Welcome back my candy hearts and paper flowers! Hope you enjoyed the last of June, I just spent it enjoying the last season of squid game. It was just what I needed after a bit of family drama and emotional turmoil. Nothing like a good story to recover. Anyway if you're running on fumes like me I hope this chapter will refuel you, so enjoy!
CHAPTER 13
It took longer than anticipated but their changed tactics allowed Aang and Katara to cut through several pillars. The drill was still moving at the time, and it was a challenge not to draw away from the task with worry about Sakura. However, Sokka always pulled them back, with a string of annoyance yanking them to reality, and refocusing them on the task. Aang was the only one to make it to the top of the drill though, because not long after they finished, they had some surprise visitors.
To their unpleasant surprise, they were reunited with three of their most recent and honestly most difficult adversaries as of late. The three-person team consists of the princess of the Fire Nation, Azula, and her comrades Mei and Tai Lee. Only one was a bender, but the three were like lines of steel that coiled together to make an impenetrable knot.
When Aang first fought Azula, he realized a few crucial points. One, she was far less merciful than her brother Zuko, and two, her fighting technique was always to strike with the intent that there would be no getting back up when she was done. Even her flames had a higher temperature of ferocity that they burned blue, a cold color for fire, but also revealed its intensity. A real testament of the firebending prodigy.
So Aang had them split up, while Katara and Sokka escaped, also luring away Mei and Tylee, Aang assumed responsibility for taking down the drill. With his air bending, he rushed through the drill, passing soldiers and engineers who barely had time to realize what had transpired, before he came to the top of the drill. He managed to get to the area where it had started breaking through the outer wall, but it also stopped in place. Aang knew that Sakura at least managed to get to the control room.
Now he just had to do his part. Using water bending to cut through the metal and create a target point to hammer down on the drill. He was also getting rained on by rocks that the general had ordered to be dropped in a futile attempt to stop the drill, it was still happening even after it turned silent. He didn't get the opportunity to deliver the blow yet, ducking to avoid a ball of flames thrown at his back. If it hadn't been for Momo's chattering, Aang would've have even seen it coming.
There was no room for error when it came to facing Azula. He had faced her brother Zuko on many occasions, but while he was strong, his temperament made him easy to throw off balance. However, Azula always held her faculties, even when the enemy had the upper hand against her. Her composure was always strong.
It's what made facing her so intimidating. Because she would never allow her opponent to read her intentions.
Aang kept his distance, allowing her to make the first move. She took her hands, closing her index and middle fingers together before shifting her stance, straightening her arms, and throwing concentrated flames. Aang managed to avoid them because of the distance and countered with air bending to throw her off, but she remained unshaken. The two began exchanging blows, a water whip countered by the fire.
Azula was slowly closing the distance between them though, until she kicked off some fire bending at Aang that broke through his defenses. The intense flames meeting the water created a gust of wind that pushed Aang back.
The avatar attempted to use the remains of fallen rocks scattered on the drill, collecting them to Earth bend, hoping it would have a better affected than the water he had just run out of. However, Azula continued to evade those attacks that her flames could not destroy.
Flipping through the air, Azula gathered a powerful attack at her feet and released it towards Aang, breaking through his barrier once more. This time sent him flying back so hard, that he was knocked unconscious by the wall.
Azula walked towards the boy determined to put an end to this. However, she would not reach him again.
The air whizzed and it was thanks to the silence of the now motionless drill that she could even hear it, turning around, she barely missed the flash of silver that poked her eye in the sunlight.
"Not another step,"
Standing behind, Azula bore witness to the new player in the game. Very new. While she had been hunting the avatar, there was no word of this newcomer. She had a steady expression, and unwavering eyes, the kind you would see in seasoned warriors. So Azula knew she was no amateur to battle, and from the way she threw that kunai, she was quite the weapons master, as well as having the ability to actually mask her presence from the princess. What stood out, however, was the bright pink hair, unkept by the high winds on top of the drill.
Azula's mouth twisted into a smirk, mocking and condescending. "Who are you?" she sneered, swiping at the blood on her cheek. "How long have you been with the little band of misfits,"
"Long enough to call you my enemy," Sakura stated.
