Chapter 67

Song: Dimensions- Arcade Fire & Owen Pallett

“How will we explain this to Koko?” she whispered. “That the world hates the love her parents give her.”

Those words Rangi had whispered that night to Kyoshi, always remained with her. Vowing that she would make sure her daughter saw the kinder face of life than she did. Regardless if the world accepted their love or not.

Life had gone after Rangi’s retirement from the fire nation army. Kyoshi and her continued to bring Koko around the nations with them as Kyoshi tried to find a diplomatic balance. Kyoshi still dreaded the meetings, claiming them to be a waste of time. Even though Rangi liked to tease after they attended swarms of them, she did assure Kyoshi that her diplomatic tactics were improving.

“Slowly but surely” were her exact words.

Even though as a child Koko wanted nothing more than to travel the world with her mothers when a day came that Nora invited Koko to train with the Yokoya warriors. She wasn’t a part of the group officially, she was too young by their leader’s standard. But was now allowed to do drills and such after years of begging the woman. So she’d started staying on the island more often. But still spent some time out with her parents. She was always asking Rangi to spar.

“Why do you always ask her and not me to spar?” Kyoshi pouted one evening as she was once again a third wheel to the sparring match.

“I never know when you’re choosing to go easy on me,” Koko replied, whipping sweat from her forehead as she glanced across the yard to Rangi who had a smug smile directed at Kyoshi.

“I gave you a free round once, once Koko! And you’ve never let me forget that.” Kyoshi rebutted.

“You care about my feelings and I love that, I really do,” Koko started looking back at her. “But I know Mami will give me a fair match every time.”

“And one day I’ll win” Koko finished, stating back down Rangi.

“Today is not that love”  Rangi claimed as she took a couple steps forward initiating the start of another round of hand to hand. Kyoshi sat back watching the two of them.

People that they were close to often compared Koko’s demeter to Kyoshi’s, but she knew that Koko’s spirit was definitely an embodiment of mami’s.

Kyoshi continued to watch as her daughter tried her best, she really did. But spirits, was Rangi a talented fighter.

One the third time Rangi had pinned her, Koko rolled over in the dirt once she was released looking back to Kyoshi.

“Can you help me with my fan techniques now?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh you want my help now?”

Koko nodded eagerly as she sat up. “Please, I’m trying to convince Nora to try them at practice. But I want a couple more tricks to sell it”

“So this has nothing to do with you being 0-5?”

“Nope!” She cheered, starting up and rushing over to Kyoshi who with a smile took out her own fans.

But then one night years later when they were all 3 of them were all back on the island, Nora had asked Koko if she wanted to join the group officially. It was all Koko had been hoping for, but still she hesitated.

“If I join them properly I won’t be able to leave as frequently as before.” Koko said as she stood in the door frame of her parent’s room.

“You are free to do as you like Koko, we trust you’ll make whatever decision is best” Kyoshi offered as she busied herself rerolling a set of scrolls she was studying.

There was some conflict in the earth kingdom again concerning the Earth King, and as per her wife’s lovely suggestion she was studying up on their government system a bit before the trip over.

“I know, it’s just…” She trailed off looking down at her feet. “I want to stay here with them and train, and well be here but this feels so permanent and- “

“I think I’ll miss you guys” She admitted quietly.

Rangi and Kyoshi exchanged looks with each other. “We’ll miss you as well you know” Rangi spoke up. “But you want to do this, yes?”

Her daughter nodded.

“Then there are some things we must do a little bit scared right?”

Koko nodded once more, before Rangi pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.

“You will always make us proud Koko” Kyoshi chimed in, “Committing to protecting our village is a big deal, and one that didn’t go without hard work. I know Nora is choosy with who she lets in”

“You say that, like you didn’t make the whole island.” Her daughter replied with a small laugh.

“You remember that day? You were so small” Rangi asked, as they separated.

Koko thought for a minute, whipping a tear that she didn’t let fall. She really was quite young, and really only ever heard the stories of her mother’s feat, but some things did stand out to her.

“I remember the ground shaking a bunch, it felt like we were being carried” She recalled. “And then there were more beaches for us to walk along.”

Kyoshi smiled at the memories, despite Koko nearing the end of her teenage years now she could still remember all the time they spent together on the beaches when she was small.

She remembers bending the water in all sorts of forms to try and impress the child, using her abilities to send rocks skipping longer than was naturally possible.

“Were you scared that day Mama?” Koko asked.

The day she dealt with the infamous Chin conqueror. Was I scared?

“For my well being no” Kyoshi started, already zeroing in on the glance her wife gave her at the remark. “I was scared that if I did fail then that burden would fall to Rangi, I remember telling her that if I couldn’t do it. If I was overwhelmed and lost to take you, and all the villages and leave” Kyoshi went on.

“So yes, I was terrified”

“How’d you do it then?” Koko was now sitting right in front of Kyoshi, looking her straight in the eyes, like she did when she was a child, and Kyoshi had paused in the middle of a story.

“Despite being scared I knew I had something good.” She smiled, “And the chance of getting to keep that was enough”

She hummed. “Can I sleep in here tonight?” Koko asked. Kyoshi just nodded, pulling back the comforter so she could slip in beside her.

“Just make sure that if you are to kick in the night that you aim in her direction” Rangi commented, taking down her topknot for the night.

“I do not kick in my sleep.” Koko stated defensively, they had had this argument many times, and probably would many more.

“When you were little, you would kick so hard sometimes I had small little bruises”

Koko huffed. “And how do you know it isn’t mama’s doing?”

“She sleeps like the dead most of the time” Rangi replied, finally joining them in the bed. A comfortable silence settled between them, until Koko propped herself up on her elbows.

