I don't own the Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.
All I Need
Chapter 12 - Trick of the Elements
Story by Last Butterfly
Summary: While the gaang's looking for Appa in Ba Sing Sei, Zuko had his own reasons to go and find them, and he's also forced by two freedom fighters to look for their disappeared leader. What will happen if they meet?
It's a continue after Ep36. Zutara, Blutara
When Zuko came back to the room the others sat around the table again where a Pay-Sho board lied. Aang and Sokka sat on opposite sides of it and the girls sat between them on one side. Sokka rubbed a red spot on his forehead as he thought and from Toph's and Katara's smirks the prince had an idea where that came from… He went to the single side of the board and sat down.
Sokka peeked at him with a raised eyebrow. „Degrading yourself among common folks?"
Zuko looked at him with narrow eyes and opened his mouth to answer but Toph spoke before him. „You'd better get on with him…"
„Yeah…" Aang looked at him too and made a smile. „Don't anger more benders today Sokka… it might not end well."
The girls made smirks again which made Sokka cross his arms. He turned his head away from them. „It's still your turn Aang…" he murmured as an answer.
„Yip!" Aang said and made his move so that Sokka would be satisfied.
Zuko watched the board and made a frown. „The question might seem strange…" He started and looked at the others. „But this is not your Pay-Sho game, is it?
„Huhh…" Sokka looked at him with a raised eyebrow. „Your head really hit the floor hard…" He made a smirk as Zuko looked at him with narrow eyes. Suddenly the temperature seemed to rise. „Maybe Katara should have a look at it…" The mentioned one frowned at her brother. „Just in case."
„I guess it's new…" Aang said. Sokka looked at him with a raised eyebrow so he continued. „It has a price tag on it." He caught the little paper and lifted it up a bit from the table so the others could see it.
Zuko picked it from his hands. As he looked at it his face seemed to darken. Not the best business, was it uncle? He made a frown as he had a thought then searched the pockets of his newshirt where he found what he was looking for. Another price tag… as he looked at it his eyes widened then he made a painful face. „How much…?!" He barked. It's just a shirt not a whole wardrobe!
He clenched his fist upon it when Sokka remarked with another smirk that someone was a little low on the budget… He gritted his teeth as an answer but again he didn't have time to answer because this time Aang spoke. „Your turn Sokka."
Zuko looked over the board to realize the technique Aang used. To his surprise it was his uncle's favourite move. Now if he doesn't get his lotus tile…
Sokka reached for a tile and touched it but when Zuko made a grimace next to him he stopped and looked at him. „What?"
Zuko straightened his back and his face returned to normal. „Nothing…"
Sokka narrowed his eyes. „Com' on… what was that for?"
The prince pouted and looked at Aang who just made a shrug. If you want then tell him… he won't listen anyway.
Zuko made a frown and turned to the water tribe boy again. „I would consider that once more if I were you…" He said simply and crossed his arms.
Sokka raised an eyebrow then looked through the board again. Nothing… nothing… He made a frown then made a smirk. „I got it now… you just wanted revenge 'cause of what I said about you hitting your head, right?" He said and looked at him while reaching for the tile again.
Zuko rolled his eyes but then made his mind and smiled in the inside. „Yeah… you totally got me."
The water tribe boy made an 'I-knew-it smile' and made his move. In that moment Aang started cheering then moved the tile Zuko expected. The monk made a wide smile then yelled as Sokka's jaw dropped. „And the LOTUS WINS!"
Sokka's face darkened. He shot his glance at the banished prince. „It's your fault!"
Toph giggled. „Seems like someone is a sore looser…" She teased Sokka who didn't really like it…
Zuko snorted. „My fault? I warned you…" He crossed his arms. „You should thank me."
The water tribe boy frowned than hit the table with his fist and leaned forward. „If you think you're so cool then show it!"
Zuko made a smirk. „Is that a challenge?"
Sokka narrowed his eyes and also made a little smile. „If you're not afraid…"
„Just use your brain not your tongue." The prince answered.
