Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legend

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***

After the school year ended, the young unformed minds were given two months off. Happy children flooded Lipin, bringing turmoil and positivity. Leaving behind the strict rules and discipline of the school, the students ran around the streets, competing with each other. It seemed that the shackles that had been holding them back all this time had finally broken.

But the attentive relatives of the future Fire Warriors noticed a strong change in the character of their children. Respect for their elders was embedded so deeply in their subcortex that the slightest show of displeasure on the part of their parents stopped any activity and fun.

Guan Yu felt it first hand, returning home late at night to find a disgruntled guardian waiting with his arms folded across his chest, waiting for him around the set table. Chilled food and dried fruit waited longingly for the boy while the sergeant's baleful gaze drilled into Yu.

Bowing respectfully, the child apologised so sincerely that Ping was even confused for a few seconds. Carefully passing his gaze over the bent back and upraised hands, he walked around his friend's son in a circle. Grudgingly, the sergeant clapped the boy on the shoulder, urging him to rise.

-How they trained you. I don't even recognise you.

-What do you mean, Uncle Ping?

-He turned around so Yu wouldn't see the sergeant's grimacing face and headed for the table. 'Sit down and eat, while I warm up some tea.

The boy hurried to the table, not waiting for Ping, he began to stuff himself with cold meat and fruit. As if he couldn't taste, the kid swept everything within arm's reach off the table. His jaws worked like a steam engine, the crunch of apples and bones coming from under the child's teeth. With his mouth open, the sergeant stared at his ward, not knowing what was going on. He carefully sat down across from him and placed a hot mug in front of the boy, just in time to warn him to be careful.

Folding his hands on the table, the sergeant grinned in amazement, still admiring the boy's appetite. Immersed in his memories, he was forced to admit that he was not much different from the boy at his age. When he and Guan Li had enlisted in the army together, he had not discovered a gift for fire magic, so he had ended up in a simple infantry school. The first years in the military school were particularly hard and when he was able to escape the walls of the school, he also enjoyed the freedom and any food different from the school diet.

Smiling warmly, the rugged sergeant of the Fire Nation's army nostalgically revisited the images of his childhood. The endless training to stand out among hundreds of dorks like him. Chasing skirts and punishments from teachers. Rarely seeing his family, who had plenty of extra mouths to feed. Smart talk with their best mate and their dreams of a career in the army. They'd imagined how they could change the world, but now...

'I'm still a sergeant and Lee's dead, the only thing left of him is this poor sod.' Standing up from his chair, the sergeant smoothly walked around the large desk. Lifting the sleeping boy in his arms, the man gently carried him into the room. Laying the child on the bed, he stood in the doorway for a long time, remembering his friend's last words.

Waking up early in the morning, Yu was surprised to find himself in his own bed. His stiffened body struggled to move, and his crumpled clothes smelled of sweat. Stepping out of the room, the boy saw Sergeant Ping asleep at his desk. The man was surrounded by many empty bottles, the last one clutched in his hand with a drop of stinking baijiu dripping from it. The strong liquor accumulated under the table, soaking the entire room with an alcoholic stench. Clutching his nose and covering his watery eyes, the boy headed for the windows to let in some fresh air.

Opening the wooden shutters, he let warm sunlight and humid air into the smoky and soaked room. Noise filled his and his uncle's house, and the whole room was lit up by the morning sun.

A disgruntled grumbling sounded behind Yuu's back. Holding his head, the sergeant tried to orient himself in space, but instead he was wiping his chin on the table. Laughing quietly at his guardian, the boy came to Ping's aid. Ping picked up the filled jug from his weakened hands and placed it in front of the sergeant's face, drawing the drunken eyes' full attention to the coveted liquid. Muttering to himself, Ping stared at the vessel demandingly. Without waiting for a voice command, Yu filled a small shot glass, bringing it to his open mouth. Closing his eyes, the man greedily swallowed it all in one gulp. Frozen in place without moving, he was able to mumble words of thanks and fall into a drunken slumber.

Grinning good-naturedly, the child left the jug of water on the table and headed outside. He was waiting for his morning workout, his body demanded activity, and the energy rushing through his ears urged him to adventure.

Climbing onto the roof, the young Fire warrior saw figures racing through the houses in the distance. The silhouettes were travelling at a decent speed, completely ignoring the safe routes. Completely surrendering to the adrenaline surging in their blood. Following their example, Yuu broke into a run, rushing the stale blood through his veins. The hot sun and cool air helped set a good pace, jumping on the rooftops, Guan Yu smiled happily.

The holidays were flying by the hour, not by the day. It seemed like only a short while ago he was getting a reprimand from his uncle, and now he was less than a week away from returning to school. Training, helping around the house and playing with his classmates consumed all the time available. Unable to practice with the guan dao at school, Yu devoted most of his time out in the wild. Standing on the roof of his house, he practised the moves he had learnt with his father. Repeating the basics time after time, which built a solid foundation for his future skill.

Having received the sergeant's full approval in his endeavours, the boy under his care was getting better every day. His arms grew stronger and his body moved more nimbly than an eel in the water. As Ping encouraged the boy's endeavours to master the basic movements, he honed the halberd with him as well.

At sunset and sunrise, the boy and the man practised as if they were one and the same. Moving in sync, they closed their eyes, immersing themselves in other sensations. Whirling a metre away from each other, they remained unharmed. The complete silence on the improvised platform was diluted by sharp exhalations of air during particularly difficult manoeuvres.

