Chapter 28: Masks and Mirrors
The silence was thick and ragged.
Keru didn't move.
Mariko stood with arms folded, chin tilted defiantly.
Then she broke it.
"So that's it?" she snapped. "You're just going to stand there and judge me for everything? For every plan, every misstep, every desperate decision I had to make while the kingdom slowly crumbled around me?"
Keru's gaze was cool. "Yes."
Mariko blinked.
He took a step forward. "Because every decision you made put others in danger. Starting with him…" he pointed at Yogan, "…who you drugged, seduced, and falsely accused of a crime that nearly ended in his execution."
"That was never supposed to happen!" Mariko shot back, eyes flaring. "It was a bluff. A tactic. He was never meant to go to trial."
"You're not a general," Keru said, voice cutting. "You're a royal. You don't get to bluff with lives."
"I was trying to protect the kingdom!"
"You were trying to protect your pride!"
That struck. Mariko's lips parted slightly, but she recovered fast.
"And what would you have done?" she barked. "Sat on your hands while Boss Shen carved up Daiyo for the Black Dust Triad? While people starved and begged and burned? You weren't there, you didn't see what I saw!"
Keru's eyes narrowed. "What I see, Princess, is that you gave away your chastity freely to a man you barely knew, then framed him for it when your plan didn't go the way you liked."
Yogan choked on his own spit.
Kenshiro coughed. "Well. That escalated."
Mariko went red. "That is, not, what happened!"
Keru didn't stop. "You could've married a prince of the Zhen north provinces. An alliance with iron-rich land and ten thousand standing soldiers. But instead, you chose to chase the exotic mystery of an airbender with old blood and no influence in the outer courts."
"Okay ow," Yogan muttered. "Thanks, Keru. Really needed that ego reset."
Kenshiro nodded solemnly. "Guy survived fire tornadoes just to be roasted in a cave."
Mariko pointed at Yogan. "He was meant to be influential! He's of the Shuji Clan. A direct bloodline of wind sages. His name would've carried weight!"
Yogan raised an eyebrow. "I live in a monastery that can't afford tea leaves."
"You said you were important!" she accused.
"I was drunk!" Yogan shot back. "You offered food. I followed."
Kenshiro wheezed.
Keru raised his hand. "Enough."
He looked at Mariko, eyes cold and sharp.
"You kidnapped a monk. Lied to your people. Jeopardized your own position in the court. Tried to manipulate a noble family. And then blamed the person you seduced for a crime punishable by death."
Yogan quietly raised a hand again. "Hi. Just reminding everyone, still here."
Kenshiro patted his back. "You're doing great."
Mariko clenched her fists. Her voice was shaking now. "I was trying to do what my father never had the courage to do. Take bold action. Secure power. Change things."
"And you did," Keru said. "But the cost was blood, lies, and fractured loyalties. This isn't a game of courtship and theatrics. This is a kingdom on the brink."
"You think I don't know that?" Mariko whispered.
Keru's expression softened. Just slightly. "You don't act like you do."
Mariko turned away. Her shoulders rose and fell.
The cave fell quiet again.
Yogan, now sitting upright, sighed and looked at Kenshiro. "Why do I feel like I'm the side character in this moment?"
Kenshiro leaned in. "Because right now, you are. Drink some water and enjoy the show."
Yogan shook his head, laughing softly, then winced and held his ribs. "Ow. No laughing. Bad."
Keru turned, kneeling beside Rilo and checking the bindings on his arms. He didn't look back at Mariko when he spoke.
"You're lucky," he said. "Lucky that this monk didn't let you hang for your lies. Lucky your father sent someone who still cares enough to clean up your mess."
Mariko didn't answer.
Kenshiro leaned back and whispered, "So... do we still think the marriage is on?"
Yogan grunted. "If it is, I'm jumping off a cliff."
Haru finally spoke. "I'm more worried about the part where we're fugitives from a burning city, carrying an unconscious waterbender and a spiritual powder keg."
They all looked at Yogan.
