Rapid footsteps beat on the pavement of an empty street in Republic City, accompanied by heavy breathing and shouts.

Nanami is running as fast as she can to escape the dozen of police officers chasing after her. She is pursued not only by the police, but also by some men from the largest criminal organisation of Republic City, the Triple Threats.

Not even looking back, the young lady dashes from street to street, like a prey, trying to shake off her pursuers. She hears them shout at her to stop, but in no way is she going to surrender and give up her freedom.

Nanami has been living in Republic City for a long time now, so she knows the streets pretty well. She takes shortcuts to outrun the police and the criminals and heads towards the docks. When she doesn't hear yells anymore, she finally looks back to check that nobody is on her trail and stops in a deserted alley.

Tonight is the so anticipated Lantern Festival, so everybody is attending the festival in the downtown district, leaving most of the other districts' roads empty. Nanami leans against a wall, taking a break after fleeing for about half an hour now. She is exhausted, her legs trembling from fatigue and her lungs not keeping up with her heavy breathing, making it hard for her to catch her breath.

After a short rest, the young woman walks towards the wharf where many large ships are moored. Nanami glances around her, checking no one is around. All the boats have their gangways out, connecting them to the docks. Seeing there an opportunity to hide, she advances towards one of the gangways to get into the ship.

"Who are you?" a manly voice from behind asks.

Nanami turns around to face the newcomer and sighs thinking that she has been caught, only to see a man wearing plain civilian clothes. He is neither from the police nor the Triple Threats, who wear more sophisticated attires.

"I'm no–," she begins to say, but gets interrupted by distant cries.

A far-off sound of footsteps lightly echoes in the empty pier, getting closer and closer to their location. The man pays more attention to the shouts and manages to understand that the police is looking for the young woman standing in front of him.

He rushes over to her, grabbing her wrist as she tries to escape.

"They say you're a criminal! I'm handing you over to them!" he exclaims, pulling her down from the gangway.

"No, you're wrong! I'm innocent! I didn't do anything! Please believe me!" Nanami begs him, trying to free herself from his tight grip.

Her golden eyes are shining under the lampposts of the docks, reflecting their light and captivating the young man. Completely drowned in the mesmerizing look of the young fugitive, Iroh slightly relaxes his hand which has not escaped Nanami since she suddenly withdraws her hand, and is now free.

Her interlocutor is taller than her, making her lift her head a little to look into his piercing golden eyes. They look like they can see right through her, but she can't help but get attracted to them, seeking to dive even more deeply into his gaze.

The two of them continue to stare at each other, as if looking for answers with their eyes, without needing to say a word. Their faces are so close that Nanami can feel his breath softly blowing on her cheeks, and his nose almost touching hers.

Time seems to have stopped at the wharf, leaving them in their own world. Iroh feels dizzy, his mind struggling to trust her or not. Those bright eyes look so sincere to him, removing all his doubts.

Loud steps resonate on the ground, restarting time again at the docks and making the two young people come to their senses. A frightened expression appears on Nanami's face as she glances around, fearing the police's arrival. Hopeless, the young woman looked at him one last time, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Iroh sighs, knowing the troubles that await him if he falters here, but he can't refuse those pleading eyes.

"Okay. I believe you. I'll help you." He whispers and takes her soft hand in his.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this prologue! A lot of troubles will await the young general and his protected fugitive, so please look forward to the next chapters :)

Don't forget to let me know your thoughts in the comments, follow and favorite if you liked the story :)

Thank you again for reading!

Note: for those also reading my other story The Red Dragon (Iroh II fanfic too), just wanted to clear things up: this is not the same Nanami. I just took the same name again because I didn't want to pair Iroh with anyone else anymore x)

Also, I wanted to mention this to make a little clarification. I've had several comments about granddaddy issues. There's none in this story. I'm not sure if those people misunderstood or if I didn't make it clear enough in the story. This fanfiction is about Iroh II, grandson of Zuko, and not about Uncle Iroh. Iroh is in the United Forces so it can't be about Uncle Iroh - and in any case, Iroh is 23 year old here. Also, if it's about Iroh (II) and Zuko's relationship, the original authors of Legend of Korra did specify that they were really close. I hope this made the situation clearer for those who were wondering.