Chapter Four

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Everywhere Yumi turned was pitch black, it was deadly quiet. " Where am I?" She uttered, disturbing the indefinate silence. She started to walk slowly, as she was walking, her right foot hit something and she toppeled over it. She landed hard on her face. She sat up, rubbing her nose and groping around in the dark with her hands to find the item that caused her to fall. Her hand slid over a smooth square object. Yumi picked it up, and strained to make out what it was. Suddenly the room was lit with eyesplitting sunlight. Yumi put her hand over her eyes and looked at the object in her hand. She gasped when she saw it.

It was a picture of her father, he was smiling and cradeling a young Yumi in his arms. " Father..." She whispered, trying to remain calm. She hadn't seen her father for three years, the image brought back heart wrenching memories. She stared at that picture for a long while, she couldn't hold back her tears, for they fell onto the picture every so often. Suddenly the picture burst into flames and was reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds, the ashes fell through her fingers and onto the ground.

" FATHER!" Yumi cried, as she bolted upright, her eyes closed shut, tightly. She opened them waywardly and looked around. She was in a room, and in a bed. " A dream..." She muttered, rubbing her eyes. She looked around, across from her was a bed, indentical to the one she was sitting in. The door opened then, and Captain Laos' head popped in.

" Ah, I see you've woken, get up now, we will be in Fairing very soon." He said smiling at her, she didn't know how to respond so she just stared angrily at him. He laughed at her and slipped out the door. As soon as the door was shut, Yumi jumped out of the bed, but sat back down when she relized she had no control over her injured arm. She looked down and it was wrapped up quite tightly. She moved her fingers and a small surge of pain was felt, she sighed.

" Oh great, what am I going to do with this?" She glared at her arm. " At least it doesn't hurt as bad as it did yesterday..." She said to herself. She got up and went over to the door, her hand was on the knob when she stopped.

" Wait." She glanced around. " If I go out there, those scouts will take me hostage and I'll never find Prince Zuko. I have to find another way out."

Their was a small window, but it was far too small and it had bars covering it. Yumi shrugged, she had almost given up hope when she turned back around and looked at the window. " I'll just melt it." She said with a grin. She strode over to the window and placed her hand on it. It started to get warm, she narrowed her eyes.

" Why isn't it working?" She asked herself. Yumi concentrated more and the metal was getting warm, but no where near enough to melt it.

At that moment Celia burst through the door and looked around, her attitude was obivous, she must not have slept well last night. Yumi's heart raced, she had to get out now, or their would not be another time. Her hand was still resting on the wall when she turned to look at Celia, it was suddenly boiling hot and the steel wall melted before her hand. Yumi stared in amazement at the melting wall.

Celia took note of this. " She looked desprate, perhaps her bending is triggered by her emotions, interesting."

She had relized that Yumi was trying to escape and made her way toward her. Yumi jumped up and kicked the collapsing wall, it crumbeled to peices and she ran out into the open deck of the ship. She ran a couple of feet and then turned around. Celia had stopped in front of her.

" Cute trick, but now your in a dead end, there is no way to escape." She grinned, and reached behind her, a Kunai throwing dart was in her hand. She held it out. " Don't move, or you won't live to tell this tale."

" I'm not doing this for me." Yumi said.

" What do you mean?" Celia asked, confused by her words.

" Enough chit-chat, are you going to throw that at me?" Yumi asked, a little too cocky.

" So you wish death apon yourself?" Celia asked, fingering the kunai.

" I don't plan on dying. Not until I find my family." She said sternly.

" Your just like that idiot, Kiyotaka. He was always foolishly arrogant." Celia snarled.

" Was?" Yumi gasped.

Celia smiled.

" No, your lying." She breathed.

" Enough talk, prepare yourself." She said, holding the Kunai up.

" Have it your way." Yumi said, low and angrily, thoughts of her father swirling in her mind. The wind shifted then and it ruffeled the two Fire Nation womans' clothes. Yumi held her good hand out, Celia turned the Kunai knife sideways.

" Excuse me, ladies!" A cheerful voice rang out from behind Celia. They both looked over and Captian Lao was waving back at them with a big grin plastered on his face.

" Sir!" Celia said, turning to face him and lowering her Kunai knife. Yumi backed up a couple of steps.

" I'm sorry to cut this little squabble short, but Fairing is less than a mile away. Come now, Yumi." He said, walking past Celia and towards Yumi.

Yumi couldn't let Lao and Celia take her to the Fire Lord, she had to free her family. She couldn't let her father down. So she did the first thing that came to mind.

She jumped over the edge of the ship.

Yumi plummeted towards the water, she held her damaged hand close as she fell in with a splash. The cold water made her body temprature drop and she had to swim to the surface before it consumed her lungs. It was extremley hard to swim with just one useable arm and she must have looked quite odd to a fish that happened to swim by, for she was twisting and turning in sharp awkward motions. Finally she made it to the surface and burst out of the water. She looked up, Celia nd Lao looked like small dots, for the ship was so tall.

Back on the ship, Celia was going crazy, yelling insults at how stupid Yumi was.Celia shot a blast of fire down at her, but it missed, becuase it was hard to see where Yumi was so the fire evaporated. She growled and turned to Lao.

" Sir! Let's get her!" She said, angrily. Lao looked at her wisley and frowned.

" No, let her go." He said, softly, closing his eyes. Celia looked at him in shock.

" But, sir! We have orders to capture the girl!" She protested. Lao crossed his arms and looked down, Celia grinned. " Oh, I see now, your letting her get a head start before we prepare for a chase! Your genius, captian!" She said, happily.

" No, it's not that. I can't swim." Lao said with a blank expression. Celia's mouth dropped.

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Happy, peeps? YOU BETTER BE! haha. Review please, I shall be enternally grateful -bows-

This chapter was inspired by the song, 'Soba ni Iru Kara' By: AMAI (Naruto)