He raised a hand. "Still here."
Kenshiro nodded. "Right. You rest, champion. We'll sort out the next disaster."
Keru finished rechecking Rilo's bindings, stood, and faced Mariko again with that same unreadable gaze.
"You want to prove yourself?" he said plainly. "Then there's a way."
Mariko, still turned halfway from him, scoffed. "You're not the King."
"I don't need to be. I carry his voice," Keru replied. "And the King has extended one final task. A diplomatic assignment."
Mariko turned, arms folded. "Diplomatic?"
Keru nodded. "You'll represent the Zhen Crown in trade negotiations with Lord Jian Ye.
"Jian Ye?" she repeated slowly.
Kenshiro leaned toward Haru. "That's the one with the castle shaped like a duck, right?"
"Goose," Haru corrected. "Big difference."
Keru continued, ignoring them. "He has a reputation for being difficult. Proud. But he's loyal to the throne. The King is offering you a chance to prove you can negotiate, not manipulate. Build ties. Not tear them."
Mariko snorted. "So now I'm a glorified courier girl with a scroll and a smile."
"No," Keru said. "You're a royal representative. If you succeed, you reclaim your father's trust. If you fail…"
He didn't finish.
Mariko narrowed her eyes. "You're saying this is my last chance."
"I'm saying," Keru replied, "that this is the last time you'll be offered one."
The air was still.
Then…
Kenshiro cleared his throat. "Does this trade talk come with a wedding proposal too?"
Mariko groaned audibly. "No."
"Oh come on," Haru smirked. "Jian Ye's son is still single, right? What's his name again? Gan Ye?"
"Gan Ye the Crater-Faced," Kenshiro offered.
"Gan Ye the Cursed," Haru added.
"Gan Ye the Crooked-Toothed," Kenshiro finished, grinning.
Mariko's face twisted in horror. "He looks like a clay doll someone left in the rain and then set on fire."
Yogan, still propped against the wall and half-conscious, murmured, "That's… very specific."
"You met him?" Kenshiro asked, choking down laughter.
"Once," Mariko said bitterly. "He tried to serenade me with a flute. It was a reed flute. He swallowed it halfway through."
Keru blinked. "…He what?"
"He inhaled the flute, Keru."
Yogan winced. "Please stop. My ribs can't handle this."
Kenshiro wiped a tear. "Look, if you do marry him, I hope the crown gives you hazard pay."
"I'm not marrying anyone," Mariko snapped, whirling on Keru. "And certainly not to curry favor with some swamp-lord just because my father can't stand the thought of his daughter outshining him!"
Keru didn't blink. "No one said anything about marriage."
Kenshiro leaned toward Haru again. "Yet."
"Can we not repeat the mistake of throwing another monk into the royal marriage pool?" Yogan muttered, rubbing his temples.
Haru raised both hands. "No promises."
Keru stepped forward, more serious now. "You want to lead, Mariko?"
The silence after Kenshiro's last quip had just settled when Keru stood again.
He dusted off his cloak, then turned to Mariko with the same cool tone that had carried through every rebuke.
"This is a way for you to serve the kingdom," he said.
Mariko rolled her eyes before he even finished. "Let me guess. I'm to be chained in a tower and made to read economic theory until I beg for death."
Kenshiro gasped. "That's the option."
Keru ignored them. "The lord holds a minor territory along the southern jade trade routes. He's requested an envoy from the capital to negotiate new trade terms after a border skirmish two seasons ago."
Mariko folded her arms.
Keru gave a slight nod. "Yes. Officially, you will represent the crown. Unofficially… it's your last chance to prove you have the discipline and subtlety required to navigate real-world politics without torching everyone involved."
Mariko scoffed. "So I'm being sent to bargain like a glorified merchant."
"Better than prison," Keru said.
Kenshiro leaned toward Yogan. "Not by much."
Yogan grunted in agreement. "Sounds like exile with extra paperwork."
Mariko glared at both of them. "I can still have you arrested for treason."
