Subaru71077: For those who've already read this chapter, I've added another 1305 words.
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In a vast and vibrant field, where life pulsed in every corner, a small boy, no more than four years old, with black hair fluttering in the gentle breeze, stood barefoot, his feet sinking into the soft grass.
All around him, a carpet of colorful flowers — yellow, red, purple — painted the scene, forming a landscape that seemed to have been taken straight from a painting. Broad-crowned trees framed the horizon, their leaves rustling, while blue and orange butterflies flew among the petals. The sky was a clear blue, dotted with scattered white clouds, and the sun shone warmly, making the dew on the grass sparkle like tiny jewels.
But the boy, oblivious to the beauty surrounding him, focused all his attention on the wooden yo-yo he held in his little hand. The toy, made by his mother, was simple and light, with spiral carvings decorating its surface. "This time… I'll make it." He placed it on the ground, took two steps back, and furrowed his brow in concentration.
'Come on…' Raising his little arms, he began to wave them toward the toy, imitating the gestures he imagined were the same as those used by the people who controlled the air in the stories his mother told him. He dreamed of being like them. To command the wind. To move things without touching them, only with the force of air.
Yet, nothing happened. The yo-yo remained still, nestled in the grass. He huffed, his cheeks puffing with frustration. "Come on!" he insisted, flailing his arms harder. Still, nothing.
But he didn't give up. For long minutes, the boy kept trying, his little arms moving in every way he could think of: fast, slow, wide, short. He spun, jumped, even kicked the air in frustration. Again, and again, and again, each attempt more desperate than the last.
Sometimes, he closed his eyes, imagining himself commanding the air. Other times, he stared wide-eyed at the yo-yo, as if he could force it to move with sheer willpower. But nothing he did seemed enough to make the toy budge, and with each failure, the boy's irritation grew stronger.
"Why doesn't it work?…" He stopped for a moment, panting, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He couldn't understand why it wasn't working. Maybe he was doing something wrong? Or maybe he didn't have the powers those people had? Should he have eaten the vegetables his mother said would make him stronger?
He shook his head, pushing that line of thought aside. 'Just… one more time.' The boy took a deep breath, filling his lungs to the limit, and closed his eyes. This time, he tried to picture the air as a gentle current, like the waves he saw in the river near his home. He moved his hands slowly, imagining he was pushing that current toward the yo-yo.
And then… it happened.
fwoosh
A small, faint gust of wind left his hand, so light it barely stirred the flowers around him, but enough to make the yo-yo shift a few centimeters along the ground. The boy opened his eyes and widened them when he saw the toy slightly out of place. "I… I did it?" he whispered, his voice trembling in disbelief.
"....." For a few seconds, he just stood there, processing what he had done. Then, a huge smile spread across his face. "I did it!" The boy ran excitedly to the yo-yo, picked it up carefully from the ground, and stood, clutching it tightly against his chest.
Without thinking twice, he ran home. "Mom! Mom!" He rushed in, barging into the small room where a woman was sewing a shirt under the light coming through the wooden window.
She looked up, surprised by her son's sudden entrance. "What is it, dear?" she asked with a loving smile on her face.
"I did it, Mom! I controlled the air! Just like the people in the stories!" the boy said, jumping in place with excitement.
The woman laughed, amused by her son's enthusiasm, certain it was only a child's imagination. "Very well, my love. I'm proud of you," she said, returning to her sewing, her fingers carefully guiding the needle.
The boy, seeing that she didn't believe him, frowned. 'I'll prove it to her!' he thought, moving his arms toward his mother with exaggerated gestures. Nothing happened at first, and the woman chuckled, watching her son's clumsy movements out of the corner of her eye.
But then, he repeated what he had done before. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and imagined the gentle current.
Fuuushhh
A gust of wind swept through the room, messing up the woman's hair and making the cloth curtains on the window dance. She froze instantly, the needle and shirt slipping from her hands onto the floor. Her face turned pale, and her eyes widened with a mixture of panic and fear."N-no…"
"See?! I told you I could do it!" exclaimed the boy, leaping toward her with joy, expecting praise, a smile, anything to confirm his achievement. Instead, the woman abruptly stood up and, without saying a word, knelt down and pulled the boy into a tight embrace.
