Disclaimer: I do not, I definitely do not, own Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters.
Her eyes had scanned around the village as she had walked alongside Zuko. There was a bag of food in her hands that would last them for a couple of days. "Iroh sure worked hard for these, hm?" She had said to Zuko, who continued to look forward without so much as glancing at her. Aiko had pouted as he had ignored her and shifted her gaze down towards her feet. They continued to walk forward until she had noticed that he had left her side. She blinked a few times as she had noticed him standing in front of a store. She had walked over towards him as his eyes were observing a sword that was on display. "Um, Zuko?"
He had snapped out his gaze and turned to look at her. "We should be going towards your job—"
"You looked happy." She interrupted his sentence, his brow arched as he had a confused expression. She had stood next to him and gazed at the sword that he was looking at. "A sword? Is it finely made?"
"It's a Fire Nation sword." He had said, "It was made by a sword school in the Capital. Nobody makes better swords than them. There are many excellent swordsmiths in the Capital, my grandfather made sure of that. This one is particularly was made by one of the best in the school." Aiko had looked up at him as he had explained, "When you think about excellent swordsmiths, you have to think about those who surpassed the teacher." Aiko had chuckled, which had caught him off guard. "What's so funny?" He asked, now annoyed.
"That's not it!" She had raised her hands, waving them.
"Then what?" He asked.
She had fiddled with the ends of her hair. "Ah, well.. I was thinking that you really like swords, not just broadswords."
His expression had softened some. "The blades themselves are fascinating, but there is a hidden meaning to them."
"A hidden meaning?" She repeated, unsure of what he meant.
He had looked back at the sword, she did as well. "A sword is used to take the life of your enemy, and that's it. The existence of the sword is simple. Clear."
Her eyes had softened at what he said and she had closed her eyes. "The human life is complicated while the owner of the blade's existence is unsure."
Zuko had then walked away, "Let's go." He had said as she had nodded and quickly caught up to him, walking alongside him.
Her eyes had looked through the buildings for a sign of the place. "Here it is! The Shadow Willow." She had pointed at the place and then turned to look at Zuko.
The Prince had looked at the building skeptically. "What are you going to do here?"
"I don't know." Aiko had answered, "I just know a beautiful lady told me to come here and work, and that is an easy job!"
"So you don't even know what you'll be doing?!" The concern in his voice had surprised her and even caused her to smile.
Aiko had then smiled, "Are you worried about me?"
He had scoffed, "Why would I be worried about you? How are you going to do a job well if you don't know what you'll be doing?"
"I'll just learn as I go; simple as that." She had shrugged. "You go on, I have to go inside. I can't be late." She had said as she had turned and walked towards the open door that had flaps as doors. "I probably won't be back until late but I'll be fine. Get some rest."
He didn't say anything as he had watched her go in. He had looked back at the sign of the place and then turned back and head his way back towards the cave.
/
"So I'm just a waitress?" Aiko had said as she had looked up at the woman that she had met earlier in the day, her lips being painted a bright shade of red. She was placed in a similar cheongsam like the woman, whose name she found out today was Bo Na. Her outfit was a flame-red with swirls in lacquered thread.
"All you have to do is serving and look pretty, that's it." Bo Na had said as she had applied small amounts of blush on the girl's cheekbones.
Aiko had nodded as she had pressed the tip of her toes together with her shoes. "Does my hair have to be down like this, I never wear my hair down."
Bo Na had chuckled, "Men here love to see women with long hair and when it is pushed back, it really brings out the shape of your face." The woman had fiddled with Aiko's fringe. "All eyes will be on you, and that'll mean bigger tips."
Aiko had nodded, "You really think I have a nice-shaped face?" She questioned shyly, pressing her hand to her cheek.
"It is a beautiful heart-shape." Bo Na complimented, "Most girls will be jealous. Too round face because they have picked up some weight. Be proud of your frame." She had insisted, which made the young girl smile even brighter. "Now go on." She had patted Aiko's back, urging her to move.
She had received the tray with a single bottle of wine that was sitting at the bar top. She had glanced around to see more beautiful women like Bo Na, but they were more extravagantly dressed. Their figure wasn't shown like hers but you could tell how slim they were. Their makeup was light to show off their beauty but to not over exaggerate it. "You new here?"
