Avatar: Reborn in Ice and Blood

Chapter 111 111

DIONU

Kaito has brought along a bunch of brats. Into the bakery. Into the bakery. Which is not actually a bakery. They're in his office, all of them, crammed in like sardines and happy to do it.

Dionu always knew the man was insane, unhinged, and too trusting – he's made Gorou his second! But this. This is just-

"He didn't know we were coming, did he?" the older girl asks. Watertribe, by the look of her, though neither the boy nor her look like they're related to Kaito. Not, that they have to, to be family or something.

"No, I did not," Dionu says and glares at Kaito who smiles at him like there's nothing wrong, from Dionu's side of the desk. No respect. Where's the serious, competent man of a few days ago? Where is the man who stared down Marina and got what he wanted?

"I wanted all my friends to meet," Kaito says and Dionu's face spasms.

"So, this is Dionu, the friendly neighbourhood baker," he introduces and Dionu just gives up. He palms his face and goes along with it.

"Hello. We're out of sweets."

Kaito laughs and bumps his shoulder with his own, like they're actually friends and Dionu just lets it happen because… he'll get his revenge later. Somehow. Yranna will help him.

"Dionu, this is Sokka and Katara from my sister tribe in the south," he gestures to the watertribe kids, then the blind girl, "And Toph from around somewhere in the Earthkingdom, I don't know from where exactly. And Aang," at that last one, he sweeps the hat they put on the kid off and Dionu's blood runs cold. His eyes go wide.

He turns to Kaito, "What the fuck."

"Language, Dionu. There are children present," Kaito says and puts the hat on Dionu's head instead of back where it belongs, covering up tattoos that are extinct, except for on this one boy.

Dionu reaches across his desk and puts it back on the arrowhead. Then he turns to Kaito, grasps his collar and yanks him close, growls, "Do you know. How dangerous. This is? Not just for me, but for them? What if the Dai Li followed you? What if someone tells them?"

Kaito nods. "It's alright. Gorou is looking out for us and we came in underground. Toph assures me nobody can detect where we went through and that there was nobody around to sense it, since her range of detecting is bigger than Gorou's and his is pretty much better than anyone else's. We tested it on those agents, remember?"

The bastard looks perfectly comfortable in Dionu's grip. Dionu shakes him to make him understand that it's still serious! "Kaito. We need to have a conversation about acceptable risks-"

"Am I dreaming?" Katara asks. "Or is someone else finally lecturing him?"

"No, no, princess, what you see is what I hear. But you need to relax, boss," Toph says, 'boss' like yakuza boss, oh what the fucking- "We were careful. Besides, nobody knows you operate from here, right? We were super stealthy."

"Yeah!" the Avatar – the sprit-damned avatar! – pipes up, "Calm down, we were really careful!"

"We were like badger moles, only like ninja-badger-moles, so you can stop your cajole!"

Rhymes? Seriously? Bad ones, too.

"So," Kaito says, patting Dionu's hand which is still clenched in his tunic, "How about some tea?"

"I will wring your neck one day," Dionu tells him as he lets him go.

"Lie," Toph says. Smug little thing.

"Toph can detect your heartbeat and see if you lied," the Avatar tells him, proud.

Dionu glares at them all.

...

TOPH

"The reason why the school hasn't been shut down by the Dai Li already is because of the involvement of the nobles. They granted it legality and protection in the beginning by funding some of it and putting up work notices. Not, that they really understood that when we secured that funding," Kaito explains without having been asked to.

Toph thinks he really likes telling people things when they are willing to listen.

As they approach the building, the street becomes more lively and there are people outside drinking tea and smoking without a teashop nearby. "Do you also serve tea there?"

Kaito laughs, "Yes, that's Mushi's influence. That man can't stand it when there's no tea to be had."

Reminds her of another old man she met a few weeks ago. At the front entrance, Toph picks out raised voices from inside the crowd of people.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Toph follows Kaito's smooth process through the crowd. Then he shouts, "What have I said about fighting in here, Mac, Nazar?"

They glare at each other, but have stopped shouting.

"So what's the matter this time?" he asks.

"He's a fucking coward, is what! We can't break up the SOS later when the Storm's over! We need to do it now!"

"And risk that everyone dies because the Others win while we're divided?"

"FIRST OF ALL," Kaito shouts, "No violence in here! Second, argue about this where you're in private! The Dai Li needs ONE excuse and one only to shut us down. I don't want any of us to give it to them."

He takes the backs of their necks and thumps their foreheads together. They let him, without protest, rubbing the sore spots once he lets them go. "Nazar, Mac. Why don't you hold your discussion like we talked about? I know you can do it without the name-calling."

"But-"

"No. You know I'm right. You agreed last time. Has something about the political situation changed since then? Has our being watched changed since then?"

"That's why we used the codes, like you said!"

Toph can feel Kaito sigh, "That's nice. They're just also really obvious. Think up better ones and don't use them in so obvious a context. SOS, really?"

"What? It's short and it summarises the urgency of the need to do something!"

"It would be good if you weren't trying to keep all this secret. Whatever. Listen or don't – but whatever you decide on-"

"Coordination and organisation," they chorus and Kaito ruffles their hair. He's said that too often.

"Go on, get."

They scram, as does the crowd. "Does this happen often?" Katara asks, eyeing the people going back to their own business with curiosity.

"Yes. I wish I didn't have to stop them. They should have a safe space for things like these – arguing, planning, fighting. But with the Dai Li around and spying on us from time to time it's not an option."

"Wow," Sokka says from the wall, "These drawings are super detailed. How did you get engineering blueprints like this?"

Toph isn't sure how impressed she should be. Sokka's drawings are, according to Katara, awful. In this matter, Toph is willing to believe her.

"Yes, we're quite proud of this. We call it the Wall of Engineering. One of the university students teaches technical drawing once a week."

"And everyone gets to know this?"

"Yes, everyone with steady hands. You see, it's a historical interest we have in these things and knowing how to repair things is always good," his tone is that of a salesman and Toph understands that there's a lot out in the open that they have to take care to present in a certain light. Although she would have thought that something like this would have been shut down long ago, with the Dai Li so paranoid. Maybe noble protection can do that much?

Or somebody is protecting this place from the Dai Li.

Toph considers who could have that power. Not the yakuza – because bakery? yeah, right. Not Kaito alone. Not the nobles alone. But all together? With all the people coming here every week? If they don't want a revolt, it's better for the Dai Li to shut it down with a 'good reason'. Like fighting about the war openly.

But why is that bad?

...

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