鬼
"General Iroh is on board, Sir."
"So he accepted Zhao's offer. Never allow him to enter this room without my permission."
"Yes Sir" And with that, the door loudly closed with a clang.
Shoko slowly opened his eyes at the noise. He was sitting on a chair with his hand uncomfortably tied to the back while his legs were bound to the ground. He cracked his neck and looked at the man in front of him. "What do you want?" He whispered, his voice quiet and laced with anger.
"I've managed to capture you once again," Yuji smiled. "You were unconscious for three days."
"Three days?" Shoko repeated.
"Did you really think you could escape me?"
"Actually, I did. I was only distracted because of the..." He trailed off. "Zuko! Where's Zuko?!" He asked, his tone growing more and more impatient.
Yuji smirked devilishly. "He's dead" He reached closer to whisper in his ear.
Shoko's eyes widened. Zuko is dead? No, this can't be true!
"You're lying!" Shoko shouted.
Yuji's smile only grew in amusement, "You're in denial. But sooner or later, the truth will sink in."
Shoko looked down to his feet, he could feel the corner of his eyes forming warm tears. He glared, forcing them back as he faced the taller man. "What are you going to do with me?"
"I'm glad you asked. I'm planning on keeping you tied up here until you rot. Y'know, just like when we were assassins in training, whenever you messed up, I had to pay for it as well... I can make all the pain go away... only if you join me. Just like you did years ago" Yuji leaned closer to press a kiss against Shoko's neck, he then stood back up and walked out, locking the door behind him.
Shoko blankly stared at the wall, although they might've not met under the best circumstances, he just couldn't accept his death, after years of loneliness and pretending, he couldn't lose his only hope of humanity.
His eyes narrowed toward a quiver full of arrows and a bow that lay on the opposite side of him. Thankfully, Yuji was stupid enough to capture and imprison him in his weaponry hold.
❥・❥
A day later, Yuji came back.
He closed the door and looked at Shoko's expressionless face. "Have you thought about what I told you?"
He didn't respond, he only looked at him. He was waiting for Yuji to do something. And he did. He moved closer to Shoko's neck and slightly moved his messy braid to press a warm kiss. Shoko smirked before letting his mouth form an O so a soft and quiet moan could escape.
"You seem calm," Yuji whispered in his ear, taking a step back to regain his posture.
"There's no point in fighting back. I know I have no real chance of escaping" He looked into his eyes, "So I decided to surrender and join you once more."
Yuji kneeled closer to him, pressing his lips harshly against Shoko's. When they were in need of air, they pulled back, a shit-eating grin forming on Yuji's lips.
"So you've finally decided to come back to me?"
"Yes, it took some time to realize and come to terms with my feelings." He smiled, "I want you."
Yuji's eyes practically shone at those words. He kissed him again, softer this time. "I know you want me as well, but it'll be hard without my hands. Don't you think so?" Yuji looked at him with a frown. "Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to run toward my death, I know your ship is heavily guarded."
Yuji analyzed the situation for a moment. But his desire for the other boy shaded his mind, a second later, he was untying him. Shoko rubbed his wrist for a while before turning to face his ex.
Quickly, Yuji lifted Shoko by the waist and sat down on the chair, placing Shoko on his lap. His hands roamed everywhere, as he grunted in response to the intoxicating scent of Shoko.
He started to passionately kiss him, with his eyes shut tight. But Shoko's remained wide open, his hand kept reaching over to the back of his belt, slowly pulling on his dagger.
His hand gripped the handle and with a sudden movement, he stabbed it into his stomach. He groaned with pain as he began coughing violently so as to hold onto air desperately.
Shoko quickly stood up and pulled his arms back to tie them as he had done with him earlier, placing his hand on his hips with a successful smile.
He opened the door and looked around. Then, snuck around in search of Iroh. Although it didn't take much time considering the old man was strolling around the hallways, taking his sweet time to enter his room.
He snuck in as well. And when Iroh closed the door shut, Shoko let himself fall from the ceiling, surprising him. His eyes widened in shock before pulling him into a warm embrace. At that moment, Shoko allowed himself to cry. He wiped away the remaining tears after a while of silence, "Iroh, is... is he dead?" He whispered.
"No, Shoko. He's not."
Shoko's eyes widened, "Wait what? How?"
"He survived the explosion, he's still holding on rather tightly" Iroh whispered back. Shoko couldn't help the small smile that crept up his lips. "Now tell me, what happened to you on that night?"
"Yuji took me," Shoko informed, voice still trembling. "I was going back to the ship after I heard the boom but someone hit the back of my head and three days later, I woke up here. But I managed to escape" Shoko hesitantly looked at his feet. "I think I killed him..."
"Shoko-" Iroh gently pulled his chin up so he could face him eye-to-eye, "I'm not going to judge you because of all the people you've killed. I've served my time in the military, I was also a very different man those days."
Shoko smiled warmly but flinched when a loud shout came from outside. "Commander Yuji has been wounded in the stomach horribly and has a faint pulse!"
"Quick, you must hide," Iroh urged. Shoko skimmed through the room until he noticed the air vents. He hopped onto Iroh's bed and removed the steel grate, climbing inside and placing it back in its place.
"I'll see you soon, Shoko."
