The Hybrid

.

In 167 AG, nine years later of the assault of a dangerous group led by a man named Zaheer that intended to kill the new Avatar, Korra; Fire Lord Zuko has decided that finally was the time to leave the throne to his daughter Izumi. Taking interest in something else (such as training young firebenders), he was living a somewhat quieter life.

Currently, he was sitting calmly on his dragon companion, Druk, as the creature itself flew to a certain place that was going to hold a special event. This 'special event' had something to do with his favorite pupil.

"Holy shit! That a dragon?"

Zuko cracked open an eye and noticed they were already there. He scanned the area for a second, then landed his eyes on the source of the voice.

It was a typical fire nation teenager around the age of 17 with dark hair and golden eyes who wore a sleeveless fire nation warrior attire. The teenager himself was the grandson of someone Zuko knew in the past, Ty Lee, which led to a master - disciple relationship over the years.

His name was Naruto and expectedly he was crazy good at chi-blocking as well as hand-to-hand fighting at this age. His talent quickly made him one of the best warriors in the special chi-blocking squad consisting of only several people. Sadly, it also led most of the people around him (save for the oldest) to resent him and refuse his usually friendly behavior.

Zuko smiled at the teenager who jumped around the dragon with a mixture of excitement and fear.

"I believe this is your first time seeing him, Naruto. This is my companion, Druk." said the former Fire Lord as he stood by the towering creature.

"Should've shown me sooner, old man! He looks so majestic."

Zuko nodded his head with a small smile, leaving the throne had its perks it seemed, like being able to travel freely. He looked around, soldiers had gathered around chatting, waiting for a certain event.

Leaving the teenager, he walked towards the training grounds, gaining salutes from the soldiers. He was not the Fire Lord anymore but he'd always been treated with utmost respect.

"My Lord."

"Lord Zuko."

He nodded and raised a hand, gesturing for them to act as they were. His eyes caught a man in his late 20's, rolling his shoulders with a cocky smirk, but still he gave a respectful bow to the former Fire Lord (he was no joke after all).

The man's name was Kuryo.

"We didn't expect Lord Zuko to come. I'm glad that you're here to witness our bending's superiority."

Before anyone could utter a world, a certain teenager slapped his answer at Kuryo's face.

"Hah! I bet you can't even heat a pot of tea properly with that bending of yours!" Naruto jumped in with a mocking face and pointed a finger at Kuryo , making the former fire lord sigh. Since a gossip about a prodigy within the soldiers spread, this was only expected.

Naruto was hot-headed, he would never refuse a duel. Or… hold back from challenging somebody.

"Enough!" Kuryo yelled and tore himself from his comrades, jumping forward, he sent a fireball to Naruto with a kick. Everyone moved away to give space for the main characters of the day, including Zuko who chose to stay silent.

Naruto spinned on his feet gracefully and pointed at the fireball that flew past him with his thumb.

"Was that yours pal?" The teenager asked with a smug face.

"Aaagh!" This only added to Kuryo's anger, who threw two quick flame jabs and jumped forward to his opponent. Naruto stood sideways to dodge both of them but his eyes widened when he saw a large fireball coming out of Kuryo's feet.

Naruto threw himself to the side, dodging the dangerous attack, as Kuryo landed on his back then jumped onto his feet once again.

"Oops, close call." Naruto looked at the destruction that the latest attack caused. That's when he heard a voice.

"You should've known your place, kid."

Suddenly furious flames headed Naruto's unexpected face, causing the older warrior to smirk. But his expression dropped when the teenager abruptly bent his body backwards and let the attack fly above him.

"Is it just me or you're kinda slow?" said Naruto as he straightened his body once again, picking his nose. Kuryo's answer was a growl, who then pulled out his sword and slashed at the younger warrior.

Naruto's body moved like an airbender around the attack then he landed seven quick jabs on the man's arm, causing him to drop his sword. Kuryo looked at Naruto then at his unresponding arm, it was not going to start moving soon.

