The next day, I woke to someone yelling outside of my room. Zuko apparently was barking orders around his ship. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and tamed my black ponytail. Traveling with the Avatar, I learned that I wasn't much of a morning person. The three normally avoided me in the morning because I was so irritable and ready to snap.

I decided to give the annoying prince a piece of my mind, so I pulled one of my senbon needles out of my ponytail. My senbon needles basically resembled toothpicks except longer and made of metal. They were located in various spots all over my body. Luckily, there was a keyhole on my side of the door, so I picked at the lock with my needle. The shouting persisted except it was directed as someone named Uncle. Opening the door, I gave Zuko a look that would make the strongest warrior go crying home to their mommy. Looking to his skull, I saw that there was only a discolored spot left with no bump.

Zuko looked down at me and jumped back a little as I opened my mouth to yell at him.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP! I WAS SLEEPING!" I roared. No one should interrupt my sleep. Bad things happen when people interrupt my sleep.

Zuko took a step closer to me and bent over me pointing a finger at me. He said, "You have no right to order me to do anything! You are on my ship! LEARN SOME RESPECT!"

I growled dangerously as I felt my eyes turn to the golden color of a firebender and took a step even closer, placing an accusing finger on his chest. "I don't give my respect to people who don't deserve it!" I yelled. He grabbed my wrist with a strong grasp and glared down at me. I felt my bones weakening underneath his grasp as I grunted in pain. The senbon needle was still in my hand and there was his neck, perfectly exposed and just asking me to stab his vital point in the neck. When I was still learning to be a ninja, I had to study the human body, its weaknesses, and its vital killing points. I learned ways to paralyze the body with one single stab and to stop a person's bending with a poke of my fingers. In pain, I lifted the senbon needle next to the vital point in his neck.

"Let go of my wrist or you will die," I said dangerously.

Zuko laughed asking, "You can't kill me with that little toothpick."

Iroh walked up behind Zuko and put a hand on his shoulder. Zuko turned and looked as his Uncle who said, "Zuko she can indeed kill you with that weapon. It's called a senbon needle and she's aiming it directly at the vital point in your neck." The Prince's eyes widened in fear as he released my wrist while I withdrew the needle into my hair so I could rub my sore wrist. I felt my eyes return to their normal blue color as I calmed myself. Zuko's gaze never left me as I tried to comfort the pain shooting through my black bandaged forearm.

"It seems you were trained very well, Mikomi," Iroh said to me, smiling. "Do you know the location of every vital point in the body?"

Looking to the old man, I nodded and said, "I was trained by Sumiyaka Ryoku."

Iroh's mouth dropped open in astonishment. I assume he was surprised that I was trained by the most infamous ninja ever to live, meaning that I was destined to follow in his footsteps since I was the only pupil he ever had. He smiled and said, "You must have been holding back when you fought my nephew."

"Slightly," I said. "I'm a weapons master and an acrobat. I figured if I beat him too badly he might throw a temper tantrum." My voice was monochromatic as I said all of this, while the Prince in question glared at me. He was probably upset that I held back on him.

"Well, now that you're awake how about some breakfast?" Iroh said, happily. The old man was a really happy kind of guy. His level of energy scared me.

Zuko huffed angrily as he stalked down the hallway. Iroh motioned for me to follow him so I complied.

When I walked into the mess hall, what seemed like one hundred ravenous, male eyes laid on me. Zuko looked around and saw them all staring. He recognized that look of want and hunger in the eyes of his men. Overall his crew was normally very good natured, but they probably hadn't seen a woman in months. Looking down at me who walked next to him, he knew that the men had their sights set on using me now.

I was surprised when I felt something slithering around my back and waist. Zuko had his arm around my waist and he pulled me into his side. His pale hand lay gently on my waist as it moved lightly up and down. I looked up at him, as my hand lay pushing on his side, as I tried to escape.

Whispering from the corner of his mouth, he said, "Don't. If the men think you're mine, they won't bother you."

I stopped fighting and let my arms droop at my sides with Zuko's hand moving on my waist. He's lucky that I would rather have these guys think I'm Zuko's possession rather than being used by one of them.

I looked around and saw that a lot of the men were wearing frowns now, while some looked somewhat disheartened. Sighing quietly, I was so relieved although uncomfortable being shoved into Zuko's side.

Arriving at our table, Zuko and I sat beside each other on the bench, while Iroh sat across from us. I was sitting next to a tall soldier who stared at me the moment I sat down. Nudging Zuko with my elbow, I tilted my head in the soldier's direction. Zuko, although somewhat slouched, could see over my head. I saw that he realized why I nudged him in the first place and wrapped an arm around my waist, scooting me into his side again. Looking up, I saw Zuko throw a dangerous glare in the direction of the soldier, who lowered his head to his food.

