Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Avatar, but if I did rather than a death threat Katara would have snogged Zuko. Ok, maybe the death threat AND a snogging.
Chapter 7: The Roads to Ba Sing Se
The next few days were spent making up for lost time on the group's journey to the Earth Kingdom's capital city of Ba Sing Se. Within days of departing from the ruins of the abandoned village they were coming upon the southern edge of the great Si Wong dessert. Now that they had a teacher for Aang in all three bending disciplines he had yet to master the young monk was rather content with taking a bit of time out of their schedule to relax. Thus came his idea that they should each choose some form of 'vacation' for the group to spend a day or two on.
The rest of their small group had been reluctant, but agreed just to get him to stop with the flute and prairie dogs. Well, all except Iroh, who was trying to join in by digging through his gear for the sunghi horn that he'd brought with him when he'd left the village. Katara could only send a small smirk in Zuko's direction behind the others' backs, knowing that he'd hidden the instrument after the aggravation of his uncle's previous attempts at getting him to play, but not having the heart to actually discard the old man's favorite instrument.
Zuko and Katara had each kept to their promise, and not spoken to anyone of what had transpired that night when the two had sparred. Neither had come any closer to figuring out what that had been, but they silently resolved that in the end it didn't matter. It hadn't hurt either of them, in fact it had been an unbelievable experience. From that time it had become a regular thing for the two to spar after their usual practice sessions with either Aang or Iroh and before bed. The others had even watched the two during their matches, Toph becoming irritated each time they entered the ever shrinking pools of water the closer they got to the dessert as it screwed up her view of the fight.
Aang had led them to a small town that was famous for its large ice feature in the center of it. Unfortunately, his map was a century out of date and the ice feature was now not much more than just a simple puddle. The group was soon called over by Sokka to a billboard bearing a number of posters, but it was two specific one's that caught their attention. The first was older, carrying the full-body drawing of Aang. They'd heard of that one before during their journey, it having been a tool of Zhao's to gain information on the young monk, but none of them had seen it with their own eyes. The other was new having been issued by Azula herself, but still bearing the seal of the Fire Lord. This bore the faces of the two firebenders in their group, and while the first stated for its subject to be alive the second clearly stated alive or dead. Zuko just turned away looking off to the west.
They had gone into a small tavern, each getting a kind fruit drink made by a man with a set of swords similar to Zuko's. After talking for a few minutes about who would choose their next little excursion, they were interrupted by a middle aged man with small glasses set low on his nose. The somewhat frail looking man introduced himself as Professor Zei of the University of Ba Sing Se after starting in on examining Aang like a child with a new toy. While the others listened politely, or in rapt interest in Sokka's case, to the professor's words about an ancient lost library, the two newest additions were kind of zoning out. Toph had her head down on her folded arms upon the table, and Zuko was leaning into the corner he'd placed his back to, gazing distantly into the liquid he swirled in his cup.
After some time, and much more discussion with the professor, Sokka had declared that he would decide the next venture, and that his choice was to help Zei. This had caused a bit of dispute among the group, but in the end they were finally swayed to his opinion. Zei and Sokka sat together starting to go over the man's notes and maps in an attempt to ascertain the possible locations of the library, Iroh adding a comment or two once in a while. The others were letting the two have their fun as they all took their time to relax. When it came time for the group to head out they were stopped as two of their number lagged behind.
Sokka motioned for the door, "Come on, we can't find any ancient lost libraries if we don't actually leave the tavern."
Iroh held up his hand to calm the others, and smiled regretfully, "I am quite sorry my young friends, but I don't believe we will be joining you all on this expedition."
Aang asked, "Wait a minute, what do you mean? Are you leaving us?"
"Only for a short time. There's not much room left in Appa's saddle as is, so there doesn't seem to be much point to wasting space with the two of us, who'll be of little value out there upon the dunes. Not to mention the effects that that kind of weather can have on an old man like me." Seeing their expressions, he reassured, "It will not be for long. If my memory serves, there are a number of ferry stations along the river that separates the continent. We will be able to meet up with each other again at the Station." He indicated upon one of the maps.
Toph raised an eyebrow "you know, wandering around in the dessert looking for a bunch of books doesn't sound all that appealing. Reckon you could stand making it a trio?"
Iroh smiled, "Actually, I think it might be better if you were to go with them. You all could use the time to bond. Besides it'll give me time to truly reconnect with my nephew here." He added in a whisper for her, "The truth is that I'm hoping that you'll be able to protect them out there. That dessert is no place for Water Tribesmen or Air Nomads without the aide of a powerful earthbender."
