Zasu stuttered, blinking once, twice, several times before he leaned on his chair, looking a bit confused and out of it before looking at Aang. "I… don't worry Avatar, I will spread the news! I promise that from now on, no harm shall befall Prince Zuko and General Iroh, you have my word." That was Zasu's declaration, and Aang could only let out a noise of confusion as he looked at the man who stood and bowed to Aang.

"I… thank you… I guess?" That was what Aang decided to say in the end, he decided to just vibe with it and be glad that Prince Zuko and General Iroh would be protected from now on and that no one from the resistance would target them for being members of the royal family. "Well, it was a delight talking with you, but dawn is approaching and we need to evacuate the village; I have to get my brats back, and you have bandits lurking up in the trees to go capture and rehome. Remember there are children up there, if my suspects are true then the kidnapped children you told me about, could be them." Aang informed, as he went and pulled his staff from the wall, preparing to fly and get his kids from Jet before leaving this place once and for all.

Aang was already part tired, part sleepy, and more than halfway pissed and on his way to becoming a ticking bomb as he remembered what everyone told him about the forest Jet and his gang had taken as their home, and how the bandits there had been lurking around, attacking the people unprovoked and even going as far as kidnapping some of the children who had mixed blood (Children from Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom couples) after beating the parents and sometimes going as far as killing them if they were from the Fire Nation.

So, Aang waited until all the people had taken hold of their valuables and evacuated the village to safety (Zasu, promised they would be alright and would go to one of their allies just across the forest and stay there with the Earth Benders until they finally catch all of the bandits and get the children back), before he started stretching for a bit before he launched himself in the air, preparing to go find his kids and bring them back home. "System, where are Katara and Sokka, and how far are we plot-wise?" Aang questioned as he flew to where the hideout would no doubt be.

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【We are near the end, My Liege! 'Katara' is already filling the empty river reservoir, as for 'Sokka', he is making his way toward the village as we speak, a few meters and he will show up! Here he is!】

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The System chirped happily, and Aang saw Sokka breaking through the trees and running toward the village at a breakneck speed; humming to himself, Aang flew toward Sokka and picked him up, causing the boy to squeak and struggle before finally quieting down when he saw him. "Aang? Aang! Thank the Spirits I finally found you! You won't believe what happened! Jet is a madman and is about to blow up the Dam, Aang we need to warn the people!" Sokka all but sobbed as he said that, taking deep breaths and pointing at the village behind them that was getting farther away.

"Madman? You haven't even heard half of it." Aang rolled his eyes before landing under one of the trees and putting Sokka down. "I already knew all of this and had warned the villagers, they are safe, so what's left was for us to get Katara and leave," Aang explained his words made Sokka blink several times before…

"Wait, what?!" The boy shrieked, looking so confused and overwhelmed before he pointed at Aang. "You knew? How?! And if you do, then why did you leave us?!" Sokka stomped his foot a few times, glaring at Aang and looking so furious.

"Oh? I don't know, maybe it's because I was an unwanted outsider who always embarrassed you and stopped you from having fun?" Aang rolled his eyes, his words making Sokka freeze for a bit. "It doesn't matter though; you are adults and knew what to do without me telling you so no worries." Aang shrugged, and Sokka shifted a bit, a look of embarrassment and shame flashed on his face.

"…Katara didn't mean that… she was just…" Sokka mumbled, looking at the ground and not daring to look at Aang. "She was just… she really didn't mean what she said…" Aang sighed as he heard that, raising his hand and massaging his forehead.

"I know, she is a kid, and kids are nothing but a bunch of unsatisfied gremlins who love throwing tantrums." Aang rolled his eyes at that. "A lesson needed to be taught and this was the safest way to do so to open both your eyes. Also, it gives me some time to go and talk with the villagers and warn them about Jet and his gang." Sokka pouted harshly upon hearing this, Aang started walking in the direction of Jet's hideout before he paused a bit, remembering what was said; he let out a sigh and decided to say his piece once and for all, and hope Sokka would understand and tell his sister later, hoping that an incident like this wouldn't repeat itself in the future. "Look Sokka, I know I am not your father or a family for that matter, making my anger and actions a hard pill to swallow by you and your sister." Sokka here opened his mouth to protest but Aang shook his head and motioned for him to be quiet. "I promised your Gran-Gran to protect you and Katara and keep you safe, and if that meant I had to be the bad guy in your eyes, so be it. You are still children, no matter what you try to say to defend yourself; thirteen and sixteen are children, and unless you magically become twenty-one you will always be children, and children always need a trustworthy adult to guide them. I am sorry you two had to be shackled with me, the last fun person to be around…" Aang sighed, looking Sokka in the eye. "Yes, I get angry when you refuse to listen; I get annoyed when you cause trouble around, but that is just because I want to get you to the North safely without you two getting hurt or worse, killed." Sokka swallowed as he heard that, clutching his fists tightly.

