ok this chapter is about what Hotaru went through and what was going on before she got on Zuko's ship. So yah here ya go. Hope u enjoy.


Chapter 9

It has now been two days. Even though I healed myself Zuko did not know of it so I would rest the whole day away. At least I can tell he cares. He usually comes to check up on me and I know he wants to talk to me but usually we'll just sit in silence. He truly has changed. When we were little he seemed to be a little more outgoing. He smiled a lot more back then that's for sure. Now he was cold and quiet. One thing for certain was that he still had his temper. When I would sometimes visit him at the palace Princess Azula would play tricks on him, call him names and was just plain cruel. He would always get angry with her but he only played into Azula's little game. When Zuko and I first met we made an instant connection. We were both tortured by Azula. I mean she slapped me and then shoved me to the ground! She was just like the children in my old village.

I lived in a small village by the sea in the Fire Nation. I lived with my mother in the Temple. My mother would give me spiritual training and would teach me the art of healing. It was in that Temple during my spiritual training that I learned I was a waterbender. I was able to use the water to heal a cut on my hand. I had no idea how but my mother told me that my father's mother was a princess of the Northern Water Tribe and that was where I got the waterbending from.

Though we were a small village we were very prosperous. Our village produced plenty of beautiful young girls. Most of them grew up to become Geisha. I was not allowed because I was the daughter of a priestess. Though it was forbidden, I would still sneak over to the school and watch as these little girls and young women dance with grace. Their dance and music was what I was most captured by. I would secretly practice their dance whenever I had the chance.

The people of the village were kind and respected my mother but deep down she knew how the truly felt about her and me. Deep down in their cold hearts they believed she was a wench. Me, I was considered the bastard child. The child with demon blood. Yes, I had demon blood in me. My mother fell in love with a demon. A half demon to be precise. Like my father I was neither accepted by demons or humans. My father, though he was a half demon, was more powerful than any other demon I had ever heard of. I was only a quarter demon but my mother hid my appearance and demon blood with the Jewel of Four Souls. I don't know what I truly look like but I dare not find out. My mother sealed the demon in me and used the Jewel to help the seal be stronger, but still after all of these years I feel the demon is slowly seeping out of its cage. Only half the Jewel was put inside me because the other half has been missing for years. Though my mother was able to sense the Jewel's location she wasn't able to do it anymore.

I eventually found out that I was many things. I felt as if I could be the Avatar myself with all of the abilities that I could do. At first I thought I was born a waterbender but I only used it for healing. My mother was a healer but she had spiritual healing powers way beyond any waterbending healers. I was only able to heal but not internal injuries. I healed myself after I was shot by the arrow but not the inside of me. That had to heal on its own.

My father didn't live with my mother and me, in the temple. Instead he lived in a village in the Earth Kingdom along with some friends of theirs. I never traveled to this village that he lived in but I was told it was because the village they lived in didn't want to get involved in the war. Instead I would visit him with my mother in a deserted village. When I got to see him I would jump on him and hold him tight. My father and I were inseparable. We would always play together. My mother would spend time with me too but she taught me a peaceful way of life while my father and I would play war games where he would be a demon and I a powerful warrior sent to slay him. The games we played seemed to be more like boy games. I guess it was because my father was expecting a boy to be born. In the end it turned out to be me! He was disappointed but with him being a guy he didn't know how to take care of a girl. Sometimes if we weren't playing he really would teach me how to fight and defend myself. I first discovered that I was a firebender when I was practicing with him one day. I knew he went easy on me because I was a novice but one time he tripped me. I got so mad that I felt my blood begin to rise. I charged after him and tried to punch him. When I made the punch, he easily dodged it but right when I made the punch a huge flame of fire came shooting from my hand! My father was stunned of course. When I realized that I was a firebender I felt excited. Though I knew of where my families came from I always considered myself apart of the Fire Nation. I felt that people might accept me a little more.

After that discovery, my mom and dad began arguing about me. I could sometimes here them arguing at night when I would try to sleep. As I got older I began to understand why they would argue. It was because I was a firebender. My father and mother were against the whole war thing but it was already hard for my dad when my mom said that she wanted to live there in the Fire Nation and take me with her. She wanted to live there so that way she could help pass information on to the Earth Kingdom. When my father found out that I was one of them that was even harder for him to take. My mother and father argued so much that they decided we wouldn't visit anymore. My father and mother never really wanted to go through with it but that was what was decided. I know both my parents were hurt. When I was saying goodbye to my father, I think was the first time I ever saw a tear fall down from my face. I didn't understand anything at that time. I was only five years old.

As we sailed back to the Fire nation I noticed that my mom was crying. At the time I thought it was because we had to leave. Usually whenever we left I would feel sad too but I would always remember that we would come back soon. I simply went to my mom and gave her a hug.

"It's okay," I said, "We'll see daddy again."

Two years passed after that. I eventually got the picture that we weren't going to visit my father anymore. Of course I was sad but I never blamed my mom. I figured that she had her reasons to why we couldn't see him and she would eventually tell me when she was ready. I knew she still loved him and he loved her as well.

