Sorry for such a delay in my writing. I've been watching lots more of the show (for the billionth time xD), and I'm staring to get Azula's character once I look at her deeply. Luckily, that might start to change. I think I'm starting to get the hang of her. Wish my luck! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Avatar: the Last Airbender. I only own this story that I wrote.

Chapter Six

Start of a New Day

Azula remained still in her bed, considering a way to show the nurses or Dr. Kiko that she wanted to try, wanted the second chance she believed she deserved so much. The heat drove into her body from being covered in blankets for over a month; she had hardly moved an inch off her bed for all that time. Her legs and arms ached, but she tried to remain strong.

A few hours passed when the door crept open. She turned and saw a nurse come in. As soon as she saw the hard face, she recognized the nurse as Gia, who still always seemed cold when around Azula. She gave Azula her breakfast on the table and turned to leave in just mere moments. Not a word, not a squirm, not a fearful shake. That was something that Azula silently and eventually took to respect the woman just a little bit.

But just as Gia was about to leave, the door open just ajar, Azula's voice issued from her lips. Gia went stiff, releasing the doorknob. She moved her large silver haired head over her shoulder to give her raised eyebrows. "What? Speak up!" she said, trying to keep her impatience controlled and away from her voice. While she never showed it, she couldn't help but fear any of these kinds of patients. Never show the fear you feel or it'll worsen, she always told herself…

"I'd like to go outside. Alone," Azula answered coolly, her arms folded against her chest. She was up in her bed, her feet dangling just above the floor.

"Hon," Gia said, glad to have the girl talk to her without getting pissed off, "we're not allowed to have you out Yun Ko just yet, and plus, you can't go out alone anyway. Dr. Kiko says-"

Azula rolled her eyes. "Not outside like the asylum-just outside my room. A walk in the halls! What, is that now allowed?" For once, Azula urged away the anger that wanted to be released. She couldn't, however, control the sarcasm she loved using more than anything. It was something no one would ever take away from her, not even something in a dream.

Gia glared at her but then sighed. "Yes, alright. I'm sure that's alright. You want to…do something with your hair, though?"

"What's wrong with my hair?" Azula had no idea, or a mirror, to tell how wild and tangled her hair had gotten. She dragged her fingers through strands, trapping a forefinger against a strict knot. She put her hands on her hips and jumped to her feet. After the more than a month of not even leaving the confides of her room, she legs struck with a numb feeling. But the feeling left as quick as it came, and by the time Gia came up and offered a hand, Azula quickly denied and truthfully told her that she could walk herself. At least that was truthful; she couldn't say she was fine…

Gia opened the door for her, but Azula thought of something and waited for her to instead go first. She was not only too stubborn to accept the offer, but decided to test Gia once again. She resisted the smirk that was tempting to come out.

"You know, I'm not waiting forever for you to get points for your fake kindness," Azula told Gia.

Gia groaned and finally left the room first. She still waited for Azula, who was now pleased with her, as she came out of the room, too.

A bright light nearly blinded her at first, but she got used to it within a few seconds. She felt lost in the world for a second, not sure where to go. But since the left hallway was at a dead end, she started at the right. "I'll take you to the quiet room…with some other patients. But don't do anything in there or else it'll be brought onto Dr. Kiko," the woman informed Azula.

"Oh, it's such a shame I don't get to punch someone's face without getting tattled on," Azula said sarcastically. "I feel like I'm four years old all over again."

With Gia right beside her, and the woman giving her such evil, suspicious stares, Azula wasn't that comfortable. But with the promise she made to herself still in her mind, she told herself that beating up one of her nurses wasn't a great idea. She stayed on the third floor, her arm lightly grasped by Gia. She sighed through her nose. She just needed to show that she was starting to change into a new leaf.

Then she came to the room. Gia, without another word, tossed Azula into the room and left before Azula could blink. Two guards stood at the doorway, appearing stiff in their place, even when their gazes lifted toward her.

