A Promise Fulfilled

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This is a new story from me, and also my first Avatar story, so go easy on me. I'm also working on a Blaise x OC one-shot, so I'll be jumping from story to story. This is also a story with another created character of mine. So, here it goes!

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Zuko's P.O.V.

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Hey, Zuko here. Well, it's been about a month since Aang defeated my father and he and Azula were put into a prison to hold them. I've accepted the title of Fire Lord, but I didn't really want to rule just yet. I felt that I needed to travel some more with the "Aang Gang" and broaden my horizons; besides, I felt that it would be best for me if I visited all of the villages that I possibly could to see the horrors that my father made the Fire nation inflict on others, so I knew what I needed to change. In the meantime, in my absence, Uncle has been the temporary Fire Lord, filling in for me until I returned.

We're riding on Appa right now, and as I look around at the others, they all seem to be paired up; I mean, there's Aang and Katara, then Sokka and Suki, and Haru and Toph. I feel bad for officially breaking up with Mai, but I realized that I didn't love her like I thought I did. She took it pretty well, which surprised me, considering the way she acted when she confronted me in the Boiling Rock prison cell.

I groaned and said, "Hey Aang, when are we gonna get there?" and Toph said loudly, "Oh, stop being so impatient, Hothead. We'll get there when we get there." I scowled lightly at the young Earthbender, then turned and rested my head back on my folded arms. Soon enough, I drifted off to sleep, but before I knew it, Sokka was yelling loudly, "Look! There it is!" which caused me to jerk awake and look at where he was pointing. Below us, a few yards away, was a small Earth kingdom village; Aang guided Appa down, and I continued to stare at the village as Momo leapt onto my shoulders and wrapped his tail around my neck. The small lemur appeared to have become fond of me.

We touched down on the shore of the village and climbed off of Appa, then began walking towards the village. As we walked in, a tall man walked up to us and said, "Welcome strangers! My name is Kohan, and if I may ask, who are you?" Before anyone could respond, though, he noticed the arrows on Aang's body and gasped, before pointing and saying, "You're the Avatar!" Aang grinned and said, "Yeah, that's me. These are my friends, Katara, Suki, Toph, Haru, Sokka and Zuko."

When he got to me, Kohan's eyes got wide and he stuttered, "Oh m-my! F-Fire Lord Zuko!" and he immediately dropped to his knees and bowed, as did the other villagers. I looked around, feeling extremely embarrassed, and I said, "Please, don't. You can get up." He got up, but said, "Is there anything we can do for you and your friends, my Lord?" I raised my hands and shook my head, saying, "Just Zuko is fine. We would like to know if there's anywhere we can stay for the next couple of days. We just came to observe your village."

Kohan bowed slightly and said, "Of course, Zuko. Please, everyone, come with me." He started walking and we followed him, taking in everything and everyone around us.

As we continued walking, Katara suddenly stopped, making everyone else stop. Aang looked at her and said, "What's the matter, Katara?" and she said, pointing to a spot to our left, "Look, everyone!"

We all followed her gaze and were amazed at what we saw. In a small clearing, a girl about my age was fighting a boy who was a lot taller than her and had to be at least 5 years older than her; it kind of reminded us all of Toph fighting the Boulder (Aang, Katara and Sokka had told me, Suki and Haru the story). As she turned to dodge a rock, I got a good look at her and my jaw dropped. She was breathtakingly beautiful; she had long, jet black hair with a single streak of brown going through it, amazing bone structure, and the most extraordinary green eyes I had ever seen. I couldn't quite place it, but she seemed very familiar to me.

She was very good; she was a skilled Earthbender, but not quite a master like Toph. She ducked, dodged and blocked every punch and rock the boy threw at her. Then, as she sent a nicely-sized boulder hurtling towards the boy, he dodged it and said, "Ha! Is that the best you've got? I knew a frail little nothing like you would be no match for me. I shouldn't have even bothered challenging you; you're pathetic. You're just a weak, helpless little girl."

What happened next shocked everyone, especially me. The girl obviously grew very upset, and she screwed her face up in anger and shouted, "SHUT UP, JIN. I am so sick of hearing you bring me down just so can get your macho kicks! You need to be taught a lesson in fairness and bullying, so GET READY, JACKASS!!"

She then threw her arms down to her sides and fisted her hands, breathed in deep, then she slammed her fists together, making them erupt in fire! My jaw really hit the ground this time; she was a Firebender, too!

