꧁ chapter nine ꧂
the blind bandit

✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚

"IT'S PRICEY, BUT I really do like it" Sokka said pensively as he stared at the green bag in front of him.

"Then you should get it, you deserve something nice" Katara told him.

"I do, don't I?" Sokka smiled, "But no, it's too expensive. I shouldn't"

"All right, then don't" Katara replied in a bored tone before she walked out of the shop with Aang following closely behind her.

"Be honest, which one looks better?" Meiluna skipped over to Sokka holding a silver and a gold hair piece up to her head,

"Ooh! Are you buying that?" She asked pointing at the green bag Sokka was staring at.

"You know what? Yeah, I'm going to get it" Sokka said with a pleased smile, walking to the counter before he quickly backtracked staring at Meiluna with his hand on his chin.

Meiluna tilted her head to the side in confusion before Sokka spoke again,

"Definitely gold"

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"Excuse me, but where is this earthbending tournament, exactly?" Aang asked one of the students he met at the earthbending academy.

"It's on the island Noneya" He replied sarcastically, "Noneya business!" He laughed with his friends whilst walking away.

"Oh, I gotta remember that one!" Sokka laughed, wiping away a tear.

"I'll take care of this," Katara consoled Aang, "Hey, strong guys! Wait up!"

"What was I thinking? I don't need a new bag! Why'd you let me buy this!" Sokka pointed accusingly at Meiluna.

"What's wrong with the bag?" Meiluna asked with a frown.

Sokka dropped the bag, when Momo decided to hop off his shoulder and settle inside it.

"You ready to find an earthbending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble VI!" Katara announced excitedly as she ran towards the group.

"How'd you get them to tell you?" Aang asked in surprise.

"Oh, a girl has her ways" Katara answered vaguely.

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"Hey, front row seats! I wonder why no one else is sitting here" Aang asked, as the group sat down, when all of a sudden a huge rock smashed in to the seats next to them.

"I guess that's why" Sokka said looking wearily at the crushed seats.

"Welcome to Earth Rumble VI! I'm your host, Xin Fu!" The man announced.

"This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other isn't it?" Katara sighed.

"That's just what I paid for" Sokka said excitedly.

"Wake me up when it's over" Meiluna said resting her head in the palm of her hands.

Meiluna wasn't particularly keen on watching these large, sweaty men fight against each other. She also hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the previous night, as usual.

This seemed like the perfect time for her to make up for that. Despite the loud cheers from the crowd and the uncomfortable seating position she was in, her eyes were able slowly shut, allowing her to rest peacefully at last.

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"I will!"

Meiluna slowly fluttered her eyes open at the sound of Aang, who was making his way into the ring. She stretched in her seat, feeling discomfort in her neck.

"Go Aang! Avenge the Boulder!" Sokka cheered.

"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" A girl standing opposite Aang taunted.

The audience watched in anticipation.

"I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you" Aang said, putting his hands up in a conciliatory gesture.

"Boo! No talking!" Sokka called out.

Katara slapped her brother,

"Don't boo at him!"

Aang took a step forward, cueing the girl to stomp the ground with the side of her left foot, causing a large rock to grow out of the ground underneath Aang.

Aang jumped into the air, landing softly behind the earthbending girl.

"Someone's a little light on his feet! What's your fighting name? The Fancy Dancer?" The girl laughed as she launched another pillar at Aang, "Where'd you go?"

"Please wait!" Aang tried to stop her.

"There you are!" The girl smiled as she launched another rock at him, Aang stopped the attack with his airbending, the force knocking the girl out of the ring.

The crowd broke in to loud cheers for Aang. Xin Fu held the belt and bag of gold ready to reward Aang before Sokka jumped in, accepting the prize for him,

"Way to go champ!"

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"I've got to admit, now I'm really glad I bought this bag. It matches the belt perfectly." Sokka said, looking to Meiluna happily.

"Right!" Meiluna agreed enthusiastically.

"If we want to find the Blind Bandit, the Eartbending Academy is a great place to start" Aang spoke.

"Oh great, you again" One of the students said upon seeing the group walk up.

Katara glared at him, making the boy look away fearfully.

