The Pawn |Katara

TWO

Ember Island had become a favourite destination of Akira's over time. His family had a vacation house there and when he had been little they had all visited – he had countless of memories stored in the walls of his home. In time they stopped but he still went every weekend to enjoy the beach and the while of relaxation he could get. He never went alone, of course.

"Akemi, have you seen my sandals?"

Akemi hardly ever was somewhere he wasn't. She was pretty much the woman who raised him, in Akira's opinion, and even though he didn't always make things easy for her, Akira loved her. He also relied on her a whole lot.

"Didn't you insist on leaving them by the front door this morning, sir?"

Akemi smiled to herself at the sound of the rapid footsteps that followed as the boy rushed down the stairs to the front door. When he did catch sight of his sandals, he let out a little sound of victory. Akemi's smile widened.

"I'll be going down to the beach! Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko and Azula are probably already there by now!"

"Should I prepare lunch for all of your friends too, sir?"

Akira paused by the door, lips pursed in thought before he shook his head, then yelled out his answer. "No need, it will be just me."

"Have fun, sir."

He left without another word. He rushed down the beach, knowing the way like the back of his hand by now. He had known the rest would be arriving in Ember Island in the morning and his best guess was that they would be living with Li and Lo, as they tended to be the babysitters of the group more often than not. He could only hope they weren't thinking of joining them to the beach. As much as he knew they were dedicated to their work and their duties, he thought they could be creepy at times.

It didn't take him long to reach the beach. He paused at first so as to locate his friends. Azula's form was unmistakable in the crowd. It didn't take him much time to see her and reach the company. He walked over.

"Hey-"

"Hey, you need some help unpacking?"

Akira blinked as he turned to face the boy that had spoken only to notice he was talking to Ty Lee. 

"Sure. Thanks."

His eyes widened at Ty Lee's easy response. With a shake of his head, he walked over to where Zuko, Mai and Azula were. "So, I see you found the place alright."

"Could you scooch just a little bit more to the – Perfect."

Akira looked over at Ty Lee once more with wide eyes. Mai and Zuko seemed in a completely different world and as Zuko lifted a sea shell to present it to her, he decided he didn't want to listen in on that conversation. He cleared his throat, turned to Azula.

"So, what do you think of it so far?"

"It's not as grand as you always make it out to be," she told him without preamble as she brushed off some sand from her feet. 

"You'll warm up to it," he assured her. In the background, he was pretty sure Mai and Zuko were fighting over something. He cleared his throat. "Do you want to swim with me?"

"No thanks," she pursed her lips, "I'm playing kuai ball next."

He shrugged, "Suit yourself."

He undressed so he stayed in his swimwear, brushed a strand of hair behind his ear and headed towards the beach. He let out a small sigh as he dove under the water, relieved by the cool temperature. He swam to the surface and from there glanced back to where his friends were playing kuai ball. Even from a distance, he could still tell they had gotten too competitive again. He knew this wasn't going to end all that well. As the net caught fire after a particular shot of Azula's, he brought himself to get out with a sigh. When he finally reached them, he saw two young men he was unfortunate enough to know, Chan and Ruon-Jian, leaving the company. The moment they were gone, he let out a sigh, catching the attention of the rest.