Bright light shone through her eyelids. Her brow wrinkled. She groaned and opened her eyes.
A blue sky dotted with white, puffy clouds lay above her, framed on all sides by walls and crates. Hooves clopped in the distance and the subtle voices of a crowd droned from somewhere nearby.
"Meow."
She glanced down. In front of her, a white owl-cat sat atop a crate, its marble green eyes pointed at her own.
"Meow," it said again.
She gazed at the harmless animal for a moment longer… And closed her eyes in a yawn.
Well, I made it, and no people found me and no animals ate me… Although that cat seems to have its eyes on me…
Her lips curved in a wry smirk as she made reference to that night among the boulders, when getting eaten by wild animals had been a legitimate concern. Since the forest ordeal had ended on such an inspiring note, its more terrible events did not weigh so heavily anymore.
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her leather-bound left hand to clear away lingering drowsiness. Though she was awake, her body still felt glued to the ground.
And then it hit her.
God!
The aching, throbbing, stinging, burning, searing, tearing pain. Breathing continued to hurt and her right upper leg, right chest and shoulder felt hard and swollen. For all she knew, the arrowheads were gigantic moth-wasp stings.
Her stomach growled, her mouth tasted like cotton and every part of her body felt as if it were encased in lead. She remained deathly tired. It was as if she hadn't slept.
"Get up!" The soldier in her barked. "These wounds need treating!"
Groaning through gritted teeth, she managed to sit up despite the awful ripping pain in her belly. A bout of lightheadedness struck her. Her sweat felt cold.
"Ugh…" She shut her eyes and stopped moving. She licked her lips only to taste dried saliva… And blood. "I need water…"
Once she had recovered, she grabbed the edge of one of the crates and eased herself up to stand, her face contorting into a grimace as the arrowheads jostled against her flesh and bone. She bit down hard on her teeth to avoid yelping in pain.
I hope there isn't more permanent damage!
A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed the fear down and buried it under a mountain of hope; a mountain of Doctor Izumi.
Be brave when you reveal yourself to the public again, she told herself. Put on an unassuming face. Don't let them think you have arrows in you or have armor on! Only Doctor Izumi can see these things. She'll understand…
Standing straight without the threat of fainting, she stuffed the warrior mask into her belt and shifted the telescope behind her so as to conceal it better. Those two items in place, she bent down to retrieve the cloak, shook it a few times to straighten it—and rid it of dirt—and draped it over her shoulders. She clutched the cloak tightly and exited the seclusion of the crates.
"Time to see Doctor Izumi…"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The bells of the hospital's front door chimed and Azula stepped inside.
People sat in the waiting room as they appeared in various states of illness and distress. She heard many coughs and sniffles, but mostly coughs. A few babies even cried. There was a rather large number of elderly present. The waiting room appeared much fuller than the day before.
Azula shut the door behind her, quietly, and proceeded past the assembled masses on her way to the front desk. She kept her head down and the cloak tight. Her collar remained exposed but she'd rather the cloak conceal her boots; they were far more conspicuous, even with the black paint hiding the yellow circles of Heaven.
Glancing from one side to the other discreetly, she detected a few interested stares in her direction and a few looks of dismay. Perhaps it was the shape of her armor beneath the cloak that caught their eyes, or her limping gait, or maybe even her disheveled appearance; she certainly felt disheveled. Either way, she was exposed to the public. There was nothing she could do about that.
Just act normal. You're injured like anybody else. You… You got attacked last night. That's what you'll tell people. You got attacked like Meilin. Oh god… Even if that means they have to think I was…
She shuddered at the notion.
She hauled herself to the front desk. The same man as usual was seated behind it, scribbling on a sheet of paper. He glanced up at her, and frowned.
"Good morning," he said softly. "How can I help you?"
She remained silent. Why is he frowning? Isn't he usually chipper? She inhaled a deep breath and managed a weak smile in return. "Yes, hello. I need to see Doctor Izumi, please. She's been taking care of me for a while and… Well… I have a problem I need her to look at."
The man nodded and continued to frown. "What's the problem?"
She kept her voice low. "I have… Um…" She didn't want to say something that could reveal too much, or that might attract the attention of a different doctor. "… A problem with my 'lady parts'," she decided. "I need Doctor Izumi's help."
"Okay," he replied quietly. "What about the blood on your face?"
Her mind went blank. "The what?"
"The blood on your face. It looks dried. Are you bleeding anywhere right now?"
She blinked. She had been splashed with blood during the battle and her mask had prevented her from cleaning it all off. She had forgotten all about it.
