Disclaimer: I don't own anything out of this.

Chapter 4

Mai wasn't happy. Mai was never happy unless in the company of her boyfriend or while getting to do something exciting, like fight Earthbenders or any other enemy. But when the fight was over she would return to her brooding and mull over the times she had with Zuko before his banishment, or Ty Lee and Azula. How she missed them. She missed being with them, but wouldn't mind skipping out on all the pranks that Azula put her through.

She sighed for the millionth time as she walked through her room in the great city of Omashu. She didn't like it here. This place was nuts. The King, a powerful Earthbending King at that, had surrendered just as soon as they had launched the attack. She wasn't here though, but she heard about it. According to one person he had looked someone in the eye and told them to do nothing. What sort of King does that? It didn't make sense to her. If someone came to invade the Fire Nation, they'd fight like hell to drive said people out. And yet this King, this nut job, had ordered all of his troops to surrender… while laughing!

She messaged her temples and crashed down onto her bed. It was very comfy, very big, very fluffy, and very annoying. She didn't know if it was too fluffy, to styled, or not fluffy enough or even not stylish enough. She didn't know what made her angry at the thing, only that it actually annoyed her.

She groaned as she heard the sirens call for her. Her father was probably requesting another meeting with her and the other people that were still trying to round up all of the Resistance Fighters in this city. She stopped and glanced out the window for a moment. I wonder what Zuko's doing right now? She paused and figured he was still hard at work on the sea. I wonder Ty Lee and Azula are doing.

(-)

"Do you have any idea on where you're going?" Naruto asked calmly. He was leaning up against a metal wall. He suddenly bumped his head against the ceiling and groaned. "Why can't we just walk like normal human beings? Are you so high that you believe yourself to be above everyone other than your family?"

Azula cut her eyes towards the blond as she too soon was bounced along the ground. "Why can't these idiots work this stuff out?" She snapped. Naruto took pleasure in her discomfort and leaned back against the metal wall.

They were riding in what Naruto could only assume was a high powered tank. Like the Firebending tanks that most Firebenders used to travel great distances across most of the land, usually from village to village to protect their supply lines, this was a longer and faster version of it. It was like a train with its many compartments, but there were no tracks for it to move on. It moved on the same wheel concepts the tanks did.

It sported multiple sections that housed either animals' for transport across rocky terrain, food, clothing, or in their current case a private place them that was equipped with all the modern day things that Azula took joy in. She enjoyed this thing about as much as Naruto probably did at the moment.

"So what is this thing? It's like those stupid siege tanks, but faster and lightweight." He offered up a quick raise of his brow and she merely huffed as a reply. "You don't know what it is, do you?" She kept her mouth shut. Naruto chuckled. "You actually have no idea what this strange thing is, yet you're using it. Interesting," he laughed some more.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to meditate." She lied.

"You meditate?" Ty Lee asked curiously. Azula grew a vein on the side of her head. It quickly vanished as Ty Lee took up a thoughtful expression. "Well I suppose you would have to with your bending, wouldn't you? It does require a bit of concentration." Her eyes were quickly drawn to Naruto. "Do you meditate?"

"Yes. It's how Zentrai and I get ready for an attack. We meditate a lot actually. Though," Naruto's eyes were quickly drawn to his friend. He was currently resting against Shibaru and sleeping. It was pretty easy to tell what he was dreaming about with the tent he had pitched between his legs. "I think I actually meditate more than he does." Ty Lee gave him a quick glance before covering her mouth with her hands. "Don't stare at him or it because they might get ideas. I think that's where his brain is most of the time."

The young acrobat hastily looked away while Azula shook her head in disgust. "How can you stand to work for such a disgusting person?"

"He's not as bad as he seems. When we're serious about completing a mission or staying alive, he's all serious and is one of the most feared assassins aside from me. There's a reason why he earned the nickname Silent Death." Naruto reached over and scratched Rai's ear behind his horn. "He's only this bad to fool people into believing he's not a threat. He's a very serious threat, even to me at times. We spend a lot of time training and seeing who can win the matches by either admitting defeat first or by using our abilities. In the end we always end it in a draw. Neither of us has ever won a match over the other. The score is still at two hundred and fifty draws."

"He must be pretty impressive when he fights seriously then." Ty Lee carefully looked to Shibaru and was instantly getting growled at. She scooted back and away from the strange beast while Rai seemed to look up at his partner before lying back down. "I wonder why Shibaru doesn't like me. Usually all animals like me."

"It's probably because Zentrai's not using her to lure in women to have sex with," Naruto commented off handedly. Ty Lee arched a brow but bought his explanation. It did confuse Naruto a bit though. Shibaru loved getting attention, no matter what. She enjoyed to the point that one would think a hyper active acrobat would give her so much she'd probably die from the joy of it all. "Rai doesn't like much attention though, unless it's from me. He usually attacks anyone that gets too close to him or me actually. He doesn't like anyone, but there are a few exceptions he'll make."

