Chap. 6

Leaving Ba Sing Se

It was many hours later, that Kinjo saw his daughter approach the house after waiting outside for all that time. He stood there, arms folded across his chest as he looked at his child. His annoyance was not helped by the fact that he saw Zuko walking next to her.

"You're late." He said simply, as Zuko and Jin approached the house.

"Sorry Dad." Jin answered, with no emotion or protest in her voice.

"Nothing to say? No excuse?" Kinjo asked, somewhat surprised by his daughter's quiet admission.

"No."

"What about you?" he asked Zuko, turning to face the Firebender. "Any reason why you brought my daughter back late?"

"We lost track of time. I'm sorry sir." Zuko said back.

Kinjo was silent then, not sure how to reply to this strange quiet from them. Finally, he said, "Jin, go inside. Your mother needs help with the kitchen."

Jin nodded and headed towards the door. As she walked away, she turned and said, "Bye Zuko. See you soon."

"It's a promise." Zuko answered, as he watched Jin enter the house and shut the door. Of course, once that happened, Zuko found himself face to face with Kinjo.

"Now then, what really happened out there?" Kinjo asked crowding out Zuko's exits with his body.

"We lost track of time. That all that happened." Zuko replied.

"Uh-huh. Listen, when my bubbly, happy, daughter comes home all morose like that, I know something's up. So I'm gonna take a stab here and assume it was something you did. Now tell me, how does training take so long?"

"We didn't train. I took her out to the zoo today."

"Oh did you now?" Kinjo sneered. "And why was that?"

"I wanted to make today special. You'll be happy to hear I'm leaving tomorrow. The invasion of the Fire Nation was moved up to tomorrow" Zuko answered, bitterness creeping into his voice.

"What? Why?" Kinjo asked, surprise growing all over his face.

"It's a long story. But what does it matter? I'll be out of your hair and out of Jin's life. You'll get what you want." Zuko replied. "Excuse me sir."

With that, Zuko spun on his heels and turned in the direction of the Royal Palace. But he had barely taken a few steps when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait a minute." Kinjo said, as he held Zuko back. "You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Zuko snapped back, his emotions finally coming to the front. "What, you can't believe your good luck?"

"No wonder she's upset." Kinjo said to himself, not even hearing Zuko. After a moment, he turned to Zuko and said, "You know I hate the Firebenders. And I barely tolerate you."

"I never would have guessed."

"Look, that may all be true, but there is one thing about you that I can't hate; the fact that my daughter has never been happier since she met you. As much as I wish it could be otherwise, I've realized."

"So what, now you're giving us your blessing? It's a little late."

"I'm not. I'm telling you this; come back to her. I may not like you, but you make Jin happy. I have to respect you for that. So come back to her Zuko, because I don't think she'll survive losing you. And I can't survive if that happens."

Zuko looked at Kinjo with amazement. Since learning of Zuko's heritage, everything out of the man's mouth had been either a grunt, or a sly insult. There had been times where Zuko had wanted to fry him, but Jin had been able to keep the two of them from reaching that point. Now, Kinjo was here, speaking to him in the most open way he ever had, and making him promise to come back to Ba Sing Se. Even if it was only for the sake of his daughter, Kinjo was actually putting his hatred on the back burner and speaking to Zuko as an equal. For a moment, Zuko was stunned into silence, but finally he said, "I promised her tonight, and I'm promising you now; I will come back. I will not leave her alone."

Kinjo absorbed this, and then he nodded his acceptance. "You know, I know that your father is a tyrant and doesn't have the sanity Chirron gave a desert rat. So, I guess I should thank your mother that you turned out at least halfway honorable."

"Thank you. You can thank her tonight when you pray to Chirron." Zuko replied. With that, he bowed to Kinjo and then turned and walked off towards the palace. Kinjo watched him walk off, then turned back to his house, entered it, and shut the door.

Zuko walked through the remaining rings of the city in silence, the events of the day running through his mind. Finding out about the early invasion, spending time with Jin, their time at the Fountain, and Kinjo's speech each flew through his thoughts. Zuko was so absorbed by them that he almost failed to notice when he had crossed the final ring and entered the Palace grounds. But as always, Zuko found himself drawn out of his self-imposed reflection by the scent of tea and the voice of his uncle, who was leaning by the entrance, a cup of hot jasmine in his hand.

"So, how did she take it?" Iroh asked.

"Huh…. Uncle?" Zuko said, shaking himself out of his concentration. Looking around, he realized he'd walked all the way back to the Palace without realizing it. A second later, he realized what his uncle had asked him. He turned to ask Iroh how he knew, but the old general merely replied, "Zuko, no one spends most of the day with a pretty girl unless they either want to say goodbye, or they have other ideas. Given what happened today it could be very well be both, I suppose."

"No Uncle, we just talked." Zuko said. "I wanted to tell her about tomorrow."

"And how did she take it?"

"Pretty much the way I imagined it. A lot of crying." Zuko replied with a sigh.

