Soldier's Boy

Fifteen

The next few days were spent wandering with very little luck finding the girl from Aang's vision. After a week of this, they stopped in Gaoling, a fairly large town, to stock up on supplies.

"It's pricey, but… I really do like it!" Sokka said, for what felt like the billionth time, staring at a green bag displayed on a table.  Kouji, seated back-to-back with Aang by the Water Tribe siblings, grinned as he watched Lee making stabby gestures in Sokka's general direction.  The young warrior had been deliberating over the bag for nearly twenty minutes now.

"Then you should get it," Katara said, hastily. "You deserve something nice."

"I do, don't I?" Sokka said brightly, but then his face fell. "But… no… it's too expensive, I shouldn't."

"All right, then don't," Katara said, tapping Aang on the shoulder.

"Finally," Lee muttered, shoving himself away from the wall and following the others out.  Kouji scrambled to his feet and followed him.  Sokka glumly started after them, then shot back into the shop, deciding to buy the bag after all.

"Remind me," said Kouji to Lee, "which one is the girl?"

"This is why stereotypes are always wrong," he muttered back, rather than answering.

Kouji nodded and picked up a few pebbles, trying to make them rotate over his hand.  Pestering of Katara had brought out the tale of Haru and his village, and since then Kouji had been trying to copy the trick Haru seemed to favour.  Perhaps seeing this, a man slipped up to them. "Psst, hey. You kids like earthbending? You like throwing rocks? Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending Academy!" He handed Aang a flier and walked away.

Lee eyed him somewhat mistrustfully. "Any school that has to wander around handing out fliers to get students probably sucks," he muttered.

"Yeah, but we're running out of options," Kouji pointed out as Aang turned the flyer over.

"And there's a coupon on the back!" the Avatar said, excitedly. "The first lesson is free!"

"We might as well," Kouji said.  "If nothing else, I could certainly use the lesson."  He flushed.  "Maybe I can learn to, y'know, not exhaust myself."

Sokka rejoined them with his brand-new bag. "What are we talking about?"

"Earthbending lessons," Kouji said, taking Aang's wrist.  "C'mon!"  He towed the older boy after him.

They managed to nick another flier so they could have two coupons, and were shortly enrolled at Master Yu's Earthbending Academy — which, very quickly, proved to be as much of a joke as Lee warned them it would be.  Once they managed to get loaners on the Academy uniforms (being warned that they would have to purchase them if they chose to continue the lessons), they were shown to the practise ground — and found out that both of them were older than the other students.  Even Kouji was half a head taller than them.  On being ordered to take their stances, the colonist found himself being repositioned no less than three times — instinctively he'd taken the stances Ichiro had shown him years ago, which were apparently firebending stances.

Master Yu then told them to "strike as if you're punching through your opponent's head!"

Aang got thrown into a wall, while Kouji barely managed to avoid the boulder shot at him.  Master Yu approached the stunned Avatar.  "So," he asked, "Are you ready to commit to more lessons?  If you pay for the whole year in advance, I'll bump you up to the next belt!"

Kouji stared at him, then dug Aang out.  "Sorry.  We don't have time," he said politely, bowing before dragging Aang after him.  The Avatar could hear the younger boy grumbling about ranking systems and loving money more than the art and using some very unkind words in the process.

They settled down outside the Academy to wait for Sokka, Katara, and Lee — who'd gone off to finish buying the supplies Sokka's Bag had distracted them from. When the others joined them about ten minutes later, Aang sheepishly informed them that Master Yu "wasn't the one."

Lee looked remarkably unsurprised.

Kouji just grumbled and flopped on the ground next to his brother as two other students emerged from the Academy.  "I think the Boulder is gonna win back the belt at Earth Rumble Six!" declared one of them to his friend.

"He's gonna have to fight his way through the best earthbenders in the world to even get a shot at the champ," his friend replied derisively.

"Excuse me!" Aang chirped, running up to them, "but where is this earthbending tournament, exactly?"

"It's on the island of Nunya," one of the boys said, smirking. Lee, sensing the punchline coming, reintroduced his forehead to his hand. Sure enough, "Nunya business," the kid finished, snickering with his friend.

Kouji rolled his eyes as Sokka started to laugh.  "Jerks," he growled, staring after them.

"Oh, I gotta remember that one," Sokka said.

"Please, don't," Lee said, dryly. "For all our sanity's sake." Sokka glared at him.

"I'll take care of this," Katara said, squeezing Aang's shoulders. She ran after the two boys. "Hey, strong guys! Wait up!" she cooed.

Kouji looked up at Lee.  "…how badly is she gonna hurt them?"

"I don't think they'll defrost for an hour or two at least."

In the background, Sokka demanded to know why Aang had let him buy the bag, then dropped it on the ground.  Momo leapt inside, turned around, then lay down and closed his eyes.  Lee's bunny-cygnet hopped in right after him.  "To hold the animals," Kouji told Sokka with a  grin.

"Are you two ever gonna name him?" Aang asked, scritching the bunny-cygnet. "'Cause if you don't, I think we should call him Fuzzy."

"I think that's a her, actually," Lee said, quietly.

