Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PROLOGUE

Tsunade heaved a heavy, irritated sigh, sinking her face into the palms of her hands as her assistant, Shizune, nervously tapped the table with her pen. The shouting had begun to make her ears ring and every time Shizune had tried to intervene she’d been shut down—not that Tsunade felt sorry for her. Shizune was the one who had forbidden her from having a drink before attending this meeting, so she was at least glad that her loyal (if overly meddlesome) assistant was having as bad a time as she was. 

To be honest, Tsunade wasn’t sure why she was even at this meeting. Just because she was the granddaughter of the previous Avatar didn’t mean she knew anything about this “master of all four elements, connection to the spirit world” nonsense; and to be frank she had a kingdom to run and didn’t have all that much time to waste arguing with people who didn’t even notice she was there. It was clear that neither the Fire Nation Acolytes nor the Air Nomads gave a crap about her opinion. She wouldn’t be surprised if they only came to Ba Sing Se because they wanted a neutral territory where they could argue in peace. 

The Fire Nation Acolytes had come into the room practically steaming and hadn’t calmed down since, as hot-headed as ever. The Air Nomads were far more tranquil—almost eerily so. They all sat with their arms folded into their robes and tried to discuss the situation rationally, which only seemed to annoy the Fire Acolytes all the more. 

“This is obviously some trick of the Air Nation to expand their influence! We know you all like to meddle in the spirit world. Who’s to say you didn’t find a way to fix things so one of your own would get these Avatar-like powers the boy has! It’s either that or the spirit world made a mistake!” 

“We have no desire to expand our influence, and I personally take offense from your accusations that we would meddle in the ways of the spirits. The spirit world is delicately balanced and not to be tampered with. And perhaps if the Fire Nation spent more time studying it they would understand that the spirit world does not make mistakes.”

“What do you call this disaster then, if not a mistake?” 

“There must be a logical explanation.” 

“Well I’d love to hear one you know-it-all, pompous, p—“

“Everyone just shut up!” Tsunade stood, pounding her fists down onto the table hard enough to make it sink slightly into the floor. 

She glared down on the left side of the table at the stunned and silenced group from the Fire Nation, dressed in the traditional hood and cloak of the acolytes, then turned to her right to glare at the innocence-feigning Airbenders who had brought the issue to everyone’s attention in the first place. She sat back down and rested her elbows on the table, crossing her hands in front of her. 

“Shizune,” she barked, and the woman to her side scrambled to attention. “Bring me those documents, and you—“ she pointed to the mousiest Fire acolyte, who was holding a pile of the same documents Shizune was placing in front of her.

“Start by explaining what happened on July 23^rd, fifteen years ago.” 

The acolyte bumbled and blushed as she tried to find the page that detailed the events of that day, eventually locating it and reading aloud as Tsunade tried to follow along on the pages Shizune had handed her. 

“O—on July 23^rd th—the previous Avatar, the great and noble Hashirama Senju, died i—in a great battle with the firebending tyrant… Uchiha Madara.”

Tsuande nodded. That much she had been alive to remember. Her grandfather had lived a long, prosperous life, longer than most Avatar’s usually got, but in the end the battle with Madara had ended both of their lives and nearly leveled the land just outside of the Earth capitol. It wasn’t long afterwards that Tsunade had taken her place as Earth Queen, and she had been ruling ever since. 

The acolyte continued.

“Also on J—July 23^rd, Uchiha Sasuke, of the Uchiha clan, was born, and automatically suspected to be the new Avatar, though no tests could be made until the boy was at least 8 months old. At 8 months the Fire Nation acolytes tested Uchiha Sasuke, among other Fire Nation children born around the same time, and confirmed that he was the reincarnation of—“

“You skipped a part,” Tsunade interrupted, tracing the documents with her finger. There was a paragraph in the middle of what the acolyte had read. It wasn’t bolded like the rest, but Tsunade scanned it quickly, frowning, and searched through the other documents for the ones on the airbending boy, Uzumaki Naruto. 

“The fire isn’t important,” one of the other Firebenders remarked, waving his hand dismissively. “There was a small fire in the Uchiha compound when Sasuke was about three months old. It was nothing. No one was hurt. As you might assume, house-fires are not a particularly big concern in the Fire Nation.” 

“Uchiha’s brother,” Tsunade ignored him, reading the entire article about the fire. “What was his name, Itachi? He rescued his brother from the fire. In here it says that Uchiha Sasuke was near death before his brother could get to him. He claimed that the smoke filled his lungs and he couldn’t breath for several minutes. If Itachi had been any later—“

“But he wasn’t,” another acolyte scoffed. “The boy lived. What does it matter?” 

“Did any of you idiots notice,” Tsunade answered coolly, holding up two of the articles in the documents, “which two events just happened to occur on the exact same day?” 

The Firebenders frowned, all moving over to look through the documents. Even the Airbenders looked as though they were finally ready to accept that they, in all their enlightened knowledge, had missed something and casually tried to sort through their own messy stack of papers. 

The conference room was, for the first time since Tsunade had arrived, completely silent. She took a moment to bask in her accomplishment, and then she spelled it out for them. 

“The exact same day that a three-month-old Uchiha Sasuke came near death from the smoke in his lungs, the other boy, Uzumaki Naruto, was born. With the current firebending avatar in potentially life-threatening danger, the cycle continued by choosing an airbender. But because Sasuke didn’t die, we’ve wound up with two boys both able to bend all four elements.” 

“But—that shouldn’t have happened,” one of the firebenders mused, sinking into his chair. 

“It’s unlikely,” another one chimed in, just as astounded. “No. Not unlikely, nearly impossible!” 

“But it explains why—“

“Of course!” 

“It’s incredible!” one of the airbenders exclaimed, mouth hanging open in shock. 

“It’s—it’s—“ a second airbender stuttered, trying to process. 

“A mistake,” Tsunade finished for him, leveling them all with a look. 

“But a mistake that both Fire and Air are going to have to deal with. Now I suggest you use this time together to come up with some sort of plan to train the boys. This may be unprecedented, but it’s manageable. I suppose it’s better to have two Avatars than none at all, yes?” 

“But—“ the bossiest firebender shook her head. “Two Avatars… it’s just—“

“What’s that sound?” Shizune cut him off, turning towards the conference room door that led to the outer hallway. Tsunade frowned, suddenly hearing the sounds to which Shizune was referring. It sounded like some kind of squabble, like two raccooncats fighting over a piece of meat. 

The very large, heavy, and ornate doors of the conference room suddenly burst open, splintering one door in half as a small body with a mop of shaggy yellow hair crashed through them and landed bodily in the middle of the table that Tsunade and the ambassadors were seated at. 

Without a moments pause, the boy rose to his feet, snarling at the second, dark-haired boy who was smirking in the hallway just outside the ruined doors. “You damn prick!” he growled, and spun around, sending a huge blast of air back out of the room. It hit the dark-haired boy square on, sending him tumbling over himself back down the hall. 

The blond cackled and jumped off the table in a huge gust of air, racing off down the hallway after the other boy.

The silence that followed was not nearly as peaceful as the first had been, though it lasted quite a few moments longer. 

Finally Tsunade cleared her throat, glanced down the table at the Firebenders and then to the Airbenders, crossed her hands in front of her, grinned, and said,

“Good luck.”

Chapter Text

Fire, age seven

“So it’s decided,” Firelord Hiruzen spoke, his voice heavy—sad. He was addressing a group of young acolytes. Sadness was heavy on their shoulders’ too, but not so badly as the Firelord’s, for his was tampered with guilt and regret. He couldn’t dwell on his choices forever; his nation needed him and what was done was done. He had to focus on the future now. 

He glanced towards the wall where on the other side he knew a child was sleeping, wrapped tight in blankets, exhausted from the trauma and the tears he shed before he lost consciousness. Hiruzen shut his eyes and sighed, trying not to doubt himself anymore. 

“The boy will be your responsibility now. All of you.”

“Are you sure, Firelord?” one of the acolytes questioned nervously. “Won’t he wonder why we, of all people, were chosen to raise him?” 

“No. Because you’re going to tell him the truth.”

There was a rumble of voices when they heard this and the same acolyte swallowed thickly and spoke again,

“Is that… will that be what is best for the boy? An Avatar isn’t usually told until he reaches 15 years of age. It may be too much for him after—after everything.”

 “He will suspect it one way or the other, and starting his training early may benefit the Fire Nation somehow. I believe Avatar training may also… distract him. He may need something to focus on so he doesn’t think about…”

He trailed off and every other man and woman in the room looked down, reminded again of the tragedy that had befallen their nation. Hiruzen suddenly felt very old.  

He cleared his throat and stood. 

“Well now that’s done, I suppose. You all may raise him any way you like, tutor him privately or keep him in school, whichever you think is best. I’m leaving the future Avatar in your hands. Do not disappoint me.”  

They bowed as he exited the room with his assistants close by his side. Dealing with the boy was only the first on his list of duties that evening. He had bodies that needed to be tended to and a funeral to plan. His crown had never weighed so heavy on his head and he knew in his soul that the weight of the events of that night would never lighten. They would be with him for the rest of his life. 

Air, age seven

“So that’s him, is it?” the man asked, nodding almost unnoticeably in the direction of the kid in dirty, tattered clothes who was walking along a fence, dragging a stick across the bars after him.  

“Yes. Can’t you tell?” the second man replied, eyeing the first curiously. Iruka had, of course, heard of the infamous Jiraiya, but meeting him was something else entirely. This intimidating man had the longest ponytail of white hair Iruka had ever seen. An aura of strength and calm emanated from him, nothing like other hot-blooded firebenders Iruka had met in his travels.

“He doesn’t shave his head, huh?” Jiraiya noted, pointing out the blond hair that sat atop the kid’s head. 

“No,” Iruka crossed his arms, frowning exasperatedly, the wind blowing across his shaved head. “There’s a whole group of students who opt out of shaving their heads. They claim they don’t need to. I’m sure he started it somehow.” 

“Like you said, with that hair there’s no way he isn’t his son.” 

Iruka nodded. Though it was forbidden to speak of it, there were a few who knew which child was the son of the Yellow Flash, the greatest Airbender the Northern Air Temple had ever seen. 

“But he has no idea who his parents were?” Jiraiya asked.  

“No.”

“And he doesn’t have any idea why everyone on this stupid rock despises him, does he?”

Iruka’s eyes widened and he sputtered, trying to answer, to defend the Northern Temple and himself. 

“I—we do not despise—I can’t—“  

“It has been seven years, Iruka. The fox spirit came because of him and we still don’t know why, but it isn’t the boy’s fault that your parents died that night. You have to know that.” 

“I don’t despise him!” Iruka countered quickly, his face hot. He couldn’t believe the great Jiraiya would accuse him of blaming a child for the atrocities the fox spirit rained down upon the temple all those years ago. He had no idea how Iruka felt, no idea at all!

 “I couldn’t hate him if I tried!” Iruka continued, riling himself up, puffing out his chest to feel bigger next to one of the Legendary Three. “He is strong and clever and passionate, and he loves ramen, and he tries so hard to be brave even though he’s lonely every day of his life! Yes, he’s got no talent at airbending except for playing pranks and he’s got a foul mouth and no respect for his elders, but he doesn’t deserve any of the hatred that has been directed at him. I don’t despise him, and if I could—if—if that blasted law weren’t in place I would take him in myself. He deserves so much more.” 

He was breathing heavy by the time he finished and glanced over to check if the boy had heard his voice, but he had wandered farther down the fence, completely oblivious. Even now, Iruka wished he could go out to him, just to save him from that little bit of loneliness. 

 “He’s always going to be lonely,” Jiraiya said gruffly. “That is the Pai Sho tile that fate has dealt him. That law certainly isn’t helping anything, but he was never going to have someone who understood him. The least we can do is help him become strong enough to cope with that loneliness.” 

Iruka stared at him questioningly. Jiraiya nodded.  

“I’m taking him with me, if he agrees to come. Just for a while. He deserves to get out of this place. Besides, a firebender is the perfect teacher for an airbending student with no talent for airbending,” he said, chuckling. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him anything. I just want to prepare him as much as I can for what’s to come.”

 “What is to come?” Iruka asked.  

“I haven’t got a clear picture, but that fox didn’t attack this temple on accident. There is something big happening in the world and it’s tied to him somehow. I can’t keep him with me for long, but just for a while I can teach him some of what he’ll need to know.”

“You’ll protect him?” Iruka asked, suddenly worried for his favorite student’s safety.  

“I’m not taking him with me to protect him. I’m taking him so he can learn to protect himself. He’ll be back before you know it, Iruka.”  

Jiraiya began to walk away, in the direction the boy had gone. He took a few steps and then turned back to Iruka to add in a voice that made Iruka cold to his bones. 

“And one more thing,” he said, eyes icy. “Fuck the law.”

Air, age eleven

“Alright students,” Iruka shouted over the buzz of conversation in the open-air study room, “don’t forget that we are getting visitors today from the other nations. Small groups of children around your age that are studying to be earth and fire benders the same way you are studying airbending. I expect you all to show our guests hospitality and try not to embarrass the Northern Air Temple.” 

He turned to glare at the back corner of the group. 

