I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender
Chapter 12
Luckily, the old mayor and the Kyoshi warrior were convinced to let the siblings have their private moment in back in the sleeping quarters of Jasmine, under the watchful eye of the Kyoshi warriors who would guard the doors.
"Now that this is taken care of, why you are here?"
The woman asked Zuko.
"Can I get my helmet back first?"
"You answer all of our questions, then you may get your helmet back."
"…fine. First of all, what do you know about the situation in the mainland? Particularly the updated naval border? It would be easier for me to explain the situation."
"We don't care about the war in the mainland, stranger."
The old man replied before Lyn could answer.
"Then you also wouldn't care that the entire beach strip of Gaoling is under fire nation control, from west to east."
That seemed to surprise the due as they exchanged concerned glances.
"And what does that mean? Are you saying that the fire nation is preparing to attack us now that they have no opposition? What's your angle in this, fire bender? The island is fairly trade with both earth kingdom and fire nation merchants, there is no reason to break naturality!"
Agni… does this old man ever shut up?!
"I don't know of anything about annexing the island, at least I heard nothing of it. Then again, it's not my place to know. Anyway, our problem is from a different cause."
"What is it then?"
Lyn asked with her arms crossed.
"Unlike the earth kingdom, the fire nation cares about the safety of its territories and takes it seriously, as well as the night to secure said territories as well. In the last weeks, there has been an operation led by the prince to exterminate the piracy on the southern fire-controlled sea."
"After the successful campaign of the prince, who I was called after by the way, the organized piracy is all but none existed in the fire nation controlled south. The prince, however, noticed one problem. As long as there is a safe natural spot for pirates to lick rally around, the waters will never truly be safe. This is why I was sent here."
"You can't be serious! You accuse us of fostering pirates?!"
Lyn was quick to connect the dots, even if she got the wrong idea. Her anger was understandable, by the messages the crew intercepted she lost more than a few sisters in raids. Being accused of housing the people responsible was sure to make her go berserk.
"Nothing like that! In contrary, the prince trusts your morals enough to send me here for talks. He knows about your losses and sends his sincere condolences."
"Then what does he want?"
The old man opened his mouth once again.
"In short? To rid Kyoshi island from piracy, then curing the entire southern sea from this disease. He wants to point you to the pirate assets you have across the island for you to take care of it."
"So he basically treats us like some pat? Point and fetch? My Kyoshi warriors and myself aren't some lapdogs for his amusement. We can take care of our problems ourselves, without some princely intervention."
Damn it… he wished Sai was with him now, Sai would certainly know what to do. If only he had something he could use… wait!
"My bag, can you bring it here please? It has all the proof I need."
"I'll get it, make sure the prisoner doesn't do anything funny."
The mayor went to the corner of the room and brought back Zuko's bag. The old man roughly thrown the bag at Zuko's tied feet.
"Here, what trickery are you planning now?"
This old man was starting to really get on his nerves…
"Inside there are strips and a pole, warp a strip around it so that the borders of the stripe are touching each other. Use that thing there as a base."
Lyn did as he ordered, once she finished, she started reading the message on the strip. With an enraged expression she threw it away and continued with the next, and the next. After five times she finally had enough, she drew her fan and, in a flash, brought it an inch from Zuko's neck.
"How do you know all of this?! How did you get it?! Where are my sisters?! Answer me!"
The look on her face was enough to make a komodo-rhino scram in fright.
For Zuko's credit, he didn't show fear. He didn't swallow spit, nor did he fill his legs shake. And his voice was certainly in the same tone it was before. Yes, and anyone who's saying something else is a filthy liar.
"Those are messages found in the captain's cabin of pirate ships that the fire nation raided. It seems like your piracy problem is from a severe information leak, the prince offers you this information as a sign of good will."
"Lyn, what is it? What did you read?"
The old man tried to calm the Kyoshi warrior down.
After a few deep breaths, Lyn was calm enough to reply.
"The messages… they had detailed reports on our patrols, time and places of our own counter raid, ships that we use as bait… Spirits damn it, they even had a detailed ambush plan for kidnapping my girls…"
She shook her head to the sides.
"With this kind of intelligence, the fire nation could have easily invade and catch us by surprise. Wither he is genuine in his intention or not is irrelevant, we have a golden opportunity to strike those pirates back. We just have to find the leak before commencing any operation."