Naruto shrugged and leaped forward, dodging the attempt of swing of Kuryo's good arm. Sliding behind his enemy, Naruto pulled on the man's belt, causing his pants to fall down. Almost… comically.

Unbeknown to him, this move caused the former Fire Lord to palm his face.

Having his honor crushed and pissed, Kuryo pulled his pants up once again and launched himself for another attack, both his arm and brain numb.

Naruto looked at the man, to him, he was resembling a bull splattering saliva from its face.

For the first time, his face gained a somewhat serious look. He held no respect for a man who was ignorant of battle tactics and the importance of noble duel.

The teenager moved the powered punch away with the back of his forearm as he dove in, delivering thirteen quick jabs to various parts of Kuryo's torso. Seeing him stumble for a second, he moved and immobilized his only good arm too, following up with a low sweep kick that took the man off his feet and sent him to the ground back-first.

Without even looking at the man, but at the crowd, he grinned.

"Aaaaand my victory without a single hit received, WOHOOOOOOOOOO!"

Zuko nodded his head with a proud expression, it was a calculated and respectable triumph. He raised an eyebrow when whispers covered the area instead of cheers. It was not unexpected at all, this was the current reality of Naruto. Despite his efforts, somehow people always chose to be jealous of him instead of respect him.

It was almost like he was emitting negative energy somehow.

To put it realistically, they just couldn't comprehend how a 17 years old boy could defeat a veteran Fire Nation warrior.

"You're no fun." Naruto shrugged without looking at the soldier picking Kuryo up. He made his way to the former Fire Lord, ignoring the glares they were sending at him.

Until he saw a familiar face in the crowd smiling at him.

"That was quite a show, kid."

Uzzi was a firebender in his late 30's, he was too old and drunk to unlike the energetic teenager.

"Thanks man, appreciated." Naruto gave him a wave, sticking out his tongue afterwards.

"Try not to drink yourself to death." He dodged an attempt of grab from the man playfully.

"Heh, suit yourself." Uzzi made a face and took a sip from his hidden flask.

Naruto let out a small laugh at the man's antics and left the crowd behind, at least somebody didn't have a stick up their ass.

"Yo! What do you think?" Naruto stood before the former fire lord who was watching from a distance.

"That was pretty impressive, Naruto. I can safely say you've become quite light on your feet."

Hearing this Naruto proceeded on doing some acrobatic moves, mixing up some break dance in there.

"Think so? Thanks, old man."

Zuko was amused for a second, then he made a 'follow me' gesture and started walking away. He stroked his beard as he let his thoughts free. Among all the youth he had taught, Naruto was easily standing out, with his talent and personality. At this young age, he was a true warrior with his body and his mind, like he was born to be.

But still, this teenager was lonely. Despite his energetic and positive nature, Zuko knew for a fact that human nature was open to many… paths. The fire lord was worried that Naruto's rare strength would make him depressed and someday make him stray from the good.

"Where are we going?" Zuko was pulled out of his thoughts by Naruto's voice, he was following behind, somehow trying to catch up but not being able to do it.

Zuko gave him a look over his shoulder.

"Have you seen this land from above?"

Naruto's face lit up immediately. This could only mean one thing!

"LETS GOOOO! IF THIS IS THE PRIZE, I CAN BEAT THESE GUYS UP EVERYDAY!"

And the rest was Naruto and Zuko riding Druk over the continent, until the sun went down. Zuko didn't know how to deal with the former problem but he sure was going to increase Naruto's spiritual training.

...

After an exciting and tired day, Naruto found it hard to wake up in the warm morning. Still, realizing that he'd overslept, he jumped out his futon.

"I'm up!" He exclaimed with a tired voice, his eyes still closed.

He forgot how much it has been since he was the only resident of this small house. After Ty Lee passed on, no one has ever stepped into this house besides him. Still, he enjoyed the memory of the elderly woman raising him in this small but genuine place.

The usually energetic teenager made his way to the bathroom, rubbing his eyes on the way. After he was done with the morning routine, he put on his clothes.