“I’m talking to you, Naruto. I don’t understand how you travelled for a year with one of the greatest benders of all time and came back the same troublemaking idiot.” 

“That old pervert isn’t even that great!” Naruto shouted back. “ I could beat him with my arms tied behind my back!” 

 “Not without resorting to dirty tricks,” Iruka chided, fully aware of Jiraiya’s weakness for the female form and Naruto’s eagerness to exploit it. The other young airbenders-in-training gathered in the large open courtyard near the entrance of the temple were very well behaved. At least—most of them were. None were as loud and distracting as Naruto, but Iruka was used to that.  

After his year travelling with Jiraiya, Iruka had expected Naruto to be better behaved. His concentration had improved a bit, but most of the other 12 year old’s were learning far more advanced airbending than Naruto was capable of, despite all of the blond’s boasting that he would be the strongest airbender the temple had ever seen, stronger even than the one they called the Yellow Flash, whose face was caved elegantly into the very tip of the mountain, overlooking the whole temple. 

Naruto had never met the Yellow Flash, as he had died on the day he was born. He’d died protecting the people of the temple from a great and terrible attack; a nine-tailed fox spirit who would have destroyed the entire temple and everyone in it if it hadn’t been for the heroics of the Yellow Flash and his young wife, a water-bender. Together, they banished the fox back to the spirit world, but died in the process, leaving behind a son who would never know the sacrifice his parents made so that he would survive.  

Naruto was never to know that his father and the Yellow Flash he so admired were one and the same—it was part of the Law. 

 The night of Naruto’s birth and the attack of the fox were the same because the fox had come for him, crushing everything in his path to get to the boy, for reasons that may never be explained. The Law was put in place, in theory, to protect Naruto, but because so many of the details of that night were forbidden to discuss, certain aspects were twisted and convoluted and the only parts people remembered were the heroes who saved them and the reason they needed saving in the first place.  

The people of the temple blamed Naruto for the many deaths that occurred that night, and he had no way of escaping their hatred. The fox had marked him: three lines on each cheek, like whiskers, showed how close the boy had come to being stolen away to the spirit world, or killed, by the unstoppable beast. As he grew older, every other temple he visited saw the marks and knew. Adults stared at him with cold eyes and refused to talk to him, parents warned their children away from him, worried that one day some other spirit, or the fox himself, would come back for him. 

But he hadn’t let their hatred make him cold. He fought every day to be recognized and seen as someone worthwhile, attracting attention any way he could, even if that meant pranks and showing off during lessons when he should have been practicing his airbending. 

Iruka sighed. There was no point worrying about it now. He carried on with his speech, giving Naruto one last hard look to try and get him to behave for once. 

“As I was saying, we will be having guests from the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom visiting our temple today. The groups coming to see us are firebenders and earthbenders in training, many around the same age as all of you. We want them to feel welcome, and we want them to leave with a good opinion of our temple. This visit is meant to establish international bending cooperation for the future generation of benders, which includes all of you. Some day all of you will have mastered airbending and it will be your duty to keep the balance between the four nation…”

Monk Iruka continued rambling on, but Naruto had stopped listening, staring absentmindedly into the air and wondering what the firebenders would be like. He’d met plenty of earthbenders when he was travelling with Jiraiya, but he’d never met a firebender before—besides Jiraiya himself, of course. Fire was the most dangerous element, and everyone always said that firebenders thought they were better than other benders because of it.  

I can probably take one of these lame firebenders, Naruto thought, and snorted aloud. Then, he overheard a snippet of conversation two of his fellow airbenders were having. 

“You know who I heard is coming with the firebender class?” the first kid, shorter and chubby, with a shiny shaved head whispered giddily to his friend. 

“Who?” replied the other bald airbender. They were both fairly talented for their age, and always replied with a sneer or a rude remark if Naruto tried to talk to them. He listened to their conversation without drawing their attention.

“The Avatar,” said the first kid, excitement flashing in his eyes. “He’s supposed to be around our age. I bet he’s a really good firebender already. He gets special training, you know.” 

 Naruto stared wide-eyed at the boys still discussing how strong the Avatar probably was, his brain working quickly. A grin spread on his face and he glanced through the crowd until he spotted Shikamaru and Choji, two of the less-enthusiastic airbending students. Shikamaru didn’t shave his head, only because he said it was too much trouble to keep up with, but his best friend Choji did. Shikamaru stifled a yawn when Naruto approached them, practically hopping up and down. 

“Did you guys hear?” he asked loudly, receiving several annoyed glances from the airbenders around them who were still trying to pay attention to Iruka. 

“Hear what?” Shikamaru replied lazily, staring up at the sky. 

“The Avatar is gonna be here,” Naruto explained, bursting with excitement. 

“So?” Shikamaru asked. “Who cares? He probably doesn’t even know more than one element yet. He’s just a kid like us.”  

“Yeah, but he’s the Avatar,” Naruto tried again, though he knew it was futile to try and get Shikamaru excited over anything. He never should have thought the lazy duo would care about something as cool as the Avatar. 

“It would be kind of cool to meet him,” Choji mumbled thoughtfully, reaching inside his shirt for some snack he’d hidden in the folds. “There’s only one Avatar, after all.” 

“See!” Naruto cheered, glad at least Choji showed some interest. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes. But, now that he’d gotten their attention, an idea was forming in his head…

“I’ve got a plan,” he said, and both Shikamaru and Choji stared at him expectantly. Naruto grinned wide and dangerous, then loudly exclaimed to the entire group of airbenders, 

“I’m gonna fight the Avatar and beat him, then everyone will see how awesome I am!”  

 Iruka’s hand slapped the center of his forehead as the other airbending students all looked at Naruto with either bemused or annoyed expressions. If Naruto didn’t grow up soon, Iruka was going to get a permanent handprint on his forehead. 

Not long after Naruto’s declaration the first group of visitors arrived: the Earthbenders in training. 

There were about two-dozen of them, all staring around at the temples with wide eyes and talking excitedly to each other. Iruka spotted their earthbending teacher and suppressed a groan.  

“Hello Anko,” he said weakly. He had met the over-excitable earthbender before and he doubted she had changed much. And just as he expected, as soon as she saw him she ran up and nearly slammed him into the ground while attempting to hug him. 

“Baldy!” she cheered, squeezing the air out of him. “It’s been a while! How come you never visit the earth kingdom anymore?” 

“I moved beyond the stage of training where I had to travel for several years,” he replied, then under his breath added, “thankfully.” 

“So now you’re a teacher? I bet you’d be good at that!”

“And how did you become an earthbending instructor?” he asked curiously. The group Anko had been travelling with when he met her in the past hadn’t really been the mentoring types.  

Anko shrugged.

“You know,” she laughed, “just something to do. Hey! You there, don’t get to close to the edge or you’ll fall and die!” 

Naruto looked around excitedly at the new arrivals and his face only fell a bit when he realized it wasn’t the group that the Avatar was travelling with. He was glad to meet other benders his age, and he had always gotten along pretty well with earthbenders when he was travelling with Jiraiya. He spotted a group of girls in the crowd, one of them with vivid pink hair stood out from the rest. She was looking around and trying to take everything in, and was a little nervous at the same time. 

Sakura didn’t realize how high up in the mountains the Air Nomads lived, and she was a little scared of falling off the side. She was glad Anko had yelled at Rock Lee to back up from the edge, but when she looked back over at him she was alarmed to find their other earthbending teacher, Guy, balancing on his hands at the very edge of the cliff and laughing loudly. 

She didn’t really start to take notice of the airbenders until then, staring curiously at the group of them—all boys, since this was the Northern Air Temple. They really did shave their heads, even the young ones who weren’t fully trained. There were a few who didn’t seem to shave their heads, though, she observed. One of the boys with a full head of unruly blond hair and strange marks on his cheeks was sliding around closer to her group. 

“Hey!” he called to them, turning the heads of most of her class. “My name’s Naruto, and I’m the best airbender here!”  

Judging from the way his fellow airbenders rolled their eyes Sakura suspected that this wasn’t completely true. He didn’t let his friends reactions, nor the reproachful looks from the earthbenders damper his spirit, but plowed on loudly, so everyone could hear. 

“Did you guys hear about who’s coming with the firebender class? The Avatar!”  

At this announcement, there was a wave of muttering through the earthbending crowd. Even Sakura felt a rush of excitement at the news. Ino, who was the most popular girl in their class, gave a cheery giggle. 

 “Ooooh, I bet the Avatar is really cute, don’t you, Sakura?” 

Sakura blushed just thinking about it but didn’t have the time to answer because the blond boy had come over to them and was holding out his hand for Sakura. 

“I’m Naruto,” he said, smiling. Sakura was still unsure about him—he seemed very loud and a little annoying—but she shook his hand anyway.  

“I’m Sakura. How do you know about the Avatar?”  

“Yeah blondie,” Ino interrupted, eyeing Naruto like she was sizing him up. 

“I know all kinds of stuff,” Naruto bragged and Ino huffed her disbelief. “And you know what? I’m gonna fight the Avatar and beat him!” 

“You can’t beat the Avatar!” Ino replied, rolling her eyes. Sakura privately agreed.  

“Oh yeah?” the boy named Naruto replied. “You’ll see!” 

But he seemed to have lost the attention of most of the crowd, including Ino’s. She quickly turned to Sakura to discuss this news of potentially meeting the Avatar. Naruto pretended like he wasn’t listening, but folded his arms over his chest and kept his ears turned towards them anyway.  

“How do they know who the Avatar is when he’s born?” Sakura asked. She’d never had a chance to learn that much about the Avatar. She knew that he could bend all four elements and that he was supposed to keep the balance between the nations, but she didn’t really understand how special the Avatar really was. 

“Oh, you know, he could probably bend more than one element even when he was little, but I think they have some kind of test,” Ino explained smartly. “It probably wasn’t that hard finding the Avatar born in the Fire Nation, but I heard it’s really difficult to know who the Avatar is if he’s reincarnated in the Earth Kingdom, because there’s so many people.” 

Sakura nodded sagely, but she still felt like she didn’t quite understand it.  

“The Avatar this time is probably really good at bending though,” the blond went on the say. “He’s supposed to be related to Fire Nation royalty, too.”

“Really?” Sakura gasped. She’d definitely never met royalty before. Naruto made a snort of derision and Sakura frowned at him for listening in on their conversation.  

“Yeah. He’s not a prince or anything,” Ino continued. “He’s from the Uchiha clan. I think they were the protectors of the royal family for generations. Until, of course, a horrible massacre—“ 

Naruto didn’t hear anymore, because just then one of his fellow airbenders had spotted something in the sky above them. Everyone was shouting and pointing and staring at the sky. Naruto shielded his eyes from the sun to try and see what everyone was pointing at and when his eyes adjusted he realized why the sudden commotion. 

Above them and gliding quickly down from the sky where two enormous dragons. Naruto had never seen a dragon before and he wondered if all dragons were so large that their long bodies and wide wingspans almost blocked out the sun when they were directly overhead. It wasn’t until they landed a ways from the groups of air and earth benders that everyone realized there were people riding on the dragon’s backs. And not just any people: children, and firebenders at that. 

Naruto was practically vibrating with excitement. He had already been thrilled that benders from the other nations were coming to visit the temple, but the added rush of learning that the Avatar would be there too was enough to have him impatiently airbending himself up and down over the crowd to watch the firebenders slide down from the backs of the gigantic dragons. He scanned the faces of all of the firebenders, trying to see if he could tell which one was the Avatar, but he had no real way of knowing who it was. 

The firebenders in training were just an interested in the temple structure as the earthbenders had been, and were gazing around with avid curiosity—all except one boy, who seemed to think he was above all this. He kept his hands stiffly in his pockets and glared at nothing. Naruto disliked him instantly.  

“Ooooh I think that’s him!” Ino squealed, pointing right at the glaring boy with mean eyes and short, night black hair that stuck up in the back like it had been styled that way. 

“The Avatar? Really? It’s really him?” Sakura asked, standing on her tiptoes to try and get a better look. 

“That’s him alright. Can’t you tell, dummy? He just looks strong. And he’s really cute, too!” 

Naruto frowned. He should have known the Avatar would get all kinds of attention. Shikamaru was right; he was just a kid like them. He wasn’t a real Avatar yet. He was still learning firebending. Naruto probably knew more airbending than this kid knew firebending. He felt confidence bloom inside him and his brilliant idea of fighting the Avatar returned with a vengeance. 

“HEY YOU!” he shouted over the crowd when the firebenders were close enough to hear. Several of them turned their heads right away, but not the grumpy Avatar kid. 

“HEY AVATAR!” 

This time the kid turned, but all he did was glance at Naruto for half a second, scanning him quickly from his shoes to his head, roll his eyes and make a dismissive noise, then turn back away.  

Naruto was furious. He should have known the Avatar would think he was better than everyone else. It only gave him more incentive to fight him, to try and take him down a peg.  

Naruto pushed through the crowd as the other children watched and when he had a clear shot, he sent a blast of air at the back of his head. It made the boy stumble forward and his hair stick even more straight up on the back of his head. He spun around and glared as the group of kids closed in on the two of them, clearly ready for a fight. 

