Sweeper was whining. Jin Ho pretended not to hear, rolling over a little — unfortunately, he rolled the wrong way. His face came right up against the cold, wet nose of his very insistent dog. Whining louder, Sweeper wagged his tail, and the long fluffy hair of it made a swishing sound on the apartment floor.

Jin Ho groaned. Not even on a day off could he sleep in! And after the previous night's disappointment, he felt he could've used it.

Poor Sweeper. The dog was a nondescript sort of greyish white, the face lighter than the body, and covered in so much fur one could barely find his eyes. Jin Ho had had Sweeper since he was ten years old, which made the poor old boy near twelve now. Ten year old Jin Ho had named him "sweeper" because of how the dog's fur swept on the ground. Sweeper was still playful though, attested to by his whining to go to the park that morning.

Dragging himself out of bed, Jin Ho pulled on a soft sort of mint coloured loose sweater and fitted navy blue trousers. He took the time to make a quick cup of cofee — just one — and gulped it down quickly. He left his hair in its slightly-messy-from-sleep braid, and why not? He had a rare day off. And it wasn't like he was planning to see anyone he needed to impress. After rinsing his mouth and finding the dog's lead, Jin Ho went out of his apartment and locked the door. The two friends made their way to the park, Jin Ho discreetly hiding Sweeper's favourite red ball in his pocket.

When they got to the park Jin Ho took the dog off his leash, holding the ball out in front. Soon the two were playing with gusto, the policeman finally waking up and the dog just pleased to be outside. From a distance, it looked almost like Jin Ho and Sweeper were dancing, the way the young man was holding the ball up high and jumping about. They played tag, chase, fetch, and goodness knew what else.

It was a nice morning. The sky was clear and the sun shining bright — and it wasn't hot, either. Jin Ho was comfortable in his trousers and light sweater, even playing around with the dog. The park was always a nice place to go in his opinion — one of the only wide-open spaces he'd ever seen in his life.

Another day, another dollar...for someone else, that is. Mizu awoke with a groggy head; sunlight was streaming through the cracks in his shutters, hitting him in the face.

"Stupid sun." His voice was gravelly as he got out of bed, shuffling to the window and opening the shutters. He silently thanked the spirits that he didn't have to work; he didn't think he could handle a full day in the bar after last night. He couldn't risk running into Jin Ho again.

Absentmindedly, he grabbed a pair of black pants and paired it with a dark blue shirt that he'd removed the sleeves from. He'd seen it in a shop six months ago, made of an elegant, yet not too high end, material, and immediately had the thought that the sleeves had to go; he was right. It looked much better on him.

Continuing the tradition he'd established this morning of not speaking, he locked his apartment behind him and walked down a set of stairs. In a strange turn of luck, he'd managed to rent in a building where the entrance was a door between two shops, meaning that he walked right out onto the street every day; thankfully, his window faced the alley behind the shops.

When he looked around, he saw something that looked like a cross between a restaurant and stand; the counter was also the storefront. He looked for any satomobiles before crossing and approaching the counter.

"Good morning! What can I get for you?" The wrinkled woman behind the counter appeared in a flourish of steam.

"Ginseng green, please."

"Oh, did someone have a late night last night?" She chuckled. "5 yuan."

He dug through his pockets and froze. "I...uh...I don't have any yuan on me right now."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Don't you work for Jiro Chien?"

He nodded.

"Mr. Chien is a very good friend of mine. You can pay me back later. Plus, you live across the street!"

Mizu's face hardened. "No, I left my money in my apartment. I'll be right back."

She squinted at him. "You're a strange boy. It'll be ready when you come back."

He ran across the street, through the door, up the stairwell, through his door, and into his bedroom to get his money pouch. He made his way back to the stand, fastening the pouch to his belt at the same time.

"Welcome back."

He handed 5 coins to her and received a cup in return; he blew air at it and steam stopped rising from the liquid's surface. Throwing it back, he thanked the woman and was on his way. He could have sworn he felt the plants in the tea working their way into his system and, in no time, he found himself walking along an avenue that bordered the park. Idly, he wandered down a path to a bridge; someone standing next to it caught his eye.

Wary, he made his way over and found a rather attractive man with caramel-colored skin and brown hair standing next to the water.

"Well. A fellow Waterbender."

"How'd you know?"

"Well, your eyes are a dead giveaway, but who looks better in blue than the Water Tribe?"

Mizu contained a chuckle. "I thought the Republic was supposed to end all of this national elitism."

"No harm in being proud of your heritage. Speaking of which, could you help me practice my bending? I'm looking to get into Probending someday."

The bartender shrugged. "Why not?"

Both Waterbenders found a section of the park that was unoccupied for the time being and faced each other, muscles tense but ready.

They both made a move at the same time and Mizu's opponent dodged a blast of water, catching it and throwing it back. Mizu's head turned for just a second and he caught sight of the man he'd ejected from his bar last night. He didn't, however, see the water coming at him; it hit him in the face and he went down.

Jin Ho tossed the ball and Sweeper enthusiastically chased it, bringing it back all covered in disgusting slobber. The game of fetch continued until Jin Ho accidentally threw the ball much further than he'd meant to and Sweeper had to go get it. The dog disappeared from his view and after a minute or two, the young man got worried. Sweeper was, after all, a very old dog. And he had taken his leash off, which meant the dog could get into any amount of trouble, no matter how unlikely.