"I've already been arrested once," Yogan said dryly. "Didn't love it."
Keru cleared his throat and continued, "Lord Jian Ye is a pragmatic man. He's not known for flair or flattery. You'll have three days to reach his estate and begin talks."
"And if I fail?" Mariko asked, arching a brow.
"Then I drag you back to the palace in chains myself," Keru replied without hesitation.
Mariko narrowed her eyes. "And if I succeed?"
Keru hesitated.
"Well… then you've earned the right to try again."
Yogan winced. "Wow. Nothing says confidence like a 'maybe I'll let you live' award."
Keru sighed. "You will be respectful if you meet the heir."
Kenshiro grinned. "The one whose face looks like it's been hit with a cart full of bricks, but only partway."
Mariko pinched the bridge of her nose. "I am not marrying him."
"You might not have to," Keru said, "but do not insult him. He's sensitive."
Kenshiro laughed. "Sensitive?! That's rich. Last time someone called him young lord, he cried because they didn't add handsome."
"Lord help us if she has to sit across from him at dinner," Yogan muttered.
"Why?" Kenshiro asked, eyes gleaming.
"He'll sweat into the soup," Yogan said.
Haru, silent until now, shook his head with a smirk. "You two are demons."
Keru looked utterly exhausted.
"Regardless," he said through gritted teeth, "Mariko, this is your duty. No seduction. No sabotage. No blackmail. You speak clearly, advocate smart trade, and bring honor to your name."
"Ugh." Mariko dropped down beside the pack. "Can I at least wear something nice?"
"As long as it's not armed," Keru muttered.
"Then I'll consider it."
Kenshiro tilted his head. "I'm just saying… If she does have to marry Gan Ye…"
"I will drown you in the river," Mariko said flatly.
Yogan coughed. "That's rich. Coming from someone who once drugged a monk and called it diplomacy."
"Still here?" Kenshiro whispered to him.
"Still reeling," Yogan whispered back.
Keru walked to the cave mouth, arms folded, face unreadable. "We leave at sunrise."
The tension didn't fade after Keru's final words. If anything, it steepened like the mountain cliffs outside.
As the cave settled back into silence, Keru knelt again beside Yogan. He unslung a pouch from his waist and pulled out a damp cloth and a sealed ceramic vial.
"Let me see," he said quietly, gesturing to Yogan's shoulder.
Yogan hesitated, then nodded. His robe hung in tattered strips, revealing blood-dried skin, a dark bruise spreading like ink across his ribs.
Keru poured a bit of the salve into his palm and started dabbing gently.
Yogan winced. "Spirits… that stings."
"Means it's working."
Nearby, Kenshiro and Haru gathered around the soft campfire.
"So," Kenshiro said, breaking the quiet, "what's the next move?"
Yogan shifted as Keru tended a burn on his arm. "After Rilo wakes, we're heading to a port town. There's a ship there that'll take us south."
"South?" Haru asked.
Yogan nodded. "To Rilo's hometown. One of the southern Water Tribe villages. He said it's remote, but rich in ancient waterbending tradition."
Kenshiro raised an eyebrow. "That sounds... damp."
Yogan chuckled. "Couldn't be wetter."
"You remember the name of the port town?" Haru asked.
Yogan sighed. "I… don't. Rilo did. I think it started with an 'S'? Or a 'B'? I don't know. Something that smells like salt and fish."
Kenshiro smirked. "That narrows it down to literally every port on the coast."
Keru, without looking up, said, "You're likely talking about Shuihan. It's the closest port city in this region. And coincidentally, it's where I'm escorting the princess for her diplomatic assignment."
"Oh no," Kenshiro groaned immediately.
Yogan blinked. "Wait, she's going too?"
"It makes logistical sense," Keru said calmly. "Two groups. One route. Safety in numbers."
"No," Kenshiro shook his head. "No no no. I just survived getting fire-blasted and face-punched and near-executed. I'm not mentally prepared for more Mariko."
Yogan looked equally pained. "We should go the long way."
