Ta-da! Chapter Three is complete and way longer than I thought it was going to be. We're back to Zuko's POV, and he's ready to catch up with his friends… maybe. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender… though I certainly wish I did.
The Reunion
My trip to Kyoshi was easy and relaxing, and I knew I had made the right choice by going to the wedding. Uncle was right, as usual. I had needed a vacation. It was surprisingly peaceful being back at sea, and I felt a sense of security surrounded by the water. After all I had spent almost three years on a boat after my banishment.
Arriving on Kyoshi was a whole different matter. As soon as I stepped foot on the island, I felt guilty. All of the rest and relaxation I had gained from my trip quickly turned to tension. I recognized some of the shops that I had scorched on my last visit, and I knew I was being paranoid, but I felt accusing eyes all over me. However, I was a different person back then, and I hoped that if the Avatar himself was able to forgive me for my past actions, hopefully the people of Kyoshi would as well.
I made it to Sokka and Suki's house with the help of Nadee, though she did seem to be slightly bashful. She resembled Suki immensely, and I'm quite surprised that I didn't realize they were sister's right away. The only noticeable difference between the two sisters was that Nadee's eyes were an emerald green where Suki's were a light brown. There were a few other small details; Nadee had a light dusting of freckles and she wore her reddish brown hair longer and pulled back, but other than that they looked very similar. I wasn't exactly sure why Nadee seemed to be uncomfortable around me, but my skills with the opposite sex were not to be desired. Sokka had always been the stud of our group. Mai was the only long-term girl friend I had ever managed to have, and that hadn't exactly ended on good terms.
"So, this is your room," Sokka said gesturing around to a fairly bare guest room. Two beds were in the room, along with a dresser and a mirror. "You'll have to share with Aang. Nadee's sharing with Katara and Toph, so you guys have the better deal." The two of us were now upstairs while Suki had gone to start lunch, and wait for the rest of our group to arrive. Aang and Katara had agreed to pick Toph up on their way here.
"This will be fine Sokka," I said gratefully. I tossed my bag on the bed on the left, and stretched. I was tired from my trip here, but it wasn't a bad feeling. "Suki seems to be happy."
"Oh yeah," Sokka said smiling, "She really excited for the wedding. Her parents haven't been back to Kyoshi in over three years. They only came back to bring Nadee here to live with us. Suki wants everything to be perfect. Honestly, she's kinda gone a little crazy with all the wedding stuff. She's been driving Nadee insane. Those two have been at each other's throats for over a week now."
"Nadee did mention that they were fighting today," I recalled. After all, that was one of the few things Nadee had said to me.
Sokka just laughed and nodded. "Oh yeah, it's a good thing that you're here now. I'm sure that will distract those two for at least a little while. Now c'mon. I think I can smell some pig-chicken."
Now it was my turn to laugh. Sokka still apparently loved to eat. We made our way back downstairs, and almost ran into Toph at the bottom of the stairs. She looked a little green, and seemed dizzy.
"Hey there Sokka. Zuko." She said in a slightly woozy voice I wasn't used to hearing from Toph. "I guess I forgot how much I didn't like riding that big fuzz ball. Air travel is not the way to go." She lightly punched me in the arm, and made her way slowly into the kitchen.
Sokka and I followed her in, and saw Aang and Katara already seated at the table. Momo was sitting on Aang's shoulder, nibbling on a sweet biscuit, and chirped at us when we entered the kitchen. I took a seat, and grabbed a biscuit, not realizing how hungry I was until I had my first bite. For the next hour we all talked about the latest news in our lives, and of course Katara and Suki dominated the conversation with details of the wedding. Nadee was no where in sight, but I didn't give it much thought. After all, she wasn't exactly a member of our group. Eventually, the conversation turned from recent events to reminiscing about old times before the war was over.
"I still remember the one time where Sokka was hallucinating off that cactus juice he drank," Katara said laughing. Sokka gave her a dirty look, but I could tell he didn't mean it. We all laughed, though Suki and I technically didn't remember it, but both of us had heard the story.
"That was a good one," Aang agreed. "Momo was crazy that day too." Momo cooed in agreement, and that just made us all laugh harder.
"How about the first time I met you guys?" Suki poked Sokka in the stomach playfully. "You thought you had been beaten by a guy, but it was just me."
"Yeah, yeah. I know better now though," Sokka consented, though he did look a little embarrassed. "I seem to remember you threatening to feed me to the Unagi."
"I've never heard that story before Snoozle," Toph remarked. "I can just hear you now. How about you, Zuko? I'm sure your lovely people skills made for an interesting story with first meeting Suki."
Ashamed, I looked down at the table, not wanting to think about my last visit here. Suki reached out and lightly touched my arm, letting me know I was forgiven; it was a nice gesture, but not enough to appease my guilt. "It's not the greatest story Toph," I whispered.
"I'd say," Sokka said completely oblivious to the fact that I was uncomfortable with talking about it. "Burning down buildings is never a good way to meet anyone."
"Sokka!" Katara scolded in that motherly tone of hers. "Can't you see this is upsetting Zuko?"
"Sorry I asked," Toph said taking bite of an apple. "Now forget I said anything, and go back to happy memories. You're all starting to bum me out."
"Actually, I'm gonna take a step outside." I stood suddenly, not wanting to take part in any more reminiscing. Before anyone could stop me I pulled open the back door, and headed outside. Inside I could hear Sokka being reprimanded by Katara, but it was unnecessary. Sooner or later the fact that I had almost destroyed this island was going to come up, but I was just hoping for it to be later. I felt a little better once I was alone, but my solitary status didn't exactly last long. My friends knew me well enough to not follow me, but Nadee, however, had already taken refuge under a tree in the backyard. She was leaned back against the trunk, with her knee pulled up close to her chest. A sketch book was resting on her knees, and she didn't even look up when I had let the door slam behind me. "What are you doing out here?" I asked surprised. I had though that she had been in her room the whole time that we had been in the kitchen.
