In which Toph finds herself back where she started.

▪▪▪

They warped.

It was a terrible, twisty feeling, one of being squeezed through a tunnel, yet at the same time drowning through soaked, clinging silk. Tobi's hand held fast to her arm, a steady pressure that bordered on painful until they reached something, some sort of barrier, and he was torn away from her.

Or was she torn from him?

All Toph knew was that she was falling, spinning, sucked down a drain-

Frigid hands touched her where Tobi's hand had been moments (hours) ago.

"I am sorry," a quiet rasping voice hissed. "You were the wrong one to ask this of."

Toph tried to reach, tried to touch the speaker, but her flailing hands touched nothing.

"Return," the voice whispered. "We have been avenged."

Toph lost consciousness.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Toph was only slightly aware of the flickering of motion the ground sent her. There was someone standing above her, cool hands touching her fevered head, then it was just her, alone in the blackness. Her Earthbending flickered on and off, stuttering in a way it hadn't since she'd been taught sight by the badgermoles.

She opened and shut her eyes, then her hand drifted to her sword hilt.

Her fingers closed on empty air. Toph shot bolt upright and reached for her kunai holsters.

They weren't there either. In a second she was in an all out panic, off of the bed in which she lay and onto the solid wooden floor. The texture of it beneath her toes only heightened her anxiety, and Toph was this close to just pulling on the ground and seeing what came of it.

"Ah! You're awake!" A soft female voice said suddenly. "We weren't sure what had happened, but that guy was bad news for sure."

"Where's my sword?" Toph managed. Oma and Shu, her throat hurt!

"The white katana?" The woman asked. "With the tassels?"

Although Toph didn't know the color, (it could very well have been lime green for all she knew) she remembered the sliding silky feel of the long tassel on the hilt very clearly. She opted to nod instead of answering.

"It's in the front room. We decided that it would be best if you didn't have a weapon right besides you when you woke up in case you were disoriented and attacked us." The woman paused, probably to make a hand motion, then continued. "You'll want your knives back, too?"

Well. Toph wondered if all people were that clueless. If you took away a shinobi's weapons, of course they'd want them back.

She followed the woman out of the small room and into the main chamber of the house. The floor was littered with scraps of dried leaves, the scent of herbs almost suffocating in the small area. Toph sneezed, then tried to pretend she hadn't.

A minute (and some clanging) later, the familiar smoothness of her sheath was pressed into her hands. Toph slid a thumb down to the handguard, tightening her grip firmly around the soft leather of the hilt.

She quickly tied it securely to her belt and reached out for her weapon pouches.

A little while later, everything was where it should be, from First Aid to her rarely used supply of shuriken.

Right. Time for the interrogation.

"Where am I?" Toph whispered.

"Oh! This is a little island off the coast of the mainland." The woman said pleasantly. "It's part of something called the Shimizu Isles. Nothing more than a little cluster of rocks, but it's home to us."

"Part of the Land of Waves?" Toph asked. She'd never heard of this place, but Kisame and Sasori were absolutely terrible about explaining maps when she asked.

She got the feeling the woman was looking at her oddly. "Um. No. We are a part of the Fire Nation."

For a millisecond Toph was wondering how the mostly landlocked Land of Fire could possibly have a cluster of islands as part of their nation.

Then it hit her.

Toph stepped forward and grabbed the woman's hands. "The Fire Nation?! Do the words Hundred Year War mean anything to you? Fire Lord Ozai? The Avatar?!"

"Um," the woman's pulse beat rapidly against Toph's fingers. "It's Fire Lord Zuko, now."

"YES!" Toph released her and jumped up and down. "I'M BACK!"

She froze. Sunshine and Flowers and Kakashi and Kisame were still there, and she was the only one who knew what Tobi was doing! Naruto was in danger!

"No!" She whipped around, her fingers coming up to pull through her hair. "Augh! I'm back!"

But she was home!

But she wasn't...

Toph spun back to the woman. "Do you happen to know where the Avatar is?"

The woman was obviously perturbed by her display of emotions. "Do you not know where you are or something?"

"I didn't know where I went." Toph said blythly. She stepped away and reached out with her bending, looking for the exit. "But I'm back now. Where's the door?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" The woman asked, her feet moving automatically in one direction. Toph followed, quickly overtaking her, feeling for the sliding door and bursting out into the sunshine.

Although the scent of herbs still clogged her sinuses, Toph breathed in deeply, pushing her bare toes against the rock.

She was home.

But there was still so much she hadn't done yet, still so much that needed to be resolved. A breeze caught the ends of her hair and flung it up and about.

"Ran," Toph whispered. "Are you here?"

For the first time ever, there was no reply.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Toph asked.

An answer came on the breeze, so faintly she almost couldn't hear it.

You're home. Be free.

But she wasn't. Home was with Kisame-sensei and Kakashi and Sunshine.

It wasn't stifling clothes and guards and hidden snatches of freedom. It wasn't laughing around a campfire, Appa lowing in the background while they ate vegetables and Sokka complained.

Not any more.

Toph put her face in her hands and cried.

▪▪▪

Three years later.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Toph leaned against the ship's railing, feeling the slight mist of the sea wet her face, the taste of salt on her lips.

