After Suki ate a surprising amount of food from her grandma's shop, we set out to go back to her village, which was apparently somewhere much deeper in the island. With no trail that led there, we walked through the dense forest, and I had no doubt that I could get lost for days if I lost track of where Suki was going, but eventually we made it to a village that seemed much smaller than the port town that we had just left.

Though the few villagers that milled around gave me suspicious glances as I walked by, they didn't last long when they noticed who I was walking with.

Suki smiled and nodded at anyone who made eye contact with her, but didn't stop to speak with anyone as we made our way deeper into the village, before we arrived at a large structure that reminded me vaguely of some of the fire nation dojos that I had attacked when I was still in the country.

When Suki paused in her step to give me a look of apprehension and regret, I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" I asked.

Suki sighed and shook her head. "Just," she said, pausing for a second before continuing. "Just try to be normal, okay?"

"I will never be anything but me," I said in reply.

She sighed again before standing up straight, and walking towards the dojo. Pushing the door open like she owned the place, we entered a small lobby area before she walked down the short hallway and opened up another door. Inside, the sounds of rhythmic battle shouts echoed, until Suki clapped twice, causing everyone in the room to snap to attention at the sound.

Walking inside, I was surprised by what I saw. On Suki's face was a confident expression that didn't match how she'd been acting thus far, giving off the impression that this girl was a leader and a warrior, and not a awkward grandma's girl who could barely follow a reasonable conversation. Oh and everyone inside the dojo was wearing thick white makeup and were wearing green dresses with black armor laid over top. That was weird too, I supposed.

"Everyone," Suki said, with a booming voice that showed none of the chronic confusion that I was used to hearing from her. "This is Ty Lung. He has come to our island in search of training under the Kyoshi Warriors, and after consulting with the former leader, Taki, I have agreed to accept him in our group for an undetermined amount of time." She gave me a sideways glance before continuing. "And if he does anything strange, please do not hesitate to put him in his place or let me know and I will do it for you."

While the warning was definitely warranted, I wasn't happy with the suggestion that every single person in this room could take me on on their own, but then again, I had thought that about Suki initially. The Kyoshi Warriors all stared in my direction, glancing between Suki and me, and though they were all too disciplined to say anything out loud, their eyes shone with curiosity and unspoken questions.

Suki gave an amused smirk before continuing.

"You can ask whatever questions you have," she said.

Immediately a torrent of questions flew at me without hesitation. Questions ranging from where I was from, what martial art I used, what I ate to grow so tall, whether or not I was Suki's boyfriend, whether or not I could be one of their boyfriends.

Suki's eyes widened at the last two questions, but she stayed surprisingly calm as she answered the questions for me. No, and absolutely not. But she left the rest for me.

I came from Volcano Basin City, I didn't use any form of formal martial arts, I had a growth spurt when I was around thirteen when I converted to diet of exclusively boar goats, shrubs, and berries so maybe that had something to do with it. There were a few other benign questions that were thrown around, but Suki cut them off before it could get too wild. She called for the group to return to their katas, and motioned for me to follow her back out of the dojo, through a different room than the one that we'd come through.

"You didn't study any martial arts?" Suki asked, once we were far enough from the dojo that we could no longer hear the battle shouts of the other warriors.

"I did," I said.

"You said otherwise back there in the dojo," she replied.

"I said I don't use any form of formal martial arts, not that I didn't study them," I said.

"I see," Suki said, raising her eyebrow curiously before she opened another door to reveal a long hallway, lined with doors. Walking over to a nearby one, she pulled it open to reveal what looked like a storage closet. "What martial arts have you studied then, if you don't mind me asking? It could serve as a good base to understand where I should start teaching you from."

"I doubt you've studied it yourself," I said, watching her sift through a rack of green dresses, presumably searching for one that I could wear. "At least not to the level where you can use the information."

"I've studied a lot of different martial arts," she said, frowning when she took one of the largest dresses she could find off the rack and held it up to me. It was still a few sizes too small, so she returned it to the rack. "Try me."

"Very well," I said with a shrug. "I studied traditional firebending arts."

