Kishi: More reviews! Waaai!
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Kara-No
Chapter 5
Be Like Water
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There was no sun in the morning this far north, so one had to know the stars like family to know the time. But the Five Sisters stood in the south, watching Raven flee to the west as far as he could before the sun would be chasing him. 'Dawn' had come.
It had taken three weeks to adapt his inner clock to the schedule of the Temple, but Aang had finally perfected it. He awoke easily and flew out of the sleeping bag, doing push-ups to warm up and wake up. It had been a month since their arrival, but training in the Temple had not left him unaffected. Every move he made now was infused with some sort of natural fluidity, and he could feel his qi reacting more easily with the environment. The water that was out there felt just as 'real' to him as the air had felt for all those years.
The room he had lived in was solitary, and austere. The Temple had been built with stone and wood, very rare commodities this far north. His sleeping area - a sleeping bag insulated with snow - lay near the plain, shuttered windows. A small mat sat along the left wall, and a bucket lay beneath a spigot on the right. The walls were a plain brown, nearly unadorned save for a scroll hung opposite of the mat. Aang didn't need to see it to know what it said - Be like water.
Hopping up from the ground, after having done push-ups, sit-ups, and a stint in Horse Stance, he raced over to the spigot. He gestured, pulling the water through the icy cistern that opened beneath the ice and guided it into the bucket. Then, stripping himself bare, he proceeded to take the entire bucketful and dump it over himself.
"IT'S COLD!" he shouted in shock, laughing all the same. He circled his arms up and around, before steepling them above his head and drawing them down. All the water flowed off of his skin, pooling at his feet where he swept it up and back through the cistern.
He pulled his clothes back on and ran out the door. The halls outside were cold as well, but after the month up north it wasn't anything unbearable. He just ran and pumped his arms faster, forcing blood to the extremities.
The smell of cooking meat drew him to the eating room of the Temple.
"Aang! Oi!" The Avatar looked and found a group of four Benders sitting at one of the long tables. His breakfast - hot porridge and some fruit - lay waiting for him on the tray. As he sat down and began to dig into his breakfast, he couldn't help but be amazed at the work put into farming they did up here in the north. In the city there existed small domes of ice, tended by two Benders always. The domes were filled with soil and plants, and the Benders were always in a state of meditation, keeping the water flowing through these gardens. Of course, the warm water would melt the dome at least - which was why the water constantly circulated between the plants, the dome, and the very ice beneath. And they could grow so many types of crop, from beans to corn to fruit trees, provided they had seed and dirt.
But with the war on the city's doorstep, more and more Benders had to be taken off of their duties as farmers to protect the city. Only novice Benders were left to take over their duties, but the poor novices just couldn't maintain the domes at the same size or with the same focus.
The farms were disappearing, slowly yet surely. Food was dwindling. Aang's breakfast would have had a healthy dose of rice and mixed vegetables, but the times were growing leaner.
The Avatar smiled, looking at the other four Benders. Inari, to his left, had all the cunning and cheek of his namesake; with his roguish smile and charm, most people mistook him for a vagabond rather than a monk. Then there was Nezumi, to his right, a shy and timid girl who only let herself loose when she was Bending a flow of water. Tora and Neko rounded out this group and were oddly named - the former was the smaller, the latter the taller of the brother and sister. Tora usually wore an intense look, as if daring the world to point out his height, while Neko's eyes were often lazily lidded with a sleepy smile upon her face.
This group of Benders was different than any other group in the North - they were the top students of the Temple, the highest ranked and the most skilled in the Art of Water Bending. Aang had long ago outstripped anything the Temple could offer in terms of sheer knowledge. The Abbess had therefore decided that it made more sense for Aang to train with other students, the most advanced there were - fighting every single day in the room for hours at a time, making the water a part of himself.
"So, Aang," Inari said with a slow drawl, "We're going to have ourselves yet another scuffle, looks like."
"Oh, you know it!" grinned Aang.
"And we aren't going to have a repeat of yesterday!" Tora crowed. "You're goin' down!"
"Chill out, man," murmured Neko. "Flow with it. You can't force Water, or else it'll escape you."
