ooc: sorry it's short.

Rumi continued to study the face of the man before her, searching for any sign of him revealing how he was feeling at that moment. She hoped that the emotions she had expressed to Ji were mutual, but as she continued to look upon his face, hope turned to desperation. Maybe it was foolish of Rumi to have so easily thrown her love away from the person she had cared for most in this world, to take the chance on someone she barely even knew. Eyes fixed to his lips as she waited for Ji to speak, though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear what he was going to say. As Ji shook his head as he prepared himself to talk, it felt like Rumi’s stomach hit the floor. “I'm sorry, Rumi...” And there it was, desperation turned to regret.

Frozen, Rumi listened to everything Ji had to say to her, the words racing around in her head. It was almost too hard to handle the situation she was in – one part of her regretted giving in to such naive feelings she had for Ji, while the other part still longed for him. Her mind felt scrambled and it was difficult to find the words to express how she now felt. The more the plant bender thought about it, the more she realized that she didn’t regret expressing herself to Ji. In fact, what she Ji had said to her only made her want to be with him even more, in any way. As she went to speak, however, something then happened that she did not expect, and in that moment she found herself sharing another kiss with the young man.

A moment drifted by where Rumi gave in to her desire, almost completely losing herself in his tender kiss. Making sure not to let the chance to say what was now on her mind go, Rumi began to speak softly against his lips, “I will always be here for you and the for the resistance. The Fire Nation will lose Omashu at our hands. No matter how long it will take, or how difficult the challenge, we will win.” The young woman’s voice was the strongest it had been since her rescue. She then leaned her body in to his and began to kiss him again.

Rumi then stepped backwards towards the metal framed beds, pulling Ji gently along with her. There was more she wanted to say to him, but now she was lost in the moment and she didn’t want to be found.

Trying to keep the pain from his broken ankle inside of him made Kuma produce a near growl which embarassed him greatly. He should have taken it in silence.
"Kill...you..."

He put his good right foot against the back wall and pushed off to propel himself at Captain Xian. In the weeks of his imprisonment Kuma had purposely done two things. One was never standing fully erect or extending his arms thereby hiding his height and reach. The other was continuously pulling at his wrist shackles until they bit into his arms.
It took a lot of pain and what would most likely be permanent scarring but if he pushed hard enough against the manacles he could gain nearly a quarter inch to his current reach.

Though in pain and off balance from his broken ankle Kuma managed to get close to his target. Azei's throat. Despite the broken ankle and metal digging into his skin Kuma managed to reach his goal of making contact with his jailer...enough to gently graze his chin with the middle finger of his gloved right hand.
It was disappointing to say the least.

What the hell was that, a lover's caress? He's not even that good looking. You wasted your opportunity, you idiot!

Kuma fell back and leaned back against the wall, expecting and actually hoping for a severe beating to come. For the first time, he felt like he deserved it.
He made a vow that he would make up for his humiliating failure by embarassing the entire prison staff by escaping as soon as possible.


Kugi Tang couldn't help but smirk a little as he watched the questioning. It looks like that one failed attempt to kill Azei did more to break his spirit than all the torture they could throw at him did.
"Sword please."
The slightly dim, but strong soldier Tang chose as the caretaker of his precious swords reached him before he could even finish saying "please". Kugi had the beginnings of a respectable collection of Piandao swords but the dual swords brought to him were his battle swords and therefore allowed to leave the safety of his special store room on the Qilin.
He had a pang of regret over giving away the sword offered to him by a guard when he captured Kuma. He was drunk and angry and not thinking clearly.

He took one of the deceptively heavy swords from their shared sheath and turned it around in his hand, holding it backwards. The flat edge of the sword came crashing down on Kuma's skull and created a straight, bloody indeture on the right side of the prisoner's forehead.
"Well, that's done. Let's get something to eat."

((Small time skip to the mess hall in this post))

Another empty threat. As things were, that seemed as impossible as a massive army of Resistance members busting into the prison and getting him out; still, it was amusing that the Earthbender grasped to a dream that seemed impossible. Impossible, that is, until he was let out.

The brush against his chin was surprising, as he hadn't expected the prisoner to be able to reach that far chained up. He felt a strange sensation which subsided as soon as the glove was yanked back by the chains, and concern flashed across his eyes as he stepped back. He noticed that he'd smudged the chalk outline around the man and mentally cursed himself for his lack of oversight. He could take solace in the fact that he'd broken Kuma's ankle.

The blood trickling down Kuma's head gave him a small sense of satisfaction as well.

"Yes, let's," he said, casting one glance back to the prisoner as he left the room.

---

When they got to the mess hall, Azei began the arduous and tedious task of getting his meal. He stepped into line and turned back to Captain Tang.

