Sometimes, Lu Ten had to wonder what destiny had in mind for his life. Especially right now, as he and Ayeshi followed Ton Yu through the streets to meet two other children named Sticky Fingers and Squealer. Ayeshi carried a basket of dumplings just in case the children were hungry.

The noodle shop was closed today because all of them had needed a day off. It was bright and sunny, and people went about their business with smiles on their faces.

"They'll be so excited!" Ton Yu said. "I've already told them all about you, Lu Ten!"

"You mean Lee, right? As far as you're concerned my name is Lee."

"Right, my friend Lee the fire bender!"

"Ssh! Yell it a little louder, why don't you?"

"Sorry."

"You've gotta be careful, Ton Yu." Said Ayeshi. "You know what happens when people here find . . . fire benders." She finished in a whisper.

"Yeah, if Fat Lee's gang doesn't beat you up, the Dai Li will."

"Fat Lee?" Lu Ten asked.

"He's got a gang that steals people's stuff. They're not nice guys, and he's fat. Hence the name."

"There's a million Lees." Lu Ten muttered.

"Hey, you can be Nerd Lee!" Ton Yu crowed. "That'll help the boys keep you straight from Fat Lee!"

"I'm not a nerd!"

"Says the guy who won't shut up about breathing techniques."

"They're important!"

"Nerd." Ton Yu turned down a side alley that dead-ended. "Nerd Lee, Ayeshi, meet Sticky Fingers and Squealer."

The first thing Lu Ten noticed was the lean-to made from piled up boxes pushed up against the wall. Underneath it crouched two boys about the same size as Ton Yu. "Hello, Sticky Fingers and Squealer. I'm Lee, and I'm Ton Yu's friend. Er, do you two have actual names?"

"Nice to meet you, Lee." Said Sticky Fingers. "My name is Duong, but everyone calls me Sticky Fingers because I'm good at stealing stuff."

"Right."

"And I'm Jun, but people call me Squealer because the first time I got caught stealing I screamed like a little girl. Say, Nerd Lee, is that your girlfriend?"

"Yes, this is my girlfriend Ayeshi."

"Are you boys hungry?" Ayeshi asked. "I brought a few dumplings." She held up the basket. In a flurry of small dirty hands, all the dumplings were gone in a matter of seconds.

"Starving." Sticky Fingers crammed one into his mouth. "We don't always have a lot of food," he continued through his mouthful, "so we steal sometimes. We've gotten good at mugging people."

"I've heard you're gonna help out Flameo, Nerd Lee." said Squealer.

"That's right. I'll train him in fire bending. He has to learn how to properly harness his power."

"Boring. No wonder he calls you Nerd Lee."

"This is important!"

"They're just kids." said Ayeshi. "They don't care if it's important or not."

"Look, I just want to learn how to punch people but Nerd Lee here wants me to learn about breathing and meditation then I guess I have to." Ton Yu craned his neck to look at the people in the street beyond. "Hey, that's some of our friends over there! Catch ya later, Nerd Lee!" he and the other two ran off to play ball with a group of boys in the street.

"We've gotta help those kids." Lu Ten muttered.

"If only someone was a prince with royal connections and might be able to fix things for people." Ayeshi said.

"You know what would happen if I went back to being a prince. The war would start here again and that would be so bad for them."

"I know. I guess I'm just frustrated."

Lu Ten sighed. "Maybe your mom would have an idea of how to help them."

"You're not bringing a ragtag group of boys here, we barely make ends meet ourselves." Miyo shook her head as she wiped down her counters. "I know your little Fire Nation nobility brain is struggling, but we just can't help everyone here. I have to look out for my own family."

"There has to be something we can do." Lu Ten said.

"Like what? I can't employ that many people, especially boys with no real skills. You were lucky to get employed here. They're just lucky I can give them a noodle lunch every now and then."

"Then what, abandon them to a life of crime? They're so young."

"It's nothing new here. Look, soldier boy, your idealism won't get you far here."

"I know you see injustice in the world and want to fix it," Ayeshi said gently, "but you're fighting the system here. Ba Sing Se's bureaucracy is much, much bigger than you or me or any of us."

"I know, I know." Lu Ten fiddled with a pair of chopsticks, aware of both sets of eyes on him. "Turns out everywhere you go there's problems. I just don't like the idea of them alone on the street. I have cousins around that age, I can't imagine them on the street. They're so small and soft. They're so dumb, too." Lu Ten was drifting back into old memories; in his mind's eye he could see Azula pushing Zuko into the pond.

"Maybe Aunt Minna could use some help." Ayeshi's voice broke the vision of the pond and it rippled away.

"Who's Aunt Minna?"

"She's not my blood aunt—she's no one's blood aunt—but she's everyone's aunt around here. She's a widow and she's quite old. She might be able to use a good strong boy or two to help out around the house."

"You can go and see her then," said Miyo, "and you're not bringing anyone else into this house. I am not running a bed-and-breakfast and I am not running an orphan rescue. If you're gonna help people then you're gonna do it some other way. I can't extend so much to street ruffians."

Ayeshi stood up and began putting away clean dishes. "We'll talk to Minna. We'll work something out, Mom."

Lu Ten turned to Miyo. "Those kids aren't bad, you know. You have much more in common with them than you do with any rich person. It's the Dai Li and the elites who make life harder for you."

Miyo mumbled something under her breath, her shoulders slumping as she turned away.

"Don't bring the Dai Li into this," Ayeshi muttered. "Let's just go talk to Aunt Minna and see what we can do."