CHAPTER 2
Although Zuko had matured greatly throughout the past few years, his temperament had not much adjusted. Listening to his men behind him grovel and groan about their aching feet did his anger no justice, but it was better than when they'd discuss the Kuro Kitsune, otherwise known as the KK.
The KK's status, again was highly just another rumor, but it was one that Zuko found himself more likely to believe. They were told to be the strongest of the rebellion troops. Seemingly undefeatable, they were rumored to have murdered over 10,000 fire nation soldiers alone, but numbers were easily interchangeable. Made up of a mix of highly trained earthbenders and water tribe warriors, the KK was reportedly able to take out Fire Nation troops in a matter of minutes and then silently disappear until the next battle. By the details he'd heard of their military tactics, they seemed to have a solid leader, as opposed to the wild, untamed rebel troops he usually came across. Who this leader was, Zuko had no clue, but he was not one that Zuko was eager to face. True he was not afraid of going to battle having done it so many times now, but Zuko never looked forward to the chance of seeing some of his men die, no matter how irritating they could be.
The sky refrained from any color except a looming grey that had been present for hours. The recently ceased rain left a strong residue on the grass and made it hard for Zuko's men to travel, particularly uphill. This had gone on for days. On and off rain followed by his incompetent men not being able to walk straight, whether it was due to the wet grass, or the amount of alcohol they'd consumed, Zuko did not know, or care for that matter, but it was begging to get on his nerves just like everything else.
Unfortunately, Zuko had to admit to himself that he was still not as happy as he'd imagined himself when he'd finally gotten the chance to return home. He had missed the royal lifestyle, but had grown so accustomed to taking care of himself that he rarely ever called upon servants. He attended meetings and kept himself well aware of what was going on in the Fire Nation, as he would need to when and if he ever became Fire Lord, but that prospect had started to look bleak in recent years. Zuko had once imagined himself to already be Fire Lord by now, being 20 years old, but his father still refused to give him any sort of higher title than he already held, and Zuko very often heard whispers throughout the palace that it was Azula who was being more considered for the part of new ruler, even though it was not in her natural birthright. This thought did not surprise Zuko, for Azula had always been the sibling that attracted more attention between the two. She was a natural born leader and was able to make convincingly emotional speeches at the age of 7. Anyone who was given the chance to listen would follow her anywhere within 10 minutes of her talking. Zuko knew that on the outside, Azula would seem to be the obvious choice for a leader, but he also recognized her flaws. She never thought her plans through, or considered the consequences. Even though her plans rarely failed, it was only a matter of time before fear no longer worked as her ally. If she did end up being Fire Lord, it would only be natural for the nation's citizens to start questioning her methods, and although she'd be able to give a convincing speech, she'd have no support for her argument other than the purpose of "because I want it so". Her tendencies to act on her emotions as soon as she felt them would be her downfall and the possible collapse of the Fire Nation as well. This was something that Zuko hoped his father had also recognized, but when he was told to enter the war first-hand and start taking down rebel armies, Zuko knew he wasn't going to be Fire Lord anytime soon, especially since his new job was one far better suited for Azula rather than himself.
Zuko remembered the people that were able to keep him happy, but had all eventually disappeared on him. His uncle had been sent to the Boiling Rock prison right after the incident in Ba Sing Se for attempting to help the Avatar, but had somehow escaped sometime after the comet and the seizing of Ba Sing Se and his whereabouts remained unknown. Whether Iroh was alive or not, Zuko had no clue, but quietly hoped that he was happy wherever he was, even though it was not wise to wish good fortune on traitors to the Fire Nation.
Mai was the only other person he'd thought about. She kept him happy for a time, but even she too eventually left him for something better. Their relationship had slowly dried up when they were never able to agree on anything or enjoy each other's company anymore. Residing on the belief that since Zuko never considered anything she'd advise to him, he'd never make a good Fire Lord and therefore did not want to stay with him. She'd fled to Ember Island and Zuko heard she was also to be engaged, but the matter was mute and Zuko didn't bother wasting time to think about his failed love attempts.
All in all, fighting in the war was not Zuko's ideal position, but it kept him thoroughly occupied and he enjoyed the days when they'd just travel and he could simply enjoy his surroundings and calm his mind.
Zuko silently remained lost in his thoughts before he was able to realize that something in the air didn't seem entirely right. The earth seemed particularly silent, as if nothing was moving and even the weeds stopped growing for a minute. The wind continued to blow steadily, but it was as if everything thing it touched was too nervous to make any kind of sound effect. The only thing Zuko could hear were the whispered groans and complains coming from his soldiers, but that was something he had learned to tune out for quite some time now. The sky was dark and eerie, and the wind kept growing warmer, similar to how the earth acts right before a massive storm hits. Zuko could feel each breath he took gently tickle the inside of his stomach.
