chapter 5

They were worried about him by now.

Ryga could tell. The looks on their faces when he walked by, the way they whispered to

each other, the way they tried to engage him in conversation more than usual. They were

worried he was closing himself off, intentionally distancing himself.

They weren't right, but they weren't wrong. He didn't want to push them away,

necessarily. He wasn't surprised it was happening, but it wasn't what he was trying to do. He

was just trying to get stronger, and getting stronger usually meant he had to be alone.

There were a few reasons. If he was practicing Max Quake, he'd basically destroy

everything in his path if he wasn't careful, and he needed to pick a pretty isolated spot. If he was

practicing Raging Fury, he could easily cause a forest fire or burn somebody's eyebrows off. But

most of all, it was starting to get weirdly lonely being around other people.

They weren't from his world. Literally. He had fallen out of a different universe and tried

to convince them he belonged. And they weren't really friends, either.

Ryga didn't know exactly what friendship was supposed to be like. He knew what it was

supposed to look like - slumber parties and long phone calls and getting in trouble together - but

he hadn't experienced it enough to know a friend when he saw one. And yeah, sure, that led to

a lot of wallowing in self-pity, but that wasn't the point.

The point was, these people could not possibly be his friends. They didn't hang out

besides obligations, they didn't have inside jokes, they didn't have any bond at all except for this

ridiculous quest to save the Avatar.

Ryga screamed, letting loose another blast of Raging Fury. The screaming wasn't

necessary, exactly, but it was satisfying as hell and he had decided to just kind of let himself

have it.

The flames hit the sheer rock face before him and dissipated in the air. He glared.

Somehow the slightly scorched but otherwise undamaged cliffside only made him more

frustrated. He took a deep breath in, geared up to cast Raging Fury -

"Ryga! Hey!! Ryga!!"

Ryga's eyes came into focus, then widened, and his arms dropped to his side, sparking

and then dying out. "Katara! What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you," she said, and there was something in her voice that bothered him,

made him feel almost guilty. "Have you been out here all day? Have you... eaten anything?"

"Chip scrounged me up some nuts." Ryga's Rookidee perched on his shoulder and let

out a self-satisfied cheep!. "Anyway, if we're not leaving yet, would you mind...?" He motioned to

the rock wall.

"No," Katara said firmly.

Ryga blinked at her. "No...?"

"No," she agreed. "This is an intervention. Lately you've just been totally shut down and

not communicating, and it has to stop. We're a team, Ryga. You can't just run off on your own all

the time and expect us not to worry."

"Why would you worry?" Ryga asked. "I just wanted some time to myself."

Katara glared at him. "Yeah, well, you've had your 'time to yourself' for weeks. Time to

come back, bird boy."

"Oh, yeah, because I've got a bird. Real clever."

"Just -" Katara shook her head. "You are clearly not listening. Just come on. We're going,

and if you're not gonna talk to me, you can at least help us pack up." She gave him a final

scathing look and walked off.

Then there was Katara. Hoo boy, Katara. Smart, strong, beautiful, everything he had

imagined and more. And all he could seem to do lately was piss her off, because the alternative

was the friendzone, and he couldn't stand that.

What did it matter, really?

She was just yet another perfect girl who would never like him the way he liked her.

Ryga closed his eyes. Sparks danced in his clenched fists, and he shot the flames of

Raging Fury one last time before jogging after Katara.

"I've got a bad feeling about this guy," Ryga said, crossing his arms as he watched Aang

excitedly introduce himself to Jet and his band of thugs.

Objectively, he didn't really have a bad feeling about this guy. He was pretty neutral,

honestly. But considering he couldn't exactly tell them that he had watched a future where Jet

tried to murder an entire village and brush it off as collateral, 'I've got a bad feeling about this'

seemed like a safe bet.

"You have a bad feeling about everything," Katara said. "At least lately. I'd be more

suspicious if you actually liked this guy."

"He's got a point," Sokka said. "Something is seriously off."

"What a surprise, the pessimist agrees with the grumpy jerk." Katara shook her head.

"Don't you understand? They're fighting the Fire Nation. They're on our side. Honestly, they're

kind of heroes."

Ryga snorted, pointing to a few of the thugs tossing Aang's glider back and forth. "Wow,

how heroic, playing keep-away with a tiny little kid."

"He's a hundred years old, Ryga. Show some respect. And anyway, he's an airbender. If

anybody has an unfair advantage, it's him."

