Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.
This one is set right after the finale. Thanks for reading and please review.
"In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons." –Croesus
Aang walked through the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, enjoying the sounds of a liberated people. Children played freely amongst the streets and adults when about their business as if it were any other day. He had left the others back at Iroh's tea shop. A warm sun greeted him as he went down another dusty alleyway. It was then that he noticed something he had not seen before.
A graveyard.
The plot was small but cramped with the simple stone markers. One singled tree stood in a corner. Its green leaves trembled against the wind. Aang saw a figure of a man dressed in poor Earth Kingdom clothing hovering over one of the markers. He carefully walked over and saw the man on his knees bowing his head. Several sticks of incense burned before him with a small offering of flowers. Aang turned to leave, not wanting to disrupt the man. "Avatar?" The man called out in a rough voice. Aang looked back over at haunted brown eyes. The man's skin was dark from the sun and he had the air of being a menial worker.
Aang smiled. "Yeah, that's me."
The man's brown eyes widened at the confirmation. "It is an honor to meet you," He replied with a bow. "My name is Hiro."
Aang returned the gesture. He could not but help his curiosity. "Who are you here for?"
Hiro's face darkened with pain. "My son," He said with a nod towards the marker, "He died trying to protect the city from the Fire Nation. A few of the soldiers tried…and failed."
"I'm sorry."
Hiro's eyes brightened somehow. "It's an unnatural thing for fathers to bury their sons," He said in a sorrowful tone, "But now others won't be faced with that prospect thanks to you." His tanned face looked at Aang respectfully. "I thank you for that Avatar." Aang did not feel like being thanked. Instead he felt guilt. Tremendous guilt. He did not have it often anymore thinking on what could have been. Yet sometimes, like now, he wished he had not slept for those hundred years. Hiro looked at him with anxious eyes. "Avatar, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Aang replied. He looked at all of the markers. "Did all of them die because of the war?"
Hiro eyed the other markers with careful consideration. "Some," He answered with a shrug, "Some of them fathers, but mostly they are sons." Aang bowed towards Hiro and walked quickly away from the graveyard. The war was over now. No more fathers' would have to bury their son's because of the war. It was a time of peace. Things were going to change for the better. He was going to see to that.