The room had couches and a shelf of books, as well as several people already there in the early morning. The sun peeked in barely with the barred windows, but it still seemed dark in the room. No one talked, no one so much as even looked up when Azula entered the room.

Except one. But that single one was enough.

Her heart leaped as his eyes came to her. His eyes widened once his golden ones bored into hers. His eyebrows jumped, and his eyes then shown with strange interest. A smirk stretched on his face, but it wasn't showing friendliness or admiration. But he stayed in his seat.

A few minutes passed with strange silence, until… "Oh, guards, Shinro has just started losing it again in the hallway. We need your help!" a tiny nurse cried as she entered the hallway while waving her arms.

"You all keep calm, you here?" one guard said sternly, pointing to everyone in there. For once, Azula swallowed her sarcasm just this once, and the guards followed the small nurse to their problem

That was when the guy stood up. Everyone stared, except Azula, who could have ignored them completely. …Until he began to speak.

"Looks like we got another celebrity here, people," he said. Azula peered over her shoulder to see him staring at her, and he was speaking to a small group of his friends that sat on the floor or a couch. The boy stood up, walking towards her. Azula resisted the urge to snap back or make a sarcastic comment. The boy was inches from her, several inches taller than her.

But size was insignificant. Azula kept her cool and calmly replied, "Yes, you can call me a celebrity, if you want. And while you're at it, you can be my little slave and do what I say. How about that?"

The boy gaped but looked furious. A smaller boy behind him burst into laughter on the couch. "Oh, wow, you just made a bad mistake, missy," he replied. He jerked a thumb toward his friend. "Takeo doesn't take things so lightly."

"Yeah, so watch what you say around me, bitch," Takeo replied, eyes narrowed. His arms were crossed, but his body was poised for a future attack. Azula began to prepare as well but remembered the promise she forced herself. Sarcasm was okay, but fighting wasn't.

She was, however, not okay by Takeo's words. She gave a fake laugh. "What did you call me? Say it again," she challenged. "I dare you."

"Fine...bitch," he said, very close to her face now. He was still grinning.

"Listen, you better watch what you say to me, peasant," Azula snarled.

Takeo laughed, his broad shoulders fidgeting through his laughter. His lips curled into a bigger smirk, revealing his pure white teeth. His golden eyes glimmered with the insanity that brought him into this building-along with some trouble. "Some woman isn't going to intimidate me, not now, not ever."

"Just be careful," Azula taunted. "'Cause you don't want to get in trouble with the little nurses. So just walk away and we can-"

Without a warning, Azula saw his hands in the air outstretched, palms toward her. They pushed forward, right into her shoulders. His strength was high, and she found herself flying. Only a few feet she flew, but she still ended up on the floor, slamming her head into the bookcase. She dodged two books that fell down from her impact, crouching without caring how pathetic she would probably look.

It must've, because Takeo exploded into loud laughter. His friend and another followed, like his little servants that did everything he did because he was the stronger man, the bossier one. She tried not to be reminded of how she was like that. She wasn't that bad.

"I don't give a shit about those nurses. 'S long as I don't seem 'em, I do whatever I want," Takeo replied.

Azula, still on the floor, stared at her hand and saw the difference in his fighting. At least I can destroy someone like you so easily, she thought with a sly grin. That seemed to make Takeo's face fall, which only made her the pleased one. His pose remained ready to strike, however.

She grunted as she ran toward him, fingers curled in the right places to strike him-if she did it right, she might get to stab him in the arms. That'd get her in trouble with Dr. Kiko, but she surely wasn't going to let this boy get away with messing with her.

Takeo barely had any time to dodge the impact of her shoulders into his chest and her hands on his elbows. They both were airborne for a mere moment before Takeo's back pressed against the ground, and Azula was on top of him, fury contorting her face. Her hair mirrored her face from the bystanders that only watched. They didn't try to help Takeo, didn't run for help, did not even cheer for either person in the fight.

The horror that flashed on Takeo's face proved that Azula was winning this fight so far.

