Match #2: Iroh Vs. Jun (totally un-betaed too!)

Takes place early in season two...somewhere...

Not only do they make a great match, they make a great couple!


Much as Zuko detested sleeping in the forest and living without the luxuries to which he was accustomed, there was good reason to keep a low profile after the siege of the Northern Water Tribe. With the high bounty placed on their heads by the Earth Kingdom and Princess Azula, it was in their best interest to avoid cities where they might be spotted and recognized from their wanted posters. Still, basic provisions were needed, and on occasion Prince Zuko or Iroh would slip into a town where they could attain what they needed.

Prince Zuko had offered to go on this latest supply run, but Iroh insisted that he go instead. Iroh figured as long as he kept his hat low and moved quickly, he could buy supplies needed and get out without any one seeing or recognizing him.

He hadn't counted on being discovered by his smell.

His quick stride along the city's docks and shops were interrupted by a velvety voice Iroh knew signaled trouble. "Greetings, General Iroh."

She coldly smiled down at him from atop her beast, her lips as black as her hair. The look in her eyes was that of a predator.

"Ah, the lovely Jun," Iroh said mildly, with a bit of apprehension, "It is good to see you again."

Jun's smile deepened but remained just as cold. "The pleasure is mutual. You know why I'm here, old man. Come quietly, so I can collect your bounty without useless conflict."

Iroh chuckled. "Only if you give me a kiss first," he teased. Jun was not amused.

Iroh glanced around the dock. There had to be a method of escape. The former general knew he could end this right now with a quick and powerful strike of lightning, but he had no wish to seriously hurt or kill a lady as beautiful or skilled as Jun. Nor did he want any of the Earth Kingdom townsfolk seeing he was a firebender, either. Most of the people on the docks had cleared off as soon as Jun had arrived, but Iroh knew there were plenty of spectators watching from the safety of nearby buildings. He would have to somehow fend her off without being lethal or giving away his status as a firebender. Quite the handicap, knowing the fighting prowess Jun possessed. He needed to find a way to outwit Jun and her beast.

Jun didn't trust to leave Iroh with his thoughts for an instant, and spurred her shirshu to lash out with its barbed tongue. Iroh ducked it reflexively–the tongue just missing him—and raced for the water. He knew he could not possibly outrun Jun or her beast on land, and even if he could, her beast would track him. His best chance for escape lay in the boats bobbing at the docks. Iroh knew Jun's shirshu would not be able to follow him once he set sail: shirshus were poor swimmers and his scent could not be followed among the waves. He would decide how to get back to Prince Zuko later.

As Iroh–rather awkwardly, given his size–ran for the water, the bounty hunter laughed and brought out her whip. With a deft swing of her arm, she lashed her whip out towards Iroh and caught him by the foot, causing him to fall hard to the ground. The man didn't stay in her grip for long as he used a super-heated hand to discreetly burn through the whip. He then rolled the last few feet of the dock and into the water.

Jun hissed in frustration and guided her shirshu to the edge of the dock. The old man was nowhere to be seen. It didn't matter. She knew he was planning to make a getaway on one of these ships. Once he left the water, her shirshu would pick up his smell again, even if the ocean water had washed off a great deal of his scent. It was just a matter of time.

Iroh quietly bobbed to the surface between two small boats located a little further down the harbor. He could see Jun in the distance, her sharp eyes searching methodically, and her beast sniffing the air for the slightest trace of his scent. Iroh knew there was no chance of him getting away on one of this ships if he did not do something about that beast's keen sense of smell. He needed to find a way to "blind" the sightless beast.

The old general quickly looked around him as he treaded water. Most boats were fishing, transport and cargo. One boat in particular caught his interest—a boat carrying several large bundles of needle-grass. Iroh thought for a moment. Needle-grass was used for roof thatching, since that was about all it was good for. It was often considered a nuisance, since it was prickly and difficult to remove. Yanking it often cut the hands, tilling it was hard work because it grew in clumps, andburning it often created a terrible smell. Iroh smiled and thanked his luck. A plume of thick, pungent smoke was all he needed.

He ducked under water again and swam to the boat. With a small pang of regret for the owner, Iroh set fire to the boat, and swam away a quickly as he could.

Jun gripped the reins of her beast in irritation. An acrid, eye burning smoke was billowing from one of the boats, and the strong wind blustering across the docks was spreading it everywhere. She felt her shirshu shake its head in pain and agitation. That sneaky old goat. He was trying to shut down her shirshu's ability to track him. Well, it would take more than that to lose her! She would watch...and wait.

Iroh shivered in the water. Well insulated as he was with his own...excess, the chill of the ocean water was starting to sink in. If he did not want to suffer hypothermia, he would need to get out of these waters soon. He was fairly certain the smoke would hide him from the shirshu well enough for him to sneak aboard one of these ships.

Spotting what appeared to be an empty boat, Iroh doggy-paddled toward it. Making sure he stayed out of the view of Jun, the former general attempted to hoist himself up into the boat. Unfortunately, the rim of the boat was too far up for him to get a good reach, and the sides were extremely slippery. There was no way he could climb up. Disappointed, Iroh looked around. Next to him was a rather weather-beaten fishing boat. It was old, wooden, and its sails were full of patches. Ordinarily, Iroh would have passed up a ship whose sea worthiness looked so questionable, but in this case, it was his best opportunity for escape. The fishing vessel must have still been loaded down with its haul, for the vessel was sunk deep into the water, and Iroh could easily reach the rim of the boat and pull himself up. He was certain the smoke he had created would keep the creature from detecting him whilst he pushed off. Hopefully the wind would be strong enough to pull him out of dock quickly before Jun could stop him.

