The Beginning (One Shot)

[Zuka]

November 28th




” Arrluk”

The name repeated over and over in her head

” Arrluk”

It was like a drum, a steady beat that just kept going and going. After Kenji left her office after having completed the job she had hired him for Zuka sat at her desk staring at the pictures that laid across it. Miki was one thing, she could handle that and his involvement didn’t hurt like the Ambassadors did. Was there anyone in this city that wasn’t corrupt or easily bought? Zuka knew that she had no place to question such a thing but being a Ambassador to this city was supposed to mean one was above all that but she guessed not even they were safe. Funny though, the Northern Water Tribe was 0 and 2 when it came to Ambassadors and councilmen. First Tarrlok and now Arrluk, not really setting a good example for their nation.

The more she stared at those pictures the more she felt the pit in her stomach grow. She truly wished nothing more than to pay Arrluk a visit herself and make him pay on her terms but..she couldn’t. That would ruin all the work she had done so far to separate herself from this and as much as she wanted to she had to let it rest and do as Kenji said and take the evidence to Raiko.

Looking at the pictures wasn’t helping her keep her calm and she gathered them all together and threw them into the top drawer of her desk where they would stay until she could go see the president. However, even if they were out of sight they were not out of mind and Zuka continued to think of the spineless snake that had caused her so much trouble.

She had to do something to distract her mind or else she would end up doing something stupid.

Sitting up in her chair Zuka reached for the bottle of Torch that had been left over from her meeting with Kenji and pulled it toward her along with her glass and poured herself a generous amount. The bottle was more than half gone now thanks to Kenji and his snooping around but considering everything he had done for her she supposed she could give him a pass this time. Taking a large sip from the amber liquid Zuka held it in her mouth and let the burn spread through her tongue and to the back of her throat. This vintage had a little extra kick to it with some added spice that made the heat of the drink more pronounced and once her mouth started to go numb Zuka swallowed and sat back, gripping the glass around the rim and casually resting her forearm over the arm of her chair. The liquor did its job, as soon as she felt the warmth move from her mouth to down her throat and in her stomach Zuka felt sightly relaxed.

Resting her head back against the cushioned head rest Zuka closed her eyes and tried to think of something else but no matter how hard she tried she could still her the name in the back of her mind. Zuka continued to sit there, trying her best but no matter what the drum beat would not go away. After sitting like that for a few minutes and failing to stop the beat Zuka groaned and sat back up. If she was going to do this then maybe she needed something else to preoccupy her mind.

Setting the glass on the desk Zuka pulled a stack of papers close to her, maybe if she focused on work business it would stop. Work didn’t seem much better because each time she tried to look over a bill or a invoice she couldn’t focus and quickly she gave up on doing that. With another, louder groan Zuka threw herself back into the chair and slid down somewhat, throwing her arms over the rest and using her foot to move the chair from side to side.

Arrluk, Arrluk, Arrluk, Arrluk”

With yet another groan Zuka brought her palms up to her eyes and covered them a moment before rubbing. She had to do something because Zuka knew this was going to end badly or drive her insane. After she rubbed for a few minutes Zuka had to stop because her eyes started to hurt and she removed her hands and looked out across her office. From her slouched position she noticed something on the edge of the desk she hadn’t seen earlier and sat up to reach for it. It was a copy of the paper and while the paper was usually full of boring stories with maybe a nice Triad or robbery article here to here maybe reading something mundane would be a better distraction. Adjusting herself Zuka unrolled the paper and laid it across her desk while she reached for her Torch. Inside was just stories about political nonsense local happenings but as she kept flipping through the pages and sipped her liquor Zuka felt a little better. She spent some time looking over the Probending stats which did a lot to keep her mind busy as she thought about the upcoming matches and once she finished with that she turned the page once more and her eyes immediately fixated on a headline.

Republic City’s Ghost Strikes Again

Zuka had always been interested in Ghost stories, ever since he first came onto the scene she liked to read about the encounters in the paper and as she read the article and idea started forming in her mind.

No….she couldn’t. That was just insane and one of the stupidest ideas she ever had.

Pushing the paper away Zuka grabbed her glass and drank more of the liquor as she sat back once more but, the longer she sat the more she thought about her stupid plan and the longer it went on the more the drumming and the plan started to sync until every time she heard Arrluk the more sound her plan started to become until it was one rhythm. Once it had reached that point Zuka sat up and threw back the remainder of her liquor and set the glass down next to the news paper. If the Ghost could strike fear into those who saw him then so could she, all she needed was a plan.

~*~*~*~

Zuka went home later that night determined and she sat up all night forming a plan. If she could scare Arrluk enough to confess himself it wouldn’t matter what anyone tried to do or say in his defense he would be finished. Zuka still planned to bring the photos and information Kenji gathered for her to Raiko but she wanted something that was a little more hands on and since she couldn’t outright go after him this was the perfect alternative. Arrluk didn’t deserve to have a quiet dismissal from the council and she was going to see personally that his name would be dragged through the mud like he had done her fathers.