Suki whirled around and grabbed my wrist before I could even blink, but didn't do anything beyond that. I glanced down at the way she was holding my arm, and in the frozen moment, I couldn't help but notice the incredibly deliberate angle that she was holding my wrist at, which would allow her to direct any force I put into my arm with a minimal amount of strength. I experimented with gently pushing my hand towards her, as if I was trying to grab her collar, but with barely a twitch of her finger, Suki sent a lance of pain shooting up my entire arm.

"That's amazing," I hissed, through my teeth. "Will you be teaching me how to do this soon?"

"You're a firebender?" she asked in a low voice, rudely ignoring my question entirely.

"Obviously not," I said. "Or I would've burned your face off during our duel earlier. Or right now. My father just taught me the art in the hopes that I was a late bloomer or something. I don't actually know what he was thinking, but it probably wasn't very smart."

"You're Fire Nation born, then?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, a little exasperated by the pointless line of questioning. "I don't know why you bother to ask. I would hope that you can draw your own conclusions from what I've been saying."

Suki glared at me for a few more seconds before releasing her grip on my wrist.

"If you're a Fire Nation spy, you're horrible at your job," she said.

"I belong to no nation," I said. "But maybe once I defeat Ozai, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of claiming the throne for myself."

Suki's fist clenched and unclenched by her side before she let out an exasperated huff and closed the closet door.

"Traditionally, the Kyoshi Warriors do not train unless they're wearing the traditional green kimono and the Kyoshi face paint," she said. "But letting a man train with us is breaking enough tradition that I don't care at this point. Will you promise to shut your mouth and keep it that way if I start to train you?"

I grinned.

"It would make it more likely," I said. "But I can't make any promises."

"I'll take it," she said. "Anything to lower the chance of me hearing the utter insanity that comes out every time you open your mouth, the better."

"Insanity is a word that mortals use to describe things that they don't understand," I said.

"Maybe I should've just listened to my grandma and killed you instead."

---

Despite her claims that she didn't mind breaking tradition, Suki still kept a strict set of conditions and rules that I would have to follow if I wanted her continued tutelage.

Firstly, while I could forego the uniform and face paint for now, since she would have to order a newly made one to fit my size from the dedicated local tailor, I technically wasn't allowed to train as a Kyoshi Warrior until I donned the traditional garb. This meant that while Suki could train me, it would have to be while she was outside of her Kyoshi Warrior uniform and it would be outside the dojo.

Second, I was not allowed to sleep in the same building as the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors, which was a rule that would still apply even after I got my uniform made and delivered. While I thought that meant I should sleep outside, Suki, just like her grandmother, insisted that I sleep indoors, even when they couldn't give me a proper reason why, other than the supposed fact that "I just should," but like I did with her grandmother, I surrendered without much of a fuss. I did owe them, after all. I was given a space in one of the storage sheds that the Kyoshi Warriors used for their gardening supplies, and though it was much more uncomfortable in comparison to what I would've had outdoors, I didn't complain.

Lastly, I would be given a wide variety of chores in the dojo, as payment for both my training and my room and board. Regardless of the fact that I'd never asked for room and board in the first place, this was the most reasonable rule of the three, so I had no qualms about it.

But regardless of the relative fairness of what Suki had asked of me, I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it.

Having Suki as a martial arts teacher was an infinitely better experience than I'd had learning under anyone else, but since the only person I had to compare her to was my father, that wasn't saying much. I could only assume that she was a "good" teacher, considering how she led an entire group of elite warriors, and I had obviously experienced her skill firsthand, but her teachings were something else entirely.

Katas. Endless katas.

By the fifth day of doing nothing but katas, I was considering just punching Suki in the face to get her to fight me so I could actually learn something useful, but something happened that changed everything.

My uniform arrived.

At first, I hadn't been too excited about it. Though I hadn't seen the other Warriors during any of their practises, from the rhythmic battle shouts that I heard whenever I was tasked to wipe the floors of the hallways, or clean the dishes in the kitchen, I could only assume they were doing the exact same katas that I was, so I hadn't been excited to join them.

When Suki had delivered me my uniform and put on my face paint for me, I hadn't cared all too much about the "honour" of finally participating in the training of the Kyoshi Warriors in their hallowed halls, especially when the gaggle of Warriors around me seemed more interested in whispering to each other about about how I looked in my hakama, when Suki called for everyone's attention, commanding everyone to enter the flower lily kata, something strange happened.

