****Hey everyone, Subaru71077 here.
Just dropping by to let you know that the reason only a few chapters have come out over the past two weeks is because I had a college entrance exam this weekend. In fact, while you're reading this, I'm probably starting the second day of the test (wish me luck).
Anyway, updates should be a bit faster now. I'll also try to release three chapters; if that doesn't work out, you can count on at least two. *****
*******
Ikari was sitting at the edge of a worn wooden pier in Koi Harbor, the main trading village of Kyoshi Island. Maybe that's why that was the place where he was best received on the island, without even having his daggers or staff taken from him. This was also the only village that didn't "politely" expel him, so Ikari concluded it would be the best place to look for someone who could take him to the continent.
And after almost an hour of searching, he finally found the perfect person to help him, which brought him to now, staring at the horizon on the pier with Momo at his side, nibbling happily on a fruit, oblivious to the frightened man behind them.
Han, a fisherman with tanned skin, stood half a meter away, visibly trembling along with his voice. "...s-so I said that you ripped out your enemies' lungs through their nose. And that y-you ate the heart of Fire Nation soldiers t-to steal their strength...." He confessed, growing paler with each word. "F-forgive me, sir Ikari, I didn't mean to offend you! I-it was just to scare some kids, you know? Campfire stories a-and stuff like that. P-please, don't kill me—"
Ikari raised his hand, cutting him off without taking his eyes off the sea. "It's fine, Han. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll just ask you to stop spreading those stories, okay? Lies are very powerful things these days."
Han nodded frantically, almost knocking the straw hat off his head. "Yes, yes, of course, sir! I swear on my life! A-and I'll also debunk any lies I hear about you, I promise!"
Ikari finally turned his face, offering a smile. "Then it's settled." He stood up, stretched his legs, and walked over to the fisherman. Stopping beside him, Ikari gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, and Han flinched as if expecting a punch. "Relax, Han. I'm not the monster you made up. And please, stop calling me 'sir,' I'm young enough to be your son."
Han let out a shaky sigh, trying to pull himself together. "O-of course, si—Ikari."
"Much better," Ikari said with satisfaction before scratching the back of his neck. "Since we're good now, could you help me with something?"
"H-help? Of course, anything!"
"When are you going to the continent?"
The fisherman blinked, confused by the question but relieved to change the subject. "T-tomorrow. I'm taking a load of oil and some nets to sell."
"Can I come along? I don't have money with me, but I can help you get there in half the time with my bending. What do you think?"
"Definitely, si—Ikari. There's plenty of space on the boat." Han answered quickly, seeing only advantages. "I usually leave right when the sun rises, but if you prefe—"
"No, that time is perfect," Ikari cut him off with a casual wave of his hand. "See you tomorrow. Thanks, Han." He gave the fisherman one last pat on the shoulder, which this time only made him flinch slightly, and turned to the lemur.
"Come on, Momo!" Ikari called, snapping his fingers. The lemur dropped what was left of the fruit and flew onto his shoulder, settling into his favorite spot. "Let's find something to do."
*******
Suki and Mingxia walked side by side along a winding trail that snaked around the outskirts of Koi Harbor, heading in the direction where Ikari had last been seen, according to one of the Kyoshi Warriors from the village. The two were without the traditional attire of the Kyoshi Warriors, instead wearing simple linen tunics in shades of green and beige.
"Do you think they accepted?" Mingxia asked, absentmindedly kicking a branch on the ground, which rolled to the edge of the trail.
"I doubt it," Suki replied, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of Ikari.
"But she seemed pretty comfortable with his presence," Mingxia argued, pointing out how the Kyoshi warrior they had spoken to didn't seem at all bothered by Ikari's presence.
"That doesn't mean anything."
"I think it does."
Suki shook her head. "I believe he didn't give anyone the chance to accept or refuse, Mingxia. Ikari probably used the same speech he gave to Oyaji in every village."
Mingxia opened her mouth to continue, but stopped when she heard a CRACK! It was the unmistakable sound of wood being split. The two stopped abruptly, exchanging a quick look. Suki raised her hand, signaling for Mingxia to stay quiet, her eyes narrowing in the direction of the noise.
"Over there," She whispered, pointing to a section of the trail that veered left, where the vegetation looked denser. She started walking again, heading that way, with Mingxia right behind her, their senses now on alert.
As they got closer to the noise, the sound of wood being chopped grew clearer, accompanied by muffled voices. They moved more carefully, using the trees as cover, until they reached a small clearing bathed in sunlight. There, in the center, was the one they were looking for, doing something that certainly wasn't on the list of what they had expected.
Ikari held an axe above his head, the handle glistening slightly with the sweat of his hands before striking a log, splitting it in half. Beside him, a younger boy, maybe around 13 years old, watched everything with deep focus, hardly blinking.
"See, Wu? It's not just about hitting with strength," Ikari said while placing another log on the chopping block. "It all depends on the angle you strike at. Try aiming at cracks or knots, and let gravity and the weight of the axe do the work. Don't stiffen your shoulders." He handed the axe to the boy. "Try it." Ikari took a step back, letting Wu take his place.
