Disclaimer: I don't own anything
A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
"So are you finally going to tell me what is an Agni Kai?"
Naruto tilted her head, blond eyebrows stitched together, and stared at Iroh and Zuko. It had been only twenty minutes since Zuko made the declaration, but not once did they explain to her what the hell was an Agni Kai. She knew it was a challenge but the way Iroh looked at Zuko and Zhao told her that an Agni Kai wasn't a simple challenge.
"It is a ceremonial challenge," Iroh finally answered, taking a seat on the chair. His golden eyes flickered between her and Zuko as if he was uncertain of whether or not to explain the topic further. Naruto frowned, taking a seat on the ground. She crossed her legs and rubbed the back of her neck. "It is a challenge that settles conflict."
"And?" Naruto prompted, arching her eyebrow at him. "If it was something as easy as that then you wouldn't be acting like a mother hen."
Iroh hunched his shoulders and took a deep breath. "An Agni Kai could be a fight to death at times and I fear that Commander Zhao would make this Agni Kai to the death."
Death? Naruto darted her eyes at Zuko but the boy did not react to the words. He did not even twitch at the mention of death. He accepts it. The thought chilled her. How could someone not fear death? She rubbed her stomach as a pair of blurred brown eyes flashed before her eyes alongside a bloodied mouth.
Bile rose up to her throat and Naruto shook her head.
"Isn't death too much?" Naruto asked softly.
Iroh stroke his chin. "Not everyone shares your belief, Naruto. There are members of the Fire Nation, who would rather die than live through an Agni Kai."
"What happens if a person lose an Agni Kai?" Naruto hunched her shoulders and fixated her eyes on Iroh. "What could be so bad about losing an Agni Kai? It is just a fight, isn't it?"
Zuko snorted. "Leave it to a foreigner to think it is just a fight! This isn't some fight!"
"What is wrong with being a foreigner?" Naruto snarled, smacking her hands on the ground. Her blue eyes darkened as amber eyes looked at her with fury. "I can't say my own opinion about what I see the Agni Kai as? It is just a battle right? A person can have a rematch, can't they? It is stupid to die over some battle!"
"Naruto, losing a battle like the Agni Kai can affect the honour of the participants." Naruto swirled her head at Iroh and the man does not stare at her. His eyes was locked on Zuko. The Prince had his jaws locked into a tight grip and his hands balled into a tight fist as if he was recalling a bad memory.
You have no honour.
Commander Zhao's words echoed in her ear and Naruto stared at the older boy. Something nagged at her to ask if Zuko had done it before, but something stopped her. Instead she just tilted her head, fingers dancing along the metal that was Zuko's ship. So many screws hammered down on the floor, almost reminding her of when she watched the carpenters of the village rebuild the buildings that Suna and Oto-nin destroyed.
Orochimaru had no honor when he came back to Konoha, murdering his own teacher in cold-blood.
"Honor shouldn't be decided by a fight," Naruto eyed them and hunched her shoulders. "How can you lose honor from a fight? I can win a fight someone and not respect the damn rules but that would never make me an honourable person. Losing your honor in a fight is just plain stupid and barbaric!"
Zuko eyed her and snarled. "And what would you know about the way of the Fire Nation? You are from a different country."
Iroh rose up from his seat and barked. "Prince Zuko, you shouldn't say those words to her!"
"She called our ways barbaric!" He snarled.
Naruto hunched her shoulders and took in a deep breath, body trembling as she tried to reign in her temper. You should never disrespect another culture, Naruto! She could hear Sakura-chan nagging those words to her but Naruto didn't see what was wrong with calling it out. It was one thing to fight to bring back a stubborn friend but not once did her honour or Sasuke's honor was affected by their fight.
If it did then she would have lost her honor for being too soft.
"Honor comes from how you treat people," Naruto stared at Zuko. "And how you keep your promises. It doesn't come from a stupid fight where people could easily break the rules."
"He was going to kill her even though the proctor said that the fight was over!"
She remembered screaming those words in the Chunin Exam. If Hinata-chan had been born in the Fire Nation then her best friend would have lost her so-called honor when she had so much honor. Naruto hunched her shoulders as golden eyes narrowed at her, looking almost hesitant before hardening again.
"I'm going to prepare for the Agni Kai." Zuko growled. He crossed his arms and flickered his eyes at her before looking at Iroh, who does not move an inch from his seat. The boy hunched his shoulders, shaking his head and marched straight to the door that stood only a few meters away from Naruto.
He slammed the door open, nostrils flaring as the door banged against the walls. Naruto winced. Her ears ranged and the blonde slammed her hands over her head. She darted her eyes at Iroh, who only shook his head and pushed himself off of the chair. He walked over to the open door, darting his eyes everywhere, before closing the door.
