Playing Waterbending (Avatar: Last Aibender SI)

After making my plan, I left the desert town on the cloud with the girls. Our destination was Omashu. On the road, I noticed that the dynamics between Katara and Toph had become less aggressive. Toph stopped being aggressive in her speech… mostly, and Katara was treating her normally, like she would treat another human being who wasn't a firebender.

But no one had brought up what they discussed in the library. I know it's weird to bring it up, especially with a war going on.

I stared at the sky above me and sighed.

Currently, I was flying, heading to Omashu to bring my brother-in-law, and then tell Bumi what I had found out.

Sozin's comet was closer than I had expected, and awakening the Avatar wouldn't do much to change things. This meant I should take matters into my own hands.

'This silence is bothering me. I should break it… Okay, what do I talk about? The weather? That would work if I were a taxi driver… Let me see… right. I studied medicine in Wang's library… so, let me see.'

I turned to Toph and stared at her, examining her eyes. They were quite pale, but they seemed healthy. The blood vessels were there.

At the same time, she had the ability to see through earthbending, using vibrations.

You know, people don't see with their eyes, but with their brains.

We have blind spots, yet the brain has ways of filling them in.

When you're dreaming, you can see even without using your eyes.

If that means something, it would mean that Toph's brain's visual parts were working and had somehow adapted to the vibrations. I was curious about how she saw things. After all, she wouldn't have any idea what 2D figures were.

So, her brain wasn't the problem.

I guessed the issue with her vision lay with the optic nerve.

Normally, surgery would be enough to fix it, but there was no advanced medicine in this world.

"Am I not good-looking enough?" Katara crossed her legs and scorned me.

"Toph…" I said, ignoring Katara. "Do you want to see?"

"Sure, why not?" Toph replied with sarcasm.

"Let me try this…" I pointed my hand at her and bloodbent the liquids around her eyes and inside them, channeling my Chi there.

"Argh…" Toph moaned in pain and held her head. "What did you do to me?"

Katara gave Toph a concerned glance.

"Trying to fix things up," I said. "Okay, Toph. The things that will appear are what we usually see. You may find it surprising that there are objects, and you see them only from a certain point of view…"

I had learned how to see using the water in the air, and let me tell you, there was nothing such as seeing from a point of view. It was quite omniscient.

Toph blinked twice. Her eyes seemed to gain a bit of color, but still pale.

"What is this…" she asked, waving her hand in front of her. "What's that color? And why does that thing move whenever I move my hand?"

Usually, for someone to see for the first time, it would take months to years to adapt and learn things like distances. But it would take less for her, since she already had an idea of space and three dimensions. I guessed she would have a hard time understanding 2D things like pictures, but she'd probably get the hang of it in no time.

"Toph! This is amazing, you can see!" Katara screamed and hugged her.

I smiled a bit, feeling good about myself for doing something good.

"Wait… is that what you guys call seeing?" Toph asked, gazing up.

Katara pulled away and stared at her. "What did you do, Ryuk?"

"Nothing, just healed some nerves," I replied to Katara before turning to Toph. "What you see now is what we call images. I guess… it'll take you a few weeks to months to adapt. Try to use it whenever you have a chance."

"Okay." Toph nodded and closed her eyes. She narrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Hold on a second. Why am I still seeing?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head. "Your eyes are closed."

"There's… what you guys call it… colors. There's one color," she said.

"That's what happens when you close your eyes," I shrugged. I guessed she wouldn't be able to see nothingness anymore.

"Aren't you happy with that?" Katara asked, seeing Toph lying down and opening her eyes.

"It came as a surprise," Toph replied. "I know it's reality, but I'm afraid I'll wake up. Also, I seem to be unable to understand what I'm seeing. I'm hell of confused."

"Give it a few weeks," I said.

Toph simply nodded and kept her eyes open.

Katara sat next to me and began chatting about her condition, as if she wasn't listening.

I talked with her until she changed the subject.

Toph, on the other hand, acted as calm as possible. But at the same time, I knew she was burning with excitement inside. Yet, she wanted to keep up appearances and not seem like a happy girl in front of me. I guessed that mentality developed while fighting in underground arenas.

The trip to Omashu didn't take long since I put more energy into it.

When we arrived at the mountain range, we were welcomed by the guards at the entrance of Omashu. Then, the rest of the trip was on foot. Omashu was still the peaceful city it had always been. Yet, I could see the difference I had made.

