Author's Notes:
It has been...a long time. But I find myself drawn back into the fandom, and I miss writing. It doesn't come nearly as easily as it used to, so bear with me while I struggle through whatever plot I had attempted five years ago -facepalm-
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy! I can't get enough of ninja!zutara and there promises to be plenty of that in this story :) Assuming my muse lingers. I'm trying to plot out all of the main events at least, so that I may finish it eventually, one day. My goal is this year. Fingers crossed!
Gravity
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chapter three
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As the strange woman maneuvered her way across the cobblestone paths winding nearer and nearer to the palace's main gates, Zuko couldn't help but mentally correct her less-than-stealthy approach. She was quick, certainly, but her technique left much to be desired. It was apparent that whoever that strange mist-woman was, she wasn't quite as adept in sneaking as she was in fending off soldiers and materializing from thin air. The prince had chalked his encounter with her to delusions in his concussed state and the visit of a spirit – but there was more than enough evidence in the young woman's stumbling and skittering to prove that she was certainly not an ethereal being.
Nevertheless, he owed his life (or at least his freedom) to said woman. Which was why he felt inclined to follow her. She skittered about the alleys, pausing to watch the guards, before turning back in search of a different route. He watched in silent amusement as she'd stomp the ground in frustration, that was until the stranger attempted to scale the eastern wall.
"They'll catch you."
His voice was calm, carried by a passing autumn breeze, and should have surprised any unsuspecting person, but the woman was not startled. How long had she been aware of his presence? She simply huffed, as if not to be bothered. "They would, if I had your stealth."
A frown befell his features and he withdrew a sword, sinking it into the cloth at her ankle pinning the fabric of her skirt against the wall. "Please, I'm surprised you didn't wake the entire nation with your stomping."
She glanced at him over her red-swirled shoulder and bristled. Bristled. "You should be lucky my stomping feet saved your sorry butt the other night. Or perhaps I should have left you. Then maybe I could do my infiltrating in peace." With more strength than her frame suggested, the Painted Lady yanked her leg up, ignoring the resulting tear that sent a slit up a portion of her skirt. If it wasn't for the pants she wore beneath, the prince would have gotten an eyeful of leg. "Now scram."
Only after her figure finally settled itself atop the wall's edge did he realize who he had spoken to. That irritating voice...
Zuko trailed after her, golden eyes peering at the guards returning from their shift change. She was leaning forward in her attempt to reach a tree branch that was simply too far.
"You were at the ball," he stated.
A gasp escaped her and she slipped in surprise, a muttered curse on her tongue.
The prince hooked an arm about her middle. "Sorry," he taunted just quietly enough for her to hear, "was I too stealthy for you?"
Indignant blue eyes scowled from beneath a veil. Blue?
"Go away," the Painted Lady mouthed, prying herself from his hold and listening to hear if the sentinels were alerted to their presence. After a few moments, she let out a relieved breath before drawing herself up to face the demon. "Yes, I was," she responded at last, finally leaning over enough to reach the branch she had missed earlier. With the strength of a trained soldier, she tugged herself into the leaves. It took a second for the young man to realize what she was referring to. So this was that infuriating stranger at the ball.
Against his better judgment, Zuko followed. He couldn't quite place why. Perhaps his weeks of obsessing over this spirit- Person, his mind corrected snidely -coerced him to find out the truth about her. Who was she? What did she want? Why did she save him? Or maybe he was simply bored. Yes, he assured himself, that's all. Never mind that the smarter part of him was well aware he shouldn't be risking capture at the moment. He wasn't even on his own mission for Agni's sake!
"This is stupid," he murmured at her side, a comment that she swatted at as if dismissing a fly. "You'll get caught."
"I won't if someone would shut his trap," the strange young woman- for she couldn't be more than sixteen -hissed.
"If you're planning to assassinate the Fire Lord-"
"I'm not," she insisted, but he didn't miss the quieter yet.
He watched her drip from the tree like a rain drop, melting into the shadowy grove. Trained in some areas, sloppy in others. Curious. She also seemed quite familiar with the Capital's layout. Even more curious. "Then why are you risking your life? For the thrill?" He landed beside her on silent feet, straightening up just in time to meet her steely glare.
"I never turn my back on people who need me."
Zuko recalled the night he was very nearly caught; he remembered the look on her face, calculating, hesitant, before leaving him be. He recalled the trio captured at the ball. She was part of the group that had ruined his plans, was she? Irritation simmered beneath the surface, then was exhaled. His hand caught her wrist as she made to leave. "This way," he said, urging her after him. "It'll be quicker."
"Why are you helping me," the young woman demanded, distrust in her voice.
Inwardly, he was asking himself the same question but the answering voice sounded curiously like a wise tea-loving man, Why indeed? The prince sighed impatiently. "Your people got caught for doing what I intended to."
"They aren't your responsibility."
