Soldier's Boy
Ten

Lee's eyes narrowed, and he stepped a little closer to Kouji, to protect him better. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Zhao ignored this.  "And consorting with peasants as well.  Your father would be ashamed."  His next attack came in low, at Lee's legs.

He took it, rather than dodging — he didn't trust himself to deflect it and keep to his feet at the same time, and moving would mean letting it hit Kouji. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he insisted, watching the admiral and debating the wisdom of attacking him directly, shifting his grip on his swords to keep the possibility open.

"I'm not a fool, Prince Zuko," Zhao replied, throwing yet another blast at his legs.  "You look exactly like your father.  You never were a good liar, even as a boy."

"I'm not lying," Lee insisted, somewhat desperately, trying to remember how to deflect the fire with his legs; he wouldn't have any flesh left soon at this rate. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Is that all you can say about the truth?"

"It's not the truth. Prince Zuko's dead, everyone knows that."

"And so is Princess Ursa," replied Zhao indulgently.  "Now, at any rate."  His next blast of fire was just past Zuko's legs, right where Kouji could see.  The boy screamed and curled tighter.

Lee froze for an instant, or he would've dove in front of it. "Th-that's right," he said, recollecting himself. "They died years ago, the same night as Firelord Azulon. No one knows who did it." He decided against risking getting closer to Zhao and leaving Kouji unprotected. His grip on his swords shifted again.

The Admiral smirked.  "Princess Ursa didn't die that night, as you very well know, Prince Zuko.  Her death was much more… recent."

"I think you're delusional," Lee snapped.

"No, I don't think so."  Zhao shot a quick blast at the teen's face.  "I have a very distinct memory indeed."

This he could deflect, and did, shoving it back at the Admiral's head, hoping his hair would catch on fire and slow him down a minute. "Must've been a hallucination," he said. He was panting now, running low on stamina, after the fight at the wall and what he'd been doing here.

Zhao ducked.  "No.  Would you like me to tell you what happened?"

"I don't see how you'd know. Unless you were stationed in the palace then."

"No, Prince Zuko," Zhao replied.  The teenager was slowing down.  "I had recently been promoted to Commander, actually.  She wasn't easy to find, your mother."  He punctuated this with yet another blast of flame.

Lee didn't manage to deflect as much of this one. He gritted his teeth to keep from crying out. "Stop… calling me that," he said, bitterly and painfully, through his teeth. "I'm not Prince Zuko. My mother is not Princess Ursa." His knuckles were white on his swords, and his hands were shaking a little.

"And I suppose the little colonial brat behind you really is your brother, hm?  Of course, for that to be true, he would have to be at least four years younger.  Your mother made a mistake."

"You must be confused. I'm not Prince Zuko."

Zhao ignored him save to throw another blast of fire at his legs, and a second one at the same place in front of Kouji's eyes.  "She put up quite the fight, you know."

Lee tried to intercept both, without much success. He couldn't quite bite back a little yelp this time. "I'm sure whatever poor woman you mistook for the princess fought for her life."

"I think you'd be proud, Prince Zuko," Zhao said thoughtfully.  "Not once did she beg."

"So you found a brave woman," the teenager spat. "Good for you. Still doesn't change the fact that Princess Ursa and her son died years ago."

Zhao only smiled, then suddenly spun off to one side, and blasted again, this time behind the frozen colony boy, setting the grass there ablaze.  "No!" Lee dove onto the grass, trying to put the fire out with his body before it got any closer to Kouji.

And with that, Zhao had won.  It took a mere two steps to reach the child, and only a swift grab to hold him against his body, one arm wrapped around the boy's neck as the other pressed a dagger to his ribs.

Lee dragged himself to his feet and glared at the Admiral. "Let him go," he snapped, wobbling a little.

Zhao's tone altered from amused condescension to cold command.  "Put down your swords, your highness, or the boy's life is forfeit."  Lee instantly dropped the blades, and the Admiral smiled triumphantly.  "Now, take the Avatar."

Before Lee could move, slender, tattooed arms wrapped themselves around Zhao's neck, and Aang kicked the knife out of Zhao's hand (probably bruising Kouji in the process). "Not gonna happen. You took too long."

Kouji scrambled away from Zhao, on his hands and knees, as the Admiral tried to get the recently-awakened Avatar off of him.  Wide-eyed, the boy spun.  "Aang, move!" he yelled as he jerked his hand.

The Avatar leapt backwards off of Zhao a split second before a pillar erupted under the Admiral's feet, propelling him high into the air.  Zhao landed in a crouch on the other side of the pond, and for a brief moment stared deep within.

Snarling something incomprehensible, Lee scooped up his swords and launched himself at the Admiral, stabbing furiously.   Zhao dodged, and then blasted one of the two fish in the pond.  The moon vanished.

Aang yelled a denial.

Lee didn't even notice, still furiously attacking the Admiral. He may not have had much skill at even the limited bending he'd displayed earlier, but he knew damn well what he as doing with his swords, and he had no intention of giving up. Ever.

