Chapter 186: Tales of Ba Sing Se
A/N: One of my longest chap ever!
***
Knowledge of chi, the energy within one's body, was quite limited even after Nik absorbed the library left by the spirit known as Wandering Knowledge. Chi can interact with the physical and metaphysical matter in ways different for each individual. Spirits generally don't utilize their chi to communicate with an element and bend the said element to their will. And for most spirits, the quantity of chi in their reserves is never consistent. There is only one truth in the spirit world and that is everything relative.
Meanwhile, for humans, Chi acted as another form of muscle. It grows when strained, exhausted, and nourished consistently. Some grow quicker than others and that is entirely dependent on the natural talent of the bender.
So, when they rested truly, when they slept for a few hours after eating a meal that was bland and filling nonetheless for their bodies would need some time to return to their previous appetite, the rescued prisoners felt better. At least, by night, everyone had an earthen roof over their heads and a mattress liberated from the prison they were in. The structure of prison was brought in here, too, but was kept away from the prisoners and currently, worked as a way for Toph to train and teach what she now called Metalbending.
As the first sign of civilization settled in his personal space, Nik and others except for Azula who wasn't present here were informed of the results of the interrogation... at least, the useful bits and not the gory details since even Mai didn't want to recall any of it.
The Dai Li's origin was the same as described in 'his' memory as an organization trained by Avatar Kyoshi to protect the cultural heritage of the Earth Kingdom, more specifically, Ba Sing Se. But during the Hundred Year War that led to Ozai crowning himself the Phoenix King of the world, Dai Li had become too corrupt and was swayed by the selfish political agendas of their leader, most recently of them being Long Feng. But it was all in the past be it, Long Feng, using the Dai Li to become the de facto dictator of Ba Sing Se or their knowledge of swaying the minds of humans that stemmed from dubious sources.
What mattered to Nik and others were the changes that were brought after the war and it served to trouble them quite a bit.
As Mai stated and Iroh speculated, once Ozai came to power and gained control of Dai Li, his first order of business was to brainwash any child under the age of 13 that they could get their hands on and this act prevailed even now. What are the hints of brainwashing them, that none of these agents knew since this knowledge was reserved for those in the secret headquarters of the Dai Li.
And these children had all things in common— all of them were sent out to Poor Man's land... but Ozai wasn't only targeting the young generation of the earth kingdom, there were rumors within Dai Li that numerous 'care' facilities were already open in the Fire Nation in secret and while the Water Tribe was safe for now, it was only due to its extreme conditions and more recent success in the war that made the Fire Nation suffer terrible losses.
While others felt a little ominous why Ozai would even target children like this... Nik had a good idea.
"He wants to complete his rule by... forming a generation that views him as not a king but a god. I read some stuff in Ukano's office..." Nik muttered, "And more than that, if this works and he has enough young adults in his control... he plants to use his worshippers to remove the heretics."
"Heretics?" Yue frowned as Nik's cold words made all of their skin crawl in fright.
"Those who don't have a god... are heretics. And there will only be two types of people if Ozai does become a god... those who view him as one and those who don't."
---
For the next few days, Nik and others began to hit every prison they had gotten information about from the Dai Li captives. As for these captives themselves, they were handed to the rebels through Azula. After all, aside from being a burden, the prisoners had no other value but this also shifted their focus greatly, at least, for those who were battle-oriented in their group.
But Nik's days had gotten even more intense compared to others. Constant training was hard enough but he also went on raiding the prisons since his presence was necessary and those that agreed to enter his personal world also needed a solid introduction and a place to settle not to mention whether exhausted or not, he was intent on completing his more 'giving' duties, especially for June.
And with Mai refusing to use her skill on men for interrogation... the task fell on Azula who admittedly gave second-degree burns to many Dai Li members before they spoke and this sudden cooperation between Nik and Azula was most mysterious in Zuko's eyes who was suddenly informed that Nik's team had somehow raided the remaining two prisons. Those who wanted to step out of the world of conflict and just live agreed to settle with Nik, and those who wanted revenge or to find their relatives temporarily joined the rebels.
