SO SHERLOCK!SOKKA PART THREE...
...is here! I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I figured I'd just type a few pages today; it turned out to be a little longer than the previous installments (OMG FIVE PAGES). Some humor, some seriousness, and some... backstory? For an AU? Hahaha. I TRIED. I'm sorry if something is awkward or off grammar-wise. I need to check it over again. D:
(Also, if you haven't yet, go look at
a_dinglehopper's latest arts~~! THEY ARE LOVE.)
Sokka let out a groan and buried his face in his hands. “How am I going to look for clues when I can’t even get in?”
From across the street, the gate was propped wide open, but guards surrounded the entire area. There was a small crowd forming, mainly consisting of long nosed women and screaming children, as a well-dressed group filed out of the manor and into a sleek black car. The police were also present, combing what little of the grassy inside area the group could view.
“Want me to go with plan 58?” asked Toph, taking a step forward expectantly.
He shook his head. “No, that won’t work,” he grumbled. “Too many witnesses….”
Katara thought she should ask about this ‘plan 58,’ as well as the ones before and after it, but held her tongue. “Why don’t we just go and ask some questions?”
Peeking through his fingers, he snorted. “I was going to do that.”
“Right. You just wanted to snoop around, didn’t you?”
“…maybe.”
They wearily walked up to the entrance. Toph was in the lead, shoving each person out of the way with a shout of, “Step aside! Extremely important people coming through!” while Katara apologized and Sokka tried to look somewhat significant.
Once at the intended destination, Sokka (pipe jutting out of the corner of his mouth) scampered over to the nearest officer. “’scuse me, my good man. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Sorry, Sir, but we are unable to disclose information at this moment.”
Eyes narrowed, the detective scowled in annoyance. A moment later, he was trying again, undaunted. “Why, hello there! I’m sure you guard this vicinity often. Anything… interesting happen? Last night, perhaps?” He anxiously tapped a pencil against his chin.
The man stared out, face set in a stern glare. “No,” was his dry response.
By this time, Toph had found her way to where Sokka was. “Look here, Mister,” she started, jabbing a finger at the man’s chest. “You see him? He’s on a major case right now and without the facts, there’s nothing he can do. Don’t make me pound them out of you.” She snarled lightly before adding, “Besides, you realize that the basics of this case were released in the paper today, right?”
He slid his gaze down to her. “Then he knows that there is no case, seeing as the culprits have already been caught.”
“We’re not taking any chances. Lives are on the line, after all,” Sokka said.
“The lives of murderers, you mean.”
Toph put her hands on her hips. She rolled her dull eyes and muttered, “Like you saw anything.”
This got his attention. He smirked, hand reaching up to stroke a long sideburn. “I’ll have you know that I am captain of the duke’s guards. Anything and everything that happens at the estate is witnessed by these very eyes.”
“So you did see something!” Sokka concluded, flipping open his notebook.
With yet another sly grin, he clarified: “I saw two young men break under the pressure of being caught red-handed. They were brutal and wild, but we were able to stop them before anyone else was killed.”
“That doesn’t sound like Aang at all!” Katara retorted, having finally made her way over to the others. She glowered at him. “You’re lying.”
“Oh, am I? I don’t see how I--as well as all of the other men who were present at the scene--could be lying.”
Her mouth twitched with rage, and she took a step forward. “I don’t care how many people ‘witnessed it,’ Aang would never--”
“Captian Zhao! What is going on here?”
A woman, dark red dress-suit hugging tightly against her body, strolled up, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed; behind her, a perky girl in pink twirled a lacy umbrella. The guard straightened instantly. “Lady Azula. I was just informing these three that nothing out of the ordinary occurred last night, although they seem to refuse to listen.”
She scrutinized them evenly before waving a manicured hand at them in a shooing fashion. “Well, there you have it. Please leave.”
