Fool's World: Old Fools (ch. 32) (Patreon)

Nobara was really getting worried about Majima and she wasn't really sure what to do about it. Rin gave her the lowdown – Majima had spoken to King Bumi and Iroh and while Majima got what he wanted, in the days since, a foul mood had taken hold of him. They were back at sea in the small ship and traveling with the Kyoshi Warriors and a good fifty earthbenders. Everyone tried to give their leader space, but it was a little difficult when there were nearly two hundred people on a ship meant to house half that.

Now, Majima stood on the bow, looking out into the ocean with his arms crossed. He hadn't stopped frowning since they left Omashu.

"If you have something to say, then say it, Nobara," Majima said, not looking at her but he had noticed her presence. Concern didn't seem to be an evil desire, but maybe it counted to him. Her eyes narrowed at his tone, the harsh unfriendliness of it.

Well, if he wanted to hear it, then she was going to tell him. "What are you doing?" She asked, striding up to him and the others on the bow quickly realized that the conversation was meant to be private so they began to clear off.

"Looking at the ocean," Majima replied, and Nobara rolled her eyes. The sarcasm could be charming, but not when she already wanted to smack him upside the head. "We're hunting for Fire Nation trade ships."

"You know exactly what I mean," Nobara interjected before he could start running his mouth about grand strategy or whatever. "You don't owe this world anything, Majima. You do realize that?" She told him, standing next to him on the bow. He still didn't look at her, but his expression told her that her remark struck home.

Majima waited a long moment before answering, "I know." Two words. Nobara scowled before she forced him to look at her with a quick shove to the shoulder.

"Then what are you doing passing up a chance to break your curse?" Nobara questioned him, cutting right to the heart of the matter. Rin also passed that along – some library in a desert could have the clues needed to break his curse. Which was the entire reason they were here in this world.

Nobara never cared about the big picture. Stuff like the fate of the world and whatever never interested her. It was just too big. What she cared about was the small picture – saving some snot nosed brat from a cursed spirit might not make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but she didn't care. It made a difference to the kid that would get to grow up. It would make a difference to his parents, who would be glad to have him drive them up the walls when he became a teenager. It would make a difference to the boyfriend's or girlfriends or husbands and wives and children they might eventually have.

That's why she hunted cursed spirits. Not to save the world, but to save the people in it.

The Fire Nation's war on the world? It was terrible. It was awful. It reminded her a little too much of her home's history of rampant imperialism and barbarism that the government still tried to sweep under the rug. However, while Nobara felt for the people that suffered because of the war, she wasn't here to save the world.

They were here to save Majima.

"The library won't go anywhere, and my entire strategy hinges on my ability to sense my influence on others. That goes away, and we're shooting blind," Majima answered, crossing his arms over his chest. He was getting defensive.

Nobara shook her head, "Yeah, no – Majima, this war has nothing to do with you. With us. I'm with you if you want to help fight it, but not if it means you-"

"Fall into old habits?" He interrupted.

"You're a month old. You're not old enough to have old habits," she reminded him, because he needed to be reminded. Ever since he merged with himself – the rest of the Angra Mainyu left in the Holy Grail – Majima considered himself more Angra Mainyu than Majima. The remarks about how he was as old as evil itself were telling. How he acted was more so. Majima was always a vicious fighter, but now he carried himself with a dangerous edge that Nobara didn't at all care for.

It scared her. This world was where the curse was supposed to be broken and instead Majima seemed to be being consumed by the title of Angra Mainyu. Things were going the opposite of what they should be. And Majima was passing up an opportunity to escape his curse for the sake of a war that they genuinely had no stake in. This wasn't their home.

Majima narrowed his eyes at the reminder of his real age. That he was Majima, not the Source of All Evil. "It'll be a few years at most. Then I can get rid of the curse."

"You're saying that, but you aren't giving me a reason why, Majima. Why is it so important to you that you end the war even if it means becoming something that you hate? The thing you came here to not be. The thing," she stressed while jabbing him in the chest with a finger, "you mind whipped yourself so you could stop being."

Majima's lips thinned as she squared up on him, ready and willing to smack some sense right into him if he needed it. He didn't say anything, leaving her to make wild guesses. "Is it Aang? You barely met him for all of five minutes and you scared the crap out of him. Are you really just going to throw away a chance to lift your curse for the sake of someone you just met?"