His hand was sliding lower and lower, finally reaching the top of my pants where he slipped three fingers under my top, letting the fingers glide across my skin. I shivered at this touch. I was grateful for his protection, but isn't this a little much? I couldn't resist, because the soldiers might get suspicious. I knew he felt me tense, because he looked down at me. His fingers stopped for a moment, and then he smiled at me as his fingers began gliding closer and closer to the middle of the top of my pants. Zuko was doing this on purpose to drive me insane. I knew it from the look in his eyes. That look laughed at my helpless situation and knew I couldn't do anything about it. Luckily, Iroh couldn't see what was going on with Zuko's dirty hands because he was on the opposite side of the table.

Indeed, Mikomi was flustered by this contact with Zuko, while the Prince himself rather enjoyed her soft skin. He did it to annoy the girl on purpose, but found that it was something he could get used to. After all, he was a man too and he hadn't been in the company of many women in the past months either.

The three of us began eating without much being said. Zuko ate with one hand while his other still danced across my pale skin. I was becoming extremely angry as I chomped down on my food as I shoved it between my crimson lips. Looking at my red nails, I remembered how long and sharp they were. They were always cut to a point, making them extremely sharp and cat like. I could just slice Zuko's naughty hand and be done with it. Looking around without moving my head, I saw that many of the sailors were looking at us, just staring. Now, I realized it probably wouldn't be wise to lay any sort of attack on Zuko no matter how small. I had killed with these blood red nails before and would love to do it again right now, but I reasoned it wouldn't be logical. Staring down at my hand, I took note of how...spider-ish they looked. My fingers were long and very slender, giving them their graceful appearance.

About midway through our meal, I felt Zuko's hand leave my waist as I sighed in relief. Until I felt something tugging on my ponytail, I looked to Zuko and saw him twirling my black hair around his finger.

His fingers were in my hair. His disgusting Fire Nation royalty fingers were playing with my clean, shiny, black hair. I growled under my breath. When Zuko heard this he tugged on a strand of my hair, signaling me to be silent. My teeth chomped roughly on my food as I attempted to control my rage.

Finally, the torturous meal was over. Zuko stood first and then I followed his example. Before walking out, he wrapped a protective arm around my waist pulling me close. The entire way I fumed and clenched my teeth as my jaw locked in anger. We walked through the corridors still close together, but we went a different way. Opening the door, Zuko revealed a room with a large bed that had red silk blankets. An ornate desk made of mahogany with golden details sat by a window with a matching armoire sitting close to it. I realized it was Zuko's room...I panicked.

I pushed against Zuko with all of my might to no avail, but then he rolled his eyes as his arm released me. Looking to Zuko, I asked, "Why am I here?"

Folding his arms across his armored chest, he answered, "Because, there are some men on this ship who have keys to almost anything, including your room. None of them have keys to my room."

Looking around the room again, I realized there was only one bed and no couch. No. No, no, no, no.

"I have to stay here!" I exclaimed. This had to be some sort of joke.

"Unless you'd enjoy being raped by a sailor, then yes," he said, smirking.

I looked at him scathingly and huffed angrily. Sitting in the chair in front of his desk, I leaned back and put my feet on his desk, crossing my ankles over each other as my ponytail hung behind the chair. Ah, infuriating people is so much fun. I should have a black belt in it by now. Zuko was obviously infuriated, so he marched over to me and grabbed my ankles with one hand, lifting me into the air beside the chair I just sat in. My black ponytail brushed the ground as I hung upside down, while my bangs tried to do the same.

Deciding to take advantage of it, I started working my abdomen by pulling my body up and touching Zuko's hand. He rolled his eyes and, walking over to the bed, dropped me on its red satiny covers.

Sitting up, I saw him staring at me for what seemed like a long time. "What?" I asked finally. He shook his head and mumbled something under his breath.

Walking to the door, he said to me, "Stay here, do whatever, just don't damage any of my furniture."

Sighing, I blew a bang out of my face as he slammed the door shut. Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if I was even supposed to act as "bait." I think I was more of a consolation prize since there was a rather large bounty on my head. I used to be a bounty hunter for the Earth Kingdom, at least that's what I was when I met Aang. Now bounty hunters would give anything to be able to hand my head over to the Fire Lord. I guess Zuko considers me a bonus of some sort.

Well, all I could really do is search the room. Opening the armoire, I found a ton of armory and other nonsense. There was some black sort of pajama like clothing in a drawer in the armoire. I pulled them out as I realized I hadn't washed this set of clothes in awhile and my other set was in my bag, wherever that was. Looking around the room, I noticed a door I hadn't seen when I first entered. Cracking the door open, light poured in to reveal a complete bath. The happiness overwhelmed me to know that I would finally be clean instead of being revolted by my own stench. It was surprising to me that Zuko didn't have to hold his breath when he was in such a close proximity of me, which made me shudder. I had a large personal bubble, which I was protective of. Normally, the person who invaded my bubble would be seriously injured. No one invades a ninja/firebender/woman's bubble. Bad things happen.

