A/N: I ended up splitting what was going to be one chapter into two, which can be blamed for the wait, apologies. The silver lining is I have the next chapter over halfway written. I know some people have expressed their love for Lu Da, but I also know there are others here mainly for Katara/Ozai, but there was too much going on and I didn't want to do an injustice to either part by cutting corners. In the wise words of Ron Swanson: "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing."

I hadn't planned on having an OC-centric chapter, but since Lu Da is taking the spotlight and I've had a few DMs asking if there's art of him, I thought I would mention that an artist on Tumblr, monochrome-swirl, gifted me with a beautiful piece of him! FFnet is a big ol' butt about allowing links in a story, but if you're willing to work for it, you can find me on Tumblr at moonsugar-and-spice and scroll down past a few posts to see it.

And for anyone who may be curious/interested to know a little more about my roguish pirate captain, you can find a link on said art to a separate character take post I did on him and his backstory (you'll just have to scroll past Ursa, unless you're interested in my take on her too). Of course, feel free to ignore all of this entirely if you're indifferent about my OC. :)

A big thank you to everyone who has made it this far and stuck with this story and my slow updates. I heart you all!


Lu Da surged awake like a cat in ice water. Every nerve spurred him to claw his way to standing and he bolted halfway upright before a burning shred of pain in his side thwarted him, the breath driven from his lungs, sucked in again through his teeth. He sat back and panted, looked around, his neck stiff and sore, and for several seconds he couldn't remember where he was.

Shapes in monochrome. The darker pane of a portrait on the wall. A small table, the contours of a music box. A tunic and cloak hanging above the scars of a modest, cold hearth.

A woman's robe tossed over the back of a chair.

He let out a long breath as his mind regained order, melting back against the low fretwork of the couch, the edge pressing into the small of his spine. Everything ached, his muscles stiff, unaccustomed to sleeping on small, wooden couches, and Lu Da was beginning to feel the wear of his years. A lifetime of unremitting motion, of hit jobs and plundering and warfare.

Hazy blades of moonlight slanted through the window, shadows shifting like phantoms across the walls. The storm had moved on in the night and left a tattered, wispy veil of fog in its wake. Lu Da didn't know what time it was precisely, but judging from where the waning full moon hung now in the sky, he knew it couldn't be more than a couple hours from dawn.

And there was still the matter of a body to dispose of.

Carefully this time, he pushed himself to his feet, wincing at the pull of his stitches as he straightened fully, and padded through pools of ashen light.

He had awoken with a rope in his chest, a faint, dull dread winding tighter, but he reminded himself that Bao was not slated to return for another two days' time. That there was still a chance to fix this and deal an underhanded blow to the Brotherhood's rudder before then. That, at least, Rinna was safe with him now. And that, eventually, he would see the rest of these people liberated.

In the darkness, he moved just slow enough to keep silent, fast enough to keep his nerves settled, nothing to be heard aside from his own quiet breath.

Nothing except for the almighty screeching of the floorboard he just stepped on.

He closed his eyes and swore. Gathering his effects, he shrugged on the tunic, the residual dampness from the wash making him shiver, secured his blade, then reached for his cloak when a soft voice rippled the still air behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Lu Da huffed, shoulders dropping as he turned around.

Rinna stood in the mouth of the hallway, her hair mussed in beautiful chaos, wrinkles pressed into her nightgown. He drank her in like a strong baijiu, his head and heart tipsy at the sight of her.

"I was trying not to wake you."

Rubbing her neck, she gave a coy shrug of one shoulder. "I'm a light sleeper."

"Pretty sure I just managed to wake the nearby dead. But, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Her eyes glowed with a quiet smile, an infectious thing that lit up his heart, and glanced down once. Shifting, she opened her mouth, poised to speak, a line working into her brow.

"You're going? Can't you stay? It's nowhere near sunrise yet. Let me at least make you a cup of tea."

Lu Da stepped up to her, brushed the hair off her shoulder, the rich brown silky between his fingers. A frame for that soulful-eyed smile that held so much fight and mettle despite the years of weathering.

"That sounds a lot nicer than my current plans. I wish I could, but I'll have to take a rain check. Jufeng's body's still lying in the bamboo by the old pagoda, gotta take advantage of the last hour or two of darkness and get rid of it while I can."

"How are you planning to do that?"

Drawing in a deep breath, he replied, "Still working on that part. I was thinking of dragging him to the quarry a quarter mile out of town. That might be the least conspicuous place."

Her lips pulled to the side and she shook her head. "Bao's henchmen pass by there frequently. The quarry is deep but very clear. Unless you can be sure he will remain at the bottom and not float back up, there's still a chance he might be found."

Cocking his head, Lu Da smirked and folded his arms across chest. "Well, fair maiden. Tell me, what do you suggest?"

Her gaze drifted in thought, coming to rest on the long stretch of wood panels behind the sofa.

