"I only care about anything important to my family's survival. The Avatar isn't one of them."
- Nomad Shikka


During the long journey to the Fire Nation Capital, Shikka and his parents are having a campfire in the woods, with Moon Spirit Yue showing her grace as the full moon. The sound of crickets is the only ambient noise there. It was only a humble campfire, nothing lavish. They are but a modest Fire Nation family trying to find a better life at the Capital. Life at their previous residence was neither bad nor good. They felt the people there are just there to interact and forget. It felt very unhealthily bland. They hope to change that once they arrive at the Capital.

But they could have left sooner, for life at their previous residence had done its share of moulding 10 year old Shikka's character. He became quiet, usually apathetic, and due to having lack of friends, developed split personalities, each given a different voice by Shikka himself so that he can have his other "personalities" to talk to. And his parents only noticed the first two mentioned, but not the last. Shikka is smart enough to keep it to himself.

"At this rate, we'll have arrived at the Capital within 9 days," announced Shikka's father, Khere.

"I'm sure Shikka will have the best education the Fire Nation Capital has to offer," proclaimed Shikka's mother, Rui Yan, with a hint of hope. "It's for his best interest."

"Yes, mother," Shikka replied to his mother's words monotonously, enough to her surprise. "I sure hope life in the Capital would be more eventful than the dump of a town we gladly left."

"Now son. It may be true, but it doesn't mean you have to remark scathingly about that town," Khere interrupted. "Now Shikka, would you kindly turn up the campfire?"

Shikka flicks his upfacing left palm upwards, and intensifies the campfire. He is a skilled enough Firebender, for a son of non-Bending warriors. During his spare time, he constantly experiments with his Firebending, ranging from making a smoke screen to testing how far he can heat up the flame hovering over his palms, so far able to heat up the flame up to the size of a 10 year old's head. After staying around the campfire for a while, they go to their sleeping bags to call it a day.

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After packing up camp in the next morning, Shikka's family resume their journey, going through mile after mile after mile after - (AAAAAHHH! To Koh with this! Skip it already!) - Suddenly in the distance, they notice a carriage under attack by about ten bandits. With little hesitation, they set off to rescue the carriage. Khere decides that Shikka should join him in the skirmish. Khere battles them with a broad sword while Rui Yan picks off a few of them with a bow and several arrows. Shikka is asked to ensure the people in the carriage are safe.

"Is everyone alright?" Shikka asked the people in the carriage upon reaching.

"My daughter. Where's my daughter?"  A man in the carriage nearing his 40's exclaimed frantically.

A woman also in the carriage then gasps in panic and exclaims: "Oh no! Chihasu! Where's Chihasu?"

Soon after, they hear a little girl screaming for help. It was Chihasu who is captured by one of the bandits, using the commotion as a chance to take her away.

"Please, young man. You must save our daughter! We can't lose our precious flower!" The man begged Shikka to save Chihasu from her captor.

"Of course," nodded Shikka before dashing off towards that one bandit.

"How many more times before this "damsel in distress" thing grows old? -Oh, I don't know. Over 9000(!!!!) more times maybe? -Heh, you're such a jester!" Shikka engaged a self-conversation as he afters the bandit.

Once the captor is within range of his Firebending, Shikka shoots a small fire blast on the ground in front of the bandit, stopping the latter in his tracks. The bandit then turns around and notices the slightly tanned Firebender who stopped him.

"I thought I'd get over with kids being the hero, but you have officially taken the cake! I mean seriously, why not old people?" The bandit expressed his disgruntlement as he simply drops the bound girl to the ground.

"Ow! Hey, you can't do that to a girl!" Exclaimed an annoyed Chihasu.

The bandit then replies: "Well, excuuuuuse me, princess! You can't expect some commoner to know about -"

"Oh, just shut up and fight me already!" Shikka shouted in annoyance. "Are you a Firebender?"

The bandit then generates a ball of fire above his palm and rhetorically asks: "You think? Wait a sec. *You*? Want to challenge *me* to an Agni Kai?"

