Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I just want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter and everyone that added this story to their favourite and follows.

"So where are we heading off to?"

Naruto tilted her head and pushed her food back and forth as her blue eyes flickered between Zuko and Iroh. It was nearly dinner time but not once did anyone mention about the next course of action. If anything, the old man was eating his rice like he had never seen it before while wrinkles formed around Zuko's forehead.

Minutes passed and still neither of the fire benders answered her question.

It will be nice to know what I've signed up for. Naruto puffed her cheeks and hunched her shoulders, dropping her head slightly. Chopsticks dropped onto the table and a clap echoed throughout the dinning hall, drawing everyone's attention away from their food. Naruto looked up, blue eyes widening at the sight of Iroh looking at Zuko.

"Naruto asked a very good question, Prince Zuko." Iroh cleared his throat and darted his eyes at the other members of the crew. Most of the crew members flushed a light shade of red as they tore their eyes away from Naruto's bright blond hair. "The South Pole didn't have the Avatar like you have hoped."

Zuko tightened his grip on the chopsticks, nostrils flaring at those words. If Naruto did not know any better, she would believe he was furious and he was. She might not be empathetic like Sakura-chan but his anger rolled off of him in waves alongside frustration. Why was he so frustrated? She could only guess the reason.

"And why should I answer the question?" Zuko grunted. "I don't answer to her."

"But I wanna know!" Naruto grumbled, putting her hand on the stool and bouncing in her seat. Iroh's eyes bounced with her movements while Zuko grunted. "I mean are we going to go to one of the Earth Kingdoms? I have never seen them before! Oh! Is it true that they have a city surrounded by walls? And what is the weather like?"

She slowed down in her movements and made her eyes as large and child-like as possible. When you make your eyes like this, you make it hard for me to scold you. That had been the Hokage's words whenever Naruto tried to weasel her way out of trouble. If it could work for an old man like the Hokage, then it could work on these men.

What she lacked in looks, Naruto knew she made it up with personality.

The crew frowned and blinked, looking at her like they didn't know whether to believe she was joking or not with her questions. Zuko, on the other hand, only scowled even more. He is a real sourpuss. With the way he scowled and screamed, Naruto believed it would be a miracle if he ever get a girlfriend.

Even if he had such pretty eyes and some ounce of goodness, that scowl was going to scare a lot of girls.

Only Iroh chuckled at her questions, shaking his head and flickering his eyes to the side.

"How did you end up in the South Pole without passing by some Earth Kingdom's village?" Zuko asked, raising a single eyebrow at her. The scowl on his face deepened and those golden eyes glinted with a suspicion that made her body sweat slightly as a memory played in her mind.

"Konoha won't make me stronger, Dobe."

Those words whispered in her mind as dead black eyes flashed before her eyes. Even though it had been nearly three years since it happened, her heart still ached for what happened. She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to smile even when Iroh looked at her with concern.

It was strange for him to give so much concern for a stranger like her but Naruto guessed it came from kindness or empathy as the Hokage would tell her. But I'm not going to talk about what happened to a bunch of strangers. She forced herself to smile even harder at them.

Minutes passed and Naruto knew she had to come up with an excuse.

"I can row for a very long time without taking any breaks." She sipped on her tea as her blue eyes focused on Zuko, daring him to contradict her words. Zuko narrowed his eyes, suspicion lilting up his features, and picked up an empty plate from Iroh's side.

He threw the plate at her and Naruto held her hand up, catching the plate without a single flinch. Her eyebrows twitched. "What the hell was that for?"

"You aren't a bender." He commented.

Naruto rolled her eyes and scowled. "You coulda ask me if I'm a bender or not! Didn't your nanny teach you that you don't throw plates to your allies?"

"You could have lied." Zuko counterargued, bristling. "For all I know, you might be an airbender! Only people from the Air Nomads would wear a shade of orange like your parka!"

"Have you ever thought I might like the color orange?" She folded her arms against her chest, earning a scowl from the boy. What did her favorite color has to do with the air nomads? Couldn't a person wear orange because they like it? This sounded like discrimination! Sakura-chan once explained the term to her when Naruto asked about one of the smaller villages they had seen.

