Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. I own Koima.
Chapter 17
I'm bad luck!
I collapsed onto my bed panting hard to catch my breath; running was not one of my strongest points and it had been a long way back to the ship. We had gotten Zuko and Jun stable enough to run after the full effect of the Shir Shu's venom had worn off. The nuns had ran after us half of the way through the forest to the ship. Once back at the ship Zuko had gone to his room and stayed there. Iroh dealt with Jun, losing her Shir Shu and us only paying her half the intended pay had left her very...very…bitter.
My legs ached and so did my heart. I felt responsible for Zuko's lost at the abbey. If I hadn't known Katara and Sokka, and If I hadn't turned to watch Zuko and got drugs shoved in my face, we would've won! We could've gotten the Avatar and Zuko would have been able to go back home. Zuko no doubt hates me now… I covered my face with my pillow and cried myself to sleep.
; Zuko;
Zuko lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking, sulking, and being plain depressed. He lost the Avatar again! What was wrong with him? He can't catch a little 12-year-old boy! He sighed, shooting a blast of fire at the ceiling. It left a black mark on the metal. Zuko couldn't help but wonder what happened with Koima and the prisoners, the two Water tribe siblings.
Zuko sat up in his bed when a horrible thought came to him, 'She probably thinks that because they got away, the loss is her fault! Blaming herself that we lost the Avatar…' Maybe she was, Maybe she wasn't. But Zuko felt that he had to check on her. Koima blames herself for things that go wrong all the time, no matter how many times Zuko and Iroh told her otherwise.
(Amy. Note: If you read Fruits Basket. She reminds me of Ritsu.)
Zuko got up and left his room into the hall. No one was up and about this late at night, all had gone to bed or to their own quarters to do their own things. He made his way to Koima's room. She forgot to lock her door, Zuko saw with a small snort of laughter.
He opened the door to her room and peered in, "Koi?" He whispered. He could see her on the bed, her back to him. She was asleep, he could see from the way she was breathing. He went in silently and went to the other side of her bed to see her. She had been crying Zuko saw with a pang of remorse. He felt sorry that he had stormed onto the ship in high bad temper, now Koi thinks it's her fault that the prisoners had escaped.
"It's not your fault." Zuko whispered to her even though he knew she couldn't hear him in her sleep. Her legs were tucked to her stomach, one arm tucked under her head and the other was on the blanket, fingers slightly curled inwards, they flexed when Zuko spoke. She shifted in her sleep, now her legs were out straight. Zuko couldn't see the shape of her legs, they were lost in the huge baggy pants that Uncle had bought for her, it was the smallest size that he could find and it was still humungous on her.
"I'm sorry." Zuko bent his head down and kissed her gently on the cheek. Soft satin it felt like. A slight tingle went through Zuko's lips when he pulled away. 'I love you.' He left the room and went back to his own.
: Time Gap:
Zuko slept in late the next morning and got up around noon because his stomach was complaining that it hadn't been fed. In the galley he saw that Koima was already up and eating noodles and drinking her favorite tea Zuko guessed what it was; Green tea with a hint of tangerine. The galley was not very crowded, just the odd crewmember or kitchen crew around, including him and Koima.
Koima looked up from her tea when she felt him watching her, their eyes connected. Koima averted her eyes back down to her cup of tea and took another sip. Zuko sighed, 'She's still worried about yesterday.' He figured.
"Sir? Would you like your morning meal?" One of the cooks asked him, seeing that he was standing about with no apparent destination in mind. Zuko felt his appetite disappear, he no longer felt like eating.
"No. But get Miss Koima a dessert." He said instead. The man bowed, "Yes, Sir." Zuko sucked in his hesitance and went over to Koima's table. She saw him coming and made as to leave but Zuko motioned for her to stay. She sat back down reluctantly but didn't meet his eyes, her eyes on her cup of tea as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"What is wrong?" Zuko questioned, sitting down across from her, "Why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm bad luck to you! A burden!" Koima blurted out, her eyes meeting his for a split second before looking away. Zuko frowned, "What makes you think that?"
She gripped her tea between her hands, staring at it with a mixture of anger and sadness, "It's my fault that they got away! I should've bee watching them but I was too ignorant and stupid and let the Water tribe siblings get away! If I had been watching them, you would've won and caught the Avatar and you could go home and become Fire Lord. But because of me," Koima got up to leave, "They got away."