"Oh scary," Azula rolled her eyes, she glanced over at the control center, one of the class panes had been shattered. "Ah, so you're the one who stopped the drill. You've got to have some skills if you can get passed the guards,"
Her fists tightened at her sides, "I can give you a demonstration of what I did to them right now if you want. Or you could walk away while I take down this drill,"
"Oh, are you trying to be kind?" Azula asked, folding her arms under each other.
"It's a one-time offer," Sakura would prefer not to have to fight this girl. She held so much animosity and arrogance around her, wearing it like a velvet cloak. To Sakura, it felt like she was facing a child. While it was disrespectful not to acknowledge a warrior as such despite age, there was a measurable difference in strength that Sakura was aware of and this girl was ignorant to. Which was why she had offered that chance to her enemy.
Azula folded her hands behind her back, shoulders square and head tilted to the right, her eyes narrowed into the distance. "Well…if you insist!"
There was an attempted moment to move Sakura's shield and lower her defenses. She started fire bending, taking a strong stance before punching out three blasts towards the kunoichi. However they were easily avoided, dodged with minimal movement on Sakura's part, she barely bent her knees to keep away from the flames. Azula had to pause, getting a feel for the girl's reflexes and already concluding that she might be better than the avatar, who had gone through hard efforts to prop his defenses and ensure she couldn't snake through. But it seemed that this girl didn't mind dancing with serpents.
"Well, well aren't you a little Hog Monkey?" Azula's hands set aflame once again, attempting to throw more flames towards her. Sakura saw that when it came to fire bending, it seemed there was a cautious limit of control. It was different from the other elements, where benders had the reigns tightened on them. But the fire was difficult to control, it would burn whatever it touched regardless of what the creator of the flame wanted.
Sakura continued to avoid the attacks, her movements quick as she practically glided across the metal ground. It didn't matter how many of these blasts were sent her way, Sakura had no intention of receiving them, and after a good two minutes of attacking with no results and being unable to close the gap between them, Azula realized this too. So the onslaught ceased.
"I have to say, you're more skilled than the other soldiers I've encountered," Sakura admitted.
"Of course, I am their princess. I couldn't doll out punishment if I was just as incompetent" Azula stated with a clear statement. A commander had to be better than their subordinates, had to have more power, or what was the point of holding the position?
Sakura then gave a rather agitating smile, with claws meant to scratch at her opponent's nerves, she put her hands behind her back as she spoke. "Luckily for you, I'm not your subordinate,"
So there was no need for you to feel bad for being inferior to me. This is what was conveyed in that exchange, and Azula caught it. The corner of her right lip twitched as the comment hit. Her stance changed, and her limbs twisted with a more fluid motion than the pattern Sakura recognized from fire bending. Fire Benders kept their arms like branches, set at a certain distance from their own bodies, which Sakura assumed was so that they could avoid being engulfed by their own flames. But this one was different, Azula's hands were drawn closer to her body.
This was going to be something different.
This was realized when the first spark shone between Azual's fingertips, followed by the crackle in the air that this was not going to be a fire attack. Her intuition was right. Blue lightning, came from the girl's hands, gathering around her arms. As Azula lifted her arms, the blue light vanished for a moment before she pointed directly at Sakura, and in that instant, it happened. Blue lightning, released from the girl as if she were a storm cloud brimming with the determination to destroy everything in her path.
The lightning traveled at an eyeblinking speed, towards Sakura, faster than any of Azula's previous attacks. The firenation princess watched in satisfaction as the lightning struck the pink-haired girl in the chest, causing her to fly back from the force. If you didn't see this attack coming you wouldn't be able to avoid it. After all, no one could avoid lightning unless they knew when and where it would strike.
Sakura was knocked off her feet, and smoke emerged from the wound. And then she turned into stone. Well, that was what Azula saw anyway, a puff of smoke, and then in place of what would be Sakura was now a small boulder, part of what the guards on the wall had dropped on the drill.
This rush of emotion hooked Azula as she realized she had lost track of her opponent under what should have been impossible circumstances. The drill's grounds were wide and open, there were no blind spots, no place she could duck around to hide.
