Looks can be deceiving
Etherealstar


Author's notes: Thank you to all those who read and reviewed. Thank you
Disclaimer: Avatar and Avatar Manga is owned by Nickelodeon and Sitcom. All rights reserved.


Chapter 4: Shades of a geisha

Katara walked down the lively streets seeing the people babble none stop. She could see people speak with fear on their faces. She didn't understand why the motion of the town seemed so...provoked. She could see the little children running back forth telling adults the news which simply made them pale. Katara assumed the worse.

Mind troubled and her eyes remote, Katara walked on looking at the floor lost in her world of thought. 'Why are the villagers reacting this way? Something has to be wrong, question is, what?' she thought for a moment of the possibilities of what could wrong. 'It must be something big otherwise the villagers would never rap this way. But what Katara, what could it be?' she actually screamed within her mind.

A tug at her shelve made her startled. Looking up she saw Suki, her best friend standing tall but with a sympathetic and scared face.

"Suki-san?" Katara started, unsure why the girl held her back.

She took a moment to breathe and looked Katara in the eye, "Katara…promise me you won't freak" was her soft voice.

Katara gave a confused expression. Arching a brow she paused to say: Suki what's going on?

"The Fire Nation" her lips quivered …

A certain fear that always came when she heard that name consumed her. She swallowed hard not liking the thick suspense hanging over. She saw her best friend stare at the floor and in a dreaded second, a tear fell from her eyes. She had always known Suki to be a fighter, at least out of all the girls, Suki was most hardcore in her beliefs and in everything that she did. But with the tears down her face, Katara assume that something really wasn't right, she anticipated it was something intimate else tears wouldn't fall down the tomboy's face.

Grabbing her friend's shoulder in a firm notion, she jerked her friend, "What is it Suki, tell me…what is so bad that you're hesitating?" Katara croaked.

Suki swallowed. Averting her eyes slowly up to Katara she whispered, "they've, they've captured them" she whispered.

"Who Suki, whose been captured?"

"Aang and Sokka" she cried.

Katara froze. In disbelief she looked back at her friend. 'How could this have happened?.' In all the universe and in all the worlds, Katara would never expected something like that to have happened. Unconsciously, her eyes moistened and her breath grew shallow. 'Sokka' she breathed in deeply. Feeling a pain that came from no where deep within her she bent her face and sniffed. 'Oh Kami (G-d), w-hy?'

Feeling arms hold her, she hugged her best friend. "How could this have happened Suki, how?" she cried softly in her friends embrace.

"I just remembered them saying, freedom fighters and with that they were captured. Ozai personally came to see them. He knew Aang had been the Avatar, but when the Fire Nation won the battle there was no need for him. According to some of our sources, they're going in for more than imprisonment." She said dryly. Trying to be strong.

Katara pulled away, her eyes red as she stared back at her friend with disbelief in her eyes. Shaking her head she said, "noo, no Suki" she sucked in a breath, "that wont happen…they're not gonna die, please say they're not." She wailed, "not Aang..not Sokka" her shoulders shook violently.

"K-atara…they're going to be executed" she said

"Noo" Katara shouted. "Nooo, that can't happen. That can't happen" she repeated.

"I-I'm sorry"

"No.." Katara whispering and yet wincing at the pain, dropped to knees falling to the floor. Clenching her eyes shut and feeling the pain consume her, she didn't know what to do. For the first time after so long, Katara was insecure. 'And today the breaking of my world has finally begun'

"Why?" breathing her words heatedly out. 'Why Kami…'


"Ah, what do we have here, the Avatar and who's this? His little sidekick?" Zuko asked staring at the boys.

"Why don't you tell me that closer big-boy, careful though, I might burn the next side of that pretty face" sarcastically Sokka drew.

"How dare you" Zuko barked. "No one dares speak that way, no one" he shouted.

The young prince filled of anger, glared daggers at the two. "I assume you know why you're here" Zuko's voice went silent.

"No. Why are we here?" Aang asked.

"Simple. You're to die of course" flat was Zuko's response.

"Aren't we all headstrong in talk…" Sokka muttered.

"What was that baka (idiot)?" Zuko growled.

Sokka said nothing.