"But… but that won't happen! We are not babies, we are adults! Dad already entrusted me to protect our home, and said I was an adult enough to do so; Katara is like at an engagement age, a few more years and she would be allowed to get married! And… and-!" Aang closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling nauseous at what he heard from Sokka.

"And nothing!" Aang snapped before groaning and slapping his forehead. "Sokka…" Aang sighed looking at the boy. "You are still a child, no matter what your father said. Sixteen is still a child; a child who should be in school, who is still learning about life, maybe talk to a girl or boy, and if you like them then date them. When I was your age, my Dad was still buying me games and candies because I was still a child, always got angry at me for talking with strangers without him being there because strangers are dangerous, and would punish me every time I stepped out of line with handstands… I know it is not right for me to compare my time of peace with yours but the universal law still stands, and by the end of the day want it or not, you are still just a kid whose father shouldn't have left him and his sister alone and entrust his job to you." Sokka looked away at that, his eyes glassy as if he wanted to cry but he was holding the tears at bay.

"You should go get Appa; I will go find Katara." Sokka ended up saying before walking away, leaving Aang to stare at his back and sigh… Great, he messed up again… Aang could only think before he turned to continue on his way. "And Aang…" Aang blinked and turned toward Sokka who scuffed the toe of his shoe on the dirt. "…Thanks for coming back…" Sokka turned and started running away, not even giving Aang the time to reply.

"Kids…" Aang could only sigh tiredly before he launched himself and started flying toward Jet's hideout, planning on bringing Appa and getting to the kids fast. It wasn't that long before Aang found Appa and Momo, who as soon as they saw him pounded toward him and started to greet him like energized puppies whose owner decided to come with treats… Ugh… the way Aang was drenched in spit because of Appa, almost made him grimace and burn his clothes to ashes.

"Why, Jet? Why?!" Aang managed to hear Katara's screech as he finally reached where he knew Katara and Sokka (If the boy found his sister) were, thanks to the System. "I can't believe I trusted you! You lied to me, you are sick and I trusted you!" Katara's shouting could be heard, and when a birdcall sounded cutting her off; Aang knowing that this was the cue for the Dam to be blown out, just let out a sigh and ignored the explosion behind him as he urged Appa to fly toward Katara and Sokka.

Just as Aang predicted, Jet was frozen by Katara's Water Bending to one of the trees, Sokka was furiously clutching his boomerang and a step away from slamming it (Sharp-edge first) on Jet's head, as for Katara, she was shrieking at Jet and calling him a 'Monster'. "This was a victory, Katara." Jet smirked as he said that, and oh, how Aang itched to punch that smirk off his face and be done with it. "Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe." Sokka snarled hearing this, punching Jet in the face.

"Wow, stupidity really doesn't know any boundaries," Aang remarked dryly, as he made Appa land near the cliff; Sokka shouted Aang's name with joy, while Katara stumbled back and looked away. "Just so you know, the village was empty and people are safe; I was in the village the whole time and we had been evacuating since yesterday." Aang grinned when he saw Jet's face turn red and he started shrieking and cursing at him, feeling vindictive and happy when the man lost it then and there. "Oh, and the old man you beat yesterday was too happy to spread the word to the rest of the villages about the group of deranged bandits lurking in the woods. So, expect a visit soon from Earth Benders and the parents of the children you kidnapped and lied to, in fact, they are already in the forest and rounding up all of your gang." Aang's grin widened even more as he saw Jet was losing it then and there, and was unrevealing before his very own eyes. "Gaipan village was filled with the resistance force, you know them, right? Those Fire Benders who chose to side with Earth Benders and Water Tribe in this war, yeah those. Boy, oh, boy, you just made an enemy out of every nation there was." Aang sent Jet a vindictive grin, and a wink; enjoying how the man's face turned red with rage. "Come on brats, it's time for us to go," Aang called out already motioning to Katara and Sokka to get on Appa's back to start their journey.

After that, it wasn't long before Sokka jumped on Appa's saddle, looking too happy and content to finally leave this place, as for Katara, she could only stop when Jet pleaded with her to help him; Aang hummed, waiting to see what Katara would do, not involving himself and waiting to see what her decision would be. "Goodbye, Jet." Katara then climbed Appa's saddle, not looking back at Jet who was left behind still frozen to the tree.

