Chapter 102 - No Help Comes for Free

…

Sokka had calculated the risks involved in the plan to get Toph to his side. Amongst the many things, one major change stood out the most.

Toph's confidence in herself. That was the biggest risk involved with the strategy he is using.

In the original series, she had figured out metal-bending by herself. So that had built within Toph unbreakable confidence in her abilities. But now, Sokka had roughed up that plan and made things move by faster. Sure, he might not have directly taught her metal-bending, but just telling her about its existence changed her perspective.

Since he predicted Toph's possible confidence problems, Sokka thought of many ideas on how he could help with that. But in the end, everyone has a plan until they're confronted by reality. 

So of course, like any competent stalk-... ehhh, observing person. Sokka made sure to keep an eye on everything Toph did throughout the next day, and he could understand better now why Toph wanted to do something like joining the Earth Rumble Tournament or run away with the Avatar's group.

Because her life was miserable, the most exciting part of her day was casually walking in the yard alone, most of the time escorted by a guard. Was that a life worth living? Sure, she might have all her needs met, and might never have to worry about anything. But human life without adversity was instinctively something boring.

During this time of… observation, for some strange reason he couldn't be bothered to try and comprehend; June kept tagging along with him. 

Sokka's thoughts on June differed, as he knew she was a mercenary, someone who would offer fighting and tracking services for a price. Sure, he might keep his distance from her, only giving the woman information with sprinkles of truth where it would end up being beneficial for him. But at the end of the day, he was also protecting her.

His act of not caring about her situation didn't make him completely oblivious to it. June knew how she would end up if the Fire Lord himself heard of her transaction. 

Thinking of her abilities, he couldn't help but exclaim. "Huh, you're pretty compatible to be an assassin. Your skills are very suited for it."

"If you're trying to convince me to kill someone for you, then the answer is No." June replied without missing a beat. 

Assassination was a dangerous thing, as it could brew hatred. When you kill someone, the people they live behind will come after you for revenge. Even she knew that getting involved in it would end up with her likely dead. Don't kill if you're not prepared to die. While the saying itself might not hold a deep meaning at face value, it also meant that if you killed someone, they had people close to them who would cry… and come to kill you. 

"Of course, I won't force you to do anything. I was just commenting on your abilities." Sokka shook his head, he understood quite well how killing someone could end. 

He understood that out there in the world probably were some people who hated him, as he had killed someone close to them. But he was prepared for people to hate him. "Anyway, it's time to go and help the orphans around here. Keep an eye on Toph for me. Though if you don't want to, then you don't have to."

Fwish!

He disappeared in a burst of speed. Leaving behind only empty air and rushing wind, that gently blew June's hair.

"Tch, I can never get used to that, no matter how many times I see it." June always felt a sense of powerlessness at his burst of speed. It wasn't something a human was supposed to be able to do. *sigh* "At least try and act like you're normal around me, as you do around other people."

Unlike many other women Sokka had interacted with, June lacked the naivety and innocence of mind they had. So, she knew he wanted her. Well, not in the way most would think. He wasn't the kind of man to let his lower head do the thinking. 

Sokka wanted her to work exclusively for him. He gave the illusion of a choice, but June knew there was one. Every word he spoke, she couldn't tell if it was a lie or the truth. 

"Knowing that you're falling into the lion's mouth, but having no choice other than to do it."

Glancing back and forth between Toph and where Sokka dashed towards, June's curiosity got the best of her. Knowing that observing Toph so much wasn't necessarily needed, Sokka had only told her to do it since she was here.

"You know what, if I am going to die anyway… I want to at least know the killer." 

June was curious about one thing. Why does Sokka visit the slums every day? 

Of course, the first answer that came to her mind was that he probably is preparing the orphans to be his soldiers in the future and install a sense of debt towards him into their hearts. Maybe he is kidnapping them for notorious experiments?

Only more thoughts of Sokka's notorious deeds crumpled in June's mind. So in the end, unable to control her curiosity, she went towards the slums too.

'If he kills me, then that will be it. Seems like my fate wasn't meant to extend further. Everyone dies one day, my time might have just come today.'

…

It didn't take long for her to arrive in the slums, and as expected, the streets were dirty and a bad odor terminated the broken-down houses, filthy streets, and smokey air. 

If there was a definitive picture of slums and what they looked like, then this was it. 

As they say, in every town, there are places where sketchy people gather, a place full of the poor, where the rich and powerful don't care about. That was the slums.

For a young woman like June, with a relatively nice face and body, this place was filled with hungry wolves, and she looked like a delicious sheep. Even before entering the slums, she could feel their hungry gazes, but when she entered, those gazes turned into those of starving wolves. 

What happens in the slums, stays there. That was the unspoken rule, no matter if your family was killed, or your sister raped. Keep it to yourself, and take revenge on your own. No one wanted the guards snooping around here. If you spoke something, it wasn't just you who was in danger but your loved ones too. This was a matter of teaching a lesson and keeping the status quo.

As June walked down those dangerous streets, it didn't take long for a burly man, wearing tattered clothes, a bald head with no hair, and a golden tooth approached her. 

He was the epitome of looking like the local mobster.

