A/N: I'm afraid I have some bad news for you all. Remember my health woes from a way back? Well, I thought they were in the clear. Turns out they aren't. At all. My latest appointment with my doctor...didn't end well. Apparently, in addition to my heart condition, I might be needing open-heart surgery. Several, in fact. And if I don't get it...well, the result won't be pleasant. Taking them aside, the last one really messed me up, so I realized that my luck with this latest surgery just might run out.
So I just wanted to say...its been really nice, writing on this site. Authoring each of these stories, feeling the words flow through me and onto the screen, reading wonderful reviews, listening to the occassional critic-and bettering myself with each story. And to that effect, I've discovered that surgery will now be needed soon. Very soon. Sometime this month, or after Christmas. Yuuup, not looking forward to it. At all! But for now I'm still ticking, and as such, I wanted to get the next installment of this story out. And so...
...onto the latest chapter! I humbly hope you enjoy it! Sorry if its short! I worked reaaalllly hard on this despite my health! And on a final note to a certain anonymous reviewer/flamer ranting at me for using a few exact lines: are you seriously going to call a sick man stupid? I know what I'm doing. This tale is MEANT to follow the story...loosely, at least. I still have plans to pair Sokka and Aang up with others, so they won't exactly be left out here. Don't get your panties in a twist! To everyone else, thank you so much for your support, you've honestly brought me to tears with all these wonderful reviews and well-wishing. I had no idea you cared so much! *Cries*
Now, away we go! I actually got kind of sick today from working so hard, but I really wanted to get this chapter out...
"Jailbreak, jailbreak! Ahahaha! This is going to be so much fun...
~?
Burn it Down
How do I get myself into these situations?
Pretending to be the Avatar was bad enough. Fooling an island, then the entire world, was bad enough. But to have the Princess of the Fire Nation gunning for me straight out of the gate? That was too much. I'd never once asked for this responsibility, but now, I'd taken on even more. Now, all of Kyoshi knew who I was. And they were depending on me. Not Aang. Me. A fake. A phony. I was an Avatar...but not the one they needed, certainly not the one they wanted at any rate. That realization still rankles me to this very day. But I was all they had at the time. And who could do it, if not me?
And who was I to let them down?
So I did what I did best; I kicked asses and took names.
Little did I know the consequences of that battle would change everything...
"What's wrong, Avatar?" Azula laughed arrogantly as the blond backpedalled steadily in retreat. "Afraid of fire? You should be! Now hold still!"
"And let you burn me? I think not, fire girl!" Naruto stubbornly resisted the urge to give into his own anger and attack; refused to play to his enemy's strategy. Instead he continued to bob and weave, leading the proud princess on a winding path furthe and further away from the village. Avatar or not, he wasn't willing to risk innocents just for the sake of his own glory. But this was swiftly becoming tedious. He'd thought to lead Azula, and her troops away from the village. In that at least, he'd been partially successful. Azula had chased after him like a moth to flame...
...leaving her troops to remain behind.
Even now he could see the fires beginning to burn in Kyoshi, tongues of ember creeping through those thatch roofs, their rosy hues mingling with that of th setting sun. He silently prayed Suki had made it to Aang and the others in time, that they'd be able to handle themselves. Of course they would. They had Suki and the Kiyoshi warriors backing them up after all, and it wasn't as though they couldn't handle a few firebenders...he hoped. But that left him dealing with the Princess. Alone. He was swiftly beginning to regret that decision.
Azula wasn't a damn thing like her brother. These strikes of hers were precise and perfect, hardly a flaw to be seen amidst them. And that was without the firebendinging; those grand sweeps of fire those azure flames were proving a great deal warmer than he would've liked. A mere trifle to deal with at full strength but if he were to do that here, he'd wreck the entire island. Perhaps even destroy it altogether. Still, they came closer and closer those blows did, with each instant he tarried, singing hairs and leaving burns, albeit small ones upon his face. Injuries he was certain would take days to heal. Days, instead of seconds.
