Asuka laid in her chambers meditating before they crashed onto the shores of the Southern Water Tribe, processing her breathing one by one, in and out. At points she could control the fire on the candles in front of her, exhaling making the fire grow smaller, inhaling to make it grow bigger. She felt her chi moving through her evenly, a warm tingly feeling, powerful. She smiled feeling a spark on her fingertips play across her skin. She remembered the times when she lived in her orphanage, relying on herself most of the time.

It was always a sort of dog eat dog world there. By the time you could walk, talk, and eat alone, you were basically an adult in the real world. Rarely did anyone adopt any of the orphans in her small village, Zaigo. It was filled with mainly poor farmers and small marketers, a village with no consequence, but it was home. Asuka didn't trust many of the adults, but the children would usually form alliances with each other, doing some petty thievery here and there, mostly for food. But Asuka loved material objects, and she would steal jewelry from ladies and gentlemen no matter what age. She dreamed of a life where these things would come in abundance, making her own way in the world rather than stealing them. She found her door opened when she discovered the sport of gymnastics.

There she became a child prodigy, at the age of four, and progressed quicker than anyone could ever imagine. By the age of eight, she was on the level of those at the age of thirteen, and competed with those girls. They made fun of how poor she was and how dirty she was, but in the end her scores would beat theirs always. She was discovered by a very high member in the government to go to the Fire Academy for Girls. She got better schooling than any of those in her class, learned how to defend herself, and to perfect her firebending, which she found more entertaining than doing gymnastics.

She heard a knock on her door and saw Zuko with his armor on. He gave her a hard stare and spoke, "We are about to land, why aren't you in armor?" he demanded.

"I can handle myself quite well, Prince Zuko. I've done it my whole life." she stated plainly.

"That's beside the point, we are going to face the Avatar, the master of all four elements, and you're just sitting here."

"Are you getting to care about me, Prince Zuko?" She teased. The prince flushed with embarrassment and anger, he exasperated and spoke, "Just get ready" he said leaving in a rush.

Asuka just laughed and got herself up from the floor of her cabin and walked out to follow her orders.


It was a small village they invaded, from the looks of it, rather than a huge tribe like she'd thought it would be. The majority of the civilians were female, in their adulthood or even older. The rest were children, very young and innocent clinging onto their mothers, except for two teenagers, a pretty girl and a boy with a club and war paint on his face. The boy rushed towards Zuko, trying to harm him, but Zuko was fast and dodged his attack and kicked him off the ramp. The pair of firebending teenagers stood in front of the Water tribe members as they huddled in fear and silence. Zuko looked over all of them with the hard stare he was known for. After several moments, Zuko demanded, "Where are you hiding him?" The Water Tribe members remained quiet still quite fearful. He quickly grabbed an older woman away from the teenaged water tribe girl, as she gasped in terror.

"He'd be about this age master of all elements." Zuko yelled. Asuka noticed none of the tribe knew what he was talking about, as their confused and scared faces showed. He threw the old woman back to the teenager and in a rage sent a fire stream above their heads.

"I know you're hiding him!" He yelled. Asuka then heard the young boy, whom they disarmed a moment ago come back from behind him, yelling a war call with the club in his hands again. Aiming for Asuka, she quickly ducked before he could attack, calmly with a smirk on her face. Zuko sent a fire stream towards him but the boy dodged by rolling in the snow and then tossing a boomerang at Zuko, missing.

"Show no fear!" little boy yelled in the tribe, tossing a spear to the teenager. The teenaged boy ran up to Zuko with it, but Zuko quickly destroyed the spear and knocked the boy on the ground. The boomerang came back to hit Zuko in the head, as sneered at the boy on the ground. Asuka saw Zuko turn his fire into daggers in his hands. Then out of nowhere another boy, with a completely different look than the rest of the tribe, knocked Zuko on his face when he sled down on a penguin. Asuka giggled seeing Zuko on his face, with his helmet on his butt, it was quite comical.

"Hey Katara. Hey Sokka." The young bald boy said to the two teenagers.

"Hi Aang, thanks for coming." The boy named Sokka said to Aang.

Zuko got up and stared at Asuka menacingly, she stuck her tongue out at him and rolled her eyes as she surrounded, with the other soldiers, around Aang. She saw he had a tattoo thing across his body in the shape of arrows, and his clothing was light, arid, and flowing. Like a...Asuka's eyes went wide when the boy blew snow covering the soldiers and her body as well as Zuko. Zuko eyes narrowed on Aang as he melted the snow on his body.

"Looking for me." Aang said.

"You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?" said Zuko incredulously. Asuka was shocked, he was barely twelve and yet it had been one hundred years ago when an Airbender was announced as the Avatar.

"I spent years preparing for this encounter," Zuko said circling around Aang, "Training, meditating, you're just a child!"

Aang stopped circling and tilted his head to the side confused, "Well you're just a teenager."

Asuka snorted as Zuko stared at her again in anger. He sent his rage towards Aang sending fire blasts, but Aang deflected them using his staff. But the fire was getting to close to the tribe and Aang stopped the fight between him and Zuko.