"What are they, exactly?" Azula spoke up now. She was eyeing Rai at the moment. The strange beast was offering up a quick glare before returning his head to his master's lap. Naruto quickly began to pet him to sooth his nerves. "I've never seen animals like them before. They must be very exotic. Are there more?"

"No. Rai and Shibaru are the only ones like this. We've searched the world over for more of them without any luck." Naruto answered quickly. Although it was a half lie, Azula bought it, but Naruto decided to continue anyways. "Shibaru is very crafty and loves to be pampered, but when cornered will attack with more ferocity than what she shows. Rai is an excellent hunter and tracker. He's just like the pet of a friend of ours. Her name is June and she rides around on some mole creature. I can't remember the name of it, but his scent tracking abilities are pretty good when compared to her pet. The only difference would be that it has to be some short distance, not from continent to continent like her pet can do."

"Truly fascinating," the Fire Princess remarked. "How much would it cost for you to part with your pet?"

Naruto began scratching Rai's ears again. "No amount of money in the world will force me to abandon Rai or Shibaru. Rai's been like a little four-legged son to me at times. When we first found them we had to pamper them just to keep them alive. So as a result, we sort of see them as children from time to time. I mean, we have to feed them, water them, and bathe them. So it's understandable why we or at least I would see Rai as my child."

"I used to do the same thing when I had a pet," Ty Lee jumped into the conversation. "But it died because I played with it too much." She added sadly.

"Yes, I remember your little pet. Good times," Azula chimed in.

Possibly good times because you fried it, bitch. Naruto thought. The blond inhaled deeply and leaned back against the metal wall as the thing shook violently as it hit every bump along the way. "How good is Mai at what she does?"

Ty Lee beamed with happiness at the mention of her friend. "Mai's very skilled with long range attacks! I bet you could do what she does blind-folded if she wanted to. She's never once missed as far as I know. Any target she aims for she hits. I wish she could have come with me to the circus when I ran away to join it. We would have had so much fun. She used to have a crush on Zuko, Azula's brother. He was banished some time ago and I haven't seen him since."

"So she's basically like Zentrai, just not as good?" Ty Lee shrugged. She hadn't seen Zentrai fight or use his weapons yet, so she couldn't judge the two yet. But she did know that Mai was very skilled with them, and that's what counted in her book.

Naruto scratched his head as he tried to picture this Mai person. He knew most of the royal members of the Fire Nation through their spy network. But this girl escaped him. That meant one of two things. Either she was very well protected by her family and not meant to see the light of day, which would only contradict what Ty Lee and Azula had told him about her, or she was someone that knew how to stay off their radar. Neither of these seemed plausible, and the idea that she was a new born prodigy was always unlikely. That only meant that their spy network was lacking in some areas.

"But she's not very outgoing without good motivation and she's rather gloomy looking all the time." Ty Lee informed him. Naruto perked upon hearing that. He still didn't know this girl, but he at least had a better idea on why he hadn't heard of her yet. Ty Lee kicked back and leaned against the wall while maintaining her distance from the two large beasts. "I wonder if her brother's been born yet. Her mother was due to have another child soon. Or maybe they already had it?" She started rambling about when the baby could have been born and how old it might be.

"So she has a brother? Got a name?" Ty Lee shrugged. "I'm guessing you don't know it either, Azula?" Azula kept her mouth shut. "Right… Ignore me. That's real mature of you, Azula. My how your dad must love you when you've got a stick up your ass. Tell me, did you feel anything when it went in?" Her response was to glare at him. Naruto smiled to that. "I'm supposed to help you track down your brother and uncle, remember. I could easily make you be out here in the wilderness for some time before deciding on where and how to capture them. And I can choose a route that will force you to leave all this behind. So don't get snippy with me."

"That doesn't make much sense," Ty Lee stated strangely. She looked, acted, and sounded confused when she said this. As she pointed to Naruto, she suddenly had a strange feeling that things were about to turn bad as she said, "Why is that you can do this when most people would have been shot full of lightning just for speaking badly to her? Are you sure you're not dating?"

Azula visibly blanched at the idea of that. "No, Ty Lee. I'm not dating this peasant."

"Right, I'm just your escort and tracker and fighter until this is all over. Once I have my target, and depending how well she behaves if she can follow my orders, we'll go our separate ways with either me having her head in a bag to deliver to a bounty board in the Earth Kingdom somewhere or without it. I'm still not fully sure if I should just kill you now and take your head directly to the board, wait a few weeks and then start the search on my own. I'm sure it would save me the hassle in the end."

"You dare threaten me!"

"Yes! I dare threaten you!"

Naruto and Azula began glaring at one another. Rai took up his master's side and started growling at the Fire Princess. When Azula raised two fingers to do a quick fire blast, Naruto raised both hands, one of them sporting the hidden blade he carried while the other held three throwing knives.

"Enough," Ty Lee shouted as she got between the group. "We shouldn't be fighting! This is not healthy! Your auras are turning dark and it's bad for your skin!" She tried to reason with them, but Azula didn't look like she was convinced and prepared to attack. Naruto lowered his arm holding up the hidden blade for a moment before dropping it slightly. Realizing that the crises wasn't over yet, and that Azula was about to attack, she hurriedly moved up to Naruto and blocked the chi in his other arm. This sudden act confused but pleased Azula. She stopped her attack.