Sweeper had in fact wandered off in search of the Very Beloved red ball. He happened upon the two Waterbenders practicing, just in time to see Mizu get hit by the water. As the man fell down, Sweeper started barking. He thought it was a real fight! And shouldn't His Human come to fix that?

Jin Ho whistled for Sweeper but the dog didn't come. Darn him! Was his hearing getting bad in his old age? The young man stalked across the park, looking for his dog, when the sound of Sweeper's barking filtered into his hearing.

Of course. Likely chasing some kind of bird. Stupid dog! Jin Ho headed for the sound, yelling his dog's name. Honestly! He takes the dog to the park for a nice time and has to chase him all over? The nerve of that animal.

He soon realized, of course, that Sweeper was barking at humans, not animals. The Beloved Red Ball was sitting unattended in the grass and Jin Ho pocketed it quickly before crouching down and grabbing for his dog's collar. "Sweeper! Stop it!"

The dog whined. Did Human not understand? The fight! What about the fight?

Jin Ho looked up at the Waterbender. "I assume you're just practicing," he said. His gaze shifted to the other man, and — oh, crap. Just his luck, right? Green eyes widened for a moment as he tried to figure out what on Earth he should say.

And it didn't help that Mizu was soaking wet. It was, frankly, very distracting.

"Um," said Jin Ho ineloquently, "are you okay?"

The fall to the ground seemed to take an eternity and, when he hit, he let out an "UMPH!" He lay there, eyes closed, swimming in darkness. He was vaguely aware that he was making noises and trying to move.

The other Waterbender ran over to him, looking down, then at the dog when it approached. A little scruff of a thing, it sniffed Mizu, which seemed to bring its owner running over.

Mizu's vision faded into focus, and he realized that Jin Ho was standing over him. He let out a breath, coupled with a groan.

"'m fine." He mumbled his reply as he got to his feet, arms and legs buckling a few times before he stood up. In disgust, he bent/brushed the water off of himself.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to clobber you like that." His opponent bit his lip.

"It's fine. I think you won."

Without another word, the other Waterbender left.

"I'm fine, really." He was doing his best not to look at the apparently off-duty cop.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry about last night. I was...I don't know what I was. I have an idea, though."

He'd thought about it after he'd gone home much too early, and it sprang from the thought of hitting Jin in the face with water and then freezing it.

"We duke it out here, no serious blows. If you win, I leave you alone, no hard feelings. If I win, you come out to dinner with me tonight, no questions asked. Think about it before you answer." The entire time he spoke, he stared the cop down; crossing his arms, he raised an eyebrow and waited.

Jin Ho stared for a moment, and Sweeper wagged his tail. The dog was about knee-high on the young man with his head a bit taller. Sweeper seemed to find the wet Mizu very interesting, and started snuffling at him.

"Stop that," said Jin Ho, just as Mizu tried to reassure him that he was fine. Jin Ho wasn't so sure about that — it had, after all, taken the man a bit to get up! What was he doing, practicing in earnest like that? They should've gone to a gym where there were pads or something...

Now it seemed Mizu had something else to say and Jin Ho wasn't quite sure if he was hearing it right. The Waterbender was staring him down, and he was still having a hard time focusing on what he was saying.

It would be so much easier to communicate if his mind weren't still stuck on the sight of Mizu in very wet clothing. Jin Ho coughed. The Waterbender was staring at him, waiting for a response. And judging by how hot his face felt, Jin Ho was sure he was blushing.

"Um, I — what?" He brushed a piece of hair back off his face. "No! Absolutely not! That's — that's ridiculous! I'm not going to, to what... fight you? Over dinner?" He was police officer for crying out loud. He had his reputation. And that was the last thing he needed, for someone to see an off-duty cop beating up some Waterbender and take it to the press. No, thank you.

Sweeper whined and pushed his nose against the pocket containing the ball. Jin Ho placed a hand on the animal's head.

"Did you hit your head when you fell down?" he asked. That was the only explanation for such a silly idea. "Do you need to go sit down and get some tea? Because the cafe across the street is really nice..."

He was an idiot. Offering to fight a police officer just so he'd say yes to dinner? He needed to stop this and think on his feet.

In the seconds before the water had laid him out, he'd seen Jin Ho playing with a dog; the one that had sniffed him while he was down and before he'd brushed the water off of himself. It was a scruffy little thing, in a cute way.

Honestly, he should have expected the reaction he'd gotten, and he started breaking down everything he knew about Jin Ho from their brief encounters:

- Police officer
- Pacifist, seemingly
- Occasional drinker, maybe once a month if that
- Not paid as highly as he'd thought
- Attractive
- Cute

He stopped himself. Looking down, he knelt and held out a hand to the dog, who sniffed and then licked it.

"Was that an offer?"

He crossed his arms and regarded Jin Ho with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, your dog seems to like me, so do you think you could give me a chance?"

He wasn't actually expecting anything to come of asking; not after last time. There was something he couldn't figure out about this man, and the curiosity might have been what drove him to issue a challenge. He'd just have to see.

Was that an offer?