"I know that," snapped Tora.
"Uhm… uh…" Nezumi seemed ready to stammer out something, but she'd started blushing horribly.
Aang saved her the trouble, though. "I know. You're not going to make it easy for me, are you?"
Nezumi's features blossomed to a smile, and she nodded gratefully.
A set of familiar features flashed by the corner of his eye. Aang turned and saw Katara talking with other students of the Temple. As if she could feel it, she turned at met his gaze. They smiled at each other. Katara herself had changed as well, as graceful and smooth in her movements as any other. But more than that, she had calmed, reacting more easily and less angrily.
But he hadn't spoken to her as much as he used to. The Abbess had kept them training all day every day, and they didn't room anywhere near each other. It frustrated him to no end, but what else could he do? What else could she do? Duty was the wall between them.
---
The clacking of bone on bone sounded in the cold morning air. One spear would rush forward, point seeking the warm body on the opposite side. The shaft would move, deflecting the rushing point, before bringing its own point down and rushing back in counter.
The point of these exercises was simple: if the body was forced to repeat a reaction to a certain action, then the reaction would become ingrained in the muscles of the body, so that a soldier wouldn't have to think when the time came to act. The speed of thought was simply too slow for a real fight.
Which probably explains why Shin is doing so terribly, thought Sokka as he and his partner reset themselves. After being trounced by him in the mountains, Sokka had thought that the young man was probably some sort of hidden warrior of the mountains, learning all sorts of dangerous ways to kill a man in a single blow, or something like that. In contrast, Shin was one of the slowest, least coordinated, least talented fighters Sokka had ever seen. He never aimed the spear right, never blocked properly, always had a hard time keeping his stance low, always over thought it and overanalyzed.
Sokka bit back a sigh of disappointment. He'd hoped to learn something from the man, but it looked like he'd be having to spend some of his precious break time to try and reteach some of the stuff to him.
But why shouldn't I be disappointed? he wondered. Back in the cave, that night… he sounded like he truly wanted to make a difference. What had he said? "I'm sure that, if I travel with you, I'll be able to make a difference." But how was he planning to make a difference if he couldn't fight?
A portion of his mind outside the sphere of concentration reminded him that Shin could talk his way into anything pretty easily, if he was of a mind to. But it was dismissed fairly easily. All of the nations had tried to talk to the Fire Nation, had tried to soothe the flames of war, but that had done no good whatsoever. Surely Shin wasn't naïve enough to think that would work? Fire Nation armies were a far cry from bathhouse managers, after all.
Maybe he's an inventor, his mind continued. But that couldn't be it either. Sure, he'd had that chimney in the cave, but no tools. It was either natural or he'd Bent it out of there with Earth Bending. It wasn't as if he carried all sorts of sketches or anything either. Sure, he could talk fancy, and he sure seemed like he could get weird ideas, but he didn't act like he was thinking about anything most of the time.
All he ever seemed to do, really, was sit in the background and stare off into space. He'd help when he could, but that never really amounted to much aside from fishing and cooking and cleanup.
The man, in short, was almost completely useless. In fact, Sokka suspected that the only reason Muku permitted Shin to keep training was that he was looking for a body to take a blow for a more talented soldier.
How sad, thought Sokka. All that drive and absolutely no way to go. But one thing's for sure - Shin shouldn't be here.
"That's enough!" Muku bellowed. "Put the spears up! Next we move on to clubs!"
The soldiers all rushed to comply, stacking the spears near the entrance to the barracks and grabbing clubs, running back to reform the training lines. They immediately began to run through striking drills, striking at twelve different points on the body. The key here was usually focus, so as to be able to fine tune their control. It was often comical to watch the people who weren't paying attention, whacking each other without any real concept of their actions.
Head… head… Sokka began to intone them in his mind. Shoulder… shoulder… stomach… chest… chest… Yuki… wha! Yuki had chosen that specific moment to pause and take note of the troops. But even though she wasn't even looking at him, Sokka couldn't help but stare at her. There was just something about the way she moved, something that drew his eyes to her and he couldn't look away--
The club smashed into his knee. "Ah, dammit!" Sokka collapsed to the ground, holding his knee. Had his opponent really needed to hit him that hard?
