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Izaya Mizukami

"Damn it, Ru..."

0 · 972 views · located in The World At Large (Avatar)

a character in “Avatar: A Tale of Two Flowers”, as played by Raven Lyer

Description

Image


Izaya Mizukami

Age: 23 Years Old

Element: Fire, Lightning.

Weapons: A couple of folding knives that he keeps on his person, a UT MK-14 9mm handgun he conceals under his jacket, and an old sword made of damascus steel that his grandfather had in his collection. The sword has no name, history, or apparent virtue. Just a sharp blade his grandfather thought he should take with himā€¦ He keeps in in the trunk of his car, an UT-XF Unagi.

Appearance: Izaya is relatively tall, for his family, standing at 183 cm. He has medium length black hair, a rather fair complexion that betrays his ancestry, and light red eyes. Izaya has a slightly muscular build befitting of a trained firebender, and a complete lack of scars or other markings. While out in the world, he typically wears a black suit with button fashioned in the likeness of the white lotus flower. On his face, you will typically find a look of complete disinterest. Heā€™s not great at controlling his facial expressions.

History (Abridged):
Izaya hails from the Mizukami family of the Fire Nation, born and raised in the shadow of the royal palace. Almost literally, in fact. The Mizukami familyā€™s (Or rather, its Patronā€™s) estate lies within the palaceā€™s grounds. Generations prior, the Mizukami family was little more than a collection of low-borns, barely scraping by in the wake of the great war. Fortune found them, however, when Akane Mizukami, came home from the war. A former airship engineer, Akane came home with many new skills and an idea that would eventually lead to his participation in the creation of the nationā€™s first automobiles.

During this Industrial Revolution following the war, a different sort of revolution formed in the capital. Well, less a revolution and more a rebellionā€¦ Though, even the word ā€œrebellionā€ didnā€™t quite fit the movementā€™s scope. It was really more just an occasional public nuisance caused by the nationā€™s former princess, Azula, and her small group of followers.
Almost tragically, Azulaā€™s eyes drifted across Akane Mizukamiā€™s name, and he was haunted ever since by her presence. His resources and creations were of interest to the disgraced, most certainly insane, princess. After many years of horror, they were married. However, Azula, disappeared soon after bringing their only child into the world (possibly the result of some new wave of hysteria.) Their child, Hangetsu, was tragically afflicted with the same insanity of his mother. He believed, all too certainly, that he was the rightful heir to the throne. Fortunately for his descendants, Akane was able to act as a sort of voice of reason, deterring the young Hangetsu from acting on his absurd beliefs. At least, long enough for the crazed man to marry a far more sane noblewoman and produce his own heirs. However, after Akaneā€™s passing, Hangetsu attempted to make a grab for the throne. In an attempt to incite rebellion, Hangetsu declared his heritage to the world and demanded that the Fire Lord, Izumi, hand over the throne. If she would not, he threatened to take it by force.

Needless to say, Hengetsu was arrested for attempted insurrection, and confined to a mental facility by order of the former Fire Lord, Zuko. Seeing some validity in Hangetsuā€™s claims, Fire Lord Izumi elevated the familyā€™s status, at the behest of her father.

Meanwhile, Hangetsuā€™s eldest son, Yuuhi, was away serving in the United Forces as a Lieutenant under command of General Iroh. Over the course of their lengthy careers, the two formed a close friendship; A friendship that grew stronger with their returning, and receiving news of their familial ties. Upon ascending to the throne, Iroh allowed Yuuhi to build the family estate within the palace grounds, and helped his friend build United Technologies; A company whose sole ambition was to help advance the technologies of the Fire Nation and provide it with a means to compete with the foreign corporations dominating the industry. At least, such was the beginning desire. As he grew in age, Yuuhi abdicated control of the company to his daughter and her husband, Hanako and Hyou, the latter having taken the Mizukami name upon marriage.

His daughter, apparently having inherited the insanity that afflicted her grandfather and great grandmother, turned the company towards the goal of solely making money. ā€œTaking the spirit from a once great creatureā€, or so Grandpa Yuuhi would say. The so-called ā€œPower Coupleā€ set about to dominate their competitors and take over the business world, and in that spirit decided to have a child in order to ensure that their work was not undone in the future. The result was Izaya, their future corporate demon.

However, Izaya turned out to be everything they despised in the world. At a young age, Izaya showed nearly no desire in the workings of the business world; Instead preferring to spend his time studying the history of the world and listening to his doting grandfather speak of the glorious heroes of the past. To their further displeasure, their son actually desired to be a good person! Or, at least, a decent human being. He actually had empathy for the common man, and found the idea of taking advantage of them repulsive. Grandpa Yuuhi was proud of the boy. To their complete and final disgust, they discovered that their son had inherited the worst possible trait from his great-great grandmotherā€¦ He was a firebender! This was the last straw for the disappointed parents.

They discarded their sonā€¦ Or, at least, they would haveā€¦ If not for Grandpa Yuuhi. Yuuhi Mizukami took the boy in, and raised him as a son, within his estate.
Through his grandfather, young Izaya met former Fire Lord, Iroh, and started training under the old master in the ways of firebending. Through him, Izaya refined his prodigal talent for the heating arts. Through his grandfather, Izaya learned the ways of the worldā€¦ Of history, sciences, engineering, martial art, life, duty... And, above all, of Honor.

When Lord Iroh passed away, Izaya was left without a firebending master. Unable to bend himself, and disliking the idea of his grandson being unable to reach the heights he desired, Grandpa Yuuhi pointed young Izaya in the direction of the White Lotus. Though reluctant to leave his home, the desire for the knowledge the organization held lured Izaya away from the Fire Nation, and into service. As of now, Izaya has served the White Lotus for five years. Though he has learned much in his time amongst the Lotus, perhaps much more than he ever could have, back homeā€¦ He now feels that none of it was worth his current situation. For, you see, Izaya has been forced to join the search for the Avatar, and to his intense dislike, has been paired with the most dis-pleasurable traveling companion possible. Factoring in his current location ofā€¦ Well.. Somewhere dark and coldā€¦ Not a damn thing theyā€™d given him was worth it. What use was all of it, if it landed him in this shit? Now, maybe if he could get out of this stupid situation, and maybe shut Ruā€™s big mouthā€¦ Well, maybe then things would be looking up, again.

So begins...

Izaya Mizukami's Story

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Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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ā€œLetā€™s face itā€¦ā€ The words came out in a rasp, at first. How long had they been down there? No way of telling, really. Either wayā€¦ Too longā€¦ ā€œI saw this coming from a mile away. After all Iā€™ve been through in the last few weeks, how couldnā€™t I? Itā€™s been one mess after another, day after day. Never ending bullmoose shit since the start. Itā€™s like some divine being is personally looking down on us, a bowl of fireflakes in one hand and a remote in the other; Watching me suffer like itā€™s a prime-time event.ā€ He spit on the cold hard floor in front of him. No red this timeā€¦ Wonderful.

ā€œIā€™m sure you know where Iā€™m coming from, right?ā€ Izaya looked up from the ground, then, and stared up at the face of one of his captors. His red eyes staring, through the bars of the cell, into the disinterested green eyes of a nameless, robed mook. Izaya had thought the whole cone hat and robed look pretty comical, when heā€™d first met these schmucksā€¦ But after receiving a barrage of stoned fists to the softest bits of his face, he was open to a change of opinion.


ā€œWe know where you come from, Fire Nation scum.ā€ The robed man spat back at him; Almost too literally. Izaya wished he had his arms free, so he could at least wipe the spittle from his face. Guy really needed to learn how to keep his saliva in checkā€¦ Or at least carry a towel.


ā€œAlright, alrightā€¦ But, before we get to the typical bad guy speechā€¦ Let me talk about the week Iā€™ve been having, okay?ā€ He waited a few seconds for a retort, but none came. He decided to take the stony silence as consent to go ahead and complain. ā€œFirst.. Letā€™s give you a name, eh? Elevate you from ā€˜nameless henchmanā€™ status. Iā€™m gunna call you Lee. Thereā€™s a million Leeā€™s, after allā€¦ Might even be your real name, eh?ā€ More silence, maybe a cocked eyebrow under that silly cone hat. Clearly heā€™d hit the mark.


ā€œWell, Leeā€¦ Iā€™ve had a hell of a week. All started when I got out of the Republic City enclave. Had some trouble on the boat. Words were said, and the Captain didnā€™t take well to a certain someoneā€™s bitching. Got tossed out on the wrong harbor for that.ā€ Izaya glanced upwards, accusingly, before moving on. ā€œLucky I even got to keep my car. I was sure they were going to toss it overboardā€¦ Where is that, by the way?ā€ Even more silence. Always nice to have a chatty jailer.


ā€œAnyway, after that we had to cross Si Wong; All desert, by the way. Should be glad there was even a road through it. Anyway, had some problems with the locals there. More words were said, and some shit went down. Had to hightail it out before we were sacrificed to the local sand spirit. Things didnā€™t really improve from there. Got to Omashu, supposedly the most welcoming place in the Earth Nationsā€¦ā€


ā€œThe Earth Kingdom!ā€ Lee corrected, rather violently. A rock sprang from the ground at the manā€™s exclamation and smacked Izaya in the face. Izaya paused for a moment then, before spitting on the stone floor, again. The red was back. Wonderful. He leveled a steely look at the robed goof, his face clearly showing that he wasn't phased by the manā€™s violent reaction. He continued on, like nothing had happened.


