Flameheart | Zuko

THIRTY-SIX

Jianji couldn't believe her ears when Homura told her of the old man's suggestion to move to the Upper Ring. Even though she wasn't promised a job, just the thought of leaving the Lower Ring was enough to almost reduce the woman to tears. Her agreement was instant and so, Homura had left to the place she worked in to announce she quit. Her boss was more than happy to hear the news and so, she got back to the place she had lived in for the past couple of weeks. She took Jianji and Chin, and together after Jianji had gathered the few belongings of the family, they waited for the old man to arrive.

He wasn't late. He greeted all of them with a smile and a nod and immediately ushered them to the train station. Homura didn't say a word during the entire ride to the Upper Ring, instead she only watched as Chin kept looking around, attempting to take everything in at once. Jianji kept thanking the old man that had introduced himself as Iroh - the name seemed almost familiar to Homura - and Jianji's expresses of gratitude were only broken by Chin's reactions to seeing the richest parts of Ba Sing Se. They left the train station and were led to a carriage. They got inside and soon enough, they were heading to the place Iroh's tea shop was.

Chin kept asking about everything around him in the Upper Ring and Iroh seemed more than happy to answer all of his questions. By the time the carriage had stopped, no one inside could hide their smiles at the little boy's curiosity.

They got out and at once, Chin left the carriage, his eyes incredibly wide as he took in everything. His mother was close behind him and after her was Homura, her eyes guarded as she took in the streets of cobblestone and the beautiful square they were in, the small bridge on the side of the square only adding to the beauty of the place. She stopped as Iroh came to stand beside her with a smile. "Beautiful place, isn't it?"

"My home is better."

Her eyes widened at once as she realised Iroh could have taken offence to her reply, but he only smiled as he turned to face her. "I believe we all see our home as the most beautiful place there is."

With that phrase, he walked away and gestured to Jianji to follow after him. Homura followed after them as Chin fell into step with his mother, her gaze suspicious as she took in the area. For all she knew, this could be a trap. But no trap was presented to her on the way Iroh was taking them. She watched as they stopped in front of three identical buildings next to an entrance of a tea shop called 'The Jasmine Dragon'. She turned to face Iroh as he turned his attention to them with a wide smile.

"That's my tea shop, 'The Jasmine Dragon', and that's my home," he pointed at the house close to the tea shop. He then pointed at the house beside his own. "That's my new employee's and that-" he pointed at the last house, "is the house for Jianji and Chin. I took the liberty of buying a few clothes for you-"

"Thank you so much, Iroh," Jianji burst at once, looking close to tears once more. "You've done so much for us."

"Don't mention it, my dear," he smiled, "go to your home now. I'll come by a while later, Jianji, regarding your job in the Upper Ring."

Jianji thanked him once more and with that, she ushered Chin away to their new home. Homura watched them go before she turned her attention to Iroh who seemed to be waiting for her to speak. She cleared her throat as she turned to face him.

"I should start working right now-"

"I can handle working by myself for a day," he cut in kindly, "besides, you've told me you don't know how to brew tea. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I could show you how to brew tea and I'll brief you on your work."

Homura nodded, even though part of her was suspicious about the invitation to his home. "Thank you for the clothes and the home, sir. You didn't need to offer me or Chin's family any of that."