Naruto stared down at his limp limb and then closed his eyes. She's good, he realized as he forced his energy into the blocked points. They reverted to normal and allowed him to use his arm again. But she's not as good as Neji. He flexed his limb and then gave Ty Lee a hard glance as she stared at him in shock. "Don't act so surprised, Ty Lee. I'm not called the Bloody Inferno for nothing. Though, I don't actually like that nickname."

"Do you prefer Red Death, Red Devil, or Red Demon over it?" Azula snapped. She hadn't expected him to be able to break open his blocked points with such ease. Sure it was just one arm, but no one had ever done that as far as she knew. Maybe Ty Lee is slipping?

Naruto continued to flex his hand and Ty Lee continued to stare at it. "How did you do that?" She asked. Naruto continued to flex his hand as she continued. "I know that over time the blocked points would return to normal, but you just forced them open after being closed. And you did it without having anyone to help you with healing."

"My energy is actually a lot stronger than most people and I have much more. It's sort of how I got the nickname Red Devil because I never seemed to get tired during a fight. Most benders will get tired after prolonged usage of their bending and can even lose the ability if they exert themselves too much. It's one of the reasons why I'm happy to not be a bender. I don't have to worry about doing silly dance moves like everyone else while they fight."

Ty Lee giggled at his statement while Azula rolled her eyes. The art of bending the elements wasn't a dance; it was their method of fighting. All bending originated from humans studying the animals that could bend. By studying these animals they were able to learn how to bend the elements. It wasn't an easy task, but they did manage it. Some animals were actually much harder to envision while they bent the elements to their whim while some were easier.

It was at this time that Zentrai decided to wake up and sleepily rubbed his eyes. His eyes turned to his comrade and he gave him a blinking stare. Naruto suddenly stiffened. "We're not at Omashu yet, Zentrai. We should be there in a few hours."

"New Ozai," Azula said sternly. Naruto gave her a quick glance to show his confusion. "I'm renaming the place in honor of my father. It will be called the City of New Ozai."

"That makes sense. Destroy the history of a great city and replace it with the name of your father. You must be in love with your own father." Naruto commented darkly. Azula didn't appreciate the dig. But Naruto continued before she could snap at him. "Omashu will always be known by that name, no matter what new name you give it. You can't simply expect people to take a liking to the name just because of your rank in the world. And furthermore, the city has a history with that name and as such will remain just as it is to me."

"Am I to assume that you could come up with a better name for the city?" She gave him a hopeful, yet mocking, glance. Naruto snorted at her and shook his head. She smiled. "I thought so. You're just a lowly peasant with no backing or intellect. You see a target and you kill it. That's how you operate."

"One could say the same for you," Naruto replied with a smile. Once more she didn't appreciate the dig and was about to make a retort when Naruto said, "And suppose you do rename the city and capture another city just like it… what will you do, call the place the City of New New Ozai? And after that will you do the same? Or will you be the ultimate bitch that you are and call it the City of New Azula?"

The Fire Princess glared at him for a minute before turning away, her silence offering up the answer to his question.

Zentrai looked between the two girls and then his comrade before looking down at Shibaru. "Did I miss anything, girl?" She yawned as a result and he smiled. His eyes turned to his friend and Naruto snorted. "Did I miss anything important?"

"No, though your mini-tent seemed to get some sort of reaction from Ty Lee."

"Did she appreciate the knowledge of how big I am?"

"We both know that you were awake and that was one of your weapons… not your penis."

"That's mean and low and dirty!"

Naruto yawned and scratched the side of his head with his middle finger. This was watched by the two girls, whom blinked upon seeing it and who it was pointed to. Azula's eyes narrowed on the two of them. "Did I miss something?" She cooed happily. Any chance to get revenge on either of these two would bring much joy to her.

"That's just how we say hello to one another when we wake up." Zentrai quickly flipped Naruto off and remained doing so until Rai started growling at him. "Good boy," Naruto said while petting his pet. Ty Lee giggled as the large carnivorous beast began to act like a dog with his tongue hanging out and panting happily to his master's actions. Naruto suddenly stopped and leaned back against the metal wall again. "We should stop to get something to eat for these two."

"We'll stop when we get to New Ozai." Azula declared. Naruto shrugged and stood up. She eyed him and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To find some poor bastards to feed to these two. I'm sure you've got a few guards on this thing that would make good meals for these two." Rai began smacking his lips while Shibaru began mocking eating.

Azula bared her teeth and took a calming breath. Why was it that this guy knew how to push her buttons? She ordered the thing to stop and allowed the two large pets, along with their masters and one happy acrobat to head out into the thick forest that they had stopped in. Ty Lee was rather happy to be out of the thing and in a place where she could stretch her limbs without fear of hitting someone. Shibaru and Rai simply ran off into the woods to find something to eat while Naruto and Zentrai waited in the shade of a large tree for them to return.

