Avatar:Folk tale of an earthbender{Book One:Earth}

Chapter 10: Family matters

Daiki's mouth was wide open in shock, as he held Kaori. Kaori sat there, her arm still outeached, with a small, burn mark left on her palm. She was shocked, scared, confused, and angry all at once. "T-that's not fair." She said. "I only asked to be able to bend! I didn't want this!" Her voice was shaky, and she was trembling, the stars were gone from her eyes. Daiki stared down at her, shocked, how could Kaori, the strange little friend he'd had been the avatar this whole time. It felt impossible, yet it was true. He snapped out of it as he saw that tears were streaming down her cheeks. "D-don't cry!" He said, laying her down gently. "Please don't cry, Kaori!" Daiki said, stroking her arm, as he held her, naturally, since he'd had 4 sisters, he was quite good at cheering people up. "It's okay! You're okay!" He said, in attempt to stop her crying. But, truthfully, he didn't know if it was. He held her for a few moments as she cried, chanting. "It's okay, It's okay"

"No! No! It's not okay- I'm not...I'm not built for this life!" She said, shaking her head, feeling as if her insides were being torn apart. "I can't do this! I can't do this! I can't do this!" She repeated, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It wasn't...I wasn't...I didn't want this!" She shouted. Daiki held her down, stroking her arm. "Calm down." He said, holding her close. "You don't have to do anything."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this! I wanted to be normal!" Kaori said, rubbing her eyes. "What wasn't?" Daiki asked. "I wanted an adventure! I wanted a carefree life! I wanted no titles! I never asked for this!" She said, her eyes were puffy, and the look on her face was heart breaking, as if she just wanted to give up. "I want to go back!" Daiki sighed, patting her back. "If it helps, I don't think of you any different" He mumbled. Kaori wiped her eyes once again. "Really?" She looked up at him. "You don't think I'm different? Strange? You're not going to bow to me?" She asked. "Nope. Do you want me to?" He said, tilting his head. Kaori brought her knees to her chest. "It's fine." She muttered, pressing her forehead against her knees. Her eyes were cloudly. Daiki frowned, patting her back. "I can stay with you until you feel better." Kaori rubbed her now puffy eyes, and hugged him. "Thank you." Daiki's cheeks turned red, and he looked off to the side. "Whatever makes you feel better" He said under his breath, he said patting her back. The two sat there for about 5 minutes, as Kaori sobbed, Daiki waited for her to calm down, patting her back.

In an instant, the simple, calm life with no titles, that Kaori had imagined, was ripped away from her as she sat there. "No. No....NO!" She cried out, hitting the ground.

"It's okay! Really! You don't have to tell anyone just yet! And I'm not gonna stop being your friend because of it!" He said, stroking her arm in atrempt to cheer her up. "And I'll help you! I'll help you find people to teach you the elements! I'll be your rock!" He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Was that a pun?" Kaori said, whiping her eyes. "...Yeah...is that okay?" Daiki asked hopefully. "M-mhm!" She said, continuing to sob, covering her face. Daiki pat her back. "There there...it's okay."

Eventually, she came to her senses and let go of him, holding her stomach. "I think I'm okay now. It's just..a lot to think about.", She muttered. "Having a set destiny..being in the public eye...it doesn't sound..ideal." Daiki nodded. "You mentioned something like that earlier...not liking having your life planned out?" He said, scooting closer to her. "You remember that?" She asked, tilting her head, as she wasn't exactly used to people remembering things about her, as she'd never had a proper friend. "Well yeah." He said. "Jeez. I feel like you're the only person who gets how I feel." She mumbled, bringing her knees to her chest. Daiki did the same, just staring at her, the first friend he'd had in years, the avatar. "Are you sure you're okay now?" He asked. "I mean, I'm better. Still a little in shock." She said, getting up. Daiki stood up next to her.

"How about we go for a walk? Just the two of us. It'll clear your mind." He suggested, in attempt to make her feel better. "Guess so." Kaori muttered.

"So...did you have many friends back in the water tribe" Daiki asked as they walked. "Not really..one or two." Kaori muttered, Maika's face appearing in her head, along with Anzu's, and finally her grandfather's. "And yourself?" She asked. "A few when in school..but I haven't seen them in a while" He responded, looking around. "Uh huh...could I ask you something?" Kaori said, looking up at him. "Shoot."