Chapter 31: Accepting Burdens (2)

"Aang, are you really pooping?"

Nik had to make sure. He didn't want to be the one who got praised and tarnished by two different Avatars on the same day. The direction Aang had picked was also a misleading one since Nik was getting closer to the sea. The saltwater is clearly not good for the clean-up later... but who knows what else the monks might have taught Aang.

"... no," Aang's soft grumble echoed and Nik finally pushed the last of bushes apart to find Aang sitting on the edge of the cliff. It wasn't too high but knowing that he couldn't airbend, Nik decided to keep a little away and sat down slightly behind Aang.

"Don't worry, it won't fall," Aang remarked.

"One risk a day is enough for me," Nik replied as he recalled the vivid image of the Unagi's wide jaws revealing another set of teeth ready to grind him and Suki.

"I don't get it," Aang spoke up, "When Avatar Kyoshi left me... I still felt powerful. It made me believe that I could do anything."

"Powerful? When Kyoshi left your body, you fell unconscious," Nik spoke with an amused expression.

"My body was spent... but Kyoshi was extremely powerful. I could sense it," Aang sighed deeply before returning a questioning look, "You said that as long as I took one step at a time, things will be easy to achieve. The first thing I had to tackle was the Unagi, and now this."

Nik gazed at the boy silently. At least, when Nik himself was given another chance at life, he wasn't deliberately sent into a pile of troubles. Mitsuko helped ease his situation greatly, and now there were Katara, Sokka, and Suki. Compared to be his past life, he had a few beings whom he didn't truly trust with his secrets but at least hoped to get help from when needed.

"Hey, Aang, you know... I still don't get it," Nik responded and Aang inquired with a confused expression, "What?"

"This Avatar stuff."

"Glad that I'm not alone," the boy mumbled as Nik continued.

"But I do get the pit in your stomach... I felt the same thing many times."

"Why? Are you asked to save the world, too?"

"No, it was more like serving a person of great interest and failure would... leave me with an unpleasant taste," Nik shook his head with a sigh.

"You're just saying this to make me feel better. You saved someone. You saved Suki while I was the one who made Unagi attack in the first place. Even Kyoshi praised you..."

"What? Honor again?" Nik chuckled surprisingly, "Aang, my honor has been cut, robbed, and sold a long time ago. It doesn't matter to me if someone else thinks that I'm a hotshot or something. I can tell that you won't be able to hide from your problems... the more you hide, the harder it gets to overcome. And even if you do gain the courage to eventually face them, chances are... you'll just lose."

"Then it's better to hide," Aang mused.

"It's your choice, I said that, too," Nik stood up and stretched his waist slightly, "All I wanted to come here and say was that you're probably fearful of the number of things left to accomplish. Just like you decided to take action with the Unagi, make a decision in this scenario, too."

"Of course, I want to save the children. What did any child like me do to deserve any of this?" Aang stood up with a huff, "But what will we do when the Fire Nation discovers us?"

"You've got a Flying Bison. You tell me?" Nik shrugged and Aang's expression eased.

"Isn't running from our problems a terrible way to deal with them? You said it yourself."

"I only said hiding from them makes it worse. Making your troubles chase after you can be surprisingly fun. You will even have the chance to tease them and annoy them."

Nik snickered.

---

"Hey, don't you think that Suki is being really chummy with Nik?" Katara whispered as she dropped the cut vegetables into the boiling pot while Sokka fed the fire underneath. After Aang himself stated that bending arts shouldn't be pursued without a clear path, Katara had taken a break from using her abilities to freeze or boil the water.

Aang had a bowl of berries which he shared with Momo as he gazed at Suki instructing Nik in the way of Kyoshi Warriors a little further away while Sokka calmly used a small blade to turn a hefty trunk into a pike.

"He saved the lady, isn't it obvious?" Sokka inquired with much thought.

"What is?" Katara questioned.

"When you save a woman, she always throws herself at his savior," Sokka explained and Katara puckered her lips, clearly left dissatisfied with such an explanation. Meanwhile, Aang couldn't help but grow curious. He had grown to start accepting the terrible consequences of the war when he heard even Nik agree and say it's alright to run.

"Is that why the girls were chasing after me in the Kyoshi Island?" The boy inquired and Sokka humored, "Good times to be an Avatar, right?"

Aang still shook his head. It wasn't good at all.

Katara, meanwhile, stirred the pot more aggressively than usual, making the broth splash out a little.

