Mizuko Eiko Hwang's Story

Under a large old tree sat Eiko meditating. As then wind blew a small breeze her way, she took in a deep calming breath. After a second of holding it in for a moment, she released it. As she exited her mediation state, she began to take in her surroundings again. The shade given by the old tree behind her. The green grass under her. The warm sun in the sky. The wind blowing through her long red hair. Her green eyes opened slowly as if she had been asleep for a long period of time, but the sudden scent of something burning caught her attention.
Quickly, she jumped to her feet and looked behind the tree she sat at. There in the distance was the Air temples and the destruction that was accruing. The Fire nation was destroying everything with their flames and machines. She had to do something. Many of the nomads didn't know bending and some that did, didn't know much.

She took in a deep breath then started running in the direction of the destruction. If anything, she would try to help anyone who was trapped inside the buildings. It would be ignorant to think she could take on the Fire nation by herself, but if she could take a few of them down at a time, that might work. As she got closer, a few Fire nation soldiers sent a simple fire blast towards her but it was easily blocked with a large stone-like wall. Defense was her best bet unless there was no other choice.
As soon as she was past the guards, she started encountering buildings where she would hope no one was in. The first one was already burned to the point no one would be alive if they were inside. Saying a silent prayer, she moved on to the next one. Using her earth bending, she opened the door and glanced inside. Unfortunately the only thing alive inside were fire benders. Without hesitation, she sent a large wall of earth to cover the doorway, which would prevent their escape.

With those soldiers trapped, she continued on to a few more of the houses. 'I wonder if anyone has made it out alive...' She thought while glancing around the area. There were so many bodies laying around, all motionless and lifeless. 'Why would the Fire nation launch an attack like this?' She wondered silently but her thoughts were interrupted by an attack behind her.
A set up Fire nation soldiers attacked her from behind, but luckily had missed her for the most part. Quickly, she patted down the small flame on her right upper arm. There would be a small burn but she had endured worse before. When they both sent another set of fire blast at her, she brought up a small wall that would block the fire for the most part. Swiftly, she side stepped her wall and focused on the sand at their feet. There was little grass in this area and she used this to her advantage. Within the sand around their feet, there was a small snake-like motion. It then doubled and there were two of the sand creatures. The fire nation soldiers jumped back, taking their attention off of Eiko for a slit second, which is all she needed. Using the sand between them, Eiko created two large spikes that were sent and impaled the two soldiers.

Having much respect for the dead, no matter what nation they are from, she said a little prayer before moving on to a small tower just a few feet ahead of her. With it being so big, she hoped she wasn't too late for anyone on the higher levels. However, at the site of another earth bender, she wondered if he knew anything of this attack.

Maizhen rolled over in her sleep. The warmth of the air and soft grass was a wonderful bed compared to her boat. It was decent sized, being able to fit at least 10 people in it. Though there was only her, her small stash of supplies and Bohai her buffalo yak. It was a very awkward fit, and Bohai was never comfortable. He often would get out and swim. Maizhen didn't row, she just bent the water so her boat would move.

They first arrived in the Fire Nation. Maizhen hadn't liked that very much. The people were too stressed and uptight. The fire bending boys were very attractive in her opinion, though. She and Bo left the Fire Nation and made their way to the Earth Kingdom. She stayed there for a while, the people were great. They were all so kind to her. Finally she had made it to the Air Temple, well right outside of it at least. After many years of traveling and going back and forth between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, she had set out for what she had always wanted to see. the airbenders.

She was awoken by the smell of smoke and the sound of explosions. She quickly got up and gathered her things. She filled a small canister with water and mounted Bohai, who was already getting antsy to go somewhere. He could sense danger. They started riding in the opposite direction from where the smoke and sound was coming from, then a thought hit Maizhen. That was the direction of the Air temples. She yanked on bo's reins and he let out an angry grunt at her. "Come on! We have to turn around. He listened to her and they sped off in the right direction. Maizhen was shocked to see the firebenders attacking the Temple. Bohai skirted around the edge, still staying hidden from everyone. She slid off his saddle. "You go run for help." she said and scribbled a quick note and attached it to his horn. He grunted again, refusing to leave her. She sighed and skillfully hopped back up onto his back. "Fine then, but if we die because you're easily seen, I'll kill you." He let out a happy sound, mixed between a horse's neigh and a squeal and they ran around the edge, looking for a good place to come in.

Bohai decided to come right into the middle, where all the action was. Maizhen smiled, he was just like here always dramatic and needing to be in the center of everyone's attention. That wasn't hard for him though, no buffalo yak had ever been outside of the northern water tribe before, at least not the Maizhen knew of. Mai bent the water out of her container and whipped it at several fire benders, knocking them off balance. Bo continued to run while Mai dropped water onto the burning people. Mai saw an earth bender fighting off a few fire soldiers, and was distracted by her incredible bending skills. Bo neighed at her, but it was too late, she was hit on her side with a fire ball and she flew a good 10 feet then landed on her back. Before shit hit the ground she was able to bend her water to put on the fire on her side. The wind was knocked out of her, and she couldn't breath. She tried to sit up, but she could feel that a few ribs were broken. Bo stood over her, but she kept screaming at him that she'd be fine. He finally listened and ran off, trampling the firebender who had hit her.

Mai dragged herself to cover with the help of an airbender who was doing a marvelous job at fighting back. He protected her while she healed herself. She felt weak after exerting that power, but she was healed and ready to fight again. Just as soon as she was going to thank the boy, he was engulfed with terrible red flames and burned before her eyes. She tried to put the fire out, but it was no good. With a new found rage she, shot shards of ice water at the firebender and she died on sight. Mai's nostrils were flared as she ran out from her hiding place and ran off towards the fight again. She saw a pretty girl up high in one of the towers, She seemed to be stuck or just contmplate her option. She was looking down to the center of the battle. Mai followed her gaze and saw a fierce-looking girl with a blue flame in her hand. She was dressed in fancy clothing. Must be royalty. She sneered at her and dropped a huge amount of water on her. Hopefully putting out the flame, and even better, probably pissing her off.

Maizhen knew it probably wasn't the smartest idea to piss someone off that had a blue flame, so she chickened out from the fight she had started and returned to her hiding spot. She was far away from the girl, and behind her, so it was very unlikely that the blue-firebender had seen the waterbender. Mai snuck out of her secret place once again and made her way to the tower that the girl she had seen was in. She guessed her way down corridors, not running into many firebenders and eventually found a large room that wasn't even much of a room anymore. She quickly made her way through the rubble and towards the girl. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, a large orb of water was floating and changing shape just above her left hand.