"With the power of Kid Hero Cliche, I'll beat you!" Proclaimed Shikka. "I am Shikka. State your name, bandit."

"I am known as Tong," replied the bandit.

"Alright, Tong. If I win, the girl comes with me," Shikka announced his wager.

"But if I win, you *and* the girl come with me. Since we didn't get to grab any loot, you both will have to do," Tong counter-wagered.

"Alright. Come on," Shikka replied and starts the Agni Kai.

And so, the bandit and Shikka engage in an Agni Kai. Much to the pleasure of fangi - correction, "female spirits", they both take off their top, showing off their torso. ("Spiritgasmic" moment starts now)

"Darn 'female spirits'," Shikka mumbled. He imagines the annoying giggles of the "female spirits", then shouts out to the world: "Yeah. You 'female spirits' sure love to watch Agni Kais, do you? Well, here you go!"

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Meanwhile, just as Shikka's parents have knocked out the last of the bandits in their vicinity, they hear their son's shoutout. They turn towards where Shikka is. They could go and help him, but they know that Shikka has to learn to fight his own battles. Khere goes back to bring their things they left earlier to the carriage while Rui Yan goes to the carriage to ensure Chihasu's parents are safe.

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Back at the Agni Kai, Tong dashes towards Shikka to draw first blood. Shikka counterattacks with a fire sweep, but Tong jumps over Shikka's attack, punches the ground, producing a small circular fire wall that expands and causes Shikka to trip and fall to the ground. Tong then tries to heel-kick Shikka, but Shikka manages to roll over and evade the attack.

As Shikka gets back on his feet, Tong roared: "I'm getting sick of this Kid Hero Cliche! Now I'm going to see that you turn to ash!"

Tong shoots a fist-wide stream of fire at Shikka from his right hand, which Shikka counterattacks with the same move from his left hand. The two fire streams counter with each other, spewing out little flames from the counter point. Chihasu reminisces the time she learned about the Agni Kai between then Crown Prince Zuko and his sister Azula during Sozin's Comet back at History class as she watches the spectacle of the battle between Tong and Shikka. Unfortunately for Shikka, Tong proves to be a hard adversary to handle. As the fire streams' counter point draws closer towards him, he uses both his hands to shoot a more powerful fire stream, hoping to push the counter point back. But doing so only slows down the advancing counter point. Once it is within a yard from him, Shikka has no choice but to pull back his fire stream to create a fire shield, allowing Tong's fire stream to meet his shield, pushing him off to the ground again.

"Is that all you got, hero? Well let's see if *this* can up your ante!" Tong boasted, and then generates a fire circle of about eight feet in radius around a helpless Chihasu.

The girl from the carriage screams in fear as fire encircles around her. She could try to put out the fire with Firebending, but she lacks the confidence and the skill, not to mention she is already bound to begin with. Shikka is stunned watching Chihasu helpless in that fire circle.

"Shikka, please help! I can't try to save myself when I'm bound like this!" Chihasu screamed to Shikka, bringing him back to his senses.

The sight somehow makes him feel that something is awakening inside him. He could say it is his inner demon, but it felt more divine. He is dumbstruck by that discovery, but he knows that he has to let it awaken to save Chihasu and defeat Tong.

"So what's your call, hero?" Tong boasted again, oblivious to what is to awaken within Shikka.

Shikka moves his head towards Tong as his eyes flashes light blue for half a second, and then states in the Avatar Legion voice: "You have gone far enough, criminal. It's now time for retribution."

He has entered the Avatar State, albeit the imperfect one. In order to enter the perfect Avatar State, the Avatar must enter by his own will. Not by emotions.

"Wh- Who are you actually? You're the Avatar?" Tong expressed his mix of surprise and fear.

"You have lived the life of crime by fire, so you shall die by fire," replied Avatar Shikka.

