Avatar:Kyoshi's relationships
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| The Rise of Kyoshi (296 BG) The Shadow of Kyoshi (295 BG) Adult life (post 295 BG) |
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| Kyoshi's relationships |
This page is comprised of Kyoshi's relationships with other characters in the world of Avatar. Initially forced to flee following the revelation of her identity as the Avatar, Kyoshi encountered many people who would become both friends and enemies. During her long life, her position as the Avatar also saw her come into conflict with many others.
Relatives
Hark and Jesa
Kyoshi's relationship with her parents was one of contempt. This was due to the fact that Hark and Jesa left her in the care of the people in Yokoya, who eventually went back on their word that they would take care of Kyoshi and instead left her to starve. This event caused Kyoshi to despise her parents as well as criminals in general.[1] Kyoshi believed that she had been "unwanted" and been discarded by her parents.[1][2] She also regarded her mother Jesa as a "disgrace" for abandoning her life as an Air Nomad in pursuit of criminal activities.[3] When Kyoshi learned of her parents' death due to a desert fever, she reacted with relief and even satisfaction.[1]
Regardless, Kyoshi continued to ponder her relationship with her parents, resenting that they had raised Lek instead of her,[3] and had also seemingly cared more for him and their gang than for her.[4][5] After learning about the passionate love between Jesa and Hark, the Avatar mused that she must have been a burden in this regard, and wondered that if discarding her had allowed them to make their relationship sweeter.[6] When Lek argued that her parents had left Kyoshi in Yokoya to protect her, assuming that the people there could treat her better than them, Kyoshi disagreed, continuing to think that they simply no longer wanted her. However, she was happy that they had at least saved and raised Lek, as he deserved people to care for him.[7] Later on, Kyoshi initially mistook a vision of Yangchen for her mother's ghost, reacting with shock and horror, still unable to confront Jesa due to her conflicting feelings for her parents.[8]
Kelsang
Although not a relative by blood, Kelsang raised Kyoshi as his adoptive daughter,[9][10] feeling a bond when he met her in Yokoya during the administration of the Air Nomad test for discovering the Avatar.[11][12] Kyoshi felt similarly about Kelsang, grateful that he took her in when she was younger for no other reason than that she needed someone, and considered him the dearest person in the world to her,[9] even calling him her "lifeblood".[3]
Their relationship was one of mutual love, understanding, and affection, both able to tell when the other felt upset and neither holding back from sharing their real feelings or comforting each other during times of distress.[9][13] Kyoshi could recognize, for example, the fake cheer Kelsang put on in the kitchen beneath the Avatar mansion when he lightheartedly claimed Jianzhu had sent him away to allow Yun to focus on learning one element at a time, correctly deducing that his friendship with Jianzhu had been deteriorating for years.[9] She later comforted Kelsang on an iceberg the night after they met Tagaka and the Fifth Nation pirates, insisting he had never let her down when he expressed guilt over violating his beliefs as an Air Nomad.[13] Kelsang, in turn, knew Kyoshi felt troubled while they worked together in the kitchen beneath the Avatar mansion and attempted to cheer her up by teasingly flinging beads of flour at her face and suggesting they take a vacation together.[9]
Despite caring deeply for each other, neither was above expressing bouts of anger or aggression at the other when stressed or caught off guard.[9][14][15] For example, Kelsang accidentally pierced Kyoshi's skin by gripping her wrist too hard after expressing shock that she could recite a confidential love poem Kuruk wrote for Hei-Ran many years before.[9][14] Kyoshi, meanwhile, lashed out at Kelsang when he told Jianzhu and the other residents of the Avatar mansion that she might be the Avatar, claiming Kelsang only saw her as a second chance to train the Avatar.[15]
In spite of these emotional outbursts, Kyoshi continued to love Kelsang, still viewing him as her fatherly protector and helping him when he struggled or experienced pain. Kelsang remained loyal to Kyoshi as well until the end of his life, refusing to believe Jianzhu's explanation of how Yun supposedly died after taking one look at Kyoshi's trembling form. In a final act of loyalty and love, he ignored the pain from his recent injury and put himself between Jianzhu and Kyoshi, telling her to run while he kept Jianzhu at bay. His death at the hands of Jianzhu traumatized Kyoshi greatly, triggering the Avatar State in the short term and a vengeful promise to kill Jianzhu in the long term.[16]
Even after his death, Kyoshi continued to remember Kelsang with great affection, and missed him dearly. His words of advice and wisdom marked her so that she sometimes used some of his quotes while talking to others.[3][17] Kyoshi's decision to join a daofei gang was greatly influenced by her desire to avenge Kelsang, believing that her personal honor and reputation had no value next to her goal. She later felt guilty for being unable to defend him and Yun with every scrap of her being, and thought that they might have lived had she embraced her power more fully.[3] While training with Lao Ge, Kyoshi would imagine the airbender talking to him, missing his warm and gentle voice. She saw his abscence as a sickness that would never fully heal, and felt disappointed that she had Lao Ge as a substitute instead of her "true teacher".[18]
When the Avatar met Jinpa at the Southern Air Temple, she requested Kelsang's name to be restored to its regular esteemed status, as well as a statue in his honor.[19]
Love interest
Rangi
Rangi and Kyoshi met while both were employed at the Avatar mansion, Rangi as a bodyguard to the falsely identified Avatar, Yun, and Kyoshi as a servant. While Rangi was aggressive toward Kyoshi at first, she later found out that she only yelled at those she let inside her shell, everyone else being "scum who didn't warrant the effort". The two then became close friends who would help each other in moments of trouble, such as when Rangi came to Kyoshi's aid when Aoma and her friends were about to destroy a jar of pickled kelp that she was taking to the mansion.[20] In turn, Kyoshi felt protective toward Rangi.[2]