It took a couple days and Zuka spent most of her time at home while she planned, only leaving to handle important club and Doll duties. After about three days she had figured out what she was going to do all she had to do now was find the right ‘look.”

Zuka went to her closet and pulled everything out she could think of, but everything she found was too flashy and would draw too much attention. When she didn’t find anything there Zuka pulled a chair up to where the door to her attic was, climbed onto the chair and pulled down the ring to the door. It hadn’t been used in so long that the door had practically sealed itself in neglect but after a good yank it came loose and the ladder came down in a cloud of dust. Zuka fanned her hand in front of her face as she coughed and once the dust settled she climbed up the ladder and pulled the light string. The light didn’t reach far but it was enough for her to see a bunch of old boxes with thick layers of dust, most of the boxes were just junk, some of them were filled with papers but a few were from the days when she had traveled around the Earth Kingdom as Zana and if there wasn’t anything in there that could help her then Zuka didn’t know what else to do.

Zuka began to shuffle the boxes around, blowing off the dust and shifting through them. The first two boxes wielding nothing but in the third box she found a old grey hooded tunic that she used to wear and held it up. It was a little tattered but nothing she couldn’t fix and it was dark enough that it wouldn’t draw attention. Putting that aside Zuka looked through a few more boxes and found a some more things: gloves, some old boots, everything she needed.

Well, almost everything.

There was still the problem of covering her face. She supposed she could just tie a scarf around her but that seemed too risky, but, without something to hide who she was this would be all for nothing. Deciding to try to see if she could find anything else useful Zuka searched through some of the 'junk' boxes and after going through her forth one she found exactly what she was looking for.

Buried under a bunch of trinkets from her youth was a white, nearly faceless owl mask from one of her first Winter Festivals in the Northern Water Tribe. Zuka had forgotten all about it until now but she remembered the day she got it clearly. Her father had taken her to visit her Grandmother and Uncle and while out during the festival she spotted the mask at a vendor and fell in love with it. Zuka had no idea nor did she care for its symbolism to the tribe all she cared was that it looked cool and after pestering her father for it he relented and bought it for her. As she looked at the mask now Zuka couldn’t think of a better and more poetic way to get her revenge.

~*~*~*~

This was it, what all her planning had come to. Zuka had been watching the consulate for hours, she had perched herself on a rooftop across from the building and out of sight where she could see the other ambassadors leave one by one. Slowly everyone began to trickle out to go home to their families and as lights went off in the building one stayed on. Zuka had spent enough time there in her youth to know where the Northern Water Tribes office was and she watched as Arrluk paced around his office. She had heard that they were trying to pass some bill that he was helping write and it looked like he was working late to get it done which was perfect for her.

Zuka waited and once the last light in the building went off and she watched as the rest of the employees went home she set to work. Removing her jacket and setting it aside Zuka fixed her costume to make sure everything was in place and removed the mask from her hip and put it on, pulling the hood up and securing it. It was a strange feeling standing there dressed like she was and Zuka took a minute to collect herself. Taking in a deep breath she held it for a moment as she once again heard the familiar sound.

Arrluk, Arrluk, Arrluk”

It was time.

Taking her jacket and throwing it over her shoulder Zuka climbed her way down the building using a combination of pipes and a old, rusty fire escape.  As her feet hit the ground Zuka crouched in the shadows of the alley and looked out at the street to check for any passerbyers and after stashing her coat somewhere safe.   Zuka made sure no one was around once more and when it was clear she quickly made her way to the side of the building where Arrluk’s office was. Gathering some water from the snow on the ground Zuka began shooting small bits of ice at the wall in a alternating pattern and once she had enough she began to use them like rocks to climb the wall. When she made it to the ledge near the window Zuka waved her hand and the ice balls turned back to water and climbed up the wall to her. Zuka left the water coil around her left hand as she crouched her way along the ledge until she was at the correct window and could see inside the office.

Arrluk was sitting at his desk looking tired and she watched as he pushed his chair back and wandered over to where his private washroom was and shut the door behind him. Taking that as her chance Zuka pushed the window open and slipped inside, quickly making her way to his desk to turn off the small lamp that he was using to work and hiding herself in a corner.

Now that her trap was set all she had to do was wait and it wasn’t long before she heard a flushing sound and then running water before the door was opened and Arrluk stepped out. Even if Zuka couldn’t make out his face she could hear his confusion at the light being out and she watched the shadow walk back to the desk and lean down to inspect it. Pulling down the cord the light turned back on and Arrluk was too busy at first trying to figure out what happened

”Must have been a fuse” he said to himself once the light was back on and straightened himself up to sit in his chair. His hand had barely begun to turn the chair toward him when he looked up and saw that he wasn’t alone.

Zuka could see the color leave his face and the fear in his eyes once he finally noticed she was in the room with him. She said nothing, just stood there and her silence seemed to make things worse for the man because he jumped up out of fear and landed back in his chair.

