OOOOOh chapter six, chapter six, chapter six, six, six! Yay!

Ayumi: Z, stop. Your scaring people.

Zeeva: I probably am. so disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air Bender, or any of it's characters, but I do own the kids of the woods.

Chapter 6: The Rain is Gone

Zuko muttered curses to Ayumi under his breath as he made his way back to the house. He wasn't going to let her get away with this that was certain. He swung the door open at full strength, making Masahiro look up, and Oguri jump, literally. Oguri was now clinging on to the ceiling. "Jeez, you scared me," Oguri said.

"No, really," Masahiro said to his little friend as he climbed down. They watched Zuko storm over to his spot on the floor, and stare at the ceiling, where Oguri seemed to have left claw marks. Masahiro looked over at him, and Oguri leaned over the end of the bed and asked, "So what happened?"

Zuko turned to his side, ignoring the question. "Oh, I get it, Ayumi still won't give you your money back, right?" Oguri said, and he smiled at his accomplishment of figuring out what was upsetting Zuko. Zuko grunted as a sign of agreement to his proclaim. "That's it?" Masahiro said, "You, my friend, should get used to disappointment. You are never going to get that money back." Zuko wouldn't agree to that, but Masahiro was right.

The next morning, Zuko stayed in until the other boys were awake; he wasn't going to chance seeing Nakashima or Ayumi in the morning. He would wait until the afternoon to get his money back, or try to anyway. When they did wake, they went out, and they ran into Hara, and his friend, Kazuma. Kazuma was a little taller than Hara; he too wore glasses like some of the girls, and his voice was high, in fact it was higher than some of the girls'. Oguri and Masahiro found him very amusing to make fun of. "Very funny," he said as Oguri stole his glasses. Zuko watched as the boys showed him how truly pitiful it was in the village. When the most amusing thing to do was steal the glasses of another kid, high pitched voice or not, it was pretty sad.

Something else caught Zuko's eye as the boys gave Kazuma back his glasses. Ayumi was walking with Kojima and Hasagawa. Zuko ignored the other boys as they got lectured by Hara, and went over to talk to Ayumi. Kojima was the first to notice him, "Hello Zuko." Something seemed a little odd to him. He guessed it was the fact that Kojima was even taller than Ayumi than he was, and Hasagawa was about an inch or so shorter than Ayumi. "Give me my money, Ayumi," he demanded. He held out his hand, and just like the day they met, she looked at his hand, then back at him. "Kojima, Hasagawa, excuse us for a moment," she told her friends. They nodded, and went over to the other boys.

'This is it,' Zuko kept thinking. He was going to get his money back, and leave before tonight. Ayumi looked back at him. Her hair was back up, and her eyes shined with annoyance at the boy. She sighed, and finally said to him, "Do you really want your money back?" Zuko looked at her, very serious, and nodded. "Hand it over."

"I don't think so," she told him flatly.

"Why not?"

"Because, you're a pain."

"Ayumi, give it to me!" He was not going to let this rest. She put her hands on her hips, and looked at him with a smirk. "I stole it, so it is rightfully mine, besides," she got up in his face, "if I were to give it back, you don't know the way out of the woods anyway. You, my freaky friend, are screwed."

Zuko gave her another stern look and told her, "I'll find my way out, now give it to me, now!" He grabbed her hand, and she smirked. Zuko was surprised, he could easily crash her fragile arm, and she was smiling. She freed his arm, taking advantage of his shock, then, at her fastest speed, kicked him in the stomach, making him fall.

"I can easily beat you, Zuko, so don't even try," she told him with an aggravated glare. He used her arm to pull himself up, and told her, "I will get my money back." A look of shock overcame her, but it didn't last long. "Arrogant twit," she said as she pushed him back down. Kojima and Hasagawa joined her again, and they started off, but not before Ayumi glared back at Zuko from over her shoulder.

"She is going to kill you if you keep that up. You realize that, right," Hara said to him. Kazuma nodded, and told him, "For some reason, Ayumi doesn't like you, and Ayumi gets along with almost everyone. The people she doesn't get along with thou, she never will. Not to mention, when you even thought that you could take her, she absolutely hated you. The last time I saw her give a glare like that to someone, it was to a fire bender soldier."

Zuko gave a quick look of fear to the boys. He held his stomach tighter as her thought about the glare that she had given him. 'Does she know?'

The boys said their good byes, and said to each other something about seeing them at dinner. Zuko didn't pay attention, if it was important, they would explain it to him later. They didn't. That night came, and Oguri and Masahiro had told him at the last minute that they were going to have a dinner with all of the other kids in the village, in celebration of the rain stopping. They told them that every year they have a meal like this. The girls dance and sing, there is alcohol that was stolen from a tavern in town, and games. Zuko was looking forward to a little of it, but he was also thinking about the girls and drinking. "Do the little kids come, too?" He asked.

"They do, but they are sent back home by the girls before it gets dark," Masahiro explained.

"The fun stuff doesn't happen 'til late, when only kids our age are there. Man, you should watch those girls dance! Nakashima and some other girls do belly dancing! But, the thing you'll probably like, is what Ayumi does, she sings. I hope she will this year. She usually sings with Emi and Endoh, they're the best." Oguri told him. The boys left Zuko, who was thinking about why Oguri would say that he would enjoy Ayumi's singing the most. 'She's a selfish little bitch,' he kept thinking, but it is amazing what a night of girls can do to a boy.

They headed off, and just Zuko's luck, they bumped into Nakashima. She and a few of her friends were dressed in revealing outfits, covered in beads and make up that made stars on their faces. They looked a lot like dancers. Zuko remembered back to when he would see dancers at his father's "parties" from when he was younger. He shook the thoughts from his head as Nakashima started to flirt once more. She ran her finger up and down his chest, and told him that she would dance later just for him. That was just what he wanted.

They approached a table set up in the middle of the village, and just as the boys said, before dark all of little ones were gone, and the late night things started. Nakashima and her friends danced, Ayumi was a bar tender, and Emi and Endoh sang. Zuko had sat at the "bar" with Ayumi, still trying to convince her to give him back his money, but it wasn't going to help at all. "I'm not going to give it back, Zuko. Get over it, and fast," she told him as she gave to boys two bottles of liqueur. She rested her elbow on the counter, and placed her head on her hand. "Go get a dance from Nakashima. She's been hinting that she wanted to dance with since before you guys got here."

Ayumi got back to work while Zuko looked behind him, back at Nakashima. Ayumi was right, and Zuko couldn't take Nakashima anymore. He watched her dance, just to get her off his back. He wasn't thinking about thou. Something kept making him think about Ayumi. Just as the thought crossed his mind again, Hara called for Ayumi. He wanted her to sing. Kazuma called for her, too, and after a few drinks, his voice was even higher, if that was possible. Ayumi laughed, and got in front of everybody, along with Emi and Endoh. They sang a classic song, one that Zuko's uncle used to sing, but they were much better.

The night came to an end; Masahiro and Zuko had to carry Oguri back to the house. He had had about ten drinks too many. That night was different than the others. Normally, Zuko went to sleep thinking about how he would get his money back, but tonight he was thinking about how good Ayumi looked as she sang. He tried to get rid of the thought, but he just couldn't, he just couldn't.

Zuko was not the only one thinking differently, but Ayumi was blaming it on the booze.

What is keeping Ayumi and Zuko awake? and will Zuko ever get his money back? R&R!