Chapter 6: Gold Eyed Boy
Public protests of any kind are not permitted within one hundred feet of a government building, marketplace, school, factory, or fountain. Designated protesting areas can be found at your local Dai Li Information Center.
-Dai Li Ordinance #638
Jin had been studying under Rui's tutelage for the past month and was astounded by how much she had improved with a proper teacher. He had accepted her as a student as soon as the words left her mouth and she now spent three afternoons a week after school learning from the man. Despite Rui's reputation as an ink wash artist exclusively, art was so ingrained in his life that he had no trouble teaching Jin about charcoal work.
Lee stuck around for the first few lessons, but he soon grew bored of hearing what he called "artsy-talk". Instead he read quietly at the kitchen table, only occasionally chiming in to let the other two he still existed.
This particular lesson was grating on Jin though; she growled out in frustration after failing to get the correct shading for what felt like the hundredth time.
"This is impossible!" Jin buried her head in her palms. In her anger she seemed to have forgotten the mess left behind with charcoal, so her face was smeared black when she pulled her hands away, eliciting barely stifled laughter from Lee. She glared right at him. "What's so funny?"
Rui gave a small frown before wiping Jin's face with a washcloth. "Perhaps it would be best if we called it an afternoon."
Jin scrunched her nose before shaking her head. "No, I can do it. Maybe if you showed me first? Just so I can see how I should be holding the charcoal."
At the mention of his father demonstrating, Lee dropped his book to the table. Jin stared at him, he looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
"I-I think he's right Jin, we should get you home before your parents get worried." Lee's voice came out as a series of high-pitched squeaks.
Jin gave him a strange look, they both knew her parents didn't expect her back until later. Besides, they never worried when she was hanging out with Lee. "What are you talking about? I've only been here an hour."
Rui cleared his throat to bring attention back to him. "We've been in this stuffy room for too long. Jin, why don't you take Lee to buy a new canvas in the Fabon District? My treat of course." His tone was off as well, although he hid it much better than his son.
"Sure." Jin drawled the word out slightly as she looked back at forth between father and son, trying to figure out exactly what had just transpired.
Rui was all too happy to shove them out the door, nearly having to toss the sack of coins at them when he remembered his promise. Jin missed the worried look that Lee tossed over his shoulder back at his father just before the door shut.
"Well," Jin started with a shrug. "I guess let's get going."
"Sure." Lee responded all too eagerly before grabbing at her wrist to drag her along.
They'd have to take the train, something that would normally turn Lee's mood instantly sour. Out of all the small inconveniences that made up life in the Lower Ring, having to travel by train was one that always sent Lee into a string of familiar complaints. The pair had only been on the train a handful of times together and she already knew every word he'd say before he said them.
"Does it have to be so bumpy?"
"How do they even fit so many people into one car?"
"I think that's my second splinter from the bench this ride. Did they even sand this wood?"
That last one always brought a smile to the Jin's face any time she thought of it. Lee never seemed to be able to shake that Upper Ring upbringing and could never wrap his mind around the fact that most Lower Ring citizens were far too busy with their lives to care about a slightly uncomfortable train ride.
Personally, she loved the train. Being able to see nearly the entire city from high up on those stilted platforms was a sight she would always soak in, reveling in every new small detail she noticed with each ride.
They were halfway to the station when the normally crowded market square turned into an impassable mass of people, shouts descending from all around them. It was evident from the buzz going through the crowd though that this was not caused by some merchant gone mad giving away gold bars, but something else entirely. Jin's curiosity was burning and when Lee tugged at her to go around the square, she pulled him back and began worming their way through the mass of people in a way only children their size could.
They reached the center of the square and were able to watch what was happening by standing on an abandoned fruit stall. There was a group of around eight men and women shouting about something that Jin couldn't quite discern over the crowd around her.
"Jin, we should get out of here." Lee tugged at her sleeve as he looked around nervously.
Just before she could respond a hush fell over the crowd and one part of it opened like the seas parting. Six Dai Li agents entered the square in a way only the secret police of Ba Sing Se could. Lee stiffened beside her and Jin could feel her own heart beginning to beat out of her chest. Suddenly leaving was her top priority but they were completely blocked in as the people around them remained as still as statues.
"You are in violation of Dai Li Ordinance number 638: there are to be no public protests within one hundred feet of a market. Please stand down now." One of the agents in the center addressed the apparent protesters. There was no trouble hearing everything now, the crowd was staying at a deathly silence.
