Since the first chapter got a good response, I thought I'd give you guys a bonus update which is another reason why you should fave/follow/review. Also, the girl in the picture for the story is roughly what Akane would look like, but I don't own it since I just found it from google. It's worth mentioning that this story will slowly be building up to where the story kicks off, since it is a Zuko/OC slow-burn romance you'll get to see the early development of their friendship. In this chapter, Zuko will be 9 and Akane is 8, so Azula is 7 and this is roughly a year before Ursa's banishment.


Thick as Thieves


The sound of children's laughter and pounding footsteps is what filled the corridors of the Fire Nation Royal Palace. The source of the noise came from Prince Zuko and his best friend, Akane. Having spent practically all of their life together, Akane and Zuko were the best of friends. They did everything together from training, learning and getting up to all sorts of mischief which was what they were getting up to now.

"I'm coming your way, Nene!" Zuko yelled as he chased after his friend. The pair were currently engaged in a game of tag, which had resulted in them running around almost the entire palace.

"You'll never catch me!" Akane called back, laughing as she did so.

It was always a common occurrence for Akane and Zuko to be up to these sort of activities, since they rarely did anything without each other. Over the years their friendship had truly blossomed into something special, and it was something that they both valued more than they realised. Even though Akane wasn't technically family, Zuko had always treated her as such and he had a far better relationship with her than he did with his other sister, Azula.

Eventually, the pair of friends ran out into the palace garden before Zuko eventually caught the younger girl and playfully tackled her onto the ground, both of them laughing as they did so. Their laughing eventually ceased, and the pair just laid there as they looked up into the sky and a comfortable silence filled the atmosphere.

"What should we do now?" Akane asked.

"I dunno. We've already caused enough hassle for the servants and I doubt father will be happy about that," Zuko noted.

"Why do you call him father?" Akane questioned.

"What do you mean?" Zuko queried.

"He's your daddy. Shouldn't you call him that? Father just sounds so… weird," Akane elaborated.

Zuko sighed, "Father's always said that we're not to refer to him as such. He says it's informal and that I shouldn't do it, so I don't."

"But you call Ursa mom," Akane pointed out.

"Mom doesn't care what I call her. She's always been better to me than father has. I have fun with mom, I don't have that with father," Zuko explained.

Akane nodded, understanding her friend's feelings towards his father. Prince Ozai had always intimidated Akane, since he could be such a scary person unlike Ursa who was always kind to her and treated Akane like she was her own. That was probably why Akane bonded more with Zuko and Ursa than she did with Azula and Ozai, since they were nothing like Ursa and Zuko were. Azula was mean, just like her dad was even though Akane didn't really understand why. She figured that's just how some people were.

"I wonder how Iroh's doing," Akane thought out loud.

"He's probably fighting hard with Lu Ten," Zuko said.

Akane sighed, "I miss them."

"Same. But they'll be back. And they might even bring us back something!" Zuko exclaimed.

Akane grinned, "Iroh always did get the best presents."

Since Uncle Iroh and his son, Lu Ten had gone off to Ba Sing Se, it had just been Akane and Zuko around the palace. They hardly spent time with Azula, since she always got them into trouble. Only now they missed their family members and wished that they could be here with them. A sombre mood suddenly filled the air, which Akane didn't like at all.

"I know what we could do!" Akane suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Zuko asked as he leaned forward.

"We could fight!" Akane replied.

Zuko looked confused, "Fight? Isn't fighting bad?"

"Not that fighting, firefighting! You know, with our bending," Akane explained.

"Oh," Zuko said in realisation. "You mean sparring?"

"I didn't know there was a term for it," Akane admitted.

Zuko laughed, "It's okay. Let's spar!"

"Cool!" Akane cheered.

The pair were quick to get up on their feet before getting into their appropriate positions. Sparring was something that they occasionally did together, since they always trained in the same room. Akane was slightly more advanced than Zuko was, but they were still relatively evenly matched benders. Firebending had always fascinated Akane, and she always felt enchanted by her native element. It was almost like she went to an entirely different world whenever she'd bend, even though she wasn't sure how to describe it herself.

"Let's go!" Akane exclaimed.

Akane was quick to send a small fire blast at Zuko, which he jumped out of the way from. One thing the pair always did was to make sure that they never hurt each other during their games. Things rarely got out of hand with them, only a few scuffles every now and then but nothing serious. They continued exchanging fire blasts until Akane eventually managed to get the upper hand and caused Zuko to fall on his back.

"I win!" Akane declared.