Aang nodded, giving Appa's reigns a flick and finally relaxing when Appa started flying them away from this cursed forest. "So…" Aang started, glancing at Katara who was glaring at him harshly; looking so angry the longer she looked at him.

"Shut it; I don't want to hear anything you had to say." Katara hissed, glaring at Aang as she said that while ignoring Sokka who called her name in a scandalized voice, looking so shocked and confused as he gripped his sister's shoulder and hissed at her to apologize.

As for Aang, he just narrowed his eyes and let out a hum. "As you wish." Aang smiled without humor before turning his eyes to the road, trying to stomp down the anger that almost flared out. You know what? If Katara didn't want to hear anything he had to say, then Aang would give her what she wanted!

With that, days of Aang giving Katara the cold shoulder and the silent treatment began; with it, Aang no longer stopped the two of them from doing what they wanted. No more stopping them from their misadventures, no more fritting over them and pulling them aside when they interacted with strangers (Who not so surprisingly always turned out to be undercover spies hellbent on capturing them) or punishing them by handstands when they did something wrong, no more paying attention to them no matter what they did or raged or lost it. He just sat on Appa's head, and read his books while watching from the sidelines how the brats (Mostly Katara) get into a misshape after the other without doing a thing to stop it (And why don't you look at that? Just pulling himself back from the equation, the plot had once more returned on track and everything Aang read in the novel was happening before his very own eyes to the T).

It was only after Katara involved them with the Gan Jin and the Zhang tribes (Only to panic and frit when Aang left her and Sokka to sort things through on their own; refusing to get involved until the very end when everyone was all but eaten by canyon crawlers because Katara and Sokka couldn't handle the Gan Jins and the Zhangs who all but started a war in the canyon and attracted every living creature out there to attack them… Oh, the way Aang lost it at them after was legendary, and Aang remembered losing it like this only a few times after he transmigrated and it mostly involved the Main System. In the end, Aang managed to get everyone out of that damned canyon and get everyone to safety; planting the fear of God and the Avatar in those crazy people's hearts, stopping their feud, and watching as that poor canyon guide ran away and never looked back at the canyon), did Katara realize how wrong she was with that the time of apologizes started and Katara spent all of her time trying to apologize and get on Aang's good side.

However, by then, Aang was content to continue with the silent treatment and go on with his days as he had done after the Jet misshape. After all, Aang was too much of a petty person to back down from a fight like this… Even when the other party was a child and Aang was an adult…

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Hopefully, by the end of this experiment, Katara would learn…)…

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"Like what did she see in that red-flagged obnoxious chimpanzee who had nothing to offer except for trust issues and a crooked pee-pee?!" Aang could only growl, feeling irritation and anger every time he was forced to remember that annoying Jet, who should be a thousand feet under and far away from his brats at all costs, even death. Picking up his cup, Aang all but gulped his tea down before pouring himself another cup, trying to calm himself down with this hot beverage.

"Tell me about it!" The fisherman, finally known by the name 'Han' huffed, sipping his tea and looking even more irritated than Aang after he finished listening to the censored version of what happened with Jet.. "No home, no stability, no money, and no life!" The man looked irritated, glaring at the window that showed the storm raging on the other side. "And if we mention something, then we are the ones who embarrass them and stick our noses in their business!" Han grumbled, glaring at his cup of tea as if his life depended on it.

"Back in my time, it used to be the boys we worried about because they have like zero brain capacity and would end up dead in a ditch, and girls had the strongest instincts and knew how to survive, but now? I couldn't even take my eyes away for five seconds fearing that she was going to get dragged into something! To make things worse, she had zero surviving instincts; this lemur could hold himself better than her most of the time!" Aang pointed at Momo who was lying on his lap napping and ignoring the world.

A choked noise was heard from the kitchen, and Aang didn't even need to turn around to see Katara peeking her head from there and eavesdropping on Aang's conversation with Han, this made Aang sigh and point with his head at the kitchen, watching how Han rolled his eyes and snorted. "Musicians, artists, and now freedom fighters. I don't even know what they see in them… at least your kid managed to see reason before it was too late, mine just packed her things, and bam." Han snapped his fingers. "Disappeared with that stupid nomadic musician who prefers sleeping under the stars and spent his life wandering around like the useless bum he is! Twenty years, and not even one letter to tell us her whereabouts or what she was doing." Han huffed, and Aang managed to glimpse the sadness and hurt that flashed in the older man's eyes before it vanished and was once more masked with irritation and anger. "I am telling ya, keep your eyes on your kid, and scare those nasty boys away; this world already had enough creeps as it is, can't have your kids wandering around and catching the eyes of more of them." Aang sighed, his shoulders slumping as he gazed at his cup with tiredness resonating in his bones.