"That's what you get for letting your mind wander," said Muku, his voice carefully guarded. Sokka, however, could see the man was amused.
---
"Another busy night?"
Zuko stifled a yawn. "Yes, Uncle," he said. He coolly tossed a blue-and-white oni mask onto his bed and began to roll his shoulders.
"Nephew, this is not a healthy pattern of behavior," Airoh admonished. "The men need you to be a leader, and leading from the bed is poor form."
"It's not as if there's any leading to be done, Uncle," the Prince retorted mildly. Heavens, but he was tired. "We're so busy keeping up this whole 'plague' charade that we don't even leave the ship. What is there to do? I have the men training, working the ship, performing maintenance at regular intervals. I even gave in to your suggestion of multiple Music Nights. What more can I do?"
"It was a good move to keep the men occupied, nephew," Airoh said, gently. "I'm more worried for you."
"Wrong idea," said Zuko. "I can do what I planned to do. I never plan beyond my capabilities."
"But still, scouting out there all night? Is it really necessary, nephew?"
"As long as I get my hands on the Avatar, I'll do anything," said Zuko, his voice low and hard. His plan had been fairly simple - travel out into the icescape in the night and move about, scouting the walls for a way to sneak in and infiltrate. Every night he'd taken to a specific section of wall, sitting very still and observing, recording every single nuance he could possibly place. Of course, if the scar on his face were seen, it'd be pretty obvious who he was, and he couldn't chance word reaching Zhao.
Hence the masquerade. Zuko became 'The Blue Spirit,' a mysterious trickster who appeared outside of the city walls and disappeared into the star-studded blue of night.
"What more can you do, though, nephew?" Airoh asked. "What have you discovered about that wall that you don't already know?"
"It's made of ice," Zuko said dully. "Thick. Normal catapult rounds wouldn't pierce something like that. Flaming rounds might, but given the distance, they'd see it pretty easily and get to Water Bending. A direct assault on the city leads to problems because of the terrain. Even if that weren't a problem, Zhao's still a variable."
"I see." Airoh paused to think. "What about those people who keep traveling into the city?"
"Reinforcements."
"And why couldn't we sneak in, in place of their reinforcements?"
"Because all the Water Nation has either brown or blue eyes, and dark skin. We only cover the brown eyes part."
"But what if they didn't even see any part of us?"
"What exactly are you playing at?" Zuko's eyes were red with lack of sleep. Then they narrowed in comprehension. "Are you telling me we should get our soldiers and dress up in masks?"
"It's the easiest way, Prince Zuko," said Airoh. "Any other attempt at getting in presents great difficulty. But they'll let friends in more easily than anything else. Why not use that to our advantage?"
"It's brilliant," remarked Zuko. He stood up, his posture wavering as he fought for consciousness, and he began to walk to the door. "I'll get right on it. We'll assemble the men and inform them of the plan…"
The door opened and Reiko stepped in.
"Reiko?" Zuko's voice was fuzzy.
"I thought my Lord could use some tea to keep his senses sharp," she said. But, even in his tired state, he noted the difference - where, before, she was kneeling with eyes to the floor, she now stood, looking at him straight-on.
How… refreshing…
"Is it Green?"
"Yes, my Lord."
Zuko nodded in satisfaction and took the offered cup, downing it in a single swallow. It didn't even occur to him that it didn't taste like Green Tea at all until his vision went dark.
---
Zhao stared at the maps laid across his table, his eyes drifting across information without really taking it in.
"It's proving to be a hard attack," said Commander Jie. The commander was relatively young - being in his early forties - but he'd proven to be as able a tactician as any that Zhao could have asked for.
"It's to be expected," replied the Admiral. "Everything here is to the enemy's advantage. The very surface we stand on rejects us."
"Yes. Furthermore, we've managed to confirm an almost regular influx of warriors into the city."
"How many?"
"Perhaps a hundred a day or so."
