AN: So, I know I literally just said this last week, but I absolutely have to say it again: thank you, thank you, THANK YOU guys so much for all the feedback and support this last week. I think this is the largest amount of reviews I've gotten in the period between two chapters, and it has been such a blessing and a treat to get to read through all these replies and get to hear what you guys are thinking. Nothing could make me want to keep writing more, you guys are the frickin' best!
Chapter 10: Odium
The intrusion of the soldier had been something that had immediately put Soza on her toes; she wasn't entirely sure the context of what was happening, but the way that the Avatar had so abruptly sent the men from the room was enough to pique her interest. She had been glowering at Katara who had so insultingly addressed her mother, so much to the point that she had missed the last few things the soldier on the ground beside the Avatar said.
She didn't miss the name though, as it was spoken with a shaky and pained voice. Even still, the weakness of the man's tone notwithstanding, the utterance seemed to bring the room to its knees.
Soza looked around as quickly as she could, trying to gauge everyone's reactions and saw them all to be in different levels of pure shock. Auntie Mai had stood up so quickly that she had knocked her chair over and she was leaning forward with her knuckles pressed to the table, teeth clenched and eyes flashing. Suki and her husband had grabbed one another's hands as if on instinct, their own expressions hinting that of near complete stunning. Fire Lord Zuko had seemed to practically deflate, like the failed airships that Soza had seen being let out of their air in order to be scrapped, his shoulders slumping and face looking suddenly very tired. That awful Katara had even seemed able to stop watching her mother with that angry expression and dropped into her chair, nearly missing it as her hands fell into her lap weakly and she lowered her eyes towards the ground slowly and it looked to Soza a moment like she was as still as a statue. She couldn't see the Avatar's face, but judging by his stillness, he was surely in a very stunned state as well.
Most disconcerting perhaps was Toph however, who seemed like she had just lost the capability to stand. Like Mai, she had gotten to her feet, but looked like she had perhaps passed out or gone faint as Auntie Ty and that Jin woman caught her and tried to slowly sit her in her chair. Toph seemed to be conscious but her expression was blank, save for the fact that she looked rather like she was going to be sick, and her hands shook as she reached out and clutched at Jin's wrist, almost like a frightened child might cling to their mother in a state of panic. Both Jin and Ty Lee were looking between each other and Toph with something like anxious dread and fright, and Soza saw tears glistening in Jin's eyes while Auntie Ty looked like she was trying very hard to keep from looking absolutely furious.
More than anything, Soza realized how exciting this was for her; this was only the second time she had heard this name spoken in such a setting, and just as before, it had seemed to completely put everyone there at its mercy.
I have got to find out who this Sasuke is, she thought, the intrigue nearly overwhelming and she began to turn around anxiously.
"Mother, what is—"
She didn't get far before the sight of her mother's face cut her off only three words into her question.
In all of Soza's time being with her only parent, she had been privy to seeing expressions on her mother's face that she genuinely imagined weren't seen by nearly anyone, maybe even anyone sitting around the dinner table that night. Soza had seen losses of patience, outright frustration and even anger from her, to the point of it being quite frightening to her; so often was her mother someone who was in complete control of herself that any loss of composure was enough to make Soza feel deeply uncomfortable as a result.
"You must remember, Soza, when you feel those urges of weaker emotions, sadness, or fear, or worry, you must cast them aside. You must be stronger than your feelings, for they are yours and only yours to conquer. I can teach you how to fight them, but ultimately, I'm holding you responsible for never slipping into the trap that plagues your fellow man: unless emotion can be harnessed for a greater purpose than how it makes you feel, it is worthless, and worse than that, it is a distraction."
Soza remembered this lecture she had received long ago from her mother, and wondered why it had suddenly slipped into her mind. Maybe it was because that before her, her mother was openly showing that weaker emotion. Maybe it was because of how her mother was showing that weaker emotion.
Watching the single tear slide down her mother's face, watching as it pulled a streak of black as it soaked her makeup, Soza found her curiosity increased tenfold. Before she could so much as try asking again though, she was cut off.
"Not another word, Soza," her mother said softly.
It was as stunning to her then as anything could have been. Soza had never been denied anything by her mother before, nothing that she asked for was anything of a trifling matter and she had long since learned not to ask for things that served no purpose. So being denied this information, not being able to satisfy this burning and rabid curiosity nearly brought Soza to plead with her mother, whose face was a calm and flat mask, save for the wet streak down her cheek that gave away more than any words could hope to.
Perhaps the most painful part for Soza was not being able to place what the tear meant, or what this Sasuke might have meant to her mother to pull such a reaction from such a hardened and impenetrable person as her.
Katara found herself struggling deeply to try and keep both her respective sides in check, these two parts of her that were raging for control of her conscience. On one hand, she wanted to run off to some secluded room, or building, or really anywhere in the city where she could be alone. There, she could totally focus on the thundering and overwhelming thoughts that were rushing about in her mind in an anxious fit, thus allowing her ample opportunity to cry, to scream, to rage. In a way, it didn't even feel like the situation before her was happening, so caught up in denial as she was. She had let him go, she had taken the step that she knew Toph hadn't so much as tried, and allowed herself to move on from Sasuke, accepting fully that he was gone and never coming back. She didn't want him to come back. At least, that was what she was trying very hard in that moment to tell herself.
The other part of her was trying very hard to focus on the tense and consequential conversation happening before her.
Following the soldier's revelation of who it had been that had wiped out his entire division, he had passed out at Aang's feet. Somehow, her boyfriend had been the most calm and collected of any of them, slowly getting to his feet and looking around to them without any sign of panic or shock on his face.
"I need word spread through the rest of the palace," he had asked of them. "I know there's still a gala underway beneath our feet, but the higher ups need to know this. They don't need to know exactly what just yet, but an emergency meeting needs to be held at the city council right now."
He had leaned down then to lift the unconscious and battered soldier as Ty Lee had called out to him then, her shaky and cracking voice a perfect personification of how just about everyone else there was surely feeling. Katara's own digits had been twitching almost uncontrollably.
"Are you sure?"
It was a simple a question as it might have sounded vague, but the meaning wasn't lost on Aang. He looked towards her with an expression that Katara, despite having been with him for many years, couldn't quite read.
"We can't hide this. The Streak that brought him here is already heading to the Water Nation to spread the news. We'd hold this for maybe a day before it would break to high command."
