Maiden Of The Moon

Maiden of the Moon

What if Kokushibo had a pupil, whom he taught the original Moon Breathing before he deserted the Demon Slayer Corps?

Mochizuki Yua was born only for these reasons: To become a Hashira and make her family a respected one in the Demon Slayer Corps.

But if you only live for the expectations of others, who are YOU truly?

What will it take to find yourself?

A long, hard journey awaits.

!!!!PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

Chapter 16: Hashira

Yua’s heart was beating so fast, that she felt it in her whole body. 

Nervous sweat was forming on her forehead, and her hands felt clammy, as she sat in perfect seiza before Oyakata-Sama.

The head of the Demon Slayer Corps just gave her a gentle smile.

It did calm her down a bit.

“My child.”, began he in his soothing voice. “Since you have become part of the Corps you have been an incredible swordsman. Bringing honour to the corps and your family. I heard what outstanding progress you even made these last months. You may be even stronger than dear Noritaka.”

The young woman bowed in thanks to Oyakata-Sama.

“You honour me, Master. It did what was right. Protect humanity and the people who are dear to me from the Demon Treat.”

“You did outstanding well. I fear we would have lost Kyoujurou if it wasn’t for you. Mochizuki Yua, your strength and determination are admirable. So it’s my great honour to raise you to the Rank of Hashira. The second Moon Hashira we ever had. Do you accept this honour and the duties it comes with?”

For a second Yua closed her eyes. 

This was it.

This is what she had worked on her whole life.

First only to make her Grandfather proud and accept her, however, she had started to think for herself.

Thanks to Tanjiro and all the friends she had made.

There was only one answer.

***

Tired Yua opened the door of the Butterfly Mansion.

The whole Mugen Train Mission had been a whole week ago and she may not have any heavy wounds, but she had still had strained herself.

The neck of an Upper Moon was hard!

She was happy to be back at the Butterfly Mansion to get cures and rehabilitation training. She would need it.

“It’s really quiet.”, she noted out loud.

Normally at dinner time, you would hear Inosuke and Rengoku shouting over each other for food/how delicious the food was and Aoi-San chastising them.

Not even Shinobu-Sama's laughter could be heard.

Confused she took off her white-silvery booths and walked to the Dining Room.

Why was it dark in there?

“Hello anyone there?”, she called into it.

Then suddenly the lights flicked on and you could hear loud shouts of Congratulations from every corner.

Astonished Yua looked at the people inside the dining room.

Ema and her friends were holding up a banner with Welcome New Hashira. Aoi, Kanao and a woman with pink-green hair had sparklers in their hands. Shinobu-Sama and the Water Hashira were applauding, while Tanjiro, Rengoku, Inosuke and Zenitsu were throwing confetti into the air. Nezuko was waving around with two little flags with her face on it.

“What the?!”, Yua couldn’t help but shout and laugh at the same time.

“We already heard the news!”, called Shinobu-Sama over, as Yua was stormed by the little girls and Nezuko in a hug. “This is a little party for our newest Hashira!”

“Oh my Tsukuyomi you guys are crazy!”

“You deserved it, young Mochizuki!”, laughed Rengoku.

The little girls chorused a big yeah.

Yua laughed, hugged them and then Nezuko took her hand.

Her sister-in-law dragged her into the room.

In one instant she found herself in the embrace of the unknown pink-green-haired woman.

“Aww, it’s so great to meet you, Yua-Chan!”, cooed the woman. “I’m Kanroji Mitsuri or just Mitsuri the Love Hashira! I heard only good things from Shinobu-Chan and Kyoujurou-Senpai about you! I hope we can be good friends!”

Kanroji Mitsuri made her title Love Hashira all honour, Yua could see it in her pink and red Aura how sincere and loving she was.

She hugged her back.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mitsuri-Chan. I would love to be your friend.”

A little happy Kyaah came out of Mitsuri and she hugged her tighter.

After they let go of each other Shinobu with the Water Hashira stood before her.

The Water Hashira made a little bow in her direction.

He introduced himself as Tomioka Giyuu and gave her his congratulations.

She returned the bow, hoping they would work well together as Hashira.

Then Aoi with Kanao hugged her, Kanao managed even to congratulate her all alone without throwing her coin, which made Yua proud of her.

Rengoku, with his now eyepatch, ruffled her hair and told her he couldn't wait to work with her.

Finally, she reached Tanjiro and the guys.

In the loving arms of her boyfriend, Yua felt at home.

Tanjiro chastely kissed her cheek, telling her how proud of her was and he knew she would become a Hashira.

Nearly anyone in the room awed at them.

Zenitsu and Inosuke gave their congratulations too and finally, they all could sit down to celebrate.

Shinobu-Sama told her to drop the Sama. The Insect Hashira told her the other Hashira couldn’t come, but they sent their congratulations too and would surely meet her in the next few days.

Yua accepted it, what else could she do, Aoi served the food.

The dinner party was filled with laughter and joy. Yua couldn't believe how lucky she was to have such wonderful friends and colleagues. 

She had always been a bit of a loner, but since meeting Tanjiro and his friends, she had found a sense of belonging that she had never experienced before. 

As they ate and talked, the grey-eyed girl felt herself relaxing for the first time in a week. 

The mission on the Mugen Train had been incredibly intense, and she had pushed herself to her limits to protect her friends. But now, surrounded by people who cared about her, she could finally let go of some of that tension.

After dinner, they all gathered in the courtyard to watch fireworks. 

Mitsuri had brought them as a surprise for Yua's promotion, and they were absolutely beautiful. 

As they exploded overhead, Yua felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. 

She was so grateful for everything that had led her to this moment - for her family’s teachings (Besides her Grandfather with his toxins), for Tanjiro's kindness and support, and for all the friends she had made along the way.

As the night wore on and everyone started to drift off to home and/or to bed, Yua found herself walking hand-in-hand with Tanjiro through the gardens behind the mansion. They stopped by a koi pond and watched as the fish swam lazily through the water.

"I'm so proud of you," Tanjiro said softly, breaking their comfortable silence.

Yua smiled down at him. "Thank you."

"You know," he continued after a moment. "I never really believed in fate or destiny or anything like that before I met you."

The girl raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"But now," he went on, "I can't help but feel like we were meant to find each other. Like our paths were always leading us here."

“You know what made me accept being a Hashira? It was the dream I had on the Mugen Train.”, she confessed.

Surprised Tanjiro looked up at her, leaning his head on her shoulder.

“Really?”

She nodded.

“I dreamed of a world where no one in my family had to be a Demon Slayer anymore. All were so happy living their dreams. You and Nezuko were there too, your family also living the best life. I wasn’t sure what I would do, but I know I wanted to be at your side and find out who I am.” 

“You were in my dream too.”, he confessed also. “You and your father had left the Mochizuki to live a simple life. You seemed so happy just to live normal.”

Grinning she kissed his temple.

“This sounds nice, but what I wanted to say is this. All my life I was told I had to become a Hashira to clean the Mochizuki name from the sins of our ancestors. I didn’t believe in the Demon Slayer Cause, because for me it just was a task I had to finish. Now after I saw what a world without demons could be...Now that’s my dream. To kill every last demon so that my family can be free and live their life how they want. To be free myself and choose the path I want to walk in life. That we all are free from them and can live simple but good lives!”

She felt how Tanjiro lay a hand on her cheek, so he could turn her head down to kiss her lips.

They shared a soft, tender kiss.

“This sounds wonderful, dearest.”, told her Tanjiro. “Besides making Nezuko human again, I want this too.”

“So we walk this way together?”

 “Of course!”

Laughing their lips found each other again.

The star twinkled and the moon shone softly down on them.

They continued to walk, hand-in-hand, through the gardens, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. 

As they strolled along, Yua couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over her. She had achieved her dream of becoming a Hashira, and she was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her. 

It was a feeling she never wanted to let go of. 

As they neared the end of the garden path, Tanjiro stopped and turned to face her. "Yua," he said softly, taking both her hands in his. "I know we've been through a lot together already, but I want you to know that I'm here for you no matter what happens." 

She looked down at him with a pretty smile on her red lips. 

"I know," she whispered. "And I'm here for you too." 

He smiled at her and leaned in for another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. They stayed like that for a few moments before breaking apart and continuing on their way.

As they walked back towards the mansion, Yua felt more confident than ever before. She knew that there would be challenges ahead as a Hashira, but she also knew that with Tanjiro by her side, anything was possible.

Together they would fight to rid the world of demons and create a better future for all those they held dear.

As they walked into the warm glow of the Butterfly Mansion's lights, Yua knew that this was where she belonged - among friends and family who loved and supported her every step of the way.

***

Dear Father,

I’m terribly sorry that I couldn’t write sooner or come home.

The family probably heard how I was raised in Hashira four months ago.

I bet grandfather is gleeful, but I took the position not for him, but for us all.

That one day no Mochizuki has to take a Katana in his hand and fight demons.

With the help of my love and friends, we will rid this world of demons!

I promise you this.

Since I’m a Hashira now, I get the toughest missions in the Corps.

Sometimes alone, sometimes with other Hashira’s.

I found good friends in them like the Love Hashira Kanroji Mitsuri and others who are a special breed like Shinazugawa Sanemi. That guy has no eyebrows, it freaks me a bit out.

But mostly I get along with my Hashira colleagues.

I always return back to the Butterfly Mansion for cures and rehabilitation training, before going back out on missions.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke are also back in action.

When we all are back together we train like crazy.

The boys are getting stronger with every day.

I’m proud of them.

Kyoujurou-Senpai has returned home to be with his brother and teach himself swordsmanship with one eye.

It will take a while before he can fight demons again, however, I’m sure he will manage.

The day Tanjiro visited him to search for more clues about the Hinokami Kagura Dance had been something.

Your future son-in-law headbutted the ex-Flame Hashira, Kyoujurou-Senpai's father because he had talked bad about his children.

At least we learned a little more about the Hinokami Kagura, who apparently is Sun-Breathing the first-ever breathing technique from which all others come.

Did you know this?

It’s so crazy to think about it.

Anyway, I hope at home all is good.

When I can manage I will come back with Tanjiro to visit you all.

I miss you all so much.

Besides Grandfather, but you know this.

I will wait for an answer with a hopeful heart.

With Love, your daughter 

***

Frowning Yua stared at the letter she had written. 

It seemed so little, however, she couldn’t tell more about her missions.

Being a Hashira include also being secretive.

Kaguya beside her on the desk cawed.

“You are right my princess.”, mussed Yua, giving the bird pats. “More I can’t do, it’s a wonder that I’m able to write finally a letter. So, off you go.”

She gave her trusted crow the letter and Kaguya flew towards the Mochizuki Estate.

Signing Yua leaned on the chair she was sitting on.

She was as only one from their little group back in the Butterfly Mansion.

The midnight blue-haired beauty hadn’t seen her boyfriend in a good three days, she formally ached for him.

Blushing she scratched a cheek of her.

They were now together for a good six months...Yua felt that she was ready to go the next big step with Tanjiro...they already started to get more handsy with each other...should she talk with him about this matter when he returned?

That’s when she heard a loud ruckus coming from outside the Mansion.

“What the?”, she grasped her Katana and ran out of the room.

As she came nearer the ruckus, she felt familiar Aura’s.

“Tengen?”, she mumbled confused. “What is he doing here, where are his wives?”

Also, she noted happily that Tanjiro and Nezuko were back, as Zenitsu and Inosuke.

“What is going on!”, she shouted as she finally was outside.

The picture before her was priceless.

Ema and her friends hissed at Tengen's pervert. Aoi seemed ready to murder someone, Kanao was unsure but standing protective before the other Butterfly Mansion girls.

Her boyfriend and her two male friends had drawn their Katana at Tengen, while the former Shinobi just deadpanned at them.

“Oh Yua, it’s you.”, greeted her Tengen. “I actually want to have you with me on this mission with these three unflashy guys.”

“What mission and where are you wives?”, she asked back confused.

“The number one spot in Japan that’s dripping with lust and desire, a super-flashy place… the Entertainment District where demons reside.”

Why did Yua get the feeling that it would be a really hard mission?

!!!!PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

Yin and Yang: Book 1.13

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.13: The Blue Spirit

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

A pot with vegetable soup was sitting on the fire pit Hua made.

The Daimon stirred the soup and tasted it.

“Mmh, a bit more salt.”, she mumbled to herself.

She added the spice, as Katara called out to her: “How is the soup going, Hua?”

“Nearly done, Katara, how is our patient?”

Together they looked at poor sick Sokka. He was lying against Appa, coughing and sweaty, huddled in his sleeping bag. 

Thank the spirits they had found this old ruin to make camp or Sokka would suffer more.

At least here they were safe from the weather and it was cosy warm.

Katara pressed a wet rag onto Sokka's forehead.

“This should bring your fever down.”, she cooed at her brother.

Hua put the soup in a bowl and joined them.

“Here Sokka, something to eat. It will help you too.”

But the older boy was so delirious from his fever that he just said: “You know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humour.”

“That's nice. I'll tell him.”, said Katara a bit amused.

Appa growls.

Sokka laughs. “Classic Appa.”

“Come Sokka, eat a bit of the soup.”, pleaded Hua and raised the spoon towards his mouth. “It will help.”

“I want meat soupy.”, he whined like a child.

The Daimon signed so Katara shovelled the soup down her brother's throat. 

At least he eats it like that.

That’s when Aang returns from his little scavenger trip.

“How's Sokka doing?”

“Not so good.”, tells Hua with crossed arms.

“Being out in that storm really did a number on him.”, adds Katara, shovelling the last bit of soup down his throat.

The sick Sokka gulps down his soup but starts sniffing pitifully.

“I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map.”, explained Aang, putting said map on the floor. “There's an herbalist institute on top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there.”

“Aang, he's in no condition for travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow.”, says Katara, however suddenly she starts coughing too.

This alarms Hua and Aang.

“Not you, too!”, they shout together.

“Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fi-”

She coughs again, this time with greater force, and lightly groans after.

“It’s like how Sokka started yesterday.”, reminds Hua. “Now look at him, he thinks he is an earthbender like me.”

“Take that, you rock!”

“See?!”, waves Hua to Sokka as flails his arms as if he is hitting something.

