Zuko drifted awake again several hours later, and just lay there for a minute, going back over his duel with Azula in his mind, trying to figure out if there were any major missteps he might have avoided, that could’ve produced different results. I shouldn’t’ve looked when the cage fell over, he thought, after a moment. He then turned to see if Kouji was still there, and, if he was, whether or not he was awake.

The boy was indeed there, though fast asleep. It must be night, then.

He was curled up at Zuko’s side with his shirt partly pulled up over his head; the sleeve on his left arm had been pulled down, revealing a solid purple bruise on his wrist and extending under the material.

Rational thought faded away, in favour of the same burning fury that had taken the young ruler over when Kouji had gone missing before. Azula. Running on nothing but adrenaline, he quietly slipped out of bed and made his way over to the window, intending to sneak out and hunt her down.

On the bed, the boy stirred. “Zuko…?”

“Go back to sleep, Kouji,” he replied, already halfway out the window.

Instead he sat up, frowning. “Where are you going?”

“To get Azula.”

The boy scowled. “No,” he said. “You’re still too badly hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” he insisted, joining the Firelord at the window.

“Sure I am,” Zuko replied, somewhat out of breath.

“You’re having trouble breathing,” noted the younger boy.

“I’m fine.”

Kouji crossed his arms over his chest. “You always say that.”

Zuko chose not to respond to that directly. “I have to do this.”

“not yet.”

“Yes, yet,” the other replied, somewhat irritably, and swayed a bit. He shook his head, as if to clear it, then continued climbing out the window.

The next thing he knew, Kouji had grabbed hold of the back of his shirt.

“Let go.”

“No,” he whispered.

“I have to do this. Now. Before she tries again.”

“You have to heal,” the boy insisted.

“There’s no time. I can’t.”

“What if she kills you!?” Kouji’s voice cracked in the middle of the sentence.

“I’ll kill her first,” Zuko promised.

Kouji still didn’t let go of him, however.

“I have to do this now,” the older boy repeated. “I can’t afford to wait.”

“You can’t afford to go now, either. Right now she has no idea if you’re dead or alive. I didn’t let her get that close.”

“She’ll find out sooner or later. Can’t let her.”

“But you need to take the time you’ve got to heal.”

“Can’t…”

“You have to.” Kouji’s voice cracked again.

“Can’t…” Zuko whispered. He swayed again. “…can’t…”

“…Zuko…?”

“…can’t breathe…” he choked out, then fell out of the window.

Without thinking, Kouji tightened his grip on Zuko’s clothes. Screaming for Katara, he slammed one heel against the ground and formed a ledge just under the Firelord, whom he then lowered onto it before leaping outside after him and checking his pulse.

He couldn’t find it.

Katara heard Kouji yell and came running. Seeing the empty room and open window, she ran over to look out. “What happened?!”

“His heart isn’t beating!”

Katara’s eyes widened. “Is the ledge big enough for me to get down there?”

A pause, a slapping sound, a crunching noise, then, “Yes!”

She jumped down onto the ledge and began doing everything she could to get Zuko’s heart to start beating again.

Kouji climbed back over into the room to keep from her way, bouncing from foot to foot without knowing what to do. An eternal moment later, the Firelord started breathing again — faint, and shallow, yes, but he was breathing, and that meant his heart was beating.

The boy let out the breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding and sagged against the sill.

“Help me get him back into bed,” Katara said.

“R-right,” he said, reaching over to grab Zuko under the arms.

Between the two of them, they managed to get the teenager back into bed.

“What happened?” Katara asked.

Stammering, he managed to spit out everything, including the argument.

Privately, Katara was vaguely relieved that he’d collapsed — if he’d managed to get out and go after Azula, he’d’ve been killed for sure. All she said out loud was “Maybe we should tie him down.”

“He’ll burn through the ropes,” Kouji replied.

“…Oh. Right. Dammit.”

Zuko chose that moment to stir slightly and drift back to consciousness.

“Zuko!” Kouji forgot all about the waterbender as he turned to the Firelord.

“…what happened…?” he whispered.

The earthbender hesitated. “You collapsed,” he replied.

“…oh.”

Uncertain, Kouji glanced back at the healer. She shrugged. With a sigh, he turned back and added, “Your heart stopped.”

“…oh,” he repeated, not sure what else he could say to that.

The boy then hugged him tightly, trying not to break down now that the danger was past. Zuko meant to respond, but dropped off to sleep before he could get the words out. Kouji looked up at Katara, trembling.

“I don’t know, Kouji,” she admitted. “For now, we have to make him rest, even if he doesn’t want to.”

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and looked down at the sleeping Firelord again.

“I’ll sit with him, if you want to get some sleep,” she offered.

“I’m not leaving him.” Another crack.

She nodded. “All right.”

Kouji sat down next to the bed and drew his knees up to his chest. Zuko didn’t wake up again for several more hours. When he did, the sounds of soft sobbing drifted back to him. “…Kouji…?” he whispered, worried, trying to sit up.

The boy jerked and looked up at him. “Z-Zuko!”

“You okay…?”

He nodded, standing up so Zuko could stay down.

The older boy still looked worried. “You sure…?”

“Y-yeah. Just… letting it all out, you know?”

“…yeah.”

“How… how do you feel?”

“…better,” Zuko hedged.

Kouji nodded, finding a chair and dragging it over by the bed.

“How long was I out…?”

“Hours? I… lost track of time. I think Katara made me eat twice.”

Zuko nodded. “Okay.”

The boy managed a smile. He got a very faint, somewhat strained smile in return.