"Miss Toph," a crewman said from behind her. The owner of the voice was a tall, burly man who had introduced himself as Smythe. She held him in slight disdain, as he constantly looked down on nonbenders.

Which was what she'd happened to appear as. No bender would bother with learning how to handle weapons when they had a built in catapult, flame thrower, or pressure hose.

She lightly touched the hilt of her sword. "Yes?"

"Pirates've been spotted in the west. Looks to be a ship twice the size of our own. Captain told me to gather you mercs to prepare to make a stand if they change course and make for us." Smythe told her.

"Is that so?" Toph turned away from the railings and in his general direction, although she stared past him, eyes blank.

"Yeah."

"I suppose you'd better alert the others, then," Toph said, moving back to her previous position.

He grumbled something unpleasant and moved off.

Ever since she had returned, Toph had been looking for a way back to that other world she'd been in before. Although this was where she belonged, she still had unfinished business.

Besides, it was the only place she could buy kunai. Every battle she used them was one where she had to spend an hour afterwards finding them from wherever they had landed.

She had put off going to find the Gaang, and now it seemed too late and too awkward. She had changed. A lot. She was no longer the innocent kid they'd lost, and she knew she never would be.

Now, all she was was a mercenary, hired to do whatever dirty work needed to be done, wether on land or sea.

Like now.

"Fore up the engines! Blast this calm. Move it!"

The metal vessels of the Fire Nation like this one were her favorites. She could could sense everything going on around her, unlike with wooden ones.

In fact, she actually charged more when a fisherman asked her to tag along with him to another island's market than on a month long trip to the Earth Kingdom ports, like now. Simply being able to see made her so much more effective.

"They're boarding! They're boarding!"

Toph felt the first whispers of movement up the ship's sides. She slid her thumb down, unsheathing about an inch of blade.

She had learned to kill.

That knowledge served her well.

A few pirates managed to clamber over the edges of the railings, weapons clenched and held aloft. They knew that swiftness would be key in taking a ship.

Toph was swifter. She sliced down hard with her sword, stabbing it through the nearest pirate before cutting him in half and impaling the next in a single swift movement. They screamed and died, but she was deaf to their cries, moving on to the next of them before many of her compatriots could even use their weapons.

She was Toph Bei Fong, of the Bei Fong family.

Another died, this time showering her in blood before he fell, throat slit. Toph turned her blade and charged the next walking corpse.

The greatest Earthbender in the world.

There were two lined up, almost begging for death. She skewered them both at once, pulling her sword out as she moved to block an attack.

A merchant.

Her blade rang against her opponent's cutlass, and the dance began. Back and forth, dodge and parry and stab-

A shinobi.

Some idiot attempted to sneak up on her from behind. Toph infused chakra into her legs and leaped, twisting right over his head before landing silently behind him and sliding her blade neatly between two ribs.

A teacher.

Her blade stuck. Toph reached for a kunai and threw it at her nearest opponent. He screeched and died, a knife buried in his eye socket.

A student.

She got her katana free and burst forwards, slashing the tendons in the next woman's knees before stabbing at the back of her neck and severing her spine.

A murderer.

Someone was behind her. Toph spun, her feet made slick with blood, and raised her sword above her head, ready to kill-

"It's me!"

"Smythe?" Toph lowered her sword a little. "What's wrong?"

"T-there!" He squeaked. "It's a flying-"

Before he had even finished his sentence, Toph had slouched, closing her eyes. "Oh, crap."

She felt Appa land on the ship, his bulk causing the vessel to shake. Toph walked away, searching for her pack, then sat down next to it and began to clean her katana. The irony tang of blood rose from it, and it was still warm.

"What's going on, here?"

Oh. He had grown; his voice had deepened. Toph could still hear the pacifist monk in his tone, though.

Twinkle Toes landed on the deck. Behind him followed Katara, then Sokka. She heard the gasps Sugar Queen let out at the carnage.

"We were attacked by pirates, but my men fought them off." The captain engaged Aang in a direct dialogue, the proper move in this sort of situation.

"You've killed them," Aang pointed out.

Wow. More obvious words could not have been said. Toph bit back the retort on the tip of her lips and wiped a little harder.

She just needed to keep her head down and be quiet. They wouldn't be expecting her to be here, to be a swordswoman, to be so grown up. Toph could probably squeak right by them if she didn't do anything Toph-like.

"All due respect, they were threatening our lives, sir." The captain crossed his arms. "If they didn't attack us, we wouldn't have hurt them."

"There are other ways to take down an opponent rather than death," Aang told him. He was still clinging to his unchanged morals, even now.

Toph slid a finger down the length of her sword, then rubbed her fingers together. No blood.

"I have the right to protect my life and property," the captain said. His voice was short, and he had clearly reached the end of his patience. "If you had helped earlier, when we were first attacked, then maybe you could've spared a few lives. You didn't, however, and there is no court in the world I would be afraid to stand in front of."

"Sorry, sweetie," Sugar Queen rested a hand on his arm. "We were too late."

"Nah. They did just fine on their own," Sokka told them. "Especially that one woman with the white sword!"

Toph froze.