Azula stayed in the tank-like device, but kept her gaze fixated on the two.

Ty Lee jumped up into a tree and started practicing her balancing act on several small limbs, even going as far to jump from one to the other. If she was showing off, she wasn't doing a good job at the moment. Neither of the boys seemed to be interested, which did hurt her a bit.

Ty Lee was by nature a tease and could easily wrap a boy around her fingers. It was a natural gift she had, but that gift backfired if she got more than one attracted to her. She knew she was cute and had royal blood in her veins, which was one of the reasons she could snag a boy very easily. But that was a curse because generally if she got too many following her, they'd start fighting or asking questions on which one she liked the most. And then she was in a jam. It was hard for her to even consider hurting a friend, let alone boyfriend material.

She pouted for a moment and then watched as Zentrai stood up and stretched. Naruto eyed him for a moment while Ty Lee waited to see what he was going to do. Without looking he flung a stiletto up at her and barely missed her cheek. She didn't move. If she did she would have certainly fallen from her high spot in the tree. But before she could ask why he did that, a large bird fell out of the tree and hit the ground head first.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Ty Lee." Naruto said quickly.

He turned to face her and watched as she stared down at the dead bird. It was a giant predator bird of some kind with nasty razor teeth on its beck and long claws. Naruto stared at it for a moment before whistling. Almost as if he'd known about the free meal, Rai bounced into view and pounced the thing, making damn sure it was dead before wolfing it down. After the bird was eaten he returned to his hunt for more food.

Ty Lee jumped down for fear of another monster like that being in the woods and hastily moved to the shadow of the vehicle they were using. "How did you know it was there?" She asked in mild panic.

"We heard it." Naruto half lied. He had heard it getting ready to strike while Zentrai had started reading all surface thoughts within a hundred meter radius. "You should probably stay right there for the time being. I can hear a few more out in the woods and they don't sound very happy that we let Rai and Shibaru out in there to eat them."

"Are you sure they'll be okay?" Azula asked in mock concern. Naruto laughed and she furred her brows together. "What's so funny?"

"Those two will be fine. I'm just worried that they might eat everything in this forest right now. They have monstrous appetites after all." Naruto answered.

"How much longer till we reach Oma… I mean New Ozai?" Ty Lee corrected her question very quickly.

"We should be there by tomorrow morning," Azula answered sharply. "That is of course if we don't have any more problems with you and your two children." She made sure to throw that back in their faces. Zentrai was focusing on her chest or lack thereof a chest, while Naruto just shrugged. Azula didn't like the fact that neither of them had a reaction to this, but she let it slide. She'd find something to annoy them with. She growled in the back of her mind and realized that this had to do with something she probably did that her father didn't like. That was the only explanation for why she was paired up with them at the moment. I must have done something to anger father. She looked towards the direction they were heading and then stood up. I should send warning to Mai that we're coming. Having her greet me in person and first will make things go much more smoothly than meeting with her parents first.

(-)

Mai should have spoken up when her father ordered everyone out of the city. She was probably the first one to guess their idea for what they were actually. What better way to kidnap a child, let alone the new governor of Omashu, than with a plague that magically hit everyone just so they could sneak the kid of and get ready to demand a ransom. No doubt they'd want their leader back. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised, but she honestly was when she noticed her baby brother missing from his crib.

Realizing there was no point in complaining or worrying over this, she went back to playing with one of her many stiletto blades. She flipped it around and around on her finger before it became boring and then just started throwing them blindly at a target on the far end of her room. It smacked with a thunk in-between a cultural artifact that her father had presented to her when they took over the place. She stared at both of them before she continued throwing the projectiles she carried.

When she threw five more she got bored and went back to lying back down on her bed. It's not comfy enough, she thought. She shifted to her side and groaned when that didn't help either. She tried lying face down. That didn't help either. Realizing that it was impossible to get comfortable on the bed, she jumped up and walked over to her weapons, pulling all of them out of the strange thing. I should try something else, she thought.

A messenger hawk flew into the room, getting her attention when it called to her. It bore the Fire Nation emblem on its case and she slowly tore the scroll out of it. She skimmed over it for a moment and then smiled. "So Azula's coming over? Oh joy to the world," she said while crumpling up the scroll and tossing it into the waste bin.

(-)

When morning came and the message that Azula was here in got to Mai and her parents, things were quickly seen spiraling out of control. Mai had practically run, in her own way mind you, to see her friend. Her parents continued to cry over the loss of their son and what would soon happen to them for letting all the civilians go. And of course, what few guards there were at the moment cowered slightly in fear to what also came with the message.

For Mai, she simply waited at the steps to her parent's place and watched Azula, in her pampered thrown and hidden behind the curtains came into view with Ty Lee walking two or three paces behind her. Up front, however, we two unknown figures that she didn't like just by the way they presented themselves. They walked in front of Azula, something no one but her Imperial Firebenders could do and had to do for her protection. They both wore white and were dressed to kill. And with the two large beasts at their side, it was amazing that neither of them, their pets included, weren't charred remains yet.

