Yumi was sitting quietly on a soft deer pelt by the fire engaging in her favorite activity: writing poetry. Her pen neatly brushed the paper as she got a rhythmic pattern established with her words.
"Will you stop with that stupid writing and help me?" a rude voice snapped her away from her peaceful thoughts.
"Maybe if you asked nicely, for once," Yumi snapped back at Katara.
The water tribe girl huffed and continued to chop the veggies she was working on.
Sokka and Aang came up to them. "Will you two stop your bick-," Sokka stopped mid-word and gaped at the vegetables. "What is this?" he demanded holding a stalk of celery between his thumb and index finger.
Katara snatched it back. "We're having veggie stew for dinner. Aang doesn't eat meat," she told him.
"This is food," he brother yelled in an exasperated tone. "This is what food eats!"
"What were you two doing?" Yumi interjected, closing her notebook; there was no writing now.
"We went penguin sledding!" Aang told her, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"That's always fun," she replied, scooting over so Aang could sit next to her. "Aren't you cold? Those clothes aren't very appropriate for the South Pole."
"I haven't been penguin sledding in forever," Katara interrupted, sighing heavily.
The cranks in Yumi's mind began to turn. "Why don't you three go? I'll finish dinner," she offered, thinking that she could get some quiet time to write.
Katara shrugged and stood up. "Fine with me," she said. Then the water bender turned her attention to the boys. "Let's go," she exclaimed, and they were off in no time, leaving Yumi to enjoy some peace to chop vegetables and work on her poetry.
The stew simmered softly in its clay kettle. Yumi sprinkled in some salt and inhaled. It smelled amazing even though there was no meat in it. Settling back into her seat, she opened her notebook to a fresh page. The young woman wrote the date with big, bold letters before she began her entry.
"Aang is such a sweet kid. He reminds me a bit of myself when I lived on Kyoshi… before Mom died. Hopefully some of his sweetness will rub off on Katara. Today, she snapped at me wh"
A loud explosion startled Yumi, causing her to scribble the last letter in her entry. There was a large poof of black smoke that hung in the air in the direction that Aang, Sokka, and Katara had gone.
Yumi jumped to her feet. She stashed her notebook, pen, and ink in her belt purse and grabbed her bow and quiver. Her hand landed on her dagger, checking that it was where it needed to be. As quickly as she could, she took off into a run toward the sound of the explosion. The snow did not make it easy. It slowed her down and shuffled into her boots, numbing her toes. Oh, how she hated the snow and cold.
Halfway to the smoke cloud, the three meant her. "What happened?" Yumi huffed out, her breathing labored.
"There was an abandoned Fire Nation ship. We accidently set off an explosion," Aang exclaimed, walking smoothly on the top layer of snow.
"Yeah, there's no danger, Yumi," Katara sneered. "Put away that silly bow."
Yumi glared at her but said nothing. Instead, she began to trudge back to the village, unable to feel the tips of her toes.
As soon as they returned, it happened: the Black Snow. The snow that meant the Fire Nation was coming. It was the snow that Sokka and Katara remembered oh so well. "Oh no," the water bending girl let out the faintest whisper.
Yumi squinted to the sky. "The Fire Nation! The explosion must've hinted to them of the village," she said, pulling her bow back out.
The small group of teenagers began to prepare themselves. Sokka disappeared into a tent to put on war paint. Yumi, Katara, and Aang walked to the make shift fort the Sokka designed out of snow and ice. There were no warriors in the village anymore. Yumi knew this was not going to end well. All they had were four teenagers and only two of them benders. Sokka joined them on their post, now in full Water Tribe warrior paint.
The young archer pulled her hood down so her vision was clearer. Yumi loaded an arrow into her bow and turned to look back at the frightened villagers. Biting her lip, she silently prayed her mother would watch over her.