Crap! Darn his stupid subconscious for letting someone's abs distract him! Jin Ho vowed to be more vigilant about his thoughts, at least until he realized he was once again standing there thinking about Mizu's abs.

This had to stop.

"Um," said Jin Ho. Since he had been the one to say it, now he felt obligated to take the man for some tea. It was just the cafe across the street, after all. He went there with friends all the time! And Sweeper.

Jin Ho had actually been going to the Lotus Cafe since he was little boy. Its owner's wife, Mrs. Jeon, had been his babysitter until her husband passed away. She now ran the cafe. And she sometimes had his beloved tteokbokki in the back.

The thought of Mrs. Jeon's tteokbokki was enough to make him disregard his hesitation about being seen somewhere with Mizu. After all, no one had spoken the word "date".

"I'll buy you some tea," he said. "Mrs. Jeon would probably like to see Sweeper, anyway." The dog, hearing his name, wagged his tail. "Maybe after you eat something your head will be back to normal."

Jin Ho spun on his heel and headed for the Lotus Cafe, braid swinging from the momentum. Obediently, Sweeper followed him, though not before casting a longing look at Mizu. Sweet animal, wasn't he?

While walking, Jin Ho tried to figure out exactly how he should handle this. Mrs. Jeon would no doubt assume he was on a date, so he'd have to make it clear to her that he was not on a date, no matter how much he'd like to be... because he didn't want her carrying tales to his mother and giving her fits. She'd have a litter of kittens if she thought Jin Ho was "at it again" and wouldn't be eventually giving her grandchildren. The Jeons had hoped to marry their daughter to Jin Ho but that obviously hadn't panned out what with Jin Ho's absolute disinterest in women.

He still felt bad about it.

They crossed the street and entered the Cafe, a place with cheery lavender walls. The elderly woman behind the counter beamed as she saw Jin Ho and came around to hug him tightly.

"My Jin Ho! It's been too long! You're working hard these days, aren't you?"
"Hi Mrs. Jeon," Jin Ho said, hugging her back. Sweeper snuffled the woman's feet and she absently patted his head.
"It's a pity that Hoshi isn't home," Mrs. Jeon said, leading the young man to a table near the counter, "or you could see her — now I know you two didn't work out, but I think she'd give you another chance..."
Jin Ho flushed. Ah, the hope of an old woman. "Mrs. Jeon," he said helplessly, "please — Hoshi and I are only ever going to be just —"
"Oh," said she, noticing Mizu. "You brought a friend."
It wasn't a question.

Jin Ho gulped and sat down. "This is my friend Mizu," he said. "He hit his head so I thought your tea would be just the thing to make him feel better. I was just out playing with Sweeper."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Sit down then," she said to Mizu. "I'll bring you both some ginseng tea —"
"Did you make tteokbokki today?" Jin Ho looked hopeful.
She patted him idly on the head. "And tteokbokki for my boy."

((next point: theavatarrp.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=drc&thread=6626&page=1#112226 ))

((I don’t really title my posts))

Boa Yu was a bit taken aback by her fellow Equalist’s charity. It wasn’t Tsubaki looked like a non charitable woman, it was just so sudden. They barely just met and already her superior was supplying the dough.

But alas, there wasn’t much she could do. With a slight nod, the young Galgori got to her feet and followed her fellow Equalist out of the restaurant and into the street. There, she was immediately struck by the woman’s tonal shift. The bubbly, high-spirited Equalist was immediately replaced by this serious and almost deadly sounding individual…and then back to “normal.” Still wide-eyed, Boa Yu did not know how to respond. Honestly, she was slightly agape. That being said, it was a bit funny. Definitely not expected, but funny all the same.

With a short chuckle, Boa Yu blew off her nerves and then proceeded to listen to Tsubaki as the older Equalists led her somewhere. Probably not to any place of consequence, maybe this was Tsubaki’s way of passing the food through her stomach

Bao Yu paid close attention to her fellow Equalist recount how her skills were best used by their organization. And thanks to her training, the small cluster of pedestrians offered little resistance as she weaved her way this way and that around a particularly burly middle-aged woman. When the two reunited, Tsubaki made a particularly harsh comment about superiors. Ouch, did she really sound like that? It was just curiosity. Still, she should probably ensure that her words are chosen with better care next time…unless that was one of the reasons that she hadn’t been selected to finally become a chi blocking agent. No, there must be more than just that.

As they meandered away from the station, Boa Yu continued to pay attention to her fellow Equalist. From the looks of it, they were headed to the park, and from the sound of it, Tsubaki had quite the interesting upbringing.

Walking in, Bao Yu was still amazed by how the scenery could change so drastically. On one side, the vibrant, dirty city, and here the hedges were all trimmed, the grass and trees bleed life into the grayscale city. Even the air smelled fresher. With a smile, Boa Yu followed the full Equalist as she meandered to a bench.

With her dark eyes, she watched her superior gaze up at the orange tinted sky. Even with the building covering most of the view, one could still make out the pinks, reds, and orange hues that were almost haphazardly splashed onto the sky blue sky. Turning to the east, Bao Yu could plainly see the dark blue bleed its way over them. It was a shame that the lights were almost always turned on; this young lady couldn’t even recall the last time she had seen more than twenty stars in the sky.