Zuko sighed as he dusted himself off, "Yeah, like always."

"Come on, Zuko. I'm sure with some more practice you'll beat me soon," Akane encouraged him.

"It's just that, you and Azula have always been better benders than me. It's not that bad with you, since you don't pick on me like Azula does. I just wish I could be as good as you guys," Zuko admitted.

"And I'm sure you will be one day," Akane comforted him.

Zuko smiled, "Thanks, Nene. I can always count on you."

"Let's play tag again. You're it!" Akane suddenly exclaimed before running off around the garden.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Zuko yelled as he chased after his friend. This certainly wasn't anything new of Akane, since she was always sneaky in the games that they played together and tag was no exception.

At one point, Akane climbed up a tree to avoid Zuko and she happily sat there with a smirk on her face as Zuko gave his friend an exasperated sigh. Akane knew that she was safe up in the tree since Zuko never climbed and he wouldn't dare to start now.

"Come on, Aka! This isn't fun!" Zuko whined before he tripped over a tree branch that stuck up from the ground.

"Easy there, Buster," Akane called.

"Buster?" Zuko repeated as he picked himself up.

"If you're not careful you might break your head or sprain your ankle. Again," Akane giggled.

"That was one time!" Zuko defended himself.

Akane giggled at her friend, since she knew how much Zuko's clumsiness annoyed him. Her giggling was seized when she caught the sight of a familiar face in the distance. A face that belonged to a person who made it their mission to make Akane's life miserable.

"You two are losers," they said.

Akane glared at Azula, Zuko's younger sister. Unlike her and Zuko, Akane never got along with Azula. Azula was always mean for no reason and it upset Akane to see Zuko be so upset because of his sister.

"What do you want, Azula?" Akane asked as she jumped down from the tree.

"Mai and Ty Lee are busy today, so I don't have anyone to play with and I figured that I'd come find you two, only to see Akane making a fool out of Zuzu. This has been the best part about my day so far," Azula explained.

Akane glared at the younger girl, "Go away, Azula. We don't want to play with you."

Azula huffed, "I wasn't being rude, Akane. And you should know that you can't tell me what to do. Only father can do that, and he could easily throw you out if I told him to."

Akane's eyes widened, since if Ozai did kick her out she would have nowhere to go. Even though they didn't get along, Akane doubted if Azula would actually go that far but she wasn't willing to take the risk. It was clear to Akane that Ozai liked Azula more than Zuko – which Akane didn't understand why – and it's not like Ursa would be able to help her in that situation.

"Why do you have to be so mean, Azula?" Zuko asked.

"I'm not being mean, I'm just reminding your friend where she stands," Azula rebuffed.

"Well, I'm standing right here!" Akane exclaimed, not really understanding what Azula meant.

"If you want me to, I could show you two how to bend properly," Azula suggested.

Both Akane and Zuko glanced at each other, visibly surprised by Azula's offer. Azula wasn't one for offering her help to others, so this wasn't like her. But Akane was slightly intrigued, since she knew Azula had a lot of skills although Zuko didn't share the same feelings towards his sister.

Akane's expression brightened, "Well, that would be fun!"

Azula smirked, "I know it will. Stand back."

Akane nodded and did as told, with Zuko reluctantly following in suit. They both knew that Azula was well ahead of them in her training, despite being younger than both of them. Azula had always excelled in firebending, while Akane wasn't that far behind and Zuko just couldn't keep up with the younger girls.

Slowly, Azula moved her arms around as she performed several firebending tricks, immediately captivating Akane's attention. Zuko appeared to be less than interested in his sister's display, while Akane stared at the younger girl in wonder. Eventually, Azula spread her arms out wide, causing the fire to expand around them in large amounts. This caught Akane off guard, and she failed to react in time before the fire came into contact with her hands, burning them and causing her to emit a loud cry of pain.

"Akane!" Zuko yelled as he rushed to his best friend's side, who was sitting down hunched over as she caressed her burning hands.

"Opps," Azula said.

Zuko glared at his sister, "You did this on purpose!"

"Why would I do that?" Azula asked, feigning innocence.

Suddenly, the trio were joined by Ursa who heard the commotion form inside the palace. Ursa's eyes widened as she saw Akane crying in pain and the glare Zuko was giving his sister.

"What is going on here?" Ursa demanded.

"Akane burned herself," Azula lied.

"No, she didn't! Azula did this!" Zuko exclaimed.

"I would never hurt Akane," Azula lied.