"Oh." She hesitated. "No, I'm not bleeding now but… Well, Doctor Izumi needs to be the one to see me." That was a technical lie but she couldn't reveal the arrowheads and amore and firebending wounds to anyone but her.
"Because if you are," the man said urgently, seemingly ignoring her request. "Both Doctor Kwang and Doctor Cho are here. You won't have to wait as long for them."
"No, it's fine. I'll wait for Doctor Izumi. I only want her looking at those parts of me."
"Doctor Cho is a woman," the man said nicely.
Suddenly, Azula frowned too, feeling a wave of genuine despair wash through her. "Please…" Her voice shook. "I only want to see Doctor Izumi. It can only be her."
The man nodded. "I understand. I'll go inform her..." He rose. "You'll have to a wait a little while, though. We're very busy today."
"That's fine, just so long as its Doctor Izumi I see."
"Please have a seat if you'd like." The man left through one of the doors that led further into the hospital.
Once the man was gone, she let out a long, quiet sigh. That was close…
Before turning around to find a seat, she wiped her face ardently with the cloak and did, in fact, leave smears of dried blood behind. So that's why they were all looking at me. God dammit, I should have realized…
Feeling sufficiently free of visible blood, she turned from the desk and searched for an empty chair. She found one between an elderly woman and a middle-aged man. Both were coughing. Moving carefully so as not to rattle her armor or 'swoosh' her cloak open, she eased herself down into the chair, wincing as her aching, wounded legs protested the motion. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"I can't wait to get home and sleep…" She whispered to herself. The man and woman next to her continued to cough. Though the sounds of sickness grated in her ears, they helped keep her awake; her cloak slipping free while she slept, and everyone around her getting a good look at her, would have been a disaster.
Meilin will probably come home with me, she kept her mind busy by speculating about the day's next events. Unless Izumi wants me to stay here for a while. That'd be okay. This place isn't so bad, and I like Doctor Izumi; I'd get to see more of her. Then, when Mr. Chen learns the charity home's enemies have been destroyed, he'll feel nothing by gratitude for what I did. Everything will return to normal. He'll have his mask, cloak and telescope back and he'll forget all about me holding fire to his face. In fact, he might think it was funny.
Her lips curved in silent amusement.
I just have to get these wounds taken care of first…
"Did you hear what happened last night?" A masculine voice asked in a hushed but eager tone from somewhere in the room.
Her hearing sharpened and her eyelids cracked open.
"Of course I did," a second male's voice replied. "Everyone has."
Her drowsiness transformed into wide-eyed urgency. She turned her head ever so slightly in search of the voices but couldn't find them.
"How do you think it happened?"
"Don't know. Rumor is the Mori's were yakuza. They found bodies."
Her heart skipped a beat. Are they talking about—?
"But how do you burn down a castle?" The other voice sounded absolutely baffled.
Oh god! Her stomach wrenched. They are!
"Easily, if its made of wood."
"But how do you get in?"
"I don't know. Somehow. I'm glad they're dead though, if they really were yakuza. I hate those types."
Her fear faded away and her lips twitched into a tight-lipped smile.
"Do you think it was the government?"
"No way. The police were searching for survivors. They're trying to figure out who did it."
Azula pursed her lips tightly to keep from appearing too happy. I guess it was the 'government', in a way…
"Did you see those fliers, though?" The first voice asked intently, bordering on excited.
Her lips quirked down. Huh?
"Oh, yeah," the other voice said emphatically. "That's unbelievable."
At that moment, one of the doors into the hospital opened, revealing the friendly attendant girl and an unknown commoner woman. The two voices stopped and the woman walked across the waiting room.
"Ning?" The attendant girl requested pleasantly.
Turning her head discreetly, she observed the woman join two younger men as the three of them departed the hospital together. In response to a name getting called, the old woman sitting next to her rose and made her way to the attendant girl. The old woman's gait was slow and she held a cloth to her mouth. She coughed several times. The attendant girl put her hand on the old woman's back and directed her through the door, closing it behind them.
The waiting room fell back into quiet, save for the coughing, sniffling and babies' cries, and Azula returned to sitting peacefully, keeping to herself and making sure her armor remained hidden beneath her cloak. Before long, her lips curved back into an amused, triumphant smirk that she struggled to suppress.
That's two people who are proud of what I did. Wonderful… Excellent... This meeting with Doctor Izumi should go quite smoothly…
The tiny lump of fear in her stomach began to dissolve. Those young men's comments had put her in a much brighter mood…
And she thought nothing about these 'fliers'.
A while later, after threatening to doze off several times, the door into the hospital opened and the attendant girl reappeared.
"Yukirina?" The hospital worker glanced across the waiting room.