It was one of the few perks he'd forfeited by absorbing the Juubi. For all the incredibly power he'd gained, all the awesome abilities of Sharingan, Rinnegan, and mastery over all the elements of Shinobi, there had been one mortal drawback, one flaw to all the perfection he'd gained. Naruto couldn't regenerate. At the very least, not instantaneously as he once had. Not anymore. In the beginning, he'd healed relatively swiftly, but, with each passing death, his healing had grown slower and slower.
Now, he felt every near miss, every burn that seared itself into his visage. And he endured. Never once did he strike back-ever retreating, akways on the defense until he was certain absolutely certain that he'd escaped the blast zone, given Kyoshi village and an acceptable radius of distance. Finally, enough was enough.
"Mukaikaze."
His hand shot forth to meet Azula's; the first direct confrontation since she'd tried to attack him back in the village. Flame met a headwind and the former yielded-snuffed out like a candle in the wind (do excuse the pun) a heartbeat later. All that remained was the faintest whisp of steam curling outward from her first. The princess frowned, but quickly regained her confidence when the blonde drew back, and adopted a familiar stance. He was going to fight firebending with firebending, then? Interesting. And were those black flames forming around his fists? Truly this young man continued to astound-by Agni!
When he moved, she barely saw him. One moment he was standing across from her, arms raised. The next his fist slammed into her cheek, sending her neck, followed by the rest of her body, snapping to the side. The sheer force of that single punch launched Azula halfway across the plain.
With a surprised grunt, the light-skinned princess went flying down the training ground, a trail of dark blood following her body through the falling debris. Naruto breath caught in his throat, hitching as he struggled and failed, to suppress a laugh. He watched as Azula's limp body slammed against the stones's once gravity took hold of her, her skin skidding across the ground as the momentum continued to drag her over the earth. Her feet were suddenly free from the ground as a burst of fire from palms carriedher over the sun-soaked terrain, stopping her just short of smashing into a nearby boulder. Just as Naruto had suspected-a roundhouse blow in his restrained form that would've floored someone like Zuko had only left the girl slightly out of breath, dizzy perhaps, but still very much in the fight.
Not to mention pissed.
'By the gods, I really need to stop holding back against these firebenders...they're just too tenacious!'
"So you've finally decided to fight back?" Azula didn't even bother to keep the smile from her face as she picked herself up. "Its about time."
Naruto risked a glance for his surroundings. Kiyoshi could be seen on the shoreline, only a few miles away now. It would have to do.
"Something like that, yes." he replied, quietly cursing himself for not finishing the little hellcat when he had the chance. "We've retreated to an acceptable distance, in any case."
"Oh?" a delicate brow arched in benign amusement. "And here I thought you were running away; but you were trying to save the village weren't you? How quaint." She chuckled, then, it sounded oddly girlish emerging from the mouth of a hardened killer such as herself. "Well played, Avatar." her congratulations dripped with derision. "Well played indeed. But it doesn't matter not really. My men are the best of the best, if those peace-loving Kiyoshi Warriors refuse to see reason and surrender, they'll simply burn your precious village to the ground. Of course, if you surrended yoruself, I could always convince them to put the fires out...
"Is that so?"
"It is." the blonde's smugness infuriated her, but Azula refused to let it show. "So what do you say, Avatar? If you come quietly, I might be able to put in a good word for you with Fire Lord Ozai."
"Oh, isn't that kind of you?" Naruto's words dripped with false sweetness. "And to what do I owe this kindness?"
To his surprise Azula actually flushed.
"I-Is it so wrong for me to be kind to a potential captive?"
"On sooooo many levels." Naruto's deadpan was barely concealed.
