Chapter Text
It wasn’t until they reached the acrid-smelling docks that Mai was reminded why she liked to steer clear of the area. No matter where she, Michi, or Tom-Tom stepped, the oppressive smell of fish seemed to follow them everywhere.
Please don’t let this smell follow me all the way to Kyoshi Island, she thought.
She was painfully aware of her mother’s presence at her side as they arrived at the ship that would take her far away from the Fire Nation. If she were Ty Lee, she’d be doing back flips up the ramp and across the deck. But since she was her, she was going to try and get out of this depressing farewell without having to hug her mother.
“I’ll see you in a month,” she told Michi. She turned her glance to her baby brother, who was clinging to their mother’s leg. “Be good, okay? Don’t eat too many flowers while I’m gone.”
Tom-Tom grinned. “Okay.”
Mai turned to board the ship, but Michi grabbed her by the sleeve.
Damn.
Before she could protest, her mother had her in a bone-crushing hug not even a lion vulture could escape.
“Mother, please, I’ll be fine. It’s just a couple of weeks,” Mai said, desperate to get out of the vice-like grip.
She gently patted Michi on the shoulder. She may have hated hugs, but she didn’t quite have the heart to tell her mother that at the moment. She’d looked so sad before embracing her.
She supposed she shouldn’t complain. In the months since the end of the war, and especially since the revelation that her father was the leader of the New Ozai society, her mother had been increasingly more affectionate toward both of her children, much to Mai’s horror.
Honestly, the hugging wouldn’t be half as terrible if it didn’t cause the well of guilt to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. After all, wouldn’t her parents still be together if she’d just kept everything she’d seen that night a secret?
She pushed the guilt back down into the little box that sat in her heart, locking it tight like she always did, but all she could hear was Ty Lee’s voice.
“You can’t keep doing that forever, you know. You can only outrun yourself for so long.”
Oh yeah? She thought. Watch me.
Mai tried to politely break away from her mother’s embrace to no avail. The minute Michi felt her pull away she just held on tighter, causing Mai to sigh. Her mother’s behavior may have changed, but that didn’t mean Mai’s had to.
“Believe it or not, I’m going to miss that sigh,” Michi said, causing Mai to roll her eyes. “And your overly dramatic eye rolls.”
“How did you--?”
“I’m your mother, young lady, I know everything.”
The conversation she’d had with Zuko yesterday flashed through her mind, and she blushed. Mai hoped her mother hadn’t learned any sort of telepathy in the last few days.
Definitely not everything...
Tom-Tom circled both of their legs, attempting to wedge himself between the two women. (It was his favorite thing to do lately. He called it making a “hug sandwich”, whatever that was.)
A few dock workers scurried around the three of them, muttering under their breath about moving their displays of affection elsewhere. Mai thought of a few choice places they could stick their opinions.
“Ty Lee will be with me,” she said as Michi finally broke off the hug. “We won’t get up to much.”
Her mother pursed her lips.
“The last time you told me that, you ended up becoming enemies of the state,” she reminded her.
“Oh, yeah. Good times.”
Michi frowned. Tom-Tom laughed.
“Mommy mad!”
“Not mad,” Michi said, scooping Tom-Tom up into her arms. “Just worried.”
“Worried about what?” a familiar voice trilled behind them.
Mai turned to see Ty Lee, clad in her typical all-pink ensemble, traipsing toward them. Leave it to Ty Lee to stick out like a sore thumb when she wasn’t on duty. Even the bags slung over her shoulders were pink. If it weren’t for the Kyoshi Warrior protocol, Mai was certain that her friend would have dyed her hair pink by now, too. The bright colors of her clothes stood in stark contrast against the dull, metal hulls of the ships around them, including the Kyoshi Warrior ship, which was bustling with activity.
It reminded Mai of the brilliant pink clouds that graced the Fire Nation horizon every so often. She’d never admit it out loud, but she’d miss those sunsets while she was gone.
Mai looked up at the ship and thought she spied the top of Suki’s auburn head walking across the deck. Her stomach twisted in anticipation. Ty Lee had asked her to join them on Kyoshi Island for the month after the whole Kemurikage incident had been dealt with. The warriors were doing a sort of changing of the guard in order to give Suki, Ty Lee, and the others a little bit of a break from guarding the fire lord, as well as a chance to hone some new fighting techniques to bring back to the palace.
“You look like you could use a vacation,” Ty Lee had joked while visiting the flower shop after Azula had disappeared.
