The Legacy of the Headband Chapter 19: A Tale of Two Turncoats
"Wha… what… where am I?"
Songbai Wei was startled from his thoughts by the sudden movement and sound coming from the other occupant of the small, cramped room. He rose from his meditative position to face the young woman staring at him with trepidation and confusion.
"Good. I'm glad you're awake, On Ji. We have much to discuss before we go."
On Ji shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Go? Go where? I still don't understand… hang on. Last night… the dance party… I was captured, and you… you rescued me."
Wei nodded. He could see that his young ward was still exhausted and disoriented and he hated that he would have to hurry her along, but they really did not have time to linger.
"Yes, I did. And you decided to come with me. Do you understand what that means? You and I are now considered enemies of the state, and the authorities will not rest until they find us. Neither of us can go home. I brought you to this abandoned shack so that you could recover, but we cannot remain here forever. I have had a few hours to consider all of our options, and I have a few ideas."
On Ji sat up fully and shrunk against the wall, knitting her eyebrows together. "Wait… I'm sorry, sir. It's just that, I really don't understand what's going on here. I thought I was trapped and then you… you knocked out Hide! You're a teacher. Why did you help me escape?"
Wei sighed. He had promised to explain things better, and it looked like he wasn't going to be able to get the girl to come with him unless she understood everything. Fair enough.
"Before I answer that, I would like to ask you a question. You risked your freedom and safety to help Kuzon Fire escape last night. Why would you do that for someone you only met a few days ago? Do you know who he is?"
On Ji blinked. "I helped him because he is my friend and I knew they would take him away. He didn't deserve to go to the coal mines!"
Wei nodded. "I agree with you. But would you have done the same for any of your classmates? Any of your friends? What made Kuzon different?"
At this, On Ji blushed and averted her eyes. "Sir… if you're implying that Kuzon and I were… no… that's not…"
Oh, brotherburner. Wei internally smacked himself. He had not intended to make things awkward. "No, no, nothing like that. What I am saying is, is there some particular reason that you believed that protecting Kuzon was important? Some quality that set him apart from other students?"
On Ji looked at him again. "He's unlike anyone I've ever met. He said things in class that I've never heard before, and he beat Hide in a fight without throwing a single punch. And the way he dances and the music he plays- he told us at the party that people in the Fire Nation used to dance all the time! He's… happy, happier than almost anyone I know. Yet somehow older too. And kind. And he drew this picture of the Avatar in class yesterday… I don't know why exactly. I just knew somewhere in my gut that I couldn't let them get him."
Smiling slightly, Wei nodded as On Ji confirmed everything he knew about the boy in the headband. Then, he unfurled a scroll of paper sitting next to him. On Ji gasped. It was Kuzon's drawing.
"Where did you get that?"
"I found it in a corner of the cave near the entrance before any of the guards did. Kuzon must have dropped it. It's quite a remarkable sketch, no? There are many things about Kuzon that are rather remarkable. Did you know he nearly bested me in a duel in gym class the other day? He would have won, except that in the scuffle, I accidently knocked his headband off. He crumpled to the ground and forfeited rather than continue without his headband. Seems like quite an overreaction to having one's scar exposed, right? Well, what if Kuzon isn't hiding a scar beneath his headband? What if he's hiding… an arrow?"
On Ji furrowed her brows. "I'm… not sure I understand, sir."
Wei sighed again. He really would have to spell this out explicitly. "On Ji, Kuzon Fire is not from the colonies. And 'Kuzon' isn't his real name. He is… the Avatar."
On Ji's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as her jaw dropped. "But… but… that's impossible! The Avatar is dead! And even if he wasn't, Kuzon couldn't possibly be… he's not even a bender!"
Wei pressed his argument. "The evidence is undeniable. Why else would he not understand any Fire Nation customs? Why else would he be able to run and fight better than a grown man at age thirteen? Why else would he purport to know more about the Air Nomads than your history teacher? Why else would he draw a picture of the Avatar so sympathetic and detailed? Look at the girl in this sketch. I was behind the cave when they escaped. I saw her in the dark, running past me. I heard her call him 'Aang'. I saw Kuzon bend earth and air and fly away on some type of massive buffalo I didn't even know existed. The guards are searching all over for footprints they will never find because he flew away. Do you understand what this means? The Avatar is alive. He is in the Fire Nation. And the Fire Lord does not know."
Caught up in the fervor of the moment, Wei began pacing, On Ji continuing to stare at him wide eyed. He was so consumed by his train of thought that he barely heard her awed whisper.
"That girl in the picture… she's the one Kuzon danced with last night."
"We have always been told that the Avatar is the Fire Nation's greatest threat. So, if he is here in our nation, the war is coming here. It means that the Fire Lord might fall. It means that everything is going to change very quickly. And we've got to be ready for it. Once I realized who Kuzon was, I chose to take his side, knowing that that meant I was turning my back on the leader I have sworn allegiance to my entire life. I chose this because I have never been happy living under the Fire Lord, and I believe in the possibility of a better way of life that Kuzon represents. That is why I helped you escape. That is why I have sacrificed my job and position in the community. Unwittingly, you chose the same path as I did without quite knowing why. And now you must live with that choice. You did not just protect a friend last night. You prevented that Fire Nation from capturing the Avatar, On Ji. There is no turning back."
