Hikari was in another village. Who really knew how many villages she had visited by now? After the past month or so of traveling, if felt like she had been to many places. And even then, she would ask around, describing the looks of her parents and get no leads. Then to was to travel a day or two to the next village, be met with a long stretch and do it again. To say the least, it was disheartening and a little depressing.

     The brunette strolled into the next town, immediately realizing that there were not many people out. There were just a few stall owners and then a group of men, possibly gambling. She approached one of the stall owners with a half-hearted smile. She was ready to find a place to stay for the night.

     "Is there an inn I can stay at or should I expect to be gone by sundown," the girl asked.

     "There's a place for you to stay. There are many travelers like yourself who pass through," the man replied. "Just head down the road here and it's the second tallest building on your left."

     "Thank you..." She looked back and realized the group of gamblers were watching.

     The stall owner whispered, "Watch out for them. They like to take advantage of their power as soldiers to the village. They're only here because the army wouldn't accept them. They're too sluggish and lazy. Honestly, they're just a group of robbers."

     "I knew there was a reason I didn't like them. Say, this is a weird question, but have you seen or know of an older couple? The woman has curly brown hair that almost looks black with blue eyes. The man has very short grey hair and eyes kind of like mine accept they always seem to change color."

     "Can't say I have, young lady."

     "Drat." She waved her hand dismissively, "Thank for the help anyway."

     The inn was very simple. She was able to pay for her one night and immediately got into the provided bed, ready to take a nap, but she knew she had a mission. With this small village, she wanted to ask and be done with it so she could move on.

     She groaned tiredly, making sure her kusarigama was still attached to her waist. So far, she had only one run in with a low life, petty thief who thought he could take her because she was a girl. After that, she was not ready to tempt fate once again. It had lead her here, why stop?

     Hikari was able to talk to the owner of the inn, followed by a couple of travelers who were also there. When she went into the village, she noticed a big burly man was close by. She easily played it off and walked past him, putting as much distance as she could between herself and him. As she went asking around, she noticed more men would appear close to her.

     Her paranoia was starting to spike when she noticed another man. She remembered him from the gambling group. Were they trying to kidnap her? Rob her? Why were they doing this?

     Instead of being terrified, though, she approached the man, crossing her arms, "I'm not amused by the game you and your men are playing."

     He smirked down at her, "I don't know what you're talkin' about, sweetheart."

     "Please, your men have been following me since I arrived. Just stop. I assure you that I'm leaving tomorrow."

     "Without paying the fee?"

     "Now we're talking about your robbery scandals?"

     He suddenly frowned, "It's makin' a livin' by making sure the goodies pay the fee."

     "The Earth Kingdom is ginormous! For crying out loud, I'm just trying to find my family and carry on with my life! Look here, call off your men and leave me alone."

     "No can do, sweetheart."

     It was as if that had been the rallying call. Four more men emerged from seemingly nowhere. The girl backed away, giving herself some space to fight in the street. She pulled out her weapon as swords, chains and knives emerged.

     The leader held up a long knife, "Pay up, sweetheart."

     "Stop calling me pet names!" She started spinning the chain, already knowing who would get hit first, "That's not something I tolerate."

     The weight flew in the next second and popped the swordsman's wrist, immediately causing him to drop his weapon of choice. The man with the chain was forcing her to dance as she fought off the two knife users, followed by the previous swordsman who had resorted to using his fists.

     She managed to hit the chain man and made sure she had hit both of his wrists before backing into one of the men, who attempted to just hold her arms down. Not only did he get cut, but ended up with a broken toe. Following him was the next man getting struck down and a broken nose from being struck in the face by a pair of feet.

     Sweat was beginning to drip down the side of her face. Hazel eyes tried to watch all her enemies as her chest rose and fell quickly. They were forming a half circle around her. It was then that she realized she was trapped against a wall. She swung her chain around herself, forming the only barrier between herself and her aggressors.

     The leader smirked at her, "Now, why don't we just settle this and end it peacefully with you paying the fee and me and my men leaving you in one piece."

     "No means no." Her eyes hardened, "What would your mother say to your behavior now?"

     "Looks like we have a lesson to teach boys."

     "Hey!" All eyes went to the new voice, "You heard the girl. What would your mother think of you now?"

     There was a boy about her age with darkly tanned skin. He was tall and lanky with brown hair and dark grey eyes. His red uniform was something she had never seen before and looked very much makeshift. The trade mark thing of his was the straw he was chewing on. Along with all of this were the duel, hook swords he had drawn out.