The elderly man spared a quick glance in Jun's direction. She was still on the search for him, though the smoke remained thick. He had to time this right, or she would spot him for certain. Jun glanced in the opposite direction and Iroh quickly hauled himself onto deck and laid flat for a moment, hoping Jun had not spotted him.

He peeked over the ridge.

Jun was gone.

Iroh frantically looked around. Where was she, had she seen him? Iroh's questions were quite abruptly answered with a violent jolt of the ship, water sloshing onto the deck. Jun and her shirshu were on board. Damn.

"Fool," she sneered, "Did you think you could escape? You may have blinded my shirshu, but you didn't blind me. All I needed to do was keep a sharp eye out...with the aid of some mirrors,"—at this point she flashed him her metal wrist guards. That was how she had spotted him!

"It's over, old man!" she menaced, and spurred her shirshu forward to attack.

CRACK.

The old wooden deck gave way under the shirshu's weight, and the three of them crashed below deck. Iroh groaned and lifted himself up, wincing in pain from cuts caused by shards of wood and having landed in the Catch of the Day. Before him, the shirshu rose and shook its head. Illuminated by the sunlight shining through the large hole in the deck, Iroh could see Jun had fallen from her saddle, but was largely unhurt. Iroh did not know if he should feel glad about this or not.

It was at this point the former general learned something new about shirshus...they are incredibly uncomfortable in small, confined spaces, especially when said spaces rocked about. As the shirshu began to panic, confused from the fall and the overwhelming smell of fish and smoke, Iroh realized both his and Jun's relative health would be short lived if something was not done to calm the beast down.

He could see Jun's thoughts followed his, as she attempted to calm her animal in a soothing voice. But as the rocking of the ship grew, so did the beast's claustrophobic panic, and it began clawing and lashing out with its barbed tongue. Iroh grabbed a red-stripe snapper by the tail and swung it like a bat, deflecting the tongue as it lashed towards him. Jun, trapped against the wall of the ship, tried to dodge the bullwhip-like motions of the tongue, to no avail. She was struck against the arm and fell paralyzed to the ground. Iroh knew Jun was in mortal peril of being trampled to death by her frightened animal, and made a dash towards her.

The shirshu's tongue lashed wildly as the animal writhed and clawed in fear and confusion. Iroh ducked to avoid a paw swipe, noticing the deep groves the beast's claws dug into the wood of the ship. It was difficult to avoid blows, with the ship rocking so violently. He scrambled out of the way of the shirshu's claws as they were raked across the floor. Iroh grabbed the largest fish he could find and dove under the shirshu, using the fish as sled. He slid under the beast and past the claws, only to be thrown aside as he got up when the shirshu's thrashing tail struck him. Iroh pulled himself up and crawled as quickly as possible to the paralyzed and frightened Jun.

Grabbing the bounty hunter, he attempted to move her to safety–but where was it safe, with this crazed beast raging so close to them?

Iroh's thoughts were interrupted as the ship made one final lurch under the shirshu's struggles...and tipped over. Water rushed in to greet them, and Iroh and Jun barely managed to take huge gasps of breath before the water hit. The shirshu's panic went to unprecedented heights, and Iroh knew there was no way to get past the hysterical animal and to the surface without suffering major injury from its claws or from the ship's debris floating in the water. The only way to escape this situation...was to blow the ship apart.

Hoping Jun would not be burned by the water getting too hot, Iroh placed his palm forward and unleashed a fire blast into the side of the ship that gave justice to the name "Dragon of the West". Unable to remain intact after so much abuse, the ship blew into pieces and sank to the depths below. Iroh swam as quickly as he could through the heavy debris to the surface, his bloodied limbs tired and aching. Both he and Jun reached the surface, followed soon after by the howling shirshu. Gasping, Iroh pulled Jun over his back and wrapped her limp arms around his neck, and swam for the nearest boat.

The rim was too high for him to reach, so he snatched Jun's whip, which she had fastened to her belt after he had burned off part of it. With a grunt he lashed it towards the mast of the vessel. Luckily, it was still long enough to reach and wrap around the mast, and with a tremendous effort, Iroh pulled himself and Jun aboard. He looked out from the ship to see what had happened. Both he and Jun had gone completely unseen as a scared, bedraggled, and very snappish shirshu pulled itself ashore, and bewildered spectators nearby wondered what on earth had just happened.

Iroh smiled as people shouted in confusion and orders from the local police to restrain the wild shirshu were warily carried out. With all that was happening on shore, he was certain he could discreetly sail off with Jun without being noticed. He turned to Jun, and saw her limp, wet, and with makeup running down her livid face. "I'll let the local people take care of your animal," he said, tying her to the mast of the ship with her whip, using foolproof sailor knots, "You can come back to get your beast later, after I drop you off somewhere, my dear."

Jun hissed words of pure venom as he untied the small skiff and quietly pushed off from the docks, "I will get you, old man."

"Yes, yes," Iroh said, looking around. Hmm...perhaps Prince Zuko and him could use this ship and its supplies, after he made sure to leave Jun somewhere safe. Well, so much for setting an example to his nephew about not stealing, he thought dismally.

In the meantime...

"You must admit, my dear," said Iroh, steering the rudder of the small sailing boat and winking over his shoulder at Jun, "Sailing together on a lovely day such as this...it's quite romantic, wouldn't you say?"

Jun growled.


Yaaaay, go Iroh. He always gets the girl. Sorry for the long dry spell. I must learn not to abandon written projects. Next up is Aang vs. Toph.