Disclaimer- If I owned TLOK then so much of it would be different. I also don't own the title inspiration
Chapter 1-
Until the day that the people dressed like La at midnight came, Kasin lived a simple life.
Kasin was not a political person. He was a simple waiter, he fit nowhere in the complex hierarchy of Republic City, sporting the sons and daughters of legendary heroes and legacies. He wished for nothing from society, and he quietly fit into the daily routine, of taking orders, and passing them on. He expected nothing more except for the quiet ability to live life simply.
Tonight starts like a regular night, the slow lull of customers coming in, repeating daily routines with little variation to Kasin or any of the other waiters, and leaving for the night. The early visitors had just trickled in, and ate comfortably. Kasin stood behind the counter, pouring crystalizing water into cylindrical glass cups.
He walks over to the table and sets down the glasses, fingers lightly gripping the glass spotted with condensation and then releasing, letting it set itself down without a shake onto the table. A thank you is uttered, a female voice, and it is grateful but Kasin only nods, eyes not looking at the couple who looks Fire Nation. He leaves to pick up food for another table, internal clock and the sound of door opening and mouths chattering alerting him to start of the evening rush.
He walks over with food, appetizers, pumpkin soup dotted with pistachio and two raspberry liquors, lightly sprinkled with minuscule slices of peach. Kasin knew the food to be delectable, and he brings the food to the mahogany with a small flourish.
Kasin notices the door opening, and a large group of people, smiling and chatting, and then the lead female, glancing up ahead meeting Kasin's eyes, and smiling slightly. A hot flush rises to Kasin's cheeks and he shakes it away quickly, while recognizing the trademark gold-green eyes coupled with freckles that adorned every single one of the dinner guests, chiding himself quickly before walking as normally as he could to the back room.
"The Yum Soon Hans are here," Kasin announces and surveys the immediate reaction, the stilling the room. Yum Soon Han is a powerful name, and regular guests at this restaurant, but not to be treated lightly.
This was the place for waiters to, well, wait in between coming out.
Several waiters jump up in erratic movements, and head for the door. Kasin turns around and says, "Chong, you will wait on them."
The other three waiters continue out, with less of a stride, to other tables no doubt, acknowledging Kasin's instructions with the silent dignity that has come dancing into Kasin's life too many times.
Kasin pours himself a glass of water, carefully leaving it exactly an inch from the edge of the rainbow-inducing prism rimming the glass, and slowly follows the rim with his finger before drinking, slow gulps hydrating his throat.
Kasin left the room, without a glance back, and quickly surveyed the scene before striding over to a table staring pointedly at him.
"Finished?" Kasin asks, and he hears "yes" in confirmation.
Kasin picks up the plates, balancing them on one arm, and asks, "Would you like a dessert menu?"
The noises erupt and Kasin tunes out partially.
"Mommy please can I have dessert!" a girl's voice nearly hollers.
"No honey, you have already had enough dessert today," the mother- Kasin assumes- replies. "Just a check please," she looks up graciously.
"Mom come on, I really want dessert, and I didn't have a lot today! I promise?"
Kasin resorts to making rough estimates of the daughter's age when another child, a boy this time, "Yeah Totya Aliya please!"
"All right, dessert menu please," the mother said. Totya was the traditional north eastern Earth Kingdom title for an aunt or a loose term for an older woman to a child.
Kasin nodded, plates still balanced, and he walked back with an even stride and set the plates down where the small opening to the dishwashing section of the restaurant.
He looks to the sound of the opening door, realizing that the restaurant is now almost full, and sees five figures.
A chill sparks down his spine, as he sees robes the color of La when the light of Yue did not light her up. Shimmery, opaque, with no detailing. Kasin lets his paranoia- foolish paranoia!- get the better of him as he shrinks further into the counter, feeling an empty space with his toe. He looks down to see that the drink he is pouring has no overflowed.
One of the five people brings down the hood of his robe and one of the waiters- Peng- bustles over to him. What happens next is spontaneous.
No not spontaneous, carefully coordinated.
The waiter is tripped, shrieks ensue, as the food flies everywhere and he hears apologies ensued.
`Kasin only has time to silently chide Peng in his head before power goes out.
"What is happening?" is more or less the common reaction.
Kasin withdraws back into himself.
Screaming, high and shrill, female, and male shouting-
The sound of water running-
The dark floor wet with, is it water, or blood? - Kasin smells-
Plates screaming as they crashing-
Kasin grabs a kitchen knife and holds it out into the darkness, his right hand over his nose as he breaths quickly from his mouth
Despite the din and noise, all Kasin can hear is his heart, and it is rushing the blood to his ears.
The power switches back on, with fluidity, and he notices Kang, the cook, out wrestling with one of the robed figures.
Kasin knows Kang to be a good wrestler, but he stumbles badly. He sends out a punch but it misses, the cloaked person dodging effortlessly. Then Kang is in a headlock, and Kasin drops the glass he has been clenching. It smashes against the floor.
Kang drops unconscious and Kasin can't tear his eyes away from the scene, he is bleeding, bleeding torrents, from his head. The paternal instinct in Kasin screams and then he sees his throat slit open. And the person above, now hood down, is staring at the mangled body of a cook.
More screaming, and then a crowd at the door, straining, screaming to get away, away from the nightmare of today. He watches, eyes wide, body paralyzed, as the women and men, people, in the back and front are shot, not with guns but sounding the same, and like dominos they fall. Red ribbons twirl out of their body, dancing the waltz of death.