"Not until you deal with the racism in this city!" The de facto leader of the protesters said, a thin man with jet black hair.
"If you do not comply, all of you will be subject to arrest and processing at the nearest Dai Li Information Center." The agent replied as if he hadn't even heard the words.
The other man turned to address the crowd. "My shop has been vandalized twice in the past six months. We may be of Fire Nation descent, but do not hold us responsible for the actions of that lunatic Fire Lord. My daughter's classmates broke her arm when they found out she was from the colonies. She's eight for Spirit's sake!"
Nails dug into Jin's palm and it took her a moment to realize that it was Lee who was gripping her hand so tightly his knuckles had gone white. A memory of their classmate Hu-Tor teasing Lee for his appearance on occasion came back to her mind and instantly she understood.
There were whispers of surprise throughout the crowd over the man's pleas, but as was often the case throughout history, the dumbest of the crowd spoke the loudest.
"You and your dira-fu daughter can burn for all I care!"
Jin couldn't pick out which of the hundreds of faces yelled the insult, but it seemed to matter little now. The words seemed to embolden other racists in the crowd and the air grew thick with tension.
Lee squeezed her hand even tighter. "We gotta get out of here, Jin."
She nodded her head, not fully trusting her ability to speak as her throat had suddenly gone completely dry. They had just hopped off the fruit stand when chaos descended upon the square.
Later, when chronicling the events of that fateful day, sources would all disagree on what exactly started the riot. The Dai Li put out a statement the following day that a minor misunderstanding had led to negligible damage to an undisclosed amount of properties. A bulletin printed by an unknown group that would be plastered all over the Lower Ring in a month's time blamed the entire thing on a firebender provoking the crowd with huge walls of fire. Only in the crowd by happen stance, a Ba Sing Se University student wrote a paper how this day was the spark of revolution. Of course, they got a failing grade when they wrongfully assumed the entire protest was about a group of Lower Ring seamstresses rising up against the growing cost of silk.
In the moment, it mattered next to nothing what had caused this sudden explosion of people pushing, cursing, and fighting each other. For Jin and Lee, they would have to survive first in order to tell their own tale.
The towering giants around her passed by in a blur as Jin was dragged through them by Lee, his grip on her hand so tight you'd have to use a crowbar to break them apart. With eyes in the back of his head, Lee pulled her out of the way of so many people crashing to the ground around them that she lost count.
When they finally broke free of the mass of people they were in an all-out sprint, but their luck wouldn't keep. Lee took her down an alley to catch their breath and that proved to be a mistake.
"I see you! You little fire breathing piece of wenshu!" The voice came from a pudgy man who was now blocking the only way out of the alley.
As he began to descend upon them, Lee pushed Jin further back in the alley until her back hit the wall. "Stay behind me." He warned without looking at her trembling face.
Jin no longer had the capacity to speak, her legs were shaking so badly that it felt like the whole world was shaking in tune with her. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat as the man had closed the distance and took a mean swing right at Lee's head.
Lee dodged it easily by running between the man's legs and before he could even turn around, Lee slammed a foot into the back of his knee. The man bellowed in pain as he fell to one knee and steadied himself with a hand against the wall.
Fury fueled his next move as he blindly dove at Lee, managing to catch the boy's ankle and bring him to the ground. The move was not thought out very well though, Lee used his free foot to kick the man right in his nose. He howled loudly as he gripped his bloody nose with one hand before rising to his full height once more.
Instincts took over Jin as she grabbed a wooden board off the ground and approached the man swiftly. "Hey!" Her shout surprised all three of them as the man turned to look at him.
With abilities seemingly impossible for a boy his age, Lee seized the moment and climbed up the man's back before perching himself on his shoulders. Lee wrapped his legs around the man's neck and covered his eyes before signaling Jin with a nod. She wasted no time before swinging the board between the man's legs, he crumpled to the ground after the direct hit to his groin.
"Come on!" Lee grabbed her hand again and they began sprinting away once more.
By now, the riot had spread beyond the market and fighting was taking place all up and down the street. Luckily, this time nobody seemed to pay them any mind and they managed to make it five blocks before both of them were too exhausted to continue.
Against their better judgement, they chose another alley to recuperate.
"Good… hit…" Lee managed to get out in between breathes. Jin smiled brightly at him as her chest heaved.
The sound of clapping from the front of the alley interrupted them. This time a thin man dressed head to toe in black had joined them; a lit tobacco roll illuminated his face from beneath his hood just enough to make out a thick scar on his cheek.
