Disclaimer: (to the tune of 'I Feel Pretty')
I own nothing
Lots of nothing
Nothing, and Zero, and Ziiiiiiiiilch!
AN: Left you hanging for a while, didn't I? (longer than usual, anyway.) But I'm posting this in honor of TONIGHT"S NEW EPISODE! Which comes on in aproximately an hour and a half. I apologize for attempting the humor segment at the end of the last chapter. It was a real show of bad timing, and I won't do it again. I'll post all unrelated humor stuff in Avatar's Guide, so look for laughs there. As for future writing...I've got chapters 11 and 12 written, but it's taking a lot of effort to get them edited, so... who knows how that will work out. I haven't heard from my beta in a while (and with all the scary stuff going on lately, I really hope she's all right) so I edited this one by myself again. Please forgive any consequent tackiness. Anyway, enjoy the new episodes and the new chapter!
Chapter 10
"We're running low on money again," Katara pointed out, steering Aang away from a stall of 'curios'.
"Don't look at me," Sokka said. "I'm not the one who burned all my clothes to cinders." He shot a glare at Zuko, though it wasn't as cold as it could have been. His opinion of the Firebender was finally beginning to soften, but the change was a very subtle one, and he still didn't waste any chances to antagonize the other boy. Zuko said nothing about the accusation. Katara had already forgiven him for starting the fire, and he saw no need to explain it to Sokka again.
He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably as he tried to ignore the other boy—he was wearing Sokka's spare clothes, and they were rather tight on him. He had fared better than Katara, though—she was sporting an awkward culmination of her own charred rags, a blanket, and Aang's spare shirt. The group had already visited a tailor, but the new clothes had been expensive, and wouldn't be finished for another day at least. Most of the remaining money had been devoted to restocking their food and medical stores.
An uncomfortable prickle at the base of his neck told him that he was being watched. Cautiously he glanced over his shoulder, and his eyes landed on a pack of young women. Most of them had been gossiping while they bartered for fruit at a nearby stall, but their attention seemed to have gained a new target.
One of the girls, perhaps twelve, said something to her companions. Suddenly the entire group burst into childish giggles.
They reminded Zuko of a flock of loud, colorful birds.
"What are you staring at?" Aang asked, noticing the Prince's distracted glances.
"I think we're blocking somebody's view..." he said. At once he, Sokka, Aang and Katara turned to get a better look at the flock of girls.
The result was amazing. More than a dozen feminine faces turned deep red, accompanied by renewed fits of giggles and squeals. Several of the women began flapping their hands excitedly in the air.
There was no way they could have been mistaken for human.
Again the girls chattered rapidly amongst themselves, though all their wide eyes were glued on the Avatar's group. One of the oldest, a woman in her early twenties, started to speak. Zuko tried to listen, though her words were drowned out by the excited chirping of the other girls. The woman laughed and spoke again, and the others erupted into a hyper chorus:
"Do it, do it, do it..."
Again she laughed, and she left the group, walking confidently towards the Avatar and his companions. She was unusually thin, and her skin was slightly pale, even for the fair complexion of the Fire Nation, but she didn't hesitate as she approached.
"Do it, do it, do it..."
"She's actually going to do it!" one of the girls squealed, and the others fell into an awed hush. The woman wove languidly between Sokka and Zuko, her hands trailing smoothly across their shoulders.
"Hello there," she said. Her voice was silky and even, and she sifted her fingers through their hair.
The other girls erupted into long, ecstatic squeals.
"Hello," Aang said, rather flustered by the display. "Um...Are your friends going to be okay?" The woman chuckled.
"Don't worry about them. They're just excited."
"About what?" Zuko asked. The woman circled around him, not even a foot away. He felt like an animal on display.
"It isn't every day that three handsome young men come to this town," she said sweetly.
"Really?" Sokka quipped. The woman flashed him a winning smile.
"Of course. So you really must forgive them; they can be a bit... eccentric, but they're harmless enough. I take it that the four of you came here together?"
"I don't see why it matters," Katara said simply. The stranger's 'friendly' behavior was beginning to grate on her nerves, but she managed to keep her temper in check. The woman was right; there were surprisingly few men in this area, most likely they had been siphoned off as soldiers for the war. The girls here probably swooned for every male they saw. The fact that Zuko was included on this list was merely a coincidence.
