Post by Teяa253 on Apr 8, 2009 5:52:10 GMT 1
that's right... chapter 88.
and yeh, you read right. Tenoko's not necessarily the crazy happy drunkard we all know and love. This chapter's a bit sad... it's kinda weird too.
We get to see a little Xin Shing, and see what exactly went down in part of Tenoko's musterious past.
so, here's the 88th installment of "The Order of the Avatar Slayer". enjoy.
CHAPTER 88: THE ANGUISH OF TENOKO
The Avatar Guard was halted at that point until the group could get up and make their way to the next floor. They passed the 3rd floor and the 4th floor until they got to the room where Tenoko was.
She looked like she had been through a little rough time herself. She was a little cut, bruised, and scarred, but otherwise looked alright. She could still stand and use her limbs alright.
“Tenoko,” Zakura exclaimed, laughing, There you are, you blithering idiot. I was almost ready to consider worrying about you.”
Tenoko laughed, “Thanks for the compliment,” she remarked, “I’ll be sure to take it in with my next drink.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” said Iresu, “We don’t need another drunk on the field.”
Tenoko laughed hard.
“Iresu,” she remarked, “you do NOT know Tenoko Dragmire. I’m always drunk when I fight. If I fight sober I lose focus.”
“Tenoko,” said Zeruda, “you’re drunk again.”
“Aye, I am,” she replied, “your point?”
She paused for a moment.
“Actually,” she said, “I’m not drunk yet. I’m saving that for the battle.”
She paused and surveyed Zakura’s Elite; she fit right in with the injuries she had, and she was glad that no one was dead yet.
“Glad to see you all are alright,” she said, “I take it you’ve sent people to scout out the area?”
“Aye,” Zakura replied, “Reyson and Mulan finished that not long ago. We planned to regroup with you and then rest up a bit, hoping to stall for time until that skirmish on the 9th floor subsides.”
“You should tell your story, mom,” Malak remarked, “tell us what happened. I’ve been dying to learn how it all went down.”
“Aye,” Zeruda added, “do tell it; even we haven’t heard it from your lips.”
Tenoko’s smile disappeared.
“I can’t,” she said, “There is a reason I don’t bring it up.”
“Don’t be like this, mom,” Maric interjected, “I’ve never seen you unhappy. I don’t think any of us have.”
Tenoko closed her eyes and turned away.
“Because I try to leave those painful memories behind,” she replied, and even her voice sounded depressing. The cheery air that was normally in Tenoko’s unusual accent had vanished.
“Mom,” said Malak gently, putting both of her hands around one of Tenoko’s; Malak’s hands were definitely her mothers, as they were decent-sized for a girl her age, and Tenoko was known for her huge hands and feet. “Look at who you’re talking to; The Order has affected us all in some way.”
“I know it has,” Tenoko replied, “but to relive the horrors of those two nights... it’s... I can’t do it.”
“Two nights,” Maric exclaimed, slightly skeptical, “it took two nights for us to be taken and dad to die?”
Tenoko knew at once that she had said too much.
“Never mind that,” she said slightly stiffly. She gently pulled her hand out of Malak’s grasp, and started walking towards the door that led to the next room. Maric and Malak would have followed her, but Sanaki of all people was the one to stop them, gently placing an arm on each one’s shoulder. This was not the right time.
“She feels terrible,” Sanaki remarked, detecting Tenoko’s emotions. Suddenly, her pale eyes flew open.
“Oh-oh my,” she exclaimed as Tenoko disappeared behind the door. “She... she’s... oh dear...”
“What is it?” the others asked, for Sanaki sounded scared.
Alzar’s eyes were the next to flip open.
“Tenoko Dragmire is crying behind that door,” she said gravely, “whatever this is, this is serious; this must have been something that destroyed her life when it happened. She needs to let it out.”
Malak’s eyes watered, and she wasn’t the only one. It was as if the happiness had been drained from the area and that only Zuki’s innocence was keeping it alive at all.
Tenoko’s positive attitude about life had always been a strong point, and to know that she was just beyond the door breaking down was like someone had taken a hammer to the keystone of their firmness. They were almost all awestruck after learning this.
