A/N Happy Father's Day, y'all! Enjoy this update! I have to say, I enjoyed writing Iroh so flipflapping much in this chapter. Oh, Uncle... -Nerdy J

I laid on my side, staring at the wall. I wasn't really angry. I was just... Sad. Hurt. Why was he so frickin mean? What was the harm in me having one friend? One person to talk to? He can't break me physically, thanks to his uncle. Maybe this is his way of finally breaking me mentally. As if he hasn't already...

No. I'm not broken. A little chipped, but broken? No.

I sat up on the cot, releasing my hair from the messy braid it was currently in, running my fingers through the greasy, tangled locks with a sigh. If nothing else, maybe I can get a shower if I behave a bit. I need to bathe. Desperately.

I picked through the knots as best I could with my bare hands, and rebraided the thick strands, securing the braid with a hairband. Okay. I can do this. I can...compromise. Compromising is not the same thing as giving in. It's not!

Standing, I walked to the door of my cell, leaning forward into the bars it consisted of. Two soldiers stood at their posts. Neither of them were Akan, I reminded myself sadly. "Excuse me? Could one of you get..." What the heck do I call him? "Er, your boss."

A few minutes passed, and Zuko entered the prison hold. He scowled at me, yellow eyes nearly glowing like a cat's. "What do you want?" he snapped. Temper. Don't push back. To get a little, you've got to give a... Lot.

"I'm sorry for losing my head. I'll try to settle down. Is there any way I could get a shower?" I spoke softly, rather than through gritted teeth as I wanted to.

His smug face was almost too much for my stomach. It was just how he looked when I first agreed to come peacefully with him... Brat.

"If, after a few days, you've proven that you can act like a civilized person, I will consider it." Ooh, I want to slap you upside your head so hard it'll spin... Temper. I nodded silently, casting my traitorous, emotion revealing eyes to the floor, boring holes in the steel with my gaze.

"Hm."

His steps left the hold, and I growled under my breath. How can one person be that much of an egomaniacal condescending jerk?! '...proven you can act like a civilized person...' Ugh! Do I hate anyone more than I hate him right now?!

It couldn't have been more obvious that she was trying to play the part of a docile prisoner. She was failing; just the way she stood showed that she had a lot of fighting spirit left. Call me sadistic, but I had found her attempts at being submissive to be very amusing.

Over the next few days, she sat silently in her cell, like a model prisoner. I left her be, tempting as it was to mess with the suddenly very patient girl. On one occasion, I nearly did go talk to her, just to see how much verbal abuse she would take before snapping. Then I noted that doing so would in fact make me a sadist.

Uncle Iroh protested that it couldn't hurt to give her a cabin, and it might, in fact, calm her down considerably.

"No."

"Prince Zuko, there is no reason to keep Misuki in a cell like that. She isn't a danger to anyone out here on the ocean."

I snorted and ran a finger down the map in front of me. "Spoken like someone who hasn't had their nose half broken by a crazy Earthbender."

Turning to the helmsman, I held up the scroll. "How much longer will it take to reach the South Pole?"

"Within the week, sir. We'll be entering Southern waters shortly."

I nodded, letting my thoughts drift. A nervous excitement gnawed at my stomach. I had spent the years of my banishment, up til now, searching the four Air temples and scouring the coastline for any hint of the Avatar. I hadn't found a trace of an Airbender, so now we turned to the Southern Water Tribe to hunt for a sign of a Waterbending Avatar. True, the all the Southern Waterbenders had all been captured in raids years ago... but I had to try. There was a chance, a slim chance but a chance all the same, that I might be able to find my redemption here.

My search... What if... What if it's almost over?

I didn't bother to look up at the sound of footsteps. "Hello, Iroh," I grumbled. At least with him, I didn't have to pretend to be some sort of broken little waif. He was too intelligent to fall for it. Besides, if anyone was on my side, he was.

The cell door opened with a slight squeal. "Come with me."

Okay, now I looked up. "Huh?" I said intelligently.

Iroh nodded towards the exit. "Come with me, Misuki. We are approaching the South Pole, temperatures are dropping, and the prison hold is not a very warm place."

I smiled and stood up. I can't believe that whole 'submissive prisoner' act worked on his royal snobbiness!

"Thank you, Iroh."

Iroh smiled back at the girl, who was about his own height. "You are very welcome." Zuko is not going to be happy...

Iroh showed me where the showers were, and promised to watch the door. It was a ship of all men, after all. The moment the hot water hit my filth covered skin, I sighed. Heaven. Pure heaven. There was a huge difference between being surrounded by earth and dirt and just being gross.

And soap. There was soap, blessed by the spirits themselves. It took me a full twenty minutes just to work through the grease and knots built up in my hair, and goodness knows how long I just stood beneath the water. It must have been a long time, though, because I didn't even register the heat anymore.

Spirits bless that old man until the day he dies.

I walked down the corridor, drenched in sweat from my sparring session. What's Uncle up to, anyway? He almost never leaves me to train on my own. I could answer that question later. Currently, my only goal was to get to the blasted showers.

Turning the corner, I stopped. Uncle was standing very casually outside the door to the showers. He plastered a huge grin on his face when he saw me.

"Prince Zuko! Er, what are you doing here?" he chimed. I could practically see sweat running down his brow. What are you hiding, old man?

"I'm taking a shower," I said slowly, staring my uncle down. "What are you doing?"

"Hahaha! Nothing, nephew, nothing at all! Let's just go have something to eat, shall we? Maybe some tea? Off we go, then!" Uncle Iroh grasped me by the arm and began tugging me back the way I'd came.

I pulled my arm out of his grip. "No, I'm not hungry. I'm going to take a shower." Raising my eyebrow at him, I moved slowly towards the door. "Unless... There's some reason I shouldn't go in there..." What are you up to?

His horrified face would have been funny if I wasn't so suspicious.

I slipped a large red shirt over my head, deciding to not wonder whose it was and to ignore the wrongness of the color. I wasn't about to complain, after all, I couldn't very well wear my clothes right now, considering the battleworn state they were in. I had washed all of my clothing after I had finished scrubbing myself, but they needed serious repair before they could be worn decently.

The shirt was long and baggy enough on my small frame that it served as a dress of sorts, once I had fastened my belt around my waist. Choosing to leave my thick hair down to dry, I opened the door leading to the hallway...

And a certain Fire Nation Prince was waiting just outside the door.

He did not look pleased.

A/N Iroh is the best, agreed? I loved writing his attempts at covering. :3 Too fun. Please review!