The next morning, everyone set out to find the Etherbender. Once gathered in the middle of the village, Sokka began giving instructions. He decided it would be best if they split up and  casually talked to some people, just acting as if it were a normal day and they were going about normal activities.

"Hey, Zuko! Have you been listening to anything I've said? We need to get moving! What are you even looking at?!" Sokka was waving his hands in Zuko's face, but Zuko only looked right past them.

"Oh! I see, he's looking at that girl!" Aang said excitedly, pointing straight at the girl who so obviously heard him. Her greenish blue eyes made direct contact with Zuko's, and he quickly shook his hair into his face and looked away.

"Thanks for that, Aang," he muttered.

"What's the big deal? Go talk to her," Sokka shrugged.

Zuko's expression turned sour, "Easy for you to say! Ever since the war ended you've only gotten better at everything! Your fighting is great, and you look great! I've only gotten softer and weaker!"

By this point, Zuko was seething. He was, however, correct. Sokka's training with his father had really paid off, both skillfully and physically, while Zuko adopted a more sedentary life.

"And it's not fair!" Zuko went on, "You've had luck with girls. First Yue, then Suki. The only girlfriend I've ever had was Mai, and she left me!"

With that, Zuko stomped off until he was out of sight.

"Well that was an overreaction, to put it lightly," Toph concluded.

"Eh, don't worry about it," a rough female voice came from behind them, "I can see why he'd be intimidated by me."

There she was, right in front of them, the girl Zuko had been gawking at.

"The name's Rumi, welcome to paradise," she said sarcastically, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm Aang! And this is Katara, Sokka and Toph!" Aang said excitedly.

"Oh yeah, you're the Avatar. Huh, that's pretty cool. Who's the one that just stormed off?" Rumi asked with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh that's Zuko. Y'know, Fire Lord Zuko," Sokka answered.

"Really," Rumi said in a disbelieving, flat tone. "That's not what I expected the new Fire Lord to be like."

"Yeah well, he's still got some, uh, personal stuff to work on," Sokka said leaning in.

"So, what're the Avatar and the rest of you doing in this mud hole?" Rumi asked suspiciously.

"We're looking f—"

"Just sight seeing," Katara cut Aang off. "We've been almost everywhere in the four nations, we wanted to see how everyone got along here, with all types of races living together."

Aang smiled sheepishly at Katara, obviously thankful that she had stepped in.

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but there's not much to see here," Rumi started.

"That's fine by me, the ground feels amazing on my feet!" Toph scrunched her toes into the dirt.

Rumi giggled, "At least you can find something good about this place, but seriously, there isn't much to do here. People get into fights a lot. I mean, Osamu tries to keep the peace, but he's just another outcast like the rest of us."

"Then I bet we can make it better!" Aang said with optimism.

"Good luck with that," Rumi snorted. "You'll need it."

After a minute or so of silence, Rumi perked up a bit. "The morning's almost over. Have any of you even eaten yet?"

"It kinda slipped our minds," Katara smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"I guess that's the one good thing about this place, we've got one real good cook here. Her restaurant isn't too far from the center of the village. Follow me," she turned and started to walk, gesturing for them to follow.

"Woah, that—that smells like meat!" Sokka exclaimed as they walked into a small building.

"It sure is," Rumi smiled. "Anything you can think of, Chou can cook amazingly."

Rumi gestured to a young Fire Nation girl, probably in her late teens. Her black hair was pulled into a bun as she cooked joyfully.

"Don't be shy, there's plenty for everyone! C'mon," Chou offered.

As Sokka began digging in, Aang looked around worriedly.

"What's wrong, Aang?" Katara asked.

"What about Zuko? I bet he's hungry," Aang said.

"It looked like he stormed off in the direction of the river. It's just on the edge of our village," Rumi suggested. "I can go get him if you'd like."

"That would be great, Rumi. Thanks," Katara said happily.

With that said, Rumi was off to the river with a small skip to her step.

As the group enjoyed their food, Aang looked to Chou expectedly, "So, what's it like living here? D'you like it?"

Chou furrowed her eyebrows a little, "It's alright. Sometimes things can get a little tense, but everyone tends to work things out. It's better than living back home..." she trailed off.

"If you don't mind us asking, why did you leave?" Katara urged.

"I was never the best firebender, and I didn't care to be. All my parents wanted was for me to train. They overworked me every day, and I couldn't stay any longer, it wasn't healthy. At least here I get to do what I love... cooking!"

"You're really good at it!" Sokka chimed in with a face full of food.

"Thanks," Chou blushed. "You know, as much as I miss my family, I'm happy here, and that's all that matters."

The group nodded and exchanged glances. Chou's positive and happy-go-lucky attitude was definitely not that of someone who would send meteorites spiraling towards the earth. They knew they'd have to dig as deep as possible with every single person they met.