On the other hand, holding the war fans folded like two sticks, Nik moved according to what Suki had demonstrated a few days ago as basic training while she leaned against a rock, her left leg straightened so it doesn't ache, and she continued, "Men have a stronger physique, so the Kyoshi Warrior's techniques solely lie in using the opponent's strength. But to do that, you must feel the opponent's strength and thus the basics of the training are all about self-defense."

Suki threw a small pebble at Nik's way as he sidestepped and performed the same attack he had been practicing for an hour now.

"Good," Suki smiled as she tried standing up, making Nik store away the fans in his personal space before helping her up with her arm around his shoulders again.

"Thank you," Suki chuckled, "But when my leg heals, I will show you how a Kyoshi Warrior really fights... against another human. Not a giant sea monster. We're never taught how to do that."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it," Nik smiled. They slowly walked towards the campsite. Given the lack of space due to the woods, everyone would be using sleeping bags for the night instead of tents so only a fire was set up for the dinner.

"Dinner's prepared?" Nik questioned as he easily became the one with the greatest appetite in the group.

"Just a few minutes," Katara mumbled and everyone settled around.

"Hey, I saw that you were teaching Nik how to weave. Instead of one pebble, you should just keep tossing them every second. That's how I learned it," Aang spoke up and Suki nodded, "Oh, I plan to do that."

"The rocks and boulders?" Sokka inquired.

"Maybe when an Earthbender decides to join us," Suki smiled.

"How's your leg?" Katara looked at Suki as she nodded, "It's still a little painful. But few days at best and I'll be good as new."

Before Nik could speak, he flinched slightly as he saw a... well something behind one of the surrounding trees. The war fans appeared in his hands again as he gazed at the direction, his actions attracting the group's gaze to the direction of Nik's view and they, too, saw it.

"Who are you?" Sokka questioned, pointing his pike towards the tree and Aang stood up with his staff ready.

"Wait. Don't attack," the man stretched his arms to reveal that he wasn't holding any weapons before walking out. It was the man's hair that snuck out of the hiding spot, Nik now realized, that allowed the stranger to get spotted by the group. Seeing him come to the light, Nik and Katara were surprised because this man was none other than the muscular youth who had walked past the duo this evening.

"How long were you here?" Sokka inquired sharply.

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"I heard you speak that the boy is the Avatar," The man admitted calmly and kept his hands raised, "I had no plans to stick around. But I need your help."

Rolling his eyes, Sokka hissed a reply, "Everyone needs help. But we're on an important mission and keep the Avatar's identity a secret."

"You still don't know... do you?" The man questioned rhetorically, "This morning, the little relics of the past Avatar in our and surrounding villages gave a bright light from their eyes. It is no secret... the Avatar has returned, we all know of it."

"Wha---?" Aang's lips parted, the purplish berry juice drooling out as he remained stunned.

"We should hear what he has to say. He's probably from that village," Katara spoke up and Sokka couldn't help but groan.

"Make it quick!" Sokka looked at the man, "And start with your name."

"My name is Haru. The village you are talking about used to be a mining village until a few years ago but once it was exhausted, the Fire Nation soldiers left the village to tighten the security of the prison where my father and other earthbenders are being held. I want your help to free my father."

Sokka blinked, "How can you prove that your father is really taken captive?"

Nik almost rolled his eyes. It was as if asking someone to prove their father's demise if they are indeed dead.

"Will this work?" Instead of taking offense, Haru stomped the ground a large chunk of ground simply erupted and floated above him. Seeing the sizeable chunk and then at his 'pointed stick', Sokka gestured towards Nik, "Throw that at him. He will weave away."

"An Earthbender," Aang's expression brightened while everyone eased slightly. Haru nodded and his shoulders relaxed. With that, the chunk of ground fell behind him.

"You said that you needed our help to free him. Why? Where is he imprisoned?" Sokka inquired.

"There's a coal ship up the western coast," Haru pointed out, that's where all the Earthbenders are imprisoned.

"Hah! Who said that they would be at sea? Hmm? That's right, me!" Sokka grinned while Katara sighed, "Shut up." Then looking at Haru, she continued, "I'm sorry, but we need some time to decide."

Haru nodded, "I will be waiting in the village."

"And why do you think we will trust you with the location of the Avatar?" Suki frowned.

"Because I had the chance to harm you guys and I didn't. After the war, it has only gotten harder to trust individuals since... it is easier to fall but believe me, my father is the only one I care about at this point. I want to break him out safely."

