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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:57 pm
 PrologueKisa pouted. "But Daddy," she whined. "I don't understand why I can't see Prince Zuko anymore!" Her eight year old mind couldn't grasp the concept of forbiddance. "I told you, Kisa," General Zhao reminded her. "The Prince's mother has disappeared, and his grandfather has died. Zuko cannot see anyone." Her father remained firm, and Kisa frowned. She would have to find other friends.
~
Twelve year old Kisa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She reread the little scroll she would leave for her father. Goodbye. Tying it up with a pink ribbon, she placed it on the large bed. She exited the house into the cool night air, her magenta hair blowing in the wind. This day was just the breaking point.
She followed the General faithfully, wondering whose Agni Kai it would be today. Her father led her to her seat, quite near to those of the royal family. Personally, she had never found Agni Kai particularly interesting... or humane... but she was still a kid. She'd have time for that.
When Kisa noticed the Fire Lord and Prince Zuko were not in their seats, she knew something was wrong. And when she saw the young prince walk on to the arena, she closed her eyes. This couldn't end well. Tears leaked from her eyes as she heard the Prince's scream. This couldn't be happening.
Kisa's eyes watered as she got onto the boat. This was a nightmare. She would wake in a minute to find everything back to normal. She looked out from the deck, watching the shore fade into the distance. Goodbye.I swear, we will not be apart forever.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:29 pm
Chapter 1Zuko walked out of his room and down the stairs on his way to his uncle's teashop, barely awake. And who could be so awake when the sun had risen just two hours ago? Uncle, of course, he thought as he heard a voice-- Iroh was probably singing again. Of course, it didn't help that he'd been sick for at least three days. Today was his first day back, and the grand opening of Iroh's new teashop. Rubbing his eyes to adjust to the light, he stepped out onto the landing of the teashop floor, to be greeted by a peppy voice. "Well, good morning!" it said.
Zuko opened his eyes wide. Last time he had checked, his uncle wasn't a girl. He was half shocked and half relieved to see his uncle standing next to a girl who looked to be about sixteen. "You must be Li. Your uncle hired me as a waitress, so I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I'm Kisa," she smiled warmly and extended a hand.
Zuko shook her hand, never taking his eyes off of her face. Was it the light, or was her hair... pink? No, her hair was definitely a weird fluorescent color. He frowned, pushing past her. That smile seemed familiar. Iroh frowned at his nephew, hoping Kisa would not mind his grumpiness. "Thank you, Kisa. We could really use an extra hand around here, if this place gets as many customers as any other," he said, handing her a key to open the shop for the day's business.
Kisa smiled, tying an apron around her waist. "It's no problem. I really need to pay the rent on my apartment, so a fun job is just what I need," she answered. She ran to the door, eagerly awaiting the morning rush of tea-drinkers. She turned the key in the small knob and threw the grand doors of the shop wide open, declaring into the street, "We're open!"
Almost as soon as she stepped back into the shop, the first customers arrived. As Kisa led them to their seats and took their orders, Zuko pulled his uncle into the kitchen. "Why did you hire someone else?" he demanded. "She'll be a tag-along, I can just tell. It'll be even harder to keep people from knowing who we are!" he went on, infuriated.
"Relax, Zuko," Iroh replied. "She will not find out, I will make sure of it." Just as Iroh finished speaking, Kisa opened the door to the kitchen. Both men turned, surprised. "I need one jasmine and one ginseng tea," she said cheerily, giving no indication of whether or not she'd heard their conversation. Zuko exhaled sharply as she left, glaring at his uncle and then leaving himself. This was trouble, and he knew it.You don't remember, but it's okay.
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:26 pm
Chapter 2Towards lunchtime, the rush was greater than any other teashop in the city. Iroh looked over at how the waitress was faring; he remarked to his nephew, "Kisa seems to be handling things quite well. I believe she's quite essential to the shop now." He recieved no reply, just a steaming glare.
Kisa walked to the window through the kitchen, which was now open. "I need three jasmine, one white jade, and one ginseng tea. A noble brought his family over to have tea here," she said, quite impressed at the type of people now dining at the shop. Iroh nodded, brewing up some tea. Kisa returned to a different table, clearing their dishes and seeing them out. When she returned, she laid the dishes in an empty sink.
"You know, Kisa," Iroh told her, watching his nephew handle a couple of tables, "you can take a break. I would not force you to work through lunch." Kisa smiled. "No, I'd feel guilty not doing my best here. I grew up in an atmosphere where that was considered disrespectful. I'd be quite content if Li took my break for me," she insisted despite Iroh's protests. "I'll go tell him now," Kisa said, nodding.