The mayor was shell shocked by the revelation.
"I have much to do."
The woman said as she composed herself.
"Suki! Come here!"
"Yes ma'am!"
The auburn haired Kyoshi warrior went in. To Zuko's relief, Xing followed her with a happy tail.
Lyn had one look at the puppy but decided to ignore it.
"Suki, I will be away for an urgent matter. Your mission is to guard our guest here until farther notice. He is not to leave the room, am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am!"
The now identified Suki saluted.
"Hey! I can help!"
Zuko yelled.
"You will do nothing! The last thing I need right now is some unknown running wild! You will stay here until I say so, you are still under suspicion!"
With those parting words Lyn stormed out of the storage.
"I better go as well, I still have arrangements for today."
The mayor of Kyoshi island said.
And so, the two teenagers were left alone in the storage with awkwardness in the air.
Zuko once again mourned that Sai wasn't with him, he was bad in situations like that. He decided to break the silence to pass time a little.
"So… do you come here often…?"
"Seriously?"
The girl raised an eyebrow.
Well, it can't get any worse than this.
"And then, after sixteen Mugs of beer, Lung finally was knocked out. Which left me as the winner! After he lost his bet, we covered him in glue and then threw at him sacks of feathers. He had to stay that way for an entire day until the glue came off, watching him hide from Zuko was hilarious!"
"Pfhh… really?!"
"I swear sis! One time he had to crawl into a ventilation shaft because he saw Zuko's back on the other side of the hallway. Spirits, this was a close one!"
Mi-Dved continued to tell his misadventures with the crew to his sister. They both had shared their stories about what happened to them after the storm. Jasmine was extremely shocked that he was immediately captured by pirates and enslaved. He just was glad that she had such lighter situation than him, he didn't want to think what would have happened if their situations were reversed.
"So brother dear, tell me more about this Zuko. I still can't believe that he beat an enforcer, those guys are basically invincible!"
"Ha! You better believe it sis, of course he had help from yours truly!"
"*giggle* I'm sure. But still, what can you tell me about him? There must be a story behind his scar, is he some kind of a champion? He must be important if he can command an entire ship at his age."
Mi-Dved's big brother instinct suddenly flared. His sister couldn't really be…
"Sis, why the sudden interest about Zuko? Do you like him?"
"Is it really wrong to want to know more about the one who saved the only family I have and reunited our family?"
She said in a hurt voice as she put a hand on her heart.
"Why, is he single?"
She drew her hair behind her right ear like every time she tried to seduce someone to give her something. While he was sure it was a reflex, the fact that it already was a reflex, as well as the fact that she asked about Zuko, gave him all kinds of bad thoughts.
"I don't see why is it any of your business, sis."
"Oh, come now, brother. Surly you can answer a yes or no question."
She made her eyes big as she blinked innocently. Oh, she definitely was trying to make him spill the beans. No matter, he was the elder sibling, the first born, and the toughest son of a mother in the entire southern part of the continent! No way is she gonna make him talk!
...
..
.
"He said something about a broken betrothal, but I didn't dig into the details. It was obviously a delicate point for him…"
She smiles like the damnable vixen she was… damn her and her eyes…
Before his sister could munch more information of her poor, defenseless brother, the door was opened and the old man that apparently was the mayor of the village came in flanked by two Kyoshi warriors.
"Oygi! What do we owe the pleasure?"
His sister addressed the old man.
"Hello Jasmine, Mi-Dved, once again I'll say that I'm glad for your reunion."
"Thank you, sir"
"But I'm afraid my visit isn't only social. You see, now that you found each other it leaves me and the village in a bit of a hiccup."
"What do you mean, sir"
His sister's tone was more concerned now.
He as well was preparing for a fight, the Kyoshi warriors were as well in a response.
"Now, now, it's nothing that need we need to use violence for, let's all relax a little."
All of them calm down a little, but not completely.
"You see, Jasmine, now that you are of good health and found your brother it brings us to a very awkward situation."
"Whatever for sir?"
"We made many exceptions by letting you live with us. You were on the brink of death with no one else to turn to, it would have been monstrous to not help you."
"After that, you were allowed to stay here, again not something we do, because you needed to wait for your brother, and because we took pity about you. There were many debates weather let you stay or send you on your way."