Kenshiro clapped his hands. "We'll go around the continent. Swim if we have to."
"I'm right here, you know," Mariko snapped from her corner, arms crossed and glare sharp.
Yogan didn't miss a beat. "Oh, we know."
She stood abruptly. "I'll get fresh air."
None of them stopped her.
She stormed out of the cave, the vines parting behind her as her silhouette vanished into the fading twilight.
Only when she was gone did Haru sigh.
"Alright, that was a bit much."
Kenshiro looked at him. "Oh, now you're the peacekeeper?"
"She's upset," Haru said.
"She almost got me executed," Yogan replied, his voice rising. "I bled out in the street while she used me like a pawn."
"Yeah," Kenshiro added, "and now she gets misty-eyed and we're the bad guys?"
Haru held up a hand. "I didn't say she wasn't wrong. I said we didn't have to twist the knife."
"Bullshit," Yogan snapped. "You don't get to backstab someone, lie about them, and then cry when they bite back."
Kenshiro nodded. "Seriously. Women always do this. The moment we fight back with words, suddenly we're the problem."
Haru frowned. "You're acting like she's not human. Like she doesn't deserve a moment to feel."
Yogan's jaw tightened. "She's a princess. She has power, privilege, and a country ready to forgive her. I'm just some airbender she nearly ruined."
"She's still a woman," Haru said quietly. "And that means something."
Yogan's eyes blazed. "Does it?"
The fire crackled.
Yogan's voice dropped to a low growl. "Does being a woman excuse her from consequences? From guilt? From pain she caused with her own hands?"
Kenshiro leaned forward. "Because if it does, I've got a list of women I'd love to rob and cry in front of."
Even Keru paused, cloth still in hand.
He looked up.
"I'm trained to serve royalty," he said. "I've spent years protecting Mariko's bloodline. But even I can't excuse her just because she's a woman."
Haru's mouth opened, but he stopped.
Yogan stared him down.
"I could've died, Haru," he said. "And she's crying because someone finally held her accountable?"
He spat on the cave floor.
"That's not strength. That's cowardice in a dress."
Kenshiro nodded grimly. "And weakness behind a crown."
Keru, after a long pause, added: "It's men like you, Haru, who shape kingdoms where people suffer and rulers walk free."
The silence was absolute.
Haru didn't respond.
He simply stood.
Turned.
And walked out of the cave into the darkening forest.
The cave was quiet now.
Only the crackle of the campfire remained, dim orange flames licking the stone, casting flickering shadows on the walls. Outside, the last traces of sunset had melted into night. A cool breeze whispered through the ivy-veiled entrance, tugging at the silence like fingers against cloth.
Kenshiro sat cross-legged near the fire, poking the embers with a thin branch. Yogan leaned back against the cave wall, ribs bandaged, one arm resting over his knee. Keru sat a little apart from them both, quiet and still, hands folded in his lap.
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Yogan finally broke the silence.
"…Was I too harsh?"
Kenshiro glanced up. "No."
Keru gave a slow exhale. "No."
Yogan stared into the fire. "Because it feels like I was."
"You were honest," Keru said. "If more people in power heard words like that, the world wouldn't be half as broken."
Kenshiro smirked. "And hey, if she didn't want a verbal boulder dropped on her chest, maybe don't frame monks for crimes they didn't commit."
Yogan cracked a half-smile. "A verbal boulder, huh?"
"She deserved it," Kenshiro muttered, tossing the branch into the fire. "All of it. I don't care how many noble bloodlines she's got swirling around in her. What she did? That was cold."
Keru remained quiet for a moment, then added, "It was more than cold. It was calculated. And dangerous."
Yogan shifted, feeling the tight pull of the salve on his skin. "I was ready to let it go, you know. After the trial. After everything in the temple. But then today… she cried."
He looked up, not at either of them, but somewhere beyond the flickering shadows.
"She cried like she was the one wounded. Like she carried the scars."
Kenshiro scoffed. "She cried because you didn't play along. People like her always cry when they lose control."