So where was she?
Azula's eyes scanned across the most obvious places, but as her focus drew towards her "You're not bad," Azula's heel twisted at 360 with a glide before a second even passed. Her right hand clenched into a fist that was meant to release flames. When it was abruptly caught between a palm.
'How did she get behind me? And why could she catch my fist?' Azula didn't have time to throw out another attack as she intended before she saw everything turn upside down and her stomach doing a flip, as her legs lifted off the ground.
Taking her wrist, Sakura managed to take Azula into the air, and as she turned, hit her with a heavy palm to her stomach, an attack that wouldn't crush her organs but would certainly rattle her to the point of incapacitation for the remainder of this chapter. She watched as Azula flew back, unable to catch herself against the force.
"See you, princess," When she turned back, Sakura was relieved to find that Aang had finally regained consciousness. She walked over to him. "When did you get up?"
"Just long enough to see you taken her down," Aang groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "I could use some ice,"
"Sure, just let me take down this drill and we can head out," Sakura chirped, running passed Aang towards the wall, "You might want to get back,"
He took her warning, Aang threw out his hands and wrangled the air into a ball beneath him, as he folded his legs and made a hasty exit. Sakura had already started scaling the wall, running up as high as she thought was appropriate for launch. And instead of turning back on the wall to run down, she released her chakra from her feet so that she could fall straight towards the target mark Aang left on the drill.
She hit the mark, her fist contacting the stone, pushing past it as it crumbled, and then enforcing a heavy blow to the drill directly that was enough to rattle the object. On the inside, the steel beams that Aang and Katara had semi-sawed through all slipped under the pressure and fell apart taking down the interior structure of the drill, rendering it permanently unusable.
The feeling of triumph was short-lived, because as if in retaliation, the drill reacted. It's outer shell shook before seeping contents. It was thick, a sludge-like consistency, and when it hit Sakura the taste of dirt and sad entered her mouth. These were the remains of the wall that the drill had absorbed and failed to dispel. All actually due to Katara and Toph, who were at the back of the drill plugging up the hole, as per Sokka's orders.
The pressure built to a point where all of the pipes in the drill had been filled to the brim, and that final blow of Sakura's just rattled its veins. The sludge clung to Sakura as Aang emerged again, gliding through the air with Momo, cleared from the experience.
He landed in front of Sakura as she wiped down her face, "Nice work Sakura,"
"Yeah," She gave a tight smile realizing Aang couldn't see her discomfort in being covered in the wall sludge, the feeling of sand grinding her skin even after she wiped it off. "Just great,"
"I can clean that up for you," Aang pushed out his palm before Sakura could agree or protest, a gust of wind hit her, removing the muddy sludge from her body. Leaving her hair worse for wear and standing stiff in the air defying gravity. She slouched forward.
"Thanks…"
..
..
When the clamor of the battle had faded that's when the Earth kingdom forces decided to swoop in and take over. With the drill brought to a hunk of unmovable metal, everyone felt confident that there would be little chance of escape for the Fire Nation operatives. Soldiers moved in towards the drill with no sign of fear, clearing away the mixture of water and earth. The heavy air was thick with smoke and the acrid smell of scorched metal, blending with the earthy scent of dust.
Sokka, Katara, Aang, Toph, and Sakura reunited on top of the wall, overlooking the metal carcass.
"Well that was a fun segway into Ba Sing Se," Toph said, folding her arms, her voice holding no sarcastic quip.
"Nothing is simple with you guys is it?" Sakura just had to voice her question.
"Never," Sokka said shaking his head.
"The general said his men would handle the clean up," Katara said glancing down towards the drill.
Sokka couldn't help but grin stretching out his arms. "Great. I could use a break."
Katara pulled her lip in her brother's direction, her brows crinkled, "Really? You just barked orders at everyone,"
"Hey, being the idea guy is hard!"
Aang's gaze lingered on the distant horizon, his eyes holding onto the weight of his real goal. They were meeting obstacles at every turn in getting Aappa back but he wasn't willing to let that deter him. They were already so close. As they stepped back from the edge, the wind swept through along their backs, pushing them towards their next destination.
..
..