Bo was still trampling firebenders. For it size, he was very quick. He was smart too, killing then hiding, and sneaking up behind to kill again.

Eiko slowly opened her eyes and realized she had been knocked down. Rolling over the best she could, she tried to push the large piece of ceiling that had fell on her and knocked her out. At first, she struggled and couldn't manage to get it off but the more she tried, she was finally able to slip her body out from under the wood. With the height off her, she felt a little relieved but also felt that she was injured would probably be no help to the air benders. When she managed to make it to her feet, she leaned against the outside of the building and looked around. For the moment, it seemed that most of the fighting had gone elsewhere, something she was glad about. "Ok, just wait until you see someone that isn't Fire Nation. Then just ask them for a little help.." she thought while glancing around some more.

Aoi's world crumbled around the pale expanse that was the room around him, he had no reason to live other than Izumi. What was there in his life anyway? What hopes were there for the future? Did he want to settle down and have a nice loving family? Was that even possible? No. Not only was he a criminal, but he was delusional and damaged. He heard a voice in his head speak, "So, what's your plan Aoi...?"

What was his plan? His sister was most likely dead, and even if she wasn't the journey to her aid would most likely claim his own life in the process. But that didn't matter, Aoi was already dead inside, he had been dead the moment the cold steel sliced along his wrists all those years ago... He knew it, Izumi knew it, and the gods knew it. So he had nothing to lose, the Fire Nation, however, had plenty of nice young warriors to kill. It was only fair of course, if one were to touch his sister in an bad manner, they would lose their hand or their life if Aoi's view, so her kidnapping, or possible murder and/or rape condoned the murder of every single Fire Nation warrior he saw, remorseless and cold. Now his path of self-deprivation and pity was nearing its end with a "righteous" stab at those of whom wronged him. This ideal though was under the guise of his mind, simply stated as a quest to locate his sister, with whom his subconscious knew had perished, or suffered a fate worse than that. His conscious, however, continued to hold out hope as he rose up from the disarray that was his psyche.

With the complex mental dilemma out of the way, his new goal was clear... he had to locate his sister, slaughtering each and every member of the Fire Nation, be they man, woman, or child, that were to have the misfortune of crossing his path. His demeanor was not that of an avenger, nor that of an enraged brother, but rather, his face showed the depression he had felt for years, suffering at his own behest. He stepped out into the cold hall, the sounds of flame and screaming was heard all around, it was clear through the sounds of fighting and crumbling... the Age of Fire and Blood had begun, the coexistence of fire was at its end... It was clearer than anything... Aoi moved into his own room, adjacent to Izumi's, and collected his blades, the only thing he needed for what was ahead.

His "plan" was simple, to go out into the field of battle and hack down every Fire Nation dog until he found one of seemingly high rank so that he could torture and question them. Finding injured non-Fire Nation citizens was also on the itinerary, they would have possibly seen whom was high ranked, or where they were taking prisoners, if they were taking prisoners...

He lifted his hand to his face and felt his cheek, before moving his hand quickly away from his face and looking at it, he had forgotten about the copious amount of blood and brains on it, not bothering to rub off the blood from his face, or his hand, he moved out into the hall. A bit of the building not far from him had collapsed, making it an easy escape route. He moved there and skillfully moved down the rubble, the fighting in the section of the courtyard he had appeared in seemed to have died down, but he was sure he could find more Fire nation with little to no effort. He glanced around before noticing a girl, she was Earth Kingdom, that was apparent, his heart fell through when he saw her red hair, it was not Izumi, but she still may know something.

He jogged towards her, she was leaned against a wall near the rubble, attractive in her own regard, but Aoi didn't notice, he hardly cared at that point in time. He kneeled down next to her, forgetting again about the blood on his face and arm, before speaking to the girl, not in a caring, nor a forceful tone, but one of indifference, cold and clear, "What have you seen? Have they taken prisoners? Have you seen any high ranking officers?"

The girl had obviously been through an ordeal, so being spoken to in such a manor seemed hardly constructive, but he hadn't the time, nor the spirit, to think on such terms.

The situation surrounding Tochi wasn't necessarily dire, but it wasn't looking good. The crippling pain of a fresh burn creating a numb sensation in your left leg, and the remnants that remained of his chilled encounter were hindrances not to be desired. The upside was the effectiveness of his attack; the flash of flames that Tochi had launched indeed made contact with Tetsip, searing the upper half of his face. Tochi couldn’t note specifically, but it had appeared that the flames may have hindered his eye sight. Although, he was lead to believe it not true due to Tetsip’s constant pursuit of the Air Bender.

“Damn, I didn’t help much at all.” Tochi was pretty disappointed he couldn’t stop Tetsip from attacking the girls, but he had tried his best, relatively speaking. As he lay against a nearby rock that protruded from the scorched ground, Tochi was fading. ‘I… have to… stay… awake…’ The pain was excruciating and the guilt was racking on his spirit. The two weights just bogged him down too much. ‘I’m… a fool.’ Tochi let out a half-hearted snicker as he began to raise himself off the ground.

Tochi could see his two new friends, if they could even be called that. The Air Bender had just released a loud, ear piercing scream and the Fire Nation Soldiers just dropped like flies. He snickered lightly, "No one should talk to her... she might talk your ears off... or just rip your ears off..." He laughed a little more freely this time. "I need to just shut up..." Tochi realized that his current predicament wasn't looking to good.

The lime green hue twinkled with the sun’s shining rays and for a moment he caught a glimpse of two people over by another building. ‘Two more people, I doubt they’re Fire Soldiers…’ Although the image was rather fuzzy, he could distinguish that one was leaning against the crumbling building while another stood beside them. They two seemed to be holding a conversation of sorts. Although the getup looked familiar, it was apparent that they weren't Air Nomads. From this distance, Tochi had no luck of finding out who, are what, they were. “Just my luck.” In this position it was hard to know whether they were friend or foe, but heck, either way Tochi would probably get his ass kicked... Being from the Fire Nation wasn't looking to be so great right now.

Tochi’s emotions were quite mixed at the moment though. He could continue helping the girls he just met, he could remain loyal to the Fire Nation, or he could simply flee the scene. It was the decision between what felt right, Tochi's pride and his cowardice. Ultimately, the decision did nothing; no matter which emotion he followed, he was bound to bad luck. “Alright… I just have to flee the scene…” Tochi’s gut often spoke the greatest sense; as the man limped away from the escalating battle, the gut wrenching feeling that swept him grew ever so worse. “Heh, my heart is gonna kill me for this.” At this point, Tochi wasn’t exactly clear on his own intentions; he found that his body had trekked the distance between himself and the two strangers. ‘Maybe they can help me… but... maybe not’ Tochi then collapsed a mere few feet from the two strangers, unconscious.