Though I knew the kata by heart at this point. It was the most basic route of katas that Suki had taught me, with it being intended mostly as a warm up. I was confident that I could do it in my sleep, especially since I had actually dozed off a few times during it, but now that I found myself staring at an entire group going through the same motions that I was, I couldn't help but... notice.

When Suki demonstrated the dance to me, she had only needed to do it once before I memorized it. I had been too distracted with trying to cut down the time that she would be doing the silly dances, thinking it would increase the time that I would spend with training, but now that I was here, surrounded by dozens of Warriors going through the same motions I had only seen another person doing once before, I couldn't help but be fascinated by the sight.

I stayed frozen in place with my jaw hanging down slightly as I watched the Warriors jab their hands forward, thrusting their fingers into their imaginary opponents. I saw the motions of their energy, the intent behind each of the slightly different variations that the Warriors made with their differences in size, and the size of their imaginary opponents. In each of the Warriors, though some of them were clearly more skilled than their fellows, I could see the intent and the reason behind each strike, the way that they flowed past and redirected imaginary limbs, sending larger opponents tumbling to the floor, with little strength but endless precision behind each movement.

I continued to watch until I heard someone stomping behind me insistently, and I turned around in surprise as I realized that I wasn't some formless observer in these halls, but an active participant. A young girl half my size, a warrior in her own right, stared awkwardly up at me, and I realized that in five more steps of the kata she would be lunging forward and I was in her way.

Wordlessly, I fell in line with the katas, and was surprised to discover the difficulty with which I was moving. Though I knew the moves in theory, I felt myself lagging behind as I struggled to decipher the intent behind them, but when Suki shouted from the front of the dojo, calling for another repetition of the flower lily kata, I finally managed to follow along.

Though it was easier to visualize as an observer, I imagined an opponent in front of me to dismantle. We both moved slowly, as if we were fighting in water, but as he came at me with the fury of a beast, I jabbed my hand forward, striking at his left shoulder, sending his body spinning off balance to the side. I lifted my hand, snagging the bottom of his chin and pulled his head down while I kicked his legs out from underneath him. I flowed from one move to the next and after each move, I let my imaginary opponent grow in size and ferocity. But no matter how large and how powerful I imagined him, I couldn't see myself being overwhelmed by him.

Once the kata finished, I stared down at my hands, covered in the blood of imaginary giants. I felt a joyous laugh bubbling out from within my throat, but a commanding shout from Suki broke me out of my blissful reverie. The laughter still threatened to bubble out from within me, but Suki, wearing Avatar Kyoshi's face, stared into my eyes, demanding respect for the tradition. Out of sincere gratitude, I kept my laughter down, letting the happiness simmer through my body instead as I shifted into the next kata that she called.

The kata's lasted for about an hour before Suki called for a ten minute break. Though I wanted to sprint towards her immediately, I allowed myself to walk slowly in respect of the dojo and the traditions that surrounded the wonder of what I had just learned.

"Ty Lung," Suki said, grinning as I approached her. "You don't look like you want to punch me in the face for once. Did the atmosphere in the dojos inspire you?"

I tried my best to be respectful, but I was on the verge of exploding with laughter and glee.

"Suki," I said, raising my hands and grabbing her shoulders.

She flinched at the impact, and a few of the Kyoshi Warriors that still lingered in the dojos glanced in our direction, tensing up in preparation for a potential fight, but I didn't care.

"You are amazing," I said. "Thank you so much for being a part of my journey. I don't know if I can ever repay this debt, and if it comes down to it, I will devote my life to bringing you the same joy that you have given me."

Suki's eyes shot wide open, but I was too distracted by the ecstasy I felt to care enough to figure out why. Ignoring the excited whispers around us, I pulled Suki into my arms and smothered her in a tight bear hug, lifting her off the ground.