"Now, however, you have your brother back and can safely travel back to the mainland. If we take both you and your brother in, the island will have a reputation of excepting refugees."
"This will cause immigrants to flock the island and get us closer to the war. A no less important reason is that the quality of life will go down dramatically as the finite resources of the island wouldn't the able to support the population, not to mention the cultural suicide that the island will face."
"So you're banishing us."
Mi-Dved stated.
"In short, yes. You two brought the fire nation here, either willingly or not doesn't matter."
"Are you sure we can't stay?"
Jasmine tried to reason.
"*Sigh* afraid not dear, the decision was final. For what it's worth, the people really like you Jasmine, it was nothing personal. You have tomorrow to pack your belongings and than you will be ferried on a ship to the mainland."
"What about Zuko? I'm not leaving without him."
Oygi rose an eyebrow at that.
"The spy? What about him? He will stay here until the investigation is over, we are giving you the chance to slip away while you can."
"Don't call him that! Listen, I really appreciate everything that you have done for my sister, I really do, but I can't leave my friend here alone to suffer spirits knows what. Can't we just talk things through?"
"I'm afraid that this is in the hands of Lyn. You have tomorrow to figure things with here as well."
The mayor left the two siblings alone with their thoughts.
"You are really bad at small talks, you know that?"
Suki told him as she used the now vacant chair of Mi-Dved to sit. Her hands and chin rested on the back of the chair as she maintained a more or less same height as his sitting form.
It was a few minutes after they were left alone. Zuko tried a few times to start a conversation, but ultimately failed. How is it that he found fighting murderers and monster impersonating benders easier than having a talk with a girl his age, it's ridicule!
"Sorry, I'm just… a little insecure without my helmet."
"Really?"
Suki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You didn't have any trouble until now."
"I had it drilled in my head beforehand."
"Must be some practice…"
"You have no idea…"
"Say, if I give you your helmet back, will you answer my questions?"
"Yes. Please! …I mean, I'll answer the best I can, but if it's classified or to personal I wouldn't the able to answer."
"Fine, fine."
Suki stood and went to bring the helmet. When she brought it back, she sat in the same pose as before. As she put the helmet back on his head, he felt the familiar sensation in his body and relaxed immensely.
"Hello, your highness, long time no seen."
'Sai! It's good to hear you again.'
With Sai back, his confidence was restored, and he was ready to face whatever the Kyoshi warrior would throw at him.
"Well than, ''Zuko', is that your real name?"
"Yes. Yes, it is."
Suki blinked.
"Huh… I thought you would try to deflect… Anyway, what are your intentions with the island?"
"I want to destroy the organized piracy in the fire nation controlled seas, for that I must make sure that there is no way for them to get a stronghold in a natural area. I supplied your leader with the necessary intelligence to brake piracy across the island."
"Is that all?"
"I would have liked to learn more about the culture of the island and about Kyoshi as well."
"Really?!"
"She played an immense role in making the world what it is today, and you will find it hard to come across any reliable source about the Avatars in the fire nation nowadays. I would be glad to learn from you if you let me."
"That's… fine, I guess…? Wow, the helmet really improves your social skill."
"Told you."
"Where did you get it anyway?"
Oh, I was on a year long mission in the former Air islands, that bit is classified and unrelated to our situation I'm afraid. Anyway, I found the helmet in one of the hidden rooms in the southern air tample."
"Really? It doesn't look like a fire nation gear, and it obviously can't be made by an air bender. Then again, it could have been the helmet of a very excessive commander."
"Thought so before, but tests showed that this thing is older that the four nations. It also was found half submerged in molten rock, so take from this what you will."
"Wow… it looks really good for something so ancient."
"I like her."
'Of course you do.'
"Bark!"
"Oh~"
Suki picked Xing up in her arms and cuddled him with her head, Zuko had to admit that she looked adorable like that.
"Where did you find this little guy anyway? I have never seen something like it before."
"I found it in the Foggy swamp just north to Gaoling while on mission, I saved it from being eaten by a catgator. Later it really helped us fighting this plant bending water bender."
"Plant bending water bender?"
Suki asked in confusion.
"Yes, apparently there is this water bending tribe that lives in the swamp, select few can even bend the vegetation around them through the water in the plants. One of them attacked us, he bended around him enough vegetation to create a forty feet tall swamp monster with him controlling it at the center."
