1. Enter the Aang Gumi!

**OMG…Chocolate… -drools- Nu, I dun't own Aang. Or Sokka. Or anyone else. If I did, they'd be tucked inside my sweatshirt pocket. –grins-**

**Wait…I DUN'T HAVE ANY POCKETS ON MY SWEATSHIRT! –hyperventilates-

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**

_Chapter One_

_Enter the Aang-gumi!

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_

"I dunno…uh…maybe?"  
"Hunh?"  
"I dunno…uh…maybe?"  
"Stop saying that!"  
"I dunno…uh…maybe?"  
"SHUT UP!"  
"I dunno…uh…maybe?"  
Chikako whacked her best friend upside the head. "We're lost; shut up!"  
"I dunno…uh…may…be…" Naoko toppled to the ground, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.  
"Oh, c'mon, Naoko. I didn't hit you that hard…"  
"Yes, you did."  
"No, I didn't."  
"Yes, you did.  
"No…"  
"Hai! Hai, hai, hai!" Naoko popped up beside Chikako and reached into her pocket, pulling out a box that looked like a cigarette box.  
"Naoko! You told me not to smoke, way back when I said it looked cool, and now—!"  
"That wasn't 'way back', Chikako…" Naoko laughed. "That was yesterday."  
_FLASHBACK OF SMOKES! __  
__"Naoko…I wanna smoke. It looks so neat! And no one gets wrinkles from it." __  
__"Are you kidding? My mom smokes!" __  
__"Oh…nevermind then…" __  
__"OH, YEAH? WELL YOUR MAMA!" __  
__FLASHBACK OF SMOKES! END!_  
"Oh…I remember that now…"  
"And besides; these aren't cigarettes. They're pocky…" The dirty-blonde reached into the box and pulled out a pocky. "See?"  
"OH! Me want some!"  
Laughing, the younger girl gave Chikako a pocky. "There. One for you; ten for me!"  
"Hey!"  
"Heh heh heh!"  
"…You."  
Naoko threw her head back, laughing, a pocky sticking out from between her lips. She was a twelve year old who had dancing blue eyes and long, dirty-blonde hair in a ponytail. Her long strand of bangs on the right side of her face had a blue bead at the top; on the left side of her face her bangs were poorly layered and reached her shoulder. She wore a waterbender's outfit, but the skirt part was cut short and she wore on shorts under that. Her sleeves were rolled up and her bare feet were dirty. She was short, thin, and strong, and proud of it, and her favorite thing to do was cling to someone's back like a monkey; ask Chikako. She'd know.  
Her friend Chikako was just barely thirteen, and the two had known each other all their lives. She grumbled, sitting on a log beside her best friend. The girl had long red hair that was poorly layered, curling near her waist. Her sharp amber eyes glinted. She wore a red Fire Nation outfit cut off just above her knees with her legs wrapped in bandages. Her arms were bare, and she had painted fire all over them. Both girls were tan, and both sitting on a log in the middle of a forest, wondering how the hell to get out of the place.  
Well, at least one of them was wondering…Naoko was just sitting there, drooling on her pocky.  
Chikako reached over and poked her. Naoko's eyes widened and she yelped, falling backwards off the log. Chikako laughed hysterically.  
"Hey!" Naoko stumbled back up and brushed her butt off. "Why'd you do that?"  
Chikako tilted her head slightly. "You were just sitting there again. I think your attention span is getting low like that one time."  
_FLASHBACK OF THAT ONE TIME! __  
__Naoko sat on the table, drooling, in a towel. Chikako walked in and blinked, her eyes widening. Stepping away from her naked-in-a-towel friend, her jaw dropped and she prevented anyone from entering the kitchen until Naoko's attention span went back from 0 to its normal 40-50. __  
__FLASHBACK OF THAT ONE TIME! END!_  
Naoko snapped forward, falling onto the log with a grunt. "Hunh? Were you talking to me…?"  
Chikako shook her head, laughing. Naoko blinked.  
"What? WHAT?"  
"Nothing…"  
"MOUUUUUUUUUUUU!"  
"…" Chikako doubled over, laughing her head off.