She smirked as she elbowed him, "The most powerful earthbender, but alright have it your way. I'll take care of this lot. You two go enjoy yourselves."
Aang continued on with his questioning, "But how are you going to get there without Appa? You can't just walk across the dessert."
"Ah, you give me too little credit, my young pupil. There are many solutions to many questions in this world." He glanced shortly over to an old man sitting at a Pai Sho board, waiting for anyone to try their hand. "If only one knows where to look. Now then, Zuko why don't you go get our things so our friends can be off on their grand adventure?"
As the six walked out to the large sky bison, who the professor was automatically examining with the same fervor that he'd had with Aang, Iroh proceeded to ask the old man for a friendly game. Zuko was quickly able to gather his uncle's pack and his own, carrying them by their straps in one hand as he climbed down from the saddle. As he was turning back toward the tavern, he found himself face to face with Katara, her blue eyes looking almost moist in the corners. They were somewhat alone, being back near Appa's tail while the others were gathered up in front of the bison's head.
"This will be rather strange, not having you or uncle around. We won't see each other again for at least a week." Katara said.
Zuko ran a hand through his dark hair, thinking of the best thing to say. He finally came up with, "Well it is only a week. It's not like we're not going to see each other for a matter of years."
She gave him a look that she usually only gave Sokka. The one that she used whenever the boy said something that either made no sense or seemed just completely off subject. She shook her head with a small smile tugging at her lips, "Maybe you should have your uncle teach you how to reassure people this week because that stunk." He had reddened and looked away, but his prideful sulking was cut short as a pair of slim arms wrapped around him. She felt him tense up at the contact and pulled away a little, her arms still about him. "What's the matter? You can't tell me that you've never been hugged before."
"Of course I have, but…but you are the first person that hasn't been related to me to do so. I'm also a little confused as to why you're hugging me. Like we said it's only going to be a week before we meet back up."
She smiled, "Lets just consider this a promise that we'll see each other again as soon as possible, ok?"
Before he could reply she was hugging him again, but this time he brought his arms around her as he quietly said, "Yeah, promise." When they released he turned toward where the others were gathered. "Hey Short Stuff!" He smirked as Toph's head popped around the side of the bison's head, eyebrows raised in surprised rage. "You make sure to keep this lot out of trouble."
Now it was her turn to smirk, "Oh please, ask me to airbend while you're at it. Keeping this bunch out of trouble is like keeping the sun from rising, or worse, making Snoozles into a vegetarian."
They heard Sokka shout, "Don't even joke about something like that! Besides we did just fine before we had you, scar boy."
Zuko sent a dirty look in the boy's direction, and asked to Katara, "Seriously though, would it really bother you that much if he were to get…lost out there?" At her look he continued, "Just a thought."
Within minutes Zuko found himself standing at the edge of the small outpost town, watching as the large white and brown fur ball rose into the sky. Even from the distance that they'd already made it to he could still see the form of the young lady looking back over the back of the saddle. He stood there until he could no longer distinguish the dot that Appa had become upon the horizon. He threw the two rucksacks over his shoulder and made his way back to the tavern to find his uncle making some kind of pattern on the game board along with the other old guy. While he walked along the dirt streets he missed the two men standing at the billboard that the group had stood at only a short time ago.
The larger man tore down the poster of the two firebenders, and crushed it in his hand in anger. He growled, "All that time, all that time that kid was the Fire Lord's brat. Can you imagine the money I could have made selling tickets to see him beaten knowing that. People probably would have paid five gold pieces a pop to see that, more than that to get to throw things at him on that wheel."
The other man, a rather frail looking one that seemed to care far more for his appearance than his companion, commented, "Perhaps, but it would not have been long before the army came to take and use him for their own reasons. It's likely that they would have conducted a public execution for all the people of the kingdom to feel a form of vengeance."
The larger man, Xin Fu, growled, knowing that the fool beside him was right.
Master Yu stroked his thin beard and continued, "However, our sources have implied that these two as well as young Ms. Bei Fong are traveling together. This could work to our favor. As well as returning her to her parents, we could capture, turn over those two, and collect the reward for them."
Xin Fu looked at the shorter man and a cruel smirk spread across his face.
