The Pawn |Katara

ONE

Mornings in the palace of the Fire Nation were always busy but at the same time weirdly serene. Everyone minded their own business for as long as the people that passed by them were known, and Akira was a frequent visitor in those halls. Nobody spared him a look as he walked down the long corridor that led to the courtyard, the only place large enough for some firebending training to take place. The dark red curtains blew with the wind, caressing his side as he moved forward but not truly bothering him. His sight was set on the long corridor ahead, where he could see light coming from and knew the three people he had grown accustomed to seeing every day in the last couple of years were waiting for him. As he got outside, he found them at once.

Mai and Ty Lee were sitting next to each other by the steps leading to the courtyard while Azula in the distance had already started her training. Akira's gaze followed her form as she moved languidly for a moment before he looked away, to Mai and Ty Lee that had yet to see him. He leaned against the column closest to them and cleared his throat. They both turned his way.

"So, am I ever going to find out in detail what happened during your adventures?"

"The story's long," May drawled despite the enthusiasm on Ty Lee's face. Akira knew, if she had been barely a second too late, Ty Lee would have already started to describe every little thing during her mission. "Spare me."

His lips quirked into a smile. He turned his gaze to Ty Lee. She beamed at him. "I can tell you what you want to know."

"Thank you, Ty Lee," he nodded his head at her, "what I'm most interested in is the fight in Ba Sing Se."

"Oh, I wasn't there," she frowned, "only Azula was underground when it happened. She can tell you."

He quirked a brow. "Now that's going to take some more persuading. Asking Azula to tell me what happened down there is probably going to result in failure."

"You could ask Zuko," Mai pointed out. He instantly shook his head.

"I get the feeling he doesn't like to talk about it. I've inquired about it thrice in the days he's returned but I've received no response so far."

"Maybe it's hard for him," Ty Lee attempted to explain, "his uncle betrayed him and he killed the Avatar. It can't be easy to kill another person like that."

"Well, it was his purpose."

Akira didn't pay much mind to Mai's comment. He looked away, brows furrowed. "So he was the one who struck the Avatar down. Impressive."

"That's what I thought too when I first heard about it," Ty Lee rapidly nodded. "I didn't think he would do it, maybe just capture him. But Azula said so, she seemed impressed by his strength even."

"Yeah," he muttered, but otherwise remained silent. Akira once knew Zuko. It hadn't been too long ago that the two boys spent most of their day in the palace, training or playing, always together. Even though Akira was a year younger, they had been extremely close up until his banishment. It had been hard for him when Zuko had first been banished and he had ended up finding friendship in the company of Ty Lee first, then Mai, quiet companionship sometimes in Azula. Despite the gap between the years, though, he had thought he knew Zuko better. He had thought he wouldn't have killed another person, when his mission was to capture him. But it appeared he had been wrong. Azula had spoken. And if Zuko refused to speak his truth, then he had no choice but to accept her word as fact.

The arrival of Zuko himself shook him out of his thoughts. He looked over as he passed, let his lips stretch into a cordial smile.

"Hey, Zuko!" Zuko looked his way, nodded without a hint of a smile on his lips and moved on. Akira's smile dropped. "What's up with him?"