Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Hope you like the chapter. If there are any mistakes I would appreciate it if you told me. I looked over it several times but I can't catch everything.
Summary:
He can make the fire move, but he can not move the fire. He can make himself smile and he can live among them, but he knows this will never be his home.
Pretending
Chapter 2
Earth Kingdom
Zuko knew that the Earth Kingdom would be different, but he had not expected this. The war had torn the people apart. Criminals roamed the streets day and night, picking on those that could not protect themselves. Whole families were forced from their homes and onto the streets.
It sickened him to think that the Fire Nation had caused this, that they had been so heartless. Sadly, he knew how firebenders were, and he knew that most of them would do this, and they would do it without thought. There were very few of those that could bend fire out there who disagreed with the Fire Nation, and they often had to go into hiding from their own country because of it.
His uncle had been the one exception. Zuko could tell that Iroh did not agree with his brother, but the slightly crazy, tea loving fool that he pretended to be made most people underestimate him and not take him seriously. That and Ozai could not just kill off his own brother without the people questioning why.
Zuko had never been fond of his father, and seeing the damage of the war that he was causing only cemented his dislike. The Fire Nation clamed that they were spreading their wealth and prosperity to the other nations, but he could see that it was a lie meant for those who had never been to the Earth Kingdom themselves.
The first night on Earth Kingdom soil, Zuko kept his head down and slept out of sight. As the weeks passed and he traveled further inland he began to notice things that he had never noticed before. Many times he was attacked, mistaken for a young naïve boy who had gotten lost. Needless to say, he left his attackers with a fear of seemingly harmless children.
One such incident happened in a small fishing village near the south. Just like every other town that he had passed the people were weary of strangers and paid him no thought. As long had he did not bother them, they would not bother him. He had worked for a few coins in the previous town and had enough to stay the night in a small in.
Of course, his luck decided to make another appearance in the form of four thugs who had seen his coin purse when he had paid for some food that he would need for the road. They had followed him into an alley where they would for the rest of their life fear children with golden eyes.
Zuko came to a dead end, and turned around to face the for large Earth Kingdom men who were sneering at him, clutching their crudely made clubs. He had kept his head bowed while in the town, knowing that his golden eyes were a sign of the Fire Nation. Now, though, he figured it might give him an advantage.
"Hello, little boy," the leader of the thugs sneered at Zuko, his eyes glinting, "care to share some of your coin? If you do we will let you live."
Zuko snorted. Did these men really think that he was a frightened kid? That voice had never worked on him and it never would. Neither would the threats. His father was scarier then all of them put together plus an army more. Their rugged appearance didn't help their case, though it probably would frighten someone else into submission.
"Who are you?" Zuko asked mildly, buying for time as he examined his surroundings. His stance was relaxed, and to the thugs he looked completely uncaring.
The leader scowled, slightly taken aback. No doubt most of their victims didn't even fight back. "What is it to you, shrimp? Just give us the money and we'll be on our way," he took a threatening step forward, but Zuko did not even flinch.
"Hmm," Zuko tapped his chin with one finger, his golden eyes glinting underneath his hat though they could not see them, "How about . . . no."
The rest of the thugs stepped forward as well, though Zuko could tell that they were confused by his attitude. He saw two of them reaching for their weapon and with a quick movement he reached over his shoulder and pulled his swords from their sheath. The blade flashed in the dim lighting as it spun, attracting the thugs' attention to them, and he separated the two swords expertly so that one rested in each hand.
"Some fancy tricks won't scare us," the leader said, though Zuko could see the uncertainty in his eyes and heard the slight waver in his voice.
"No, of course not," Zuko said, his lips twitching, and for the first time razed his head and looked the leader in the eyes, "but this might."
The thugs froze for a second as the saw the golden pools that stared at them with such indifference that they knew that whatever creature they had cornered was not human. It was a split second that Zuko took full advantage of. His blades spun and he danced lightly on his feet as he lunged for the first thug.
The men all gave a cry of fright and tried to get out of the way, but Zuko was too fast for them. His feet were barely touching the floor as he slipped among them, leaving cuts on their legs so they could not walk and blocking their weapons without a second glance.
To the thugs it was like they had engaged in war with a whirlwind. It was impossible to predict where the young man would be next. In their panic they nearly hurt each other several times.
Zuko expertly bashed the hilts of his swords into their heads one at a time, knocking them unconscious. When the last of the thugs collapsed Zuko easily put his swords back together and slipped them into their sheath. Uncaringly he tied them up with rope that he found on their persons and left, his head bowed once again so that his eyes could not be seen.
He decided to forgo staying in the town, as the thugs would no doubt be discovered soon and he did not want to be around what that happened.
Hours later when the thugs woke up with pounding head and tied up, they breathed a sigh of relief as they realized that they were alone.
The golden eyed spirit was gone, and they would be content if they never encountered him again.
Cornering little kids in ally ways to take their money? Nope, never doing that again.
