___________________________________....... |  Upper Ring · Memory/Present· Mentions ChosahUpper Ring · Memory/Present · Mentions Chosah _
The incident happened so fast, the flash of light, the explosion reaching the upper ring. Katakuri felt the need to go looking around his home and community, but he did not realize that was a mistake till it was too late. Noticing the front door was open, Did I leave that open?, he thought as he smelt smoke, smoke coming from inside of the house. Stepping through the frame was similar to going through a portal, a whole new presence was in the house and he didn’t know how to feel – PaapPAAAA!!! – a blood-curdling shriek filled with anguish rang through the Soran Estate. Panic. Chosah. He had never heard Chosah call out in such a way for him and his heart stopped, his body began to fill with dread, as he was washed with the realization that he left his family in danger, he left Chosah in danger.
The front door was open, someone had to be in the house. The smoke. The panic. There is a fire bender in this house…, he could feel his blood begin to pump throughout his veins as he began to dart down the hall. He hesitated and what if that was all that was needed to finish his family? There was no more noise, he couldn’t hear anything specific from any of the rooms he passed. Oh…gods what have I done… every bad outcome was racing through his head, he was prepared to see his daughter's lifeless body somewhere in this forsaken estate. He needed to get to where she was - where was she? “Chosah where are you!?” he shouted and anyone that could hear could tell that he was in a panic, that he was devastating himself with his thoughts.
“Kata is that you?!” he heard his mother’s voice calling from one of the sitting rooms down the hall. Almost sliding past the door that had dark smoke creeping out of its frame, he grabbed the frame to direct himself – CRACK! – the sound of crunching wood under his grip, the part of the frame he grabbed splintered into his hand while his eyes adjusted into the room.
As his eyes adjusted, he realized that there was furniture on fire, but he did not see the danger. There were no new faces in the room or faces that he recognized to be harmful though there was Chosah, Chosah…, his expression faded from all the emotions of terror and dread into a bottomless pit, into nothing. His dark eyes became empty as he stared at his daughter, he could hear his heartbeat in his eyes. The throbbing sound of blood rushing through his body. You’re the fire bender…, he couldn’t take his eyes away from her. How could he?
“Chosah…” his voice was low, almost whispering in disbelief, since he did not want to believe this was happening. His free hand moved as he focused on all the heat in the room, with a simple gesture there was no immediate danger, no more fire. Katakuri was not looking at Chosah as if she was his daughter or a four-year-old – Oh god… why couldn’t she be like her mother? – he began to regret as his body began to become limp under this realization. His daughter was like him and he did this to her.
Why couldn’t sh—- “Kata, you’re shaking,” his mother snapped him out of his thoughts and he found himself staring right into the eyes of the older woman. Urose recognized the ghostly look on his face, she and her husband had that same look when they found out Katakuri was a bender.
His eyes only stayed on his mother for a few seconds before lingering back to Chosah, his silence was more than enough to concern Urose. “Do not hurt her,” the mother and grandmother rushed over to her granddaughter. She knew what her son was capable of doing. She knew what he was. Urose decided to bypass being a citizen or mother, she was a grandmother first, and she hid Chosah behind her. Blocking Katakuri’s view of his only child. Urose purposefully kept an arm behind her back, she was holding onto Chosah by the hand, and she was not going to let go any time soon. Not when Katakuri was like this. He was questioning everything.
Letting go of the door frame, he took a few steps closer to his mother and Chosah. His breathing began to fall to a point of silence as his eyes obsessed over where Chosah was. He couldn’t do anything else except think at this moment. What am I supposed to do?
Urose began to feel her heart racing, her eyes began to sting from the salty solution overwhelming them. She wasn’t sure what her son was going to do, but she knew that if he wanted to, he could kill them all. Her eyes began to show terror the closer he got, “Stop!” she shouted with a panicked and shaky voice. “Please, do not hurt her,” Urose began to beg.
His eyes did not flicker towards his mother while she began to beg him to not hurt his daughter, but he did stop in his tracks. He could not believe that his mother thought of him in such a way, Does she really think I will hurt Chosah? Katakuri’s eyes began to sharpen under these thoughts, “Why are you scared?” his voice began to grow with aggression under her impression that he would do such a thing. “Do you really see me in such a light? Is it because I was born like this or because you signed me over to kill people?” He was not usually aggressive in his civilian side of life, but he couldn’t keep it down. All these mixed emotions were overwhelming. “What do you take me for –” his eyes darted towards his mothers, “–a monster?” he questioned her with an accusing tone. During his training as a teenager, he knew that she was terrified of him. His father was too. He never thou– he didn’t want to think his parents thought of him as anything else except their son.