When I put her down, I realized that some of her face paint had rubbed off on my hakama, revealing a streak of the heavy red blush of her cheeks that contrasted with the stark white of the facepaint that was still there. She opened her mouth a few times before her eyes darted around the room, at the other Warriors who were currently staring at us. For some reason, I could also hear a cacophany of high pitched squealling in the air, and had to dig around in my ear with my pinky finger, but unfortunately the high pitched squealing remained.

"I..." Suki said, her eyes still darting wildly around the room, landing on everything except for me, for some reason. "I need to redo my face paint."

When she came back, she did so with a glower that was seemingly aimed at anyone who smiled at her, and she quickly barked out her next set of orders. Katas and spars were cancelled for the day. We would apparently be doing intense endurance training today, and anyone who complained would be doing double. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the exercises and didn't say a single word, she singled me out anyways. I didn't mind much, but that only seemed to make Suki angrier for some reason.

Oh well. Even if I didn't enjoy the fact that I had somehow made Suki upset, nothing could ruin the good mood I was having.

It took me two days for me to realize that I had accidentally proposed to Suki. I usually didn't realize things so late like this, because I usually didn't care enough to look back into my past, but for the past few days, Suki had been acting unusually shy around me and I had caught mumblings from the other Warriors speculating about whether I snuck into Suki's room at night, or whether she snuck into mine. Though I knew that being married to me would be an honour above anything else, I also knew that Suki's reputation might fall drastically if such a rumour went unchecked, especially when it became clear that we didn't actually plan to get married.

So whenever I overheard the Warriors muttering to each other, I wasn't shy about correcting them.

"Which one do you think is more dominant in bed?" I heard one Warrior whisper to another, while I was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen one day.

I promptly laid down the dish that I was holding, patted my hands dry on my shirt, and walked over to the Warrior, who froze in her spot.

"Your name was Wanyen, right?" I asked.

She nodded, looking slightly surprised that I remembered her name.

"I will make it clear that your leader Suki and I are not currently sleeping with each other, and I would appreciate it if you would let anyone know if they suggest otherwise," I said. "Also, I find it ridiculous that you would speculate on a thing like who would be more dominant in bed when it's obvious that I would be."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Wanyen gasped, but before I could notice the brown-haired reflection in her eyes, I already felt an arm snaking around my neck, catching me in a naked chokehold.

"Excuse me, ladies," I said, before waking up on the floor.

I frowned up at Suki, who glared down at me.

"That was unfair," I said.

"Stop making people think that we're lovers," she growled.

"I have been doing no such thing," I said. "I have been very clear to people that we are not having sex."

"When you say it so bluntly like that, people are going to think that you're lying!"

"That's on them, not me. Why should I be blamed for telling the truth?"

"It doesn't help when you answer their hypothetical questions on our nonexistent sex life, either."

"In which I also tell the truth."

"You can't tell the truth if it's just a hypothetical scenario."

"Sure I can. Even if we've never had sex, I know with absolute certainty that I would be dominant over you. That makes it the truth."

"You don't know that!"

"I do. Unless I'm hearing a challenge."

Suki glowered at me, and I wasn't certain if the heavy blush on her face was because she was embarrassed or angry. Now that I thought about it, I realized that she had dragged me out of the kitchens and into another room entirely, which wouldn't have been easy for her to do without rage inspired strength, since you couldn't exactly use martial arts to manipulate the flow of movement in an unconscious body.

"You're impossible," she said, crossing her arms and glowering down at me.

"I take that as a compliment," I said, grinning up at her before sitting up. "So why have you dragged me here to this empty room if you didn't want to propagate the rumours then?"

Suki ground her teeth slightly. "I brought you here because I wanted the opposite, actually," she said. "I didn't want anyone to hear this, but I'm going to visit my grandma, and I expect you to join me."

"To ask for her blessing before we get married?" I asked.

"I can't trust you to behave around the other Warriors when I'm not around," she continued, ignoring my joke completely.

"Ah, jealousy," I said. "I can't say I've ever felt the emotion myself. It must be horrible."

Suki smacked me on the top of my head. My eyes lit up in delight, but she killed my excitement before I could even ask my question.

"No, that was not an invitation to fight," she said. "Now shut your mouth and let's go."

"Fine, fine," I said, standing up and following her as she left. "I'm a little surprised to see how messy your room is by the way. Really setting a bad example for the other Warriors."

