Hakoda is a man with a keen mind and excellent strategic planning capabilities.
Had the storm not hit them earlier than they had predicted and prepared for, Bato's crew would have never been forced to free themselves from the sloppy mooring. Miraculously, no one died as a result of this. Hakoda is no stranger to casualties. He hadn't expected to see any of them again.
Thanks to a Northern waterbender, he had. A young man, so very easily misjudged. And in parts, Hakoda is sure, the first impression wasn't too far off the mark. But pinning Kaito's personality and convictions down is a tricky endeavour, even without the added difficulty of too little time and too much caution between them.
He isn't the only paranoid man in this camp, and alliances in the small foreign group of eight are shifting constantly. The atmosphere alone amongst them is an indication of the circumstances that force them together. Hakoda is aware of the fact that Kaito never shared the entire tale of how they came to be in the Bay at exactly the right time with him and Bato, Katsuo and Buniq. Both Hakoda and Kaito are acutely aware that Kaito does not owe Hakoda any kind of report that doesn't concern his children or his command.
Even the relationships between Kaito and Buniq and Katsuo seem to have fogged over in time and the invasion when opinions on character were shifted. He knows how the most useless man can become the one to save ten others. He knows how competent people falter in the face of slaughter.
Hakoda has come to believe that there is nothing that will mark a man good or evil as much as his actions in war. He does not condemn cowards. He does, however abhor those who exploit the circumstances war generates. He cannot tell with Kaito whether he does the latter or not, but he intends to find out. After all, the fate of his children might be determined by this information.
And the Avatar. And the world.
He sighs. High stakes. The world less so than his gambling with Sokka and Katara's lives.
In peacetime, things are different.
Hakoda has spoken with Katsuo and Buniq about those few days before the Northern Watertribe was invaded and after. Not only for their knowledge of Fire Nation strategies, but for an impression of what his children might have seen.
He can feel his anger at Sokka and Katara being put in danger rise again. No matter that with the princess they should have been protected well. However, not as well as they would have been had they never entered that city. In the end, they had been in danger, more so than on their travels with the Avatar that Hakoda still isn't sure he approves of. He's never met the boy and although Bato tells him that he is, at heart a good person, even if he is desperately lonely, he did not behave as an Avatar should when he did not honestly and immediately hand over the letter Hakoda sent to his second-in-command. That they are at war makes that act worse. He may be only twelve, but responsibility rests on his shoulders, just as it does on Hakoda and every other person who does not want to die at the hands of the Fire Nation.
Of course he is aware that Sokka and Katara have chosen to travel with the Avatar of their own volition, but he also knows that no child of his would be capable of ignoring this opportunity to see the world and fight for what is right. The fact remains however, that they have seen far more than they should have. A few deaths, probably, and too much blood.
Hakoda takes a deep breath and expels it through his nose. It is a pointless anger. He can do nothing to change these facts.
According to Katsuo, his children were with the Avatar at all times, and the princess.
Apparently, Sokka fancied her. This young woman, having become the moon in a self-sacrifice to save the entire world, had been Kaito's friend as well. Katsuo was unclear on how close they had been, but there was another person who spoke of the princess.
Hakoda isn't often pleasantly surprised. Less so by individuals rather than circumstances.
In the case of the joining of the Northern Watertribe into the war, it was slightly more than even astonishment, akin to disbelief. It was furthered by the honest and official apology extended to him as the representative of the South, as well as the promise of aid in rebuilding their tribe. All this, delivered in the form of a waterbending master who had much to say about Hakoda's children. Later, in the privacy of Hakoda's tent, he had spoken of the invasion, and, at Hakods'a prompting, of princess Yue.
"An exceptional young lady," the old master had said, allowing the sadness in his voice to be heard for once. "She wanted to become chief," he continued and smiled slightly, "And intended on dragging my former student into her political machinations."
His tone had been indicative of what this former student of his had thought of that idea. Pakku had gone on to divulge that he was glad this young man, friend and sparring partner and legacy was with Hakoda's children.
"Not, that they cannot take care of themselves exceptionally well," Pakku said, tone slightly derisive as memory clouded his eyes, and Hakoda brushed his own bristling aside in order to focus on the warm glow of pride in Sokka and Katara, "But Kaito is the kind of resourceful that the Avatar and his friends will find aids them greatly. I'm certain you've already had word of General Fong's bastion. It appears they made quite an exit."
Naturally, Hakoda had heard. He had been glad, before hearing about the events there, that while it lasted his children had been in the hands of responsible adults, and in one heavily protected place for a period of time. He shared a wry and tired smile with the other man, but couldn't help his curiosity. He never was very good at that. And, he supposed, he should understand any part of his children's lives that he could. "What is he like, then? Who are my children travelling with?"
He pushed the stab of loneliness and the ache of separation away, as he often must to listen to a new aspect of Katara and Sokka's lives. It'd been slightly worse, when Bato told him the story of how they'd decided to come with him, and been deterred by their own big hearts. He'd been proud.
And very lonely.
So it is with care that he approaches this versatile young man, with caution that he treats the sharp mind hiding behind that half-lidded stare and slow speech.
He'd been a prankster as a child, unrepentant and only saw reason when his own father died at the hands of a Fire Nation attack on the routine patrol. He'd always been a bending prodigy, Pakku had said, but had refused to rest on those laurels. He'd been part of the key strategic manoeuvres to thwart the enemy's foray into the city.
And he'd lost two friends to the people of two of the companions he travels with now. If Hakoda were privy to the future, he would very much like to see how that turns out. He imagines, not well.
Kaito is busy with Katsuo and Buniq, practising some kind of new bending technique with them that he thinks would be good to know for them. Buniq attempted to describe bending to him once, but Hakoda thought his own daughter had been better at it as a child.
Sometimes children could be so very insightful.
Kaito notes his approach immediately, turning his head to acknowledge him, even as he continues to explain how he found out about this new technique.
"… once I realised that I could bend with a crook of my finger the step to an eyebrow to make Pakku's life harder wasn't far off, you know?"
Buniq looks slightly ill at the last part of that statement while Katsuo's face seems to have firmly settled into resignation.
"You've got to let of your connection of bending with motions of your limbs and body. That's not quite true, though. There always needs to be some movement. But it doesn't matter which part of you does it," Kaito shrugs, and with it a tendril of water winds its way from the ocean towards them. He rolls his shoulder to coax it closer and turns his head to have it wind around Katsuo.
"See?"
Buniq, looking determined, nods. "How do we begin?"
"However you like," is the easy reply, "I began with my fingers and toes. Wriggling is something you can do for a long time without getting tired."
He demonstrates and the tendril of water shivers on its way back into the ocean with the crooking of one long finger.
Katsuo's expression has not changed. Hakoda hopes that it will go back to normal once Kaito has left his vicinity. He'd hate to have to look at that kind of face for very long.
"Now that my lovely students are properly occupied, what can I do for you, chief?" Kaito asks, ignoring Buniq's glare.
Hakoda leads the way to one of the unoccupied firepits. They sit, and Hakoda decides to be direct. Caution does not preclude the honesty of intentions. He thinks Kaito will appreciate not having to slowly circle the topic of conversation.
"What are your plans for Ba Sing Se?"
Kaito's mouth twists into a half-smile, of which only parts are unconstructed. "You make it sound as though I held any influence over the city or its occupants. I have never even set foot in uncontested Earthkindgom territory. Any predictions I made for, hypothetically, poking at the Dai Li would be wishful thinking at best."
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