When we last left our duo, they were escaping the firenation, friendship restored. Through all their hardships, they still maintained the trust they had in each other and were going towards their destiny's together…
Chapter 1
New Friends, Old Habits
"Ok um... Look I know I've done bad things before... even though I thought I was good, I wasn't... you know with all the trying to capture you and all and well-"
"Stop!" Zuko whirled around and stared at Kunai thin lipped and wide eyed.
"How long-"
"Long enough." The slight air of attitude melted as she strode through their tiny camp to him, smiling sadly.
"Relax. Let me do all the talking, that'll work right?" Zuko sighed and nodded. She definitely had a better way with words than he did. Kunai smiled and bounced just slightly on her toes.
"We should go now. It's about half an hour walk to the temple." Before he was allowed any input she was making her way down an invisible path, beckoning one handedly for him to follow.
As they walked, he stole quick glances at her, the spring in her step, the slight smile on her lips. The same lips he'd kissed that night in Ba-Sing-Se, the same lips he would've given anything to kiss while he was combing the city for her with the mentality they were meant to be. He shook the thoughts of unresolved feelings away and grittily inquired about her cheerfulness. In response she sighed deeply and shrugged.
"I guess... For once there's something I'm meant to do... that I want to do." Her voice softened and her lips twitched at the edges. Zuko smirked slightly, though he couldn't relate to her unhindered sentiment. He was still unsure of his fate as rejection loomed in the air, known but unsaid.
When they reached the ledge leading down to the temple and faint voices could be heard, Kunai gulped deeply, her heart racing. It began to settle in that this was among one of the most pivotal decision she'd ever made.
Kunai secured the flap of her tent with shacking hands and lowered herself into her bedding. She wanted to forget, that's all she wanted. But now she had a permanent reminder of her shortcoming, her mistake. Her friends asked how she was doing daily. What could she say? Lie and say she was fine? Break down and admit that every day she hated waking up because she knew she had failed and was going to fail countless people? She robotically unsheathed a knife from her hip, a treasured gift plated in gold and inscribed with her name. As she examined the glimmering metal she rubbed the soft skin on her forearm. She lowered the blade to her arm and sucked in a breath. She didn't have to do this. Crazy girls did this.
Maybe she wanted to be crazy. It provided and excuse.
She pressed down, dragging it along her skin and leaving behind a dripping trail of crimson, dripping away the pain. Something of a sick smile crossed her face and salty tears stained her cheeks as she created an inscription of her own
SLUT.
Kunai pulled herself from the painful flashback and hopped down onto the main tier of the temple, cushioning her fall with a gust of air. She wandered towards the voice until the came across a great beast, resting in the sun. The bison turned to her, batting his thick lashes as he examined her. Kunai bit her lip and placed a finger to her lips, halfheartedly trying to keep him quiet. None too obedient, Appa bellowed lethargically and lumbered over to the side, revealing her to the surprised group of kids. Instantly recognizing her, Katara jumped forward, fists clenched.
"What are you doing here!" Kunai kneaded her lip.
"I... I wanted to join you." She inwardly winced at how pathetic she sounded but now was not be time for pride. She could see the confusion written all over their faces and with a heavy sigh she stepped forward to explain.
"Look. You... you're the Avatar right?" The young boy nodded curiously.
"I had this dream and... Well I think I'm supposed to help you. This spirit guy, he told me I was the Avatar's Apprentice, that's why I can bend all the elements." The group shared shocked looks but stayed silent, turning back to her.
"I dont claim to understand all this Spirit stuff but I can't ignore that. It's gotta mean something." The young boys gray eyes sparkled and a wide smile split his face.
"That's amazing! She has to join us!" Katara clenched her jaw, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"But she-"
"Thanks but I..." Kunai glanced to the side, noting the small flash of red nearing the corner.
"I'm not alone." The tiny girl who had been silent up until now snorted.
"Got that right." From behind the pillar Zuko walked nervously to her side. All but Toph gasped and jumped to a defensive position. Katara shot a nasty scowl at Kunai, inwardly berating herself for not seeing this coming.
"You tricked us!" Kunai put up her hands in defense.