Haru turned around, not bothering to speak anymore. Once he was away, Sokka and Nik did a quick scout of their surroundings this time before returning and eating the dinner. Meanwhile, Aang looked at Katara, "Why didn't we tell him that it was our plan originally to help break out the prisoners?"

"Because if the fire nation knows that the Avatar is coming, they will use this information to set a trap," Katara sighed softly. Aang may have chosen to suppress the fact that the Fire Nation might have removed the Air Nomads using a trap and a bait but Katara didn't. If they can set traps once, they can do it again.

Aang nodded after understanding this and Sokka suddenly questioned.

"Hey, Nik... can't you make a ship disappear for a time and when we need it, make it reappear? Instead of a flying ball of fur, it would be much safer to travel in disguise using the fire nation ships and uniforms." Sokka spoke up and Nik looked at him.

'Man, he should be the one to have this ability,' Nik felt internally and he nodded. But experiencing all of this was also good for him. Learning how to fight from Suki and the art of logical reasoning and problem-solving by Sokka would only benefit him in the long run.

"I will try to do that," Nik didn't simply reveal that he could. All this time, he had shown to be able to make smaller things reappear and until necessary, he didn't want to fully demonstrate this fearsome ability.

"Alright. In time, we will have our disguise... but as Katara said, we don't have to trust Haru's word. Tomorrow, I will go to the village as planned and try to find information about the children. You guys should ride towards the western coast and confirm Haru's information."

"Is it possible for me and Suki to stay?" Nik questioned.

"Why?" Katara inquired.

"If it is just scouting then Appa and Aang will do fine. I think it is better to keep on training during the time when I'm not required so I can be more useful in time," Nik explained, "And Suki shouldn't be trying to fly unnecessarily with an injured leg."

"It's fine by me," Suki grinned.

"Wait, then I should stay, too," Katara mumbled.

"Why?" Sokka questioned.

"If Haru is really planning something and decides to harm us, Suki and Nik will need my help," Katara stated as a matter of fact.

"I guess it will be just us, guys. The Cool Air guys!" Aang smiled, scratching Momo's ear and patting Appa's nose.

The group soon completed their meals with a bowl of broth in Suki's, Katara's, and Sokka's name and the rest of the pot in Nik's stomach. Tired and exhausted from the events of the day, the group was soon to rest with an appointed member to look out for a set interval. Nik was the first, then it was Suki. Katara was the third by the time it was dawn and she slept again after waking Aang up. Aang continued to meditate during his time and packed up with Appa to explore the western coast after waking Sokka who kept a sizeable ration from the baggage tied to Appa for reasons unknown to Aang.

Soon everyone woke up. Aang, Momo, and Appa had left, leaving Sokka who wasn't quite ready for the day as he would yawn constantly but he had things to do himself.

"Where are you taking so much stuff?" Katara questioned and Sokka simply waved his hand, "You've got a lot to learn, little Sis. A lot-- *Yawn*... what was I saying?"

"Nothing... just be safe," Katara sighed.

As Sokka left, the group freshened up. Nik simply hid inside his personal space to take care of his business. He was already starting to miss the comfortable toilets of his new homeworld.

After a quick breakfast leaving a lot to be satisfied, Nik had himself cornered by Suki as she began training him relentlessly. Her training practices were different. In the morning, she said, is the best time to exercise the body instead of practicing moves.

"Punch against trees... kick against trees... that's not exercising," Nik gad a bleak expression.

"It is," Suki nodded, "Strength isn't all about muscles. It's about who hits harder and who can endure it, too. First, you practice how to hit harder. You will learn how to take it through experience and fights along the way."

"Then what's the use of weapons then?" Nik frowned.

"Weapons are your primary tools for attacks," Suki nodded, "But a warrior must be prepared for many events. Weapons can be held and lost. You're the prime example, aren't you? You can make weapons disappear but what about fists?"

Nik nodded in understanding.

"Katara, you join him, too," Suki stated.

"But Avatar Kyoshi said that you cannot train me."

"I'm not training you in the Kyoshi Warrior's techniques. I'm just making you punch and kick trees, even little children do that," Suki shrugged.

As Suki stated, she only corrected Nik's posture and continued to make Katara attack a tree without instructing anything else. Only after this dreadful 30 minutes did Suki make Nik complete his stretches when he revealed he had much more to offer in this department.

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