The large ship smashed into the makeshift fort without apology. As most Fire Nation Navy ships, it was metal and clunky. The gate lowered sent a shiver down Yumi's spine; it sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
Rhinos began to exit a giant gate. They were large, terrifying beasts, each carrying a fire bender on its back. Yumi released her arrow without much thought. It hit her target's shoulder. The other three didn't need invitations to join; the battle had begun.
Yumi preferred to shoot with her bow over using her knives, but she soon found herself within a few feet of a fire bender. His arms were aimed to shoot at her. She slid one of her legs forward. The blast of fire went over her head as her dagger buried into the thigh of the fire bender. He cried out in pain, rearing back. Yumi slid forward and easily pushed him to the ground since he was already off balanced.
She flipped over him, using his chest as a spring for her hands. Looking up, the archer saw a fireball heading straight for her face. She ducked, falling backwards.
When she pulled herself up, her vision focused to reveal Aang fighting an unmasked fire bender. He was using his bending to create daggers made of fire.
The unmasked ender shot fire over Aang's head that made its way to the group of villagers huddled to together. They gasped in unison, obviously terrified of the flames. The air bender looked back at them with a worried expression. "Wait!" he shouted. "If I go with you will you leave them alone?"
The unmasked fire bender stood up straight, coming out of the fighting stance. He gave a short nod and two of the other fire benders came up to tie together Aang's arms behind his back. Yumi's eyes flicked as she watched them lead the avatar onto the metal ship.
"Aang!" Katara yelled, lurching forward.
He flashed a quick grin. "I'll be ok," he said cheerfully. "Look after Appa until I get back!"
The large metal gate began to slide up, clanking loudly as the chain system did its job. The ship slowly began to back out of the crescent glacier, leaving the shaken villagers behind.
Yumi rushed over to Katara. "We have to help him!" she exclaimed. Sokka came up behind his sister; the war paint he had put on was smeared across his face.
"Yumi is right," Katara said, her voice sounding angry and sorrowful at the same time. "He defended our village. He is the Avatar and he can change our fortunes in this war."
"And you know we are serious," Yumi added. "We are agreeing on something."
"If you two would just be quiet for one moment and let me talk, I'm with you guys. Help me load the boat," Sokka answered them with determination.
We'll never catch up to them on one of our fishing boats," the water bender pointed out.
Yumi bit her lip thoughtfully. "What about his bison, Appa? He told us that we should take care of him." As if hearing Yumi call him, Appa came out over the glacier, letting out a deep grumble.
"Yes!" Katara shouted. "That will be perfect!"
"You two just love taking me out of my comfort zone," Sokka exclaimed, thoroughly annoyed.
Yumi began to gather her arrows that she had shot at the Fire Nation soldiers, getting excited. "Mom," she whispered quietly to herself, "I'm going to fight the Fire Nation, just like you. I'm going to be a warrior." She swiftly made her way to her tent and undid her braid. Redoing it, she added a leather strap with sharp steel spikes all around it. If anyone grabbed her hair, they would be in for a nasty surprise.
Hurrying out, she saw Katara was already on Appa's saddle and Sokka was awkwardly struggling to get on. Yumi climbed up easily, causing the Water Tribe boy to stare at her with annoyance.
Katara held the long reigns in her hands. "So," she began, "How does this work?"
Yumi blinked. "Aang used to give a two syllable command," she said.
Katara turned back and stared at her blankly. "Do you remember what it was?"
"Yep Yep? Yap Yap?" she paused for a moment. "YIP YIP!" she shouted as her memory returned to her.
The bison groaned and flopped his tail, rising slowly into the air.
"Alight!" Katara exclaimed nervously. "Appa, we need to find that metal ship," she told their furry friend. Appa kicked his legs and took off. The three held on for dear life. They flew quickly, catching up to the Fire Nation ship in almost no time.
It was easy to find. Aang was dodging blasts from a fire bender with a ponytail. Yumi guessed that he was the unmasked fire bender from earlier. The Avatar threw him off the ship using air bending. All the Fire Nation soldiers standing on the dock were thrown off into the cold ocean.
