K.M:

Dunn, Dunn, DUNN!

Anyway, sorry for the wait.

Just a few hours after I posted the last chapter, I realized I forgot to tell you poor Hak-Yeon's age, he's two years younger than Zuko, so he's as old as Katara, but at this moment he's eleven. Again, sorry it took so long to update (It's been like a year I think...).

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA, but I certainly wished I did. I only own Hak-Yeon.


Morning rose slowly above the Fire Nation ship, the soldiers waking with a reoccurring tiredness.

One of them being a red eyed boy. Bright crimson eyes tiredly opened, the sun sneaking into the room through the thin curtains, a small, and quite innocent sounding yawn echoed in the room.

Hak-Yeon was exhausted.

He got dressed, the smaller size for the Fire Nation armor, black trousers, and steel toed boots tied around his feet. The white skull mask, and helmet had been left behind. With black haired tied back into a high ponytail, Hak-Yeon made sure he was properly dressed, seeing that all his clothes had been straightened, and his face cleaned, he deemed himself ready. Hak-Yeon walked out with a small boost of confidence, he hoped the prince wouldn't use him as a stress dummy again, he still had the burns from two days ago, but even as he told himself he probably wouldn't be angry that day, he could hear the aggravated voice even from below, he sighed once more and took the stairs quickly.

His eyes were blinded slightly by the blazing sun, making him blink to adjust, when he did he saw Zuko barking orders to set out of the temple, the Western air temple, it had taken them less than a week to search the whole place, and by the last two days the prince had been too furious to hold his anger back anymore, he had demanded that the soldiers spar with him, one by one, they all fell. Zuko became even more furious than before, and in the end Hak-Yeon had been called out to satisfy Zuko's anger.

That was two days ago, and now they were headed for the Eastern temple.

"Hak-Yeon!" The young boy almost jumped at the sharp tone, he looked to see his best friend standing there, he was so recognizable, his bald head, his ponytail, his sharp amber eye, his fire nation clothes.

His bandage...

He had a scowl on his face as he glared at him.

Zuko never scowled at him.

He wanted to say that maybe it wasn't Zuko, but he couldn't, after all Zuko was so recognizable.

His bald head, his ponytail, his sharp amber eye, his fire nation clothes.

His bandage...

Hak-Yeon wanted to show the fear he was feeling on his face, but then he felt that the whole year he had spent out of the Fire Nation would have gone to waste, so he was careful to keep his face blank. "Yes prince Zuko?" he asked in faked calmness, though subtly his hands were shaking. It made him feel ironic, Zuko was the one person he never felt afraid with, and now he couldn't be more terrified standing in front of him, flaming gold eye, a cold glare, and two pale hands waiting to be lit on fire.

He remembered every horrifying moment.

He never thought he'd be scared of his best friend...

"Get to the control room." he snipped harshly.

"But if he's in the control room, who will play Pai Sho with me?" Hak-Yeon heard an gravely deep voice ask in a whiny voice. It put Hak-Yeon at ease, if only just a little.

Zuko only fumed before giving Hak-Yeon a meaningful glare, he only nodded shakily, and walked to the control room. He didn't want Iroh, and Zuko to fight, though it was usually just Zuko screaming at Iroh, but nonetheless he hated fighting, it was why he preferred knowledge to strength, why he only bothered with self-defense, instead of striving to keep his body at the limit like most benders did.

Why he didn't fight back when Zuko attacked him.

He hardly bended at all. Preferring to spend his time reading a good book. He could only guess that was why his father always seemed a little disappointed in him, though he hid it well behind smiles. Up in the control room was the navigator, standing by the wheel, he looked up when the door opened, dull gold eyes, just like everyone else in the fire nation. "He sent you up here again?" Hak shrugged nervously, he had never really been able to talk to the crew seeing as he was usually holed up in his room until the prince called him, but they didn't seem too bad.

He remembered the words his teacher had given him, "the relationships you have with people are usually measured by how intimidated they are of you when you first meet."

Hak-Yeon never liked intimidating people, and quite frankly he didn't think that was what he wanted to do now anyway.

It was so primitive.

So Hak smiled politely, and asked if he could help.

