Soon, people started to leave the building as night time approached. Iroh said to Zuko, "Hm…I think I might want to re-open my tea shop here. It is a nice place, don't you think?" Iroh nudged Zuko.
"Yes, Uncle," Zuko replied with a smile. "You should go now. I want to stay here a bit longer." Uncle Iroh whistled as he exited the building, obviously in a cheery mood. Most of everyone had already gone outside.
Zuko sighed; he still wasn't sure what to do with the situation of finding his mother. "Maybe she's in the Earth Kingdom. If so, I guess it'll be a good time to start searching. I'm in Ba Sing Se right now, after all…" Zuko murmured to himself.
"Hey, Hothead, what're muttering about?" Toph's loud voice came ringing in.
"Ah! I thought you left!" Zuko said, spinning around. Toph and Aang were still there; they were the only ones left. Well, Appa and Momo were waiting outside, but that was it.
Aang muffled his giggles as he said, "Hothead? That's Zuko's new nickname? That's even funnier than 'Zuzu!'"
Toph smirked and said, "Yup! So, what were you searching for?"
Zuko sighed, "My mother."
"Oh," Toph and Aang said in unison. Toph was never really close to her mom, so she didn't really mind not seeing her. And Aang never knew his parents; he only knew the monks who had raised him. But, both of them knew what Zuko must be feeling.
"I asked my father where she is…but he doesn't know," Zuko said.
"Do you have any leads?" Toph asked.
"I think she may be in the Earth Kingdom, but she could be anywhere…" Zuko's voice trailed off, and he was getting depressed by the sheer hopelessness of the situation.
"But you still gotta try to find her!" Aang shouted enthusiastically. "I am sure you can, if you look hard enough! You're the Firelord, after all! And, if your mom hears about you being the Firelord, I'm sure she'll come to see you!"
"But…" Zuko said. "That's the problem. What if she doesn't know? She could be in some deep wilderness for all I know!"
"I'll help you find her, then!" Toph offered. "Besides, I really need that life-changing adventure with you…"
"You already got it! When we were searching for Aang!" Zuko pointed out.
Toph stuck out her tongue and retorted, "That didn't count! It was bo-ring."
Aang piped up, "I'll help too!"
"Okay," Zuko said. He was really thankful inside, but tried to act indifferent. "We have to start searching then."
"Do you think we should all wear disguises?" Aang asked. "It may be harder to search for your mother if everyone knows you're the Firelord…"
"And you're the Avatar," Toph pointed out.
Zuko muttered, "You're right… Uh, and that just reminded me: what about my Firelord duties?"
"You could leave a note for Iroh, explaining why you're gone, and if he could take care of things for you," Aang suggested. "Also, I'm sure we'll find your mom soon. No one would miss us."
Zuko hoped Aang was right. The young Firelord cleared his throat and said, "Well then, how will we disguise ourselves?"
"New outfits; I dunno," Toph said. "I don't need a disguise do I?"
"I don't think so," Aang replied to Toph. Then, Aang said to Zuko, "I could wear a hood or a hat, and maybe a new outfit? And you could wear a new outfit, too!"
"But, what about my scar? Most people know I have this scar!" Zuko touched his scar gently with his hand.
"An eye patch?" Aang proposed. Zuko slapped his forehead into his palm, and Aang scratched his neck sheepishly. "Er… maybe you could somehow comb your hair in a way that would cover your scar? I don't know!"
"That's actually a good idea," Zuko complimented after a second of thinking.
"Really?!" Aang exclaimed.
"Just get on with it then!" Toph ordered, her face displaying her annoyance with the current discussion about appearances.
When Zuko and Aang returned to Iroh's 'soon-to-be-tea-shop,' Toph was waiting patiently, even though it was night time. Zuko was wearing middle-class Earth Kingdom robes, as was Aang. But, Zuko had carefully combed his black hair towards the front, covering his scar, and Aang was wearing a straw, wide-brimmed hat to conceal his blue arrow.
Zuko was holding a paper, which he placed on the wooden table next to a teapot. The paper read: Dear Uncle, I have gone with Aang and Toph to search for my mother. Please don't come after us, or look for us. This is something I really need to do. Please take care of anything that I, as the Firelord, am supposed to do. And make up an excuse for our absence… Thank you! Oh, and Aang would like you to take care of Appa and Momo for him. We came to the conclusion that we couldn't take them with us. Love, Zuko.
"Twinkles? You sure about not bringing Appa and Momo?" Toph asked. She remembered when Appa and Aang were separated…and it was definitely not a pleasant experience. For anyone.
"Yeah," the Avatar responded. He seemed more mature, and was more decisive than he was before. Aang was still Aang, but a bit different.
Toph grinned, and then punched both Zuko and Aang in the shoulders. "Let's go then!" she shouted.
And so started the search for Ursa.
A/N: Hey, thanks to everyone who read this far. I am hoping to continue this fanfiction for some time. I am debating with myself on one thing though... Should I, or should I not, include shipping moments? I don't want to lose fans if I have some shipping moments for a shipping that my fans don't like... xD Anyways, review please!