The Protectors: A Hero's Heart (Book 1: Growth; An A:TLA Fanfiction)

Chapter 1: A Fateful Spark

The sun shone in the Plains Village, located in the lands of the Earth Kingdom. Sounds of pigkens pigcows and pigsters echoed nearby. People worked and lived as normal as usual.

Among people in the village, a young, 13-year-old girl with dark brown short hair, tan skin, dark brown eyes, green shirt, pale brown pants and brown shoes stood in front of a crying young boy. The young boy had brown ruffled hair, fair skin, brown eyes, eco green shirt, brown shorts and brown slippers.

The girl's skin trembled in worry, fear and hesitation as she faced a group of three young teenagers looking forward to picking on the crying boy.

The group of teenagers contained one girl and two boys.

The girl had dark brown hair, light tan skin and green eyes. She wore a chartreuse small robe with green dress and brown flats.

The first boy had light tan skin with chubby cheeks, arms and legs, and dark brown thin hair. He wore a green shirt with brown shorts and dark brown slippers.

The second boy had black curly hair, tan skin and brown eyes. He wore a light green shirt with a green scarf-like belt, light green shorts and beige slippers.

"S... St-Stop being so mean, Harutski. Y-You're hurting... m-m-my lil' brother," the 13-year-old girl said with a worried expression. Then, she got into her fighting position.

The girl's right foot was slightly forward with her left foot slightly behind her. Her fists slightly reached out towards another girl, known as Harutski, and her friends. "If you lay a hand on him, then... then..." She attempted to show her determined expression, but all she could show was a worried desperation to stop the group of kids from bullying the young boy, known as her younger brother. "...I have no choice but to stop you!"

Harutski scoffed as she and the two boys got into their fighting positions. Those were the same fighting positions the girl had made, except that they were more stable and less stiff.

Harutski's lips widened to an evil smirk. "You wanna pretend to be a hero, Dori? Well, no one's gonna fall for that." She paused.

Harutski's left fist made contact with her right palm. Her right hand enclosed her left fist, then she cracked her knuckles on her left hand. After that, her hands switched positions. Then, she cracked her knuckles on her right hand. "After all, you're a firebender." She paused again. "And firebenders..." Her head shifted to the 13-year-old girl. "...threat people's lives."

The 13-year-old girl, whom Harutski called "Dori," freaked out a bit. She witnessed Harutski and the two boys charging towards her. Because Dori's dad taught her a little bit of martial arts, she attempted to apply his teachings and use the martial arts techniques against them. Punches and kicks were attempted by Dori, but whenever she tried, she ended up being blocked and hit.

Soon after, a punch on the right stomach led Dori to fall on her knees. Her hand held her right stomach as pain rushed over her body.

It took a few moments until Harutski waved at her mockingly. "See ya later, Dori." Then, she and her friends laughed as they ran from Dori and her younger brother.

Soon after, Dori felt a hand on her left shoulder. A split second later, she heard her brother's voice. "Nidoria, are you okay?"

Dori, whose real given name is "Nidoria," glanced at her brother, who was kneeling beside her on her left. She gave him a pained smile. "I'm okay, Kugo. Just a little pain in the stomach."

Nidoria's brother, known as Kugo, held a worried expression on his face. More tears filled his eyes. But he managed to hold them in. "I'll go get help. You wait here, big sis."