Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Ah! My reviewers are tearing me apart! I'm still not 100 sure what's going to happen, and whatever it is, don't hate me or flame my story for my decision. Its fanfiction, people, have an imagination, lol. But yes, I have gotten A LOT of reviews lately, thank you to all of you who have. Enjoy…
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Chapter Twenty-Five: Smiles
It was a few hours before sunrise when Zuko opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep with Katara in the field. He slowly removed his arm and sat up. He could sense it. He could sense her presence, and she wasn't far. He sighed and gently picked Katara up. He carried her bridal style to the cave and laid her by Sokka, who was on the opposite side of the cave from Toph he noticed. He then quickly paced out of the cave and back by the field.
When he got back he saw her. She was facing her back to him.
"What do you want, Azula?" He asked coldly. He didn't form any flame, he would wait for her to attack.
"We have some unfinished business, Zuzu." She still faced her back to him. She couldn't look into his eyes. It would remind her of how caring they were when he cradled her. She growled at the memory. She didn't care what happened to him. She held her hands behind her back and spread her feet apart.
"There's no way in hell you healed, yet."
"Does Zuzu show concern for his sister? Right now, it's just us. Your friends are somewhere else, and so are mine." Azula said coldly, and then she went on the offensive. She shot a long blue flame at him, he ducked. She wasn't healed; her attacks were a lot slower. He formed the same daggers he had a few days ago and ran straight at her. She grunted before holding his wrists with her hands. The pain in her stomach increased, she really should've waited. "Not even your little girlfriend, Zuzu. Did she finally dump you?" She smirked, but he grunted in response. He was ignoring her.
"Azula, I already told you I can't kill you, but I will hurt you!" He yelled. It was really too early for this.
"Don't tell me you've weakened, Zuzu." She was still doing her best to fight him off. She increased the heat of her hands, but there was no affect to him.
"I struck you, Azula. I struck you so you couldn't move, and you can't deny it. I was more powerful than you! Even if it was that one time, I defeated you, Azula!" He yelled.
"Then why the hell didn't you end it? Why the hell didn't you just kill me?" She yelled. She didn't have that evil calm anymore, she was angry, no, furious, and she was showing it. Her whole expression went dark. "You little pussy! You couldn't find it in yourself to kill the one person who wants to see you dead! Do you know how confused I am? All because you were afraid to kill me!" Zuko felt the temperature of her entire body increase. She pushed his wrists back, causing him to stumble before regaining his balance, and started to do the familiar movements. She struck, but instead of lightening, a blast of orange flame knocked her to the ground. Why did it explode in her face? Why couldn't she do it? She was even more enraged now. She stood up, and then realized her stomach wound opened back up. She was on her knees holding it. She needed to get back to her ship. She needed it wrapped before…she died. Zuko regained his footing; the giant blow threw him off a bit.
"You lost it…" He whispered. He remembered what his uncle told him. To master the blue flame, you needed let go of all the anger you had. He could tell Azula was having an inner battle. She never showed any emotion, not even anger. She managed to cover up everything. "Do you want to die?" He asked her. He was standing above her.
"Why? Why do you need to help me? I hate you!" She yelled, but winced in pain at her stomach.
"Tell me where your ship is." He said bluntly.
"No, I refuse your help." She said. She was vulnerable, but wouldn't cave. Last time she had no choice, this time she did. Suddenly, an arrow shot and just missed Zuko's arm by a few inches. Mai stepped out of the shadows with Ty Lee.
"We'll take her, Zuko." Mai said.
"You! Why the hell did you poison her, Mai? It was over; she wasn't going to attack you!" He accusingly pointed his finger at her.
"Does she mean more to you than me, Zuko?" Mai glared as she spoke with her bored tone. Zuko open his mouth, but froze. He didn't answer. "Very well. Ty Lee, help me get Azula out of here." She grabbed one of Azula's arms; there was a puddle of blood below them. Ty Lee grabbed the other and looked at Zuko. Her eyes showed disappointment. Azula went without telling her or Mai. She knew her wounds needed to wait, but went anyway. She knew her friend hated being weak, but this was out of place. They walked Azula through the bushes, Zuko stared. In a matter of minutes, so much had happened. He sighed and returned to the cave.
