Hello all!
I was finally able to put in the work I've wanted to on this and my other projects, recently. I've been very busy as of late with lots of overtime at my job, my car breaking down, and all of that before a much much needed vacation with my girlfriend lol.
I tried my hardest to make this one stand out. I originally had planned for three parts to the prologue but I felt that was just dragging it on needlessly. So I kept what I thought was necessary to establish who Keiji is as a character and I hope you all come to like this little creation of mine.
I hope to have the first proper Chapter 1 (Zuko POV btw for those worried this will be an only OC focused story) out sooner than this one haha.
Thank you for reading.
Watching listlessly as strands of his shoulder length hair were batted around by the frigid air, Keiji redid his topknot. It came out messier than intended. Teko was being bandaged a few feet away from him, his wounds being treated as best soldiers could in a battlefield. It was surprisingly a much easier process given their environment.
It turned out that ice was much cleaner than steel, Keiji mused. Or bones, in the Water Tribe's case. How about that?
With a shiver, he embraced the warm cloak around him as his eyes trailed their surroundings. The small support infirmary that was set up in haste was really nothing but several people's homes that had been hastily evacuated. A bunch of soldiers stuffed in the homes as the blitz continued. There were belongings strewn about. Parkas and bowls and small carvings that clearly belonged to children.
Breathing in and out; meditating as his father taught him to. It helped Keiji to calm himself. The rumbling in the ice, the shouting, the screaming… it all felt like it was only 30 feet away. But he was doing his best to banish it all from his mind.
That is, until he heard ice crunch beneath heavy steel boots. His eyes snapped open to see Lieutenant Yoshan stepping into the home. Hard eyes contained a cold rage.
"You two." Keiji went stiff as he and Teko were singled out. "You two disobeyed direct orders to keep the formation. You robbed us of vital manpower in a crucial first phase of the battle. If I had my way, you would both be lashed and put in the brig for your insubordination!" Steam quite literally rose off his form as he shouted.
Teko growled and stood up, despite his injuries. "With all due respect, sir." He spat. "If Keiji and I hadn't made our way up the watchtower in time, a lot more men would have died-"
Yoshan snarled and fire licked his fingertips. Before he could process his own thoughts, Keiji immediately rose and stood between the two. His superior's face was so close to his own he was afraid their noses might touch..
"Sheng had to save the two of you from your own actions! You did nothing but complicate the matter." Spittle bounced off his skin and Keiji swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Sir, without our distraction and the actions of fellow like-minded soldiers, we would have lost more men. We were only doing what we thought necessary for the mission. Teko is right."
Lieutenant Yoshan's face darkened and his posture regained its former rigidity. "Since it is clear you will not listen to proper reprimand and, seeing as we're in the middle of an invasion, I cannot do as I would wish to without wasting time or manpower. I will instead fulfill your desire to," he made a sarcastic gesture, "do right by your fellow soldiers, Private Keiji." A smirk split Yoshan's features and Keiji felt his stomach drop. He heard the air sizzle and crack from the fire his commanding officer summoned.
Before he could think on it more, a red-hot hand wreathed in fire slammed into his right cheek. Keiji let out an agonized gurgle and felt the air leave his lungs in a moment. Dropping to one knee, his world whirled while he tried to focus.
"The two of you will be accompanying me directly into the city after the Admiral reaches further. I believe you both have had ample time to rest from your… injuries." Teko's teeth grinding could practically be heard from 10 feet away.
Keiji could smell the seared flesh as he trembled and sucked in air. It was by far not what he had expected, even from a man such as Yoshan.
The shock faded away when the feeling of Teko's hand gripping his shoulder finally set in and the agony of his new injury came crashing into his senses. With a groan, his head turned to meet Teko's enraged eyes before his comrade quite literally yanked him to his feet.
Between the frigid wind on his burns and the threat of frostbite on his fingers and toes, he pushed himself forward.
"S-stay on your feet, soldier." The words came out raspy; painfully. "We've got work to do. Whether we like it or not." But those words to his brother in arms rang true and the two customarily bowed to each other, their hands forming the shape of a flame. Interlocking his wrist with Teko's and with a grim visage staring back at him, Keiji stopped only to have bandages painfully applied with a salve to his neck and face.