Eventually, they as a group decided to go into the next room. They assumed it was empty because Tenoko hadn’t come running out, and Reyson and Mulan’s reports were accurate as well. Similarly, they decided that Maric and Malak should be the ones to try and talk to her.
“Mom,” said Maric, putting his hand on her shoulder, turning away from Malak, though hearing her also start to cry, “What happened? One moment you were strong and happy, the next moment you just... crashed. What happened? Are you going to be alright?”
Tenoko did not look up, though Zakura’s Elite gathered around her [keeping their distance, but close enough to hear her if she said anything];
“Don’t ever make me repeat this story,” she said, sniffling, “it was horrible.” She paused, and took a deep breath.
“My first husband and I married when I was 18,” said Tenoko, “it’s a complicated story, so I’ll cut to the part where it hurt. We had been married a couple of years when the raid occurred. My husband told me to get out of there, since I was on my way home. He said he would take the babies; my little twin darlings...”
She trailed off.
“I never saw them again,” she said eventually, “or rather, when they were alive. I was able to look upon them one last time at their funeral.
The next thing that hurt me was when Xin Shing himself took me, the still broken-down 21-year-old ex-mother, to the top of his tower. Incidentally, his words were not as bad as I had thought. Once we had reached the roof, he unbound me.”
“Do you know why you are here?” Xin Shing asked, pacing around the roof as the injured Tenoko stood where she was, staggering to stay on her feet; she had been kidnapped and brought there by brutal force, though ironically, Xin Shing had just requested her, and not how she was supposed to be taken;
“No,” the younger Tenoko replied, “no I do not.”
“Because a new Order is rising,” he replied, “and that Southern Water Tribe is part of the group that supported the Avatar during the days where she almost took over the world. They have always been avid supporters of The Avatar ever since that girl some thousand years ago found an avatar in an iceberg.”
“But why me,” Tenoko asked, “why did you have to do this to me?”
She was not referring to her wounds [though some were rather nasty], but rather, why did he have to destroy her family.
“It was not my intent,” Xin Shing replied, “believe me, Tenoko, I am not the most bloodthirsty man out there. Perhaps the group that volunteered to make the raid was one of the more violent ones. I had actually instructed them to bring everyone back alive.”
“They killed my babies,” Tenoko snapped, “my little tiny helpless children! They murdered them off just like they did with my husband!”
“Precisely,” Xin Shing replied, calmly blocking the attacks Tenoko began throwing in her fury, “THEY did; not me. I did not even instruct them to. They did what they wanted to.”
“My family is dead thanks to you!” she roared, charging at him again, but Xin Shing simply pulled out a staff, parried Tenoko’s attack ad flipped her into the air, slamming her onto her back. She stood up again. Xin Shing casually began walking towards the edge of the rooftop, where if one fell off, they would drop all the way down. Tenoko followed him.
“Let me out of here,” she growled
“As you wish,” Xin Shing replied calmly, and he spun around and kicked Tenoko forward, so that she fell right off the edge. The tower was about 700 feet tall, so if Tenoko hit the ground, she would easily die.
He watched as she plunged towards the ground, screaming loudly. She was helpless, and she was going to die. However, Xin Shing went after her, intercepting her fall just before she hit the ground, using airbending to reduce their momentum, so that he could let her go unhurt before he shot back up towards the top of the tower again.
Naturally, young Tenoko had almost had a heart attack after free-falling over 690 feet and almost dying. She was breathing heavily, and was shaken from the event. She was also afraid of heights as a result of this. The worst part about all of this though was that she knew Xin Shing was right. it was not ‘his’ fault directly, especially because he had instructed his warriors to take prisoners instead of kill.
“you all know the second story,” Tenoko replied, “and after losing my husband and children for the 2nd time, it was just too much. I took to heavy drinking to avoid thinking about it, and I found that it had me thinking about life more positive. Still, to know that my babies are gone... again; for the 2nd time...”
“But we’re not gone,” said Maric gently, holding his sister’s hand, “we’re right here in front of you, alive and well.”
Tenoko looked at them, her eyes darting from Maric’s face to Malak’s, and then back again. She threw herself around them and locked them in a tight embrace. No one else said anything.
Like with Taki, this was not going to be something that would just be able to be put aside, even as the group continued up the tower a while later. Nevertheless, now they all know and understood why she did not speak of these things when she could avoid it. This was the explanation for The Anguish of Tenoko.
