Zuko

Chapter 2: Homewrecker

Yani found me. Yani's alive.

It was all I could think when I turned around and she was the one standing there, lecturing me on what I should and should not do. I recognized her immediately; after growing up with her, her almond-shaped eyes and full cheeks—of which she had always been self-conscious—had become unmistakable for me. Still, as we stood there staring at one another, I didn't want believe she was here in the Earth Kingdom. She was supposed to be back home in the Fire Nation where she would be safe. But then she grabbed my hand and touched it to her forehead like she used to when we were little and I knew for sure it was her, even though her hair was longer, almost past her shoulders. I knew it was my Yani.

She explained why she was there, more or less, after I commanded the guard to leave the room. She had run away, as far away as she could by stowing herself away on some boat that left the Fire Nation, and that boat had managed to take her to the northern Earth Kingdom. From there she wandered south until she eventually ended up in Xiahe. Of all of the towns she had lived in, Yani had spent the most time in Xiahe.

"Why's that?" I asked her, heating up the tea my uncle had prepared for me earlier that morning before going out to shop in town.

"I don't know," Yani shrugged, staring into her cup.

"Oh, here," I said, taking her cup and using my bending to heat up her tea, too. I handed it back to her and she smiled, taking a small sip.

"I guess I just liked it here," Yani sighed. She smirked, eying me. "Boy, am I glad I stayed, too."

"Yes," I said, walking across the room to study nothing in particular on the wall. "But what will you do now? You still have no home, right?"

Yani was quiet, so I repeated myself.

"Where will you go tonight?"

"Gee," she sighed. "I don't know…"

I turned around to face her. Yani smiled sadly and looked down, laughing a bit. "I guess I thought I could just stay with you…" Shaking her head, she placed her cup of tea on a small table and ran her fingers through her hair, just like when she was little. "But that was kind of a stupid assumption, huh…"

"Yani…" I began, but she held up her hand to stop me and smiled again.

"It's fine, Prince Zuko," she said, standing up straight and tall. "I've been here for a while… I should probably get going before it gets too late and the streets get dangerous." She trotted to the door and turned around to bow to me before hurrying out of the room. I didn't stop her.

To be honest, I was relieved that she had left me alone in my ship.

The world was at war. But, the war hadn't reached Xiahe, not yet. When she left, a wave of relief washed over me because I knew that if she stayed there in that town, at least she would be safe. For a year and a half, I never knew what had happened to her. At first, I regretted not being able to find her and take her with me that time. I thought, if she had stayed, maybe they had killed her. Maybe he had killed her, by his own hand. But she wasn't dead, she was alive. Not only that, but she was safe, hidden away in the Earth Kingdom.

And that's where I wanted her to stay, forever, if she could. Always safe. Always hidden away from the people that I know would hurt her. And that's why I didn't stop her when she ran away from me. "Go," I whispered as I watched her back, trying to capture her in my memory. "Keep running. Go away."

I stayed alone in that room for the rest of the wet, stormy day, waiting for Uncle to get back. I wanted to tell him about what had happened, but, at the same, I wanted it to be my secret. These two conflicting wishes battled in my head until Uncle finally returned and, for an instant, my big mouth won the war.

The old man came into our quiet, relaxing room and poured himself a cup of tea before sitting down on a cushion and watching me with a peculiar look; I could tell instantly that he knew something was up with me, and I suppressed a grin.

"Prince Zuko…" he began. "How was your day today?"

"Good…" I answered, walking to the window on the far side of the room and watching the foreboding, gray clouds as they rolled over the town. "I met someone."

"Oh?" I heard the smile in his voice. "You sound happy, Zuko. It wasn't the Avatar, was it?"

I reached up and touched my cheek, realizing that I was smiling without meaning to when I thought of her. Then my hand drifted up to my eye and my smile disappeared instantly. "Don't joke about something like that," I commanded. "No, not the Avatar. Not… Yet."

Uncle laughed. "Sorry, Zuko, sorry…" He subdued his chuckles and calmed down once more. "Then… Was it a girl?"

I smiled with that and nodded slowly. "Yes… Kind of…"

"Well," Uncle sighed, sipping his tea slowly. "There must be something about her that you're not telling me… Your smile gives you away."

I turned away and rolled my eyes. Now as I got closer and closer to telling him the truth, I wanted to keep it my little secret, but I knew that Uncle wouldn't leave me alone until I had told him everything. Not after knowing something was up, at least. "I just…" I began. "I ran into someone I used to know, that's all."

"Someone you used to know?" Uncle asked, surprised. "Here, in the Earth Kingdom? Who was it?"

I began scratching an invisible spot on my arm. "Yanmei ran away from the Fire Nation," I confessed, "and she's in Xiahe now."

I could tell by the way Uncle stayed silent that something I had said was making him nervous. Suspicious, I turned around and found him busy considering something beyond me while he stared out the window. After a long pause, his eyes focused back on me and he spoke. "It's a terrible storm tonight. It will only get worse."

"I… I know…" I answered, a bit confused.

Uncle stood up and turned to leave. "I would hate to be stuck out there on a night like this…" he told me.

His words weighed on me like a ton of rocks as I turned to watch the storm again. "I know…" I told myself. Lightning flashed across the heavens and the world shook as the thunder erupted from the angry sky. Then there was a figure in the dark world, just outside of the window, and when I looked closer, I saw Her standing in front of the ship and watching me, her eyes glowing an eerie yellow. She didn't sway with the wind, nor did she seem to mind the rain coming down. When it thundered, she didn't so much as flinch. Her eyes never left the ship, but just as suddenly as she had appeared, with another flash of lightning she was gone.