"Nicely done" Sokka complimented his sister.

"Hey! You're that kid who beat the Blind Bandit" The student realised.

"We need to talk to her, do you know where she lives?" Aang questioned.

"The Blind Bandit's a mystery, she shows up to fight then disappears" he explained.

"Let me handle this," Katara said gently as she placed a hand on Aang's shoulder.

"You're not telling us everything!" She accused angrily, walking up to the other student.

"No, no, I-" The boy held his hands up in defence, "I swear it's true. No one knows where she goes, or who she really is"

"In my visions, I saw a girl, in a white dress, with a pet flying boar. Know anyone like that?" Aang asked hopefully.

"Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They're the richest people in town. Probably the whole world" The first boy explained.

"Yeah, but they don't have a daughter" The second one countered.

"A flying boar is good enough for me," Aang said as he turned to walk away, "Let's check it out"

"Yeah, you better leave" The boy whispered under his breath.

"Hey, I got my eye on you" Katara said sternly.

Sokka walked by the boys before he whispered,

"Water tribe"

Meiluna followed Sokka, admiration filling her eyes as she excitedly nudged him once they had left the sight of the two boys.

"That was so cool, Sokka!"

Sokka, unable to contain his own pride, turned to Meiluna with a bright smile,

"I know!"

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"That's the flying boar from my vision," Aang called out excitedly, gesturing for others to follow, "Come on!"

The four entered the courtyard when suddenly a part of the ground lifted up, launching them into the air. Aang and Katara landed in some rose bushes, breaking their fall while Meiluna fell on her back right on to Sokka, who had landed painfully into the solid ground. She quickly apologised, awkwardly moving off of his body, immediately checking to see if he had gotten hurt.

"What are you doing here, Twinkle Toes?" The Blind Bandit questioned angrily.

"How did you know it was me?" Aang asked in surprise.

"Don't answer to Twinkle Toes, it's not manly" Sokka told Aang.

"You're the one whose bag matches his belt" Katara countered.

"Seriously, what's wrong with the bag?" Meiluna asked, crossing her arms.

"How did you find me?" The girl questioned.

"Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an earthbender who listens to the earth and then I had a vision in a magic swamp, and-"

"What Aang is trying to say is," Katara interrupted, "He's the Avatar. And if he doesn't master earthbending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord"

"Not my problem," The girl told them as she started walking away, "Now get out of here or I'll call the guards"

"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war, and yours is to teach Aang earthbending" Sokka tried to convince her.

"Guards! Guards, help!" The girl began to shout.

Sokka quickly pulled Meiluna's arm, running away to hide.

"Toph, what happened?" A guard asked approaching the young girl.

"I thought I heard someone, I got scared" She lied.

"You know your father doesn't want you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph" The guard told her off, guiding her back into her home.

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"Blow on it. It's too hot for her" Lao spoke, looking at Toph's soup.

"Allow me" Aang said politely before he sent a small tornado into the cup to cool it down, receiving applause from the Beifong family.

"Princess Meiluna, it's an honour to have you here," Poppy acknowledged her with a small smile, which she returned, before turning to Aang, "And Avatar Aang, thank you for visiting us"

"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Lao asked, facing the Avatar.

"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer, but I can't do that without finding an earthbending teacher first" Aang answered, obviously hinting at Toph.

"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land," Lao chuckled, "He's been teaching Toph since she was little"

"Then she must be a great eartbender! Probably good enough to teach someone else!" Aang concluded.

Toph remained silent with an annoyed expression on her face as she sent a fissure under the table.

Aang smiled innocently before his face contorted into an expression of pain,

"Ow!"

"Toph is still learning the basics" Yu explained.

"Yes, and sadly because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master" Lao explained.

"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is" Aang complimented before his face fell straight into his soup.

Meiluna looked at him strangely, noticing the irritated expression on his features.

He rubbed the soup out of his eyes before letting out a powerful sneeze, sending the food flying into Toph's face.

"What's your problem?" She yelled, standing up.

"What's your problem?" Aang yelled back, just as angry.

"Well, shall we move to the living room for dessert then?"

Sokka and Meiluna shared excited looks, zooming straight into the living room.