"Wait! Stop you guys…you hear that?"  
Aang and Sokka stopped on the forest path. Sokka groaned, his head thrown back.  
"Katara! There are no firebenders after us! Can we just WALK now?"  
"Yeah, Katara. I thought we'd already figured this…No more walking!"  
"I know, I know…but listen! Don't you hear that?"  
Aang straightened up upon hearing peals of laughter. "What…that noise?"  
"No, Aang, that loud roar," Sokka snapped. His feet hurt, his back hurt, Appa was trailing them, he was hungry, and he wanted to stop walking!  
Katara and Aang glared at him and he toppled over with a slight moan. Shaking her head, Katara nodded to the airbender.  
"Yes. That laughter. Nobody else should be in the woods, right? I mean, didn't you say that this place was dangerous?"  
"WHAT?" Sokka popped up beside them. "DANGEROUS? I DIDN'T HEAR THAT!"  
Aang shrugged. "All I said was that firebenders could catch us, but that's only because this earth province was taken over by firebenders. Didn't you see the road signs, Sokka?"  
_FLASHBACK OF ROAD SIGNS! __  
__Aang pointed to the wooden sign on the side of the dusty road. "Look! A road sign!" Scurrying up to it, a cloud of dust forming behind him, he stood beside it with a grin. __  
__"Quick! Take a picture!" __  
__Katara and Aang glowered at Sokka. He shrugged. __  
__"What? All it says is, 'Earth Village Kohako…Now under Fire Nation reign…Entrance must be recorded'." __  
__"Yeah! That means we're getting closer to the Fire Nation dojo I visited before!" __  
__"You trained at a Fire Nation dojo? Those are the best!" Katara beamed. Sokka rolled his eyes and started to march again along the road. __  
__"Yeah, yeah, whatever…c'mon…I'm getting hungry…" __  
__FLASHBACK OF ROAD SIGNS! END!_  
Sokka blinked. "Oh, yeah…"  
Katara sighed and started to walk again. "C'mon! Let's see who that is…" Aang followed her excitedly. Sokka groaned and crawled after them, Momo laughing at him from where he perched on the teenager's pack.

Chikako slapped her hand over Naoko's mouth upon hearing the bushes rustle. The dirty-blonde blinked and tried to bite Chikako's palm, but only managed to erupt into laughter. The red-headed firebender glared at her and the younger girl quieted.  
A twig snapped and suddenly a lemur popped out of the undergrowth, landing in front of the two girls. They screamed, both falling off the log. Momo cocked his head, purring slightly in inquiry.  
A boy about Naoko's age jumped out after the lemur, tackling him and standing up, stepping back. "S…sorry about that; he didn't mean to scare you. He just doesn't like Sokka."  
"Hey!"  
Chikako and Naoko looked at each other and then the older girl stood up, about two inches taller than the boy.  
"That's okay…I guess. But who the hell are you? And who's Sokka? And what are you doing in this forest? It's private property of the Kohako Exchange Center."  
Naoko cocked her head. "It IS?"  
Chikako sweatdropped. "And don't mind her. She's my brainless twit of a friend."  
"YUP!"  
The boy snickered. "Uh…okay. I'm Aang. Sokka is my friend. His sister's name is Katara. We're headed to the North Pole."  
A girl climbed out from the foliage and stood beside Aang. "I'm Katara…do you know how far away from here it is to the North Pole?"  
Naoko jumped up and swayed on her feet, her eyes rolling back into her head. "Thank you, God! We're saved!"  
Chikako caught her before she toppled over, laughing nervously. "She had pocky…"  
Aang and Katara glanced at each other and then back to Chikako. The firebender smiled.  
"I'm Chikako. This is my best friend Naoko. We both belong to the Kohako Exchange Center. You two…know what that is, right?"  
Katara's eyes brightened. "Yeah…yeah, I've heard of that place! All different people of the nations live there, right?"  
Aang grinned. "Oh! So that's why you're both of different nations…"  
A teenage boy with brown hair fell out from between two trees. "I feel forgotten…and hungry."  
Katara rolled her eyes. "That's my brother Sokka."  
Chikako and Naoko nodded slightly, a bit lost in the stereotypical first chapter introductions. Naoko suddenly straightened up, laughing nervously at how short she was compared to Aang.  
"I'm Naoko! This is Chikako—!"  
"I told them…"  
"Oh…we belong to the—!"  
"I told them…"  
"Oh…hi!"  
Chikako facepalmed and then looked to the teenager who had fallen from between the trees. Her face softened, and she blushed, and then narrowed her eyes.  
"You're Sokka?"  
Sokka sat up, nodding. "Yeah…?" He stopped his question as he noticed she was a firebender. An upside-down firebender…or maybe that was because he was upside down…  
She crossed her arms. "What?" Chikako snapped, glaring at him. Naoko poked the lemur.  
"He's cute…what's his name?"  
"Momo…"  
Naoko laughed. "Peach!"  
Aang nodded, holding Momo out to Naoko. "Wanna hold him?"  
"SURE!" She grabbed the chibi-like monkey thing and cuddled it, rubbing her cheek against his fur. Momo purred and scampered up to perch on her shoulder.  
Katara turned to Sokka. "Be nice and say hi."  
Sokka narrowed his own eyes, glowering at the upside-down firebender. "Hi," he snarled.  
Chikako stuck out her tongue, tossing her long bangs over her shoulder. Two small bells were tied to the ends of the two long strands of red hair. They jingled as they flew over her shoulder. Dropping her arms, she knelt beside Sokka and formed a ball of fire in her palm.  
"You got a problem with me being a firebender, water peasant?"  
Sokka blinked. Where had he heard that before?  
Zuko!  
"NO. I just hate them."  
Katara, hearing the familiar phrase also, touched Chikako on the shoulder. "You haven't met Prince Zuko before, have you…?"  
"Oh, sure; I know him. I'm his sister." The thirteen-year-old looked up to Katara, her narrowed eyes innocently glinting in that way of Zuko's. Naoko snickered as Momo buried his nose in her hair. Aang spun around at Chikako's last words. Katara's eyes widened, and above the trees a flock of birds fluttered away from the branches as one word rang sharply through the air.  
"WHAT?"