ā€œAnyways, went to Omashuā€¦ Made it in just fine. The guards were rather pleasant, actually. Yun invited us over for dinner. Heard the Cabbage Corp. exec was in town, so we had to go see him. Needed some help in the search, after all. Figured heā€™d have some info we could use. Sadly, once we got there, my partner felt the need to open his mouth, again. Surprised heā€™s not doing that now, actually. Though, it is a nice change of pace.ā€


Izaya looked up then, at the man hanging from the roof. ā€œWhy arenā€™t you talking, by the way? Clearly Lee, here, is a more tolerant audience than most. Why donā€™t you say hello? Iā€™m sure you couldnā€™t make anything worse, this time.ā€

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Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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#, as written by Soki
Ru had remained silent, only a slight chuckle when Izaya got smacked in the face by 'another' rock. Though once he was called out. Well then he let out a loud, overly dramatic sigh. "I was just enjoying watching someone else put a beating on you," He said with his trademark smirk. "First off Lee," He paused squirming a tad bit in his confines. "The first two were not entirely my fault.." He said pausing to take a breath before continuing. "You see, some of the workers made snide comments about water benders; and how they were things of the past and were worthless." He said, that smirk still there. "I just had to prove them wrong on that, I sped the ferry up just a bit, it wasn't my fault they fell overboard.." He looked down at Izaya. "The second time, also not my fault; your car broke down, in the desert; and you decided that i had to be the one pushing while you steered."

He looked towards Lee to see if the man was having any reaction to what he was saying, other then the obvious look of annoyance nothing changed. "Anyways, when we had a chance to stop and fix it, i couldn't help but find the first clear liquid to drink; I didn't realize it was cactus juice!" He exclaimed shaking his head, ā€œWhat I said wasn't my fault! I wasn't even in my right mind!" He finished off the explanation on that part. Next came the third and final bad thing that Izaya blamed him for, which this one was entirely his fault. "Now as for the Omashu incident.. That one was my fault" He said and chuckled a little. "All i said was that I didn't like cabbage, and the dude flipped his shit!"

Ru wasn't even being rude, that time. He had just mentioned that he was not partial to cabbage and the man took personal offense to it; As if he had just destroyed a cart of cabbage right in front of him. But of course he hadn't! Ru looked down at Lee, then back to Izaya. "Anyways, Izzy here forgot to mention the third, and most important member of our little team." He said pausing to see if it got any reaction out of Lee. Which of course it did not, least not one he could see. "One of the greatest earth benders in the entire Earth kingdom!" He wasn't going to make the same mistake Izaya made and get hit for it. "Momo the twenty-fourth! An Earth-bender's bender!" He said with a large smile, "And if you knew what was good for you, you'd let us go now and beg for our forgiveness.."

Ru was bluffing; massively. Momo being the name of his flying lemur, who he had spent much of his childhood with. Well... the part after the horrible foster parents, at least. Regardless, he figured Momo would make the greatest of distractions for hopefully Izaya to either blast them outta here, or at least come up with a decent enough plan to get them the hell outta here. "Look Lee, I'm serious you better at least go check the exi---" Screams now echoing down the hall, something about a flying demon attack one of the men's ears or some such. Ru's smile almost taking over his entire face. That was his lemur, he was so glad he had invested just enough time in teaching Momo the best place to bite a person to be incredibly annoying and or incredibly evilā€¦ Either or. "Look here he comes, you better get out there and help your friends, before Momo gets em!"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Izaya rolled his eyes as best he could- a rather difficult feat considering how swollen his left eye felt- and gave an audible sigh as soon as Ru began his retelling of the story. He couldnā€™t help but think that, despite Ruā€™s attempts to paint himself in a good light, the manā€™s own version still painted every incident as his fault.

Of course, heā€™d left out a few large details. Heā€™d left out the bit about his own remarks on the sailors, and their misfortune in not being born water benders, like himā€¦ Or the bit about letting them know just how much quicker he could have gotten them to their location, all by himself.

The incident with the Cactus Juiceā€¦Well, there was no way Ru couldnā€™t have been able to tell that there was something up with the liquid in that bottle. He was a water bender! Nor could he have missed the clearly marked label. What had been up with that slogan, anyway? Who, in their right minds, goes with ā€œThe Quinchiestā€ for their product? Utterly absurd! There could have been no way Ru missed itā€¦ No, that had to have been intentional.

Lastly, the incident with the Cabbage Corp exec had a few holes in its telling, from both of them. Theyā€™d agreed never to share the full details of that storyā€¦ Lest they face some horrific punishment when they returned to the enclave. They hadnā€™t only been tossed out for Ruā€™s negative opinions over cabbages, after all.. They were actually tossed out because theyā€™d neglected to keep an eye on Momo, and the damned lemur had taken off through the building. Before theyā€™d caught the furry bastard, the lemur had devoured every last one of the decorative cabbages. It was highly unlikely that the White Lotus would be receiving any more support from Cabbage Corp, after that stuntā€¦ The Grand Lotus would not be pleased.
Izaya glanced back at Lee to gauge his reaction, to find that the robed manā€™s expression had actually shifted! Gone was the look of the average, lowly mook! Now, upon the weak minded manā€™s face, a look of slowly dawning realization was taking hold.
ā€œW-waterā€¦ B-benderā€¦ā€ A look of horror set into the manā€™s eyes as he looked around the cell, taking in the damp and disgusting quarters. Perhaps heā€™d even noticed whatever was making the annoying dripping sound, somewhere off in the corner. Anyhow, with a look like that; This had to be the worst turning point in the entirely of poor olā€™ Leeā€™s career. ā€œB-but wh-ā€

ā€œWhy didnā€™t we already escape?ā€ Izaya cut him off, now lacking the patience to let Lee come to his own realizations. It wasnā€™t Leeā€™s fault, really. Any time Ru spoke, his patience seemed to deteriorate. ā€œIā€™ve got a better question for you, Lee. Why did we let ourselves get caught without a fight?ā€

Izaya twisted his hands a bit in hisā€¦ Manacles? Manacles of stone, he thoughtā€¦ Seemed like they had to be, given the feel. And with the way Ru was bound up- his body wrapped up in stone, all the way to his midsection- these guys couldnā€™t be metal benders. Any metal bender worth his iron wouldnā€™t resort to something that inefficient. The manacles were definitely made from stone, then. Maybe even segmented stone, like those stone gloves they seemed to like so much. Maybe his luck wasnā€™t so bad, after all.

ā€œWe ambushed youā€¦ā€ Lee began, giving his defense as he inched closer to the bars of the cell. His look of horror had changed to one of defiant anger. Maybe he, too, had noticed that the clamor from down the hall had gotten louder. One would think an organization like this wouldnā€™t have such a hard time with a lemur.

ā€œYou could justify it that way, sure. You guys did catch us right as we were about to head on to Ba Sing Seā€¦ But donā€™t you think we could have fought back, just a little?ā€ Izaya fidgeted his hands about some more, trying to get them into a more workable position, while continuing to talk Lee into giving him what he needed. ā€œInstead, we just asked you a question. ā€˜What are your intentionsā€™ or whatever Ru said, instead. How about you answer that now, eh? What do you plan to do with us?ā€


ā€œYour minds will be wiped, and youā€™ll be made to attack the town above.ā€ Lee began, his tone growing confident as the hall quieted down. Maybe theyā€™d finally caught Momo and gotten things under control? Izaya sincerely doubted that. ā€œThen we will subdue you, and have you publically executed. The townspeople will praise us as their protectors, as in the days of old. Take comfort in knowing your deaths will support a great cause. The reunification of the Earth Kingdom!ā€

ā€œAh, thereā€™s the bad-guy speech I was talking about. Nicely delivered, really. Gave me everything I needed to know.ā€ Leeā€™s expression changed once again, becoming one of clear confusion. Izaya continued, as he started to move his hands back and forth in the manacles, at a steadily building rate. ā€œYou see, Lee, weā€™re under pretty strict orders, Ru and I. Weā€™re not allowed to use force to defend ourselves, unless our lives are explicitly threatened, or the life of our charge might be put in danger. So, you see, we couldnā€™t fight back up til now because none of you mooks made it clear what you planned to do with us. Thanks for clearing that up. Good night, Lee.ā€

As those words left his mouth, a flash of blue flame ignited behind Izayaā€™s back, spraying small chunks of stone in every direction. Before Lee could react, Izaya brought his arms forward and slammed his palms together; Producing a massive gout of blue flames that shot through the cell bars and into Leeā€™s stunned face. The flames hit the man with such force that he flew backwards across the hall and smacked the back of his head against the bars of another cell with a loud ā€˜CLANK!ā€™ Needless to say, the man was out cold. Heā€™d be lucky if he even remembered who he was, when he finally woke up.

ā€œWell, Iā€™d say Iā€™ve had enough of this place. How about we get out of here, eh?ā€ Izaya said as he stood and raised a hand to the stone binding Ru to the ceiling. With a quick flick of his hand, he ignited a small, surging flame at the tip of his finger and set it to the stone. Where it touched, it melted through the weak rock and left behind a glowing trail. With care and precision, Izaya began cutting around the edges of the binding, doing his best not to hurt his companion. ā€œHopefully they havenā€™t caught Momo, yet. The distraction might give us enough time to find our stuff.ā€

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Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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#, as written by Soki
Ru let out a groan as he heaved a large chest with gold and jewels into the trunk of Izzy's car. "Ugh, I can't believe you made me lug this stuff outta there.." He groaned looking over at his partner. He then threw a glare at Momo. "and I can't believe you didn't even try to pitch in!" His faithful Lemur enjoying a relaxing nap in the passenger seat. Ru could only huff, sweat running down his forehead and into his eyes before he had a chance to wipe it away. They had managed to get out of there intact, mostly thanks to their bending, but also to their flying lemur sidekick; Momo.

