A/N: Alright ladies and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. My surgeries are over. Bad news: Now I have to WORK to pay for everything. Still, I'm feeling a bit better now. Really. Kinda. Sorta. I'm hanging tough though, having just come out of the woods...only to work my ass off as a bloody dishwasher! Not fun! Not fun at alll! UUUUUGH! I'm woking almost daily and I feel like crap, as to that effect. But nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I wanted to get word out any way I could, and since for some strange reason the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on this anywhere near as much as I would've liked. Still...so many reviews!
I love you guys so much! *Cries*
Now, this chapter might be a bit confusing consider I haven't updated in awhile. With good reason! My job has been beating the living hell out of my as of late! This was REALLY had to write with being tired from work; exhausting, actually. But I'm proud of it, and I hope you enjoy it as I finally get some rest...
Well...here ya go! =D Sorry if its short! But hey, at least I'm back! And again, I remind you that some changes have been made to this story pertaining to the age of some characters, remember! I also decided to follow the traditional episode format here, not plotwise of course, but in terms of scene order. Hope you enjoy it! We get a major glimpse at just how Azula is evolving as a person in this chapter!
"Am I the only sane one here?!"
~?
Between a Rock and a Hot Place
What am I going to do?
My name is Azula, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and Ursa, and as I find myself writing this entry in Naruto's journal -left behind by him of all things! The big lug!- my heart wavers in my chest. I am banished. Allied with an Airbender, Waterbender, a warrior priestess, and a boy whose only talent seems to be his ungodly sense of a humor. Ah, and a lemur. So different, and yet so similair. In my short time with them I have pondered what could possibly unite and bind such a ragtag group together, what shared goal beyond that of common survival could cause them to tolerate one another's existence. I believe I have found my answer.
Naruto.
Words cannot express the enigma that he is. I have only known him for less than a day, and yet it feels as though it has been so much longer. He is fiercely protective of his charges, and yet at the drop of a hat he can smile and laugh with the best of them-as though the weight of the world wasn't on his shoulders. There is a certain charisma about him, not just in the way he holds himself, but in the way he speaks. If bending words was an art, he would be its master. Every word he speaks has power. He makes me feel...gah! I don't know what to feel! Wanted? I would know more about him if he hadn't encrypted the rest of his journal from me-I believe he might be hiding something-and my lack of knowledge infuriates me to no end.
Ah, but I digress.
He claims not to be the Avatar, at least not the one my nation has so long been seeking. Once, I doubted. Now... however, I am inclined to believe him. The Avatar I know couldn't change into that creature and destroy an entire blockade on his own. Now he is gone, and I am left alone with my thoughts.
I do not belong amongst these people. I am an outsider. An exile. A princess with no throne. I joined him out of necessity at first, even swore an oath on his behalf when he demanded it. It should gall me how utterly I am bound to him, but a small part of me takes pride in have a purpose again, in playing a part in the vengeance against my father. At least... it did. Because now Naruto is gone, commandeering a vessel of the enemy, an enemy I was once a part of. What is he thinking? What can he possibly hope to gain by stealing a single ship? Does he plan to attack my country? Thow himself at my father's mercy? All the world seems to think HE is the Avatar. Surely fa-Ozai, thinks the same. My mind races at the thought.
Does he plan to use this chance to assasinate him? Is that his plan? If so, can he even succeed?
Everyone seems so confident that he will return safe and unharmed. But what guarantee do we have? I've seen his power firsthand and yet-he can die. He professes to be just as mortal as anyone else. I have seen him bleed. I know he can be hurt. Hours have passed since he left us; we near the Fire Temple now, and I feel my heart leap into my throat. Even now I can feel their eyes on me. I'm not trusted. They think that I'll turn on them at the first opportunity, sell them out to the Fire Nation. Their mistrust is not unfounded-in another life I would've done just that. But now...
...I can't.
I can feel the oath binding me, burning in my veins. Whatever he did to me...its lasting. Permanent. I can no sooner betray him than end my own life. I suppose I can take some small comfort in the fact that he's fixed to the very same fate, but-aargh!
That's it!
I've decided. I'm going to burn this entry once I've finished inscribing it. The possibility of Naruto finding it, and mocking me for my sentimentality, sudden as it may be...is galling to comprehend. Better for me to burn this page and all the thoughts and feelings attached to them. For better or worse I'm stuck with these miscreants.
By Agni, I hope I haven't made a horrible mistake-
"So you miss him too, huh?"
"Gah!"
Azula started at the sudden question and snapped the journal shut, quil quivering in her hand, her burning of the entries all but forgotten as she swung around. She found Suki staring back at her a bemused expression on her face, hazel eyes glistening wetly in the fading light of the setting sun. There was no scrutinization there, no blame to be found, as it was with Sokka and Katara. Only pity. Empathy. Here was someone who could understand what she was going through, comiserate with her. Not that she'd ever admit, of course.
"W-W-W-What makes you think that?" she blustered, keenly aware of the rising flush in her cheeks. "Why would I miss that blubbering blond buffoon?!"
Suki smiled knowingly, sadly, and turned away. Tucking both knees into her chest, she turned her eyes toward the temple growing steadily larger on the horizon, mere minutes away.
"I miss him." she whispered.
"I do, too." Katara seconded from her place in the saddle, a forlorn look in her eyes as she gazed upon their impending destination, her own anger at the princess momentarily forgottten. "I don't understand, why would he just give up like that? Why would he leave us?" Then more quietly, as though she didn't want the others to hear, "Why would he leave me?"
In the corner of Azula's eye, Suki bristled. Oh dear. Evidently the waterbender hadn't been as quiet as she'd thought.
"Leave you?" she challenged, incredulous as she bolted upright. "What are you talking about? He's my boyfriend. He kissed me, remember?"
Just like that, battle lines were drawn.
"Oh yeah?!" Katara shot back, shooting to her feet, "Well I grew up with him!"
The Kyoshi Warrior scowled. "He's an immortal for crying out loud! He doesn't age!"
"And how do you know that?!"
"Because he told me!"
"Then why did he kiss Azula?"
Uh-oh.
There was a silence as everyone realized what had just been said.
"Yeah, why did he kiss Azula?" Suki frowned, recalling the very event that'd chilled her to her very bones.
"Maybe we should ask her." Katara suggested.
"We should."
With that, both girls brought their wrath firmly to bear upon the proud princess. Said exile gulped.
"Don't involve me in this peasantry-
"Hey, hey, knock it off both of you!" Sokka interceded before the arguement could reach a head and regretful words could be said. Faced with those glares, he almost wished he hadn't. "Look, Naruto wouldn't leave unless he had a very good reason for it. Besides, everyone saw what he did to those Fire Nation ships; he tore through them like tinfoil! There's just no way he'd throw in that towel, unless he had some sort of plan. After all, that last ship was headed toward the Earth Kingdom, wasn't it?"
"Didn't he say he'd meet up with at the North Pole, remember?" Aang added.
Their group admission was a simple one-plain, even. And yet the words left Azula stunned, Katara and Suki's words in particular. There was no politicking behind it, no subtle nuances of persuasion to sway anyone. Just a simple admission of feelings. In the Fire Nation it was all about maneuvering into a postion of superiority before choosing a partner; and even then such trysts were brief and tenuous. Never lasting. Yet the way they'd spoken of Naruto just now...