"No, I'll tell him. Here, take this tea to the family over there," Iroh handed her a tray. Kisa nodded, walking towards them. She set the tea on the table, then approached Zuko, who was dealing with a teenage couple. He didn't look to happy about it. She gently tapped the boy's shoulder, and he jumped. The tray he was holding fell out of his hand, along with three empty cups of tea. Kisa quickly ducked and caught the tray. The cups landed perfectly on top of it, one after another. "Sorry about that," she said. "Your uncle wants to talk to you."
Zuko rolled his eyes. What could Uncle want now? He walked over as Kisa began to take the young couple's orders. "What?" he moaned as he entered the kitchen. That couple really had drained his energy. Iroh, steady as ever, did not react to his nephew's frustration. "I just thought you might want to know that you are on lunch break until one-thirty," he stated calmly.
"Finally, some good news!" the boy muttered, his hand on the door of the kitchen. "Oh, and just to let you know," Iroh whispered, "Kisa wanted you to have her break." Zuko wasn't sure he heard it, but he plowed forward. He'd imagined it; he was sure of it.
Kisa smiled as she watched Zuko leave the teashop. "Have a good time, Zuko," she whispered under her breath, wiping a tear from her eye. "Nice to see you, too."I know who you really are, and deep down, you know me too.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:07 pm
Chapter 3Zuko left the teashop, pondering this new girl. Kisa. She seemed... familiar, somehow. He felt like he knew her from a long time ago. Nah, he decided, he was just hallucinating or something. But even without the appearance of this strange new girl, Zuko felt changed. He paid for a warm meal with a few silver coins and sat down at a cantine. He'd been sick, sure, and that was enough to put someone out of things. But he really felt like he was completely different. What had Uncle called it? Metamorphosis.
After finishing his meal, Zuko headed back to the teashop. There wasn't much to do here, he thought, so he might as well. He walked around the square. He thought he saw the Avatar a couple of times, or those Water Tribe peasants, but he didn't feel that jolt in his heart anymore. No more of that adrenaline rush of chasing the Avatar.
Zuko reentered the teashop to find it less packed than it had been at lunch. Kisa was at the counter, accepting change from a muscular young man. He walked over, heading to the kitchen where his uncle was whistling while brewing a pot of tea. As he passed by the counter, Zuko heard a piece of the conversation between Kisa and the boy she was talking to.
"So, thanks for the tea," the boy said, trying to be suave. Zuko rolled his eyes. Smooth. "Oh, well, thanks, Rano, but it's Mushi's specialty. Jasmine tea is his favorite," Kisa smiled. She didn't notice his most blatant posed 'cool'-ness. "So, uh, I was wondering..." the boy said, suddenly slowing down. Here we go, Zuko thought. "Would you like to... hang out sometime?" he asked. Kisa smiled. "Sure! How about tomorrow? I can get off at seven." The boy smiled triumphantly. "Cool," he said. "See you then."
By this time, Zuko had entered the kitchen, where Iroh was pouring fresh tea into cups. He glared wordlessly at the tea his uncle offered him, then at Rano, now smugly leaving the teashop. Zuko tightened his grip on the tea, as the cup started steaming. "Nephew," Iroh said, laying a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Your tea is getting a bit too hot to drink. I suggest you take this tray to that table over there, and leave this to cool." He pushed his nephew towards the kitchen door with a tired smile. Zuko reluctantly went out to do his job.
Kisa looked wistfully to where Zuko was standing. He used to be the Prince of the Fire Nation, but she felt like Zuko was a greater person because of his banishment-- and his uncle. Maybe someday he would capture the Avatar and restore his so-called "honor". But deep down, she hoped he never would.I can see that you've changed, and you're all the better for it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:08 am
Chapter 4Towards the end of the day, Iroh had begun to see what was going on between his nephew and the new girl in his life. Well, not that she was new, per se. Zuko had known her ages ago when he'd been eight; and what he had forgotten, Iroh and Kisa remembered. Indeed, it had been some of the happiest times of his life.
Iroh smiled, watching Kisa clean tables while Zuko sulked in the corner. "Nephew, why don't you go up to the apartment? Kisa and I can finish up here," he said, watching Zuko wordlessly obey his commands.
Kisa smiled to herself as she watched the exiled prince climb up stairs to a place anyone from the palace would look down upon like a hole in the ground. But Kisa had an apartment just like it, and it was her haven. She peferred it even to the lavish home that the newly promothi.ted Admiral Zhao had. She finished clearing off tables and grabbed a broom, glancing at a clock. It was half past six, so she'd be off in half an hour.
Iroh looked over at Kisa, who was concentrating hard on sweeping the floor. She looked a bit put out, he noticed, as she looked through the window at the sun's dying rays. "What's on your mind, Kisa?" he asked, not unkindly. "I can see you're troubled."
