Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

You can all thank my most recent Guest review for this chapter. I already had it mostly written and planned out, but I haven't looked at it for a while.

THERE IS AN IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHAPTER CONCERNING THE CONINUATION OF THE STORY. PLEASE READ IT.

Pretending

Chapter 5

Tournament

Toph was not one to be surprised very often, in fact it hardly ever happened. So, when the strange kid not only got out of her trap but disintegrated it, well, she could not help but lean back in surprise.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises, twinkle toes," she huffed, her mind spinning with possibilities.

Just who was this kid? She hadn't even been able to feel when the bent the earth and that was saying something. He hadn't even twitched. A grin slowly made its way over her face.

"I really like you now, twinkle toes."

The other shifted as his heartbeat sped up, "Um, ok? I'm just going to be leaving now . . ."

The kid turned to flee the cave, likely taking her grin as something to be afraid of.

As he should.

"Oi, hold up," Toph said, crossing her arms and stomping on the ground, causing the earth to rise up in front of him and block off the entrance to the cave, "Not so fast, twinkle toes."

Toph could almost hear the others groan as she grinned.

"What, did you think that I was just going to let you go after that show of bending back there?"

Her foreboding smirk did not give her companion confidence.

0~o~0

"Mom! Dad! Guess what! I just made a new friend!" The blind gild in a green dress called as she made her way into the throne like room that her parents were in. Behind her a dark haired, dusty boy was stumbling as he tried to twist his wrist out of her delicate grip.

Or not so delicate, as it were.

Zuko winced thankfully as the younger let his hand go. He snatched it back and rubbed the sore bones, which almost seemed to click together ominously as he did so.

Who knew that such a little thing had so much strength?

He glanced up just in time to see the disapproving and slightly confused faces of the girls parents go blank as they hid there surprise.

"Really dear," her mother asked, on eyebrow angled upwards, "A new friend? Where did you meet him?"

The dark brown eyes drilling into his own light gold ones were making Zuko feel like he was little more than unwanted dirt on her floor.

Toph, the little girl, smiled innocently (how she was able to pull off that look after her display with him earlier he had no idea) and grabbed his hand again, "Well, you see, I wanted to come home because the earthbending class was let out early today due to an accident, but my escort didn't come and I was scared, so I tried to come home on my own-"

"Your class got let out early?" her father frowned disapprovingly, "Where was your teacher? Shouldn't he have brought you back?"

Toph shrugged, "He was the one to stopped the class and had to leave."

"Hmm," her father's knuckles whitened and Zuko suddenly felt sorry for Toph's teacher.

(And for the fact that she was probable setting the unknown teacher up. What had they done to her anyway?)

"Continue. How did you meet this . . . friend of yours?" her father asked, his eyes flicking over Zuko's form, making the latter unconsciously straightened his back.

Toph's grip tightened and Zuko had to hold back a wince as she spoke, "I was wandering around trying to get home and some boys started teasing me, but Li came along and scared them off. I asked him how to get home and he showed me!"

Lier, Zuko thought, trying to gently pull his hand away from Toph's without losing a few fingers, if only to get her father's dangerous eyes off of him. You're the one who dragged me here.

Dark eyes narrowed even further, this time in contemplation, "And he didn't do anything to hurt you?"

Toph shook her head.

Suddenly the man relaxed, a slightly easier smile on his face even as his eyes gleamed in contemplation.

"Very well. He may stay for as long as he wishes, in gratitude for helping my daughter."

From Toph expression she had gotten exactly what she wanted.

Zuko wasn't so sure that this was a good idea.

0~o~0

"Stand still, Twinkle Toes! It's not like I'm going to mash your head to pulp or anything!"

Zuko yelped and ducked as a boulder came flying toward his head grumbling a soft, "Yah, right, and I'm a full blown firebender," under his breath.

He had been staying with the Be Fong's for almost two months now and this was not how he had expected to spend his fifteenth birthday. While Toph was nice enough (so long as one didn't anger her) her parents gave him the chills. He could almost feel them plotting something behind his back.

That and Toph was determined to make him the best earthbender in the world (besides her, of course) and he wasn't sure what to think. He had not planned to stay in the area for more than a few days, and yet here he was, still trapped by the crazy little earthbender and her scheming parents.

With his luck, they were planning a marriage contract.

"Again! Stop dodging Twinkle Toes, or I'll hit you where it hurts!"

Zuko winced, becoming aware of his situation just in time to thrust his hand out and stop the rock midair by halting the tinny air particles inside of it. It was a lot harder than it looked for an airbender. Air was meant to be free, ready to move and dance, but earth was hard and unmoving, as was the air inside of it. He had to concentrate a lot harder to find the air in the rock than with fire. It made an interesting contrast, and was also why it was so much harder for him to work with rocks instead of dirt. The dirt had a higher content of air in it than a rock it, so it was easier to move and control.