“Something big is happening, isn’t it,” Stated the pale, dark-haired young Galgori. Feeling less pressure on her stomach, she began to stretch out her arms, a bit of a warm up before her training session at the Laundromat. “Ever since the Avatar arrived, things have changed. They don’t ask you to invite more people, like before. Instead, they moved to more physical activities,” she added, trying to veil her words in secrecy. “I’ve been counting his radio interruptions, before there were maybe less than ten a month and now, now I’ve just stopped counting, I think I’ve actually missed a few.” She paused for a moment as she turned to look at Tsubaki.

“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, I know there are reasons for you knowing things that I don’t. But at the same time, you can just feel it in the air. I don’t know how to describe it; you just feel it, that current. We’re finally going to make a difference, and I just want to be a part of it.”

A small smile soon perked itself of her small, thin lips. Things were changing, the organization was finally going to make its move, and for once she wouldn’t be a spectator any more. Three years had to be enough to some sort of graduation or whatever they did.

"You felt the wind is shifting too, huh?" Tsubaki said with a more ominous tone than she intended.
"It's been that way recently. I don't know what's going on and honestly, I'm fine witht that. "

Tsubaki was visibly impressed that Bao Yu had been playing such close attention to Amon's radio broadcasts. That caused her to worry about her new friend. Hectic times were difficult for advancement.
"Um...if you want I can bring up your test at the meeting tonight. We just need someone to proctor and a couple of witnesses. We all have our different methods of testing so it's a mixed bag. Takeda likes really controlled situations and really does his research when he pairs you up with a bender. Someone like Fat Cobra will just tell you locate a partcular bender in the city and bring back one of his teeth or something. Me...well, life can throw a lot of stuff at you and I do the same."

As the sky began to darken into a beautiful dusk Tsubaki could feel her ramen settling and she felt like her day had been vastly improved.
Tsubaki raised her head and looked at Bao Yu with a smile. "I'm glad I failed that audition. Then we might not have met. I probably would have been happy enough to eat alone and then you'd just be a co-worker rather than a friend."

With a barely contained smile the Equalist placed her trumpet case on her lap, unlocked it and placed in a cone-shaped object to keep the volume down. She tested the action of her keys and then went about her most important preparation for playing in front of people. She tied a red silk ribbon around her eyes to aid in the illusion that she wasn't being watched.
She was more nervous now than she had been at her audition that morning.
Just Friends, the title of her song was known in the jazz world but Tsubaki wasn't sure if Bao Yu would recognize it. Either way, it was a nice song and it made her happy to play competently.

Everything was shut out while Tsubaki played. Silk covered her eyes and music filled her ears. There was a nice breeze and it was easy to concentrate. When she finished the world seemed a much happier and exciting place.
She eagerly took off her blindfold to gauge Bao Yu's response. Most people's opinions of her music didn't matter. The opinion of friends did, and Equalist friends even more so.

((I hope you don’t mind this))

Wow, this was a little fast wasn’t it? No, wait that’s what she wanted. Here it was her opportunity to finally become an official Chi blocker and not just someone who knew how to do it. Still, she was a bit apprehensive about it. She knew she could do. She had practiced and almost perfected her technique, honestly she felt that there were maybe two in her whole group who might be a bit better prepared than she was, but there was one main difference between them. She was a Galgori. Where the other Equalists just recently learned to fight the bender, her people had been doing it for quite some time, and as such she had not only acquired the Equalist knowledge when it came to fighting a particular bender, but also the knowledge of her people and all the information that her grandfather had given her.

She was ready; there was no longer any question about it. Yes, she was anxious, but ready to finally take the plunge and make a difference in the Equalist.

“Oh,” whispered the young dark-haired Galgori at the sight of her close acquaintance. No wait, that wasn’t the correct word. Tsubaki said it best, they were friends. Sure, it was only an evening, but they really clicked. Different, that they were, but it worked. They were friends.

With a smile, Bao Yu tilted her head to her side as Tsubaki began her melody. It was a lovely sound, and Bao Yu could hardly believe that a trumpet could sing such a song.

“It was lovely,” replied back Bao Yu, with a smile. “That being said, we should probably head over to the Laundromat now, it’s getting dark.” With that, Bao Yu motioned for her friend to hurry up. The last thing they needed was a mugging.

“Come on,” added Boa Yu as she lead Tsubaki back out the way they came. While a couple of the street lights were on, it still wasn’t a good policy to be out and about in Red Monsoon territory.

She led her friend across the road, and to the left after passing Madam Hua’s flower shop. Unfortunately, along the way, the building began to look more and more decrepit and in need of some serious fixing.

“Just down Zhu Street over here,” Added Boa Yu as she led Tsubaki around a red brick building. At the sight of eight men stepping out of a beat down truck, she pulled Tsubaki back around the building. Already, it was quite early for these guys to be out and about. Thankfully, this scene had played out many times before, all she had to do was cut into the back alleyways and then circle around to a small coffee shop that had an underground passageway that connected with the Laundromat’s underground training room.

“This happens a lot, we just have to go through this alley right here,” began Bao Yu as she led her compatriot a few feet back from the corner and in-between the red brick building and the apartment complex. As always, Bao Yu was more irked than fearful. Those damn Red Monsoons had little respect for anyone. She couldn’t wait until Amon asked for them to be taken apart. Oh, how sweet that would be.