Zhao fled.

Lee pursued.

They were on an ice bridge when Zhao suddenly turned and blasted right at Zuko's face again.  This time, Lee ducked, not having anyone behind him he was trying to protect.  "You don't have to do this, Prince Zuko," Zhao said.

Lee snarled, and stabbed at the Admiral, choosing not to waste breath in replying.

"You can go back home."

He froze for half a second, then shook his head and stabbed at Zhao again.  The admiral barely avoided the blow, his eyes narrowing.  "Then you'll follow your mother into hell!"

Then the moon came back.

"What?"  Surprised, Zhao stared up at it.  "No, impossible!"

Two columns of eerily glowing water shot out of the canal beneath them, grabbing the Admiral and lifting him off his feet.

Lee stared.

He tried to get you to kidnap Aang.

He was just doing his job.

He killed your mother!

He's still a human being.

He tried to kill Kouji!

He's one of my people.

"…Take my hand!" he shouted, climbing up onto the railing on the bridge and reaching out, as far as he could.

Admiral Zhao did start to reach out, then stopped, and pulled away.

The glowing water — which now suspiciously resembled a hand — dragged him under.

Lee stared at the spot where he disappeared for a few seconds, then wobbled and crumpled face-first down into the canal, unconscious.  One of the waterbenders saw, and bent the fallen swordsman back up onto the bridge.  He didn't move, his wet clothes slowly starting to freeze him to the bridge.

Not long after, Kouji staggered out and found him.  "Lee!" he cried in dismay, trying to prise him loose.  He wasn't moving. The ice on his clothes, thankfully, was thin and easy to chip away.  As soon as he had his brother free, he dragged him back into the oasis.  Katara had left to find Aang, but Sokka was still there, staring bleakly into the pool, where both fish were once again circling.

Shaking from fright and from cold, Kouji dragged Lee over to the Water Tribesman.  He fell to his knees next to Sokka, and put a shaky hand on the boy's shoulder.  He jumped, and turned to look at them. "Wait here," he said, quietly. "I'll go find some blankets."

"Okay," said Kouji, laying Lee the rest of the way down and trying to pull off his sodden outer garments.

Sokka slipped off, and returned about ten minutes later, carrying a jumbled mass of blankets, which he dumped over the brothers. He hesitated a minute, then joined them there, to share his body heat.  Lee, being the one most in need of it, was between Sokka and Kouji; the younger boy snuggled as close as he could to his brother and reached across him to grip Sokka's shoulder reassuringly.

Sokka managed a weak smile, to let him know he appreciated the comfort. "I heard some of what Zhao was saying," he said, after a minute, smile slipping. "About Lee being… d'you think he was telling the truth?"

"Dunno," the boy replied.  "Dunno much 'bout the royal family.  Too concerned 'bout my own, growing up."

Sokka nodded, and wrapped his arms around the brothers, trying to warn them. "We'll have to ask him when he wakes up, I guess. Maybe he'll tell us, even if he wouldn't tell Zhao."

"M-maybe…"  Kouji shuddered.

"Are you okay?"

The boy hesitated.  "I… I don't know, I…"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Sokka assured him.

Kouji closed his eyes.  "I just… I've never… been that scared.  He knew.  He knew fire made me freeze, and he knew how protective Lee is, and he… he used that.  If Aang hadn't come back when he did…"

Sokka was silent for a moment, then deliberately shifted them onto a tangent. "Wonder where Zhao is now."

"Dunno.  Wasn't there when I found Lee."

"Guess we'll have to ask him when he wakes up, then," the older boy said.

"Guess so," Kouji said, looking worriedly at his brother.

Lee was still unconscious and, while the ice on his clothes and hair had melted, he was still soaked.

"They'll clean him up," Sokka assured him. "Before he wakes up, even, so he can't argue."

"Good," murmured the boy, then sneezed.

"Bless you," the older boy said, absently, staring up at the sky.

"Thanks…"  Kouji hesitated.  "Will you be okay, Sokka?"

"Sure."

A dark brow curved, though Sokka couldn’t see it.  Kouji didn't believe him.  Sokka tried smiling again, but it came out strained.  The boy squeezed his shoulder again.

"Thanks…"

"No problem…"

Sokka sighed, and went back to staring at the sky.  Curled up against Lee's side, one hand on Sokka's shoulder as a pitiful attempt to comfort him, Kouji soon fell asleep. 

When he woke up, he was back in the room he'd been sharing with Lee. His brother was there, too, either asleep or still unconscious. It looked like he'd had at least one session with the healers, so Kouji had probably been asleep for several hours, at least.

Adrenaline crashes could do that.  Groaning, Kouji slipped out of bed and padded over to Lee.  He twitched and whimpered a little, brow wrinkling the way it always did when he was convinced whatever had just gone wrong was his fault.  Frowning, the boy touched his brother's hand.

"Sorry, Mom…," he mumbled.

