Categories > Cartoons > Avatar: The Last Airbender > The Chimeras
Chapter Five: Ideals
Three days had passed and a trend began. Cade stopped giving Iroh and Zuko dirty looks every time she saw them, but still refused to speak with them unless asked a direct question. Part of Zuko was glad that he didn't have to interact with her, but another part of him itched to test his skills against her again. It grated on his nerves the thought that he'd won the last spar by mere chance.
Zuko himself spent a great deal of time wandering the island, not really sure of what to do with himself. All of his years of banishment and searching had left him used to being active. He didn't really see much pleasure in his uncle's company any longer, for the old general was usually by Mimiko's side. He saw them one day sitting under the shade of the trees, Iroh grinning like a fool over something the Lady Mimiko had said. It made Zuko feel ill.
"Like a couple of love-sick puppies, aren't they?" came Cade's dry voice. Zuko looked at her in surprise, both at the fact that she'd snuck up on him and that she'd spoken to him.
He smirked, "Sounds about right," he agreed.
Cade's face remained stoic, but Zuko could have sworn he saw a glimmer of humor in her dark eyes. "Master Suoh wants to see you," she told him before turning away.
"Why?" he asked, already following her to the training ring.
"He didn't say," she replied. "But knowing him, he'll be offering you training."
"He'd teach me?" Zuko sounded suspicious. "He'd teach someone from the Fire Nation?"
Cade paused to glance over her shoulder at him, "I suppose. As long as you're willing to be taught by an Earth Kingdom general."
"Well, I suppose I am," Zuko said. "If he can teach me to move as fast as you do anyhow."
"Guess we'll see about that." She hopped over the short fence at circled the training ring. Suoh was standing in the center of the ring, sword in hand. He looked over as Zuko hopped the fence as well and approached cautiously.
"Let's begin, young prince."
________________
Iroh felt completely at home beside Mimiko. The grass beneath them was soft and cool, but not damp despite the shade. The tree kept them under its shadow as they watched their young wards train together.
A sudden thought passed through Iroh's mind. "Should we worry about the two of them following our path, beloved? I do not know young Cade well, but my nephew is impetuous and has had too many lonely hours for a young man his age."
Mimiko chuckled warmly. "I really doubt it, my dragon dear." She watched as Suoh disarmed Zuko with ease and grinned at the prince's fallen face. "Cade is quite rash and lonelier than even she cares to admit, but her anger and hatred of the Fire Nation will keep her from becoming infatuated with Prince Zuko."
"Hm. They do say that opposites attract though."
"Opposites?" Mimiko laughed and shook her head. "Iroh, beloved, are you blind? I've never seen two people more alike. That's another reason I think we don't need to worry."
Iroh turned his attention back to the training ring and realized that Mimiko was right. For all that they were on opposites sides of a war; they were cut from the same cloth. He took Mimiko's hand in his and kissed it gently, "You always did have a better eye than me, Mimi."
A thoughtful look crossed Mimiko's face and captured his eyes with her own. "No one's called me that for decades, you know." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger against his skin. "I've missed you, Iroh."
Comfortable warmth spread over Iroh's face as he blushed. "And I've missed you too, Mimi."
___________________
(Approximately 40 years earlier)
He looked up as a beam of light suddenly appeared across the scroll in his hands. At the tent flap, holding up a corner and peeking in, was the girl he'd met a few days earlier. Mimi was her name, he recalled as he stared up at her. Almost against his will, he smiled at her. A smiled stretched over her face as well, but it seemed rather forced. "Hi," she said, her voice a little rough.
"Afternoon," he replied.
"Can you spare time for a walk?"
He blinked, surprised. "What on earth for?" It was unusual, after all, for a camp follower to approach a soldier during the day.
Mimi looked uncomfortable. "Well, it's...a nice day...and there's...there is something I think you need to see."
Iroh studied her a moment, suspicious. But there was absolutely nothing in her stance or demeanor that suggested she was planning to seduce him. In fact, if anything she looked frightened...and there was anger buried deep there as well. What had she seen that would invoke such feelings in someone who regularly sold her own body?
Out of curiosity and a touch of concern, he nodded and followed her out of the campsite and into the woods. Her pace was brisk, clearing away the remnants of his 'seduction' suspicions. She barely even glanced behind back to make sure he was behind her.