Magnifying glass pressed against his eye, Sokka leaned in and inquired, “Do you know anything about yesterday’s happenings?”
“My brother and a dumb friend of his were attempting to end Father’s life, I hear. I, however, was sleeping at the time,” she replied with a yawn. Placing a finger on his forehead, she flicked him out of her way. He stumbled back, pipe popping out of his mouth. “Aren’t you a little old to be playing detective, anyway?”
Toph threw a fist in the air. “Hey! For your information, Sokka’s a real detective!”
A snicker formed at her lips as she began down the street. “I suppose they’ll let anyone be a detective these days,” she mused loudly. Her pink clad friend tossed the group an apologetic look before hurrying away.
Pouting, Sokka picked up his pipe and dusted it off. Seconds later, his pencil was moving furiously against paper. His sister peered over his shoulder, curiosity getting the best of her, before bringing a hand to her head and heaving a sigh.
“What a bitch!” Toph remarked at last.
--
“You and Katara, huh?”
Aang rubbed the back of his head shyly. “Naw, it’s nothing like that. …not yet, at least.”
Propping himself up on his elbows, Zuko let out a chuckle. “‘Not yet?’ And when, exactly, are you planning on changing that?”
The younger man leaned back, murmuring, “Depends. I really don’t want to ruin what we have.”
“Well, I guess that’s understandable. It took me a long time to hook up with Mai.” He noticed the interest flash across his cellmate’s face and decided to go into detail: “I’d known her since… well, practically forever. She was close friends with my sister, but always found time to pick on me. Once, she’d chased me into a corner just to pour mud down my shirt!”
He laughed at the memory, a toothy grin on his lips. “Later, I realized that she’d been watching me--and what surprised me more was that I’d been watching her, too. But before I could do anything, my father sent me on this… trip. He wanted me to learn more about the workings of the world,” he explained. Eyes closed, he continued:
“After three years, I’d figured she moved on. Who would wait for someone like me, right? So when I was dropped off at Ba Sing Se Dock, you can imagine my surprise at seeing her there, waiting. She’d been waiting… all along.”
“Wow, Zuko,” Aang whispered. Eyes wide, he brought his knees to his chest. “It must be wonderful, being with the girl you’ve always loved.”
The scarred man blushed and messed with the collar of his jacket. “Well… I just--” He cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject. “Anyway, how did you guys meet? I mean, you’ve told me that Katara’s your ‘guardian angel,’ but feel free to elaborate.”
Chortling, he recalled, “I’d been on a pretty serious case--”
“A case? What do you mean?”
Aang quickly tried to rectify his story. “I-I mean, I was heading… to work?” He received an eyebrow raise. “…okay. If I tell you this, you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone.”
“Is it that serious?” He sat up, cautious but eager. “I promise.”
“Alright. I’ve been wanting to tell someone this, anyway,” he stated. “You’ve heard of Roku, haven’t you?”
“You mean the man who saved Ba Sing Se from the huge fire about fifty years ago?” Zuko asked. “Wasn’t he the one that helped locate a band of thieves, too?”
He smiled fondly. “The one and only! Well, what if I were to tell you that he was part of this organization made to uphold peace in the world? …and that I was trained by him?”
“Makes sense,” his friend replied less than a beat later. “I mean, why else would you want to stop Father?”
A little shocked at how easily the man believed him, Aang felt his jaw drop. “Really? I-I see. Uhm… anyway--” He tried to collect himself. “--as I was saying, I’d been on a case and, well, I wasn’t exactly prepared. You know I’m not a fighter. They ambushed me and left me to die.
“I woke up to Katara’s smiling face, though the first thing I remember hearing was Sokka playing his violin--quite badly, mind you--and Toph telling him she was going to toss the thing into the fireplace.” He picked at a tear in his pants, muttering to himself. “I’ve been slacking on my duties lately… but I can’t help it. This is the first time I’ve felt like I belong. I… I actually have a family.”
