Zakuro.

Warnings:

- Zuko – girl. Yes, I'm weird, but quite honestly, I don't care. If you don't like, get lost, I don't want to read your review.

- May contain bad language, sex, violence, blood and death. In this chapter…not much of anything.

Info:

- Sokka/Zuko. Aang/Katara. Don't like, don't read.

- A sorceress has transformed Zuko into a girl. Why? Because it's a disguise, of course. Firstly, to escape his sister, and next, to try and capture the Avatar. He'll never recognise a female Zuko, which means that he can surprise the Avatar and finally catch him! Perhaps he could hide in a village, and get the avatar when he's passing through? Maybe.

However, things don't go as he planned.

Chapter 1

"Uncle….." Zuko growled, obviously displeased. Iroh smiled at him in his calm way, chuckling before chiding him about how he should no longer growl. When another rumble escaped his nephew's throat, Iroh shook his head. "Prince Zuko, have you ever heard a woman growl?"

Zuko pursed his lips, then, having thought of something, replied "Satu used to." And indeed, she had. She would growl whenever something she disliked was said or done…but she wasn't exactly considered the most desirable woman in the court. Iroh shook his head. "Well, Prince Zuko, you can't behave like this, if you wish for your plan to work."

"Then stop calling me 'Prince,'" scowled Zuko, swinging his legs. "I can't get used to this," he groaned, noting how his feet did not touch the floor. Iroh looked at the girl, reminding himself that this was his nephew…with difficulty. Zuko now looked a lot like his sister, though softer, Iroh supposed.

Zuko, frustrated blew a strand of long hair out of her face. The sorceress had given him long hair, which hung down her back and over her shoulders, dark strands spilling into her face. She was wearing only a loose robe, having had to be naked for the spell, and so, it was easy to see a lot of her pale skin. The scar was gone, allowing Iroh to see both glittering golden eyes. Glittering? Yes, with anger. They appeared to be the same shape as Zuko's original eyes, however. Apart from this, she was rather plain, an attractive oval face with small nose, slightly upturned at the end.

"Stop staring," Growled the girl, voice a few tones too deep for her appearance. Iroh just smiled at her. He secretly had some doubts about how well this plan would go towards capturing the avatar, but it would certainly aid him in hiding from his sister.

It had been two weeks ago when one of their scouts had returned with the information that Azula's troops had been spotted heading their way, and that she was coming to get them. With less equipment and fewer troops, Zuko knew that if she caught him, there would be no chance for escape – he would be taken back to the fire nation and executed for treachery. At the time, they had been in a small village in the Earth nation, tracking the Avatar, and whilst there, they had heard of a woman who could disguise people with a very powerful spell. It was reversible, though difficult, and it could completely change a person's body, leaving their mind intact. Upon hearing this, the Prince sought her out, and for a substantial price, and a half-hour of pain, he was transformed into this strangely attractive girl sitting in Iroh's tent. The sorceress had left about an hour before, shuffling off in her strange way, disappearing into the forest, leaving Zuko with a re-transformation scroll.

Zuko was fidgeting non-stop with his newly long and slender fingers. He had always been a restless sort of person, even from very young, although in current times he was much more angry. Perhaps being in a female body would teach him to calm down a little, though, thought Iroh, seeing the flashing golden eyes, maybe not.

A commotion outside startled Iroh out of his calm state. Zuko leapt to her feet, almost tumbling over as a result, unused to her new centre of gravity. She stood back up straight, failing to notice how wide her robe was open now. It would have been perfectly acceptable for a guy, but this low was showing off a bit of cleavage. Her uncle raised an eyebrow, but didn't have a chance to say anything before armed soldiers stormed into the tent, brandishing spears in their general direction. Iroh slid into a fighting position, but before anything could happen, a young woman entered the tent, an ugly smirk upon her pretty face.

"Uncle," Azula said, flashing a triumphant smile, "You are under arrest by order of Fire Lord Ozai. Please surrender, and you will not be harmed until reaching the Fire Nation…" She trailed off, having caught sight of Zuko, whom she did not recognise. "Did we walk in at a bad time, Uncle? Having yourself a bit of fun on the road?"

She walked towards her "brother", circling her, looking with a critical eye. "You could have found yourself a prettier one. Even an old man like you could find someone better…" She sneered, looking distastefully at Zuko, whose right eye twitched, holding her breath. She knew that if she exhaled, she would almost certainly exhale smoke along with it, which may blow her cover.

Iroh said nothing, merely shrugging. Azula turned and spoke to Zuko, "You have dishonoured yourself, girl, and the fire nation with your foul acts of prostitution." She turned to the soldiers. "Tie her up and throw her into the river," smirking, she added, "…naked."

