75 Crossroads

"... So, that's why I came here…" Said a sheepish Yue

Massaging his forehead with an exhausted expression, Madara stared at the runaway princess;

"Let me see if I've got this right… You have been having nightmares ever since the siege ended, and because you felt like a helpless damsel in distress during the whole ordeal, you started seeking methods to actually do something about it…"

Yue nodded.

"Then… you decided to talk to your father, the Chief, one of the most bullheaded traditionalists of your whole nation, Pakku aside… but we don't talk about him, about actually breaking a 'sacred tradition', and he not only refused but also got incredibly irritated, because of course he did…"

Yue nodded again.

"Finally … you had the ingenious idea of dipping, because of course you did, and came all the way here to train under Kaliya considering that you now view her like a new role model ever since she defended your homeland." Madara concluded by taking a breather, while watching Yue nodding again and again like a Pig Rooster.

"What did your father say about it?... Please tell me your father is aware of … This!" Demanded an exasperated Madara while looking straight into the Northern Princess' eyes. One could see bags forming under his eyes already.

"… Well… funny story… let's just say that he didn't say 'No' to my idea" she said giving him a forced beaming smile.

"MOTHER FU-"Madara was about to shout, but was instantly slapped on the back of the head by his mother figure, Nari, who carried a sharpened gaze towards her beloved 'adopted son'.

"Don't use such crass words in front of a Princess, Mr. Uchiha."

Waving her small hands in a panicky state, Yue tried to mediate "Please Miss Wulong, don't do that, Madara is the only one I know that would accept me in my circumstances, I am already bringing too much trouble just by being here, I don't want him being forced to behave differently, this is his home after all…"

Staring at the Princess, Nari's gaze softened "You wouldn't be saying that if you had heard how this man has been behaving since he was a kid, Princess, some of our employees have known him since he was nine and let me tell you one thing… This man's words used to make sailors blush by that age already! But now he is the face of this town… he can't be seen behaving like the crass hooligan that he used to…"

Madara kept staring at Nari with a twitching eye "What am I supposed to say? Monkey Feathers?!"

Nari simply stared back at him "Anything is better than your wide-range of F word usages, Mr. Uchiha…"

..

Madara kept staring at Nari for an awkward amount of time before simply turning away to walk back towards his home… the home where he could curse as much as he wanted… but one could hear him mumbling to himself 

"Damn royalty…. Monkey feathers!.."

Although the day didn't start that well for the first and only Uchiha in the world, as the day progressed and transitioned to a second and third day, Madara couldn't help but take a note from Iroh's book and that led to the current situation;

"Ah… Jasmine tea, what a wonderful addition to such a beautiful day" Said a satisfied Madara, sitting on a reclining chair, drinking a wonderful blend of tea with some extra cookies while watching first hand what was happening in the wide plaza in front of him;

"MOTHER FUC-" A squealy female voice could be heard

"Princess! Don't curse, you are Royalty, you need to keep decorum in any and all circumstances!" Said Madara, interrupting the target of his political headaches

Yue could only stare at Madara as if she was about to murder him, but not before the huge 'ice boulder' that she was using all her might and skill to keep floating above her increased in size and weight.

"Ye better stop losing focus, Princess" A happily evil Kaliya smirked to the side, sitting on an ice block while drinking sake in one hand and bending the water with the other. "Otherwise I will be forced to add an ice floor underneath ye feet to make sure ye keep paying attention"

"Grr…." Was all that the Princess could say

"Alright, ice floor it is!" Kaliya said cheerfully. 

"Ahhh…" Madara smacked his lips in satisfaction after enjoying a sip of his drink. "… it brings back good ol' memories…" 

Poor Yue could only double her efforts and focus, staring down at the floor to help her concentrate, while listening to the evil maniacal laughs of the evilest couple she had ever met!

…

On the other side of the Earth Kingdom, things were not as cheerful as they were at the Uchiha Resort… Yue's opinion about it being fully ignored, of course… as a small team of four children wearing different colored clothes that clearly displayed different origins, kept discussing things in front of an exhausted and sleepy flying bison.

"WHAT!?" Shouted another squealy, incredibly high-pitched girl's voice.

"You heard me!" Shouted back an annoyed and pissed off girl.

"You are blaming ME for this?!" Shouted a blind girl with long flowing black hair while wearing a beige and green tunic, standing on her bare feet as she faced a taller tanned girl wearing a blue tunic.

The older girl made a 'Come On' move with her hands after throwing her green sleeping bag to the side.

Before any catfight could take place, a bald boy with an arrow tattoo on his head and dark bags under his eyes jumped in between them

"No!... No! She is not blaming you!" He tried his best to give the blind girl a friendly smile

"No, I'm blaming her!" Said Katara, from behind Aang.

Toph, not willing to take any shit, grabbed Aang by his face and threw him to the side like he had no weight whatsoever and came face to face with her opponent, a pissed and tired Katara.

The situation escalated so much that the blind girl decided to leave, and now the original trio stood beside a shedding Appa while Aang shouted to the skies;

"WHAT DID I JUST DO?!... I can't believe I just yelled at my earthbending teacher!"

Sokka decided to keep to himself during the whole ordeal, he did try to stop Toph but it didn't work, it seemed that he did learn…. Slowly, but… He improved!

….