Keru glanced toward the cave mouth. "And yet… she's still young. Inexperienced. Groomed for power but never taught the burden of it."
"She was taught enough to know what she did," Yogan said quietly.
Keru nodded. "Agreed."
Yogan rubbed at his eyes. "I don't hate her."
That caught Kenshiro off guard.
"…You sure?"
"I don't," Yogan repeated. "But I'm furious with her. With what she represents. What she almost made me become."
He looked at Keru then. "Do you think she can change?"
Keru's expression didn't shift, but his answer came without hesitation.
"Yes."
Kenshiro raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That's… optimistic coming from you."
Keru folded his arms. "I've watched rulers rise and fall. I've seen tyrants turn to saints. And saints turn to demons. People can change. The question is whether they want to."
Yogan nodded slowly.
"I think," he said, "she wants to be good. But she still thinks being good means winning."
Kenshiro shook his head. "If she marries that toad-faced Lord's son, I'll send a fruit basket to her funeral."
"Full of reeds," Yogan smirked.
Keru gave a small, almost imperceptible smile. "You two are insufferable."
"We're funny," Kenshiro corrected. "There's a difference."
Yogan's expression turned thoughtful again.
"I've been running from things my whole life," he said. "Responsibility. Expectations. Even my own identity. But now…"
He looked down at his hands, still crusted with dried blood, still trembling faintly.
"…Now I'm something the world doesn't even have a name for."
Keru's voice was quiet. "You are who the world will remember before they understand."
Yogan looked up, meeting his gaze. "What if I don't want to be remembered?"
"Then you better get used to disappointment."
Kenshiro stretched out, arms behind his head. "Well, I, for one, will remember you as the guy who got seduced, framed, stabbed, nearly incinerated, and spiritually possessed, all in the same month."
Yogan grinned. "You forgot the part where I almost married someone I'd known for ten minutes."
Keru's voice was dry. "So the Shuji clan bloodline runs on bad decisions, I see."
Yogan shrugged. "Apparently."
They all laughed, quietly. Tired. But genuinely.
For a moment, they were just three men in a cave.
No kingdoms.
No spirits.
No lies.
Just firelight and the weight of the road ahead.
The laughter died down, fading into that quiet space between men who'd said too much to pretend they hadn't.
Kenshiro leaned back, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know… I still don't get it."
Keru raised an eyebrow. "Get what?"
"Why you don't hate her," Kenshiro said, staring up at the cave ceiling. "Mariko, I mean. After everything she pulled. You should hate her. Right? But I don't. I just… I don't know. It's weird."
Keru nodded slowly. "I've served royals for years. I don't understand it either."
Yogan was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "I do."
They looked at him.
"There's only two men I've ever truly hated," Yogan continued, voice low. "One of them was me."
The fire crackled.
"I wasn't always like this," he went on. "When I was younger, growing up in the temple… I was the other brother."
"Renji," Keru said knowingly.
Yogan nodded.
"He was the prodigy. The golden boy. He meditated better. Trained harder. Always spoke in these perfect, thoughtful sentences. He was what every elder wanted an airbender to be."
"And you?" Kenshiro asked.
Yogan smirked. "I was… everything else. I skipped meditations. Hated the lectures. Pranks were more my style."
He leaned back, eyes distant. "Me and my best friend, Yoan, we used to sneak into the elders' quarters and mix chili powder into their incense. Or swap out the scrolls with romantic poetry."
Kenshiro grinned. "You were that kid."
"I was the fun one," Yogan said with a chuckle. "We even used to peek at the girls when they were bathing."
Keru raised an eyebrow. "Spiritual discipline indeed."
Yogan shrugged. "Hey, the robes don't erase curiosity."
He grew quiet again.
"Everything changed during the Wind Festival. It's an autumn celebration in the temples. Music. Dance. Food. Everyone lets loose for once."
"I've heard of it," Keru said. "There was… an incident last month, wasn't there?"
"Yeah," Kenshiro added. "Some airbender apparently lost control and nearly tore apart an entire shrine."
