Chapter Two
MIRAI CURRENTLY STOOD IN FRONT OF A STAND SELLING BAKED GOODS, WAITING FOR THE BAKER TO GRAB HER A COUPLE OF RED BEAN BUNS. ( Mirai's favorite sweet treat!) After helping Katara carry the food back to the room they were staying in, Katara introduced her to Appa, a fluffy, flying bison that Mirai did not know still existed, and helped her place her items on the back of his saddle. It did not take them long since Mirai travelled very light and could pretty much fit all of her supplies into a pack she carried on her back. Since Katara was still miffed from her conversation with Aang, she decided it was best to leave the girl alone, not wanting to risk facing Katara's angry wrath.
She heard scurried footprints approach in her direction, turning her head calmly towards the sound she saw Sokka heading towards her, a look of humiliation and embarrassment on his face.
"I'm guessing your attempt to teach the Kyoshi Warriors some of moves didn't work out very well for you." She concludes, the boy now standing at her side. She hands the baker a couple of copper pieces in exchange for her buns and gives the man a quick thanks before walking away, Sokka still next to her.
He tilts his head down towards the ground, cheeks blushing red, embarrassed. "They think they are so great, but they're not, they're still just a bunch of girls." He begins to rant.
Despite getting his butt kicked multiple times in a row, Sokka has yet to learn his lesson, and Mirai realizes it is up to her to give the boy some words of wisdom. She holds out her hand, offering him one of her buns, which he gladly accepts, and asks him a question.
"Sokka, you're a warrior are you not?"
He nods his head a lets out a muffled yes, his mouth full of red bean.
"Then you should know that a true warrior knows when to accept their defeats and chooses to learn from their mistakes and losses instead, allowing them to become a better fighter." She tells him.
Sokka swallows his food and remains quiet for a moment, processing what Mirai had said to him.
He opens his mouth to speak, "What should I do then?"
She smiles softly at his response, her words of wisdom having gotten through to him.
"Do what I said. Stop denying your defeat, accept it and learn. Speaking from personal experience, I've been taught different fighting styles from all over the world, but that doesn't mean I'm perfect, I still have a lot to learn. Go see Suki again and ask her to teach you their style of fighting. Become a better warrior. Be like me and learn wherever you go." She advises.
He lets out a sigh. "You're right, but can you come with me this time? Please." He begs giving her pleading eyes, similar to the one's Katara gave her earlier.
Must run in the family.
"Fine." She responds, caving in. "Let's go."
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The two now stood outside the dojo. Well actually Mirai was leaning against a tree waiting patiently, while Sokka paced back and forth, kicking a rock, attempting to motivate himself some before going inside.
Mirai, dizzy from watching him move back and forth, decides to finally say something.
"Sokka-" He cuts her off abruptly and moves to stand in front of her. "My sister said that you are going to show us to the North Pole. Is that true?"
"Yeah, I guess it is true." She answers, still not quite believing it herself.
"And that you have been all over the world?"
"Pretty much." She states, hoping that was his last question and this conversation would be over, really just wanting to go inside and see her friend.
"Why are you traveling by yourself? Where are your parents?"
Her heart dropped at the last question, not expecting to be asked that. She looks down at her feet and blinks away the tears that had started to form, not wanting Sokka to see her cry.
"It used to be the three of us, but now it's just me." She whispers, afraid if she speaks any louder her voice will break.
She refuses to make eye contact with Sokka and continues to focus her gaze on her feet, but she can still feel his eyes on her. "Oh, I'm sor-" This time Mirai cuts him off, desperate to change the subject. "I didn't come with you to be asked my life's story, now stop stalling and go see Suki." She insists, moving away from the tree she had previously been leaning on and pushes Sokka in the direction of the dojo. To Mirai's relief, he doesn't say anything else and stumbles inside the building.
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Mirai stood to the side of the room with a few of the other Kyoshi Warriors. The girls quietly chatting amongst themselves and observing Sokka's training, who now stood decked out in the Kyoshi Warrior's attire.
(Mirai thought he looked pretty good in the uniform, although she would never admit it out loud.)
"He may have been a jerk a first and still is probably, but you have to admit he has some potential." Jia, one of the Warriors, told the group.
Mirai quietly watched as Sokka moved around with with his fan, attempting to copy a move Suki showed him. His move's were rigid and lacked the proper flow that the techique required, but as she observed more closely, she could tell that Jia is right, he does have potential.
As the group continued to watch Sokka struggle to grasp the fighting style, Mirai began to fiddle with the golden bands that occupied her left arm. The three bands rested from her wrist to right below her elbow and are connected by a thick strip of gold. In the middle of the band that wrapped around her wrist was circle of jade, no bigger than a gold piece, but when pressed, resulted in the strip of gold flaring out into a perfectly round shield.