A red and golden sleeveless top with braces around his toned arms. A lighter red bottom with high flexible battle boots.

He turned his head to the side and gave a smile at the picture on the only furniture in the room. It was a picture of old Ty Lee with 5 years old Naruto playing on her shoulders.

"I'll be leaving." Naruto bowed his head to the picture and headed out with quick steps.

A shopkeeper with a long beard was chatting with his friend as he placed the bread on the counter.

"I don't know pal, I reckon the economy was a lot better in war times." He said with a sour face, making his friend flinch.

"Hush… don't say that." His friend whispered. In the peace times, it was just not right to bring up war.

"On your left!" A mixture of red, gold and brown passed them with haste, grabbing the bread that the shopkeeper was holding and sending them spinning on their feet.

"Hey!" The beard man yelled after Naruto when he finally balanced himself. After a second, a couple of copper pieces landed on his hand. "Youngsters..."

Naruto gave a hearty laugh and put the bread in his mouth. Stepping on a counter, he leapt high and climbed onto a roof. Continuing his travel on the roofs, he finally took sight of the training grounds. He remembered what Zuko advised him yesterday, he decided to train alone and headed to the clearing in the woods, away from the lively areas.

He gulped down the last piece of bread and proceeded on taking off his top, letting the world see the faded black tattoo on his back, reaching his arms and bottom. He always sweated a lot in his training sessions and they were far from easy. He started with basic firebending moves, stretching his body. He took control of his breath and felt the fire inside him. He was no firebender but he was taught by a firebending master after all.

After the warming session was over he had hints of sweat over his body. He calmed himself down and searched for a certain training mate. Not much afterwards, he landed his eyes on a large tree with a peeled part which was made by Naruto's punches and kicks.

He gained a nostalgic expression on his face as he stood in front of the tree.

"Sorry man, the dead trees give up easily." Indeed, the dead trees could never keep up with him. They always got destroyed in one day of practice.

He caressed the cortex of the tree, apologizing to it. Suddenly, he felt like his palm was burning and the tree started to lose color.

"The hell?" Naruto jumped back, holding his palm. His eyes widened as the tree got thinner and blacker before his eyes. It practically died away afterwards.

"What the… hell was that?" He looked at his palm. He knew, he was sure that himself was the one who did that. "I touch that tree plenty of times, was that actually me?"

"Ugh why don't they just leave me be…"

A voice of a girl ringed in Naruto's head. Startled, he stumbled back and fell on his butt. His eyes wide as sweat rolled down his forehead, holding his head within his palms, as if he wanted to hold it in place.

"What is wrong with me…" He managed to let out.

"Huh? Who is that!?"

The voice ringed again, this time a bit clearer. That's when Naruto understood, he was somehow talking to somebody, remotely. And they were probably as confused as he was. He lowered his hands from his head and let out a deep breath.

"I'm Naruto. What is your name?"

After several seconds of not-so-patient waiting, the voice answered.

"K-Korra…"

Naruto closed his eyes to concentrate, the voice was tickling the insides of his skull and it wasn't the best feeling in the world.

"Korra… that's a pretty name actually. Say, Korra, are you inside my head or are you a real person?"

"Wha- Of course I'm a real person! In fact, I am the Avatar!"

"WHAAAT!?" Naruto jumped onto his feet, he had some kind of a connection with the Avatar!? What!? Was he like a past Avatar or something? Wait, that's not how it works.

"Hey! Keep it down, you're giving me a headache."

"Uh… sorry about that. So what is this? Did you make an Avatar magic or something?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Avatar Magic? What are you- kh."

Naruto choked his head back, confused.

"Come again?"

No answer.

"Hello? Are you there!?"

Many times he had called but no answer came. The connection was cut for some reason. He let himself sit on the ground once again, tired. The tingly feeling in his head was gone and his body felt normal once again.

What a day. He thought. First he'd accidentally killed a tree and talked to the Avatar. Both had a common part, that he didn't know their reasons.