He ran his fingers through his singed hair and tied his topknot back to normal and exited the hastily prepared field hospital back into the heat of battle. It was going to be a hell of a day.
Those earlier thoughts were really coming to bite him in the rear end, Keiji mused.
His fellow Fire Nation soldiers had refined pushing back the tribal's lines and breaching through the next layer of defense as the day had dragged on. But after a certain point, they had reached the heart of the city and it became an absolute slugfest of urban warfare.
Rivers undoubtedly made from waterbending served as the streets of the Northern Water Tribe, creating a vein like system through which life pumped through the icy stronghold. The building s that served purposes of all sorts whether it be restaurants, libraries, markets, or gambling had become hiding places and a series of spots for the tribals to make plays then hop to the next one over.
So the Fire Nation resorted to melting what they could of each building in the way of their forces. Blasting them with explosives or jets of fire. It had become nothing but a massive feverpitched show of bloodshed.
Keiji could hear the screams of the people. He couldn't bring himself to tune it out.
With wounds and muscles aching, he couldn't help but think about how this city had a sense of beauty to it. The people here were just like back home. No matter how much he tried to banish the thought from his mind, it wouldn't leave.
He had his own complicated issues with the Earth Kingdom, being from the colonies and all, but here? The word tribal was becoming a lot less tasteful for him to use when referring to these people. His heart just wasn't in the fight.
He couldn't help but think about these things. Even as his unit advanced through the urban environment where any house could become the sight of a hasty ambush.
"The moon is so bright tonight." Sheng's simple words reached his ears and he turned to meet his friend.
Sheng looked confused and angry at the sight of the bandages. Keiji explained what had happened, between himself and the Lieutenant, and his friend breathed a puff of smoke.
"Are you alright? Do you need to sit down for a few moments and have someone look at it?" Keiji chuckled bitterly as his friend fretted over him.
"No." He said hoarsely, "I'll be alright." He knew it didn't sound convincing, but he couldn't afford to sit down.
"Besides, even if I wanted to, the Lieutenant would probably have my head for insubordination." Sheng stayed silent and scowled, staring into the distant displays of violence.
Keiji shivered and rubbed his hands together only to be warmed by firebending. He looked his friend's way, the fire in his hands contrasting with a dark and pensive face.
"Why are we doing this?" The distraught tone that reached his ears caught Keiji off-guard. "I know Admiral Zhoa spoke of defeating the Water Tribes. But we could have had the fleet in formation and bombarded this place day and night without needing to land a single soldier."
"Well, that's because Admiral sideburns cares more about his personal glory than us." Keiji replied blithely. "I think we both learned where our Commanders stand with their soldiers when we fought under General Junichi."
Sheng snapped the fire out of his hands and shot a look his way. It was quickly shrugged off. It was a touchy subject between the two of them, to say the least.
"Whether you like to hear it or not, what happened to the 41st Division was that old weasel snake's fault." Teko's voice cut in over the shouts of the latest quickly suppressed ambush that unfolded before their eyes.
"Almost all of my comrades died because of his orders to use us as bait." Teko said venomously. "In case you've forgotten, we were thrown into the badgermole's den so that General gasbag could flank their forces while we were being slaughtered."
Sheng angrily jabbed a finger at Teko. "In case I've forgotten? Who do you think you're talking to? My own brother was killed to make way for the reinforcements!"
Keiji sighed as a sardonic laugh escaped Teko's lips. He stepped between the two before it could come to blows.
"Let's leave it here. We've been over this same argument a million times." He could practically feel the heat from Sheng's hands and the unfazed glower from Teko. "For the record Teko, I agree with you." He kept a hand on Sheng's hot-to-the-touch breastplate and continued, "But, I empathize with you Sheng."
Keiji pinched the bridge of his nose. He loved his childhood friend but, he was patriotic to a fault. The kind that wouldn't try to be realistic about their Nation's future because it was too hard to admit that they weren't a perfect empire.
"Your brother died. You've lost a lot in your service. As have we all. Neither Teko and I would ever disgrace your brother's legacy. Right, Teko?"