Azula heard her false name. That's me! She noted eased onto her feet with much effort and pain and limped to the waiting attendant girl.
"Oh, it's you." The attendant girl smiled. "Hello, Yuki. How are you today?"
"Not well if I have to come here," she commented dryly.
The attendant girl chuckled. "I guess so."
Azula walked through the door and the attendant girl shut it behind them. "What's wrong?" The hospital attendant asked in that familiar, gentle tone, very similar to Doctor' Izumi's.
"I've been… Stabbed," she whispered in reply.
The attendant girl's face fell. "Where?"
"I need to see Doctor Izumi," she repeated her request to this particular hospital worker. "It's in a… Sensitive place," she revealed delicately. "I only want her to see me."
The hospital girl frowned. "You do look pale... I also see you limping. Do you need help walking?"
She could use help but, then again, the hospital girl might feel her armor beneath her cloak. "No," she answered smoothly. "I'm fine."
"Follow me," the attendant girl instructed and beckoned toward a familiar door. "Doctor Izumi is in the operating room. I'll take you to her."
Azula tensed; awful things always happened to her in that room: blood, pain, suffering. Her stomach fell ill. "Thank you," she said tightly.
They arrived at the operating room door. It was closed. The attendant girl knocked once, waited a moment and entered.
"Doctor?" She poked her head inside. "Yukirina is here to see you."
"Take her to one of the examining rooms," Doctor Izumi's familiar voice replied.
The attendant girl did not. "She says she's been stabbed."
The doctor was standing in front of a medicine cabinet taking stock of supplies. She stopped what she was doing and turned to the door.
Her assistant opened the door fully, revealing the cloaked form of that Yukirina, the firebending teen who had been living with the Chen's the past few weeks, and who she had spoken to just yesterday.
The teenage girl's body was shrouded in a drab cloak that ran to her ankles and covered her entire body. Her shoulders appeared unusually broad and pointy, and she wore some sort of rigid undergarment around her waist hidden by the cloak. Her black-brown hair was pulled into a messy topknot, the remainder of which was disheveled and covered in sand, while her face appeared pale, her eyes sunken and her appearance, overall… Not well.
The doctor's brow furrowed in a puzzled, worried frown. "Yes, come in," she said finally, moving away from the medicine cabinet and approaching the operating table. "Come to the table, Yuki. Tell me what's wrong."
Azula took a few labored steps into the room and heard the door shut behind her. The attendant girl appeared alongside.
"Um… If you don't mind, I would only feel comfortable if you see me, Doctor," she spoke directly to the woman. "I, uh… I've been… Stabbed and… Other things."
The doctor's mouth gaped and her expression turned dismayed. After a moment of visible shock, the doctor smoothed her expression and nodded.
"Okay." She glanced at the hospital girl. "Aimi, wait outside, please. I'll get you if I need you."
"Yes, doctor." The teenage girl bowed her head and turned to leave.
Aimi, Azula repeated the name for good measure. So that's her name.
The attendant girl shut the door behind her, leaving her and the doctor alone.
Doctor Izumi came alongside and helped her teenage patient to the operating table. "You look weak and peal, and your voice is hoarse," the woman noted with sympathy.
Azula swallowed. Her throat tasted like sand and cotton. "That sounds right," she replied hoarsely.
"Tell me what happened. You said you were stabbed? I don't want to assume anything."
With the support of the doctor's firm hands, Azula eased up onto the operating table and sat on its edge, her feet dangling over the side. Immense pain radiated everywhere, especially in her abdomen and chest. She clenched her teeth and grimaced as she rode the agonizing waves.
Izumi frowned. "I can see you're in a lot of pain."
"Quite a lot," she croaked.
"What happened?"
She allowed a few seconds for the pain to settle. When it did, she answered the doctor's question. "I'll show you…" She let go of the cloak and shrugged it off her shoulders, revealing the full extent of her wounds… And armor.
The doctor's brow wrinkled as her eyes dropped to her patient's body. "Your… Costume?" Her head tilted puzzledly.
"Yes," she sighed, finding herself out of breath from exhaustion. She was tired, so very tired, and hungry… And thirsty.
The doctor's puzzled eyes continued to scan her patient's clothes, armor and visible wounds. She didn't say a word.
Azula raised her leather-bound left hand and touched her pointed fingers to the right side of her chest, near the exposed arrow shaft. "There's an arrowhead lodged here," she explained in a dull, weak tone. "And here..." She touched her right outer thigh, near the wound. "The one in my chest, I think, is against a bone…"
Izumi's eyes followed her patient's hands, her brow creased and her face written with vague confusion. "Arrows?" She repeated quietly.
