The History of Renko: Book 1 Emotions (Avatar, boyxboy)

Chapter 22: Three Become One

Koa looked out over the ship's side towards the sea as the wind blew through her hair. She couldn't remember the last time she saw stars this bright. Fortune shined down on her like the celestial objects shining down onto the ocean. The ties binding her to her mother and old way of life were being cut. All that mattered was making new ties as a member of "Team Avatar". She had to be valuable and not mess anything up.

She tensed as she heard footsteps behind her. Her hand moved to grasp the knife that she used to keep hidden on her thigh but it wasn't there. It turned out to be only the boys, Renko and Kuzo, walking towards her, talking with each other. In the dark, she couldn't tell who was who.

"Koa is that you?" the slightly shorter one said. He put out his hand palm up and summoned a pulsing ball of fire. The light reflected off of his glasses. It was Renko talking then.

"Yes I am here," she said softly. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah yeah, everything is fine," Kuzo said. "We wanted to tell you that we're being let off at Ember Island instead of the Capitol. Are you doing okay?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

"That's something we wanted to talk about," Renko added. "We wanted to get on the same page about some things and see how we can work as a team."

"Like clearly, I'm the looks of the operation," Kuzo unashamedly said. Renko took his free hand and flicked him in the ear. Koa smiled a little.

"I don't know about that but," she began. "I'm a planner and an organizer. I can get us where we need to go and I can find what we need to find. Also, I don't know a lot but I do some things about my mother's organization."

"Well that's good to hear," Renko cheerily said. "Any intel would be great."

"And I have been trained to do reconnaissance."

"Like a spy?" Kuzo asked.

"Not quite," she replied. "I can find ways to gather any information we might need. My mother was not very hands on about rearing me," she chose her words carefully, "But she made sure that I would be of practical use. Only now do I realize that that was to have me as a pawn to dispose of when necessary."

"We won't do that to you. I promise," Renko sternly said.

"Yes but I need to be honest about something," Kuzo looked her in the eye. "You haven't earned my trust just yet. You're a member of the team but I still have to watch you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less. I shall work to change that."

"Well now that that's settled, we should get ready to disembark. Aren't we laying anchor soon?" Renko questioned.

"Someone from my family's beach house is taking a small motor boat from the shore to meet us. It will be time soon," answered Kuzo. "I'll go to the bow and see if I can spot it. We should also see the lighthouse soon."

As Kuzo turned to leave Renko turned to Koa. He had a pensive look on his face as if he couldn't quite find the right words. Finally, he spoke.

"Just know, I do really appreciate you coming with us. I was told by an elder that I should trust the team I've put together and for that I trust you."

Koa realized that she had been holding her breath and breathed a sigh of relief. She bowed her head a little.

"Thank you. To be honest, I'm looking forward to being part of something bigger than me."

In the light of Renko's flame, they smiled at each other. They both turned when they saw a light flashing in the distance. It was the lighthouse.

"Oi! Guys, it's time to go!" they heard Kuzo call.

Later, after the motor boat dropped them at the beach, they began to hike up the driveway to the Royal Family beach house. The driveway was smooth and they were led by a butler carrying a lamp. Lampposts lined the way along with dark clumpy objects that were shrubbery. The team hadn't noticed how tired they were until then. Kuzo refused any house staff's attempt to carry their bags and he started to regret it. Finally, they arrived at the four-story mansion. It was a pagoda-style building with each level getting progressively shorter than the one beneath it. The grounds surrounding the building included the cliff it was resting on and views of the sleeping island below.

"Your Highness I have prepared your bedroom and the two conjoining guestrooms for your use," the butler said with a bow. "Shall I draw a bath?"

"No no it's fine," Kuzo replied. "We're just going to head to bed."

Once inside, Kuzo led the way to his bedroom and pointed Koa to hers. She bade goodnight and turned in. After, he led Renko into the room he would be staying in.

Renko bellyflopped into bed. He turned over and sat up on his shoulders.

"You don't always have to worry about me you know."

"What?" Kuzo asked. "What do you mean?" He sat on the bed next to him.

"I've noticed you worry," Renko said. Kuzo diverted his eyes a little.

"Thank you though," Renko said with a smile. He lay back down and was already in beginning to doze. With that, Kuzo stood up and began to walk out. He turned to say something but saw that Renko was completely passed out. It had been a long day for him.

Knowing that he maybe shouldn't, he walked back over to the bed and knelt down in front of it. He gazed at his pupil and noted on how much he admired him. He was the Avatar with the weight of the world on his shoulders and he was handling it well. Kuzo couldn't imagine what that would be like.

He decided to follow his urges. He leaned over and lightly placed a kiss on Renko's head. If today was a long day, tomorrow would be even longer. He looked at his friend once more then left the room.