Greetings, my fellow inhabitants of the universe! This story is supposed to take place in Book 2: Earth, after Chapter 15: Tales of Ba Sing Se, until the end of the book. The character Jade is an OC, but I hope you will give her a chance. I fit her in the show's storyline as best I could, only using what was left to our imagination as grounds for this story. This could change if Legend of Korra has enlightening flashbacks in the future. But nonetheless! It's the first installment of what I hope will be a three-part series. And I will keep the beloved characters, such as Zuko and Iroh, properly themselves to the best of my ability!
Alrighty. I hope you enjoy! :)
Zuko hurried along the bustling streets of Ba Sing Se. As the sun finished setting, the citizens of the Lower Ring rushed to finish their tasks before darkness came.
He, however, was not hurrying because of tasks or because he was afraid of being alone in the darkness in a foreign city. (No, the latter certainly was not it. Even when he was little, what scared him most was his sister. And she was currently across the world from him.)
The reason for his rush was the sooner he returned to the apartment he and his uncle shared, the sooner he could sleep. The sooner he could sleep, the sooner he could get away. Sleep was his only escape from his nightmare of a life. But recently that nightmare had begun invading his sleep as well.
He groaned at the thought of his life now. Stuck in a disgusting city when he should be in his palace. Living as a peasant when he should be ruling over the peasants. He groaned again. He would take ordering his ship's crew around and constantly chasing the Avatar over this.
His uncle Iroh, however, was one of those irritating teacup-is-always-half-full types. His constant optimism about this life made Zuko sick to his stomach. His uncle was the reason he was out in this crowd. He had asked Zuko to fetch some leaves for tea. Because of his growing headache, Zuko complied to get out of reach of Iroh's chatter.
Now he was being bumped and pushed by other citizens and having clothes and cabbages shoved in his face by vendors. Calming his breathing and clenching his fists, he pushed through. No good in losing his temper now.
Darkness had come by the time he reached the alley he often used as a shortcut. A few steps into it, though, and he realized this time it might have been better to take the scenic route.
A figure darted in the shadows. His fighter instincts immediately kicked in. He tensed and took a defensive stance, dropping the bag of tea leaves. A chuckle echoed off the walls.
He knew he should not have gotten out of bed.
Simultaneously, six shadows dropped from the rooftops. From the sizes of their bodies and low chuckles, Zuko assumed that they were all male. Six against one; he knew were this was going.
The moon allowed Zuko enough light to see the scowling face of the boy that slowly approached him.
"Look, what we have here, boys." The voice strained to sound deeper than it really was. "A street rat." His drones of a posse snickered.
"Just let me pass and no one has to get hurt," Zuko snarled. No firebending, he reminded himself.
"No one but you." The leader sneered and took the first swing. Zuko ducked and easily avoided the other punches thrown by the henchmen. While the leader was off-balance, Zuko elbowed him in the gut. He sidestepped a kick then sent an upper-cut to the other boy's chin. He kicked another in the chest. All the while, dodging punches and kicks. As the henchman kept coming, he kept sending them back to the dirt.
While the others were down, Zuko turned to the leader. His face was red and plastered with surprise. It quickly changed back to a sneer. Zuko was ready the throw the final punch when he heard movement behind him. Before he could turn, he felt something large and hard strike him on the side of the head. Pain crashed through his skull.
Zuko spun from the impact and steadied himself against a wall. His head and neck pounded. His vision began to blur. The sounds of the streets and the snickers of his harassers began to echo. He fell onto his back.
Why did his uncle have to have those stupid tea cravings? If he lived through the beating he knew was coming, his uncle would have to fetch his own tea supplies from now on.
He saw another figure drop from the rooftops before unconsciousness swallowed him.