"No no! I-"
"I should've known something was up since I saw you too in the caves together!" The older water tribe boy snarled and spoke up.
"What is this, some kind of trick! Get us to trust you so you can sneak us all to the fire nation!"
"NO!" Zuko screamed, taking a defensive step forward. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply, remembering the importance of composure.
"Kunai Is a powerful bender and I'm a skilled fire bender. That's the reason we came here." Aang narrowed his eyes.
"Toph?"
"They're both telling the truth." she said flatly. The young boy wavered momentarily before dropping from defense.
"Aang!" Sokka and Katara protested in unison.
"Well Zukos done a lot of terrible things but she's never hurt us." Katara scoffed at him.
"They're obviously working together! What are you thinking!"
Aang sighed and gave her a sincere look of apology before turning to the nervous pair of teens.
"You can stay with us but Zuko has to go. I'm not gonna jeopardize our safety." he said authoritatively. Kunai gazed at him, thinking about his proposal. Sure she would be accepted but Zuko, would be alone. She was no master fire bender; she could never teach him all there was to know. She looked over at Zuko who was staring at her stone faced, yet a hint of sadness in his eyes. He grumbled something and turned to leave, casting his eyes at th ground when she grabbed his shoulder.
"No... If he goes... I go." Zuko looked up at her in shock, receiving a weak smile from her.
"I know he's done horrible things but he's changed. If you can't accept that then-" Zuko stepped in front of her
"If you can accept me as a part of the group then accept me as your prisoner." He fell to his knees and bowed his head. Katara growled deeply.
"No we won't!" She bent of jet of water hurtling towards the boy on his knees. Kunai reacted quickly and redirected it, sending the stream against the far wall. She pulled slightly on Zukos shoulder and he stood slowly. She stayed, eyes locked on Kataras as she began to walk away only tearing them away from the death glare as she turned the corner, Zuko not far behind. Once they were gone Toph clenched her fists and stomped her foot deep into the ground, sending a small earthquake through the temple.
"What is wrong with you! A fire bending master and some ransoms super bending girl just shows up on a silver platter and you won't even think about it!"
"He's fire nation! He's probably just using her to get us to trust him so he can signal his little fire nation buddies!" he growled angrily. Aang nodded in agreement.
"Why would she go with him if they werent working together!" Toph let out a howl of frustration and stomped away mumbling about how stupid her friends were.
"I'm beginning to wonder who the blind one is around here!"
"Why did you do that!" Zuko screamed once they were out of ear shot. Kunai glared at him and grit her teeth.
"Do what? I was sticking up for you! I thought that's what you wanted!" Her anger dissipated to hurt quickly. Zuko let out a frustrated groan and kept walking.
"They need you more than they need me." he murmured to himself, not thinking she could hear him.
"No they don't." she replied softly. He turned to her, slightly embarrassed.
"Look, Kunai. If you really want this, go ahead. I can take care of myself." He tried to walk of again when she grabbed his hand, forcing him around.
"I know that. It's just..." She sighed deeply. Ego be damned, she had to explain.
"You've been with me this whole time. If it wasn't for you I would've died in that alley. I owe you a lot. If I'd gone with them then you never would've gotten the chance to and I know you want this... probably more than me." Zuko nervously kneaded his lip between his teeth. For what seemed like he umpteenth time she was right and that was oddly comforting. He didn't want to think of how desperate he was to gain the Avatar's acceptance. Then again, he'd literally thrown himself at the boy's feet. Kunai stepped closer to him.
"We'll try again soon. For now, let's just get back to camp." He gave a silent agreement and let her tug him (by the hand) back to their tiny camp. They were both spent so they retired to either side of the tent and fell asleep within minutes of each other.
Zuko was awoken by a small thud. He opened his eyes and let out a small groan, trying to shake the last bits of sleep. He listened carefully for anything else when he heard it again, louder, closer.
"Get back!" He screamed and sat up, sending a wild wall of fire towards the noise. He heard a shriek and saw a little girl, the blind earth bender collapsed back with her scorched feet in the air. Kunai shot up, eyes wide in confusion.