Only for a second could Zuko see a flash of blue streaking past through the corner of his eye and hitching his breath he subconsciously grabbed at the necklace in his pocket to ensure that it remained in his possession. He rubbed it gently while quickly yelling at his men to halt and be ready on the defense in case of an attack. Confused, the soldiers stopped to look around, but lost their grasp on the situation when a row of men up front yelped at something grabbing their legs. It was as if the earth had come alive and risen to clamp itself around their ankles, making them immobile. As they bent down to try and dig themselves out, their hands quickly suffered the same torment and were sucked into the dirt, no longer allowing any ability to firebend. Zuko watched carefully as his men hunched over in fear and started to scream in pain as the earth closed in on their limbs, shattering the bones in their hands and feet.
A fog started to roll in over their screams. Oh perfect timing,Zuko thought sarcastically as he mentally prepared himself for what he knew would be a bloody battle. The rest of his men were clearly starting to panic, jittering about and yelling nonsense about the Kuro Kitsune.
"Hold yourselves together! Spread out and take out whatever rebels you can find!" Zuko commanded as an iron tipped spear flashed by his head only to fully penetrate the skull of the soldier standing next to him. Now running on full adrenaline, Zuko blocked out all the screams and moans surrounding him and listened for movement in every direction he could muster. Focusing in full awareness, he was able to pick up something that sounded somewhat like splashing water. Moving swiftly, careful to use the fog to his advantage, Zuko began to generate some heat in his palms while making his way across the field.
He could feel himself coming in closer on the rebel until it rapidly disappeared. Zuko stopped to listen for it once again, but was cut off when someone grabbed his arm and spun him around, only to land a perfectly placed punch directly in the face, slightly knocking him down. He then brought all of his energy through his body and centered into his palms to create a pair of fire daggers. He would have preferred more traditional firebending methods, but at this close of a distance between him and his enemy, free-range firebending would prove to be too slow to counter any attacks.
Seeing another flash of blue, Zuko threw another strike in its direction, but only caught the hem of its clothing. A splash of water came up to slash him across the chest, but only knocked him back a bit thanks to the armor tightly strapped across his torso. Now certain that he was facing a water bender, Zuko couldn't help but to think of the one he'd faced those few years ago. He felt the urge to fiddle with the necklace in his pocket, but told himself that this was definitely not the time or the place to get sentimental.
It felt like hours that Zuko was fighting with this enemy. Every blow he received exploded with pain, while it felt like he was barely doing any damage to his foe. Everything seemed to slow down as the air became heavy and Zuko was able to fit in a few successful swings, but the waterbender still refused to go down. It was hard to imagine since they had become so infamous in his eyes, but Zuko came to realize that they must have been fighting the KK. He'd never had a battle last so long with so little success, at least from what he could determine. He had no idea how many men he had left, if any at all. He could no longer hear anything from his surroundings except for the sounds coming from the waterbender and himself. He had first presumed them to be a man due to the weight and force that came with their punches as well as the fact the Zuko didn't come across many female warriors these days, but as the fog slowly began to lift he could start to make out a more womanly figure.
Their environment was starting to come back into vision. After a quick fluid jab at his neck, Zuko could see his enemy pause, perhaps to take in the status of the battle, but Zuko wasted no time and took advantage of the gap to deliver a blow to her head as hard as he could. His fist steaming, he felt his knuckles harshly smash into her cranium. Stumbling, she threw herself backwards to give more distance between the two of them, though she was quickly losing the ability to transfer thought commands into action.
With the fog completely lifted, Zuko became paralyzed as he gazed into the pain-streaked eyes of the woman he'd struck. Their icy blue color contrasted with the rose tint spraying from her cheeks and hid behind the swaying parts of hair that had fallen from her loose braid.
Am I fighting a ghost? Zuko thought, still in belief that he'd suffered too many blows and his mind was playing cruel tricks on him.
Observing his seeming inability to move, Katara focused a sac of water to form around her hand and froze it into a fist of ice. As quickly as she could muster, she ran straight towards her enemy and connected her fist with his temple before staggering back to watch its effectiveness.
The pain filled smack to the head freed Zuko of his immobility as he rapidly began to lose his senses and fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was the waterbender sway a bit and eventually collapse onto the dirt right across from him before he completely blacked out.
