avatar:tla-lover
Meng
candybender ;) Avatar also made by Princess Yue!
Posts: 250
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Post by avatar:tla-lover on May 13, 2008 15:32:24 GMT -5
When Kazuo was done preparing himself he noticed he had to leave soon in order to get in time before supper was served at the Academy. Ever since his father arrived from the Earth Kingdom he kept improving because he didn’t want to fail after he had worked so hard. Kazuo always stayed focused during training, but lately, while trying to train at home or play with his little sister, he wasn’t able to stop wondering about the earth bending prisoner with the dead eyes. He just simply couldn’t stop wondering.
Suddenly he noticed how some of his goals changed. Of course he still wanted to become the best Yu Yan Archer and of course he still wanted his father to be proud of him. But he didn’t want to serve or protect the Fire Lord anymore. Hence, the only reason Kazuo wanted to serve the Fire Lord was because Kazuo thought he protected his own people from the earth and water benders who didn’t want to create one peaceful nation together. Kazuo thought the Fire Lord protected his own people, but this was all one, big, lie. Instead he used his own people for his own good. Thousands of Fire Nation soldiers must have died; millions of people have been attacked by the Fire Nation and millions of people must have lost beloved ones.
No, Kazuo only wanted to protect his nation and his people and the only way to achieve this was to oppose the Fire Lord and help the Avatar create peace. He knew the Avatar was powerful; months passed by since he returned and the Fire Nation still wasn’t able to catch the kid. The fact that the Avatar was only one year older than himself made Kazuo more determined to oppose the Fire Lord. However, he didn’t know where the Avatar was and frankly enough, he didn’t worry about him either. The Avatar was powerful and therefore the big job had to be done by him. Nonetheless, it didn’t mean that a little help from the inside was unwanted. At least, that was what Kazuo thought.
Kazuo wanted to make a start by freeing the prisoners of the prison camp next to his Academy. He knew his father was ‘the’ General there and he had mixed feelings about his idea. However, this whole idea had nothing to do with his father, so if he could obtain a map of the prison camp he was able to set up a plan. His archery skills were advanced compared to his class and room mates. The teacher told him the previous time that he would let Kazuo help some freshmen because he was far ahead of the others of his age. So he probably would have enough time to set up a plan. But he was in need of other people, people who shared his opinion. Kazuo really hoped to meet Kagoshi. She was the only one, aside from his mother, who probably shared the same views. She probably realized a whole lot earlier that the Fire Nation was run by a tyrant. Something inside of him just told so. He wanted to set up a plan with her; he just didn’t know how.
“Kazuo, honey, you have little time left to pack some food before you go to the Academy”, mentioned Kazuo’s mother.
Kazuo found out he really didn’t have much time left, and he suddenly noticed that his father was sitting next to his mother in the living room. His father then noticed that Kazuo had a puzzled look on his face.
“Isn’t it great!? For once I’m able to spend some time with your mother and sister the whole day! Those earth bending prisoners have been evacuated to the capital, so I can have lunch and supper here. It’s a pity though, that is has to be the day your off to the Academy”, his father answered.
"Yeah, it sure is..." Kazuo replied while realising that it really was a pity. However his thought soon desappeared when he focused on what his father just told him.
The earth bending prisoners were here? That meant that the old man with the dead eyes, his grandmother’s old friend, was here too?! What was the point in going to the Academy to make a plan to free the prisoners if the prisoners wouldn’t be there anyways?! To train!? He was supposed to waste his time on toddlers anyways… After putting his outfit, weapons and some food in his bag, he left his home; kissing his mother goodbye and hugging his dad.
"Please tell Natsuko that I'll play with her as soon as I get back! Give her a hug from me!", Kazuo said while running of to exit his home.
And that was when Kazuo decided. He was prepared for some dangerous events and adventures. It was now or never.
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Chaobunny
FN Suki
That girl with the videos
Kataang <33333333333333333
Posts: 1,605
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Post by Chaobunny on May 13, 2008 16:53:24 GMT -5
The soldiers began separating the prisoners into groups, so Hisae was temporarily unchained from the prisoners nearby her. The guards were rough and Hisae was terrified. She was shoved towards a group of several women and girls, some of them close to her age. There had been few children in the prison camp, but those who had been there were with the women.
Separated from the main column of prisoners, Hisae got a better look around.
They were in a huge market square in the middle of a vast city, a city that stretched as far as Hisae could see. There were many more prisoners here than she had first guessed, and she suddenly realised that they must have emptied the whole prison camp. But why? She began to get a queasy feeling in her stomach. But then, that means Nashk must be here too! That thought comforted her slightly.
