Playing Waterbending (Avatar: Last Aibender SI)

Zhao's wife, Maya, stared at her unconscious husband, who had landed in front of her.

Just a few moments ago, a monster—no, a man worse than a monster—had invaded her home. He had done unspeakable things to her and disrespected her in front of her family, calling her an ugly pig and worse.

People in her situation would usually feel afraid. But now that the monster was gone, she felt something else. Hatred. Humiliation. And, somehow, she liked the verbal abuse. No one had ever dared to speak to her like that—not even her husband. He even slapped her...

But soon, she remembered that she was an honorable woman from the Fire Nation, and such words about her couldn't be allowed to spread. She needed to maintain her self-respect. What would people think if they found out that an enemy beat up everyone and then left because he thought she was so ugly? That would be the worst thing to happen in her life.

'You fucking bastard. I'll bring slavery back starting with you…' She gritted her teeth and grabbed her dress. Slowly, she ripped it part by part, being careful not to use firebending. She poured water on herself and hit her face a few times with her fist.

She looked down at her unconscious husband, whose eyes began to twitch. With a cold expression, she knelt down beside him and shook him violently.

Tears streamed down her face and dripped onto his.

"Zhao... Zhao... Wake up… Your wife has been harassed." She cried out.

Zhao opened his eyes, staring at her in confusion. Why was she acting like this? Soon, memories flooded into his mind. He quickly sat up and ran to the window, only to see his base in chaos. The metallic walls were bent and scattered. The soldiers were unconscious.

As he turned his head, he saw his wife crying, blue spots on her delicate skin, staring at the ceiling. Then he noticed something else—her clothes were torn.

His wife continued, "I've been touched by that barbarian waterbender." She reached for her hairpin, grabbed it, and yelled, "I'm going to kill myself!"

She raised the pin.

Zhao's mind was in chaos. His children's mother was about to kill herself, and he didn't even have time to process it.

He quickly reached out and pulled her delicate waist into his arms.

"Maya… Calm down… calm down. It's not your fault," he urged.

She put her head on his chest and cried harder.

"But I can't live anymore," she sobbed.

Zhao felt rage swelling within him.

To assault his base was one thing. To assault his wife was another.

That waterbender… Ryuk. He knew his name very well. Not only had he spat on the Nation's honor, he had spat on his own as well.

"What did he do to you?" Zhao asked, his voice tight with anger.

"I can't say!" she replied. "He beat me up, pissed on me, touched my private parts, and then left."

Zhao's blood pressure skyrocketed, but he kept his composure.

He wanted to rip Ryuk apart. No, he wanted to chop off his manhood, cage him, and torture him every day.

But at the same time, he knew that he couldn't do a thing to the man who had defeated his entire base and left them all alive, because they weren't worthy of being killed.

"Maya, I swear. That waterbender will drag his own people down with him. And when that happens, I'll ruin all of their lives. He'll get a special punishment," Zhao promised.

"What do you mean?" Maya asked, holding back a smirk. She was eager for her revenge, and it seemed like she would get it sooner than expected. After all, Zhao wasn't one to speak nonsense.

"I mean that the world will no longer have waterbenders," Zhao said, his eyebrows furrowing.

Maya hugged him, a smirk forming behind his back.

'Let's see how that waterbender deals with this... that fucking bastard,' she thought.

-x-X-x-

The man who was feeling guilty had no idea what was going on in the outside world. He had spent a few days in the clouds, flying north at a leisurely pace.

After several days, Ryuk had recovered from his actions, and he could look at his reflection in the water again.

'Did my plan work...?' Ryuk thought. 'I hope she doesn't frame me too much… I'll have to go to the North Pole and wait for Zhao to arrive. Man, I wonder how long it's been since I've had a break. Also, I haven't eaten dried fish in ages. Never thought I'd miss them.'

Ryuk was currently in the northern part of the Earth Kingdom.

He stood on the open beach, surrounded by the trio.

Ryuk was working at a table, spreading dough with ease. Next to him were some red sauce, herbs, and olives. Behind him was an oven that Toph had built with her earthbending.

Ryuk spread the dough effortlessly with a touch of his hand.

"Since when were you this good at cooking?" Toph, who was lying on the ground, asked. She had seen many skilled cooks in her life, many of whom worked for her family, but she had never seen a man spread dough so effortlessly. "I'm still surprised by you."

"He never made anything but dried fish in his entire life. I wonder too," Katara, sitting next to Toph, added.

"I guess I'm just a natural," Ryuk laughed.