Iroh knew from scouts' reports that there was a small Earth Kingdom town through the woods. The Fire Nation already had control of it so Iroh had dismissed it as being unimportant. Clearly though, the town was Mimi's destination, for she was cutting a clear path through the trees.
"Where exactly are we going?" he finally asked. He could see the town through the trees now, but Mimi seemed to alter her course slightly. She didn't reply at first and then asked, her voice low.
"Are you aware that some of your soldiers visit this town?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," Iroh replied.
Mimi stopped and looked at him intently, as though trying to decide something. Finally, she started walking again with a sharp, "Follow me." She led him to a corner of the town hidden by tall trees and brush. Iroh heard their voices before seeing a small number of soldiers standing behind a large building. They seemed to be waiting for something. He was about to approach them when Mimi suddenly grabbed him and pulled him down behind a bush. She put a finger to her lips to ask for silence and then pointed to the scene before them. Iroh frowned and did as she asked. Several tense and silent minutes, he watched before two more soldiers appeared. They held between them an elderly man with his arms twisted painfully behind his back.
One of the soldiers stood before the old man, arms crossed. "Judging by what I see, you've failed to bring us the money, correct?"
"Please," the old man begged, "I've never had that much money in my life. How could I have collected it in a mere three days?"
"And you've also tried to hide your daughters from us, haven't you?"
Iroh felt a swoop of smoldering anger hit the bottom of his stomach. Was the soldiers' intent what it seemed to be?
"Fortunately, you weren't very good at hiding them, my good man," the solider continued. He nodded to the side, where three other soldiers appeared, each holding a young woman. "So there's no harm done."
"I beg you, please let them go!" the townsman cried desperately. "They're innocent girls!"
"Not for long."
"That's enough!" Iroh shouted brusquely, standing quickly and marched towards the apparent leader of the gathered soldiers. "What do you think you are doing?" he demanded of the man. "Release this man and his daughters at once. I am disgusted at what I see before me!"
The soldier, who had paled at the sight of Iroh, now swayed dangerously. "Lieutenant Iroh! I...we..."
"I don't want to hear it, sergeant," Iroh snapped, cutting him off. "You men are hereby forbidden from entering this town and any future towns we camp near. Get back to camp at once!" The soldiers quickly dispersed at his orders, each worrying for his rank and life. Iroh turned to the townsman and his three daughters, "I apologize for the conduct of those men. I will see to it that such behavior is never repeated."
"Thank you," the old man replied, bowing his head graciously. "You've saved my girls from a horrible fate, sir. I cannot begin to thank you enough." He ushered his daughters away, all looking extremely relieved.
Iroh turned back to the woods to see Mimi standing beside the tree. She was looking at him in almost amazement. "That was very good of you," she said at last.
"How did you know this was going to happen?" he asked her, suddenly wondering.
"Three days ago, I saw those soldiers threatening the old man," she said. "They told him that he had three days time to either present his daughters to them or pay 500 gold pieces for each girl for them to be spared."
"Why didn't you do anything about this three days ago then? You could have confronted the men yourself without getting me involved. They would have scattered like sheep if they knew they'd been spotted."
Mimi gave a bitter chuckle and smirked at him. "If I had confronted them myself, I would have been laughed at and raped along with the other girls. And within a day, no one would care. Especially not those men."
"The father of the girls could have turned them in," he pointed out.
"Poor men's words have very little weight in this world, Lieutenant," Mimi answered sourly. "But I suppose you wouldn't know much about that, being one of the Fire Lord's sons." She turned on her heel and stalked off into the forest before he could respond.
__________________
It took him a full two days before he sought her out. He waited until evening, found a small cluster of camp followers and asked for her. The women seemed absolutely stunned that he was speaking with them considering the way he'd gone out of his way to avoid them. One rather bold one, however, managed to answer. "She was hiding out by the woods last I saw. I doubt she's in the mood for, ah, /work /right now," she added, hoping that the lieutenant would choose a different girl.
