Hi there. ^^

Welcome to the longest chapter so far! *confetti*

Note: File away the piece about her empty necklace. It will be mentioned frequently.
Review if you have the time. I would love you forever. Pleaseandthankyou. ;D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own A:TLA. Not yet anyway. I just have to wait for my master plan to set in. MUHAHAHA.

Love you all and thank you for reading. Enjoy Chapter 3.

~Rehyou

Purpose

When she eased back into conciseness, the ship was in motion. She could hear the engines churning and the water breaking as it passed through the waves. By the small amount of sunlight that streamed through the window, Akari guessed it was about early afternoon. There were loud birds squawking. Their chaotic cries echoed throughout the boat. Her mind was still half asleep and the loud noises were making her head hurt. She mumbled a half-hearted command for the birds to shut up. With a start Akari realized that the birds were actually the crew. They were running all around the boat and shouting orders, their boots clanking loudly on the boat's metal floors.

She closed her eyes, listening intently in an attempt to understand what was going on. Most of the sentences were muffled or shouted so loudly her ears couldn't make sense of them. Two sentences came out a tiny bit clearer than all the others.

They went like this:

"Blah blah blah, mumble mumble. Avatar, blah blah…"

"Yada yada yada, Kyoshi Island, jib jab…"

With her amazing powers of perception, Akari gathered that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island.

Then, two things happened almost at once. The boat stopped, and everything became very quiet. They must have left, she decided. Her ability to put two and two together was astounding.

Taking a deep breath, Akari let herself feel the leather chord that hung around her neck. It once held something from her father, but it had been used in a time of need. Now, with her hands tied, she just felt its light pressure as it rose and fell with her breathing. In that moment, Akari had some kind of an epiphany; though she was pretty sure it was on a much smaller scale than the ones great people of history are written to have had.

The Avatar, the one person who could stop this war, was on the island. She never wanted to be a part of the war, but she had been thrust into it from an early age. That was the plain truth. It hurt families, hers included. Nobody was spared. It was something cancerous. It destroyed everyone, including the people who started it. Even if Zuko didn't realize it, the war was probably a huge factor in whatever family troubles he had experienced. So Akari decided she was going to do whatever it took to end it—starting with saving the world's only hope.

Akari stood up, facing her back to the cell wall. With surge of power (plus a bit of leverage from the fire that spurred her on from her feet), Akari was able to grab onto the top of the wall. She flung herself over the small space between the top of the bars and the ceiling, landing in a heap on the ground.

A bit of pride rushed through her. Akari shook it out of her mind; she had no time for this. Shoving open the door, she scared the guard. "Damn," she muttered. "I should've thought of that." Of course they wouldn't leave her alone. Even Bitter-boy wasn't that stupid. Regaining her composure, Akari rushed over, kneeing him in the gut. Quickly she turned and sawed through the thin chains with the sharp point of his helmet. Shoving the man into the wall, she continued off the boat uninterrupted and followed the trail to the village.

The fight was in full force when she arrived. Akari staggered back a step, unsure how to proceed. Soldiers were battling with…girls? Normally she would have taken the time to be impressed and to maybe even point and laugh as the burly men of the Fire Nation got their asses handed to them. But not now, she was too busy failing to come up with a plan.

Suddenly Zuko rushed across her vision, charging towards a small boy. He wore orange garments. If it wasn't for the slices of air he was firing as needed, the blue arrow that ended at a point on his forehead sure gave him away. It was the Avatar. Let's start with that, Akari decided.

The passion built within her. She became acutely aware of the sun beating down on her face and the fire begging to be set free. Akari took a giant leap forward, a twisting tunnel of fire hurtling towards Zuko. It missed him by inches, but got his attention. Actually, it got everybody's attention. All the guards, even the Avatar, were staring at her. Well there goes the whole '"I'm not a fire bender" cover, Akari thought grimly. She obviously hadn't thought this through. Taking advantage of everyone's dropped jaws, Akari began her dance. She blasted fire, ducked under blows, kicked fire out of her heels, and twisted and moved with a grace that can only be obtained after years and years of practice.

A braver man attacked her head on, she sidestepped, but she felt the fire creep across the clothing on her left shoulder. Enraged, Akari began building a wall of fire in front of her. With a thrust of her hands, it barreled towards the soldiers, buying the Avatar and crew a nice chunk of time. The men would be disoriented at the least. The Avatar had to get away now.

She saw the Avatar run to his bison and another girl begin to climb it as well. Relief washed over her. She was wondering why they hadn't left, when her answer came tumbling in her direction. Another boy came flailing towards her, obviously trying to join the Avatar. She laughed out loud when she realized he was wearing the same dress as the girl warriors. Her laughter was cut off by the sight of a soldier rushing after him. She punched the air, powerful flames shooting down the soldier chasing him, ridding the boy of his pursuer. Exertion was beginning to wear her down, her breathing was becoming ragged. Akari was just about to start failing to come up with another plan when, to her surprise, the cross-dresser stopped next to her.

The boy's expression looked surprised, his eyebrows nearly jumping of his face they were raised so high. She figured he didn't expect the help of a fire bender. She couldn't blame him. After eyeing her for a quick moment, his face became determined, as if he had come to a decision. "Come with us," he pleaded, stretching out a hand to her.

Akari's mind reeled. Join the Avatar? Just the thought of that possibility was enough to make her dizzy. His story was going to go down in history. Everyone would know her. Stories would be passed on from generation to generation. She did not need the publicity. Besides, she had to make sure Zuko didn't catch them. It would be easier to follow his actions if she was with him. That was her quiet, humble part in this war. She shook her head. "You have to go." Akari said softly, offering a small smile. The soldiers were re-grouping, and what's worse is that Zuko was nowhere in sight. A blast of fire erupted at their feet. "NOW!" Akari commanded, giving the boy a small shove.