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**-snickers- Okay. Those flashbacks all actually happened to me, just not with the Fire Nation and stuff like that. LOL**


	2. Sake is Bad for You

**My butt…is asleep…LOL**

**Mouuuuuuuuuu…Dun own Avatar…**

**BUT I OWN MISHTER TREE! –nodnod- MISHTER TREE LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUVS SOKKA!

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**

_Chapter Two_

_Sake is Bad for You_

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"WHAT?"  
"You heard me, water boy. I'm Zuko's sister."

"She is! She is! Zuko is her older brother; she was stationed here at the Exchange Center she was born. Zuko came back to visit a year ago; he said he was in search of the Avatar."

"He _is_ in search of the Avatar, you big dope."

Naoko shrugged and stroked Momo's nose. Sokka scrambled up to a standing position and glowered at Chikako. "What do you mean?"

"Are you _that_ dense, you big idiot? I _said_ I'm Zuko's sister!" Chikako snapped, also standing up. Naoko blinked and then shivered, scooting behind the log and cuddling Momo. Aang reached out and touched Chikako on the arm.

"Look…Chikako…I'm sure…Sokka has a problem, okay?"

"HEY!"

Katara shoved Sokka out of the way and sighed exasperatedly. "He has this…thing with firebenders. But we're sure that you're…good, right?"

"The Avatar needs to be captured. It'll end the war," Chikako muttered, crossing her arms. Aang and Katara glanced at each other, and Sokka hissed under his breath, "Well, we're in trouble."

Naoko stood up. "Hey, Chikako…I think I know a way back to the village." The older girl glanced at her. "C'mon."

When the group emerged from the foliage, they found the village bustling as always. People of all different nations scurried about; little children ran around shooting at each other with toys; around the well some girls were gathered, gossiping; at the Kohako Forums, the parents were discussing topics that had been posted on the large message board. Merchants called out from buildings, stands, or small alleys. Naoko skipped down the dirt road, humming, Momo clinging to her shoulder. Chikako disappeared into an alley, and Sokka huffed as he trudged after Aang and Katara, who marveled at the busy of the small village.

"Naoko…do you know where you going?" asked Aang after about ten minutes. The girl nodded, grinning over her shoulder.