He jabbed the stubborn archer in the ribs when he refused to answer.
"Right. I just think that-" Keiji kicked his shin and saw a smile flash across Sheng's features.
"Look, let's just all of us agree to disagree for the umpteenth time and focus on the battle at hand, why don't we?"
With his comrades subduing their anger, Keiji had to bite back his own simmering rage when Lieutenant Yoshan's voice reached his ears.
"You three! With me. This instant!" Keiji's eyes bore a hole of pure hatred into the man's face. It thankfully went unnoticed. "We'll clear this area house by house, squad by squad. We'll start with these houses."
Their commanding officer gestured to a row of ornate icy houses the newly formed fireteam would be sweeping.
Knowing grumbling would get them nowhere, the three of them followed Yoshan into the fold again.
Despite the tense atmosphere and battle raging outside, the moonlit surroundings were quiet and bore little danger.
House by house, all they seemed to be running into consistently were abandoned possessions and houses left behind by those who were likely deeper in the city. At this stage, it was a wonder why Yoshan had them clearing houses considering the most recent update delivered by a messenger was that Admiral Zhao had reached near the Northern Water Tribe's palace.
He sighed from the absurdity of it all, but took solace in the fact that it had been a pointless endeavor for the last solid two hours, or so. Just a lot of meticulous searching and clearing.
His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill scream. One of these days, Keiji thought, he would learn to keep even his own mind shut up in situations like these.
With his legs pumping as he sprinted to the lower level of the house his fireteam was in, Keiji's heart sank at what was likely happening.
That is, until it was confirmed. His green eyes laid sight upon a darker skinned woman shielding her young son and hysterical daughter with her very body. Yoshan's cruel visage looking at them over the fresh corpse of who was likely the family's patriarch.
Seconds later, the room was bathed in red. The sounds of jets of fire roared in the distance like a team of dragons incinerating everything in their sight.
Bile rose in his throat and frozen muscles didn't permit him to move as his eyes looked up through the half-destroyed roof. A now red moon was all he could focus on.
"Tell the little ice savage to stop her crying. It will attract more of their kind." Yoshan's smug voice ordered Sheng.
Keiji heard, but he couldn't take his eyes off the sky. The red night sky. What in Agni's name was going on?
Keiji slowly stepped down the stairs, his eyes glued to the night sky. The room was only full of the noise of outside battles, a crying girl, and a desperate mother. It only barely registered with him that Sheng hadn't moved a single step despite Yoshan's orders.
His eyes finally looked down and met the mother's ocean blue eyes. They were full of tears and pleading. Her brave young son. How old was he? Six? Maybe eight at the oldest? It was impossible to tell. But all it did was make him think of his mother and younger sister back home.
"You fools, I ordered you to shut her up! Do your duty and deal with these ice savages. I won't have my reputation besmirched by a few colony-bred cowards."
Keiji looked at his comrades. Teko's fingers hadn't even begun to reach for an arrow from his quiver, and Sheng looked conflicted and struck with bewilderment.
"Fine!" Yoshan shrieked as fire flung from his fingertips. "I'll do it myself!"
The moon disappeared, Keiji noticed. Everything was monochrome. His face throbbed with pain and the burns ached with intensity. The bruises in his jaw protested. Was he speaking?
No, he was yelling. His feet and hands had moved before he could even understand what was going on. He hoped his brothers in the 41st were proud of their brothers in arms.
The haze in his head disappeared and he realized what had happened as red, thick blood reached his fingers.
Yoshan gurgled and looked at him with shock. His sword embedded within the Lieutenant's abdomen. It reached deep where the armor didn't cover, on the sides near the armpit.
Keiji's eyes grew ever wider as Yoshan collapsed to the ground and spasmed. Blood flowed like water from his body and sparks from his fingertips in desperation formed.
In his periphery, the Water Tribe woman, the mother, covered her children's eyes as best she could.
He slowly realized he was hearing Sheng's consternated shouting. He looked slowly over at Corporal Teko, who was frozen by shock. His arms pulled back his sword from Yoshan's body and he could only fight the urge to vomit for so long before he spewed on the animal skin covered floor made of ice.