"Well, you were right about one thing; Kuma's quite full of himself. I think that I need to make good on my challenge," he commented offhandedly before turning back to the line and grabbing a tray. The food in prisons was horrible, but it would have to do until he could go back to patrolling the countryside where he could get good food...at a significant discount.

"Say, could you let me keep watch outside the third level tonight?" he asked Tang.

“Recruit more?” she questioned under her breath, her eyes narrowing as she stared down the man before her. Did he doubt her ability? Though, that wouldn’t be a first. In fact, with the amount of times she had been underestimated in her time, you would imagine Naomi to be used to it by now, but as Naomi now gritted her teeth and clenched fists it would be easy to assume she wasn’t. Or perhaps it was just her easy to trigger temper, either way, it was perhaps the Captain’s enticing invitation to see something he deemed interesting and swift departure that saved him from Retsu’s jaws.

In no way did Naomi feel the need to share Tang’s incongruous pace, so she walked. Eventually, though certainly not in the time the captain had made it in, Naomi reached the holding cells. Upon entering the rooms he heard the back end of what one of the prisoners seemed to be saying. “I swear I will reach through these bars and squeeze your neck until your eyes explode.” Whether he was the enemy or not, she liked his style. His words inspired thoughts of her own, visions of how she would soon be spilling the blood of the foolish resistance scum all over the floor and then feeding their dismantled bodies to her dear pet.

“Enjoy the entertainment while it lasts. Our earth-bending diva escapes tomorrow night. Just when we got the bastard to sing, too.”

So this was the captured earthbender the captain and Naomi had based their whole plan around. Naomi had only heard about him and never taken the opportunity to see the captured earthbender for herself, and she had to say, he certainly was living up to the talk.

Then Captain Xian arrived and the military formalities pursued. Naomi wasn’t one to enjoy such formal talk, it bored her. She was more interested the action. Naomi already knew the plan well, there was no need for her to hang around the two captains as they went about their official procedures. “Come find me in the eating hall when you are done with the bullshit,” she snapped impatiently and walked off.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Naomi finally spotted the arrival of the Captains. Though instead of joining her, they seemed to join the line to get a meal. Completely livid, Naomi slammed her fist down into table and got up from her chair. She marched over to the two and once she got there took one swing at Azei’s tray of food, knocking it from his hands, sending it through the air and landing all over the floor in a mess. “Now listen to me. I am sick of waiting for things to be done. We are going to do this as planned right now, or I am going to do it my own way,” she hissed and pulled out one of her daggers. “You see, we only need to cover the earthbender in blood, whether that be his own or that of another, and we can track him from any distance within this city. My pet has a very advanced sense of smell, especially for the scent of blood.” Naomi spoke and flicked her head in the direction of the shark-lizard creature that was now making it way across the room to where the three stood, climbing over the tables and squashing anyone who got in its way. “Captain Xian, I don’t believe you’ve had the honor of meeting Retsu.

"Say, could you let me keep watch outside the third level tonight?"


Kugi almost choked on the smoke of his own pipe. His former captain was "hands-on" when it came to interrogation, but not for something has tedious as guard duty. In fact, not doing guard duty was one of the benefits of rank.
"I have no problems with that, Captain."
Once again Kugi felt odd dealing with Azei. It was his nature to defer to higher ranked officers, but also to take his job hunting resistance members extremely seriously.
"I'm going to level with you. You should know something about me if we're going to be working together. I don't want glory and I don't chase rank. The reason I even came to New Ozai was to confirm the horrible rumor of my promotion. I want to do my job here and go back to my comfortable obscurity. This...

Naomi made her presence known by stomping over to the two Captains and shouting.
“Now listen to me. I am sick of waiting for things to be done. We are going to do this as planned right now, or I am going to do it my own way? You see, we only need to cover the earthbender in blood, whether that be his own or that of another, and we can track him from any distance within this city. My pet has a very advanced sense of smell, especially for the scent of blood.Captain Xian, I don’t believe you’ve had the honor of meeting Retsu.”
Compared to Kugi's former superior Captain Kali Naomi had her charms or at least held a tighter leash on her muderous rages.

"We're moving tonight. Never give a resistance time to get settled or you'll never get rid of them. We'll assume that Takeda there is their weakest fighter and about fifteen people strong. If they had more I'm sure they would have caused more trouble by now. We have three strong fighters and I'm brining in my old squad from my ship.
He felt a little guilty explaining himself to a Captain and a mercenary who wasn't even affiliated with the Fire Nation, but Kugi had faith in his experience in the matters of Earth Kingdom insurgents. But he still felt he had to prove himself
"Wraith Squadron, assemble!"

