Killing in the name of...

"You are weak right now, not because you lack strength. You are weak due to a lack of experience. However, that is merely temporary. Experience grows with time and enough exposure to battle. " I listened intently as I had been in a handstand for the past seven minutes on a wooden post fifteen feet in the air, ignoring the aches in my wrists and biceps. Usually, we would be at the temple, but today, we were about a mile away atop a training pillar some of the nomadic benders would frequent to play at.

"As long as you have the ability to learn, you will begin to soak up knowledge pertaining to war. This is not the problem. What we need is to expose you to as much of it as possible, in which you can hone your tactics as well as strategy when it comes to large-scale as well as small-time warfare." Shifu was sitting crisscross applesauce on a boulder that was orbiting around me at a snails pace.

With a wave of his hand, he had signaled me to my left; to which I ever so slightly shifted my weight till I was only relying on one hand to support myself from falling.

" 'A silver lining' is what I believe it's called?"

"Heh, that is indeed correct."

𝐅𝐖𝐔𝐌𝐏!

With a resonant thump, he struck me in my supporting shoulder. Shifu had taken to going everywhere with a short staff, to which he would randomly strike me with it on a random part of my body. It was my task to dodge, or how he likes to put it. "Take the hit like a Tank." I don't know what that is, but from what I know if he thinks I should work on my durability, then I, for one, won't argue against it.

"Does it hurt?"

In other words, 'You know what true pain is. Show me if you can handle it.'

"No. It was just sudden, is all." My breath hitched as I struggled to stay still while upside down.

"As is the unexpected in life, right? It always decides to reward us how it sees fit. Our job is to make the most out of those rewards. I won't always be here to instruct you for what may come, but I can give you the tools to deal with what does." All of a sudden, Shifu went still for merely a split second, looking off to the side. "Alright, that is all for today. Meet me back at the temple tonight at the usual place so that we can work on your meditation technique. " With that, he took off without another word.

Leveraging my balance, I flipped my legs underneath me before leaping into a backflip off the post down below with my knees partly bent and my one hand below me for support.

"Haaah! I thought he'd never leave!" A high pitch male voice called out to my right before the person in question ducked underneath some rose bushes, crept out, revealing a boy roughly the same age as me.

"Tuen! You can't just say that. It's rude!" A slightly older boy with his 'Tatau', as Shifu liked to call the ancient nomadic tattoos the air nomads sported, dusted himself off next to him.

"Whatever! S'Not like anyone would care anyway, being so far from the temple."

"Good character always matters, regardless of where you are or who sees." The taller one picked a wilted petal from his shorter comrade.

"Psh, whatever. Last time I ever let you pick the hiding spot again. A rose bush, really?! How about something a lot less thorny, eh?"

"Haaah...what are you doing out here, Tuen? You too, Nyandak, it's dangerous being so far from the protection of the Air Masters. You both heard the reports last week. Communication from the Western Temple has mysteriously gone dead due to the blockades." I began to stretch out my ligaments and tendons to ease the tension they had, while softly reprimanding the two.

"Don't you worry your sorry little head about that sorta thing, my earth man, that's only due to merchant trade rivalries." Tuen flexed his arms behind his head as he teetered back and forth, balancing himself on the balls of his feet.

"No. Hatàn has a point. We shouldn't have come out here without at least telling MiiMii." Nyandak anxiously held onto his adjacent forearm, as if the intermittent gusts of wind were getting to him. Even though they all knew the air benders had excellent inner thermal control.

"Uggh! Always with the MiiMii this! MiiMii that! If you always want to talk to her that much, why don't you two just get married already!" Tuen scoffed at the very statement he himself made. "Besides, everyone knows these sorts of things happens on the daily. The only reason why things seem a bit tight right now is because national tensions are at the forefront. You'll see, this time in a few months, all this mumbo jumbo about battles and blockades will be a thing of the past. Heck, no one will probably even remember it!"

'They won't remember, but it won't be due to the blockades, but because of the massacre soon to come.' I bit the side of my cheek at the mere thought of the coming destruction that could befall this place any day now.

At the hands of the Fire Nation soldiers, by the decree of the Fire Lord, due to the mercy of the last Avatar. I had debated Shifu at length as to the fate of this temple and its inhabitants. I obviously wanted to warn them all and let them all have a fighting chance to defend themselves. However, Shifu countered by reminding me that Destiny and Fate had a tight hold concerning the Apex Points of Time. If something tries to deviate from the path for such an important event, it'll oversteer and correct itself in unpredictable ways. In the best case scenario, I could charge headfirst into my own demise without even having enough time to realize what was happening. In the worst case, I could cause the avatar to be found and killed, bringing forth the next in the incarnation who could pop up anywhere in the world at the same time, making the air nomads and benders completely extinct.

