You & I

Right Hand Soldier

Iroh's POV
Weeks had passed since Aang's death and everything had changed.

The atmosphere across the entire world wasn't the same, the energy in the palace radiated sorrow and the townsfolk became stressed.

"Who will keep balance without the Avatar?"

"How will we cope for the next sixteen years until the new avatar is announced?"

"Will the world fall back into chaos?"

People were worried and turning to their leaders for answers, but there was nothing that we could say... we didn't know. We weren't in the right mind to decide what to do.

Avatar Aang was more than just the avatar, he was a dear friend to all of us, he was family.

Y/N accompanied my family to his funeral, where his children, Bumi, Kaya and Tenzin, and his wife, Katara, were heartbroken and crying out in grief and pain.

My grandfather, Southern Chief Sokka, Chief of Police Toph and Suki stood by them comforting them whilst wiping their own tears.

His shrine read:

"Here lies Avatar Aang, a friend, a husband, a father and the avatar that led our world into an era of peace. May his soul finally rest."

His friends spoke kind words about him, some of them making us laugh and some of them making us cry harder, but either way, if he could see us, he'd know how much he was loved.

Months after his funeral, my family and I were invited to an island in republic city, to celebrate the life of Aang.

There was a building with a large statue of Aang above it, and it was named: Avatar Aang Memorial Island.

The world was moving on, this was for real, he was gone, Avatar Aang was gone.

Around the world, civilisations threw themselves into chaos, they had the mentality that if the avatar wasn't there to restore balance, they had nothing to fear, nothing to hold them back.

Initially, it wasn't too serious, but it eventually grew to a point that leaders couldn't stand by and allow it.

I was given news that the United Forces were being called to the outer Earth Kingdom, which had turned to chaos and rebellion after the death of Avatar Aang. For the first time in my life, I wasn't mentally ready for this mission, my mind wasn't in the right place. It had been four months since Aang had passed, but I was still grieving, I was still hurting.

As I boarded the ship to leave, Y/N grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. I sent her a faint smile. Even though I couldn't bring myself to show it, having her beside me, it helped ease the pain a bit.

She really helped with work too, she personally explained the mission and everybody's roles in detail to every single soldier on not only our ship, but every ship in the fleet.

She slept beside me every night, and on the day before we departed, I remember right before I went to sleep she sat beside me and wrapped her arms around my bare skin and kissed my shoulder, she traced her hands up to my shoulder and rubbed them gently and whispered:

"Don't worry about the mission, my love, just relax, I'll take care of everything. All you have to do, is show up."

Then she softly kissed my cheek and laid down beside me.

Y/N had been so supportive in my time grieving the loss of Aang. He was like my supportive, fun, older uncle. He was always looking out for me and I missed him deeply.

Even though I wasn't putting the effort into our relationship that Y/N deserved, she was there for me everyday. Whether it was just to be a shoulder for me to cry on, or to bring me a snack, or just to talk, she was there for me one hundred percent of the time.

I hated feeling so weak with her, but she treated me like I was being so emotionally strong even though I felt like I was crumbling.

As we pulled into the shores of the outer Earth Kingdom, my stomach somersaulted, I wasn't ready.

I had only accepted the mission because I know that if I hadn't, they'd call on the second division of the United Forces... Commander Bumi, son of Avatar Aang, he needed this time to grieve more than I did.

Then I felt her presence beside me, I turned to face her and she smiled,

"Remember what I said? Don't worry about it. Just stand there and look like the powerful General you are!"

She poked me teasingly.

Curiously, I didn't know what she was up to.

As we approached the first town, on the coast, screaming and the roar of flames filled their streets. Buildings were burning, mothers were protecting their children, people were looting homes, it was the pure definition of chaos.

As the army approached the outskirts of their town, we earned a few glances, but overall we were just ignored.

I took the stance ready to generate lighting to shoot above the town and demand attention, but as I did so, Y/N pulled me back up and shook her head.

I stared at her in confusion as she ran ahead of me and climbed onto the roof of a small house that wasn't on fire. She then took a deep breath inwards before exhaling and holding her hands out.

What was she doing?

Utterly astonished, I watched as she pulled an insane amount of water from the ocean behind us and held it over the burning buildings, then dropping it, creating a sizzling sound as the flames died and everyone's attention turned to her.

"Now that I have your attention. My name is Y/N and I am a representative from the United Forces. We have been sent by the United Republic in agreement with the world leaders because the order in your towns have been thrown out of balance to the point that we cannot ignore it anymore. If we cannot come to an agreement with you to resolve this chaos peacefully, your town will be officially under martial law."

Mutters could be heard within the crowd:

"She can't do that."

"What authority does that girl have?"

"Who's gonna make us!? The avatar!?"

Then a loud voice from the crowd yelled:

"And who gave you the authority to give commands to us!? You're just another soldier trying to enforce your authority onto innocent villagers!"

"Yeah!"

She was unfazed,

"I'm here with the first division of the United Forces as the spokesperson for General Iroh of the Fire Nation. So if you'd like to question my authority you should take it up with my general. We have not tried to enforce any authority and have given you the option to resolve this peacefully, if you'd send your leader forward I am certain we can come to a mutual agreement satisfying everyone."

Murmurs started again amongst the crowd before somebody stepped forward and choked,

"I- I believe I'm the one you- you need to t-talk to."

Y/N's stern glare quickly became a welcoming smile and she gracefully jumped from the small building, landing perfectly on her feet before shaking the man's hand and leading him to the ship to negotiate.

Wow. She was amazing.