OK! New chapter.
The first part focuses solely on Kana/Yukihiya's first mission: being a spy.
Then, it's all somewhat rushed because after Terre, she didn't remember too much of it and also what she did was pretty much the same.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Lieutenant to Commander
Year of the Butterfly-Year of the Arctic Wolf
Iroh was true to his word and the following morning, I was official Yukihiya, Lieutenant Junior Grade, in the Fire Navy.
Iroh himself continued to pursue his own military position and to keep going to fight in the Earth Kingdom. Apparently, when he found me, he and his crew were doing a routine scouting of their conquered lands and I was lucky enough to be cast out to sea far enough so that I was seen.
I boarded the ship of Admiral Kouguu and at first, I mainly kept to my room save for food and training on the way towards an assault on the city of Terre, a stronghold of the Earth Kingdom and also a large trading port or rendezvous city for most of the Earth Kingdom.
What I truly didn't understand was why did the people in Terre built their city near the Northwest coast of their kingdom; a vulnerable and mostly likely first target for the militants of the Fire Nation when attacking the Earth Kingdom.
The reason a new attack was commencing was because it was said that the old regent of Terre had died; he was the one who had held onto his city for over thirty years, and he'd named no successor. The people decided on his half-nephew twice removed, for some reason, who had been brought up in the lavish upper circle full of riches, gluttony, and women; it was the Fire Nation's best guest that he did not know much about war.
Due to my appearance--it was 'innocent' as Admiral Kouguu once told me--I was sent behind enemy lines as a spy. Even though being a spy felt like I was using the training I'd attained, I still couldn't help but long to fight instead.
Admiral Kouguu was very kind to me and the rest of his crew, treating them all as equals and with respect and I found myself easily mirroring his examples. He was a man whose age seemed to be an eternal mystery to his entire crew, his appearance, advice, and habits of his life contrasted any age that we of his crew might guess that he was.
The crew was also immensely kind to me after some had bear witness to when I first demonstrated what Iroh had taught me, but I couldn't decide if they were being nice to me because I was an acquaintance of Iroh, that I was slightly more powerful than any of them, or because they hoped I would teach them a new technique, some other martial arts, or have gossip for the women aboard the ship Though the true origin of their appreciation of me is unknown to me today, I came to earn their respect the old-fashioned way.
While aboard the ship, Admiral Kouguu taught me Astronomy and how to find my direction with the stars. Though I still had a map with me, I needed to find where I was and many people of the Fire Nation noticed that various stars and groups of stars, called Constellations, sometimes pointed to directions or helped one pinpoint their locations.
In the dead of night, I walked towards the city of Terre. Besides the map and something to find the stars with, Admiral Kouguu gave me spare paper, ink, a brush, some food and a small shovel-like flat piece of metal to dig for roots, a small sack of drinkable water, and 2 miniature messenger hawks. Strangely, the hawks were small and Albino, both were nearly complete white save for a few black feathers and their eyes were black with a red rim.
All of the objects were in a small fold in my cloak save for the birds; they were within a special square pouch I'd attached to my hips to ease the travel for them.
Slowly, I crept across the bridge; dirtying my clothes before and falsifying a limp in my leg and a stage of fatigue. When the guards saw me, they halted me on the spot; shifting the ground that I walked on and slamming me against a wall. I hoped the small hawks weren't crushed and glanced up at them from my cloak. They immediately saw my dark skin and blue eyes along with the blue clothes I'd originally worn before Iroh found me, and, most likely I thought, regarded me as being from the Water Tribes.
"Please don't hurt me! I am a messenger from the Northern Water Tribe and bear important news!" I cried out to the guards.
They took me in, my so-called pitiful state, and nodded; opening a chunk of Earth and letting me in. There was fine architecture as I could see in the Earth Kingdom, but they were all made of dirt, wood, and straw and in somewhat poor quality. But as I saw, the Earth could extend for many stories on a city and also be able to make many houses, so it was a deeming advantage for Earthbenders to only raise its arms up and construct a house as it is an advantage for Waterbenders to make ice to build their houses.
Fire and Air don't have those qualities, but Fire can melt materials, like steel, to make sturdy and powerful structures and also the Fire Nation is evolving into one of the prosperous places in the world where new and useful technology is developed each day, each hour maybe. Maybe the Air Nomads were like that as well.