“A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense, too. I'm going to go find some medicine.”, decides Aang. He grabs his glider and begins to head out just as a flash of lightning strikes. “Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot.”

The black-haired girl steps towards him and holds him by the shoulder.

“Wait a second Aang.”

“Mmh?”

Hua gives him a big hug, which makes both blush, as she whispers in his ear: “I take care of Sokka and Katara, you be careful. You will be all alone, the last we need is you getting captured by Prince Zuko or somebody else.”

Aang hugs her back, nodding.

“I promise.”

They let go of each other and with a last smile, Aang runs out of the ruin.

The girl signs, wondering why her stomach feels all flattery before she turns to the water tribe siblings.

“Don’t worry guys, I will take care of you.”, she promises.

From her friends came only pitiful groans.

A sweatdrop runs down Hua's forehead.

Well, better start caring for them.

So Hua helps Katara into her sleeping back and feeds her then with the soup.

Then she rotatory wipes away the sweat on her friends faces and entertains Sokka's hallucinations.

This goes on for a while, with wiping their face and giving them food and entertaining them, till Hua notes they are out of water.

“So thirsty.”, croaks Sokka.

“I know Sokka.”, coos Hua at him. “I will take a quick trip to the river and fill our water skins, okay?”

“Be careful”, coughs Katara, even sick she still worries for her.

“I promise, maybe Aang will be back then. He is taking his sweet time.”, grumbles Hua a bit.

She really hoped he was just taking his time and not something terrible happened to him.

With a sign, she slugs the water skins to herself, gets out of the ruin and earthbends an avalanche under her with it she surfes down to the river.

As she reaches the river and starts to fill the first water skin, she feels eyes on her.

Fast she twirles around and creates a whole of ice between her and the unknown danger.

“An arrow?”, she mumbles stupified.

More arrows struck the wall before two more landed in the same spot and sliced the arrows that came before it. 

The ice cracks and another set of arrows pin the green sleeves of her kimono top to a fallen tree in the water.

Before she can react a net is launched at her.

Scary Hua looks into the face of the archer who captures her.

Who are this?

And what are they gonna do to her?

***

As it turns out they cart her into a Fire Nation fortress and lock her up in a cell.

Hua was bound at her legs and arms with chains, barely able to move. 

Angrily she struggles against the chains.

Oh, whoever did this to her will pay?!

Her cell door opens and Commander Zhao enters with a smug look on his stupid face.

She growls at him.

“Feisty aren’t we?”, he musses and stands before her. “So this is the great Daimon. One of the two masters of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over.”

“I will show you who is feisty!”, she growls back. “Untie me and I will make you pay for implying that I hide from cowards like you!”

“Uhh, no. Tell me, how is it to find yourself in a world where all your loved ones are dead?”

Anraged Hua shows him her teeth. How she wants to bite this asshole!

“Don't worry, you won't be killed. See, if you die you will just be reborn and the Fire Nation would have to start searching all over again. Even if you would be reborn in the Fire Nation. We simply don’t have time for this. So I'll keep you alive, but just barely.”

The arrogant asshole turns his back on her to step out of the cell, as Hua takes a deep breath and spits a fire stream after him.

Sadly he can bend it away.

“Nice little trick, who taught you this?”

“I learned it myself!”

Strangely Zhao laughs and the next words make Hua shiver all over. “You are indeed a feist one, the Avatar just attacked me with an airblast, but you…you were going for the kill.”

“Avatar…”, she repeats shocked. “You have Aang?!”

“We caught him before you. Sadly you won’t be seeing him, who knows what you two would do together.”

With a last arrogant smirk Zhao leaves, leaving a panicked Hua behind.

Oh no.

Oh no!

OH NO!

This was so bad you needed a new word for bad!

The Fire Nation had both of them.

Oh spirits!

Angry tears fall from Hua’s green eyes as she tries to free herself.

She needs to get out and find Aang!

How long she tries to free herself she can’t tell, only how out of nowhere she hears battle sounds.

Surprised she looks up and that’s when Aang steps into the room!

“Aang!”

“Hua!”

He runs up to her and hugs her the best he can.

“Did they hurt you?”, he asked worried, taking her face in his hands.

“No, No. Did you get hurt?”, she asked back, looking him up and down.

“No, I’m fine too.”

Both signs relieved, then Aang steps away, Hua misses his hands on her face, and a tall man in all black with a blue spirit mask steps towards her.

“Aang, who is this?!”, she asked scared.

“A friend. He released me.”, he explains. “He will do the same for you. Don’t get scared of his swords.”

Hua does haven’t the time as Blue (she will call him this in her head) takes out Duo-Swords and frees her from her bindings.

She thanked her saviour with a bow, and then she and Aang embraced each other again, happy the other was okay and that they were together again.

The Daimon can’t explain since when she craved so much Aang touch, she just knows she felt safe and happy in his arms.

“Yeah, you are right, we should go.”, says Aang to Blue, who had pointed at the cell door.

The Avatar and Daimon take each other hand and follow Blue through the fortress.

They managed to reach the innermost wall of the fortress, scaling it on a rope as they got spotted!

A soldier appears at the top of the wall they are climbing. He cuts the rope and the trio falls down the wall.

Thankful Aang airbends them to a soft landing. 

When the dust clears, the Blue Spirit unsheathes his swords and they run.

A wild prison breaks take place, where they have to fight and climb up the walls of the fortress.

Thanks that Hua was an earthbender, she just smashed holes into the walls, where they could escape.

They are nearing the last wall, however, four firebenders unleash their flame on them, but Aang and Hua put the masked man behind them and he airbends and she firebends the flames away.

“Hold your fire!”, commands Zhao. “The Avatar and Daimon must be captured alive!”

The Blue Spirit instantly comes up behind the two children and crosses his swords in front of their throats, surprising Aang and Hua.

A stand-off takes place, in which Zhao gives in and commands to open the gates.

The gate is opened and the Blue Spirit backs out with his captives, swords still at their throats.

The Blue Spirit continues backing away from the fortress. Zhao now looks on from the top of the main gate.

Then all happens fast.

Hua recognizes the archers who capture her and tries to warn Blue and Aang.

“Get down!”

Blue takes the swords from their troats and wants like them to drop down to the floor, but the arrow hits him in the shoulder!

With a pained groan, their silent ally falls down on the floor.

“No!”. scream Hua and Aang together.

Aang creates a huge dusty cloud as Hua checks for Blue.

“This is bad Aang.”, she tells him. “The arrow pierced his whole shoulder, if we don’t help him, he will bleed to death.”

“Alright, let’s take him with us!”

Hua grips Blue's arms and Aang his legs, together they airbend away from the scene.

***

Luck was on their side and they reached their campsite with Blue without any more problems.

Hua and Aang put Blue on Hua's sleeping back, as Katara called out to them: “Aang, Hua, where were you, who is this?”

She coughs pititful.

“Ah, I forgot the frogs, I will be back soon, okay!”, proclaims Aang and races out.

Hua deadpan after him.

“Sure, I will try alone to save the life of our saviour.”

She signs at gets to work.

As she collected the things she needed, she explained to Katara what happened. 

Thankful her best friend was lucid enough to understand, other than Sokka who said Blue was a Demon and here to eat his heart.

Sitting beside Blue, Hua checks their supplies. Bandages and some salves. Thankful she had one full water skin before she got captured so she could clean his wound.

Careful with her knife she opened his black shirt up where the arrow had gone through and checked it.

Okay, it seemed no bone was hit, this was good and the arrow had gone through nicely.

Alright, she could do it.

First, she slowly cleaned the wounds in front and in the back with water and put the antiinfection salve on it.

Then she cut the rest of the arrow with her knife away.

Only the little bit who looked out of his back remained.

Now she needed to carefully slip it out and pray he didn’t bleed to death.

Taking a deep breath she pulled the arrow out.

Blue screamed in pain.

Katara gasped.

Sokka shrieked about how the demon hoards would come for them.

And a blood fountain gushes out from Blue wounds.

OH NO!

Shit, shit, shit!

Hua let out some really creative curses, which made Katara even more gasp, as she tried to stop the bleeding with the bandages.

They get soaked in seconds.

She tries with water to wash it out and then bandaids over.

It bleeds and bleeds and bleeds!

“Oh come on please!”, she cried, holding her wet hand on the wound. “Stop please.”

Then something unexpected happened.

Her hand and the water started to glow blue and like a miracle closed the wound!

Unellegant Hua's chin meets the floor.

What happened?

What had she done?!

Whatever it was, it had probably saved Blue life.

***

“So let me get this straight you get captured by Zhao, Blue Mask over there saves you and you manage to get him wounded and then you bring him here without knowing who he is?!”

“Sokka, he saved mine and Aang's lives he can’t be bad.”

“I don’t trust masked vigilante! They always have something to hide.”

“What done is, is done. I’m with Hua and Aang. He can’t be that bad if he saved them.”

“Katara, you are too trusting.”

Zuko woke up to loud voices squabbling over him. 

He blinked behind his mask the black dots away and turned his head.

There were the Avatar and Daimon together with the two teens of the watertribe and their three animals.

The humans were sitting around a fire, eating something which looked and smelled like soup, which made him notice how hungry he was himself.

What should he do now?

His prizes were before him, but also a bison, a kyuubi, a waterbender and a guy with a club.

He couldn’t just snatch them up.

Also, his shoulder still hurt.

No, he had to analyse the sitation before he did something stupid.

“Ah, I think our guest woke up.”, said the water tribe girl and walked over to him. With a friendly smile, she kneeled beside him, offering him a bowl of soup. “I don’t know who you are, but you saved Aang and Hua. This makes you in my eyes a friend.”

The water tribe boy groaned behind her.

Zuko just said nothing.

He wasn’t used to people who treated him nicely, well besides his uncle.

So he better stay still.

“Not a talker are ya?”, giggled the girl. She put the bowl and a spoon beside him. “You have your reason to hide your face, so no one will look when you eat. Enjoy it.”

“I still think this is stupid.”, grumbled the water tribe boy.

“Sokka, people have a right to their privacy.”, scolded the water tribe girl.

With that, she stood up and joined her friends again.

Incredibly they really turned their backs on him and talked just with each other, even if he could see how the water tribe boy fought with turning around.

Slowly Zuko got an idea.

If they already trusted him for saving the Avatar and Daimon…maybe if he stayed a few days with them, and played their ally, they would leave him eventually alone with the two youngest and he could take them to his ship and then the Fire Nation.

Yes!

He could play a few days being nice, he just hoped his uncle wouldn’t worry so much.

Maybe he could send him a message?

Whatever one thing after another.

He ate the soup, which was after years on the sea with a cook with a bad temper, really tasty and enjoyable.

Soon, he would get his honour back.

He just had to be patient.

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Yin and Yang: Book 1.04

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.04: The Warriors of Kyoshi

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

Since they had left the Southern Air Temple some time has passed.

For a few days, Aang dragged them around from one place to another to ride different large animals.

If they keep this rhythm they would reach the Nothern Water Tribe at spring!

The only good thing was, how Aang finally had started to teach Hua airbending.

It was going…okayish.

Because it was her opposite element and she should actually first learn firebending, Hua didn’t make great signs of progress.

The most she could do was create a small breeze.

Aang wasn’t a great help either, since he wanted to shove the air nomad philosophy down her throat, then actually teach her airbending.

For this, they argued even more than normal, because Hua was sure she didn’t need to embrace this for airbending, but Aang insisted she needed to let go of earthly things and other stuff, which goes against her earthbending.

When you earthbend you...just do it!

No other angle, no other way... just move these rocks and be done with it!

Poor Katara had to keep them apart and play mediator since Hua was this close to burying Aang and his stuck-up-my-philosophy-is-better-then-yours-skit.

The moment of camaraderie and understanding they had shared in the Southern Air Temple was totally forgotten.

They were back on their normal I-hate-her/his-guts behaviour.

Anyway, currently they were flying over the waste ocean.

Hua and Katara were each patching up some of their clothes. They worked each one a pair of clothing from Sokka.

Jaiyi was leaning on Hua, letting out a cute yawn as she looked at how the girls sewed.

Aang, with Momo on his shoulder, guided Appa somewhere, while Sokka looked in frustration at their map.

Only with half an ear did the girls listen how Sokka questioning Aang's navigational skills and the airbender just cheerfully stating at least they were on the ocean.

Then the younger boy called out for Katara about something.

"That's great, Aang.", humoured Katara, still concreting on her sewing.

"You didn't even look.", whined Aang.

Katara looks over at Aang and attempts to show enthusiasm.

"That's great."

"But I'm not doing it now."

"Just let it go, your crush on her is embarrassing as hell.", mumbled Hua annoyed, only loud enough for Katara to hear, stitching up a hole in the shirt.

Her friend hit softly with her elbow her side in reprimand.

Okay, Hua got what Katara meant, but how couldn't she say nothing about Aang's crush on Katara?

You had to be blind as a badger-mole to not see it.

He was so not subtly about.

Hua bet even Momo and Appa knew!

It was just embarrassing and uncomfortable for anyone, not that Aang realised it. 

The black-haired girl had asked Katara over dinner a day or two ago how she could stand Aang's blunt ways to impress her.

If a guy she didn't like would act that way towards her, she would bury them alive.

Katara had explained to her, that it was just a puppy crush, Aang would eventually get over it, when he realized that Katara would never show any interest in him.

The waterbender wasn't into younger boys and it would be just plain creepy if a 14-year-old dated a 12-year-old.

No matter the gender!

Hua really doubted that Aang would be so self-reflecting.

As Sokka liked to call him, he was an airhead, he saw only what his narrative supported.

Never mind how the real world and people worked.

One of the reasons why Hua couldn't stand Aang's guts.

She was like her element, down to earth. She saw the things for what they were and didn't dream something up.

Oh well, as long as Katara didn't have a 180-grade change in personality, then Aang's crush would have to die.

You COULDN'T be this dismissive and blind to the feelings of another...or?

The Daimon was brought back from her musings as Sokka told Aang: "Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

What the?!

Together the girls stopped sewing and looked with anger at the older male. Even Jaiyi stopped leaning on Hua, her hackles raised.

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?", asked Katara with an icy tone.