Like examples from a children's game of picking out that which does not belong a group of ten men and women in civilian garb stood at attention and gathered shoulder-to-shoulder in front of Kugi, Azei and Naomi. This was Kugi's way of telling the people he would be working with about his style of command. He didn't mind being interrupted by Naomi as he tried to explain his personality and methods because the squadron of normal-looking people trained to within an inch of their lives and utterly loyal to him told everything.
He dismissed the ten men and women and turned to Azei and Naomi. Now his niche in the team was declared. He was the unseen cog in the machine but still highly relevant. Naomi had obviously taken the role of aggressive hot-head which was a type Kugi was more than comfortable with.

That only left Captain Azei Xian. Kugi hoped he would be a strong fighter who would listen and more importantly take the bulk of the credit.

Azei's smile broadened when he got the OK to keep watch outside the third floor prison. Kuma would regret "escaping" but, of course, the Firebender wouldn't be able to snuff out the actor's life as he so badly wanted to. Unfortunately, he was an instrumental part in bringing the Resistance down.

So, not only had Tang been hastily promoted, but even he didn't want it. This would make for some interesting dynamics within the group as he'd been grouped with a still-Lieutenant and a woman who was overstepping her boundaries constantly. Speaking of which...

The woman in question stomped over and knocked his tray out of his hand; while he fumed silently, she took the liberty of not only telling them what to do (or, at least her best attempt at it), but also to introduce a creature that he would have sooner toasted than let it roam around the prison. If she wasn't as skilled as he'd read in the General's note, then there would be some repercussions.

And I don't believe you've had the honor of my fist upside your head, he thought darkly before regarding the strange animal.

"Charmed," he said dryly, turning his attention back to the group as Tang explained what was going on, then produced a group of normal-looking people. Although he was unimpressed, he had a feeling that they were more than they seemed, especially given their name.

"Well, she has a shark-thing and you have your Wraith Squadron...and I have a few tricks up my sleeve," he said simply before picking up another tray. That bitch had tossed the other one to the side, and he needed to have a full stomach before he fought.

"Oh, and I'll have the blood for you before he escapes," he commented over his shoulder as he eyed the food on his tray warily.

“We're moving tonight…” Not good enough, her disapproval evident as she shuffled impatiently in her place. The other two members of her squad were out there possibly in battle, but don’t mistake this for Naomi being worried about them, no, she just didn’t want to miss out on the fun. There was little Naomi liked more than cutting up some people and feeding them to her shark. Ah… good times.

“My way it is.” Naomi spoke quickly after everyone was done – Kugi Tang introducing his troops and Kai foolishly taking another tray. The thought of her placing his severed head on one of those trays and giving it to Retsu brought a psychotic smirk to the young woman’s face, one in which observers would dread to even think as to what sort of thoughts it belonged to. “I hope you know how to stuff that shit talking mouth of yours quickly, Captain. And Tang, make sure your boy scouts are ready. I’m starting this now.”

With that, Naomi turned and left in the direction of the holding cells. Retsu moved to guard the space she had walked, daring anyone to try stop her. Once Naomi found the cell where the earthbender was being held, she approached the single guard that was keeping watch. “Good evening, ma’am,” the guard greeted her. “Isn’t it?” she replied in an uncharacteristic like seductive voice. Though, if only this poor soldier knew exactly what Naomi considered a good evening, then maybe he would have suspected what was about to happen to him.

Placing a hand on one of his shoulders, Naomi circled around him till she was at his back. The man was certainly no giant, making it easy for Naomi to lean forwards and gently breath against his neck as she began to whisper, “A perfect night for my blade to taste blood.” Her eyes flicked up, spotting the earthbender in the cell directly in front of them as she swiftly brought her dagger across the man’s throat. Removing his helmet, Naomi grabbed a fist full of his hair and jerked his head backwards with an eerie snap of the spine. Blood flowed from the soldier’s windpipe like a hose, which she sprayed all over the captive earthbender. Naomi then removed the cell keys from the man’s waist and threw them into the cell, “Your friends need you,” she told him and quickly left to make her way back downstairs.

Once she returned to lower level with everyone else she proudly announced, “He has the keys to the cell, so I expect our friend should be escaping any time now. Are you finished eating yet Xian?”

Kazanko stood rather idly as the battle unfolded, his sword still drawn at the ready as his cold blue eye watched things unfold. Knives and rocks… everything seemed to be flying towards his giantsword wielding ally, but he had been in pickles like this before, usually making it out with little more than a shallow flesh wound, but then again the one eyed waterbender or crazy shark rider was usually there to help him out. Now that he thought about it… things seemed a little unfair.