The creak of doors led me to look ahead and, with a large guard on either side, I only walked silently; thinking of a fib in my head.
"Who enters?" a voice asked from the end of a large and somewhat drab room.
It seemed like that all there was to this large room was 4 walls painted entirely yellow with brown vertical stripes, a floor of varnished wood with a carpet leading a direct way across the room, a few green banners, and a dark ceiling.
I looked up to see the commander through my eyelashes.
He was a stubby man, with pale skin and long hair and beards but, unlike many men of the Fire Nation, I recalled, didn't put much effort to tame his hair so they stuck out at odd angles. His eyes were practically swallowed up by the fat surrounding his eyes and the bush of his fairly thick eyebrows; maybe it was a unibrow but I do not remember after nearly eighty years.
His body seemed to bulge out at the stomach, arms, and at his calves as I recall his calves being squeezed into what seemed to be tights and his bare feet, but I could not clearly make out the shape of his body through his multiple layers of armor and cloth. His feet were large but his toes were knobby and his toenails were strangely a grotesque yellow color.
"A woman from the Water Tribe; she claims to have urgent news." The guard on my left said almost automatically.
The commander seemed to take me in slowly; my disheveled clothing, my dark cloak, and my appearance. I silently cursed myself for not putting up my hair in a traditional braid but in the time I was training in my bending powers, and when I began calling myself Yukihiya, I always put my hair up in a simple ponytail, braid, and occasionally a knot, but never spent more than maybe a fourth of an hour on my hair; even when I was coloring it or brushing it.
"Give her a chamber; it is late and we can talk tomorrow." The commander said simply.
Not a very good strategy, I thought, since I was taught to always listen to urgent news no matter how preoccupied I was with something. The guards nearly pushed me the entire way down a small corridor and then opened a room, revealing a single small bed and bits of furniture, but nothing special.
How such a famous town in the Earth Kingdom could have such a bland exterior, interior and offer only small rooms, I wondered. Lying down on the small cot, discovering that the material bit at and severely irritated the naked skin along the way, I again found myself pining for the comfortable bed with cool linen sheets that I'd had back at the Fire Palace.
It was only a bit after I'd abandoned trying to sleep on the cot and just lay on the floor with my cloak that I noticed that there was someone else in the room.
She was a few years older than I was, most likely in her twenties, and lay still in the corner.
Hastily, in the fear that she was dead, I unknotted my Water sack and, squeezing the bag and feeling that I still had a bit left, rushed over to the limp woman; quickly tipping the liquid down her throat and waited.
I saw the faint shape of a tongue poking through lips and saw movement. I squeezed my water sack more and helped the water down her throat. She seemingly sprung to life and looked around wildly before seeing me.
"W-who are you?" she whispered to me.
I looked around at the dim room and sighed.
"I guess I'll be sharing this room with you." I replied softly. She whimpered at my reply.
"You don't want to be here." She hissed and I heard fear in her voice.
I began to move towards her, to help her up, but stopped when I felt the round curve of her belly. I couldn't believe that I'd not noticed it before; how negligent was I of the world around me?
"Why do I not want to be here?" I asked her. She shuddered.
"The commander, the soldiers, every Earth Kingdom man here are not honorable." She said to me.
I regarded her belly, my eyes narrowing in anger and bits of curiosity mixed in.
"Yes, it's a child of violation." I saw her shudder at the word 'violation' and took her hand; trying to offer her a bit of comfort.
"Here." I said to her, unloading my bag and spreading out what was left of my food for her.
Along the path as I walked to Terre, I'd picked some fruits, berries, and dug up roots that I'd learned were safe to eat and also constantly boiled stream water to refill my supply of clean water.
I grabbed a strip of dried meat, one of my last ones, and offered it to her.
She took it gratefully, biting into it ravenously and I wondered if the people of this city were even feeding her. I also gave her some berries and also watercress I'd found naturally growing along riverbanks and let her eat them until she was full, saying it was alright; that she was eating for 2 when she tried to give back the food I'd offered her.
A bit more water and the food itself seemed to bring back bits of color to her face and give her the ability to move and speak again.
"I don't know if there are other women who have suffered like I'd have, but I hope not." She whispered softly.
I nodded; bundling my cloak into a pillow and offering it for her back or head only to have her decline it, her stating that I'd already done too much for her.
"Have you considered the name?" I asked her; lightly staring at her belly.