“Naruto, don’t be a dumbass,” Shikamaru called out to him, but he barely heard because one of the firebending children cupped a hand around his mouth and yelled louder,

“Show this little airbender how we do it in the Fire Nation, Sasuke!”

So the Avatar’s name is Sasuke, Naruto thought. It sounded familiar somehow... maybe he’d heard it mentioned before when he was traveling with Jiraiya. Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan. He would need to remember that. Maybe it was the way the boy had sneered at him, or the fact that all the girls were calling him cute and he got all of the attention, or maybe it was just something else about him that rubbed Naruto the wrong way, but just looking at Sasuke Uchiha made Naruto want to fight him. 

He glanced back to where the teachers were still chatting between themselves and grinned as he went into the simplest airbending stance he knew. Sasuke swiped his hair out of his face and glowered at him. 

“What the hell do you want?” 

“I heard you’re the Avatar,” Naruto replied, growing more and more bold with the growing attention from the crowd of his peers. 

 “What if I am?” Sasuke answered with narrowed eyes. 

 “So, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I wanna fight the Avatar!” He punctuated the end of his sentence with another blast of air, but Sasuke was ready this time. He held his ground and blocked the blast with a fistful of fire.  

The crowd of kids oooh’d and aahh’d, and Naruto countered with two more blasts of air, moving closer to Sasuke as he did, trying to knock him off-balance. 

Sasuke was not intimidated. He returned both attacks with his own, and then swiped out one foot, creating a small flame in its wake. His expression had changed. The blank, unimpressed mask had started to fall and in its place Naruto could see a seriousness across Uchiha Sasuke’s face. He grinned, dodging out of the way, but not quite quick enough for the second stream of fire sent his way. 

Naruto stumbled back, the crowd jumping out of his way. He regained his footing and rushed back, sending a huge gust of air away from him. 

“Oh no,” Sakura moaned as she watched them. “They shouldn’t be fighting. This is bad.”  

“Don’t be such a worrywart,” Ino said. “This is cool. And anyway, I’m sure Sasuke is just toying with this Naruto kid. He could take him out whenever he wanted.” 

And though Naruto tried to ignore her, it seemed she was right. Once Sasuke got serious it was easy to see the difference between their abilities. He had Naruto on constant defense. It was all the airbender could do to keep dodging out of the way of increasingly hotter blasts of fire. Two nearly singed his ears and he tripped over his own feet, sprawling back on his butt several feet away. The crowd laughed, and the Avatar smirked down at him with that annoying smug face. 

“You done, loser?” He said, and turned away. 

Naruto’s face burned, the laughter ringing in his ears, and he sent a wave of air from his legs as he spun back to his feet. The air hit Sasuke’s calves and he stumbled, almost falling. When he turned back to Naruto he snarled and ran at him, hands full of fire. 

Naruto ran right back and soon they were fighting hand to hand with small blasts of fire and air between them. Naruto was at a disadvantage. It didn’t matter how many times the monks taught him that an airbender is most effective fighting from a distance, he never listened. It just wasn’t his style. He tried to counter as best he could but he was losing ground, and the heat from the flames was making him sweat. With every attack it seemed like Sasuke just gained more ground until at one point Sasuke took a deep breath, filling his chest, and concentrated a blast with both hands in Naruto’s direction.  

And then something strange happened.

 Naruto saw the fire coming at him in what seemed like slow motion. The colors of it filled his eyes and something tugged at his chest, stuttering his breathing. He closed his eyes and moved his hands without thinking, without following any kind of airbending technique he knew of. He braced his palms towards the fireball and felt the heat of it when it reached him. And then it was almost like the fire stopped in his palms and stayed there for a moment before he closed his fists and it was gone. He barely even noticed it had happened. 

But Sasuke saw it. He saw the way this strange air nomad boy had caught his fire. It had almost looked like he’d held it. But that was impossible. Just a trick of the light, or some strange airbending technique to throw him off. He couldn’t believe he was almost losing to this nobody airbender. He was the Avatar. 

The thought irritated him and he decided to end the fight. He shot one fireball after another after another, and it seemed the airbender had no more tricks up his sleeve, and he stumbled to the ground again. This time Sasuke didn’t turn away. He stopped with his fist just an inch from the boy’s shining blue eyes, his chest rising and falling. The crowd had fallen silent, but after a moment they all started to cheer Sasuke’s name. He dropped his stance and started to walk away again, ignoring the conversation around him, mind still stuck on the moment when this boy, this Naruto Uzumaki, stopped his fire. 

 “Wow Sasuke that was incredible!”

“I guess thats the Avatar for you. Haha, of course he was always going to win. It’s not even a contest.”  

“What a dumb kid to think he even stood a chance.”  

On the ground, Naruto clenched his fists. His heart was racing in his chest as his ears rang with everyone’s dismissive jabs. But he wasn’t done yet. He stood quickly to his feet and shouted at Sasuke, pointing a finger at the back of his head.  

“Hey!”  

Sasuke turned around, truly annoyed for the first time. 

“This isn’t over, Avatar!”  

And without even a thought to airbending or his surroundings, Naruto ran headfirst at Sasuke.... sending them both flying off the side of the mountain. 

If it hadn’t been for Sakura’s quick-earthbending, the world might have lost TWO Avatars that day. But they wouldn’t find out anything about that for another four years...

Air, four years later (age fifteen)

Naruto centered himself, taking a deep, calming breath and inhaling for a full 40 seconds, the way he was taught. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the harsh expressions and unimpressed stares on the faces of the Monks sitting and waiting for him to begin his airbending demonstration. He peeked one eye open, still holding his breath, and saw Monk Iruka smile at him encouragingly. It gave him the little push of confidence he needed and he went into his first stance, rotating smoothly as he formed a great ball of air and released it towards the sky. 

He kept going, one move after the next, concentrating hard on doing them just like he practiced. His feet were his biggest weakness, as he sometimes got them twisted up when he was performing more complicated bits of airbending, but he didn’t get them twisted today. He moved with precision and timing that had taken him years to perfect. He created a wall of air and then sliced through it, winding it back around him almost like a dance. Sweat was already beginning to gather on his face but he ignored it, pushing himself as hard as he could. 

Naruto had improved beyond measure in the four years since the fire and earth-benders in training visited the temple. Before their visit, and his short but intense fight with the Avatar, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto hadn’t had much drive, no real goal to make him want to work hard at mastering airbending. He spoke loudly and often about becoming the greatest airbender the temple had ever seen, but he was still a child and it was easier to talk big than to train hard. 

After fighting Sasuke, everything changed. 

Naruto spent every moment practicing his airbending. When he woke up and finished his duties he trained, often long into the nights, driven by the mysterious force that captured him when he fought, and lost, to the avatar. He couldn’t explain why the sudden change in him occurred if you asked him, but it surprised and baffled everyone in the temple. He had always just been Naruto, the talentless prankster who was always trying to get attention. For the first time, people who had looked down on him, even feared him, were taking notice. His airbending improved, and before long he was one of the best in his class. 

Every day as he trained and practiced and ran himself ragged mastering technique after technique, Naruto focused on just one thing: Sasuke Uchiha. That one small battle they had created a spark in Naruto, like his eyes were opened to a whole other world that he’d never known existed. It was almost an obsession, but it drove him like nothing ever had before.  

He wanted a rematch. He wanted to beat Sasuke, fair and square. And not because Sasuke was the Avatar. Naruto didn’t really care much about that; the esteem that he had dreamed of gaining for defeating the avatar was a child’s idea and he’d grown past it. Naruto felt connected to Sasuke; he had the moment they first exchanged blows. He wanted to beat Sasuke because of the way Sasuke had sneered at him, then looked at him with a confused curiosity that he never explained, like maybe Naruto was worth fighting after all. He wanted more than anything just to fight Sasuke again, this time as equals, and feel the same thrill that had filled him that first time they fought. He wanted to feel like he was strong enough to stand at Sasuke’s side—Avatar or not—and feel worthy of being there, and the only way to do that was to master airbending as fast as he could. 

After all of his training he had finally, with Monk Iruka’s help, convinced the Council of Elders to give him a test. If he passed, he would be an airbending master and would get his tattoos, then he would be prepared enough to travel anywhere he wanted—even to the Fire Nation. 

The thought of going to the Fire Nation and challenging Sasuke again spurred Naruto on as he went into the more difficult techniques he’d mastered, some that had taken him months before he finally managed them. His hair bristled and blew in the winds he created and he hoped the elders didn’t take off points because he hadn’t shaved his head. They usually looked down on airbenders who didn’t have a shaved head. 

He knew he was young, at only fifteen, to be deemed a master airbender, but he’d heard stories of other airbenders even younger than he was getting their tattoos. That included the legendary Yellow Flash who was rumored to have mastered airbending when he was twelve. The council was hesitant to even give him the test, some for reasons Naruto didn’t even understand. He had to be perfect in order to get them to consider his master status. 

He pulled off one of the more tedious airbending moves and thought he heard Monk Iruka cheer a quiet, “yes!” It gave him the last bit of encouragement he needed as he took a deep breath and went into the final and most difficult move he had mastered. 

He summoned a great swirling vortex of air that lifted him off the ground and held him stable in the air, then, with a concentrated effort, directed the current to move him in different directions, showing off immense control and strength. This was an extremely complex move, though one necessary for a true airbending master to know. He snuck a glance at the Council before concluding his demonstration but none of their faces showed him any hint of their thoughts. Monk Iruka was beaming, and he felt a wide grin form on his face as he let the vortex of air he’d built funnel up away above him and then landed lightly on his feet.  

The moment his toes touched the ground he leapt into the air again, cheering exuberantly. 

“Yes!” he shouted, punching the sky. “I did it!” He hadn’t messed up a single move! They had to let him become a master!  

Iruka thought the same thing, but shook his head at the way Naruto preemptively cheered. The boy didn’t realize exactly how strict the Council was, and he certainly didn’t understand how unfavorably many of the old men watching felt about him. It didn’t matter how hard he trained or how much he changed from when he was young, the Law prevented anyone getting too close to him and the old men were as wary of the “Spirit Fox Boy” as the rest of the temple. He knew Naruto had done as well as he could, and he was honestly impressed with how far Naruto had come, but he was anxious about the Council’s decision—and even more anxious about what Naruto’s reaction to that decision might be. 

 He watched silently as Naruto finally seemed to calm down and settle himself before the Council, though he still had his wide signature grin across his face. He waited impatiently for the council to discuss Naruto’s performance amongst themselves. Iruka saw him fidgeting and the anxiety in his stomach grew. They were taking an awfully long time discussing…

 Finally, the eldest Elder, who sat in the middle of the five men, cut off their discussion and they all sat upright, facing Naruto.  

“Sloppy,” he said flatly. “You lacked control, even on some of the simpler airbending techniques.” 

Iruka’s heart fell, but it was nothing compared to the look on Naruto’s face. 

“You were rushed,” continued the elder on the far right. He was outright sneering at Naruto. “It was obvious from the beginning.” 

“But—but—“ Naruto tried to intervene, more confused than sad or angry. He had tried his hardest. 

“You came here to be tested and we are giving you our opinions,” said the man to the left of the Elder in the middle. His face showed absolutely no emotion.

“You thought you could come and show us these advanced techniques that you think you’ve mastered and we would just give you the title of Airbending Master?” asked the sneering man. “You have a long way to go, child, before you have earned that title.”  

“But I trained!” Naruto yelled, a pleading edge to his voice. “I trained harder than anyone! I didn’t rush, and I didn’t lack control!”  

“Are you trying to tell us that you know more about proper airbending then us? The airbending Masters?” 

“No, but—“

“Then listen to this, boy,” said that same sneering Elder, who leaned forward on his seat like Naruto wouldn’t hear him otherwise. 

“Airbending is an art that takes years to master. You don’t just wake up one day and decide you’re good enough to stand in front of us, the Council of Elders, and dance around blowing some air and think we’re going to give you your tattoos. Airbending is not like earthbending, firebending, or waterbending. You need to not only master the techniques, but to meditate and have a strong connection to the spiritual word, something I am not sure someone like you, who refuses to even shave his head, will ever have! We indulged this test and you have heard our answer. You will never be a true Airbending master if you continue to act childish and refuse to listen to the advice of your elders. Good day!”  

Iruka was stunned. He thought maybe they would give Naruto some undeserved criticism or ask him to train more and come back next year to try again, but he never would have thought they would make up reasons to fail him and then try and tell him he would never be a real airbending master. He thought about how many times he’d heard Naruto say he would become the strongest airbender there ever was, and how in these last four years he had started to believe he could do it. He had no idea how Naruto would react, but Iruka was angry and knew in that moment that he would help this child above any one or any law to become the airbending master he dreamed of being.

 He was watching Naruto, who stood in the center of the open space with the five elders staring at him, each with a more derisive expression on his face than the last. Iruka couldn’t tell what kind of expression Naruto wore, because his shaggy hair had fallen over his forehead and shaded his eyes. His hands were clenched fists at his sides, though, and he seemed to be trembling slightly. Just when Iruka thought he should go to him, he heard Naruto speak.  

“…not fair…” he mumbled, too quietly for the Elders to hear. 

Iruka hoped Naruto didn’t react too badly. The Elders could make things difficult for him if he did… 

“What did you say, boy?” one of the elders grunted, annoyed. 