Ursa crouched down in front of Akane, her eyes widening even more as she gently took hold of her blistering hands.

"Akane, sweetie. What happened?" Ursa queried.

"S-she b-burned m-me," Akane cried.

Ursa turned around to face her daughter, who was wearing an innocent look on her face. Unlike most times when Ursa would buy her daughters lies, this wasn't one of them.

"Young lady, go to your room this instance!" Ursa ordered.

"No. I will not be punished for this!" Azula exclaimed.

"Azula, do not act this way otherwise I will take this to your father!" Ursa threatened.

Azula scoffed, "Like dad would punish me for this."

"Go to your room now, Azula. I will deal with your punishment later," Ursa ordered once more.

Azula rolled her eyes as she stormed off, "Sure, take her side like you always do!"

Ursa shook her head as she watched her daughter stormed off. She could never understand why Azula behaved the way she did. Perhaps it had something to do with the amount of time she spent with Ozai. Ursa would worry about that later, as right now Akane needed her attention. Ursa caught the sound of her son snickering and gave Zuko a look that instantly shut him up.

"Why would you act like that, Zuko?" Ursa asked.

"Because Azula always does stuff like this, but never gets in trouble," Zuko replied.

Ursa sighed, "Let's just get Akane the help she needs."

Zuko nodded, ready to help his friend. Akane's cries had weakened after the original pain subsided, but the wounds still hurt. Zuko blamed himself for Akane getting hurt, since he knew that Azula was up to no good yet did nothing to stop her. Eventually, Ursa lead Akane to the infirmary so she could get her hands fixed. Azula hadn't burned her too bad, but enough to leave some marks that would stay there for some time.

"Here you go, Miss Akane. These herbs should help sooth the pain. Once I've applied them to your wounds, I will bandage your hands and you'll be good as new," the nurse explained.

Akane's lip quivered as she felt a shot of pain, "I hope so."

Ursa gave her arm a gentle squeeze, "You'll be fine, darling."

"Does it feel any better, Nene?" Zuko asked as the nurse started bandaging Akane's hands.

"A little," Akane replied.

"That's good. There will be some mild pain for a while, but they will heal in time," the nurse said.

"You hear that, Akane? You'll be just as fine as you were this morning," Ursa said reassuringly.

Akane nodded, "I want to be."

The nurse smiled as she finished wrapping Akane's bandages, "There you go. You're free to go now."

"Thank you," Akane said appreciatively.

"Why don't you two head off to your rooms while I go speak to your sister?" Ursa suggested. "I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Okay, mom," Zuko agreed. "Come on, Aka. Let's go."

"Alright," Akane murmured.

Zuko grinned once Ursa was out of earshot, "Azula's gonna get in so much trouble!"

Akane smiled slightly, "That sounds good."

"Akane, I'm sorry that Azula burned you," Zuko suddenly apologised.

"Why are you sorry?" Akane asked.

"Because I should've stopped her. Now you're hurt," Zuko replied sadly.

Akane sighed, "It's okay. The nurse said I'll be fine anyways!"

"I still feel bad," Zuko admitted.

"Well, you shouldn't! Now come on, let's go to my room and play charades!" Akane exclaimed.

Zuko grinned, "I'll race you there!"

"Way ahead of you!" Akane yelled before taking off down the palace corridors, with Zuko laughing after her as they did so.

One thing the pair of friends could always count on each other was cheering up when they needed it. That's what made their friendship as close as it was, and nothing that they'd trade for anything.


Gotta love young Zuko before he became the angsty pantsy we know him as today. Since Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se went for 600 days, I figured that they would've been gone by now and to give them a little mention. This chapter was a second introduction to the story in a way, since it delves into Akane's relationships a bit. More of those to come in the next few chapters before things pick up.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

uNICOrnDIANGELO: I'm glad I've got you hooked, lined and sunk. As for my writing, I know I'm not awful at it but when I read back on some of my works there are always those little mistakes that I miss which bug me. You flatter me anyways, so here's another chapter to quench your need.

Arwen347: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like the start. It's been interesting to watch how my writings changed since I first started, since I can already spot some of the major differences and I just want to get as good as I can be.

Znkp: Here's another chapter for you and you can get another one sooner just by writing a little something in the reviews. Thanks for the continued support throughout my works, it means a lot to see someone sticking around.

Guest: It's always nice to read feedback like that, so thanks. As for Akane, she's definitely going to add a new layer to the story just like all of my OC's do. More will be revealed about her in later chapters, as well as where she stands on things and such.