"You know, for a person who's captured you sure know how to entice your death on. And I couldn't agree more. A quicker death will be better for me, then again you're nothing but a waste of time to look at"

Zuko turned his back and closed his eyes. With a smug smirk on his features he said: kill them at the end of the week; let the villagers see what the Fire Nation truly means. Let them see the colour of red" Zuko got to his heels and began leaving.

"Don't worry Zuko, I'd die for my people any day, knowing I will never be haunted by it. Because unlike you, I wear no scars or burns on my soul for the mistakes I made." Aang said.

Zuko listened. 'How dare he!' Snapping around in a curt manner, he looked back at the Avatar with a black hate in his eyes.

"So you think you're a wise guy aye?" Zuko laughed cruelly. "How I beg to differ" Zuko drew closer.

"A long time ago the Fire Nation was the most despised of all the Nations. They were deprived, looked down upon and of course hated. Hated for what, heaven only knows." He paused to sit on a chair and look at the two shackled bodies.

"Now we did our time, being hated, molested and destroyed of everything that was ours, from our pride and dignity the very things that make the soul of any Fire Nation member, it so happened that was ripped of us. With that lost, what was there left for us?" he paused.

Sokka scowled, "we didn't ask for a history class Zuko"

"Hah! I must say you really don't like your life" he paused, "can't blame you especially if you chose to be a freedom fighter and leave behind all that's most precious to you. Perhaps you left your family behind or materialism or maybe, just maybe it's two girls you left behind" Zuko gave a complacent smirk when he saw Sokka's frighten face.

"Yue and Suki right?" Zuko taunted

"How dare you?" Sokka hissed.

"The fiery one, Suki, she'll be absolutely delicious to feast upon, don't you think so yourself"

"I'm warning you Zuko" Sokka gritted his teeth.

"Gah, warn as much as you want you shackled fool, where else can you go besides down under into hell?"

"That ain't my home bucko. Try yours" Sokka lashed back.

"I don't understand. Here you are faced with death and yet you laugh it away? Interesting breed of people that village has. Maybe the Fire Nation should have inter-breeding with the village women. Now hey, that doesn't sound bad." He paused, "if you want to save your people that quit being a parrot and just shut up" he said.

Sokka huffed.

"As I was saying, the Fire Nation's pride was destroyed so as a result we lost hope in everybody. We lived in injustice and nobody seem to care. So we took things into our own hands. When the Avatar, and that doesn't you Aang-boy, arrived, he made the biggest mistake when he refused to maintain our balance. As a result, the entire Fire Nation teamed up and destroyed the Avatar. With him out the picture, power and reign were ours and now the tables would turn. The Fire Nation would be at the top strata and the peons of mixed Nations would be at the bottom strata. It was because of years of anguish and suffering the Fire Nation made it and those that should have helped, are finally squashed. See…it just shows what goes around, comes around" he said.

"Maybe if the Fire Nation didn't try to kill everybody in the first place maybe everyone would show some care but from the story you told, I guess its good you no-good Fire Nation members suffered" Sokka said.

"You know what, I've just had about it with you. You know I tried to shut you up for the betterment and safety of your people but you refused to keep meek, you refused it and like damn I'm absolutely infuriated with you. And though my fists would want nothing more than to burn the skin off your face, part of me knows that the true satisfaction will arise when I take kill you both in front the people you love. At least you both will get the patriotic happy ending you want. So enjoy gentlemen my dungeon. Be aware there are rats and critters that like to feast on flesh, and though they will not attack the Fire Nation members, I can not deny them a meal when its screams so freely at them." He stood to leave. Blowing out the candle he left with his heavy footsteps echoing the lonely dungeon.


Katara paced with a red face toward the Geisha house. She knew her mistress would be upset with her; she'd been out way pass the normal Geisha hours. But as Katara paced under the dark sky, she figured nothing right mattered. Her brother had been captured to the Fire Nation and though it was a great loss, it became a greater loss when her best friend became equally indulged in the same fate. Katara cringed, how could this happen, her worried mind asked.