And when all of this was settled and things were turning for the better in Nik's personal space, Iroh strangely demanded a day off and asked to close the store.
---
With a day off, Michi and Poppy found themselves in each others' company as they decided to stay within the personal space. It has been four days since the largest iron fortress was plundered and now many prisoners had regained some of their vigors, and this land was truly wealthy to the point many were unwilling to just return now they were feeling well. Some did, no doubt. In fact, it wasn't just younger men and women but rowdy men and women, too, after properly revealing their gratitude to Nik, left the personal space.
Nobody knew if they were going to wander about or just set up in another village and Nik wasn't that worried about them sharing the secret. He helped them out and chose to bring them in for his personal motive and if some of them weren't holding the same vision then he didn't mind letting them go. Heck, if he was truly a saint then he would have shared the fact that he could leave this world and in essence, make each of them leave the world, too.
But that would lead to another round of 'layoff' and Nik at least wanted the land developed for some time. And as manipulative, as it was, some appreciated his choice and others felt complicated. But the overall consensus was of understanding.
It's not like they were working for free. They were literally building things for themselves around the manor and raising a village for their own good.
"My, my, the last time I saw you so excited was the day after you spent the night with Nik when we first came to the Beifong Estate," Michi poked as she had her dark hair tied back into a ponytail with two lush locks framing her face and tied near the end by a red band. She wore a matching maroon crop top and a pair of breaches with black ends while wooden sandals adorned her face. Michi quite enjoyed showing off. After all, even after giving birth to two children, she managed to bring her body back in shape and was proud of that. Fortunately, she only had to wait so much to find a man that appreciated her efforts.
Starkly opposite in comparison, Poppy wore a jaded green robe with an earthen yellow belt that matched the ends of her robe. Her glossy black hair was no longer brought up in an elaborate hairdo with an expensive headdress but was tied into a bun held by a dark jade red pin with the face of a pheasant carved at its back. Her oval face never needed any additional makeup and while not as slender as Michi, Poppy's assets were envious enough that even Michi would grope the woman at times even when their daughters were present.
Unfazed by her remark, Poppy chuckled, "Who wouldn't be? In fact, we both have many things in common but you knew that before you brought him there."
Sticking out her tongue childishly, Michi admitted, "I knew some of it... heh~!"
She took in the sight of the village as many men and women greeted them. Indeed, there were a few men who were interested in them but it would be strange if they weren't yet the war veterans knew of gratitude and had just been rescued. Even if they had gone mad during their time in prison, they wouldn't act in an ungrateful manner.
"Beside..." Poppy continued, "It's just amazing how easily Nik encounters women who are in a similar situation as us..."
"You mean Ursa?" Michi inquired and Poppy nodded.
"Easy," Michi shrugged, "There is no limit to jackasses and I am sure that a royal lady would not leave the Prince at the time because he was too nice. Anyway, I am just happy that he managed to tell us about his situation... if it was me... I would have..."
"Kidnapped all of us and then reveal we were in a different world?" Poppy smirked.
"Bingo," Michi giggled and Poppy sweated internally.
As they continued to walk, Poppy soon came to a stop a little farther from the manor. This spot was quite beautiful with a rather artistic shop raised but Michi was dumbstruck at the time.
"Crimson Petal Store," Michi whispered the name written in bold crimson prints. Various colorful pots hung on the edge of the store and a rack of flowerpots was set by the large window of the store. As she walked it under Poppy's guidance, Michi found Mai walking up with her hands gloved and a bag of seeds in her arms, "Took you some time to get here, let's get to work. The quickest we can grow is sprouts of Yellow Sting Flowers."
Michi blinked as she looked at the substantial store once again and then at her daughter.
"Would you really help me out?" Michi always doubted that Mai would want to help out in a flower store when she admitted that her interests lay in a more Inquisition section... but Mai scoffed, "I'm here."
She remarked seriously and handed Michi the bag of seeds as Poppy pecked Michi's cheek, "Congratulations on the store, Michi. You wouldn't mind if I work alongside the two of you, too, right?"
"Of course, not... flowers won't get sold by themselves if we don't have your pretty face around," Michi sighed and then looked around again, "But... I do feel a little fortunate that Nik is busy right now... if he were here, we would have had to close the store on the first day." She grinned a silly smirk.