It was one thing to die for someone that you just met. Sometimes, that's what the job was. And, if Majima was giving his life for Aang, then she could swallow what was happening a lot easier, but he wasn't. If he lost the curse and became a normal man, he could still fight the Fire Nation. It would just be a little less effective. No, instead, Majima was signing himself up to experience every brutal death, every bit of suffering of a world at war for the sake of someone he had just met when he had other options.

There was self sacrifice and then there was self flagellation. This was the latter and Majima wasn't giving her a reason why.

"I was a kid when I became Angra Mainyu," he told her, catching her attention because it sounded like he'd rather pull teeth than admit that. Rather than be vulnerable. "I didn't remember that until I entered the Holy Grail. The rest of me showed me that."

Majima looked away from her and back out to the ocean. "My village was suffering. Famine, disease, and attacks. It all came to a boiling point and the shaman declared me the Source of All Evil and that they had to do what they did to absolve themselves." He continued, a deep frown in his voice. "I forgot all about that, but memories have been floating up since I arrived. Of my life."

Nobara placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look at her and there was uncertainty in his pale gold eyes. "I volunteered for it, Nobara. More than that… I didn't regret it. My dumbass really thought that I would be putting an end to all evil with my sacrifice." He voiced and it sounded like he had no clue what to think about that. "I didn't know better. That didn't come until much later. But I was glad. It's what kept me sane for decades – that I would be putting an end to evil." The chuckle that escaped him could redefine the word bitter.

"And ending the war is… what? Your chance to do it for good this time?" Nobara asked, her hand sliding down his shoulder to hold his with both of hers. She wanted to understand. She did.

"I see a lot of who I was in Aang," he told her in a low, quiet voice. "Maybe he could restore balance to the world without my meddling and we could fuck off to a private island and drink mojitos all day, but he shouldn't have to, Nobara. The kind of pressure that comes from saving the world from itself will destroy anyone because you can't do it. The world will always need saving because people will always need saving. I'm scared that Aang's going to end up how I did at the end of my life."

"How did it end?" Nobara questioned, her tone making it clear it was an offer to talk about it.

"I realized the truth at some point. That everything I did and endured was worthless. That it had no meaning," Majima answered. "Nobara, it drove me insane. It wasn't the flayings, it wasn't the burnings, it wasn't any horrible thing that was ever done to me but realizing that it was all for nothing is what broke me. I can't remember anything from the last half of my life because I was completely insane because I realized that I couldn't save the world." He voiced, and there was pain in his voice.

Nobara purses her lips -- she couldn't imagine that. She honestly couldn't. Pain wasn't anything new to her because it was only natural to get hurt hunting cursed spirits. Not everyone could be Gojo Satoru. The worst pain she had ever experienced was getting one of her fingernails ripped out -- it hurt worse than broken bones or road burns. That was her frame of reference and, at the time, if someone had taken her behind the barn to put her down, Nobara would have welcomed it because getting a nail ripped out hurt. So, she couldn't imagine what it was like for Majima. Humanity discovered some pretty horrible ways to make people suffer terrible deaths.

Being boiled alive sounded pretty awful. The wheel too. Drawn and quartered. All matters of torture. Nobara couldn't imagine what it was like to endure all of that. Anyone that said they could was a liar. And to endure all of that -- everything that was carved into his skin -- only to find out it was all for nothing? Yeah, Nobara thought she'd go crazy too.

"Aang isn't in the same boat as you are," Nobara made her point. A valid point. Regardless of how much Majima suffered and still suffered, it wasn't a reason to drag his feet on breaking his curse for the sake of someone that he barely knew. And she liked Aang. He was a little goober.

"Physically? You're right," Majima admitted. "But even if he gets through this -- beats the Fire Nation, restores balance to the world… best case scenario is that he dies before he realizes that it was all pointless. Just because you save the world… all that means is that it keeps on turning. It doesn't mean it's going to get better. All he'll get is a new set of problems and he'll die without making the world any more unified than when he started." Majima finished, a sigh escaping him.

Depressing. A little nillistic. But, she understood. "I don't like it. I think we should turn the boat around and head straight for that library, but I see that you're doing this for yourself as much as you say you're doing it for Aang." Nobara told him in no uncertain terms, pushing past all of the life philosophy and depressing nihilism -- Majima was saving Aang because he wanted to save him. Regardless of the fact that he might not even need saving.