He picked up his little lemur pal, before taking the seat and placing momo in his lap. When he was freed, the first thing he did was use the water dripping around the cave, and the moisture in the air to form small pool near the entrance. As Momo flew in tailed by guards they were caught like fish. He raised the water around them before sealing them in blocks of ice (leaving their heads out for taunting purposes) and pushing them sliding towards a wall, there were many puns and taunts to be had as they ran through the underground base, making it to the vault where their gear was kept; and tons of gold and jewelry.

He had personally protested taking any of it, as it would just slow them down, but of course Izaya had other plans. Not only were they now fighting to get out; they were fighting just to survive with extra loot that they did(nā€™t) need. He did happen to get a minor bit of revenge as he managed to hang a couple of them from the ceiling with ice. It was glorious! A smile growing on his face from the memory. He had already settled into his seat, he took a moment to peek at his partner.

He had known Izaya for years now, though their personalities clashed a lot, they worked well together. He rested his hands behind his head and chuckled. ā€œHey Izzy, we should probably get going; weā€™ve got enough gold for the entire trip and then some!ā€ He then pointed to where the entrance to the ā€œSecretā€ base was. ā€œBesides the ice should be melting pretty soon; and not the mention the dude with no eyebrows is gonna be pissed when he gets upā€

The setting changes from Secret Underground Base to Ba Sing Se

Setting

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Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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ā€œYouā€™ll appreciate having it, when we get to Ba Sing Seā€¦ We might have to bribe our way into the city. I donā€™t expect to still have it, by the time we leave there.ā€ Izaya replied to Ruā€™s gripes about the gold, as he tossed his own bit of luggage - an attache` case full of yuon- into the back seat of the car. Rather nice of their captors to just leave their car alone, sitting in front of the old recharge-station where they were attacked. Maybe it was just an oversight on their part? Or maybe they were just too busy beating him up to bother with ransacking the vehicle and confiscating their supplies.

Either way, it kinda worked out in their favorā€¦. Of course, heā€™d have to pay them back for the little damage they had done, during the attack. There were now more than a few dents in the side doors and in the hood. Heā€™d probably have to spend a bit of that money on a repair, in Ba Sing Seā€¦ Tragic, really. Heā€™d been hoping to pad his account with the yuon, to make up for the rough treatment.

ā€œWeā€™ll be leaving in a few moments. Just a couple things I gotta do first..ā€ Izaya said as he looked back into the convenience store that connected to the car recharge-station. Previously, theyā€™d thought it abandoned, its position on the very edge of the small town supporting the assumption. Izaya had parked there with the hope of grabbing a little charge and a break from driving for a whileā€¦ But that clearly hadnā€™t worked out. How was he supposed to know there was secret bad guy base underneath the place? Ruā€™d probably never let him live it downā€¦

Izaya sighed deeply as he slammed the backseat door closed and opened the driverā€™s side front door instead. Leaning in, as best he could, he picked his phone out of the console. He groaned from the little effort, his back whining profusely from the simple movement. Clearly heā€™d be needing a few minutes worth of healing, when next they were safeā€¦ Which meant several uncomfortable moments with Ru to look forward to. Maybe the water bender would be willing to put his face back together, once theyā€™d reached the city, too. He could only imagine he looked quite the monster, right now.

Withdrawing from the vehicle, he flicked the phone open and turned it on. ā€œHavenā€™t checked in with Grandpa in what feels like a few days, now. Heā€™s probably worried about us.. Wellā€¦ About me, at least. He knows youā€™re secretly indestructible.ā€ After all, Ru did always seem to get out of every scrap without so much as a scratch. It was always Izaya that caught the damage, in the end.
He flicked through his phone, while keeping the station in his peripheral, and allowed himself a grin as the notifications came back mostly clear. No callsā€¦ Guess Grandpa Yuuhi couldnā€™t be that concerned. Goodā€¦ He didnā€™t need to be, in his old age. Though, he had left a message. Opening it, he skimmed through the start and tapped the side of the car, trying to grab Ruā€™s attention.
ā€œHey, Ruā€¦ Listen to this. ā€˜Izzy, watch out for weird men in dresses. News says theyā€™re causing trouble around the capital.ā€™ā€ He read aloud, as he scrolled through the message. ā€œā€˜Keep little Rukasu out of trouble, boy has his head on backwards. Heā€™d probably try to make friends.ā€™ā€ He felt a little guilty about that bit, but chuckled all the same. ā€œā€˜Oh, and make sure to come back soon! Bring home a wife, while youā€™re at it. I want to see my great-gran-ā€™ Oh...ā€ Izayaā€™s voice slowly cut out as he realised what he was reading. His face turned bright red as he slowly closed his phone and stowed it away, safely, in his pocket. ā€œSoā€¦ Leaving, right? Letā€™s get on that.ā€

Quickly, he scrambled into the driverā€™s seat, and slammed the door behind him. Rolling down the window on his side, he made a twisting motion with his free hand and shoved it outside; His fingers pointed towards the open door of the station. A single, intense arc of electricity shot from the tips of his fingers, and collided with something inside the previously assumed empty building, resulting in a massive explosion that caved the building in on itself. As the structure fell, and the ruins began to smolder with the startings of a fire, Izaya sparked the engine of the car and sent them shooting down the street. Soon they were out on the open road and heading towards Ba Sing Se; Where theyā€™d continue their futile search for the Avatar.




Hours later, they would arrive in the Lower Ring of the great, walled city of Ba Sing Se. Contrary to Izayaā€™s beliefs, the gate guards had been more than happy to let the duo into the city. Noting their badges, the guard- a rather pleasant lady by the name of Yun- let them know that they pretty much had free access to any part of the city. Within legal limits, of course. Apparently the White Lotus were still respected here, within the cityā€™s walls, despite the open aggression the rest of the Earth Nations may show to the organization.
Now moving through the city, Izaya regretted not taking a moment longer at the checkpoint to ask for directions. It was a wonder anyone managed to navigate their way about, here! Everything was so densely packed together, and the roads were filled with pedestrians. As best he could, he navigated them into part of town that seemed to have a collection of lower end businessesā€¦ Maybe one of which might be a repair garage, or something. The hood of his car wasnā€™t looking so hot, now. As severely dented as it was, it was rather surprising that it had even stayed on, the entire way here.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Chiyo found her Father preoccupied under a rather unfortunate-looking wreck of an automobile. It seemed that someone had brought it to her father for parts--because even Chiyo knew there was no fixing something THAT scorched.


"Papa?" Chiyo called again at the feet sticking out from under the mangled wreck. She could her father mumbling to himself, cursing under his breath as he furiously wrenched at a part he decided to salvage under there. Maybe the breaks were still good? Though hard to tell based on the state of it. "Oi, Old man?" Chiyo grunted at him, using a foot to wheel his mechanic's creeper and him back into view. He was not a small man by any stretch--in fact he looked very much like a humanoid Platypus Bear. He had shaggy hair that grew long and dark brown into his eyes and to his shoulders, shaggy eyebrows and a long braided beard. His shoulders and chest were thick and strong, and he nearly towered over Chiyo when he was standing. She had often thanked whatever spirits had gifted her with her mother's looks.

"Hey! What's the deal?! Why you--oh--hiya kiddo." Rasped Bunta with a cough, to cover up his embarrassment. "Didn't hear ya come in." He slid back under to keep working at the parts retrieval, shouting at her from under the wreck. "How'd it go?"

"Good." Chiyo said, with a small nod. They both knew he meant her raid on the Day Spa, but felt no need to get specific. "Should last a few days."

Bunta grunted appreciatively from under the wreck.

"So what's this? I thought you said we were done with fixing Autos?" Chiyo asked, kicking the wreck a little so rust crumbled off the side. She heard Bunta sputter as some probably got into his nose, he coughed and grunted.

"Yeah--but these parts can probably sell. Maybe use for some things I've got cookin' in the back room. Besides, it's always good if the coppers come sniffing around. Throw them off the scent of New Tech? Eh?" Bunta shouted back up at her through the mangled hood.

"Fair enough." Chiyo conceded. New Tech was her father's term for his weapons and other inventions. He was always coming up with something from "heat sense" tech that could see through walls, to weapons with such an accurate scope that you could shoot a fly on the wall of the palace from here. Not all of them were completely "legal"--but what IS legal anyway? "Should I open for business?" She asked, heading toward the closed garage door.

"Sure, open 'er up." Bunta grunted, punctuating the sentence with a sort of roar as he forced a piece off the warped metal. Chiyo dropped into stance, feet flat, knees bent. Her fists came to her sides, ready. There was a deep breath and on the exhale, out struck the fist and up went the heavy stone door with a satisfying thud. The dusty earth billowed up momentarily in front of the door as sunlight filtered through. Chiyo flipped the small "closed" sign beside the open door to "open" with a happy little cabbage on it.

Chiyo stretched in front of the open door leisurely before settling herself against the door frame, arms folded. That was when she heard the sound of an automobile making its way up the street. It wasn't common to see an actual, functioning automobile in the Lower Ring. Usually there was a lot more wrong with it than this one seemed to have. Like no wheels. Or doors. Though--with the noises this one was making--maybe they would start their day off with an actual customer. The hood was dented so far in that Chiyo wouldn't be surprised if it were interfering with the turning of the fan belt. Though, with a car like that anyone familiar with Ba Sing Se would probably avoid Scrappers. (Not that her father wasn't an excellent technician in his own right--he was. ) A car with parts THIS nice might be worth more to her family as parts--weather the owner wanted to sell or not. Chiyo chewed absently on a toothpick, a habit she'd picked up from her father, as she appraised the automobile making its slow way through the streets. Two men were driving--and as they got closer--they looked a little worse for wear. Chiyo narrowed her eyes suspiciously. They looked like they'd already been mugged. Or maybe, they actually were from the Lower Ring. But she had never seen them before. Maybe this would be a willing sale. Those sometimes happened. Papa never asked his customers where they...found...items they sold to him.

