Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yato smiled, watching the girl reunite with her parents. He left them to their joy, slipping away unnoticed. He liked doing this, liked it a lot better than what Father made him do. It was nice to help people, to know that his hands were capable of so much more than violence. It was something he needed to remember if he was ever going to be a good Avatar.

Yato walked the streets of the now quiet village. He had been staying in the Earth Kingdom for almost three months now, drifting between villages. He stayed away from Ba Sing Se and the other larger cities, choosing instead to stay near the coast. It wouldn’t be good for him if one of Father’s contacts recognized the Yaboku Assassin. It didn’t matter how remote the chances of that happening were. Yato wasn’t going to risk his freedom.

Night blanketed the sky and with it came an ocean of stars. It was always beautiful here. Yato felt like he could finally breathe. The North Pole always felt suffocating, a prison of ice and snow. Out here, under the open sky, he was finally free.

The people of Yokoya were leaving the streets, returning to the comfort of their homes. He passed no one save for the fisherman and his son, who nodded in greeting as they passed by. Yato figured it’s about time he settled down to sleep for the night too. He headed on to the road that led just outside the village.

As he walked down the road, smoothed by the efforts of Earthbenders many, many years ago, he listened to the sound of cranefish by the shore. Anyone who has ever lived in the Earth Kingdom would say the cranefish are unbearably loud, but Yato can’t help but feel fond of them. He’s always liked birds and there was something about the cranefish’s elegance that he loved to watch.

The path came to an end. In front of him was a circular building, the roof a faded green and the intricate red designs lost to time. This old Avatar temple was where he had been staying. It’s only fair, he reasoned with himself. I am the Avatar after all. Even if the world didn’t know that yet.

He slipped inside, walking past remnants of what was once beautiful architecture. Yato stopped at what barely qualified as a bed in one of the side rooms of the temple. He dropped into the worn blanket and let himself drift into sleep.

It’s just past sunrise when Yato woke up the next morning. He left the temple to wash up in the frigid morning waters of the East Coast. The world is calm. The only sounds he heard were the animals waking up with the sun.

Yato headed into the village to see if he could get something to eat. He passed the fisherman, who was heading for the water to catch the early morning fish. He passed Kana’s house and saw her sitting on the bench she had in front of her house. Kana always woke to see the sun rise. Yato thought it might be because her grandfather was a firebender. Firebenders lived by the sun.

Yato waved in greeting to the Ying brothers, who were already turning the soil, preparing to plant this year's crops. Their movements were strong and beautifully in sync, feet planted steady and arms turning in the air, Beneath their feet the earth mimicked their movements, following the rhythm of their bodies. It’s always amazing to watch benders at work. Yato will never tire of it.

He took his time walking through the village. Yato wouldn’t return for some time but he’s been happy here. The people were kind and the village was beautiful. As much as his heart ached to stay, he can’t. It was too dangerous to stay in one place for too long. Father was never far behind.

By the time he’s reached the other end of the village the sun is in the sky and the village is awake with activity. Yato reached the fruit stand that was the joy of the village. The villagers said the Kai family was blessed by the spirits and Yato thought they might be right. There’s no other way they could possibly have this much fresh fruit all year round.

“Well, well, well,” Riku, the eldest son of the Kai family called out with a grin. “Look what the badgermoles dug up.”

Yato caught the mango Riku tossed at him. “Hey, Riku. Your turn to open up the stand huh?”

“Yeah,” Riku said. “As much as I love working the fruit stand, I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth waking up at the crack of dawn.”

“You just like it because Daichi comes by every morning.” Yato teased.

“Listen, I’m allowed to appreciate a good looking man.” Riku replied with a face straighter than he was. “And if he conveniently comes to buy fruit every morning, who am I to question a gift from the spirits?”

They stare at each other, completely serious, before bursting in laughter.

“You should just take him to dinner already, Riku.” Yato said, biting into his mango.

“I’ve got a plan! Getting to know him over daily fruit purchases is part of it, trust me.”

“Coward,” Yato muttered with a smirk.

“Shut up.” Riku shoved him. “Just take the baskets and go. See if Jian needs any help with the kids.”

Everyone in Yokoya knew how generous Riku was. He helped the younger kids with mastering control of their bending and he helped the families that might be struggling by doing what he could. The villagers also knew how carefree he was. His mother wished he were more studious so he could leave the small village and “live a better life” but Riku has always said academics were what his sister was good at and that he would be happy to stay in Yokoya all his life. No one really argued. Riku is stubborn, like most earthbenders, and everyone loves him too much to really be happy for him if he ever chose to leave.

“You just want me to go because Daichi’s coming,” Yato grinned, scooping the baskets into his arms.

Riku was very obviously staring as Daichi walked up the path to the stand. “Yes, exactly, I don’t need you ruining my plan. Now go!”

“Good luck with the pretty boy!” Yato yelled over his shoulder. He left before Riku decided to start throwing rotten fruit at him.

Yato reached the small house a few streets away from the fruit stand. Two girls were playing outside and when they saw him, they came running, shrieking his name so loud, they kind of reminded him of the cranefish.

He lifted the baskets of fruit above his head so they don’t crush them when they hug him.

“Why, hello, to you too,” Yato smiled down at them.

“Will you stay and play with us, Yato?” Akari asked him. She glared at her older sister. “Moriko keeps cheating!”

“Hey!” Moriko said. “It’s not my fault you’re bad at this game!”

Yato stops them before they can argue further. “You both know how much I like hanging out with you, but I’ve got to go. I just came to drop off this fruit.”

“I’ll take them to dad!” Moriko said, rushing to the house with the baskets.

“Be careful not to drop them!” Yato yelled after her. He looked down at Akari to see her staring at him with thoughtful eyes.

“What’s going through that head of yours?” Yato asks.

“You said you have to go. You mean you’re leaving Yokoya, don’t you?”

Yato has known Jian and his daughters since he came to Yokoya, but he still hasn't gotten used to Akari’s strange intuition. Most of the villagers say she got it from her mother.

He scooped Akari into his arms. “Yeah, I’m leaving Yokoya. You knew I couldn’t stay forever, right?”

Akari hid her face in his shoulder. “I know. We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. I’ll come visit though, don’t worry.”

“You better!”

Yato laughed and put her down. Her father and sister are coming back out of the house. He stayed long enough to say goodbye and then he’s gone, walking out of Yokoya with nothing but the clothes on his back and no destination in mind. He’ll go where the road leads.

Chapter Text

Yato travelled for a week before stopping in an Earth Kingdom town further inland. He walked amongst the townspeople and let himself spend the day getting to know some names and faces. He liked doing this in every new place he visited. Yato knew he shouldn’t draw attention to himself, to keep Father from finding him, but he’s also the avatar. He wanted to be an avatar people felt comfortable with, not one people were afraid of. He’s tired of being feared.

Yato was talking to the town’s cabbage merchant, when three kids ran past. They were earthbending a small ball of earth between them as they dash through the crowd. A girl is yelling after them, pleading for them to be more careful. Yato could tell they were new to bending because their movements were erratic and the clay was held in the sir with the bare minimum of control. If they didn’t stop, someone could get—

SMACK!

Yato got a faceful of clay and he stumbled backwards, tripping over a loose stone and hitting his head hard on the cabbage cart behind him. Dazed, he slumped on the ground. He pressed a hand to his head only to find he’s got a huge cut stretching from his left eyebrow to halfway across his forehead.. He wiped away some of the blood. He could faintly hear the cabbage merchant shouting “My cabbages!” through the ringing in his ears.

The girl is crouching in front of him now. She looks worried and unsure as to what she should do. She’s saying something to him, but he can’t quite make out the words. He must have gotten hit harder than he thought.

The girl is frowning now, probably because he isn’t answering her. She motioned for him to stay put and then left him there. She returned with an older man, who looked a lot like her. They have the same dark hair and brown eyes. The two helped Yato to his feet and they walked to a nearby house.

They take Yato inside and set him on a small bed. The man left him there with the girl who sat by his bedside. She’s the last thing he saw before passing out.

When Yato woke, the sky was dark outside. He could see the sliver of the new moon through his window. He sat up with a grimace. His head ached faintly. He touched his forehead carefully, then frowned. There was nothing there. His cut was completely healed. Weird.

He left the room and walked down a hallway to find the man and the girl who helped him. They seemed to be preparing a meal. The girl turned to set a bowl on the table and saw him standing in the doorway.

“Oh! You’re awake!”

The man turned and gestured at the table. “You don’t have to stand in the doorway all evening. Sit.”

Yato does. He watched quietly while they brought dishes to the table and the girl sat across from him. The man set a bowl in front of each of them. “I’m going to see if mom and dad want any help at the clinic. You’ll be fine on your own, right?”

“Of course I’ll be fine! He isn’t going to hurt me, we helped him.”

“You can never be too careful with strangers, Hiyori.” The man warned as he left. “I’ll see you later!”

“Go ahead and start eating,” the girl, Hiyori, says. “We can talk at the same time.”

Yato didn’t argue with that. He had not eaten since this morning and he was starving. The simple bread and noodle stew are the best things he has eaten since he left Yokoya.

“So,” Yato said. “Who are you?”

“We could ask you the same thing,” she replied. “But my name is Hiyori Iki and that was my brother Masaomi.”

“I’m Yato.”

“Nice to meet you, Yato.” Hiyori said. “How’s your head?”

“Better now, thanks.” Yato said. “Can I ask what you did to help me, though? I know I cut my head open on that cabbage cart but it’s completely gone now.”

“That was Masaomi,” Hiyori said. “He healed you.” “With waterbending?” Yato guessed.

She nodded. “You’re from one of the poles, aren’t you?”

“The furs give it away, huh?” Yato smiled. “Yeah, I’m from up North. What’s a waterbender doing in the Earth Kingdom? Are you a waterbender too?”

“No, I’m not.” Hiyori replied. “Our dad’s a waterbender. He chose to leave the North Pole and ended up settling here, in the Earth Kingdom. What are you doing so far from home?”

“Travelling,” Yato said.

“Just travelling, huh? Anywhere specific you plan on going?”

“Not really. I’ve been going from village to village for a while now. I just got to Haikou this morning.”

“And you’ve already gotten injured. Great introduction to our town.”

“Can’t complain, really. You meet some great people in the weirdest ways.”

“Are you planning on staying in Haikou long?”

“I’ll be here a few days, yeah.” Yato finished eating and leaned back in his chair.

He helped her clear the table and put away the dishes they used.

“Thanks, again, for the help.” Yato said.

“Of course! I couldn’t just leave you there.” “My hero,” Yato said with a smile as he walked towards the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?”

“You do have somewhere to stay, right?”

“Uh… yeah. Definitely.”

Hiyori narrowed her eyes. “Liar.”

“Okay, maybe not yet. But I’ll be fine! I know what I’m doing.”

“I mean, you did get knocked unconscious by an eight year old, but yeah, sure, you’ll be fine!”

Yato sputtered, trying to come up with a retort. “In my defense, it was a very strong eight year old!”

Hiyori’s laughing at him now, not bothering to hide it.

“Don’t worry,” she said once she had calmed down. “We’ve got a spare room, I’ll see if my parents will let you stay.”

“You would do that for me?”

“Sure! You seem like an interesting person so why not?”

“I thought your brother said to be careful around strangers.” “Well, I know your name is Yato, you’re from the North Pole, and you’re travelling the Earth Kingdom. Not so much of a stranger anymore! Besides, Masaomi can be overly cautious sometimes. It’s just how he is.”

“You’re less careful then?” “Life is boring if you’re too careful all the time.” Yato thought about how he’s spent the past few months second guessing his every move, wondering if it’ll get him caught. It’s definitely not a fun way to live.

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

They talk until Hiyori’s family returns and surprisingly, her parents do agree to let him stay. It seems kindness runs in the family.

They leave the rest of the family to eat their dinner, while Hiyori takes him back to the room he woke up in earlier that evening.

“You’ll be staying here. It’s pretty late already, so I guess you could go to sleep if you wanted to? But since you were unconscious all day, you might not be that tired.” “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping any time soon. What are you going to do?”

“I’ll spend some time with my Grandmother. She still needs to eat and we might play pai sho after that.”

“Pai sho?” “You’ve never played?” When he shook his head no, she continued. “You should come watch then. I’ve only started playing with Grandmother recently, so I’m not that great. In my defense, she’s too good.”

“Could you teach me?” “Sure! It’ll be fun. And I think Grandmother would like you.” She took him by the arm and dragged him to a room further down the hall.

It’s a small but nice room. The window lets in what little moonlight there is and there are candles giving the room a warm glow. By the window there is a table with a pai sho board. A woman sits there, waiting for them. She’s dressed in a pale green robe with gold accents, customary of middle class families.

Before they even enter the room, her head is turning to greet them. When they get closer, Yato can see that her eyes are unfocused when she speaks. She never looks directly at either of them.

Grandmother must have noticed him staring (these past few months have really been horrible for his manners, but if there’s no one to yell at him to behave, how is he going to remember it all?) because she turned to look at him and said, “What is it, boy? I can tell you want to ask me something.”

Hiroti merely smiled and he stammered. “Oh! Uh, I just… You can’t see very well, I noticed, but you still know exactly where we are and...?”

“I can tell you’re not very good with your words and not very polite either,” she teased, “but yes, in my old age my eyesight is failing me.”

“Then how did you…?”

“How did I know where you were? The simple answer is that I can still hear you just fine. The more complicated answer has to do with the spirits.”

“The spirits?”

“In time, boy. You will learn in time. Now come! We’ll teach you some pai sho. You want to learn, yes?”

“Yeah, I did.”

I thought so. It’ll teach you some strategy and I have a feeling you’ll need that. My Hiyori’s getting good now! Let’s see how you do against her.”

And so Yato began the day in Haikou with the intent of finding a place to stay and ended the day with a family taking him in and teaching him how to play pai sho. Not a bad way to end the day, he thinks to himself when Hiyori beat him for the second time. It wouldn’t hurt to stay for just a few days, right?

“A few days” ended up being two weeks. Every time Yato told himself he needed to move on, he’s been here too long, he saw Hiyori and made up some excuse to stay. It’s just… he’s happy here with the Iki family. They’ve welcomed him with open arms and it’s so easy just being with them. He’s not expected to do anything but help with the cooking and the household chores and he doesn’t get punished if he fails to complete a task. It’s not demanding and he’s stopped looking over his shoulder for every little thing. He can relax with them. That's something he’s never been able to do before, not even with Nora.

He wanted to stay forever. Just thinking about the fact that he couldn’t, that he’s putting Hiyori’s family in danger with each day he stayed makes his heart ache. Is it selfish that he can’t bear to leave? Can he let himself be selfish just this once?

He told himself he’ll leave the next day, and then he didn’t. This pattern continued into a third week and eventually he let himself forget about running because it’s been three weeks and nothing has happened. Surely things will be fine.

He’s kicking himself now, because of course things aren’t fine. Half the lower town is in ruins, shards of ice cracking through the streets. He has no idea where Hiyori is and he prays to the moon that she’s safe. From his vantage point on the roof of the pottery store he eyes their attackers. The Tui Guard. An elite team of fighters father sent with him sometimes on more dangerous assassin missions. It seemed Father was now using them to hunt down Yato. A smart move, admittedly one Yato did not see coming. It was almost the Spring Solstice, a time when Father typically sent the Tui Guard to the air temples to replenish his power. Looked like he was skipping that ritual this year because he decided Yato was a bigger priority.

Yato considered slipping his sword from its sheath while he thought over what he knew about the Tui Guard.

There were six members total and they were all experienced waterbenders. They each had their own specialty, so the group as a whole was a strong opponent. Overall though, they were best with ice as a weapon. They were getting their water from a nearby river… If he could get them away from the river, they’d lose their water source! They may have been talented but they couldn’t bend water out of the air like he could.

From there, it would be easier for him to find Hiyori, make sure she was safe and get out of town. Hopefully the Tui Guard would follow him. They had no reason to go after these people. The Iki family would be safe.

A sword probably wouldn’t be that useful, he decided.

Yato jumped down into the street where two of the guards were shoving civilians around to find him.

“Hey, ugly!” He yelled. “Looking for me?”

He turned and ran, bending the water around him into thin discs of ice to shoot behind him. He needed to antagonize them just enough that all they were interested in was capturing him. Shouldn’t be too hard, Yato had always been good at annoying people.

As they ran down the streets, Yato could see the damage they had caused. He saw the townspeople cowering behind destroyed storefronts, children searching for family. It made Yato’s blood freeze. This was his fault. The least he could do was fix it.

Yato now had four of the Tui Guard on his tail. Now he just needed to find the last two and head away from the river. He skidded to a stop in the town square. Directly across from him was the leader of the Tui Guard, mask concealing her true identity.

“Well, if it isn’t the famous Nora.” Yato would normally address her by her name, Mizuchi, but he wasn’t interested in blowing her cover. They had killed a lot of people together and if her identity was revealed, she would be in a lot of danger. He couldn’t do that to her, even if they were technically on opposite sides now. She was still family to him, he had to at least try to help her.

“Come on, Nora. You’ve got to be sick of doing what’s Father’s asked of you by now. He’s never really cared about either of us, you know that right?”

Nora said nothing. Yato sighed. It would take more than that to break her resolve. They had both been trained well.

She motioned for someone on his left to step forward. It was the last member of the guard and with him was Hiyori. He held a blade of ice to her neck.

“Clearly, we have the strategic advantage.” Nora finally spoke. “You know how this goes.”

Yato shook off his surprise at seeing Hiyori. He glanced over her quickly. She seemed to be okay. “Hurt her and I swear I’ll kill you.”

“You’re outnumbered Yaboku. Just be a good boy and come home like Father wants.”

“I am never going back. Go back to the North and tell him if he wants me home he’s going to have to drag my dead body back himself.”

“You would really risk an innocent? You know we have no remorse for the blood spilled by our hands. She would just be another death among many.” Nora replied. The guard holding Hiyori pressed his blade closer to her neck.

Yato frowned. He doesn’t see a way out of this that keeps Hiyori safe without giving himself up. WIth a reluctant sigh, he eases out of fighting position, lowering his hands. The water he was bending drops to the ground with a splash. He raises his hands above his head.

“Fine. You want me so bad—”

Before he can finish his sentence, the guard holding Hiyori gives a shout and drops his blade which shatters upon impact. Yato turns to look and sees Hiyori gripping his elbow and wrist. The man is laying on the ground, his arm limp in Hiyori’s hold. She has one hand on his elbow, the other on his wrist and is twisting his arm away from his body. If he struggles, she’ll probably tear a muscle. Yato was impressed.

Yato takes advantage of the distraction to bend discs of ice at the other guards. Chaos ensues and he loses sight of Hiyori. All he can focus on is blocking the attacks coming his way and trying to minimize the damage already done to the town.

But Nora was right. They are outnumbered. It isn’t long before Yato is tired and one of the guards bends a block of ice at his knees, knocking him painfully to the ground. They pin him down and another guard pulls his head up by his hair so he can see Nora standing over Hiyori, spear aimed at her chest.

“That was a dirty trick to pull. Wouldn’t think you had it in you just by looking at you. Too bad you’re going to die anyway. I think I would’ve liked you.”

She raises the spear above her head and all Yato sees is blinding white.

When Yato can think properly again, he finds himself laying in the ruins of the town square. There’s a massive crater of ice stretching from where he lays. There is snow on the rooftops and around him are the bodies of some civilians, but the guards are gone.

Yato drops his head to the ground. What happened? Why is he so exhausted? All he remembers is Nora almost killing Hiyori. Where is she?

He doesn’t have time to work himself into a panic because Hiyori comes running towards him. Her eyes are wide and her face is dirty. She kneels by his side and looks him over but seems hesitant to touch him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I think so.” Yato replied. “What happened? Where did the guards go?”

“The guards… Oh, you mean the waterbenders! You… you don’t remember what happened?” Hiyori’s frowning now.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Yato… all this,” she gestures to the destruction around them. “this was all you. That girl with the spear was about to kill me but then your eyes started glowing and you did some of the most powerful bending I’ve ever seen!”

Yato’s eyes widened in horror. “What? No, no, no, no… I can’t—I hurt all these people?”

Hiyori’s excitement at his bending display vanished. “Yato… I don’t think you could control it. Clearly you don’t remember much of what happened and I know you, you’d never hurt innocent people on purpose.”

Yato curled in on himself. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to hurt people anymore. Was this a sign? Was this the world showing him he would never get away from the bloodshed of his past, from the hurt he had inflicted on Father’s behalf?

“Yato, we need to leave,” Hiyori said, tugging at his arm. When he didn’t move she pulled more insistently. “I don’t know where those men went but they’ll probably come back soon considering how determined they were to get to you. Come on!”

With Hiyori’s help, Yato made it back to the Iki family house. He sat at the table with Grandma and explained what happened while Hiyori rushed around the house filling a small pouch with things. When she was finished she returned to them. “Okay, let’s go.”

Yato stared at her. “What?”

“We’re leaving, right? You can’t stay here, those people are after you and they know where to find you.”

“Yeah, but you can’t come with me. Your family is here!”

Grandmother watched them with a knowing smile. “Of course she will go with you.” She turns to her granddaughter. “When the spirits choose you to accompany the avatar, my dear Hiyori, you listen.”

“How did you know I was the avatar?”

“He’s the avatar?”

Grandmother hushes them. “Don’t speak over each other. And yes, Yato is the avatar. I can feel a very old energy present in you. It’s the energy of your past lives, all the way up to the spirit Raava.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Yato said.

“You will learn, child, give it time.”

“Grandmother… you said the spirits chose me to, what, accompany him? What do you mean?”

“I’ve told you about the spirits, yes? Our family has a strong connection with them. It comes from a time when your ancestors still lived at the pole, when they cared for the Spirit Oasis. This journal will explain much.”

Hiyori took the aged book from her. It was bound in seal pelt and it’s pages were rough from sea salt. Yato watched in silence as her grip on the book tightened. He couldn’t ask her to leave with him but he also would not express his desire for her to stay. Yato knew Hiyori and he knew she was capable of defending herself when she needed to. What happened in the town square was a pretty clear example. She would make her own decision without his input.

Hiyori slipped the journal into her bag and kissed her grandmother on the cheek.

“Take care, Grandmother. Watch over the family for me and tell them… tell them I’ll be okay.”

“Of course, child. You have a great journey ahead of you and I have no doubt you will do well. Keep an eye on this one,” she nodded at Yato. “Make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

Yato ducked her head with a smile and Hiyori laughed. “I’ll remember that.”

She turned to Yato. “Well?”

“Off we go.” Yato said and they left the house without looking back.

Chapter Text

They spend the next few days in a larger town across the river, five days away from Hiyori’s hometown. They blend in with the locals but take care not to interact too long with anyone there; the town is larger so there is less chance someone will remember them but Yato isn’t taking any chances after what happened in Haikou.

They listen to conversation when they get the chance. Word has spread fast and though Yato and Hiyori weren’t entirely sure as to what had happened when Yato went into the avatar state it’s clear other people were more knowledgeable. It’s likely the adults in Hiyori’s town remember the avatar well enough to recognize what it means when they witness such a powerful act of bending. It’s been about 20 years since the avatar before him was last seen. That isn’t long enough for people to forget what his power looked like.