"Well, hurry up. I'm starving," Sokka said.

"Just a few minutes, brother-in-law," Ryuk replied, spreading sauce on the dough and placing it in the oven. He controlled some water nearby, turning it into hot steam and using it to surround the oven.

After a few minutes, Ryuk had something he had been dying to eat ever since arriving in this world... ever since he'd regained his memories. Luckily, he had the cooking skill. He'd also gotten the yeast from some alcohol makers on the road.

He pulled a large pizza out of the oven, placing it on the table and slicing it.

The trio gathered around and stared at it.

"What's this?" Katara asked.

"I've never seen this before. I know, I used to be blind," Toph commented. "Is it even for humans?"

"Hard to argue with that," Sokka nodded. "Look at that. It's round, and it's red."

"Yeah, guys. It's not for humans," Ryuk replied, grabbing a slice and eating it. If they didn't want one, that was just another win for him. He closed his eyes. "Mmm… fuck yeah… No one touches this. It's not for humans…"

Toph grabbed a slice and took a bite. Her eyes widened. "Yeah, definitely not for human consumption." Then she continued eating faster.

By now, it was clear that both Ryuk and Toph had traded their humanity.

Sokka and Katara joined in.

"Ryuk, you bastard. How could you keep something this good to yourself? What is it called?" Sokka asked.

"I call it pizza," Ryuk replied. "Wait until you try it with cheese."

"Cheese?" Sokka tilted his head curiously.

"It's made from milk. Takes time, but I'll make some another day," Ryuk replied.

-x-X-x-

To the west, in the Fire Nation, the news of the defeat at the largest naval base had shocked the entire country. Not because they were ambushed.

No.

It was because everyone had been beaten and left alive by a single man, who had two girls with him.

Not only that, but he entered the home of the Commander and harassed his wife, slapping her and ripping her clothes off.

Rumors spread among the soldiers that Commander Zhao's son had called Ryuk "daddy" when he saw his portrait.

For the Fire Nation, honor was everything.

Yet Ryuk didn't just disrespect it. He desecrated it. And now the soldiers and the family were left to deal with the aftermath.

The Fire Lord was in his chamber with his closest advisors. His daughter was one of them, and they were all hearing the report.

Ryuk had defeated hundreds of men using a new form of bending he called bloodbending, where he could control the bodies of soldiers and knock them out instantly just by walking past them.

He could also fly.

"That fucking coward couldn't wait for the rest of the soldiers to wake up," the Fire Lord cursed, losing his temper. His eyes were bloodshot, and the candles near his throne flared into pillars of fire.

Azula glanced at him, as if he were insane. But he was her father, so she had to support him. At least that way, she could remain the favorite child.

"Agreed. He could handle hundreds through ambush, yet ran away," Azula said mockingly. "If he was the man he claims to be, he wouldn't have escaped. My bet is he couldn't kill the soldiers because his power was lacking. Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived."

"Yes, the princess has a point," one of the advisors said. "If Ryuk had the ability to kill them, he would have. But he bluffed and left, afraid that our soldiers would realize he was weaker. His bloodbending isn't permanent or without a cost."

After the defeat, word spread about Ryuk's power—controlling bodies like puppets. They debated whether to call it bloodbending or puppetbending, but the name didn't matter as much as the fact that it was now in the hands of their enemies.

And what was worse, he wasn't the only waterbender in the world. If he went to the North Pole, he could train an entire unit.

Of course, they didn't know that most waterbenders needed the full moon to master bloodbending, and it would take years unless they had exceptional talent.

"We have bloodbending now. As if dustbending and metalbending weren't enough," the Fire Lord stood up, his blood pressure rising.

Not only was he losing the war...

He was being humiliated. His forces were.

And the worst part? It was happening during his era.

The Fire Lord wouldn't have minded losing in an epic battle against the Avatar.

But losing to someone who made a commander's son call him "daddy" and sparred an entire base of his nation like they were weaklings not worth killing?

He would become the laughingstock of the world.

"First of all, demote Commander Zhao to a captain. Make him take the blame. And let him only command one ship." the Fire Lord said. "Say our men were drunk because of an irresponsible leader, and he'll be punished for it."

"As for Ryuk, according to his pattern of spreading new bending forms, he'll definitely head to the North Pole. Send the Bright Shadow unit there to assassinate him."

"But my lord, those men were trained to fight dustbenders…" one advisor protested.

"Do as I say," the Fire Lord ordered. "Azula, you will lead them."

The Fire Lord accepted no objections.