"I know, that's what I am worried about, and I know for certain that this won't be the first nor last time I have the misfortune of meeting such characters." Aang slumped in his chair, finishing his cup and thinking about the future events waiting for them. Aang's mind was already going into overdrive, and part of him was even thinking of ways to avoid Ba Sing Se's events (A major arc that from the System's nagging, Aang had the suspicion he wouldn't be able to avoid even when the OOC function unlocked. He wondered if the reason was because it was the end of Chapter Two, and that the Blue Spirit and Sokka's deaths, followed by Ba Sing Se falling were important for this world build) but so far, Aang was coming short with ways to do so.

"Alright, you two; enough chatting, come eat!" Kara, Han's wife, called out to them as she and the kids finished preparing the dinner table; seeing this, Han and Aang finished their conversation for the time being, planning on restarting it after the kids went to sleep that night and left the adults to talk about the heavy subject without them eavesdropping.

Setting beside the kids, Aang let out a tired sigh when he saw Katara pouting like mad and crossing her arms over his chest not looking at Aang and continuing to glare at her plate with anger; looking at the storm that wasn't letting out even after hours had passed, Aang let out another sigh…

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This was going to be a long, long, night…

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…("You know child, your father was just worried about you, that's why he was angry." Katara hearing this, blinked her eyes and looked at the older woman standing beside her and washing the dishes; the confusion was clear on her face as she looked at Kara, trying to understand what the woman meant.

"I… n-no! H-he… I… w-we… he isn't…" Katara stuttered when the elderly woman's words finally made sense, a flush of embarrassment covered her face as she tried to deny her relation with Aang; part of her was confused and even amused despite the situation, wondering how people could mix her and Aang like this and think of him as her father when it was obviously they were not related.

Kara's lips twitched into an amused smile before she let out a huff, passing another dish to Katara to dry. "That's all, what embarrassed teens say… way too cool to stay beside their parents, who would only embarrass them in front of their 'Cool Friends' or 'Crush'." Kara rolled her eyes at this, as for Katara, her face turned even more red if possible. "But what I am saying little girl, your father was probably scared that something was going to happen to you and your brother; that's why he was all angry and on edge… men, can't sit down and talk about things even if their lives depended on it." The elderly woman grumbled, rolling her eyes as she continued to scrub the dishes.

Katara remained still while hearing this, gazing at the plate in her hand before she started to dry it, her mind drifting as she remembered all that had happened with Jet and then after. "It's not like… it matters…" Katara mumbled, putting the dry dish on the dish rack, taking a bowl from the woman, and drying it. "It's not like he truly cares… Gran-Gran just forced his hands and now he is taking care of us, that's that… he doesn't even like being with us, he is always angry at us and well…" Katara trailed off, remembering the words said in anger and the silent treatment that followed.

Kara paused, looked at Katara, and returned to finish the dishes. "If he didn't care, child, he wouldn't have gotten angry." This was Kara's answer after a while of silence; drying her hand, she looked at Katara. "Do you know why most men get angry?" Katara furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at this question and shook her head. "Well, most men get angry for two reasons. One, fear, and two… sadness." Kara then went and filled the kettle with water to make tea. "For men, anger is easier to deal with, so they push everything down, and they allow their anger to show up, and do stupid things too to show for it. Men aren't like women who would talk things through and reach the needed solution that would help in the long run, no; they think differently, they feel differently, and their solutions are way different and simpler than what we expect, but nonetheless effective." Kara prepared the tea tray, offering Katara a smile when the girl came to help her.

"But… Aang is always angry… plus, he is the Avatar… what does the Avatar have to fear or be sad about?" Katara couldn't help but ask, her mind just couldn't wrap around how Aang, who was bigger than life, could feel fear or sadness. That just doesn't make sense to her, and Katara couldn't even begin to imagine it not one a bit.

