"Aw, young love." Amaya mused as she watched Katara and Zuko dance to the slow music, slightly off to the side so as to avoid being stared at and cheered on. Yong looked up at his mother and smiled.
"Would you like to dance, mom?" Amaya snapped her eyes down to Yong and smiled after a moment of surprise.
"I would love to dance with you, my son." However, he only shook his head which confused her.
"Not with me, mom. With Commander Haku." He chirped, causing Amaya to blush slightly as she glanced around to make sure no one heard her son. There was no one close by, so she sent up a thankful prayer to Agni on that one.
"Why do you ask such a question, my dear son?" The Admiral asked the youngest Shakaku wielder. To which the young boy responded with a small smile;
"Because you like him." Amaya would have reeled back in shock had she not been trained never to show such an emotion so strongly.
"Yong!" She whispered sharply. "Why do you say such things?"
"Because we are your children." Shizuko supplied as she came to stand next to her mother. "We know you." Amaya sent a wry glare at her two adopted children.
"I suppose you two decided to gang up on me until I spill the beans?" At her question, both young firebenders nodded. "Well, even if he did like me, it would not be proper. Besides," Amaya briefly touched her scar through her clothing. "I've learned never to trust my heart."
"And why is that, Admiral?" Amaya whirled around to see Haku standing there with a small smile. For once, Amaya was completely surprised. A hard task if there ever was one. "You should know better than to ignore your instincts." With that, he held out his hand for her to take. Without really knowing it, Amaya took his hand and he led her off to the side to dance.
Katara and Zuko slowly moved back and forth to the music until it came to a slow stop. Zuko smiled and took Katara's hand before leading her away from the group to the other side of the ship where there would only be a skeleton crew that would switch out every hour so everyone could enjoy music night.
"Zuko?" Katara catch his attention once they had come to a stop. "Why bring me here?" Zuko looked back at the beautiful woman in front of him.
"I . . . don't like crowds." He admitted after a moment of silence. Katara smiled and looked over the railing at the water below. It's dark beauty was alluring.
"Well, I don't like crowds that much either." Katara admitted as she looked back at Zuko. Smiling at him, she left him breathless without even realizing it. "Truth be told, I'm not one to dress up this much either." She blushed as she told him this. "I prefer to dress myself."
"I know what you mean." Zuko finally managed to get out. How could she do this to him? Leave him speechless and dimwitted? His strong will kicked him in the behind for being so easily melted. ". . . I don't know how to be around you." He finally admitted to Katara, causing her to raise a delicate eyebrow in confusion. Another kick in the rear. "I . . . am different. I'm . . . not angry . . . I'm not sad . . . I'm happy." He struggled with his words as he confessed to the waterbender. "I'm . . . really not as good with words when it comes to personal things." Katara could only smile at his confession and step closer to him.
"I thought you were heartless before I got to know you. I thought you only cared about yourself." Katara looked down slightly in shame before looking up. "But then I got to know you. Then I got to know Zuko. And . . . I realized that he cares more for his loved ones than I thought humanly possible." A small smile worked its way onto her face. "I realize that when it comes to personal things, you aren't the most . . . talkative person there is. I know that in your life, you have had a hard time and have always done the best you could, even when you felt it wasn't enough. You throw yourself into everything you do. No matter how small or trivial it is." Another step closer to Zuko. "And I admire everything about you. Be it your stubbornness, your short temper, your big, scared heart; everything."
Zuko's eyes, always so fierce, always so guarded, softened. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Katara's lips.
Amaya stood in front of the map on the wall as she briefly thought about the night before. She and Haku had danced some and then spent time talking. Both had agreed that any relationship they had would have to wait until after the war. They both were too caught up in the war to just ignore it so the only way they could ever be together was to dethrone Ozai and put Zuko upon the dais.
"What now, Admiral?" A lieutenant asked her, causing her to glance back at him. "When do we call out our allies and fight back?" He clarified.
"Lieutenant Shu, we can only do so when Prince Zuko is ready." She turned around, away from the map on the wall.
"Isn't he ready now?" Shu asked her, causing her to sigh and shake her head.
