Dawn arrived silent over the Kyoshi village.
The sky was just beginning to tint pink and orange when Suki gathered her warriors in the dojo, the same one where they had trained since they were children. The walls smelled of new wood, but the floor still bore marks from the attack's fire. The light entered through the broken windows, outlining the silhouettes of Ena, Kaede, Hana, Kiroru, Mei-Lin, and Sayuri.
They had all seen something coming.
But none of them knew what.
Not completely.
Suki took a deep breath.
Her Kyoshi uniform was impeccable, but her hands trembled slightly.
The others noticed.
Ena was the first to speak.
"Suki… what's going on?" she asked in a soft voice.
Kaede crossed her arms, with a less patient expression.
"Does it have to do with the Rens?"
The youngest—Mei-Lin and Kiroru—exchanged nervous glances.
Sayuri watched with an unsettling calm.
Hana seemed on the verge of asking, but held back.
Suki closed her eyes for an instant.
And then she said it.
"I'm leaving the island."
The silence swallowed the dojo's air.
Mei-Lin stifled a gasp.
Hana brought a hand to her mouth.
Kaede took a step forward, incredulous.
"What…? What do you mean you're leaving?"
"Why?" Kiroru asked, her voice fragile.
"With whom?" Sayuri added, without preamble.
Suki swallowed, holding her ground.
"With them," she replied at last. "With Ren Yang. With Ren Yin.
She took a deep breath.
"With Ren."*
Ena took a step toward her, her expression serene but tense.
"Suki… you're the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. You can't just—"
"I can," Suki interrupted, soft but decisive. "And I must."*
Kaede clenched her fists.
"For them? For two men who aren't even… normal?"
"They aren't two," Suki replied. "They are one."*
That was enough to silence them all.
They had suspected it, some had guessed it… but hearing it aloud was different.
Hana broke the silence.
"Do you love them?"
The question fell like a spear in the center of the group.
Suki lowered her head.
"Yes," she whispered. "And it's not something I can ignore."*
Kaede opened her mouth to protest, but Ena stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't speak from anger," she murmured.
Suki continued:
"I'm not following them just because… of what I feel. I'm following them because I've seen what they want to build. What they can change. What they can prevent.
And…" her voice trembled, "I can't stay here making small repairs when I can help prevent wars."
Sayuri approached slowly.
"So your path is no longer here?"
Suki's eyes filled with light.
"My path started here," she said. "But my destiny… is out there."*
The warriors stood still.
And one by one, without pressure, without unnecessary words… they accepted their leader's decision.
Kaede was the last to yield to reality.
"If you leave…" she said in a thread of a voice, "who will guide us?"*
Suki smiled with tenderness.
"You yourselves.
She looked at Ena.
"You can take command until we return.
She looked at all of them.
"Because I will return.
I promise."
The air grew warmer.
The tension vanished like mist.
And without saying more, Suki hugged each of them.
Strong.
Long.
As if she were saying goodbye to her own childhood.
The entire village gathered in the main square, where the attack's bonfires had been extinguished and replaced by new torches. The Rens arrived together: Yin walking with his impeccable posture, Yang with a calm but firm energy.
Azula and her team stood a few meters behind, alert but silent.
Ren Yin spoke first.
"People of Kyoshi," he said in a clear voice. "Our work here is done."*
The villagers let out murmurs.
No one wanted them to leave.
They represented security.
They represented hope.
Ren Yang took a step forward.
"We are not abandoning you.
His soft smile immediately calmed the fears. "But the world is changing, and we must act where we can make a difference."
Yin added:
"We leave to protect something greater than a single territory.
To prevent more attacks.
To stop other villages from suffering what you have suffered."
The villagers lowered their gazes.
Several children looked at Yang as if they were watching a hero depart.
But the real surprise came when Suki approached the Rens.
The villagers looked at her, confused.
She raised her voice.
"I'm going with them."
A big, heavy silence fell over the village.
Then, murmurs.
Then tears.
Then choked exclamations.
An old woman asked:
"Will you come back?"
Suki clenched her fists.
"Yes," she promised. "I will not leave the island. You. I will return stronger, wiser… and with knowledge that can help us grow."*
Ena, from the back, raised the Kyoshi fan, signaling that the decision was supported.
That calmed everyone.
And so, without the need for long speeches, the departure was sealed.
The dawn of the next day bathed the coast in golden colors. Azula's team's ship was ready to set sail. The Kyoshi Warriors escorted Suki to the beach, walking with slow, solemn steps.
Suki stopped at the water's edge.
The salty breeze moved her hair and the green fabrics of her uniform.
Ena approached and hugged her first.
Then Kaede, with force.
Then Hana, Kiroru, Mei-Lin, Sayuri… one by one.
"Come back alive," Kaede said, trying to hide her emotion.
"And bring stories," Hana added with a clumsy attempt at a smile.
"And don't let those two drive you crazy," Sayuri joked.
Suki laughed through her tears.
Then she walked toward the Rens, who were waiting on the shore.
Yang offered her a hand, warm.
Yin offered her the other, elegant.
She took both.
And, without looking back, she boarded the ship.
As the vessel pulled away, the Kyoshi Warriors raised their fans to the wind, an ancient gesture of farewell and blessing.
Suki watched as the island grew smaller.
"I will return," she whispered.
And beside her, the two Rens smiled.
Because their departure did not mark an end.
But the beginning of the world they were going to build together.
Autor´s note:
Hello everyone, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I wanted to know what you think and, also, to let you know that I'll be absent (I'm not yet sure if it will be for one or two weeks), as I'm finishing the school term and exams have me studying all the time. This, along with my job, doesn't leave me with time to keep making progress, but don't worry: once all this is over, I'll be back with more chapters.