"No, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
She stopped then, her skirt and veil billowing about her small frame. "We are not friends." If Zuko had cared an ounce about her opinion he might have been affronted at her tone. Instead, he rolled his eyes behind his mask and went about lightly tapping the palace wall listening intently at the stone. "What are you doing?" The young woman finally asked after a moment of awkward tapping.
The prince's knuckles rapped against something decidedly wooden and with a flick of his wrist, he pushed the stone facade open. The duo stared at a shadowy abyss. "This leads down to the dungeons," Zuko explained, gesturing for her to enter first.
The stranger's eyes narrowed. "After you."
He shrugged, a single hand bracing itself on the grass, and vaulted into the darkness. He landed with a soft thud on the dirt and glanced up at the square of moonlight beaming down. The woman's silhouette stared back. "Well?" He prompted.
She followed suit, a vision of flowing fabric.
Really, she was quite light on her feet. There was something mesmerizing with the way she moved, the way her cloak trailed in her motion, a faded version of where she had previously been.
"Well?" The Lady growled, snapping him back to the present.
Zuko cleared his throat and nodded to no one in particular. "This way," he intoned, about to bring forth a flame and thinking better of it. The Blue Spirit wasn't a firebender, afterall. Instead, he grabbed a torch from a wall sconce to light their path. He eyed her as they meandered down the corridor; there was a stiffness to her shoulders that contrasted with the grace of her movements.
"Stop staring," she demanded.
He frowned. He wasn't staring. Just...observing. She was intriguing afterall, with her curious mist and agility and strength. Who was this person, parading about as a Fire Nation spirit? Zuko felt like there was something he was missing, and it gnawed at him. Did he know this person? No. He'd never even seen blue eyes before.
Before he could pry, a gasp escaped her and she rushed forward, her haste causing the torch light to flicker.
"Oh thank, La!" She breathed, dropping to her knees before a cell.
Someone within scrambled to meet her. "Katara?"
Katara. Zuko rolled the name about in his mind.
A different voice echoed the first: "Katara, you came!"
Zuko recognized it as the young girl captured earlier that night.
The strange mist-woman had all but forgotten his presence as she grasped at the metal bars. "Of course I came. How could I leave you? I'll get you out of here."
The man in the cell glanced over her shoulder, eyes narrowing dangerously at the demon. "New friend?"
The woman- Katara -scoffed. "Hardly."
Zuko couldn't see what she had done, but suddenly two metal bars were smashed. To say he was surprised would be a severe understatement. Who was this person?
The captive, whose gaze never left the prince, barely straightened up after ducking through the narrow opening before Katara's arms were hooked around his neck. "I thought you were done for," she murmured, shoulders trembling. Two other strangers stepped free, a short...boy? And a rather tall gaunt looking teenager. When Katara finally pulled away, all traces of weakness and worry were gone. "Let's get out of here."
"You're the Blue Spirit."
Zuko glanced at the smallest captive and arched an unseen brow.
"You're awesome."
"Would he be as awesome if I told you he was trying to skinny dip earlier?" Katara cracked, at which the child only laughed and said that's even cooler! Zuko quelled his pride. "Now come on, there's a secret passage this way," the young woman declared, turning down a hall in a hurry. She was right of course, but how did she know? She didn't even hesitate in her run, barreling down the narrow network of corridors. The prince studied her back, mulling over the possibilities. Dark skin, darker hair, red swirls, and eyes as blue as the oceans. How could she possibly know the intricacies of the palace? His uncle had spoken about the Water Tribes and their common blue eyes- Like the ocean, just as deep and alluring, he had said -but that still didn't clarify why she knew about the secret passage.
"So, who is your friend? Someone else wronged by the Fire Nation?"
Katara didn't even turn around. "Not now, Jet," she snapped, muttering nonsensical words to herself. Zuko surmised it must be memorized directions as she suddenly made a sharp right, nearly barreling into the wall in her late reaction. "And he's not my friend."
"Acquaintance, then," Jet declared, sizing up the prince.
Before Zuko could respond, Katara swore. Swore. Spirits didn't curse. "It's blocked," she bemoaned with all the angst of a child. "It's blocked. Now what do we do? Sokka was sure this passage would be free!"
Sokka?
The prince studied the exit. It wasn't just boarded up, it was filled with earth, with stone. Completely caved in. When had that happened? He recalled using this very passage with his uncle in their abandonment of the palace. Something akin to guilt seeped into his chest, but he shoved it down. "I know a different way," Zuko announced. "Through the kitchens."
"And how will we sneak through the kitchens?" Jet drawled.
"The same way the servants do," he answered simply.
Which was why the group found themselves squished together behind a large pantry, balefully eyeing the kitchen staff busy at work in preparation of the morning. "Now what, genius?"
The voice was too quiet to properly place, but the Blue Spirit would bet his swords it was Jet. Something about that guy grated at the prince's patience. His smooth gait, his lopsided smirk, that dumb straw perched between his lips- Or something else? his inner Iroh mused. He squashed down that train of thought before it could turn into anything more. "We could fight our way through," Zuko responded, flexing a hand at his side.