Zuko looked away. “At least you have one,” he mumbled.
His cellmate’s gray eyes slid up to him. “You’re part of my family, too, Zuko.”
“…thanks, Aang.”
--
The clouds swirled together, gray and ominous. It was going to rain.
Mai walked with slow steps. Though appearing to be deep in thought, she was quite aware of her surroundings. Her fingers traced the hilt of the dagger hidden under her sleeve, grasping the sheath out of habit. She let out a soft breath, one she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and glanced to the sky.
“There you are, Mai!”
Pink umbrella spinning gently, Ty Lee ran up with a grin. “We’ve been looking for you,” she sang.
“Oh, have you?” the black haired girl pondered.
“Of course!” Azula’s voice rang out. Seconds later, she was before them, a fake smile blooming on her face. “We were quite worried about our friend.”
She deadpanned, “I’ve only been gone for a few hours.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Azula said, “But dear Mai, I feared you would be doing something regretful! Your beloved Zuzu is in jail, after all.” Ty Lee let out a soft gasp, bringing her hands to her face.
“I did see him,” the woman admitted calmly, fingers clenching underneath the dark fabric. “He had no right doing something so stupid before our wedding, and I merely went to tell him so.”
“Is that all?”
Glancing at her authoritative friend, she nodded. “Why would I lie, Lady Azula? I’ve no reason to give Zuko the time of day. Not after what he’s done.”
A satisfied smirk replaced the mask. “Excellent.” She clapped her hands and spun on her heels. “Come, ladies. I believe we’ve dillydallied long enough. We must return to the manor.”
Mai closed her eyes and mouthed something in silence. The sound of raindrops began to fill her ears, and she vaguely wondered why she felt none pelting her skin. Opening her eyes, she saw Ty Lee smiling comfortingly; she held her small umbrella above their heads. Accepting the hand that reached for hers, she let the young woman pull her close as they started down the sidewalk.
--
Katara crossed her arms as her brother stuffed his notebook into his pocket and attempted to use his hat as a shield. Toph practically hissed and tried to hide under Sokka’s jacket.
“It’s just rain, you two.”
“It’s wet and nasty and makes everything stick to you!” insisted Sokka, hurrying to a nearby shelter (a beaten down porch).
Shaking off, Toph griped, “So. Today was a total waste of time.”
“Not really. We’ve learned that they’re trying to hide something.”
“Yeah,” Sokka added, wringing out his cap. “And that Zhao guy is an asshole.”
His sister, still standing in the rain, tilted her head back and allowed the droplets to run down her face. “We need to find out more… or else Aang--”
“Not this again!” Toph groaned and plopped down on the cold ground. “Twinkles will be just fine. You’ll see!” Tugging on his pants, she was able to bring Sokka down to the floor with her. “Right, ace detective?”
“At least someone believes in me!” he cried and brought a finger to his eye with a sob.
Katara allowed herself to laugh. “Well then, what should we do next?”
He began chewing on the end of his pipe as he flipped through his notes. “Something… to do…,” he muttered. Leaning over, he shoved a page into his friend’s face. “What do you think, Toph? Any good?”
“Sure, why not! …care to tell me what the hell is on the paper?”
Sokka paused, confused, before realization suddenly dawned on him. “Oh. …right. Uh, I’m thinking we either find a way to get that Zhao guy to talk or, you know, learn more about Zuko’s lovely sister.”
“We could always split up tomorrow and do both,” Katara offered with a shrug.
“That!” exclaimed Sokka, pointing at his sister with enthusiasm. “That is a great idea!”
She narrowed her eyes. “No bar hopping.”
“Not even one?” Toph begged.
“No. And don’t give me that look. You two can drink yourselves silly after Aang is safe again.”
The blind woman huffed and blew at the bangs sticking to her face. “Stick in the mud…,” she grouched as her partner wailed miserably beside her (“But that could be days!”).
