Chapter 115 - My SI Stash #15 - Golden Wind by Cherico (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

-A SI Airbender fic recommended by cade2065~ He's apparently quite the badass (～￣▽￣)～

*QuestionableQuesting story, so you need to have an account to get access to it! Have a good day~

Sypnosis: ???

Rated: M

Words: 190K

Posted on: forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/golden-wind.10596/ (Cherico)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

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Chapter 1+2 (exceptional)

"Kin Kaze…"

I got up from my chair. I was short, too f.u.c.k.i.n.g short, and it had taken me seven god damned years to get here to this point. The firebender looked at me and shook his head. I knelt down before him as he studied me.

"You have potential, you have proven your skills."

My hands clenched, was I about to pull this off?

"But the prince...the prince is being exiled, this is a fool's errand."

"I wish to stand by the prince sir."

"I recommend that you go to school, that you study medicine in the royal academy for boys."

"The prince needs people who are willing to stand by him even in exile sir."

The man shook his head.

"I...."

A door opened and General Iroh walked in.

"This is the volunteer?"

"Yes, but he's too young, and while he has some medical training."

I smiled.

"He's more of an alchemist than a true healer."

The older fatter man studied me.

"Do we have any other volunteers?"

"No, I'm sorry but no one wants to destroy their medical career by working with an exile...no offense."

"Well then it's better to have the next best thing to a healer than no healer at all. Are you willing to study hard?"

"Yes sir."

He smiled.

"Wonderful. Well, come with me."

Seven years...Seven years of wandering the fire country, of hunting and begging and using whatever abilities I have to survive. Two god damned years of doing whatever I could to get just a little bit stronger. All for this moment. I tried to control my face, my emotions.

"Zuko is going through a rough time right now, he could use a friend."

General rule of thumb when you've been chased by an eldritch abomination, gifted powers for surviving the night and then sent to another world aged down to a six years old body? Look for the familiar. Since I was in fire country that meant finding Zuko. I guess I should be glad that I arrived as early as I did, that I was given the advantages that I had. That I was able to grow my powers by fishing, hunting and helping out in various hospitals.

My black and purple outfit was clean, my alchemist materials were strapped to my back and I had a letter of introduction from the hospital that I volunteered slash apprenticed to. I was walked onto an older ship.

"I just want to thank you um."

"Kaze."

"Kaze, do you play Pai sho?"

I grimaced.

"I only know a little bit. If we played I think it would be best if we play in private I'm embarassingly bad at it."

Iroh laughed.

"Don't worry I would be glad to teach you."

We went down into the ship and I checked to make sure my hat kept my hair completely covered. I was nervous, I was pretty sure I could trust Iroh but my records were shoddy. He would look into things, he had to. The ship was mostly empty, it looked like it had a skeleton crew barely enough to keep it functional. I was led to a room.

"The ship's doctor's quarters."

"I will need space to make medicine, and better equipment, and ingredients...I believe I could in time make a profit if money is."

"Don't."

He smiled.

"A ship's doctor is always provided what he needs, to do otherwise would be foolish."

"Of course."

"Zuko will be aboard soon, then we will leave. Thank you for coming here, having a healer around really makes a difference."

With that he left, I gathered what few possessions I had and put them away. The ship was old but the equipment was good, better then what I was normally stuck with. I could work with this. I tried to catalogue what was here, what I could work with. Bells clanged and I put myself together. I rushed to the ship's deck and stood ramrod straight as the prince walked on deck. And looked us over, most of the people here were middle aged or elderly. People who had served with Iroh directly and were here out of personal loyalty or people who screwed up bad and me.

"Great."

He stopped at me.

"You...what do you do?"

"This is the ship's doctor, Kaze."

"but he's my age."

"Kaze is very smart for his age."

Zuko sighed, tired and defeated.

"Lets go."

There were no further introductions, Zuko didn't seem like he was up to it, and so as the sun set we left the fire country and I felt myself relax a little. I went back to my quarters and cleaned, it was important that my infirmary remained clean, that my instruments were clean. I had a gift for cleaning, something I received for surviving my personal nightmare. I took a breath and concentrated on my cover. I heard a knock and opened the door. Iroh smiled, holding a board.

"A game?"

"Mind if I set it up?"

"Sure."

I took a breath and locked the door, my heart pounded and my hands shook as I set up the pieces on the board. Iroh raised an eyebrow as the design took shape ,when I was finished he looked at it.

"I was told you could help me."

He looked at me as I took off my hat, my blond hair falling down.

"Help you with what?"

I shook, this was it. I might die here and now.

"Have you ever heard of Guru Laghima?"