"Yes, please share your wisdom with us, I can't wait to hear it.", added Hua growling right along with Jaiyi.

"Simple. Girls are better at fixing pants than guys and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that.", explained Sokka calmly. "It's just the natural order of things."

Oh, he didn't just say this?!

As if they had agreed on the girls smiled at Sokka. 

"All done with your pants!"

"Your shirt is also done!"

They held up the clothing pieces which had still holes in them.

"And look what a great job we did!", shouted Katara.

At the same time, the girls threw angrily the clothes at Sokka.

The pants and shirt hit him in the face, which pleased Katara and Hua greatly.

The ninetails was also happy about it, making a mocking yip at Sokka.

Freacking prick!

"Wait! I was just kidding.", whined Sokka, picking up his clothes and showing how his pants had still holes. "I can't wear these! Katara, Hua please!"

The girls crossed their arms and raised their noses to the sky. Jaiyi was right behind them with her snout up.

Huffing Hua said to him: "I have five words for you: Die mad about it, sexist!"

"Oh come on!"

"DIE mad about it, sexist!"

"Agreed!"

"Katara, please!"

"Relax, Sokka.", calls Aang back enthusiastically. "Where we're going, you won't need any pants and shirts."

Aang yanks Appa's reins to the left, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Appa picks up speed as he flies right to an island covered with mountains.

They land on a sandy beach and get down from Appa. 

The nine-tailed fox is playful chasing Momo around the shore, while Hua and the water tribe siblings stare at Aang, who is looking out the water with his hand held against his brow.

"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?", argued Sokka.

"He's right.", agreed Katara. "At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."

The Avatar tries to convince them that Appa is tired, however the flying bison only plays along after Aang repeats himself.

"Yeah, really convincing.", states Hua annoyed. "What animal do you want to ride now. That's why we are here aren't we?"

In answer an elephant koi jumps out of the water and back in, creating a giant splash.

All besides the excited Aang stared at it in shock.

"That's why we're here.", tells them Aang starting to disrobe himself. "Elephant koi, and I'm gonna ride it. Katara, you've got to watch me!"

Full of joyful anticipation Aang, now only in his underwear, jumps into the water only to scream how cold it is.

The others exchange glances while Appa walks away, clearly taking interest in something else. 

Sokka makes a circular motion with his left hand around near his left temple, signalling to his sister and Hua that he thinks Aang is crazy. 

In agreement, the Daimon nods.

Meanwhile, Aang is swimming toward the deep waters of the bay where the koi fish are. He dives under and immediately appears again, now holding on to the back fin of one of these giant animals as it jumps out of the water before diving again. 

Katara smiles broadly and is impressed at the sight of Aang riding the koi fish while Sokka and Hua stare at the scene with an uninterested look on their faces and their arms crossed.

Momo is jumping excitedly up and down as Aang's koi fish reappears again, while Jaiyi sits beside him, her tails swinging around her.

Laughing Aang, atop the fish's back, waves at his friends.

Katara enthusiastically waves back.

"He looks pretty good out there.", tells them Katara.

"Are you kidding?", say's Sokka unimpressed. "The fish is doing all the work."

"I'm with Sokka. If I want I could do this too.", shares Hua her thoughts.

That's when Katara see how Appa is eating something which he isn't supposed to and runs up to the bison to stop him. Aang of course see how Katara leaves the shore and doesn't look at him anymore, which makes him sad.

Sokka and Hua share a look.

Of course, he wanted to impress Katara.

Of course!

Suddenly there is a large shadow in the water, who drags down one of the elephant koi.

This alarms Sokka and Hua. Katara joins them and the three try their best to warn the Avatar, however, he thinks their frantic waving and jumping up and down means they are cheering him on.

Then Aang's elephant koi gets dragged down the water, making him fly into it.

A large dorsal fin appears hunting the Avatar down and Aang makes it like a tree, running out of the water, then crashing into Sokka.

Hua helps Sokka to get up, while Aang and Katara wonder, what the heck was in the water.

Then out of nowhere, they get ambushed!

Hua only sees a pretty face with a somehow familiar war paint dressed in green robes, before it gets dark and she is bonded.

With a thud, she falls to the ground and hears how the others are also being taken prisoner, even Momo and Jaiyi!

Their ambushers drag them somewhere and then bind them to a pole.

The quartet hears the whispers of humans.

Are they in a village?

"You four have some explaining to do.", they hear a male voice addressing them.

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi.", adds a female voice.

Sokka demands that they show themselves.

Suddenly Hua can see again.

Before them stand female warriors, the Daimon swerve she has seen this get-up somewhere, it's familiar, and behind them are people of all ages clothed in blue.

"Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?", wonders Sokka.

A warrior girl with auburn hair in a bob steps towards him her fist clenched.

"There were no men. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Wait a second, there's no way that a bunch of girls took us down.", laughs Sokka in disbelief.

For that the warrior girl grips him by the collar growling: "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight."

"No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes.", explains Katara worried for Sokka's safety.

"It's my fault.", admins Aang sorrowful. "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."

The man who is the leader of the village asks them in distrust how they should know if they aren't Fire Nations Spies. That Kyoshi stayed out of the war for a hundred years and wants to keep on doing this.

Hearing Kyoshi, Aang and Hua both lookup.

A tingle of familiarity overcomes them.

For Aang, it's like someone called his name for Hua it's like talking about an old dear friend.

For a second she sees a beautiful woman with the make-up and green robes the warrior girls wear, who gives her a smile that speaks of deep trust and companionship before her inner eye.

Then Hua is back in the present and shouts together with Aang: "This island is named for Kyoshi? We know Kyoshi!"

"Ha!", laughs the male leader humorlessly. "How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

"I know her because I'm the Avatar.", reveals Aang.

"And I'm the Daimon.", adminds Hua.

All inhabitants of Kyoshi are in deep shock. You see it in their face and enraged whispers.

"That's impossible!", shouts the auburn-haired female warrior. "The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago with the Daimon from the Earth Kingdom."

"That's us.", confirms Aang sheepishly, as Hua nods embarrassed.

Not that the male leader of Kyoshi believes them. He tells the warrior girls to throw them all to the Unagi. The warriors immediately retract their metal fans from out of their belts and slide them open. Ready to counter any sudden attack, they threateningly start to move forward and surround the bound friends.

Katara pleads with Aang to do some airbending, to show he is the Avatar which he of course does.

He bends over before pushing himself off the ground. He leaves a large dust cloud as he shoots in the air, stretching out his ropes, and using one of the outstretched fans of the statue, where they other all still bound, to snap them in half. 

Now completely free of his bonds, he lands gently on the ground in front of the surprised crowd, his robes still fluttering in the air. 

Oyaji and the Kyoshi Warriors stare at him in shock. A lot more people have gathered around to see what is going on.

"It's true ... you are the Avatar!", shouts Oyaji in aww. The Avatar really returned he couldn't believe it! "Then the Earth Kingdom girl is truly the Daimon!"

"Yes, I am!", yells Hua back.

Hopefully, they will now be released.

Well, she and the water tribe siblings and Momo and Jaiyi how to wait, because Aang shows the whole crowd a trick.

Aang gets out his marbles letting them spin around really fast between his hands. 

Grinning and blinking like a fool, he looks at the crowd, hoping to impress them. 

Indeed the crowd cheers for him.

A young man in the front starts to emit a high-pitched squeal while widely tossing his hands up in the air in admiration. He gets so overexcited that he starts to foam out the mouth, falls toward and faints; the rest of the villagers just keep on cheering.

Sokka, Katara and Hua look at each other in disbelief, while Momo and Jaiyi chitter and yip away in confusion.

Hua sums up the situation perfectly.

"What the heck?!"

***

The next day finds the Team Avatar-Daimon inside a house enjoying the hospitality of Kyoshi Island.

The villagers brought them a lot of desserts for breakfast, which Aang, Hua, Momo and Jaiyi dug in cheerfully.

As she had grown up in poverty the Daimon was thankful for any meal, but these delicious desserts were a special treat for her.

"These people sure know how to treat an Avatar and Daimon!", musse Aang happily, munching on different desserts at the same time.

Hua, who is eating a tasty cake out of cherries with cherry blossoms, nods in agreement.

"I rarely agree with you, but when you are right you are right."

"Katara you've got to try these!", hands her Aang a dumpling-formed dessert.

"Well, maybe just a bite.", says the waterbender, before she enjoys the sweet.

Momo sneaks up to Aang snatches the dessert out of his other hand and quickly dashes away, who smiles at his pet. 

He does not let the theft bother him and quickly grabs another dessert in front of him while Katara munches down the piece of cake and reaches across the table for the same dessert Aang just took. 

Hua and Jaiyi are eating together a very tasty fruit tart as Aang glances to his left, over the hunched Katara to Sokka. 

The lemur appears between Aang and Katara and quickly snatches another cupcake from the table before vanishing underneath it.

"Sokka, what's your problem?", ask Aang confused. "Eat!"

However, Sokka is a hunched figure in a corner, staring out the windows solemnly.

"Not hungry."

"But you're always hungry!"

 "He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday.", explains Katara amused, which makes Hua and Jaiyi giggle.

"They snuck up on me!", protested Sokka.

"Right. And then they kicked your butt."

In a mocking salute, Hua raises her glass towards Sokka.

"And what a butt-kicking it was, I gonna ask them to teach me some tricks!"

Angry Sokka stands up.

"Sneak attacks don't count!", he tries to defeat himself, then muttering something about robes and showing them a thing or two. He walks away only to return, taking some dessert with him and then stepping out.

The watertribe boy was determind to show his superier manlieness over the Kyoshi Warrories.

Hua didn't need to be a fortune teller to see great pain and humiliation in Sokka's future.

Well, she was all for it.

He needed to stop being a sexist.

Time for a vibe check!

"What's he so angry about?", wonders Aang. "It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment!"

"Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long.", warns Katara.

Jaiyi eats a cupcake out of Hua's hand as the Daimon signs: "I like it here too. But Katara is right. We should soon be back on the road."

"Thanks, Hua."

"Of course."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, girls.", tells them Aang, always the optimist. "Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town? How we make them happy, Hua? They're cleaning up that statue in my honour and the little shrine of the Daimon of Kyoshi's time. The airbender! What was his name?"

"Tian Kuo.", reminds Hua, petting a full and happy Jaiyi. "Not that I'm not flattered, but we shouldn't get this over our heads."

"I'm with Hua, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar. But stay with her on the ground.", advises Katara.

"Come on girls, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk."

Aang gets up and leans on the window sill so he can look better outside. As soon as he emerges, the villagers scream with delight and admiration for him. Surprised he looks down and sees a bunch of girls fangirling wildly over seeing him.

He lashes a broad smile at the girls while blushing. 

Katara and Hua stand behind him with their arms crossed in disapproval. They look at each other in agreement, roll their eyes and make a raspberry.

Jaiyi just yips in disapproval of Aang.

***

As it turns out Aang is all for girls swarming him.

Hua, Katara and even Jaiyi can just look on annoyed at how he tries to impress all his little fangirls.

Simple monk, their ass.

He was just like any other boy his age.

If girls showed interest in them, they started to act like proud peacocks.

Whatever, it wasn't their problem.

So Katara and Hua with Jaiyi shop at the marketplace for supplies.

Hua gets approached from time to time too. 

The people of Kyoshi had also a great respect for the late Daimon Tian Kuo, who had been Avatar Kyoshi's best friend and companion, not only showing in the little shrine they had for him but also giving Hua their respect.

Surprisingly the current Daimon has to give autographs.

A bit embarrassed she signs another autograph for a little boy, who runs up to his mother joyfully and turns to Katara.

"I feel all weird.", she said to the older girl. "I grow up in the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se. People don't give you any kind of second glance if you aren't from the Higher Rings."

"When they told you, you were the Daimon, people didn't treat you differently?", wonders Katara curious.

They are standing at the vegetable stand, while Jaiyi is playful chasing butterflies.

"They did, but not in such an admiring way. Remember, I lived for a time surrounded by monks. The boys were more shocked to see a female among them, than me being the Daimon."

"Was it weird?"

"Super weird. It was like they never saw a girl, which was probably true. The Air Nomads had gender separation. The monks and nuns only meet up on special events.", explains Hua. 

Katara makes a little annoyed huff.

"This explains why Aang is so eager to be surrounded by girls."

"It's getting way over his head.", agrees Hua.

 Suddenly, like talking about him has summoned him, Aang joins the girls.

"Hey, you two!", he greets them with a smile.

"Oh looks it's the peacock.", mumbles Hua to Katara.

The older girl has to stop herself from laughing, but she agrees with Hua.

"Hey Aang, can you help us?", asked Katara. She points the the three pots full of vegetables. "We need to bring this back to our room."

Holding up his hands to fob off with the offered pot Aang has the gall to say: "Actually, I can't right now."

Immediately Katara and Hua get annoyed looks on their face and Jaiyi stops to play with the butterflies to judge Aang too.

"Why? Is this simple task beneath the great Avatar.", mocks Hua with crossed arms.

"If you wanna know Hua, I promised the girls I'd give them a ride on Appa.", he huffs at her before he turns excited to Katara. "Why don't you come with us, Katara? It'll be fun!"

"What about Hua?"

"Katara, I don't want to come along.", makes Hua clear.

Watching Aang be treated like some kind of deity was not her definition of fun.

Neither was it Katara's.

"Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun, even if Hua would tag along.", tells Katara drier than a desert.

"Well, neither does carrying your baskets.", rebukes the Avatar.

"It's not my baskets. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon."

"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet.", whines Aang. "I can't put my finger on it but there's something I really like about this place."

Out of nowhere one of Aang's little fangirls calls out: "What's taking you so long, Aangy?"

Aang, Hua and Katara turn around to face them; the former enthusiastically waves back at his awaiting fangirls, while the girls raise an eyebrow at the scene.

From Jaiyi comes a disapproving growl.

"Aangy ...", repeat mockingly the two girls of Team Avatar-Daimon together.

"Just a second, Koko!", calls Aang back to his fangirl.

""Simple monk", huh?", chorus Katara and Hua together again, crossing their arms, while Jaiyi makes an agreeing sound.

"I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head.", reminds him Katara.

