An Innocent Spark [Zukka]

Chapter 68: A Late Night Showdown

The sun was setting, and the streets were quickly being overtaken shadows. There was an uncomfortable silence all around. The normally busy restaurants and markets were mostly empty save for a few young mothers buying food to bring home to their families.

Even the birds which normally chirped away in cheerful song this time of year were silently nesting in their nests nestled in the cracks of rooftops. Only the rats could be found scurrying into the darkness of alleys with bits of bread.

Mai kept one hand on her throwing knives hidden in her robe while the other was held in front of it to hide it. Something was not right, and she was never one to be caught off guard.

As she quickened her pace to get home faster a faint cheering became perceptible in the distance. She made her way towards the sound, taking to the dark alleys as she got close to avoid being seen before she had scoped out what was happening.

She peered around the corner of an old soap shop towards the large open avenue where it appeared a large crowd had gathered. The large mass of people became chanting in unison while raising up torches towards the sky as they marched down the road.

Their words sent shivers down her arms which made her tighten her grip around the hilts of her blades. Her shock was quickly replaced with a seething anger. Mai walked out from behind the wall, ready to stop this madness before it could get any further.

When she looked up and saw a large banner being set alight she stopped in her tracks, unable to process what was happening before her eyes. She took a few steps back before retreating behind the wall she had hidden behind, watching as the fabric portrait of the fire lord burned and ash fell to the ground.

"It is time for fire lord Zuko's rule to come to an end!" a man leading the protest shouted from the front of the crowd.

"He is leading our nation to ruin one law at a time!" a female protestor added from underneath the burning banner.

"Don't worry madame," the man said reassuringly, "by the time the sun sets lord Zuko's reign will be but a memory."

"I will die before I let two men marry in my temple," a young priest shouted from the middle of the crowd, to which he garnered applause. More proclamations kept coming and all Mai could hear was noise as the cacophony grew.

As the last bit of Zuko's image turned to dust above the growing crowd. She turned around and despite her telling trying to control herself she started running as fast as she could away from the protest. In a split-second decision she changed course and ran in the opposite direction of her home.

Their relationship may not have ended on the best terms, but she would always love Zuko as a friend and she couldn't let anything happen to him or Sokka. If it was the last thing she did it would be worth it not only for him but for her nation.