Vanished

Discovered

    "How did you..." Sokka trailed off.

    "How did I know?" Toph asked, walking into the room and closing the door. "Jeez, Sokka, I may be blind but I'm not blind!"

    Sokka looked at his feet.

    "Where have you been!?" Toph demanded. "We've been worried! I've been worried. Not to mention Zuko!"

    "I-"

    "Spirits, Sokka, none of us except Suki have seen Zuko for four years! We're worried!" Toph's eyes started to form tears.

    Sokka didn't know what to say. He just kept his eyes on his feet.

    Toph let out a shaky breath. "All I wanna know, Sokka, is why you lied to Suki."

    "I- I didn't want to cause a commotion." Sokka admitted. "Please, Toph, don't tell her."

    "Wasn't going to. I wasn't the one who lied." Toph started to walk out the door, but then stopped. "Suki's smart. She'll put the pieces together soon enough. Goodnight, 'Kya'." And with that, she was gone.

    Sokka sighed. Of course Toph knew. Toph always knows.

    When Sokka went to bed, he fell into a restless sleep filled with nightmares of the boat crash.

—

<Earlier that day>

    Toph walked up to Suki in the main hall of the school.

    "Suki," Toph said. "We need to talk."

    "Sure, Toph," Suki agreed. They walked into Toph's office. "What's up?"

    "I uhm- I know you're not allowed to talk about him, but- but I want to know how Zuko's doing."

    "Well," Suki started. "I honestly don't see him much. He's always holed up in his room."

    "Well, what do you know?" Toph asked.

    "Ty Lee is around him the most." Suki informed. "I asked her about him once, and she said he's always lonely. Said he's been like that since Sokka disappeared."

    "Have you talked to Iroh?" Iroh had been living in the Fire Nation ever since Sokka disappeared. He helps Zuko with Firelord duties since Zuko doesn't know how to stay motivated with Sokka gone.

    "When I talk to Iroh, we don't talk about Zuko." Suki said. "He tends to ask about my own life. Asks how your's and my relationship is going, etc."

    "Oh, that's sweet of him." Toph remarked.

    Suki hummed and scratched her chin, as if she were thinking. "What if... we smuggled you into the Fire Nation?"

    Toph laughed. "What?"

    "I'm serious! What if I snuck you onto the ship when I leave?"

    "So, you're willing to break the law to get me into the Fire Nation?" Suki nodded. "I like your style! No wonder I decided to date you!"

    "Okay," Suki said. "We'll have to come up with a plan, and also get Penga, Ho Tun, and The Dark One to watch over your academy."

The two women heard a knock at the door. Suki walked over and opened it. A woman stood before them.

    "Hi! I'm Kya!" The woman said. Toph could feel the woman's heart rate increasing, as if she were lying.

"What's this about?" Toph asked. Suki shot her a look. Granted, Toph couldn't see the look Suki had given her, but she could feel her girlfriend's agitation.

    "I- I was wondering if Suki would train me to be a Kyoshi Warrior?" Kya explained.

    Toph could feel Suki's agitation going away, and was replaced by a new emotion that Toph hadn't felt from her girlfriend in almost four years. Genuine happiness. Toph almost cried. Almost. She had to keep it together for now. She could show emotions later when her and Suki were alone again.

"Of course I can!" Suki enthused. "We haven't had a new Warrior in 2 years! What did you say your name was again?"

"Kya," Kya answered. Again, the girl's heart rate went up. Why was she lying?

    "Awesome!" Suki waved over Toph's student, Penga. "Penga? Can you escort Miss Kya, here, to a spare room, please? She'll be staying here until I leave."

"Sure," Penga agreed. As they walked off, Toph noticed that the pattern of Kya's footsteps were oddly familiar, but she decided to brush it off. Probably a coincidence.

    Toph turned to Suki and smiled. "You were happy, weren't you?" She asked. "That Kya girl said she wanted to be a Kyoshi Warrior and that made you happy. I haven't seen you genuinely happy in almost four years, Suki!"

    Suki smiled and gave Toph a kiss. The two didn't kiss often, so when they did kiss, it was special. Shortly after that, Suki said she was going to bed early so she could think of a plan.

    Toph thought back to the pattern of Kya's footsteps. Why was it so familiar?

    Wait...

    Holy spirits.

    Toph hurried out of the schoolhouse and to the dorm areas where the students stayed. She found Kya's room and knocked.

"Come in," A voice called.

    Toph opened the door and stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.

    "Hello, Captain Boomerang." Toph said to Sokka.

_______________________________

i know, i know, i'll get into the story soon enough! Zuko is coming back shortly, just wait.

the purpose of this chapter was to show you what went through Toph's mind and how she found out Sokka was Sokka. i know this chapter's short, but trust me, the plot continues in the next chapter!

okay that's all! thank you for reading! -Em

(p.s. Vanished is now #12 on #zukka, and The School of Ba Sing Se (my other fanfic) is #58 on #legendofkorra! thank you!!)