Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Please enjoy the story!
Midnight Hero
"Ohhh!!!" stressed Jin as she finished locking up the tailor shop that she worked at. It was well after midnight and a full moon was out. "Next time Serra asks me to cover her inventory shift so that she can go out on a date, I'm going to just laugh in her face!" The inventory in the back of the tailor shop was a mess; no one had bothered with it for about three weeks and boxes and fabrics just seemed to stack up everywhere.
Jin shivered at the chilly nighttime wind. She drew he shawl tighter around her shoulders. "I hate walking home this late," she muttered. The neighborhood between the tailor shop and Jin's apartment wasn't the friendliest at night. Drunks and deadbeats littered the area during the witching hours of the evening.
As the young girl started walking home, her thoughts drifted to a certain scarred faced boy that she had dated a few days ago. The date had been awkward, but she could tell that Li was trying his best; he just wasn't very used to talking to people it seemed. But his shy and honest expression had made him cute.
Then there was the surprise of the Firelight Fountain. All the candles were out when they arrived and she had been so disappointed. It was like an embarrassing ending to the already awkward date. But then Li did something amazing! He told her to close her eyes and when she opened them again, the beauty of the Firelight Fountain was breathtaking. She had no idea how he did it, but he did! And with the slight smile on his face, she knew he did it for her.
If only he didn't run off after their quick kiss. He had muttered something about it being complicated and apologizing before taking off. But he had looked back at her, and his face appeared torn.
Jin was knocked out of her thoughts when she accidently bumped into someone on the streets. She fell back on her bottom with a small cry of surprise.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" taunted an intimating looking brute as he looked Jin over.
"It seems that such a lovely flower decided to take a late night walk," provided a grimy looking lackey.
Another added, "Looks like she's all alone too! We shouldn't just let such a sweet young thing travel the streets at night by herself. Something might happen! There are some dangerous characters around here…"
Jin really didn't like how the group of five, much older than her, men were staring at her with such leering eyes. Crawling backwards a little, she pleaded, "Oh I'll be okay! Really! I'll just be going now!" She ran into something behind her and looked up slowly.
Another thug grinned down at Jin as he lifted her to her feet. "No, we insist! There's such a wonderful place just right over here we can all go and spend the night."
Frantic to get away now, Jin started shrugging against her captors, but the grips on her arms were way too strong. She was being dragged into a back alley and off of the street by the group. Her eyes darted back and forth across the road desperately but the few people milling about were openly ignoring what was happening to her. No one wanted to get involved…
Tears started to run down Jin's face. However, just as the group was about to reach the entrance to the alley, one of the men cried out in pain and rubbed the back of his head. A small rock dropped to the ground and everyone looked up to see when it had come from.
Standing on top of a nearby roof was a figure dressed all in black. A dark blue mask provided the only color to the vigilante. "Who are you!" demanded the brutish leader of the group. The figure said nothing, instead the slow drawing of metal echoed throughout the deserted street. As the sword reached the end of its sheath, the blue masked figure finished the draw quickly and swung his Dao broadswords in a sharp arc before assuming a ready stance. Standing between the moon and the group, a defining silhouette of the hero against the pale moonlight took Jin's breath away.
One of the deadbeats stepped back in fright. He pointed at the figure in complete fear. "I, I, I've heard stories of this! It's the Blue Spirit! It's a vengeful spirit that kills without purpose or mercy! I'm out of here!" The terrified man sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Tsk," mocked the leader. "Coward." He jeered at the masked hero. "If you're so tough, then get down here and prove it!"
Without a word, the Blue Spirit leapt down onto one of the men like a hawk. This resulted in the unfortunate man slamming his head against the unforgiving ground and losing consciousness. Two others attempted to flank the Blue Spirit from behind with a broken beer bottle and a metal pipe, but with a flash of steel, both impromptu weapons were cleanly cut in half. The bottle wielder stared dumbly at his useless weapon for a split second before a strong fist connected with his jaw.
The pipe user dropped his weapon and swung wildly with a violent haymaker. The Blue Spirit would have none of that and ducked under the blow before shooting back up with a flying knee strike to the underside of man's chin. The pipe user actually flew a few feet skyward before landing roughly at the feet of the leader of the group.
