**Roku. Beifong Estate.**
The estate "woke up" early, or rather, with the first rays of sunlight, its inhabitants began to stir. Some of the staff had to wipe, clean, or sweep something. The cooks started preparing breakfast, the guards worked on maintaining their physical fitness, which sometimes turned into earthbending practice. For most people, the local equivalent of roosters served as an "alarm clock," and I woke up with their crowing.
Often in the mornings, I love to just lie in bed when the sleepy bliss hasn't left my body yet, and it's quite pleasant to linger without rushing anywhere. But, apparently, someone didn't agree with me…
"Roku! Let's go exercise! A healthy body for a healthy mind!" Toph's shouts were audible as if she were standing right next to me. Which, however, was easily explained: the only barrier to the sound was a thin wooden partition, so popular in this province where the climate was mild, and even in winter, the temperature didn't drop below freezing.
"Coming!" I had to get up and tidy myself, spending most of the time bringing my hair into some semblance of order. After all, long hair isn't always cool, though I definitely won't cut mine—I dreamed of it for too long in my past life for some minor issues to change my mind.
On the training ground from yesterday, Hippo, Xin Fu, The Boulder, Lao, a couple of other guys, and Toph herself had already gathered. The heir of the Beifong family was visibly dedicated, performing a set of exercises that looked more like CrossFit.
"Faster, faster, guys, I heard they're making a meat pie in the kitchen!" she managed to encourage them, simultaneously doing push-ups, squats, and jumps in place.
The guys, of course, were inspired by what they heard, but not overly so. It was clear they weren't used to getting up so early, as occasional sleepy yawns slipped out, and one guy was even doing everything with his eyes closed.
"Good morning, Roku," greeted the head of the family, who stood slightly apart, practicing with a sword. I myself trained with cold weapons only moderately, spending more time improving my bending skills, but I could still distinguish a professional from an amateur. And calling Lao a novice would be an understatement.
"Good morning," I replied, nodding toward the others. "Do these gatherings happen often?"
"This is the second month now," he said, pausing for a moment. "Right after she placed near the bottom in the teenage earthbending competition," he explained the main reason for the change. "You should've seen her face—it was just universal disappointment. It was hard not to pinch her cheeks," he laughed. "But she's come to realize that a truly strong earthbender is also physically strong," he approved of his daughter's efforts.
"That's right," I said, not neglecting them myself. "How long have you been fencing?"
"As long as I can remember, I've always been with a sword," he said, carefully touching the blade with his finger to check its sharpness. "When it became clear that I didn't have the gift of earthbending, my father found me the best sword masters. As he once said, 'We'll teach you to fight enemies even without bending,'" Toph's grandfather seemed like quite the character.
I didn't stand idle either and started training in the style of the Kyoshi Warriors. By the middle of the routine, I was the center of everyone's attention. Avatar Kyoshi designed her movements for herself, and they looked more like a dance, not very "manly." While the guys held back from saying anything, as did the head of the family, Toph could barely contain her laughter.
"Whew," Toph gasped after finishing the first round, "I see you're a master of girly dances." Just as sharp-tongued, and she doesn't even hide it from her parents. They accept her for who she is. I think I took a wrong turn somewhere…
"If you can perform even half of the movements without stopping, you can officially call me a master of girly dances…"
"Pfft, get ready to lose!" she was too easily provoked and didn't even listen to the second part of the sentence. Most likely, she's expecting more training with Lao—look how he's squinting.
"If not, then I'll be the one designing your training program," I'll turn you into an impenetrable tank!
Predictably, it ended with my victory. For an untrained person, even the basic Kyoshi Warrior routine feels like sheer torture, with muscles aching that you might not even know you have.
Over two days, I managed to establish friendly relations with everyone. Some simply admired my adventures across the Earth Kingdom, others acknowledged my bending mastery, and some liked the spirits I gifted them.
Poppy was the only daughter of one of the most influential generals in the country, and her family had been tied to the military path for centuries. Though she didn't possess Lao's sharp mind or any particular bending talent, her presence created a certain coziness that Lao cherished.
By lunchtime, Toph's mother had left to visit friends in the city, so we could focus on treating her blindness without distractions.
"Maybe you should take a sedative?" I couldn't help but ask Lao, whose fidgeting was making it hard for me to concentrate on the diagnosis.
"No, no, I'm fine, just a bit nervous," he waved his hands in denial.
Abstracting myself from the external distraction of the worried father, I began moving my glowing green hand in front of Toph's serious face. As I thought, the situation was more complex than it seemed at first glance. This was all guesswork, since I hadn't fully restored anyone's vision before. I'd restored clarity and sharpness, but that was much easier because the body still "remembered" how. Here, even during fetal development, the body somehow considered vision a vestigial trait, completely disconnecting it from the chi system. So, my task was to create a nerve and successfully connect it.