A few days later, a strange and disturbing thought came upon the young Firelord. “…Kouji?”

“Hmmm?” The boy only left his room to eat and bathe, it seemed sometimes.

“Who’s been running things?”

There was a long moment of silence. “…I have no idea.”

“…Could you find out, please?” he asked, though he had a sinking feeling that the answer would be something along the lines of “no one”.

Kouji bowed and ran off.

The palace was in a state of confused uproar. There had been very little communication about Zuko’s collapse, and, as the young Firelord feared, no one was really in charge. The boy found out what he could, taking care not to spread the rumours, and returned in a fury.

“…What is it?” Zuko asked, bracing himself.

“Nobody’s in charge,” he spat. “They’re all running around like chickens who got their heads lopped off.”

Zuko swore expressively. “I should’ve figured this’d be a problem sooner…”

“You needed time to recover,” said Kouji. “I brought you notes of the things that urgently need to be taken care of.”

“I know, I know… still.”

“This can’t happen again,” the boy remarked quietly.

“No. It can’t.”

“But you still need time to recover.”

“But if I don’t get back to work…”

“I know.” Kouji’s frustration came out in his words, and he apologised immediately.

Zuko waved a hand, dismissing the need for apologies. “So, how do we work this?”

“I think we need to find you a regent. Someone authorised to make decisions in your name in case something like this happens again.”

Zuko nodded. “Has to be someone in my family though.”

Kouji was silent for a long moment.

“Obviously, my sister’s not an option.”

“…yeah.”

“We don’t know where Uncle is. Or if Mom’s alive.” He frowned. “Until I get married, that’s pretty much it.”

“Someone will have to find them,” said Kouji quietly.

Zuko nodded. “Yeah.”

“Who will you send?”

“…I don’t know.”

The boy nodded. “Think about it. I’ll try to get things straightened out to the best of my abilities.

“Right. Thank you.”

Kouji bowed and slipped off to do a man’s job.

Hopefully after combing his unruly hair.

Kouji leaned back against a wall in the palace gardens and groaned. He’d had a long few weeks, and wasn’t looking forward to a long trip. Granted, there was a fifty percent chance that Ty Lee would be sent on the search for Zuko’s uncle instead, but Kouji had grown so used to shouldering responsibility that he was fairly certain he would be tagged to go.

But what if those idiots in the palace overscheduled the Firelord again? Who would make sure that Zuko actually kept to sane hours if he was gone?

“Excuse me…” An old man, one he didn’t recognize had approached him.

Startled, the boy looked up. “Yes?”

Apparently, the stress he was under was showing, because the old man frowned, concerned, and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Kouji said easily. Except for the part where I think I’m in over my head and my limbs are tired of treading water. Is this what Zuko feels like?

“…What’s wrong?” The old man obviously saw through his pretence.

The boy hesitated, then shrugged. “Sometimes I think I’m in over my head.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s part of the job description, I think. Did you need something, sir?”

“I’m actually looking for my nephew,” he said, with a small, fond smile.

Kouji considered this. “Well, if you come with me, I should be able to take you to someone who could help you with that.”

“I’m glad,” he said. “It’s been quite a while since we spoke. To be honest… I’m somewhat afraid he’s gotten in a bit over his head, as well.”

“It seems to be an epidemic around here,” muttered Kouji as he rose to his feet. He hadn’t worn shoes since the day Azula had kidnapped him.

The old man smiled again. “I think it might be a problem with most of the world.”

“Good point.” He began leading the man not to the palace — Azula was firmly on his mind — but to one of the guards, who could surely help.

The guard seemed to recognize the old man. His eyes widened and he bowed. “General! I hadn’t heard you were back.”

Kouji froze as the pieces clicked into place. Nephew, general, age… Grey eyes went wide.

“I only just arrived, Lieutenant,” the old man replied, smiling and bowing back.

One clear thought came through the many going through Kouji’s head: I guess Ty Lee or I don’t need to go find him.

The General spent a few minutes talking with the lieutenant, then turned back to Kouji. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name…”

“It’s K-Kouji, General,” he said, and cursed his stammer.

Iroh bowed. “It’s good to meet you, Kouji.”

He bowed back. “And you as well, General.” There! He managed without stammering.

“The lieutenant told me you can help me find my nephew?”

…oh, spirits. “Yes. I can.”

Iroh smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Kouji didn’t smile back this time. “…you haven’t head anything, have you,” he said quietly.

The old man’s smile faded. “What is it? What’s happening?”

Taking a deep breath, the boy explained everything to him.

Iroh looked more and more horrified as Kouji went on. “How is he now?” he asked, when Kouji was done.

“Unhappy,” Kouji replied. “With Katara, Leilani, and Doctor Chang on his heels, he feels as though nothing is getting done.”

The old man sighed. “He never has liked taking the rest he needs.”

“And then we found out that nobody has been in charge of things since he was… indisposed.”

“….how did that happen?”

“We don’t know. I— we’re trying to fix it, but it isn’t easy.”

“Would you like me to help?”

“Please?” Kouji asked quietly.

“Of course,” Iroh replied.

“Thank you.” He wasn’t able to keep the relief from his tone as he knocked on the door to Zuko’s room.

“It’s open,” the young monarch called.

The boy looked up at Iroh.

Iroh pushed the door open. Zuko looked up from where he was working at his desk, then rose. “…Uncle?”

Kouji lingered at the door a moment, hoping that this would be a pleasant reunion.

The two men stood there, staring at one another for a long moment, then embraced.

A smile broke across his face, and Kouji slipped quietly away to inform Ty Lee. Spirits help him.