Unbidden, she felt her cheeks color anew. Touching a hand to her face, she could only sigh. The Fire Temple swelled before her vision now, Appa uttering a soft groan of relief as they finally set down. And yet despite all the danger that had to be awaiting them within, Azula couldn't stop herself from thinking about that damned blonde.
By Agni, he's really gotten into my head...
"I hope your faith isn't misplaced." she muttered to Sokka.
"Yeah, this is Naruto we're talking about." The water tribe warrior snorted, rolling his eyes as he dismounted.
"I'm sure he's just fine...
"Achoo!"
A few miles inward on the coast Naruto suddenly sneeezed on the back of the Komodo Rhino he'd appropriated from Zhao's stolen ship, exhaling hastly into the evening air. Even from here he could see the setting sun; a rosy red orb ponderously descending before his very eyes. It made him wonder about Suki, Azula, and all the others. With Zhao out of the picture, he doubted they had much to fear. Still...
Damn but he missed them already.
After only a few hours he'd made landfall on the coast and headed inland, mooring the vessel he'd commandeered and abandoning it without a second thought. That aside, he'd made remarkaby good time. It was truly a marvel, what you could do with all the powers of a God and a small shadow clone army at your back. It rankled him to leave his new family behind, but no matter how much they cared for him-and he them, he knew they wouldn't understand what he had to do. Aang had his own path. And the Avatar of the Gods had his. He'd realized this ever since the boy had tried to take him to task yesterday for sinking Azula's ship and killling all of her soldiers. It was something he'd been trying to ignore, but now...now it was impossible.
The boy couldn't kill. Maybe someday, but not now.
Aang -and by defintion all the power trapped deep within him- was crippled by kindness and mercy. Compassion. It was all well and good to empathized with the common man, even give a second chance to those who truly deserved it. Azula, stood as a prime example of this, but only because she was now physically incapable of doing any harm to either of them. Were it not for the Oath, she would be just as dangerous as any other enemy, cold and unfeeling and utterly undeserving of any mercy. Naruto knew this and accepted it. But Aang didn't. He hadn't seen the horrors of war. He was just a kid.
Yes, that boy...he was naieve. Dangerously so, Clashing with Zuko, and then Azula had only served to drive that point home. The Fire Nation -excepting old man Iroh- was hard. Ruthless. They weren't going to thank Aang for sparing them. They'd simply wait until his back was turned and drive a knife home. And while he learned how to splash around at the North Pole their doom drew ever nearer in the form of Sozen's Comet. I can't believe I didn't see this sooner. I was the foolish one! I was naieve! I can't believe I thought he could do this!
Naruto had long been aware of the comet's impending return in this coming Summer. Telling Aang only would've pressured him all the more. And yet, some small part of him had hoped that the boy would accept what was clearly his duty as Avatar and make for the North Pole without delay. Detour after detour had changed his mind. The incident with Hebai, and now venturing into enemy territory...it was the last straw. He wouldn't gamble the fate of the world on someone who may/or may not be able to kill the Fire Lord.
No, the Avatar couldn't be solely relied upon. A contingency plan was needed. If the Fire Nation had an army, then he too would raise an army. When Ozai tried to scorch the land black with fire, he would find an angry horde of Earthbenders there to greet him. It would only a few weeks maybe less but in that time he was confident he could succeed. The Eclipse that he knew of simply wasn't a feasible option at present. It was too far away. If he was willing to throw down his life like last time then fine, maybe he could penetrate the Fire Nation on his own and end Ozai himself before he was overwhelmed. A lifetime ago, he might've done just that in any case and left his fate up to chance.
But not now.
Not when he had so much to live for. No, this was the best plan. And if he happened to pick up an Earthbender that could teach Aang on the way, then so be it. According to this map, the first village he'd happen upon would be Gaoling, a picturesque little town located in the mountains of the southern Earth Kingdom. As he recalled, it was home to the Bei Fong family, or at least it had been during his last visit a centurey before. The Beifong's owed him more than a few favors anyhow, that'd probably be the best place to start.
So here he was, making his first forray into Earth Kingdom Territory. His destination? Ba Sing Se. Flying would've been easy but in doing so he feared bringing too much unwanted attention down on his head. The world might think him the Avatar, and while was ill-content to carry on the deception, he understood the neccessity of it all. Best to let it be and sell off his mount when he reached the next town. From here he would proceed on foot, walk the dirt road like the common folk, feigning ignorance at his surroundings-
As soon as he rid himself of the tail that continued to dog him.
He wasn't quite sure when he'd picked up this particular pursuer, only that a strange scent had been following him for the last hour or so. Tailing him, as he trekked inroad. Strange, it was almost as if there were two of them. Like a rider and a mount. But what mount could possibly track him over such a long distance? These folk didn't have ninja hounds-in the time that he'd spent in this country he hadn't seen any creature that knew how to hunt through scent alone. Unless it was a-
Shirshu.
That was his last thought before something long and wet struck at him from the shadows. His arm rose smoothly and intercepted the foreign object, only to fall to his side seconds later, numbed. Naruto swore and spun away in a flurry of motion, vaulting off his mount just as the tongue lashed out for him again, inadvertantely striking and crippling his mount in one swipe, sending the now paralyzed beast crashing to the ground, whilst its owner scurried to safety. All the while he was cursing himself for his carelessness, anger knotting his whiskered visage as he tucked and rolled, tossing himself headlong into the forest.
"Oh," A woman's voice, warm and sweet like honey, purred at his retreat. "You're good. Very good. This might be a challenge after all."
Tempting as it was to, Naruto didn't reply. He was too busy damning himself for his own incompetence.
Stupid! He swore virulently, futilely trying to rub sensation back into his now encumbered limb. Foolish! After all these years he spent in the Water Tribe, he'd gotten rusty! Sloppy! He should've seen something like this coming miles away! How could he have forgotten about that beast's paraylizing toxins? Even now he could feel the strange, senseless sensation creeping across him-despite his chakra's attempt to resist it. The muscles in his torso were already becoming stiff and rigid, making his movements jerky and uncoordinated. Regeneration or no, this wasn't something he could just purge without consequences. For all his expertise in all things violence, he was no master of toxins and poisons. For every second that he fought it another of his concentration was wasted-
The crack of a whip jerked him back to reality.
"Sic 'em, Nyla!"
Naruto dropped flat to the ground just as the Shirshu came bursting through the brush, jaws wide. Its deadly tongue severing a few hairs in passing, but thankfully not touching his flesh. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as it swept over him, paws helplessly over-extended, tender belly exposed to attack. And attack Naruto did. In a monumental effort he lashed up and out, placing all his weight onto his good arm and erupting upward in a fearsome kick. He was rewarded by the satisfying crack of bone and the tearing of sinew, a sickeningly powerful blow that launched the tracker beast and its rider away from him with a pained howl, hurtling them into intand into the branches.
But not before Nyla's tongue brushed his cheek.
"Shit!"
The Avatar of the Gods reeled. Numbness consumed him, paralyzing him. Completely. His body slumped to the ground, stiff and unfeeling.