She stood deathly still as they approached. Azula's Palin King bearers gently set her down and opened the curtains. Mai brought her hands together and formally bowed to the princess. When she looked up, her eyes danced over the two boys that kept their faces hidden behind the hoods they wore. She looked to Azula with the same bored expression she'd always offered her when they were children as she said, "Please tell me you're here to kill me."

Naruto and Zentrai were lost to this, but Azula, after a few seconds, began chuckling. Obviously it was an inside joke.

Azula put a hand on her friend's shoulders and offered a flashy smile as she said, "It's great to see you, Mai."

Ty Lee was more open and engulfed her friend in a hug. The brooding weapon mistress patted her on the back as she recalled their last meeting. "I thought you ran off to join the circus. You said it was your calling." She asked while breaking free of the hug.

"Well… Azula called a little louder." Mai knew what that meant and wasn't about to say anything concerning the method she used.

"I have a mission. And I need you both." Azula began.

"Count me in! Anything to get me out of this place," Mai snapped quickly. Naruto arched a brow but said nothing. He didn't want to ruin the moment and risk not learning anything from this little meeting of friends. But it was then that Mai decided to speak to them. "So what's with you two? I've never seen Imperial Firebenders wear your type of clothing."

Naruto waited to see what Azula would do. As with Ty Lee, she forced them to do their own introduction. The blond calmly removed his hood, revealing his sapphire eyes to her and the long hair he had. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and this is my comrade, Zentrai. He's a mute and a skilled long range fighter. We're assassins, not Imperial Firebenders." The very mention of the word sent chills down Mai's spin. Naruto caught her unease and raised a hand. "No worries for you. You're not on our list. In fact, it seems the world doesn't know about you." She smiled to that. She'd rather not be on an assassins list, let alone be known to the world with all the things the Fire Nation was doing.

"They're here to help in capturing or killing a target for father," Azula finished. "Now," she began slowly and with a dark tone. "I wish to speak with your father. He's clearly ruining the good name of the Fire Nation and making a mess of things over here. I demand to see him."

"Of course, Princess Azula." Mai hastily lead them to her father's throne room where she was greeted by dozens of Firebenders, all of them poised to defend their princess from the two assassins should they decide to attack her. Mai waved the guards away knowing that they weren't needed. It didn't matter in the end. They followed closely behind them just to ensure the safety of their mistress. When they got to the chamber, Azula sent one of to find Mai's parents and call them for a meeting while the guards positioned themselves outside and out of way.

"Nice place," Ty Lee chirped.

Naruto shrugged. "I've been here once before. I spent a year here before heading out into the world to see it for what it truly is." He shrugged his shoulders. "This place does bring back some memories."

"So you really are from the Earth Kingdom," Azula cooed. This was one more thing to hold over their heads later. She shifted in her throne chair and leaned down on her fist with her elbow propped up on the arm rests. "Our spies told us you spent time here; though I didn't truly believe them since you magically seemed to have appeared here one day. Tell me: how did you get here?"

"I fell from the sky." Naruto chirped. Azula wasn't amused. Naruto leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. "I spent some time here with King Bumi before heading out with my master. He trained me in his style, along with his daughter. We both earned honorary titles as the Demon/Angel of the Iron Fist Style. To the Earth Kingdom she was a heaven sent warrior. For me and my enemies, I was considered a demon from hell that arose to destroy everything in my path. Even my allies believed this to be true. Can't say I blame them though. I am a demon when it comes to fighting."

"So what they say about you is true," Mai inquired. Naruto tilted his head to the side and stared at her for a moment. She closed her eyes and repeated what she'd heard about them as if she were reading it from right in front of her. "The Red Devil is a monster of flames. He bathes his enemies in the Fires of Hell and slaughters all that stand before him. He lives to kill and maim. So best stay out of his way. Less you want to be made a meal of the Red Devil."

Naruto chuckled deeply to that and soon was laughing.

"That's nothing to laugh about," Ty Lee said quietly.

"No… it's just that back when I was a child people used to call me all sorts of names for my powers and how I got them. But none of them ever made a rhyme out of it. Do I scare you people that much?" He continued to laugh.

"It doesn't really rhyme," Azula commented. She had heard of that little rhyme or whatever one would call it, and she didn't truly believe it to be true. But she was willing to admit that hearing about what one could do and seeing what one could do where totally different things. Maybe his name and the fear behind it held some truth when you saw his power in all its glory. She certainly never had, and she personally wanted to see it. She wanted to see his power and challenge it.

Naruto slowly stopped laughing and said, "It's close enough to a rhyme for me," through his giggles. He soon stopped and smoothed a hand over his chest. "But that power caused me to have a lot of problems when I was young. I dare say that if the Fire Nation had probably found a way to grab me when I was kid, I would have probably joined them just to have a friend." He thought back to his time in Konoha when he was a child and searching for a friend. It was hard on him growing up without friends, but he managed.

