Chapter 2
A/N: Before you even start reading, I think I'll take this opportunity to recognize one of the greatest reviewers and fanfic friends of mine ever.
Everyone check out appa-appa-away's new stories Ahoy! The Zutara Drabble Series and also My Blutara. Both awesome stories; definitely worth reading!! :)
For almost an hour, the ship had rested peacefully at the Fire Nation docks, being tossed gently around by the dark indigo waves underneath it. Zuko knew they were getting supplies, but he was getting sick of waiting.
Then, just when he was sure he couldn't take one more minute of staying in the same place, the ship lurched into motion and they were off. It was a bitter-sweet moment for Zuko; he wanted to get as far away from the Fire Nation as he could, and as soon as he could, but at the same time he wanted more than anything to stay right there. To enjoy the warm weather and hilly scenery, all so perfectly unchanged from when he'd last seen them.
There was a light knock on his cabin door and he considered ignoring it and just spending a few more minutes sulking by himself, but the hope that it was someone here to tell him his father had changed his mind forced him to answer. "Come in," he ordered, keeping his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
"Prince Zuko, it is a lovely day. Why don't you come up on deck and enjoy it with me?" suggested Iroh cheerfully.
"I want to stay here."
"But you don't know when you'll get another chance to savor such beautiful weather. It might storm tomorrow."
"I don't care."
Iroh sighed and walked a bit closer to Zuko, who closed his eyes and pretended not to notice. "Prince Zuko, you cannot just waste your life away in this room. Sooner or later, you're going to have to come out and involve yourself in the world. Why not start today?"
"You know, it's your fault I'm here."
"I didn't tell you to go to your room..."
"No, but you didn't help me stay in the Fire Nation. You made things worse. I could've done a better job than you did."
"Prince Zuko, I already told you. I did all I could. Ozai is stubborn and -"
"Would you stop blaming him? You can't take responsibility for anything. This is your fault. Just admit it."
"If I admit it, will you come on deck with me?"
Zuko considered saying yes; lying to his uncle just to get the answer he wanted. But he knew Iroh was too smart for that. "No."
"Fine. But if you change your mind, I'll be enjoying the sunshine." The door closed quietly behind Iroh as he left and Zuko scowled. Enjoy the sunshine. They'd spent an eternity enjoying sunshine. He hated sunshine. Now, at least. What had sunshine ever done for him except burn him? That's all anyone did. Burn him. And he wasn't going to let it keep happening.
Another knock on his door assaulted his sensitive eardrums and he gritted his teeth. "What now Uncle? I thought you were -"
"Prince Zuko? You need to come see something." That wasn't Iroh. Zuko sighed and got up, following the guard who'd interrupted his moping up to the top deck. This was so ridiculous. He knew every inch of this ship; there was nothing new for him to see.
On deck, a group of soldiers were huddled together, muttering to themselves and poking something with the dull ends of their spears. "What's going on here?" Zuko shouted, distracting the men from whatever they were doing. "This had better be good," he then mumbled to himself, elbowing through the circle of guards.
Sitting quietly on the cold iron deck was a tiny person. Maybe a little kid. Zuko wasn't quite sure. He hadn't seen enough children in his lifetime. "What is this?" asked Zuko irritably.
"It's a child, Sir."
"I know that. I meant what is it doing here? Who brought -" Zuko frowned. "Where's my uncle?"
As if it was a command, three soldiers bolted off in search of the old man, leaving Zuko to babysit the tiny stowaway. The boy looked up at him and laughed, his gold eyes sparkling cheerfully. "Don't laugh at me," Zuko threatened. The child laughed harder. This wasn't funny. The thing must've been broken, Zuko mused. That would explain it. Iroh certainly couldn't refuse a broken little boy who would laugh at Zuko.
"Yes, Prince Zuko?"
"Ah, Uncle. I need your help explaining something. Tell me; how did this get here?" spat Zuko, pointing testily at the light-skinned, dark-haired toddler.
Iroh's face lit up. "What a cute little boy. Where are his parents?"
Zuko stared dumbly at Iroh for a second before mumbling, "I thought you brought him here..."
