鬼
Shoko's jaw dropped when he saw that there were three bedrooms. "Woah, how did you manage to buy all this, Uncle?"
"The previous owner was a little stupid" Iroh explained. "And I make great bargain."
Shoko practically ran to the bedroom on the right, "This room is mine!" He declared as he closed the door shut right after he entered, falling onto his comfortable bed with his arms spread out.
Right after a while, he picked up the bag Iroh had given him, which held his new clothes. He slipped on the tight dark green turtle neck and dark gray baggy pants, with a black belt to wrap around his waist. It was simple, yet kind of boring. He picked up the vibrant green armlets which started from his wrist and ended halfway up his elbow. He frowned at the reflection the mirror cast.
He preferred blue.
He walked out of his room to see Iroh holding a large vase with several orange flowers in it. The old general placed it on the table in the middle of the room. Zuko started at it coldly, "I just want our place to look nice, in case someone brings home a lady friend!" Iroh exclaimed, looking toward Zuko before shifting his gaze to Shoko.
Shoko rolled his eyes playfully and let his arms rest on his hips.
"The clothes suit you well" Iroh pointed out after he successfully put the flowers down in the correct spot.
Shoko frowned, "I don't like 'em."
"But you look beautiful," Zuko suddenly said. Once he had realized the words he used to describe Shoko, he scratched the back of his head nervously and averted his eyesight somewhere else.
Shoko coughed awkwardly and hesitantly nodded.
"This city is a prison. I don't want to make a life here" Zuko replied in a stern tone, making sure his Uncle understood clearly.
"Life happens wherever you are! Whether you make it or not. Now c'mon, I found us new jobs and we start this afternoon!" Iroh informed, a smile never leaving his lips.
❥・❥
"A tea shop..." Shoko looked at Zuko as Iroh walked into the shop. "I should've known."
The two grumpy teenagers walked in the moment Iroh introduced them. "Hello. We are your new employees!"
"Welcome!" The owner of the tea shop smiled back. "Let me see if I can guess correctly, you are Lee," He pointed at Zuko then to Shoko, " And you are Shishu."
They both nod in unison.
"I am Pao. Let's start you guys right away. Here are your aprons" Pao handed them pieces of cloth. Iroh gladly accepted his and handed the two others to Zuko and Shoko.
Shoko placed the apron over his head and right before he could reach to tie the back, he felt Zuko's fingers brushing against his back ever so slightly, sending chills throughout his spine.
He didn't know how to feel.
But his face soon cracked a small smile as he watched Iroh trying to tie the back of his apron with struggle due to his round belly.
"Well, you certainly look like official tea servers. How do you feel?" Pao asked them. "Ridiculous" Zuko was quick to reply. Shoko looked the Prince up and down before agreeing, "Yeah. Same here."
"Uh, does this possibly come in a larger size?" Iroh soon asked.
"I have an extra string in the back," Pao said. "Have some tea while you wait" He poured the steaming tea into three cups and handed them all to the trio before leaving to the back.
Iroh took a sip of his tea, quickly spitting it out not even a second later. Shoko looked down at his tea and pursed his lips, "Maybe I shouldn't."
Iroh groaned in annoyance, "Ugh, this tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!"
"Uncle, that's what all tea is," Zuko said in a bored tone.
"How could a member of my own family say something so horrible!" An offended Iroh walked over and grabbed the teapot from the table. "We'll have to make some major changes around here!" He walked over to the window with the teapot in hand and poured the liquid out from the pot.
"Here is your string" Pao handed Iroh said item. "How was the tea?"
"Oh, delicious!" Iroh lied. He placed his hand on Pao's back and lightly pushed him toward the back, "Let's talk business."
❥・❥
"Would you like a pot of tea?" Iroh asked Zuko and Shoko. They were currently sitting in the kitchen.
"We've been working in a tea shop all day!" Zuko growled, "I'm sick of tea!"
"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing" Iroh shot back while rummaging through the cupboard beneath the counter. "Have you seen the spark rocks to heat up the water?"
Shoko shook his head, "Nope."
Iroh walked out and soon came back with spark stones in his hand. "I borrowed our neighbors. Such kind people" He said as he stroked the rocks near a pile of twigs below the teapot, creating a small yet growing flame.
❥・❥
"This is the best tea in the city!" A customer exclaimed.
"The secret ingredient is love," Iroh said as he waved a hand through the steam, which came from the teapot and walked toward the back of the shop where the owner was.
Pao turned to Iroh, "I think you're due for a raise" He said but before Iroh had enough time to celebrate, the door slammed open, and in came a familiar face the three men had met not too long ago.
"I'm tired of waiting!" Jet shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at the trio, "These two men are firebenders!"
Jet unsheathed his hook swords and prepared himself for a fight. Iroh, Zuko, and Shoko quickly exchange a look, all uncertain of what to do.
"I know they're firebenders, I saw the old man heating his tea!" Jet screamed.