"What's going on?" she grumbled. Zuko didn't answer. He jumped up and ran after the girl who was crawling surprisingly fast.
"Wait! Im sorry! It was an accident!" he yelled after her. She seemed none too interested as she continued sending random chunks of earth in his direction.
"W-wait! I can heal you!" Zuko turned to Kunai running towards him. This interested Toph and she stopped her scorned assault.
"You're a healer?" she demanded. Kunai ran over to her and knelt down, drawing the water out of the grass around her.
"I'm not really good but I've dealt with burns." Toph pursed her lips but nodded, rolling over and holding her feet up. Zuko watched in fascination as Kunai placed the liquid over the bumbling wounds. A bright blue glow emanated from the water as Kunai worked at the injured flesh. She sighed and pulled her hands away, discarding the murky water quickly.
"That's all I can do. It should feel better soon but it won't completely heal for a few days." Toph wriggled her toes, wincing slightly but noting an obvious change.
"Well that'll work. But since I still can't walk..." Zuko and Kunai nodded, silently moving to either side of her and hoisting her up before walking back to the temple.
It was nearly sunrise when they arrived in the quiet pavilion. They lowered Toph down on the fountain, lack of sleep catching up with them.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help more." Kunai said softly.
"Oh... you've done enough." Their confusion was answered when the three others emerged quietly from where they had been watching the 3.
"Still think their evil? See, she fixed my feet!" She held her feet up and smiled wide. Sokka scowled and sent an accusing glare at Zuko.
"You burnt her!" he demanded. Zuko gulped, his nervousness peaked.
"Oh relax Snoozles. It was an accident." Kunai dared break the staring match her between her and Katara to speak to the whole group.
"She's right. She woke him up suddenly, we didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." Sokka sputtered angrily, searching in vain for an argument to permanently damnate the Prince. With a sigh he dropped his head and looked at Aang.
"It's your call." he murmured. Aang silently cursed this situation. On one hand, Zuko was... Well Zuko. The same Zuko who's tried to capture him for the past several months of his life. On the other hand he seemed sincere and he the girl was a gift from the spirits, quite literally. He could use whatever help he could get.
"Fine... we'll let you be a part of our group."
"Aang!" Katara shrieked, grasping his shoulder.
"I need a fire bending teacher, Katara." Aang said softly. Sokka nodded reluctantly.
"He's right Katara." Feeling painfully outnumbered, Katara crossed her arms and her eyes darkened. With a final stomp of her foot she stormed off, grumbling to herself that they'd see. Feeling he had nothing else to do here, Aang walked off to get much needed sleep. Toph formed an earth tent around herself leaving only Sokka standing there awkwardly.
"Uh I guess I could show you to your room I guess." He motioned for them to follow and lead them down the immense halls of the temple to a small room.
"It's the closest room to where we are so yeah... we uh... haven't really found any others anywhere near here so I guess you guys can share for now or... whatever." With a tiny wave Sokka briskly escaped the awkward situation, leaving the two alone.
Zuko looked to Kunai. Her eyes were wide and sparkling with happiness. Try as he must he couldn't contain the small smile that came in response.
"We did it." she whispered. His smile grew a bit more, his own heart swelling at the thought. He could see it would take more than a little adjustment and they may never be real friends. However, this was not about friendship. This was about something bigger. He sat back on the bed as a yawn racked his body. Kunai laid across the bed and poked his in the rib with her toe.
"I'm not sleeping on the floor. I lay this way, you lay the other?" He nodded sleepily and laid back, nestling his legs next to hers and drifting into the most peaceful sleep he'd had in a while.
"Dammit! Of all the assassins you had to choose him!" Kunai blindly sent random ice blades in the general direction of the man perched on the ledge with full intent on of blowing them all up.
"I told you he set us up!" Katara growled angrily as she lept behind another pillar closer to the fountain, avoiding a close blast. Zuko snarled at her and sent a barrage of fire balls at the assailant, only stopping when Kunai pulled him back behind the wall and the place he'd been standing exploded.
"You think I hired an assassin to kill me too!"