"I've been busy," she grumbled. "It's not usually like this."

"Of course, of course," I said. "Our little leader can't be anything but perfect. I understand."

"Please. For once in your life, just shut up."

I laughed, and from the groan in her voice, I expected that Suki knew I wouldn't be listening to her request.

Not wanting to betray her expectations, I only stopped talking once we entered the village and noticed the old lady hauling the midsection of an elephant koi in the same modified wheelbarrow that I had used when I was working for her. She had sweat dripping down her wrinkles, and I could see several of the villagers eyeing her nervously, but she glared at each of them before they even dared to try and offer her any help.

"Grandma!" Suki shouted, running over to her when she finally noticed her.

"What do you want, Suki?" the old lady grumbled, not even pausing to greet her. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Why are you hauling this on your own?" Suki asked, before trying to grab the wheelbarrow's handles from her grandmother, only to have her hands slapped away.

"Old Osamu injured his hip," she said. "I thought I might give him a little break from making deliveries to my shop until he recovers."

Suki frowned, glancing between her hand and at her grandmother. "But you're-"

"I'm what, exactly, my dear grandchild?" the old lady asked, giving Suki a dangerous glare.

Though Suki seemed cowed enough by the implied threat to back away, I could only shake my head and sigh.

"You're old, boss," I said, before grabbing the handles of the wheelbarrow and using my shoulder to shove her away. The old lady jumped away and glared at me, but didn't do anything to try to take her wheelbarrow back. "There's no point in rushing to your death when you're so close to it already."

"What a hypocrite. With how you talk, it's more likely that you'll die before I do," the old lady said. "I'd learn to shut that mouth of yours before trying to lecture your betters."

"And with how you talk, it seems like your age is really starting to affect your mind," I replied. "No wonder your granddaughter's worried about you."

"You both remember that you're still in public, right?" Suki said from behind us, holding her face with both of her hands.

"Of course we do, dear," the old lady said.

"Yeah, Suki," I said. "That seems like a really weird thing to forget."

Suki sighed. "Just wanted to make sure you knew."

Though the old lady tried to snatch the wheelbarrow back from me a few more times, she gave up pretty quickly, letting me drag the elephant koi to her shop without too much grumbling. Though it took me a bit of time to properly dump it in the kitchens, she had a quick meal ready for both me and Suki by the time I was finished.

Suki and I thanked the old lady before starting to eat, and though I wasn't usually the type to talk while eating anyways, I still felt a little uncomfortable with how the old lady stared at us while we ate.

"The hell are you looking at, you old bitch?" Suki jabbed me in the side of the stomach, nearly making me cough out my food in pain, but when I glared at her, she ignored me so I continued what I was saying. "You're making the food taste awful."

"Then don't eat it, you ungrateful brat," the old lady replied.

I responded by sticking out my tongue and running it over my food.

"That's disgusting," Suki grumbled.

"That's kind of the point," I said. "I'm securing my food."

"Nobody was going to take your food away from you in the first place."

"To be fair, your grandmother did kind of imply that she might."

"Only because you were annoying her."

"It was only fair. She was staring at me. And at you. You sure you don't want to annoy her too? It's pretty easy, I can give you some tips."

"No thanks. I happen to like my grandma."

"How is that relevant?"

I don't know if Suki was about to respond, or if that flat expression on her face meant that she was about to let out a huff of annoyance and pretend like she could possibly ignore me, but I never found out because the old lady let out a heavy sigh.

Suki glanced at her grandma, who was currently holding her face in her hands in a very Suki-like manner.

"Is something wrong, grandma?" Suki asked.

"No, dear," the old lady replied. "But I suppose I am a little tired from hauling fish for the past few days. Brat. Help me out with a few more deliveries before you head back today."

"I can help too," Suki offered.

"No dear," the old lady said. "You shouldn't abandon your Warriors for too long or they'll get restless. Besides, hard labour is better suited for a brainless barbarian like the brat, over here. Maybe if I work him hard enough, he'll be too tired to speak by the time he gets back to you."

Suki seemed hopeful enough at the suggestion that I might've been offended if I were a lesser man. Still, she shook her head.