Zuko sat to the side as he watched the two men weave together their pattern upon the round table. His eyes caught the very center tile, a white lotus tile, and something buzzed in the back of his mind. On more than one occasion he had seen Iroh pull out a small trinket that one night he recognized as a lotus tile from his uncle's favorite game, and would twiddle with it in his fingers. He had a habit of walking the round tile over his fingers that Zuko had tried, to a frustrating lack of success. He was soon becoming irritated by the two men's prattle about flowers and secrets.
Soon the talk was interrupted as two men at the bar argued until the larger stood and approached them. After that was a blur to Zuko as the old man shouted about there being a price being on his uncle's and his heads. That had caused the rest of the bar to rise, and a brawl to break out as men scrambled to get their hands on the two firebenders. Zuko had been about to fight back, likely starting with the old man who had started this, but his uncle's hand on his shoulder stopped him. From there they were lead to a flower shop, where he was not allowed into a meeting in the back room, something about not being skilled in the cryptic arts. Eventually, the flower shop man's assistant aided them in sneaking out of town.
The gang had flown around over the dunes for hours upon hours, searching for any sign of the library. The truth was that from the beginning Toph had been less than thrilled with the whole idea, but within a short time she had become just plain bored, the only real amusement coming from tricking the others that she could see it. However, after so many hours of gazing out at the seemingly endless miles of sand Katara was pretty much right along her earthly friend's side, and even Aang's boundless enthusiasm was starting to fade. The only ones still completely energetic about their quest seemed to be Sokka and Zei.
Eventually, not even the two men could truly retain the same energy they had when they had begun the venture. Everyone's spirits were lifted as they had found the spire coming from the central dome of the ancient Library of Wan Shi Tong, discovering that it had simply been buried for all those years. When they had landed Toph had opted to stay and keep Appa company, as she really wouldn't be of much help with all the books and such.
Upon entering they were confronted by the large old owl that turned out to be the knowledge spirit itself. He had refused to allow entry at first because he hated that humans all used the knowledge they gained from his precious library due destroy each other. However, after a bit of flattery and nagging he finally relented, but there was a price. For them to enter, they would each have to trade a piece of knowledge. They had gone to the section of all the information collected from the Fire Nation only to find that it had all been burned. The spirit had said that it was the action of the last human to have entered the library, a firebender with large sideburns. Though a fragment of parchment still remained within a display case.
'The darkest day of the Fire Nation…' it read.
This had peaked their interest, but it was only Sokka that seemed to become obsessed by it. When Katara suggested that their missing companions could explain it for them her brother had been too impatient to wait the near week till they regrouped. Their search of the tomes had lead them to many unique and unexpected finds, most of which Sokka was discreetly sticking in his bag. The prize find that they came across was a large room that turned out to be a planetarium. From there they discovered that the darkest day involved an eclipse. Sadly, Wan Shi Tong found out about the acquisitions contained within Sokka's bag, and became enraged, intent to keep his treasures of knowledge out of the hands of unworthy humans. Aang and Sokka were able to just find the date of the next eclipse and escape before becoming trapped in the sinking structure with Professor Zei, who willingly and contentedly stayed behind. They would find a terrible surprise awaiting them out upon the burning sands.
At their return to the surface, they were greeted by only the young earthbending expert with a remorseful look gracing her features. She had explained what had happened while they were down below, and the capture of their ten ton friend. For one of the first times they began to see the young air monk truly angry, shouting at his blind teacher, who was uncharacteristically not fighting back. As she was generally apt to do Katara tried to step in, and sooth both sides. This was only the beginning of their long ordeal on the wind swept dunes.
From there Aang was constantly on edge with his anger ready to lash out any of them as he tried to lead them to find Appa. It eventually came to the point that he had left them. Sokka, in an attempt to show that they could in fact survive in the dessert, had drunk the juice from a native cactus. The resulting bout of temporary insanity had concerned the two girls, but would no doubt give them many amusing and embarrassing anecdotes at his expense. They were eventually reunited with Aang outside a buzzard wasp colony, where they were confronted by a number of sandbenders, including the ones who had captured Appa. This had led to the unleashing of the Avatar State that only the pleading look from the warm-hearted waterbender brought him out of. With the help of the elder benders, along with apologies for the acts of their younger members, the group was soon on its way to Ba Sing Se.
