Yasu

 

"I lost someone very close to me a few years ago. It messed me up for a long time, but I found a way through it. You'll do the same."

— Roku to Gyatso describing Yasu's loss in his life.

Yasu
Biographical information
Nickname	Ya (by Roku)
Nationality	Fire Nation Capital, Fire Nation
Ethnicity	Fire Nation
Age	12 at death
Born	82 BG
Died	70 BG
Personal information
Pronouns	He/him
Allies	Prince Sozin
Weapon of choice	Fire
Fighting style	Firebending
Political information
Profession	Student
Affiliation	Royal Fire Academy for Boys
Chronological information
First appearance	"Roku, Alone" (flashback only) (only appearance)

Yasu was the older twin brother of Avatar Roku. As the son of a prominent noble clan, Yasu and his brother were good friends of Prince Sozin, with the three attending the Royal Fire Academy for Boys together. Yasu's death in an accident at the age of twelve would leave a deeply profound impact on his brother.

History

Upbringing

Yasu was born minutes before his younger twin brother, Roku, the reincarnation of Avatar Kyoshi. Coincidentally, Yasu had also been born minutes before Prince Sozin, the son of Fire Lord Taiso and Lady Hazei. As the sons of a noble clan that was wealthy from their dealings in trade, the boys would become good friends with the prince.

The trio often went swimming together, holding competitions amongst themselves, with each of the boys competing to see who could hold their breath the longest underwater, who was the fastest swimmer or could go the furthest distance, or who could dive the deepest and find the largest oyster. Yasu also stepped in to fight an Agni Kai on Roku's behalf several times in the boys' youth.

The brothers would often slip into the secret passages of the palace, making their way to the Dragonbone Catacombs. They read through the restricted scrolls that the Fire Sages had stored there, reading about the rarest and most esoteric firebending techniques that were known to figures of legend. Yasu was most certain that the tales were simply fictional, while Sozin remained the most intrigued about what the trio had learned.

When Yasu and Roku were ten years old, they left their family home to board at the Royal Fire Academy for Boys. Sozin was also enrolled at the school alongside them, and Yasu began to spend more of his downtime with the prince than he did with his own brother. Yasu and the prince would spar, play Pai Sho together, or sneak out to talk to girls, while Roku would spend more and more time by himself. Roku ultimately worried that Yasu and Sozin were leaving him behind.

Death

At the age of twelve, Yasu asked Roku to sneak out of the Academy together at night, so they could go see the bioluminescent algae off the beach. Sozin could not join them, as he had been locked down after burning several centuries-old tapestries while trying to teach himself to bend blue flames. Even as rain clouds started to gather, with waves growing high.

The brothers bobbed out in the sea, with waves slamming into them and knocking them underwater before they resurfaced. Roku realized they had gone out rather far from their bonfire on the shore, suggesting they return, but Yasu wanted to reach the sandbar. The two joked about Roku's poor sense of direction, before the younger twin said he was serious about returning to the beach. Yasu promised to send up some flames when he reached his destination, and the pair exchanged a final joke before they parted ways.

A few moments later, a slow, building wave struck Roku, knocking him back with unbelievable force. When he broke the surface, he scanned the spot where Yasu had been, but could not find him. Roku hoped for a time that his brother was simply playing around, but time passed and there continued to be no sign of Yasu at all. The younger twin was treading water as he tried to search for Yasu, and then attempted to dive underwater to see if there was any sign of his brother. Roku tried to look for him so many times that he lost track of time, and his sense of where the bonfire on the beach was. After tired enough that he knew he would drown soon if he did not leave, Roku was forced to return to the shore, calling out his brother's name. Eventually, someone found Roku and learned that Yasu was missing. A party soon gathered to find Yasu, which included his father. The twins' mother would put her head against Roku's shoulder as she wept. By morning, there was still no sign of Yasu, and he was considered lost to the sea.

Funeral

Yasu's body could not be retrieved for the cremation and funeral. Instead, a series of possessions chosen to represent his life was gathered and burned, filling the traditional Fire Nation urn. Yasu's immediate family proceeded through the capital in mourning white, wearing garlands of sampaguita. They were followed by the royal family, the Fire Sages, and much of the nobility. The procession reached a space in the capital's cemetery dedicated to Yasu and Roku's clan, with the younger twin holding the marble urn for a while longer until the tomb was sealed with an engraved marble plate. The High Sage then conducted the funeral ceremony.

Legacy

Roku chose to leave his dormitories at the Academy and to go on leave for the remainder of the school term following his brother's death. Sozin also made the same decision, much to the dismay of Fire Lord Taiso. Roku often felt himself retreating somewhat in the wake of his brother's death. He was struck by a sense of guilt and hollowness, with the grief would stay with him for years to come, often returning without warning when he least expected it. His parents also blamed him for not being able to save Yasu's life in time. Sozin believed that Yasu's death had ultimately made Roku an especially impressionable person, who always looked for someone to tell him what to do.

Meanwhile, Sozin became even more confident in the wake of his friend's death. The Crown Prince became more determined to live in a way that would honor Yasu's memory, and swore to the spirits that he would do all he could to protect the family's remaining brother. Sozin and Roku would also become closer again following their mutual loss.

On his sixteenth birthday, Roku learned that he was the Avatar. He continued to be plagued with doubt about his position in the world, as well as his continued sense of grief. Roku would wonder if Yasu had been more cut out to be the Avatar than he had been. His doubts even led Roku to think that Yasu or Sozin might have been the true Avatar instead of himself. When Roku left to learn airbending, his grief was well known by Sister Disha. His airbending instructor thus had him spend more time with Gyatso, whose own airbending had been weakened following the loss of his own sister, Yama. The pair only learned of their mutual losses when they journeyed to Lambak Island some weeks later. Learning about their mutual loss ultimately helped Roku to heal from his loss more.

Physical description

Like most respectable Fire Nationals, Yasu kept his hair long, and tied it up in a bun to go swimming.

Personality

Yasu was strong, confident, and was more outgoing than his brother. Much like Sozin, he was a "sore loser" when it came to the trio's competitions, while Roku was more content to simply have fun with the other two. He was generally rather playful, and enjoyed poking fun at others in a lighthearted manner. He could also be a skeptical person, doubting existence of places such as the Spirit Library. Roku often suspected that Yasu had been his parents' favorite child.

Appearances

Chronicles of the Avatar

The Reckoning of Roku

• 121. "Roku, Alone" ^(flashback)