Kazuko Mori

The fire benders around her were dropping, but her situation wasn’t improving, just buying her time. Her arm was shot and charred, and she was having a hard time seeing straight from the pain. Mai was coming through the firebenders, straight towards her. She was deliberately disobeying, as usual. Sweet Mai, a bleeding heart with a listening problem. Kazuko cracked a smile, an actual smile. Maybe it was the relief she was feeling or that she wasn’t quite going to die yet, but she momentarily disregarded the current annoyances.

“Shh, don’t move.” Mai instructed, and Kazuko did just that, letting her mind wonder while she waited. Where did those flames come from? The ones down here I had coming in that swarm, I was an open target. But the ones that shot me down…they didn’t come from those troops. Too far left.

“Hey, youre going to be okay. Get up.” Kazuko flexed her fingers in her left hand. Her skin was still charred and burning, but the muscle worked and the bone was completely healed. It wasn’t perfect and it didn’t feel great, but it functioned and that was more than she could have asked for. ”Thanks.” she nodded, grateful. Mai was waving her on, but she heard something by her feet.

“Heh, my heart is gonna kill me for this.” She could barely make it out, but it was the sight she was a greater shock. At her feet was the fire soldier, the Tochi character. He seemed mangled and burned, barely conscious if at all. He was looking up and she followed his gaze. Earth benders? That has to be...Aoi and Izumi! They're alive! They're the only earth nation here, it has to be them. She was grateful and hopeful, glad another from her home was okay. There didn't seem to be any left. She looked around, no air benders, but she did find the other soldier, Tetsip. In a heap of other soldiers, he looked almost as bad off as Tochi but he was handling his state of consciousness a little better. Her eyes fallowed Tetsip’s path to where he was, and then it clicked. Tetsip was the one who hit me and it looks like Tochi got hit getting in the way. That would explain why it was farther left than I was looking.

Everything was getting in the way of them and Bo, and yet she couldn’t just leave Tochi. In a way, she owed him a life debt. There was a balance that needed to be kept, the monks had always taught her that, not that there was anything she could do. But Mai could. ”Mai, look. We can’t hold off on Bo any longer so Im going after him. But he needs help.” she nodded towards Tochi, then looking back in Bo’s direction. ”You don’t have to help him, but its not like I can do anything.” Mai’s a big girl, she can choose for herself, but knowing her heart theres a good chance she’ll help him.

Kazuko shot up, not taking any time to watch for Mai’s reaction. Luckily they weren’t far, and that one leap got her close enough to him. He was bad, half drug into the bushes and too much blood to tell how bad it was. But one thing was in his favor, and it was something she never expected. Kazuko recognized the caw immediately; it was Shou, her RavenHawk. She used the term ‘her’ loosely, as it seemed to have more loyalty to Bohai than her. Well, maybe he just needed it more, but a check-up would have been nice. Shou seemed to be protecting him, which may have just saved his life. Kazuko reached down to stroke Bo’s face, Shou circling overhead. The fire benders seemed to have left, not finding Bo much of a threat anymore. She had to get him to Mai, though, before she attracted the fire benders back. Prepping an orb of air to carry Bo, Kazuko prepared to transport him.

Maizhen saw that Kazuko wasn't moving, wait no she was moving. In the wrong direction. She saw Shou circling over Bohai. She took a deep breath in and was about to leave Kazuko when she spoke. ”Mai, look. We can’t hold off on Bo any longer so Im going after him. But he needs help.” she nodded towards Tochi, then looking back in Bo’s direction. ”You don’t have to help him, but its not like I can do anything.” Mai watched as Kazuko made her way over to Bo. She let out a loud sigh/scream.

"God dammit Kazu!" She yelled then made her way to Tochi, putting her hand on her side to stop some of the bleeding. She looked at the Earthbenders. "He's good. Don't hurt him." She looked down at the unconscious firebender at her feet. She dropped to her knees and put her hands on his left leg, where the worst wound was. Water glowed blue around his leg and on her hands. She blinked a few times, having a hard time concentrating. She finally closed her eyes, and healed his leg. She inhaled sharply as her body was again deprived of energy. Precious energy she should be saving for Bohai. She sat back and dropped ice cold water on his face. She then pulled him in into her lap, and put her hands on his head. The back of his head and his back had her blood on it now, from laying on her wound, but she was certain that at this point, it didn't matter. He looked like he had a few head injuries, which needed to be fixed as well. As she healed these wounds, her nose began bleeding slightly.

"Get up." She said, and wiped her nose on her sleeve, leaving a streak of red on the light blue fabric. Her voice was soft and hoarse, like she'd been talking too much. When she saw Kazuko with Bohai, one last kick of adrenaline pumped through her veins. She pushed herself up, letting Tochi slide off of her lap. She stumbled a bit as she made her way over to Bo, who was being transported in an air bubble. "Bo, Bo wake up." She cradled his head, covering herself in blood even more, if it was possible. "Bo, it's going to be okay." She was crying now, holding onto him as she pulled water from the ground. Once more, the water gave off a beautiful blue light, hiding her blood stained hands. She placed her hands on his head, healing the wound completely, unlike the other people she healed. Her nose began bleeding profusely, and her side was still leaking crimson everywhere. She felt extremely dizzy, but she moved onto healing his leg."Stay with me, Bo." She whispered. At least she thought she whispered it, she couldn't tell what was reality, and what was just in her mind anymore. The pain was worsening, and her energy was fading fast. Everything was fading. Bo's breathing was still shallow, and it was slowing, despite his head injury being healed.

As Mai healed his leg, she began to become hysteric, because Bo wasn't responding. "Don't leave me!" She cried, holding onto him, holding onto consciousness. She was healing everything, even things that didn't need it. She pushed herself too far, and as much as she was trying to fight it, her world snapped away from her like waking up from a bad dream. She fell back and hit her head on the hard ground, she couldn't feel it though. She couldn't feel anything.