Mai hadn’t argued. In fact, she’d been thinking the same thing after her disastrous meeting with Kei Lo a few days prior. Now here her friend was, offering her an opportunity to leave? She wasn’t one to believe in signs from the universe, but this one seemed a little too loud to ignore.
(Again, if she’d been someone, like, say, her friend Ty Lee, she would’ve cartwheeled all the way home and started immediately throwing things into a bag. Instead, all she’d said was “Sure.” Ty Lee had squealed and hugged her neck so tightly that Mai was certain that any kind of answer to her statement would have resulted in the same reaction. She really had to do something about all of this unnecessary physical contact.)
And although the prospect of leaving with the two warriors she trusted more than anyone to ensure Zuko’s safety made her a little nervous, she knew that if she didn’t get out of here soon, someone would end up pinned to the wall. Or worse.
“I just want you girls to be safe,” Michi was saying. “You know how I worry these days. Especially after the week we’ve had.”
“You’re safe now, I promise,” Mai said, but even she thought the words weren’t convincing enough. Who knew what would happen with Azula on the loose...but she couldn’t think about that now.
Ty Lee looped her arm through Mai’s.
“And considering Zuko or Kei Lo won’t be around, I don’t think you’ll have too much to worry about, Michi,” Ty Lee joked. “But I’ll keep my eye on her.”
Mai jabbed Ty Lee in the ribs.
“Ow! What was that for?!”
Mai had hoped her mother wouldn’t pick up on any of that before she left. She hadn’t even told her mother about Kei Lo’s visit; in fact, she’d sworn her aunt to secrecy and told her that she’d tell Michi in time. Instead, she’d packed a bag and was now standing here. Who said you can’t outrun your problems?
Michi looked between the two girls for a moment. Her face softened in understanding as she locked eyes with Mai, who quickly zeroed in on Tom-Tom. She ruffled his hair.
“Bye, kid,” she said, pinching his cheek lightly.
“Mai come home?”
Before she could stop herself, she remembered Zuko’s words to her just hours ago.
“I wish you’d come home, Mai.”
Her heart did that annoying, stuttery thing it did whenever she thought about Zuko, but she pushed it down the same way she pushed down the guilt, trying to lock the box tighter. She didn’t want to think about any of that conversation while she was on “vacation” as much as she wanted to think about Azula. At least Azula would do her the courtesy of putting her out of her misery.
She smiled at Tom-Tom.
“Of course I’ll come home, kid. I couldn’t leave you behind.”
Suki’s head appeared above them. She waved when she spotted the group below.
“Ty Lee! Mai!” she shouted. “Ready to go?”
“Yup!” Ty Lee grinned. While she embraced Michi and Tom-Tom, Mai hurried up the ramp and onto the ship. All of the standing around was getting rather boring, anyway.
Suki patted Mai on the shoulder when she boarded the massive vessel.
"Glad you’re coming with us,” she said, winking at the girl. “Although, I told Ty Lee that the only way you could stay on Kyoshi was if you gave everyone a knife-throwing lesson.”
“Is that so?” Mai said, raising an eyebrow at her friend. “She didn’t mention that to me.”
“I was going to tell you sooner or later,” Ty Lee said with a shrug. “I just knew I had to get you out of that flower shop before you made all of the plants wilt.”
“Ha-ha.”
Mai looked out at the docks and was surprised to find her mother and Tom-Tom still standing there. She figured they’d be headed back to Aunt Mura’s shop for lunch.
The ship lurched beneath her as it pulled away from the mainland, and Mai’s heart sank just a little bit. She’d miss the two of them while she was gone. Still, she needed to get out.
Lately, home had felt almost as suffocating as Omashu had once felt, and that wasn’t good for anyone, least of all her. However, having her hometown be where she felt most out of place was a new feeling that was hard to pinpoint. Sure, things may have been boring before but she never felt like she was out of sync with everyone around her at all times.
Maybe it was because she’d been back for too long or because she was no longer the person she’d been when the war ended. Whatever the reason, it was something she hoped wouldn’t last when she returned.
The hint of a smile graced her lips as she watched Tom-Tom blow kisses at her with his chubby wrists. You’d never guess that just last week the poor kid had been kidnapped by humans posing as dangerous spirits. Oh, to be a toddler with no shattered heart or complicated emotions to deal with. Mai envied him now more than ever.
The ship continued to chug along, the caldera becoming smaller and smaller. Michi waved one last time to her daughter.
“You can’t outrun yourself forever,” Ty Lee had once said to her.
“But I can try,” Mai muttered to herself.
