Hi, Hi! So sorry this chapter took so long to update. I had to run things over in my mind (it was hard!) to see how it would fit in the story. I am so sorry! Thanks for reviewing everyone!
Brokn Innocence- Please do not beat your head viciously on the monitor. I hate to read that my Sensei's in pain. Uh…Zuko, Ayaka, and Ryu will somehow find a way out of this mess, I assure you. Thanks for your review!
Ally- Thanks for your review! I probably won't make someone die until the next chapter, but I don't know yet. But thanks for the idea! Now all I have to do is figure out who.
Fire Blazing Chan S.E- Thanks for your review. I hope you like this chapter.
Lavanderrose- Thanks for the tip! I'll keep that in mind when I'm doing the sequel! Oh, and thanks for your review.
Flames 220- Thanks for reviewing! If I were Iroh, I still wouldn't have told Zuko, I'd feel to guilty because he was so happy, and I killed it! I destroyed his happiness! How could I be so cruel? (slaps self) Sorry, getting off the subject. I know, I know, it was short, and I'm really sorry.
Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It took me a while figure out how things would fit in, but I think this works. Enjoy chapter 12!
Note: I have no idea what day it is in the story, so I just put in Saturday; cause I thought Saturday would be a good day for the ball.
Chapter 12: A secret exposed"All right! It's Saturday!" screamed Ayaka the next morning. She had just woken up and was sitting in bed with the covers over her legs. She ran her fingers through her dark hair, her hair tie on her wrist. "Woo! Now all I have to do is wake up Ryu and tell him the good news!" she said and shot out of bed, and ran down the hall to her brother's room saying 'It's finally Saturday' at the top of her lungs. "Ryu!" she screamed as she threw open the door. Her brother, not used to waking up at the crack of dawn, screamed and fell out of bed. "What the hell, Ayaka! I am trying to sleep! And if you were normal, you'd go back to bed and leave me alone, before I kill you," he yelled. Ayaka, not taking in a thing of what her brother just said, yelled, "It's Saturday! And you know what that means?" Ryu, still angry, said, "No, I have no idea what the fuck that means. Now go away and leave me alone," and climbed back into bed. "No, I like it here, so I'm going to stay. And since you don't know what today is, I'm going to tell you," said Ayaka. "I can't wait," said Ryu under his breath and twirling his finger. Ayaka smiled mischievously. "Today's the day of the ball!" she said. Ryu, half asleep, wasn't listening. "Did you hear me?" asked Ayaka. "No," said Ryu. Ayaka groaned. "Ryu! You're supposed to be listening! Today is the day of the costume ball…" a thought just struck her head, "…and you don't have anything to wear to it," she said, a hint of evilness in her voice. By now, Ryu was wide-awake. Oh shit, she's right. I don't have a costume, he thought, Dammit! I hate it when she's fucking right all the time! He sighed. "All right, I'm up," he said and got out of bed. Ayaka smiled deviously. Victory is mine! She thought. "Good. Now you and I can go look for your costume. Who do you want to go as?" she asked. Ryu looked at the ceiling, thinking. "Dracula," he finally said, looking at her and smirking. Ayaka rolled her eyes. "Fine, meet me in the living room after breakfast so we can go look for your costume," she said and left. "At the crack of dawn? Nobody's up this early!" he yelled at her, as she was just about to enter her room. She looked at him. "By the time we're done taking a bath and all that, people will be up," she said and went into her room.
She was just about to jump on her bed, out of sheer excitement, when a voice behind her froze her in her tracks. "Good morning, Princess," it said. She turned. Captain Zhao was standing in her doorway smirking. Ayaka gasped. Fuck! I'm only in my nightgown! And it's way above my knees! She thought. Zhao looked her up and down, his eyes coming to rest at her chest and legs. All Ayaka could do was stand there, too scared and nervous to move. "Hmm…you have nice legs, Princess, long and slender. Perfect for anything," he said. He was just about to step inside when Ryu stepped into the hall, all dressed and ready to go. Zhao turned his head to see the young Prince standing two feet away from him, glaring at him with the utmost loathing. "What the hell are you doing at my sister's door, Zhao?" he asked menacingly. Zhao smirked. "It's 'Captain' to you -" Ryu cut him off. "I don't give a fuck! What are you doing?" he said. "I was just saying good morning," he said innocently. "There's nothing wrong with that is there? If there is I'd be happy to…fix the problem," he said also glaring at Ryu. Ryu's eyes widened. Then a smile ran across his face. "Really?" he said, "Then I'll be more than happy if you left my palace and never came back…ever." Zhao chuckled. "It's not you palace yet, boy," he said. He turned to Ayaka who was still rooted to the spot. "I'll see you at the ball, Princess," he said and left. Ryu watched him leave and enter his room. He looked at his sister, who was still unable to move. "Are you all right?" he asked her. "Yeah…I'm fine," she managed to say. She ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her nightgown. "I am going to take a bath and meet you in the kitchen." "I thought you said living room," said Ryu. Ayaka ignored him and said, "Then, we can go look for your costume," and took her towel and left for the bathroom.
