The Best of Enemies
Summary: A doctor with the Earth Kingdom army finds himself drafted into attempting to save a Fire Nation soldier's life. An Avatarverse retelling of the M*A*S*H episode of the same name.
Disclaimer: The setting and most of the characters therein belong to Nickelodeon. Technically, Ying Mu belongs to 20th Century Fox.
Ying Mu did not like making these supply runs alone. Especially when they involved crossing enemy-occupied territory. But it was a trip he had to make, lest he run out of much needed medical supplies that could be the difference between life and death for the wounded who flowed into his camp almost constantly. The Fire Nation had a habit of cutting off supply routes, but the casualties could not be ignored. So, at great personal risk, Ying Mu set out alone for the nearest town. As he was not a fighting man and lacked any clothing that distinguished him as a part of the Earth Kingdom army, he hoped that he could slip past the Fire Nation forces and pass himself off in town as just another civilian. Despite looking as inconspicuous as he could, save for his medical bag, Ying Mu still couldn't help feeling like he stuck out like a sore thumb. He glanced around nervously, shushing his ostrich-horse whenever the animal whickered or squawked. Ostrich-horses were notoriously vocal animals, known far more for their speed and stamina than for their stealth. But it was speed, not stealth, that Ying Mu needed now. Besides, the eel-hounds were reserved for Earth Kingdom officers of war. Ying Mu's official rank was that of captain, but he was a medical officer, not a fighter. And a fighter he would never be. He was not an earthbender, and he hated the sword, refusing to carry one even for personal protection.
Which, in hindsight, might not have been the best position to hold when crossing enemy lines.
Ying Mu took a breath to calm himself, telling his imagination to be quiet. He had to stay focused on his mission. The faster he could get to town, get his supplies and get back to camp, the better. He had finally managed to refocus himself when a burst of fire hit the ground in front of him. His equavian squawked and jumped backwards, nearly unseating its rider. Ying Mu pulled hard on the reins and shushed the animal, looking around for the source of the fireball.
"Who's there?" he shouted.
In response, a young Fire Nation officer stepped out of the bushes, fist raised and ready to land another blow of fire.
"I should ask the same of you," the firebender said. "Identify yourself!"
Ying Mu raised his hands as the firebender stepped closer, attempting to make it clear that he was no threat. "I'm just a civilian on my way to town."
"You're coming from the direction of an Earth Kingdom army encampment."
Ying Mu smiled nervously. "Oh, there's a camp over that way? Who knew?"
The firebender raised an eyebrow at him, causing Ying Mu to swallow nervously.
"What's that on your saddle?" the firebender asked. Well, demanded is more like it.
"Oh, this?" Ying Mu replied, picking up his bag. "I-it's just my medical bag. You can have it if you'd like. Wear it in good health." He held out the bag to the firebender. While he didn't like the idea of just giving away supplies, he'd rather that than give away his life.
The firebender relaxed his attack stance. "You are a medic?"
"Doctor," Ying Mu corrected. "Just goin' around helping folks. You know, sick moms and kids with sprained ankles and the like."
"You are with the Earth Kingdom military. Don't lie. I can recognize a soldier when I see one."
"I'm not a soldier," Ying Mu muttered.
"You are as far as the Fire Nation is concerned." The firebender gestured for Ying Mu to follow him. "Dismount and come with me. Bring your bag."
"Uh...I really need to get to town."
The firebender gave Ying Mu a pointed look. "You will come with me, or you will not see the town again."
"Oh, absolutely!" Ying Mu said, scrambling down from his mount and following the firebender off the road into the forest. "You know me, always eager to please."
As the doctor fell into step behind him, the firebender rolled his eyes. "You are a coward."
"That's me! Recipient of the bronze chicken. With yellow belly clusters."
Ying Mu couldn't quite hear what the firebender grumbled at that, but it sounded something like a complaint that the Earth Kingdom was not using real soldiers.
Just kids, Ying Mu thought. Not soldiers at all. Just a bunch of kids who should be worrying about acne and who to ask to the school dance, not about whether they're gonna die today.
As Ying Mu followed the firebender off the road and into the bushes, he tried to ease the tension with casual conversation.
