Lieutenant Suzume had dealt with many different and difficult situations. Being a female officer brought many more troubles than she would care to recall. From insubordination to the daily staring eyes, the female lieutenant had to constantly throw up a wall of composure. Saving face became her daily, if not every other daily, motto since the beginning of her commission. She fought for her honor with words and actions and proved herself through blade and strategy. Nothing could faze her short of losing the commander she had come to admire.

Well, that and taking care of this small child the commander put in my care, thought Suzume as she held the boy's hand walking down the mountain side.

Behind her she could hear the muffled laugh of her subordinates joking at her expense. A quick glare to the rear sent chills down the jesters' spine. Stone-face returned, she clenched her dignity with an iron will and counted the steps back to the camp with eagerness. At the bottom of the mountain, horses were brought for the officers. Suzume mounted the horse and assisted the boy as he fumbled with the stirrups. With the child hugging her waist, the lieutenant rejoined the formation with a light tap to the horse's sides. As they rode, she lifted up her elbow and glanced at the white mess of hair that pressed against her back. She then felt the sensation of something moist running down her back. The lieutenant could hear it but she was certain that the boy was crying.

"Lieutenant Suzume!"

The lieutenant snapped her head around and saw Commander Shenq riding up on his own horse. "Sir," she replied rendering the proper salute.

The commander bit his lip; a sign that meant he was about to say something discretely. Suzume leaned towards the commander as he spoke.

"Before I give you your orders I need your analysis of the boy. His... well current behavior in accordance with his situation will warrant special attention until we figure out a more permanent setting."

"Well sir, he has been very obedient an cooperative. He has also been very silent and self contained. I believe he currently crying as well."

"Yes... hmm. It is good that he's crying but I do not want to wean him just yet. You see the child..." The commander leaned in closer and whispered into the lieutenant's ear. "From what one of the detainees has told me, the boy has just lost his mother to the attack. That aside, he isn't old enough to know how to deal with the pain he's feeling." Commander Shenq then pulled his reigns back and trotted his horse around to the other side of the lieutenant. A bad taste collected in Suzume's mouth as the commander smiled at her.

"So in collecting what I know so far, I deem it best that the boy stay in your care until told otherwise. I do realize what this means but presently it can't be helped and I don't trust anyone else to do the job correctly."

The female lieutenant felt the color escape her face as the commander assigned her as babysitter to the survivor.

"As you carry out your task in whatever ways you deem fit be weary of his behavior but also think of his pain. I will have supply bring anther sleeping cot to your quarters along the appropriate blankets and so on..."

Suzume felt faint for a single moment as her composer cracked.

"Lastly," the commander continued, "I need you to go and alert medical immediately and tell them to be ready for our unconscious patient. Now make haste and deliver the message. After that you are dismissed to situate the boy."

The Lieutenant's lip quivered as she saluted the commander one more time and rode ahead towards the campsite. A few minutes later she came upon the northern watch position and informed them of the situation. Arriving at the medical tent, Suzume dismounted with the boy and walked though the flaps. The first person they saw was one of the nurses changing the caste of a soldier's leg.

"Aida," spoke of Suzume, "I've got someone I like you to meet."

"Lieutenant Suzume, I didn't hear you coming..."

The nurse's face started turning green and her face started shaking. "Aiiiieeeeeeeeeeee!" The nurse continued to scream and got up only to let the soldier's leg fall hitting the bed.

Suzume looked herself over but found nothing noteworthy but when she turned to the boy she found half his lower face caked with blood. She immediately grabbed a clean sheet off one of the beds and applied a good portion of it to his face. At that moment Yuri came running from the back room and followed Aida's pointing finger.

"Lieutenant is everybody okay," asked Yuri as she grabbed a big gauze patch and, rushing over, applied it to Suzume's back. "What happened? Your back... it's dry?"

Suzume twisted around and found a patch of dried blood trailing down her uniform.

"Oh that must be the boy's blood. He was riding with me... I thought he was crying... he never made a sound and wasn't bleeding when I first saw him."

Yuri scanned the boys face for fresh blood. She had to admit that the white hair with that amount of blood looked very surreal. "It may look like a lot of blood but I don't believe he's even lost half a pint. I'll bring a wet sponge and clean his face off but good luck get the stain out of your uniform ma'am."

And this was my good uniform too, thought Suzume.

Yuri came back a moment later and cleaned off the boys face. After all the dried blood was gone she found that the source of the bleeding was a small and very recent scar in the shape of a tear.