Eiko stood, still leaning against the wall for a moment. She tried to keep track of everything that had happened but things were starting to blur again. She was worried she might pass out again, or there was the possibility her brain had been damaged and now it was starting to kill her....though she doubted that.
Suddenly, someone crouched next to her, making her jump. As quickly as she could she tried to get into a defensive stance, however she wasn't able to. Seeing as the man was from the Earth kingdom as well, she gave a small sigh of relief. However there was something odd about him, even at a time like this. His voice held no compassion at all, nor anything else. Her eyes stared at him for a moment before her brain registered his words. "I haven't seen anything. I think someone hit the building and then some of the side came down on me. I'm just waking up...." She replied to him before glancing out from the building. From the distance, she could almost make out a Fire Nation soldier walking there way. As he grew closer, she realized he was indeed walking towards them and then collapsed.
Her initial thought was he deserved it, however, when glancing over at Aoi she suddenly got a chill. Was this man so desperate he would attack another man while he was down? She took a deep breath and stood up straight, ready to do whatever she needed to do. Honestly, Eiko didn't like the fire nation and it was close to hate. However, she didn't believe you should attack a man when he is down. It just wasn't fair and it wasn't right.
As she stared at the fire nation man, a water bender came and began healing him. "He's good. Don't hurt him." She stated as she healed him. Eiko was about to ask how they knew each other but before she got the chance, the water bender was gone. "Damn... I'll have to ask later.." She thought to herself while kneeling down next to the fire nation soldier. Since he was healed by a water bender, that had to mean something was good about him, however, she didn't think Aoi was likely to see it. Though she didn't get into a defensive stance, she watched him out of the corner of her eye carefully, ready to move at the slightest movement.

Aoi glared at the woman, obviously distraught, and his tone didn't seem to aid in her turmoil, not that Aoi much cared, he had his goal and he had his mind set. He heard her answer with a negative to his query, which angered Aoi, he would have pressed her further had he not felt someone stepping closer to them. Having a large blind spot and horrible depth perception, Aoi uses a combination of vibrations through earth with his one good eye to get a clearer view of things. He swiftly turned and saw a Fire Nation soldier move closer, injured, definitely, and collapse not far from them. Aoi smiled maliciously, this was exactly what he required, and exactly what he could use to find Izumi. He was getting ready to move towards him when a water bender moved quickly towards him, healed him, and stated, "He's good. Don't hurt him."

Of course, Aoi had no intention to follow this girls orders, this was the perfect chance for him to get information at any means necessary, he didn't want to constrain the girl, but would have been willing to if she had not rushed off before saying something else that Aoi didn't catch. Aoi stood up and watched as the Earth Kingdom girl moved over to the Fire Nation soldier. He could sense that she would have a problem with him "probing" the poor sod for information, but he needed the information, he needed Izumi, even if he had to break every last bone in the man's body, he would find any information he needed.

He moved to the opposite side of the man, continuing to stand and looking down at the girl. He scowled before saying in a forceful tone, "If you have a problem with anything I am about to do, then I suggest you leave, because I have no qualms with hurting women..." The blood on his face and hand would make it seem that he had no problem with killing either, but he didn't feel the need to mention that. In a swift motion he stomped on the Fire Nation soldier's stomach, hard, and quickly knelt down next to him, ready to go for his short blade, or to trap him in earth, if need be. He ignored any facial reaction from the girl across from him and said to the man, "You're going to tell me everything I want to know, or I will start to break you..." His eyes showed a demonic presence, filled with pure rage, showing that he was very willing to fulfill his threat.

Although being unconscious, Tochi could feel an odd sensation overlapping his wounds. There were no words to explain what he felt, in all honesty he couldn't feel anything. As his wounds seemed to slowly vanish from his body, faint sounds could be heard creeping into his head. 'What's going on...' It was the oddest sensation Tochi had ever felt. As he remained exhausted, Tochi would zone in and out catching some sounds here some others there. 'I hear... people.' He still couldn't figure out what in the world was happening, just that a wave of relief engulfed him. The odd thing about that wave was it's icy feel; it almost felt like icy water being thrown in his face.

~Shortly after the relieving wave Tochi felt an odd tension. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it was that feeling you get when you think someone is watching you. It wasn't a moment later that ridiculously sharp pain erupted from Tochi's torso, but following the pain was a bold voice. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know, or I will start to break you..." The odd thing about it was it's sharp qualities, just like that of a sword, sharp and pointed. But, it was after the moment of thought that Tochi realized his pain. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" In one fowl swoop, Tochi managed to wake up, and hop off the ground while simultaneously propelling himself into a nearby wall. Unfortunately for Tochi, he was propelled forward and essentially face planted the wall. "Ow." He collapsed onto his back, again, but remained conscious this time. "Why me...?" He looked up towards the sky as his vision blurred and a thick red liquid trickled down his face. "What the blazes is going on here?!" Despite his aching body, Tochi was fine. His burn vanished and the ice that was plastered over his torso was removed too. 'Did someone heal me...?' Tochi looked at his body and was surprised to see that his wounds were healed effectively, how convenient.

It wasn't until that moment, as Tochi regained his proper vision that he noticed everything. The girls were there, and they seemed to have gained two new friends. There were also two new critters that joined the group, a large... fluffy creature, most likely the Bo he heard so much about, and a bird. "Greeeaaat... animals..." It then dawned on him, Tetsip had vanished and these two new people might be friends. One of the newcomers was a guy with dark hair, he appeared very... bloody, since it literally covered him head to toe, but he also had a presence about him. The presence he gave off didn't sit well with Tochi, it almost seemed like he was a demon of sorts. The other was a rather short girl, she was also looking at him, but she was vastly different than the guy. She was short-er for one and her eyes just seemed to glow with the finesse of an Earth Bender.

'That's it!' This duo was probably a pair of Earth Benders, Tochi recognized the garb, since he was fairly familiar with the Earth Kingdom and it's culture. "So, Mr. Earth Bender. Do you always act like a stone cold asshole? Or am I a special fire in your eye?" Tochi wasn't exactly at his prime, although all of his previous wounds were healed he was sore and had some aching limbs. 'I couldn't have been out for that long...' Tochi cringed a bit as he stood facing the man, he wasn't in any condition to fight, maybe they could settle everything peacefully.

Eiko watched carefully as Aoi walked around the fire bender and stood on the other side of him. She tried to keep calm, however the hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that the Earth bender was deranged. Was he so set on killing that he would harm an unconscious man? No matter what nation your from, thats simply wrong.
"If you have a problem with anything I am about to do, then I suggest you leave, because I have no qualms with hurting women..."
Eiko heard his words, and stood. "I have no problem hurting men, sir." She replied, however was a bit too late. Before she could react, he had already stomped onto the poor fire bender and was now starting his interrogation. She clenched her teeth and got ready to make an attack if Aoi tried to attack the man again.
As the fire bender jumped up, Eiko herself jumped at the sudden movement. She watched him carefully, now waiting for him to launch some sort of attack but she quickly realized he didn't seem like that kind of person. As she watched him, her guard lowered and her head tilted to the side as she tried to study him. He looked like a fire nation soldier, but his actions were very different. Never in her life has she seen one act that way. It was interesting to her, to say the least.
However, she she watched him, her eyes caught sight of Aoi. She took a deep breath and walked so she stood in between the two benders. "I do believe we can either settle this peacefully, or go our separate ways." She stated, looking back and forth between them, ready to strike at any moment. In all honesty, she wasn't sure what she could do, and the Earth bender looked a bit stronger then her. However, that had never stopped her from trying before and it sure as hell wasn't going to stop her now.