It wasn’t until everything was just a smudge on the horizon that Mai returned her mother’s wave, then went to find her friends.
* * *
“You’ll never find me, Zu Zu!” Kiyi cried, racing out of the throne room as fast as her little legs could carry her. “Start counting!”
She disappeared around the ornate doors, but before Zuko had a chance to start counting down, her head popped back into view.
“And NO peeking!”
“Fine,” Zuko said, making a dramatic display of turning around so that he couldn’t see where she ran off to. “Ten, nine, eight…”
As he continued to count backward, his mind wandered to the Fire Nation docks, where he was certain Mai had already boarded a now-departed ship to Kyoshi Island. He couldn’t stop thinking about her as he wandered the halls of the palace in search of Kiyi, either. It was like she was everywhere and nowhere at once, disappearing elusively around corners just as his half sister had moments ago.
Only this was a game Zuko knew he couldn’t win.
He drifted through the corridors, poking his head in various rooms as he went. Kiyi, in all her headstrong confidence, was not actually very good at hide and seek. All Zuko had to do was enter a room and loudly ask where she was. Her infectious giggles usually gave her away before he could finish his sentence.
A rustling in his office stopped him in his tracks.
Gotcha.
“Hmm...I wonder where Kiyi could’ve run off to?” he asked, stepping quietly into the room. But instead of the hushed laughter that usually accompanied his question, he was met with silence.
That’s odd, he thought, she’s usually never quiet for this long.
Ever since the Kemurikage incident seemed to be wrapped up, the palace halls had been uncomfortably quiet and dull, so he figured he shouldn’t be surprised. (Although it was a little too quiet if you asked Zuko, hence the games of hide and seek he used as a desperate distraction as opposed to wallowing in his office.)
He knew he should be grateful for the peace that was finally smiling upon him and his family, but if there was one thing Zuko knew about moments of peace, it was that they usually turned out to be some kind of cruel illusion that only beget more spectacle and tragedy.
At least, that’s the way it had worked out for him so far.
“Huh,” he called out again in an exaggerated tone, “I could’ve sworn Kiyi was in here.”
He stood still, waiting for the inevitable tittering that would give away Kiyi’s precious hiding spot, but it never came.
So, Kiyi had upped her game. Fine by him. He tiptoed backward out of his office before running behind the nearest pillar. If he knew his half sister as well as he thought he did, she’d eventually get bored hiding in there and try to trick him up by switching her hiding spot, but he’d be one step ahead of her.
It’s what he used to do every so often when he got roped into playing the game with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee when they were younger.
Mai…
Zuko couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the countless times they’d played together. He and Mai would usually end up running into one another and help the other find what they thought was the perfect hiding spot. He would always show Mai the best nooks and crannies that would conceal her from his sister the longest, and in turn, she actually showed him the strategy of moving around the palace to throw Azula off.
It never worked of course, but even as children she’d been brilliant at deceiving Azula. The thought made him grin before he remembered the pained look on her face yesterday when she told him she was leaving. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the rest of their conversation played back in his head.
Whatever chance he thought he had of winning Mai back disappeared the second he asked her if they could speak privately. He should’ve just let her drop off Tom-Tom for his playdate with Kiyi and wished her well on her travels. In fact, he shouldn’t have said anything to her at all. Instead, he should’ve just merely waved at her from across the room and then gone and watched his uncle play Pai Sho with his mother but no, he’d had to go and open his big mouth.
“Stupid,” he muttered.
“What’s stupid?”
He whirled around to find his mother staring at him curiously.
“N-nothing,” he said, feeling the familiar warmth of a blush rushing to his cheeks. She’d snuck up on him rather well. “I was just thinking about the budget meeting we had this morning.”
“Ah,” Ursa nodded, “from what I remember those are pretty terrible. Well, I came to find you because we were going to take lunch in the courtyard with Iroh. Would you like to join us?”
“Sure,” he said. He cast a quick glance behind him at his office. “Give me just a second. I’m trying to catch Kiyi hiding in my office.”
Ursa gave him another curious look.
“What do you mean? Kiyi’s with Noren. He found her in our bedroom. They’re already out in the courtyard.”
Zuko’s heart dropped. “Then who—?”
Ursa gasped, her eyes going wide. She pointed behind Zuko, who turned in time to see a gawky figure clad in black running down the hall in the opposite direction.
He didn’t stop to think. He took off after the figure as fast as he could.