From what they’ve heard, the general view on the avatar’s return is positive. The youth are overjoyed that he’s returned. They believe it’s a turn for the better. It excites them. Older people are more dubious. They are happy to learn the avatar is alive and well, that the cycle remains unbroken, but many question where he has been all this time and why they hadn’t heard that the avatar was in fact reborn years ago.

None of it is helping with Yato’s complicated mess of emotions. Part of him still feels guilty over what happened in Hiyori’s hometown. Another part of him feels responsible for the fact that the avatar has been absent for so long. Logically, he knows Father is to blame for hiding him from the world and for keeping Yato from learning about the avatar as a way to keep him from being an effective avatar but Yato can’t help it. Internalized guilt over things he can’t control has been something he’s dealt with since Sakura. It’s probably something he should work on.

For now though, he has to focus on staying hidden and get to somewhere safe. They stayed close to Haikou to gain information and then leave to go further east, heading for the coastal towns.

Yato’s nerves are calmed by the travel. It’s practiced, feels normal because it’s what he was doing before stopping in Haikou. It helps that he has someone to talk to now. Turns out a lot of things are better when you’re not so alone.

He likes spending time with Hiyori. She’s a good friend and sometimes Yato catches himself wondering how he could have ever dealt with the monotony of life without someone so full of life by his side. Now that he knows what it means to have a family, to have someone who actually cares about you, he doesn’t think he can cope with being alone like he used to be.

He’s lost in thought, a thousand different things swirling through his head, when Hiyori gets back from the market.

“Alright,” Hiyori said. “This is what I managed to get with the money we have left.”

She sat down next to Yato in front of the remnants of last night’s fire and started pulling fruit out of her bag.

“It’s not much, but it’s enough. For now.”

“This is great, thanks! I’m starving.” And because Yato never really cared for the manners he had learned, he started shoving food into his mouth.

Hiyori just sighed. She was used to his antics at this point. It was kind of worrying to think about why he ate like he was expecting his food to be taken away but that… it was something she didn’t want to think about unless she absolutely had to.

“Well, we’ve spent the last of our money, so I hope you’ve got an idea of how we’ll make more.” Hiyori grabs some of the fruit before Yato can finish it all.

“I’ve got this covered don’t worry. I was travelling for a while before I met you, remember? I’ve got this.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t inspire much confidence.” Hiyori replied, smiling when Yato sputtered in response.

They head into town after their late breakfast. They wander for a bit through the town market, stopping at some stalls to just browse, mainly because Yato absolutely has to stop and see anything that catches his eye. In one bizarre way, they’re lucky they’ve run out of money to spend, otherwise Yato would’ve spent it in minutes.

Hiyori lets him. She’s happy to watch him be so happy. Over the few weeks

She’s known him, she’s learned he’s been hiding a lot. She can tell there are things he doesn’t want to talk about and that’s fine. She has also noticed certain things about Yato that are strange. His overzealous attitude with food for one, and his childlike joy over the littlest things. It’s like he never had the chance to enjoy these things before.

She can only let him wander for so long though. They still have things to do. Hiyori may not know why the spirits wanted her specifically to accompany the avatar but it’s pretty clear that without someone keeping him on track, he probably would get sidetracked. A loot.

She drags him away from the tea shop. “Come on, you said you had a plan to make some money right? Which we really really need?”

“Right,” Yato said sheepishly. “I kind of lost track of time.”

“Where to, avatar?”

“Shh! Not so loud!” Yato glances around, making sure no one is paying them any attention. When he’s satisfied, he turns back to take her by the hand and pull her down the street.

“We’re going to see if anyone needs help.”

“We’re going to… what?”

“That’s what I did when I was travelling. Odd jobs, whatever people needed done.”

“So, we just… walk. Until we find a job to do.”

“Yeah.”

Hiyori frowns, face twisted as she thinks. “We’re going to rethink your work strategy.”

“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with my strategy, thank you very much.”

“Sure,” Hiyori replied with an eye roll as she walked past him. “I bet you made plenty of money. How have you survived this long on your own?”

That stops him in his tracks. “I’ve survived just fine!”

Hiyori doesn’t get a chance to reply because Yato has stopped to watch a young boy who seems to be searching for something. He looks worried and desperate and very close to tears. Yato has lost all traces of amusement from their banter. His carefree demeanour has been replaced by a more serious one. He’s found someone to help and he will not be distracted from his goal.

“Come on,” is all Yato says before heading in the boy’s direction. They make their way through the crowd, Yato’s slight height advantage letting him see over the heads of the people around them. All Hiyori can do is try to keep up.

“Hey,” Yato calls in a gentle voice. The boy turns to look at them, eyes wide. He can’t be older than eight. “You look like you could use some help. Want to tell us what’s wrong?”

They guide the boy to the seats in front of a nearby tea shop and try to talk to him.

“I’m going to be in so much trouble! I was supposed to keep an eye on it and I lost it and now I can’t find it and papa trusted me and--”

“Hey! It’s okay, we’re here to help remember?” Hiyori is starkly reminded of the neighbourhood kids she used to babysit. The younger ones usually got really worked up when they were worried and it was impossible to understand what was wrong unless she managed to calm them down.

“But what if he’s mad at me!” The kid is still yelling, fists clenched tight in his lap.

“He won’t be if we solve the problem, right?” Hiyori reasoned.

“Yeah!” Yato said, kneeling in front of the boy. “Look, I’m Yato and this is Hiyori. What’s your name?”

He blinks a bit, sniffling. “Aito.”

“Nice to meet you then, Aito!” Yato said, with a bright smile. “How can we help you today?”

Yato’s exaggerated greeting makes Aito smile. “I lost the cloud fish egg papa gave me.”

“A what egg?”

“Cloud fish egg,” Hiyori answered. “They’re pretty common around the coastal regions of the earth kingdom.”

“Yeah, and when they grow up they’re really big! I help papa take care of them and we get to teach them how to fly!”

“That sounds pretty cool. What were you doing with the egg?”

“It takes a quarter of the harvest season for them to hatch. In the last week we’re supposed to take the eggs to the coast and keep them in the tide pools or they won’t hatch.”

“Is that something you do with your papa every year?” Hiyori asked.

“Yeah! And this year papa said I could take one egg on my own! Except I put it down when Eiichi asked me if I wanted some dumplings for lunch and then when he went home I couldn’t find the egg! I’ve been looking all day and I can’t find it! I’m looking by myself and it’s really hard and I don’t know what to do.”

Aito’s looking upset again, so Hiyori is quick to step in.

“Well, then we’ll just have to help you look! We can start where you put the egg down, see if there are any clues as to where it might be, okay?”

Aito brightens up with the idea of a plan. “Okay! Come on!”

And so they’re running through the town trying to keep up with a little earth kingdom boy to help him find his lost cloud fish egg. Such is life with the avatar, Hiyori guesses. She should be prepared for life getting weirder from here, probably.

They reach a quieter part of town, away from the commotion of the marketplace. There are only a few shops here, on the edge of what looks like a small forest. They follow Aito to a small clump of bushes near the trees. In front of the greenery is a small patch of grass that looks as though it has been flattened by something rounded and heavy.

Yato carefully observes where the egg was sitting and the surrounding area. It’s at times like this he’s slightly grateful for Father’s training. Tracking skills come in handy surprisingly often. He spots what could have been footprints leading away from where they’re standing into the shady forest. It’s hard to tell because the wind has blown the dry dirt around but it’s as good a lead as any.

“Hey, Aito,” Yato called out to the boy. “Did you look in there?”

He shook his head furiously. “Nuh uh. I’m not allowed into the forest myself.”

“Well,” Hiyori reasoned. “You’re not alone now, right? When are you supposed to be home?”

“Papa said to be home by sunset!”

Yato looks up at the sky. The sun isn't directly over their heads anymore.

“That gives us a couple hours to look.” Yato turns to the boy standing beside him. “What do you think, Aito?”

“Let’s go!” He doesn’t wait for them, just goes running straight for the trees.

“Aito, wait! Don’t get too far ahead!” Hiyori goes running after him and Yato follows. They need to keep an eye on this kid. Neither of them wants to have to explain to Aito’s dad how they lost his kid.

Yato was right; the barely-there trail isn’t much help. The few prints he did see weren’t very big so Yato guesses they belonged to a kid about Aito’s age. If he’s right, whoever it is that took the egg probably kept to the more well worn paths.

They walk along the only path available to them. It’s bumpy, a path cleared by the repetition of feet on the dirt over the years the local people have walked past these trees. Surrounding them are trees with branches that stretch to the sky, looming over them and offering respite from the heat of the sun. Yato welcomes the shade. He’s been travelling for months and the heat outside the North Pole is still something he can’t get used to.

They haven’t been walking very long when Yato hears something new. He knows that sound, the trickling and swirl of water around rocks.

“Do you hear that?” He said, smiling at his companions. “There must be a river nearby!”

His eyes search the woods around them and he spots a place in the bushes where the branches have been broken. The branches that are higher than his waist remain intact but anything lower was trampled. Someone or something small made their way through there. Yato heads for that spot. It’s highly likely whoever it is they’re looking for went this way.

They walk for a couple minutes more, the sound of rushing water getting louder. They come to a small clearing with a river. There are tall grasses on either side of the river and large stones disrupt the water’s flow. Crouched at the river’s edge is a small figure, with their back to them.

“Eiichi!” Aito cried, running straight for the other boy.

The other boy turns in surprise and gets knocked backwards when Aito comes flying at him. Yato watches in horror when they both go tumbling into the river.

He and Hiyori go running for the river and drop to their knees at the water’s edge. They search desperately for the boys.

“There!” Hiyori points to a log sticking out of the bank downstream from where they are now. Eiichi is holding on as best he can. His other hand is gripping Aito’s hand and both kids are screaming for help.

Yato gets to his feet and steadies himself in a solid stance. Feet spread as wide as his shoulders and hands spread palms down in front of his chest. He breathes in and turns his hands towards the sky, lifting them slowly as he breathes. A stream of water rises from the river, cradling the boys as they lift into the air.

Yato repeats the motion in reverse; turns his palms back to the earth and lowers them as he exhales. The water mimics his movements and returns to the river with a quiet splash.

The kids are wide eyed, wet, and trembling where they sit on the bank. Hiyori is checking them over, making sure they’re not injured.

“They’re okay!” She tells Yato when he comes over to them. “They’re safe.”

“That was scary!” Eiichi said, curling into Hiyori’s warm hug.

“That was awesome!” Aito cried. “You’re a waterbender!”

Yato can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Yeah, I am. I’ll show you another trick if you promise me something.”

“What?”

“Promise me you’ll be more careful around rivers.”

Aito’s face is serious when he answers, “I promise. No more running around water. Or hugging.”

“Hugging is okay,” Hiyori laughed. “Just careful hugging. No super excited hugging.”

Aito nods sagely, eyebrows furrowed. “No super excited hugging. I promise.”

“That’s great,” Yato said. “Now, let’s find your egg and I’ll show you that trick. That's okay with you?”

Aito bounces on his feet in agreement and Yato turns his attention to the boy still hiding in Hiyori’s arms. He looks younger than Aito by a couple years.

“Hey, Eiichi, right?” He asked.

When he hears his name Eiichi turns just enough that Yato can see his eyes peek over the edge of Hiyori’s forearm.

“Hi,” Yato smiles. “Nice to meet you. You’re Aito’s friend?”

He mumbles something that Yato can’t hear.

Hiyori gives him a little squeeze. “We can’t hear you very well, can I let you go? We can talk properly then.”

They wait until Eiichi makes a choice. His eyes narrow as he thinks about it, then he wriggles out of Hiyori’s arms to sit cross legged in the grass with Yato.

“Yeah, I’m Aito’s friend.” Eiichi tells them.

“We play together a lot!” Aito added before turning to his friend. “But what are you doing in the forest yourself?” Eiichi stares down at his feet, face scrunching up and lips turning downwards. “I’m sorry!”

“What do you mean? Aito asked.

“The egg! The one your papa gave you! I took it and I’m sorry! Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Why did you take it?” Hiyori asked him gently.

“Aito got to take the egg all by himself and it was cool! I wanted to do it too, but my dad said I was too small. I just wanted to try but I got lost and I didn’t know how to get back.”

“Good thing we found you, then!” Yato said. “Do you know where the egg is now? We could use your help to get it to the coast before it gets dark.”

Eiichi gets happier at the idea of helping. “I left it by the river! In a patch of grass so it would be safe.”

Eiichi leads them to a spot not far from where he was sitting. And sure enough, there sits the egg, looking perfectly unharmed.

“Perfect!” Hiyori said. “We’ve got enough time to get it to the coast I think. Should we go back now?”

She holds out her hands for the kids to hold and they each take one. That leaves Yato to pick up the egg and then they’re off, out of the forest and to the nearby coast.

When they reach the coast, Yato is carrying a sleeping Eiichi on his back and Hiyori’s holding the egg. The sun is dipping towards the sea and there are two people, a man, and a woman, standing on the shore. When they get closer Aito goes running ahead.

“Papa!”

The man turns and immediately drops to a crouch to catch Aito when he leaps at the man for a hug.

“Aito! You’re okay.” He pulls back to smile at his son but his eyes reveal his concern. “You really worried me buddy.”

“Sorry papa. I kinda... well, I lost the egg for a little bit, but it’s not lost anymore! Eiichi helped find it. And Yato and Hiyori! They’re really nice!”

Yato lets the woman, who introduces herself as Eiichi’s aunt, take the sleeping boy from him. “He had an exciting day.”

“And he tired himself out from the looks of it.” The woman smiled down at the boy in her arms. “Thank you for bringing him back safely.”

“Anytime.”

Aito runs over to Hiyori to take her by the hand. “Come on! Let’s put the egg in a tide pool!”

Eiichi’s aunt takes him home and leaves the rest of them to take care of the cloud fish egg. They head for the scattered rocks rings to find one with just enough water to keep the cloud fish comfortable. Once they find a tide pool that Aito decides is “just right” they let him set the egg down carefully and step back to see it settle among the seashells.

Aito and his dad leave after saying goodbye. Aito’s father leaves them with some money despite their protest because as he said “Children Aito makes sure to hug them both twice and then Yato and Hiyori are left on the beach, waving as the pair walk back towards the village, Aito riding on his dad’s shoulders.

“Well, that was…” Hiyori starts.

“Crazy? Weird? Fun?” Yato said.

“Yes. All of them.” Hiyori answered.

Yato smiles, watching Aito and his father shrink into the distance. “I had fun. We should stick around until the eggs hatch. I want to see the baby cloud fish.”

“Sure,” Hiyori says with a shrug. “Why not?”

Aito is absolutely delighted with the idea of them staying in town. He drags them around the next day to all his favourite places to play. Yato enjoys every moment.

They visit all the local shops. Turns out everyone knows and adores little Aito. They stop by the tea shop to have some jasmine tea and then they’re trying on hats at Zhu’s little clothing shop. They stop at the Wei family farm to help pick some fruit and end up taking some back to Aito’s house to have as dessert after dinner.

Everyday they help Aito and his father care for the cloud fish eggs. They’re due to hatch any day now. Yato can hardly wait. He’s gotten a little (just a little, he doesn’t care what Hiyori says) attached to the egg they helped Aito find. He’s already named it Sakura. Hiyori teases him but Aito thinks Sakura is a pretty name.

They’re on the beach one afternoon, watching Aito wade in the shallow parts of the water and skipping stones for him to watch, when they hear what sounds to Yato like ice cracking. Aito’s face immediately lights up.

“The eggs!” He shouts, running for the tide pools.

Yato and Hiyori glance at each other before scrambling up to follow him.

Aito runs between the tide pools searching for the hatching egg. He ends up at the tide pool with their egg in it and yells for them to come over. “It’s Sakura! Sakura’s hatching!”

All three of them watch quietly in wonder as Sakura’s egg shakes, little cracks webbing out from the top.

“Come on, you can do it!” Aito encourages the little cloud fish.

It takes a couple minutes and they help by lifting free pieces of shell away from the animal, but soon Sakura is free. She lays in the sun for a bit, tired from her first challenge in life.

Sakura is silvery blue and has the thinnest hint of wings laying flat against her back. She looks kind of like the whales Yato saw in the waters back home, but her body is sleeker, more streamlined. Designed for gliding effortlessly through the air.

“Does she have any feet?” Hiyori wonders.

“Nuh uh,” Aito replied. “Cloud fish learn to fly as soon as they’re born and then they never land. The closest they get to the ground is hovering over it!”

“Wow.”

Sakura decides she has rested enough and stretches her now dry wings as far as she can. She tests them out, flapping them slowly and then increasing speed. Pretty spoon she’s zipping over their heads, playing a game of keep away with Aito, who laughs in delight as he tries to catch her.

Soon, the sun is setting and it’s time to take Aito home. Sakura follows them the entire way, bumping Yato in the shoulder gently as she flies behind him. It amuses her and she won’t leave his side.

“Looks like she’s attached to you just as much as you got attached to her,” Hiyori comments.

“Looks like.” Yato replied. “Can’t complain really, she’s cute.”

They make their way to Aito’s house just like that and when they get there Yato helps finish making dinner while Hiyori and Aito feed Sakura little shrimp.

Sakura hovers around Yato’s head through dinner too and he shares some of the fish he’s eating with her. They make a game of it, Yato tossing pieces of fish and Sakura catching them. Aito is delighted and the mood around the dinner table is bright with laughter.

They say goodbye after dinner, leaving to go to the local inn they’ve been staying at. It doesn’t take long to fall asleep. Playing with an eager cloud fish is tiring after all.

The next day, Yato has the pleasure of experiencing a rude awakening. Literally. Who knew that was one of the experiences he would have outside the North Pole.

Yato nearly jumps out of bed when he hears the screeching but it turns out to be Aito running into their room followed by a frantic innkeeper who is desperately trying to keep him from waking the still sleeping occupants of the inn. Yato quickly intervenes, assuring the innkeeper that he’s got things under control and that she should go see if anyone else has woken up.

Hiyori comes in after the innkeeper leaves, rubbing her eyes. “Are you okay? I heard… Oh, hi Aito.”

The boy looks as upset as he did the day they met him.

“Aito, what is it? What happened?” Yato asked him, hands rubbing soothingly down the boy’s arms.

“Sakura’s gone! We woke up and couldn’t find her!”

“Sakura’s a really tricky little cloud fish isn’t she?” Hiyori mused. She came over from the doorway to kneel beside Aito. “We’ll find her, we did last time, right?”

They look up when they hear knocking to see Aito’s father, out of breath and red in the face.

“Sorry,” he pants. “Aito ran, and he’s–he’s really fast.”

He sits down in the chair near the door to catch his breath. “Not sure where Sakura could be but she seemed to like you so we thought you could help us look?”

“Of course we’ll help!” Hiyori agreed immediately. “We’ve got time before we leave, right?”

Yato nods while he thinks. “Yeah, definitely. We can start at the beach and spread out the search from there. Or maybe at the river?”

While he thinks aloud he walks across the room to grab his jacket. He’s reaching for it when he hears a quiet chirping sound.

“What the…?”

He lifts one of the jacket sleeves to see a sleeping Sakura curled up on the jacket. She’s already so much bigger than she was last night, almost the size of a small cat now. He scooped her up, jacket and all, and turned to show the others.

“Found her,” Yato said with a grin.

“She must have followed you back last night,” Aito’s father remarks. “Maybe you should take her with you. She’d probably just follow you out of town anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Yato asked.

“You should!” Aito said, eyes wide in excitement. “Then you’ll remember to visit because you have Sakura to remind you.”

“We’d remember to come visit anyway,” Hiyori told him, tapping his nose with a finger. “You’re too much fun.”

Aito laughs at the attention and makes them promise they will, linking their fingers in what Hiyori says is an earth kingdom tradition called a “pinky promise.”

Aito’s father gives them instructions as they leave: Sakura will grow fast, doubling in size every day and it will only take her a week to grow to adult size. It will take a few more months for her mental growth to catch up but they need to be able to feed her enough to make sure her growth isn’t stunted. It sounds like quite a bit of work but honestly Yato is excited to have someone to take care of and he can’t wait to fly with her and Hiyori.

Chapter Text

They spend a few weeks away from the densely populated places in the Earth Kingdom, letting Sakura graze in fields and catch fish in rivers. Yato knew she was going to grow really big really fast but knowing it and actually seeing it happen is very different. It feels like he’ll go to sleep at night and wake to find that she’s now towering over him. He loves her.

She’s grown to be as big as a polar-bear dog. She shed her milky white baby scales to reveal glistening silver ones that change colour when the light shifts across her. Sakura looks a lot like the blue whales he saw back home except she has sharp teeth and she flies through the skies with pale papery wings instead of powering through water with strong fins.

They stay in smaller villages sometimes so she can interact with and get used to people. Children absolutely adore Sakura and she loves taking them on short rides through the sky. They spend a month this way and they’re happy.

Then they move on and end up in a town that looks abandoned. They see signs of life: a child’s broken toy lying in the street, market stalls with a variety of goods crumpled, their wares dirtied by mud. Windows are shuttered and it is silent.

Sakura drifts in the air ahead of them, whining softly, distressed by the destruction.

“What do you think happened here?” Hiyori asked quietly, stopping to pick up a crushed doll.

“I don’t know,” Yato admits. “I’ve seen a lot… but never destruction like this.”

A crash from behind startles them and Hiyori drops the doll. It hits the ground with a soft thump and the town is quiet again.

“Hello?” Yato called.

“If there’s anyone there, we just want to talk!” Hiyori said. “Maybe we can help?”

“Yua!” A woman’s voices hisses from a house on their right. “Come back!”

Yato and Hiyori glance at each other, then head for the house. They see the flash of something small and brown crawling past the window through a gap in the boards that cover it up. They reach the door and Hiyori is tentatively reaching out to push the door open when Yato grabs her by the wrist and pulls her back. Hiyori watches, shocked, as a wall of earth rises in front of the door, sealing them out.

“Go away,” the woman from earlier called. “We don’t need anymore trouble.”

“Nuwa, don’t be so harsh,” a different woman says to the first.

“It doesn’t matter, we’re not letting them in.” Nuwa replied, not sounding any happier.

“Listen,” Yato called. “We really aren’t trying to start trouble. I’m the avatar, my name is Yato and this is my friend Hiyori. We’d like to help, if you’ll let us.”

“The avatar!” a child’s voice gasped. “Mommy, it’s the avatar!”

Before they can blink the wall of earth has crumpled to the ground and the door swings open to reveal a woman with black hair pulled back in a messy braid loose strands of hair framing her honey coloured skin. A smile lights up her face.

“Can’t say I ever thought I’d meet the avatar!” She said. “Come in, come in!”

A second woman appears at her side. She has dark skin and dark hair that ends just above her chin. She blocks the doorway with an arm.

“Really, Song? We talked about this.”

The short haired woman shifts into a bending stance and begins to raise another earth wall to block the door, ignoring Song’s cry of “Nuwa, no!”

