Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Four More Days
Three days had gone by Ty Lee hooked up with Jet, Toph and Sokka were still 'considering', and Isamu was doing as he was told, under the watchful eye of Zuko, of course.
"You know, Zuko, I don't know how you stayed on a boat for three years; I can barely take three days." Aang said as he stood by the young prince's side.
"It's not exactly like I had a choice." He sighed.
"I hate boats, my vision is all fuzzy and there's no way to earthbend!" Toph exclaimed as she approached the two. Suddenly a fleet of ships appeared over the horizon.
"It's them!" Aang yelled as he pointed.
"Who? What? Tell me!" Toph yelled at them.
"The Earth Kingdom is coming." Zuko said; another fleet for him to worry about.
"Oh, sweet! I bet that fat ass, The Hippo, is on and the boulder! It feels like forever!" She smiled.
"Yeah…" Zuko sighed. "Tell me when they get close; I'm going to check on the ship."
"You mean the prisoner that you were dumb enough to let out?" Toph asked.
"Yes, the prisoner, and I am not dumb, he can't do anything unless Azula gives him a task." Zuko said calmly.
"Whatever, I'm just saying; if a bunch of lightening appears and you end up dead in your sleep, don't say I didn't warn you, Sparky." She smiled.
"Whatever." He muttered as he walked away.
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"No, we should go through the front with this ship; they could think we are Azula." Sokka said as he pointed to the map.
"What if they ask to see her?" Jee asked.
"We bring her out, duh!" Sokka said.
"In chains?" Jee cocked his eyebrow.
"If they do, it will be like a hostage situation!" Sokka replied excitedly.
"It won't work; Ozai doesn't care about her well-being." Zuko said as he entered the room.
"Well, how do you know?" Sokka asked.
"Trust me, if Azula dies he could are less. He'll lose whatever he needs to in order to win this war." He stood above them and looked down at the map. "Why is there a circled smiley face in front of the Fire Nation?"
"Oh, I used that to symbol us!" Sokka smiled.
"Told you it was a dumb idea…" Jee mumbled.
"We are going to attack the Fire Nation, not bring them freaking joy." Zuko said harshly.
"Well, what do you suggest then, your royal pain in the highn-ass?" Sokka mocked.
"Do what you want, tell me when you get somewhere with him, Lieutenant Jee." Zuko left.
"He means when I get somewhere with you." Sokka smiled at Jee. "I told you, smiley faces are so unrecognizable, if anyone got hold of our map, they would never know what it meant."
"Uh…they might." Jee said seriously.
"How?" Sokka gave him a challenging glare.
"You wrote 'us' right above it…" Jee sighed.
"Oh…hehe…right." Sokka looked down at the map.
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"So I think that braids are so much better than just throwing your hair down, you know what I mean?" Ty Lee asked as she braided Katara's hair, for the tenth time.
"Yeah, I used to always braid mine…" She said in a bored voice.
"You sound like Mai." She giggled and Katara faced her to glare at her. "Right, Sorry." She smiled.
"So…you and Jet?" She asked; a topic change would be good.
"Yeah, he's really cute!" She smiled.
"There's more to a guy than looks." Katara said.
"I know, I just don't know much about him yet, well, besides he used to be with you. But everyone knows that." She laughed and Katara blushed.
"Yeah…haha…everyone. I wasn't really with him, though." She said quietly.
"Just keep telling yourself that!"
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Zuko entered Mai's room, she quickly looked up when the door opened, but looked back down when she saw who it was.
"What do you want now?" She asked in her monotone voice.
"We really need to talk…" He sighed as he sat next to her.
"WE already talked. You chose her over me, that's it. I can't be anything with you Zuko, I want to be so much more than friends, but I know now that will never happen." She slightly frowned.
"I know it's my fault…I never wanted to-" he was cut off by her.
"Never wanted to what? Hurt me? Too late, Zuko. After I help you out of the palace and we win this damn invasion, I don't want to see you anymore. I'll go back to Omashu and stay with my family."
