Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 3. Little Secrets – part 1
Year 68 AB – Fire Nation Central Island, Hama's Village, Yan Zu's Cottage.
Four years have passed since Huo was born, and Yan Zu convinced Hama to live with him in his cottage, which he bought from the previous owner, who decided to move to the Capital City. Since it would be troublesome to have a crying baby inside the inn where tired travelers wanted to rest, Hama agreed.
Yan Zu's cottage was a medium-sized, one-story tall house located on the edge of the village. The front door led to a large room divided into a spacious lounge, a dining room, and a kitchen. Two well-sized bedrooms were located upstairs, while a second staircase led to a basement where the former owner kept his beverages.
The ground floor room also had a backdoor, which led to a large field enclosed by a wooden fence. It was a training field where Yan Zu provided swordsmanship lessons for a fair price. Not counting the inn, it was his and Hama's source of income, and the pair became quite wealthy thanks to it.
Hama and Huo already sat at the dinner table and ate their smoked sea slug while Yan Zu was finishing his lessons at the training field. Huo was clad in a simple grey shirt and dark pants along with reddish sandals. With black hair and slightly tanned skin, the boy wouldn't stand out from the rest of his peers if it weren't for his vibrant orange-colored eyes.
However, nobody made fun of him though. While it was an uncommon and mysterious sight, many people found it cool, especially the other kids.
Even though Hama kept Huo at her side at all times, in case he'd instinctively used waterbending, the four-year-old boy still didn't show any signs of being a bender. Hama was getting impatient and concerned about the situation. She needed to know if her son could carry on her work as a bloodbender. Nothing else mattered for her. Huo's first words, his first steps. Hama was present during all these things, but she only pretended to care to not raise suspicions. Anything that wasn't connected to waterbending didn't interest her.
The backdoor opened, and Yan Zu, who held a curved sword in his hand, entered the cottage along with a much younger, fancy-dressed man in his middle-twenties, who had a large broadsword on his back. "You made a good progress today," Yan Zu praised, walking with the young man towards the front door. "Keep that up and you'll become a fine swordsman."
"Thank you, master," the young man said, bowing his head respectfully towards Yan Zu, who smiled and nodded. When he told his farewells and left the cottage, Yan Zu exhaled. "Ugh... the young people these days are really energetic," he stated, massaging his shoulder.
"Don't overdo it, Yan Zu," Hama asked, placing a plate with smoked sea slugs for Yan Zu on the dinner table. "You're not the youngest anymore."
"Heh, true, but I'm still in good form despite my age," Yan Zu chuckled and winked to Hama. He was forty-nine years old, but he still had a toned, athletic figure and looked formidable for his age.
Hama smiled and rolled her eyes. Yan Zu approached the corner of the lounge and placed the sword horizontally on a wooden sword stand. The blade itself was nothing special, but the hilt was in the shape of two gold twin snakes, which coiled together.
Yan Zu then returned to the dining room, sat down, and began to eat together with his family.
After dinner, Yan Zu went back to the training field to tidy up and prepare the place for the next lessons, while Hama did the dishes with Huo. She had already prepared and hid leftovers for the people in the cave. Submerged in thoughts, Hama began to ponder if it was time to kidnap someone again during the full moon. The waterbender knew there was one big problem: Yan Zu. It would be hard to leave the cottage or inn unnoticed during the night, and even if she'd manage that, Yan Zu could wake up and notice her absence. That would surely raise many questions, and he would quickly realize that she had something to do with the kidnappings.
What's more, when the news about the moon spirit's return would reach his ears, Hama was sure that Yan Zu would once again try to play the hero and snoop around. She began to ponder how to solve this problem.
"Mommy, look!" Huo called out and pulled out Hama from her thoughts. Hama sighed, turning her head towards him. Her grey-colored eyes widened when she spotted a ball of water hovering before the small boy, who had a joyful smile on his face. Hama's lips slowly formed a smile and then a grin. Her son was a waterbender.
Hama's smile faded, and she quickly turned her head towards the backdoor. Yan Zu was still busy, but he could return any moment. "Not here," Hama said, grabbing Huo's hand and causing him to lose control over the ball of water, which fell and splashed all over the floor.
"Did I do something bad?" Huo asked silently, and Hama quickly shook her head, crouching in front of him. "No, no, you did something very good. Mommy is very proud of you. Your dad however, would be very angry if he saw you doing this."
"Oh," Huo saddened, lowering his gaze. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Hama placed her left hand on his cheek. "I can do that as well." With her right hand, she bent and lifted the spilled water from the floor, forming it into a ball like he did.
Huo's orange-colored eyes widened in awe when Hama froze the water, creating a ball of ice. "Remember," Hama began as she turned the frozen water back into liquid form and sent it into a bucket. "Neither your father nor anyone else can see you doing this."