Azula nodded. "Yes. I singed off the shafts." She proceeded to her belly, and grimaced again. "This is a burn. I don't know how deep. It makes breathing difficult… And here…" She pointed down at her left leg, above the knee. "Is another burn. It feels horrible, like the skin has been scraped off."
Izumi's eyes continued to trace the path made by her patient's hands. She studied the torn, burned silk and the reddish-black skin underneath. Her eyes flicked to the armored skirt… Then returned to her patient's eyes. "Are these all the injuries you know of?"
"I think so," she mumbled. "It's all I feel, at least. I mean… My right shoulder and chest hurt but my costume protected me. I don't know if there's anything wrong, though…"
The confusion eased from Izumi's face, replaced by a more thoughtful expression. "When did this happen?" Her tone was clinical.
"Last night."
"How? Who? Where?"
"The arrows were shot at me by one of the teenage boys as I ran down the stairs. The burns were from firebenders during my battle on the second floor."
Izumi's face went blank. "What?"
"Yes."
Izumi blinked and her eyes widened. "Was this at the Chen's?" Her voice was full of worry. "Oh my god! Is everybody okay?!"
"No, no, no," Azula soothed the suddenly flighty doctor's concerns. "That place is fine. This was at the Mori Castle."
Izumi's face went blank again. "What? The Mori Castle?"
"Yes." Azula nodded and her lips began to curve.
The doctor's brow lowered as her confusion deepened. "Are you… Serious?"
"Yes," she replied calmly, her lips curving higher as the exciting topic arrived.
"But… How can that be?" Izumi's held tilted as she peered quizzically at her patient. "The Mori Castle burned to the ground last night. How… Why… How…?"
Her cheeks rose and her eyes glittered with pride. "Because I went there last night," she spoke through her smile. "I burned it down."
Izumi's face dropped. "What?"
Azula chuckled at the doctor's funny face. She must be so surprised. She continued to smile at her fellow representative of the Crown. "I listened to what you said yesterday and concluded that the only way to stop those criminals was to take it upon myself. You said nobody could stop them. Well…" She gave a modest shrug, still smiling. "I did, and now we'll never have to worry about them again."
Doctor Izumi's face did not change. She just stared at her, mouth agape and eyes subtly afraid.
Azula frowned worriedly. "What's wrong?" She searched the doctor's troubled face, never having seen this expression from the woman before. "Aren't you proud? Happy?"
Izumi's face remained strained. A second later, her eyelashes fluttered and her expression thawed. The doctor closed her mouth and took a deep breath that ended in a compassionate sigh.
"Yuki," the medical-trained woman spoke softly, her warm manner returning. "I understand if something happened to you last night that makes you feel… Ashamed. I understand. I really do..." She reached out and placed her right hand on her patient's costumed, uninjured left shoulder. "It's okay, Yuki." Her voice was as soft as a feather. "You don't have to hide it from me. You don't need to act 'tough' around me. I'm your doctor. You can tell me what happened. I won't tell anyone. I won't judge you. I'm here to take care of you."
Azula's brow furrowed as she gazed at the doctor in slight trepidation. Does she… Not believe me? What does she think happened…?
The doctor's tone was gentle and soothing, as she was familiar with. She glanced at the woman's hand on her left shoulder, at the intimate gesture, and, slowly, returned her gaze to the woman's peaceful brown eyes. She wasn't sure what the doctor meant, but…
"Okay," Azula answered quietly.
Doctor Izumi kept her hand on her patient's shoulder and never left her eyes.`
Azula took a deep breath. "After I spoke with you yesterday, I realized what had to be done, so I asked Mr. Chen to bring me to Shinzo's—the Mori's, the yakuza's—" she sputtered as she added clarification. "To their home, which turned out be an ancient castle. I had told Mr. Chen I intended to agree to their proposition of me becoming a courtesan for them in order to make the violence stop. They invited me inside to talk about it and I told them as much. In reality, I had no intention of agreeing to it and instead used the opportunity to scout their compound's outer defenses and the layout of the interior, as well as to get an idea of how many people were inside. I left the castle that evening, having given those Mori Clan yakuza criminals the impression I had agreed to work for them. I returned home with Mr. Chen."
She paused to take a breath and relax her sore ribs and burning abdomen.
"I waited until hours after nightfall. I got into my uniform—I mean," she corrected herself. "My costume—it's like a uniform, I mean—and snuck back to the castle under the cover of dark. Using my boots and firebending and, quite honestly, my cleverness…" She stopped to flash a proud smirk at the woman. "I gained entrance to their castle."
She took another deep breath and sighed. This was taking a while. She was feeling light headed and the pain in her abdomen continued to scream, but she had to tell the woman everything.