But does she honestly need to hang on him like that? Katara couldn't help thinking. She's draped over him like a curtain!
"It doesn't. I'm just curious," the woman shrugged. "But tell me, are your names open for public knowledge?"
"Yep," Sokka said too quickly. He didn't notice Katara's glare in his direction until the word had left his mouth. Of course they weren't! Aang and Zuko were outlaws. Advertising their names would come very close to suicide. "I mean..."
"That's Sokka," Katara said quickly. "He's my brother. And that's ...Haru," she pointed at Aang. "And that—" next was Zuko, and Katara found her mind blank.
"He's Kuzon," Aang finished steadily. The woman nodded, shifting her black gaze between the four visitors. While her eyes were on Sokka, Katara mouthed a quick 'thanks' at Aang.
"It's good to meet you. Tell me, are you hungry?"
"What?" Katara asked. The randomness of the question had caught her off guard.
"Are you hungry?"
"Sure," Sokka said, trying to look masculine, much to the delight of the still tittering girls. The woman nodded her approval.
"Good. Now watch this. Hey! You two!" she called to the girls in the gathering crowd. Which two she had acknowledged was unknown, because the entire flock moved forward as one, hopelessly surrounding the Avatar's group. "These men are hungry."
The flock erupted into a deafening roar.
"I can bring you some riceballs!"
"Do you like soup?"
"There's a great tavern nearby, do you want to come?"
"There's roast duck at my house!"
"What about fruit? Do you like leechy nuts?"
"Take your pick," the woman said. Zuko found his eyes growing wide. Absolute chaos surrounded him on every side, and every fiber of his body screamed at him to escape. Sokka, however, looked like he had finally reached heaven. Several of the girls had dashed off, returning minutes later with various parcels of food. These were eagerly offered to the three boys, and always accompanied with shrill squeals of joy as they were accepted. The flock tightened around Sokka, who was having the time of his life. Aang was in the process of being hugged by most of the unladen girls, while Katara struggled to dig her way out of the crowd.
"It looks like he's enjoying himself," the woman said calmly, gesturing at Sokka. Zuko nodded, trying to maintain his sanity within the confines of the writhing group. She glanced at him, then looked away again, turning her thoughtful gaze to the heavens, as though she could hear some divine wisdom through the squeals of the mob.
"You've got something on your chin, by the way," she pointed out. Zuko said nothing, but brushed his hand across his face, trying to rid himself of whatever it was, welcoming the distraction. She shook her head. "It's still there. Let me..." Without further warning, she brushed her fingers gracefully across his chin, sliding them up his cheek. She brought her face closer to his, until she was a few mere inches away, catching his golden eyes with her own nearly black orbs. He went completely rigid.
"Oooh!" one of the younger girls squealed, and the sound turned into an eerie howl as the others joined in. The woman retreated, watching with idle amusement as two of the younger girls raced up to Zuko, rapidly babbling about some incoherent rubbish. Several others joined her, and they forced him into the heart of the flock with Aang and Sokka.
Only Katara was spared. She finally emerged from the swiftly growing herd, staring coldly at the older woman.
"Hm...did I make you angry?" the woman mused. "I suppose you've got some claim on him, then? Ha...there's no harm in a little innocent flirting, is there? Surely you aren't worried that your dear Kuzon would be unfaithful...?" Katara's eyes narrowed mulishly.
"Of course not," she snapped. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Good," the woman said. "Though I suggest you move faster if you want to keep him."
"What?" Katara couldn't help but feel the back of her neck prickle at the sound of the challenge—or the threat.
"Exactly what I said. If you have a claim on him, stake it quickly, Katara. Or somebody else might beat you to it."
Zuko, meanwhile, was becoming the hapless victim of the woman's predictions as the girls flooded around him, chirping mercilessly. During the few moments when he could distinguish one voice from another, it became painfully clear that these girls were completely insane. Most of them were babbling on mindlessly about how good he looked and why he should spend the next few hours or days or years with them. A couple were determined to convince him to take off his shirt, and a third kept trying to guess how he had received his scar. Two were discussing what sounded suspiciously like wedding plans.
He found all of this rather alarming.
Women had never spared him much attention before Katara, and the sudden barrage of feminine admirers was more than slightly traumatizing. He wondered vaguely if he could fight his way out of the crowd, or if that would somehow provoke the giddy women even further. The girls were absolutely puzzling, though their bizarre nature seemed to have gone unnoticed by Sokka and Aang. These two eagerly lapped up the attention, performing little stunts and poses for their new admirers and being generously rewarded with offerings of food.
