A/N: Round Three
Team: Water Tribe
Category: Themed
Prompt: Radio (World War II AU!)
Word Count: 1167
Note: So this is a WWII AU, in which the Fire Nation is the rough equivalent to Great Britain (think London Blitz), the Water Tribes are a bit like the United States, the Earth Kingdom is Germany, and the Air Nomads are the equivalent of France or Poland. The Avatar does not exist, or the cycle has been broken, either way. Oh, and On Ji is a Fire Nation girl from the episode where Aang goes to school, and Michi's (an OC) name is pronounced MEE-chee. "Heiwa" translates to "peace" in Japanese. I think that's it.
On Ji hurried through the streets toward her house, picking her way over rubble and splinters of wood, gripping tightly to her tin lunch box. It was nearly seven and growing dim; Earth Kingdom bombers could come at any second. The factory had kept her a little later than normal - some trouble with the machinery - and she knew her mother would be worrying.
"Better get home quick, girl," an officer in a blood-red uniform warned as he strode past her. On Ji simply gave him a nod and picked up the pace.
"On Ji? Is that you?" her mother's weak voice called from the front room as she opened the door.
"Yes, mama," she called back, setting the lunch box on the kitchen table and stepping into the front room. Her mother sat in her chair as usual, blanket tucked around polio-crippled legs. On Ji's seven-year-old brother, Michi, sat at her feet. "On Ji!" he laughed, and she smiled at him- a tired, weary, tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"I'm glad you are home," On Ji's mother said, and On Ji saw some of the worry leave the corners of her mouth. When had she become so careworn? Well, she knew the answer to that question - when the Earth Kingdom had decided to conquer the Air Nomads. The Fire Nation and the Water Tribes had protested, of course - and so the Earth Kingdom had turned its attentions to them as well, making a draft necessary in the Fire Nation, it being the closest to the aggressor nation. That was where On Ji's father had gone, to the Earth Kingdom to fight for the Fire Nation. He'd been a volunteer, outraged at the invasion of the Air temples.
They had not heard from him in a month.
"Michi made soup for you," her mother was saying now, pointing back to the kitchen. On Ji managed another exhausted smile and ruffled her brother's hair.
"Thank you, Michi," she said. "I'll eat it later. We should get downstairs to the basement now, though. The Earth Kingdom bombers will be here soon. Here, Michi, help me," she said, lifting her mother to her feet. Michi fetched their mother's crutches from the corner of the room, and together they shuffled toward the basement stairs.
The loud wail of the air-raid siren sounded just as they reached the bottom of the basement stairs. "Michi, help Mama to her chair," On Ji told her brother, darting back up the stairs to shut the door. The muffled sound of faraway explosions, much too familiar, began as she put an arm around her little brother.
They waited in the basement for hours, until the all-clear sounded. None of the bombs had hit in their neighborhood, in a small town just outside the capital, but when On Ji looked out the windows, peeking through the blackout curtains, she could see plumes of dust and smoke rising in the distance.
"On Ji!" called Michi. "The radio! Fire Lord Iroh is going to be on soon!"
On Ji hurried back to the front room, stopping in the kitchen to snag the stone-cold bowl of soup Michi had made her. Every night, the Fire Lord would broadcast a radio program from his safe base. It was a conversational program, easy to follow, with the Fire Lord talking about the war effort and the latest news from the front lines - but he would also go off on tangents about tea, or musical instruments, or he would make jokes, or give advice. It was a modicum of stability in the uncertainty of war.
Michi passed the small wireless radio to their mother, waiting with eager eyes as she tuned it to the right station. On Ji sat down on the floor beside her brother, listening intently as the wireless radio in her mother's lap crackled to life.
"Greetings from the secret hideaway of the Fire Lord," came the warm and slightly raspy voice of Fire Lord Iroh. "It is very dark this evening. I know we have just suffered another bombing of the capital - let us have a moment of silence for those who have been lost. Let them enter the Spirit World in peace."
There was a pause. On Ji bowed her head, hoping none of the other factory girls had been hurt but knowing it was unlikely.
"Our forces in the Earth Kingdom, along with those of the Water Tribes, are closing in on the strategic town of Gaoling," Fire Lord Iroh began again, and On Ji lifted her head. "General Hakoda of the Water Tribe informs me that they will have the town secure by tomorrow. In other news, the Air Defence Force had successfully beat back an attempted submarine attack on the Southern Islands. We honor their bravery and their duty to their country.
"But we will speak of lighter matters for a moment," the Fire Lord continued, and On Ji felt as though she could hear a smile in his voice. "My son, General and Prince Lu Ten - if he is listening now, which I am sure he is - will be glad to learn that he is finally a father! My people, I am pleased to introduce the newest member of the royal family, Princess Heiwa. May her birth herald the beginning of peace for us all."
On Ji's mother had one hand over her mouth, eyes shining. "A new princess," she whispered.
"... I must say, however, that she does keep everyone awake at night," Fire Lord Iroh was saying, chuckling a little. "But this is good news. It means she is a strong, healthy child!" A pause. "The realization has just sunk in - I am now a grandfather! Finally! My son knows this is what I have wanted since he was… well, I suppose I have always wanted to be a grandfather. Thank you, my son, for finally fulfilling my wish.
"And thank you, good people of the Fire Nation, for your time and for your attention. I will make another broadcast at the usual time tomorrow night - for those of you just tuning in, the name of the program is 'White Lotus'. I will have more news for you from the front lines - and hopefully the news of the successful capture of Gaoling. But for now, I will say good night, and may the spirits watch over you."
On Ji sighed as her mother passed Michi the radio to store away in its place. Something about those radio programs made the burden of being the sole provider for her family less of a burden. Something about them eased the fear of waking up in a bombed-out shell of a house, with her mother and Michi gone to a place where she could not follow. The White Lotus programs - something about them kept her from being overwhelmed by the horror that was her daily life, kept her sane, kept her grounded. They gave her hope, and they gave her a feeling - however tenuous - of security.