Part: One- The Lutdeo
Chapter: Twenty Three- Agni Kai
Author: Fritters-4-Psi
Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.
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Eight o'clock was the hour the sundial read. It was time for the Agni Kai. The news of the Duel had spread quickly. The Fire Nation soldiers staying in the barn got wind of it and realized that there wasn't an arena. Using fallen logs, boards, and other like objects, they jerry-built an arena. Then they waited for the fight to begin.
The soldiers weren't the only ones who had heard what was going on. Animals in the forest heard, as well. An Agni Kai would be the most interesting thing that had happened in their home for a long time. Several of the Koertan were going to attend the fight. Appa and Kashi, who had still been wandering in the forest from the night before, also received word of the Duel and began lumbering their way toward the buildings. Risha's two-tailed watch dogs were also going to watch the fight.
Both, humans and animals, lined the arena, waiting for the fight between Zuko and Sokka to begin. None of the spectators, but Katara, Aang, and Iroh knew that Risha would also be participating in the Duel. Not even Zuko, Sokka and Risha's opponent, knew that his cousin decided to even the odds by fighting alongside the Water Tribe warrior.
A roar went up from the crowd. Walking from within the forest, was Zuko. Silence followed as he walked proudly into the arena. With dignity, Zuko stood with an almost blanket-like Fire Nation banner covering most of his bare upper half, waiting for his opponent to show. Another roar came from the crowd (including some boos from the Fire Nation soldiers), when Sokka exited the house; Risha followed closely behind.
Sokka stood in the arena, across from Zuko. The Fauna Bender stood behind the Water Tribe warrior, outside of the arena. "I challenged you to an Agni Kai and you dare to defy our customs?" Zuko sneered.
"What does he mean?" Sokka whispered to Risha.
"He means that you've got to do as you would in a real Agni Kai. Normally, the men don't wear shirts when they fight. And when they're waiting of the duel to begin, they cover their shoulders with a banner," she explained, "You don't have a banner, so we'll have to make due with your shirt once you take it off."
The blue shirt proved to make a decent banner once Sokka took it off. Compared to Zuko, Sokka was really skinny. That's not to say that he wasn't muscled. He was just slim, like an athlete, unlike Zuko, who was built more like a fighter. "What are you doing with those weapons, peasant?" Zuko asked, "There are no weapons in an Agni Kai."
"I helped him prepare," Risha said while setting down her own weapons, "I thought that, six years ago when I was still in the Fire Nation, weapons were allowed."
"Small weapons, yes. But that was six, almost seven, years ago. The rules have changed since then. No weapons," the Prince explained, "Now, set your weapons aside, peasant."
Zuko watched intently as Sokka walked over to the sidelines and set the halberd and katana on the ground. When Sokka returned to the arena, the Fire Nation Prince spoke up, "How is it, my cousin, that you have evened the odds?"
Bravely, Risha stepped forward, into the makeshift arena. A shocked look appeared on Zuko's face. Immediately, he knew what she had planned. He couldn't fight her. She was his cousin and closer to him than his own sister. Perhaps, she wasn't going to fight. Maybe she was just doing this to psych him out, making it easier for Sokka to win. Risha looked entirely prepared to fight, though. "If you are planning to fight, you can't, Risha. Agni Kai is a one-on-one duel," Zuko tried to hide his shock.
"Are there any rules dictating the amount of people in a duel? No, there isn't. This is perfectly acceptable," she grinned, "Besides, you said that I could do whatever I may to even the odds. Originally, this was a very unfair fight. To duel Sokka as he was would be dishonorable. To go back on your word, now that is also dishonorable."
Tendrils of smoke came from Zuko's nose. As he let out an angry sigh to try and calm himself, flames exited his mouth. The soldiers laughed at the Prince being told off by a girl; his soldiers laughed. He assumed that she was purposely trying to humiliate him. Suddenly, a fiery dagger protruded from either of Zuko's fists. If that how his cousin was going to act, then he wasn't going to allow some wench let his soldiers think any less of him. He retracted the fiery daggers, but was no less angry. "Fine. You can fight. You're nothing, but a rejected throwback denounced from royalty," Zuko didn't speak with his brain, but his anger, "How can a Water Tribe peasant and a worthless farmer defeat the Prince of the Fire Nation?"