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"If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the arena," Katara read, "It's signed Xin Fu and the Boulder"

"I can't believe it," Sokka said as he snatched the note from Katara, "I have the Boulder's autograph!"

Katara stared at her brother in annoyance while Meiluna shook her head.

"Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back" Lao spoke urgently.

"We're going with you" Katara told Yu.

Poppy shook her head in worry for her daughter's safety,

"Poor Toph, she must be so scared"

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"Here's your money," Sokka said as he set the bag of gold on the ground, "Now let them go"

Master Yu used his earthbending to send the money to Xin Fu. As he grabbed the gold, he signalled for Toph to be released.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked.

"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar," He answered holding up a wanted poster, "Now get out of my ring"

All of a sudden, all the fighters from Earth Rumble VI appeared, ready to attack.

"Go, I'll be ok" Aang called out.

"Toph, there's too many of them, we need an earthbender," Katara begged, "We need you"

"My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you!" Lao rejected.

"Yes I can," Toph stated as she let go of her Father's hand, walking into the ring, "Let him go! I beat you all before and I'll do it again"

"The Boulder takes issue with that comment"

The Hippo threw the cage to the side causing Katara, Meiluna and Sokka prepare to fight.

"Wait," Toph paused for a moment, "They're mine"

Toph managed to shake the ring up, sending the wrestlers backwards. She then created a large dust cloud while she made her way over to the Fire Nation Man. He attempted to send a wave of earth at her, Toph easily dodged the attack and sent her own wave back, making him slam against the sidelines and then fall to the ground.

"Come on" Meiluna whispered to Sokka and Katara as she lead them towards Aang.

Sokka started to repeatedly slam a rock against the cage in an attempt to pry it open.

"Hit it harder!" Aang yelled out.

"I'm trying!"

Meiluna opened her flask quickly, bending the water to freeze it over the bars of the cage. Sokka hit the ice, finally smashing through it, releasing Aang.

Meanwhile, Headhunter flew down behind Toph in an attempt to ambush her. She managed to hear him in time and rotated the center of the ring, sending him colliding into the other two wrestlers.

"I never knew, your daughter is amazing!" Yu remarked.

The dust cleared, revealing only Toph and Xin Fu left in the arena. Xin Fu fired several rocks at Toph who deflected them all using a shield of earth. Toph picked up his vibrations, sensing an attack as she dodged the rock thrown her way and created a fissure, sending him flying out of the ring.

Yu watched in amazement,

"She's the greatest earthbender I've seen"

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"I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me" Toph told her father.

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph. It made me realise something" Lao answered thoughtfully.

"It has?" Toph questioned.

"Yes, I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on you'll be cared for and guarded 24 hours a day" Lao demanded.

"But, Dad!" Toph pleaded.

"We're doing this for your own good Toph" Poppy spoke softly to her daughter.

"Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here" Lao announced, turning away.

"I'm sorry, Toph" Aang apologised sadly.

"I'm sorry too. Goodbye Aang" She bid farewell, a tear escaping her eye.

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"Don't worry Aang" Meiluna said, sympathetically placing a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find another teacher, there are plenty of amazing earthbenders out there" Katara said, trying to remain optimistic.

"Not like her" Aang replied softly.

The group made their way onto Appa, ready to fly off before Meiluna noticed someone heading towards them,

"Toph?"

"What are you doing here?" Aang asked upon seeing the girl run up to them.

"My dad changed his mind. He said I was free to travel the world" Toph explained.

"Well, we'd better get out of here before your dad changes his mind again" Sokka spoke up.

"Good idea" She replied.

"You're going to be a great teacher, Toph" Aang said earnestly.

"Speaking of which, I want to show you something" Toph proposed.

"Okay" Aang nodded as he jumped down from Appa.

Toph quickly used her earthbending to send him into the air, making him land on a tree.

"Now we're even," Toph smiled, holding her hand out, "I'll take the belt back"

Without thinking, Sokka grabbed the belt and tossed it down at the blind girl.

The belt hit Toph with a thud making her yell out in pain.

"Sokka!" Meiluna exclaimed hitting his arm, rushing down to help Toph back up.

"Sorry"

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