"… I then melted the doors' hinges closed to prevent any of them from escaping. Creeping through the dark, into their bedrooms, I managed to get about…" Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Three before I was detected by a dog. It ended up being a massive fight on both floors of the castle, ending with me being injured and all of them dead. After I killed them all, I set the castle aflame, escaped down the beach, passed out for hours and limped here while it was still dark. I hid in the alley behind the hospital, slept in the corner until daylight and entered the hospital just a short while ago… And now I'm here!" She ended splendidly, tilting her head in joy.
"Oh, thank Heaven!" Doctor Izumi's breath gave out in a long, deep sigh of relief. She touched her free hand to her chest as if her heart had been saved from exploding. "I was worried something terrible had happened! Thank goodness you were here, Yuki. You saved us from those criminals. You did what I could only dream was possible. I'm so proud of you. Here, let me help you get better…"
Only that's not what Doctor Izumi said.
Doctor Izumi's hand pulled away abruptly, as if her patient's armor had turned to thorns. "Are you serious?!"
Azula's proud smile collapsed and a chill ran down her spine. "Y-yes," she stammered, stunned by the severe change in the doctor's tone and expression. "Of course I am. I'm not lying to you. Why would I lie?"
At that, Izumi's shocked expression transformed into an angry scowl. "Be truthful to me, Yuki!" She demanded sternly.
"I am!"
"Are you saying you burned that castle down?" She stared straight into her teenage patient's eyes as if she were scolding her.
"Yes!"
"Alone?"
"Uh huh." She nodded emphatically, her eyes never leaving the doctor's.
"They didn't kidnap you and you escaped?"
Azula gave an incredulous huff of amusement. "Of course not! I wasn't violated or anything!" She now understood the doctor's fears. She smiled into the woman's eyes, expecting fully for her to understand now. "I wiped those fiends from the face of the Earth," she said proudly, continuing to smile. "Every. Last. One."
Izumi's jaw dropped and the fear in her eyes returned. She said nothing.
"Don't worry," Azula assured, not thinking much of the doctor's temporary look. "Nobody saw my blue flames, if that's what you're thinking. I killed them all."
"Yuki…" The woman said in an almost breathless whisper, her expression not changing.
Azula frowned with worry once more. "What? What's wrong?"
The doctor's expression froze. "They're… They're looking… For who did this… The police… The authorities…"
"So?" Azula shrugged, genuinely not understanding the point. "They're not going to find me. Let them bumble around like the fools they are. They don't deserve to know who did this for them. Besides, you're not going to tell anyone, right?"
Suddenly, like the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder, her entire world changed. Doctor Izumi… She might tell the authorities. Her face said so. She might…
A cold ball turned in the pit of Azula's stomach. A shiver ran through her spine. "I… I helped you," she said quietly. "And Meilin… And the Chens… And everyone else. I did this for Taizao… For you. I made our home a safer place. I made the Fire Nation a safer place."
"I… Didn't ask you to do this," the doctor replied slowly, carefully, her voice low.
Azula cringed at the woman in utter confusion. "What?!" She said sharply. "Just what are you talking about?! You're a member of the Imperial Government! You said the local government had failed! What did you expect would happen when you told a firebender their home was being ravaged by criminals? That they wouldn't take action?"
Azula's heart started to pound and her stomach to feel ill. The woman's face… Her tone of voice… Her words…
This wasn't going as she had expected.
Izumi's face thawed but only a little. "I would have expected them to obey the law," she answered quietly.
"Law?" Azula scoffed. "What law?! The one that requires me to see my friends raped and murdered?! That requires me to be turned into a slave?!"
"Yuki…" The doctor's voice softened again, her face falling back into dismay. "You murdered those people."
Azula choked. She was flabbergasted, shocked, outraged! "Mur… Murdered?" She exclaimed wildly, struggling to complete the offensive term. "Murdered?!" She repeated bitterly. "You think I murdered those people?!"
The doctor continued to frown, silent and doubtful.
Azula clenched her teeth as her face scrunched in anger. "You think I murdered those FIENDS?!" She fired at the doctor, her blood boiling from the vile accusation. She allowed a few seconds to pass for the woman to respond.
She did not.
Azula sneered. "I didn't murder them!" She banged her fists on the table. "I EXECUTED THEM!"
At the force of her emotion, and slamming her fists against the table, her body shook, causing two strands of her bangs to come loose and fall to either side of her forehead, framing her face in a very specific way. She was not aware of this.
At the sight of her patient's bangs, Izumi gasped, her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. The doubt evaporated from the woman's expression, replaced by fear and terror.