"Yeah…it's right up here." Sliding up to a large building with a veranda, Naoko plopped down on the road. Momo immediately scuttled up the supporting beam of the veranda. Chikako was slumped against the wall. Looking up and flashing a grin at her friend, she asked, "What took ya?"

Naoko laughed. "I wanted to take the long way so that they could see Kohako."

Katara looked around and then gasped. "Oh my—look! Look at the river…oh, you think I could practice here?" Before she'd received an answer, she had darted off to the riverbank to start playing with the water.

Aang dropped his staff to the dust and tilted his head. "So…is the Kohako Dojo still here?"

Chikako grinned, her narrowed eyes dancing. "Hell, yeah. Why?"

Sokka crossed his arms and sat down in the shade of the veranda. He didn't like Kohako and these two girls…he just didn't.

Inside the Exchange Center, men and women and girls and boys of all nations stayed in rooms of their own, like little dorms. There was a big front room, a large kitchen, and a training room for the benders of the Center.

Aang's left foot hadn't touched the floor before people were crowded around him, questions filling the air.

"Okay, okay!" Naoko said, shoving them out of the way. "Leave 'im alone! It's not like anyone else here doesn't have any tattoos…"

A boy around Sokka's age snickered. "Yeah, Naoko. You should know…"

Naoko flushed deeply. "I was drunk when that happened!"

_OMG FLASHBACK OF THAT ONE DRUNKEN TIME!  
Naoko wavered and stood up on a low table, raising her right hand slowly. "People! People! People!"_

_The room quickly quieted and all attention was focused on Naoko. She grinned groggily and lifted her shirt so that her ribs were showing; there was a tattoo of the Ying and Yang on her tan skin. She showed them the tattoo of the last waterbending Avatar on her neck; the tattoo of a biker on her shoulder, and high up on her thigh the tattoo of water rushing around the goddess of the river. The room cheered and clapped, most of them drunken boys Naoko's age, and she slid off the table as Chikako jumped up threateningly._

_"NAOKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

_OMG FLASHBACK OF THAT ONE DRUNKEN TIME! END!_

Chikako twitched. "That was disturbing…"

Naoko grinned. "I still have those tattoos."

Abruptly the room hushed and the children gathered around Aang scattered. His grin faded at this and immediately all of the Exchange Center occupants fell to the ground in a low bow. Looking around, Aang finally found someone standing in a doorway.

"…Hi?"

The figure was draped in a white cloth, with long, stringy hair. His face was stern and his hands folded.

"Chikako; Naoko—I see you have brought a visitor?"

Aang stepped all the way through the doorway into the room as the two girls rose. Nodding in unison, they replied in chorus, their voices soft and obedient, "Yes, Master Ken'ichi."

Looking down his nose at Aang, the man blinked. "I see he is an airbender?"

The room was filled with stifled gasps. Even Naoko gasped loudly; Chikako elbowed her sharply.

"OW! What the fuck was that for?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh…crap…" Naoko looked to Master Ken'ichi. "Sorry…"

He shook his head, obviously overwhelmed with these two. They were the troublemakers; sneaking out, getting busy with the boys their age; snapping back; using foul language; they were the outcasts.

_FLASHBACK OF THE OUTCASTS!  
Chikako slid the hall closet door open, grinning deviously, her eyes sleepy. Stepping out of the small space, she slipped down the hallway and into the bathroom. Shichiro, a boy her age, stepped out after her and looked around, also grinning. He retied the sash on his pants and whistled innocently as he moved down the hall to his room._

_FLASHBACK OF THE OUTCASTS! END!_

Chikako crossed her arms. "Look, Ken'ichi. This is Aang. We found him and Sokka and Katara, his comrades, in the forest. Just brought 'em home because they need help getting to the North Pole."

Aang was busying himself by counting the dots on the ceiling. Master Ken'ichi stepped over to him, arms behind his back. "Aang, is it?"

Aang jumped. "Hunh?"

"I said, your name is Aang, is it?"

"Yeah…"

"You're an airbender?"

"Uh-hunh."

"The airbenders disappeared a hundred years ago."

"I know; I'm the—!" Remembering what Chikako had said, he paused and then added, softer, "…I'm the last one."