Kara hearing this, chuckled and shook her head, looking at Katara with an amused look. "So, these past few days of silent treatment didn't make things obvious?" Kara questioned, and Katara could only tilt her head in confusion; Kara once more laughed and shook her head, muttering the word 'Kids' under her breath. "Men are not like women, little one. When they feel fear, they get defensive; when they feel hurt and sad, they avoid the problem hoping it will go away, and when children get involved? Well… all rationality flew out of the window and they start perceiving the world as an enemy and every other person as a potential danger to their children…" Here the realization finally struck and Katara's eyes could only widen as she looked at Kara; too many emotions swimming in her chest to make sense of. "Suddenly, every other boy or a man coming near their daughters was a danger that needed to be kept away, and every other girl or a woman was not good enough for their sons. The world became a battleground, and they would try desperately to think of ways to make their children reach the other side unscathed and unharmed. Words that shouldn't be said would be spoken in times of anger, hurt and pain would be met with avoidance or be pushed down because now was not the time to feel such things not when the children still need you. How much money do you have, do you have enough to buy those fancy clothes the kids wanted? Should you eat tonight or save the food for when the children get hungry? Why was that man staring at his children a second too long? That woman just acted a bit too friendly with the kids and was looking at them funnily, was this a Fire Nation soldier in hiding or was this just a friendly woman? And on and on, and they won't stop or see reason because they had little children to take care of and protect. They think just blinking or turning your back for a second might make something bad happen." Kara prepared the tea, looking at Katara who was frozen in place. "That's how fathers act, don't you know?" Katara scuffed the tip of her toe on the ground, pressing her lips into a tight line.

"I wouldn't… know…" Katara finally confesses, raising her hand and wiping under her nose. "Mom died when I was young and after that Dad…" Katara's words trailed off at the memories of how her Dad had pulled away and all but distanced himself from them after their mother died. "He left for war when I was ten, so I wouldn't really know." All of Katara's life after her mother died was watching her father's back as he went around and protected their home, rarely stopping or talking as he prepared the warriors for the war. Sokka (But mostly Gran-Gran) had raised her since young, and Katara back then had to force herself to grow up and be of help to her brother and Gran-Gran and not be a burden to them because she was a child who needed to be taken care of. Katara had to force herself to be an adult and help all those around her since her mother died, trying to be of use to her brother and father and help whenever she could… a father… every time Katara thought of her Dad and how he acted, she could only see a Chief who depended on her to keep the tribe save and do her job right, not whatever Kara was talking about because that was silly and Katara was an adult enough to look after herself and her brother.

Kara paused for a second in pouring the tea before she continued, letting out a soft hum. "Come with me." She motioned softly before she picked up the tray, standing near the doorway with Katara. "Now hear what they talk about." Katara looked at the woman in confusion before for the second time that day eavesdropped on Aang and old man Han talking, feeling a bit confused but did as she was ordered anyway. Both Aang and old man Han were laughing about something, and when Katara leaned her head to listen some more, she managed to hear Aang talking… about her and Sokka? "Fathers… grumpy old men who are always angry and act like they know it all, but when given the chance? They would deafen people's ears by talking about their kids. Look for the hidden cues, little one, men are stupid and refuse to talk about things, they just do what they do and hope you will understand." With that Kara went into the living room and started talking with Aang and her husband.

That night, Katara lay on the bed, hiding under the blankets and listening to the rain belting on the rooftop; signaling another storm that had just appeared after the last one passed a few hours ago. Her mind was already going through loops and circles, feeling a bit numb and unbalanced as she reviewed everything that needed to and reached a conclusion she didn't know what to make of.

"Hey… Psst…" Katara heard a hissing sound, and she blinked. "Katara, are you awake?" Suddenly, Katara heard Sokka's voice whisper once more, loudly this time, snapping her out of her daze as she shifted and turned around until she was facing her brother.

"Yeah?" Katara could only whisper back, knowing that Sokka probably didn't want to wake the elderly couple, or Aang for that matter so they should be quiet. "Is something up?" Katara couldn't help but shift until she was sitting in her bed, her brother mirrored her actions and looked at her with a complicated look on his face.

"Hey… look, Katara… I just wanted you to know that Aang didn't mean anything bad by his actions, he is just…" Sokka trailed off, probably trying to find the right word to describe the situation between Katara and Aang.

Katara paused and looked at her hands that were clutching the blankets tightly before sighing. "I know…" Katara whispered, remembering her conversation with Kara early that night, feeling so stupid for not noticing this before and allowing her stupidity to ruin everything by getting attached to someone unworthy just because he looked 'Cool'.

"R-really? Oh, Spirits, that's good, that's good." Sokka let out a relieved sigh, slumping in his bed before offering Katara a small grin. "Just give him a few more days, Katara, I promise everything will be right back to how things used to be! You know that day when Aang's saved me he said-!" And then Sokka told her what Aang had said that day word for word, making Katara press her lips into a thin line and gaze at her clutched hands.