Azula's fury died. "What is it?" She asked worriedly, her voice soft. "What's wrong?" She searched the doctor's face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
The doctor's face did not change. She just stood there, frozen, her eyes wide and mouth agape.
Panic bubbled in Azula's throat. Her eyebrows drew down and her eyes narrowed in gut wrenching betrayal. "You're… You're afraid of me, aren't you?!" She accused, her voice shaking. "You think what I did was monstrous, DON'T YOU?!" Her voice rose sharply as the lump of panic swelled. She swallowed but it wouldn't budge.
The doctor didn't respond.
Azula winced suddenly, feeling a deep pressure in her chest as if her heart had been squeezed. She clenched her teeth against the pain. "You think I wanted to do this?!" Her voice cracked. "You think I wanted to be forcedto rip criminals' stomachs open and feel their blood and guts on my face?! It was disgusting! I didn't want to do it, I HAD TO!"
The doctor's face still didn't change. She still didn't say anything. In fact, she appeared more afraid! The doctor even took a subtle step backward, her eyes never leaving hers, as if she were staring at a violent animal.
The look on the woman's face said it all. It slammed into her like a fist and felt the wind knocked out of her. All at once, she saw it: the doctor refusing her and giving her up to the police; the police capturing her, identifying her, holding in her captivity while she would be chi-blocked four times a day, with her hands and feet covered in metal-lined gloves and a muzzle secured against her face, maybe even her hands and feet getting chopped off for safe measure.
She saw herself being delivered to Zuko, in a cage, and the Avatar reaching inside her with his hands and tearing her bending away.
She saw herself being thrown into prison without a means of committing suicide, not being allowed to commit suicide as they would force feed her like at the asylum and keep her limbs restrained so she couldn't harm herself, and then maybe she would be abused, or abducted, or raped like Meilin had.
Zuko wouldn't care. No one would. She'd be useless and pitiful except for what those fiends who had enslaved Meilin could do to her if they got their hands on her. Her, a princess of the Fire Nation whose dignity did not matter to her family or people.
That would be how Princess Azula ended; her blue fire and lighting being ripped away, her accomplishments meaning nothing, her body and soul defiled. Zuko would achieve the ultimate victory: her demise… And her slander.
Her jaw clenched. She blinked rapidly. Everything was coming undone. "You're… You're going to turn me away, aren't you?" Her voice was low and quivering as tears of rage and betrayal brimmed in her eyes.
Then, she grimaced. The dam had burst.
"You're going to give me up to the authorities!" She wailed as the tears fell.
The doctor said nothing. Her eyes remained wide and her mouth agape in shock and fear.
Azula's breath came in panicked, heaving gasps. "I didn't ask for this!" She yelled at the woman as tears coursed down her own cheeks. "I didn't ask to be driven from my home and have my life turned upside down! I didn't ask to be assaulted by criminals!"
Her chest shuddered from the force of her sobs. For a moment, she regained control. "I didn't know what to expect when I came here," she tried to speak in a softer, slower tone. "I just wanted to be left alone, but then I started to make friends and people started to like me, I mean, really like me."
The doctor's face still didn't change.
The tempest soon returned. They eye of the storm had passed. She snarled. "And those fiends wanted to take it from me!" Her voice rose sharply. "I risked my life to save all of you! I did what I was supposed—!" Her voice caught in her throat. Her jaw quivered and two big tears spilled down her cheeks as her chest heaved deeper. She searched the doctor's face for any sign of change…
And saw none.
Her heart cleaved in two. "And you think I should be PUNISHED!" She howled, her face twisting in ugly despair. She bowed her head and shut her eyes as more tears fell. Doctor Izumi was supposed to have appreciated and understood what mere 'Yuki' had done. Still the woman said nothing.
Darkness filled her mind.
She had been wrong.
She had failed.
"Oh, god…" She whispered aloud, to herself. "This was a mistake..." Her gut wrenched solid with dread. She took deep, heaving breaths but her sobs only strengthened. With every shuddering gasp, horrendous pain radiated through her stomach and sitting on the table, and in such close proximity to the deceitful doctor, only made it worse.
She could be close to the woman no more.
She lid off the table, wincing as her wounded right leg took the weight, and turned away from the vile doctor.
Izumi took a step back, allowing her armored patient room.
Azula limped toward the far wall, away from the doctor, in search of somewhere else to stand.
"They'll find me…" She continued to whisper through her strangled gasps. She arrived at the medicine counter that lay against the far wall. There was a window next to it, and underneath that, a chair. She leaned into the counter to support herself.
"But I can't…!" She gasped, her chest feeling squeezed. "Keep… Running…!" She started to pant. "I'm… Injured… I… Can't… Fight…!"