In time, the training began to attract observers. Boys and older boys gathered around, mimicking the movements, trying to keep up with the two small hurricanes. Today, when Guan Yu and Ping finished their training session, dozens of children of different genders were still practicing on the neighbouring rooftops. Surprisingly to himself, Yu noticed his old acquaintance concentrating on repeating the movements, but without weapons in her hands. At first, the boy didn't understand why she was doing this, but he soon got an answer to his question.

Releasing bright tongues of flame, the girl was adjusting her style of guan dao wielding to the techniques of fire magic. Curling up, she released thin harnesses or fire blades from her hands, which replaced her shaft. An empty zone formed around her, where no outsider dared to enter. Wenling moved very slowly and measuredly, faithfully mimicking all the movements, but in no hurry to speed up. She repeated each stance smoothly so that her body memorised on a reflex level how to move. Crouching down in front of her roof, Yuu watched mesmerised as the petite aristocrat created her fighting style.

Noticing the new spectator, Wenling wanted to already startle him with a randomly released arrow of fire when she realised that Guan Yu was watching her. Smiling contentedly, she hid her smile and continued practising her movements, moving in a spiral, gradually approaching her acquaintance.

It had been a while since the rest of the participants had dispersed, each of the students had their own things to do. They would soon return to their studies, so it was worth it to enjoy the last few free days to the fullest. Only Ping, standing at the open window, was looking at the face of his ward, who was staring at the girl in front of him with a blissful smile.

-What a little bugger, and he didn't say anything to me.

Leaving the shutters open, the man continued to watch the events unfold out of the corner of his eye, unable to contain his curiosity.

When Yuu was a few metres away, Wenling accelerated sharply. Letting out small jets of flame that mimicked a punch, she was afraid of hitting her inattentive spectator. Unravelling the dress, completely blocking the boy's view, she unfastened the special clasps, leaving all the decorative elements to float slowly in the air. In the tight fitting costume, the girl darted forward, leaping to the roof of the house where Guan Yu was sprawled out.

Still watching the falling pieces of smouldering dress with her gaze, the boy's first reaction was panic. Jumping to his feet, he thought the silly girl had overplayed her hand and burned herself alive when an active lump came at him from behind. Jumping onto the tall boy's back, Wenling wrapped her legs around his torso and clasped his head with her slender hands.

-Gotcha!

Staggering from the unexpected weight on his back, Yu struggled to keep his balance, swaying from side to side, he steadily approached the edge of the roof, where the water was only a few metres away. Realising the obnoxious asshole's intent, Wenling left her seat, standing up in what she thought was a majestic pose.

Shaking off the heaviness, the boy was about to launch into an angry tirade when he realised he couldn't be mad at the stupid joke. Scuffing up her nose, Wenling watched her acquaintance's face through squinted eyes, waiting for a further reaction.

-It was beautiful, I didn't think you could style it with fire magic.

The girl's flushed cheeks gave away her attitude towards the praise.

-Of course I did. If you'd looked closely, you'd have realised that it wasn't that difficult.

-I was watching carefully,' Yui's indignation received an unexpected response, 'I even missed the last trick with the dress.

-So my beauty is so irresistible that you couldn't take your eyes off it?

Feeling the nets tightening around him, the boy accepted the only chance of escape he saw.

-Of course, Mistress Wenling. -Of course, Mistress Wenling. Nothing in this world compares to your talents.

Bowing respectfully, he put his hands forward, folding them in a characteristic gesture of admiration for the warrior's skill.

With a snort of annoyance, the little schemer proudly turned around and left.

-"See you tomorrow, Guan Yu.

-Tomorrow, Wenling.

Whispering the girl's name quietly so she wouldn't hear, Sergeant Ping's ward deftly jumped off the roof, heading home.

The man waiting for him at his desk was smiling echidically and vulgarly. On his face was the most retarded expression Yuu had ever seen. With his pinky finger jutting out, Ping pointed it at the boy and winked frequently, as if the man had a nervous tic. With his mouth wide open, he grinned with all his teeth as he slumped his body on the table.

-I see someone has grown up very fast.....

Pouting at the invasion of privacy, the young Fire warrior ignored the sergeant's speech and headed for the kitchen. Following on the heels of his pupil, he made strange grunting noises and snickered at every word he heard on the roof.

Not getting any reaction from his friend's son, Ping folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall. As he watched the boy's measured actions with a glance, he suddenly asked a question in a serious voice that made the child freeze in place.

-You realise that you can only count on friendship and patronage, don't you?

Putting the plate of food back in its place, the boy turned round to face his uncle. Hiding his hands behind his back, he was silent for a few seconds before answering.

-Of course, I realised this months ago.

Walking up close to Yui, the man leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder conciliatingly. Looking into the boy's eyes, he saw acceptance and slight disappointment.

-You're too wise for your age. At your age, I'd be throwing punches at everyone. I'm proud of you.

A slight smile lit up the faces of both of them. Shaking his head, the boy took a step forward, hugging his uncle. The confused man, unused to such displays of emotion from his ward, managed to pull himself together. Mussing his black hair, he grinned good-naturedly.

-You know, Uncle Ping. I wish I lived in a world where your skills alone determined your fate.

As he continued to hug the boy, the sergeant stared wistfully at the ceiling, hardly imagining the child's dream.

-Yes, it would probably be wonderful.