Walking for several hours in silence, Toph finally sensed something through her feet and made a fissure with her feet, aiming towards a big rock nearby.

"OW!" An old voice could be heard "That really hurt my tailbone…." 

Stepping closer, Toph noticed that her earth sense only captured this one person in the vicinity, so obviously it wasn't an ambush.

"Who are you?"

"Just an old man looking for the perfect tea leaves in the vicinity, have you seen a white flower with luscious green edges?"

Toph just deadpanned and pointed to her own eyes.

"Oh… I apologize, are you alone here?"

"… Yes, now I am…"

"Why don't you accompany this old man and have some good tea, then? There's no bad day that can't be improved with the right tea…"

Toph kept staring at the man, her sense could tell her the person she was talking to was a genuine good person, no lies detected. "Sure… Why not?"

As the duo of old and young reached a steadily built camp near the road around a mountain, not that far away from where they met, the old Iroh went straight to his teapot and started preparing it, all while humming a joyous song that he heard from the Resort the last time he was there, the old man liked music as well it seemed.

As they sat down by the campfire, Iroh handed Toph her cup after filling it "Here is your tea…. You seem a little too young to be traveling alone."

"You seem a little too old, " Toph replied after taking the teacup.

Iroh laughed joyfully "Perhaps I am."

"I know what you're thinking… I look like I can't handle being by myself."

"I wasn't thinking that." 

"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea!"

"I poured your tea because I wanted to, and for no other reason." Said Iroh while giving Toph a grandfatherly smile, sadly she couldn't see it.

"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself… by myself."

Iroh took a sip from his own teacup and then replied with a more serious tone "You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support… There is nothing wrong with letting the people who love you help you. Not that I love you…I just met you…" The old General added with an awkward tone.

Toph on the other hand simply laughed "So… Where is your nephew?"

The old General caressed his long grey beard while showing a thinking expression "He should've been back by now, he went out hunting for food-"

"Uncle, look what I got!" Said a mildly excited Zuko as he showed up with a couple of dead Raccoon Crows that were as big as his torso. "Oh? It seems we have company…"

Iroh simply smiled, but he was very happy deep inside, his nephew seemed to get over that trance that took over him for a while, and ever since that one night when he was suffering from a fever, the young banished Prince woke up the next day with energy and his eyes were finally filled with life again.

"Oh yes, this is a fellow traveler, we met while I was out looking for those tea leaves that I told you about…"

"The possibly poisonous ones?" 

"No, the possibly delicious ones!"

Zuko could only sigh, but their light banter made Toph laugh "It must be nice, to have a family that supports you…"

Zuko simply went to prepare the meat, starting with the whole defeathering process, while Iroh kept Toph company.

"You sound as if you are speaking from experience…" Iroh's voice carried a sad tone.

"Yeah…" The blind girl nodded "… My family doesn't support me, they never did and probably never will… and when I finally ran away to have my own life… me and my friends had some issues, and now here I am."

"Issues always arise when we start on a new path in life, things are never as simple as we expect them to be, but if we push through the barriers on our path… we always end up discovering new experiences that help us grow" Iroh said while sneakily looking towards Zuko "And through said growth… We discover who we truly are."

Toph lowered her head a little bit as if contemplating the old man's words "You know… my older brother said something similar to me… just less… wisely…"

Iroh laughed 

"He was the only one that supported me… but he was… kicked out…" Toph said with a saddened expression, but those words quickly attracted Zuko's attention.

"Is that so? Did he do something bad?" The old general asked while, again, stealing glances at his nephew who suddenly grew interested in the conversation

Toph shook her head "No, he did what he believed was right… it's just that… my father didn't see it that way and kicked him out…"

Zuko couldn't help but hold his chest at those words, many expressions shifting on his face. "And… What happened to him?" he asked with an almost pleading voice, introducing himself into the conversation.

Facing up, not that Toph could see the sky but she could feel the wind gently touching her face, she said "He is doing good from what I've heard, at the end of the day… He proved that he didn't need my father to be successful, he earned it all by himself with his own hands… it is what the old man over there said… life threw him a wall and he just blasted his way through it… and now he is living more than well and is happy…. I just wish I could meet him again…"

"I… I see…." Were the only words that an emotional Zuko could say.

"We will meet again!" Toph turned a bit excited "And when we meet… I plan on beating the shit out of him for leaving me behind all of these years!" She concluded by punching her empty palm in front of her chest

"I believe he would be happy to see you…" Said Zuko, offering her a smile.

"Thank you for the talk, and the tea was great" Said Toph as she stood up "Old man, you are lucky to have a good nephew to keep you in check. Don't go wandering around like that… not everyone is as kind hearted as I am…"

Iroh chuckled "Noted, I shall be escorted by my beloved nephew here the next time I decide to go tea leaf hunting…"

"Sorry for taking up your time, I shall go back to my friends now… I know they need me"

"It was a pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."

"Hopefully we can meet again some time" Concluded Toph before jumping away from their location and using her earthbending to speed through her journey back.

"What an interesting earthbender, isn't she Prince Zuko?"

"She reminds me of Teacher, they look similar… " Said Zuko, staring at the fading girl's long black hair "Do you think that her older brother also resembles Teacher?"

Iroh shrugged "Who knows… perhaps…" his smile got wider as he watched Zuko reaction to their newest acquaintance.

Zuko kept staring at the horizon with many things running through his thoughts.