Two Weeks Later
The noren flew apart as Zuko stormed out of the meeting room. Suki and Ty Lee hurried after him, hushed discussions from inside the room followed them out.
"Zuko, wait up!" Ty Lee called, and he slowed to walk.
"Can you believe this?!" Zuko snapped. "It has been nearly half a year since the Kemurikage Incident and they still haven't a clue where Azula could be." Zuko clenched his fists as they made their way down the hallway.
"They said that there has been sightings of her all over the Fire Nation, but none of our investigations can find any trace of her," Suki told him. "I understand your frustration, Zuko, but this is not the way a Fire Lord should act." Zuko paused, and the two Kyoshi Warriors nearly crashed into him. He took a few deep breaths as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I know that, but those politicians act like everything is fine; they underestimate Azula and don't realise how dangerous she is."
"I can talk to them later. Maybe I'll have some of my girls join the search and we'll be able to find something," Suki said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She has to show up eventually."
"I'm worried about when she does," Zuko mumbled and he continued walking. "What's the latest news on the New Ozai Society?"
"Even though we took down the main group in the Royal Caldera, our spies have found more chapters springing up in other cities and towns. They're being even more secretive than before after the mass arrests, so it has been difficult to get information about them."
"Although, from what we've heard, it seems they want nothing to do with Azula after she used Ukano," Ty Lee added as they reached the Fire Lord's personal office. "They've thrown their full weight back behind Ozai."
"Then they're fools," he spat as he slumped into his seat. "I wonder, if I was to drag Ozai in front of them by the shackles so they could get a good look at what the great Phoenix King has become, would they realise how worthless their movement is?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, for obvious reasons," Suki told him, folding her arms.
"Why don't you just send in some people, like the Kyoshi Warriors, to arrest and be done with it?" Ty Lee suggested, sitting on the side of his table. "They are a terrorist group after all."
"Making arrests on the groups we know of would simply drive those we don't further underground. They would also become more dangerous as they might be more willing to cause destruction and riots," Zuko explained, taking out a brush and ink.
"The members are also anonymous, so we have no idea of their standing." Suki said, leaning against the wall while keeping the entrance in view. "Mass arrests could turn public opinion against us, and it's already quite low as it is."
"A king is only as powerful as his people allow him to be," Zuko muttered, drawing a curious look from his two bodyguards. "It's something Iroh told me. Although, he was talking about tea when he explained that, so I'm not entirely sure if he was talking about kingship... or simply making tea." The girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "We'll discuss more of this later. I have a lot of work to get through." He began making his way through a large mound of papers on his desk, while the Kyoshi Warriors stood guard in his office.
After some time had passed, Suki noticed Ty Lee trying to catch her eye. She cocked an eyebrow at the acrobat, who rubbed her stomach and then circled her fingers around each other. Suki shrugged her shoulders and frowned at her.
Shift change. I'm hungry. Let's go! Ty Lee mouthed. Suki gave a small nod and looked at the Fire Lord; his head rested on the palm of his free hand. Except for the noise of his brush, he hadn't made a sound since he had started on the seemingly endless amount of documents. He glanced up as his bodyguards left, but quickly looked back down at his work.
"Zuko..." Suki said softly. He gave a confused smile as he saw her head poking in from the side of his door. "We're changing shifts, but Ty Lee, some of the girls, and I are heading into the city for something to eat. Do you want to come along?" Zuko began to rise, but instead gave a small shake of his head.
"I'd love to, but I have to get through this. Maybe another day," he told her, sighing as he picked his brush back up. Something was caught in her throat as she watched him for a few seconds before she turned and hurried to catch up with Ty Lee.
A Week Later
Suki nodded to the Imperial Firebenders standing guard as she walked into the Royal Palace and headed for the Throne Room. However, the Fire Lord was no where to be found. She turned down a corridor and made her way to his office, but again, he wasn't there. She walked back to the main hall, ignoring the small build up of panic at the back of her mind.
"Hey," she called, walking over to one of the Royal Procession guards. He turned his head towards her and she slowed her pace; the complete darkness of the slits in the mask still unnerved her. She saw half of the left spike on his helm was broken off and grinned at him. "Tamotsu, have you seen Zuko anywhere?"
"Did you break some of our helmets to be able to tell us apart from the others?" he said, his helmet slightly cocking to the side.
"Of course not. That's just a bonus of wiping the floor with all of you in sparring," she said with a shrug.
"We'll have to test that again sometime." Tamotsu looked around the hall. "Zuko said something about going to meditate."
"Meditate?" She looked down a corridor to her right and narrowed her eyes. "I think I have an idea where he might be. Thanks!"
"I don't think disturbing him is a good idea. He seemed really agitated. You should probably wait until he's done," he told her as she started to walk away.
"It'll be fine. I have something that'll cheer him up," Suki said, turning around and giving him a small wave before hurrying down the hallway. Tamostu looked over to his partner, standing on the opposite side of the hall, and gave him a shrug.
Suki lightly knocked on the wooden door of the Fire Lord's chamber. She waited a few moments before she quietly opened the door and poked her head inside.
"Zuko, are you in here?" She slowly slid the door fully open and stepped into the room. She looked around and saw his Fire Lord clothing laid out on his bed. Suki's eyes widened when she saw his headpiece on his bedside table. She picked it up and ran her hand along the symbol, then glanced at herself in a mirror and froze.
Don't you dare! a voice in the back of her mind told her. Zuko would be furious if he caught you. She looked around the room before holding the headpiece above her. She bunched up her hair and imagined it tied in a top knot.