On Ji shivered, tears softly cascading down her cheeks as the words washed over her. Wei finally paused, concerned that he had not heard a word out of On Ji in several minutes. At last, she straightened her back and wiped her face.
"So… I'm a traitor to the Fire Lord now. I really can't go home, can I?"
Wei shook his head. "I am afraid not. I know how overwhelming all of this must be for you, especially because it happened so fast, but I'm afraid we must get a move on soon. I have a distant cousin who lives in another province who may be able to help us. I haven't seen him since we were young, but I know that he has made quite a name for himself as a master swordsman. He would have the kind of connections that could help us leave the Fire Nation. If we left now and traveled on foot at night, we could make it there in about a month. I have some gold pieces and supplies in these satchels."
On Ji flinched. "What? Leave the Fire Nation?"
Wei nodded. "I know it seems daunting, but surely you can see that it would be safest to hide in plain sight in the colonies where no one will look for us? I could get another teaching job there and you could enroll in school. We could say that you are an orphan I took in off the streets to explain our difference in facial features. You could send a letter to your parents and explain that you are alive and safe. It's not ideal, but I don't see any other viable options at this point."
On Ji crossed her arms and stood up. "No! We can't leave! What about my friends? They were all at the dance party too. They'll be punished. I don't want to leave this town. I don't want to run. I want… to fight. I still don't understand everything, but I know that I don't want to abandon everyone I know and love. I think that's what Kuzon would do. He said that… his true power came not from his ability to bend, but the strength of his heart."
Wei rocked back on his heels, dumbfounded by the girl's determination and composure. Remain here in town? How could they possibly survive, with no permanent place to live and no way of making any money? There'd be wanted posters with their pictures on them before nightfall. As loath as he was to remove a child from her community against her explicit wishes, he was beginning to believe that he might have to do just that.
Wei was a runner. He had run from his emotionally neglectful family, run from his seedy past as a common thief on the streets, and now he wanted to run from his country. He never confronted anything in life; he always dodged, always manipulated, always evaded. And that strategy had led him to where he was now: on the run as a lonely, middle aged man with nothing left to lose but his freedom. Maybe this precocious student had a point. Maybe it was time to try something different. Maybe it was time for him to stop running.
Wei sighed deeply. "Okay. Let's just say I were to consider this proposition. What exactly do you have in mind?"
On Ji's face brightened. "We're not the only ones who support Kuzon, sir. Look at how many people went to that party and helped him escape last night! If we want to change our nation for the better, we have to start with our town. What if we stayed here and formed some sort of resistance? I read about a rebellion that happened a long time ago in my history books. You're a gym teacher, and I've heard that you're a really good fighter. You can teach me what you know, and then we can recruit others… sabotage the authorities however we can… continue what Kuzon started."
Wei was stunned by this suggestion. A resistance movement? Where did this child get such a bold idea? No… it was far too dangerous. In all likelihood, they would be caught and sentenced to death. On Ji clearly had no idea what she was risking. This would not be some game, some sort of make believe historical reenactment. But what was the alternative? Fleeing and doing nothing, leaving his students to their fate? On Ji was right. She was not the only student who needed his protection. He had a duty to them. He couldn't run. They couldn't just run. He had been self-centered to think that they could.
"All right. We will stay in the area. I will figure out some form of shelter for us, and we will need disguises. I will train you, at the very least so that you can keep up one part of your studies. I'm afraid I can't help you with your firebending, but I can teach you everything I know about hand to hand combat. As for forming a resistance movement… for now, let's just focus on finding a permanent hiding place and securing what we need to survive in hiding. After that… then we'll see."
On Ji nodded, seemingly satisfied for now. Her tears had mostly dried and she appeared much calmer now that she knew she would not be leaving the only home she had ever known. "That sounds good, sir. Thank you, Mr. Wei, for rescuing me and protecting me. I'd be in the mines if it wasn't for you." She bowed in proper Fire Nation fashion.
Wei allowed the first smile he'd felt in days to perk up the corners of his mouth. "There's no need for such formality anymore, given the circumstances. After all, I'm no longer your schoolteacher. But seeing as I will be training you one-on-one, you may address me as Sifu Wei. Now, are you hungry? I have some clams, cooked rice, and lentils in this sack. We'll have to eat them cold because a cooking fire would draw too much attention to this 'abandoned' shack."
As On Ji gratefully nodded and reached into the satchel, Wei sent a silent prayer to Agni that he was making the right decision. For the first time in his life, he had to look out for someone other than himself. It was utterly terrifying.
A/N: Regarding On Ji's and Wei's plot line, I would like to address the potential creepiness of a thirteen year old girl running off with and hiding from the authorities with an unrelated man in his late twenties. This is not something I support or condone in any modern day real life context. The wartime circumstances in this fic are extraordinary and thus extraordinary situations will occur as they have during real wars. There will be no romantic or sexual dynamic between these two characters, nor will On Ji be subject to abuse from her rescuer, sexual or otherwise. While realistically that would very likely happen in this type of situation, I am not going to take my characters down that path in The Legacy of the Headband.