August 24, 2006
Yen.
Chapter 3: Weapon of Choice
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Insert Disclaimer here.
A/N. I tried uploading this chapter before, but kept having problems with ffnet. I decided to make some changes in the interim, and I'm a lot happier with it now.
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Indigenous to a small community, Katara was surprised to discover that she loved big cities.
As a fugitive, she was grateful for the anonymity it conferred. As a sister, she appreciated the security of having her family safely with her.
As a woman…she pauses at the thought…as a woman, she enjoyed having options. There were…people…of the opposite sex, should she ever choose to get married. Or live long enough to get married. Whichever was more accurate. Not that she'd really been thinking about it. Who had time for such ideas when there was a war raging on all the corners of the world? Even if there wasn't, she was still a bender, and had no room in her life for romance. It was difficult enough to be taken seriously as a female bender. Even if she wanted to get involved with…someone…she couldn't. She had to be single-minded, focused, on developing her skills, and helping Aang save the world.
Back to the original point.
As a warrior, she welcomed the fact that the Earth Kingdom, whether through tradition or desperation, was open to training women in the fighting arts: bending, open-handed techniques, and weapons instruction. After years of being stifled, the world had suddenly opened up to her, like an oyster donating its pearl. She felt more alive now than ever before.
Her recent fights with the Fire Princess' traveling companions had been yet another lesson that her proficiency in bending needed to be accompanied by other basic, practical skills. Thus, since arriving in Ba Sing Se, she had begun sneaking off for lessons. Sure, sneaking off sounds very bad, but she had no choice. Sokka would be offended that she had not consulted him, but it wasn't because she didn't think he was good enough. She just didn't want to be taught by him. He already had such a high opinion of himself; the superiority he would feel at knowing she needed his help was just too much for her to bear. He'd never let her forget it. Besides, the options she could explore here were more than Sokka could offer. No offense intended to her dearest brother, but one boomerang-bearing Water Nation warrior was enough.
The other reason she hadn't told Sokka is she was sure he would disapprove. Through pure luck, she had found her instructor while exploring the city on her own – his experience and accomplishments were irrefutable…and free. Obviously she couldn't afford to waste the opportunity. She could just imagine her brother, with Aang in tow, tagging along on her heels every day, to watch over her and "protect" her, as though she were a child. No. It was better this way.
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Katara was an excellent student. Following his recommendation, she had experimented with several weapons over the past couple of weeks until she found the one which best suited her personal style.
First the bo or staff – really more the avatar's type of weapon. It was simple and effective: perfect for a monk concerned with avoiding bloodshed, but much too unyielding and inflexible for a water bender.
Before too long, he had moved on to archery. She had done it, at his insistence because learning how to aim could only be useful; but it was no good for fighting at close quarters. Besides, like water bending, she would always be limited by the amount of arrows she carried around with her, entirely defeating her purpose for acquiring a weapon.
Finally, he began lessons with the jian or straight sword. Light enough for her to carry around, the circular motions used were so reminiscent of her bending style, it had been an easy, natural fit. She was quickly becoming quite adept at it; as he anticipated. He could have given it to her sooner, but sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.
A lesson his other student had been struggling to master.
Speaking of the young prince, Iroh thought it was time he learnt what they had been doing. One of the few advantages of being his age is the knowledge accumulated over a lifetime of experience. He could see, although they wouldn't, that Katara was a good complement to Zuko, and he had been itching to have them train together. To date, the timing hadn't been right. He should make sure they were both open to the idea.
Of course, sometimes you just have to give people a little push, he reasoned. After all, he didn't have that kind of time to allow it to occur naturally; he could die waiting for two such stubborn people. He'd have to pull a different weapon out of his armory.
Typically, he worked with Katara during the early hours of the morning. At that time Zuko would be practicing on his own. Katara's brother would still be asleep and the avatar would be learning to earth bend. The day before, Iroh made sure that Katara left at around the time Zuko would be headed back. He had calculated that they would have met at some point along the path. He had been sorely disappointed by his nephew's response upon returning. No ranting about a stupid water bender being allowed to share the same forest as him, no scars or bruises from a physical confrontation, that he could see. Nothing.
He knew from experience that it's not usually a good idea to repeat the same tactic twice in a row, but Iroh was fairly certain he'd get some results. He just had to sit back and wait for Zuko to come back. And, he might as well have a delicious cup of tea, or two, while he passed the time.
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Zuko was late. It was past noon before Iroh heard his nephew approaching, saying nothing as he moved around their little hut. Iroh was beyond curious, but tried not to get overly-excited. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. He kept his voice neutral as he commented.
"You've been training a long time, nephew."
Zuko shrugged in response, throwing him a small sack. Iroh opened it to find bread, fruit, and a parcel of cooked meat. It really smelled quite delicious.
"Where did you get this?"
"I worked for it."
"Oh." There was a note of disappointment in Iroh's voice. So that's what Zuko had been so busy doing. He was happy for the food, however. He grinned as he found the small packet of jasmine tea in the bottom of the sack, and immediately felt a lift in his spirits. There was always tomorrow.
Iroh looked up and noticed a small smirk on his nephew's face. Hmmph. Had Zuko figured out his plan? Was the boy baiting him even now? That would not be so surprising. After all, he was the one who taught his talented, beloved nephew everything he knows. Nodding slightly, he decided to change his strategy.
"So, how long have you known?" Iroh asked quietly.
Zuko looked up with puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"
Iroh searched his features for any hint of concealment. Zuko on the other hand seemed to be growing annoyed as he waited for an answer.
"Well? Spit it out old man."
Ok. He may have been wrong about Zuko figuring him out. That would not be so surprising. After all, he was the Dragon of the West: most famed and brilliant military strategist in the history of the Fire Nation, or at the very least, of his generation. No mere boy would be able to deliberately thwart his plans, even if that boy was Zuko.
"Just that jasmine is my favourite tea. It goes so well with biscuits. Too bad we don't have any." Quick thinking, he complimented himself. Don't want to arouse his suspicion now.
Zuko quickly polished off his share of the food, then stood to leave. He was almost out the door before Iroh asked "Where are you going?"
"Back to work. We can't rely on the kindness of strangers forever." Iroh frowned as he regarded Zuko. There it was that smirk again.
"Besides, someone's got to earn some money since you refuse to charge her for your time."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Iroh demanded.
"You're the one who's always telling me 'wait for your opponent to tip his hand.' "
Iroh didn't particularly enjoy having his own words quoted back to him. Maybe he was getting too old for this.
"Since it bothers you Zuko, perhaps you can suggest that to her when you train together tomorrow."
"Huh? No way, uncle."
"She's getting very good. Maybe you already know that."
Zuko's eyes narrowed as he scowled at Iroh's insinuation. "I am not afraid of Katara."
"If you say so. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I remember, back when I was a young soldier, I met a beautiful, young…"
Zuko decided to cut Iroh off before he got too involved in his story. "Fine. Uncle. If I train with you, and her, tomorrow, will you leave me alone."
For now. Iroh nodded.
Zuko closed the door abruptly and loudly behind him, leaving Iroh to congratulate himself on his success. Still the best.