"Sokka… can I ask you something?" Katara questioned, looking at her brother and then at her hands, trying to gather the courage to ask the question on her mind; seeing this Sokka smiled and gave her an encouraging nod, making Katara shift nervously and try to gather all the courage to say what she was going to say next. "Do you… do you think…" Katara opened her mouth and closed it several times before she closed her eyes and said the words out in a rush. "Do you think Dad cared about us?!" Katara opened her eyes after saying this, peaking at Sokka's whose face was frozen and his smile slipped. "I just… I just… well, after my talk with Granny Kara… I ha-have been thinking… and…" Katara tried to justify from where that line of thinking had dared to originate, feeling a bit silly and guilty for being stupid like this but well… she couldn't stop thinking about the years of distance and then absence and all that.

Sokka let out a strained laugh (One that didn't reassure Katara) before he glanced away for a second or two. "Of course, he cares, Katara; what a silly question!" Forcing a smile on his face as he said, and making Katara's heart drop because Sokka just answered her question indirectly.

"He cares… but not enough…" Katara mumbled playing with her fingers and ignoring the harsh inhale that came from Sokka's direction. Bitterness, and hurt took hold of her and she remembered what the older woman had said.

A minute of silence had passed, then two, then three, then… Katara didn't know how long had passed before Sokka gathered the courage to ask. "What brought this on?" Katara lay down, gazing at the ceiling, feeling too many thoughts racing in her mind she couldn't even grasp one of them.

"Everything…" Katara settled on, turning her head slightly to look at her brother. "Dad… Aang… Granny Kara's words… Jet…" Katara spat that man's name like it was something foul. "And it got me thinking… and I…" Katara opened and closed her mouth, trying to come up with ways to make her thoughts turn into words and make her brother understand. "Don't pretend that you didn't hear what Granny Kara or what old man Han said… I knew you were there…" Sokka turned his face away and let out a sigh, shifting until he was lying on the bed, this time facing Katara and looking at her with tired eyes before he nodded. "Sokka… you were with Dad and Mom the longest, tell me… was Dad always like this… this distant man? Or… was it because Mom died?" Katara couldn't help but question, turning until she was lying on her side and gazing at her brother with narrowed eyes.

"He cares…" Sokka repeated once more, looking his sister in the eye. "…He cares…" Now, Katara could only furrow her brows at this answer, wondering if her brother was trying to convince her or convince himself. "But… he has duties that are more important-!" Sokka tried to finish, but Katara stopped him by putting her hand on his mouth.

"…Aang never acted like his duties were more important than us…" Sokka shut up after hearing this, and when the lightning flashed and thunder crackled, Katara managed to see how her brother's face twisted and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "At any point since leaving Wolf Cove, Aang could have dropped us near any village and left us there, or he could have simply returned us home… he could have left us with Jet and disappeared… he could have told us to get lost before leaving and… he didn't… he didn't, and instead…" Katara swallowed several times trying to control the tears. "Aang taught you how to fight… he taught me how to Water Bend, even when he didn't know how, and only had that scroll he found in Kyoshi… hell, he taught both of us how to fly Appa… he rarely let me cook fearing I would burn myself… always buying us snacks or candies or toys even when we think it was stupid and they were stuff that only babies should have… spending unnecessary money to buy us clothes or food or even meat when we could see he refuse to come near that stuff, and… and-!" Katara's voice cracked and she could only sniffle and bring her hand to wipe under her eyes. "I... just… I… Dad… well… he…" Katara tried to finish the last part, feeling her throat closing up as she tried to let the first word out.

"…Dad never did any of that…" Sokka finished, and Katara could only pause for a bit before nodding her head. "…He wasn't always like that, you know…" Sokka finally admitted looking away from Katara. "I… before Mom died… he wasn't like that… but well… after she died… he just…" Sokka opened and closed his mouth several times before letting out a defeated sigh. "…He just wanted adults to help him protect the village, not a…" Sokka paused, swallowing before saying in a voice so low Katara almost didn't hear it. "…Burden…" Katara inhaled harshly, and the tears she tried desperately to hold back started sliding down her face. "Hey… hey… don't cry, it's alright… Dad loves us, he just…" Sokka tried, wiping the tears from his sister's eyes.