0~o~0
They saw him on the streets, wandering around with just a small pack over his shoulder and swords at his back. They thought nothing of him. Lots of people had to carry weapons around for safety now with the Fire Nation at every corner. He looked just like the rest of them, tired, worn, and weary of what else the world would throw at them. He kept his head lowered so that the hat covered most of his face. He never spoke to anyone and left almost as quietly as he appeared.
It was only after they found several robbers tied up with their own rope, a wild look in their eyes and babbling about a warrior boy, that they suspected.
That boy was something more than human.
0~o~0
Zuko pulled his pack over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. His fingers twitched toward his swords as he gazed around him. Having traveled for days through the forest he had not expected to come upon people so soon.
Unmistakably, though, there was the sound of laughter from the other side of a large bolder.
Silently Zuko crept forward, his feet making no noise on the soft ground. He was weary of anyone so far out in the forest, as they could be anyone. He looked around the boulder and his eyes widened as he saw a small camp of firebenders.
Zuko froze for a moment, his eyes wide. He had not encountered Fire Nation troops since leaving the coast and this was a surprise for him.
Unfortunately, things always seemed to go wrong around him and one of the soldiers glanced up and met Zuko's eyes. The soldier gave a sort shout of surprise, alerting the rest of the camp that someone was there.
The soldiers all spun in his direction and Zuko wondered if he should stay and fight them or run. His decision was made for him as he saw recognition in their faces as their eyes landed on his scar. News had spread quickly through the Fire Nation that the crown prince had been banished and then had vanished without a trace. By the end of the first month there was not single Fire Nation person that had not already heard the story.
He did not want word of him being in the Earth Kingdom to get back to his father.
Before he could attack, however, there was a yell from the other side of the clearing and several arrows came down on the soldiers, causing them to cry out in surprise again. The one with an eye patch was hit in the back of the head by something and was knocked out. Zuko could only stare in amazement as a boy with two hooked swords charged out of the bushes and engaged the soldiers with several more children.
One of the soldiers gave a shout of "They're in the trees!" before he was simultaneously knocked to the ground by someone dropping onto their shoulders and turning their helmet so that they could not see.
It came as an even greater surprise to Zuko when the children and teens actually won and all of the Fire Nation soldiers were knocked out.
The boy with the hook swords turned in Zuko's direction and their eyes met for a moment. They were both silent for several secondss before Zuko bowed his head slightly and put his swords back into their sheath.
"You have good fighting form," Zuko said, his eyes never leaving what seemed to be the groups leader as the rest of the children gathered around, "Thank you for the help."
The boy was silent for several moments before he shrugged, "My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters, Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, The Duke, and Pipsqueak," Jet gestured to the rest of the children and Zuko forced himself not to smile at the strange names.
Zuko dipped his head again in acknowledgement to each of them, "It is nice to meet you, and again, thank you," it was kind of awkward. He had not had a full conversation with someone that was just an introduction since he had left the Fire Nation. His attempt at trying to stay away from people had also isolated him.
The Freedom Fighters looked at each other and then went on to start taking supplies from the camp. Zuko glanced at them with a razed eyebrow.
"Do you do this often?" Zuko asked mildly, curious despite himself.
Jet, the leader, snorted, "You could say that."
Neither of them moved, and Zuko wondered what the other was thinking. He knew that he had to look strange. His clothing was mostly all black, as it was easier to blend into the forest with dark clothing, and the swords over his back were well cared for, showing that he knew how to used them.
The silence was broken by Jet, "I didn't catch your name."
Zuko shrugged, "And I never said."
For the first time a smile spread across Jet's face, "I like you. Where are ya headed?"
Zuko blinked and frowned at the question. Where was he headed? He had left the Fire Nation because of his father; he had been forced to leave. Where was he headed? He had no idea, but he knew that he was searching for somewhere to call home. Shrugging again, Zuko replied, "Don't know. I'm wandering," It was the truth, but not the whole truth. He would never be able to tell the whole truth so long as the Fire Nation was in power.
Jet nodded and slung his swords over his shoulder, "You can stay with us for a little while, if you would like."
Again, Zuko hesitated, unsure if it was a sincere offer or an attempt to get him to reveal more secrets. After several seconds he sighed and nodded. Jet grinned and turned around with a sharp command to the Freedom Fighters.
"Ya coming, Sparks?" Jet called as he and the rest of the teens disappeared into the overgrown, startling Zuko from his thoughts.
"Sparks?" Zuko asked hurrying after them.
Jet patted him on the shoulder as if he were a child, even though they were the same age, "Your eyes, they remind me of sparks, and we have to have something to call you."
Zuko sighed again. Great, he was stuck with a bunch of teenagers who probably didn't even use their real names and ran around attacking Fire Nation camps. One of these days he was really going to get himself killed with the situations that he got himself into.
Of course, the giant community built in the trees was interesting. Not many bothered to ever look up.
Maybe . . . maybe he could stay. For a while. It was always good to learn new things.
New things could keep you alive at the most unexpected moments.
And Zuko had a lot of those.
0~o~0
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