It was well into spring now, and it had become very clear that Katara and Firelord Zuko were very much involved.  There were no formal announcements of engagement, but Kouji knew that Katara wouldn’t be able to wed until winter, when she came of age, and he also knew that treaties would have to be worked up.  Not to mention the eventual protests that would spring up from those nobles who saw the waterbender as nothing more than a peasant.

But none of that mattered to Kouji right now.  He was outside Zuko’s room, waiting patiently for the Firelord to finish his session with Leilani so he could ask for the next day off.  He’d meant to ask sooner, but had gotten distracted by quite a few things.

After nearly two hours, it grew very apparent that something was wrong. They should have long since been finished with their talk.

Wondering if Zuko had gotten sidetracked, Kouji rose and set out to look for the teenager.  He didn’t seem to be in the palace, so Kouji headed outside, checking every nook and cranny as well as using bending.

No trace of the young Firelord.

Now Kouji was starting to worry, and began questioning people to see when they’d last seen him.

As far as Kouji or anyone else he asked was able to determine, Zuko had been seen going into his session with Leilani, but not coming out.

And nobody had seen Leilani, either.  Worry escalated to fear, and Kouji determined where the two of them had met and headed there.

They weren’t there. The only thing out of the ordinary was something glimmering slightly on the ground.  Frowning, Kouji knelt and picked it up; something pricked his palm, and he cursed and saw that it was a small dart.

A strange lassitude spread quickly through his body, and he fell unconscious.

 

He woke up some time later in the infirmary.

He was groggy and exhausted, and he couldn’t think straight.  “Wha…?”

“Drink this,” Doctor Chang said, handing him a cup. “It’ll help you wake up.”

It took effort to get his hands to move; in the end, the doctor had to help Kouji drink.  Fortunately, the drink did in fact chase away the mental fog caused by whatever had felled him.

“What happened?” the old man asked, after Kouji had finished the drink.

“Was looking for Zuko,” murmured the boy.  “Couldn’t find him or ‘Lani.  There was a dart—”  His eyes widened as the implications sank in.

The doctor swore. “We need to let the general know.”

“I’ll do it,” said Kouji immediately, rising to his feet and immediately keeling far to the left.

Chang caught him. “Your mind might be clear, but you need to sit for a minute. Sit.”

“Yessir.”  Kouji sat, distressed.

After a few more minutes, Chang finally let him up, telling him to take it slowly.  The young lordling obeyed, and was pleased to find that he didn’t teeter this time.  Iroh was, as usual, in his office.

Keeping one hand on the wall to steady himself, Kouji opened the door and slipped inside, hoping he could cross to the general’s desk without falling over.

“Kouji? What happened?” the general said, noticing right away and helping him to a chair.

“Zuko and ‘Lani are missing,” he reported, grateful for the assistance.

“…Missing? For how long?”

“I don’t know,” said Kouji regretfully.  “I didn’t ask how long I was out.  But I think they went missing during one of their… sessions.”

“…Which means at least five hours. Damn!” Iroh frowned. “You searched the entire palace?”

Kouji nodded.  “And the grounds, too.  I found a dart lying on the grass where they usually meet.”  He sighed.  “But I didn’t know what it was until I’d already stuck myself accidentally.”

“…All right. Search the city. I’ll go let Lady Katara know.” Clearly, the old man thought he was giving Kouji the easier task.

“Right.  Ummm… can I tell Toph if I see her?”

“Good idea.”

Kouji nodded and drummed his heel twice into the floor, using bending to send out the vibrations to let Toph know she was needed.  He also nearly fell out of his chair when dizziness unexpectedly overcame him.

“Careful,” Iroh said, steadying him.

“Thanks,” he said, his head spinning.  “What was in that?”

“I don’t know, you’d have to ask Chang.”

Kouji nodded as his head cleared again.  “Okay.  Okay.  Um.  I’ll start looking through the city, then.”

“Look through the city for what?” Toph said from the doorway.

“For Zuko and Leilani,” replied the boy, getting carefully to his feet.

“…They’re missing? That’s not good.”

“And wherever they are, they were probably drugged,” Kouji added, glancing at Iroh.

Iroh nodded. “I’m going to let Katara know. Let me know what you two find.”

“Got it,” Toph said. “C’mon, Kouji, let’s get started.”

“Right.  Oh, I probably shouldn’t bend for awhile,” he told his teacher, following her.

“The trank messed you up? Some of them do that.”

“Almost fell out of my chair when I called you,” Kouji agreed.

She nodded. “Okay, got it.”

Between the two of them, they searched the entire city. No sign of either Zuko or Leilani.

Now Kouji was afraid.  “This is bad,” he said when he joined Toph again.

“No kidding,” she replied, frowning.

“I’ll let Iroh know.” he told her.  “I think I’m completely over that drug.”

“Sure you don’t want me to do it, just in case?”

“Zuko’s my responsibility,” he countered.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” she said.

“I am.  Thanks for helping me look.”

“No problem,” she replied. “Let me know what the plan is for looking outside the city, I want to help there, too.”

“I will,” he promised, heading for Iroh’s office once more.

This time, Katara was in there with him, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

Kouji hesitated outside the door.  “…no luck,” he finally said.  “They’re not in the city.”

The general swore expressively.

“What do we do now?” Katara asked, clenching and unclenching her fists.

“We keep looking,” said Kouji firmly.  His body radiated anger kept just barely under control.  “We’ll have to go outside the city, of course, but we have to find them.”

“We don’t know where they are, or who took them, or — ”

“But we know how long the darts last. About three hours. Given that whoever took Zuko and Leilani will need some time to secure them before it wears off, there are only a limited number of places they could be.” Iroh pulled out a map and marked several places.

“What if they keep drugging them?” Katara asked, noting the obvious flaw in this solution.

“We have to hope that isn’t happening.”

Kouji’s grey eyes narrowed as he watched Iroh mark the map.  “I can take Qiang with me — she loves Zuko and ought to be able to recognise his scent.  If she can get a trail…”

“You might get lucky,” Iroh agreed.

“I’ll get her and pack,” he said, making ready to bolt down the hall.

“Get some sleep first,” Iroh said. “You’ll move faster in the long run.”

“But I already— fine,” Kouji interrupted himself.  “I’ll try to sleep.”

“Take Toph with you, as well. If they’re underground somewhere, she’ll be more helpful than Qiang.”

“She’d kill me if I left her out,” he told the general.

Iroh smiled slightly. “Yes, she probably would.”

Kouji bowed to the general and headed back to his room to pack.  Again he sent out vibrations to signal Toph, and was pleased that this time, he wasn’t assailed by dizziness.  While he waited for the younger earthbender, he roused Qiang to tell her the situation.

Qiang hissed a little, seeming to understand the situation, and Toph joined him in less than ten minutes. “What’s the plan?”

“Iroh marked some places on a map where they could be.  I memorised them, but it’ll be a long trip regardless.  If they’re continuously drugging ‘Lani and Zuko, well, I’m hoping Qiang will be able to track them.”

Toph nodded. “Guess that’s the best we can hope for.”

“Need time to pack?” Kouji asked her.  “It could be more than a day.”

“I’ll meet you here in fifteen minutes,” she said, after considering a moment.

“Okay.  I’ll get some of Zuko’s clothes — and ‘Lani’s — for Qiang to use.”

She nodded. “Meet you here, then,” she said, and scampered off.

Kouji made good on his promise, and was teaching Qiang the scents she needed to follow when Toph returned.  “You ready?”

“Ready when you are,” she replied. “Let’s go.”