TW: This chapter deals with death, violence and the like.
Chapter 3
Hiro hums a song softly as he makes his rounds, the metal food cart squealing against the tile floor. He smiles at each prisoner as he pushes their dinner into their cells, but only a few smile back. No matter, he's gotten on the good sides of a few nicer prisoners, and that's enough for him.
Well, one prisoner he specifically makes no effort to befriend, but he feels no sorrow about it. Some people just need to rot.
Once his section of the prison is finished, he makes his way back to the break room, where the guards on duty ate meals in between shifts.
Hiro reaches for the door, but to his surprise it is slightly ajar. Maybe another guard already finished? He reasons, and opens the door the rest of the way to carry the bowl of gruel in.
"I didn't expect anyone else to be-" is all he manages to get out before his voice catches in his throat as he nearly trips over the body lying on the floor.
One of the prison guards- his name was Koji, Hiro remembers sorrowfully- lays face down, a pool of blood staining the dirt floor around him courtesy of a rather large knife wound in his back. Instinctively Hiro kneels to check for a pulse, and while the body is still warm, Koji is gone and so are his keys.
"Agni, we've got an intruder" Hiro swears as he stands and draws his spear. He'd left his sword at the front desk with Chika, but the feel of polished wood in his hands help calm his nerves a little nonetheless.
Hiro leaves the break room and creeps around a corner, scanning the halls. Obviously the intruder must be after someone in the prison; it had happened before, as a few of the prisoners were reputable enough to have made more than a few enemies. But who would they…
Iroh.
Hiro breaks into a run, desperately hoping he's wrong. The ex-general could probably beat whoever the assassin was in an equal fight, but chained and unarmed? That might cause some difficulties. He approaches Iroh's cell hallway at a breakneck speed, turning the last corner to-
A leg appears and slams into Hiro's shins, causing him to tumble to the ground. He manages to turn it into a clumsy roll, but he doesn't stand up fast enough to avoid a blast of fire catching him in the shoulder.
Great, a firebender.
Recovering from the blow as he dodges another blast, Hiro and the assassin face each other with weapons at the ready. From what he can see under the hood and cloak, the assassin is short and lithe, useful for slipping a knife between an unsuspecting enemy's ribs but not built for a prolonged fight.
Luckily, Hiro's trained for battles of strength, and muscle more than makes up for lack of dexterity.
Hiro makes the first move. His spear thrusts out at the assassin's chest, but the attack is swiftly dodged and another blast of fire shoots back in retaliation. Hiro's gauntleted hand comes up to swat the flames away, managing to disperse most of it.
Firebenders are stronger at a distance, where they can just shoot flames forever. But if I can get him up close…
Hiro and the assassin trade blows, and bit by bit Hiro inches his way closer to the cloaked man. His spear stabs out again, primed to maim or kill, but this time the man is ready, and a quick kick snaps his spear's shaft in half. It falls to the floor, useless, and Hiro finds himself unarmed against a firebender.
Hiro closes the gap with a cry of rage, one large hand wrapping around the assassin's throat while the other grabs the enemy's arm to hinder his firebending. With a heave he lifts the man in the air and throws him, sending him soaring into the wall with a painful thud.
Before the man can recover, Hiro is upon him, an armored hand smashing into his face. The assassin's head lolls, and Hiro lets the man go as the enemy goes limp. He clutches one hand to his burnt shoulder, grunting in pain as he does so, and scrutinizes the unconscious enemy.
A foot slams into his stomach, and the apparently not-unconscious attacker leaps to his feet and begins to spring down the hallway towards the exit. Hiro wheezes, the breath knocked out of him, and feels the familiar tightening of his chest. He starts to hobble after the assassin, hacking into his elbow as he breaks into a run.
The man is nearing the exit when he next comes into sight; beyond him Hiro can see the light of his desk and…
Chika.
