Far away with Ba Sing Se being a speck on the horizon, the ground split open, a grunt echoing from inside the hole as Toji leapt from it.
Landing on the ground, the young man looked around with narrowed eyes before turning back to the hole.
"We're good!" he shouted down, taking a few steps back. A few seconds passed before the ground opened further and a platform came up.
"Okay, he's telling the truth," Sokka spoke with a relieved sigh, Toji rolling his eyes at their words.
"Well, this is about as far as I'm going to go with you all," Kuei spoke up and Toji ignored them as he looked around. He half-expected there to be a Fire Nation perimeter further back around Ba Sing Se, but it appears not.
"What you looking for?"
"Any Fire Nation patrol units that I expected to be here, but there are none," Toji answered and Toph narrowed her eyes, stomping on the ground and sending out a seismic wave across the ground.
"Yeah, I can't see anything nearby."
"You can't see. You sense it," Toji answered, chuckling as she smacked his chest before he turned to Suki as she spoke up.
"We need to get out of here. I'll go with the Earth King and take him to the aforementioned destination."
"Got it. We'll be waiting near the village for you and then we'll move onwards to the northern shore to meet up with the others," Toji wondered what they discussed, but he decided to just push it back as he hopped onto Iron's back.
"Where are you going?" Toph asked, drawing everyone's attention as Toji smiled.
"You guys wanted to find this Jeong Jeong, right? I'll go and meet you all at this village with June."
"Oh, you're not going alone."
"He's not," Sokka replied, hopping onto Iron's back only to raise his hands as both rider and beast turned their heads to stare at him. "What? This way, I can make sure you come back and if something happens to me, they'll kick your ass for me."
"Fine. Toph, looks like you're staying."
"Eh, I would have kicked the ass of June had she tried anything with you so I'm good."
"Make sure you take care of my brother," Katara spoke in a warning tone, Toph giggling as Toji just rolled his eyes before he looked to Aang.
"Good luck on your journey, Toji, Sokka."
"I'll need that. He won't," Sokka spoke while gesturing to Toji, who smirked as he narrowed his eyes at Aang.
"Think on our discussions, Avatar. I want to hear your response when we get back."
"...Okay," Aang nodded and Toji tapped Iron's sides with his ankles, the komodo rhino letting out a snort as he began to jog to the east.
"Where are we going?!" Sokka asked as he held onto Toji, who chuckled as he looked forward.
"There are bounty hunting hideouts like the Misty Oasis near the every Air Temple. The closest one right now is the Eastern Air Temple one so if she isn't there, then she's definitely at the one near the Western one since she hates the cold of North and South."
"Oh, cool. One problem, though. It's going to take us a couple of days to get there."
"I know. Iron and I can go full sprint for days so you better prepare yourself."
"...Is it too late to go with the others?" Sokka asked, letting out a groan as Toji just laughed before Iron sped up.
"Yep! Iron, faster!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You two are monsters"
"Look at this guy whining," Toji whispered to Iron with a nod, the beast shaking his head as Wormy let out a low rumble. "I agree. He's too weak for a guy hanging out with the Avatar."
"Oi, I get to say that I'm weak, not you."
"No, I can," Toji replied, sitting down next to the fire while glancing at the rare few animals wandering through the night. "So, how did you come to be the Avatar's companion?"
"You really want to know?"
"I can go to sleep and leave you to sit alone here in the night?" Toji said with a raised eyebrow, smirking when Sokka looked around before shaking his head.
"Nah, I'm just joking," Sokka replied with a nervous smile before lying on his back and looking up at the sky. "Honestly, it all happened so fast that I think I was just lucky. One moment, Katara and I were hunting for fish and the next, we find Aang and Appa in the middle of a glacier."
"Huh, that's a lot less cooler than I was expecting."
"I know. How about you? How did you and Toph get so close?"
"Her family was being attacked by bandits. Iron and I killed them and the rest is history."
"You really do see killing as something natural, don't you?" Sokka said and Toji raised an eyebrow as he shrugged. "How long have you been an assassin, mercenary, bounty hunter and killer?"
