Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. I own Koima.

I got a good review, no bad ones so now I will continue.

A Koi called "Bird"

By FyreFlower

Chapter 2

"Bird" and "A.Z"

I opened my eyes and saw a monster in front of my cage looking at me through two twin slits of eyes. It was a mask I realized, a man in a black suit to hide his face. My body still throbbed with pain, my thoughts barely coherent.

'Why is a man in my Masters room?' Was one I could form. Maybe he can help me, but I highly doubted it. I felt myself slipping back into darkness I had to do it now.

"…help…me…" I could barely get the words past my lips, but I did it. That small effort exhausted me, I saw the man raise his broad swords…and I go unconscious again.

; Zuko;

"…help…me…" She whispered. Zuko couldn't leave her, without help she would surely die. Zuko raised his swords and saw the girl close her eyes. He brought the swords down, slicing through the metal lock with ease. The cage door opened. Zuko put his sword back into the sheath on his back.

He reached in, and grabbed the girls limp form and pulled her out as carefully as he could without hurting her further. She was unconscious again he could see. She was thin and light in a very unhealthy way. She couldn't way more then 90 lb! (That's for pounds for all you stupid people out there.)

'I bet he barely feeds her!' Zuko thought angrily. Zuko carried her on his shoulder.

"I'll get you out of here." He whispered, but his words fell on deaf ears. Zuko was unable to find the letter, but he had no time for that now the girl's life was in his hands. He slipped out the window with the girl, leaving the cage behind.

: Time Gap:

Zuko left the girl behind a stack of crates on his ship, in easy view for one of the crewmen to find. If Zuko said that he found her, then suspicion would be on him.

"You'll be safe here." He whispered making sure the girl was propped up comfortable. The dawn did not come for another 20 minutes or so, leaving him enough time to get rid of his disguise.

Zuko slipped into his room without waking anyone up in the process. He id the black ninja outfit under the rug that the bed was on and hid the mask in his antique chest.

'Who is she?' He wondered, sitting at his meditation table to calm his thoughts that whirled restlessly inside his head. He pondered over this for awhile, 'Was she Zhao's daughter?' No. Zhao doesn't have a daughter, and if he did, he wouldn't keep her locked in a cage and not feed her. Prisoner? No, Zhao would've killed her long ago. And plus, she's Firenation. Zhao wouldn't arrest and torture one of our own.'

Zuko couldn't think of any reason why Zhao had that girl. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a yell. He looked up to see that the sun had already risen. Without knowing it, he had been meditation for over an hour.

"Prince Zuko!" He heard one of the men shout for him. A man burst into his room, not bothering to knock in his urgency.

"Prince Zuko, " The man said again, "A girl has been found on the ship. We think she might be dead or close to it. Come quickly!"

Prince Zuko got up and followed him, trying to act as shocked and surprised as he could.

There was a crowd around the crates where he had left the girl, "Someone get the doctor!" He shouted to the crew, "Hurry, she needs help, quick!"

Uncle Iroh watched as two men carried the girl to the infirmary. He turned to Price Zuko, his nephew, "She looks pretty bad. Where do you think she has come from Prince Zuko?" The old man recognized the girl as Firenation, but not in good shape. Her lip was bloodied and she had cuts and bruises on every part of her body that he could see. The girl was also very thin from lack of food Iroh guessed.

Prince Zuko lied, "I don't know Uncle. But she is just a stowaway." He said, trying to act indifferent, "We'll find out more about her when she awakes."

Uncle Iroh nodded and went to the infirmary to see the doctor about the girl. Zuko sighed, not realizing that he had been holding his breath. He hoped that the girl will pull through…but what would she say when she's awake? If she says anything about the mask, he would be found out.

Uncle Iroh looked at the girl in the infirmary bed, she was pale, the bruises stood out sharply on her cheeks, like an ink stain on white linen.

Uncle Iroh asked the doctor what the girl's condition was. In answer, the doctor pointed out the bruises, burns and cuts. He also said that she has two cracked ribs.

"She isn't doing to good." Col, the doctor, told Iroh, "I don't know how long she will be out. There are old scars all over her body as well as the new ones. She's been hurt for a long time General." He said sadly, "She has a slight head concussion…and something else…" Col asked for Iroh to turn the girl on her side. The girl was dressed in new and clean clothes. Col lifted up the shirt in the back. There were markings on the girl's lower back.

Iroh frowned, there were fresh cuts in her back, and the blood had already dried and was beginning to heal. A.Z was engraved into the girl's back. The cuts had been filled with black ink, it would be a permanent tattoo once it healed.

"A.Z?" Iroh said, puzzled.

The doctor shook his head, "I don't know what it stands for. Maybe it's the girl's initials. But whoever did it for her was brutal with the knife. If it were any deeper, the spinal cord would've been severed. Very painful. There is another one above it, look."

An older scar, the word "Bird" was tattooed on top of "A.Z."

"That's not a name." Col said, puzzled as much as Iroh was. They settled the girl onto her back. She moaned, her face a mask of agony.

It wounded Iroh to see someone in so much pain, especially a young woman.

'What happened to you?' He asked silently, brushing the girl's black hair off her face.

"Give her food," He commanded Col. "Give her the best of attention. She's been through a lot apparently. Inform me the moment she awakes."

Col saluted smartly, "Yes, Sir!"

Iroh took one last look at the girl, and left the infirmary.


Yep well that ends Chapter 2. Hope you liked it. I want more reviews if I am to continue. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.