The boy spread his legs, lining them up with his shoulders. Then he raised the axe, took a deep breath, and struck the log. It wasn't perfect, far from it. The axe had only partially embedded itself into the wood, but Ikari smiled, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Much better than the first time. Keep it up and soon you'll be able to take your father's place."
Suki and Mingxia, partially hidden by the vegetation, watched the scene in silence, stunned. After a few seconds of processing what they were seeing, Mingxia leaned slightly toward Suki, whispering: "That I definitely wasn't expecting."
Suki frowned, her eyes fixed on Ikari. "Me neither..."
*********
Teaching someone how to chop firewood wasn't exactly what Ikari had in mind when he went looking for something to pass the time, but he wasn't going to complain. Wu was a good kid, with eyes full of determination to learn how to use the axe in order to replace his father, who had developed a back problem. This was the kind of person Ikari liked helping the most—those who face everything they can, doing whatever it takes, sometimes even the impossible to help the ones they love.
"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Ikari said after noticing the sun was already going down. "You better head home before it gets dark."
"O-okay," Wu agreed, panting, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his tunic. "Thanks a lot, Ikari. I thought I could learn on my own without bothering my dad, but… it would've taken me an eternity without you." He hesitated for a moment, then gave a small bow, grateful. "You're not like the stories they tell out there…"
Ikari laughed, shaking his head. "Go on, Wu. And take good care of your father." He watched the boy walk down the trail, carrying the axe in his hand until he disappeared among the trees.
Kneeling down, Ikari began stacking the chopped logs into a pile, imagining Wu or his father would come back to collect them another day. Once finished, he clapped his hands to shake off the dust, feeling the gaze of two Kyoshi Warriors who had been watching him from hiding in the bushes.
He had heard them when they arrived minutes earlier and expected that, after seeing he wasn't doing anything but helping someone, they would leave. But they stayed there. And they didn't seem like they were leaving anytime soon. "I know it's your job," he said out loud, no longer able to bear the discomfort, "but spying like that is kinda rude, you know?"
A rustle came from the bushes behind him, and two figures emerged from the vegetation. Ikari turned, expecting to find two Kyoshi Warriors, but instead came face-to-face with two ordinary girls. "Uh…" He blinked, surprised. "I thought you were Kyoshi Warriors."
"We are Kyoshi Warriors," the girl on the left said, crossing her arms.
"I don't think he's recognizing us without the uniform, Suki," commented the one on the right before waving excitedly. "Hi, Ikari! We met yesterday, when you arrived on the island. I'm Mingxia, remember? One of the warriors who stayed with you in that hut." She pointed to the girl beside her. "And this is Suki, our—"
"Ohhh, yeah, I remember you two." Ikari cut her off, recognizing them. "Sorry, it's hard to recognize you without all that makeup."
"No problem," Mingxia said with a giggle.
"So.... what are you two doing here?" Ikari asked, walking over to his staff, which was leaning against a nearby tree. He picked it up and rested it on his shoulder, casting a curious look at them.
"We came to ask you a few questions," Suki replied, her tone firm, keeping a rigid posture.
"And to see how things are going," Mingxia quickly added.
Ikari raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, go ahead. I'll answer whatever you want to the best of my abilities."
Mingxia didn't hesitate, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "How did the talks with the other villages go? Did anyone accept?"
"Most of them went pretty much the same way it did with you: suspicious at first, but they heard me out and now they know the situation is more complicated than it looks," Ikari answered, shrugging. "I didn't let anyone give me a definitive answer, but just like I expect from you, I believe they'll accept."
"You expect us to accept, but at no point have you explained exactly what you want from us," Suki said as soon as he finished. "Why do you want the Kyoshi Warriors so badly, Ikari? We're not an army with thousands of people at our disposal. We don't even number a hundred, to be precise, and you still only want part of us. What exactly do you expect us to do in this war?"
The air seemed to grow heavier with Suki's question.
Ikari stared at her in silence for a moment, weighing his words. He couldn't reveal the whole truth, trusting people who weren't even on his side yet, but maybe just a part would be enough to satisfy her clear distrust. "We expect many things. But at first, we want two things from you. First, to boost our recruitment. You may not realize it, but the Kyoshi Warriors have an enormous reputation in the Earth Kingdom. If you, who have always been neutral, decide to join Omashu, it will be a powerful sign to inspire others to join as well."
"So you want to use us as a symbol," Suki said, narrowing her eyes.
'She didn't like that,' Ikari thought, quickly continuing. "Not just that. In the past few months, our army has received an enormous number of recruits—the largest in decades. The problem is that most of them are non-benders. And our best soldiers are benders, trained to fight using bending. We don't have enough people with hand-to-hand combat experience to train these rookies. And that's where you come in." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I'm not asking you to teach them your unique fighting style. We just need your experience to turn these recruits into soldiers capable of standing against the Fire Nation."
That last part wasn't entirely true. Ikari hoped that at some point he could convince the Kyoshi Warriors to teach their legendary fighting style to the soldiers.
But they didn't need to know that yet.
******
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.