I could have just poured in as much life energy as possible with a vague intention like "Heal the vision," but I had some concerns about that, and it would be good practice for me. I'd have to sit longer—after all, there were millions of optic fibers, each crucial.
For such an endeavor, Wan had gathered relevant literature—whatever helps.
By the end of the first session, there were some tiny but noticeable improvements.
"There's some kind of light now, though before it was just darkness," I asked Toph to comment on her sensations and changes every minute.
"That's great, Toph! Soon you'll see the world with your own eyes!" Toph's father was the happiest, I think. Every good parent wants their child to be healthy, and all this time, he'd been tormented by thoughts that he'd somehow failed, and the spirits, gods, or higher powers were punishing his children.
Only after her father's words did Toph realize that a long-buried dream, hidden deep inside, would soon come true.
That evening, the head of the family allowed himself to open a very expensive and old bottle of wine, surprising his wife, who knew that Lao drank very rarely. I was afraid he might blurt out something under the influence, but apparently, my worries were unfounded. Despite his loosened tongue, he only made toasts, inviting everyone he could to the table.
In the following days, a routine emerged. Mornings were for mandatory physical exercises, followed by Toph's lessons with tutors until lunch, and then we practiced earthbending.
"Try making the pulses stronger and increase their frequency," I advised after another sparring session.
In my opinion, for her age, everything was more than fine. There was just one problem that had recently surfaced. By intensifying the vibrations in the ground, I could disrupt her seismicsense, effectively robbing Toph of her "vision."
Probably only Toph and I, maybe a couple of other masters, can navigate by vibrations in this world, and it's unlikely anyone would think to suppress an opponent's vibrations. But, you never know what the spirits might bring. So, restoring her vision isn't just necessary—it's crucial, given these findings.
*Two weeks later*
With slightly trembling hands, I finally stopped channeling my chi. I'd underestimated the complexity, wanting to restore color to her life as quickly as possible, so this session had gone uninterrupted for five hours straight, with a single mistake risking undoing all progress.
"Now you can open your eyes," my voice was hoarse, as I hadn't had a drop of water since lunch.
Hesitantly, Toph began to open her eyes. In the background stood Lao, who seemed to have chewed all his nails from anxiety.
Toph didn't say anything, but her expression said it all. First, she cautiously turned her head, as if afraid it would all disappear. Then she dared to move her eyes. Her hands reached out to touch my face…
"So this is what you look like. I thought you'd be a rugged older guy," she smirked.
"They call me the most handsome guy in the Earth Kingdom," I snorted, smiling.
"Ahem, ahem," Lao interrupted our moment, "Toph, can you really see?" he asked, his voice slightly trembling.
"You're wearing some tasteless robe. I thought my father had better style," Toph laughed, her joyful laughter echoed by Lao, who had tears of happiness in his eyes. Calming down a bit, Lao fell to his knees with a loud thud.
"I, Lao, worthy son of the Beifong family, am forever indebted to our benefactor Roku. May the spirits bear witness—your problems are my problems, my home is now your home," he began to speak, his head still bowed. I didn't interrupt him; such an oath isn't given lightly. In the Earth Kingdom, this is the highest form of trust. Lao and I had essentially become blood brothers, now family.
"I, Roku, accept your oath, worthy Lao. Your problems are my problems, my home is your home," I gave my reciprocal oath, showing that I, too, intended to be a friend to him and his family.
Dinner began with Poppy fainting—her nerves weren't as strong. When she came to, she nearly scolded Lao and me, and it seems they won't forget our cover-up of the incident anytime soon. What saved us was that all attention was on Toph—a mother's instinct demanded she ensure her child was truly okay.
"I could feel something was happening," she shared with us—there it is, the dreaded female intuition in all its glory…
The pigment never returned to her eyes, so Toph still looked like a member of the Hyuga clan. With her newfound vision, Toph began choosing her clothes more carefully, even going shopping for new outfits with her mother.
A couple of days later, I noticed something was bothering Toph, and I had some guesses.
"Can't the eye color be restored?" she asked casually one day, starting the conversation from afar. It can't be restored…
"Why lose your unique feature?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "There are thousands of people with green, brown, and black eyes, but no one has such beautiful eyes as yours!" I hadn't flattered like this in a while…
"You're telling me," she turned her face away, hitting my arm.
But after that conversation, Toph stopped hiding her eyes behind her bangs and instead tried to highlight them.