"Hey Papa--take a look at this." She called over her shoulder as the automobile got nearer. She heard her father creak his way out of from under the wreck, what little skin he had not covered by course hair, now painted with grease. He wiped his hands thoughtfully on a rag as he peered past her to the automobile.

"Hmmm." he grunted. "Don' know those boys. Do you?"

Chiyo shook her head, no. But was curious all the same. She cupped her hands to her mouth, shouting at the approaching automobile.

"Hey--you boys need a hand?" She called to them, with an arrogant smirk. "Looks like a bit of trouble there."

Setting

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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#, as written by Soki
Ru was all but spacing out, until Izaya tried his best to get his attention. He looked over at the male listening to the message he got from his grandfather. Ru pouted ever so slightly at the comment about him; then again it was true he did manage to get them into trouble sometimes but he always managed to get them out, and it was true Izaya was the only one that really ever got beat up speaking of which. He took a moment to actually look at Izaya, sighing a bit under his breath at the realization that there was going to be some uncomfortable moments in his near future. Though all that changed when he got to the part about bringing home a wife. That caused Ru to burst into laughter, which in turn woke up Momo who began chattering excitedly. "Easy, Momo, easy; just laughing at the fact that Gramps wants Izzy to bring home a woman." Ru pointed at the blushing male as he climbed into the seat beside him. Though as Izaya lit up the recharge station and detonated it Ru just blinked and shook his head, Momo having hid near his feet from the loud noise. "I don't think that was necessary Izzy.."

The drive had been smooth... Well, smooth-ish, considering that their new friends had taken some liberties with beating up on Izaya's car. Thankfully it managed to get them to Ba Sing Se. Ru spent a bit of time just looking around from his seat, while Momo had taken residence on his shoulder; chattering with his ears raising and falling quickly.
"I know Momo it's quite a sight, isn't it?" After they were finally allowed into the lower rings, he took this time to look over at his partner. "Your car isn't gonna make it much farther." He said, probably mirroring what Izzy had been thinking since Changā€™an. "Also, we shoulda asked directions, cause neither of us knows anything about the city.." He pointed out another accident that Izzy made; "Then again the last time we took a moment, you got us captured.." He pointed out with a playful smirk. Izzy had been right; there was no way Ru was ever gonna let him live it down.

While their drive continued Ru was captivated by the amount of people so densely packed together. If he had been born here; he'd have made such a killing as a pickpocket. So many easy people walking around without so much as a care. It was almost unnerving. Then again, now that he was paying attention he could see a small food shop not too far from where they had paused to let more pedestrians pass. Momo, picking up on his owner wave of thoughts, chattered and flapped his wings a bit. "Easy buddy; we'll eat after we get the car fixed." He set to patting the Lemur on the head.
As if their prayers had been answered; There came a female voice over all the noise. Ru turned his attention, narrowing his eyes, to the girl in the distance, who was obviously shouting for their attention. "There we go! Park over there, maybe we can get this junker fixed so it's back to its former glory!"

Once Izaya had the car parked in front of the garage, Ru jumped out, and proceeded to stretch. A long car ride was not his favorite thing in the world. Once that was finished, he smiled and walked over waving a hand, as Momo glided over to grace his shoulder. "Hi there, can't help but notice you and your um.." He looked at the man nearby, "Father? Gonna assume. Are running a..." He peaked by them, taking a moment to look at everything a quick view. "Oh wait, you guys are scrappers, huh?" Ru had lived on the streets long enough to know the difference. He turned towards Izaya still in the car, which was probably a good idea; he hadn't got a chance to heal him, so he had to be aching. "Well, we actually need to keep the car, and if you can fix it; we can pay you for your time and effort." He said leaning forward a bit. "I'm a bit more generous than my friend there; so we'll keep that between us.." He whispered flashing his trademark smirk. "I know the car looks a little beat up now, trust me hard to explain; but it's a beauty when it's fixed. Name your price and we'll try to match it...hopefully." Ru realized almost too late his mouth was overloading his ass. You never offer the person you're bartering with a chance to quote a price especially when you're the one who's in need... but it was to little too late.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Chiyo and Bunta approached the car as it gasped its way in front of the shop. It sounded a lot worse than it looked at a glance.

The young man that hopped from the car was soon followed by a small, furry creature which perched, chattering on his shoulder. Chiyo loved animals more than she loved most people. But this was business, so she tried to look impassive at the man in front of them. (Though her inside voice was squealing in girlish glee at the adorable creature and she wanted to cuddle it and pet it.) Bunta, knowing this, eyed his daughter with a brow raised as if asking--can you handle not petting our customer's animal for five minutes?

Chiyo looked away from her father and the customer, attempting to redirect her focus to the automobile as she listened to the young man talk. He was no rich rookie--that much was clear straight away. Knew they were mainly for parts in this place at a glance. Not even many coppers knew that. Begrudgingly, she accepted his words with a nod. Bunta grunted solidly behind her.

"We can fix it." her father, Bunta grunted in his growl of a voice. "Chiyo, what's the estimate?" he asked her past the man's shoulder. He was still wiping his greasy hands on an old rag as he spoke. Chiyo was already in front of the automobile, fighting to pull up the severely dented hood to get a grasp of the actual damage. She chewed on her toothpick thoughtfully, placing both hands on the dented metal hood. She inhaled deeply and on the exhale there was the sound of popping, unbending metal.

KAFWUNK

As if smoothed by a giant iron, the hood looked as good as new. She wiped her brow a little, the dent took more effort to smooth than she anticipated. But she could easily open and latch the hood now. She tugged on her long ponytail to tighten it, and bent into the open hood, examining the engine with an expression of intense concentration.

"Busted belt, right off the bat. Probably from whatever dented the hood--pretty heavy whatever it was. Lucky it didn't snap while you were driving, if you were coming from the plains you could have been stranded for days." Chiyo evaluated as she prodded at the engine. "Dent removal like that one is gonna cost ya. No one around here can fix em' like I can--other than Papa." She assured him with an arrogant smirk over her shoulder. Bunta nodded in silent agreement. "We're gonna need to make sure the oil pan and brake lines aren't damaged too. Can you get it up on the lift?" She asked Bunta, accidentally smearing some oil across her cheek as she brushed some hair behind her ear. Bunta nodded, and looked at the young man in front of him, extending a mainly grease-free meaty hand.

"Bunta Saito. Owner of Scrappers. We'll keep it in one piece. Could make it better--if ya' want." Her father growled at the boy with what Chiyo called his "charming smile" but was probably unnerving for most people. Bunta nodded toward Chiyo, "My eldest daughter and partner, Chiyo Saito."

"Papa..." Chiyo hissed through her teeth at her father. "You shouldn't be offering them anything extra...they're new..." Bunta had made a point to teach all of his children caution of strangers and newcomers--but had never followed this himself. It sometimes caused them more trouble than good and Chiyo glowered at him over her shoulder."We don't know their story.." she grumbled at her father. Bunta laughed uncomfortably.

"Oh--I dunno. The lemur likes him!" Chiyo looked momentarily flustered, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath and pretended to be intensely studying the engine again. Knowing he'd flustered his daughter into silence, Bunta grinned sheepishly and looked back to the young man. "So we have a deal--Mr---?" He extended his meaty hand again to the young man with the lemur on his shoulder--green eyes twinkling behind his shaggy bangs.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Figures that the first place to call out to them would be the first place Ru wanted to go. Somehow, theā€¦ Shop? didnā€™t quite look like an auto garage, to him. Really, it looked a lot like the shady fronts criminals would put up in movies to hide the dark inner workings of their organizationā€¦ Something he actually had firsthand experience with, now. Place was pretty beat up, and didnā€™t really have any official signage.. Just a steel beam bent into an odd ā€œSā€ formation on top. Didnā€™t exactly grab the attention or tell anyone what theyā€™d find insideā€¦ Well, besides metal benders; That much was pretty obvious. The whole place just screamed ā€œshadyā€.

All the same, he still pulled in and parked in front of theirā€¦ Well, he assumed it was a garage. It had the remains of an automobile inside, at least. With the sounds his engine was making; He doubted it would make it much farther. This place would probably be their only chance to see it repaired before it just broke down completely. It also didnā€™t hurt that itā€™d been a cute girl thatā€™d called out to themā€¦

As soon as heā€™d set down the parking brake and shut off the engine, Ru was out of the car and talking up the pair in front of the shop. How like him, really. Always so willing to take charge in every situation that didnā€™t involve a life or death struggleā€¦ Why couldnā€™t he have shown this kind of initiative inside that prison? Or that one time with the triad? Seemed like the only times Ru showed he had a pair, it was when Izaya was the only one who had anything to lose. At least, in the long run.

Such was the case, in this instanceā€¦ There was a pretty large possibility that Ru would either lose his car, or all of his money, by the end of his deal with the mechanics. Should he interfere, though? Izaya didnā€™t really have the water benderā€™s raw charisma- or, at least, what seemed like charisma- and the mechanics might take offenseā€¦ And staying in the car was far more comfortable, beat up as he was. Not to mention the issue with his clothingā€¦ His shirt had been cut up pretty badly during their stay in that cell, and its sleeves had been burnt away up to the elbow. His tie had even been taken awayā€¦ Then he had to consider the wounds to his face... He was hardly presentable.