Out of the corner of his eye and dancing in his peripheals, he finally saw her. Dark, ebon hair. Pale skin. A heart-shaped face, eyes glittering like diamonds. Very angry diamonds. His eyes were naturally drawn unto her swaying hips as she moved towards him. This woman didn't walk. She glided. Each step was smooth and graceful, not a single movement wasted-no. There was a slight lurch to her movements he realized, her left arm hung loose and broken at her side, her whip clutched tight in her off hand.
"Alright," she growled upon reaching him. "Now I'm really going to enjoy collecting that bounty on your head, Avatar."
Oh, this was rich.
Despite himself and the situation in which he found himself, Naruto found the gall to laugh. "Can I just say one thing?"
Her eyes hardened. "What?"
"You're going to regret this."
"Oh, I don't think so, handsome."
There came a flash of black and then...
...blackness.
Zuko had thought he'd seen it all.
He had been burned, beaten, battered, stripped of everything but his pride. He had struggled and fought and strived, survived in spite of everything life had thrown at him. Indeed, life as an exiled prince was seldom an easy one, certainly moreso when you couldn't return without capturing the Avatar. But even when he'd finally found him it hadn't been enough-fate decided to spit in his face once again. The Avatar wasn't some feeeble old man he could capture; he was an accomplished bender who'd beaten him black and blue. At every encounter, every confrontation, it only ended in his defeat. Time and time again his destiny laughed at him, eluding him at every turn.
And now...this. He'd tracked the Avatar to the Crescent Island, followed him through the blockade and into the Fire Temple. At least he thought he had. And then this happened. It had been terrifying, witnessing such a feat of destruction as that. He supposed he could take some solace in the knowledge that Zhao had retreated with his tail between his legs-or so he thought-
But everything had gone wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.
Shyu's betrayal aside, it rankled him to know that the Avatar and his friends had not only managed to deceive the Fire Sages into opening the door, but enable him to escape into Roku's sanctum as well. That shouldn't have been such a problem; with four Fire Sages at his back he should've been able to subdue his little friends left to guard the door. Kill them. Capture them, at the very least.
Now those sages were dead. Cut down, as effortlessly as one would through butter. The waterbending wench and her brother hadn't done anything-even the Kiyoshi Warrior hadn't raised her fans against him. They had no need to. Because someone had done all the killing for them.
Yes, they all paled in comparison to the foe standing before him. Barring his path was a face that had haunted his worst nightmares, plagued him from his very childhood.
Azula.
"You...? What are you doing here?!" He barely recognized his sibling with her long hair and simple garb, the rustic red she always wore nowhere to be seen amidst the simple brown and greens she now wore, with those ebon-dresses But that face, those eyes, that cocky, arrogant, half-lipped smile. There was no doubt about it. This was his little sister. The very same sister, who had just torn through the Fire Sages, killing them without so much as a glimmer of hesitation.
The princess sighed softly and low, a small smile plucking at her lips in spite of the anxiety she felt at seeing her brother again. It wasn't sentimentality that gave her pause, she told herself. She'd never cared much for him to begin with. But what was it, then? What was holding her back? What was preventing her from conjuring a bolt of lightning and striking him down now? Her chi felt constricted somehow, the glorious powers she'd always known now a tiny, flickering flame when faced with her one and ony sibling.
By Agni, what was going on here?
"In my country we exchange a pleasant greeting before getting down to business." she began, forcing a smile to her face. The words came quite easily to her afterwards...almost painfully so. "Have all these years apart made you uncivilized, Zuzu?"
"Zuzu?" Soka smothered a snort with his hand. Katara and Suki were less inclined.
"Don't call me that!" Anger exploded forth from him in an angry wave of hot steam. "And answer my question! Why are you with them, sister?!"
"I think that's quite obvious, dum dum." Raising an arm, she took a stance, placing herself firmly between him and the door. She could see the anger building in her brother like magma in a volcano, an apocalyptic fury mere moments away from reaching a boil and ready to blow. Her next words caused the eruption.
"I'm on their side."
There was an awful silence as all the color in Zuko's face drained, his rudy red scar standing stark upon his now palled visage. A heartbeat of peace, a second of nervous tension. Then:
"Azula," Katara muttered, "I think you broke him."
"RAH!"
A finely manicured hand shot up, interposing itself between the fireball and Katara even as Zuko targeted her. The waterbender barely had time to gasp before the small comet of destruction fizzled out-before Zuko and Azula were moving, exchanging blows and bending at a breakneck pace. Blue battled against orange as they circled one another, the fury of their fire ebbing and flowing in the waning light of the stting sun.
"WHY?!" Zuko roared! "Why are you always making things difficult for me?!"
"What can I say?" Azula shrugged as she weaved between his rage-driven and sloppy strikes. "I'm a people person."
Her brother made a squelching sound. "You...?!"
"Azula," Katara started forward. "We can help-
"Wait." She extended her other arm, barring the bender's path before she could take so much as another step. Hazel eyes narrowed upon her brother, the bleak spectre of a past she was still struggling to forget. There was only one way to settle this she realized. Running wasn't an option. The only way to move forward, the only way to truly bury her past...
...was through him.
"He's mine."
Stepping forward, she thrust a finger at her brother.
"Zuko," she began slowly, "I challenge you...
At least, she thought to herself, she had the sweet satisfaction of surprising him again.
...to an Agni Kai."
Mine.
Naruto woke with a start.
Pain flooded him in a tidal wave, the ache of a body that had fallen asleep for far too long. Old pangs. He found himself bound, shackled in heavy links of chain and steel, unable to move so much as a muscle. Speaking of moving...why was the ground? Through blurry eyes he struggled to look down. Indeed, the ground was moving slowly by under his gaze, allowing him to realize he lay draped not over Nyla as he'd suspected but the komodo rhino he'd stolen, its four feet plodding heavily in the night. Why was that, his addled mind wondered. It would've made more sense for her to be riding her shirshu...
Oh.
Memory crashed down him, reminding him where he was. What he'd done. Who he was with.
"Morning, handsome." a soft voice purred in his ear, dark tresses tickling at the nape of his neck. Naruto nearly laughed. It had been a long time since he'd woken to a voice like that, even longer since he'd been bound and heard those words. "Sleep well?"
"Well," he murmurred, somehow finding the strength to turn his head. "Hello beautiful."
"The name's June." she replied. "And you must be this Naruto character the world's been buzzing about." her piercing gaze scrutinized him for a moment longer before relenting. "Funny, I thought you'd be a little older, considering the wanted posters."
A smirk.
"What, you don't think I'm devilishly handsome or ruggedly good looking?"
"I might've...before you drop-kicked me." the deadpann was barely concealed beneath a veneer of amusement.
"Self defense." the blond immediately claimed.
"Riiiiight."
"Right as rain, beautiful."
"I told you, my name is June."
"Think I'll stick with beautiful." Naruto returned cheekily.
An awkward silence passed between them after that.
"So...kinda asking the obvious here, but how did you find me?"
"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away." she sniffed proudly. Behind them, the beast brayed proudly.
"Ah. She got a name?"
"Nyla."
"Alright then, beautiful, where are you and Nyla taking me?"
Another silence.