"I have heard of some of his."

I started floating in the air, wind rushing in my hands, Iroh's eyes opened in shock as the wind blew gently onto his body, then I landed on my feet. The two of us were silent, Iroh's face was filled with a kind of trepidation.

"I..I think I'm the only one left. My parents are dead, my sisters are dead, my aunts, uncles, grandparents... every one's dead. You're my last option."

Iroh's face was filled with guilt, was this the moment of truth? I clenched my hands and closed my eyes and prepared myself for everything to go sideways.

"Accomodations will be made."

I opened my eyes.

"Certain things will have to be kept discreet."

I bowed.

"I understand Prince Iroh, I will try to keep my condition discreet."

"It's not...."

His face was etched with guilt and he looked away.

"It's not some thing you should be ashamed of, but these are not good times."

With that he left. My heart slowed down and I flopped down on a bed, that could have gone a lot worse.

Chapter 2

Kin Kaze

Spirit touched.

Those two words are a double edged sword. Want to explain why you have some unnatural ability? Spirit touched. You're the only blond on the entire planet? Spirit touched. You have unnatural skills? Spirit touched! It was a go to excuse that gave me a license to be weird, but at the same time...people really don't want to be around you. Which, for me, was good and bad. On the one hand I never had to worry about being forced to go to a Fire nation school, because parents didn't want their children around someone who was Spirit touched. Orphanages were the same way. On the other hand there was a century long war going on.

The Fire nation wasn't left unaffected by it, really it could not be unaffected by it.

You saw it in the gender disparity. The numbers of women and men were relatively even until recruitment age, then the number of men dropped. Some of the towns I've been to, women outnumbered men three to one. People with medical skills were rare and, if you were spirit touched and were willing to show people that your potions worked well, people gave you a chance.

When they actually did work? You got a place to live, money in your pockets, respect, books and training from the elderly people who remained to help the villagers. But this was only temporary. When enough burns were healed, when enough injuries were fixed... Well then people started getting ansty, they started getting meaner and the superstitious blamed you for their bad luck.

And then it was time to leave. Just ask for a couple references, say that your work is done and go to the next town over in the dead of night. Always keep moving, never stay in a place too long. The Fire nation wasn't a cruel place, the people weren't evil, but I was an outsider and I would never belong there. I yawned as there was a knock on my door. I put on my coat, and looked at the Fire nation soldier.

"Is there anyway I can help you sir?"

"Was told you could fix burns."

"I have some experience with them."

A drastic understatement. Number one injury in the Fire nation? Some one got burned. He handed me a note and I read it.

"Really?"

"Fire lord's orders, the prince's Agni kai injury remains in place."

He looked at me and sighed.

"I don't like it either, the prince has already been informed."

And just when you think Zuko's father couldn't be any more of a shit.

"I understand."

"Also it's breakfast time, food is....acceptable."

With that said I walked to the chow hall, Fire nation food was in my opinion too spicy but, as long as you stayed away from the red stuff, it was acceptable if bland. Breakfast was some kind of noodle dish, bland but filling. I've eaten worse since I've come here. I stayed silent, the men looked at me and stared.

"Spirit touched."

They blinked at my statement.

"Happened on the sea, after the pirates killed my family and left me for dead...."

They grimaced, one of them decided to talk.

"Who did it?"

"Water tribe, we were civilians but hey easier to fight a bunch of defenseless civilians than Fire nation soldiers who can fight back, right?"

The man took a breath. I could see his anger.

"Your family?"

"Every one died. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins. Every one."

I took a cup of tea.

"Wow um damned so?"

"So they sunk the ship and left us for dead, one by one I watched my family sink under the sea then I was the only one left. That's when I met it."

I stared at my tea cup.

"Some people worship spirits, not a good idea. There are nasty ones out there. I escaped, I lived and then it caught me and decided to change me as a reward for surviving its little game."

I shook my hair.

"And that's when I landed on shore. Overall I rate the entire experience 1 out of 10, I don't recommend it."

I shrugged and sipped the tea. I missed coffee, I missed it so much.

"That's rough, buddy."

I shrugged.

"One of the reasons I came, heard this ship was full of misfits, wondered if there was room for one more."

The men laughed and Iroh smiled, I was asked to bring some food to the Prince. I took a bowl and knocked.

"Breakfast."

"Ugh, who's there."

"Kaze, the ship's doctor."

"I'm not hungry."

"Do you really think you will be able to defeat the master of four elements on an empty stomach?"

The door opened and Zuko took the offered food, then the door slammed in my face. I shrugged and walked back to my room, I had potions to brew, medical books to read and other work that needed to be done.