"Somewhere they'd never think to look," she said, an idea burgeoning in her eyes. "It's still summertime. A body left to rot somewhere hot and dry can mummify in around two weeks, three at most, and desiccated remains typically emit little or no smell. If we take out some of the panels low on the wall, we could patch up any holes where moisture might leak through, seal him inside, then easily nail them back into place. And the couch would hide any evidence."

A little taken aback, Lu Da quirked a brow in amusement. "And just how do you know all this?"

"My father enjoyed the sciences and had a small but diverse library. I devoured his books like they were my life water."

The moments ticked by as he stared at her, enthralled, thoroughly impressed… and completely, hopelessly smitten.

"You know, I really didn't think I could fall for you any harder, but you just proved me wrong."

Rinna laughed, a rosy tint rising to her cheeks. But almost as quickly, her expression fell again. She hugged her arms around her middle.

"I feel sick, thinking how many times I've imagined doing just that, and so much worse, to the men and women who use us, treat us like goods to be sold and traded. The horrors I indulge in dreams, what I fancy myself capable of if given the opportunity. But even more than that, I hate that I'm too weak to really do it. I might take out one, two if I was lucky, but they would easily squash me like a worm underfoot, and what good would I be then? My people need me. So instead, I just lie down like the rest of them, let these monsters—"

She trailed off with a sharp exhale, and her words sunk like a stone in his chest. Lu Da drew her close.

"Hey," he said softly, lifting her chin. "That is notweakness. We have all done things in order to survive, for better or worse. There are some sins at my back so monstrous it would kill me to turn around."

Something sad touched her eyes as she searched his face, as if trying to reconcile that version of Lu Da with the man holding her now. With a featherlight touch, she cupped his scarred cheek, her thumb sweeping over the silvered furrows.

"You say you've done a lot of bad things… I don't know who you were in your past, how you ever came to partner with Bao Zirrik, but I do know that whatever it was is not who you are now. You can convince everyone else you're a heartless murderer. But I know you're not."

He looked at the floor and laughed once, but the breath was shallow. "No. I'm afraid I'm just the regular kind of murderer."

Rinna snorted, considered a moment, then tapped a finger to her lips. "Not sure it's really fair to call it murder in this case. More like… a service, really. An exterminator, just ridding the earth of a skeevy rodent."

The laugh that escaped him then was genuine, hearty. All the tension she carried melted away as she relaxed against him, welcoming and perfect in his arms.

And in her kiss, her embrace, he knew he had found it. The real thing.

Reluctantly, he drew back at length to meet her gaze, brown darkened to the luster of anthracite in the shadows. Her lips were still plump from the kiss, one side of her hair tousled where his fingers had run through it. He could still taste the honeyed sweetness of her mouth, his senses filled with the soft essence of vanilla and chamomile. Lu Da took a breath to center himself again, reining the conversation back.

"Your plan is a clever one, I admit, but too risky. If it's not dry enough, the smell would become a dead giveaway—" The unintended joke cut him off, rousing a single, shared chuckle. "Not to mention make your apartment unlivable. And even if the mummification was a success, the way these dogs run the place, if anyone barged in and happened to move the couch, they could spot the tampering on the wall. There's no way they wouldn't investigate and I won't bring you any further into this mess than I have to. There are heavy rocks at the quarry, I'll take some rope and tie enough to his body to make sure he won't resurface."

"Well, then I'm coming with you."

"No, Rinna—"

"You can't do this alone, not in that condition," she argued, waving a hand at the side she has stitched up.

Fumbling, he insisted, "You need to stay here. It's enough to rouse suspicion creeping about by myself at this hour, let alone with you by my side."

"The only ones awake now should be the few on guard duty, but either way no one is stupid enough to question it. I belong to you, by Bao's order, and I know how to play the part if I need to. But if you try to haul Jufeng's body anywhere on your own, you'll end up popping your stitches and bleeding out all over again, and then what? You need my help."

Lu Da sighed and looked away, running a ringed hand through the thick stripe of black on his head. She was right, of course, and her eyes held a gleam of triumph. It was a risk, this whole undertaking was, one he was beginning to realize put Rinna in danger's path as well. But this snag in his plan had to be dealt with, and soon, and her unwavering mettle tugged his lips into a crooked smirk. Another pair of hands would speed it along. And keep him from doing something stupid, like tearing his wound open.

With a shake of his head, he conceded. "Go get dressed."

:.: :.: :.:

By the time the moon-frosted bamboo came into sight, a faint grey line was leaking across the foot of the eastern sky. They did their best to avoid muddy areas where they might leave tracks, and Lu Da noticed most of the evidence of the scuffle had been leveled out by the rain. Though if someone knew where to look, they might spot the nearly indiscernible trail where something large and wide had been dragged into the tangled cover of bamboo.

Lu Da pointed and led her toward the spot, peeling apart the weaves of stalks. He squinted into the darkness, leaning in further, searching for the darker shape amid the shadows.

In one spot, the bamboo was matted down, a large divot in the center where a heavy mass had been laid to rest.

But the thicket was empty. Jufeng was gone.