"It didn't. You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you're jealous.", accuses Aang.

Okay, that was enough in Hua's eyes.

No one would accuse her best friend, because that's what Katara was, of untrue things before her.

"Oh for the love of the Spirits, no one is jealous of you!", shouts Hua, pointing a finger at Aang. "We are just annoyed! Simple monk, my behind, you act like the spirit’s gift to womanhood it's annoying as hell. Just for your information oh great Avatar, they only kiss the ground you walk on because you were once the great Kyoshi. You, right now, have to still earn this admiration. Get your stupid head out of the clouds!"

Dramatically Hua grips Katara's hands and takes a pot. The older girl managed somehow to pick up the other two and together with Jaiyi, they walked away from Aang.

The Avatar just blinks dumbfound, lost for words.

Hua really led on the smack on him this time. 

He...he really doesn't know what to think right now.

That's when his fangirls run up to him and drag him with them.

Ah, whatever, he doesn't care for Hua's opinion.

***

A while later Hua is training the airbending kata's Aang showed her, in the hope of finally getting it.

"What do you mean, Jaiyi? I'm getting close?", she asks her kyuubi.

Jaiyi barks.

Hua gets what she means.

"I know, I still suck.", groans Hua and crosses her arms. "If Aang wasn't thinking with his little head, he should teach and advise me. Stupid idiot."

The kyuubi whines in question.

"Why should I be jealous? The people treat me here with respect too."

Again a whine.

"Now, you are ridiculous! Also, I was protecting Katara's honour. Her jealousy because of Aang's little fan club is a stupid fantasy of his because of his crush on her."

The ninetails yip, which makes Hua blush.

"Okay, maybe I have a tiny crush on Katara. Who wouldn't? She is amazing and so pretty, but I know, other than Aang, that I never will have a chance. I'm happy with our friendship."

Jaiyi waves her tails around and tilts her head.

"Aww, don't look at me like that.", grumbles Hua and starts her kata's again.

This whole day was turning out to be a headache.

Maybe she pissed off the spirits in one of her past lives because she hears shouting and screaming and the unmistakable smell of burning wood in the air.

"Oh no!", she shouts, Jaiyi springing over her. "How much you gonna bet, that's Prince Zuko and his pose?"

In answer Jaiyi turns into her riding form, so Hua can mount her.

Fast they race back to the village, which is burning, thanks to the firebenders.

Hua sends as many rocks as she can at them before she finds Katara.

"There you are!", shouts Katara glad.

The Daimon jumps down from her kyuubi and embraces her friend.

"Aang, is getting Appa. We need to leave Kyoshi.", explains the older girl.

In understanding Hua nods.

Zuko would leave Kyoshi alone to follow them, it was the best way.

A few seconds later Aang appears with Appa and Momo and the girl and Jaiyi get up on the saddle.

Sokka reaches them too and they are ready to blast off.

As they fly higher and higher in the sky they can see, how the firebenders are retreating.

"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing.", tries Katara to lift up a solemn Aang. "Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay, Aang."

Unexpected Aang let himself fall from Appa's head, which made all shout out in surprise. 

They watch how the water bubbles and suddenly Unagi shoots out of the water with Aang on top of his head, holding his whiskers. 

After swaying about a few times, he sturdies himself atop Unagi's head and pulls the creature's barbels. 

Unagi opens its mouth wide and begins gushing water which rains over the town. 

The house gets saved by the water, while Zuko and his men mounted on the rhinos are completely drenched.

The prince looks humiliated and his men look surprised. 

Unagi ceases to gush water and launches Aang into the air, who is subsequently caught by an overflying Appa.

As the Avatar climbs back on the saddle he says sheepishly: "I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous."

"Yes, it was.", agreed Katara, before she embraced him, glad that he was okay.

Aang is of course in heaven and blushes up a storm.

The Daimon only rolls her eyes at the Avatar as she finally notes, what Sokka is wearing.

"Hey Sokka."

"Yes, Hua?"

"You rock the Kyoshi robes."

This flatters the older boy.

He blushes and playful shoves her away.

Hua grins, feeling lighter in her heart.

Kyoshi was an experience, hopefully, Aang learned his lesson.

Previous

Next

Yin and Yang: Book 1.01

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Wow, thanks to you all for the love you have given my little idea!

Please if you could comment, it would make me even happier. :D

A few words before we go into the first chapter of this book.

Hua's outfit was inspired by Toph's winter outfit from the comics and from Mao Mao clothes from the anime The Apothecary Diaries. It’s a great anime, you should totally watch it.

I made a pic of Hua so you can see how she looks. It’s on my DeviantArt Account: EmpressOfTheSun. ^^

Now happy reading ^^

Book 1.01: The Children in the Iceberg

“You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained...! I'm embarrassed to be related to you!”, screams fourteen-year-old Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, the last waterbender and younger sister of sixteen-year-old, non-bender Sokka at him. 

She is so done with Sokka!

Blaming her bending,  even blaming her gender, for the situation they found themselves now in.

On a piece of ice in the middle of nowhere.

The young girl doesn’t realize how she bends and breaks, one bit for bit, an iceberg behind them.

Sokka who sees this, wants to warn his sister. 

This is surely not safe to bend in anger, they could get hurt!

However, Katara's anger is more powerful.

She continues to rant: “Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!”

“Uh ... Katara …”

“I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, not pleasant!”

“Katara, settle down!”

“NO! THAT’S IT!! I’m done helping you. From now on, you’re ON YOUR OWN!”

Her last movement is her most agitated and it creates a huge wave which, when it impacts the iceberg, sends several fissures to snake their way up the iceberg; one of them reaches the top of it, splitting it completely in half. 

Petrified, Sokka gasps for air, and it is only now that Katara turns to look behind her.

She gasps as the two halves begin to fall away from each other and collapse into the water. 

A wave larger than any Katara cast at it radiates outward toward them and they are thrown to the ice as it pushes their floe backwards.

Protective Sokka wraps an arm around Katara as they both look over the edge of the ice.

“Okay, you've gone from "weird" to "freakish", Katara.”, tells her Sokka drier than a desert.

Astonished the young girl mumbles: “You mean I did that?”

“Yep. Congratulations.”

Suddenly several small bubbles appear on the surface of the water directly in front of them and a small spot of water begins to glow with a bright bluish and orange hue. 

The two siblings scramble back in renewed terror from the edge, just as a large, roughly spherical iceberg breaks the surface of the water.

Mesmerized by the iceberg, Katara strays closer and stares at it; behind her, Sokka halfheartedly stretches out his hand, as if to hold her back.

In the iceberg, she can see three forms. 

One is big and represents nothing the waterbender knew.

Then there are two no doubt human bodies in lotus sit.

They seem to flow.

One is male and bluish.

The other female and orange.

Katara raises her eyebrow in confusion.

What was going on and who where this?

In answer the male and the female open their eyes, one a bright pair of white and the other a burning orange, elating shocked gasp from the siblings.

“They’re alive! We have to help!”

Before Sokka can grab it, Katara grabs his club out of its sheath on his back and pulls her hood over her head, heading in the direction of the mysterious pair.

Sokka again reaches out his hand in an attempt to hold Katara back, though she is already running across the ice.

“Katara, get back here!”, yells the older boy, picking his spear from the ice and running after Katara, who is already at the ice's edge.

The waterbender hops across the short distance between her floe and the iceberg on five tiny chinks of ice; Sokka, close behind her, does the same. 

Reaching the iceberg first, Katara repeatedly strikes it with the club. 

On her fifth strike, the club breaks through the surface and a great gust of wind, which escapes from within the iceberg, throws her and her brother back from the side of the dome. 

Fissures quickly snake their way over the whole iceberg and, in a massive outward explosion, the entire orb of ice destroys itself.

Two beams of light burst from the core of the iceberg and rocket into the sky.

Sokka hugs his sister protectively as the gale slowly settles.

Then he lets her go as he looks around. 

Lights still encircle the remains of the former mountain of ice, now reduced to a hollowed-out crater. 

The Watertribe teen looks at his sister and they both get to their feet, Katara holding onto her brother. 

He points his spear at the crater, ready to defend them, though lowers it in shock as two figures emerge slowly from the depression in the iceberg.

Quickly Sokka brandished his spear in defense once again.

“Stop!”

Now standing atop the crater, the figures slowly erect themselves and look down at Katara and Sokka.

The two siblings stare back in wonder and fear.

Finally, the circles of lights dissipate as the strange children stop glowing. 

The figures are revealed to be nothing more than a young boy and girl, who each moans in exhaustion and suddenly they faint. 

Katara gasps and runs forward to catch him before he hits the ground. Sokka follows behind to catch the girl.

How absurd and crazy the situation was, Sokka wouldn’t let a young girl get hurt.

Like his sister, Sokka puts his charge gently against the crater.

He looks for a moment at his sister with the boy. 

He is strange, decides the older.

What kind of clothes is he wearing and why does he have arrows as tattoos?

Shaking his head he looks down at the foreign girl.

Before his father and the man of his tribe left to join the war effort, a merchant from the Earth Kingdom would visit the South Pole four times a year to trade with them.

So it’s no problem for him to recognise her as a member of the Earth Kingdom.

He knows how Earth Kingdom habitants mostly look and what colours they wear.

The girl has dark black hair in a low-side ponytail, holding it together with a dark pink ribbon. 

She wears a fur jacket with white trims in a light yellowish-green and a green strip from her chest down the end of the jacket and a green strip on each sleeve. 

A small dark teal haori incircles her thin waist. 

Under the jacket, he sees a bit of a green kimono-styled tunic, he would bet and she wears wide pants in dark pink, which are stuffed in her brown fur boots.

The Earth Kingdom girl's eyes are still closed, however, Sokka bet she also has green eyes, which are common for the Earth Kingdom.

Earth Kingdom girl, is younger than Katara. 

Her face still possesses some baby fat, but the swing of her full rose lips is sad.

She looks like someone who hasn’t laughed much in her life.

It was kinda sad.

His mussing stops as he hears how the strange boy practically yells at Katara: “Will you go penguin sledging with me?”

“Uh, sure ... I-I guess.”, answered his sister awkwardly.

The shout must have woken up Earth Kingdom girl since her eyes flutter open and she stares like a deer-cat at Sokka's face.

Green, like he hypnotized, although why is she staring at him like that? Does he have something on his face?

A cute blush forms on her pale face, as she coughs: “Erm, hi?”

“Hua!”, yells again the strange boy. “You are okay! I thought you had flown off!”

With elegance, he swiftly raises to his feet, as Katara and Sokka look at this in shock. They never saw someone so light on their feet!

The now-known Hua seems not slightly impressed with the strange boy and just earthbends herself up.

Sokka can formally see how excited his sister is getting. Even if Hua isn’t a Waterbender, she is another bender and Katara has never met someone else like her.

“Not thanks to you.”, hisses Hua to her iceberg buddie. “Thanks for not saving my behind in the freaky storm.”

“Hey! I tried to grab you!”, protests the tattooed boy with a pout.

“Leave it! It’s not like we are friends. We only agreed to travel to Omashu together and then anyone would have been on their own. I shouldn’t expect and want anything from you!”

“Now you are being unfair! We may not be friends, but I promised to bring you to Omashu, if I could have grabbed you, I would have done it!”

Clearly, you can see and hear that these two, even if they were in a iceberg together, can’t stand each other and are ready to argue more.

Something they can do later decides Sokka, he and Katara needed answers.

“Hey you two!”, he calls for them and they turn towards him curious. Okay, this was a bit creepy how synchronously they had done it. “How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?”

He pokes the boy in his side with his spear.

Lazily the boy pushes the spear away, while Hua crosses her arms and tilts her head, thinking. 

“I'm not sure.”, answered the bald boy with the blue arrow on his head.

“I just remember the huge storm, SOMEBODY…”, angrily the Earthbender side eyes her companion. “...steered us in!”

“Give it a break, Hua. I don’t control the weather, you know it appeared too sudden for us.”, reminds her the boy, giving her a look.

Hua just huffs and looks away, which makes the boy roll his eyes.

Yeah, no love is lost between them.

A low, gruff noise suddenly fills the air, coming from within the crater of the iceberg. 

Quickly, the boy scrambles up the ridge of ice and happily jumps on the head of a large, furry creature that has the same arrow-shaped marking on his forehead as the boy.

“Appa! Are you all right?”, he asked. “Wake up, buddy.”

He opens an eyelid that immediately closes again once it is released. He jumps down to the front of the animal and tries to lift its enormous head. 

Hua, Sokka and Katara appear around the corner as Appa finally starts to react to his owner, opening his mouth and licking the boy with his giant tongue. 

“Jiayi, girl, where are you?”, calls Hua and looks worried around for something.

Suddenly something jumps down from the saddle and tackles Hua to the ground.

Sokka's and Katara's jaws drop upon seeing the beasts.

Especially, Hua’s who is licking her so joyfully.

It’s so tall that it can probably be ridden like an ostrich-horse. The fur is a beautiful red-orange and nine bushy tails swing around.

“Sokka, is this a real Kyuubi?!”, whisper-shouts Katara to him, seeming to grasp for air.

Her brother can only nod, still shocked. 

One of the legendary nine-tailed foxes!

Everybody thought they had died out, like the dragons.

Well, all but one as it seems.

Needless to say, Sokka was more worried about the giant fluff beast.

Legend said that Kyuubi’s were calm, wise and herbivore creatures, so no danger of getting eaten by Hua's furry friend.

So he asked Arrow Boy what Arrow Beast was.

“This is Appa, my flying bison.”

“Right, and this is Katara, my flying sister.”

This earned the Watertribe boy an annoyed look from his sister, a little giggle and blush from the now-standing Hua, who was petting her Kyuubi head and also a head title from the Kyuubi.

In its blue eyes, Sokka could see intelligence, it understood them, alright.

Arrow boy looks questioningly at Sokka for a moment, but his attention is diverted back toward his bison when Appa starts to inhale deeply. 

Realizing what is about to happen, he ducks before Appa sneezes, sending a large blast of green snot flying directly onto Sokka, who becomes completely covered in it. 

He squeals in disgust and begins to frantically try to clean it off, rubbing his face in the snow under the amused gaze of his sister, Hua and Jiayi.