Aoi watched as the man jolted awake, propelling himself upward and almost immediately falling back down. Of all the soldiers I could have captured I had to get the half-wit... Aoi thought. He was growing angrier by the second, ready to start beating the man simply for pleasure rather than to get information, but he hadn't the liberties to do that... He already knew he hated the man, and his hatred was reaffirmed by him speaking, "So, Mr. Earth Bender. Do you always act like a stone cold asshole? Or am I a special fire in your eye?"

He was ready to lob off one of the man's hands to teach him not to piss Aoi off, when the girl, obviously not intimidated by his threat, stepped in between them. Aoi scowled once more, grinding his teeth a bit at the annoyance, she said, "I do believe we can either settle this peacefully, or go our separate ways."

Aoi laughed a bit before grinning menacingly towards the two of them, he could cut her down and get to the man in three seconds, or simply bend any metal the man behind her had and stab her in the back... but he decided to patronize her little parley for the time being, the half-wit had no real reason to lie, and if Aoi suspected, he could kill the girl and torture him anyway. He glared at the girl, his grin departing and the hate returning to his eyes, although Izumi always said that even when he tried to look menacing, his blind eye always made him look saddened, Aoi never really bothered to check... He spoke in the same forceful tone he had before hand at the girl and said, "There is no way I will let you let him go, no matter what... but peaceful talks may be advisable..." He looked at the man behind her and continued speaking, "I presume from your get-up, half-wit, that you are with the Fire Nation army, did they have any quarters assigned to non-air nomad prisoners...? And if so where? If not, were their orders to eliminate them?" He wanted to get into the man calling him an ass-hole, but that would have to wait, he needed to find Izumi, and fast...

The target Tetsip hit wasn't moving or budging at all; formidable defense for an airbender.
Roll back, dual open palm punch. The heat is scorching everything in front of him, and due to
not having heard any steps, he's sure he got the airbender. Just to make sure, he leaps forward
again. The result: A broken nose and bleeding lip. Tetsip, at the end of his wits, carefully
like a wild animal in first contact with a human, feels forward. Stone? It's a statue.
He starts feeling with both hands. Air nomad. Suddenly, a stinging pain in his left hand. A
pain he was too familiar with. Burns. The adrenaline and hatred of the fight wear off.
And pain comes over him like tides over an island. He breathes heavily, but it soon turns
into a grunting and sobbing. His whole body is covered in burns, he can't see and barely hears on his left ear,
several bones are broken, his nose is broken, one tooth is loose, he can't tell how much blood he's
lost and he's sure he tore both his abdominal and his trapezius muscle. Leaning on the statue,
immobilized by pain, he drifts off into a daydream.

A young girl hugs him, telling him he doesn't have to fight anymore. He starts crying and tells
her how sorry he is for all the things he did, he tells her they should run off together and
live somewhere in peace. She kisses him on the forehead and the usual crying turns into the screeching,
sobbing crying of a small kid who's hurt. He hugs her back, unable to express what he feels. Unable
to tell her how happy it would make him. Her kiss turns cold.

A single tear, without any facial movement, runs down his cheek as the airbender statue's lips press
against his forehead. Shaking his head, he's ashamed of the traitorous thoughts he just had.
With clinical routine and precision, his hands are searching for bleeding wounds, immediately cauterizing them.
He still has an ace up his sleeve. A small flask, filled with a white fluid. Battle drugs.
All nations used them. Ten times the energy. With this and the hearing on his left ear returning,
he had a real fighting chance. If he only could see where the air nomad went. If he only could...
feel it. It hits him like the lighting that took two of his fingers; feel it. Everything emits warmth or
coldness. He turns his back to the statue. Cold. Wood around it hot, burning. It all still was blurry,
barely indicating a rough direction of things, but he was better off than he was before.

Air nomads. Winds. Follow the winds. A simple thought. A large, cold and blurry thing to the right of him.
An exit.

Even outside, he still didn't see anything but complete darkness. But he felt the sun, he smelled the stench
of burning corpses and most importantly, he felt a well known warmth approaching. ,, Fiery blaze...look like? "
He barely makes the words out, but recognizes the wording - a fellow fire nation soldier. ,, Encountered
heavy resistance. Traitor attacked me. Airbender escaped. " He unknowingly shouts, now sounding even
more primal and rough. ,, Don't need ... shout. " The soldier responds. ,, ... is bleeding. ... hear me? "
,, Can hear you. Barely. Name, rank, unit. " The soldier leans forward towards Tetsip, he thinks, judging
by the warmth of his breath. ,, Kago Izuki, Soldier, 21st ! " ,, Tetsip Taduo, Soldier, 23rd. " The soldier
backs off in awe ,, Koh's man? B.O.M.D - Bender of mass destruction? Flaming inferno, you're a legend! Come
on, you need those wounds treated! " ,, Wounds irrelevant. Airbender escaped! " ,, Wounds irrelevant? You
can barely stand, even now you're barely conscious, you need to rest! " ,, Killed the first man before you
first kissed a girl! " Tetsip shouts, pointing in the soldiers face. ,, Conquered the first fortress before you
thought about wearing a uniform! " He can feel the soldier backing off. ,, Do you know how I earned the
nickname Koh's man? I burn off the faces of my opponents! " The soldier turns around, murmuring something and
runs off. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to - No, don't show weakness. Mission is important, need to find airbender.

First things first. His armor was heavy, his clothes soaked in blood and water. Violently he tears down what is left
of his garbs, leaving only his pants and leather boots. Ironic, he thought, he now just looked like a wounded
officer of any other nation. Hoping for his hearing to return a bit more, he slowly feels his way forward. Now,
leaning on a rock, he pulls out his tea flask. Patience.

Little did he know that just a few steps behind him, there was a group of people and animals, ready to tear him
to shreds should they find out about him. And, of course, should they recognize him.