"I'm handing you over to the Fire Nation." June said at length, her smug countenance not wavering in the slightest as she spoke. "We'll be stopping in Gaoling for the evening-by tomorrow you'll find yourself a nice cozy prison cell while I collect the reward money on your head. Nothing personal of course. You should be glad I decided to take you alive instead of dead you after you broke Nyla's rib like that. Its a good thing she's a swift healer." Ah. That would explain why the Shirshu was limping behind them, rather than being ridden by June. She didn't want to exacerbate her mount's injury until it was mended.
"Any chance I could talk into letting me go?" he pleaded.
"Not an hogmonkey's chance in hell." she replied. "Whenever I take a contract, I see it through to the end. I finish my jobs. You get points for trying, though."
"Well, at least that counted for something."
"So then," she continued restraining another smile, "Are you going to be a good little Avatar and stay like that or do I have to break out the whip again?"
"Oooh, you've got a mouth on you. Its a shame I'll never get to see you use it."
"Big talk for a man in chains." came the reply, punctuated by the crack of a whip.
Naruto sighed at her failed attempt to intimidate him further. His pupils dilating as increased adrenaline began to pump through his system, his visible eye shining bright with bloodlust. His teeth gleamed with a wolfish light in the shadow of his ragged locks, his lips parting for an almost amused hiss. Enough was enough. He'd learnt all he needed to. Time to escape.
"Let me ask you," he began softly, "Does a woman like yourself know how truly terrifying an Avatar can be?"
"Hmm?" the dark-haired beauty arched an eyebrow, turning slightly in the saddle to address him. "You say that like there's more than one Avatar."
"Bingo."
The shinobi grunted then, a shout building in his throat as he looked beyond the boundaries of flesh and delved into the very core of his being. "Haaaaaaaaaaa...
June frowned, a glimmer of suspicion plucking at the corners of her mouth as the sky brightened around them, his skin turning gold, then azure, then crimson, all at once as the chakra locked within him was forced into the air, pushed up from the well of his coils and unto the surface. "Wait, what're you-
"...aaaaaaaaaa..." Sapphire eyes snapped into slitted scarlet, his skin cracking and bursting as the power within was unbound. Frightened by the sudden upswing of energy the komodo rhino roared and bucked, tossing both prsioner and hunter off its back before bolting into the forest.
"What the hell are you?!" she shouted at Naruto!
...aaaaaaaaAAAARGH!" With a mighty movement of his arms he tore himself free from his bonds, the iron links shredding like fine linen beneath his chakra. Naruto stood woodenly, body burning with blackness. A pair of arms sprouted on either side of him as his skin burnished black. He seemed to gain an extra foot in height as she looked on; the vile, terrifying v-shaped visor of his Avatar state now glowering down at her. The ebon colored God growled low and deep, a throatish snarl snaking its way out between those razor-sharp teeth.
"I warned ya." An ash-filled breath blew into her face, nearly causing her to cough. "Now you pay the price." Even as she raised her whip to strike at this man-made-demon his fist lashed out. One touch. That was all it took. One touch, and her precious weapon disintegrated rotting like so much driftwood beneath his clenched fist. Left clutching the ruined shaft of her once-proud tool, the huntress was left with one of two choices, neither of which were very appealing. And only one ended with her living to see the next sunrise.
June did the smart thing, then.
She raised her hands.
"I give up."
Naruto grinned.
"Good girl."
The sound of flame tearing through the atmosphre rang in the temple as Zuko struck out repeatedly. Azula deflected the blows with counters of her own, flowing so much like the rippling movements she'd once seen an eternity before. At least, it felt like it. She'd seen Naruto move like this during their battle and though he hadn't had the time to teach her, let it not be said that she wasn't a fast learner. She was a prodigy, after all. He wasn't. And she had something much stronger than anger driving her right now.
They moved forward and backward, their motions a terrifying mockery of a romantic waltz. The fight quickly took on a life of its own, leading them from one great hall to the next-a furious dance of fiery, bending blows that never seemed to end, neither backing down, both of them determined to win. Zuko for his honor, Azula for the oath that bound her to very bones. Whatever hesitation she'd felt at the beginning was gone-replaced by the iron-clad knowledge that her brother would kill her if she made a mistake.
Hmm. You really are a fast learner. A small, familiar voice interjected into her head. I was right to have you join our team. Azula started in surprise, hissing softly as Zuko's flaming fist broke through her guard to raise an angry red welt on her cheek. Snarling, she struck out without restraint, catapaulting him away in a gout of blue fire.
'Naruto?!' her gaze darted this way and that, half-expecting to find the eternal shinobi hanging off the walls or ceiling. He wasn't there. Wasn't anywhere. Was she hearing things? Had she finally gone off the deep end?
Who did you expect, the bogeyman?
'Where are you?!'
In your head, of course. came the bemused, slightly strained reply. You didn't think the Oath was just a simple exchange of blood, did you? I'm able to contact you at a moment's notice, and the reverse applies to you in any case.
'No, seriously.' Out of the corner of her eye, Azula could see Zuko getting back up. There was a fire in his eye, one that didn't bode well for her. 'What are you doing right now?'
A sheepish chuckle was her answer.
Actually, I'm headed to Gaoling at the moment. But that's not why I'm contacting you. Is Aang safe?
Azula restrained a grimace. 'If you call being trapped behind a door safe.'
And your brother?
...I can handle him.'
Good. Bring him down, Azula. he ordered, his voice taking on a flinty tone. Break him. Make him hurt.
A small smile plucked at her lips. Now there was an order she didn't mind obeying.
'Consider it done.'
Azula forgot that Aang and the others were still nearby. Forgot that she had a sworn duty to protect them. All she could think about was defeating her brother-ending Zuko once and for all. Making him pay for the slight against her, for insinuating that she'd chosen this fate for herself, willingly betrayed her nation. Making him pay for the pain his accusations caused her. Her mind was blank with rage as she slammed against him, azure tongues of white-hot fury clashing violentlly with his orange in an endless inferno that seemed to burn hotter than hell itself.
"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother." Azula sighed and parried a right hook with her heel, sweeping the limb down and away with the slightest misdirection. "It could've turned out so differently."
"No you're not! Why are you doing this?!" He demanded between blows.
"You wouldn't understand!" she snarled in return, sparks scrawling from her fingertips. "Father betrayed me! I made one mistake, one error, and he cast me aside like garbage! But I suppose you'd know what that feels like, don't you?! Now I have a new duty to perform! One that doesn't include you!" Trailing after her in the air, lightning itself tore through the temple, bending to her very will. Zuko stood transfixed, eyes shooting wide as he
Zuko choked in surprise as the bold bolt screamed forward to spear him through the shoulder, shattering his armour with a resounding clang. Before his mind could proccess what had just happened, another bolt ripped through the flesh of his thigh, skewering it clean through. Howling, he crumpled, clutching at his ruined limb.
"You lied to me!" The words were a yowl in his throat, accusing her of everything. "You said you wouldn't interfere three years ago!"
"Like I've never done that before!"
"Damnit, Azula!" he screamed! "I HATE YOU!"
"Then come get me, Zuzu!"
"AAAAARGH!"