She screwed her eyelids shut. It hurt to breath. She gripped the edge of the counter and clenched her teeth hard. She returned to the silence of her mind.
But I can't end my life now! Lu Ten said I can't! I'm stuck! Stuck!
Her head started to feel woozy. She felt as if she would fall. She slid sideways across the counter, turned toward the chair and crumpled into it, ignoring the pain that screamed through her body.
I shouldn't have trusted these people! She sobbed harder into herself. This was a mistake…
She couldn't run.
She couldn't fight.
She couldn't even end her life. There was no escape.
I'm not going to prison! I'm not going to be abused and tortured! So do I… Do I just kill these people? Kill Doctor Izumi…?
A chilling option loomed.
Do I burn this place down, escape into the streets and just start killing everyone and destroying everything until the town guards arrive and are forced to stop me? I'll fight back… I won't stop until I'm dead. It'll be them who kills me and myself. What's it called, suicide by police guard? Oh god…
She felt sick to her stomach.
But then I would be a murder! Lu Ten would have a reason to hate me!
And then it started, something she knew all too well: the high-pitched, borderline-suffocating hyperventilating. She gasped repeatedly as every breath turned into a struggle as if she were breathing through a straw.
Oh god, why couldn't this have worked?! She wailed in her mind. I did what I was supposed to! Why else would he have sent me here?! What am I supposed to do?!
Her body trembled with the force of her sobs, shivered from the unending pain of her wounds and quivered from her exhausted muscles. She wouldn't be brought back to that place. She wouldn't wallow in her shame and humiliation again…
Suddenly, she became acutely aware of her right hand and her ability to conjure a razor sharp blade.
I'm sorry, Lu Ten, she mouthed the words silently. I tried, I did! She whimpered aloud, loud enough to be heard. I just don't belong anymore…
Doctor Izumi remained standing by the operating table, watching this teenage girl fell to pieces before her eyes. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open while her face was frozen in speechless shock and terror. A few seconds more of listening to the girl's strangled, high-pitched gasps, and watching her thin, wounded body shudder, the experienced doctor, and mother of two, came alive.
"Yuki," Izumi said breathlessly, hurrying over to her patient and kneeling in front of her. "Yuki, listen to me. Breath," she urged. "Close your mouth. Try to breath through your nose." She grabbed the teenager's hands and folded them on top of one another on her armored skirt. She held them there with her own.
"Go away!" Azula sneered and tried to yank her hands free from the woman's. "I hate you!"
The woman didn't let go. "No, I'm not going away," she spoke firmly. "I'm not leaving you. Breath, Yuki. Breath…"
Azula hadn't the strength to fight. She allowed the woman to hold her hands as her eyes stayed closed and her teeth gnashed as she struggled to breath. "Go… Away!" She tried to command her, through her gasps. "I know… What you… Think…!"
"No, Yuki, you don't," Izumi spoke softly. "Listen to me, I'm not going to give you up. I'm not going to give you up!" She repeated earnestly. "I'm going to help you. Try to take deep breaths for me, please. Close your mouth. Breath in through your nose, out through her mouth."
Her chest continued to heave and she felt starved of air. What? She's… Helping…? Her mind swam with confusion. "… But that's not what you said!" She uttered sharply.
"No, no," the woman cooed. "I didn't say that. I didn't anything. I would never do that to you. I'm hiding you from that daimyo, remember? We all are. Breath, Yuki. Breath. I'm here for you..."
"I… She gasped. "I don't… Under… Stand."
"Yuki…" The doctor said her name in that familiar, gentle tone. "Yuki, look at me." She reached out and cupped the teenage girl's left cheek in her right hand.
Azula flinched and a shiver ran through her body. What? Why is she…?
The doctor's hand was warm and soft against her tear-soaked cheek. Her watering eyes fluttered open, and in her blurry peripheral vision, she spotted the doctor's crouching form.
"Yuki, look at me," the doctor pleaded, her voice as soft and warm as her touch.
Azula blinked repeatedly. While her wounds ached and her gut churned with fear, her mind dwelled on the woman's touch. Slowly, she raised her chin and met the doctor's brown eyes.
A peaceful smile spread across the woman's her face as warm and palpable as her hands. "There you are," the doctor teased.
Azula's breathing slowed but her chest still heaved.
Doctor Izumi caught and held her patient's gaze. "Listen to me, Yuki," the doctor began, her eyes never leaving her patient's. "You did the right thing. You did the right thing!" She said emphatically and smiled even more. "Before you came here, those yakuza were a menace. They were hurting people and no one could stop them, but you stopped them. You made this city a better place. You made the Fire Nation a better place!I am proud of you, Yuki. You did the right thing. I'm so proud of you..."
