[tag: Zombi]

He’d always been a fan of trains. There was something about watching them come in, pick up or drop off people, and leave, that fascinated him. It was one of the activities Takeo could manage without getting distracted by anything and everything that caught his eye. Whenever he was feeling overwhelmed by the hurricane of thoughts whizzing around in his brain, the Waterbender came to the Station to relax. He always got weird looks from passers-by—apparently seeing a man standing completely still watching the trains unnerved them—but no one bothered him . The Station’s workers had been suspicious of him when he’d first started showing up to watch the trains, but had elected to leave him alone when it became obvious to them that he meant no harm to anyone. One of them even helped him find his way home when it got dark and he couldn’t remember which streets to take—a frequent occurrence. All in all, this was one of his favorite spots in the city, and he spent much time here.

Of course, the Station was not without its dangers, and Takeo had heard frequent warnings about the various vagrants and vagabonds who prowled the place looking for money to steal. The man wasn’t worried, though. They were only warnings after all. Surely no one would be so evil as to want to take someone else’s stuff from them by force. And of course he couldn’t be in any danger. All he did was watch the trains go by, doing absolutely no harm to anyone else. Why would anyone want to bother with him? Usually, people were busy telling him to stop talking or go away. The idea that someone might actively seek him out, for any purpose, would never occur to him.

It was his combination of naiveté and single-minded focus on the trains that made Takeo an easy mark. In fact, he didn’t even notice as a small hand reached into his pocket from behind. By the time he realized something was amiss, the owner of that hand was gone, as was his money. The Waterbender glanced around wildly, a cry of shock escaping his lips as he felt around in his now empty pocket, bewildered. Someone had stolen from him!

He was too confused to be angry. Someone had taken his money. Who would do such a horrible thing? He hadn’t been bugging anyone. He’d just been doing what he normally did. So why would anyone want to steal from him? Was it someone he’d annoyed before, holding a grudge? There were plenty of people who could fit that description, but he couldn’t imagine any of them doing something so evil. His money was gone. He’d been saving up, too. The Waterbender had been entertaining the notion of getting a pet—his apartment was so boring with just him living there—and had been setting aside a portion of each of his recent paychecks for when he eventually decided what sort of animal he wanted to buy. Now, though, that plan would have to be put on hold, perhaps indefinitely. Why were some people so mean?

Frustrated and a little sad, Takeo flopped down next to the statue of Fire Lord Zuko, staring at the ground. What was he supposed to do now? He knew he was supposed to tell someone when stuff like this happened—the police, or one of the Station workers, someone who could help—but by now the thief was probably long gone with his money. The man sighed.

”This sucks.”

[tag: Tenshio]

Normally, Park Jin Ho did not work the train station. Normally, he never even set foot in Central City Station, in fact, as he did not ever take the train or any other form of vehicular transport. He had just so happened to get his shift switched with another officer, one who'd begged him to take it because his wife was having a baby. Jin Ho knew he was too nice at the best of times and downright easy to take advantage of at the worst, but how could he say no when asked to cover for something like that? As it was, he'd agreed and so found himself working an eight hour beat in one of the last places he'd ever have volunteered.

His long braid was as neat and perfect as usual, a four-strand that day instead of a three. It was tucked down inside his pristine uniform, every inch of him perfectly in place. Jin Ho liked to make sure he was representing the police force appropriately, and part of that included being neat, clean, and orderly. Park Jin Ho was a very orderly person, for the most part, though that particular day he did find himself fighting the urge to toy with his hair out of boredom.

It had been a relatively quiet day — as most probably had been since Amon's announcement. It seemed that less people than usual had come through, and Jin Ho hadn't had much to do. He didn't exactly mind, but when he was running on little sleep and much-despised coffee, action to keep him awake would have been helpful. As it was, he was clock-watching to see how slowly the last thirty minutes could creep by.

This sucks.

Jin Ho paused in his walking, hearing a sigh from a dejected-looking young man sitting near the statue of Lord Zuko. He made his way closer, noting that the young man looked like a Waterbender. Very messy hair. Standing boot-to-boot with the seated young man, he cleared his throat. "Ah," he said, looking down, "can I help you?" The poor guy looked very down. Had he lost something, perhaps?