~Azula~
and yeh, you read right. Tenoko's not necessarily the crazy happy drunkard we all know and love. This chapter's a bit sad... it's kinda weird too.
We get to see a little Xin Shing, and see what exactly went down in part of Tenoko's musterious past.
so, here's the 88th installment of "The Order of the Avatar Slayer". enjoy.
CHAPTER 88: THE ANGUISH OF TENOKO
The Avatar Guard was halted at that point until the group could get up and make their way to the next floor. They passed the 3rd floor and the 4th floor until they got to the room where Tenoko was.
She looked like she had been through a little rough time herself. She was a little cut, bruised, and scarred, but otherwise looked alright. She could still stand and use her limbs alright.
“Tenoko,” Zakura exclaimed, laughing, There you are, you blithering idiot. I was almost ready to consider worrying about you.”
Tenoko laughed, “Thanks for the compliment,” she remarked, “I’ll be sure to take it in with my next drink.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” said Iresu, “We don’t need another drunk on the field.”
Tenoko laughed hard.
“Iresu,” she remarked, “you do NOT know Tenoko Dragmire. I’m always drunk when I fight. If I fight sober I lose focus.”
“Tenoko,” said Zeruda, “you’re drunk again.”
“Aye, I am,” she replied, “your point?”
She paused for a moment.
“Actually,” she said, “I’m not drunk yet. I’m saving that for the battle.”
She paused and surveyed Zakura’s Elite; she fit right in with the injuries she had, and she was glad that no one was dead yet.
“Glad to see you all are alright,” she said, “I take it you’ve sent people to scout out the area?”
“Aye,” Zakura replied, “Reyson and Mulan finished that not long ago. We planned to regroup with you and then rest up a bit, hoping to stall for time until that skirmish on the 9th floor subsides.”
“You should tell your story, mom,” Malak remarked, “tell us what happened. I’ve been dying to learn how it all went down.”
“Aye,” Zeruda added, “do tell it; even we haven’t heard it from your lips.”
Tenoko’s smile disappeared.
“I can’t,” she said, “There is a reason I don’t bring it up.”
“Don’t be like this, mom,” Maric interjected, “I’ve never seen you unhappy. I don’t think any of us have.”
Tenoko closed her eyes and turned away.
“Because I try to leave those painful memories behind,” she replied, and even her voice sounded depressing. The cheery air that was normally in Tenoko’s unusual accent had vanished.
“Mom,” said Malak gently, putting both of her hands around one of Tenoko’s; Malak’s hands were definitely her mothers, as they were decent-sized for a girl her age, and Tenoko was known for her huge hands and feet. “Look at who you’re talking to; The Order has affected us all in some way.”
“I know it has,” Tenoko replied, “but to relive the horrors of those two nights... it’s... I can’t do it.”
“Two nights,” Maric exclaimed, slightly skeptical, “it took two nights for us to be taken and dad to die?”
Tenoko knew at once that she had said too much.
“Never mind that,” she said slightly stiffly. She gently pulled her hand out of Malak’s grasp, and started walking towards the door that led to the next room. Maric and Malak would have followed her, but Sanaki of all people was the one to stop them, gently placing an arm on each one’s shoulder. This was not the right time.
“She feels terrible,” Sanaki remarked, detecting Tenoko’s emotions. Suddenly, her pale eyes flew open.
“Oh-oh my,” she exclaimed as Tenoko disappeared behind the door. “She... she’s... oh dear...”
“What is it?” the others asked, for Sanaki sounded scared.
Alzar’s eyes were the next to flip open.
“Tenoko Dragmire is crying behind that door,” she said gravely, “whatever this is, this is serious; this must have been something that destroyed her life when it happened. She needs to let it out.”
Malak’s eyes watered, and she wasn’t the only one. It was as if the happiness had been drained from the area and that only Zuki’s innocence was keeping it alive at all.
Tenoko’s positive attitude about life had always been a strong point, and to know that she was just beyond the door breaking down was like someone had taken a hammer to the keystone of their firmness. They were almost all awestruck after learning this.
Eventually, they as a group decided to go into the next room. They assumed it was empty because Tenoko hadn’t come running out, and Reyson and Mulan’s reports were accurate as well. Similarly, they decided that Maric and Malak should be the ones to try and talk to her.