"No, I've never taken kindly to kidnapping before." Iroh laughed, which made the kid laugh, too. Zuko glared.
"Well, I don't like him. Can we throw him overboard? Is he old enough to have feelings? Because Azula always said -"
"No! Prince Zuko, no," chuckled the old man. "You can't throw him off the ship. He'll drown!"
"That was kind of the point..."
"He has feelings. Azula must have lied."
Angrily Zuko muttered, "Azula always lies..."
"What?"
"Oh, uh, nothing. Just - get rid of him. He can't come with us. I won't allow it."
"Why not? He surely can't eat as much as you!"
"That's not funny." Who was Iroh to talk about Zuko's eating? And he didn't eat that much, anyway. "I don't eat that much."
"And that concerns me. A growing boy needs a lot of energy. Even one who just lays around and sulks all day."
"I don't lay around or sulk! Just get rid of him or I'm leaving both of you at the first Earth Kingdom port we stop at." Easy enough. Surely his lazy uncle could do at least that.
"Oh, Zuko. You have your father's wit."
Zuko raised an eyebrow. Ozai wasn't funny. And neither was he. No one in his family was. They were all just mean, selfish free-loaders supporting themselves on the Fire Lord's stolen throne. Not funny at all.
Zuko stomped down to his room and slammed the door, hating the child who was invading his new life. How had this happened? There were constantly people guarding the ship. He wouldn't have it any other way. And the only time they'd even been anchored down in the last few hours was when they'd stopped in the Fire Nation for supplies; supposedly to stay there, but that obviously hadn't worked out.
Well, he hoped someone really missed the annoying kid. He hoped somewhere, some woman was crying because she'd lost her dear little son. His mother certainly wouldn't have cared.
And he hoped that the kid's father was out looking for his boy; scouring the town for the child that meant so much to their family. Not just out of selfishness like the kid being the only valid heir to the father's position, but because he loved him. Or at least to satisfy his hopefully distraught wife. Either would do.
And then, he hoped that they never saw their child again. That they spent the rest of their lives wondering what they'd done wrong and what had happened to him. That they never had another kid because they never got over the loss of this one. That would be great.
Zuko killed the flames that lit up his room, submerging it in complete darkness. Any minute now his uncle would probably be knocking on the door, trying to convince Zuko that things weren't as bad as they seemed. Just like he always did. And this time, Zuko decided he wouldn't listen. Because things were bad. Really bad.
As if on cue, there was a light tapping on the door, then the doorknob turned a bit. Zuko turned over so he was facing the wall and pulled his blankets tightly around him. "Come in."
But the door didn't open. Instead, the doorknob kept turning, just enough that he could hear it but not enough to open the door. Annoyed, Zuko crawled out of bed and yanked the door open, expecting to see his uncle. But that's not who greeted him.
"Hi," laughed the demon child with a big grin stretched across his pale face.
"What do you want?" Zuko growled.
"What's your name?"
"None of your business." He turned around and shut the door, then trudged back over to his bed. Hadn't Iroh gotten rid of that kid yet?
"My name's Shin Yu." Zuko jumped. Where had that come from? He quickly relit the candles around his room, illuminating the cramped space. In front of him was that toddler. Again. How had he gotten in?
"How did you -"
"What's your name?" He seemed so happy. Zuko couldn't remember ever being that happy.
"Zuko. Now who let you in here?"
"You did!"
"No, I didn't. I closed the door in your face. That means I wanted you to leave."
"You're mean," Shin Yu whimpered.
"Yes, I am." What? No he wasn't. "Now get out of my room. Go talk to my uncle. He's weird, like you; you two will probably appreciate each other's company a lot more than I appreciate yours."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Just leave."
"I want to stay with you." He crawled up onto Zuko's bed and laid down, pulling Zuko's blankets around him. "Aahhh..."
"Get up! You can't stay here!"
"Yes I can," giggled Shin Yu. He buried his head under the blanket and laughed, "You can't see me!"
"I wish I couldn't. Now get out of my bed or I'll take you out myself."
