Chapter 4

'You'll be useful to me, but mere strength isn't enough.'

"...!"

This dream jolted Hiro awake, cold sweat running down his body. He seemed exhausted, breathing roughly.

"It must be a dream."

Calming down, he began to look around, noticing the unfamiliar ceiling. The room was made of the usual whitish rock walls common in many Earth Kingdom cities. It was a small, simple room with two separate beds.

---!?

Hiro noticed a child sleeping in a strange position in the other wooden bed.

'It wasn't a dream, huh?'

He touched his cheek, feeling the long cut on his left side extending toward his ear. It still hurt but seemed to be starting to heal.

Hiro stood up and quickly left the room.

Immediately after exiting, he saw the sun with birds flying to the left. But that wasn't his focus.

"You're awake."

One of the boys who had taken him away was standing in front, hands behind his back, looking directly at the sun.

'Weird.'

"Why did you kidnap me?"

The boy turned around, their eyes meeting. He extended his hand toward Hiro. "I need you. Work for me."

There were no other words, he just said it straightforwardly. Hiro was taken aback, and his brain couldn't think of any answer.

Suddenly, he thought of his sister, who was currently at his uncle's house.

If the boy, who seemed around his age, could afford a large house like this, then...

He closed his eyes, considering his reply before quickly opening them again.

"My sister... She's living at my uncle's house, doing all the chores, and they're not even feeding her properly. My uncle said we'd be free once we finish paying for all the food they've given us since we were infants. I won all those tournaments for my sister, but it wasn't enough. I'll work for you if you pay off that debt."

Hiro could get his sister out by force, but he honestly had no clue what to do after that. He only knew how to Earthbend. His uncle and aunt forbade him from getting an education, even though they could easily have put him in school if they wanted to.

Any money Hiro earned went straight into his uncle's pocket when he returned home. His uncle didn't even question where it came from—greed didn't need answers. Hiro didn't stop this because he thought the money might get them closer to escaping the house.

So even if he took his sister by force, his lack of education, naivety, and lack of money would probably harm her more than help.

But this boy, the same age as him, seemed to be quite the opposite.

"You're quite naive, aren't you? The money you were getting from winning the tournaments was more than enough to pay your debts to your uncle."

"Wha—"

"Go wake up my brother, bring him, and get your sister. This will be your new home from now on."

Hiro's eyes trembled, and tears began to build, but he quickly stopped them.

"Thank you. My name is Hiro. May I know your name?"

"Kizer."

Hiro nodded and walked back into the room.

******

I hadn't expected it to be that easy.

I had prepared many plans to make him submit, but they quickly became pointless when he didn't put up any resistance after waking up and seeing me.

In terms of strength, he was nowhere near my level. He was still a rough gem that needed polishing. He was a monster compared to most boys, but he wasn't on par with Bumi or me.

He seemed naive and easy to control based on his simple past. But I still needed to observe him to truly understand his true self, his strengths, and his weaknesses.

I needed to know his role in my plans, or he would be useless. I plan on establishing many organizations with the Earth Kingdom as their starting point. I couldn't maintain balance without loyal forces under my control. But there would be more uses for them than just that.

Feeling bored, I sat down and used my Earthbending to bring a plate of apples toward me. I grabbed one and ate it.

"The taste is getting bland," I said, throwing the apple behind me after finishing it.

********

Hiro walked alongside Bumi, holding his sister's hand. It had been 30 minutes since he brought Kaya from their uncle's house, to the surprise of his uncle and aunt. His uncle's shock quickly turned into a greedy smile.

His sister's name was Kaya. Her facial features were similar to his: black hair and black eyes. She was really cute because of her size and baby face, but her body was full of bruises. It was evident that someone had hurt her intentionally.

"Where are we going, Hiro?" Kaya asked, confused about why she was outside.

Hiro smiled and patted her head. "We're going to our new home."

"What about Uncle and Aunt? I haven't finished cleaning their room yet."

Hiro forced himself to smile, but his body was tense. He is usually like this when he was inside the arena.

"Uncle said we shouldn't be there anymore. So, I'm bringing us to a new house. I promise you won't experience hardship again," he said, ruffling her hair.

Kaya lowered her head and didn't say anything, gripping Hiro's hand tighter. A twinkling liquid silently fell from her eyes.

Hiro understood how she felt. He lifted her and set her on his shoulders. Kaya continued to cry quietly on his head.

Bumi, who had been silent until now, looked at Hiro and said, "She's a strong girl."

Hiro didn't reply, just smiled.

It didn't take them long to return to Kizer and Bumi's house.

Kaya had stopped crying and seemed to be back to her true self again.

"What's your name?"

Kaya held her brother's hand as she glanced at the boy around her brother's age. He was handsome but had a creepy look because of his blackish eyes with white pupils.

She looked down, feeling embarrassed after they made eye contact.

"K-Kaya."

Kizer, meanwhile, didn't mind her shyness but noticed the bruises visible on her body.

He looked at Hiro, seemingly understanding the meaning, Hiro lowered his head and felt guilty.

"It seems your sister is tired. Find her a room and pick one for yourself as well."

"I understand. Thank you once again."

"Thank you!"