"So...how's officer life? You...are an officer, right? I mean, you're not wearing the face mask thingies I've seen most Fire Nation soldiers wear. Fancier uniform, too. Very...red. Gotta say, the Fire Nation makes the best red stuff."
The firebender said nothing.
"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm asking for military secrets or anything. Just friendly conversation. I find talking to my patients puts them at ease."
"Then save your breath," the firebender said. "I am not your patient. I am all for casual conversation, but I have pressing matters at hand."
"Yep, life of an officer," Ying Mu replied.
"You would know. As a doctor of the Earth Kingdom military, you would have a commission as an officer."
"Ehm...I'm not really a soldier. I don't fight. I just patch kids up who got caught up in the fight."
"You may not wish to be a soldier, but like it or not, that is what you are. You do fight. You simply fight differently."
"Yeah, I guess. But I fight with a scalpel, not a sword. I hate swords."
"That much is obvious. You would do well to at least learn how to defend yourself. Your wit is not as sharp as you like to think. It won't heal the wounded; it certainly won't protect you from your enemy."
An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Ying Mu studied his captor. The man couldn't be older than 25. Yet it seemed fairly clear to Ying Mu that the firebender had already been a part of this war for much of the past decade.
After several minutes they arrived at a clearing. The firebender gestured to a man lying on the grass, makeshift bandages stretched across his chest and head. Ying Mu's eyes widened as he realized exactly what the firebender had captured him for. Then instinct kicked in, and Ying Mu knelt beside the wounded man, assessing his injuries. He checked the head injury first, then the chest.
"The head wound isn't too bad," he said after a moment. "But the chest wound is pretty nasty. I'd be better off taking him back to my camp. We have full medical facilities there."
"He can't and won't be moved," the firebender said. "Especially not to an Earth Kingdom camp. You're not going to save his life just to make him a prisoner of war."
"He'd be my patient," Ying Mu said. "And as his doctor, I'd have the final say in his recovery. And if that means keeping him out of a POW camp, I'll do that."
"He's your patient now," the firebender said. "And if you wish to see more patients in the future, you will save his life here and now."
The firebender gave Ying Mu a hard glare. Ying Mu nodded. "I see. As long as he lives, so do I."
"Now you're starting to understand."
Ying Mu said nothing, choosing instead to focus on his work.
It was frustrating work. First, the wounded man's internal bleeding had to be stopped and his condition stabilized. Or as stable as Ying Mu could get it, anyway. Then the wound had to be debrided. Ying Mu was grateful his patient was already unconscious. The pain he would feel if he were alert would undoubtedly send him into shock. Ying Mu cursed his captor's stubbornness, wishing not for the first time that he could move his patient to the much cleaner and more supplied pre-op ward at his camp hospital. The firebender knelt nearby, watching intently as the doctor worked.
"So, this guy's got a different uniform on. Enlisted?" Ying Mu stole a glance at the firebender, who nodded.
"Young, eager to please. Wanted to accompany me on patrol." The firebender reached over and produced a piece of paper from the wounded man's pocket. He handed it to Ying Mu.
Ying Mu took the paper and glanced at it. It was a painting of a young pregnant woman.
"Nice family," Ying Mu said with a nod. He handed the picture back and then produced one of his own, handing it over to the firebender as well. "I'll see his family and raise you a father, who raised me."
The other officer studied the picture in silence. He handed it back a moment later. "She's back home, waiting for him. I promised to return him safely. I'm sure you made the same promise to your father."
"Yeah, well, I'm doing my best to make sure he gets home alive," Ying Mu said, continuing to work. "But this chest wound is bad. Field medicine might not be enough."
"It has to be!" the firebender barked.
"Look, it's touching that you care for your men," Ying Mu said. "But if you care about them that much, you'll let me do whatever I need to in order to save his life."
"It is not that simple," the firebender responded. "I will not leave his side, yet it would be far more dangerous for you to bring us both back to your camp."
Ying Mu shrugged. "We're mostly doctors, nurses and corpsmen. Not many fighters among us, even with our earthbenders. It's not like you'd be risking more than bad food at the mess tent."