Urose appeared to stiffen when Katakuri met her eyes, she couldn’t tell what his emotions were. How was she supposed to decide if she couldn’t guess how her son would react? Swallowing in an attempt to coat her throat and mouth with some type of liquid, she was hesitant to speak, and she began to stutter when words came out, “Y-you – you kill. You kill benders –” she was able to get the first part of her statement out, but she couldn’t control the shakiness of her voice or breathing. She couldn’t fully trust her son, he was a bender who killed benders. Urose was able to keep eye contact this whole time, “– and –“ she began to add more to her statement. She could not help but glance back to see if Chosah was still there, secure and safely behind her, “– and she is one now,” Urose forced those words out as if her lips were cracked dry and she hasn’t had water in days.
“Step away from her,” Katakuri demanded while gesturing for his mother to get away from Chosah.
“You’re going to have to kill your mother before you touch this child, Katakuri Soran,” Urose was becoming defensive, and he couldn’t blame her. He barely could get any words out himself, he was too wrapped up in the thoughts of everything that could and would happen to Chosah, to his daughter. He had no intention to hurt his baby girl, but he did not know if there were words to explain how he was feeling at this exact moment, “Mom,” he looked his mother in the eyes, “I will not hurt her,” his tone changed into a gentle one as he took a deep breath.
Urose glanced back at Chosah before glancing at her only son, she seemed to almost not believe what he was saying. She was reluctant to leave her granddaughter. She was worried that she would lose Chosah, the little girl who was practically another daughter. Raising her full-time if Katakuri was not around, she didn’t know if her heart could handle losing Chosah, “Do you promise?” Urose asked without moving. She seemed to need some type of solid confirmation of knowing that Katakuri wouldn’t harm the innocent and helpless child behind her.
“I promise,” he said while keeping eye contact, and he began to get closer to them.
“I will hate you if you hurt her, Katakuri. I will hate you forever,” Urose began to have tears run down her face, she could feel the salty solution nipping at her fragile cheeks. The woman was appearing more stressed the closer her son got, her usually proper bunned hair was showing frizz and loose hairs. Taking another second to decide what she would do, she had a split second of trust in her son, as she stepped away and let go of Chosah. Urose stepping away from the child exposed a tiny girl, shaking with tears running down her face.
Katakuri approached his daughter, looking down at her before kneeling to her level. Reaching out with his pointer finger as he lifted his daughter’s chin so she would look him in the eyes. “Are you okay?” His voice was gentle and his empty eyes began to show worry for his child. Under the process of taking all of this in and his thoughts, his emotions began to regulate. He cared much more for his daughter than anything in this world, even his own life.
Chosah shook her head no while she looked up at her father, she seemed to stare into his eyes trying to figure out what he was thinking. “Papa,” she said while trying her best to stop crying, the tears began to flow more. She began to rub the tears away, wiping them off her cheeks, and a burning sensation began to form.
“Chosah…” Katakuri sighed while grabbing a handkerchief out of his pocket and lightly dabbing at her tears. “Do not wipe your tears, you will cause your cheeks to become swollen and raw,” he informed her as he gently dried her face.
Wanting to seek comfort, she rushed to her father’s chest, trying her best to grip his shirt and hug him. Katakrui seemed to straighten up a bit when Chosah hugged him, he stared down at his daughter and put the handkerchief into his back pocket, “Do you want to go with daddy to his workout room?” he asked since he didn’t want to force her to go. She was in a very fragile moment, and he did not want to cause her to set the house on fire, “I think we need to spend as much time as we possibly can together,” he stated to reinforce why they would be going to the workout room.
Katakuri could feel the nod from Chosah against his chest, her little hands gripping his dress shirt and he could feel the damping moisture of tears from the little girl, “I’m scared daddy,” she began to cry more. He could tell she was terrified of what was happening, she didn’t understand, and he carefully lifted the young girl as he stood. Resting her on his chest while he stared over at his mother. Urose was pressing cloth to her cheeks as she was trying to handle her own emotions, she was really scared that I would kill my own daughter.
His expression changed to a more disappointed and stern look while his eyes were on his mother. “I know,” he said while rubbing the little girl's back to comfort her, “It will be okay though,” he tried to comfort her vocally. He couldn’t believe his mother thought he was ending his daughter right then and there. With no more words, he left the room with Chosah securely in his arms.
Carrying her down the hall, Chosah was quiet, and – all I could think of was how to deal with this situation. My work was all about eradicating benders, and somewhere deep down inside… I knew this day was going to come. I knew it was coming and I have done everything to prepare except emotionally.
What am I supposed to do? Eko you would have been so much better at this. You wanted me to leave the LSF when you knew we were having Chosah and I was foolish. I stayed and you’re not here anymore. Tears began to slip past his eyelashes and run down his cheeks. Naturally, his fingers touched the liquid, Why am I crying? Eko what am I supposed to do? He glanced down at his daughter, she was hiding her face in his chest and it was almost heart-aching – I am so sorry Chosah. I was so selfish to even look let alone stay with your mother. I was young… we both were… and we didn’t mean to bring you into this world. I didn’t mean to bring you into this world.