"AUuuugh! No seriously! What was that! Who does that! For the love of Wa Shi Tong! I'm going to decapitate you and shine my shoes with your BLOOD"

Oh boy… Maybe it would be best if he stepped in now. The waterbender bent his knees, lowering his right hand down to the opening of his large water skin that rested on the small of his back, but before he could execute the quick and fluid motion required to lay down a thick mist cover, mist appeared. Kazanko hesitated, his eye darting about looking for what might have caused the mist to appear. That’s right; he wasn’t the only waterbender in this little group, as he often was. Once more he started to relax, that was of course, until Kyozuki rushed headlong into the foreboding haze.

“Kyozuki!” the panicked water bender shouted as he rushed after the girl. He knew all too well what that damn Van was capable of when he was cornered, and what exactly the foolish Water Tribe girl had in mind, he wasn’t exactly sure, but he wasn’t about to just sit around and let her get cut in two.



Why the hell were the others stepping in? Did they think he needed there help? No way! He was the Lightning Knuckle! He was more than enough to handle this freak and his, obviously, compensatively large sword. He didn’t need circus’s help, and he definitely didn’t want it! This bastard made him still his soup, and he would be the one to make him pay!

Without another thought, Koji rushed the man, not really noticing the silvery glint of Masato’s knives as they streaked passed him. So when the giantsword wielder started shouting and cursing he couldn’t help but stop mid charge, his raised fists hesitantly dropping down to his side as the man rolled about the ground shouting and complaining about the knife lodged into his leg. Was this for real? “Hey…” Koji hesitantly started as he watched the man curse Circus. “Hey you piece of crap stand up!” The boxer shouted angrily, one of his hands pointing at the odd swordsman. Then before anything else could really happen, a thick mist fell over the two, leaving Koji relatively blind and lost.

“What the hell! You guys stay out of this!” The frustrated young boxer shouted as watched a new figure appear in the mist. Then something rather odd happened. There was a familiar blue light glowing through the thick mist, and the sound of the one eyed waterbender’s shout alerted the boxer as to who had joined the fray. The glow shook about, as if latched to something that was struggling against it, and before he knew it, it vanished… and the mist soon cleared, revealing a victorious Kyozuki. “What the…” Was all that came out of the stunned fighter’s mouth, his blue eyes watched carefully as the healer went over to the cooking pit and simply laid down on the floor, by the looks of things, One eye was just as confused as he was. “Tch… you worthless crap… Don’t think this is over… soon as you wake up we are going to have a go…”



What in the name of Twi and La? Was Van defeated… by her? Well, there was no other explanation as to why the big bastard was sprawled out unconscious on the ground.

The waterbender sheathed his sword and made his way over to his downed comrade’s side, so that he stood over him. “Tch… beat by an inexperienced waterbender huh?” He gave the unconscious earthbender a slight nudge with his foot before he turned his attention over to Kyozuki. “That was incredibly foolish you know? He could have split you straight down the middle…” He reminded her, his voice stern and carrying a bit of a scolding tone in it as he approached the tired girl. “But I have to say… that was rather impressive… a move like that shows a lot of potential.”

Kyozuki looked up vaguely as a pair of voices spoke near her. She looked up at the upside-down faces of Masato and...

"Hello Kazanko" she said, her voice tinged with a sad uneasiness. Her face twitched into a smile. "You know" she continued, "I think that's the first time I've used your name." For a while she considered Kazanko, then switched her attention to Masato. "Thank-you" she said, giving him a proper smile. For a while she lay there. Then, bringing her arms in, she pulled herself up. Turning on the spot, she tucked her legs into a sideways sitting position, right hand on her lap while her right supported her weight. She sat there for a time, looking at the floor. Then, looking down at her water skin, she drew a small glob of water out with her right hand. "It's funny" she commented as she held the water above her hand, flexing her fingers to swirl the water around, "I've always thought I'd never be able to fight because I was a healer - I'm not a strong waterbender, so how could I hold my own in a battle?" Kyozuki tensed her fingers into an angular shape, freezing the ball of water into a solid chunk of ice. "But that's not the key, is it?" she asked, looking up at the two waterbenders as the lump of ice fell into her hand. "Strength isn't the most important thing to being a waterbender. It's control, isn't it?"

Turning her attention back to the lump of ice, Kyozuki sat up straight, both hands swirling around it in firm, confident motions. "I've been practising waterbending a lot since I left the North" she said, slipping into her habit of talking while bending. "Nothing specific, just pulling the water into abstract shapes." She gave a short "hmmph" of amusement. "Who'd have thought it would be so useful?" She continued to bend the lump of ice, smoothing out the surface and turning it into a perfect sphere. "And now..." Kyozuki twirled her hands in a spiral, making the sphere rise up into the air, spinning like a top, before thrusting her hands down at the ground. The sphere shot down, slamming into the earth and sending dust flying in all directions as it slowed to a stop. Twirling one hand and making a lifting gesture, Kyozuki brought the sphere up, revealing the spherical dent in the ground.

