The Half of Me | Zuko

Chapter Thirty One: The Blind Bandit [P1]

Tearing her eyes from Sokka, Ryoko looks down at the satchel he was drawn to. "It's pricey, but I really do like it," Sokka says, a hand to his chin in thought. Ryoko stifles a groan as she leans her forehead against Katara's shoulder. The only person who was worse when shopping than Sokka was Iroh. The thought of Iroh's many items bought over the years, most of which were unnecessary, brought on a feeling of dejection that she tried to push away by remembering where she was now. The humorous part of Ryoko realized how she was not slick in getting away from the draining activity, no matter who she in the company of.

"Please get the satchel," she shakily says from Katara's shoulder.

"You should get it. You deserve something nice," Katara tells him, letting Ryoko rest on her shoulder, though she realizes Ryoko did it in exasperation. She suppressed her loud laugh by covering her mouth, but her shoulders shook against Ryoko.

"I do, don't I?" Sokka sparkled at the thought, but then his body drooped. "But no. It's too expensive. I shouldn't."

"Alright, then don't." Katara pokes Ryoko's head gently and then walks off, leaving the fire bender to her brother's indecisiveness. Ryoko lifts her head and turns to Sokka, patting him on the back and pulling her friend away from the temptation. He nodded in agreement with her until he glances back at it for one moment.

Sokka turns back, dragging Ryoko with him. "You know what? I'm gonna get it," he states, seeming very pleased with himself.

"Yes, get it now," Ryoko encourages not wanting him to change his mind once more. Once he bought it from the vendor, he proudly held the green satchel out as Ryoko smiled at his gleaming. "Katara's right, you do deserve something nice," she tells him with an approving nod. He put the satchel on and the two began to look where Aang and Katara ventured off to.

As Ryoko spots them, she sees a man leaning in close to them, handing them a paper. It raised suspicion in her. After a certain amount of time traveling, most people who approached them caused this tension in Ryoko, and the feeling of protecting Aang grew inside her. Times, when someone would approach them, came to mind as the next moment they would either attack or plead for Aang to help them with some mundane task. Of course, Aang would help each time and each time Ryoko did not feel any relief until they were off again.

She and Sokka approached them as the man walked away. Ryoko stared at the man as he went off, changing her attention to the paper Aang held. Aang's eyes spark with interest. She scanned the paper realizing it was a coupon for an earthbending academy.

Ryoko raised her brow, glancing at Aang unsure. "I guess an academy could help you," she comments out loud.

Not far away, this Master Yu's earth bending academy was shown in gold writing, and outside, Katara, Sokka, and Ryoko sat beside the entrance waiting for Aang. Ryoko glanced inside every now and then trying to get any insight on how it was going for him. She was far more impatient than the siblings who waited. All Ryoko could think of was the possible outcome of this academy. As far as they knew, Aang had only experienced three of the elements and had yet to make any progress toward earth bending without a true master. Was desperation their only option at this point? A man who probably wanted payment for each lesson, was he meant to be Aang's teacher?

As if answering Ryoko's questions, Aang comes out of the academy in the student's clothing, along with others trailing out. "Eh, he's not the one," he tells them, still trying to get the earth out of his ears. Ryoko stands to help him out, patting the side of his head when Aang perks up at the nearby conversation.

"I think The Boulder is gonna win back the belt at Earth Rumble 6", one student with short rounded light brown hair says to the other.

"He's gonna have to fight his way through the best earthbenders in the world to even get a shot at the champ," the other student says.