The golden-eyed girl had looked towards the girl with bright, lime green eyes. "Oh, yes. I won't be working here for long but I need the pay." She had said as the girl had nodded. She seemed to be the same age as Aiko, though she was taller; roughly about 5'6''.
"I see. Well, we'll be busy tonight due to it being the weekend. I hope you get many tips." The girl had bowed and left, leaving Aiko a little bit more comfortable than she was before. She had picked up the tray and looks towards the bar tender.
"Take this to floor two, room 3." He had said, "Serve the drinks until they have had enough." He had ordered as Aiko had nodded.
She had walked up the stairs as she could hear the hearty laughs of men and the giggles of beautiful women. She had walked up to the send floor and when down the hall towards the third room, she had place the tray down and knelt down, opening the door to see the room filled with men and the girl she had just met a few minutes ago.
Everyone had turned to notice her as she had performed a small bow and picked up the tray, walking towards the man that didn't have any wine. She had assumed right as he pushed his cup towards her and she had opened the bottle and poured him a drink.
The man wasn't particularly handsome as he had his hair pulled into a high ponytail and wore Fire Nation clothing. Her eyes had widened as she had noticed that they were all soldiers of different ranks, sitting in there. Aiko immediately felt uncomfortable, her expression already showing how uncomfortable she was. "Something wrong?" She assumed it was leader of soldiers that had sat in the middle in front of them all.
"I-It's nothing." She had stuttered, which made the men shift their focus from her and back at their conversation.
"Those meddlesome children will regret what they did," One soldier had stood with a drunken blush on his face, walking across the room, "the Fire Nation will take Ba Sing Se! "
The soldier next to her then spoke, Aiko's face showing her discomfort still. "If we do it and we succeed, we'd get a great award for our accomplishment by Fire Lord Ozai." He had then turned to look at her, leaning close to her. She had looked shocked, eyes wide and mouth open, "Especially you. Have you decided on a future husband?"
The girl had shaken her head. The man was about a year or two older than her, relatively young but he still was a Fire Nation soldier. "Eh?" She had looked away, flustered. "Ah, no."
He had then reached for her wrist, grabbing it as she had held the bottle of wine in her hands. "How about it? If you'd like to become my mistress, you should take this chance."
"M-Mistress?" Aiko had repeated, "You're already married?"
"Yes, but I don't like my wife and she's not as beautiful as you." He had said, her eyes looking down at his hand as she had set her jaw.
"Eh? No, I'm going to decline." She had ripped her wrist out of his grasp and turned away from him.
The man had grinned, "How innocent."
"Uhm…" She had to get out of there before things had gone sour. "The bottle…" She quickly thought. "The bottle is empty." Aiko had stood with the bottle in her hand, "I'm going to get you a new one." She started to leave the room. Now that she was out in the hallway, she had let out a sigh of relief as she had stood there to gather her thought.
The man she had served had then walked in, surprising her. "Hey, did you wait long?" Aiko had blinked several times. She had taken a few steps back, "So, this is when they pretend to hate what they like?" Aiko couldn't believe he had the gull to believe that, but she quickly moved down the hall and went right to realize she went the wrong way and it was a dead end. She had turned around, pressing her back against the wall as she had gripped the bottle tightly in her hand. "What's wrong? You're not running anymore?"
It seemed like she had no other choice but to fight. Suddenly, the ceiling had broken and in front of her was a person wearing nothing but black, but on their face was a mask. It was the mask of the Blue Spirit, her eyes had widened in shock.
"Who the hell are you?" The drunken man had asked, growing infuriated. "What's with that weird mask? Who are you? Too much of a coward to show your face?" The Blue Spirit was silent and looked over his shoulder to observe Aiko for a few minutes. "It doesn't matter anyway! Hand her over!" He ran forward, but Zuko had kneed the man in the stomach and pulled Aiko, running down the hall.
Aiko had observed the broadswords on his back, her eyes narrowing as she had observed them. She had then remembered Admiral Zhao:
"Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?"
"Just rumors. I don't think he is real."
"He's real all right. He's a criminal, an enemy of the Fire Nation, but I have a feeling that justice will catch up with him soon."
Could it be..? No, there was no way that the Blue Spirit was— He had opened the room and pulled her in, pressing her close as he had pressed his back to the door and listen in. He had heard running pass the door, which mad Aiko sigh of relief. She had then looked up at the masked person and then raised her hand, just to have her wrist grasped. "You should get out of here." Aiko had warned him.