In an attempt to throw off any further pursuit by the two earthbenders or anyone besides them it was decided that Zuko And Iroh would each take a different path north. They were each given an ostrich horse and a small map, and told of a man that lived in the town the station resided in who could return the mounts. Iroh, hesitant about the plan, had urged his nephew to avoid any trouble, and Zuko had naturally agreed, waving off the man's concern. The young firebender would have to laugh later at how it seemed, even when did try, he just couldn't keep out of trouble.
He'd been passing through a small village that was apparently being pretty much run by a small group of thugs that had somehow become soldiers. He'd met a boy who had invited him home after not ratting him out and not backing down from the soldiers. The family had been kind, and understanding of a young man's pride, offering an exchange of work for a warm meal and a place to stay for the night. He'd taught the boy a little about the dual swords, although during the time he had been plagued by memories of the time leading up to his banishment. He'd given the dagger to the boy when he'd set out to leave because he had truly begun like the kid, Lee. Within hours the mother had found him near a stream, begging him for help to save her son who'd fought back against the soldiers. When fought the thugs he had had to reveal who and what he was, which lead to Lee and the entire town who had cheered for him to hate him. He supposed he was lucky that they let him leave, but he would never be able to forget their hate filled glares as he rode out. When his uncle had asked if his journey had been eventful after reuniting, he simply responded that the trip had been unremarkable, gazing at the dagger in his possession once more while a demonic blue mask, something he'd felt drawn to while passing through a marketplace, rested within his rucksack.
Unfortunately, the days during the group's expedition to find the ancient library and their subsequent ordeals in the dessert without the aide of their large flying friend made their journey take more time than expected. When they arrived at the ferry station it was already practically two weeks since the separation at the small town. So far their search through the overcrowded station had unveiled no sign of the two comrades. Finally, it was they who were found by an old acquaintance from near the beginning of three of theirs travels, though the recognition was slow.
"Suki!" Sokka had shouted in surprised joy, getting up to hug her.
They explained who this young lady, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, was after introducing her to Toph. They had briefly described what happened in their journeys since they had left Suki's island all those months ago. Suki was genuinely sympathetic when she heard about what had happened to Appa, but Aang's mood was still lifted by the memory of the sandbender's words. Appa would be in Ba Sing se.
Learning that the Kyoshi Warriors had been working at the ferry station for the last few weeks to help refugees get to Ba Sing Se, Katara had to ask. "Listen, we were actually planning to be here around a week ago, and we have two more people that we meant to meet up with here."
Toph quipped, "Hey yeah! So how bout it, Fan Girl, you seen Sparky and Old Man round here?"
"Uh, what do they look like?" Suki replied.
Toph opened her mouth to reply, but quickly closed it. She crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat. She grumbled, "I guess that's a question for one of you all."
Before Sokka could jump in and try to draw a picture of the two, Katara answered, "The older man is balding, kind of portly, and has a beard. More than likely he would have had a cup of tea, or was asking where he could get one. The other is eighteen years old, about so tall, has messy black hair, a lean muscular build, gold eyes, and a burn scar on the left side of his face. He was probably carrying a set of dual swords."
Suki just kind of looked at the slightly younger girl for a second, making the others think that she had to think for a moment on the description. Her thoughts were actually more on the differences between Katara's descriptions. If she didn't know any better she'd have said that it sounded like Katara wanted to find the second man more than the first, but it wasn't her nature to just dismiss another person like that. She secretly had to giggle on the inside as a new thought occurred to her, inspired from the look in Katara's eyes.
"Oh, you mean Li and Mushi." Suki finally said, thinking of the two men.
Sokka let out an ungraceful laugh, falling back against the stone pillar. He got out between laughs, "Please, please tell me that the younger one is M-m-mushi!"
She blinked before replying slowly in confusion, "No, that would be Li. Shouldn't you know which one is which? It's not like it's that hard to tell them apart."
As her brother's face sank in lost humor, Katara pushed on with her friend, "So you did see them?"
The fan wielding warrior nodded, "Yeah, they showed up about a week ago. I probably wouldn't have really noticed them if it weren't for Li practically ranting at Mushi about being late, and the girls were a little worried with how he'd skulk around looking for something or someone. It finally came down to the point where I had to threaten to have him arrested, but his uncle helped resolve things. A kind man, but a little strange, he kept offering me a cup of tea."
Toph smirked, "Heh, that's them alright. So where you hiding them?"