"Well in that case, I hope you enjoy watching your precious village burn-
"Actually, you might want to take another look." the blonde raised a long finger and pointed. "I don't think your boys will be burning anything anytime soon." Against her better judgement, Azula did just that. What she saw there astounded her. There, rising in the distance, was some sort of sea serpent. There could be no other word for the giant Unagi. And then, to her dismay, it actually spewed water from its open maw, dousing the burning village within the blink on an eye. Its duty done, and the flames extinguished, the Unaigi tossed back its head and loosed a final triumphant cry before dissappearing back into the ocean's depths. Had one gazed upon its head, they might've seen a certain Airbender leap away mere moments before it returned to the abyss.
But Azula did not see. She only saw that her plans had been thwarted, felt her tenuous grasp on the situation slipping away.
"I...you...but how?!" she spluttered!
"Y'know, that's the exact same look Zuko wore earlier." Naruto's grin grew another inch. "Thanks to Aang now-I'm free to fight you without anything holding me back. But before I kick your ass I have one last question, whatever did happen to ol' prince hothead? I was certain he'd be the one to find me first."
"You mean my fool of a brother?" Azula scoffed, ignoring the flicker of shock that passed through the blonde's visage. "I'm not certain. When my spy reported you'd crippled his engines I'd assumed he'd finally given up once and for all. In any case, your little delay gave me all the time I needed to get here beforehand. And if he does somehow find his way here I'll simply comply with the Fire Lord's demands and lock him away, barring that, I'll kill him myself. We've no use for that failure of a prince." At that thought, she frowned. "Why are you so concerned for him, anyway?"
"Just idle curiosity, I suppose." Something in the avatar's tone suggested otherwise and Azula knew; she'd struck a nerve. "You really are ruthless, aint'cha?" his words were cold. Deadly. "Willing to sacrifice anything in the name of duty, even your own brother. Once, that would've disgusted me. It probably still does. But I've got to admit; that's some frightful determination there. If you weren't my enemy, I'd respect you for it."
Azula smiled tightly and tucked a stray hair back into place, the picture of perfection once more. "Why, thank you." she replied. "I must admit, you've done a fairly decent job of mucking up my plans thus far. Its not all that often I have to get my hands dirty." It felt...strange, to be complimented by her adversary; many of her enemies were either too arrogant to admit their own flaws, or simply too afraid of facing her wrath to loosen their tongues. That this Avatar had done so...to be respected by her enemy, it made her curious. Just who was this young man?
"I would very much like to know your name, Avatar." the words escaped her before she could take them back, her initial interest getting the better of her. For the first time since they'd met-the blonde actually looked to be at a loss for words, if only for a moment.
"Naruot." He supplied at last. "Uzumaki Naruto."
"I'll be sure to remember it."
"Shall we continue, then?" Naruto resumed his stance once but there was something off about it; his foot was too far forward, and his arms were spread wide. Didn't he see he was full of openings? But if he was hoping to make her hesitate, he had another thing coming. Azula never backed down. From any challenge.
"We shall!"
Their fists met in small explosions of azure and onyx, colliding over and over again, black and bue fires rippling outward in every direction to scar the landscape, scalding neither. To her dismay, Azula actually found her flames being overwhelmed by those tongues of dark ether, the Avatar's mysterious black flames creeping impossibly forward to obliterate her own. She had an awful feeling something terrible would happen should this inferno find purchase on her skin. Unthinking, the Fire Princess lashed out again, intent upon incinerating him on the spot before those eerie embers could touch her.
"Nope."
Azula frowned as the blond inhaled, and her flame simply...died. Impossible! He'd sucked the oxygen out of her attack! Even as she realized this the faux-avatar was in motion, flinging a hand forward, his palms closing around her wrist, locking down with enough force to shatter bone. Azula cried out and flung two fingers toward, a bolt of jagged lightning leaping from her fingertips. The blond didn't even bother to release her; he. just dipped one hand down, caught the bolt, and redirected it with a single hand, sending her penultimate technique hurtling off into the distance. In that same instant, she opened her mout and spat.
WHOOSH!
