Chika growls and Hiro sits up at his desk, keeping one hand on his spear leaning against the table next to him. Who would show up so late at night? A surprise inspector? Or maybe...
He relaxes when a familiar figure in silken robes strides through the door. "Here to see your uncle again?" He calls out, but the Prince seems to be focused on him instead.
A hand, pale and gloved, slams down on his desk. "Guard. Answer me a question." Two golden eyes, full of mistrust and anger, stare down at the man before him.
Hiro gives him an easy smile and leans back in his chair. "Whatever you wish, my lord."
"I told you to keep quiet about my meeting with my uncle. So how did my sister miraculously guess that I was here?!" The Prince asks, a small flame sparking around his fingertips.
Hiro shys away from the flame, confusion written in his features. "I didn't tell her, if that's what you're asking. You might be a bit hot-tempered," he eyes the still-flaming hand warily, "but I wouldn't betray Iroh. He's a good man, and I wouldn't want to see him get in trouble. Well, more than he's already in. In fact, I actually had to cover for you and take an extra shift so you wouldn't get caught!"
One hand (the non-flaming one, Hiro notes with relief) shoots out to grab Hiro's collar, and the Prince leans in close. "If I find out you're lying, then I'll make sure personally that you're deployed to the front lines of the war. Understand?" His grip tightens around Hiro's armoured collar, but he gives a small chuckle.
"I understand, my lord, but I suggest you let go of me before my armadillo-dog takes off your hand." He gestures to the corner of the room, where Chika has her haunches raised and teeth bared. "She won't attack unless I tell her to, but she's rather easy to anger." The Prince hastily releases him, and Hiro brushes himself off before getting up from his chair.
"She won't attack?" The Prince asks, still staring at Chika.
"Nope. Chika, sit!" The large armadillo-dog plops down on the ground, all of her fury and tension gone. Her tail wags, and she pants in happiness as Hiro gives her a pat on the head and coughs into his sleeve. "Would you like to pet her?" He offers, and he sees a faint glow in the Prince's eyes.
"I don't know-"
"I think she likes you, and you can give her a few treats if you want." Hiro wheedles, and the Prince caves. Chika hesitantly trots over to him, carefully sniffing his feet and circling him before plopping her rump down in front of him and wagging her tail in joy. The Prince gives her a few careful pets, and after a moment reaches further to scratch her hard shell.
Hiro smiles as the crease of anger leaves the Prince's brow, replaced by what seemed like a sense of happiness. He wordlessly hands the Prince a large bone from his pouch, who gently holds it out to Chika. The armadillo-dog, almost reverently, takes the bone in her mouth and strides over to the corner to chew on her treat,
"She's not usually this relaxed around strangers, so she must like you." Hiro breaks the silence, and the Prince turns back to him, a faint blush on his pale face.
"T-Thanks. Is she yours?" He asks, his cool demeanor slowly returning.
"Yeah, she's mine alright. I found her wandering the streets a couple years ago, so I took her in and trained her myself. She's not always here with me, though; a few of the other guards like to take her on patrols. She likes it too, it's good exercise. Let me know when you're planning on stopping by, and I'll see if I can bring her in." The Prince looks surprised at the insinuated offer, and a hint of the old anger slips back on his face again.
"Don't think I'll let you go if it turns out you told Azula just because you have a cute armadillo-dog," he warns. "I'm not planning on making visiting Uncle a regular thing, but… I'll see what I can do." Another blush passes fleetingly across his face, and Hiro's smile grows wider.
"Oh, I realized I never introduced myself! I'm Hiro." He holds his hand out for a handshake, and after a brief moment the Prince tentatively shakes it.
"I'm Zuko, but you already know that." Zuko doesn't smile, but the room feels almost lighter. "Also, could you give the… the prisoner this cup of tea? I know prison food is pretty terrible…" The Prince takes out a small flask and hands it to Hiro, who sets it down on the desk.
"Of course! I try to sneak in good food or tea when I can, but I'm not the only one on feeding duty." The Prince looks surprised at this admission.