Iroh quickly thanked her and started for the shadow encased trees. Just as the woman had said, there was Mimi, settled quite comfortably in the branches of the nearest tree. As he grew closer, he could hear her humming a soft tune. "Mimi?" he called from the bottom of the tree. She looked down at him, but her face was too shadowed for him to read her expression. "Care to come down? I'd like to talk to you."
"You're talking right now," she pointed out, not moving.
He sighed and hung his head a moment. "Please come down?" No response. "Please?"
There was a rustle of leaves and she dropped from the tree. Straightening, she crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Iroh, suddenly at a loss for the words he'd been practicing all day, cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I...uh...I just wanted to say that, well, you were right."
"About what?"
Damn she was making this difficult. "About...what happened at the town. You did the right thing by getting help. I thought about it and realized that if even if you'd said something after seeing the men threaten the townsman, very few people would have taken the word of a camp follower seriously."
"Which is why I needed someone to see it," she finished for him, nodding. She shrugged then and smiled. "You know, I never expected you to seek me out, let alone apologize to me. Maybe there's hope for you 'dogs of war' yet."
"Oh?" he replied, his mocking tone matching hers. "Do you really think so?" He took a step towards her.
She, in turn, took a step back. "Nope." With that, she turned and ran into the woods, giving him no option but to chase her.
Which he gladly did.
______________________
(/Present day/)
Zuko, breathing heavily, held up his hands in defeat. "Please... I beg of you... Spare me."
Cade actually laughed, astounding all watching. She smirked and let her sword fall to her side. Suoh clapped his hands once to signal the spar was over. Zuko at once plopped down into the dust, feeling too tired to stand. Suoh gave him a slight smile and offered his hand to the fallen prince. "You did well for the first lesson," he said as he helped Zuko to his feet. He looked at both of his students. "Walk around the edge of the ring until you're cooled off. Then you can rest."
Zuko and Cade did as he commanded.
Iroh blinked, realizing that he'd been daydreaming. He looked at Mimiko and smiled to see that she was dozing quietly beside him. Yes, he felt quite at home there. More than he'd ever felt anywhere else save for the Fire Nation. This was where he belonged.
Glancing at the practice ring and seeing his nephew and Cade walking side by side quite amiably, he had hopes that Zuko would find a place there as well.
Three days had passed and a trend began. Cade stopped giving Iroh and Zuko dirty looks every time she saw them, but still refused to speak with them unless asked a direct question. Part of Zuko was glad that he didn't have to interact with her, but another part of him itched to test his skills against her again. It grated on his nerves the thought that he'd won the last spar by mere chance.
Zuko himself spent a great deal of time wandering the island, not really sure of what to do with himself. All of his years of banishment and searching had left him used to being active. He didn't really see much pleasure in his uncle's company any longer, for the old general was usually by Mimiko's side. He saw them one day sitting under the shade of the trees, Iroh grinning like a fool over something the Lady Mimiko had said. It made Zuko feel ill.
"Like a couple of love-sick puppies, aren't they?" came Cade's dry voice. Zuko looked at her in surprise, both at the fact that she'd snuck up on him and that she'd spoken to him.
He smirked, "Sounds about right," he agreed.
Cade's face remained stoic, but Zuko could have sworn he saw a glimmer of humor in her dark eyes. "Master Suoh wants to see you," she told him before turning away.
"Why?" he asked, already following her to the training ring.
"He didn't say," she replied. "But knowing him, he'll be offering you training."
"He'd teach me?" Zuko sounded suspicious. "He'd teach someone from the Fire Nation?"
Cade paused to glance over her shoulder at him, "I suppose. As long as you're willing to be taught by an Earth Kingdom general."
"Well, I suppose I am," Zuko said. "If he can teach me to move as fast as you do anyhow."
"Guess we'll see about that." She hopped over the short fence at circled the training ring. Suoh was standing in the center of the ring, sword in hand. He looked over as Zuko hopped the fence as well and approached cautiously.
"Let's begin, young prince."
________________
Iroh felt completely at home beside Mimiko. The grass beneath them was soft and cool, but not damp despite the shade. The tree kept them under its shadow as they watched their young wards train together.
A sudden thought passed through Iroh's mind. "Should we worry about the two of them following our path, beloved? I do not know young Cade well, but my nephew is impetuous and has had too many lonely hours for a young man his age."
