Let's skip on in time, and imagine that three days are past! (In the story that is) It's the day of the celebration/funeral, so I expect this to be a decent chapter. Let's see what my brain brings us today…
Oh, Aniek90 told me (msn), and she's right: this is chapter number 50! 50! Okay, actually 49, since one of the "chapters" is a note. But STILL! And to "celebrate" (Depends on what you think) this, there's an extra note if you scroll down this chapter. But first read it of course.
Let's drink champagne and continue!
Chapter 49
Funeral day
The sun was shining, and Zuko just woke up. He yawned and stretched his arms, turning on his side to pull Katara closer. But when he noticed the pillow he held in his arms, he lifted an eyebrow and sat up, inspecting the empty spot next to him. Where did she go?
He stepped out of the bed and his eyes flashed to the cradle, staring at the baby. Luckily Haru was still here.
He stepped over to his son and hung over the cradle, just to have a better look at him. The kid was sleeping peacefully, his tiny hands claiming to his sheet. Zuko pulled the sheet over the child a bit more.
It was just then that he heard the rumor in the ship. Sokka ran by his door and pulled meters and meters of colorful wreaths with him.
'Yue!' he yelled. 'I have the wreaths, how are you doing over there?'
A voice echoed from the kitchen somewhere else on the ship. 'Almost done, sweety! I'm working on the snacks, I'm sure Hakoda will LOVE them!'
Zuko gasped and yelled the name "Hakoda" out while he flew up, bouncing his head against the lamp. He had totally forgotten about today! How could he possibly forget the day of his own funeral?
He inspected himself and groaned in irritation, as he saw himself standing in his underwear. He fumbled through his hair to get it back where it belonged, but it seemed like that only made things worse.
No time for this: he HAD to get dressed. He probably had some time left, Hakoda couldn't possibly be…
'He's coming! He's coming!'
…heading for the ship right now!
Zuko wanted to take a shower or something, but there was no time for that. He just had to grab some clothes and take them on quickly, EVERYTHING was better than facing his own father-in-law being half naked. Well, everything expect being completely naked.
So he opened his covert and wanted to search through the clothes, but another yell stopped him. 'Katara! Come quickly, Dad's here!' Sokka yelled.
Zuko squealed in fear and his hand searched through the clothes a bit faster, and he pulled his rhythm up a bit as he heard Katara's voice. 'I know, Sokka, but I need Zuko here. I do hope he hurries…'
Zuko couldn't take this any longer. He simply grabbed the first clothes he could find and took them on, not even watching, while he jumped through the narrow courses of the ship. A mirror hanging somewhere on the wall stopped him from hopping on, and he inspected his reflection to put his hair in a decent position.
He nearly cried out when he saw the dress he wore, accidentally taken from Katara's side of the covert. But before he could rush back to his bedroom, an extra and unknown voice took his attention.
'Sokka, my son, you've grown a lot since the last time we met. Oh, and who's the beautiful lady standing next to you?' Zuko did no longer care about his outfit and ran over to the "front door", not quite listening to the rest of the conversation. 'Katara, my darling, you look absolutely stunning! Oh, and what a nice bunch of friends you have here. But first: where is that mighty, powerful, strong and MANLY waterbender of yours?'
That moment, Zuko slammed against the door and fell down on the floor as it flew open, in front of Hakoda's feet. His gaze ran up slowly, inspecting the big, dangerous looking man looking down on him. It reminded him of a cat, ready to jump on his pray, in this case Zuko. Katara smacked herself on the forehead and helped Zuko up, trying not to stare at his- well, actually HER dress and her attention turned back to Hakoda.
'Uhm… Dad, I want you to meet Zuko. Zuko, this is Dad.'
Zuko shyly wanted to shake hands with Hakoda, but Hakoda didn't move a single muscle. His gaze ran over the scar, the dress, the horrible haircut and maybe even most of all: the hideous, YELLOW eyes staring back at him.
'Katara?' he asked quietly, clearly doing the best he could to stay as calm as possible. 'I'm pleased to meet the, err… transvestite of the gang, but where's your fiancé?'
Katara bit on her lip as she pulled Zuko closer, lacing her fingers with his. 'He is, daddy.'