“It’ll be a little farther, but-” Crap, thought the young Galgori just as she was cut off mid sentence by a large wall of ice certainly did not freeze itself in-between the two buildings of its own accord. Great, this was a first.

With narrowed eyes, Bao Yu turned around, and sure enough there were four Red Monsoon’s blocking the end of the alley, just at the point where four buildings convered.

“Well, looks like we’ve got two pretty little ladies out and about, just a little too late, eh?”

Bao Yu caught that first part, but paid little attention to the rest of his drivel. Their alleyway was narrow, they were closer to the end, and the four men were at least twenty feet away, back in an area that was more advantageous to her fighting style. Both she and her friend had about two feet of room between them, not to mention the various objects that littered the ground. Still, two of them were approaching, it didn’t take a genius to recognize them as Red Monsoons, but it was still nice to know that she could make out those telltale motions of a waterbender in their strut. Those had to be the lower goons, and to guy in the hat that was doing all the talking had to be this little gang’s leader.

Her dark eyes turned to her friend, this wasn’t good, Bao Yu had no idea how Tsubaki fought. Still, Tsubaki was a full-fledged member, which meant that she was definitely the better fighter.

Turning back, she noted that the two underlings paused about a meter before them. The leader gave the demands, the usual, money, and all other valuables. Again, he gave the promise that no harm would befall them if they gave them what they wanted, which of course was always a lie. But…it gave them the first move, and Bao Yu already knew what to do.

She glanced over at Tsubaki and motioned for her to give them what they wanted, only she winked just before she turned back to the two now approaching Monsoons. Hopefully, Tsubaki understood her wink as being a sign to strike when they were handing over their “valuables,” that way, they could take two out and only have to fight two other members. That being said, they were all benders, they would have a fun time dodging water whips, and streams as they headed to their next targets. That being said, Tsubaki was the senior here, she would have to make the first move.

Bao Yu glanced back at Tsubaki, and then over at the leader who stood waiting just below a flickering alley light. This would be interesting.

((To be continued in Through Downtown Republic City. Also, after you take out this mook, I’ll NPC the guy that Tsubaki targets, and then you can NPC the other opponent.))

Their boats safely tied up at the pier once again, Tadashi and his two favourite gal pals walked into the serene blend of civilisation and nature that was the Republic City Park. Well, no, if Tadashi was being honest, the park did not feel serene to him. It never had, and it never would. There was a large grassy area, which was easily his preferred location. And it was very nice the way that the Council had tried to brighten and beautify the rest of the place with many trees, shrubs, berry bushs, flower gardens — but it didn't hide the fact that part of it was too... too artificial. Too much concrete, too much pavement, too much iron. It was nothing like, say, the Meditation Pavilion, where the trees grew around from the actual earth, and at the least the wood that composed the structure came from nature originally.

But this was the place to be right now. Ren'ai and Yuri needed a third member to complete their dream Pro Bending team, and he didn't qualify, given he wasn't a waterbender — or a bender at all, for that matter. To that end, Yuri and Tadashi had suggested the Park, a favoured gathering spot for all, a most populous space. In short, one of the most likely places to randomly run into a waterbender itching to be in a pro bending tournament.

"Now, which part of the pond...?" he said after a short time walking, coming to an abrupt spot and wheeling around on the toes of one foot, the Acolyte's robes he hadn't yet removed fanning out gracefully in the breeze he generated. Or pretended to generate.

The problem, as he knew, and as he suspected Ren'ai was biting her tongue from saying, was that even coming to watch waterbenders wasn't going to be a piece of cake. They didn't have the look of a team yet, nor of recruiters. All of them hovering around 18 years old, they hardly looked professional, an Air Acolyte and a pair of waitresses, one a tomboy and the other looking blatantly impatient. This image didn't inspire nearby benders to think, "Oh, my, look! There go the Dragon Hawks! Let me do my VERY BEST BENDING RIGHT NOW so they can see it!"

Still, Tadashi couldn't help but think their best prospects were here. He knew Ren'ai had gone through a couple waterbenders already. He just hoped they could find another one here that would complete the team just right.

OOC: Sorry, was bored, so brought Ichiro in for a bit. Don't worry, he won't bug them.

Ren’ai felt even more frustrated as they arrived at the Park. It wasn’t that there wouldn’t be any Waterbenders around. There usually was. Her point was that she didn’t think they would find one that was at the level they needed them to be at, one that actually wanted to Probend, and one that actually wanted to be in their group. It was a lot to ask. It made the Firebender feel uncomfortable, and she wasn’t su9re that there was a point to any of this. What else was she supposed to do, though? She may be Team Captain, but right now there was no team, not really. Besides, she’d been outvoted by their Unofficial Team Manager and her Earthbender best friend. It wasn’t as if she was going to be a total jerk and fight them on this. They wanted to go, so it was best to just go along with it… for now, anyway.

