Chapter 2

"I must say Iroh, even though I've never seen you in anything but your Fire Nation uniform, you really make that Earth Kingdom attire look good on you."

"Thanks. You're right, I never have worn anything but Fire Nation attire. Even in prison, the rags they gave me to wear were labeled with the Fire Nation insignia."

"You've very welcome."

The two men were finally on their way away from Iceberg's house. Gi Fong decided that it was going to be necessary to take a lot less than he had originally planned, and so the two or three days he thought it would take turned into one afternoon of taking several trips to the town waste area. The next day, the two men left the village and began to make the one day journey to the docks. To remain inconspicuous, Iroh donned an Earth Kingdom outfit for the day while Gi Fong packed some Fire Nation clothes to hide himself while in the Fire Nation.

The two took up residence in an inn about an hour's walk from the docks so that Fire Nation soldiers would not be able to recognize them after they changed clothes.

"It really is too bad that I'll have to pitch these so soon," said Iroh, "I do however, suggest that we do pitch these. No matter how Fire Nation we look, any wrong move could result in an unannounced search through all of our stuff. If they found an Earth Kingdom outfit in your bag, I'd be right back where I started, in jail."

"Good idea. I can earthbend them into the walls. We'll be long gone and forgotten by the time they find these," Gi Fong agreed.

"Hopefully, by the time they find these, we won't have to worry about them finding them anymore. Hopefully, by the time we are discovered, there is nothing more to discover. Hopefully, by the time the Fire Nation realizes we are not with them, this blasted war will be over and we can all get on with a finer way of life. Do you ever get so sick and tired of just hiding around and waiting for good news?"

"I guess so. I'm still kind of used to hiding in plain sight with the Dai Li, and when I wasn't there, I was at Iceberg's cottage, so I don't really know what to expect when we get to the Fire Nation."

"I'll put it like this. You will see more persecution and suffering within your first week in the Fire Nation than you have even in all your years with the Dai Li. The road to Piandao's house is treacherous, there is a good chance many detours will have to be taken now that the avatar is not dead and many of the lower ranks are coming back to help defend the mainland from another invasion. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Iroh, Iceberg is dead. Omashu and Ba Sing Se have fallen. The Dai Li are faithful to the Fire Nation now. Even when there was a solar eclipse, the fire nation palace couldn't be taken. I have no place else to go but the brothers. And if Piandao has survived so far, I couldn't possibly give myself any other option than that. As sure as I am that the Fire Nation is cruel and wicked and treacherous and needs to be stopped, I am sure that this is the only road for me. Wherever you go, wherever you fight, and wherever you triumph, I want to be at your side, doing what I can."

The two said nothing else the rest of the night.


The next morning arrived and it was time to head to the docks. The ship would take them directly to the Fire Nation, which was only a three-day journey, so Iroh and Gi Fong packed light, but brought more money to buy necessities in the Fire Nation, where Iroh knew he could find some great deals.

"Once we get there, we have another three day walk to Piandao's estate. If I bring along half of our gold pieces and store the rest in the local bank tomorrow, we'll be able to more than pay our way to Piandao's house."

"Good," Gi Fong responded.

When they arrived at the docks, the two both bought their tickets and waited for the boarding to begin.

"What do we do for food while we wait?" Gi Fong asked.

"Do you like fire flakes?"

"Fire flakes?"

"OK, what about sizzle crisps?"

"I think I had them once. They were OK I guess, but I think I'd rather just wait until we get on board."

"Fair enough. I for one, would like some fire flakes, and some of that hot tea that is being walked around."

Gi Fong looked up. There was a woman that held a tray of several steaming cups of tea. But Gi Fong had immediately lost interest in the tea. His gaze had shifted upward, and as inviting as the tea had sounded at first, he was feeling something much more attractive from the facial features of the woman.

"Yeah, that is some hot stuff there," Gi Fong half-whispered to Iroh.

"Yes, I know. The tea in Ba Sing Se was terrible until I showed up, but in the Fire Nation, heating tea is never a real problem."

"Huh? Tea?"

Nodding understandably, Iroh hatched a plot. "Why don't you go get us some tea, Gi Fong?"

"I...I d-don't know. Wh-what if she...umm...finds out that...I'm...earth kingdom?"

"If she is as good as your drooping mouth and red cheeks are suggesting, it shouldn't matter."

Gi Fong's cheeks burned even hotter. "Fine. I'll do it. But, what should I say?"

Iroh sighed. "I guess you haven't had anyone to teach you this stuff yet have you?"

Gi Fong nodded in agreement.

"OK, I'll coach you through this. Go up as casually as you can. Comment on her hat, order two cups of tea, and sit down over there," Iroh pointed towards an empty bench on the other side of the room."

"Why would I order two cups if you're not going to be with me drinking it?"

Iroh's palm met his face.

"Just do it. She'll watch you go and sit down, and when she sees that you aren't sharing with somebody else, she will get curious and follow you back over there, at which point I will enter, and turn the final key to get you two talking."

"OK..." Gi Fong conceded uncertainly.

He followed Iroh's instructions to a "T". His days in the Dai Li had well trained him for putting on the right face at the right time, so being casual was no problem for him. He made a complementing joke about her hat that she found quite funny. He ordered two cups of tea and went to the bench and sat down. Eventually, as predicted, the girl followed him over to the bench and asked him why he ordered two cups of tea. Gi Fong was about to explain when suddenly Iroh bumped into the young girl.

"Excuse me Miss, I'm so sorry," Iroh apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two. I was just coming over here to sit with my nephew, Li."

"Oh I see, you got the tea for him," the girl concluded.

"What?!" Iroh shouted, "You know I don't like tea! Here, give it to her, I'm going to go get some real food."

Iroh then stormed off.

"He's a strange fellow, your uncle," the girl chuckled. "My name is Atsuko."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to sit down?" Gi Fong was actually very pleased with himself. After so many years living his anti-social life with the emotionless Dai Li had convinced him he would never even be able to talk to a girl, let alone sit down and share tea with one.

"Where are you headed?" Atsuko asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I know where we are eventually going, but I don't even know what it is called. Uncle is in charge of that."

"I see," the girl said, "Pretty day huh?"

Not breaking eye contact, Gi Fong replied simply, "Beautiful."

After that, the two remained in awkward silence until they finished their tea.


A/N: It's official...IrohHitch. "But wait man, you said that this story was going to be more action packed like the first one, now you're even diving into romance? Come on!"

All I can say in that regard is patience. Remember who we're on our way to see? Piandao? Master swordsman? zips lip But alas, I shall say no more.

Could be a while before my next update. Dress week for Grease starts tomorrow and I'll be at the school every night until 9:30, and since I like to write each chapter in one go so that I don't lose thoughts, I probably won't have time to write a whole new chapter when I get home each night, so...yeah, it looks like this weekend is going to be the best bet for a new chapter.