Kyuzo felt almost human again. He was clean, dry, and dressed in something that wasn't a filthy Fire Nation uniform or Earth Kingdom prison tunic. He even had a chance to scrape the stubble off his face and trim his goatee. But he couldn't sleep without going back to a dark place and the sound of dripping water and he had to stop himself from flinching whenever he was asked a question. Now he sat at a long table with the other members of Siensao's little gang, for that's what it was. He hadn't spent five years as a watchman in Sangyan without knowing how to spot a gang. He was assuredly in bad company. The surprise was that only one of them wanted to kill him.
"Try again, Jomei," he said wearily, "From the beginning."
The earthbender growled low in his throat, but made an awkward sign of the flame with his big hands and began reciting the oath that every child in the Fire Nation knew, glaring daggers at Kyuzo all the while.
"My life, I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and his forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. With my feet—"
"Stop," Kyuzo said, and Jomei slammed a fist down on the table, making the firebender jump.
"Dammit, what is it now? I've got the words right, I've got your damn hand sign, I didn't forget anything! I even remembered the name of the Fire Lord! What is it now?"
"Y-You're looking at me like someone about to commit murder," Kyuzo said, cursing his stutter. I'm a soldier of the Fire Nation! I'm better than this! "Showing deliberate insolence to the Fire Lord, even like that, is punishable by two strokes of a cudgel. And if they find your brand, they've got enough to arrest all of us."
"Oh, what, they're going to have me recite this shit in the street?" Jomei snapped.
"No, but people are going to notice that you're Earth Kingdom the minute you step off the boat," the firebender said, "And that means you look down, don't snarl at anyone, and speak respectfully to anyone with more Fire Nation ancestry or relatives than you, which in your case is everybody. If you can't even do that with me, on any subject we talk about, we'll never make it through the colonies without you causing an incident."
"Well then we might as well go to Siensao and tell her this isn't going to work!" Jomei shouted, throwing up his hands, "Because I don't bow to the Fire Nation! I don't grovel and eat dirt at their feet! Seven months in chains, you bastard! I'm not going back to that!"
Kyuzo weathered the storm with difficulty, finding himself leaning back and away from the other man. When Jomei had finished, the firebender deliberately leaned forward again, steepling his hands on the table. Just imagine having this conversation in an interrogation room.
"You don't like me, do you, Jomei?" he asked. The miner snorted in amusement.
"You're Fire Nation. That's all I need to know."
"Be more specific."
Jomei snorted in amusement.
"How about you becoming Siensao's bitch about a minute after she hauled your ass out of prison? I thought Fire Nation soldiers were supposed to be honorable and brave and all that. Now you're working with people like us and teaching us how to sneak through your own territory. I'd never do something like that."
"But you would mine ore for your enemies."
Jomei shot to his feet, planting both hands on the table as he loomed forward over Kyuzo.
"You have my village penned like cow-pigs waiting for the slaughter up on that mountain!" he bit out, "What was I supposed to do? I was only waiting for my chance to escape, which I did! And I never agreed to anything like what you're doing!"
"But you would have, if they'd asked," Kyuzo said, keeping his calm only with immense effort, "And you know it. You'd have done anything they asked you to keep your village safe."
Jomei was shaking with rage, teeth bared, and he drew back a fist. Kyuzo's nerve broke and he dove off the chair, curling up into a ball. Please don't hurt me again! He heard a tremendous boom, but there was no pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up, peering over the table. Jomei had punched the wall behind him, sending huge cracks running through it and knocking off chips of stone. The miner's head was bowed.
"All right," he muttered, turning back around, "So what's she threatening you with?"
Kyuzo clambered back into his chair, wiping sweat from his brow.
"It isn't about being threatened, it's about what I owe her. She saved my life and probably kept me from giving up vital information to the Earth Kingdom, so I'm repaying that debt as best I can. If she just wants to pass through the colonies, I can help her do that without hurting my nation in any way. And if she tries to abuse my skills or my help, I'll be there to stop her. Afterwards, we part ways and that's it."
Jomei was quiet for a long while, looking a little red in the face. Then he laughed, a genuine expression that brought a little smile to Kyuzo's face.
"You think you can stop Siensao from doing anything she wants to do?" he asked.
The firebender chuckled nervously.
"No, not really. But I can try."
The miner shrugged.
"As long as we're trying to do the impossible, let's try the oath again. If your people are stupid enough to be fooled by some groveling, that's their problem."
Kyuzo let out a sigh of relief. Progress.
