“Haruko!” Aazir called out. “Aunt Liling says you need to drink some water.”

Aazir’s voice startled Haruko out of her work. She rolled out from under the car she had been repairing to face her younger brother.

Having been home for a few hours, Aazir had since changed out of his school uniform and was wearing a simple beige tunic over dark green pants. For some reason, he was still wearing the same olive green beanie he always did. Pasha was on his shoulder, but jumped to Haruko’s as she sat up.

Aazir tossed Haruko a plastic water bottle and sat down on an unopened crate. Haruko opened the bottle and drank from it- the water was cool and refreshing, she didn’t know how long it had been since she had stopped for a break.

“How’s work?” Aazir deadpanned.

Haruko shrugged. “Mr. Liwei crashed his car again. You’d think he’d just buy a new one, but you know.” She shrugged. “Apparently wasting my time is cheaper.”

Aazir nodded. “Yeah, suppose so. Lemme guess- it’s a cabbagecar.”

Haruko nodded. The fact that cabbage corp products were bad was one of the few things Aazir must’ve picked up from her angry rambles. Unlike her, he had elected not to learn mechanics to support Uncle Quan’s repair shop after he got too old to fix the cars himself, leaving Haruko to be the sole mechanic in the business. She didn’t mind, they only had a few regular customers- enough to make ends meet- and she preferred working alone anyways. It helped her think.

“Oh, you have a cut on your hand” Aazir noticed, pointing out a gash along Haruko’s palm. She hadn’t noticed the cut while she was working, it must’ve been recent. “Hold up.” Aazir continued, looking around the general area. He eventually found what he was looking for, a small roll of gauze. Haruko gave him her hand, which he meticulously wrapped with the gauze.

“Not to interrupt this adorable sibling bonding moment,” A voice from the window interrupted, “But don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Haruko turned to the open window, where she saw Ai Xue, leaning on the wall. A year older than Haruko, Ai Xue had earned a reputation at school for taking absolutely any bribe. The nonbender, like Padma, wore her long black hair in a high ponytail, reminiscent of the Avatar, with messy bangs and long whispies framing her face. Neither pulled it off to the same extent Hanuel Beifong did, but that certainly didn’t stop them from trying.

It quickly became clear to Haruko why Ai Xue was here. Haruko cursed herself, she had forgotten about her and Padma’s prior engagement. Padma must’ve hired Ai Xue to ‘remind her’ of it. Haruko looked to the window- it was almost sunset

Haruko stood up. There was no point trying to avoid the inevitable. She grabbed her green jacket from the table and put it on as she walked out the door. “Aazir, tell Uncle Quan I’m out and couldn’t finish the repairs in time.”

Aazir nodded and left for the other door of the shop after taking Pasha back from Haruko’s shoulders. It was probably for the best that both of them weren’t present for what was about to go down. By now, he was probably used to things like this. “Good luck.” He said before leaving.

Haruko turned to Ai Xue. “Lao’s pavilion, right?” She vaguely remembered what place Padma had specified- a marketside pavilion on the east side of town, an area so crime-ridden the local police typically didn’t patrol there. As far as locations for secret earthbending duels to settle grievances went, Lao’s pavilion was about as good as it gets.

Ai Xue nodded. To Haruko’s dismay, the taller girl followed her as she walked to the pavilion. “I don’t need an escort.” Haruko grumbled.

“Padma just wanted me to make sure you got there on time, without getting lost.” Ai Xue smiled in response. Padma must’ve been paying her well to warrant that kind of loyalty.

The two of them walked to the pavilion in relative silence. Haruko focused not on her companion, but on the environment around them. Sunsets in Jing Zi were one of the more beautiful things about the region, though after ten years Haruko had become accustomed to them. The city moved in a routine, the street merchants packing up their wares for the day, the businessmen on their way home, the bars and nightclubs opening up for the night. Haruko supposed she and Ai Xue fit into that routine- in the eyes of an outsider, they two teenage girls on the way to whatever illicit activity they were up to that night. That wasn’t far from the truth.

Lao’s pavilion wasn’t too far from the repair shop, and it didn’t take long for Haruko and Ai Xue to reach the courtyard. The area was strangely devoid of passersby, with Padma’s party only being accompanied by a few strangers, who all seemed to leave the middle of the square clear. Padma stood in the center of the pavilion, flanked on either side by Jian and Wei. She was wearing a simple tank top and athletic shorts, as well as a pair of sneakers. She looked more ready for a jog than a fight.

Padma smiled, and made a gesture to Jian and Wei. The two looked at each other, then moved backwards to the edge of the courtyard. Apparently Padma had brought them only for show. Haruko took off her jacket and handed it to Ai Xue, who took it and left to the opposite side of the courtyard.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show.” Padma taunted.

Haruko sunk into a bending stance. “Your lackey made sure I didn’t.” She retorted.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two of them stood still, not daring to look away from each other.

Padma made the first move, she sent a jab of earth from the ground up at Haruko. It was easy enough for Haruko to dodge, and easier for her to redirect it back at her opponent. Padma and Haruko continued to fight- each dancing around each other’s attacks. Padma was a more graceful fighter than Haruko, more easily dodging the flying rocks and columns of stone Haruko threw at her. But what Haruko lacked in dexterity she made up in raw power- and she knew this. In terms of power, Padma was outmatched. Haruko just needed to keep her ground.

Haruko paused for a moment too long, catching her breath after having destabilized the ground Padma was standing on. It only took that short moment for Padma to take advantage of Haruko being off guard and throw a decently sized rock at Haruko’s face. She fell to the ground as it hit her.

Padma walked over to where Haruko had fallen. “Looks like I win.” Padma said as she leaned down, her voice just as tauntingly sweet as it had been at the start of the fight, if not a little strained from the fight.

Haruko picked herself up from the ground, mustering all the strength she had left in her body. She had too much pride to let Padma win like this, even if she had won in every right. “Fine. You win.” She barked at her opponent.

Ai Xue ran over to help Haruko up, draping her jacket over her shoulders. She walked Haruko to the end of the courtyard, and was probably going to walk her all the way home, until Haruko motioned for her to leave her alone. She walked the way home by herself.

Haruko didn’t enter her house through the front door, she didn’t want to cause a ruckus or disturb her aunt and uncle, who were probably watching the news or finishing dinner. Aunt Liling would no doubt make the whole situation into a bigger deal than it was, so she climbed up the side of the house and entered through her bedroom window.

The first thing Haruko did when inside was take off her jacket and toss it on the floor. She didn’t have the time or energy to fold it neatly.

Haruko stumbled to the second-floor bathroom she shared with Aazir and met her own gaze in the mirror. Her skin and hair were coated in a layer of dust, as was her shirt. She noticed bruises on her shoulders and jawline, and most noticeably, a gash across her lip. Haruko sighed and got to cleaning herself up.

“Hey, Haruko.” Aazir greeted after knocking twice on the doorframe. Haruko had left the door open, she was too tired to close it. “Padma won?”

Haruko sighed and nodded. She could only guess what Aazir thought of her disheveled appearance.

“You know, you don’t always have to be the one who fights people.” Aazir said, his voice soft.

Haruko couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “I’m sorry.”