"Do you like children?" one of the newer members of the small mob asked eagerly.
"Oooh! Oooh! I'd like to have lots of kids," another quipped before he had a chance to reply. "Would you? Please?"
Zuko tried to back away, only to step into several more girls.
This is insane.
"Having fun?" he heard a blessedly familiar voice ask. Katara was half submerged in the crowd, elbowing and shoving her way past the rabid girls, though she was otherwise ignored. When they would let her go no further, she reached over the shoulders of some of the shorter fanatics, her hand extended just within Zuko's reach.
"Plenty of it," he said dryly, taking her hand. "I just wish it would stop." She helped pull him to the edge of the throng, though several of the girls scrambled around to continue encircling him. It wasn't too much of an improvement, but at least he was with Katara now. "How do we get rid of them?" he asked. Katara looked around thoughtfully for several moments, and then her face brightened.
"Like this," she said at last. She stepped close and wrapped her arms around his neck. They both heard several indignant cries, and multiple pairs of hands tugged at Katara's makeshift shirt, trying to drag her away from Zuko.
"Back off," she said to them, her voice edged with subtle confidence. "He's taken." The other girls started to protest, but she ignored them all, planting a sweet kiss on Zuko's lips.
The air exploded with a mixture of disappointed moans, adoring 'aaw!'s, and exaggeratedly excited squeals. The kiss hadn't ended before the members of the crowd got the message, reluctantly backing away to give their idol and his fiancée more room.
Sokka and Aang didn't fail to notice it either.
"You guys can stop now," Aang said, tapping Zuko. The Prince, for once in his life, made a point of ignoring the Avatar. Aang stared for a few moments in amazement before he turned to Sokka. "Don't they have to start breathing soon?" he asked. Sokka grimaced and grabbed Zuko's shoulders, pulling him back.
"That's enough," he said. "Now get off my sister already!" He gave a decisive yank, and Katara reluctantly allowed her hands to slide from Zuko's shoulders. "You can back off any time now."
"He's got a point," the woman from before said with a soft laugh. "Come on, girls. Give these boys some room before you smother them." After minor debate, the mob obeyed, slowly moving back. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Business to do? I'm sure you all came to the market for a reason." Several pairs of eyes widened in sudden realization, and many of the girls dashed from the scene.
"Sweet girls, really," the woman noted with a shrug as the crowd thinned. "A bit eccentric. Very enthusiastic. But sweet, all the same."
"And they gave us food!" Sokka cheered. The woman glanced at him with mild amusement.
"Thanks for that," Aang said, stuffing several of the gifts his fans had given him into his bag.
"It was no bother at all," the woman insisted calmly. Her eyes flickered across the still crowded streets. "In fact, I think I benefited from it as much as you did."
"Really?" Aang asked. "How's that?" The woman chuckled and put her hand on his head, her palm resting on the straw hat that covered his tattoo.
"I think you'll see," she said. She smiled at the four of them and walked away, as confident and cool as when she had arrived. "I expect to see you soon," she called over her shoulder as she left.
"That was weird," Katara said as they left the market.
"Weird, maybe, but it was fun," Sokka admitted cheerfully, though he did send Katara a dirty look. "But you two really-" She rolled her eyes.
"Are you ever going to give it up, Sokka?" she asked, though she couldn't help smiling. In a thousand years she could never have denied that the kiss had felt good.
"Of course not," he said. "I'm your brother. It's my job to take care of you."
"As long as it doesn't involve laundry," Aang added.
"Did you two ever actually wash your clothes when I wasn't around?" Kataa asked.
"We left that part up to Sokka's instincts," Aang said. Katara was amazed by his efforts to keep a straight face as he reminded her of the old joke.
Zuko could only watch in confusion as both of them burst out laughing, while Sokka glared at nothing in particular.
"But seriously," Katara gasped, trying to regain her breath. "How did-"
"The Avatar, Prince Zuko, and Katara," a deep voice rumbled through the trees.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Sokka demanded.
"Shut up, you Water Tribe urchin!" the voice snapped.
"Hey!"
"What do you want?" Aang asked, suddenly wary.
"That much should be obvious." A man stepped from the cover of the shadows, a crossbow readied and aimed at Zuko. A long, thin knife was in his other hand.