--
Next time: the gang splits up, determined to find out what's going on! Sure, Toph and Sokka agreed to stay out of the bars, but still...! And Azula decides to have a party in her father's absence?
(Also, if you haven't yet, go look at
a_dinglehopper's latest arts~~! THEY ARE LOVE.)
Sokka let out a groan and buried his face in his hands. “How am I going to look for clues when I can’t even get in?”
From across the street, the gate was propped wide open, but guards surrounded the entire area. There was a small crowd forming, mainly consisting of long nosed women and screaming children, as a well-dressed group filed out of the manor and into a sleek black car. The police were also present, combing what little of the grassy inside area the group could view.
“Want me to go with plan 58?” asked Toph, taking a step forward expectantly.
He shook his head. “No, that won’t work,” he grumbled. “Too many witnesses….”
Katara thought she should ask about this ‘plan 58,’ as well as the ones before and after it, but held her tongue. “Why don’t we just go and ask some questions?”
Peeking through his fingers, he snorted. “I was going to do that.”
“Right. You just wanted to snoop around, didn’t you?”
“…maybe.”
They wearily walked up to the entrance. Toph was in the lead, shoving each person out of the way with a shout of, “Step aside! Extremely important people coming through!” while Katara apologized and Sokka tried to look somewhat significant.
Once at the intended destination, Sokka (pipe jutting out of the corner of his mouth) scampered over to the nearest officer. “’scuse me, my good man. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Sorry, Sir, but we are unable to disclose information at this moment.”
Eyes narrowed, the detective scowled in annoyance. A moment later, he was trying again, undaunted. “Why, hello there! I’m sure you guard this vicinity often. Anything… interesting happen? Last night, perhaps?” He anxiously tapped a pencil against his chin.
The man stared out, face set in a stern glare. “No,” was his dry response.
By this time, Toph had found her way to where Sokka was. “Look here, Mister,” she started, jabbing a finger at the man’s chest. “You see him? He’s on a major case right now and without the facts, there’s nothing he can do. Don’t make me pound them out of you.” She snarled lightly before adding, “Besides, you realize that the basics of this case were released in the paper today, right?”
He slid his gaze down to her. “Then he knows that there is no case, seeing as the culprits have already been caught.”
“We’re not taking any chances. Lives are on the line, after all,” Sokka said.
“The lives of murderers, you mean.”
Toph put her hands on her hips. She rolled her dull eyes and muttered, “Like you saw anything.”
This got his attention. He smirked, hand reaching up to stroke a long sideburn. “I’ll have you know that I am captain of the duke’s guards. Anything and everything that happens at the estate is witnessed by these very eyes.”
“So you did see something!” Sokka concluded, flipping open his notebook.
With yet another sly grin, he clarified: “I saw two young men break under the pressure of being caught red-handed. They were brutal and wild, but we were able to stop them before anyone else was killed.”
“That doesn’t sound like Aang at all!” Katara retorted, having finally made her way over to the others. She glowered at him. “You’re lying.”
“Oh, am I? I don’t see how I--as well as all of the other men who were present at the scene--could be lying.”
Her mouth twitched with rage, and she took a step forward. “I don’t care how many people ‘witnessed it,’ Aang would never--”
“Captian Zhao! What is going on here?”
A woman, dark red dress-suit hugging tightly against her body, strolled up, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed; behind her, a perky girl in pink twirled a lacy umbrella. The guard straightened instantly. “Lady Azula. I was just informing these three that nothing out of the ordinary occurred last night, although they seem to refuse to listen.”
She scrutinized them evenly before waving a manicured hand at them in a shooing fashion. “Well, there you have it. Please leave.”
Magnifying glass pressed against his eye, Sokka leaned in and inquired, “Do you know anything about yesterday’s happenings?”