"The scar doesn't seem to be very deep and the bleeding has stopped so I do not think a bandage will be necessary. Just make sure he gets extra food and water tonight. But um... who is he?"

Suzume propped the boy onto a nearby bed them beckoned the nurse away from him. "I have not been told his name but he now the sole survivor of the northern air-temple."

"Oooo, that's got to be rough on him, He is so young."

"Yes I know. But that aside I've been directed to tell you that the woman we've been chasing is going to be brought here first. She's unconscious and maybe injured."

"You mean the air-bending woman who destroyed the Western air-temple and now the northern air-temp...?"

Both women turned around to find the little boy listening intently with an unending gaze. Yuri put her hand to her mouth while Suzume turned around and made a constipated face.

"I-if everything okay here Yuri then I'm going to get him situated in my quarters... commander's orders."

"Ah, yes... he should be fine now but if the bleeding should continue please notify me."

Both women tried to right off what just happened but Suzume could feel in her gut that something was wrong.

Later that evening Suzume took the boy to the chow hall for dinner. The menu consisted of a tossup between soup or rice. Both received their meals and sat down to eat. As he ate she saw a speck of rice stuck to his cheek. With the tip of her finger, she swiped it off and ate it herself. Stillness hovered over the entire tent as she saw everybody staring at her. With a single movement she flicked a knife she had hidden on her person at the tents middle pole. The sound of metal striking wood was soon followed by the tent's inhabitants continuing there evening meal. Suzume, meanwhile, was sucking down the hot broth from her bowl to hide her glowing red face.

Mrs. Yoji woke the next morning to find the same root she had disposed of the night before still poking her in the back. With a grumble she decided to get up and make breakfast. She scrounged around for her clothes and put them on. Still a little sleepy, Mrs. Yoji rounded the partition of the tent to find two guards talking together. A look of confusion broke over their faces that matched her own face.

"I'm sorry ma'am," said the male guard, "you're going to have to return to your area."

Mrs. Yoji's face started turning bright red for reason unknown to the guards. She bit her knuckle as she tried to regain her dignity. As her stomach lurched an idea popped in her head. "Actually I need to relieve myself. Have you people finished the bathroom facilities or are we still digging holes?"

With a look of annoyance, the female guard got up and grabbed the shovel designated for the tent.

"I'm sorry Ma'am but the one that had been completed yesterday night was burned down on accident. Until then, sigh, you still have to dig holes."

Mrs. Yoji's eyes rolled several time as she was led out of the tent and escorted to the camp's edge. As she looked across the gravely plain she saw freshly overturned clumps of earth scattered all over the place. It reminded her of a time back when she was teaching at Ba-Sing-Se University. She was watching her friend's hairless cat while for a week and forgot to clean out the sand box.

"Ms. Guard," said Mrs. Yoji with a hint of sarcasm. "Would you mind in I turned over a new leaf with the camps litter box."

Not realizing exactly what Mrs. Yoji was talking about, the guard foolishly gave the woman permission.

Mrs. Yoji put her feet apart and bent her knees. She then put her put her fist up and put them together. With every ounce of her strength her tore a giant crack in the earth's surface. Before the guard could stop the process from going any further Mrs. Yoji had swept the gravely surface clean from the waste products that had been covering it. The woman turned around to see the guard holding a flustered look on her face.

"I d-didn't mean for y-you..." stuttered the female guard. "A-are you done?"

Mrs. Yoji cocked her head sideways and then stomped her foot. Behind her a six by six structure with a roof and a door arose from the ground.

"I got tired of waiting for you folks and made my own," Mrs. Yoji explained.

Several soldiers ran up and took positions surrounding Mrs. Yoji. A higher ranking officer walked through the line to the guard.

"What's going on here? Is the prisoner trying to resist and escape?"

"N-no sir," exclaimed the guard in embarrassment, "I gave Mrs. Yoji permission to sweep the designated waste yard. She also has offered to construct permanent bathroom facilities."

"Yes I did," said Mrs. Yoji with a certain edge in her voice. "And I looked like to use the 'bathroom facilities' immediately if it's at all possible."

The officer stared fiercely at the guard who looked sheepish. He then shook his head. "Everybody back to work. Nothing to see here folks back to your stations. The only thing happening here might be a possible demotion and my permission to allow the prisoner to relieve herself."

Mrs. Yoji curtsied in a sarcastic manner then turned towards her little shack.

