Sequel to An Old Flame. Welcome to the 6th part of my Avatar series! If you're new, read on and if you enjoy, check out the other parts! Each part is usually it's own self contained story, but of course previous parts will be mentioned here and there!
Apologies for such a long hiatus. The past year and a bit has been quite stressful with school, exams and other things. I lost a lot of the will to write for a while, and even now it only comes in bursts. I have the 2nd chapter almost finished. I'm looking for a beta to look over it, and once it's finished, it'll be posted. I can't say how long it will take for chapter 3 to be done, but at the very least, I thought it was time to at least show I'm not dead! I hope you enjoy. ^^
A cheer went up around the ring as Ami hit the mat with a thud, a groan leaving her lips and her hair coming loose of its tie, flowing from the sides of her head like a river. Maiko dusted off her hands, posed in front of her crowd of sisters, and gave a bow before turning and offering her hand to her friend.
"Nice sweep," Ami said, and sat up. She rolled the shoulder she had landed on, a grimace appearing on her face, and reached with the other to take the helpful hand. Her pained expression vanished as she gripped her friend's wrist, planted a foot in the middle of her pelvis, and pulled sharply downward while powering her up and over her. Maiko could only let out a short yelp when she found herself upside down before crashing onto the mat.
Maiko narrowed her eyes as she stared at the ceiling. "Ow," she muttered monotonously, which caused Ami, along with the crowd of Kyoshi Warriors watching, to fall into a fit of laughter. The laughter drowned out the many expletives that Maiko began to hurl at her best friend.
Suki shook her head, unable to hide her grin while Ty Lee, one hand wrapped around her stomach, used her captain as support while she laughed. "That was a bit of a dirty move," Suki commented as Maiko gave Ami a few moderately light punches to the arm.
Ty Lee sat back and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you have always told us to fight dirty if given the chance."
"That's different," she told her with a roll of her eyes. "That was a little unfair though, and a bit dangerous. I think some light discipline is needed." The grey-eyed girl tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, are you actually going to punish her for a bit of fun?"
Suki bit her lip and looked away from Ty Lee and back to the two girls. "Nothing too serious. She'll just have to carry Maiko's stuff when we land and when we're leaving."
"Okay..." Ty Lee said, looking carefully at Suki's eyes, which still refused to return her gaze.
She was about to press the matter when two of her sisters ran into the room from the platform at the front of the ship. Their eyes were wide with excitement and big grins were spread across their faces.
"Everyone, outside! Hurry up!" the raven yelled before turning around and rushing back out onto the platform, her short bob cut swinging with every step.
Suki stood up, eyes trained on the remaining girl whose light brown locks flowed down her back like a waterfall, stopping just below her hips. . Suki made a mental note to scold her for leaving her hair down while on duty again. If this keeps up, I'm going to cut it. "Kasumi, is everything okay?".
She gave a couple of quick nods.. "Yeah," came the breezy reply. "Hurry up!" She followed after her sister, leaving the other girls to look around at each other for a few moments before standing and going to check what was causing the commotion. They quickly filed out and found the two girls staring over the edge of the walkway.
Ty Lee pulled her green kimono tighter around her body. "This better be important. It's freezing up here."
"Typical Fire Nation, can't handle the cold," one of her sisters teased, gently poking the acrobat in the side with her elbow.
"She used to spend all of her free time sitting by the fire for her first couple of months on the island," Suki added, getting a laugh from the group. Ty Lee pretended to pout but couldn't hide the smile that came to her lips. She smirked when she saw more of the girls subtly pull their own clothing tighter as a sharp wind blew across them.
"Look, down there!" Kasumi called out, pointing down at the expansive deep blue ocean. Tiny islands dotted the water in a way that, when joined together, formed a jagged line leading from the coast of the main continent to the Island of Kyoshi.
As the Kyoshi Warriors watched, a large Elephant Koi broke the surface of the water. This sight caused the excitement that had been building in them since they had left the Fire Nation to finally burst. Whoops and shouts resonated among the group, and some of the girls leaned over the railing to wave down at the many Elephant Koi that were beginning to jump out of the water.