The woman rubbed her belly a bit; lightly smiling.
"If it's a boy, I'll name it Qin. If it's a girl…" she trailed off. "If it's a girl, I'll name it Eika."
Eika sounded like a very beautiful name for a girl and Qin for a boy as well.
"We should get sleep." I suggested; looking around to try and find a door, a window, anything with ventilation or a way to escape. She gripped my arm and I was so startled, I let out a small cry of pain.
"You can't. Since you're new, they might come after you next." She said urgently. I doubted that it would happen; I'd had to defend my 'honor' more than one time in the past and knew enough about the male anatomy, thanks to training, to know where the weakest points on his body were. That, and, I had my little knives stowed away.
The only con in the usage of flying daggers was that if I ever used one, I'd most likely be thoroughly searched for other weapons and they would take them away. The metal throwing knives were famous for coming solely from the Fire Nation, so it wouldn't take long (maybe it would) for those Earth Kingdom 'guards' to piece together what I truly was and would surely execute me.
"I'll be fine." I told her; literally meaning it and it only caused her to grip my wrist harder.
She was concerned for my safety, I realized, and no one else but Iroh was like that to me in the entire near seventeen years of my life. I gently patted her head, as if she were a child, and smiled; trying to soothe her to sleep. I finally manipulated her senses enough and felt her doze off.
Finally.
Laying her down on my cloak, I went over to where the Earth Door supposedly was and hit at the dirt wall; searching for a weak spot. There was a spot that, when hit, was quieter and hollower than the rest and, with a 'fire dagger', I carved out a hole that was large enough for me to fit through.
Slipping through the hole discreetly and also putting back Earth to fill the hole, I began walking to the right of the hallway; a hand on my wristband and my fingers constantly gripping a single Flying Dagger.
Suddenly, footsteps were coming from down the hallway. Looking around, it was a bleakly decorated hallway with nothing I could hide behind, under, nor inside without causing a bulge or shift in the object. The hallway was narrow and, in a final act, I began to climb on top of the hallway; my hands on one side of the wall and my feet on the other side and carefully not shifting my weight.
There was a single guard with another one behind him and they were talking.
"That Water Tribe woman was fairly pretty." One of them said and the other laughed.
"There's plenty of time to try her." The other said.
I gripped the wall out of anger, a huge mistake, and felt myself nearly fall. Staggering for a hold, I was nearly sure that my life would end and I would be discovered. But with a miraculous shift of weight, I regained my structure and began to follow them down the hallway and zoning out their voices.
I saw them go into a single lighted room and picked up discreet voices.
"…so there are always multiple copies of our strategies to distribute to the people." A voice said.
I felt like laughing; it was all too easy! I needed to send a message to Admiral Kouguu quickly but I couldn't find a window.
Grumbling at my small loss at the battle, I returned to the room I was held in and closed the hole; sealing it with hot mud I'd made from my last bits of water.
The woman I was sharing the chamber with seemed to be asleep, so I lay down on the cold Earth as well; trying to sleep but my dreams were filled with tumultuous thoughts and ominous dreams.
I felt the Earth move under me, signaling that Earthbending was abroad and I forced myself to sit up. It'd been a few days since I'd gone snooping in the halls and I finally managed to find a window and sent a messenger hawk to Admiral Kouguu.
I stated that I placed myself in the city near the general and already managed to find their plans. I requested a larger messenger hawk to send him all of the battle plans. What I couldn't believe was that this commander was stupid enough to leave his strategies out for nearly anyone to see in what seemed to be the only room in the entire palace with a window.
I saw a single guard in the room, not missing the fact that he did not wear any armor nor and his clothes seemed loose and I remembered the conversation between two guards a few nights ago on the topic of myself.
"May I tell the Commander the news of the Water Tribe?" I asked him coolly.
"Later." The guard said in a light slurring manner as he came closer to me.
I heard a small gasp come from the woman whom I was sharing a room with and I instantly raised my defenses as I regarded the guard coming closer to me.
"Why are you here, then?" I asked him, tight-lipped.
I wondered if the guard was drunk for a second before another guard appeared behind him.
"The commander will see you now." The other guard said; nodding to me.
I rose up, but hesitated; looking at the woman whom I shared a room with.
"Let her come with me." I insisted to the guards.