"The rest of you, escort Iroh here into the carriage. He is now a prisoner of the Fire Nation. But before you go, tell me, Iroh, where is Zuko?" Iroh's eyes flicked over to the girl with a trail of smoke escaping the corner of her mouth, but Azula didn't seem to notice. Instead, he said, "He didn't want to have tea, he ran off somewhere. You know how teenagers can be…"

"Shut up." She said to him, swiftly leaving the tent, several soldiers and Iroh following her. Four soldiers remained behind to deal with the "prostitute". They looked rather pleased at the prospect. Zuko was glad too, four measly soldiers would never stand up to him. However, things did not go as smoothly as she'd hoped. Still unused to her new centre of gravity and differently shaped body, on her first kick she lost her balance and fell over, sprawling across the floor. Quickly getting up, she was unprepared for a man at least twice her weight coming straight at her. Aiming a bolt of fire at him, she was horrified when nothing came out from her hand, and she was knocked to the floor, whereupon he sat on her.

Writhing wildly, she still could not get free, and was in great pain from how her neck was twisted. Her long hair was caught under the man's right knee, and it forced her head down and to the side. Another of the soldiers caught her wrists, and pulled her arms out of the loose robe, tightly binding the hands together and pulling them above her head. This stretched her body up, meaning the men could see her whole pale chest. They chuckled.

Furious, Zuko inhaled deeply, sucking the air in through her nose. Smoke began trailing out of her mouth again, and the four soldiers looked at each other in surprise. "A firebender, eh? Make sure her limbs are tied really tight - that way she can't use it without burning herself." The man on top of her said this, and the one holding her wrists obediently tightened the bindings, cutting off the circulation to the hands. He also added a loop of the thin cord around her too middle fingers (after prying them out of fists). This kept the palms facing each other, preventing firebending, unless she wanted to lose the hands. The same care was not necessary of the feet, which were tied tightly at the ankles by a third man. Zuko was swearing profusely at them by this time, angry words pouring out of her. The fourth, who had been holding the cord and rope, handed one of the soldiers a thick red cloth, which he tied around her smoking mouth.

She bit one of the man's fingers in the process, and it started bleeding. Zuko smirked at this mild victory, as the man swore at her and stuck the bloody appendage into his mouth, sucking it clean.

Azula wasn't fooled by her uncle's ruse of Zuko having run off because he didn't fancy any tea. He was hiding from her, she was sure of it, and despite his total lack of talent in bending, commanding and strategy, he was still a…..mild threat. He would have to be dealt with because it was her mission, but she didn't enjoy running after her useless older brother. If Zuko was still nearby, as she supposed he would be, he would no doubt try and rescue Iroh and assassinate her. Though she doubted he had the guts for the second, in cold blood, anyway, the former was almost certain.

So, where better to put Iroh than next to her tent? The prisoner carriage, which could be locked from the outside, would be placed near her tent, the door being connected to a bell placed next to her bed. If the door was opened, or carriage moved, the bell would ring. If Zuko tried firebending at night, the guards would see the light, and anything too violent would move the carriage or make a massive amount of noise, both resulting in her awakening.

Azula sat upon her bed, rich red colours crumpling beneath her. She thought back to that girl she had found in Iroh's tent. Although she hadn't admitted it, or come even close to admitting it, she had been a little unnerved to see her own eyes staring back at her. She wondered whether perhaps this girl was a distant relative of hers, fallen from their ranking in the royal family. No matter who she was, prostitution was a serious crime, as it marred the image of the whole fire kingdom.

Her wondering did not last very long, as she put it out of her mind, reminding herself that the girl was as good as dead anyway. She turned to the mirror, a hand coming up to fiddle with her hair.

The girl created a terrific splash as she went into the river. Carrying her the 200 metres to the river had been troublesome, as she thrashed about like a thing possessed. The men sighed in relief as they watched her sink, dark hair floating about her as she was carried down the river. She had been fit, that girl.

If the men had been a little smarter, they may have noticed that she certainly was not a prostitute. A warrior shone through in everything she did, the way she kicked, the way she talked, the way she moved, and the way her body was built. But they weren't. And thus, they walked back to camp congratulating themselves on a job well-done.

Zuko was not a particularly good swimmer. He could get by, but he didn't really like being in water long periods of time. However, this water was freezing, and she almost went into shock from the temperature. Able to keep her wits about her, she started an attempt to reach the surface. The ropes, the current and the new body hindered her, and she could feel her lungs burning for air. Zuko's toes scraped along the bottom of the river, the bottom of one foot catching on a rock, a gash forming and blood darkening the water.

It was not much later that her eyes felt really heavy, and she had to close them, shutting out her desperate view of the water's surface.

Still, she thought, at least Azula will fail her mission.

End Chapter

AN: I growl, and I'm a girl.