The leader kicked his defeated lackey aside angrily and drew twin wicked looking axes from his belt. The Blue Spirit didn't even hesitate. He charged in immediately. Sounds of clashing metal could be heard ringing throughout the street. Parrying a horizontal strike aimed at his shoulder, the Blue Spirit caught the flat of the axe with his sword and knocked it away. He dropped the other sword in his left hand and rushed in to grab the leader's right wrist. His other sword rested on the man's neck, drawing a small tickle of blood.
Fear erupted brightly from the villain's eyes as he stared into the golden orbs staring back intensely at him through the mask. Words couldn't even form in his mouth to plead for his life. Jin suddenly smashed a clay pot against the back of the man's head and he crumpled to the ground in a heap.
The Blue Spirit scanned the area for any other threats before he felt comfortable that the vicinity was safe once more. Without a word, he sheathed his broadswords on his back once again and turned to leave. A delicate hand on his shoulder gave him pause. He turned his head to look back at the girl.
"Could you…could you walk me home?" she begged quietly. The girl looked so small and frightened to the Blue Spirit. She was clearly shaken at the situation and what could have happened if he didn't happen to be passing by the area. Her eyes kept looking at shadows as if something would jump out of them any second.
The Blue Spirit nodded once slowly. Jin gripped his right arm tightly and moved incredibility close to him. She had no idea who her hero was, but he was the only thing on this dark street and in this evil looking neighborhood that made her feel safe and secure. The pair started the rest of the journey home.
The Blue Spirit never said a word and moved stiffly as if close physical contact with another was completely foreign to him. Jin was silent too, only pointing which streets to turn down as they drew closer to her home. Fifteen minutes later, and with no further mishaps, Jin reached her home.
The Blue Spirit stood quietly as Jin fumbled with her keys. Tears formed in her eyes as she dropped them and collapsed to her knees on the ground, sobbing softly into her hands. She had been so close to being raped on the streets and the shock finally managed to overwhelm her.
The masked hero panicked on the inside. The girl that he had just saved was now crying in front of him and he had no clue about what to do in this situation. He decided to let his instincts take over and knelt next to the girl before wrapping her up with a tight embrace and just letting her cry into his shoulder.
The pair remained like that for several long minutes, until Jin managed to compose herself again. Wiping her eyes, she looked up at her hero. "Thank you," she whispered. The hero only nodded in response. They separated and stood up once again. Jin stared at the ground shyly. "Do you think that I'll ever see you again?"
The Blue Spirit hesitated for several moments before slowly shaking his head in the negative once. Jin held back a grimacing smile in acceptance. The hero turned to leave again, when he was suddenly twisted around and his mask lifted up. Soft lips met his and his golden eyes widened in shock. Jin's eyes were closed as to not see her hero, despite how much she wanted to. After the initial shock wore off, the hero settled into the kiss and returned it.
The kiss lasted about a minute before Jin lowered the mask back down and opened her eyes again. "Thank you," she repeated to her hero as he remained dumbstruck.
Suddenly Jin heard footsteps in her house and turned to face the doorway just as her mother flung the wooden door open. "Jin! Where have you been! We've been worried sick!"
"It's a long story," weakly answered Jin. She turned back to face her hero, but he had vanished into the night. She sighed and looked at her mother. "I'm going to need some tea and cookies to go with this story…" Both women entered the house.
"Zuko! Where have you been?!" demanded Iroh as Zuko entered their small apartment. "It's well past midnight and you have no business being out this late! Are you going behind my back to continue your search for the Avatar?!"
Zuko sighed. He couldn't lie straight to his uncle's face. "Yes," he answered curtly. Though before his Iroh could dive into a lecture, he continued, "But tonight was different. I do not regret my actions tonight at all."
"Oh?" probed Iroh. He wasn't expecting this when his nephew returned. He looked closer at the teen's face. His expressions seemed softer tonight. 'What has the lad been up to tonight?' pondered Iroh as Zuko walked to his room.
The prince tossed his gear into his open closet and collapsed onto his bed starring at the ceiling. Against the earthen rock, all he could see was Jin's grateful face looking back at him. A small smile crept across his face. 'Maybe there are other paths in one's life like Uncle said,' mused Zuko as he drifted off to sleep.