”W-who are you?!” He managed to squeak out while instinctively reaching for the phone.

Zuka watched him and swiftly brought her hand up and shot a small jet of water at the phone which froze on contact making it useless. With a whimper Arrluk began to get up and started running for the door and Zuka once again shot a jet of water at it, sealing the door in ice. If this man hadn’t ruined what he had Zuka might have felt bad toying with a non bender like this but as it was he deserved a lot worse.

Seeing that his path was blocked Arrluk leaned against the door and turned to face his assailant ”What do you want?” she could hear his voice shaking but Zuka continued to say nothing. She stood there and let him stew for a moment before holding out her right hand and forcefully pointing to his chair. He seemed to get the message as he began to go back to his desk with shaking knees as he sat back down.

As soon as he was seated Zuka walked to the front of the desk and took out a old rolled up newspaper that she had tucked into the back of her belt and slammed the paper on the desktop. On the front page was a picture of her father and the story of the scandal Arrluk had caused and Zuka pointed to it. Arrluk looked at the paper and then to her

”I did what was asked! Everything they wanted I made sure of!”

He clearly thought she was some kind of Triad hitman but Zuka needed more from him than that. The water around her arm began to snake toward the floor and under the desk until it reached his legs and started to freeze around his feet, slowly moving up his legs. As the ice continued Zuka once again pointing to the article.

No, stop! What are you doing?!” Arrluk cried when he felt the ice ”I told you, I did what your people wanted!”

He still wasn’t getting it so Zuka moved around to the other side of the desk and behind his chair, putting her hand on the back of his head and slamming his face down onto the desk and into the paper and held him there as her ice continued to grow up his body.  Zuka held his head there and pushed down harder into the paper.

Something in his mind must have finally clicked because Arrluk started to beg.

”Wait, I was set up, I didn’t have a choice! It was Red Monsoons! Miki!” Now that she was getting somewhere Zuka released his head and dropped a copy of the photos Kenji had acquired for her next to the newspaper to show him that she knew the truth and she once again pointed to her fathers picture.

”No, wait, its not what it looks like!” he pleaded as the ice had started to move up his arms now and once it reached his neck Zuka waved her hand and stopped it.  Panic was setting in, the pain from the ice and the fear had began to mix and he was begging for his life. ”Please don't kill me!  Please....I did it, I set Sota up!” Zuka could see tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes as his confession started to turn into more whimpers, having had enough of those Zuka put her hand over his mouth and froze some more water around him to shut him up leaving him a ice statue in all but above his nose.

Arrluk's panic grew as she could hear him struggling and screaming for help but as he was sealed in ice his screams were barely loud enough for her to hear.  As he tried to whiter around, frozen to his seat  Zuka walked back around to the front of his desk and stood there over him. Picking up the newspaper and holding it out to him again, forcing the paper into his face which made him cry more. Figuring she had gotten her point across Zuka slammed the paper back down to the desk and took a few steps backward before she swept her arms around in a circular motion as the plants in the room began to wither and squeeze until the water from them was extracted and circling around her. Arrluk watched in horror as his plants turned to dust and with his eyes wide in terror Zuka extended her arms forcefully.  The water began to fly at him before breaking off into varying sized spikes of ice.

Arrluk let out another muffled scream and he shut his eyes in anticipation of the pain and his certain death but it never came. Instead Zuka let the ice drop on the desk, it returning to its liquid state as it did and she used that water to fill the room with a thick fog. With the fog acting as her cover Zuka moved quick and snatched up the photos and tucked them away and waved her hand quickly over the desk as what water remained moved as it was directed.

It was over in a matter of seconds and once she had done what she needed Zuka returned to the window she had come through and from there she slowly dropped the ice around Arrluk. It would still be a few minutes before it all melted which gave her plenty of time to get away.  

Moving along the ledge until she came to the back of the building Zuka climbed down the wall the same way she came. Once she was on the ground Zuka took off her hood and mask and tucked it inside her tunic and ran back to the alley she had took cover in and looked  behind th dumpster where she had stashed her jacket.   Once she was covered Zuka quickly made her way back to where her car was parked down the street and slipped in.  

As soon as she was in the safety of her car Zuka sat there for a moment to go over what had just happened. She really wanted to hurt him and it had been hard to hold back like she had but she hoped that what she did would be enough. Arrluk truly seemed terrified by their encounter and she wondered if he would do what she had told him too.    Figuring the only way to see was to wait Zuka started her car and headed home.

She had a lot to think about.

~*~*~*~

Slowly the fog began to disappear and once the ice was melted enough Arrluk was able to pull his hands free and help chip away at the ice. As he did the fog cleared to the point where he could see around him again and on his desk he noticed something that hadn’t been there before. There, above of the newspaper that had been left was the word “CONFESS” carved in ice across the top. Arrluk looked at the word in horror and brought his hands to his face, still shaken from what had happened he sat there in horror.

Now he had a choice to make and he knew he had better make the right one or else risk this again..or worse.