There had been a bitterness in his voice as he had then made himself the first one out of the room, and Katara could see that same bitterness on his face now as they all stood in the debate hall within the Ba Sing Se council headquarters. She could tell that, had he been able, Aang wouldn't have hesitated for a second to keep the information they had just been made privy of a secret. Though his overall attitude was about as foreign a thing to her right then as the situation itself, Katara knew that Aang was surely furious with the fact that he was being forced to provide this same information to anyone other than those who had been in that room for the revelation that had so suddenly come crashing down on them.
What would you have done, Aang, if we were the only ones who knew?
"The task force member who was brought to the city regained consciousness briefly," Governor Bradley was saying. They all were standing around a large circular table, men and women of all levels of importance, and all still dressed rather humorously in their evening-going wear. But there was no mistaking the tone that was set over the room; somehow, despite her own trepidation and thundering heart, Katara found herself able to derive some level of deeprooted pleasure at the expressions of all those around the table. The men and women who had been so quick to pin as much as they could on the disappeared Sasuke all looked like they were trying to hide how uncomfortable they were feeling and Bradley was no exception. The governor's face was a pale mask, his expression set as one that looked like he was trying hard to stay in control, but his eyes kept flicking about nervously as though he were expecting to see Sasuke standing in their midst.
"The only other information he was able to provide other than what the Avatar and his companions have told us is that the attack was carried out strictly with a blade, and that… Sasuke was alone."
Katara heard the way that he paused before saying the name, as though the moment he uttered it, he was acknowledging the reality of what had happened. Chief of War Mila Dreyer spoke up following this information. Of the three dozen or so various military ministers, leaders, and figureheads, she seemed to be one of the few that seemed to not be letting the situation define her by way of emotion, but her voice seemed to shake just a moment as she started talking.
"Several battalions have been dispatched to the place of attack, and will be returning with full reports by morning."
The reigning Water Tribe Chief of the North, whom Katara had spent much of the earlier day with, gave Dreyer a somewhat cynical look. He was a tall man, broad shouldered and with a stern and intense face.
"We're trusting this issue to the hands of the UNC are we?" he remarked dryly, sparking looks from both Dreyer and Bradley, and the other nine members of the council. There were three members from the Fire, Earth, and Water Nation alongside the pair of them, and Katara recognized the majority of them from the hearings that had taken place a decade ago.
"Chief Tangith. Something to say?" Bradley asked coldly, seeming to regain some of his composure, and Katara fought down a sneering smile. Of course the only way that any of these self-important fools would be able to muster up their confidence was at the idea of their position of power being compromised or challenged.
"Reports are of no consequence," came a booming, rumbling voice and Katara looked over to one of the few people outside of her group of friends that she actually was glad to see. General Gokan, now the lead military commander of Ba Sing Se, had his massive arms crossed and, like Chief Tangith, was looking at the members of the United Nations Council with judging eyes. "What do you expect to learn? That there is a battalion sized group of men and women dead on the coast of the Fire Nation? That their lives were taken with a blade? And all this done by a man whom you lot saw fit to label as the enemy of mankind."
"You wouldn't happen to be implying that the deaths of these soldiers ought to be traced back to us, would you, general?" Dreyer said in a voice just above a frigid whisper. Gokan looked hardly intimidated by the imposing woman's question and simply replied with a remark.
"There could have been any number of reasons why Sasuke left in the first place. And I don't think it's any secret that the deck was stacked against him from the start."
Tangith gave Gokan a somewhat vain look.
"I am not trying to defend this criminal, my dear general, for I am of the belief that he is indeed dangerous and guilty of much. But with how poorly his situation was handled at the end of the war, I believe there is very little to suggest that the Council should be put in charge of this matter."
Fire Nation Envoy Ixa, once the undercover general who had obtained much respect and infamy for her role as a double agent in the waning days of the war, leaned forward, putting her hands on the table as Dreyer opened her mouth, likely to snap something back.
"Passing blame amongst ourselves is a meaningless and foolish act at this stage," she said firmly. "Regardless of how we've reached this point, we still have a very serious problem at hand."
"A serious problem?!" came a somewhat panicked voice that almost seemed to crack. Katara looked over to see King Kuei looking about at everyone with a somewhat frantic expression as though he were trying to see at least one person who was as disheartened about the situation as he was. His bear Bosco even seemed to be slightly perturbed by his demeanor; in the time since he had returned to Ba Sing Se to rule once more, Kuei had seriously impressed Katara by how well he had done in trying to unite his people and the people of other Nations, particularly considering how naïve and oblivious he had been as to the state of his city prior to the end of the war. That said, he was always the one to pass of a potential military conflict to Bradley's office, or to shuffle it off on Gokan or the Kyoshi Warriors or whomever he could find to handle the problem. It was clear he had no stomach still for real violent conflict, and it was clear that this predicament was no different.
"Because of how he was treated, there's been a madman loose in our lands!" he cried out. "He's been labeled as this legendary murderer, and now, after over a decade, he's back for revenge!"
"This is no time to panic," came the withered, yet still very energetic voice of King Bumi. Usually such n upbeat and wild personality, even he seemed to have been overcome with an intense sense of calm. "At this point, we haven't any idea what truly happened at the Fire Nation coast, just the words of a very distraught and shell-shocked soldier."
"You doubt his testimony?" Ixa said in a somewhat hostile tone; clearly, her intent in speaking up was not to doubt the words of a soldier from her own nation.
"Merely suggesting that we ought not assume anything until more of this comes to light," Bumi said evenly and shared a long look with Ixa who clearly felt she had more she wanted to say on the matter.
Through her absolutely raging mind, Katara could feel a pang of regret that despite all the talks, all the legislation, all the things Aang had done specifically in order to try and foster a sense of unity amongst the Nations and yet this still remained such a rampant problem. In that instant that Bumi had suggested that the words of the delirious and shock soldier might not have been entirely accurate, Ixa, and no doubt many of the other representatives of the Fire Nation present at the emergency meeting all had their minds flip to the defense of the people of their nation, rather than the problem at hand. Katara knew Bumi well enough to know there wasn't a molecule in his body that thought any of the Nations' peoples were better than another, but this was the world they lived in following the end of the war. The mark of Ozai's brutal conflict might have faded slightly, but it still festered just as badly as it could, with suspicion keeping many things in limbo.
Then, Katara remembered why they were there, and she couldn't help but feel a spurn of outrage that these emotions were even coming into play in a moment like this. Fortunately, Iroh spoke up then and voiced her own concerns, albeit in a tone that was surely a great deal more calming and controlled than Katara knew she would have burst out with.