"They need a diversion," Katara whispered. Her breath tickled the back of his neck and he stiffened at her proximity. "Smellerbee, do you have any explosives on you?"
"Yeah, they let me keep explosives on me when I was captured."
The prince couldn't keep the sardonic grin from spreading his lips at the sarcasm.
"Well, we're spirits aren't we?"
Masked eyes flickered over his shoulder to stare incredulously into insistent blue ones.
"Let's just...you know, use that. Spook them into leaving."
Zuko opened his mouth to let her know that was the dumbest idea he had ever heard, but suddenly a mist encroached on the kitchens and he found himself back beneath that tunnel at the mercy of the Yuyan Archers. He wondered, far from the first time, just who this woman was.
It took a moment before any of the staff noticed, but once they did panic was clear as day on every face. The mist had become an obvious tell that the Painted Lady was approaching, afterall. The prince shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure of just what this mist-woman planned. And then the fog thickened enough for them to push past the pantry, remaining low so as to blend into the haze. Dulcet tones from a flute of sorts filtered into the air, hushing fearful exclamations. Someone was making "wooo" sounds and the young man refrained from slapping a palm to his forehead.
Katara rose from the mist- was she floating? -lifted a single slender arm and pointed out the door into the palace hall. Her voice was breathy and ominous as she uttered two words: "Get out."
Whatever the servants were preparing was abandoned as pots boiled over. They screamed and stampeded out of the kitchens.
The group didn't waste any time as they barreled through and out the back door into the gardens. Never had the stretch of grass seemed so large to Zuko as he realized that they could do nothing but sprint. Everyone knew they were there, now, but freedom was scant seconds away. The first few steps were free of guards, but it didn't take long for them to arrive, assailing the trespassers and escapees with fire. With a single smooth motion his blades were free and he spun them with enough speed to disperse the column of flames that dared impede their escape.
Somewhere nearby he heard the strangled yell and turned to spot the one called Smellerbee biting someone's ear before snapped the man's helmet over his head and vaulting away. The taller boy, pale and lanky, evaded attack after attack, clearly unaccustomed to closed combat but skilled enough to avoid it. Even Jet, without weapons, made a lithe opponent, stealing the swords from soldiers without their knowledge and skillfully (the prince noted with mild disdain) used them in his own offense.
But it was Katara who claimed his attention. She ducked and twirled and met flames with water, enveloping them all in a blanket of steam that melted her paint but provided them enough cover to manage an escape.
They did so with surprising ease, scaling the wall without so much as singed fabric. Zuko hesitated, glancing back at the palace. It was too easy. Just before he followed after the fugitives, he saw her watching them from her balcony. Even from his distance he could see the narrowing of golden eyes. Was that a flicker of blue dancing about her fingers, or simply his imagination? She could pursue them if she wanted to, but she didn't. The prince couldn't decide whether or not that was in his favor, and so he turned and leapt down, landing on the cobblestone streets below.
They wasted no time before hurrying away from the scene. Only when they made it into the Lower Ring did anyone bother to stop for breath. All bodies were hunched over, tucked safely atop a rooftop, and Smellerbee laughed.
"That was awesome!"
Zuko started to wonder if the kid knew what awesome meant.
"Thank you-" Katara began, but he stepped towards her. Something about his demeanor pushed her back, all gratitude evaporating from her face. He could see her now, tanned skin, bright blue eyes, red paint smeared like blood.
"You're a waterbender." The fact that he said it as an accusation was not lost on the young woman.
She lifted her chin. "And?"
Zuko wasn't quite sure where to go from there. Tense silence hung between them, thickening like the mist she wore in layers. He wanted to say something, anything, but all words were lost as she glared at him. This woman, this strong, foolish, irritating woman, wore the countenance of a Fire Nation spirit, aided the sick and wounded- his people -and she wasn't even one of them. Why would she risk her life? How did she even end up there?
"Katara?"
All eyes spun to meet the intruder, and Zuko sensed everyone relaxed.
"Took you guys awhile," the newcomer grinned. He had blue eyes, like the young woman. "Didn't find the secret passage?"
"It was blocked," Jet snapped. The newcomer responded with a scowl.
The prince took the opportunity to leave, silently disappearing from their company. Had he stayed, he would have seen Katara turn back to face him, lips parted in impending reprimand. As it was, he had already tucked himself safely into the shadows of a nearby building by the time she made it to the edge of the roof and peered onto the streets in search of him.
When he returned home just as the sun rose, he ignored his uncle's offer of joining in meditation and promptly fell onto his cot. He made a mental note to tell his uncle that waterbender eyes were glacial and cold and irritating, but the thought left him as soon as his head hit the pillow.
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WOO. I've been itching to get this chapter finished since yesterday.
I could barely sleep with want to work on it. I'm not sure how I feel about it,
it's frustrating to come back to something that used to feel like second nature
and struggle to get words out. BUT I am enjoying how this is panning out so far.
Hope you are too :)