Song frowns and immediately kicks Nuwa softly in the back of her knee. Nuwa’s knee buckles forward, ruining her stance. The earth she held in the air falls to the ground.

“Hey!”

Song just shrugs. “You deserved it.”

A little girl pokes her head out from behind the two women to look at Yato and Hiyori. She barely gives the argument still going beside her to gesture for them to come inside. They leave Sakura outside the house and follow her.

“They’re always like this,” the girl explained, leading them past a room with the roof caved in to one near the back of the house that seemed to have escaped most of the destruction. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t last long.”

Sure enough, they’ve only just sat down at the table (it and three chairs are the only undamaged pieces of furniture) when the two women come into the room, arms around each other’s shoulders.

“Yua!” Nuwa said. “We talked about this remember, no letting strangers in the house without permission.”

“Well, mama does it a lot,” Yua said, missing the glare Nuwa shoots Song. “And it’s the avatar! He can help.”

“The thing is,” Nuwa said, walking over to kneel in front of the girl. “Your mama isn’t very smart about strangers either.”

“Don’t listen to your mommy,” Song said. She walks over to sit on the edge of the table. “I’m very smart and I know exactly which strangers are safe.”

Nuwa throws her hands up in exasperation. “Unbelievable.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Song said, turning to Yato and Hiyori. “So! You’re the avatar.”

“Yup. Hello, Yato here.” Yato said with an awkward small wave. He immediately regrets it, but in his defense he’s a little confused as to what exactly is going on.

Thankfully, Hiyori, being the angel she is, steps in to rescue him. “This is Yato, yes he’s the avatar, and I’m Hiyori. It’s nice to meet you!”

“I’m Song, that’s my wife Nuwa,” Song gestured to the short haired woman now sitting cross-legged in front of Yua’s chair. “And this is our daughter Yua.”

“If you’re the avatar, can you bend all the elements?” Yua asked, jumping up to stand on her chair.

“Uh, not yet? I’m pretty good at waterbending, but I still have to learn the others.”

“That’s cool! I’m starting to learn earthbending. Mama and mommy are teaching me. Or they were, before the monster came and ruined everything.” Yua pouts, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Don’t stand on the chair please, you could get hurt.” Nuwa pulls gently on Yua’s arm to get her to sit down. “And it’s not a monster, remember?”

“Right! It’s a spirit!” Yua answered, sliding from the chair to sit in her mother’s lap.

“That’s what we think, anyway,” Song adds. She gets off the table to sit in the now empty chair.

“I don’t know much about spirits. Everything I do know comes from stories my parents told me when I was a little girl.” Song said. “But what’s happening reminds of one story they told us to scare us away from the spirit grove outside the village.”

“Yeah!” Yua said. “Mommy said I’m not supposed to go there.”

“We all try to leave the spirit grove in peace so we don’t disturb the spirits that live there but I guess someone didn’t listen to the warnings.” Nuwa added with a pointed glance through a hole in the wall to the house next door.

“Nuwa, the neighbour’s’ kids aren’t to blame,” Song said with a sigh.

“They just moved here! And those kids don’t listen to anyone!”

“They invited us over for dinner! They’re nice people!”

“No, mommy is right,” Yua interrupts, completely unphased when her parents look over to her shocked. “Ning and Lu wanted to go explore and asked if I would come but I said it was a bad idea. I don’t think they listened to me.”

Nuwa looks up at her wife, victorious, and Song just drops her head in defeat and groans.

“So… the kids next door messed with the spirit grove. That’s probably not good?” Hiyori asked.

“According to the stories, messing with the order of the grove will upset the spirits. If you take something they won’t stop until they get it back.” Nuwa explained, combing her fingers through the tangles in Yua’s hair.

“I guess we should talk to the kids, see if they took something?” Yato proposed.

“I don’t have a better plan, so yeah!” Song said, walking to the door. “Let’s go!”

“Do you have to go?” Nuwa asked.

Song came back to take her wife’s face into her hands. She dropped a soft kiss on her forehead, then pulled back to look her in the eyes.

“We’ll be back soon, we’re just next door.”

“And if the spirit comes back? It’s almost dark, you know it’ll be here soon.” Nuwa said, forehead creased with worry.

“Well, we’ll be back by then, but if we’re not I’ve got the avatar with me! We’ll be careful.” Song assured her.

“Alright,” Nuwa conceded. “Just come back without any crazy incidents.”

“No promises.” “Song!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll try!”

“Alright, I guess we’re headed next door!” Yato stands to leave.

“Actually, I’m staying with Yua and Nuwa. I want to see if I can find anything helpful in Grandmother’s journal.” Hiyori said.

“Sounds good,” Yato replied. “We’ll be back soon.”

Hiyori watches them leave and turns to her bag to pull out the weathered journal. She’d been looking through it when she had the time, before going to sleep or while they were flying on Sakura. So far, what she had read had been interesting. Things about how the spirit world existed alongside their own world and how the avatar is supposed to act as a bridge between the worlds. She’d talked about that with Yato but he didn’t know any more about spirits than she did. They were figuring this out together.

She’d learned that there were places in the world where spiritual energy was stronger than other places. Maybe this spirit grove was one of them? She flipped through the journal to find the page on spirit portal. She frowned as she read; there were only two spirit portals and they were located at the poles, nowhere near the Earth Kingdom. Maybe the spirit grove was something smaller, something similar. If spirits and people could pass through both worlds at the portals, maybe the grove was just a place where spirits could pass through?

Hiyori’s thought process is interrupted by Yua crawling into her lap to look at the journals. She ran her little fingers across the ink drawings. “Pretty!”

“Oh! Yeah, I think so too.” Hiyori said.

“Where’d you get it?” Yua asked.

“My grandmother gave it to me.”

Nuwa walked over to them from where she had been standing at the window, watching the house next door. She sat down at the chair opposite Hiyori and held out a hand. “May I?”

“Of course,” Hiyori said, passing the journal to her.

The worried creases smoothed from Nuwa’s face as she looked through the pages. “My mother kept a journal like this, except it was about plants not spirits. She loved to write.”

“My grandmother was the same! She got this journal from her mother, I think she’s the one who started it, but my grandmother was always adding things.”

Nuwa returned the journal. “Now you have a piece of her you can keep forever. That’s nice, isn’t it? It’s nice to have something to remember them by when you can’t see them.”

Hiyori looks at Nuwa’s warm earth coloured eyes and finds understanding in them. “Yeah, it is.”

Nuwa brings her chair around to their side of the table and they do some more searching. They read about nature spirits and vengeful spirits and spirits who help the communities they’re attached to. Each page is accompanied by one or more inked drawings. Some are more detailed, others are just sketches. They’re all beautiful and Hiyori finds herself wishing she had a chance to meet her great grandmother, or even just a chance to talk about it all with grandmother. They must have been through some exciting journeys to know all this information.

Nuwa has retreated to the little kitchen with her daughter to make them some tea when Hiyori cries “I think I’ve got something!”

Nuwa returns with Yua in her arms to look at the journal over her shoulder.

“See here,” Hiyori follows the words with her finger as she reads aloud. “Spirit groves are home to spirits that connect strongly to their natural environment. They protect the places they inhabit and are very protective. Always remember that should you come across one you leave it as you found it. Touch nothing. The consequences will be dire should you disturb the home of the spirits.”

“Well, that confirms a lot of the stories I’ve heard.” Nuwa remarked when Hiyori stopped reading.

“It makes sense! If they’re protective spirits, of course they’ll be upset if their spirit grove is disturbed.” Hiyori said.

“I told them not to do it,” Yua said, closing her eyes and shaking her head solemnly.

Nuwa and Hiyori shared a grin at the child’s serious behaviour.

“Of course you did, sweetheart,” Nuwa tucked a lock of hair behind the girl’s ear. “Maybe next time they’ll listen better.”

“They should!” Yua exclaimed. Her head turns when she hears the front door open and she squirms out of Nuwa’s arms. “They’re back!”

Song and Yato appear in the doorway and Song immediately sinks to her knees to catch the little girl running at her so naturally, it looks practiced. Seeing Hiyori’s eyes watching them she said,

“Yua does this whenever either of us comes home. Doesn’t matter how long we were gone, she needs a bear hug. I can’t tell you how much food we’ve dropped because of this.”

Yato laughs and ruffles Yua’s hair as he walks further into the room. “You’re a little troublemaker, Yua.”

He sits down next to Hiyori, “So, find anything interesting?”

She shows him the passage about protective spirits and he reads it silently.

“Yeah, that fits with what we learned.” Song and Yato take turns filling them in on what they learned from the neighbours. The kids next door had in fact gone to the grove three nights ago and a day later, the spirit attacks had started.

“Took awhile to get them to confess, but it turns out they took this from the grove,” Yato said.

From his pocket he pulled a rock that seemed both dull and shiny, depending on which way the light hit it. It was blue then green and then purple, the colours shifting when Yato moved it. Hiyori thought her eyes were playing tricks on her until Yato handed her the rock. She twisted it in her hands watching the colours change. It was bizarre and absolutely mesmerizing. She let Song take it from her, shaking off the strange feeling the rock had left her with.

“I understand why they took it, honestly. It’s gorgeous.” Song added, rolling the rock between her fingers. “But we do have to return it and hope that the spirits will agree to leave the town in peace.”

“But,” Nuwa said, stealing the rock from her wife. “It’s late and we all need sleep. You can continue your quest tomorrow.”

Song sighed. “You’re right, of course. Let me take Yua, I’ll get her ready to sleep.”

Song took Yua by the hand and led her from the room, asking her if she wanted some warm milk and honey to help her sleep.

“Alright,” Nuwa said, turning to Yato and Hiyori. “We’ll get you settled in here in the dining room because unfortunately our spare room isn’t really great for guests right now.”

“That’s fine! We’re kind of used to sleeping where we can by now. We’ve been travelling a lot.” Hiyori said.

“Yeah, I’ll grab the bedrolls from Sakura.” Yato said, leaving the room.

“Don’t worry about us!” Hiyori assured Nuwa. “We’ll be fine.” “I’ll leave you to it then. Bathroom is the first door on the right down that hallway, if you need it. Sleep well, Hiyori.”

“You too, Nuwa. Thank you for letting us stay.”

“Anytime, really.” Nuwa replied. “I’ll admit I’m wary to trust people but you and Yato… you’re not that bad.”

With that she was gone. Hiyori put away her journal and the rock, slipping them both into her bag. Yato came back with the bedrolls and their spare blankets. They laid them out next to the table, not too close to the window. The weather was getting cooler and Yato may be used to colder temperatures but Hiyori still wasn’t fond of them.

“So,” Yato said when they were settled in their bedrolls, the last candle blown out. “We’re going to the spirit grove tomorrow.”

Hiyori hummed in agreement.

“What do we do if this doesn’t work Hiyori? I’m the avatar, I’m supposed to be the bridge between these two worlds, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“That’s why I’m here, remember? Grandmother said I have a connection to the spirits, so I guess I’ll help you figure it out along the way.”

“I guess so.”

“We’ve got this. All we have to do is return the rock, right? Simple.”

“Right. It can’t be that hard.”

“Exactly. It’ll all work out just fine. Try not to worry so much, okay?”

“Okay. Night, Hiyori.”

“Good night, Yato.”

They wake the next morning a few hours after the sun rises. Song and Nuwa are already making a simple breakfast of bread and fruit when they wake. Yato offers to wake Yua and Hiyori helps the couple set the table. When Yato returns with a laughing Yua riding on his shoulders the other three are already sitting at the table.

Song and Nuwa share a chair and Yua sits happily on Yato’s lap, lips stained and sticky with juice from the berries she’s devouring.

“So,” Yato said. “Just to clarify, we’re going to the grove, finding the spirit, returning the stone with our deepest apologies and asking that they stop attacking the town?”

“That’s it,” Hiyori confirmed. “That’s the plan.”

“Wonderful,” Song said, brushing bread crumbs off her hands. “Let’s go then.”

“Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute,” Nuwa said. “Where are you going?”

“To help the avatar stop the spirit that is destroying our town, darling, please keep up.”

Nuwa stood up with her daughter in her arms and placed Yua on the empty chair. Then she walked over to stand in front of her wife, arms crossed. “I don’t think so.”

“Nuwa--”

“Can you please let them handle it? You remember what happened the last time you tried to help, right?”

“I’ll be okay! I was okay last time. Besides, I couldn’t just leave him there.”

“You were not fine, you had a concussion! And yes, we weren’t going to leave the boy at the mercy of an angry spirit, but you could’ve waited for me! You don’t have to do everything alone!”

“They’re going to need someone to lead them to the grove and I won’t be alone if I’m with them,” Song gestured to Hiyori and Yato.

“Song--”

“Hey,” Song said softly, taking Nuwa’s hand and interlacing their fingers. “I swear on Kyoshi, I’ll be careful. I’ll be okay.”

Nuwa takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “You better.”

Nuwa kisses her wife on the cheek and then walks back to the table and starts picking up the dirty plates. “Be back before lunch or else.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Song mock salutes her. Then she turns to Yua. “Hug?”

“I can’t hug you, mama, my hands are dirty!”

“Oh, you’re right! Well, then, I’ll just have to do this!”

Song squishes her daughter’s face in her hands and showers her with little kisses. Yua laughs and crunches up her little nose. “Mama, no!”

Song smiles as she steps back. “We’ll be back soon baby. Keep an eye on mommy for me.”

“I will,” Yua promises, already waving them goodbye as she grabs another piece of fruit.

“Got everything?” Yato asked Hiyori.

She nodded, slipping a hand into her bag to feel for the stone one more time.

“Then let’s go!”

Chapter Text

They trek through broken buildings, shattered wooden doors and earthen walls. Some houses are spared of heavy harm but others are completely destroyed.

“Our neighbourhood got the worst of it, so far,” Song explained. “I don’t really know if it follows a pattern while attacking because it attacked the night the kids stole the rock and the night after but not last night.”

“Might be because the avatar’s here?” Hiyori guessed. “You are supposed to have a connection to spirits.” “Might be. The spirit might be able to sense my energy. Waterbenders can sense energy in other people, it’s how they use water to heal.” Yato climbed over a larger piece of debris.

“In the stories my grandparents told me about the avatar, they were able to communicate with the spirits and their past lives through their spiritual connection.” Song called back to them.

“I didn’t know that.” Yato said, jogging a little to catch up. There was less debris here now. They were entering the less ruined part of town, closer to the forests that ringed the town border.

“Yeah, it supposedly helped them learn, helped them become a better avatar.” Song said.

“That makes sense,” Hiyori said. “It would be useful to have access to their experiences.”

“Yeah, that’s great and all, but how exactly am I supposed to do that?” Yato asked.

“You need to connect with them… somehow.” Hiyori frowned as she thought about it. “Maybe we could visit places we know were important to them? Aang was the avatar before you. We could visit the air temples.”

“It’s worth a try.” Yato accepted Hiyori’s hand as she helped him over a large fallen tree.

“Okay, here we go.” Song stopped at the edge of the forest. The trees towered around them.

“Shouldn’t be too far from here.” Song continued on into the forest and they followed close behind.

They trek through the forest and soon the trees start thinning out to reveal a tiny clearing hidden amongst the trees. The trees ring the clearing in a loose circle and in the centre is a raised hill, overgrown with wildflowers and grasses that reach Yato’s knees.

“Look,” Song said pointing at the little specks of light dotting the greenery. “Those are lightning bugs. They’re here all year.”

There are so many lightning bugs that they make the spirit grove glow despite the shadows from the towering trees. It’s beautiful.

“Alright,” Song turned to them with her hands on her hips. “Do your thing.”

Hiyori knelt on the ground to open her bag and pull out the stone. She gave it to Yato, who stood there with it in his hands. He looked unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to do now they were at the grove.

“Go ahead,” Hiyori said.

“And do what?” Yato asked. “Call for the spirit? Say ‘Hey, I brought back your rock.’”

Hiyori shrugged. “Worth a try.”

Yato sighed and walked slowly to the hill. He knelt before it and closed his eyes, breathing deeply to calm himself down. He laid the stone on the earth before him and called out for the spirit.

“Uh, hi? Spirit of this grove, it’s the avatar. Just here to return this stone. Which I’m sure you want back.”

He waited, looking around the grove. Nothing happened.

“We were hoping you would maybe consider leaving the town alone? Because you know, these are innocent people and uh, you’ve got your stone back! So, yeah…”

Still, nothing happens. He looks back at Hiyori and Song. Song just shrugs. Hiyori comes to kneel next to him.

“We could try meditating?” She offered. “The journal said that’s a good way to get closer to the spirit world.”

Yato doesn’t have a better idea so they settle into comfortable positions in the grass and close their eyes, steadying their breathing.

Yato can hear the quiet buzz of the lightning bug's wings, the rustle of the leaves in the trees around them, the nearly silent breathing of Hiyori next to him. He let’s the calm feeling of the grove wash over him. He can feel the way the air changes around him.

When they started meditating, he could feel the warmth of the air, the hint of a breeze, and he could quite clearly hear the wildlife in the forest. Now it was eerily silent. No animals, no wind, nothing but their soft breathing. Even that was just barely there. The temperature had dropped. Yato hadn't worn his furs in months. He didn't need them, it was too warm to wear them anywhere but the North Pole. Now he found himself wishing for one of the sealskin blankets they had back home.

Curious, he opened both eyes, just enough to get a glimpse of what was happening. The hill looked the same. His eyes moved to the stone and they opened fully in shock. The once muted blue-green-purples of the stone are now vibrant. It's like when they first had the stone it was covered by a veil, by something that was concealing its true brilliance and that something is now gone.

Yato picks it up cautiously, waiting for something to happen. Nothing does. The stone feels warm in his palm, like it is alive with energy.

He lifts his head to tell Hiyori but she's already staring wide eyed. “That… it’s beautiful!”

“I know,” Yato said. “It wasn’t like this before we got here. I wonder what changed?”

“Maybe it’s because it’s back at the spirit grove?”

“Maybe.” Yato turned the rock in his hands. “We should show Song!”

Song was waiting at the tree line, perched on top of a fallen tree, making little figures out of the dirt in front of her. She didn’t look up as they walked toward her. They called her name when they got close. Song didn't react.

"Weird…" Yato muttered.

"It's like she can't hear us." Hiyori said. She reached forward to place a hand on Song's arm but ended up falling to the ground with a shriek.

Yato just stood there, eyes wide. He gripped the stone tighter in his hand.

Hiyori looked up at him from where she had fallen next to Song. She looked over to Song and found her hand was resting on the ground. It went right through Song's leg.

Hiyori jerked her arm away and held it close to her chest.

"What… What just happened?"

Yato just shook his head in disbelief. Hiyori got up slowly to stand next to him. She waved a hand in front of Song’s face. “Song? Can you hear me?”

“Something weird definitely happened while we were meditating,” Yato finally spoke.

“Right, but what?” Hiyori said. “Everything looks the same… except for the stone. And there’s the fact that Song can’t hear us and I can’t touch her.”

“It’s weird that we can touch the stone. I wonder what else we can touch?”

The answer was not much. Their hands went right through everything except the ground and Hiyori’s bag, as well as its contents.

“The journal said meditating would get us closer to the spirit world. Maybe that’s what happened?”

“We don’t really know what that means, though,” Yato said. “How is a person supposed to get closer to the spirit world? Do we actually enter it?”

“I’m not sure,” Hiyori frowned. She pulled the journal out of her bag and flipped through the pages. “Maybe--”

Her words are cut off by a roar that shakes the trees. They turn to see a massive creature climbing over the hill toward them. It has six legs and a tail almost as long as its body. It's dark skin is covered in eyes of varying sizes. The eyes roll in unison to focus on them.

Yato’s breath is caught in his chest. His eyes are wide and in response to a potential threat, his feet and hands are already shifting into a bending position, the stone laying forgotten on the ground. He raises his hands slowly to draw water from the pouch he keeps at his waist but nothing happens. He tries again. Nothing.

“Yato?” Hiyori asked.

“My bending isn’t working,” Yato said.

“What?”

“I don’t know why! It just isn’t!” Yato pulled the sword from its sheath instead. If he couldn’t fight with his bending, he was going to fight the only other way he knew how.

He started to charge toward the thing when Hiyori grabbed him by the arm. “Wait!”

“What do you mean wait?” He shook her hand off. “Look at how big it is!”

“I know, but she hasn’t done anything to hurt us yet.”

Yato lowered his sword to observe the creature. Hiyori was right. She was just walking slowly with her head lowered to the ground, like she was searching for something using her sense of smell. They watched quietly as she moved around the grove.

“Hey, is she…” “Coming closer?” Hiyori finished. “Yeah, I think so!”

They backed up to the trees and Yato raised his sword again, but the creature advanced no further than the stone still lying in the grass. They watch silently as she smells the stone then lets out a screech and picks it up. She walks back in the direction of the hill and disappears through the other side of the forest. Tall grasses grow on the top of the hill in her wake and she’s gone.

They stay where they are for a few more moments, then sink to the ground in relief.

“That was--”

“Crazy?” Yato suggested.

“I was going to say amazing, but yes, that too.”

“What do you think that was?”

Hiyori paused for a moment. “I’m not sure but I think… that might have been a spirit?”

Yato tilted his head to the sky as he thought about it. “Maybe. That would explain why all it wanted was the stone. But why would a spirit be in our world?”

“I mean… it could have been a spirit in our world, or we’re…”

“In the spirit world!” Yato finished. Hiyori nodded.

Yato stared at her. “I didn’t think about that!”

“Hold on,” Hiyori pulled the journal out again. “The journal had an entry about the spirit world.”

She found the page and read aloud. “There are certain characteristics of the spirit world that are helpful to distinguish it from our own. These include the inability to interact with objects or people that remain in the human world and the inability to use any type of bending. The spirit world is also inhabited by spirits, which is a rather obvious marker to whether or not you’re there. Certain objects that belong in the spirit world will appear differently if brought to our world.”

“So that explains why Song couldn’t hear us and why you couldn’t touch her,” Yato said.

“And why the stone looked different! And the creature really was a spirit!”

“Wow.”

“Yeah!” Hiyori couldn’t believe it. They actually entered the spirit world! “So the meditating worked!” “It did,” Yato agreed. “We just need to figure exactly what worked and maybe we can do it again!”

“And we need to figure how to get back,” Hiyori reminded him.

“Oh, right…”

Yato looks around the grove and his eyes stop on the grass on the hill. “We could take a look at those?” They walk over to take a look. Yato walks around the patch of grass while Hiyori stands in front, just observing.

“Weird.” Yato said. “It only grew on the top of the hill.”

Hiyori didn’t respond. She was reaching out to touch the grass.

“What are you-don’t touch it!” Yato said.

“Calm down,” she dismissed him. “I’ll be fine.”

Yato watched as Hiyori reached her arm through the grass. It didn’t come out the other side. Hiyori turned to Yato with a smile and before he could say anything she walked through and disappeared.

“Hiyori!” Yato yelled.

She poked her head back through the grass just to say, “I think this is the way back!”

