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Chapter 18
Accident in the Boiler Room…
"Port of AnYun is approaching, Prince Zuko. Do we make dock while the tide is still in our favor?" The helmsman asked him as the port slowly came into view. Zuko nodded, they needed to restock on supplies badly, it had been a month since they've been at the last port and their supplies were dwindling, causing every person to be put on half rations, even him and Koi, but Koi didn't each much anyway. (Amy note: I like AnYun. I used it for 'Run Away' also.) The helmsman went back and carried out the orders to the crew. Zuko was not in a very good mood, worse than usual.
Koi was down in the infirmary with Col, helping him with a couple men that had an accident in the boiler room. She was learning quickly in the arts of healing, and her presence was a gift to the men, even much so that they invent ailments so she would tend to them. But what happened yesterday was no excuse for attention.
Zuko went down into the infirmary, upon entering, the atmosphere changed considerably: Four men lay in the infirmary beds, burns on their faces and hands and the smell of burnt flesh was still heavy in the air. Koi was changing the dressing on one of the men's arms, the one in the last bed. This man had the worst burns of the four; it was his fault that the boiler had exploded, seriously injuring himself and the other men. Zuko was furious, he had intended the idiotic man himself but Koima had stopped him.
"Zuko! No! It was a mistake!" Koima had stepped in front of the man in the bed, blocking Zuko from getting to him. The man and the others had just been brought in from the boiler room and Zuko was raving about the inanity of the man. Koi kept him away from the man, "Its not right! Everyone makes mistakes, Zuko. No one was killed and no one needs to be. It won't happen again. Please Zuko, Me and Col will handle things here!" Koi looked pleadingly at him, Zuko saw that she was holding back her tears and Zuko's anger slowly diminished. He turned and had left the room.
Now, everything was quiet, three men were fast asleep in their beds, the one Koi was attending was wide-awake talking to Koi in a hushed tone. Koima was nodding, agreeing with something that the man had said. He was young, in his early twenties and most of his face was burned and cut, part of his ear had been burned away in the blast.
Koi looked up when she heard Zuko come in, she smiled faintly before returning to work. Col was nowhere in sight, he had left Koima to take care of the last patient.
"How is everyone?" Zuko said quietly to Koi as to not wake the others. The man, Icharu, kept his gaze on Koima so he didn't have to look at Prince Zuko.
Koima sighed wearily, "All of them are stable now. We need more aloe and Tylena before the day's out… bandages also." She added, continuing to wrap up Icharu's badly burned arm.
"We're stopping at the port of AnYun today. We'll get provisions and medical supplies there. We'll be staying here for a week or so, to make repairs." He tried to keep the sour tone out of his voice but failed. He saw the man flinch and Koi shot Zuko a warning……glare? Koi had never glared at him before… Zuko swallowed, wondering if he should apologize, but he turned around and left the infirmary. His original bad mood had now gone sour with worry. Did Koi hate him now?
; Koima;
Icharu closed his eyes, breathing shallowly; it was hard for him to breathe. I could see that he still felt guilty about what happened yesterday, he was not experienced in much and the fact that he had hurt three of his friends and destroyed the boiler room had hit him pretty hard. Zuko had no right to bring it back up, the tone in his voice had not helped at all! I found myself very angry with him.
"It's my fault…. everything." Icharu whispered, "He should kill me, I'm a failure at life."
"No you're not Ichi." I said, using the nickname that he is known by, "It was a simple mistake, an accident. Everyone makes mistakes, you just have to learn from them." I tried to console him. But Icharu would not listen, "But I wasn't paying attention, if I hadn't been talking to Konan this would have never happened. It's my job to check the pressure gauge on the boiler and I didn't. I'm a disgrace to my family now, more than I already was."
"Stop talking like that!" I said sternly, "Saying those things won't make anything better. You need to stop blaming yourself, it was an accident and Zuko had no right to bring it up. Nobody is perfect-"
"You are." Icharu looked at me pointedly, "You're kind and compassionate, and you don't have any faults."
A lead weight settled in the pit of my stomach. This man had no ides what I had gone through… I am far from perfect. I shook my head and kept my eyes on my work, not meeting his gaze, "I am not perfect. I'm nowhere near perfect, Ichi. Please don't think that..… Your arm is finished." I said and tied off the bandage, "How does that feel?"
Icharu bent his arm, wincing slightly when it twinged, He smiled and nodded, "Much better. Thank you, Koi."
"I'll be back later to change the others. I'll be going with Zuko to get more bandages and medicine, you try to get some sleep." I advised. I grabbed my stuff and was heading out the door when…
"Koi?"
I turned back to Icharu, "Yes?"
Icharu settled back in the blankets, he looked hesitant, "Do you…happen to like someone?" he asked. I frowned, "Of course. I like everyone." What a weird thing to ask.
"No. Not like that." Icharu looked strangely nervous, "You know?… 'Like' someone?" Ohhhh. Now I knew what he was asking. I had to think for a moment, was there someone I liked? I had never thought about it. The man in the blue mask… I had feelings for him that I didn't feel for anyone else. I nodded, "Yes, yes I do."
Icharu sat up, "Who" he asked eagerly.
I smiled, "It's a secret."
:;:; Zuko:;:;
"Zuko, I know you are angry, but Icharu is feeling enough guilt right now from hurting his friends. You bringing up what happened and being so accusatory about it is not making him feel any better. He wants to die now from shame." Koi's words cut into him. She was angry with him; it was his fault she was so pissed. Zuko avoided looking into her eyes for fear of reading the anger in them also. He had never seen Koima mad, it was…. Scary….