Iroh cleared his throat and nodded. "Orange is a beautiful colour."

"It's an awesome colour that doesn't deserve being disrespected and discriminated by Mr. Angry Pants!" Naruto grumbled, puffing her cheeks.

The crew members chuckled at her words, only to cover their mouths when Zuko swirled his head at them. He glared so hard at those poor crew members that Naruto wondered if it was possible if he could burn them with his eyes. He is going to get some wrinkles. The thought almost brought a chuckle out of her but Naruto stifled it.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko snarled, swirling his head back at her. "You will call me Prince—"

"Prince Angry Pants?" She asked sweetly, biting her tongue from letting out a laugh. Zuko's eyebrows twitched as flames erupted from his nostrils. Should she flinch? Judging from the widened eyes of the other soldiers, not flinching was not the reaction she should have given.

Compared to fighting Gaara and Orochimaru, Zuko was like a little kitten.

He probably needed some love, care and whatever bullshit Sakura would tell her.

"Naruto probably wouldn't call you that if you just give a smile once a while." Iroh suggested lightly, taking a sip of his tea. Zuko glowered at those words and the white-haired man picked up a fan, waving it against his face while the soldiers inched away from them. It seemed like everyone believed the Prince was just ticking timebomb. "They say a smile can ease your soul."

"Capturing the Avatar will do that for me! Not some stupid smile!" Zuko argued.

Naruto picked up her tea and took a sip of her tea. "You won't know that if you don't try!"

Iroh nodded his head in agreement, looking faintly amused at her words, while Zuko snarled at her. The way those eyes narrowed at her told her that the Prince didn't have any faith in her words. A scowl almost appeared on her lips but the blonde pushed it away, plastering on a smile.

A smile was always going to be enough for her to keep her faith.

(Nothing would ever stop her smiling even if she had no choice but to spar with a Prince that doesn't even try to show her the goodness that she saw inside of him that she saw in the village).

That girl is really strange.

Zuko pressed his lips into a very thin line as he focused his telescope on the roof of the lookout tower. Breakfast was over and done with and instead of being on the ground, waiting for their spar…the girl was trying to balance on the tip of the roof. How the hell could the girl stand without falling, he didn't know.

"It is a nice view, isn't it?" His uncle's voice tinted with amusement and Zuko scowled. He lowered the telescope, swirling his head at his amused uncle. Did the man believe he was like the men here? Just because she looked pretty with her exotic features, did not mean he was going to stare at her like the soldiers.

Beside, her personality made her a pain in the neck.

"I need her to not be on the roof of the lookout tower!" He snarled, clenching his jaws. "She isn't here to have fun! She is here to be my sparring partner!"

His uncle stroke his beard, held his hand out and Zuko handed him the telescope. What the hell was his uncle looking for? It was obvious from her movements that the girl was enjoying herself. She is always smiling. It irritated him. How could she smile after making that deal with him? Life must have been easy for her.

It must have been easy if she could tell him that he should try smiling.

"She is training." Iroh commented lightly, putting down his telescope.

Zuko snorted. "Training? She is just balancing on the roof of the watchtower like a hog monkey!"

"Maybe in your eyes," his uncle took a deep breath as his amber eyes glinted with that knowing gleam that he hated so much. "But that girl is doing a training method that neither you nor I can do. She might be a non-bender but that girl is different from you and me."

I don't understand what you mean. Zuko scowled and hunched his shoulders as his eyes flickered to the soldiers, who openly gawked at the blond-haired girl. He glared at them before looking back at the tiny figure that was the peasant. The only thing she had going for her was her unbelievable strength and her speed. But other than that, she was just like them.

Maybe even weaker than them because what good was strength and speed when it came to bending?

Zuko pressed his lips into a thin line, ears twitching as the sound of something groaning echoed throughout the skies. What was that? No. His ears might be hearing things again. Another groan echoed and Zuko frowned. He snatched the telescope from his Uncle's hands, turning to the south and gawked.

