Mai paused her barrage of attacks to stare at him again. Shouto got the feeling that this girl didn't like him for whatever reason. He didn't understand why he was to be any more hated than Zuko though.

Still, Shouto went on, not responding to any of her questions about Zuko or about himself for that matter. After a few minutes, Mai figured he wasn't going to talk and fell silent herself.

It seemed her anger had mostly passed, though Shouto wasn't sure why she was so mad at him in the first place. Now she was focusing all her strength on beating him.

But Shouto had been training for a long time, to prepare for fights like this, because anything less than perfection was unacceptable. Not only that, but he was physically stronger than her, and he had a quirk. Overall, she stood no chance against him alone.

She threw knives and then rushed towards him. She didn't get far because Shouto sent a jet of fire straight for her. She had to quickly dodge to avoid the blast, and that slowed her down considerably.

He kept on his toes and closed in on her. She seemed keen on throwing knives and perhaps the more up close the less skilled she was. Even if that wasn't the case, it would still be easier for him. He need to get close so he could overpower her and take her to the ground.

As he ran closer, Mai stuck her leg out to sweep him off his feet. She nearly succeeded, in tripping him up but he pulled back out at the last second, and took a few steps back.

They circled each other for a minute before Mai threw some more attacks directly at him.

Shouto dodged all of the knives, so focused on the sharp blades he didn't notice Mai until she sent a hard kick into his stomach, knocking the air out of him.

Shouto coughed and rolled away before she could pin him on the ground. From there he stood, still trying to catch his breath and threw more fire at her, trying to keep her away and her vision unclear while he recovered. Hopefully the smoke was enough.

When he had recovered, Shouto let the smoke clear so he could see again and there was Mai already running straight towards him, a knife in hand.

Shouto grimaced, unsure of what to do. He had to subdue her, but it was so hard to get close. He didn't think he was going to be able to do it without getting cut. But if that's what it took than he would gladly do it.

So he ran at her too, elbows tucked and arms up, protecting his most vulnerable spots.

Mai seemed surprised Shouto was running towards her too but she didn't halt or faulter one bit. Perhaps she should've been more careful with strangers she didn't know anything about.

Oh well, he'd teach her that lesson.

Her blade struck low, deep into his elbow.

He used his feet to trip her up and grabbed her arms and trapped her legs so she could no longer use any knife attacks on him. Seriously what was with this woman. She was definitely more violent than Shouto was.

Or maybe Shouto just brought out this in her somehow.

Either way the fight was over, and now all he had to do was find a way to keep Mai secure and then go find Zuko and help him out.

"Why are you travelling with Zuko," Mai asked suddenly, craning her neck to stare at him.

"I… because I want to help him."

"Help him do what?" Mai asked suspiciously.

"Just help him. In whatever way he needs, I suppose." Whether it be stealing animals or telling stories to try and cheer him up. Shouto couldn't explain it. It was just that somewhere along the way he'd started caring about Zuko. Cared and worried like he might with Midoriya. Zuko, like his friend, had a knack for getting in trouble, at any rate.

"Then go." Mai said. "Don't worry about me and just go."

"How can I not worry about you. You'll just go after us and try to fight again."

"No I won't." she sighed like this was the most draining thing she'd ever had to explain. "You want to help Zuko and… so do I. So go, I'll make something up after you guys escape."

Shouto wanted to ask if she meant 'if they escaped' but she didn't correct herself, so he assumed he was wrong. "Go."

And neither of them said it, but this was like a silent agreement. They were doing this for Zuko, both of them. Shouto had to admit, he admired how Mai didn't let her own feelings get in the way of helping someone she cared about. He thought it showed a lot about her true nature.

Though she did somewhat remind him of himself he wasn't into black that much. "Okay," Shouto nodded, and slowly released her.

Then he got up and started running towards Zuko and whatever fight was happening. He just hoped Zuko made it out alright.

Zuko felt himself be thrown backwards by another one of Azula's grueling kicks. The air was instantly knocked out of him, but he tried to keep a steady breathing technique.

In that moment another one of Azula's horrible laughs reached his ears. "Looks like I win once again. Where's your prince charming now when you really need him, hm?

"He's busy taking out Mai, obviously. And I don't need him to defeat you!" Zuko stood up once again, his hands balling up into fists, he was ready. Azula smirked and then came at him again, her precision terrifyingly accurate. But she wasn't the only one who had fast reaction times.

He dodged her first strike, lashing out with his own. She dodged that one though. "Pathetic, is this all you can do after training for the past three years? You couldn't beat that child avatar to save your life, which has already been proven. And if you can't beat him, you certainly can't beat me, so you might as well give up now." Azula smirked again, wider this time, as if she'd just gotten away with something.