Yato watched her disappear again skeptically. He didn’t have much choice but to follow her. He walked cautiously through the grass only to emerge on the same hill, promptly trip over a rock and fall down the hill.

Yato picks himself up with a huff, brushing himself off. Hiyori laughs and walks past him to where Song is still sitting on the fallen tree. This time she sees them coming and waves as they get closer.

“You two have been meditating for a while! Didn’t look like anything interesting happened.” Her eyes glanced between their empty hands. “Where’s the stone?”

“Gone.” Yato replied. “The spirit took it.”

“The spi--What spirit?”

“We’ll explain everything when we get back to your house,” Hiyori said, sharing a grin with Yato. “Come on!”

“And then the spirit came and just scooped up the rock!” Yato said, swinging Yua up into his arms as she laughed.

Hiyori, Nuwa, and Song sat around the table, watching as Yato rocked a giggling Yua in his arms.

“So, you got the stone back to the spirit. It’ll leave the town alone now?” Nuwa asked.

“Yeah,” Hiyori said. “The spirit can return the grove to how it’s supposed to be and as long as the grove is left alone, you should be fine.”

“That’s a relief,” Nuwa said.

“What I want to know is how you got in and out of the spirit world,” Song said. “You’re saying all of this happened when I was standing right there, but I didn’t see any of it.”

“We’re not exactly sure,” Yato answered. Yua had her arms around his neck and her head resting against his shoulder.

“The journal did say meditating would get us closer to the spirit world,” Hiyori mused. “I guess it actually got us in. And I’ve been thinking about how we got out, through the grass? I think the spirit helped us.”

“Interesting theory,” Song commented. “She could have been grateful that you brought the stone back.”

“That’s what I was thinking!” Hiyori replied.

“I’m just glad it all worked out.” Yato let Yua down and she came over to the table to sit on her mom’s lap.

“Me too,” Hiyori sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Grandmother said I have a connection to spirits but I still have a lot to learn.”

“Well, there’s someone you might want to talk to. I think he could help you.” Nuwa said.

“You mean Ebisu? Come on, I thought he was a legend. A story. Not real.” Song said, getting up to walk into the kitchen.

“Please, he’s just an old man that lives alone in a remote village.” Nuwa scoffed at her wife.

“Why would he be able to help me?” Hiyori asked.

“Well, he’s definitely just an old man, but he’s supposed to have a great knowledge of the spirits. He lives in the Kolau Mountains, somewhere outside Omashu.”

“He’s not real!” Song called from the other room. “But good luck anyway!”

“We’ll get some rest tonight and head out tomorrow morning?” Yato suggested.

“Only after you’ve eaten breakfast,” Song called again.

Yato laughed. “Deal.”

Chapter Text

They’re flying on Sakura’s back bright and early the next day. Hiyori is getting some extra sleep in the saddle while Yato keeps an eye on where they’re going. They’re headed for the Kolau Mountain range. They’re stopping in Omashu first to gather supplies and information. Song and Nuwa had offered some for them to take before they left, but they took as little as the couple would let them get away with. They had already let them stay in their home for two days, Yato wasn’t going to take more of what they owned.

Omashu wasn’t too far from Song’s town. Yato could already see the mountain peaks in the distance. He leans over to give Sakura a quick rub on the neck. He has to admit, he’s fallen for this cloud fish ridiculously fast.

With nothing to do but wait until they get there, he pulls his sword from the sheath on his back to keep his hands busy. They move on their own, the motions to clean and sharpen his sword practiced and familiar; his thoughts are free to wander.

Since they left Haikou, they haven’t been found by the Tui Guard or Mizuchi. Yato isn’t a fool; he knows Father is still looking for him. They’ve just been good at staying on the move so far. It’s inevitable that Father would catch up to him eventually. He just hoped they could get away again.

In Haikou he managed to activate what Hiyori’s grandmother called “the avatar state.” He wished he knew what that meant. Or even how to control it. Sure, having access to that much power was kind of scary, but it would make keeping the people he cared about safe a lot easier.

Father really did his job well when he kept Yato from learning anything avatar related. Yato had very little idea as to what he was supposed to do, to how any of this was supposed to work. If he was going to be an avatar the world trusted, he was going to need to do a lot of work. He had already mastered waterbending, thanks to Father’s rigorous training. Next up was earthbending. And figuring out this spirit stuff. Hopefully this guy, Ebisu, could help.

Yato was skeptical. They knew nothing about him and yet they really didn’t have a better plan, so talk to the old spirit man it was. Besides, while Hiyori learned about spirits, he could take some time to find an Earthbending teacher. He had to start learning sometime and the place where earthbending was born was as good a place as any to find a teacher.

He sheathed his sword and leaned just lightly over the edge of the saddle, resting his chin on his folded arms. He likes flying, the feeling of the wind brushing through his hair, and the way everything looks so small, so far away. He doesn’t have to worry about it all, just for a little while.

He stays like that until they’re flying right over the Kolau Mountains. He calls Hiyori’s name to wake her and takes the reins to guide Sakura to a flat plane not far from Omashu. They’ll let her rest there and walk the rest of the way on foot.

He grabs his water pouch, giving it to Hiyori so she can wash her face, and goes back to the saddle to grab her bag. He jumps down to where she’s waiting and they head for Omashu.

“It’s not too far from here,” Yato said. “Shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes to reach the city.”

“So we can pick up supplies and ask around, see if anyone has any idea of where we can find Ebisu.” Hiyori said.

“Right,” Yato agreed. “I hope we find him. It’d be nice to get some answers for once.”

Hiyori hummed in agreement. “There’s so much we don’t know! About the spirits, about you being the avatar.”

“Yeah…”

“Can I ask… why is it you don’t know much?”

Yato turned to glance at her then looked back at his feet, watching them move forward across the dry terrain.

“You don’t have to tell me!” Hiyori added hurriedly. “I just… I was curious? My parents have told me stories about Avatar Kyoshi and I don’t know how it’s done in the water tribes but in the earth kingdom we have traditions on how the avatar should be found and trained. It just seems like… you didn’t have any of that.”

Yato sighed. He wasn’t used to this sort of thing, to sharing with people. Hiyori had been travelling with him for months now and never once had she asked something that made him uncomfortable or pried into subjects he didn’t want to talk about. With her, at least, it was getting easier to share.

“You’re right, I didn’t. My Father… he was not a great parent. I did a lot of things I’m not proud of because he liked it. That’s all I cared about, making him happy, and I’d do whatever it took, even if it was bad. He kept a lot of secrets from me too. Especially about being the avatar. Now I have to figure things out and it’s… not that easy.”

Hiyori listened quietly, waiting to see if he wanted to say more.

“I hurt people, Hiyori. I’ve killed people. All to impress a man that doesn’t really care for anyone. I want to make up for it by helping people, by being a good avatar, but can I really? Can hands stained with blood really do any good?”

Hiyori stopped walking and grabbed Yato by the arm so he stood in front of her. She took his hands into her own and turned them so they lay palm up in her hands. He stared at her, distraught.

“Listen to me. These hands? I’ve seen them carry children. I’ve seen them cradle a cloud fish egg to shore. I’ve seen them bend water to save lives. Don’t tell me they’re not capable of helping people, because I’ve seen you help people, Yato.”

Yato can’t speak. His eyes fill with tears and Hiyori moves forward to pull him into a hug.

“You’re going to be a fantastic avatar.”

They stand there until Yato is ready to keep going and walk the rest of the way in silence, shoulders brushing all the way.

When they reach Omashu, Hiyori can hardly believe how busy it is. Sure Haikou was a fairly large town, but Omashu was the second biggest city in the earth kingdom. Haikou could barely compare. She spends a lot of time watching packages shuttle through the mail chutes. She wonders what it would be like to slide down one.

They wandered the market, getting sidetracked by the street performers, the gamblers, the merchants with their wares. They managed to stay focused long enough to buy fresh fruit and some flatbreads. They stop at a shop for some noodle soup and decide to start gathering information after lunch.

“Do you want to split up?” Yato asked, devouring his second bowl of soup.

“We could get information faster that way…” Hiyori agreed. “You’ll be okay on your own, right?”

Yato nodded with his cheeks full of food. Hiyori smiles at him.

“Oh,” Yato said, swallowing a mouthful of noodles. “I was thinking, while we’re here, I wanted to try and find an earthbending teacher.”

“Sure,” Hiyori agreed. “It’s probably a good idea to start learning the other elements.

Yato manages to eat another full bowl and they split a small slice of cake, pay for the food and leave.

“I’ll check the western half of the city, you check the east.” Yato said.

“Right, what is that supposed to mean for people who aren’t trained in a million different things?” Hiyori asked.

“I’ll go through the city from the market to the palace, you go from the market to the entrance where we came in.”

“That makes more sense, thanks.”

“We’ll talk to as many people as possible and meet back with Sakura an hour before sunset.”

“Okay! I’ll see you then,” Hiyori started walking away. “Don’t get into trouble without me!”

Yato didn’t bother responding, just rolled his eyes.

He decided to start at the tea shop where they had lunch, talking to the waiters (twins named Mei and Ling) and the owner (their uncle, a slightly eccentric but pleasant man). None of them had lived in Omashu very long, so they didn’t have a lot of information for him. They did mention a library closer to the palace and Yato figured that was a good place to do some research, so he left the tea shop with a thank you and a promise to come back before leaving the city.

He walked along the streets, content to observe the scenery. It was nice to watch parents that actually cared about their kids spend time with them. Part of him felt bitter, he couldn’t deny it, but he was determined to bury those feelings deep. It didn’t matter that Father was such an utter failure at being a parent. All that was important now was that Yato was leaving the past behind and that included how Father treated him.

Lost in his thoughts, he arrived at the library without realizing he had already walked so far. He stopped for a moment outside the stone building to collect himself. He couldn’t get distracted now, he had a goal: find out as much as possible about this mysterious Ebisu. And also maybe get an idea of where he could learn some earthbending.

He entered the building. The double doors opened into a large circular room, with large windows spaced out in between shelves of books. The stone walls kept the place cool and dry, keeping the books and scrolls in good condition. Shelves lined any empty wall space and created a maze of hallways. There was a desk to the right of the door and a man sat there. He glanced up when Yato walked in but seemed content to leave him alone otherwise.

The man had long hair pulled up into a bun and wore a sleeveless brown tunic over a fitted green shirt, with matching pants. He had his feet up on the desk in a position that hardly looked comfortable and his feet were bare.

Yato turned his attention to the rows of shelves in front of him, at a loss as to where he should start. He stood for a bit, clenching and unclenching his fingers in indecision. He turned back to the desk to find the man staring at him with his head propped up by one hand, feet flat on the ground now. He was watching him with an amused grin and when he saw Yato turn to him, he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, do you need help?”

Yato could feel the sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

“Yeah, actually, some help would be nice.”

“Took a little while to think about that, huh? Did staring at the shelves help you decide?”

Yato frowned. Was this guy genuinely trying to insult him or just messing with him?

The man just shook his head at what was probably a very confused look on Yato’s face and got up from his chair to come around the desk. He held out a hand for Yato to shake.

“I’m Jin. I work here every afternoon. Don’t make much money, but hey you meet interesting people and I’m just doing it so I can read all the books I want. Lots of quiet time to read in a library, who knew?”

“Yato,” he replied with a laugh. “The library, a quiet place to read. Amazing discovery.”

Jin’s face scrunched up in a smile. He had a dimple just below his lips, Yato noticed.

“I like you,” Jin decided. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’m looking for information about a man named Ebisu?”

“Ah, you’re one of them.”

“One of them?”

“Lots of people come here searching for the mysterious Ebisu. They all have their reasons. What’s yours?”

“Spirit stuff,” Yato answered. Jin beckoned him to follow as he headed down a hallway.

“Vague answer. You might be just as mysterious.”

“A friend and I, we came here looking for him. Had an encounter with a spirit and we were hoping he would help us learn more about them.”

“Not a lot of people interested in learning about the actual spirits from him, so this is kind of new.” Jin was turning right, leading him deeper into the labyrinth. “Most just want the secrets of immortality or the path to wealth.”

Yato had to stop and think about that for a moment. “What?”

Jin’s head popped back around the corner. “Yeah, a lot of people say he’s immortal. You didn’t know that?”

Yato shook his head dumbly. Jin laughed at him and kept walking. Yato sped up to walk next to him. “How is that possible?”

Jin shrugged, eyes skittering over the signs above the shelves. “No idea if it’s true. I do know people have been talking about him since before I was born so he’s definitely been alive a long time.”

“This sounds like one strange man,” Yato muttered.

“You’re telling me,” Jin grinned. He stopped at a shelf at the end of the hallway they were walking down and climbed halfway up the rolling ladder. He ran his finger down the line of books, reading the titles under his breath. When he found the one he was looking for, he cried out in triumph and plucked it off the shelf, sliding down the ladder to hand it to Yato.

“There you go.”

Yato turned the book over in his hands. The front and back covers were blank, nothing but smooth wood, worn smooth at the edges by the hands of anyone who had ever held the book. It was bound with thin braided rope, looped through holes in the wooden cover and each page.

“And this is supposed to help me find him?”

Jin nodded. “That’s Ebisu’s journal. Supposedly it has instructions hidden in it, which will lead you to the town where he lives.”

“Supposedly?”

“Knowing for sure would take the fun out of it!”

Yato snorted softly, his eyes falling back on the book in his hands. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Exactly! The puzzle is half the fun.”

They started walking back towards the front desk.

“Obviously, everything about this guy is weird, but you know what I think is the weirdest?” Jin asked. “Why does a wealthy businessman leave everything he has to go live somewhere all on his own?”

“Is he really that rich?”

Jin shot him an incredulous look. “Man, you’re really not from around here. Ebisu’s supposed to be one of the richest men in the Earth Kingdom. Some say he’s richer than Earth Kingdom royalty.”

“And he just left it all behind?”

Jin nodded. “See what I mean? Weird! Apparently he made his fortune by setting up the cod.”

“The… cod?”

“Cat Owl Delivery. An improved version of the old mail system, except instead of having mail carriers take forever to deliver things, he trained the cat owls to do it. They’re much faster. Locals just call it the cod.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen some of them. That’s pretty cool.”

“That’s Ebisu, the enigma.”

They reach the front desk and Jin leans back in his chair again. He stamped the inside of the journal and handed it to Yato.

“You’re free to borrow it, but there’s a time limit on the journal. You’ve got until sunset tomorrow to figure it out and bring the journal back.”

“Got it,” Yato nodded.

They reached the entrance of the library. Jin turned to him with a small smile, hands resting in the pockets of his tunic. Some of his hair was falling out of its bun, giving his hair a strange lopsided look.

“See you tomorrow, then,” Jin said. “Good luck!”

“Thanks,” Yato waved goodbye, pushed the door open and headed back to Sakura.

Chapter Text

Hiyori left Yato at the marketplace, smiling to herself when she saw him roll her eyes. It was fun to tease him. Reminded her of Masaomi.

She spent some time talking to people in the market. The fruit vendor wasn’t much help, but it was amusing to help his daughters try and stack mangoes. An old woman, Meiying, who made her own jewelry, wouldn’t let her leave without a necklace. The clothing vendor down the street wasn’t as nice, but Hiyori figured it was because she had a newborn baby and still had to work. Hiyori bought her a tea and helped in the shop for a half hour, letting the poor woman rest.

The woman was kind enough to return the favour by directing her to an older tea shop a few streets over, owned by the Li family. They were the oldest family currently living in Omashu and had been here for seven generations. If anyone could help Hiyori, she reasoned, it was the Li’s.

Hiyori thanked her for the help and headed for the tea shop. She was heading in a direction away from the center of the market. The number of shops and stalls dwindled as she got further away and were soon replaced altogether by houses. She passed a small park, full of children playing, and next to it, a school. The sign said it was the “Omashu School for Beginner Bending.” Hiyori made a note to tell Yato about it when she saw him again.

She stopped in front of a building taller than the surrounding houses. She double checked the address with the one the merchant woman had given her. This was it.

Hiyori knocked briefly on the door and then pushed it open slightly. A bell rang out as the door opened to a cozy room. Tables with stools were scattered around the room in a way that looked disorganized but made it easy to navigate around them. Windows lined the back wall and flooded the room with light. The place was filled with people. Not so much as to make it crowded, just enough to fill the shop with the pleasant hum of conversation.

There was a counter at the side of the room, two workers standing behind it taking orders. She walked towards them and was immediately greeted with a smile.

“Hello! Welcome to the Cha-tea Cafe! What can I get you?” The girl, about Hiyori’s age, wore a name tag that said Daiyu! Followed by a smiley face.

“Actually, I’m not here for the tea,” Hiyori said. “I was hoping to talk to Mrs. Li?”

Daiyu quirked an eyebrow at her.

“It’s about a man named Ebisu,” Hiyori added. “I’m looking for him.”

Daiyu’s face lit up, her lips shaping a silent “Ah!” of understanding. “Gotcha. You can head up those stairs.”

She pointed to the corner opposite the door Hiyori had come in, where there was a flight of stairs leading up to the second floor.

“Thank you!”

“Have fun!” Daiyu waved her off, turning to her next customer.

Hiyori crept up the stairs, feeling oddly like she was disturbing the quiet of the upper floor, bringing the hustle of the tea shop up with her. She shook it off, lifting her head to look around.

The upper floor matched the coziness of the shop below but was decorated more like a home. Pictures of a family decorated part of the wall in the hallway. To her right there was a window and the hallway stretched to her left where there were three doors. One of them was already open a bit and she could hear soft singing.

She knocked on the door and the song stopped. A woman’s voice called out for her to enter. Inside the room was a woman sitting in a chair facing a window. A cat sat curled in her lap. For a second, Hiyori was so forcefully reminded of her grandmother, she couldn't breath through the sudden attack of homesickness. The woman greeted her with a small smile and she forced herself to move past the feeling.

“Hello darling, won’t you come sit down?”

Hiyori pulled a cushion from the bench by the window and sat on the ground in front of the woman’s chair. “Are you Mrs. Ling?”

“That I am, child.” Hiyori liked the way she spoke. Her voice was soft and her words sounded poetic.

Before Hiyori could tell her why she was there, Mrs. Ling spoke. “You miss home terribly, don’t you?”

Taken aback, all Hiyori can reply with is a stuttered yes. Mrs. Ling just nods in solemn agreement, her out of the blue guess confirmed.

“I can see it in your eyes. My granddaughter looks exactly the same when her father’s gone for work. Don’t worry, it will pass.”

Inexplicably, Hiyori is comforted. Maybe it’s because this woman reminds her so much of her grandmother, maybe it’s just the reassurances. Either way, Hiyori is calmed and suddenly very happy to have met Mrs. Ling.

“Thank you. I’ve never been away from home this long before, so I guess I’m still getting used to it.”

Mrs. Ling nods, listening patiently and waiting for her to say more. “You came to me for help though?”

“Yes, I’m looking for Ebisu and I was told you might be able to help me?”

“You’re not after immortality, are you?” Mrs. Ling’s tone is suddenly sterner than before.

“No?” Hiyori replied, confused.

“Of course not, you’re a smart girl. You know better than to mess with the balance of life.”

Hiyori just nods, not really knowing what to say.

“In that case,” Mrs. Ling said. “I’ll tell you what I know.”

Hiyori talks to Mrs. Ling for hours, remembering she has to leave when she glances out of the window and sees the first hint of orange paint the sky. She bids Mrs. Ling farewell and sets off to meet Yato.

She finds him feeding Sakura some fish. When he sees her, she thinks she sees something like relief flicker across his face but it’s gone too fast for her to really tell.

“You’re late!” Yato said with a teasing grin. His eyes are still looking her up and down, like he’s checking to make sure she’s okay.

Hiyori reaches out to squeeze his hand and drops it just as quickly. “Just lost track of time.”

They work together to set up a fire and cook some of the fish Yato caught for dinner. Hiyori finishes eating first; Masaomi always teased her for how much she ate (she didn’t really care, she was stronger than him after all) but Hiyori thinks if he saw the way Yato ate, he’d be too shocked to even tease him. Hiyori tosses strips of fish into Sakura’s mouth and tells him what she learned from Mrs. Ling.

“Apparently, he started as a local legend. Came down from the mountains at every full moon and disappeared again by morning. Some people say he’s taller than any man, others say he has skin as pale as the moon and hair darker than the night sky.”

“All very mysterious,” Yato said, setting another fish bone onto the pile.

Hiyori nodded. “No one really knows where he lives though. Most people look for him because he’s immortal?”

“Oh! Yeah, I heard about that!” Yato told her about the library and what little Jin had told him.

“And I’ve got this journal, which should help us find him. We only have until sunset tomorrow.

“We should figure it out as soon as possible then!” Hiyori said.

“Here, take it,” Yato gave her the journal and stood up stretching his arms over his head. “I’ll clean up, you start looking through it.”

Hiyori flicks through the pages, occasionally reading passages aloud if she thinks they might be helpful, or if they’re just amusing. It really is a normal journal, with dated entries about little things Ebisu did during his days, gathering white jade for tea, tending to his garden. It all seemed very normal for a man of myth.

Yato listens carefully as he cleans. When he’s done, he sits down next to Hiyori.

“I don’t get it,” Hiyori said. “How is any of this supposed to help us find Ebisu?”

Yato hummed as he gathered his thoughts. “I think… I think it’s in the little things he mentioned.”

“What do you mean?”

“He talks about gathering white jade, right?” When Hiyori nodded, he continued. “Well, white jade only grows on the Northern Peak in the Kolau Mountains. And he mentioned a river, which is on the same mountain. That’s why the white jade grows there, all the other mountains are too dry!”

“Oh!” Hiyori gasped in understanding. “So, the little geographical hints will help us figure out where he lives.” “Right,” Yato confirmed. “Guess we’re headed for the Northern Peak. It’s just past the Cave of Two Lovers.”

“The what?”

“You don’t know the story?”

“Of course I know the story. I’m from the earth kingdom. I’m just surprised you do.”

Yato just shrugs in response, shaking out his bedroll.

Hiyori shook her head. “You have the strangest mix of knowledge. Who knows which specific mountain in the Kolau Mountain range grows white jade?”

Yato smiled, laying out Hiyori’s bedroll on the soft grass. She nods in thanks. “Did you find anything to help you learn earthbending?”

“Not really,” Yato laid down. “I probably should have asked Jin. Maybe I can ask him when I return the journal.”

“I passed an earthbending school. You could start there.”

“We don’t have time. We know where Ebisu is, we should find him as soon as possible.”

Hiyori scoffed, removing her headband and putting it in her bag. She ran her fingers through some of the tangles in her hair, slipping into her bedroll. “Please, we can spare a day for you to at least pick up the basics. Then you’ll have something to practice. I’ll return the journal for you.”

Yato thought it over. “Sounds like a plan.” His eyes are already drifting closed, and Hiyori watches him with a smile.

“Sleep well, avatar.”

Yato watched as Hiyori walked down the street toward the library. She had dropped him off at the school and was now taking the journal back to the library. The plan was for Yato to spend the day learning earthbending while Hiyori was free to do what she wanted around the city. She planned on getting some supplies for when they left Omashu and maybe stopping by to see Mrs. Ling again, have some actual tea this time.