"You know what would be nice? If the three of you would... STOP FIGHTING AND FOCUS ON THE FACT WE'RE ALL ABOUT TO DIE!" Sokka scolded them. He watched closely as another blast struck the temple. Then, to the chorus of several protests, he ran into the open and tossed his boomerang with precision straight into the third eye of the assassin. At first, the large man seemed unfazed. He glared spitefully and sucked in a deep breath, aiming straight for the boy however there was no explosion, rather momentary panic until he suddenly exploded into nothing. Sokka let out an excited cheer and as he wielded his weapon victoriously.
"Score one for boomerang!" Kunai chuckled and ran over to him.
"That was amazing! Where'd you get the boomerang?" Sokka beamed at the inquiry and puffed out his chest proudly, twirling the boomerang in his hands.
"Authentic water tribe weaponry." he stated. Kunai giggled to herself, finding he reminded her of the boys she grew up with, willed and prideful with the disposition of a Baby PandaSeal.
"Get off me! Get of me! Im out! I lose!" The younger boy squirmed underneath his friend who chuckled and finally rolled off him.
"Gorou, I must say, for a little kid, you're a worthy opponent." Gorou playfully punched the older boy, smoothing his thick black hair back.
"One, I'm 16. Two, you're a cheat." The older boy smiled and stood up, pulling the young boy to his feet.
"Never said I couldn't cheat."
"Screw you Crico! And come on, all I asked is whether or not you and Emi were fu-"
"Gourou!" A young girl's voice cut him short and his swallowed the curse, smiling and walking over to the little girl. She smiled small and hugged him.
"Hi! I couldn't find you." The 10 year old's voice was suddenly sad as she gazed up at him with big violet eyes, not seeing the thoughtful stare Crico was giving her.
"Oh! Sorry Kunai. I shoulda told you we were out here." She have him a nod and a gap toothed grin.
"Can we go to the carnival tonight! Please please please please!" He smiled and opened his mouth to answer when Crico cut in.
"Na man! We were going bar hopping to tonight!" Gorou sighed, looking between one of his best friends and his little sister. He sighed deeply then turned to Kunai.
"Carnival it is Sissy!" Kunai squealed happily and hugged him around the waist, burying her face in his stomach.
"You're the best big brother in the whole world!" Gorou smiled and hugged her back. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing a rather amused smirk from his friend.
"Ill meet you back at camp in a little bit Sissy." The little girl nodded and let go of him. She began to turn to run off, catching the glare and slight smirk from the older man. She held his gaze for a moment before turning on a dime and running off, waving as she disappeared into the woods. Gorou smiled after her as a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"You're a good man Gorou... good man."
Sokka continued on about his beloved boomerang.
"It's hand carved out of elephant whale bone." he went on, turning it over to explain the markings. Zuko was watching the interaction silently, an unwelcomed pang in his chest. It wasn't jealousy. Not at all. The thought was ludicrous but it lingered all the same. The more he thought about it, the more his chest hurt, the more it seemed plausible that he was actually jealous, the more he hated it. He grumbled to Aang that they still needed to continue their fire bending lesson and quietly sulked off. Toph snorted.
"Hey Sugar Plum, what's up with Sparky?" She made a mental note to find a fitting nickname for Kunai.
Kunai watched Zuko oddly, noticing how tense he was.
"I dunno..."
"Hey Kunai! I got a space sword if you wanna see!" Sokka yelped. Kunai turned her attention back to him nodding eagerly and following close behind him as he began to tell her about his training with Piando. He looked over her. She was cute, a water tribe girl other than his sister was refreshing and she liked weapons. But he'd gotten to know her a bit over the past 3 weeks she'd been with them. As fun as she was she had a no nonsense vibe to her and he was all nonsense. Whatever it was, she was no longer a love interest possibility but was perfect as a lady friend.
Zuko looked up from the bowl of rice he'd been poking for the past 10 minutes, noticing something was still missing; two something's to be exact.
"Where's Kunai?" he asked to no one in particular. Everyone shrugged except for Toph who scooted closer to them, waiting for everyone to fall back to their personal conversations.
"Her and Snoozles have been in his room messing around for the past hour."