"I need to guide him back to the village," she said. "He'll get lost otherwise."

"Hey, don't look down on me," I said. "I lived in the wilderness for about eight months when I was thirteen. I can navigate your forest."

Suki raised her eyebrows at me, but lowered them quickly. "I'm a little disappointed at how little that fact surprises me," she says, shaking her head. "You're sure?"

"Positive," I said. "I can retrace our steps with my eyes closed."

Though Suki seemed slightly skeptical about my claim, she seemed to accept it after a moment of thought.

"I guess you can just shout around if you get lost," she said. "You're definitely loud enough that I'd be able to hear you from anywhere on the island."

Suki didn't stick around for much longer after that. She chatted with her grandma for a while, before asking one last time if I was sure that I could find my way back on my own. When I told her I was fine, I wasn't sure if she believed in me completely, but she left to go back to the village regardless.

Once I was certain that she was out of earshot, I turned to the old lady.

"So," I said. "What's the real reason you had me stay behind?"

"Make the last delivery first," she said. "Then we'll talk."

"I'm not going to do it for free, you know," I said.

"I'm aware," the old lady replied.

When she didn't elaborate further, I gave a shrug and grabbed the wheelbarrow from the kitchens before heading over to the port. Osamu seemed surprised that I had come by to pick up the last batch of elephant koi instead of the old lady, but he didn't need much convincing to hand it over.

"Taki's been a lot more cheerful as of late, you know," he said.

"You should check your eyes, Osamu," I said. "The old bitch is as cranky as ever."

Osamu let out a raspy laugh. "That's how us old farts show our affection," he said. "Taki especially's always been a prickly one. I still have the scars on my heart from when she turned me at the midsummer festival dance. She was a real looker, you know."

I made a face of disgust at the idea of the old lady in her youth. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't imagine her without the frown wrinkles on her forehead.

Osamu just laughed at my reaction and waved me away without another word.

The last shipment was small enough that the old lady probably could've handled it on her own without much effort, but I hauled it without complaint to her kitchens. Once I properly stored it away, I walked out of the kitchens and frowned at the old lady.

"Okay," I said. "Now what did you actually want?"

Rather than telling me immediately, Taki gestured towards the back of the restaurant, where another door led towards the living areas. Not saying anything else, she walked into her home and I followed, but instead of leading me to a room like I might've expected, she stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Brat," she said, lifting her arm and taking a narrow stance with her hips low. My eyes widened when I recognized the stance from my training with the Kyoshi Warriors.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I blinked in surprise when I heard the shiver in my voice, but before I could decide whether it was because of the excitement I felt, or if it was a reaction to the dangerous aura that floated heavy in the room emanating from the old lady, she motioned me closer with her single outstretched hand.

"Join me," she said, motioning with her eyes to the spot in front of her.

I moved quickly, positioning myself in front of her and falling into a similar stance, but for some reason, in the face of the mountain that stood in front of me, my stance somehow felt lacking. But before I could think to try and fix it, the old lady started to move.

She moved at a glacial pace, and though I had become somewhat adept at following through katas with the Kyoshi Warriors at a faster pace, the movements she made baffled me. Her entire body moved like a well crafted piece of machinery, her muscles working like cogs, each of them working in tandem with each other towards a goal that I couldn't quite decipher. I fell behind as I divided my attention between watching her deceptively complicated movements while trying to follow along, before giving up, choosing to simply watch her. The old lady gave me a disappointed look, but didn't say anything else as she continued in her dance.

I had hoped that once she finished her kata and looped around to the beginning, that I would be able to follow along, but I realized that she wasn't moving towards a specific pattern.

"It was said that even on the very first day after Avatar Kyoshi created Kyoshi Island, she intended to create a society that would last long after she passed away," the old lady said suddenly, though she didn't pause in her motions. "She knew that in order to do that, she would have to train pupils that could defend her new home, and teach them to cultivate their own pupils as well. It was said that the idea of the Kyoshi Warriors existed in her mind long before the island did, but it still took her ten years to found the first group of Kyoshi Warriors after creating her island, but not for lack of trying. Avatar Kyoshi was simply too strong. She was the strongest being in the mortal realm, and it was difficult to lower herself to a point where she could interact with anyone who was beneath her, let alone teach them."