"Fire Lady Suki," she mumbled to herself, smiling. "Or is it still Fire Lord?" She put the headpiece down and let her hair go. "It's a bit too big anyway." Suki went to turn when something else on the table caught her eye. "That's one of Mai's knives," she gasped. The Kyoshi Warrior reached for it, but stopped herself.
You've snooped around Zuko's things enough! the voice shouted at her. She nodded slowly to herself as she straightened and stepped away from the small table.
"I guess he must still have feelings for her," she muttered, crossing her arms.
Why would you assume he didn't? Suki didn't have an answer, but glanced back to the headpiece. She realised just how hot the room was as she looked around again. She took a step towards a door and stopped short of opening it. She could feel heat radiating off of it. There was an ebb and flow to the intensity of the heat, and Suki leaned towards the door and listened. She could hear Zuko's heavy breathing; each breath in slightly cooled the air, while each breath out made it hotter. She stood there for a few minutes, her breathing following Zuko's rhythm. She snapped out of it and opened the door.
"Agni, protect me," Suki muttered under her breath when the blast of heat hit her. Her warrior paint quickly became wet. Suki, however, didn't notice. She watched, amazed, as the flames of the candles around the room shrunk and shot up, burning a fabulous yellow, in time with Zuko's breathing. The Kyoshi Warrior had learned how firebenders control their element through their breathing, but had never witnessed this. "Zuko?" she said, her mouth dry. Almost immediately, the room began to cool and the candles returned to normal when Zuko opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder.
"Suki? Is something wrong?" Zuko asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Everything's fine. I just needed to talk to you," she told him and he relaxed. "Since when do you meditate?"
"I used to do this a lot when I was hunting the Avatar. I thought it might be good to get back into it. This was a more...intense session than usual." Zuko stood and straightened up, letting the robe draped across his shoulders fall to the floor. He cracked his neck and stretched his back. "I forgot how stiff this could make you."
Suki fixed her gaze on his muscular back as he stretched. She was glad the paint hid her blush."Is there a reason for this or are you just trying to be more spiritual like Aang?" she said, trying her best to keep focused on his eyes as he turned around. He grabbed a small cloth and wiped down his face.
"Uncle once taught me a virtue of a great leader is the ability to keep a level head," he explained, picking up another cloth and walking over to Suki and handing it to her.
"Thanks." She pressed the cloth against her face for a few moments and grimaced when she saw the amount of paint on it. I'll reapply it later.
She looked back up at Zuko as he let out a long sigh. "I don't think I've been living up to that advice. Ever since those reports about Azula and the New Ozai Society have started coming in, I've had problems keeping up with things. My mind has been all over the place and..." He pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at the floor. "I've been having trouble sleeping again." He felt a hand on his bare shoulder.
"So, what you're saying is you're stressed out?" Suki said, grinning at him. Zuko dropped his head and laughed lightly.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"This might help." She reached into her kimono, pulled out a rolled up piece of paper, and handed it to him. He raised his eyebrow at her and unrolled it.
"Is this my schedule for the next couple of weeks?"
"Yep." She couldn't hide her grin as he read through it, his face becoming more confused by the second.
"Umm... Suki, it says everything after next week is to be rescheduled until a later date." He looked back at her and frowned. She simply tilted back and forth on her heels and gave a playful shrug, her grin growing wider. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What did you do?"
"From what I heard, someone planned a trip to Ba Sing Se for you. You'll be gone for a few weeks," Suki told him. She rolled her eyes when he stared at her blankly. "I told you I'd set up something up for you to go have fun with your old Earth Kingdom girlfriend." Zuko's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as his mouth twitched upwards. She rolled her eyes again and turned towards the door. She smirked at him over her shoulder before she left. "You're welcome." Zuko stood there, dumbfounded, until he snapped out of it and rushed after her.
"Suki!" She stopped halfway out the door, staring at him oddly. "What about Sokka?"
"What about him?" she asked, stepping back into the room.
"Isn't he meant to be visiting here in two weeks?" He handed her the schedule and pointed out the small note about Sokka.
"For Agni's sake." Suki groaned, burying her head in her hands. "I completely forgot about him."
"Don't worry, we can just cancel—"
"I'd look like a fool if I went back to your advisors and told them the trip was off. I spent ages getting them to agree to it." Zuko opened his mouth, but Suki raised her hand. "It's fine. I'll send a letter to Sokka and let him know that he'll have to wait a bit longer."
"Are you sure, Suki?" She sighed and gave a short nod. Zuko's mouth became a tight line, but he simply shrugged. Suki turned and stepped out of the room.
"Wait," Zuko said, following her into the corridor. "I never said thanks. So...thank you." The Kyoshi Warrior's head dropped, and she let out a small chuckle. She opened her mouth to respond, but froze when another voice spoke.
"Suki, what happened to your make..." Maiko let her sentence trail off. Maiko glanced at her companion; she could see the mischief in Ami's eyes. The pair struggled to hold in their giggles as they stared at the half naked, sweat-covered Fire Lord and his personal bodyguard.
Note: Noren are traditional Japanese fabric dividers hung between rooms and in doorways.
Much longer than the first chapter! Isn't Suki just a lovely person, going out of her way when she notices Zuko is stressed. Unfortunately for her it seems the girls will have some more to talk about. Chapter 3 is pretty much written up, and will be posted next week.
Thanks to Serenity for being my beta on this story, she's fantastic!
I hope you enjoyed this newest chapter, and as always would love to hear your opinion on it so far, or any little comments you may have. Don't be afraid to PM me either if you'd like to ask a question. Consider following if you'd like to keep up with the story. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender or its character, they were created by Bryan Konietzko and Mike Dante Dimartino, and belong to Viacom.