The dualbender (atla) book 2

Chapter 28 - The blind bandit

The Boulder's foot meets the shock wave as he puts it back on the ground. The shock wave makes him drop down onto the ground in a perfect split. The Boulder yells as he recovers from the painful position while the blind bandit makes a chopping motion with her right hand. Three stalagmites erupt from the ground near The Boulder and eject him from the ring. He slams into the wall beneath the stands and slides down into the crevice between the arena and the stands. The girl's facial expression changes into a satisfied smile as the host begins to speak.

"Your winner, and still the champion, the Blind Bandit!" Exclaims the host.

"How did she do that?" Mutters Katara confused.

"She waited...and listened" Points out Aang as he comes to the realization that this girl might the earthbender teacher that Bumi had told him about.

"To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!" Says the host as he holds up a sack filled with gold. It becomes silent.

"What? No one dares to face her?" Grins the host.

"I will!" Exclaims Aang while raising his hand. Mizuki is quick to cover Aang's mouth and pull his arm down.

"What are you gonna do?! Airbend? They'll know that you're the Avatar, besides, this is an earthbending competition!" Whispers Mizuki angrily.

"You, girl with the brown hair, dares to face the Blind Bandit?" Exclaims the host curiously while pointing at Mizuki, who turns around in panic.

"Actually I-" Aang gets cut off by the Blind Bandit.

"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" Mocks the blind bandit, causing the crowd to laugh. Mizuki tries to sit down and hide behind the man sitting in front of her, but the crowd begins to push her towards the arena. Aang reaches forwards to grab Mizuki's arm, but is too slow. Mizuki turns around, and glares at him while the crowd pushes her closer and closer to the arena.

"screw you Aang" Whispers Mizuki angrily before turning around. Even though Aang couldn't hear what she said, he understood it very clearly. Mizuki's deathstare was more than enough to understand he was screwed. Mizuki begins to panic as she reaches the arena, how am I going to fight the blind bandit without bending? This is an earthbending contest. I can't rely on my waterbending. Mizuki looks around and examines the arena. She notices a group of teenagers with fans.

{flashback}

"This temple was converted into a shrine to Kyoshi. The clerics tell us these relics are still connected to her spirit. That's her kimono" Oyaji points at Kyoshi's green kimono.

"She had exquisite taste" Points out Katara as she carefully touches the clothing.

"Please don't touch!" Warns Oyaji as Katara quickly lets go of the robe.

"These fans, they were her weapons, no?" Asks Mizuki as she grabs the fan and examines it. I remember my dad telling me how fans can strengthen your airbending. My airbending's pretty bad, maybe I should get some fans. It would be useful and they don't look like weapons at all. I could easily sneak them anywhere and-

"Also refrain from touching the fans" Scolds Oyaji.

"My apologies" Sweatdrops Mizuki.

{end flashback}

That's it. Fans. I can use those fans as weapons and to cover up my airbending. I'll airbend whenever I throw my fan or throw a punch with the fan. The air will look like the impact from my throws. Nobody will suspect me of bending if I limit the amount of air in each throw. Mizuki rushes towards the girls, snatches two fans and apologizes while running back to the arena.

"GO MIMI! AVENGE THE BOULDER!" Shouts Sokka loudly, causing Mizuki to smile a little. She puts the fans in her belt as she enters the arena. She's standing on the opposite side of the arena as the blind bandit.

"May the best man win...or uh, girl in this case" Says the host before giving a sign that the fight has begun. Mizuki takes her fans and opens them in an elegant manner before taking a step forward. The blind bandit smirks confidently as soon as Mizuki's foot hits the ground. She stomps the ground with the side of her left foot. Causing a shock wave to travel across the ground. The shock wave travels too fast for Mizuki to notice until it reaches her.

She looks down, only to see a large rock grow out of the ground underneath her, launching her into air. Mizuki somersaults and uses her airbending to soften the fall, avoiding crashing into the benches around the arena. She's on her hands and knees, looking up at the blind bandit. Monkey feathers, I barely landed inside the arena. I almost lost already. This is going to be harder than I thought. Mizuki gets up quickly and opens her fans while the blind bandit's smirk turns into a frown.

"Somebody's a little light on her feet! What's your fighting name? The fancy dancer?"

To be continued

Word count: 1.457