He felt her arms wrap around him firmly, as they always did, but something was wrong this time. She was trembling. Her shoulders shook slightly, and he could feel her heart racing against his chest.
"Mom?..." His smile faded. "D-did I… do something wrong?"
The woman didn't answer right away. She kept hugging him, the minutes dragging on in heavy silence. When she finally pulled back, her eyes were brimming with tears, glistening in the light from the window. "You did nothing wrong, my love," she said, stroking his hair with trembling fingers. "You are special. Very special."
"I-I am?"
"Yes. You are special. Very special. Very, very special. Very, very, very, very special…"Her voice began to falter, the words repeating in a tone that grew more and more frantic."Very special, special, very special, very special, very special, special, very special…"
"M-mom?-"
"You are special, Ikari, veryspecialveryspecialveryspecialveryspecialspecialveryspecialspecial specialspecialspecialspecialveryspecialspecialspecialspecialveryspecialspecial—"
!!!!!!!!!
Ikari woke up startled, his heart pounding fast against his chest. His eyes swept the surroundings in an instant, assimilating the wooden floor of the boat where he was lying, the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the hull and the dark sky sprinkled with stars. He… had fallen asleep. It had all been just a dream. "Haaah…" Letting out a long sigh, Ikari raised his hand to his face, rubbing his eyes hard.
'A nightmare. Of course' He couldn't remember a time when nightmares were not part of his life. They were always there, waiting in the dark corners of his consciousness, ready to appear the moment he closed his eyes. Some were fleeting and light, others… others made him wake up with the taste of bile in his throat. Distorted memories of the faces and voices of the people he lost. Screams and blood of those he killed. Hauntings. Penances. Curses-
Ikari stood up, his muscles tense, sparing a single look at Momo sleeping beside him and walked to the edge of the boat, resting his hands on the wood. The horizon was dark, but the faint light of the moon reflected on the waves, creating a silver path that seemed to lead nowhere.
He watched the sea for a moment before closing his eyes, letting the cold wind caress his face. Going back to sleep was not an option. It never was after a nightmare — not with the images still fresh in his mind. But he was used to it. After years living in this cycle, a few hours of rest were already enough to... keep the body functioning.
He opened his eyes and shifted his thoughts from his nightly problems to what really mattered: Kyoshi Island.
Located in the Southern Sea, Kyoshi Island, once a peninsula in the south of the Earth Kingdom, was named after Avatar Kyoshi, who, centuries ago, separated the region from the continent in a singular act of power.
Predominantly a fishing port, the island remains almost isolated from the rest of the world, with few villages practicing modest trade with the continent, such as the export of meat, fat and elephant koi oil. Its isolationism led it to adopt a neutral stance in the war, remaining untouched by the Fire Nation and rejecting the Earth Kingdom's requests for support in the early years of the conflict.
'It's time for this to end….' Kyoshi Island had no significant importance in terms of location or material wealth, what really mattered to Ikari were the Kyoshi Warriors, an elite guard composed exclusively of women. They were, according to the accounts of the fishermen Ikari met on the continent and by the legends, an extremely skilled group in combat, disciplined, loyal and strategic.
Everything Omashu needed most at the moment.
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The sun was already high in the sky when Ikari finally spotted a faint outline of land on the horizon. He stood up from where he had been sitting, his hand raised above his eyes to block the intense glare. "Uh… what are the chances this is the island we're looking for, huh buddy?" he asked, squinting as he searched for any sign that screamed, "Kyoshi Island!"
Momo, perched on the edge of the boat, let out a little grunt and shrugged, his ears twitching slightly in the breeze.
"Yeah, I'd say fifty percent too. Either it is, or it isn't," Ikari muttered, one corner of his mouth curling into a half-smile. He stretched out his hand toward the sail and released a powerful blast of air, making the boat surge forward. The waves broke around the hull, leaving a trail of white foam as the vessel cut across the sea toward land.