Yato turned to the low, wide stone building in front of him. Kids as young as eight were walking towards the doors. He felt kind of silly, being so much older than most of the students there. But Yato was getting used to people staring. People marrying with people of other nations was common enough but it was still strange to see someone with his water tribe blue eyes and dark hair but pale skin. It was a combination that tended to turn heads and he especially stood out among the darker skinned earth kingdom natives.

He entered the school to find an open room that split off into shorter hallways. There were three paths before him; one led to classrooms, a second led to an outdoor practice area, and the third led to what looked like an office. He figured the office was his best bet and knocked on the door.

“Enter!” A woman called, her voice slightly muffled by the door.

He opened the door to find a woman sitting behind a desk, glasses perched precariously on her face. Yato was fairly sure there were about to fall off. She didn’t look up from where she furiously writing away, a stack of paper to her right and ink staining her hands. Yato hesitated for a moment before sitting down in the chair in front of her desk.

She looked up at him then, her eyes narrowing as she took in his appearance. “What is a waterbender doing in my earthbending school?”

“I’m the avatar, actually. Yato, nice to meet you.”

At this, the woman put down her ink pens and sat up straighter, using a hand to push her glasses up. “I see! Madam Fu, at your service.”

“Hi.” Yato smiled.

“Avatar Yato, I presume you’re here for earthbending lessons?”

“I’d like to start learning, yeah.”

“Follow me,” Madam Fu pushed her chair back and led him out of the office, down a side hallway Yato hadn’t noticed before.

“So, Avatar--”

“Just Yato, please.” Something about being referred to by title felt a little too close to being called the Yaboku Assassin.

“Yato, then. Clearly, you were born into a water tribe, as the cycle dictates. And you’re what? Sixteen? Just starting your earthbending training?”

“Seventeen, and yeah. I’ve mastered waterbending but I haven’t really had a chance to learn the other elements yet.”

Madam Fu’s eyes narrow at that. “You haven’t been trying to practice any of the other elements I hope.”

Yato shook his head. “No?”

“Good,” Madam Fu nodded to herself. “Learning the elements out of order will never help you. You must master earthbending after water, before moving on to fire.”

Not entirely sure what she was talking about, Yato filed away the information to think about later.

They came to the end of the hallway, stopping at a dead end. There was nothing but a stone wall in front of them.

“Right,” Madam Fu said. “Luckily for you, Ming, our new teacher, is leading the class today, which means Master Gan is free to help you. Just remember to listen to what he tells you, he does know what he’s doing.”

“Got it, thanks.”

Madam Fu nodded in response and walked back the way they came. Yato turned back to the wall. Now what was he supposed to do?

He was examining the wall for seams, anything that might hint at a door, when a slab of stone from the wall sank into the floor, creating an opening large enough for him to walk through.

Once he was through, the stone slab rose up to seal the wall shut again. In front of him was an older man settled into a bending stance, arms raised in front of him. He dropped them and came over to greet Yato, shaking his hand with an arm made of earth.

Yato caught himself staring and started to apologize but the man just laughed and waved him to a seat in front of a low table.

“Believe me, I’m used to people staring. My name is Gan, as Madam Fu probably mentioned. You’re Avatar Yato?”

At Yato’s incredulous look, he laughed again. “The earth can tell you a lot if you know how to listen.”

Yato lifted the cup of tea in front of him to his lips, just for the sake of doing something. He pondered what to say and Gan seemed content to let him figure it out, adding milk and some honey to his own cup of steaming tea.

“So… your arm, or well, I guess you not-arm because it’s missing--” Yato stammered out and then stopped, lowering his head to the table to hide his red cheeks.

“You know I usually get bombarded with questions, so this is an amusing reaction.” Gan remarked.

Yato just groaned in response. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry. I lost my arm a long time ago. There was an accident during a rockslide. Believe me, it was terrible learning how to cope, but I learned to make an arm with my bending, and I’m pretty happy with it. I mean, you know how strong I can be?”

He demonstrates by bending more earth up from the smooth ground to his arm, creating an over exaggeratedly muscular arm. It startles a laugh out of Yato and Gan grins when he almost chokes on his tea.

“Take it easy!” Gan said, reaching across to thump Yato on the back, which just makes him laugh harder.

Yato calmed down eventually, feeling light and happy. He finds himself smiling down at his cup of tea, now resting on the table in front of him.

“Thanks,” Yato said.

“Don’t mention it,” Gan got up to take the now empty tea cups to the sink and returned to his place opposite Yato. "Making people feel at ease is a skill I'm glad to have."

"Must be useful." Yato said.

"You have no idea," Gan grinned. "Now, to business. You're here because you need an earthbending teacher?"

Yato nods. "I'm not sure how long we're staying, so I don't know how much you'll be able to teach me but I'm ready to learn as much as I can."

"We'll work with what time we have," Gan decided. "I can teach you the essentials and you can practice them so at the very least you'll have a strong foundation. That's the most important thing when it comes to earthbending."

"Alright, sounds good." Yato stood and stretched his arms. "What do we start with?"

"The very basics," Gan replied. "Let's head outside."

They moved to the outdoor training area. It was empty save for a few students. Gan had him remove his shoes, leaving them by the door.

They walked further into the room, Yato's toes curling into the feeling of raw earth beneath them.

"Being a waterbender," Gan said, "you've already mastered the skill of change, of being able to switch between offense and defense smoothly. Waterbending's strength is its great versatility."

Gan motioned for Yato to sit and he did, folding his legs beneath him. Gan sat opposite him, leaving a space between them where he used his earthbending to etch drawings in the dirt.

"Waterbending shifts between positive jing, which is energy used to attack, and negative jing, energy used to evade."

A rough sketch of a waterbender raising a wall of ice is drawn next to a sketch of a waterbender propelling ice shards towards an unseen enemy. Yato watches the pictures as they appear, amazed by the amount of precision and control Gan had over his bending.

"Earthbending uses neutral jing, a balance between the two: waiting for the right moment to attack and then attacking without hesitation. You are used to switching quickly and now you must learn to stop and listen."

Gan finishes speaking and with a smooth sliding motion of his hand above the ground, the earth is wiped clean, smooth and even once again.

"Stop and listen to what?" Yato asked.

"The earth beneath you. Like I said, it has much to say, if only you know how to listen."

Yato nods with a frown, puzzling over his words.

"You can think about it as we practice." Gan announced. "We'll start with earthbending stances. Having a strong stance is key: you must be as immovable as the earth. Only then will you bend it to your will."

He directs Yato while he demonstrates, telling him how to shift his feet and position his hands. Gan has him practice what he called the horse stance until he could do it instinctively. It took some time for him to shift in his mindset. He was a waterbender, he had been his entire life. Learning a completely different bending style, especially one so rooted in the stability of the earth as opposed to the flow of water, meant changing the way he thought about bending to suit the new element. Learning to shift into horse stance when he wanted to earthbend took hours to learn because he kept reverting to waterbending stances.

They spent the rest of the day that way, just running through the stances until Yato’s muscles ached. His arms and legs feel numb and he has to force his fingers out of clenched fists. Gan waves goodbye with a reminder that he should run through his stances daily and that he should come back whenever he gets the chance. He also has a recommendation for an earthbender that lives in a more remote village in the Kolau Mountains. Yato decides if he gets the chance, he’ll look for him while he helps Hiyori find Ebisu.

Chapter Text

Hiyori and Yato wake early the next morning, eat a quick breakfast and start packing and organizing supplies to leave for the Northern Peak. They exchange conversation while they work, filling each other in on what they did the day before. Yato tells her about Gan and what he said about a potential teacher living in the mountains. Hiyori tells him about her time in the library, her talk with Mrs. Ling, and gives him a handwoven bag she brought at the market for him to keep his belongings. It’s a beautiful texture and has soft blue fabric interwoven with the brown. It’s probably the nicest thing he owns, besides his sword.

Once everything is packed and they’re settled on Sakura’s back, they start flying. They pass over the city, the infamous Cave of Two Lovers and then it's just barren mountain terrain. They fly until they reach a mountain with lush greenery that makes it look slightly strange in the middle of the rocky mountain range. They land near the peak and leave Sakura to hunt through the bushes for small animals to eat.

"Where to now?" Hiyori passed Yato his bag and leapt down from the saddle to land gracefully beside him. She ignored Yato's quiet mutter of "Show off."

"Right, well, we found the mountain. Probably," Yato said. "I mean that-" he pointed to a plant with red and white flowers "-is the white dragon bush mentioned in the journal and it's pretty rare thanks to so many people picking it for their tea. So yeah, I'm pretty sure this is the right mountain."

"What are you, a tea expert?"

Yato blushes, running a hand over the back of his neck. "I… may know more about tea than the average person."

When Hiyori just raises a questioning eyebrow, he elaborates. "There was someone back home, a friend, who really liked tea. She didn't get to drink it often because of how cold it is. She tried, but she could never grow the plants she needed. Her brother travelled outside of the North Pole a lot and he brought her back some whenever he could. She shared with me sometimes."

Yato’s looking down at his feet, focusing on making his way through the underbrush and ignoring Hiyori’s eyes on him.

“She sounds like a good friend.”

“She was,” Yato said with a sad smile. “Her name was Sakura.”

Several things clicked for Hiyori at that moment. She voices none of them, choosing instead to speed up so she’s walking beside Yato. She doesn’t have to tell him she’s there for him. He understands.

They walk in silence for a bit and the vegetation starts to thin to the point that they don’t have to hold branches aside to walk past them. It makes it easier to move and they pick up the pace. They find a river and follow it to where it pools in a shaded area of the forest, taking a break to swim and eat lunch while they dry off. It’s a beautiful place and they talk about pointless things as they relax on the shore.

They can’t stay forever. Yato packs up their lunch while Hiyori looks around at the pond one last time, thinking about where they should go next. They’ve made significant progress up the mountain, but still have no sign that anyone could be living here.

She notices a break in the trees. The trees are surrounded by bushes and other plants that grew closer to the ground, but there the ground was bare. Like it could’ve been a path someone travelled often.

Yato comes up to her, having finished with the packing. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Hiyori said. “Does that look like a path to you?”

Yato considers it, tilting his head slightly as he takes in the trees. “Makes sense,” he said. “If someone lives on this mountain, they’re going to need water.”

They set off in that direction and find themselves travelling on a path that looks like it’s been smoothed not by the wear of travellers, but by earthbending. It’s too clean and precise to be created over time.

They exchange stories as they walk, Hiyori telling him about her family’s healing business and her brother’s art and Yato sharing some stories (some of the less… extreme ones anyway) about him and Nora growing up in the North Pole. They compare what it was like, growing up in the North and growing up in the Earth Kingdom. Yato confessed one of things he missed the most was the meat and Hiyori laughed. They’re arguing about whether or not summer or winter is the better season (Hiyori has never seen snow and feels it must be worth the cold temperature) when the path stops at a worn stone gate. It’s overgrown with flowering vines, like someone left the plants there to hide the gate.

Yato tries pushing the gate open and gets nowhere. This would be easy for an earthbender but he isn’t skilled enough to move slabs of stone this large. Hiyori leaves him to his pitiful attempts, peering to see that the wall on either side of the gate reaches farther than she can see. It’s higher than her head, but not impossible to climb over. She just needs something to give her a boost. With all the trees growing here, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Hiyori’s up the tree and onto the top of the wall when Yato finally gives up on trying to push the gate open. He looked up to see her standing above him and opened his mouth to speak but she just pointed to the tree and waited for him to join her. She was used to climbing trees; she did it all the time with her friends back home. Yato had more of a struggle, which made sense considering they didn’t have many trees at the North Pole.

He finally made it over with a hand from Hiyori and they looked out over the other side to see what looked like an abandoned village at first glance. The longer he looked, he could see details that revealed someone was living there. A plot of earth was freshly turned now far from the houses and there were markers for each type of plant growing in the neat rows. A pail of water sat near the large garden. Trails of dirt, probably from a person’s shoes, led away from the garden further into the village.

“Looks like we found our man,” Yato grinned.

They leapt off the wall, following the dirt tracks past the houses. The houses were still standing exactly as they did when people lived there; anything earthbenders built out of stone tended to last a very long time. There was no sound aside from that of the forest behind them. The streets were devoid of life and it was starting to feel creepy.

“Villages were not made to be empty,” Hiyori said. “This feels wrong.”

“You’re telling me,” Yato said.

The conversation was cut short by a crash that shattered the quiet. They ran toward the sound to find what looked like it used to be a wooden shed, now collapsed in on itself. A pink haired woman was standing next to the ruins looking sheepish and an exasperated man was staring with a resigned frown.

The man is tall and strong, dressed in a sleeveless shirt and sensible pants. The woman is considerably shorter. She’s wearing a loose yellow top with a bright skirt and uneven socks.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” The man is saying. “At least this isn’t like the rockslide.”

“You’re so sweet, Daikoku! Always worried about me.” The woman said, leaping at the man who catches her with practiced ease, letting her hug him.

“Someone has to look out for you, otherwise you’d have destroyed more than one village.”

The woman releases him from her hug, stepping back. “You can clean it up later, we’re supposed to work in the garden now remember?”

She turns to walk away but is stopped when he grabs her by the arm. “I don’t think so. Last time you gardened all the tomatoes wilted.”

They’ve turned towards Yato and Hiyori now and when the woman sees them she lights up. “Look! People!”

Daikoku keeps a hold on her arm to keep her from tackling them to the ground. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re looking for a man named Ebisu.” Yato replied.

Daikoku narrowed his eyes. “What do you want with Ebisu?”

Hiyori decided to step in. “My name is Hiyori Iki and this is Avatar Yato. We’re looking for Ebisu because we were hoping he could help us with my connection to the spirits.”

“The avatar!” The pink haired woman yelled. “Wow! We never get visitors and now we’re being visited by the avatar!”

She escaped Daikoku’s grasp and ran forward to take Yato by the arm, dragging him away into one of the houses. Yato looked back at them with a helpless look and Hiyori just shrugged. Daikoku let out a resigned sigh and just watched as they disappeared from view.

“Is she always like this?” Hiyori asked.

“Kofuku? Yeah, pretty much.” He turned to the shed and Hiyori watched as his face moved from disbelief to despair to tired acceptance. Daikoku turned back to her and said, “This can wait until I’m ready to fix it. We should talk inside.”

She followed him inside the house Kofuku had dragged Yato into. It had lots of open windows and the cool mountain air flowed through the house with ease. They stopped in a room with a low table, where Yato was sitting across from Kofuku eating a bowl of noodles. “Hey Hiyori! You should try some of this, it’s great!”

There was a low shelf with some books and what looked like a few handmade clay sculptures. Little decorations lined the walls haphazardly; paper lanterns, pictures, a clock, and a mask of some kind. They were strange and Hiyori had to smile. Fitting, she thought, for people who lived so far away from anyone else.

She walked over to sit next to Yato, too used to his eating habits to give it a second thought. Kofuku smiled at her. “Hiyori! Would you like a bowl? Yatty says they’re some of the best noodles he’s ever had and he’s right, you know. My Daikoku is an amazing cook.”

Hiyori had to pause and think about that for a moment. Yatty? She brushed over it, filing it away to think about later. “I’d love to try some, thank you.”

Daikoku walked past them into the room behind Kofuku. “I’ll get it, don’t worry.”

“So,” Kofuku said. “You’re here about Ebisu!” “We are. We’re hoping he can help us.” Hiyori said.

“Kofuku,” Daikoku called from the kitchen. “Don’t tell them about him until we know more about who they are.”

Kofuku disregarded his warning entirely. “He lives here with us! Well, not in this house, but here in the village!”

“Kofuku!” Daikoku returned with a bowl of noodles that he set down in front of Hiyori. “Ebisu wanted to be left alone, remember? That’s why he moved up here.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t say no to a visit from the avatar.” Kofuku reasoned, wrapping her arms around Daikoku’s chest and settling happily against his upper arm.

“That’s great!” Yato said. “We wanted to learn more about spirits and we heard he was supposed to be an expert. From the stories he sounded all mysterious and I really can’t wait to meet him.”

Daikoku exchanged a glance with Kofuku that went unnoticed by Yato who was once again focused on his noodles. Yato looked to Hiyori with his mouth full and his eyebrows raised as if to ask if she thought the noodles were as good as he thought they were. She just shook her head with a smile, eating her bowl slower than him. He was right though; Daikoku could rival her grandmother when it came to cooking.

“I don’t know if he’d be willing to talk to you,” Daikoku repeated.

They’re interrupted when a man walks through the front door. Somehow, he seemed to have gotten himself stuck in a massive sheet and had resorted to hopping so he could move. They watched as he hopped directly into the shelf and fell over with a thud.

“Hello?” Came a muffled voice from somewhere within the tangled mess.

Daikoku slaps his forehead with a tired sigh. Once he’s done wondering what his life has come to he gets up to help the man. “I’m not even going to ask,” he muttered.

Daikoku made quick work of it and soon a disheveled looking man was sitting cross-legged in front of them. He smoothed out his green robes and ran his fingers through his hair which only succeeded in making it messier.

“This,” Daikoku said, leaving the now folded sheet by the door, “is Ebisu.”

“Hello,” Ebisu said.”

“This is fantastic timing!” Kofuku cried. “It’s like you guys were meant to meet.”

Ebisu tilted his head, a corner of his mouth dropping in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Yatty and Hiyori-” Hiyori waved when Kofuku mentioned her “-came here looking for you!”

“I see.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Yato spoke up. “What were you doing wrapped in a sheet?”

“Yato!” Hiyori hissed, elbowing him. He held his side with a protective hand, pouting at her. “Don’t be rude, we need his help.”

“I don’t mind.” Ebisu said. “I’m just glad I managed to get here.”

“Ebisu is kind of hopeless,” Daikoku added. “Not sure how the legends managed to paint him as some wise old man. He can barely take care of himself.”

“Hey! No need to be so direct about it. And I can manage just fine, though I may have some… inconvenient incidents occasionally.”

“Inconvenient is putting it lightly,” Daikoku snorted.

“Don’t tease him, Daikoku! It’s not his fault he’s a disaster.” Kofuku said.

“You’re both terrible.” Ebisu sighed. “I can’t believe you’re my only neighbours.”

Yato is starting to have doubts about this man. He definitely isn’t living up to expectations. Yato was picturing a wise old man, which yes may have been a bit cliche, but he was at least expecting someone more… mature. This man seemed like someone he would get along with but would he be able to help them?

Ebisu remembered that there were people here to see him. “Sorry, what did you need me for?”

“We want to learn about spirits,” Hiyori said.

“Well that’s new.” Ebisu looked surprised. “Most people who came looking for me before I moved up here wanted money. Or business advice. I remember this one man who wanted to sell a line of cabbage related products, that was a strange encounter--”

“Excuse me, sir?” Hiyori stopped him before he could get off track again.

“Right, sorry. I have to say, it’s a refreshing change of pace. Why are you interested in spirits?”

“My grandmother told me I was chosen by the spirits to accompany the avatar,” Hiyori explained. “And Yato needs help because he’s the avatar and isn’t really sure how he’s supposed to use his spirit connection.”

“The avatar, huh?” Ebisu looked Yato over with interest.

Yato squirmed under his gaze. “Can you help us or not?”

“Sure,” Ebisu shrugged. “I need a new project to work on. But we’ll start on that bright and early tomorrow. For now, I’d like to eat something.”

“We’ve still got some noodles,” Daikoku offered.

“That would be great, thank you.”

Yato goes back to find Sakura and brings her up to the village. She stays just outside the gate, content to fish in the river and eat the berries in the bushes. Yato and Hiyori take their bags and bedrolls into the empty house next to Kofuku’s. Yato helped Daikoku fix the shed and actually managed to pick up the skills pretty fast. Hiyori was constantly astounded by how he managed to be utterly terrible at things like managing money but learned to fix a shed like it was no problem.

They have a relaxing evening getting to know Kofuku, Daikoku, and Ebisu. Ebisu doesn’t stay long. Apparently he wakes and sleeps really early every day. Yato can’t help but compare it to habits a child might have. Ebisu lived up to none of legends except being the strange knowledgeable man in the mountains.

Chapter Text

They join Ebisu in his house the next day. Calling it a house was a lot like calling Sakura a cloud fish; it was more of a small palace. Ebisu took them through it to his study (which included a “small” library, just personal of course, the actual library was further into the house) where they sat waiting while he darted around in an attempt to find whatever it was he thought would be useful. He was not making much progress.

He collapsed into the chair across from them with a frown. Eyes closed, he dropped his head back and sighed at the ceiling. “Kunimi! Some help, please?”

With a slight breeze that ruffled their hair, a figure appeared at Ebisu’s side. He looked human, except for the fact that he was translucent. He was tall and broad, with a strong jaw and stronger arms. He said nothing, just walked away to the shelves lined up by the wall.

Kunimi moved silently around the room, pulling books from the shelves and some kind of wooden box from the desk drawer. His movements were silent and somehow graceful. It was a kind of quiet strength in the way he moved; sure and precise, he made each move with purpose.

He brought the items he had gathered over to the table and laid them out. “Anything else, Ebisu?”

Ebisu waved a hand as his eyes darted over the pile in front of him. “No, this is perfect, thank you.”

With a bow Kunimi vanished once again. Ebisu looked up at them, about to speak when he stopped at their faces. “Oh, right. That was Kunimi, he helps me out sometimes. As you saw yesterday with the sheet, I clearly need it.”

“Was that…” Hiyori looked thoughtful. “That was a spirit, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Kunimi is a spirit. He’s wonderful to have around.”

“If you’ve got a spirit to help you, how’d you get stuck in a sheet?” Yato asked.

Ebisu chose to hide his face by picking up one of the books. “That’s a rather embarrassing story that I’d like to forget. Moving on.”

He turned to Hiyori. “Tell me everything you know. We’ll figure out where to go from there.”

Hiyori explained what her grandmother had told her about spirits and showed him the journal. With Yato’s additions, they told him about what happened in Song’s town. He listened quietly, nodding along at some parts and stopping them to ask questions at others. When they finished, they waited for him to speak. Ebisu didn’t move and didn’t acknowledge them. When he finally looked over at them again, he straightened in his chair, like he was noticing them after having forgotten they were there.

“Sorry, I get lost in my thoughts often. Iwami says it’s a bad habit of mine.” Ebisu told them. “Now, in summary, what you’ve told me is that you have a connection to the spirits, you think you’ve managed to pass into the spirit world and a spirit helped you get back but you have no idea how any of that happened. Correct?”

Hiyori nodded.

“Perfect,” Ebisu said. “Now I want to talk about this journal. See, I have one that is similar.” He got up to pull open a desk drawer, pulled out a book and gave it to Hiyori. Yato slid her journal across the table to compare them. “They’re almost identical! Look at the little symbol pressed into that corner.”

Hiyori picked them both up to look closer. They were the same size. Hiyori’s journal was more worn with age and the covers seemed to be made of different material, but Yato was right, they had the same marking stamped into the top right corner. It was some sort of… plant was her guess. Tall stalks, like bamboo. She said as much and Ebisu nodded with a small smile.