It was noon at the time but when he looked around, he couldn't feel any… energy, like he used to. It felt like it was night and he needed to sleep. So he did, he headed home. His body was not that tired but he didn't feel like using strange routes to home as he used to, he just... walked.

He passed the lively shopping district that was between his house and the training grounds. This place was always energetic and he liked being inside of it. People taunted each other, chatted and played around.

But why were people looking at him like that?

Or was this the first time he noticed their looks?

He shook his head to get rid of the weird feeling and grinned stupidly at the people who judged him with their gazes. Maybe he was just sick or mentally tired, he just needed to get some sleep to charge himself.

When he reached his home, he practically threw himself to bed with his outside clothes, he could always change the sheets later on. Soon, he was engulfed by a very heavy sleep.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world - south pole to be exact - a 14 years old Avatar was standing by a frozen hill, watching the sun disappearing into the ocean with a confused yet amazed look on her face.

She never expected being able to remotely talk to someone after mastering two elements. (Unknown to her, they were probably not related.)

"It was awesome!" She exclaimed, she really loved being the Avatar.

…

*Knock Knock Knock*

Several door knocks echoed once again in the small house that lacked furniture. Naruto stirred in bed a couple of times then lazily pushed himself up.

"I'm up…" He whispered, five times weaker than his previous mornings. A burnt scent rushed his nostrils for some reason, he hadn't cooked anything though. Hell, he didn't even use the kitchen after his grandma's demise. Eyes closed, he threw the blanket off of him and stood up. He made his way to the door as he scratched his belly.

He shielded his eyes from the sunlight that attacked his eyes and failed to make out who was at the door. After a little while, his eyes adjusted and he took notice of his mentor looking at him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, Zuko had a surprised look on his face that the teenager hadn't ever seen before.

"Your hair…" Zuko let out. Naruto made a face at this.

"Yeah I just woke up old man, chill…" he said and yawned into his palm. Zuko was not satisfied by the answer.

"No…" He gestured to Naruto to take a look at the mirror on the wall. The teenager shrugged and did what he was told. His half-lidded eyes almost fell out of their sockets when he saw his image.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me." He muttered. The tips of his natural Fire Nation hair was turned golden blonde that was NOT natural in any nation at all! "What the hell happened to my hair."

"Naruto…"

"What!?" Naruto yelled out of frustration, he had never yelled at his mentor. He lowered his face in shame. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, take a look at this." Zuko pointed at something in the house. The elderly man had calmed down somehow, stroking his beard, thinking. Seemed like Naruto hadn't noticed the change in his eyes either, it looked like someone dropped a drop of red ink in them.

Naruto raised his head and looked at Zuko then looked at the place that he was pointing at.

His pillow was burned like several lit candles were thrown onto it. They figured it had something to with his hair.

"Just great." Naruto palmed his face, he just didn't know anymore. Zuko analyzed the house once more then placed a comforting hand on his pupil's shoulder.

"Looks like we have to talk."

The duo chose to settle in a place not so far from Naruto's house, a tea shop that had no customer other than them. It had a nice and calming aura.

Zuko thanked the girl who brought them two jasmine tea which reminded him of his uncle. The girl smiled back and walked away, but not before giving a strange look at Naruto's hair.

Teen sighed at this.

"That's all I know."

Zuko took a sip from his tea.

"So you're telling me, you've sucked the life out of your training tree, talked to the Avatar with your mind and dyed your hair blonde."

"I didn't dye it! It turned, on its own!" Naruto shouted, alarming the shop owner, who turned to his daughter, whispering 'yeah sure'.

"I see." Zuko took another sip, satisfied that his joke landed. He placed the cup on the table and looked at his disciple with a relaxed expression. "So that happened."

"What are you talking about? Why are you so calm?" Naruto was getting impatient, he didn't know what was happening to him and watching his mentor calmly drink some jasmine tea was getting on his nerves.

