Chapter Text
“And then Jet nailed that villain with his hook swords. We freed all the slaves! He’s amazing, right?” said a thin voice, solemn and almost reverent.
“Marvelous. Can we talk about something other than your little gang?” replied another voice, also high-pitched but much wearier.
The first voice was indignant. “We are not a gang. We’re the ‘Freedom Fighters.’ Plenty of folks in Hiyan Province appreciate our work, you know. One town even threw a festival for us after we drove out those vile cattle rustlers!”
It seemed this argument didn't convince the second party either, who casually declared:
“I don't doubt it. But I've had my fill of talking about you for now.”
The boy in the funny helmet, tilted to one side, just wouldn't stop chattering about his guerrilla friends and their leader, a certain Jet, which was starting to seriously irritate his traveling companion—a teenage girl in loose, dark green men's clothing, classic for the Earth Kingdom. Despite the rough style, her hair was done up in a full, high bun, tight and neat, adorned with a hairpiece featuring two white beads. But her main feature was her two white eyes, which betrayed her complete blindness.
They were riding on an ordinary passenger train headed for the United Republic. It wasn't a short trip, but what choice did she have? Young Toph Beifong, heiress to one of the noblest families, had absolutely no intention of returning to her hometown of Gaoling. Many people dreamed of living in her family's estate, with its exquisite gardens and luxurious furnishings, but she herself was sick to death of it.
Toph's parents had always told her she needed to be a perfect, obedient lady. "My daughter, behave like this," "Sweetheart, that's how it's done," "Darling, such behavior is unladylike"—these were her parents' favorite phrases from childhood. And Toph hated them. The necessity of wearing stupid, prickly dresses, drinking tea in microscopic sips, and offering meek respect to all sorts of important fools had been driving her crazy since she was about six.
And it was all because of her blindness, which had been her companion since birth. Although this same blindness allowed her to sense her element perfectly through her feet, her family couldn't care less that she was an earthbending genius who had even invented her own sub-skill—metalbending—because it was "too dangerous for a blind girl." Her secret underground fights didn't help much, and leading a double life was a problematic task.
Sneaking past the estate guards and slipping beyond its walls wasn't the problem, but with each passing year, the danger of such a life became more serious. Sooner or later, they would bring her some "noble suitor" and force her to marry, and then even this fragile freedom would be in jeopardy.
So, one day, Toph Beifong, an eighteen-year-old nobleman's daughter, took her few belongings, the championship belt she'd earned in the underground fighting rings, and ran away. She was drawn to Republic City—from what she'd heard from people at the illegal earthbending tournaments, it was the freest place in the world, a place with no traditions or class rules. There, you could get whatever life you wanted.
Toph thought it was the perfect option, and what other choices did she have? Everywhere else, from the Water Tribes to the Fire Nation archipelago—people seemed frozen in time, following their grandfathers' laws. Only in the United Republic did those rules not exist. So, it was a gamble she had to take.
The young lady used her earthbending to jump over the garden wall of her parents' home and then headed for the railway station, already knowing the train's arrival time. Boarding wasn't a problem—the conductor let her on for a small bonus fee. And so she entered the carriage, filled with noise and the smell of people.
The journey was long, but the roads, surprisingly, turned out to be quite safe. The girl remembered being told horror stories about the world of commoners, where bandits robbed and murdered people right on the trains while they slept peacefully.
"More lies, apparently. Seems this part of the continent is well-protected."
It was there, among the metal bunks with their shabby bedding, that she met the kid in the helmet—Duke, her neighbor from the upper bunk.
He immediately sat down next to her.
"Hi. I'm Duke. What's your name?"
It was a simple, direct address. Not "your grace," not "mistress," and not even the crude "Blind Bandit"—her ring name. As if she weren't the daughter of an Earth Kingdom governor and a six-season underground fighting champion, but just a regular girl.