Starting the water, I watched the steam rise from the surface of the water as I stripped off all of my clothing and unwrapped the black bandaging around my forearms. My hair tumbled down my back as I released it from its ponytail. I dipped a toe into the warm bath, and, immediately, my body relaxed. It felt amazing as I slid gently into its caressing heat. I whole heartedly loved warmth. Aang, Katara, and Sokka always wondered how I was able to stand the heat of certain locations while wearing all black. Laying my head back on the edge of the bath, I thought it was simply because I was a firebender. There's always a fire going inside of us, so we are accustomed to heat. It was colder temperatures that made a firebender uncomfortable.

I got out of the bath after becoming sufficiently prune-like. The pajamas of Zuko's were…rather large. The top had long sleeves and passed my hands easily. The set was black with some gold trimming on the edge of the sleeves and bottom of the pants. I could barely walk without tripping because the pants were so long. The hem of the shirt ended at my mid thigh. It was hard to believe that I was really that much smaller than him. Wearing these clothes, I looked like a little kid with the sleeves passing my hands and everything. We were the same age after all. At least, I think we were.

Opening the heavy, metal door, I saw that the colors in the room had changed. The sun made the room almost glow in the light of the setting sun. I laid my dirty clothes on the chair before jumping on the bed and landing in its softness. In the middle of the bed, I was trapped by its comfort. The softness caught me off guard as my eyelids became heavy and began drooping. Darkness surrounded me as I drifted quickly into sleep.

Zuko's POV

I walked into the room after training for awhile. It had been a rather hot day and it was becoming dark in my room. A lone candle was lit on the opposite side of the bed. Looking to my bed, I saw the girl lying in the middle of it with her hair splayed out over its satin covers. I began taking off my armor while looking over to her periodically. With nothing but my pants on, I walked to her side of the bed and leaned on it with my hands. She was wearing a set of my old pajamas which were entirely too big for her. The collar of the shirt was too big, revealing her pale collarbone. Red lips were slightly parted as breath went in and out of her small body with a steady beat. The position she was in was reminiscent of a cat. She was curled up tight and I saw that she was holding onto the insides of the sleeves because they were gathered where her hands were. Slowly, I ran a finger through her long black hair. The girl stirred a bit, but she only sighed and smiled in her sleep, which caused me to crack a small smile.

She was indeed a pretty girl. I wanted to see her blue eyes, but I didn't want to wake her. This girl was much different than other girls. Although she could be very short tempered, I just sensed that deep down she was a very good person. I knew she was smart, talented, and beautiful, but something told me she had a good heart too.

I needed to pull the covers down, so I gently scooped her in one arm, her head resting on my bicep like a baby would be cradled. She was really small for her age, as I looked at her resting on my arm. I was pulling the covers down when I saw her eyes open slightly. There they were. Those beautiful blue eyes stared into mine. It was so strange for a firebender to have blue eyes, which is something I liked about her. She was a rare breed.

Mikomi's POV

The next I knew, someone was moving me. I was drifting between awake and asleep as I pried my eyelids open. After my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Zuko looking at something down and in front of him. Apparently, he was able to almost cradle me in one arm while the other pulled down the blankets of the bed. My eyes opened fully as I saw that there was a lone candle lit on the other side of the bed. He saw me open my eyes and looked into them, but returned to preparing the bed. Gently, he lay me down on the bed almost tenderly, which seemed extremely bizarre to me. There it was again. That insanely comfortable softness caught me again. Although, this time I moved as close to the edge as I could without falling, not wanting to be even remotely close to Zuko while I slept.

I felt a pressure on the bed as Zuko eased down into its softness. My back was to him as he extinguished the candle. Making sure I remained awake, I wanted to make sure he didn't scoot any closer. I heard his gentle breath behind me as he slept. I sighed quietly in relief, until I felt his hands grab my waist again. Breath rushed through my mouth as I began panicking. Then I felt him pull me toward him as I tried to hold on to the edge of the bed with my leg and sleeve covered hand. But I couldn't hold on because he began pulling harder. I felt myself sliding as I held my breath. Then I really freaked out when I felt his bare chest on my back. A hand touched my forehead as I actually tried to bite it like a vicious cat, but I couldn't. That hand pushed my head back into his pecs as he lowered his head so his chin was on top of my head. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, right under my breasts. I couldn't believe this. This stupid Prince completely violated my personal space. I felt his heartbeat in my back and his abs too.

If only I didn't hate his guts, maybe this would've felt better. Oh how I could've killed him so easily at this point made me angry. Although I was in my pajamas, there were still senbon all over me. I could kill him so easily, but there was my underlying goodness poking through again. I couldn't kill him. Sighing, I wriggled a little as his grip seemed to weaken. Breaking free finally, I got off the bed, grabbing the pillow with my black hair down around me. I turned my blue eyes to look at Zuko's sleeping form. He was very well defined physically. Maybe someday, when he was as well defined mentally and emotionally, I could learn to like him, but not at that moment. It wasn't time.

Walking over to the corner, I turned my back on him and curled up with the pillow under my head. I've slept in more uncomfortable situations so I could do it now. I curled up like a cat to keep warm in these baggy clothes.