"Wow, I didn't know it was possible."
"Neither did I. Anyway, after Mi-Dved and I blew enough plants, Xing went right into the holes we created and bit the water bender. This stopped his concentration and ended the swamp monster for good."
"Amazing! Who is a brave good boy? Yes you are!~"
Suki continued to cuddle Xing.
In that moment, a knock at the door was heard four times in succession.
"Come in!"
A man entered the storage at Suki's call.
"Hello Suki, I brought food for you both."
Xing growled at the man.
"Thank you, Zolt."
"Now this is interesting… There is a drug in the food, ask her about him after he leaves."
The man brought the food tray and left the room, all the while Xing growled at him. Once the door closed, Zuko waited a minute and asked Suki about the man.
"Say, who is he?"
"I don't understand why is it any of you business."
Suki answered rather impolitely.
"It is my business when said guy gives me drugged food."
"WHAT!"
"Look at Xing, he growls at the food."
Suki huffed.
"Hardly a proof, maybe he just doesn't like the food, thought about it?"
Zuko shook his head.
"Not Xing, not at this age. You didn't raise him, so you don't know, but Xing basically eats anything addable. One time I even caught him munching rocks for the minerals in them. If even Xing doesn't want to eat it, that it's definitely not for humans."
Suki looked conflicted.
"I…"
"You are free to eat if you wish."
The Kyoshi warrior didn't touch the plate.
"You didn't seem to like him so much when he was here, why is that?"
"Ahm… well, I don't think I should tell…"
"I'll tell you about what I spoke with Lyn."
"...fine, deal."
"So what's this all about?"
Suki sighed.
"Zolt is Lyn's husband, you know. I know that I need to show him respect and all of that, but I just can't let go of this nagging feeling about him. I know it's not fair, and he did much for the island."
"Really?"
"Yes. He was the problem child of the island, he frequented the bars at the docks and was always rude to everyone, me included."
"I hardly see a hero material here."
"I know, I'm getting there. Anyway, he had a thing for the Kyoshi warriors, Lyn especially. He would try to constantly flirt and bother them, with no great success of course."
"Again, how did he marry Lyn?"
"Hush you, I'm trying to tell a story here. So one time he was drunk in a bar and sang about all the things he would like to do. Coincidentally, Lyn and a few fellow Kyoshi warriors were near and heard him, they then beat him black and blue to teach him a lesson."
She looked at Zuko intensely, waiting for him to interrupt. When Zuko stayed quiet, she continued.
"A week after that, Lyn and her patrol were ambushed by pirates and things didn't look good. There was this big guy that was crazy strong according to witnesses. Lucky, Zolt was near and threw a rock right between the eyes of the giant, giving the girls enough breathing room to regroup and counterattack. The pirates retreated as Zolt helped the warriors."
"It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but in the end he and Lyn got married."
"So why are you at odds with him? Is it because of how he treated you before?"
"It's… Okay, it's a part of it, yes, but not all. I just feel that every time he's acting nice with us, he's pulling on a mask… he also keeps visiting bars and is in touch with his old hooligan friends."
Zuko supposed it was his turn now.
"Well, you held your end of the bargain, so I will hold mine."
And so, Zuko told her about his findings, about the decrypted messages and about his suspicions of a mole. To say that Suki was shocked would have been an underestimated, she would have called him liar if he didn't tell her the exact rotes of their patrols and the exact formations they used. She had to face reality, even if it broke her heart and beliefs.
"Are you okay?"
Zuko asked in concern, the girl's face was incredibly pale even behind the makeup.
"I… I need some time. All of this… is a bit too much for me."
Zuko let her have her quiet, after some time she began speaking again.
"You know, it's funny. All this time out moto was 'as one', unity and comrade are a great part of what a Kyoshi warrior is all about. Now, to find that all this time, all our losses are because we were betrayed from the start by one of our own. It's heartbreaking."
"Mom was one of the warriors we lost, you know. It was years ago, probably way before we had a traitor, but I can't help but think that she is gone because of that too."
Xing wailed and rubbed his body on Suki's leg, demanding attention. Suki subconsciously petted it as Xing licked her hand, slowly but surely her state was getting better.