The master nodded, stroking his beard. "Ah. Could it be that you are also the Avatar?"

"No! No way…" Aang laughed nervously. The people in the front room started to whisper. One loud whisper carried over to Naoko.

"…can't be! The cycle was broken when Roku disappeared."

Suddenly it hit her; like that one time when she fell off the roof.

_FLASHBACK OF WHEN SHE FELL OFF THE ROOF…_

_Chikako was nestled up in her blankets on the pallet in her room. Naoko, who shared the same room with her best friend, wasn't in her own pallet._

_Suddenly there was a loud _thonk_ and a yelp as something fell outside of Chikako's window. Sitting up abruptly, Chikako glanced around, horrified. Peering out the three-story window, she heard Naoko's voice drift up to her._

_"Woah…"_

_FLASHBACK OF WHEN SHE FELL OFF THE ROOF…END!_

Tilting her head, she whispered, "He _is_ the Avatar…isn't he?"

"Hn?" Chikako asked, leaning to her friend. "What?"

"Nothing…nothing…" Naoko shook her head, her blue eyes wide. Master Ken'ichi left the room, shaking his head. When the door slid shut, a guy around Katara's age whipped out a jar of sake, grinning. Chikako laughed, moving over to Aang.

"Sit down. We'll all have some fun to celebrate your arrival."

Uneasily, Aang sat down, wondering if Katara's practicing was helping and if he could slip out of the room when everyone got drunk. Eventually Sokka slid in beside him.

"They're an odd bunch, aren't they…?" he whispered.

"Hunh?" Aang snapped forward and then looked to Sokka. "What?"

Sokka laughed. "I was just thinking how odd those two are."

The younger boy grinned evilly. "You've got the hots for the firebender."

"I DO NOT."  
Aang nodded, cocking an eyebrow at Sokka. "You do, too. You won't stop staring at her."

Sokka blushed furiously. "Shut up."

Aang shrugged, laughing. Sokka, infuriated at the innocence of the boy's true words, accepted the sake as it was passed to him. Aang blinked.

"You drink?"

"Shut up and go get Katara…she may wanna be here and watch this…"

Aang, glad to have an excuse to get away from the strangely acting people, hurried off to the riverbank to get Katara.

Well, it turned out that _everyone_ drank that night, even Aang and Katara. Sokka had fallen asleep on the floor, Aang was up on a table acting stupid with Naoko, and Katara was giggling as a guy hit on her. Chikako was sitting beside Sokka, poking him with a slight snicker. The sun was setting, and the only occupants of the room were teens of about thirteen to seventeen, as all the adults were having their own fun in the training room, drinking coffee and talking and sorts like that.

"_Well, the band took a break, and the DJ played P-Diddy. She said, 'I shaved my legs and I paid my money. I ain't come here to hear somethin' funkin' from the city. Howoohoo; now play somethin' country_," Naoko sang as she and Aang danced on the table.

Katara moved over to Chikako with a hiccup. "Is Naoko…usually like that?"

Chikako nodded. "She's _reeeeeeeeeal_ popular with the guys here…"

Sokka sat up abruptly and looked around. "Woah…" Chikako giggled.

"Sake too strong for ya?"

"No…no…no…nuuuuuuuuuu…" Sokka stood up and swaggered outside. Standing on the veranda, he gasped. "Mishter Treeeeeeee…?" Hurrying over to the big oak in the yard, he wrapped his arms around the trunk and started to nuzzle the bark. "Mishter Treeeeee! It'sh youuuuuuuuu!" Katara blinked and then fell over laughing. Chikako crossed her arms. If only he had drunkenly come to her…

Naoko toppled off the table and lay there hiccupping. Aang double over laughing and then fell off, himself.

"CHIKAKO?"

Chikako perked up and looked around.

"Dammit, sister; you've gotten drunk _again_?"

The red-head straightened up and then blinked. "Zuko? What are you doing here?"

Zuko slipped off the saddle of his komodo rhino, his amber eyes glinting with fiery anger. "I have a better question. What the hell is that water boy doing here?"

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**In my own little world, Sokka and Mishter Tree get together and little acorns dominate the world. And arigatou Zukolover1 of for the idea. –grins-**


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