"You must have had a terrible life as a child," Ty Lee said quietly. Naruto shrugged as the doors were thrown open to allow two people to run in. They wore robes of the Fire Nation and had their hair done in the normal manner of all Fire Nation people. But it was the fact that Mai stiffened slightly that alerted Naruto to who they were. These were the people in charge of the city. These were her parents.

They bowed deeply at her feet, Mai and Ty Lee doing the same. The guards remained standing at her side and didn't dare move in her presence. "I apologize," the man said quickly. "You've come to Omashu at a difficult time. At noon, we're making a trade with the resistance to get Tom-Tom back."

Azula took this in and inhaled deeply through her nose. She wasn't one for political issues like these. To her this was just another loss in the war, just like her mother was. But she had to act like a leader. "Yes, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. But really, what did you expect by just letting all the citizens leave?" She stood up, her form now apposing to the two parents. "My father has trusted you with this city. And you're making a mess of things!"

"Forgive me, Princess!" He begged.

The Fire Princess walked up to her friends as they rose to their feet. "You stay here. Mai will handle the hostage trade so you don't have a chance to mess it up. And there is no more Omashu. I'm renaming it in honor of my father: The City of New Ozai." The grieving parents kept their heads down for fear of having them cut off. As Azula looked them over, a guard dropped dead, courtesy of Zentrai and two of his daggers. "What are you doing?" She asked calmly.

Zentrai cut the head off, spilling more blood onto the red carpet. The two parents gawked at this and watched as the head was stuffed into a bag and placed on Zentrai's hip. "He's one of our targets," Naruto offered up. He withdrew a scroll and presented it to the shocked parents. The Firebending guards looked ready to attack now as the teen began reading off the scroll. "This man was to be killed on sight for the wrongful deaths of two women that he raped and tortured under the belief that they were Earth Kingdom spies. He supposedly died a year ago at one of the great sieges on the walls of Ba Sing Se. He's also wanted for rape, kidnap, and all around being a Fire Nation soldier." Naruto rolled the scroll up after retrieving if from Azula. He turned to his comrade and nodded. "Dispose of the body."

Zentrai nodded and started throwing his weapons down into the body, turning him into a pincushion.

"You're a monster!" Mai's mother proclaimed.

Naruto rolled his eyes at her words and his friend's antics. "Get rid of the body. Don't turn into one of your little target dummies!" Zentrai deflated instantly but soon perked back up when he grabbed the body and flung it over the balcony. Naruto waited a moment, letting this register with his brain on what he just did. When the body smacked the ground, which everyone heard, Naruto added, "That's not what I was aiming for, but that works."

Azula shrugged it off and turned to face the older teen. "You'll be helping us during the hostage trade." She informed him.

"No I won't." Naruto snapped. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but Naruto didn't back down. "We have orders to only capture or kill our target. This little side mission is nothing to us. We don't get anything out of it. And personally, I don't want to do it, because you'll be leading the group. I have no problems with women leading people, as I've known a few that were very good at it. But you, you're a bitch, I hate you, and when this is all said and done, there's an eighty percent chance that I'll be taking your head when we leave. So we're not helping. If you need us, we'll somewhere watching this play out and watching you make a fool of yourself. Until then, screw you, I'm going to go find some rock candy." Naruto turned and jumped off the balcony with Rai following right behind him.

Zentrai and Shibaru watched the teen jump from building to building as he went in search of his precious candy.

Azula's cough got their attention. "I trust you'll be joining us?" Zentrai blinked. "You can at least give me an answer through some method of communication." Zentrai blinked again and then raised his middle finger. Ty Lee slapped her hands over her mouth to stop from giggling. "You dare raise a finger to me?!" Zentrai raised the other hand, also sporting the middle finger, and with the thumb out as well. Azula hissed at them and turned on her heels, leaving with Mai and a giggling Ty Lee right behind her.

"Nice ass!" Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee stopped cold and turned around.

"Did you just hear something?" Mai asked as her eyes darted from shadow to shadow in the room. None of the guards would have dared something like that, and her father and mother certainly wouldn't say it either. But she didn't know anything about Zentrai and he was the only one in the room that was left. "Were you really staring at my ass?"

"He's a mute. He can't talk." Azula snapped. She too heard the voice and was outraged by it. "Let's go, ladies. We have a hostage to take back."

Zentrai cocked his head to the side and watched the ladies go, his eyes glued to their asses as they walked down the hall and out of view. Mai's parents stared at him and when he took notice of them, he blinked as though he were confused and then jumped off the balcony after giving a mock one finger salute with Shibaru right behind him.

(-)

By the time noon rolled around, Naruto had already had his fill of the rock candy, and he and Zentrai were standing a good distance away from where the trade would take place. They would still be able to see everything, but everyone would appear as ants to them and their abilities wouldn't be noticed. Sure they would see Azula shooting blue fire since she clearly didn't want to give up Bumi for some two year old. It wouldn't be that far a stretch to believe that she'd kill the baby, Bumi, and the resistance fighters that had shown up to the meeting place. But Azula could possibly make nice and release Bumi to the resistance and take back the child.