Since my father wasn't around to teach me how to fight anymore I had to teach myself. I wasn't that great-a-teacher so it was pretty hard for me to learn how to firebend on my own. I was actually pretty bad at firebending but I never gave up on it because I was fascinated by it. Still I had a lot of free time since the villagers and their children ostracized me. When I was a baby my dad would sometimes visit my mother and I. When he came to the village everyone was terrified, even the firebenders dared not fight him. Most of the firebenders in our village weren't even that great-a-fighters. They never told our secret because of who my father was and my mom was known as High Priestess so that was another reason to why they never spoke. Actually my mom is from the Earth Kingdom. She was born into a wealthy family but when she was fifteen she met my father and they both searched for the shards of the Jewel of Four Souls. To sum it all up, they eventually fell in love and that is how I came into the world.

My mother was summoned to the palace when I was seven years old. She said I had to be dressed in my best so I was dressed in a pink yukata and she had my hair pulled back. When we got to the palace I was allowed to roam around. I bumped into Princess Azula. She slapped me and then said that I needed to watch where I was going and she shoved me (Author's note: DAMN SHE'S A BITCH!). I was too distraught to do anything. That was when I first met Zuko. He came and helped me up. He was the one who said that we were friends. He was my first love. It was just a tiny crush. I don't really know how I feel about him now, but when I met him I felt a nervous and happy sensation. After that moment he brought out the best of me. I certainly didn't feel like a lonely little girl anymore. He even taught me firebending. He wasn't the best firebender there ever was but he taught me the basics and worked up from there. The dances that I was learning from watching the Geisha, I combined with my firebending! If I stayed for over a few weeks at the palace I would sometimes have to go to the Firebending Academy for Girls with Princess Azula. I would keep to myself and never talk to her but she always found a way to play some kind of practical joke on me. Sometimes she would get me in trouble with our teacher. I think the main reason she disliked me so much was because I showed signs of being an even better bender than her. If she was able to perform a move I was able to do it as well with only seeing it once.

My mother and I visited the palace a lot. One time when we were visiting to pay our respects to Fire Lord Azulon I found out that we were going to see my father again. I was excited but we were going to be gone for an extremely long time.

Zuko came to me and gave me a necklace before I left. Hanging from it was a small pink jewel with the fire nation insignia carved into it. I still wear it around my neck even to this day. I had no idea why my mother seemed so urgent to leave but I could tell that she feared Ozai who became the Fire Lord after Azulon died. He never trusted my mother that much since the first moment he met her. He dug up some dirt on her from some of the villagers in our village. They wouldn't have said anything but they noticed that my mother and I haven't been keeping contact with my father for the past two years. So some of the villagers snitched on us and Ozai wanted us dead.

My mother and I had already escaped to see my father but the Fire Nation wasn't far behind. We met in the forest that was near my father's village. When I saw him he was in his human form. I remembered that he would become a human whenever there was no moon in the sky. Our happy reunion was cut short because the Fire Navy soldiers had just arrived. We all ran for our lives. My father was defenseless. He wasn't able to fight them as a human and my mother wasn't a fighter at all but she was skilled in archery. We came in front of a large tree and she shot one of her sacred arrows at the soldiers, but it seems they came prepared. One of the soldiers held a magic mirror and made the arrow fire back at my mother. I was already far ahead but my father ran back to save my mother but the arrow pierced both of them to the large tree. I didn't know what else to do but run. I ran for my life. They never caught me and lived on my own since that day. I vowed that I would become stronger and I would avenge my parents by getting rid of the ones who killed them. I also made a vow that I would never use the same power that my enemies use. In this case, firebending.

Living by myself made me become a stronger person. I learned how to take care of myself and I learned more about me everyday. Since I gave up firebending I tried using my waterbending for more than just healing. It didn't work out that great but something eventually happened. I learned that my mother's genes were starting to kick in. I discovered that I was also an earthbender! She wasn't an earthbender at all but she came from a family of gifted earthbenders. I was walking near some cliff and there was a rockslide! I put my hands up and the rocks seemed to stop.

After that I began to use earthbending a lot more than anything else. It seemed to come a little more naturally than firebending and waterbending.

I never learned the style of earthbending so I combined the fighting style of firebending which was Northern Shaolin martial arts with it. I would also travel from village to village and there was earthbenders in every one of them. Like with my firebending I was able to watch them perform moves from the style Hung Gar and I could instantly do it.

Year after year I grew and became stronger. My martial arts advanced along with my dance. The dancing tied in so much with my martial arts that it became like second nature to me to dance and fight at the same time. I would sometimes go days without eating so I did what I had to do to survive. I would steal food from homes at night just to keep my going. I one day found myself on Kyoshi Island. It was there that I was reunited with Zuko. I have been through some tough times with him and I believe that there will be many more like it but I'm happy here. I'm happy to be with someone I care for. I haven't been with someone like that since my parents.

So I lay in my bed hoping to get out as soon as possible if Zuko will let me. Not caring at the moment I decided to get out of bed and go up deck. I go up and it is sundown. As I stare out to the sea mostly the sad memories come to mind but when I see where I am I'm happy. I'm content with where I am and I'm thankful to at least be with Zuko and Uncle Iroh. I'm with friends.

"Hotaru! You shouldn't be up here! Come back down to rest okay?" said Zuko who just popped up out of nowhere.

"Okay I'm coming I just wanted some fresh air."

"Thank you," I thought to myself. "Thank you God, for bringing me to here."


Okay yep here it is. The ninth chapter. Yep hope ya liked it and plz read and review.