"Wait! We must be close to home then!" Maiko said. She rushed to the end of the platform, followed by Ami and two other girls. They stood on their tippy-toes, trying to spot the crescent-shaped island, to no avail. Suki stood slightly outside of the main group of chattering warriors, leaning on the railing and enjoying the spectacle of the jumping Elephant Koi. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on a large shadow that seemed to follow the fish and gaining speed rapidly. She looked up at the underbelly of the airship before scanning the visible sky, finding no sun or object to either side of them. Due to the shadow of the airship, she was certain the sun was directly above them, blocked by the body of the airship. She couldn't understand where that other shadow was coming from. She furrowed her brow and her hands gripped the railings tighter, turning her knuckles white.
"Is everything alright down there?"
The voice broke Suki's concentration. She looked up at the windows of the airship above the platform. The Fire Lord was resting against the large open window of the captain's room. He had a grin on his face as he looked down at them. Some of the girls yelled out, telling him about the Elephant Koi, and he leaned just a bit more out of the window, his mouth beginning to water as the lovely smell and taste came to memory.
His eyes shifted to the girl who had been with him the night of that discovery. They held on her for a beat before darting away. They hadn't spoken much for the past two weeks since leaving Ba Sing Se—at least, not as much as he would have liked. Even after their conversation before they had left the capital, he always felt like things were tense whenever they were together, especially when they were alone. He looked back at her, finding her looking right at him, and cocked his head to the side from the confused, almost concerned, look on her face.
"Zuko," she called, urgency in her voice. "Will you tell the captain to raise the ship up a bit?"
He gave a nod and disappeared from view. Moments later, Suki felt a gentle change as the ocean began to get further away. Zuko reappeared at the open window again. "You look worried. What's wrong?"
"I just want to be sure that we're high enough if the Unagi was to attack," she explained, drawing a few curious glances from the warriors behind her. "Something large is following that school of Elephant Koi, I'm sure of it." Zuko's eyebrows shot up at the warning. He doubted an airship would last long against an Unagi.
"Suki, I can't even see Kyoshi Island from where we are," Ami said as she walked back away the end of the platform.
"The Unagi has always lived close to our waters," Maiko added.
"Exactly, there's no way she would venture this far—" A roar cut through Ami's words which made everyone freeze. The Kyoshi Warriors broke out of the induced paralysis almost as quickly as it had set in and stared down at the Elephant Koi which had begun to swim in a panic. The large silhouette was now directly underneath them. Two of the fish disappeared from sight in quick succession.
"Get this ship higher, now!" Zuko shouted at the captain, who pushed a lever to the maximum, telling the men in the furnace room to shovel coal as fast as they could. The airship began to rapidly rise, but slowed for a moment as another, even louder roar caused the workers to stop and look around nervously, wondering just what was happening outside of the hull.
"Do you think she would even bother with us when there is so much food in front of her already?" Ty Lee asked.
No one got a chance to answer as a slender charcoal-grey form broke the surface of water directly in the path of the airship. Her silvery head glistened in the sunlight as its slick body seemed to stretch on and on with no hint of ever ending, and for a moment, Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors wondered if she would just continue up until she was face-to-face with them. Thankfully, the eel reached the apex a few dozen meters under the height of the platform. She held still in front of the airship, which—having focused entirely on climbing—had slowed to a crawl. The Unagi's mouth opened slightly, allowing her terrified audience a clear view of the razor teeth aligning the inside.
"Why is she just sitting there?" Ty Lee murmured, and her eyes widened as the large dorsal fin at the top of the Unagi's head began to expand, the tallest tip of the fin reaching just past the acrobat's eye level. Many of the segments of the fin were pierced and torn at the top. The Unagi's body began to move in a wave-like motion, the waves getting slightly larger with each one. It turned its body, showing the silvery stripe that extended from its head down the length of its back. The black finlets that followed along the stripe made the Unagi's back look like a large serrated blade.
"I'm pretty sure she's trying to intimidate us," Suki whispered. Even after fifteen years on Kyoshi Island, and many run-ins with the Unagi, she had never seen such a display.