“My brother and a dumb friend of his were attempting to end Father’s life, I hear. I, however, was sleeping at the time,” she replied with a yawn. Placing a finger on his forehead, she flicked him out of her way. He stumbled back, pipe popping out of his mouth. “Aren’t you a little old to be playing detective, anyway?”
Toph threw a fist in the air. “Hey! For your information, Sokka’s a real detective!”
A snicker formed at her lips as she began down the street. “I suppose they’ll let anyone be a detective these days,” she mused loudly. Her pink clad friend tossed the group an apologetic look before hurrying away.
Pouting, Sokka picked up his pipe and dusted it off. Seconds later, his pencil was moving furiously against paper. His sister peered over his shoulder, curiosity getting the best of her, before bringing a hand to her head and heaving a sigh.
“What a bitch!” Toph remarked at last.
--
“You and Katara, huh?”
Aang rubbed the back of his head shyly. “Naw, it’s nothing like that. …not yet, at least.”
Propping himself up on his elbows, Zuko let out a chuckle. “‘Not yet?’ And when, exactly, are you planning on changing that?”
The younger man leaned back, murmuring, “Depends. I really don’t want to ruin what we have.”
“Well, I guess that’s understandable. It took me a long time to hook up with Mai.” He noticed the interest flash across his cellmate’s face and decided to go into detail: “I’d known her since… well, practically forever. She was close friends with my sister, but always found time to pick on me. Once, she’d chased me into a corner just to pour mud down my shirt!”
He laughed at the memory, a toothy grin on his lips. “Later, I realized that she’d been watching me--and what surprised me more was that I’d been watching her, too. But before I could do anything, my father sent me on this… trip. He wanted me to learn more about the workings of the world,” he explained. Eyes closed, he continued:
“After three years, I’d figured she moved on. Who would wait for someone like me, right? So when I was dropped off at Ba Sing Se Dock, you can imagine my surprise at seeing her there, waiting. She’d been waiting… all along.”
“Wow, Zuko,” Aang whispered. Eyes wide, he brought his knees to his chest. “It must be wonderful, being with the girl you’ve always loved.”
The scarred man blushed and messed with the collar of his jacket. “Well… I just--” He cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject. “Anyway, how did you guys meet? I mean, you’ve told me that Katara’s your ‘guardian angel,’ but feel free to elaborate.”
Chortling, he recalled, “I’d been on a pretty serious case--”
“A case? What do you mean?”
Aang quickly tried to rectify his story. “I-I mean, I was heading… to work?” He received an eyebrow raise. “…okay. If I tell you this, you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone.”
“Is it that serious?” He sat up, cautious but eager. “I promise.”
“Alright. I’ve been wanting to tell someone this, anyway,” he stated. “You’ve heard of Roku, haven’t you?”
“You mean the man who saved Ba Sing Se from the huge fire about fifty years ago?” Zuko asked. “Wasn’t he the one that helped locate a band of thieves, too?”
He smiled fondly. “The one and only! Well, what if I were to tell you that he was part of this organization made to uphold peace in the world? …and that I was trained by him?”
“Makes sense,” his friend replied less than a beat later. “I mean, why else would you want to stop Father?”
A little shocked at how easily the man believed him, Aang felt his jaw drop. “Really? I-I see. Uhm… anyway--” He tried to collect himself. “--as I was saying, I’d been on a case and, well, I wasn’t exactly prepared. You know I’m not a fighter. They ambushed me and left me to die.
“I woke up to Katara’s smiling face, though the first thing I remember hearing was Sokka playing his violin--quite badly, mind you--and Toph telling him she was going to toss the thing into the fireplace.” He picked at a tear in his pants, muttering to himself. “I’ve been slacking on my duties lately… but I can’t help it. This is the first time I’ve felt like I belong. I… I actually have a family.”
Zuko looked away. “At least you have one,” he mumbled.
His cellmate’s gray eyes slid up to him. “You’re part of my family, too, Zuko.”
“…thanks, Aang.”