"There is no doubt that we must know all we can about this event before things escalate too gravely," he said, his low and grating tone a soothing sound to Katara's ears. "But for the time being, we must trust the word of the man spirited here."
"I agree," Bradley said firmly. "If Sasuke has indeed come out of his extended period of hiding, he must be found and taken in for questioning. The murder of our military men and women will not go unpunished."
In Katara's head, one of the many things that was swirling about and hammering her mind with different possibilities was what in the world would have caused Sasuke not only to return from his self-imposed exile, but what also would have caused him to wind up engaging an entire task force on the coast of the Fire Nation. There was a part of her that wondered if this had even been the same boy she had known over a decade ago, or if this was someone else entirely, someone masquerading with a sword and trying to cash in on Sasuke's infamy.
"How could he have known that this was indeed Sasuke?" asked a female Water Nation representative from the United Nations Council, clearly of a somewhat similar mindset to Katara, and General Gokan gave a chuckle that nearly shook the room with its deep cadence.
"Larina, you were fortunate enough to not be here on the last day of the war. But believe me when I tell you that there is no person I would believe would be able to destroy an entire battalion of elite benders with nothing but a sword other than Sasuke," he rumbled and Kuei looked to him with a very reluctant look in his eyes, and an even more reluctant edge to his voice as Katara glumly realized the truth of Gokan's words; who else but Sasuke could have managed that?
"I've heard the stories just like everyone else… but in high end society, even speaking about him was something made a strict taboo by the council, regardless of who they were. Was he… was he as terrifying as the stories say?"
"Worse."
The answer didn't come from Gokan's commanding bass, but from a voice even more off-putting in its silky and powerful tone. Katara felt a reluctance of her own as she turned with the rest of the room to look at Azula who looked to be the only person in the room who not only looked comfortable, but also seemed to have a soft smile playing at the corners of her mouth. The room fell totally silent to absorb her words.
"He faced down my father's army, alone, while they were empowered by Sozin's Comet," she said. "He drew to life a serpent the size of a small mountain to fight by his side. He possessed the power to fly past the atmosphere and destroy the comet in its entirety. Chopping down a battalion of soldiers with his sword would have been child's play for him."
Murmurs began to resonate through the chamber and Katara could see the multitude of concerned expressions becoming more frightened by the second. Even those like Chief of War Dreyer seemed to be trying to keep from showing some semblance of worry at the prospect of Sasuke's return, and Katara had to remind herself that very few of the people in that room had actually been there on the day that Sasuke had all but become a god to them. Compared to the initial numbers that had been the first line of defense, only a handful of soldiers had survived Obito's destruction of the wall, reducing the number of people who even knew Sasuke existed to a minimum. Katara had walked the city streets and on more than one occasion had heard some civilian telling an enraptured audience how he had seen Sasuke with his own eyes, flying through Ba Sing Se engaged in battle with an unknown figure. These stories were dismissed as tall tales more often than not by the audience, but the reality was that the stories Katara heard were not just far from exaggerated, they were actually underselling just how powerful and terrifying a force Sasuke had been that day.
Katara had told herself to lie about thinking about Sasuke in the years since he had left, but with the situation now suddenly before them, this utter and immediate crisis, she realized just how much time she had spent with him on her mind.
Was I lying for myself? For Aang? Trying to pretend he doesn't still haunt me everyday?
"And now you people are talking about, what, capturing him? Taking him in?" Azula was asking, her voice dripping with dark humor and her eyes dancing with fire. She looked like it was taking a considerable effort to not break into a much larger smile.
"It he wanted, he could come walking right up to the wall, blast it to pieces and march straight here to take his revenge on whomever he saw fit to. And there isn't a damn thing that anyone here could do about it."
"You sound awfully enamored by the man who killed your father," came a somewhat judgmental remark from an Earth Nation general by Gokan's side that Katara didn't recognize, and she felt her breath catch in her throat.
She wasn't alone; as she looked quickly around, she could tell from the expressions of her friends, of people like Iroh and Bumi, of anyone who knew Azula well enough to know the danger she posed, that this general might very well not have had a damn clue what he might have been inciting. The mood of the room seemed to shift from worry about Sasuke, to worry regarding Azula. Katara saw Gokan move somewhat to block the general's line of sight with Azula's, and Mai and Ty Lee both gently eased towards the princess, looking loose but no doubt ready to spring at a moment's notice. As they did, Katara saw that Ty Lee's eyes were red from the crying she had been doing for the better part of the night.
Azula, who always had somehow had a way of commanding the attention of a room, seemed even more in a league of her own then as she faced the general who had just seen fit to disrespect her. Katara knew that was exactly how Azula had taken it too; it was how she had been raised by her father, and it was how she raised Soza into being such an impertinent little devil. Any remark that could even be taken as offense, would be seen as disrespect and grounds for the execution of whatever individual that had dared not understood the deference she was owed.
The princess's face seemed to be a mask half frozen between a sneering anger and self-control. Katara watched as Azula's fingers twitched ever so slightly at her side and she wondered if they were about to be witness to a murder just then, before Azula drew in a long breath and slowly exhaled it through her nose. At the end of it, the fake politeness and aura she so commonly conducted herself with returned and she smiled sweetly towards the general, who was looking more and more like he was starting to understand the thin ice he had just tread on.
"Do not mistake my assessment of Sasuke's abilities as admiration," she said smoothly and the general gave her a shaky bow.
"My sincerest apologies, your highness," he said and Katara watched as Azula's eyes glowed for just a moment with a ravenous hate; she knew the princess would have liked nothing more just right about now then to blast the life from this inexperienced man who had dared insult her. But that glow faded quickly and she returned his gesture with a nod. Slowly, the room seemed to settle away from the brief danger that had juts been posed, and back to the anxiety-inducing matter at hand.
"What could it be that he wants?" asked Ixa, somewhat bitterly. What followed was a relatively awkward silence as consideration was given to what actually was about the only place they could potentially perceive answers from. Katara felt heat rise on the back of her neck as she felt the eyes of dozens of people drift towards her, Aang and the rest.
It had been no secret the feelings of suspicion that had been cast over all of them who had been traveling with Sasuke, suspicions that persisted well past the hearings that followed the war. Well more than once, Katara had overheard quiet whispers and muttered musings that there was more to the story than was told; they had followed Sasuke's request to the letter whilst under oath, citing they had only traveled with him as a result of necessity, had harbored no feelings or connections with him, and were all happy as anyone to see him gone. The lies had done a number on most all of them.
But for what? Katara thought angrily. It's clear no one really bought what we said.