Looking up at Tadashi, she fixed him with her bright blue eyes. “Does it honestly matter?” Ren’ai asked him. “If we’re going to find them, we’re going to find them. If not, there’s really no point in being here or even trying is there?” She knew that her pessimism got to her two friends sometimes, but honestly, the dark-haired young woman didn’t feel she was overly pessimistic. She was a realist, and someone had to tell things like it was. It might as well be here. Facts are that a Waterbender who wanted to a Probender was not going to recognize them. Sure, they’d been in a few practice matches, but they’d never had a chance to compete, not really. They’d always lacked what they needed – a steady Waterbender who was not going to leave after realizing their so-called Team Captain had an issue with control – both with her bending and with her attitude.

Groaning, Ren’ai sat down near a tree. It gave them a decent few of the pond, without being too close or in the way of the Waterbenders. After all, she was still wearing a white shirt, still in uniform from Watashi’s Restaurant, where she worked. Getting splashed from head to toe was not something that she would have found rather amusing at this point in time, especially with no jacket to cover any of her… assets that might show. Yes, the shortest of the three knew that she not unattractive, but that certainly didn’t mean she wanted to show what she had off to the entire Park. How embarrassing would that be? “I’m still not sure there’s much of a point to this,” she said, just because she was annoyed and felt like proving her point as much as possible. “I don’t think we’ll find a Waterbender to join our Probending team, but either way, at least Yuri’s buying dinner.”


Ichiro’s day had not gone as expected. Ren’ai had come to work in a bad mood, so her whole day had pretty gone downhill from there. After she left, a customer complained that she had been rude to them. As usual, Kohaku Watashi, his father, owner of the restaurant, and General Manager came up to his son and told him that tomorrow when the Firebender go to work, that he needed to talk to her. Why him? It wasn’t his job; he wasn’t even the Assistant Manager, which was Risa. The young man knew full well what his father really wanted – for him to one day take over and eventually that meant joining Risa as an Assistant Manager. It was a lot of responsibility for a nineteen year old.

It wasn’t that Ichiro didn’t one day want to run his family’s restaurant. He liked people, and he liked to talk to people. It was just that, right now… he didn’t think he was ready, and his father knew that. However, his father was trying to get him to be ready, and that was by slowly giving him more and more responsibility. His biggest issue, and the Waterbender knew this, was going to be disciplining his employees. That’s why, tomorrow, he was going to have to talk to Ren’ai and tell her not to bring her personal issues to work. She had a habit of doing this, and it was starting to get on his father’s nerves. Not that he was going to fire her or anything. She was a good waitress; she did her job well, and usually didn’t fuss about being asked to do something. She still needed to work on that attitude of hers though.

After getting out of work, Ichiro needed to blow off a little steam. He was feeling a bit frustrated right now, and Waterbending usually always helped him calm down. With that, right after he was done with work, he began to walk straight to the park, not bothering to go by his parent’s house. It was a good drive over there, and he didn’t feel like going back. He wanted to go straight to the Park. Once he arrived, the brunet just happened to walk right past a trio of people sitting by a tree, two he recognized – Yuri and Ren’ai from work. He gave them a small smile and waved. He didn’t know who their friend was, but judging by his clothes, he was an Air Acolyte. He wasn’t a bad looking guy, either, but he was not in the mood right now.

Finding the pond, he began to Waterbend, trying to work on the current lesson that his instructor, Master Daichi, had him working on. Ichiro tried to move the water around faster and have greater control, things that Daichi was stressing – feel the push and pull of the water. When he was frustrated as he was now, then that didn’t always come easier to him. There was something calming about bending, though. He still wasn’t fully getting the move, though. He groaned in frustration. Unbuttoning his shirt, he threw it on the ground, and his apron quickly joined it. He should have changed, but it was too late now. Oh, well, he had to wash his clothes anyway, right? Taking the band out of his hair, his long dark brown hair fell across his back. He felt much better, and much less restricted.

Ichiro tried the move again, and even though he still wasn’t fully completing it correctly, he felt more comfortable than his work clothes. They were a bit stuffy, but it was that crisp, clean formal look that his father liked, and his father before him had liked as well. The brunet agreed that it did look nice, but it didn’t work well with Waterbending. Usually he didn’t go shirtless, and wore a loose blue top or something, but today he hadn’t gone home, so that wasn’t an option, was it? At least he felt better now, and he had almost forgotten that Yuri, Ren’ai and her friend were not far away. At least he wasn’t right near them, though, and had given them space. They could probably still see him from their tree, but he didn’t care about that right now.

Ren’ai had just finished talking when she saw a man walk by them, giving them a smile and a wave – Ichiro, her boss’s son. Waving back at him, she watched him go down a short ways to be pond and begin to Waterbend. She wasn’t sure what he was working on, but whatever it was, wasn’t working out too well for him. “Don’t even think about that one, Tadashi,” the Firebender said, though she didn’t sound angry or anything, simply as if she was stating a fact. “He’s not suited for our team. First of all, that’s Ichiro Watashi, he’s our boss’s son. Secondly, he’s not interested in being a Probender. We may not talk much at work, but I do know that much.” She turned her eyes from him, and looked around, but no one was really catching her eye yet. She noticed off handedly that Ichiro had gone off his shirt, but kept looking around for another Waterbender.

