A/N: Ta da! New chapter, and as requested via email, more KaidaxZuko! If you guys do have any ideas or requests to see in the story, lemme know! Email or AIM codeartemis! I even take things for any stories AFTER this one. Thanks guys, to all my readers and reviewers!
Kaida lay in the cool shade of a tree, one of many dotting the areas by the coastline. It was hard to believe the world could be in such chaos by the calm surroundings around her. She looked up into the tree and watched the sunlight play with shadows and light through the leaves. She kept her focus on a small leaf that had begun to slip down from its branch and float down towards her. She blew softly at it, part of the only Airbending techniques she ever figured out, and sent it spiraling upwards before continuing the cycle again. She felt the wind play with the edges of her dress like the grass around her. She felt trapped in a calm, perfect moment until…
"What are you doing?" came a rude, familiar voice overhead.
Kaida looked up, 'Perfect moment…ruined.' She thought to herself. She glared up at the face of Prince Zuko, letting her practice leaf fall to earth as she took in an unnoticeable, big gulp of air.
There was a silence between the two before Kaida blew a much stronger air current up at the teenager, knocking him backwards into the grass. She smirked at her progress, which was signaled by the string of silent cursing and complaints. Sitting up, she turned around and watched him scramble back to his feet and regain his composure.
"What was that for!" he shouted down at her. Zuko's glare was only deepened when she started to snicker under her raised hand. "What's so funny!"
Kaida started to laugh a little harder at his confusion and expression. He was completely unaware how much grass had stuck to him or of the large seagull that was now perched upon his head. Her laughter continued when he realized this and viciously swiped at the bird, shooing it away.
"Stop laughing!" he roared at her.
She collected herself, still smiling, "My apologies, Prince Zuko, I didn't mean to-"she gave in to a small fit of giggles, "l-laugh at you!" She started up again, the Prince's expression turned to a very much annoyed frown.
Sometimes, the prince questioned his feelings he had towards this girl, unable to decipher what they really were. Right now he understood he felt embarrassed and used childish instincts to quell the matter.
"Stop it!" he yelled again, doing no good at all. Both his yelling and her laughter stopped at a certain sound echoing over the city. The city fell silent for one still moment. The sound had been that of a loud scream or shout, and as soon as it came, the rest of the city turned its attention to that outburst of alarm. The center of the marketplace had now begun to riot for some reason, visible even where Zuko and Kaida were. The prince tensed, trying to see and understand the reaction of the crowded area, and what in Agni's name was going on.
He took off running to the market, not realizing Kaida was following him as well. The area was swarming with shouts, threats, and screams. Inside the square, a good number of people were fighting one another, some women and children were backing away and hiding from the scene. A flare of fire burst out of the center of the mess and the glint of sharp weapons as well. Prince Zuko burst his way through the crowd, trying to break up the fight, unknowing the reasons that started it. Guessing by the people in it, he could tell it was one of those arguments about the war that got this started. Loyalty and hope had all been reshaped after the false sighting of Souzen's comet.
Kaida stepped a little too close and became an easy target for some of the fighters as soon as she stepped in. She gasped in alarm as someone began to charge at her and shot a thin blast of fire in their direction in defense. Kaida backed up slowly, trying to stay out of the skirmish as much as she could. She looked over and saw her attacker turn and face Zuko, who was trying to separate two scrawny boys from ripping each other to shreds. Kaida took a deep breath and used her new trick on the man, but it failed to have an effect. It wasn't strong enough and she panicked when the man raised a knife he had gotten from a nearby stand. She ran over and began to send a wave of fire in his direction when the blade caught her left hand. She cringed at the feeling of the blade slicing her skin and from not changing her bending properly. She blacked out as a result from both.
Prince Zuko watched Kaida open her eyes after leaving the fight, which had calmed down before a group of locally training soldiers came by. He watched her eyes, at first they looked like a rainbow, like one you would see after a storm. He could see every color mixed into her pupils until they washed away and left a beige color behind. She looked at him, noticing after her vision cleared she was under the tree by the beach again.
"Why did you follow me? You knew it would be dangerous," he growled at her, more worried than angry however.
"Why shouldn't I have followed? I was only trying to help," she replied calmly. Kaida looked over to her left hand, it was covered by a bloody scab on one side. She moved her fingers and winced at their reaction.
"Well don't try again." He tried to sound a little less harsh, but noticed her distant expression which didn't really seem to be affected. She looked like she was about to fall asleep on top of all of it. He sighed, almost hating the sympathetic emotions he had right then. "Let's go see if we can get your hand all fixed up, huh?"
She nodded, still looking distant. Zuko itched to rip out more of the feelings he was getting now. He ended up, much to half of his brain's disgust, giving the blonde a piggyback the way there. He couldn't help but notice how light she was, like a life-sized doll.
"You're still a mean bully, you know," she told him, remembering every prank he had pulled that week.
"And you're still an annoying scaredy cat." He grinned slightly and watched her meek smile out of the corner of his eye. He caught a sleepy yawn and pale pink eyes resting on his shoulder and the light feeling of her breathing touch the side of his neck. He twitched nervously, and unknowingly blushed faintly. He made it top priority not to let anyone catch sight of him, especially Zhao. That man seemed to have forgotten all bitterness they shared beforehand as if it were magically healed as soon as he was named to serve in Ozai's place temporarily.
The prince had been lost in his own thoughts so long, he almost forgot where he was going. He was torn back to reality when he bumped right into his smirking Uncle Iroh.