"A mercenary I hired for just such an occasion," she felt the captain turn to her. "Miss?"

I hope you trip and die, Toph thought viciously. She stood from where she had sat, shielded by her pack, and slid her katana into its sheath. A few quick steps and she stood behind the captain, hands behind her back and bangs hiding most of her face.

She hoped.

"You were amazing!" Sokka praised. "Could I have your name?"

"No," Toph said, hoping her voice had changed a lot as well. She deepened it a little just to be sure. "You and the squeamish monk can leave now. We've got everything under control."

There was absolute silence. Toph felt their shock and surprise as her harsh words sank in.

"Hey!" Katara snapped. "Don't you know who you're talking to?"

"The Avatar," Toph deadpanned. "An Air Nomad who believes that all life is sacred and killing is the absolute worst."

"Oh," Katara said.

"If I hadn't killed, I'd have been dead many years ago. Good day and goodbye." Toph bowed curtly, then spun on her heels and left.

"Wow," she heard Sokka drag out the word, then his yelp as Katara smacked him on the back of his head.

Phew. They hadn't recognized her.

Now they would just leave and she wouldn't see them for the rest of her life.

Toph picked up her bag and walked among the dead, searching for the kunai she had used. It was still firmly lodged in a dead man's skull.

She pulled it free with a sickening squelch and crouched, wiping most of the gore off on the man's shirt.

Quiet footsteps sounded behind her.

"Go away, Smythe," Toph grumbled. "Not interested. It's not in my job description to swab decks."

"It is you," Sokka's voice said softly.

Toph froze.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Toph bluffed. She spun the kunai through her fingers and replaced it in her holster.

"Oh, come on, Toph. I'm not that dumb that I wouldn't recognize you even though you've changed... A lot." Sokka crouched down besides her, voice dropping to a whisper. "How did you get back? Where did you go? Why didn't you come find us?"

Toph stayed where she was. "Ran, the land of Fire, and because I became this."

"This?" Sokka sounded confused at the hatred and self-loathing in her voice.

"A killer. A murderer. Someone who failed to even keep a child safe," Toph thought of Naruto's brightness and warmth and almost sobbed. "Everything he stands against."

Sokka was silent for a long moment. "You're still you. Losing you really messed us up. I'm sure Aang would welcome you back if you told him who you were."

Toph bit her lip, finding the tassel on her hilt and running a hand through the dangly bits. "I don't think he would."

Sokka shifted. "It's your call."

"You aren't going to tell them?" Toph asked in confusion.

"Nah," he said softly. "It's not my place."

She stood abruptly. "Thank you."

"No problem," Sokka's voice brightened like he was smiling at her. "Oh, and you should invest in soleless shoes again; the bare feet are a dead giveaway."

Toph didn't respond, facing away from him on the deck of a ship covered in the blood of people she'd killed.

"See you around, I guess!" Sokka raised his voice a bit as he walked back towards the bison.

Don't say it. Don't get attached. Not again.

"Oi!" She yelled after him. "You can find me in the outskirts of Caldera City, usually!"

"Thanks!" Sokka shouted back. "We will meet again!"

Agni. Toph ran fingers through her messy hair, a grin growing on her face.

"I thought you lived on the ocean and in inns," Smythe commented.

"I did," Toph admitted. "Not anymore, though."

"Ah. Kimodo-rhino dung. You're one of the best mercs around."

"I know," Toph spun on her toes.

"I know."

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Toph stalked through the slums in Caldera City. Although Zuko had done an amazing job cracking down on slavers and the like, some of the dregs of humanity remained.

She caught a scrawny child's hand before they could dip their fingers into her kunai pouch. Toph thrust them aside, ignoring the yelp they produced.

The second she let go of the kid, they were gone, vanishing back into the beggars lining the streets. Toph tracked them for a moment longer, then turned away and continued on.

After the aborted pickpocketing attempt, no one tried to bother her.

She tried to squash her sharklike grin.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Toph quite liked the Fire Nation. The war has ended, but they're still wary and close-lipped and don't ask questions. She finds an abandoned building near the sea, the inhabitants long dead and gone, and nobody has a problem with her quietly moving in.

Well, a gang had a problem with it.

They no longer had one.

Or a gang to speak of.

Toph set down her load and stretched, popping her back. The building that was now hers happened to be a bit of a fixer-upper in that it had many holes and such in the walls and ceiling. A few grateful people had attempted to help her fix them (on account of the whole gang annihilation thing), but they hadn't gotten very far before getting caught up in their lives again.

Now, it was just Toph, the baskets of scrap metal she salvaged from the scrap yards, and the half dozen kids following along behind her.

She bent and took up her burden once again. The soft, tiny footsteps came after her, remaining a certain distance from her. They stayed within a twenty foot radius and, even though they had to have known about her lack of sight by now, stayed hidden.

Toph climbed the dirt road to her shabby little house, touching the warm bricks with the palm of her hand. She waited a second, casting her senses round about herself, then stepped onto the wall and walked up the side of it.

She listened to the tiny, muted gasps as she set the heavy basket carefully down on her roof. The metal molded at her touch, shaping into careful shingles and attaching themselves to one another with barely a thought.