"Oh, I can't stay depressed if you act like this. You good boy, you ~"
"I lost my mother too…"
He didn't know what possessed him to say it, he would have blamed Sai if he didn't already know how its possession feels like. Maybe it was all the stress getting to him, maybe it was to unload all the feelings and fears he had bottled up from the vision of his mother in the swamp. The opportunity to talk about it to another flash and blood individual with a close experience broke him.
"Really?"
"I… Yes, when I was little. One day everything was normal, the day after she was gone. No letter, no trace, nothing. Only clue I had, were some words I barely remember when I was half asleep."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear."
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to bother you."
"No, no, it's fine! I unloaded, you should as well. I can't imagine you had many opportunities in the army."
Zuko decided not to tell her about his uncle.
"Well… it's not all."
Suki had her entire attention on him, her own problems forgotten.
"The Fuggy swamp? It has an effect on people, it makes them see people thy lost."
"And you saw your mother?"
Zuko nodded.
"It's not all. I saw her with a different family, she wore some kind of another face. She didn't even acknowledge she had any other family."
He noticed that his view was foggy now, he was crying.
"Ooh… I-I sorry to hear…"
"Yeah…"
The awkwardness returned.
"Ask her about herself and about life on the island."
"So how is life on Kyoshi island? Isn't it getting boring sometimes, with the island policy of no contact with the outside world?"
It seems Suki was glad about the change of subject.
"Well, I wouldn't say Kyoshi island is drool exactly, we do what any village does. We even have a fighting tournament. Besides, most of the excitements comes from pirate attacks, so perhaps boring is better in this case."
"And it's not that we have no contact with the outside world, but we try to meagre it as much as we can to sustain our culture. The people at the ports are of course more open to outsiders, but they are less connected to the culture in return."
And so they continued with their back and forth banter. Before long, the sun was already down. They were laughing and telling stories about their childhood. Suki told him about her adventures with the other girls her age, the gathering of weeds as well as that on time they stole sweets from the mayor.
Zuko in return told her about his misadventures in the palace and in amber island, without mentioning his status of course, for all Suki knew he was just another child of someone of higher bringing.
"You know, Zuko, it's much more fun than I thought it would be."
"You mean being alone with a boy tied to a chair? Well, you do you, I suppose. Who am I to judge."
"Shut up!"
Suki smacked him across the head, before retrieving her hand painfully.
"Ow! What is this thing made of?!"
"I will be frank, I have no idea."
"If I start naming my components you won't understand anything anyway."
Zuko trusted Sai in this regard.
Suddenly Xing growled at the door.
"Intruders"
The teens looked at each other.
"You're expecting someone?"
Zuko asked.
"No."
Suki answered as she prepared for battle.
Suddenly a jug was thrown from a window and its oily content spilled across the storage, blocking them from the door. Zuko didn't need Sai to warn him about what would happen next. A torch was thrown from the same window, lightning aflame the oil covered floor.
Without thinking, Zuko used the sharp ands of his graves to cut the rope clean. He then used an explosion to blast off the other side of the storage and picked up his swords.
"Come on!"
He called to the Kyoshi warrior as he ran to the exit. He noticed that she followed him.
"You could have done this the entire time?!"
"Is now really the best time for this?!"
"Fine! But you own me an explanation!"
Together they now faced their surprised adversary.
Lyn was in her home, this wasn't unusual. She was with four other Kyoshi sisters, which was rather unusual. The five of them were the last of the "old" generation of Kyoshi warriors, together they searched her house for any and all evidence.
Lyn wasn't stupid. At list she thought she wasn't, until reality slapped her in the face. She saw those strips laying around her house, she knew that her husband was off with his pals to spirits know were when she was on patrols. She just didn't connect the dots, maybe she did but wasn't ready to face the truth. Anyway, now it's not the time for a breakdown, she will have it after she cleans her mess.
The five of them collected strips that were laying on the floor to warp them on the decryption pole she got from the prince. Oh, she knew he was the banished prince of the fire nation, he really should have gone with another name if he wanted to be discreet, the scar and the name together were a dead giveaway.
By now the five of them had found enough evidence to incriminate Zolt for several lifetimes. To think that all of the garbage that littered Zolt's side of the room were the cause of so much suffering for the people of the island… and that she had, unknowingly, hand in this…
The warriors heard the door of the house open.
With a hand signal, Lyn ordered her sisters to hide. A few seconds later her dear husband entered the room.
"Oh, honey! I didn't expect you here so early. How was your day? I heard in the village that you caught two spies today!"