His heart dropped, the way it does when you miss a step, the sudden lurch of falling off-balance.

Oh, shit…

Rinna tensed beside him, the hiss of her words more breath than sound. "You said he was dead."

"He was! At least, I thought, but, I was spilling blood while trying to free those girls before the caravan arrived and getting rid of Beng, and I don't know, maybe—" He pressed a palm to his forehead and swore fluently.

Had someone else found the body? Had Jufeng survived and made his way back into town? The questions thudded with the drum of his heart, but he turned to her, took her by the shoulders to draw her frantic gaze.

"Listen to me. You go home right now, and stay there."

"No, I don't want to leave you! If Jufeng's out there, he's going to lie low until he can kill you for certain, or come after me, or even worse, send Bao—"

"Listen. There is not a single thing I wouldn't do to keep you safe, do you hear me? Nothing. But you can't be with me right now. Not until I figure out what's going on. I promise I'll come back by tonight." He exhaled, his shoulders dropping a measure. "But, if I don't…"

Rinna swallowed hard, shook her head. "Don't say that."

"If I don't—"

"Then you won't be able to stop me from sneaking back out to find you," she cut in with a lift of her chin.

Her defiant spirit raised a small smile to his lips in spite of everything.

"Fair enough. Just make sure you're armed," he returned impishly, though not at all joking. "All the more incentive to ensure I'm back by then."

Lu Da kissed her one last time and then stepped away, his insides working into slow, cold knots. As Rinna half turned to depart, she looked very small suddenly, and he forced a confidence into his tone that he wished felt.

"Go now, and don't worry. I'll be seeing you soon."

:.: :.: :.:

What the fuck, what the fuck, what fuck…

Panic was beating a drum inside his chest. The reddish glow of the sun cracked and spilled across rooftops as it broke against the horizon. The village was waking up, people trickling into the streets to begin the day's drudgery, and Lu Da cut across in long-legged strides, as quick as subtlety would allow. He had to figure this out, but first, he needed to stop home and see to Lady Luck. Poor girl was probably starving and feeling abandoned, and he hoped she hadn't made a mess of the place overnight.

A voice boomed around a corner, ricocheting off buildings.

"Where is Jufeng, dammit?"

Lu Da's racing heart tumbled into his feet, grinding him to a halt. No…

It couldn't be.

"Why is no one ever around when you need them?"

His mouth went dry. Like a waking nightmare, Bao prowled around the corner, his hefty arms and shoulders laden with luggage.

Spotting Lu Da, he expelled a breath with all the gusto of a pressure-relief valve and gave a jut of his fleshy chin.

"Even better. Just the man I wanted to see."

He felt rooted in place as Bao approached. One of the satchels slid down his shoulder, the skin of his neck wibbling as he lurched to catch it.

"Well, don't just stand there like a bull's tit, give me a hand."

Lu Da jolted forward to meet him. "You're back early," he said, saddling himself with a portion of the luggage.

"Yeah, nice to see you too."

Shrugging the straps further up his shoulders, he swallowed past the desert in his throat. "Does this mean the trip went well, or—?"

"Exceedingly well. Help me with this shit, would you, and I'll fill you in on the way."

He followed Bao home, dropping the heavy bags to the floor inside. The place was dismal as ever, thick velvet curtains blocking out much of the natural light before Bao threw them open. Flickers of dust motes eddied through a sunbeam.

The man rolled his beefy shoulders, eliciting a series of pops and cracks. "Have you seen Jufeng?"

"No, not since yesterday." It wasn't a lie.

"Apparently no one has. It's like he just up and vanished."

Going out on a shaky limb, Lu Da said a prayer and ventured, "Yeah, about that. I was looking over the books while you were gone. Something isn't adding up. I've run the numbers several times over, and there's a huge chunk of change that isn't accounted for."

The line between his brows deepened. "Why is it that no one has mentioned this discrepancy to me before?"

"Well, Jufeng was largely involved on the treasury side of things, am I right?"

With a long sigh, he shook his head and flooded the air with ripe invective. Bao walked into the kitchen, popped a cork and poured two stiff drinks, offering one to Lu Da.

He turned it down. "You know it isn't even halfway to noon yet? Whatever harm Jufeng did, I'm sure I can—"

"Nothing we won't soon recover from."

Time seemed to stutter, slow to a crawl. "What do you mean?"

"This is a celebratory drink, my friend. The horizon has never looked brighter for the Brotherhood. Po Jiang sends his regards, by the way."

His head flinched back and he blinked several times. "Po Jiang?"

That was a name he hadn't heard in a couple decades.

"You didn't tell me you were meeting with the leader of the Shepherds."

The Shepherds of the Unseen. A thieves guild that occupied an Earth Kingdom region to the southeast, posing up front as altruists who helped beggars and the homeless while running a prolific network of criminals behind the scenes. "Help" being rather subjective, and just how they cared for their flock hinged on the highest gain.