“You’re right, those are bamboo stalks. Seven stalks actually.”

“What does that mean?” Yato asked. “Why would your journal and her grandmother’s have the same symbol?”

“There are certain things I can’t tell you. That is one of them.”

“Great, thanks.” Yato grumbled. “Real helpful.”

“What can you teach me, then?” Hiyori asked, elbowing Yato to keep him quiet. He stared at her offended and she ignored him.

“Well, your grandmother was right about your connection to the spirits. I can feel it. It’s not very strong but you have potential. With work, you should be able to travel in and out of the spirit world at will and communicate with them.”

“That would be amazing!” Hiyori can hardly believe it. Growing up she always thought she would end up helping her parents with the healer business. She never would have guessed she would end up travelling with the avatar or learning to enter the spirit world. It was kind of crazy how much her life had changed in the past few months.

“It might be why you’ve been chosen to travel with the avatar.”

“What do you mean?” Yato asked.

“You mentioned you’re very new to all this. If you have no knowledge of the spirits and no idea what you’re supposed to do as a bridge between the two worlds, having someone with a strong spiritual connection would be a huge help.”

“So Hiyori can help me figure out this spirit stuff!” Yato grinned, bumping her shoulder with his own.

“I would’ve done that anyway, but yes, we’ll work this out together.”

Yato’s bright grin softens to something warmer. He may have had the past few months to get used to the easy back and forth, the little ways of showing affection but he wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to it. He hoped he did; it would be nice to live a life where the idea of someone caring for him wasn’t so foreign.

Ebisu stood and clapped his hands together, holding them in front of his chest. “Alright, we should get to work. Avatar Yato, if you don’t mind, I’d like to work with Hiyori alone for now.”

“Why?” Yato asked. His eyes were narrowed. Hiyori could take care of herself but he wasn’t going to leave her with someone they barely knew.

“It’ll be okay,” Hiyori said. She gave his arm a quick squeeze. “You can go.”

“She’s right, she’ll be fine. It just isn’t necessary for you to be here right now. I expect you’re also learning earthbending, right? Talk to Daikoku. He’s a powerful bender, he should be able to teach you a thing or two.”

Yato relented with a final warning glare at Ebisu. Ebisu stared back, unimpressed, until he backed out of the room and left.

Ebisu turned back to Hiyori who was glancing at Yato’s retreating back with a soft smile.

“He cares for you,” Ebisu remarked.

That startled her. “What? Oh, I guess he does. I mean, we are friends.”

Ebisu regarded her with warm, serious eyes. “A word of advice, Hiyori. Don’t let go of people that really care for you. There is nothing more valuable.”

His eyes were looking at her but he wasn’t seeing her. His advice had come from a place of experience, Hiyori could tell. She let him work through whatever memory was playing in his head and gave him some privacy by looking through the materials on the table. There were several books, all with strange titles (Whisper of the Spirits, The Spirit World: A Guide to All Things Spirit Related, and one in a language she didn’t recognize). There was also a wooden box, with a lock. She was picking up the box to examine it when Ebisu spoke.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Hiyori said. She was turning the box to take in all the engraved designs. “Is there a key?”

“No key,” Ebisu shook his head. “May I?”

She gave him the box and watched as he held it in one hand. With the other he made a motion, holding one finger out and pulling it slowly towards him. From the bottom of the box came a small amount of dirt. He pushed it back towards the box and it disappeared into the lock. Ebisu turned his finger until the lock opened with a click.

“You use earthbending to open it!”

Ebisu nodded.

“That’s amazing!”

“It’s common in each nation. Firebenders open locks with fire, airbenders with air. Such locks are usually found on temple doors. Places like the Earth Queen’s palace have large heavy doors that can only be opened by a team of earthbenders. I don’t know as much about the waterbending tribes, but I imagine they could have doors of ice that only a waterbender could open.”

“You could ask Yato about that, he might know.”

Ebisu lit up at the idea. “I should! I’ll ask him later today.” “So,” Hiyori asked. “What’s in the box?”

“Oh, right,” Ebisu slid the box to her. “Go ahead.”

Hiyori eased the lid open to find a bracelet with a smooth stone threaded in the center of a row of beads. The beads were wooden and dulled with age. Hiyori could imagine they had been shiny and polished when the bracelet was first made. In contrast, the stone gleamed with pastel colours. It looked blue, pink, green, purple, changing colours as she twisted it between her fingers.

“It’s pretty,” she murmured.

“It’s yours,” Ebisu said. He held out a hand for the bracelet and when she gave it to him, he motioned for her to hold out her wrist. She did and he attempted and failed to tie it around her wrist.

“It’s okay,” she smiled. “I’ve got it.”

Hiyori tied the bracelet on and twisted her hand to watch the stone change colour.

“What’s it for?”

“The stone is from the spirit world,” he explained. “It will help you travel there.”

“How?” Hiyori asked.

“It belongs in the spirit world and wants to return. It is constantly being drawn back to where it belongs. It gives you a start to learn how to enter the spirit world. Eventually, you won’t need it.”

He reached for the books. “These books are a good place to start learning about the spirit world. Read them. Together with your journal, it should give you a solid amount of general knowledge.”

“I know you said you couldn’t tell us more about the journal but--”

“But you’re still curious. No surprise there and I can respect someone who wants to learn.” He sighed and continued to speak. “There are a few others like it, besides mine. Not all are about the spirits but they are identifiable by the little bamboo stalk symbol.”

“A collection of journals…”

When Hiyori looked like she was going to ask more questions, Ebisu held up a hand to stop her. “No more questions. We’ll talk more about spirits when you’ve finished your reading.” Hiyori stacked the books into her arms, balancing them carefully as she made her way to the door. Ebisu stood to hold the door open for her and then led her through the house, stopping on the front steps to wave as Hiyori continued to walk in the direction of Kofuku’s house. Despite her insistence that she would be fine on her own, Ebisu sent Kunimi to make sure she got back without any Ebisu-style incidents.

Hiyori reached Kofuku’s house and immediately dumped the books onto her table, rubbing her sore arms with a sigh. The walk might not have been that long and she definitely had pretty good arm strength but carrying a stack of books this large would make anyone’s arms ache. She left the books where they were and followed the sound of thudding around to the back of the house.

There, Yato was standing with one leg bent at the knee in front of him and the other stretched out straight behind him. His arms are raised with his hands curled into fists and he’s rhythmically punching the air in front of him. With each punch a pillar of earth moves a few feet in front of him. He looked like he had been doing this for awhile, face creased in concentration and sweat beading on his forehead.

Daikoku stands nearby, arms crossed and face serious. He watched as Yato made his way to the end of the yard and turned to make his way back again. Kofuku is resting on a blanket in the cool shade of the nearby trees. She saw Hiyori and waved her over.

“Hiyorin!”

Hiyori sat down next to her, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her arms on them. “How long have they been practicing?”

“Oh, a while. Daikoku said his stances were good as long as he kept practicing them and decided Yatty should practice some bending.”

They watched as Yato stopped halfway, breathing heavy. Daikoku let him rest for a moment before yelling for him to keep going.

“And he’s bending a pillar back and forth because…?”

“It’ll help him build up his strength! He’s going to bend larger and larger pillars. It was my favourite part of training when I was learning earthbending.”

“That would make you a pretty strong bender, huh?”

“It’s why we moved up here,” Daikoku’s gruff voice said. He was standing next to Hiyori now, face as impassive as ever.

“Really?”

Daikoku nodded. “She’s a powerful bender. Too powerful. She can bend a ridiculous amount of earth at once. She doesn’t have the precision to control it better and she got into a lot of trouble.”

“You flatter me, Daikoku!” Kofuku cooes. She’s grinning like being so powerful you got into trouble was a good thing. Hiyori had to admit, she was impressed.

“So you moved away from the densely populated city to keep her safe?”

“To keep other people safe. She may have accidentally levelled a village.” Daikoku said. His gaze shifted back to Yato who was still bending, albeit slower now.

“She what?” Hiyori said, voice raised.

“Don’t worry, we helped rebuild afterwards. Except in disguise so people wouldn’t get mad. Daikoku even helped make a well! He’s good at that sort of thing.” Kofuku reassured her. Hiyori shook her head in disbelief.

She turned her focus back to Yato who has since collapsed and was lying sprawled on the ground in the dirt field. The pillar he had been bending had collapsed as well and a dirt pile lay next to him.

Daikoku grumbled under his breath and Hiyori watched as he walked over to Yato. They argued for a bit and then Daikoku seemed to relent, walking back over to them and letting Yato lie in the dirt.

“Let’s go inside,” Daikoku said. “Pretty boy needs a break.”

Kofuku got up immediately and practically bounced towards the house while Daikoku stooped to gather the blanket in his arms, folding it as he followed her. Hiyori had to stop wide-eyed for a second and laugh because pretty boy?

Yato’s head lifted from the ground to stare at her and he cocked his head, silently asking why she was laughing. When Hiyori couldn’t stop laughing long enough to actually reply, he got up and dusted himself off, making his way to her. “Come on, what’s so funny?”

She just shook her head, her laughter quieting. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion but he offered her a hand to help her up and they walked back into the house.

“So,” Yato said. “Learn anything interesting with Ebisu?”

Hiyori got the feeling he was checking she was okay, in his roundabout way of asking, and smiled to herself. He was so overprotective. “He gave me some stuff to read through. And this bracelet.”

She held out her hand for Yato to see and twisted it in the light so the spirit stone changed its colours like a quilled chameleon.

“That’s pretty,” Yato murmured. He ran a finger along the beads and she let him admire it for a bit before pulling away.

“What about you?” She asked. “Make a lot of progress with the earthbending?”

Yato’s eyes were thoughtful. “I think so. Not sure that Daikoku would agree.” At the mention of Daikoku, Yato pouts. Hiyori can't help but smile.

“I’m sure you made some progress.”

Yato brightens. “I mean, I can bend a pillar half as tall as me! That’s pretty cool. It’s not that hard to just bend the earth, I think it’ll be harder when I have to put it to practical use.”

“Well, we’ll see when you get there!”

Chapter Text

Yato attempted to help Daikoku with the cooking but the two only ended up arguing and he got sent outside to practice his stances. Hiyori gave him a sympathetic look as he passed her. She was sitting at the table, books stacked in front of her. She had started with the shortest book, Whisper of the Spirits. It was full of spirit tales, some of which she recognized as stories her grandmother had told her (the story of Oma and Shu was one of her favourites). Having met two spirits now, she paid more attention to the ones mentioned in the stories: Hei Bei, Wan Shi Tong, Tui and La, the Mother of Faces, and her son Koh the Face Stealer. She never really thought about how they all existed and it was scary realizing that it was a very real possibility that she could meet them in the spirit world.

She set the book aside and instead picked up the one with the title she could not read. Ebisu had said it was called Life Among Spirits, roughly translated. He had annotated the book long ago so she flipped through it, looking at the diagrams and his notes. It told the story of a man named Iroh, who had retreated to the spirit world after his death. Hiyori was skeptical as to the validity but Ebisu had said Iroh gave him the journal when they met. This was a firsthand account.

Despite Ebisu’s added explanations, the text was hard to understand. For some reason, Iroh seemed to be determined to speak in any way but clearly. The book was full of anecdotes and riddles that looked like they were supposed to share his wisdom, if only Hiyori could decipher the meaning. She chose to focus instead on the diagrams. Unlike the ones in Grandmother’s journal, which depicted mainly the variety of spirits that existed, these laid out the landscapes of the spirit world in breathtaking detail.

There were lush fields of strange flowers, towering mountain ranges, and dense forests. There were images of lakes and riverbanks. All of it looked similar to the landscapes Hiyori was familiar with but not quite the same. Iroh had added vibrant colours to his drawings: the waters were a rich purple, and the trees an emerald green. The skies were rosy and the mountains icy blue. The landscapes may have been familiar but the colours made them feel entirely foreign.

Hiyori convinced herself to stop taking in the artwork and turned to the final book: The Spirit World: A Guide to All Things Spirit Related. It was much larger than the other two and if she wanted to finish it before tomorrow, she would have to get started. It wasn’t too late in the day yet; the sun had just passed its peak. She had some time and then she could get Yato to quiz her later, to make sure she had actually learned something.

For now though, it was time to get to work.

At this point, Yato is basically powered by spite.

Stupid Daikoku and his stupid face. Thinks he’s so good at stuff! Like earthbending and cooking and fixing things… Well, yeah he is good at cooking… He’s still stupid!

His frown feels etched permanently onto his face and honestly it’s starting to hurt. He stops his bending and scrunches his face up, making the silly faces that used to make Sakura laugh so much. Yato reached beneath his tunic to pull out the necklace he wore. It was a single shark tooth threaded onto a fine piece of leather. The leather was worn and the tooth almost shone thanks to him running his fingers over them so many times.

He missed Sakura. Sometimes so much that it physically ached. Something inside his chest felt like it was tearing like it would rip him open trying to get out. Those were the times he felt most like crying.

He turned back to the bending. Moving the solid pillar of earth methodically across the ground felt good. At this point the movements were muscle memory and it left his mind to wander. He remembered when Sakura gave him the necklace. She had been so proud.

It was a coming of age tradition in the Northern Tribe, to go hunting with the men and make your first catch. He had managed to catch a shark and Sakura used one of the teeth to make his necklace. That had been the best part and a memory he would never forget.

Yato had always been really good with skills like tracking and hunting. Perks of Father forcing him to train constantly and praising him for his improvement. It became almost addictive; train hard and Father would love him. Now, after seeing how Hiyori’s parents treated her, how Yua and Aito acted with their parents, he understood that Father’s love wasn’t really love. It was manipulation and a way to keep Yato doing what he wanted.

Well, no more. Yato was never going back and he was going to stick with the people that actually cared about him, like Hiyori. Like Sakura used to. Heck, even like Mizuchi used to. Sure, Father sent her to capture him but they had fun together when they were kids. He kind of wished he could see her again, but after the Haikou incident, he doubted it would go well.

He paused when he reached the end of the field for the third time. He set the pillar down gently and sat down at it’s base, fingers automatically reaching to rub the shark tooth. He tucked it carefully back beneath his tunic. Leaning back, Yato took a few breaths.

Yato knew he couldn’t relax like this forever. Sure he was happy here. Kofuku was fun to talk to and Hiyori was always nice to spend time with. He didn’t like Daikoku as much, but he couldn’t deny he was a good cook. Sakura used to make the food back home and Daikoku’s cooking was the closest thing Yato had come to a home cooked meal since she died. She had tried to teach him but cooking just wasn’t one of the skills he picked up quickly.

He knew this peace wouldn’t last; it hadn’t in Haikou and it wouldn’t here. He needed to be prepared this time and he needed to master earthbending. Which meant practicing the stances Gan had shown him and working hard on Daikoku’s lessons.

Yato stood with renewed determination, stretching out his arms and legs. He was going to master this element.

Nora and the Tui Guard were not getting the drop on him. Not again.

They were woken early in the morning a few days later by a loud crash. Yato jumped up, dark hair messy and wearing nothing but his pants, to run outside and find out what had happened. Hiyori was coming out of Kofuku’s house. Her long hair was tied up in a pile on her head. She was dressed in the sleeping robe she had brought with her, one hand held up to cover a yawn.

“Everyone’s okay, don’t worry.” She told him, walking back towards their house. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Yato walked into the house to find the ceiling collapsed in part of the kitchen. Daikoku was ushering Kofuku out of the room.

“What happened?” Yato asked.

“I may have gotten a little overexcited when Daikoku said I could help with breakfast.” Kofuku said, strangely more subdued than she would normally be. “Daikoku, I’m really sorry--”

“I know.” He cut her off. “It’s okay, just--go for now? Please?”

Kofuku’s face fell and she nodded, leaving the kitchen.

Yato stared as the door closed behind her. “Are you two… okay?”

Daikoku ignored him. “You’re going to help me fix this.”

“I only started earthbending yesterday!”

“Doesn’t matter. You can bend decently enough and this will help you with more precise control. Just follow my lead.”

Yato watches as he settles into a looser version of the horse stance. He copies Daikoku as he moves with strong slow movements. Together the two of them manage to fix the kitchen ceiling, bending the cracked stone back into place.

Yato struggled with fitting some of the smaller pieces into their spots. His eyes were narrowed in concentration but his bending was too shaky.

Daikoku put a hand on his shoulder. “Remember to breathe and listen. Earthbending only works if you stop and act based on what the earth tells you. Slower movements will help with precision.”

Yato smoothed out his face, closing his eyes and drawing in a slow breath. On the exhale he felt for the earth. When he was waterbending, there was a strong push and pull he could feel, like the tide he watched at the pole. With earthbending the feeling was completely different. It was heavier, like a solid weight on his shoulders that somehow didn’t feel like a burden.

Instead it felt like a support, like something he could fall back on and count to be there to catch him. He leaned on it, using its support to steady his hand.

“There you go!” he heard Daikoku say.

He opened his eyes to watch the final pieces of stone settle into their places. Daikoku finished the job by smoothing out the stone, leaving the ceiling uncracked and whole.

“Good job, kid.” Daikoku said. “Maybe you’re not as hopeless as I thought.”

Yato flushed under the unexpected compliment. “Thanks.”

Daikoku turned back to the counter. “Want to help with breakfast?”

“Sure!”

“Slice these.” Daikoku slid a platter of apples to him. “Don’t mess it up.”

Yato saluted him and got to work.

They brought the food to the table where Hiyori and Kofuku were sitting. Ebisu was there too.

Daikoku just nodded at their guest and set plates in front of everyone, letting them pick and choose what they wanted from the few dishes Yato set at the centre of the table.

“Thank you!” Hiyori said. “This all looks really good.”

“The avatar isn’t totally hopeless in the kitchen after all,” Daikoku amended.

Yato narrowed his eyes. “I’m just going to take that as a compliment.”

“You would,” Daikoku muttered. Hiyori swore she could see the corner of his mouth twitch up in a tiny smile.

“He’s making progress!” She said.

“So are you,” Ebisu added. “With your reading. I’m impressed by how much you remember.”

“It’s interesting to learn.” Hiyori replied. “I once memorized an entire book of fighting stances because I was obsessed with a local tournament fighter named the Blind Bandit.”

“I’ve heard of her!” Kofuku exclaimed. “She’s supposed to be really good and really mysterious. No one knows anything about her really.”

Daikoku frowned. “She competed in Earth Rumble VI, didn’t she? How do you know about an underground earthbending competition?”

Hiyori just blushed and focused on eating her fruit. Yato vowed to get that story out of her at some point.

Ebisu turned the conversation back to spirits. “Since you now have a strong base of knowledge about spirits and the spirit world, it should be easier for you to travel between our world and theirs. We’ll practice meditation today.”

“Can I come?” Yato asked, already jumping up to leave.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Daikoku caught Yato’s sleeve and kept him from getting any further. “You’ve got earthbending practice.”

Yato sank back to the floor, arms crossed and lips pouted.

They finished their breakfast and went their separate ways. Kofuku chose to stay and watch them practice earthbending, solely for educational purposes, of course.

Yato watched as Hiyori left with Ebisu. He sighed and got up to help Daikoku when he yelled at him to start doing some cleaning or else.

They made quick work of the cleanup between the two of them (nothing else broke, fortunately) and soon they were back on the field. Yato did his stretches and ran through his stances. Then the lesson began.

“You can bend a decent amount of earth, but now you need to put that to use. We’re going to start with an exercise where I bend rocks at you and you deflect them.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Yato held his arms up and backed away a couple steps. “That’s a pretty big step up from bending a pillar across a field.”

“You’ll be fine,” Daikoku sighed. “They’re not big enough to hurt you. Seriously hurt you, at least.”

“Very reassuring, thanks.” Yato said.

“Don’t be a baby. You have to listen and then act, remember that.”

Yato took a deep breath and settled into his stance. Daikoku backed away until he was almost at the other end of the field. He took his stance and immediately bent a plate of earth up with one foot. “Ready?”

He didn’t wait for Yato’s response. The disc shot at him with incredible speed. Yato didn’t have time to listen; he just raised his arms to block his faces. The disc hit his shin and shattered. Daikoku sent three more discs in quick succession. They shattered on his hip, his forearm, the back of his knee. Yato hit the earth with a dull thud.

Daikoku stopped, crossing his arms. “That was pathetic.”

“Well, maybe go a little slower! I kind of need time to listen and act don’t I?”

“You’re not going to get that kind of time if you’re actually fighting someone.”

Yato just turned over so he was laying on his back. “You’re a terrible teacher.”

“No, you’re just a hopeless student.” Daikoku sighed, rubbing at his temples. “Alright, new tactic. Don’t move.”

He went inside and came back with a narrow strip of cloth. “Get up.”

Yato sat up so Daikoku could carefully tie the cloth around his eyes. He waved his hand in front of Yato’s face. “See anything?”

“No?” Yato said.

“Good.” Daikoku took Yato’s arm and helped him stand. “Get into your stance.”

“Wait, you’re not going to--”

“We’re going to try this again.”

Yato swallowed. He took a deep breath and listened. He could hear the leaves in the tree, the birds flying by, and what sounded like Sakura splashing in the river. None of that was important though. He needed to focus.

He tuned it all out, listening instead for Daikoku’s movements. He could just make out the sound of Daikoku’s breathing. Daikoku was shifting, probably getting into his stance and… There!

Yato heard Daikoku’s foot hit the ground and the switch of a disc coming towards him. Yato swung a hand out in front of him and cursed when the disc smashed right into it. He hissed, shaking the slight sting from his fingers.

“You alright?” Daikoku called.

In lieu of a response, Yato raised his hand in a thumbs up.

“Then we keep going.”

They did it again and again and again. Yato lost count of how many discs hit him but he was pretty sure he was going to be bruised all over. He was getting better though. He couldn’t stop the disc before it hit him, but he was getting more accurate at guessing where it was going to hit.

Daikoku flung two discs this time and Yato acted on instinct. He stepped forward with his right foot and a rock wall shot up in front of him. The discs hit the wall and shattered. For the first time all day, Yato didn’t get hit.

Daikoku’s head appeared around the side of the wall. “That’s one way to defend yourself, I guess.”

Yato smiled bending the earth back to the ground. “It worked didn’t it?”

Daikoku walked across the field to the house, motioning for Yato to follow. “Sure it did, but you reacted purely on instinct. You need to learn to listen and then react otherwise you’ll never master earthbending.”

“Right,” Yato frowned. “I’m trying! It’s just not what I’m used to. Water is very instinctive and it does what I feel. It flows with my thoughts, my emotions. Earth isn’t like that.”

“Maybe we should try channeling what you know about water into your earthbending.”

“They’re two very different elements, how would that work?”

“I’m not sure,” Daikoku muttered. He said nothing more as they entered the house. Yato left to head down to the river, to spend some time with Sakura and take a shower.

He talked to Hiyori that night while they lay in their bedrolls. She told him the meditation thing was going pretty well and he explained Daikoku’s idea about connection waterbending to earthbending.