Katara watched in surprise as Azula calmly waited for her brother's anger to overcome him - his eyes narrowing in anticipation, a gout of fire escaping his teeth as the flame within truly took control. With a roar Zuko charged, alarmingly fast, but like the graceful dancer she was, his sibling waited until the last second before dodging. As the scarred prince hastily tried to stop his charge, she pounced on him, raining blow after blow on his unprotected back until he finally managed to spin and face her, beginning their deadly dance once again.
"Weakling!"
"Traitor!"
"Dum Dum!"
"You're the reason mother left!"
They were so engrossed in their squabble that neither noticed the ground beneath their feet was shaking. Nor did they notice that Aang was finally emerging from the chamber; not as the boy they knew, but as Avatar Roku in all his grandeur. A picture of flaming fury, his eyes burned white-hot, terrifying to behold. And they definitely didn't notice him bring his hand down upon the floor with an audible craaaack, cracking it like a nut, releasing the magma trapped beneath the surface. Azula didn't notice.
"Azula!" Suki shouted! "We need to go! Now!"
The princess wasn't listening.
Naruto himself could've kissed her right then, and she still wouldn't have noticed. She was too filled with wrath, the thin veneer of her calm serving only to mask the anger beneath. But no longer. That last insult'd torn through the facade, exposed the true demon beneath. Mother. My own mother thought I was a monster. Mother...
"I believe someone needs a lesson in humility." She stepped forward with a hot hiss and struck at her brother like a viper-sending him sprawling with a deceptively swift swing of her heel. That was all it took. Another swing swept his visage into the nearest wall, eliciting an gravelly groan from of surprise from her older sibling. He slumped to the foor with a groan. And then suddenly he was on her. She didn't know how he'd gotten up so swiftly-only that he had and he was suddenly pinning her to the floor, his hands wrapped around her throat.
She grabbed at his arms and he took hold of her wrists, grappling.
"Are you going to kill me, Zuzu?" she sneered. "You don't have the guts!"
"Shut! Up!"
"Poor dum dum." Azula smiled up at him, full lips curling as she called him the age old name from their childhood. "You just don't get it do you? Even if you do kill me, you've still lost. You can't beat me. I'm better than you. Always have been. Always will be-no matter what you do. You think fighting for your honor gives you strength?" her voice rose an octave as she recalled what her so-called "honor" had gotten her. "Well, it doesn't! It only lets others control you! Don't you see? You...you're too busy chasing after father's coattails to realize it; he can't restore your honor! You make your own, brother!"
For a moment, the anger warping his visage dissapeared. Then as suddenly as it vanished, so too did it return.
"I told you to be qu-urk!"
His words ended in a startled grunt as Azula reared back and bucked, using her smaller body to arch backwards and kick him in the face. Hard. To her surprise Zuko made no move to dodge, even when the backs of her boots slammed into his chin with all its might. There was a silence, the princess unable to believe she'd actually struck him that hard the scarred prince startled to find he'd actually been flung across the hall. A trickle of blood trickled down from his mouth, trailing across a cheek and down his chin.
Azula was on him in an instant, fist thrust forward, ready to deal the death blow, fingers twitching with the contained energies of her bending.
Groaning, he attempted to stand once more and continue the fight, only for his wounded leg to finally give out. Folding like a wet paper bag the prince lost his balance. He did not rise. Collapsing forward onto his hands and knees instead, he glowered impotently at her, silently seething as the Fire temple continued to crumble around them. Brother and sister stared one another down. One lay broken, the other stood tall. One stepping into the beginnings of redemption, the other still hopelessly lost in the dark.
"Yeah!" Sokka crowed! "Team Avatar one, Zuko...nothing!"
"What are you waiting for?!" Zuko cried!" Finish it!"
"..."
For a moment, Azula considered doing just that; snuffing out his life like the candle it was. Zuko was helpless. Weak. She could easily finish him off. Naruto might even encourage such a thing. It would be swift. Simple, and staid. A mercy, even. And yet a thorn of compassion pricked her and held her back. She not a creature of empathy by any means-not yet-so what was it that stopped her from administering the final blow? Blue fire flickered at her fingertips as she contemplated the notion; all of her being warring with the life-changing act of taking her older brother's life.
"I-
"Zuko!"
Azula froze as a familiar voice tore through the air, eyes narrowing as stout form resolved itself from the smoke. The former princess felt her heart skip a beat. Here was a face she hadn't seen in three years and yet he looked almost exactly the same. There was a bit more grey in his beard she supposed, and a few more wrinkles than she remembered, but beyond that it was undoubtedly him.
Iroh.
"Uncle...?"
The word was spoken by both brother and sister as one, flabbergasted. Zuko because he honestly hadn't expected his tea-drinking relative to follow him into the thick of battle, and Azula; because Iroh was undoubtedly the last person she wanted to see right now. Old though he may be the Dragon of the West was no slouch; he could probably match her in terms of Firebending alone-and that was without hand to hand combat. No she told herself as she watched him kneel beside Zuko's battered body, she wasn't happy to see him. She couldn't be. She refused to allow her lip to quiver as she looked him in the eye.
"Are you going to finish him off?" he was giving her an odd look, as though he almost didn't recognize his niece after the transformation she'd been through. Azula hardly recognized herself. She still felt the anger trying to burn its way through her veins, her old pride and arrogance simmering just beneath the surface. But there was a calmness now-a sense of serenity that hadn't been there before the Oath. Clarity, really. And it was in that moment of beautiful, crystalline clarity that she realized killing Zuko served nothing and no one besides her spite.
With that knowledge, she lowered her fingers.
"...No." she decided at last, spinning away and scrubbing at her face so he wouldn't see the tears. "I've taken his leg. That will do."
"Azula!" Sokka shouted. "What are you doing?! We gotta go! This place is coming down!" She started after him-
"You're with them." Somehow coming from him, it didn't sound like a question.
Azula stopped in her tracks, her face slowly appearing over her shoulder as she curiously regarded her uncle and her fallen opponent. A look of subtle irritation crossed her single eye as it regarded the recovering prince behind her, his good eye still narrowed sptiefully upon her.
"I've found my own path, uncle. Someone," she very nearly choked on her own pride before swallowing it back down, "Showed me how important the balance really is." Technically it was true, in a sense. At first Naruto had unbalanced her by defeating her on Kiyoshi Island. Then again during the incident with Heibai in the forest. But in a way, all that had been equalized. Not just by the Oath -though it was certainly a part of it- but by his words to her in the forest after her second defeat:
"Honor is something we forge ourselves. No one can give it to you; and nothing can take it away."
And then, that kiss on the bison...
"It was Naruto, wasn't it?"
The ghost of a smile drew at her lips. "He can be very...persuasive."
Iroh laughed at that, the sound coming from deep within his belly. "Yes, he can. If the princess of the Fire Nation-
Azula flinched, both at the words and at the second tremor that shook the palace. With less of a threat againt him, Aang's strike hadn't been as catastrophic as they'd first feared. Yes the temple was falling apart at the seams, but nowhere near the deadly collapse that would've originally happened. Yet even the falling rocks could not hope to eclipse her words.
"Ex-princess, actually." she whispered. "Fa-Ozai," she bit out, "Banished me for my defeat against the Avatar days ago."
Iroh's face fell.
"I see...I am sorry to heart that." a hand stroked at his bearded chin, yet failed to mask the dissapointment there. "It appears my brother is still as foolish as he is stubborn."