Lu Da had been twelve. A runaway, a street rat, starving and filthy, when he had picked the pocket of one such altruist. A tall man, twenties, prematurely greying at his temples, who appeared to have enough coin he would not miss a few. Lu Da had been successful, or so he'd thought. Po Jiang had let him have the little victory, had acted none the wiser, and Lu Da had relished in his first real meal that night in weeks.

But the next day, he returned and accused him of thievery. Lu Da denied it, to no avail, but rather than the flogging he had expected, the man had smiled, knife-like and dazzling. He would not alert the authorities, would drop the charges, if he came and worked for him.

It was to Po that Lu Da owed his life as he knew it. He had seen potential where others had only seen trouble, a burden, and set him up on his feet, gave him purpose and drive and a community, and Lu Da quickly excelled under his tutelage, rose through the ranks, made a name for himself. He found he was gifted with a blade and became a local legend as a knife duelist and, later, freelanced as an assassin.

Those years, now, almost felt like a different life. A knife cut down the middle. One bungled hit job dividing him into the before and after, the moment he had fled and jumped aboard that ship.

"Must have slipped my mind," Bao shrugged. Light glanced off the bald patch on his stubbled scalp. "He looks forward to working with you again, the reputation you've built since has not eluded him. We've been in communication, discussing ways we might profit off each other's assets, tit for tat. They're looking for other avenues to increase their lucrativeness and we want to expand our empire. There's a rare, new drug he's managed to procure a sprinkling of. Taint, it's called, does wondrous things to those gifted with bending, he tells me. We would be near unstoppable. So, he and I have agreed on a merger deal that will combine our enterprises."

Lu Da nodded, but inside he was screaming. If this deal was a go, if Bao just expanded and strengthened his territory, everything he had managed so far would be hardly a drop in the bucket. And there was something about this new drug that sent a chill down his spine. He needed to push back, see if he could sway Bao to reconsider.

"What are the conditions? Surely, Po didn't agree without terms of his own."

"There are a few changes he wants to see made, yes, and I agreed." Bao threw back a sip of liquor, smacked his lips. "Nothing unreasonable."

Frowning disapproval, Lu Da pressed, "I didn't know you'd started taking orders from The Shepherds now."

"And I didn't know you'd traded in your balls for a pussy, Dirty Hands," the man bit back.

"You're aware that women squeeze babies out of those things, right? I've never understood why they're considered—"

"As our first transaction, to seal the deal with an act of goodwill, I agreed to sell him our most coveted girl for a fraction of the cost. So, I'm afraid, old friend, that Rinna is going to be leaving us, but rest assured, you have free reign over any of the other vixens to warm your bed."

All morning, he had been holding his breath. Now, he felt it rush from his lungs, the world drop out beneath him.

"You gave her to me."

"Show me the contract. The receipt. You know damn well as I do how these things go, how quickly things can change as it best serves our advantage."

His mouth worked, a cyclone of thoughts spinning. "You can't do this, I—"

"You? You what?"

Lu Da gritted his teeth, his jaw aching with all he couldn't say. There was a deadening quiet for several moments, and the rocks in his stomach churned sluggishly.

Bao turned his head, his gaze catching on some point along the wall and Lu Da followed it. A small wooden sculpture of a fish sat near the top of the bookshelf, captured in a C formation, and pensively, the large man ambled toward it. He picked it up, studied it as he turned it around in his hand.

"Do you know anything about fish behavior, Lu?" he asked at last, looking up at him again.

Lu Da did. He had spent over half of his life on the sea. Knowing their patterns of behavior, the best time of day to cast a net, for instance, as it varied with the seasons or the waters, was often a matter of survival. But he let his silence answer for him.

"A school of fish swims together as one fluid formation, with the movements of each fish an essential part of the whole. Fish that school have a team mentality, there's no independent behavior. Uniformity of movement and position is essential, not only to their survival, but their growth as a unit."

He paused, gestured coolly with the figure in his hand. "Take the herring for example. They aggregate together in huge numbers, the largest schools often formed during migrations and merging with smaller schools. They evade their predators by creating the formation and behavior of a larger creature. The larger the body of fish, the more powerful it becomes."

Bao looked at him long, allowing the meaning of those words to steep in the pause that followed. The carving was replaced and he made his way back to loom over him, gaze skewering. His acrid liquor breath turned Lu Da's stomach.

"This merger deal will grow our power and reach far beyond what we stake now. But it relies on the school moving as a fluid entity. There is no 'I' in team, as they say, and I need my Right Hand above all to be capable of demonstrating that."

Lu Da nodded, folded his arms casually, scrambling to find a chink in which to drive a wedge of doubt. "So. If I follow correctly, what you're saying is that your Right Hand is just a cute little honorific? Held in no higher regard than the rest? Well, that is a bit disenchanting, Bao, I gotta admit." He pressed his lips together, sighing through his nose. "Makes a guy wonder why Jufeng didn't clean you out and make a break earlier."

A shadow flashed across the man's face and Lu Da's fingernails bit into the bed of his palms.

Too far.

Bao eyed him, suddenly watchful. Sharp, searching.