Rangi later went to the South Pole with Kyoshi, Yun, Jianzhu, Kelsang, and Hei-Ran when Yun signed a treaty with Tagaka and the Fifth Nation. While they were there, Rangi found a seemingly drunk Kyoshi in the snow and brought her into her tent to sleep. The bodyguard trusted her friend enough to reveal how her mother had killed one of her cousins during a duel. Kyoshi hugged her and managed to calm her down; intertwined, the firebender let her sleep beside her and touch her hair, something that Fire Nationals normally never let people do. It was the first time the two shared such an intimate moment.[13]
Rangi went with Kyoshi after learning that Jianzhu killed Yun and Kelsang. Realizing that Kyoshi would not last long without her help, Rangi decided to join her as they fled Yokoya and brought along the things the Avatar had forgotten that were essential for their survival.[21]
Kyoshi was distraught when Rangi fought "Four Shadows" Guan on a lei tai. After she emerged victorious, Rangi told the Avatar that what Kyoshi felt when she was rendered semi-unconscious on the lei tai was the same feeling she had been experiencing the whole time since they left their home, as she was constantly putting herself at risk. This made Kyoshi kiss her before Rangi pulled away, making Kyoshi think that their friendship was over forever until she said, laughing, "that part of my face is busted up, stupid. Kiss me where I'm not hurt."[4]
When Kyoshi and Jinpa went to the Fire Nation Capital for the Festival of Szeto, Rangi was there to greet the Avatar with a passionate kiss and stayed with her during the trip.[22] Rangi became upset with Kyoshi after her mother, Hei-Ran, was impaled in the neck by Yun. Even though it was her mother's plan, Rangi was furious with the fact that Kyoshi allowed her to be used as bait to draw Yun to them. Kyoshi claimed that she never agreed with it, but Rangi angrily asked when she was going to tell her. She told Kyoshi that she meant nothing to her any more, and barged out of the room. A moment later, Rangi stormed back in, screaming that Kyoshi had not eaten since the previous day, giving her noodles that she had cooked with her own firebending to show her affection.[23]
Kyoshi later trapped Rangi in the ground with her earthbending when she went to confront Huazo and Chaejin as she did not want her to be hurt. Rangi joined Kyoshi in confronting Yun at the Avatar mansion one month later. Yun stabbed Rangi, but Kyoshi was able to use the Avatar State to draw water from one of the wells and heal her after she killed Yun.[24] Kyoshi and Rangi later comforted each other by Yun's grave. Rangi stated that while she could not tell Kyoshi anything about the future, she would be there with her.[8]
Allies
Aang
Avatar Kyoshi's first appearance in Avatar Aang's life was at his trial in Chin Village when he was convicted for a crime that he did not commit in a past life, a crime Kyoshi supposedly committed. During the trial, Kyoshi told her side of the story, explaining how she killed Chin when she created Kyoshi Island.[25] Later, she appeared when Aang was asking his past lives if there was any other way to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life. Kyoshi explained to him that she did not see any difference between letting Chin fall to his own doom and kill him, and advised Aang that "only justice will bring peace."[26]
Atuat
Meeting Atuat at the Festival of Szeto as the master healer attended to her patient, Kyoshi was impressed and glad at the effect the Northerner had on the normally intractable Hei-Ran, witnessing how Atuat was simultaneously able to exasperate the headmistress with her freewheeling party-going,[27] while also being able to cow the master firebender into accepting her medical recommendations.[28]
Following Yun's infiltration of the Fire Nation Royal Palace, Kyoshi witnessed firsthand Atuat's healing while she triaged the victims of the earthbender's rampage, with Kyoshi realizing she had misjudged the waterbender based on her prior friendly behavior, comparing her ability to dispassionately determine who could and could not be saved to Lao Ge, her sifu on assassination. Nevertheless, Kyoshi was impressed with Atuat's healing, viewing the art as one of the worthiest applications of bending, and asked the healer to teach her. Atuat said she could teach her skill to anyone, with Kyoshi's ability to learn depending on her aptitude for it.[29]
After Hei-Ran decided to join Kyoshi on her journey to North Chung-Ling, Atuat accompanied her patient, ecstatic that she was technically now a companion of the Avatar.[30] As tensions between the clans in the Fire Nation grew, Atuat continued to support Kyoshi's efforts to avoid a full-blown civil war, accompanying the Avatar as she captured one of the principal architects of the conflict, Lady Huazo. The healer complimented Kyoshi's waterbending after the Avatar surged and froze Huazo's boat on a tidal wave.[31]
Before her final confrontation with Yun, Kyoshi formally studied under Atuat, learning her ability to lower a person's body temperature by carefully freezing the individual's body. Atuat would later comment that Kyoshi was the quickest study she had ever seen.[24]
Guo Xun
Guo Xun was born during the later life of Kyoshi, and idolized the Avatar while growing up. Kyoshi helped Guo Xun's family take power in Omashu, and after the Avatar's death, Guo Xun strove to uphold Kyoshi's values.[32]
Hei-Ran
Initially, Hei-Ran saw Kyoshi as nothing more than a servant until it was revealed that she was the Avatar instead of the falsely identified Avatar, Yun. She then assisted Jianzhu in tracking her down; however, when she found out about what the Earth Sage did to Kyoshi and her daughter Rangi, she told the Avatar that she would kill him for it. Hei-Ran was constantly supporting Kyoshi, even giving up her honor by cutting off her top-knot in order to assist her in saving the Fire Nation from the Camellia-Peony War. With this goal in mind, Hei-Ran was willing to act as bait to give the Avatar a chance to capture Yun. Kyoshi did not object to the plan, and Hei-Ran took her silence as acceptance.[30]