In doing so, he was choosing to accept the weight of all the evil in the world. Not to save the world, but to save an adorable kid that was saddled with a terrible destiny.

It was a dumb choice. Nobara didn't like it at all.

But, ultimately, it was his choice.

…

Rin frowned deeply at the city that they stood in that was, adequately, called Harbor Town… because there was nothing in the city except for a harbor. It felt like the town was three sizes too small to handle the population that was in it. Most of which were merchants that were coming or going -- their Fire Nation ship had gotten some looks. More so when word got around that it didn't belong to the Fire Nation.

"What do you think?" Majima and Suki questioned, expanding a black strip of canvas that they had purchased. On it was something that Rin easily recognized and she felt her brow twitch.

"I think you're committing to the pirate thing a little too hard," Rin remarked, placing a hand on her hip as she examined the skull and crossbones. It was painted into the cloth and whoever did it did a decent enough job. She really couldn't believe what her life had become. She was a pirate. What happened to her life?

"There's a reason why the jolly roger was used by pirates," Majima voiced. Rin was glad that he had recovered from a few weeks of depression after they left the city of Omashu. Still, she wished he would find other ways to entertain himself.

"I'm sure they're completely valid and you just don't want to act out your pirate fantasys," Rin responded, her tone amused despite herself. "I'm far more concerned about the Fire Nation. This is their town, after all," she said, very pointedly looking over the railing of the ship, into the city, to see a handful of soldiers that were not so subtly watching their ship.

Majima seemed unbothered. "Them? They're just planning to steal it back, but they won't force the issue because they know they won't win. Fifty earthbenders will do that," Majima elaborated.

Suki gave him a sharp look as they handed off their jolly roger to replace the Fire Nation flag they had been stuck with. "And the Kyoshi Warriors," she tacked on for him.

"And the Kyoshi Warriors. Speaking of which, this is probably the closest thing we're going to get to shore leave so make the most of it," Majima told her, speaking as if he hadn't left the ship since they arrived. "I have no clue what this place offers but go wild while you can."

"That applies to you too," Suki rebuked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Rin followed up the point, "I'm going out into the city. Majima, you're coming with me," Rin informed him. Majima had the decency to accept that he had been ambushed and simply sighed, accepting that he would have to interact with humanity. "Suki, will you guard the ship?"

"Course," Suki responded, flashing her a grin. Rin found herself liking the Kyoshi Warrior. She was good natured and ambitious. She was also a natural born leader. Even without their interference, Rin knew it would only be a matter of time before she took the fight to the Fire Nation.

Rin walked forward and grabbed Majima by the arm. "Hurry up -- and you're buying any jewels that we find," she told him, earning another sigh. Her progress with her jewel craft had halted for lack of a better word. She had gathered a number of books to take with her when she left her world, only to discover they hadn't been transported with her. Meaning, for the first time in her life, she wasn't learning. She wasn't advancing her magecraft.

It was awful. Rin knew she was a hedonist at heart. Progressing her family's magecraft was something she genuinely enjoyed doing because she could feel herself retreading well-walked ground and creating a larger foundation for her own descendants. And in the weeks she had been in this world, she hadn't advanced at all. All she had were the jewels that she had on her, so she only loaded them up with more mana. Vast amounts considering she didn't use any of her reserves because she hardly had an occasion to use magecraft at all.

That changed today, Rin decided. "As much as I'm willing to go along with your plans to destroy the Fire Nation, I'm here primarily for research purposes."

"So am I," Majima said as they walked down the ship, arm in arm, to enter the city properly. He got a lot of looks. The Kyoshi Warriors got used to his scars, the Earthbenders less so, but random people on the street only saw a handsome man with murder, gelding, and betrayal, to name a few things, written on his face. "This is a merchant town."

"You really are a pirate," Rin muttered, amused despite herself. She was part of a band of criminals. Not ideal. Her father would be rolling in his grave if he could see her now, but she had to admit, it was an interesting life experience and it never did anyone harm to broaden their horizons. "Fine. You find me a vessel that has jewels and books about the spirit realm and I'll let you pillage it to your heart's content." Things would be cheaper that way.