"WHAT!" He was glad she could not see the unnaturally brilliant shade of crimson his face turned. However, everyone else did and stared at him in confusion and slight fear. Embarrassed and seething he crossed his arms and stared into the fire, trying not to burn everyone by accident.
Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe it was just a trick of words. It made more sense for that they were simply wasting time and that's what Toph had met, however he was having a hard time making sense right now. They'd hit it off from the beginning and the way she was smiling and laughing at him... He wasn't even funny!
"You're too much!" Kunai laughed as her and Sokka stumbled towards the others, arms around each other's shoulder. Zuko glanced at them and immediately clenched his jaw to the point of pain. Her hair was ruffled, her clothes slightly wrinkled and both of them had a slight shine of sweat.
"Well aren't I good?" Sokka replied. Zuko pulled his eyes away. His throat went dry, his eyes bulged. He was hoping, praying, waiting for them to say something, anything to unravel to innuendo and make him less eager burn Sokka to ashes.
"Well I'll give you that. You were pretty good." Kill me now. Zuko tried to control himself, tried to think clearly. He knew Kunai and she just was not the type to sleep with any random (weird looking, stupid, childish, stuck up, all around worthless) kid. But then again, he couldn't claim to know a lot about what she would and wouldn't do. Maybe he was overanalyzing the situation. Maybe it was all-
"Trust me." Sokka said in a low sultry voice as they got closer.
"There's more where that came from." No more. Zuko scrambled to his feet and stormed off, smoke and sparks flying from his fingertips. Everyone watched in confusion as the disgruntled Prince ran off.
"What's up with him?" Sokka inquired, more interested in the bowl of rice in front of him. A large mischievous grin split Toph's face.
"Sparky's just jealous." Toph singsonged loudly, a far off spike in vibrations confirming Zuko had heard her. While Kunai frowned, Sokka smiled proudly, dramatically stretching back.
"Yep. My manliness is pretty intimidating." He purposely ignored the groups' collective groan. Toph laughed and shook her head.
"Right Snoozles. But I think he was more jealous about you and Kunai getting bi-zay!" Aang frowned in confusion. The Duke, Teo and Haru started laughing hysterically. Katara cast a terrifying scowl on her brother and his companion, seriously considering what it would take to kill them simultaneously. Sokka was sputtering incoherently while Kunai was staring at the ground, in a trance like state.
Toph laughed until she was red in the face and rolled around on the ground. Slowly she sat up, panting and rubbing her sore stomach.
"That was rich." The tension was still palpable so she decided to break her little charade to avoid death-by-Katara.
"Relax people! I was kidding. But doesn't know that yet." Kunai only seemed to hear the last sentence.
"So Zuko thinks..." he voice trailed off to a whisper. She suddenly jumped up and bolted away with nothing more than a whimper as she tried to conceal the tears in her eyes. Toph didn't show it, but she privately lamented on her plan backfiring. She had no doubt that Sweet Cheeks (not the one) was crying as she ran off and that was not the kind of upset she had intended.
"We were just looking at my weapons!" Sokka finally completed a sentence, the innuendo not lost on the three boys who fell back into uncontrollable giggles. Sokka smacked his forehead.
Sex. So that's what Zuko thought she'd been doing with a boy she'd only known 3 weeks.
Kunai turned the thought over in her head. She was sitting on the ledge of the temple, gazing up at the sky like there were answers hidden amongst the stars, some directions out of this mess.
It was no use. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't help but land upon the same thought. If Zuko thought she'd do that, then what did Sokka think? Was she really that much of a flirt, a tease? Did what she see as friendly really seem like a come on? Did her best friend really think she was that easy?
She pulled her knees to her chest, more tears coming as she filled with regret. She should have never been hanging all over him; she should've never touched him like she did whilst they sparred. She should've never laughed at him the way she did. She should've never kissed Zuko in that alley.
Maybe then he wouldn't see a slut when he looked at her.
She was bawling by now, tears pouring and gasping for air. She clenched her jaw and sucked in a deep breath, willing herself into composure. She gulped deeply past the knot in her sore throat and wiped her eyes. As she stood she noticed her skirt had pulled up, revealing a scar on her leg that, when viewed closely, faintly read WHORE. She touched it slightly and sucked in another obstinate breath. She promised herself she would not be that weak again. However, something, somewhere, began to crumble.