Kasin drops down and pushes himself into the small cubby hole in the counter, fear, a paralyzing fear, fear stirring memories rather laid to rest, takes his ability to move.
Kasin starts taking deep breaths and starts focusing on the sounds, a trick his father- another memory suppressed- taught him.
First there are indiscernible screeches. Kasin closes his eyes, they are no use really, and concentrates.
"What do you want?"
"Who are you?"
"Stay away from my child!"
Kasin swallows hard, but the lump neglects to go away.
I will not sob like an infernal child.
And Kasin doesn't, but he angrily wipes his eyes to make sure.
Stop it. Focus on staying alive and knowledge.
There is crying, a child's crying, the keening cry of someone who doesn't know what is happening around him.
The child's wails shake Kasin's shoulders until they stop. Just stop. Kasin resolves to not assume.
Then he hears new voices.
"The Yum Soon Hans are on their way with Seri and Kahn."
The guests. The ones in robes. The murderers.
Kasin looks out from behind the counter, barely daring to peek out an eye. Swirling dark, midnight hair, and mere feet away from him. The woman, impeccable features that of a delicate rose, sharp yet refined. No bending, Kasin comes to realize that quickly. No, there is. Years as a waiter have taught him to be sharply observant, if only as part of a casual game that waiters played, Guess the Guest. Small flourishes with the blood on the floor, to pile it in closer and then to clean up. Bloodbending was much easier when the blood was no longer contained in the body. Kasin swallows scorching bile, and he momentarily considers reaching for a breath-mint.
They have their back to him so he is able to watch.
"We have done what we set out to accomplish?"
"And the remaining evidence?" a female voice, beautiful and melodic. Kasin is unable to pinpoint it to one of the three standing. One has their hood off, and the two others, Kasin assumes the two others are Seri and Kahn.
"It will not help the police. There are no survivors."
Kasin slowly exhales, and then holds it, as there as rustling between the robes, wave like swishing.
He cowers back into his cubby hole, tucking his feet further in to his waiter's tails. There is a quiet moment, and Kasin peeked out, heart thumping. He holds his breath as he watches unconscious guests, he fumes, he has waited on this people, some more than once, he, albeit not a bender, failed to take action and now they had fallen prisoner, to whom?
He peeks out again, immediately considering taking head notes for the police. He observes the quiet manner in which they were tying the prisoners- all thirty of them- the dark blue quality of the rope, and the flawless curving of the rope. Their backs are to him, but that doesn't stop Kasin from cowering further in while keeping his eye out, just barely passing the wood. The female, body curving with the moonlight, turns back, and stares at him right in the eye, smiles and languidly rolls her head back straight. Kasin holds his breath pressing his back on the board, closing his eyes. When he opens his eyes, the air is empty, no more footsteps, Kasin realizes.
And then his eyes correspond with his memory. A pendant, swinging out of the boundaries of her midnight blue, midnight blue, tinted red, a Red Crescent moon, the Blood Moon.
The Blood Moon was the symbol of the blood of Yue, shining its gore to the depths of La, an occurence less rare than only Zuko's comet, every 25 years the anniversary of Yue's sacrifice. The moon bleeding, a rare occurrence in history, and an omen for any smart enough to realize it.
Waves, that of the Northern Water Tribe, to the right of the crescent moon. Sharper than the ones gracing the front of the city of Kasin's youth.
The famed symbol of the Red Monsoon Triad. It was on the covers of the magazines of Kasin's teenage years in Republic City, always accompanied by the name Yakone. Yakone had disappeared, and the Red Monsoons faded into obscurity, never attacking, never defending, but always there. The Red Monsoon Triad is back, no bloodbending or frivolous affairs. The Red Monsoon Triad is back.
The police would be notified shortly. And Kasin would be back in his modest apartment, to his modest life, and seek a job elsewhere.
Kasin was not a political person. He didn't make laws. He didn't enforce them. He was a waiter, now a job no more; he took orders and passed them on, always in silence. He never talked to the police, always looked down in their presence. He left the law making and the law enforcing to those in power, he stayed in his place. Kasin never gave to society, and expected nothing back.
And he wanted it to stay that way.
(A/N) This is my first story, so I'm not sure if I put the AN here on the edit document in doc manager or after it updates... Anyway, I was thinking that while the Equaists were right in their cause, well mostly valid, we haven't seen much abuse from power except from the Triads, which were shoved aside and never seen again in episode 3. Also, I was wondering about Yakone and whether or not he was affiliated with the Red Monsoons, so I wanted to explore that here as well. And I have had a scene of this story floating around, so I decided to write it, then it sort of added to itself. This is going to be 16 chapters long, possibly either more or less, and I have a rough outline for what happens in most of the chapters. I'm still taking requests for what to put in later chapters, because I may be able to put them in.
I just realized I have uploaded and deleted this chapter as of now three times because of grammar mistakes and tense mistakes. Sorry if I missed any, I'm not a fan of reviewing my own story. I better be though soon...
Spoiler alert for future chapters- I'm putting in some of the Fire Nation royal family, which will probably be heavily fanonized, and same with the Linzin break up and Pemzin get together, marriage, and babies, as the last 4 happen in a 16 month period.
Please review and sorry for the boring A/N