“Stop!” he roared, plumes of fire streaming from his fists. As he drew closer, he could see some parcel tucked under the intruder’s arm, but couldn’t quite make out what it was. He rounded the corner at the end of the hall and kept running, his blood pumping hot and fast in his ears as he gained on the mysterious figure.
Another fire blast from his fist was enough to trip them up, but just barely. They tripped over their feet and quickly regained their balance, plowing ahead down the hall. They glanced back at Zuko and then ducked into the doorway leading out to the nearest balcony.
Zuko smirked. There was nowhere for this person to go now. He burst through the curtain to find the figure standing on the balcony railing, facing him. Now that he was closer, he could see the golden eyes of the figure peeking through their black uniform. They narrowed determinedly as Zuko stepped closer and pressed whatever they’d stolen from his office to their chest.
“Put the parcel down and we can talk about this like adults,” Zuko said.
Before he could take another step, the figure closed their eyes and dropped backwards off the railing, tumbling through the air with the effortless grace of an airbender.
“NO!”
What had just happened?!
Zuko gripped the railing and hoisted himself up to get a better view of the figure he was certain would be splayed out messily in the courtyard below, but they had vanished.
Everything was still and calm, as if he’d imagined the whole thing.
He stalked backed through the halls in search of his mother and team of advisors. After all, someone had to tell them a thief dressed like some kind of potential assassin had snuck into the palace unnoticed. It might as well be the Firelord.
“I should’ve known,” he grumbled to himself, righting the golden headpiece in his topknot. “I’ll never catch a break.”
* * *
“Kei Lo, wait. Please, let me explain.”
“You don’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”
“I don’t—”
“Oh, please, Mai. At least do me a favor and don’t lie to me. You still love him, don’t you?”
Mai sighed and opened her eyes to find the dim, gray light of morning filtering into her cabin. After a day or so at sea, today was the day they would finally arrive at the island and she couldn’t be happier. Last night the ship had sloshed across the waves so much she’d had to force her dinner to stay in her stomach. She’d opted to skip breakfast this morning in order to keep sleeping; she figured the less she had in her stomach now the less likely she would vomit everywhere when they arrived at Kyoshi.
She climbed to the deck to find Ty Lee, Suki, and the others milling about and preparing for their arrival.
“There you are Mai!” Ty Lee chirped, crossing the deck to her friend. “I was just about to come wake you. How did you sleep?”
Mai made a face and just shook her head, unable to form words. She was afraid if she started talking she wouldn’t be able to keep anything down.
“You don’t look so good,” Ty Lee whispered. She tugged on Mai’s hand. “Here, come with me. There’s some anti-nausea tea somewhere around here.”
“Stop walking so fast,” Mai pleaded, biting back the bile that sat in her throat. “Or I really will throw up.”
Ty Lee motioned to a small wooden stool that was a ways away from the other Kyoshi Warriors.
“Sit.”
Mai didn’t argue. She shakily lowered herself onto the seat and folded in half, trying to breathe slowly through her nose. A few moments later, a pleasant, calming scent wafted toward her. She opened her eyes to find Ty Lee cross legged on the floor in front of her, offering her a steaming cup.
“Be sure to take small sips,” Ty Lee said.
Mai sipped the tea in slow, drawn out sips as instructed. She could already feel her stomach settling after a few mouthfuls.
“Thank you, by the way,” she said. “For the tea and for inviting me. I really would’ve gone crazy if I’d stayed.”
Ty Lee nodded, her braid dancing behind her. “Of course, silly! Why do you think I asked you? Everyone knows I’m the more perceptive friend. Your aura has been fluctuating like crazy these last few days. I probably single handedly prevented some poor nobleman’s demise.”
Mai rasped out a laugh. She couldn’t argue there.
“Besides, what better way to help mend a broken heart than some quality girl time?”
“And knife throwing.”
“Yep. Can’t forget about the knife throwing.”
Mai downed the rest of her tea in silence. Ty Lee positioned herself so that she was sitting next to her friend where they both could watch the docks of Kyoshi grow larger and larger. The peninsula was a welcome sight compared to the endless expanse of ocean they’d roiled over all night long. She couldn’t wait to have both feet firmly on ground that wasn’t Fire Nation soil.
“I think you’ll really like Kyoshi, Mai,” Ty Lee piped up after a moment. She never did do well with the long, drawn out silences that Mai found so comforting. “It’s so different from the Fire Nation. There’s not a lot of hierarchy and people aren’t so stuffy. It’ll be a breath of fresh air.”
Mai laid her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed.
“I sure hope so.”