I saw the guards wonder why I insisted upon this, but let me take her anyway. As she leaned on my shoulder, I felt her round belly near my side and wondered how many months she was in this pregnancy; if her baby was coming anytime soon. I wore everything I was given, even my cloak, despite the warm weather in fear that the guards would snatch it and see that the cloak was actually made in the Fire Nation, or at least come to the senses in discovering that the Water Tribes never wore black nor could make a dye that turned cloth black.
As we went out, I breathed the fresh air that I'd been deprived of for many days. The woman next to me breathed in also and I felt her become a bit stronger.
At the top of a pagoda, I met the commander and he beckoned me to a seat. Instead, I gave the pillow to the woman and she graciously sat on it. I sat cross-legged on the floor and waited.
"What is this news you have of the Northern Water Tribes?" the commander asked me.
I took a deep breath, finally saying my practiced lines.
"The Northern Water Tribes are in trouble. I was out fishing with my husband when we saw ships approach the horizon. Since we were both in canoes, we decided that my husband would go back to warn the tribe and I would come here. Please, the Water Tribes need your help; we need to fend off the Fire Nation." I pleaded to him.
The commander stroked his beard for a few moments.
"We in the city of Terre must defend ourselves as well." He said slowly.
"Yes, but the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom must be allies in a time like this, with the Fire Nation attacking and…" I trailed off, looking away to the sea.
"Go back and send these plans to your chief militant." The general said, handing me a bundle of small and lightweight scrolls.
I opened one of them, seeing a plan for their defenses. I wrinkled my nose in confusion, in case any guard might see me looking at the plans and would be suspicious.
I saw that the commander planned to line his nearly all of his troops outside on the city of Terre, on the Southern and Eastern walls; only on land, I observed, and that long ago; someone had built secret tunnels coming to and from the city in order to sneak food, weaponry if needed, and also to evacuate the city if needed.
I could not believe my luck! All I needed to know and more, they were marked on the scroll and it was only a single rendezvous.
"What is this?" I asked in spite of my knowledge.
"A plan. You wouldn't understand, anyway." The commander replied to me.
It indefinitely showed him and myself his attitude and outlook on life.
"Please, my husband said I should wait for a messenger bird before I leave. May I be outside to wait for it?" I asked him.
It was half true, I requested a larger hawk for delivering the message.
"Of course." The Commander replied.
A small groan behind me reminded me of my roommate and her pregnancy.
"And her, too." I replied; turning my head.
"And why is that?" the Commander asked.
He was getting suspicious of my actions; maybe he wasn't as dull-witted as I thought he was.
"She is pregnant. If she gives birth right in that room, blood will soak into the dirt and leave a stain. Someone could see and think that you murdered someone. It might be enough for those who make propaganda to turn the people against you. If the baby was born in a room like that, I wouldn't exactly say that it would be a lie. She's to have it any day now and she should give birth with a healer. It could be a boy, another soldier to help with the war." I said softly.
The general took my slander in, thinking.
"I guess it would be alright. I'll arrange for you both to stay with a healer." He said shortly.
I smiled and turned a grateful gaze up at him.
"Thank you." I breathed.
The general seemed to falter for a moment, but nodded once and motioned for his guards. I helped the woman up and we began to walk out onto the city.
Abruptly, I felt hands on my cloak.
"Let me take that off for you." A guard said. I wrenched the fabric away from him.
"I am fine." I snapped at him and clung onto the cloak tighter around my body until I, along with my pregnant 'roommate', reached the house we were supposed to be staying in.
There was a woman inside; she was in her 20's at the most with brown hair tied up in a small bun topknot and with the rest of it hanging loose. Her eyes were a startling aqua/jade color and contrasted with her dark skin dramatically. Her dress was plain, a single green robe tied with a black sash, and I saw no jewelry, not even a small bracelet of wood, on her.
"Welcome." The nurse said warmly and guided the woman I met in the 'prison house' to another room.
A sudden thought struck me; I didn't even know either of their names.
I climbed to the rooftop to wait for the hawk; staring at the stars and moon in the meantime.
It'd been a few days since I came to the house, and there were no abrupt knocks at the door at night, there were no 'bumps in the night' either; the fear in the air dissolved and everyone inhabiting the small Earth-house breathed easier.
My gaze wandered to the half moon and wondered what was truly happening in the Northern Water Tribe right now. I doubted that the people were in true danger; the Fire Nation was right now focusing solely on the Earth Kingdom right now.
