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Small Flame Twenty-Three Zukoline
Title: Small Flame
Authors: Eleanor and Puck
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Rating: PG-13 for language
Summary: A retelling of the tv-series with one major difference: A boy named Kouji is added to Zuko's retinue, and the story is largely told from his point of view. And if anyone can come up with a better summary, PLEASE. Do so.

One | Two | Three | Four | Five
Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten
Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen | Fifteen
Sixteen | Seventeen | Eighteen | Nineteen | Twenty
Twenty-One | Twenty-Two

Zuko had told Kouji to act as though nothing was wrong, and the younger boy was doing his best.  Still, he couldn’t help but worry that something would go awry, and that they’d be caught.  On the other hand, Hyo hadn’t noticed anything amiss the night before, so maybe…

The boy looked down at the note clenched in his hand and sighed.  There's no way I can get this to her, is there?  He didn't want to just up and vanish on Ty Lee — she was his friend, after all, and his teacher as well — but it seemed that leaving her a message might well be impossible.

I'm sorry… he thought, slipping off towards where the balloons were kept.

"Kouji? Why aren't you down in the bunker?" Maybe it wouldn't be so impossible to get her a message.

Startled,  the boy looked up. "T-Ty Lee!" he cried.  "What are you doing here?"

"Mostly watching. Zuli doesn't want me and Mai to get directly involved 'less we have to. Why aren't you in the bunker with everyone else?"

This could get very, very bad, he thought, biting his lip.  "I…"

"Are you running away?" she asked, quietly.

Kouji hesitated, then nodded.  He fished in his pocket and produced his note.  "I… I wanted to get this to you before, but I didn't know how…"

She took the note and scanned it. "Oh. Oh, dear."

Worried, Kouji watched her.  What would she do now?

"I'm really, really sorry, Kou-kou. I have to stop you…"

The boy's heart sank.  "Please," he whispered.  "I don't want to fight you, Ty Lee."

"I don't wanna fight you, either," she said, sadly.

I'm going to lose this… and Zuko will be caught, and it'll all be over…  Kouji's heart threatened to hammer its way out of his chest.  "Please…"

"I have to," she said quietly, shifting positions.

"She'll have me killed," he said, desperately.  "As a lesson to Zu."

"She won't kill you," Ty Lee replied. "She'll hold you as bait to get him back."

"That's even worse."  Kouji had widened his stance.  Ty Lee was fast, far faster than he was.  He'd have to rely on his bending to have even a prayer of getting away — not to attack her, no, but to read her body.

"She's not gonna let him leave, either," Ty Lee replied. "So it's a moot point."

"You'll tell her?"  Shit!  I can't let her…

"I have to. Assuming no one catches him leaving..."

Kouji closed his eyes and tried not to whimper.  "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Yeah. Me, too."

I've got two choices.  Fight her, or let her catch me.   His eyes snapped open.  Or I make a third option! 

The boy slammed his foot down onto the floor and thrust his arms down; the stone obediently gave way, plummeting Kouji down a floor.  Before Ty Lee could follow through the hole, he raised his arms over his head and slashed them from right to left, closing off the drop.

Thankfully, the only person in the room was a teenaged girl he only vaguely recognized, despite her distinctive eyes.

Kouji blinked as his face turned red.  "Um, sorry," he squeaked.  "I'll just be going."

"Are you hurt? You fell from the ceiling."

"Fine, I'm fine.  Fallen further."

The girl tilted her head, considering. "You're Prince Zuko's hedgepuppy, aren't you."

No use denying it.  Kouji nodded, wondering if he'd have to go down another floor before he could get to the balloons.

She frowned. "And he let you out of the bunker during an invasion. Really."

"Uh, I have to go now," he said, turning for the door.

Somehow, she got there before him. "Is he leaving, too, or are you running away?"

Argh, I just had to tell Ty Lee, didn't I?  He shrugged.

"If you're leaving alone, he'll come after you, you know."

Kouji nodded.  Of course he knew.  Zuko'd gone after him in the desert.

"And if he runs, there are enough people who might side with him that we'd be facing civil war."

The boy blinked.  "Wait, what?"  He winced when his voice soared an octave on the last word.

"He's the crown prince, even if everyone knows who the favourite is. If he leaves now, people will assume he's plotting rebellion. And there are enough people who might join him that we could have serious problems," the girl elaborated quietly. "Have you two thought this through?"

Kouji raised his hands.  "I dunno what he's doing.  I'm going with him so I don't get used against him."  And this is wasting time, Ty Lee is probably almost here!

She considered, then nodded and sighed. "You're taking a balloon?"

Another shrug.  What is she doing?

"I'm not going to report you, Prince Zuko's Hedgepuppy," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Then why are you in my way?" Kouji countered.  Gah!  When does this stupid voice changing thing end?

"Because I don't want a civil war," she shot back. "Reporting you might do that, too."

I'm going to have to go through the floor again, aren't I?  He tested the stone with his foot; the room beneath him seemed empty, at least.

"On the other hand..." She frowned, studying him. "I am gonna be in such deep shit," she muttered, then grabbed his wrist. "Come on, there's a faster way to the balloons."

Kouji's eyes widened and locked on hers —  then went even wider.  Blue eyes… she has blue eyes…

She led him through the palace unchallenged, except for getting shouted at by a couple scurrying soldiers to get down into the bunker, but no one tried to actively enforce this order.  Kouji followed, always keeping one foot out for the Dai Li — who were nowhere to be found — and for Ty Lee.