I ran out of the room and down the hall, slamming the door behind me. "I know!" I shouted as I sprinted across the deck and toward the docks where I had seen Yani watching me, but when I reached the spot she wasn't there. Swearing under my breath, I hurried down a road that led deeper into the city. By this point I was already soaked, but I didn't mind too much. I was too worried about Yani, and whether or not she was dry, safe, warm.

I had made a mistake when I let her leave. I had made a mistake when I didn't go back to get her a year and a half ago. But I didn't care anymore about what was best for her. I wanted my Yani back.

I ran through the muddy streets calling her name, but was met with only the sounds of the rain and the occasional crash of thunder. I tried a smaller alleyway and ducked under the back porch of a building with open windows that let a sweet scent flow into the air around me. Whatever was being cooked inside smelled sweet and warm, and my stomach growled in protest when I shook my head to focus on what I was doing. "Y-Yani!" I shouted with my hands cupped around my mouth. I was shivering at this point, but I was trying my hardest to ignore the cold.

Someone from the window called to me quietly and I whipped my head around, jumping a bit in surprise. From the window, two glowing yellow eyes looked back at me lazily. "Yani…" I sighed. The eyes looked away briefly before their owner, a cat, slipped out of the window and hopped down onto the porch with me. It rubbed itself against my legs and looked up expectantly.

"What?" I asked it as I shooed it away with my foot. "Are you gonna help me find Yani?"

The cat just stared at me uselessly so I kicked at it again. "Then go away," I grumbled, squatting down and watching the rain from the dry safety of the porch. The cat mewled once more, but this time the meow sounded more desperate. The cat with yellow eyes clawed at my leg and stared at me. "What?" I asked for a second time, annoyed. "You gonna tell me you know where she is?" The cat looked at me, but this time something was different.

Animals have a strange way of knowing things. Rats can predict earthquakes. Birds always know when it will storm badly. Crickets and fireflies know the temperature. I guess for centuries animals have always known. And this cat was no exception, I was sure. Follow the cat, find Yani. That kind of logic didn't require explanation; it just was. Just like wind or nighttime, there wasn't a reason.

The cat flicked its tail and slid around the corner into the rain. I stood up and ran after it, positive that around that corner I would find my Yani waiting for me. I hurried into the rain and called her name one last time.

"Yani!"

The alley on the other side of the house with the porch led to a dead end. The cat watched me from under a crate with three kittens snuggled around her. She meowed again and blinked her yellow eyes. Stupid animal… I thought hatefully, finally degraded enough to give up my search and return to the ship.

I didn't bother running through the rain as I headed back. What was the point? I was already soaked. Besides, the water was refreshing, and the way it beat against my head was just distracting enough to keep me from thinking about Yani. As I walked, the muddy ground sloshed beneath me and splashed onto my shoes and pants. I was filthy.

But, I'm sure Yani was filthier. Even when I saw her on the boat, she had dust caked on her face. So, somehow, I felt like I deserved this after all.

When my walk of shame to the boat was finally over and I was back on board, I sulked toward my bedroom, planning on sleeping for a few days at least. But, when I opened the door to the room, a soft voice floated out from the darkness.

"Zuko?"

I raised a flame from the lantern by my window and, suddenly, there she was, sitting calmly on the edge of my bed, her clean, round face illuminated by the glow of the lamp.

"Y-Yani…" I sighed and fell to my knees, laughing in frustration. She leaned forward curiously and watched me as she wrung her long, wet hair. I looked up at her suddenly. "Did you bathe?" Then I noticed the pale pink robes she was wearing. "Where did you get that?"

Yani smiled sheepishly. "I've been here for so long, Zuko. I was waiting for you to get back, you know." She stuck her tongue out and laughed a little. "So Uncle Iroh let me freshen up…"

"Wait," I said, standing up. "Uncle knows you're here?"

"Y-yeah…" she said, shifting her gaze and staring past me into the hallway. "I ran into him after I left and he invited me back… And said you were looking for me, but by the time I got back, you were gone, so I just, uhh.. Waited, I guess…"

"A-and what are you wearing?"

"Oh, this?" she held up the fabric with two fingers and then let it fall again. "Uncle Iroh bought them for me before we came back here… He bought me a whole wardrobe, really…"

I laughed a little to myself. "I can't believe you're back…" I sighed.

"Well,why are you so surprised?" Yani huffed. "After seeing you again, did you really think you could be rid of me so easily, Zuko? You're so foolish!"

I straightened up. "You ran off! How does thinking you were gone make me foolish?"

"Zuko…" Yani smiled and shut her eyes, shaking her head slowly. "It took me so long to find you, Zuko. I could never just leave you so easily…"

"To… To find me?" I took a step closer. "What do you mean?"

Yani stayed quiet and smiled at me, a hint of mischief shining in her eyes. I walked over to sit next to her on the bed and she draped my blanket over my shoulders when she noticed I was shivering. "Why were you out in the rain anyway, Zuko? Uncle and I were waiting for so long!"

I wrapped the blanket tighter around me and laughed a little, despite my frustration and confusion. Uncle had tricked both of us, convincing me of his growing cleverness as he aged. But today I didn't mind much. As my girl squeezed her hair dry and smiled at me, I felt the strange, warm feelings of happiness begin to well up in my chest for the first time in what felt like forever.