The Lightning Bender | Book 1: Change

31: Homecoming

Hiko woke up to the smell of salmon, making him salivate. He walked to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes to see Jianjun cooking two portions of salmon.

"Hey! Finally awake huh? Sit down, breakfast is almost ready." Hiko obeyed, sitting down at the small dining table Jianjun had. When he was finished, Jianjun layed out Hiko's breakfast, Salmon and Rice.

"You should start getting ready, we're leaving in an hour before old man Rojin wakes up."

"Who's that?" Hiko ate a clump of rice.

"It's the landlord, he's gonna kick me out today, but he won't get the satisfaction because we're leaving before he can." Jianjun chuckled to himself.

After breakfast, Hiko took a long bath before folding his bed neatly and going to the living room, waiting for Jianjun. After he was done packing everything he had, they both stepped out of the apartment into the busy street. Hiko swearing under his breath after a middle-aged lady bumped into him without an apology.

"We have to make it to the dock before lunch. That's when most people schedule their ride." They walked to the dock which wasn't that far away from Jianjun's apartment. Hiko didn't enjoy the walk, people in the city annoyed him, which was part of the reason why he wanted to move out. Eventually, they got to the dock and got two tickets for a ship to the Fire Nation Capital.

"So, what do we do exactly when we get there?" Hiko asked Jianjun who was looking out at the ocean. They had been travelling for half an hour now, and Hiko was getting restless.

"You tell me. I've never met Dad's 'clan'"

Hiko pouted and went back to a bench he occupied all by himself. He thought about his Father's clanmates he'd usually see in their house back then. He wondered if he'd see them again, and if so what they'd say or do when they finally see him again. The thought made Hiko nauseous, beside the Sea sickness that was slowly building up in him.

After finally landing on the Fire Nation's mainland docks, Hiko immediately got off the ship. His sea sickness had reached its peak and he rushed to the nearest restroom. Jianjun stood beside the door waiting for Hiko to be finished. When he finally got out, he looked less like a dead person.

"Let's go, I already found a train we can get on." Jianjun lead Hiko to a nearby train station. They got on Platform 4, they would have to get off on the third stop then walk the rest of the way. Hiko's upper body bounced up and down as the train sped through the countryside. Hiko looked out the window with a look of awe, he had never seen that much nature in 3 years. Jianjun caught a quick nap beside Hiko before they had arrived at the Third stop.

Hiko jumped off the seat, squeezing through the crowd of people entering the train, followed by Jianjun who had just woken up from his nap. When he had reached the platform, Hiko noticed it was much less crowded than the previous station they were in.

"Hiko!" Jianjun shouted aimlessly, circling the platform looking for Hiko.

"Hey." Hiko appeared beside him, tugging on his half-brother's sleeve.

"Alright, let's get going, we should arrive there by sundown." Jianjun and Hiko found themselves on a narrow path through a forest. Hiko remembered these forest when he first left his home. So far, he knew they were going the right way. They spent the remaining hours of the afternoon trekking through the forest. The remaining sunlight shining through the forest's canopies was slowly fading away as the sun was setting. Finally, they had reached the end of the forest. As they stepped out of the path they had been following for the past hour or so, Hiko immediately felt a rush of nostalgia. His small village had barely changed. The village gate was still the same. It was a tall arc, bearing their village symbol, the Raven Eagle. After stepping through the gate, Hiko immediately ran up to a small food stall. His favorite one, where his Father used to take him to, to get Takoyaki. He ordered a bag before he went back to Jianjun who was scanning the area.

"So, where's your house Hiko?" Jianjun asked while eyeing a few girls who had passed them.

"I don't want to go back there yet." Hiko ate his Takoyaki without looking at Jianjun, who sighed.

"Fine, let's find an inn first."

They walked through the main street of the village, Hiko looking at every shop or house they'd pass through, a new memory entering his mind everytime. When he saw the butcher shop, he remembered his Father was a good friend of the butcher there. When he saw the tailor shop he remembered how he got a free scarf because the tailor was a friend of his father. He never knew where the scarf was by the now. He didn't bring it to Republic City. Finally, they had found a small inn, Ryu's inn. It looked fairly new, so Hiko knew nothing about it. They got a room with two single beds each on a side of the room. After hours of travelling, Hiko collapsed on the bed. After a few minutes, soft snores came from Hiko's side, while Jianjun looked out the small window of the room. He had a weird feeling about this.