“It’s interesting,” Hiyori said.

“Sure,” Yato replied. “In theory. I just don’t know if it would actually work. I can’t bend earth the same way I do water.”

“Maybe that’s not what he means. He said earthbending was about neutral jing, right?”

“Right.”

“So, in waterbending you use both positive and negative jing, to attack and evade. Maybe with earthbending you just combine the techniques?”

“Maybe,” Yato agreed. “We’re going to talk about it more tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

They stayed silent in the dark for a while. Yato listened to the soft sound of Hiyori’s breathing, to the cat owl hooting in the trees. He held his breath for a bit, wondering if he should ask, then decided he might as well.

“Hiyori?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you… do you miss home?”

“Of course I do.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, I like travelling with you too. It’s fun.”

“But do you wish you hadn’t? You could’ve stayed in Haikou and your life would be completely normal.”

“I don’t need normal. Of course, I miss my family, I love them. But I am absolutely happy to be here with you and I don’t care how weird or dangerous it gets.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. I care about you, idiot. There’s no way I’d leave you to deal with all this on your own. You’re hopeless.”

Yato grinned at himself in the dark, like the idiot Hiyori said he was. “Thanks, Hiyori.”

“Your welcome. Now, go to sleep Avatar.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Yato slept peacefully that night.

Chapter Text

They spend the next few weeks training. Yato improves his accuracy and soon he can block every disc Daikoku sends at him. Hiyori successfully manages to enter the spirit world each time she tries and they decide Yato should try and go with her the next time she crosses over.

Daikoku has also decided Yato has learned everything he can teach him. He suggested Kofuku try to teach him how to move really large masses of earth, reasoning it wouldn’t be too difficult with the avatar’s powers. Kofuku agreed it would be fun and Daikoku sent them to the other side of the village, far away from where they could damage anything important.

“This is exciting, Yatty!” Kofuku said. “I never get to teach anyone anything.”

“Yeah,” Yato ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Can’t imagine why.”

They stopped in a large open space. The houses (or what was left of them) were a safe distance away.

“Okay! This is pretty simple practice. We’re just going to bend stone between us and gradually make it bigger and bigger!”

“Sounds good,” Yato said. He moved back so there was some space between them and stomped his foot on the ground so a piece of earth roughly the size of his head jumped into the air in front of him.

“Ready?” He called. Kofuku nodded and he sent the earth flying in her direction.

She used her earthbending to stop the momentum with ease, sliding her right foot across the ground in front of her to add more earth to the piece they already had. They continued the back and forth for a bit. It was oddly soothing thanks to how rhythmic it was.

“You know,” Kofuku said, her smile suddenly looking sad. “I used to do this a lot with someone else. I’ve missed it.”

Yato didn’t say anything. Sometimes people just needed someone to listen. He learned that from all the times Hiyori let him rant about whatever was bothering him. It was nice to have someone who cared enough to just lend you their ear.

“His name was Daigo.” Kofuku continued. “He was the cutest kid, I swear!”

She let out a short, bitter laugh. “He was our kid.”

Yato stopped the bending at her crestfallen look. He used his earthbending to create a stone bench, simple but good enough to sit on, and pulled her gently to sit next to him.

“Yours and Daikoku’s?” He guessed. She nodded.

Yato watched as she sat quietly, twisting the fabric of her loose shirt in a way Yato had never seen her do before.

She seemed to gather the courage to keep speaking. “Daikoku likes kids and when we had our own… He was the happiest I’d ever seen him. He was really excited when Daigo first started earthbending too! We both were.”

She was smiling again, but it was soft, fragile. Yato got the feeling she hadn’t talked about this for a long time, that she had kept her memories hidden and clamoring inside her.

“I played this game with him, like we were just doing now. I mean, obviously we never used such big stones, that would be dangerous. Daigo could never keep it up for long though. Something about seeing the earth flying through the air made him laugh so hard he could barely breathe.”

Yato smiled with her now. He could imagine the joy of this little boy, playing with his parents. It sounded wonderful.

Kofuku is silent for a long time. Her forehead creases and tears fill her eyes. “And now he’s gone and it’s my fault!”

“What do you mean?” Yato asked carefully.

Her voice thick with emotion, she explained how she lost control over her bending, caving in half the house. Including the room where little Daigo slept. She described how she and Daikoku dug through the rubble for hours and eventually found their little boy, face ashen and chest still.

Kofuku told him how Daikoku stopped talking to her for weeks and how they moved up into the mountains to avoid hurting anyone else. Yato held her as she cried, running his fingers soothingly through her hair. Eventually, her sobs quieted and he rocked her while her breathing steadied.

“I don’t think he blames you, you know.” Yato said quietly. “Not anymore at least.”

“I know you’re right because why else would he still be here? He could have left me a long time ago… it’s just sometimes I feel so guilty and I can’t talk to him about it because I don’t want to upset him.”

“You should talk to him about how you feel.” Yato said. “He cares about you, Kofuku. He’s probably grieving just as much as you are and I think you can handle this better together than apart.”

Kofuku lets out a watery laugh. “I thought you were the avatar, not a love expert!”

Yato laughed too. “Why can’t I be both?”

Kofuku’s quiet before she speaks. Her face in't as tormented as when she was explaining what had happened. While she thinks through what Yato said, her face becomes less twisted, less worried.

"I think I will talk to him," she whispered.

Yato gave her a hug. “Sounds like a plan.”

Kofuku stood and used her bending to send the bench back into the ground. She gave him one last hug. “Thank you for listening.”

“Anytime." Yato smiled. "Let’s head back?”

They walked back to the house and Kofuku felt lighter than she had in a long time.

The weather was cooler than it had been in weeks, puffy clouds blocking out the sun and creating shade that blanketed the village. It’s as good a day as any to try and enter the spirit world. They’ve fallen into a routine during their time here in the mountains. Hiyori woke up before Yato did and washed up, getting dressed before shoving Yato out of his bedroll. They went to Kofuku’s after Yato got dressed and Yato helped Daikoku with breakfast.

Today, instead of Yato staying to practice his bending, he goes with Hiyori to Ebisu’s house. They settle not in the library, but in what looks like some kind indoor courtyard. Some trees line the walls around them and they’re rustled by the breeze coming through the massive skylight.

“Every time I see this room, I’m amazed.” Hiyori said. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, well, the spirits helped make it. I can’t really take any credit.” Ebisu led them to the centre of the room where a few floor cushions lay. He motioned for them to sit down, facing each other.

“Alright, Hiyori, you remember what to do?”

She nodded. Her attention was focused on Yato and she smiled at him. Strangely, despite being on board with this idea since they thought of it, he felt nervous. It was probably the fact that they were really going to do this and it was happening now. He took a deep breath and returned her smile. His hands were probably shakier, but that couldn’t be helped.

She held her hands out for him to take and he lay his hands in hers. She squeezed them for a second, a reassurance and Yato felt like he could breathe easier.

“All you have to do is stay calm okay? And don’t let go.”

“Don’t let go.” Yato repeated. “I can do that.”

“Here we go.” Hiyori whispered so only he could hear.

Yato watched as she closed her eyes and steadied her breathing and copied her actions. It soothed his nerves and soon his breathing matched hers. He would have sworn that if he could feel her heartbeat, it would’ve matched his too.

He floats in this quiet headspace for a while, listening to the sounds of their breathing. Then he hears more than that; strange animal-like sounds. That’s the only way he can think to describe them, but they aren’t like any animal he recognizes. He opens his eyes to find Hiyori grinning at him. The bracelet resting around her wrist is pulsing with a faint light.

“What do you think?” She asked.

“You’re amazing,” Yato answered without thinking. He misses how her face goes red because he’s busy taking in the lush forest that surrounds them. The trees are varying shades of blue and green and the sky above them is red. It’s so alien but also very beautiful. Yato feels out of place.

“What now?”

Hiyori stood and pulled him to his feet. “Now we explore!”

She headed off into the forest and Yato had no choice but to follow. “Where are you going?”

“You’ll see!”

Hiyori knows exactly where she’s going as she makes her way through the forest. Yato can barely keep up. “Slow down!”

She slowed the slightest bit, long enough to grab him by the hand and turn back to running through the trees. “We’re almost there, I promise.”

Hiyori slowed to a walk as they got closer. “I found this place the last time I came. Ebisu wanted to see how long I could stay in the spirit world, so I had a chance to explore.”

The trees thin out to reveal a waterfall the colour of ripe mango. The golden water was clear and you could see what looked like the spirit world version of fish swimming through. Hiyori rolled her leggings up to her knees and left her sandals on the shore so she could wade into the water.

“Come on!”

Yato hesitated. “Are you sure we should--”

It’s fine, it just… doesn’t really feel like water.”

Yato’s face scrunched up in confusion. What was that supposed to mean?

He half shrugged to himself and left his shoes next to hers. He waded cautiously after her and found she was right; the water felt more solid than he was used to but wasn’t any harder to move in. It felt somewhat like the crushed ice drinks they had back in the North, just except that in appearance this water was completely liquid.

Yato scooped water into his hands and played with it a bit. He found he could mold it into a ball and it would hold its shape fairly well. Tossing the ball in his hands he watched Hiyori swim lazy laps nearby. A grin crept slowly over his face.

“Hey, Hiyori!”

She turned to look at him and SMACK! The ball of water hit her square in the face and her look of surprise had him bending over while he laughed. Her eyes narrowed and she came running at him knocking him off his feet and into the water. They play wrestled for a bit which turned into real wrestling. Yato lost because Hiyori was better at hand to hand than he would ever be. When they were exhausted, they dragged themselves out of the water and collapsed next to each other on shore.

“How,” Yato panted, “did you ever get so good at wrestling?”

Hiyori blushed. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

Yato turned his head so he could see her. “Of course. Avatar’s honour.”

That made her smile. “Well, you remember how we were talking about the Blind Bandit with Daikoku? And how she competed in an underground tournament?” “Sure.”

“I competed too. They had a segment for non-benders. I was pretty good.” Yato’s eyes went wide. “No way! You were an underground tournament fighter!”

Hiyori covered her face with her hands. “I’ve never told anyone. My family always thought I was out with friends or babysitting.” Yato whistled. “Wow, Hiyori. I knew you were tough but that’s on another level.”

She shoved him and soon they were both laughing.

“I mean it, though,” Yato said. “That is pretty cool. I get why you’re such a good fighter now.”

“I kind of miss it, to be honest. It was fun.” “Well, now you get to fight real bad guys! With the avatar!” “Sure,” Hiyori said. “Fighting with the avatar isn’t that bad either.”

She got up and slipped her shoes back on. Yato copied her and the entire way back, he ranted dramatically about how fighting with the avatar was a serious honour and she should be proud of being his companion. It made her laugh and Yato couldn’t help but watch her and smile.

Chapter Text

They exited the spirit world just as easily as they had entered.

“You’re pretty good at this,” Yato said.

“I’m just glad all the practice paid off.”

Hiyori was looking around the room. “Ebisu’s gone.”

“Weird,” Yato said. “Let’s look for him.”

They searched through the rooms in the house where Hiyori thought he might be and found nothing. The house was eerily devoid of life. Hiyori didn’t even see the spirits that normally frequented the place, rushing through the hallways to complete their tasks.

They were in the library when they heard a scream. Without a second thought both of them were running down the hallway and out of the house. They reached Kofuku’s house only to find large shards of ice speared through the walls. Kofuku and Daikoku are fighting off several waterbenders. Yato frowned when he didn't see Ebisu. He hoped the Tui Guard hadn’t taken him already.

Kofuku and Daikoku were holding their own but Yato worried they would eventually be overpowered by the four guards attacking them. Hiyori pulled out the knife she kept in her bag (her brother was paranoid) and ran to help Kofuku and Daikoku. Yato kept an eye on them, ready to step in if needed, while looking for Ebisu and the two other guards. Mizuchi was probably here too. After all, she was leading them now.

Part of him wondered why they were here. How did they track them to the mountains so quickly? They last saw the Tui Guard in Haikou and were on the run for months by the time they found Ebisu. They stay here for a month and suddenly the Tui Guard caught up? It didn’t make sense.

“Let me go!”

That was Ebisu’s voice! Yato turned to see the two remaining guards dragging him out of the house, a sack dropped over Ebisu’s head. His hands and legs were bound. Nora followed them out.

“Get him on the shirshu.” She directed them.

“Hey!” Yato yelled. He used the momentary surprise to attack, bending the ice shards lodged in the walls to his will. They flew through the air towards him, stopping to hover at the necks of his three opponents.

“Let him go,” Yato said, voice low and threatening.

Nora looked shocked to see him. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Yeah, well, I’d say it’s good to see you but…”

She regained her composure. “The feeling is mutual, believe me.”

For someone so young she had a disturbing amount of hate to fuel her.

With a gesture from Nora, the guards returned to slinging Ebisu up onto the shirshu’s saddle. Yato’s anger grew. He bended the shards closer and ice cut into flesh. “Let. Him. Go.”

Nora sighed. “You want a fight, Yaboku? Fine.”

She wasted no time, bending a massive stream of water from the river. It loomed over Yato and wrapped around him, immobilizing him quite effectively.

Nora took her time walking towards him. “Poor Yaboku. This was barely a fair fight.”

Yato glanced over her shoulder to where Ebisu was now tied down to the saddle. Yato fought his bindings furiously, pushing out with his bending.

With a slow raise of her hand, Nora bent a thin spike of ice extending from the ground behind Yato. Then she used the water holding him in place to lower him until he was hovering just above the spike. She lowered him further and the spike dug into his back.

“I could kill you like this,” she whispered in his ear.

“But you wouldn’t.” he replied.

Nora straightened and walked a few paces away. She turned to look at the four remaining members of her guard still fighting Hiyori, Kofuku, and Daikoku.

One of the guards lay dazed on the ground. Kofuku stood in front of Daikoku, sending waves of dirt washing over two guards. They dug themselves out or blasted the dirt away with water only to be buried once again. Another had Hiyori frozen in a block of ice. The ice was slowly creeping up to cover her face.

“Oh no,” Nora said. “Looks like your little friend isn’t doing too well.”

“Hiyori!” Yato screamed. He couldn’t lose her like this. He struggled harder.

Nora stopped pacing circles around him to stand in front of him. “You’re lucky Father didn’t send us here for you.”

She loosened her hold, dropping Yato to the ground. He rushed forward, slammed her aside with a wave of water. The two guards left Ebisu tied to the saddle and immediately took their places between Yato and the shirshu.

The guards bent blades of ice at Yato and he bent them back to water as they came near. Hi missed one and it nicked his forearm, the cut welling up with blood. He ignored it and kept collecting the water they threw at him. Soon he had enough to freeze their feet in place. He ran past them to the shirshu, ready to climb up and untie Ebisu.

Before he could, he felt something wet and heavy hit the back of his knees and then he was falling. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t do anything. Yato just lay on the ground, watching as Nora stepped over him and the Tui Guard retreated, climbing onto their shirshus and taking Ebisu with them.

The world felt wrong, felt distorted. He couldn’t hear properly and his breaths were laboured. This wasn’t happening. No, no, no, nonono--

But it was.

Ebisu was gone.

Yato felt numb. Ebisu was right there, he had a chance to save him and he failed. Just like he couldn’t save Sakura. It was stupid to think he could have saved Ebisu.

Yato was sitting alone at the river. Sakura hovered nearby. She knew he was upset but he wouldn’t let her get close enough to comfort him. He heard footsteps approaching but didn’t bother to look up.

Hiyori sat down next to him, knees pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. She stared at the water for a bit before she spoke. “Kofuku and Daikoku are checking how much damage there is.”

Yato said nothing.

“No one got hurt. We’re all okay, Yato.”

Yato turned his head away.

“Listen, I know you feel bad because they took Ebisu,” Hiyori started. “But there’s nothing you could do, okay? Look at me. Hey! Look at me.”

She put her hands on either side of his face and turned him so he would look at her. Tears were already running down his cheeks, his eyes puffy and red.

“Oh, Yato…” She pulled him to her, holding him as he cried and rocking soothingly. They sat there for hours until Hiyori managed to get him back to Kofuku’s house. They didn’t do much else that night. Everyone was still reeling from their loss.

Chapter Text

“We need to get him back.”

“Yato--” Hiyori started.

“I know it won’t be easy. But we can’t just let my father keep him! We don’t know why he wanted Ebisu but it can’t be anything good.”

“What do you mean, ‘your father’?” Daikoku asked.

Yato took a deep breath. “The men that attacked last night. They’re known as the Tui Guard and they’re an elite fighting team from the North Pole. The girl leading them is Nora. She is… was a sister to me.”

Daikoku nodded slowly. “I’ve heard of Nora. She worked with the Yaboku Assassin. Both are feared in all four nations.”

Hiyori noticed Yato stiffen at the mention of the Yaboku Assassin. She would have to remember to ask him later.

“If she was a sister to you, did you know what she was doing?” Daikoku questioned.

Yato hesitated before answering. “I didn’t, no. I left the North Pole on my own when I learned she and Father were up to… not so great things.”

Daikoku’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t challenge Yato’s answer.

“I know they’re not good people. Father sent Nora with the Tui Guard to bring me home. We lost them long before we got to the mountains. I don’t think they came here for me.”

“They went after Ebisu as soon as they got here,” Kofuku added. “It was pretty clear they were here for him.”

“But why?” Hiyori asked.

“It was pretty common knowledge that Ebisu was a powerful man. Lots of wealth, good business sense, rumours of connection to the spirits. Whatever it is your Father is doing, Ebisu is a powerful man to have on his side.” Daikoku said.

“I don’t think he wants Ebisu to join him.” Yato said grimly.

“What do you mean?” Hiyori asked.

“I left because… well, like Daikoku said Nora worked with the Yaboku Assassin. They were killing people and they were following Father’s orders.” Yato doesn’t look up at any of them, his gaze tracing the wood grain of the table.

“You think they’ll kill Ebi?” Kofuku asked.

“Maybe. That’s why we need to rescue him as soon as possible.” Yato said.

“Why kill people though?” Hiyori asked. “What does it gain them?”

“They target important people, people in positions of power and influence. Then Father replaces them with people he has control over.” Yato explained.

“That’s a sick way to gain control but he could gain influence in all four nations.” Daikoku said.

“I know. I want to stop him but I’m not strong enough, not yet. I was hoping to have more time before confronting him but now I don’t have that choice.”

Silence fell around the table.

“What’s the plan, then?” Daikoku asked.

“We need to know where they took Ebisu. And then we go there and get him back.” Yato said.

“That’s a bit simplistic.” Hiyori said. “How do we find Ebisu?”

“We don’t. We talk to Nora. I think I can convince her to tell me what they’re planning.”

“Are you sure that’ll work?” Kofuku asked.

“No,” Yato admitted. “But I don’t really have a better idea.”

“And how are you going to talk to Nora?” Daikoku asked.

Yato frowned. “I have to go home.”

As soon as Yato mentioned returning to the North Pole, Hiyori erupted in protest. He managed to convince her he would be fine but didn’t convince her to stay with Daikoku and Kofuku in the mountains. She was as stubborn as ever.

They spent a few days making preparations to leave and then they could delay no longer. Kofuku and Daikoku stood beside Sakura and watched them fly away.

Chapter Text

They flew to the North Pole as fast as they could, only stopping to let Sakura rest and eat. They took shifts so one person could sleep while the other held the reins. The weather shifted as they went further north. Yato pulled his furs out of his bag and Hiyori was glad for the sweater Kofuku had given her.

Yato still doesn’t feel ready when they reach the pole. Not much he can do about it though. They don’t have time to waste. They get there in the morning and settle far enough from the city walls that they won’t be seen.

At least Sakura is happy, Yato thought to himself, watching as she explored the snow. Night was falling quickly and they had to move now. Making their way through the city was best done under the cover of darkness.

Yato leads her towards the city. They stay away from the main gate and the guards posted there. Instead they walk along the wall of ice until Yato stops at a section with a flower etched into the ice. Yato listened to make sure no one was nearby and then waterbended. A section of the wall away. It opened to reveal a set of stairs leading down into the water.

"Yato, what--"

"Don't worry," he replied. "It's designed so only waterbenders can use it. I'm not sure who made it but Sakura showed me and Father never caught me when I used it to sneak out. Come on."

Yato led her down the steps, using his bending to keep them dry. He pushes the water away from them, creating a surreal bubble of space for them to walk in. Hiyori can see through the water around them. A fish zipped past her face and she jolted in surprise. Yato laughed with her. The fish came back to keep her company as she walked.

“Reach out to her,” Yato said.

“What?”

“Go ahead, it’ll be fine.”

Hiyori shot him a skeptical look but poked a cautious finger through their little bubble. Her hand slipped right through but no water leaked in.

“It’s cold!”

The little fish had moved away upon seeing her hand, but it darted closer, curious. It stared at her fingers for a bit, drifting in the water. Hiyori wiggled them the slightest bit and the fish darted closer.

“Oh!” Hiyori pulled her hand back. “She bit me!”

Yato was laughing at her and the fish was gone. Hiyori exhaled, eyes wide. She grinned at Yato and they kept going.

The stairs ended at a level path that slowly went back up out of the water. They followed it all the way to a door that opened above their heads. Yato stood with his ear pressed to it, listening. Once he deemed it safe to emerge, he pushed the door open slowly to a dark room.

Hiyori followed him out and he replaced the door. The room they were in was dark. Hiyori could see two small rectangular windows cut into the ice wall near the ceiling. The night outside is dark and very little light makes its way into the room. There are crates piled high against the wall.

“This is just one of the storage rooms.” Yato explained. “We keep dried fish and furs here.”

“Explains the smell.” Hiyori whispered. “Where to now?”

“Now we find Nora. It’s late, so she’s either sleeping or training because she can’t sleep. We’ll check the house first.”

They creep out of the building, making their way quietly down the street. The families are all inside. A few windows are lit up by lamps but this late at night most are dark. They have to stop and duck behind buildings when guards pass by. “Your father has people patrol the streets?”

Yato shrugged. “It’s mostly for show. He's in control and all that.”

“That’s… disturbing.”

“Like everything else about him. Which took me way too long to realize, but we can discuss that later.”

The guards pass by and they go unnoticed. They run down the street again, feet as silent as they can make them. Yato leads her directly to the centre of the city, where they find what looks to Hiyori like an ice palace.

The half moon gives enough light to reflect off the waterfalls cascading down alongside the steps leading to the entrance. The palace has tiers and is taller than any building Hiyori has ever seen.

“You lived here?”

Yato shrugged. “We’re used to it.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Too bad my childhood sucked, huh?”

They go around the palace to what Yato tells her is the servants entrance. “Sakura brought me through here sometimes, when I wanted to avoid people. No one guessed I’d ever use the servants entrance.”

“Right, because you’re basically waterbender royalty.”

Yato didn’t bother answering. He eased the door open and motioned for her to go first. They walked along a hallway that led to an empty kitchen. Yato walked right through it, leading her out into another hallway. From there, Hiyori stopped trying to keep track of where they were going because she knew she wouldn’t be able to remember it all.