As they drew closer, the silhouette of the island became sharper. It wasn't flat as Ikari had imagined, but a rugged landscape dominated by several mountains draped in dense vegetation, and the coastline was lined with cliffs plunging straight into the sea, except for a bay that opened ahead and ended in a beach.
"Well… this definitely isn't Koi Harbor." Ikari guided the boat into the bay, the blast of air slowing until it vanished, allowing the natural current to carry them toward the shore.
Momo leapt onto Ikari's shoulder the moment he stopped propelling the boat, and the two scanned the surroundings, searching for any sign of human presence. There were no houses in sight, and the beach seemed deserted, with no footprints in the sand or traces of a campfire. "...I guess maybe this is an uninhabited side?" Ikari theorized, trying to sound optimistic, though the uncertainty seeped into his voice.
"Grrr," Momo growled, pointing at the island with a paw, his eyes narrowed in clear annoyance.
"What?! That's not my fault!"
"Grrrr," Momo insisted, his tone sharper, as if directly accusing Ikari.
"Look, this map is garbage—"
!!!!!
The two stopped arguing when, all of a sudden, the sun vanished above them, casting the boat into a shadow far too quick to have been caused by a cloud. "What the hell is that?" Ikari frowned in confusion and turned around, searching for the cause.
He froze instantly.
Rising from the water just a few meters away, the colossal neck of something that could only be described as a monster towered over them. The creature was long and serpentine, with a massive dorsal fin jutting from the top of its head, followed by a series of smaller fins that looked more like spikes. Its face, with two terrifying green eyes, was fixed directly on Ikari, while a mouth full of sharp, interlocking teeth opened wide, releasing a low roar that made the air tremble.
'We're screwed…' Ikari didn't waste time lamenting his terrible luck and let his instincts take control of his body, making him act on automatic. With a quick spin, he grabbed Momo with one hand and threw him toward the shore, while with the other he bent the air to pull his staff that was on the other side of the boat.
!!!!
'Not enough time!' As soon as the staff landed in his hand, Ikari felt the displacement of the air above him, a harbinger of imminent death. The monster was descending at high speed, its mouth wide open, ready to swallow him in a single bite.
Ikari thought fast and kicked the air in front of his body with force, propelling himself backward and out of the boat just as—
BAMM!!
The monster collided against the small vessel, resulting in an explosion of water and debris flying everywhere.
'Shit.' Ikari's eyes widened as he saw the boat reduced to nothing. He gripped the staff tightly while spinning his body in the air so that he was facing the water rushing quickly toward him."
However, before touching it, the body of the staff opened into two large wings at the top and two smaller ones at the bottom, held by thin rods that extended sideways like the wings of a bird, allowing him to glide.
He hovered close to the water for a few seconds, gaining speed before rising toward the shore. But there was no pause to let out a sigh of relief.
Right below him, a massive shadow moved beneath the water at the same speed—no, faster than him.
The monster hadn't given up.
!!!!
'You've got to be kidding me!' Ikari jerked sharply to the right, escaping by mere inches from a colossal mouth that burst out of the water, snapping shut at the very spot he had been just moments before.
'Can't that thing see the difference in our sizes?!' He climbed higher, trying to stay out of the monster's reach. The creature seemed to notice his strategy and rose even further, its serpentine body lifting like a tower toward Ikari, its head closing in dangerously.
Ikari noticed the approach and sped up, the wind around him answering his command, propelling him forward and letting him evade yet another attempt at a bite.
'Did I make it?' Ikari glanced back, realizing the monster had paused its pursuit. "Haaah..." A sigh of relief slipped from his lips as the distance between them grew. But the victory was short-lived.
Suddenly, the sea monster opened its mouth and shot a jet of water, so fast and unexpected that Ikari had no chance to react.
"Ah, shit—"
DUUUSSHHHH!!!
The water slammed into him like a wall, tearing him from the glider and hurling him into a wild, uncontrolled spiral through the air.