She looked up at him, surprised. "Well..." she started, hesitant. "To tell the truth, I don't know," she continued, leaning the broom against a wall and plopping down on a chair. She rested her head on her hand, and her smile dropped completely from her face. Iroh walked into the kitchen and put on one last pot of tea. He came back and sat at the same table, opposite Kisa. Kisa went on. "I've seen the way your nephew's changed since I saw him last. He's so much better, and stronger--mentally, I mean-- and he seems so... happy, even though he never shows it. I can tell he's really content with starting over." She stopped suddenly, realizing her voice had risen.
Iroh nodded as the teapot whistled, encouraging her to go on while he checked on the tea. "And I want to be happy for him, I really do. But I guess there's a part of me that wishes I could have done that. I feel like I'm jealous that he's so happy without me! But I don't want to feel like this anymore. I want to feel like I used to, years ago. But it feels like there's this little black spot on my soul that's keeping me from being happy now. And I can't get rid of it," she finished, laying her head down on the table. For once, Iroh had nothing to say; he just patted her head and watched her pick herself up and walk out of the shop with a choked up, "See you tomorrow."I can't shake this feeling, that I can't smile for real.
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:30 am
Chapter 5That night, Zuko walked out of the apartment to sit at a deserted table in a courtyard. He didn't know why, but everything seemed better when he was there. But something stopped him just a few blocks away from his little sanctuary- a gentle drop of water, right on his head. He looked up, but the midnight sky was cloudless, not a raindrop to be found. Straining his neck to look straight up, he found the source of the unexpected rain; a hunched form at the edge of a roof, shoulders shaking. Zuko didn't know why, but his heart ached at the sight.
Kisa quickly wiped her eyes and stood up. She turned around, expecting a robber, but she saw someone totally unexpected. "Li?" she said, incredulous. "For some reason, it doesn't surprise me to see you up here," the boy in question replied nonchalantly. He noticed that her hair was tied up and she was wearing black, in contrast to the pale green attire she had donned that day. "Are you... okay?" he asked, hesitantly. He didn't exactly have experience with crying girls. Probably because of his sister, he mused.
Kisa shook her head. "I'm all right. But today is a special day. You can't have forgotten?" she asked. Zuko shrugged; he couldn't recall anything special happening. She just smiled a little, broken smile and looked up at the moon. "Four months ago today, my father died. I wasn't with him... no one was. But that day was special, because I felt it in my heart... right as the moon went dark."
Zuko's eyes widened. He remembered. That day in the Northern Water Tribe. The moon had turned blood-red and then disappeared altogether. It was a few minutes, maybe ten or fifteen, but the waterbenders had been completely powerless. When he'd dueled Zhao, the Admiral had seemed so surprised to see the moon back in the sky. Iroh had explained what'd happened. "Oh," was all he could say at first. "I didn't know it was so long ago," he added.
"Anyway, it's no reason to worry. I haven't seen my dad for four years, in any case," she assured him. "But... thanks for caring, Li," she said in a softer voice. Zuko couldn't help it; he felt so sad when she said that, like she was broken. He patted her shoulder awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Kisa turned away from him and sat at the edge of the roof. "The moon is really pretty," she remarked.
Zuko smiled to himself. If he remembered correctly, she was. "Yeah," was all he said. If I told you, you wouldn't understand the kinds of things I've been through.
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:11 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:57 am
Chapter 6The next day went much the same as the previous one. Kisa and Zuko waited on tables, Zuko was in a sour mood, Kisa was happy, and Iroh was singing and making tea. Kisa showed none of the angst and sadness from the previous night. It must have been that day; it had only been a few months, and she was still sore.
Kisa once again gave up her lunch break, working through it while Zuko went to see the firelight fountain. A girl named Jin had showed it to him on his only date. He loved going there just to cool off and think for a while. That day, a few months ago, he had battled Admiral Zhao, who wanted the exiled Prince dead. Instead of accepting Zuko's help when the ocean spirit had captured him, Zhao had died that day.
Kisa felt much better after having cried it out the night before. Her father didn't care for much, but he had always treated her like a gem. He deserved to be mourned; at least her memory of him did. Kisa took the orders of a family, a happy married couple and their small infant. "That's a very cute baby," she remarked. "Thank you," the mother replied with a smile.
The rest of the day passed without event; everything went as was planned. Towards the end of the day, a messenger came to the Jasmine Dragon with a scroll; a scroll sealed with the gold crest of a bear. The Earth King, Kisa noticed, eyes widening. Iroh opened the scroll and almost whooped for joy.
"The Earth King has invited us to serve him tea," he said happily. Kisa brightened up. "That's wonderful, Mushi!" she said, dropping the broom she was holding to take a look at the message herself. It was all there, regal calligraphy, beautiful stationery, and all.~TBC
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