This wasn't a perfect solution; she'd have to check for rust every month now, but it was better than getting dripped on every time it rained.

"Excuse me?" A timid voice asked from down below. "How'd you do that?"

Toph lifted the basket again before jumping off the roof, landing soundlessly right in front of the small boy child.

"I'm special," she told him, then raised one hand off the heavy basket. "Should we see if you're special, too?"

There was a moment of hesitation, then he nodded.

Toph touched two fingers to his forehead, balanced her chakra, and poked a bit into his undeveloped system. He jolted back as though burned, but Toph's senses could feel his own energy frantically burning hers away.

"Looks like you are." Toph let the basket fall to the ground. Metal shards flew free for a moment before hitting the dirt and becoming stationary once again. "You have a special energy inside of you. Once you're able to tap into it, I can teach you how to do incredible things, little one. Will you follow me?"

She could feel the boy examine her warily before returning a step closer. "Will it hurt?"

Toph grinned her shark grin. "Not for me it won't."

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Hindsight is 20/20, even when you're blind. Toph should have realized that maybe teaching six street thieves how to walk on walls would attract some unwanted attention. Alas, she didn't really think that far ahead.

Her train of thought mostly stopped after the 'teach them everything I know' bit, and she didn't think of the consequences until one of her little brats thought it would be a good idea to try and steal from the royal palace itself.

More surprising was that he actually got away with the Fire Lord's gold. He only got caught when he tried to spend it.

And because he was a snitch as well as an idiot, he told the Fire Lord exactly where to find her.

Which was why a team of those insufferable chi-blockers were coming up the hill towards her house.

"And breathe out," Toph instructed her remaining five pupils. She switched her sword to her right side, laying the sheath flat on the dirt. "That will be all for today. I do not think I need to remind you not to go stealing from any palaces, but just in case Benji's stupidity has worn off on you, don't. You're all dismissed. Go."

The five straightened and bowed to her before turning to leave. Toph felt them go, skirting the three chi-blockers with curiosity.

"May I help you?" Toph asked them directly.

The one in the lead of the other two came to a sweeping kneel right on front of her. "You mentioned the incident the other night, just now. Surely you know why we're here."

It wasn't a question. "Unfortunately, I have some inkling of why you're here. I would like to tell you I do not have any answers for you, but you probably believe I do and will not go unless I chase you off."

"Bold words from a blind woman," the guy on the side muttered.

The only reaction Toph gave was the subtle shink of her sword being unsheathed just the tiniest bit.

"Peace, sister, for we mean you no insult," the woman in front of her held up a placating hand. "The Fire Lord simply finds it odd that a single young boy could break into somewhere such as the Fire Palace and get away without being seen or sensed at all."

"Benji has always been overly ambitious," Toph allowed. "Although it is odd that the Fire Lord would find it so strange that a boy would turn up where he should not be."

"Boys will be boys," the chi-blocker allowed. "But it is hard to turn up inside an Agni blasted palace."

"The Fire Lord has done harder," Toph argued, face placid. "Pouhai Stronghold, the North Pole, Ba Sing Se in wartime."

The woman drew back minutely. "What?"

"Look, as his teacher, I will admonish him the next time I see him," Toph nodded her head and stood to signal the end of the conversation. "Until then, I have nothing for you. Farewell."

"In that case, we will simply have to escort you to somewhere you can talk more freely."

Toph had less than a second to dodge the woman's lightning fast fingers. She almost threw herself back, her knees bending till her hair almost touched the ground.

It was on.

Toph slammed USS's sheathed blade against the woman's legs, a move that would have succeeded in tripping her had she not been more flexible. Toph spun out of the way of a second attack, then channeled chakra into her legs and jackknifed them both into the woman's chest as she approached for another strike.

She went flying down the hill and landed a good distance away, skidding through the dirt road until she came to a stop up against a building.

Toph ignored her for the moment, taking advantage of the stunned chi-blockers to fold their feet into the ground. She ignored the guy's startled shout as she slammed an elbow into the small of his back, a brutal kick to the head knocking him unconscious.

However, she'd forgotten about the third, and her attack on the dude had brought her within striking range of their third group member.

Her left arm suddenly went numb and floppy as the third chi-blocker stabbed her fingers into Toph's pressure points. Toph hissed as she automatically shunshinned away, reappearing behind the woman.

She unsheathed her sword, swiping it down and to the right before raising it single handed above her head. "You'll die for that."

"Wait!" A startlingly familiar voice called. "Stop!"

Toph froze. It was Zuko.

Kimodo-rhino dung.

▪︎▪︎

She did not stop.

Zuko hissed and forced himself to run faster. The thief trainer was spry and flighty and seemed to know every inch of the slums.

He, on the other hand, could only channel his experience chasing the Avatar in an effort to close the gap.

Admittedly, it was considerable experience, but that was beyond the point.

Up ahead the woman vaulted a stack of decaying crates, wove around three people in rapid succession, and ducked around a crumbling corner, all with a floppy arm.

Zuko swore under his breath as he leaped the crates himself, shoving the bystanders aside.

