Chapter 7 - Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Suki wandered down the road of the village first thing in the morning to grab something to eat for breakfast. She made her way down to a fruit stand and bought a cup of sliced fruits. After she'd paid and began to walk back to her villa, an older man was hollering after her. At first, she didn't quite recognize him. It'd been a few years since she'd been on the island, but as he began to get closer, there was no doubt that she knew this man. His name was San, and he was the governor of Kyoshi Island.

His short, patchy gray hair was swept back from his run over to her, along with his shaggy beard. He took a moment to catch his breath after he had completely approached her. Suki favored him with a warm smile and patiently waited for him to collect himself.

"Sorry to interfere with your morning errands," the man huffed out, "A messenger hawk just arrived with your name on it. It's from Republic City, and it seems dire."

He handed her the scroll. She carefully took it and began to observe what little she could see from the rolled up parchment. When she saw the emblem of Republic City's Chief of Police, her heart nearly dropped. She couldn't mask the fear and nerves that immediately pinched around her stomach.

"Once again, my apologies for the interruption," San babbled on, "I hope this letter is bears nothing but good news. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

The two exchanged a bow and went on their separate ways. Suki figured it was best to not read and walk at the same time, so she would wait to read the letter once she returned back to her villa. Though on the rest of her five minute walk back, she couldn't help but ponder upon what the contents of the scroll contained.

Did something horrible happen in the past week and a half that'd she had been in Kyoshi Island? Considering all of her close friends and family that were residents of the city were all high-profile, it was very likely; especially considering their luck, or unluckiness for that matter. Or, what if Toph had unfolded the truth of what happened that Friday night two weeks ago? Suki shook her head at herself and how quickly she was letting her mind jump to negative conclusions.

When she approached her temporary villa, she sat down at the small table in the kitchen. She popped open the lid to the container of her fruit, rested her legs on the other chair across from her, and slowly opened the scroll. She took a deep breath to brace herself for possible bad news.

Dear Suki,

There has been a huge increase of high crime in the city. There have been multiple reports of a man using what has been described as bloodbending on others, especially to prey on women. The reports only continue to skyrocket by the day. I'm sorry if this is a bad time, but I know that you're currently at Kyoshi Island and we could seriously use your help.

I'm summoning you and the other Kyoshi Warriors to help defend Republic City. We need extra surveillance and arms to help bring this man to justice. If you agree to this, we will meet up upon your return and establish specific roles and duties for you and the other warriors. Please let me know your decision on this matter. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and I understand if this is not the right time for this, as you've already been summoned to Kyoshi Island on other terms.

Sincerely,

Toph Beifong, Chief of Police of Republic City

Suki wasn't aware of the tension in her shoulders until after she let out a long sigh of relief. Her chest was no longer tight, the funny feeling in her stomach had vanished, and her heart rate slowed down to a more relaxed pace. She couldn't help but laugh at herself. She felt like a complete fool; immediately expecting the worse when she saw the letter.

She searched around the inside of the villa for a spare sheet of parchment. Once she finally found a piece, she began to write her response. She was happy to accept the offer. Now that she had established her main goal, sending Kyoh out on a personal investigation, she really didn't have any obligations here on Kyoshi Island. She would finish the last three days of the week on the island before returning to the city. Besides, that was approximately the amount of time it would take for the messenger hawk to arrive back to Toph, along with the letter she'd been envisaging to write back to Sokka.

It had been a few days since Sokka had sent his letter to Suki. He'd been anticipating a response from Suki for every day that had followed. However, his busy life had carried on with its sudden unusual, but consistent routine; wake up, get the kids ready for school, drop them off, go to work, leave work, pick up the kids, come home and cook dinner, get the kids ready for bed, sleep, wake up and do it all over again. Each day blurred into the next as nothing new or exciting seemed to occur.

Even though the days seemed to go by slowly, they managed to speed by at the same time. Before anyone knew it, it was Tuesday again, marking it exactly two weeks since Suki left for Kyoshi Island. Sokka could only hope that she would return exactly when she foretold.

Sokka heard the alarming squawk coming from outside. Since the only person he'd expected a letter from was Suki, he practically darted to the backdoor. He grabbed the message from the hawk that was perched upon one of the many cubbies of the bird sanctuary. His stomach was full of butterflies as became more and more giddy once he saw the official stamp of the Kyoshi Warriors seal on the scroll. He nearly tore the parchment as he unrolled it. A joyful gasp escaped his lips as he immediately recognized Suki's handwriting.

Dear Sokka,

I miss you guys, too. I can't tell you much about the mission, especially over paper, but I can tell you a little more in person. I will be returning in time, though. I'll be home in less than a week, right around the two-week mark. Toph has asked me to bring the Kyoshi Warriors back to Republic City for backup with the bloodbender investigation. What else do you know about this bloodbender? You can tell me in person instead of writing back, so hold those thoughts.