Azula wanted this finished. She was starting, and now she felt that the end needed to come-and harshly. This boy needed a lesson or two, and she was going to give it to him. With Takeo trapped in her grasp, she switched her hands around. One pushed against his chest, hoping he would stay just a bit longer, and the other in the air. She threatened him with a small blue fire that danced above her fingertips. She could almost see the reflection of the blue in Takeo's widened eyes.

Don't!

The voice was in her head, not from the wandering eyes of the patients in the room. Takeo gave her a raised eyebrow as she looked around, searching for the person she accused of speaking to her. She heard it repeat what it said again, and her hand shook with the fire still dangling above it. The temptation was dying, and so was her strong little flame.

Don't waste your energy on such a guy. You don't want to be in here longer, do you, because of some jerk? Just get up and walk away, Azula. DO THAT!

Azula bit back a scream begging to blow. She was hearing voices, wasn't she? No, she wasn't that crazy…not yet. She was simply hearing her conscience, that's all. It didn't sound familiar. She decided to let it go; she heard it, and she understood. She recalled the promise she made and straightened up. Takeo was still on the floor, apparently waiting for an attack that would never come.

This was not what Azula would do in a fight. She knew it; she was nothing like this guy. "Is this woman intimidating now?" she snarled, leaning into his face, hands rested on her hips. His eyebrows jumped as she nearly spat in his eye. "If this was a real battle, you'd be dead in an instant. Stay away from me!"

She turned on her heel and started to walk away.

And she had no idea what happened before she peered over her shoulder, but in the end, she saw a girl had forced Takeo onto the wall, and they were fighting now. Azula took a guess that Takeo tried to take a hit on Azula while she had her back turned, and the girl tried to help her. In a moment of weakness, Azula couldn't believe her luck, but still wished she could fight and try to take Takeo down.

But the result wasn't so good for either fighter. While Takeo seemed to throw harder blows, the girl was agile and missing attacks. They fought in a tight circle, bodies ramming into each other. They punched and kicked and threw themselves around, into the walls, onto the floor, against the bookcase and the couches. Everyone jumped around; some chanted "fight, fight, fight," others gasped, and even the one small boy, one of Takeo's friends, tried to pull them apart. But he was thrown back, too little to be of much help in a fight that grew more vicious as time fell. It was more violent than Azula's fight. This time, Takeo meant it.

Azula was laughing, however. She was amused that a fight she started even unintentionally. But then she saw a large-eyed woman sprint out of the room, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Two people are fighting in the quiet room!" Azula almost felt like laughing as she heard the chanting grow louder and the struggling from the room; not so quiet now, is it?

Two guards and a big doctor ran through the hallway and into the room. Immediately, the girl and Takeo were pulled apart, panting and bruised from the fighting. The girl received a bleeding lowed lip in the end, but Takeo was the better fighter; he appeared more unscathed than her, surviving with merely a few bruises and a scratch on his cheek.

But the girl then burst into tears and ran out of the room. No one paid attention to her, though. In the end, Takeo was the center of attention, something he obviously craved. In this case, though, he gave Azula a harsh hand gesture, but was forced from the room by the nurses and doctor.

Azula felt triumphant, smiling as she left the room.

But then she stopped, her smile pulled into a grimace as she met up with Dr. Kiko a few steps later. He, too, was smiling. That was most likely why she stopped smiling.

"I saw that, Azula," he said, pointing toward the room she just left. "I'm glad you stopped fighting Takeo. He's a tough one."

"Yeah, I got that," Azula replied.

"What made you stop?" Dr. Kiko asked.

Azula sighed, her patience already wavering. She didn't want to talk to Dr. Kiko-at least not now. Not when she had just relished a joyful moment, something she hadn't experienced in months. So when she answered, she said it just above a whisper and quickly. "Oh, just a little voice in my head. Big whoop. Can I go now?" she put her impatience out there to show she wanted him to leave.

Dr. Kiko nodded. Although she was half certain that he was just nodding to what she said, she still took his nod as a ticket to walk away and did so.