On the other side of the room was another door, in which the man was standing there at the opened sliding doors. "There you are." Aiko's eyes had widened as the masked person had stood in front of her. "Now, come here. The game's over."
The Blue Spirit had picked up the tatami mat beneath them and flipped it, hitting the man on the face and kicking him out of the room. The drunken man had fallen flat on his back, groaning.
Aiko had looked at him as he had motioned for her to run, she had shaken her head. She didn't want to leave him by himself and he knew that she was getting too stubborn. He had then grabbed her arm and they had ran down the stairs, not meeting any of the Fire Nation soldiers as of yet.
They had made it downstairs and then went a different way out, he had continued to pull her far away to make sure that none of the soldiers would follow them. After when it felt like they made it far away enough, he had then turned to her. She had looked at him questioningly, "Thank you for saving me, Blue Spirit."
Of course, she received no reply and so instead she had hugged him. Aiko knew very well that it was Zuko but for his sake—because it was what he wanted—she decided to act like she didn't know it was him. "I'll be able to see some friends of mine again because of you." She he said as she had then pulled away from him and bowed slightly.
He had stood there for a few minutes and bowed in return before disappearing off into the night. She had tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and then waited a few more minutes before making her way back to the cave.
When she had walked in, Iroh had greeted her with a smile. "Aiko!" He said, "You're back earlier than I expected, but you look beautiful!"
She had bowed slightly and smiled, "Thank you. Work was pretty rough." She had said, "But I don't think I'll be working there again. It isn't the right job for me." Her eyes had shifted to Zuko, who was leaning against the cave wall.
He was already dressed back in his normal clothes. It was like he was here all this time. "Ah, I see. Are you hungry?" He asked and she had shaken her head.
"I just want to rest." She had went to the far end of the cave and laid day in her sleeping mat, closing her eyes after a few seconds before falling asleep.
/
Aiko had woken up that morning, feeling as though she was being carried. Her eyes had slowly opened, peeking over the shoulder that she was laying on. She had looked at Iroh, who was carrying her. "I-Iroh!" She had called his name out in surprise, "What's going—"
"Zuko left." He had said simply, "And we're following him."
Still confused, she had then patted his shoulder to signal for him to put her down. Iroh had knelt down, letting her on her feet. "Why did he leave?" She finally asked, "Did you guys argue?"
"No," Iroh had shaken his head, "he wanted to spend time to find his own way."
Aiko had looked down at her feet, wondering why he wanted to go his own way. "I see. Well, let's go before we lose him."
She had walked alongside Iroh confidently as she had wiped the makeup off her face. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened last night?"
Her eyes had shifted from the smudged makeup on her hands and then to Iroh, who offered her a canteen of water for her to wipe her face, she had poured some of the water over her head and rubbed in her face. As the water had dripped down her face, she had blinked a few times and sighed. "I was a waitress and poured drinks," she had said, "but one man tried to make me his mistress and he was persistent."
Iroh had nodded understandingly, "You fought your way out?"
"No, I was saved by someone." She had said truthfully, "The Blue Spirit saved me." She had said as her hair started to curl from being drenched and she had pulled it back into the usual ponytail.
"The Blue Spirit, huh?" The man had smiled and she had caught it but pretended to not know that Zuko was indeed the Blue Spirit. "I see."
"Iroh," She had called out to him. He had let out an "hm?" so that she would know that he was listening. "I have something important to tell you, and I need your advice on it. But please, don't tell Zuko. You have to promise me."
His expression had become serious as he had gave a firm nod. "I promise."
She had stopped walking, inhaling and then exhaling. "I'm…" She had frozen, feeling afraid to admit what she was going to say, "I'm…I'm the Aiko that Zuko back in the Fire Nation, the one who had supposedly died in the colonies. I have some of my memories back, not all…but…" Iroh's eyes had widened at her confession, but he had waited patiently for her to finish what she had to say, "But I don't want anyone to know. I'm only telling you because I don't know what to do…"
"Why won't you tell Zuko? He would be thrilled if he—"
"What if I don't get all my memories back?" She had then said, feeling her eyes well up with tears. "He'll look at me, wanting to remember memories that were precious to the both of us and I don't remember them. I'm just someone that he doesn't know anymore. And he had grieved for the old Aiko, he had let her go… What right do I have to dig this all back up? To hurt him all over again because I can't remember his favorite color or what games we used to play or—"
He had placed his hands on her shoulders, "You two are not children anymore." He had said as she had looked up at him. "I understand. You're not the same person you were because you have lost your memories, you have grown, and you became a different Aiko. You're not the same girl that Zuko had met, knew, and befriended."