Taking a deep breath, he quietly opened the door and he could feel the doe-eyes of the little girl staring at him. “Why are you crying?” she asked while reaching up and placing a hand on her father’s cheek. “It’s nothing,” he said while forcing a smile and setting her down. Gesturing for her to go into the room.
He waited for his daughter to take a few steps before closing and locking the door, using his sleeve to get rid of the tears on his face, and he glanced over at her. Chosah was looking up at me with confused and scared eyes. She is so young, she doesn’t know what is happening and why I am reacting this way. She doesn’t understand the dangers that are to come.
Taking off his shoes before entering the room, he walked over to the window and stared out at the landscape. The city was naturally a dangerous place with a big population and many different people. Katakuri reached up, closing the blinds before looking over his shoulder at his daughter, “Come here,” he said while turning away from the window and sitting down on a mat.
Chosah seemed to be cautious, she usually wasn’t allowed in this room because of the weights and other workout equipment that could hurt her if unattended. She looked back at the door, showing an expression of concern about why they were in this room and why her father locked the door and closed the blinds. Why is dad acting weird? She heard her name be called again while seeing her father pat the mat in front of him. Chosah slowly approached him while trying to make a facial expression that showed how she was feeling. She couldn’t properly get the expression out before she sat down.
Sitting there she was looking up at her dad and he was looking down at her, “Chosah,” he began to talk and think about how to explain things so a four-year-old would understand, “Remember how I talked about bending before? How many people do not have that ability?” he asked while trying to read his daughter's expression.
Chosah shrugged at his words, she knew that he has talked about it before, but he doesn’t talk about it a lot or hadn’t in a long time. Katakuri nodded his head at her reaction, he wasn’t surprised, “Bending is not allowed in modern society, people are terrified of it and you are a part of that group that causes fear,” he was informing her of how the outside world would react. Hopefully, she was understanding. “This means you need to learn how to control it,” he gently grabbed one of her hands in his as he spoke, trying to stay connected in a way with his daughter while making sure she was understanding this whole situation.
“Chosah, please look at me,” his voice seemed to be looking for validation from his daughter. Chosah seemed to reluctantly glance up at her father. He stared into her eyes, and he doubted that she was understanding the severity of this situation, “I need you to learn how to control your powers so you know how to hide it from people. You will never show anyone these abilities. If you do, bad people will take you away from me and I will never see you again,” he was trying to explain while injecting fear into her mind.
“I won’t ever see you again,” Chosah seemed to become worried about that. She didn’t want to not see her father again or be taken away from her family. “Are these bad people the same people Oma talks about?” She was referring to her grandmother.
He seemed to think about this before replying, “What are the bad people she talks about?” He was curious and did not want to know at the same time.
“Oma says bad people like to take benders away to jail or never see loved ones again,” Chosah began to explain what she could from what her grandmother had told her. “She says benders do that too,” she added in a comment that stung in his chest. His eyes fell to the floor, she was explaining to him what he did for work and he couldn’t help the uncomfortability that rose in his stomach.
Katakuri might have been staring at the floor for too long, Chosah piped up, “Papa?” she asked while learning to get a better look at his eyes. She was curious why the atmosphere in the room changed so quickly after she talked. His eyes flickered at her attention, staring at her, “I’m sorry, but Oma is correct,” he wasn’t saying sorry to just say it. He was telling Chosah sorry for what he had done and will continue to do.
Taking a deep breath, one could find the humor in how your parents signed you away to these bad people before you had any recollection of rights, and your parents swing right around to explain to your kid who the bad people are – I am one of those bad people without any choice in the matter.
“These people are ruthless, Chosah. They have their morals stripped away and handlers to break their spirits and their bones. They will do anything and everything to take you away from me. I won’t let that happen, but you have to understand how severe this situation is. You cannot tell or show anyone these abilities,” he was trying to drill this into his daughter's head. That she was in danger if she began to tell and show people what she was.
Chosah was not familiar with her father speaking in such a tone or having a painfully serious conversation with her, but she was doing her best to understand the situation. Understand how he wanted her to. "People will take me away because of what I am? I won’t ever see you again?” she seemed to be getting the idea of how severe the situation was. “Yes, and you will never see me again, so you cannot show or tell anyone about your abilities,” his tone was stern and he was almost demanding this behavior from her. Obedience.
“Ok…” she seemed to become uncomfortable with her father’s behavior, how strict and stern he was getting. Somewhat beginning to fidget around, showing her uncomfortability to him. This was an overwhelming session for a four-year-old. She had to think more, she had to listen to what she barely understood, and she was processing a lot of information. Her subtle actions were telling Katakuri that he was making her uncomfortable.