The world became a blue blur, sky and sea blending together until Ikari crashed hard into the sand of the beach. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, and he rolled for several meters, sand clinging to his skin and clothes until he finally slowed and stopped, with his face buried in the ground.
For a moment, he lay there motionless, as if unconscious. Then his body convulsed, starting a series of harsh coughs that expelled saltwater from his mouth while his lungs fought desperately for air. "COUGH-COUGH! HAAAGH—! COUGH!"
Momo, who had already made it safely to the beach, flew over to him, squeaking in alarm as he poked at Ikari's face with tiny paws. Ikari lifted his head toward him, still dazed, and tried to smile to reassure the lemur. "I'm... fine, buddy," he murmured, his voice weak, as he tried in vain to wipe the sand from his face with his arm, only smearing it more. "I hate sand..." he thought, staring at the sea where the creature was slowly submerging, its green eyes still fixed on him before disappearing beneath the water.
'Scary…' Ikari forced himself to sit up, ignoring the pain radiating from his back. His glider, miraculously intact, was a few meters away, half-buried in the sand. Dragging himself with a groan, he retrieved it and folded the wings. "Mental note: never let my guard down at sea again."
Perhaps he should admit he had grown complacent, relying too much on his "air sensor." That was one of the great advantages of being an airbender. The "air sensor" was an extension of his bond with the element, an almost instinctive awareness of subtle shifts in the airflow around him. He could feel tiny displacements, vibrations that warned him of incoming movements, whether from people or objects.
'I was careless but… live and learn.' Using the staff for support, Ikari stood and looked at the floating wooden debris that once had been a boat. "Well, Momo, there go our things."
The lemur tilted his head and pointed toward the water. "Kyu?"
"Try to get them back? Nah. I'm not exhausting myself or hurting that creature just for some clothes and coins. The scrolls and the map are gone anyway." Ikari reached for his back, pressing the sore spot with a grimace.
"Kyu!"
"Exactly, we can't be materialistic and these things" Before entering the forest, Ikari decided to deal with the sand stuck to his skin and the soaked clothes. "Step back, partner," he instructed Momo, who obeyed, moving away as told.
Once he was sure the lemur was far enough, Ikari shook himself at high speed, turning into a blur. In seconds, he freed himself from the sand and dried his clothes almost completely. Relief washed over him as he finished, his skin free of the sticky grains and his clothes light once more.
'Much better,' Ikari thought, flashing a satisfied smile before turning and starting the walk toward the forest, Momo leaping onto his shoulder. "I just hope this is the right island, because if it isn't…"
"Kyu?"
"Yeah, in the worst-case scenario, we could fly back to the continent. But I don't feel too safe gliding over the sea. What if I get a cramp?" He shuddered at the thought.
"Kyuu!"
Ikari laughed. "No, Momo, you wouldn't be able to hold me up. Look at your size—you're tiny."
"grrr"
"Heheh—" Ikari's laughter cut off when he detected five rapid movements descending from above. 'Assassins?' He bent his knees, ready to unleash a burst of wind to scatter everything around. But he froze when he saw who had landed.
They were five women, clad in predominantly green armor with golden details. Their faces were painted red and white in a way that resembled masks. Sharp metal fans gleamed in their hands, and their stances betrayed rigorous training.
They were the Kyoshi Warriors.
The leader, Ikari deduced, a young woman with piercing eyes, stepped forward, her fan pointed directly at him. "What are you doing on our island?" she asked coldly.
"Huh… me?" Ikari pointed at himself, a mix of surprise and confusion on his face.
"Yes, you, last airbender. We witnessed your fight against Unagi," she said without even blinking, which made Ikari realize they knew who he was.
"Oh, so that adorable little fish has a name?—" He tried to lighten the mood with a faint smile, but the leader's stern gaze made him stop.
"Enough small talk," she cut in, her tone sharp. "Your presence here threatens the neutrality of Kyoshi Island. Explain yourself, now."
'....right, this is a terrible start.'
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, images or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.