"Now, I wouldn't have thought I could do that" she said, melting the water and drawing it back into the flask. "I know how much force I can put into a move like that - and it's not much. It'd break a window, maybe, but definitely wouldn't make a dent that size on its own. But because I know how to put that much spin into something..." Kyozuki smiled again - this time the kind of smile that spills out when one is caught off guard by how happy they are. "I can do it" she said, looking up at the two men, eyes glittering. "It won't be traditional combat waterbending, but it could work - no, I'll make it work. I'll - oh sorry" Kyozuki blushed and hunched her head into her shoulders, looked sideways in embarrasment. "I'm probably making you uncomfortable going on about learning to fight, aren't I?"

He smiled back at her as she thanked him. He watched, enthralled, as she gently moved the water around with his fingers. He was incredibly jealous of her talent. It was beautiful, and, as could be seen by looking at the unconscious mercenary on the ground, very useful. The fact that she hadn't been using it to fight before this surprised him. Had he had her abilities, he would have been using them for protection as soon as he could learn how. But Kyozuki didn't seem like the fighting type. Maybe that had been holding her back. Well, whatever it was, it was relaxing its control now, and that was definitely a good thing.

He was amazed at how the enchanting sphere of ice could be so powerful just by being spun. Kyozuki was very skilled, even if she herself didn't completely get that yet. When she blushed and spoke of making him and Kazanko uncomfortable, he laughed. "Why would that make us uncomfortable? If anything, it's refreshing to be able to listen to someone talk about fighting. I haven't been able to do that for a while. Your bending is a fantastic talent, and the fact that you're learning to use it to defend yourself is great. I'm sure soon you'll be an outstanding fighter."

“He has the keys to the cell, so I expect our friend should be escaping any time now. Are you finished eating yet Xian?”

The Captain Kugi had replaced took bad news with murder. Anger was typical of the higher-ups when something went wrong. Therefore, after being stationed to the Qilin the crew were slightly unnerved when their lieutentant always took things with sigh of resignation and minor complaining.
"Well...that's....inconvienent. Squad! If you lose him and he causes any trouble...you know."
Kugi Tang had no stomach for torture. Being once captured and tortured by the Earth Kingdom hard forever turned him off of the idea. As punishment was concerned he liked swift executions as a motivational tool. Personal affronts or even harsh inconvienences were another matter. His crew didn't know how he dealt with such things just that certain shipmates would disappear. This escaped prisoner had now turned into something serious. There was an unspoken agreement that if they didn't find him the smart thing would be to run and never come back.

The ten men and women dispersed while Kugi rubbed his temple with the middle and index fingers of his right hand.
"Naomi...please tell me at the very least you have that man's scent."


Kuma spent nearly thirty seconds staring at his open cell door after removing his shackles with the keys the strange Fire Nation woman had given him. She didn't seem to be regular military. A disgruntled mercenary? An avid fan of his performances? It didn't matter. Even if was all just a trap they had just signed their own death warrants as far as he was concerned. He walked down the corridor like a man who hadn't just been chained to the wall. He looked inside of each cell to place faces with the voices he practiced with.
"Seriously, if you step on my lines again, I'll kill you." With a grin Kuma went about setting free every prisoner in Kugi Tang's wing of actors and musicians.
Only three people even made it to the end of the hall alive. The man who stepped on his lines and the old woman who had trouble projecting her voice weren't amoung those people.
The three survivors wisely surrendered.

The killer could have been a cabbage merchant for all Kuma knew. No uniform, just a common, buttoned shirt with overly long sleeves much like Kuma's old coat. When the average looking man struck at him Kuma found it wasn't burned hands he was hiding but insanely sharp finger nails beneath the folds of his shirt. On closer inspection as the nails clawed his cheek Kuma noticed they were sharpened metal. In his military days he had heard of some ripping the fingernails out of Fire Nation prisoners.
He meant to say something clever and devastating to the clawed man, but only a vague mumble emerged from his mouth. It was a professional actor's nightmare. The words that were so clear in his mind became muddy and indistinguishable once they exited his mouth.

Kuma's vision took the same route as his voice as the man he was fighting was now replaced by some sword-fingered demon. He'd never admit it to anyone but he was startled. Men didn't turn into demons. It made no sense.
If all of his senses had worked in conjunction he would have noticed a smell familiar from the days in his old division.
On the days there were no plays and no money to be spent at the local brothel Kuma drank with his comrades. If his mind weren't currenly in a haze he would have placed the smell to the shots of watered-down cactus juice they would dare one another to drink.

There more slashes and the more pure cactus juice seeping into the cuts from the metal fingernails the more desperate Kuma became. He did something he'd long ago swore he would never do. He ran. He plowed through the demon with the sword fingers and ran along the Nan Shan river where he grew up. How it suddenly appeared in a Fire Nation prison he didn't know or particularly care. He ran until his lungs hurt and his broken ankle threatened to literally break off.