With the flick of his right hand, the Avatar douses the fire that encircled Chihasu. She never thought that her saviour would happen to be the new Avatar. It feels something like a prestige to  actually be the first to meet the Avatar in person. She wishes that she doesn't have to meet him in such an embarrassing situation, such as being a bound damsel in distress. Poor girl.

From the tip of his index finger, Shikka shoots a thumb-wide fire stream at Tong, which in turn Tong counterattacks with his fire stream. Unfortunately for Tong, Shikka's fire stream simply cuts though his and grazes past his right shoulder. Tong lets out a short scream in pain. Shikka then uses the same move on his other shoulder and both outside his thighs, resulting in Tong falling to the ground helplessly.

The Avatar steps in closer towards Tong. He then generates a large ball of fire and condensed it to a handful size. He is going to chuck that fire ball onto Tong. But just as Shikka is about to land the final blow on Tong, a voice among the Avatar Legion shouts: "Don't do it, Avatar Shikka!"

Upon hearing that voice, Shikka aborts his final blow on Tong, leaving Tong in utter surprise and disbelief. He then tries to talk to that voice: "Who are you? Why did you ask me to stop?"

The voice then replies using his body as a host: "I am Avatar Aang. I was the one who asked you to abort your final blow. It was because I had been in a similar situation as you did. The past Avatars implied that I needed to kill Fire Lord Ozai during Sozin's Comet, but I found another way to defeat him without killing him. I passed this wisdom down to the two Avatars before you, and now I pass it down to you. Always try to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence."

Tong just looks on at the conversation in confusion, simply because all he sees is a young boy talking to himself. He is also surprised that the Avatar spared his life.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" Tong asked Shikka who is just exited the Avatar State.

"I'll just leave you alone here. I'll be escorting Miss Chihasu back to her parents," replied Shikka as he walks towards Chihasu to unbind her.

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After being unbound, the 10 year old girl takes a good look at her saviour. It just so happens that it was in the evening when the commotion occured. Sun Spirit Nar decides to play cupid for kicks as the evening sun before making way for Moon Spirit Yue. He aligns himself behind Shikka in such a way that it is as if Shikka has a halo. She never thought that he would look that stunning. It may have been the fact that Shikka is the Avatar, but there is this certain charm that he has. She couldn't help but blush. She then starts having imaginations a typical girl would have about their crushes.

"Excuse me. Miss Chihasu?" Shikka brings her back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Look. I, uh, just want to say..." Chihasu stammered.

"Look, we can go back to your carriage unless you really have something to say," Shikka expressed his grain-sized annoyance.

"Sorry! Look, I just want to say, thank you, Avatar. I am not worthy to be in your presence," Chihasu thanked him for rescuing her.

"Look, just stop calling me the Avatar. And I didn't ask for any of that dumb formality stuff. And most important, would you kindly keep this secret just between ourselves? I'm not planning on having sudden fame. I want to earn it with my own effort," growled Shikka.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry, Shikka. Please don't bite my head off!" Chihasu shrieked.

Shikka withdraws his brash exterior after hearing Chihasu shriek. It won't be right if one rescues a damsel in distress to put her in another distress. That would make no sense. Then, Nar plays his shenanigan by shining some evening light on the blooming lotus. She looks so radiant. She seems to be a dead ringer to a girl who, according to a flyer tabloid several centuries ago, once claimed to have become close with Avatar Aang who went incognito in his campaign to defeat Fire Lord Ozai: On Ji.

"Well hello there, cutie! So are you gonna go for her, Avatar Charming? -What are you nuts? We're not in a fairy tale! What makes you think I'd like her? I just met her this evening!" Thought Shikka after viewing a lighted Chihasu. "No! There's no way I could possibly like her, and that's final! I don't have a thing for Chihasu!"

Much to Nar's surprise, Shikka doesn't seem to be drawn to Chihasu as he has called for. By the end of the day, it looks like his shenanigan does spark a crush, albeit only a one-sided one. Or does it?

"Look, Miss. Let's just head back to your carriage already. Your parents are getting worried sick," said Shikka as he heads back to the carriage.