"Come on... I'm right here..." Mai murmured under her breath and rolled her eyes.
"Ah, that still doesn't mean we can slack off on our promise to help administer the village," Poppy added and spanked Michi's butt lightly with an encouraging grin, "So, chop-chop. We have a long day."
"And an even longer night," Michi whispered whilst licking her lips.
---
Yue's white hair and dark skin certainly attracted quite a bit of attention and that is one of the reasons why she didn't like traveling without Nik. Even though he'd made it clear that he never minded if she got such type of attention since it was quite impossible to avoid, Yue still felt quite uncomfortable if alone. After all, it isn't the lack of confidence that brought such a reaction. She was plenty charismatic but... she only loved HIS attention. There was just something different about attention from the man whom she knew she would be willing to spend her life with.
And that is why she hired adequate 'muscle' with her sweet words.
"Once again, thank you for accompanying me," Yue plastered a pleasant smile as she presented quite the delectable desert in her violet kimono tunic that strained around her full breasts the slightest bit.
"Don't mention it, love," June smiled, "You easily healed the burns I got during the last raid. The least I can do is tag along. Besides, had nothing better to do. Life of a bounty hunter has its slow days, too."
"Again with the bounty hunter this and that," Toph rolled her eyes, "You quit that profession for dick and booze! At least be honest about it!"
Yue blushed slightly at Toph's blunt and loud words as more gazes fell on them but the two that flanked her protectively didn't care for it and June smirked, "We're all in the same boat, sweety. Just that I can take more of both and still strut the next day. You... with those teeny legs and honey pot in the between them, can't."
They soon stopped in front of Yue's intended destination.
An orphanage.
"I sense many, many runts," Toph scowled while Yue smiled, "An old aunty in the Tea Store told me about this place. They have some disabled children and I wanted to try and heal them since my skills are more effective than healing from waterbending."
As they entered, Yue found that the customer that told her about the orphanage was the old matron herself and when she found out that Yue could possibly heal some of the disabled children, she was quick to bring them in. But Yue also had something else in mind. The matron had revealed that a few of the children in the orphanage had disappeared once and then returned a few days later without knowing what happened to them. Yue just wanted to see them and check if her bending skill could counteract the influence on these innocent children.
Meanwhile, June and Toph viewed things unfolding from the sidelines.
"Hey... did you ever ask Yue to heal your eyes?" June finally questioned as Toph shrugged, "Yue couldn't heal it... she said that whatever happened to my eyes was a defect from birth and she couldn't make things different than how I was born..."
"That's gotta suck..." June muttered as Toph snorted, "Didn't I tell you? Colors are overrated—"
"I mean not being able to see your mother fuss over you... I don't know if you ever noticed it with your bending technique but... she has the proudest smile when she sees you."
Toph grew silent at that, the bangs of her hair covered her face as she hung her head low when June suddenly patted her head and ruffled her hair, "Why the hell are you feeling bad now, huh, pretentious bitch? All that talk about not seeing is just some pathetic cover-up!"
Toph snorted but didn't swat June's hand away and retorted, "I can see her smile just fine."
"Nah, it's different when you see it. But still, to be clear, I don't mean most of the things I say."
"Neither do I," Toph grinned.
"Look at that pretty smile," June whistled, "You really went after your mother."
"You think so?" Toph looked up, the bangs parted slightly as her milky green eyes still couldn't look into June's own verdant green ones as the woman's gaze flickered with complicated emotion. Smiling softly, June pinched Toph's cheek, "Yeah, you're one of the prettiest."
"Fuck, always knew that!" Toph smirked.
Yue was soon done and Toph couldn't help but question, "Did you get it done?"
Yue shook her head, "There weren't any strange reactions to the treatment but... I feel that it didn't work either way."
She sighed sadly but it was only for a moment as a loud cheer broke out behind the trio, "THANK YOU!"
The children collected over by the entrance of the orphanage and waved excitedly, "Thank you, big sis!"
They shouted again as a happy grin broke over Yue's pillowy pink lips and she waved back.