"Because they'll be very angry?" Huo asked, and Hama nodded with a smirk. "Smart boy," she confirmed, kissing him on the forehead. "This will be our little secret. I will explain everything later, but for now, go play. Mommy will finish the dishes by herself."
Huo nodded with a smile and ran off. Hama took a deep breath and exhaled, closing her eyes. She felt a great relief in her chest. Everything she did up to this point wasn't in vain. Now, she needed only to mold the boy into the perfect weapon and her tool of vengeance.
Sometime later – Fire Nation Central Island, Hama's Village, Henea's Shop.
Since her son turned out to be a waterbender, Hama could take things slowly. Unlike Huo's training, kidnapping the villagers was not the priority right now. The best time for that was during nighttime, but the problem with Yan Zu still remained.
Hama could easily deal with him during the full moon and chain him in the cave just like the others. However, she was aware that Yan Zu would meditate into the Spirit World and who knew what kind of spirits he would convince to help him. Killing him was also a bad idea since Hama didn't know if or how the spirits would react to his death. She didn't want some powerful entities targeting her or her son. The risk was too great.
Still, Hama got a cunning idea. If Yan Zu would sleep like a rock during the night, she could calmly train Huo. Luckily for Hama, there was a herbalist in the village who could help her.
"Good morning, Henea," Hama said, entering the shop of the elderly woman, who stood behind a counter.
"Greeting, Hama," Henea replied. "What's brings you to my shop?"
Hama already thought of a story. "Yan Zu keeps giving swordsmanship lessons and has many young pupils," she began to explain, looking around the shelves filled with flowers, herbs, and other stuff used for making herbal medicine and potions. "And he's not the youngest, despite his shape. I'm worried that he'll overdo it, despite my warnings. I need something to make him sleep like a rock so he'd wake up well rested."
Henea chuckled and thought for a moment. "Hmmm... I have something, but it's very strong," the elderly woman said, approaching one of the shelves and taking a small pouch.
"These are roots from the blue-colored lotus," she explained. "You can use them to make a tea, which has a very relaxing and sleep-inducing effect. Yan Zu will even slept through a storm. Be careful not to give him too much or nothing would be able to wake him up."
Hama nodded, trying not to smile mischievously. "I will," she promised.
Nighttime – Fire Nation Central Island, Hama's Village, Yan Zu's Cottage.
Before they went to bed, Hama prepared the tea from the roots, but just like she planned, she made the tea stronger. Yan Zu had nothing against drinking some tea, especially since Hama added some mango juice, making the tea sweet just like he liked it.
After a few hours, when they both were in bed, Hama calmly spoke to Yan Zu, who didn't react to her voice. She then spoke louder, and when that didn't wake him up, she gently slapped his cheek. Even grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him did nothing. Just like Henea warned, Yan Zu slept like a rock.
Now being sure that he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night, Hama went to the other bedroom to wake up her son and take him for his first training.
Twenty minutes later – Fire Nation Central Island.
Hama took Huo outside of the village and led him to the forest. Huo was actually excited to go outside the village during the night. It was quite an adventure for the little boy, and he was also curious why his mother took two buckets filled with water with them. When they finally reached the middle of the forest, Hama stopped, placed the buckets on the grass, and turned to face Huo.
"As you already realized today," Hama began. "You, just like me, are a waterbender. We can control water in all of its various forms. I'm going to teach you how to use your power and to become as strong as possible to punish the bad people."
"Bad people?" Huo cocked his head.
"People of the Fire Nation," Hama replied with venom in her voice. "The same that live in this village and the same that started a war against every other nation in the world. They are bad people and every of them is our enemy. Our real home, the Southern Water Tribe, was raided by the Fire Nation soldiers over and over again. They kidnapped my brothers and sisters, who could waterbend, and placed them in prison. Soon, I was the last waterbender in my village, but I was kidnapped as well. Luckily, I managed to escape and moved to this village, pretending to be one of them. You and I are the last waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe."
Huo listened to his mother with a serious expression. One important question appeared in his mind. "Is... is daddy bad as well?" he asked.
"Yes," Hama replied without the slightest hesitation. "They are all the same. If he or anyone else would discover than you or I can control water, they would attack us to put us in prison, or worse."
Huo didn't reply or react at first. While he somewhat understood what his mother said to him, he had difficulty imagining his dad as a bad guy. "But dad... loves me," Huo muttered, lowering his gaze and looking at the grass.
"He does," Hama replied. "Because he thinks you're a member of the Fire Nation, maybe even a firebender."
Hama noticed Huo's confusion and decided to change her approach. Pushing Huo too far too quick could backfire on her. She needed to take things slowly, so she approached Huo and crouched before him.
