Disclaimer: Hey hey hey! I don't own AVATAR!
P.S. I'm thinking of putting some Taang into this story. That's Toph and Aang in case you have no idea what I'm talking about. Tell me what you think. Don't worry though. There will be a lot of Zutara to come!
Special Thanks:
-Dolphin Water-Arya's Moon-Toph's Sun
-crazed inuyashafan girl-firenation and love
-fragile246-aki-O.o
-DemonDaughter-Tahsara
-lilbunnybo
-wolfhorse
-SarahE7191
Author's Note: If any of you think my story sucks please tell me why. If I know what's wrong...I can hopefully fix it. If you're just being mean and saying it sucks, then get a life! That's all.
OOOOOOOOO
Followed
Aang parted the bushes and helped Sokka to drag the soldier onto the road where his fellow comrades were waiting.
"We can't thank you enough Avatar. You really got us out of a jam. If there's anything we can do to help you, just say the word." Aang stopped to think.
"If you could just point us in the direction of Omashu, we'll be fine." The soldier smiled and abruptly pointed down the road. "If you keep going down this road, you'll come across a fork in the road. Take the left one and you'll head straight to Omashu."
"Great! Thanks a lot." They waved the soldiers good bye as they carried their injured friend down the road.
"We should go back to camp and sleep," suggested Sokka, "Sleep may come in handy one of these days!" The trio headed back to their campsite and settled down. Katara and Sokka drowned themselves in their fur-lined sleeping bags as Aang nestled into Appa's thick fur. He slowly drifted off into a sleep that was filled with visions of that girl he saw in the swamp.
OOOOOOOOO
Sunlight caressed Katara's cheek as she slowly fluttered her eyes open. She completely forgot to change back into her regular clothes. She was still adorned in traditional Fire Nation garb. She groggily got up and rubbed her sleep-filled eyes. She could hear Sokka's snoring from the other side of camp. Aang didn't snore, but he mumbled and talked in his sleep. She thought it was kinda cute, where as Sokka was just annoying.
"Good morning, it's about time you woke up."
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Katara screamed bloody murder causing Sokka and Aang to wake up with a jump.
"What! What!" Aang yelled, "What's going on!" The trio looked up to find Zuko standing in front of them, arms crossed, head cocked to the side, and a playful smirk across his face.
"Sorry to startle you Zynda. I meant no harm." Then it dawned on Katara. He still had no idea who they really were. She let out a sigh of relief at her realization and hoped that Sokka and Aang would realize it too. She noticed that they were both looking at her. She then got the impression that they knew too.
"Oh, it's okay Prince Zuko. I just had no idea that you'd wake us up so early!" She let out a nervous chuckle. She was scared to say the least. The Fire Nation Prince who had been tracking them down was now right in front of her.
"Shall we be off then?" Zuko held out his head for her to take. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and took his hand. His hands are so warm... He hoisted her up from the ground where she was laying. He pulled her up so hard that she almost fell forward onto him. She looked up at him with a sheepish grin, not liking the feeling of being so close to the enemy's body. He returned her grin with a broad smile of his own. Her heart melted. Who knew that Prince Zuko had such a handsome and comforting smile...
"Ehem!" Sokka coughed. "Let's go." They started to pack up their campsite and belongings, trying desperately to cover up and hide all of the things they thought Zuko might be able to recognize.
"Interesting..." Zuko said with a questioning look on his face. "Where on earth did you three get a flying bison?" They all froze and everything became silent. Aang started to sweat, not knowing how they would get themselves out of this one. Sokka had a horrified look on his face. It was up to Katara to figure out some sort of story. Katara gulped down another lump as her mouth became dry.
"We uh...we uh...STOLE HIM!" She yelled. The sweat on her face was making her hair stick to her forehead.
"Stole him? Where from?"
"Uh...a bald monk, a girl, and a boy! We got their lemur too!"
"Is that so? You three must have run into the Avatar and his friends then. You three must regale me with all the thrilling details." Zuko smirked, knowing full well where they had gotten them and who they were.