"I… I am not the one crying, stupid, you are!" Katara hissed, pulling the blanket over her head and hiding her face from Sokka, sniffling as she wiped her face harshly, willing herself to stop crying like a stupid baby when she was old enough to know that crying wouldn't solve anything. "H-how… how can t-they be so d-different… s-say different things… act s-different around us… b-but… but… A-Aang acted more like a father than Dad did!" Katara choked out between sobs, trying to calm down and stop this stupidity; why was she crying when she was already a big girl who should know better?! "It's so… it's so-!" Katara shook, wrapping the blanket tighter and tighter around her. "And then… and then… Dad left! H-he l-left! J-just left! T-took all t-the men a-and left!" Katara's voice cracked as she said this, and she had to shove the blanket in her face to muffle her sobs. "I-if the o-one who a-attacked us wasn't P-Prince Zuko, o-or A-Aang wasn't there, t-then… w-who would have p-protected us? I… I c-couldn't do a-anything… y-you d-didn't know h-how to f-fight… and… and…" Katara pressed the blanket tightly to her face, curling around herself as if making herself smaller would lessen the hurt. "…If… i-if the o-one who attacked W-Wolf C-Cove w-wasn't P-Prince Zuko w-who only c-cared about A-Aang… you could have died… e-everyone c-could have… we were just women and children! They could have…" Katara couldn't even finish the last sentence; shaking at the mere thought of continuing it.

"…B-but I… I didn't… w-we didn't… A-Aang was there, he s-stopped everything… re-remember?" Sokka's voice was choked out and muffled; Katara could only feel her brother's arms sneaking around her, pulling her into a tight hug, and patting her head from over the blankets. "Aang was there, and I didn't." Sokka's muffled voice repeated this sentence over and over until Katara finally calmed down enough; she stopped sobbing.

"S-Sokka… I… I l-love Dad… I really do… b-but… I… I hate him s-so much f-for doing this… I hate him so much for leaving… I… I never want to see him again…" Katara hiccupped as she said this; feeling so guilty and so angry for saying this, when she knew that her Dad had probably done everything he could think of to protect Sokka and Katara… but years had been spent with Katara forcing herself to grow up and act like an understanding adult even when she didn't understand, had done a number on her and now… now Katara just wanted to be a kid for a little while and get angry at everything and everyone for such a shitty situation. She didn't want to be grown up, filling the space her mother had left and always found lacking because she couldn't do it right; she didn't want to be an adult when she wasn't even one, to begin with, and didn't understand the crazy world the adults lived in. She didn't want to act like she understood everything and accepted her reality when, in fact, she didn't understand a thing and refused to accept how things were; she just wanted to be a petty child for a while and throw tantrums and cry and act like how children her age acted.

"I know…" Katara could hear Sokka sniffling, his voice shaky and choked up. "I know… I…" More sniffles followed before her brother's voice lowered and he whispered his confession. "…Me too…" Katara let out a choked sob hearing this, feeling so tired, angry, resentful… and so, so sad…

"…Kids, why the hell are you making a ruckus in the middle of the night when-?" Aang's irritated voice could be heard as he opened the door to their room only to freeze in the doorway, making both Katara and Sokka pull away and wipe their faces of any residual tears that were left. Aang looked between Sokka and Katara and then glanced at the window that was showing the storm raging outside before his gaze settled on them once more. "… Nightmares?" He questioned, and Katara just nodded her head, her brother followed her lead, both of them not wanting Aang to know about their talk; Aang seeing this just sighed, his hand going and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Brats… really?" Aang grumbled to himself before he left, making both Katara and Sokka slump back only for Aang's voice to come not a few minutes later. "Alright brats, this is the first and last time this happened; so, don't even think it will happen again." Aang came back a few minutes later, holding many pillows and blankets and putting them in the middle of the room

"A-Aang what are you…?" Sokka questioned but nonetheless when Aang ordered both Katara and Sokka to help build what looked like a fort made from pillows the two of them did, and not that long after, Katara and Sokka found themselves tucked by Aang in the fort made of pillows, and blankets with Momo, while Aang preparing to leave their room and go sleep in his.

"Aang…" Katara couldn't help but call out, hugging Momo tightly and look at Aang who stopped in his place and tilted his head; a tired look in his eyes that told her to hurry and tell him what she wanted. "Could you… could you stay… please?" Katara pleaded, watching how Aang blinked several times in confusion before he let out a sigh.

"What are you, a baby?" Aang questioned with a raised eyebrow, and Katara glanced at her brother then at Momo, before nodding her head, not daring to look up and see Aang's reaction to this. "…Fine… just this time." That was Aang's reply before the older man left and came back with his pillow and blankets, and not that long after, Katara and Sokka forced Aang to lay between them and both of them hugged him tightly, ignoring the way he grumbled at them but allowed them to do what they wanted.