Katara smoothing landed Appa on the metal ship. She slid off and hurried to Aang, giving him a tight hug. Yumi followed her off the bison and nervously loaded her bow, beginning to pace anxiously.
"My staff," Aang gasped. Both Sokka and Yumi hurried over to where it had landed during the scuffle. Sokka grabbed one end of it, but someone else grabbed the other. The unmasked fire bender began to tug on his end of the staff. Sokka yelped and poked him in the forehead until he let go.
The other fire benders began to make their way on the deck. Yumi aimed at one of and released her arrow. He slashed it easily with his spear. She loaded her bow again, but there were now ten Fire Nation fighters closing in on them.
Yumi sucked in a deep breath, gathering her courage. "You three go. I'll hold them off," she yelled to her companions.
"Good idea," said Katara. "Let's go, she's got this."
"We can't just leave her," Aang interjected.
"GO!" the archer screamed, releasing another arrow.
"Yip Yip," she heard Katara yell behind her as the Fire Nation closed in. A gust of wind blew as the giant bison rose into the air. Aang threw a mass of the glacier onto the ship to slow the solders down, but the large avalanche of snow and ice caused her to roll out of the way as well. The ship came to a halt, unable to move from the weight of it.
Yumi was now alone on a Fire Nation ship. Reaching back to pull out an arrow, she realized that it would do her no good as the soldiers were now swarming around her like ants on a crumb. She threw her bow into its carrier and pulled out her dagger. Dropping down with one leg stretched out, she brought the other up to her chest in a flexible defensive position.
"You're surrounded," the unmasked fire bender said. He had made his way back onto the deck and was staring her down. She now saw a deep burn scar over his left eye.
The young archer glared at him. Her golden eyes were cutting. "Who are you?" she demanded, pulling her body straight, her dagger still in her hand.
He seemed taken aback by her appearance. "You're not in a position to be asking questions," he told her.
Yumi looked around her. Anger was starting to grow and she was losing her cool. How dare he sneer at her in such a way? Sucking in a deep breath, she lunged straight at this arrogant jerk without thinking or trying to use any amount of skill. He leaned forward and grabbed her arms, easily twisting them behind her back. Yumi closed her eyes and winced.
"Take her to the war room," the man holding her said. "I will interrogate her soon."
His words seemed to sting her like a bee. She had failed. Her mother was a great Kyoshi warrior and she was a prisoner on a Fire Nation ship. Fear began to overcome Yumi. She knew they could cause her so much pain. The young woman began to tremble.
Two of the Fire Nation soldiers took her below deck and escorted her to a large room. They tied her wrists together, took her bow, arrows and dagger, and locked her in. There was a table in the middle surrounded by wooden chairs. The center of the table was covered with a topographical map. The edges left enough space to write notes.
Yumi sunk in the corner farthest away from the door. She tugged at the rope they tied her arms with to see how strong it was. The hemp was taught but weak. Yumi shifted so she was sitting on her legs and able to reach her boots. Reaching, she pulled on the tiny switchblade she kept tucked against her ankle. Once securely in her hand, she switched it open and began to saw through the rope. After a few short moments, she had done enough that she could rip the rest of the way.
Yumi rubbed her wrists to soothe them and closed her switchblade, placing it back in her boot. She curled into the fetal position, hugging her knees to her chest and closing her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mom," she whispered. "I tried to be great like you. Now I'm a prisoner and too much of an outcast for anyone to help me."
But Yumi felt her mother would have been relieved to see her captured. The young archer looked up to her mother and wanted her approval so desperately, but Akira always felt resentment because of the way her village treated her after Yumi was born. She loved her daughter, but she also hated the loss of respect that came with having a child with someone from the Fire Nation.
The door opened loudly, and the young woman stood up in reflex, pressing herself against the wall of the ship. It was cold and uninviting.
The scarred fire bender from earlier stepped into the room. Yumi now had the chance to really observe him. He looked about her age and was a head taller than her. His body looked dwarfed in the armor and prevented her from seeing his build. He had standard Fire Nation features: pale skin, dark hair, a narrow face, and hazel eyes. The burn scar looked like it had been a painful experience from his past. She could see a deep-rooted passion in his eyes.