"What is that?" He yelled, handing the telescope to his uncle. He stiffened as something rustled behind him. Amber eyes narrowed as a slender figure's shadow loomed right beside him. How can she jump down from all the way there without being a bender? He scowled and turned his whole body around, only to freeze at the sight of Naruto.

In the one day he came to know the girl, there was not a single smile playing on her lips. Those blue eyes hardened, not looking anything like the sky but more of the ocean. Her small hands balled into fists and Zuko inched away from the girl, recalling how hard her punch could be.

"You know what it is."

The girl pressed her lips into a thin line but did not dare deny or admit. Instead she leaned her body to the side, darting her eyes from him and his uncle before looking back at the flying beast coming on the way. "It is an animal."

"Do you think I don't know that is an animal!" He snarled. "Tell us what that it is."

Time passed and the girl only clenched and unclenched her hands. It would only be ten minutes, maybe even less before that large beast came towards them and Zuko had no desire to hurt the beast. But he would do it if the beast was going to destroy his only ship.

"I think it might be a flying bison?"

Amber eyes widened as his shoulders twitched. He heard of those creatures. The Air Nomads used to use them just like how the Fire Benders used to ride the dragons before the Fire Nation killed every single of them. But how could she know? The girl claimed she didn't come from any of the Four Nations and had never even been outside the Southern Water Tribe.

But if a flying bison existed then an Air Nomad was alive and that meant the Avatar was here.

That girl lied to them!

"You told me that the Avatar wasn't in the village." He spat the words out and the golden-haired girl did not flinch or inch away from him. For a brief moment, she said nothing. She did not move. The only hint of her reaction was the twitchiness of her eyebrows alongside the flare in her nostrils.

"And I was being truthful," she answered, spatting the words out as the creature got closer and closer to their ship. "The flying bison belonged to an Air Nomad, who just wandered his way to the village."

His temper rose. The vein on his forehead throbbed as he realized that the girl tricked him into making a deal with him. She must have thought he was a fool and he was one. Why should he honour their deal if that girl lied to him? He clenched his jaws together and straightened his back.

"You should have mentioned it!" He screamed. "That Air Nomad was the Avatar!"

He should have never trusted her and just followed his instincts when she claimed that he wouldn't find the Avatar here.

"And what makes you think that he is the Avatar?" She asked, frowning and tilting her head. Her blue eyes largened, looking so child-like that Zuko almost faltered slightly before shaking his head. "Just because he is an Air Nomad, doesn't mean I will jump to the conclusion that he is the Avatar!"

"The Air Nomads are extinct! It is only fair to believe—"

"How can you be so sure?" She asked, putting her hands on her slender waist and Zuko blinked. The girl chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes darted from him to the frozen soldiers before going back to him. "Wouldn't it be possible for one of the Air Nomads to escape and live in another country? Or for the spirits to correct the wrong that your people committed?"

No, it is not possible! The words were on the tip of his tongue, ready for him to shoot at her but then he paused. The spirits would try and keep balance in the world, wouldn't they? He heard whispers of what the spirits could do. It would be possible for them to do this, wouldn't they?

He scowled and cursed under his breath before looking up at the flying bison that now loomed over them. A war cry echoed throughout the sky as the winds pushed upwards, pushing his hair upwards and the scent of the oranges tickled his nostrils.

There was only one thought running through his mind as three people jumped down.

This girls brings more trouble than she was worth.

"Naruto, we are here to rescue you!"

Naruto breathed in and out as Katara yelled out those words to her. Both Sokka and Katara stood right in front of her with their eyes filled with so much hope as Zuko charged straight to Aang, sending blasts of fire to the airbender. The blonde hunched her shoulders, body trembling as her two friends came closer to her.

She clenched and unclenched her hands, trying to control her temper but she could feel her anger bubbling over those words.

I don't need them to rescue me! The words were on the tip of her tongue, ready to shoot at them but Naruto just shut her eyes as tight as she could. It was sweet. They didn't want to abandon her in this cold ship so she should just smile and thank them. But they risked everything and not in the good way.

The villagers…

She gulped down the lump in her throat as her eyes focused on her friends. Hope shone through their eyes alongside eagerness. Her shoulders hunched and the blonde exhaled, slumping her shoulders.

