Book Three: Spirit

Disclaimer: I do not own the series Avatar: The Last Airbender, though I do own the character Kentai

This starts after Appa has been found, and Zuko and Iroh join the group. They have been running from some Earth Benders following them.

Kentai looked toward the East, his black hair hiding the arrow imprinted on his scalp, he felt a familiar aura coming from a girl about two miles ahead of him. Hmm… he thought, it’d be nice to pay her a visit, and who is she with? He couldn’t recognize the spirit auras coming from one of them. Wait a second, that boys aura feels a lot like mine, interesting. He bolted toward them, who have you met in the past year Toph, two fire benders, a water bender, a nonbender, a flying lemur, a giant bison, an Avatar… She really has grown up, I wonder if she’ll remember me?

“Aang, I feel someone coming from our left side… fast” Toph said. The footsteps of this person felt familiar to her, but who could it be?

“I see him,” said Sokka, “he’s got a sword drawn, everyone get ready” How the hell could someone move so quickly? He asked himself, maybe he’s a bender.

“He’s nearly here,” replied Zuko, getting ready to send flames toward the stranger.

“I don’t think he wants to hurt us,” said Aang, “see, he’s slowing down and he’s already put away the sword.”

“If he is an enemy it is too late to surprise him, he is nearly upon us” said Iroh. “Besides, look at that grin on his face, it almost looks as large as yours Aang.”

Iroh was right, the boy was standing in front of them now, what did it matter though, they outnumbered him, even if he was a bender.

“Hello Toph, long time no see, how has your “earth sight” improved since we last taught each other?” asked the boy.

“Wait, you know him!” Sokka yelled at Toph. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Onee-chan,” Toph squealed as she ran and hugged him, “how have you been, you ran off, and I couldn’t find you after our lesson!”

“Wait,” said Aang, “are you two related, you both have the same milky white eyes, so you’re blind, and how did you get here so fast, are you a bender?”

“Well we’re not related, but I helped teach her to use her great earth bending to “see” for a year, I am ’blind’ for lack of a better term, and I am a not just a bender but an Avatar” replied Kentai. “It’s starting to get dark, so we’d better set up camp before I answer your questions”

Toph gasped he never told me he could bend anything but earth! she thought. She broke away from the hug, “you never told me you could bend anything else!” she exclaimed.

Kentai laughed a bit. “The reasoning behind that is you weren’t as reserved then as you are now, so let’s set up camp, and we can tell each other about ourselves.”

“Whatever,” said Sokka, “traveling with you people drives me crazy.”

About an hour later after everything was set up Iroh set up a fire and put some tea on it when the newcomer Kentai began to explain his story.

“What did you mean when you said that you were an Avatar?” asked Aang, shifting uncomfortably.

“I don’t get it either Katara agreed, we all know that Aang is the current avatar, and has been for the past 112 years.”

“This is going to take a bit of time, so get in a comfy position,” said Kentai

“I was born on the Sun Solstice, a sign that I was to be an avatar. I was conceived in the last remaining Air temple with about ten air benders helping my mother who died giving birth. My father raised me for three years, when he was called from King Boomi to help out in the same fire nation raid he lost his life in. For the next seven years I mastered air bending and blinded myself to learn to spirit bend, and all other elements I could master.”

“What’s spirit bending, I’ve never heard of it.” asked Aang

“I have mastered five bending techniques that no one else has ever learned to bend before; Electric Bending, Light Bending, Spirit Bending, Metal Bending, and Gravity Bending. I have so far mastered all of those, Earth Bending, and Air Bending. When I became seven years old, I left to experience the outside world, and become familiar with what had truly happened to the once great nations of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. “

“For three months I attended a royal fire nation school, and had to make sure I gave no sign of being an Air Nomad. I burnt my old clothes, and got new ones so they wouldn’t know where I was from or who I was. When the landlord of the home I was staying at found some of my metal bending equipment and my steel katana, I left, so that my identity could not be figured out.”

“I remember you,” said Zuko, “you were the new kid that Ty Lee and Azula were crushing on, but then you vanished.”

“Funny, how you fight those who love you,” replied Kentai. “They were always competing to see who could get me out on a date first, it was sort of creepy.”

“Who won?” asked Toph.

“Actually Ty Lee did, but she sort of forced me into it… with a stick,” said Kentai, “it was really funny seeing Azula so steamed, she shot fire at me and Ty Lee for days before I left. Wait, you’re Prince Zuko aren’t you, I’m surprised to see you traveling with Aang, I remember how obsessed you were with capturing the avatar, and using it to the fire nation’s advantage. I remember seeing you get your scar, I barfed when I saw it happen, and then they banned you from their soil, it was disgusting how your father treated you.”

“Yes I know,” replied Zuko, “but I will defeat my father, and bring the fire nation to peace.”

“Is that where you’re headed, to greet the fire nation?” questioned Kentai, rubbing his head.

“Not yet,” said Sokka, “we’re waiting for Aang to master Earth and Fire bending, and for the solar eclipse…”

“The day all fire benders will be rendered useless for twenty-four hours’ completed Iroh”

“Just remember that you will only have one day to beat your brother, after that, the fire bender’s powers will increase to a maximum level, and they shall truly conquer the other nations,” replied Kentai.

“So, how do you know Toph?” asked Katara, “It’s not like her dad’s just inviting anyone in.”

“I promised the best possible education for Toph in Earth Bending,” replied Kentai, “and even though she taught me more than I taught her in Earthbending, I taught her to ‘see’ using her Earthbending power, as I use spirit bending to ‘see.’ I can tell though that she has gotten a lot better at it since I was forced to cut our lessons short and leave,” he said while he patted her gently on the head.

“Why did you leave, it sounds like you loved spending your time there?” asked Katara.

“Actually…” sobbed Toph, who had started crying in the middle of Kentai’s explanation, “…it was my fault, I called him Onee-chan in front of a guard, and hugged him. The guard told my father, and Onee-chan got the death sentence.”

Kentai put his arms around her, “its okay” he said, “your father just wanted you to be safe, he just jumped a bit… fast to conclusions. He did it because he loved you, he’s just overprotective.”

“They told me they killed you, they told that they got four benders to trap you, and left you near where the fire nation was going to raid, I thought you were dead!” She cried.

“I’m sorry that I caused you to worry so much, but it’s alright now, it wasn’t your fault,” he said. “After they left I bent myself out and ran, I never thought to come see how you were doing, it should be me who’s sorry, not you,’ he continued as he began wiping up her tears. “You’ll always be like a little sister to me, and if there’s one thing I hate to see, is you sad, I’ll always be there to heal your wounds, emotional, or physical, I swear to god, I love you.”