Knock Knock! Knock!
Hiro blinks blearily, barely even comprehending what's happening in his sleep-addled state. Chika's warm weight suddenly becomes taught as she sits up, ears pricked at the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hiro shouts, heaving his feet over the side of the bed and unsteadily standing up. Just for good measure, he snags the sheathed knife from where it sits with his spear against the wall and tucks it into his nightclothes' pants.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Can't you just shut up for one second?" Hiro grumbles, and finally reaches for the doorknob, but in a sudden burst of movement and sound the door is kicked in and Hiro is seized.
His face smacks against the hard wood of his table and strong arms pin his own behind his back. "What in Agni's name is going on?!" Hiro spits out, his face smushed against the table, as boots stomp toward him. Chika barks, teeth bared and lips curled, and jumps onto one of the guards. They fall onto the ground together, a tussle of fur and armor.
"Hiro of the Fire Nation, you are hereby under arrest for forgery of a royal document and theft of a Fire Nation artifact." He can't see the man talking, but Hiro recognizes the voice as that of the man with the axe who had checked him in and out of the Reliquary.
Uh oh. Was the forgery not good enough?
"That's preposterous! Why would I steal a stupid crown, anyway?" Hiro struggles, but a sharp pain at the back of his neck quickly stops him.
"Search him," the axe man orders, and another pair of hands pat him down. His knife is found and removed, vanishing into the axe man's belt, and with it goes Hiro's last hope.
Chika snarls, victorious at last against the now-pinned guard beneath her, but the axeman's steel-tipped boot finds her stomach and she rolls off with a whimper.
"Hey, stay away from her! Chika, down! C'mon guys, can't we be reasonable with this?" Hiro pleads. "I swear, Prince Zuko has the crown. Ask him yourself!"
The axe man scoffs. "And why should we believe you? It's not like he wanders around here at night, we can't exactly ask-"
"What. Is. Going on here?" An icy voice asks from the now-broken door, and the guards whip around. From his position pressed against the table Hiro can just make out the cloaked figure of Zuko, and never in his life has he been so grateful to see anyone.
"M-My Prince! We were detaining this criminal, who stole the Crown Prince's crown from the Reliquary!" One of the guards stutters, and Zuko scoffs.
"Do you mean this crown?" His cloak's hood comes down, and on his head is the very crown that Hiro had taken from the Reliquary only a few hours prior.
The axe man gapes. "B-But the document was fake! A well-made fake, but we eventually found out it was a definite forgery!"
"My scribe is new, he may have made an error. Now, release my guard at once!" Zuko demands, and the weight on Hiro's back vanishes. He stands, massaging his neck and stretching his arms, and gives the axe man a dirty look. "Now, leave us!" Zuko huffs, and the guards bow and begin to leave.
"Wait."
Everyone in the room turns to look at Hiro, who glares at the axe man. "In the old customs, the Sun Warrior ways, if you had falsely accused me of a crime I could have your hand removed. Actually, that law is technically still in effect today."
The axe man visibly pales, as does Zuko and everyone in the room.
Hiro studies the man before him. Besides the man's hooked axe hanging from his belt, a scar splitting the end of his right eyebrow gives him a permanent scowl and makes him quite memorable. Hiro narrows his eyes; it would be so easy, to avenge Chika's bruised side and his aching head, but...
"I'll just settle for getting my knife back."
The entire room lets out a breath; the man tosses Hiro his knife, still sheathed, with a cold glare before booking it out of the room. Chika gives one last growl, and the other guards quickly follow. After a moment, it is just Hiro, Zuko, and the dog.
"So…" Hiro starts, but Zuko raises a hand.
"I'm not even going to ask what that was about, although I know has to do with this," Zuko gestures at his new crown with one hand. Hiro rubs his brow, already feeling a headache forming.
"Thanks. You came here for a reason, right?" Hiro asks, and Zuko nods. A troubled look crosses his eyes, and Hiro nods in understanding. "I'll make tea, then. Could you get the door?"
Hiro busies himself getting a pot on the small stove while Zuko props the broken door into the frame of where it once stood. Hiro almost knocks over the pot when he sets it on, nearly shatters his pot of tea leaves, and comes quite close to soaking himself with water when fetching water from a barrel.
But the last time, when he spills the tea on the table when pouring it, Zuko's steady hands encircle his own and Hiro realizes that he's shaking.
Hiro sits down slowly, letting Zuko pour the tea instead, and puts his head in his hands. A warm cup is pushed to his arm, and Hiro gratefully takes a large swig before wiping his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry Zuko, I know you came here to talk about something too, but I-" Hiro takes a moment to try and swallow the lump in his throat. "I thought they were going to take me back." He finishes quietly, and Zuko's eyes are confused but comforting before him.
"Take you back? What do you mean?"
"To the mines, okay? I barely got out of there once, and I still can't breathe right. If I have to go back… they won't let me out this time." Hiro swallows thickly.
Zuko pauses in thought for a moment. "Well, if they do then I'll just order for your release."