The old lady stepped down. Though she wore soft sandals on her feet, there was a loud cracking sound and a large dent appeared in the hardened mud flooring of her hallway.

"She intended to teach women, because she believed them to be strong, as she was. She intended to teach regular women, but Avatar Kyoshi was no regular women. She had control over the elements, the very fabric of the reality of the world, while these women could not bend at all. She was powerful, able to tower over any man, and had the strength to lift a hundred of them, but her students were weak and thin. If she wanted to teach her students, she had to adopt their strengths, not her own. It took her a decade to create the martial arts that the Kyoshi Warriors use today, a martial art for women. But that was not the only martial art she created. Before she learned how to be soft, she first learned how to be hard."

The old lady's face tensed in concentration as she stepped down again. Another crack appeared on her floor, before she looked up at me and fell back into the first stance that she'd adopted.

"This is not something that the Kyoshi Warriors of today would teach you, because it would only make them weaker for using a martial art that is not suitable for them," she said, motioning at me with her hands.

I grinned at her and copied her stance.

It was still difficult to follow along, but now that she had told me the intent behind her movements, I could understand what she was doing and why she was doing it. Though she moved slowly enough that I don't think it would have been possible for her to move any slower, I still lagged behind, putting so much focus into each of my movements that my head started to pound and I began to drip with sweat, but I didn't dare drop my stance at any point. I flowed from one move to the next with the old lady, following no specific kata, but still following her in a rhythmless dance.

When the old lady finally finished, I was tired enough that I collapsed on the floor in a pile of sweat, my arms and legs shaking from exertion and excitement to the point where even though I wanted to hug the old lady in gratitude, I wasn't sure if I would be able to.

I tried anyways, but the slight delay that my aching muscles forced upon me gave me enough time to realize that something was horribly wrong.

When the old lady gave me a malicious grin, I could feel a sinking feeling in my gut.

"You owe me," she said, proudly.

I glared at her, not able to deny it.

"How dare you give me this debt," I growled. "How could I possibly pay it back before you die, you old bitch?"

The old lady's grin only sharpened, and she barked out a loud laugh.

"You can't," she said, cackling out loud. "The leaders of the Kyoshi Warriors all retire their posts when they turn twenty years of age to travel the world and bring back knowledge to teach the future generations. That dance we just did took me close to thirty years to learn, and I can only assume that I won't be surviving for that long."

"I'm more than happy make it so you don't survive for much longer than a few more minutes," I growled, pushing myself up from the ground, before the old lady rushed over to kick my hands out from under me.

I tried to scramble to catch myself and push myself up to my feet, but whether it was because I was exhausted from the lesson that the old lady had just taught me, or if she could've floored me regardless, she easily incapacitated me, jumping on top of me and planting both feet on my chest.

"You owe me, brat," she cackled. "And it's impossible for you to clear it before I die, so you'll just have to clear it afterwards."

"What do you mean by that?" I managed to wheeze out, under her surprising weight.

The grin fell off of her face suddenly, as her expression turned serious. After a moment, she stepped off of my chest and turned away from me.

"The War is getting worse," the old lady said. "Though Kyoshi Island is strong, it is not strong enough to resist the waves of war. It will be swept away, along with everyone who lives here."

I winced in pain and rubbed my chest as I nodded along. "So you want me to stop the war, then?" I asked. "I suppose that's simple enough."

The old lady looked at me strangely before cackling in delight.

"I was only going to ask you to keep Suki safe throughout the war," she said. "But I suppose I should've expected that answer."

"Why would commit to babysitting when I could just cut the problem from the source?" I asked, shaking my head. "Besides, Suki is a Warrior in her own right. I trust her to keep herself safe."

The old lady laughed.

"That she is," she said. "Still, I wouldn't be a very good grandmother if I didn't worry regardless."

"I wouldn't know," I said. "I never had a grandmother."

"Good," she said. "I doubt any woman could survive the shame having to have you as a grandson."

I tried to think of a good comeback, but with how tired I was, it proved to be too difficult so I just laid back down on the ground instead.

"Old bitch," I said.

"Precocious brat," she replied.