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Katara woke up when the sun began to rise. She saw Sokka had his back against hers, Toph was on the opposite side, Aang not too far from her, and Iroh and Jee were deeper in the cave. No Zuko, though. She looked around before remembering they had fallen asleep in the field, but then why was she here? She saw Zuko enter the cave. He seemed lost in thought, and his wrists have minor burn marks on them. He sat at the mouth of the cave and stared forward. She walked over to him.
"Zuko? What happened?" She took a seat by him.
"I brought you here when I knew Azula was near, then I went back to face her. She was weak and her wound in her stomach reopened. Mai and Ty Lee brought her back to her ship, though." He looked at her and smiled.
"Oh. A lot has been going on with her." Katara said. She knew Zuko had different feelings about his sister. It was, after all, his sister. Then she knew there was a side of him that wanted to kill her sometimes, but he didn't have it in him. She could never really see him killing anybody. Ozai would probably be an exception.
"Yeah. I still don't get her." He sighed.
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Azula just had her wounds wrapped. Why was she so stupid? She convinced herself her wounds were well enough to fight, it's no like they had bothered her. Then again, it had only been a few days and she hadn't even sparred. She sighed. Was she becoming as senseless as her brother? Now she was in worse condition. And then she couldn't even let out lightening. What was wrong with her? She needed to get things in order before she did something that idiotic again.
"Princess Azula?" The same guard came in her room, the brave one. She was once again, staring up at the ceiling, she was told not to move much.
"Yes?"
"A message has come for you." The guard handed her the letter and bowed. He walked away.
Princess Azula,
I sent you on a task and have gotten no results. You brother shouldn't be hard prey, he's gone soft. Your uncle is presumed dead, unless you've heard otherwise, and the Avatar's whereabouts are unknown. You haven't given me any information on anything you've learned. I'm growing impatient, Azula. Don't become the same failure your brother was.
Fire Lord Ozai
She sighed as she finished the letter. Her father didn't even care if she was OK. He just assumed she'd be, right? She slowly eased herself from her bed and sat at her desk.
Father,
I'm sorry for not giving you information; I've been very caught up. I've learned Zuko has found Uncle Iroh and the Avatar. They are traveling with him and his companions. Right now, I'm planning my next attack on them. All is well, Father. I will return home soon with the three of them.
Love,
Azula.
She decided not to tell of her injuries, because she would have to say what caused them.
He thinks I'm weak. Azula thought as she slowly went back to her bed. Zuko, ZUKO thinks I'm weak. He thinks I need him. I need to do something that will hurt him, mentally, to defeat him. She lay back down. I will not disappoint you, Father, I will capture him. I'll use that waterbender to do it, too. She smirked. She was back.
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Iroh and Jee woke up a few hours after Katara. They walked to the end of the cave. Jee yawned and stretched.
"Prince Zuko, Jee and I are going to look for a local village; we can't stay here to long." Iroh said Zuko nodded with Katara. Iroh and Jee left.
"Katara…"
"Yes, Zuko?"
"Did you mean what you said last night?" Zuko looked at her. She blushed as she met his gaze.
"Yes, Zuko, I meant all of it." She smiled. "How about you? I know you're not one to speak of your feelings." She giggled.
"Yes." He pushed his face closer to hers and pecked her on the lips. She sighed and leaned against him.
"So, then you want to be with me?" She smiled. Even if he admitted he cared, she knew it would embarrass him a little.
"I guess…" He wasn't exactly the 'romantic' type. Mai was easy, Katara was a little different.
"You guess?" Her head shot up and looked at him.
"Yes." He said seriously.
"That's better." She rested her head back. "But I want to wait on telling the others. I want to sit and talk with Aang and Sokka and if you tell your uncle, well…"
"The world will know." He smiled. "Jee will stay quiet, but I'm not open with him and Toph will probably blackmail me." Zuko finished, she nodded. She was most concerned with Aang, she didn't know if he accepted that she would never love him like that.
"Hey guys." Sokka yawned as he emerged from the depths of the cave. Katara scooted away from Zuko slightly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Katara said. "Iroh and Jee went to look for a village, we need to stock up."
"Sounds fun." He stretched his arms above his head, and then Toph came out of the shadows. She kept her gaze forward; she could feel Sokka's heart beat faster. "Toph, can we talk?" He stood up.
"Fine, but I don't want it to take long." She said sternly as she led him outside. They sat down.