"Since my village was destroyed when I was six? Eight? Eh, around that time."
"And you haven't done anything since?"
"Never found a need to," Toji replied, making Sokka hum as he nodded.
"I guess I can understand somewhat. I was stuck as the protector of my village from a young age while my dad was forced to fight off the Fire Nation invasion."
"And you don't like killing?"
"I was more focused on protecting," Sokka responded and Toji looked at the guy his age to see the smile on his face.
'Same age, but different paths. Hmm, wonder what would have happened had Tu Zin not been attacked,' Toji knew that he would still be a mercenary, but perhaps he might have had a bigger respect for life itself.
'I was slowly changing during that time, but the Fire Nation's attack reverted me back to how I used to be. Huh, makes one wonder.'
"Sometimes I wonder what I'd be if the Fire Nation didn't attack. I'd probably be some fisherman complaining about the fish running away and you'd-"
"Still be what I am, though I'd have a bigger respect for life. Not a big respect, but a smidgen bigger," Toji cut him off, Sokka letting out a chuckle as he nodded.
"Sure, as expected," he replied, laughing as Iron snorted in agreement while Iron rumbled.
"You traitors," Toji grumbled with a huff, though he couldn't help his smirk as Sokka let out a happy sigh.
"You know, Toji, when you're not a dickhead, you're actually pretty cool."
"I'm always cool. You all just don't like how I act," Toji retorted and Sokka rolled his eyes before the young man continued. "This has been an enlightening talk. You can sleep and I'll take watch."
"We can swap."
"I'll wake you up, then," Toji replied, Sokka nodding as he closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. Looking back up at the sky, he could feel the chilly winds of the rocky area blowing over them.
'Hopefully, she got my message. I wouldn't want to chase her around the world.'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So, this is a bounty hunter hideout?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow at the rowdy bar in front of them. Toji just nodded as he caught a familiar scent in the air, patting Iron's side as the beast sat down next to the door.
"That's right. Stay close. These guys would kill you and take your head if it means they can capture the Avatar later."
"I thought you said that we're off-limits."
"You guys are. There are just other guys that wouldn't think twice if it meant a big paycheck," Toji said as he walked to the front door and knocked on it.
"What's u-"
"It's Toji. Open up," Sokka raised an eyebrow at the blonde response before the door opened and the guy behind it had a nervous look in his eyes.
"Yo, Toji. Who you here for?"
"No need to worry about that. June here."
"No, she's-"
"If she wasn't here, you'd look less nervous," Toji replied and the doorguard sighed before the bounty hunter and Sokka walked into the bar.
Everyone immediately stopped their discussions as Touji walked up to the bar, Sokka following closely behind when he saw everyone glancing at them.
"Toji, you here for June?"
"I know she's here. Where?"
"Upstairs. Don't destroy anything."
"No promises. Let's go," Toji spoke as he made his way up the stairs, Sokka impressed by the man's presence as people parted and let them up.
On the second floor, Toji smirked as only one person was there and she smiled back while gripping the whip on the table in front of her.
"June," Toji spoke up, immediately lifting Kuruk's spear to catch her whip as she swung it at Sokka's head.
"Toji. Why the fuck are you with the Avatar's friend?" June asked, narrowing her eyes as Toji scoffed before flicking her whip back at her.
"That depends. Why the fuck are you selling me out to the Earth King?"
"A girl's gotta make a living."
"You know I don't believe in that excuse," Toji replied, sitting down on the chair in front of her while Sokka gingerly sat down beside him.
"That's the only excuse I got. So, him?"
"His friend is my girlfriend so I have to look after him."
"The Toph girl? She finally decided to ask you out?" June asked, chuckling as Toji nodded before he kicked the table to the side and slammed the butt of his spear down.
Smacking the blowpipe from her hands, he raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in her seat and responded, "Can't blame a lady for trying."
"I can. They're off-limits."
"The bounty on them has been rescinded?"
"No, I declared them off-limits," Toji added and June rolled her eyes as she glanced at Sokka.
"You like being under his protection, don't you?"
"It's fun. Anyway, sorry for the time when we messed with your bounty."
