Fighting

Also known as the chapter where I blatantly steal lines from a movie I saw recently and try to make them fit into the chapter, despite them not really fitting into the plotline.

Sorry for the wait. My family and I went to visit my great grandma for a week, and there's no internet connection there, so I couldn't upload this. Then we went to visit some friends, and we didn't bring the laptop, so I couldn't update this story. ^^'

ALSO, this chapter contains ANOTHER reference in it. Lets see if you can find it! I would be surprised if you did notice it though. But there's a chance you might have noticed it. Probably not, though.

Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar the Last Airbender, no matter how much I want to.

I only own Tora and all the OC's that come in at different points in the story.

Princess Mononoke belongs to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.

OH! And, just to avoid confusion, I'll just tell you this now: When Tora and Ryuu and Katsu left to go to the village, let's just say that Zuko's ship was in port when Zhao's messenger came and gave Zuko the news about the Avatar and Zhao being and admiral. Okay? Okay.

Zuko was taking too long to get his swords. So, I, being bored as I was, unsheathed my sword and started loosening up, thrusting my sword forward. I was enjoying the feel of my new clothes. They may not have been brand new, obviously they had been worn by someone before me - but that just made them even more comfortable. They were more free (for lack of a better word) than my usual black pants and red tunic.

Was it cheating if I was the daughter of the best swords master in the Fire Nation? Was it cheating if Zuko didn't know that? Probably. Was I going to enjoy this fight (even if I did lose)? Hell yes.

"ZUKO, LET'S GO!" I yelled, still practicing my moves. "WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?"

"I'm afraid you'll just have to wait!" He yelled back. I was a little surprised that he had heard me, since his room was as far away from the ship's deck as you could get. He had requested it that way, not that I was surprised.

"I hate waiting." I muttered to myself.

"How are you going to fight him?" Katsu asked me.

"I'm going to fight him left handed."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "It's the only way I can be satisfied. If I use my right," I held up my right hand. "It's over too quickly."

After a few more minutes of - ugh - waiting, Zuko finally came up the stairs, wearing his training clothes (which involved him shirtless), holding two swords in his hands. They were twin broadswords, matching each other perfectly - if the name "twin broadswords" didn't give it away - long and sharp, with an edge at the top that curved inward. I hadn't practiced with those very much when I was younger - I enjoyed holding one sword as opposed to two swords. With one hand free, you were freer to do what you wanted, but if you had two swords when your opponent only had one, then you had the upper hand. It was even.

"Let us begin." Zuko asked, holding up his swords.

"Wait -" I held up a hand, frowning. "How come you get two swords and I only get one?" I was trying very - very - hard to not stare directly at Zuko's bare chest.

Oh, shut up!

"Because my swords are meant to be together. They're two halves of a whole. Your's aren't. They're separate." Zuko said, sounding like he was explaining this to a child.

"That's not fair!" I protested.

Suddenly, he smirked. "You're just trying to get out of fighting me, aren't you?"

You can imagine I didn't like that.

I ground my teeth together. "You - just - you-" I managed to spit out. Finally, I managed to regain my senses, and I spoke again in a calmer tone. "You should not have said that."

Zuko sighed, looking up at the sky in exasperation. "If you really feel that way about the swords, I'll only use one."

Why does Zuko keep surprising me today?

~~Water~~

Third Person POV

It seemed that everyone on the ship had heard about Zuko and Tora's sword fight, and had come up onto the deck to watch. Katsu had wasted no time in setting up a gambling booth (though really the "booth" was just the Pai Sho board that Iroh had set up on deck) and already the soldiers, cook, and mechanics on the ship were tossing in their money. So far, it was half and half.

"So, has everyone placed a bet?" Katsu said, sounding surprisingly serious for once. When everyone nodded, the firebender stood up, cupping his hands over his mouth. "OI! YOU CAN START THE FIGHT NOW!"

Tora's eye twitched. Zuko scowled.

