The rain beat heavy on Yun’s shoulders and head, seeping through his hair and cooling his scalp. He was certain- almost sure- that if he were actually a firebender and things were how they were supposed to be, he would be warming the air around him to the point of evaporating the water. The one element in his grasp didn’t grant him the same, passive solace of letting his anger be known in the subtleties of temperature changes. If he wanted anyone to hear him, he would have to scream.

Yun’s leg still ached- Kyoshi’s healing had worked, but he hadn’t stayed long enough for her to finish the job. It didn’t matter, anyways. He was feeling well enough to run. That was all he needed.

The streets of Makapu were paved in rough cobblestone- it was one of the many things that had stayed the same since Yun had last visited his home. Crafted by long-ago earthbenders native to the village, Yun had once heard that the design had been chosen to prevent carts from moving when stationary. That, or whoever had made them had been a poor road maker. Either option was viable, and Yun had never cared to go more in-depth with his research than asking the old men outside the teashop. He didn’t care then, and he certainly didn’t care now.

What Yun did care about was where he was. At this point- in what he didn’t know or care- navigation was key to survival. And survival was key to everything. He didn’t want to die. He couldn’t die. Not like this, not here. Dying here and now would be letting the world win. It would be letting Kyoshi win.

Yun stopped. He had reached a wall- made a turn he hadn’t planned on making. In the absence of his thoughts he had gotten himself lost- he had gotten himself lost, in his own hometown. The place he had lived in for fourteen years, and had only left for three. Nothing could’ve changed such a brief time, at least not in such a backwater town as Makapu. And it hadn’t. The only thing that had changed was him.

That, and the wall before him had been earthbent into place. He realized all too late what that meant.

“Shit.” Yun muttered before turning to face his former friend.

“Yun- don’t move.” Drenched in the same rain as him, Kyoshi looked like she had been carved from stone in the low light. The Avatar held one of her war fans- outstretched and opened- to him, the other closed in her opposite hand. She was brandishing a weapon. At him. It wasn’t as if it hadn’t happened before, but-

“Stop.” Kyoshi demanded. She had to shout over the rain, and even then, her voice was barely decipherable. She glanced up, at the prison she had created, to measure how well it would hold him.

“I’m not doing anything.” Yun shouted back. He didn’t know why. He couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t doing anything, he was standing around and shouting at the sky. Was there anything for him to do in the first place?

“You ran!” Kyoshi shouted. There might’ve been a hint of anger in the subtle inflictions of her voice. Or it could’ve been the rain. “You broke your word and you ran! You betrayed my trust!”

“I didn’t run.” Yun scoffed. He scoured his brain for the excuse he had given for his absence, only to realize he hadn’t given one at all. “I walked. My leg isn’t healed enough to run.”

“Yun.” Kyoshi sighed, her arm lowering as she exhaled, though she didn’t sheath her weapon. Her voice was tried and tired, portraying all her emotions in one single word.

“Thanks for that, by the way. Really a pal thing to do, to offer to fix my leg after every terrible thing you’ve done to me.” He deadpanned.

“Yun. Please.” Her voice grew deeper in tone and pitch.

“No, no, I mean it.” He absolutely didn’t. “You couldn’t fix my life or any of my problems so you fix my leg. An injury you helped cause, but none of us are perfect, y’know?”

“You broke your own leg! It’s- it’s not your fault, but it certainly isn’t mine!”

“Isn’t it, though? It really is all your fault when you think about it for long enough. You did this, Kyoshi. You did this to me. And you’re pretending you didn’t to make yourself feel better about it.”

She didn’t reply.

“Now, I don’t blame you for it.” He did. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he blamed her for everything. He was lying now, just like she said he didn’t. “You’re doing what you have to do, to make the world a better place. Because you’re the Avatar. It’s your job.”

“Yun.” Kyoshi finally spoke, but only uttered his name. “Yun. Stop.”

“What?” Yun studied Kyoshi’s face, straining to see her features in the dim light and rain. He glanced behind him, at the wall keeping him inside. He wasn’t doing anything. He hadn’t done anything this entire time. “No. No- I can’t.”