"You know what I find interesting, Lu? How you show back up one day and the unruliest little hellcat I have, all claws and teeth, softens around you like a bee to pollen. Comfortable, no hackles raised. Curious, too, is how she was your pick off the bat, how you persuaded me against selling her once before. Awfully possessive."

"I'm just a selfish bastard who knows what he likes and has a way with women," he shrugged, balancing what he prayed was indifference on his tone. "And as your Right Hand, you said I could have my pick of the litter. She's my pick, and sorry if I feel a bit cheated that you're reneging on it."

The paunchy man cocked his head to the side, staring hard for what felt like an eternity before he reached into his pocket, fished about under Lu Da's stare. Finally, he retrieved a tarnished coin from his pocket.

"Here."

"What's this for?" demanded Lu Da, eyeing the coin.

"I want you to take it to market. Buy me a fuck to give." Bao snapped the word like a dove's neck, a vein in his forehead bulging. "And then, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to sell that snapdragon first thing tomorrow, like I ought to have in the first place."

Dread splintered his chest like shattered ice. Lu Da opened his mouth to speak but Bao beat him to it.

"I knew it. You're a sap for this little minx, I can see that much, and all the more reason to remove her from your possession. Spirits, what a shame. A fucking disgrace, legend like you losing himself and going soft in his prime. You're lucky you have friends in high places, as I'm still counting on you winning Ozai's endorsement, whenever that might be." He leaned closer, another humid whiff of that sour breath in his face. "But this is the way we do things going forward. You best keep your twat together and get used to it. And if you have a problem with that, perhaps you would better serve the Brotherhood as an example."

The insinuation filled the air between them, thick as smoke. An example of what, Lu Da didn't have to ask. He was losing control of the situation, fast, feeling it slip through his fingers.

Putting a hand to his chest, Lu Da donned an expression of mock affront, shrugging on an easy air.

"You wound me, old friend. All those years spent working together, I'd have hoped you knew me better than to believe that."

Those keen eyes narrowed further, as though Bao's bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone.

"Do I, Lu?"

"Come on, you caught me off-guard is all. If you'd rather sell Rinna than keep her around, that's your prerogative, I really don't give a damn—"

A laugh cut him off, something between a breath and a snarl. "You give so many damns, they're visible from space."

"Alright, look, I admit I was being a little selfish. But, can you really blame me?" Bao snorted, but there was a faint, cautious easing in his stance. He wanted to believe him. The relief was a buoy and Lu Da held fast, his head bobbing just above water again. "It took me a minute to digest, but you're right, as usual. Playing favorites might have clouded my head a bit."

For several moments, Bao was gravely silent, as though weighing those words against his dithering judgment. But, though his face was a canvas of hard lines, he finally gave a nod.

"Well, that's a relief to hear. It's good to know you haven't lost all of your edge yet, and nothing that can't be sharpened with good use, if I know you. But for now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get this mess sorted out and determine just how much damage Jufeng did."

The redirection was a welcome reprieve, and if he could just keep the focus off himself as much as possible…

"Anything I can do to help?"

Bao heaved a sigh as he slumped down heavily at the table, kneaded his forehead. "Well, since you asked, if you think you could turn over a stone on Jufeng's treachery, where he might've fled to, be my guest."

"I'll nose around, see what I can sniff out. Just holler if you need me."

:.: :.: :.:

What a disaster. Rinna was right. What had he been thinking? How had he ever thought he could do this alone? He should have just waited for Ozai's return or at least… Lu Da scrubbed a hand over his face, rubbed at his eyes until he saw stars. The what-ifs and should-haves would eat his brain. Right now, he had to find a way to keep Bao from selling Rinna tomorrow. Or, better yet, get her out of here.

But just as pressing, he needed to figure out what the hell had become of Jufeng. If he had survived and it was discovered what happened, Lu Da was good as dead. But then, why hadn't anyone seen him? Was he lurking, like Rinna suggested, in order to spring on him and exact his own vengeance first? He'd have to watch his back doubly now. If anything happened to him, he didn't want to think about what would become of her, or the rest of these innocents.

With Bao back ahead of schedule and his trust verging on thin ice, he'd have eyes in every corner. There was no way he could get a look at any sensitive, pertinent information unless he could somehow manage to incapacitate the swarms of Bao's entire posse. Unlikely.

He plodded past the bathhouse, the scent of the afternoon meal making his empty stomach ache. He would tend to Lady Luck first, see that she was fed and let outside to her business while he wracked his brain for a plan. Lunch wouldn't be served for another hour yet anyway.

His steps slowed to a stop, and Lu Da straightened. A seed of an idea was planting itself, sprouting, growing roots as he glanced back at the bathhouse.

It was a crazy idea, dicey to say the least…

But hard-hitting and efficient if he pulled it off correctly.

He would just require a little help.

Back at the house, he was met with an attack of slobber and paws, an end table nearly topped by the powerful wagging of her tail. Once he made sure the old girl was taken care of, he found a scrap of paper and scrawled a letter, folding it into his pocket, then headed back out the door.