---
"Last time we got distracted because of June and Azula but this time let's—" Jin began with a chime as she hooked her hand around Nik's arm and leaned in on her while Suki smiled and had Nik's other arm to herself.
"Oh, my, what a luck to run into you three," a callous chuckle froze Jin's expression while Nik couldn't help but chuckle, "Spoke too soon."
If they were in Old Ba Sing Se, Azula would most certainly find them but as Jin huffed and turned around, her expression grew a tiny bit complicated as Azula wasn't smiling mockingly or having a condescending body language but a wry one instead. After all, next to her stood dazed Zuko who accompanied Ursa.
Nik and Suki turned around, too. Even if he had heard them, there was no point in trying to evade them since Nik and Suki were going to explore the market and stalls with Jin. After many 'trial and errors', Jin realized that Suki... aside from the face paint, was remarkably 'considerate' when compared to others of her own age and was right next to Yue on the list.
Zuko's expression instantly twisted in a mix of anger and well, embarrassment. He was out here with his mother and Jin didn't seem to want to let go of Nik as she still held to his arm.
"Hi, enjoying a day off?" Ursa smiled and nodded.
"Yes," Nik chuckled, "We wanted to buy some fresh produce."
"Aunt Ursula, do you know why Iroh suddenly closed the store for the day?"
As they began to walk, Jin questioned curiously while Ursa's eyes reminisced for a moment and she shook her head gently, "It's a private affair. Anyway, with you showing the two of them... eh... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
Ursa hadn't seen Suki out of Kyoshi Outfit so she was stunned to see someone 'new' beside Nik again when Azula chimed, "Oh, she's Suki without her makeup."
Zuko and Ursa looked at her now while Nik and Suki hid their smirks.
"How... did you know that?" Ursa inquired curiously while she observed her daughter.
Azula's expression cramped up and she quickly tried to find an excuse that did not include peeking into an orgy just because she couldn't sleep when Suki replied in her stead, "Azula helped me remove the paint from my face a few days ago when we accidentally came across one another near the store."
"Ah, I see," Ursa smiled while Zuko couldn't help but focus on Jin's arm linked with his.
But after all this, Zuko also felt a hint of resignation. He totally blew it and was now beginning to realize what a bit of impatience had caused him. He could blame Azula but... he's the one who made the choice to follow her words. Didn't he know better than Azula is crazier than he is?
His shoulder slumped slightly while a low sigh escaped his lips. Nik, on the other hand, questioned the family, "What are you guys upto?"
"None of your business!" Zuko scoffed.
"Shopping for the week's necessity," Ursa smiled, "And spending some time with these two," she linked her arm with Zuko and Azula as the duo blushed in embarrassment, much to Ursa's delight.
"Suki, did you guys find what you were looking for?" Ursa inquired as she knew that Suki, Toph, and June would leave every morning, and these few days, Nik, Katara, and even Yue left with them.
"We did," Suki smiled, "Now, we have only one more location to explore. It's a vacation, actually. Near Lake Laogai."
Ursa hummed, "Lake Laogai, huh... I haven't been on a vacation in a long, long time. Could you ask if Poppy and Michi are going? I would really like to go there with some company."
"They are," Nik smiled. The hell he knew if they were or not but why would he reject such an idea? It's not like it would take them too long to clean up Lake Laogai and they could then enjoy above the surface, too.
Ursa blinked, "Really? When are you guys leaving?"
"Hmm, we were planning to let a few things settle first and leave in four days." He answered after thinking for a second. Heck, he could even use Lake Laogai to dig up another lake inside his personal space and fill it with fresh water. Now that he had many individuals settling inside, the need for freshwater would increase dramatically... it was a little annoying how little he knew about the personal space and whether it could mimic natural weather conditions like rain or not.
"Great! You two heard it, alright? Be sure to remain ready."
"We're going, too?" Zuko groaned as Ursa glared at her son and chided softly, "Of course, you are. You should spend more time with your uncle."
'Ah... also have to invite Iroh,' Nik noted internally.
They soon stopped over a few stalls when Ursa noted something, "Isn't that an awful lot of seeds?"