The guards were shouting orders and separating the prisoners into groups, and Hisae could see that the young, strong men were all chained together. She could make out the words "coal mines" amid the shouts and her fear increased twofold. These rumors seemed to be true, after all. Those poor men would be forced to work as slaves beneath the ground, most likely never to see the light of day again. There were boys there that couldn't have been older that 15 or 16.
She stood there for quite some time, surrounded by fire nation guards. The men destined to work in the coal mines were led away in chains. The marketplace became more clear, but all Hisae saw were the menacing faces of the guards, warning them to make one move out of line. The face of the soldier who had assaulted her came to the front of her mind, she she shivered at the memory.
Several prisoners remained, including perhaps a hundred men and about fifty women and children. There were a few older prisoners as well, people that couldn't have handled working in the mines, Hisae assumed bitterly. Hisae strained her eyes to see if she could spot Nashk, but she did not know where he was.
"What are they going to do with us?" one woman nearby whispered in a low voice, so that the guards could not hear her speaking. Hisae listened intently.
"I don't know," said a girl of about twenty, grimly. "They'll sell us as slaves, if we're lucky. Or maybe they'll give us to some wealthy fire nation nobleman..." she muttered in disgust. Rumors had spread far and wide, and Hisae knew more than anyone how true this one was.
The city around them seemed oblivious to their pain, beginning another day of a joyful life that the prisoners would never have again.
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Post by cougarwildclaw on May 13, 2008 18:53:55 GMT -5
The soldiers began separating the prisoners into groups, so Nashk was roughly lifted to his feet and pushed into a group of prisoners. The prisoners were terrified and Nashk was nervous. He shoved his way through some of the prisoners, noticing by the sounds that the vast majority of them were woman, girls around.... Hisae's age. A pang of guilt shot through him, where was Hisae?
Feeling the isolation choking him, Nashk heard the guards call out.
"What are we going to do with the blind one... Can't send him to the mines in that condition." A gruff male voice called.
"We can't? He looks strong enough to me, why give ourselves a headache?" A womans voice replied, absolute venom in her voice.
"Because the overseer would have our heads if we sent him a useless worker, remember we pulled the whole blasted prison camp for this, laziness will get us in trouble, and that is how the last guard got layed off. Besides I am sure we can sell him off easily, even blind he seems he would make a good servant, cant exactly escape if you can't see!" The gruff voice laughed.
Nashk stood in place for sometime, absorbing the enormity of what the guards said. The whole prison camp... Hisea! Comforted slightly by the thought, the guilt melted away.
Suddenly Nashk felt a rough hand pull him away from the crowd. Pain shot through him at the sudden movement causing him to stifle a cry. He would have to be careful until his eyes were restored.
"Listen here and listen good slime, You should be thankful we do not execute you right now in front of all these prisoners for that incident you caused back at camp." The voice belonged to the womans. Pure malice filled Nashk's ears.
"In fact bow down right now and apologize, you angered a lot of men back there and they would love to break a limb or two." She growls shoving Nashks face into the dirt.
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Chaobunny
FN Suki
That girl with the videos
Kataang <33333333333333333
Posts: 1,605
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Post by Chaobunny on May 14, 2008 20:45:37 GMT -5
Hisae heard shouting, and saw several soldiers beating up a prisoner. She took a closer look, and realised in horror that it was Nashk! What had happened to his eyes? It looked like he had been involved in some sort of fight. Hisae grimaced; this was why she had warned him. Her entire village was burnt to the ground, and the firebenders were ruthless. If they had actually tried to make an escape plan, then they would most likely be lying dead somewhere now.
Hisae saw the guard shove Nashk's face down into the dirt. Hisae turned away. She hated seeing his suffering, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was virtually helpless with her burned wrists, and they would kill her if she tried to earthbend anyway. And she was no master in the first place.
Hisae looked down at her hands. The green cloth tied around her wounds had taken on an ugly brown color, stained by the blood coming from the wounds that reopened when they had put shackles on her. They had been unshackled while the guards regrouped them, but there several firebenders surrounding the group of weary women and children. Trying to escape would be futile and fatal.
"They killed my husband," murmured a woman somewhere behind Hisae. "I wish them all a painful death. I will refuse to work for anyone..."
"Don't say that," whispered another woman, who was older. "Would you rather be a slave or be dead?"
"What exactly is worth living for?" the other moaned back, and she was given a threatening look by the guard.
"You're all being sold as slaves in this city, do you hear?" the firebender in charge of the prisoner regrouping shouted at them. "You're better off than going to the coal mines, so be grateful! We won't tolerate any resistance. None at all. "
Hisae looked wildly around in fear. The city that seemed so magnificent at first seemed to be suddenly overwhelming, a huge monster that would swallow her whole.