He looked at her uncertainly, scratching his back with a boomerang, brow furrowed. "We will come back for you one day," he promised before dashing off to the bison. With a comic scramble, he made it to the top and the creature took off.

Akari watched as they flew into the distance, hoping she had made the right decision.

Then suddenly, somebody rammed into Akari from behind. She felt arms wrap tightly around her hips, pinning her arms to her side as they tumbled to the ground. As she lay motionless on the ground, Akari realized her tackler was Zuko. She could feel every inch of his warm body pressed against hers. She was acutely aware of his arms wrapped tightly around her. She could feel his breath brushing against her ear. Thank Agni he couldn't see her face; it was probably as red as the clothes on her back. Despite that, it was like the freedom she had felt not so long ago; intoxicating, indescribable, and over-whelming. She didn't want to lose that feeling.

"Not a fire bender, huh?" Zuko muttered the words close to her ear. She felt the pressure of his body leave hers as he pulled her up on her feet. She stood unsteadily. Akari guessed she wasn't as recovered as she thought. Suddenly, Zuko's grip whirled her around to face him.

"What is that?" Zuko demanded. His voice quivered with rage and his eyes pierced hers. Akari had no idea what this boy was talking about. Incredulous and not amused, she searched the surroundings in a poor attempt to find anything out of the ordinary. There were some houses on fire, warrior girls scrambling to put out the flames, and a giant statue of some lady—nothing too unusual. What did he mean? All that smoke must be going to his head.

Unless…

Akari now felt the small breeze hitting her bare left shoulder through torn clothing—her scar.

"Who did that to you?" Zuko demanded. She must have looked horrified because the prince tried to compose himself. "Who burned you?" Zuko repeated, struggling to soften his voice.

"Nothing. Nobody. I—I don't know!" Akari shouted, her thoughts sent into turmoil by his prying questions.

She tore her arms free of his grip and tried to take a defiant step in the other direction. Her knees buckled underneath her and the ground came rushing up to meet her. Suddenly, she was in Zuko's arms. He had caught her at the last moment. Akari clamped her eyes shut, ashamed at her weakness as he pulled her arm over his shoulder and wrapped his around her waist.

This Fire Nation prince was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

"I won't let you fall," Zuko muttered, tightening his arm around her waist, letting her weight lean into his side. Akari leaned into him, deciding not to question his newfound compassion. She was just pleased that he wasn't questioning her further and, unsettlingly, that the warmth of his body was pressed against hers. The two continued at an agonizingly slow pace back to the ship as Zuko waved the guards to go on without them.

The silence was nice. Not one of those awkward silences. Zuko seemed to be deep in thought. Akari was just focused on trying to walk. Even with Zuko basically holding all of her weight, Akari was still struggling to keep her legs moving. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right.

Akari's mental chant was interrupted.

"Your scar," Zuko began. Akari sighed deeply in response, earning a small chuckle from Zuko.

"What about it?" Akari snapped, not in the mood to listen to his questions.

"Nothing," Zuko said almost defensively. He paused, shifting her arm that lay across his shoulder. Thankfully, the movement straightened her up and made walking a smidgen easier. "It just…explains a lot about you."

"Yeah, yeah. So now I am officially Akari, wanted traitor of the Fire Nation. The scar sealed the deal. I get it," Akari mumbled. In the back of her mind she wondered what was going to happen. Most likely they would race home to the Fire Nation and turn her in. She wasn't any Avatar, but she would be a nice bonus.

"You said it not me," the prince rasped. "But that's not what I meant."

She had to admit, he had caught her curiosity. Akari didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.

"It's just…when most people look at me all they see is my scar, the mark of the banished prince. Or even if they don't know who I am, it's like my scar is all they see," Zuko spoke slowly, trying to convert his feelings into words. His voice was a mix of anger and shame. "They all just stare, like who I am is defined by that scar."

Zuko paused, stopping their walk. His free hand was touching his scar and his mind seemed to be in memories that Akari guessed she would never know. Then a small smile tugged at his lips and he turned to look at her.

"But not you," Zuko stated simply. "You don't stare at my scar or look away because you are embarrassed. I feel like you actually see me. And now I know why. It's because you know what it's like."

Akari wasn't quite sure what to say. She hadn't realized that simply looking him in the eye made such a profound impact on him. Yet, Akari realized it was true. When she did look at him, she didn't really notice the scar. Well, she was aware it was there, but it was just a part of him. Not the banished prince of the Fire Nation. Just Zuko.

"I can cover mine up though," she pointed out.

"I don't think that matters. It's still there, and you still know what it is like to be scarred by your past," Zuko retaliated. His voice sounded stronger, more sure of himself.

Yes, if anything that was true. She knew what it was like to be reminded of your history with a single look. Technically, Akari didn't even have to look. It was like its own little heart beat. She supposed it was because it never healed properly. The burn probably hurt more than just her skin. The muscles in her back and shoulder were most likely damaged. Absently she wondered if his scar hurt him. As her thoughts trailed off, Zuko spoke again.

"Sorry, that was stupid," he muttered.

"No," Akari turned her head to look up at him. The simple gesture brought a smile to his face. She realized for the first time how nice his smile really was. She quickly shoved those thoughts away. "It was true."

Akari felt his arm tighten around her waist as they started their slow pace back to the boat once more.