It was really nice to hear from you guys. I miss my babies. I understand now- especially now, why I decided to part ways with the Kyoshi Warriors after I became a mother. I wouldn't be able to bear being apart from them for this long, and I couldn't imagine being away from them any longer! I can't wait to see you guys. It won't be much longer.

Love,

Suki.

P.S. Turn around!

"That would've been awkward if the letter didn't come on time," Suki's voice unexpectedly filled his ears.

Sokka turned around slowly. Sure enough, his wife was standing behind him, in the doorway. He dropped the letter and ran over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, lifted her off her feet, and spun her around as he hugged her tight. She let out a happy squeal and was overcome with a fit of giggles.

He gently set her back down, but still kept his arms wrapped around her. After she caught her breath, she kissed him on the cheek. Afterwards, she nuzzled her head against his.

"Wait until the kids see you," the smile on Sokka's face was so prominent, it soaked through to his words.

"I missed them so much," Suki admitted meekly.

Sokka's glance dropped down to the bags she had at her feet. He broke out of the embrace to stoop down and carry them for her. He told her he would bring her bags to their room. Suki attempted to assure him that she was fully capable, but Sokka insisted he do it. She smiled sheepishly at him and nodded her head. Sokka raced off with the luggage.

Suki turned around and scanned the perimeter of their medium-sized backyard. She tried to search for a pair of eyes that would be staring back at her. She looked in all of the shrubbery, but didn't notice anything. Then she looked up in the trees. If Kyoh was up there watching, Suki couldn't see her.

"I'll be damned," Suki called out, just loud enough so that Kyoh would be able to hear, "You really are that good."

She wasn't sure if she heard a chuckle, or if it was just the wind. Even though Suki couldn't tell where Kyoh was, nor was she sure if Kyoh was even there at that moment, a smirk grew across her face. She spun around on her heel and strolled back inside her home.

The day after Suki's return, she agreed to meet up with Kyoh for an intelligence report. They met up at Suki and Sokka's home while Sokka was at work, purposefully avoiding a public setting to avoid any chances of being overheard. They sat down together in the back room to discuss what Kyoh had witnessed from Sokka and Toph in the past week.

Kyoh told her all about how Sokka and Toph had seemed to be avoiding each other. She realized that whenever they'd get off at the same time, Sokka would look at her, turn his head away and keep walking. This had piqued Suki's interest and she was overcome with incredulity; she knew that Sokka would usually walk with Toph until their paths had to split to turn into their own neighborhoods. The majority of their walks home could be taken together. And more often than not, they were. At least that was the case in the past.

There was not much more information for Kyoh to provide. Kyoh considered the past week of her surveillance to be quite boring. Sokka was too busy taking care of their kids on his own for him to do much else. He didn't have as much spare time as he would've had Suki been around.

"What about Toph?" Suki asked. "What have you gathered from her?"

Kyoh avoided eye contact with Suki. She let out a hopeless sigh before answering the question, "Considering everything you've told me about her, it's been hard to keep tabs on her. I can't follow her around. I can't stand right outside her window and listen in on her conversations. If she can sense me on the ground, it's hard to observe her. She doesn't have too many stable trees on her property."

Although Suki was not pleased with her response, she understood. After all, she did warn Kyoh to avoid lingering around on the ground around Toph. And now with Toph's summoning of the Kyoshi Warriors, they would have to be even more careful. Toph would remember her footsteps if she got too close, and it would be game over.

"Toph also asked for the Kyoshi Warrior's assistance on a big case the police and council are trying to crack," Suki informed her. "Honestly, I wasn't in any position to decline, nor would I have wanted to. So to make a long story short, our other sisters are here, too."

Kyoh's eyebrows flickered up and down as her eyes widened a bit, before she forced her face back to a neutral expression. Kyoh wasn't sure how she could possibly add another responsibility to her list, considering her current mission took up most of her time already. She eyed Suki up and down skeptically.

"What police case?" Kyoh asked, "And where are the sisters?"

"Avatar Aang and Katara offered to house them while they're here. They have lots of room in their dormitory, where they'll also have the best connection for communicating over the radio, if needed," Suki answered, "And the police case is about some perpetrator who has apparently been using bloodbending to commit high crimes. No one knows who he is, except that he's a male, and he's been accused of using bloodbending techniques without a full moon, which was presumed to be impossible."

Kyoh's palm smacked the surface of her forehead as she let out a long groan, "This is going to be impossible."

Suki raised an eyebrow at her, "What are you talking about?"