"Sorry won't cut it. You have money equal to the reward I was promised for your Avatar friend's head?"
"How much?"
"28 000 Earth Kingdom gold coins," she replied and Sokka turned to Toji who scoffed.
"If you think I'm going to give you that level of cash, I'm going to tear your head from your body."
"Well, there's your response."
"Why the hell are you here, Toji? You know hanging out with you is bad for business."
"Why, because I took out a few armies?"
"The Northern Water Tribe offered nobility for anyone that kills you, the Earth King put a bounty of 12 000 gold on your head and the Fire Nation would give out 50k, dead or alive."
"Yet, you haven't tried to capture me. Why is that?"
"I know that's a stupid idea," She replied and Toji smirked as he tossed his spear behind him. It pierced through the wall and a gargle came from it before he called the spear back, flicking the blood from it.
"Nice try, but next time you try to hide an assassin away, make sure I can't hear their heartbeat."
"You are just a fucking cheat code," June grumbled, making Toji laugh as he leaned back in his seat. "Anyway, what the hell do you want with me?"
"He and the Avatar needs to find a guy and the best tracker I know is you."
"A guy even you can find? Nyla's going to have a tough time finding this person then," she replied and Toji shrugged as Sokka looked between the two. "Still, I'm not going to do this shit for free."
"I got the cash and-"
"Nope, I want you to convince the Beifong family to make me a noble in Gaoling."
"...That's it?" he asked with narrowed eyes and nodded as June shrugged. "Sure, but why, though?"
"Well, living on the run all the time is getting boring and I have to do something with my wealth."
"You got another bounty on your head, didn't you?" Toji said, seeing through her deceit as June narrowed her eyes at me.
"You know I hate that."
"Not my fault you're easy to read."
"Fine, yes. I got another bounty and they're not playing around this time."
"From who?"
"Fire Nation. They're sending the Yuyan archers after me," she replied and Toji burst out into laughter, making June grimace as Sokka blinked.
"You mean the guys that can shoot a fly from three hundred yards away while blindfolded? What the hell did you do to piss them off that much?"
"Killed one of their members along with their commander, Shinu. They didn't like that so now they're after me."
"Oh, that is gold," Toji spoke with a happy sigh, snickering at June's glare. "Don't worry about it. I'll help you this time in exchange for you helping us."
"Deal. Now-" They paused as footsteps ascended the stairs, Toji turning his head to see a nervous guy looking at them.
"Jeo, you better have a good reason to come up here."
"Uh, there's some monk guy here and he says he's looking for the Avatar's friends," Jeo replied and Toji stood up, walking past the young hunter while making his way down.
Glancing at the mercenaries gathered around a dark-skinned older man dressed in only a pair of baggy beige pants, Toji whistled and they all immediately walked away.
"Ah, you must be the procurer of the Avatars' relics, yes?" the man asked, a calm smile on his face as Toji nodded.
"That is me, yeah. What's your name, old timer?"
"I am Guru Pathik and I have a message, both for your and for the Avatar."
"If it's a message for Aang, I'll take it," Sokka spoke up as he walked over, taking the rolled up paper from the Guru while Toji raised an eyebrow as the monk kept his stare on him.
"Well, what's the message for me?"
"The Grand Dragon of the White Lotus would like to talk to you about the relics that you possess."
"White Lotus? Can't say I know them," Toji replied, glancing at June to see her giving a shrug.
"I expect not. A cursed soul such as yours would not be contacted by them unless they wish to cleanse you of your sins."
"I see. Sure, where should I meet these guys?"
"Uh, shouldn't we run in the opposite direction of these guys?" Sokka asked, palming his face with a groan when Toji ignored him.
"You can meet them now if you wish. They are waiting at the Eastern Air Temple," Pathik replied and Toji nodded before turning to his two companions.
"Will do, but before that, let's go get Nyla," June shrugged at that and the group left the building, Toji waiting beside Iron with a smirk.
Well, time to see what this Lotus group wants with him.
A/N: And we're ending it off here~! We're now fully diverting from the canon as Toji makes some moves and will meet a couple of old folks next chapter.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!