I'd shown the nurse my other small albino hawk, I'd had no other use for it anyways, and asked if she had any food for it. She was very kind, giving me what she could, and now I held the small hawk on my fingertips; letting him become gradually exposed to the night air and spreading his wings in preparation of flying. "Go back to the Admiral." I said to the hawk. Without another gesture, the small hawk leapt off of my fingers and soared into the night sky.
"May I join you?" a voice asked from behind me.
Turning, I saw the nurse.
"Sure." I replied and turned back to looking at the shoreline for any sign of a flying animal.
"Who are you?" the nurse asked me after a moment of silence.
"Yuki." I replied simply.
"I'm Longtzai." The nurse introduced as she climbed next to me.
"You shouldn't have asked the Commander of Terre for help." Longtzai said bitterly to me.
I turned to her, surprise at my features.
"Why shouldn't I?" I asked her.
"The Commander isn't interested in anything else but himself. He only wants money, power, and doesn't care on what he has to do in order to obtain those." Longtzai answered.
"Sounds like people I know. That's all he wants?" I asked evenly
"No." Longtzai said softly, looking away.
"Then I'll assume that he cheats, steals, lies, even kills for money and also he seeks pleasure by raping women." I said, remembering the hectic conflagration of the lower sub-divisions of the Fire Nation within the palace.
"How did you know?" she asked me with wide eyes, obviously fearful at the possibility of this city's antagonistic-like reputation spreading throughout the world.
"Took a guess." I replied coolly.
"It wasn't always like this; the Commander took hold of Terre recently. Now, he's turned it into this hellhole." Longtzai spat bitterly.
I nodded; saying nothing and letting her continue.
"And the worst thing is no one is allowed outside of the city." Longtzai grimaced.
"No one?" I asked her.
"No. Not even the children nor soldiers. I wish we could be free, but the commander says it's out of the question." Longtzai sighed.
"A dictator?" I asked; pretty sure that she would not understand my 'question'.
"A monster." It was a flat-out statement with no hesitation on her part whatsoever.
"So would you be glad if some people came, won over the city, and set everyone free?" I asked lightly.
Longtzai looked down, most likely in thought.
"Yes." She said after unnamed moments of silence
"It'll happen one day." I reassured; patting her hand. 'And sooner than you think.'
Out of the dark night, a quiet but definite screech sounded and I turned to see a carrier hawk.
I stood up and whistled a calling tune; watching as the hawk came to me and rested on my arm.
"Finally. I need a light to read it, though." I murmured, fearful to use my Firebending powers anywhere within the city walls save for when in secrecy
"There's an oil lamp burning inside, we can read it." Longtzai suggested as she went down from the roof.
I nodded; going down with her and bringing the hawk to the light and untying the small message attached to its foot.
In Huo-wen, the language of the Fire Nation, it read 'Good work, Yukihiya. The navy is to be near the borders of Terre by tonight and we need their war plans. –Admiral.'
I smiled and retrieved the bundle of scrolls that passed for their plans.
I'd taken a look in them beforehand, discovering that the commander planned to place nearly all of his army outside the fortified walls on land. He planned a few raids by sea and also intended to heavily guard a few weak spots in the city. I didn't care much about the other scrolls; the Admiral's Helmsmen would decipher them later on anyways.
"Do you have some raw meat for this bird? It's traveled a long way." I asked Longtzai.
"A bit, I'll get it." Longtzai said to me and momentarily left the room.
She came back with a bit of bloodied meat and got to feed the hawk, a small laugh from her and, after I secured and tied the scrolls and a short message explaining the scrolls to the hawk's ankle, went back on the roof and released the bird into the night sky; hoping that the hawk will not tire out in the middle of the night and my message would not get to Admiral Kouguu in time.
No sooner than the hawk was out of sight, the house seemed to shift under my feet and I was knocked down to the floor only to be seized by guards.
"What are you doing?" Longtzai demanded of the guards.
"This is a warranted arrest for this woman." The guard said gruffly. Actually, the sovereignity system of the Earth Kingdom permitted searches without writs of assistance if the leader wished it so; the warranted arrest part was a 'permission' in name only.
I breathed in sharply; had I been found out?
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" she protested.
"We believe that this woman is a spy." The guard replied. Was I found out? My heart was hammering within my chest at an incredibly fast rate; I thought it was to burst at any second.