He laughed again and scrambled out of the blanket. "Now you can see me!"
"I knew where you were already," sighed Zuko in exasperation. Shin Yu smiled, showing all of his tiny white teeth, then scampered to the other side of the room. Zuko's few possessions were all tied up in a small bag in the corner, and Shin Yu immediately seemed to take an interest in the strange parcel.
He wrapped his stubby fingers around the knot at the top of the bag and tried to wrench it apart, glaring at it when it wouldn't open. Zuko frowned. That glare was familiar; Shin Yu in general was familiar. But it didn't matter. Every Fire Nation kid looked the same. He was probably no different.
"Don't touch that," warned Zuko sternly, walking over to Shin Yu and pushing him roughly away from the bag. "That's mine."
"No, it's not."
"Yes it is!"
"No, now it's mine." He smiled again but Zuko wasn't amused.
"Nothing here is yours. This whole ship belongs to me, and so does everything on it." Zuko hated having to fight about this with a toddler; he sounded selfish. But it was true, it was his stuff, and he didn't want anyone's grimy fingers messing with it.
"No! You have to share!" shrieked Shin Yu.
"Why should I? You're not even supposed to be here. You're a criminal as long as you're on this ship. And I don't share with criminals."
"I want my mama!" he cried, tears streaming down his soft face. Zuko rolled his eyes.
"She's not here. Er, I don't think...she is...how did you get here?"
"I went up the slide." Slide?
"It's not a slide. Now why did you -"
"Prince Zuko? What's going on?" Iroh asked as he walked into the room.
"I don't know! I told him not to touch my stuff and he started crying." Zuko scowled. This wasn't how he'd planned to start off his journey.
"Well, here." Iroh picked up the sobbing monster and carried him out, not even bothering to say good-bye. Zuko frowned. Shin Yu was turning out to be way more trouble than he was worth. But they'd be docking in the Earth Kingdom in a day or two, and he was convinced it would be easy to loose the bothersome kid in the dirty crowds of the Earth Kingdom. You could lose anyone there.
With that knowledge to comfort him, Zuko crawled back into bed and closed his eyes. Maybe when he woke up, this would all have been nothing but a really bad dream...
Sunshine: Sorry this chapters's so long; I couldn't seem to stop it anywhere. And thanks, Stardust, for all your help... :(
Stardust: Eh heh...yeah...I was watching Avatar.
Sunshine: All day? I watched Avatar too, but I still got two chapters written.
Stardust: It was a marathon!
Sunshine: mutters marathon...whatever...kids these days are so lazy...just sit in front of their TV's...
Stardust: I am not lazy!
Sunshine: Whatever. I'm sure you'll help more on the NEXT chapter, which will be up when we get at least three reviews for this chapter. Until then, no update.
Stardust: Harsh.
Sunshine: It's what has to be done.
Stardust: You make a lot of mistakes while typing.
Sunshine: At least I can type! And I'll have you know I'm one of the fastest...if not the fastest typer...in my whole grade! Just, not the most accurate...
Stardust: Ooh. I'm trembling in my chair.
Sunshine: Don't patronize me!
Stardust: You so got that from Avatar.
Sunshine: Do you hear me denying it? Cuz I'm pretty sure everyone knows. :) Hopefully. Hey, everyone, please read Cut Apart the Moon and The Sun Sets in the West when you're done reading this. And The Sun Sets in the West is in dire need of reviews. If it doesn't get a good number of reviews soon, I'm pulling it. tear and I really like that story, so PLEASE don't make me pull it...
Stardust: Yeah, I like that story too. I helped write it in the beginning. But you can't really tell.
Sunshine: That's probably because I went crazy control-freak on you and took over. But whatever. It's a really good story, and surely someone out there agrees...anyway. Please review this chapter. No update until we get at least three (3!!) reviews. And you guys should really read What Was Right because it's a really easy to read one-shot that's super short and in desperate needs of reviews. Just like Sun Sets.
Stardust: Yeah. Well, to wrap this up, REVIEW!!
Sunshine: Yipee!! And yes. Review. :)(:)(:)(: heeheehee...