Aiko had sniffled as she had set her jaw. "And so I don't have the right to be in his life because he grew with—"
"No." Iroh had cut her off, shaking his head. "That means you rebuild a new friendship with and without memories. You can't change the past Aiko, you can only fix what's in front of you."
Her eyes had looked down towards the ground beneath them as the tears kept spilling down her eyes. "You're right but… I'm just afraid that he'll look at me… and just see a shell of who I once was."
"But isn't that better than him looking at you and thinking that you're someone that's not alive?" Iroh had asked as she had nodded, trying to choke back her sobs. He had pulled her in close for a hug as she had cried on his shoulder. "I understand your pain. I know you did not ask for all this."
"Thank you for understanding… I've been carrying al this weight and I wasn't sure how to lighten it." Aiko had pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
The former general had smiled, "When we reunite with Zuko, will you tell him?"
She had looked up at Iroh and then nodded, "He has the right to know." She had then shook her head, "Let's keep going." With a nod, they had continued their way towards the mountains. "Iroh, did you know my parents?"
The man had hummed and gave a nod, "I knew your mother for she was a noblewoman." He had said, "She was a really beautiful woman. Her name was Bom, she was just about a few years younger than my brother; Fire Lord Ozai." He had said, "She was feared in the Academy, she was a person who got into my fights but always seemed to smile at the end of them."
Aiko had smiled as he had explained as she had remembered how her mother looked in the memory she had when she had first met Zuko. "Did she and Fire Lord Ozai know each other?"
"Yes," he had said, "they were friends. They fought a lot during childhood because Ozai would pick on her, and she didn't care if he was a prince or not and would fight back. My father, Azulon, would always scold Ozai for being rough with a girl, and our mother Ilah would constantly praise Bom's boldness."
The dark-haired girl had then asked another question, "What about my father?"
"I don't know much about your father but I do know that he was a hardworking man. He was a swordsmith and worked in a sword school in the Capital, which was the reason why they met. He was from Ba Sing Se he would always say. He was handpicked by Fire Lord Ozai because of his exceptional sword making, he was the best in the school."
Her eyes had widened as she had remembered Zuko speaking about the school yesterday afternoon. "This one is particularly was made by one of the best ones in the school." She had remembered Zuko staying that, she had even stood still. "We have to go back to that village, Iroh. There was a sword there that was made by my father. Zuko even pointed it out!"
Iroh had sighed, "We already too far and if we waste more time than Zuko will be—"
"He'll have to rest and I'm sure we can make it by then. I'll be back, Iroh." She had turned away and began to run, trying to make her way towards the village that they were in. She wasn't sure how she was going to pay for the sword but she had to have it. It was a piece of her father that she would never have again since he was dead.
It had taken her quite some time until she had reached the village, she heavily as she had ran a little more towards the way of the shop. "I've got to find it, where is it?" She had said to herself as she had looked around until she found the shop. She had went up to the display and sighed of relief as she had noticed that the sword was still there.
She had heard some commotion. "Hey! Outta the way! You got a couple Fire Nation soldiers comin' through here!" Her eyes had widened as she had turned to look, it was the same rather unpleasant-looking men that she had seen last night. They were making their way in her general direction, yelling, threatening, and generally intimidating anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path.
"Hey! You deaf?! I told you to move!" Another man had said. He had tossed a poorly-aimed kick at a child playing in the street.
"Stop—!" Aiko had barely taken a single step toward them, when—
"Desist, you hooligans." Aiko didn't see where she'd come from, but a girl had ran out to place herself between the soldiers and the child.
The face had seemed all too remember, and the voice as well. "Was this? You think you can tell us what to do, Lady?! Ha! Some broad wants to pick a fight with us?!"
The man obviously short fuse had been lit. He had made a grab for the girl and missed. Aiko suspected that his nek attack wouldn't be quite so inaccurate.