“Please.” Kyoshi put her hand over her temple, like a parent frustrated with a child’s poor behavior. That really was how she saw him. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

“Make what harder? Condoning- no, advocating for the death of your oldest, closest friend? Looking into my eyes when you kill me? Wow, I’m honored you value my life so much, to the degree where you’re having second thoughts about ending it.”

“You aren’t going to be executed, Yun.” What a lie. What a beautiful, glorious lie he was still expected to believe. “I don’t know what gave you that notion, but it’s not true. I don’t want you dead.”

“Then why bring me here? Why present me to the court with all the evidence of my crimes and the knowledge of where I would end up? I’m not stupid, Kyoshi, and I know you aren’t either. You know where I’m headed, and you’ve known all along. You’ve just been pretending otherwise.”

“I’m not pretending, I just haven’t made up my mind yet.” Kyoshi scoffed. “If the court decides to have you executed, I will overrule their decision. I think I can do that, since I’m… since I’m the Avatar. I won’t let you die.”

“Then what?” Yun walked toward Kyoshi- closer to her so that she could see his face. She didn’t move, either to him or away. She stayed where she was. “Then what are you going to do with me? Throw me in prison maybe? The catacombs under Laogai? Get the Earth King to deal with me because you’re too afraid to yourself?”

“No!” Kyoshi stepped backwards, but only moved a step. “No- I won’t.”

“Then what are you going to do with me?”

“I- I don’t know, ok? It’s a tough decision to make!”

“You know, you should really get used to making decisions about other people’s lives. It’s part of your duty as the Avatar.” He paused. “You know who said that? Jianzhu. And he said it to me.”

“How is that relevant? At all?” Kyoshi put her hand over her eyes, but only to wipe away the rainwater.

“I don’t know, because I have to live with his stupid advice racking my brain? It’s not even useful to me? When will I ever need to know the intricacies of connecting to past lives that aren’t my own? It’s so- it’s so stupid! Because after everything, it was you! And you were right there! And none of us knew! How did we not know?!”

“I know, Yun.” She sighed as she said the words. “Believe me, I know. I don’t know how or why things happened the way they did, but dwelling on the past isn’t doing us any good. We have to move forward.”

“Then why don’t you have a plan for what’s going to happen to me?” Yun begged. “Why don’t you know what’s going on? Why do you pretend that you do? I- why are you torturing me like this, please.”

“I’m just trying to make it easier, I thought that…” She didn’t finish the statement, but repeated its beginning. “I just thought that…”

She was lying. She was still lying. She had to be lying. The Avatar didn’t struggle with making decisions. The Avatar was strong, decisive and willful. The Avatar stuck to their principles, unfettered by silly things like compassion or past friendships. The Avatar made the decisions that were the best for everyone. That’s why it couldn’t have been him. That’s why Kyoshi had to be lying.

“Yun…”

“Why are you doing this to me, Kyoshi?” The words fell out of his mouth, unwillingly. “I thought… I thought we were friends. I know… I know you hate me, but-”

“I don’t hate you, Yun.” Another lie. All Kyoshi did was lie. “I want to help you. I just don’t want you to hurt anyone else. You have to understand that I can’t just let you go off into the world on a murder spree. I can’t have that blood on my hands, and I don’t want you to have it on yours.”

“I don’t want that!” Yun looked to his own hands, barely recognizing their own shape.

“You don’t? I thought…” She shook her head. “What do you want, then?”

“I want you to make up your mind! I want you to stop playing with my emotions! If you’re going to kill me, the least you could do is have the mercy to end me quickly! I- I wish you would’ve!”

Kyoshi outstretched her hand, and hovered it over his shoulder before putting it over his skin and pulling him forward into an embrace. Yun’s skin bristled as Kyoshi moved her warm, bare hand over it. He could almost hear her own rapid heartbeat in the small space they shared. It could’ve been his.

“Let’s go inside.” She whispered, her voice weak and as scared as his. “It’s miserable in this rain.”