(Tsumi) Moon and stars shine bright

It was a beautiful day in the Northern Water Kingdom. The sun was shining (as much as it does in the arctic, anyway), and the wind was blowing a nice (incredibly freezing) breeze over Tsumi’s face. Of course, there was always time to relax, when you were incredibly tired.

Tsumi sat in the ruins of the Northern Water Kingdom’s great Watchtower, watching the pieces sink. He had just finished mortal combat with two men, by the names of Makaru and Draika. They had all fallen off of the tower, and had battled in midair, on the way down. The tower had eventually been hit by a few stray shots (Firebender vs. Lightbender vs. Darkbender….not pretty), and had collapsed. Makaru and Draika had disappeared, leaving only Tsumi in the wreckage.

After catching his breath, he made his way back into the large, sub-zero city, and into the marketplace therein. There, he made his way to the Blacksmith’s shop, and deposited his Hidden Blade on the table, along with some money, asking for a repair. “If I can’t fix it, it ain’t broke!” The blacksmith said, confidently. “If it takes longer than an hour, your repair is free!”
Tsumi smiled, knowing the complexity of the weapon he had given the man to repair. “Ok, but watch out, mister, it’s a lot more complex than it looks!” Tsumi said. “Oh, a challenge, eh? Alright, I’ll make it half an hour. Deal?” “Deal.” Following this, they both shook hands, sealing their little bet. Tsumi walked out of the door, confident about getting a free repair. However, his happy mood was suddenly interrupted by a man with silver hair, who ran past him, shoving him as he went by. A second later, a group of guards ran around the corner, pointing at Tsumi (who had white hair, which was an easy mistake to make). “THERE HE IS! GET HIM!” They shouted. Tsumi knew that guards were grumpy at the best of times, and guards who had to freeze their buns off every day were bound to be even less forgiving. He turned tail, and ran, knowing that stopping to fight, or to argue, would just make things worse for him. Thankfully, he had an asset that they (hopefully) didn’t: He was a climber.

Up the side of a building went Tsumi, avoiding several arrows as he did so. “What did you even DO?!” asked Z, Tsumi’s alternate personality. “I wasn’t aware that shopping was a crime. You should be more careful.” Tsumi smiled, knowing that Z was just trying to lighten the mood. However, this was interrupted, by the sound of coughing. LOUD coughing. Tsumi moved toward the sound of the noise, having lost the guards (for now). He jumped across a rooftop, and slid down into an alleyway, where a person was catching their breath. Tsumi couldn’t see their face, but he resolved to be helpful nonetheless. “Hey, do you need some help?” He said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The coughing girl looked up at Tsumi, and gave a slight smile. “I’m okay… Thank you… just catching my lungs.” she said. Tsumi’s friendly look changed to one of concern. “Hi I'm Luna Usagi. I'm from the Earth Kingdom. Do you know where I can get some hot jasmine tea? Sorry for bothering you.” she continued. “Hi Luna, my name is Tsumi, Tsumi Buredo. I’m not from the vermilion empire, but I love it here anyway!” Tsumi said, putting on his customary altogether-too-large, naïve grin.

“You were coughing… are you sick?” Tsumi asked, genuine concern evident in his voice. “Oh, and you can probably find jasmine tea across the way from here, in the ‘Three Glaciers’ tea shop.”

Luna gave one last cough into her hand, before looking back up at Tsumi. “Nice to meet you, Tsumi” she said, sweetly. “You’re coughing….are you sick?” Tsumi had asked. “ "Yes Tsumi...I am...can you help me to the three glaciers? I have a very rare lung disease. It’s why I am traveling. To see the world before there is no more air left." she replied. “That’s….sad. That’s REALLY sad.” said Z (he spoke inside Tsumi’s head, so no one else could hear him).

Of course, no dire situation is complete without a turn for the worse. The guards that had been chasing Tsumi rounded the corner. They seemed to be a bit out of breath. “We finally….found…. come with us.” said a particularly brave one, in the front. Excuse me sir. Is my friend Tsumi in trouble for something? he is helping me right now. Can you come back later?" Luna said, sadly. “I was framed for something, and now these guards are-“ Tsumi began, but was quickly cut off by, “Shut your trap, future convict! That man probably gave you the stuff he stole when he bumped you, and I WILL SEE YOU CONVICTED!” the guard shouted. “How valiant.”

Suddenly, Luna approached the first guard. “Luna, don’t get close to-“ Tsumi’s words were cut off, as Luna suddenly kicked the guard in the jaw, sending him backward a few feet. She followed that with a roundhouse kick to another’s face. However, just when she was on a roll, she began coughing furiously, putting an end to her violent display. “Can we get out of here…?” she asked. Tsumi wore a surprised look for a second, and moved to help her up. He could feel goose bumps creeping up his arms. He was always kind of afraid of aggressive girls… he had a somewhat shy streak.

Tsumi relinquished control of his body to Z, who promptly shattered a guard’s jaw with his fist. Tsumi’s eyes could be seen turning a deep green while this happened, almost causing them to glow. In an act of desperation, Tsumi (or, his body, at least) picked Luna up, and, draping her over his right shoulder, made a mad dash toward The Three Glaciers. He would get this girl her tea if it was the last thing he did.

After having finally ordered their tea, Luna managed to fall asleep on Tsumi’s lap. He could see her breathing, but he was still angry. The guards had made his new friend hurt. “Calm down, Tsumi, you know you’re shifting blame away from it’s cause.” Z said. “I know, but now that she’s asleep, I can get rid of these guys in one fell swoop.” said Tsumi, internally. With that said, his anger boiled to the surface, the Z on his chest beginning to glow.

Exactly half of his skin turned black, and his right hand became a claw. The skin under his shoulder blades began to glow red, before sprouting two black, flaming wings. One of his eyes was on the darker side of his skin… that one turned red. His hair (normally white) was now black, with white highlights. He fell to his knees, resisting the urge to scream in pain. The overdrive process always felt like dying, though it was supposed to prevent it.

At last, Tsumi stood up, looking at the petrified guards. In a new, more demonic voice, he held up his claw, and said, simply, “Out.”

The guards were attacking, and the sounds of luna breathing were getting fainter. “Oh my gosh” a woman said, kneeling next to luna. Tsumi was panicking. The guards were charging, and the world was collapsing around him. Thankfully, something that grew out of Luna’s shoes tripped them, and held them in place.

Tsumi lit a black fire around the guards, which would (hopefully) keep them restrained. Thank goodness for Firebending. Tsumi, left with no other choice, decided that to restore her breathing, she would need Mouth-to-mouth. Tsumi hoped that she was unconscious for this, as he doubted that being given mouth-to-mouth by someone with fangs was a very pleasant experience. He inhaled deeply, not allowing the oxygen to be stored in his lungs, and pressed his lips to hers, breathing oxygen into her lungs.

Only one thought was coursing through Tsumi’s mind at the time. That thought being, “Please don’t wake up…”