Thank you Tsuyosa and My Silver Wound for reviewing! Hope you have fun in Pennsylvania.

I have writer's block…well for my other story Oyu. Anyone who has read the other one, I'm sorry. I'll try to get back on track soon. This one is still going though.

Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own my characters and that's it. The Avatar belongs to its creators.

Chapter 4 – Ryuusei

Sorano raised an eyebrow and seemed to sigh. "Commander Zhao," she greeted, taking her hat off and bowing. "To what do I owe this unpleasant visit to?"

Zuko could almost feel the sarcasm dripping from her. She had a very intense glare and a fake smile plastered on. The witch probably hated Zhao as much as he did.

"It is Admiral, now, witch," he corrected.

"Oh, I am very sorry," Sorano apologized. "I didn't know that Ozai promoted arrogant, moronic bastards."

The prince would've grinned if he had the chance. He was starting to like her after all.

"Shut your mouth, witch. You and your crew are under arrest for treason and betrayal." A tic had appeared beneath the Firebender's eye. He suddenly noticed that there was someone standing next to her. "Prince Zuko. What a surprise. I did not know you associated with traitors. Oh, wait, you are a traitor."

The potion had worn off and he frowned. Zuko glared up at the admiral as he smirked and took out a scroll from his pocket.

"Tell you what, witch. I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. If you can identify the man in this poster, I will let you go." He tossed the scroll down and she let it float down into her hand.

Sorano opened the scroll and gazed at the man with the demon mask on. "Handsome devil," she commented.

Again, the tic appeared.

Her head tilted and she gave a wide grin. She held it in one hand and waved her other hand over it and Zuko stared as the ink rearranged itself to form a perfect picture of him. Sorano stifled a laugh and glanced at him. She appeared to be enjoying this.

"Prince Zuko," she began in a serious tone. "Do you agree that this is a perfect specimen to outsmart the admiral?" she asked.

It took all of Zuko's willpower to hide his smirk. "I believe so."

"Ookami!" she called out and Zuko was surprised that the demon had been standing on deck still. "Tell me what you think of this man here?"

Ookami took the scroll and held it at arm's length. His eyes sparkled but his face remained neutral. "Damn smart guy. Then again, it doesn't take too many brains to steal from the Fire Nation."

Zuko could feel Zhao's rage reach a boiling point behind them.

"Though I have to say, I think I've seen him before," she mused. The witch waved her hand over it again and then rolled it back up. "Take a look for yourself, Admiral."

The scroll began to float back up to him and Zuko could actually feel magic happen around him. When he turned, he found the witch drawing on the deck with her chalk in fast movements. Before he could say anything, Sorano grabbed his arm tightly and whispered something right as the scroll touched Zhao's palm.

Zhao opened the scroll impatiently and stared upon the 'Blue Spirit'…

…who was a very poorly drawn figure of himself.

Roaring, he let his fists glow with power to unleash his rage on the witch.

The ship had vanished.

"Find them!" he yelled, racing around the warship to find the patchwork ship.

Sorano grinned widely and nodded to Hoshi. The demon saluted silently and let the engine come to life. The ship groaned and started to glide through the water.

Silently, she turned on her heel and pulled the prince behind her. He followed only because her grip was tighter than he imagined for such a woman.

Once below deck, she sighed and faced him, still holding his arm. "There's a spell on the ship to make us invisible and spirit-like which is basically that we can pass through solid objects. The ship doesn't accept you yet because you are considered a guest. I can't let go of you until we either get away from the bastard or I get you accepted."

Zuko shook his head in confusion.

"Basically, I let go and you fall into the water. Or, you get stuck in the Fire ship walls. Trust me, that's not a pretty sight," she mumbled, shuddering.

She tugged his arm and he had no choice but to follow her down into the ship. Sorano led him to the rooms and stopped in front of his. Taking out her chalk, she gave it to him. "Write your name on the door."

Confused, he did as she said nonetheless and watched as she smacked her hand against it, mumbling something. His name flashed, one symbol at a time, and then turned as black as night.

Grinning, she released his arm.

He expected to fall but found that his feet were still on solid ground. He looked himself over and sighed softly as he was still in one piece.

"There. Now any spell I put on the ship will also affect you." Sorano smiled as he stared in disbelief at her.

"Wait, this thing can't have a mind. It's not even alive!" he sputtered, watching as she smiled wider.

"This ship was put together by me and it has some of my power. It accepts the ones I accept by this method. I wouldn't be surprised if it started acting on its own." Smiling, she patted the wall almost affectionately.

He still didn't understand it but then again, it was magic. And magic was almost impossible to understand.

Nezu squeaked as he appeared on the stairs. "We're out of Zhao's ship now!"

"All right," she said and Zuko watched as she vanished in the blink of an eye.

The rat demon motioned his head to Zuko. "You might want to grab onto something."

Zuko frowned but quickly walked towards the demon and sat next to him, holding the railing along the stairs. He was very glad he did.

The boat suddenly lurched and the prince could actually feel it moving faster than anything he could think of. He gritted his teeth as the rat demon squealed in delight.

Just as fast as it had happened, it stopped and the Firebender almost fell flat on his face from the sudden change.

Immediately, loud cursing came from the floor above.

"Goddammit to hell and back! You couldn't wait a frickin' minute longer before you did that, Sorceress! It's gonna take me forever to fix this kitchen again!"