Naruto raised his fists and clenched his jaw, glaring at the five men in front of him, and shouted. 

“I SAID IT’S NOT FAIR!” 

He punctuated the last word by slamming his fists back to his sides, and to the surprise of every single man in witness—Naruto himself included—huge red and gold flames burst from his fists and scorched the ground beside him, leaving blackened marks on the stone. 

Iruka and, certainly, the Elders, could do nothing but stare in open-mouthed shock.

Naruto was shocked too, eyes wide on his trembling hands as he stared at his open palms in disbelief before glancing at the char marks at his sides. He blinked several times before gathering his thoughts enough to eloquently murmur,  

“What the hell was that?” 

Four Years (and two days) Later, in the Fire Nation: 

Sasuke centered himself, taking no longer than necessary to breath in and go into a defensive stance. It was a drill he had done many times. The firebenders who were his mock opponents attacked as soon as he positioned himself defensively. 

They were the same opponents he always fought. He knew their fighting styles well. Akuza attacked first, and loudly. He was strong, but not good at blocking or dodging attacks, and Sasuke disposed of him easily. Michi Mei liked straightforward attacks, many blasts of fire repeatedly that Sasuke had to dodge and weave and defend carefully to get close enough to her to get her unbalanced. Ki and Fi were twins, who always attacked together, sometimes with the help of Akuza, if he was back on his feet by then. Sasuke went through the motions of dispatching each of them, careful to watch his breathing and footwork as he did, though his teachers always told him it was impeccable. 

In fact, his teachers barely ever had any criticism to give him on his firebending. They simply nodded and had him run the drills again, and again the next day, like they were hoping it would awaken something in him. 

He’d been doing these firebending techniques for his entire life. He knew that he had mastered all of them. And yet, they kept training him. 

He blocked a flaming kick from Michi Mei and ground his teeth with the same frustrations that had been building in him for years. Was he not the Avatar? Was he not meant to go out and learn other elements besides fire?  

Like air, he thought wistfully, sliding his leg across the ground that shot flames at Ki while knocking Fi off balance. 

The Fire Acolytes always said the same thing when he expressed his desire to leave the Fire Nation. 

“Oh, well, Sasuke,” they replied nervously, not quite meeting his gaze, “you know most Avatars aren’t even told who they are until they’re fifteen. You were a special case, of course, but still. It is better for you to wait before you leave to learn the other elements.” 

And yet, his fifteenth birthday had come and gone, and they still decided that it was too soon to send him to learn airbending. He hadn’t voiced his displeasure, but he certainly made it clear to them that he was tired of fighting opponents who were no challenge, and that he would never improve as an Avatar if he didn’t learn the other elements. Maybe once he did he would be strong enough to face him after all these years...

He knew why they wouldn’t let him leave. He’d known for a while now. The acolytes discussed him constantly, and they didn’t always pay attention to who was around to hear them. 

He was supposed to show signs of spiritual connection by now; he should have gone into The Avatar State at least once. The acolytes tried many things to draw out his spiritual side. They travelled to the most spiritual places in the Fire Nation. They spent more and more time meditating, trying to get him to connect with the spirit world or his past lives, and nothing ever came of it. They asked him hundreds of questions about things he’d never experienced. Do you ever feel that you can sense the spirit world? Do you ever feel emotions that aren’t yours? Do you have any memories of your past lives? Are you meditating hard enough to connect to the spirit world? You’re the Avatar, Sasuke, it is your duty to be the bridge between our world and the spirit world. You have to work harder to master your own spirit. 

 Sasuke had never sensed so much as a ghost, and the longer it went on, and more worried he became that he simply didn’t have the ability to enter the spirit world.  

He felt his blood pressure rise and then the flames he sent towards Akuza were larger than he intended. Akuza barely backed away in time to avoid getting burned. He glared at Sasuke, but Sasuke just glared back. Half of the firebenders he trained with didn’t like him and half of them only liked him because he was the Avatar. He got special treatment, even if he didn’t ask for it. He had always been the top of his class when he still trained with the other firebenders and they still resented him for it. He didn’t really care. They weren’t good enough to keep up with him, Avatar or not. 

 He tried to wipe the worry from his mind that he was lacking whatever quality he was supposed to have to communicate with spirits. He concentrated on what he was good at and decided to definitively end the sparring session. He concentrated hard and stomped his feet the way he’d taught himself to earthbend and make the ground shake beneath his enemies’ feet and when they were unbalanced he spun great arching flames at them, knocking them all down.  

He stood back, pushing his bangs from his face. He had barely broken a sweat. 

The acolytes were watching him with blank faces. He knew it was pointless, but he tried again. 

“I have nothing more to learn of firebending,” he said, almost bored. “I’m the Avatar. I want to learn the other elements.” 

 The acolytes knew he was going to say exactly that, and none of their expressions changed. There was one female acolyte in their group who was also a firebender, and she was the leader. She sighed and spoke for the rest of them,

“We’ve… discussed this, Sasuke. You still aren’t—“ 

“What more do you want me to do?” he cut her off coolly. “I’ve mastered firebending. You have no more to teach me.”

“Technically, you haven’t learned to bend lightning yet,” she told him, but he knew she was reaching. Lightning bending was a specialized skill, not required of a firebending master. Half of the firebending acolytes couldn’t even do it. They had begun teaching him the basics, but no one seemed to feel it was all that important. She was only using it as an excuse. He glared at her and she quailed slightly under the intensity of his stare. Then she composed herself and continued,

“The time will come for you to learn the other elements, sooner than you think, but for now we think it’s best—“

She was interrupted by another acolyte, a young man who had only joined recently. He was running across the long open practice field towards them very quickly, already out of breath. When he reached them, everyone’s eyes were on him, desperately curious what could be so important. He glanced at Sasuke in a way that made Sasuke wrinkle his forehead in a frown and handed the female acolyte a letter.  

“This…huf…just came…hah… from the…hah… Air Nation,” he announced, panting with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. 

The acolyte holding the letter scowled quickly at him and then opened the letter, her eyes sweeping across it furiously, widening with every line she read. Several of the other acolytes were reading over her shoulder, and Sasuke felt his heart hammering in his chest. He knew the letter had to do with him. 

“Impossible!” the woman gasped, and as soon as they finished reading, the other acolytes joined in with shocked, disbelieving exclamations, some of them shooting confused or baffled glances at Sasuke.  

“It can’t be,” the head acolyte shook her head, staring from the letter to Sasuke and back again. “It must be a mistake. The airbenders have never been very reliable. 

She didn’t seem to quite believe her own words, and none of the other acolytes did either, but everyone was too confused to outright disagree. 

“They want to meet in the Earth Kingdom,” the acolyte who delivered the letter said when he finally caught his breath. “Says so at the bottom of the letter.” 

 “I read it,” the female acolyte snapped. Now that she had regained her composer she seemed quite annoyed, and Sasuke could tell that part of her was still very shaken. She exhaled sharply from her nose (Sasuke thought he saw some smoke slip from her nostrils) and stared hard at Sasuke. 

“Have your bags packed by morning. We’re going to the Earth Kingdom to settle a little… dispute.” 

Sasuke felt something like joy swoop up in his stomach. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the way he wanted it to happen, but he was leaving the Fire Nation, and he would do whatever he could to make sure he didn’t return anytime soon. 

 Earth Kingdom capital, Ba Sing Se

Naruto’s foot tapped a frantic rhythm on the jade-tiled floors, echoing around the small, empty palace room they’d thrown him into while the adults went off to decide his fate without him. Tapping his foot was all he could do to distract from the vortex of thoughts swirling in his head. 

He’d barely had time to think since his airbending mastery exam. Everything had happened so fast.

The airbending masters had yelled at him, poked and prodded him, yelled at each other, paced around and then yelled at him some more before throwing him on the back of a sky bison and carting him off to the earth kingdom. Everytime he opened his mouth to object or ask a question he was told that he needed to wait to get answers and they just needed him to sit quietly while they figured out what to do. 

He eyed the guard they had left to watch him, a short, burly earthbender who didn’t seem pleased to be left babysitting. Naruto shifted indistinctly so the gaurd could only see his back, and then he inhaled, concentrating hard on his open palm. It took several seconds, just until Naruto started to get frustrated, and then he felt his hand warm, and some brand new instinct told him to exhale, and when he did a tiny flame was flickering over his skin. 

No matter how many times he’d done it, it was still so hard to believe. 

He was firebending. 

It wasn’t some trick, or a fluke, or even an accident like the first time. He could control fire. He could make fire. It was amazing.  

The flame went out when he closed his fist. He marveled at his hand, how unburnt it remained. Glancing again at the gaurd and reassured that the man seemed utterly unconcerned with anything Naruto was doing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rock. 

The idea had occurred to take it with him the last time they’d stopped to rest before arriving at Be Sing Se. It had felt a little crazy when he did it. He still wasn’t really sure why he had. It was probably just the way he kept overhearing the monks say the word “avatar” in hushed voices, trying to keep him from hearing their conversations. After all, he could bend fire...

His heart raced as he stared at the rock in his hand, still warm from his tiny flame. He closed his fist. It was crazy. What would make him think he could bend earth too? 

He opened his hand and stared at the rock again, concentrating, trying not to think too much, not to breathe. 

Surely the fire was just a fluke. Some random happenstance. He didn’t know who his parents were, maybe one of them was an airbender and the other a firebender? But, he’d never heard of anything like that before... 

Still, something had made him pick the rock up and put it in his pocket. 

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the energy in his palm. His instincts brought him to airbending first. Sure, he could probably create enough air to lift the rock from his palm, but he’d always been able to do that. 

He set his other hand above the first, palm facing down. Eyes still closed, he stretched his fingers wide and straightened his posture, thinking back to his youth, when he was first learning to airbend and how natural it had come. He concentrated and held his breath, and then slowly lowered the hand holding the rock. He opened his eyes and gasped. 

The rock was floating between his palms, just hovering there, defying logic and gravity and every idea Naruto had ever had about who he was and what his life would be. 

A half second later his concentration faltered and the rock clattered to the floor. 

The guard looked over at him as Naruto bent to pick the rock up and put it back in his pocket, mind spinning with the impossibility of what he’d just done. 

“Uh,” he floundered. “Um, sir? Do you think I could have a, uh, glass of water? I’m pretty thirsty.” 

The gaurd gave an irritated sigh, but moved to the door anyway. Naruto just barely caught what he muttered under his breath before he left the room. 

“I’ll bet the other one isn’t this needy.” 

Naruto nearly jumped from his chair. 

 Other one! 

That meant that there was someone else here who could bend multiple elements like he could! 

He wanted to wait on the gaurd to bring back his glass of water to test if he could bend that too, but he was already pretty sure he could, and his curiosity had been more than peaked. He’d had enough of sitting silently while everyone else decided what to do with him. He wanted answers, and it was about time he tried getting them himself. 

The guard had left the door just slightly open, and it was exactly the break Naruto needed. He peaked into the hallway and when he saw the coast was clear, slipped out in search of whoever this “other one” was. He just hoped he’d know who they were when he saw them. 

Sasuke glared at his guard. 

It was insulting, them treating him like some petulant child, dragging him across the world with no explanation, locking him in some room while they went and decided his life for him, setting a simpleton earthbender to watch over him like he was going to run or destroy something if they left him alone. He was the Avatar, not a normal 15 year old firebender. He could take care of himself. 

Still, whatever the reason, that letter from the air nomads had gotten Sasuke out of the Fire Nation for the first time in years. Ever since his last visit to the Northern Air Temple when that idiot airbender Naruto Uzumaki had nearly killed them both trying to tackle him off the side of a mountain, the fire acolytes had kept much closer watch over him. Now that he had finally left the Fire Nation he was determined not to return, at least until he’d mastered the other elements and tracked down... well. He wasn’t strong enough for that yet. 

Before anything else he really needed to get to the bottom of the mystery that had brought him here. All he’d been able to catch of the acolytes conversations were bits and pieces about lying air nomads and false claims. Something about a boy. 

Just as he was trying to conceive of a plan to get out of the room, there was a commotion from the hallway. A crashing noise followed by some shouting and quick footsteps. 

The guard jerked the door open in time to see a second gaurd sprinting past. The guard outside slowed and Sasuke could see as he beckoned to his guard and said,

“The kid got out! Come help me catch him before anybody notices.” 

The guard watching Sasuke looked back at him uncertainly, but the man in the hallway scoffed. 

 “That’s the good one. He won’t go anywhere. Come on, before the Queen finds out I lost this damn kid!”

Sasuke’s guard was convinced. He told Sasuke to stay put and then shut the door on him, racing off down the hall with the other guard. They’d been gone maybe five seconds and Sasuke was on his feet. If they wouldn’t tell him anything, he’d get his own answers. 

He peeked into the hallway carefully, making sure it was empty, then exited his cushy cell and closed the door behind him. 

He’d gotten a pretty good sense of the Earth Queen’s palace when they’d arrived. It was enormous, with huge vaulted ceilings held up by earthbent columns, long, wide hallways, and not many windows. 

