Chapter 25: Distressed Roaring

"Now, I would continue, but I've already exceeded the allotted time." Said Aang lightly as he stood before the numerous students, his words causing them to sigh in defeat as they reluctantly stood up.

Watching the students stand up, I clasped my hands together as I bid them farewell, prompting them all to do the same, which made me faintly smile as they exited the classroom, which took a few minutes from the sheer number of students.

"Seeya, Teacher Aang." "You must return soon; I'm graduating next year!" "Man, being a fire bender sucks, I wish I were born an air bender instead." Stated several students as they waved at Aang while leaving the classroom, prompting him to do the same while faintly smiling.

Once the two-and-a-half hundred students left, I glanced at the now empty classroom, only to spot Hina still sitting down, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I approached her. While I was teaching everyone, she was very active, asking and answering the most questions by far.

'What were they referred to as again? Air Acolytes?' Thought Aang lightly as he gently blew at Hina, causing a gust of wind to hit her face, messing her hair up.

"Don't you still have class, Hina? You'll miss them if you stay for too long." Asked Aang lightly as he looked at Hina, who spat out hair that got stuck in her mouth before nodding while grabbing her books.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about my other classes. Thanks for reminding me." Said Hina with widened eyes as she gently hit her head before looking at Aang while standing up.

"Oh, before I leave, when will you conduct another class?" Asked Hina curiously as she looked at Aang, who raised an eyebrow before adorning a thoughtful expression.

"I don't intend to teach another class, but I suppose whenever I visit Ba Sing Se, I can teach; it was surprisingly fun, which wasn't what I was expecting." Replied Aang lightly as he tapped his chin while glancing at Hina, who rapidly nodded with a large smile.

"Though, if you don't mind me asking, why do you have such a passion for learning about us Air Nomads? I may be thinking too deeply, but it seems more than simple curiosity." Asked Aang curiously as he looked at Hina, who suddenly raised her hand, causing a cup of water to spill as the water floated through the air in a circle.

"I'm a water bender, but my father, he's an air bender. I've unfortunately never met my father, but ever since my mother told me who my father was, I've longed to learn all I can about Air-Nomads." Remarked Hina with a serene expression as she manipulated the water through the air before opening her mouth, drinking the contents while Aang nodded, seemingly unsurprised.

While most Air-Nomads tend to procreate with other Air-Nomads, some also tend to find love outside of the Air-Temples, and since Hina was from the Southern Water Tribe, which is literally about a three-day trip away from each other, so it wasn't that surprising, still I wasn't expecting to her to be a descendant of an Air-Nomad.

"Hmm, I see." Muttered Aang with a nod as he glanced at the entranceway, only to see Gyatso looking at him with a smirk.

"Anyways, I'll see ya later, teacher Aang. Since we live close by, maybe I'll visit someday in the future. Well, that's if I'm even allowed to be in the Air Temples." Said Hina with an enthusiastic smile as she quickly left the classroom and waved at Aang, only to clasp her hands together quickly and greet Gyatso, who did the same.

"Hoho, so I presume the teaching went splendid, seeing how you went twenty minutes over the time limit." Said Gyatso with a chuckle as he entered the classroom while looking at Aang, who blankly stared at him.

"No help from you, Monk Gyatso." Remarked Aang lightly as he looked at Gyatso before slightly shaking his head while exiting the classroom.

"Hoho, I wasn't the one who wished to gain access to the library, now was I? Though, speaking of teaching, you and that young miss seemed quite close; will I be getting grandchildren so soon?" Stated Gyatso with a faint smile before mischievously smirking as he covered his mouth while walking behind Aang, whose face constantly twitched.

"You jest Monk Gyatso; she's merely being friendly. Is it a sin to do such a thing now? Replied Aang calmly as he walked down the university halls, heading towards the library while Gyatso followed him.

"Hoho, let this old man dream." Said Gyatso with laughter, while Aang just shook his head and sighed.

"It'll only stay a dream." Muttered Aang softly.