"But…" Azula gasped, bewildered and struggling for air. "But you said…"
Izumi kept her hand against her patient's cheek. "… But I was scared. I know you had to do it, and I was scared at first, but now I'm proud of you. I won't let you be punished." She shook her head resolutely. "I'll protect you. I promise."
Azula stared into the woman's unwavering eyes, feeling the touch of her hands and sensing the nearness of her body.
Her mouth closed.
She breathed through her nose. While her chest started to relax, her lower lip still trembled. She screwed her eyelids tight and grimaced as more tears flowed. "There's nothing you can do," she croaked.
"Yes, there is," Izumi assured.
"No, there isn't." Azula sobbed again and moaned from the pain of her burns. "I'm supposed to be a better fighter than this," she whimpered." I wasn't supposed to get this injured."
"You won't have to fight anymore."
Azula's body began to shudder again.
"Yuki, listen to me," the doctor spoke urgently, her gentle tone becoming firm. "Everything that happened yesterday? It's over now. It's in the past. You're safe here. You're safe with me.Keep breathing. Listen to my voice, Yuki. You're safe…"
Azula shook her head. "It's not over," she moaned. "I'm not safe."
"Yuki, look at me."
She didn't.
"Yuki," the doctor said firmly, and at that, she clasped her other hand against the teenager's left cheek. "Look. At. Me."
Azula shuddered as another warm, soft hand grasped her cheek, and held her.
A strange feeling exuded through her.
Her eyelids blinked open and she raised her chin once more to stare into the doctor's eyes, her cheeks turning warm with shame. Her weakness was on full display for the woman to see...
But she didn't close her eyes.
Doctor Izumi held her patient's face and stared straight into her amber eyes. Once she was sure she had her patient's attention, her face hardened into a determined scowl. "You are safe with me."
The doctor continued to hold her patient's face between her hands, her gaze never leaving. Azula blinked and the tears began to die. Her mouth stayed close and every breath was through her nose. She didn't speak. She just stared into the doctor's eyes.
Izumi's scowl softened but her voice remained resolute and firm. "Now, listen to me, Yuki. You're hurt badly and I need to take care of you, as I always have and always will. I need you to stay here while I fetch Aimi, okay? I need her to help me take care of you."
Azula's brow wrinkled in worry. "But… But why not just you?"
"Because I need her to help me take those arrows out, and because you can trust her," she stressed. "I trust her. You have to trust me, Yuki, okay? Like I've trusted you?"
Azula sniffled. "Yes," she answered weakly.
Izumi nodded. "Good." She took her hands off her patient's face. "I'm going to get Aimi now, okay?"
The doctor stayed put. She didn't leave. She was really asking.
Azula's gaze slid toward the floor, her strength and energy drained. "Yes," she whispered.
"Stay here." The doctor rose, turned and headed for the door. "I'll be back..."
"Doctor," Azula croaked.
Izumi spun around and stared at her patient with concern.
Azula lifted her gaze to the doctor's, slowly, as if a heavy chain hung around her neck. "I need water," she asked hoarsely.
Izumi nodded. "I'll get you plenty. Don't worry."
Izumi spun back around and made for the door. She grabbed the knob, turned it quietly and cracked it open just enough to slip her body through. She shut it behind her without making a sound.
Izumi took a deep breath and released it in a long, drawn out sigh. She pressed her back against the door and gripped the wood tightly, her knuckles turning white. She stared at the floor, her face glazed in uncertainty… And fear.
Aimi appeared in the hallway, having heard the operating room's door open and close. The attendant girl frowned. "Mom? What's wrong?" She asked quietly, approaching her mother and trying to get a better view of her face. "I heard yelling. You look like you've seen a ghost."
Sweat beaded on the doctor's forehead. Suddenly, she became aware of the presence beside her. She turned harshly and grabbed hold of her daughter's shoulders.
"Aimi, listen to me!" She said quietly, urgently, her eyes aimed at her daughter's.
"Y-yes?" Her daughter stammered.
"Shush-shush-shush! Keep your voice down! Listen to me very, very carefully," she lowered her voice to a whisper.
Aimi gulped and nodded.
"Yuki is—you know Yuki, right? The firebending girl? She's around your age? She's been living with the Chen's these past few weeks? Your father and brother brought her here? Remember?"
"Sure, yeah," Aimi said plainly but with a quiver of unease. "She's with you now. What's wrong?"
"Well, she's injured, badly, and you need to help me take care of her…" The doctor leaned in closer and gripped her daughter's shoulders tighter.
"And you can't tell a soul."