Slowly, the two of them got into their positions. Tora held her sword with both hands (left hand clenched tightly over the pommel, with her right hand holding onto the grip), while Zuko chose to use one hand. Everyone became silent, watching as Tora's eyes narrowed in concentration. She was holding the sword at an odd angle, holding it so it pointed down at the ground in a diagonal way. Zuko, on the other hand, was holding his single sword in the "normal" way - holding it by his side, pointing it at her. Tora's hands shifted, so now her left hand was holding onto the guard of the hilt, and her right hand was covering the pommel.

For a moment, neither of the two sword wielders moved. Then, Tora darted forward, her long black hair streaming behind her. Zuko instantly swung his sword out at her.

Chnk - KLANG!

Everyone jumped at the sound of the two separate noises.

Tora had suddenly stabbed her sword into the deck, slamming the tip into the metal. Zuko hadn't seen it in time, so the momentum of his sword swing had caused his sword to clash against Tora's blade (causing the klang noise), while Tora suddenly felt a rush of strength. There was a roar in her ears that sounded like the rush of waves crashing against the rocky shore...

And the next thing everyone knew, she had suddenly flipped into the air, going at least a metre above Zuko's head, sword still clenched in her hand. Her back was arched concavely, her head was thrown back, and she was grinning at Zuko from her place in the air.

Despite her appearance, Tora was startled by her sudden movement as well. She suddenly tucked her knees into her chest and landed on the ground in a crouch behind Zuko. Then, just as she had stood up, Zuko darted forward, sword at the ready. He made a jab towards her sword, intending to knock it from her hands. She blocked the jab with the flat of her blade, and then jumped into the air, dodging a swing from Zuko. As Tora made a lunge, the swords clashed together, and the two opponents faces were an inch away from each other.

"I have to say… you're good." Zuko said, slightly reluctantly, as he pulled away.

"I ought to be, considering who my father is." Tora replied, grinning.

"Who's your father?"

"I think I'll keep that information to myself."

The fight was mostly made up of swings, blocks, aiming, jabbing, and clashing. It was an even fight, given the two of them had an equal amount of strength and knowledge of swordfighting.

"I admit, I think you're almost better than I am." Tora said, grinning as Zuko started pushing her back.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"Because I know something you don't know."

"What's that?"

Tora grinned again. "I am not left handed." Sure enough, as she tossed her sword into her other hand, she started fighting even better than she had been before. Their swords kept clashing and clanking, while the soldiers and Iroh watched the fight in amazement. All the people who had bet were watching with terrified expressions on their face, waiting in agony to see who would win and who would owe who money.

Suddenly, Zuko was pinned against the side of the ship, Tora leaning into him and keeping him from fighting back.

"There's something I ought to tell you!" Zuko yelled, struggling to break free.

"What's that?" Tora asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zuko smirked at her. "I'm not left handed either." He suddenly elbowed her in the stomach, and as Tora was knocked backward, winded, Zuko tossed his sword into his right hand. Then, they were both lunging forward, moving in a way that almost looked like dancing.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit a lady?" Tora snapped, glaring at him.

"Yes. But you're hardly a lady." Zuko shot back.

The soldiers watching the fight started to snicker, but quickly stopped at the look Tora sent them. She quickly turned her attention back to Zuko. Tora was moving like lightning, and she thrusted forward, slashed, and darted back, all in almost a single movement and -

Zuko was dodging, blocking, and again he thrusted forward, faster even than before, and again he slashed. On it went, back and forth across the ship's deck, both fighters feet moving with the grace and speed of dancers.

Suddenly, an idea lit up in Tora's brain. She eyed Zuko's bare chest for a moment, (not in that way) before she suddenly jabbed the flat of his sword so hard it knocked it out of the prince's hand, sending it clattering across the ground. While Zuko scrambled to get his sword back, Tora suddenly started pulling on her white shirt, pulling it off over her head, showing off the dark purple dress underneath. Despite the tattered-ness of the dress, it was surprisingly revealing. The top clung to her body, rather tightly, and was - surprisingly - a deep v-neck, and exposed a fair amount of cleavage. Zuko turned around, holding his sword, and then took one look at Tora and stopped.

He blinked.

Twice.

