Dear Suki,
If you're reading this, then it means I overestimated my abilities after all. A shame, but that's life.
I'm not going to ask you not to cry or grieve. It wouldn't work anyway. But I do ask that you keep living and continue finding joy in life. Hopefully, the instructions I've left below will help you and the girls do exactly that.
I, Chan, Fire Herald, son of Chan, being of sound mind and body, hereby leave the following testament:
— The houses belonging to me in the Capital and on Ember Island are to become the property of Suki of Kyoshi Island.
— The funds invested under my name at the First Capital Exchange House are to be withdrawn and divided equally among the Kyoshi Warriors who accompanied me on this expedition.
— To Dandan of Kyoshi Island, I leave my weapon-maintenance kit. I've seen the way you've been drooling over it.
— To Ju of Kyoshi Island, I leave my tea collection. It's not exactly a book of baking recipes, but every pastry tastes better with tea than without it.
— To Toph Beifong, I leave my set of clay bombs. I have no idea why she'd want them, but her unhealthy fascination with explosions and destruction is visible from a mile away. Just don't blow yourself up, okay?
— To my father, Admiral Chan, I bequeath the responsibility of making himself a new heir. Come on, old man, I believe in you! Also, everything else I own, assuming there's anything left.
That is all.
Sincerely yours,
Chan
Farewell.
P.S.
If the opportunity presents itself, punch the Avatar in the face for me!
The admiral read his son's will. He sighed, read it again, sat down on the bed, and read it a third time.
"That damned boy! He's cracking jokes even in his own will!"
"And that's all you're worried about?" Suki asked, her voice trembling.
"You shut up!" the admiral suddenly roared, crushed by the news of his son's death. "You filled the boy's head with nonsense, and this is the result!"
"W-what? H-how dare you…" one of the girls began.
"How dare I?!" The man's voice nearly broke, and blood roared in his ears. "Every chance you get, you boast about being warriors, but in reality you're just girls playing with weapons! If you're such 'valiant warriors,' then why did my son go off somewhere practically alone, with only a handful of men, while leaving all of you behind?! Why were you sunbathing on the beach and drinking cocktails while he went off to fight?!"
The admiral lowered his head.
"Why...?"
Silence was his only answer.
Toph curled in on herself even more tightly in the corner, hiding her face against her knees. The girls from Kyoshi Island fought back tears, desperately trying not to make a sound. Suki bit her lip and stared off to the side. But the officer was not finished. With every passing second, the burning fire of anger in his chest blazed hotter and hotter:
"Can't think of an answer? I can!" the admiral barked. "Because to him, you're not a warrior! Not a soldier! Not just another subordinate! Just who do you think you are?! All of you?! Chan is a hereditary noble of the Fire Nation! A senior officer of both the army and the navy! A trusted servant of Lord Ozai himself! No general or admiral has the authority to demand anything of him! He answers only to the Fire Lord! And you turned his head back in your little fishing village and act in ways many lawful wives wouldn't dare! You won the boy over with pretty faces and managed to make him value and protect you more than his own life!
"He protected you..."
Sweating and struggling for breath, the admiral closed his eyes wearily, trying to calm the pounding in his heart.
"I wouldn't bury him just yet," Toph's quiet but firm voice came from the corner.
"What?" Chan Senior turned toward her.
"He said to open the scroll after two weeks. It's only been one," the girl replied in the same subdued tone.
"You mean..." Relief washed over the admiral, though the anger he felt toward these hens who had forced him to endure the worst moments of his life since his wife's death remained entirely intact.
"Idiots!" the sailor declared bitterly. "You think far too highly of yourselves, yet you couldn't even carry out the simplest order! If I were my son, I'd throw you all out with a broom! Or officially demote you to the status of concubines! The only warrior among you is sitting right over there, waiting for her commander's return."
He nodded toward Toph, then rose and left the room without another word, slamming the door behind him.
Perhaps he would regret those words later.
But the deed was done.
The words had been spoken and heard. The possible futures had changed. Whether for good or ill, only time would tell.
***
Chan, the following morning.
"Home, sweet home... But why is it so quiet?"
I walked through the corridors of what felt like an abandoned estate.
No servants. No father. Even the warriors were nowhere to be seen. Still, it didn't take long to find… my father, drunk nearly into a state of incoherence.
"Riiight... What exactly is going on here?"
"Hr-r-r... O-o-oh, Chan! You're alive after all! And those idiots... hr-r-r..."
A very unpleasant feeling stirred in my gut.
It was no secret to me that my esteemed ancestor had never been particularly enthusiastic about my relationship with Suki. He also regarded the other warrior girls with a fair amount of skepticism and disapproval. What could you do? He was a hereditary nobleman, old school through and through.
But he had never stooped to outright insults before.
And I was fairly certain this was the first time I'd ever seen him this drunk.
(End of Chapter)
🙌Bonus chapter for 100 power stones!
🔥The next bonus chapter will be for 200 power stones.