Hakoda gasped and his eyes flashed from Katara to Zuko, Katara, Zuko, Katara, Zuko… After a few moments of silence, he couldn't help to laugh. His low, waspish laugh made Zuko wince and Katara bite her lip again. She stared at Zuko for a while and sighed, that guy was just ASKING for troubles.
She rubbed the back of her neck and squeezed in Zuko's hand a bit, while she looked up at her father, who was totally cracking up. Zuko frowned and stroke his hand through his hair, still looking up at Hakoda. After a few minutes of laughing, Hakoda wiped a tear away and gave his daughter a bright smile.
'Thanks, Katara, that's the best laugh I had in AGES! Now seriously, where is he?'
'Dad!' Katara snapped, firmly squeezing in Zuko's hand. Hakoda gasped and smacked his hand on his mouth, his gaze locked on Zuko with mild compassion. He leaned forward to reach Katara's ear and whispered something, in ear-distance of Zuko.
'I'm so sorry, sweety, please forgive me! I didn't want to make the… special member of the gang feel bad. I do hope he'll live a nice life, as long as possible of course, I heard people with the syndrome of down can't grow older than thirty.'
Zuko glared at him and turned his hand into a fist. 'Hey!' he snarled. 'I'm NOT stupid! Are you trying to insult me? Because you know: I don't like being insulted, and ESPECIALLY not by someone of YOUR age!' Zuko wished he could swallow those words back in, but Hakoda had heard them all very clearly. He rose up and looked down on Zuko, giving him a dangerous frown.
'What did you just say there, scarface?'
Zuko wanted to jump up and strange the man, but Katara's hand stopped him. He hung his head down and averted his eyes. 'Nothing, sir…' he mumbled. Though Hakoda pulled him up by his collar and stared at his daughter.
'Katara!' he said, making her name sound like an insult. 'Don't tell me that this THING really is your fiancé?' Katara gave him a few nods, still holding Zuko's hand. Hakoda looked back at Zuko and snorted.
'Well then, stupid, show me your bending. And it'll better be good!'
Zuko released himself from Hakoda's grip and was a bit in a daze, until Sokka handed him a bowl of water. He gave the warrior a quick glare, before taking the bowl in his hands and looking down on it. What was he supposed to do now?
Luckily, his uncle managed to help him. The man walked in and stood in front of Hakoda, kindly shaking hands with him.
'Why, hello there! You must be Hakoda, the man Katara just keeps talking about. You have a wonderful, brave daughter, you know?'
Hakoda, who liked this man better, smiled and nodded proudly. 'I know, she has her mother's strong will. Of course, part of it must be from my side of the family, but let's bring all honor to my beloved wife.'
'Ah, yes.' Iroh said. 'That's a great idea. I mean, spirits never REALLY leave, they're still here with us. How about a nice cup of tea, sir? We still have other guests to welcome.'
Hakoda nodded and followed Iroh, who guided everyone else to an other room on the ship. He gave Zuko a wink and pulled Sokka with him, who kindly held Yue's hand.
Aang and Toph sneaked out of the mob and walked back over to Zuko and Katara. Toph crossed her arms and leaned against Aang, pretty sure that he wouldn't move.
'Gosh, you sure screwed everything up now, scarface. Or do you WANT him to hate you?'
Zuko averted his eyes and sighed deeply, letting go of Katara's hand as he waled over to the window. 'This is bad.' he said to himself. 'How can I EVER show that man my waterbending? I'm a firebender, for Agni's sake!' He sank down against the wall and massaged his forehead with his fingers, clearly feeling down. Aang bit on his lip, when suddenly Toph took his hand and intended to leave the room.
'Good luck, Angry Boy, you'll need it.' But when she wanted to walk through the door, Aang stopped her. He didn't move from his place and simply looked down on her, giving her a puppy face. 'But Toph!' he protested. 'This is Zuko, he's our friend! He needs us now, can't we just TRY to help him?'
Toph rolled her eyes and gave his hand a firm tug, with nu success. 'Too bad for him, but now we have to do something else. You promised me to teach me how to make decent smoke bombs!'
Aang frowned and crossed his arms, pulled Toph closer. 'Only if we help him!'
Toph glared at him and roughly pulled him with her, but Aang was too stubborn. He pulled harder and held her tight, giving her tight hugs. 'Pleeeaaase?' he said, raising his voice a bit. Though she still wouldn't admit, so he started to press kisses all over her face, on her nose, cheeks, lips and forehead. 'Pretty please?'