“Don't worry, it'll wash out.”, reassured the bald boy. “So do you guys live around here?

Pointing his spear accusingly again at the boy who is surprised to see the thing, Sokka warns Katara: “Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light?! He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy! I bet Hua is his prisoner or something.”

“I’m the prisoner of who?”, repeats Hua astonished, while Jaiyi lets out a yip, which sounds in Sokka's ears like a mock.

Whose the Kyuubi mocking him?!

Sokka's spear gets pushed away again, this time by Katara who addresses him sarcastically: “Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy. You can tell by that evil look in his eye. Never mind that he travels with someone from the Earth Kingdom.”

Arrow head shoots the water tribe siblings an earnest grin, as Hua just deadpans and leans on her nine-tailed fox.

“The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name.”

“I'm A ... a-a-a-Achoo!”

The boy sneezes, creating an air blast that sends him soaring into the air. He lands on the ground, unharmed.

“I'm Aang.”

“You just sneezed …”, uttered Sokka in disbelief. “...and flew ten feet in the air!”

“Really? It felt higher than that.”

“You're an Airbender!”, realizes Katara surprised.

 “Sure am!”

Hua and Jiayi look at each other, wondering why Katara and Sokka seem so shocked about Aang being an Airbender. 

How long did the Southern Water Tribe not see one? 

It can’t be that long.

Or?

“Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders, kyubbi’s…”, laments Sokka walking away. “I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense.”

He realizes, however, that he is stranded in the middle of the ocean with no way home.

Again he hears the mocking yip of Jiayi.

Now he was sure the Kyuubi was mocking him!

“Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift.”, offers Aang.

“Jiayi and I would help you out too, but she can’t swim for a long time. It’s probably the best if we go together.”, adds Hua.

“We'd love a ride! Thanks!”, says Katara runs to the side of the bison, where Aang is already sitting on Appa's head.

“Jaiyi, small, girl.”, commands Hua and, unbelievably, the Kyuubi shrinks down to the size of a fox cub!

Sokka and Katara had heard the legend that Kyuubi’s had a lot of mysterious powers, one was the ability to change size, crazy that it was true!

With a little hum, Hua picks Jaiyi up and earthbends them to Appa's saddle, while Aang helps Katara get on.

Getting over his shock to see one of the Kyuubi’s powers in action Sokka formally stomps his feet: “Oh no! I'm not getting on that fluffy snot monster!”

“Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home?”, challenges him Katara. “You know, before you freeze to death?”

Sokka opens his mouth in defiance and points at Katara, ready to retaliate, but he cannot think of anything. 

He sighs and bows his head in consent and defeat.

Now all, beside Aang, are sitting on the saddle, Sokka has his arms crossed in front of him with a sulking expression on his face, Hua sits cross-legend with Jaiyi in her lap, while Katara is full of excitement and anticipation.

“Okay, first-time flyers, hold on tight!”, warns them Aang. “Appa, yip-yip!”

Aang whips the reins and Appa growls in response. 

He moves his tail up and down and takes a huge jump into the air. He soars through the air for merely a few seconds, making it appear as though he would fly, before belly-flopping into the water with a splash. 

The bison begins trudging through the water slowly. 

“Okay…that’s new.”, mubles Hua. 

She has flown often enough with Aang or Monk Gyatso on Appa, he had never done this.

Jaiyi made an agreeing sound.

Katara crawls to the front of the saddle while Aang tries to get Appa flying, whipping the reins again.

“Come on, Appa. Yip-yip!”

“Wow, that was truly amazing …”, sasses Sokka, making Hua and Jaiyi giggle quietly.

Katara shoots her brother an angry glance, as Aang explains: “Appa's just a little tired. A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see.”

The water tribe girl smiles at Aang, who returns this gesture. When she wants to move back, she realizes that he is still smiling at her.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?”, she wonders in discomfort.

“Oh, I was smiling?”

Flattered, Katara smiles back.

Sokka throws his head back and sticks his tongue out in disgust while groaning loudly which makes Katara glare at him.

“Ain’t she a bit too old for him?”, whispers Hua to Jaiyi.

She may have reacted to Sokka a bit too, he was a handsome older boy, but it would be creepy if he would react to her.

He was at least sixteen and she was twelve. 

This would be just wrong for a lot of reasons.

Well, if Aang wanted to crush on an older girl, this was not Hua's problem.

She just hoped Katara was not a cradle snatcher.

Two years may not seem much, but when one was in puberty and the other was a pre-puberty it did raise some flags.

Clicking her tongue Hua petted Jaiyi between the ears, while Appa continued to make his way through the icy sea, flapping his tail in the water.

Some time passes and Hua starts to fall asleep. She has laid down with Jaiyi on the saddle, trying to catch some rest.

However, she hears Katara and Aang talking.

How the older girls ask him about the Avatar and the Daimon, if he knew them if she, Hua, knew them.

Thankfully Aang doesn’t blow their cover.

Hopefully they would be soon at the Water Tribe Village and then Aang and Appa could drop her and Jaiyi at Omashu.

The black-haired girl was done travelling with the monk.

***

Lightning splits the sky.

It is raining and Aang is sitting on Appa's head, holding the reigns and screaming at the top of his lungs in terror while they go down. Hua holds everything she got into the saddle, holding Jaiyi tight to her chest. A potent gale throws them off the saddle as Appa and Aang splash into the waters of the ocean. Appa resurfaces again, and growls, but is quickly subdued anew by another wave. 

Humans and animals fall unconscious into the water. 

As Aang releases the reigns and drifts off, his eyes and tattoos suddenly start to glow brightly. At the same moment, Hua's eyes start to glow orange.

They slam each of their fists together, creating a bluish-white, orange-dark sphere that encases all four of them. 

As the air sphere slowly solidifies into an icy globe, the young Earthbender hears a voice calling for her…

***

“Hua, good morning, it’s time to wake up.”

It’s Katara.

Slowly Hua blinks and looks around.

Ah right, they had reached the village in the middle of the night and then had just gone to bed.

“Morning Katara.”, she greets the older girl and gently strokes Jaiyi, still in her fox cub form, awake. “Come on, girl, time to rise and shine.”

“I will get Aang, go and make friends with the village.”, tells Katara enthusiastically.

Not like she has anything else to do.

So Hua picks Jaiyi up and walks out of the tent.

The Southern Water Tribe is really…something.

Hua is used to poverty in the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se, however, the small pathetic size of the Water Tribe makes her heart twist uncomfortable.

“As Daimon it is your duty to help the people.”, she hears Monk Gyatsu's voice in her head.

The black-haired girl shakes her head to ban away that thought.

She didn’t ask to be the Daimon.

It was not her problem.

So she just waves back at the few Water Tribe women who greet her and smiles at the children who look in wonder at Jaiyi.

Hua sees Sokka beside a tent, sharping a boomerang and decides to talk to him.

She greets him with a smile, which he answers with a little manly huff.

It’s then that Katara steps out with Aang and presents him to the whole village.

“Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang.”

Aang bows respectfully toward the villagers, but they cower away in fear, bringing a surprised look to Katara, Aang's and Hua’s faces. Sokka just watches, while Jaiyi titles her head.

“Uh, why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?”

Confused Aang checks his clothing while an elderly woman steps forward out of the line of villagers.

“Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you.”

“Extinct?”, repeat Aang and Hua shocked as Jaiyi makes a confused sound.

“What…did she say 100 years?”, wonders Hua quietly.

This must be a joke!

They were at the Souther Air Temple just a few days ago, which was full of airbenders.

Sokka heard her and told her: “You can thank the Fire Nation for that.”

This only confuses Hua and Jaiyi more.

What has the Fire Nation to do with this?

What is going on?

Meanwhile, the old lady turns out to be Katara and Sokka's grandma, called Gran-Gran, as Sokka walks up to the Airbender, demanding to know what his glider is.

Hua only halfheartedly pays attention to Aang's demonstration of his glider, which makes all besides Sokka ooh-ing and aah-ing and the eventual destruction of a Watchtower.

Even hearing that Katara is a waterbender, doesn’t make Hua move or say anything.

Her brain is in overdrive, trying to understand what is going on.

Gran-Gran says how the airbenders are extinct, how for 100 years no one has seen one and Sokka says it’s the Fire Nation's fault.

It couldn’t be that they had been in the iceberg for 100 years, she remembered with clarity how she and Aang had run away from the Southern Air Temple, so they didn’t have to be the Avatar and the Daimon.

Aang wanted to travel the world and she had wanted to go to Omashu to visit Bumi before going home to her family.

Aargh, she never should have allowed Aang to make a quick trip to the South Pole because he wanted to go Penguin sledging.

Look, what happened!

They freeze and the world turns crazy!

“Come, Jaiyi, let’s go for a run. I need to clear my head.”, states Hua, walking out of the village.

Her loyal nine-tailed fox jips in agreement and shifts to his larger, riding form.

The Earthbender climbs her mount, then they race along the icy tundra of the South Pole.

How long they just race and enjoy the beauty of the frozen land, Hua couldn’t say, she only knew that her thoughts weren’t getting quieter.

She doesn’t want to talk with Aang about Avatar and Daimon's business, they had agreed to forget this aspect of the other and what it meant because they wanted to be normal kids again.

Sadly it seemed, she had to talk with him.

Would she ever be free?

Deep in her thoughts she nearly misses Jaiyi growls.

“Hmm, what is it?”, she wants to now as the Kyuubi stops before a ship.

A Fire Nation Ship, lifted with ice.

“What the…?”, she stutters. “That looks like a war vessel!”

Out of nowhere, Aang with Katara in his arms jumps out of the ship and lands beside them.

“Hey Hua.”, greets her Aang solemnly, while Katara gets let down on the ground.

“Do I wanna know what is going on?”, she asks shaking, she has a bad feeling in her stomach.

“Hua, can you give us a lift? We should return as soon as we can to the village.”, begs Katara.

The Earthbender nods.

Jaiyi understands and gets larger so Katara and Aang can sit behind her.

It’s like Katara is hugging her as she quietly tells her what Aang and she realized on the Fire Nation Ship.

Tears flow done the green eyes of the black-haired girl as she absorbs anything.

They really had been in the iceberg for 100 years, the Fire Nation had turned evil and the world was at war.

However, Hua could only think about one thing.

Her family.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her little brother.

They were probably dead.

She was alone in the world…like Aang.

It would have been better if they had stayed in the iceberg!

Better than feeling this pain!

Softly a gloved hand wiped away her tears.

A little comfort in the terrible reality Hua finds herself now.

This… was her punishment for not accepting her faith as Daimon.

Hua was sure.

Yes, Yua has an animal companion and I thought why not a nine-tailed fox? If dragons exist, why not them?

The Avatar world has a lot of cool fusion animals, but none seemed fitting for Hua, so Kyuubi’s exist now in the Avatar World. :D

Jaiyi means Lucky One for everyone who is interested to know.

Thanks for reading and love a comment! <3

Previous

Next

Yin and Yang: Book 1.11

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

This is an episode I really struggled with since I hate it.

I think most of the fandom isn’t a fan of it XD

I just wanted to get it over, so there you have it now :D

Enjoy it!

Also another chapter The Storm and we will reach The Blue Spirit…

I wonder what will happen ;D

Book 1.11: The Great Divide

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

Concentrate Hua performed the steps to bend water into their pots as Jaiyi caught the fish in the river.

Already a nice pile of fish the ninetails had gathered.

Going into the bending end pose, the Daimon smiled happily.

“Nice work, Jaiyi.”, she praised her kyuubi. “I think this is enough fish for us.”

Jaiyi yipped in agreement and stepped out of the water. She shook herself free from the water, making her fur fluffy.

Hua cooed at her, giving Jaiyi a nice rub between the ears, which the ninetails enjoyed.

Then the Kyuubi turned into her riding form, as Hua took the pots and fish and then mounted her.

Together they raced back to their camp.

“Hey guys, we are back!”, Hua called out to her friends.

Only Sokka and Katara were angrily staring at each other.

Confused Hua slide down from Jaiyi.

What was going on?

That’s when Aang with Momo joined up with them.

“Okay, I got the grub if you guys got the-”, the Avatar didn’t even finish his sentence as he stared bamboozled at siblings turning away from each other in anger with their arms folded and the unfinished campsite. “Hey, where's the campfire? And what happened to the tent?”

“Beats me, I just turned up now.”, answers Hua with a shrug.

“Why don't you guys ask Miss Know-It-All, Queen of the Twigs.”, growled Sokka angrily.

“Oh yeah? Well, you're Mister Lazy Bum, King of the Tents!”, hissed Katara and threw a twig at Sokka's head.

Pissed he turned to his sister.

The Avatar and the Daimon looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes.

“You wanna take this.”, began Hua, waving at their friends. “Or shall I?”

“Nah, I got it.”, told her Aang before he turned the word to Katara and Sokka. “Okay, listen, guys, harsh words won't solve problems, action will. Why don't you just switch jobs?”

After a moment the siblings agreed.

“You see that? Settling feuds and making peace, all in a day's work for the Avatar.”

Notable Hua coughed.

“And of course, the Daimon would have solved the problem without breaking a sweat too.”

This earned Aang a smile from Hua, which he returned.

It was nice how they were friends now.

Of course, they butted heads sometimes, but it was so much better than a few weeks ago.

Hearing suddenly how Momo, Jaiyi and Appa made noise, Aang turned his head to see the three animals fighting over a watermelon. Momo continuously tries to fly away with it, Jaiyi has bitten down on it, while Appa pins it down. 

The Avatar takes the melon and uses airbending to slice it. Momo and Jaiyi seem to be complaining about how they got the much smaller halves and Appa got the bigger half.

“Come on, Momo and Jaiyi, that's fair. Appa's got five stomachs.”

Appa eats his half of the melon.

Amused Hua shakes her head and proclaims how she will start cooking the fish.

***

The next day Team Avatar-Daimon stands before one of the wonders of nature in their world.

“There it is, guys, The Great Divide.”, presents Aang his friends the biggest canyon in the world.

Hua makes a long Wow sound, while Katara states how she could stare at it forever.

Of course, Sokka has to ruin the magical moment.

“Okay, I've seen enough.”