"How can those tribes have so many warriors to spare?" growled Zhao. "Our intelligence indicated that they fought each other regularly enough that their population should be limited."
"Perhaps the city has some sort of sacredness to the Tribes?"
"Perhaps. Who can tell with these barbarians?"
The rest of his staff was there as well, all sitting around the map. These meetings had become commonplace, ever since that first disastrous assault. Commander Jie, in initiating that assault, had gravely underestimated the strength and resolve of these barbarians. They had fought back with a savagery that, by all accounts, should not have been there.
Still, Zhao reflected, having all those dead meant that there were plenty of supplies to go around, which had proven invaluable over the past month. A Seaman floats on his stomach, or so said the saying.
"What we need," said the thoughtful voice of a Commandant on Zhao's left, "is artillery support."
"I'm not sure that's viable," said Jie. "The Tribes made sure to isolate themselves behind a mile of ice. We might be able to shoot that far, but we'd be hitting the walls at best."
"We could break that pretty easily," murmured a Captain thoughtfully.
"Yes, but not before they could refreeze us where we stand."
"Would that really be so bad?" argued the Captain. "That gives us a bunch of outposts right nearby. We'd definitely be able to hit within the city from there."
"They won't stop with freezing us," Jie countered. "There were several Captains who thought the same thing, but once their ships were frozen, the ships were either gutted, forced into a capsize, or broken open. These Water Tribes are no fools. They will not suffer us lightly."
"But each one was attacking one at a time, without any real concentration," said the Commandant. "We have a total of 25 ships, roughly 5,000 men in reserve. A concentrated attack on the city, with proper planning and coordination, would break these fools once and for all."
"True, but at what cost?"
The rest of the men turned to look at him as Zhao elaborated. "Make no mistake," he said. "I don't care if women are children are present where I fight. I fight to win. But if we take the fight to them directly, we will win, but we'll lose more soldiers than I care to think about. Battles should be won with a certain… efficiency."
"What do you have in mind?" asked the Commandant. Jie's brow was furled.
"You, perchance, wouldn't mean using…"
"That's right, Commander," said Zhao. "We'll use the experimental rounds on the city."
"How?"
"The Captain said so himself - those ships that are stuck in the ice represent the perfect outposts - fortified positions that are definitely within firing range. But this time, there will be no Water Benders to rip the ships apart, and when they finally do comprehend the horror it will be too late."
"Admiral," said Jie, "I don't know if that's a good idea. There are civilians in there."
"I'm trying to fight the enemy army!" Zhao smirked. "They just so happen to be in the city, along with the civilians. It's their fault for hiding behind women and children. Let the deaths hang on their heads." He turned to the Commandant. "Can your engineers fix and rig those catapults?"
"Possible," said the Commandant, his eyes taking a distant, considering look. "The real factor to consider is the position of the ship's deck. If it's slanted too far one way or the other, we won't be able to get a proper balance for the firing mechanism."
"We'll simply work out a way when the time comes," said Zhao. "I believe our business is concluded, gentlemen. We attack tomorrow night!"
The generals stood up from the floor, stretching and talking. Even though they had made the decision to condemn thousands of innocents to death, they spoke and moved as casually as if they were discussing some article of business.
I'll have to get Jie replaced, Zhao thought. I have no use for weak people in my fleet.
---
They were sitting in that room again. It had seemed so strange and exotic to have a cube carved out of snow and ice, yet over the past month Katara had grown used to it. It was here that she and Aang had begun their Water Bending training in earnest, under the personal wach of the Abbess. It was here that Aang had surpassed her in the space of days and had been banished to another room full of Bending adepts who spent every day pushing and testing the limits of the boy's power. It was here that she would spend hours and hours and hours every day, practicing and meditating, trying more and more to be like water.
And now, a month later, here she was, washed clean. Her body was lithe, graceful. The slow, flowing movements had proven to be harder work than she had imagined, but she had pushed through becoming subtly stronger with every day.
Not to mention that some of her softer areas had disappeared whenever she looked in a mirror. That alone had been incentive to continue. But even that paled in comparison to the mental benefits - a calming, a soothing to the fevered frenzy of her mind. Worry and fear and stress were all still there - but they were simple obstacles, and she could flow around them as though they were nothing.
