『𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆』

Chapter 19

The first thing Katara noticed when she walked into Zuko's study was that Iroh had a bag with him. The second was he looked weary of it all and he was sitting on the cushions, leaning forward with his hand over his eyes.

"Uncle," Katara said quietly.

Iroh looked up with a start. She went to sit next to him and she pulled the bag in front of her. The knot that had formed in her stomach tightened when she pulled out a torn piece of clothing stained with blood. Tightened some more when she pulled out a broken sword. What remained of the blade was jagged and the hilt was cracked down one side showing just how much force it took to break the sword in the first place. Katara didn't have to look at the bottom of the hilt to know that there would be a carving of a faceless mask there. She'd seen it the hilts of the double swords often enough in his scabbard.

"Where?" she asked.

"A campsite," he answered. "It looked like he was ambushed but fought back. No blood on the ground, only a lot of trampled plants and broken dishes. We lost their trail."

"He has only one sword. He needs them both."

"He's resourceful. He'll find another," Iroh said wearily. "But I think we need to stop reacting and start thinking about this, Katara. We've been chasing and chasing, but what we should have been doing was trying to get ahead."

"We've been thinking. At least I have. All I'm doing is thinking," Katara said, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. "Zuko's out there, risking his life to fight a battle someone who clearly knows more than he should, while I'm stuck here, waiting like some housewife."

"No. He trusted you to keep the Fire Nation together while he was risking his life fighting a battle he shouldn't have to fight alone."

"Then I'm not alone in thinking he made a stupid move."

"No, you're not."

They lapsed into silence. Katara automatically began to look for Iroh's always present pot of tea but there was none to be found. Her eyebrows rose at the discovery. He was more shaken by the discovery of Zuko's broken sword than he'd let on.

"How can we get ahead?" Katara said. "We have next to no information about this man, besides that one important bit about his being a man."

"Then we have to start making our own information," Iroh answered. "Time is running out and the Fire Lord is running around the capital like a vigilante. We need to put an end to all this, starting here. The generals are beginning to whisper about his disappearance, as are the councilors. They're already making moves to replace him, jostling for position and working to better their situations even as they're trying to maintain the status quo."

Katara gritted her teeth.

"They're about as loyal as rat-weasels," she said.

"Maybe even less. So we have to think. Who could do this? Who has the means? Who knows the Fire Nation well enough to hit it where it hurts?'

"A Fire Nation subject," Katara said thoughtfully. "Someone with a grudge. One of those rat-weasels."

"Perhaps," Iroh said but didn't sound convinced. "The places he's hit aren't exactly a big secret though. They are grand monuments that celebrate our heritage and history, a little hard to miss. No, it's not necessarily a Fire Nation subject."

"But we're having a hard time finding records of an outsider coming in who's got a motive to do all this," Katara pointed out. "And we've looked everywhere, Uncle. You know that. Whoever's doing this is too good, too knowledgeable of our practices and habits. That's hard to ignore. I can't rule out the Fire Nation altogether."