Her father had designed the shield for her as a birthday gift when she turned twelve and found a blacksmith in the small Earth Kingdom town they were currently staying in willing to bring her father's creation to life. The shield was too big for twelve year old Mirai and constantly slid off her arm, but now at fifteen it fit her with a perfect snugness. Her fingers traced lightly over the gold and around the jade, smiling softly at the memory of her father presenting her with the gift.
Her movements did not go did not go unnoticed however and felt a soft nudge on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Kasumi, another Warrior, gesturing with her head down to the gold that covered her arm.
"The Warriors have got to get themselves one of those." She tells Mirai, making her smile brightly at Kasumi's comment.
"You should." Mirai responds. "I know the Kyoshi Warrior can handle anything thrown at them, but some defense wouldn't hurt."
The conversation between the two girls continued, Kasumi asking about the specifics of the design and Mirai doing her best to answer all her questions. This went on for another twenty minutes before Kasumi informed her that she had to leave for her patrol and the two exchanged farewell.
After Kasumi left, Mirai noticed the rest of the Warriors had left and now it was just Suki and Sokka left training in the middle of the room. She heard him tell her that he was starting to get the move down. He wasn't really but at least he was persistent. Mirai watched once again as Sokka practice the technique, moving the fan awkwardly before flinging it out the door and into a tree where if fell softly into a pile of snow.
"It's not about strength." Mirai finally spoke, moving away from her spot on the side and towards the two. "The Kyoshi Warrior's technique is about using your opponent's force against them."
She gestured to one of Suki's fans tied to her waist. "May I borrow one of these?" She asks Suki, who places a fan gently in her hand. "Loosen up. Think of the fan as an extension of your arm." She instructs, extending her arm holding the fan out, just like Suki had taught her after begging to learn the Kyoshi Warrior's style of fighting.
"Wait for an opening and then-" Her sentence was cut short as Sokka quickly snapped her wrist and pulled her to the ground, taking advantage of the opening.
She landed on her butt with a hmph, caught off guard by his sudden action. Suki let out a laugh at her fallen friend before helping her up. Mirai dusted off her pants and hands, sending a sharp glare over to her still snickering friend before looking over to the boy who knocked her off her feet. He seemed to be having a hay day over his small victory against the girl.
"I got you!" He beamed. "Admit I got you!"
Mirai quickly grabs his hand that was wagging a taunting finger in her face and twist it, causing him to let out a whimper of discomfort and fall to his knees.
"I wasn't putting up much resistance, but I'll admit, it was a lucky shot." She confesses, releasing her deadly grip on his hand. "Now let's see if you can do it again with Suki." Mirai instructed, returning the borrowed fan back to her friend. After all, Suki was the one her taught her the movements originally, it was probably best for her to be the one to spare with him.
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Another couple hours had passed, Suki and Sokka still going head to head with Mirai on the sidelines watching, Momo the lemur sitting on her shoulders. Her and Sokka had gone a few more rounds sparing, all of which Mirai won, except for one where Sokka managed to get the upper hand. The girl had to admit he has some skill and is a quick learner.
The training session came to a sharp ending when the mayor suddenly burst into the room.
"Fire benders have landed on our shores, girls come quick!" He heaves, before running back out of the room. The two girls take off the man, Mirai snatching Sokka's wrist on the way, dragging him along.
Mirai splits from the trio and moves through the village at a rapid pace, her hood up and face covered, and hides behind one of the buildings. She peaks around the corner of the building and watches as Fire Nation soldiers make their was through town on the back of komodo rhinos. Mirai looks up towards the roof of the building and knowing that the Kyoshi Warriors would try and gain the high ground. She positions her feet and hands between the wooden pillars and begins to climb the side of the house.
Once she reaches the top, she swings her legs onto the roof, her feet making no noise as she lands on the snow covered rooftop, and comes across Jia and Kasumi keeping lookout. Mirai kept her body low and crouches next to the two, who sharply turn to face the girl, ready to defend themselves but stood down when they realized it was just her. The two girls give Mirai a small nod, which she returns. Jia nods her head in the direction of the building across from them and Mirai looks over to see Suki occupying the roof. Thats when she notices the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors were all scattered along the tops of the buildings, all awaiting Suki's signal.
The leader holds out her arm and flicks open her fan, giving the signal the girls were waiting for. Jia, Kasumi, and Mirai spring up from their huddled positions and sprint across the rooftop before launching themselves off and onto the invaders below.
Jia and Kasumi land on the back of a komodo rhino and rapidly knock off the Fire Nation soldiers. One of the soldiers fell in front of the creature, where Mirai had landed with a dagger in each hand. He grabs a spear that laid at his side and points it towards the girl, moving towards her at a high speed, but Mirai is faster. She crosses her daggers and catches the spear between her blades, smirking at the soldiers suprised face. She shifts her weight forward, forcing the spear to point up and swings her leg up, swiftly kicking the man in the face. Mirai watches him collapse to the ground unconscious, but her attention is pulled away when she hears Suki let out a cry and sees a fire bender with an atrocious ponytail about to strike fire at the girl.