Mimiko chuckled warmly. "I really doubt it, my dragon dear." She watched as Suoh disarmed Zuko with ease and grinned at the prince's fallen face. "Cade is quite rash and lonelier than even she cares to admit, but her anger and hatred of the Fire Nation will keep her from becoming infatuated with Prince Zuko."
"Hm. They do say that opposites attract though."
"Opposites?" Mimiko laughed and shook her head. "Iroh, beloved, are you blind? I've never seen two people more alike. That's another reason I think we don't need to worry."
Iroh turned his attention back to the training ring and realized that Mimiko was right. For all that they were on opposites sides of a war; they were cut from the same cloth. He took Mimiko's hand in his and kissed it gently, "You always did have a better eye than me, Mimi."
A thoughtful look crossed Mimiko's face and captured his eyes with her own. "No one's called me that for decades, you know." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger against his skin. "I've missed you, Iroh."
Comfortable warmth spread over Iroh's face as he blushed. "And I've missed you too, Mimi."
___________________
(Approximately 40 years earlier)
He looked up as a beam of light suddenly appeared across the scroll in his hands. At the tent flap, holding up a corner and peeking in, was the girl he'd met a few days earlier. Mimi was her name, he recalled as he stared up at her. Almost against his will, he smiled at her. A smiled stretched over her face as well, but it seemed rather forced. "Hi," she said, her voice a little rough.
"Afternoon," he replied.
"Can you spare time for a walk?"
He blinked, surprised. "What on earth for?" It was unusual, after all, for a camp follower to approach a soldier during the day.
Mimi looked uncomfortable. "Well, it's...a nice day...and there's...there is something I think you need to see."
Iroh studied her a moment, suspicious. But there was absolutely nothing in her stance or demeanor that suggested she was planning to seduce him. In fact, if anything she looked frightened...and there was anger buried deep there as well. What had she seen that would invoke such feelings in someone who regularly sold her own body?
Out of curiosity and a touch of concern, he nodded and followed her out of the campsite and into the woods. Her pace was brisk, clearing away the remnants of his 'seduction' suspicions. She barely even glanced behind back to make sure he was behind her.
Iroh knew from scouts' reports that there was a small Earth Kingdom town through the woods. The Fire Nation already had control of it so Iroh had dismissed it as being unimportant. Clearly though, the town was Mimi's destination, for she was cutting a clear path through the trees.
"Where exactly are we going?" he finally asked. He could see the town through the trees now, but Mimi seemed to alter her course slightly. She didn't reply at first and then asked, her voice low.
"Are you aware that some of your soldiers visit this town?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," Iroh replied.
Mimi stopped and looked at him intently, as though trying to decide something. Finally, she started walking again with a sharp, "Follow me." She led him to a corner of the town hidden by tall trees and brush. Iroh heard their voices before seeing a small number of soldiers standing behind a large building. They seemed to be waiting for something. He was about to approach them when Mimi suddenly grabbed him and pulled him down behind a bush. She put a finger to her lips to ask for silence and then pointed to the scene before them. Iroh frowned and did as she asked. Several tense and silent minutes, he watched before two more soldiers appeared. They held between them an elderly man with his arms twisted painfully behind his back.
One of the soldiers stood before the old man, arms crossed. "Judging by what I see, you've failed to bring us the money, correct?"
"Please," the old man begged, "I've never had that much money in my life. How could I have collected it in a mere three days?"
"And you've also tried to hide your daughters from us, haven't you?"
Iroh felt a swoop of smoldering anger hit the bottom of his stomach. Was the soldiers' intent what it seemed to be?
"Fortunately, you weren't very good at hiding them, my good man," the solider continued. He nodded to the side, where three other soldiers appeared, each holding a young woman. "So there's no harm done."
"I beg you, please let them go!" the townsman cried desperately. "They're innocent girls!"
"Not for long."
"That's enough!" Iroh shouted brusquely, standing quickly and marched towards the apparent leader of the gathered soldiers. "What do you think you are doing?" he demanded of the man. "Release this man and his daughters at once. I am disgusted at what I see before me!"
The soldier, who had paled at the sight of Iroh, now swayed dangerously. "Lieutenant Iroh! I...we..."