A few dozen soldiers were practicing metalbending, and others were trying to learn dustbending.

I made my way to the palace's main hall immediately. While Toph and Katara went to rest, I had an audience with Bumi.

As much as I hated talking seriously with crazy people, I had no choice, since this crazy guy was extremely intelligent and a king.

"Hahaha… welcome back, Ryuk. How was your trip?" Bumi asked.

"Very nice. I even met one of our guys," I replied casually.

"Haha… Our guys. Glad to see that you've developed a sense of belonging," Bumi laughed, seeming to be in a good mood. Well, he had always been in a good mood.

"Did you find anything on your journey?" Bumi asked, cocking his head forward.

"Yeah, I found out that having the Avatar is useless right now, since there isn't enough time for them to learn all four elements," I nodded. "And we have about a month to turn the tides."

"What do you mean?" Bumi asked as his crazy, happy expression shifted into a serious, stiff one.

"The eclipse is in a month. During it, firebenders will lose most of their powers… that would be a good day to start a war," I said.

Sure, the eclipse would last for only an hour or two, and a war might not be won from the start of that day. But if the earthbenders united and struck the Fire Nation bases that day, they could free a continent from the Fire Nation, and their next confrontation would require the arrival of Sozin's comet. By then, the Fire Nation would have lost much of its force, and we might be able to resist. Or better...

Bumi blinked twice and massaged his temple. "That's too much to take at once." He raised his hand. "And about the comet… did you find the exact date?"

"No. But I believe it's just a few months after the eclipse," I replied confidently. I could always go back to the library and find out the exact date of the comet. But I had a job that had to be done.

"I'll take your word for it," he said. "Anyways…"

"Ryuk!!! You traitor bastard!"

A scream echoed through the royal hall.

I turned to see Sokka, standing in martial arts attire, glaring at me.

I guessed he was angry that I ditched him.

"Oh, come on, don't be petty. It hasn't even been a week… I guess," I said, as I hadn't been counting the days. I didn't know for sure, but Sokka seemed to be angry.

He approached me. "You tricked me with a martial arts book, took my sister, and left me behind. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

I smiled back. "I do. But tell me, who is more capable of protecting her? Besides, she's with her husband, isn't she, brother-in-law?"

I knew I shouldn't be teasing him, but it was quite fun.

Sokka clenched his jaw.

I examined him.

"Looking at you, I see you've buffed up a bit. Not bad. Did you practice right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied, clenching his fist and taking a martial arts stance. "Wanna see the results?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"If you don't use your bending power, I'm pretty sure I can kick your ass any day of the week," he declared, his voice full of vigor.

I laughed and put my hands in my pockets, walking forward.

Bumi, amused, crossed his legs and said, "I'll allow it to happen here."

"Bring it on," I invited him.

Sokka clenched his fist and punched me as hard as he could. But I didn't budge. I could sense that his fist had more power than usual. Not only that, but I could feel a hint of Chi infused into it. He was getting the hang of the modified martial art I had created.

But you know, an amateur is nothing compared to a grandmaster.

"Serve you right?" Sokka scoffed.

"Are you planning to hurt me with your words?" I asked, looking at my chest. There was more Chi in my chest muscles, and more power than in his attack.

"Impossible." Sokka took his hand back, looking up at me.

"Here's another lesson: You're still weak…" I said.

I raised my foot and kicked him gently. And by gently, I mean I kicked him in a spot where I wouldn't hurt his internal organs. Sokka found himself flying and rolling on the ground a few times.

If Katara saw me, she'd probably scold me.

But hey, we were sparring, and he started it.

After he stopped rolling, he looked at the ceiling.

"What was that?" he asked in a quiet tone.

"That's real power," I smirked at him, and he floated toward me against his will. He struggled a bit, but he couldn't get out of my bloodbending effect.

"Here's another lesson: You know how to determine the winner in a real fight. They either admit defeat, or they continue until one of them dies. So…" I said to him as he stopped in front of me.

Sokka rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration.

"Okay, you win. Happy?" he complained.

I let him out of my control.

"Hey, you started this," I shrugged.

"You're the one who left me behind," Sokka crossed his arms and turned his head, upset.

He somehow resembled someone I knew very well.

I chuckled. "You're acting like your sister would."

"Hahaha!" Bumi, sitting on his throne, laughed.

"Ryuk!" Sokka yelled.

"Anyway, pack your things. We're going to find you a wife," I said.