It was with a small pang of regreat that she spewed a curtain of flame right at his face and burned his head to ashes. The vice on her wrist slackened, and his body toppled away
Despite all she'd said, she'd hoped to avoid killing him. Such a shame. Now they'd have to search for him all over again-
'Poof'
Naruto's body vanished in a plume of smoke, leaving only dust behind. Azula blinked, her mouth opening in a small round O of shocked surprise. Was this what happened to the Avatar's body when he died? Where was he? Surely the Avatar didn't just "Poof!" away like that when he died?!
"What in the name of Agni-
"DYNAMIC! ENTRY!" came Naruto's ridiculous battle cry, and much like he did Might Guy had done to countless opponents in the past, he landed a perfect kick to Azule's face. She barely had enough time to register the blow before she was sent crashing into a boulder, quickly falling into a pile of crumbled limbs. Scarce had she fallen then he was upon her, fingers wrapping around her throat, slamming her body back into the boulder's spine with enough force to leave an Azula-sized indention in the stone.
"You asked me; am I afraid of fire?" the words were little more than a hiss as he held her there, leering down at her with eyes of angry, rippling violet. "No, little girl, but...you should be afraid. Of me!"
"What're you-
Naruto uttered two words then. Two simple words, and yet they unleashed hell upon the princess.
"Shinra Tensei."
The island of Kyoshi erupted.
Mud was the lifeblood of mother earth, rippling and roiling around their feet, gushing forth from the massive wound Naruto had carved into her flesh. There could be no describing the force that drove Azula down, deep into the ground's embrace, only that this massive, unseen push did, reducing her armor to ash and snapping a rib like it was glass. What strength! What power! She'd been overwhelmed in an instant, made as helpless as an errant, disobedient child. She could taste the blood in her mouth, barely see the light of day; was it her hair, torn free from her bun, that shaded her vision so? Or was she dying, her life leaching away despite all her best efforts to grasp that feeble thread.
A booted foot struck her stomach, driving her deeper still; sure enough, the Avatar stood there untouched, his foot planted firmly in her stomach, pinning her to the soil.
"W-What are you?"
"I am the hope of this world." the blond replied, violet eyes leering down at her. "I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am truth. Ally to good! Nightmare to you. Now say it. This is your last chance. Say you're sorry. Apologize for what you've done!"
"I'm...sorry." the words tasted like bile in her mouth. She hated every instant of it.
Naruto took his foot off before looking at the Princess for what felt like a small eternity. Was it her, or were those eyes violet, all of s sudden. "No, you're not. Not yet. But...you will be. Someday." He slammed his heel back down on the girl's stomach, yet again, this time with gusto, causing her to roll over and dry heave. Naruto took that opportunity to grab hold of her head and slammed it into the ground, causing a crack to appear in the earth, a fissure spreading half the width of Kiyoshi Island. That was all it took. A single head-slam at full strength and the Princess of the Fire Nation died.
Died.
Her last thought was not of home, nor was it of family before the sweet blackness took her. It wasn't even of how she'd been beaten, although her impending death rankled her. It was knowing that there was someone out there, someone incredibly strong, who respected her. Not for her title, or even her bending. But for the single, mindless determination that drove her. The desire to be the best. To stand above everyone. It was the only thing that drove her, beneath the violence and the sadism and the cruely, she simply wanted to prove that, above all, she was the best. And the only one who respected her for that...had just killed her.
'How...twisted...
With that, Azula of the Fire Nation breathed her last.
Naruto stared down at the prone princess for a long moment, considering. He should just leave her. Let her stay dead. But, he'd seen the potential for goodness in her, no matter how slim. And for all the cruel things he'd done over the years, he just couldn't let her stay dead. Not with a clear conscience. Then, his mind made up, he opened his eyes, Rinnegan flaring. It was an easy matter to call her soul back to her body, to heal her wounds, repairing the massive internal damage, knitting her spine and ribs back together with careful applications of chakra. Being an Avatar of the Gods had its privileges, after all. His regenerations might be all but hampered, yet he could now tend and mend injuries that would've made even Sakura and Tsunade balk.