Even Iroh turned slowly to regard them all and Katara took a step forward to put herself next to Aang as the pair of them, Azula, Suki, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai and Jin were all looked at it with cautious curiosity and hints of mistrust. It was hard not to feel bad for Jin who had tried to not be conspicuous enough to have been dragged to the meeting, but the time she had been known to spent with Sasuke, as well as the fact that she and Ty Lee were all but keeping Toph on her feet supported between them and she didn't have much of a choice but to come along. Even now, as they were all being stared down by everyone else in the room, she kept her own eyes down, looking as modest as could be, keeping her hand at Toph's back in case the earthbender might have gone faint again.
It was impossible not to feel deeply worried for Toph in that moment; at a glance, she was doing just fine, but upon closer inspection, her breathing was coming in short, labored, little inhales and exhales, and her body gently would quiver from time to time as though someone had just pressed a handful of ice against her back. She needed to be out of that meeting and in bed with how she was, but there were really no other options than for her to stick it out.
"So what, you think we're his hidden fucking network or something?" Mai suddenly snapped, her sharp voice piercing and echoing the silent room and Katara's heart skipped a beat. The rudeness of Mai's remark wasn't lost on the room and angry whispering broke out, a few raised voices mixed in the rabble. Azula looked mildly amused and impressed by the remark of her friend even as Zuko paled and swallowed, and Ty Lee reached out to grip Mai's wrist in a movement that looked almost instinctual in how anxious and sudden it was.
"You'll mind your tongue in our presence," Dreyer said coldly. "Your nobility only buys you so much leeway, girl."
"Not as much as a lifetime of backstabbing and asskissing no doubt," Mai retorted and the noise in the room doubled as full on agitated voices began to echo about in a brutal cacophony. Katara felt a numbness in her veins that was brought on by more than a couple factors.
Mai looked just as she had the moment the soldier had delivered the news of Sasuke's return, eyes garnering deep ire and a tight expression that made her face look almost like a statue in how little it moved. There was something like relief in her body language however, as though slashing back at these people was giving her some semblance of alleviation from thinking about him. It was hard for Katara not to look at her friend and wonder just what it was that was going on in her head that made insulting a majority of the Nations' leaders seem like the best course of action for her.
But more than anything, Katara just couldn't believe what was happening. Sasuke was very possibly roaming openly on their shores again, and something like this was taking precedence over trying to come up with a plan of action? She wanted to curse at Mai, at Dreyer, at every single one of these egotistical leaders who were letting pride be a reason they wasted time and ignored the reality before them. Bumi and Iroh were exchanging strained looks as Kuei seemed to put a hand almost involuntarily on Bosco's fur coat. The sight made Katara long for contact of her own and she slipped her hand into Aang's, giving it a squeeze and found herself very surprised as he barely seemed to acknowledge her gesture.
Dreyer might very well have gotten into a full blown shouting match with Mai then and there, but from the front of the room, the wide double door that opened up to the chambers swung open with a tremendous creak, allowing entrance to the small group that entered. As she laid eyes on the person striding in at the front of them with an overconfident air, Katara had to do everything in her power from letting her expression twist into one of disgust.
Grandly giving himself his own admittance, Lord Gilbert came marching towards the large table around which every other occupant huddled. He was wearing a cocky smile, making himself the only person other than Azula who might have smiled in the meeting room that night. He wore high end traveling clothes and boots that likely cost as much as a farm might make in a whole generation and he gestured broadly around him as he approached.
"Well what do you know about this, I roll into the city just an hour ago and the next thing I know, everything's already gone absolutely wild!"
Gilbert's appearance and overt self-assurance reminded Katara bitterly of someone she had known quite a while ago, a young and handsome man that she had fallen for stupidly and who had been so utterly confident in his beliefs that he believed drowning an entire town was an acceptable price to pay for his crusade. Though thinking that was perhaps an insult to that person, since Jet had at least had some semblance of respect and conscience by the end of it all; Gilbert was very young for a person of his political stature, only five or six years older than Katara, and it was often said in hushed tones that he had sold his morality for his appearances. Katara couldn't quite stand how handsome he was. On top of all that, he had likely at least a third of the very room under his thumb through deals struck by bargaining, blackmail, generous donations, or other underhanded means. It wasn't a stretch to suggest that he was one of the most powerful people in any of the Nations, and he was well aware of it.
Beside him marched the towering beast himself, Gaeseric, who looked somehow even more comfortable being at his master's side once more. To the other side of Gilbert walked none other than Zuko and Sokka's swordsmanship teacher, Piandao. He looked vastly different from when they had met him before the end of the war, and he had instructed Sokka; his hair had grown white and long and his face bore the age of his years quite clearly. But even with that being noted, as he walked in dressed in robes of deep blue with a sword at his side, he looked just as imposing as Gaeseric, perhaps even more so. Katara was able to note though that he wasn't matching the looks of either of his two pupils, nor his fellow members of the Order of the White Lotus. Bumi and Iroh both wore somewhat intensely focused expressions though they couldn't meet the swordsman's eye.
Flanking the three men at a slightly wider width were two young women dressed identically in the traditional robes of wandering swordsman known as ronin, but on closer look, the robes were of much finer make as seemed to be the swords they wore at their side. They could have been sisters, both of average height with hair tied back in ponytails and wearing equally stern and calm expressions. Despite their demeanor, Katara couldn't help but wonder with bile in her throat if Lord Gilbert hadn't simply dressed up two of his mistresses as bodyguards just so they would have an excuse to be with him everywhere he went.
As he neared the circle of people around the table, the young lord raised a hand, causing his procession to stop, and proceeded with a despicable sort of swagger on his own, pulling a face that looked like that of a parent trying to come up with a solution for their two bickering children.
"So… we've got a Sasuke problem."
His smile seemed to widen.
"I have to admit, this is one person I was very much hoping I would get the chance to meet one day. Though perhaps that won't be practical, based on what we ought to do anyway."
With how much stress he placed on the word 'ought', it was clear he had a very clear idea on how it would be necessary to proceed. Katara looked quickly to her Aang and her friends; all across the board, there were looks of distrust and carefully concealed revulsion at the sight of Gilbert save for Azula, who was looking at him with something that could have been… interest? There was a fleeting moment as Katara wondered wildly if perhaps he could have been Soza's father. He certainly wielded a fair deal of power, and power was something Azula found appealing more than anything.