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avatar:tla-lover
Meng
candybender ;) Avatar also made by Princess Yue!
Posts: 250
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Post by avatar:tla-lover on May 17, 2008 5:08:12 GMT -5
So the earth bending prisoners from the Prison camp were here… But where in this large city were they? Kazuo realised that he was actually running around in this large city with no plan whatsoever. With many prisoners he could have expected that there were probably many soldiers too. And what would he do then? Kazuo surely was strong; but he didn’t master his archery skills nor could he stand a chance against hundreds of soldiers. It was clear that he was outnumbered. If he wouldn’t be captured he would at least be hurt. Then there was also the fact that almost every soldier has seen Kazuo once, or at least every soldier recognizes him as the son of the great General Soji. Kazuo would be in big trouble if they found out it was him who would be trying to stop the soldiers.
That wasn’t a big problem itself; but it would be if all of his attempts would be in vain. He would get chastisements and the town would keep an eye on him; he would be disabling himself from helping the Avatar out from the inside. If this news would reach the Fire Lord, he might actually get banned from the Fire Nation. He wouldn’t be able to see his family anymore; he wouldn’t be able to help anymore. Kazuo would be lucky if he could stop the Fire Nation in the other Nations if he were to be banned. That would be at least something.
He had to stop this thinking; the future didn’t matter as much as the present. He had to think about what he was going to do right now. He didn’t know where Kagoshi was; but now was the time to come up with some plan on his own. First he had to hide his face, it would be a big help if nobody would recognize him. Some reddish make-up was in his bag; all Yu Yan Archers were obligated to put it on their face for camouflage. Still running, Kazuo’s eye fell on the sewer’s entrance in the ground. Of course, that would be a help later!
Before Kazuo realised he needed a mask as well, he already arrived at the market. He soon found his way to the stand of the merchant that sold masks. He noticed that a lot of children were around the stand, and it irritated him a lot. But he then thought about the fact that this was only better for him. If Kazuo’s plan would succeed, the soldiers would probably go the the merchant and ask about all the customers that he sold masks to. He looked around and saw that there was another kid with archery equipment. Kazuo could clearly see that those were fake; he was probably playing outside with his friends. Again things turned out in his favour. At last, when it was his turn, Kazuo bought the mask that most customers requested. He was getting the hang of it. Now the only thing he had to do, was to disguise himself.
(Sakura-san, I hope you find the time to post soon... I needz you!!! (zuko crying is just awesome XD). Let's just say Kazuo needz Kagoshi as well)
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Sakura
FN Sokka
Sakura. Just Sakura.
Posts: 1,744
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Post by Sakura on May 26, 2008 19:23:40 GMT -5
((Woah-kay! *huggeh*))
Humming a tune she had heard at a fair a couple weeks ago, Kagoshi slid through a marketplace crowd like water, being careful not to step on feet. Her plain silky dress reflected sun in the bright light. Kagoshi widened her eyes in surprise as a familiar head peeked out from around busy, yelling children. Concentrated on not losing the head, she started to run, pausing only a few times to apologize at people who she had pushed.
"Hi," Kagoshi smiled as she reached Kazuo. "What's up? You look... somehow different. Going to a parade?" She gestured slowly at the mask he had bought.
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Post by cougarwildclaw on May 28, 2008 21:10:54 GMT -5
The guard shouted obscenities into Nashks ear for a full fifteen minutes before tiring of his non-compliance. Disgusted she spat in Nashks face and shoved him back into the crowd, sending him flailing in pain.
"Humph, some people are just no fun are they?" She sneered. With her nose in the air the guard stomped back to her group.
Nashk clawed desperately into the air trying to escape from the pain. The world around him melted from his conscience and he snapped his head back to let cool air onto his burnt face. The crowd murmured and backed away from his expecting reprisal from the fire nation soldiers. Behind them, the soldiers laughed at Nashk's pain.
Nashk took a deep breath. Calm yourself Nashk... Its not that bad, He thought. He rolled onto his back, his heavy panting could be heard throughout the crowd.
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Chaobunny
FN Suki
That girl with the videos
Kataang <33333333333333333
Posts: 1,605
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Post by Chaobunny on Jun 2, 2008 19:27:43 GMT -5
Hisae grimaced as the soldiers continued to torture Nashk. She felt so helpless, because there was absolutely nothing she could do to help him. She winced at the laughter of the fire nation soldiers; it pierced her heart.
