I'll Be Your Family

Tsu Zin pt. 2

Zuko was tired of the sun.

He and Toph had slept in the barn, Toph piling onto him as she fell asleep saying something about him being a personal heater.

Now he was stuck with Toph sprawled out next to him, foot dangerously close to his face, waiting for her to wake up so they could go. He was contemplating the benefits of waking up a potentially cranky Earthbender when he heard light footsteps sneak into the barn.

He figured it was Lee so he didn't bother to stop him. He heard Lee peak over at the pile of hay they were sleeping in and turn back toward the swords.

Lee grabbed them and snuck out of the barn, clearly about to do something stupid with them.

Zuko opened his eyes and groaned, Ugh. Do I have to go watch him? He'll probably impale himself if I don't. It would be rude to Gansu and Sela if I let him do that.

He slowly moved Toph off of him and went to go check on Lee.

He saw him swinging the swords, not doing it correctly but not entirely terribly either. He watched a little to see his level and realized he had probably had a little training. Not a lot, not even the basics, but the hints of it were there.

He spoke up, "You're doing it wrong."

He watched Lee get scared and fall, holding the swords back up to him in shame.

Zuko just sighed, "These are dual Dao swords. They're meant to be two parts of the same whole."

He showed him a couple of moves and watched as Lee tried to replicate them. He wasn't bad, even if he still had a lot to learn.

He watched Lee practice for an hour before they headed back to the house to get breakfast. Lee spoke up while walking, "Sorry again for taking them without asking mister. You and your sister were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you."

Zuko just chuckled, "It's okay. Toph sleeps like a rock so you wouldn't have woken her up anyway."

I wonder if it's an Earthbender thing?

Lee snorted and continued walking, Lee spoke up, "You know you remind me of my brother San Su. He used to teach me swords too, he's off fighting the war now."

Zuko nodded, already knowing about San Su from the conversation he had with Gansu on the roof. It was hard not to feel guilty, listening to him talk about his brother. Smiling as he wondered when he would get to see him again.

San Su would be here if it wasn't for the war, the war that the Fire Nation started.

He shook his head to stop thinking about it. It was hard to quiet his doubts now that they were getting closer to meeting Uncle. He kept wondering why they continue the war. Why were they fighting if the Earth Kingdom didn't want their help? Why were good soldiers dying on both sides, what did father wish to accomplish?

What do I do if my Uncle tells me my father is wrong? What do I do if it wasn't my destiny to hunt the avatar? What can I do to make up for all the things I've done if that's the case?

What Than had told him before he left was also conflicting with him. He knew if Uncle sided with Father then he might have to fight Toph one day. She was too strong to stay out of the war forever. He didn't know if he could do it.

Than's words played back in his mind, She wouldn't love you so much if you weren't.

It scared him because he wanted it to be true, he wanted Toph to love him. He wanted to have a little sister again like Azula was before she learned to hate him.

He said Toph loved me. He said I was a good brother. I already know Azula hates me, but he said I was a good brother. Should I ask her? No, I saw how she reacted when I mentioned pretending for Tsu Zin. Besides, she doesn't even know who I am. She'll hate me once she realizes I'm the prince of the Fire Nation. My family is responsible for the war. She'd never want to be a part of it.

He just sighed and followed Lee back to the house, hoping that Uncle would be able to help him understand the war going on inside him.

........

They had just gotten out of Tsu Zin when they saw Sela running back to them.

Toph would be lying if she said she wasn't worried about them. When she and Sparky had been leaving that morning, Gow and his goons came to harass Gansu. He used the news of San Su getting captured by the Fire Nation to mock him. It had taken every ounce of self-restraint to not pummel Gow into the ground.

He got lucky Sparky stopped me. I was about to show that meathead what real Earthbending was.

After that Sparky had scared them off, but not before Gow stared at her and smiled. She didn't like how he did that, and neither did Sparky. Both of them agreed it was best to leave town in case Gow recognized her and tried to get the reward.

She felt bad about leaving Lee and his family so soon after they helped them, but it was too dangerous to stay in town. If word got out that she was here they might not have enough time to follow Azula while avoiding any bounty hunters.

Sparky seemed to feel bad about it too. He even gave Lee his knife. He loves that knife, I didn't think he would give it away.

She was proud of Sparky for choosing to give up something so valuable to help Lee out. A month ago Sparky would have left without a word, he's come a long way.

But now Sela was here and she didn't think that was a good sign.

"Please you have to help us, Lee's in trouble."

She felt Sparky get off his ostrich horse and ask her, "What's wrong?"

She got off her mount as well to listen as Sela explained, "It's Gow. They came back as soon as Gansu left. They demanded food and Lee pulled a knife on them. I don't even know how he got a knife. They took him and said if he's old enough to have a knife he's old enough to join the army."

She felt Sparky tense near her and knew he was feeling guilty. She was too if she was being honest, she was there when he gave Lee the knife, telling him to 'never give up without a fight.

Sela spoke again, "I know we barely know you two, but please help us."

Zuko looked toward Sela, already knowing what Toph would want to do, and answered, "We'll help you get your son back."

He got on his horse and took off toward the town with Toph in tow. Once they were far enough ahead of Sela he looked behind him and asked Toph, "You think this is a trap?"

Toph shook her head, "I don't know Sparky, we both knew Gow might have recognized me. He knew the Beifong household at least."

She was a little scared if she was being honest. She didn't want to go home but she would be able to live with it if it came down to it. She'd probably just run away again. Sparky would be wanted for kidnapping though and sent to prison. She couldn't let that happen.

Zuko sighed, figuring that was the case, "We gotta be careful then, I know you and I can beat Gow and his goons without too much trouble, but if they called for backup it'll be hard to win without my bending."

Toph snickered, "Relax Sparky, you're traveling with the best Earthbender in the world. I'll take care of Gow and whatever other munchkins he teamed up with to capture me."

Zuko snorted, "Alright, I'll leave it to you then. Try not to make too much of a mess though. We still gotta save Lee."

Toph rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm more worried about what Sela's gonna do to us once she finds out where he got the knife from. You ready to explain that one to her Sparky."

Zuko shivered, thinking  of how terrifying an angry mother could be, "Nope."

Toph laughed as they got to the entrance of Tsu Zin, ready for a fight.

What they didn't know was that they weren't the only ones.