Aiko couldn't let that happen.
And so she had ran forward, placing herself between the girl and child and the soldiers. "Another broad?"
Flecks of spit flew from his mouth as he had roared at her, but Aiko was already gritting her teeth and trying to restrain her anger. "I'm no broad!" Aiko had spat, not liking their derogatory language." She was committed. She couldn't and wouldn't run. "Why do you abuse women and children? Is it because they aren't from the same country?" She had asked, "Is that a Fire Nation custom? Aren't soldiers supposed to protect common people, not attack them! But I guess if they aren't Fire Nation then they aren't people."
"What did you say?!" The man had grown angrier.
"That's right! You tell him!" One of the commoners surrounded them had said.
Another one had rooted for her as well. "How'dya like that, ya damn Fire Nation! Soldiers, my ass! Get outta my village!"
Something about Aiko's speech seemed to have struck a chord with the crowd that had begun to gather. With cheers, her legs had even more than their usual steadiness. "You bitch!" The soldier had held a flame in his hand, which made Aiko's eyes widened.
She did not fear them, but she fought better against fire with a sword than she had with just her hands. She could try to dodge, but if she did, he might hit the girl when her actions had intended to protect.
Suddenly, a sword was thrown through the air and Aiko had seen it and caught it. It was her father's sword. Her eyes had widened as she had pulled the sword out of the scabbard, letting out a hiss of metal. She had used the back of her sword to hit the side of the man's head, making him fall to his knees and grabbed onto his unprotected head. "Urgh… You… bit—"
Aiko had then ran, making the soldiers follow her and leave the girl and the child alone.
Suddenly a bunch of men had surrounded them and Bo Na had stood in front of the line of men. "Did we teach you a lesson last night about respecting women?" She has asked them, Aiko's eyes widening upon the sight of her. "Go on." She had shooed Aiko, telling her to leave. The dark-haired girl had bowed, thankful of her help and ran towards the exit of the village.
When she had made it far into the outskirts, she had looked at the sword in her hand and held it tightly, pressing her forehead against the scabbard of the sword. "I…I got you."
/ Flashback /
"Papa," Aiko had called out to her father, who was sitting at his desk in his office. He had looked towards a young Aiko with a small smile on his face. "What are you doing?"
"Writing some things down." He had answered her as she had walked over to him and climbed up the chair and onto his lap. She had looked at the scroll that he was writing on. "Forever curious, aren't you?" He had used his right hand to rub her head since he had wrote with his left.
She had then tilted her head back to look up at him, "What are you writing?" She had asked.
"About what I want to do for your sixteenth birthday." He had answered her, "It's a long time but Papa likes to be prepared because your mother is so reckless and doesn't write any plans down."
Aiko had giggled as she had leaned back on her father's chest. "Are they presents you're writing me?"
"Something like that." He had said with a smile, "Papa made something very special for his daughter and when she gets it, he hopes that she'll be very happy."
"Anything Papa makes, makes Aiko happy." She said matter-of-factly, which made him chuckle. "When Papa taught her how to fight, she was happy. When Papa taught her how to use her first sword, she was happy. When Papa tells her stories, she's happy. Aiko is always happy with Papa, and Mama too."
He had pressed his lips to the back of her head, "And nothing makes Papa happier than a happy Aiko."
/ End Flashback /
Aiko had fought back tears as she had remembered that brief flashback of her father. "I got to pull it together; I have to hurry and make it back to Iroh."
When she had made it back to the mountain, she didn't see Iroh anywhere around. She was worried if he had left without her or worse, something horrible had happened. She had gone down the rocky mountain carefully, going by the occasional tree that would appear every now and then. As she had went down, she had smelled smoke. She sniffed the air a couple of times and then saw a trail; she had followed it and saw Iroh sitting around a campfire with a young girl with Earth Kingdom clothes. "Who's there?!" The girl had immediately stood, assuming a stance.
"She's the girl I was just telling you about, Aiko." Iroh had motioned for Aiko to join them as she had approached them. He had handed her a cup of tea, in which Aiko had taken once she had placed her sword down.
Aiko had then finally asked. "How did you get here?" She had asked the girl, who had strange eyes. They were an extremely pale shade of green. They were beautiful even but she knew that there was something different about them.