“Since the guards are just for show, there are none in the palace. Except the Tui Guard, but they stay on the upper floor, where Father should be right now. Luckily for us, the bedrooms are on the second floor.” Yato explained, taking Hiyori to a set of stairs at the end of the hallway.

They pass an entryway not far from the base of the stairs and Hiyori sees a large courtyard, a gleaming expanse of smooth ice.

“What’s that for?”

Yato takes a quick glance before continuing up the stairs. “Meetings with the whole tribe. Or just the nobles. Father also likes to use it to put on a show.”

A show? Hiyori doesn’t get the chance to ask more because Yato is already knocking quietly on a door. The door opened a crack and Hiyori saw one eye peering through, half closed with sleep. As soon as Nora recognized who it was she pulled the door open and opened her mouth to yell. Yato slapped a hand over her face and pushed her back into the room. Hiyori followed and shut the door.

Yato let Nora go. “Sorry. But we can’t get caught here.”

“What are you doing?” She hissed. “I knew you were stupid, but not stupid enough to come back!”

Yato stared. “What?”

Nora sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. “What happened to being so happy to escape? Change your mind?”

“No,” Yato frowned. “I’m here for Ebisu.”

Nora straightened. “So you do know him.”

“Tell me where he is.”

Nora feigned disinterest. “Why should I?”

“Nora!”

Hiyori put a hand on his shoulder and gave a quick squeeze. She turned to Nora. “May I sit?”

“Would you listen if I said no?”

“Of course I would!”

“Yato never did.”

“Well, my manners are better than Yato’s. May I?”

A small smile forced its way onto Nora’s face. She wiped it away as fast as it had come. “Sure.”

Hiyori smiled and sat next to Nora, leaving a gap just to keep her comfortable.

“We could really use your help, you know.”

“Exactly. You need me, why wouldn’t I use that to my advantage?”

Yato groaned. “What do you want, Nora?”

“Take me with you.”

“What?”

Nora looked uncomfortable now. “It’s not the same here without you. We used to have fun together, remember? Now Father just sends me chasing after you and it’s boring.”

“I’m not going back to who I was before,” Yato said, face grim.

“But we were happy! It was just the two of us and we could do anything--”

“Stop. Ask for something else.” Nora’s face is closed off. “Things will never be the same, will they?”

“No,” Yato admitted. “But they can be better. Help us, please?”

Nora looks down at her hands, considering. She nods slowly. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

She looks up. “I’ll help you.”

Yato exchanged a glance with Hiyori. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch.”

“You’re lying,” Yato accused.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. You don’t really have a choice but to trust me, do you?”

Yato frowned, fingers digging into his palms. “Fine. Tell us what Father wants with Ebisu.”

“If you know Ebisu, you already know about his reputation.”

“What does Father need with more money?”

“Not the money, idiot. Father’s interested in spirits.”

Yato’s face is one of dawning realization.

“I don’t know much more than that because he won’t tell me.” Nora’s face sours.

“Do you know where Ebisu is?” Hiyori asked.

“Sure, he’s downstairs.”

“He’s here?” Yato asked, surprised.

“Where did you think he would be?”

“I kind of thought Father would keep him somewhere else.”

“Like?”

“I...I don’t know. Shut up, Nora!”

She kept laughing and Hiyori smiled at them. She could see they had been close, once. She wondered if that was something they could ever fix. Nora was younger than she had been expecting. She looked like she was 14. Hiyori didn’t know what she’d been through but if it was anything like Yato’s childhood, she deserved better.

“We could go see him now, if you want.” Nora offered.

“Really?” Hiyori smiled.

“It’s what you came for, isn’t it?”

Hiyori leaned forward to wrap the girl in a hug. “Thank you!”

Nora froze in her arms. “Let. Go.”

“Sorry.” Hiyori pulled back and tucked her hair behind her ears.

Nora looked like she didn’t know what to think and was just going to ignore it. “Wait here. I’m going to see if the guards are still posted outside his room.”

Nora slipped out of the room before they could stop her, the door closing behind her.

“This is too easy.”

Hiyori turned to him. “Come on, Yato, she’s helping us. That’s what we wanted.”

“It’s never this easy to get Nora to do what you want, believe me.”

“She can’t be that bad.”

“She is. She is exactly that bad.”

“What could she do?”

“She’s an assassin.”

“She’s just a kid.”

“You know, when we were little we liked to climb some of the buildings in the city. It was fun to race across rooftops.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

Yato shrugged. “Father didn’t care about us enough to say anything. We were sitting on one of the roofs after I won a race—she’d say she won, she’s a liar—and she pushed me! Right off the roof. I broke an arm.”

Hiyori stared, not sure what to say. “That’s…”

“Yeah, our ‘family’ is pretty messed up. I don’t trust her.”

Hiyori frowned, looking down at her hands. She twisted her fingers together as she thought about what to do.

“Let’s… let’s give her a chance, okay? You got a second chance, after leaving on your own, can’t we do the same for her?”

Yato gritted his teeth. He knew she was right and he didn’t like it. He stood and paced, hands clenched. He stopped in the middle of the room throwing his hands up with an exasperated sigh.

“Fine! Fine, we’ll give her a chance. One chance. She better not mess this up.”

“Mess what up?” Nora asked, slipping through the door as silently as she had left. “I thought that was your thing, Yato.”

Yato glared at her, “Very funny. We’ve decided you get one chance to help. If you betray us I get to tie you up and leave you for Father, with a nice little note explaining how you let us get away.”

Nora frowned. “Wow, it’s like you don’t trust me.”

Yato opened his mouth to respond but Hiyori spoke up before he could. “Were the guards still there?”

“I convinced them to leave.”

“Convinced them, huh?” Yato asked, eyes narrowed.

“We got what we wanted, how I did it doesn’t matter,” Nora brushed past him. She pushed the door open and held the door open for them. “After you.”

Hiyori made her way through the door and waited in the hallway, neck craning to see if anyone was coming. Yato stared at Nora until she followed Hiyori out, determined not to turn his back to her.

Nora moved ahead leading them through the hallways and down stairs until they reached a more open, emptier part of the palace. There was nothing there, no people and no doors or windows that Hiyori could see.

“This is a dead end.” Hiyori said.

Nora shot her an unimpressed look. She chose not to reply and moved one foot in front of her, settling into a bending stance. With a strong wave of her arm, a section of the ice wall lowered into the floor.

Ebisu looked up from where he was sitting in a room filled with nothing but a simple cot and some blankets.

“Ebisu! You’re okay,” Hiyori said.

Ebisu nodded. “I am unharmed, aside from some bruises. Nothing serious. For now, at least.”

“It’s good to see you,” Yato said. Hiyori could see the relief in the way his shoulders relaxed.

“We’re going to get you out of here.” Hiyori explained.

When Ebisu glanced pointedly at Nora, still standing outside the room, Yato clarified. “She agreed to help. We’re giving her a second chance, which I was not happy about, just so you know.”

“We wouldn’t have found you without her!” Hiyori said. “We owe her our thanks.”

“Yeah, right. We don’t owe her anything. Not until we’re actually out of here.”

“Yato!”

“If you two are done arguing about my morality, can we go?” Nora interrupted.

Yato glared at her. He moved over to Ebisu and used his waterbending to cut through the chains around Ebisu’s wrists. Ebisu nodded his thanks and Hiyori led them out of the room. Nora followed last.

They made their way down the hallway without meeting anyone. Yato heard a quiet shing and his blood went cold.

He acted on instinct, arms raising to create a wall of ice in front of them. A shard of ice as long as his arm flew towards them and pierced through his wall.

Yato grabbed Hiyori by the arm. “Take Ebisu and run.”

“We won’t leave you here!”

“Hiyori. You need to go!”

Hiyori frowned, torn between keeping Ebisu safe and leaving Yato behind. Ebisu yelped when water crept up around his ankles and froze, preventing him from moving.

“Okay, okay, we’ll go.” Hiyori relented. Yato unfroze him and they ran.

Yato turned back to their attackers to find three members of the Tui Guard in front of him, his ice wall in pieces on the ground. Nora stood behind them, her face smug.

“Looks like you were right, Yato.” Nora grinned. “You can’t trust me.”

Chapter Text

Yato grits his teeth and charges. He doesn’t care about the consequences because all he can see is red. 

He knew it! He knew they couldn’t trust her. Nora was going to pay for this, just like he had promised. 

Nora doesn’t even have to speak; a gesture of her hand is enough to send two of the guards running after Hiyori and Ebisu. He turns to stop them but finds his way blocked by a wave of ice. 

Nora makes a disapproving sound. “Really? I betray you and you’re not even going to fight me?”

The sensible part of Yato knows he’s being baited, knows that this is what she always does: goads him into fighting until he’s so angry he makes a mistake. 

Too bad the sensible part of him isn’t really working right now. 

Nora waits for him to attack first and he does, too angry to think about what he’s doing. He bends all the water he can manage into a torrential wave. Nora blocks it with an easy flick of the wrist, bending the water to her will in a long, snake-like stream that swirls in the air above them. 

The remaining guard moves to flank Yato and Nora shakes her head. “Go get the rest of the guard. I’ll take care of him.”

Yato narrowed his eyes and made a desperate attempt to freeze the guard in place. The guard side stepped easily and opened a door in the ice that Yato knew was a shortcut to the front of the palace. He took solace in knowing Hiyori and Ebisu are heading for the passageway in the store room instead of the front door. 

Nora bends a pillar of ice beneath her feet so she's taller than Yato. He glares up at her and focuses on gathering the moisture in the air, sharpening the water droplets into razor that hang suspended around him. With a violent twist he sends the shards flying at Nora. He hates the ease with which she deflects them, bending his attack to her will and combining the water to create longer shards that dart and stab at him. All Yato can do is evade so he doesn't get impaled. 

Yato can't tell how long they've been fighting. He knows the fight is dragging on, knows that Nora is doing that on purpose so he'll slip up because of the tired ache settling into his bones. 

He just has to finish this first. 

Yato settles into a strong stance, planting his feet firmly. It's more similar to the earthbending stance than any other he's used with his waterbending before. With steady movements he raises a column of ice directly under Nora's feet, freezing her in place as he does. She's thrown off balance for a moment, stuck in the air above him. Nora frowns at him, furious at being immobilized. Then the frown fades and her eyes shift to the cold calculating look he is so used to. 

She twists abruptly, using her bending to free her feet and kicking out so the column Yato created was now divided into sleek discs that come flying at him. He is tired and his reflexes are slow; one slices at his cheek and all he can do is raise his hands to protect his face. Nora laughs as she steps off the now shortened column. 

"Tired already, Yaboku?"

She bends a low wall of ice towards him and it pins him against the wall. Then she gestures to two guards that must have returned when they were fighting. They step in to grab him by the arm and his attempt to fight them off is met with the harsh backhand to the face. 

Yato slumps between them, exhausted. They drag him to the cells Father used to leave him in when he misbehaved as a child. As the cold ice door slides shut behind the guards, Yato stares despondently at the walls and prays to Tui and La that Hiyori and Ebisu got away. 

He is alone once again.

As a child Yato learned how to tell the number of days that had passed by the ache of hunger and the dryness of his tongue. 

It's been at least three days. 

Then Father comes. As soon as he steps through the door, Yato spits at his feet. Father merely scoffs his disapproval (a familiar sound). 

"Look at yourself, Yaboku. I made you into something great and you've thrown it all away."

"You made me into a killer."

"And you were good at it! I was so proud of you."

Yato's face twists into a grimace. Somehow, some part of him deep down is glad for the praise. The rest of him is disgusted with himself. 

"Where are my friends?"

"Oh, is that why you left us? Your father who did everything for you? All for some people who act like they care?"

"They do care about me! More than you ever did." Yato yells. 

Father shakes his head slowly, the picture of a disappointed parent. "Oh, Yaboku. No one could ever love you the way I did."

"That's not true!" 

"Oh, really? Where are your friends now?"

"What?"

"Well, they got away and left you to rot in this cell. How much do they really care about you? Yaboku open your eyes. They know you are the avatar and that is all they care about. Your position, the power you possess. Not who you are. They don't care about you ."

Yato shuffles away on instinct. His back hits the wall and he curls his hands over his ears. He will not listen to this poison again, he won't, he won't, he won't. 

That doesn't stop the slightest trickle of doubt from lingering in the back of his mind. 

Yato hangs his head as Father walks away, not seeing when he stops in front of the cell next to Yato's. 

"Your precious avatar will lose hope, I guarantee it."

A furious Hiyori glares at him from where she sits next to Ebisu. 

"You can't break him. Not again."

Father doesn't reply. He grins at her, amused by her defiance, and turns to walk away. 

Chapter Text

When Yato is let out of his cell, it's almost a week later. They shove a bag over his head like he's some common criminal and darkness is all Yato knows. He can tell they're travelling, knows the familiar feel of a ship's deck rocking beneath his feet. He wishes he knew where they were going. He wishes he knew if Hiyori and Ebisu were okay. 

They take the bag off only once they have him below deck. He gets some food and water, enough to keep him alive. That's all he's gotten over the past week. 

They ship stops after a week of travel and Yato is brought to shore flanked by guards. Father and Nora are waiting there, Nora looking smug. Father must have been proud of her seeing as she finally captured him. 

The area is deserted; nothing but forest for miles. They trek through the forest until they reach the beginnings of a mountain, where the treeline faded into rocky terrain. There are a series of caves and it is in front of these that they stop. 

"Sit," Father directs him. 

Just to be contrary, Yato doesn't move. The guards at his side shove him to his knees when Father nods at them. 

"Honestly, Yaboku, it's in your best interest to cooperate. This will all be over soon."

He circles Yato slowly as he speaks, resting a hand on his head like he used to do when Yato was young. Yato grits his teeth at the action; it only reminds him of simpler times. 

"What you need to do is simple; meditate and concentrate on the spiritual energy within you and around you. Keep your eyes closed."

"Why would I do that?"

Father stops pacing to kneel in front him. He tilts Yato's head up with a finger. "Well, you wouldn't want your darling Hiyori to be hurt, would you?"

Father steps back so Yato can see a guard drag Hiyori into the clearing. She's doing her best to make it difficult for him, twisting and trying to get a grip on her arm. He grows tired eventually and pushes her to the ground, crushing one of her hands with his foot and grinding her fingers into the dirt. She shrieks at the pain and Yato immediately tries to get to his feet. The guard still standing next to him keeps him in his place.

"Come now, we don't want to break the girl just yet. Ease up."

The guard lifts his foot off Hiyori's hand and she cradles it to her chest. Nora steps closer to her, bending water out of the pouch at her hip in a silent threat. 

Yato tries to catch Hiyori's eye but Father is leaning into his view again. "So, you'll do it?"

Yato frowns but he won't risk Hiyori and Father knows it. He hates that Father can manipulate him so easily. 

"Where's Ebisu then? If you caught Hiyori, you caught him too, right?" Yato asks. 

"Oh, don't worry. I've got plans for our friend Ebisu. Now, meditate."

Yato sighed and closed his eyes because what other choice did he have?

Yato breathed and tried to meditate like Hiyori taught him. The energy around him became clear; there was a strong spiritual presence here but it felt dark. Foreboding. 

His concentration was broken when Father let out a displeased sigh. "Not good enough, of course you're not good enough."

He paced in front of Yato, fingers running through his hair as he thought. He looked exasperated, mouth twisted and eyes narrow. Father looked to Hiyori. "The girl. Bring her here."

Hiyori was dragged to sit in front of Yato. As soon as she was close enough, Yato reached out to cradle her injured hand. Two of her fingers were swelling; they looked broken. She gave him a pained smile and though he tried he could not reciprocate. 

"Meditate with her help this time." Father instructed. 

Yato did as he was told, keeping his hands linked with Hiyori's as they both closed their eyes. This time the spiritual energy felt stronger, amplified by Hiyori's connection to the spirit world. The feeling of unease, of wrongness only grew. 

Then Father was shouting triumphantly and the ground was shaking beneath them. Yato opened his eyes to find a spirit emerging from the caves. 

He was huge; Yato could not see the end of his long body for it stretched into the caves behind him. He had dozens of spindly legs and a pale, almost human face, white as the snow. Red lips were curved into a leering smile and his eyes were circled in ashen grey. 

Father stepped forward to greet the spirit. "Mother of Faces! I have summoned--"

He is interrupted by the spirit's scoff. "You seek my mother. I am not she. I am Koh the Face Stealer."

Father is momentarily speechless at a developement he clearly was not expecting. Yato can't help but smile.

"If you seek a new face, you'll have to find her. If you're here to give me a new one… well who am I to decline?"

Father's face is still frozen in his smooth mask of indifference. One of the Tui guards is less subtle with his emotions, fear etched clearly into his wide eyes and thin lips. Koh turns to him immediately, twisting his serpentine body into dizzying coils around the poor man. Koh blocks the guard from their sight and all they hear is his screaming. Then Koh is slithering away and what is left is a guard with nothing where his face should have been.  

Koh is grinning once again only now his face is that of the guards. Yato is chilled and Hiyori's hands tighten around his. Yato can feel his shaking. Nora looks impassive but Yato can spot the signs of her unease; her skin is pale and her hands tighten on her water pouch. 

"Well!" Father says, apparently taking this all in stride. His face is still a careful blank mask. "That was an impressive display of your power."

"Thank you," Koh hisses. He seems pleased with the flattery. 

Koh looks Father over with his new dark eyes. "Your face isn't too bad," he mused. 

"You can't have it."

"Yes, yes, I see you're keeping it carefully blank. Don't worry, I'll shock you soon enough." Koh promises. 

"I was hoping to speak to your mother." Father continues. 

Koh raises a thick eyebrow. His face shifts to a blue oni, eyes red and angry. "Who needs a new face then?"

Father gestured back to where Yato still knelt with Hiyori. Koh twisted, slithering until his body was hanging over them. Yato recoiled, trying to keep his face blank. Hiyori turned hers away, eyes wide and nervous. 

"Ah, the avatar! Haven't seen you in a while."

When Yato doesn't respond, Koh continues. 

"You don't remember that though. It was one of your predecessors, Kuruk. He really didn't like losing his darling Ummi."

Yato breathed a sigh of relief when Koh turned back to Father. "So, why does the avatar need a new face?"

"New face, new memories. He has stepped out of line; he needs to be controlled."

"You don't like who has become and wish to remake him." Koh muses. 

"Would it be possible for you to call your mother?"

Koh's eyes narrow. "I haven't spoken to my mother in years. Good luck finding her."

"But surely you could--"

"I will not help you find her."

Father sighed, slow and measured like he was bargaining with a child and trying not to lose his patience. 

"Koh. You are an ancient, knowledgeable spirit. Surely we can come to an agreement?"

"I find your persistence irritating, human." Koh's mouth twists in displeasure. 

"I mean no disrespect."

"And yet, by ignoring my wishes you are disrespectful."

Yato saw the slightest flicker of exasperation move across Father face. 

"Koh, if you would just--"

"You dare try to tell me what to do?"

Father is losing his composure now. "No, I--"

"My patience is at it's end, human!"

Koh darts forward, lightening fast. He coils around Father before Father can even think about running. One of his long legs crooks, caressing Father's face in a mocking gesture. Then they tighten around Father, dragging him back to the caves. 

"What are you--no! No, you can't do this, no, wait!"

Father's screams fade as Koh disappears into the darkness. 

For a long moment, they stand there, Nora and the guards, Yato and Hiyori all in the now quiet clearing. 

Then the guards turn to Yato and Hiyori, moving in on them with weapons of ice raised. 

Nora steps in front of them, channelling all her usual authority. Yato can see how shaken she is in the false bravado. 

"What are you doing?" She asks. 

One of the Tui guard responds. "We have orders. Were anything to go, we were to dispatch of the avatar and his companion."

Nora's eyes widen just the slightest bit as she glances to Yato and Hiyori, still kneeling together on the ground. 

"I wasn't informed of this plan."

The guard shrugs. Nora's face twists, confused and upset. It disappears quickly, smoothed over by a mask of calm. Like father, like daughter. 

"Surely killing the avatar is not in our best interests? Wouldn't it be beneficial to have him under our control?"

"We have orders to follow." The guard repeats. 

One of the other guards steps forward to grab Hiyorib pulling her away from Yato. He cries out, trying to keep her with him. Another guard hits him on the head, leaving him groaning on the ground. 

Nora frowns. "That was unnecessary."

The guard bends water from it's containerb molding it's shape into that of a blade easily. It hovers above Yato's chest and the guard raises his hand to deliver the killing blow. 

Then a wave of water from the shore comes rushing to meet them. The guards are lost to the water. In the momentary confusion, Nora pulls a shocked Hiyori to her feet. 

"Take Yato and go!"

"Wait, Nora--"

Nora is pulling a grimacing Yato up and pushing him into Hiyori's arms. Hiyori holds him up with ease. 

"Go!" Nora says again, eyes darting back to the guards that are now getting to their feet. 

"Thank you, Nora." Hiyori says. She pulls the younger girl in for a quick hug (as best she can manage with Yato still using her for support). 

Nora can't look her in the eyes. "I don't like him, but I don't want him dead. Get him out of here."

Then Nora's turning to face the guards and Hiyori is running into the forest. 

Chapter Text

Nora keeps her head down as she walks the streets of the fire nation town, looking for a food stand that would be the easiest to steal from. 

This town has been easy pickings. The people are too trusting, all tight-knit and welcoming. Fools. 

She walks past a fruit stand and slips some apples into her cloak pocket, continuing on as if nothing had happened. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of the boy. 

He's been watching her for a few days now, tracking her daily journies to the market. An amateur; anyone with experience would know to cover up hair that bright. It's an odd colour, a bright gold that Nora never would have seen amongst the dark hair at home. 

Nora turns to the older part of the market, leading her pursuer to an emptier place.  He follows. 

She turns down several roads, checking to make sure he's keeping up. Then Nora walks into an alley, scaling the walls to settle on the roof. The boy peers into the alley, clearly confused when he doesn't see her. He walks in slowly. 

Nora drops from the roof, blocking his only way out. Judging by the way he eyes the street behind her, he knows it. 

"Who are you?" He asks. 

"Why do you need to know?"

He rubs a nervous hand over the back of his neck. It makes his loose red sleeve fall down to his elbow and Nora catches sight of small burn scars scattered down the length of his arm. 

"I just… Well, I noticed you were on your own. And you've been stealing from the market stalls and I'm pretty sure you don't have a place to sleep?"

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Not going to tell me stealing is bad?"

The boy laughs. "I mean, I'm not proud of it but I've done it before. You need to eat, right?"

Nora doesn't respond. She re-evaluates her initial impression of the boy; maybe he wasn't as boring as she thought. 

"Anyway, would you like to stay at my place? I think it'd be okay as long as we don't stay in the house too much. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to."

Nora was thrown off guard by the offer. It was strange, to have someone seek her company. The boy was right though, she needed somewhere to stay. 

"Why not? Where do you live?"

"Oh, not far from here. I work at the market too, at the small restaurant next to the pottery store?"

Nora nods. "I saw it. What's your name?"

He smiles at her, bright and happy.

"I'm Yukine! What's yours?"