A/N: This is my very first fan fiction so please no flames. This fan fiction started out as an idea since the mid-season of the Book One of Avatar: The Last Airbender. So, yea...enjoy!

Meditation Should Heal

The streets were usually supposed to be empty in the middle of the day: Ba Sing Se seemed like an oasis to the center of miles of dry plains. But two simple-clothed fugitives walked on to somewhere without a care if they were seen in the open. No surprise—this was the safest city in the world from the Fire Nation.

Iroh kicked up dust as he walked through the streets with a heavy sac filled with money. However Zuko walked beside him easily with a simple scroll in hand. His uncle smiled and said,

"Now that we have a house that we bought with this money, and a deed, we can finally be recognized as 'citizens' for a while." He chuckled happily "With this left over money, I can buy a box-full of tea!"

Zuko simply rolled his eyes at his uncle's last statement. This didn't amuse him at all anymore. He glared at Iroh as a thought came into his head.

"Well, it was a 50/50 chance at getting the money since you gambled on Pi Sho!" he yelled, without a care if a few young children playing on the block were giving him weird stares.

"What can I say?" his uncle began, "I love Pi Sho so much that even if I lost all my money, it was worth it."

Zuko scoffed at his elder, folding his arms. "Keh, well that's a lame excuse if you ask me."

"I'm glad I have such an understanding and caring nephew." Iroh replied sarcastically with a smug grin fixed on his features. He kept walking forward and turned on the corner of a street on the peaceful outskirts of town, and stopped. "Well, you will have to get used to it here, this is our house."

The roof had numerous orange clay tiles lined up perfectly and stood 7 yards into the air, the wooden archway towered above the two as they stepped through the gate and into the garden. This place had few bushes, but there were many cherry and maple trees that hovered over the cobblestone-path to the house. These well-groomed trees were accompanied by a few rugged rocks.

Finally the house came in plain sight. About 4 sand-colored pillars supported the roof and the porch. There were polished wooden planks to create the porch just like Zuko's room in the Fire Nation palace. Iroh stepped forward and managed to slide the bamboo-door open.

The inside of the home was even better than the exterior. The walls of the hallway, though made of solid rock, held in earthly heat. The center room was merely a living room made of all kinds of dark-colored mats around a single table, which would probably be used mostly for Iroh's informal tea sessions, and meditation practices. There would be a slight guarantee that Zuko would ever meditate out in the open. Ahead of the room, was an elevated platform with mats and tables less formal than the other Iroh set down the bag, making a 'plop' sound.

"Well, I'm guessing that sliding door behind the kitchen table will lead out to the back of the garden." His gaze shifted towards the bamboo doors on either side of the center room "I have a count of 4 rooms. Would you like to go with me to the back or are you just going to stay inside?"

"Sorry uncle, but I'm staying here." Zuko said grimly. He needed to meditate on his past. Everything in 3 years was happening all so quickly. And by this time, the only known cure to ease his suffering on the past was meditation. Without that, he knew he'd only lose that bit of sanity left in him. But that didn't seem to be the point… he felt as if something, or someone else was calling out to him- like he had someone yet to meet who could help his past.

'What a stupid idea…' he thought to himself.

"Very well then." Iroh replied, sliding the door open to the back end of the garden. The back lead out to a porch identical to the other. This part of the conservatory consisted of lush, low shrubbery, sand overtop of the soil, and identical rugged rocks. There was only one cherry tree towering over the pebble path, but it looked different from others. Though it had a thick trunk and reached to great heights, something about it was misfit. "I see you are a late bloomer, young blossom tree." He said to the tree as he walked towards it. He wasn't crazy, but he sensed that this tree had a spirit, and from the deep gash on its trunk, the tree reminded him of his own nephew. His fingertips ran tenderly along the gash and he smiled admirably. Somehow, he grasped that the tree seemed to weakly smile inside. "This would be a great place for tea! I'll bring some out."

Candles had already lit up the room surrounding and illuminating Zuko's darkly-cloaked figure. His knapsack and scroll were carelessly thrown onto the mahogany tatami mat, as if they were never intended to be used. Zuko sat cross-legged in a neutral position with his hands fixed firmly but relaxed together at his gut. He took in deep, slow breaths, as opposed to when he was angered. His eyes relaxed and closed, preparing for the emotional healing to begin.

'If meditation is supposed to help me control my fire and ease my grief, then why does my Uncle Iroh claim that I'm still short-tempered?' Zuko wondered. 'Stop thinking on these things Zuko… maybe that's why you aren't getting anywhere! Meditation is supposed to be focused on not thinking about anything! Great, I'm talking to myself now.'

From then on Zuko's thoughts stayed silent, but there was only a moment before a blurred vision came into his mind. He heard lively but harsh voices.