They landed in the area she had pointed out and almost as soon as she placed her feet on the ground the airbender took off yelling. "Find me later! Good luck! Don't die!" She raised an eyebrow and watched him run and said quietly to herself. "Alright...Don't you die either.." She started jogging around to find some nonhostile life. She looked around at the ruins. There were burned corpses...buildings burned to nothing but black rubble. Inside one of the burnt down houses she saw two bodies, desperately clinging to eachother. The bodies looked like a parent and a child. Masami instantly looked away and closed her eyes. Who would do such a thing?! She kept searching and she heard noises further up ahead so she headed there but made sure she remained silent as she approached.
She peeked her head out from behind a pillar and saw two men and a woman. One of the men were on the ground and he looked injured and...she noticed the uniform. A firebender... She thought. The other two looked like they were from the earth kingdom. Maybe they were earthbenders aswell... Then the standing man kicked the already injured man in the stomach and Masami gasped. Brutal.. The firebender had gotten up and Masami walked out from behind her hiding place and approached the trio. She approached from behind the male earthbender and walked past him and the woman and stood directly in front of the firebender, staring into his light green eyes with her own icy blue. Her fists were clenched and trembling. She spoke slowly and in a harsh tone. "You...your people...did this?"

Kazuko Mori

Lifting Bo over to Mai, Kazuko quickly followed, noticing a large crowd forming around Mai and Tochi. When she made it over, she found Mai unconscious over Bo. She must have used the last of her energy healing him. I have to wake her up, she could slip into a coma if I don’t wake her up. By this time Bo was standing, completely healed or so it seemed. Kazuko remained oblivious to anything but Mai right now, she had all of her focus.

Blowing air onto Mai’s face, she lifted her onto Bo’s back, knowing he would keep her safe. Keeping Mai too close to herself would put them both in danger; Kazuko seemed to be drawing less than desirable attention because of her air bender affiliation. Bo was baying, nudging Mai with his head, Shou perched next to her watching quietly.

Kazuko turned around abruptly, hearing shouting and recognizing both voices. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know, or I will start to break you..." Aoi…. "So, Mr. Earth Bender. Do you always act like a stone cold asshole? Or am I a special fire in your eye?" What the hell is going on between him and Tochi?? She crossed over to Aoi’s side, noticing his hostility and vehemence towards Tochi and….a stranger? It was the other earth bender that was with him early, Izumi wasn’t there. She understood now, that’s what this all was about.

”Aoi,” Kazuko started, her voice quite, serious but had a subtle undertone of empathy. Aoi and her were the same age; his sister wasn’t uncommon to her either. She wasn’t particularly close to either, but they were air temple, they were kin. And right now, they were more important than a fire bender she just met and an earth bender she had never seen. Izumi was missing, and she could see the pain on Aoi’s face. She recognized it as the same she had when she had lost her parents earlier. She knew this hurt, the other two did not.

”Aoi,” She began again, a little louder, placing her hand lightly on his shoulder. ”He has been with Mai and I for the past several hours, practically since it started, he couldn’t have been with Izumi. If it makes you feel better, kill him, Ill even help. But you don’t need to feel better, you need to find her, and you’ll get a lot more help than mine if you’d just concentrate on that.” Kazuko was looking at him intently, and she was serious about her offer. If nothing else, she did have some ounce of loyalty in her, and it wasn’t to strangers, certainly not fire benders. ”Get your priorities straight, he is not worth a damn right now compared to finding her.”

Somewhere, she knew Tochi probably didn’t deserve to die, he had proven himself in one way or another, not that she wasn’t still wary. This new earth bender, though, was pretty quick to defend a fire bender and they didn’t interact comfortably enough to have been previous friends. If she wasn’t siding with the individual, she was siding with the emblem and that didn’t sit well at all with Kazuko, and her eyes narrowed at the girl. She needed close watch. But one stranger turned into two as another water bender came up. Where are they all coming from?? This one barged in straight to Tochi, pushing accusations. This clown must be new to combat, what the hell is she doing? Really. Kazuko rolled her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, this was getting cumbersome.

Maizhen was dreaming of flying high above the oceans. No, it wasn't ocean anymore. It was fire. She was hot she had to escape. She was going to suffocate! Cool air blew in her face. She wrinkled her nose. She was overcome by a more intense sensation of floating in the air. It was vivid, tangible.

She felt a cold nose on her face, and a whinny in her ear. It sounded desperate. She was trying to find it. But she couldn't make her way back to the light. On the outside, her hands were flexing and holding onto Bohai's fur, and her eyes were moving rapidly under their lids, but Mai felt trapped in the darkness. Finally, with a more violent nudge from her animal friend, she was awoke. Her head felt light, and she was in pain everywhere. Her side. The hole gaping was looking bad, but do to her unconsciousness, a different part of her brain took over and healed it just enough so she would live. An emergency store of energy only saved for life and death situations. Of course, she had no control over it.

"Bo.." She whispered as she weakly held onto his neck. She rummaged in one of the bags attached to his saddle-like thing. She took a deep drink of a mixture in a black flask. It was herbs and water. Extremely refreshing, and energizing. She lay in his back, with the back of her head rest on the back of his, listening to everyone. Tochi just got threatened by a guy that Kazuko called Aoi. Wait, Kazuko was going to kill Tochi? She was missing parts of the conversation. She opened her eyes, feeling better. The special drink would only last for a little bit. And her little... nap wasn't going to help much either. She turned her head and looked at them.

She heard Kazuko saying they needed to find someone. As Mai's eyes fluttered around as she considered this, considered Kazu leaving her, she caught sight of black hair. That's new. She thought. And another earthbender? A girl. where did all these people come from. Wait, back to the black hair. She was speaking.

"You did this?" She asked harshly looking at Tochi. Maizhen knew she didn't have it in her to heal him again if need be, hell she couldn't even heal herself. She slid off of Bo's back and landed on her butt with a thud. A cloud of dust, or ashes rather, billowed around her. She crawled over to the group, rather pathetically to say the least. Wait, that voice. Mai knew that voice. It was older now, stronger, but she still knew it. When she got close enough to the group, she could she her face.

"Masami?!" She asked, her eyes widening. "Holy.." She trailed off and pulled herself up, holding onto Aoi and Kazuko for support. When she stood up, she let go of Aoi's arm, but still held onto Kazuko. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years.." Her voice was soft as she looked at her. "And please.. just please don't hurt him again." she pleaded, looking to Tochi. It's not that she cared that much about his well being, she just didn't want her healing to go to waste. Because if they were to kill him, it would have been pointless to heal him, and she could have healed herself. She sighed, suddenly tired from the exertion of energy. She put her hand on her forehead and swayed a little. She fell to the ground. She felt like she was falling in slow motion. she turned and rested her back on the wall. Her head fell to the side, resting on the earthbender girl's leg. "I .. I hope you don't mind." She said tiredly. She held onto her side, wanting the pain to stop.

Bohai watched as Maizhen crawled over to the people. He was about to follow, but his hoove bumped into something, or someone rather. Tetsip lie at his feet. He leaned down and sniffed at him. He smelled like burnt flesh. Bo grunted and nudged him, trying to get him to get up. Without the firebending uniform to recognize, Bohai didn't know whether to trample him or not. he grunted again, blowing air out of his nose. He stamped the ground, trying to Mai's attention, but it was no use. Instead, he just kept a the man at his feet, sniffing and nudging.

