Author's Note : Yay! Another chapter! This one is definitely the longest chapter in the whole story so far. I kinda like writing long chapters, but it makes me worried that I'm not going to end them. This took up about four and a half pages of typing it up on word in size twelve font. Exciting, I know. Not really...but that's okay. Please read and review.
And, as promised, here are the people who have continually made me feel good about continuing on in this story : God'sboxer777, RueBroadway, Seren-Chan, XxAnimeCutiexX, Yumiko-san, Akuhime0703, NatureCalls, Panda-chan31, facethesky, TaMinsHiddenShadow, and NiinaKyo. If I misspelled your names, please tell me. I'd hate to have to do that to you...
Disclaimer : I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor any of it's characters. Those belong to Mike & Bryan as well as Viacom, Nick, etc. I can only lay claim to the stories I write and the characters I create of my own volition - like Kaida
Fire in the Skies
-- Uncle Iroh --
It had been about a week since their attack on Kyoshi island. Zuko was fluctuating between worrying about Kaida and worrying about getting to the Avatar in time. He was filled with anxiety, especially now that his uncle had gone off to bathe and had yet to return. It had been almost an hour. Kaida followed him quietly as he searched the area that they had last seen Iroh in. "Uncle Iroh! Where are you?" He yelled as the pair emerged from tall reads and into a clearing that had various natural cauldrons of earth filled with bubbling water. Kaida snickered slightly as Zuko's worry was put to shame. There was Uncle Iroh, sitting in one of the baths with a happy grin on his face and his clothes hanging on a branch beside him.
"Uncle! It is time to leave!"
"Over here!" Was his answer, chuckling softly as he waved to the pair. Kaida giggled again in response.
"Uncle…we need to move on. I will not lose the Avatar! We are so close to closing in on him now!" Zuko protested, ignoring the slight giggles coming from behind him.
"Come join me, Prince Zuko. You look tired. Soak away your troubles!" There was a pause as Zuko glared at his uncle.
"My troubles cannot be soaked away. Let's leave!" Kaida stepped forward, placing a hand on the teenaged boy's shoulder strategically, looking up the few centimeters to meet his eyes. He had grown another inch or two since they stopped at Kyoshi.
"Listen to your teacher, Zuko. You could do with the relaxation for once in your life."
"Yes, I even heated the water myself! It's perfect!" Iroh sounded in the background, grinning as he blew hot steam onto the water again. Kaida chuckled and looked at Zuko, who glared at the both of them in turn.
"We need to leave. Now. Uncle, get out of that water!" Zuko ordered, causing the retired general to frown and stand. Kaida immediately spun around, hair flying and snickering softly as she saw Zuko block his vision with a hand in front of his eyes.
"Come on, Zuko. Let the old man have his fun. Give him another thirty minutes." Zuko nodded stiffly and spun around on his heels.
"You have thirty minutes to get back to the ship before we leave without you. Understood?" The only answer that the fire prince and his companion received was the satisfied sigh as Iroh sunk back into the water.
--
Kaida led the way back to the ship quietly, watching Zuko from the corners of her eyes. "What's wrong, Zuko?" The prince was caught by surprise by her sudden question, she could tell in the way his stride stumbled slightly.
"Nothing. Why would you ask?" He stated, lying to her face. Kaida rolled her eyes and turned to stop in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared silently. He stopped short, nearly running into her as he did so. He took a step back away from her, watching her quietly as he waited for an explanation.
"You look troubled." Was all she said. She didn't seem to notice that the step back from her was something that Zuko's mind made him do. Even if he didn't exactly mind the closeness. Though the prince was sure that she had noticed his distance from her as of late.
"How could you tell?" Another glare and a roll of the eyes from Kaida was all it took to get him to realize that he had said something wrong.
"Please, Zuko. Your whole behavior is screaming something is wrong with you. Your steps were off…"
"You…were counting my steps?" He asked, a little skeptically. He knew that Kaida had a problem with counting her own steps…but counting his, too?
"Yes. And you're off. Something's wrong. So what is it?" It was Zuko's turn to glare this time. The girl ignored him, waiting for an answer as she watched him quietly with one of her dark brows raised.
He resisted the urge to step closer to her and wrap his arms around her, holding her tightly to him and never letting go. He wondered if she knew that whatever was going on his mind had to deal mainly with her. He turned his golden eyes away, doing his best at looking uninterested.
"I'm worried."
"…About?"
"You." Kaida smirked and choked back laughter when she got the answer. Hadn't she proved a week ago that she could take care of herself? She patted the Sais hidden safely in the sleeves of her crimson kimono.
"Zuko. Haven't we -" She was cut off as he pulled her into a hug. Alright, so the temptation of holding her was too strong for him to resist. Though he kept the fact that he wanted another repeat of what happened back at the South Pole to himself. Trying to deny the fact himself. Kaida wasn't exactly sure what to do. She couldn't really do anything due to the fact that her arms were still crossed in front of her chest and she sort of wanted to hug him back. She rested her chin on his shoulder and bit down on her lower lip.
