Chapter 1. Pact

The tavern was small, dark, seedy and crowded. While Azula had never felt entirely comfortable in the depths of the Earth Kingdom, it was undoubtedly a good place to disappear in. She'd gotten used to it by now. Being a ghost or shadow, sliding effortlessly in and out of the consciousness of people. She, who was the former girl queen and ruler of nations. Now a young woman, with no place in the world as people knew it.

"Here you go. One fried komodo chicken with chili flake sauce. Extra hot. One pint of peach mead."

"Thanks."

Smelling the hot food, she wrinkled her nose slightly. Nothing like Fire Nation cooking, of course, but at least it filled the belly. Also, the prices in joints like these were cheap enough. And spirits, she was running somewhat low on cash. Pushing worrying thoughts of budget issues firmly from her mind, she tucked into her food, sprinkling it liberally with extra fire flakes. Agni knew when she was going to be able to afford a hot meal again.

Finishing the dish and scraping the last remnants of sauce from the plate, Azula flagged the fat waiter down for a shot of lychee liquor. A tiny luxury, but at least it'd keep her warm while setting out into the dark woods again. Mentally preparing for hunting, catching and cooking her own food and resorting to sleeping in trees and caves, she knocked back the pleasantly hot liquid.

After aiding her brother in defeating the New Ozai Society in her own unique fashion, Azula had watched the Kemurikage disband with tearless eyes. Her loyal friends all had plans and goals. Relatives to return to, paths to pursue. Azula had nothing. She was alone in the world, for once without a plan or purpose. Alone, living for day-to-day survival.

Frowning, she hooked her dark cloak at the throat over her nondescript, tight black outfit and approached the inn manager, counting out coins from her near empty money pouch. Spending one night in the bed of a cheap inn was an unusual luxury, but a necessary one. She needed to clean up properly, to wash her hair and slide into a dreamless sleep. Squaring her shoulders decisively, she started to climb the steps upstairs.

"Hey! You look like you need company. Pretty girls like you shouldn't sleep alone."

The large paw shot out to grab her shoulder just as she opened the door. Kicking it efficiently open, the unknown assailant slung an arm around her waist and pushed her backwards into the sparsely furnished room.

Spirits! He must have done this before!

Hard lips came down on hers, chafing them painfully. Her cloak ended up torn off on the floor. Her topknot split, spilling a flood of long black hair. Her assailant was pawing her breasts, attempting to pull her top off in order to get to them. He wasn't that tall, but broad and stocky with a manner of attack that spoke of plentiful practice.

Stumbling backwards, Azula stifled her surprise and shock to kick him soundly in the balls. As he crumpled in front of her, clutching his genitals, she smashed the hard sides of her hands against the blood vessels on both sides of his throat. A satisfying gasp. Coughing, the assailant dropped to his knees. As she prepared to kick his face, he caught her ankle and tugged, causing her to crash down painfully on the floor. The fall knocked the wind out of her.

The hard slap came down, stunning her. Then, he was upon her in a rain of blows.

"You bitch! You girls never learn, do you? Why do I always have to teach you who's the man? Why do you never…"

The bolt of lightning stopped him short. Momentarily, he stayed poised on top of Azula, bloodshot eyes bulging ridiculously and tongue poking out of his open mouth. Then, he slumped down on her chest. Quite dead.

"Bravo. You managed that very well."

The dark silhouette of a female leaned against the doorway. Panting with effort and annoyance, Azula pushed the dead man off her. Rising to her feet, she kicked the corpse out of the way.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Dark eyes gleamed back at hers.

"I'm June. Bounty hunter by birth and trade. And that guy there has an 85 000 bao price on his head. Serial rapist. Turn his corpse in and you get to collect the dough."

Azula stared down at the dead man, kicking the body lightly with the point of her boot. It didn't move.

"You… you mean he's worth that much to the authorities in that condition? But I didn't do anything but defend myself! He just attacked the wrong girl…"

"Yes. So it would seem." The woman nodded, pushing dark hair out of her face. "I'd been tracking him for 5 days, and expected to be able to take him down tonight. But then, he caught sight of you and just disappeared. So, I decided to follow you."

Azula's golden eyes flashed briefly. "You knew what he was, and didn't warn me? Why that's…"

The woman reached out with a long snake tattooed arm and embraced her. Her voice was oddly soothing.

"Relax. I wasn't about to let him rape you. No way. I just followed you to make sure to pull him out into the open and catch him in the act. But it seems you were far more competent at dealing with him than I'd expected. My congratulations."

Azula frowned. "You… you say this piece of shit eating scum's worth 85 000 to the authorities? Dead or alive? Well, I want that money! Where do I turn him in?"

The tattooed woman smiled. "Come downstairs, and we'll discuss this over a drink. I've a business proposition for you."

"I'm June. I gather you don't have a price on your head?" She knocked back a glass of lychee liquor nonchalantly.

Oh. Surely Zuzu wouldn't go as far as stooping to… Not after I helped him with… Yeah, he would. The bastard would.

Azula stared back defiantly at her.

"I'm Azula. What do you want from me?"

The dark haired woman shot her a tiny smile of satisfaction. "Yeah. So I was right. Don't worry, people around here are much too stupid to recognize Fire Nation royalty. But I had the misfortune to once encounter your brother Zuko and your uncle Iroh." A grimace of distaste twisted her oval face.

"But you. You're not a friend of either of them, are you?"

Azula shrugged. "I've done my best to help Zuzu adhere to his Fire Nation heritage. As for Iroh…" A hard look passed over her face. "No. He's never showed even a shred of caring for me. He's a stranger. Why is that important?"

The bounty hunter's dark eyes were keen. "It's not important. I'm just attempting to decide whether you'd be serious about joining me in a bounty hunter apprenticeship."

Azula's bright gold eyes went saucer wide. "Bounty hunter apprenticeship? You're offering me to be your companion and learn the tricks of the trade? Why that's…" Her eyes narrowed again. "Why?"

Across the table, June regarded her with dark brown eyes. "Because I know my profession and I know how to assess people. It comes with the game. And you, Azula, have natural talent. You instinctually know the gist of this profession. It's not just the way that you can execute people quickly enough. You probably only resort to that when all else fails. But my gut instinct tells me that you have the right mindset. Also, you're looking for a job, aren't you? A way to keep food on the table and get a decent bed for the night."

And in the long run, a way to keep the Fire Nation Princess in the style that she deserves.

The words flashed through Azula's mind. She shot the dark haired woman a hard look.

"No. I don't have a price on my head. Do you?"

The bounty hunter smiled. "No, I don't. I'm too smart for that. So, what do you say? I teach you what I know and, provided that you perform well enough, we'll share all our earnings equally. What do you say?"

Azula hesitated briefly. Her trust in people was below zero. But also, she was so damn lonely. She needed a purpose, a goal and somebody to teach her how to improve herself. She needed to perform, to make a difference. And oddly enough, she trusted this dark haired stranger. She felt calm and lucid in the woman's presence. So…

She reached out and took the bounty hunter's hand in a firm grasp.

"Yes. I say yes. From this moment on, I'm your bounty hunter partner."