Chapter 7

The next day came, and the sun rose. The slaves were not found, but the bodies of a Firebender the govern, and two Earthbenders were found, injured.  

As it seems, from the two survivors, only one could talk and tell what happened. One of the strong slaves had sneaked out when it was the middle of the night, and he fought guards then. 

As it seems that the young man was the strongest working slave who can mine with his bare fists, and he was easy to recognise. Tall, lean, brown hair, and blue eyes. 

There should be a bounty to report who escaped. Raoh, obviously, was on the top of the list. 

While wearing a cloak he stole, Raoh was hearing all of this as the citizens of the town were discussing it between themselves. 

Last night, after killing that Earthbender, Raoh went to this town, jumped over a few roofs, and took some clothes. Now, he was wearing a cloak with a few black clothes under it. He had also stolen some food as he had been starving. Despite the training he had undergone, his body had been starving that it barely grew his muscles. 

He was sitting by the corner, holding an apple, and staring at a poster. 

'They drew me up nicely. I guess.' 

He smiled as he heard the citizens talking. 

"I've heard that they escaped in the morning, each went in a different direction." 

"Fools. To stand against the great fire nation. They will just use their vehicles and reach after them."

vehicles? Oh, right. The Fire Nation, in the show, was so developed when it comes to military technologies. And military technologies are the mother of all technologies. Same thing on earth. Everything a modern man depends on came from the wars. With no Aang stopping the Fire nation here, the world is doomed to evolve faster. 

"I'm scared, really, after hearing that guy killed the govern and cut him into pieces." 

"Lucky for us, he escaped. He can't be here." 

And that's why he smiled. 

Raoh planned to stay hidden here, for a few days, before escaping. While staying, he would steal some money, go to another city, and start gambling. With his Haki, he should make some wealth to live on. He is a wanted now, and when it comes to living as an underground member, he needs money. 

Pushing the clock back, he touched his brown hair, it was quite long and all over his shoulder. 

Cutting it should let him remain hidden. 

'And I need to steal a scissor.' 

-x-X-x-

For the next two days, Raoh applied his plan, staying hidden in the shadows and avoiding the guards, and he slept outside, resisting the cold and the heat. He also acted as a good thief, taking the money from the citizens. On the last day, he cut his hair short, and it looked good — it needs some work. Once he was done with all of this, he had stolen some clothes from a rich man's house, and he left — it was hard to find some clothes to fit him. 

And so, he started walking outside the town, with a bag and a few food supplies. A couple of days later, he found himself in front of another town. There were many creatures that looked like a horse, but they weren't. Animals with two legs and bizarre heads were parked outside. 

Raoh knew it was the perfect place for people like him to stay. 

How? 

Obviously, it was dawn, and people were in the bars, drinking and hitting. 

There is simple logic. If the bar operates at the night, it means that it's a normal city. 

If it operates in the morning, it means it belongs to mercenaries or bounty hunters. 

"What are you here for?"

Raoh found himself being stopped by an eye-patched man, as he was walking around. 

"Me?" 

"Seems you need help. You're new here."

"Sure. I want to gamble a bit. Do you know where?" 

"Please, I'll guide you, for 2 copper pieces" 

"That cheap?" 

As it seems, ever since the Fire Nation took the Earth Kingdom down, they changed their currency. 

The currency's name is Ban. And it varies in value according to the metal used to make the piece. There is a copper piece, silver piece, and gold piece. 

Raoh had been living on stealing. But he wasn't a merciless man. He always considers who he steals, and he always chose someone who looks well. And he doesn't take everything unless it was a person from the Fire Nation.

He had accumulated around 50 copper pieces and 10 silver ones. 

As he was about to reach his pouch to pick up the coins, he smirked and took a step to the side. The patched guy already had a knife in his hand and was about to ambush him. Raoh chopped on his wrist, making him lose the knife and his hand go numb. 

"You! You broke my hand!" the man yelled. 

"Now, now." Raoh lifted him from the neck, easily, and he pressed. 

The guy started struggling. He knew that he will die if this goes a few more seconds. 

"I'll take this," he reached the thief's pouch and took it. "And you shall guide me where you guys play. If you understand, blink three times. If you want to die, blink more or less." 

His voice was cold, merciless. The people around just walked by,  minding their business. The eye-pathced man, full of fear, started blinking. Each blink was counted, there was no room for mistake. 

Raoh unleashed his grip, and the patched eye man fell to his knees, coughing. 

"What's your name." 

"People call me the River Rat." He said, his eyes red from the lack of air. 

"River Rat." Raoh got on his knees. "Tell me, your intelligence, to which species it belongs." 

River Rat nodded. "I'm not stupid. I'll be happy to go back alive." 

"That's a good boy." 

River rat stood up, bowed his head slowly, and said. "Thank you for sparing my life." 

"I'll have you to know. I have a very special ability to detect funny movements. Try one, and you will find out if there is an afterlife, or not." 

"But if there isn't. Will I be conscious in the first place to find out?" 

Raoh lifted his hand to slap the guy, who bowed down and joined his hands together. 

"Forgive me, I'm the dumb-ass." 

"I was just scratching my hair." Raoh scratched his hair and stood up. 

"Please, follow me then." After sighing, River Rat nodded, walked in front of Raoh, and let a sigh as a drop of sweat fell from his chin. 

Raoh cloaked his head and started asking. "By the way, have you heard about the recent escaping slaves?" 

"Oh… Are you a bounty hunter?" 

"Yes," Raoh said. He wasn't lying, he used to be a bounty hunter, in another world.  

"I see. So you came here to attend the meeting to hunt them. The Riper has a good bounty on his head." 

"The Ripper?" Raoh felt that they are talking about him. 

"Haven't you heard of him? It's said that he cut a very powerful Earthbender into pieces, with a sword, while being covered in a thick layer of rocks. Each cut is so clean… I was offered to join, as usually, I would play the role of the finder. Nah. Who wants to be cut by the Ripper? Definitely not me." Rat River said. He then looked forward. There was a three-story building with an opened door. Two half-naked brunettes were standing next to the doors, smiling. 

"This is a blackspot, you can enter and play with your money. These are prostitutes. If you want to have a good time, try them." 

"No thanks. Money first." Raoh said. 

"And bitches second?" River Rat said, trying to make things feel easy. Raoh ignored him and walked in. River Rat didn't tell him that it's the place where bounty hunters and mercenaries usually gather. 

"Wait! My pouch!" River rat screamed. 

"I'll take it instead of your life," Raoh said without turning his head, ignoring the touches of the two women, and he got in.