The son's bright blue eyes peeked through his mother's quivering fingers to meet his own.
Forgive me, he hoped he communicated to the boy with the feeling of despair in his very bones. He wished he had the courage to tell him he was sorry he hadn't saved his father. But words failed him.
His world spun as he was dragged to his feet in front of a vexed Sheng. "Keiji, why?" His mind took a moment to process the hoarse voice of his friend before he replied without thinking.
"I couldn't let him kill more innocent people. I can't-" The words caught in his throat and Keiji suddenly felt his face throb with a dull pain. His tears were soaking through thin bandages and reaching his burned face. His full weight slumped into his oldest friend.
"I can't just sit by and let it all happen again. I can't watch while innocents die. I can't do it all again." He surrendered himself to Sheng's will. Keiji fully expected his friend, in all his patriotic fervor, to be upset with him. To try and turn him in. But he couldn't understand the words directed at him.
"Teko, help me get Keiji out of here and back to the ship." The words were spoken directly into his ear.
"Back to the ship? How's that gonna go over with the captain?" Teko asked, just as bewildered as he was.
"We'll tell him we were ambushed. Too many night-time tribal assaults to provide aid." Sheng said with a straight voice and blank face.
Keiji saw Teko's hesitation for a moment, then the next two pairs of hands were helping him walk out of the home. The woman, a wife and mother, locked eyes with him as he was practically dragged away.
Keiji's feet eventually decided to start working again. The ice beneath his feet registered in his mind. The haze of adrenaline and fear and hatred left him. And all he could do was dread what would happen when someone would find out. He couldn't understand if Sheng meant to turn him in or not. He didn't know what to do. Damn his stupid body for acting before he could think!
His brothers in arms said nothing during the trek back. They avoided other units and after what felt like hours in a mostly lightless landscape only lit by fires, they saw the world bathed in a deep blue.
A blue light which did not come from the sky. No, it came from behind them.
Keiji looked behind himself and saw a monstrous behemoth of water in the shape of a fish. Right there in the center, stood a small person. A person with glowing tattoos. A child. The Avatar.
"Guys? Since we're on our way out, we might want to go get the hell out of here!" Teko's panicked words shot more energy into the trio as they began springing for the ship still anchored past the half-melted ruins of the icy city. Just on the horizon, was all they had to reach.
The screams of the city turned from the cries and anguished shouts of the Northern Water Tribe to abject horror and fear from Fire Nation soldiers. The sound of a waterfall crashing into the water was constant, and grew ever closer.
By the time the three's footsteps slammed into the metal bow of the ship, it was already beginning to rise. Keiji nearly felt himself fall forward down ramp with how rapidly the ship was leaving its position.
His burning face, his tired body, the dried blood on his hands, all of it was inconsequential to the question burning in his mind. In probably everyone's minds.
How in Agni's name were they supposed to defeat the Avatar?
He nearly hit the walls several times as he could hear the ship retract its anchor while pushing itself to reverse on the frigid seas. The shouts of the crew were a cacophony of shocked and terrified orders being spat out at each other as the ship was pushed to its limits in order to carry out its hasty retreat.
The heated metal of the ship provided no warmth as he and his comrades approached the deck. Fear struck his heart and all remained silent.
The colossal thing the Avatar was at the center of reached its glowing hands formed out of the ocean towards their ship and several others. Within seconds, Keiji felt himself slingshotted backward into the metal walls of the hallway.
Was this a dream? Had they somehow, by the will of the spirits, lost that massacre called a battle?
Blue light from the sky clashed with the red of the hallways. Blue light which came from the sky, now. Keiji could only let out a weak chuckle as his vision darkened. He knew he would suffer for his own crimes, but he could only laugh that his commanders were suffering for theirs.
As the blackness took him under fully, Keiji could only think of his home.
There are a few little details in here from the show that I took and ran with. Like the 41st division in the war room scene where Zuko speaks out of turn.
That is now very important to this plot hehe.
I hope this is as good as it can be with the little freetime I've had. No matter what, I want to see this story through. Been too long in the making lol.
Well, I'll see you all next time.