Deciding it was better to switch the topic for the time being, “Let’s begin with a simple training exercise,” he said while taking his hand away from his daughter. She seemed to have a difficult time returning his eye contact, “You need to learn how to control it, so you get good at hiding it,” he mentioned while straightening up, sitting with his legs crossed, and holding out a single hand in between them. Giving his fingers a snap before a small flame came into reality, flickering, and lighting up his daughter’s face with warm colors.
Chosah seemed to jump, she was not aware that her father could do that, and she didn’t realize that she was connected in such a way to her father – they were both benders. The warm colors danced across her pale skin while he slightly smiled at her reaction, “Can you try to do that? Light it up and put it out,” he stated before snapping again and the flame disappeared.
Chosah was confused about his fingers when the flame went out, her eyes shot up at her father's. “Do it again,” she asked him to do it again with almost an excited voice. She was innocent of the hatred upon benders. He did it quickly again, sparking a small flame before putting it out, “Again?” she demanded and questioned at the same time. Katakuri chuckled at her reaction, “No, you try it and try not to burn the house down,” he teased her.
Chosah looked at her hands, as she began to attempt to spark a flame with a flick of her fingers.
Nothing…
She tried again.
Nothing…
She groaned in frustration as she tried again.
Nothing…
“I can’t do it like you,” her face began to run red since she was becoming frustrated. Her father made it look so easy. He would snap, it would appear, and if he snapped again, it disappeared. Why can’t I do that?
Sighing at the realization that Chosah was going to get upset, frustrated, or even angry with trying to master her abilities. “Chosah, you need to relax,” he stated calmly while watching her overall reaction, her expression, and body language.
“Uh– I,” she was trying to do it faster this time. flick flick flick . She slammed her hands down on the mat, allowing the frustration she was feeling to course through her, and the fire consumed her hands for only a little bit of time. Dark smudges were left on the mat along with the smell of burning plastic, “Ah!” she seemed to jump up and clasp her hands together, she wasn’t planning for that to happen, and she did have full control of her abilities.
“Chosah, you need to settle down. Relax while you try to take control of your powers or you might cause everything along with yourself to burn,” he began to explain in a gentle yet stern voice. Grabbing his daughter's hands, he led her to be closer to him. “Take a deep breath,” he said while closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. After a few seconds he opened an eye to check if Chosah was following, she was. He closed his eyes again and let out a breath, “Breath out.” He heard Chosah copying him, trying to do what he was doing.
Pointing at the middle of her chest, “Focus on what is inside of you, do you feel any different during the time you can bend fire?” he questioned while opening his eyes and looking at her. Her eyes were still closed as she was breathing out.
He knew that when he used fire, his abdomen felt full. Everything felt like it was coming out of each breath he took. Feeling the power course through his veins and the tension built in his body before the sparks were made. With each attack, it felt like everything was coming out of each breath he took.
Chosah seemed to think about his question and she shook her head no. Katakuri gave a small smile, This is going to take a while…, he couldn’t help that thought popping up in his head. “Try to focus on your breathing while you try to use your abilities,” he said while taking one hand away – off to the side. Inhaling with a snap, a small flame began to dance before his fingers. Exhaling with another snap, the flame was gone, “Try it,” he encouraged her.
The young girl watched her father, she wanted to do what he did, but she was not taking to her abilities as quickly as he did when he gained them. She began to attempt the inhaling and exhaling technique – inhaling and not letting the breath out as she tried to light a flame without success. Kata watched the young girl’s face begin to grow red with color, “Breath,” he said while watching her with some concern. Chosah seemed to let out a frustrated breath and look at her father from under her brows, rolling her eyes as she looked away, and she tried again.
Chosah would try and try again, till she got it. She got it! She seemed to get excited when the small flame began to dance before her and grow with her excitement. “Look! Look! LOOK!” She quickly repeated herself, doing a small little dance by stomping her feet. She was controlling the small flame.
“I am, do not worry,” Katakuri said while he watched the young girl dance in excitement, “Very good, can you put it out now?” he asked since he didn't know if she could. Chosah seemed to look at the flame before attempting to put it out. She seemed to have an easier time putting the flame out than creating it, with a floppy snap of her fingers the flame was gone.
“Let’s keep working on it till you feel comfortable, then we can move on,” Katakuri said while flicking his fingers and lighting up another flame. Snapping his fingers and it was out. Chosah seemed to have an easier time since the first flame she was able to control, she still struggled, but she was doing better.
Chosah seemed to get excited when she was able to create and distinguish a flame more constantly, “I think I feel it,” she said while pointing at her chest. “I’m proud of you…”
Bright lights began to blind him as he wandered out of darkness and a ringing appeared in his ears, he was conscious. Blinking a few times to ease the piercing pain of overwhelming artificial lights, Katakuri was looking around the room. He noticed that the door to the room was closed, there was a young woman in the corner tidying things up, and he was in the hospital wing of the LSF. The woman did not notice he was waking up.