Ty Lee had been left behind, or possibly distracted by invaders. Either way, she wasn't in Kouji's range, not with all the confusion of the fighting obscuring individuals.  Kouji was relieved, and guilty for feeling relieved, and all in all generally confused.  Zuko, where are you?

The blue-eyed noble girl got him to the balloon and helped him secure it. "What's your name, Prince Zuko's Hedgepuppy?" she asked, perching on the rim of the basket and fiddling with a knife.

"K-Kouji," he managed to get out without squeaking.

"I'm Hitomi," she replied.

"N-nice to meet you?"

"You, too," she said, bowing her head.

His flush finally starting to fade, Kouji packed the balloon with his and Zuko's belongings.  He refused to look towards the sky as shadow fell all around them — the eclipse had finally begun.  Hitomi shivered when it did, hands twitching slightly. "It's only eight minutes," she whispered.

He looked over at her.  "Firebender?"

She nodded, managing a tense little smile. "And you're an earthbender. Fascinating, that."

The flush came back.  "Colony-born."

She nodded. Her hands twitched again.

"…you don't need to stay here," Kouji pointed out.

"I want to talk to him," she said quietly. "Make sure he understands everything he's risking."

The boy sighed and settled in to wait.

Halfway through the eclipse, Hitomi hopped off the balloon and started pacing.  Kouji was inclined to do the same.  What's taking him so long?

Hitomi let out a sigh of relief when the sky lit up again. She danced a small flame around one of her hands.  It's going to Hell in a handbasket real soon, thought the colonist, watching her.  Zuko, come on!

The prince ran up to join them about seven minutes later, trying to smooth down his hair, which was standing on end.  "Niisan!"  Kouji cried, throwing himself at his brother-prince.  "What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Lady Hitomi, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure you know what you're doing," she said, quietly. "There are people who might side with you. You know what that might mean."

Zuko flinched and smoothed his hair down again. "Yeah. I know. It's still the right thing to do."

Kouji looked from one to the other.  Either way, we have no choice now.  Ty Lee will tell Azula, and if we go back…

Hitomi watched him for a long moment, then nodded. "If someone offers you an army..."

Zuko flinched again, and snapped, "I won't take it."

"Niisan," Kouji said urgently, keeping an eye on the skies.  War balloons and airships were starting to take to the air.

"I know, I know," he said, smoothing his hair again. "We can't leave 'til we know which direction to go." He turned to Hitomi again. "Help me prep this."

After staring at him for a minute, she muttered something about going to hell and nodded.

Kouji quickly scrambled into the basket and tucked himself out of the way.

The two teenagers climbed in and started carefully inflating the balloon and getting it ready for takeoff. Every five seconds or so, Zuko checked the sky.  Kouji watched as well, having nothing better to do, and he was fairly certain he knew what Zuko was looking for.

No sooner had Zuko and Hitomi gotten the balloon prepped that Zuko spotted it. He hesitated a minute, then studied Hitomi. "Come with us."

She shook her head. "Sorry. Can't do that. But good luck." She climbed out of the balloon.

"Goodbye," Kouji said quietly.

Zuko bowed slightly in her direction, then started getting the balloon off the ground. Hitomi cut the ropes tying it down, and they were off.  Kouji stood and peered over the edge, watching the blue-eyed noblewoman get smaller and smaller, until she was gone, disappeared back inside.

He sighed and turned back to his brother-prince.  "What happened?"

He was silent for a long minute, watching the horizon.

Kouji waited, then asked, "Niisan?"

"Huh?"

"What happened?" he repeated.

He shook himself. "N-nothing." He went back to staring at the horizon.

"Your hair is standing up straight," Kouji pointed out.  "That isn't 'nothing'."  The last time that had happened, Zuko had… deflected…  The colonist's eyes went wide.

"It's no big deal," Zuko said, realizing he'd picked up on it, trying again to smooth it down.

"What happened?  Who threw lightning at you?" the boy demanded.

"I told you. There was something I needed to take care of. It… didn't go exactly as well as I'd hoped."

Kouji crossed his arms over his chest.  "I'm going to keep pestering you until you tell me, niisan."

He sighed. "I went to tell my father I was leaving."

The boy stared at his brother-prince.  "And he…?"

"Well, I did kind of, um, hold him hostage with my swords..."

Silence from Kouji for a few moments, then he sighed.  "And here I was afraid Ty Lee would tell Azula… I wouldn't've worried so much if you'd told me you were telling your father."

"Oh. Sorry."

Kouji wanted to go over and hug his brother-prince, but Zuko was piloting the balloon.  "So… what happens now?"

"We keep following them. When we get there, you wait with the balloon while I go talk to them, and from there… we'll see what happens."

Kouji nodded, and tried very hard not to think of what might happen if the Avatar and his friends rejected Zuko.  The erstwhile prince sighed and turned back to the horizon. "This is going to be so much fun."

"We'll make it through, niisan," Kouji said, putting a hand on his arm.  "We have to."

"Yeah…"

The boy sighed and followed Zuko's gaze.  The bison was just visible on the horizon, heading northeast.

"Bet you five coppers they're heading for the Western Air Temple."

"No bet."

Kouji sighed.  "I gotta find something better than a sure thing to bid on."

"Yeah."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"Dunno. Depends on how fast they go."

With another sigh, Kouji shut up.  They'd get there when they got there, apparently.

Zuko kept them in the air, focusing entirely on the horizon-spot he was following.

 

.

Current Location: ARC Cafeteria
Current Mood: content
Current Music: Man, I Feel Like A Woman - Shania Twain
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