Although hardly a second had lapsed between when the lady had lost his line of sight and when he'd turned the corner himself, she'd vanished. Zuko scanned down the street, noting the numerous alleyways. He didn't see her figure on the rooftops, or any hint of her passing.

He gritted his teeth. He really didn't want to do this, but desperate times...

"We know where the kids are!" Zuko shouted. "Either come back, or they'll answer for you!"

Empty threats, but still. This lady had taught a nonbender how to walk on walls. If this drew her out, it'd be worth it.

The cold touch of steel at his neck was his only sign she'd come.

"And here I thought you had honor, Fire Lord," a hauntingly familiar voice taunted.

Zuko didn't turn; judging by the speed at which the blade was positioned and angle at which it rested, he'd cut himself open if he tried.

That didn't stop him from talking, though.

"Toph?!"

"In the flesh." A second passed, and Toph pulled the sword away from him, still holding it loose and ready.

Zuko spun to face her.

And... whoah.

She'd grown up a lot. Her hair hung in a long braid. She had a vicious scar under her left eye, matching the one just peeking out of the neck of her robe. Her green and pink robe only came down to her waist, leaving her skintight black leather pants exposed. There were two weird pouches on her leg, and a thick grey bag belted on behind her. While she still had no shoes, pointy arm and shin guards came over the backs of her hands and the tops of her feet.

He only had six inches on her, now, rather than the foot and some change he'd lorded over her last time he'd seen her.

Last time he'd seen her, right as she and Aang and Sokka and Katara went to go subdue an angry spirit somewhere in the Earth Kingdom.

She grinned sharp and toothy, though a little hesitant. "I've come for my field trip."

"Where have you been?" He asked. "The others have been so worried for you! They've been looking all over the place; Aang even searched the Spirit Realm."

Toph shrugged, sheathing the thin katana she held and brushing past him. "I got stuck in a place beyond the Spirit Realm. Bright side, I got this cool sword."

"I thought you were like a master Earthbender," Zuko pointed out, following her. In a few quick strides he caught up.

"Yeah, I am. When you master stuff as young as I do, it means you have plenty of time whenever you want to move onto something new," Toph rebuffed. "And if my 'something new' was swordfighting or kunai throwing, or walking on walls, well, I had plenty of time for those too."

"Kunai throwing?" Zuko asked.

Toph's hand moved to the circular pouch at her thigh. In one smooth move she'd whipped out a black throwing knife and thrown it with crazy accuracy at a crack in the building beside Zuko. The paint had peeled to expose the bricks, and Toph had buried the tip of the throwing knife at the bottom of where two bricks met.

"Unfortunately," Toph said, jerking her wrist in a reeling motion. "My morals also moved on from being master at all things good and kind."

The knife reverse threw itself back into her hand, the round hilt thudding softly into her palm. She returned it to its pouch and dusted off her calloused skin.

"So that's why you haven't let everyone know you're back?" Zuko asked, kind of impressed by her display.

"Yep. Only Sokka knows," she shrugged. "Well, only Sokka knew, and him finding out at all wasn't planned. I try not to be in the same area they are if I can help it. Appa is super hard to predict when you can't see him, though."

"Why are you living out here?" He asked.

She hopped over a puddle of something rancid. "Not measuring up to your standards, eh rich boy?"

"We both grew up in wealthy households," Zuko said.

Toph laughed at that. "True, true. I don't really know why, if I'm being honest. Because it's mine? My house, my pupils, my loneliness?"

"Move into the palace," he bluntly replied. "I don't mind. You can bring the kids with you if you want."

She laughed again. "I've missed you, Zuko."

Toph took an extra quick step so she stood ahead of him, spinning to face him head on. Her hands folded behind her back and she gave him a softer smile than her seawolf sharp grin.

"But if I went with you, next time Aang and his posse turn up, our vegan monk friend will find out just how high my body count is."

Zuko blinked and she was gone.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The following days were weird. Toph would go about her daily routine, making even less of an effort to pointlessly hide her differences, and Zuko would trail behind her. This wouldn't be such a problem normally, except that he was the Fire Lord.

People tend to take notice when the Fire Lord walks down their street twice a day.

Oh, and also he was always followed by a train of courtiers and servants that tried to serve him and get him to work at the same time.

And thus, Toph's quiet life was over.

She slammed down the large basket she carried and whirled to get up close and personal. "Why are you following me?"

Zuko blinked, seeming entirely unconcerned. "What do you mean?"

Toph waved a hand at the veritable parade of court goers trailing after them like lost turtleducklings. "Listen, Zuko. I chose the most unobtrusive and out of the way place I could find to bed down in in order to go unnoticed and unbothered! This? This is very noticeable and bothersome!"

"Oh."

"Yeah!" Toph slammed a foot into the ground, propelling the basket off the ground and into her arms with a slab of earth.

Because the smelters she usually got her metal from had somehow noticed the actual Fire Lord following her, they had switched from letting Toph pick up scraps to offering her their finest bits on a literal silver platter. Thus, her basket had become so heavy that she wouldn't have been able to lift it if not for a combination of chakra and metal bending.

"Would you like any help with that?" Zuko asked.

For a moment, Toph seriously considered it. She really wanted to plunk the ridiculously heavy basket right into his arms and walk away, ignoring the basket bringing Zuko to the ground.