"Do you have a suggestion, my lord?" Dreyer said in a clipped tone, and Katara could tell the Chief of War was hardly pleased with Gilbert's presence; the meeting was reserved for those of high military and political standing, and despite the influence he wielded, Gilbert officially had no reason to be there. And yet, he had still been able to stride right in like the meeting room was his own backyard and there would be no repercussions as a result.
Looking for a moment with a furrowed brow like he couldn't believe how such a plain answer was evading their senses, the lord ran a hand through his short brown hair and continued to smile.
"It's quite simple: we kill Sasuke."
All around the room, looks were exchanged, and Katara finally felt Aang's grip tense up sharply in her own, though it was surely not a result of his desire to be close to her. Azula's eyes narrowed a fraction, as Mai's expression somehow grew even more disgusted; Katara watched as she crossed her arms and gently pulled at the cut of her dress where Katara knew knives were tucked against Mai's breasts. She would never go anywhere unarmed, but she rather looked now like she was ready to draw them free and take out Gilbert's eyes. Jin and Ty Lee both drew nearer to Toph, but strangely enough, the earthbender seemed to have almost grown calmer at this new addition to the meeting. That wasn't to say her expression looked any less like she was ready to be sick, but there was much more of a sense that she was no longer shaking. This was even more odd when Katara realized that she herself might now have been shaking.
It took several long seconds before anyone seemed willing to so much as reply to this blatant suggestion; it was Kuei of all people who took to the task of beginning to break down such a complex three word scheme.
"If… if this route was indeed taken. And we decided to just…"
He didn't quite seem able to finish the thought and Gilbert finished it for him, again, how a parent might speak to a child.
"To just kill him. Which we should."
Kuei nodded nervously. "Yes, that… how do you propose we go about such a thing?"
The lord straightened his back and looked around with an air of matter-of-factness. It was rather unbelievable how easily he was able to gain control of a room.
"First order of business is finding him; leads need to go out to every fort, every headquarters, every base or positioning. Dwellers or Talons be damned, this man is by far the most critical threat to our safety. Double staff wherever you need to, whatever it takes to be able to start sending patrols combing all over the Nations."
Governor Bradley shifted uncomfortably as he looked around.
"That much mobilization will be difficult to keep from the public eye. If that's a route we take, we'd have to send out a fair few notices ahead of time to make sure we have all our bases covered."
Gilbert's smile widened even further.
"No, you won't. This won't be something you elites hide from the people."
Pressing his knuckles against the table, the young lord leaned forward, eyes flashing with purpose.
"If we want to find him, we're going to need help from more than just the militaries and private groups like the Kyoshi Warriors. The citizens of our Nations can help us just as much as we can, and more importantly, they have a right to know a monster like this is prowling our shores."
The suggestion that a step like this needed to be taken was enough to send the room into fresh throes of discontent, and garbled conversations broke out with voices of heightened anxiety. As far as a manhunt was concerned, getting the public involved was surely a smart move, but in the case of someone like Sasuke, whose name had become so embroiled in the very culture of the Nations as some impossible legend, the fear that could come about at as a result of announcing a manhunt for him seemed to great a price to pay. There are already existed a good deal of tension throughout every region, this seemed a very deadly risk to take.
But over the rumbling and mutterings that took up the air in the room, one voice spoke up, younger and louder than the rest, sounding like it was about to crack and break.
"He's not a monster!"
The room quieted and attention swiveled to Toph, who had marched forward around the side of the table, her hands balled into fists as she shouted. She stopped a good fifteen feet from him, as the two women who had been flanking him sprung into action, blades flashing free from their saya and angling towards Toph as they moved between her and their master. Katara could tell by their movements and the speed thereof that these were most certainly not just whores masquerading as masters of the blade.
"Mie, Rei, that's enough," Gilbert said to the pair, though his demeanor remained very casual. They didn't say a word in response, but they didn't move any closer to Toph; behind the earthbender, Ty Lee, Jin, Mai, Sokka and Suki had all rushed forward to stand just at her back, all looking ready to come to blows. Toph's unseeing eyes were glistening as her balled fists shook violently, her face a furious, almost desperate snarl. As though she had all but forgotten about every other person in the room, she carried on.
"You come walking in here acting like you know him, and think you can just order his death just because you have a chunk of these spineless, weak worms in your back pocket?!" she roared, voice shaking from strain. "You hide behind your money and your influence, but you still think you just have the right to call upon something like that?! Where were you when the war ended, huh?! I don't remember seeing you with the rest of us, bleeding for our world, while Sasuke gave everything he had to save it!"
She ground her teeth and turned her head towards everyone gathered there, men and women that she couldn't see, silently watching her rage. Katara felt like she was paralyzed as she gripped Aang's hand as though it was her lifeline from springing into action as well. Zuko's head was down and his eyes jammed shut as his sister stood next to him, looking on at the spectacle, smile on her face still even as her eyes flashed dangerously.
"You all never got that!" Toph shouted. "He wanted to leave! This isn't his world, he didn't want to get stuck here! But he sacrificed going home to save our world, and almost died in the process! And all you people still want is to condemn him!"
Her words echoed around the room a moment and no one seemed bold enough to want to reply to this. Finally, the governor spoke up, looking as hesitant as he had when addressing Gilbert.
"Miss Beifong, I don't presume to know the details of all that happened, but based on—"
Lord Gilbert raised a hand, slowly stepped towards Toph and Bradley fell silent. He continued to walk towards her, placing hands on the shoulders of his two bodyguards and pushed gently past them.
"No, please, governor. I want to hear her try and justify his slaughter of an entire outpost of our bravest men and women."
Toph glared in the direction of his voice, teeth bared as he stopped almost near enough to reach out and touch her. Leaning forward slightly, he spoke again, his voice quiet and provoking.
"Go on, girl. Tell me those soldiers deserved to die. Tell me Sasuke's actions have all been justified. Tell me he's not a plague on our world we need to eradicate."
She only continued to shake and glower at him, as tears finally spilled over her cheeks. Gilbert gave her a satisfied sneer.
"That's what I thought."
He looked to Ty Lee, Jin, and the rest.
"I recommend getting that one to bed. I think she's maybe a touch too emotional for this."
Ty Lee and Jin both looked ready to pounce on him, but Suki stepped between them and took Toph around the shoulder.
"Come on, Toph. It's not worth it."
With a start, Katara realized that Toph's fists had moved into a prepared stance, something she never did unless she was ready to attack. There was a single, heart stopping moment as Katara wondered if Toph was going to strike at Gilbert, but with what looked like a great deal of effort, her hands unclenched and she allowed herself to be turned and led away by Suki, Sokka too coming to put a hand on her shoulder. Jin and a very icy looking Mai followed after them and Ty Lee fixed the lord with a single, venomous look before joining them.