Suki harrumphed, "They were here for about three days before I convinced them that they should go ahead into the city. I told them if you all did show up that I would send you along after them. I've actually been holding off going out on our patrol until you showed up. They said that some of Mushi's old acquaintances were arranging jobs for them at a small teashop in the outer ring. However, without Appa…"
"You don't have to remind me." Aang cut in, muttering with a slight edge to his voice. To comfort and soothe him a bit, Katara gently placed her hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Sorry, but without him it'll take months to search the outer ring. Even then there's still little chance that you'll be able to find two people among the thousands around them. It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Actually, I can do that pretty well." Toph commented.
They had said their goodbyes, and made their way off toward the ticket booth. While dealing with the obnoxious woman that was completely ignoring Aang and the others words, it was Toph using her family's influence that got them cleared. They were about to board the ferry when they heard the panicking voices of a small family at the ticket counter. A man, his pregnant wife, and younger sister had apparently lost their tickets, and were now unable to board the ferry. The matter ended with the group deciding to help the family to go across the dreaded Serpent's Pass.
Suki had joined them to aide in this short journey, and would rejoin her comrades for their patrol afterwards. They had had to fight the serpent when they had crossed a section of the pass that was sunken, but they had warded it off without casualty. Well, except for a bit of Toph's dignity when she'd kissed Suki's cheek after saving her in the water, thinking it was Sokka. Then they'd had to go through the ordeal of the woman going into labor, and Katara, having helped with births in the South Pole, became by default midwife. A healthy little girl was born, and was named Hope by Aang, who had been having problems the idea and his old lessons at the Southern Air Temple.
Katara could still remember the short talk that she and Suki had had the night out on the pass after everyone else had gone to sleep. Katara had been gazing out over the water, feeling much better here than she had in the dessert, where she had been so parted from her element. Suki had left a sleeping Sokka's side, wiping away some drool from her shoulder, where his head had rested, to sit beside her.
"You know, if there wasn't your brother I think I'd be kind of jealous."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Li, as if you didn't know. None of us can deny his looks, and he seemed nice enough when he calmed down a bit. He seemed to have a bit of a short temper and impatient, but on my island we're taught that all men have their little quirks."
Katara smirked, "Like that foaming mouth guy?"
She brought her hand up to rub the bridge of her nose, "Don't even mention that guy. I'm still trying to live that one down with the other girls." She took a cleansing breath, looked back at Katara. "Anyways as I was saying, every man is like a rough piece of wood, their parents shape them into what they'll be, but it's a wife that smoothes the edges. You though, seem to have got your work cut out for you. I'd say you've started sanding while his uncle is still cutting."
Katara's eyebrows shot up, "Just what is that supposed to mean?"
The painted girl smiled knowingly, "In those three days, the two spent nearly all their time at the station. Some of the girls would spend their breaks sitting and talking with them. Well Mushi mostly, Li didn't talk much. He seemed more keen on watching the entrance, probably looking for you." To the confused expression on the younger one's face she elaborated, "When ever Li talked about all of you it was always either 'Katara and the others' or 'Toph and the others.' When they told us about Toph, I figured out that it must have been you that had him wrapped around your little finger."
Katara looked away, her face burning, and replied quickly, "You don't know what you're talking about."
Suki had simply shrugged, "You might be right." But she added silently in her mind, 'in the middle of denial.'
Sadly, upon their arrival to the great walls of the Earth Kingdom's capital city they'd sighted the Fire Nation's latest siege engine, already on its way. The giant drill had turned out to make their battle with the serpent seem like a walk in the park. Aang had once more been confronted by the sadistic princess of fire while the others had to deal with her two friends. They had finally claimed victory, irrevocably disabling the drill, but Azula had noticed that Zuko and Iroh had been conspicuously missing.
Afterward they had gotten on one of the train cars that Iroh had mentioned to them previously. They were soon taken from the outer wall to a station in the middle ring, where they were immediately met by a woman dressed in an official looking Earth Kingdom dress. They couldn't help but notice her almost vacant eyes and over stretched smile. Quite frankly, it was rather creeping them out.
The lady bowed as she introduced herself, "Welcome great Avatar, I am Ju Dee, your guide. Welcome to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se."
A/N: I want to thank you all for your reviews. I've decided to keep it at a 'T' rating because I just don't feel that confident at truly writing the scene, but not to worry. I plan to put in enough to give you plenty of a mental image of what happens. I'm hoping to post the next chapter before Christmas, but I'll make no guarantees. Either way, I wish everyone happy holidays and ask you to keep an eye out for Chapter 8: Burning Reunion.