The gang was now flying on Appa for at least an hour. It was hard to tell the time because of summer nearing and the longer days.
“Where are you guys going while we’re in Nanjing?” asked Noku.
Sokka was napping, but since he was ‘the plan guy’, it was his job to say these things; so he immediately woke up and yawned loudly.
”First, we’re going to drop off the Earth King with my dad, he’ll know where to put him. We’ll also warn them about the fall of Ba Sing Se, so they’ll evacuate,” explained Sokka.
“That deals with the King, but what about the rest of you?” asked Noku.
“We’re going to go back to the Guru, he might tell us what to do next,” answered Aang from Appa’s head.
“We’re pretty close to Nanjing, I can see it from here,” said Katara, pointing at the small village.
“I’m guessing we’re about 3 kilometers away, land here,” ordered Noku.
Aang nodded and took Appa down. They landed and Toph and Noku got off of Appa.
“Good luck!” said Katara, waving to them.
“Good-bye lovebirds!” yelled Noku at the gang as they were in the air.
Noku and Toph were walking for a while and were now about 1-half a kilometer from Nanjing.
“Wait here, I’ll go buy some clothes for you,” said Noku, waiting for her reply.
“Don’t worry about me Fire-head,” replied Toph.
Noku nodded and walked the rest of the way. When he entered the village, he noticed something unusual.
‘Great, we came during a festival,’ thought Noku, looking around at everyone wearing masks.
He didn’t bother to notice the rest of the village, as he bought a mask and a Fire Nation dress for Toph. It was maroon and red near the neck area and it seemed to sparkle a tiny bit.
“Your date will enjoy that!” pointed out the salesman.
Noku walked back from the entrance of Nanjing to where Toph was at.
“About time, what took so long?” asked Toph, taking the dress.
“We came during a festival so it was packed. It’ll be easier for us to blend in though,” replied Noku.
Noku waited for Toph to be done changing (from her earth tent). The walls came down to reveal a Fire Nation Toph.
“How do I look?” asked Toph.
Noku turned around and his jaw dropped. Toph let down her hair, letting it wave in the wind, and looked beautiful in the dress. Noku couldn’t help thinking that he was looking at an angel.
“Wow, perfect I’ll say,” replied Noku, blushing.
“Thanks, let’s go,” said Toph.
They walked toward Nanjing while the sun was about to set. Noku noticed how graceful Toph walked in her dress.
“You took classes?” asked Noku.
“What? Oh, no. My parents were really rich and taught me the ways to be fancy. But I hated it, so I gave up the rich life for the one I have now,” replied Toph.
“Well, you’re good at it.”
“Thanks.”
They were now at the entrance of Nanjing. Noku put on his mask (which looked like a dragon with a flat face) and entered the village.
The festival was starting! Performers were everywhere in the streets, stands selling everything, even comedians were doing public stand-up!
“Some party, lots of people here,” said Toph.
‘Yeah, good spot and time for some quality time’ thought Noku.
They just entered the festival and already was Noku impressed of his nation’s style of party.
“At least that’s one thing the Fire Nation is good at, making parties,” joked Noku.
“You said it,” replied Toph.
“Do you mind?” asked Noku.
“Huh?”
She couldn’t see, but she felt an arm handed out to her like a gentleman.
“Oh, no I don’t mind,” said Toph, blushing while she grabbed Noku’s arm and continued walking.
Noku felt a little embarrassed for him to be walking with Toph like this, but he didn’t know anyone, so he just sucked it in.
“Geez, people love to stare at others,” whispered Noku, noticing others looking at them.
“No, it’s because they notice I’m blind. That’s one of the only things I don’t like about being blind, you get all the attention,” said Toph, looking down.
“It’s alright, come on, I want to show you a place you might like…” said Noku, leading her to a big building.
They walked toward a huge dome-like building. Toph could feel and hear a lot of people cheering from the inside.
“What’s in here?” asked Toph.
“A surprise, I think you’ll love this place,” replied Noku.
They entered the building. It seemed a bit rocky and cave-ish. But when they entered the main room, they saw everyone cheering and watching a fight going on and the rocks flying.
“It’s a Fire Nation Earthbending tournament!” exclaimed Toph, excited.
“Yep, Nanjing is known for Earthbender loyalists, so I thought I’d like to bring you here. You can compete also. They’ll every now and then in the matches call for a fan to fight the champion. I thought you would like to fight,” said Noku.
“Oh, I will fight, even in this dress. Thanks Noku!” said Toph.
She reached over and kissed him where his head was, where by coincidence it was his cheek.
“No problem, I mean, you’re welcome,” said Noku, blushing.
They found the nearest available seats and sat down. Noku was actually a little bored. He was anxious to see Toph in real combat. Toph was enjoying feeling the fighters’ movements. One of the fighters finally fell out of the ring and everyone cheered.
“WE HAVE OUR NEW CHAMPION, SNAKE!!” yelled the announcer, as he raised the wrestlers arm as the victor.
“SNAKE! SNAKE! SNAKE!” yelled the audience.
Noku noticed that Toph was no longer sitting next to him. He knew where she was at.
“Now, for 500 gold pieces, who dares to challenge our new champion, Snake!” yelled the announcer.
“I’ll take him on any day!” yelled Toph, as she walked onto the ring.
The crowd broke into whispers, asking if she was too young, blind, or why she’s going to fight in a dress. Noku just smiled as he knew the crowd would get a big surprise.
“Your call, little girl!” said the announcer.
He got off the ring to let Toph and Snake do their little taunts.
“Let the battle begin, NOW!!”