When Rangi found out about the plan and told the Avatar that she was now "nothing to her", it was Hei-Ran who told Kyoshi that Rangi had not given up on her, and that it normally took a week for Rangi to forgive her. When Rangi appeared with a bowl of noodles, Hei-Ran told Kyoshi that she was everything to her daughter, which also made Kyoshi her daughter.[23]
Jinpa
Jinpa was the secretary to Avatar Kyoshi, and she picked him up while at the Southern Air Temple.[19] After going into various battles, Jinpa was there, always concerned about her health and welfare regarding her constant daofei raids. Jinpa handled the political side of Kyoshi's Avatarhood, coping with all of her mail and schedules during their time in the Earth Kingdom. When Kyoshi finally accepted an invitation to the Fire Nation, Jinpa was pleased that the Avatar was finally interacting with the other nations and participating in high society.[33] When Kyoshi fell off Yingyong, it was Jinpa to jumped in to save her.[34] He accompanied her to the Fire Nation, and the two constantly supported each other throughout her time there.[35]
Despite the many adventures with Kyoshi, which she described as "brutal business", the Avatar noted that the airbender never advised her to follow the path, as should be expected from an Air Nomad. She called him out on keeping his mouth shut while he watched her violate his spiritual values repeatedly, an accusation that led the monk to reveal his alliance to a certain community, explaining that he was tasked with supporting Kyoshi to establish her Avatarhood, even if her actions went against his ideals as an Air Nomad. Kyoshi was supportive and empathic with Jinpa, as his pained expression reminded her of Kelsang, and respected the man's mission and secretiveness, valuing the mysterious company's support.[36]
Kirima
When Kyoshi first met Kirima, she was surprised to see a waterbender in the middle of the Earth Kingdom.[1] However, Kirima was a valuable member of the Flying Opera Company, as well as the Avatar's waterbending master, and came to accept Kyoshi as part of the group. She was the first to find out about Kyoshi and Rangi's relationship, taking it surprisingly well, and saying that she was not the type to give her grief over whom she love, although she advised her against romancing within her own brotherhood. The couple reminded Kirima of Jesa and Hark's love.[6]
When Kyoshi revealed to her and the gang that she was the Avatar, Kirima refused to believe it at first, but once she saw proof of it, she considered it an honor to be traveling with her and decided to part ways as the Avatar should not travel or be associated with daofei. However, when Kyoshi expressed her desire to remain with the company, Kirima was excited, claiming that she would not pass up the chance to go down in history as the Avatar's waterbending master.[37]
As Kirima started training Kyoshi, the waterbender's relationship with Rangi began to deteriorate, as the two would often bicker and fight over spending training time with the Avatar. Kyoshi became worried and tried to ease the tension between the two girls.[5]
As the gang continued to travel together, Kyoshi came to care for Kirima as her sworn elder sister.[38] In turn, Kirima came to trust the earthbender, being loyal to her and refusing to abandon her when she needed her.[39] The waterbender grew anxious when Kyoshi got hurt after her fight against Xu Ping An, prompting the group to get her to a healer.[40]
A year later, Kirima would, after significant financial incentive, join Kyoshi and the other surviving Flying Opera Company members at Yokoya to fight the Avatar's former friend, Yun. Wounded during the battle, Kirima complained over Kyoshi giving preferential medical treatment to Jinpa, causing the Avatar to snap at her, while silently admitting to herself how much she missed the daofei waterbender.[24]
Kuruk
Kyoshi initially thought that Kuruk was a terrible Avatar who neglected his duties.[14] He first contacted Kyoshi after she fought Tagaka and her pirates, telling her that she did well, but Kyoshi was not aware that the voice was Kuruk as she did not know that she was the Avatar.[13] Kyoshi later had visions of Kuruk telling her that he "needed her help", but he would soon dissipate, and his messages were so garbled that she could not understand him.[19] While on her way to the Fire Nation Capital, Kyoshi felt a jolt of pain while flying over an island that Kuruk destroyed, which caused her to fall off Yingyong and led her to experience a vision of Kuruk, although he only said a few words before he was cut off by Jinpa saving her from drowning.[34]
Kyoshi later tried to connect to Kuruk in order to learn more about Father Glowworm and save Yun. Kuruk's spiritual mentor, Nyahitha, guided Kyoshi in connecting to the previous Avatar and received visions of his life from the revelation about his Avatarhood to his first journey to the Spirit World, but she was unable to find anything useful to save Yun. Nyahitha told Kyoshi that she would not be able to connect with Kuruk any further until she got over her grudge against him.[41]
When Kyoshi departed the Fire Nation, she willingly jumped into the water and swam down to the ruins of the island that Kuruk destroyed. She was finally able to enter the Spirit World and speak to Kuruk directly. Kyoshi was initially upset with Kuruk when he revealed that the spirits feared him because he hunted them, and this nearly caused the ground to collapse around them. However, once she saw a vision of Kuruk confronting dark spirits and learned of the sacrifice he made that nobody knew about, she gained a newfound respect for him. Kuruk then took Kyoshi to the swamp where Father Glowworm had taken Yun and told her the truth. She wanted to believe that Yun was possessed by the dark spirit and could be saved, but Kuruk told her that spirits could not possess a person's thoughts and helped her realize that Yun had full control over his actions. Kuruk was sympathetic toward Kyoshi after she learned this, and her connection to him allowed Kyoshi to sense Yun's location.[42]
Lao Ge
Kyoshi was initially unimpressed upon meeting Lao Ge, falling for the assassin's drunken, idle behavior.[1] Upon realizing his true nature, however, Kyoshi was willing to apprentice herself to the ancient killer.[43] Though she remained apprehensive about dealing with him, Kyoshi was able to confide to Lao Ge many of her unsaid desires and insecurities, most of them centered around her need to kill Jianzhu;[43][5] in turn, Lao Ge dropped his façade when interacting with Kyoshi, imparting his personal morality on justice and killing, at several times pointing out Kyoshi's naivete and inability to focus on the big picture.[18]