She sprints in the direction of her friend, ready to defend her, but is beaten by Sokka, who disperses the flame with his extended fan. Angry at the bender for attempting to hurt her friend, Mirai launches herself into the air and tackles him off the back of his rhino, before throwing him down onto the front porch of a house. She stands up and points her daggers down at him, Suki and Sokka coming to her side and helping corner the bender.
Before the three can react, he swings his legs around and releases a ring of fire, throwing Mirai through the front door of the house. She lands on her side and rolls a couple of time before coming to a halt, letting out a groan of pain. Mirai overhears Aang yell out but can not make out his words. His shout, however, is quickly followed by the sounds of bending.
Despite her whole body aching, she pushes her self up from the ground, and runs out the back door of the house, throwing a quick apology to the family huddled in the corner for landing in the middle of their house.
As she bursts through the back door, she slams into someone's chest, their hands wrapping around her biceps, stopping her from falling back. She lets out side of relief when she realizes that its just Sokka. Gently grabbing his hands, she pulls him down behind the house, the sounds of the battle occurring just on the other side able to still be heard.
"I guess it's time for us to leave." She figures, looking at Sokka who still adorned the Kyoshi uniform.
"You were right." He tells her suddenly.
"Right about what?" She asks, confused by his random words.
"About being a true warrior. That a good warrior knows to accept their defeats and learn from them instead." He explains, referring back to her words of advice. "I can see now why you're such a great warrior, even if you are a girl."
Mirai rolls her eyes playfully at his comment but gives him a small smile before leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
"I'm glad my advice helped you." She tells him, chuckling softly at the sight of his hand that rested on his cheek where she kissed him. "But you should know that a warrior is defined by their skills, not their gender."
That's when she notices Suki running towards the pair. Wanting a chance to say goodbye to her close friend, she yells at Sokka to go find Aang and Katara.
"Go! I'll meet up with you guys!" She shouts at him, while running to meet Suki. Sokka still seems hesitant to leave her. "Go!" She orders once again before he finally turned away to find his sister and friend.
The two girls run up to each other and grab onto each others arms for a moment before pulling in for a tight hug. Neither of the girls want to pull away, but after several moments Suki slowly begins to pull back, still clutching onto Mirai's arms.
"I guess this is goodbye then." Suki says with a sad tone.
Mirai gives her a small smile. "I guess it is, but I promise this won't be the last time we see each other. I know it." She assures her friend. They watch as Appa lands on the ground next to them before turning back and pulling each other into one last hug.
"Tell the other Kyoshi Warriors that I'll miss them." Mirai mumbles into Suki's shoulder.
"I will." She promises. "Thanks for being my best friend."
"Thanks for being mine back." She whispers before pulling away. This time for good.
Mirai turns and begins to climb up Appa's sturdy tail and grabs onto Katara's extended hand, who pulls her up onto the saddle where the two siblings sat.
"Appa, yip yip!" Ordered Aang, pulling on the reins attached to the flying bison.
The bison lifts from the ground and Mirai looks down at Suki's retreating figure as she runs back to help aid the other Kyoshi Warriors. Her heart sunk at the sight of the burning town as they fly over and head out towards the sea, but at least the Fire Nation invaders seemed to retreat from the village at the sight of the Avatar's leave.
Suddenly Katara yelled out, causing Mirai to snap her head to the girl in concern. That's when she noticed that Aang had decided to jump off of Appa and dive into the cold water below. The three lean over the side of the saddle and gape down at the ocean, frantically searching for any sign of the boy.
Aang finally reemerges, but on the back of the Unagi. He pulls on its whiskers, which causes it to release a spray of water from its mouth and put out the fires that rage through out the village. He releases the Unagi and jumps up into the air, Appa swooping down to catch the boy. The three watch as Aang climbs back onto the saddle.
"I know, I know, that was stupid and dangerous." He admitts to the group.
Katara gave the boy a knowing smile. "Yes, it was." She said before pulling the boy into a hug.
Mirai smiles at the two before glancing back one last time at the island's shrinking figure before turning back around for good. As they fly off into the sunset, Mirai glances over to look at Sokka, who is smiling brightly at her. Traveling with Avatar and his friends that she had just met was not something Mirai envisioned happening. She also knew that they had a long journey in front of them, but the smile on Sokka's face made her feel like everything might just turn out alright.
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Author's Note
Unedited.
I love Suki so much and can't wait for her and Mirai to reunite.
So Mirai is officially apart of the Gaang now! This whole episode was a pain to write and I don't like how it turned out tbh but oh well. I hope you lovely readers don't hate it too much. Expect lots of relationship development between Mirai and the other members of Team Avatar over the next few chapters!
Not gonna lie, I have no idea when the next chapter is going to be posted, but in the mean time please remember to vote and comment!
-casasblancas