Next to her, Aang gave her hand a firm squeeze.
"Go with them," he whispered to her and she gave him a somewhat incredulous look.
"What? No, I'm going to stay with—"
Aang looked at her with as serious a look as she had ever seen, and she saw the sadness in his eyes.
"I can handle things here with Zuko, make sure Azula doesn't get in any trouble, I'll get you up to speed as soon as I can."
He put an arm around her, and pulled her into a hug.
"She needs her big sister right now," he whispered, and just those words were almost enough to bring Katara to tears. She pulled away from him and gave a small, firm nod before turning and heading out the door after Toph and the others, happy to be leaving behind the politicians and figureheads, but not particularly thrilled about leaving Aang in their midst.
She found herself smiling then, somehow, despite everything.
He's not that little kid you found in the iceberg, she thought. He'll be fine.
Taking a deep breath, she jogged to catch up with her friends as they guided an exhausted and quite possibly broken Toph from the chambers.
Sasuke squinted up at the sun that was a bright blurry patch beyond the layer of haze that had settled over the rugged landscape that morning. It was almost like the surface of an entirely different planet, he thought, the way the blackened earth seemed to disappear against the haze and the horizon, like they had been wrapped in a great cocoon of mist and cloud. He had only briefly spent time in the Fire Nation before voyaging west, but its volcanic nature seemed just as foreign as if he had never seen it before.
Had I been that wrapped up in pushing forward? I hadn't bothered to so much as look around?
Sasuke made a humorless smile and shook his head. What a stupid thing to think about.
He stood on the crest of a sloping hill a kilometer or so outside of the town they had spent the night in and he glanced back at the distant buildings over his shoulder. Ahead of him down the other side of it was Ursa's crew, all gathering up the few supplies they had as their captain moved amongst them, calling out the occasional order. Sasuke knew he should have felt awkward or nervous looking at her, but somehow he didn't feel anything that resembled a negative emotion toward her, nor any nerves whatsoever.
Yue was sitting down the hill, a slight distance from the rest of them, and for the past hour after they had hiked out to the crew's camp, she hadn't so much as sent a single glance in his direction. She hadn't said a word to him that morning when they had wolfed down a quick breakfast and left the inn, and that hadn't changed. Sasuke found it rather odd; she was usually exceptionally engaging with him, so for her to be as aloof as she was being now, it didn't sit quite right with him.
He couldn't keep his insides from doing a slight flip as Ursa moved away from her men and walked up the hill to stand beside him. For a moment, they stood in silence, looking over the group of hardened soldiers before he spoke up, his voice quiet as he tried to keep from sounding embarrassed.
"Should we… talk about last night?"
It was unbelievable that he was even having to deal with this discussion right now, but he was not going to have this hovering over him during the remainder of their journey.
"Sure," she said unhelpfully. Sasuke gave a slight wince; he hadn't wanted to be the one to initiate this conversation.
"Before you say anything," Ursa said. "I'm not expecting anything from you, Sasuke. If that's something that has you worried."
He looked over and she looked back, smiling all the while. It was impossible to ignore how beautiful of a woman she was, but Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that her appearance wasn't somehow a touch familiar.
"What do you mean?" he asked stupidly and she rolled her eyes.
"I mean, I wanted to have sex with you. And you seemed pretty okay with it once that was clear. But please don't be naïve enough to think I've fallen in love with you."
Turning her head, she glanced over her shoulder towards the town and then back to her men, her eyes glazing over slightly.
"You're very… mysterious, very strange. And very handsome. I suppose those qualities might have gotten me a little excited for you."
Her smile returned, both humored and a touch sad.
"But I don't trust you. And I know you don't trust me. We've both been able to open up to each other and I think that's helped us, but there's far too much I don't know about you. I hope someday we'll be able to be truly honest and open with each other, but even then…"
Ursa laughed, "Even then, I don't know you wouldn't rather go for someone like her."
Her gaze was directed towards Yue and Sasuke too looked to the young woman sitting down at the bottom of the hill. He grunted.
"I don't know. I haven't had much time to think about things like that."
"Long term, you mean?"
"Yeah."
Ursa nodded as she crossed her arms.
"I don't know that will ever be a bridge I cross again myself."
Feeling curiosity poke within him, Sasuke gave her a look.
"You were with someone?"
Her smile lost its humor, even as it remained on her face.
"I was once young too, you know."
Sasuke looked away.
"Truthfully, you don't look more than thirty," he muttered, surprised he even had the will to offer out a compliment. This brought on the most genuine and hearty laugh he had yet heard from her, and it startled him.
"You're sweet," she said, when the laughter died away. "When I was a few years younger than you, I had someone I loved very much. Fate determined we were not to be, however, and I was married away to a very cruel man. He loved me, that I knew, but his way was the way of possession, not love like it ought to be."
Such a thought reminded Sasuke of someone and he remarked, "Sounds like somebody I know. Or… used to, anyway."
Ursa gave him a pitying look before continuing.
"I had to bear his children, and they wound up being the only reason I felt I had to live. They brought me joy and I would have given anything for them."
She paused then and Sasuke wondered if that was going to be all she wanted to say about the matter. After several long seconds, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened? Where are your kids now?"
An expression crossed Ursa's face then, one that was deeply regretful and strangely enough, sadistically satisfied.
"Circumstances arose that required me to leave their side. My deepest regret will always be that I didn't get to be there to see them grow, and be there for them when they needed me. Because I know their father wasn't. But if I hadn't left, things would have grown… well, let's just say it was the only option I had."
The second part of his question was enough to bring the genuineness back to her smile, however, a look that rather relieved Sasuke.
"Hopefully still here. It would do my heart more good than you know to see them again."
He gave a slow nod in response to her assertion and silence fell between them once more. After something like a minute, Ursa turned her head and cocked it his way.
"You sure there's nothing going on between you and Yue?"
It wasn't something Sasuke found he very much wanted to talk about, so he opted to defect her question as he crossed his arms and flicked his eyes towards his companion.
"What do you think? Doesn't exactly look like she's very interested in talking to me today."
Ursa shrugged.
"I just assumed that was because of what she heard last night."
Sasuke put two and two together, and his eyes widened. Ursa must have seen his expression because she gave another chuckle.
"Don't tell me that didn't cross your mind?" she asked, and Sauske gave his head a slow shake.