     On either side of him were two more kids. One was short with wild brown hair and red strips painted on his face. He had a knife in hand. The other was tall, wearing a straw hat, also with a bow and arrow notched in hand.

     The leader turned back to face Hikari, smirking all the while, "Take care of the kids, I'll handle the young lady.

     The girl smirked, "You wish."

     The man charged her. She waited till the last second to roll out the way. Once on her feet, she threw the chain, hoping to tie his feet together. There was no way she could pull him over. No matter, there was not enough of a hold and the chain fell right off. She felt aggravated. A least she was not trying to focus on five people at the same time.

     Pain struck her shoulder and she nearly fell over at the brute force. One of the men had turned and hit her shoulder blade with the butt und of the sword hilt. She had to roll of the way and barely managed to avoid getting grabbed while downed. By the time she was on her feet again, a fist hit her upper back. Someone caught her before she fell over, but she knew very well it was not an ally.

     "Let the girl go," someone shouted.

     "Not until all of you pay your fees."

     Even though her back hurt, there was still something she could do. She jumped up, lifting both of her feet and managing to hit her captor in the face. He let her go and she fell in a heap on the ground. Her back smarting all the more.

     She got to her feet, trying to locate her missing weapon. She had dropped it just before she had fallen. Hikari had to make a dive for it in between moving legs. Somehow, in all the chaos, she was right at the feet of the leader once more. Out of no where, a thought struck her. The brunette just managed to dodge a chain along with a downing sword, turn around and throw the sickle. Just as she hoped, it lodged in just above his ankle.

     "I'm actually kind of sorry for this," the girl said.

     With a tug, not only was his calf bleeding profusely, he fell over, not able to stand. Seeing this the group of fighters froze. A little girl, half the size of their leader had taken him down. She was glaring at them all with chain in one hand and bloody sickle in the other. Fear became apparent in their faces as eyes shifted between the growing pool of blood and the child who took him down.

     "Take him to get healed, but if I ever and I mean ever, hear about the lot of you robbing from travelers again, I'll be back." She held up the bloody weapon, "And I'll take off your whole foot. Got it?"

     There was absolute quite as two men picked up their bleeding companion. She eyed them and made she they were out of sight, With a sigh, she sheathed her weapon and began walking away. She was going to leave before any village people could stop her. She had brought too much trouble just from that fight.

     "Hey, those were some mighty fine words to hear from you." She glanced at the boy, who was chewing his straw, following next to her along with his friends trailing behind him, "You got some guts and skills."

     "Thank you, I should probably thank you for the help." Hikari rubbed at her sore shoulder, "It could have gotten worse."

     "So where's a pretty girl like yourself going?"

     "I'm leaving. I brought enough trouble as is and I plan to be gone before anyone can stop me. I think I asked around enough."

     "What were you asking about?"

     "That's mighty bold to ask of me, stranger."

     She looked and saw the smirk form on his face, "The name's Jet. These are my Freedom Fighters, Longshot and Smellerbee."

     They were outside of the inn at this point and Hikari felt really uncomfortable, "Could you excuse me while I get my bag?"

     "Anything for you, pretty lady."

     She glared, "I don't tolerate pet names. Not from bad guys and not from allies."

     She passed by the clerk without a word, went to her room, grabbed her bag and walked out, calling over her shoulder, "You got a room open, keep the money."

     Jet and his gang were still outside. With was raised brow, she gave them a look before continuing with her mission. It did not matter if she were a hero now or not. She did not want the attention. She did not want people giving her money or offering things. Just the though of it made it feel as if it would add to the stealing that had already happened.

     "So why are you leaving, you just chased away a no good group of vigilantes," the boy asked.

     "I don't want the attention."

     "But you're a hero. If you stay, I bet you could stay at the inn for free."

     "No. I don't care. And why are you following me?"

     "You expect us to help you out and leave without asking who you are?"

     She was quiet for a moment, "I had hoped." They were nearing the edge of the village, "Look, like I said, I'm getting out of here, you're most welcome to come with me, but I'm leaving."

     The trio stopped, probably deciding if they would continue with her or not. Usually, things like this would lead her to stopping her savior to thank them, but this time, she just wanted out. She wanted to keep a low profile for the sake of keeping away from questions. No one had stopped her to ask her name or her life story. If these people were to follow her, she would likely be asked to. Hikari was a name given to her by the Fire Nation. She was now in the Earth Kingdom and needed a new name.