No. She must resist the temptation.

"Zuko," Toph told him plainly. "I am fine."

"No, you're not," Zuko said.

Toph blinked. "Excuse me?"

"No one who's living in a shack on a hill and avoiding all her friends to teach random kids pickpocketing skills is fine."

Those were surprising words of wisdom from a guy who happened to be one of the densest bricks she knew.

"Okay," Toph allowed. "Maybe I'm not 100% A-okay, but I'm dealing."

A second later, Zuko had swept her off her feet and over his shoulder. "Right. Come have lunch with me and you can get back to patching up your leaky roof tomorrow, maybe."

"Zuko," Toph huffed. "Lunch does not extend into tomorrow."

"I'm the Fire Lord," he retorted. "Lunch extends however long I want it to."

She debated the logic with him but didn't try and get down until he helped her, and her feet touched warm marble.

"Right, then," Zuko brushed his hands off briskly. "What do you want for lunch?"

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Living in the palace was simultaneously eerily familiar and totally alien. Toph slipped into the nobility and wealth without leaving so much as a single ripple. She knew how to swan down hallways, how to stand demurely in a corner and not look out of place.

The six kids she brought with her did not.

They left a far larger trace than a ripple, that was for sure.

Toph hung out with Zuko a lot. They would spar in the courtyard, showy, dangerous affairs that attracted crowds like a circus.

The first time she saved Zuko's life from assassins, he thanked her and ignored the blood dripping from her sword.

The second time, he swept her up into his arms and held her until she stopped shaking.

The third time, she was the one that reached for him.

Things sucked, but he was there, and it would get better.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Anko and Iruka had been dating for almost a year now. It had been 364 days to be exact, and already Anko was entirely smitten.

"He's just so kind," she told Inoichi, tracing a knot in the wooden counter with one finger. "He's so patient and sweet and he brought me dango yesterday that he made himself."

Inoichi traded a long look with Shikaku. The Nara shook his head minutely, but he eventually succumbed to Inoichi's laser eyes.

"I want his babies," Anko sighed. "They'd be so cute. I hope they all look exactly like him."

"Anko," Shikaku cleared his throat. "It sounds like you're very happy with him."

"I guess," Anko opened one eye and squinted at him warily. "So what?"

Coughing roughly into his hand, Shikaku tried again. "I'm assuming you don't want anyone else, right?"

"No...?"

"Yoshino proposed," Inoichi told her bluntly, having grown tired of his friend's dithering. "Get out of my shop and go buy a ring. Some of us have actual work to be doing, work that does not include listening to you mooning about your boyfriend. My customers have designated your presence as a sign that we're closed for business. Go away."

"But, like, Iruka! And Toph!" Anko protested. Her ears were bright red, and the faintest of blushes dusted her cheeks. "The Toph Beifong Location Finding Comitee is still in session!"

"I'm pretty sure Sakura has that handled," Inoichi said flatly.

They all paused to shiver, reminiscing.

"Okay, point," Anko admitted. "But I'm not done telling you about how Iruka-"

Inoichi stepped out from behind the counter, gently grabbed her arms, and shoved her bodily out the door. "Tell me during a time that is not during business hours! Go!"

He shut the door behind her with a cacophony of jingling bells and glared at her through the glass.

She made sad puppy dog eyes through the glass at him.

His face didn't so much as twitch.

Sighing, Anko trudged away.

She had gotten into the habit of hanging out at Inoichi's during school hours while Iruka was busy. So maybe she was there from seven until three! So what? Lady Tsunade hadn't assigned her any missions since the great Danzo Beheading (boy oh boy, that trial had been wild!) and while she had been dismantling the few tiny slivers of ROOT that remained, that game had ended a while ago.

Anko sighed and moped about the village for about twenty minutes until she ran into a familiar face.

Or, rather, two familiar faces.

"Sai! Shin! How are my boys?"

Anko hopped down off the roof she'd been standing on and gently hugged the two teenagers. Sai was warm, and allowed her to hug him without really hugging her back. Shin, on the other hand, always felt so fragile, like he'd break if she squeezed too hard. His eyes were wide in his still-gaunt face, and his silver hair was rumpled.

"We are well," Sai monotoned.

"I can see that. Shin, you're finally out of the wheelchair!" Anko grinned at the older of the two.

One of those itsy bitsy ROOT fragments had been hiding Shin, and man, was Anko glad she had found him. Although her apartment had been crowded for a bit, what with three teenagers squished into her spare bedroom, it had totally been worth it.

Shin seemed to have Nara somewhere in him because his tactics were absolutely crazy. She had introduced him to Shikaku after Lady Tsunade had started his cancer treatments on a whim, and now she lived in fear of the monster she had created.

Well, one of the monsters. When Sakura had found the time to hook up with a retired ANBU squad, Anko would never know. All she was comfortable admitting was that her adopted daughter scared her a bit more than she'd like to admit.

"Yes, although not for very long," Shin shot her a wobbly smile. "Lady Tsunade allowed Sai and I to go on a short walk so long as I didn't overexert myself."

"I would not let that happen," Sai promised, a dark glint in his eye.