❥・❥
"Do you know what it means?" A soldier looked over to the other, pointing at the broken arrow left in front of Yuji's feet. No one responded. And then, Zhao entered with a threatening aura. They instantly turned to face him and bowed in respect.
"It's the sign of the Black Wolf," Zhao said. "It means he's escaped and could still be on board. He could be anywhere. Search the ship and find him! Get medics for Commander Yuji as well."
The guards all bowed again before rushing out of the room.
❥・❥
Shoko quietly landed perfectly on his feet. Looking at the soldier who stood in front of him with wide eyes.
He smiled innocently before the masked person took hold of his hand unexpectedly. "What are you doing?! What happened to Yuji?"
"I'll tell you everything later, right now, we need to make it to Iroh's room. Don't worry, I'm good at concealing myself. Just walk toward his quarters. I'll be right behind you. C'mon, just walk!"
Zuko stubbornly nodded and fixed his helmet, walking in the direction of his Uncle's room. When he made it, Zhao walked past, eyeing him suspiciously. "Thank the spirits, finally a guard! There is a rat in my room, you absolutely need to find it!" Iroh immediately ushered Zuko in. Zhao hmphed and continued to walk away.
Zuko was about to speak but Iroh interrupted him, "Look! It's in my teapot!" He screamed while slamming the door shut. Zuko only looked at him with a confused expression as he took off his helmet. "What kind of soldier are you? Go and catch the rat! Oh my, did it get inside of you?"
"It's okay Uncle, he's gone."
Zuko flinched and looked over to the corner. Shoko was sitting on Iroh's bed with his arms crossed. He didn't notice the boy entering the room. He wouldn't admit it, but Shoko was quite experienced with his job.
"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" Zuko asked. And before he could get an answer, Shoko sprinted onto his feet and threw himself on the Prince. When he realized what was happening, he smiled warmly and hugged him back.
"I thought you were dead..." He whispered and stepped back. "Don't ever do that again."
"It's nice to know you care," Zuko said softly.
"Don't get used to it," Shoko replied playfully. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand. When I heard the explosion, I ran to the ship but Yuji had me locked up for a while, but I escaped and almost killed him...? I don't know if he's dead or not. And frankly... I don't care what happens to him."
"That was fast," Zuko commented.
"Now, we need to-" Shoko began, but Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, "Here, I found it on the ground, I figured it was yours."
Shoko smiled and gladly took hold of the small dog figurine. He turned it around to see if it had a messy SOKKA carved on it.
His eyes softened.
"You can have it," Sokka pushed the small toy in his hand toward Shoko. "But isn't it your favorite? You said your dad gave it to you on your 5th birthday." The two were currently up on a snowy cliff, looking across the village as the peaceful air currents hit their faces. It was rare seeing Shoko actually accepting Sokka's request to go out and relax considering all the short boy did was train endlessly.
"I'm not a kid anymore. Plus, if you do end up leaving one of these days, you'll have something to remember me by." Shoko smiled warmly at those words. "Thanks, Sokka."
"How'd you know?"
Iroh slowly shook his head. "I noticed you always keep it in your hand whenever you're nervous, I also saw it on the nightstand next to your bed when you first joined us."
"Thank you so much, Iroh."
"Not a problem. Now you must leave, I can't have you discovered."
"But where will we go?" Zuko asked.
Shoko's eyes lit up, indicating he had an idea. "We can stay where Yuji held me. It's an old weaponry hold, some of the stuff there barely work, and no one ever enters without a good reason" He explained while moving the steel grate one more. He hopped in and looked over, "What are you waiting for, hothead? Get in!"
Zuko heaved a sigh and jumped onto Iroh's bed, climbing inside and placing the grate back in its place, "See you, Uncle."
Iroh waved a hand at him with a kind smile.
❥・❥
"And we're safe, for now," Shoko said as he locked the door inside. Zuko was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. Shoko yawned as he pulled open a cabinet and took hold of a blanket and pillows, neatly spreading them out and shaking his boots off so he could lie down.
"You sure know your way around here" Zuko muttered after resting next to Shoko.
"Eh, most of the dates Yuji took me on were always on his ship, which eventually turned out to be missions. Kinda had to adapt."
"You couldn't bring yourself to kill him, could you?"
Shoko frowned. How did he know?
"Even if he is an asshole, he has a little sister. She means the world to him. Both his parents died in the war so they rely on each other."
"You're different, I can feel it-"
"Is it a bad change?"
Zuko shook his head, "No. What I mean is that you're tougher, the first time I met you, well, you were more reserved and quiet."
"That's 'cause I was pretending. And the amnesia made me act like someone I'm not, I forgot who I was."
"That must've sucked."
"Sure did-" Shoko yawned and stretched his arms upwards, "Alright, I need to sleep. I've been awake for three days and I'm really tired."
"Good night," Zuko muttered.
"Good night," Shoko repeated as he turned his back to the Prince, pulling the blanket closer to him. And a few moments later, he fell into a warm and peaceful sleep. Zuko turned his back to Shoko as well, shutting his eyes close, but every time he did, darkness engulfed him and he only saw Mio's face.
❥
"No matter the past, present, or future, they will always call you a monster. And you can do nothing to fit in with people that despise you. All they see is a mad dog who can't control itself and destroys everything in its way."