“How can you not be fascinated Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire world.”, wondered Katara.

“Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away.”

Suddenly Sokka gets roughly shown away by a young man in fine white clothing.

“If you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first!”

This pans Katara's interest.

“Ooh, canyon guide? Sounds informative.”

“Believe me, he's more than a tour guide, he's an earthbender.”, explains the finely dressed young man, totally not seeing how Sokka was mocking him behind his back. Hua has to bite down on her fist to not laugh out loud. “And the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help, and he's taking my tribe across next.”

“Calm down, we know you're next.”, muttered Sokka done with this guy.

The fine-dressed young man heard him anyway.

“You wouldn't be so calm if the Fire Nation destroyed your home and forced you to flee! My whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se.”

“You're a refugee!”, exclaimed Katara.

“Huh, tell me something I don't know.”

A large group of poorly dressed people was walking toward them.

Katara asks if this is the tribe of the young man, to which he reacts with disgust.

That’s the Zhang tribe, a bunch of low-life thieves. They've been the enemies of his tribe for a hundred years.

“Hey, Zhangs!”, calls out the young man to them. “I'm saving a spot for my tribe so don't even think about stealing it!”

A chubby woman in a bear pelt with two little buns on her head answers him: “Where are the rest of the Gan Jin? Still tidying up their campsite?”

“Yes, but they sent me ahead of them to hold a spot.”

“I didn't know the canyon guide took reservations.”

“Ha, of course, you didn't! That's the ignorance I'd expect from a messy Zhang. So unorganized and ill-prepared for a journey.”

The Zhang tribe members yell out in protest behind them. Katara, Hua and Aang look at each other worriedly but turn around to see a large pile of rocks being levitated up and thrown away. 

The canyon guide stands behind where the rocks used to be.

“Sorry about the wait, youngsters.”, greets them the Canyon Guide. “Who's ready to cross this here canyon?”

Helpful Katara points at the Gan Jin scout and the Zhang, telling him one of them is it.

The Gan Jin scout races over to the Guide demanding: “I was here first, my party's on their way.”

“I can't guide people who aren't here.”, makes the Guide clear.

Hearing this the Zhang filed past the four kids and the fuming Gan Jin scout.

“Guess you guys will have to make the trip tomorrow.”, mocks the Zhang woman in the bear pelt.

The scout's eyes twitch in anger, however, he sees a group of finely dressed people arrive.

His tribe!

“Wait, here they come!”

This angers the Zhang woman, who was the leader, telling the Guide he can’t consider taking the Gan Jin, also they have sick people!

The Guide was lost for words.

A Gan Jin tribesman with a long elegant beard, the leader steps to them.

“We've got old people who are weary from travelling.”

“Sick people get priority over old people.”, tells the Zhang leader.

“Maybe you Zhangs wouldn't have so many sick people if you weren't such slobs.”

“If you Gan Jins weren't so clean, you wouldn't live to be so old.”

Now all members of the two tribes shout insults at each other.

“Well Aang and Hua ready to put your peace-making skills to the test?”, asked Katara her friends over the loud voices.

“I don't know, a fight over chores is one thing, but these people have been feuding for a hundred years.”, says Aang truthful.

“We don’t have a choice.”, reminds Hua. “First it is our job and second these two tribes seem ready to slaughter each other and making people slaughter each other goes against anything we stand for.”

After a short moment, Aang nods.

Hua was right.

“Everybody listen up!”, shouts Katara and points to Aang and Hua. “These are the Avatar and Daimon, and if you give them a chance, I'm sure they can come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy.”

Expectant the two tribes looked at Aang and Hua.

Both twelve-year-olds started to sweat a bit.

Well, they have to get this over with.

So they mumble to each other what they could do.

“Uh, you could share the earthbender and travel together?”, shares Aang their first idea.

It crashes and burns faster than a cheap firework. 

No Zhang and none Gan Jin want that.

Annoyed Hua bends herself up in a high earth pillar and shouts: “Alright, alright! Here's the deal, you're all going down together and Appa, our bison, here will fly your sick and elderly across! Jaiyi, our ninetails, will protect them if something dares to attack. Can you live with that?!”

After a moment the two leaders nod.

So the sick and elderly get on on Appa with Jaiyi as their guard.

“Sorry, Appa, you'll have to do this on your own.”, said Aang to him, while Hua whispered to Jaiyi: “You make sure that they don’t kill each other alright?”

Her ninetails yip in agreement.

This was the main reason why Hua let Jaiyi travel with Appa and the sick and old. 

She had a feeling the two tribes would start a fight if someone didn’t have an eye on them.

“Aang, Hua, this feuding tribe stuff is serious business. Are you sure it's a good idea to get involved in this?”, asks Sokka.

The Avatar grinned broadly.”To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. But when have I ever been?”

“This was the best we came up with in the short time, hopeful it won’t bite us in the behind.”, added Hua.

“He's the Avatar, and she is the Daimon Sokka, making peace between people is their job.”, reminds Katara.

“Their job is gonna make us cross this whole thing on foot, isn't it?”, bemoans Sokka his destiny.

Why him?

Why always him?

He never asked for all this!

They hear then how the Guide tells them that no food is allowed in the canyon since it lures in dangerous predators.

This makes both tribes whine like babies.

The Guide mocks them telling them how they can’t stay a day without food like babies. They better eat now or throw it into the garbage, because they would move in ten minutes.

So the Zhang eat like hungry wolfs and the Gan Jin like some sort of royalty with chopsticks and all.

Team Avatar-Daimon eats also what they have, then with a yip yip from Aang Appa flow away.

After ten minutes the big group makes their way down the canyon, the Guide with Aang and Hua at the forefront.

The tour guide earthbends to form a bridge in a gap in the path.

“Nice bending!”, complimentes Aang, while Hua studied the move carefully.

She can’t wait to try it too!

“The job's much more than bending, kid. Folks want information.”, explains the Guide and then turns to the big group. “Many of you are probably wondering how canyons are formed. Experts tell us this canyon was most likely carved into the ground by earth spirits who were angry at local farmers for not offering them a proper sacrifice.”

Katara and Sokka look up in fear as an avalanche of rocks comes falling toward them, and the canyon guide earthbends it away from them.

“He he he, guess the spirits are still angry! Hope you all brought sacrifices.”

No one found this funny.

After a few minutes, they reached the canyon floor.

The guide stands in front of the two tribes and the kids beside a huge boulder.

“Okay, everyone stands clear of the wall.”, warns the Guide before he throws the boulder and destroys the bridge he had made earlier.

Aang wonders why he did this.

It’s Hua who answers him: “Think about it Aang. These tribes are fleeing from the Fire Nation. Like this, they can’t follow us.”

“The little lady is right.”, confirmed the Guide. “We'll be safe now.”

Out of nowhere, he is picked up by a huge animal. Aang blows away the dust to reveal a canyon crawler.

“We gotta help him!”, shouts Sokka throwing his boomerang at the crawler, which drops the canyon guide and comes after him instead. “Okay, now we gotta help me!”

Katara comes to his aid and does a water whip on the crawler, but she is quickly thrown aside.

The Hua runs up to the crawler and bends a platform under it. She throws it with the crawler as far away as she can.

It’s only a little point in the distance now.

“What was that?”, asks Aang the Guide.

The poor man lay on the ground, beside him Katara and Hua, who check for injuries.

“Canyon crawler. And there's sure to be more!”

“Your arms, they're broken!”, tells him Katara worried.

“Without my arms, I got no bending. In other words-”

“Calm down Mister Guide.”, replied Hua calmly. “I’m an earthbender. I can get us out of the Canyon. Just explain the moves to me and we will be out in no time.”

The Guide, who was ready to freak out, calmed down.

“Oh thank the Spirits.”

“I thought the whole point of ditching our food was so we wouldn't have to deal with things like canyon crawlers.”, thought Sokka out loud.

With Hua, they had still a way out, but it didn’t mean that the crawler wouldn’t attack them again.

“It's the Zhangs!”, accused the Gan Jin leader. “They took food down here even after the canyon guide told them not to.”

“What?”, screeched the Zhang leader offended. “If there's anyone who can't go without food for a day, it's you pampered Gan Jins!”

“I hope you're happy. We could get attacked by this canyon crawler again, without warning!”

“Why don't you thank yourself, food hider?”

The Avatar calls in between: “Look, sticking together is the only way to-”

“I'm not walking another step with the likes of them!”, shouts the Zhang leader.

“Now there's something we can agree on.”, murmurs the Gan Jin leader.

“Any ideas?”, ask Aang Hua.

“They are not gonna work together that’s clear.”, states the Daimon. “I have a solution.”

“By all means, Hua, tell us. I’m starting to get a headache.”, he mumbles the last part to her.

Friendly she pats his shoulder before she bends herself on a huge stone pillar so anybody can hear her.

“Alright, Zhang’s and Gan Jins since you are incapable of cooperating we will split up, till we reach the end of the canyon. Gan Jins on this side and Zhangs on that side. Is this alright with you?”

The two leaders nod at each other and start walking. Hua jumps down to Aang, Sokka and Katara.

“Sokka, you go with the Zhangs and Katara, you go with the Gan Jins. See if you can find out why they hate each other so much. Aang and I will stay with the canyon guide. If we choose a side I fear the tribes will kill each other in seconds.”

All nod in agreement with Hua's plan.

***

Nightfalls over the canyon.

In the distance, the Avatar and Daimon can see the two camps of the tribes.

Hua was petting Momo, while Aang mused out loud: “Sure would be nice to be sitting around one of those campfires, telling stories and laughing. It's okay Momo and Hua, we'll be out of here soon enough, and then we can eat our weight in leechi nuts!”

Momo jumps out of Hua's arms and up. He snatches a bug out of the air, he eats part of it before offering the rest to two kids.

Hua makes a face.

“Thanks, Momo, I’m still not desperate enough for bugs.”

“Nah, I'll wait for the leechi nuts.”, says Aang.

The Guide, with both his arms and a leg bandage, limps towards the little campfire Hua and Aang made.

It was practical how good Hua had become in firebending.

“Lonely isn't it, being impartial?”, the Guide musses.

The Daimon nods, as the Avatar says for them: “We wish we could help these people get along, but it just seems impossible.”

“At least tomorrow they won’t be our problem anymore.”, adds Hua dry.

Aang tutts at her, while the Guide laughs.

“Get some rest, kids, you will need it.”

With this, the Guide lays down and not even a few seconds later he has fallen asleep.

Astonished Aang and Hua stare at him.

“Wow, I wish I could sleep like this.”, confesses Hua.

Momo chirps and makes himself comfy on Hua's lap. She starts to pet the lemur.

“I hope Appa and Jaiyi are okay.”, muttered Aang.

“Yeah, I hope Jaiyi didn’t need to kill someone of the Zhnag or the Gan Jin.”

“You are joking, Jaiyi wouldn’t do it.”

“Meh.”

It’s still between the two, only Momo's purr interrupts the silence.

“So.”, begins Aang arkweird. “You wanna talk?”

Hua shrugs her shoulder.

“Sure, we can talk a bit. We don’t have much time to talk only we two when we train in airbending and earthbending.”

This makes Aang groan and Hua hits him friendly on the shoulder.

“You will get earthbending. Don’t forget, be the rock!”

“That’s simple for you to say.”, whines Aang. “After you learned firebending it seems like you got airbending.”

“Did you forget, last time, I threw myself against a stone wall?”

“Oh, right.”

Again it is still between them.

“So… your favourite food?”, asks now Hua.

This makes Aang smile.

“We are really doing this friendship thing, heh?”

“Mah, don’t get me wrong, sometimes I still wanna bury you, but it’s stupid to act like I hate you still when we grow out of it.”

In agreement, Aang nods.

“I rather have us be friends too.”

This makes Hua smile before she frowns.

“Why didn’t you like me before?”, wondered Hua. “I hated your guts because after being told how Avatar and Daimon end up mostly together, I felt like I couldn’t choose anymore over my life. Also, you are an airhead.”

A short snort comes from Aang before he answers: “My reasons were similar. When I looked at you I was reminded how I was the Avatar and how the world expected us to fall in love like we did it a thousand and more times. I felt trapped too. Also, you can be really stubborn.”

Now Hua snorts.

“It seems so silly now. Like we are the only ones left of time of peace. We understand each other like no one can understand us.”

“I agree. Also, we are the Avatar and Daimon, our job is the restore peace and keep it then. Working together is better than fighting each other.”

“Aang, let’s make a promise.”, began Hua with a smile. “We will never fall in love with each other but be best friends like Kyoshi and Tian Kuo.”

“I promise!”

He holds his hand out to her and she shakes it.

“I promised too.”

Both ignored the voices inside them who cried out in outrage.

“Also my favourite food is Egg custard tart.”, told Aang.

“Nice! I love Mochi’s. In the Lower Ring where I lived in Ba Sing Se, there was this little bakery owned by an old lady we kids only called Granny. Granny sometimes gave us free mochi’s.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. What was it like in the Lower Rings? I met your family after you had moved to the Upper Rings.”

So Hua told him about her hard childhood consisting of working, going hungry for days, never having fitting clothes and sometimes not being sure to survive the next day.

But she told also how her parents loved her and Bai so deeply and would always make sure they got what they needed.

When it really wasn't possible, her parents seemed to suffer more than them.

She had heard one time how her mother had said to her father what a failure they were since they couldn’t provide for their children and Hua had to work already.

“I never blamed my parents. It’s difficult to raise in ranks in Ba Sing Se.”, explained Hua. “I know they did anything for us. I wonder if Ba Sing Se is still the same?”

“I’m sure after we have learned waterbending at the North Pole, we can go to Ba Sing Se. I’m sure Bumi has nothing against it if we visit it for a few days.”

“Heh, I can’t wait to learn more crazy moves from Bumi!”

They two giggled quietly and then signed.

“I wish Kuzon was still alive.”, said Aang sadly. “I miss him and he could teach us firebending  .”

“I miss Kuzon too. I love Katara and Sokka, but the hole of our old friends in my chest hurts sometimes when I think about it.”

“This makes two of us.”

“Okay, now tell me some things about Airnomad culture I don’t know!”

And Aang just did this.