Yogan didn't speak for a second.
Then he said, "That was me."
Kenshiro blinked. "Wait. What?"
Yogan sighed. "Renji warned me not to show up drunk. Told me I'd embarrass the family, shame the elders. And of course, being me… I showed up with a bottle and a smile."
Keru's jaw tightened slightly. "Let me guess… it didn't go well."
"There was a fight," Yogan said. "Started with words. Then it got physical. I threw the first punch. But I never touched him. I couldn't. He was better. Stronger. Faster. The temple's pride."
He looked at his own hands. "Something inside me snapped. I don't remember what happened after that. I blacked out."
His voice dropped.
"When I woke up the next morning, half the western shrine was destroyed. The sky bison were frantic. The elders were scared of me. Everyone was. There were rumors I'd been possessed by a spirit."
Kenshiro's voice was low. "And… were you?"
Yogan shook his head. "I didn't know it then. But no. It wasn't exactly a spirit."
Keru's brow furrowed. "That was your weird super bending state."
Yogan nodded once. "Yeah. But back then it was my first time. I didn't even know what that meant."
He was quiet for a long breath, staring into the fire.
"I hated myself after that. Hated who I was. What I did. How I couldn't match Renji no matter how hard I tried or how much I rebelled."
Kenshiro tilted his head. "So… what changed?"
"She did," Yogan said. His eyes softened. "Monk Nara."
Both men straightened.
"The Monk Nara?" Keru asked.
"Tall, broad-shouldered, looks like she could throw a sky bison?" Kenshiro added.
Yogan smiled faintly. "That's her. The most powerful airbender alive. She spoke to me days after the festival, sitting on a broken statue, ready to run away."
"She didn't yell. Didn't scold. She just… listened."
Yogan leaned forward. "She told me I didn't have to live Renji's life. That being myself wasn't failure. That I wasn't weak because I felt anger, I just had to learn how to channel it."
Keru said nothing, but nodded in respect.
"I started changing after that," Yogan said. "Went out with the this girl, Kaiya. Got a girlfriend. Felt like I was finally… me."
His face darkened.
"Then I met Kezin."
He didn't say the name so much as spit it.
Kenshiro felt the temperature drop. Even the fire dimmed a little.
Keru's eyes sharpened. "Who is he?"
Yogan's jaw clenched. His fingers curled into the stone.
"A powerful waterbender," he growled. "Charismatic. Skilled. Manipulative as hell. He came to the temple posing as a traveler. Made friends fast. Got close to people. Including me."
He exhaled harshly through his nose.
"He was pulling strings the whole time. Stirring resentment. Planting ideas."
Kenshiro leaned forward. "Wait, Renji's coup…?"
Yogan nodded, eyes hard. "It was him. Kezin lit the fire and watched it burn."
Keru's eyes narrowed. "I heard rumors. The temple tried to keep it quiet. I didn't realize that was your brother."
Yogan's voice cracked. "He manipulated everyone. Even Kaiya. Used her to get to me. She pretended to love me. I thought…"
His voice faded.
Then, softer:
"I thought I mattered."
Kenshiro said quietly, "She betrayed you?"
Yogan shook his head. "She tried to stop him. In the end. When she realized what he really wanted, some ancient spiritual artifact locked in the shrine. It didn't even work. Just a relic. But she tried to warn me. Tried to come clean."
He swallowed hard.
"Kezin froze her in ice. Left her suspended between breath and death. As punishment."
He stared into the fire.
A long, seething pause.
"I don't hate her. Not anymore. She was trapped."
Keru asked, "And your brother?"
Yogan looked down. "He left. Disappeared. No one knows where."
Kenshiro whispered, "So that leaves one name."
Yogan nodded.
"Kezin."
He said the name like it burned his tongue.
"That's who I hate. That's who deserves it."
He turned his face to the cave wall, quiet now, eyes fierce.
"That's the man who taught me what hatred really is."