"You have to forgive my nephew for his bad behavior, Naruto." Iroh commented, offering her an apologetic smile. "My nephew doesn't have an easy life."
The blonde snorted. "So what? I know people who went through worse shit and have better manners than him."
"Are you talking about yourself?" Iroh asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "It must have been terrible for a young girl to live in the streets."
Naruto only offered him a tight smile but chose not to answer the question. Even if the old man looked at her with such sad and understanding eyes, she was not going to open her mouth and spill her life story. No one cares. She just leaned her hands against the floors and stared up at the ceiling.
"Angry Pants went through an Agni Kai, didn't he?" She looked at Iroh and crossed her fingers together. If Kami was really real then the old man was not going to question her more about her time in the streets. Until this war was over, she was going to learn everything about the other nations alongside with adapting to this world.
She might be here for a while after all.
Iroh nodded. "He gained that scar from losing an Agni Kai with a… Firebending Master."
There was a hesitance in his voice at the word Firebending Master and Naruto eyed the old man. Was he going to say something else? Naruto chewed on her bottom lip, pushing it back and forth, as she waited for the old man to elaborate more to her but the old man never did.
He just stared at her.
"When Zuko lost that fight with the Firebending Master, the people of the Fire Nation claimed he had no honor." Iroh informed her. "For you to have a different opinion on honor and calling out of our ways…it brings another perspective."
Naruto doesn't say anything, only dusting the dirt off of her parka before standing up from her seat on the ground. She will always be a weakling. She hunched her shoulders as cruel milky eyes flashed before her eyes. Her fingers itched to pummel Neji again for insulting her best friend but he wasn't here.
She taught him a lesson about insulting her best friend in front of her.
"And where are you going?"
Naruto stopped right in front of the door and turned her head around to look at Iroh. The old man had a single eyebrow raised and a knowing glint in his eyes. She bristled. How could he act like he knows what she planned to do? She wasn't that obvious, was she? She took a deep breath.
"To talk to your nephew."
There was no way in hell that she was going to apologize to Prince Scowl for her words but there was a burning curiosity coursing through her to find out about the exile that seemed to be haunting over his shoulders.
"So wanna tell me about the story of your exile?"
Naruto hummed a small tune and tilted her head as Zuko shot a flame towards the sea. The prince paused and swirled his whole body around, eyebrow twitching at the sight of her. The blonde pressed her lips into a thin line, knelt down and jumped onto the upper deck. She walked closer to the edge of the deck and sat down.
Amber eyes glowed with fury. "Go away!"
The blonde tilted her head to the side as flames danced right passed her, only scotching the metal walls behind her. The heat burned through her, bringing tingles on her legs and toes, but the blonde did not flinch. She only leaned her body forward, blue eyes fixated on the boy who seemed to hunch his shoulders.
"I don't think you are a bad person." The dark-haired prince only inhaled and exhaled as he moved his hands through a series of movement that reminded Naruto of a dance. She watched his graceful movements with her head tilted to the side. "I can't imagine you doing a really bad thing against your own Nation."
Zuko growled. "You don't know a damn thing about me or my actions."
"You weren't willing to sacrifice your own soldiers." Naruto pulled out her kunai from her pocket and tossed it up and down as her blue eyes fixated on him. "Most terrible people have no problem tossing their soldiers to the side if it meant accomplishing their goals."
He snorted. "Don't act like you know me from one single action! You are just a naïve little girl! You even placed all your faith in me even though you have no clue of my talents compared to Commander Zhao."
"I know how annoying and frustrating it can be when someone calls you a failure."
The words hung in the air and the boy swirled his head at her, eyebrow raised at her words. Naruto leaned her body backwards, blue eyes focused on the bright blue skies before looking back at the banished prince before her. It would be strange for her to talk about it with him but his amber eyes held some resemblance of curiosity.
She inhaled. "No one thought I could defeat a genius from a well-known clan since I am the idiot of my village. The girl that barely passed her exams and who was always boasting about her strength, but y'know what? I proved them wrong and if an idiot like me can prove them wrong…then you can do it too."
He looked at her with lips pressed into a thin line and his amber eyes searched her as if he was trying to see if she was being serious. For the first time in a long time, Naruto allowed herself to drop the smile that was always plastered over her face. She leaned her body forward.
"You are probably the only one who has faith in me," Prince Zuko snorted. "Only a foreigner has faith in me. My own uncle has his doubts about me winning against a Commander Zhao."
Naruto frowned "I don't think he doesn't have faith in you, I just think he is just worried of what will happen if you lose your Agni Kai. You did go through it before, didn't you?"
Amber eyes widened before narrowing again and the banished prince growled. "Uncle told you, didn't he? He told you that my father gave me this scar—"
"He told me that a Firebending master gave it to you," Zuko shut his mouth and Naruto deepened her frown. "He never told me that you lost against your own father."