The hallway Sasuke was in connected to another that led to the entrance hall. That was the direction the two guards had gone, chasing after some unknown kid. Sasuke had a suspicion whoever they were chasing was the reason he had come to the earth kingdom,  but despite wanting to find whoever this kid was, he didn’t want to risk running into the guards, so he turned and headed down the hall in the other direction. The fire acolytes had gone this way with the Earth Queen and it must lead to some conference rooms further down. Maybe he could listen to their meeting through the doors. 

He went carefully, in case there were more guards or any palace attendants who might spot him and turn him in. He wasn’t really sure what he was looking for; most of the doors and halls looked the same, but it felt better to be out of that room. 

He was about to turn a corner onto another meandering hallway when he heard a door open and voices filing into the hall. It sounded like they were coming towards him, and he looked around for somewhere else to go. There was a large double door and he stole through it quickly, shutting it behind him and finding himself in yet another long hallway, this one more lushly carpeted than the last, with open windows draped with flowing silk curtains. He had nothing else to do but follow it. It turned a corner several feet ahead and he started to worry about finding his way out of this maze-like palace.

There was a commotion from the window and Sasuke peeked through the curtains to see two familiar guards below. 

The palace was built on a staggered hill, and the guards were on a grassy plateau at least two stories down. They were walking through rows of flowers and looking around wildly. It seemed they still hadn’t found the mystery kid they’d lost. 

“I swear I saw that little punk run out here!” Sasuke heard one of the guards yell at another. Sasuke didn’t see anyone but them in the garden. 

He was still staring out of the window when he heard laughter from below, and a strong breeze blew through the curtains. He squinted to keep dust from his eyes and wasn’t quite quick enough to move out of the way when a person soared lightly through the window and crashed right into him. 

More specifically, crashed into his mouth. Sasuke barely had time to register that he was accidentally kissing a stranger who’d just flown through a window when he lost his balance and fell back, taking this flying, kissing stranger down with him. 

 Sasuke tumbled back into the hallway, landing hard, another body tumbling with him and rolling a few feet away. He groaned and blinked at this whirlwind of a person who had literally crashed into his life.

The boy was rubbing a hand through messy blond hair like he was checking for bruising, then he looked up at Sasuke with brilliant blue eyes, lips parted in surprise. 

He had distinct, familiar scars on his face, like whiskers. 

“You!”                      “You!” 

Naruto’s lips were tingling. 

That was weird. Had that happened before? He couldn’t think of that ever happening before. It probably shouldn’t be much of a concern in the current situatuon, but he couldn’t help but notice it. They were so.... tingly. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sasuke Uchiha hissed at him, scrambling to his feet. 

Naruto rushed to his feet too, wincing as he did. That landing had really hurt his head. Not that he’d expected someone to be standing right inside the window he was jumping through. 

“What were you doing standing in that window!” He replied, and then his brain fully caught up to him and he added, 

 “Hey! What are you doing here!” 

Sasuke glared. Naruto remembered his eyes so clearly, though they’d only met once. They’re black as coals. He didnt look very different from the Sasuke that Naruto fought four years ago, his hair was a little longer, and he was obviously older, but it was definitely him. The Avatar. 

“I just asked you that question, idiot!” 

And Naruto remembered the way he talked, too. Like he was just so much better than everyone else. Naruto frowned, but his adrenaline was racing. What was it about Sasuke Uchiha that made him so hot-blooded. He should have known he was never just an airbender; the whole pacifist thing never really took for him. 

 “I’m not an idiot,” he replied, and he pushed Sasuke by the shoulders. 

 Sasuke steamed, literally, batting Naruto’s hand away with a poof of flame. 

 “What,” Sasuke said through gritted teeth, taking a step closer to Naruto as he did, “are you doing. Here.” 

 He paused and added, 

 “Naruto.” 

 Naruto’s stomach did a small swoop, like he was flying with his glider and looped around on a strong current. Sasuke had remembered his name. Everything was so overwhelming. He didn’t know what emotion to feel first, and he had so many questions, but he couldn’t let Sasuke figure out that he didn’t know why the hell he’d been dragged to the Earth Kingdom either. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

 “I’m probably here for the same reason you are,” he explained, trying to mimic the condescending quality of Sasuke’s voice but failing. He was too excited. He didn’t know how the avatar would react to finding out about his unexplainable powers. 

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

“I doubt it,” he said. “I’m here on Avatar business.” 

Naruto grinned wolfishly. 

“Same here.” 

“What does that mean? Are you supposed to train me in airbending? I thought they’d find someone competent to do that. You don’t even have your airbending tattoos. Doesn’t that mean you aren’t even a master airbender yet?” 

Naruto’s grin turned downward and he grit his teeth. The airbending masters refusal to pass his exam still stung, despite everything that had happened since. 

“I’m the greatest airbender who’s ever lived!” He boasted, just to spit it in Sasuke’s smug face. “And not just that. I can bend your dumb element, too.” 

He saw Sasuke’s shoulders stiffen, and his glare turned black. Naruto smirked, glad to have finally gotten a real rise out of the other boy. He held out his hand and concentrated like he’d done before and managed to summon that small flame that flickered warmly in his palm. 

Sasuke’s eyes went wide as he stared at the flame, and then his face contorted into pure rage and Naruto was barely quick enough to dodge the flames that came straight for his head. 

But even as Naruto countered Sasuke’s flames and sent blasts of air at the other boy, as the two of them tore through the halls of the Earth Queen’s Palace, scorching walls, destroying tapestries, busting through doors and smashing tables, Naruto felt happier than he had in a long time. All he’d wanted since that meeting four years ago was to fight Sasuke Uchiha again. 

 It almost made it worth it when Queen Tsunade nearly killed them for destroying her stuff. Almost.

That woman was scary. 

Chapter Text

“…my tapestries, my vases, my door, my table! Destroyed! Because a couple of nosy little brats couldn’t stay in a room for five minutes! Do you two understand how much damage you did to this building? Its two hundred years old! Are you even listening to me? Speak up! What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Tsunade was nearly out of breath from screaming at this duo of imbeciles who’d run rampant through her palace. The two of them were sat before her in what was left of the main hallway, facing away from each other. They both sported several scuffs and scratches, not to mention bruising, burns, torn clothes, and a fine layer of dirt.

The dark-haired firebender—the “original” Avatar, as it were—was glaring at the ground. He didn’t seem to hear Tsunade’s questions at all.

It was the blond who replied; this unexpected “new” Avatar who’d thrown a wrench not just into the rules that governed all bending, but also into Tsunade’s entire day.

He looked up at her with an eyebrow raised, then pointed to the mess of a hallway behind her and had the nerve to say,

“Uhhhh, don’t you think most of that is from your earthbending, Lady?”

Tsunade felt a blood vessel burst in her forehead as she stomped her foot and had the ground swallow the airbender and turn him upside down, dangling from the ceiling like a stalactite.

“Hey hey hey! Let me down, you old hag!”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD HAG, PUNK?”

She turned on the firebender.

“Do you have anything to say?”

He ignored his partner-in-crime’s shouts from above and instead looked into the undamaged meeting room the fire and air dignitaries had gone into to continue to discuss their options while they left Tsunade to detain the troublemakers. They were still fairly deep in conversation, but at least they seemed to be agreeing more than they had when they’d first arrived.

“What’s happening?” the boy asked. “I want to know what’s going on.”

Tsunade wouldn’t have given him an answer even if she had one; he was acting far too uppity for her liking—too many years being coddled by the Fire Acolytes just because he was the Avatar.

But the truth was, Tsunade didn’t have the answer. She’d possibly solved the puzzle of why there were two Avatars, but that didn’t help any in figuring out what to do about that information. Surely there was someone who knew more about Avatar-related issues than she did who might have more insights. Maybe she could send out some scouts to track them down…

“Hey Earth Kingdom Lady,” the airbender called from above. “Will you let me down now? My nose itches.”

She rolled her eyes but earthbent him free from the ceiling.

Maybe she could get some answers if she talked to them, since it seemed the adults who’d brought the two of them to the earth kingdom didn’t have any desire to.

“So,” she grunted at the airbender, Naruto, recalling his name from the papers she’d read earlier. Addressing him seemed a better bet than Uchiha, who had barely spoken a word since she broke up their fight.

“Why the hell were you two fighting?”

“He started it,” Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms.

She flicked a small stone at his forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Not helpful,” she said, but there was something about the childish, stubborn way this airbender held himself that softened Tsunade just a little. He reminded her of her brother… but that just made her chest hurt so she brushed it off and tried again.

“Fight. Explain.”

“This jerk just didn’t like that I was the Avatar, is all,” Naruto said, rubbing his head where the stone had hit him.

“You are not the Avatar,” Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

Tsunade did feel a little bad for him. His whole identity was tied to being the Avatar; it must be unsettling to have it shaken so out of the blue.

“What do you know?” Naruto spit back, and just like that they were almost at each other’s throats again. Tsunade had to earthbend a wall between them and glare before they settled back down enough for her to lower it.

“Now,” she said, “I know it’s confusing, and nothing is certain right now, but we may have some answers. I assumed your supervisors would fill you in, but they’ve been discussing something for a while now—oh, there they are. I’m sure they’ll be happy to explain the situation to you both.”

The Air Nation Nomads and Fire Nation Acolytes seemed to have finished their conversation and were approaching Tsunade and the boys. Good. Tsunade was tired of babysitting.

“Well, I supposed you all have come to a decision,” she said. “Glad I was able to help. As I said, good luck with these two. Shizune will see you all out of the city—“

“Actually, Your Highness,” one of the Air Nomads interrupted. “We think you should probably hear our decision on the matter at hand.”

Tsunade had a very sudden, very bad feeling.

“Yes,” the head Fire Acolyte said. “You see, after some deliberation, we have come to the decision that, well, since these two seem to share the ability to bend all four elements, it only makes sense that they are trained in those elements together. Sasuke has nearly mastered firebending, and…”

She motioned to the eldest Air Nomad and he nodded his shiny, bald head, clearing his throat.

“The boy—“ he paused, and Tsunade couldn’t help but notice a slight grimace when he corrected himself. She also noted that Sasuke Uchiha seemed to pick up on this odd moment as well. “—Naruto. He is an… adequate airbender. Good enough to leave the Northern Temple and study elsewhere.”

Tsunade definitely couldn’t miss the way Naruto’s face darkened at the Nomad’s words, but he remained silent. In fact, both he and Sasuke hung on to every word their elder’s said despite the fact that they were all acting as though neither of the boys was there at all.

“I suppose that makes sense,” Tsunade ventured, wondering what that had to do with her.

“So we agreed,” the fire Acolyte said matter-of-factly, “that it would be simplest for the two of them to train together in a new element, and since we’re already here, in the Earth Kingdom, we decided they would stay here and train under the best.”

That bad feeling was coming again.

“The best being…?” Tsunade was fairly sure she knew the answer.

“You, of course, Your Highness. And we’re sure you will be happy to accept. Anyone would be proud to train the Avatar.”

“…Of course,” was all Tsunade could bring herself to say. She really needed a drink.

“So we’re staying here?” Naruto asked, a hint of excitement in his tone. “Both of us?”

The Air Nomad glanced at him for the first time in the entire exchange, expression cold.

“Yes. You are to stay in the Earth Kingdom and learn earthbending, and don’t embarrass the Northern Temple while you’re here.”

“What do you mean both of us?” Sasuke cut in, expression somehow even colder. “No one has explained what is going on. Why are you all acting like he’s the Avatar?”

The head female Acolyte answered him.

“Queen Tsunade discovered something in your history that may have caused the Avatar Cycle to restart with an airbender. This boy, in fact. Some fire when you were young. We never gave it much thought before now.”

“What fire? When?” Sasuke demanded. He stood. It was clear that this information the Acolyte thought as trivial was not trivial at all to Sasuke. Naruto was clearly curious as well, eyes trained on the Acolyte.

“You were barely three months old. You inhaled some smoke. It must have caused you to stop breathing for a short time or we wouldn’t be here. The records say your brother saved you.”

They were simple words. No one expected them to trigger any kind of intense reaction, but it was lucky Tsunade had been watching Sasuke closely.

She’d barely had a moments notice to bend an earthen cage around him to contain the flames.

”LIES!”

Naruto had been just beside Sasuke when he’d yelled and summoned an explosion of flames that Lady Tsunade had had to contain with earthbending.

But there had been something strange about the moment just before Sasuke firebent around him. The fire Acolyte had said something about Sasuke’s brother saving him from suffocating, and then out of nowhere Naruto had felt… horribly sad, and then immediately violently angry.

He couldn’t explain it. The feelings had come upon him from out of nowhere.

But the moment it happened, something in Naruto’s mind lit up with recollection. He’d experienced this sort of thing before. Only a few times that he could remember, moments when he’d been bored or happy, or thinking about something completely different and then a strong emotion overcame him that didn’t make sense. Once, he’d been asleep and woke up consumed with frustration, though he couldn’t place what it was that frustrated him. Another time he’d been practicing his airbending while travelling with Jiraiya and out of nowhere he’d been suddenly horribly lonely. It wasn’t that strange of a feeling; he’d felt lonely plenty of times before. But this time it came upon him completely unprovoked. Jiraiya couldn’t figure out why he’d spent the rest of the afternoon in sullen silence.