Slowly sitting up, he was becoming one with the reality around him, “Ugh…” he groaned while reaching toward his face. The nurses here were sworn to an oath of silence, extreme silence, so he was not too worried. Feeling his face, he sat there for a moment in thought – he could only think of Chosah, how she was doing, and what he had to do. Did he want to attempt to do that?
The vital monitor began to beep from the major increase in his heart rate, “Mister Soran, you shouldn’t be moving so much. You have just woken up, yes?” she asked while coming over to check if the LSF agent was alright.
“I am fine, I was barely hurt,” he sounded like he was almost complaining that she was trying to make sure he was fine. He took the IV out of his arm as if he has done this before because he has done it before. Katakuri Soran might have been known as one of the worst patients in the LSF hospital wing. Never allowing the nurses to complete their job fully unless he was out when he was done with something that meant they were too, and other bad behaviors to have while in a hospital.
“Mister Soran, you need to settle down, I will sedate you if you do not allow me to check you before you leave this room,” the nurse was spunky, she heard the stories from the other nurses about Kata, and the LSF began to catch on that he needed someone as hard-headed as he was if they wanted him to heal properly.
Katakuri stood up, thinking about his options, and he shrugged his shoulders. He needed to find something to cover his face before he left the room anyways, but he was going to try and find the thing to cover his face first, “I will let you check my vitals, if–” glancing towards the young woman “–you help me find something to cover my face,” he was making a deal with the nurse.
What a pain in the ass. Why can’t he let me take his vitals and he will be on his way? the nurse’s eyes seemed to narrow when he proposed this offer to her. She wanted to tell him no deal, but she needed to maintain her posture in this line of work, “Fine. Your things are over there in the draw. Are you going to sit back on that bed and allow me to clear you before leaving?” she was goal orientated, that goal was to clear Katakuri, so they could both get out of this situation.
Going over to the draw by a chair – as if anyone would visit or be allowed to visit. Katakuri opened it with ease, seeing that there were dark slacks, a red dress shirt, a dark pair of socks, his dress shoes, and a mask that he could wear. Grabbing all of the items out of the drawer, he walked over to the bed and sat down. Placing the items beside him, “Do your job,” he gestured to himself. The young nurse grabbed a clipboard that was set on a small movable desk and she walked over to do her job.
She was taking down all his vitals, writing the information on the clipboard, and she gestured to his hands for a minute – writing down how they looked, how they healed overall, and more. “Did you want to participate in physical therapy, Mister Soran?” she asked in a way that already stated she knew his answer. This was his main nurse, she was one of the only people that knew what he actually looked like.
“Well, is it going to be with you or–?” he raised his brows with a smirk at his flirtatious comment.
“Mister Soran, I am engaged, thank you very much,” her tone was sassy and she sniped at him.
Rolling his eyes, he didn’t look at her when he made this comment, “I mean, your loss,” he began to tease as he looked back to confirm her reaction was a negative one.
“I am fine with that loss. I wouldn’t want to be with a bender anyways. No one does,” that last comment was somewhat personal, at least he felt it pinch inside when she made such a statement. No one does. Maybe he felt guilty that he went around lying about what he was...a monster… Taking a deep breath, she realized that her words didn’t come out right and she began to stutter.
“I-I-” she didn’t know how to fix that statement, “I didn’t mean that Mister Soran…” she seemed to step away, she could see the emotion on his face, and his whole expression dropped as he stared at the ground. He was in the middle of a thought.
“You’re wrong,” he blinked while letting his eyes connect with the young nurse, “Eko loved me and she knew what I was. Some people can love things that scare them and things that are scary can love them back,” the only amount of upset feelings, if you could really justify them as upset from the nurse’s comment, was his facial expressions changing, but he kept a gentle tone while telling her that he knew what love was. That he knew someone who loved him once.
The nurse knew he was talking about his dead wife, “I am sorry, Mister Soran,” she could only utter that sentence while hugging the clipboard to her chest. She didn’t think when saying those words to him, how could she be saying that to a bender? A fire bender who could kill her right in her tracks and maybe never earn consequences for it.
“I know you’re not,” Katakuri stood while staring at her, “Stop apologizing for what you truly believe. It's annoying to hear such shallow words. On the surface, I look like anyone, but you know deep down that I am what the news says my kind are. How we are destructive and dangerous,” he kept his eyes on her while saying this, his voice not made angry, since he understood her fear. He has seen that fear throughout his life. His parents, other children he was faced up against in the LSF training grounds, and people that he was hunting.
The room seemed to drop to an eerie silence, as she allowed her eyes to fall off him, in a guilty way, she stared at the floor. Katakuri began to dress in the appropriate attire, dark slacks, a crimson red dress shirt, matching dress shoes, cufflinks, a watch, his engagement ring from years ago, and a mask to get out of here.
Without another exchange of words, he left the room and headed to the front desk. There, he barely stopped, “Agent F22150 is leaving,” he did not even look back to see if the nurse registered that or not. He wanted to go home. He needed to go home.