"Now," he began, "let's have a talk." He had a baritone voice that had a bit of a rasp to it. Yumi enjoyed the way it sounded.
"No back up?" she remarked sharply.
He smirked at her. "With how you came at me earlier, I'm not too worried." That hurt her; she felt so weak.
He made his way over to her and pulled out a chair. "Have a seat. All I want to do is talk."
Yumi timidly sat in the chair and he pushed it in.
"What happened to your restraints?" he demanded.
The young woman looked up at him and sighed, losing her will. She was a loser after all… and she always would be.
"This," Yumi pulled out her only weapon they hadn't taken from her. The scarred fire bender seemed surprised at how smoothly she pulled out the switchblade from her boot. "The rope was hurting my wrists."
She braced herself, expecting some sort of rage for freeing herself, but it never came.
"What's your name?"
"Yumi"
"Are you from the Fire Nation?"
"No, I've never even stepped foot in the Fire Nation."
He didn't say anything for a second. Then he knelt down in front of her so he could look her in the eye. "I'm looking for the Avatar."
"I realized that," she replied without thinking.
His face twisted in anger and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I said that."
He stared at her, shocked. Did she really just apologize? What is with this girl?
She leaned back in her chair and looked at him with exhausted, frightened eyes. "He's going to the North Pole to learn water bending. I'm sorry- I have no idea what route they are taking. They are traveling by sky bison."
He blinked. "Uh…"
"That's all I know. Please don't hurt me… I'm weak enough with my weapons…" she trailed off with her last words and pulled her knees back up to her chest.
The scarred fire bender's eyes softened. "I'm not going to hurt you. You gave me what I needed to know."
She stared at his eyes until he stood back up. "I'll be back," he told her making his way to the door.
Yumi sighed heavily, feeling like a coward and a failure. She was terrified of pain and she had no way to fight.
The sound of fists slamming against a metal door snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Damn it, it's locked!" the firebender screamed, pounding against it. "Arg," he huffed, "I can't believe the guard didn't unlock it when I came in!" and slammed his fist against the hard steel.
Yumi slowly stood up, smirking when she saw the steam come out of his ears.
"It's ok," he said, breathing heavily. He turned around and sat back against the wall. The archer looked at him timidly. "They'll come get me… at dinner probably," he groaned rolling his eyes. "We better not catch up to the Avatar while I'm stuck in here."
Yumi decided to sit next to him and slowly walked over to the angry Fire Nation solder. She didn't know why she did this; in fact, her brain was yelling at her feet to halt. They kept moving against her will.
"What are you doing?" he demanded as she slid down the wall next to him.
"I'm sorry," she stammered quickly and hurriedly got back up to return to her chair.
He grabbed her arm gently and she looked back at him. "I…uh…you don't have to…" he said, starring at the ground and blushing slightly.
She sat down next to him. An uncomfortable silence spread over them that Yumi didn't like. "May I ask your name?" she finally asked.
He glanced at her with a blank expression. "Zuko," he said. "Prince Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation."
Yumi jumped back and away from him. "You're the Fire Lord's son?" she yelled, her eyes wide.
His face was solemn. The young woman sucked in a deep breath to calm herself. He hadn't physically hurt her –yet. She'd rather it not get to that point. But her curious brain pumped out a question that her mouth vomited out before she could stop it. "If you're the prince, why are you chasing the Avatar? Shouldn't you be in a palace in the Fire Nation?" As soon as it came out of her lips, she wanted to take it back; she couldn't believe she had been so bold to royalty of the enemy.
The young prince turned away from her and stayed silent for a moment. Yumi was preparing for him to lash out, but he never did.
Instead he calmly answered," I cannot return to my home without the Avatar." Yumi could hear the pain in his voice as he continued, "My father will restore my honor as long as I bring the Avatar to him."
