Motor car engines sounded in the square. They were here already? Your town had been plagued by bandits for months now. The town leader had sent a request for help, but it had been weeks and no one had come. You'd been cooped up in the shop for all this time and the one day you go outside, the bandits have to show up. Some luck you had.
"I sure hope you can pay us this time!" The leader of the gang shouted. "I'd hate for this crap town to get even smaller!" You stared at him. That voice was familiar, but he wore a cloth over his mouth and nose. You couldn't quite remember...
"You ruffians cut off the supply trains! How are we supposed to pay you if we can't make any money?" The town leader shouted indignantly.
"That's not our problem, old man." A large shadow appeared over the courtyard. You looked up, not expecting to see a large flying animal. Your confusion quickly turned to joy when two teens in flight suits landed gracefully on the ground. The air benders! They came! "Children? You sent for children?"
"Hey, bandit-guy! We're not kids! I'm Kai." They had their backs to you, so you couldn't see their faces. The boy speaking pointed to the girl next to him. "That's Opal. I assume you all are the ones terrorizing these people?" He's pretty straightforward. You prayed that they could actually drive the bandits away.
"Who cares what your names are? We're not scared of you!" With that, at least a dozen bandits jumped out of the motor cars and began attacking. Kai and Opal dodged, jumped, and avoided all of the attacks. Your attention followed Kai. You watched as he fought with the bandits, all the while teasing and taunting them. You didn't realize how close to the fighting you'd moved until you felt a burly arm wrap around your torso. A large hand clasped tightly over your mouth as you were dragged backward.
"I got one! Now let's go!" The man shouted. You struggled and kicked, but that only made him hold you tighter. Your heartbeat was in your ears as fear took hold. You shut your eyes and tried to scream through the man's hand.
"Kai!" You heard a girl's voice shout.
"I know, Opal! I'm on it!" You heard several grunts and shouts like someone was getting hurt. You hoped it wasn't Kai. Suddenly, a wall of pressure hit you full force, sending you and your kidnapper back into the side of the trunk. You hit the ground hard, followed by the bandit. You struggled to move from under his unconscious body.
"Kai!" Opal shouted. "You were supposed to save her, not squash her!" You felt more pressure on your right as you and the bandit were rolled over. However, despite being unconscious, the man held firm. After a short period of struggling, you and Kai managed to release the hold. Before you could react, you were swept up off the ground. You looked up at Kai, who was holding you bridal style.
"Hey, are you okay? Sorry about that. I kind of got carried away." He grinned at you and you couldn't help but smile back. There was something about him... "What's your name?" You blinked back to reality.
"(Y/N)." You answered quickly, still in his arms.
"Well, here you go. You should probably hide somewhere until this ends." He quickly put you down and raced back into the fray. "Stay safe!" He quickly shouted back. You stood, stunned, once again watching Kai fight. You watched as the bandits' leader stalked over to where the air benders were now fighting back-to-back. You recognized him quickly. Oh no. Taru. He was one of the best earth benders in the village and served as its protector for a while. You'd heard he'd died. You had to warn Kai.
"Kai!" You shouted. "Their leader! He-" Before you could finish, both Kai and Opal was trapped in earth columns up to their necks.
"I told you, kids, earlier. We're not scared of you." Taru pulled out a long knife. It looked too short for a sword but too long for a knife... When did he get that?! He lifted the knife behind him. Suddenly, a shoe hit him on the side of his bald head. You let out a short laugh and turned to congratulate the person who'd thrown it. There was no one around you. When you saw Taru glare at you, you noticed one of your shoes was missing. What the-? Oh, spirits! That was you! You threw your shoe at the leader of a dangerous gang. You weren't sure whether to be terrified that you'd drawn attention to yourself again, or impressed that you threw your shoe and actually managed to hit your target. You took a step back, opting for terror.
"What are you doing? Run!" Opal shouted. Kai just gaped at you. You turned tail and ran, Girilal on your heels.
"You stupid kids!" He shouted after you. Luckily, you were naturally fast. You entered an alleyway and bounced up and off the walls. "What?" You landed behind Girilal and ran back out of the alley. In the meantime, Kai and Opal had managed to free themselves and were fighting the other bandits, this time with more success.
You picked up a discarded curved broadsword and joined in.
"Hey, it's you! I didn't know you could fight." Kai said, sounding impressed. You blocked and parried a bandit in front of you.
"I'm apprenticing for a swordsmith, but I can also fight a little. I'm still learning." You dodged another attack and used the hilt of your sword to move Kai out of the way as well. The bandits quickly retreated. You dropped the weapon and turned to face Kai. You jumped at how close you were. Apparently, he'd had the same idea and smiled at you.
"Are you kidding?" He asked playfully. He draped an arm over your shoulders and pressed his forehead to yours. "That was awesome." You closed your eyes and leaned against him. Alright, alright. He's pretty charming. The moment ended too soon, however.
"Achem." Opal cleared her throat. Kai slowly peeled away, like he didn't want to leave. "Kai. Bison. Now." She ordered. Oh, spirits! Is she his girlfriend? She looked a little older, though. That can't be it. Kai took you from your thoughts by placing a quick kiss on your cheek. Before you even had time to react, he'd already strolled away. Opal joined him, smacking him on the back of the head. With one leap, both air benders jumped onto the bison.
"I'll see you again, (Y/N)!" Kai shouted as the bison flew away. You waved until they were out of sight. Once they'd passed out of view. You looked around at the townspeople all giving you odd looks. You took awkward steps backward heading back to the sword shop.