Aang zipped between the boys on his air scooter, catching the glider mid-toss and

laughing at their befuddled expressions. "Yeah... fair enough," Ryga admitted. "But still. They

just seem like..."

"Bullies?" Sokka finished. "Yeah, that's what I'm pickin' up, too. I mean, come on. There's

no way they just stumbled across industrial-grade explosives."

"Stealing from the Fire Nation doesn't count as stealing," Katara said firmly. "Just have

an open mind, okay? They might have a different lifestyle than us, but they're not monsters."

Ryga sighed. Chip, perched on his shoulder, exhaled a tired 'cheep'. "You'll see."

"So..." Jet said.

Ryga crossed his arms. "So."

"Um -" Jet looked at him, then back at Katara, who was giving him puppy-dog eyes that

made Ryga feel a little sick. "Katara, you want to... take a walk?"

"I'll come too," Ryga said before Katara could say anything. He stretched out his arms

above him. "Too much time cramped up on a flying bison. Could use a little exercise, you

know?"

Katara's face broke into a smile. "Ryga! I knew you'd come around." She hugged him,

and Ryga tried not to think about the fact that they were both blushing when they broke apart.

"Look who's making an attempt at being a civilized human being!"

Jet cleared his throat. "Uh, actually, Katara... I was thinking we could go alone, you

know? Just the two of us?"

"Why?" Ryga asked. "What are you planning?"

Jet shot him a harsh glare. "I'm not planning anything. I just wanted to discuss something

personal and I would prefer not to be disturbed by an outsider."

"Aren't we both outsiders, though?" Katara asked. "I mean, Ryga and I both barged into

your camp out of nowhere at the same time."

Jet put a hand to his forehead. "You wouldn't understand, kid, but -"

"Do you actually know my name?" Ryga interrupted.

"- there are some things that should -"

"She literally just said my name. You should remember."

"- some things should stay between a man and a woman, not that I'd expect a boy like

you to understand."

"Hey!" Katara said, glaring at Jet. "He's not a boy! He's -" The full implications of what

Jet had said seemed to catch up with her, and her face lit up red. "- my friend..." she finished

weakly, and at the very least Ryga could count that as a victory over Jet, since that one simple

comment had stung far more than anything the renegade had said to him.

"So," Jet said, with a smug grin that Ryga wanted to incinerate, "shall we be going?" He

extended an arm, and with a timid smile, Katara hooked hers around his.

"Oh, come on!" Ryga shouted, hoping he didn't sound as pathetic as he felt. "Katara, we

still have no idea what he's up to!"

Katara smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry, pal, gotta leave you behind this time."

And as they strode off, Jet turned back for just long enough to smirk at him.

Ryga stood, staring at their retreating figures, and realized he was about to use Raging

Fury just in time to put it out.

"So how was your date?"

"Ryga!" Katara looked up as though she'd just realized he was there. (To be fair, he was

sulking in the shadows.) "First of all, it wasn't a date. But it was nice. You know, you really

should give Jet the benefit of the doubt. You have no idea what he's been through."

Oh yeah. That whole sob story. Trauma as an excuse to be a shitty person forever. "I

have some idea what he's been through. I also have some idea what he's up to. Spoiler alert:

not good."

"Oh yeah?" Katara folded her arms across her chest. "Don't suppose you have any proof

of that, do you?"

"Guys!" Sokka burst back into the treehouse. "Something is seriously off with these guys.

I was out on lookout duty with them, and they mugged an innocent old man just because he was

from the Fire Nation."

"He... could've been a spy," Katara said, although she sounded uneasy.

"Since when is every single person from the Fire Nation an evil demon?? Look, I hate

them as much as you do, but nobody deserves to suffer just because their government declared

war with the entire freakin' world. Katara, if I hadn't been there, they might have killed him."

"No!" Katara shouted. "I don't believe it! You're just upset because Jet's a better leader

than you, and you -" She spun around and pointed at Ryga. "You just hate everybody now, don't

you, and what's your excuse?"

"Oh, I dunno, because he's obviously trying to get with you?"

That... had not been supposed to leave his brain.

Sokka blinked. Blinked again. "Wait. You're... you have a crush on my sister?"

"Oh..." Katara said faintly. She blinked too, then shook her head hard, eliminating the

dusky pink glow from her cheeks. "Well, whatever! Does it matter if he likes me? He's nice, and

he's charming, and he's been through so much you couldn't possibly understand."