Startled, Nadee looked up, and when she saw me, she blushed a deep red. "Oh…nothing. You know, just breathing in air not tainted with nostalgia," She smiled up at me, snapped the sketch book shut, and quickly shoved it behind her. "How bout you?"
I laughed at her answer and sat down across from her. "Pretty much the same thing. " I admitted truthfully. We sat in silence for a few seconds, until I just had to say something. "So… what are you drawing?"
"Nothing I let others see." Her green eyes stared me down, and I instantly became curious.
"Really? Not anyone?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.
"Not anyone." She repeated. Now it was my turn to stare her down, and she didn't balk at all. I had a sudden feeling that I was matched with an opponent that was just as stubborn as me. It was sort of unsettling.
"Just a quick peek," I said, trying to compromise, not quite sure why I so badly wanted to see her sketch book. Then again I wasn't exactly sure why I was still outside talking to a girl I hardly knew instead of spending time with my best friends that I barely ever saw.
Sighing, she reached behind her, and handed me the book. "Only because I'm sorry I was rude earlier."
"Rude?" I was confused. I remember her being quiet, but I had figured that she was a shy individual, not rude.
"Yeah, you know, I was kinda staring earlier," Nadee blushed again, and started to fiddle nervously with the hem of her dress. "I didn't mean to, but my sister didn't tell me, and I totally wasn't expecting for you to have a… well you know." She gestured at my face, and then looked down at her lap. "A scar."
"Oh," I didn't know what else to say. I guess I was so used to people staring that I barely noticed anymore, and I was touched that Nadee was kind enough to apologize for it. "That's very kind of you, but your apology is unnecessary. Still, I'm going to look."
Before she could protest I flipped open to the first page, and was shocked. Inside was a beautiful charcoal portrait of Suki in her full Kyoshi Warrior make-up. Every detail about her was correct. I flipped to the next page, and saw another portrait, though this one was of Aang. Again, I was amazed at how accurate the picture was; she had managed to not only capture he appearance on the paper, but his whole personality as well. You could see that he was about to smile, and his eyes were filled with mischief.
"These are incredible," I said truthfully, still turning through the pages, each one holding the portrait of someone. I saw one of Sokka and Katara, and even Momo and Appa graced a page in the book. There were many people I didn't recognize, but I'm sure they were all accurately portrayed.
"Thanks," she said shyly. "I've never let anyone see them before. But don't go any farther." She quickly tried to snatch the book back, but I held it out of her reach.
"I'm almost done." I was down to the last few pages, and wanted to see all of them.
"No, I'd really rather have it back. Now." She reached for it again, but I stood up, and walked backwards a few steps. She jumped up, but I kept back up, flipping pages the whole while.
"Just let me finish," I pleaded. I had just passed a stunning picture of Sokka and Suki together, and you could almost feel the love they shared for each other on the page. I wasn't ready to give up the beautiful renditions of my friends just yet. Turning over the last page, I was once again shocked. Staring back at me was myself. It took me a second to comprehend who I was looking at, but then it became painfully obvious. It was a close up of my face, my eyes narrowed, and my brow creased. I held no hint of a smile, and my face was angled so that my side with my scar was showing. My first thought was how unhappy I looked in my picture, and that wasn't a good feeling. I stared at myself for a few more seconds before shoving the book back into her hands. I sat back down on the ground, slightly taken aback to find myself among the pages of Nadee's book. I wasn't sure how to feel about it.
"See, this is why I never wanted to show anyone before," Nadee explained. "I was always afraid people wouldn't like to see themselves."
"It isn't that," I sighed. "It's just that your drawings, all of them hold so much truth, and I wasn't prepared to see myself through someone else's eyes. Other than that all of your drawing were truly astonishing"
"Oh…" she said. She sat back down next to me, and nudged my shoulder with hers. "Just so you know, I wasn't finished with yours. You have so much depth around you that I thought you would be a challenge to draw."
"What you call depth, others would just call pain," I stated bluntly, not in the mood to be cheered up. "And you managed to capture mine very well."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Nadee replied. "I'm sorta glad that I showed you, however your missing the point of you portrait. Where you only see pain, I see hope as well. I don't know much about you Zuko, other than the few stories Suki and the others have shared with me over the years, but I can tell that if you are full of one thing, I would say hope before pain."
I turned to face her, and smiled. "That means a lot to me, Nadee. Thank you."
"No problem," She said cheerfully. "Now I have to go to work in an hour or so, but how about tomorrow, I'll show you around Kyoshi. Maybe we can go swimming?"
"Swimming?" I gave her a dubious look. "What about the Unagi?"
Nadee snorted, and waved her hand dismissively. "You only have to worry about that thing if you go out too deep. If we stick to the shallows we'll be fine."
"Alright then." I stood up slowly, and glanced back at the house. I knew my friends were probably wondering why I hadn't come back yet, and I knew I should go back inside. "I will see you tomorrow then. Unless of course, my friends have something planned."
Turning back toward the house, I felt more at ease with my past on Kyoshi. Maybe Nadee was right, and there was more hope inside of me than I realized.
Wow, this chapter isn't exactly what I expected it to be, but I feel that it should be a good starting point for some Zuko/Nadee romance. Please review and let me know how it was! Thanks for reading.