He came to hug her, the slimly snake, but she stopped him at a hand length.
"Honey, you made a mess in the house again."
He put his hand behind his head, seemingly embarrassed.
"Sorry honey, we expecting many shipments at the dock so I had to gather enough strips to safety secure them. You know how fragile some of them can be. I promise to clean it up later."
She wondered how many times he said those double meanings and it flew over her head.
"No need, honey, I already packed them ~"
"R-really? Thank you, you're the best!"
"Yes, yes… you know, I even found a funny thing."
She went to the pole she took from the prince. She could feel Zolt shivering, good!
"When I warp the strips around the pole like that-"
Zolt bolted to the exit, he was ambushed and quickly subsided by two Kyoshi sisters that hid there.
"I suddenly see some very interesting things to read~ would you like to explain?"
"H-how?"
She planted a foot on his face, just enough to keep him conscious.
"How? I should ask you how! How could you betray the people of the island in such a way?! How could you sell my sisters! How could you use me like that?! You fat! Sack! Of garbage!"
Each time her voice rose, she stamped on Zolt's head. On the last stomp, he fell unconscious.
"I'm glad that this is over."
One of her sisters said.
"To think all this time… I can't believe we actually owe the fire nation."
Another one said.
"And it's all because of me. I was the one who told him everything, and he used it to build his crime empire."
Lyn finally concluded.
"Don't blame yourself Lyn! We all fell for it."
"Thank you Lily, but I'm supposed to be the leader. Anything that happened is my responsibility, all the people hurt, all the sisters we lost…"
Suddenly there a load explosion was heard.
"What was it?!"
One of the warriors asked.
A sudden dread filled her.
"It came from the storage! The one with Suki and the prisoner! Lily, secure the prisoner! Everyone else, with me!"
She just hoped Suki was safe…
The battle itself… wasn't much, Suki had to admit. Even alone, with lack of a year of training to become a full-fledged Kyoshi warrior, she would have handled herself.
But she had to admit that Zuko was an extremely good warrior. He was fierce and decisive in his strikes, and his agility wouldn't shame a Kyoshi warrior.
And that was just his swordsmanship, she was curious about his fire bending. She already knew he had huge amounts of chi and stamina from his meeting with the Unagi, the fire benders she dealt with can't hold a candle to the intensity he shown. This explosion was another thing she had never seen, is it something special to him? Or are fire benders usually like that and her tiny island just head the bottom of the bottom until now.
Come to think of it, the scar did make some sense now. It must have been from a very dangerous criminal that he was tasked to hunt down as some special agent.
Something fell behind her and she remembered why they were running from the storage in the first place.
"The fire! We must tell the others and stop it before it spreads to the entire village!"
"On it!"
Then he did the unthinkable, he pointed a sword to the fire, and it just swallowed the flames!
Now that was it! He can't be some no one, even avatar Kyoshi couldn't control fire like that according to the texts. And she was the avatar Kyoshi!
Once Zuko absorbed all the flames she went to him, angrily.
"Okay, what was it?!"
"I'm… sorry, what?"
"You know what! And put the helmet down, look at me when I'm talking to you!"
At least he had the sense to take off the helmet.
"You could have escaped any time, didn't you?!"
"Ahm… yes?"
"Oh, so you were just playing pretend? Was everything we talked about a pretend to you as well? Was it some kind of a sick joke to you?!"
"What?! No!"
"So what was it then?! And what's with all the abilities? Don't you even dare say it's normal."
"My father is someone very important up there, I got training fitting to his status."
"Just who are you? Who is your father?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Really? That's what you can't tell? An incredibly powerful stranger with a mysterious past and origin, and he expects me to trust him! Maybe I would be safer with the pirates, they are much weaker, and they are honest with their intentions!"
"That's unfair! I just saved your ungrateful life!"
Suki paused, it was true. Yes, his own life was the priority most likely, but he could just run away. He didn't own them a thing. And she herself didn't understand why did she react like that.
"You – you're right, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, I'm probably more shaken than I thought."
"Well-"
"Suki! Are you alright?!"
The voice of her superior spooked her and made her realize that in the exchange she pulled Zuko by the chest of his armor, so they had the same eye height. It also made her realized how close their faces are, especially how his mouth was only a few fingers away from her own…
She embarrassingly pushed the boy away from her by reflex, making him fall in the process. Kyoshi, she hoped the dim light and the makeup would cover her blush.