And there was one other moment like this that stood out in his mind. He’d been rinsing off in a small waterfall and caught his reflection in the pool of water, but for the tiniest, smallest of seconds it hadn’t looked like him in the water. He swore there was no blond hair or tanned skin, but as soon as he blinked it was gone, but another one of those feelings he couldn’t explain came over him, and this one was the kind that still made his face turn red just thinking about it.

He’d written it off as teenage hormones and left it at that.

And he mostly did the same this time. Sure, it had been strange, but it was easy to empathize with Sasuke. His face didn’t usually reveal much emotion—aside from annoyance—but in that moment before he exploded Naruto had clearly seen the sadness and anger across his features, like paint across a blank canvas.

Honestly Naruto wasn’t thinking much at all about those emotions that had surged through him. There was way too much other stuff to think about.

The Fire Acolytes and Air Nomads gathered up their things and left not long after Sasuke’s outburst. Naruto tried asking them questions but, as always, the Airbending Masters didn’t care enough about him to give him any answers. They brushed him off and told him that it was up to Queen Tsunade to explain everything to him. But she was off watching to make sure Sasuke cooled off, and dealing with other Queenly duties she’d been distracted from by the issue of him and Sasuke.

Her assistant tried explaining some things to him, but she didn’t have much time to give him either. She smiled halfheartedly and asked him if he needed anything else, and when he opened his mouth to ask more questions she cut him off with an apology.

“I’m really sorry, Naruto, but I’ve got to run. You and Sasuke can stay in the palace tonight, until we find more suitable housing. One of the servants will show you to your rooms. I’m sure we’ll have more information tomorrow, okay?”

And she left him without another thought. He didn’t wait around for anyone to shove him in another cell, or confine him to a room. He needed to get out, to get some air, to be alone, to think.

It seemed like he would be staying a while in Ba Sing Se, so he might as well start exploring his new home.

He wandered quickly out of the palace and down the sloping hills towards the street below. No one stopped him. No one really even noticed him. A few people glanced at his robes, curious to see an airbender in their midst, but most just went on their way without paying him any mind.

He didn’t know where he was going. He just let his feet carry him, head swirling with all the revelations that he’d been hit with since those blasts of fire came from his fists after his failed airbending mastery exam.

He was the Avatar. Well, one of two Avatars, something no one had ever heard of happening before.

And it happened because of an accident. A fire that almost killed baby Sasuke in the firenation at the exact moment that Naruto was being born in the Northern Air Temple. On the same day the spirit fox had attacked and given him the scars on his cheeks that forever marked him as a pariah among his nation. It couldn’t have been a coincidence, could it? No one seemed to know.

He hadn’t been able to really say goodbye to Monk Iruka.

They’d rushed him off in such a hurry he hadn’t been able to say goodbye to anyone from the Northern Air Temple, and he had no idea when he would be allowed to go back. Ba Sing Se was big and sprawling and strange. He’d never been to a city this big before. It made Omashu seem like a little village. And from what Shizune had said, he and Sasuke would be staying here to learn Earthbending from Queen Tsunade.

Sasuke.

He was the person most on Naruto’s mind.

The aloof, cocky firebender Naruto had fought those years ago had matured. He was a little taller, his jaw a little more defined, muscles more full from years of training. Of course, Naruto had changed more. He had way more muscles than Sasuke, and his face was much more masculine. Sasuke had weird, soft features and pale skin and long, dark eyelashes. Not to mention, Naruto wasn’t just a troublemaking punk trying to start fights anymore! Well… sometimes he was. But mostly he was diligent in his airbending training.

He wondered how he would do at earthbending.

It was so overwhelming knowing he had power inside him to control all four elements, something only one other person alive had the ability to do. All his grand ideas of being the greatest airbender to ever live seemed so small compared to the future before him now. What would it mean being the Avatar? What was he supposed to do with the powers once he’d mastered all the elements?

Naruto had never given the Avatar much thought before. He hadn’t had any reason to. Surely they’d taught about previous Avatars in lessons when he was younger, but he couldn’t recall very many of them. His lack of interest in history was coming back to bite him. If he was there, Iruka would have shook his head and reprimanded him for being a terrible student. Shikamaru would probably know about the Avatar, but he’d think explaining it was a drag.

Mostly Naruto wished he could talk to Jiraiya. His pervy mentor was ancient! He was probably alive when the last Avatar was and knew everything about him. Unfortunately, Jiraiya travelled everywhere across all four nations and tracking him down was nearly impossible, even if Queen Tsunade would let him leave Ba Sing Se, which Naruto was pretty sure wasn’t going to happen.

Naruto had wandered quite far from the palace as he was thinking everything over, though he was pretty sure he was still in the inner ring of the city. He blinked around at the market he’d wound up in.

It was nice, like everything in the inner ring, and bustling. There were a ton of stalls selling everything from jewelry to fancy street food, and it made Naruto realize he hadn’t eaten since he’d gotten to the earth kingdom capital. His stomach grumbled and he grimaced when he thought about his empty pockets and the long walk back he’d have to make before maybe finding a kitchen in that maze of a palace.

He turned to start the journey back, eyeing one of the food stalls despondently, but then something else caught his eye from the center of the market.

Towering over the stalls and the crowds of people was an intricate stone statue of a man.

Hunger flew from his mind as he studied the face some 10 feet above him. He pushed mindlessly through the crowds of people to stand just at the base of the statue. There was something compelling about the stone face.

The man had long hair and wore typical earth kingdom royalty clothing. His face was plain, but kind. Strong jaw, broad shoulders, friendly eyes…

Naruto kept staring at it. The man in the statue looked so familiar but he just couldn’t place here he would have seen him before. It was the strangest feeling. He couldn’t pull himself away.

“Admiring the statue of our previous Avatar, are we?”

Naruto startled, nearly stumbling over when the voice spoke just beside his shoulder. And then he caught up to what the voice had said.

“The Avatar!” he said, and spun around to find the smiling face of the voice that had spoken.

The man who was smiling at him was… a little strange to look at. He was very pale, paler than Sasuke, with long black hair that hung loose around his face and purple makeup around his eyes. And his eyes… they were kind of gold? But Naruto didn’t really care much about what this guy looked like. He was too distracted by the information that the statue that had called him over was of the previous Avatar. His previous life!

The man laughed.

“Yes, of course. You must know of Avatar Hashirama?”

“Hashirama…” Naruto said the name and frowned. It did sound familiar. Maybe he had been paying a little attention in his history lessons after all.

“Yes, this marketplace is named for him. You really must not be from Ba Sing Se to not know of Senju Market. But of course, I could tell you weren’t from here simply by your airbender garb.”

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t an earthbender.

“So,” he said, hoping this stranger could give him more information on this Avatar Hashirama. “This guy was the last Avatar? He was from the Earth Kingdom?”

“Yes,” the man replied with another smile. “Though he wasn’t from the inner ring. His family was quite poor when he was born, but when their eldest son turned out to be the Avatar the entire family was moved to the inner ring, and Hashirama even ended up marrying the Earth Queen at the time. The current Earth Queen is his granddaughter.”

“That old hag is the last Avatar’s granddaughter?” Naruto exclaimed. Then he wondered briefly if that meant that Tsunade was also his granddaughter, and then the train of thought got too weird and confusing and he let it go.

“So, this Hashirama guy,” he asked instead, as the knowledgeable stranger was still standing there smiling at him, “was he, like, a good Avatar? Did he do a lot for the earth kingdom?”

“Well,” the man mused, strolling away so Naruto had to follow, circling the base of the statue. “Avatar Hashirama lived a long life. They say he was a great Avatar, and the earth kingdom was quite prosperous during his time. Although, most people agree that the Avatar’s role is not just to protect the nation he or she was born in, but to unite and defend all Nations.”

Naruto thought about this for a moment as he continued following the stranger around the statue. It was, again, quite an overwhelming thought that he would be responsible for uniting and defending anything, but the idea was thrilling, too. It meant he was important.

And all Naruto had ever wanted to be was important.

He was thinking so hard he really didn’t notice the curious way this stranger was looking at him.

“So what happened to him?” Naruto finally asked, staring up at the face of the statue again. “I mean, did he just die of old age? Cuz—because isn’t there a new Avatar now? A firebender?”

The stranger nodded.

“The story of Avatar Hashirama’s death is likely the one most people remember him for. During his time, the nations of Earth and Fire were very close. This was due to the friendship between Hashirama and a prominent firebending general, the Firelords’s right hand man, in fact, Madara Uchiha. History says the two were friends from youth, and only grew closer through the years. They shared ambitions of blending the Fire and Earth nations and sharing resources, until Madara grew too bold, and instead of blending the nations, there was a war.”

Naruto had vague memories of learning about the last war between Fire and Earth.

“That war didn’t last very long though, did it?”

“No,” the stranger replied. “Hashirama didn’t want countless lives to be sacrificed, so instead he chose to fight Madara in a one-on-one battle to end the war. The stories say it was one of the greatest battles in history. It leveled an entire forest just outside of the wall of Ba Sing Se. And, of course, it was tragic that the Avatar should have to fight the man who had once been his friend. In the end, both men died during the battle, and the war ended soon after.”

Naruto was silent for a while, taking this all in, wishing he’d known it before. There was so much more to being the Avatar than he ever realized. Would people still tell stories about his life after he was gone? Would they build statues for him in the Air Temples?

Definitely not, he thought dejectedly. They didn’t even accept him as one of their own. Sasuke would probably be the one to get statues and have great stories told about his adventures and battles. Naruto was just going to wind up as the forgotten footnote. They’d probably call him the “accidental Avatar” and just skip over him in the histories.

As if to add insult to injury, as he thought this his stomach gave a loud grumble, and his forgotten hunger returned with a vengeance. He held his stomach and sighed, thinking about the long walk uphill to the palace. He should have brought his airglider with him.

The stranger gave a soft chuckle when he heard Naruto’s stomach growl, and Naruto glanced up at him apologetically.

“Well, I guess I have to get going,” he said. “Thanks for explaining about Avatar Hashirama. You really know a lot about the Avatar!”

The man’s smile widened, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“Yesss,” he replied, and he dragged the last sound out like a hiss. “You might say I’m… something of an Avatar expert. And here, have an earthcake on me.”

He fished a silver piece from a pocket and handed it to Naruto, who took it and thanked the stranger profusely, mouth watering at the thought of getting something from one of the food stalls.

“Of course,” the man laughed lightly, and turned to walk into the crowd, waving and adding as he went,

“I have a feeling we’ll meet again, little airbender.”

Naruto waved to the stranger as he went, then gave one last glance at the stone face of Avatar Hashirama before rushing off to spend his silver on one of those earthcakes that smelled so great. By the time he finished it and his hands were covered in syrup he’d already forgotten about the nice stranger he’d met by the Avatar statue.

The bathing room was large, with vaulted stone ceilings and intricately sculpted jade of every color. The bath itself was jade as well, the soft green shade that gave the water an ethereal quality when the low lights reflected off of it. The room itself was quite cool, most likely because it was several floors below the ground, carved into the earth beneath the palace. It was very beautiful, if only Sasuke had been in the mood to appreciate it.

After his—outburst—Queen Tsunade had commanded him to clean up and cool off. She’s even told the servants to run the bath with cold water to help “cool his head,” but Sasuke didn’t really mind. The cold water was relaxing, numbing. It allowed him to sit in a silent room alone and consider his options.

It seemed like still no one had given him a proper explanation. Naruto was the Avatar, too? They were going to stay in Ba Sing Se and train together with Tsunade?

And the supposed reason for all of this: the fire he knew nothing about. The fire that they claimed Itachi had saved him from.

They were wrong. They had to be. Whatever they said, he knew it wasn’t true.

Itachi, his older brother, the man who had murdered their entire family, had saved his life? It didn’t make sense.

But, there wasn’t much about Itachi that made sense to Sasuke. He had too many conflicting memories. Sometimes it was hard for him to decipher what was real and what wasn’t.

How could the same Itachi who had held his hand and taught him his first firebending technique be the same Itachi who burned their parents in front of his eyes?

He grappled with this conflict constantly. Had it really all been a ruse? All those times Itachi carried him on his shoulders and took him down to the lake to see the turtleducks? When he comforted Sasuke when he burnt his hand after a firebending mistake? How could that have been the same Itachi who turned cold eyes on him, red flames reflected in his irises, and told him he was always a weakling, and the only reason he was letting him live was because he knew Sasuke would never be strong enough to seek revenge.

When the Acolytes explained that he was going to live with them after the massacre, when they told him it was because he was the Avatar and they needed to start training him in firebending, the first thing he did was laugh. They must have thought he was crazy. He was still covered in ash, but he couldn’t help it.

Itachi had said he would never be strong enough to get revenge, but Itachi couldn’t have known that he was the Avatar. If there was ever a way Sasuke could become strong enough to find his brother and pay him back for the murder of their entire clan, it was as the master of all four elements.

For as long as he could remember, that had been Sasuke’s only goal. He trained hard at firebending so he could master it quickly and move on to earth, and water, and air. Being the Avatar, the symbol, the idea—that was all just a second thought for him. A byproduct of circumstance. He’d never tried that hard to do as the Acolytes told him and channel his Avatar spirit, his past lives, the Avatar state. It was the bending that mattered to him. What did past lives know of his suffering? He didn’t need their help to defeat his brother. If he just knew more elements than Itachi he knew he could do it himself.