"Toph, I'm really-"
"Sorry, I know, I'm sick of hearing that." She said bluntly, she was done crying.
"Please forgive me?" He looked to her.
"No. You don't get it. You're the first guy I've ever had real feelings, but that doesn't make me stupid. You won't be instantly forgiven; it's going to take time before I can really trust you again." She finished.
"OK, I'll give you time." Sokka said. They sat in silence for a while. He smiled at her, he admired the way she handled it. Now he just had to prove he meant he was sorry.
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Katara used her healing glove to finish up healing her shoulder wound. It healed well. She had been using water, but it was pretty deep at first, but now it was almost done! She rotated her shoulder a little, proud to have mobility back in it. Zuko smiled at her. She seemed so happy.
"What are you smiling at?" She looked up at him.
"Nothing." He said. He still held his smile.
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be smiling." She crawled to where he sat.
"Maybe I just feel like smiling." He said. She busted out in laughter.
"You just feel like smiling!" She said through her laughter.
"Maybe, yes." He was starting to get serious. Did she really think he was that bad? She wiped a tear from her eye as she finished laughing.
"How cute, Zuko made a funny." She giggled a little.
"I can make 'funnies' if I want to, I just choose not to." He was serious now. She was starting to mock him, he didn't like being mocked.
"It's even kind of funny hearing you say it. I mean, who even says 'funnies'?" She was smiling, he was frowning. "Oh, come on, I'm just kidding."
"Yup." He looked to the outside of the cave with his arms crossed at his chest.
"Sorry, I didn't know you got offended so easily." She was still teasing him.
"I don't." He still didn't look at her.
"Then why are you mad at me?"
"I'm not."
"Yes you are." She didn't like his moodiness. He was worse than her during her time of month sometimes!
"I said I'm not mad at you, that means I'm not." He still didn't look at her.
"Then why don't you look at me? And why aren't you smiling anymore? Don't you…" She covered her mouth as she snickered. "feel like it?" He looked at her.
"I'm looking directly at you, now. I'm not mad at you, and I don't feel like smiling anymore." As he finished, he smiled, though. He liked seeing her happy.
"Maybe it's when you look at me you smile."
"Maybe in your dreams." He said with a smirk still on his face.
"What?" She yelled.
"Sorry, I didn't know you got offended so easily." His smile grew wider.
"You-" She was cut off when Aang came through.
"Hey guys. Wow, I really overslept." Aang yawned. Katara and Zuko blushed; they had managed to get their faces so they were inches apart. Katara pulled back, seeing that Zuko had his back against a wall. "Where is everyone?" He pretended not to notice.
"Iroh and Jee went to find a village, Sokka and Toph went to talk." Katara felt like it was the millionth time explaining, even though it was only the second.
"Oh, so it's just us three. What do you want to do?" Aang asked. He had been bored lately; maybe they could find something to kill time.
"There isn't much to do. We're in a freaking never-ending forest." Zuko sighed, so did Katara.
There he goes with his moodiness. She rolled her eyes.
"Why don't we explore?" Aang asked. There was still tension between him and Zuko when Katara was there, but Zuko was calmer.
Too late, Monk. I already won this competition. He smirked as he thought to himself.
"Sounds like a good idea. Want to go, Zuko?" Katara asked and he nodded.
"Let's just stay away from the water." Zuko said. They walked into the forest.
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Azula held a smirk. She had ordered a guard to send out her message to her father and told him to send in Mai and Ty Lee. A few minutes later, they entered.
"You asked for us?" Ty Lee jumped to the foot of Azula's bed with her legs crossed. Mai just sat at the side of her bed.
"Yes. I have decided what my plans are. I'll give my wounds one week; we'll stay close to Zuko and the others, though. I need to show Zuzu that I don't need the help of others. I can handle myself and would be just fine without him. I'm going to…have a little fun with Zuzu's emotions. I need you two to keep this damned crew in order. Tell them anyone who gives a hard time to you or breaks any rule will be sent to me, and there will be no witnesses to see their fate. Make sure we stay on course." She finished.
"That can be done." Mai stood up and left.
"Hope you feel better." Ty Lee quickly hugged her around the neck before skipping out. Azula smiled.
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I can't make Azula just side with them. Sorry to everyone who wanted her to. She's back to scheming. It might change by the final battle, who knows, but for now, she's herself. Please review! XD