Naruto thought about that for a moment and then shook his head. "Azula won't turn over Bumi for some two year old," Zentrai confirmed for him. Naruto nodded. "If she does anything, it will be to kill both hostages and the resistance fighters that showed up. They'd have a better chance of getting Bumi back if it were the parents. But with the way Bumi is acting and speaking with me right now, he doesn't want to be saved."

"To bad you can't let me talk to him. I'd really like to ask him a few questions."

"Don't worry about it. He's only telling me that it's not his time to leave Omashu or free himself. He plans to wait it out until something happens that will let him take back the city without anyone losing their lives… excluding the Fire Nation of course."

Naruto shrugged and decided to sit back and watch the show play out. He didn't need to hear what was being said since it was pretty obvious. Azula was being her bitchy and controlling self by manipulating Mai into forcing her to let the crane take Bumi back up so he couldn't Earthbend, not like it matter though. Naruto and Zentrai both knew that Bumi could actually Earthbend with just his eyebrows. That's how powerful he was. And he was considered to be the strongest Earthbender in the world.

This of course lead to one figure jumping up, an amazing feat mind you, to where Bumi was. Naruto missed most of it because of how far away they were, but it was still pretty obvious that it wasn't a normal ability. The person had used a glider of some sort to fly up to him. He started messing with the chain as soon as he got up there while Azula ran towards the statue of Ozai that was still being built. She was intent on following them.

And while they were doing that, Mai and Ty Lee started their fight with the other two people, clearly not interested in saving the child at all with the way they were fighting them. Naruto did understand one thing from this fight though. Although they were both far away, they could still see what was going on. The girl in the group was a Waterbender and a pretty good one since she used the boards to block Mai's attacks and then pull Ty Lee back away from the man in the group.

But there were several unknowns happening at the moment. When Azula appeared and the chain was severed, Bumi and the other kid fell and then seemed to bounce off something. Naruto at first played this off as a trick on his eyes, but when he thought about it, there was only one explanation. "Metalbending or Earthbending," he asked. He was searching for conformation to this, but Zentrai stayed quiet for a while before answering.

"That's not Metalbending… or at least none that I've seen. If he's a beginner, he's got some talent, but Metalbending is hard, and is believed to be the hardest type of Earthbending there is. As far as I know, only a handful of people can bend metal, but even they say they suck at it. If he knows Metalbending, he's clearly got some talent. But as for it being Earthbending, I'd be leaning more towards that… or Airbending."

"That's not possible. The last Airbender died years ago. How could he know Airbending if he wasn't around a hundred years ago?"

"He could be the Avatar."

"No. The Avatar died years ago."

"No. He vanished without a trace. That doesn't mean he died." Zentrai explained while breathing heavily. Naruto gave his comrade a sharp glance and watched him shake his head. "I can't connect to his mind or that of Bumi's any longer. They're either out of range or have locked their minds with fear of what's happening." His eyes moved to where the other fight was taking place. "But I can see where you're coming with this. If he was the Avatar, he'd be a hundred years old by now, maybe older. And that was a kid. But there are rumors that the Avatar as resurfaced into the world again."

"That doesn't prove anything. Those rumors have been going around for years now. A hundred years to be precise," Naruto countered. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of orange rock candy. He stared at if for a moment before stuffing it back into his pocket. "Let's say that you're right and that it is the Avatar. How can we prove that he is what he says he is if he doesn't look the part? We've seen hundreds of people that look like the spitting image of him when he was discovered a hundred years ago. He was an Air Nomad prodigy. And we've seen hundreds of people that look like him from back then."

"But what about our target? He looks like the Avatar from back then before he vanished. The Fire Nation paid us to take this mission. Who's the only person that could be a threat to the Fire Nation outside of the Earth Kingdom and what few Water Tribes are fighting them?" Naruto gritted his teeth. "I know Bumi would have said something to us, to me even, but what if he is the Avatar? You know what our organization would demand of us."

"If he is the Avatar, we'd have to protect him." The blond ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I want proof he's the Avatar before we kill him. If he is the Avatar, he's got some explaining to do. The first being how he'd look so young when he should be an old man that walks with a cane by now."

"Maybe he got frozen in a block of ice while being in the Avatar-State, saving his life." Naruto once more gave his friend a strange glance. Zentrai sighed. "Okay, I know bad theory. But at least I'm trying. And besides, the original mission seems too dangerous anyways. How would we escape? Are you expecting me to die along with you, or do you simply want to be a hero and go down swinging after taking out the Fire Lord?"

Naruto gritted his teeth and turned away. The original mission had been paid in full already by the Council of Five at the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. When the war began to come to their home they pleaded with them to take a mission to kill the Fire Lord by any means necessary. In doing so, they realized that they would have to sacrifice a great deal just to do something like this. Naruto and Zentrai would have to take mission from Fire Nation soldiers and generals before getting an audience with the Fire Lord. And even then they knew he'd be protected.