But then… Naruto.

He was an anomaly.

Sasuke had always felt as though his life was preplanned, set in stone. He was the Avatar. He would learn the elements. He would find his brother. And then… Well, he’d never given much thought to it. Maybe try and revive his family name. But he didn’t need to be the Avatar for that, and anyway, thinking about finding a wife and starting a family always felt strange to imagine. He tried not to think about it.

But Naruto.

Fate seemed to pull them together, almost like gravity. First at the air temple, and then again, in the palace, when the idiot had crashed through a window and straight into him.

He was loud, and overconfident. Every time he spoke he got under Sasuke’s skin like no one else. Those blue eyes, that crooked grin… there was something about him that Sasuke couldn’t banish from his mind no matter how he tried.

It was Naruto, of all people, who wanted to steal Sasuke’s role as the Avatar. To take away the one thing that made Sasuke stronger than everyone else.

It wasn’t fair. He’d never gotten a chance to be the Avatar, and now he would always just be one of two. They were bound together. Maybe it really was fate.

The cold water of his bath began to steam. He practiced his breathing to calm down. He couldn’t have another outburst like before. It wasn’t like him.

What was he going to do about Naruto? He needed to learn earthbending, but he didn’t want to have to share being the Avatar with someone else. It was supposed to be his.

It was the only thing he had left.

He took another deep breath and raised his hands above the surface of the water, just an inch, letting them hover there. He slowly began to move them in a slow rhythm, back and forth, letting his fingers skim the now warm water. Slowly the water moved along with his hands, back and forth, gently. Not so much as to spill from the tub.

It was calming. He wondered if Naruto could move the water like he could. And then he cursed himself for thinking of Naruto again.

He let the water rest, held his breath and submerged his head. The world faded away for just a few seconds and he felt like himself.

He was the Avatar. Naruto couldn’t change that.

He would master the elements and challenge his brother. No one was going to get in his way.

Maybe it didn’t matter if he and Naruto trained together, at least for a little while. It wouldn’t be forever. Eventually he would need to learn airbending and Naruto would need to learn firebending. He didn’t particularly care about the duties of being the Avatar, so why should he care if it was left up to Naruto to worry about those things?

He emerged from the water and breathed deep. His thoughts felt much clearer, as well as his path ahead.

Naruto didn’t change anything, really.

It was ridiculous to think fate, or anything, was pulling them together. It was just like the Acolytes had said, a mistake. Naruto was just the result of some little mistake that happened years ago; that had no bearing on the future.

Sasuke would learn earthbending and be closer to his revenge, and Naruto would…

Well, at least having Naruto around would allow him to gauge his progress. And maybe test his skills.

If there was one thing that was very clear, it was that he and Naruto couldn’t seem to go very long at all without wanting to bend something at each other.

He wondered if that was an Avatar thing, or just something between him and Naruto that couldn’t be explained away so easily.

He stood from bath, the water much warmer now than when he entered, and found a robe that had been left for him. He left the washroom thinking about starting earthbending training tomorrow, and how satisfying it would be to one-up Naruto.

“Alright, boys! Enough squabbling!” Anko called out, her hands on her hips.

Sasuke huffed and Naruto glared, but they turned away from each other and gave up on their pointless argument.

At Anko’s side, Sakura was giving the both of them a very clear ‘I told you so,’ look, that neither Naruto nor Sasuke appreciated. Naruto slyly sent one last small burst of air to muss up Sasuke’s hair and Sasuke snarled at him, but was kept from retaliation by a sharp look from Anko.

“Honestly, if you spent half your time practicing instead of fighting each other you’d have mastered this technique already,” she remarked exasperatedly, glancing between them and shaking her head. “Alright Sakura, give them another demonstration while I go check on the younger ones.”

She nodded to Sakura, who nodded back, and waited for Anko to walk off towards the larger group of younger earthbenders who were practicing slightly more advanced moves.

Sasuke watched her walk off, irritated. It was bad enough that after barely a week of earthbending lessons with Tsunade, she’d become too busy and shunted them off to Anko. Now Anko was even too distracted with her other students to give them her full attention and had Sakura—who was barely older than he was—demonstrate most of the moves. Even if Sakura was a highly skilled earthbender, it still felt like his Avatar training wasn’t taking as much precedence as it should. Naruto had made similar remarks to Tsunade but she’d threatened to let Sakura suspend him from the palace ceiling again and he’d stopped complaining.

Once Anko had gotten a few yards away Sakura widened her stance, stamped her foot and made an upwards motion with both arms at right angles, her fists clenched in front of her eyes. The movement made the ground beneath her feet rise up in an uneven circle around her. The pillar of earth grew until it was at least ten feet in the air, and Sakura peered over the side of it and grinned down at Sasuke and Naruto cheerfully.

She lowered back to the ground and showed them the movements again, more slowly.

“You have pull from your core for this technique, and dig your feet into the ground. It shouldn’t take either of you too long to get this if you spend most of today on this move.”

Sakura had been anxious about teaching the Avatars when Tsunade had first explained the situation to her. It was one thing to help out with the younger kids, but Naruto and Sasuke were teenagers like her, not to mention Sasuke still made her nervous like she was still the shy little girl all those years ago at the air temple. But it didn’t take long for her natural teaching instincts to kick in, and the truth was that she had grown a lot since saving the two of them from falling off the side of the mountain. She’d even been chosen to train under the Earth Queen and was best in her class, better even than Ino!

Sometimes correcting Sasuke’s technique gave her butterflies, but being a good earthbending teacher was more important, and she took earthbending seriously—unlike a certain airbending Avatar she knew.

“This’ll be a piece of cake!” Naruto exclaimed, widening his stance just as Sakura had and making flailing arm movements. The earth beneath him rose about 6 inches up from the surrounding ground and succeeded in only making Sasuke (who was standing on the ground that Naruto was trying to bend) lose his footing for a half-second before he smirked at Naruto’s pitiful first effort.

“You try it then,” Naruto hissed, crossing his arms. Sakura had already earthbent herself a seat to watch their attempts. Though she was confident they would get it by the end of the day, she knew it would probably take them a while to raise the earth any significant height.

Sasuke took the challenge and made the motion Sakura had shown them more carefully than Naruto had. His pillar rose about a foot and a half from the ground. He frowned, unable to believe that was all he could manage, but Naruto frowned too, because Sasuke had done better than him. He quickly focused himself and tried again, raising his small uneven circle almost to level with Sasuke’s. In retaliation, Sasuke rose his another foot.

Anko was still off with the younger kids, so Sakura stood and sighed, approaching the two of them to fix some of their mistakes. Sometimes she felt like she was doing more of their training than anyone else.

“Naruto! You need to ground yourself more. Dig your heels into the ground and press down with the center of your foot while pulling up more slowly with your arms!”

She blushed when she addressed Sasuke, but the desire to correct his bending outweighed her nerves.

“Sasuke, you’re doing really well! Just widen your stance a little bit, and tighten your core. Earthbending takes more muscle than some other forms of bending.”

Sasuke glared. He’d been angry ever since their earthbending training began. He wasn’t progressing as fast as he wanted, and the acolytes promise that he would be trained by Tsunade because she was the best just turned out to be another lie. He wasn’t sure what he had expected.

Still, he respected Sakura’s instruction, mostly, and he subtly tried to follow her advice.

At his side Naruto was trying the same, feet wide and face screwed up in concentration. He looked like an idiot, but when he moved his arms in the upward motion again, his pillar rose another two feet. Sasuke scowled as Naruto cheered, but it didn’t last long. Part of his pillar crumbled and he almost lost his footing.

“Remember to maintain, Naruto!” Sakura chided, and turned to watch as he made another attempted. He rose the two feet to match Naruto, and his pillar didn’t crumble.

“Very good, Sasuke!” she said with a smile.

Sasuke didn’t smile back. He hadn’t come to the earth kingdom to make friends, and Sakura’s little crush on him didn’t make him any better at earthbending, so it mostly just irritated him. He concentrated and tried again, feeling sweat start to pool on the back of his neck. He rose another foot.

“Ugh, Sakura, how come you only compliment Sasuke?” Naruto whined.

Sasuke tried to tune him out and ignore how Sakura blushed. He rose his pillar another half foot and felt his breathing grow heavier.

“Take your time, Sasuke,” Sakura pointedly ignored Naruto. “You don’t have to rush it or you’ll get worn out.”

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. Another day of earthbending training with Sakura fawning over Sasuke, who barely seemed to even notice her.

Well, at least she was teaching him earthbending at all.

It was still strange to think about how fast his life had changed in such a short time. He had been training at the Northern Air Temple barely three weeks ago and now he was learning earthbending from someone like Sakura.

And even if she didn’t pay as much attention to him as she did to Sasuke, at least she knew he was the Avatar. It had been so disappointing when Tsunade had explained to him and Sasuke that because it was such a unique situation, they were going to be very careful about who knew that Naruto was also the Avatar. They’d even given him earth kingdom clothes so it didn’t look so much like an airbender was practicing earthbending, and only Anko and Sakura knew the whole story.

Naruto wished everyone could know that he was the Avatar. For once, something that made him different was actually a good thing. It made him special.

But no one was even allowed to know about it.

He tried to tell himself that eventually everyone would figure it out, and he’d get to be an Avatar for real, like Sasuke, who could barely go anywhere in Ba Sing Se without people pointing and whispering about him. But he'd never been very good at being patient, and being in Sasuke's shadow all the time just made him feel like an afterthought.

He took a deep breath and tried the earthbending move again, using all his concentration.

The pillar of earth he was on grew almost three feet before his strength ran out and he exhaled sharply, wiping his brow with the back of his wrist.

“Wow Naruto!” Sakura exclaimed. “Keep it up!”

Sasuke glared at him, sweat making his dumb, dark bangs stick to his pale forehead at odd angles. Naruto grinned wolfishly. He was sweaty, too. Earth kingdom clothes weren’t nearly as light as airbender clothes. He airbent a breeze to cool himself off, and then sent it over to Sasuke’s pillar, too. Sasuke didn’t acknowledge it, but he turned his face towards the cool air anyway.

“Naruto,” Sakura chided. “No airbending where the others can see! Why don’t you both try again, and try to go even higher this time?”

Both he and Sasuke resumed their stances, but before Naruto could center himself to earthbend again he was distracted.

“Hey! The old hag is coming! Maybe she’s gonna start teaching us again!”

He pointed across the open rocky field they used for practice and Sakura and Sasuke both followed his gaze. Tsunade, closely followed by Shizune, were marching over to meet them. Sakura hadn’t taught them yet how to lower the earth pillar, so he leapt lightly off of it without thinking about the minimal airbending he used to land softly.

Sakura frowned at him but didn’t say anything. She was a little distracted by the expression on her Master’s face. Tsunade looked… concerned. Shizune looked downright worried. And strangely they weren’t heading over to where she, Sasuke, and Naruto were training, but were going over to Anko.

Sasuke jumped down from his pillar as well and followed as she and Naruto made their way over to Anko and the younger students. Anko seemed surprised to see Tsunade at first, but then her expression turned hard and guarded. What was going on? Anko was almost perpetually cheerful. It was strange for her to get to serious about something…

“Hey old hag!” Naruto called out as he ran to meet Tsunade. “Are you finally gonna get back to training us?”

Tsunade shot a look at him and sneered.

“What did I tell you about calling me old hag?” She shouted.

The three teenagers had reached the earth queen, her assistant, and Anko.

“Don’t be pushy, Naruto,” Anko chided. “Sakura’s doing a great job teaching you! You were nearly at 7 feet each last time I looked over!”

“Anko,” Shizune cut Naruto off before he could reply. Sakura thought her anxiety was even more obvious up close, and Tsunade’s scowl wasn’t because of anything Naruto said. “We need to speak to you, privately.”

“Whats going on?” Naruto asked, but Sakura elbowed him in the ribs. She glanced at Sasuke and saw that he had also noticed the strange tension between the three women but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Anko scowled, but nodded. She turned to her group of younger students.

“Alright kiddos! Early lunchbreak!” The kids bowed quickly and then ran off to the crop of trees on the edge of the field. Anko turned on the three teenagers.

“And you guys, too. Ill be back in a little bit to check your progress.”

Sakura nodded and bowed, Sasuke didn’t say anything, and Naruto looked confused. Typical Naruto.

The three women walked towards the buildings on the other side of the field. They were part of the palace, but quite a ways from the center palace building, and not nearly as intricately constructed. Most of them were open air, with tall stone roofs for earthbending lessons when it was raining. Sakura watched as they disappeared behind a corner.

“That was weird,” said Naruto, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Sakura agreed. “Anko doesn’t usually get so serious. I wonder what happened?”

She glanced at Sasuke. He had already turned back around, but Naruto was staring at the buildings they'd gone into intently. Sakura didn’t like that look in his eyes.

Sure enough, when he turned back to her he had a conspiratorial grin on his face.

“Don’t you wanna find out whats going on?”

Sasuke turned his head a fraction of the way towards Naruto and then seemed to stop himself.

“Naruto,” Sakura shook her head, “I hope you aren’t suggesting we follow them and listen in.”