"Isn't he, though?" She sighed, stroking at her long locks. "Precisely why I intend to depose him."
Zuko growled from where he lay. "She's lying! She has to be! Azula always lies! She-
A swift chop on the neck rendered him insensate.
"Not this time, big brother." With a bitter laugh Azula lowered her arm, turned and strode towards the hole Aang had made, through which Sokka had just departed. "Goodbye, Zuko. Uncle." There was something about the way she said those words; some sense of finality caused Iroh to start. Surely she wasn't thinking of-
"Azula!"
Too late; with a cackle she leapt out after Sokka and into the void. Not a moment later, Iroh saw the sky bison. Within seconds, it and his niece were gone to the winds. Part of him rejoiced to know that Azula had been set on the proper path. Perhaps she might be able to redeem their strange, twisted little family after all. And yet he worried. It was well known to him that Naruto was not the Avatar. He was one of the few in the Nation There was a darkness in
"Come on, nephew." Iroh began, picking his nephew up and slinging him over a shoulder. "I believe it is time we returned to the ship."
With that, he leapt out of the hole and into the waiting waters below.
Team Avatar rode on into silence, chasing the setting sun. They were all covered in ash and soot from the eruption, but they were alive. Some wondered if the same could be said for Iroh and Zuko, if they'd made it out before the temple had well and truly collapsed. There were more pressing matters on their minds of course, such as the matter of Naruto's continued dissapearance and now Sozen's Comet. But chief amongst them was another factor. Sitting with them. Only moments ago she had defended them...and so the group dynamic had changed once more.
Suka was the first to recover her voice.
"Azula," she began, "That was...
...amazing!" Sokka finished, awed and enthused. "I've never seen Firebending like that before! You were bending lightning! That's it! I've thought up the perfect nickname for you! Lightning Lass!"
"Why, thank you." the former princess preened under their praise. "Only a select few firebenders are able to control lightning, and I'm proud to count myself amongst them." Perhaps ... this, was what she'd always wanted. She craved attention and praise, she always had. And now that she had it again it felt...good. A grimace touched her face as her brain registered the rest of Sokka's words, however. "Although...I could do without the nickname."
"Aw, but I spent all night thinking about it!"
"So, can you teach me that?" Aang asked, suddenly hesitant as he found himself face to face with the former princess. "Erm...I mean...Naruto never really talked to me about it, but I figured that's why he had you join the group and I never had a chance to ask-
"Of course I'm going to teach you." Azula folded her arms and snorted, her gaze narrowing. "Why else would I have joined you miscreants?" Well, there was Naruto, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that...
"That's great-
"But not the blue fire." Azula put in primly. "That's mine. A girl has to have some secrets, after all."
Everyone laughed at that. Even Azula. It felt so strange to laugh again; she couldn't recall that last time she'd felt genuinely...happy. Joy was an alien emotion to her. With fear there was always someone to manipulate and control, dominate so they would never turn against you. There was none of that now. She'd stood in their defense and now everyone was welcoming her as one of their own. Well...almost everyone.
"...here." Katara reluctantly handed her a loaf of bread. Azula looked at her as though she had two heads.
"What?" the waterbender grumbled, her dislike for the Fire Nation surfacing once more beneath the older girl's gaze. "You must be hungry after all that bending, right? Just take the darn thing!"
Azula did so.
The taste...it was good. Before she knew it, she had finished the entire thing and felt more full than she had since her banishement. Resting tiredly on the saddle, she absently noted the scent of the evening air, the feel of the bison's fur, and the steady stream of tears that ran down her face. Bringing a hand to wipe away the wet tears she relished in the feeling she currently felt.
She smiled... finally feeling alive.
To the naked eye, Gaoling wasn't all that impressive compared to most towns. It had been left absolutely untouched during the war thanks in part to its strategic importance and the small army of talented benders who made their homes there were known to viciously defend their homes from any and all enemy incursions. So had it been a century before, and so was it now. The sun was slow rising in the east, the first rays of morning slashing daggers across their vision as they strolled through the streets.
Naruto sighed, breathing deep the Earth Kingdom air. It had been so long since he'd been here, even after a hundred years, everything was still the same. The faces were new of course, but the scenery, the rolling hills and the fine shops selling silks and fish and other goods had changed precious little. They would be making very good time here, he thought. Everyone seemed to be giving them a wide birth. Perhaps it was the shirshu. Maybe it was the massive sword strapped to his back. Word of his return might've already spread this far. Who knew? Regardless, they'd be getting what they came here for soon enough.
Yes, they.
June groaned behind him in the saddle, the iron manacles that were her shackles chafing against her wrist. Nyla whimpered piteously beneath them, detesting the ill treatment of her master yet fearing their captor too much to make a move all the same in any case. It seemed the Shirshu had not forgotten those broken ribs. Indeed, despite having healed, the tracking beast was treating the last Uzumaki like an alpha predator, more so since he'd taken its mistress into custody, less so with its muzzle. Rightfully so. Naruto wasn't too keen on being paralyzed again. Another groan reminded him of the human's plight.
"Can you please untie me now?" she begged piteously. "I surrendered, remember?"
"Yes, I remember." Naruto grinned, hands tight on the reins, and the key with them. "That's the only reason you're still breathing."
"Urk." That seemed to silence her somewhat, the defiance dimming from her eyes. Still the pall stretched on, until the shinobi became genuiney uncomfortable. He was a social creature by nature, accustomed to having travel companions with him on his journeys. That said companion was a willing prisoner and giving him the silent treatment...put a damper on things.
"Look," he chided her, "Its nothing personal. I just can't afford to have you report my location back to the Fire Nation. Besides, I could use a tracker with your...expertise." It was the wrong thing to say, and the shinobi swore at himself even as the words left his mouth. June struck him as the sort not to let something like that stand. Sure enough, he was right.
"Ohhhh?" just like that, the glint was back again. This time a smile accompanied it. "So you're using me for my body then?" Still smirking, she pressed up against him from behind, her chin taking up residence upon his neck as her words warmed his ear. "What's the matter, Avatar? Like what you see?"
A century or two ago, Naruto would've flushed and sputtered like an idiot. Now he simply shook his head.
"What's not to like?" he replied, spurring Nyla onward. "But no, as atttractive as you might be, that's not the reason I'm keeping you around."
"Then what is?"
"For starters?" He turned, giving her his full and undivided attention, trusting Nyla to go where gentle nudges of his legs guided her. "You and your little pet are the best trackers I've ever met. In terms of tracking, the two of you could probaly run circles around Kiba and Akamaru."
"Friends of yours, I take it?"
Naruto's mouth snapped shut with a harsh click of enamel, his eyes turning hard and distant as he swung back around. For a time, the only sound was that of Nyla plodding forward. June knew immediately she'd trod where she wasn't meant to, she knew enough about painful pasts to tell when she'd stepped on a landmine. Her own stood as a stark example of that. And if that Avatar's abrut lockjaw had anything to do with it, she was fairly certain he'd lost his share of friends and family growing up as well.
...once." he said at last. "A long, long time ago."
"Sorry." she murmurred and glanced away, genuinely contrite. "How did they die?"