By the time she was done, Ryu had already eaten breakfast and was waiting for Ayaka at the door. "Did you eat breakfast?" he asked her when she came up to him. "Yes, can we go now?" she said. "Alright," said Ryu, and they walked out of the palace and into the town. They stopped by a shop that sold every costume imaginable. They walked inside and almost immediately found what they were looking for. They walked to a back corner of the shop and Ryu picked up his costume. It had a white long-sleeved shirt, with black pants, and a black cape. It also had fake teeth and stuff like that. "Well, we found it," said Ayaka. "Yup," said Ryu. "Well," said Ayaka. "Well, what?" Ryu said. "Well, aren't you going to try it on? You know, to see if it fits!" she said, annoyed at how stupid he could sometimes be. Ryu tried on the costume and discovered that the pants didn't fit him right, and so he and Ayaka went up to the owner's desk to see what he could do. "Excuse me," began Ryu. The owner looked at him. "What?" he said. He was old and bald, and he had a ton of wrinkles that made him look even older than he really was. Ryu and Ayaka couldn't help but stare at the man, for they were amazed that someone this old could still be alive, they thought he looked positively ancient. "What!" he said yet again, for the siblings were silent. Ryu stopped staring at once. "Hi," he said. "Look, this costume's pants don't seem to fit me right." The owner looked at him and said, "Well? What do you want me to do about it?" "We would like for you to fix it for us," said Ayaka, rather rudely. The owner glared at her. "Please," she added hastily and looked at the ground. "I don't feel like it. Go somewhere else," said the owner. This is where being a Prince really comes in handy, thought Ryu. "Alright, look," said Ryu, authority in his voice. The man looked at him. "If you don't fix this for us, we," he pointed to himself and Ayaka, "are going to do bad things to you. Very bad things," The owner laughed. "Like what? It's not like you can make me fix it," It was Ayaka's turn to speak. "Try us," she said, looking at the man in the eye. "If you don't fix this for us…" began Ryu, "…then we'll have you thrown in the dungeons." The man looked scared, he finally knew who these kids were. "All right, give it here, I'll fix it," he said. Once the costume was fixed, the two siblings started walking home.
"I wonder what Mom and Dad going wear tonight," said Ayaka. "I'd rather not think about that right now," said Ryu. Ayaka looked at her brother. "You okay? You seem out of it," she told him. "I'm fine," he said. "Ryu, you're not a very good liar," said Ayaka. He sighed. "All right, the truth is, I'm not fine," he said. "Why, what wrong?" his sister asked. "I'm worried about tonight, for you," he confessed. "Why would you be worried about tonight for my sake?" Ayaka asked. He sighed. "Because…because what if…what if Mom and Dad, and especially Zhao, find out that your in love with Zuko? What are you going to do?" he asked her. Ayaka rolled her eyes. "Ryu relax, will you? No one is going to find out. Zuko and I will keep the lovey-dovey stuff to…a low but slightly high level," she said. "Ayaka," he said. She stamped her foot. "Oh all right," she said, "A level so low that no one will suspect a thing. Happy?" Ryu smiled, "Yes," he said. "Well I'm glad you're happy. Now let's go home," said Ayaka. Back at the palace, Ryu tried on his newly tailored costume and found out, to his pleasure that it fit like a glove. "Well, well, well, Ryu. You'll have trouble fighting off the girls in that costume," said his Mother when he showed it to her. "Yes, you look dashing, son," said his Father. "Are you planning on wearing a mask?" his Mother asked. "No, actually. I thought I'd wear no mask with this, so people know who and where I am," said Ryu. His parents nodded. "Ayaka, your costume is ready, right?" asked her Father. "I don't think you can call it a costume, it's just a dress. But, yeah, it's ready," she said. "Excellent," said her Father. "Would you like to see our costumes?" said their Mother. "No!" said the siblings in unison. "Uh…" began Ryu, "…what we mean is…" Ayaka took over. "Why ruin it for us? We want to be surprised out of our wits," she said. "All right," said their Mother, "See you tonight then," she said and left to work on the decorations with her husband.
Ayaka and Ryu walked back to their rooms, but just as Ayaka was going into her room, she grabbed Ryu and dragged him inside. "What the fuck!" he said to her once she closed the door and locked it. "I'm sorry, it's just that my room is the only place safe enough to talk about Zuko," said Ayaka. Her brother sighed. "All right, shoot," he said. "I'm worried," she said. "About what?" asked Ryu. His sister started pacing. "What if I sent that invitation for nothing?" she said. "Ayaka," said her brother. "What if he doesn't come?" she said. "Ayaka," said Ryu. "What if -" she began. "Ayaka!" said Ryu cutting her off. She looked at her brother. "He is going to come, don't worry," he said. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Of course I'm sure. The boy is head over heels for you, why wouldn't he come?" Ryu told her. Ayaka smiled. "All right, I believe you," she said. "Good," said Ryu smiling. "Now can I get out of your room now?" She laughed. "Go ahead," she said. "Thank you," said Ryu. He unlocked the door and opened it. Both he and his sister gasped. "I heard every word," said Captain Zhao. He chuckled. "What the fuck do you want you bastard?" said Ryu. "You'd better be nice to me, Ryu, or I'll tell the entire palace about the Fire Lord's son and your sister," said Zhao glaring at him. "You wouldn't," said Ryu. Zhao smirked. "Try me," he said, his face inches away from Ryu's. Ryu held the doorknob tightly, ignoring the fact that he was digging his nails into his flesh, and that his knuckles were turning white. Zhao's smile broadened. He looked at both Ryu and Ayaka. "I'll see you two tonight," he said. As soon as he finished saying 'tonight', Ryu slammed the door in his face.
"Fuck, this is bad," said Ryu. "This is my fault," said Ayaka. Ryu looked at her. Her eyes were swimming with tears. "No it's not," he said. "Yes, it is," she said. "No, Ayaka, it's not. It's nobody's," he said. "Then what are we going to do?" she asked him. Ryu sighed and gave his sister a hug. "We pray that Zuko has a wicked good costume," he said.