Kyoh dragged her palm across her forehead, and down her cheek. Her eyes leveled with Suki's, and they exchanged a series of glares and imperative glances. Kyoh shook her head dramatically.

"Surveillance and now this; whatever this case is," Kyoh complained.

Suki put her palm up in front of Kyoh, stopping her before she could say much else, "That's not your problem. You were assigned a mission, and that is the only thing on your agenda that you have to worry about."

Kyoh's brow furrowed as her head cocked back a bit, clearly taken aback, "But, I'm also responsible for helping out my sisters. That wouldn't be fair to-"

"It's for the best," Suki insisted sternly, "You can't be expected to do around-the-clock surveillance and also whatever Toph needs the Kyoshi Warriors for." Kyoh immediately scoffed.

"You don't decide what's best for me," Kyoh retorted stubbornly.

"No, but hear me out," Suki began, "If you start lingering around Toph, she'll be able to remember your footsteps and your voice. Toph's only way of seeing is through sensing through the ground. And she always says she never forgets a voice or a person's footsteps. In order to lay low and achieve the personal mission I assigned to you, I cannot allow you to join the other Kyoshi Warriors in aiding Toph and her officers."

The screech of Kyoh violently pushing her chair back pierced Suki's ears. She watched as Kyoh rushed to stand up and take a defensive stance. Suki glanced at her carefully, hoping she wasn't planning to attack.

"That's exactly what this is! Personal!" Kyoh barked out viciously.

Suki was taken aback by how suddenly volatile Kyoh had become. She quickly scooted her own chair back and rose to her feet, meeting Kyoh on fair ground. Suki crossed her arms against her chest and eyed down Kyoh with a sharp glare.

"I asked this of you because I have high trust in you," Suki spoke in a neutral voice. She did not want to match Kyoh's energy, as Kyoh would only feed off of it, causing her anger would manifest. Even though Suki was beginning to become angry, she knew she had to keep a calm and peaceful composure. "You didn't have to agree. It's not like I'd already accepted Toph's request before I asked this of you. She wrote to me a week after you had already left!"

Suki's calm response to Kyoh's outburst left Kyoh standing upon her with no response. She suddenly became aware of how strong she had come off, and immediately felt foolish. She glanced down at her feet. If Suki wasn't standing less than a meter away from Kyoh, she wouldn't have been able to hear the small sigh that escaped from Kyoh's lips.

Kyoh struggled to utter out anything that remotely resembled words. She wanted to apologize, but she still had anger that had boiled up the surface that she felt the need to get out, even though she knew it wasn't fair for Suki to do so. She did respect Suki, but she couldn't help but feel some type of way about not being able to help out her sisters on an important mission. Kyoh just wasn't sure how to put it into words.

Suki subconsciously tapped her foot as she waited for Kyoh's response. She watched as the Kyoshi Warrior's lips quivered a bit, her mouth opening just slightly, and closing, over and over. She was quick to assume that she wasn't going to get a response.

"If I knew Toph was going to need our assistance, I would have held off asking a personal favor from you," Suki added. "I don't want you to torn between two duties that would ultimately overlap and make it difficult for you. I need you to understand that."

Kyoh nodded along. Suki was right; everything she had said made complete sense. But for some reason, Kyoh couldn't shake her negative emotions away. She felt resentful and even a bit left out.

"I don't see why I couldn't do both," Kyoh's flashed back with her previous stubbornness. "It would be easier to get intelligence on Toph."

Suki let out a frustrated sigh. Despite the fact that she'd already laid out her reasoning for her not wanting Kyoh to take up both responsibilities, Kyoh was being dense and refusing to absorb it. Whether or not that was a conscious arbitration was beyond her.

"Why don't I see what exactly Toph needs from us before jumping to any conclusions?" Suki offered, though it was more of a command than an offer.

Kyoh agreed. Suki felt relieved that they were finally able to be on the same page regarding the issue. She was quick to dismiss her fellow warrior in order to get moving with the other responsibilities she had to attend to for the day. She hoped she wasn't being too pushy or rude with the way she was so eager to dismiss her. But, it deemed reasonable for both parties to feel that way.

Suki led Kyoh to the front door before a bitter spew of words came out of Kyoh's mouth right as she was walking out.

"It's almost three o'clock," Kyoh muttered, "You should be picking your kids up from school."

Suki exchanged a dubious glance at her sister before shutting the door behind her. The tone beneath her words didn't sit right with her. Suki felt as though she was being pulled in so many different directions. The stress of all her sudden obligations was already enough for her. Now she would question the level of faith and trust she had for, yet another, person in her life.

To be continued...

P.S. The letter from Toph obviously isn't written by her. She would have someone write the words down on paper while she would tell them what to write. Just putting that out there before someone decides to call me out on that lol