"I know this is sudden and hard for you," she said reassuringly, placing her hand on his shoulders. "But mommy is here for you. Simply behave around others and your dad as you did before, without revealing that you're a waterbender, and everything will remain as it was. I'll make sure nothing bad will happen to you. I will teach you everything I know about waterbending so you can protect yourself in case anything bad would happen. Do you understand?"
This time, Huo nodded, and a faint smile appeared on his face. That sounded far better.
"Good," Hama said and stood up. "Let's begin."
Hama began with the basics of waterbending, and Huo's mood got better as time flew by. Each of them had a bucket with water, which was used for practice. Since she saw him forming a ball of water in the cottage, she was sure he could handle the basics with no problem. Hama instructed him to focus on what she was doing and mimic it with the water inside his bucket. The adult waterbender began to create simple, small ripples in the water through pushing and pulling.
"It's a straightforward but a fundamental concept of waterbending," Hama stated, gently moving her hand back and forth while Huo mimicked it in the same fashion, achieving the same result. "Push and pull, push and pull. Just like the moon moves the tides of the ocean." Huo liked waterbending, and the things he could do with water really intrigued him. He pushed and pulled the water with a big smile on his face.
"Okay, slowly pull the water out of the bucket," Hama instructed, pulling out a long body of water as she raised her hand. Huo did as he was told and managed to pull all the water from the bucket without any problems. So far, everything has gone smoothly.
"Good," Hama began to move her hand, and the water followed it. "Now began to fluently move it around your body. It's called streaming the water. Feel the movement and shifts of the water as you move it around."
As instructed, Huo began to play with the water, moving it around. His moves weren't as fluent as Hama wanted to, though, but there was a specific exercise move just for that.
"Your movements must be more fluid," Hama pointed out, placing the water she controlled back in the bucket. She then extended her hand towards the water Huo controlled and pulled it towards her. "I'm going to pass the water to you, and you'll pass it back to me in a circular motion. Slowly, yet precise."
Hama passed the water slowly towards Huo, who passed it back, making it move in a circle. "Very good, Huo," Hama praised with a nod. "This exercise brings forth an important strategy used by many waterbenders. We're redirecting the opposing flown of energy, turning our own force against each other. That's how waterbenders fight; we deal with the flow of energy and let our defense become our offense."
Usually, only his father played with him, while his mom, although she kept him close, never played or spent real time with him. So even though it was training, Huo was technically playing with his mother, who now gave him her full attention, and he was really happy.
Huo and Hama 'trained' like for the next two hours, and the latter decided it was enough for the first time, even though Huo wanted to continue. Training for too many hours every night wasn't a good idea since if the boy underslept, Yan Zu would notice his bad condition.
Before they returned to the cottage, Hama reminded Huo about what she told him regarding his father and the others. His waterbending needed to remain a secret if everything were to stay as it was.
The next day – Fire Nation Central Island, Hama's Village, Marketplace.
Hama's plan worked, and Yan Zu slept through the whole night without waking up and noticing their absence. After breakfast, he stayed to prepare the training dummies for the next lessons while Hama and Huo went shopping.
"Five mangos please," Hama asked, standing with her son at mister Zuon's fruit stall. Since the tea worked, Hama decided to buy more mangos and continue her plan. She also needed to buy more lotus roots from Henea.
While Zuon gave Hama the fruits, Huo, who held a basket with vegetables in his hands, observed everyone around. After what his mother told him, the little boy looked unsurely at everyone, even the people he knew very well.
"Just do what I do," Hama said silently to Huo when they left the fruit stall.
As they went from stall to stall, Huo watched closely as his mother talked with everyone with a friendly smile on her face. Despite saying many bad things about the people of the village, Hama acted friendly, like the conversation they had last night never happened.
When they approached Suri's fish stall, the female merchant smiled at them. "Hello, Hama," she greeted and looked at Huo. "Hey, little man."
"Good morning, miss Suri," Huo replied with a friendly smile, mimicking his mother's behavior.
"What it will be today?" Suri asked, looking back at Hama, but an elderly man approached her stall before she could reply. Hama immediately squinted her grey-colored eyes. Many years ago, she fought hundreds of soldiers from the Fire Nation, and therefore, she recognized a military uniform right away. What's more, Hama had a hunch that the man wasn't a simple soldier but a hardened officer.
The man was bald, but he had a long, grey, spiky beard and a mustache. His face was covered with many burn scars, and he had amber-colored eyes. He looked intimidating, to say the least.
"Good morning," the elderly man said to Suri. "I'm looking for a man named Yan Zu. Do you know where he lives?"
Suri looked at the man with her blue-colored eyes and then at Hama, who spoke and gained his attention. "He's my husband. What do you need from him?"