[tag: Zombi]

He needed to figure out what to do next. He’d never been good at planning things out and the best of times, and now…he had no chance. His money was gone, stolen, and though he would make it back eventually as long as he kept his job, but he still couldn’t understand how it had happened in the first place. He’d never been robbed before, and just didn’t know what to do now that he had been. To be honest, he wasn’t even that upset about the loss of money. At this point, he just wanted to know who had stolen from him. If whoever it was had needed money, they could have just asked, and he probably would have given them some. Takeo liked being nice to people, and thought everyone else was the same way. Apparently, he was wrong.

The Waterbender looked up when a voice reached him. A pair of boots met his own, and his eyes traveled up them to find their owner, realizing that he was looking at a cop. That was good. Maybe this man could help him figure out what to do. When the cop offered assistance, he nodded, pushing himself to a standing position. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to explain his situation.

”Um, well, I was watching the trains—I do that a lot—and while I was doing that I wasn’t paying attention to stuff around me—I do that a lot too—and someone stole my money out of my pocket. I don’t know who it was or where they went. I’ve never been robbed before, and I’m not sure what to do now. I know you’re supposed to go to the police when stuff like this happens, and I guess I’m doing that now, but I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say or how you can help me when I don’t know what happened or who did it.” He paused as he realized the state of things. ”So, uh, I guess you can’t actually help me. Sorry…”

Now he felt bad. He was wasting this man’s time, and the guy already looked like his patience was wearing thin. The Waterbender sighed again. His life was usually so simple. He went to work, ate, and slept, with occasional outings. He wasn’t good at dealing with change, and this was more complicated than anything he’d had to deal with in recent memory. If this police officer couldn’t help him, maybe he could at least tell him what to do next.

[tag: Tenshio]

Jin Ho smiled patiently as the young man looked up at him, but he realized quickly that this was a very... talkative... person. He tried to appear reassuring as the young man poured his problem upon him in a rambling and roundabout way.

”So, uh, I guess you can’t actually help me. Sorry…”

The policeman blinked. "It seems that you've been victim of a very good pickpocket," he said, an apology in his voice. There was no tracking down the thief now, not really. If he hadn't even seen them, Jin Ho had nothing to go on. "You didn't see anything at all?" There were too many people in a train station to question, and that never ended well, anyway. It was a pity. This young man was probably new to the city — everyone knew that a person could easily get their pockets picked if they weren't careful and it wasn't hard science to determine that a body had to be on their guard in the train station.

Jin Ho's relief showed up to be reported off to, and he waved at the man. "I'm sorry," he told the Waterbender, "but it does seem like I can't do anything to help. We can file a report, if you like, but I'm afraid without any description that it won't get anywhere. Did you lose a lot of money?" Perhaps he could buy dinner for this fellow to console him. It would be hard, he felt, to be alone in the city and lose everything out of one's pocket. In fact, after talking about how much the man had lost, Jin Ho offered just that. He needed to report off to the new officer coming on, but then he was free and he didn't mind having dinner with someone.

He needed to make more friends, anyway.

[tag: Zombi]

The policeman was smiling, which was encouraging. Maybe he had been wrong, and the man could help him after all. He had always heard that cops were excellent at solving pretty much any problem that came their way. Perhaps this man would prove that to be true.

The man said that he had been stolen from by a good pickpocket, and Takeo nodded slightly, not too sure about that. Sure, the thief might have been good at what they did, but he was also never as attentive as he should be to anything. Seriously focusing was hard for him, and it was likely that the pickpocket had just taken advantage of that. Why waste time searching for a target when there he was just waiting to be robbed? Over the years, the Waterbender had gotten into the habit of blaming himself for most of the trouble in his life, whether that made sense or not, and this occasion was no different.

Takeo shook his head to confirm that he hadn’t seen anything. ”Nope. I looked around when I noticed my money was gone, but there were too many people around to figure out who took it. And whoever it was, they’ve probably left by now. I would, ‘specially since you’re here.” He indicated the man’s uniform to show what he meant.

The cop waved to another member of the police, then turned back to him, saying pretty much what he had expected. Even so, the Waterbender’s face fell a little. There was nothing they could do to get his money back. The option of filing a report was tempting, but the officer had made it clear that it would be of little use, so it might be best not to bother. He could answer the question of how much had been lost, though.