Anko laughed merrily. "Of course not."

She cupped a hand around each of their cheeks and pressed a soft kiss to their foreheads, Sai first, then Shin.

"What are you up to?" Sai asked, cocking his head in his usual rapid, bird-like manner. "Usually you are at the flower shop this time of day."

Anko laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Inoichi kicked me out. Said I was bad for business or something."

Sai's hand twitched towards his sheathed tanto. "Do I need to teach him respect?"

She laughed again. "Nah. Thanks for offering, though. I thought I might spend some time looking at jewelry."

She glanced away and channeled her inner shinobi, trying to hide the rising heat in her cheeks.

Sai and Shin exchanged a glance. Their faces began ticking through a silent conversation. Anko watched them in amusement.

"...We'll come with you," Sai concluded their conversation out loud. "Shin has been interested in getting a piercing now that his cancer is gone."

A slight pulse of alarm ran through her, but Anko stuffed it down. "Okay. No big deal. Might be a little boring for you guys, though."

"I am sure they will have a place for me to rest," Shin shot her another smile.

"Of course," Anko agreed. "Well, then, let's get heading."

The jewelry shop was a lot brighter and more civilian than Anko had been expecting. There were sparkly wares all over the place, and only a chuunin or two to keep an eye on it all. It would have been so easy to rob.

But Anko was a respectable woman now, one who didn't think about theft, or stealing at all, no sir. She leaned closer to a shelf full of various different rings and watched the boys out of the corner of her eye.

They seemed to be quietly debating over by the earring counter, Shin slumped in a hastily produced chair. While Anko was a respectable woman now, she still had no troubles threatening people to keep her boys safe and in good health.

"Looking for something for a lucky lady?" The salesman, a shriveled old merchant asked. His tone was oily and grating, but Anko held back her annoyance.

"Lucky man, actually," Anko told him. "And maybe. Depends on if any of your wares appeal to me."

He, unfortunately, did not find the sense to shut up and leave her alone at this point.

"I am sure this one would appeal to any who laid eyes on it," the merchant gestured at a thin silver ring with an absolutely gigantic diamond on it. It was very sparkly and delicate and also the most expensive one he had displayed.

Anko shot him a flat look. "No."

There was a loud cracking behind them, and Anko and the merchant turned as one to stare, one with horror and the other delight, as the top of one of his display counters came loose and collapsed inwards on itself, sending sparkly jewels cascading to the ground.

Okay. Time to leave.

"We'll get out of your hair now," Anko placed iron hands on the boys and steered them outside.

"Did you find what you wanted?" Shin asked. Anko decided to ignore how he had planned to bring down the counter.

"We left without anything, so I would assume so," Sai remarked. He was the one who had carried out Shin's plan.

"Nothing in there was right," Anko said. She had nothing to link the two to the toppled wares, so it would be fine to just let it slide, right?

"What will you do now, then?" Shin asked.

"We're getting you back to the hospital first," Anko remarked sternly. "After that..."

There was an idea slowly growing in her mind, a niggling, growing idea she was considering.

"After that I think I'm going to take a trip to the Konoha weaponsmiths."

It couldn't be too hard to order a ring made out of kunai metal, could it?"

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"She's whipped," Shin told Sai as soon as they were close enough to the hospital to have lost Anko. "When do you think the wedding will be?"

Sai did not know. What he did know, however, was that they were not going to the hospital. "Where is your wheelchair?"

Shin pointed it out and Sai went after it.  After the two were settled, they began to make tracks towards the western side of the village.

Sakura had mentioned she was almost home in her latest missive, and Sai had an idea.

Almost home translated to 'three hours away' and Sai and Shin were there to meet her.

Sakura had tanned slightly during her travels. Sai noticed it almost as soon as she was close enough to really see. Her hair was longer, braided clear down to her midthigh and woven through with a white ribbon. She wore a pink silk half kimono with large white flowers over her left shoulder and right thigh and sleeve.

He noted with slight satisfaction that she had replaced the fishnet armor with real pants since her last visit. Although it was a nice callback to their adopted matron, it left a bit too little to the imagination for Sai to truly appreciate it.

Her face brightened when she saw them waiting for her. Sakura tipped back her straw hat and shot them a bright grin.

She opened her mouth to say something sappy and useless, so Sai just cut her off.

"Anko will be proposing to Iruka soon," he told her. "Shin and I will be getting piercings to commemorate. Would you like to as well?"

She blinked. "You mean they haven't gotten hitched yet?"

"No," he replied, and they all shared a look of disbelief.

Sakura pulled her braid over her shoulder. "Wow. Color me surprised. What sort of piercing are we talking about?"

▪︎▪︎▪︎

The next day was the day.

Iruka opened his eyes and felt only resolve as he went through his morning routine.

Today he would make Anko his fiancee. He had been dithering about for weeks now, but no more!

He picked up the tiny box that had been sitting on his nightstand for almost two weeks now and slipped it into his pocket.

Class went by in a daze. If asked, Iruka wouldn't be able to recount the day's events, much less

And there she was.

"A-Anko!" He managed to get out. Her gorgeous face curved in a bright smile as she saw him, and he felt happiness bubble up inside of him.

