Guard Duty

Xiao arrived at Lao Beifong's office right on time and knocked on his new employer's door. "Come in" Lao's voice came from inside.

Xiao opened the door and walked in, bowing lightly to Lao Beifong after he closed the door. "Sit." The man said in a business-like manner. Lao's face was completely cold as he stared at Xiao intently. The normally jovial man seemed to stare right through Xiao. 'No wonder the Beifong's are the wealthiest family in the earth kingdom…' Xiao though to himself as he stared at the man with wonder.

Finally, Lao nodded and sighed, sitting back in his seat and rubbing his brows. "May I ask who your master was?" He asked. Xiao nodded. "General Iroh." He replied. Though Lao Beifong was technically a part of the enemy, this information didn't mean much to Xiao and besides, he had a feeling the if he tried to lie to the man before him he would fail miserably and most likely end up jobless.

Lao's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "The dragon of the west? So you must be even better than I originally thought…" he mused, chuckling lightly. "I'll double your payment then." He said. Xiao smiled happily. "I thank you then." He said.

He wasn't going to bother trying to deny the pay-raise since he one, would obviously lose that argument, and two, he needed cash desperately.

"My wife and I must go to Ba Sing Se per the Earth King's request. We would rather have put little flower stay here while we are away.

Therefore, we will be taking a half of the guard from this residence with us. The other half will stay here with you leading them. Do you remember what I said last night?" Lao said.

Xiao nodded gravely. And he had no doubt that what the man said would happen if he attempted to hurt his family.

"Yes. I will do my very best to protect the young miss. You have my word." Xiao replied. Lao Beifong smiled. "Good. Don't disappoint me. Dismissed." He said, and with that Xiao left the office.

Xiao wiped the back of his neck and brought his hand in front of his face, gazing at the sweat covering his palm.

"For a non-bender he sure is intimidating. Now I know where Toph gets her fire from…" he muttered.

Toph's parents would be leaving tomorrow, so Xiao went to get familiar with the other guards.

He reached the guard dorms and found the men he had bought drinks for sitting around or lazing on beds, reading or sleeping.

He glanced to his left and saw Ru Te, the leader of this group. "Hey Ru." He said, waving.

Ru Te got up with a smile, extending his hand. "Haha! Xiao! I didn't realize that you were a bender and a musician! What a surprise!" He said with a smile.

Ru Te was extremely tall, standing at six feet tall. He towered over Xiao and sported bulging muscles. Despite his intimidating appearance, Ciao knew he was a good guy, and the only earth bender among the guard.

Xiao took the man's outstretched hand and smiled. "Not only that, but I'm also your boss for now." Xiao said, chuckling. The man's brows raised. "Really? Care for a spar then? I'd like to see the capabilities of the man who will be leading me." He said, his face becoming more serious.

Xiao shrugged. "Sure." He said, and they walked towards the training grounds once more. A few of the guards that overheard their conversation followed them.

When they got there, they stood around ten feet apart, one of the guards that followed them counted them down from three and they started the duel.

The only earth benders that Xiao had seen in the professional level were the wrestlers from before, so he was expecting Ru Te to be aggressive like them, however to his surprise Ru Te instead stayed in place, staring at Xiao intently.

Ru Te, noticing Xiao's confusion, chuckled. "You don't know much about earth benders, do you?" He asked. Xiao shook his head.

Ru Te nodded. "Most earth benders, besides the wrestlers, tend to take a more neutral position in combat. We wait until our enemy attacks, then counter attack ferociously." The man said.

Xiao nodded in understanding before smiling.

He jumped up, violet flame shooting from the soles of his bare feet as he did so.

The flames condensed, forming hyper-concentrated jets of flame. Then, he simply disappeared.

Ru Te, along with everyone else present, was surprised. "He vanished!" One of the guards exclaimed from the sidelines.

Ru Te scanned the ground in front of him, until another guard shouted "he's up there!" Looking up, Ru Te saw Xiao coming down, a katana raised above his head.

Xiao started to spin, using the flame nets on his feet to propel him to spin faster.

He looked like a blur as he came down. Ru Te quickly brought up some stone walls to block, and a clang was heard as Xiao's sword cone cried with them, a dust cloud appearing in the training grounds.

When the dust cleared, Xiao could be seen holding his katana mere inches away from severing Ru Te's shoulder. The rock walls that had been raised to block the attack were cleaved in half cleanly.

Ru Te gulped and the other guards were gobsmacked.

"Your win." Ru Te finally said, laughing nervously. Xiao smiled and sheathed his sword. "Let's train together again sometime!" He said excitedly.

The man nodded and smiled back, effected by the boy's attitude.

From a window overlooking the training ground, Lao Beifong gazed at Xiao through the shutters. "It appears I've made the right choice…" he said with a small smile, chuckling as he walked away.