Oh, the bitter irony of it all.
Finally, when he was certain his revived patient would live to see a second sunrise, he ceased his ministrations. Slinging over his shoulder, he activated the Hiraishin seal he'd planted on Katatra and-
-popped back into existence in Kiyoshi village. It was a little disorienting using his father's jutsu again after all these years, but it saved him precious time and stamina. It also landed him right in the middle of a battle-a fierce fight between Aang, Katara, Sokka, the Kiyoshi Warriors, and the remaining Firebenders. Chaos wouldn't even begin to describe what was happening here. Apparently at some point during his onesided battle with Azula, Zuko had finfally made landfall.
It was his forces, hardly those of the princess, who were laying waste to the village now, rather difficult when one considered everything was still soaked by the Unagi's water.
"Naruto! When did you get-?" he dimly registered Katara's voice in the back of his mind as he ducked under a fireball-using the Rinne Tensei no jutsu had left him far more drained than he would've liked-but he still had more than enough juice to spatter a few fire nation soldiers. But he had neither the time nor the patience to deal with them.
"ENOUGH!" His voice cracked like thunder, commanding silence and flooring everyone present, ally and enemy included. "You idiots are going to drop you weapons now or be disembowled where you stand! I have had enough of this shit for one day!" With the chaos of battle momentarily abated, both sides were able to get a good look at one another. Including that of a certain prince.
Zuko started sputtering the moment he laid eyes on him. "Y-You?!"
"Me." Naruto stepped forward, grabbed the scarred youth by the scruff of the neck, and headbutted the poor prince with enough force to knock him a state similar to that of his sister. "Sweet dreams, hothead." With his enemy fiinally silenced, the blond grunted and glared at the assembled Firebenders.
"Which one of you meatbags is in charge of the princess here?" he growled holding up Azula.
Tentatively, a bearded gentleman raised his hand. Naruto summarily chucked Azula's unconcsious body at the man-the poor fellow barely managed to catch his princess before she hit the ground. Then without pause or preamble, he turned to address the other firebenders.
"IROH!" he bellowed! "Get your ass out here! Now!
There was a silence as the men glanced at one another. Finally they parted, revealing a rather portly looking man in Fire Nation garb and armor. Despite this own ire, Naruto nearly guffawed. The years had indeed been kind to the general, he was a great deal heavier than Naruto remembered, not to mention older, but still very much in good health. Yes, time had been expectionally kind indeed.
"You don't have to shout, Naruto." he sighed, brushing at his sleeve.
"Who the heck is that?" Sokka wondered.
Aang shrugged. "Beats me...
Katara had more practical matters on her mind; such as the situation unfolding before her very eyes. Naruto was...giving orders to Firebenders? And they were obeying him? But...how? Why? She wasn't entirely certain how she felt about that. Naruto had struck her as many things during his time in the South Pole; a friend, guardian, perhaps even something more than both of those. But never, in her wildest dreams had she imagined him to have ties with the Fire Nation. Not a once.
"I see you've taken good care of my niece and nephew." the old general mused, taking in Zuko and Azula's sorry state.
"Don't get your beard in a bunch." The godly Avatar shook his head. "I just roughed them up a bit; they're only alive because of our friendship. Which reminds me, you'd better get going." He turned his head to indicate the opposite fleet of ships, still in disarray with defeat of their commander. But it wouldn't last, and they both knew it. Your precious little niece here, intended to capture the two of you, or worse; I'd suggest you beat it skedaddle before you have half the Nation on your backs. Oh, and you might want to check your crew for a spy as well."
"My, that is interesting." Iroh stroked at his beard. "I had no idea my brother had planted someone onboard our ship, let alone sent Azula after us."