Kunai paced outside the door to their room. She figured it had to be past midnight, hopefully he was asleep. But then again, what if he wasn't, she could never face him. She just wanted to get her bed rolls and sleep outside, but that was much easier said than done. With a brave deep breath she pushed open the door with full intent of walking through the door way. As she did however, she was stopped as a wall of dry stuffy heat met her in the doorframe. Candles were lit everywhere and she figured it was mostly Zuko's own body heat that created the wall. She couldn't conceal the tiny noise of surprise she made. There was a movement in the windowsill and she noticed him perched there, glaring at the window.
"Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend." The words dripped with bitterness and anger. Maybe he was jealous but she'd claimed to be his friend, she wouldn't give him the time of day. It's not as though he thought himself a prize, quite the opposite, but he at least deserved the decency of ignoring him, instead of toting him along like she cared. He felt like releasing all his pent up anger, using that deliciously applicable word "Slut" once more. However for some despicable reason he couldn't bring the words forth. He expected her to yell, scream, give him an opportunity to reciprocate. She did none of that. Instead she whimpered, let out a little ghost of a sob. He turned back just slightly to glance at her, finding her staring at the ground, her body quivering.
"W-we didn't do anything." she barely made out. He turned to face her completely, his expression just slightly skeptical. She raised her head just slightly and he could see the tears staining her cheeks, her eyes bloodshot, before she dropped it again.
"I... I just wanted to be friends. He was fun and we sparred-" That explains the sweat... Zuko thought. He slowly started to realzize a few things. One, Toph had to die. Two, he let jealously or whatever it was get way out of hand. Three, something about that had touched a nerve that he never wanted to touch again.
"...and I shouldn't have been flirting with him like that and I-"
"Kunai stop." Zuko finally cut in, his body temperature dropping and significantly cooling the painfully warm room. Zuko dropped his head forward and sighed.
"Toph told me some stuff... I guess I took it the wrong way. I'm... I'm sorry." Kunai sniffed and looked at him, pawing shyly at her cheeks as she eyed him.
"So you didn't think-"
"No! Well... Yes but now I realize that I was wrong." Kunai sighed deep. Maybe it wasn't her behavior at all. Maybe it was just word play and pranks. The thought temporarily satisfied her regret and she nodded, a small smile stretching her lips.
"Its... It's ok." she whispered. Zuko nodded his head just a bit at her. He slid to his side of the bed, giving her a silent invitation to claim her end. As they lay together, Zuko made a silent promise to never let his emotions get the better of him again. It wasn't just his anger he needed to keep in check.
It was everything.
I'm so sorry
Really
I'm sorry.
This chapter took way longet than expected as the beginning part was such a pain to write. I'm so bad at writing canon, it's kind of sad.
It also sucks
Anyway, I just wanted to talk a bit about what to expect from this story.
1.Goes away from canon. Yep, this is where stuff starts to change. It's not OOC I promise, they just do some different stuff so don't be too shocked
introduction of some new OCs. They all won't play too huge a roll in the story, one will but trust me, that's a tale for another time
breaking down of Kunai. I built her up, showed you who she is now I'm breaking her down, showing you why.
. You're all probably anxious to find out the crap these flashbacks are about. You will
… in the least traditional way possible
. They will be tasteful and nice but they will be here. Also, they will not happen to often, I learned my lesson
headcanoning. You'll understand
That's what to expect. Here's what I want from you, my loving awesome fans
my tumblr. My url is livingloving123
the word, spread the word, spread the word. Let's get this as big as Stormbenders or Midsummer Madness
, Oneshots are all welcome. Any of your observations and creativity are loved!
. Please suggest things you wanna see happen. The plot is set but I may give you a shoutout
. Tell me what you think
discussion questions. I don't put them here for my health
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS!
Why did Kunai cut herself?
Does Sokka have feelings for Kunai?
Will Kunai and Katara get along?
What do you think of Gorou?
What will happen next time?