"Isn't that guy, like, eighteen?" Sokka asked.

"Come on, he's sixteen at the oldest," Katara protested.

"Wait, since when are you dating boys? Or dating anyone, actually?"

"UGHHH!!" Katara stomped her foot in frustration. "You guys are so immature! Now, if

you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help out Jet, because he needs help, and unlike you two, I am

a nice and considerate person." She stormed out, leaving Sokka and Ryga alone.

"So," Sokka said eventually. "You're, uh... into my sister."

Ryga closed his eyes. "Aang?"

Aang poked his head into the room. "Yeah? Sorry, I've been here a little while, I just...

didn't want to interrupt..." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Not that I, uh, overheard anything."

"Could you please airbend me off the nearest cliff?"

Ryga went through the motions.

Accompanied Sokka to the village; helped escort the people out. Even used Max Quake

to collapse some rock into a makeshift dam around the town, just in case. Not like it wasn't all

predestined to work out fine anyway.

It was after now. After everything, and they were just getting ready to leave. He had run

back to the boulder, reached out his hands, ready to cast Raging Fury again. He'd finally figured

out what 'fixation' meant. It meant an impulse, a constant, instinctive need, to burn. To destroy.

And now that he had used another move, it was gone. But he wanted it back.

He wanted the mindless rage, the meaningless destruction, because it was so much

easier than working out his own feelings.

And then Katara ran up to him, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Rgya..."

She was going to apologize, he just knew it. And he hated it. Katara shouldn't have to be

sorry. He had been selfish, jealous, and he had driven her away. Which was for the best;

someone like him would only drag someone like her down.

"I just wanted to say... I'm not sorry!"

Ryga looked up sharply, arms dropping to his sides, startled more than angry. "Huh?"

Katara took a deep breath. "I know I shouldn't have trusted Jet. I made a mistake. But he

seemed like a really nice guy, and if anything, it was you and Sokka constantly getting on his

case that made me even more defensive of him. And the things he told me..." She began to tear

up. "He was manipulating me. I know that. But what he said really resonated with me on a really

personal level, so I'm sorry that people could've gotten hurt... but I'm not sorry for trusting him.

And to be honest, I'd rather trust people and get tricked than push people away and lose

friends."

Ouch. That was definitely directed at him. "Okay."

"Okay??" Katara demanded, suddenly seeming furious. "What is wrong with you? One

minute you're trying to convince me you don't care, the next you're trying to stop me from

hanging out with a boy, and now you don't seem to have a care in the world what happens to

me!"

"I do care!" Ryga shouted, squeezing his fists shut to kill the embers sparking there. "I

care so much, Katara, you have no idea. I care about you, but I'm no good for you, as a friend

or... anything else. I'm... I'm weak, and I'm selfish, and I'm a coward, and even if you somehow

liked me despite all that, there's no way I could ever make you happy. So as much as I like you

-"

Katara grabbed him by the chin, and Ryga cut off abruptly, staring into her eyes. He

blinked. Her eyes flicked away for just a moment... and then she kissed him.

Ryga had never kissed a girl before. Somehow, though, he felt like he'd done an alright

job.

When Katara pulled away and Ryga opened his eyes, her face was fully red. "I... am

sorry for that."

Ryga stilled his shaking hand, reached out and took hers. "I'm not."

She glanced up at him shyly and smiled, just a little. "Me neither."

SKILL MENU:

PLOT ARMOR

TYPE: N/A

RANKING: N/A

DESCRIPTION: Received upon first entering the System; grants the user the inability to die, as

well as the ability to grant the inability to die to a maximum of three others.

FLIP TURN

TYPE: WATER

RANKING: 2/5

DESCRIPTION: After making their attack, the user rushes back to switch places with a party

member in waiting.

BATON PASS

TYPE: NORMAL

RANKING: 2/5

DESCRIPTION: The user switches places with a party member in waiting and passes along any

stat changes.

RAGING FURY

TYPE: FIRE

RANKING: 3/5

DESCRIPTION: The user rampages and spews vicious flames to inflict damage on the target,

then becomes fixated on using this move.

WATER SPORT

TYPE: WATER

RANKING: 3/5

DESCRIPTION: Weakens Fire-type attacks while the user is in battle.

KING'S SHIELD

TYPE: STEEL

RANKING: 4/5

DESCRIPTION: The user takes a defensive stance while they protect themself from damage. It

also lowers the Attack stat of any attacker that makes direct contact.