OOOOOOOOO
The festival raged outside as Zuko laid Nani down to sleep. He sighed heavily as he watched the small girl rest comfortably on her bed. She was like a daughter to him at times. Visions of her burning village sent shivers down his spine. He looked out the window as new thoughts came into his mind. Those three were not from the Fire Nation, but who would risk coming to this festival? Zuko sat in deep thought as he paced around the room. Then it hit him. Two of them had blue eyes! They were tan too, not tan from the sun, but from birth. Not only that, but their companion was a bald boy...
"The Avatar..." Zuko hissed. "He was right in front of me! He was in my grasp!" He growled ferociously at his epiphany. "I could have had him..."
Iroh opened the door to the small house and walked inside. Zuko was sitting in a chair in the corner with his hand over his eyes.
"You figured out it was the Avatar didn't you?"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!" Zuko shouted, fists flaming with a wicked heat.
"I thought it best for you to figure it out for yourself. I can't do everything for you you know." Iroh let out a hearty and playful laugh, as if to mock his nephew's anger. Zuko just grunted and sat back down into his seat.
"Come now Zuko, it isn't that bad. You can still capture him if you want. Pretend that you still don't know who he is, and it'll all fall into place." Zuko stared at his uncle with uncertainty. It wasn't like him to give him such advice. He had always been the one to tell him to stop going after the Avatar. Why would he suddenly change his mind? After some thought, he decided not to read too much into his uncle's actions. He was in fact a strange uncle and rarely ever made sense.
Zuko looked back over to Nani who slept peacefully. Take care of her Prince Zuko...like a father would a daughter...
"I'm going to the temple to pray uncle, don't expect me back until later."
OOOOOOOOO
Once their things were packed they headed towards the trail. As they approached the road they could hear whispering and some giggling. The trees parted to reveal the dusty road from the night before. Hinoiri and Karasu were there talking to each other in that strange language from the festival.
"Hinoiri and Karasu will be your escorts along with my good friend Kazem." A dark-skinned boy no older than Zuko stepped forward and bowed. His long black hair was tied in a low ponytail that blew in the breeze. A katana was at his side giving a strange contrast to his friendly smile.
"I thought you were going to escort us." Aang replied.
"I'm sorry, but I forgot that I can't, I have important things to do. Now that the Avatar doesn't have a flying bison or lemur, it should be easier to catch him. Good day." Zuko bowed and turned quickly. Just as he was about to disappear into the forest, Katara called out for him.
"Prince Zuko, wait!" He turned around to face her. His golden eyes locked with her cerulean ones. He found himself in a trance.
"Please escort us, you were the one who offered in the first place." Zuko looked at her pleading face and gave in.
"Fine, but I need to get something first if I am to come." He turned around once more and left.
"He just went to go get Nani." Hinoiri replied. "He can't very well leave her by herself now can he?" She smiled brightly and linked arms with Kazem. He was used to the gesture and smiled in return.
"Would you two cut that out?" Karasu complained. "Just because you're getting married, doesn't mean the whole world has to know."
"You're getting married!" Katara cried out. "That's so romantic!" She sighed deeply hoping that one day she too could find true love. Hinoiri giggled at her approval. She knew she was from the Water Tribes, Zuko had told her that, but she was very different from what she had expected.
"Takoshi ni wa!" Nani cried as Zuko tossed her up into the air.
"Oh, you're back. You ready to go?" Karasu asked.
"Yes, we're ready." Zuko replied, resting Nani on his hip.
Everyone sort of split off into group's based on walking speed as they made their way down the road. Zuko and Nani took the lead, followed by Aang, Sokka, and Kazem, with Katara, Hinoiri, and Karasu trailing behind. Katara felt awkward walking with two complete strangers and avoided their gaze as best she could.
"So, which relatives are you three visiting?" Katara looked over to Hinoiri who smiled at her with a patient and motherly look on her face.
"We're visiting my aunt and uncle. They live not too far from Omashu." Hinoiri just smiled broader and replied with a "that's nice". Katara decided that the silence was really dull, so she picked a conversation topic she knew the two girls would enjoy.
"Are you two good friends of Zuko?" They looked at each other, then back at her and laughed.
"Yes, we've all been friends since childhood you know. Kazem included." Hinoiri laughed harder than she did before, unseen memories of her friends flooding her mind.