The silence around the fire thickened again. Yogan sat with his back still against the cave wall, eyes low, jaw locked.
Kenshiro finally broke it. "What… kind of man is Kezin?"
Yogan was quiet for a moment. Then he said, voice low, "The kind that wears a smile like it's armor. That says the right words, shakes the right hands, makes you want to trust him."
He exhaled.
"And when you do… he pulls you apart from the inside."
Keru leaned forward. "You said he froze your girlfriend. Manipulated your brother. Orchestrated a coup. That's… already more than most people survive."
Yogan nodded, his hand flexing against the stone beneath him.
"But there's more."
Keru frowned. "More?"
Yogan nodded.
"He hired a group of bandits to attack the temple outskirts. Said it would sow chaos, distract the elders. I was kidnapped during the ambush. Knocked out."
Kenshiro leaned in, voice hushed. "What did they want?"
Yogan looked up, and in the flicker of firelight, his eyes burned.
"They didn't want me. They wanted what was in me."
Keru's face darkened. "Raava."
Yogan nodded slowly. "They performed a ritual. Ancient markings. Strange chanting. I still don't understand it all. But it… unlocked something. I felt a spirit burst out of me, half-light, half-fire. Not directly. I think it was whatever was in me."
Kenshiro stared. "And you survived that?"
"Barely."
Yogan's knuckles whitened. "One of the bandits panicked. Tried to run. Got killed by the spirit."
"Wait," Keru said. "Was Kezin there?"
Yogan nodded grimly. "He went hunting this special herb with us. Disguised. We thought he was a refugee, someone fleeing the bandit attacks. Turns out, he was in control the whole time."
He looked at them both.
"The coup? That was never his idea. My father and Renji had been planning it in secret for years. But Kezin? He poured oil on the fire. He pushed it forward before they were ready. Forced it to ignite."
Keru exhaled slowly. "Why?"
"Because he wanted what was in the Great Hall. A tiny spiritual orb. It buzzed with energy, like it had touched the Spirit World once. Not much power. Not really. But enough for a desperate man to think it meant something."
Kenshiro frowned. "Did it make him stronger?"
Yogan shook his head. "Barely. He said it did. Flaunted it. But he was lying. All it gave him was confidence. Just enough to convince others to follow."
"And people did," Keru said grimly.
"Oh, they did," Yogan confirmed. "He manipulated the town chief. Used his silver tongue to convince Lady Kiya, the commander of a band of earthbenders from the valley, to launch a full attack on the temple."
He paused.
"So many people died that day."
Kenshiro leaned back, voice quiet. "And no one stopped him?"
"Renji tried," Yogan said. "But by then, it was too late. Kezin had already gotten way too overpowered. Left Lady Kiya holding the blade while he vanished like smoke."
There was fire behind his next words.
"The next time I see him… I will make him pay."
Keru studied him. "You're not just going south to learn waterbending, are you?"
Yogan looked up.
"No," he said. "That's only part of it."
He straightened, shoulders tight with purpose.
"Rilo's hometown, Kezin is from there too."
Kenshiro blinked. "You're walking into his home turf?"
Yogan nodded.
Keru's voice was sharp. "Do you have a plan?"
"No," Yogan admitted. "Just a direction. A reason. And a promise."
His fingers curled into fists.
"I don't just want to be stronger. I want to understand him. I want to know what broke inside of him. And if I can't stop him…"
His voice was cold now.
"…Then I'll bury him myself."
Kenshiro looked into the fire. "Guess the south's not gonna be boring."
Keru said nothing.
But in his eyes, there was a glint of something deeper. Something like respect.
Or maybe caution.
Because he had seen this before.
Not just a boy seeking power.
But a man willing to bleed for it.
The fire had long gone cold by the time the first birdcall crept into the forest.
---
A pale wash of sunlight filtered through the ivy-veiled mouth of the cave, dusting the stone floor in silver and frost-blue. The others still slept in the warmth of their cloaks, but Haru stirred.