"You really do that for U- uh, him? I mean, you barely know him."
"That's true, but he's a good man, and my mother knew him. She used to tell me a bit about him and what he did, so I'd like him to at least have a few comforts in prison." Hiro hesitates, before continuing. "He really loves you, you know. Obviously something happened between you two, but I'd be happy to pass on any messages or gifts you don't want to give in person." Hiro offers, and a flash of emotion passes briefly over the Prince's face.
"Just the tea will be fine." He orders briskly, but Hiro can hear the faint waver in his voice. He bows his head.
"Suit yourself, but I'll be here most nights if you need anything else. Or you can send a messenger, or find me at the barracks. Other guards might think it odd if you visit your uncle, so it might be best to only do it when I'm on duty." The Prince nods his head, and silence reigns in the room for a moment.
"I'll be going now," the Prince says, breaking the silence. "You should take the tea to U- the prisoner before it gets cold."
"I will." Hiro nods his head. "Have a nice day, Prince Zuko." The Prince strides out the door, and Hiro smiles faintly as he leaves.
This is good progress.
Hiro slides open Iroh's cell door a few minutes later, holding the warm flask in one hand. Iroh looks up to see him, and a small smile stretches across his face.
"Your nephew was here," Hiro starts, and Iroh's smile begins to fade. "But," he amends, "he brought you a flask of tea." Iroh's smile is back full force, and Hiro finds himself smiling too as he slips the vial through the bars.
"I take it you two talked?" Iroh asks as he takes a sip of hot tea.
"Yeah, we had a pretty nice talk, actually. You were right about the animal part; I brought Chika with me today, she's my armadillo-dog, and he took to her like a moth to flame."
Iroh smiles. "That is good, I hope he will come back soon. He is a troubled boy, but I have faith that in time, he will learn that he has lost his way. Until then, however, I cannot support what he does."
"I get that. I don't know what happened between you two in the Earth Kingdom, but if his way of thinking doesn't change then what he feels won't either. He said he'd come back if he could, so I'm making good progress. To be honest, he's actually quite nice to be around, once you get past the anger and mistrust."
Iroh chuckles, taking a long swig of tea. "That is good, I would not want you to befriend him solely for me anyway. Genuine friendship is what will help him, and I am glad that you wish to help him."
Hiro stretches and coughs into his sleeve. "Well, I should get back to my desk. I don't want to leave Chika alone for too long, she gets sad after a while." Iroh smiles and bows his head. Hiro reciprocates, and takes the now-empty flask of tea as he leaves.
…
Steel clashes and sweat pours down Hiro's brow as his spear's head is deflected by his enemy, the long shaft pulled out of his grasp. Grunting, he reluctantly unsheathes his sword from his back. His opponent sizes him up and down, and the two circle each other for a moment.
His enemy's eyes flicker every so slightly to the sidelines, where eyes stare impassively at the two. Hiro takes his chance and strikes, his claymore sword slicing at his opponent's chestplate. The swipe is dodged, but the attempt puts his enemy off-balance, and Hiro continues his assault, his blade meeting with the other's only once before a heavy blow knocks the enemy to the ground. Hiro's blade points at his throat, and with a groan the opponent raises his hands in surrender. Hiro chuckles and sheaths his sword, extending a hand to the downed foe.
"That was a good fight, Ren. You almost had me when you knocked my spear out of my hands, you just need to learn to not hesitate when you strike." He helps Ren to his feet, and brushes himself off.
"Thanks Hiro! I know I'm new but I feel like I'm making progress," Ren laughs as he hands Hiro the spear that had fallen.
"You're doing great! Alright, who's next?" Hiro turns to the other six new recruits, who stare at him with starry eyes. As the recruits argue over who should be next, Hiro catches sight of a robed and hooded figure standing in the shadow of the training ground's doorway. He squints his eyes, trying to get a better look at the intruder, but a single glimpse of pale skin and red scar put his worries at ease. "Actually everyone, we'll have to finish this another day, I have someone to talk to. Remember, always strive to be better and practice with each other!" Hiro coughs and strides over to the cloaked figure, ignoring the groans from behind him.