"Hello. What did you want?" Toph replied, stretching her legs, tired from inactivity. Duke didn't lose his enthusiasm.
"I'm just bored. I've been riding for half a day with no one to talk to."
"Well, go on then," she answered, thinking it would at least be some entertainment in this metal carriage. Outside, the constant movement made it hard for her feet to "see" clearly.
And Duke, not particularly shy, eagerly launched into stories about his friends from some group called the "Freedom Fighters," who were already waiting for him in the promised city. He was, of course, a bit annoying, but he really did help pass the time. A nice kid.
Toph ran into trouble only as they approached the border between the Earth Kingdom and the United Republic. Her prematurely wise travel companion mentioned that the border guards would be interested in a teenager's documents. Toph carried a noble ID with her family's golden emblem—the flying boar—but it wasn't just useless, it was harmful. The guards would immediately ask why a disabled aristocrat was traveling without an escort, and it wouldn't be long before a letter was sent to her parents... That wouldn't do.
So, Toph decided not to press her luck and to go on foot with Duke, who was also traveling illegally. They got off the railway, and the boy pointed to a barely noticeable path leading into a forest about five kilometers away.
"—It's a secret trail. All the undocumented migrants use it to get to the city. Jet sent me a letter with a detailed route, and plenty of people walk it. We won't get lost."
She smirked. If there was one place where the soil was unshakable, she never felt vulnerable.
"I think my feet will help us stay on the path. Thanks. Now let's walk quietly, who knows what dangers are around."
The path wound its way through mountains and swamps. Once, Toph almost got stuck and drowned, but Duke saved her. He was incredibly talkative and positive for someone who, at ten years old, had crossed a guarded border alone.
"You're wasting your time not listening to me. Jet, he's really noble, as you've probably gathered. If it weren't for him, I'd still be a hungry orphan. Now we're starting a new life in a new place. Is anyone waiting for you in the city?"
The kid spoke so enthusiastically that Toph was even amused. She replied:
"My native earth waits for me everywhere. As long as it's under my feet, I'm not afraid of anything."
"Don't you want to join our team?" Duke said with a last shred of hope.
"Nah, I'm my own team, kid," Toph left no room for argument. The boy could only hang his head.
"Too bad, you'd get along with them."
"Sorry, I'm not flattered. Not really looking to join some dubious club."
Duke fell silent after that, and they walked the rest of the short distance to the chirping of birds and the hum of the wind.
Let's just say the stories told from the outside were significantly embellished.
Yes, from a distance, the metropolis was impressive. You bet—three huge bridges spanning rivers and the bay, dozens of skyscrapers, a giant radio tower—Gaoling, stuck in the last century, had nothing even close. Beifong, as a genius of seismic sense, felt the scale of the city and the grandeur of its architecture especially vividly.
There was just one nuance—all this represented only the elite and business districts. The majority of the city was slums, crime, constant hustle and bustle, and insane numbers of con artists and hustlers. It even happened that one of these upstanding citizens grabbed Toph and whispered to her:
"Hey, baby, whose turf are you working? Haven't seen you around before."
He probably mistook her for one of the many professional disabled beggars loitering about. Toph shoved him in the shoulder and cut him off, showing she wasn't interested.
"I'm not working any 'turf.' I'm not one of yours—" and she walked away briskly.
And when that scammer tried to catch up and grab her, the earthbender kicked a stone into his leg, making him limp. That was the only way to survive here.
Overall, the promised paradise of freedom was nowhere to be found. Sure, she was free to do what she wanted. She could live under a bridge if she wanted, perform earthbending "tricks" for gawkers on the street if she wanted, or sit around all day with an empty stomach if she wanted. Big deal...
Toph ended up living in an alley of a dirty district, in an earthen tent she created herself. Very quickly, the girl realized she couldn't get a normal job—everyone cited her "weakness," "frailty," and "condition," flat out refusing her. And no demonstrations of her magnificent, precise bending helped; it just scared some people even more.