They were sitting in that room again, both she and the Abbess. Both breathed evenly, in and out, eyes closed. In front of each of them sat a basin of water, and with each breath the water would rise and fall, rise and fall.
The exercise had gone on for some time when Kaede finally broke the silence. "You've learned much in your time here."
"I have."
"Do you understand what it means to be a Water Bender now?"
"Yes."
"Explain."
"I thought that, in the beginning, Water Bending was controlling water," said Katara. "It was collecting water into a wave of some sort and sending it at a foe. Water was something to be controlled."
"But that's not what it is at all, is it child?"
"Yes. It's hard to describe…" Katara's face grew distant. "I wanted to make waves, but I was starting with the crest. Everyone sees it. Everyone thinks that's where the power comes from, but that's not it at all. It's the flow of water that gives it power, and that's as gentle as anything. It isn't until it hits an obstacle, that it unleashes power. It's always a reaction."
"That's right," beamed Kaede. "Water is the weakest of all the elements because it flows. Then it meets an obstacle - which is subsequently overwhelmed. It meets a cup - and adapts to fill it completely. It meets a wall it cannot break - until it finds the crack and rushes through. To be the very epitome of strength in weakness - that is what it means to be a Water Bender. Do you understand the truth in this?"
"No," Katara answered truthfully.
"Correct," said Kaede, "for who can understand truth anyway? You must be still to know its flow. Show me the flow of the truth."
Immediately Katara picked up the basin and flung the water at the Abbess - only it was so many particles and pieces of ice. The Abbess rolled aside and stood - to find the ice rushing back in liquid form. She stepped aside and calmly gestured it aside, directly at the girl - who merely sidestepped, letting the water splash harmlessly by.
Kaede took a breath, then exhaled, bringing her arms up in time with the breath. Twin streams of water erupted from the ice. As Katara watched, the Abbess began to move her arms in a sequence known as 'Rolling the Ball' - causing the waves to contort into all sorts of rolling erratic patterns. Katara knew the defense seemed random - but there wasn't a single aspect of it outside of Kaede's control.
The streams continued to flow in their determined random streams before suddenly rocketing forward with a push from Kaede. Focusing her own breathing, Katara shifted her stance back and down, stretching out her hands in either direction, pulling the water for all she was worth. It raced toward her, aided by her pulling it, until she gently suggested it go to the left. The torrent raged past her and she pushed off from the ground, spinning in the air and drawing the water into separate streams again. She began to shift and dance her arms, as if a ball rolled and flowed along the tops of them, and the water followed her lead.
She grinned, feeling a surge of triumph. Let's see Kaede stop me now!
She took one last look at the Abbess, imagining the triumph of soaking her through, when Kaede simply smiled and gently flung her arms wide.
What good could something like that do? Katara thought. She isn't gathering any water, and I don't feel her pulling from m-
Then the snow and ice beneath her feet disappeared, allowing the hapless girl the pleasure of a dip in the cool waters of the arctic. That would have been shame enough, but Katara had rotten enough timing to break the surface again when her own water came crashing back down on her.
Spluttering, she shot her hand down and shot out of the water. Landing on her feet, she had the grace to look indignant at what had happened, but the gentle laughter of Kaede killed all hostility. There was nothing scornful in her teacher, nothing that said she had been weak, that she had even failed at all. There was only the joy of the moment.
Katara began to smile, then burst out laughing at the thought of herself, drenched to the bone and looking like a washed out rat. She flowed her hands and expelled the water from her clothes and hair.
"I didn't even think of it," Katara said after she was finished laughing.
"No wall is without its cracks, Katara," replied Kaede. "If the enemy is strong one way, then he is weak another. Simply find it, and he will collapse."
Katara nodded and bowed. "I am grateful for this lesson."
"I am grateful to teach," replied Kaede, but then she sighed. "I'm just sorry that we must part so soon. There is so much left to teach you and you work so hard…"
"I'll be back," said Katara.
