FicWad

Grief



(Five days after the Fall of Azula and Iroh. Kuzo, Ty Lee, and Lan are navigating towards Piandao's Home)



It is a clear day as Ty Lee carefully pokes at smooth black stones, heating in the camp fire. She hears rustling in the woods around her and begins listening intently. Judging by the footfall weight and gait, she determines that it is Kuzo and Lan.

Her assumptions are confirmed as they both emerge out of the forest. Kuzo has a string of woodland animals and wild vegetables hanging from his shoulders. Without so much as a word, he drops the forages next to the fire and heads straight for his tent. Lan looks at Ty Lee and blinks in a particular way.

"Yeah, I know, Lan... I'm worried too, but I think he'll come around soon." (Ty Lee)

Lan nestles next to Ty Lee and seems to begin napping.

The black stones are judged to be fully heated, and Ty Lee calls for Kuzo.

"Kuzooo! Time for your treatment."(Ty Lee)

Easily moving without making a sound, Kuzo appears outside the tent and moves next to the fire. He lazily takes off his dark red shirt and lays down on the ground. Ty Lee takes a pair of long chopsticks and begins placing the black stones all over Kuzo's body.

"Remember the placements. Even if you weren't being treated, this is important training for Qi Blocking." (Ty Lee)

All throughout his body, Kuzo could feel the burning stones being positioned directly above his vital points. Though painful, it was nowhere as bad as it should have been. The emotional trauma he had been put through in recent events, had made any form of physical pain feel distant. Even if he was supposed to be consciously memorizing the acupuncture points as they were literally being burnt into his body, Kuzo couldn't help but feel his mind fade away somewhere else. Ty Lee took note of this.

"There'll be a test later tonight," she warned.

"... Yes, Sifu Ty Lee," Kuzo emotionlessly responded.

She began testing and massaging the young boy's muscles, trying to get an accurate read of his Qi flow.

This is bad... He should have gotten his bending back acouple of days ago. But his energy is a complete mess. The channels are all tangled and the energy just isn't getting distributed correctly...

His emotions must be effecting his recovery.

After around half an hour, Ty Lee removed the stones from his body. Kuzo sat up and stretched, and immediately went back into his tent. Once the sun had set, the two cooked dinner and Ty Lee tested her student's Qi knowledge. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly anymore, Kuzo was able to answer all the test questions and identified all the various acupuncture points with deftly accuracy. Even if he was not paying attention to his Sifu's lectures completely consciously, his mind seemed to absorb the material as if on autopilot.

Something needs to happen and it needs to happen soon....



__________________________



Two more days went by uninterestingly, as they made progress towards Piandao's home. Traveling, hunting, treatment, Qi Point training, and then sleep. Unfortunately, Kuzo's bending had yet to return. The worst part was that the young Avatar didn't seem to mind at all.

He was a shadow of his former self. The boy who was so eager to train, to master his abilities, who worked relentlessly at his drills and practice forms, began to seem like a distant memory of someone else. The fire that burned in his heart, the energy and life that had drawn and at the same time, intimidated others, had been snuffed out.

Ty Lee and Kuzo began sparring later the next day. She was hoping that some fighting or some intense physical exertion would help him work through the pain. It was remarkable how quickly the he had picked it all up. It was a millimeter by millimeter replication of the motions Ty Lee had performed. The only problem was that it lacked a certain edge behind it.

The Master had quickly bested her student, who laid down pathetically paralyzed on the ground. Ty Lee had grown desperate. She had to do/something/.

"Get up, Kuzo."(Ty Lee)

Kuzo's body trembled slightly but then stopped.

"You were able to forcefully reopen your Qi Channels before. Something that should have been near impossible on willpower alone."(Ty Lee)

No response. Just a young boy looking up blankly at the sky.

Alright...

"Think of your mother, Kuzo. Think of Iroh! Remember how they fought and sacrificed themselves for you!"(Ty Lee)

"It won't work, Sifu.... I am sorry."(Kuzo)

The words came out so soft and diminished, it took Ty Lee by surprise.

"I know what you are trying to do. I am fully aware of what I must do. I have even prepared myself to accept the deaths of those around me, for as long as I can remember... I was trained for it..."(Kuzo)

Tears welled up and streaked down the side of his face.

"It is obvious that what's most important is my becoming the true Avatar... That it was what mother and Uncle would have wanted... It is what Iwant..."(Kuzo)

Kuzo grit his teeth in frustration and grief.

"I KNOW THIS!!!"(Kuzo)

He exhaled with a shuddering breath.

"But for some reason... I just can't do it..."(Kuzo)

Kuzo closed his eyes in shame as rain began to fall.

"I've grieved long enough. What must I do to move forward, Sifu? Why was I not ready? Why couldn't I save them? Why aren't I fighting right now..."(Kuzo)

Ty Lee stood over him and shook her head.

"No one can train you for what happened, Kuzo. Nothing could have been prepared..." Ty Lee said consolingly as she kneeled down beside him.

"As for the answer, to moving on, I am afraid I cannot give you that either. That's something you'll have to figure out on your own..."(Ty Lee)

Kuzo inhaled deeply and exhaled a painful sigh.

"But I am glad of one thing, my young student. I don't have any more doubts about you recovering now. Hearing what you've just said, I can rest at ease."(Ty Lee)

Kuzo looked into his Master's smiling face confusedly.

"Kuzo... You are much stronger than you believe you are. Sometimes, it's like you've got a maturity and self-awareness way beyond your years."(Ty Lee)

She had seen it. For a brief moment, she had seen it. The flicker of fire in his eyes. A flame that cried out to burn bright and strong once again. Begging to see the light of day and release from its shadows.

It's only been a week since it happened. I keep forgetting he's a kid... Considering the short time, he's actually coping with it all unbelievably well. There just needs to be that one something, and he'll be back on his feet. He himself wants to return. He hasn't given up or fallen completely apart like anyone normally would. Kuzo's practically speed running all the stages of grief.

Ty Lee violently jabbed Kuzo's pressure points. Regaining control over his body, he sat up painfully and began rotating his stiff joints.

"Can you go another round?"(Ty Lee)

Kuzo looks down on his palm and makes a fist. Opening and closing it again, revitalizing the feeling in his fingers.

"... Yes!"(Kuzo)

The Avatar stood up with a more resolved expression than before. He