The problem was that if the Fire Lord fell to them, not only would he be succeeded by a new leader, but their glory for doing something like that would also make them highly wanted by the Fire Nation. They'd literally send troops out just to find them and end them. Sure they could vanish, but with everything Naruto had said about how people would look up to them for what they've done, if he did that, they'd see them as heroes and strive to protect them and all die in vain.

In the end the only option would be to go down swinging in front of them and pray that the new ruler would end the war. Not like that would happen though. Azula was currently heir to the throne and was more viscous than her father in almost every way possible. Sure they could kill Azula now and try to get in close to the Fire Lord again, but that would backfire on them. Ozai probably knew of their mission already and would surely backstab them sometime or later before they could get to the gates.

"He lost his wife," Naruto offered up. Zentrai shot him a hard glare. "That won't work, I know. But it's the only option I can think of. I bet he screens his own children before they enter into his presence, never mind a hooker."

"He must beat off a lot then," the mute said idly.

"Cut the shit… We got a situation on our hands." Naruto stopped and considered what Zentrai said a moment later. "Okay you also make a good point. He probably does beat off a lot. But that's not the issue at hand."

"What issue are you talking about? I'm lost now."

"You stay lost half the time."

"At least I know how to use my dick!"

"Well at least I know how… Wait? How in the hell are we friends if we do this all the time?" Zentrai shrugged his shoulders, showing proof to anyone watching that they were talking. Naruto sighed. "You know what… forget it. Let's just focus on the task at hand and move up from there. So do you think that kid was doing advanced Earthbending a low level Metalbending?"

"I still think it was Airbending, but I can't be sure. We'd have to talk to him and see it up close to get complete verification on it. And besides, Bumi's returning to his prison hold in the sky and the others are getting away on a giant beaver." Naruto sighed but noted that the giant creature was too small to see clearly and would also be needed to confirm that the Avatar was their target. If it was their target, then they had to stop the mission. But with no proof he was the Avatar, they would settle for taking the kid to the Fire Lord and trying to kill Ozai then.

"Let's head back to the others. By now things will have settled down. Don't talk with Bumi anymore. I doubt he'll want to talk to us at the moment." Zentrai gave a quick nod and the two dropped down from the poles they were standing on.

(-)

When things had quieted down and slightly returned to normal, Naruto, Zentrai, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai were seen heading out of the city of New Ozai. Naruto still called Omashu to just piss of Azula, though he claimed that he did it because it would forever be called that by him. Azula had nothing to say to this anymore. She now just accepted it for what it was. He was a jerk and would do anything and everything just to piss her off. And just like last time, Naruto and Zentrai both walked in front of her as she was carried in her Palin King. Ty Lee and Mai both worked the correct way and walked behind Azula, just like they were supposed to.

"So we're tracking down your brother and uncle, huh?" Mai asked.

"It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again. Won't it Mai?" Ty Lee cut in with a grin. Mai turned her away to hide her smile. She didn't have to hide the fact that she had a crush on Zuko.

Azula closed her eyes to gather her thoughts and conceal her emotions on the matter. "It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore." Her eyes turned slightly towards Naruto for a moment before turning back to the gates they were approaching. "The other target is there target. We've been ordered to work with them with them leading on the tracking part. They're also to be left alone since this is their target and not truly ours." The blond cut his eyes towards her own eyes for a split second before returning to the path ahead. "However, before we start our search, it seems I need to go back and talk with my father. He's requested my presence for something. Mai, Ty Lee, you'll be watching over Naruto and Zentrai while I'm away. I want you to make sure they stay on task and start tracking down our targets."

Naruto stuck his pinky in his ear and began differing out some dirt as he said, "Why should I babysit your two girlfriends when I could send Zentrai with you just to make sure you don't piss someone off along the way?"

Mai inhaled deeply and added, "I thought we were tracking down Zuko and Iroh. Why are we babysitting them? I can understand following them, but not babysitting them."

Naruto suddenly stopped and sighed. "She wants you to do this so she knows how we work. And the only other reason she wants you to follow us is so she knows that someone will actually take her serious when she sends us a message to meet her somewhere." Naruto stopped and stared her. The Palin King barriers stopped and she glared at them, but Naruto's presence in front of them was keeping them from moving. "Let me make it clear right now. If you're not back in one week, I'm leaving you. We'll be in a small Earth Kingdom town that's about a week from here on foot. I trust you'll be dropping us off on your way home?"

She didn't say anything. Zentrai read her thoughts and smiled. "She'll be taking us to the town, but she's planning on making us a wait two weeks before she gets there." Zentrai told him. Naruto had nothing to say to his friend. Zentrai knew what that meant and he knew about the town they were going to go see. "Looks like I'll be getting to see Rehka. I hope she's still not mad at me for what happened last time I saw her." Naruto shrugged his shoulders mentally and decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

And of course with everything now set up and the team standing before the monstrous tank like thing, Naruto was left with one final thought. "Since Azula doesn't know the name of this thing; do either of you two know the name of it? Because it would make my job a lot easier if I knew what the hell it was." Azula barred teeth and was quickly lead inside while the snickering assassins followed, followed by a laughing acrobat and a smiling brooding weapon mistress.