Izaya jumped in his seat as a loud noise broke him out of his thoughts. As if by magic, the hood had straightened itself out; The fist-shaped dents now completely nonexistent. He did notice a few scratches left over in the black paint, as the hood was raised, but that was probably just an inevitable side effect. It seemed Ru had made the right decision in going hereā€¦ Least he could do was get out and see things through. Maybe even keep his partner from losing every yuon they had in the course of the repair.

Straightening himself up, as best he could, Izaya stepped out of the carā€¦ Just in time to hear the burly, older man introduce himself and make an extra offer to Ru. A rather interesting thing to take note of, he thought. Something the daughter- one Chiyo Saito, apparently- seemed to think ill of. He couldnā€™t really make out what the girl was saying, but it was hard not to note the quick reaction. Clearly this was something she thought he shouldnā€™t have done. Why? He wondered. What could he do to make his car ā€œbetterā€ that would be, in the slightest way, upsetting or worth keeping secret? What kind of place had they rolled into?

ā€œHow would you go about making it better?ā€ Izaya said, a bit loudly as he approached Ru and the burly gentleman, just as the latter offered the former a hand in introduction. Hopefully, heā€™d interrupt Ru before he gave out too much information. Izaya wasnā€™t quite sure how theyā€™d react to the two of them being White Lotus. ā€œI might be interested in these.. Improvements. Depending on the price, of course.ā€ He probably should have asked if they accepted yuon, or if they wanted Earth Kingdom goldā€¦ He wasnā€™t, exactly, sure what currency Ba Sing Se used. Also wasnā€™t too sure how much of the latter they had. Oh well, -he thought- he'd burn that bridge when they got there.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Chiyo stiffened as the second man got out of the car. His face looked...mangled...had he started a fight with a meatgrinder and lost? She tried not to wince too openly at his injuries--even his clothes looked worse for wear. Maybe this car really was stolen. Better to finish fixing it and get them out quickly then. Chiyo closed the hood with a shove, tensing again when she heard the second man ask how her father would improve their car.

She was fast for an Earth bender. It took really only a blink for her to be at her father's side, glowering darkly. The Earth beneath her feet cracked a little in her haste. Bunta's eyes had lit up in that way that said he was excited. It had been a while since he had upgrade work. She knew he was itching to improve this automobile, make it faster, make it able to outrun Copper blimps and the like, install hidden weapons or tracking systems. But for all they knew these guys could be serious criminals. Members of the Red Lotus--even. That was where Chiyo and Bunta would draw the line. Their "wares" only went to "regular" customers. Patrons they knew, generally small time crooks and petty thieves from around the city, or sometimes their neighbors if they needed further "protections"--but never anything big. That was a sure way to get caught. These people didn't even seem to be from the city.

"What my father meant to say..." Chiyo said, overly brightly to the second, lemur-less man. "was that your automobile will be fixed so well that it will seem better." She turned to Bunta with a jerky motion, glowering a dark warning at him. "Right, Papa?"

They didn't know these men. This was a terrible idea. Bunta, unfortunately, pretended to not hear or notice his daughter. Instead he laughed heartily, and clapped the second man excitedly around the shoulders as if he were some old friend. Chiyo could not hide her expression of great horror and outrage as she watched him.

"Please, please--let's talk inside! Come in! Come in!" Bunta bellowed merrily, dragging the second man toward the garage with a huge grin on his face, a thick burly arm wrapped companionably around the man's shoulder. "Chiyo! Make our new friends tea!"

Chiyo's shoulders slumped in defeat and a small, frustrated sigh escaped her. He never listened. What was the point in being partner if he still..never...listens? She jammed her hands into her pockets and followed after Bunta as he lead the men into the garage. He was so stubborn! She could feel a familiar anger bubbling to the surface. Not looking at her father or his new "friends" she stomped unhappily to the back of the shop and passed through the moth-eaten dark green curtain that they hung up to separate the garage's tiny "kitchen" from the customer area. This was also where Bunta and Chiyo had hidden their real "back room" which could only be accessed by bending and only if one knew where and how to bend. Otherwise, it just looked like a closet-sized make-shift kitchen with a small tabletop burner, a small hand-pump sink and their "good" tea pot and their "best" cups for customers. True, the porcelain was very obviously older but it was the best they could afford, with faded green painted designs of the Great Badgermole "digging" around the lips of the cups.

Chiyo whispered angrily under her breath as she clattered around with the cups and teapot, pumping water into the empty teapot, "How could he? Ignoring my warnings like that! Would serve him right if they were Red Lotus--the guy's face and clothes--that car--was all a mess. Could be Police too. Undercover. Someone from outside the City to trick us. Gonna put us all in the Prison Rig." She lit the burner, gripping the sides of the teapot in both hands as she continued angrily, softly grumbling to herself. It was then that she realized the teapot was steaming. Startled by her own lack of control, she immediately let go of the teapot but was somewhat horrified to see she'd left scorch marks.. hand-shaped ones. She cursed softly, and dampening a rag began to scrub at the marks. It didn't help much--but smeared the shape into something less hand-like and not as dark. That would have to do. She put the burner out, tipped some loose tea leaves into the still very much steaming teapot to steep. She placed the teapot and three cups on a small chipped tray, a little dusty with earth, and brushing aside the curtain came back into the main garage to her father and the two men. Her father was at the long, metal work table to the right of the room. Chatting away about various "upgrades" and giving estimates (she assumed) based on what they looked like they could pay. He quoted them in Yuon--which Chiyo thought was overly nice, considering gold was better. And much lower than she would have quoted. This isn't a charity. Grumpily, she plopped the tea tray in the middle of the table with a clatter.

"Tea." She growled. Bunta nodded this thanks, not feeding into her displeasure. Though, he immediately noticed the scorch marks on the teapot. His furry brows shot up.
"Chi--how did you manage to do that?" The question was more of an accusation. It was their best teapot after all."What will customers say?" Bunta growled at her unhappily. Chiyo flushed, annoyed.
Chiyo made a "tch" sound, "I left it on the burner too long, that's all."
"Well, stop being so distracted! I told you not to put the burner up so high!" Bunta scolded her. "Now, get a start on that Automobile while I fill them in on the rest." Chiyo scowled but nodded.So much for putting it on the lift. She brushed past the men with a small, forced polite bow--they were still customers after all--and scooped the mechanic's creeper and a toolbox to use on the automobile out front.

"Sorry about her gruffness--" Bunta apologized to the two men on her behalf. "Raised her myself around here and 'fraid I don't have much of a..soft side..she's got my temper." He said with a gravelly laugh. As she headed to the Auto, Chiyo could hear her father asking them to draw close, describing the "police tracker" upgrade he thought the men might like. It was installed in the dashboard, could be tapped with a finger to be revealed and pinpoint any nearby Police vehicles. Thankfully, she thought, he was talking low enough to not be heard outside the garage.

She put the creeper in front of the car and settled herself on her back, scooting under the Auto for a peek underneath. Cracked oil pan, as suspected. Brakes looked ok though. Some of the metal under here was bent and twisted too--did they hit something? With some effort, she metal bent them back into rights, wiping the sweat from her brow as she went. This was her kingdom. No people to please here--only metal to fix. Tech to improve. She could feel her anger ebbing away as she worked, focused on her task.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Apparently Izaya had made a mistake. He should have known, really. When you give an inventor the right material -A willing, pliable client, and the promise of compensation- you should probably expect the situation to immediately spiral out of control. He should have known thisā€¦ And yet here he was. Being dragged inside a garage with a platypus-bear of a man gabbing in his ear about less-than-legal car parts.

Admittedly, he wasnā€™t quite listening to it all. He was pretty distracted by the contents of the shopā€¦ All the various parts lying around, the burnt out husk of a vehicle (not really what he wanted to see, right now) and plenty of odds-and-ends that spoke volumes of the placeā€™s residents. He would have liked to have taken his time to examine each and every object of interest, but Bunta was a rather compelling cap- host. A very compelling host that had just led him over to what looked like a long work table. It was probably best that he start paying attention now.

Izaya switched back on just in time to hear Bunta talking about the prices of everything heā€™d mentioned during the walk over -or at least what Izaya thought he might have mentioned. Everything so far seemed to be priced in Yuon; Probably as a courtesy to the obviously foreign customers. It all seemed to fall well below what was expectedā€¦ Seemed like most of the ā€˜improvementsā€™ cost about as much as, or less than, a regular tune-up in Republic City. Either Bunta was far too generous for his own good, or he was simply using them as an excuse to test out some new toys. Neither really benefitted the man, and Izaya was a bit above taking advantage. He made the mental note, now, to adjust the end payment accordingly. They werenā€™t exactly poor after that run in with the men in dresses. They could afford it.

Izaya was just starting to tune out Buntaā€™s rambling again when the daughter appeared with the tea --which hadnā€™t noticed had been called for. Sheā€™d probably have entirely escaped his notice, if not for Buntaā€™s shouting about a tea potā€¦ Lost, up to this point, he couldnā€™t quite process why the man would be so upset.. Earth Nation tea was terribleā€¦ But then he noticed the pot.

Well, maybe it wasnā€™t the pot that had grabbed his attention.. So much as the scorch marks along its sides. So completely out of place they were, that they grabbed Izayaā€™s attention entirely. Whatever Bunta was going on about.. Something about a Police Scanner? It wasnā€™t anywhere near as interesting. Just noise in the background, the pondering of the marks taking center stage, in Izayaā€™s mind.