”Um, it was a little less than a hundred yuans,” he muttered. ”I probably shouldn’t have been carrying so much in my pocket, huh?” His coworker had told him as such many times, but he’d never expected anything like this to happen to him. But now, here he was with empty pockets.

The offer of a meal caught him completely off-guard, and he gaped at the cop for a bit before responding. ”Oh, that’s…I mean, it’s a great offer and all, but I probably shouldn’t just go out to eat with random strangers. I’ve done stuff like that before and gotten into trouble for it…” His speech turned into more of a mutter as he thought out loud. ”But you are a cop, and cops are supposed to be all about justice and peace and stuff like that. And my money’s already gone anyway.” His gaze had dropped to his feet as he thought, but now he looked back at the officer. ”But aren’t you busy? I don’t want to bother you. I kind of have a reputation for getting on people’s nerves.”

[tag: Tenshio]

"Well I'm awful sorry to tell you," Jin Ho said, "but I don't think I can help you much at all. Except to feed you dinner." He stared as the young man said he had been carrying a little less than a hundred yuans. Seriously? In the train station? What kind of idiot —
Well, now that wasn't very charitable. Jin Ho reminded himself that not everyone had grown up in the city and maybe this young man hadn't been informed of the needs of city folk. The guy looked so sad! It reminded him of puppies.

"I am getting off work," Jin Ho pointed out. "And like you already said, I am a cop, and therefore pretty trustworthy." He grinned. "See? Can't you tell?" He paused. "Want me to lecture you about carrying too much money?" It seemed like he needed it. "Look, I'll just report off to my replacement and then buy you some cheap dinner you won't feel bad about eating. Since I can't otherwise protect or serve you today. Okay?"

I kind of have a reputation for getting on people’s nerves.

Oh! Poor thing! Jin Ho laughed. "That's okay, I have a reputation for being easy to get along with," he said. "And rule-abiding. Just — buckets of rule-abiding here." He held out a hand. "Park Jin Ho. I'll be off duty in just a few minutes." He still couldn't believe this kid's parents had let him out in the city without telling him not to walk around with crazy amounts of money in his pockets.

Jin Ho went to talk to his replacement, going over the lazy day and the uncaught pickpocket. Maybe this officer could keep an eye out for a small thief. It was likely to be a child or a smaller person, easily able to slip through crowds. The other man was more used to this beat than he was and waved him off, nodding. He'd take care of whatever he found, and Jin Ho was glad he didn't work the train station again. He hadn't enjoyed the experience. He pulled his hair out of his uniform and headed back over to the young Waterbender. "So?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

[tag: Zombi]

This policeman was really nice. He didn’t even know Takeo, and yet he was offering to buy him dinner. That was strange, but the man made it pretty clear that it wasn’t that much of a burden on him. And he did agree that being a cop made him trustworthy. If you couldn’t trust a cop, who could you trust? Takeo had never been a great judge of character, but police were the most righteous people you could ever meet—or so he’d heard. The Waterbender nodded in agreement with the officer’s assessment of himself, though he was still unsure whether or not to accept the offer of a meal.

The policeman introduced himself, and Takeo shook the offered hand, managing a small smile despite his current situation. I’m Takeo Maeda. Nice to meet you.” The man was seeming more and more trustworthy with every word that left his mouth. They might not know each other at all, but Jin Ho was quickly becoming someone Takeo liked.

Then, the cop left to talk to his replacement. Takeo watched as he did, his eyes fixated on the officers’ uniforms. He’d never had any interest in being a police officer—nor did he think he’d be allowed to join the force, scatterbrained as he was—but the uniforms had always seemed really cool to him. He’d heard that some police could put on their uniforms using only their bending. That was a skill he would have liked to have.

Jin Ho returned, business concluded, and reminded the Waterbender of his offer, prompting him to make a decision. He knew he shouldn’t impose on the cop, even if he had offered to pay, but he was hungry. And with the money he’d had on him now gone, and not much food in his apartment, getting dinner on his own was going to be a difficult task. So, he nodded. ”If you’re sure about it, I’ll definitely get dinner with you.”