Kugi laughed at the reports of an insanely large and just plain insane man roaming the halls.
"At least something went according to plan...sort of. Captain Azei, would you like the honor of ushering our guide to the resistance off the premises?"

((Okay, I'm finally posting with Kai again. It's been too long.))

Rather than show on his face, the surge of anger he felt at Naomi taking charge of the situation manifested itself as his fork dropping from his hand. Who the hell did she think she was, ruining a perfectly good plan? Did she have any foresight at all, or did she just charge headfirst into any situation without thinking of the consequences? She was no strategist, that was for sure, and if she ruined things any further, she'd find herself out of New Ozai quicker than she could say the city's name; he'd make sure of that. After all, she had to sleep sometime.

As much as he would have loved to sear the flesh off of that shark thing (as tough as it looked, he doubted even it would survive a full-on fire stream), he picked his fork up again and started eating, but not quickly, like that bitch had suggested. He wasn't going to let her ruin his meal, at least.

She came back, talking big as he'd become accustomed to, and with a triumphant look on her face, at that. A small smile played at his lips when Tang asked her if she had managed to get the scent, because it didn't look as if she had; however, a quick look at her belt told him otherwise.

"I hope that spatter of blood on your dagger is enough for your little pet to track him," he commented, taking another bite of food. He stopped eating, however, when Tang asked him to make sure the Earthbender got outside.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied, smiling. He hadn't taken his helmet off since he'd arrived at the prison, and the face mask he used to cover the front hung from a strap tied around his belt. He got up, leaving his tray, and put the mask on as he ran out of the room. The guards who had reported Kuma's "escape" told him where the prisoner was, and he nodded, continuing to run.

Left, right, straight, left...the hallways flew by but soon, he caught up to Kuma. If memory served, they were almost to the exit, but it looked like the Earthbender was going to take a wrong turn at a junction. Taking a deep breath, he flattened his hands and put them parallel to the wall, shooting a fan of flame out. The fire spread along the wall and got there just before Kuma, effectively blocking the opening to the next hall.

---

The mist cleared and when it did, the attacker lay on the ground due, in all parts, to Kyozuki. She had managed to subdue the man by suffocating him with water; a move Kai had never even thought of. He didn't have her pegged for the kind of bender that would be able to use something like that so effectively in battle, and it turned out that underestimating her had been a a good thing. It meant that her performing advanced techniques would only serve to impress him, especially considering he'd grown up in the North.

Kazanko, the traitorous bastard, and Masato were congratulating her, but he was more interested in listening to her talk about her combat skills. It sounded like she was working on creating her own bending techniques, and it seemed like she had a good grasp on what she was talking about. Perhaps she would be able to work on it, but she'd at least need to know the basics of the traditional styles before she could do something like that. Maybe his role in the group wasn't just the burglar who occasionally did things to save their butts.

Then again, why would Kyozuki want to learn from him? After all, he'd gone and gotten himself expelled from Master Pakku's academy, and all because of a stupid incident. Sure, he'd had a lot more freedom after he'd "left," but he hadn't been able to continue his education, and that somehow made him feel not qualified at all to teach anyone. He settled for standing at the back of the group, listening to their conversation.

A waxing moon hung above Omashu allowing a modicum of light in through the window and illuminating her porcelain skin. The night air was cool but their combined heat made Ji sweat lightly. He lay on his right, body position a near copy of Rumi. Mere inches separated them. Her breathing had just begun to slow enough to suggest sleep, now little more than an intermittent soft sigh, creating a subtle rhythm his increasingly tired body subconsciously attempted to mimic. She was beautiful, and he his now healed hand down the elegant profile of her side, once again showing his appreciation for her figure. His right arm was curled across his own chest, a habit learned in a previous life to avoid waking with a numb arm. Her dark hair was disheveled, and completely natural, spreading out across her moon-lit back and the small pillow that supported her head.

He wanted to grab her by the hips and pull her playfully against himself. Then tell her everything on his mind. But knew first hand how exhausted she must be, and felt no desire to incur her wrath. "You'll never know the debt I owe you sweet girl." His voice was a low whisper, hoping not to stir her. "Because tonight for the first time, it felt good to be alive again." He found a bare spot where her milky moonlit skin showed through the dark hair over her neck, and gently brushed his lips against it. With her, now, Ryusei Katoken was no longer relevant, he wasn't needed or missed, because Ji was willing to take up the charge of this girls protection.

Ji had run her a bath earlier, and she had healed her sun-burnt skin, the result being a breath taking perfection that was smooth as porcelain to the touch. The first round of love-making had been painful on both parties, an exercise in pure passion with little rational thought involved. Concurrent rounds had been preformed with clearer heads and treated wounds.