Despite disagreeing with her targeting Jianzhu, viewing the Earth Sage as a vital figure in the stability of the Earth Kingdom, Lao Ge still supported Kyoshi's efforts to assassinate him, viewing it as an important factor for her personal development.[37] He was further amused by Kyoshi's seeming disinterest in learning about his age and his secret to immortality, remarking that she and her mother were the only ones who had never bothered asking about it upon learning his true identity. Despite Kyoshi eventually getting to see him as her teacher, she resented having him take that position over Kelsang.[18]
The two differed on their approaches to justice, however, as Kyoshi disagreed with Lao Ge's detached view on life enough to save Governor Te Sihung from being the assassin's next target.[44] Despite such conflicts, the two still respected one another, with Kyoshi continuing to honor Lao Ge as her sifu, while Lao Ge, though initially annoyed at her defiance, was visibly concerned that Kyoshi's mercies and softness would lead to her premature death.[39]
The two later tenuously reconciled, though Lao Ge informed Kyoshi that she, like any powerful figure, was on his watch list for assassination.[19] Kyoshi, on the other hand, attempted to convince Lao Ge not to murder those she had judged and spared,[7] while also enlisting his talents for certain tasks, such as deterring Fire Lord Zoryu from further corrupt behavior.[45]
Lek
Kyoshi originally met Lek in Madam Quiji's teahouse, along with the remains of the Flying Opera Company. Lek defended Jesa and Hark, who had adopted him shortly after they abandoned Kyoshi in Yokoya.[1] The two started with an uneasy relationship because of their difference of opinion on Hark and Jesa, and the resentment Kyoshi felt toward Lek as she felt that her parents had abandoned her and decided to raise the boy instead of her,[4] a sentiment that even made her lose her control while training with him.[18] When the Flying Opera Company met with Mok, he did not like how weak Kyoshi seemed, so Lek vouched for her by telling him about how she helped fight the authorities off. Mok responded by having Wai cut Lek's hand for his insolence and Kyoshi thanked him for standing up for her afterward.[4] Lek was surprised when Kyoshi revealed her status as the Avatar and attempted to disconnect from her, believing that she should not be associating with criminals; however, Kyoshi insisted on staying with group and Lek became one of her earthbending instructors along with Wong.[37]
Lek was present during Kyoshi's recovery from the lei tai with Xu Ping An and visited her in her room. He opened up to her for the first time and told her about his best friend, Chen, and how he died. He also called her "sister", something he had never done before. The two also talked about how Lek became a skilled earthbender, which he thanked Hark for, and speculated that Kyoshi's parents left her behind for her safety and took him in because he was more expendable to them.[7] Shortly after, however, Lek was killed by shirshu-spit darts after having an allergic reaction to them, and Kyoshi was distraught next to him, trying to help him, but was paralyzed by the darts and unable to do anything but helplessly watch her friend die. Kyoshi immediately checked for a pulse on Lek's body once she regained her mobility but could not find one. She then brought his corpse back to the rest of the Flying Opera Company and they later chose his burial spot, away from all the "abiders", which showed that she really cared about her earthbending master.[46]
Mui
During Kyoshi's time as a servant at Yun's mansion, Mui was the closest thing she had to an official supervisor.[47] Frequently running errands for the head cook, Kyoshi found herself annoyed by Mui's comments on her complexion and seeming lack of etiquette.[9]
Following the mansion's transfer to Kyoshi after Jianzhu's death, Mui stayed on in her role, even after many of the other staff had been killed or left.[48] Despite her strictness to the former servant girl, Mui wanted to support Kyoshi, viewing her as the heart of the mansion, and was overjoyed when both her and Yun returned to Yokoya, unaware of the false Avatar's transgressions. Wanting to get her to safety and out of Yun's reach, Kyoshi asked Mui to find stalknose mushrooms for a celebratory banquet, knowing that Mui would search all of the peninsula for the ingredient.[24]
Nyahitha
Working with the disgraced Fire Sage and former companion of Avatar Kuruk during her time in the Fire Nation, Kyoshi developed a tempestuous relationship with Nyahitha. Though she did not judge the Bhanti for his hedonistic lifestyle, Kyoshi frequently found herself annoyed with Nyahitha's excuses for Kuruk's behaviors,[17] and was indignant after he compared her personality with her predecessor's.[49] As the Avatar's spiritual guide, Nyahitha was disappointed in Kyoshi's deliberate rejection of Kuruk, seeing it as a self-imposed limitation that hindered her spiritual acumen, which he regarded as prodigious.[41] Even after Kyoshi reacted to his brutally honest advice with violence, Nyahitha still offered her his wisdom on how she could deal with her resentment of Kuruk,[41] and his knowledge on how civil wars occurred in the Fire Nation after the conflict between the Saowon and Keohso clans erupted.[23]
Wong
When Kyoshi first met Wong, she was surprised by his greeting and his lack of embarrasssment for his "delicate-sounding" nickname. She quickly observed that he was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it was likely to be true and to the point.[1] Wong was a valuable member of the Flying Opera Company and came to accept Kyoshi as part of the group, soon becoming one of her earthbending instructors along with Lek.[37] Wong also taught the Avatar how to properly use her mother's fans, and she was astonished when she first watched him use them for a theater performance.[3]