The twangs of arrows in flight could be heard as a blurry vision came to view. The picture cleared enough to determine that the figure was a young girl at a Yu Yuan Archers' Academy practicing in front of 4 very important people dressed in crimson. Clearly, this girl was trying actively to pin down one of her opponents to a tree with her bow and arrows, but didn't get much success. With ease, the opponent came at her, seized her weapon, and shoved her onto the dust.

There came a cruel snicker from a young man, her Sensei from the way he spoke to her. "Student, why have you failed me?"

"I didn't mean to Sensei. Honest, I didn't mean to!" the girl said in a nervous tone. She could be seen standing up and bowing to him as she continued "I didn't mean to fail you. I was practicing for hours yesterday. I—"

"Humph. You call this lousy defeat practicing for hours? So that you wouldn't fail so miserably, you should have practiced for the whole week!" He exclaimed, raising his voice. He turned his back to his student and blurted, "You're a disgrace. You may seem destined to be an arching warrior, but you are a dishonor to the Yu Yan Archers." He whirled around once again and said "I want you to leave."

"Excuse me, Sensei?" the girl sounded slightly shocked.

"You heard me. I want you to leave, and no longer dishonor me." Her Sensei said.

Zuko came out of the vision as he opened his eyes and looked around the room. 'Was that a vision or my imagination?' He was aware that nothing had changed in his surroundings. 'Maybe it was just a memory. Then who was that girl...Ha, who cares?'

"Zuko, are you in there?" he could hear his uncle behind the door. He didn't bother to reply. When Iroh heard silence, he took that as Zuko's rely; he always knew that staying silent was Zuko's way of saying 'what'. "Very well, I found that I have run out of tea and need to buy some more. Would you like to join me and go downtown to shop for the herbs?"

"No thanks, uncle. I'd better stay here." He replied. As he heard the door to the house slide closed, he resumed his thoughts. He never liked to shop, especially for Uncle Iroh's tea for which he had a natural obsession for. Deep down inside the corners of his heart, he hoped his uncle would be alright without him around.

He suddenly remembered running through red plains in the Fire Nation when he was young. Zuko had run past his standing father and even ran faster than his sister. When he was out of breath, he collapsed with his back on the grass. A contented smile was painted on his face as the young prince gazed towards the skies.

'Quit living in the past. Learn to deal with what you have now. Your father doesn't want you.' Zuko thought to himself. 'What matters is not that I earn my father's respect anymore. I've seen all these people suffering… and I...' Zuko paused in mid-thought, struggling to find the truth in what to do. '…I know now that my father… shouldn't be on the throne. And in doing so, the only way that can happen is if the Avatar…kills him.'

Zuko's eyes closed in meditation again, and his features relaxed. He proceeded to inhale and exhale deeply, calming his thoughts once again.

Iroh walked through the downtown streets looking all over the marketplace for tea. Finally, in plain calligraphy over a gateway, there was a sign that said 'main store'. The old tea-obsessed man rushed in to the store, and upon seeing a wall with many shelves filled with tea herbs, his eyes widened.

"The tea shall be mine! I've never seen so many spices in all my life!" He shouted while tearing with joy. Iroh earned a couple of stares from the store-owners. The next time they saw the crazed man, he carried at least 3 basket-full of tea spices. The owners paid no attention to this, for it was their chance to earn more money.

"20 copper pieces." One owner said lifelessly.

"With pleasure," Iroh said joyfully "now I'll have enough tea to last a whole month!"

"Whatever, stranger." The other owner said, taking the money offered greedily.

Iroh skipped out of the store, with a gleeful smile on his face. But through the joy, he sensed a suspicion in the market place that caused him to curiously look around for what or who was causing the senses to tingle. At last, in the shadows of one alley, he glanced over the corner and found the source.

Some female figure cloaked in a stealthy garment, traded a pair of Sais with a man wearing the same brand of garments, for what looked like two sheathed swords. She tied one with a cord around her one hip and unsheathed the other. This weapon had calligraphy written on its silver-blue blade. Iroh's eyes widened. This was no ordinary weapon- it was a diamond-bladed katana. She nodded as she examined it and a smile came to the tanned-man's face. They both bowed respectfully and departed for different ways. As Iroh noticed the girl coming closer to where he was standing, he looked around nervously to find somewhere to hide.

The girl looked at her left and at her right so as to check to see if she had been followed. As the girl left, Iroh could be seen behind her, positioning like the ruby-eyed monkey beside the door of a small store with a wide smile and big eyes fixed like the monkey-statue. With that disguise done, he picked up the baskets of spices beside him and resumed skipping to the house.

Ok, I'm sorry for Iroh being so weird in the end. It was a desperate attempt to make him seem silly for a moment. I'll try my best throughout the story to keep Zuko to the attitude he is in the show, but I won't go too far from his view on things. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!