Groggy, stiff, and sore, he rolled to his side, blinking against the light. A chill breeze slipped through the cavern mouth.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and frowned.
One bedroll was empty.
He stood quickly, looking around.
"...Rilo?"
No answer.
He stepped lightly across the cave, scanning the dim interior.
"Rilo?"
His voice rose slightly.
Still no answer.
Then his eyes went wide.
"Guys!" Haru shouted. "Guys, wake up!"
Kenshiro bolted upright, flailing out of his cloak like he was under attack. "Wh-what, what is it?!"
"Is it bandits?" Keru asked immediately, already half-drawn toward his belt.
Yogan sat up like a corpse snapping awake. "What? What's happening?"
"Rilo's gone!" Haru said.
Kenshiro rubbed his eyes. "Gone like… left the cave?"
"Gone like not here!"
Everyone scrambled to their feet, cloak and blanket piles collapsing.
"Shit," Yogan hissed. "He's still injured! He shouldn't even be walking!"
"He can barely breathe without coughing up blood," Kenshiro added.
"He was unconscious for two days," Keru said. "There's no way he went far."
They rushed to the cave mouth, bursting through the curtains of vines.
And then…
"Wait," Yogan paused. He held up a hand.
A faint sound carried over the forest breeze, water splashing. And laughter.
"...Wooh!" someone called in the distance. "Ha! Yes!"
Kenshiro squinted. "Is that…?"
"He's down by the river," Yogan muttered, blinking in disbelief.
They didn't hesitate.
The group pushed through the woods, branches slapping their legs and dew dampening their boots. The trail opened into the familiar riverbank where they had first arrived the night before.
There, waist-deep in the water, Rilo stood, naked as the day he was born.
His long black hair clung to his back and chest, wet and glistening in the morning light. He spun in a lazy circle, laughing as he splashed water skyward, flinging it like glimmering arcs into the air.
"You were comatose!" Yogan shouted.
"You should be bedridden!" Haru added, stunned.
"How are you doing that?" Kenshiro called, waving his arms.
"Oh hey, morning guys!" Rilo shouted, waving happily, completely unfazed by his lack of clothing. "I'm a waterbender!"
Kenshiro blinked. "...What does that even mean?"
Yogan stared, still trying to process. "You were unconscious. As in not breathing properly."
Keru stepped up beside them. "Of course," he said. "Waterbenders have healing abilities."
"Right!" Yogan said. "They helped us out at the temple after the attacks."
"I didn't know they could heal themselves," Keru added, furrowing his brow.
"It's actually a pretty basic skill," Rilo called out cheerfully.
"Really?" Yogan asked. "I thought you had to be, like, a master or something to pull that off!"
Rilo grinned. "You'd be surprised what you can do when your life depends on it!"
Yogan snorted. Then, without warning, he took three steps back and leapt into the river, clothes and all.
There was a splash like a collapsing tree, and bubbles rippled across the surface.
"Spirits, he sank like a rock!" Kenshiro said.
"His boots are still on!" Haru added.
A faint blue glow lit beneath the surface. Gentle. Pulsing.
Moments later, Yogan emerged, not gasping, not flailing, floating, eyes closed, a small smile on his face.
When he stood up in the water, the salves and herbal stains from his body had vanished. The redness in his burns had dulled. The shallow cuts on his skin were… gone.
Rilo chuckled. "I see you've been practicing."
Yogan wiped water from his eyes. "I had to improvise."
He stared out at the river, exhaling through his nose.
"A lot of shit's happened these past few days."
His voice was soft. But not shaken.
Not broken.
Just worn.
And somehow… lighter.
Kenshiro folded his arms. "Well, if this is what recovery looks like, we should all nearly die more often."
"No thanks," Haru said flatly.
Keru simply crossed his arms and watched as the two young benders moved through the river, each one healing, in their own way.
[A/N: Can't wait to see what happens next? Get exclusive early access on patreon.com/saiyanprincenovels. If you enjoyed this chapter and want to see more, don't forget to drop a power stone! Your support helps this story reach more readers!]