“I’m going to tell Nora yes tomorrow”

Kyoshi and Rangi both smiled. “An excellent choice, plus I love another reason to visit her more often, and what more perfect of a reason?”

As a family they had never discussed it much, but Koko never showed any signs of having bending abilities. All while that was the primary reason both her mom’s to some degree were known for it never mattered.

Rangi had started training Koko in self defense from a young age, and more technical hand to hand when she was older. Kyoshi offered additional instruction with the fans, even though Koko couldn’t use them to push the elements there was still a usefulness to the skill in both defense and offense.

Later Koko and the rest of the non-benders in the group started using fans for both offensive and defensive measures. Some things people did not grow out of. Koko had loved her mother’s fans since she was a child, and that had carried with her as she grew and learned proper techniques. The art of it all was simply beautiful.

They had a beautiful life.

…

Years later a governor was visiting their island, and Kyoshi and Rangi had come home to greet him as well. Koko watched as her mothers acted like they normally did, people often talking to the Avatar, not paying much mind to her body guard. People chatted, ate, and mingled around the area all while Rangi remained by Kyoshi’s side. Koko had never seen them somewhere in the pubic eye any other way.

But that’s when a conversation caught Koko’s attention as she conversed with other warriors.

“Do you think you’ll ever settle down, even the Avatar deserves a little pleasure. I’m sure you could find a man who could live up to the challenge.” The governor spoke in a jolly tone.

“I doubt that,” The Avatar replied. Koko tried her best to make it seem like she wasn’t listening, but spirits she wanted to hear more.

“You’ve adopted a child though yes, hasn’t that been hard for them to grow up without a father?”

“I’m surrounded with lovely people who have helped me, but I have yet to find any man that meets my expectations” She went on.

“And plus, who really has the time? Like I said, I have excellent company for the time being.” She said lazily, before redirecting the conversation.

Koko remembered when her parents had told her that their relationship wasn’t for everyone, but that one day it would change. They had always acted so casual about it, like it didn’t even bother them, like they had dealt with it for so long it didn’t come across as upsetting.

She knew that when she was younger she was claimed as the Avatar’s child, a lot of time had passed though and she didn’t travel with them as much. Besides all of the Yokoya warriors and everyone on the island knew. That fact slipped her mind for so long now.

Maybe it was because she hadn’t seen them in the public eye in many years, but she figured things were different now or at least a little better. Clearly she was wrong.

After the event she sat on the floor cross legged in front of the fire while polishing her metal fans, spending special attention her the little engraving her name in on the base from when Kyoshi had given them to her.

“Why did you never tell me you guys still had to hide?” She asked as heard a familiar pair of footsteps enter the home.

“Whatever do you mean?” Rangi asked, circling around to the front.

“Does it not kill you?” Koko ignored the question, her voice sounded strained.

With that Kyoshi was quick by her daughter’s side.

“Did someone say something to you?” Kyoshi asked, thinking of only the worst, “the world hates the love her parents give her.”

She would never stand for someone making their child feel unloved in this cruel world.

“They didn’t say anything to me, it’s what you said.” Koko said, turning to face Kyoshi who was momentarily stunned.

“That man asked if you were ever going to settle down with a man, and you-you brushed it off, you said nothing of mami” there was hurt in her tone .

“Aren’t you mad?” Koko asked, looking at Rangi now clearly looking for an answer.

“No, I’m not,” Rangi said sitting down beside them, as she offered a little aid to the dying fire.

“How aren’t you mad? ” Koko asked, a frustrated tear falling from her eye.

“It’s complicated” Rangi started.

“Then explain it, please. I want to understand.”

Kyoshi took Koko’s hand. “I guess to start, you know people have a habit of fearing what’s different. Some think just because it’s different that it’s less worth loving or accepting.”

“You would have had more luck convincing me the sky was made of fire than trying to convince me that I don’t love your mother” Kyoshi went on. “Just because our family is different that doesn’t mean that there is any less love Koko I need you to understand that”

“I know that, I know that you love me, and that you love each other so why hide?” She questioned frustratedly.

“For the very reason you just said” Rangi added in.

Koko gave her a confused look.

“Because for us to love you and each other in secret it’s a small price for safety.”

Kyoshi watched her daughter closely, “You already knew this didn’t you?”

Koko didn’t look up from her fans, she just whipped her eyes once more. “I was hoping things would have changed by now, that that wasn’t the reason-” She paused to catch her breath.

“Does that mean that no one will ever know about you two?” She asked, looking up to Rangi. “No one will ever know how much you love each other, doesn’t that ever brother you?”

“For a while it did, but I think we are at peace with it. Our family and story will remain ours.”

Koko’s face fell. “But you’ve always had such lovely stories”

“You can still tell stories to those you trust, you have every right to them. They are yours too” Kyoshi added. “But please understand, the world is not ready for our stories”

“They don’t deserve them anyways” Rangi mumbled.

But Koko shook her head. “You always said your love was what made you the strongest, but it’s the reason you hide” Koko says, “I don’t think it’s fair.”

Kyoshi sighed, pulling her daughter closer to her. “There are few things in this life that are truly fair, and love is simply one that always walks that line.”

“It really doesn’t bother you?” Koko asks once more.

“For a while it did, it hurt. We grieved a version of the life we would never be able to give each other. But that didn’t really change us or what we could do. We did what was safe for us, and for you. We’ve never regretted any of it.” Kyoshi said.

“Our stories will be kept ours, and that’s okay” Rangi started. “I promise”

Hi everyone, how we feeling? Cause there are probably only 5 more chapters so hang on. But I would like to sincerely thank every one you who read, comments, or votes for this story. If it weren’t for all of you I would have quit this thing a long while ago, so thank you and I hope you enjoy the last but of the adventure <333