“Wait, wait, wait, you are telling me your people were fine with same-sex relationships and even support transgender and non-binary people?!”, whisper-shouted Hua. “How did I never notice it?!”

This made Aang laugh.

“I think you were more occupied to hate my guts than to learn.”

“Touche Avatar.”

They talked about a lot of random things till they got so tired they fell asleep.

In their sleep, they rolled over facing each other and cuddling.

Both children felt closer than ever and felt how their relationship changed again.

It becomes a deeper friendship.

Maybe falling in love with each other would be a promise they couldn’t hold, which one Daimon Lixue in the Spirit World took bets from her follow Daimons and Avatars at when Aang and Hua would realise they were made for each other.

Roku just shook amused his head at his wife.

Oh, how he loved this little gambling side of her.

***

Morning came and they would soon reach the other side of the canyon.

Aang and Hua meet up with Katara and Sokka, to see if they found out something.

“Katara, Sokka, will these people cooperate long enough to get out of the canyon?”, asks Aang.

“I don't think so, Aang, the Zhangs really wronged the Gan Jins. They ambushed Jin Wei and stole the sacred orb.”, explains Katara.

Erm, what?

“What are you talking about?”, wondered Hua.

“Yeah Katara, what are you talking about?”, agreed Sokka. “Wei Jin didn't steal the orb, he was returning it to their village gate and was wrongfully punished by the Gan Jin.”

“Not punished enough if you ask me.”

The Avatar and Daimon find each other eyes, both totally lost about what was going on.

“You know what, we can talk about this later.”, decides Hua and makes her way over to the canyon wall. “I have to earthbend us a way out of here now.”

The Guide was already waiting for her to give her the first instruction.

So she doesn’t get why suddenly the Zhangs and Gan Jin’s beginning to fight again.

Aang tells them how harsh words won't solve problems, action will!

This was the wrong thing to say because both leaders drew their swords to combat each other.

“You know, I take it back. Harsh words aren't so bad!”,

yells Aang.

The two leaders ignore him as they begin to fight. They are evenly matched and continue until Aang blows them apart with a strong gust of air. The two tribes go flying backwards, revealing a large amount of hidden food.

“Is that ... food? Everyone smuggled food down here? Unbelievable! You guys put our lives in danger because you couldn't go without a snack for a day? You're all awful!”, scolds Aang, while Hua makes a facepalm in the background. She fully heartily agrees with Aang and can’t take this stupidity anymore. Suddenly Aang whippers: “So hungry. Is that an egg custard in that tart?”

That’s when everyone notes how the canyon crawlers are back!

First, they fight them, but Aang notes how the canyon crawlers eat the food backs and shows anyone how to capture this the creepy animals.

Zhang and Gan Jin work together and all ride on the backs of the Canyon Crawler out of the Canyon.

As soon as all the people have made it up the cliff, Aang throws the bag, which he used to lure the crawler upwards, and back down, and the crawlers follow.

“I never thought a Gan Jin could get his hands dirty like that.”, compliments the Zhang leader.

“And I never knew you Zhangs were so reliable in a pinch.”, compliments the Gan Jin leader back.

“Perhaps we're not so different after all.”

They both smile at each other and Aang and Hua sigh in relief.

“Too bad we can't rewrite history. You thieves stole our sacred orb from Jin Wei!”, accused the Gan Jin leader, drawing his sword.

The Zhang leader draws her sword too. “You tyrants unjustly imprisoned Wei Jin for twenty long years!”

Again Hua facepalm and feels a headache forming, that’s when she remembers something.

“Wait a second did you say Jin Wei? Wei Jin? I know those guys!”

“Yes, yes, we're all aware of the story.”, says the Gan Jin leader annoyed.

“No you don’t understand, I might not look like it but I’m 112 years old, I was there when it happened.”, begins Hua. “There seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened. First of all, Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies. They were brothers, twins in fact, and they were eight; and most importantly, they were just playing a game! The sacred orb from the legend, that was the ball! And the eastern and western gates were the goalposts. Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward the goal when he fell and fumbled it. Wei Jin didn't steal the ball, he picked it up and started running it toward the other goal, but he stepped out of bounds, so the official put him in the penalty box. Not for twenty long years but for two short minutes. There was no stealing and no putting anyone in imprisonment, it was just a game.”

“You're saying the sacred orb was actually a sacred ball?”, asks the Zhnag leader in astonishment.

“No, just a normal ball.”

“What about our tribe's redemption ritual?” wondered the Gan Jin leader.

“It was the name of the game: Redemption. As soon as you got the ball from one end to the other, everyone would yell "Redemption"!”

The tribe leaders look at each other sceptically.

“Don't get me wrong, Wei Jin was kind of a slob and Jin Wei was a little stuffy, that much is true. But they respected each other's differences enough to share the same playing field.”, ends Hua.

Finally, it seems the two tribes will get along with each other since both leaders bow before the other and wish to begin a new future together.

Soon Appa lands with the rest of the Zhnag, Gan Jin and Jaiyi and Hua cuddles her kyuubi to her heart's content, while the Gan Jin leader thanks her and Aang for their help.

He stumbles backwards when he sees how Aang is covered in Appa's saliva.

The two tribes start to make their way to Ba Sing Se together as one and are followed by the canyon guide, who has enough of his job.

“That's some luck you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin.”, tells Sokka Hua.

This makes Hua and Aang laugh.

“You could call it luck.”, begins the Avatar

“Or clever lying!”, ends Hua.

Sokka was in disbelief.

“Yesterday night, me and Aang brainstormed a few ideas on how to get the tribes to work together. We decided that we had to be a bit… manipulative.”, grinned Hua with a little wink to her friends.

“You did not!”, gasped Katara shocked and then smiled in devilish admiration. “That is so wrong.”

Shrugging her shoulders Hua just states: “Maybe, let’s just hope it won’t bite us in the behind later.”

“Nah, don’t worry.”, reassured Aang. “Now where is that custard tart? I'm starving!”

This made his friends laugh heartfully.

Previous

Next

Yin and Yang: Book 1.12

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Check out my DeviantArt or Wattpad to see the Art of the FF ;D

Book 1.12: The Storm

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

It’s a beautiful dawn sky.

Happy Hua lays with her head on Katara's lap, while the older girl strokes her black hair.

Jaiyi was cuddled up on her side, yawing cutely.

Aang was enjoying with Momo on his shoulders the last rays of the sunlight.

And Sokka was relaxing on the border of Appa saddle.

Hua could even hear Appa's happy rumble.

All was good.

All was perfect.

“We need you, Hua.”, cooed Katara at her, twirling a piece of black hair around her finger.

Smiling Hua answered: “I need you too. All of you, guys.”

She notices something out of the corner of her eyes. As the  Daimon turns toward it, her expression changes to shock.

The sky's colouring has changed to a dark, ominous grey, revealing a churning storm cloud.

“Oh no, we need to get away from it!”, shouts Hua.

The Daimon turns to her friends, but only she and Jaiyi are on Appa's saddle.

“Guys?!”

A light shines from above and Monk Gyatso in lotus, floats downward, positioning himself in front of Hua.

Surprised Hua calls out for her old mentor/grandfather figure.

“Why did you disappear, little flower?”, he whispers sadly.

“I never wanted this…I…I just wanted to be a normal girl again.”, admins Hua devastated. “I was selfish, forgive me!”

She reaches out to Gyatso, but before she can touch him, Gyatso turns grey and dissipates into smoke; it blows over Hua, causing her to raise her left arm in front of her face and turn away to shield herself from it.

Lightning splits the sky.

Suddenly it’s raining and Aang is sitting on Appa's head, holding the reigns and screaming at the top of his lungs in terror while they go down. 

Hua holds with everything she got into the saddle, holding Jaiyi tight to her chest. 

A potent gale throws them off the saddle as Appa and Aang splash into the waters of the ocean. 

Appa resurfaces again, and growls, but is quickly subdued anew by another wave. 

Humans and animals fall unconscious into the water. 

As Aang releases the reigns and drifts off, his eyes and tattoos start to glow brightly. 

At the same moment, Hua's eyes start to glow orange.

They slam each of their fists together, creating a bluish-white, orange-dark sphere that encases all four of them. 

As the air sphere slowly solidifies into an icy globe, the young Earthbender hears voices calling for her.

“We need you, Hua!” Gyatsu.

“We need you, Hua!” Katara.

“We need you, Hua!” Sokka.

“We need you, Hua!” Her mother.

“We need you, Hua!” Her father.

“We need you, Hua!” Bai.

“We need you, Hua!” Bumi.

“We need you, Hua!” Kuzon.

“We need you, Hua!” Suki.

“We need you, Hua!” Ai.

“We need you, Hua!”, a thousand known and unknown voices.

“Don’t leave again!”, shout all the voices together.

The darkness around her goes up in flames. 

A male silhouette stands in the inferno and attacks her with his flames!

***

With a scream, Hua wakes up.

At the same moment, Aang awakes from his nightmare too.

He startles Momo, who was curled up on top of him. 

Momo leaps onto Katara's stomach, causing her to shoot up with a startled look, before jumping on Sokka's, who shoots up, still sleepy, halfheartedly wielding his dagger and boomerang.

“What's going on?”, asks Sokka drowsily, looking around. “Did we get captured again?”

Hua and Aang find the eyes of each other and see the same terror.

Ah, they had nightmares each again.

“We just had nightmares, again. Go back to sleep, Sokka.”, tells Hua.

The water tribe boys don’t let him tell it twice and snuggle back down in his sleeping back.

Worried Katara looks at her two young friends. “Are you all right, Hua and Aang?

Both say at the same time they are okay.

“You both seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately. Do you want to tell me about it?”, offers Katara.

“I think I just need some rest.”, says Aang rolling himself in a ball.

Meanwhile, Hua stands up.

“I gonna splash some water on my face.”

“Okay, be careful.”

“Always, Katara.”

As Hua makes her way over to one of their water container she hears how Sokka wants to tell about his dream, but Katara just gives him a look and he stops.

After she washed her face, Hua curls back into her sleeping back.

She waits a few seconds before she pokes Aang.

“Hey, you awake?”

He opens his grey eyes.

“Mmh, mmh.”

“Wanna go for a walk?”

“Sure.”

Quietly to not wake their friend they walk away from camp, along the coastline of the ocean they camp.

“Did you dream the same again?”, wants Hua to know.

Aang makes a sad sign and nods.

“Me too.”, murmured Hua in defeat, but Aang still heard her. “I think they are our heavenly punishment because we run away like cowards from our destinies as Daimon and Avatar.”

Thoughtful Aang picks up a stone and lets it spring over the water's surface.

“I’m starting to think this too. Also, the feelings of guilt we have don’t help either. How could we leave anyone hanging?”, he wonders.

Hua picks also up a stone and lets it spring over the ocean.

“We were dumb and selfish. It’s that simple, we didn’t wanted to listen to how the world needed us.”

“The world still needs us. This time we can’t run away.”, reminds Aang, letting a stone spring again.

“Yeah, but we also need some sleep.”, mumbles Hua tired. “I don’t know how long I can go without a good night's sleep.”

“When was the last time we slept well, it seems so long ago.”

Surprisingly a cute blush forms on Hua's face, which makes something in Aang's stomach all fuzzy. 

But the good kind.

She looks very pretty with a blush.

Now he starts to blush because of his thoughts.

“You remember our little canyon adventure?”, begins Hua sheepish. “And the next morning when we woke up cuddling and said we never gonna talk about it again? That was the last time I slept well.”

This…makes Aang feel a lot of confusing and strangely nice feelings. 

His blush gets darker.

What was going on with him?

“Oh…you know I slept well that night too.”

Both twelve-year-olds play nervously with their hands. 

Then they talk over each other and don’t get what the other says.

Ever the gentleman Aang tells Hua to go first and she suggests they should cuddle with each other to fall asleep.

Now both look like peperonies.

“It’s completely platonic.”, explains Hua fast. “Bai and I shared a lot of times our beds and cuddled. It will be just like that.”

Something in Aang practically whines at this.

He ignores it.

“Sure, we can try.”, he murmurs shyly.

He was so tired and sick of nightmares, if cuddling with one of his best friends helped then by all means.

A pretty smile formed on Hua's lips and no, Aang didn’t though about how otherworldly beautiful she looked under the moonlight like this, this were his past lives bugging him.

Perish this thought.

So they made their way back to the camp and well…they cuddled facing each other like when they were in the canyon.

Not even five minutes later they fell asleep.

And no more nightmares this night for them.

***

Morning came and Team Avatar-Daimon packed their campsite up.

Katara carries their packs towards Appa, who yawns. As the animal closes its mouth again, Aang is revealed sitting on his head.

“Look at those clear skies, buddy!”, cooed Aang at his bison, petting him. “Should be some smooth flying.”

Katara looks into a bag before holding it upside down, and sprinkling the ground with crumbs; Momo and Jaiyi instantly eat them. 

Sokka walks past her toward Appa, carrying some of their luggage.

“Well, we better smoothly fly ourselves to a market, 'cause we're out of food.”, tells them Katara, as she climbs on the saddle.

Hua, with their sleeping bags, joins her. Momo and Jaiyi follow.

“Guys, wait. This was in my dream.”, exclaimed Sokka. “We shouldn't go to the market.”

All turn to look at him and Katara ask what his dream was.

“Food eats people!”

This only made Katara shake her head and Hua made a facepalm.

Oh Spirits, not this early!

“Also, Momo could talk. You said some very unkind things.”

Momo's ears droop as Sokka speaks.

After this little episode, they finally fly themselves to a little harbour.

They looked around for food, but Katara was not convinced to buy the watermelon the merchant lady formally threw into her face.

However, since they are out of money, they can’t buy it.

Frustrated the four teens walk around.

Sokka bemoans how they are out of food and out of money.

What should they do?

Katara sasses back that he should get the job.

It’s like the universe wants to do them a favour since they hear how a fisherman and his wife argue about going fishing.

The wife doesn’t want to, because she feels in her bones that a big storm is coming, for which her husband proclaimed her crazy since it was a beautiful day.

Yet the fisher wife won’t change her mind.

So the fisherman said he would give the next person who wanted to help him the doppel of her money.

In a beat of an eye, Sokka was on the side of the fisherman and was hired on the spot.