"Surrender, Avatar, and I won't be forced to kill your friends," a second man snarled, stepping from another shadow. He glared at the first man, but he advanced, brandishing a vicious looking spear.
"You've got to be kidding me," Katara said as three more men emerged from the trees.
"Silence, you insolent tramp!" a sixth man said.
"Enough," Zuko said coldly, glaring daggers at the latest offender. He raised his fists, stepping into a fighting stance between Katara and the nearest of the strangers. They could belittle Sokka all they wanted, but nobody insulted Katara in his presence.
"What do you want with us?" Aang asked again, gripping his staff.
"That bounty on your head, Avatar," one of the men said, grinning wickedly before charging Aang. The Avatar raised his staff, Sokka prepared to launch his boomerang, Zuko advanced into a brutal kick, Katara pulled the stopper from her water skin—
And the man fell to he ground, followed promptly by his detached head.
A sharp cry sounded, and the crossbow wielding man was felled, his death accompanied by the swift clash of steel against steel. A new figure now stood over his body, glaring fiercely at the other men. There was no mistaking that pale skin, that lean frame—it was the woman from the market. Without another sound she lunged forward, lashing at the man with the spear. At first there was no identifying the weapon in her hand—a silver whip? An insanely long sword? A short meteor hammer? Unyielding to logic, the weapon struck the bounty hunter, killing him almost instantly with a brutal slash across the chest.
Another man woke from his surprise and rushed at Aang, only to be thrown aside by one of Zuko's relentless punches.
Only two remained now; one fell at the angry blow of Sokka's club, the other found himself tossed into a tree by a sudden gale.
"Er...thanks again," Aang began, though his gratitude went unnoticed by their aid. The woman merely glared down at the bodies.
"Worthless vultures," she muttered, swinging her weapon down, beheading two of the unconscious bounty hunters. Katara and Aang's eyes widened in alarm.
"Was that...really necessary?" Sokka asked. He had nothing against defending himself, but killing an unconscious man..."They're uncon-"
"Completely," the woman interrupted, her tone light. She knelt at one of the corpses, sifting through its pockets, retrieving a bag of coins and a gold ring. "They are as persistent as rats, and nearly as common. Kill them off quickly or they'll do the same to you. Assuming they don't tear each other apart first." Her tone was calm and logical, but their effect was horrific. She spoke of merciless killing as though she was commenting on the weather, all the while scavenging the bodies of the fallen like a hungry boar.
Katara stepped forward to protest, but a glint of evening sunlight caught her attention, reflected off two long, hooked blades. She froze, all previous arguments forgotten.
"Those swords," she managed to say. The woman glanced down at them, clearly pleased with the attention.
"Brilliant, aren't they? Quite a rare design, too." All eyes now turned to the too familiar weapons.
"They're Jet's..." Katara said. The woman smiled coolly.
"The rebel boy? Yes. But they're mine now. They were an admirable gift, I'll admit."
"Why would he give them to you?" Sokka asked, suspicion bleeding into his voice.
"He didn't. Admiral Zhao did. When I gave him the rebel's head on a platter." As though to emphasize the point, she decapitated the last of the survivors. Katara took an involuntary step away from the woman, suddenly queasy. Aang, too, looked ill. Zuko watched in silence, though a trace of vague recognition was beginning to dawn across his features.
"What?"
"You heard me. And I was handsomely rewarded for the task, too."
"You...you didn't kill him?" Aang started. The woman laughed coldly.
"Stop laughing about it!" Katara snapped. "How dare you-"
"What are you complaining about? You certainly didn't think too highly of him. Not of his kisses, at least. The fool deserved to die." Katara stepped forward again, suddenly furious.
"Who are you?" Sokka demanded, pulling his sister away from the woman. Again the stranger's laugh shattered the air.
"My, my," she said. "All this time, and you still know nothing? How unfortunate." She gathered the last remnants of the bounty hunters' valuables. "You need not bother with my name, but remember this: I am the woman who will kill you." She turned on her heel and began to pad away.
"Stay away from them, Sen," Zuko said suddenly. His voice was almost unnaturally sharp and commanding, and it seemed to slice through the air. The woman glanced at him over her shoulder, amused, but undaunted.
"You remember me," she said dryly. "I'm flattered. But that will not save you." Without another word she resumed her pace, melting effortlessly into the shadows.