The daughter had claimed they were made by the burnerā€¦ Bunta had bought it and chastised her for itā€¦ But Bunta wasnā€™t a firebender. Izaya was, and heā€™d seen marks like that a thousand times. It was possible that every firebender had, during their early years. For they were obviously the marks of a flare-up, or accidental firebending. A bit smudged, perhaps; Obviously sheā€™d tried her best to clean them up. Still, Izaya could just make out the blurred silhouette of a hand print, scorched into the clay exterior. He noticed, then, that heā€™d never actually seen Chiyo earthbend. Heā€™d just assumed -for he hadnā€™t been paying attention- that sheā€™d metalbent the carā€™s hood back to normal... But now thought better of it. Now he knew, for sure, that she was not an earthbender. Chiyo was a firebender.

It was a rather common thing, amongst young firebenders, to lose control of their firebending whenever their emotions hit a high point. Izaya, himself, had once set a television on fire in a fit of excitement. It was just something that came along with the ability. Nothing particularly unusual. A bit of training, and some emotional control typically sorted it out. Though it was unusual to find anyone as old as Chiyo that still retained the issue, the scorch marks were a pretty dead giveaway.

It did make sense, thoughā€¦ Izayaā€™s rational mind told him. It all did, reallyā€¦ It wouldnā€™t be too hard to find a firebender out hereā€¦ Blood was mixing around all the time, now. Perhaps her mother was fire-nation, or maybe from The United Republic? It wasnā€™t the least bit unlikely. And out here, in the Earth Nations, firebending was something of a taboo. Thereā€™d be plenty of reason for Chiyo to keep the ability secret, and therefore sheā€™d probably not have sought out training.

Case closed. Chiyo was an untrained firebender, living in a place that hated firebenders. It made perfect sense. Maybe, if the repairs took a decent amount of time, heā€™d talk to her about it. Maybe help her sort out the issue discreetly. It was the least he could do.

Tuning back in, Izaya caught the last bits of some talk of headlight guns, or something that sounded pretty at home in a spy movie. Whatever it was, Bunta was clearly still moving on with his ramblings; Pouring out ideas faster than an internet forum. It needed to stopā€¦ Izaya had to wonder if this was some sort of marketing tactic. He had to admit, it was pretty effective. He was just about ready to hand over the entire chest of goodies, just to shut the man up.

Putting up a hand, Izaya tried to interrupt Bunta and catch the large manā€™s attention. ā€œ It all sounds awesome, really. How about you add what you think is best? Go nuts. Weā€™llā€¦ā€ Looking to his side, he just now noticed that Ru had run off. Figures. He corrected himself, accordingly. ā€œIā€™ll pay for it all. Price isnā€™t really an issue.ā€ All the talking had convinced him to abandon his earlier, frugal stance in favor of just getting it all over with.

ā€œNowā€¦ Do you have anywhere I can change? Or anywhere my partner and I can wait, while you work?ā€ It was past time for some new clothes, and a bit of healing. Hopefully Ru didnā€™t run off too far.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Chiyo had just about managed to finish fighting that last (somewhat bent) screw to unhinge the broken oil pan when a male voice startled her,

ā€œSoo, how bad is it?ā€

Chiyo jumped, whacking her head on the undercarriage with a very unladylike curse. She hated that she'd gotten so involved in her task that he was able to approach her unnoticed. Fixing her face into an impassive expression, rather than an aggravated scowl, she inched her way out from under the car, sitting up on the ground once she cleared the underside. It was the man with the lemur. Trying not to stare at the animal (because it was just so freaking cute!) Chiyo wiped her face with her arm, then made as if she were paying attention to wiping her greasy hands off on her already grease- blackened pants.

"Could be a lot worse." Chiyo admitted matter-of-factly. "Brakes are good. Oil pan is busted." She showed him the cracked remains of their oil pan before putting it on the ground beside the car. "Fan belt will need to be replaced. And the dents can be worked out too. Can repaint the scratches if you gentleman want too--though around here keeping the scratches might benefit you...if you catch my drift."

Chiyo stood, stretched, and walked around the side of the automobile. As she found dents, she placed a hand on them. Inhaled. Exhaled. Felt the Earth the metal used to be. Asked it to be Earth, then beautiful metal again. Small metallic pops followed her around the car as she undented the metal. After about the fifth dent (not even a quarter around the right side of the automobile) she stopped to wipe sweat from her brow. These dents were more stubborn than most. Or mostly that there were SO many of them. Some small, some deep--but it took a lot of her focus. She allowed herself to rest a moment, leaning against the auto.

"So--feel free to not answer, because Papa says we shouldn't bug the customers--" Chiyo said, chewing thoughtfully on her toothpick and watching the man with the lemur. "But what brings you to Ba Sing Se? We don't get many non-earth nation folks around here. You kinda stand out." She allowed herself to smile a little, bashful. "Especially with a pet like that."

Chiyo glanced back past the man with the lemur to her father talking with the meat-faced man. She couldn't hear what the meat-faced man had said to Bunta--but she could see the gleeful look in his eyes from here. They must be taking the upgrades he offered.

Inside the garage, Bunta was positively glowing.

"AHA! That's the spirit young man! I knew when I saw ya that you were a smart business man--knew a good thing when he heard it." Bunta growled affectionately. "I'll bring 'er into the garage, get her on the lift." he was mostly talking to himself, planning the work ahead. "Should take a few hours though--so of course, of course! You can change just past that curtain" here he gestured to the room Chiyo had made tea in. "--small but should do for a quick change--eh... CHIYO!" Bunta called out to his daughter.

Chiyo, dedicated to her father, excused herself from the lemur man to go see what her father needed, wishing she had time to hear his answer to her question."Yes, Papa?"

"These gentleman's order will take a few hours. I'm going to bring 'er into the garage to start right away." Bunta explained as Chiyo approached the work table. "Why not bring 'em to Gen's to fill their belly while they wait--show 'em around?"

"WHAT?!" Chiyo yelped, unable to hide her irritation. She felt the tips of her fingers warm and clenched them, pulling her feelings back in. She had lost her temper too often lately. Last week she burnt a hole in her quilt after a spat with Tatti. Burying her feelings deep, she cleared her throat and addressed her father again."But Papa, there are still so many dents and the fan belt needs replacing and--"

Bunta interrupted her with a wave of his meaty hands.

"Now, now, now--you know I can handle those m'self. Plus the rest." Bunta said, leaning closer so only Chiyo could hear him he said softly, "These gents are special customers now--and not familiar with the City. They're willing to pay us well... I know you can handle it. You have your pipe if you need it, and Gen will look after you to be sure. I got a good feelin' about these two. Just do this fer me. eh?"

Bunta knew that Chiyo would not refuse him when he put it that way. She made a sulky face, folded her arms and nodded. Bunta smiled, pleased, and patted her shoulder looking to the injured man with a grin.

"Chiyo will be more 'n happy to show ya the sights. Take ya to where'er yer need ta go.She knows this City better than any tour guide would. Don't cha' Chi?" Bunta said proudly. Chiyo could not deny that and nodded curtly. "Ri'ht then. To it then." Bunta said, rubbing his hands together excitedly and heading to the auto.

Chiyo looked to the meat-faced man, trying to arrange her face into one that didn't look as utterly unhappy as she felt.

"So, change back there if you need to." Chiyo said, nodding toward the green curtain. "I'll wait outside with your friend, and when you're ready we will go." And with a small polite bow, she went back outside, watching her father excitedly pull the auto into the garage. She stood with her arms folded beside the man with the lemur, still trying to look polite and not entirely miserable.

"Papa says I'm to take you and your friend to get something to eat while he works. Luckily, I know where to get the best noodles in all of Ba Sing Se." She said to the lemur man trying to sound pleasant and casual, and even tried a small smile but it felt watery to her. Still, the weight of the small metal pipe hidden in her waistband assured her. And if her father felt they were harmless enough to send her with them--then she had faith they were. Or at least--harmless enough for her to outsmart if it came down to it.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Izaya had to wonder what manner of demon heā€™d unleashed in allowing Bunta to go wild with the car. That gleam in his eyeā€¦ Well, it reminded him of that look Mom always got whenever sheā€™d come home talking about the latest business her company had absorbed. That sort of maniacal glee that came from indulging oneā€™s obsessions. The easy comparison point had him convinced that it wasnā€™t healthy.

Either way, things were rolling, now. It might cost an entire chestā€™s worth of gold, but theyā€™d finally be getting back up and running. Hopefully theyā€™d be able to leave Ba Sing Se some time soon. Something about the city kind of gave Izaya the creeps.. He couldnā€™t quite put his finger on the why; But he definitely felt like they were being watched. With more interest than that of a mere passersby, too. It might just be a passing spell of paranoia, but heā€™d learned to trust his gut. Getting away from the walled city would be for the best.

Ah, Izaya had gotten lost in his thoughts again. By the time heā€™d come back into the remnants of his senses, the situation was already spiraling out of control again. Apparently Bunta wanted them to go out into the city with Chiyo, using her as a sort of tour guide. Somehow, that didnā€™t seem like the best plan, but who was he to argue? Still, heā€™d apparently have to move pretty quickly if he wanted to be at all presentable before they left.

After Bunta had moved the car into the Garage, Izaya quickly popped the trunk with his keychain remote, and picked out his duffel from the jumbled mess of supplies. He hastily grabbed a bottle of water out from the more organized section of the mess and closed the trunk before anyone could go about fully inspecting its contents. Flashing their weaponry for all the world to see, while he assumed they were being watched, seemed like a poor plan after all.