"They were betrayed." the words came slowly, haltingly. "One of my old comrades, a man named Uchiha Sasuke, was responsible. We'd thought he reformed, changed his ways. But a darkness like that...you don't just leave it behind. It follows you. Consumes you. Becomes you. I don't know when or how or even why he did it. He just killed them-then others. So many others." His words grew rough then, harsh and angry, grating on her ears. "When it became clear he wasn't going to stop, I did what I had to do. I killed the killer. The golden boy, the one person my village thought could do no wrong. And in doing so, I lost everything."
...I didn't know."
"No, its not your fault. I didn't mean to tell you my life story."
"Nah, its fine. My past wasn't much cheerier after-
"After?" Naruto blinked. "C'mon now, I told you mine, you tell me yours."
Surprisingly, she shook her head.
"Tell you what; you win this war, and I'll tell you."
Naruto scoffed. "Tease." But then his gaze turned somber.
"Humanity always seems to engage in senseless battles...
Realizing the mood had veered into the morose, the huntress frowned. Smirking, she elbowed him in the ribs.
"Jeez, how old are you? You talk like an old man." Naruto took the bait like an elephant carp, hook line and sinker.
"Couple thousand years, give or take."
One didn't needs eyes in the back of their head to see June's gobsmacked expression.
"Th-That aside, why should I stick around anyway? What's in it for me?"
"Nyla's weight in gold?" he offered.
"Deal!" She exclaimed quite excitedly, eyes shining with avarice. "I could buy a small island with that-
"After you swear undying loyalty to me."
"Not that Oath business again!" Just like that she drew back, disgust marring her beautiful face. "I already told you loverboy, I owe allegiance to no one but myself. If you want me to hunt someone down for you then that's fine-but don't expect me to swear fealty to you." It was a shame, really, Naruto thought to himself, she was as lovely as Anko, and perhaps even more skilled than Shizune. But she had stubborness of Tsunade; once her mind was made up, only an earth-shaking even could change it. He could make her do it, of that much Naruto was certain, but he wasn't the type to warp someone's mind against their will. He had had some morals, after all.
"Then the chains stay on."
"Poo."
They continued on like that in silence, and for once there was a strange comfort in it. June was witty he'd found, likeable even, for an enemy. Almost enough to make him forget about his duty here, and his penultimate mission to Ba Sing Se. Almost, but not quite. All the while Nyla had been moving, weaving her way through the crowded streets as per her master's instructions. Naruto needn't look to know where he was going-he had already been here before, long ago.
"Ah," he smiled, slowing the shirshu with another nudge. "Here we are."
If Gaoling wasn't impressive, than the Beifong Estate certainly was.
A sprawling compound emblazoned with the insignia of the flying boar and high, rising walls it was truly the gem of Gaoling. Featuring a sprawling carpet of grass and a small bridge leading over it, complete with a pool for fish and guards by which to protect the family's significant investments and other assets. Just as Naruto remembered it. It was though the moment had been frozen in time since he'd last ventured to these grounds; though admittedly last time his purpose had been far less benign. Today, however, he was simply here to cash in on a favor and secure some funds for his journey. They owed him much more than that, after all.
"Aren't you worried about your other friends?" June asked as they dismounted. "You know, the ones you told me you were traveling with."
"Nah." Naruto laughed. "By now they should've reached their destination and been on their way. Besdies, if remember the Beifong family, they were always a little stuck up. They wouldn't have taken kindly to guests in their compoud. Favor or no, they probably won't be willing to let even me in through the front door unless they know who I am, ya know? Now c'mere." June bristled slightly as he pressed a hand to her bare shoulder-a startling gesture of tenderness. When his palm came away, she found a strange seal overlaying her already tattooed arm, a strange symbol that she couldn't decipher.
"I've marked you now." Naruto warned. "I'm going to unlock your shackles, so just stick close to me. Try to run away and I'll know it."
June paled slightly, squirming in her chains. "I'll just take your word for it then...
Something ocurred to her, at that very moment.
"Wait a minute, if they're not going to let you in the front door, then what are you doing-
"This! Geronimo!"
"Eeep!"
With a wild woop, he vaulted over the wall and alighted effortlessly on the other side. When no guards came to greet him, he frowned. Odd. He'd done this deliberately to gain their attention; if not remind the Beifong's just why he was to be feared and respected. But if they didn't want to play ball...
"Alright then, now all I have to do is-ow!" Naruto grunted, as the earth violently upheaved beneath his feet, steadying himself only through chakra. That just made it all the more painful when sharps shards of rock flew into his unprotected face.
Frowning, he swung about glowering at the party who'd pelted him with those rock.
She was a slim, waifish thing in a white kimono, long dark, ebony hair framing a heartshaped face from which milky white eyes shone. Those blank and unseeing eyes regarding him with frightening intelligence. Even as he shifted a millimeter aside, he felt that gaze following him. Tracking him. She couldn't have been more than sixteen years old, and yet she completely dominated him with her prescence. She couldn't see. Yes-her feet were bare. How in the word was she. Oh. Ohhh, that was bloody brillliant. Naruto frowned a mere moment longer before it came to him, a smile all but overtaking his visage.
She saw through the earth. With her feet, and the vibrations she sensed from them. It was like a reverse Byakugan of sorts. Fascinating.
"What're you doing in my yard, blockhead?" the voice that emerged from that desert flower was rough and annoyed. He almost grinned at it.
"It is common courtesy for a lady to give her name first, isn't it?"
"Toph." she all but spat back. "Of the Beifong family. Happy? Now tell me who you are before I call the guards."
"Oh, please do." Naruto beckoned.
"Guards!" she cried, feigning sudden weakness. "Guards! Come quick!" If she expected him to run, she'd be dissapointed. Scarce had they appeared than he struck.
Bang.
Naruto's fist suddenly crashed down in front of him, the clenched knuckles creating a spider-web of fissures in the earth below, their cracks scrawling toward her unaware protectors. June looked over at him and started in disbelief at what she found there, the shinobi having donned an almost feral expression as he exerted his newfound dominance over the earth. Toph narrowed her eyes, and opened her mouth to utter a warning. Too late, the earth sucked the guardsmen down into the muck, burying them to their necks in an avalance of terra firma.
Naruto straightened from his crouch, smirking. "Wow. I forgot bending felt that good."
Toph's fists clenched until they were white-knuckled at the edges, hoping that her visage didn't reflect the shock that she truly felt. Naruto stood stone-still as he returned that unseeing glare; him himself had very little desire to fight an Earthbending master head on-clearly this was one-where others could see but he wasn't about to stand by and do nothing when faced with such a prodigy. Despite all these carefully laid plans, he very much wanted to see what she could do.
At last, Toph spoke again.
"Not bad." she admitted. "You've got some good moves."
Naruto brushed off the praise like water off a duck's back. "Is that why you're shaking like a leaf?"
"Leave before I punt you across the yard!" Yup, definitely a temper.
"Spunky little thing." June murmurred.
Naruto laughed.
"Isn't she?"
Oh, this'll be fun.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Uzumaki Naruto." he gave an exaggerate bow. "Avatar of the Gods, at your service."
"Avatar...?"
