4

shut up and wait for
~  the breakdown ~

It took the trio of fugitives roughly half an hour to decide that Ember Island had not, in fact, been the best place to lie low.  Mai had initially chosen it because it was a popular location for the teenage population of the Fire Nation, and thus blending in would be a simple task.  Unfortunately, she hadn't realised what that fact actually entailed, and while watching Haru's varied reactions to being flirted with by any number of men was pretty funny, undue attention was being directed to them.  Sooner or later Ty Lee or Mai would run into an old classmate, and everything would go all to hell.

That, or Haru would snap and endanger them all.

Ty Lee was working with him, but her progress reports (which Mai insisted upon) were less than encouraging.  As the week slid by, Haru retreated more and into his shell, until finally one day, the dam burst.

"You want to know what's wrong?" he demanded without warning, whirling on Ty Lee.  Startled by the anger and venom in his voice, she stepped back.  "I can't bend anymore!  Okay!?"

Mai snorted, unimpressed.  "Is that it?" she asked scornfully.  "All this because you aren't special anymore?"  It was cruel, and wrong, and she knew it, but Haru hadn't been the only person there suppressing a reaction to their escape.  She and Ty Lee could have gotten out on their own, damn it!

"You wouldn't understand," Haru snapped.

"Why, because we're not special like you?" Mai demanded in turn.  Too late, she saw the look in his eyes.

"Because you're Fire Nation!" the older teen yelled.  "You're nobles!  Conquerors!  You have no idea what it's like to have to hide an integral part of yourself just to keep the soldiers from throwing you in prison like they did your father, when bending is the only thing that makes you feel close to him!  You can't possibly understand the guilt and shame of watching them take the other earthbenders away one by one, or the fear that one day they'll take you too, leaving your mother alone!  You've got no idea what it's like to have to stand by and do nothing while soldiers degrade and humiliate your mother for five damned years because your father dared to fight back against the invaders!"

His angry green eyes moved from Mai to Ty Lee and back again; Ty Lee looked shocked and a little afraid of his sudden explosion of temper. Mai was as usual emotionless.  "You'll never understand what I, and others, have personally been put through because a century ago, Sozin the Bastard decided that conquering the world sounded like a great idea!"

With that said, he stormed from the smallish beach house they were 'borrowing', slamming the door shut behind him.

The two girls stayed silent for a very long moment, until Mai finally spoke.  "How long do you think he's been holding that in?"

Ty Lee gave her a reproachful look.  "You didn't have to push him that far," she chided her friend quietly.

"It's just as well that I did," Mai replied.  "Something like that… it's best that he got it out now, rather than breaking in the middle of a fight."

"Can he even fight anymore?" Ty Lee wondered.  "Not many benders bother to learn combat beyond their bending.  Zuzu and Azula are the exceptions, not the rule."

"I don't know," Mai replied, "and I don't care.  If he can't, he's a liability and we ought to leave him."

"No," said the acrobat flatly.

Surprised, Mai glanced over at the younger girl.

"He wouldn't have lost his bending if he hadn't gone and saved us," she said firmly.  "It's because of us that he's even here.  We're not leaving him behind."

"He'll slow us down, be a hindrance in a fight," Mai pointed out.

Ty Lee crossed her arms over her chest and glared.  "I don't care.  He's coming with us no matter what."

"…you think you know why he can't bend."

"I have a theory," the acrobat admitted.  "But I can't test it until he trusts me."  Her hand moved up, and she lightly touched her throat.  "And I might not be able to fix it."  Her eyes were sad as she added this.  "I can see and understand auras, but fixing them…"

Mai sighed.  "And we can't stay here much longer," she said.  "Sooner or later they're going to figure out where we are.  We need to leave before then."

"Yeah…"

*          *          *

Once he was outside, Haru began to run.  The intensity of his anger scared him — he had honestly wanted to hit Mai, and striking anyone in anger was not something he did.  He kept running, dodging the teenage elite of the Fire Nation, until, just over the top of a dune, his legs abruptly gave out.  He rolled the rest of the way down, and then remained where he'd landed, breathing heavily as he stared up at the cloudless blue sky.

He wasn't certain how long he lay there, letting his anger and frustration drain away, but the sun was setting when an incredulous — and familiar — voice said, "Haru?"  Startled, the young man sat up and turned to look at the source of the voice.

Two people stood some yards away from him, looking as shocked as he felt.  The girl was armed with two swords, the boy with a longbow and a quiver of arrows.  "Longshot?  Smellerbee?"