"Are you saying I look like I don't belong out here because I can't handle being by myself?" The girl had barked, making Aiko blink a few times from how irate this girl seemed to be.
"I wasn't thinking that." Aiko had said, "I just wanted to know why you were out here."
"Oh…" The girl had then said, "Sorry about that then."
"It's no big deal." The former Freedom Fighter had shrugged it off. "I'm going to travel a little ways ahead." She had said as she had went forward but was stopped by Iroh.
"We were just about to leave ourselves, right?" Iroh had asked young girl, who had nodded as well. Aiko had sipped her tea until they made their way to what appeared to be a small, deserted town. Her eyes had looked around until she had seen what appeared to be Zuko running into a building.
"What's going on?" Aiko had wondered, confused.
"Aiko!" Her head had swiveled to the direction of the voice, and was greeted by a giant warm hug. She was then pulled back, to get the full face of Sokka.
Her eyes had lit up as a smile appeared on her face, "Sokka!"
"Now isn't the time for a reunion, we have to help Aang." He had grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, making her jump head's first into the battle that was ensuing.
That's when she noticed that it was Zuko's sister who was running down an alley, she had ran into Iroh's round and large stomach, bouncing off as she had appeared confused. Everyone; Zuko, Iroh, herself, Sokka, Katara, the Earth Kingdom girl, and Aang had closed in on Azula, who was now backed into a corner of a burnt building.
"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done." The Fire Nation Princess had said, raising her arms in a sign of surrender. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."
It was hard to soak in that they were all fighting together to stop her, all of them being allies. It was sudden when a street of blue fire had fire out of the tip of her fingers and hit Iroh scare in the chest, she had immediately ran towards him while the others had simultaneously benders had fired at Azula, who made a shield of fire, and caused an explosion.
Aiko had run towards Iroh, kneeling down towards him with sad eyes. Zuko had run over and was the other side of him; Zuko had clenched his fist and grit his teeth, Aiko looking up to see the strong wave of anger in his eyes and actions.
Katara and the others had tried to approach Iroh, Aiko's bottom lip trembling as her worry for Iroh grew. He had groaned softly, which gave her a sign that he was alive. "Get away from us!" Her head snapped up to Zuko as he had yelled at the group.
The waterbender had placed one hand over her heart and outstretched the other hand, "Zuko, I can help!"
The former Prince then raised his hand, which worried Aiko as she had grabbed his wrist but a wave of fire still unleashed but waved over their heads. "Leave!" He screamed at them before looking to Aiko, who had stared back at him.
Aang and Katara had given each other a worried look and then looked towards Aiko. "Go!" She had told them, "Hurry! Go!" She had continued on as Sokka frowned. She had gave them a weak smile as they had turned to leave, taking off in the bison.
"Hopefully there are on medicinal herbs in the mountains. We have to take him somewhere safe." She had said as Zuko had lifted one of Iroh's arms around his shoulder and hoisted the man up, Aiko had taken his other side as they had began to walk, silently for a place for Iroh to rest.
It took a few hours until they had found an old, decrepit building up in the mountains. They had found a room with a cot for him to rest in and laid him down. Aiko had sighed as she had then made her way outside, "Where are you going?" Zuko had questioned.
"I'm going to look for some medicinal herbs to treat his wound. We can't leave him like that." She had said as Zuko had nodded understandingly before looking back at Iroh.
As she looked around the place, she had searched for a familiar plant that could help with burns. She had blinked a few times as she had cautiously made her way down the mountain. "Aloe vera usually works…" She had hummed.
She had then heard footsteps and saw that it was Zuko with an worn out pot. He didn't say anything and walked past her, she had decided not to speak either and continue to look around for the needed medicine.
When she had returned, Aiko had changed back to her old clothing as she had used the red cheongsam when cleaned and dressed Iroh's wound. She had spent most of her time in the center of the main room of the shack, around the fire that Zuko had lit as he had made some tea. He had silently offered her a cup and she had forced herself to drink it because it had tasted terrible. She didn't want to hurt his feelings or more like re-anger him while he was fretting over Iroh's condition.
Her eyes would occasionally wander to Zuko, only able to see his back since the door of the room was open and she could see him sitting beside Iroh. She knew now wasn't the time to confess who she was, but she had hoped that she would be able to soon because the more she looked at him, the guiltier she had felt.