When Kyoshi revealed to him and the gang that she was the Avatar, Wong was hesitant at first, but when Kyoshi proved that she could waterbend too, he and the company decided to part ways as the Avatar could not travel with daofei as it would be an offense to the spirits. However, when Kyoshi decided to stay with them, Wong started to officially train her in the art of the fans.[37] He was quite strict and passionate with her training, demanding accuracy in her movements and making her sing the full works of Yuan Zhen while practicing.[5] It was also Wong who first taught Kyoshi dust-stepping.[18]
Before the attack on Te Sihung's palace, Wong painted Kyoshi's face with the Flying Opera Company's signature colors, explaining to her the meaning behind them. He reassured her, saying that the makeup always made him feel braver.[50] Kyoshi would later wear and adopt these colors as her signature face paint. As the gang continued to travel together, Kyoshi came to care for Wong as her sworn elder brother,[38] and trusted him completely, believing him to one of the few earthbenders she knew who had fine enough control to free her from an earth case without hurting her.[24]
During Kyoshi's fight against Yun at Yokoya, Wong and the other surviving Flying Opera Company members came to her aid. She felt stronger with the company reunited and standing at her back. Wong accusedly looked at Kyoshi for not being in touch more, revealing he had missed her, and called himself a friend of the Avatar. Wounded during the battle, Wong complained about Kyoshi giving preferential medical treatment to Jinpa over their sworn brother, causing the Avatar to snap at him, while silently admitting to herself how much she missed the daofei earthbender.[24]
Yangchen
Kyoshi held Avatar Yangchen in high regard and had a desire to contact her but was unable to do so for a long time until she was able to connect with her immediate predecessor Kuruk. Kyoshi was finally able to connect with Yangchen after a fox spirit led her to a spring near Yokoya. She initially expected to speak to Kuruk once again and was shocked when she saw her, mistaking her for her mother, Jesa. Kyoshi teared up when she realized that she was speaking to Yangchen, who responded by embracing her.[8]
When Yangchen appeared before Kyoshi, she told her that she threw the world off balance by giving humans everything they wanted and siding with humans over spirits more often than not. Yangchen explained to Kyoshi that it was her actions that led to Kuruk being the one responsible for hunting down the dark spirits. Yangchen told Kyoshi that all Avatars made mistakes and that there are no easy answers on the best way to guide the world. Before she dissipated, Yangchen also told Kyoshi that she needed to replace the clay turtle that she had broken, as it would be needed again in two lifetimes.[8]
Neutral
46th Earth King
The 46th Earth King summoned Kyoshi to Ba Sing Se to put an end to a peasant uprising around 270 BG. When the Earth King ordered Kyoshi to crush the peasants, Kyoshi refused. Outraged, the king ordered his guards to arrest the Avatar, but Kyoshi easily sent the guards flying with airbending. Threatening the king with her fans, she forced him to make a compromise. When the king meekly complied, she proposed that the king listen to the peasants' grievances and, in return, she would uphold the cultural interests of Ba Sing Se. Kyoshi upheld her end of the bargain by forming the Dai Li.[51] The two also cooperated in drafting a new constitution for the Earth Kingdom.[52][32]
Lu Beifong
As two of the most powerful figures in the Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi and Lu Beifong's working relationship was fractious; although the elder noble formally acknowledged and recognized her Avatarhood, Kyoshi disliked Lu for his prior support of Jianzhu and his refusal to take responsibility for misidentifying Yun as the Avatar. Despite her attempts to convince the Beifong patriarch to support her efforts in finding their mutual friend and former ally, Lu refused to believe Kyoshi's testimony that Yun was alive, with Kyoshi disdainfully believing that Lu's abandonment of Yun was an obstinate attempt to distance himself from his involvement in confirming the false Avatar.[33]
The two would later meet again during the Festival of Szeto when Lu headed a delegation of Earth Kingdom officials. Visibly aggravating each other throughout their interaction, Kyoshi, having been discarded by her own parents, turned red after Lu labeled his family heirs as worthless, while Lu glared at the Avatar after one of his hangers-on, Governor Shing, detailed her supposedly disruptive actions in his province. Lu, however, did believe Kyoshi after she clearly outlined how she was correcting Shing's exploitation of his province, and censored the governor after he referred to her as a criminal, though Kyoshi noted the sage was basing his decision on political calculus due to the official insulting the Avatar publicly amidst a throng of foreign dignitaries.[53] Despite her distaste for the old man, Kyoshi took no pleasure in Yun's murder of Lu, shuddering after her friend discarded the sage's corpse,[54] and labeling the act as slaughter.[29]
Te Sihung
Te was initially chosen by Lao Ge to be Kyoshi's first murder victim, an action that he justified by saying that Te was a corrupt leader and he let his people go hungry.[37] However, when Kyoshi discovered that Te was only a child, despite Lao Ge's insistence to end his life, she decided to turn on the old man and take the young governor to the mansion's stables. Te thanked Kyoshi and offered her money or titles, but she told him that she would spare his life on the condition that he would undo his wrongs as governor by opening his stores to the people and seeing that treasures were returned. If he did not do so, Kyoshi threatened that she would do far worse things to him as Lao Ge or the other outlaws had originally intended.[44]
Te ended up following along with Kyoshi's conditions, and by 295 BG, he had established a new school and a herbal clinic in Zigan Village, provided aid to its poorest citizens, and increased the settlement's population.[33]
Yi Ming
Earth King Yi Ming ruled the Earth Kingdom during Kyoshi's early years as the Avatar.[55][56] At the time, the Avatar attempted to bring more stability to Ba Sing Se by forming a task force to deal with the city's most dangerous daofei.[57] Yi Ming was initially ambivalent about the project, and Fire Nation ambassador Quin had to convince the ruler to sanction Kyoshi's force.[58] Once the Avatar was forced to leave Ba Sing Se, however, Yi Ming usurped the task force for his own purposes.[57]