..
Ba Sing Se was more than a single wall showing off the Earthbender's capabilities, it was far more intricate in design. From the outer wall, it wasn't possible to even see into the extent of the city at all. As they were covered by grasslands in the first section, the inner city was just that, at the center, something comparable to a nucleus.
To get there, they had to take a special train that ran along the veins of smooth earth track, connecting the main walls to each other. This was the first time most of them would be on a train and some found it harder to hide than others. It was pushed by 2 earth benders who guided the train towards its destination using outside handlebars and the balls of their feet to push down on the ground along the tracks.
The group was sitting closely together in the cart, covering a space on opposite ends so there was enough room for discussion without blocking each other's view. There wasn't a lot of talking, however, as fatigue caught up in all forms, mental, physical, and emotional.
And they were far from finished. Their main objective was to wait just beyond the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. Finding Appa. No one even discussed their next move once they entered, but Sakura felt it wouldn't be right to disrupt this momentary reprieve. When the inner wall came into view, Katara couldn't help her excitement and relief. "I can't believe we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece,"
Her brother nearly fell out of his seat, trying to shush her, "Don't jinx it! We could still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire Nation spoon or discover the city's been submerged in an ocean of killer shrimp."
Sakura, seated between Sokka and Toph, raised a brow and tilted her head toward him with mock concern. She placed her hand lightly on his forehead. "You don't have a fever..." Her tone was playful, with a teasing smirk tugging at her lips.
Sokka batted her hand away, his cheeks faintly pink. "I'm serious,"
"I know that's what concerns me,"
Toph snorted from her corner, absently stroking Momo's soft fur as he dozed in her lap. Even the lemur looked worn out from the chaos of the past few days. "I think he's been hitting the cactus juice again," she quipped, earning a laugh from Katara.
Sokka puffed out his chest indignantly. "I'm just saying weird things happen to us. For example—" He was pointing an accusatory thumb at Sakura, nudging his head in her direction.
Before he could finish, Sakura gave him a light but swift slap on the back of the head. "Hey!" he yelped, clutching his head while the others burst into laughter. Sakura merely puffed out her cheeks and turned her attention to the window, effectively ending the debate.
The scenery outside was breathtaking. The sprawling Agrarian Zone stretched out before them like a sea of green and gold. Neat rows of crops blanketed the earth, interspersed with small ponds and grazing animals.
Aang on the other hand had been quiet for most of the journey, and it wasn't the fatigue of their battle that had worn him down but his worries. Which did not go unnoticed.
"Don't worry Aang." Katara said, making sure to keep a reassuring smile, "We'll find Appa"
"It's such a big city...."
"He's a giant flying bison how hard can he be to find?" Sokka went over to Katara and Aang to look out of their side of the train just as they went through the tunnel of the exterior of the inner walls.
Sakura's jaw dropped as her eyes widened in disbelief. From her vantage point, she could see the city sprawled out beneath them, a maze of rooftops and buildings stretching as far as the eye could see. The train tracks seemed to float above it all, providing a breathtaking view of the labyrinth below. The city was vast, a marvel of structure and design that dwarfed anything she'd ever encountered. It made Konoha—her home—and even the grandest villages she'd visited seem quaint in comparison. It wasn't a city. It was an entire nation condensed within towering walls.
"It's huge!" Sakura breathed, unable to tear her gaze away from the spectacle. She leaned further out of the train window, drinking in the view of countless homes, shops, and complexes.
Sakura pulled her head back inside and shot Sokka a dull, unimpressed look. "What was that you were saying about jinxing things again?"
Sokka stared out at the seemingly endless expanse of rooftops, his earlier bravado evaporating. "Alright," he muttered under his breath, "maybe this is going to be harder than I thought."
THAT'S ALL MY LOVELIES! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and Remember to stay strong! I'll see you soon!
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
- (Bleach crossover) Kunoichi amongst Reapers: exclusive chapters (Sneak peek on Tumblr)
-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)
- Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (82, 83, 84, 85)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter (35, 36, 37)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter 26, 27, 28, 29
-Through the Looking Glass chapter 31, 32. 33, 34, 35, 36
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi
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