Frustrated, Beifong heard the painfully familiar phrases—"you're too young," "a girl can't handle this work," "sorry, there's no place for you." Here, her appearance and peculiarities caused people's prejudice. She couldn't win the competition for jobs.
And as Toph understood, there weren't many jobs to begin with. The Republic was currently in the throes of a financial crisis after a stock market crash, so there were plenty of unemployed locals, and newcomers had it even tougher. The streets were abuzz with talk of problems, job searches, and hatred for the authorities. It was hard to disagree with the last part.
How was this local "democratic" government any better than the Earth King? Find ten differences, good luck with that. And so Beifong decided she needed to use this world in her own way. She still had her metalbending, after all. She started making a living by cheating local small-time casinos with her metalbending. Their slot machines went crazy, always paying out jackpots to her. It was great money, but she made a ton of enemies in the process.
One evening, she was, as usual, cleaning out a gambling den, attracting gawkers with her "luck." Some made comments like "Wow!" or "I'm calling security!", but they couldn't prove anything—from the outside, it all looked like incredible luck. At least, formally.
This time, she was working a new establishment. It was a tacky place with constantly playing jazz music and a ton of entertainment designed to make brainless fools voluntarily hand over their meager funds.
Toph had already "cleaned" a bunch of these gamblers' dens in the three months she'd spent in this fairytale city. Having collected a sufficient pile of winnings once again, she was about to leave when she noticed her—a girl with cunning golden eyes and a sharp, split fringe. Without a shred of shame, she was breaking the distant slot machines with her obscenely long nails and taking the money. Her skill in this matter was enviable. So, she'd seized the moment too, deciding to make a profit.
"Got some competition, have I? Well, well," Toph thought.
Beifong decided to follow the brazen girl. Stepping into the alley behind the casino, she caught up with the swindler, who was cheerfully whistling something to herself, a bag of stolen money slung over her shoulder. The girl was wearing a red hoodie, shamelessly cut off at the bottom, revealing a flat stomach. Her legs were covered in tight black pants that looked like they were about to fall down.
A pink hair clip was attached to the left side of her hairstyle, a tattoo resembling a collar framed her neck, and she held a cigarette, which she brought to her lips with pleasure. Even though Toph stepped quietly, this individual still sensed her presence. Apparently, she was carefully watching her surroundings, afraid of attracting unwanted attention.
She looked at Toph with dislike and said to her, almost contemptuously:
"What, you lost, Shorty? Run away from the freak show? Why the hell are you following me?"
The earthbender didn't like that tone.
"Just watching you rob honest players. Having fun, I suppose?" She had no intention of backing down from such stupid insults.
The reply, sharp as a needle, wasn't long in coming:
"You obviously just come to these places for fun. You should scram before I mess you up."
The conversation was starting to amuse Toph.
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
The question was, of course, rhetorical. The sarcastic voice showed no sign of backing down:
"I have no idea, but since you're blind and half a meter tall, you're probably not working alone. Want to sic some of your goons on me?"
The mention of her being "helpless" angered Beifong. She moved towards the snide fool, determined to show her what she was really worth. The other girl, with an elegant two-fingered motion, discarded her cigarette, spread her legs and arms into an unfamiliar fighting stance.
And a fight between the young women would have broken out right then, if not for one sudden circumstance. At that moment, they were jumped by some burly guys. Their leader seemed to be a guy in an elegant burgundy suit with a short beard. Two others—a scrawny short guy with a thin mustache and a hulk in a lime-green vest—stood behind him. They revealed their bending.
It turned out the leader was a firebender, the short guy a waterbender, and the strongman an earthbender. "How cliché. I've taken down a hundred big guys like him in the Gaoling Arena," Toph recalled the only pleasant part of her old life.
Meanwhile, the suited thug spoke menacingly:
"Hey, you two, no working our turf. Mr. Si Feng, our boss, sends his regards. You got some nerve, cleaning out his casino? You'll be working off what you stole in his brothel, at least the one in red—for sure."
