LFTS Chapter 26

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for continuing to read!
This chapter is the beginning of true canon divergence, we will be, instead of quite close to the Gaang, will be on a separate adventure through the desert with kakashi and sakura! Time for some fun shenanigans and maybe some development between the two of them? *waggles brows*
Enjoy!

Kakashi

Their time in Omashu had been a complete an utter mess from start to finish. Going from one dangerous situation to another, Kakashi spent his entire time in the city hoping he wouldn't be caught, the streets were crawling with fire nation; there was bound to be someone old enough they would recognize him. He hadn't caught the name of the governor placed in charge yet, but he was sure it would be someone who knew him, or at least knew of his standings in the 'bingo' book. The only time he could shift his thoughts off of his possible arrest were when Sakura and her needs came first.

Their group had quickly found the resistance in the city, in less than six hours to be exact. It seemed their King had surrendered the city, and while many of the citizens were upset, he could see why such a rash decision had been made. A battle, while perhaps the 'right' thing to do to some of the people, would have led to many casualties and a worse outcome in terms of lives lost.

When it came to 'poxing' the earthbender population to flee the city, he had Sakura help him. Their group tended to spend all their time together, and while this was probably the safest way to go about their journey soon he wanted to find even a moment of time when they could talk alone together. Particularly about what had happened in the cave on their way to Omashu. He couldn't get the thought of how soft her lips had felt against his own out of his mind. The very fact that she hadn't rejected him immediately had yet to lose its novelty as well. What he really wanted to know was if she felt the same.

Perhaps once we have helped the citizens leave, we can talk. Surely the appropriate time will present itself. Surely.

Plans never seemed to work out quite as they were intended with their party, and while the rest of the earthbenders and Omashan citizens left the city in their disease-ridden exodus, he, Sakura and Aang had turned back into the city; Aang for Bumi, he and Sakura for a possible lead on her thought-to-be-dead parents.

In the back of his mind, he was ecstatic to finally be alone with the woman, hell they were alone together for hours. Unfortunately that time had been filled with acute paranoia as they attempted to keep hidden from the Fire Nation guards stationed around the city, followed by awkward comforting when she broke down in her neighbor's basement, supply gathering, and an even more treacherous escape of the city. His tailbone was still sore from the impact sliding down the wall, regardless of how 'smooth' Sakura had made the landing.

Kakashi had hoped that once they reached the camp and rejoined the rest of the group that he might possibly be able to steal a moment of her time, but of course, a literal child was dropped in their laps. That night had reminded him of the Fire Nation academy, and how much he had enjoyed teaching the kids. While he would never be able to/want to go back, the few good apples he left behind would always occupy a part of his heart. At some point during the night he took over playing with the child, keeping him entertained while the rest of the group half-discussed what they were to do with it.

The resistance's leader joined their little campfire and told them not to be entranced by the child's cuteness, after all he would grow up to be a 'big-bad scary Fire Nation soldier'. In some scenarios the man may have been right, but by the time the child grew up, Kakashi hoped the war would be long over. He repeatedly felt Sakura's eyes on him and the infant, but he wasn't sure if it was out of nervousness or amusement at his openly caring actions.

They received a message not five minutes later containing a missive from the governor. Apparently the child was his, and that he was willing to make a trade: the baby for King Bumi. Kakashi was among the group that agreed that it was an easy trade, but the tiniest miniscule part of him didn't want to return the child. It was wrong, incredibly wrong; though something being wrong didn't necessarily change what he felt.

When they approached the trade site, Kakashi knew things were going to go south the moment that girl walked out. Azula. She couldn't have been through her second year in the academy by the time he left, yet he'd know those malice-filled eyes anywhere, not to mention her raw talent in firebending. She was on an entirely different level than her peers, and the princess flaunted it.

Kakashi had thought about volunteering to return the child before they left the refugee camp, but realized in the process of doing so his exposure would almost be a guarantee, even with his mask. His appearance wasn't exactly subtle or easy to hide. So the chore fell to Sakura, but he refused to let her go alone; the idea of something happening to her because of his absence outweighed any other arguments he had on the subject.

When Azula interrupted the trade proceedings he knew she meant to fight. The odds shifted to decidedly not in their favor and while he debated making a grab for Sakura to flee immediately, damn the consequences... in the end he decided against the action and waited to see how things would play out.

...

The fight concluded in an unexpected display of earthbending from King Bumi, leaving an irate Azula on one side of a wall, and their group on the other.

Kakashi removed his and Sakura's packs from Appa while Aang and Bumi discussed the king's actions when dealing the Fire Nation's assault on the city, speaking of his motivation and reasoning. The boy didn't want to hear his rational argument, but accepted the words and left devastated at the loss of a potential earthbending teacher. He was even more disappointed when Sakura announced they wouldn't be joining them for the next part of their journey. A dark cloud had practically formed over the young airbender's head, and while he accepted the loss of party members with a minimal response, Kakashi could hear the heartbreak in his half-hearted 'yip yip' to motivate Appa.

...