"What brings you here, Fire Prince? Here to watch me spar with the new recruits?" HIro jokes, stopping next to the Prince.
The Prince shakes his head. "I came here to tell you that I plan on visiting… that man… tomorrow night, so be ready."
"And bring Chika?" Hiro asks, his grin only growing wider as a flush crosses the Prince's pale face.
The Prince coughs, embarrassed. "So, you train the new guards?" He asks, obviously changing the subject.
"Well, they've already received their official training, but I'm pretty handy with a blade so I give them a few tips. I'm fairly new to the guard too, so I know what it's like starting out."
The Prince looks surprised, Hiro notes. "I've never thought about how the guards are trained, or what they're like." A confident look crosses his face. "I bet I could take them with just my swords."
Hiro laughs and slings an arm across the Prince's shoulders. His arm is quickly shoved off, but Hiro's smile remains. "Most people don't take the time to think of us as individual people, but that's exactly what we are; regular, normal people. Maybe you should stop by sometime to spar with us? We'd love to have you."
The Prince eyes Hiro warily, but seems to find no malice or ill intent. "That would be impossible. My face is too recognizable, my father would not-"
"Actually, I've got a solution to that," Hiro interrupts. "Give me a second, I'll be right back." He heads for the armoury, and roots around for a minute or so. "Ah! Got it!" He returns bearing a military firebender helmet, which would fully cover one's face.
"Really? A helmet? You think that'll fix everything?" The Prince takes the offered helmet hesitantly, holding it up for inspection.
"It's worth a shot. Quick, put it on!" The Prince hastily stuff the helmet on before Hiro calls, "Ren! Kou! Come here for a second, I have someone I'd like you to meet!"
"What are you doing?!" The Prince hisses as the two recruits jog over.
"Integrating you. Act natural." Hiro whispers back. "Ren, Kou, meet…" He looks at the Prince scrutinizingly, "Li. He's a friend of mine, and he might stop by sometimes to spar. If I'm not here, just practice with him if you can, okay?"
Ren nods. "Cool. What's with the mask, are you a firebender?" The Prince freezes, but Hiro swoops in and takes over the conversation.
"He fought in Ba Sing Se, but an Earthbender messed up his face so he wears the mask all the time." Ren nods again, his mouth an O of surprise. The guards respect warriors, and scars are usually seen as a mark of glory in battle.
"That's all, you two. You can go now." The pair bow once and head back to their cluster. The second they're gone, the Prince whirls on Hiro.
"Seriously, L?! An earthbender 'messed up' my face? That's the best you can come up with?"
"I've met more Li's than I can count, so you won't stick out. And they'll respect scars, if anything they'll see you as a war hero for defending your country." The Prince huffs and whirls around, striding off and away from the training ground.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Li!" Hiro calls out after him, but the Prince doesn't give him the satisfaction of a response.
Hiro notes with a grin that the Prince doesn't leave the helmet behind.
…
Zuko slams the cell door behind him as he storms out again.
Why did his Uncle refuse to acknowledge that Zuko was right? He did what he had to in Ba Sing Se, and look! He has his honor; he has his father; he even has Mai! Uncle was a fool for not realizing that, and he would rot in jail like a traitor until he learned his lesson.
…
No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't really bring himself to believe it.
Still, the Avatar was most likely alive, and it's up to him to deal with it before Father found out. Already he formulates a plan in his head: he'd heard rumors long ago about an expert assassin, more machine than man. Perhaps that would be enough to do the job?
He strides out into the main room, barely noticing Hiro sitting at his desk. His thoughts are too full, too many ideas, too many possibilities.
What he does feel, however, is the strangely disheartening feeling of Hiro's gaze burning a hole in the back of his head.
…
And why does the thought of Hiro being disappointed in him bother him so much?