He and his "friends" stood in front of them, obviously trying to intimidate them, not understanding who they were dealing with.
So, the local scumbags had finally caught up with her. And with this one too, apparently. Well, they were in for it. Toph's interlocutor, barely waiting for him to finish his speech, hit the thug powerfully with a stream of blue flame.
"Give it a try, since you're so tough. Look what I've got!"
The thugs recoiled but then went on the offensive, realizing they hadn't attacked weaklings. The earthbender attacked them too. She lifted a large brick and slammed it right into the nose of the biggest attacker. He immediately fell unconscious. Nothing new; she was used to beating guys like him.
Her sudden partner, meanwhile, tripped the gang leader and sat on him, pulling out a knife and cutting his face.
"Not so tough now, huh, scumbag?"
But then the mustached waterbender approached her from behind, directing a large icicle towards the young woman. She managed to turn away from the most powerful part of the blow, but it grazed her, causing the girl to fall to the ground. Toph, noticing the danger, created a pillar of earth that knocked the blockhead off his feet. The aggressors, defeated, began to scram.
They lost quickly, which didn't surprise Toph. However... what was surprising was that her "competitor" was also pretty good in a fight.
"You idiots, we'll find you! No one crosses Mr. Si Feng's business!" their leader yelled, looking back warily. Empty threats.
"Get lost, you jerks! Or I'll hit you with lightning, you won't leave here alive!" the girl, realizing their victory, threatened them from her lying position.
Saying this, the girl in the hoodie saw the earthbender offering a hand to help her up. Without a second thought, she accepted the gesture.
"You fight alright, Shorty. Wouldn't guess it from your height," she replied, quickly, almost disdainfully breaking the contact.
Toph rolled her eyes. This girl was way too full of herself.
"Whatever. We need to get out of here before more creeps show up," she gestured towards the distant streets.
After walking a few blocks, the girls resumed their unfinished dialogue.
"So, you wanted to beat me up?" the golden-eyed girl said, as if nothing had happened. Toph decided to continue her provocation. You couldn't buy her trust that easily.
"I wanted to know why you're robbing casinos," she replied. The other girl, examining her nail, smiled as if they were discussing buying saplings for a garden:
"Same reason as you, I assume. Judging by your bending and the colors of your clothes, you're from the Earth Kingdom."
"How observant," Toph thought, remembering she hadn't changed her outfit since the day her earthbending carried her over the estate wall.
"Correct. And where are you from?" The return question left her lips, too obvious not to be answered in the already familiar, mocking tone:
"Isn't it obvious? I'm from the Fire Nation. Although with your eyesight, you might not have noticed..."
A light but confident chuckle came from the girl beside her. The city streets, as the sun gradually set, remained monotonous. Concrete, metal, and signs—all its wealth. Toph didn't know where they were going, but she hoped, at least, that it wasn't a trap. Contrary to all logic and her own stubborn nature, she liked how this was turning out. She decided to keep the conversation going:
"Funny. Hilarious, even. My eyesight's better than yours, believe me. I've barely known you a few hours, and I already understand your entire personality perfectly. Why are you such a bitch?"
At one of the small, grimy squares scattered throughout the city, they stopped abruptly. Her interlocutor nodded her head and started walking in another direction. Toph didn't ask what was wrong or suggest her own route. She could see everything much better anyway. Instead of any conflict, she listened to the answer:
"I don't know, born that way, I guess. My whole childhood, they drilled into my head that I must not disgrace our ancient lineage and must become a great firebender, an obedient girl, and a good wife and mother all at once. But I ditched all that, except for the fire. It's my best friend and lover. With it, I fled across the sea to Republic City. What's your story?"
It seemed they had more in common than initially assumed.
"Same as yours," Toph said this even more casually than before. "The runaway daughter of the Beifong family."