"We met Zuko when we were just 5 years old." Karasu stated. "I accidentally bumped into him at a market place and knocked him down. He fell so hard that he scrapped his knee on the ground. I thought for sure that his body guards were going to kill me. He just laughed though, he thought it was some kind of joke. He told the guards to leave us alone. Then he asked us our names. The rest is history."
"He has a scar on his knee from when he fell still." Hinoiri pointed out. "He says it reminds him of us!" They both started laughing.
Katara just smiled and looked up ahead at where Zuko and Nani were walking. They were giggling and speaking in their native tongue. Zuko was smiling so brightly that it almost put Nani's adorable smile to shame.
"What relation is Nani to Zuko?" Katara asked, wanting to know more.
"Nani? Well she isn't really related to him at all. Blood-wise. He is like a father to her though, or a big brother. He was on his way to our village a few months ago. There is another village on the way that he usually stops at. Only last time, when he came to the village, it was completely burned down. He searched through the rubble for any survivors. He only found Nani and her parents. They were barely alive. They told Zuko to take care of her like his own. They didn't make it. They died before they reached our village. Nani is the only survivor.
Katara was in shock. She thought of those poor villagers. How dare the Fire Nation do such a thing to those poor, innocent lives!
"Who burned the village?"
"Princess Azula...who else?" Karazu said coldly. Katara could feel some tension in the air. Azula had obviously had some history with these friends of Zuko's. The usually calm-faced Hinoiri and Karasu now had scowls on their faces at the mere mention of her name.
"What nation was the village from?"
"Fire Nation of course! Azula has been burning down all of our villages since Zuko and Iroh were banished. Ours is one of the only villages left that hasn't been destroyed or forced into slavery."
Katara didn't understand what she was hearing. Azula was burning down Fire Nation villages? That makes not sense! Why would she burn down the villages of her own people? Katara must have had a strange look on her face because Hinoiri shook her shoulder slightly.
"Hey? You okay? You have a funny look on your face."
"I'm okay. Don't worry about it." Katara hadn't realized that everyone had stopped walking and she bumped into Zuko.
"Whoops...sorry Zynda." Zuko said, scratching the back of his head like a child. It made Katara laugh in a way, at how immature he seemed sometimes. Then their eyes locked again. Her concentration drifted over to his scared eye.
"Is something wrong?" Katara suddenly realized that she had been staring at him. A blush crept its way into her cheeks as she swallowed and looked at her feet. What's wrong with me! Why can't I look at him!
"Ummm...nothing's wrong! I'm fine!"
"You sure? You don't sound fine."
"No really, I'm okay." Katara went and abruptly sat down next to Sokka who gave her a questioning look. She noticed that Aang was also giving her a questioning stare. She payed them no heed and just stared at the ground.
As they all rested, Zuko and Nani started to play a game. They were wrestling and tumbling together. Laughter filled the air as Zuko tickled her senseless. He couldn't help but smile. Then Nani jumped up and wrapped her small arms around his neck in a hug. Even though Zuko was kneeling, she still had to stand on her tippy-toes to reach him. Katara's heart fluttered at the sight. She had never imagined Zuko to be so good with children. They were adorable together. She had also never imagined Zuko to have compassion. When she thought about it, she realized that not only was he being kind to her, but he had friends, family, and a village. He cared about a lot of people and they cared about him. Why was it that she never noticed it before? She watched carefully as he twirled a lock of Nani's hair around his finger. She yawned and stretched her arms up high in the air like a bird ready to take flight.
They got up a few minutes later and resumed their walking. This time, she wanted to walk with Zuko himself. If he could make friends with Hinoiri and Karasu, why couldn't she? Maybe if she befriended him, he would stop chasing Aang all over creation. She jogged slightly to catch up to him. Nani was now scooped up into the arms of Karasu. As she started to walk next to Zuko, Sokka gave her a glare letting her know that he didn't approve. But who cared what he thought. If she had to bring Zuko out of his shell and befriend him in order to help Aang, then so be it!
OOOOOOOOO
There it is! Chapter fin. READ AND REVIEW! COME ON PEOPLE! I KNOW YOU'RE READING IT! WHY AREN'T YOU ALL REVIEWING TOO!
Let me know about Taang in the future...and also whether or not I should get rid of the made up characters...up to you guys.