Nezu grinned slightly and scampered up the stairs, obviously trying to soothe the ruffled wolf.

Zuko caught his breath and stayed where he was. He couldn't believe he was still alive for a moment.

The sorceress suddenly appeared again and he stared at her ragged looking appearance. He watched as she gave him a small smile, the shadows under her eyes very visible. She nodded her head and gasped for air as she turned and headed into her room.

He sat in a confused silence and decided that his answers lied in Hoshi. Ookami could probably tell him as well but the banging in the kitchen had him skirting off. Zuko made his way up the stairs until he found himself on deck and in the sun. They were far away from any land and he spotted Hoshi leaning on the wheel.

"Hey, Zuko," the demon greeted.

Nodding, he sat on the top step and stared out to sea. "What is wrong with the sorceress?"

Hoshi turned the wheel slightly. "She's just tired. Doing that much sorcery requires a lot of energy," he explained, looking down to the prince. "Most of the time I have to stop her or she'll work herself into exhaustion." He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "Don't worry though. She'll be herself in a few hours."

A silence over fell the two as Zuko watched the spell still in place on the deck. They were heading towards where the spell was pointing and to his uncle.

"How many times has she come across Zhao?" he asked, looking up at the demon.

"Three or four times." He grinned. "Each time, she's been sarcastic and always gets away." Hoshi gave a small sigh. "He's been nothing but trouble though."

"He is always trouble," Zuko grumbled.

The demon's expression turned grim. "He's not harmless though. Been a stitch in our side for a long time." Zuko gazed at him for clarification. "I shouldn't be tellin' you this. Screw it," he mumbled. "Zhao was assigned to take down the sorceress Sorano was with. I actually was under contract by the sorceress to do her bidding. When she was attacked, the sorceress wanted me to protect Sorano from the Fire Nation.

"I grabbed her and ran and the house burned down behind us. The Fire Nation came after us and managed to surround us. I fought them but Sorano ended up using her power to blast them away, one of them being Zhao. We got away and found a small ship in extreme disrepair. Sorano fixed it up and we sailed off. We've been on the sea for nearly nineteen years." He sighed. "Zhao just won't give up."

"What happened to the contract?" Zuko asked.

"It's broken. When the sorceress died, our contract broke. I've kept my promise though and protect her when I can. She doesn't like it a lot but I can't help it. Demons take their promises seriously," he said, gazing at the ocean.

The silence once again fell and the two watched the ocean and the sky.

Zuko had gotten used to the mayhem on the ship. He relaxed in the chair, watching as Ookami grumbled about the kitchen still while Nezu nibbled on a slice of fruit. Hoshi looked tired as he picked up some sort of meat and chew it thoughtfully.

The rustling happened and the prince looked up to find the witch moving around chairs to the table. She looked tired still as she grabbed a plate and perched on Hoshi's chair arm.

"Feeling better?" the demon asked.

"Bit," she yawned.

He watched her. Never had he seen her so…sluggish, he supposed. She had been bouncing with energy ever since he got here and watched as she wearily ate whatever was in front of her.

"I'll fix the kitchen tomorrow, Ookami," she mumbled.

The wolf demon waved his hand. "S'all right, Sorano. It's almost done now."

This was another surprise. She seemed sane when she was tired.

She grunted and yawned again. "I'm going to bed," she mumbled, dumping her clean plate on the table. The sorceress walked out of the room and clunked down the stairs.

"We've got to get her tired more often," Ookami said with a smile. Hoshi glared slightly but smiled as well.

Night had fallen and they hadn't gotten any closer to finding his uncle. He sat on deck, watching the stars as they glittered mockingly at him. They had a place to belong.

He didn't turn when the patter of small feet climbed up the stairs and Nezu poked his head out from the hatch. The rat demon stared at the sky for a moment.

"Anything?" he chirped.

Hoshi shook his head.

The demon snorted and scampered up to sit next to the prince. Obviously, he didn't care who he was at the moment.

Maybe he belonged with these misfits.

"There!"

Zuko's head shot up and he stared at the sky as a streak of red flashed. "A shooting star?"

"No, it's a falling star," Hoshi said grimly.

Ookami suddenly appeared, watching the sky as it was lit up with red, blue, and yellow streaks. A few minutes later, a tired Sorano climbed the stairs and gazed at the sky sadly.

One star suddenly shot down and landed besides the boat. It jumped up and Zuko stared in awe as a small figure raced across the water before it fizzled and sank.

"They're alive?" he asked, staring as another one found the same fate.

"Barely," Ookami mumbled. "Once they hit earth, they run or sink quietly. The ones that run often are the ones who don't wanna die."

He stared as another one started running before his life faded and he sank without a sound.

"We have to help them," he whispered.

"It's no use. Often they don't want to deal with humans or demons. And besides, Sorano won't let you. She knows what happens when you save a falling star. They're like demons, they want a contract. You give them life and yet they still want more." Ookami sighed as Sorano made her way down into the hatch again. "And some want the worst possible thing. It's not worth to save one."

Zuko fell silent and watched the rest of the stars as they fell into the graveyard. He wondered what had happened to make her stop caring about the stars.

He had fallen asleep after the last stars had fallen. As quickly as that happened,Zuko was roughly shaken awake from a peaceful dream by a large hand. Mumbling, he blinked and stared up as Hoshi stared down at him.

"Get up. You're in danger," he mumbled.