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With me having followed through on the end of our agreed-upon deal, I spent the remaining time in the university's library, reading through various books on several different subjects; I had learned a great deal of random things, nothing overly specific, but a bunch of random information that I simply found interesting.

Hina had joined me a few hours later, though thankfully she seemed to have a love for learning and just silently sat down while reading; only when the university began to close did we finally bid farewell as she returned to her dorm, while I headed towards the directors office.

Knocking on the door, I waited a few seconds, and only when I heard Sigun's irritated voice did I open the door and enter, spotting Monk Gyatso chuckling while looking at Sigun.

"Hoho, well, would you like at the time? I think it's about time for us to leave." Said Gyatso with a faint smile as he stood up and waved his hand, causing a gust of wind to hit Sigun in the face and further irritate her.

"Tsk, good, get out of here; I've had my fill of you for the rest of my life; next time we see each other, we better both be dead." Declared Sigun in slight anger as she glared at Gyatso, who laughed while exiting the room.

"As for you, Aang. Thank you, I hope you had a wonderful time, and please, visit whenever you'd like." Said Sigun with a small smile as she looked at Aang, who nodded,

"I will visit whenever I'm in the area, Sigun." Said Aang lightly as he clasped his hands together while bidding farewell to sigun before turning around and closing the door behind him.

Closing the door, I followed behind Monk Gyatso as he left the University and walked down the street of Ba Sing Se; it was already dark, so we used our gliders to quickly return to our companions. However, along the way, Monk Gyatso and I couldn't help but frown when we heard the familiar roars of our companions; they sounded distressed.

"Appa." Muttered Aang softly with a frown as he commanded a powerful gust of wind to hit his glider, nearly tearing it apart as he speedily headed towards the loud roaring.

With Monk Gyatso flying right beside me, it didn't take long for us to arrive at our companions, though with the constant roaring, it felt somewhat like an eternity; however, what I saw thoroughly angered me as I witnessed several earthbenders trying to chain both Appa and Monk Gyatso's Sky Bison. Thankfully, Monk Gyatso's companion, a fully grown Sky Bison, was a force to be reckoned with, but even so, against so many seemingly highly skilled earth benders he was being overpowered.

"Tch, stupid beasts, I try to pet you, yet you dare sneeze on me!? Hurry up and cage them!" Stated a young man of arrogant disposition wearing luxurious clothes and a hat with the Earth King's royal symbol, symbolizing his status as royalty.

Hearing that man call Appa a stupid beast greatly angered me, and in a fit of rage, I closed my glider, causing me to fall towards the ground while holding my bo-staff; right before hitting the ground, I created a vortex to stop me as I swung my bo-staff at the several earthbenders, creating a powerful wall of air that pushed everything and everyone away from our companions.

Ignoring the several men, I quickly approached Appa and removed the various ropes holding him down, freeing him as I affectionately rubbed his head.

"Sorry." Said Aang softly as he rubbed his head against Appa, who gently growled before licking him.

"Are you three okay?" Asked Gyatso in concern as he looked between his companion, Appa, and Aang, who nodded, causing him to sigh in relief before shifting his focus towards the ones responsible.

Glancing at Monk Gyatso, although he had a calm expression, I could tell he was also angry, which wasn't something I'd ever seen from him; giving Appa a last pat, I was turned around and stood beside him while both of our companions took to the skies with a mighty flap of their tails.

"What the heck are you doing!? Capture them!" Yelled the arrogant young man angrily as he stood up while pointing towards the sky, his words causing the several earth benders to do as ordered.

Following that man's words, the earth benders, who weren't just your average earth benders but members of the Dai Li, something my past self, Kyoshi, had created, grabbed the ropes with a small stone anchor attached to the end; however, before they could approach our companions, I once again swung my bo-staff, creating yet another powerful gust of wind that not only knocked their ropes off course but even threatened to push them backward. Though the Dai Li weren't created by arguably the strongest Avatar to ever exist for nothing as they all planted their feet to the ground with earth, preventing them from moving, yet, the one commanding them wasn't nearly as skilled.