After the kids had left, he and Sakura were left with King Bumi and the baby.

"Well. What business do you have remaining in Omashu, Sakura?" Bumi asked them, still upright in his metal coffin.

"We need to have a little chat, Bumi," she began, her tone straightforward, "I know you probably don't remember them, but I need to find out what happened to my parents. Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno."

Kakashi wasn't sure what he had been expecting from the man, a laugh, a snort, a riddle? Whatever it was, he hadn't been expecting a serious response.

"Yes... I do think a bit of conversation is in order. But first, it seems you still have a little something that doesn't belong to you." He gestured to Sakura, and Kakashi was reminded that they still had to return the infant somehow, "Follow me. The governor has taken up residence in the palace and I know just where they would keep him."

...

Their path to the palace didn't seem to be a difficult one, from the point of view of Sakura and Bumi, though if you asked Kakashi, it was ridiculous and filled with twists, turns and leaps that he almost wasn't able to follow. Their final step brought them to a chute high point about fifty feet away from the child's bedroom window. Sakura bent him a thin earthen platform to reach the window and handed him the infant. The hint of a desire to keep the child hit him again, but at this point he had already reached the window and the baby squirmed to leave his arms. In the few seconds he delayed his escape, he was sure the governor's wife saw him, but she didn't make a scene, instead hugging her child to her chest in relief.

Kakashi jumped away from the palace window, rejoining Sakura and Bumi on the chutes. As none of them were freely allowed in the city, they debated a good location to hide out and make plans. The old king didn't have a preference as long as he was released from the coffin, Kakashi was not familiar enough with the city to have an opinion, so the decision was left to Sakura. She suggested her family's house, or at least the Yamanaka's.

...

As it turned out, a new family had moved in to Sakura's old home, and while she wanted to enter the home and let the nostalgia hit her, she knew the Yamanaka's would be easier to stay the night in, at the very least less intrusive

Kakashi found a pair of sharp plant cutters in the greenhouse and got to work breaking Bumi out of the coffin. They were really just beefed up scissors and he made very little headway. To ease the process, Kakashi had had to heat up the metal coffin just enough to 'cut' it without alerting the other two to his abilities. This was a little harder to hide from the king due to their proximity, but he hoped the man wouldn't press the issue.

Once everyone had been settled and a fire had been built in the Yamanaka's main room, they settled in for a small meal of rice and roasted vegetables from the garden they had skimmed over the previous day.

Sakura quickly scarfed her bowl next to him and set it down in front of her.

"All right, Bumi. Let's get to it."

"As you wish, Sakura, what do you want to know?"

"Everything."

He huffed in amusement, "I'm sure you'll have to be a little more specific, deary."

Kakashi let the two talk, having little to contribute himself. As they spoke he started making connections, however, and his food began to weigh like lead in his stomach.

"Why did you send them out to the desert?"

"The palace had heard rumor of a cross-desert caravan incoming the city soon, and that a Fire Nation spy would be hiding among the passengers. Your parents were some of my most talented operatives, able to hide amongst anyone and their track record was flawless. Why wouldn't I send them on such an easy mission?"

Ten years ago... a desert caravan.

"If the mission was so easy, why did they never return?" Sakura asked, hurt lacing her words.

"Even our recovery team never found out. There was some talk of the Fire Nation developing poisoned weapons at the time, but we didn't think to have a poisons expert accompany them, it would have been too many in the party and might have blown their cover."

Poisoned weapons...

"Did your 'team' ever even find them?" She pulled her mother's journal from her pack, "A traveler passing through gave this to Yamanaka's who lived here... he said he had found it on a skeleton in the desert."

The king was silent for a few minutes, and Kakashi could tell this was hard for the older man as well. Thoughts and memories swirled as he tried to make a connection between the desert caravan, poisoned weapons and an incident ten years ago.

Ten years.

Just before he left the Fire Nation.

He remembered that mission, if only vaguely. It had originally been slotted for his particular skill set, but he had already begun declining missions in preparation for his escape of the Fire Nation.

If he had accepted...

He could have been personally responsible for the death of Sakura's parents...

A hand waved in front of his face, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Oi, Kakashi. Kakashi! You in there?" Sakura asked, her hand still close to his face.

"Huh, oh sorry. I must have zoned out. What were we talking about?" He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture.

"I was asking you if you minded going out and looking for clues to my missing father. Bumi agrees that he had been a smart man, and if the traveler never found any remains for him, he might still be out there."

"They were extremely intelligent people, your parents... and I miss them terribly. It's not often that you come across a couple such as them."

Sakura smiled at the old king and Kakashi nodded, "Sure, where were you thinking about searching?"

She turned back to him and pulled out her mother's journal as well as her own, flipping them open to specific sets of pages.

"I know it seems like a long shot, but here in a small portion of her journal she had a list of places they wanted to visit after they returned to Omashu. Perhaps we should check them, just in case he passed through any of them? They're sort of spread out through the Earth Kingdom, and some are in the desert."

Kakashi scooted closer to her side as she went through their destinations.