Zoryu
Kyoshi first met Fire Lord Zoryu after being invited to the Fire Nation for the Festival of Szeto, hoping to reunite with Rangi in the capital. Kyoshi made a diplomatic faux pas after mistaking Zoryu's illegitimate half-brother, Chaejin, for the Fire Lord himself. However, Kyoshi began to understand the issues that Zoryu was facing after he explained the political situation to her, and she came to believe that Zoryu cared for his people and his nation more than Chaejin.[29]
Kyoshi took Zoryu's side in the Camellia-Peony War and sought to bring an end to the designs of the Saowon clan. However, Kyoshi was fiercely opposed to the extent of Zoryu's ruthlessness in wanting to round up and kill the Saowon, as well as his plan to execute a double in Yun's place. Kyoshi did all she could to ensure that more merciful alternatives could be found, and went out of her way to personally deal with the real Yun so that his impostor would be spared.[59] While Kyoshi later killed the true Yun, she sent Lao Ge to threaten Zoryu into keeping his word to spare the lives of the Saowon.[45]
Enemies
Aoma, Jae, and Suzu
Aoma, Jae, and Suzu were three villagers from Yokoya who bullied Kyoshi in her youth for her status as an orphan and outsider. As children, they regularly sought to harass her and felt no shame in inflicting physical injuries alongside their verbal assault. Aoma typically got away with such behavior through manipulative tactics, explaining away the rock in her hand and Kyoshi's scrapes or bruises by claiming the two of them were simply playing around whenever a hapless adult stumbled across them and giving Kyoshi a fake smile that threatened more harm if she tattled. This charm and misdirection did not fool everyone, however, having no effect on Rangi, who could see through the act.[20]
Although Kyoshi gained protection from Aoma, Jae, and Suzu's mistreatment when she secured employment and living quarters at the Avatar mansion, her proximity to Yun bred jealousy in Aoma while her ability to avoid performing harsh outdoor labor provoked resentment in Jae and Suzu. Her new job and residence also did not stop them from tormenting her on the rare occasions they came across her outside the mansion. For example, while out on an errand in the village to retrieve the last jar of pickled spicy kelp, they proceeded to follow and tease her on her walk back to the mansion. Aoma took particular pleasure during this confrontation in reminding Kyoshi that she lacked parents and who controlled the situation, earthbending the heavy jar out of her grip and threatening to drop it at any moment should she retaliate. Jae and Suzu, meanwhile, took the opportunity to demean Kyoshi's work ethic, claiming she neither cared nor had the backbone to handle fishing or farming matters. To add insult to injury, Jae spat on the ground near Kyoshi's feet and Suzu disparaged her boss, Jianzhu, commenting on his ethnic background in a derogatory tone.[20]
Despite the ill treatment, Kyoshi often tried to stay silent, preferring to resolve her encounters with Aoma, Jae, and Suzu peacefully and believing that talking back would only make matters worse. This passiveness took a great deal of restraint on Kyoshi's part, requiring her to press her tongue to the roof of her mouth to stifle her instinct to cry out while telling herself that someday in the future she might not need to hold back. Even when exerting her best efforts, however, she sometimes took the bait and accidentally vocalized her repressed thoughts aloud, such as when she called Aoma, Jae, and Suzu as worthless and unproductive as their parents' farmland in response to Suzu complaining about the Yokoyans selling some of the village's land to Jianzhu.[20]
Only Rangi's timely intervention prevented Aoma, Jae, and Suzu from accosting Kyoshi further, her presence immediately intimidating Jae and Suzu, who Kyoshi surmised had never seen a member of the Fire Nation before, into backing away and bottling up their hostile intent. Aoma did not give up as easily, initially attempting to persuade Rangi that they were helping Kyoshi carry the jar of pickled spicy kelp. This made Kyoshi realize the partial sincerity in Aoma's claim and even feel a semblance of pity for her, recognizing that she really wanted to come into the mansion to see Yun up close the way Kyoshi could every day. This feeling did not convince Kyoshi, howbeit, to stop Aoma from fleeing upon realizing Rangi would not buy her excuse.[20]
Kyoshi's dislike of Aoma, Jae, and Suzu changed little in the initial months and years following her departure from Yokoya and outing as the Avatar. For instance, when performing a particularly large feat of earthbending to plow the earth during her raid on Te's manor with the Flying Opera Company, she still exhibited frustration at them for thinking she knew nothing about farming matters.[44] Later, when she returned to Yokoya to confront Yun for the last time, she felt grateful that she did not come across them on her way to the Avatar mansion.[24]
Chaejin
Throughout their interactions during the Camellia-Peony War, Kyoshi and Chaejin's relationship was one of mutual disdain. Meeting at the Festival of Szeto, Chaejin deliberately sought out Kyoshi, using her ignorance of his existence and internal court politics to weaken the standing of his brother, Fire Lord Zoryu, while bolstering his own after the Avatar formally greeted and honored Chaejin as Fire Lord after mistaking him for Zoryu.[27][28] Engaged in his attempt to seize the throne from his brother, Chaejin was more than willing to take advantage of Kyoshi's diplomatic mistakes for his own ends.[28]
After being informed of Chaejin's ambitions and plans to instigate civil war, Kyoshi was much more careful around the royal pretender. After goading him into admitting he prioritized taking the throne over the peace of his own nation, Kyoshi saw it as her duty to ensure someone as power-hungry as Chaejin never became Fire Lord. Realizing the Avatar was firmly entrenched in Zoryu's camp, Chaejin dropped his veneer of pleasantness before Kyoshi, warning her that supporting Zoryu over him was a pointless endeavor.[29]