"I couldn't expect all of that to happen, of course. But I should say I wasn't ignorant of your anomaly." Zuko said with a serious expression, he wanted Naruto to believe him without a doubt.

"What anomaly?" Naruto was getting curious and impatient as the time passed. His heart rate increased as the Fire Lord opened the door he never knew existed.

"Naruto, your birth comes to the date after our Nation's fall, back to the age of Avatar Aang."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? I'm only 17."

Zuko stroked his beard, thinking back. "I'm well aware of that. Who found you back in the day was my sister, Azula. She was fresh out of the prison and mentally ill."

Naruto could only stare in disbelief.

Zuko questioned himself if he could tell this in an easier way but he couldn't find any.

"When she found you, you were just a newborn. No one knows about your real parents. Azula took you and became your… mother." Forgetting to check the teenager's reaction, he gained a nostalgic look. That was the first time he'd seen Azula happy and in peace. It was… refreshing.

"Her insane behaviors died down and she became… calm for once. But it did not continue long. Something… happened in several months."

"What is it?"

Zuko raised his face and noticed Naruto's expression. He didn't look surprised anymore, he looked like a child wondering how the bedtime story was going to end. But in this situation, the story was his own.

Zuko wore a neutral look as he continued on.

"A spirit. A dark spirit - we thought - latched onto your body."

Naruto's hand unconsciously reached his back over his shoulder. Zuko nodded.

"Yes, it's not a regular tattoo. It's the imprint of that Spirit. We've tried everything. SHE tried everything to save you from it. In vain. No spiritual master was able to deal with it. You were brought back into the fetus state, where the dark spirit fused with you for years and years."

Now, this made Naruto react.

"Okay, you're kidding me right?"

This was just too much, what the former Fire Lord said was he stayed in that state for around 50 years or something?

"I'm afraid not. We were unable to interact with you in that state, until that 'ritual' was completed which - as you may guess - was 17 years ago. "

"..." Naruto lowered his head into his palms, the world spinning around him. If what his mentor told him was true, that would explain everything. But, what? Was he even a human anymore? Is that why he had extraordinary physical prowess? Well, he was good but he wasn't inhuman at least?

After a while, Naruto finally raised his head. One question, standing out from the others in his mind.

"What happened to mo-... Azula?" he asked, stopped himself from saying a word that he never knew he had a hard time with.

Sadness covered Zuko's face when he heard the question. Despite his old age, he never got over losing his loved ones. It was a tragedy, really, seeing her holding onto life for once and again losing it all.

Without saying anything, the elderly man placed a couple of silver coins on the table and stood up, gesturing to the teenager to follow him. Naruto did as he was told, he didn't feel like questioning him. Plus, he had his thoughts to deal with.

After a long trip with Druk, the duo had reached the capital, near the Royal Palace. They stood before a lone grave away from others, where a name was engraved 'Princess Azula'.

They stood in silence for a while that felt like hours, both of them having discrete relations with the deceased.

Finally, Zuko broke the silence.

"She blamed herself…" He said.

Naruto didn't need to hear the rest of the sentence, he understood that Azula blamed herself for what had happened to him. She should've felt what he felt when he killed his training tree.

Everything she touches dies.

She must've committed suicide afterwards or fell severely ill. Didn't matter, she was gone.

And Ty Lee wasn't his real grandmother, she must've felt responsibility, 50-something years after Azula's demise. So she took him in and raised him, cared for him.

Regardless, he was grateful for it.

Noticing Naruto's look, Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you want to do now, Naruto?" He asked, knowing that the teen is confused and hurt.

Naruto finally took his eyes from the grave and tried to put on a strong expression.

"I think I will wander around for a while, I gotta think about all this." he said. Zuko nodded his head, he did know that it was a lot to take in. Considering what happened in these two days, it was Naruto's right to take a step back and think.

"Take your time. Be careful." He squeezed the teenager's shoulder. Naruto was grateful for his support, he managed to give him a fake smile.

"Thanks old man."

And walked away.

.

A\N : Thanks for reading.