„You actually made him play?" They heard Iroh's surprised voice from the doorway. They turned their heads towards him. „I almost never succeeded with that…" He raised an eyebrow. „You didn't have time for stupid games. That's what you said if I remember well…"
Zuko hated when his uncle spoke about him like he wouldn't be there… but he didn't answer just pouted his lips. To his surprise Katara spoke.
„How familiar…" She said with crossed arms and looked in her brother's direction. „Fun doesn't keep us warm and so on…"
Sokka crossed his arms. „And I was right!"
„You were not!" The waterbender yelled which made Toph rub her ear.
„Eeenough!" She shouted and the siblings both turned away but stayed silent. Aang murmured thanks to Toph.
In the momentary silence Zuko remembered the price tags. He decided that he and his uncle really should discuss about shopping customs. „Uncle! We should talk."
„Perhaps later." The old general knew when he should stop his nephew before he started to turn to serious. „Now someone's waiting for you."
„No! It's about time to…" Zuko made a frown. „Waiting for me?"
„Yes." Iroh replied. „You should go out. We cannot let her come inside at the moment…" He waved around meaning the room was not in the proper condition…
Toph smirked in amusement. „Her?"
The others looked at Zuko who had to realize he really didn't like the situation. „Err…" He looked at his uncle who didn't seem to help. „Who… is it?" He asked but from his uncle's cheery face he already had a guess…
„Oh… It's Jin of course." He made a proud smile.
Great…Zuko thought but then he had to look at the others as their questions came at once.
„Who is Jin?" Aang asked first. After all he was the curious one in the gaang.
„Known her for long?" Toph asked with a smirk.
„Is she pretty?" Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow.
Katara rubbed her forehead with a hided smile as Zuko's face darkened with each question. I almost feel sorry for him… almost. If our little gang starts to question someone…
Zuko avoided their eyes while his anger grew within him. „Not your business!" He hissed through gritted teeth and stood up. He headed for the door.
As the others turned their heads towards Iroh with disappointed faces he was still smiling and couldn't help saying something to feed their curiosity. „They went on a date once…"
„Uncle!" The prince yelled from the door.
„And?" Toph asked ignoring him which made him more angry.
„Well… I don't exactly know the details…" Iroh added and he peeked towards his nephew again. The other's faces all turned towards him again. Even Katara looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Under their gaze Zuko made an angry frown then whirled out of the doorway without saying a word. After he slammed the door he made a sigh. It was so much better when they simply fought against me…
Inside the gang turned towards the old general once more. He pouted his lips and made a shrug. „I guess he would have told me if I didn't mention it to some of the guys in the teashop the next day…" He suddenly smiled again. „But I have some gossips to share if you're interested."
Zuko sighed as he leaned to the closed door behind him. Why don't they leave me alone? I won't talk about a girl I'm not even interested in… and especially not to them anyway! He looked upwards. Thank Agni I didn't tell more to uncle. He winced. Nooo… I already told him too much. Argh! He didn't let me be until I admitted the kiss… and now he's going to tell them! He rolled his eyes. All right I'll deal with this later…
He looked around to see the girl in green near the corner of the house. „Jin?" She turned back to see him and a smile came to her lips.
„Li!" She yelled happily then ran to him and before he could say a word she quickly kissed his right cheek and hugged him.
„Err…" He responded slightly surprised. After all they hadn't met since that night. He half raised his arms and was thinking about whether he should or should not hug her back. When he decided that well he should at least pat her back or something she released him and took a step back still smiling.
„Is it new?" She asked cheerfully and put a hand on his forearm to stroke his shirt. „It's so soft…"
„Yea…" He cleared his throat. „Yes, it is."
She rubbed her chin with narrow eyes then made a nod. „I think I have seen this one… my brother also liked it but he said it was too expensive."
Zuko clenched his fist but then controlled himself with a sigh. „It was entirely my uncle's doing…" He stated. „If I knew about it I wouldn't… well…" He rubbed his neck. „You know now that you're here I... wanted to talk to you about something..."
„Do you have guests?" She interrupted him and looked behind him towards a window.
„Hmm?" He raised an eyebrow and turned back to see Sokka standing in the window.
The water tribe boy made a wide smile and waved a hand towards them. Then another hand also in blue appeared next to Sokka then grabbed his shirt and pulled him down out of the window.