Coming to believe that Chaejin and his Saowon clansmen had been collaborating with Yun, Kyoshi kidnapped Chaejin in order to extract the false Avatar's whereabouts from him, threatening his mother, Lady Huazo, with death as incentive. Though Chaejin refuted working with Yun, breaking down in tears as he plead for his mother's life, his repeated denials only enraged Kyoshi. It was only after nearly murdering Chaejin, and realizing that she was about to traumatically remove a parent from their child's life, that Kyoshi was convinced to spare both son and mother.[60] Despite her distaste for Chaejin and the Saowon's duplicitous actions, Kyoshi refused to sanction Zoryu's scheme to execute the entire clan, and was willing to jeopardize her working relationship with the Fire Lord over the issue.[59]
Chin
Chin the Conqueror's army was slowly taking over the Earth Kingdom until he came to her peninsula and demanded their immediate surrender. Kyoshi told Chin that she "would not sit passively while he took our home", but Chin did not back down, making Kyoshi go into the Avatar State and, before he could make a move, separated the peninsula from the mainland, creating Kyoshi Island. Chin then died because he was too stubborn to move out of the way.[25] Kyoshi saw Chin as a "horrible tyrant" and claimed that she saw no difference between letting him fall to his own doom and killing him, as she would have done whatever it took to stop the conqueror.[26]
Jianzhu
Though Jianzhu initially did not think much of Kyoshi's talents or abilities,[15] he showed some kindness toward her, letting her keep the Avatar relic she had stolen as a child,[11] giving her a job at Kelsang's request so she would not have to ever live malnourished ever again,[20] and providing her armor to protect herself at the summit with the Fifth Nation.[13] In turn, Kyoshi viewed the Earth Sage in high esteem for giving her said opportunities,[20] and defended his hardline actions against the Yellow Necks after learning about them.[13] However, she was aware that Jianzhu had probably only provided her with a better life due to "Kelsang twisting his arm".[2] After witnessing Kyoshi's incredible earthbending at the South Pole, Jianzhu started to believe that she may be the Avatar instead of Yun, treating her like a noble, relieving her of her servant duties, and letting her use a dining hall usually reserved for guests.[61]
Following his failed attempt to identify if Kyoshi could firebend,[61] in desperation, Jianzhu took Kyoshi and Yun to see an ancient spirit, Father Glowworm. Deceiving them into thinking they were helping the spirit, Jianzhu took advantage of their trust, drugging the two teenagers, and allowing the spirit to sample their blood in order to determine which one was the true Avatar.[16] When it was revealed by Father Glowworm that Kyoshi was indeed the Avatar, Jianzhu let the spirit take Yun away with him, an action that Kyoshi initially believed to have ended Yun's life.[16] Kyoshi's rage at Jianzhu's betrayal, and his casual dismissal of Yun's life and death, was the catalyst for her first application of firebending, as she tried in vain to attack the earthbending master, only to be completely overpowered and subdued.[16] Completely obsessed with controlling and shaping Kyoshi into his ideal version of the Avatar, one that would step in to maintain balance in the Earth Kingdom and make up for his failures in training Kuruk,[15] he was willing to go to any lengths to maintain his hold over her, even going so far as to murder Kelsang, one of the few people she was close to, after the airbender tried to rescue Kyoshi from his clutches. Having lost two friends to the Earth Sage, Kyoshi made it her mission to kill Jianzhu in revenge.[16]
Desiring to learn and master the four elements in order to murder Jianzhu,[62] Kyoshi allied and worked with daofei societies, groups that she personally and ideologically detested, in order to further her skills.[1] Kyoshi's obsession with ending Jianzhu was a front, however, as she admitted both to herself and her girlfriend, Rangi, that she was terrified of the Earth Sage, and that killing him was the only way she could ever feel safe again.[4] In turn, while leading the search for Kyoshi,[63] Jianzhu was willing to risk his political reputation, capital, and life in order to ensure he was the one to train Kyoshi, whether that meant debasing himself in front of political opponents,[64] or poisoning himself, his other close friend, Hei-Ran, and a large number of the Earth Kingdom's political elite after the latter tried to usurp his role as the Avatar's master.[65]
After Jianzhu kidnapped Rangi, Kyoshi and Jianzhu met in a teahouse at Qinchao Village, where the Earth Sage attempted to force the Avatar back to Yokoya by threatening the lives of everyone in the building. After Kyoshi likened Jianzhu's actions to those of a daofei, the Butcher of Zhulu Pass broke down in mirthful tears, laughing as he admitted to manipulating the Yellow Necks into killing each other and digging their own graves before he buried them alive. His attempts to manipulate Kyoshi by threatening Rangi caused her to attack Jianzhu; their fight would be cut short as Yun arrived at the teahouse, and killed the politician. Though Kyoshi felt confused about how Yun was alive, she was relieved that Jianzhu was gone.[46]
Even in death, Jianzhu and his philosophy on corruption and order continued to influence Kyoshi. Realizing the possibility that he might die during their confrontation, he changed his will to acknowledge Kyoshi as the true Avatar, ensuring that the rest of the Earth Kingdom nobility would as well.[19] Despite her hatred for the man, Kyoshi viewed Jianzhu as the closest thing the Earth Kingdom had to an effective leader in several instances, emulating his methods to control people through violence and intimidation.[38][60][59] Though she viewed her former benefactor's ruthlessness as the quicker option to get what she wanted, Kyoshi abhorred how she used such methods to victimize people in the same way Jianzhu did to her;[33] in one instance, while trying to leverage information from Chaejin and Huazo by threatening them with death, she was ultimately convinced to spare the two, in part, after imagining Jianzhu laughing at her deeds.[60] Though she would refuse to harm innocent people, Kyoshi would study Jianzhu's manuals on the Earth Kingdom and urban combat tactics,[38] giving her the skills she would later pass on to the secret police force known as the Dai Li.[66]
Tagaka