Zuko hunched his shoulders and Naruto jumped down from the upper deck, landing right beside the amber-eyed boy. She eyed the scar on his eye. A part of her wanted to touch the harsh scar on his face. Another part of her wanted to yell and demand to know what kind of father would do this to his own son.
She inhaled and exhaled. "Why did he give you that scar?"
"It was my fault," Zuko grunted, looking away from her. "I spoke out of turn in my father's council, disagreeing with their plans and the end result was me fighting my father. I refused to fight him and in return, he burned my face and called me a disgrace."
Naruto hunched her shoulders and pressed her lips into a thin line. I heard of emotional abuse, seen it with my own eyes but this is a whole new level. The blonde grinded her teeth together, eyebrows twitching as she stared at the teen that seemed to be watching her like he was waiting for her to say something. She clenched her hands into a fist.
"No offense but your Dad sounds like a complete and utter asshole."
Zuko swirled his head at her. "He isn't an asshole! He was trying to teach me a lesson!"
"What kind of lesson is burning your child's face?" Naruto swirled her head at him and stared at his burned face. "What kind of father does that? I mean do you hear yourself, Angry Pants? Y'know it is one thing to call a child a disgrace but to also burn—"
Zuko growled and raised his fist, heat radiated from it and Naruto waited for him to throw the flames at her. Instead, the boy tossed the flames right above her head, burning only a single strand of her blond-hair and the blonde stared at the banished prince, who seemed to have his nostrils flaring at her.
"What would you know?" He snarled. "You said it yourself, you never had parents."
Naruto hunched her shoulders and took a deep breath. If she smashed her fist against the floor, Naruto had no doubt that the prince would make her do the repairs for this ship. She hunched her shoulders, taking in several deep breaths as her heart ached for the reminder of the parents that she had never known.
It is okay, Naru-chan! Father means well…I'm just a disappointment.
"You are right, I don't know anything about parents!" Naruto hunched her shoulders and looked over her shoulders. "But I had a best friend who was constantly belittled by her father because she wasn't better than her cousin or her younger sister. Do you know what it is like watching your best friend losing her self-confidence over what people call her? It hurts like hell."
Zuko stared at her like she was a weirdo and Naruto stared at him. Maybe she was a fool to tell him this. There was no reason for her to tell him but the boy irritated her with his hurtful words. He acted like he knew her life story and he did not. She hunched her shoulders and walked away from the boy.
She only paused midway as a thought came to her.
"Y'know you are an asshole into thinking that you are the only one with problems," Naruto clicked her heels together and turned her head at him. "There are kids out there that watch their families die in wars that could have easily prevented. There are kids out there starving and shivering in the cold. So what if your Daddy burned you, you have an Uncle that loves you."
Zuko doesn't say anything and Naruto didn't expect him too. She only hunched her shoulders and twisted her head away from him, ready to go back to Iroh. Maybe Sasuke was right. She was a fool in thinking that everyone had some good in them. She let out a sigh and looked at Zuko.
"He isn't enough." Zuko answered. "I want my father to acknowledge me and restore my rightful place on the throne."
Naruto stared at him. "Do you honestly believe you will be happy if he acknowledge you after what he did to you? How can you want the acknowledgement of a man who hurts you!"
You don't understand, Naruto! You never had a family.
If having a family means either having a parents that burned you and belittled you or having a brother murder your family right in front of your eyes, then Naruto wanted nothing to do with that definition of family. Zuko doesn't answer her, only looking at her like she was a big fool but the blonde hunched her shoulders. She took a deep breath and walked away from him.
"Because he is the only parent I have left."
The words hung in the air and Naruto turned her head at Zuko. The boy had his shoulders hunched, amber eyes not staring at her fully and the blonde paused. The words spoke a lot to her. She doubt that this was the banished prince opening up to her but it was a start for her. A start for her to understand of where his loyalty of his father came from.
But not enough for her to think that he was right to desire the acknowledgment of his father.
"We both know that isn't true." She darted her eyes to the door. "I might have never met my father but I had a lot of father figures growing up and none of them was related to me by blood. If I were you, I would think carefully of who might really be a father to you because a father that burns his own child….he is no father."
Naruto didn't know what made her say those words but maybe she thinks it was because she thought that Iroh deserved better than this.
Whatever the case was, the blond-haired girl just walked out of the deck and not once did she turn around to see amber eyes following her movement or a pair of wise eyes observing her and Zuko. Instead she just walked away like she hadn't said a single word to the exiled prince.
A/N: I hope all of you liked this chapter.
What do you think of this chapter? What do you think of the development of the relationship between Naruto and Zuko? Do you think the pace is just right? Also do you think Naruto should have just waited before giving her thoughts about Ozai? Another question for the day: do you think Naruto was too harsh on Zuko?
Please review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter.
STLHero