If he was being honest, Zuko would have rather curved the air around the rock, rather than the air inside of it. But, according to his luck, he was working with a blind girl. Maybe he could have gotten away with it if she could see, but as she was blind she paid more attention to her surroundings, what she felt, instead of what she could see. Therefore, misplaced wind gusts? Not going to be looked over. He wasn't about to give up his identity just yet.

How ironic. He was the last airbender (any other would have been caught by now, he was sure) but he had already proved himself to be an adequate firebender and earthbender.

At this rate, people would start to think that he was the Avatar, which he certainly was not.

The one saving grace that he had was that Toph's parents didn't know about her teaching him. At least his ability to bend hadn't been exposed yet, though her father had already tested his strength in swords. In a world at war, pretending to be a non-bender was safer than being one, as it meant that he was unlikely to get drafted . . . to either side.

Agni, what a mess his life was.

"Good, Twinkle Toes! You halted one rock!" Toph shouted as he let the floating boulder drop. Her smirk sent chills down his spin, "Let's see how you do against two."

Zuko flinched and then dropped into a crouch, just as the two boulders collided with each other where his head had been moments before and hit with enough force that they crumbled on impact.

Toph's angry growl made Zuko groan.

How long did he have to wait until he could sneak away?

0~o~0

Five months later . . .

"And here comes our last year champion, The Blind Bandit! And her companion, the mysterious Sightless Swordsman!" the announcer shouted, his voice rumbling across the stadium even as Zuko winced and tugged at the blindfold around his eyes.

"You'll do fine Twinkle Toes," Toph said cheerfully from his left, "Just remember to listen to the earth before you make your move. Let you opponent strike first. Figure out their tactics, and then strike!"

Zuko groaned, "Why do I have to do this again?"

Toph grinned, though Zuko could not physically see it, and said, "Because if you make it to the final round than it will mean that you are a full fledged Master of Earthbending!"

"And I won't have to deal with you anymore," Zuko muttered, though there was a hint of fondness in his voice. The little earthbender had grown on him, though he would never voluntarily have been her student, knowing or unknowing of her brutal teaching tactics. Toph had made a deal with him that if he could beat all of the other earthbenders except her than she would conclude their training and let him leave (with the extracted promise that he would come back to visit).

He had readily agreed. To tell the truth, she was probably pushing for this because she had overheard her parents 'plans' for her and Zuko and decided that it was time to get him out of their sight.

Possible suitors were never a good thing in her sight, even if they were her friend.

Zuko was just grateful for a way out.

"So I just have to beat all of them?" Zuko asked, again adjusting his blindfold only to have Toph whack his hands away.

"Don't touch that! A real blind person would not even realize that it was there! And, yes, you have to beat them all."

Zuko sighed.

"Fist into the ring is the Blind Bandit and the Fire Nation Man!"

This time Zuko snorted and shook his head. "Who comes up with these names?"

Toph only smiled sweetly and walked out of the side room to face her opponent, who was already being chased off of the ring by angry fans.

That was to be expected, though. Who named themselves the Fire Nation Man in an Earthkingdom fight? A stupid one, that's who.

There would probably be a few broken bones by the time that Toph was done with him.

Zuko settled back to wait his turn.

0~o~0

"And now, the match we have all been waiting for!"

Zuko stepped up onto the arena, feeling his bare foot slid over loose gravel from some of the previous fights. Under his blindfold his golden eyes flicked back and forth nervously and his hands trembled as he expanded his 'earth-sense' (which meant that he was feeling the vibrations of the air in the ground as well as around him, but Toph didn't know that) as far as he could. His 'sight' reached to about the other edge of the arena, which is where it became slightly blurry, but he could work with that.

"Tonight we have been bedazzled by fights between some of our greatest competitors, but I have been assured that they are all nothing compared to the one before us! Ladies and Gentlemen, our next match is between the mysterious Sightless Swordsman and The Boulder! Let the Fight begin!" the announcer shouted.

Zuko shifted his weight to the side, feeling the slight breeze as something large came whizzing past where he had been standing moments before. The ground rumbled ever so slightly under his feet, indicating that some of the rock had been gouged out and used as a projectile.

"How dare you dodge! I am the Boulder! The Boulder will not be defeated!" his opponent shouted, unknowingly giving away his exact position.

There you are.

Zuko shuffled his feet and reached deep into the Earth below him, feeling the rumble as things began to shift, move.

"You're blindness will be you're downfall, for you will not see The Boulder's attacks – ack!"

Zuko smiled in satisfaction when the earth beneath the Boulder's feet split open and the larger man (Zuko could tell by the way the air and earth was vibrating as he moved and stomped around) caught the edge of the open crevice just in time.