But before she had entered the place of refuge somebody dodged around her with a peculiar waddle. All she could make out of what he had been shouting was a 'so sorry' and an 'emergency'. The next thing she knew her facility was being deflowered in a most atrocious way. Turing away from the gurgling noises, Mrs. Yoji walked back to the officer.

"Excuse me sir but how many of these 'facilities' would you like me to construct for the camp."

Taking her offer into serious account the officer thought for a second and then produced a rough number. "About a dozen of them should suffice for the moment."

With a nod of her head the woman raised her fist and slammed them into the ground. The shockwave sent ripples through the rocky surface as twelve more bathroom facilities arose from the surface right next the previous one. Mrs. Yoji then turned and winked at the officer who nodded in approval.

"It seems that you made one too many though," said the officer.

Mrs. Yoji bounced her finger over each one as she counted. "It seems you're right. I can remedy that immediately." She idly strode over to the beginning of the row. Still hearing the gurgling noise from inside, she walked up to the shack and poked her finger into it. The four walls and roof crumbled to dust in the wind as she entered the restroom next to it. The distressed soldier now found himself exposed as his dysentery took its course. Mrs. Yoji exited a moment later and walked back the tent with the female guard following her. The smell of food from the mess tent hit her stomach and she glanced towards the smell. Looking down the row of tents she noticed a tent that was yellow in the midst of every single red tent that surrounded it. The single yellow tent stuck out like a sore thumb.

"So tell me something ms. guard...," exclaimed Mrs. Yoji, "what's the single yellow tent."

"Well that tent houses the cooks and servers in the camp. It's actually a joke on the head chef so he wouldn't have any more excuses for walking into the female quarters by mistake."

"Hmmm, I have one more question. When's lunch again."

What friendly faces Gakuto had previously seen ended as he walked through the center of the camp. He assumed that everyone was currently having dinner as he heard a multitude of spoons digging into hearty wooden bowls. Gakuto-Oki had just passed up a tent when he saw several men eating their dinner in merriment. As they turned to see him, their laughter stopped and smiled faded into the shadows. One of the soldiers got up, dumped his bowl of soup, and stormed off in anger. Gakuto-Oki wanted to say something but Yuri grabbed his shoulder.

"They like to blame anyone they suspect of being involved in the massacre of the air-temples. In reality we all failed but they like to point the finger somewhere else in order to justify their failure. Pathetic really... well this is the commander's tent. Please follow me."

Gakuto-Oki hobbled through the tent flap and followed Yuri through an area covered in maps, most pertaining to areas surrounding the air-temples. They passed through to a second room containing a crude desk covered with papers. On the opposite side of the room Gakuto-Oki could see a drawn curtain with a guard standing post just outside of it. As they approached the guard snapped to attention.

"The commander is still situating his sleeping quarters. He instructed me to tell you to begin your inspection of the prisoner without him."

The soldier then proceeded to spread the curtain and hold while the two passed through. The inner chamber contained at least half a dozen lit candles surrounding a shiki futon that was currently being used. The reddish glow from the candles reflected off the firenation symbol on the tent's wall onto Siam still face. Yuri immediately walked to the foot of the bed and picked up the clipboard lying there.

"Her pulse and heart rate are a bit odd at the moment. Her heart's racing but the rest of her body is still. We have yet to determine why."

Gakuto-Oki took a quick glance at the chart then rechecked her vitals. When he checked her pulse he found Siam's arm to be stiff. When he checked her other arm and legs, Gakuto-Oki found Siam's entire body to be stiff. He opened her eyelids and found that Siam's pupils were opening and retracting rapidly.

"She seems to be in a coma but her eyes act as if she was awake. I'll need some water in order to prove my theory."

When Yuri relayed the message to the guard he was reluctant at first but caved under persuasion. After receiving a pouch of water, Gakuto-Oki bended the water out of the pouch and into his hand. As he focused energy into the water it began to glow brightly. He placed the glowing water upon Siam's forehead and held it there.

"If you don't mind me talking," began Yuri as she watched, "what exactly are looking for?"

"I am looking for the impulses that swarm the human brain. The amount that I find in certain parts of her brain will help me determine her state. And my conclusion is that she is sleeping while in a coma. Her body, while tense, remains still but her brain seems to be racing with thought. If she is dreaming then it must be a very bizarre dream to cause her mind to be so active."

"You make it sound as if her constant brain activity is a detrimental."