--
The clouds swirled together, gray and ominous. It was going to rain.
Mai walked with slow steps. Though appearing to be deep in thought, she was quite aware of her surroundings. Her fingers traced the hilt of the dagger hidden under her sleeve, grasping the sheath out of habit. She let out a soft breath, one she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and glanced to the sky.
“There you are, Mai!”
Pink umbrella spinning gently, Ty Lee ran up with a grin. “We’ve been looking for you,” she sang.
“Oh, have you?” the black haired girl pondered.
“Of course!” Azula’s voice rang out. Seconds later, she was before them, a fake smile blooming on her face. “We were quite worried about our friend.”
She deadpanned, “I’ve only been gone for a few hours.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Azula said, “But dear Mai, I feared you would be doing something regretful! Your beloved Zuzu is in jail, after all.” Ty Lee let out a soft gasp, bringing her hands to her face.
“I did see him,” the woman admitted calmly, fingers clenching underneath the dark fabric. “He had no right doing something so stupid before our wedding, and I merely went to tell him so.”
“Is that all?”
Glancing at her authoritative friend, she nodded. “Why would I lie, Lady Azula? I’ve no reason to give Zuko the time of day. Not after what he’s done.”
A satisfied smirk replaced the mask. “Excellent.” She clapped her hands and spun on her heels. “Come, ladies. I believe we’ve dillydallied long enough. We must return to the manor.”
Mai closed her eyes and mouthed something in silence. The sound of raindrops began to fill her ears, and she vaguely wondered why she felt none pelting her skin. Opening her eyes, she saw Ty Lee smiling comfortingly; she held her small umbrella above their heads. Accepting the hand that reached for hers, she let the young woman pull her close as they started down the sidewalk.
--
Katara crossed her arms as her brother stuffed his notebook into his pocket and attempted to use his hat as a shield. Toph practically hissed and tried to hide under Sokka’s jacket.
“It’s just rain, you two.”
“It’s wet and nasty and makes everything stick to you!” insisted Sokka, hurrying to a nearby shelter (a beaten down porch).
Shaking off, Toph griped, “So. Today was a total waste of time.”
“Not really. We’ve learned that they’re trying to hide something.”
“Yeah,” Sokka added, wringing out his cap. “And that Zhao guy is an asshole.”
His sister, still standing in the rain, tilted her head back and allowed the droplets to run down her face. “We need to find out more… or else Aang--”
“Not this again!” Toph groaned and plopped down on the cold ground. “Twinkles will be just fine. You’ll see!” Tugging on his pants, she was able to bring Sokka down to the floor with her. “Right, ace detective?”
“At least someone believes in me!” he cried and brought a finger to his eye with a sob.
Katara allowed herself to laugh. “Well then, what should we do next?”
He began chewing on the end of his pipe as he flipped through his notes. “Something… to do…,” he muttered. Leaning over, he shoved a page into his friend’s face. “What do you think, Toph? Any good?”
“Sure, why not! …care to tell me what the hell is on the paper?”
Sokka paused, confused, before realization suddenly dawned on him. “Oh. …right. Uh, I’m thinking we either find a way to get that Zhao guy to talk or, you know, learn more about Zuko’s lovely sister.”
“We could always split up tomorrow and do both,” Katara offered with a shrug.
“That!” exclaimed Sokka, pointing at his sister with enthusiasm. “That is a great idea!”
She narrowed her eyes. “No bar hopping.”
“Not even one?” Toph begged.
“No. And don’t give me that look. You two can drink yourselves silly after Aang is safe again.”
The blind woman huffed and blew at the bangs sticking to her face. “Stick in the mud…,” she grouched as her partner wailed miserably beside her (“But that could be days!”).
--
Next time: the gang splits up, determined to find out what's going on! Sure, Toph and Sokka agreed to stay out of the bars, but still...! And Azula decides to have a party in her father's absence?