She looked at Nik as he carried many varieties of seeds in great quantity as he smiled, "I'm a little interested in farming."
"Planning to mark one of the nearby lands, huh. Zuko, you could help Nik find a good piece of land—"
"No," Zuko resisted the urge to snort and quickly added, "I'm... helping out on Kei Lo's farm."
Ursa pursed her lips and shook her head slightly and glanced at Jin who had an awkward expression, too.
"It's alright, mom," Azula purred slightly and glanced at the packages of seeds, "He's got enough help as it is," she referred to the refugees in his personal space and chuckled, "You know, Toph is an earthbender. She can do a month's work in a day and he's the avatar, he can do much more."
Her golden gaze grew slightly glazed as she snuck a glance south of the packages towards the real package and licked her lips.
"I suppose," Ursa sighed and looked at the trio in front of her, "It was nice seeing the three of you even on the day off. Until tomorrow," she bade farewell and left with her children.
"So, Lake Laogai, huh," Suki looked at Nik and gave him a condescending stare, "Couldn't help yourself after all."
Jin added along, "Exactly... it's shameful behavior!"
"Hah, like I want to hear that from the two of you," Nik scoffed and sent the packages to his personal space. He had yet to solve the issue of making many domestic animals enter the private space but if it couldn't be solved in this world then he would have to find a way in another. The seeds, however, would work well under the hands of the earthbender within the personal space.
---
Just to make Nik run to her, Azula had stopped seeking him out and the last time they had a 'deep' interaction about life and its functions was when he gave her a tour of his personal space. Admittedly, Azula had also lost her interest in taverns and loitering around and terrorizing little children... booze just wouldn't hit the spot, not since she'd been stained by his color, and the joy of making children cry faded as she seemed a little interested in the concept of children itself.
But that damnable Nik never did seek her out. She'd gone as far as to crash into him during their spars in the morning. Boy, he was hard, and got even harder when she purposely rubbed her hands against his full balls ready to burst in her but HE would not falter. He was a menace in training. His stamina there was only second to his shining moments in the bedroom and Azula had the hint of illusion that this was only growing— his pace of recovery. It was clear that while she was a prodigy, he wasn't far behind, and his varied training with the likes of Suki and Mai gave him a better chance to defeat her and Zuko one-on-one, although, they have had a victory against him at least once.
And she just had to run into her today with her family no less. She barely cared about Jin standing close to Nik. Once you've stepped on a more superior choice it's hard to care for the previous ones. But then again... Jin happened to be 'superior' at times, too.
But with her thoughts unfocused during everything but training where she was having a noticeable growth every day, Azula was left in her house. Bored out of her mind.
'I... seriously have no friends,' Azula muttered internally and looked around. There she was, her mother happily cleaning spinach-cumbers for the dinner while Azula had already cleaned her portion of the dinner and she couldn't help but question, "Mom, you're seriously planning to go to Lake Laogai with them?"
"Hmm," Ursa looked up but already experienced enough, she didn't need to look at the vegetable to clean it and nodded, "Yeah, I am, why?"
"You know they're going to wear some... skimpy stuff, right?"
"Wha— young lady!" Ursa's mature face grew a bit embarrassed as she scoffed sternly, "Where have your manners gone?"
"No, I mean... they are going with Nik... I have to assume that they would try to show off to one another, you know... they're all..." Azula raised her brows knowingly, "So, wouldn't it be weird if we went alongside them?"
"Your uncle would be there, too," Ursa retorted but was forced to realize the fact... that when had Iroh ever stopped them?
But Azula leaned against the table and stretched her arms and drawled, "Still... it would be weird for me and Zuko. Can't we skip it?"
Of course, Azula wanted Ursa and Zuko to skip out so she could sneak out and... just have her individual trip to Lake Laogai.
Ursa felt a little doubtful before she shook her head and glared at her daughter, "You're becoming increasingly unsocial like Zuko! Didn't you use to play with Mai? And Jin will be there, too. Not to mention the fact that Suki, Katara, and Yue are close to your age... you are not getting out of this one, alright?"
"What about Zuko? Is he going to braid his hair and splash water at us?" Azula pouted.