Koima took the bandages from the healer, thanking her before they walked away from the stall and continued to walk through the market port, collecting small supplies that didn't need to be shipped to the ship. Zuko was worried, he didn't like it that Koima was mad at him, he never thought it would feel this…. sickening. He apologized, "I'm sorry." He whispered. Koima looked up at him and he said it again, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said."
Koima nodded and they continued with their shopping. Zuko watched her for any signs that she wasn't angry anymore…. He didn't see any. He had apologized didn't he? She wasn't suppose to be mad anymore? His stomach turned sour when he thought of it.
"Koi, are you still mad at me?" He questioned.
Koima shook her head, "Only disappointed." Zuko wasn't convinced, he was about to question her further, but felt it better to keep silent for the rest of the trip.
: Time Gap:
Zuko mentally kicked himself over and over, not believing that he was going to do this. He stood outside his Uncle's door… and knocked.
"Yes?" Uncle's voice came from inside the room; Zuko groaned inwardly, he was not doing this. But he had to. Zuko swallowed his pride and spoke, "Uncle… I need to speak with you."
"Oh! Come in!"
Zuko took a deep breath and opened the door. Uncle sat in his chair by the window, a pot of tea beside him on the table, it was time for his afternoon cup of tea. He smiled at Zuko, "What brings you here, nephew? What is it that you wish to speak with me about?" 'Uncle, shut up.' Zuko thought irately. He closed the door behind him and hoped to dear Agni that no one happened to over hear them. Uncle motioned to the chair beside his, offering him a cup of steaming tea, Zuko rolled his eyes, 'Why am I doing this?' he groaned. He sat down but did not take the tea, "Uncle…There is something wrong…. Koima...Koima is…" He didn't know how to explain it.
Iroh went pale, the cup halfway to his lips, "Oh please don't tell me she's pregnant!"
Zuko's eyes went wide, "No! Uncle! That's not what I'm trying to say!" What exactly was he trying to say? He groaned, "I made Koi mad at me, she said she's not, only 'disappointed' in me because what had happened yesterday and this morning with the man who caused the boiler explosion. It makes me worried that she's angry with me, she said that she's not but I feel like she is and it's driving me insane!" Zuko finished quickly, he gulped in a lungful of air and tried to breathe normally again.
Uncle Iroh's face was unreadable, his hand went up to his mouth and he started having a coughing fit, his attempt to mask his laughter, but is was impossible.
"uncle!" Zuko tried to silence his Uncle's laughter but to no avail. Uncle Iroh roared with laughter, his great girth rumbled with unrestrained mirth. His nephew was worried that he was in trouble with a woman! Oh how fast they grow up!
"Stop Uncle! Be quiet!" Zuko shushed him. After awhile Iroh's laughter wore off and he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and grinned at his handkerchief as he wiped them away, "Oh Prince Zuko, ahh, woman troubles." He sighed, "I use to have them myself in the old da-"
"Uncle, I don't need another history lesson." Zuko said irately, he did not want to be here half the night listening to his Uncle's escapades when he was his age, "I just want to know what to do!"
Uncle Iroh sat back in his chair and sipped his tea thoughtfully as he wondered what to tell his woman-troubled nephew. Uncle Iroh was still laughing inside, Prince Zuko was the last person he suspected that would ever be worried about what a woman was thinking and if he indeed was in trouble. 'He's learning that the world does not revolve around him.' Iroh thought smugly. Having Koima on the ship was unconsciously teaching all the men to be better mannered and…… Iroh chuckled, the men always worked 3 times as hard when Koima is around, each trying to show their strength for the young girl, each man hoping to receive a smile or a kind word from the little Koi fish.
Uncle Iroh knew his nephew was in desperate need of some help, so Iroh asked him a few questions, hoping to make Zuko think on the matter himself, "Did you apologize to her?"
Zuko nodded, "Yes, when we were in the AnYun market."
"What about Icharu?"
Zuko didn't nod this time and Iroh looked at him pointedly. Zuko frowned, "Apologize to him?" Iroh nodded, knowing that he would have to explain to his woman emotion-retarded nephew, "Koima's emotions are tied in with Icharu's. If you apologize to Icharu, a sincere apology, then I'm sure that Koima will not be upset with you any longer, but then again." Iroh shrugged, "Who can interpret the thoughts of women?"
Apologizing to a commoner was the last thing Zuko wanted to do, especially one who caused a load of money in damages, but what Uncle said made sense; Koima was always the sensitive one: not happy when other's weren't, and sad when others were.
Zuko tried to get things straight in his mind, "So if I apologize to Icharu, then Koi won't be mad at me anymore?"
Uncle Iroh nodded, "Most likely."
Zuko let out a loud sigh and left the room. 'Agni…kill me now.' Zuko turned, and headed for the infirmary.
I hope it was to your liking! I like this chapter, hehe.
I had a great time at the movies last night! Brandon and I couldn't get in to go see Silent Hill because it was rated R and we needed a parent to go in with us. So we went to go see Mission Impossible III. We sat in the very top and during the bridge scene, he held my hand throughout the rest of the movie and I was screaming inside, "YES! YES! HE LIKES ME!" OMG. It was the happiest moment of my life! And he took me home and kissed me goodnight, my sister saw the whole thing, (my dad was out cycle riding and my mom was at a party). It was the best ever! Brandon is a drummer in a lot of bands, he has played the drums for over 11 years. And it is awesome!
I'm baby sitting tonight! Little Ryan of course, Crystal called when I was in the car going to the movies, CRAWFISH FESTIVAL! So I'll be gone around 12 or 1 or so. I saw the new episode of Avatar! Toph is fucking awesome! Maybe she and Aang will get together? Hmm. It's a good paring in my opinion. I would love to read some fanfics about that little couple. If there are any, send me a link or tell me the title so I can read them. Please review!