"Chika! Attack!" Hiro manages to yell hoarsely, and the assassin skids to a halt too slow to avoid the jaws of terror. The 200-pound armadillo dog tackles the small man, bowling him over and clamping her jaws around his arm. Hiro capitalizes on the distraction and closes the distance, slamming a kick into the assassin's side.
Chika whimpers around a mouthful of flesh as her leg begins to smoke; the firebender's hand has wrapped around it, and the horrid stench of burning fur fills the room.
"Chika! Release!" Hiro cries, and with a pained snarl the armadillo-dog unclamps her jaw from the now-bloodied arm. Hiro reaches down and grabs the assassin's collar, lifting him into the air before him.
"Mind telling me who sent you, or do I need to beat it out of you?" Hiro growls, and recoils as a glob of mucus and blood is spat into his eye. "Beating it is then." Hiro wraps a meaty elbow around the assassin's neck, turning his head away from Hiro's own.
The man's fingers scrabble against Hiro's arm, trying to break free of the chokehold, but Hiro only tightens his grasp. His arms fall slack for a moment, and Hiro almost believes that he's given up, but then they soar up in a flash of metal and pain erupts in Hiro's arm.
"OW!" Hiro roars, and cranes his head to see a knife fall to the floor, a long gash from it crossing his forearm. The wound burns hot as any fire, and Hiro feels his arm's strength fading.
The firebender's arms come up again, one hand pressing against his bicep, and Hiro cries out as the hand heats white-hot. The heat feels akin to a branding Hiro had once received, but ten times more intense and painful. His grip becomes almost nonexistent, and the man struggles eagerly.
In a few moments the assassin would break free, and Hiro would be dead.
But the moment never comes, and in a burst of orange light the man falls limp in his grasp with a hole through his torso.
Hiro releases the body with a groan and slumps to the floor, covering his bleeding wound with one hand. Through hazy eyes he sees a familiar cloak and hood; The Prince had arrived for his meeting.
"Fancy seeing you here," Hiro rasps, giving a pained smile. "Could you call for a medic?"
…
Hiro sits across from the Prince, a mug of hot tea steaming in his unbandaged arm's hand. He takes a slow sip, studying the impassive face of the Fire Prince as they sit in a tea shop Hiro is rather fond of, where he knows the owner wouldn't care who they were if the Avatar himself came in shouting their praises.
"What happened in there?" The Prince breaks the silence at last, and Hiro coughs into his sleeve, wincing as his burns flare.
"I already told the guards, but you weren't there so I'll say it again." The Prince had left before the medic got there, because they both knew what would happen if he was found in the same area as General Iroh. "I'd just finished feeding the prisoners' dinner, when I found a dead guard in the back room. I thought someone had come to kill Iroh, so I rushed over and the guy we killed was there. I beat him up a bit, so he ran away, and Chika got him good in the arm. He burned her," he stops to pet the bandaged Chika beneath the table, "so I choked him out. He slashed my arm and burned me, and that was when you showed up." Hiro exhales deeply, watching the air ripple across the surface of his tea. "Thanks for that, by the way. I'd be… I'd be dead if it weren't for you."
Hiro looks up to see a conflicted look on the Prince- on Zuko's- face. The person before him isn't the Prince he'd seen at the training ground and in the prison; here, in the sanctuary of a seedy tea shop in the dead of night, the hood has come off and the royal facade is dropped. Before him is just Zuko- an angry, misguided teenager who somehow became one of Hiro's only friends in a matter of days. What an odd life, eh?
Zuko catches Hiro staring, and he looks away with an embarrassed flush. He locks eyes with Zuko, and finds a strange sadness in the uneven orange stare.
"Fire Prin- er, Zuko? Is everything okay?" Hiro leans forward. "What's on your mind? It often helps to get it off your chest, in my opinion."
"Does… does it ever get better?"
The question catches Hiro off guard, and Zuko avoids his gaze. "Does what get better?"
"Today, I killed someone. He was there one moment, attacking you, so I reacted, and then…" Gone, goes unsaid.