After a few moments of wincing, Toph rolled her eyes and released an irritated sigh. 'Alright!' she said. 'But then AT LEAST give me a decent kiss, Twinkletoes.'
Aang cheered and held her by her shoulders, firmly pressing his lips on hers. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret!'
Toph doubted about that, and so did Zuko. Wasn't it better for him to just tell the truth?
…Nah, probably not.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
'It's ALIVE!' Magus cheered loudly, followed by a demonic laugh. Through the "Muwhaha's", Ozai covered his ears and winced under the noise, curiously peaking over his shoulder. He frowned once he noticed a simple bottle standing in front of him.
'It's a bottle.' he said, lifting an eyebrow. Magus gasped and smacked him in the face, making him gasp as well. 'A BOTTLE?!' he repeated after him. 'This isn't JUST a bottle, mister firelord, it's Li.'
Once again, Ozai frowned. He took the bottle in his hand and inspected it, while Magus grabbed his staff. Startling Ozai, the smacked the bottle on the floor, making it scatter to pieces. Ozai nearly cried out and glared at the wizard.
'And what did you do that for?!'
Magus didn't answer the question, frustrating the firelord, but before Ozai could strangle him, the puddle of water started to shine. A strange kind of fog rose up from the liquid and filled the room, before coming together somewhere else in the room. The fog deformed and the shape of something human-alike became visible.
After a few seconds, a spirit appeared in front of them. The spirit was colored black with a few gray tints, his red eyes curiously looking around him. They flashed to his hands, as he slowly moved his fingers a bit.
'I… I'm back?' he whispered to himself, thinking about the situation a bit. After a strange frown, he looked over at one of the guards and shot over to him, spurting in his body and causing the man to wince. After an odd battle against himself, the man's eyes glowed dangerously red, and a grim appeared on his face.
'I'm back…' the man said to himself, his voice sounding like the spirit's. The spirit - who clearly was the one in charge of the body - jumped up a few times and walked through the room, before pulling Ozai up by his collar. He flashed back out of the body and the guard seemed to gasp for air as the spirit left, letting go of Ozai almost immediately. Li bit on his lip and flew over to Magus.
'I should not forget to breath while using a human body.' he said quietly. Magus nodded and patted his shoulder, as he looked back at Ozai.
'This is Li, the spirit who's created just to help you with your problem. I'll send him over to the ship, he'll be a great way to screw your son's life up.'
Li flew up a bit to have a better look at Ozai, while the firelord crossed his arms, nodding in approval. 'Yes, this'll do I guess.'
The spirit rolled his eyes and flew over to the window, looking back at Magus. 'You will not have to send me, Magus, I can find the ship myself.' But before he could fly off, Magus called his name to stop him.
'Do NOT try anything stupid this time, Li!' the man threated. 'It cost you your freedom last time, remember?' Li averted his eyes and simply nodded, before flying off after all.
Ozai smirked and rubbed his hands, this was about to be fun.
Oh yeah: I've made a vid, again. Since I think the original intro of A:TLA is a bit boring, I made one myself. Maybe some of you yellow BLEACH fans know the song? The link is on my account, as always.
Some of you maybe know my fic Forbidden Love, and if that's so then I need you to vote for the plot you'd want to have for the sequel. The two plots you can choose between are on my account as well.
Oh, and now this is the 50th chapter, I'd be pleased with you people reviewing of course. Let's make a deal: if you people manage to bring the number of reviews over 200 (For the moment that's just 4 reviews away), I'll write you an extra passionated drabble. Not necessarily passionated, I take requests.
And if you can give this chapter 10 reviews or more, which brings us 202 reviews in total, I'll write a passionated(?) twoshot for you all. Promise!
So review! And if some of you don't want to read anything spicy, then just give me a simple request and I see what I can do.
ZUTARA FOREVER!
EXTRA NOTE:
THERE WILL BE NO MORE UPDATES FOR THIS STORY, UNTIL THE DAY I'VE UPDATES MY OTHER STORIES! THIS IS NOT TO BULLY YOU, IT'S JUST TO MAKE SURE I'LL FINALLY WORK ON MY OTHER STORIES FOR ONCE!YOU CAN PM ME EVERY QUESTION/COMPLAINT YOU HAVE OR PUT IT IN A REVIEW.
XANNIJN