Zuko and Katara palmed their foreheads at the same time.
„Damn it Sokka! He was not supposed to see us!" Katara said through gritted teeth.
Since his nephew left, Iroh told the others some things he knew then returned to the kitchen. Aang went to helphim but they expected that he's just trying to get more information out of him…
„We were not supposed to watch him so it's fair right now I guess…" Sokka answered then after a while he raised an eyebrow. „And why do you care anyway? It was your idea."
"To look, not to be seen!" Katara looked away. „It was just natural curiosity! I wanted to see her and… and…"
"Of course you wanted." He started with a smirk. "I couldn't imagine someone could stand Zuko, of all people." He turned his head back to look at them again. "And she is not even ugly..."I've waited a humped and fat girl, then look at her! This can't be true... "Geez, she must have mental problems!" He said as his sister turned there too. "I mean who on earth would be crazed enough to date him?"
Katara's eyebrows furrowed as outside the smiling girl stroked the prince's arm once again. "Yeah..." She said on a low voice. "Who on earth..."
Sokka peeked at his sister's face and she didn't seem too surprised or cheerful like he thought she'd be. He knitted his eyebrows and opened his mouth but the third person in the room distracted him.
„She's lying to him." Toph said in a low voice.
„What?!" the siblings echoed.
Sokka made a shrug. „Come on… girls always lie." He stated and after their angry looks he cleared his throat and went into the subject another way. „How do you know?" he asked then as he saw Toph rolling her eyes he made a shrug. „All right… I didn't ask that one… So what did she say?"
Toph crossed her arms. „I don't know…" She said then made a smile that slowly widened. „But I'm going to find it out." Then to the others surprise she went to the door and stormed out.
The siblings glared at each other then jumped up to see through the window again. „What is she doing?!" Katara burst out.
„He is soo going to kill her!" Sokka smiled widely then raised a hand. „Wait a moment…" He hurried back to the table picked up a plate full of cookies then returned to the window. Katara peeked at him with narrow eyes. He raised the plate. „You want some?" She frowned only and he made a shrug. „The show is always better with something to eat."
Katara slowly shook her head as her smile widened then punched her brother's arm. „Sometimes I would be bored without you…"
Zuko palmed his forehead. „Yeah we have… sort of."
Jin made a shrug and her smile returned. „So… what did you want to say?"
„Well…" He peeked away. „That time… at the fountain…"
„You thought about someone else." Jin said and her smile turned to a pout as he looked at her surprised. „I know…"
Zuko turned his head away and remembered what really happened then.
----- FLASHBACK -----
They stood at the fountain's edge. He could feel as the water lightly rained on him from it. When she kissed him and slowly stepped back he leaned forward to kiss her back. At that moment he opened his eyes and his first thought was…
Her eyes are not blue. His eyes widened and he literally jumped away from her. This thought scared him and he couldn't hide it well so he quickly turned his back on her. „What's wrong?" He heard her voice.
This girl knows nothing… everything is wrong! He forced himself to calm down as he answered. „It's complicated…" He said and hurried away from there to think on his own.
How could you think about her eyes?! She's your enemy!
But she's also a girl, isn't she? He shook his head. If anything you should hate her! Or… or all right, respect her. A worthy opponent deserves respect…
But you did not think that way… you thought about her eyes…
He raised a hand and let it through his hair. How could you even think that?! He rarely thought about the avatar's friend but when he did… he only thought about their fight… her movements… Her eyes. He gritted his teeth. This was not supposed to happen!
It was because of that fountain… He tried to calm himself with reasons. With water everywhere… simply the trick of the elements. It is perfectly normal to remember waterbenders if water falls on you… it's… it's nothing…
But you did not think about waterbenders… just about a particular one, didn't you?
He put both of his hands to his head. Shut up! It was nothing more than just a crazy thought because of the water all around you… nothing more!
You fought against her and… and captured her friend… and you would do it again… He sighed. If you still wanted to… He took a deep breath when he reached their house. He made a last frown.She is just a peasant from the water tribes! He hardened his face as he grabbed the doorknob and went inside.