“Mom,” said Maric, putting his hand on her shoulder, turning away from Malak, though hearing her also start to cry, “What happened? One moment you were strong and happy, the next moment you just... crashed. What happened? Are you going to be alright?”
Tenoko did not look up, though Zakura’s Elite gathered around her [keeping their distance, but close enough to hear her if she said anything];
“Don’t ever make me repeat this story,” she said, sniffling, “it was horrible.” She paused, and took a deep breath.
“My first husband and I married when I was 18,” said Tenoko, “it’s a complicated story, so I’ll cut to the part where it hurt. We had been married a couple of years when the raid occurred. My husband told me to get out of there, since I was on my way home. He said he would take the babies; my little twin darlings...”
She trailed off.
“I never saw them again,” she said eventually, “or rather, when they were alive. I was able to look upon them one last time at their funeral.
The next thing that hurt me was when Xin Shing himself took me, the still broken-down 21-year-old ex-mother, to the top of his tower. Incidentally, his words were not as bad as I had thought. Once we had reached the roof, he unbound me.”
“Do you know why you are here?” Xin Shing asked, pacing around the roof as the injured Tenoko stood where she was, staggering to stay on her feet; she had been kidnapped and brought there by brutal force, though ironically, Xin Shing had just requested her, and not how she was supposed to be taken;
“No,” the younger Tenoko replied, “no I do not.”
“Because a new Order is rising,” he replied, “and that Southern Water Tribe is part of the group that supported the Avatar during the days where she almost took over the world. They have always been avid supporters of The Avatar ever since that girl some thousand years ago found an avatar in an iceberg.”
“But why me,” Tenoko asked, “why did you have to do this to me?”
She was not referring to her wounds [though some were rather nasty], but rather, why did he have to destroy her family.
“It was not my intent,” Xin Shing replied, “believe me, Tenoko, I am not the most bloodthirsty man out there. Perhaps the group that volunteered to make the raid was one of the more violent ones. I had actually instructed them to bring everyone back alive.”
“They killed my babies,” Tenoko snapped, “my little tiny helpless children! They murdered them off just like they did with my husband!”
“Precisely,” Xin Shing replied, calmly blocking the attacks Tenoko began throwing in her fury, “THEY did; not me. I did not even instruct them to. They did what they wanted to.”
“My family is dead thanks to you!” she roared, charging at him again, but Xin Shing simply pulled out a staff, parried Tenoko’s attack ad flipped her into the air, slamming her onto her back. She stood up again. Xin Shing casually began walking towards the edge of the rooftop, where if one fell off, they would drop all the way down. Tenoko followed him.
“Let me out of here,” she growled
“As you wish,” Xin Shing replied calmly, and he spun around and kicked Tenoko forward, so that she fell right off the edge. The tower was about 700 feet tall, so if Tenoko hit the ground, she would easily die.
He watched as she plunged towards the ground, screaming loudly. She was helpless, and she was going to die. However, Xin Shing went after her, intercepting her fall just before she hit the ground, using airbending to reduce their momentum, so that he could let her go unhurt before he shot back up towards the top of the tower again.
Naturally, young Tenoko had almost had a heart attack after free-falling over 690 feet and almost dying. She was breathing heavily, and was shaken from the event. She was also afraid of heights as a result of this. The worst part about all of this though was that she knew Xin Shing was right. it was not ‘his’ fault directly, especially because he had instructed his warriors to take prisoners instead of kill.
“you all know the second story,” Tenoko replied, “and after losing my husband and children for the 2nd time, it was just too much. I took to heavy drinking to avoid thinking about it, and I found that it had me thinking about life more positive. Still, to know that my babies are gone... again; for the 2nd time...”
“But we’re not gone,” said Maric gently, holding his sister’s hand, “we’re right here in front of you, alive and well.”
Tenoko looked at them, her eyes darting from Maric’s face to Malak’s, and then back again. She threw herself around them and locked them in a tight embrace. No one else said anything.
Like with Taki, this was not going to be something that would just be able to be put aside, even as the group continued up the tower a while later. Nevertheless, now they all know and understood why she did not speak of these things when she could avoid it. This was the explanation for The Anguish of Tenoko.
~Azula~
