Thank you satsberrine for reviewing! Thanks for the support as well. He is a fun character to write.

This chapter is again shorter than the others but I promise the next chapter will have some length (at least I hope it does).

I might start slowing down because of another idea that popped up and won't leave me alone until I do something. I might just have to write it as well.

Please keep reading and reviewing though!

Disclaimer: I own Nami and Sunoo and Yasuo. That's it.

Chapter 4 – Iesuji

Nami sat politely across from Iroh. He gave her one of his smiles and called in a soldier.

"Bring us what the cook has laid out today, please," he said, earning a bow as the soldier left.

Sunoo lied down besides his human, closing his eyes. His breathing began to slow as he slept on; tired from making sure his human was all right last night.

"He has taken a liking to you," she observed. "Normally he would be on alert to make sure I will not be hurt."

"Ah, he is a special dog." Iroh looked up when the door opened. The soldier placed the tray on the table and bowed, leaving. The old man poured Nami a cup of tea before pouring his own. She thanked him even as he passed her a small bowl of rice and a plate with various foods on it.

The girl forced herself to have some manners even though her stomach gave a low growl. Her dog grumbled and she passed him something that looked like meat.

"He seems very close to you, Miss Nami." Iroh took a sip of tea as she smiled.

"He has been my companion for about six years now," she said, stroking the dog's head. "I found him outside in the middle of winter and I took him in. Sunoo's been with me ever since then." He received another meat strip.

Iroh nodded, not letting anything he would regret later from slip. "I assume you would like to be let off at the next port?"

She nodded, her hands moving to rest in her lap. "Yes, but." Nami stopped and stared down at Sunoo.

The Firebender encouraged her silently, watching the emotions dance across her face.

"I do not know what to do when I get there," she finished. "I used to work in a flower shop and helped a tailor but it will not be the same anymore." The Waterbender took a shaky breath. "I worked to keep the family going but now it's just me and Sunoo."

"Your father is in the war then?" he asked, watching her with sympathetic eyes.

"Yes, along with my brother. I do not know if they are all right or if they are," she stopped, swallowing hard.

He reached over and rested a hand on her shoulder. "It is all right, Miss Nami. You do not have to say it."

Taking in a shaky breath, she nodded and gave him a weak smile. It dropped then and sadness once again consumed her. "My mother is gone though. I know that for certain," she managed, trying to calm herself.

"It is hard to deal with the loss of a loved one," Iroh agreed, watching as she stared sadly down at her empty plate. "But they are still with us." He poured her another cup and sighed. "I have already lost my brother."

"Is he gone as well?" she asked, gazing at him.

"No, but he is like that to me. He has been consumed by greed and will not stop until he has the world under him." He winced as she gasped.

"Then you are the brother to Fire Lord Ozai!" she exclaimed, blinking as it sunk in. She must have been out of touch to not have figured that out. "That is funny; you don't act anywhere near to how he seems to be."

He chuckled and gave her a grin. "Miss Nami, if I acted like my brother, the world would be under Fire Nation control by now." The Firebender smiled at her dumbstruck look.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I have an honor code unlike my brother. I do not believe in unnecessary sacrifices. That is why I left Ba Sing Se those years ago. It wasn't worth the effort." He took another drink of his tea as she processed the information.

She gave a nod and it reminded him of his nephew. "There is something I don't understand."

"Oh?" he said, tilting his head to one side. "And what is that?"

Nami looked up, staring him straight in the eyes. "Why waste your time on a girl who probably has no family left and nothing to offer? Why do anything for me?"

Iroh sighed and gave her another smile. "Prince Zuko and I have a code that we honor. We do not harm defenseless women and children, no matter what the cost. Also, the Admiral who attacked your ship is an old enemy of Prince Zuko's."

"So, basically he saved me to rub it in the Admiral's face?" she asked.

"Not so much. He might not seem like it but he does have a heart."

"Somewhere," she muttered.

Again, he chuckled. Iroh decided to change the topic. "How long have you been Waterbending? You have quite a bit of power."

Nami smiled. "Since I was eight. I did not practice that much because I had to support the family but I did as much as I could," she added, relaxing. "My mother was not happy about it though." Her smile fell.

"Oh? Why is that?" he asked, leaning on the table.

She sighed and, out of habit, began petting Sunoo. "I do not know. She seemed scared, I guess, when I told her. I guess she was scared because of what happened to the other Waterbenders and what happened to my grandmother." Iroh once again gave her silent encouragement. "The other Waterbenders were killed by the Fire Nation about twenty years ago when they first attacked. My grandmother was attacked by a Firebender at the same time while she and her husband were on the water in their boat. She became terrified and a wave hit the ship and it sunk. My grandfather came back alone and said that she had drowned.

"I guess there is something in our family line where our Waterbending is connected to our emotions. My mother did not want me to end up like her mother but I could not help it. It made me feel free," she said, sighing. "And now look what it has done." Her head fell into her hands and the Firebender felt the ship tilt suddenly.