"You can not defeat the Boulder with petty tricks! The Boulder will crush you like the pebble you are!"

Zuko raised his arms dramatically, almost feeling the intake of air the stadium held as people leaned forward in their seats. In contrast to what most people were probably expecting, Zuko brought his hands together in a gentle clap, and the earth snapped back together, completely surrounding the other Earthbender except for his head.

"The Boulder is . . . defeated?" the downed man muttered in his booming voice. Zuko could practically see the other's bewildered face.

"And our winner is . . . The Sightless Swordsman!"

Zuko really hoped that all of his opponents wouldn't be this easy to defeat. If they were, well, then the standards of modern earth benders really was lacking . . . or maybe Toph set the bar too high.

Knowing her, it was most likely the latter.

0~o~0

The final match ended as expected, with Zuko lying on the ground. His clothing torn and dusty, (except for his blindfold ironically, but from the way she fought Toph purposefully missed that part of him, for once) and his chest heaving as he sucked in as much air as he could get.

"We have our champion! Give it up for . . . the Blind Bandit!"

Yah, yah, you don't have to rub it in. Everyone can see the outcome.

"You ok there, twinkle toes?" Toph grinned as she looked down at him, not that he could see that.

Zuko just groaned and wondered if he could sink into the ground. It gave a warning rumble under him and he decided that it wasn't a good idea. He accepted the hand she offered to him and pulled himself up, giving a slightly harder than necessary tug. She didn't even budge.

"Let's just go back," he muttered, throwing the trailing edges of his blindfold over his shoulder and glaring sightlessly at the cheering crowd."

Toph laughed and stomped her foot. The ground open up under them and they vanished from sight. The travel back was silent for the most part, Toph basking in her win and Zuko still wincing over his newfound bruises. When they were almost back to her house, however, Toph stopped and turned to Zuko, making him pause as well.

"Hey, Li?" she asked softly.

Zuko straightened, "Yah, Toph?"

". . . I knew you could do it."

". . . Thanks."

They continued on, the silence slightly more awkward. Zuko was the one to break it this time, sensing what was wrong.

"How does next year sound?" he asked casually, tilting his head in her direction.

"What?" Toph startled.

"I did promise that I'd come back and visit. This time, next year? I might even be good enough to beat you."

He couldn't see it, but he knew that Toph was grinning. The air practically radiated her happiness.

"You're on!"

0~o~0

Toph's father looked slightly disappointed as he stood to wish Zuko a good journey. His elegant robe and stiff posture looked out of place next to Zuko's relaxed figure and dirty traveling clothing.

"Are you sure that you can't stay for longer?" Toph's mother requested politely, "It's not often that our little girl makes such a good friend."

And a potential suitor, Zuko thought sarcastically, but didn't say. Instead he smiled softly and bowed, "I have already stayed too long as it is, My Lord and Lady. I am a wanderer, you see. Thank you for letting me stay for as long as I did. I hope to be able to come back and visit, maybe even bring back some of the things that I find in my travels for your wonderful daughter."

Toph's parents exchanged looks and her father inclined his head slightly as her mother's face softened. She turned back to Zuko with a soft smile, "That would be wonderful."

Zuko bowed again, "Until we meet again, My Lord, My Lady."

"Have a safe journey," the elder man said smoothly.

Zuko withheld a grin until he made it past the gates. His time spent with the Beifong's was well spent, in his opinion.

He paused once at the cave he'd met Toph in and then continued on, leaving a single small dagger at its entrance for Toph to find, nearly grinning as he imagined her reaction.

Toph may not agree, but Zuko's philosophy was that no matter how good a bender you are a good dagger here and there doesn't hurt. It was his way of saying 'thank you'.

0~o~0

I hadn't realized until just recently that I am becoming severely limited in my time. In the next few months I will be slowly pulling away from fanfiction as my life starts to really pick up. I am not sure if I will be able to finish this story, or most of my other stories, in the time period that I am giving myself. I also think that I am severely overestimating the amount of time that I do have.

I will try to finish all of my published stories; however in the event that I do not some of them will be going up for adoption some time around August. In preparation for this, I am also putting all of my story idea's up for adoption, that means all of the ideas I've thought up for fanfiction. I have almost six pages of just Summaries right now and I'm not even half way through organizing it all.

IF YOU WANT TO ADOPT OR LOOK AT THE STORY IDEAS I HAVE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION PLEASE REFER TO MY PROFILE. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY OF MY STORIES THAT ARE ALREADY PUBLISHED ON FANFICTION. Starting next week I should have the list up. If anyone wants to request anything before then PM me. I will be putting this notice on all of my stories.

Thank you for you time.

Review?

(Updated: 3/4/17)