     Of course, shortly after she was outside the entrance, the trio were running to catch up. She felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. While it was a little annoying to have them pursue her, it would be nice to have company and not just talk to herself.

     "Am I really that interesting," she asked when they approached her.

     "Jet really wants to make you a freedom fighter," Smellerbee said with an eyeroll.

     Longshot nodded.

     The tanned boy smirked, "But you're an interesting character too."

     "Sure, and you're not trying to flirt with me."

     Jet was really talkative, trying to get her to speak. Instead of indulging him, she kept her answers short and vague. The frustration he showed was very amusing at best. The other two were very quiet for the most part too.

     They managed to find a spot on the side of the road to make a camp. The other tall boy was nice enough to make a fire while the shorter of the trio found something to cook and eat. Hikari did the cooking and they all quietly enjoyed a nice meal.

     Jet leaned back with a sigh, "Nothing like good food to make you rest easy."

     "Thanks for the food," the young kid added followed by the silent boy's nod.

     At this point, it seemed to be fairly obvious that Smeelerbee was a girl. Beside her voice being a little more on the feminine side, there were a few little habits. There had been a few moments that the girl would look to the older brunette and then try mimicking minor details in demeanor. There was a certain way she carried herself that was not very male like and then...there was also the lightest bit of a curve in her chest plate. While none of this was big, the girl had noticed very easily. Probably because these people were strangers and it had been a while since she had traveled with company.

     "So..." The lanky boy had pulled the straw from his mouth and spun it between his fingers, "What brought a pretty girl, such as yourself, into these parts of the Earth Kingdom."

     She raised a brow, "Does your flirting ever end?" With an eyeroll she shrugged, "That may depend on your out look at it. I'm traveling for knowledge. I'm hoping to find something I've lost."

     "And what have you lost?"

     She went quiet, debating if she should really say it or not. If she did decide to share, she would have to leave out a lot of things. She would not be able to talk about the trials she had to face along side the Fire Nation prince.

     She gazed at their awaiting faces and sighed. They had helped her. The deserved to hear why she was out and about.

     "I lost my memories," Hikari finally admitted. "Most of my life is a blank canvas in my head. I don't know how it happened, but one day, I was on the road with no idea how I got there and the next thing I realize, most of my memories are gone. I don't know my own name. I don't know where I came from, who I used to be or the names of the places I've been. What gives me hope is that I remember what my parents look like. I can't remember their names for the life of me, but remembering their looks gives me strength. So far, it's just been a big sparrowkeet chase, but I'm hopeful someone will know them from my description."

     The mood around the fire turned somber. The two boys stared at the flames while Smellerbee stared at the older with an unreadable look.

     "I'm sorry that happened to you," Jet finally spoke.

     "Don't be. I'm actually kind of happy it happened." A fond smile broke through, "I was actually rescued when it happened. An older man and his nephew took me in and helped me get to where I am now. It's thanks to them that I've grown so much. Sure, we've had our trials and errors, but I'm incredibly thankful I was able to travel with them and learn so much."

     "I do have a question though. If you don't remember your name then...?"

     "My saviors gave me one."

     The stupid smirk returned, "Don't tell me you already need a new name? If ya do, then I think-"

     "My name's Lian," she interrupted him.

     She had heard the name somewhere and it was a spur of the moment decision. Hikari was the name Iroh had given her and no one was going to take that away. Not again.

     "Well then, Lian," that straw chewing flirt thought he was so smooth, "what do you think about becoming a freedom fighter?"

     "Ask me again in the morning." She gave him a look, "I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but I just need some time to myself."

     Without another word she put some distance between herself and the others to pull out her scroll to start writing. There was just something that aggravated her. One moment, she was fine with talking, the next, she was closing herself off. Maybe it was because that boy so persistent.

     No matter.

     They were quiet around her now and she was thankful for the peace. Hopefully things would be better in the morning.

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A/N: HEY HO! LOOKIE WHO JOINED THE SHOW!

Just a quick side note, where Hikari takes down the leader, she basically cut his Achille's tendon in half. I thought that was important enough to mention.

ANYWAY! Welcome Jet, to the adventures of Hikari. (but then again, I guess his welcomed-ness is up to you guys.  I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you guys have questions, I am here!

Later guys!

-Muse