"Fluffy?" offered Kouji.

Before Lee could either shoot that down or accept it, Katara came running back. "You ready to find an earthbending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble 6!"

"How'd you get them to tell you?" Aang asked, bewildered.

"Oh, a girl has her ways," Katara replied, grinning coyly.

Yep.  She'd definitely frozen them.  Kouji shook his head and picked up Sokka's bag, slinging it over one shoulder.  "You get a time for it?"

She nodded. "It doesn't start 'til after dark."

"…How illegal is this Earth Rumble thingy?" Lee asked, suspiciously.

"I don't think it's illegal," said Kouji slowly.  "It sounds like a tournament.  Maybe it's meant for adults?"

"Probably," Sokka said, unconcerned. "Hey, give me back my bag!"

"I thought you didn't want it!" Kouji protested.

"I never said that!"

"Besides," countered the younger boy, "Momo and Fluffy are sleeping."

"Her name isn't Fluffy," Lee muttered.

"Then what is it?" Kouji asked, turning to him and forgetting the bag, which Sokka snatched away, prompting irritated squaking from the two animals.

"I don't know yet. But it's not Fluffy."

The younger boy grinned at him, then turned to Aang.  "Hey — maybe while we wait, I can show you what I know?"

"Okay!" he replied, brightening.

The two boys split away from the others to find a quiet place to practise.  "I should warn you," said Kouji in a low voice.  "My first teacher was Ichiro, so a lot of what I do is actually based in firebending."

"That's okay," Aang assured him.

Nodding, Kouji began his first attempt at teaching the Avatar.  He didn't have much luck with this — Aang appeared to have some sort of block about earthbending in general.  After an hour or so, the two boys gave up, discouraged.  "Maybe I just fail at teaching," Kouji tried to cheer Aang up.

"No, you're a good teacher, I just suck at this," the older boy said gloomily.

"No, I bend all wrong," Kouji replied.  "You probably need a real earthbender for—"

"We'd better start heading for the Rumble," Katara said, joining them. "It's outside of town and we might get lost on the way."

"All right," agreed Kouji, glancing over at Aang worriedly.  The Avatar still looked a little glum, but had brightened considerably when Katara joined them.  He'll be fine, thought the younger boy.  "Is Lee still with Sokka?

She nodded. "They're arguing about something, I forget what."

Kouji laughed and headed off to find them.  By the time he found them, they were done arguing and simply not speaking. Previous experience taught Kouji that they'd be back to normal by the next morning.  Shaking his head, the boy sat down next to Lee, who was playing with not-Fluffy, and leaned against him.

"Time to go?" his brother asked.

"Yeah," Kouji replied.  "Katara's probably cheering Aang up."

Perhaps mercifully, Lee didn't ask questions, just nodded, settled not-Fluffy back in the bag with Momo, then stood up.  Kouji led the way back to Katara and Aang, then all five of them made their way to the arena where Earth Rumble Six was being held.

The five of them were let in surprisingly easily, given that four of them were underage (two of them obviously so), and found seats in the front row.

"I wonder why no one else is sitting here?" Aang mused.

Then a giant boulder slammed into the stands less than a foot away from him.

"That answer your question? Lee asked, dryly, starting to drag Kouji several rows up.

"Lee, I'm fine!" Kouji protested.  "I can break anything that comes at us—"

"Maybe, maybe not. I'd rather not risk it." He kept dragging.  "Besides, even if you can, what happens to the pieces you break it into, hmm? Those can be almost more damaging."

"But—"

Kouji's protest was cut off by the announcer.  "Welcome to Earth Rumble Six!" the man said loudly.  "I am your host, Xīn Fù!"

Lee paused in his dragging to turn back and stare down into the arena. "…This whole thing is choreographed, isn't it."

"Probably," agreed Kouji.  "I heard a rumour some years back about a professional earthbender getting a really good career in theatre after an injury."

Lee groaned and took a seat. "I'll bet Sokka is loving this," he said, as Xīn Fù explained the rules.

"No bet.  Of course he is," Kouji replied. 

Xīn Fù leapt from the ring to a tall box out of the danger zone.  "Round One: The Boulder versus the Big Bad Hippo!"

Two very large men entered the ring, posturing and posing in slightly ridiculous ways

"Listen up, Hippo," The Boulder said, "you may be big, but you ain't bad. The Boulder's gonna win this in a landslide!"

"…drama queen," muttered Kouji, watching the Boulder's motions.

"Hippo… MAD!" screamed the even bigger man.

"Are we sure that guy isn't an actual hippo?" Lee asked, staring at the fat, four-toothed earthbender.

"Shapebending?  I thought that was just for stories," Kouji replied as the fight began.

"Seeing this guy, I almost believe it," Lee almost shouted, to be heard over the noise.

The fight was over in less than five minutes. After some impressive theatrics, The Boulder tossed the Hippo out of the ring.

Sokka was practically jumping up and down several rows below them.

When the dust had cleared, Xīn Fù shouted again.  "Next up: The Boulder versus Fire Nation Man!"