She shouldn't want this closeness from her best friend. But she did. And ever since that kiss back at the South Pole, she hadn't been able to keep her thoughts far from wondering if it would ever work. If he wanted the same things that she did. Though she highly doubted it for reasons that she could not explain. Zuko released her and looked away again, stepping backwards again.
"Let's get back to the ship…they'll be wondering where we are…" He stated dryly. Kaida's heart sunk. She was unaware of the fact that it had been hard for Zuko to turn away from her right now. Biting down on her lower lip, she spun on her heels and muttered to herself.
"Fine. Let's go." She stated sharply over her shoulder. She heard him heave a heavy sigh and he quickly reached her and grabbed her arm. Wincing, she turned. "Careful where you grab, Zuko."
"Sorry…I…" Zuko stated, watching her glare at him quietly. It just occurred him that she was mad at him. But for what? He voiced his question as to the reason behind her hostility towards him.
"Zuko. Arm." She stated shortly, glaring at where his hand was. He loosened his grip but kept his arm there.
"So why are you angry at me, Kaida."
"If I told you, I'd have to -" Cut off again by Zuko. Though this time it wasn't just his arms around her that kept her from speaking anymore. It was the firm press of his lips against hers. The hand that he used to turn her back to him was still on her arm, gripping her softly. While his other hand had wrapped around her thin waist and pulled her into him. Both sets of eyes were closed as the kiss dragged on.
Kaida was the one to pull away, no matter how hard she wanted to not do that. They had to get back to the ship. If they didn't soon, they were going to sent a search party after them. That much was for certain. And Kaida didn't exactly want to be caught kissing the Fire Prince in front of the ship's crew. Considering that she lived on that damned thing. A sad sigh escaped her lips as she turned in his grip on her, her eyes downcast as she waited for him to say something.
"You're right. We should get back." It was like he had read her thoughts as she turned, loosening his hold without letting her go. Zuko watched her quietly, wondering what she was thinking. She had kissed back so…was that a good sign? Oh hell, of course it was! Grumbling to himself in his mind, he gave her a hug from behind before letting go of her, lingering slightly as she looked up at him with quiet eyes.
"Yeah…come on, Fire Prince." She stated, smiling softly as she watched him quietly before beginning to lead the way back to the ship again.
--
A half hour later, Prince Zuko, Kaida, and a soldier they had brought with them from the ship went back into the clearing they had last seen Uncle Iroh in. They were very unaware that the old man was busy dealing with a group of earth benders trying to take him to Ba Sing Se right now. "Uncle! Uncle! Where are you?" He shouted, noticing that the old man was not there. But his clothes remained.
"Sir, maybe he thought that you already left him behind?" The soldier suggested, causing Kaida to turn and raise one of her brows at him. He didn't say anything more, so she rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the clearing.
"Something is off, though." Zuko stated, walking up to the tub that Iroh had been sitting in and poking at one of the rock spires that had rendered Iroh immobile and no longer dangerous. He ignored the silent confrontation between Kaida and the soldier behind him. "These rocks…" His voice faded as he felt Kaida get closer to him, he moved aside, distancing himself from her in front of the guard.
"It looks like a landslide, sir." The man stated, causing Kaida to turn on her heels swiftly and glare at him.
"Oh please. Land doesn't slide uphill. There's a little thing called gravity, keeping that from happening you idi -"
"Kaida." Zuko stated his warning, eyeing her quietly with his good eye as he cut her off. Kaida sighed and turned back around, walking the perimeter of the pool.
"What are you thinking, Zuko?" The girl asked, seeing him staring at the fire nation uniform hanging on the branch nearby.
"My uncle has been captured by earth benders!" The final revelation caused him to growl deeply, threatening to shoot fire at the nearest target. Which would have been Kaida or the soldier.
--
Kaida and Zuko were bent down over a small item. A rather…disgusting item, really. An old sandal that had fallen off someone's foot. Zuko poked it before lifting it up to his nose and sniffing it. He dropped it immediately and Kaida giggled softly. "That's Uncle Iroh, alright…" He stated dryly, falling back away from the sandal. Grabbing a stick nearby, the girl crouched in front of him and lifted the sandal up and away from her body by the thong that would hold it to the wearer's foot. Zuko and the rest of the men looked at her quizzically.
"What? Iroh can't walk with just one sandal, can he?" The answer was written on their faces as she walked back to the war rhinoceros she had ridden here. "Ugh. Fine. I'll carry it." She stated dryly, dropping it in a saddle back after she had mounted, stuffing the stick in there with it. She was smarter than Zuko in the sense that she knew not to touch it physically. Though she realized that she was going to regret that immediately after they had found Iroh due to the loss of the sent of cherry blossoms that her bags and rest of her items generally carried.
So she would have to work to get that scent back. Oh well…she would find someway to live with only one saddle bag on her mount if she really had to. "Come on Zuko. Get off the ground, time to save your uncle." She stated, a teasing smile upon her face as the boy stood and walked over to his mount.