That was where he spent the whole day, scrounging scrolls, and maps, trying to grasp even a single hint to where the elusive avatar could have been hiding. Truthfully Hak had always been fascinated by the avatar, who wouldn't? A man, an ordinary man... that could control four elements, it was amazing, Hak had done research for years on it, but everything he learned never sated his curiosity on the truth of the avatar.

Was the avatar the origin of the elements?

The truth?

He had seen Iroh though, watched as he sometimes sat silently, listening to the wind, or swaying with the waves, it made him wonder if he was curious about the origins of the elements as well.

Or if he already knew.

He was curious to the point that he would buy scrolls from different port towns, Air temple scrolls, Water tribe scrolls, Earth Kingdom scrolls, Fire Nation scrolls, seeing if he could find out more to see if his theory was true.

Was this considered treason?

Nah...just...research...yeah research.

He was studying right now the origin of the Fire Nation power...They spoke of dragons, and how a single man copied the way the dragon breathed, in and out, and spewed flames... Hak-Yeon looked up when he heard his name, he found the man he had been working with coming in, looking at him in shock. "What?" Hak asked curiously.

"Have you been here this whole time?" Hak furrowed his brow in confusion but nodded slowly.

"Kid they called us for dinner, didn't you hear?" the man asked as he stood behind him, and smacked his head lightly.

Hak looked out the window in shock, and found the sun going down slowly, he had been there all day, if he was talking about the dinner call, then he had certainly missed the breakfast, and lunch calls. He let out a low breath and scratched the back of his head, he gave a weak smile, he had tried to keep himself so busy he had been too concentrated to hear the call. "I didn't realize I was here so long, never mind, it's no problem, I'm not that hungry anyway." Hak lied sadly, he put down the scroll and waved the man goodbye.

He really needed to get that guy's name.

As Hak slowly came to realization he looked at his stomach exactly when it gave a low rumble, he sighed. If they had already come back from dinner then that meant the chef was cleaning the kitchen, he didn't want to bother the man as he was finishing his job, he spent all day cooking, and now just because one soldier was late he had to bring out all his pots again?

No...He would go right to bed and wait till breakfast tomorrow.

His grumbling stomach made him sigh in despair.


"I hardly ever get to see you anymore..." Zuko pouted, Hak felt a bit bad, his friend was almost always playing by himself, what with Hak-Yeon now taking personal training from his retired father, his father had recently had a knee injury so had been pulled back, but now that just gave him more reason to push his son harder, so now training was a couple hours longer than Hak would have liked.

"Yeah...I know..." Hak swung his legs back and forth in the water, enjoying the cool sensation that ran up his leg as he did, even though he acted happy at that moment, deep down he wasn't, just last night his father had told him something, when he becomes ten he is to start an intensive training program with a personal tutor, he would have to leave the fire nation to complete it, he was only eight, so he had a few more years before he had to leave, so maybe he wouldn't tell Zuko just yet.

"Well..I think that's enough moping." Hak said as he stood from his spot on the edge of the pond, he stretched his arms over his head and groaned, "You're right, we don't get a lot of time to see each other, but that's okay right? We'll play now."

Zuko grinned, he stood up, and put on his shoes with Hak-Yeon, both rolling their pant's legs down. "Let's play warriors, I'm the hero!" Zuko instantly called out.

"Aw, fine, then I'm the bad guy I guess." Hak-Yeon was less enthusiastic to play now.

The twp ran around the gardens, and halls, running after each other, shouting excitedly, and happily, Hak chasing Zuko with his hands raised, Zuko holding the dagger his uncle had given him, though of course it stayed sheathed. "I'll make you fear the name Hak-Yeon!" Hak thundered his name, wanting to seem menacing, Zuko suddenly stopped and turned, pointing his dagger at Hak, he shoved the dagger into the space between Hak's rib, and arm, Hak gasped out in shock, chocking in pain, and finally falling to the ground dramatically, holding his fake wound.

"Y-you'll p-pay Zuko! I will have my revenge!" He threw his hands up in the air before finally falling the floor with a final sigh.

After a few seconds of lying on the ground he opened his eye, Zuko was looking at him in amusement, the two laughed at their own silliness.


K.M:

WE MADE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE!

Okay so forget what I just said right there, it had nothing to do with the story whatsoever...

Anyway it's been a while since I updated, there's a reason for that, I'm busy, I have a life.

Review, or PM me, I don't really care which one.