Upon arrival home, he did not have the mask on anymore and Chosah was waiting at the door for him. She was hunched over on the ground with her head on the cushioned bench where you could sit and take your shoes off. She had a blanket on her and she appeared to not be in the most comfortable position. Katakuri walked over to his daughter after silently closing the door. He put a hand gently on her since he knew it was around six or seven in the morning – he didn’t want to wake her up. Gently lifting her up, cradled in the blanket, he walked to her room while the dogs realized he was home as well.
They began to make some noise and he shushed them, they seemed to get the signal and began to calm down. Their nails were not chattering on the wooden floors from their small bounces of excitement. Duchess seemed to groan somewhat when she had to calm down as if she was arguing with Katakuri. She pushed her body against his legs, practically begging for attention.
Nudging the dog in an attempt for her to get off his legs, since he didn’t want to trip with Chosah in his arms, “Duchess. Move.” he tried to keep his voice down while vocally telling the beast to get. Duchess started to press her weight against him even more. Stopping in his tracks, he stared down at the dog who seemed to have a sh*t-eating-grin and a small wag of her tail. “Fine.” he commented somewhat aggressively while he reached down to pet the dog. She pressed her head up against his hand, forcing his hand more up in the sky, so he had to more aggressively pet her of her need for attention.
After a moment of being petted, Duchess seemed to be fine and not directly bother Katakuri while they walked towards Chosahs room. Opening the door to a room that was heavily decorated in pink, white, and blue colors. He told the dogs to stay outside of the room as he carried Chosah to her bed, picked up the comforter, and placed her on the soft sheets. Gently, he tried to tuck her in and place a kiss on her forehead without waking her up. While giving her a kiss, he felt her little hand begin to touch his face, “Papa,” her voice was lacking consciousness as if she would only be awake for those few seconds.
Whispering to her, “It is me,” to maybe confirm any fears of it being someone else or differentiating that it wasn’t one of her grandparents. Katakuri barely touched her hair with the tip of his fingers while he stroked it out of her face. Staring into her eyes that were barely open or awake. Her little hand felt so warm on his chin, she must have been sleeping at the front door for hours. He wasn't surprised, Chosah did that a lot.
“I’m…” she tried to say something else, but she yawned. That yawn seemed to break anything she was trying to formulate in her head. She was silent for a few seconds before trying to say something else, “I…” she could only get the first word in her sentence out.
Smiling at her innocent struggle to talk while she was still so tired, he interrupted her in a soothing voice, “You can tell me later,” he said while giving her another kiss on the forehead before raising himself away from his daughter more. She appeared to have passed out in the past few seconds, so he confirmed that he was good to go.
Getting to the doorway of her room. “Papa,” he heard the voice of his daughter be more awake. Letting his eyes go over his shoulder, he noticed Chosah was sitting up in bed, rubbing her face, and trying to wake herself up.
“What?” his voice was not very loud, since he was trying to keep her sleeping since she needed it. She was probably up all night because he didn’t come home. She didn’t like it when he wasn’t home at night.
“Cuddles?” her voice almost sounded as if it cracked as if she was begging to spend time with him, and she kept rubbing her eyes. Trying her best to formulate the reality around her.
He nodded his head, “I can,” he shut the door so the dogs wouldn’t bother them. Slipping off his shoes by the door and walking over to the bed. “Scoot, I barely can fit in this bed, to begin with,” he said while she tried her best to scoot. Only gave him about a foot of space to be on the bed and it was a twin XL mattress. “That’s not going to work,” He said while taking the blankets from Chosah and picking her up. Moving her to the edge by the wall, he got into bed with her. Putting the pink comforter over both of them and holding Chosah close, cuddling her. Less than thirty seconds later, Chosah was completely out against his chest. Katakuri lay there, thinking about what needed to be done.
Katakuri ended up falling asleep and his daughter was the one fully awake, it was around ten or eleven in the morning, and she sat there watching her father sleep. She likes spending time with him even if he was sleeping, so she wasn’t going to take him any time soon. Chosah associated her father being awake with the less time they get to spend together since he was a busy man. An agent for the LSF, COO of the family company, training, and then he would spend time with her after all of that.
She cuddled him in an awkward position, since he was on his side, so she placed her head on his left arm. Being in a similar position to earlier on how she was hunched over with her head on the bench. She stared at his face, she was curious about what he was dreaming about or why he was so tired. He usually would be awake from dawn to dusk.
After a while her stomach began to growl, it was about fifteen minutes before noon, and she was considering whether she should wake him up or not. “Dad-dad” she repeated herself as she sat up and began to attempt to shake him awake. “I’m hungry,” Chosah stated while trying to shake her dad awake more.
“Chosah, I am awake, just give me a second,” his voice sounded half asleep while he began to adjust to the small bed before rolling off from it. He slipped off from the bed without making much noise, lying on his back on the floor, as he stared up at Chosah looking down at him.