"…Aang…" Katara couldn't help but call out after a few seconds, receiving a hum from Aang who sent her a look that told her to sleep, but still, Katara didn't want to until after she apologized. "I… about what I said… and about Jet… I… I am, so, so sorry… it was stupid and immature of me, and I really didn't think when saying those words, and I know I was wrong… I…" Katara stuttered, wanting Aang to understand that what she said that day was just stupid words said in a fit of anger.

Aang sighed, and Katara couldn't help but flinch thinking that she messed up everything already; instead, Katara felt Aang ruffle her hair and pull her and Sokka in a hug. "It's fine, everything is forgiven. Besides, you two are just children, and children throw tantrums now and then, nothing new." Katara's eyes started stinging her, and tears once more gathered in her eyes, but she held them back, not wanting to cry in front of Aang. "Now, sleep; it's late," Aang ordered, and Sokka and Katara could only nod their heads, finally relaxing after what felt like decades of suffocating silence and hurt…

Dad never did this… she could only think for a bit, and strangely, Katara didn't feel as hurt and angry as she always did when she remembered her Dad and the things he didn't do for her and Sokka. Looking at Aang for a bit Katara could only hum and hug Momo tightly, shaking the silly thought that crossed her mind for a bit as she wondered what if Aang was…

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That was just a silly thought…

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…She should forget about it….)

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【Stay back! Stay back you stupid System! Be gone! HHHHIIISSSSSSSS!】

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Aang woke up startled and almost on the verge of a panic attack when the System's shrieking voice woke him up at (Aang looked outside of the window, seeing that the sky was lightening up) dawn, making Aang growl and glare at the System that didn't pay Aang any attention before started shrieking in despair and then disappearing then and there. "What the hell is wrong with that thing…" Aang couldn't help but grumble to himself, raising his hands and wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

Looking around, Aang saw that Katara and Sokka, even after Aang had less than stellar waking up, were still asleep, and would probably stay asleep for a bit longer before waking up and facing the day. Taking this as his chance, Aang detangled himself from the clingy children and crawled out of the pillow fort he had built for them yesterday after finding them crying because of the storm (Something that Aang had learned from his adopted Dad, Gyatso, who never wasted a chance building a pillow fort every time he saw Aang was feeling down or was sad about something… even when back then Aang would always complain and groan in embarrassment every time Gyatso throw him in the fort before coming back with books and snacks. Remembering things now, Aang could only smile, remembering that by the end of the day, being in the fort Gyatso had built had always banished whatever sad thought Aang had felt)… truly, these two were still nothing but children…

Stretching, Aang looked around the place before sighing and deciding to start his morning earlier today, walking outside of the room and then to the kitchen, seeing Kara and her husband bickering once more, both glaring at one another… Old married couples, nothing but bickering all day long… Aang couldn't help the amused smile that took over his face before he greeted the two of them.

With that, the morning started with Aang freshening up and then helping Han and his wife around the house for a bit; getting his ear pulled by the elderly woman when Aang tried to pay her as a thank you for allowing him to stay the night with them (And giving him enough pillows and blankets to start the pillow fort yesterday), and having Han laughing at him, only see his wife bonking him on the head with a wooden spoon in retaliation.

It wasn't long before breakfast was done (the only thing Kara allowed him to do as a thank you for allowing them to stay here), did Katara and Sokka finally woke up and started shuffling toward the kitchen; half awake and half asleep and rubbing the traces of sleep from their eyes.

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"Good morning, Dad…"

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"Morning Dad…"

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Katara and Sokka mumbled loudly before they shuffled to hug Aang and then walked toward their seats with enthusiasm at the sight of food. Unaware that they left Aang frozen in place at what he just heard Sokka call him, followed by Katara. Aang blinked, blinked some more, and then it took time before everything slammed into him and he all but dropped the plate in his hand before he scrambled to catch it. His eyes widened and almost bulged from his skull as what the little brats called him finally was translated into a language he understood… and then….

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"Wait, what did you just call me?!"

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So, what do you think?

Finally, an update!

The intention… a comedy and more comedy and maybe Zuko showing up and more flirting…

The result… feelings, family drama, hurt/comfort, and Sokka and Katara were hit with realization and another enlightenment that turned their world upside down… Aang is just there for the ride, and to suffer…

Sigh… why does Jet's episode always turn heavy and sad and ruin the fun?

Well! At last! The next chapter is the long-awaited one, the Blue Spirit chapter! Yay!

Read and Review

And tell me what you think…

Nazaki-Sama