Both Gakuto-Oki and Yori glanced behind them to see the curtain drape behind the commander as he entered the room. Yori immediately got to her feet and bowed while Commander Shenq walked on the opposite side of the bed and squatted beside it. Gakuto-Oki raised his head a moment later to give his reply but the commander raised a finger to his lips. A moment later a cup of swirling hot tea was brought before him. The smell of white cherries wafted through the room as the commander gently sipped his tea. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he placed the cup and saucer off to the side. Gakuto-Oki took this as his cue to begin.

"Being in a coma is definitely a bad thing. Dreaming in and of itself is very beneficial to the human psyche. There are a lot of theories on the subject of dreaming but most will agree that it is a healthy part of sleeping. But I have never heard of a case such as this one and I doubt even further that there are documents on such a case as this. All I can say based on my knowledge and experiences is that her condition is not normal. Yes I am being redundant but pasted that I have not a clue."

"Very good doctor," commended Commander Shenq, "It takes an honest man to admit when he is stumped and I hate it when people waste my time. I have two last questions for you but I probably already know the answer: do you expect her to come out of her coma without assistance and if not, can you assist her?"

"The human brain, while very fragile, has the ability to heal itself given enough time and the right circumstances. The brain is basically a bunch of signals that travel down multiple roads. If a person loses one of these signals due to an injury then their brain might adapt or compensate for the loss. If a signal finds a block in the road then it might take a detour around it. If any part of her brain is damaged I can find it. But finding the problem and fixing it are two different things. I would go so far as to say that there might not even be any damage. It might just be only mental trauma from the fact that Siam is the murderer of tens of thousands of air-benders. Siam was the very person she was trying to stop. And knowing this truth, her brain might be shutting itself down or just the part that her alter-ego exists in."

The commander slowly got up and started rubbing his temples. He then closed his eyes and thought in earnest. "So what you're saying," began Commander Shenq, "is that you don't know how to heal the girl's brain if it is damaged and that it might make things worse if you succeed."

Gakuto-Oki opened his mouth for another speech but all that came out was a dumbfounded nod.

Commander Shenq nodded his head and briskly exited the room with Yuri in toe. A few minutes later she returned with the guard holding the drapes open.

"Um, they told me that you are to return to your cell," said Yuri with a hint of disappointment.

"That is alright, I can do no more here anyway. But before I go I am going to prescribe a liquid formula that you are to administer daily. This will allow her body to receive the water and nutrients she needs will in her coma. If you don't have any of the particulars I can provide for them for a brief amount of time. I may even collect them with the help of your other female captive."

Yuri looked at him with a puzzled look.

"She's a herbologist."

"Oh, now I understand... please come this way."

Leaving Yuri at the entrance of the tent Gakuto-Oki walked through the late night air with the guard walking close beside him. It didn't take them long before they reached the tent deemed for prisoner use. The tent looked like all the others except for a sign that hung on the outside of its tent flap. Gakuto-Oki made a note of this as he was ushered through the flap.

Both guards, one female and the other male, stood up as he entered but relaxed their guard as the soldier came into the light of the lamp they had lit inside. From there, Gakuto-Oki walked himself into his sectioned off area that consisted of a small bed and an even smaller cornered off meant for changing. From his bed he could hear the guards talking.

"Sorry for the wait Gorou," said the one of the guards, "Do can leave for chow if you want."

"Ya sure, took you long enough. Kiku keeps telling me that they were serving the good stuff tonight and my stomach is killing me."

As the guards switched positions, Gakuto-Oki moved over to his changing area and retrieved a small piece of parchment he had hidden on his person. He pricked the scab on his finger and began writing with his blood. As he finished the list he studied the rest of it through a slit of light.

0000-0800 Hinata - Kaito

0800-1600 Kasumi - Jirou

1600-0000 Kiku - Gorou

Chow relief Asuka - Hayato

A quick movement across his light caused to hastily roll up the paper and tuck it away as he returned to his bed. Lying down on the mat he propped his head towards the partition in the middle of the tent.

"Mrs. Yoji, are you awake?"

"No, I'm asleep... please leave a message."

"Did you know my birthday is coming in three days?"

"Hmmph. I figured it was. It's a shame you're going to miss it."

"I always seem forget about my birthday until the day after it."

"You've got a brain that memorizes every stupid cell in the human body and you have trouble with remembering you own birthday. Well happy pre-birthday. Now let me continue my sleep or you won't live to see your next one."

After that silence followed only to be interrupted by someone coughing in a nearby tent. Gakuto-Oki shrugged his shoulders as he lay back on his cot and fell asleep.