The elderly man turned to face Hama and Huo, who took a step behind his mother. He didn't like the man one bid. "It's a pleasure to meet you," the man spoke, taking a quick glance at Huo and arching his grey eyebrows upon noticing his eyes. He then looked back at Hama. "I'm Admiral Wei Cho."
Hama's eyes widened slightly. So he wasn't just an officer. Admirals and Generals were the highest ranks in their respective military branches. She would love to have him chained up in her cave, but he would trouble.
"I heard your husband is an excellent swordmaster," the Admiral continued. "I would like to hire him to train the Fire Nation soldiers."
Hama found this somewhat believable since the word of Yan Zu's skills as a swordsman quickly spread via the young people he trained, but she was on guard. She thought at first that it was her past encounters with the Fire Nation military that made her feel on edge, but there was something fishy about the whole situation.
"An Admiral himself visits our simple village without any soldiers?" Hama asked, looking at the Admiral leerily, who chuckled and replied. "Like I said, I only heard about your husband, but I prefer to witness his skills personally. Young people sometimes tend to exaggerate the skills of their teachers and trainers. I don't want the Fire Nation soldiers be trained by a second-rate swordsman."
"I assure you Admiral, my husband is not a second-rate swordsman," Hama replied with a smirk, catching herself defending and praising Yan Zu.
"In that case, would you be so kind as to let me meet him?" the Admiral asked with a mysterious smile. Hama agreed.
Sometime later – Fire Nation Central Island, Hama's Village, Yan Zu's Cottage.
The two returned the cottage with the Admiral being right behind them. Yan Zu wasn't inside the cottage, so Hama knew he was at the training field. "Go and get your father," Hama asked Huo, who placed the basket with vegetables and mangos on the dinner table and ran towards the backdoor. Hama placed her own basket with silverskin fish, which she got from Suri, on the kitchen counter.
She looked at the Admiral, who looked around the room. He noticed the wooden sword stand and Yan Zu's sword. Specifically the hilt. He approached the sword stand and squinted his amber-colored eyes with a smirk. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck like he was preparing himself for a fight.
When Huo returned with his father, both Yan Zu and the Admiral looked at each other. Hama noticed that Yan Zu's brown-colored eyes widened, and he tensed up, clenching his fists, while the Admiral looked confused.
"Are you... Yan Zu?" he asked, squinting his amber-colored eyes.
"Y-Yes," Yan Zu replied, regaining his composure. "How can I help you?"
Huo approached his mother, who noticed that the Admiral seemed taken aback by Yan Zu's response as if he expected someone else. The high-ranking officer took a good look at Yan Zu. Since it was a sunny and warm day, her husband wore a reddish, sleeveless shirt, grey pants, and red sandals.
Admiral pondered for a moment, turned towards the sword stand, and took the curved sword in his hand. "How did you acquire this sword?" he asked.
"I bought it from a merchant," Yan Zu replied. "It cost me a bundle."
"I can imagine," the Admiral replied, carefully observing Yan Zu. "It belonged to a Fire Nation General named Zen Yuo. The sword was given to him personally by Fire Lord Azulon for his heroic deeds on the battlefield. He was a master firebender and a merciless General, who slew hundreds of enemies of the Fire Nation. Men, women, even children, he killed them all without any hesitation."
Yan Zu's eyes twitched as the Admiral continued. "General Zen Yuo however meet his end during a battle on a Eastern Sea, where he acted as an advisor. The ship, on which he was on, exploded and his body was hurled into the sea."
"You were present in that battle?" Yan Zu asked.
"Indeed, I was," the Admiral confirmed. "It was my own ship that exploded and I saw General Zen Yuo hit by the shockwave from behind. If, by some miracle, he survived, the explosion would left a large scar on his back. Don't you think so?"
"True," Yan Zu replied. "But ships don't explode on there own, unless... someone brings a lot of blasting jelly aboard specifically for that reason."
"Good point," Admiral agreed with a sinister smile. Both men stared at each other while Hama and Huo observed them with confusion and concern. Hama knew that Yan Zu had a scar on his back, but she never even imagined that her husband would be a General of the Fire Nation. Especially the same as the Admiral just described.
"You never answered my first question," noted Yan Zu. "How can I help you?
"Oh, right," the Admiral placed the sword back on the sword stand and turned to face Yan Zu. "I'm here to hire you to train Fire Nation soldiers, but first, I need to see you in action."
"Sounds fair," Yan Zu replied and gestured towards the backdoor with his thumb. "I can show you what I can do outside."
"Good," the Admiral smirked, and both men left the cottage. Hama realized that there would be trouble. "Go upstairs, now!" she said to Huo, who was confused but listened to his mother.
As he ran up the stairs, Hama approached the window that faced the back of the cottage and immediately noticed how the Admiral began to shoot fire blasts at Yan Zu.
Please R&R ;)