Hopefully Iroh would awake tomorrow at the least, or they would have to fear for his condition even more. She had continued to force herself to drink the tea that Zuko had made. She had looked back up at Zuko to see him adjusted the blankets on Iroh's form.
Her eyes had then went back to her sword, holding it in her hands as she had looked at the black scabbard that had designs of spiderlilies on them. She had always loved spiderlilies as far back as she could recently remember.
She had then felt what felt like engraving, she had then looked down towards the edge of the scabbard. "Toyotama…" She had read. It must've been the name of the sword. Aiko had then slowly pulled the sword out of the scabbard and looked at the carving in the blade, which had a name: Jisoo, which she assumed was her father's name. And then it said something else: "For my beloved daughter, Aiko."
A smile had formed on her face as she had closed the sword and rested it on her lab, her thumb brushing against the smooth scabbard. 'I'll make you proud Papa.'
/
Aiko hadn't realized that she had fell asleep in the middle of the shack's main room. She had looked around and then at the room that Iroh resided in. She had seen that he was gone and nobody was in the shack. She had stood up, noticing the blanket that had fallen to the floor. She had then heard was sounded like chatter not too far from the distance of the broken window. She had looked out to see Zuko and Iroh speaking not too far.
She was glad to see that he was awake, but why was he moving like he wasn't struck in the chest? They were doing some type of technique together. She had watched with curious eyes until they had stopped and Zuko bowed, putting his hands together.
Iroh didn't seem all too thrilled by what was going on, and it resulted in an argument. Aiko had then finally decide to go out and ran towards Iroh, her sword now in the sword belt on her side. "I'm glad to see you up and at it, but aren't you doing too much?" She had warned him.
"I'm fine and lazing around won't help me heal." He had said with a smile before looking off in the direction his nephew had gone.
"Where he go?" She had asked Iroh, "Did he leave again?"
The man had shaken his head, "No. He needs to let some things out." He had said as she had wondered what he meant by that. She had then went towards the direction that Zuko had went, carefully going down the mountains and across a lake.
She had caught him enough to see that he had went up a mountain and she had decided to wait down the base of the mountain. Rain began to pour and lightning was off in the distance. She had grown worried, wondering why he wasn't climbing down the mountain.
She didn't care that she was getting drenched from the rain. Her hair and clothe, clinging onto her as she waited for Zuko to return. Aiko then wondered if now was the right time to confess to him, but when she had heard the scream from the mountain top, she had decided that now wasn't the time. After a few minutes, he had returned from the mountain
He had looked surprised to see her standing there and walked over to her. "What are you doing standing out here in the pouring rain?" He questioned.
Aiko's eyes had met his, "I could ask you the same thing."
"You're going to get sick." He had said.
"You too." She replied back, knowing that she was grating his nerves. "But I was worried about you."
Her bluntness had caught him off guard as he had looked at her questioningly. "Why would you be worried?"
"You can be a bit… reckless at times." She had admitted, "And I just wanted to know if you'll be okay. And you are, so I don't have to worry anymore."
"Why do you always worry about me? You need to worry about yourself. You should've left with the Avatar when you have a chance. There's no reason for you to keep traveling with Iroh and I, you're not even a hostage anymore." He had said as he had walked past her, she had bit down her lip.
"Well…" Zuko had stopped walking to hear what she had to say, "It's because of you two, that I somewhat know who I am."
He had looked over his shoulder and then fully turned to look at her, "What do you mean?"
"My name is Aiko, and I was born in the Fire Nation to Jisoo and Bom." Aiko had said as Zuko's eyes had widened. "When I was about six, I got lost and couldn't find my parents. And a boy, son of the then Prince Ozai had helped me find my parents and we became friends afterwards." She wasn't sure why she had felt like crying, but she still managed to smile while doing so. "Before I moved to the colonies, I gave him something very special to me. It was my favorite ribbon so that he wouldn't forget me... It looks like after all these years he held his end of the promise."
A/N: Aiko's sword is name after Toyotama-hime, her name means "luminous jewel" but she is more better known as Otohime. She is a goddess in Japanese mythology. She was the beautiful daughter of Ryujin, the God of the Sea. She married a hunter name Hoori and gave birth to a son, who had made the first Emperor of Japan named Emperor Jimmu. After giving birth, she turned into a dragon and flew away.