Kouji froze, his eyes going wide.  "What?"  He stood up to see better as a man wearing the colours and hairstyle of a citizen of the Fire Nation came into the ring, waving a Fire Nation banner.  Excited, the boy turned to his brother.  "Lee!  I'm not the only one!"

The older boy didn't answer, just went several shades paler, shaking a little, eyes going wide — then narrow, when the man started treating them to an off-key and obviously mocking rendition of the Fire Nation's national anthem.

That cut through Kouji's exuberance.  "…oh," he said, sitting down again and staring at his feet.

Both of them remained silent through that fight — even quicker than the previous one, and again with The Boulder coming out on top.

"…do you hear Sokka screaming down there?" Kouji asked, seeing where Fire Nation Man had landed and perking up slightly.

"Mm."

The tournament continued, with the Boulder winning by a landslide each time (and with Kouji and Lee quietly mocking the other earthbenders).  Finally, they came to the last match of the evening: "The Boulder versus your champion: the Blind Bandit!"

A tiny girl stepped into the ring, holding up a large green-and-gold belt.

"…She's going to kick his ass. Law of Narrative says so," Lee informed his brother, decisively. "And this is all choreographed, anyway."

Kouji didn't answer.  His mouth had fallen open, and he was staring at the girl, his cheeks slightly pink.

"…Kouji? Are you okay?"

Still nothing from the boy, who seemed to have eyes only for the Blind Bandit.  After a few seconds, Lee figured it out, grinned a little, and settled back to watch the Blind Bandit kick The Boulder's ass.

Which she did quite handily in two moves.

"She's amazing," whispered Kouji, ignoring the announcer needlessly declaring the Blind Bandit had won.

"Yeah, she is," Lee said. "Wonder if she's the girl from Aang's vision."

"Hope so…"  Kouji didn't seem to realise he'd said that.

Lee grinned a little, then said, teasingly, "What if she is and decides not to come with us? What will you do then?"

Dismayed, Kouji looked up at him.  "What?  But — we need to be taught!"

"Yep. Just try to remember that's the main reason we want her to come, okay?"

The boy gave him a kicked-hedgepuppy look.  "I know that."

Lee grinned, and ruffled his hair. "I know you do. Just a friendly reminder."

The announcer, meanwhile, had offered a large bag of money to anyone from the crowd willing to go against the Blind Bandit in the ring and win. Aang took him up on the offer, and was dancing around her, trying to talk.  Kouji promptly turned all his attention to the ring again. but Lee knew who he was really watching.

After a few minutes, Aang knocked the girl out of the ring with an airblast, then ran after her to try and talk to her.

"…I think that was technically cheating," Lee said, slowly. "I really, really hope that doesn't bite us in the ass later."

Kouji turned to look at him.  "Doesn't everything come back to bite us later?"

"…I'm gonna get shot again."

"I won't let that happen — hey, there they go!"  Sokka had just accepted the bag of gold and the belt from Xīn Fù.

"Let's join them, then," Lee said, standing up and offering his brother a hand.  Kouji accepted that hand, then the pair of them caught up to Aang, Katara, and Sokka.  Aang looked a little despondent, Sokka elated, and Katara torn between exasperation at her brother and concern for Aang.

"Aang?  What happened?" Kouji asked.  His cheeks were still very faintly pink.

"She told me to go away when I asked her to teach me."

"…oh," Kouji said, looking down.

"She was probably just sulking 'cause you won pretty quickly," Lee pointed out. "Give her some time to cool down. Go look for her tomorrow."

"I'm going too," the youngest of them said quickly.

"We'll all go," Katara said. "I mean, if she's going to teach you two, she'll have to come with us. And we should make sure we don't find out we can't stand each other too late."

"Yeah, that makes sense.  I guess we should go find some rooms for the night, then?" Kouji asked her.

"Good plan. Lee, did you notice any inns or anything?"

"A couple, only one in our range."

"I think our range improved," Kouji noted dryly, pointing to the bag.

"Better save that for the next time we need supplies," Lee pointed out. "Just 'cause we can afford slightly better doesn't mean we should automatically get it when we can save the money for later."

"Yeah," his brother sighed, "you're right.  Who knows when we'll have to post bail for Aang again."

Aang flushed a little. "It wasn't my fault they didn't take Water Tribe money!"

Kouji grinned at him.  "I was teasing.  I bet they'd take Water Tribe money now."

The Avatar sighed. "Where's this place you found, Lee?"

"This way. Come on."

When they had paid for their room, Kouji surprised them all by crawling into bed with Lee — something he only did when he was upset.  "Want to talk about it?" Lee asked quietly.

"I just… I should have realised.  About him, I mean."  The boy sighed.

"I should've, too," his brother pointed out quietly.

Kouji rested his forehead against Lee's breastbone.  "I just…"

"Don't worry about it. We both saw what we wanted to see."

The boy nodded and closed his eyes.

"Get some sleep," Lee advised. "It'll probably take us all day tomorrow to find that girl."

A smile crossed Kouji's face.  "Yeah…"  He nestled closer to his brother and made no further sound.

Current Location: my bed
Current Mood: sore
Tags: au, avatar, fanfic, soldier's boy