"You all lived with this thing, one of you tell her we're very intimidated!" Ty Lee said. The barbels began to snap, almost like whips, towards them.
Suki's eyes narrowed as the Unagi became very still and the yellow stripes on either side of the rear of her head began to flex slightly. Her breath caught in her throat. "Everyone get back! Off the platform, right now!" She had already turned around and her eyes widened when she saw Zuko, already in midair after jumping from the captain's room. She immediately readied herself to catch him, but he landed on the platform and rolled into his fall. Suki's command had finally registered in the minds of her warriors, snapping them out of the hypnotic effect that the Unagi's display had induced on them. As they turned to run, the Unagi reared back her head and opened her mouth.
"Move!" the Fire Lord yelled as he began to sprint the moment he found his footing. Suki and the others threw themselves to one side as the Unagi let out a deep screech and fired a powerful jet of water at the platform. Suki saw Zuko's nose flare, heard the deep breath he took as he ran past her, and could have sworn the air got more difficult to breathe for a moment. A fireball contained in his hands was already bristling with energy. He took a strong, front-weighted stance once he reached the end of the walkway, and with one last breath, splayed his hands forward. Despite being closer to the door and away from Zuko, Suki had to turn her face from the blast of heat that came from the bright yellow stream of fire that burst from the Fire Lord's palms.
Zuko's flame met the Unagi's jet of water much closer than he would have liked and steeled himself as he poured more of his energy into the fight. The Unagi's yellow stripes flexed out wide, almost doubling the width of the creature's neck. Zuko's eyes widened when a few drops of water gently tapped against his scar. He forced himself to allow his jaw to relax, and instead of gritting his teeth, breathed out slowly, causing the flame to burn even more intensely. For a moment, Zuko wasn't sure if he could keep it up for much longer, until the screeching of the Unagi came to a halt. A cloud of rapidly cooling steam blew past Zuko and began to engulf the lower portion of the airship. The Kyoshi Warriors used their deployable shield to protect their face while the rest of their bodies were protected by their kimonos, but the cloud of steam still left them completely soaked.
"Ahh, that's lovely," Ty Lee said as the cloud enveloped her, bringing back memories of the hot springs in Ember Island.
As the steam dissipated, Zuko saw that the Unagi had moved further away from them, out of the airship's path. Only her head stayed above water, and her double pair of eyelids, a pink pair vertical and the light grey pair horizontal, blinked slowly as the airship sailed past. Zuko felt as though those bright green eyes were focused entirely on him. The Unagi held his gaze for another few moments before slinking back down beneath the ocean's waves.
Zuko let out a deep sigh of relief, closed his eyes as he wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, and put out his hands to lean on the railing. His eyes snapped open when he never felt the metal railing, or anything else at all to hold him. He wildly wind-milled his arms, but it was too late. His body began to tilt further over the edge. As he stared down at the ocean, the image of the Unagi waiting just underneath the surface flashed before his eyes.
His clothing suddenly became tight around his chest, and he was no longer falling forward. He looked over his shoulder and found the captain of the Kyoshi Warriors smirking at him, one hand with a tight grip on the back of his clothes while the other was wrapped around the railing on the side of the walkway.
"You look like you could use some help," she said. Zuko looked down at the wavy blue floor and then back at his guardian and gave a nod, using his best puppy dog eyes. Suki laughed at him and shook her head before pulling him back to a more stable position. He squatted down, taking deep breaths, and rubbed his face with his hands.
The Fire Lord sat down, leaving his legs hanging over the edge, and let out another sigh while Suki sat down next to him. He inspected the molten metal that was now slowly flowing down the side of the walkway and dripping into the sea. "That was too close," he mumbled, before clearing his throat and glancing at Suki. "Thanks for saving me."
"Well," Suki said, grinning at him, "that is what you pay me to do."
"You're clearly worth the expenses." The two shared a laugh and fell into a comfortable silence.
While the other Kyoshi Warriors were chatting amongst themselves, Ty Lee, pretending to listen, was instead focused on the pair at the other end of the platform. She kept a close watch on their hands, which were so close they were all but touching.