"A spy?" Longtzai gasped.
"For the Water Tribes." The guard answered.
"Well, what will—?" Longtzai stopped talking for a moment.
The guard gripped my arm harder.
"She is to die a spy's death, an execution, at high noon." The guard said and aggressively shoved me out of the door.
I walked, leaving my cloak behind, and wondering for a wild second if I could use my daggers and escape. Even if I did, my Martial Arts weren't as efficient as my Firebending and if I used Firebending, I would've been instantly killed.
I needed to bide my time, to wait, until the sun rose when I was convicted to die, and hope that my fate would take a turn around.
At high noon, I was dragged out with a plank encircling my neck and wrists.
Everyone was dead still and silent, as if they'd seen all of this before, and they only stared at me as I silently passed them all and stepped up to a platform. The executioner released me from that plank and chained my wrists with manacles and chains.
I stood up and faced my executioner.
"You are charged on being a spy and sentenced to death." the executioner read.
I only stared; of course I was a spy.
"A spy for the Northern Water Tribes." If only the Northern Water Tribes could bear witness to such an act; I knew that my old home wanted the help of the Earth Kingdom and the city was accusing the Northern Water Tribe of being their enemy!
I saw that, instead of Earthbending, the guards used a narrow, sharp-point spear.
I could duck, but there were so many other guards with their own weapons that I knew the chances of me escaping safely and alive were very slim.
A stone arrowhead flew forth at me and, for a moment, I stared at it, the shape so interesting that I almost forgot that I was about to die. A flash of metal quickly changed that fate and the arrowhead clattered on the ground, the other part of the spear also fallen.
The sound of metal flying through the air sounded again and this time, I felt my chains become loose and looking at them, discovered that the chains had been cut cleanly off of my wrists.
A dagger landed at my feet and I didn't have to look to know that it belong to the Fire Nation.
A scream directed my sight upward and never in my life had I seen a larger shower of arrows and daggers; all of it creating a huge, ominous cloud in the sky before the weapons began to slant downwards and shower the city.
Running off of the platform, I gave my executioner a swift kick to his face and, jumping off, slammed him to the ground with my feet.
"Get her!" the voice of the commander roared behind me.
I ran towards Longtzai, who was in the crowd, and grabbed her.
"You have to get to safety. And the woman I first came with to your with, take her with you." I told her quickly.
She looked at me with aghast and fear in her eyes.
"What is happening?" she asked me.
"The Fire Nation is attacking." I said quickly as we began to run.
"The Fire Nation?" she asked me; looking at me with wide eyes and disbelief.
"Yes. Get to safety." I told her as a loud crash was overheard.
Turning, we both saw several large tanks with the Fire Nation emblem on them as they began to pour in through a hole on the Eastern side of the city. That was strange; Admiral Kouguu had planned a Navy siege, a surprise assault, and the blocking of the secret tunnels and also the clogging of the river that Terre was so interdependent on for its water source; not a charge with the tanks.
The soldiers were a too preoccupied with the Firebenders, who came from the secret passages noted on the map of Terre, and didn't notice me and Longtzai running around.
"You're one of them?" Longtzai asked me in disbelief.
I looked at her square in the eye and did not hesitate to speak.
"Yes." A simple word unleashing a thousand revelations. She pulled away from me and I knew it was because she knew of the Fire Nation. "Think of this, Longtzai; if the Fire Nation wins, I will talk to the militants and try to release as many prisoners as the Military will permit me to. If Terre collapses, the people are free. You are free, Longtzai." I said to her; knowing that freedom was the thing she wanted most.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked me.
"The soldiers are too preoccupied by the assault and if you can, take all of the women and children out from this city and get people to open the Northern gates. Go out there, but wait within the caves until the battle is officially over. The caves are just a little bit West. Take food; the cave has natural clean water rivers and ponds and wait there." I told her hastily.
I heard a rumbling behind me and saw a soldier coming towards me with an Earth slide. Reaching for the daggers in my waistband, I threw four of them and aimed all of them near the soldier's neck. I saw blood come and the Earth slide literally crumble.
"Go!" I shouted to Longtzai. She nodded and ran back to her house for the pregnant woman.
"I knew it!" a soldier snarled at me. I turned around and struck a bolt of lightning at him. He made an Earth shield around his body. What a nice tactic; cowering behind the Earth or just sticking one's head in the sand at the first sign that an enemy would overpower them.