He headed to his room without looking around. „How was you date prince Zuko?" he heard his uncle before he slammed the door behind him and leaned his back against the wall.
All right… now calm down… He took a deep breath. He will get suspicious if you don't say something… So what happened? Dinner, chit-chat, sightseeing… you even gave her the coupon he forced you to bring with you… then she kissed you… Night Ended.He sighed and slowly opened the door. He peeked at his uncle who looked back at him questioningly… with his overseeing eyes. „It was nice." He said and slowly closed the door again.
----- NOW -----
And now he stood here with this girl again… and she knew that he thought about someone else. Who by the way is inside your house and perhaps watching you.
Zuko lowered his head from Jin's sight. „I'm sorry."
Jin made a gentle but also sad smile. „It's all right." She said. „She's a lucky girl…"
He felt the urge to explain why she was not lucky and that anyway he would never… but stopped his thoughts and decided to let her believe whatever she thought. It's easier that way.
„But…" She started and continued when he looked at her again. „There's more you're hiding… isn't it?" Jin asked.
For a strange moment he felt like she wanted to see through his eyes right into his thoughts. „What… what would I hide?" He rubbed his neck. „I'm like an open book. I don't have… secrets." He made a smile but he felt it was more like a snarl… so he rather bit his bottom lip and turned his head away again. Probably uncle said something like this before…
„Are you sure there's nothing you'd tell me?" Jin asked with narrow eyes. I give you a chance to reveal yourself Li…
„Yes!" He said quickly then added more convincingly. „I'm sure."
She made a frown. Then let's play… She cleared her face again and spoke out. „Don't you miss home, Li?"
„Home?" He straightened his back. „I… I told you we were travelling. I had no home to miss…" This started to get weird.
„In the last few years yes." She said and stepped closer to him. „But what about before?"
„Before…?" He took a step back. This really started to seem like… an interrogation… He looked away again. Get yourself out of it! „There are things… that are too painful to talk about…"
„Like your scar?" She asked.
Zuko's face darkened and he clenched his fists as he looked at her. „How come you ask me about this? You didn't care since that stupid night and now you come here and question me about my past! What do you really want?!" He yelled.
„I just want to know you!" This time she turned away as a tear dropped from her eye. „But you won't let me…"
He stepped back again. Just a moment ago he was sure she was just acting… like she knew it. Like she knew it all… But seeing her tears made him reconsider. Maybe I'm just being paranoid… after the avatar and his friends' questions… His face slowly cleared. Maybe it's just a girly thing or what… I simply overreacted. „I… didn't want to yell at you. It's just…"
The house's door slammed loudly behind him and when they turned there Toph stood before it. „Hello!" She greeted them happily and came towards them.
Zuko's mouth stayed open as she stepped next to them and lifted her hand towards Jin. „Hi Jin! My name is Toph." She said with a charming smile while the other girl shook her hand.
„Hi Toph. You…" She peeked at Zuko then back at the earthbender. „Know me?"
„Heard some things about you." Toph said with a wide smile and made a nod towards Zuko who closed his mouth.
„Oh yeah…?" Jin asked and her smile returned. „And you're Li's…?" She let the sentence hang so they would finish it instead.
„Li's relative." Toph said at once.
„Really?" Jin asked and looked at Zuko with a raised eyebrow.
He blinked as it was his turn to answer. „Distant… relative." He looked at Toph. „Why don't you tell her how?"
„Sure." Toph raised a finger and closed her eyes as she said on a monotone tone (like she would have said it for the millionth time) „I'm Mushi's daughter-in-law's cousin's grandniece." She waited a moment while the other girl made a strange face to understand the row then added. „By the mother's side of course."
Zuko waited for Jin's reaction and was afraid whether she would get suspicious about it. She knitted her eyebrows then sighed and only answered a „Wow…"
„Yeah…" Toph smirked. „People say that the first time they hear it."
The girls laughed lightly while Zuko scratched his head. It's not a good idea to let girls talk… He frowned. But it's not a good idea to interrupt them either…
A/N: Now, now... what do you think I have in my mind? ;) - evil grin -
Leave me a comment or else...
Hmm. Yeah, you just got it. Badly.