"He is ready to fight only because a trip to the spirit world reunited him with his mother briefly. It was Lady Ursa that broke Ozai's hold on Zuko. But not completely. When the time comes, Prince Zuko must be ready to challenge his sister to an Agni Kai. While I have been training him, Azula is still very much a prodigy. We must get Zuko to a level that will defeat a prodigy such as Azula." Amaya informed her men gravely. "It's not enough that Zuko has a Shakaku. No weapons are allowed in an Agni Kai. Zuko must achieve blue fire." A murmur when through the officers. Blue fire. A secret kept so guarded that not even Amaya had gotten a hold of it. "Know this; Prince Zuko is our only hope of keeping the Fire Nation in one piece. Once he has beaten Azula, there will be no doubt that he is the rightful heir to the throne. Until then, the Fire Nation will be in a civil war."
Yong lowered his mirror and looked at his sister. The two had been spying on the meeting along with Keiko and Aiko.
"What will we do? Azula is currently the only one to have mastered blue fire." Yong whispered causing his sister to pull him into a hug.
"Do not fear, little brother. Mother will find a way. She always has." Shizuko mumbled to her brother as Aiko looked at them both. She looked away, toward Keiko.
"Keiko . . ."
"I know." Keiko muttered as Aiko trailed off. She knew that their lives were at stake, now more than ever. Without blue fire . . . the Fire Nation would break.
"What must be done?" Yong asked after Shizuko released him from her grip. The two siblings stood, ready to die if needed.
"Our lady will tell us when she has decided." Aiko muttered as she turned away from the others.
"That is not enough." Keiko interjected. "The mistress has always done what was needed. But only when the seer informed her. I do not doubt her, but I cannot help but wonder . . . will the seer give Prince Zuko the secret of blue fire? Or is it something that he must achieve on his own."
"That's impossible." Aiko informed them and sighed. "Blue fire on one's own? Only the Avatar has managed something like that. Even then, he or she has had the spirits to help."
"So do we go to the spirit world?" Yong asked, his sister pulling out her flute.
"Our Shakaku can guide us there." Shizuko supplied but Keiko shook her head.
"No, it has to be Prince Zuko. And he barely made it back last time." Sighing, the ninja opened the door to lead them out of Shizuko's room. "We must push him. The Shakaku will guide him but we must make sure he is ready."
"Blue fire?" Zuko whispered in disbelief as he sat before Amaya. Currently the two were in her meeting room, her officers gone, back to their duties.
"Yes. It is the only way, my nephew." Amaya looked as she stared at the map.
"How?" The prince of fire asked his aunt.
"I do not know." Amaya answered truthfully. "Not even I have managed to get my hands on that secret. Father said it was only for those that proved themselves worthy. And not even Ozai managed to get his fire blue for more than a few seconds. Azula is the only one who has been able to master it recently." Amaya sighed and shook her head. "But, I will tell you this, you cannot achieve anything if you do not have your heart in it."
Zuko opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Amaya. "You still are held back by Ozai. Break his hold upon you and you shall be one step closer to mastering fire. One step closer to attaining blue fire." With that, Amaya left the room. Several minutes passed as the young prince tried to make sense of Amaya's words. He had broken the hold on him. He was willing to fight Ozai. What did she mean? Zuko stood up and turned to follow but stopped when he saw Katara standing in the door way.
"Katara?" The waterbender smiled faintly at Zuko.
"You . . . haven't been working on acting as one with your shakaku." Katara whispered gently causing Zuko to look away. "Why not?"
". . . it doesn't matter." He answered after a moment of silence.
"Yes it does!" Katara covered her mouth after her outburst. Looking at her in surprise, Zuko blinked. "I don't want you to face anymore pain. If acting as one with your Shakaku will help, then I want you to be able to do it." Looking away once more, Zuko let the silence hang between them as he searched for the right words.
"He's . . . still my father. No matter how much I wish it weren't true. He's still the man I looked up to for so many years. Still the man I wanted to prove myself to for my entire life. No matter how much I try, no matter how many times I remember my mother's words, I can't focus on defeating my father." Katara closed her eyes and sighed after Zuko finished.
"I see." Her words were quiet and soft. So . . . tired. "Zuko . . . you aren't the man I thought you were."
"What?" Zuko was surprised by her.
"I . . . thought you were able to be brave."
"What?" Zuko repeated, this time in a hiss.
"You're just a coward!" Katara's eyes snapped open as she shouted this at him. "You're afraid of your father so you won't fight!" With that, Katara turned and ran off. Zuko made to give chase but stopped and looked at the Fire Nation symbol on a tapestry on the wall.
Sorry it took so long to update. Honest to god, I don't know where I'm going with this right now. If anyone has any ideas, I'd like to hear them. It might help with the writer's block I'm experiencing right now.