Worse yet, the smiles on their faces reminded her so much of that evil smile of the fire nation soldier who assaulted her.
Hisae wondered whether what the guards said was true or not. She wasn't sure whether she would rather be a slave or be dead at this point. There really wasn't a whole lot left to live for.
If I die, then I'll be with Aki-sama, thought Hisae, Or maybe it will be like a dreamless sleep, a blissful nothingness without pain or suffering.
These thoughts brought little peace however, as her pain and Nashk's pain were real and could not be ignored at the present. Hisae began to think about the future, and wondered if she would be able to handle it if she was bought by a master as cruel as these soldiers. Or a man with the same horrible smile as that soldier back when her village was raided... Yes, death would certainly be preferable to a life like that.
But deep down, Hisae wanted to live. She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to live for, but she felt that there were things she wanted to experience in this life. She knew that Nashk wanted to live too. She envied his bravery, somewhat. It was not something she had in her.
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Post by cougarwildclaw on Jun 26, 2008 14:01:29 GMT -5
Nashk grimaced in pain as he layed on the ground. He felt so angry, not being able to do anything to help himself or others. His face clenched with anger at the laughter of the enemy soldiers.
Uncertain, Nashk stood shakily in the crowd ignoring the laughter and focusing on survival.
Nashk wondered what would happen now. He knew he was to weak to work in the mines, but he knew he wouldnt be much use as a slave.... at least not until he healed. There wasnt much he could do rightn ow accept wait.
He would wait. He knew patience, ever since his father forced him to pound small chinks of iron into squares... Yes he would wait for the right time... There must be some way out of this... somehow...
Slowly he opened his eyes, wincing at the sunlight. It was to bright for him to see clearly... yet he could make out murky shapes around him.
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Chaobunny
FN Suki
That girl with the videos
Kataang <33333333333333333
Posts: 1,605
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Post by Chaobunny on Jul 19, 2008 8:19:17 GMT -5
Horyo fact for Mod Day: Fact: I also have very low self esteem of myself in reality, thus I must go online and seek safety.
The soldiers lined up the prisoners, and Hisae was beginning to sweat, more from fear than the heat. She saw Nashk further down with the male prisoners.
The sun was rising higher in the sky. She thought it was around midmorning. It was likely that the market would be opening soon.
More and more people could now be seen on the street. Their stares were the most painful, as though the Earth Kingdom people were animals in a zoo.
The guards chained the ankles of the prisoners to stakes nearby so they would not escape. Nobody resisited, everyone was too weary, and there was no way out. Hope was beginning to fade.
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avatar:tla-lover
Meng
candybender ;) Avatar also made by Princess Yue!
Posts: 250
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Post by avatar:tla-lover on Jul 31, 2008 13:41:13 GMT -5
"Kagoshi!" The plain silky dress of Kagoshi reflected light in Kazuo's eyes. "Aww, thank goodness you're here!" the young warrior ecxlaimed. "Really Kagoshi, I need your help!" While turning 180 degrees so that the sun wouldn't irritate him, Kazuo tried to tell Kagoshi all things in secret, standing in the midst of a grocery market's shadow. "I'm not going to a parade, in fact" he continued while whispering, "A source told me that all the earthbending prisoners were evacuted to the capital and I think it's my destiny to save them."
After hearing and realising what Kazuo said he began to believe it more. He was really thinking that it was now or never. It's my destiny to save them, to save the poor from all evil. It's my destiny to do whatever I can to help the Avatar, everything counts eventually. It's better than doing nothing and being a coward. Kazuo kept thinking and he became passionate and motivated. There was no other way! This is a one-way path, he thought, there's nothing else I can do.
Kazuo really hoped for Kagoshi to help him. Why wouldn't she? Would she actually believe him? Would she be able to help him, would she want to? There were too many questions and time was already running out. He really needed Kagoshi, but he needed to procede his plan and he needed an answer. Kazuo could already see his plan fail before him; he would be too late and the prisoners were either hurt too much or brought to another place! He needed to act swiftly, fast, because time was running out. At least, Kazuo felt that every minute ate away an hour of his day. His handpalms began to sweat, partly because of the sun's heat. He really didn't have all day.
"So Kagoshi" Kazuo said seriously and direct, "I've got a plan to save all the prisoners and I've got the disguise, it's now or never. Are you with me or not?"
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Sakura
FN Sokka
Sakura. Just Sakura.
Posts: 1,744
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Post by Sakura on Aug 3, 2008 20:02:24 GMT -5
Kagoshi smiled. "No duh! I was freakin' HOPING you'd say that. And you should really stop showing what's in your brain on your face." She grinned even more. "Should I get a disguise?"
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