Stall after stall she passed, seeing the fire merchants of the city pack up for the night to be with their families. Be with them all around a fire in peace and contentment. A small smile plastered her face, but it was quickly removed when she realized that it wasn't so for her. With no family to call hers, except her Gran Gran, Katara held herself and with a bent head ran to the Geisha house. All she wanted to do was cry..cry for Sokka and Aang.

Somehow she felt with her friends and the villagers in worry, she felt like she needed someway to reach Sokka and Aang. But who did she know to free them? She sighed, absolutely no one.

It was then she saw the Geisha house dead ahead. The lights were off and everything sounded as quiet and still. She wondered if her mistress was asleep, or perhaps she had gone out. Crossing her fingers and taking a deep breath in, she tip-toed toward the door. Slowly, she pushed the door open and saw no one within. Pushing the door all the way in, she entered and proceeded to her room, it was then a light that came from no where, flashed in the hall she stood.

"Going somewhere child?" was the old voice of her mistress.

Katara swallowed. She'd been caught.

"To bed?" was Katara's soft voice.

"You don't say" the woman humoured Katara. Katara took this not in any way funny but in fact cruel. Her mistress had been particularly cruel to all the Geishas of the house, but ever since her father had died, she'd been a monster to Katara.

"Do you know the time child?" the woman started in a cool voice.

"Iie (no)"

"Really child?" she drew closer.

Katara could feel her presence behind her back. Cringing, she knew she would endure severe punishment from the woman. At least for her insolence. And in the thick tension of anger and sorrow, Katara awaited the lash that had come so many times at her; that wailed her skin and made her cry to no end.

It was then Katara flew around and bowed, "I'm sorry Mistress Megumi, I'm sorry. Forgive me please. I swear it wont happen again." With both hands on the ground and Katara bowing to the woman as an idol the woman spoke, "get up" in an angered voice.

"I'm fedup of your dramatics. I'm fedup of you child. Wasn't my instructions simple, simple enough for even the dumbest of creatures to understand? Wasn't it simple for everyone to understand that they're requested and expected back at the Geisha house at a specific time, 10 pm if you've forgotten?" She paused, "is it that I don't make myself clear, is it that you truly wish to disobey me and suffer my endless punishment?"

It was then Katara knew she was in hot water. "No mistress, you don't understand. I wasn't out late because I wanted to…"

"Ah so it's a man you're out for eh?" she shouted at Katara. Grabbing her hair in a firm hold she pulled on it and Katara screamed out. "You know the rules you stupid girl. All geishas are precious, each of them. If one geisha gets a bad name the entire Geisha house gets a bad name you fool." She slapped Katara across the face.

Katara cried. Pulling her hair again, Katara cried again. Her shrills and cries traveled down the hall entering the rooms of the many sleeping girls of the house. Suki listened to her friend's cry. She wish so badly that Katara would be treated better, but her mistress was cruel and believed that punishment was the way for girls like Katara.

It was then a blood curling scream echoed the halls. The doors of each room flew open and all the girls ran down to see their mistress pinning Katara in a corner. Blood on her face and scars everywhere, Suki's eyes flooded with tears and disbelief.

"Mistress Megumi-san, nooo" a girl shouted across. Suki startled from her daze peered at the girl who resisted. It was Yue. Considered to be the prize of the Geisha house. The mistress listened, "she's a bastard" was the blatant statement that rung the ears of all the girls.

"Megumi-san, if you beat her this way there's no possible way she could possibly serve as a Geisha. Please Megumi-san, your actions deems consequences." Yue said.

The mistress released Katara who slid down the wall. On bucked knees she fell to the floor and passed out.

"Look at what you've done Megumi-san. She's a mere girl, a mere Geisha. If you don't receive the money that you earn each month then you know why mistress. Your beatings and abuse have not gone deft, especially to these girls" Yue left the room, leaving the mistress and the girls to look on at the unconscious Katara.

The mistress sighed, "Suki-chan…" she said

"Hai (yes) mistress?"

"Clean her up…" She left

Suki nodded and approached Katara's side. Turning her friend she saw wounds and blood caked on her face. Saddening at the sight, she strained herself to pick up the girl.

Dragging her down the lit hall, Suki cringed at what tomorrow would hold, she only prayed it would be a little better.


To be continued...