"We really have to stop running into dead ends." Jin half joked as she raised her fists alongside Lee, more than ready to take on whatever challenge this man brought them.
"Relax, kiddos." The man's voice came out smooth as he puffed out a ring of smoke. His hands were held out flat to imply he meant them no harm. "I saw the way you two handled yourselves back there, very impressive."
"What do you want?" Jin sneered at him, feeling Lee bristling with annoyance.
"From you, nothing. No offense, but your hit was more of a right time, right place kind of deal. Not that I didn't like seeing that joker have his family jewels rearranged." He took another puff from his tobacco roll before pointing it at Lee. "You though kid, hoy boy, you got talent. You was seeing everything two steps before it happened, and I know my employer could make use of that sort of skillset."
"And what exactly does your employer want to do with him?" Jin spoke for Lee, she knew exactly what kind of low life they were dealing with. If the Dai Li were the silent specters that stalked the shadows, the gangs of the Lower Ring were the self-proclaimed kings ruling over the unrulable ring.
"Just to talk, that's all." The man produced a thin piece of paper and tossed it expertly to Lee. "Tomorrow at sunset." He turned to leave before stopping for a second and calling out over his shoulder. "Oh, and I shouldn't need to say this, but my employer is very generous to those he likes."
Jin and Lee had both agreed not to breathe a word of what happened to their families. Since nothing happened, they didn't want to worry them unnecessarily.
Lee had been more quiet than usual after they had run into that gang member though, and when Jin confronted him about it, Lee changed the subject quickly. That night after they departed Jin made it her goal to thwart any ideas he may have had about taking the man up on his offer.
So, after school the next day Jin told Lee to wait around the schoolyard for a second. Just before she could begin her talk though, Hu-Tor and the band of cronies he called friends found them.
"Hey, Jin!" Hu-Tor began as if he was just about to unveil the world's greatest punchline. "Didn't you hear what happened yesterday? Your fire runt boyfriend isn't welcome in the city anymore."
Hu-Tor and the rest of the boys were cackling like animals, their enjoyment only growing as they saw how much it was bothering Jin and Lee.
Their responses came out in unison.
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"I'm not her boyfriend!"
The pair shared a look before looking at the ground with a slight hue on their cheeks, only drawing more laughter from the bullies.
As usual Jin was the first to respond. "Don't you have something better-"
The rest of her sentence died in her throat as Lee began stomping away from the scene. His palms clenched over the continued taunting from the other boys, but he said nothing, leaving Jin to chase after him.
"Hey, don't let those jerks get to you." Jin grabbed at his shoulder when she caught up with him which he immediately shrugged off.
"I'm tired of this." Lee didn't turn to face her. There was a slight hitch in his tone that made him sound close to tears.
They walked the rest of the way back to his home in silent, Lee a few paces ahead of Jin with his eyes still staring at the ground. When they entered Lee's home, Rui wasn't there and Lee immediately went to the kitchen drawer to pull out a knife.
Jin gulped as the sharp blade shined in the light. "Umm, Lee… what are you doing?"
His response came in the form of actions, as he gripped his ponytail tightly in one hand. Then in one swift motion he cut through the base of it with such force that Jin knew it had to hurt. Lee threw the knife and hair onto the table before sitting down against the wall, his head hung low.
Jin frowned at his now unevenly cut hair, too long everywhere except the back of his head. She sat down next to him and cautiously rubbed at his shoulder. Emboldened when he didn't immediately throw her hand off, Jin spoke. "Lee, you normally don't let them get to you like that, what happened?"
Lee rubbed at his nose and sniffled before answering. "I'm just sick of being accused of something I'm not."
Jin's heart nearly shattered to pieces at his words. She couldn't understand where people got off assuming him to be of Fire Nation descent. Sure, he did have somewhat uncommon characteristics like his dark black hair and golden eyes, but that was nothing really. After all, his father looked every bit like a common Earth Kingdom man with his leather like worn skin and broad frame. Racism often wasn't grounded in reality though Jin knew, and it was easy to pick on those who looked the tiniest bit out of place.
Jin ran a hand through his freshly cut hair. "Let me clean it up a little at least."
Lee gave her a wry smile. "I'm not sure about that. I don't want you to accidentally cut off my ear like that one artist you like."
She gave him a light smack on his arm before pulling him to his feet. "He did that on purpose! And besides, I know what I am doing. Mama used to work part time at a salon while she was getting her bakery set up and I would help on occasion."