She then punched the air in front of her, sending flames shooting out at the boy called Jin, who threw himself out of the way before poking his head up and staring at the girl in horror and bewilderment.

The girl continued to Firebend against Jin, and we continued to watch. Every move she did reminded me of the way I did Firebending, which made her seem all the more familiar to me. Finally, she came at Jin with her fist, stopping it about an inch from his face, making him cower on the ground and say pathetically, "Okay, okay! You win. I give up!" She smirked and said, "That's what I thought; not so tough now, huh, Jin?"

As she turned to wipe her face off, we turned back to Kohan and Aang said, "Hey, Kohan, who is that? Her Bending is amazing!" Before Kohan could answer, though, a voice said from behind us, "If you want to know who I am, why don't you ask your Fire Lord?"

We all turned back around and saw the girl leaning against the wall of a house, half hidden in the shadows. I scowled slightly, saying, "I'm sorry, but, should I know who you are?" and she pushed herself off the wall and started to walk towards us, saying, as the sunlight hit her, "Oh, come on, your Highness. You really don't remember me?"

When she was standing close enough to our group, I studied her face for a couple of seconds, now noticing that her eyes had flecks of gold in them. Then, suddenly, it hit me, and, for the third time, my jaw dropped.

- - - - -Flashback: 10 years- - - - -

A young boy, about 7 years old, was standing with his mother, a very pretty woman in red robes of traditional Fire nation attire, when he heard a small voice call out, "Zuko. Zuko!!" Prince Zuko of the Fire nation turned and was met with the sight of a girl about the same age as him.

She had an excited look on her face, as she always did whenever she knew she was going to visit the very cute Fire nation prince, who also happened to be her best friend. She was also wearing the red robes of the Fire nation, and her shoulder-length black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, with her prominent streak of brown hair hanging down in her face. Her green eyes were wide with joy as she raced up to Zuko, and he smiled and said, "Hana! Hi" making her giggle shyly and say, "Hi, Zuko. Guess what? Father and Fire Lord Ozai both agreed that we could learn Firebending together! Isn't that great?"

Little Hana then seemed to notice Zuko's mother, and she bowed slightly, saying, "Oops. Hello, Lady Ursa" and Ursa chuckled and said, "Hana, you seem to have more and more energy every time I see you." Zuko then said, "That's great, Han! Come on, we can start practicing now!" and he grabbed Hana's hand, but before they could run off, another voice said, "Oh, look! Little Zu Zu's got a girlfriend."

Zuko blushed and let go of Hana before saying angrily, "Shut up, Azula!" 8-year-old Princess Azula stepped out of the shadows of the palace, saying, "Oh, don't be so touchy, Zu Zu. I was only teasing you. Besides, Father would never allow you to marry someone like her, anyway; it doesn't matter that her father is Father's most trusted advisor."

Azula turned towards Hana, who was looking at her tearfully, and she frowned and spat out, "How dare you look at me, you little peasant?" Ursa gasped and said, "Azula!!" and Zuko stood in front of Hana and said, "Don't call her that, Azula! Hana's not a peasant; she's my best friend! And you know what else? I like Hana a lot, and when we're both old enough, I just might marry her, and you won't stop us!"

Hana gasped and her eyes grew wide when she heard what he said, and she said quietly, "Zu…Zuko…?" and Ursa smiled at her son, saying softly, "Zuko………". Azula just threw her head back and laughed cruelly before saying, "Just wait, Zuko. When Father finds out what Advisor Hoshi is hiding from him, you'll never see your little 'fiancée' again."

As Azula left, Ursa, looking horrified, said, "How...How does she know?" but she shrugged it off and left the kids to themselves, though she had the terrible feeling that something awful was going to happen because of her spiteful daughter.

Zuko turned to Hana and said, "I'm sorry. Azula's such a pain! I can't stand her sometimes" and he locked eyes with her, blushing as she stared at him intensely. Then, she said, blushing, "Did you mean what you said, Zuko?" and he said, "Uh…um, what part?" Hana said shyly, "The part about you liking me a lot and us getting married?" Zuko scratched the back of his head nervously, saying, "Well, yeah, I guess. I do like you Hana, and someday, I do want to marry you. That is……if you want to marry me?"

Then, Zuko almost fell over because Hana threw herself on him and hugged him tightly, making him hug her back after his initial shock. As she pulled back, she whispered in his ear, "I'd be honored to be your wife someday, Prince Zuko" and she planted a small kiss on his cheek, making them both blush furiously.