"I'm too recognizable. If I am seen in an enemy camp, I will certainly be held captive, and if that happens, you'll have the whole Fire Army down on your heads, with no regard for wounded of either side. I'll lose my man, and you'll lose all your patients, as well as your own life."
"Guess I didn't study up on my field guide to recognizing Fire Nation officers," Ying Mu said dryly. "Name's Ying Mu, by the way. Just in case I'm on your side's hit list."
"Hardly," the firebender said. Then, hesitantly, he added, "Major Iroh."
"Nice to meet you, Major. I'm just a minor note."
The major smirked, though whether it was at the joke or at the doctor's ignorance, Ying Mu wasn't certain. "You really don't know anything about who you're fighting, do you?"
"Well, at the moment I'm fighting death," Ying Mu said somewhat snidely. "But I also know you're capable of roasting me like a chestnut. And I'd very much prefer to remain in the raw, thank you."
"Then keep working."
Several grueling minutes later, Ying Mu felt he was finally making progress. "I think I can get him stabilized enough that you can get him back to your camp, provided we rig up some kind of stretcher that you can pull behind my ostrich-horse."
The major gave Ying Mu a look of surprise. "You'd give me your bird?"
"As a 'Thank you for not barbecuing me' present. I can walk back to camp."
Major Iroh nodded, then said, "You were headed for the nearest town, which is under our control. There will be medical facilities there, but I won't know where to find them. You will guide me, collect your supplies and be on your way."
Ying Mu gave the firebender a genuine smile. "See, I knew we could work something out."
"Don't push your luck."
Suddenly Ying Mu's patient began gasping and coughing, or trying to cough. Ying Mu snapped his attention back to the wounded man, quickly determining the problem.
"His throat's swollen and he's choking on his own fluids!" Ying Mu grabbed his scalpel and cut into the man's skin at the base of his throat. He then reached over and grabbed the major's hands, guiding his fingers to the opening. "Hold that open!"
The firebender did as he was told, fear for his comrade written across his face. Ying Mu dug through his bag for something he could use as a tube. He found the bamboo straw he kept for just these types of emergencies and inserted it into his patient's throat. The gurgling and gasping stopped.
But so did the wounded man's breathing.
"Oh, no you don't! Don't you do this to me now!" Ying Mu blew a breath into the straw, then checked the man's pulse. Feeling nothing, he began chest compressions, pausing occasionally to breathe into the patient's trachea.
Several tense minutes passed. And nothing changed.
Mentally and physically exhausted, Ying Mu sat back in defeat, resting his head in his bloodied hands. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I tried." He struck the ground with a fist, frustrated. One more life claimed by this stupid war. One more kid he'd failed to save.
The major sat there for a moment, numb. Then, slowly, he got up. Ying Mu glanced up at him nervously, suddenly remembering their agreement. His heart leaped into his throat, and he began to mentally brace himself for the fiery blow he feared was coming. But the firebender walked past him and began collecting sticks and fallen tree boughs.
Ying Mu just watched silently as the major worked, his back turned on his captive. After a moment, the doctor realized what the firebender was doing. He had heard that it was custom in the Fire Nation to cremate the dead rather than bury them.
Without turning or pausing in his work, the firebender suddenly said, "Go."
"Wh-what?"
"Go. Back to your camp. Back to your life. Back to your father."
Ying Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Not wanting to look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth, as it were, he grabbed his bag, stood and started back toward the road. But after a few steps he paused, turning to watch the major. He glanced between the officer and the dead soldier. Silently, he dropped his bag and joined the major in collecting sticks and placing them in a neat pile next to the body. His enemy turned and looked at him in mild surprise, but said nothing.
Doctor Ying Mu and Major Iroh worked together in silence to construct a funeral pyre for one more casualty of a war that had lasted far too long.
AN: Bonus points to those of you who looked up the aforementioned episode and saw who played the North Korean soldier who captured Hawkeye. That particular actor played a few roles in M*A*S*H, but this was the story I felt would translate most easily to the Avatarverse.
Trivia: Ying Mu's name is simply the Mandarin words for "hawk" and "eye."