(Continued from The Marketplace)

He really needed some standard way of explaining to people what he was doing when he sat in the street all day. Anhyue certainly wasn’t the first person who’d asked him about it. He’d been accused of loitering by quite a few different policemen, and each time it took far too long to explain that he was a street magician and that sitting out there was how he found customers and made money. Of course, even once he managed to explain, he still got laughed at, or at least found himself the victim of a look of complete skepticism, but that was another issue entirely. He was determined to stick with his current career, even if it meant dealing with detractors.

It was true that most of his audience members on any given day were children, but hearing that clearly articulated by Anhyue made it that much more clear to him. There wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with it—he liked kids, and they loved magic tricks—but kids didn’t have the money or the sense of moral obligation to pay for his performances. His new acquaintance attempted to explain her reasoning, but the damage was done, and Naota frowned. ”Yeah, I’ll work on standing up more often,” he muttered, not really focused on the conversation. He was so busy moping that he almost didn’t notice when Anhyue took off. Only her shout caught his attention.

Pretty boy? Well, he was quite good looking. It was good to know that other people knew that too, but perhaps the nick name was a bit much. After all, what self-respecting magician could advertise himself when he was known to at least one person as “pretty boy?” It looked like he’d have to win this race, just to prove that his looks weren’t his only asset. Grinning, his confidence restored, Noata began to run.

He ran at top speed, and so it wasn’t long before he caught up to Anhyue and the two entered the expanse of the park. As he moved past her, he turned around, and, jogging backwards, stuck his tongue out at her. ”You lose!”

Ever the peacemaker, Tadashi just smiled at Ren'ai and didn't respond to her comments. Like he'd pointed out before, doing something and possibly accomplishing nothing was much better than doing nothing and guaranteeing nothing would be accomplished. He glanced at Yuri and grinned conspiratorially; he admired her level head, especially since together they could convince Ren'ai to be dragged along with them wherever. Not to mention he appreciated the kindness that Ren'ai and Yuri had extended to him by including him, since he was a third wheel in a friendship that, according to Ren'ai, stretched back a few generations.

Sighing overdramatically, he fwumped down on a small knoll between two roots, next to Ren'ai, and gazed out at the pond. He had to admit that it was serene and peaceful, for the most part. Children laughing and playing, and adults trying to herd them places. Other than that, relaxing, and friendly. One guy with beautiful green eyes gave a wave to their group; Tadashi got the sense that he knew the girls, but not him.

He was paying more attention to a group of lizard crows trying to steal an old man's dinner when Ren'ai's teasing voice drew his attention back to the pond. A Waterbender?! he thought, but let the thought die instantly when she mentioned that she knew the guy and he wouldn't join the team. Still, interested in all forms of bending, he watched the bender for a while. Suddenly in a move of apparent frustration the guy whipped off his shirt and his apron, and let his hair down. Tadashi was paying all sorts of attention now. "Ren'ai, if that's your boss's son, I'm going to have to eat there a lot more often, because I am a connoisseur of both fine food and guys," he drawled at his captain, only half-joking. But then, after a few minutes of blankly gazing across the way, he shook his head and went back to talent-spotting, having lost one prospect before he'd even started.

"You know..." Tadashi mused thoughtfully, "I almost wonder if maybe you two ought to show off a little bit to attract some attention. Versus each other, you know? Plus it will give you a chance to let off some steam," he ribbed Ren'ai again, stretching his back some more against the tree trunk behind him.

OOC: No godmoding intended

Ren’ai followed Yuri’s gaze to Ichiro, and a smirk crossed her lips. “You know he’s gay, right, Yuri?” After the words were out of her mouth, the Firebender realized that her best friend probably didn’t know. After all, she was a Delivery Girl and spent most of her time riding around the city, delivering food to various people. The Earthbender spent little of her time inside, and when she was inside, it was either to clock in, clock out or get food. Even though she didn’t actually talk to Ichiro much unless she had to, the Waterbender was not shy, and she had heard mentions of “boyfriends” and such things like that in reference to her boss’s only child. She didn’t see what was so attractive about him, anyway. Sure, he had a nice body – he was in good shape. He wasn’t drop dead gorgeous or anything, though, though that didn’t mean there was anything wrong with him.

At Yuri’s words about drinks being her, Ren’ai threw up her arms in an exasperated motion. “Why me? It was his idea,” she said, pointing to Tadashi. There was no point in arguing with either one of them. The young woman stood up, deciding that their Air Acolyte friend had a point. “And I’m only two inches shorter than you, remember that.” She let out a deep breath. “Fine. Let’s do it, but remember, Yuri – Probending style. I don’t care if we’re classically trained; you know that won’t work in the Ring. We have to fight like Probenders, and people will think we are.” That was the only problem – with both of them being classically trained, it created problems since Probending was different.

Ren’ai knew that they could make it in the Probending League if only they could find a third member of their team. “No, it would be a very bad idea to ask Ichiro to join,” she told Yuri. “He’s classically trained only, and besides, even if he wasn’t, people would think we were a team. We need people to think that we’re missing a third member.” She wasn’t sure where she got her ideas sometimes, but she couldn’t blame Yuri for thinking it. It was, however, not a good idea. That was why she was Team Captain. It wasn’t, actually, but she liked to think her ideas were the reason. “Back off, okay, Tadashi?” The dark-haired young woman didn’t want her friend to get in the line of fire, so to speak. After he had moved off, she brought her fists up, and sent a flame at her friend’s chest – head attacks were against Probending rules, after all.