"I do not doubt that." The Abbess smiled again. "And when you return, you will see scrolls to put the one you gave us to shame. But for now, go and meditate. See your friends and your brother. It's been so long since you have all been together, hasn't it dear?"
---
We've been going on like this for a month. They advance, fight, pull back. Advance, fight, pull back. They've never committed a full force to attack us, but at the rate we're going, we'll run down before they do.
Yuki lay atop her sleeping bag, inside her small tent near the barracks. Most of the soldiers assumed that private quarters afforded all sorts of private luxuries that they could only dream of. She often teased them about all the things they were missing (herself being at the top of the list, of course), but the fact was that it wasn't really all that luxurious a setting. It was a small space with hide walls, a fire pit for melting snow to water for drinking or washing, and the sleeping bag. Still, it beat hard bunks and ice every which way.
Her mind continued drifting back over the past month. She had been right in sending messengers out to the other Tribes, and the groups of soldiers trudging through every day only helped bolster the spirit of the men. The supplies - often carried on sledges propelled by the Water Benders - were no less significant.
But it still wasn't enough. Even with the added men and supplies, the Fire Nation was still grinding them down. Even with all the surprises and ambushes she could devise - hiding soldiers beneath the snow had been a particularly genius idea - the enemy just kept coming.
So they won't stop, eh? Yuki allowed herself a bitter smile. Well, that's fine. I won't stop either.
There was a tapping outside. "Come in," called Yuki. She sat up just as Muku stepped inside. To the men he looked as cold and commanding as he always was, but Yuki could see the signs - the dishevelment of his clothes, the subtle stretches he managed to work in to every gesture. Between training the recruits and fighting, there was little time left for sleep.
No denying it - they were all tired. Between planning defenses and leading ambushes, she knew she was exhausted as well.
"So what's up?"
"We've recently tabulated our inventory of men and material," said Muku, pulling a sealskin parchment from his belt. Yuki took it and scanned it over a few times before sighing.
"It's getting worse," said Muku.
"It is. Why haven't the other Tribes sent more support?"
"Some sent literally every warrior and Bender they could get their hands on to get here," Muku replied, shifting his arms to stretch. "Some sent only what they could spare - but those were mostly the Tribes here who fear the Fire Nation will attack them next. Still, that's not what's killing us off."
"Oh really? And what do you think it is?"
"You."
Yuki raced an icy eyebrow. "You care to repeat that?"
"However many times I have to," Muku replied.
"And why do you say that?"
"Because of your ambushes. Your constant need to commit troops outside the wall makes it easier for them to pick us off one by one. We can't fight them head-on, but your ambushes keep on turning into those sorts of fights because the Fire Nation's armies are too disciplined to be so easily frightened."
"Those ambushes are the reason that we've inflicted so many casualties on the armies they send to us."
"Those ambushes are also the reason that we've lost so many men and women to them."
Yuki's face bore a stormy expression, her hands clenching into fists over and over.
"Yuki," Muku said softly, "I understand that we all lost a lot when we fought them last time. I took all my sons to fight them in the first attack of Be Cing Xe, and I alone came back. I know your own losses hurt deep, deep inside, but you can't let them control you like this."
"I am in control," Yuki snarled.
"I do hope so," said Muku. "Because if you lose your control, we lose everything. I'd hate to see us lose our homes for your revenge."
"If that will be all, Muku, you're free to leave." Muku nodded and stood. Yuki watched him leave, but her concentration was totally elsewhere.
How dare he… how dare he! Treating me as if I'm a child. I'm 15! I'm old enough to have children of my own by now! And acting as if he could understand me… he'll never get it. At least he has family to go home to…
She felt pins pricking at the corners of her eyes and she dashed them away angrily.
---
The starlight greeted Zuko back into the world of the waking. In spite of himself, he felt peaceful, more relaxed then he had in a long time. He closed his eyes and lay back, almost completely at ease-
Then he remembered that he'd been drugged, and he sprang out of bed. He was out of his armor, clothed only in his black pants. He looked around, and found a note on the table.