Tagaka was Kyoshi's earliest opponent as the Avatar, meeting her during Yun's mission to secure a treaty with the Fifth Nation pirates. As a result of her general disdain for criminals at the time, Kyoshi expressed disgust at Tagaka's way of life, but was also surprised at the pirate queen's meek appearance and impressive intelligence. Like all her allies, Kyoshi was fooled by Tagaka's self-portrayal as a weak bender until she sprang her trap. Afterward, Kyoshi confronted Tagaka to rescue Yun. When the pirate offered Kyoshi a place in the Fifth Nation, the teenage girl angrily rejected and insulted her. Despite her inexperience in combat and isolation at this moment, Kyoshi bravely challenged Tagaka to free Yun. She survived the encounter thanks to the Avatar State and the intervention of Rangi as well as Hei-Ran, ultimately contributing to the pirate queen's downfall and imprisonment.[13]
A few years after Kyoshi had officially been revealed as the Avatar to the world, Tagaka escaped from her prison. Viewing her as an international threat, Kyoshi hunted for the escapee.[67][68]
Xu Ping An
Kyoshi had heard of Xu Ping An and the Yellow Necks second-hand from Kelsang and others at the Avatar estate after he had been defeated following the Yellow Neck Uprising.[14] She later agreed to help free Xu Ping An from his imprisonment in Governor Te Sihung's palace so that Mok of the Autumn Bloom Society would forgive the Flying Opera Company's debt, although she was unaware of the prisoner's identity.[4] Following the raid, Kyoshi learned that the prisoner was truly Xu Ping An, and was appalled when she learned of his plan to bring complete devastation to the Earth Kingdom once more. Knowing that her small group of companions could not defeat all of Xu's followers, Kyoshi decided to observe the Yellow Necks for a while. However, after she saw the daofei threaten a civilian family, she decided to challenge him to a duel upon the lei tai per their code of conduct, wishing to halt his reign of terror before it could begin anew. Kyoshi was shocked to learn that Xu was a lightningbender after the duel began, though had survived his attacks due to the armor she was wearing. Despite her immense pain, she was able to enter the Avatar State with full awareness of what she was doing, terrifying Xu and his followers. She lifted Xu into the air with her bending, and realizing that he would never change his ways, she let him fall to his death, consciously deciding to kill him.[39][40]
Yun
While Yun was believed to be the Avatar, Kyoshi was both a servant in his mansion and a close friend of his.[9] They had a playful relationship in which they often teased and flirted with each other.[20] One time, in a moment of flirtation, they almost kissed, although they never spoke of it again in loyalty to their professional roles. Kyoshi loved Yun, who she found very attractive, and sometimes failed at hiding her romantic feelings.[24][61] As a servant of the Avatar mansion, Kyoshi often cleaned up after Yun's messes. Kyoshi cared deeply about Yun and wanted to protect him,[69] going to extreme lengths of raising the seafloor while desperately fighting to save him from Tagaka.[13] However, their relationship was strained after Yun learned that Kyoshi could possibly be the true Avatar, as the boy initially refused to believe the fact. However, Yun, recognizing his friend's guilt at potentially "stealing" his Avatarhood, he tried to reassure her that she was not at fault, and eventually reconciled with her by pretending to accept that he might not be the Avatar.[61]
Later, Kyoshi sobbed as Yun was attacked and taken by Father Glowworm. Despite her best effort, she was unable to save him and wrongfully presumed him as dead. Realizing that Jianzhu was to blame for Yun's supposed death, Kyoshi filled with pure hatred and vowed that her life would now be dedicated to avenging Yun.[16] After he escaped from Father Glowworm's clutches and returned to help Kyoshi kill Jianzhu, she was shocked and relieved to see him alive. However, she noticed that something about him had changed during his time in the Spirit World, and assumed that Father Glowworm was somehow still controlling him.[46] When he vanished once again, Kyoshi was left confused by her encounter with him yet hopeful that she could possibly find him again. Since then, Kyoshi became obsessed with trying to track down her friend.[19]
After searching for a year, Kyoshi was surprised by Yun's sudden attack on the Fire Nation Royal Palace party, which she, Rangi, and Hei-Ran were attending. Kyoshi's strikes against her old friend were slow, hesitant, and failed to prevent the destruction of the palace and the other lives defending it.[30][54] Since his blood-thirsty ambush was not something the old Yun would have done, Kyoshi continued to assume that he was being manipulated by Father Glowworm and tried to find a way to free him from what she thought was the spirit's effects.[30][29]
In North Chung-Ling, Kyoshi's bending was not strong enough to stop Yun from sinking a stone dagger into Hei-Ran's throat.[70] The Avatar missed her opportunity to abolish Yun and let him escape once again.[23] Despite Yun's violent attacks, Kyoshi continued to believe that Yun did not hate her and was only acting out of vengeance toward those who had wronged him.[59] After Avatar Kuruk told Kyoshi that Yun had been in control of his actions the entire time, she finally accepted that the old Yun was gone, but she hoped to talk some sense into him.[71]
Though neither of them wanted to, Yun and Kyoshi fought against each other at their old home in Yokoya. During their heated battle, Kyoshi pleaded for Yun to let his past go and to stop trying to hurt her. Yun explained that she was the only one that had never wronged him, so the rest of the world was guilty. Kyoshi told him that she fulfilled her Avatar duties out of choice, and there were people she trusted more than him. Eventually, Kyoshi realized that, in order to save the whole world from his vengeance, she would have to kill him. After Yun attempted to murder Rangi, Kyoshi apologized for stealing his Avatarhood to lure him in and then froze his heart and lungs.[24]
After Yun's death, Kyoshi felt hollow and cried as she mourned her old friend.[24] She buried Yun near his hometown of Makapu. Standing over his gravestone, Kyoshi's muscles ached with grief as she truthfully told him that if she could not have been the Avatar, she wished it would have been him.[8]