Risha was hurt by the cruel words her cousin spoke. She knew that he was saying it out of anger, but she had a hard time grasping that. She fought back with words. "You may be the Prince, but you're not the Crown Prince. I bet Zula's at home, sitting comfortably in your seat at the dinning table, next to your father," the Fauna Bender sneered, "I am no mere farmer. After this fight, you're going to learn respect. You'll learn never to underestimate people."
She stood next to Sokka with her head held high, looking all kinds of defiant. Deep in her eyes, though, if everyone had looked closely, was a look of sadness and regret. She knew better than to fight her own cousin, but she had spoken against him. The blood of the Fire Nation in her veins wouldn't allow her to turn back now. She had to fight. She promised Sokka that she would help him.
Zuko's eyes showed no emotion as he gave a signal to his uncle. Iroh blew the sungi horn, which had been in the barn with the soldiers, to show the beginning of the duel. The Prince raised his arms. The Fire Nation banner fell from his shoulders to the ground. Sokka copied him as best as he could and his shirt, which had been resting on his shoulders, fell. Risha stepped a few steps back and whispered to Sokka, "Tire him out for me, will you?"
There was no time to reply before Zuko launched a ball of fire in Sokka's direction. Quickly, he ducked and it missed him. Another fireball came along, low to the ground. Sokka jumped aside to avoid being hit. Repeatedly, Zuko threw fireballs and Sokka dodged them. With each near miss, the Water Tribe warrior managed to get closer to the Prince. Finally, he was close enough so that he might be able to knock Zuko to the ground by tackling him.
Starting off with a run, Sokka sprang into the air. Zuko evaded the attack, causing Sokka to hit the ground heavily. A booted foot lay across the back of Sokka's neck. The Fire Nation Prince leaned forward, close to Sokka's head, his foot still on his neck. "You tried that on my once. You should have known better that to think it would work a second time," Zuko taunted, "But what else could I expect from a peasant, like you?"
With most of Zuko's weight resting on his neck, Sokka writhed in pain as he tried to free himself. The Prince had a difficult time keeping the Water Tribe warrior down. Several times, Zuko almost fell because of Sokka moving, but he managed to keep his balance. It was a difficult decision to decide how to execute his plan, so for a while, Zuko stood with his foot on Sokka's neck. That was the first of his mistakes during the Agni Kai.
The pain was almost unbearable for Sokka. That heavy lout of a Prince was pushing all his weight right onto Sokka's neck. One of the worst things about that was, when he fell, Sokka's hands had been trapped underneath his own body. Struggle as he may, he couldn't get his hands free. If his hands were loose, he might be able to push Zuko down. Of course, Risha should be helping him. Why wasn't she attacking Zuko?
A few feet away, the Fauna Bender watched as Sokka fought to be free of her cousin's weight. She was going to help, but not just yet. Zuko still hadn't tired yet. She had to wait. Risha wasn't as great of a fighter as she hoped she appeared to be. Sokka was determined to win. She knew that he would fight until she stepped in to finished Zuko off. Of course, by 'finish off' she didn't mean that she was going to kill him. She meant that she'd end the fight.
To the surprise of the Fire Nation soldiers watching the fight, the Water Tribe warrior finally managed to break free. When he did, Zuko lost his balance and fell to the ground. Sokka took this chance to pin the Prince by sitting on his stomach. A few punches hit Zuko's face while he was temporarily in shock. The moment of surprise passed quickly and the Fire Bender managed to push Sokka out of his way.
Daggers of fire appeared in either of Zuko's fists. Quickly, he began trying to cut and burn Sokka. Almost as quick as his opponent, Sokka dodged the daggers. There were several close calls, but, so far, he hadn't been burned yet. In between dodging, the Water Tribe warrior was able to give a few solid kicks and punches to Zuko. "Back away from him!" Risha yelled to Sokka.