"And someday, you will be the Fire Lord," she whispered.
"Someday."
"Will you end the war?"
"I don't know," was his honest answer.
Yumi didn't know why, but she felt so comfortable around this man. Very odd considering that he just told her he was the prince of the fire nation. But, she felt that if she could offer her own experience, he might take it into consideration when he goes to rule the most ruthless nation in the world.
"This war has hurt me," she told him softly. "The Fire Nation took my mother from me."
"That's something we have in common," Zuko replied. Yumi stared at him, quite surprised by his response.
"How did she die?" he asked her gently.
Yumi sucked in a sharp breath. "She was a warrior of Kyoshi Island, but after I was born, no one liked her or wanted anything to do with her. I just looked so… Fire Nation. She always resented me for ruining her perfect reputation. When I was eight, a fire bender injured her. No one would help her! The wound became infected," there was a long pause before the young woman could continue. "She got a fever and passed a few days later. She asked a water tribe man to take me somewhere safe, and he sent me to the South Pole. I hated it there because no one was around to teach me how to fight. I'm so weak. All I'm good for is shooting."
Zuko listened to her intently. He felt bad for her because he had been in her shoes before; feeling weak and wanting to learn how to stand strong and fight back.
"Yumi," he began, not sure how to put his thoughts into words. She turned to him, and her eyes looked like large pools of liquid gold. "I can teach you to fight if you want," he finished in a muffled tone, not fully believing his own words.
She blinked, confused. "You'd do that for me? Why?"
"Because I've been in your position. I know what it's like," he answered.
"You're a prince," she stated simply.
"Yeah, so?" he stated, a trace of anger on his voice.
Yumi stood up suddenly. Zuko followed her, curious as to what she was doing. She put her hands together and bowed deeply.
"Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, if you teach me to be a great warrior, I will serve you in your quest for the Avatar," she said.
Then she straightened so she could look into his eyes. "I always thought the Fire Nation was evil. And with you being the crown prince, I thought I would feel the same way towards you. But, you don't seem evil at all. You seem like you have a noble reason to do what you're doing, a reason to fight with your whole heart. I hope someday, I will have something worth fighting for."
She finished her mini-speech and sat back down hurriedly and a bit awkwardly. Zuko was blushing from all the praise she had given him. He never thought that anyone would be willing to understand him in such a short amount of time. It made him feel… accepted.
"What are you going to teach me?" the young woman asked. "I'm not a bender."
"I can teach you a skill I know if you promise to keep quiet about it," he said in a hushed voice.
"Whatever you say, Prince Zuko," she answered.
"I can teach you broadswords. We can see about getting you some at the next harbor. We have some damage that needs to be repaired anyway," he told her shortly.
"Broadswords!" Yumi exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Prince Zuko, I have always wanted to learn to use a sword."
"I told you, you need to keep quiet about this," he barked at her. As her face twisted into a hurt expression, he immediately regretted snapping at her.
The prince mentally scolded himself for this regret. She was yelling after all, and this was a serious matter. But her face was just so hurt and she made him feel so… odd, almost special, in such a way that he could not convince his conscience to push down the guilt.
With a sigh, he sat down next to her. "I'm sorry for yelling, Yumi. You just need to understand how important it is that you stay quiet about this."
There was some shuffling outside the door and Zuko jumped up hurriedly and began pounding his fists against the metal. "Guard!" he cried. "I'm locked in."
The shuffling became panicked. "Yes sir, right away," answered the frazzled person on the other side of the door.
The sound of keys chimed through and in a short period of time, the door was open.
"Finally," Zuko exclaimed, storming out of the war room. "Guard, have a room prepared for Yumi."
"Yumi, sir?" the guard inquired.
"The girl," Zuko jerked a thumb at Yumi who stood quietly in the doorframe.
"Yes sir," was the automatic response.
Zuko walked away not daring to turn around to look at her. He was actually alright with the fact that he had been locked in the war room. He felt he had actually meant his first friend.