"Miss Nami," he began, hoping to calm her before the ship flipped over. "It just seems you have a problem controlling your emotions. Prince Zuko has a terrible time controlling his anger." He let out a sigh of relief when the ship stilled. "I could help you for as long as you are on this ship. It would do us both some good," he chuckled.

"Really?" she asked, brightening instantly.

He smiled, knowing that this would be easier than teaching Prince Zuko to control his temper. "I am positive that I can. I need to do something every now and then to keep my old body in shape."

The Waterbender grinned widely, the wonders of being able to keep her emotions under control flowing through her. It was almost too good to be true. Sunoo even seemed happy, his tail wagging.

"When do we start?" she asked.

Zuko stood on deck, his hands clasped behind his back. The sun was right overhead, warming the otherwise cold air. He frowned though, searching for any island that they could stop and perhaps kick the girl and the dog off onto. The Firebender didn't find any, just blue ocean all around them.

He heard the hatch open behind him but didn't turn around. Someone began to whisper and he frowned again, hoping he could catch some of the words. He thought he heard his uncle's voice and Zuko finally turned around, wondering what in the world was going on.

A wave of water hit him squarely in the back as soon as he faced them.

Sputtering, the prince stared as he saw the girl with his uncle. She was giggling and even the dog looked happy. His own uncle was laughing, a rich sound.

"What are you laughing at?" he roared, shaking his arms to fling excess water off of him.

"You were right," he heard her say. "He does have a temper problem."

"What have you told her?" he asked, louder than he meant to.

The girl grinned widely at him while his uncle chuckled. "I have not told her anything. She guessed the temper problem."

"It wasn't hard to," she muttered loud enough for the prince to hear.

He snorted, a trail of smoke hissing from him. His body lit with flames, turning the ocean water into steam and effectively drying himself. Zuko growled as he walked towards them, showing he was not happy at all. The Firebender stood right in front of the girl, glaring down at her while she grinned.

"Nice trick," she said. "Did you like mine?"

Zuko growled and proceeded to storm off.

"Now, now, Prince Zuko. Do not be angry. I merely asked if she could summon up such a wave and she did! If you would like to blame someone, blame me," Iroh apologized, grinning as his nephew growled again. "You might want to stay on deck anyways. I was just about to teach her some techniques to relieve stress."

Stopping, the exiled prince turned and glared at his uncle but made his way to lean on the rail.

Iroh smirked and turned to Nami. "Ready?" he asked, sliding into a fighting stance.

She nodded, eagerly taking the stance he made.

Zuko watched in slight fascination as she moved gracefully across the deck of the ship. It took her several times to understand the move but she kept going, her determination getting in the way of her fatigue. His uncle seemed a bit impressed as well, going over some Firebending moves without the flames.

Iroh asked her to demonstrate what Waterbending moves she knew and Zuko promptly moved away from the railing. No way was he getting soaked again.

She summoned another wave, letting it fall before it hit the ship though. Her next move was simple as well and was basically a ball of water. Sheepishly, she rubbed the back of her head. "That's basically all I know," she announced.

Iroh nodded and began to help her through steps and moves again, critiquing her when she dropped her arm or leg in the wrong place. She would quickly correct it and continue following his uncle's steps.

The prince looked down, surprised to find the dog sitting beside him. He glanced up at the Firebender briefly and gave a short growl. Zuko assumed that was his way of saying 'stay away from her.'

"You are getting it now!" Iroh exclaimed happily, chuckling as she slid to stop and nearly slipped. "Ah, that was a nice workout," he panted, wiping his brow.

She was grinning still but gasping for air. Apparently, she wasn't in very good shape.

Zuko grunted and looked up when he heard his name. The captain announced that they would be at the next port in two days. He nodded and turned back to his uncle and the girl, seeing the mixed emotions dancing across her face. Frowning, he wondered why she would be unhappy to leave the ship.

"Prince Zuko!" Iroh called out. "Join us for dinner in the meditation room!"

There was no argument there. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Damn.

The dog stood, stretching his legs and snorting at the prince. Tail high in the air, he trotted off to join his human as she went to clean up.

"She has excellent grace," Iroh commented, leaning against rail. "She would be an excellent Waterbender if she tried harder."

Zuko snorted and walked off, glancing at the setting sun. It threw the sky on fire and brought slight peace to the young man.

He only had to deal with her for two more days.

He watched while she ate and talked, keeping an eye on her the entire time. This was not something he liked to do but to complete his mission, he had to do it.

Sighing, he continued to watch her like a hawk while he thought. What had to happen tonight was not something he would forgive himself of doing. But he had been sent to complete his mission and he would so that he and she may find peace in the next world.

A lot of the times, he hated his job. He loathed it, actually.

But he had to if things were to go right in the world. That was something he wished.

He pushed his moral aside.

This had to be done.