Hiro sighs, his eyes turning down to his drink. "Honestly, not really. The first was the hardest for me. I'm not proud of what I've done, but… there have been three." Their table goes quiet. They lock eyes again, and Hiro realizes that a strange sense of empathy flows through him when he thinks about what Zuko must be going through.
"Would you… like to talk about it?" The words come from Zuko, and he looks just as surprised as Hiro does. "I mean, you said it helps to get it off your chest. So…" He trails off, and Hiro takes another sip of his tea.
"This isn't a very pretty story," he warns, but Zuko lets out a small laugh.
"I've been all across the world searching for the Avatar, I've seen a lot of bad things. I think I can handle it."
"If you're sure. Well, first you need to know that I worked in the coal mines for a few years when I was younger. 'Reform school', they called it. There was a man, his name was Takeshi. He was big and scary, to my 11-year-old self, and he always took some of my meals. He did that for a year or so, and he picked on my friend Akira too. The mines were a nasty place; the guards didn't bat an eye if anyone fought or even killed someone else, and everyone there was there for one crime or another. No benders, because even the slightest flame could light everything up like a bonfire." Zuko nods, and Hiro takes a swig of tea as his thoughts churn.
"Everyone always walked around with a weapon, or else you could get mugged or worse. I found a tree branch and hammered a bunch of nails through it, made for a nice spiked club. One day, Takeshi pulled a knife on me and threatened to kill me if I didn't give him my food. I was just so hungry, and fed up, and…" Hiro swallows, the lump in his throat growing bigger.
"And what?" Zuko's eyes meet Hiro's, full of the same emotion Hiro had felt earlier. Empathy.
Hiro takes a deep breath. "We both swung for the head. He missed, I… didn't." Hiro exhales, wheezing into the back of his hand before he catches his breath.
"I see." Is all Zuko says, and when Hiro braves a look the prince is sat back in thought, his eyes turned toward the ceiling. They sit in silence, but somehow despite the somber mood the silence is comforting, not awkward. Hiro enjoys his tea, reaching to nibble on a sugared pastry as well. He wouldn't be sleeping tonight away, so it would be useful to get sugar in his system for energy.
"How are you feeling?" Hiro asks after a few more minutes of silence. Zuko shakes his head, throwing himself out of whatever he was thinking.
"I'm feeling better, I just have a lot to think about." Zuko gives Hiro a tentative smile, something that made his heart warm for a moment. "I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this, I barely even know you!" A hint of The Prince comes back, but Hiro is quick to alleviate it.
"Have you had many guy friends? I've heard that you hang out with your sister and her friends, but I've found it harder to relate to girls in most ways, with one exception." Zuko raises an eyebrow, obviously confused, so Hiro just shakes his head.
"I haven't had many friends at all, growing up I just practiced my firebending and swordsmanship. I didn't have time for friends, and I'm still unsure that I do now." Zuko eyes Hiro critically up and down, and Hiro claps an uninjured hand on his shoulder.
"Sure you do! It can't hurt to try, and just look at you! I even got a smile out of you earlier!" Zuko's face flushes, as red as a tomato, and Hiro revels in the fact that he made the Fire Prince blush.
"T-That doesn't mean-"
"Listen, when I first met you a few days ago you were moody and angry, and now look at you! You're having tea with a friend, smiling, and we're learning more about each other! Look me in the eyes and tell me that you're not happy." Hiro smirks when Zuko fails to do so.
"Look, I have to get going and change my bandages, but I stop here after every shift, so you should stop by sometime. And don't forget about training with the guards! I can't actually spar with them now, so maybe you could take my place?" Hiro offers, but Zuko looks unsure. "Just think about it, it's always an option." Zuko nods, and Hiro smiles wider.
"I'll see you around, Hiro."
"Don't be a stranger, Zuko."
Chika barks merrily, and the two laugh one last time before parting into the night.
This chapter is a bit darker than the past two, but I think it turned out well! The next chapter will be merrier to make up for it. Let me know what you think!