Avatar: The New Era [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 6: The Archer

In a blink of an eye, Kurana leaped and conjured three boulders from the ground. The stranger's eyes grew wide and dodged the incoming attacks with unmatched speed. He grabbed the bow wrapped around his body and went after the quiver of arrows that laid at the trunk of the tree.

The Avatar threw the remaining boulder at the place where the quiver lays but before she could land the rock, there wasn't any sight of the stranger around.

Kurana looked around. She spun like a paranoid woman in the middle of the forest. A quick arrow flew inches away from her face and landed on the bark of a tree. She returned a blast of fire on the direction from where the arrow flew unfortunately, she missed. Kurana's eyes grew wide as a barrage of arrows flew from every direction. She consistently dodged each one of them before leading to a halt.

A sharp arrow was pointed at her neck as her arms we're wrapped around by a thick layer of cloth. It all happened before she could drop a sweat.

"H-How did you get h-here so fast?!" She nervously asked.
The sly archer smirked, "Let's see, mastered archery at the age of six, disciplined by the great monks at the Golden Temple, trained with the best martial arts master in the world. I can say that I'm pretty well skilled in a few."

Kurana gulped and thought of a way to get out of her situation.

"Don't worry," the young man released his grip, "I'm on your side."
"The name's Ukiyo." He stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Avatar."

His hand was cold. It felt like ice freshly removed from an iceberg. Kurana shook the sweaty palm and kept a straight face.

"Let me ask you something, why the spirits did you attack me?!" The mysterious looking man completely broke out of character and continued to laugh.
"You l-looked like you we're one of his guards." The Avatar replied.
"Guards? What do you mean? And who's 'He'" Ukiyo gave her a confused look.
"I'm actually off to take him down right now. His name is Narrosk. He's known by kidnapping people around Ba Sing Se, including my friend." Kurana said.
"What?! At least we can track him down since you already know his name. I'll help you out. I don't have a so-called 'home' anyways." The non-bender bowed his head.
"What happened?" Kurana placed a hand over his shoulder.
"Well, my dad passed away and my mom was killed in combat. They were really great parents and they have come a long way to where they left. It's my duty to finish what they've started." He smiled sadly.

The two of them stared long. Their eyes met and an awkward blush spread across their faces.

"Uhh...I think we better get moving." Kurana broke the silence.
Ukiyo snapped back to consciousness. "Y-yeah."

The young man waited for her to lead the way. The two of them rushed through the woods when Ukyio was tripped on a rock. He fell hard on the dirt as earth traps clasped to his wrists and ankles. Four large brutes emerged from the shadows. Each had a red marking on their foreheads and all were clearly dual-benders. Kurana tried to fend them off with fire but she was grabbed from behind.

"Avatar!" Ukiyo yelled in worry.
"We have retrieved the specimen, Master." The largest one spoke through a tiny microphone.
"Ahh, yes. Very well done. Bring them and you shall be rewarded." A voice similar to Narrosk's spoke through a tiny implant on the brute's ear.

The large one ordered the others to grab the fallen man. Kurana was sprayed with an unknown chemical that made her fall asleep.

As they were to lay hands on Ukiyo, he immediately broke out of the earth traps and whirled towards a tree. He grabbed his bow and fired consecutive shots on each enemy. They all went down in a snap. Ukiyo wiped a sweat and climbed down. Before he could even reach Kurana, an instinct made him block an incoming attack.

"Don't you dare touch her!" A male voice echoed through the woods.

The waterbender slowly walked towards them with a fist of ice on his hand ready to launch at anything. Ukiyo stepped back and placed his hands in the air.

"And yet again." He sarcastically whispered.
"Who are you? And what in the world happened here?" Syv spoke behind Tokku.
The long-haired man chuckled, "I was just trying to help your friend over here."

Tokku checked Kurana if she was still breathing. Fortunately, she was only unconscious. The young man clenched his fists and went straight towards Ukiyo. The non-bender leaped towards the tree to dodge any attack.

"Oh c'mon! I was really helping her! Do you even see the three large men around us?" He pointed at the brutes.
They looked around at saw the fallen men meters away from Kurana.
"Why were they here? And why were you with Kurana?" Tokku, who had calmed down, asked.

The archer dropped from the tree and sighed, "Okay, let's start from the beginning."
~~~~~
A/N: Hey there guys! I'm happy to tell you that my team and I made it to the Finals and won as champs in the Pro-Bending Competition at Fanfiction.net :D if you guys wanna check it out, search for the thread in the forums and sign-up for the next season! I'm telling you guys, it's a really tough competition but it's pretty fun! Well, here's a little something for all of you :) it's my Christmas Break and I've been resting for a while just for my body to cope with all the stress that school gave me. Updates would be faster than before since I'm pretty vacant :) after Christmas, I'll be sure to upload the next chapter but for now, have a Merry Christmas everyone! :D thank you all!