I ran towards him and unleashed a series of attacks; all of my blows reaching him at least in one area. I underestimated the amount of punch given by a boulder about half my size soaring uninterrupted through the air and hitting me right in the chest. Gods, it hurt and I reeled away; tasting blood in my mouth. I screamed for my body to get up, to keep fighting, but I seemed to have gotten less rest than I'd thought and fatigue, along with the waves of pain in my ribs, pinned me down for hte moment
I couldn't get up and watched as the soldier advanced on to me. As he was about to attack, a large whip of Fire sent the man flying. Before I saw him collide with anything, I found myself lifted up and leaning against him momentarily. I smiled bemusedly at my savior; leave it to him to come in at the last moment and take all of the glory. Before humbly going to his superiors and telling them of who really deserved the credit.
"Why are you here?" I asked Iroh, suddenly remembering that his division of soldiers took Fire Nation tanks to storm a city in the Earth Kingdom.
"My division won ahead of schedule, and I thought Admiral Kouguu might have needed some help." He said and, tilting my head up, kissed me.
I must confess, I nearly forgot that we were in the middle of a battle at that time until I opened my eyes and saw Longtzai staring at me.
Iroh later claimed that his action was purely impulsive; "after or during a battle where victory is imminent, male soldiers fall upon the first female they see to prove to themselves that they're alive and their bodies are still working' he stated in his defense
With difficulty, I pulled away from him.
"The battle!" I shouted to him over the rumbling of Earth.
Iroh nodded; taking off in one direction and I took off in another. I ran towards Longtzai as she was trying to undo a lock that opened the gate, but failing since she lacked the proper strength.
I gently pushed her out of the way and, with a blast of fire, melted the locks and pushed open the doors. The women and children, and some men, ran out of the gate and towards the caves, like I told Longtzai to do; many of them carrying baskets, bundles, and packs full of things which I hoped would be food for the people.
I watched the gates for any soldiers as the battle deeply raged on within the center of the city. I saw the YuuYan archers had sprung out of their hiding place and began to fire arrows.
Fire, dust, Earth, weapons, bodies, and blood filled the hectic scene and I saw the children fleeing wildly. Poor things; this battle would be the everlasting memories of their lifetime. Longtzai came to me, stopping.
"Thank you." She breathed.
"Of course. Get to safety and I'll come to the caves to claim the survivors." I told her and felt my eyes turn back to the battle.
I nearly rammed her through the door.
"Remember; don't come out until I come to you." I said, taking a heavy door chain and pulled the gate shut again.
I ran back into the heart of the battle; my eyes stinging from the dust and smoke, my nose clogged with the smell of fire, and blood, my hearing nearly on the point of becoming deaf with all of the screaming in the air, and the taste of burnt flesh reached my lips as I stumbled lightly over fallen bodies.
The Fire Nation seemed to be pushing forth more and the Commander was always putting soldiers in front of him to take the fall for him. I joined the soldiers in the front line and began to construct a thick wall of fire with them.
With a huge push, we sent it off and onto the soldiers. Even their shield of Earth was not enough to fully protect them. I turned, seeing Admiral Kouguu up to his neck in Earth Kingdom Soldiers all fighting him from the front. I saw the dictator, in a sense, sneaking up behind him; sword in hand.
"Admiral!" I cried out; indicating for him to look behind himself.
I pushed my arms out, intending to attack, but my bending ability felt different this time; instead of feeling the power leave me in outwards from my hands and the heat surging through my arms, I felt the power push down and leave me from my feet.
A second later, a surge of Lava came in front of the commander and, as I closed my fingers, saw the lava encircle the Commander.
I heard him scream and relinquished my control; the lava landing on the ground and turning a strange grey color. The Admiral fought off all of his shocked attackers and came over beside me and led me to the fallen self-declared emperor, if he could be called that.
Lifting him up by his armor, Admiral Kouguu gave me a small knife embellished with the Fire Nation crest on it. I looked up at him with light confusion.
"You have given us victory, Yukihiya. It's time for you to finish what you originally started." Admiral Kouguu said to me.
I nodded; coming forth.
Thinking of everything Longtzai told me, I knew that this was for all of the misery he caused.
With no hesitation, I brought the knife to his burnt throat and made a clean cut across the neck; watching as his body detached from the head and blood spilled on the ground.