Hiro sits back. "Wait… would that actually work?"
Zuko shrugs. "I suppose. Why wouldn't it?"
"Your father-"
"My father wouldn't care what I do for a measly guard, plus I think you're in his good books. Although," and here Zuko's eyes become steely, "my father's good books are a place you don't really want to be in, either."
"So you're saying that as long as you're the Fire Prince, I'd be safe from persecution?" A wave of elation sweeps over Hiro, and he's suddenly very glad that he's sitting down.
Zuko nods; and with that simple gesture, Hiro is out of his seat and wrapping his arms around the prince. He actually lifts the shorter prince into the air with the ferocity of the embrace, before setting him down and locking eyes with a smile on his face.
"That's just incredible, Zuko. I can't tell you how much this means to me," Hiro grins before a realization shoots into his mind. "Oh Agni, Zuko, you actually came here for something! Sit down, sit down, and let's focus on you instead of me." Hiro pours a cup of tea for Zuko this time, refilling his own as well, and they sit at the cramped wreckage of the table together.
"Now, what's up? I know Iroh told me that getting the crown would help you 'become the beautiful prince you always have been', but I'm sure there was more to it than that. What happened?"
Zuko's eyes are troubled as he slowly sips his tea. "This crown belonged to Avatar Roku, who's apparently my great grandfather? Fire Lord Sozin gifted it to him, but they had a falling out because Sozin wanted to expand the Fire Nation and it ended with Sozin leaving Roku to die. Now apparently Uncle wants me to wear it because I can 'make things right' somehow, like that makes any sense."
Hiro nods sagely. "Interesting. So this crown thing, which I had to illegally forge a document for by the way, could be a way to make amends? Which would mean that you need to contact the Avatar and help him end the war. At least, that's what I'm getting from all of this. Of course, the Avatar's dead, so maybe try to contact whoever he worked with?"
Zuko looks as confused as someone with one working eye can. "What are you talking about? Help the Avatar?"
Hiro throws his hands up. "You caught me, officer, I'm unsatisfied with the way the Fire Nation is under Fire Lord Ozai! Guilty as charged, take me away." Somehow Zuko manages to look even more confused. "Nevermind. But yeah, not everyone has the luxury of living in a palace their whole life. I lived on the streets for a while, I know how terrible this country can be to the lower class. If the Avatar was here right now, I'd like to think that I would help him."
Zuko rises to his feet, the chair falling back behind him. "That's treason! You're betraying the Fire Nation by saying that."
Hiro spreads his hands wide, leaning back. "On the contrary, Zuko. I'm loyal to the Fire Nation, but Fire Lord Ozai isn't the Fire Nation. By making this war drag on and sacrificing the people he's supposed to protect, Ozai is the real traitor. The country can survive without a Fire Lord, but a Fire Lord has nothing if he has no country to keep safe."
"What? T-That doesn't even make sense." Zuko goes to sit back down but has to right his chair first. His head ends up in his hands, and Hiro catches a glimpse of wild golden eyes through the mop of shaggy black hair.
Hiro leans forward. "I think you know it does." One hand reaches out to grab Zuko's own, dragging to down onto the table and wrapping around it. "Look Zuko, I'm sorry if all of this is sudden and if it's not what you came here for, but you have to ask yourself the big questions. Are you really happy with what the Fire Nation is doing? Do you want to just sit around while people live in poverty and die in a dumb war while you sit around and do nothing? Because I don't, Zuko. I want to make a change, and I'd like it if you helped me." Hiro's other hand comes forward and they both wrap around one of Zuko's in comfort.
Zuko's eyes lock with Hiro's, and they are like fire itself; wild and all-consuming. "I-I don't…" He trails off. "My father- he respects me now, he values me, he loves me-"
Hiro's right hand reaches up to gently caress Zuko's face. "Men like that, like Fire Lord Ozai, they don't love anything in the way you and I do. Love is wonderful, but it doesn't hurt, Zuko." His thumb softly grazes the scar, feeling the skin rough and scaly like a lizard's hide, but Zuko pulls back.
"Don't touch me!" He shouts, and Hiro's hand whips back to his side lightning-fast. He mentally berates himself for doing something so stupid; why did he ever think that Zuko would be okay with him touching the scar? What a dumb thing to do.
"I'm sorry Zuko, I didn't mean to upset you-"
"I'm going back to bed. It was a stupid idea to come here, I never should have let myself." Zuko whirls around and storms off, knocking the broken door to the ground as he leaves.
"Zuko, wait!" Hiro calls, but the prince is gone. Hiro turns his gaze back to his tea, taking a halfhearted sip. Where had the conversation gone so wrong? He'd been getting through to Zuko, he knows it. But then… why had he touched him like that? Of course he'd be weirded out, even if he hadn't touched the scar. Hiro steels himself; he can't allow that to happen again, at any cost. The next time he saw Zuko, he would make things right.
Well, first he has to clean the wreckage of his room…
…
Hiro spots the old man the second he walks through the door. He sits against the wall, a pai-sho table set up in front of him and a man sits across from him, obviously in a heated game.