Up ahead, men and women toiled in a plot of cultivated land, bent over harvesting and tilling, while a wall of a woman in a wide-brimmed hat kept watch.

A group of women were approaching, faces scarred with sweat-streaked dust and carrying baskets of freshly harvested crops on their hips. Sandwiched in the middle was one he recognized as being in Rinna's circle, one of her closer friends. A rail of thing, petite, but not fragile. Strands of dark hair fell loose and clung to her face, and her steel-grey eyes had a way of peering through like those of a cornered animal. Intense but skittering at the same time.

Her name hovered just on the tip of his tongue. What was it again? Something Ji… Ahn Ji. Rin Ji. No, that wasn't quite right. Dammit, why was he so bad with names? He supposed Shortcake wouldn't get him the reaction he was going for.

The group passed him with carefully averted eyes, his gaze following the woman over his shoulder. The idea in his mind blossomed. He didn't want to make a scene, didn't want to call attention, but Lu Da knew he was watching perhaps his most viable opportunity walk away from him.

So, against his better judgment, he took a chance.

"Ahn Ji?" he called after her.

At the name, the woman stopped and turned, frowning, then visibly stiffened at his presence. "It's Eun Ji. And what do you want?"

Well, he was close.

"Just a word, if you please. In private."

She tensed further, glancing around, as if looking to the others for help. She was met only with the quiet, downcast faces of self-preservation.

"If it's talking you want to do, you can do it right here," she argued, standing straighter, the hardness a thin mask over the fear beneath. Lu Da could hear the shiver of it in her voice. "Otherwise… just say what you mean."

He pressed his lips flat and glanced away with an exhale, just in time to make eye contact with a pair of Bao's goons passing by.

Lu Da clenched his jaw with a silent curse.

Broadening his muscular frame, he took her arm and stepped in, too close. The others scurried back like mice, and he choked on his self-loathing at the way Eun Ji recoiled from him. To onlookers, he was just another man using his strength to assert control over the oppressed, powerful, domineering. But he kept his voice low and spoke through his teeth.

"Look. I want to talk, that's all. Just not here."

Her brows drew together, grey eyes flitting away and down, but finally, she consented with a slight nod.

The others started down the road, turning concerned glances back at their friend, as he led Eun Ji away by the elbow, ascending the stairs of his house and ushering her inside.

They were scarcely through the door when a rumble of paws sounded on the wood floor. Lady Luck thundered around a corner, springing up to greet him again with a lick. The woman startled and backed up, nearly topping a side table, which might as well have been an invitation, because the one-eyed mutt bounded over and began to sniff up her legs and waist, nipping at her hand.

Eun Ji gasped and yanked it away, the dog readying to bowl the small woman completely over, when Lu Da raised his voice. It boomed in the room and Lady whined, retreating apologetically to hang her head at his feet. Kneeling down, he took her jowls in his hands and let her give his chin a lick, reassuring her with an affectionate word and a scratch, and ordered her to lie down in the corner.

Crossing the room, he finally reached the door and closed it behind him. In the kerfuffle's wake, the soft tick echoed as it shut and he could almost see Eun Ji's shoulders jump as she turned to face him.

The curtains were not drawn and the room was a nest of shadows in spite of the daylight leaking through the cracks. She stood there, hardly breathing, like a rabbit fox that had just found itself in a trap. Lu Da cleared his throat into the silence.

"Sorry about that. Lady Luck, she's usually leery of strangers, but she's been kinda lonesome and can get a little… excited when she meets someone she likes."

The floor creaked as Eun Ji shifted on her feet. Her eyes slid to the now docile dog panting softly in the corner, and then back.

"Okay…" His words seemed to pick at the knot in her posture and she loosened slightly. "You said you wanted to… talk?"

"You're one of Rinna's friends."

"I am," she admitted warily.

Reaching into his cloak, he retrieved the folded piece of paper, held it out.

"I need you to give this to her."

Her eyes skated to the proffered letter in his hand, but she did not move to take it. In the corner, Lady Luck licked at a paw. There was a muffled burst of laughter as a trio of men passed by one of the windows, drawing a low, rattling growl from the dog's throat. Hesitantly, Eun Ji reached out and took the letter, studying him with narrowing eyes.

"Why not go and give it to her yourself? That shouldn't be a problem for you, now that she's your—"

"Right, it shouldn't, but I wouldn't be standing here right now if I could." The response came out harsher than he had intended and Lu Da exhaled some of the tension, rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't go back there right now. Doing his best to stymie his stress, he began again. "Look, that's not the only reason I wanted to talk. I need some help."

At that, one sable eyebrow drew up, her lips parting in confusion.

"I need to get into the infirmary. But, it's sort of… Well, let's just say I can't be seen there, not tonight. So what I need is a diversion. Enough commotion to distract all the healers, make them look right while I go left. All it'd take is about ten minutes, tops."

She stared at him, blinking, as though expecting him to deliver some kind of punch line.