"We apologize for putting you to sleep," he read aloud, "but you have to get some rest! Come join us in the galley once you wake up."
The galley? What could possibly be waiting for him there? His mind worked at the data and it clicked. Of course. He'd been put to sleep throughout the parts of the day that would have involved any labor whatsoever. And to wake up and come to the galley, on Music Night?
What a way to get a day off. He scowled, but he pulled on one of his vests and walked for the galley anyway. As he got closer, he could hear music and the sounds of revelry and laughter. Yes, we most surely do sound like a sick ship, don't we? Why, oh why had he let his uncle persuade him into holding that night on any more than one in a month?
He reached the hatch and stepped through into the room. The galley was normally a spartan, sullen affair of gray metal and wooden tables. But tonight the tables were stacked along the wall, along with the benches. Mats were placed along the floor, and the lighting was bright and festive. Soldiers were lounging about, laughing and drinking, with several more at the cleared out 'stage' ahead. Those soldiers all bore instruments of some kind or another - the Songi horn there, and there were the taiko drums, the shamisen, the mandolin, the yang-qin… where was the shakuhachi?
Lieutenant Ji was just stepping away, his face flushed. It didn't take long for Zuko to locate Reiko's distinct mane, sitting next to his uncle. He stalked over, noticing a spot had been kept clear for him, and sitting down.
"Ah! Nephew! So good of you to join us tonight! Unfortunately, it seems you missed another stirring love song from our good friend, the Lieutenant."
A group of soldiers, after some egging from their fellows, stood on the stage and proceeded to sing about exactly what sort of girl they were fighting for. The group of soldiers proceeded to extoll the virtues of their loves against all others. The audience howled with laughter as they sang what lengths they would go to - everything from lifting a rock with a feather to felling a tree with a fish. But the notions of such devotion made other soldiers with loves of their own think back to home and to better days.
Zuko couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't envy his soldiers their loss, the sense of something being missing in them. He had clarity. He had purpose.
But even with those things, he thought, am I really any different than them? My father's banished me, my people forsaken me, my goal escaping me… maybe I am no different…
Airoh noted his nephew's silence. "Your voice, nephew," he said, "is terrible. I would hate to hear it sung. But your skills as a dancer are quite great."
"If you refer to war as a dance, I suppose…" Oh no. He wouldn't be thinking that. "You don't mean?"
"I do. Kata performed to music is a fine spectacle, and besides that, you'll get to loosen up a bit."
"But…"
"I even grabbed the twin dao for you to use."
Zuko's will to decline was fading. After sleeping all day, he felt the need to do something, anything. But this?
"But the song most suited to that form involves the shakuhachi," muttered the prince. "Where is the player?"
"He caught a cold," said Airoh, "which is very ironic on a ship filled with the plague. But still, he cannot play."
"But I can."
Zuko stared past his uncle at the servant's level gaze. "You can play shakuhachi?"
"My brother taught me a bit… I mean, before I ended up becoming a maid."
"Do you know the song 'Rushing Down the Mountain'?"
"Um…?" Zuko proceeded to tap out the beat, an impressive feat with all the mass around him. But she listened, then nodded. "'Breeze off the North'? Yes, I know that song."
The excuses were gone. He sighed. "Well, then, let's go to it." Besides, he reasoned, it'd help refocus the men after that sappy love song. They both stood up and walked towards the open space, soldiers parting like a red sea. When they reached it, Reiko took the place of the shakuhachi player and gave a modest nod to the other players. Zuko strapped the twin sheathes to his back and stood, waiting.
Then came the first beat of the drums. Zuko moved, stepping and kicking in time with drums, his arms striking high and low, moving in time with the beat of the drum. Any change in the beat caused him to move slower or faster, caused him to leap higher or crouch lower. The flames of the lights seemed to flicker and blossom in time with him.
Then it all stopped.
The sharp twang of the shamisen and the trill of the shakuhachi - and Zuko had drawn the dao. At first it was only those two instruments that kept him going, before the soft chimes of the yang-qin and the sigh of the mandolin brought up the wind, and suddenly it was faster, faster, faster. The blades of the dao took flames to their edges, swirling in vicious cutting circles.