"I suppose I should say thanks for saving all our butts from the Unagi," Suki told him, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "That was pretty impressive. Although I think the embarrassment of falling off would have undone that."
"It wouldn't have been a noble death. At least I wouldn't have had to deal with the embarrassment for long." Zuko smiled when she tried to stifle her laugh with her hand. "No problem, though." His eyes narrowed on something in the distance and gave a nod to get Suki's attention. "Kyoshi Island?"
Suki's eyes lit up at the sight and leaned forward to get just that bit closer to the island she called home. Her fingers rapidly twitched and tapped against the metal walkway before gripping the edge. Zuko grinned. He was half-expecting her to dive from the platform and swim the rest of the way—and he was fairly confident she could, in that moment, do it.
She gazed at the crescent-shaped island and the many mountains she had lived amongst for most of her life, then suddenly, the icy feeling that had been building since they left Ba Sing Se broke the surface. Her heart quickened, the beating thumping hard against her chest. Her breath quickened for a moment, until she brought it back under control.
Suki slowly lowered herself back down and brought her hands together, rested them in her lap, and lightly squeezed one with the other. She looked away from her homeland and glanced westwards before biting her bottom lip. After almost a minute, She turned to her companion, mouth parted to speak. His head was slightly tilted, golden eyes trained on hers. Her mouth closed and eyes held on his for a moment before gazing back to the island ahead.
"Yeah," she finally said. "I'd know it anywhere. It'll be good to be back."
He took a moment to respond before nodding slowly to what she had said. "I suppose first thing I'll have to do is apologise for burning down the village that one time."
"Trying to burn it down," Suki corrected, getting a chuckle out of him. "Don't worry. Oyaji was never someone to hold grudges, especially after you sent a ship full of supplies to help with repairs and expansion. And most of the Kyoshi Warriors who were fighting you that day are now your personal guards."
"Well, at least I won't be too unwelcomed." Suki rolled her eyes. The comfortable silence settled again. Suki focused on the beautiful view they had, trying her best to push other thoughts out of her mind. She leaned back, and put her arms behind her to support her, similar to the position Zuko had taken.
Ty Lee, along with a few other Kyoshi Warriors, widened their eyes slightly before they all began to grin at each other. Zuko simply kept looking at the Island of Kyoshi, hoping Suki would realise it herself. It wasn't until Ami whistled loudly that made Suki look over her shoulder at her Kyoshi Warriors, who all had grins across their faces. She frowned for a moment before realising her hand was resting atop the Fire Lord's, which she quickly pulled away from. This prompted many of the girls to giggle, although Ty Lee simply watched, a disappointed look on her face.
Suki cleared her throat, hoping her Kyoshi mask hid her blush. "I should probably...get them to get their stuff together. We'll be landing soon." She stood.
"Yeah..." Zuko said. "Honestly, I should probably get away from this ledge anyway."
"As your personal guard, you should definitely get away from the ledge."
Zuko gave a small laugh as he stood up and followed Suki back to the door of the airship, where the Kyoshi Warriors were standing. They were doing their best to not look at the pair as they neared. Ty Lee, however, gave her captain a smile when she reached them. Zuko gave the girls a nod as he stepped past them. He heard Suki using her commander voice as the door closed behind him.
"Line up! Which one of you whistled?"
A bit of fun and action thrown in to start us off! I hope you liked the opening chapter.
Update 10th August: Still searching for a beta, but just thought I'd say that I have the base of chapter 2 and 3 typed and they'll be posted once a beta takes a look at them! Thank all of you for such an amazing response to me coming back. ^^
Huge thanks to Serenity for being my Beta on this chapter and the past couple stories. You've been amazingly helpful and have improved this tale and my ability immensely.
And another big thanks to Gaby (Her at pichikui) on twitter for allowing me to use her fantastic Zuki artwork. Go check out her other stuff as well!
Guest reviewers - Check profile for responses.
I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this new story, and as always would love to hear your opinion on it so far, or any little comments you may have. Consider following if you'd like to keep up with the story. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender or its character, they were created by Bryan Konietzko and Mike Dante Dimartino, and belong to Viacom.