"You're serious. A diversion."

"It's gotta be convincing. And I would compensate you, of course."

Her mouth worked and she huffed. "What is this about exactly?"

"I can't tell you that." Glancing around to the windows, Lu Da took a step closer and the stiffness that had begun to ease in her stance came back full force. His voice dropped to barely more than a whisper. "Just, whatever you do, do not eat what they offer at dinner tonight. Trust me on this. Tell everyone you care about, make sure Rinna gets that letter, and keep this quiet, understood?"

That seemed to earn him a small point in her favor at least.

"Umm… Okay. I'll deliver it now. But, about the diversion, what happens when they realize we were faking it?"

"Do you have any pregnant women?"

"Well… yes, but—"

"It's still a full moon, waning, but… It wouldn't be unheard of for a couple of them to start contractions in unison, and you can really play that shit up. Only someone with a death wish is crazy enough to question a woman in the throes of labor pains, and false starts are common before the big show. At worst, they'll be monitored then sent home to rest."

For several moments, Eun Ji stared at him and Lu Da stared back, holding his breath. The air felt like an overdrawn bow string, stretched near to breaking. He was well aware that she didn't trust him. As far as she knew, he was one of Bao's heavies and now claimed ownership of her close friend. This whole thing was a giant gamble, but time was crucial and in the absence of other feasible options, it was a risk worth taking. If nothing else, he hoped her fear and distrust of him would work for him this time, rather than against him.

At last, Eun Ji released a great sigh, shook her head, bemused, but said, "I can probably have a few girls rallied and ready in an hour or so."

"Perfect. I'll be waiting near the infirmary. I expect to hear you coming."

He caught the reluctant humor in the pinch of her lips, the subtle smoothing of her expression. Opening the door for her, he muttered a thank you as she descended the steps too quickly, pausing a safe distance to look back at him once before she started down the road and was gone.

:.: :.: :.:

"There's two of them! Wait – oh spirits, no, there's three!"

The healers' frantic shouts and commands tugged up a corner of his mouth. Lu Da did, indeed, hear the girls coming, as did half the village, he suspected. He was waiting within sight of the infirmary's rear entrance, and on their cue, skulked now toward the back door. From the sounds of it, the troupe of actresses had collapsed some hundred feet or so from the entryway to lure them from the building.

Quietly, he slipped inside, straining to hear past his racing heart for any sign of remaining life, and then crept his way through until he found the room where they kept the herbs and supplies.

The cabinet was locked, of course. He came prepared, fishing two pins from his pocket and sliding them into the keyhole, feeling about. After a few gentle twists, the lock yielded and the door popped open.

He quickly scanned the shelves of vials.

Toxicity wasn't an option. Powerful drugs were scarce, rationed, and any amount they had on hand would be too weak a dose to do considerable damage to hundreds of grown men and women. Not to mention it would be obvious the food had been tampered with. He needed something more subtle, something that could lay them up for a night at least while he scrambled to find a way through this.

Chickweed. Used for rheumatism and respiratory disorders.

Horse Chestnut. Venous insufficiency and circulation.

Bilberry. Hardening of the arteries, poor night vision.

Comfrey Root. Burns, sprains, swelling.

Not what he needed.

Cassia Senna…

He stopped, the breath catching in his chest. This could work. Both the fruit and the leaf were irritants to the bowel's lining. When ingested, it had a powerful laxative effect. The fruit was the gentler between the two.

This tonic was made with the leaf.

When taken in small doses, Senna was known to produce a bowel movement in six to twelve hours. But in cases of overdose, it could easily set off a blowout of cleansing proportions in as little as ten minutes. One of these vials contained roughly a hundred doses.

He bagged all ten.

The commotion carried through from outside, Eun Ji and her girls' performance nothing short of legendary. The shocked and flustered healers were just helping the wailing mothers-to-be into the infirmary when Lu Da closed up the cabinet and slipped out again the way he came.

It was not long before he found himself approaching the wooden columns and yellow glazed roof tiles of the bathhouse. Fragrant steam was rising from the chimney, and against all odds, it seemed that luck might be with him after all. Most of the kitchen staff was killing time outside. Two men and three women, leaning against the modest entrance pavilion and jeering as one of them flaunted his earthbending tricks. A bunch of flaming rat turds if ever he'd met some. Their heads turned to him as he approached and Lu Da arranged his face into a mask of nonchalance.

"Do I need to apply for an idleness permit?" he said by way of greeting, tossing them a simpering nod. "One of you granting those today?"

A grin split the first guy's homely features. "Permit denied. Keep moving, Fancy Face," he said, a jab at the ink that decorated so much of his body, the man reaching out to flick the small titanium cuffs along his ear with a tink. Lu Da slapped his hand away, a flash of fire in the grit of his teeth, but tried to conceal his loathing beneath a thin half-smile.

"Got some work to catch up on tonight and I'm gonna be missing out on dinner. Which, by the smell of it is a real shame." A little well-placed ass kissing never hurt. "Just wanted to fetch a quick bite to go. You mind?"