"I didn't think… I don't think I was that loud…" he murmured, feeling a burning in his cheeks.
"Maybe not you, but I'm not ashamed to admit I made a bit of noise," Ursa said, a mischievous tone entering her voice. "And then you have to consider how much we were rocking the bedframe, particularly when I laid you down and—"
"Alright, alright!" he snapped and she cut herself off with a smile.
"I'm sorry if I made things awkward with you two, but you really should go talk to her. I wouldn't let a fling get in the way of your relationship. Regardless of what kind of relationship it is."
As she looked down at her men, she couldn't help but shake her head at how far they'd come in just a matter of days. Her heart sang with elation, but she was surprised how very real her feelings for Sasuke were and how much of her mind they were starting to occupy.
"I don't pretend to know what will come of you and I, and I wouldn't mind remaining… close, once your journey is at its end, but I can't say for sure what your position will be following that, and I don't anticipate you're looking to tell me what that might be. For now though, I think we'd be best of focusing on getting to you to the Fire Lord."
Sasuke didn't reply to this and she gave a sigh of finality before straightening and turning towards the village.
"Alright, well I'm going to make a last walk back and relieve Siado and then we can get going. I'm imagining we're still in a bit of a rush?"
He nodded and she returned the gesture.
"I'll be back shortly."
As she started to walk away, Ursa stopped and looked up towards the bright grey sky thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me where you ran off to when we were finished?"
To this as well, Sasuke said nothing; after he and Ursa had lain down with one another post their physical engagement, he had waited until he was fairly confident she was asleep before he had left. Clearly, he had been wrong.
She waited only a few moments before giving a gentle sigh and continuing on her way. Sasuke waited until the sound of her footsteps had died off before growling angrily at himself. He really didn't know how to foster a good relationship to save his life.
He found that he actually wanted to tell her what he was doing back in the Fire Nation, trying to reach the Fire Lord. He wanted to tell her where he came from and what he had done. He wanted to be honest with her.
But he knew he couldn't.
There's far too much you don't know about me? Ursa, if only you knew…
The town was beginning to bustle as the morning rituals began. Ursa walked purposefully down the street, quickly enough to ensure as much efficiency to time as she could, though not too fast that suspicion might have been aroused at her speed. She stopped briefly to let a group of children dash in front of her, in the midst of playing some game, smiling as she did. She couldn't help but see Azula and Zuko in the children's faces, as they sprinted about, reminded so as she was of the playdates they would share with Mai and Ty Lee in their younger years.
I wonder how those girls are doing.
Alongside her children, those were two people that Ursa found she was deeply curious as to their situations; had Ty Lee ran away to join the circus as she had so loudly proclaimed as a child she wanted to do? Had Mai and her son ever actually found real attraction in their childhood crushes that she had seen blooming during their times at the palace grounds? Ursa knew she could have stood there all morning, pondering the state of so many things, but she knew there was nothing to be gained from letting herself get distracted with questions and daydreaming. So, giving the children a last smile, she continued on.
Siado was sitting at on the bench on the front patio of the inn, trying his best to look casual which Ursa supposed was difficult to do when you were tapping your hook hand on the railing. He looked up at her as she approached, his eyes softening with relief.
"Captain," he addressed her quietly as she drew up to stand next to him.
"Everyone's set," she told him, as she looked around at the townspeople milling about through the streets. "Anything to report here?"
He gave his head the barest shake.
"Hardly. No one followed you, Yue or the boy out of here. No one's shown up here asking question either."
Ursa nodded in response to his report, pleased that things had gone as swimmingly as they had that morning.
"On your feet then. Our client isn't exactly interested in taking his time to get to his final destination."
Siado stood and walked closely beside her as they stepped out from under the shade of the inn's awning and into the hazy morning glow that beamed over the town. Over the bustle and sounds of everyone hurrying about through the streets, Siado had to raise his voice slightly for her to hear.
"Captain… I wouldn't dare want to overstep my bounds, but is there a chance that this young man is… well, for lack of better terminology, more than just a client?"
Her first mate had never been one to hide his feelings from her, but Ursa couldn't help but smirk when she caught him looking somewhat uncomfortable.
"I wouldn't dig into it too much," she told him. "Anything you need to know, I will tell you."
She knew this wouldn't quite be good enough to satisfy his intrigue and potential concern, but her sexual escapades were not something he needed to bother himself with; Siado seemed to understand this, and he lowered his head in a sign of respect and apology.
"Forgive me, captain. It's just… well, it sounded last night as though things were perhaps a touch-"
He stopped talking as someone coming down the street the other way collided with Ursa's shoulder. Flinching, she rubbed the area he had hit, surprised at the force with which they had run into one another; to her knowledge, neither of them had been going quickly enough to warrant such a hit.
Prepared as she was to brush off the collision, Siado seemed less forgiving; he reached out and grabbed the man by the front of his travel robe and nearly forced him off his feet, hook hand flashing dangerously.
"Mind your step!" he snarled, and Ursa seized his shoulder firmly.
"That's enough!" she snapped and as she had been so capable of doing over the years, her tone conveyed what she was trying to get across. Without using so many words, she could tell as Siado looked to her that he realized her meaning.
Don't cause a scene.
His grip released on the man who gently brushed his traveling cloak and gave a small bow to Ursa, his voice coming out very slightly muffled, but with an airy and gentle quality to it.
"I'm very sorry, ma'am, I should have been looking where I was going."
She smiled in reply, "It's no problem."
Without another word, he raised his head and continued past them, disappearing amongst the throngs of people moving through the streets. Ursa glanced after him a moment, thinking his appearance had been rather odd, the way he had a black cloth pulled up over his nose and a patch over his eye. She shrugged it off quickly enough and moved out of the village with Siado at her side.
In the distance, she could see Sasuke's figure standing atop the crest of the slope and she couldn't help but shake her head. It had been a very long time since she had felt that way, the way he had made her feel last night. There was a twinge of regret as she wondered what this might mean for his relationship with Yue, but hopefully as long as he had the gall to talk with her about it, things should roll over smoothly.
I don't know if I could love you, Sasuke, despite how you make me feel. But I know that you need someone in your life who can be that for you.
She had to wonder that if not Yue, what woman would be capable of falling for such a dangerous, frightening and stunning young man as Sasuke.
Mai stood looking out at the night sky as she leaned on the balcony, watching the stars and wishing she could be just as far away from all this madness as they were. The world had all but fallen into controlled chaos as far as she could tell; it had been a full day since the revelation of Sasuke's return had reached Ba Sing Se, and things had only spiraled since the emergency meeting.