Instead of coming with him to her carriage, Chihasu grabs Shikka by the shoulders, pulls him towards her and stops his face just a few inches from hers. She could have crashed his lips into hers, but she's also not a sucker for fairy tales. Smart kids. At least they know people don't fall in love and get bonded for life.

"And please stop calling me Miss! Just call me Chihasu," said Chihasu after pulling off that near-kiss. "Come on, Avatar! Let's head back to my carriage."

"I said stop calling me the Avatar! And I asked you to come back with me first!" Shikka reacted to her tease. "And just because you did, um, whatever you did, doesn't mean I'd start liking you! I'm serious!"

"We'll see about that," thought Chihasu while blushing.

Sun Spirit Nar looks over and expresses joy by showing a beautiful sunset. But the joy was short-lived as: "Nar, your shift is already over! Can you move over now?" Moon Spirit Yue expressed slight anger at the Sun Spirit.

"Oh, sorry! Got too excited!" Nar apologised.

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Upon arriving by the carriage during the dawn of night, Shikka and Chihasu see their parents waiting for them.

"Chihasu! You're OK. I'm so worried about you," Chihasu's mother expressed her relief as she hugs Chihasu and she then says: "Thank you, young hero. I don't know what we'd do without our precious lotus."

"Awwww, Mom!" Chihasu expressed her embarrassment as her mother treats her like a toy platypus-bear.

Chihasu's father then expresses his gratitude: "I really want to thank you three for rescuing us. We were on our way back to the Capital from a countryside vacation when the bandits attacked us. We had the lousiest bodyguards. They just ran off and left us for dead without trying to put up a fight. Who knew about those Wu Si Bodyguards."

Shikka's family all display a facial expression of surprising disbelief. Khere slaps his forehead.

Chihasu's father then continues: "Anyway, their sudden departure have left two job vacancies. Travelers, you don't seem to have proper jobs. So what say you both about filling the vacancies and work for Kokuyo Enterprise as our personal bodyguards?"

"Hold on. You're *the* multi-entrepreneur Kokuyo? Proprietor of one of the most influential businesses in the Capital?" Rui Yan expresses her slight surprise.

"In person," Kokuyo replied, and he then examines Khere's broad sword: "Ah yes. The blade's edge weaved with obsidian. A trademark for my line of weapons."

Shikka then recalls Avatar Aang's words of wisdom and queries: "So do you only make weapons?"

"Oh, that's just a rose petal on the fruit tart. The backbone of the enterprise is export trade. We believe that the best goods are those you've found yourself," Kokuyo answered an inquisitive Shikka. "Before I forget, Shikka, for saving Chihasu from captivity, I decided to repay your valiance by sponsoring you under Kokuyo Industries so you can be enrolled in the Capital's most elite academies."

Shikka raises one eyebrow and: "Well, this is what my mother always wanted. Having the best education the Capital has to offer. Thank you, Master Kokuyo," said Shikka as he bows to the benevolent entrepreneur. His parents follow suit. And so, both families carry on their journey together to the Fire Nation Capital.

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Meanwhile in the Fire Temple, several Fire Sages are having a meeting with the Fire Sage Elder regarding the Avatar.

The Fire Sage Elder inhales and announces: "I sense that the Avatar is coming to the Fire Nation Capital. Then on his 16th birthday on 386 ASC, we shall announce the new Avatar. What was his name again?"

One of the Fire Sages looks through several documents and then answers: "His name is Shikka. Born in 370 ASC in the Capital, but by the age of 1, he and his family moved to -"

"I only asked for his name, not his whole biography!" The Elder expressed his annoyance. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. The new Avatar is Avatar Shikka."

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"The wildfire. Born to be the Avatar. How desperate is the Avatar spirit to choose the next human to be the Avatar? Oh well. For now, only Chihasu and I know of it. Awww, wait. There's a catch. I have to be her close friend unless I want her to spill it all out," Shikka pondered about his status being the Avatar, lets out a sigh and continues pondering: "The hardship of being the Avatar."