Before Toph could finish her reply Naruto lowered his foot, and stomped. Down. Hard. Even as the Beifong heir made to make good on her threat to launch him out of her yard, she found a pillar of earth slamming her backwards into the nearest wall. Naruto watched his handiworkk a moment longer before stomping again, causing his technique to crumble apart. His brief time within Azula's body had given him a basic concept of chi, enough to duplicate it to a rudimentary form with his own chakra. Regardless, the look on her face has been all too worth it. Definitely worth the detour.
"You're not the only one who can mess with the elements, girlie-oof!"
The air rushed out of him in a mighty whoosh as a boulder burst from the backyard and bowled him head over heel. Despite himself, Naruto chuckled. It seemed Toph wasn't as frail as he'd first thought! Grimacing, he stomped again, steadying himself in the earth. Even as Toph made to strike again he jumped, denying her the vibrations she relied upon to predict his movements. This time when the boulder was flung, he caught it in hand and molded it to his arm, encasing it in a sheathe of solid stone. Then, twisting the air around him, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, fist first.
The result was nothing short of spectacular. Somehow Toph heard him coming and bent the earth into a wall around her for protection; but that did her little good. Naruto smashed through her defenses as though they were made of brittle bamboo, a heavenly javelin flung by Zeus himself. Impossibly Toph shifted aside yet again at the last instant, her right sleeve disintegrating at his passing, leaving him to smash another crater into the earth only inches from where she'd been standing.
June gawped.
"This guy...
"Not bad!" Naruto grinned. "I held back a little at the end, and you were still able to dodge!"
Her response was another boulder, to which he answered with one of his own. "Visualize, then attack! Very nice!"
"Alright blockhead," Toph growled, "You're starting to get on my nerves!"
She moved and Naruto moved with her, no longer calling upon his chi but his chakra. Earth rose and shifted around them in folds and spears and waves, clashing against one another, taking ever shape imaginable. And all the while, June sat on the sidelines watching with keen interest.
Well now...
...this was going to be interesting!
Lao Beifong and Poppy Beifong started in their bed as a violent tremor rocked the mansion to its very foundations. It felt like an earthquake, yet it had all the makings of an explosion, smelling of sulfur. Whatever it was it was enough to send them stumbling out into the hall.
A harried-looking servant rushed inside, his hair scorched and singed.
"Excuse me sir," he stammered out, "But you have a visitor." Lao frowned at this.
"Who thinks they are so important they can just barge into my home unnanounced at this hour?!" Only one man had ever dared to do such a thing to his family in the past, a man who was long dead. A horrible demon of whom his grandfather had spoken of with fear and trepidation. A veritable juggernaut of unholy destruction, that man was both responsible for the Beifong family's success so long agos, as he much as he was for its continued existence. They owed many favours to that man; were it not for him, the Beifong family might not exist to this day. But that man was the devil himself, a being capable of unquantified levels of destruction-no whomever this was, it certainly couldn't be-
The servant squirmed.
"H-He claims to be the Avatar of the Gods, sir. He's with your daughter right now, Earthbending as we speak-
Lao's face turned ashen.
"Send him in! Right away!"
(Many miles away...)
Admiral Zhao was dead.
Word of his death had spread through the Fire Nation like wildfire-no pun intended-reaching not only the ears of Fire Lord Ozai, but all those who served under him.
This was such a man.
Vice-Admiral Lee considered himself a humble sort of man; he was content to serve his Fire Lord and by definition and not one to seek glory or fame. Only twenty-three years of age he had worked and fought and done his utmost to climb his way up through ranks, not riding upon his father's coatails, but through hard work and determination. He'd always been considered off for a Commander, not the sort to abuse his rank and power or privilege. He was a family man-happily married with a child on the way-not the sort to take vengeance on his enemies.
Until now.
At least he had been until he learned of his progenitor's death at the hands of the Avatar. Family was all that had ever mattered to him. And now his father was dead. The man who had single-handedly raised him, gone into oblivion, sent there by an enemy who by all rights, shouldn't exist. Days had passed since he'd learnt of this tragedy, weeks, since he sent out the scouts. The Avatar himself had yet to make an appearance, but for all intensive purposes, his bison had been spotted heading North. There was only one destination in that direction. And it would require preparation. Perserverance. But it would be done.
Family was, after all, everything.
"Send for my Generals." he commanded to his aide.
"We make for the North Pole by the month's end."
A/N: Aaand there you have it! The focus was on almost everyone this chapter, although Azula stole more of the spotlight than most. She's such a tragic character; I can't help but enjoy writing her character out sometimes. I just really get into it. She's evolving not only as a person but a Firebender, beginning to call on something other than her anger and hatred, as well as bonding with Aang and the rest of the Gang. Katara will come around to her eventually, but remember, she hates the Fire Nation for good reason. So it'll take time and a certain mission before that happens.
We see just how much things are changing-radically so. Aang's still headed to the North Pole, but with Zhao dead he has a new, and potentially more powerful foe all but gunning for him thanks to Naruto and some misinformation on his part.
Meanwhile, our favorite blonde is quite busy himself! Not only Toph, but JUNE popped up in this chapter!
Naruto can be a saddistic bastard when he wants to be, but at least we finally see a serious side of him in this chapter, alongside his motivations, as well as his resolve to protect those dear to him. It also proves that age is truly nothing but a number to him when it comes to his friends/loved ones...
Next chapter we skip ahead a few episodes, and get right down to the nitty gritty! It'll be out soon, providing my health holds, so look forward to it ya know!
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 accordance to the prophecy...
...Review, Would You, Dear Reader? And of course, enjoy the preview! I found this one particularly satisfying, and I hope you do as well! And another thing...MAI AND TY LEE WILL BE SHOWING UP SOON AS WELL! But for now...enjoy!
(Preivew)
Naruto cocked his head aside, a small smile plucking at his whiskered visage. It was, Long Feng thought, quite disconcerting. He'd been unnerved to find that the Avatar had made a unscheduled stop to Ba Sing Se as it was, but the broken bodies of the Dai Li surrounding him was enough to make his hair stand on end. He had made no demands. Offered no word, nor talk of parley. He'd simply flown into the city with those two women and stormed the palance on his own. And when several Dai Li agents had tried to stop him...
This.
"I am dissapointed in you, little man." when he spoke he did so slowly, those blue eyes narrow and hard. "I was of the understanding that the entire world knew of this war. And yet I find you wallowing in ignorance-an illusion, a grand conspiracy perpetuated by the son of a merchant who lusted for power. What do you think of that, Toph?" He turned slowly, those eerie orbs regarding the younger of the two women at his side. Those white, milky eyes snapped toward him, filled with anger.
"I think he deserves a taste of his own medicine."
"Quite."
A cold sweat began to trickle down Feng's neck.
"My Lord Avatar, please understand. In silencing talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia – the last one on Earth."
"I know a thing or two about uptopia." Naruto replied quietly. "It never lasts. No, I came here to get an army, and an army is what I'll get. Preferably without you."
Impossibly, his grin grew.
"I'd like to speak with your king, little man."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that to happen." Long Fen frowned. "You see, I find it bet to always be prepared-and have reinforcements."
Naruto's only response was to close his eyes. "Then I do hope you've brought an army."
And the Earth erupted around them.
Hope you enjoyed! R&R! =D