Zuko stood up, "Koi. Sit down."
Used to be given orders, she sat down in her seat, her eyes downcast.
"You are not bad luck, you are not a burden! Things happened the way they did for a reason that will be revealed when Agni wishes it." Zuko said, "If you weren't there, if you had never told us what not to do around a Shir Shu, I would probably still be paralyzed for calling it stupid." Koima smiled a little at this, "If you hadn't gotten that smelly stuff the nuns would've gotten us. You did all that. I'm glad that I brought you along, Koi. Things would've gone a whole lot worse than what had transpired yesterday. Thank Agni they hadn't or I would've had to pay that bounty hunter a whole lot more than what was originally planned." He tried to joke.
Koima nodded, smiling faintly, "So you're not mad?"
"Not at you I'm not."
The cook arrived and set a bowl of chilled milk in front of Koima. She frowned, "I didn't order—"
"I got it for you." Zuko said, "I'll see you later." Zuko got up from the table, "Enjoy."
Koima smiled at him before digging into her frozen milk dessert, a rare treat only saved for Prince Zuko and Uncle Iroh.
:;:;:Koima:;:;:;:
I sat in my room idly playing with the jade panda lily that the man in the blue mask had given me. It was so delicate, so fragile, yet so beautiful.
'Like life.' I thought wryly. Life is delicate and fragile, do one thing wrong and you or someone could end up hurt or dead, their life ruined. Yet life can be beautiful, life before Master…. But life right now was beautiful. I had an admirer, I had this flower…
Looking down at the flower on my blanket I smiled, laying my head down beside it. I thought about Zuko and Uncle Iroh, both of them unable to return home unless they capture the Avatar. I sat up in bed, "That's it! I will do everything I can to help Zuko capture the Avatar. That is how I will thank him!"
Not a long one, sorry. The next chapter will make up for it! I'm working extra fast to get all my chapters typed up before any more new episodes come out so I will have time to write!
Hey yall guess what! Im going on a date! I broke up with my ex a few weeks ago and Brandon (My guy from Vet Med) Asked me to the movies tomorrow night! Going to go see "Silent Hill." Kick Ass!
I'm hoping that I'll be getting a new computer soon and I will be able to start reviewing on other peoples stories again! It sucks that I'm not able.
Here are some authors I want to say "Good job on your stories! I wish I can review but I cant!"
Zukoscute2
Lovenelie
Zukoiscute
JustPlainPeachy
PerPermintPatti
And some other authors I can't really remember. I haven't had time to read a lot. Oh! And also to that girl who wrote, "The Flaws we Share" You are awesome! I love that story!
Shout outs to Rose, Brittany (my bitch), Courtney, and my best bud Lizzy-chan!
Okay….um….lets see if I can think of anything else to say…… Oh yeah. I'm selling my turtles, though I doubt if anyone wants to buy them. I would give them to my Biology teacher, but she killed my last one. Little tiny Thor! She didn't feed him and she didn't tell me he died until I said, "Hey! Where is Thor?"
BT (Biology teacher) :Oh, he died."
Me: WHAT! When? What happened!
BT: He just…died.
Me: You didn't feed him! Did you bury him? Flush him down the toilet? What?
BT: Um.. Well. No… Come here. (takes out a jar with little, tiny, baby, sweet little Thor floating in it)
Me: (gasps) OMFG!
BT: Don't say that!
Me: He-He-he's…. YOU PUT HIM IN A JAR OF FLAMALDAHYDE AND DIDN'T TELL ME! YOU PUT HIM IN A GODDAMN JAR! (starts crying when I see his eyes are gone)
BT: He will be used for science.
Me: GIVE HIM HERE! I'm BURYING HIM! (thought bubble: YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH! YOU KILLED HIM FOR SCIENCE!)
The Bitch teacher wouldn't let me. She said that since I gave it to the biology classroom to look after, (which I kept him there for a project in Zoology. A total lie) That he officially belonged to her and I had to stop with the cussing or I would get a referral. I HATE YOU MRS. DRAGON BITCH!
Now that I'm done with my Biotch shout out, I have one piece of advice: Never, Ever, leave your turtle with your science teacher that happens to dislike you.
Don't forget to review please.