Then, with one last beat of the drums, it ended, with Zuko kneeling on the ground and the dao in both hands spread out from him in one last final double slash. The soldiers roared their approval.
Standing up and sheathing the dao, he bowed. Behind him, Reiko followed suit, placing the shakuhachi back on the ground with a certain reverence.
"Well done, both of you!" said Airoh when they took their seats.
"Taught you a bit, did he?" asked Zuko.
"Well, what else was I going to do with my spare time?" asked Reiko. "I certainly couldn't take books out there with me to the fields, and they never let me touch weapons or anything…"
"So why did you leave home, anyway?" Airoh inquired.
"The farm fell on hard times," Reiko replied. "My parents thought I could have a better life away from home."
"It must have been very hard for you."
Zuko snorted. "At least her parents wanted the best for her. She shouldn't be so sad over something like that."
Airoh gave Zuko a hard look, but Reiko simply shrugged and said, "Your sympathy is appreciated."
---
Kishi: Wow! I got more reviews! Thank you guys so much! Please, allow me to express my gushing gratitude.
Omake no Toki! Niban! Zuko wa Utaeru?
(Time for the Second Extra! Zuko can sing?)
DIRECTOR: And that's a wrap everybody! Great job today! Phil, I'll want to see you later about some of those script changes-
:The lights go out. There is a pause, and general confusion. Suddenly, a stagelight highlights the GALLEY. ZUKO is standing in front of a mike, dressed in a loose t-shirt and jeans. KATARA's standing by on keyboard, SOKKA on drums, and AANG on the guitar, all dressed in similar casualty. At a nod from ZUKO, KATARA opens up:
ZUKO: Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
:KATARA plays again, this time joined by AANG on an upward spiraling guitar riff. They finish with a thwack of the drum, and ZUKO sings again:
ZUKO: A singer in a smokey room,
the smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night,
it goes on and on and on and on
:the group begins playing in earnest:
ZUKO: Strangers waiting,
up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people,
living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night
:there's a brief intermission of music before ZUKO starts again:
ZUKO: Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
just one more time
Some will win, some will lose,
some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends,
it goes on and on and on and on
AND ON!
Strangers waiting,
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people,
Living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night
:AANG erupts into a soulful guitar solo. His face contorts in that ecstatic rage that seems to take all guitarists who engage in solo:
ZUKO: Don't stop believin',
hold on to that feelin',
streetlight people
Don't stop believin',
hold on, streetlight people
Don't stop believin',
hold on to that feelin'...
:with a flourish, the song finishes. At first there are a few bursts of bewildered applause from the audience, which soon becomes enthusiastic and fullblown:
ZUKO: Thank you! Thank you very much! Always wanted to do that!
:laughs as the applause grows:
Kishi: Yeah. Classic song. Props if anyone knows it.
:the author snaps his fingers:
Kishi: That's right! I owe you guys some translations, don't I?
'Fire Pattern' - this is a hand movement in Northern Shaolin. One hand moves and clears the body upward, while the other shoots outward in a fist.
The Glorious Strategist - this world's equivalent of Sun Tzu, the strategist that is most likely to be referenced by the Fire Nation. His strategies focused on using the terrain to advantage and maintaining control of however many variables possible.
'Every candle has a wick' - a saying I made up. A candle is hard to burn unless you have a wick; once it does, it burns down easily.
Kagi - a Water Bender who lets the group into the city. His name means 'Key.'
Kousetsu and Yuki - brother and sister; both of their names are words for 'snow.'
Kishi: I think that's it for now. This is also my first time writing Bending fight scenes. What did you guys think? Good? Bad? Please tell me…
Avatar: The Last Air Bender is copyrighted to people who aren't me. I don't know who they are, otherwise, I'd give 'em credit.
The song 'Don't Stop Believin'' is copyrighted to the band Journey. Go out and download it!
The only things I own in this story are those things that I perceive as being original, and thusly are mine. If you recognize something that you came up with first, all credit goes to you.
I have no clue where you can contact me. I think the address is in my profile…