Ji shifted closer against her curved body, reaching for her hand and gently clasping her slender fingers in his own. Their legs entwined and he was overflowing with contentment. "Love is a fickle mistress," he mused. "Who am I to deny her whims? I might love you Rumi Lee, if I'm not your kind, don't tell a soul."

Moments later he was asleep, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"I'm probably making you uncomfortable going on about learning to fight, aren't I?"

It was just like back then, back when he was still with his sister. The pale green of the cave lights quickly vanished, as did the dark gloom that shrouded him, leaving the one eyed bender outside, his feet slightly sunken in the thick powdery snow and entirely surrounded by the familiar cold of the North. She stood not five feet away from him, her large blue eyes staring up at him as he went about his daily practice “Kado, why aren’t girls allowed to fight?”

"Why would that make us uncomfortable?” The scar riddled knife thrower began, his voice causing a bit of irritation to the waterbender as he snapped out of his little flashback. He let out a weighty sigh as he listened to the man talk to the girl, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the way this smug little fool talked. ‘I’m sure you’ll be an outstanding fighter. What a sap…’ His thoughts mocked, before he looked over at the man’s sickeningly cheery face, shuddering a bit at his cheesy smile before his eye fell down to the proud young waterbender sitting near the cooking pit.

No, the knife thrower was right to compliment her; the girl had shown promise, and the fact that she was so confident in her control over the element, enough so that she would charge in after Ikemi, was a testament to her stout resolve. The way she had used such a simple technique, manipulating a glob of water to gag her opponent, it certainly did shine a bright light over her. But being too confident in ones abilities, especially when one was just starting out, often lead to a quick and painful demise.

A faint little smile worked its way across the mercenary’s lips as he looked away from the young girl. She would make a fine waterbender if she kept at it; all she needed now was a guiding hand, someone who could help her refined talents grow and flourish, while at the same time giving her reason to grow.

“Don’t think that because you’re little stunt worked this time you are the next Pakku.” He reminded the girl, his tone rather mocking while his faint smile quickly dissolved, and that stern expression of his returned. “Your technique was simple, so much so that even a child could do it.” What he said was true, a child could in fact control a bit of water, what he failed to mention however was how she had controlled it, that was what had shown the girls worth “and like I’ve said before, it was foolish….” He turned away from the girl and the rest of the group, folding his arms across his chest as he took a few steps away.

“You’ll need a master if you want to rely on your skill rather than luck, someone who can teach you what to do with all that talent and control.” He ended as he slowly looked over his shoulder and back at Kyozuki, hoping she would pick up the hint…

Kyozuki gave an embarrassed sort of smile at Masato's words, feeling pleased with herself. A feeling that was soon cut down when Kazanko started talking.

"Don't think that because your little stunt worked this time, you're the next Pakku" he reprimanded. Kyozuki's smile vanished in an instant, her sunny mood deflated by the jibe.

“Your technique was simple, so much so that even a child could do it. And like I’ve said before, it was foolish.” Kyozuki put up a hand, opening her mouth to defend herself, but Kazanko had already turned away, folding his arms. Kyozuki let her arm fall limply to her side, bowing her head to hide her angry tears. She should have known. She should have known better than to let her guard down in front of a waterbender. And now all her previous enthusiasm and euphoria had dried up.

“You’ll need a master if you want to rely on your skill rather than luck, someone who can teach you what to do with all that talent and control."

Kyozuki was so wrapped up in self-admonition that it took a while for Kazanko's last sentence to fall into place. Once the penny dropped, Kyozuki opened her eyes, mouth slightly agape. Talent? Control? Had he just?... He couldn't mean...

She looked up at Kazanko, her face showing her transparent surprise. "Are you...?" she began in a hushed voice. She got to her feet, not taking her gaze off Kazanko. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Huh.. Once again he was all by himself while the others gathered around the cooking pit. Did he smell bad or something? Ah no, that couldn’t be it, sure he smelled a little funky, but they all did, they had been down in this hole for weeks, only going up and out to use the bathroom and gather food stuffs. Koji sighed a bit as he looked down at the seemingly unconscious earthbender, who was so amusingly sprawled out on the floor only a few feet away from him. “Someone really should keep an eye on you…” The young boxer muttered as he stroked his chin.

“But I think I’d actually prefer that you wake up, seeing as how everyone kind of stepped into our fight…” Damn Circus… damn Kai… why the hell did they have to go and step in like that? He had things under control; he could’ve taken this guy all on his own… no problem “Tch”

As much as he disliked being alone, someone really did have to watch over this soup spilling piece of trash, and if that someone was him then so be it… Koji turned away from the unconscious earthbender, and starred off at what seemed like the happy group. Kyozuki was the well deserved center of attention, being complimented by the others for the little stunt she’d pulled on this guy. She had taken his fight away from him… but he couldn’t really be mad at her, hell she had shown real guts, and he couldn’t help but smile a bit as she watched her spin that little glob of water.