"I don't want to hear it, sergeant," Iroh snapped, cutting him off. "You men are hereby forbidden from entering this town and any future towns we camp near. Get back to camp at once!" The soldiers quickly dispersed at his orders, each worrying for his rank and life. Iroh turned to the townsman and his three daughters, "I apologize for the conduct of those men. I will see to it that such behavior is never repeated."
"Thank you," the old man replied, bowing his head graciously. "You've saved my girls from a horrible fate, sir. I cannot begin to thank you enough." He ushered his daughters away, all looking extremely relieved.
Iroh turned back to the woods to see Mimi standing beside the tree. She was looking at him in almost amazement. "That was very good of you," she said at last.
"How did you know this was going to happen?" he asked her, suddenly wondering.
"Three days ago, I saw those soldiers threatening the old man," she said. "They told him that he had three days time to either present his daughters to them or pay 500 gold pieces for each girl for them to be spared."
"Why didn't you do anything about this three days ago then? You could have confronted the men yourself without getting me involved. They would have scattered like sheep if they knew they'd been spotted."
Mimi gave a bitter chuckle and smirked at him. "If I had confronted them myself, I would have been laughed at and raped along with the other girls. And within a day, no one would care. Especially not those men."
"The father of the girls could have turned them in," he pointed out.
"Poor men's words have very little weight in this world, Lieutenant," Mimi answered sourly. "But I suppose you wouldn't know much about that, being one of the Fire Lord's sons." She turned on her heel and stalked off into the forest before he could respond.
__________________
It took him a full two days before he sought her out. He waited until evening, found a small cluster of camp followers and asked for her. The women seemed absolutely stunned that he was speaking with them considering the way he'd gone out of his way to avoid them. One rather bold one, however, managed to answer. "She was hiding out by the woods last I saw. I doubt she's in the mood for, ah, /work /right now," she added, hoping that the lieutenant would choose a different girl.
Iroh quickly thanked her and started for the shadow encased trees. Just as the woman had said, there was Mimi, settled quite comfortably in the branches of the nearest tree. As he grew closer, he could hear her humming a soft tune. "Mimi?" he called from the bottom of the tree. She looked down at him, but her face was too shadowed for him to read her expression. "Care to come down? I'd like to talk to you."
"You're talking right now," she pointed out, not moving.
He sighed and hung his head a moment. "Please come down?" No response. "Please?"
There was a rustle of leaves and she dropped from the tree. Straightening, she crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Iroh, suddenly at a loss for the words he'd been practicing all day, cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I...uh...I just wanted to say that, well, you were right."
"About what?"
Damn she was making this difficult. "About...what happened at the town. You did the right thing by getting help. I thought about it and realized that if even if you'd said something after seeing the men threaten the townsman, very few people would have taken the word of a camp follower seriously."
"Which is why I needed someone to see it," she finished for him, nodding. She shrugged then and smiled. "You know, I never expected you to seek me out, let alone apologize to me. Maybe there's hope for you 'dogs of war' yet."
"Oh?" he replied, his mocking tone matching hers. "Do you really think so?" He took a step towards her.
She, in turn, took a step back. "Nope." With that, she turned and ran into the woods, giving him no option but to chase her.
Which he gladly did.
______________________
(/Present day/)
Zuko, breathing heavily, held up his hands in defeat. "Please... I beg of you... Spare me."
Cade actually laughed, astounding all watching. She smirked and let her sword fall to her side. Suoh clapped his hands once to signal the spar was over. Zuko at once plopped down into the dust, feeling too tired to stand. Suoh gave him a slight smile and offered his hand to the fallen prince. "You did well for the first lesson," he said as he helped Zuko to his feet. He looked at both of his students. "Walk around the edge of the ring until you're cooled off. Then you can rest."
Zuko and Cade did as he commanded.
Iroh blinked, realizing that he'd been daydreaming. He looked at Mimiko and smiled to see that she was dozing quietly beside him. Yes, he felt quite at home there. More than he'd ever felt anywhere else save for the Fire Nation. This was where he belonged.
Glancing at the practice ring and seeing his nephew and Cade walking side by side quite amiably, he had hopes that Zuko would find a place there as well.
Sign up to rate and review this story