The asshole waved him inside and Lu Da trotted up the steps, through the door, and around the corner to the kitchens, where dinner was bubbling gently over a cookfire. A huge pot of lotus root and pork stew.

He drew a tight, shallow breath, looked over his shoulder. No one had followed him, and the bathhouse was quiet.

Opening the bag, he retrieved the first bottle and pulled the stopper. If his limited knowledge of the herb served him, Cassia Senna was mildly sweet with bitter undertones but otherwise fairly bland. Even in large quantities, it should go undetected in an earthy stew.

He dumped in the contents of the first bottle, then the second, and the third. The final bottle was glugging its way empty when Lu Da could just pick out the sound of boots ascending the pavilion steps, voices growing louder. His heart stuttered in his chest.

Gritting his teeth, he willed the tonic to flow faster, and the instant the last drop drained, he shoved it into his bag, gave the pot a quick stir, and swiped a moonpeach and an apple from a bowl nearby just as the staff waltzed back through the doorway.

Lu Da took a bite of the apple and uttered thanks as he passed, releasing a shuddering lungful of air as he made his way back outside. He prayed it would be enough to have the intended effect. Dinner would be served in an hour or so. All he could do now was wait.

:.: :.: :.:

Twilight shook a glitter of stars into the sky.

The evening was mild, a soothing breeze perfumed with late summer blooms. With the meal finished and stomachs full, many chose to take their repose outdoors, strolling the streets to enjoy the fresh air.

Lu Da ambled casually about within sight of Bao's office, his heart thudding to the cadence of hidden crickets. A guard had been posted outside the entrance. One could blame Jufeng's unforeseen treachery for the new provision, and likely it was, in part. But he knew that wasn't the only reason. He would be a fool to believe it wasn't just as much Bao's halting trust of him. Another chance like this may not come again. He had to make this night count.

A burst of uproarious laughter drowned out the night insects. Everything was too normal. It had been upwards of an hour, and yet no one appeared even remotely put out. That many bottles should have been enough, but then, his herbal knowledge was admittedly imperfect, rusty at best.

Dread gnawed at the pit in his stomach. He had miscalculated, overestimated the tonic's potency, he feared, when from somewhere nearby came a sound he could only perceive as thunder rolling in with a late summer storm.

It didn't take long to locate the source. A fellow whose name eluded him and his male companion, Suruk, the latter of whom choked and backed away while the first gave a throaty yelp, dashing into the next building.

Lu Da felt something at the center of him uncoil, release. Hope, but not relief, not yet.

Abruptly abandoned, Suruk stared after his partner, confused, swiping at the air in disgust, when a loud gurgling war cry from his belly struck him rigid.

He, too, went running, clawing at his belt on the way. Within minutes, one loud gurgle after another spread from every direction, an infernal chorus of otherworldly sounds that could be heard near and far, growing in pitch and intensity at an alarming rate. An ominous harbinger of the violent turn of events to follow.

There were increasingly desperate swears and brawls over the facilities, while others less fortunate didn't quite make it, victims of the volcanic eruption raging through the ranks. The high-pitched screaming of a woman could be heard crying out to the spirits, another voice sobbing, imploring any deity that would listen to make it stop, a man's violent, guttural groaning. And at least one prayer in a language he was sure hadn't been written or read since the age of Tieguai the Immortal.

The carnage was apocalyptic.

And then it hit him. Oh, gods, the stench. An abysmal reek wafting through the village on a breeze, singeing into his olfactory nerves. A blight on his memory he would never be rid of.

Hiking the neck of his tunic up over his nose, he took little gasps of breath and looked back at the guard.

There was a wild, distant look in his bulging eyes. His face, now a brilliant shade of red, was coated with a sheen of sweat.

Looking around, he grimaced spastically and emitted a low groan, squeezing out a fart that began as a long squeak, ending with such jet-propulsive force it might have been confused with a firebender on the attack and had people ducking for cover. Were those people not currently shitting their innards out.

His post all but forgotten, the guard began to waddle away, like a duck, trying to act as inconspicuous as possible. Red-faced, bulgy-eyed, sweating profusely and shaking. He soon went running, holding his ass, with what sounded like firecrackers exploding in his pants.

And Lu Da leapt into action. He walked briskly toward the building and in through the door, closing it behind him and dragging in a blessed breath of untainted air. Quietly, he stole down the hall. The door to Bao's office was locked, but it only took a little sweet-talking for it to surrender, letting him in.

The place was dim, the trickle of light through the windows weakening as twilight faded to dusk. Visibility wouldn't last much longer.

He started on Bao's desk, picking up the new stack of papers that had been dropped off upon his return, rifling through them as close to the window as he could safely get for any details on this new deal. On Rinna. On their plans. Anything.

Lu Da felt the shift in the air a moment too late. A swift whisper of a footstep, a shadow in his periphery, and before he could swing fully around, pain exploded in his head with obliterating fury, shattering the world to white, then nothingness.