Adventures in Nippon (Lee, Loolaalee)

At hearing the screech, Lightning began to trot in place, obviously ready to get out of the woods himself. Finally, he bolted in the direction of the nearest town. Yami gave an annoyed sigh. "Looks like i'm riding Fireball. Need a lift?" she asked Naomi as she climbed into the dragon's saddle. Fireball seemed calmer than Lightning. In fact, he seemed angry, like he was ready to fight whatever they had heard, and Yami realized he was just wanting to protect her. The dragon was probably as scared as she was, but not willing to show it.

Ever since Yami found him in the woods when she was a child, he had always stayed by her, and been there for her to protect her no matter what. Even in a spiritually strong place like Nippon, he wouldn't let his natural instincts to flee get in the way of protecting Yami.

Running away from the woods would be useless, but fortunately Yami had a dragon. They are fast enough and are very powerful. "Looks like i'm riding Fireball. Need a lift?" asked Yami. Naomi had never ride another dragon before. She'd only traveled in her spirit dragon, which is way too different. The way they fly is different, basically because spirits can fly in their on, pretty much not depending in their dragon body flying mechanism and just relying in their spiritual levitating power. "Alright then" Naomi said as she climbed her way to the dragon.

Yami noticed Naomi's uncertainty. As she was about to whisper to Fireball to fly gently, another voice entered her mind. You don't want to give her a gentle ride...you want it to be hectic and crazy, all for the fun of it. Yami knew that it was Kokuo, the 5-tails, trying to influence her thoughts, yet part of her thought that it would be fun to see how the woman would react if Fireball went haywire. Yami leaned forward and whispered a short phrase in Fireball's ear. He shook his head in recognition, expressing that he understood what she was asking. As soon as Naomi was securely in the saddle, Yami patted Fireball's neck, and they launched into the air with breathtaking speed.

Fireball flew straight upward, his body perfectly vertical. Yami leaned forward to stay in the saddle, clutching to the saddle as they speedily inclined. Finally, he leveled out, and did the exact opposite, diving straight downward. Yami's hood was pulled off by the speed, and she felt good having the wind blow through her hair. Only about ten yards from the nearest tree, Fireball again leveled out and flew forward for a bit, steadily climbing higher, flying towards the ocean. Given the fact that Nippon was an island, there was ocean on all sides. Yami collected water particles in the air around her face, providing a small air bubble, which proved to be useful as Fireball began diving in and out of the water. He didn't stay down long enough for anyone riding him to drown, but Yami was grateful for the air bubble just the same. Finally, he began to head inland, flying higher as he moved toward the island. He began spiraling in the air, spinning seemingly out of control. Yet just before hitting trees, once again, he took control and flew straight.

At this point, they were above the city, and Yami finally landed Fireball. Her hair was a mess, windblown followed by soaking wet, then blown dry during the spiral. She grimaced, thinking of how hard it would be to brush it out later. She jumped off of Fireball, landing perfectly on her feet. As soon as Naomi got off, Yami sent Fireball away. She had learned as a child to not bring him into public places, as he would send people running for the hills. "So," she said, turning to Naomi, "How was it?"

Naomi makes her way to the dragon and sits. She isn't really sure with what to hold on, but before she could do anything about it the dragon flew directly into the sky rapidly, almost making Naomi to fall off from the creature. She rapidly grabs Yami's waist, so that she doesn't fall off. "Slow down please!" Naomi cried, but Yami nor the dragon seemed to react. She was really exhausted to be able to summon her Spirit Dragon, so she made sure not to fall off, unless she wanted to end up being a spirit herself. Naomi, through her Nature Bending, tried to calm down the dragon, but something seemed to be blocking her bending. Perhaps it's whatever creature inside of Yami.

Finally, they landed above the city. The girl seemed perfectly fine, but Naomi was pale. She got off Fireball, but when she touched the ground she was off balanced, almost falling but she managed to stay in feet. "So, how was it", asked the girl. How was it... seriously? Naomi thought. At the moment, she was just thinking in slapping the girl and cooking the dragon, but she managed to stay calm. Besides, whatever is inside that girl is very dangerous, and Naomi's powers hasn't recovered yet. "I'm... good" Naomi said.

Yami gasped, her eyes losing focus. She fell to her knees, her breathing heavy. She remembered getting ready for takeoff, and the words that Kokuo whispered in her ear, but the flight, though not completely gone from her memory, was blurry. She couldn't seem to remember exact details. She realized that Kokuo had tapped into her mischievous side, and although she didn't completely take over Yami's body, she had a strong influence on her actions, as though she were forcing Yami to act the way she did. She looked up to see Naomi standing above her, seemingly off balance. Her face was pale, and she looked like she was going to vomit. Yami quickly got to her feet.

"Naomi! I am so sorry! I, uh, don't know what came over me. I guess Fireball was just so full of energy, he wanted to try to get you to fall off, or maybe it's because he doesn't recognize you." The Dragon nudged her, knocking her to the ground for lying. She shot him a look and stood up again. "I am truly sorry that this happened. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you?" she asked. She wondered of Naomi would want her to buy something. She figured she could. She had recently visited an air nomad outpost, where she was recognized, due to her shocking resemblance to her mother. She remembered the day well.

"Princess Teru? Is that you?" Hearing the name of her mother made Yami flinch, uncertain of what to say. The guard, a man who clearly had years of experience, as shown by his long, gray beard, had intercepted her as she walked through the local marketplace. "Uh, no, i'm Yami, Teru's daughter." A look of shock had covered the man's face. "You're alive? Rumors had been started that your whole family was killed, that your village was burned to the ground! Tell me, how are you parents?" Yami explained that the village really was burned down, and her parents were indeed dead, but she had run away from home, and was safe. "Please, you must come with me to the outpost." While there, Yami was given plenty of money and provisions, which she had been grateful for. But, to keep her identity a secret, she told the guards at the outpost not to tell anyone that she was still alive. She wasn't ready to return to the palace at the northern air temple. So, she went to Nippon, using those provisions to survive in the woods.