The report of the delirious soldier had been confirmed and a total of forty-three bodies had been confirmed, the full number of the task force save for the man who had escaped. This seemed to have been enough to put Gilbert's suggestion into action, and the United Nations Council and the military core, despite several outspoken efforts of opposition, began to swiftly mobilize the military forces across the three Nations. Mai had spent the morning after the meeting walking the streets outside the palace in an effort to distance herself from all the noise and activity, and had managed to pull herself from her mind enough to notice the very different mood and atmosphere that swept the city. Gone were the excitable and energetic throng of people that flooded the streets in participation of the weeklong celebration. They populace seemed to have drawn mostly indoors an the fewer people that roamed the streets whispered in hushed tones, moving about in a worried manner.
Mai had very nearly reached out to a passing couple to ask them what the matter was when she had seen the first flyer.
After she looked at it, she couldn't quite fathom how she had missed seeing them; after locking eyes with the first one, she began to find it impossible to look about anywhere without seeing one.
It was clearly a sort of duplication of the same pieces of parchment she had seen go up about ten years back when Sasuke had left. His caricature hadn't changed drastically, but the sketch had been slightly updated to what he might have looked like had he aged a decade.
She hated how suddenly her breath caught in her throat, just at the sight of a mere image of him.
For the remainder of the day, she had been unable to avoid seeing his the rough rendition of this face plastered on walls and poles throughout the city. Worse still were the whispers, the muttered conversation that she walked by that couldn't be turned out no matter how hard she tried.
"I can't believe this… wasn't he supposed to be a myth?"
"I heard he had crossed the sea; impossible, I said, but if he really destroyed an entire comet…"
"The military must be desperate if they're turning to civilian help to find him."
"This has to be a drill, or a test or something, no way he's real!"
"Isn't he supposed to be a monster?"
Finally, Mai hadn't been able to take it anymore and she rushed back to the palace and closed herself in her room.
For the rest of the day, she had locked herself away from the rest of the world. Ty Lee was with Toph at Jin's place on the other side of the city, so there would be no way to use her friend as a distraction from her writhing emotions. She didn't blame Ty for going to be with Toph for the time being, the earthbender was certainly in worse shape than she was.
Is she? Or am I just better at hiding it?
It was horrible how badly she felt, something she didn't even really acknowledge until hours of her self-imposed isolation had passed. She paced the length of her room more times than she could have counted and spent several long hours lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Toph had been taken to Jin's place on Katara's suggestion; the thought was that distancing her from all of the commotion surrounding talk of Sasuke would be good for her. She had come back to the palace after spending the night with Toph, as her presence apparently had been quite soothing for the distressed earthbender, but Katara had gone right to work right after she had gotten back, being pressed into service by the Water Nation delegates and military force. Zuko had entered a similar state of frenzied work and Mai had thought bitterly that this was hardly something she wasn't used to; even despite everything that was happening, Aang had stopped by her room to check on her, the only visitor she had before nightfall. Though even that might have been for the worse, as Mai had never seen the Avatar looking quite so worked up. Suki had snapped off orders to the Kyoshi Warriors and the palace was now bustling with facepainted women ready to spring into action, and Sokka had reported to his commanding officer General Ungo who had arrived just a day prior. As she didn't actually wield any military authority of her own, Azula was surely taking in all the chaos and disorder, thinking who knew what dark thoughts as she likely cradled her daughter to sleep that night.
All beneath Mai's feet and all around her throughout the palace, the only thing on anyone's mind was Sasuke. She supposed she was no exception.
Did you really kill all those people?
The thought kept her from so much as closing her eyes, let alone trying to sleep even as the starlit sky above slipped by. An entire day of chaos around her and seclusion to her own end, and despite the exhaustion that she felt as a result, sleep was something she didn't imagine would come to her that night.
So, she had leapt from her bed in her nightgown and walked down the hall empty and dark halls and onto the pavilion, just as empty a venue and lit only by the stars above. There was a soft breeze in the cold of the night that brought chills to her arms and legs, so barely covered as they were by the thin garment, but she didn't dare go back inside.
Mai closed her eyes and grit her teeth.
Sasuke!
The mental cry resounded in her head as strongly as if she had shouted it aloud, as though she actually imagined she would be able to summon him to her with just a call of his name. It was stupid and she found a dark grin crossing her face even as she felt something like despair coursing through her veins.
Would I even want to see him?
The question gave her pause.
She knew that it would have been a lie to suggest that she hadn't spent countless minutes of her life thinking to Sasuke and her feelings towards him. It had been possibly the most confusing time in her entire life, the weeks that he had been there with her. She would trace their relationship, beginning from the day that she had tried to kill him to the day he left and she wrapped her arms around him.
There was something like an involuntary shudder that passed through Mai as she remembered his touch.
Stop it, you stupid bitch.
It was such an absurd series of thoughts. He had intrigued her certainly, had found that she rather enjoyed his company and occasional conversation when she was able to get more than two words out of him. To that end, she supposed she did rather feel an unconscious desire to see him again. It was no secret that she wasn't exactly on very even footing with Zuko, she truly hadn't been for years. Having that kind of mystery and danger back in her life almost made her shiver with anticipation, the idea of having someone with her who could be there and, no matter the circumstances, and—
She tasted blood as she realized what she was wishing for.
It was just a crush. Don't be stupid. Don't be stupid, you really think you'd want that?
She held her breath as her heart throbbed.
Do you really think he'd want you?
Clutching the railing tightly, she bowed her head over the side of it, trying to keep her mind from running as wild as it was. Sasuke, wherever he was, wasn't thinking about her. It was more than likely she would probably never even see him again, regardless of whether or not he was out in the open again. Those bastards throughout the palace were doing everything in their power to ensure that, to kill him before he ever got a chance to defend himself. The hatred they bore for him was nearly enough to make her sick. How could they presume to know something about the young man who was so much more than—
"Mai."
She froze.
The world stopped spinning.
She had to force herself to breathe.
In over ten years, she had never forgotten the sound of his voice. Somehow, her brain never would have allowed her to do that and it was why, now, she could barely do more than keep from fainting.
"Do you remember me?"
She turned as he spoke and couldn't quite keep her knees from trembling. Her mind had come to a buzzing halt; no sense or reality seemed able to permeate what seemed like some kind of fugue state that had possessed her. All the chaos of the world had left her, thoughts of Zuko, of those damned politicians, or the madness that had come down so suddenly around her had been swept away.
She met Sasuke's eyes, and her world began again.