"Nah, she took the initiative on her own." Naruto replied. "Gave me a bit of a fight, too. If you hadn't show me that technique of yours, she might've done more than singe a few hairs."
"Ha!" The Dragon of the West laughed at that, deep and loud from his belly. It was not the laugh of a cruel Fire Nation general, Katara mused. This man actually seemed...kind?
"We'll have to discuss your exploits over tea some time." Iroh was saying, accepting Zuko from Naruto as she came back to herself. "Provided my nephew isn't trying to kill you, of course...Avatar." Naruto barely kept a lid on his emotions in that instant; somehow, someway, his old friend knew what they were up to. And yet instead of revealing the truth, bringing the lies crashing down around their ears as he could've done, he merely winked. Naruto forced a laugh of his own, silently thanking the gods his old friend was on their side.
"Ha! So ya wanna kick my ass and Pi Sho again?" He snapped back, but the words were lacking in rancour. "No fair! You know I suck at that game!"
Muttering to himself, he turned to face Azula's men.
"Now, listen, and listen good. I'm only going to say this once. You and all of your men are going to take Princess hothead here, get back on your ships, set sail...or I'm going to make each of you run fifteen thousand laps around the island. On your hands!" His eyes blazed warningly, promising pain to any and all who dared challenge his command. Never in all her life, did Katara think to see the men and women of the Fire Nation army-the strongest and mightiest military that this side of the planet has ever seen, cry like babies when they heard what came out of Naruto's mouth.
"Y-Yessir!"
"I," the blonde declared, "Am going to bed. I'm getting too godamned old for this shit...
I never paused to consider the consequences of that fight. The rammifications. There simply wasn't any time, to dwell upon it. Kiyoshi was saved, but our time there was done; although we'd defeated the Fire Nation and forced them away from the island, I knew that our very prescence would attract unwanted attention. And so we departed, first thing the next morning. I barely even had time to say goodbye to Suki. Strong girl, that one. I could tell that she wanted to come with us but she knew her duty lay with her people, to help them rebuild and garrison themselves against the threat.
So we departed, leaving her behind. Or so I thought.
Turns out Kiyoshi Warriors rival shinobi in terms of stealth. By the time we realized she'd stowed away under one of the tarps, we were already halfway to the nearest settlement. That certainly made things...amusing when the others discovered her.
Our travels were little more than a blur after that. Even the earth city of Omashu. Now that was an interesting experience. I've never met someone craftier han this Bumi fellow-his strategies put Shikamaru to shame in every sense of the word. The old king saw right through our little ruse, he knew Aang was the Avatar of the Elements, while I was not. In a way, I was almost grateful for it; someone other than the four of us now knew the truth. But damn was he crazy! To think that someone so old could be so off their rocker...
But it wasn't until we happened upon an occupied Earth Kingdom village that things became interesting again. Were it not for a young earthbender named Haru, I wouldn't have had the chance to indulgence in what I'd still consider the ultimate prank of all time...
my temper wouldn't have proved beneficial to our cause...
"Fire is difficult to control, eh?" His words were little more than a his, fingers tightening inexorably around the man's throat. "Funny you should mention that. Ya know what is even harder to control? My temper. And right now, you're making me very angry, old man." Sapphire eyes flashed dangerously, promising pain. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." The fool had made the massive mistake of extorting a harmless woman and her son, Haru, for more 'tax' money in his prescence, subtly hreatening to "accidentally" lose control of his bending and down their store, much to everyone's dismay.
Needless to say, Naruto hadn't taken very kindly to that.
"You...how dare you do this to me?!" The firebender grunted. "Do you know who I am?"
"No, and I don't much care." Naruto replied, drawing back his fist, a subtle swirl of flame circling in his own fist. "Now, would you kindly get the hell out?"
Snarling, he flung the firebender backwards and out of the shop and spat, enveloping him in flame. It didn't so much kill as it did burn, sending him and his guards shrieking away as they struggled to put out the blaze Naruto had started on their behinds. "And don't come back!" There was a moment of quiet as their shrieks died away into the distance...then everyone burst out into laughter and guffaws.