Zuko felt nervous, which caused some of his reactions times to be off, and his attacks weaker than normal. He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling this way but he figured it had to do with his sister's overwhelming attacks. Not only that but he couldn't focus like he needed to.

The only thing on his mind in that moment was if Shouto was okay. And that took him by surprise. After all, he should be thinking of more important things, like regaining his honor, or capturing the avatar. So why was he only thinking about Shouto? It didn't make any sense! Zuko almost groaned aloud. He probably would've, but Azula gave him no reprieve whatsoever.

Their fight continued for a while until Zuko got overwhelmed and blasted to the ground by an especially strong attack. Azula was relentless.

Zuko tried to scramble away from her but there was nowhere to go really, he was trapped, with Azula coming straight for him.

Was this really where he died?

Then, Zuko felt something hot slide past his face but it didn't come from Azula. She did have to move to avoid the blast, however.

Zuko turned towards the source to see Shouto standing there as well.

"Honestly, I gave her one job." Azula almost snarled. She didn't look pleased in any case.

"Get away from him." Shouto sent another blast of fire. It wasn't very controlled, but it was big. Azula had the advantage of strength and precision, but Shouto's attacks were just so damn big. Maybe he was doing it on purpose.

Either way, Shouto had a lot of power behind those attacks, perhaps more than Azula. Definitely more than himself. And he had ice powers too. That kind of power was almost unreal.

"Ooo, big and flashy." She smirked. "Too bad this isn't a contest. You might've had some semblance of a chance."

"Don't underestimate me."

"I'm not, do I truly have to explain what mocking is?"

"I know what it means." Shouto said. "Isn't it like a bird?"

"You really are stupid. It's not a bird, I'm making fun of you."

"Oh, so we're not fighting anymore and are having fun?"

Azula dug her nails into her palm and grimaced, "No, it was a mean joke."

"How can it be mean if it was a joke?"

"Oh my god stop trolling her and just fight." Zuko growled, hopping to his feet. If he let Todoroki do all the work, this was going to take forever.

He was so busy glaring at Azula though, that he missed Shouto's small smile at his words. "Let's get this over with." Zuko sighed.

Ty Lee was trying to fend off Iroh, but she wasn't doing as well against him as she had with Zuko and Shouto.

Todoroki had to admit that for an old man who liked tea and proverbs, he was an amazingly good fighter. Maybe even better than some of his teachers, and Shouto knew all of them were well-versed fighters too.

Either way he was better than Shouto. "Stay focused!"

Shouto snapped back to attention at those words and barely moved to avoid Azula's attack. "Idiot, in a fight you're supposed to move!"

"Sorry…"

Zuko could focus better now, surprisingly. He wasn't sure what had happened, but his mind was finally on the fight.

He told himself that the reason he was more focused wasn't because he wasn't worrying about Shouto anymore.

"Watch out!" Shouto shouted and Zuko moved, but didn't have enough time and got singed.

Zuko knew their objective wasn't to win this fight, just stall Azula long enough that they could get out of there. He wasn't sure how to accomplish that, however.

The easiest way would be to use Shouto's ice. It could probably hold together long enough for them to make an escape. The only problem was that would reveal their secret weapon, Zuko wasn't sure if that was the best idea.

He didn't see any other way, however. "Shouto…" Zuko panted. They couldn't go on much longer, or at least he couldn't. Shouto turned, sweat dampening his brow a single drop sliding down his che-and Zuko shouldn't be paying attention to that. "Use it. Use your other power."

"Are you sure now is the best time?"

"There's no other way."

Azula raised an eyebrow at their discussion, no doubt wondering what they were talking about. "Alright."

Shouto had to get them closer together first, and Iroh away from the girl. He realized this would be the first time Iroh would see that he could create ice. But that didn't matter.

He lured Azula closer to Ty Lee, so he could get them both at the same time." She followed him, both fighting with everything they had. Shouto was starting to feel hot, but he pushed down that feeling too.

Once they were close enough Shouto yelled, "Iroh-san, back up!"

And as he said that ice shot forward, a huge mountain of raw power, surging from his body. Iroh moved at the very last second and as soon as it encased the both of them they ran for it.

They tore through the forest, no one looking where they were going and just ran. Maybe they would happen upon that town again, or at least some form of a town.

They all heard a shout of frustration and ran faster. Azula was a firebender, and despite Shouto's power and the raw amount of ice, she would break free soon, regardless. And she would break Ty Lee out after. Azula wasn't stupid, she knew she would need the help, and that would slow her down, even if it was just a little. In the meantime, they just kept going.

No questions asked, no talking involved.

They simply ran for their lives.

A/N Hey, a new chapter a lot faster this time, lol. Thank goodness right? Anyway, I'm on vacation right now so the next update might take a little more time as I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment. But anyway, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!