Just like that, it was over. The city, once the pride and joy of the Earth Kingdom and not to mention its source of morale leverage, had literally disappeared and became another speck of red on the map; signifying the takeover.
"So you're of the Fire Nation?" Longtzai asked me; eyeing my uniform.
I changed from the blue clothes back to the female issued fire navy uniform.
On the day I'd come to retrieve the evacuated citizens, they thanked me--as much as they would allow themselves to thank a soldier from the Fire Nation who deceived them all--for setting them free and hoped that they could get on with their lives.
"Yes. I am." I answered.
The woman, impregnated by violation, had given birth to a girl and, as she said, named the baby Eika.
"Is this it?" The woman asked as she held Eika.
I nodded.
"This is it. You go your way and I'll go mine." I said, turning back to a ship and walking up the gangplank.
Iroh smiled at me and I returned it, sneaking a glance at the mother of Eika and Longtzai walking away into the forest.
I never saw them again, and I still didn't know her name.
"To the bravest woman of us all!" Admiral Kouguu toasted me at a banquet held for the victory at Terre.
I smiled, acknowledging the toast and raising my glass also as everyone else did the same.
For this occasion, Iroh gave me an old Kimono, one that was colored a dark blue and stitched with magnificent colored thread, to wear and asked a servant to tie up my hair into a knot.
After years of feeling isolated and unwanted, with hate and discrimination thrown at me at my old home, could finding a place where you were welcomed, a place giving you kindness after so much unkindness, could being there not be called happiness?
Sozun set down a gold inlaid goblet for me filled with a dark liquid.
"A victory drink." Iroh, seated next to me, said.
I stared at my reflection in the liquid as I raised the cup to my lips. If I did drink this, I was one of them...
'Oh, hell; why not? No one would miss me anyways.' I decided within seconds and, tipping the goblet fully to my lips, drank deeply.
It was surprisingly sweet and I was utterly glad that I did drink it.
Like that, my life in the Military began.
I began leading charges and raids for smaller towns in the Earth Kingdom and every time I would be victorious, I would get a reward; sometimes a promotion, even though that was usually given because I'd done something significant or I had been praised by one of my superiors.
I became known throughout the Earth Kingdom as a Water Tribe Woman who possessed the powers of a traitor and singled me out so I received much of their hate.
Their hurtful slander and even libel drove me onward in becoming merciless in my attacks; children, as I thought, would be spawned and manipulated to detest me as well and it would have been better to end their bound-to-be miserable lives with their parents. I'd done things I am not exactly the proudest of during that time, but...I cannot say that I regretted from the bottom of my heart and soul my actions.
"You do not deserve forgiveness." I snapped to a prisoner I once captured when he begged for me to forgive him.
As I walked away from the prisoners, looking into some of their dead or blazing eyes, I saw that I had become everything I was once taught to hate or be repulsed by; hard-headed, merciless, cruel. But I felt free, and with a clean slate, for one of the first times in my life.
Most of Kana seemed to disappear forever and I couldn't say that I missed her; being thrown into my family's progress for power and nearly being killed if I stayed, and not to mention forced into being a spineless and silent girl was not the life I wanted.
I grew closer to Iroh; often our missions would be together and I found myself talking to him on days I was bored. He still gave me books to read, taught me bits more of Huo-wen, and helped me with my martial arts.
We began telling each other more and more about ourselves, becoming more open and natural was a thing I once thought would've been impossible; he did always have that sense to his charisma.
I was waiting for my next mission while in the Fire Palace when, walking down the hall, I heard running down the hallway. Turning, I saw a messenger.
"Admiral Iroh wants to see you." He breathed and beckoned me to follow him.
I ran the best I could, considering that I had to wear heeled shoes and a very long and sagging dress. In the War Room, Iroh was standing up. When he saw me, he smiled.
"Ah, hello Yukihiya. Come, I need to ask you something." He said, waving me over.
I felt Ozai's eyes on me again and clenched my fists to repress the shiver than cascaded down my spine.
"What is it, Iroh?" I asked him respectively.
"I have been chosen to lead an assault. I ask if you would like to also come." He said. In those times, I nearly never refused a time to gain knowledge and wisdom through the art of battle.
"Of course I would like to, Admiral Iroh, but where are we, you, leading the assault?" I asked.
"The Northern Water Tribe."
What do you think will happen next?
R'n'R, please.