“You messed the bed up,” she pointed to the blanket that was still somewhat around him, half on the bed, and the pillow that fell off while he was moving around. “You got to make the bed,” her tone of voice almost demanded as if she was trying to say, she wouldn’t.
“It’s your bed” he began to argue with her.
Her brows knitted together while she let out almost an offended huff, “You messed it up,” she was validating the reason he had to make it. He messed it up.
“Mhm, no,” he was teasing her, but she was still offended that he would tell her no. Every time she messed up the bed, she had to remake it.
“You…you…” she was showing that she was trying to figure out the word. “You…” she huffed and then jumped off the bed onto him.
“Ugh! Chosah!” He rolled over after she landed square on his torso, he felt the little bits of pain shock his body from his daughter's weight straight onto his ribs and stomach. Coughing hard, he wasn’t prepared for her to do that at all. “You can’t do that,” he said while beginning to get up, so she slid off him onto the other part of the floor.
“And you can’t do that,” she repeated back in more of a questioned statement while pointing at the bed. She seemed to be frustrated by her dad not wanting to make her bed after he was the one that messed it up.
“Chosah, I will make your bed, I am just pulling your leg,” he actually pulled at her leg playfully while saying this. She seemed to brighten right up after he confirmed that she was not going to have to take care of his mess.
Making the child’s bed was not difficult at all, so he was done within a moment or two. “Time to get something to eat?” he looked over at Chosah who was playing with her toys. She was spoiled by her grandparents, especially by her grandmother.
It was around lunch, but they both decided that breakfast sounded better, so Katakuri made kimchi fried rice with eggs and bacon. They sat there in peace at the table eating their breakfast till Mister Soran stormed in, “What is this?” the older man threw up his hands. “Is what Urose saying about her true?” he gestured to his granddaughter with a red face, he was angry, steaming.
Katakuri glared up from his brows as he watched his father’s reactions and he huffed out a breath. “Don’t look at me like that! Answer me.” the older man demanded while waving his fist and Chosah seemed to instantly go in fear. Sliding from her chair to under the table, was not normal behavior from her grandfather. He did get angry, she has seen him steam up in a rage, but she was never the target.
“You’re scaring her,” Katakuri said while staring at his father with a blank expression. He could feel Chosah curl around his leg while he slipped a hand under the table to play with her hair, trying to comfort her.
“Scaring her!? She’s just like you! Did you know about this from when she was born?” Mister Soran was trying to figure out how long he has been put in the dark about his granddaughter being a bender. He was not happy about the information Urose told him, and he was angry at his son for being a bender.
“No, her abilities are new.” Katakuri kept it real with his father most of the time. He could feel his leg begin to heat up under the table, and he began to brush his fingers into Chosah’s hair even more. She was clinging onto his leg from her grandfather being so angry, and she understood that she was the reason why. The old man was not keeping a cool head about the situation.
“We need to inform the RSF – the LSF!” Those words stung when he heard his father say them. He knew that they might not understand that the RSF or LSF would not take Chosah. She would be euthanized or in prison for the rest of her life. They already had replacements for him if he died.
He might have hurt Chosah with his movements, ripping himself away from her, and going over the table. Face to face with his old man. Katakuri was the taller one, “Tell them. I will burn you alive.” There was no hesitation with these words. No second guessing on if he should say it or not.
Mister Soran could tell his son wasn’t joking, and somehow all his anger faded into a cold sensation in his body. Was this fear? Fear of his own son. The dark eyes staring back at him were not his son’s, they were like the ocean at night. Dark and ruthless, if you took a dive into them, you wouldn’t return. “Kata, we need to.” He was trying to do the best for the family business, not his family with that thought.
Hearing a loud bang, Urose speeded up to get to the kitchen faster and she saw her husband hanging there by her own son’s hand. The older man held onto the wrist of their son. “Katakuri!” she shouted in a surprising way as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. “Let him down!” she ordered.
“Why did you tell him?” Katakuri kept his eyes on his father and squeezed the man’s neck even more.
“I had to, Kata,” his mom almost pleaded as she heard her husband begin to struggle for air. “You need to put your father down,” she repeated herself, she didn’t know what else to do.
“I don’t think I can. He was threatening to tell the LSF and RSF about Chosah. Chosah is the closest I will ever get to Eko’s last moments. She is the last living part of Eko that I have and you will NOT do anything to inform the LSF, RSF, or tell anyone else. If any of you tell anyone else this whole estate will burn. The family company will burn. I will burn everything. I will burn Ba Sing Se to the ground if I have to, to keep Chosah safe. Just don’t tell anyone else about Chosah, her abilities, or anything about me. Then you get to live in your safe little city,” Katakuri dropped his father and the man grabbed his own throat trying to regulate his breathing.