"Masami?!" Masami was surprised as someone called her name. She hadn't told anyone...and she doubted there was anyone she knew here...But then she knew it. She recognized the voice and quickly turned around, forgetting all about the firebender. "Holy...What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years.. She was stunned. "Mai..." She knew it was her. Those eyes and the voice, though it sounded a little different...she would never forget. "And please.. just please don't hurt him again." She smiled but her smiled faded instantly when she saw her condition. Her eyes widdened and she ran towards her. "Mai!" She sat down in front of her and gently placed her hands on her cheeks and spoke almost in a whisper. "Who did this to you...?" She ignored the looks from everyone around and focused solely on her childhood friend.

It had appeared that Tochi’s underhanded comment annoyed the male Earth Bender. It was quite obvious that the man’s frustration was increasing, he was on the verge of attack. ‘I can’t believe this guy, ready to attack anyone, anytime for his own selfish reasons.’ Tochi’s eyes only left the man to notice the female Earth Bender’s actions. She actually stood between them in hopes of stopping the impending combat. "I do believe we can either settle this peacefully, or go our separate ways." That was always Tochi’s approach; avoid fighting and keep the peace, but even he had to admit it wasn’t always the best method. It was after a moment of thought that the male Earth Bender spoke. "There is no way I will let you let him go, no matter what... but peaceful talks may be advisable..." His voice was stiff and gave off the sense that he would get his way. “Let me go, huh? I can leave on my own, I don't need your permission.” Tochi was highly offended that the Earth Bender treated him so. Tochi could leave the premise no matter who dared try to stop him, for God’s sake, his nation just up and turned its back on him.

Alas, the annoying Earth Bender continued. "I presume from your get-up, half-wit, that you are with the Fire Nation army, did they have any quarters assigned to non-air nomad prisoners...? And if so where? If not, were their orders to eliminate them?" Tochi immediately realized that this man was in search of someone that was probably taken prisoner. ‘This guy…’ Tochi was getting a little frustrated. “Alright, Earth Bender.” Tochi assumed a more relaxed pose, trying to loosen the tension a bit. “Do you honestly think that all the soldiers are kept in the know? I mean honestly, if you would open your eyes you could easily notice I’m not a typical Fire Nation Soldier… If you took a moment to look around, all the corpses have legitimate armor on, I do not. Why, because I’m a part of a specific group of units assigned to clearing out the buildings after they’ve been ravaged by the main force. Does that answer your question?” People these days were so oblivious sometimes! Although Tochi couldn’t necessarily blame anyone here, the Fire Nation did launch a full-fledged genocidal assault on the Air Nomads. Most people would feel resentment for any Fire Nation kin, still, the obvious should be taken into account.

Low and behold, another stranger walked onto the scene. She was just about Tochi’s height with long black hair and icy blue eyes. The girl glared at Tochi and revealed a tough voice, naturally sounding very harsh. “You...your people...did this?” The question hit Tochi pretty hard. His eyes widened and he immediately cast his head down. “Yes… yes they did…” He was ashamed. That land he loved so greatly, the Fire Lord he so highly respected, the nation he was proud to be a part of. All of that crumbled before his eyes. Tochi had seen the truth behind the Fire Nation in person, and there was no excuse.

The tense silence was broken when the female Air Bender from before returned. She was trying to stop the male Earth Bender, presumably. She kept saying Aoi, which Tochi could quite easily assume was the man’s name. ‘I guess everyone here knows each other.’ It took a minute, but she finally began to speak. “He has been with Mai and I for the past several hours, practically since it started, he couldn’t have been with Izumi. If it makes you feel better, kill him, I’ll even help. But you don’t need to feel better, you need to find her, and you’ll get a lot more help than mine if you’d just concentrate on that.” Tochi was pretty surprised, the Air Bender just about threw him under the bus. ‘What is her deal?’ For the first time in a long time, Tochi was getting pretty angry, it seemed everyone was judging him based on his Nation of Birth. “Honestly Air Bender! You’re going to just cast me aside after I saved your life? How, in this goddamn world, is that fair?” The pressure was pretty tough, it felt like Tochi had to answer for the Fire Nation’s crimes.

‘How can these people be so…’ He cut his thought as the Air Bender continued speaking. “Get your priorities straight, he is not worth a damn right now compared to finding her.” Tochi’s heart sank quite a bit after that. He was so quick to defend himself that he never let her finish; it just so happened that she was going to, too. ‘Finding her… that’s it…’ Tochi had finally figured out the Aoi, the asshole Earth Bender, lost his girlfriend or sister; whichever it was. He had a hint given the man’s initial question. "I get it now…" He kept his voice low so that nobody would notice.

Tochi couldn’t speak. He was naturally ashamed of being so hasty and lashing out against the Air Bender. Again the conversation went silent and the tension returned. It seemed that everyone wanted answers.

The female Water Bender had finally returned to the group too. Now everyone was here, aside from the missing Tetsip. The Water Bender seemed to be in a semi drunken state, swaying as she walked and such. “Masami?!” Tochi was a little surprised that the new girl and the original Water Bender knew each other. Then again, it helped Tochi all the more. It was somewhat funny how the female Water Bender was fumbling about, she eventually began to lean on Aoi and the Air Bender. "Holy…" She then hopped over to simply hanging on the Air Bender. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years…" She seemed to pause somewhat randomly and then pick up where she left off. "And please.. just please don't hurt him again." As she spoke, her look hovered over to Tochi as if she was trying to defend him still. ‘She must’ve healed me…’ Now, Tochi felt even worse. Not only was he the center of everyone’s hate, but he verbally assaulted the Air Bender and hadn’t thanked the Water Bender for healing him. She then sat down, leaning on the female Earth Bender’s leg. "I… I hope you don't mind." Tochi felt bad, the Water Bender looked to be in quite some pain.

It was then that the girl, Masami, ran over to the Water Bender. "Mai!" Masami then sat down beside the Water Bender, who Tochi had finally learned her name. ‘Mai…’ Masami appeared to show concern for Mai, seemingly ignoring the entire group altogether. "Who did this to you...?" Tochi saw the concern in Masami’s eyes. ‘Masami must be a Water Bender too…’ Tochi finally connected all the dots. ‘The Fire Nation… my homeland…’ All he could do was stare blankly, Tochi didn’t pick any particular place, he just stood there and stared into space contemplating his recent discoveries. 'Everything I know is... falling apart...'