"I want him to get along with Nik and his uncle."
"It's impossible for Zuko and Nik to get along," Azula scoffed.
"It's not and enough about this. Zuko just needs some time, that's all."
"Well... we'll both be old and a bag of bones and it still wouldn't be enough time and besides... wouldn't you feel odd that your friends are flaunting their ONLY lover and you went with your kids?"
Ursa glared at her daughter, "That's quite enough of this talk."
"I am just saying... maybe you should come with me to the tavern. I've had no success in letting Zuko meet someone but you'll find a man like this," she snapped her fingers to emphasize her point and Ursa scoffed, exasperated by her daughter.
"It was better when you used to go out of the house."
"But I'm here," Azula chuckled, seeing that her words were having an effect, "Come on, it will be fun. Just you and me... besides, how long are you planning to hold yourself back? It's not like 'he'—"
"Azula!" Ursa snapped sharply, "Enough. And no talk about him."
"Fine... mother."
Ursa's heart clenched when she berated Azula as she sulked but... it was almost instinctive. Seeing her like this, Ursa couldn't help but sigh, "Fine... but only if you quietly go on the trip and be on your best behavior."
Azula groaned internally. That's one thing she didn't want to agree on but she agreed eventually.
---
Katara wasn't having any of it.
Iroh suddenly has something important to do?
While Katara had come to admire the peace-loving Fire Lord, she trusted him as much as she would trust Sokka with catching fish.
And she was quite indignant that others wouldn't doubt him at all. But she would prove all of them wrong tonight. Silently, the dark-skinned woman with a prominent hairdo of two loops sticking out by the side of her face in a blue kimono tunic followed an old, 'healthy' man wearing a conical straw hat and a slightly washed-up green robe with a small pouch hanging on his back.
Katara didn't pay any attention to the glances she got and stealthily followed the man.
"Hmm," Iroh stopped and looked sideways. His smile broadened as he spoke up to an old woman, "How much for these Iilies?"
Katata frowned harder as she watched Iroh buy two stalks of flower and then continue moving forward. He bought a bunch of different things, too. Two incense sticks, two dumplings, two jars of water, and a small pouch of some fragrant sprinkles.
"What are you doing?" A rough tone almost made Katara jump out of her skin and shriek out loud but she frowned and turned on her heels to face a curious Zuko.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Katara snapped.
"Me? What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you following my Uncle?" Zuko frowned.
Katara grew silent and turned around once again, her blue eyes following Iroh, "Just keep your mouth shut if you want to follow along, I have no time to explain."
Katara moved and continued to follow Iroh while Zuko's frown tightened but he followed silently.
But Iroh... just continued to stroll as Katara's lips twitched, "Ok, maybe there's time to explain things." And she did so.
"You think Uncle is going to do something underhanded and all this time he'd been acting in bad faith? Then why would he train your boyfriend, that Avatar, I mean."
"To gain our trust... can you truly say that you believe his words about foundational training forms being the essence of firebending?" Katara retorted as Zuko fell silent. He was itching to learn more from Iroh... but the things Iroh had already taught or happened to be teaching took Zuko more time than his fellow disciples and it was quite infuriating and something he wouldn't admit to others easily.
As they continued to follow Iroh, Zuko inquired softly, "Um... Katara? Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Katara questioned without looking at him and watched Iroh intently.
"Does... Does Jin say anything about me? I know that the two of you work in the kitchen so..."
Katara grew silent for a while. One thing Jin did after confirming her position in their fold was to make sure that Zuko doesn't find things going on with Nik until a month so that he could get a chance to cool off. Not that Katara appreciated this but being with Nik, Katara had also come to realize that some truths require more time to unfold.
"She used to when she was a customer... then, too, very little. Not anymore," Katara replied evenly as Zuko fell downcast.
"Is..." he felt a pit in his stomach when he questioned, "Is something going on between Jin and him, too?"
Katara exhaled somewhat loudly and looked back, "I can't answer that... what I can tell you is that... Jin seemed to have shared some pleasant moments with Nik. And she is usually happy around him. I share that with Jin and others."
