37Clash of the Benders
Chapter 1
When it was first founded, the Kurai Academy for the Elementally Gifted- KAEG for short- was the lone place for benders. It was only after these few benders became famous for using their abilities- fire benders fighting fires, water benders stopping tsunamis, etc.- that the school received enough funding to support more and more students; to help hone the power of more and more young benders.
As of now, it a boarding school, home to several teenage girls and boys that have discovered their ability to command the elements.
Their school living system was well refined; never had they ever had a problem with the students living quarters, whether it be overbooking the rooms or the tenants not getting along.
As for the dorm rooms, every bender has their own separate room, sharing a wing with nine other students that belong to the other elements. Each wing is circular and holds twelve rooms along the circle's edges- ten bedrooms and two bathrooms. In the middle of the circle sat the kitchen, laundry room, and living room. Plenty of space for the students to be able to choose whether to hang out with their wing mates or get some peace and quiet.
And comfortable to stay year round.
"Mornin' guys!"
A chipper teenager bounced into the kitchen, sporting a grin so large it spread from ear to ear. A light blue arrow ran down his forehead, the top dissapearing under his head of short, shaggy brown hair. His bright yellow t-shirt bore the symbol of his nation- the air nation- and matched the yellow sneakers that peaked out from under his baggy blue jeans.
A pair of caramel-colored siblings looked up as he entered. The female- younger by two years- stood before the stove, quietly cooking their breakfast. The male hunched over a paper on the table, pen scribbling furiously.
"Good morning, Aang." The girl's long, dark hair swung around her face and cascaded over her blue off the shoulder top. Her thumb ran over the bottom hem of her blue jean mini- the white leggings underneath were to appease her brother- before she fingered the black choker boasting her water tribe's symbol from her neck. She smiled brightly at him, blue eyes sparkling.
Aang's cheeks flushed, but he smiled back nonetheless.
The oldest male in the room looked up and sighed. He shook his head, ponytail (or "wolftail" as he called it) barely brushing against the nape of his neck with its semi-long length. "Would you guys mind not flirting right now? It's still early and I don't even have any breakfast to throw up yet."
He yelped when his sister promptly yanked his hair, then paused in rubbing his sore head to glare at the snickering air bender. "Jeez, lighten up, Katara. I was just teasing." The metal bender moved to the younger male and pinched his cheek mockingly. "Aang's just so innocent, I couldn't help myself."
Gray eyes rolled at him and, after ducking around Sokka, Aang stepped up to the kitchen's island counter. "Need any help, K?"
She smiled gratefully but shook her head and shooed him out with a spatula.
He shrugged and disappeared into the living room- or what Sokka liked to call the Kick-Back-and-Relax Room. The air bender plopped down into his favorite beanbag, flicked on the TV, and traveled through the channels for something cartoony. Then the door burst open.
"… Mornin'," came a voice still thick with sleep. And in staggered a short girl in a green t-shirt with a brown pyramid decal and baggy khaki shorts. She ran her fingers through her silky midback-length hair black hair, pushing her long bangs up only for them to fall back into her face. The girl began to mumble incoherently as she kicked the door closed. Clearly not a morning person.
Sokka's head immediately popped into the room as soon as he heard the door shut. "Hey, Toph." When she stared at him blankly, he grinned.
"What're you smilin' at, metal head?" He clear eyes narrowed.
The metal bender just chuckled. "Looks like someone's still sleepy. Come take a seat before you fall out on the floor." He steered her to the black couch on the far side of the room.
Aang snickered under his breath. He could easily tell that Toph was enjoying the feel of Sokka's arm around her shoulders just as much as Sokka was enjoying her hand clasped around his wrist. The boy's escort was supposedly keeping her from tripping over or running into anything.
But everyone knew she could see just fine.
Although small and fragile-looking, Toph was an amazing earth bender. Said bending allowed her to get past the hindrance that was her blindness… Well, except reading and writing- but she did her school work orally anyway.
"Breakfast!" Katara's voice cut into his train of thought. But he couldn't complain, seeing as there was a wonderful aroma wafting through the air.
"MEAT!" Sokka cried, rushing into the kitchen and leaving poor Toph all by her lonesome.