An unknown, warm and fuzzy thing approaches. Roll to the side. Sadly, all Tetsip did was falling over to the side; he was just too worn out. Gathering all his strength he sits up straight again, right into the nose of something. Sniffing and nudging. ,, You're a curious hairy fellow. " Tetsip lifts his hand to feel what kind of antimal is silly enough to get close to him, but the furry thing lashes back, avoiding his hand. An awkward moment later, Tetsip lowers his hand only to be greeted by sniffing and nudging again. Let's do this your way. Tetsip sniffs back, and nudges the fuzzy thing into it's nose. A smile creeps onto Tetsip's face as he realizes that the thing is playing with him.
,, Tea, Mr. Fuzzy thing? " Reaching out his flask and slightly turning it, the fuzzy thing seems to enjoy the tea. The illusion soon is destroyed after it spits the tea in Tetsip's face. ,, Sometimes, I think, that my tea did something unspeakably terrible and is now being punished for it. Let's have it your way, Mr. Fuzzy thing. " Emptying what is left of the tea in his mouth, he's contemplating on spitting it out right into his companions face, for some silly reason he himself does not properly understand. After gulping it down, he says ,, Mr. Fuzzy thing, you barely escaped your tea-ish demise. " The nudging continues, this time accompanied by a cheerful clap with the hooves.
,, Heard that before. On fire nation armor. You must be the waterbenders companion? " The furry thing nudges him. ,, No, of course not. Don't care about the waterbender. " A cold nose starts surveying his face. ,, Highly unlikely, Mr. Fuzzy thing. I think I hurt her." A soft nudge makes Tetsip turn his head sideways. ,, Don't judge me. She would have done the same. Orders are orders. Wait. You aren't really responding, it's all in my head, right? " The cold nose drives over his cheek and soon Tetsip tastes something metallic in his mouth.
,, Of course. Forgot to cauterize a wound. "
Tetsip's three fingered hand starts feeling around his left side and soon finds a tiny but deep hole, which he immediately cauterizes. ,, Thank you, Mr. Fuzzy thing. You just saved me from bleeding to death. I hope you enjoyed the tea. " Tetsip says, while wiping a sticky mixture of saliva and tea of his face. ,, Got to go now. "
He already heard quite well on his left ear, his right ear was still deaf though, so he felt as if he had no excuse to rest anymore. After several desperate attempts at standing up, a surprisingly friendly nudge helps him up. Tetsip carefully pets his furry savior, before it slowly walks away.
The waterbender seemed to have something in common with the airbender. By tracking one down, he could track down the other.In turn, the waterbender seemed to have something in common with that antimal. The hunt is on. Slowly lifting his right index finger, greenish fire shoots out high into the sky. Endless flares, an advantage of the fire nation many underestimated. This was a special signal, the signal for " escaping airbender. " Soon, the background noise of cracking fire and screams is replaced by the static sound of dozens, if not hundreds of leather boots running towards him.
The heat of his flare shows him something that makes his heart jump, both by shock and by joy. A group of people, just a few steps behind him.
And the smell of an air nomad. The smell of the white haired girl.

Aoi had expected a negative response, glaring at the man with the coldness that existed within him, the eyes of a killer, the eyes of one who had nothing to lose. It was when he answered with, “Do you honestly think that all the soldiers are kept in the know? I mean honestly, if you would open your eyes you could easily notice I’m not a typical Fire Nation Soldier… If you took a moment to look around, all the corpses have legitimate armor on, I do not. Why, because I’m a part of a specific group of units assigned to clearing out the buildings after they’ve been ravaged by the main force. Does that answer your question?” That got Aoi even more angry, he did not expect the man to be so aggravatingly dimwitted, simply because he was not part of the initially strike team, did not mean that he didn't receive orders, or hear rumors, or any of that. He was to go in afterwards to pick off the rest of the people there, it was assured that some from the Earth Kingdom would come to investigate, so the man obviously was being obtuse, there was no way he didn't receive orders of what to do with non-air nomad citizens.

He was about to state this fact when he heard his name, his entire demeanor lifted to one of elation and fear as he turned to the sound beside him, however the voice was not of Izumi, but of one of the air benders from the Temple, Kazuko. His expression changed back to a blank anger before turning away from her and back to his prey. He wasn't particularly "friends" with Kazuko, they had spoken on many occasions over the years, as anyone would over five years, but he never really tried to become close to her. She was attractive and in another life he may have even proposed going out romantically, but never in this, not only was his devotion to his sister too strong, but he realized that no woman would even want him, a pathetic, suicidal, wreck. Kazuko stated, ”He has been with Mai and I for the past several hours, practically since it started, he couldn’t have been with Izumi. If it makes you feel better, kill him, I'll even help. But you don’t need to feel better, you need to find her, and you’ll get a lot more help than mine if you’d just concentrate on that.” Who the hell did she think she was? Simply because they had spoken on a few occasions over the years she thinks she can butt in and tell him what to do? None but the Elders of the Temple knew of the circumstances that caused Aoi and Izumi to live there, and he doubted this woman had their ear, but everyone knew of his devotion to her, beating a traveler half to death for being ungallant towards her. He was annoyed by her response, but did not feel anger towards her until she said, ”Get your priorities straight, he is not worth a damn right now compared to finding her.”

Another woman came into the parley, a tall woman with long black hair, she did not seem Fire Nation, but he couldn't be sure. His suspicions were lifted when she said to the man, ignoring the rest of the group, "You... your people... did this?" He turned from her and back to Kazuko, glaring straight into her eyes.

"You think I need to get my priorities straight?" Aoi stated, his tone quiet but fiery, "I was about to break this boys fingers to find her, I wouldn't kill him, no, I already killed a few before I could question them..." He gestured towards the blood on his body and face, "My priorities are straight, I will do anything, hurt anyone, kill anything, to get Izumi back, no matter what Earth bitch, backward Water Tribesman, or air bender gets in my way... Don't you dare say that my priorities are not straight, and don't even think you know ANYTHING about me..."

He was angry, how dare this woman think she knows anything about his predicament, so what if the fool was with her, he still knows something and isn't talking, which means he needs to start talking, or Aoi will have to kill his "protectors." He was preparing to move towards the Fire Nation soldier, when he felt something grasp his arm and a woman say, "Masami!?" It was the one that healed the Fire Nation soldier not long ago, she recognized the woman and stumbled towards her before resting near the Earth Kingdom woman, the mysterious woman then moved away from the Fire Nation Soldier and towards the Water Tribe girl. They spoke but Aoi chose to ignore it. He was prepared to go towards the Fire Nation soldier again, when he felt lots of movement in the area. He looked around and saw a green flame shoot up into the air. he looked at the Fire Nation Soldier and yelled, "What the hell does that signal mean!?"