Urose ran over to her husband, crouching to his aid, as she looked up at her son in the eyes. She could tell she was serious about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground if it meant keeping Chosah safe. He stared at his parents for a few seconds before turning back to the table and realizing Chosah wasn’t under it anymore, “Fuck…” he huffed while going to search for her. As he left the kitchen, he swore he heard his mother say, “Mazu, they will kill her.” Urose did not want to lose her granddaughter.
Spending the next fifteen minutes looking for his little girl, he noticed that one of the sunroom doors was open. The handle was wooden and charred black. Katakuri touched it, feeling its warmth as he heard the faint cries of a terrified child, “Chosah,” gently he began to enter the room as he opened the door. Dark footsteps were scorched into the room's tile floor.
Looking around the sunroom, he spotted Chosah right away in the koi pond. She was splashing water on herself as she was trying to control her crying. The clothes she was wearing seemed to have caught on fire and her skin seemed to be a bit red, nothing more than first-degree burns.
Katakuri went right over to the koi pond, stepped in, and sat by his daughter. Looking around as he relaxed on the edge, putting his arms wide to look at the plants in the room. “Couldn’t control it?” He glanced over at her as she seemed to sniffle a few times, noticing her father was fully clothed and lying in the koi pond.
To her, this was ridiculous as she began to start laughing while tears kept coming from her eyes, “Papa,” she was smearing her face with koi pond water as she tried to get the tears off her cheeks. “W-what are you doing?” Chosah couldn’t help the little escapes of laughter in between sniffles and cries.
“I don’t know. I thought it was a good idea, I was feeling pretty heated myself. I mean as a kid, I never jumped into a pond when I set myself on fire. I guess you’re smarter,” Katakuri glanced back at his daughter, seeing her frown slowly shape into a small smile, as she began to laugh more.
“I’m smarter?” she made an inhaling sniffing noise, as she sat there looking at her father with a confused look.
“I mean, I always tried rolling on the ground. That–” thinking about it for a second, “– usually worked.” shrugging his shoulders at the memories. “I think water is a pretty good way to put out a fire,” he scooped water up in his hand and allowed it to pour gradually out through his fingers.
“Chosah, I need to get you out of the city and you will be on an adventure for the rest of your life. I hope I can join you on this adventure, but I do not know if I can. If I don’t join you,” he sat up while looking at his daughter and grabbing her hand, “I will always be with you in here and here,” with his other hand, he pointed at her head and her heart.
“I might not be able to join you, so I can make sure you get out of this city safely.” he was trying to explain to his four-year-old daughter that he might have to sacrifice his own life to make sure she lives a decent one. He knew his father wasn’t going to keep his mouth shut for long. The LSF only figured out about Kata because his father was scared of benders.
“I don’t like that,” Chosah seemed concerned when her father was explaining this plan to her. She would have to live without her grandparents, her aunties, the dogs, and maybe her father too. She wouldn’t have anyone then. She would be all alone, and she didn’t want to be alone.
“I know, but you need to understand, Chosah. You are not safe here anymore,” Kata knew this was a hard decision and realization for the both of them. Stroking his hand through his hair, he began to dampen the dark locks as he kept his eyes on his daughter.
Chosah nodded with a firm frown, she knew her father was trying to do the best for her, but she didn’t like the plan.
Katakuri grabbed his daughter and pulled her close, picking her up, as he stood out of the water and let them both drip off for a moment, “Can you keep this safe, Chosah?” He pulled a ring from his pocket while giving it to Chosah. It was her mother’s engagement ring that hung on a silver chain.
Chosah seemed confused, but she recognized the ring. Her father wore a matching one. “Is that mama?” Chosah went to grab the ring, which he allowed her to grab onto the necklace.
“It is,” he confirmed while putting the chain around her neck. Chosah seemed to get caught up in the pretty gem on the top, a blood diamond, on a pure silver base. She was examining the jewel while Kata carried her to the bathroom to get some aloe or burn cream, so her wounds would be fine.
Making sure Chosah was safe in her room in new clothes, and her wounds tended to, Katakuri knew what he was going to have to do. He was going to have to put this plan into action tonight. It was already rolling and everything was paid for, he had to meet with the people who could get Chosah out of the city without much issue and get her to one of the civilizations out of the wall. Somewhere she could grow up safely as a bender. Staring at his daughter playing with her toys, he loved her so much, and he would always love her that much or more.
Everything was going to be expected till he got his plan in place. The raid was most likely going to cause getting out of the city difficult. Everyone that would help benders get out was probably dead or in extreme cases of hiding. He could climb the wall with Chosah or probably walk through the gates without issue. Katakuri knew he was going to have to get her out of the city one way or another, but his years of planning were halted by the major outburst of benders.
Going over to where Chosah was, he sat down beside her and asked if he could play. She handed him a toy that looked like an unagi, and she asked him to be the bad guy that was holding the princess hostage. He instantly got into character with the toy, and he would spend the rest of the night with his daughter. |
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