"Why?" Why would they risk their home for me? Naruto looked down at the metal floor, tracing the screws with her eyes. Chewing on her bottom lip, the blonde crouched down to the floor and rubbed the sides of her forehead as the two teens stared at her with confusion. Zuko's shrill shouts vibrated through the ships alongside the wind shrieking, making it hard for her to think properly.

Sokka frowned. "Because the Fire Nation is—"

"Did I tell you that I wanted to be rescued!" She yelled, smashing her fist against the ship. The whole ship wobbled, tilting to the left. The soldiers shriek as they fell over the water. Naruto winced but focused her eyes on her two friends, who just blinked back at her.

"But there is no need for the deal anymore!" Katara reasoned. She darted her eyes to Aang, who was now evading Zuko's fire blasts, and then back at her. "Aang is the Avatar and—"

"And so what?" Naruto jumped up on her feet, placing her hands on both sides of her waist. She narrowed her eyes at her friends, who flinched and glanced at each other with confusion. "You think I'm going to leave because Aang is the Avatar? That isn't going to happen! I made a deal and I keep to my deals!"

Sokka shook his head. "You can break it, Naruto! That deal won't mean much once Aang defeats the Fire Lord!"

But it is breaking my promise. The blonde hunched her shoulders and scowled. You should always keep your promise, Naru-chan! The Hokage's words echoed in her ear as Naruto stared at the bright blue eyes of her friends. No matter what Sokka or Katara say to her, she had to honor the deal that she made.

Promises should always be honored even if you couldn't remember them or fulfill them.

"What do you know? You never had a family!"

Those words were the reason she made that deal and she had to make sure Katara and Sokka understood.

"I'm doing what I can to protect your home!" She yelled, hunching her shoulders. Silence hung in the air and the wind seemed to have stop whistling, signaling that Aang stopped trying to fight with Zuko. From the corner of her eyes, Naruto could see Zuko staring at her from a kneeling position on the ground. "Do you realize what leaving this ship will mean for your home? I have no way to go back home but I'm not letting you lose your home!"

"Why did he do it, Naruto?"

Naruto took in another deep breath. Her eyes burned but the blonde held back the tears that threatened to come out. Not the time for her to think about the past. She couldn't save the Uchiha Family but she could save the Southern Water Tribe. Why couldn't they understand this? She had no parents or grandparents to worry about her or for her to miss, but it was different for her friends.

"Naruto…" Sokka's voice trailed off.

Naruto clenched her hands into a fist, fingernails digging into the palm of her hand. She was so furious. Furious enough she could feel the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out of her but she held it in. No matter how furious she was, Naruto needed to think of how to save her friends. She looked up at the flying bison before glancing at her two friends.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto channeled her chakra to her legs and charged straight to the two teens. Before the two teens could blink, Naruto grabbed them by the hood of their parka and tossed them up to the sky. The flying bison flew upwards, no doubt trying to capture the two teens before they crashed to the ocean.

It had to be done if you asked her.

"Why did you hurt them? They tried to rescue you!" Aang asked, knitting his eyebrows together as he walked closer to her.

Naruto grinded her teeth together. "The three of you don't understand what going with you means for the village! If I leave with you, Katara and Sokka then what happens to the Southern Water Tribe? They have no protection if I go with you and I'm not risking people's lives to go with you!"

Aang took a step forward. "But…"

"Go or I will be forced to take you in!" She snarled, narrowing her blue eyes and waving her hand at him. Aang flinched and looked up at the sky before looking back at her. Zuko pushed himself up, curling his hand into a fist and a huge blast of fire flew straight to the preteen. With one last look at her, Aang smashed his staff on the ground, dispelling the fire, and leap up in the air.

Naruto dropped down to her knees and looked up at the fading bison.

All she could wonder…

What was going to happen next?

A/N: I hope that all of you like this chapter.

What do you think of the interactions in this chapter? And of the flow of the story in this chapter? Here is a question for you: how do you think that Naruto came up with that excuse of the Air Nomads? And do you think that the Four Nations and the Elemental Nations are in the same universe? Why? And why not?

Please review and tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.

STLHero