The rest of Team Avatar-Daimon stared at Sokka.

“What? You said to get a job ... and he's paying double.”, reminds Sokka.

The fisherman rounds up on Sokka with a wild expression: “Double? Who told you that nonsense?”

Well, what was done was done and Sokka had to work now.

Just as he helped the fisherman load his boat, Aang and Hua noted how the sky became darker.

Both remember the faithful storm which ended with them trapped in the iceberg for 100 years.

They are getting scared.

“Sokka, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Look at the sky.”, points Aang at it.

“You can still back down, we will find another way to get money.”, adds Hua.

“I said I was going to do this job. I can't back out just because of some bad weather.”. disagrees Sokka.

The fisherman's wife speaks up: “The boy with the tattoos and the Earth Kingdom girl have some sense. You should listen to them!”

This makes the fisherman stop, turning to Aang and Hua.

“Boy with tattoos? Airbender tattoos. Earth Kingdom clothes. Well, I'll be a hog monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar and you must be the Daimon, ain't ya?”

“That's right.”, confirms Katara.

All three of them smile friendly.

“Well, don't be so smiley about it.”, snarled the fisherman, making them frown. “The Avatar and Daimon disappeared for a hundred years! You both turned your backs on the world!”

“Don't yell at them!”, shouts Katara back. “Hua and Aang would never turn their backs on anyone.”

“Oh, they wouldn't, huh? Then I guess I must have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering.”

It’s like Hua and Aang get slapped in the face. The old feelings of shame and guilt reappear.

“Hua and Aang are the bravest persons I know. They have done nothing but help people and save lives since I met them.”, defended Katara, not seeing how both were stepping away and gripping each other's hand. “It's not their fault they disappeared, right Hua, Aang?”

Finally, she turns to her friends and sees how freaked-out they look.

“Hua, Aang, what's wrong?”

As an answer Aang opens his glider, Avatar and Daimon grip each other and the glider with one hand each and fly away.

They ignored Katara's shouts for them and the fisherman's harsh but true words.

They…they just can’t face it, alright?

They know all is true, but it still hurts been remember how utterly selfish they had been.

Any day they fight with these feelings, getting them thrown at them makes it even worse.

And then sweet Katara who believed in them and protected them.

How would she react when she knows the truth?

Neither wants to find out.

They find a little cave on the side of a cliff face.

Entering it they just sat down in the darkness, back to back, facing a wall.

None of them had anything to say.

What could they say, what they didn’t talk about already?

Time passes, the weather changes to a storm and Katara turns up in their hideout.

“We’re sorry for running away.”, chorus the Avatar and Daimon together.

“It's okay. That fisherman was way out of line.”

“Actually, he wasn't.”, disagrees Aang.

“What do you mean?”

“Neither of us wants to talk about it.”, confesses Hua silently.

“It has to do with your dreams, doesn't it?”, suspects Katara and puts a hand on the shoulders of Hua and Aang. “Talk to me, guys.”

Aang and Hua search for each other eyes and after a moment they nod.

“Well, it's kind of a long story.”, begins Aang.

Suddenly, Momo and Jaiyi leap past Hua, Aang and Katara, startling them. 

Appa has also entered the cave. 

He nuzzles Aang's head with his nose, making Aang smile. Aang pats Appa's chin.

Jaiyi curled up on Hua's lap licking her cheeks. The Daimon pats her between the ears.

Katara asks if Hua can make a little fire and the younger girl agrees.

Making a campfire was like second nature to her now.

They all sit around the fire, Momo and Jaiyi on the laps of their master, as Aang begins to tell his side of the tale.

How he was showing his friends the air scooter, the council of elders who talked with him, telling him he was the Avatar because of four toys, the Avatar relics, he picked and how war was coming and that’s why they told him at 12 and not at 16 his identity.

Now Hua took over.

She stared into the flames and it was like the day her life changed came alive before her…

***

Gritting her teeth Hua followed after her mother and father. Bai was holding her hand, looking utterly bored.

The Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se was as always full of poverty and misery.

Sometimes Hua had the feeling she could taste the negative emotions in the air, but this was silly.

No one could do this.

“Mom!”, she whined. “Why must we go to the temple, it’s not like we are religious.”

“It’s so stupid, I wanted to play with Daisuke and the other's earth ball.”, whined Bai also.

“I wanted to meet up with Ai.”

Ah, pretty Ai with the auburn hair.

The prettiest girl in their neighbourhood and she liked Hua!

Hua!

The one boys were scarred because she could bend better than them and the girls mocked for ill-fitting clothes.

But Ai told her she was like a warrior princess from her favourite book and admired her.

That’s why she became her friend.

Now they were more than friends.

Hua could still feel her hot lips on hers.

Ai was such a good kisser.

“Kids, please the Earth Sages send us personal a message.”, explained Haruka for like the 1000 times her children the reason they had to go. “We can’t ignore an official invitation.”

Their father turned to them giving them a grin.

“Maybe they just want to convert us. Don’t worry kids, we will be just really annoying and they will let us leave!”

“Kun!”

“What?”

“Don’t tell our kids to be annoying they have to show the Earth Sages their respect.”

Their parents kept on bickering, which made Hua and Bai roll their eyes.

This was their parent's weird way of flirting.

Hopefully, they wouldn’t get another sibling.

Five mouths to feed was already a lot.

When they reached the temple, Hua already got a weird feeling as one of the sages said, only she could enter the centre chamber and her family had to wait.

Nervous she sat before the five sage who stared at her with green piercing eyes.

What they told her, changed her whole life in a beat of an eye.

“Are you sure?”, she asked desperately.“The Earth Kingdom is so big, maybe you are wrong!”

The Great Earth Sage just looked stoic at her.

“Believe me, young Hua, we have our way to pit-point where the next Daimon is born and also…do you remember this.”

He earthbend to her a scroll which opens up.

In it are four different toys.

A feeling of familiarity washed over her.

“These are the Daimon relicts. Toys of past Daimons of your past lives.”, he explains. “Eight years ago we tested all the children of Ba Sing Se, you were the only one who picked this.”

Like in a trance Hua's hand strokes over the toys.

“I totally forgot this day…but I’m remembering it now.”

The Great Sage nods pleased.

“Good. Now we don’t have much time. You must be united with the Avatar. Only together you will stop this war on the horizon.”

A bad feeling takes its place in Hua’s stomach.

“What does it mean?”

“You will be immediately brought to the Southern Air Temple to meet the Avatar. You have five minutes to say goodbye to your family.”

***

Back in the present Hua looks up from the flames and sees how tears are in the corners of Katara's eyes. She feels her own too.

“They really only gave me five minutes. I couldn’t even say goodbye to my friends to my girlfriend or pick up my things. I was carted away like some cabbages.”

“Oh Hua, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay Katara, you aren’t at fault here.”

“So you were upset that you were the Daimon Hua and you the Avatar Aang?”, summarized Katara. “Why wouldn't you be excited about it?”

“Well, I didn't know how to feel about it. All I knew was that after I found out, everything began changing.”, told Aang.

Hua agreed with a nod.

Aang starts again with his tale.

How his life changed because he was the Avatar, his friends not anymore playing with him, training and waiting for the Daimon to arrive.

“Monk Gyatsu told me I would feel better after I met my other half.”, began Aang.

“But the day I arrived at the Southern Air Tempel, we both just saw in each other how our whole lives changed. It was easy to direct this anger to the other.”, enden Hua.

Katara looked at them in compassion.

“You felt like you couldn’t choose anymore right?”

The twelve-year-olds nodded.

“What happened then?”

“I began living in the Southern Air Temple and me and Aang were drilled in our elements. One of the Earth Sages, Master De, stayed with me there to make me an earthbending master, but Monk Gyatsu was my guardian, like Aang, and he decided over us. He wanted us to stay kids a bit longer.”

Again Hua stared into the flames and was transported into her memories.

***

Hua was sitting on a windowsill reading a scroll about legendary animals and where to find them, while Monk Gyatsu and Aang played a round of Pai Sho.

“Very interesting move, young one.”, mussed their guardian.

“What do you mean?”, asks Aang.

At the right moment, the girl looks up to see how Gyatso uses airbending to make a spiral, flipping a part of Aang's clothing. 

Quickly Gyatsu moves two pieces around. 

Aang flipped his clothing back into place.

“Hey!”, he called, but all three started to laugh.

That’s when the door opens and Monk Tashi and Sage De enter.

“You're playing games with him?”, scolds Monk Tashi.

“And you let her read some fantasy story?”, adds Sage De.

“The Avatar and Daimon should be training!”, they annoucon together.

Calmly Gyastu answers: “Aang and Hua have already trained enough for today.”

“Time is short.”, barks Monk Tashi and waves Aang over. “Come with me. I must test you on some high-level techniques.”

“Daimon Hua stop reading this nonsense and come with me, we still have to work on your basic forms.”, reminds Sage De.

Disappointed Aang and Hua stand up to join with them, as Gyasti states: “No. As long as I'm their guardian, I will decide when they train ... and when he gets his butt kicked at Pai Sho and she can read the scrolls she loves.”

With a huff, both Monk and Sage leave them.

Happy Aang and Hua smile at Gyastu.

They are so happy to have him.

***

Hua returned from her shared memories with Aang, which he told Katara, as he explained how one day all turned worse.

The other monks and the Earth Sage wanted to take him and Hua away from Gyatsu since he was too close to them.

They should be brought to the Eastern Air Tempel to complete their training.

“That's awful, Aang and Hua.”, says Katara. “I don't know what to say.”

Angry Aang stands up and goes into Avatar State shouting: “How could they do that to me? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!”

He makes hot ciders fly, but Hua, also in Daimon State, just bends them away saying with a cold voice: “They took me away from my family and wanted to take me away from my new one too. I couldn’t forgive them.”

“Hua, Aang.”, calls Katara out to them.

It helps and they get out of their States.

They say sorry for losing their nerves.

“You two have the right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that.”, reassure them Katara.

“Well, that's not exactly what happened.”, signs Aang. “I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do. So I talked to Hua.”

The Daimon took over: “Aang came to my room, telling me how he had spied at the council meeting and what would happen to us. I told him I would rather be back home with my family if they have us leave Gyatsu.”

“What, are you saying…”, Katara trailed off. She didn’t want to say what she thought.

But she didn’t need to, because Aang took over the story.

How they packed their things, left notes for Gyatsu and ran away.

Then how they got caught up in the storm and froze there.

Aang ends the story with his next memory of waking up and seeing Katara for the first time and Hua adds she remembers looking into Sokkas face.

“You two ran away.”, summed up Katara astonished. So she had understood right before.

“And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple. My people needed me and I wasn't there to help.”

“We weren’t there.”, reminds Hua, laying a hand on his shoulder. “We are both at fault here.”

“Hua and Aang don't know what would have-.”

They interrupt Katara together: “The world needed us and we weren't there to help. The fisherman was right! We did turn  our backs on the world!”

Full of compassion Katara looks at her friends, these two children, who just wanted to be normal and were burdened with the most important task in the world.

Who would live their lives full of regrets because they made a decision when they were hurting so badly.

It was unfair.

“You two are being too hard on yourself, even if you did run away.”, tells them Katara. “I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed, you would have been killed along with all the other airbenders.”

“You don't know that.”, disagrees Aang.

“I know it was meant to be this way. The world needs you two now. You give people hope.”

Hua and Aang just look at each other. What could they say?

Katara still believed in them…maybe it was enough.

That’s when the fisherman's wife enters their cave asking for help. The storm has turned into a typhoon and her man and Sokka aren’t yet back from their fishing trip.

Immediately the young heroes jump to action to save them, while the fisher wife stays in the cave.

They fly as fast as they can on Appa through the typhoon to find the two missing people.

After a while they find them.

Aang jumps down onto the boat. As a pole is falling down, Aang brings up four pouts of water, splitting the pole in half. 

After the pole splits in half, Sokka and the fisherman are shown hugging each other. 

Hua throws them a rope and yells at them to climb it up.

The fisherman and Sokka do so. 

Appa starts flying again. 

The rope swings up, making Sokka and the fisherman land on the saddle. 

A big wave hits the gang underwater. Everyone is shown floating away from Appa. 

Hua and Aang go into the Avatar and Daimon State and save everyone. 

They all go back to the cave safe where the fisherman's wife is. 

The fisherman's wife runs up to the fisherman and hugs him.

“Oh, you're alive! You owe this boy and girl an apology!”

“He doesn't have to apologize.”

“I would like to have one.”

“Hua!”

“What, Aang?!”

“What if, instead of an apology, I give them a free fish and we call it even.”, suggests the fisherman.

“He doesn’t eat meat.”, explains Hua with crossed arms.

“Fish ain't meat!”

“Seriously, you're still going to pay me, right?”, joins them Sokka.

As an answer, the fisherman gives him a fish.

Hua huffs, but turns with Aang to Katara.

“Katara, I think you were right before. I'm done dwelling on the past.”, proclaims Aang.

The Daimon lays a hand on his shoulder and both smile at each other.

“What my other half wants to say: we both are done with it. We will never know if we would have died with the air nomads or not. We can’t change the past, but we can create a new future.”

“That’s a wonderful thought.”, agrees Katara. “Me and Sokka will help you along the way. I don't think you two are gonna have those nightmares anymore.”

Then the fisherman steps towards them and actually says sorry and thanks them.

“Do you hear that?”, ask Sokka. “It stopped raining.”

Everyone goes outside. Appa shakes raindrops off himself, splashing everyone.

“Appa!”, scolds Aang, yet a second later all start to laugh.

The storm outside and inside was over and now possibilities were on the horizon.

***

That night Aang and Hua didn’t have any nightmares.

They dream of a world, full of peace and love and harmony with all their loved ones.

They smiled in their sleep and cuddled each other tighter.

With soft eyes, Katara looks at her two young friends.

She was happy for them and how they were free from their nightmares, they deserved it.

A little smile forms on her face as she lies down and thinks about how these two idiots will ever realize how they are falling in love with each other.

One could only hope they realized it before one of them nearly died, this would be too dramatic.

And done!

Next Chapter The Blue Spirit and anything will change :D

I can’t wait for it!

See you next time!

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