Zuko got up and picked up his helmet.
"What was that for?!"
Lucky, she was saved from the embarrassment of explanation when her sisters arrived… together with Mi-Dved?
"Suki! Thank spirits, you're okay. We feared the worst when we heard the explosion, what happened?!"
"Some thugs tried to burn the storage while we were inside."
Suki answered.
"But it's not important right now! Zolt, he!"
Lyn held her hand to stop Suki.
"I know, I took care of him."
Now she addressed Zuko.
"I thank you for everything you have done for the island. You have mine, as well as my fellow warriors, gratitude for exposing the conspiracy that hunted our island."
"You honor me, head warrior."
"No then, with the head operator dealt with, we must strike at all their bases to destroy them completely. Wake one of them up so we can interrogate them."
"Bark!"
Huh, Suki completely forgot about Xing.
The little animal went to one of the downed thugs and… marked its territory, on the thug's head, and open nose and mouth. Needless to say, the man woke up pretty quickly after that.
As all of them laughed, Lyn went closer to Zuko.
"Any chance you have some of those you can spare us?"
"Sorry, Xing is one of a kind as far as I know."
"Shame. Let me know if it changes."
"Will do."
The interrogation went pretty quick, the lone thug broke fast before the entire house of angry Kyoshi warriors. They got the location of the bases the pirates had at this time and immediately went to attack. Lyn allowed the two outsiders to join the assault, the proved themselves trustworthy enough and Lyn was curious to see them in action.
The assaults themselves weren't too eventful as well, and she finally got her answer to the question of how Zuko fights with bending. She also made a note to never get on his bad side.
The pirates were prepared for their arrival and were barricaded in a well defended position. Which were ruthlessly blown to pieces by Zuko's explosions. From there the Kyoshi warriors, Suki included, made short work of the remaining breathing pirates. It went like that base after base, until Kyoshi island was once again free from piracy.
The remaining living pirates, Zolt among them, were put on trial the next morning. They were all put to death sentence by the Unagi. Zolt's trail in particular was a messy thing, Suki could have really skipped the entire drama.
In the end of the trails and the executions, however, came the real shock.
"People of Kyoshi island!"
Lyn called the attention of all who were present.
"We have cleaned the island from corruption and piracy! We have caught and judged those responsible, all but one."
The people who started cheering became silent from confusion, Suki was among them. She looked at Zuko and his companion, they were as clueless as she was.
"Zolt got the information that allowed him to reign terror on the island from me, all the people we lost are mine responsibility as well. This atrocity was committed under my watch, I allowed this filth to fester and the entire island paid for it. Therefore, once I finish training the new generation of Kyoshi warriors to take the responsibilities, I will banish myself from the island to never return."
The people, including Suki herself, were in an uproar. They yelled and begged for Lyn to reconsider, that she was a victim as the rest of them, but to no avail. Lyn left the stage, and the crowd followed her.
Zuko was caught by surprise as were all the people.
'What does she think she's doing?'
"Probably setting an example. She feels she deserves punishment, which has some truth in it, and that she is a failure, which again isn't so wrong."
'But to banish herself?'
"If she stays, she will be constantly reminded of all the mistakes she made, whether consciously or not. It's for the best for her. Either way, I must command her for her work ethics."
'I still don't thing that she needs to do it.'
"Hits to close to home?"
Zuko didn't answer. Instead, he turned towards the siblings.
"Are you sure you want to continue traveling with me? I can try and convince the mayor to let you stay."
The siblings told him about the conversation they had with the mayor.
"Thank you, my lord, but we decided that it would be for the best for us if we follow you. At least for a little while. We just escaped one prison, we are in no hurry to trade it with another. My brother and I want to see the word we only heard about. Besides, I never properly thanked you for all the things you have done for us, my lord."
Jasmine tried to snake her arm with his, fortunately her brother was onto her as he separated them in time.
"Spirits sis, show some restrains! I'm very sorry about in sir."
"Aha…"
Zuko couldn't form a coherent response as the siblings made their way to the ship that would take them to the mainland, Unagi free this time.
"Blood pressure is rising~"
'Shut up…'
After the siblings left, he could see Suki going to him in her traditional Kyoshi warrior armor.