"I'm sorry…" He whispered.
"And you should be…it kills me to see you with her like you don't even know." She couldn't look him in the eye.
"I know that you'll find the guy who's right for you, it just isn't me." He said calmly.
"I know, too, Azula was right. You weren't good enough for me, you weren't worth the heartache." She said quietly, and then she looked at him. "I loved you, Zuko."
"I cared about you, but I can't say I loved you because I don't know if I did…" He frowned; he wanted to just crawl in a hole.
"I gave myself to you! You said you would always stay with me and be at my side!" She gave him a harsh glare, and then did the last thing either of them expected. She pulled him into a kiss. He went to pull away, but didn't. The door opened.
"Hey, Gloomy Girl, Zuko…" Sokka started but stopped when he saw what was going on. Zuko pulled away from Mai.
"Sokka.-" He started.
"What's going on?" Katara asked as she came from behind Sokka. She saw Zuko pull away from Mai. She didn't see him kiss her, but she knew they were doing something. "No…" She whispered.
"Katara…" He stood up and walked over to her. He felt the stinging sensation of the back of her hand whack his face and she stormed off. He went to go after her but Sokka stepped in front.
"Leave her be, you've done enough." He said as he went after his sister. Horrible things always happened to him. He looked back to Mai who was frowning.
"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" She whispered.
"You didn't mean to? Mai, she means everything to me! I love her!" He yelled.
"And you just fought me off so well!" She stood up and yelled. He stayed silent.
"I'll see you later; I have a lot to think about." He sighed as he walked out; he knew Katara would need time to cool of.
"I'm sure you do, don't hurt yourself." She said as she crossed her arms at her chest.
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Night came quickly for everyone. Zuko gave the crew the night off and the others went to sleep. Isamu roamed the halls again. He hated to admit it, but he was basically everyone else's bitch. He saw Azula's cell, it was unguarded. Those idiots! He slowly approached it.
"Princess?" He whispered.
"Isamu?" She smirked.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm just fine, Isamu, I have another little task for you." Her eyes weren't so cold, but he knew his 'little task' was going to be risky.
"What is it, Princess?" He whispered.
"Listen well." She held her smug look.
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The crew was drinking and enjoying what would be one of their last nights off.
"Kenshin?" Jee asked.
"Yeah?" The man slurred.
"Aren't you supposed to be guarding the princess's cell?" Jee stood up.
"I thought that was his job." He said as he pointed down to another member of the crew.
"You idiot! Where's Isamu?" Jee shouted.
"What the hell is going on?" Zuko yelled as he came on deck.
"I'm right here." Isamu smirked as he came from behind Zuko.
"Why didn't you know where he was?" Zuko glared, he was uptight, they would be in the Fire Nation in about four days and his crew couldn't guard one cell?
"Kenshin wasn't on his shift." Jee said.
"I didn't think it was mine!" The man yelled.
"Obviously, it's too big of a job for you. Isamu, where were you?" Zuko asked.
"Finishing up my chores, Sir." Isamu bowed.
"Keep a damn eye on him!" Zuko yelled as he went back into the halls of the ship.
"Told you that you were stupid for letting him out!" Toph yelled from her room. He grunted and continued walking to his room.
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He saw the once again unguarded cell of Azula. Were their skulls honestly that thick? He sighed and walked up to it. The princess wasn't showing an angry expression, she was smirking. It made Zuko uneasy.
"Goodnight, Zuzu." She said.
"What happened?" He demanded.
"Why, what ever do you mean?" She taunted.
"I know you're up to something." He said harshly.
"You do, do you?" She was having fun with this.
"Azula, you can't do anything right now, so why try?" He asked.
"You're the one jumping to conclusions, dumb-dumb." She rolled her eyes. He grunted and walked away. "Thank you." She whispered.
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Fanfiction wouldn't let me update on Monday, sorry, sorry, but this ones a bit short. The next few will probably be, too, until the Final Battle. So please review! XD