Ichiro was starting to get the hang of the move now. It wasn’t perfect yet, but that would come with time. All that mattered now was that it was much smoother than it had been when he got here, and at least he wasn’t having issues completing it now. He almost felt like that there were eyes on him now, but the Waterbender didn’t pay any attention to that. It was unusual for a person or two to watch someone else bend. There was nothing wrong with that. He also knew that a decent looking guy without a shirt, especially one in good shape like he was, was bound to attract some attention. He wasn’t doing it for their benefit, though. Besides, there was bound to be a better looking guy than him around here somewhere. If not, well… that wasn’t his problem, now, was it?

Ichiro smiled, and sat down on the grass for a moment, and looked around. Ren’ai, Yuri, and their friend – whoever he was – were still over by the tree. He almost though that two of them – Yuri and her male friend – had been looking at him. He couldn’t be sure if that was true or not. He then saw Yuri and Ren’ai get up, and the two girls looked like they were about to start practicing with each other. Why were they here? It occurred to him that they might be looking for a third member of their Probending team, something he’d heard Ren’ai mention off handedly once to another employee. The brunet hadn’t put much stock into it at that time, but perhaps the two friends were rather serious about it. He might almost consider joining… if he had any interesting in being a Probending athlete at all, which he didn’t.

Ichiro lay back on the grass, still looking over at the three friends. He wasn’t overly close, but he still had a decent view of them. It might almost be interesting to see Yuri and Ren’ai practice against each other. He knew for a fact that the shorter of the two was a Firebender. What element was Yuri? He figured that their male friend was not a bender, and Yuri didn’t strike him as much of a Waterbender by her style of dress, so he figured that she had to be an Earthbender. It might be interesting to watch them for a bit before going to back to his practicing and heading home. He brought his hands up and laced them behind his head. It was almost nice just to lay here for a bit. He hoped that they wouldn’t mind him appreciating their bending skills for a bit before going back to practicing his own.

"I let you win!" Anhyue huffed as she came to a halt. Doubling over she pressed her fingers into the grass and exhaled as she let her digits enjoy the blades' waxy texture. The actress was never a runner. In high school she had almost convinced herself that running was her thing, but it wasn't. Dancing and acting were more of her things. The same went for waterbending and healing, but not running. "I'm not out of shape," she laughed as she dug her fingers further into the earth, "it's just been a long morning." And tonight would be just another long evening with dinner to make and siblings to look after. Relaxing her shoulders Anhyue let her emerald bag slide down over her head, until with a light clunk it fell just a few inches in front of her feet. With a sigh the waterbender lifted herself to her full and meager height (5' 4") and with a smile she hopped over her bag and shortened the distance between herself and Naota.

In her ears Anhyue could hear insects buzzing, children laughing and benders tousling in the shade of a russet colored tree. Sounds like these reminded the young women of the breaks she would take in between classes or her waitressing shift at the hotel. The park was always the place to go to escape anything, whether it was work, school, or life in general. Here people were having fun and ridding themselves of the stress that plagued big city life. Of course, the park had its rough spots too, like the area where the man with the megaphone enjoyed blabbering about Amon and the Equalists. Just the thought of that masked lunatic threw Anhyue's heart into a tizzy. If anyone could deal with that crackpot it was Avatar Korra. Her arrival into the city had definitely sparked something within Anhyue, but whatever it was the actress still remained absent minded to its presence.

"So Naota," the bender began as she tilted her head slightly to the left, "where would you like to sit? Wherever you feel comfortable. Anywhere is great, as long as we're near the water."

”Suuuure you did,” Naota teased with a grin. ”Or maybe I’m just better than you at the whole ‘running’ thing.” He wasn’t usually the competitive type—he preferred to let others win if that made them happy—but somehow he felt that if Anhyue had won the race to the park she would have been justified in calling him “pretty boy,” and that was not acceptable…at least, not until he could think of an equally cutting nickname for her.

As it stood, though, he was victorious. He laughed as Anhyue attempted to explain her loss. ”Long morning or not, you got a head start and still managed to lose,” he pointed out. ”I bet I’d win even when you were well-rested.” This was what the magician was used to. Teasing girls was one of the few skills he possessed. Not marketable, sure, but it was very helpful when trying to woo objects of his affection (of which there had been many). Besides, beating Anhyue hadn’t been much of a challenge, even with the head start she’d had, so he felt she deserved a little teasing.

The man grinned as Anhyue’s bag slid over her head. He’d never met someone as…silly as this girl, and he liked her for that. As he’d grown he’d very quickly realized that most people were way too serious, and that serious people were boring. And, worst of all, serious people didn’t appreciate magic tricks! Really, how could you live like that? Just the thought was appalling. Well, that was why he spent every day sitting in the dirt and hoping that someone would catch his eye. Eventually he’d grow up and become as boring as the rest of them, but for now he’d revel in Anhyue’s silliness.

The woman asked him where he wanted to sit, and Naota turned his eyes to their surroundings. They were not the only people in the park, but everyone was spread out, allowing them the freedom to sit wherever they desired. Spotting the pond that wound its way through the park, he walked over to the edge of the water, just a few yards away, and plopped himself down on the grass, calling over to Anhyue. ”Here work?”