"Ah Zuko, I wish you didn't have to learn about this part of relationships already." Iroh said, as he came over and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "It was a hard lesson when I learned it, and it will be a hard lesson as you learn it."

"You mean when you left for Ba Sing Se the first time?" Zuko asked.

"Yes. Ilia was devastated when I left. She begged me not to leave as I left the palace. I was surprised; she'd seemed fine in the time leading up to my departure. But when it finally happens, it becomes real for everybody involved, and everything hits home."

"That it does." Zuko agreed. "So what did you?"

"I swore on the name of your grandfather to return home to her and bring our son back with me. Of course, I could only fulfill half that oath." Iroh said sadly. "But remember the promise you made to her, Zuko. Remember it, and it will give you strength in the battles to come."

Zuko reflected on this a moment, then said, "I hope that I can gain some of your wisdom from this invasion, Uncle."

"You will, Nephew. In fact, I think you've gained some already. Now come, dinner is waiting for us."

The rest of the night passed quickly. A quiet dinner was prepared, and the group ate well, but in silence, each thinking about the days that were to come. It was those thoughts that kept then up for much of the night, before exhaustion finally drove them into the land of dreams. But even that respite was short-lived, as soon the sun was high in the sky, and the group was called to the front of the Royal Palace to be sent off by the Earth King.

"Today is a great day for the free people of the world." The Earth King said from his podium above the assembled Army, the masses below listening raptly. General How had worked wonders; in the space of a day, he had been able to organize more then one hundred troops into a passably coherent unit. As for the crowd, the call had gone out early that morning for the people of the city to meet in front of the palace and see off the Earth Kingdom Army. The response was massive, to say the least. Almost half the city had gathered to watch the Army set forth on its epic journey.

"Once, this city prided itself on its separateness." The King continued. "Once, we were proud to be apart from the rest of the world. But thanks to the efforts of the Avatar and his friends, Ba Sing Se has remembered it's place in the world, and shall do it's part to stop the war that takes so many of our people each year."

The people cheered, many of them remembering the people they had each lost before coming to Ba Sing Se as refuges. The Earth King allowed it to continue for a moment, then held his hand for silence and continued. "Today, the first branch of the Army of the Avatar shall set forth from Ba Sing Se. Soon, they will invade the Fire Nation, and finally bring an end to the reign of Fire Lord Ozai!"

Again the people cheered, and again the Earth King called for silence. "Now, I ask Chirron, Great God of Earth, to bless this mighty Army and allow them to be his voice upon this plane. And of course, I ask especially for those brave souls that have been chosen to lead the Army, regardless of their homelands, and I request that you ask with me for them." The Earth King began to call out names now; as he did, each person would step forward, bow, and accept the applause of the crowd. Even Zuko and Iroh were greeted with mighty cheers; after all, saving the city from the chaos demon had improved their standings greatly.

"Avatar Aang!"

"Mighty Katara!"

"Brave Sokka!"

"Strong Toph!"

"Honorable Zuko!"

"Wise Iroh!"

"The blessed Elemental Knights!"

"Our own General How!"

"And of course, the powerful Appa and wily Momo!"

"Didn't think I'd hear that one." Arie whispered to Katara.

"Aang asked the Earth King to do it. I guess he doesn't want to take chances." Katara whispered back.

Finally, the Earth King finished his speech; "Now, let this Army go forth and put an end to the Fire Lord once and for all!" With that, the crowd, still cheering, began to part, as the Army, led by General How, began to march forward, towards the gates of Ba Sing Se. Aang, Sokka, Iroh, and Katara boarded Appa and took off, flying directly over the head of the Army. Zuko and Toph followed with the troops, as did the Elementals. As they walked through each section of the city, the crowds assembled there greeted them with cheers. Flowers were thrown at their feet, as the people screamed out their support.

But for one member of the Army, none of that mattered until they reached a particular section. Once they had reached it, Zuko scanned the crowd, looking for any sign of Jin. He didn't really expect that she would be there; she had been horribly shaken up by the previous night. But still, Zuko hoped. As he looked out over the crowd, he suddenly had a glimpse of hope, as he saw Jin's family standing at the sidelines. But his face fell a moment later when he realized that Jin was not with them. I guess she just couldn't watch me leave. Zuko thought sadly, as he turned from the crowd. But a moment later, something struck him in the side of the head. Zuko stumbled for a second, and then saw the small object that had struck him. Pausing to pick it up, he looked over at the strange, paper covered object. Moving quickly, he unwrapped it and gasped. Inside was a small pendant, with an image of the Firelight Fountain carved onto it. As Zuko looked at it, he then noticed a message written on the paper.

Zuko,

Keep this with you, and think of me when you look at it.

Come back to me

Jin

Zuko looked at the pendant, then looked over at Jin's family. Kinjo looked back at him and nodded. Zuko nodded back, and slipped the pendant on as the Army continued to march out of Ba Sing Se.