Slowly, Sokka followed Risha's advice. He backed away, out of Zuko's reach. The Prince's reaction was to hurl balls of fire at his enemy. Once more, Sokka resumed evading the hot blasts. Unfortunately, he was beginning to tire, causing his dodging abilities to get sloppy. Twice, his pants were singed and once a fireball grazed his left arm. Still, Zuko threw more fireballs.
From their distance, it would be hard for others to see, but Risha saw it. Zuko was beginning to breathe harder. Her plan was working. By Sokka being further away from her cousin, the easiest way for Zuko to hit him would be to throw fireballs. Throwing fireballs used up much more energy than keeping the steady flame of a dagger. Energy that would be taken away from Zuko's physical strength. He was finally weakening.
Zuko was absorbed in flinging balls of fire at his adversary, so he never noticed his cousin running at him as fast as she could. Before he knew what hit him, he was on the ground; Risha had just tackled him. She got up quickly and assumed a fighting position. As soon as Zuko had fallen, Sokka rushed over. Between sentences, the Water Tribe warrior kicked the Prince solidly in the side. "You're done. You have just as good as lost. You can forfeit and end this fight, but I'm not going to give up," Sokka spat out through gritted teeth, "Stay away from my sister. Keep your two-cents out of mine and Risha's relationship. And find something better to do than try and catch Aang. You should know by now that you'll never capture him. You're just a failure."
Those last few sentences struck a cold reality in Zuko's heart. For more than two years he had been searching for the Avatar. After several tries, he still hadn't caught him yet. The Prince of the Fire Nation only allowed himself a few moments of self-pity, before he turn to anger once more. After Zuko sprang from the ground, a fist fight between the two teenage boys started. Risha stood nearby, but not idly. She whistled a low pitch tune that no person could hear.
One of the Koertan on the side lines stepped into the arena. It was Horo, the big, ill-tempered buck that Sokka had ridden three days earlier. With his black mohair and four horns, he looked quite menacing. The massive buck reared and charged at Zuko. The two right horn on Horo's lowered head caught Zuko's legs, causing the Prince to fall again. Horo reared right over Zuko and his cloven hooves would have landed on Zuko's chest if he hadn't of rolled out of the way. The Koertan continued harassing the Prince.
Iroh watched from alongside the arena in dismay. This fight was becoming more and more unfair as each moment passed by. Just now, Risha lit a circle of grass around Zuko on fire. With her not advanced Fire Bending abilities, she wouldn't be able to do much harm, but then there were her Fauna Bending abilities . . . Even that boy from the Southern Water Tribe had inflicted quite a bit of damage. Things were looking ill for Zuko. Iroh made an executive decision. "This is enough. This can no longer be called an Agni Kai. In fact, Zuko, this never could have been called an Agni Kai. This fight has become, increasingly, unfair. It will end now," Iroh stated, "Unless you want to continue, Risha. If you do, you will have to fight me, as well as your cousin."
In that moment, Risha realized what she had done. She had no business being apart of this fight. This had been between Zuko and Sokka. She shouldn't have interfered at all. She let her brain be clouded by anger. There was a possibility, by Fauna Bending, she could have caused some serious harm to her cousin, who she had once loved like a brother.
Tears began to well up in her eyes. She didn't want all these Fire Nation soldiers, Uncle Iroh, Zuko, the Avatar, Katara, and, especially, Sokka to see her cry. Quickly, she ran over to where Kashi stood. She hopped up onto the female Flying Bison's back and, mentally, commanded her to fly. Kashi took to the air right as the tears began to spill down Risha's face.
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Haha. How ironic is it that the spell-checker told be that the word I should use instead of 'Zula' was 'Exiles'? I just find that so funny.
Reviews
22, SovereignxXxBrunette: You're welcome! And here's the Agni Kai!