"Pft. Moron…" She muttered before trudging into the other room, Aang not far behind.
Katara had cooked a large breakfast for herself and the four of her friends: eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, etc. And seeing how Aang didn't eat meat (him having been raised by monks), she'd made sure to prepare a plate of waffles especially for him.
"Yum! Thanks Katara!"
She nodded and smiled as they all moved to make their plates.
After all of their plates were filled to the brim, the four of them made a beeline for the Kick-Back-and-Relax room, settling down into the comfy furniture.
"Hey, where's Zuko?" Katara asked from her seat beside Aang on the black loveseat.
Aang shrugged and Toph did as well from her relaxed position next to Sokka, leaning heavily with her back on his shoulder while balancing her plate on her outstretched legs. The metal bender himself didn't bother with a response, too caught up in his food and supporting Toph to provide one.
"Well, he'd better get breakfast before orientation. The other students are coming later today," the girl sighed and sagged into the cushions. "I hope we get some people we can get along with."
They all nodded, each lost in the Scooby Doo movie that was currently playing.
Currently, there were five bedrooms left unoccupied, one from each element. And even though there were five being used, it was still somewhat… lonely. It also didn't help that they were some of the only students that stayed at the school year round. Since Aang didn't have parents; Sokka and Katara's father were on long term business with the military; Toph hated living with her parents; and Zuko's father hated living with him, they wallowed in the loving company their closest friends had given them.
At that moment, the door opened and in stalked a tall male with spiked black hair, shaggy fringe falling over the tell-tale scar on his eye. On his somewhat tight red shirt- which hung over his well worn jeans- glared a flaming black skull. "Mornin'," he grumbled over his shoulder as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Uh… Zuko?" Aang asked. "Are you okay? You look kinda… mad."
The fire bender quickly filled his plate, muttering irately under his breath all the while. When he returned, he took a seat on the floor by the loveseat and sighed. "I am… in a way." I didn't get a lot of sleep." He reached up to rub at his face in frustration. "My dad had some pretty… unfortunate news to tell me last night."
His four friends all turned their attention to him, having completely forgotten about the plates in their laps. He sighed yet again.
"My… sister's enrolling this year."
The Scooby Doo movie- which had still been on at the time- was momentarily out-noised. All four of the others began talking at once, asking questions and providing comments for someone else's question.
"C'mon, guys. Keep the noise to a minimum, please." Leaning back and resting his head on the cushion between Aang and Katara, Zuko scrubbed at his face again with his hands.
Everyone paused mid-sentence and quieted down; everyone but Toph.
"You mean the crazy one; the one that almost killed you on time?" Her nose scrunched up in disgust.
"That was an accident," came his muffled reply. "You know that."
The earth bender rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. But if it was an accident, then why are you so upset about her coming here?"
To that she received no come back.
"That's enough, Toph," Katara chided, then set a hand on Zuko's arm in comfort. "And you: don't worry about her. You have all of us. Besides," she winked, "I know how to deal with crazy siblings."
"Excuse me, little sister?" Beside Sokka, Toph snorted out a laugh while Aang chose to snicker behind his hand. Zuko grinned and looked up through his fingers at the water bender.
"Thanks, K."
She smiled, pinched his cheek briefly, and asked Aang for the time.
"Aw man! It's 10:13!"
"WHAT?" All five hopped up and rushed into the kitchen, throwing empty plates into the sink for washing later, then emptied out into the circular hall of the wing. When they stepped into the long hallway outside of their dorm, all five knew that they wouldn't be able to make it to the auditorium in time on foot.
Toph stomped her fist into the nearest granite wall and withdrew a long slab of the rock, yanked Zuko on behind her, and went zooming down the hall. Sokka pulled a large ball of metal from his pocket (if you can't find your element everywhere, make it portable) and molded it into a long skateboard, which he used to follow the blind girl and her moving rock sled. After passing a fountain in one of the courtyards of the school, Katara swirled the water around her and traveled on the small wave she had created. Aang flew next to her on his glider.
All of them came to a stop right outside the auditorium's large wooden doors. After sharing a glance and taking a deep breath, the small group opened the doors and walked in; hoping that their new wing mates would be tolerable in the least.
Review please! :) X) XD
-Tsunei-chan3