Some days he didn't know how he had managed to wind up with someone as amazing as she was.

"Hey bae," Anko greeted him with a quick kiss to the cheek. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"Just spending time with you," Iruka told her. "Does that count?"

She laughed and kissed him again, this time on the lips. Iruka closed his eyes, the faint traces of nervousness vanishing.

This was what he wanted. To always have her, to always have her kisses and laughter, to wake up to her every single day. To have her warm eyes and bright smile for himself.

They hit up the town. He bought her dango and she got him a flower, tucking the rose behind his ear. They played darts (he totally won) and ate a late lunch, shamelessly stealing the other's food right off their plates. Anko got sauce on her nose and Iruka wiped it away.

It was the warmest hours of the day before he managed to lure her over to the top of the hokage monument, wind pulling at their clothing and hair.

Anko crouched on the edge of the cliff, resting her arms on her thighs as she considered.

"Beautiful," Iruka said quietly.

Anko blushed. "You're so sappy, you know that?"

"How could I not be?" Iruka asked, sliding down besides her. He let his legs dangle off the edge and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, finger lingering on the red triangle earring perched on her helix.

"I have something to ask you," Anko cleared her throat and ducked her head.

"I do too," Iruka shifted a bit closer to her. "You first."

"No, you!" Anko's eyes sparkled whenever she felt mischievous.

Iruka laughed and moved a little to cover the motion of moving the box from his pocket to his hand.

"Hey Anko?" He asked. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he told her. "There's nobody else who could even compare to you."

"I love the way you laugh," Anko added. "You're so kind and open. You don't see that with shinobi, like, ever. You stayed late last Tuesday to help a random student with a difficult math equation."

"You're so fierce," Iruka told her. "So loyal. So strong."

"You're sweet. So smart. So wise."

He squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled the box open. "Will you marry me?"

Huh. There had been a weird echo when he'd said that. He cracked open one eye and peeked over at-

Anko was holding a ring, too, her face tomato red. They both stared at each other for a dumbfounded second.

The two of them erupted in laughter simultaneously.

Iruka pulled the diamond ring from the box. "Is that a yes?"

Anko wiped a tear of mirth from her eye and smiled. "Duh!"

She let him slide his ring onto her finger first, then slipped his on with steady hands.

"I love you," he said again, because once wasn't enough.

"I know," she replied, and then they were kissing, long and hot and deep.

For a passionate three seconds.

"Well it's about time!" A loud female voice proclaimed.

He felt Anko smile against his mouth. They broke off and twisted to see the three teenagers Anko had somehow ended up taking in.

Shin clapped politely for him, Sai standing behind his wheelchair. Sakura's hands were perched on her hips and she kept her face in an annoyed cast although her lips were curling up.

"Come on guys!" Anko scolded. "You couldn't let us have one minute to kiss?"

"Course not!" Sakura waved a hand.

"Come on," Shin laughed a bit as he spoke. "We made reservations for dinner."

"How did you even know?" Anko despaired.

"Iruka asked us if it would be okay before he bought the ring," Sai remarked. He fixed Iruka with a deadpan stare. "I'm not changing my last name to Umino, just so you know."

"Um, what?"

"He's been writing his name as Mitarashi Sai for almost four months now," Shin explained. "Did you not know?"

Anko buried her face in her hands.

Iruka laughed, giddy with happiness. He climbed to his feet and helped Anko to hers. "Don't worry. I wanted a really big family."

"Eh?"

"We're at three children and counting," Iruka said. "Looks like you got started without me.

It took a moment to sink in, but Anko went red and smacked his pec. "Iruka!"

The three chaos-buckets that were her -their- children cackled as they turned to go. Iruka noticed a faint glimmer of red on each of their left ears as they moved, and he bit back another laugh.

Everything was absolutely perfect.

Sai turned to Sakura. "So when are you getting with Neji?"

"Whoah whoah whoah!" Iruka snapped onto the comment with the speed of a concerned dad. "What's this about that Hyuuga boy?"

"Iruuukaaaa!"

▪︎▪︎▪︎

They all live happily after. Anko has five bio kids: a set of twins, then two boys and a girl. The youngest (the girl) is named Toph, in honor of girl who first brought them together.

Sakura searches for Toph until she gets told to cease and desist by a scary ghostly Uchiha woman. She returns to the village and dates around until she finds the right guy (probably Neji) and doesn't do any of that waiting for a year bull crap. She gets married within six months and starts a family. Half of her children have the ability to Earthbend, and so the BeiFong clan is born.

Shikamaru looks for Toph until the message from Ran as well, and winds up with Temari. While he is happy with his marriage, sometimes he goes to the top of the Hokage monument and stared off into the distance. When Shikadai asks him about his first love, he tells his kid about ebony hair and blind eyes.

Naruto ends up unofficially adopted by Kakashi. He eventually becomes hokage and marries Hinata.

The Akatsuki all fall the way of Canon, although when Shizuma retrieves Samehada, he finds a crumpled white tassel tied around its hilt.

Sasuke eventually returns to the village. There is no fighting between him and Naruto. They both keep all their limbs.

Thanks for reading!!

Rock on!!