"Naturally," Majima returned as they settled into a casual pace to explore the stalls and shops. People weren't exactly eager to have him shop there, but Majima managed to use that to haggle prices so low it was extortion. What they bought were things of curiosity -- a scroll that detailed the dangers of spirits. Majima bought an instruction manual for the game Phai Sho. Additional clothes were also welcomed.

The spirit world was something of great interest to Rin, even if it was wildly outside of her typical areas of research. Spirits were something between common knowledge and folklore in the world according to her research but everyone she had met and questioned on the ship validated the existence of spirits. It was a closed off realm, and apparently it was the Avatar's job to mediate between them, but it had fascinating implications. Could she use spirits in her jewelcraft, similar to a familiar? What abilities did spirits possess? How could she interact with them?

Rin regretted not grilling Aang for details when she had the chance. If he didn't know anything, then perhaps his past lives would -- and what made the Avatar so special was that he could commune with his past lives.

A remarkable ability that Rin desired. It would make the transference of knowledge to her children far more efficient when they could simply look back and ask her ghost for details in a particular area of magecraft. It would also prevent knowledge from being destroyed. All it would take is learning what exactly made the Avatar so special since bending seemed to be a blend of genetics and spiritualism.

Was the Avatar the Avatar because he was reincarnated into some random infant and that infant then gained the ability to bend all four elements? Or did the potential have to be there beforehand? Such as having the genes necessary to bend all four elements and the spirit of the Avatar activated what would normally be recessive genes? Could the Avatar be reincarnated as someone that couldn't bend at all?

Rin hadn't realized how lost in her own thoughts she was until she felt someone bump into her, nearly knocking her over in the process. She glanced over to see it was a particularly wide man with a face that couldn't have screamed trouble more if he wrote it on his forehead. He glanced at her, an expression of annoyance on his face that vanished for a moment. She knew the look. It reminded her of the cretin Shinji.

That look promptly vanished with a single harsh look. Rin would have been pleased if it had been her look of annoyance, but the thug took a single glance at Majima before mumbling a sorry under his breath and speed walking away. Rin watched him go before turning her attention to Majima, who watched the man flee like the devil himself was nipping at his heels. Though, based on the look that Majima pinned at his back, that may not be too far off from the truth.

"Come on," Rin said, dragging him forward. "Enough shopping out of need. What do you want?"

"I already have the Phai Sho book," Majima defended, patting at his belly warmer.

"Which you got so you could play with your board game Illuminati friends," Rin pointed out. The whole White Lotus thing that he got invited to. Every world had secret societies, it seemed. "What else do you want? What do you want to do that's fun?" She asked because she genuinely didn't know. She met Majima in the middle of a high stress Grail War and in it, he did his best to kill himself via Servant. He was a brutal fighter. Brave. Smart when he wasn't an idiot. Charming when he wanted to be. But, there had never been time for fun. Even now, it hadn't taken long before Majima dedicated himself to ending a century-long war.

Majima made a show of thinking about it, "Making humans suffer."

"Of course," Rin responded drily, not shocked by the defensive sarcasm. "What else?"

"Delivering ironic and poetic deaths. Not just to humans. To anyone, really. I try not to discriminate," Majima doubled down and Rin rolled her eyes hard.

"How open minded of you," Rin returned placatingly. Majima was ignorant, Rin had come to realize. He passed himself off as Angra Mainyu, parading the scars on his flesh as the ultimate truth of humanity, but that wasn't the case. Majima had only ever experienced the absolute worst of humanity. In his entire existence, he never got to experience the good side of humanity -- kindness, compassion, sacrifice. He was like a crotchety old man that thought he knew everything he needed to because he had seen one side of the argument.

"If you don't have an opinion, then we're going with my tastes. A batting cage is out of the cards, but it can't be that hard to find a stick and a bat," Rin said, dragging the Source of All Evil along behind her, who only offered a token resistance. Nobara was holding out hope that there was a clean cut, easily fixable solution to ending his curse. Rin didn't hold that opinion herself.

Majima -- or, she supposed -- Angra Mainyu's plan hadn't been a bad one. It had nearly worked. While it was too late to remove the stain of the curse on Majima's personality, Rin thought with time -- with interacting with humanity and, thus, becoming human… that was his best bet at breaking free of the title of Angra Mainyu.

So, in this bustling, overcrowded, pitifully developed town, Rin decided that she'd give Majima some good memories.