"Wow, a noble sister," the girl perked up, raising her head. "I'm from the Longqing lineage, may it burn. I hope my dear father and mother don't find me here, in this dump. They probably still think I'm too squeamish for such places. Oh, if they knew what I do here... Anyway, where are you living?"
"On Zhili Street, in a stone tent," Toph decided not to hide it. You could only call that place a home with a huge stretch.
"No wonder you're dirty as a swamp spirit. Nah, come on, I'll show you my den." When she said "my den," her voice had sparkling notes of something resembling pride.
Toph didn't think long. This walking sarcasm and audacity was the first person since Duke whose company didn't make her constantly want to stomp her feet in frustration. On the contrary, there was something kindred in their banter. Too kindred.
Beifong just nodded silently. Letting herself be led. They came to Yangchen Avenue and entered a tall, slightly shabby building. It housed one-room apartments. The sharp-tongued girl lived in one of them.
Toph couldn't see the interior in all its colors, but her feet told her there was plenty of furniture—dozens of armchairs and poufs alone. The cupboard was adorned with trinkets—pendants, small statuettes, some wide mugs... And in a secret spot in the storage room was a suitcase full of paper money—not simple money, of course—hidden so well it would be extremely difficult for anyone but her, the world's greatest earthbender, to find.
But Toph tactfully kept this to herself, limiting herself to a joking remark:
"You're quite the little princess with such savings."
The "princess," however, didn't argue. Any conversation between them inevitably turned into an exchange of jabs. How stupid... and yet, pleasant.
"Of course. You'll sleep on that long couch. We won't be snoring together; I'm not into girls, so don't get any ideas," Longqing said without prompting, tilting her head.
"Oh, as if I'd want to. If you're not into girls, why bring it up? Protesting too much, huh?" Toph leaned against the wall, which didn't go unnoticed.
"Just stating a fact," the other girl said dryly. "You never know, you might be one of those... And don't dirty the wallpaper."
Toph waved her hand, lazily straightening up. She was hearing such "suspicions" about herself for the first time ever. It was almost a little offensive.
"I want to sleep separately too," Beifong went into the kitchen. "Don't worry. Maybe, as a hospitable hostess, you'll have dinner with me?" This proposal mixed a desire to change the subject with genuine hunger. Since she couldn't buy food herself right now, why not take up the inviting party's offer.
In the kitchen, the girls got themselves some cereal and noodles. It would do. While eating, they exchanged a few more words:
"We'll put the loot in the storage room and decide what to do with it tomorrow," the tone was commanding, brooking no discussion. Toph didn't like that, and, swallowing her food, she said:
"As you wish, mistress."
Her displeasure was immediately caught and parried:
"Don't joke with me, Shorty. There's so much crap in this city, one person can't handle it alone. I like you; you've got some fire in you, even if you're from some Earth backwater. We should go into business together. You in, or are you chickening out?"
Beifong thought about it for a moment. Even if her new acquaintance didn't inspire incredible trust, she sensed a kindred spirit in her, one that could really help in this new "free" life. So, the metalbender decided to accept the offer.
"You're not so bad yourself. I agree, just give fewer orders. I don't need new masters. By the way, we completely forgot to exchange names. I'm Toph," she offered first, expecting a reciprocal "courtesy." They probably needed some way to address each other besides nicknames.
In response, she heard a word like a lightning strike.
"Azula." That was it, the name of the one she'd been so merrily bickering with for hours. It suited her—sharp and stinging. "Alright, let's go to bed. But wash up first; there's running water and a shower here, unlike your stinky alley."
There was sense in that proposal. The earth and metalbender wasn't overly fond of bathing, but she hadn't washed for three weeks, so it was probably time. Quickly getting rid of the layer of grime, the girl returned to the bedroom. Azula lay down on the wide bed, and Toph—on the fold-out couch. The ladies fell asleep, preparing for their first full day of working together.