Had Zhao been speaking the truth after all?  Kouji climbed into bed next to his brother and put his arms around the older boy, trying to soothe him.  Lee quieted a little, though the worry-lines didn't disappear.

An hour or two later, he stirred.  Kouji, half-dozing, immediately woke completely. 

"Kouji?" Lee whispered, after a minute.

"Lee," he replied with a smile.

"You okay?"

"Possible cold, but other than that, I'm fine," the boy answered him.

Lee nodded, clearly relieved. "What about the others? The fleet?"

"Katara's fine, Aang's sleeping off his godwalking, Sokka… is trying to pretend he isn't heartbroken."  Quietly, Kouji explained Yue's sacrifice to his brother.  "The Moon Spirit gave her life.  She gave it back…"

"That's…" Lee trailed off, not having words for it. He dragged himself up to a seated position. "How's Arnook taking it?"

"Better than Sokka, I think.  I saw the two of them talking a little bit ago.  He… didn't seem very surprised."

Lee frowned a little, but nodded.

Kouji hesitated.  "Lee?  Those… things that the Admiral was saying…?"

The older boy froze. "Wh-what about them?"

Taking in the look on Lee's face, Kouji hesitated again, then changed his mind.  "Never mind.  It isn't my business."  Lee visibly relaxed. Clearly, the subject bothered him a lot.

"Are you hungry?"

He shrugged.

"…I'll go get some food,"

"Okay."

Kouji hugged him, then quietly slipped out.  When he got back, Lee was wearing his guilty face again, staring off at nothing.

Kouji hated the guilty face.  Over half the time whatever Lee felt guilty about wasn't his fault anyway.  "Lee?"

"Hmm?"

"Here," he said, offering his brother one of the two mugs of soup he'd brought back with him.

"Mm." He sipped at it absently, losing interest about halfway through, and resuming staring at nothing.

After awhile, Kouji grew concerned.  "Lee?"

"Huh?" He jumped, spilling the soup. "Ow!"

"I'm sorry!" Kouji exclaimed, dismayed.

"It's all right," Lee assured him. "I always was clumsy. I used to walk into doors all the time."

Kouji just stared at him.  That was such a blatant lie…  "Right.  And Ichiro used to fall down a lot."

Lee chose not to reply to that. "What did you want?"

"You weren't here."

It took him a moment to figure out what Kouji meant. "…Oh. Sorry, just thinking."

The boy nodded, and tried to get Lee to finish his soup.  He did, to make his "brother" happy, then went back to contemplating the air. 

*           *           *

Aang waited a few days, until Lee was a little more stable and Kouji was asleep before approaching him. He knew full well that the older boy wouldn't want to have this conversation, particularly in front of his "brother," but they needed to work this out.

"Lee?" he said, softly, dragging up a chair next to the bed.

The teenager's eyes flickered open. "Hi."

"We need to talk."

"I figured." Lee struggled for a few moments, but managed to sit up without disturbing Kouji.

Aang was silent, watching him, searching for the right place to begin. That duel in the oasis had raised so many questions. Was it true? Would you have done it? Who are you? He decided to start with the simplest, and the one Lee was likeliest to answer honestly. "Would you have done it? If I hadn't come back when I did?"

Lee looked away, down at Kouji, and gave the barest of nods.

Aang's shoulders slumped a little. He'd figured that was the answer, but he'd hoped…

"If you want me to leave, I'll understand," Lee said quietly.

"No," Aang said, immediately. "You don't have to leave."

"I should."

"Because Zhao almost killed Kouji to get you to turn me in?"

"It's not just that," Lee said, a little sharply.

Aang stared at him. "So it was true. The things he was saying."

The sixteen-year-old didn't answer. He was gripping a fold in the blanket so tight his knuckles had turned white. After a long moment, he said, "You can't trust me. I don't know how far I can be pushed. Until the oasis, I'd never been pushed that far. And I won't lie to you, I thought about it before. In the beginning. Before I got to actually know you. Zhao's… he's dead, but that doesn't mean there isn't anyone else out there who might push me. And I don't know what I'll do." His hands started shaking a little. Aang started to interrupt, but Lee pressed on. "I tried to pull Zhao back. When he… fell in. Even after everything he did. I couldn't… I don't know what I'm capable of, if I'm pushed that far again, Aang. I just…" He broke off. His shoulders were shaking now, like he was trying not to cry. "I'd promise never to do it again, but I don't know if I can keep that promise. So you should make me go." Aang said nothing, but hesitantly reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. That was enough. Lee let out a choked, smothered sob, trying to stay quiet. "I want to go home," he managed to get out.

"I'll take you home, Lee," Aang whispered, now hugging him gently. "I promise. I'll bring you home." And he would. Somehow. Whatever the risks, whatever the truth about what Zhao had flung into their faces in the oasis, he couldn't just cut this wounded boy off.

Current Location: my bed
Current Mood: awake
Tags: au, avatar, fanfic, soldier's boy

(Leave a comment)