A second later he plopped down, his rear landing heavily on the downed swordsman’s back. “You know for a sack of crap, you sure do make a nice little seat…” He jokingly said as he rested his elbows on his knees and propped his head up with his right arm, only to go back to people watching and careful listening.

It was while that Kazamato guy was talking to Kyo that he noticed her proud little smile vanish, and it was then that the boxer felt the stirrings of anger swirling about his stomach, and his jaw clenched. The bastard was making fun of her?! Koji had half the mind to get up and smack him clean across the face, but the situation changed as he walked away, Kyozuki’s head perked up once more, and all Koji did was sit and watch as he sat, guarding the soup spilling swordsman.



The surprised look on her face was a welcomed sight, definitely more so than the one he had created not but a few moments ago. The usually cold and uncaring waterbender had to fight back the pleased little smile that tried to sneak across his face as the girl stood up to her feet, questioning what he had said to her. The look on her face and slight gleam of surprise in her eyes brought back even more memories of his distant past, more images of a happier time in his life.

No he couldn’t let her see him smiling; he couldn’t let any of them see him smiling. He gave his head a bit of a shake before he looked around at the other members of this sorry excuse for a resistance. If he went and showed them something as humanizing as a genuine smile, then they all might go and think he was their little friend or something. No way, that was definitely not the case. This girl, Kyozuki, he found her interesting and that was the only reason for his being here. He could honestly care less about the others; they could all go die in a fire and he wouldn’t be the slightest bit bothered.

He turned his head away from her once more, shutting his eye as he nodded in response to her question. “If you think that I’m offering you my tutelage then yes… That is what I’m saying.”

"Naomi...please tell me at the very least you have that man's scent."

Well, it seemed all eyes were on Naomi at that point. She had been the one to step up and actually get things started, as unplanned and unorganized as it was. Whether her actions were foolish as some would have thought it didn’t matter now, it was done and it was brilliant. Naomi eyed every man in the room, wondering if they had the balls to do what she had just done, her eyes finally rested on Captain Xian, she doubted it. Then turning her attention back to Tang, she answered his question with an action. Naomi lifted her hands, crimson palms highlighting her victory, wriggling her fingers a little, making sure they all saw how it was her that got things done. “Of course,” she said confidently and then stepped back towards the shark, smudging the blood over Retsu’s nostrils.

“I’ll release Retsu once you return and inform us that the Earthbender has found his way outside…” she called to Azei as he left.

The room was silent, still, like the calm after a violent storm. Villagers would return to the open from the safety of their houses to observe the damage – how many homes needed repairing, what number of cattle had been scared away and what condition were the rice fields left in? Rumi’s eyes slowly drifted open, having to blink a few times to clear her blurred vision, and then, much like those villagers, she observed the state of the room. It was almost like a cyclone containing various items of clothing had hit the room, scattering apparel in all directions.

As the young woman shifted in the bed, the presence of the other became obvious. Ji was close behind her, his body reflecting the position of her own. Rumi turned to face the man, looking over his sleeping face that glowed in the morning light, a smile slowly blooming. She then shifted close enough to place her head against his chest, closer to his shoulder, and her thoughts then drifted into the events that had occurred the day and night just past.

It had been the first, second, third and fourth time Rumi had ever been with a man on such a physical level. Initially it was certainly awkward, not knowing exactly how to position herself, but as the lovers continued their bodies moved as one. From the way the drunken men used to speak to Rumi back during her time in Ba Sing Se, she had not expected this action to be so tender. He was gentle with her at first, but by the end had left her completely exhausted. Though this exhaustion was not the kind one would succumb to after being tortured and starved for two weeks, it was an exhaustion of satisfaction.

As the sun got brighter and the room filled with more light, Rumi guessed it was time to get up. It would be best if the two went and returned to the other resistance members. Rumi wanted make sure they were all OK, and also let them know that Ji and herself were also alive. Before this, however, Rumi wanted to get her kimono and vines that she had left at the whore house.

The plant bender rose from the bed and began searching for her clothes around the room. Once collected, she dressed and returned to the side of the bed. She leaned down to the sleeping man and spoke softly in his ear, “It’s time to wake up…” she paused waiting for him to stir, “get dressed and collect your things, we are leaving. I’ll be downstairs waiting for you.”

Downstairs Rumi greeted the old woman and thanked her for letting them stay at her house for the short time they were there. She then stepped out the front door and waited for Ji to join her.