Tora shifted. Despite the fact that she was the one who had chosen to reveal the dress underneath the baggy shirt, she was feeling a little uncomfortable. Then, she took advantage of Zuko's distracted state, lunged forward, and knocked him to the ground. Before she could plant a foot on his chest and keep him down, however, he quickly rolled out of the way and got back to his feet, making sure to look at her face and her hands instead of her chest. In reality, it wasn't that hard. The first time, he had gotten distracted because of his shock - Tora seemed like the last person in the world to do… what she did. But now he could focus better, quickly getting used to her dress.

And so, the sword fight went on, with Zuko and Tora lunging and swinging and slashing and jabbing at each other nonstop. A few of the soldiers had gotten bored, and so started playing a game of Pai Sho. The rest of the men, including Iroh, continued to watch the fight, eager to see who would win.

The fight went on for what felt like hours, until finally, both Tora and Zuko were struggling to catch their breath. Iroh noticed this, and then noticed where the sun was in the sky.

"Should we stop for lunch?" He called out to the two fighters.

Neither of them hesitated to stop fighting, and both stood up straight.

"Should we call a tie, then?" Zuko asked.

Tora shrugged. "Better than passing out from dehydration."

And so the two of them bowed Fire Nation style to each other, and the next thing anyone knew, they were gulping down water from the water barrel as if their lives depended on it.

Once she was better, Tora sighed, and picked her shirt up from the ground. I am never going to do that, ever again. She thought as she pulled the baggy off-white shirt over her revealing dress top.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Katsu spoke up. "So... who won the bet?"

~~Water~~

Tora's POV

I rolled my eyes at Katsu's childishness. The soldiers who had bet started mumbling things to each other, as if they were trying to figure it out as well.

Zuko looked at me. "You… are, uh, good with a sword." He finally said, struggling slightly with his words. "Who was your master?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who said anyone taught me? Maybe I taught myself."

Now it was Zuko's turn to raise an eyebrow.

I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you!" I stopped laughing after a moment, but I was still grinning. "I was taught by Piandao of the Fire Nation." I never hesitated to use my father's second name. No one would know who I was talking about if I said "Arrluk of the Water Tribe".

Zuko's mouth dropped open, and he stared at me in disbelief. "Are you joking?" He said, almost in a whisper.

"Nope."

"How - how in Agni's name did you learn from him?"

I paused, contemplating on whether or not to tell him the truth. Then I shrugged. It couldn't do me any harm. "He's my dad."

Zuko looked like he was going to pass out any moment.

"You've gotta be kidding." He finally mumbled, looking so amazed and shocked and confused all at the same time. It was actually kind of... cute.

Gah! No! Where did that come from?!

"Nope!" I grinned proudly.

Zuko finally nodded, before he eyed my sword. "I could take those weapons away from you." He said, ignoring my instant cries of protest. "But I won't." My protests quieted. "It's… nice to have a decent sword sparring partner."

I stared at him for a moment. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Zuko?"

~~Water~~

Later that day, when I had finished my lunch, and everyone else was still eating, I was lying on my bed, staring at both my sword and my knife.

They worked well with me. I had only used the sword once, but it fit well in my grip. And the knife… I held it out, pointing at the ceiling. It also fit well.

I finally had something to do with my time. Thank the Spirits for sending me whoever that lady was, and making her give me the things.

Then, I thought about Zuko. I had thought he had been cute! I don't think boys are cute! I've never once in my life come across a boy who I thought was cute! That's not my fault, though. Sokka made me somewhat prejudiced against what he called the "dominant sex". Plus, when I had reached the age that I was supposed to start thinking boys were cute, I had been shipped out to the Water Tribe and met Sokka, who again, biased me against boys. Plus the fact that there weren't any boys other than Sokka who were over the age of ten.

I paused, thinking about it again.

The sun was getting to me. I finally decided. It wasn't my fault that I had thought those things about Zuko being... cute. The sun and seeing Zuko shirtless became one in my mind, and so I thought he was cute. That's it. That's all it was.

Lame way to end a chapter... but then again, this was a lame chapter. So a lame ending to a lame chapter.

God, the sword fight was lame. I apologize for that. I was being stifled for creativity because of my lack of internet connection. If I had had the internet, I would have made the sword fight better. I was planning on them having a tie, but I couldn't figure out a way to do it... so Tora won again.

NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE EPISODE, I SWEAR! Just put up with me until then! Okay?