"Hi."
She spoke.
"Hi."
"I… I wanted to apologize about earlier."
She held one arm with the other as she gazed to the ground.
"It was wrong of me to yell at you like that, I had hard time coping with everything that happened and I lashed at you. So again sorry."
Zuko didn't know what to say. On one hand, he was still a little angry about earlier, on the other hand he's the last person who can judge someone about being hotheaded at the heat of the moment.
"Listen I-"
"And I also wanted to give you this."
Suki pulled a bag from behind her back.
"This bag here contains texts about Kyoshi. You said that you are interested in her so I thought that you may like it."
"Follow my lead."
Zuko placed one hand on Suki's shoulder as he held with the other hand the girl's bag holding hand. Suki looked at him in surprise as his face mask slid off to the sides of the helmet, leaving his face plain to see.
'You can do this?'
"Not now."
"Listen, I know what it's like to act without thinking, and I have a reminder of that for the rest of my life. But you shouldn't think so hard on yourself, you are a great warrior with a strong heart. You are a great Kyoshi warrior as it is, and I'm sure you will become only better in time."
The hand on the shoulder slipped into Suki's other hand, and Zuko held them together.
"I must admit that even with the circumstances I had a great time here, and it was mostly because of you. So you don't need to give me any gifts or something like that, I enjoyed our time together short as it was. Anyway, I still can't thank you enough for your gifts Suki, I feel bad that I have nothing prepared."
The poor girl was blushing now a storm.
"I-it's f-fine… I-I"
Then she took a deep breath and done something Zuko wasn't prepared for at all. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran away.
'What was all that about?!'
"Looks like someone has a fan~"
Zuko shook his head and went to the ship with his new spoils.
AN
And this ends the Kyoshi arc.
I'll keep this AN short, mostly because of time.
I hope I gave the Kyoshi warriors their right duo, they aren't some damsels in distress for prince charming to save them and swipe them of their feet. they are a capable fighting force thar just needed to be pointed at the right target.
Suki's outburst, while seemed irrational, came from a breakdown she had. teenage hormones didn't help. besides that, I hope I wrote her character right.
And now, for somthing inspired by Sewrtyuiop's review:
Omake:
It wasn't supposed to be like that! It was supposed to be his greatest day of victory! When he, using the power of the comet, burned the entire earth kingdom into ash!
Instead, he was on his emperor airship clinging to dear life on the edge of a support beam. Everything became a disaster the moment he showed up!
And as he thought of the devil, he heard the sound of the unnatural breathing the man had.
"Hhuuu Chhhh… Hhuuu Chhhh… Hhuuu Chhhh…"
The bane of his existence came into light, the maniac wore dark armor with matching helmet and cape and in his right hand there was a sword made of fire that shown in blood-red light that seemed to cut through anything.
The figure had the audacity to speak to him.
"Long have I waited for this moment fire lord Ozai. Join me and we'll rule the world together as master and apprentice."
"You! Vader… You destroyed everything I built!"
"Everything you built is to be mine by right. Join me… or perish!"
"You… Just who do you think you are?! Only my father could order me like that!"
"I am your father!"
"No! it's imposable!"
Did Azulon survive the assassination? Did he know Ozai's part in it? If so, then why show himself only now? Could it be his vengeful spirit that came seeking to settle the score?
"Sorry, wrong sentence. I am your son!"
Oh, that was much better… wait…
"Which one?"
The figure claiming to be his son stopped its advance from the surprise.
"I'm sorry?!"
"Which one are you? Auko?"
"NO!"
"Buko? Cuko? Duko?"
"What?! No, I'm Zuko! Did you have twenty-six sons and named them after each other by the ABC order?!"
"Well yes… when one showed to be a failure, I threw him and had the next one. The naming was a very easy way to note the attempt number, after the letter Z I went to having girls. Azula was my first female weapon, and by far the best. Sorry, which one are you again?"
"ARGH! I just wanted you to accept so I could stab you in the back later sadistically, but you ruin just have to ruin it like you ruined everything else in my life! and any life you come in contact with!"
The now named Zuko proceeded to cut off the hand that held the beam, making Ozai fall. Without one hand and a severe loss of blood, Ozai could do nothing as he watched the ground growing ever closer, until he couldn't watch at all.
His only regret in his final moments was that he should have started with daughters.