"First, she seemed to have circled a forested area south of the Si Wong desert, I didn't pass through there on my way to Kyoshi, but I've read about a small group of waterbenders residing in that area. Bumi, do you know anything about it?"

The king sat opposite of them, picking some sort of food bit from his teeth, "Sounds like the people who eat giant insects and keep horned crocodiles for pets. Quite the delicacy, the insects, I've thought about importing them, but they don't have the most stable of shelf-life, the whole messy live-import business." He trailed off.

"All right! So at least someone lives there. We'll check it out." Sakura continued to the next point on her map, "It looks like the next few entries are festivals, there's Avatar Day, Earth Rumble Showdown, Misty Palms Oasis Annual Pai Sho Championship, a… circus? And then a final destination of Ba-Sing-Se."

"Sounds like they had quite the trip planned!" Kakashi said, astounded at the amount of planning that had gone into the journal's entry.

"The Harunos were quite the over-achievers, and they rarely left Omashu, if they were actually planning a trip, it would have been just as over the top as they could get it. Though if you're going to hit up all of those festivals, you'd best leave Omashu soon, they usually start this time of year."

"Thank you, Bumi." Sakura responded, writing down their list of destinations in her book before closing both of them. Kakashi was just able to make them out over her shoulder,
Itinerary:
Swamp people
Avatar Day- close to Kyoshi!
Earth Rumble
Oasis
Library
Circus

She had circled 'library' several times and Kakashi made a mental note to ask her about it later. Sakura stashed the books in her pack and turned back to the fire and her companions.

"Now that it's settled what we'll be doing, let's get down to our plans of action. Bumi," she looked to him, "I assume you won't be coming with us, there is a lot to do here in Omashu."

He nodded, "Yes, you are correct. Now is not the time to strike, but I will lie in wait until the time is right."

"I would love to stay..." She started, but Bumi stopped her, "No, Sakura. You have answers waiting for you..." the old king's eyes met Kakashi's briefly before he spoke again, "That and the city isn't exactly safe for the two of you. Leave her care in my hands, I assure you, I am more than capable."

"That's fine, but what we really need is a plan to leave the city." Kakashi cut in, "How do you suppose we should get past the guards and leave? The refugees are long gone, as are the kids. It's not as if we can just walk out."

Bumi snorted with laughter, "Perhaps not, young man, but I have an idea!"

Kakashi did not like this idea. Not one bit.

They were to leave first thing in the morning, when the guards were up for their shift change and there was a lack of coverage atop the ramparts. Bumi's idea had been to reroute one of the mail chutes with their earthbending to rocket them over the wall and out of the city. Yeah, he definitely didn't like the sound of that.
How are we supposed to land?

Kakashi stretched and popped his back into alignment, its clicks almost sickening. Bumi walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You dropped this last night, glad I found it!" Kakashi held out a hand and the old man pressed a small circular object into it. The white lotus tile. He had forgotten the precious talisman had been stowed in his pocket.

"Thank you! I wouldn't have been able to play without it!"

"Surprising, not many still follow the old rules and ways of the lotus."

Kakashi smiled, "Those who do always seem to find a friend."

Sakura was still packing up her items across the room, flitting down to the basement periodically to switch some thing or another out. The hand on his shoulder tightened.

"Protect her, Kakashi, for I have failed to do so."

"Says the man who wishes to launch us in a cart over the walls of Omashu."

"Won't it be fun!?" The man snorted as he walked away.

Kakashi attempted to convince himself that this was all just a wild ride, and it worked... for about three seconds. The very moment they fell past the first turn, the wind hit him full force, and they were off. He held his mask tightly against the bridge of his nose and gripped the edge of the cart with the other.

"THIS WAS A HORRIBLE IDEAAAAAAA!" Kakashi yelled back to Sakura.
"WHAT!?"
"AAAAAGHHHHHH!"

They slowed as the slid up the final hill to their escape route, just one more drop and the following upslide... then they would be free from Omashu. Their slightly slowed pace didn't last long, and as they reached the pinnacle of the hill, their cart left the rails for a moment before slamming back down and whooshing off again.

As quick as it all began, their ride on the Omashu mail chutes came to an end. The cart was launched over the wall, and Kakashi watched as a guard stood awestruck, jaw on the ground at their bold actions.

The falling wasn't so bad.
The landing, however, was a different story. Their cart crashed into the ground and they were each thrown from it, luggage and all. I'm too old for this shit. Kakashi winced, he had landed on his tailbone, once again.

Sakura was already standing, dusting herself off a few feet away. She offered him a hand up and he gladly accepted.

"That wasn't so bad!" She smiled as she gathered her packs.

"Uhhhh... speak for yourself," He responded as he rubbed the offended bone and began to collect his own things.

"Did you hurt something? Let me see." Sakura approached him kindly.

"Aa-never mind. Never mind. It's nothing, nothing nothing..." He waved his hands and slung his bag up on his back.

"Okay then..." She finished collecting her own items, "You ready to hit the road?"

And with a final look back at the city, he was.

"Where are we off to first?"

"The swamp people!"