ā€œIā€™m actually going to need my friend to help me, real quick.ā€ Izaya said, in response to Chiyoā€™s bit about retaining Ru while he went to change. ā€œAfraid Iā€™m going to need a bit of help with this.ā€ He casually pointed to his face with the tip of the water bottle before tossing the bottle over to Ru. Waving his partner inside, after him, he headed deeper into the shop with the hopes that heā€™d actually be able to feel his face again by the time they left. ā€œTry not to make this worse than it has to beā€¦ā€ he would plead, before his partner set to work.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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#, as written by Soki
Ru didnā€™t have a chance to reply to her question as she ran back inside to talk to her father. Ru looked at Momo, who in turned looked at him. ā€œYou know Momo, I sometimes wonder what youā€™re thinking..ā€ He said totally off-topic from anything that had been conversed about today. Once it had been settled that Chiyo was going to show them around the city Ru smiled a bit and nodded. This was a great idea, mostly because that means it was time to eat. Momo realized this too as his chattering got much louder as he began to fly circles around Ruā€™s head. Ru laughed a little waving a hand at the lemur. ā€œHey Momo get back down here itā€™s not time just yet!ā€ he called out to the Lemur who just continued his little flight plan as he desired. Though what all but sealed the deal for him was when Chiyo said she knew where to find the best Noodle shop. That was enough to sell it for him! Ru was beyond excited and wasnā€™t really paying attention to Izaya until he brought up needing him for something. Then it dawned on him, he forgot Izaya still needed healing. While he had been distracted by his thoughts Momo had taken a perch on his head, sitting just right so it looked like a balancing act. He caught the water bottle, offered Chiyo a smile before taking Momo off his head and placing him on her shoulder. ā€œKeep an eye on him for me will ya? He can be a handful if someone isnā€™t constantly watching him.ā€ He said with a wink before catching up with Izaya.

He could only smirk heavily when the male all but begged for this to be a normal healing session, and normally Ru would make it as uncomfortable as possible as one of the few ways he could get back at his partner, but now was not the time for that! No food was waiting after this, so the healing would be done in a quick and efficient manner. Opening the water bottle he focused on it for a moment, trying to return to a calmer disposition. ā€œAlright Izzy, just this once Iā€™ll make it quick..ā€ he said with a smirk bringing his water coated hands up to his face to hopefully return the ground-beef face, to his normal one. Once the face was done Ru returned the water to the bottle and smiled a bit. Twisting the cap back on and giving it back to him. ā€œThere you are, one face thatā€™s completely normal; consider the sore muscles vengeance against you chuckling on what gramps put in that message..ā€ He said flashing that smirk again, before disappearing outside of the green curtain. He only hopped that Momo had behaved while healing Izzy.

Momo of course hadnā€™t entirely behaved himself. He had taken a few moments to inspect his new perch leaning over to look Chiyo in the eyes before chattering at her, his ears hanging down due to him hanging upside down himself. It wasnā€™t long before off into the air he was again, this time circling Chiyo before darting inside the shop near the green curtain. Then came a mild clunk sound somewhere near the car. Then Momo much like normal, came gliding softly back towards where his owner had left him. This time opting for a shoulder instead of her head. Though somehow, and even Ru could never explain Momo had managed to find something that appealed to him. He held up the shiny trinket examining it some before holding it up to Chiyo for further acknowledgement.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Chiyo had no idea why the meatfaced customer needed the lemur man to help him change, but it wasn't her place to ask. She trained her expression into an unreadable mask as they left..that is..until she was tasked with lemur sitting. She flushed slightly when she found the animal perched on her shoulder, cutely chattering. Pleased, she scratched his large ears and couldn't help but laugh softly at his antics.

When he returned from his little scouting mission with a particularly shiny lugnut, showing it to her like a treasure she could not contain her glee. It was too adorable. Chiyos laugh was light and somewhar childlike..and didn't match the tough demeanor she tried to maintain. So she really did her best not to get silly in front of nonfamily. She scruffed the lemur gently, bringing him diwn from her head and into a small cuddlehold. Affectionately, she scratched the lemur's long ears, hugging him to her chest like a favorite stuffed animal.

"Such a smart boy!" She crooned at him. "Yes, you are! You're so cute that I can hardly---" Chiyo suddenly realizing herself as the two men returned, she blushed a little feeling embarassed. She cleared her throat a little and held out the lemur to his owner. "H-he's really no trouble. Are you teo ready to go?"

She saw that the lemur man was followed by someone less meatfaced than she remembered. She looked back and forth between the lemur man and his companion, perplexed. "How'd you do that? You're some kind of healer?" She tilted her head and made a thoughtful sound. They should have left him looking more scrappy. Now, he just kind of looked like a rich kid in the wrong part of town. Both of them did..really...

"Well, just make sure you both stick with me. Not everyone around here is as friendly as my father.."

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Wellā€¦ This was a first. Typically, Izaya had just cause to dread his healing sessions with Ruā€¦ The waterbender seeming to take extreme enjoyment in being rather invasive or overly humiliating with the act. Yet he somehow managed to put aside those impulses in order to fix Izayaā€™s face quickly and move on. What motivated that, Izaya wondered? Maybe Ru had taken a hit, after all, and it reconfigured his brainā€¦. Or maybe the thought of getting on with the day and acquiring food was far too tempting for him to waste a moment disturbing Izaya.

ā€œOh well... ā€œ Izaya thought aloud as he shrugged the entire situation off, turning back to his task of changing. He was sure Ru would turn back to his old ways, whenever he next got an opportunity. It was best not to take such a change in behavior as a sign of improvement. Sometimes it seemed that Ru would toss these curve balls as a means of putting Izaya off guard for the next timeā€¦

Izaya quickly changed out of his old clothes, discarding their destroyed remnants into a nearby trashcan, and put a new set of clothing that matched his previous ensemble; A pair of clean, black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a sleek, black tie. Feeling himself properly dressed and presentable now, Izaya stepped out from behind the green curtain to go join his new partner and their temporary companion.

Stepping up beside Ru, Izaya patted the waterbender on the shoulder in a silent show of appreciation, as they stood idly waiting for Chiyo. ā€œWeā€™ll take your word for it. Lead on.ā€ He said in response to her word of warning. Izaya was pretty sure they could take whatever Ba Sing Se could throw at themā€¦ Being who they were. It was doubtful that the lowly street thugs of the city had ever dealt with their like, before.

Although.. He could admit that he was a bit worried about going off to explore the city, even with their ā€˜protectorā€™ alongside them. Izaya still couldnā€™t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Now able to see clearly --His previous facial swelling having obstructed his vision considerably-- he could make out the clear contrast his, and Ruā€™s, appearances would have in this areaā€¦ He also noted the lingering stares of the occasional passerby. He couldnā€™t help but feel that the day would probably end with yet another conflict, and even another healing session with his bothersome partner.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Chiyo nodded solemnly and with a quick toss of her long auburn hair over her shoulder she began to lead the two men towards Gen's noodle stand. She nodded at people she knew as they passed, some waved--many stopped to stare at the two men that followed in her wake. They also, smartly, were wary of new faces. And these men weren't exactly...inconspicuous here in the Lower Rings.

As they walked, Chiyo tried her best to live up to her father's expectations of her as a "tour guide" for their rich new customers. She calmly pointed out historical monuments--mainly the Firelight Fountain, known for its cute turtleducks and renowned as a romantic date spot in the evening. She also pointed out the old Pao Family Tea House, of some historical note for any history buffs who enjoyed that sort of thing. Chiyo had never found it very interesting herself. There were small shops here and there as they passed selling usually the less-than-perfectly-legal type of goods, some food stalls, second-hand clothing stores, shops full of knock-off merchandise that could almost pass for the real deal and lots of homes. Chiyo calmly mentioned any of the bigger ones as they wandered, but showed no signs of wanting to let them browse. Instead, she plowed onwards until the stout, bald but bearded figure of Gen came into view.

It was lunch time for sure, and his stall already had a few handfuls of people bustling for a meal. Workers in their uniforms from kitchens, workshops, mechanics, train employees and the like fought for space to collect their noodles, eat quickly and leave. The smell of broth and fresh noodles caked the air temptingly. Chiyo's mouth watered even though she had only just eaten a few hours before.

"Oi! Chi!" Gen greeted her, spotting her over the heads of his current customers. He filled their bowls without even looking, years of practice at work. Gen gave her one of his toothless grins before noticing the two men behind her. "Customers?" Gen assumed quickly, visually appraising them with his good eye (No doubt searching their pockets with his tech eye). Chiyo nodded.
"Papa's new friends. Can you set them up with the best?"
"Of course! Any friend of Bunta's is a friend of Gen's!" He cackled, filling two wide bowls with his best broth and hot noodles. Chiyo smiled gratefully at Gen before carefully taking the filled bowls and offering them to the two men.
"You won't find better--not even in the Upper Ring." She promised almost proudly. She shifted them over to one of the small open, freestanding tables that Gen had set up around his stall for his customers and put their bowls in front of them. There were no seats, but standing while eating was pretty common in this area. Most people wanted fast and tasty and had little time for a leisurely meal.