"He works in a tea shop" A customer vouched.
"He's a firebender I'm telling you!"
This time, two customers stood up, "Drop your swords, boy. Nice and easy."
Jet turned to face Zuko. "You'll have to defend yourself. Then everyone will know. Go ahead, show them what you can do."
"You want us to show everyone what we can do? Well then, I have nothing to hide" Shoko declared as he started walking closer. He never really got the chance to beat Jet up for what he had done the last time they saw each other.
"Wait, don't..." Zuko tried to intervene.
Shoko looked at his friend with a look that read 'Don't try and stop me.' He fixed his position to a fighting stance as he opened the top of his waterskin, readying himself to fight.
Jet's eyes widen but soon enough narrow with anger. "Looks like the waterbending boy is also with them!" His grip tightened on his weapons. Just as one of the customers was about to draw his swords from their sheaths, Zuko stepped in front and grabbed them.
"You want a show? I'll give you a show!"
Zuko quickly switched into a fighting stance. He pulled a table in front of him with his foot and kicked it toward Jet, who sliced the wood in half with his sword and jumped over it. As he landed, he swung both hook swords at the Fire Nation Prince, but Zuko deflected the attack and jumped backward onto another table, which was sliced in half by Jet, swinging one sword through the middle of the table.
Zuko jumped once more, and as he landed, he swung both broadswords at Jet's feet. The brown-haired boy somersaulted away to land in a crouching position before charging straight for Zuko again.
Zuko burst out through the door and tumbled onto the street. Jet ran after him and continued to throw attacks. Zuko defended himself from another strike, causing their swords to lock onto each other.
"You must be getting tired of using those swords," Jet said with a sinister grin, "Why don't you go ahead and firebend at me?"
"Please, son, you're confused! You don't know what you're doing!" Iroh tried to reason.
Zuko turned around with his own swords and attempted to counterattack, but Jet hooked the end of his swords together and began swinging them at Zuko in large circular motions. Zuko retreated back a few steps to defend himself.
"I bet you wish he'd help you out with a little fire blast right now."
"Uncle, I can fight him too!" Shoko whined when Iroh shook his head sternly, "No, Shishu. You must wait."
As Jet swung again, Zuko stabbed one of his broadswords through the hilt, pinning it to the ground. Jet looked at it with annoyance before focusing back on Zuko. "You're the one who needs help" The Prince spoke.
Both the combatants lost a sword, yet continued fighting without hesitation. Jet turned in a circle and tried to swipe under, but Zuko quickly advanced and swung his sword a Jet. The boy pulled his attack just in time to bend backward and avoid the blade, cutting the straw sticking out of his mouth. Once he regained balance, he jumped backward onto the edge of a well.
"You see that? The Fire Nation is trying to silence me. It'll never happen!" Jet shouted. He started throwing out attacks, hooking his sword to the top of the well and sending a flying kick toward Zuko.
Zuko escaped and growled as he swung his sword back at Jet, who dodged the attack. He moved to Zuko's side, and they soon ended up back-to-back. Zuko and Jet attempted to strike the opponent behind them, but neither could get past the other's defense.
"Drop your weapons."
Shoko froze on the spot once he faced the source of the voice.
The Dai Li...
Zuko and Jet stepped away to face each other. Zuko lowered his swords while Jet pointed at him along with Shoko and Iroh accusingly. "Arrest them, they are firebenders!"
"This poor boy is confused, we're just simple refugees," Iroh explained in a calm tone.
"This young man wrecked my tea shop, and assaulted my employees!" Pao stepped in, pointing at Jet.
"It's true sir, we saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the city" A customer said.
Iroh's cheeks warmed up, "Oh, ho, ho. That's very sweet" He smiled.
The two Dai Li agents walked over to Jet, who looked at them angrily. "Come with us, son," One of them said. Jet swung his hook sword at him, but he caught the sword with his rock gloves on. The guards then proceeded to drag Jet away to a wagon.
"You don't understand! They're Fire Nation! You have to believe me!" Jet continued to shout.
The crowd began dispersing as the wagon only moved farther and farther from the tea shop.
No one noticed how Shoko ran out after the people, rushing through them like no tomorrow. He needed to find Mikoto.
❥・❥
Turns out, it was all a waste of time. No one in the entire ring knew of a Mikoto. Though, Shoko knew he shouldn't take their word for it. They could've been lying straight to his face and he wouldn't even know of it.
But that was until he was pulled to the side of an alley by a hooded figure. They pressed their index finger against their lips and motioned for him to follow.
He looked back to where he had started his whole mission and decided he had nothing to lose, so, he started following them.
Once they were deeper into the alley, the hooded person shoved Shoko against the wall and growled under their breath, pulling out a pocket knife and pressing it against Shoko's neck.
"Who are you and what do you want with Mikoto?!"
Shoko's eyes relaxed. Her voice came out soft, and no matter how much she tried, she could never reach the threatening tone.