As the day went on and the two friends practiced their Firebending, they got closer and closer. When they finally finished and sat down, Hana knew what was going to happen because of the secret her father was keeping from Fire Lord Ozai, but she was scared; she didn't want to leave Zuko.

She finally said, "Zuko, promise me something" and he said, "Anything, Han." She looked down at her folded hands, twisting them nervously, before saying, "If I have to leave, for, you know……forever, promise me that you'll wait for me and find me when we're both of marrying age?"

Zuko took her hand and she looked up at him, her green eyes locking onto his golden ones. He then said, "Hana, I don't know where this is coming from…" but she interrupted him and said, "Please, Zuko. Promise me?" He smiled and squeezed her hand affectionately, saying, "I promise, Han." He then pulled her in for a hug and wrapped his best friend and crush in his arms, not knowing that that would be the last time he saw her………or that he would forget about her, eventually.

- - - - -End Flashback- - - - -

My gaze grew soft and adoring as I looked at my childhood crush, and I said, "Oh my god. Hana, it's really you. What happened to you?"

She said, "That night, 10 years ago, my father woke me up and told me that we had to leave immediately. I knew why, but I didn't want to leave; I didn't want to leave you, Zuko."

I said, "Why did you have to leave? What secret was your father keeping from my father?" Hana said, "Well, Ozai had conquered this village before both of us were born, and he brought prisoners to the Fire nation; one of them was my mother, an Earthbender named Aiko. My father was on one of the Fire navy ships, making sure that everything was running the way it should. When the prisoners were brought on board, he and my mother saw each other and fell in love instantly."

"Since my father was of a noble ranking and my mother was a peasant, they new that their love was forbidden. My father had to sneak and see my mother every chance he could, and finally they arrived in the Fire nation. My mother was put into a prison, but not before it was discovered that she was pregnant. My father was ecstatic when he learned he was going to be a father, but Ozai was suspicious when my father refused to tell everyone about the woman that he had fallen in love with. When I was born, Ozai took one look at me and deduced that Father had fallen in love with an Earth kingdom peasant. He demanded that Father abandon me and Mother, but he refused, so Ozai decided to have my mother killed…………and that Father should be the one to do it."

Katara gasped and said, "Oh, Hana, that's horrible!" Hana grimaced and said, "I know, but Father couldn't do it. Instead, he sent Mother back here, to her home, with Lady Ursa's help; she was the only person who knew. Mother was upset that she had to be away from her family, but Father promised her that one day we would join her. That's what Azula had told Ozai: that Father hadn't killed Mother, and that she was still alive."

Hana turned to me and said, "That's why we had to leave. I was so upset, because I never got to say goodbye to you" and she started to tear. I moved forward and opened my arms, about to hug her, when suddenly I was met with a sharp pain across my cheek. I staggered back, surprised as hell, and held my now reddened cheek, staring at her. Her eyes were narrowed, and she said viciously, "But I wasn't as upset as I am now. You forgot about me, Zuko. You had made me a promise that you would find me, but you didn't. I waited for 10 years, you jackass…………10 YEARS!! I spent all that time thinking, 'Zuko's coming for me. He promised he would', but you never did. How could you forget about me, just like that? I….I LOVED YOU, ZUKO!!"

Hana had started crying out of sheer anger, and before I could explain, she shouted, "It doesn't matter now, though. I HATE YOU!" and she turned and ran. I shouted her name, but she ignored me and kept running, and I turned back to the gang, upset and confused.

She had loved me? I mean, I knew that we both liked each other when we were kids, but……loved? Actually, when I stopped to think about it, I could sum up everything I had felt about her back then in one word: love. I had loved her, too; I was just too young to realize it. With everything that had happened to me over the years, the last thing I thought about was Hana, and, as Mai came into the picture, I guess I had forgotten about her and the promise I had made her. Although, now I understand why I had to break up with Mai; I guess that a part of my subconscious (and my heart) still remembered and loved Hana, and it wouldn't let her go.

I felt disgusted with myself, and I knew that I had to find Hana and tell her that I still loved her. I looked at the guys and said, "Um…..I, uh…" but Aang put his hand on my shoulder and said, "We know, buddy. Go to her and tell her. It's about time you found someone that you love. It's a great feeling" and he glanced at Katara, who blushed lightly.

I smiled at Aang and nodded before heading off into the village to search for the green-eyed spitfire that had stolen my heart when we were kids…….and still had it now.