With somewhat forceful pushing Jin sat Lee down at the kitchen table. She kept a brush in her bag which helped smooth his hair out, but without proper equipment it would take her a while. Carefully, she used the kitchen shears to bring the rest of his hair to the same length. It was quite a process and they stayed in absolute silence while she concentrated on her work.
Finally satisfied, Jin put down the shears and got in front of Lee to examine her work. Beyond a few stray strands sticking up slightly above the others, she was quite happy with how it turned out. Lee's hair naturally grew spiky the shorter it was, and it had been cut to just over a half inch, so the transformation was quite dramatic.
"All done?" Lee questioned her nervously.
Jin smiled at him before pulling him to his room to examine her work in the mirror. Once there he ran a hand through it as he cocked his head back and forth.
"Well?" Jin gave a half smile, fearful that he may hate it.
"It looks… great actually. Wow, thank you Jin." He turned to smile at her, causing her heart to soar with pride over having made him feel better.
Together, they returned to the kitchen to clean up the discarded hair together. Once done, Lee spied the nearly setting sun through the window and frowned.
"Mind if I walk you home now? I want to get a jump start on my homework." Lee said while looking every which way but at her.
Jin narrowed her eyebrows, Lee was a terrible liar. "Why don't you try telling me what's really going on?" Then a second later the realization hit her. "Don't tell me you're going to go see that thug from yesterday?"
Lee kept his eyes at her feet, unable to meet her intense stare. "Well…maybe just to hear-"
"Stop." Jin cut him off and lifted his chin until their eyes met. "Lee, the gangs of the Lower Ring are not to be messed with. Whatever they want with you, it isn't good. Why do you even want to hear what they have to say? Is this about what happened yesterday in the market?"
Lee shook his head before producing a letter from his back pocket and handing it to her. "I saw my dad reading this last night."
Jin skimmed over it quickly, it was from one of Rui's former colleagues who was apparently unable to lend Rui the money he was asking for. She gave Lee an odd look. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"My dad is running out of money, Jin. We moved here out of desperation; he couldn't afford our old home in the Upper Ring even after selling most of his paintings. He barely has enough to afford our rent here. We're running out of options and I don't know where we go from here." Lee explained with a pained look on his face.
Despite having no reason to lie, Jin just couldn't believe Lee's words. Rui Yishu was a famous artist, there was no way the market for his paintings would just go up in smoke overnight. "Why is your dad not still painting, Lee?"
Lee's eyes widened, it was as if he suddenly realized just how much he had already revealed and knew now there was no way to get out of this without revealing more. He gulped before donning a serious look. "You can't tell anyone this."
Jin nodded her head, unsure who she would tell in the first place, but this was clearly very important to Lee. "I promise."
"My dad hasn't painted anything for the last three years. His hands would always hurt when he spent too long at one creation. But then all of a sudden, they started shaking so badly he couldn't even hold a brush without dropping it. We were able to survive a while on just what he had saved, but it wasn't much. He used to joke that he was an artist, not an accountant." Lee gave a sad smile at the memory. "Then by the time he started selling more of his work, he hadn't made anything in so long that he wasn't that relevant anymore. It sold for less than half what it was worth."
The pieces of the puzzle all clicked into place for Jin in that moment. The careful measured way with which Rui always seemed to conduct himself in, she always just assumed it was part of his process.
"That's why you guys got so weird about him demonstrating for me yesterday." Jin said quietly.
"Mmhmm." Lee confirmed with a nod of his head. "The pain in his hands makes it difficult for him to find work."
"You should've told me, Lee. I'm sure my parents would be glad to pay him for the lessons." Jin said without really thinking if her family could really afford the kind of help Rui and Lee needed.
"He would never allow it; my dad likes you too much to burden you with this kind of guilt. That's why he likes to keep it quiet. I didn't even know it had gotten this bad until I read that letter."
"So, you want to go to that thug because you think you can earn enough to support your father?" Jin guessed as everything made perfect sense now.
Lee nodded his head. "It's the only shot I got. If the guy was right, it would be the only way someone as young as me could make the kind of money my dad needs."
Jin pondered the situation for a moment, it was clear now that Lee was not making such a choice without having first thought it through. Still, acting out of desperation usually led to trouble. "Ok, but you have to promise you won't let them make you do anything violent."
"Of course." Lee agreed quickly.
"And I'm coming with you tonight." Jin stated in a rather matter of fact manner.
"Of course…" Lee practically sighed out the words this time.