For a moment, he decided if he should even tell the girl his real motive. He sighed deeply and raised his hands up to gesture his defeat.
"I'm his half-sibling. I was told he used to live here. I just need to know where he is-"
The girl clicked her tongue before letting her arm fall and placed her knife into her back pocket. She observed him up and down before pulling her hood down, revealing her gorgeous and short brown curls. A few white bandages were wrapped around her neck and she wore a black tank top with dark green shorts.
"You don't look like Rin."
"That's because I'm not."
"So then who are you?" She raised her brow. "Mikoto only mentioned Rin. He didn't say he had a little brother as well."
Shoko crossed his arms. "I didn't know Rin knew Mikoto-" When he caught sight of the girl preparing herself into a fighting stance he revealed the truth, just to ease her up, "I'm Rin's twin brother"
"Rui, nice to meet you."
"Yeah."
They shook hands and stood silently for a while.
"So, how do you know Mikoto?"
"Why do you wanna know?"
He slowly shook his head, taking a step to relax his back against the wall. "I just want answers. My mom might be dead, I haven't seen my dad in a while, and my sister is a no-show like always. I just want one answer. So, do you know where he is?"
Rui placed her fingers below her chin as if she were thinking of an answer. "Nope," She replied and popped the p loudly. She turned around to take her leave.
"What do you mean 'Nope!' Why can't you tell me!?" Shoko ran after her. He was desperate. Rui faced him once more, the obvious height difference almost made her laugh, yet she decided against it and told herself he was still growing. "I'm sorry kid. But I haven't seen him in a while. He's gone."
Shoko's face saddened.
He had done all this for nothing. He knew he wouldn't really be able to find Mikoto. He tried and failed miserably the last time he was in Ba Sing Se, so why did he think he could do it this time?
Rui looked down at him with sorrow. She groaned loudly before taking his hand and giving him a questioning look. Shoko was confused for a minute until he understood. He nodded and allowed the older girl to pull him to her house.
❥・❥
"For all I know, he might be dead."
Shoko remained silent, looking around the empty house.
"Did he tell you anything else before leaving?"
Rui jumped onto her feet from her chair and shook her head. "He just up and left bright and early."
"He wouldn't be the first."
She cocked an eyebrow, eager to know more.
"My sister did the same at a young age. She was best friends with a rotten Princess. She told her some stuff and the next I knew, she just left home without telling me why."
Rui let her creased eyebrows fall, observing Shoko carefully. "You kinda look alike. Even if you aren't actually blood-related... Mikoto had a habit of keeping something dear in his hands whenever he's angry or feeling strong emotions," She pointed at Shoko's hand which now engulfed Sokka's dog figurine.
"And your eyes - they're a bright amber, just like his..."
"Only one," Shoko pulled his eyepatch up, letting the girl examine his blue eye for a while before letting it cover once more. "Woah." He didn't know why he was showing her all his secrets. It just felt like a certain amount of weight fell from his shoulders now that someone finally heard him out loud.
It felt good to tell someone how you're actually feeling, rather than leaving your feelings bottled up.
"Mikoto wasn't really a bright person. He preferred fighting rather than planning things ahead. He got caught by the Dai Li... If you're smart, you'll be here longer than he was. But he managed to escape and after that, he left."
"Were you his girlfriend?"
Rui's eyes narrowed, showing a hint of annoyance.
"Fuck no. Do you think I'd fall for an idiot like him? Never."
Shoko smiled gently. Apparently, she also wasn't a pretty good liar.
It was refreshing.
To finally be out of the dark. Sure, no one exactly knew where Mikoto actually was, but at least he was a few steps ahead.
Currently, Shoko had gone up on the roof, and Rui watched him from her room window. The boy pulled his knees closer to his chest the moment the fresh wind hit his body.
It felt peaceful.
She smiled, he reminded her so much of Mikoto. And it was painful to the point she hated him for leaving her without saying a thing. They grew close in the short amount of time they lived together, but she cared for him, just so he could easily leave in the end as if she didn't matter.
Maybe it was best if he left. Mikoto was stupid, a kind of stupid that she missed. After all, she was the one who let the idiot in her house, she talked with him for hours and she was the one who got him out of sticky situations because of her smarts... she was there, to be his friend.
Yet he left.
Like he said he would the day they first met.
"No strings attached. I'm gonna leave one of these days. So I don't wanna break your heart like I do with the other girls" His grin earned him a hit to the shoulder and an eye roll from Rui.
"As if you could break my heart. I don't even like you!" She shouted back, crossing her arms. Mikoto moved closer, "Sure you don't..."
She pulled herself away and flipped him off, "Personal bubble! Or I'm gonna throw you to the streets again!"
Mikoto chuckled, but his expression showed he feared her. After all, when Rui says something, most of the time, she isn't joking.
❥
"No matter how much you run, you will always be caught. Facing the past is a scary thing, and some might not be ready to come to terms with what happened. Because the mind might forgive you, but the heart will forever be scarred, afraid to love again."