"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" Aang asked. Asuka looked at Zuko and saw a slight softening in his face, as he nodded for the soldiers to take Aang.

" No Aang," Said the girl Katara, "Don't do this!"

Asuka felt sorry, but this was her mission to capture the Avatar.

"Don't worry, Katara, it'll be okay" Aang called back to comfort Katara. Asuka eyes softened at the boy as he looked frightened as he entered aboard the Fire Nation ship. Zuko looked cold, but somehow she knew that he wasn't agreeing to this wholeheartedly.

"Head a course to the Fire Nation! I'm going home." Zuko yelled. But for Asuka there was no home in the Fire Nation, only emptiness.


On the top deck of the ship, Zuko was examining Aang's staff as a prize from a war, which made Asuka angry.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father," Zuko stated, "I suppose you wouldn't know a father, being raised by monks." Asuka glared at Zuko, but he didn't notice.

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold," Zuko held the staff in front of Iroh, "and take this to my quarters." Iroh grabbed it and handed it to the soldier next to him.

"Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me." Iroh said leaving casually. Asuka smiled and head towards the lower deck of the ship to begin her daily routine of gymnastics, by stretching her body. It has been a few minutes later when suddenly Aang appeared out of nowhere, shocked to see he in that room. For some reason Asuka didn't attack or stop him instead she pointed the way to Zuko's room to where his staff was.

"Hey thanks…?" Aang asked

"Asuka, my name is Asuka." Asuka said.

"See ya!" he yelled leaving her in her training room.

"See ya?" she said very confused. After hearing a lot of commotion around the top deck of the ship. Asuka raced up to see Zuko and Aang battling on the top deck. Before she could strike back, she heard a loud grunt and groan from above. She turned around to see a flying beast heading towards the ship with the two Water tribe teenagers riding it.

"What is that?" Zuko asked.

"Appa!" exclaimed Aang. But Zuko took this chance to send a fire stream towards Aang knocking him off balance. He did it over and over until Aang fell of the ship into the frigid water. Then suddenly the water rushed upwards into a swirling vortex towering above the ship, with Aang bending it. His eyes were glowing a bright white, as well as his tattoos, and he looked like he was in a trance. The look of shock was upon Zuko's face, as he realized he was not "just a child". Aang bended the water into a whirlpool and knocked all the soldiers and Asuka off their feet, but Zuko went overboard.

"Zuko!" Asuka yelled, she rushed to the edge of the boat to see Zuko dangling on the chain of the anchor. Quickly she reached out her hand to Zuko and he grabbed it firmly pulling himself up but Asuka had a loose grip and fell down as well, Zuko grabbed her by the waist before she could fall down further. "Can take care of yourself, huh?" Zuko joked. Asuka gave him a hard stare as she grabbed onto the chain and started to climb behind him. Zuko finally made it up to the top but was pushed back again by Sokka as he yelled, "That's from the Water Tribe." It wasn't til Iroh had came to assist that the pair made it to safety. There they saw the Flying Bison drift though the air, but Zuko wasn't going to let them get away that easily. Always stubborn, Zuko, Asuka thought to herself.

"Shoot them down!" Zuko yelled. Asuka readied herself with Iroh and Zuko as they sent a fire stream to their target but it was deflected by the young Airbender and hit the glacier next to the ship. The snow and ice from the glacier was coming down in an avalanche, when Zuko grabbed Asuka by the waist and took her out of the way of the falling debris. Asuka raised herself up quickly while Zuko remained on the ground in anger, she looked up to see that they had already escaped and exhaled in defeat.

"Good news for the Fire Lord," Iroh said, "The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid."

"That kid, Uncle, just did this," Zuko said as he motioned toward the damage done by the Aang, "I won't underestimate him again. Dig the ship out and follow them!" he ordered his troops, but it seemed as though the crew was frozen in place;Asuka and the remaining soldiers were thawing the ice surrounding them with their firebending. "As soon as you're done with that."


Asuka laid in her bed the rest of the day thinking about their adventure this afternoon. It was actually kinda fun, more fun than she had ever had in years. She was thrilled by it, and the thought of this search becoming more fun. She was also thinking about when Zuko saved her a few times, how could it be that someone who'd harbored hatred of her would do that? It didn't make any sense. She got up off her bed and went to Zuko's room, where he was sitting by himself thinking about the failure of today, she knew he was beating himself up about it. Her face softened and walked in.

"Zuko?" Asuka asked. He remained silent.

"Zuko, I want to thank you for saving me today, I know I'm not someone you particularly care for," Zuko still remained silent not even looking at her, Asuka didn't stop talking though, "Zuko, you did your best, and if there's something you can take from this, you're the first person in your line to find the Avatar after one hundred years. Not your great grandfather, not your grand father, and not your father; you did. We will capture him, Zuko, I'm sure of it."

Asuka left his room after that, not before hearing a soft "You're welcome" by the prince. Asuka left the room with a smile, for the journeys to come