Shifting his eyes around at the men and women in the rather seedy bar, Hiro pulls his bandana further up on his face. Being seen here could be a problem, so staying undercover was a good idea.
Striding up behind the man sitting across from the older man, Hiro stops and coughs politely, although it turns into a longer wheeze. "May I have the next game?" He asks once the fit passes, and the old man studies him for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Once the previous game is finished, Hiro slides into the chair and surveys the game board. He's played pai sho once or twice, but he had to pull out an old manual of his to find out what the 'White Lotus gambit' was.
The old man inclines his head. "The guest has the first move." Hiro nods and begins with the White Lotus tile, apparently an unusual strategy as the man's eyes flare with recognition. "Ah, the White Lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the old ways."
Hiro shrugs. "I don't really know much about it to be honest, but a friend of mine is a big fan of it apparently." Displeasure crosses the man's face for a moment, but it passes quickly and the game continues. They match each other, mirroring whatever the person before did until the board is suddenly symmetrical and forming the shape of a White Lotus.
The old man spreads his arms wide. "The White Lotus always helps a friend in need. Now, who is it that gave you this tile?"
Hiro leans forward conspiratorially, voice hushed. "General Iroh did. He told me that I could get help making a change here, starting to help the Fire Nation heal from what's going on right now."
The man stares at him, eyes narrowed. "Come with me, into the back room. We will talk there." He gets up and slowly makes his way to the back of the tavern, disappearing behind a door marked 'Employees Only'.
Hiro follows a few moments later, trying to look nonchalant as he crosses the room and slips into the room. Quietly shutting the door behind him, he turns back to find the elderly man scrutinizing him,
"So, you have been in contact with General Iroh? Last I heard, he was in prison."
Hiro scratches his head. "Yeah, you heard right. I guard the prison where he's held, and we've helped each other out. I told him about wanting to help make the Fire Nation great again, and he told me that I should come here and talk to you."
The old man bows. "You are wise to have heeded our Grand Lotus. Yes, we work behind the scenes to uphold the old traditions and the ways of beauty and order instead of Fire Lord Ozai's ways of power and cruelty. Come, sit down. We have much to talk about.
Hiro takes a seat at a small wooden table in the corner, and the old man sits across from him. "So, I've already told you that I think the Fire Nation is sick, and that it needs help returning to greatness. How can you help me help it?" Hiro starts.
The man strokes his white beard slowly. "Wel, my organization has been trying to do essentially the same thing. Our plans cannot be put into action yet, but hopefully soon our prayers will be granted and the Fire Nation can heal. But all of this rests on the shoulders of one person, and that person is who I believe you should help in order to start the change you desire."
"Who is it? Can I meet them now?" Hiro leans forward eagerly, but the elderly man shakes his head slowly.
"I'm afraid the boy you seek is not here in Caldera. You see, the only one who can help you right now is the Avatar."
Hiro sits back, reeling. "The Avatar? Where does he fit into all of this?"
"The Avatar is the key to defeating the Fire Lord and restoring the Fire Nation to is former glory. If you can help him with his destiny, then your work will have already started. Think of the Fire Nation as a dying forest and the Avatar as a wildfire; the forest will bring an end to itself if left alone, and a wildfire may seem terrible at first, but it will clear a path for new growth to emerge. We will end the Fire Nation's sickness, and in the empty space new life will flourish."
One hand massages Hiro's temple, while the other lays lax on the table. "So you're saying that I should try to contact the Avatar and help him defeat the Fire Lord;? Commit treason of the highest degree?"
"Yes." The man's gaze is unflinching.
"I'm in." Hiro stands and offers a hand to the old man, who shakes it with a small smile. "Now, where do we start?"
"We have intercepted reports of a strange fog traveling across the oceans in the direction of a small, uninhabited island off the coast of the Fire Nation. We believe that this island is the convergence point for the Avatar's invasion force, and where the Avatar is currently preparing. If you write a letter, I will make sure that it is delivered there."
Hiro grins. "Sounds great, I'll get right on that."
...
After about ten or so drafts, Hiro finds the letter to be suitable.
Dear Avatar and Co.,
Greetings! I hope this letter finds you in good health. My name is Hiro, and I have been in secret correspondence with the imprisoned General Iroh. I believe that the Fire Nation needs help returning to what it once was, and while Fire Lord Ozai is in power that willl never happen.
I would like to help your cause. I have been informed of a secret invasion in the coming days, and I will do whatever I can to make sure that it is successful. I am but a low level prison guard, so I am not informed of much that could be of help to your cause unfortunately.
I have also been in association with the esteemed Fire Prince Zuko, and I believe that with enough guidance he could be persuaded to join your cause and fight against the tyranny of his Father. I have heard the tales of what he has done to you, so I do not expect you to believe me, but I humbly ask that you give him a chance.
Yours truly,
Hiro.
…
Far above the roofed canopies of the lush Fire Nation forests, where the brave messenger hawks follow their routes with precious cargo, a cruel vulture flies…