"Priceless!" Suki burst out between giggles.
"That was amazing!" Haru grinned. "I had no idea you were a bender!"
"Man, that was priceless!" Sokka agreed with a cackle. "I guess you could say they really got "burned" on that deal, huh? Huh? Get it? They're Firebenders, and they got...burned..."
Silence.
"What, does no one get the joke?" he complained, sullen. "I thought it was pretty good...
"Stick to sarcasm, Sokka." Katara chided with a smile. "Still, that was better than what I had planned, Naruto." As always, the blonde never ceased to amaze, or barring that, outright astound. Now that the little snafu with the Fire Nation was temporarily behind them, she was reminded once more why she'd come to admire the blond. In that, he and Aang were alike. Naruto was never the sort to stand for corruption or injustice. He didn't care what the consequences were. He simply...acted.
Suki was of a similar mind; she would've been the one to attack if Naruto hadn't done something...
"Thank you." Haru's mother spoke up suddenly, garneing everyone's attention with her words. "It has been...so long since someone stood up for us."
"No one?" Suki seemed to speak for everyone when she said this. "Surely someone's tried to do something. Anything?" A sinister pall fell over the group; as one they began to realize just how much these people were chafing beneath the Fire Nation occupation.
"No." the woman shook her head, confirming their worst fears. "Not since Haru's father and the other Earthbenders were taken to the prison-
Naruto's ears twitched, the beginnings of a smile started to form on that whiskered visage.
"Did you say prison?"
"Y-Yes, he and the other Earthbenders were taken there about five years ago...
Impossibly, Naruto's grin grew.
Sokka was the first to recognize it. "Oh no."
"Uh-oh." Aang blanched.
Katara seconded the sentiment. "I know that look...
"What?" Suki looked from Katara to Aang, even to Sokka. "What's wrong? Why is he smiling? I'm afraid I don't understand what's going on...
Naruto chose to ignore those words.
"Guys...I know what we're going to do today."
The rest of Team Avatar gulped. Even Suki had a bad feeling about this. She had no idea what was coming next:
"Jailbreak!"
A/N: Aaand there you have it! Naruto stomped on Azula HARD. Only to bring her back...perhaps out of pity? It remains to be seen whether or not, that'll have any real effect on the story. Azula's a broken girl more or less, her views on life are really rather twisted. And Suki's decided to tagged along for the ride! Events are already beginning to change rapidly, perhaps for the better, perhaps not. With all this chaos raging around, who knows what may happen next?! As fun as the events in Omashu were, I've decided to skip them this time around for the sake of the plot.
Anywho, I worked extremely hard on this one, so I hope to hear what you think! Pairing is up in the air! YOU DECIDE! And on a final note, thank you to everyone offering emotional support in regard to my health woes. Its greatly appreciated! An awful lot is going to change in this story soon! Look forward to an epic prank next chapter...provided my health holds out.
So...in the immortal words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview!
(Preview)
"Sooo...basically the plan is to invade this prison and kick some Fire Nation ass, no?"
"Naruto!"
The blond sighed as Katara whacked him on the shoulder, the only part of him she could reach.
"Sorry, forogt about the swearing...
"Oh, leave him be." Suki shook her head. "He's obviously set on this. And its not like we can leave those people trapped...
"I agree." Aang nodded. "Sounds fun, right?"
"This not fun!" Sokka cried. "This is the OPPOSITE of fun?! Why aren't you listening, Aang?!"
"But I think its fun...
"Darnit Naruto, you've doomed us all!"
In that instant, the shinobi's grin could've put Lucifer himself to shame.
Suki gulped. "Umm, Naruto...
"Hmm?"
"You're seriously starting to scare me right now."
The blonde's grin only grew.
"Good."
Hope you enjoyed! R&R! =D