"So--sorry to have to ask this--what should I call you gentlemen?" Chiyo asked, momentarily feeling awkward. She couldn't after all keep calling them lemur man and formerly meat-faced man...at least not aloud. They were customers after all. She handed them their utensils and folded her hands on the table in front of her, attempting to be a good guide. "And i didn't get a chance to learn what brought you to our fine city?" Chiyo asked demurely, looking at the man with the lemur to answer the question she'd asked earlier. "Like I said before you both kind of...stand out..." And as if sensing the attention they were getting, she carefully looked around them, scowling pointedly at anyone who was staring until they went about their business. She cleared her throat a little, looking back to the lemur man expectantly.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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#, as written by Soki
Ru was about to say something about being a healer, but it didn't seem to matter at the moment. A pat on the shoulder from Izzy and a nod and they were off into the city. It was interesting to hear about all the places and such; the historical importance of some places and this and that. Obviously Ru didn't much care about it. What he did care about were the constant stares they were getting, this was something he didn't like. Ru lived on the streets for many years with no one except his lemur Momo, and if eyes were ever upon him or his pet that meant trouble back then even more so now with them being on an "important" mission. Ru wanted to lash out in defense, if just to get them to stop staring, but he knew if he unleashed even a small little slap of water the stares would just grow more numerous.

Ru let out a soft sigh under his breath, all but deaf to Chiyo's words right now, well until Momo who had been gliding above them came in for a rather unexpected landing making him literally stumble back into reality. Momo chattered at him placing his paw on Ru's head and slapping it a couple of times. "I get it, I get it pay attention.." He said to the lemur, and as if Momo understood he resumed his flight. Ru came back into the tour just before they reached the noodle shop. His eyes tearing up just a bit, as his stomach let out a loud growl. Chiyo obviously familiar with the big man. He didn't like the look they got for a moment, but the smell of food; and the fact they were getting the best of it made it seem less relevant. Once Chiyo set their bowls down at the table, Ru was already basically digging in. Momo having also came in for a landing was waiting (not very patiently) for his share of the meal. Ru pushed the bowl over after a bit to let the Lemur have some as well. He had caught the tail end of the statement about these being the best and not finding any better anywhere in the city. He was inclined to agree; at least this was his first bowl ever from this city.

Then the questions, Ru now paying full attention, mostly because his lemur was devouring what was left of his noodles, and eyeing Izaya's hungrily. "My name's Rukasu, just Ru please." He said then pointed a thumb at Izaya. "That's Izzy, and as for why were here.." He turned his head to Izaya giving that smirk that Izaya hated, the one where to let Izaya know he was about to make his life miserable in a sense. "We were sent here on an important mission, ya see.." He turned back to look at Chiyo. "Izzy's grandpa is a very important man, and well Izzy here is the heir to his business, but on one condition.." He raised a finger, that smirk still on his face. "We have to find Izzy a wife, gramps wants to see his grandkids before he passes." There it was, this was his way of screwing with his partner since he didn't do it during the healing session. Ru was ignoring most of the stares, (most of them focusing on the ravenous lemur devouring a bowl of noodles) Ru looked over at Izaya for a moment before looking back to Chiyo. "So, since you've been such an awesome tour guide think you can set him up with a date?" He said leaning in for that last part as if to act like he didn't want Izaya to hear him.

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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"D-Date?" Chiyo, stammered taken off guard by Ru's reply. She could feel her ears burning and was sure her cheeks had changed to an embarrassing shade of red. The lemur man--Ru--had gotten awfully close to throw in that last part. Finding someone a date was certainly not part of what her father had anticipated as part of her tour. Certainly not! Right? Right. She was just meant to feed them and keep them away from Scrappers while papa worked his tech into their auto. Certainly she didn't have to go so far as helping these two find women to entertain them? Right? Right?! Dear Gods, why did she ask them why they came?!

Chiyo suddenly realized she had been contemplating all of this in an awkward silence while staring at the table with her hands gripped together tightly. She was not completely sure how long she'd been standing there, silent, flustered and flushed. She pretended to clear her throat and attempted to train her face back into a blank, unreadable slate--but she could feel her sheer nervous awkwardness slipping through.

"T-That sounds like a pretty tough mission..." she managed softly, trying to be sympathetic. Nervously, she traced a water stain on the table with a finger over and over. Was it getting darker as she did that? Was she scorching it? She stopped, just in case and casually placed her palm over it.

Her dating experience was limited to about five years earlier when she shoved a boy she'd fancied into the Firelight Fountain and ran away laughing. He had been furious and never spoke to her again--but she had no idea how to tell him how she actually felt. With work and family having been her focus, she'd never thought much of actually dating...or worse..having to find someone to marry...this was possibly the worst thing to ask her to do for them. Chiyo really didn't even know any other girls her age anymore now that she'd become a full fledged partner with Bunta at Scrappers. The people she knew were mostly middle-aged men with rap sheets longer than her lifespan or flighty women who probably weren't really "marriage" material--and they liked it just fine that way. She was embarrassed to say as much to these two young men.

"Y-you could always go to the Firelight Fountain after dark--l..like I said earlier it's a popular date spot. Maybe you can meet someone there?" She suggested feebly. She could feel herself floundering, her expression twisting as she struggled hard to mask her sheepishness. "But--I-I don't really...know...about...or..anyone....erm..." Chiyo grasped for a change in topic. Something, anything. She laughed a little too loudly before trying to change the subject.

"D-Do you guys like Pro-bending? We have a great team here in Ba Sing Se! The Ba Sing Se Badgermoles! I think they picked the best team name. And by far the best animal mascot. Badgermoles are the cutest and they can Earth Bend." She rambled awkwardly, forcing a smile. "Anyway, what do you think of the food? Great right? Your lemur seems to really be enjoying them."
Chiyo could feel herself sweating nervously. Why did papa volunteer me for this?!

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Character Portrait: Chiyo Saito Character Portrait: Rukasu Ryugamine Character Portrait: Izaya Mizukami
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Things seemed to be off to a pretty good startā€¦ At least, to Izaya.Well, really compared to what he was used to. Considering the last few weeks; Just having one venture where they didnā€™t immediately plunge into a life or death situation was an improvement. Their tour began without issue or complaint, and Chiyo did her best to act the part of a guide. He really couldnā€™t ask for more than that, and she did do him the favor of pointing out two of the few places he actually wanted to see.
The Firelight Fountain was considered a ā€œmust seeā€ for Fire Nation travelersā€¦ Or so the travel brochures said. Its popularity among his people mostly due to a section of Fire Lord Zukoā€™s biography. Something about a date, or something like that. Heā€™d mostly skimmed over that part. After all, Zukoā€™s love life and Fire Lord Izumiā€™s parentage were something of a mystery, even to the most recent generation of the royal family. Even the biography failed to give any detailed information, and what was the point of paying attention to that part of the story if it never had any conclusion?

The second sight he wanted to see was the Pao Family Tea House. He actually stopped a moment and stared in wonder at the old monument. For a moment, he felt he was looking back in history, really seeing the establishment exactly as it might have been when the first Lord Iroh had worked there as a common teamaker. Of course, a moment later he realized that it was only because the place was so run downā€¦ He wasnā€™t sure how the building had survived for so long, run down as it was. It was clear the current owners couldnā€™t be bothered to spend a single yuon on repairs.

Ignoring the stares and occasional leering from the more criminal looking onlookers, Izaya followed Chiyo in silence all the way to the noodle stall. There, she was greeted rather amicably by the stallā€™s owner, and procured the ā€œbestā€ noodles the city had to offer. Upon receiving his bowl, Izaya was a bit skeptical. They looked nothing like what he was used to in Republic City, or back in the capital. But, then, he had to remember his privileged upbringing and the change in cultures. Either way, starving as he was, he wasnā€™t going to turn them down.

Once at the table, he set about eating at a slow, steady pace. Really taking the time to enjoy the flavor, he told himselfā€¦ Though, it was more due to the soreness of his face muscles. Every bite made him a little more annoyed with Ru and his antics. If heā€™d taken just a bit longer, he could have taken the pain out completely.

He allowed Chiyo and Ru to talk freely, even as the waterbender bent into his usual antics.. Introducing him by a nickname, giving him a false backstory, giving out a fake mission, and even going as far as to suggest that Chiyo find him a date to help them with said mission. Izaya took all this in stride, not bothering to step in while he ate. Instead, he took his time to give Chiyo a look over. She wasnā€™t too tall, had long hair of a rather appealing color, had pretty eyes, and didnā€™t look too bad when she blushedā€¦ Really, she was quite adorable when she was flustered. Maybe he should play along with Ruā€™s game?

Upon finishing off his noodles, having consumed the entirety of his bowl (Maybe they were the best, after all!) Izaya pushed the dish across the table to Momo, letting the furry creature have the leftover broth. Leaning up with one arm on the table --making sure to apply as little weight to the flimsy surface as he could manage-- Izaya spoke up, while turning the charm up to an eleven.
ā€œRu, why would you have her set me up with another woman? How could you, really, when sheā€™s clearly the cutest turtleduck in the pond?ā€ He cast a half hearted glare at his partner before continuing. ā€œAnd if youā€™re going to introduce me, at least do it properly.ā€
Turning to Chiyo, he straightened himself up and offered her his hand, to shake. ā€œMy name is Izaya Mizukami. I apologize for my friendā€™s forwardness. Heā€™s been taking something of twisted enjoyment in seeing this through with me.ā€

Looking her in the eyes, he continued to lay on the charm as best he could. It was all play, of courseā€¦ Flirting to see how flustered he could make Chiyo before she either slapped him or ignited another flare up. She was just a bit young looking for him, after all.. While definitely his type, she looked to be around seventeen or eighteen. Maybe if she were a couple years older, heā€™d devote more real effort to the task. Wellā€¦ As much effort as an amateur could really put in. He had to remind himself that heā€™d never even been on a date in his lifetime. Wooing, or fake wooing, was probably well beyond his skill level.

ā€œHow about, instead of doing as Ru asked, you go to the Firelight Fountain with me, instead? Iā€™m sure that would be much easier. Finding a girl even half as lovely as you sounds far too difficult.ā€