And yet… the idea had appeal. Sakura never would have thought to do something like that on her own, but she was very curious. Being Tsunade’s understudy allowed her to have more information about the inner workings of Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom than a normal person, and the Queen didn’t usually mind if she overheard anything. It was strange that she wasn’t trusting her with whatever this was, and with why it had to do with Anko.

“Come on, Sakura,” Naruto replied, a plan already forming in his mind. “You saw Shizune’s face! Its obviously something big.”

Sakura wanted to agree, but cut her eyes over to Sasuke. She didn’t want him to think she was some kind of eavesdropper. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, too, stepping in front of him so he couldn’t look away. Sasuke glared at him, but only slightly.

“Sasuke,” he said with a smile. “It could be Avatar stuff. We should know what’s going on, don’t you think?”

“If it had anything to do with us, they would have just said so,” Sasuke rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right,” Naruto scoffed. “Because they’ve been so good at telling us stuff before.”

Sasuke thought about how the acolytes had just decided on their own that he was staying in Ba Sing Se, how they’d never mentioned anything before about the fire that had supposedly resulted in Naruto. Sasuke had to agree with him, but he still tried to convince himself that spying on the earth queen was stupid, and a waste of time.

“We’re supposed to be practicing earthbending.”

“It’ll just take a minute. Come on, don’t be a spoil sport!”

Sasuke huffed and turned around.

“Do what you want.”

Naruto shrugged and started towards the buildings.

“Fine. But if I hear anything awesome, don’t think I’m telling you about it. You coming, Sakura?”

She felt guilty about it, but she nodded. She and Naruto raced to the closest building, and they’d only just started considering where they were gonna listen in when Sasuke appeared behind them. Naruto and Sakura grinned at him, but his face remained blank. He wasn’t sure why he decided to come on this stupid little spy mission, and he tried to tell himself if was because he didn’t want Naruto having any information that he didn’t have. And it wasn’t because he just didn’t like the idea of being left out.

“Sakura can earthbend us onto the roof,” he said, pointing above them. “We’ll probably be able to hear their voices from below.”

“Hell yeah!” Naruto cheered, jumping lightly into the air. “Espionage! Lets go!”

“Quiet!” Sasuke hissed, slamming a hand against the side of Naruto’s head. “Do you even know what the point of espionage is?”

“Yes!” Naruto bit back, but much more quietly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She still couldn’t really tell if they liked or hated each other. They bickered like they’d been friends for years, but sometimes they glared at each other like they couldn’t stand the sight of the other one. It didn’t make any sense. She wondered if it was an Avatar thing.

“Come on, we’d better hurry if we’re going to do this.”

She led the three of the them around to the back of the building, where no one would see when she used the technique she’d just been teaching them to earthbend them to the roof. Sasuke was impressed with how quietly she could move the earth.

“I could have probably gotten up here myself,” Naruto whispered, just to show off.

“Shhh!” Sakura hushed.

They crept quietly across the roof, keeping low. Luckily the trees that towered over the buildings gave them more cover, and they quickly heard Anko’s voice come up from below them.

“…so its true? There’s been another sighting?”

“Yes,” came Tsunade’s frank reply. “This is the fourth one so far.”

“And this time someone said they spotted him in the inner ring,” Shizune added. “He’s getting too close, Anko. This is getting dangerous. We’re concerned.”

“I’m not scared of Orochimaru!” Anko replied, voice full of acid.

Sakura glanced to Naruto and Sasuke to gauge their reactions to the name. Naruto shrugged and Sasuke shook his head. They didn’t recognize it either, but it was clear that Anko knew this Orochimaru person that Tsunade and Shizune were worried about.

“We know,” Tsunade said. “But you have to consider your options.”

“He could be coming for you, Anko.”

“He could be coming for you, too, Lady Tsunade.”

“No,” Tsunade replied. “He wouldn’t dare. Not after the last time. He knows he can’t beat me.”

“I can take him,” Anko said.

“No, you can’t,” Tsunade answered. “Not anymore. The rumors about him are disturbing. We don’t know what he’s up to. Its getting too dangerous for you to stay.”

“To stay?” Anko sounded alarmed. “You want me to leave? To run away?”

“Just for now. For your own safety.”

“We have people trying to track him down. Im sure we’ll capture him sooner or later. Until then, you can go to Omashu, or a smaller town, or—“

“I do not run away!” Anko was angry. “What kind of earthbender do you take me for? An earthbender stands her ground. You should know that better than anyone, Lady Tsunade!”

“Of course I do! But now isn’t the time for bull-headedness. You are one of the most powerful earthbenders in the kingdom. If Orochimaru got his hands on you again—“

“He won’t!” Anko said.

“Anko, please, be reasonable,” Shizune begged.

“I am not going to run away. He can come and try to take me again. I’ll be ready.”

And then Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto heard loud stomping footsteps marching away. After a few moments of silence there came a soft sigh, and then Tsunade’s voice echoed out to the roof where the three of them sat listening in.

“We tried our best, Shizune. Whatever happens now is up to her.”

“I wish—“

“I know, but they aren’t ready. We can’t ask it of them at this age. Give them time.”

Several softer exiting footsteps followed, and the three eavesdroppers on the roof let out matching exhales. Naruto was, of course, the first to speak.

“What was that about? Who’s Orochimaru?”

“I don’t know,” Sakura replied, shaking her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name before.”

“Whoever he is, it sounds like he wants Anko for some reason,” Naruto nodded.

“But why?” Sakura couldn’t figure that part out. Her earthbending? What did he want to do with her? Whatever the reason, though, it didn’t sound good.

She shivered, thinking about how Tsunade had said this mysterious Orochimaru had been spotted in the inner ring. That really was close to home.

“Do you think Anko will be okay?” She asked. She’d been training with Anko since she was young. She and Anko and Shizune were the only three earthbending students the queen had even taken on to train personally. She didn’t want to think about it if anything happened to her.

Sasuke glanced at her and then away. He didn’t want to admit it but he was glad he’d come along. This felt like something. A change. Things were happening in Ba Sing Se. Maybe they didn’t have anything to do with him, but it was still more than had happened to him in the Fire Nation ever since his family died.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Naruto said confidently. “Tsunade said she was one of the strongest earthbenders in the kingdom. How could somebody take her without getting pummeled into the dirt?”

Sakura hoped Naruto was right, but Tsunade and Shizune’s fear made her nervous. She couldn’t believe he had talked her into spying on the Earth Queen! She’d never done anything so risky before.

“Come on,” she said, heading back to the far side of the roof. “We’d better get back to practicing. You guys are supposed to be Avatars, after all.”

As Sakura earthbent them back to the ground, Sasuke felt a strange premonition. He couldn’t quite place the feeling, but he glanced without realizing it over to Naruto, like maybe he would see something on Naruto’s face that would confirm the strange feeling. Naruto met his gaze briefly, but before Sasuke could put words to the feeling, he stopped himself. He was just overthinking things. There was no reason Naruto would feel the same thing he was feeling. There was no reason he should feel anything strange at all. He never had before.

He put it out of his mind and concentrated on mastering the earthbending technique. It didn’t really have anything to do with him, anyway.

Naruto was an early-riser; most air nomads were. He always thought it was something to do with the quality of the morning air, or maybe it was so the airbenders could see the stunning sunrises from the temples in the mountains. Whatever reason, he usually arrived at the training field a few minutes before anyone else.

Sakura usually showed up next. She liked to stretch and warm up her earthbending before the day got started, but the day after he, Sakura, and Sasuke had spied on the conversation between Anko, Tsunade, and Shizune, it was Sasuke who arrived just a few minutes after Naruto.

Even he seemed confused to be there so early. Naruto thought he seemed extra frowny. He was acting sort of strange, too. Normally he ignored Naruto unless they were training and he wanted to start some kind of fight, but when he arrived at the training field he kept turning towards Naruto like he was going to say something, and then frowning again and turning away.

Finally, it started to get on Naruto’s nerves.

“Do you think something’s gonna happen?” he asked.

Sasuke turned to face him quickly.

“Something like what?” Sasuke asked carefully.

“I don’t know. Just a feeling,” Naruto shrugged. “Im probably overthinking after yesterday.”

Sasuke was quiet for a while, and then he simply nodded. Naruto watched him from the corner of his eye for a moment, then said,

“Think fast!” and tossed a plumcot at Sasuke’s head.

Sasuke had quick reflexes though, and caught it easily. He raised an eyebrow at Naruto as Naruto grinned at him and bit into his own plumcot.

Sakura was pacing across the training field towards them and Naruto airbent a third plumcot over to her. She caught it with a slight reprimanding gaze at Naruto’s blatant use of airbending, but it fell into a smile quickly. She supposed it was alright if he airbent when there was no one else around.

“You got here early, too, Sakura,” he remarked when she reached them.

She had. After overhearing the conversation the day before she’d been anxious to make sure everything was still normal. Anko had returned to teaching the younger students after storming away from Tsunade and Shizune, but she’d been distracted for the rest of the day. She’d barely waved goodbye when Sakura left for the evening. She hoped Anko was back to her cheerful self today.

Naruto had already devoured half of his fruit and Sasuke looked down at his cautiously and then decided to take a bite. It was good; they hadn’t had plumcots in the fire nation. He wondered if they were only in the earth kingdom or if the air nation grew them as well.

The three of them ate their fruit in companionable silence. Before yesterday the three of them hadn’t really spent any time together as anything other than students and tutor, though they were all the same age and relative skill level for their respective elements. Things felt different today. Like they were all three on the same playing field, equals. Friends.

It was kind of nice.

Sakura even offered to lead them through some of her favorite stretches to loosen up their muscles and improve their earthbending. Naruto tried showing off how flexible he was and toppled over trying to crack his back.

By the time they were finished several of the younger students had shown up for training and were gathered on the far edge of the field doing their own warm ups. Sakura looked up to gauge the time based on the suns position and frowned.

Anko was late.

Naruto and Sasuke seemed to read her expression and its meaning, and gave her matching looks of concern.

“I guess I’m going to… go check on the younger kids. Keep stretching. We can wait on Anko a little while longer. Im sure she’ll be here.”

She walked off and by the time she returned to where Naruto and Sasuke were they had somehow managed to make a contest out of who was the most flexible. She rolled her eyes, but it didn’t distract her from the worry that had started to edge her thoughts.

“Still no Anko?” Naruto asked.

Sakura shrugged. It was getting much later. All of the younger students had arrived. Sakura had told them to work in teams to move several large boulders across the field.

“Maybe she took the Earth Queen’s advice,” Sasuke offered. “Maybe she left the city.”

Sakura thought about it for a moment and sighed.

“Earthbenders… are notoriously stubborn,” she admitted. “You have to be, to move something as sturdy as the ground. And Anko is one of the most stubborn earthbenders ive ever met.”

She looked between Naruto and Sasuke and shook her head.

“She would never have left willingly.”

The three of them grew more anxious as more minutes passed, and Naruto was going to offer to just go ask Tsuande what was going on when Shizune appeared from the direction of the palace. She was out of breath and Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke ran across the field to meet her.

“Sakura!” She said when they reached her. She glanced over to the group of young earthbenders who were still practicing as Sakura had left them. She looked upset, stricken.

“What’s going on?” Sakura asked, alarmed, hoping her suspicion was wrong.

Shizune shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I can’t explain everything right now. Everything happened so fast and I—. Sakura, I’m going to send the younger students home for today, but you and Naruto and Sasuke are going to stay here and wait, okay? Can you all do that?”

They glanced at each other, confused, and then Sakura was the first to nod. She was a student of the great Lady Tsunade and she needed to act like it.

Shizune grabbed Sakura’s arm firmly and looked into her eyes.

“Sakura, Tsunade would never say it, but you are her most capable disciple. Stronger than me or Anko, and someday I think you will be a greater earthbender than even Tsunade herself. You’re going to have to be strong now, okay? I’m sorry, we’re asking too much of someone so young, but we have no choice. Can we trust you, Sakura?

Sakura blinked at her, too stunned to answer. Shizune shook her and asked again.

“Yes!” Sakura answered, trying to be braver than she felt. “Yes, you can trust me, Shizune. I won’t let Lady Tsunade down!”

Shizune swallowed and nodded.

“Stay with Naruto and Sasuke, no matter what,” she said, turning away and heading towards the younger students.

“Shizune, wait, tell me—“

“Just stay with the Avatars, Sakura! Tsunade will come get you all soon! She will explain everything!”

They watched as Shizune explained to the younger students that they needed to go home for the day, and then ran off without looking back.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke stood in the clearing for several minutes without saying a word, and then turned to each other all at once.

“So… what do we do?” Naruto asked.

“She said to wait here,” Sasuke replied.

Sakura nodded, agreeing. She stomped her foot and earthbent a stool to sit on.

“So we stay.”

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances and then Naruto shrugged, making the same motions Sakura did to make himself a slightly smaller earthen stool. He sat on it cross-legged as Sasuke made one for himself and joined them.

They waited for almost an hour. Sakura and Naruto created a game where Naruto would airbend a plumcot to her and she would earthbend to hit it back to him. The plumcot itself had become inedibly bruised. Sasuke was concentrating on his breathing exercises. Somehow, none of them noticed when a man with shaggy grey hair wearing a mask appeared just behind them until he spoke.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.”