"Young lady, this is a dangerous place," but unlike his appearance, the man warned her. Which was a nice surprise for everyone, even the inhabitants. 

June smiled at him, a cocky smirk making its way to her face. "Don't worry, I know how to take care of myself."

She had grown in a place like this, and with her overbearing and unnatural strength, June dominated her local slums. 

The man could only sigh as he walked off. "Well, I did warn you. Nowadays places like this have grown dangerous, but it's still the home I grew up in. So I don't want bad things happening to the people here."

Unlike his appearance, it was clear that the man had a kind heart. June sighed, thinking of Sokka and how his natural naive-looking, kind, and nice face hid such a vicious man. 

'Really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Sokka has that innocent face that is borderline cute. But behind that hides such a cold man.'

As she went in deeper, the condition of the streets and the houses along them deteriorated with each step she took. It seemed like everything was getting worse.

Finally, she reached the deepest parts of the slums. Where the smell of shit and flies persisted through the air. Dead animals littered the streets, and the smell of death wasn't something that could ever be washed away.

But what she saw surprised her. Sokka, unlike in her imagination, where he would be torturing, killing, experimenting, or maybe being the local mob boss… or the guy who controls the criminal underworld behind the shadows. Yes, she had let her imagination run a little bit wild on this one.

But instead, it was the sound of clean rushing water that greeted her, as Sokka controlled a huge pond of water, washing the streets clean and with the help of earthbenders, who seemed to be in their early teens. He opened canals, cleaned the water repeatedly, and the streets behind him were clear. 

It was as if a holy saint was walking through the streets, what was behind was clean, and sparkled. There was even a group of builders and earthbenders fixing the houses.

A couple of urchin earthbender kids were also helping him by opening up tunnels from underground. "Sir Sokka, we have connected all the sewer tunnels, as you said."

"Remember, collaborative bending can achieve a lot more than when you're alone," Sokka instructed them, as he cleaned up the streets in which stones had turned a dark green due to mold. 

June wouldn't be surprised if some nasty pandemic started here by how dirty everything was. 

Still what surprised her, was Sokka and his behavior. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would do something like this. Even if he had a somewhat good heart, there needed to be some benefits to doing this. June even thought that maybe he had multiple personalities in him or something like it. 

But such thoughts were dismissed, he had spent many days by his side now, and while Sokka might be a little cold. His mental stability was undeniable. 

'Heh, so he had a side like this too. A saint and a sinner, I have never seen such a dual-natured person. This guy… isn't so bad after all.'

She couldn't help herself as she smiled at him. But right at that moment, Sokka turned and looked at her. Immediately, June froze in place as she came to her senses. 

Yes, as an adult woman, with experience, she knew this looked. A girl looking at a man working, with a smile on her face. 

'Oh no! He is going to assume that I am in love with him or something.'

***

-Sokka POV-

Why the hell is she looking at me like that? Has she gone crazy? Doesn't she have anything better to do?

Jeez, woman. Go find someone else to smile at. "If you're gonna just keep staring, it would be better if you came and helped."

She finally came to her senses and tried to run away. But a tendril of water I manipulated, grabbed onto her ankle and dangled the woman upside down in front of me. 

"T -This isn't what it looks like!" She seemed embarrassed as if trying to explain something. 

Whatever it is, I don't care. "Why're you acting like a creep?"

"I-"

"Stop acting like a creep and stalking." If anyone is gonna be a stalker here, it's gotta be me. I hate other people stalking.

"Ah…" she seemed to come to a realization, as she looked down. "Seems like I misunderstood that. Why did I even think you would do things the way normal people would?"

I was going to throw her in one of the clean water puddles if she didn't come to her senses soon. At least if she was going to spy on me, then do a better job. It wouldn't have worked due to the [Map] but it's the thought that counts.

"Sokka, look we made a canal!" one of the children, a young boy with a wide smile, tattered clothes, and thin body smiled at me. "Hahaha! I never knew bending could be used like this and help people."

The other children, most of whom were orphaned or had been abandoned by their parents, looked at me with happy smiles. 

Smiling back, I decided to reward them for today. "Yes, you've all done a good job. Let's go to the Flying Pig and get a good meal."

The Flying Pig was a high-end restaurant owned by the Beifong family, and it wasn't like I was manipulating the situation to make me look good in the eyes of a certain someone. 

[Quest: Cleaning the Slums (38% Completed)]

Also, I have been making some good progress on that quest. The item rewards were good, so I decided to take it while waiting.

**

When we arrived there, the manager seemed to recognize some of the slum kids, even though they were wearing better clothes and an enraged look came across his face. 

But before he could say anything, I gave him a pouch of money. Since I had become quite rich due to stealing from Fire Nation strongholds in the past.

"Keep the change," I winked, and nodded.

"Of course, my lord, this way," he led us all cordially toward one of the bigger tables that seemed to be made of marble. The restaurant itself wasn't too busy, but it wasn't surprising. Except for the Beifongs who could afford to eat here?

As we ordered our food, the entrance door opened, revealing the people I had been waiting for. It was quite lucky to meet them so soon, on the first try, even though I was prepared to come here every night until meeting them.