"I see..." Zuko sighed loudly, "I really fucked up, huh..."
"I wouldn't know. Many of us know something happened between the three of you but only Nik and Iroh are privy to it."
"Uncle knows it, too?" Zuko gasped.
"Who do you think calmed Jin down?" Katara muttered, "Truly, he is adept at gaining everyone's trust."
Zuko finally couldn't help but speak, "My mother said that today is a private affair for Uncle."
"Betrayal is often a private affair," Katara was relentless like always.
Zuko rolled his eyes and followed her as they were beginning to leave the outskirts of the village and were forced to take the cover of the nearby trees or shrubs.
"So? How does it work with you and the Avatar? Does he choose his lovers based on their elements or something?"
"I'm not about to discuss my love life with you," Katara scoffed, "It's weird as hell!"
"I was just curious is all..." Zuko muttered, "No need to bite my head off."
"Like you do against Nik?" Katara sneered, "I know all about it. How you try to vent your frustration by getting at him and all. Had he been slightly weaker, you wouldn't have taken a second to attack him."
Zuko's expression froze as he lowered his head with a guilty look.
"It just... happens, alright? I cannot control—"
"Hush," Katara interjected as Iroh had come to a stop in a wide clearing as he walked upto a giant boulder and sat down in seiza. He opened his pouch and began to set the items he purchased. The first thing he did was unfurl a parchment. Katara couldn't see it in incredible detail but it had an image of a man drawn.
Iroh placed the serving of dumplings in front of the image, set the stalk of flowers near it, and lit the incense sticks with a spark between his thumb and index finger.
Just when Katara and Zuko were beginning to realize what was going on, Iroh called out, "Why don't you two accompany me on this trying day? I felt I needed to be alone... but I think a company would do me some good."
Zuko and Katara looked at each other as she entirely ignored the accusatory look from the leader of the rebels and walked towards the clearing.
Iroh didn't look at them. In fact, he knew of the stalkers from early on. After all, he was the one who developed the firebending form of Seismic sense.
As the two sat, Katara finally looked at the image of a sharp youth in a fire nation uniform. Beside the man's face was a small passage.
— To General Iroh:
See you after we win the war.
Your loyal son, Lu Ten—
"I would say that conquest is our family's heritage," Iroh whispered as he looked at the image of his son fondly, "But it is unbalanced propaganda. Passion and destruction... Lu Ten was everything a Fire Nation soldier aspired to be... they called me the Dragon of the West but he... he was the Beloved Fire. He showed compassion to enemies as well as his own men. It was that very compassion that cost him his life."
"... What happened? I only remember hearing of cousin's passing but never understood the reason," Zuko whispered.
"One of the Earth Kingdom's general heard of Lu Ten's compassion and forced one of the villages to set up a trap for him..." Iroh's breath shuddered, "Hearing of the village's problem... Lu Ten steered his army but..." Iroh shook his head as a single tear escaped his eyes.
"I'm sorry..." Katara apologized softly and felt terrible right now but Iroh shook his head, "Don't be... you were right. I may have not been as bloodthirsty as my forefathers but I believed that conquest is our heritage. Lu Ten... even in his death, my Beloved Fire managed to make me see the truth. Katara, the Fire Nation has too much to repent... and I am sorry," Iroh stressed his last words as tears began to silently leave Katara's eyes.
"And Zuko... maybe it is fate that you managed to be here. Remember, your strength lies in your way of life. Never let anyone take it away and do what you believe in."
"I've made far too many mistakes, Uncle..." Zuko sighed, "I don't know how I will ever..."
"You will, in time," Iroh smiled and inquired, "Would the two of you keep me company for now?"
Katara and Zuko nodded as they sat beside Iroh silently who soon began to hum in a soft tone and then started singing as the setting sun filled the clearing in its glow and the soothing wind rustled the foliage around them, making some leaves drift around them.
"Leaves from the vine,
Falling so slow...
Like fragile tiny shells,
Drifting in the foam...
Little soldier boy,
Comes marching home...
Brave soldier boy,
Comes marching home..."
Iroh's shoulder shuddered as he whispered, "Happy birthday, my son, my Beloved Fire..."
***
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