Such a thing would be devastating not only to my psyche but to the balance of mankind. I would despise such a future. From Shifus's words, he did not forbid me from telling anyone, nor did he tell me to spread the news of what was to come. He simply warned me of the possible repercussions of what may transpire as a consequence of either choice. Due to our meddling with the Temple before the massacre, we may have already changed some outcomes for the better or worse already, but we won't know until after the fact. "Only time will tell," were his words. In summary, he is leaving the outcome to me. Will I tell them, or will I leave the Nomads to their doomed fate?

"Hatàn, you look as though you've seen an evil spirit. Are you alright?" Nyandak stood beside me, ready as though he were ready to help me walk if I were to lose consciousness.

"It's nothing. Hey, we still have plenty of daylight left. Be a shame if we waste it."

"What didja have in mind?" Tuen inquired as he slanted his upper torso to one side.

Taking no more than a second to dwell on the question, I found my answer, "Tag."

The momentary silence followed by the two benders sharing a knowing look and, in turn, giving me a scheming grin almost made me regret my suggestion. After almost an hour and a half of either running 'from' or afterlife-forbid 'after' the two, I was soaked in sweat and heaving in a heap.

"Hahaha, this's the result of when you challenge the champion to play, ya know?" Tuen was standing triumphantly with his fists on his hips on a branch of a dying tree as I lay underneath.

"We both know Aang still holds that spot. Especially when he beat you five times in a row. Him not being here doesn't change that fact."

Nyandak hung from a higher branch upside down in a crouched position with one arm while the other gripped his forearm to keep himself stable. They barely worked up a sweat. Meanwhile, I myself can barely catch a second wind. It just goes to show how much endurance I would need to work up in the coming weeks.

"Yeah, but he's the Avatar, so those don't count." Tuen countered as he defiantly folded his arms.

"Always one to make excuses," I muttered beneath my breath. 'So that's his name, huh? Aang the Avatar. The one who abandoned his family. Although if I were to say that I'd be a hypocrite. I did the same thing. Sure, I don't have the potential to wield all four elements, but that's simply making an excuse to cover my cowardice. All I can do now is move forward. It's like Shifu said, some things aren't clear-cut. Some things are not simple to judge on and claim as just, while the other is evil. If it were me in his shoes, I'd probably would have made an even worse decision.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?!"

"Well that's easy enough," I sat up with my elbows shaking the thoughts out of my head. "My side."

"Ugh...whatever. Hm?" He raised his palm over his brow as he looked out into the distance. "Whoa. What's that?!"

I rose to my feet as Nyandak dropped from his branch, cushioning his fall with a gust of wind.

~Shifu POV~

As I used my bending to send myself leaping bounds in between the pillared forest, a familiar excitement spread across my entire body. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I could tell that death itself was nearing, aiming for my neck no doubt.

"The rush always gets to me, no matter how many battles I take part in. Heh!"

Landing on the edge of the temple grounds, I took a look around to see who was nearby. Seeing there was no one I adjusted my hair band. It sat above my forehead and kept my unkempt hair from obstructing my sight.

'Ugh. Just my luck, I need to walk to the inner courtyard.'

With a click of my tongue, I set off at a brisk but controlled pace.

Soon I stumbled across one of the elders.

"Ah. If it isn't Monk Afiko. How are you this fine morning?"

"Hm? Oh, it's you," A lanky individual with a sharp-pointed beard came to a stop from entering one of the adjacent buildings. "Yes, it is a fine morning indeed. Was there something you needed?"

'Careful there Traitor, hehehe. Your mask is slipping off.' A grin threatened to tug at my lips as I intently studied his facial features that clearly bordered displeasure at the mere sight of my presence. "As a matter of fact, there was. You see, I have a few questions regarding your people's mastery of martial arts technique."

"There are many that are far more better suited to teach than me I assure you." His arms tucked into his sleeves as he held his arms in front of his chest.

It was reminiscent of those old Chinese films that depicted servants being in the presence of nobility. Well, this world WAS influenced by Tibet, China, Japan, and North American Native culture.

'Figures their customs would bleed through. Its always been jarring to me, you'd think I'd get over it by now. Must be my nerves.' I shook my head not only to answer him, but to also clear my head. "I'm afraid I must disagree. From what I hear you incorporate a certain degree of-, oh how would one say? Viciousness? To your style." My tone of voice went from boistorous and faux nervousness to soft as I approached till I stood shoulder to shoulder next to him. Out from the corner of my eye I could see his face go from lax to sharp as he held my gaze with his own, likely studying my features, hoping to glean the slightest insight as to see if I was sincere or not.

After a few second of scrutiny he closed his eyes and turned to the door he was previously about to enter. "I see. Please, do come in. Perhaps we can speak at length over a game of Paisho?"

"That sounds lovely. Although, I must tell you that my skills are a bit rusty. I have not played against a master in quite some time." As I crossed the threshold following behind Afiko the sunlight faded from above us. And with him no longer having his sight on me, I let my fangs bare as a dark grin crept itself onto my face.