They rode for a few minutes before Zuko stopped, seeing the trail that the bender's mounts had made. War ostriches. Nothing too miserable. Though that was what they got for being in the Earth Kingdom. Having to deal with their unique and fast rides. Kaida turned to Zuko when he looked up. "What is it now?"
"The Avatar!" Moving to pull the reigns to direct his mount towards the direction that the Avatar was headed, he faltered. There was still his uncle to rescue. Kaida watched him quietly, worry lining her face and filling her eyes. She edged closer to him, reaching a hand out to him. There was the indecisive expression on his face as he looked between the trail on the ground and where the sky bison was swiftly flying towards. Grumbling and cursing, Zuko shook Kaida's hand from his arm and urged his mount to follow the trail.
--
It didn't take long before they and the other two soldiers they had brought crouched over the edge of the pit that the benders and Iroh were standing in. Iroh was bent over the rock, hands splayed in front of him.
"We must crush these dangerous hands!" Cried one of the men, he was obviously the leader. The way everyone looked at him. Kaida started, reaching for her Sais to attack them now. However, Zuko held her back and motioned at her to wait. Glaring at him, she turned to watch the scene splay out before them. How could he just sit back and wait while his uncle was about to loose the most precious tools to any bender? Anger and annoyance bubbled in her as she watched the lead bender pull a bender towards him and Iroh. The boulder hovered above Iroh's hands by the sheer will of the man keeping it there.
In a flash of movement, Zuko jumped down into the pit and kicked the rock away just as the man was about to drop it. Kaida watched quietly, keeping her place as the boy landed sharply on the chain that bound Iroh and snapped it with his boot. Smiling softly, Kaida ran down to join them. The soldiers remained where they were. Bah. Cowards. Though she figured that they knew what they were doing as she heard them inch back to the little group of war rhinos.
"Nice form, Prince Zuko."
"Excellent." Kaida piped in, smiling at the boy and man in front of her.
"You taught me well, Uncle." Their little reunion was ended quickly, however. As the Captain of the Earth Benders addressed them.
"Three against five! You are outnumbered!" The man shouted, the earth benders formed a little circle around the three, which currently had their backs to each other. Iroh grinned and shook his head.
"That may be true. But you are outmatched." He stated. And at that moment, five boulders came flying towards them at the same time. Kaida ducked out of the way, rolling towards the closest earth bender as Iroh smashed three of the boulders with his loose chains and Zuko blasted the other two with his fire bending. Two of the soldiers threw a pair of boulders at Zuko's back, Kaida was busy with incapacitating one of the benders to really notice. However, when she had to dodge a rock coming back to the bender beside her, she saw that Iroh had sent them back to the benders who had assaulted his nephew. The two benders were knocked unconscious as Kaida continued to busy the bender in front of her with the blunt end of her Sais. They weren't trying to kill anyone here and she was pretty sure that if she accidentally stabbed them somewhere vital, it wasn't going to end up well for her or him.
Zuko had just launched a series of fire blasts after the captain, after having dodged the man's attack. Though that man just bent his head down and the flames dispersed over his helmet. So there was a reason to them looking like onions. Intriguing. The captain raised two sheets of rock, meaning them to land on Zuko. But then chains gripped at the man's feet and Iroh pulled the man to his back. The sheets fell on top of the earth bender. Looking satisfied, Zuko and Iroh turned back to where Kaida was just as she was knocked off balance by the man she was attacking. Zuko lifted his fists, but Iroh shook his head, holding him back quietly. "Let her fight this one, Prince Zuko. She needs this one as her own fight." Zuko nodded, though a little reluctantly. As he turned back, the girl that he was slowly falling faster for was lifting her foot to do a nice spin kick to the throat of the earth bender. She succeeded because the man was distracted by the spinning weapons in her hands that had grown closer to his arms. The man was on the ground in a second, with Kaida standing above him. Her foot was pressed gently into his neck, blocking off the majority of his airway so that he could not attack her again.
Iroh chuckled as he surveyed the scene around them. The earth benders were lying in the dirt, groaning and some unconscious. Kaida stepped over her "kill", putting her weight onto her foot on his neck as she stepped over him to ensure that he would not be able to catch his breath in time to attack her back. The girl giggled softly as she turned swiftly back around. Zuko looked at her, cocking his head before he realized what she found so funny. Sighing, he turned to his uncle.
"Uncle Iroh. I am begging you, please. Get some clothes on." Iroh chuckled and nodded and Zuko looked away, though he could not turn away as Kaida had. He could hear the girl giggling nervously. He decided to join her, leaving his Uncle's side to wrap her up in his arms in a hug from behind.
"I'm really happy you're okay." He whispered into her ear, causing her to smile and giggle softly again.
"I'm happy you're okay, too. I told you I can take care of myself." Kaida stated, teasing softly as she placed her arms on top of his. He nodded in response to that and kissed her cheek. Blushing, Kaida bit down on her lip, averting her eyes without having to look back at Iroh.
"About time!" Iroh's voice sounded and Kaida blushed deeper, hiding behind her hair as Zuko scowled.
